Saturday, November 21, 2015

Do you believe in Infinity

You should never take more than you give

Its the circle of life

---- Lion King

Do you believe in infinity ? That’s an absurd question. How can you believe in a number ? Some people however do. The birth number or the name number or the destiny number is important to them. They go on to think that doing something on these numbers is going to be fruitful. This kind of thinking is harmless except when you get obsessed with it. While numbers come with their own potency, most of their behaviour is probabilistic. There is no sure thing. Our karma supersedes the effect of numbers. All this talk about fate or destiny is superfluous. Your present creates the future. It is just the present that is there. Time and form are both going to get destroyed. In fact space-time is not at all, the way we perceive it. According to relativity, space-time is a relative phenomenon. Consider the present moment. Is the past or the future there when you are focussing in the present. No. Only if you are thinking does the concept of time come to you. Thoughts create the illusion of time and space. There is no space-time outside of yourself.

Imagine that you have a camera. If you take a shot, and if the focus was clear, then you would experience a moment. As you defocus, the shot gets blurred. Note that the reality doesn’t change. Outside of the camera is a reality which is existing, whether you like it or not. However this reality or the nature, does not have any existence, till your camera focuses on it. Till such time, it exists in a quantum state. Our perception of the world can be understood through this analogy. When we are wide awake and involved with the world out there, we are having a narrow focus. Its our Consciousness that is experiencing the world. That is for a moment (as long as our attention span) Consciousness forgets itself and experiences the world through our finite sense perceptions. Thoughts can defocus the lens and make us see a coloured world. As our focus blurs, like say deep sleep or Unity Consciousness, our Consciousness starts becoming aware of itself.

Now the trick. How can Infinity know itself as limited ? Well, the Infinity knows itself to be without end, however to experience each and every act of its own creation, it sacrifices the awareness of being an infinite being and perceives the world through our finite space-form-time. Right now, what we are experiencing is the mind of God. Which is infinite, but has chosen to experience itself through the finite world. And remember to experience something you need 2 things. The subject and the object. The subject is God and the object is also God. However the subject wants to experience itself. The subject surely knows that it is infinite in nature. But the object and this world created has to be experienced by the subject. Hence a finite version of the object is in the context.The only thing that is eternal here is God, rest all are illusory in nature. By illusory I mean that which has existence only in the present. God could simply be (a noun), however he/she chose to be dynamic (a verb) with the desire to know itself.

So why does the world seem to be transitory in nature ? It’s all about limitations. Today you have a computer with 8 GB of RAM, tomorrow you want it be 32 GB and so on. So what happens with this constant thirst for more ? Well, the answer to that is, we are all in search of the ultimate truth – which is God, or in other words Infinity. We human beings with our technology are just sitting on the tip of the iceberg today. There is still so much to be done to make our lives more interesting. We are constantly being aided by God, however we think that one day we will be like God. Powerful. Infinite. Well, here’s the news. That day will never happen, because deep down we are already that. With our inventions and discoveries, we will make progress, but it will never be 100% as we live in a dual world. And till the time that we don’t break out of this clutch of duality, all our progress will be limited. Turning outside is not the solution. Time that we turned inside and set ourselves free.

Much Love,

Guru30

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Is God Data

There are two things – data and the algorithm. While data is collected by sensors (in our case, senses) the algorithm or the instruction is used to ascribe meaning to it. Simply said, the instruction processes the data. And this exactly is the fundamental problem. Duality. While data doesn’t dictate any characteristics, its the algorithm that attributes meaning to data. Life tries to give relevance to data by classifying it. A human brain and the brain of a cockroach is different. Both of them view the data of the world in different ways. To perceive data you require a program. And what is this program, if not data, arranged in a particular pattern. This very pattern as it grows complex, gives birth to life in all it’s complexities. For example: We as human beings have a complex mind. At the cellular level, we have genes which are coded for smooth functioning of our body and at the macroscopic levels, we have the brain with the neurons which processes sensory information received from its surroundings.

We are actually not one life, but a conglomeration of trillions of cells, each one of them alive. Our blood cells, bacteria, viruses and other life forms exist inside each one of us. We are a society of micro organisms, each equipped to deal with life in its own way. This whole process is a verb and not a noun. By that I mean that the whole ecosystem is changing every second. Each one of these cells have a way of sensing its surroundings and use it for its own survival. Cells at one intelligence level sometimes combine together to form tissues, which in turn forms muscles and organs. An organ has a different understanding of its surroundings than say a tissue or a cell. But there are clear cut characteristics of each one of them. Whether you take a cell or an organ – all of them have a job to do.Their goal is to live as much as they can and push the expiry date to its limits. Some of them succeed, while some don’t.

Its remarkable how all these life forms at their individual levels process data. Can non life forms also process data ? Take a piece of wood – does it process any data ? While not in the sense of life, wood burns when fire engulfs it. That is the property of wood. Since its a non life form, it doesn’t really care about its survival like say a cell does. An object has properties or attributes. These are processed by life (the code) in different ways. The kind of processing for different types of data is a natural phenomenon. However the code can change through time or even the data can undergo change. There is no such thing as permanent data or code. Nature and nurture both play their roles in bringing forth actions based on data and instructions. What we need to remember is that data and program can become complex in nature as life evolves. A particular pattern is what gives rise to the algorithm and subsequently to data as the code perceives it.

Now beyond all this is the union of data and code. Where only pure data exists. This is the soul. What is nature (prakriti) is impregnated by purusha (soul) and it appears the same everywhere we look. And that is the real truth :

Tat tvam asi (You are that)

At this level, the awareness of soul and nature all merges into one. This is the feeling of oneness that has been experienced by many a blessed souls. Some of us live life in code and data boundaries in a regular usual manner. But beyond the daily grind is the sea of consciousness (pure data) awaiting for us to merge within its droplets. And even if we are going through a grind in real life, what we need to know is that the water and the experience also belongs to God – now and forever.

Cheers

Guru30

Friday, November 13, 2015

Every road leads to Data

Data by itself is quite useful. Data in context with other data is still more useful. And data that answers our questions is invaluable. When we try to operationalize data, there are 4 things that need to be considered. They are as follows :

  • Data Engineering
  • Data Integration
  • Data Quality
  • Data Security

Data Engineering

This starts from acquisition of data to deployment. Data that is acquired or available has to be made appropriate for the models that would run over them. Data has to be cleansed before it is used. The procedure is called ETL (Extract Transform Load) and it deals with extracting the data that is under consideration and transform it, so that it becomes usable and finally loading the data into the setup.Data Scientists run different models against this setup and finally arrive at some conclusion. Typically this is an insight that is derived by a data analyst. Unfortunately, a deluge of data can easily force the data scientist to spend time cleaning the data than focussing on their area of work. Typically 80% of the time is spent in making the data usable. And then there are many sources of data, each with a different profile.

Data Integration

It’s very essential to understand that data is coming to us from various channels. From company systems, from individual machines and from the external world. All this data has to be accommodated in the setup. Mind you, data can be structured, unstructured or semi structured. To collect all this data and analysing it is not an easy task. The more the data collected, the more number of ETL programs have to be run. Duplication of data should be avoided. For this we have to have MDM (Master Data Management) – a place where the data is unique and addressable by a key value. Consider your customer – In the system, every customer should have only one unique ID based on which all his/her transactional and master data can be pulled up. Data integration involves creation of meta data (data about data)

Data Quality

Quality is solely responsible for getting insights from data that has been gleaned from multiple data sources. Sometimes, quality is associated with veracity or accuracy. Is the data that you are working with fresh or stale ? Is the data duplicated ? Does the data support a single version of the truth ? Is data timely ? Is data getting continuously updated ? How many data sources are being looked into ? Because this will affect the number of ETL processes. Data that is authentic has to be collected. The best place to look for this data is your operational data. If you read a lot of external data from say the internet or journals or some other sources, keep in mind that the data quality may be suspect.And finally how do you merge all this data with others. Bad data is like a rotten apple on an apple tree. The whole tree may get infected. So before you introduce an unknown data source, beware !

Data Security

Is your data safe ? What are the access control mechanisms to ensure safety of your data ? Who can access your data lake and what are the actions that they can take ? For example, do people have delete rights to the data ? Can somebody modify the data ? Who can run ETL jobs ? Structured systems are much less prone to hacking than unstructured ones. You have to be very careful when you set up user, groups etc. with access control to the data. This is not just at the database level , but this applies very much to the analytical tool that somebody is running. You must configure the tool in such a way that people get access to various insights based on what they need. For example – some visualizations may not be available for some users. The idea is to give users access to data that they need rather than throwing the doors open.

‘Trust in God, but bring data to the table’ is an old cliché. Data is very important in today’s world. Data-fying companies like Google have an intrinsic edge on their competition, because they extract value from data. There is 4.4 zettabytes(millions of billions) of information in the world today and only 0.5% of that has been analysed. Imagine the kind of insights that we can have if we were to  analyse just half of it. Insights are not top down, but they come from bottom up. Right from the operations and tactical levels. Co-relations are a very useful concept and we can expect causality also in the near future. As machines become more and more powerful and with AI in software, we will be making leaps of progress towards the final destination. As mounds of experience cover our daily activities, the short cut to God is evident through this one path – the path to Data.

Much wishes

Guru30

Thursday, November 12, 2015

You are the captain of this ship–So get control

The greatest victory is the conquest of your self – Prophet Mohammed

If there is anything in life worth pursuing, it is this. Conquering the self. And what do we mean by that ? We are complex creatures. Like onions. Peels over peels. We are multi-dimensional people. Body, thoughts, emotions, feelings, intellect, ego, soul. We are an all-in-one package. To manage all these parts of ourselves such that we feel happy always, is a task by itself. Only a happy person can spread happiness to others.  Rather than viewing ourselves as a complex thing, there are shortcuts to feeling happy. They are as follows:

1. Practice silence everyday

Its not about the surroundings. There are many people who work in the midst of all that din, still keep themselves peaceful. If you get yourself a silent place where you can be at peace with yourself, consider that as a bonus.

2. Trust that God is with you always

You have to have this deep down awareness that God is everywhere. This thought will make you humble and you will see life in a different light.

3. Always be engaged

Whatever it is that you are doing, at any moment of time, do it with full attention. Put your heart into the work that you are doing. This is what skill is – one point concentration.

4. Do not let your mind wander

If you find that your mind is wandering away, don’t let it. Bring it back to the task at hand. The mind can be very deceptive with the un necessary thoughts it generates. Have control over them.

5. Be careful with your emotions

Whatever may be triggering your emotions, keep them at bay. Understand the basis of your emotions and ask the big question, ‘Why am I feeling this way?’ Your emotion will vanish away.

6. Come from abundance

The world is not a zero sum game. The law of conservation of energy does not apply to the Universe. There is an abundant supply of things for everyone. So do not think shortage – think abundance.

7. Realize that truth is not said, but felt

You may have read a lot, but all words are just metaphors. You experience is what counts. Listen to your intuition and act. True learning happens through action and not thoughts or words.

Life is about the ultimate realization that we are all God’s children and everything inside or outside of us is filled with God’s blessings. Do not get attached to things. Especially that which changes. Be detached. This does not mean that we don’t care. In fact, it means just the opposite. We become compassionate. Grow everyday towards God. Step by Step. There is no hurry. I know that you are in a hurry to cross the lake. And see the shore. Even if you do, it will be in vain. Because nothing in this Universe will give you liberation from your state of mind, but yourself. So like Mahatma Gandhi said ‘Be the change that you wish to see in the world’. Change your perspective and see the world around you change. Cherish the freedom that has been given to you.

If I have freedom in my love

And in my soul I’m free

Angels alone that soar above

Enjoy such liberty.

--- William Blake.

God Bless …

Guru30

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Quantum Physics and the Tao

Quantum Physics is the study of nature as particles and waves. This gives away the paradoxical statement that at any given point of time, both particles and waves constitute basic nature. Particles are in turn made of smaller particles. Waves are probabilistic. The observer plays a huge role in experiments, as everything that the observed displays depends on the observer and the process of observation. Scientists have observed things like the same particle being in two different places simultaneously. The observed, when under scrutiny, behaves like particles and other times, it is just some probabilistic waves. Now this is important, because quantum physics is a science of probabilities. The conclusion, if any, that can be derived from Quantum Physics is that everything is interconnected. No matter how small or how large. Nature is not an external entity that is separate from us. A force field exists subtly everywhere and that gives arise to the four basic forces. viz. Electromagnetic force, Gravitational force, Strong Nuclear force and Weak Nuclear force.

E = mc2

This is Einstein’s greatest contribution to Science. It says that mass and energy are inter-convertible. ‘c’ is the speed of light and according to the Theory of Relativity, no particle can travel faster than the speed of light. However, we have seen that this is no longer true, as Scientists have discovered particles travelling faster than light speed. Another give away of the Theory of Relativity is the concept of space-time. The universe according to this theory has four dimensions. The three of space that we can see and time, they are all warped up. Thus the entities that have mass keep bending the time around them. This according to Einstein is what makes the Earth go around the Sun and not Gravity. The space-time curve around the Sun is bent. Time is relative and so is space, from an observer’s stand point. Classical physics (Newtonian) and Relativity can explain what goes on at macro levels. But at particle level, we need something like Quantum Mechanics to explain the phenomenon.

Schrodinger’s equations and Heisenberg Uncertainty principle are bedrocks of Quantum Physics. Both of them describe the universe in probabilistic terms. This brings us to limitations. For example if we know the position of a particle, we won’t know it’s momentum and vice versa. The biggest finding of Quantum Physics is that everything is interconnected. That is because of the field that pervades everywhere. Sometimes this is also called as the Higgs field. In particle terms, it’s the Higgs-Boson particle, a.k.a God particle.It’s so difficult to detect this field, because it doesn’t seem to have any property. Like the neutrino, it does not have any charge. This field seems to be the Tao, through which other fields appear. Parallel this with Eastern Mysticism.

The Earth is modelled on the Heaven.

The Heaven is modelled on the Tao

The Tao is modelled after itself.

From the Tao, came the duality of Yin and Yang. Or the male and female. Or Shiva and Shakti. We all perceive duality in our minds. Actually, there is only one reality and that is the Tao or the Brahman as they call it. So why do we have duality ? Well, we won’t be able to appreciate day, if night was not there. We wouldn’t be joyful, had we not encountered sadness before. But beyond this seeing, is a natural way of looking at things through the unity that lies below this apparition. First we have to realize it with our mind. Slowly and surely, we have to experience it through meditation. Staying focussed on the Tao, will lead us towards it. Know that there is nothing in this Universe that is not sacred. He / She exists in all things be it small or big, be it living or dead. When we see the world through these eyes, compassion will automatically arise in our heart. And slowly the Universe will start to reveal itself. Till the time that you are not chosen, the duality will continue. So persevere and wait for your turn. When the time is ripe, the doors of the Tao will open to you and you shall for the first time in your life, experience things as they are, rather than as what they should be.

To your experience …

Guru30

Saturday, November 07, 2015

Take me tonight to the river and wash my illusions away

And one day the eyes of your spirit will open

And you shall know all things …

---- Essene Gospel of Peace

Truth is the easiest way to get to God. Right thoughts. Right words. Right action. If you practice this in the light of truth, you shall reach your destination. Surely. Fill the mind with pleasant thoughts. Use your words prudently. Finally, act on your thoughts after making sure that they do not lead to bad karma. Do not be self-centred. Be an observer. There are three kinds of observations.

  • Observe your inner self
  • Observe those around you
  • Observe what is outside of you and others

As we practice all the above three, our perception increases, till such a limit, that we see God everywhere. And that is the sole truth. We came from God’s world with our fists closed and nothing with us. As we grew up, we started hoarding things and called them ours. The irony is that we will go back to God’s land without any of these possessions. With palms wide open.

Aye ghame zindagi, khucch to de mashwara (Oh grieving life, give me some recommendation)

Ek tarf uska ghar,ek taraf maikada. (On one side is his house, and on the other side is the bar)

---- Ghazal, Pankaj Udhas

This sums up the precarious position in which one finds him/herself. Where to go ? On one side you find God’s way and on the other side is the attraction of Maya. (this illusory world). The bar is a metaphor for life where we get drunk (with our desires). Most of us live in the world for enjoyment that it can give us, not knowing that all these enjoyments are transient in nature. The only true enjoyment is in God, which is unchanging. But still we are caught up in the frivolous ways of life. We keep labelling things. This is mine, this is yours. And so on. Once we break out of this selfish clutch, we proceed towards God’s way. A lot of people, do not even bother to realize God and hence die with the music still in their hearts. This is really tragic.

Lord Buddha used to ask people ‘Koi paraga?’, which means anyone for the other shore ? He is one of those holy people who not only attained Nirvana, but brought that capability to people. His four noble truths and eightfold path is the shortcut to Nirvana. When he attained enlightenment under a Bodhi tree, his face was so radiant, that people asked him ‘Are you God ?’. And his reply was ‘No. I’m awake.’ He is one of those great souls who came down from the Buddhic plane to the Physical plane to impart his teachings to the world. Another example of a great soul is Jesus Christ, who descended from the ‘Love plane’ (Heart Chakra) to the physical realm to spread his word of Love to the entire world. There have been many sages who have entered Nirvana, but some of them chose to shed their physical sheaths. They still guide us from a higher plane.

The initial step of awakening is simply left to ourselves. Once we walk two steps on this path, then there are angels/guides/gurus who help us out in progressing towards higher planes. However, the first step is breaking our mental barrier, and that is solely our responsibility. Everyone has a guardian angel. But for the angel to be helping us out, we have to first help ourselves. These guides (devas/ pitris) all descend on Earth, through the rays of the Sun and the Moon. Their only aim is, to help us achieve higher forms of consciousness. To promote us to the next level, till we reach God. (purity) So do not for a moment think that shedding the physical body is the end. We keep living on. The spoken word does not go back to the tongue. But the sunlight that came out of the Sun, shall return back to the Sun. That’s our journey. Like a wave on the ocean shore. To the ocean we shall return back, eventually.

In times to come …

Guru30

Thursday, November 05, 2015

This is the end

This is the end.

Beautiful friend.

This is the end.

My only friend the end.

Of everything that stands the end.

Of safety and surprise the end.

I’ll never look into your eyes again.

(Jim Morrison – The Doors)

People throughout the ages have been concocting stories of doom and death. Prophecies of apocalypse and destruction has been a salient part of scriptures also. Why are we so fascinated with these folklores of doom ? Why do we have a fixation on them ? One reason could be the mindset that we are all mortal beings. We see people falling to death, right, left and centre. All around us. So does this mean that death is the great equalizer ? Not at all. Death is just one chapter of this great book called life. We are all on different chapters, indicating the progress that we made in this life. In times to come, more chapters will be written and a final standing ovation, before we become a yogi (somebody who is united with God) That will be the end of this glorious book which we seem to be desperate to protect.

Inside our bodies, we have cells. These cells keep dividing and finally they become old and are no longer in a position to divide further. This is the end of the cell. Actually scientists and doctors have found that it’s an enzyme called telomerase whose production once stopped leads to the so called ‘cell-death’. We have tails for our cells called telomeres. These structures keep getting shorter with the passage of time, till a situation comes when telomeres are no longer present. When death happens to a person, his physical body leaves first. This is an instruction from the brain to all the cells to notify of the end. The senses then die one by one. Then the breathing stops. That is the end of the pranic body. Have you seen a person who loses different faculties of the body step by step. While he is dying, we say yeah he is becoming one with God. Finally the consciousness also leaves the body. When this happens, the individual is proclaimed dead.

When I say consciousness leaves the body, it simply means that our awareness gets de-focussed from our body. Consciousness is not necessarily within the body, as it can be non local. When we have lost our body and sense, a great sense of peace pervades us. In fact people who have undergone NDE (Near Death Experience) have experienced moments of bliss and also astral projections of our body, watching our dead body and people all around us. Similarly some people recollect their previous birth experience indicating that reincarnation is true. People have a fear of hell in the afterlife. They believe that it’s a place where people atone for their sins. Is that true ? I do not know. Hell according to me is the state of mind. If you are a living being, still depressed, then you are in hell, already.

In the Katha Upanishad, mention is made of person named Nachiketa, who asks the God of Death (Yama) to teach him the secret of Death. When Death asks him to ask of anything else, but this secret, he simply refuses. Yama doesn’t have an option, but to teach him the secret. There is another character – a sage called Shukracharya (teacher of Asuras) who has been taught the secret of Sanjivani (Bringing the dead back to life) by Lord Shiva. The best way to avoid Death is to not notice him when he comes knocking on your door. Pray to God. He will help you out with a solution. With technology our life span is getting extended, as we have more proactive means of identifying diseases before they become fatal. Also with augmented body parts, our life span will increase. But one thing is for sure. We cannot avoid death, as long as we carry this body with us. So welcome it with arms wide open because it’s the door to salvation.

Finally …

Guru30

Wednesday, November 04, 2015

The five questions of life

 

  1. Who am I
  2. What’s my purpose
  3. How can I be happy
  4. What should I do
  5. Where is the end

 

Who am I

Ask yourself this question from your heart, and you will get just one answer – consciousness. You are not your name, address, driving license number or other artefacts, which you uphold so dearly. You are not your body. Also, you are not your thoughts. All these things are destructible. They will not survive forever. In short, you are a spiritual soul undergoing a physical experience. Tat tvam asi. (You are That) Brahman or the Soul is the only thing that is real, rest everything is unreal. So how do you apply it to life ? Well, to start with, be in the awareness that there is no place in this universe where God is naught. See yourself in others or see others in yourself. Know that consciousness is experiencing all of this. Go a little further to help others.Be passionate, empathetic and considerate.

What’s my purpose

When God created you, he put in the same divine purpose into all beings. To realize God. That is the the only purpose. To achieve this there are many ways or paths. Now whichever path you trod, the destination is the one and the same. Some people think that their purpose is to be an artist or a doctor or an engineer etc, Well these are just vocations. Doing the duties without any impurity takes us towards God. The talents are many. So are the ways. But all of them done in a selfless manner takes you closer to God. Live your passion. Keep yourself engaged. Do not get caught up in thinking, because it is unending. Also, it’s a distraction. Your heart knows things that your mind doesn’t. Another word for God is Love. We are all here to experience Love in all ways. Practically speaking, the distance between you and God is a smile.

How can I be happy

Happiness is simply the presence of Love at all times. If you are happy, you radiate positive energy. To be happy, the following tips are useful :

  • Keep smiling
  • Have complete faith in God
  • Remember God always
  • Live passionately
  • Be focussed

There are many other ways that can lead to happiness. But my wish for you is that you find true happiness within yourself. The day you fathomed yourself, is the day when you will be most happy.

What should I do

The answer to that is to live a full life. and by full life, I mean a life filled with awareness. In short, a life full of happiness. Know that whatever path you may choose your goal should be to realize God in that journey. Thus the journey is God and so is the destination. Make it worth experiencing. Well, you will come across your trials and tribulations when you walk the path. This is your learning. You may make mistakes, but you have to learn from them. Daily you have to walk, bit by bit, till you start striding. And then, the striding will give to running and finally a marathon. How you fare in the marathon will all depend on what has been your experience till then. Do not let ideologies taint you. Be yourself.

Where is the end

Well, there is none. Life is like a 400 metre pass the baton, sprint. Once you run your 100 metres, you have to pass on the baton to others who will run the next 100 and so on. Death is just a small experience that happens to us. But by no means, do we die. Life is like a big book of many chapters (newborn, toddler, child, teenager, adult, middle age, old age) Finally it’s time to write your epilogue. But unlike the book, the story does not end here. Whatever has been your realization in this lifetime, you carry it with you, till you are born again, to write a better book. This keeps on continuing, till you find that the book itself was God and so were your chapters. And once you realize this in completeness, you have transcended space time. Now you are left with just your will – which becomes divine will. And you can choose to do whatever is to be done. You have become one with God.

Let truth win …

Guru30

Sunday, November 01, 2015

What do you want to do today

Numbers, shapes and colours are all God given. In the quest for science, we have chanced upon these properties of the divine. Besides these, we can also say that we discovered music and dance also. We are constantly changing these art forms to evolve new methods of inquiry. Or simply put, we carve for new experiences. We are in a participatory universe continually co-creating new possibilities. We are surrounded by potential. Both inside and outside. But in this race to control, we have caused a lot of damage to nature. So much so that, the effects of such rampant thoughtless acts are causing phenomenon like global warming and El Nino. The common thread that underlies human discovery and inventions is the urge to control everything. Not realizing that too much of control, really restricts the freedom. The freedom to be what we aspire to be. The freedom to express ourselves the way we intend to. The freedom to share our experience with others.

One of our inventions – the computer is also created to simply obey instructions. We do not want any independent thinking from machines. Now, with artificial intelligence, we can say that computers have started to think. Yes, deep down, it’s nothing other than an algorithm. Created by humans for consumption by humans. Computers are eerily accurate and boredom or tirelessness do not dawn upon them. They are highly rational. Now we are trying to apply computing to arts. Can a computer ever be able to appreciate a painting or a sunset ? Surely, not the way we do. However objectively speaking, they may be able to emulate a human emotion, without feeling it. Or if God is experiencing the world from the computer’s perspective, we really do not know what kind of experience will it be. Will a computer become aware ? A discipline such as machine learning is advancing the computer towards awareness. But this awareness won’t be anything like human awareness.

Virtual reality is picking up. Facebook bought Oculus Rift, a company that has a virtual reality device that can augment our sense of the world, thus providing us a more fuller experience. Marissa Mayer, the CEO of Yahoo! once told the story of a small boy who had a penny with him and didn’t know what to do with it. Should he share with his brother, should he put it in the piggy bank ? Finally he decides to take a ride on a roller coaster. This story proves that in the days to come, we will be looking for better experiences. And unlike false methods like depending on external stimulants (drugs), to get a high, we are staring at products that can really stimulate us. You know the difference between 3-D, 4-D, 5-D TV. Well, as we go higher, our enjoyment of the environment goes higher. Virtual and Augmented reality are going to steal the show of the future and unleash some real great experiences that we will treasure and share with others.

So what happens to insights through things like predictive analytics. Well, they will be there, but everything will revolve around how the results are presented. You see, we love stories. And the tools which paint a story of insights, is surely going to win in the future. Instead of showing a chart, we will be able to storify the insight and thus making it more relevant and useful. The onus of this will be with the data that we work with. The more data (N=all) the better. But data should be clean and in context of the question being posed by the user. Co-relations are great, but at times, we would want to know the causation also. In the future, this will also be narrated as a tale that gives us meaning. People will produce more and possess less. The activity would be important because doing it right can only guarantee a good outcome. The journey or the way, will be more important than the goal as we make room for God to have as much of variety in the experiences that come across our way.

To that unforgettable moment …

Guru30