On getting the win against Washington:

BM: Right now, it's phenomenal. I can't really describe that feeling. It's my first time really, but I just get this warm, fuzzy feeling. I came to Stanford with a goal to be the best, and right now, I feel like that win really solidified in my heart, and it gave me that satisfaction I needed. A kind of more of that thirst that our team needed, and it was a phenomenal feeling winning that game, but that only made us more hungry for more.

On the team's hunger after 2 straight victories leading into the bye week:

BM: Yeah, I describe that hunger as just wanting the best in every player, because the game showed that we're not where we should be, and I think there's so much we can improve on even with three freshmen starting at O line. I think there's such a gap we can elevate our play to that right now we haven't even come close to reaching our limits, and that's a hunger want is to really live up to the potential we have.

On playing next to Walter Rouse:

BM: Yeah, we have a we have a great dynamic. We had training camp. We grinded together. He's always my lifting partner. Spotted me through these lifts. I lifted with him. So our communication's really on a great basis. I can just look at him, and he knows right in my eyes, the combos we have, the type of blocks we should do. And right now communication isn't lacking at all just because we're some freshman. I think it's actually excelling because of the brotherhood we made over the summer.

On the progression of his play from the beginning to the end of the UW game:

BM: Yeah, there's so much you can prepare for in films and studying, but the games always different. It's a different pace, and right now it's adjusting as a freshman and getting use to that. And the only time I get that real look is during the game that game speed is different than what the film can show, what practice can emulate. And every team's gonna run something different on film. Nothing's perfect when we look at a film and prepare for every formation. They always throw something out to try confuse us. Especially with three freshmen, they think they can just throw something funky at us and confuse us but deep down we've been practicing, grinding, getting our noses in the playbooks and the formations, and we're pretty much prepared for any formation, any look, any stone they throw at us,

On what was his "welcome to college" moment:

BM: Yeah, I have a moment. It's the classic moment in practice. Full first padded practice. I was pulling to a linebacker. I remember just running full sprint, had turned the corner and I look, and here comes one of our linebackers. Straight up just lifted me up off the ground out of my shoes. I remember hitting the ground I was like, "this is a first time time that I've been flipped upside down," and that was my welcome to college moment. I was like this is real and this is the time where I just kind of locked in and just got grinding even more. I was thirsty I I didn't like that feeling it just drove me to be better.

On what he's looking to work on during the bye week:

BM: I'm personally kind of looking to get more self improvement because I know the schemes you have to do. I know the type of combos and sets we have to do. I'm looking to really get my foundation, my feet set, my right steps, the right lengths. I'm really just looking to be nitpicky with everything I do, and that's why I feel like this week is really great week for me just to focus in and fine tune those little things we have that sometimes go unnoticed. Maybe I take my step but one inch too big? Just things like that I can really fine tune this week.

Stay tuned to TheBootleg.com for Stanford Football and Basketball Team and Recruiting Updates all year long!

Albert Thomas has been contributing to The Bootleg since 2016, and you can follow The Bootleg @TheBootleg for up to the moment Cardinal news and analysis from him and TheBootleg team.

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Miller on UW, His Play, and His Welcome to College Moment - 247Sports

There is a lot of pros to working for a living.

Of course, there is the monetary reward which is certainly not to be taken lightly.

In fact, someone once said, do what you love and the money will follow.

Ive often wondered who said that and, more importantly, why? Did they have the kind of job that money actually followed them? And how much? And was it in direct correlation to how much they loved their job.

Just curious!

Anyway, getting back to working for a living.

It does have great rewards!

For one thing, you know what you are going to do with your day from the moment you wake up.

Its a no-brainer. That is for sure. Get ready and go. Go to work.

For me, going to work involves about a 40-minute commute.

The commute can be a perk. Sometimes its like driving into a wonderland of beauty. In the spring, the trees and fields are brushed with tender shades of green, in the summer the same landscape has ripened and is filled with lush beauty and in the fall, the kaleidoscope of colour turns once again to magnificance. In the winter, the hoar frost and snow can create white magic. Its like eye candy.

But, then there are those days. Those in-between-days when the commute is nothing more than a living nightmare and you have to pry your fingers off the steering wheel when you finally arrive at your destination.

But, on the days when the blue tooth to your mobile phone works well and there is someone to chat with at the other end, and the highway is safe and solid under your wheels, and the countryside is alive with beauty, the commute can be lovely, like a long extended coffee break.

And so away you go and before you know it, you are at work and your day if full of things to do. And, there is also the satisfaction of doing your very best at work and maybe even making a small difference to someone, somewhere.

In his book, The Four Agreements, Don Miguel Ruiz says its important to always do your best. When I read the book I was inspired, as I always am when I read any kind of self improvement book. Of course, my inspiration is often short lived, but before long, Im reading another self improvement book only to be inspired all over again.

However, as I read Ruizs advice to always do your best, I felt miserably inadequate because I knew very well I didnt always do my best.

But, I was comforted, somewhat, when Ruiz went on to say that always doing your best changes from moment to moment and will depend if you are healthy or sick or otherwise just feel like crap.

The author says under any circumstance, simply do your best and you will avoid self-judgement, self-abuse and regret.

And to remember tomorrows another day.

Actually, he didnt really say that, but it is true. At least, Scarlett OHara said it was in the classic movie, Gone with the Wind.

For me, being part of the world of print media, one of the primary perks of the job is the people whom I have the privilege of interacting with.

Last weekend I was fortunate enough to cover Culture Days in Rimbey where I met some local authors who have achieved pinnacles of success in their careers.

For me, they were truly inspirational, much better than any self help publication that I have mused over.

It is common knowledge that the written word provides a pathway into worlds unknown and each of these writers contributed, in their own way, to that world.

And I felt lucky just to be there to listen and learn and maybe even absorb some of their knowledge and talent into my own humble attempts at making the written word a viable and interesting vehicle for my readers.

And when I drove home from the Culture Day event, I was rewarded with another perk, a quiet, gentle perk, as the setting sun bathed the trees and fields in a soft and mellow light and the world seemed quite beautiful, indeed.

As it turned out, it was the lull before the storm.

But, for the moment, it was quiet, and it was lovely and it was good!

And then it snowed!

Go here to read the rest:
Family: Observations of a working girl - Red Deer Advocate

The rich would rather be educated than entertained.

Corley wrote that 88 per cent of rich people devote 30 minutes or more each day to self-education or self-improvement reading and that most did not read for entertainment.

The rich read to acquire or maintain knowledge, he said.

Corley found that they tended to read three types of books: biographies of successful people, self-help or personal development books, and history books.

Seventy-six per cent of the rich aerobically exercise 30 minutes or more every day, Corley said. Aerobic exercise includes anything cardio-focused, such as running, jogging, walking, or cycling.

Cardio is not only good for the body, but its good for the brain, he wrote. It grows the neurons (brain cells) in the brain.

He added: Exercise also increases the production of glucose. Glucose is brain fuel. The more fuel you feed your brain, the more it grows and the smarter you become.

You are only as successful as those you frequently associate with, Corley wrote. The rich are always on the lookout for individuals who are goal-oriented, optimistic, enthusiastic, and who have an overall positive mental outlook.

Its equally important to avoid negative people and influences, Corley said, emphasising that negative, destructive criticism will derail you from pursing success.

To surround themselves with good people, many self-made millionaires turn to charity, Corley said.

This is why so many wealthy people volunteer for charitable organisations, civic groups, or trade groups. It helps them expand their network of other success-minded people, he wrote.

Of the millionaires he studied, 72 per cent volunteered five hours or more every month.

Dream-setting involves scripting your ideal future life, Corley said. In this process, you define your future life, the future you, by imagining all your dreams coming true; then you put it to paper in 500 to 1000 words.

In his study, 61 per cent of the self-made millionaires reported practising this planning strategy.

Pursuing your own dreams and goals creates the greatest long-term happiness and results in the greatest accumulation of wealth, Corley wrote.

Too many people make the mistake of chasing someone elses dream such as their parents but rich people define their own goals and pursue them relentlessly and passionately.

Passion makes work fun, Corley wrote. Passion gives you the energy, persistence, and focus needed to overcome failures, mistakes, and rejection.

Sleep is critical to success, Corley wrote. In his study, 89 per cent of the self-made millionaires reported sleeping seven or more hours every night.

Sleep accomplishes so many things behind the scenes, including memory formation, he said.

Nearly 50 per cent of the self-made millionaires in Corleys study said they woke up at least three hours before their workday actually began.

Its a strategy to deal with inevitable daily disruptions, such as a meeting that went too long, egregious traffic, or having to pick up your sick kid from school.

These disruptions have a psychological effect on us. They can drip into our subconscious and eventually form the belief that we have no control over our life, Corley wrote. Getting up at five in the morning to tackle the top three things you want to accomplish in your day allows you to regain control of your life. It gives you a sense of confidence that you, indeed, direct your life.

Self-made millionaires do not rely on one singular source of income, Corley said. They develop multiple streams.

He said that three seemed to be the magic number in my study, adding that 65 per cent had at least three streams of income that they created prior to making their first million dollars.

Examples of these additional streams are real-estate rentals, sharemarket investments, and part-ownership in a side business.

Finding a mentor puts you on the fast track to wealth accumulation, Corley wrote.

Success mentors do more than simply influence your life in some positive way, he continued. They regularly and actively participate in your success by teaching you what to do and what not to do. They share with you valuable life lessons they learned either from their own mentors or from the school of hard knocks.

Helping other success-minded people move forward in achieving their goals and dreams helps you succeed, Corley wrote. No one realises success without a team of other success-minded people. The best way to create your team is to offer help to other success-minded people first.

You dont want to give help to anyone and everyone, Corley said, but focus on helping only those who are pursuing success, are optimistic, goal-oriented, positive, and uplifting.

Long-term success is only possible when you have a positive mental outlook, Corley said. In my research, positivity was a hallmark of all the self-made millionaires.

The problem for most people is that theyre unaware of their thoughts, positive or negative, he said.

If you stop to listen to your thoughts, to be aware of them, youd find most of them are negative, he wrote. But you only realise you are having these negative thoughts when you force yourself to be aware of them. Awareness is the key.

We so desire to blend in, to acclimate to society, to be a part of the herd, that we will do almost anything to avoid standing out in a crowd, Corley wrote. Yet failure to separate yourself from the herd is why most people never achieve success.

Successful people create their own herd and then pull others into it, Corley said.

You want to separate yourself from the herd, create your own herd, and then get others to join it, he wrote.

Self-made millionaires have mastered certain rules of etiquette principles you have to master if you want to be a success, Corley wrote.

These include sending thank-you notes, acknowledging important life events such as a wedding or a birthday, eating politely and using table manners, and dressing properly for various social events.

Thinking is key to their success, Corley said. The rich tend to think in isolation, in the mornings, and for at least 15 minutes every day.

They spent time every day brainstorming with themselves about numerous things, he said, from careers and finances to health and charity.

They ask questions such as: What can I do to make more money? Does my job make me happy? Am I exercising enough? What other charities can I get involved in?

Fear of criticism is the reason we do not seek feedback from others, Corley wrote. But feedback is essential to learning what is working and what isnt working. Feedback helps you understand if you are on the right track. Feedback criticism, good or bad, is a crucial element for learning and growth.

Additionally, it allows you to change course and experiment with a new career or business. As Corley said, feedback provides you with the information you will need in order to succeed in any venture.

Self-made millionaires are persistent, Corley wrote. "They never quit on their dream. They would rather go down with the ship than quit."

In his study, more than one-quarter of the participants said they failed at least once in their business and picked themselves right back up.

If you want to be successful in life, you have to persist in the face of seemingly unending adversity, he said.

This story first appeared in Business Insider. Read it here or follow BusinessInsider Australia on Facebook.

BusinessInsider.com.au

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17 habits of self-made millionaires, from a man who studies the rich - The Australian Financial Review

Millennials are bringing mental health to the forefront in the workplace.

About half of millennials and 75% of Gen Zers have left a job because of mental health reasons, a study conducted by Mind Share Partners, SAP, and Qualtrics and published in the Harvard Business Review found. The study, which looked at mental-health challenges and stigmas in the US workplace, polled 1,500 respondents ages 16 and older working full time.

That was significantly higher than the overall percentage of respondents who said they had left a job for mental-health reasons, 20%. This indicates a "generational shift in awareness," said the authors of the report, Kelly Greenwood, Vivek Bapat, and Mike Maughan.

That shift is no surprise, considering that millennials have also become known as "the therapy generation." They're cognizant about their mental health and helping to destigmatize therapy, Peggy Drexler wrote in a March essay for The Wall Street Journal.

Millennials, she said, see therapy as a form of self-improvement and they also suffer from a desire to be perfect, leading them to seek help when they feel they haven't met their expectations.

But their inclination toward therapy also highlights some of the biggest problems plaguing the generation.

Read more: Depression is on the rise among millennials, but 20% of them aren't seeking treatment and it's likely because they can't afford it

Depression is on the rise among millennials, who have seen a 47% increase in major-depression diagnoses since 2013, a 2018 Blue Cross Blue Shield report said. And a follow-up Blue Cross Blue Shield study in April found that millennials were less healthy than Gen Xers were at their age and were more likely to be less healthy as they age.

More millennials are also dying "deaths of despair," or deaths related to drugs, alcohol, and suicide, Jamie Ducharme reported for Time in June, citing a report by the public-health groups Trust for America's Health and Well Being Trust. While these deaths have increased across all ages in the past 10 years, they've increased the most among younger Americans, Ducharme said.

They accounted for the deaths of about 36,000 American millennials in 2017 alone, the report said. Drug overdoses were the most common cause of death.

There are a few reasons behind the uptick, one of which is that young adults are more inclined to engage in risk-taking behaviors. However, the report also identified other structural factors at play, namely the many financial problems millennials are facing: student-loan debt, healthcare, childcare, and an expensive housing market.

These four costs are part of the Great American Affordability Crisis plaguing millennials and putting them financially behind.

Read more: 'Deaths of despair' are taking more lives of millennial Americans than any other generation

Cases of burnout have also been increasing at an alarming rate in recent years, Business Insider's Ivan De Luce reported. The World Health Organization recently classified burnout as a syndrome, medically legitimizing the condition for the first time.

It's a growing problem in today's workplace because of trends like rising workloads, limited staff and resources, and long hours particularly for millennials, who also consider themselves the "burnout generation."

Eighty-six percent of respondents in the Mind Share Partners, SAP, and Qualtrics study said a company's culture should support mental health. "Mental health is becoming the next frontier of diversity and inclusion, and employees want their companies to address it," the authors wrote.

They added: "It is not surprising then that providing employees with the support they need improves not only engagement but also recruitment and retention, whereas doing nothing reinforces an outdated and damaging stigma."

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50% of millennials have left a job for mental-health reasons, a new study found and it speaks to some of the biggest problems plaguing the entire...

BOULDER, Colo. (PRWEB) October 10, 2019

As schools and universities begin a new academic year, a growing alliance of leaders in colleges of education across the country today released a statement cautioning against many of the current trends for reforming how we prepare teachers for our nations public schools.

In the statement, Seven Trends to Reform U.S. Teacher Education, and the Need to Address Systemic Injustices, over 350 deans and other leaders called for a significant shift in course. The statement begins by declaring that teacher-education programs without a doubtcannot and should not operate as if all is well, because it is not. But the leaders then warn that several current efforts to reform teacher education in the United Statesare making things worse. These trends, they explain, share the fundamental flaw of focusing on hyper-individualistic, market-based solutions linked to failed ideas about student achievement, teacher accountability, rewards, and punishments, rather than addressing legacies of systemic injustices in educational institutions and strategies to increase participatory democracy.

The seven trends examined are:

The leaders statement highlights research that shows how, in a number of ways, these approaches lack a sound research basis, and in some instances, they have already proven to widen disparities. The statement concludes with an alternative vision for teacher education that advances equity and justice in our nations schools.

Signing the statement are over 350 current and former leaders in colleges and schools of education across the United States. The leaders, which include deans, associate deans, directors, and chairs, work in public, private, and religious institutions of higher education spanning over three dozen states.

The statement was authored by Education Deans for Justice and Equity (EDJE) and prepared in partnership with the National Education Policy Center. EDJE was formed in 2016 as an alliance of deans to address inequities and injustices in education while promoting its democratic premises through policy, research, and practice.

Seven Trends to Reform U.S. Teacher Education, and the Need to Address Systemic Injustices, including the list of signatories and endorsements, can be found on the NEPC website at:http://nepc.colorado.edu/publication/seven-trends

Find Documents:Publication Announcement: https://nepc.info/node/9994NEPC Publication: https://nepc.colorado.edu/publication/seven-trends

The National Education Policy Center (NEPC), a university research center housed at the University of Colorado Boulder School of Education, produces and disseminates high-quality, peer-reviewed research to inform education policy discussions. Visit us at: http://nepc.colorado.edu

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A Call to Retreat from Trendy Teacher Education Reform October 10, 2019Key New NEPC Statement - PR Web

On October 4, I had the rare opportunity of spending more than three hours with Sheela Birnstiel, formerly, Ma Anand Sheela, as she re-visited the lanes and by-lanes of Koregaon Park, saw the Osho International commune, and paid her respects to Osho at the place where he was cremated in Pune.

Famous as the controversial secretary of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, who was later known as Osho, Sheela shot into the limelight in recent years after the Netflix docu-series, Wild Wild Country, featured her prominently, and, the rise and fall of Rajneeshpuram in Oregon.

The most tumultuous period of Rajneeshpuram centred around clashes with the locals, her sudden flight to Germany in September 1985, and the criminal convictions for which she was deported to the US and served a prison sentence.

Pune was the place where she spent one of the most beautiful periods of her life at the Commune, demonstrated her organisational capabilities, rose to become Oshos secretary after Ma Yoga Laxmi and planned Oshos secretive departure to the US in June 1981. Pune was also the place where she spent beautiful moments with her first love Chinmaya, whom she lost to cancer in this city.

Now 70 and settled in Switzerland where she runs two homes for the elderly and disabled, Sheela, accompanied by her two devoted secretaries-caretakers, and a film crew, was on a short, discrete visit to Pune to re-visit Koregaon Park.

Full of nostalgia about Koregaon Park (KP) of the mid-to-late 1970s, one of the first things she noticed was the lifeless faade of Osho International commune in lane number 1, and the complete absence of people in orange robes. Yes, when she left Pune in 1981, Oshos followers wore bright orange robes, and the maroon robes only came later. She was happy with the rich greenery of KP, although the entire landscape had changed with large buildings, numerous shops and restaurants and the high volume traffic.

She was not aware of the famous German Bakery restaurant because it did not exist when she was here. The only hotel she knew was Blue Diamond- Punes first and only five star hotel in those days. Take me to Hotel Blue Diamond because that is my reference pointthe Commune was right behind, she said.

The most poignant and deeply emotional moment for her was when she visited the place where Osho was cremated on the night of January 19, 1990, at Tulsiram Ghat in KP. Full of reverence for Osho, Sheela closed her eyes, stood in silence for minutes and bowed with a namaste at the low pedestal created to place bodies. She was delighted to spot a dog sitting below the grill and spoke of her immense love for animals.

For Sheela, this was one of the most significant moments of her journey with Osho. I was not there when he died, but I feel connected with him here, she said.

When asked, where she was when Osho died, Sheela said she was in Paris with her lawyer, who saw the news on TV, confirmed it and then informed her. I had the feeling that it was an unnatural death, Sheela said, of her intuition when she got the news.

We had a lengthy discussion on all that happened on the day Osho died, and in the years that followed. She could not immediately connect with some of the names such as Amrito- Oshos personal physician, whom she knew as Devraj; and Nirvano- whom Osho considered as his soulmate- and who had died in suspicious circumstances 40 days before his own death. Sheela knew Nirvano as Vivek.

Sheela spoke extensively of how shocking and outrageous it was to completely deny the existence of Oshos Samadhi inside the Commune, created as per his own wish. She wondered whether this was being denied by the Commune managers to make it easy to liquidate the property.

She expressed the hope that Oshos followers, his admirers and others would take steps to ensure that the Samadhi was protected and opened to the public.

abhay.vaidya@hindustantimes.com

First Published:Oct 07, 2019 14:02 IST

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Monday Musings: When Sheelas love for Osho brought her to Pune after 35 years - Hindustan Times

Aurangabad: Mahatma Gandhi's great-grandson Tushar Gandhi on Saturday said a new "Father of the Nation" has come up with the emergence of new India, but the Mahatma could never have become the father of such nation.

He also termed as "sacrilege" the theft of an urn which was used for immersing ashes of the Father of Nation in Madhya Pradesh recently and slammed the governments at Centre and Madhya Pradesh for their "silence".

Tushar said the incident was a "pre-planned act to sully the image of the Mahatma by political parties who are ruling today and for the last seven decades".

A portrait of Mahatma Gandhi was found defaced at Bapu Bhawan in Laxmanbagh Sansthan at Rewa on Gandhi Jayanti by unidentified persons who wrote "deshdrohi" (traitor) over it and also stole an urn which was used for immersing his ashes.

Addressing reporters in Aurangabad in Maharashtra, Tushar said more painful than the theft of the Mahatma's "mortal remains" is the "silence" of the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh and the BJP dispensation at the Centre over the incident.

"The theft and the sacrilege of the poster is painful. However, it's more painful to note that Congress government in Madhya Pradesh and the BJP-led Central government have not uttered a single word to condemn the incident. Sixty hours have passed since the incident occurred," he said.

Tushar ruled that while the nation was celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of the Mahatma, his mortal remains were stolen from Rewa.

"This silence of political parties and media speaks a lot. I request the government to get those mortal remains back and immerse them. Because such act is painful to me as the great-grandson of the Mahtma and also to those who follow his philosophy," Tushar said.

Responding to a query, Tushar said government agencies were serving notices to residents of the Sabarmati ashram in Ahmedabad for vacating the premises.

"A reason is being given that a big memorial of Mahatma Gandhi will be erected at that place. But when every individual visiting Sabarmati bows at the 'Hriday Kunj' (present ashram), what is the need for a new memorial?" he questioned.

"This is a clear case of land grabbing. This is an attack on institutions working for Gandhian philosophy. The agencies are also asking for archives and all those things which belonged to Mahatma Gandhi that are kept in Sabarmati premises," he said.

Tushar said a protest could be planned to "save" the ashram area.

Targetting the BJP, Tushar said the saffron party has "(Nathuram) Godse (assasin of the Mahatma) in mind and Gandhi on their lips. As the new India is emerging, new 'Father of Nation' has also come up. Mahatma Gandhi can never be the father of such new nation," he said without taking any names.

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New 'father of nation' has come up with emergence of new India: Mahatma Gandhi's grandson - Economic Times

By Sudheendra Kulkarni

When Chinese President Xi Jinping visits Mahabalipuram for his second informal summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, October 11-13, i hope he visits the Aurobindo Ashram in nearby Puducherry. Apart from knowing about Maharshi Aurobindo, the renowned Hindu sage of modern times, he will also be able to pay tribute to distinguished Chinese philosopher, Prof Xu Fancheng, who lived in the ashram for 27 long years, from 1951-1978. Earlier, Prof Xu lived in Santiniketan for five years.

Who was Prof Xu? According to Luo Zhaohui, who was his student and who later served as Chinas ambassador to India (and as vice foreign minister now he will be accompanying Xi to Mahabalipuram), He was the first Chinese who introduced Sri Aurobindo to China. There were three great men in modern India Gurudev Tagore, Mahatma Gandhi and Sri Aurobindo. The first two men were well known in China. It was due to Prof Xus contribution that China began to know about Sri Aurobindo. He translated Sri Aurobindos The Life Divine and Integral Yoga into Chinese. He also translated Fifty Upanishads, Bhagwad Gita and Shakuntala into Chinese. As a Chinese philosopher who lived in India for the longest period of time, he became a bridge linking China and India.

Xu thus belongs to the noble lineage of those who introduced the best of India to China. In ancient times, there were those like Kumara Jiva, Hiuen Tsang, Fa Xian and Bodhidharma. In modern times, Prof Tan Yunshan came to India under Tagores influence and became the first director of Cheena Bhavana at Santiniketan. Padma Bhushan Prof Ji Xianlin, who is regarded as Chinas Gurudev, translated the Ramayana into Chinese.

Modi and Xi will no doubt discuss many important contemporary issues that impact our two countries and the world. It is equally important for the two leaders to reaffirm the value of the deep cultural-spiritual ties between India and our great northern neighbour that are over 2,000 years old. Hinduism, Buddhism and Sanskrit form the bedrock of these ties.

Mahabalipuram, the site of magnificent Hindu temples facing the Indian Ocean, itself is an eloquent symbol of India-China exchanges in the past. Pallava King Narasimhavarman II (680-720), who built some of these temples, had sent envoys to China. These temples were called the Seven Pagodas of China by some European explorers, on account of the architectural resemblance between the sacred structures in our two countries. Ships sailed from the shores of Tamil Nadu to China proof that India was very much a part of the ancient maritime silk road, whose modernisation is a component of Xis ambitious Belt and Road project. I have seen telltale exhibits of this in the maritime museum in Chinas port city of Quanzhou. In the citys famous Kaiyuan Buddhist Temple, one can see carved images of Narasimha, Shiva, Krishna and other Hindu deities.

During his first visit to India in 2014, Xi had said, I have had a deep interest in Indian civilisation since I was young. I have read historic books on the Ganges River civilisation, the Vedic culture. I have paid great attention to the life and thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi, hoping to penetrate the development path and psychology of this great nation.

May Mahabalipuram greatly augment the Chinese presidents interest in Indian civilisation in general and in Hinduism in particular. (The author was aide to former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee).

DISCLAIMER : Views expressed above are the author's own.

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Xi Jinping's chance to rediscover Hinduism - Times of India

Sacred Games that is based on Vikram Chandra novel and directed by Anurag Kashyap-Vikramaditya Motwane created an immense buzz for itself right from the inception. The series went to become a massive hit and has been nominated for the Emmy Awards this year. The second season of the series that was launched on August 15 this year also ended on a cliff-hanger. So here are the biggest twists and turns from season two and an overview of season one.

Ganesh Gaitonde dies in the first episode itself but does not forget to warn inspector Sartaj Singh regarding the looming danger. The season runs into two parallel storylines. One storyline is Gaitondes rise in Mumbai and the second timeline is Sartaj Singh and RAW agent AnjaliMathur trying to figure out Gaitondes warning. According to the first timeline, Ganesh Gaitonde meets Kanta Bai and they start creating their own empire. Slowly and steadily more secrets are revealed and the number of deaths also increases.

RAW agent Mathur, Gaitondes right hand Bunty, TV actress Nayanika who wasSartajs informant, Gaitondes love interest Kukoo, and Sartajs junior Katekar all end up being killed in the process. Sartaj got closer to finding out about the secret that Gaitonde was referring to and bumps into Guruji. In the final episode, the link between Ganesh Gaitonde and Sartajs father is revealed. Sartaj also finds about the godman Guruji and his role in regards to the danger looming over the city and people in general.

Also read |Nawazuddin Siddiqui's Top 10 Sacred Games Dialogues

Ganesh Gaitonde starts working for RAW in the second season. In the first season, Sartaj gets to know about his familys connection to Gurujis cult. Now in the second seasons first episode, Sartaj joins the mission to foil the conspiracy and Gaitonde can be seen in an ocean. Trivedi and Yadav Sir pay a visit to Gaitonde. Sartaj Singh also pays a visit to Gurujis ashram with the terrorist-cell investigation underway. In the third episode, Sartaj discovers about Shahid Khans nuclear consignment delivery to India.

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Gaitonde can be also seen working for the RAW in this season and chooses to become friends with Isa. Malcolm who is one of the major links to the conspiracy shoots himself this season. Sartajs visit to Gurujis ashram backfires on him as he gets addicted to Gochi the drug. Gurujis mission of starting Satyug and preaching Balidaan also gains limelight. Two new relationship angles between Gaitonde and Guruji and Sartaj and Batya are explored. The season ends with Sartaj using the pattern for detonating the bomb and it ends with an 11-second cliff-hanger.

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Sacred Games: All the major plot twists from the Emmy nominated series - Republic World - Republic World

NurPhoto via Getty ImagesAn artist dressed as Ram, performs during the play of Ramleela, in Allahabad on October 11, 2018.

How many Rmyanas? Three hundred? Three thousand? At the end of some Rmyanas, a question is sometimes asked: How many Rmyanas have there been? And there are stories that answer the question. Here is one.

One day when Rma was sitting on his throne, his ring fell off. When it touched the earth, it made a hole in the ground and disappeared into it. It was gone. His trusty henchman, Hanumn, was at his feet. Rama said to Hanumn, Look, my ring is lost. Find it for me.

Now Hanumn can enter any hole, no matter how tiny. He had the power to become the smallest of the small and larger than the largest thing. So he took on a tiny form and went down the hole.

He went and went and went and suddenly fell into the netherworld. There were women down there. Look, a tiny monkey! Its fallen from above! Then they caught him and placed him on a platter (thli). The King of Spirits (bht), who lives in the netherworld, likes to eat animals. So Hanumn was sent to him as part of his dinner, along with his vege tables. Hanumn sat on the platter, wondering what to do.

While this was going on in the netherworld, Rma sat on his throne on the earth above. The sage Vasistha and the god Brahm came to see him. They said to Rma, We want to talk privately with you. We dont want anyone to hear what we say or interrupt it. Do we agree?

All right, said Rma, well talk.

Then they said, Lay down a rule. If anyone comes in as we are talking, his head should be cut off.

It will be done, said Rma.

Who would be the most trustworthy person to guard the door? Hanumn had gone down to fetch the ring. Rma trusted no one more than Laksmana, so he asked Laksmana to stand by the door. Dont allow anyone to enter, he ordered.

Heritage Images via Getty ImagesIllustration from the Ramayana by Valmiki, second half of the16th century. Artist: Mir Zayn al-Abidin (active 1570-1580)

Laksmana was standing at the door when the sage Vivmitra appeared and said, I need to see Rma at once. Its urgent. Tell me, where is Rma?

Laksmana said, Dont go in now. He is talking to some people. Its important.

What is there that Rma would hide from me? said Vivmitra. I must go in, right now.

Laksmana said, Ill have to ask his permission before I can let you in.

Go in and ask then.

I cant go in till Rma comes out. Youll have to wait.

If you dont go in and announce my presence, Ill burn the entire kingdom of Ayodhya with a curse, said Vivmitra.

Laksmana thought, IfI go in now, Ill die. But if l dont go, this hot headed man will burn down the kingdom. All the subjects, all things living in it, will die. Its better that I alone should die.

So he went right in.

Rma asked him, Whats the matter? Vivmitrais here.

Send him in.

So Vivmitra went in. The private talk had already come to an end. Brahm and Vasistha had come to see Rma and say to him, Your work in the world of human beings is over. Your incarnation as Rama must now be given up. Leave this body, come up, and rejoin the gods. Thats all they wanted to say.

Laksmana said to Rma, Brother, you should cut off my head.

Rma said, Why We had nothing more to say. Nothing was left. So why should I cut off your head?

Laksmana said. You cant do that. You cant let me off because Im your brother. ThereII be a blot on Rmas name. You didnt spare your wife. You sent her to the jungle. I must be punished. I will leave.

Laksmana was an avatar of esa, the serpent on whom Visnu sleeps. His time was up too. He went directly to the river Saray and disappeared in the flowing waters.

When Laksmana relinquished his body, Rma summoned all his followers, Vibhsana, Sugrva, and others, and arranged for the coronation of his twin sons, Lava and Kua. Then Rma too entered the river Saray.

Hindustan Times via Getty ImagesKhon Ramakien (Masked played Ramayana) Thailand, during International Ramayana festival organised by ICCR at Kamani Auditorium on October 10, 2016, in New Delhi.

All this while, Hanumn was in the netherworld. When he was finally taken to the King of Spirits, he kept repeating the name of Rma. Rma Rma Rma ...

Then the King of Spirits asked, Who are you?

Hanumn.

Hanumn? Why have you come here?

Rmas ring fell into a hole. Ive come to fetch it.

The king looked around and showed him a platter. On it were thousands of rings. They were all Rmas rings. The king brought the platter to Hanumn, set it down, and said, Pick out your Ramas ring and take it.

They were all exactly the same. I dont know which one it is, said Hanumn, shaking his head.

The King of Spirits said, There have been as many Rmas as there are rings on this platter. When you return to earth, you will not find Rma. This incarnation of Rma is now over. Whenever an incarnation of Rma is about to be over, his ring falls down. I collect them and keep them. Now you can go.

So Hanuman left. (1)

This story is usually told to suggest that for every such Rma there is a Rmyana. The number of Rmyanas and the range of their influence in South and Southeast Asia over the past twenty-five hundred years or more are astonishing. Just a list of languages in which the Rama story is found makes one gasp: Annamese, Balinese, Bengali, Cambodian, Chinese, Gujarati, Javanese, Kannada, Kashmiri, Khotanese, Laotian, Malaysian, Marathi, Oriya, Prakrit, Sanskrit, Santali, Sinhalese, Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Tibetan-to say nothing of Western languages. Through the centuries, some of these languages have hosted more than one telling of the Rama story. Sanskrit alone contains some twenty-five or more tellings belonging to various narrative genres (epics, kvyas or ornate poetic compositions, purnas or old mythological stories, and so forth). If we add plays, dance-dramas, and other performances, in both the classical and folk traditions. the number of Rmyanas grows even larger. To these must be added sculpture and bas-reliefs, mask plays, puppet plays and shadows plays, in all the many South and Southeast Asian cultures. Camille Bulcke (1950), a student of the Rmyanas, counted three hundred tellings. Its no wonder that even as long ago as the fourteenth century, Kumravysa, a Kannada poet, chose to write a Mahbhrata, because he heard the cosmic serpent which upholds the earth groaning under the burden of Rmyana poets (tinikidanu phanirya rmyanada kavigala bhradali). In this paper, indebted for its data to numerous previous translators and scholars, I would like to sort out for myself, and I hope for others, how these hundreds of tellings of a story in different cultures, languages, and religious traditions relate to each other: what gets translated, transplanted, transposed.

John S Lander via Getty ImagesKUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA Hanuman at Batu Caves Temple - dedicated to Lord Muruga with ornate shrines.

Obviously, these hundreds of tellings differ from one another. I have come to prefer the world tellings to the usual terms versions or variants because the latter terms can and typically do imply that there is an invariant, an original or Ur-textusually Vlmki s Sanskrit Rmyana, the earliest and most prestigious of them all. But as we shall see, it is not always Vlmkis narrative that is carried from one language to another.

It would be useful to make some distinctions before we begin. The tradition itself distinguishes between the Rma story (rmakath) and texts composed by a specific personVlmki, Kampan, or Krttivsa, for example. Though many of the latter are popularly called Rmyanas (like Kamparmyanam), few texts actually bear the title Rmyana; they are given titles like lrmvatram (The Incarnation of Rma), Rmcaritmnas (The Lake of the Acts of Rama), Ramakien (The Story of Rama) and so on. Their relations to the Rma story as told by Vlmki also vary. This traditional distinction between kath (story) and kvya (poem) parallels the French one between sujet and rcit, or the English one between story and discourse (Chatman 1978). It is also analogous to the distinction between a sentence and a speech act. The story may be the same in two tellings, but the discourse may be vastly different. Even the structure and sequence of events may be the same, but the style, details, tone, and textureand therefore the importmay be vastly different.

Here are two tellings of the same episode, which occur at the same point in the sequence of the narrative. The first is from the first book (Blaknda) of Vlmkis Sanskrit Rmyana; the second from the first canto (Plakntam) of Kampans lrmvatram in Tamil. Both narrate the story of Ahaly.

Seeing Mithila, Janakas whiteand dazzling city, all the sagescried out in praise, Wonderful!How wonderful!

Rghava, sighting on the outskirtsof Mithil an ashram, ancient,unpeopled, and lovely, asked the sage,What is this holy place,

so like an ashram but without a hermit?Master, Id like to hear: whose was it?Hearing Rghavas words, the great sageVivmitra, man of fire,

expert in words answered, Listen,Rghava, Ill tell you whose ashramthis was and how it was cursedby a great man in anger.

It was great Gautamas, this ashramthat reminds you of heaven, worshipped even by the gods. Long ago, with Ahalyhe practised tapas (4) here

for countless years. Once, knowing that Gautama was away, Indra (called Thousand Eyes),acs husband, took on the likenessof the sage, and said to Ahaly:

Men pursuing their desire do not waitfor the proper season, O you whohave a perfect body. Making lovewith you: thats what I want.That waist of yours is lovely.

She knew it was Indra of the Thousand Eyesin the guise of the sage. Yet she,wrongheaded woman, made up her mind,excited, curious about the kingof the gods.

ASSOCIATED PRESSJakarta's National Wayang Secretariat Sena Wangi stage artiste perform the 'Epic of Ramayana' in Chennai, Nov.18, 2007.

And then, her inner being satisfied,she said to the god, Im satisfied, kingof the gods. Go quickly from here.O giver of honour, lover, protectyourself and me.

And Indra smiled and said to Ahaly,Woman of lovely hips, I amvery content. Ill go the way I came.Thus after making love, he came outof the hut made of leaves.

And, O Rma, as he hurried away,nervous about Gautama and flustered,he caught sight of Gautama coming in,the great sage, unassailableby gods and antigods,

empowered by his tapas, still wetwith the water of the riverhed bathed in, blazing like fire,with kua grass and kindlingin his hands.

Seeing him, the king of the gods wasterror-struck, his face drained of colour.The sage, facing Thousand Eyes now dressedas the sage, the one rich in virtueand the other with none,

spoke to him in anger: You took my form,you fool, and did this that should neverbe done. Therefore you will lose your testicles.At once, they fell to the ground, they felleven as the great sage spoke

his words in anger to Thousand Eyes.Having cursed Indra, he then cursedAhaly: You, you will dwell heremany thousands of years, eating the air,without food, rolling in ash,

and burning invisible to all creatures.When Rma, unassailable sonof Daaratha, comes to this terriblewilderness, you will become pure,you woman of no virtue,

you will be cleansed of lust and confusion.Filled then with joy, youll wear againyour form in my presence. And sayingthis to that woman of bad conduct,blazing Gautama abandoned

the ashram, and did his tapason a beautiful Himalayan peak,haunt of celestial singers andperfected beings.

Emasculated Indra thenspoke to the gods led by Agniattended by the sagesand the celestial singers.

Ive only done this work on behalfof the gods, putting great Gautamain a rage, blocking his tapas.He has emasculated me

and rejected her in anger.Through this great outburstof curses, Ive robbed himof his tapas. Therefore,

great gods, sages, and celestial singers,help me, helper of the gods,to regain my testicles. And the gods,led by Agni, listened to Indra

of the Hundred Sacrifices and wentwith the Marut hoststo the divine ancestors, and said,Some time ago, Indra, infatuated,

ravished the sages wifeand was then emasculatedby the sages curse. Indra,king of gods, destroyer of cities,

is now angry with the gods.This ram has testiclesbut great Indra has lost his .So take the rams testicles

and quickly graft them onto Indra.A castrated ram will give yousupreme satisfaction and will bea source of pleasure.

People who offer itwill have endless fruit.You will give them your plenty.Having heard Agnis words,the Ancestors got togetherand ripped off the rams testiclesand applied them then to Indraof the Thousand Eyes.

Since then, the divine Ancestorseat these castrated ramsand Indra has the testiclesof the beast through the powerof great Gautamas tapas.

Come then, Rma, to the ashramof the holy sage and save Ahalywho has the beauty of a goddess.Rghava heard Vivmitras words

and followed him into the ashramwith Laksmana: there he sawAhaly, shining with an inner lightearned through her penances,

blazing yet hidden from the eyesof passersby, even gods and antigods.

(Sastrigal and Sastri 1958, knda 1, sargas 47-8; translated by David Shulman and A.K. Ramanujan)

NurPhoto via Getty ImagesPaintings depicting scenes Hindu epic Ramayana at the Sita Amman Temple (Seeta Amman Temple) in Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka, on 5 Septermber 2017.

They came to many-towered Mithilaand stood outside the fortress.On the towers were many flags.

There, high on an open field,stood a black rockthat was once Ahaly,

the great sages wife who fellbecause she lost her chastity,the mark of marriage in a house. [Verse 547)

Rmas eyes fell on the rock,the dust of his feetwafted on it.

Like one unconscious coming to,cutting through ignorance.changing his dark carcassfor true formas he reaches the Lords feet,

so did she stand aliveformed and colouredagain as she once was. [548]

Rma then asks Vivmitra why this lovely woman had been turned to stone. Vivmitra replies:

Listen. Once Indra,Lord of the Diamond Axe,waited on the absence

of Gautama, a sage all spirit,

meaning to reach outfor the lovely breastof doe-eyed Ahaly, his wife. [551]

Hurt by loves arrows,hurt by the look in her eyesthat pierced him like a spear, Indrawrithed and cast aboutfor stratagems;

one day, overwhelmedand mindless, he isolatedthe sage; and sneaked into the hermitagewearing the exact body of Gautama

whose heart knew no falsehoods. [552]

Sneaking in, he joined Ahaly;coupled, they drank deepof the clear new wineof first-night weddings;and she knew.

Yet unableto put aside what was not hers,she dallied in her joy,but the sage did not tarry,he came back, a very ivawith three eyes in his head. [553]

Gautama, who used no arrowsfrom bows. could use more inescapablepowers of curse and blessing.

When he arrived, Ahaly stood there,stunned, bearing the shame of a deedthat will not end in this endless world.

Indra shook in terror,started to move awayin the likeness of a cat. [554)

Eyes dropping fire, Gautamasaw what was done,and his words flewlike the burning arrowsat your hand:

May you be coveredby the vaginasof a thousand women!In the twinkle of an eyethey came and covered him. [555]

Covered with shame,laughingstock of the world,Indra left.

The sage turnedto his tender wifeand cursed:

O bought woman!May you turn to stone!and she fell at once

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