" Master Mind "

P.Natarajan.




Master Mind is a board game for two players that may date back 40 years or so. One player becomes the code-maker and the other code-breaker. Master Mind is also a British Quiz Show well known for the challenging questions, intimidating settings, and air of seriousness. In these games the player has to be inept and sharp in his mind to anticipate the intricate moves of the opponent and push him in a way to a state of ' house-arrest'.

'Mastering the Mind' is a vital subject and is taken up for discussion in this article:-
Consciousness of the physical body is not so important where as keeping conscious about one's mind pay a lot of dividends in life. You may be sitting in front of the monitor, but there are chances that your mind will go up to Washington or Warsaw at the same time and return. The speed of the mind is astonishing that it could fly past Washington and around and return in a matter of seconds.
It is possible to forsake everything but not possible to control the roaming thoughts in the mind.

Picture depicts a 'Mind Wheel' with thoughts roaming.
This is especially true for an average man. May be those who lead a ritualistic and disciplined life can set their mind undisturbed in some selected tasks for some time only. For example, when we eat in a restaurant, a passing thought occurs in our mind that 'home-food' would be much hygienic, tastier and economical. As we take meals regularly only at home, sometimes the thoughts would go up to 'M.T.R. Restaurant' and start tasting a hot-hot masala-dosa. Similarly When we visit places like Chennai, our mind thinks " Bangalore is certainly cooler weather-wise ".. The mind weighs or takes a posture that the other side of the shore to be always greener. In a nut-shell the mind does not stay put at one place at a or any time.

The mind has two important functions to perform. It can make one to be aware of his true self.. Second it is the same mind that also prevents one from knowing himself. The tendency to have some superiority complex arises in the mind only. A gentleman of class learns to behave politely and his mind shows no pride in getting along with people. The first enemy to a person is his mind only and he has to overcome not only its weakness but also to conquer it to become a man of success.

The psychologists are of view that it is not the body alone which cause hyper tension. A very much stressed and tensed mind is also equally responsible. On the contrary if you can develop a mind set that you feel healthy, the beautiful mind can give you a conviction that you remain healthy physically too.


Picture showing Healthy Mind leads to Healthy Body

' The mind is the master ' and a determined mind can give the direction to bring credit to oneself and to those connected with him. The simplest way would be not to put the blame on others but to blame one self.
A person can take it up as an exercise by repeatedly blaming himself standing in front of the mirror. The image in the mirror reflects your conscious mind and when it repeats the message what you utter, the egoism, egotism or ego centric nature gets driven away and a submissive nature blossoms in ' THE BEAUTIFUL MIND '. A person can always lead others from this position by his conduct and render himself in a win-win position.

Persons like Gandhi, who was very strong and determined in his mind, belong to this class. That was the secret why he had millions of followers in India and abroad..

When mind is under control, it would direct the eyes to see right things or view things as right or in its natural form. It can direct the legs to trod on the right path only. The body language of a person will show signs of submissiveness, politeness. A person who minds his words and conduct gets easily accepted by others and become automatically a leader in his neighborhood.

Tobacco was after all a bunch of green leaves before they were processed to become dry and assumed the state for ready use. Many biological, inanimate objects are subject to some special processing techniques and get preserved for longevity. The mind also need to be trained steadily in continuum in order to obtain the will power and command over it.

I need to stress here that there are three attributes that are governed by the human mind. They are " Vivekam, Vairagya and Vichakshana " in Sanskrit. The intelligence quotient or the sixth sense is what is known as ' Vivekam '. ' The power to disown or the sense of detachment is known as ' Vairagya '. ' Vichakshana ' denotes the power of discrimination. A level headed person can look at things most objectively and examine with the help of these three attributes to make his decision which will prove to be wholesome in the long run.

'The presence of mind' - a key word which is often used, is the quality to apply one's wits appropriately and judiciously at a critical moment and come over the difficulty.. The absence of mind or an absent minded personality invites trouble for himself as his thoughts are elsewhere and not on the job on hand. He may not listen to the speaker nor take due precaution before commencing the job. He remembers things under coerced conditions in retrospect that put him in a big disadvantage.

The sign boards such as " Halt & Go ", " No Smoking Zone ", " Speed Limit ", "Keep Silence", 'School or Hospital Zone', "Zodiac Sign' become necessary to caution absent minded persons even though they may happen to go to such places habitually or quite often.

Control over the mind has to be developed from early hood by systematic training. A person can become dispassionate or refuses himself to be influenced by any desire once he masters his mind. He can make an elder-ado of anything or find peace under difficult circumstances.

Some inspirational quotes by way of highlighting the salient aspects discussed above are presented below to catch your attention and for analyzing the contents in a perspective, objective and conceptual way :-

* A man sees in the world what he carries in his heart.
* No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
* People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.
* Knowledge is proud that she knows so much; Wisdom is humble that she knows no more.
* No man is free who is not master of himself.
* Discipline is the bridge between goals and achievements.
* He who can conquer himself has won a greater victory than he who conquers a city.
* The Mind is a lousy Master but a Beautiful Servant. Realize that your mind remains always beautiful.
* The wisest man has something yet to learn.
* The secret of health for both Mind & Body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.
* The function of Wisdom is to discriminate between the good and the evil.
* If our thoughts and hopes are elsewhere it is impossible to set our faces steadily toward the work required of us.
* Some make it happen, Some watch it, and Some say " What Happened" ? Be discreet. !

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" Pink is "Euphoria"; Pink is ' Beautiful ' "

P.Natarajan

" Pink is "Euphoria"; Pink is ' Beautiful ' "

Greetings to all of you at the advent of Dasara festival and I presume this mail greets you 'in the pink'. A feeling of well being, or ' Ubhayakuchalopari' in Sanskrit is the information I am seeking by the use of the English idiom 'in the pink'. The word 'Euphoria' also points at your well being.

The word 'pink' came into use in the 17th century when a colour combination of red and white was termed 'pink'. Magenta and White, Rose and White, Orange and White - these combination also produce a pink or pinkish colour.



In 1853 when Prince of Whales visited Jaipur, the whole city was painted pink to welcome him. Prince was also tickled pink, that means he was very much entertained and pleased for the importance and regards accorded to him by the people of Jaipur. Today a good number of avenues painted in pink provide a distinctive appearance in the city. No wonder Jaipur is known as the pink city of India. Hawamahal in Jaipur is a pink sandstone palace for ladies - the facade has 953 small casements each with a balcony and the lady members stand there to watch the procession below without being noticed.

A picture of 'pink'(Courtesy : website) below will no doubt attract your attention and interest :-


The word pink finds different meanings at different places. In Thailand Pink is associated with Tuesday. People born on Tuesday find pink to be a colour of luck. Any one can wear a pink colour on Tuesday in Thai.

Pink ribbon is an international colour for breast cancer.

Pink Spider is a popular American Power Pop Band. 'Pink' is a name of a song and an American singer is also famous by his name 'Pink'.

J.K.Rowling's Harry Potter&The Order of Phoenix, Dolores Jane Um bridge wear only pink colour and has a pink office. Pink Panther series are popular cartoon films associated with the star Peter Sellers. Pink Cadillac was a hit movie in 1989 starring Clint East Wood.

Pink elephant, pink laud are alcoholic beverages while pink gin refers to a cocktail.



Pink Slip is placed in an employee's pay envelope by an employer when they decide to lay him off. Pink Collar job is taken by most women after maternity leave, when they opt to work for little money.

Chandigarh, a modern planned city of India, nestles in a picturesque settings in the foothills of Shivalik hills is called "City Beautiful" which also means Chandigarh is pink.

Women 'for peace' use pink internationally.

Any plant or flower of the caryophyllaceous genus Dianthus including carnation and
'Sweet-Williams' is known as pink. Carolina pink is known by its pink-roots. Dutch pink is a yellow lake obtained from quercitron bark.

Anything small like a 'peep of light' or 'little finger' or a 'tinkling sound' can be referred as pink.

Having a small or half shut eyes can be referred as pink-eyed. Pink also means to wink or to blink.

Fashion world simply adores Pink as the most desired colour by women in style, as it makes them look much younger. Pink is believed to be a colour of the angles. 'Pinkies' are proud as they believe to project a honest image.

Pink poses no bar for any age as men and women of all ages look graceful when they wear pink. Qualities of peace, love, romance, happiness, femininity, adoration, are portrayed in a big sense with Pink.

Pink is well accepted in interior decoration too. Good sleep goes well in pink cloloured bed
room. Holiday mood is present in pink living room. Flower vases carrying pink flowers spread a sense of fragrance as well as beauty to the guests.

Pink frock, napkin, toys surround and adorn newly born girl babies as presents. Even their bathtubs go pink at times.

Wishing you all a pink Dasara first !

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" True - Lies " & "Concepts of Truth "

P.Natarajan.

What is truth?; what is a lie ?, what is a ' true-lie '. Let us ponder over these terms for a while for some absorbing revelations/lessons.

We all know that truth is that which is in agreement with fact or reality. Honesty, sincerity,good-faith are its other common names. A simple definition of truth is that which is opposite of lies.


" THE SUN-RISE " PICTURE ABOVE SYMBOLIZES " THE WHOLE TRUTH "

Truth and what we believe to be true is not same. People are different from each other, so are their thoughts about the same object or person. There are different ways you can look at things which possibility raises a question ' how can there be one truth'? Truth is relative.

A lie is an international violation of truth, uttered for deception. Lying with an intention to cheat can cause more harm. The lies are uttered in such a way that they sound to be true. You can term them as ' true - lies '. 'True-Lies' is an oxymoron by way of figure of speech as they combine contradictory words like the epithets ' cruel kindness, pointedly foolish, falsely true ' and so on.



In the movie ' True-Lies ', Arnold Schwarzenegger who was under terrorist captivity was given a shot of drug in order to extract or make ' AS ' to disclose some secret information. This drug gained a nick name ' Truth Serum '. But it is a misconception that truth serum will make a person to tell the truth as projected in the movie. The proper name for the drug is 'sodium pentomal' which is used as an anesthetic during surgery. It causes a few minutes of sedation, and under the influence of the drug, truth can not be extracted as a person may not lose self control to let out the truth.

Three Levels of Truth:-

They are 'Scriptural Truth' (Canon), 'Cultural Truth' and 'Conscience Truth' . These levels influence our lives every day and it is therefore necessary to understand them to avoid unnecessary sufferings.

'Law of Gravity' or 'Law of Lift' are basic absolutes and consistant that greatly impact our lives everyday. When an airplane is flying at an altitude of 35000 feet, it is the 'Law of Lift' that overcomes the 'Law of Gravity' to make it fly at that altitude. Suppose the law of lift gives up, the airplane would start falling like a rock and all of a sudden the earth below would become closer. To save from the impending disaster, the pilot would operate 'Max-Climb' control when the plane would launch forward and finally stabilize at a new height.
Thus we see absolute law or Canon truth that is consistent which powers the plane to launch forward. We experience in such circumstances the impact of scriptural or Canon peace in everyday life. 'Gita' teaches canon truth. 'God' is consistently constant, that is one thing which makes God, 'God'. When you speak the truth, you get relieved and feel light and stress is avoided happily.




Cultural truth :- Practices vary between one ethnic group and the another. There could be a culture within a culture. Behaviour patterns accepted in one group may not get accepted in the another. Behaviour is a part of attitudinal trends which assumes significance by the experience gained by the taught or thought process. Doing the same thing may be regarded as a guilt in another culture as they may term it as a 'non-truth'.

Conscience Truth :- It is something to do with the self or self governing. Conscience truth is programmed by the influence of Canon Truth and Cultural Truth. It is a conviction that is right or wrong " TO YOU ". There is a saying in the Computer Industry. When you program a Computer with 'garbage-in', what it results is
'garbage-out'. This is true for our conscience too. When a person is consumed in the womb, conscience is formed in the soul or spirit. In other words a basic set of truth is instilled by the God within the person's conscience. It can be dulled or sharpened. Devotional music, good reading, wholesome visual inputs sharpen the conscience for good where as the negative aspects of brain-storming may dull the conscience.

Concepts of truth can be understood from 'Law', "Science & Mathematics'.
We are familiar that a witness in a trial may be called upon to swear what they are about to say is ' the truth, whole truth and nothing but the truth'. The type of truth we are dealing with in law is properly governed by the definition given above viz 'conformity to fact or actuality'.

In Science or Mathematics, statements can be made about the way the world works that can be proved to be 'true' in all circumstances. The Pythagoras Theorem can be stated and proved that the square of the two adjacent sides of a right angled triangle is equal to the square of the hypotenuse. Likewise proofs, many, can be drafted to prove the LHS is equal to RHS in mathematics :-
eg. (a + b ) whole square = a square + 2 a.b + b square.

In science, experiments can be conducted to prove the 3rd law of Newton that ' for every action, there an equal and opposite reaction'.

When we move to Religion or Spirituality, we have to leave these definitions, theories behind. Look at the statement ' Do unto others , as you would have to do them unto you'. Does this statement express the truth? or does it suggest the way we should live?
Statements made from Vedas, Upanishads, Scriptures, Bible or Buddha's Sayings are accepted in general by the public. 'God Exists' is accepted as truth or as a golden rule. Here it acts as a solution to our spiritual quest what truth is.

Living in a religious way or within the borders of acceptability, enhances the moral fabric of a person's living. A mother's care for an infant is natural, similarly the son looks after the parents when they become old and physically weak.

The concept of truth from the above illustrations can also be viewed as :- " Truth is that what leads to good "

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