The Midnight/Shot, a Pocket-Sized Infrared Camera

Testing the Goods: 

The Midnight/Shot offers one key feature--infrared photos and videos--that you won't find on your average point-and-shoot, or even your average DSLR

By Dan Bracaglia and Dan Nosowitz

Tree Shot at Night Foliage quickly became our favorite subject to shoot with the Midnight/Shot Dan Bracaglia

View Photo Gallery

This may sound like a high-school science lesson, but to understand how the Midnight/Shot IR camera takes its eerie and beautiful shots, you must first understand what exactly infrared light is. Stay with us. (Please.) Because that understanding is key to appreciating that this little $150 camera can take photos most $3,000 DSLRs can't.

What's New

So, the lesson: The longest wavelength of light that is visible to the naked human eye is red. Infrared light is essentially electromagnetic radiation that is at a wavelength slightly longer than that of visible light. That slightly longer wavelength makes infrared light invisible to the naked eye.

All digital cameras, including the Midnight/Shot, contain a filter, generally located in front of the sensor, that blocks out all infrared light—without this filter, digital images would have a pink fuzz around the edges, since digital sensors are very sensitive to IR and the different wavelength would cause the lens to focus at a different point. However, in its "IR mode," the Midnight/Shot removes that infrared filter from the light path. It avoids the pink fuzz problem by using exclusively black and white for IR photos, and by being a relatively low-resolution camera to begin with. (This version of IR is different than the "heat map" photos, like this cup of coffee, that we sometimes associate with IR photography. Those are actually taken with thermographic cameras--heat emits IR, yes, but in a longer wavelength than the one the Midnight/Shot sees.)

Science lesson over (and it wasn’t so bad, right?).

So why is infrared photography so cool? It allows us to see a world that is ordinarily completely invisible to us. Plus, it makes photos look really unusual and cool--contrast is dialed way up, with trees often seeming snow-white and the sky looking pitch-black, for example. IR photography isn’t new--in the old days of infrared photography, special IR-sensitive films were used. Unfortunately, the handling and processing of those films, in addition to the physical price of them, made IR photography out of reach for most photographers. But within recent years, many photographers have begun experimenting with the removal of that IR filter located in their digital cameras. In fact, there are quite a few services out there that will convert your camera for you (LifePixel being one of the largest). But as this conversion can cost nearly $500, it’s nowhere near worth it for someone who just wants to experiment with this very unusual branch of photography.

Enter the $150 Midnight/Shot, a tiny, solid-feeling (if plasticky) compact camera, boasting a roomy 3-inch LCD, a 5MP CMOS sensor and the ability to shoot authentic infrared images--you can even shoot infrared video at 640x480p--all for $150. To trigger the IR mode, you actually twist a little grooved ring around the lens to physically move the IR filter away from the lens.

The main difference between the Midnight/Shot IR camera and an expensive DSLR converted for IR photography is that the DSLR captures only infrared light, thanks to the filter placed in front of the sensor that blocks nearly all wavelengths except for the infrared ones. The Midnight/Shot, on the other hand, allows for all spectrums of light to flood the sensor--not just infrared, but also all visible light. Without the insertion of an additional filter to block out the other wavelengths, the Midnight/Shot is no different than a point and shoot with a busted IR-blocking filter—essentially a full-spectrum camera.

Check out some sample shots from the Midnight/Shot camera.

What's Good

We brought the Midnight/Shot along with us to a nighttime concert in Central Park to see how it'd fare. The results were, to our surprise, pretty impressive. The instructions do state that at night, the subject must be within nine feet of the camera. That's because at night, with the absence of light (including infrared light), you'll need to use the camera's little IR flashlight, located just above the lens, to provide your own (invisible to the naked eye) IR light. Without the flashlight, taking photos in a dark room would result in a black picture. In the daytime, you don't have to worry about that, but we did end up with several completely dark images, due to our negligence in reading the instructions. The flashlight generally does a better, or at least more dramatic, job of exploiting the "IR look" of photos than just using regular sunlight.

Still, we came home with a few winners--all in black-and-white, since the camera only shoots infrared in monochrome (it shoots in color when not in IR mode). You will notice that the IR-effect tends to give foliage and anything with chlorophyll an eerie white glow. This is because chlorophyll is known to reflect IR light back more than just about any other surface, which means any kind of greenery is going to give a particularly strong image. The IR effect is very particular--it looks almost like some sort of digital aftereffect, except even more unearthly. It's not going to be ideal in every situation, but we did find it to be a very fun toy to play around with--"how's that going to look in IR? How about that?"

However, the true genius of this inexpensive camera is revealed when the lights are turned off. Thanks to the IR flashlight located above the lens, the Midnight/Shot is able to see in complete darkness—something an expensive IR-converted DSLR can’t do. While the manufacturer claims that the beam is capable of illuminating objects shrouded in blackness up to eight feet away, our tests showed the beam's limit is more like six feet. For the best results, we recommend being no more than 3 feet away from your subject. Here's what we mean:

Night Vision With the Midnight/Shot:  Dan Bracaglia

The camera itself feels sort of like a cheap-ish knockoff of the Canon S95—pretty much the top compact camera in the game right now—which means it’s a thin, minimalistic black design, very businesslike, with no more buttons than necessary. It’s very easy to use, once you figure out how to activate IR mode, which is of course what you’ll mostly be doing with it.

What's Bad

It is still a basically no-name-brand $150 point-and-shoot, and one with middling specs at that, so in terms of performance, it's not exactly the most impressive camera you can buy. It does feel pretty cheap, though not necessarily fragile--it's very plasticky, but it doesn't feel as if it's liable to fall apart. We could probably pick apart its specs and shooting options, but that's really missing the point of the camera.

The Midnight/Shot IR Camera: Slim and inoffensively designed.  Midnight/Shot

The Price

$150 at ThinkGeek, which we think is a totally fair price. Cheap, even.

The Verdict

If you're looking for a new all-purpose point-and-shoot, forget about the Midnight/Shot. It's not for you. But for photography geeks and the generally curious, this is a really fun toy. You can replicate the effect in Photoshop, mostly--though not without some very significant time figuring out all the particular light and contrast settings--but we really liked playing with real IR photography, seeing how different objects and scenes would react with the filterless camera. The night vision mode, as expected from the camera's marketing, was one of the most fun features--it really does see in the dark, to a limited extent, and in our time with the camera, the feature didn't even start to get old. It's inessential, but definitely fun.

mankatha trailer (3 trailers) HD of ultimate star ajith kumar

Searching for Spin Liquids: Much-Sought Exotic Quantum State of Matter Can Exist

Diagram depicting anti-ferromagnetic order (upper) compared to a spin liquid phase (lower). In an anti-ferromagnet, the spins are anti-aligned. A spin liquid has no order and the spins can be viewed as bobbing about like water molecules in liquid water. (Credit: E. Edwards)

 The world economy is becoming ever more reliant on high tech electronics such as computers featuring fingernail-sized microprocessors crammed with billions of transistors. For progress to continue, for Moore's Law -- according to which the number of computer components crammed onto microchips doubles every two years, even as the size and cost of components halves -- to continue, new materials and new phenomena need to be discovered.

Furthermore, as the sizes of electronic components shrink, soon down to the size of single atoms or molecules, quantum interactions become ever more important. Consequently, enhanced knowledge and exploitation of quantum effects is essential. Researchers at the Joint Quantum Institute (JQI) in College Park, Maryland, operated by the University of Maryland and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and at Georgetown University have uncovered evidence for a long-sought-after quantum state of matter, a spin liquid.

The research was performed by JQI postdoctoral scientists Christopher Varney and Kai Sun, JQI Fellow Victor Galitski, and Marcos Rigol of Georgetown University. The results appear in an editor-recommended article in the 12 August issue of the journalPhysical Review Letters.

You can't pour a spin liquid into a glass. It's not a material at all, at least not a material you can touch. It is more like a kind of magnetic disorder within an ordered array of atoms. Nevertheless, it has many physicists excited.

To understand this exotic state of matter, first consider the concept of spin, which is at the heart of all magnetic phenomena. For instance, a refrigerator magnet, at the microscopic level, consists of trillions of trillions of iron atoms all lined up. Each of these atoms can be thought of loosely as a tiny spinning ball. The orientation of that spin is what makes the atom into a tiny magnet. The refrigerator magnet is an example of a ferromagnet, the ferro part coming from the Latin word for iron. In a ferromagnet, all the atomic spins are lined up in the same way, producing a large cooperative magnetic effect.

Important though they may be, ferromagnets aren't the only kind of material where magnetic interactions between spins are critical. In anti-ferromagnets, for instance, the neighboring spins are driven to be anti-aligned. That is, the orientations of the spins alternate up and down (see top picture in figure). The accumulative magnetic effect of all these up and down spins is that the material has no net magnetism. The high-temperature superconducting materials discovered in the 1980s are an important example of an anti-ferromagnetic structure.

More complicated and potentially interesting magnetic arrangements are possible, which may lead to a quantum spin liquid. Imagine an equilateral triangle, with an atom (spin) at each corner. Anti-ferromagnetism in such a geometry would meet with difficulties. Suppose that one spin points up while a second spin points down. So far, so good. But what spin orientation can the third atom take? It can't simultaneously anti-align with both of the other atoms in the triangle. Physicists employ the word "frustration" to describe this baffling condition where all demands cannot be satisfied.

In everyday life frustration is, well, frustrating, and actually this condition is found throughout nature, from magnetism to neural networks. Furthermore, understanding the different manifestations of a collection of magnetically interacting spins might help in designing new types of electronic circuitry.

One compromise that a frustrated spin system makes is to simultaneously exist in many spin orientations. In a quantum system, this simultaneous existence, or superposition, is allowed.

Here's where the JQI researchers have tried something new. They have studied what happens when frustration occurs in materials with a hexagonal (six sided) unit cell lattice.

What these atoms do is interact via their respective spins. The strength of the interaction between nearest neighbor (NN) atoms is denoted by the parameter J1. Similarly, the force between next nearest neighbors (NNN) -- that is, pairs of atoms that have at least one intervening atom between them -- is denoted by J2. Letting this batch of atoms interact among themselves, even on a pretend lattice as small as this, entails an immense calculation. Varney and his colleagues have calculated what happens in an array of hexagons consisting of 30 sites where the spins are free to swing about in a two-dimensional plane (this kind of approach is called an XY model).

Christopher Varney, who has appointments at Maryland and Georgetown, said that the interactions of atoms can be represented by a matrix (essentially a two-dimensional spreadsheet) with 155 million entries on each side. This huge number corresponds to the different spin configurations that can occur on this honeycomb-structured material.

What the researchers found were a "kaleidoscope" of phases, which represent the lowest-energy states that are allowed given the magnetic interactions. Just as water can exist in different phases -- steam, liquid, and ice -- as the temperature is changed, so here a change in the strengths of the interactions among the spins (the J1 and J2 parameters) results in different phases. For example, one simple solution is an antiferromagnet (upper picture in figure).

But one phase turns out to be a true quantum spin liquid having no order at all. When J2 is between about 21% and 36% of the value of J1, frustration coaxes the spins into disorder; the entire sample co-exists in millions of quantum states simultaneously.

It's difficult for the human mind to picture a tiny two-dimensional material in so many states at the same time. JQI fellow, Victor Galitski, suggests that one shouldn't think of the spins as residing at the original atomic sites but rather as free ranging particle-like entities dubbed "spinons." These spinons bob about, just as water molecules bob about in liquid water (see lower picture in figure). Hence the name quantum spin liquid.

Another reason for using the word liquid, Galitski says, is this 'bobbing about' is analogous to what happens inside a metal. There, the outer electrons of most atoms tend to leave their home atoms and drift through the metal sample as if they constituted a fluid, called a "Fermi liquid."

Electrons in a metal are able to drift since it takes only an infinitesimal amount of energy to put them into motion. The same is true for the fluctuating spins in the hexagonal model studied by the JQI scientists. Indeed, their spin model assumes a temperature of absolute zero, where quantum effects abound.

Writing in an essay that accompanied the article in Physical Review Letters, Tameem Albash and Stephan Haas, scientists at the University of Southern California, say that the JQI/Georgetown team "present a convincing example" of the new spin liquid state.

How can this new frustration calculation be tested? The experimental verification of the spin liquid state in a 2-dimenstional hexagonal lattice, Albash and Haas suggest, "will probably be tested using cold atoms trapped in optical lattices. In the past few years, this technology has become a reliable tool to emulate quantum many body lattice systems with tunable interactions." Indeed the authors propose such an experiment.

What would such a spin liquid material be good for? It's too early to tell. But some speculations include the idea that these materials could support some exotic kind of superconductivity or would organize particle-like entities that possessed fractional electric charge.

"Kaleidoscope of Exotic Quantum Phases in a Frustrated XY Model" by Christopher N. Varney, Kai Sun, Victor Galitski, and Marcos Rigol, Physical Review Letters, 107, 077201, (12 August 2011).

Official Trailer of the Movie Mankatha

Sai Nakshtra Malika.wmv

Scientists Discover How Molecular Motors Go Into “Energy Save Mode”

Posted by Biomechanism

The transport system inside living cells is a well-oiled machine with tiny protein motors hauling chromosomes, neurotransmitters and other vital cargo around the cell. These molecular motors are responsible for a variety of critical transport jobs, but they are not always on the go. They can put themselves into “energy save mode” to conserve cellular fuel and, as a consequence, control what gets moved around the cell and when.

Structural rendering of kinesin’s two heads, called motor domains, cross-linked by a bound tail domain (green).

A new study by Carnegie Mellon University biochemists, published in the Aug. 12 issue of Science, describes how the motors fold in on themselves, or save energy, when their transport services aren’t required. According to the researchers, the solution to this molecular puzzle provides new insight into how molecular motor proteins are regulated, and may open new avenues for the treatment of various neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s.
“Molecular motor proteins play a major role in all eukaryotic cells, but they are particularly critical to nerve cells,” said David Hackney, professor of biological sciences in the Mellon College of Science, and one of the paper’s authors. “Nerve cells have this special problem where proteins, such as receptors for neurotransmitters, get synthesized in the cell body and have to be shipped all the way down the axon. Problems in this transport system may play a role in a number of neurological conditions.”
Hackney focuses his research on kinesin-1, the principle motor protein that moves cargo from the nerve cell body down the axon. A typical kinesin molecule has two tails on one end that attach to the cargo and two globular heads on the other end that crank along fibers inside the cell called microtubules, pulling the cargo forward. The movement of the heads, or motor domains, is fueled by the breakdown of ATP, a molecule that stores the energy that drives cellular work. When cargo isn’t attached, kinesin folds in upon itself to prevent ATP from being squandered.
Although scientists knew that one tail binds to the two heads to keep it in a folded “autoinhibited” state, the molecular mechanism remains unclear. Several possibilities have been proposed, but these latest findings suggest only one solution.
Hackney worked with Hung Yi Kristal Kaan and Frank Kozielski at the Beatson Institute for Cancer Research in Glasgow, Scotland, who crystallized a key portion of the kinesin molecule — a tail that was bound to the heads. The crystal structure confirmed that the complex contained two head domains and only one tail domain. Hackney then carried out biochemical manipulations to determine precisely how the tail interacts with the heads, which turned out to be what the authors refer to as a “double lockdown.”
“It was actually a big surprise,” Hackney said, “because it ruled out all of the obvious things that had been proposed for how the tail domain autoinhibits the motor domain. It does not cause a conformational change, and it does not block the surfaces that interact with ATP or the microtubular track.”
Kinesin’s heads are typically joined together at one spot, called the hinge. In the new structure, the heads swing in toward each other and are bridged by the tail domain, effectively cross-linking the heads at the site of tail binding. This double lockdown — at the hinge and at the bridge — prevents the heads from separating. Because the heads need to be separate from each other to break down ATP, the double lockdown effectively stops the molecule from generating fuel to power the motor.
The researchers suggest that other kinesins may be regulated by the same autoinhibitory mechanism. Humans have dozens of different kinesin motors that transport a variety of cargo, including proteins associated with Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Kinesins are also involved in separating chromosomes during cell division, making the motors a target for cancer therapies that seek to stop the motors from transporting chromosomes, which would prevent cancer cells from multiplying.
____________
This research was supported by Cancer Research UK, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research.

Cancer researchers genetically sequences most common bladder cancer

Posted by Biomechanism

CANCER RESEARCH: In an article published online this week in Nature Genetics, a University of Colorado Cancer Center team in partnership with universities in China and Denmark reports the first genetic sequencing of urothelial (transitional) carcinoma, the most prevalent type of bladder cancer.

Urinary bladder urothelial cell carcinoma is much more common in people over age 70. Cigarette smoking, diets high in saturated fat, and exposure to workplace carcinogens increases the risk. Workers exposed to antineoplastic drugs (used in chemotherapy) or certain types of hair, medical or industrial dyes also can be at increased risk. These workers include hairdressers, machinists, printers, painters, truck drivers, and those in the rubber, chemical, textile, metal and leather industries.

Recognizing the genetic mutations that make bladder cancer cells different than their healthy neighbors may allow early genetic screenings for cancer and new therapies targeting cells with these mutations.
In addition, the mutations the team found are similar to those recently discovered in a host of other cancers, implying a possible common denominator in the cause of cancer in general. Specifically, in 59 percent of 97 patients with urothelial carcinoma, the team found mutations in genes responsible for chromatin remodeling – the process of packaging DNA for easy duplication during cell division.
“The discovery of mutation in the UTX gene and seven similar chromatin remodeling genes is a major step toward genetic testing and treatment of bladder cancer,” says Dan Theodorescu, MD, PhD, director the University of Colorado Cancer Center and an author on this work. On a grand scale, the study also provides the first-ever overview of the genetic basis of urothelial bladder cancer and implicates chromatin remodeling in its cause.
Chromatin describes the genetic contents of a cell’s nucleus including the cell’s DNA and the proteins that sculpt its arrangement inside the cell. During most of a cell’s life, these proteins arrange DNA loosely so that its inner parts are accessible and available for use. In preparation for cell division, these proteins in the cell’s chromatin constrict DNA into a tight package for efficient duplication. This squeezing is known as “chromatin remodeling.” How the cell remodels and thus how it duplicates depends greatly on associated chromatin remodeling genes — the genes this study found to be mutated in many bladder cancer patients.
“When we talk about ’causes’ of cancer, there’s a black box between a healthy cell and the emergence of cancerous ones,” says Theodorescu. “By exploring the genetic changes that take place inside this box, we can look at the links of the chain of events that lead to cancer and hopefully target specific links for therapy.”
In the development of bladder cancer, this study shows that chromatin remodeling is an important link.
“We are currently well underway in performing similar sequencing with Caucasian subjects to determine if the mutations in the Caucasian population are similar to those seen in this study’s Asian subjects,” Theodorescu says.
After confirmation, the task will be twofold: designing genetic tests for these mutations that may allow easy, early, accurate diagnosis of bladder cancer, and developing therapies that recognize these mutations and kill the cancerous cells that hold them.
__________________
Dan Theodorescu is the Paul Bunn Chair of Cancer Research and professor of surgery and pharmacology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

A Happy Fish

“For those who have merged in the transcendental mellow of devotion to Shri Rama, being free of all material desires, their minds are like fish that swim in the nectar made of supreme love for the holy name that rests within the heart.” (Dohavali, 30)
sakala kāmanā hīna je rāma bhagati rasa līna |
nāma suprema piyuṣa hada tinhahum̐ kie mana mina ||
The mind will wade in whatever type of water is found by the captain. Depending on the type of activities taken up by the individual, the mind, which can be likened to a fish, will have to swim in waters that may or may not be compatible. Despite how hard we may try to clean the water formed from the results of our actions, there will always be contamination, and hence an incompatible habitat for the mind. Only by being immersed in devotion to the Supreme Lord, who is known as Rama because of His unmatched ability to provide transcendental pleasure to His devotees, can the mind perpetually swim in an ocean of nectar. This reservoir is filled through the chanting process, which focuses on the sweetest collection of words found anywhere in the spiritual and material worlds, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”.
Why the comparison to fish? Why the need to make an analogy at all? Can’t we just live our lives and be at peace? In every activity, the mind’s desires, which are driven by consciousness, lead to future conditions, similar to the concept of “You made your bed, now lie in it.” The resting place at night doesn’t magically appear on its own and neither does the dwelling that we come home to after a hard day at the office. Every visible object of this world, including our different conditions, results from action, which is driven by desire. Therefore the analogy to the fish swimming in water is completely appropriate in describing how karma, or fruitive activity, operates. Every action has a commensurate reaction, even if we are ignorant of the fact.
Let’s say, for example, that we place our hand into a blazing fire. Under the spell of ignorance, a person may think, “Oh, nothing will happen. Everything in nature occurs on its own, so I can do whatever I want and not have to suffer consequences.” Unfortunately, the laws of nature will not take kindly to ignorance. In fact, whether one is in total ignorance or complete knowledge, the burning propensity of the fire will rage nonetheless. The hand placed into the fire will burn and negative conditions will result. The same cause-and-effect is seen in all activities; therefore the resulting conditions we find ourselves in are due solely to the actions that we take.
In the state of ignorance, the types of water produced by action are incompatible for the mind, which continues to function as long as the soul is present. Irrespective of what anyone thinks, the soul is the driving force to activity. Birth is the event where a soul is injected into a life form, thus causing the body’s growth, maintenance and penchant for activity. Death is the opposite event, when the soul exits the body. Without the soul, dull matter is just that: lifeless. When the soul is within the body, its presence is indicated through the functions of the living entity, with the mind operating constantly. As the famous philosopher said, “I think therefore I am”, we can understand that consciousness indicates the presence of the soul.
Yet when activities are accepted that have no basis in scriptural injunction and bring no tangible reward, such as when placing the hand into fire, the results are not favorable. Intoxication is a great example of this. The liquor consumed can be likened to a pond that is created by the mind through the act of intoxication. Obviously a fish is not meant to swim in a pool of vodka or beer, but neither is the individual, who is brimming with spiritual potency. The spirit soul has distinct properties which are enumerated in Vedic scriptures. These properties are also evidenced through the natural penchant for action. The soul has a desire to serve, which it derives from its loving propensity. The soul is also wholly knowledgeable and eternal. Therefore the water it swims in must also bear the same properties for there to be a match. The pool of liquor is the worst kind because it keeps the mind totally in ignorance, not allowing for any advancement in consciousness. Without a positive impact on consciousness, the human birth is no different from life in an animal species.
Above ignorance is activity driven by passion, which creates a purer version of the pool for the mind, but which still has many contaminants. We can think of the resulting pond as one that has pollution at every corner but still allows for the fish to continue living. In the mode of passion, the individual understands that they must go through many trials and tribulations to gain a short term reward, but the flickering happiness that results is deemed worth the effort. Sports, gambling and even sex life devoid of the desire to purify consciousness are examples of activity in passion. Some may take exception to the negative portrayal of this mode. After all, the self-help gurus and self-esteem doctors recommend creating goals and being driven by passions to find happiness in life.
What’s so wrong with working hard to have a stable family life? What’s wrong with getting up every day and having a fervent desire to achieve a goal? Again, the nature of the results must be analyzed if we are to properly assess the worthiness of the actions accepted. In sports and gambling, the results are temporary, so much so that as soon as the goal is achieved, new ones have to be set; otherwise laziness and an increased penchant for activities in ignorance will follow. Sex life, which is seen as the pinnacle of fruitive enjoyment, is very difficult to secure comfortably for the human being. The animal kingdom has a leg up in this regard, as they do not have to worry about wooing members of the opposite sex or maintaining them by regularly purchasing jewelry and other gifts. Just like the rewards from gambling, the joy felt from sex life is very short-lived, thus requiring constant repetition of the engagement.
A higher mode aligns with knowledge and is thus considered to be in goodness. Activities under this mindset lead to a very pure pond of water for the mind to swim in. These actions are undertaken without a desire to enjoy the results. The man in goodness goes to work to support his family, but he knows that these aspects of life aren’t of primary importance. Rather, he is more concerned with understanding the differences between spirit and matter and the meaning behind life itself. Life’s necessities are given concern, with the bare essentials being enough to satisfy the senses. There is adherence to religious rituals, penances and austerities. Activities are free of sin, meaning they don’t lead to unfavorable conditions in either this life or the next. Since the soul has the property of eternality, it exists beyond the present birth. When it exits its current body, the soul immediately gets a new one crafted through the laws of karma, which take into account all of the work performed during the just completed life.

“O sinless one, the mode of goodness, being purer than the others, is illuminating, and it frees one from all sinful reactions. Those situated in that mode develop knowledge, but they become conditioned by the concept of happiness.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 14.6)

The mode of goodness seems perfect in every respect, no? Though the pool created is pure, the fish doesn’t derive the highest pleasure by swimming in it. Surely the water is compatible and there is no pollution getting in the way, but there is nothing there for the fish that is the mind to truly enjoy, a bliss that gives the highest taste. From the above quoted verse from the Dohavali of Goswami Tulsidas, we see how to create the proper pond, one that the mind can swim in perpetually. Since the soul desires pleasure, it must have a corresponding object with which to associate. Since the soul is eternal, its object of pleasure must also have the same property. Not surprisingly, this matching entity is the Supreme Lord, who can be described as the reservoir of all pleasure.
So, how does the mind connect with this Supreme Person? That answer is also not a secret. The key is to remove all material desires, or kama, and take to bhakti, or devotion. Devotional service to Shri Rama, the Supreme Lord, brings about the highest taste, or rasa, for the mind. Activities in ignorance bring illusory tastes that are actually poisonous, while behavior in passion brings tastes that are short-lived in their duration. Activities in goodness bring almost no taste, but they keep the bitter tastes away. Only through immersion in devotional service to the Supreme Lord, Rama bhakti-rasa lina, where the soul voluntarily surrenders itself unto the kind demands and guidance of God, can the highest taste be relished.
Once the nectar is tasted, there needs to be a steady supply kept on hand for the enjoyment to continue. If we really enjoy one cookie, we want to have more and more. In the material sense, this desire is detrimental, as Lord Krishna, the same Lord Rama but in a different visible manifestation, states in the Bhagavad-gita that only the yogi who neither eats too little nor too much can make advancement. This makes sense, as eating too little strips away the mind’s ability to contemplate on God, while eating too much leads to lethargy and an increased desire for sex. Since the taste derived from devotion to Rama is transcendental in every way, however, the laws calling for moderation do not apply. No amount of bhakti is too much.
How do we keep the taste going? Tulsidas also provides that answer. Within the heart of the devotee, a pool of transcendental nectar is created from the love that is harbored for Rama’s name. By regularly chanting the names of God, which are fully representative of His complete feature as the Personality of Godhead, the mind turns into a fish that swims in a pool of nectar. From devotional service we get the highest taste, and from chanting the holy names, the quintessential act of bhakti, the nectar remains fully stocked, allowing the mind to remain in one habitat without having to move.
The holy name is so wonderful because it can be recited anywhere. Any person, irrespective of their level of intelligence, can keep the mind fully enthralled by chanting. Through this formula Tulsidas reveals both his own doctrine, or life’s motto, and the ancient secret to happiness well established in the Vedas. Indeed, Shri Hanuman, Rama’s faithful servant, started practicing this formula many thousands of years ago. Hanuman always chants the glories of Lord Rama, His wife Sita Devi and His younger brother Lakshmana and never feels unhappiness.
Bhakti is not a modern concoction or a sentimentalist movement created by a few poets and saints in India. Under logical analysis, the Vedas and bhakti are equivalent terms, as devotion to God is the constitutional position of the soul, its dharma. Unlike religious sentiment and dry philosophy, dharma cannot be changed. Whether or not one knows their true dharma is a different story, but the foremost characteristic of the spiritual sparks emanating from the storehouse of spiritual energy, the Supreme Lord, never changes. The saints who take bhakti as their life and soul don’t actually create any doctrines or philosophies; they simply reveal to others what is the highest form of religion, as passed down by God Himself. The descriptions of the ocean of nectar created through bhakti don’t only reference the experiences of Tulsidas and other saints. Rather, the transcendental nectar in the heart can be created by anyone, should they follow the same formula of eliminating kama and loving the Lord’s name.

PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO READ THIS IS NICE

A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his 5-year-old son waiting for him at the door.

SON: ' Daddy, may I ask you a question? '

DAD: ' Yeah sure, what it is? ' replied the man.

SON: ' Daddy, how much do you make an hour? '

DAD: ' That ' s none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing? ' the man said angrily.

SON: ' I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour? '

DAD: ' If you must know, I make £25 an hour. '

SON: ' Oh, ' the little boy replied, his head down.

SON: ' Daddy, may I please borrow £10? '

The father was furious.' If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I don't work hard every day for such childish frivolities. '

The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.

The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy ' 's questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?

After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down and started to think:

Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that £10.00, and he really didn't ask for money very often. The man went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door.

' Are you asleep, son? ' He asked.

' No daddy, I ' m awake, ' replied the boy.

'I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier,' said the man. It's been a long day, and I took out my aggravation on you. Here's the £10.00 you asked for. '

The little boy sat straight up, smiling. ' Oh, thank you, Daddy! ' he yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up notes.

The man saw that the boy already had money and started to get angry again.

The little boy slowly counted out his money and then looked up at his father.

' Why do you want more money if you already have some? ' the father grumbled.

' Because I didn't have enough, but now I do, ' the little boy replied.

' Daddy, I have £25 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you. '

The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little son, and he begged for his forgiveness.

It's just a short reminder to everyone working so hard in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers without spending time with those who matter to us, those close to our hearts. Remember to share that £25 worth of your time with someone you love.

If we die tomorrow, the company we are working for could easily replace us in hours. But the family & friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.

Please don’t break this even if you only send it to one person.