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Saturday, April 25, 2020

Power of Positive Dreaming!!


"Only when you dream, you can do it. "
Dirubhai Ambani.

Dreams possess power. ‘It inspires man like anything. It stretches out one’s internal self-image and maximize one’s performance. It transcends his limitations and enables him to reach out to the so-called ‘impossibles’. It expands his personality to the boundaries of success so that he can enjoy it peacefully.’ He conquered the Everest, flown through the sky or landed in moon only because he dreamt of it.

Man could conquer Everest only because he constantly dreamt of it.

Edmund Hilary as a young man always looked at the picture of Everest and said. “ Everest, You can not grow further, but I will grow beyond your magnificent weights and will conquer you one day”. He always dreamt of it and he realized it.

Man could fly into the skies only because the two sons of a Bishop dreamt of it.

In “ A Saviour of Seasons’, William Barker relates a story of a bishop from the East Coast (of America) who many years ago paid a visit to a small, Midwestern religious college. He stayed at the home of the college president. After dinner the bishop declared that the millennium could not be far off, because just about everything about nature had been discovered and all inventions conceived.

The young college president politely disagreed. When the angered bishop challenged the president to name just one such invention, the president replied he was certain that within fifty years men would be able to fly.“ Nonsense” sputtered the outraged bishop. “ Only angels are intended to fly.”

The bishop’s name was Wright, and he had two boys at home who would prove to have greater vision them their father. Their names were Orville and Wilbus. The father and his sons both lived under the same sky, but they did not all have the same horizon. People who have dreams are capable of changing the world into unimaginable realms.

Man could land on the moon only because a leader inspired the whole nation to dream of it.

On May 25, 1961, U.S President John F. Kennedy delivered an address to a joint session of the U. S congress. He fitted it “ urgent National Needs” and in it he made a breathtaking announcement: the United States would put a man on the noon and return him safely before the decade was out.

It was both a race to beat an opponent and a challenge to achieve an impossible dream. When kenned mode his announcement, there were many in the space program who didn’t believe it was even possible. Yet in nine years later, the dream became a reality.

Dreams possess immense power. The more important thing this: our personal dream of mission is influential in shaping the future of the world. We can touch the life of others with the dreams of our personal dreams. This is the communitarian dimension of dreaming positive.

Martin Luther King proclaimed, “ I have a dream …” His dream was translated into powerful flow of hope and became the freedom for black community.

Mahatma Gandhi had a dream of Self-reliant India. He traveled along the breadth and width of the country and created a personal dream about India. Millions shared his dream and it became freedom for India.

While traveling in a train, a poor man had a dream- to serve the sick and to protect the abandoned children of Kolkotha. She became mother Teresa and a multitude of destitute enjoyed her care.

The world’s most successful school drop out had a dream- to make computer a household necessity of the modern living. He became the richest man on earth- Bill Gates and a virtual global knowledge community emerged as a result.

Such is the power of positive dreams. That is why Jesus initiated his mission with a great positive dream – the Kingdom of God. Besides being positive it was also big.

Monday, March 16, 2015

ഒരമ്മ മകനെഴുതിയ ‍കത്ത്



മകന് അമ്മയുടെ ‍ജന്മദിന സന്ദേശം

ആദ്യത്തെ കണ്‍മണി... അവന്‍
തുടുത്ത കൊഴുത്ത കവിളും
അതിമനോഹരമായ ചെഞ്ചുണ്ടും
ഉള്ള പൊന്നുമോന്‍.

ഒരു മാര്‍ച്ചുമാസത്തിന്‍റെ 18-ാം നാളില്‍ പിറന്നവന്‍...
ശിശു പ്രായത്തിലേ കൃത്യതയുള്ള കുഞ്ഞ്..
എപ്പോഴും ശാന്തത..
ഉറക്കത്തില്‍ പോലും കൃത്യത..
ദൈവത്തിന്‍റെ നേരിട്ടുള്ള ഇടപെടലായിരുന്നു
ആ കുഞ്ഞില്‍...?

അവന്‍ വളര്‍ന്നു
പഠനത്തില്‍ - പ്രാര്‍ത്ഥനയില്‍ - കളിയില്‍
കളിയില്‍ മാത്രം അവന്‍ വഴക്കാളി

വിദ്യാലയത്തില്‍ - പഠനത്തില്‍ ഒന്നാമന്‍..
അവന്‍ കവിതയെഴുതി - കഥയെഴുതി
അഭിനയിച്ചു - പാട്ടുപാടി - ഒന്നാന്തരം പ്രസംഗകന്‍
സമ്മാനങ്ങള്‍ വാരിക്കൂട്ടിയ മിടുമിടുക്കന്‍
ആരേയും തോല്പിക്കുന്ന ബാലന്‍

അപ്പോഴും അവന്‍...
തലയെടുപ്പില്ലാത്ത.... ശാന്തനായ...
എളിമയും ... വിനയവും...
അനുസരണയും ഉള്ള കുട്ടി..

ഒരു നാള്‍ അവന്‍ ആഗ്രഹിച്ചു
വൈദീകനാകാന്‍...
പിന്നെ 13 വ൪ഷങ്ങള്‍ പിന്നിടുന്പോള്‍
അവന്‍ ലക്ഷ്യപ്രാപ്തിക്കായി കഠിനതപം ചെയ്യുന്ന
യുവാവായി മാറിയിരുന്നു.

അങ്ങനെ വൈദീകനെന്ന മഹാകിരീടം അണിഞ്ഞു.

"അങ്ങയുടെ സിംഹാസനത്തില്‍ നിന്ന് എനിക്ക് ജ്ഞാനം നല്‍കണമേ" [ജ്ഞാനം 9:4]  അതവന്‍റെ ലക്ഷ്യമായിരുന്നു

അവന്‍റെ കിരീടത്തില്‍ പല നക്ഷത്രങ്ങള്‍...
പതിയാന്‍ തുടങ്ങിയിരുന്നു.

B Tech - M. Tech - Phd in Super Computing -  എട്ടുവര്‍ഷത്തെ വിദേശപഠനം.

"സ്വാശ്രയശീലനും അധ്വാനപ്രിയനും 
ജീവിതം മധുരമാണ്" [പ്രഭാ. 40:17]

ഏക സഹോദരന്‍റെ അകാലത്തിലുള്ള വേര്‍പാട്
അത് കേട്ടും കണ്ടും നെഞ്ചിലമര്‍ന്ന വേദന - !
ഇണപ്രാവുകളെപ്പോലെയായിരുന്ന അനുജന്‍റെ
അന്ത്യചടങ്ങുകള്‍ നടത്തിയപ്പോഴും
നെഞ്ചിലമര്‍ന്ന വേദന താങ്ങിയപ്പോഴും..... അവന്‍.....
Be Positive [റോമ. 8:26]

അക്ഷരാര്‍ത്ഥത്തില്‍ തകര്‍ന്ന ഹൃദയവുമായ്
അമ്മ നീങ്ങുന്പോള്‍
ശക്തമായ താങ്ങായി മകന്‍...
അമ്മേ................. Be Positive.
മകന്‍റെ പ്രചോദനം
'Be Positive'

മകനെ: നീ വന്മരത്തിന്‍ തണല്‍പോലെ...
ജനനിയെ പൊതിയുന്പോള്‍...
ആനന്ദാശ്രു പൊഴിയുകയാണ്....
അതു നിന്‍റെജീവിതത്തില്‍ മുഴുവന്‍ ....
തേന്‍ തുള്ളിയായ് പെയ്തിറങ്ങട്ടെ..
ലോകനേട്ടങ്ങളെല്ലാം
ദൈവം തരുന്ന
തിളങ്ങുന്ന മുത്തുകളായും
ക്ലേശങ്ങളെല്ലാം 
അനുഗ്രഹദായകമാണെന്നും -- കരുതുക....!
ഉണ്ടാകട്ടെ നൂറുജന്മദിനങ്ങള്‍ ! ! !

ആനന്ദത്തില്‍ പൊതിഞ്ഞ
ആത്മസംതൃപ്തിയില്‍ നിറഞ്ഞ...
ആയിരമായിരം ജന്മദിനാശംസകള്‍...

അമ്മ നേരുന്നു.. ഒപ്പം Positive Energyയും
            - Be Positive -

റവ. ഫാ. ഡോ.ജയ്സണ്‍ മുളേരിക്കല്‍ C. M. I. യ്ക്ക്;
                                                        
സ്വന്തം മമ്മി
ഫിലോമിന പോള്‍

മഞ്ഞുമ്മല്‍
12.03.2015




                                                 

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

We too Need a Supercomputer


Even though our researchers are doing wonders around the world, they fail to produce the same research output in India. This is partially due to the fact that we don’t have enough state-of-the-art technologies and facilities for such world-class researchers. The progress and productivity of our native research endeavors will be improved if our researchers have access to a supercomputer.

FASTER WORK, MULTIPLE REWARDS 


While working as a Computational Scientist in New Zealand, I had the opportunity to work with Chris Jewel, a young researcher at Massey University. His research was to find out the reasons of some commonly noted cattle epidemics. Milk is to New Zealand what petroleum is to the Gulf countries. A country which gets more rainfall than Kerala, and which is more verdant, New Zealand’s economy is closely linked to milk production. However, epidemics in cattle are a common occurrence. Chris Jewel was working on the cattle movements and how the rotation of pastures may influence the spread of  cattle epidemics. For compiling and analyzing his vast research data of millions of cattle movement, Chris Jewel had to rely on a supercomputer set up by the New Zealand government at the University of Auckland.

Every rainy season in Kerala brings in its wake various epidemics like the dengue fever, rat fever and monkey fever. We haven’t found out the reasons let alone the solutions to such conditions yet. Our researchers are not in a position to address these issues without proper research capabilities, which may very well include the availability of a supercomputer. The calculations that take months on the existing systems may require mere seconds on a supercomputer. Imagine the rate at which preventive and eradication measures can be implemented if we had the aid of a supercomputer.

THE LIGHTNING SPEED OF SUPERCOMPUTERS


A supercomputer is a network of computers, which can process multiple tasks simultaneously and at a higher speed. A huge building may be required to house a supercomputer. A researcher may be able to access the supercomputer from his laptop or his mobile through the Internet.

At present, the world’s fastest supercomputer is the Tianhe 2 developed by the National University of Defense Technology, Changsha. Tianhe 2 has a speed of 32 petaFLOPS. 33 lakh crores (equivalent to 15 zeros after 30) calculations can be done per second by this machine. In the top 500 list of supercomputers in the world, India has got 12 in it. The supercomputer at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Trivandrum occupies the 279th position in the world. Since this supercomputer handles defense related information, it would not be advisable to make it available for other research purposes. This leads us to consider the question of setting up a supercomputer for other purposes in Kerala. The benefits it is bound to reap in the research sector are beyond our imagination.

EMULATING THE KIWI MODEL


New Zealand is a country with a population size of Ernakulam district of Kerala. In New Zealand, the needs of the higher education sector and research agencies are met by the supercomputer set up by the government through an agency called New Zealand eSceince Infrastructure. We can implement a similar model in Kerala. This is because a single agency or an organization do not have research depth to have a supercomputer. Moreover, the expenditure to set up one will not be affordable for a single agency or organization. The supercomputer set up iat VSSC Trivandrum cost around 15 crores. The government could utilize the taxes from professional colleges to set up a supercomputer as a value added service to the people. It could also collaborate with institutions and agencies willing to partner with this venture. The Central Government’s declaration to set up a network of 70 medium-range supercomputers within the next five years provides a condusive environment for such an endeavor.

With the right planning and implementation, a supercomputer can be set up within a year and a half. Proficient researchers from the higher education and research sectors could be given the opportunity to utilize this supercomputer for free. IT parks, entrepreneurs, and industries could be given access to the same at fixed fees. Thereby we will make history as the first state in India to have its own supercomputer.

-----------------------
An independent translation of my (Malayalam) article in Malayala Manorama Daily (Sept 6, 2014) by Mrs Sonia Paul, Rajagiri School of Engineering and Technology, Kochi.

Link to original article: http://goo.gl/t4G9QD



Tuesday, March 11, 2014

A Struggle at the Heart of India



An exceptional struggle is going at the heart of India at the moment. I am not just talking about the anti-graft movement epitomized by Arvind Kejriwal and his political antics, but which very well be a part of it. It is the struggle of the generation-X to launch itself to India’s center stage whether it is politics, cricket, business, film or any other walk of life. It seems that they are already there but not yet!

In short, the baby-boomers still hold power in India and the generation-X is yet to make its presence even though India is tipped to become the world’s youngest country with 64 per cent of its population in the working age group by 2020. (The baby-boomers refer to people born after World War II (1945) and generation-X refers to people born after 1970s). This transitional pain is aggravated in India, just like in any other Asian country, because of the traditional cultural values that draw apparent links between seniority and productivity, which may not be true all the time.

This struggle is exemplified in Indian politics where we have Narendra Modi on one side and Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal on the other side, as prime ministerial aspirants.

The Struggle

The baby-boomers – the post freedom generation of India – have used their opportunities well and turned India into what we see today – a potential superpower that could take on the world. They worked with less, maneuvered intelligently, reconciled dichotomies and often created complex ways of wealth and prosperity creation tools. They inherited a legacy from the freedom fighters and produced Ambanis and Adanis along with shred but effective politicians.

On the other hand, the generation-X grew up in the shadow of the security and prosperity created by the baby-boomers. They had enough and were never exposed to unhealthy competitions to the extent their predecessors were exposed to.

But now when they want to take up the mantle from their predecessors, the generation-X faces some stark choices and hard decisions. This dilemma is epitomized in Rahul Gandhi, where he has inherited a legacy institution – Indian National Congress –but with its huge baggage of recent history of corruption and mismanagement. The organizational elements in his party still wanted to hold on to what they are used to. But Rahul can easily see that this will not play well with the generation-X and the subsequent generations. If Rahul really wanted to make his organization relevant and competitive, he needs to change it for good. When Rahul says that he was working to strengthen his party for the past few years, he means this transition, for sure.

 The aspirations of the generation-X have expressed itself in the unprecedented anti-graft movements and anti-rape movements in Delhi and elsewhere in India. As far as I can see, the generation-X in India dreams of a new world – they deliberately wanted to part with the past. They like to enjoy the benefits created by the baby-boomers, but wanted to move away from the perceived negativities associated with its prosperity generation tactics.

At the moment, Arvind Kejariwal occupies this free space in Indian politics. How good the intentions of Rahul Gandhi are, it is almost impossible for him to change the ways of his party in a short time, without the support of his senior organizational members. Arvind Kejariwal presents a clear alternative and an easy way to part with old ways for the generation-X. It seems to be appealing and practical, but how deeply he can dig is yet to be seen. Interestingly Rahul and Arvind are in their early 40s.

And still there is the other formidable force – the might of the baby-boomers – represented by Narendra Modi, who presents the vision of prosperity and stability, but by mostly holding on to old ways. That is a tried and tested model and still appealing to masses.

The Choice

The question is, what will India choose, especially its younger generations, for now and in the future?
  • Whether they will choose to keep the old ways of winning at the cost of gravitating towards conservative values?
  • Whether they will decide to part with the past to create a new sky and new earth at the cost of relative instability and experimentation?
  • Whether they will be given a chance to renew their legacy institutions to a winnable position, with the support of their senior mentors in their organizations?
  • Whether they will go for an all-out reversal of the system, if not now, later, if they feel that they are left out of options?

Those choices will determine the shape and social fabric of India for the foreseeable future that I can see.

It will be interesting to watch the coming elections.


Monday, July 8, 2013

www.theologyofinternet.com: Concept Paper


1. What
Theologyofinternet.com is a collaborative e-Journal intended to develop, articulate and advance a Theology of Internet for the church.

2. Why
Pope John Paul II championed “Theology of Body”, which was the need of the time. This initiative identifies that the “Theology of Internet” is the need of the present and the future. Pope Benedict XVI identified social networks as the new ‘agora’ and therefore new spaces for evangelization in his 2013 Message for the 47th World Communications Day. He wrote:

“It falls, in particular, to young people, who have an almost spontaneous affinity for the new means of communication, to take on the responsibility for the evangelization of this ‘digital continent”.

Whenever we discovered a continent in the past, the church always sent its missionaries. The role of those missionaries was to risk formidable challenges to spread the Good News of Jesus, with great courage and faith. In the same way, missionaries are needed to venture into this newly discovered ‘continent’ of the digital environment and proclaim the Good News.

Success and sustainability of this new missionary movement will depend upon the strength of the theological foundations on which this movement is built. The collaborative blog - theologyofinternet.com – is intended to provide a platform to articulate and develop this new theology of Internet, which will be an important part of the New Evangelization efforts of the church.

3. How
The collaborative  e-Journal -  theologyofinternet.com - will showcase peer-reviewed articles on digital technologies, Internet, social networking, etc and its relevance to the Church and evangelization.

·      Patrons – Cardinals of the Church
Cardinal Baselios Mar Cleemis, Major Archbishop of Syro-Malankara Church (confirmed)
Cardinal George Pell, Archdiocese of Sydney (proposed).
Cardinal George Alanchery, Major Archbishop of Syro-Malabar Church (proposed).
·      Chief Advisor –
Bishop Emeritus Gratian Mundadan CMI (confirmed).
·      Advisors – Bishops of the Church, other eminent personalities
Bishop Christopher Prowse, Diocese of Sale, AUS (proposed).
Bishop Bosco Puthur, Curia Bishop, Syro-Malabar Church (confirmed).
Fr Dr Thomas Aykkara CMI, Rector, CMI Major Seminary, Bangalore (confirmed).
Fr Tony Percy, Rector, Good Shepherd Seminary, Sydney (proposed).
Fr Dr Antony Kariyil, Director, Rajagiri School of Engineering and Technology, Kochi (confirmed).
·      Chief Editor – Fr Dr Jaison Mulerikkal CMI
·      Editors – Scholars in the field.
  Fr Dr Kurian Kachapilly CMI, Asso. Director, Research Center, Christ University, Bangalore (confirmed).
  Fr Dr Jose Kuriedath CMI, Sociology Expert, CMI General Councillor (confirmed).
·      Reviewers – Experts in the field
 Fr Dr John Armstrong, Parish Priest, South Tuggeranong, ACT, Australia (confirmed).
 Fr Benny Nalkara, Lecturer, Dept of Theology, DVK, Bangalore (confirmed).
Fr Roy Palatty, PhD student, Catholic University, Louvain (confirmed).
Fr Dr Nandikkara Jose CMI, Dept of Philosophy, DVK, Bangalore (confirmed).
 Fr Rubin Thottupuram, Asst. Professor, Amal Jyothi Engineering College, Kerala (confirmed).
Fr Richard M Healey, Asso. Pastor, Camden, NSW, AUS (confirmed).
·      Sub Editors – Those who ensure adherence to e-Journal's bibliographic and textual style. Also proof readers.

  MGL Sisters, Australia (proposed).
  Ms Sneha Antony, Brisbane, AUS (confirmed).
Ms Beth Doherty, ACT, Australia (confirmed).
Fr James Thayil, Rajkot, India (confirmed).
·      Contributors – Those who publish articles.
·      Profile Manager – Brother Jeff Shawn CMI, Dharmaram College, Bangalore (confirmed).
·      Tech Team –
  Mr Jisso Jose, Managing Director & Co-Founder at Totient Business Solutions, Bangalore (confirmed).
 Mr Jobin Jose, Technical Staff, Rajagiri School of Engineering and Technology, Kochi (confirmed).
·      Technology Support - Rajagiri School of Engineering and Technology, Kochi (www.rajagiritech.ac.in).

e-Journal will allow contributors/authors to submit articles and users to access them and search by keywords or authors. It will provide permalinks to each article to uniquely refer it and access it for reference purposes.

Theologyofinternet.com will function under the auspice of its patrons. The chief editor will appoint an editorial board by invitation, in consultation with the chief advisory. The chief editor or editors shall review articles or delegate them to reviewers. The articles are scrutinized for format and proofread by sub-editors. After review process, the article is published in the blog.

Friday, March 15, 2013

On the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Fr Constantine


Last Sunday, I had a pleasant surprise to receive a call from Fr Constantine. He was very relaxed and graceful as he is about to join the Anglo-Catholic diocese of Ballarat. He conveyed his kind regards to all at Corpus Christi. In chatting with him, he incidentally made a comment that he went to Ballarat Cathedral for reconciliation the previous week before he joined the Anglican diocese and met an Indian priest, who was a CMI. The first part of that comment really made me happy, to see how he valued the merits of reconciliation – the sacrament that has got a very special relevance in our lives, especially during this Lenten season. The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us that the “individual and integral confession of grave sins followed by absolution remains the only ordinary means of reconciliation with God and with the Church” (Article 1497). Let us receive this sacrament (first or second rite) this season to merit the necessary grace to overcome our limitations and to reconcile with God and with the Church. Let us also place Fr Constantine in our prayers.

This is also a season of farewells – let us pray for His Beatitude Benedict XVI, the “Pontiff Emeritus” as he boldly paves way to new leadership in the Church. This may be the last time I will write in this column before I leave to India after Easter. Thank you so much Corpus Christi for all that you have been to me for the past two years. It’s a great parish and you all will continue to remain in my prayers (and in Facebook!).

Fr Jaison Mulerikkal CMI

* Published on 'Out of Silence column' on  Corpus Christi Parish Bulletin on 03-03-13

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Theology of Internet


In his pastoral letter on 2013 World Communications Day, Pope Benedict XVI identifies social networks as the new “agora” and therefore new spaces for evangelization[1]. Reflecting on this letter, Bishop Anthony Fisher says that Pope discovers a new continent called “digital environment”. He commented on his Facebook page:

B16 just called social media "new spaces for evangelisation" and the digital environment "a ‘continent’ where the Church must be present and where believers must share with others the deepest source of their joy and hope, Jesus Christ.[2]"  

The Internet is the landscape of this new continent; the digital networks are its super highways and the digital content, its resources. Netizens are its citizens and its new “agoras” – the social networks – have turned in to super cities or nations. Facebook had 1.06 billion monthly active users (MAU) as of December 31, 2012[3] making it the 3rd largest nation on earth after China and India, and holds more information about its netizens than any nation state about its citizens. This new world is definitely a continent.
 
Whenever we discovered a continent in the past, the Church always sent its missionaries. The mission of those missionaries was to venture into those unseen lands to risk formidable challenges to spread the good news of Jesus, with great courage and faith. This will be true to this newly “discovered” continent of “digital environment”. There is a need for missionaries and missionary expeditions into this new continent.

What should be the style of mission work in this new landscape? We can only look up to Jesus, as we always do, in search of an answer. So the question can be rephrased as “What would Jesus do in this new holy land? ” 

He would have gone to Capernaum. Capernaum was the “agora”, Jesus chose to be in. There was a special significance and intent in choosing Capernaum as the major field of Jesus’ public ministry where he spent at least 18 months – half of his public ministry after his expulsion from his hometown - Nazerath. It was almost premeditated, and of course according to the Divine plan. It was THE major connecting town between Galilee and Jerusalem - the Jericho Route which the Jews preferred to avoid traveling through Samaria. Every person who travels between Galilee and Jerusalem had to touch this town.  It had the largest synagogue in the region and a Roman military post. Jesus chose to heal the servant of the synagogue official and the daughter of the centurion at the military post. He chose to stay at one of the largest houses in that vibrant city – of that of Peter’s mother-in-law. Jesus would have imagined that the connectivity of Capernaum will simply ensure the proliferation of His good news to reach up to the ends of the world - to Jerusalem, to Rome and beyond. The important thing is to be at the crossroads and to saw the good news, just like the sawer sawing the mustard seed leaving the Divine Providence to do the nurturing (Mt 13/31-32).

Jesus’ Capernaum strategy shall be the style of missionaries into this new networked continent of digital environment. The important thing is to be there at the crossroads, doing the right things, influencing its immediate and accessible surroundings. The rest will be taken care of by the Divine Providence, as happened throughout the history in commissioning new missions for every newly “discovered” continents and islands.

This could also be the new Areopagy of St Paul, where we need to re-interpret the “Unknown Gods” remain latent in the information explosion and to manifest the real goodness to the netizens of this continent. As always in the past, the cloud of Elijah – Mother Mary - shall guide our ways to manoeuvre carefully through these uncharted territories to produce a fertile land for the kingdom of God.  



[2] Bishop Anthony Fisher (Parramatta Diocese, Sydney, Australia) on his Facebook wall on 25th January.


PS: This is the first draft attempt, in producing a fully fledged "Theology of Internet" and related "Theology of Social Networking" and "Theology of Computing"

Jaison Mulerikkal CMI
February 2013