Ravi S. Iyer: Spiritual

Given below are contents of my recent Facebook posts on my exposure to Telugu films songs and a few Telugu films in outside ashram Puttaparthi roughly between 2006 and 2010. A few years into my stay in Puttaparthi I got exposed to Telugu film songs including then-current (between 2006 and 2010, if I recall correctly) Telugu film songs. Telugu is a very musical language (called Italian of the East) and I found the songs to be quite delightful to hear though I could not follow the meanings properly (even now I don't understand the lyrics well). Thought of sharing some of those songs (over the next few days) if available on youtube. Here's one whose initial words - Kopama Naapaina - mean: are you angry with me? I don't think I had seen the video of this song earlier - or maybe I had but have forgotten about it. It is a little of selling-to-the-gallery type. So readers who have not viewed it earlier and want to view it, have been warned :-) . But the audio is still v...

Note that the post contents below are from my recent Facebook post: https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2114619228754643 The past few days we have seen world mainstream media doing a great service to society by exposing the horrific abuse of Facebook user data of around 50 million Facebook users/profiles by Cambridge University academic Aleksandr Kogan and Cambridge Analytica (CA) company which was enabled by poor user data protection policies of Facebook (in 2013, if I recall correctly), and subsequent poor follow-up of complaints by Facebook on CA and Kogan misusing Facebook user data. The key whistle-blower in this matter, Christopher (Chris) Wylie, a former data scientist and key tech. leader employee of Cambridge Analytica, has also done a great service to society by him coming forward with these revelations. Wylie has also acknowledged and expressed regret for his role in contributing to this horrific abuse of around 50 million Facebook users/profiles data to launch...

Please note that this post is copy-pasted from  http://ravisiyermisc.blogspot.in/2018/03/cambridge-university-researcher.html . I was debating whether I should put up a public post on this super-sensitive matter. Initially my reaction was that I should avoid getting into the political zone on this super-sensitive matter. After a good night's sleep and after seeing so many mainstream media and social media reports on it, I changed my mind and decided to say my two bits in the interests of protecting and preserving democracy. Note that I am a beneficiary (somebody who benefited), lover and open supporter of democracy. I have lived all of these 55 years of my life in democratic countries ONLY which are India primarily, Belgium, USA, Netherlands and South Korea. Even my short visits to other countries were to democratic countries ONLY which are: UK, Canada, Germany, Sweden, Singapore, Hong Kong (when it was governed by UK) and Japan (I may have missed out a country or two fro...

Note that this post is copy-pasted from http://ravisiyermisc.blogspot.com/2018/03/my-comment-on-facebook-boss-mark.html. Facebook boss, Mark Zuckerberg put up a post which was an "update on the Cambridge Analytica situation" around an hour back (22nd Mar. 2018, around 1 AM Indian Standard Time),  https://www.facebook.com/zuck/posts/10104712037900071 . I put up the following comment (link:  https://www.facebook.com/zuck/posts/10104712037900071?comment_id=2047583518604895 ) on his post (with my name appearing as Ravi S. Iyer): Thanks for this direct message to us Facebook users as some of us, including me, are a pretty worried lot, about what sort of data about us is available to whom. I have personally been targeted for vicious attacks with false allegations on Facebook by Facebook fake ID persons some of whom I believe are based in Melbourne, Australia. Complaining to Facebook with all details got me nowhere. I hope such bad actors as those that targeted me ...

The atomic size spiritual heart matter is covered in this Radio Sai article: 'Spiritual Maturity – Tuning to the Voice Within' By Ms. Lyn Kriegler, http://media.radiosai.org/journals/vol_16/01JAN18/Spirituality-The-Inward-Path-01.htm . As per the article, Ms. Kriegler was born and raised in the USA. She later settled down in New Zealand and got associated with Sathya Sai movement while living there. She mentions that in an interview with Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba (Swami) in February 1997, she asked Bhagavan a question related to heartbreak and heartache, and healing of that. As part of the response to her question, she writes that Bhagavan said the following: To the right of the physical heart is the spiritual heart. [Bhagavan was pointing to the center of His chest about 7 inches directly below His Adam's apple.] It is atomic in size. It is the only point of positive energy in the body. Blood, brain, skin, muscle, organs, bone, etc. are negative, negative, ...

In 1975 (which is around 25 + 18 i.e. around 43 years ago) a person P was working as a paid staffer in Prasanthi Nilayam (Puttaparthi) ashram. Note that I am using the term 'staffer' in the sense that the person was doing work for the ashram and for Swami, on a permanent basis. Perhaps a year or two ago this person P, now elderly, told me, in the course of a general discussion about his interactions with Swami over the years, that once Swami (Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba) gave him an admonition-type instruction. Swami told him in Tamil, "On velai mattum paare. Adatavanu soli/zoli ki pohade." P said that Swami spoke in pure/proper Tamil. The meaning of that is: Do (see) only your work. Do not go into other persons' work (get involved with other persons' talk/views/work). I recently re-confirmed the matter with P so that I could be sure of the facts when I put up this post. P told me that, during that time, the ashram security was handled by one person...

Note: I am a firm believer in freedom of religion so long as the laws of the land are not broken. So I respect the rights of those who follow Osho Rajneesh's teachings (so long as the laws of the land are not broken). But I think it is ethical and fair for me to share with readers what Osho Rajneesh's philosophy/theology was in some vital matters related to religion. Therefore I have put up this public post. end-Note. I was quite sure that Osho Rajneesh would not have believed in the miracles reported in holy scripture of religions like Hinduism and Christianity. But I did some Internet browsing to check. A short extract from chapter 14: Don't Walk on Water - Jump into Consciousness, http://www.osho.com/iosho/library/read-book/online-library-existence-holy-ghost-miracle-f7c7c0a6-0a6?p=4d4ddcaf9a5d404a89b4c8b1100982fc , [Osho Rajneesh on "whether miracles happen or not" : ] "I say categorically they have never happened, because in the very nature of thin...