The MANTRA is a formulated realisation in words of a Rishi's spiritual eminence. What is spiritually mature in our inner being, finding verbal expression is a mantra. A mantra will serve fully one who has discovered it. To others, such as disciples who accept him as guru, the mantra has a great use value. A physicist uses a telescope or a chemist uses a microscope. They may not know the construction of the tool they ably use with scientific relish. Disciples use mantras with felicity.

A young boy wondered how Gandhiji was known all over India in those days when there was no TV or radio. Even the newspapers reached only a small portion of people in the town. How could everyone in the remote villages know of Mahatma Gandhiji? It is an instinct of man to know, to continue to know. The word NEWS comes from the root ‘new', meaning ‘novel'. Man wants to know the new, the novel. It is in line with the constant growth his body is capable of. The Mind's growth is seen in the desire to know the new.

A French professor writing about America in 1927 says there is no holding back an American from unceasing hard toil when he knows the reward is great. The Americans want to earn more by working longer hours and putting in higher efficiency. Along with that, he says something which came to me as a revelation. The European wants to earn more by giving less work. Until I read that, it was a non-European phenomenon for me. People dream, some daydream. The exceptional among them expect their dreams as rewards in life, by virtue of their dreaming.

Robert McNamara was President of the World Bank twice. Prior to that, he was the Defence Secretary in Kennedy's Cabinet. He was drafted into these as he was highly efficient. When he addressed a team of experts, he went to the blackboard and wrote a series of numbers. Before he started his explanation, the team was convinced. The numbers were convincing in themselves. Wherever he was, he was a byword for efficiency. Efficiency is satisfying and more fulfilling than the career. His varied career was not one that could fill him with overflowing happiness.

Emotions are rich. Their reason is flawless, unerring. Some people speak of their emotional intuition which never fails. Still, Mind is superior to the emotions, but has no unfailing perception of men or events. In a group of emotional men, one who thinks, who is clear-headed, will be suspect. He will never be in favour. This is because emotions are understandable by others, while thought or ideas are not.

Education in Athens during her heydays was confined to poetry and philosophy. Now it has branched into dozens of subjects. Demography and statistics came of age as subjects in the pre-war days. When neurology gained importance, a young man from Madras desired to be qualified in it abroad. There was unanimous disapproval and stiff opposition. The young aspirant survived it to become a nationally known neuro-surgeon in his ripe old age. These are days of the life sciences.

If one can go to a source several times, it becomes a resource. One can do so for the same purpose or different purposes. That source which lends itself to be of use again and again for different purposes is considered a multiple resource. Minds that are so, are described as prolific. Sand is one such resource when apart from being a raw material for house building and glass making, it lends itself to be used for making chips. Electricity was found useful for hundreds and thousands of purposes. Coal proved to be so earlier.

Revolutions have changed the face of nations beyond recognition. Revolutions belong to the realm of politics. They arise even in the field of religion. Technology too is capable of bringing about revolutions. Revolutions are periods of transitions. Such periods offer the lowest member of the society the chance to rise to the highest status.

Phraseology changes with time. Backward nations have become underdeveloped nations. Later they are upgraded into developing countries or the third World. So, Blacks have come to stay. After the war, the newly emancipated nations have shed their colonial versions and acquired names appropriate to their new status. Many towns have found the charm of going back to an earlier name. It is a great good symptom of coming into one's own.  It is an indication that these nations do aspire to reach a greatness due to them. History has its lessons for us.

Acts repeating is a perennial theme, ever present all around us. Mostly we are unaware of the acts repeating in one form or another. Occasionally it strikes us in our life, especially the second time. An arrest warrant was passed against someone. With great effort, he managed to get a stay order. It then came to his memory that during his college days an arrest warrant  had been passed. It was held as a threat and was not executed.