You know, there was a time when Twelve and a half Indian Rupees exchanged for a U.S. Dollar.

Today, the rate is 65 Rupees to the Dollar.  Hardly a month ago, it was 55 Rupees.

For a country with U.S.$277 Billion in reserves, and a debt to GDP ratio of about 27 percent, this is

clearly selling the Indian Rupee too cheap. 

What sort of policies have been in place that the currency has virtually fallen 400 percent against the greenback, in a period of less than two decades, when the growth in India has been quite healthy while the mature economies have structurally slowed down? 

What is the purpose of encouraging foreign inflows of capital which periodically take flight and cause a panic in the markets? 

Of course, with the Rupee at current levels, most overseas investors see this as a golden opportunity to invest in India.  And the Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, has confirmed that inflows have been very healthy, and as it is absorbed into the system, a healthy picture will emerge.  Growth for the 2nd half of this year is expected to be much improved, with exports increasing month on month.

Can't blame anyone for snapping up quality Indian goods at ridiculous prices, can you?

 

The Reserve Bank of India's repo rate of 7-1/2 percent is really responsible for the slight slowdown that Indian industry and consumerism have seen over the last year and a half.  When the picture is so healthy, why should the RBI offer such a high rate to attract overseas investment?  When compared to the mature economies, the differential is more than 5 percent and as much as Seven and a quarter percent.  Is anyone listening?  What is the logic of it?  When India has enough for good growth, why does she need foreign inflows which periodically make the currency bleed?

 

The best announcement is that the RBI will not take any policy measures to try and curb the current and temporary fall of the Rupee to the absurd level. 

 

On 5th September, the new Governor of the RBI will assume his office, and both Corporate India and the public wait with hope to see what path he follows to restore robust growth and much need relief for consumers in India.  More people wish to buy houses and cars, take out loans for education and travel.  India needs must add to the world economic growth story, and an orderly drop in the repo rate would prove the tonic.

 

Kind regards,

Duru-darshan.

 

 

It seemed the stockmarkets had topped, and people were willing to take out some profits.  Equally, it seemed there was fresh money waiting to be invested, especially with promise of low interest rates for the foreseeable future in Europe, U.S., Australia and Japan, as well as China, all of which are using policies to generate further growth. 

 

The weak 0.1 percent GDP growth recorded in the second quarter in Eurozone has certainly helped the preceding period not being classified a recession, but the growth is very weak nevertheless, and demands continued stimulus with low interest rates.

 

The Bank of England's Guvnor Mark Carney has suggested an accommodative policy, indicating a low rate would obtain until such time as the unemployment falls to 7 percent.  This is a mixed blessing, as the government would prefer to see the rate fall faster but at the same time a prolonged period of a low rate is good for boosting the economy, as it generates growth.  All that really remains to be seen is the local banks loan the money out to entrepreneurs, start-ups, traditional small businesses seeking to expand capacity and such enterprises.  Britain's bankers will have to be just as willing to lend venture capital as the reputed bankers across the pond if Britain is to emulate the growth that has been created in the U.S. in the last four years.  As they say, money is inert matter and has life breathed into it when it circulates, giving people a living, fulfilling their dreams, going round and coming back with interest.  That is how wealth becomes created, utilizing what God has given in the form of farming and resources, to which is added human ingenuity and creativity, producing goods and services that have particular value and becoming marketable.  How kind God is, the bankers must appreciate and help the cause of humanity in their endeavours by lending money to them, so they can buy houses, cars, trucks, vans, iPods, cooking utensils, giant TVs, etc, etc.  Surely they would like to see people prosper?

 

The tepid movements in the stockmarkets today seem to suggest that the profit taking or jitters may be over.  Despite continued bad news of clashes in Egypt, the markets were quite stable.  It seems the conference called in Europe next week to address this issue by the European Union is probably likely to consider curtailment of aid to Egypt.  The U.S. has continued in a generous spirit not to have touched on this topic, hoping the situation there will be resolved peacefully in a short period.  Hopefully the Egyptian leadership and the people of Egypt will value this generosity, and try to reconcile their differences and work out a formula to appease both sides and let peace rule in their midst. 

 

People seeing dead bodies being carried to a makeshift morgue were lamenting 'Haram, haram' - meaning they did not expect death when their relatives had just gone to protest peacefully. 

I pray that God inspires the people to listen to the voice of common sense and reconcile their differences, and come to a solution that is just for all. 

 

I pray for peace in Egypt.

 

Ameen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Kind regards,

Duru-darshan

 

 

 

 

Hello, dear Readers, my posts this month have been as follows.  There was a slight problem with my Vistaprint site, and I was not getting the up-to-date statistics recently, so in case there has been a problem with the communication, I thought I'd bring you up-to-date with my posts :-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have high regard for the yoga techniques taught by Swami Ramdev, who's shivir in Hainault over 5 years ago I had the great joy of attending.  In fact, it was Baba Ramdev's first visit to Europe at that time, and since then he has made countless journeys to Europe and America, Africa and many places.

He has always received a warm and great welcome everywhere he has visited, for his name has spread as the man who brings the magic of yoga techniques for improving health.  His partner in the Patanjali Yogpeeth foundation, Acharya Balkrishan-ji, is one of the best in the field of research in the field of Ayurveda, and he has discovered and created many formulations which he has generously brought to the world, for bringing improvement in health.

 

Their greatest reward is the adulation they are shown by people, and their products are receiving wide-ranging note and approval, as they help people control or even cure diabetes, cholesterol, obesity, third-stage cancer and various ailments, like hair loss, impotence, urinary problems, the list is extensive.  Of course, a degree of faith is required to try out the techniques and herbal remedies.

 

The shop, called Divine Supplements, is located at 855 High Road, Goodmayes, IG3 8TG.  This is near the corner with Barley Lane.  Tesco with ample parking is nearby.

 

They are normally open only on Wednesdays and Saturdays, between 10.30 and 4 pm.

Telephone no : 0208 590 7900.

 

Mr Wilson is a gifted masseur, and he generously offers a first free massage for people over 70 years of age.  For everybody else, it is a reasonable amount, and worth every penny.  Mr Wilson is very good with relieving Frozen Shoulder, and he helped me with trapped energy in the chest.  I definitely recommend this gentleman for a curative massage.

 

I wish you good health.

 

Kind regards,

Duru-darshan.

 

 

 

Thank you for visiting my blog and website, visitors from India with this question.  It will be a question of debate as to whether such an occurrence could have been tamed or averted, through metaphysical means or somehow or perhaps simply by not having removed the temple where the Shakti was said to have been established for many hundreds of years.  The Shakti of Kalimata. 

 

There is a strong belief among those who worship that Shakti of Kalkamata that Her temple should not have been moved.  There were learned people who had also concurred with that view.  Yet somehow the ultra-scientific minds are inclined to push the boundaries.  What has gone cannot be undone, so much damage occurred, so many lives were lost, and so many many more people are left homeless and with meagre means in the aftermath of this calamity. 

 

All that I would add to this debate is this : Yes, we must always respectfully observe religious inclinations of our culture, and not proceed with something if we are forewarned of the consequences.  This is not superstition, but paying homage and heed to the One who has made it all. 

 

A time will come when India will develop much further, and tap into all the possibilities of geothermal, hydroelectric and nuclear power.  Certainly a great need is there, and all tasks will be made easier and large-scale infrastructure feasible with added power capacity, that cannot be denied.  But thorough consultations should be made, and consideration given to any concerns.  It would be better to err on the side of caution than to proceed and then realise the disasterous effects.

 

The government faces this extra challenge of rehousing all these sad homeless people, and providing means of sustainance.  This is the sort of calamity that provides a challenge for any government, but it seems the able UPA under Dr Manmohan Singh-ji is doing all it can to help people survive and relocate.

The 10,000 troops and volunteers deployed in the rescue effort did a heroic job and deserve the nation's thanks.

 

I pray for the well-being of the survivors of the tsunami, and send them my brotherly love.

 

Kind regards,

Duru-darshan.

Swollen legs are a most painful condition.  I am diabetic, and I developed swollen legs, and I was frightened.

 

My legs used to feel like lead.  The blood was not circulating properly.  In fact, blood was collecting in the lower parts of the legs.  I was determined to find relief for me, through some method, if a method there was.

 

First thing I remembered was something called 'bench exercises', which a reknowned magazine owner had once written about.  I tried what I imagined were bench exercises.  I would hold the edge of the table and try to raise up and down on my legs - do sit ups holding the table.  Very painful with bloated legs.

 

But observing Baba Ramdev doing his exercises on Aastah TV, I realized that the way to do this exercise is to lie flat on the back, then BREATHE OUT and bring one knee to the chest, BREATHE OUT again and bring the other knee to the chest.  In other words, knock the air out of the stomach, naturally and not forcefully.  The relax.  And, still lying down on the back, do cycling movements with your legs, for five, ten, fifteen, twenty minutes progressively as the legs become less bloated, more normal and are able to take more exercise.

 

Another thing, and in fact the first thing to do, is to soak your legs in a bucket of warm-to-hot water with some Dettol or antibacterial liquid, and enjoy this for 20 minutes to half hour, till the veins open up and gradually after a few days the circulation may be restored to normal.

 

The third thing is to wear tights (or hosiery) from a chemists shop, although I imagine any tights will do for the time-being if those are not available.  Wearing the tights will give pressure to maintain the good work done.  Then, if you follow this routine, within about eight weeks, your legs will start to look and feel normal.  Then use this routine with your own judgement, as and when necessary.

 

May friends, I wish you good health.

 

Kind regards,

Duru-darshan.

 

 

 

 

There is something about the chemistry, about the language and communication of the mind and soul, which brings people together or drives them apart.  It is this chemistry between people that I would blame for.....or, rather, a change in the chemistry between people that I would blame for separation and divorce. 

 

I am surprised that Napoleon Hill was not given the Noble Prize, but then again there is no category in the Noble Prizes into which his work fits.  Perhaps, on that point, I would suggest there should be another category created by the Trustees of the Noble Foundation.  The Increasing of Human Understanding.

 

Napoleon Hill interviewed 500 of the most successful people in America in the 1920s, and from those interviews he wrote many articles, published in his Hill's Success Magazine.  But a few people made a huge impression on him, viz Andrew Carnegie, Firestone, Henry Ford, Dr.Alexander Graham Bell, and Dr. Thomas Alva Edison.  And yes, Mr Edwin Barnes, who said it could not be done, that is to say, the writing of a blueprint for success based on the interviews with successful people.

 

Napoleon Hill turned that into a questions: Who said it could not be done? and went on to publish his Think and Grow Rich, a book that sells well throughout the world, in many languages, in number just after the sales of the Bible, Koran and Bhagavad-Gita and other religious masterpieces.

 

In his research, Napoleon Hill says that the first three years of a marriage often have petty squabbles and friction, but the love that exists between the two will carry it through.  The next fifteen years are those in which the lucky couple start to look alike in their eye movements and thinking, influencing their value judgements and expressions, meaning the happy couple have achieved understanding of one another, and a state of harmony exists between them that we attribute to the magic of chemistry.

A state of harmony, an instinctive understanding, an automatic understanding of mutual goals. It is like both have the same road-map, or at least complementing road maps.

 

Those for whom a partnership does not work, it seems are rather like a horse-drawn carriage where the horses want to pull in differing directions.  Where it is not possible to bring harmony of direction, abandonment of the journey becomes the alternative.  Such is what happens in business partnerships as well, and in politics as well.

 

A question that may help bring harmony back is : What was the road map that brought the partners together in the first place?  Can it be modified and restored?  If the answer is Yes, then hope still remains for reunion and success.

 

Kind regards,

Duru-darshan.

 

 

 

In the aftermath of the Himalayan tsunami, which sent a huge avalanche of water from the mountains into the Kedarnath valley in Uttarakhand, causing much devastation of villages and about 500 deaths so far recorded, some opinions are being expressed as to the likely trigger of this tsunami.

 

It is a fact that a lot of likely or proposed hydro-electric projects are being studied at the feasibility stage in India, most of them having the location along the many tributaries of the river Ganges, or Ganga, as the Hindus call her after our Goddess.

 

An opinion put forward on Aastah TV is that quite a few tunnels have been started along the tributaries, to harness the water thereof, and construct dams to generate the power.  Some of these projects have seen tunnels being dug for 1 or 2 or 10 or 13 kilometres, and then the work has been halted, for scientific as well as religious reasons.  In particular, a shrine to Kalimata at Srinagar is said to hold the Shakti of the Mata, and always the monsoon washes this shrine.  Recently, some people decided to move the shrine, which is believed to hold the Shakti, to another place so that feasibility studies could be taken further.  The people were told that the Mata's shrine would be relocated nearby, under a roof; local myth is that the Mata does not like a roof, and has stood for centuries in the open, inviting the monsoon rains.  Further, people understood that if the Shakti was moved, there would be an explosion in that spot in Srinagar, and within a short while the tecktonic plates under the Himalayas would begin shifting and some calamity would ensue. 

 

That is precisely what happened on 16th of this month, when the shrine was moved.  Shortly thereafter the Himalayan tsunami made a headway from the mountains and caused the devastating floods in the Kedarnath valley.  A fifteen metre high statue of Lord Shiva sitting in the yoga posture has been washed away, suggesting Father God was so angered by the removal of KaliMata's shrine that He has caused this devastation.  Learned professors who have made scientific studies were advising against the removal of the shrine or the experiment of tunnelling for feasibility studies.  Where echos cause break up of ice on the mountains and avalanches, there the presence of heavy drilling equipment is causing a disturbance.

 

I have just translated the gist of this debate in the aftermath of the calamity that has visited the Kedarnath valley.

 

I pray for God's blessings on the 40,000 to 50,000 people displaced or made homeless in this disaster, and the several hundred still missing.  The rescue mission by the Indian army, air force and navy continues; may they safely carry out their mission.

 

Kind regards,

Duru-darshan.

 

 

A reader from Saudi Arabia put in the search phrase, May Allah make Peace, and found my website.

 

Indeed, the Being, the Force, the Entity we call Allah, which translates into God for the Christians and Bhagvan for the Hindus, is the only one who can inspire people to restore peace, brining peace of mind, cessation of hostilities between brethren and kindred folks, and indeed to mankind at large.

 

May Allah bring peace, and inspire man and women to appreciate the wonderful nature of God's creation, and His gift of life to each and every one, which is so precious to us all...May we understand that it is equally precious to others.

 

May Allah in His mercy inspire us to understand that He has created the world with abundance, and may it be shared by all in a fair and just way. 

 

Often people are fighting over dominance of something, a house, a piece of land, a family business or anything.  Often people have died over such things, even over leadership, only to discover later that it was in vain, not worth the fight, and that the use or ownership of the same could have been achieved with fairness and just means - if such a subject had been opened up in words, and agreements made cordially.

 

In the Bible it says "Ask, and it shall be given to thee"  (Of course, one has to be patient with faith, as things happen in the fullness of time).

 

Similarly, I liked very much what the Saudi Prince Al-waleed bin Talaal has suggested : "For whatever you seek, ask Allah....and when you get it, give thanks." 

 

Allah the merciful, the magnificent, loves all mankind and living creatures, for we are all His creation.

In the fullness of time, Allah shall grant to each and everyone to their hearts content what they desire, as they live by His commandments and live in peace and allow others to enjoy peace.

 

Each has to ask : "What bring we into the world?"  Other than God's name and good deeds, is there anything that He would like us to carry to Heaven?

 

Kind regards,

Duru-darshan.