Many Lives, Many Masters is the true story of a prominent psychiatrist, his young patient, and the past-life therapy that changed both their lives.
As a traditional psychotherapist, Dr. Brian Weiss, M.D., after graduating from Columbia University and Yale Medical School, spent years studying the human psychology, training himself to think like a scientist and a physician.He was a consertive physician who distrusted anything that could not be proved by scientific evidence. But when he met Catherine, a patient, who came to his office seeking help for her anxiety, panic attacks, and phobias, he was shaken to the core during the therapy sessions that followed. For the first time, he came face-to-face with the concept of reincarnation and rebirth.
After she sought his help, for 18 months, Dr. Weiss used conventional methods of treatment to help Catherine overcome her traumas. When nothing worked, he tried hypnosis, which, he explains, “is an excellent tool to help a patient remember long-forgotten incidents. There is nothing mysterious about it. It is just a state of focused concentration. Under the instruction of a trained hypnotist, the patient’s body relaxes, bringing out memories of long-forgotten traumas that were disrupting their lives.”
During the initial sessions, she regressed back to her early childhood and her mind brought out isolated, deeply-repressed memory fragments. She remembered the time she swallowed water and felt gagged when pushed from a diving board into a pool; also how her father molested her one night when she was three. But what came next, was something that surprised the doctor beyond his imaginations.In a series of hypnotic states, Catherine recalled “past life” memories that still caused her nightmares and attacks of anxiety. The doctor described how she vividly recalled the details of each of her 86 past lives – her name, her family, physical appearance, the landscape, and how she was killed by stabbing, by drowning, or illness. In each lifetime she is making progress in her understanding and at the end of each life she tries to fulfill the ultimate goal of learning from the life and becoming God Like through knowledge. The doctor also hears her remarkable revelations about his family and his dead son.
The Masters also spoke various things which are worth a read. Some excerpts:
1. “Our task is to learn, to become God-like through knowledge… By knowledge we approach God, and then we can rest. Then we come back to teach and help others.”
2. “We must share our knowledge with other people. We all have abilities far beyond what we use. …you should check your vices… if you do not, you carry them over with you to another life… when you decide you are strong enough to master the external problems, then you will no longer have them in your next life.”
3. “Everybody’s path is basically the same. We all must learn certain attitudes while we’re in physical state. …charity, hope, faith, love…we must all know these things and know them well.”
4. “Everything is energy… Humans can only see the outside, but you can go much deeper… To be in physical state is abnormal. When you are in spiritual state that is natural to you. When we are sent back, it’s like being sent back to something we do not know. In the spirit world you have to wait, and then you are renewed. It’s a dimension like the other dimensions…”
5. “The fear of death…that no amount of money or power can neutralize”…remains within us. “But if people knew that life is endless; so we never die; we were never really born, this fear would dissolve.” We have “lived countless times before and would live countless times again…and spirits are around us to help while in physical state and after death, in spiritual state.” We and our deceased loved ones would join these guardian angels.
6. “Everything comes when it must come. A life cannot be rushed… we must accept what comes to us at a given time… life is endless… we just pass through different phases. There is no end. Time is not as we see time, but rather in lessons that are learned.”And as finally Dr. Weiss says " I also feel responsible for my actions, the negative as well as lofty. I know there will be a price to pay. What goes around truly does come around." Surely this book is going to change many lives.
Read on....
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
Three mistakes of my life - Book Review
Chetan Bhagat's books are like whey protein - easy to digest and high in entertaining nutrition.I read "Five Point Someone" as a friend recommended it to me, with strict instructions to complete it in five hours. This one is a similarly interesting five hour read. Re reads though are sufficient to qualify you as dumb or being on bench.
Having been a lifelong resident of Gujarat's apologetic substitute for a capital Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad was the place where I spent the best days of my youth. The earthquake, the subsequent riots, cricket-our national obsession, religion, undercurrents of Hindu nationalism politics are all mentioned with a red hot love story stuffed in and hence the book based in Amdavad's pols not only relates to our lives but also makes for an amazing masala movie type read. The author oscillates between class and crass, but the former does out do the latter eventually. The characters aren't as well formed as they were in the first novel. Also they are always shown munching on Khakhras, making it seem to be Amdavadis' favourite food and inadvertantly hurting the sentiments of the gastronomic pleasure obsessed Amdavad denizens. time and again Amdavad is spelled as Amdavab, making me wonder if i bought the original copy or a pirated one.
Spelling mistakes and khakhras apart the author has touched the core when he writes about the riots. As Ali's father, the zoology professor learnt from the chimps fighting for everything and eventually kissing to make up every time. " Life will have many setbacks. People close to you will hurt you. But you don't break it off. You dont hurt them more. You try to heal it." The message will do well not just for Amdavad, or five crore Gujaratis but for our country and the world.
It seems that Indian publishers have finally realised the importance of low prices to keep the book on top of the best sellers list and avoid piracy - probably after the innate businessman Kishore Biyani priced his book as low as 100 bucks and sold better than Harry Potter week after week. So for this book, the die hard Gujju's verdict is : For a cool 95 bucks, its a steal.
Having been a lifelong resident of Gujarat's apologetic substitute for a capital Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad was the place where I spent the best days of my youth. The earthquake, the subsequent riots, cricket-our national obsession, religion, undercurrents of Hindu nationalism politics are all mentioned with a red hot love story stuffed in and hence the book based in Amdavad's pols not only relates to our lives but also makes for an amazing masala movie type read. The author oscillates between class and crass, but the former does out do the latter eventually. The characters aren't as well formed as they were in the first novel. Also they are always shown munching on Khakhras, making it seem to be Amdavadis' favourite food and inadvertantly hurting the sentiments of the gastronomic pleasure obsessed Amdavad denizens. time and again Amdavad is spelled as Amdavab, making me wonder if i bought the original copy or a pirated one.
Spelling mistakes and khakhras apart the author has touched the core when he writes about the riots. As Ali's father, the zoology professor learnt from the chimps fighting for everything and eventually kissing to make up every time. " Life will have many setbacks. People close to you will hurt you. But you don't break it off. You dont hurt them more. You try to heal it." The message will do well not just for Amdavad, or five crore Gujaratis but for our country and the world.
It seems that Indian publishers have finally realised the importance of low prices to keep the book on top of the best sellers list and avoid piracy - probably after the innate businessman Kishore Biyani priced his book as low as 100 bucks and sold better than Harry Potter week after week. So for this book, the die hard Gujju's verdict is : For a cool 95 bucks, its a steal.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Transfer Vehicle in Pune RTO
Am not much into informative blogging, but I had to write this one as I didn't want anyone else face all I did trying to transfer my vehicle to my name.
These transfer details given below are for used two wheelers when transferring the vehicle which is from the same RTO in which you reside and only for Maharashtra RTO. The documents that are required for the same are as given below:
1. Form 29 - 1 Copy
You can download the pdf version of the Form from http://www.rtopune.info/downloadrtoforms.htm
2. Form 30 - 2 Copies
You can download the pdf version of the Form from http://www.rtopune.info/downloadrtoforms.htm . The Pune RTO website is a gud one with nearly all the information. So if you need more hard facts you can refer it anytime too.
3. Chassis print of forms
The chassis number of your vehicles is the number that is printed on the left side of the vehicle below the steering. (ie. true for bikes atleast). You need to get a trace of this number on a paper using a pencil. Make three chassis traces and stick them to the three forms ie the two copies of Form 30 and one Form 29 that you got from the site of RTO Pune.
4. Valid Vehicle Insurance Papers photocopy
Check the dates. The insurance can be in the name of the previous owner. How to transfer it to your name - most insurance companies will get it done for around 50 bucks. Get it attested.
5. Valid PUC photocopy
Check the PUC dates. Get it attested. A valid PUC is important if you want to transfer vehicle to your name.
6. Address Proof
Electricity Bill, Ration Card, etc will do. If you live on rent, you will need the agreement signed on a 20 Rs Stamp paper with yours and the owners signatures.
7. Original Address Proof
A copy of your driving license will suffice. Get it attested.
8. Purchase Receipt
You can skip the copy of the purchase receipt if you want to. But if the owner has one get it photocopied too. And attest. :-)
9. 1 photograph + thumb impression with notary
I got my photograph on a Affidavit cum Indemnity certificate which I got typed by a local court clerk. I met a Captain Patil who sits in the opposite to Wadia College, Beside Manikchand Ikon building, Near D.P. Road, where there are some other notaries etc too, and got this whole thing typed.
Next wherever you have put in your signature, also put a thumb impression at all those places. And get the thumb impression attested by someone again.
10. After assembling all the documents get all the photocopies attested by a notary, a doctor or anyone you can find.
11. Finally, go and submit the form at Window 22. As far as I remember thats the one.
12. The form will be checked and they will let you know if anything is missing. Once this is done, they will send you to the clerk who handles the file for your series.
13. The series for a vehicle is decided by the alphabet preceding the number of your vehicle. For example if your vehicle number is MH-12 CM 9050, then CM is the series of your vehicle. Every clerk is assigned a fixed number of series.
14. That clerk will register your vehicle for that series and then call you a few days later.
15. Next, you have to go and pay the money for the smart card. Every smart card costs 350 bucks. (The transfer costs 30 and smart card 350. I wonder who is profiting - the RTO or the agency they have outsourced it to? Definitely, some babu would have made tons by awarding the smart card contract to his friend's son.)
16. The smart card will be ready the next time you go. It will be with the clerk who first took the transfer file from you. Carefully check the details on the smart card before you sign that you have received it. Later, you might not be able to change anything.
Finally you have your ownership. The staff at RTO Pune is civil and courteous. They are every bit helpful. Even some agents are ready to provide you all the information you need. The problem with doing the whole task by oneself is that you will have to visit the Pune RTO office a number of times. With the RTO Pune timings being from 10:30 to 6:30, it is always tough for working people like us to manage. This is when the agents can be slightly helpful. The ttal cost of the transfer though, will not increase 500 bucks. Even if you include all the commute from your place to RTO, it will be around 100 bucks more.
Going to an agent or doing it all by yourself is your choice. But do take care to prepare a complete, comprehensive file as I have shown above. If you do that, the rest will not take much time.
Feel free to contact me for any help.
These transfer details given below are for used two wheelers when transferring the vehicle which is from the same RTO in which you reside and only for Maharashtra RTO. The documents that are required for the same are as given below:
1. Form 29 - 1 Copy
You can download the pdf version of the Form from http://www.rtopune.info/downloadrtoforms.htm
2. Form 30 - 2 Copies
You can download the pdf version of the Form from http://www.rtopune.info/downloadrtoforms.htm . The Pune RTO website is a gud one with nearly all the information. So if you need more hard facts you can refer it anytime too.
3. Chassis print of forms
The chassis number of your vehicles is the number that is printed on the left side of the vehicle below the steering. (ie. true for bikes atleast). You need to get a trace of this number on a paper using a pencil. Make three chassis traces and stick them to the three forms ie the two copies of Form 30 and one Form 29 that you got from the site of RTO Pune.
4. Valid Vehicle Insurance Papers photocopy
Check the dates. The insurance can be in the name of the previous owner. How to transfer it to your name - most insurance companies will get it done for around 50 bucks. Get it attested.
5. Valid PUC photocopy
Check the PUC dates. Get it attested. A valid PUC is important if you want to transfer vehicle to your name.
6. Address Proof
Electricity Bill, Ration Card, etc will do. If you live on rent, you will need the agreement signed on a 20 Rs Stamp paper with yours and the owners signatures.
7. Original Address Proof
A copy of your driving license will suffice. Get it attested.
8. Purchase Receipt
You can skip the copy of the purchase receipt if you want to. But if the owner has one get it photocopied too. And attest. :-)
9. 1 photograph + thumb impression with notary
I got my photograph on a Affidavit cum Indemnity certificate which I got typed by a local court clerk. I met a Captain Patil who sits in the opposite to Wadia College, Beside Manikchand Ikon building, Near D.P. Road, where there are some other notaries etc too, and got this whole thing typed.
Next wherever you have put in your signature, also put a thumb impression at all those places. And get the thumb impression attested by someone again.
10. After assembling all the documents get all the photocopies attested by a notary, a doctor or anyone you can find.
11. Finally, go and submit the form at Window 22. As far as I remember thats the one.
12. The form will be checked and they will let you know if anything is missing. Once this is done, they will send you to the clerk who handles the file for your series.
13. The series for a vehicle is decided by the alphabet preceding the number of your vehicle. For example if your vehicle number is MH-12 CM 9050, then CM is the series of your vehicle. Every clerk is assigned a fixed number of series.
14. That clerk will register your vehicle for that series and then call you a few days later.
15. Next, you have to go and pay the money for the smart card. Every smart card costs 350 bucks. (The transfer costs 30 and smart card 350. I wonder who is profiting - the RTO or the agency they have outsourced it to? Definitely, some babu would have made tons by awarding the smart card contract to his friend's son.)
16. The smart card will be ready the next time you go. It will be with the clerk who first took the transfer file from you. Carefully check the details on the smart card before you sign that you have received it. Later, you might not be able to change anything.
Finally you have your ownership. The staff at RTO Pune is civil and courteous. They are every bit helpful. Even some agents are ready to provide you all the information you need. The problem with doing the whole task by oneself is that you will have to visit the Pune RTO office a number of times. With the RTO Pune timings being from 10:30 to 6:30, it is always tough for working people like us to manage. This is when the agents can be slightly helpful. The ttal cost of the transfer though, will not increase 500 bucks. Even if you include all the commute from your place to RTO, it will be around 100 bucks more.
Going to an agent or doing it all by yourself is your choice. But do take care to prepare a complete, comprehensive file as I have shown above. If you do that, the rest will not take much time.
Feel free to contact me for any help.
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