7th Jan

Completed morning program, but could not go for walk. Mercury went down below 2 degree Celsius. In chamber from 1 to 3 pm. Venita underwent OCT procedure. Her vision in left eye has deteriorated from 6/6 to 6/7.5. Earlier she could see without glasses. Now she needs them all the time to see things properly. Angiography and OCT procedures will be done after 6 weeks. She has to control sugar. It was 240 day before yesterday. It should not be more than 140. She has to go for routine  blood tests each 3 months. It is due now. Neha and Babloo met us in Arbindo market. Akshat spent sometime with Venita in a bookshop. He has Babloo's chldhood's innocent smile.

Retired to sleep 9.45 pm.

News of the day : "Vivekananda a turning point in modern history of India and world?"

"Was Swami Vivekananda a turning point in the modern history of India and the world, and did he trigger a new spiritual wave? This is the point of reflection of a commemorative volume that studies how 30 years after his birth in 1893, the monk had taken the Western world by storm with his ground-breaking ideas on religion and philosophy.

The tome, prepared to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, says that the nationwide celebration of the iconic figure’s birth anniversary this year should become a second turning point, expediting the process of change that he initiated over a century ago.

Several sections of the book, which deals with the monk’s teachings and sayings, show how prescient he was. An article on him and the ideal woman of the future refers to the portion where an observation made by Vivekananda over 100 years ago is to the fore again now. “In India there are two great evils — trampling on women and grinding of the poor... There is no hope for the rise of that family or nation where there is no estimation of women or where they live in sadness,” he wrote.

While the book is divided into five sections, the ones on his personality and his teachings may just as well turn out to be the most avidly read. The book published by the Advaita Ashrama will be available from all outlets of the Ramakrishna Mission at a discount." The Hindu, dt., 7th Jan. on line.