short post on importance of small or big "service" - material vs spiritual

In material world, the service is "small" or "big" depending on how your "master" views it...explicitly stating, it depends mostly upon your "yes sir" quotient. But in spiritual world, Krishna reciprocates as per "intensity of your devotion" in service rendered...He sees every service is important...in material world, your "master" exploits you for his own benefit, but in spiritual world Krishna need not exploit because everything belongs to Him...He just delivers His "mercy" "disproportionately" to your "devotion" (i.e. awards you spiritual happiness and benefits far far more than what you deliver to Him...not that He needs anything from you because He is complete in Himself and does NOT need anything external to be in state of ever-increasingly-happiness).Yamuna Devi, a pure disciple of His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktivendata Swami Prabhupada, loved serving the gorgeous Sri Sri Radha-Londonisvara Deities, and she loved her other variegated services in the temple and she says that " These were merely activities I fell into in the course of exploring the culture and practice of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, which is what my life is really all about." (Source: Yamuna Devi: A Life of Unalloyed Devotion: Part 1: Preparing an Offering of Love. Unalloyed Inc. Kindle Edition) . May all of us also get a realization like hers!

Architect...Solution, Infrastructure, Software, Systems n Enterprise...which one you want to become?

Well...in my profession of architecture (not your conventional architeture...but ...yeah you guessed it right...IT Architecture),  i need to be on my toes all the time...in a sense to keep abreast myself of all things that goes into solving the business problem with the help of IT...Guess that's the one of the most important trait of an IT Architect...you gotta better develop the sense of urgency and integration.

When IT was not in a fashion...architect profession was about designing the buildings, complexes, bridges, damns, roads etc. Ayn Rand glorified the Architect Profession long ago (ealy 1900) in Howard Roark in her bestselling novel - Fountainhead i wonder if some novellist going to glorify IT Architect Profession the same way! 

Coming back to the point, there are so many sub-architectures - Systems Architecture, Software Architecture, Enterprise Architecture, Solution Architecture and newly introduced Infrastructure Architecture...husshhhh...thats a long list to get lost into. Some of the best examples of Systems Architecture is IBM System z which is kept evolving with the time without any major disruption...and yes we have a very good body of knowledge (BoK) of it. Similarly for Software architecture, Enterprise Architecture. Software architecture is all about building software by assembling, reusing the componentized pieces of small software programs. Enterprising architecture is about marrying business strategy to information technology. The lesser explored ones - Solution Architecture and Infrastructure Architecture - really pose a challenge in terms of common vocabulary and practices. 

IT Architect Certification from Open Group is supposed to provide a common platform for all above architectures. For at least a year, my speciality is going to be into Infrastructure and Solution Architectures....well it's an irony that you need to develop a "speciality" in this profession when IT Architect is supposed to be "jack of all" (in a very crude language...my apologies to fellow architects). It's like chasing wild goose. The one parallel i can sight - physicits trying to come up with Single Unified Theory which can describe everything about physical universe. The difference is - physical universe is made by God "The Master Architect" & IT architecture is made by Man. 

One more point - Is a well trained Computer engineer more likely to become an IT Architect than other Engineers? 

computer engineer or other engineer (electrical or mechanical or chemical), the most important aspect to becoming an IT Architect is "architectural thinking". If you got that and you are computer engg., then you got best possible shot at becoming IT Architect. Coz then you dont only think but also knows how to "engineer the IT" in great detail than other engineers.

Incidently, I'm also a computer engineer. It's Luck by Chance...to say the least!

Anyway 

I was reading the Paul Krugman's post today on nytimes. He was describing the Obama's response to the financial crisis. Paul draws 2 conclusions- (1) Crisis or No-Crisis, Bankers (read "Capitalists") get the windfall and (2) Obama was just another Politician who in his 1st month only is back-tracking on his election rhetoric of "transparent and just administration".

The root cause, Paul argues, is the "illusion of private owernship". But I shall argue that the REAL root cause behind all the root causes is the Idealistic War between Corrupt-Capitalists and Corrupt-Communists. Allow me explain it...

I can't help but draw the parallels between current US situation and demise of USSR as we knew it then. Western world, especially Capitalists, was "raptured" (like Alexander after he apparently conquered the world) when USSR failed in 1990s. They blamed it on Communism. Now apparently the current financial crisis can change the world power equation in defining terms (read "Demise of Superpower Amercia"). And here lies the true "situation"...the capitalists, who undoubtedly control the political class in America, are fighting every second to prove that Capitalism is not to blame for the current crisis. Hence Obama is approving windfall to Bankers (read Capitalists) and punishing Taxpayers like you n me. This is evident when TAXPAYER's money is going to "digest" (buy) the "toxic assets" of Banks and STILL TAXPAYERS ARE NOT OWNING THE BANKS [all of US Banks's Total Current Market Cap is <= US$200Billion; Imagine What US$800Billion of TAXPAYER's money (that OBAMA's pledging for "recovery") can BUY...banks, auto-companies and finally Bankers/Capitalists themselves :-)]

When Taxpayer's own the majority stake, the company is said to be nationalized. So why don't Obama "nationalize" all the banks, motor companies and all those being "rescued". This is where Capitalists stop OBAMA (cause they are the one who funded his election) and trying the project to the world (including Communists like Russia, China etc.) that Capitalism is still ALIVE in America. I really can't help but Laugh, But in the end even Capitaists can't prevent the eminent erosion of Amercia's power...in act they are fuelling it!

So friends it does not matter whether the people in power are Capitalists or Communists, as long as they are Corrupt and do not care for the common man like You and Me, these crises are going to happen.

Mr. Obama, you are truely a JAP (Just Another Politican)!