The year 2321. Advanced super-machines built with artificial intelligence (AI) are on the rise across the world. From “Stone Age” to “Modern Times”, humans have evolved from being hunters and gatherers to the most intelligent species on the planet. For the first time in the history of the planet, humans are not the only smartest and intelligent species anymore.
Having lost touch with the true nature of life with no torch bearers to guide them, humans find themselves in a dark place with no knowledge or desire to seek the light.
Just when the world is hit by a perfect storm and all seemed lost, a beacon of hope emerges from a small town in India. Hanmon is a special type of robot who lives in this small town with Saamarthya Ram, the young male protagonist, and Siya young neighbor, the female protagonist in the story.
Hanmon is on a mission to save humanity from falling into cliffs of misguided modernization and unnecessary super computerization. The story is about how Hanmon helps preserve and restore the true meaning and purpose of life while the world is going through an existential crisis being dominated by advanced and powerful machines.
On the evening of April 11th 3021, Ashok, irked by frequent signs of lack of focus and dedication, asks his twelve-year-old daughter.
“Ahee, why are you yawning so many times in the middle of the prayer? Where is your focus? Did you forget what we discussed about prayers, the other day?”
“I don’t know why I am yawning?” An instant stereotypical “teenager” response from Ahalya.
“Let me try and explain again why we are doing this together, ok? You must understand why I insist on daily prayers,” Ashok grumbles.
Ahalya simply looks at her father with an expression on her face that reads, “Really father?”
“You know what? I think we will do a story today, how does that sound?” says Ashok, trying not to stretch too far.
“Okay”, says Ahalya unexcited.
Quickly sensing the impassivity, Ashok says,
“You know, I was like you when I was a child. I thought daily prayers were nothing but such boredom. But my father explained one time with a story that his father told him. I could never forget that story and I have never missed my prayers since then, well with some exceptions of course.”
“Okay, so your father told you a story that my great grandfather told him? And that is supposed to explain the significance of prayers?” says Ahalya snapping with cynicism.
“Well yes, whether you believe in that story or not we will find out only after I tell you the story, correct? Can we agree that you will pay sincere attention to the story and won’t judge anything before we complete it?”
“Okay, I guess. Do I have a choice?” another sarcastic response from Ahee.
“Well then let’s get started with the story, right away.”
Ashok knew Ahalya is not interested in the story at the moment. He also knew this would not be the last time father, daughter duo would have a conversation about disciplines and duties and whatnot. Ashok is always on the lookout for ways in which he can have a good conversation with his daughter as she grows older to be able to have great conversations just about anything as good friends effortlessly. Thus, Ashok begins to tell the story to Ahalya that evening.
Paramahamsa
The year 2521. Around five hundred years ago on a tiny island in the eastern Indian ocean called the Nicobar Islands, there was an old man with a long white beard sitting under the shade of a beautiful Bael tree.
He was wearing a white cotton kurta and dhoti with a blue silk shawl around his neck with his eyes closed, hands in the meditative posture. He was a wise man respected by the entire population on the island. He was known to the people there as the second “Paramahamsa” after he was initiated by the first Paramahamsa decades ago.
Paramahamsa is a title earned by the person who dedicates his life to discovering the true meaning and purpose of life and guides the rest of the world on a path to lead a purposeful and spiritually connected life to help preserve precious life in its naturally peaceful and joyful state.
Guru Paramahamsa slowly opened his eyes to hundreds of people sitting in front of him. People were sitting on the open ground before the Bael tree on an elegantly trimmed lush green lawn. Small trees and flower plants, bushes, and shrubs around the ground made a natural boundary to the ground making the setting ideal for such a gathering.
It was a large gathering today as expected since it was a Guru Purnima ceremonial day, to celebrate gurus around the world, to celebrate teachers around the world, to express gratitude to teachers for their services, their wisdom, and guidance to the world without which world would be a wild jungle with no sense of peace and harmony. Paramahamsa the second began by chanting,
Om Namah Prannava-Arthaaya Shuddha-Jnyaanai[a-E]ka-Muurtaye |
Nirmalaaya Prashaantaaya Dakssinnaamuurtaye Namah ||1|
Chid-Ghanaaya Mahe[aa-Ii]shaaya Vatta-Muula-Nivaasine |
Sat-Chita-Aananda-Ruupaaya Dakssinnaamuurtaye Namah ||2||
Nidhaye Sarva-Vidyaanaam Bhissaje Bhava-Roginnaam |
Gurave Sarva-Lokaanaam Dakssinnaamuurtaye Namah ||3||
After chanting a Sanskrit verse about the universal Guru, Paramahamsa says,
“Sarvebhyo Gurubhyo Namaha,” in Sanskrit, meaning salutations to all gurus.
The entire audience repeated after Guru Parama Hamsa, “Sarvebhyo Gurubhyo Namaha,” together in one voice with a beautiful rhythm.
While the atmosphere on the ground reverberated with the sound of gratitude, it had already marked the beginning of the day’s ceremony on a great note filling the very air with such positive vibrations that you couldn’t help but notice everybody was just happy, with smiles wherever you saw. Paramahamsa, the second began speaking,
“As you know we humans tend to forget history too soon. But we all know there is a lot to learn by looking back into history. So, this year on the Guru Purnima day I choose to revisit our history to remind ourselves about our past.
Today I am going to talk about some of the disturbing facts in our history only to remind us what we could lose when we don’t understand the very nature of life and our connection with the universe as we understand it today. And perhaps we could also find answers to some questions raised during our discourse yesterday.
“Why do we worship idols made of stones and metals? And why do we insist on daily prayers?” smiles Guru Paramahamsa. Paramahamsa continuing his speech says,
“As some of you may have read in schools and heard from parents or friends, the human race was nearly extinct about two hundred years ago if it was not for some of the bravest, courageous and compassionate people around the world who sacrificed their lives so we could live a purposeful, joyful life today.
In the memory of such great human beings as our ancestors, who made that possible from this very place where we have assembled today, we shall pay our tribute by remembering their service to mankind.
About three hundred years ago in the early 22nd century, technology became such a huge part of human lives that some of them were fearful of their future as the dependency on technology grew by the day.
Super powerful machines and smart robots were so advanced in terms of intelligence, capacity, and power that they became indispensable for humans to function. Gigantic cloud server networks, an inconceivable amount of data & analytics, decision making, and at a pace that is incomprehensible for human brains, gradually robots became ubiquitous and replaced humans as a natural alternative in many areas. This is a story of that time; we will be reminiscing today.”
RISE - Restore Inspire Serve Empower
Feb 8th, 2317, Logan International airport Boston, Massachusetts.
Dressed elegantly in a black suit with a white shirt and a blue tie, Bilva was sitting at the arrival lounge waiting for their guest coming from New York. He had a long face with a complementing nose and blue eyes, long hair combed neatly backward. He was an executive robot dressed accordingly as one.
By 1:30 pm Daniel Smith, the awaited guest, the journalist from New York times was out at the pickup area near the arrival gate. Bilva’s computer eyes spotted Daniel quickly.
“Hello, sir.”
“Hello there, Bilva. How are you?” asks Daniel shaking hands with Bilva.
“Very well sir, thanks for asking. This way please,” says Bilva, pointing towards the airport parking lot. As they are walking towards the parking lot, Bilva sends a message to Yavaana who was waiting in the car, “Guest has arrived.”
As Bilva and Daniel approach the car, Yavaana opens the rear door of the SUV. Daniel slides his carry-on bag inside the cargo space. Bilva opens the back door for Daniel and waits for him to get inside. Bilva closes the door and takes the passenger side seat in the front after seating Daniel.
“Good evening sir,” says Yavaana, Bilva’s teammate.
Yavaana is wearing a fine gray petite cutaway blazer in pinstripe. Like Bilva she is a young robot with a charming face and a tall lean physique. If one didn’t look carefully enough you wouldn’t know Bilva and Yavaana are the machines as was the case with many in bigger cities at the time.
“Good evening Yavaana,” obliges Daniel.
“Thank you, sir,” says Yavaana, looking at Bilva if he had anything else in mind before they left. With Bilva’s nod, Yavaana drove the car through the pickup area towards the airport exit to join 90 West. By 1:40 p.m., Yavaana was driving on 90 West towards Newton.
“Welcome to Boston,” Yavaana resumes the conversation to make the guest feel comfortable.
“Thank you and thank you for coming to the airport to pick me up. That is very kind of you, I could take a cab or something,” says Daniel, feeling a bit guilty as both presumably came to the airport and awaited his arrival.
“You are very welcome sir. I know, most people take autonomous cars these days. But we are still old school. We like to have a bit of a personal connection with people still. Happy to come and pick you up,” smiles Bilva.
“That is wonderful to hear, there aren’t many left with the old school approach. I am glad you guys are preserving some of it,” says Daniel acknowledging the importance of personal relationships in the present day.
As they drove, Daniel takes a peek at the traffic outside looking through the window. It was the usual Boston afternoon traffic mixed with autonomous smart cars and some robot-driven cars and trucks. Daniel glanced at the streets outside, it was much like the streets of New York with robots big and small, tall, and short walking the streets along with the people. Robots and humans were becoming integrated more and more cohesively with every passing day than one could have imagined a few years before.
After spending a few minutes gazing outside through the glass window, Daniel asks,
“So, what kind of NGOs (Non-Governmental organizations) do you guys run?”
“We manage a nonprofit organization called RISE standing for “Restore Inspire Serve Empower”. We help in restoring forgotten values and empower them with new inspirations to be great human beings, to help them achieve their full potential with the help of daily yoga and meditation practice,” says Bilva proudly.
“That’s a wonderful concept. You have another organization like a hospital, right?” Daniel’s flurry of questions started, after all, he is a journalist, an accomplished one.
“Thank you. Yes, we have another organization called “Organic Care Clinic”, which is a clinic with a mindset of combining medical care through naturopathy, Ayurveda combined with spirituality and honest service to the patients,” this time Yavaana fielding the question.
“Both Organic Care Clinic and RISE are entities under our parent organization KIND Corporation in India,” adds Yavaana.
“KIND is a beautiful abbreviation and a meaningful one too for your organization and what it stands for,” says Daniel complimenting.
“Yes, as you said, KIND stands for Karnataka’s Intelligent Neurons Developers. Karnataka is a state back home. It also perfectly sums up the organizational goals. We are one of the pioneers in advanced smart robotics development with a unique difference. KIND Corporation designs and develops SOM (Smart Obedient Machines) executive class robots with a heart in them filled with what we call “Compassion Quotient.”
“Yes, I have heard of that, really fascinating stuff. That is why I had to come to meet you both in person. Mr. Saamarthya Ram, your CEO, he is quite young too,” exclaims Daniel.
“Yes, Mr. Saamarthya Ram is a young and worthy heir for KIND Corporation. Dr. Satyanath Ram, grandfather of Saamarthya Ram being the founder of the organization in the year 2265. With Hanmon’s guidance, Saamarthya founded the Organic Care Clinic and RISE that we see today,” Bilva was happy to go into details about the history of the organizations he is proud of.
“I have to admit, I have heard a lot about your parent organization and its promise to the world. I am deeply impressed by your organizational goals. As a journalist I am always looking for people who do interesting work for the common good of people,” says Daniel appreciative of KIND’s principles.
“Very well sir, we are happy you noticed our work,” says Bilva.
“Yes, I have been following some of your work in the past couple of years. I was impressed with your dedication and perseverance in serving the public, especially your Yoga and meditation work. Your work in this area has made the lives of so many people better,” Daniel had done his homework thoroughly about the organization.
“Our parent organization, KIND Corporation has a clear set of goals. We do not believe in just financial prosperity as a yardstick to measure one’s success or failure. We strongly believe in the prosperity of your perception of the world and life within you and outside of you. We work on this agenda tirelessly.” Yavaana elaborating on KIND Cooperation principles.
With Daniel asking questions one after the other, time went by unnoticed even with the traffic on the road. Yavaana pulled the black Mercedes G class SUV, inside the Hammond Pond Parkway towards the Webster Conservation area. Then drove about five minutes before stopping at a security gate that read “Organic Care Clinic’’ on the left side and “RISE” on the right-hand side. At the bottom, the signboards read “KIND Corporation ventures.”
Yavaana opens the window on her side to look through the security scanners installed above the gate. Face detecting sensors slide-out softly and scan Yavaana’s face and eyes. Confirming the authenticity gates opened up for them to proceed.
“Here we go sir,” says Bilva as Yavaana drives through the gates towards the Organic Care Clinic building.
“It’s a beautiful place you have your clinic in, the name is perfect for this place too,” says the guest in appreciation of the clinic and the location.
“Thank you, yes this is nice indeed just across the lake, it’s a delightful place,” Bilva acknowledges. All three go inside the Organic Clinic.
Karnataka’s Intelligent Neurons Developers, (KIND) Corporation, Bengaluru office, March 15th, 2317 10 a.m.
Reluctantly wearing a fine gray business suit with an off white shirt and a light blue tie, the CEO, Mr. Saamarthya Ram was in a business meeting with Mr. Sanjay Rao, chief of Indian Intelligence Bureau, Mr. Rajeev Kulkarni chief of RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) and Mr. Virendra Singh Chauhan from Border Security Force (BSF).
After the initial meeting and greeting with the government officials, “This is Dharma, our sales, and marketing head and this is Vindhya our head of manufacturing,” Saamarthya introduces his staff to the guests in the meeting room.
Dharma and Vindhya are old generation smart robots working in KIND Corporation at top positions even before Saamarthya was born. They are much heavier and taller than the new generation supercomputers like Bilva or Yavaana. But then these are not just any supercomputers, but the ones built by ISCDL(Indian Supercomputer Design Laboratory) a few years after Hanmon was born when Dr. Satyanath Ram was still in charge of ISCDL.
Dharma and Vindhya both dressed in business suits, greeted “Namaste” and shook hands of all guests as well before taking their seats in the meeting room.
As the guests were settling in the meeting room, Roy and Atria, new generation robots walked in with some tea, biscuits, and fruit bowls and artfully arranged everything on the table so everyone could reach for it easily.
Atria handles accounting, logistics for KIND corporation’s sister concerns, Organic Care Clinic, and RISE center in Boston. He often visits the Bengaluru office for training.
“Thank you, this is very kind of you,” says Sanjay Rao.
“You are welcome, please have whatever you like. I hope the tea is hot enough,” says Saamarthya. Sipping on the hot tea, Mr. Rajeev asks,
“So do you come to Bengaluru often? Or you prefer to stay in your headquarters back in your hometown?
“Thank you, guys,” says Saamarthya as Roy and Atria were about to leave the room.
Roy and Atria leave the room closing the door behind them.
“I prefer to stay back home, I come here mostly on demand. I am attached to my hometown,” says Saamarthya replying to Rajeev’s question earlier.
“Apologies, we made you come here on short notice,” says Mr. Chauhan.
“Don’t worry about it, it’s my pleasure to be here today.”
“Alright, I will cut to the chase if I may. You know after the fallout between KIND and ISCDL it is a shame that two organizations stopped working together. But we are hoping that we can leave all that behind,” diving straight into the topic without wasting any time, Sanjay Rao.
“I have nothing against ISCDL, they have their business and we have ours,” Saamarthya keeps it short and to the point.
“I know, we are looking for SOM (Smart Obedient Machines) class executive robots for many of our openings at border security forces and other areas in the army and air force. We can’t put the lives of our men and women in danger, at the same time we can’t trust those machines who are too smart to handle them later. ISCDL is not manufacturing the kind of robots KIND Corporation produces anymore. So, we are here to make a business proposal,” Sanjay lays out the agenda for the meeting.
“Of course, what time frame and how many are we looking for?” asks Saamarthya.
“We have thousands of positions but let’s say we go with a couple of thousands in the first round and we will go from there?” Mr. Rajeev pitching in.
“Timeline is a bit tight; can you deliver the number by the end of this month?” asks Mr. Chauhan to make sure the delivery of machines can be done in a timely fashion.
“We should be able to meet that timeframe, Vindhya what do you think?” asks Saamarthya.
“Yeah, I don’t see why not. We should be fine on the timeline with a margin of few days give and take,” confirms Vindhya looking at Dharma who did not seem to disagree with the delivery timeline either.
“Well, that is what we were hoping for. Thank you for accommodating our request. This is a kind of top priority coming from the PMO office, so we appreciate your cooperation with the time,” says Sanjay Rao, the IIB chief.
“We are very happy to help, please contact me if you have any questions on the delivery or cost or anything else,” says Dharma the sales and marketing head for KIND Corporation.
“Sure, I will,” says Mr. Chauhan.
“Alright, I think that would be all gentlemen. We look forward to doing more business with KIND Corporation. It was a pleasure meeting you all today,” says Mr. Rajeev.
Saamarthya, Dharma, and Vindhya see the guests off the meeting room courteously.
Returning to his office room, throwing his coat away on the couch loosening his tie Saamarthya breathes a sigh of relief. “My god guys, how do you wear the suit all day?” asks Saamarthya smiling.
“We are not quite done yet! You have a couple of more meetings today,” Vindhya smiles back.
“You mean back to the coat? I want to try this without the coat today. How about that?”
“Just a couple of hours more, we recommend you wear the suit for these kinds of business meetings,” Dharma advises his young CEO.
Another client meeting, then a lunch followed by a couple of more meetings, it was already evening. Saamarthya was getting ready to travel back home.
Dharma and Vindhya stop by Saamarthya’s office to see him before he leaves for home.
“Please give our best to Hanmon,” say Dharma and Vindhya.
“Of course, next time I will ask him to join us in Bengaluru. You know, he is a busy man but hopefully, he will listen to you both,” says Saamarthya smiling.
“Of course,” says Vindhya. In reality, they all know, Hanmon likes to keep a low key lately. Seven in the evening Saamarthya and Roy leave Bengaluru for their hometown Hittalapura. Saamarthya and Roy hop on to “Eagle Eye”, Saamarthya’s customized aircraft that can cruise with lightning speed.
Newton, Massachusetts RICE and Organic Clinic building
It is a beautiful multistorey building surrounded by trees coated with white snow situated right behind a large lake which is now frozen as well. As Daniel walked into the building through the main entrance, it did not feel like he was in a clinic. He saw some patients in the main lobby, probably waiting for their appointments with the physicians but the energy there was strangely pleasant, unlike other major hospitals he had visited before, where one felt the stress as you stepped in.
“We have few rooms here for the patient examination and a few more on the 2nd floor,” says Bilva pointing towards an elevator.
“Let’s go to the 3rd floor, we have a meditation hall and our office rooms there. We could sit there and talk,” suggests Yavaana.
Daniel noticed RISE written on the main entrance door with a beautiful sunrise logo before the letters “3rd floor”. As they entered inside the 3rd floor, Daniel saw a signboard that read, “Meditation hall,” for which doors were closed.
“Afternoon meditation session is about to be concluded. In a few minutes, doors will be open, we can go inside the hall if you like,” Yavaana clarifies.
“Of course, thank you,” says Daniel.
“This way,” says Bilva, lowering his voice showing the way towards his office room on the other side of the meditation hall.
“Please be seated, you must be tired from the journey. Would you like some water, juice, or anything to eat?” asks Bilva as they enter his office on the 3rd floor.
“Water will be great,” says Daniel.
“I will go get some water,” Yavaana volunteers and leaves the room.
“When I came inside the building, it felt oddly pleasant. I mean the whole atmosphere here is different than that of a hospital or a clinic,” Daniel being pleasantly surprised.
“If you spend some time here in the meditation hall with fellow meditators, you may feel even better. That is what we hear from people all the time,” says Bilva smiling.
“Sure, I would love to do that.”
“Here you go sir,” says Yavaana holding a copper cup with fresh water.
Daniel taking a sip of water from the cup, “that feels so good, thank you for the water by the way.”
“You are welcome,” Yavaana heads back to her office room.
While Bilva and Daniel were chatting, Yavaana calls the front desk at the clinic downstairs to check what is a good time to meet the doctors on duty today.
“We have Doctor Prakash Bhat, Richard Williams, and Dr. Ikshu available today downstairs, we could meet them for a few minutes,” says Yavana stopping by Bilva’s office minutes later.
“Would you like to meet doctors on duty today? This is a great opportunity to understand our clinic,” asks Bilva.
“Of course, can we go now?” says Daniel eagerly.
All three head towards the elevator. When the elevator door opened, Atria and Vega were inside.
“Great timing! we were just about to meet you up in the office,” says Atria.
Mr. Daniel, “These are our colleagues Atria and Vega, this is Mr. Daniel Smith, from New York Times,” Bilva introduces his colleagues to Daniel and vice versa.
“Nice meeting you both,” Daniel shaking hands with both the robots Atria and Vega.
“We are heading for a clinic tour for Daniel, why don’t you guys go inside, we will catch up with you later.”
“Sure Bilva, you guys go ahead, we will see you in a bit,” says Atria.
“Mr. Smith you are in good hands, I will let you and Bilva go for the tour. I am here if you guys need me for anything.”
Bilva and Daniel took the elevator down while the other three went inside the 3rd-floor offices.
“Let’s go to the staff meeting room, we can meet with doctors there,” insists Bilva.
Daniel follows Bilva to the staff room on the 2nd floor. Dr. Prakash, Dr. Richardson, and Dr. Ikshu were waiting for Daniel and Bilva in the staff room.
“I hope I am not holding you up from your work, “ says Daniel apologetically as they enter the staff meeting room.
“It’s all right, we have some time,” says Dr. Prakash, other doctors nodded in agreement as well.
“I am Dr. Prakash, this is Dr. Richard and this is Dr.Ikshu,” Dr. Prakash introduces the doctors in the room to Daniel. Daniel was happy to see a couple more humans like him in the room.
“Very nice meeting you all, I am Daniel Smith from New York times.”
“I have been following your work at both Organic Care Clinic as well as the organization RISE. I was highly impressed with its purpose and objectives. I came down to see it firsthand, I would like to present this to both print media as well as television if you allow me to record our conversation.”
“Sure, that’s no problem,” Bilva says stepping in.
“Thank you Bilva,” says Daniel, taking his smartphone to record their conversations.
“That is very nice of you sir, we take the guidelines set forth by our parent organization very seriously and try our best to meet the expectations. So far, we have been successful in a small way. Let’s see where it leads us,” says Dr. Ikshu the smart robot physician.
“So, tell me how would you describe the organic care clinic different from modern hospitals ?” Daniel couldn’t resist anymore.
“Organic care clinic combines ancient Ayurveda and naturopathy methodologies for treating patients with chronic illnesses like back pain, arthritis pains, insomnia, indigestion, migraine, and so on. We use water, mud, steam, and all five natural elements of nature and combine that with herbal concoctions as needed depending on the patient’s conditions. Typically patients feel better in three week’s time,” explains Dr.Prakash Bhat.
“Sorry to interrupt, but just to add another quick point,” Bilva interjecting himself says.
“We have volunteers at RISE who come here to provide care to patients. They spend quality time with the patients and make them comfortable. They talk to them about the power of prayers and pray for them in the meditation hall, and that has a lot of effect on the patient’s minds and they heal much faster. When they get better they usually join RISE for yoga and meditation practice,” Bilva explained.
“What we have seen these days, more and more people are living by themselves with no family members with them. People are suffering loneliness; medicines only help them to an extent, but they are never really cured. With our volunteers spending time with the patients they feel like they have people who care for them like their own family and it helps them become happier and eventually become healthier,” adds Dr. Ikshu.
“You should meet our CEO, Mr. Saamarthya Ram, I mean CEO of our parent organization KIND Corporation,” urges Dr. Richard Williamson.
“I would love to, is he planning a visit to Boston anytime?” asks Daniel.
“No, I mean you could meet him virtually, like in a video conference. I heard he is addressing us today at 6:30 p.m., EST at the meditation hall,” clarifies Dr. Richard Williamson.
“Ok, Great. Yavaana told me we could go to the meditation hall later today; I think this will be a perfect opportunity to experience the meditation and listen to your CEO, Mr. Saamarthya Ram as well,” thank you for bringing this up Mr. Richard.
“You are welcome,” says Richard Williamson, the Organic Care clinic Physician.
Hittalapura
By 7:30 p.m., they land in Hittalapura on the private runway of the KIND organization. A black Tata Supreme SP (Solar powred) was waiting in the parking lot as Roy had already communicated the arrival time to staff in the Hittalapura KIND office.
Roy drove Tata Supreme with Saamarthya in the back seat towards home through the beautiful areca nuts trees on one side and Mango, Indian Bael, and Banyan trees on the other as they approached home passing through Siya’s home on the way.
Throwing his coat on the couch in the living room, Saamarthya gives a shout out for Hanmon. He does not hear any response. He runs upstairs looking for Hanmon thinking that he might be in the home office.
Hanmon
It was around 8 p.m., Hanmon was walking from the dimly lit hallway of KIND Corporation computer laboratory on the 3rd floor towards Saamarthya’s home office on the 2nd floor.
“Dhanu Dhanu Mangala Gaavore”, Raag Kalashree, sung by Bharata Ratna, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, was meted out in the hallway feebly by the speakers Saamarthya was listening to in his home office.
As he was walking, because of the low light conditions in the room it appeared like someone roughly resembling a large monkey was walking with slight difficulty.
As he came towards the well-lit area of the hallway, one could see long hair falling over his shoulders with a small bun at the top of his head. When he walked further towards the light revealing his face which appeared like that of a really large monkey in shape but with a royal aura emerging from it. As Hanmon advanced further revealing his tall athletic body, broad chest, and chiseled arms underneath his enchanting white kurta and metallic gray jeans, he looked majestic.
As he kept walking, his left leg was making a crackling sound as and when he lifted his leg from the ground. It appeared he was limping just a little on the left side.
Hanmon, that is how he was called affectionately in the family. He has been living with Saamarthya Ram’s family since 2262, from the time when he was created. Hanmonk Champ is his birth name; an old generation robot, tall and heavy. On March 4th, less than two weeks ago KIND Corporation worldwide celebrated Hanmon’s 55th birthday.
Hanmon is a robot everyone falls in love with the moment they see him. He is a friend, mentor, and guru you would be lucky to have in your daily life. He is no ordinary robot but a special SOM Robot built to have incredible power and wisdom. Hanmon is the guardian, mentor, and great friend to Saamarthya. He brought up Saamarthya almost single-handedly with some help from Anand Kalyan (the friendly neighbor and senior ethics advisor to KIND Corporation) after Saamarthya’s parents died when he was just eight years old.
Hanmon taught Saamarthya pretty much everything, they would read, play and eat together although it would be only Saamarthya who would actually eat. Hanmon obviously could not eat as he is a machine, nevertheless, Hanmon had to act. He even taught Saamarthya how to play cricket besides teaching all about computers and their inner mechanics and everything else as Saamarthya is homeschooled by Hanmon.
The best part was his storytelling, Saamarthya and Siya simply loved Hanmon’s stories when they were kids. He told stories of kings and their wars. Sometimes he told stories of love and warmth making them cuddle with him. Another time he would scare them telling stories of ghosts making them run to him in fear and then he would make them laugh by telling stories of Tenali Rama and so on. Both kids were big fans of Hanmon for his exceptional storytelling skills.
As Hanmon entered the home office, Saamarthya noticed him limping.
“Hanmon, are you ok? Is it your knee again? You know it takes a few seconds to fix that right?” asks Saamarthya, stopping the record player.
“Relax Saamarthya, I will be ok. It’s just a small glitch. I will fix it soon,” says Hanmon smiling.
“If you don’t get it fixed by tomorrow, I am going to take you to the clinic personally; no more procrastination,” huffs Saamarthya.
“Alright my friend, whatever you say. How was the meeting with the government folks earlier today?” asks Hanmon pulling a chair opposite Saamarthya’s desk.
“Oh Yeah, glad you asked. It went well, looks like some people are now finally getting what we have been saying for years. For some of their executive positions they are interested in posting SOM class executive robots, so they came to us,” Saamarthya smiles.
“Is Sanjay Rao still their IB chief?” asks Hanmon.
“Yeah he is the chief of the intelligence bureau, sure he was there.”
“Seems like a good opportunity, let’s move faster.”
“Absolutely, glad we are on the same page. I have already given green light to Dharma and Vindhya. I was sure you wouldn’t disagree.”
“Wonderful looks like this week is a week of deals for KIND. We have a potential international deal coming from the Middle East,” says Hanmon.
“Excellent, they know about our policies I hope,” smiles Saamarthya as KIND Corporation does not produce typical combat machines.
“Yeah, they are aware, or at least that is what I am told anyway. You must be tired from the trip, get some rest. We have an important client meeting tomorrow.”
“Alright, I need to take a shower, talk to you in a bit,” says Saamarthya leaving the home office.
Meeting with Middle East delegates
The next day March 16th, 2317, at 9 a.m., KIND Corporation, Hittalapuara headquarters, North Canara(Uttara Kannada) district, Karnataka.
Saamarthya Ram was in his office along with Hanmon, Mr. Anand Kalyan, the senior advisor to KIND Corporation for code of conduct, conflict of interest, and other ethics for the organizational goals. As Saamarthya and others settle in the meeting room, Roy heads to the lobby to invite the guests. As the guests walk into Saarth’s office,
“Glad to meet you all gentlemen, please be seated,” Saamarthya suggests guests become comfortable.
“Let me introduce my team here, please meet Hanmon, the brain behind KIND Corporation, although I know he needs no introduction. This is Mr. Anand Kalyan, senior ethics advisor for KIND Corporation. Unfortunately, another core member is missing today as she is on another assignment. She is our champion and COO for our RISE organizations worldwide,” says Saamarthya referring to Siya while introducing his team.
“We have heard a lot about Hanmon. Sir, it’s a great pleasure and honor to meet you in person,” says Mr. Suleman looking at Hanmon.
“Whatever you have heard are all old stories, I am an old robot now,” Hanmon laughs, downplaying his popularity.
“Equally honored to meet you all, please be seated,” adds Hanmon after a quick joke on himself.
“Please meet my colleagues, this is Tahir Ali representing Oman. Ismail Sheik from Yemen and Jahangir Abbas from Kuwait,” Suleman introduces his fellow delegates.
“Hello gentlemen, it is our pleasure meeting all of you this morning. Please tell us without any hesitation, how we can help?” says Mr. Anand.
“Due to slow industrial growth and economic slowdown in the region, we are forced to cut down on budgets for health care and education systems. But we understand that this will hurt our future generations to come. Unfortunately, because of bad politics and corruption, countries in our region are struggling to develop talent inside the country. Consequently, we are facing a dire situation of not having adequate staff for our hospitals, teachers, and professors for our schools and colleges,” Tahir Ali, giving background about the situation.
“Basically, we have decided to go fully digital in these areas to reduce cost and increase efficiency,” adds Ismail Sheik.
“Having seen the advanced machines in our countries and around the world and how they are negatively affecting our culture and traditions, some of us were in a great dilemma. But then we heard about your organization and its commitments to the world. So we decided to personally meet you and understand your organization and how you can address our concerns and problems,” Jahangir Abbas expresses his concerns.
“Well, I think you have come to the right place. We are the only organization in the entire world that won’t manufacture powerful supercomputer robots that have no empathy towards humans. Our principal is to create machines that are super smart but obedient servants. We call them SOM (Super Obedient Machines). They truly believe in service; they are your friends, not your competitors or foes,” explains Anand Kalyan.
“Thank you, sir, that is very well said,” says Suleman acknowledging the commitment to the principle of SOM and what it meant to KIND Corporation.
“Another crucial aspect to remember is our machines are built to be extremely sensitive, you have to be respectful and friendly with them. If you don’t treat them well, they will not learn to become your friends and won’t be much of any use. This is by design so neither the machines nor the homes or offices where they live feel any burden,” Saamarthya points out.
“Thank you for bringing that up sir,” applauds Tahir Ali.
“Another reason why you may consider KIND Corporation over others is that we can set up our sister concern organizations, Organic Care Clinic, and RISE, the nonprofit organizations that we have around the world,” adds Hanmon.
“Excellent point sir, we have heard about those organizations; I think it will be a great addition to our nations if you can enter there. A lot of poor and middle-class people will benefit from your sister concern organizations, I am sure,” says Jahangir Abbas.
“Thank you, please let us know when we can talk about pricing models, terms and conditions, and other details,” Suleman is eager to close the deal.
“Roy will put you in touch with our sales and accounting heads. He will take care of the necessary formalities. Please feel free to reach any of us when you have questions or need any help,” Saamarthya explains the next steps.
“Thank you, Mr. Saamarthya, it was a great pleasure meeting you all today. We will be in touch,” Suleman seemed relieved.
“Of course, I am extremely glad to be part of a new initiative in the region. Education is so fundamental to our lives; you are all doing a great service to your nations and KIND will hopefully be a long-term partner in this process,” Saamarthya shaking hands of all the delegates.
As the guests were leaving, Tahir Ali stayed back excusing himself of a personal matter.
“Tahir, we will wait in the main lobby,” says Suleman leaving with other delegates.
Saamarthya and others were wondering what personal matters Tahir Ali would possibly have that he wants to discuss with them.
“Apologies, I need to ask you for personal help,” says Tahir Ali.
“Sure, go ahead,” says Saamarthya.
“My brother in law is working in an NGO called “Nayee Subhaha” (New Day) in Lahore Pakistan. It is his passion to help local people to realize their dreams by providing a good education. He is doing very well there, but he wants to do more. He was asking me to help him with advanced machines to expand his work. He does not have the necessary funding, plus the tension between the two neighboring countries is not an uncommon thing as you know. So, I was wondering if I can personally buy two SOM class robots and donate those to my brother in law, Mr. Ahamad Khan.”
Saamarthya and Hanmon look towards Mr. Anand Kalyan to comment on the proposal. Rolling his wheelchair forward closer, showing the KIND Corporation ethics handbook Anand says,
“There are indeed tensions between our countries for various political reasons and otherwise too. We are a private organization with a clear agenda to help people live their lives as humans, not as machines. We don’t propagate any religious ideas through our robots. But if we set up RISE, we do prayers and meditation and so on but there is no compulsion, it’s up to the people to opt-in or out.
We can sell the robots to you and have the contract as such, but should you decide to donate, I think that is entirely your choice.
We would only urge you to put them in the correct applications. If you misuse them they become depressed and useless eventually,” Anand explained the terms and conditions briefly.
“Of course, it will be under my name and I will be accountable for anything thereafter. Thanks for doing this for me, I was not sure how to go about it. Since I have come a long way, I thought it would not hurt to ask. But you guys are really sweet and kind just like the name and principles of your organization.”
“Glad we can help Ali, take care,” says Anand.
Siya
On the evening of March 20th, 2317 Siya was standing in the hallway near the front door ready to leave for the temple.
“Father, I have to leave now, don’t want to be late to the class,” Siya says aloud.
“Just a moment, will be out there soon; give a minute to the old man, will you?” Anand yells from the kitchen slightly laughing.
Keeping the empty cup of tea on the kitchen counter, Anand rolls his wheelchair to the hallway to see off his beloved daughter leaving for her meditation class.
“It’s not even six in the evening today, why such a rush darling?”
“Half of the kids are reluctant to come to the class, for the rest of the parents seem uninterested. Sometimes I need more time to persuade them than the time I spend in the class,” laughs Siya.
“But we aren’t giving up easily, are we?” says Anand laughing along with Siya.
“Not a chance father,” says Siya, continuing her infectious laughter.
“Well then, have a great evening, don’t be too late.”
“I won’t be long father, see you soon,” said Siya as she walked towards the garage.
After a couple of tries, Siya got the engine running and drove the solar-powered red Maruti Suzuki. The car moves great when it starts but it does not start in time most of the time. Anand and others have been persuading Siya to agree to buy a new car, but she is not ready yet. She is happy with the old car, it works for now, so why buy a new car and contribute towards damaging the environment? You can’t argue with Siya on this one.
Driving through the interior roads of the town, Siya goes to the first house in the neighborhood, and luckily Raghav was already waiting outside.
“Namaste Raghav,” greets Siya stopping the car next to him.
“Namaste sister,” replies Raghav.
“Get in, let’s go pick Isha.”
Siya begins driving towards Isha’s house with Raghav in the back seat.
“How was the birthday party yesterday? Did you have fun? Sorry, could not make it.”
“Yes, it was nice, we had the Triple Chocolate Brownie Cake,” Raghav seemed happy.
“Oh, I missed it, my loss. So, you are 12 years young now?
“Yes sister,” Raghav grins.
By now they reached the next home.
“How nice? Isha is out too,” exclaims Siya stopping the car next to Isha.
“Hello, Isha,” Raghav opens the door, Isha smiles, waving her hand sitting in the backseat next to Raghav.
“Good evening sister,” says Isha.
“Good evening Isha, thank you for waiting outside, saves us a lot of time. Ok, who is next?”
“Sharan,” says Raghav.
“Sharan won’t be coming today sister,” Isha declares.
“Is that right? Do you know why?” asks Siya.
“Earlier at the school, he told me his father was not going for work today. And you know his father does not let him go to the temple as he wants him to study all the time,” Isha replies promptly.
“I hope his father goes to work tomorrow.” Siya’s comment made Raghav and Isha grin together.
“I am told Deva and Swara are already in the temple. Which means we need to pick our friend Deepa and head straight to the temple.”
“Ok sister,” the twelve-year-old’s in the car agree. Five minutes later Siya arrives at Deepa’s house.
“Deepa is not out yet, can one of you go and see if she can come today?”
“I will go,” says Isha and runs inside through the unlocked gates and calls for Deepa. Deepa’s mother shows up.
“She will be out in a minute as she is finishing up her evening snack,” yells standing near the entrance. A couple of minutes later Deepa walks out of the main door.
“Hello, Isha.”
“Hello Deepa, sister is waiting, hurry up,” Isha, showing urgency with quick hand signals.
“Sorry I am late, I was too hungry so had to munch on something,” confessing Deepa runs down the stairs from the main entrance following Isha to the car.
“Hello, Siya, sorry for making you wait,” Deepa’s mother confesses aloud standing at the porch.
“No problem, how are you?”
“I am well, you?”
“I am great,” says Siya, waving her hand towards Deepa spotting her near the gate at the same time.”
As Deepa hops in and takes the passenger side seat next to Siya in the front, Siya begins to drive the car towards the temple. A few minutes later, parking the car in the space next to a small lake in front of the temple, they all walk towards the temple.
The temple is situated on the hill above the lake. An ancient temple built with beautiful carvings on stones like thousands of temples all over India. Inside the main sanctum, Lord Raama and Seeta are seen together inside of Hanuman’s chest with Hanuman tearing his chest split open with his arms.
Temple stands here for thousands of years as a testimony to the triumph of truth over falsehood. Compassion, and loyalty over apathy and deceit, just law and order over monarchy and selfishness.
As Siya climbed the stairs of the temple along with the kids, with every step upwards she began withdrawing her senses and turned inwards to keep the mind still and unperturbed by things around her. At the temple veranda, Deva and Swara had been waiting. Siya does a quick hand signal asking them to join her.
As usual, Siya and the kids go inside the main sanctum where Hanuman’s idol is consecrated. With oil lamps on either side, sandalwood fragrance emanating from burning incense, with silence prevailing after an occasional bell sound from the inner sanctum, the atmosphere was conducive for the mind to remain calm and still.
With folded hands, Siya and the kids chant the prayer together as they normally do.
Om Saha Naav Avatu |
Saha Nau Bhunaktu |
Saha Viryam Karavaavahai |
Tejsavi Naav Adhitam Astu Maa Vidvishaaavahai |
Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih ||
After that, Siya extends her left hand to be held by Raghav and then Raghav extends his left hand to be held by Isha and so on to form a chain of hands. Siya rang the bell hanging from the beam across the Hanuman idol once and released the hand lock. So did the rest of them.
The group then goes down on the temple floor for a full-body salutation to Hanuman followed by sitting on the floor in “Padmasana” for a minute with eyes closed.
When they open their eyes, they find the smiling priest leaning forward with a brass plate in his hands, decorated with a peacock pattern using turmeric powder and coconut oil. At the center, the plate was filled with flowers from the idol after they had been offered to Hanuman, leaving some space for sandalwood paste, and a small bronze lamp fueled by cow’s ghee near the rim.
Holding both palms above the lamp, feeling the heat from the fire they all placed palms on their faces covering their eyes one by one experiencing warm energy. Then taking turns, they took flower petals and placed them over their heads. Using their ring fingers applied sandalwood paste on their foreheads between the eyebrows.
Now the Priest, hand signals to the kids to wait for a moment before taking leave. Kids are already happy knowing what to expect next.
Picking their favorite milk peda offered by a devotee, the priest holds the plate in front of the kids. As soon as the sweet pedas showed up, the children’s faces lit up and their eyes widened. There was only one problem, they needed approval! Siya smiles nodding her head in agreement. Kids happily take a peda each from the plate. Upon insistence from the Priest, Siya picks one as well.
Blessing Siya and all kids, turning towards Siya the priest says, “Meditation hall is awaiting you.”
Siya rose to her feet thanking the priest, so did the kids. Offering their salutations to Hanuman once again they began walking down towards the meditation hall in the temple.
The meditation hall was brimming with fragrances from the burning incense sticks and warmth by dimly lit oil lamps. At one end of the hall, there is a beautiful Shiva lingam which was consecrated thousands of years ago.
Bael leaves and flowers at the feet of the lingam with Vibhooti (three horizontal lines across lingam at the top end) illuminated by the oil lamps on either side, filled the hall with a certain divine energy that is hard to describe but easy to experience. Just by being there, you feel fuller, at ease, and happier without doing anything.
Siya asks children to sit on the floor using the palm leaves mats made into two by two feet square shapes. Kids and Siya sit on the floor in Padmasana facing Shiva Lingam before them at a distance. The children were to repeat the chant after Siya.
A…..U……M…..
Puurnnam -Adah Puurnnam-Idam Puurnnaat-Puurnnam Udachyate
Puurnnasya Puurnam -Aadaaya Puurnnam- Eva-Avashisshyate
AUM Shaantih Shaantih Shanntih.
‘That’(the absolute) is infinite, ‘This’ (the life force) is infinite.
From ‘That’ ‘This” raises and manifests itself.
From ‘That’ when ‘This’ is separated what remains is still ‘That’.
A…..U……M….. Siya concludes and asks kids to slowly open their eyes and come out of yoga mudra.
Siya explains the meaning of the chant briefly.
The life that I am, is a compassionate opportunity to feel and experience the creation, I am very fortunate to be conscious of my experiences, to be aware of my thoughts, emotions, and actions. I am very happy to be engaged in various activities in the world, but I am aware that I come from the same source as everyone and everything else. I am aware that I am not this body, I am not this mind, not in my thoughts or emotions but beyond all of this I am “That” from where everyone and everything is manifested. Everything in the universe is manifestations of only “That”. I see myself in everyone and everyone in me.
“Any questions?” asks Siya.
“If we all come from the same source, why do we all look different and think differently?” Isha asks
“Great question Isha, well done,” says Siya encouraging children to inquire for more.
“Are you all familiar with rice flour?”
“Yes,” all replied in a chorus.
“So what do your mothers make from the rice flour at home, can you tell me?”
“Dosa,” says Deepa.
“Roti,” Raghav says.
Isha says “Idli”.
“Ok great,” Dosa, Roti, and Idli all look different and taste different, don’t they?”
“Yes sister,” replied all the children collectively.
“Well, they all are made from the same rice flour, but they look different and taste different. Just like we are all made from the same source yet look different and do different things. That is why we need to remind ourselves constantly that all of us on the planet are the same at our source, we are all equal in the eyes of nature.”
“Does that make sense?”
“Yes sister, thank you,” the children respond together.
“Ok, we did wonderful today. It is time to head back home as our parents will be waiting for us. We will meet next week again; I will come and pick you all up. Have a wonderful week ahead.”
“Thank you, have a wonderful week you too,” children greet Siya back.
Offering salutations to Shiva lingam again they head to the main sanctum. With folded hands, they circle the Hanuman idol three times clockwise chanting, “Jai Shree Raama, Jai Hanuman,” before leaving the temple. Siya drives all the kids home first then reaches her’s by 8:30 in the evening.