Archive for January, 2010

China and India

January 30, 2010

China and India are one of the oldest civilizations of the World. A lot of leaders with original thought, inventions and art came out from these two countries during the earliest times of the human race.

Both these countries produced great leaders during their earlier times. India saw a renaissance in her through people like Ashoka the beloved, Buddha and China through people like Confucius. Several important philosophies like Confucianism, Upanishads, Buddhism, and Mahabharata came out of these countries.

Communism is a classless society based on Marxism where majority of property is controlled by the state. There is a single party ruling the country with considerable authority in making decisions regarding the country. Communism came to China in the 20th century. China has made rapid progress due to rapid decision making and implementation of large scale projects in the country. Majority of the masses have been lifted out of poverty however they have limited democratic rights to express themselves (especially against the government).

During the time of Aryans, cast system was introduced in India for systematic organization of people with different habits, culture, and profession. This system continued to proliferate and has currently become too rigid to absorb change. It has become a hindrance for progress and development. It also created the problem of unity within our country as people were restricted to a particular community for socializing. Leaders produced had excellent qualities however lacked foresight to see India as one whole.

Both China and India experienced explosive population growth in the 19th and the 20th century doubling their population every 100 years. This has led to a severe strain on the natural resources and the environment. China has recently implemented the 1-child policy to check its population.

China opened up its economy in 1970, allowed foreign investment and rapidly grew its economy towards a developed economy. Decisive government, patriotic & hard working people helped it to rapidly lift its masses out of poverty, import & integrate technology. It is currently the largest exporter in the world.

Due to uncontrollable debt, India had to liberalize in 1991 opening up its economy to the World. This launched India to integrate the technology of West with its culture. However a large population, indecisive democratic government, cast system has been a hindrance to lift its majority out of poverty, integrate technology and become a developed nation. It would be several decades before we become a developed nation. The probability of success is stacked against her.

Some current scenario facts of China & India are shown in the table below:

Region/ Country People Qualities Population (Million) GDP (Trillion$) Exports/ Imports Industries / Companies Outlook
China Confucius Patriotic, Hard Working 1300 4.3 Largest Exporter Diversified / Petro China, Bank of China, China Construction, China Pet & Chem, China Telecom, China Life Insurance, Bank of Communications, Baoshan Iron and Steel, China Shenhua Energy, Ping An Insurance 4
India* Ashoka the beloved, Mahatma Gandhi, Buddha The Current India is yet to define itself 1200 1.2 1% of World Exports Diversified  / Reliance, ONGC, SBI, IOC, ICICI, NTPC, SAIL, Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communication 1

There are several thoughts and questions about the future of China and India

1. Due to an increasing large population & decreasing quality of life, where will the future leaders come from in China and India?

2. Currently India has a rigid caste system. If she has to replace it with a new system, what would it be like?

3. As both China & India are known for outsourcing & manufacturing and innovation hard to come by, when will they excel or be on-par with the developed world?

4. Both the countries are in an in-between state where their old philosophy has been lost and innovation hard to come by. Where are these two countries heading to? Or are they just living by the day?

5. *After more than 60 years after Independence, India is yet to make our own Indian flag properly. The Ashoka chakra rolled over 1 inch to the left from the middle of the Indian flag. I am then confused, what is the definition of patriotism?

# All data in this blog  is either from Glimpses of World History by Jawaharlal Nehru, The Discovery of India by Jawaharlal Nehru, Wikipedia or Google

God

January 29, 2010

God

Religion is a way of life one follows involving one’s thought, speech and action. It also involves devotional and ritual observances. The data below gives out the different religions and the number of people adhering to them.

Religion Number Of People (Billion) % of World Population
Christianity 2 33
Islamism 1.5 20
Hinduism 1 13
Buddhism 0.5 6
Traditional Chinese 0.5 6
Non-Religious 1 15

Most of these religions have one or more Gods. It is believed there are more than 2 million Gods. God is someone who has built the entire universe and has the power to heal. Approximately 85% of the World Population believes in God.

There is an entire industry around God. People are employed in this industry, business are run and profits are made. There is also speculative data that business may be bought and run by these sacred places. There might be some instances of illegal trade happening at these places also. The data below gives out the people directly or indirectly employed in the God’s industry.

Employment Number Of People (Million)
Direct (Priest, Pandits, Mullahs, Sacred Place keeper and helper) 3.5
(Priest – 0.5
Pandits – 0.5
Mullahs – 0.5
Sacred Place keepers and helpers-2)
Indirect (Vendors, Consultants, BankersLawyers) 3.5

God and Politics are intricately linked. Politicians often influence the masses through God (speeches containing references of God, advertising material having references of God, conducting rituals) to vote for them.

We also need to think about the environment when we think about God. Millions of people take a dip in rivers to wash away their sins. Trees and tree products (flowers, leaves, coconuts, lemon, green chilies) are used for worshipping God. There is noise pollution from the sacred places like temples and mosque. Are we environment-friendly? Do we need to harm the environment while thinking of God?

As science & technology progresses, the wealth spreads across the world, and the standard of living of people improves, is God increasingly becoming  a commodity?

Some Quirky Questions for everyone to think about God

1. Why do we need God?
2. Why do we think of God? When do we think of God (in crisis, as a monotonous ritual everyday)?
3.Why do we war? Is it a idea prophesized by God? If not, then do we really beleive in God?
4. Does the darkest things (Slave trade, Drugs) of human go along with the God Industry?
5. Does 85% of World’s Money lie with 15% of the World Population who are Athiest?
6. Is God relevant today? What is it dependent on?
7. Lot of money is acquired by the sacred places through donations, consulting & service fees, other sources. Where does all the money go? Is it tax-free? Is it deposited in banks for interest? Is it invested in companies? What about non-monetary donations like precious metals?

* All data in this blog are assumptions or from Wikipedia & Google

# The Blog URL contains “God-beta” instead of “God”. I am hoping someone might walk on this land a few hundred years or centuries later and probably must have met God by then. My humble request to him is to change the blog URL then to “God” from “God-beta”

CautionThis might be all theory

Meeting Gandhi through a Bullet (Blast from the Past)

January 28, 2010

Meeting Gandhi through a Bullet (Blast from the Past)

(This is an incomplete Blog from the past- I could recover only this much from the Internet)

June 17th, 2006

Yahoo!

Last week, I was looking out to read some good books and for some adventure. I went to a bookstore “Crosswords” near my home and was lookin out for an interesting read. Normally I go prepared by preparing a list of books i would wanna read. But this time I was generally looking out when i saw “Bapuji” staring at me. I picked up the book “My experiments by Truth” By Mahatma Gandhi. Hmmm.. I said. He was one of the most important folks of the 20th century and i hardly know much about him. I quickly picked up the book and got back home to meet Gandhiji.

My new bike was still very new. The speedometer read 60 kms. I haven’t driven it much and i am still getting used to it (My first bike experience!). Weekend was near and i thought i need to practice a bit to get a feel of the bike. I though about driving to Satara.Why Satara? Well, I used to always see the directions to Mumbai and Satara on the boards on the Pune Highway. Mumbai and Satara are exactly on the opposite sides! So somehow it struck me i need to go to Satara. So on Saturday morning, I packed a sandwich and a mawa cake and started off for Satara. Meanwhile I was still shadowing Bapuji with his experiments with truth. I was literally spellbound by the dedication, sincerity and the energy of this man and was almost in a state of shock. I mean, you have to read this book to understand the kind of work done by him. Human spirit at its best! He did some amazing social service in South Africa and India. He used to treat people who had leprosy, plague even when doctors refused to attend them of fear of their contagious nature. And off-course he had a very simple living. A very simple living I must say! He used to live on fruits and nuts. And barely had any savings.

I had initially thought the ride to Satara would be like a 2 lane highway all the way and would be comfortable and easy. Straight Straight! I dont know why & what made be think like this. As I took off the highway was pretty empty as compared to a normal city traffik. Just as i had thought. I was happy and kept the bike at 40 miles/hr. But soon I something else stored in for me. More adventure! While i was driving, my subconscious mind free from everything started thinking about the experiments with truth. Bapuji became a brahmachari in search of truth and Ahimsa. He used to say one has to reduce himself to zero to attain truth and true compassion. Hmm all his experiments and words starting ringing in my head. His initial life with his wife where he has acknowledged that he had lot of lust. And then as he was growing up, he was trying to overcome the lure of lust. And then he started working on his diet. Reducing it to nuts and fruits. He had also abandoned drinking milk till he was nearly on the deathbed. On the instance of several doctors he then had to take (with regret!) goat’s milk. As he had taken a vow not to take milk and milk products, he was very disappointed with himself. He also had started experimenting with the idea of Satyagraha, non-cooperation and civil disobedience. Is this true power? Not by aggression or violence but purely by thought. Hmmmm….

CAUTION: This might be all theory

Anne, Hitler and Tanaji (Blast from the Past)

January 28, 2010

Anne, Hitler and Tanaji (Blast from the Past)

(This is an incomplete Blog from the past- I could recover only this much from the Internet)

June 18th, 2006

Howdy?

I got up a bit early in the morning with a slight fever as a result of a viral infection in the throat. But the call of the mountains within me was too great to resists. My bike hadn’t had a wash since weeks, so I decided it to clean it up first. As I was enjoying giving it a wash, I heard a voice behind my back “You need to clean the engine first!” I looked up and found a 45 year old guy (I guess he was cleaning his car and he came over after looking at me washing my bike). He didn’t stop a second and started telling me everything about the art of cleaning a bike that I need to get a brush to clean the tires. Then I need to get a spray so that I don’t have to clean the bike everyday. Mirrors are best cleaned up with newspapers. Seats need to be cleaned with wet cloth and he went on for 10 minutes or so. I was getting a bit annoyed but that’s the way it happens in India. Advice is for free and that too in generous doses! I shot back with a cloth in my hand “Sir would you be kind enough to demonstrate how do I clean the bike as it is my first time” and I looked at the bike after saying that. I didn’t hear any response and got a bit curious. I looked up and found that the guy was nowhere in sight! I looked around and wasn’t able to trace him. So long! Aaah, if only I knew this before I would have said it right at the beginning. Btw, I have named my bike “Jholoo” as it does exactly the opposite of what I am hoping it to do. It pee’s the oil all over the place (I need to get that fixed) and drinks gallons of petrol as I have never fed it any food or water for days. And off-course the electronic start never works due to which I have to kick-start the 175 kgs gorilla most of the times!

Anne Frank as in her diary was a very high spirited and beautiful girl. She was just 14 when Germany declared war (World War II) on the allies (1942). Being a Jew, her rights were very much curtailed. Jews had to wear a band on their shoulder in order to distinguish them from others. They could get out of their homes and shop only in particular hours of the day. Restrictions were there on their work, way of living, clothes and everything actually! Atrocities against the Jews were rising as the war was progressing. Germans started taking Jews to labor camps and gas chambers where they were killed eventually. Anne’s family decided that it was time to get into hiding as it was too dangerous to stay in the open. They decided to get into a “Secret Annex” which was built under Anne’s father’s office. And her father’s business partner would help them out with food, water and other basic necessities. Anne took her clothes, some books and started living in this annex. This place had 4 rooms and was completely cut off from the outside world. Sunlight and fresh air would be luxuries for months too come. Gosh! Is this a horrible dream? I decided against Lohagad (150 miles both ways) as it would be too exhausting for me considering my illness. Instead, I picked up on Sinhagad which is one of the closest forts from Pune. 75 miles to and fro. I packed some biscuits and a fruit with a bottle of water in my bag and off I was to Sinhagad. Tanaji, who had his loyalty to Shivaji, captured the forts against all odds. The quality of air was getting better, a sure sign that I was approaching the countryside. I was in high spirits and was of the view that the bike trek would be pretty easy considering my recent expedition to Mahabaleshwar. Even Anne started her life in the Secret Annex with a very high spirit and a very optimistic outlook. Little were we aware of the hardships and surprises’ which were stored ahead for both of us. Anne and I both were in love with life and wanted to discover the world.

CAUTION: This might be all theory

Aala re Aala, Gopal aala (Blast from the Past)

January 28, 2010

Aala re Aala, Gopal aala (Blast from the Past)

(This is an incomplete Blog from the past- I could recover only this much from the Internet)

June 24th, 2006

Hi,

The rains have been really coming down in this part of India. Gopal (my school friend) came over to Pune from Bombay the night before the day we would start our journey to re-discover our life with Jholoo. Jholoo wasn’t very happy when he heard that he would have one more lousy human being on its back. He grunted but then did he have a choice? I picked up Gopal at around 3 a.m. from the bus stop. He had a hectic 4 hours journey from Bombay to Pune after completing his day’s work. I quickly introduced Gopal to Jholoo and off we went to sleep as we had to start early on Saturday morning. I had also picked up a fresh book for this weekend. It’s about the oldest & the most precious legacy which India has and it claims that it is as relevant now as it has been before. It starts off with something like this “Take the example of a man who has everything, young, healthy, strong, good and cultured, with all the wealth the earth can offer; let us take this as one measure of joy. One hundred times that joy is the joy of gandharvas; but no less joy have those who are illumined”. The book is “The Upanishads”. It deals with the study of mind. It is not concerned with what are the results, when the mind and other senses are focused as a laser. Rather it is interested with the process of focusing a mind to attain a particular result. It also attempts to answer “What is life and death? What is the purpose of life? Does everything happen by chance or in an orderly fashion?” (Einstein used to think “God doesn’t play dice”) Hmmm… This sounds interesting but sounds a bit lofty too. How relevant would this be in today’s dog-eat-dog world? Am I too young to read this as I have always heard that such books are read only by the old or the wise! But somehow my soul has found some kind of solace while reading it. With the book in my arms, I dozed off waiting for an eventful day ahead (Yeah! Somehow I go off to sleep as soon as I have the book in my arms)

Pune was nice and easy in the morning when we rode off with Jholoo. The air was wet with the rains and the roads sparkling clean. Considering the changing weather and the increasing intensity of rains, we decided not to travel to Bombay. Instead we chose Khandala (Yes, it is the same place which Aamir Khan made it famous in his song “Aati Kya Khandala”). Khandala would be around 80 kms one way and we should be able to cover the distance within a day’s time if the rains don’t play a spoil-sport. As soon as we got on the highway, Gopal asked me if he could get into the drivers seat. I wasn’t very happy but then I said “What the heck? Gopal is my good ol’ school-friend and he would give Jholoo back to me in an hour or so”. Later I would discover that I would never get to ride Jholoo for that whole day! Gopal and Jholoo started to enjoy each other and drove pretty well. I haven’t seen better bike riders (Gopal and Ram are some of them). Most of the bikers looking at a 350 cc bike, would start speeding it up to 100 kms/ hour or so. However, Gopal kept Jholoo at around 40 km/ hour initially and we starting enjoying the drive & the greenery around us. The Sahyadri’s criss-cross in the western regions and we could see hundreds of mountains on the way. They had become green with the grass and trees dotting them because of the rains. It was a beautiful sight! Riding a bike in rains is more fun and pleasant for the eyes than most people think. It is a bit risky but overall I think it is a treat which no-one shouldn’t miss! And believe me, traveling on a bike and traveling in a car to such places are two things which are poles apart. The car ride is mostly dull whereas the bike ride is a very eventful affair as you are always one with the environment. I was finding myself more at peace just as I felt after reading the “The Upanishads”. The sages who wrote the Upanishads didn’t care to leave their names behind as they didn’t feel it was important for them to do so.

CAUTION: This might be all theory

Economic Outlook of the World in 2010

January 27, 2010

Economic Outlook of the World in 2010

(Caution: This might be all theory)

As we currently look around the world, we are wondering what are some of the key qualities of each country and its economic impact. Its natural resources? The money which it has? The population or the number of people in that country? These are some of the parameters of a country. However there are a few people of that country which change the course of their country and the world too. They create enough value and also define certain standards & qualities (In any field : philosophy, art, literature, science) for everyone around them for years, decades and probably centuries to come. And then we come to identify the country through them.

Let us start looking around the world for countries which have gone far & beyond. Countries like USA, Germany, England, Japan & Russia are at the top of the ladder due to some inherent qualities in them. India and Islamic Countries are currently in a state of change and need to define their identity. China is somewhere in the middle of the ladder- a bit assertive and a bit confused.

Americans are known for risk taking abilities. People like Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Wright Brothers took enormous risks and have built USA which is the foremost country in almost every respect. Germans like Albert Einstein, Max Planck looked at excellence and created the most superior technology for their country. Germans like Immanuel Kant, Beethoven, Mozart also excelled in arts. It is rare that you can find excellence in arts and technology, both from the same country (Germany). England is known for artist, thinkers and people like Shakespeare, Newton and Darwin examplify this. India has produced eminent thinkers, leaders like Ashoka the beloved, Buddha and Mahatma Gandhi.

Region/ Country People Qualities Population (Million) GDP (Trillion$) Exports / Imports Industries / Companies Outlook
U.S.A^ Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Wright Brothers Risk-Taking, Humorous, Creative, Fair, Hard-Working 307 14.4 Third Largest Exporter Oil, Car and Computers (Internet) / Exxon Mobil, Wal-Mart, Chevron, ConocoPhilips, General Electric, General Motors, Ford Motor, AT&T, HP, Valero Energy 10
Germany Immanuel Kant, Beethoven, Mozart, Albert Einstein, Max Planck Creative, Excellence, Hard-Working 82 2.91 Second Largest Exporter Cars, Construction/ DaimlerVolkswagen, Allianz, Siemens, Deutsche Bank, E.ON, Deutsche Post, Deutsche Telekom, Metro, BASF 10
England William Shakespeare, Newton, Darwin, Churchill Creative, Innovative, Thinkers 51 1.9 Ninth Largest Exporter Bank, Pharma/      BP, HSBC, Royal Bank Of Scotland, Barclays, HBOS, Lloyds TSB, GlaxoSmithKline, BT, Prudential, Astrazeneca, Tesco 7
Japan Tokugawa Ieyasu,
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Patriotic,
Improvisation, Hard Working
128 5 Fourth Largest Exporter Cars, Electronics / Toyota, Nintendo, NTT Docomo, Canon, Honda, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Sony, Nippon Steel, Tepco, Mitsubishi, 711 5
Russia Leo Tolstoy, Lenin Creative, Excellence 142 1.67 3% of World Exports Oil, Space / Gazprom, Rosneft, TNK-BP, Lukoil, Novatek, Gazprom-Neft, Surgutneftegas, NLMK, MMK, Evraz 5
China Confucius Patriotic, Hard Working 1300 4.3 Largest Exporter Diversified / Petro China, Bank of China, China Construction, China Pet & Chem, China Telecom, China Life Insurance, Bank of Communications, Baoshan Iron and Steel, China Shenua Energy, Ping An Insurance 4
Islamic Countries Akbar, Muhammad Yunus Patriotic, The Islamic Countries need to redefine themselves 1200 5.2 10% of World Exports Oil Saudi Arabian Oil Co., National Iranian Oil Co., Petroliam nasional Bhd., Kuwait Petroleum Corp, Iraq National Oil Co**, Koc Holding A.S., Abu Dhabi National Oil Co, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, Sonatrach, Nigerian National Petroleum Co 2
India* Ashoka the beloved, Mahatma Gandhi, Buddha The Current India is yet to define itself 1200 1.2 1% of World Exports Diversified  / Reliance, ONGC, SBI, IOC, ICICI, NTPC, SAIL, Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communication 1
* We need to learn atleast how to make our own flag. I saw a few flags during the Republic Day and The Ashoka chakra had rolled over 1 inch to the left from the middle of the flag (or the rest of the flag except the Ashoka chakra moved 1 inch to the right). Either ways the flag was  dishonored. Common Sense Glitch.* Data from IMF (www.imf.org), Glimpses of World History by Jawaharlal Nehru, Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org) & Google (www.google.com)^ I have been in USA for approximately 2 years and i was treated in the most fair and respectable way every time. Impeccable Record by the Americans. On the contrary, the attitude of most Indians and Indians-turned-Americanswas that of arrogance and indifference.** Iraq National Oil Company. There is a North Oil company and a South Oil Company. Please go through the following links also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_National_Oil_Company, Iraq South Oil Company

From the above qualities of the country and the data, we have to identify who would the foremost countries a hundred years from now. Countries which would be able to adapt to the globalised world and flourish in every field. USA, Germany, England, Japan & Russia already have some most basic qualities (Risk-taking, creative and hard-working) required to excel in any scenario. The Chinese are patriotic & hard-working but they still need to learn the art of discovery & innovation. The Islamic Countries and India got lost somewhere in between & are yet to form an identity for themselves. If these countries are lucky, someone might come by and define an identity for them in the next few hundred years (however the probability of leaders coming by will decrease with time ahead – to be discussed in one of my next blogs).


The Islamic Future

January 21, 2010

The Islamic Future

(CautionThis might be all theory)

Innovation in Islam was mostly there till the 15th century. They almost invented science and whole lot of other stuff like coffee. However from 15th century onward Europe and US took lead in terms of innovation and technology. In the 19th century with the discovery of oil, the Arab Countries started raking huge profits and became rich.

Now they are flush with money, however they need to start looking at innovation again. With oil loosing its independence by next century, they would be sitting on a huge cashpile of money without any other source of revenues . As oil continues to dominate their output and revenues and will continue to do so until unless they can walk on the road of discovery & innovation soon enough.

So the Question then is “How do they start discovering & innovating?”

Some Data:

* All Data from the IMF Website (www.imf.org)

Country Important People Population GDP Exports Imports
Indonesia 228 million $845 billion $118 billion $86 billion
Pakistan 172 million $475 billion $14 billion $21 billion
Bangladesh Muhammad Yunus 162 million $330 billion $9 billion $12 billion
Nigeria 154 million $175 billion $52 billion $25 billion
Egypt Gamal Abdel Nasser 77 million $304 billion $14 billion $24 billion
Turkey Suleiman 71 million $902 billion $116 billion $145 billion
Iran Ayatollah Khomeni 70 million $610 billion $65 billion $42 billion
Sudan 39 million $85 billion $6 billion $5 billion
Algeria 33 million $235 billion $49 billion $22 billion
Afghanistan 33 million $21 billion $0.4 billion $4 billion
Morocco 33 million $135 billion $9 billion $18 billion
Iraq 28 million $94 billion $17 billion $20 billion
Malaysia 27 million $357 billion $169 billion $132 billion
Saudi Arabia 27 million $446 billion $165 billion $44 billion
Uzbekistan 27 million $50 billion $5 billion $4 billion
Yemen 23 million $19 billion $6 billion $4 billion
Syria 19 million $71 billion $6 billion $6 billion
Kazakhstan 15 million $125 billion $30 billion $17 billion
Niger 13 million $12 billion $0.2 billion $0.6 billion
Burkina Faso 13 million $17 billion $0.4 billion $1 billion
Top Industries (Oil n Gas, Diversified)
GDP of Muslim World is about 5% of the World Total

Mahatma Gandhi and Peace

January 21, 2010

Mahatma Gandhi and Peace

Mahatma Gandhi is one of the greatest leaders produced by our country “India“. Earlier, I was under the impression that Mahatma Gandhi represented a symbol of Peace. However leaders like him and others (Che Guevara), they hardly should be represented as symbols of Peace.

We all associate Mahatma Gandhi with Peace. However on the contrary he was at war. He had a set of ideals or Quality standards for himself and for his environment. As he was unsatisfied by the poor Quality standards around him, he started waging war against the people who were responsible for the poor quality standards. It started in South Africa and then in India. The tool of non-violence was just an instrument to war against the people who were responsible for these poor Quality Standards. It hardly represents Peace. (I wonder if the tool of indifference might have been more effective instead of turning the other cheek).

(This blog is for myself and others who are under the impression that Mahatma Gandhi represents peace)

(Caution: This might be all theory)

Sky and Beyond

January 20, 2010

Sky and Beyond

What is Sky?

Sky is the projection of Sun’s light during the day. At night there are stars much further from the sun and they emit their own light. So the sky we see in the day is much closer than the sky we see in the night. At present we are yet to ascertain that if there is a boundary for the atmosphere we see. Or is it boundless like infinity.

If we can build an artifical source  with an intensity greater than the intensity of Sun’s light,then there can be a interference pattern at the place where the sun’s light tapers off. Also the signal (waves) produced by the artificial source would go further than the sun’s light and might help us discover what lies beyond the current sky. For example, Quantum Entanglement has a speed with a minimum bound of 10000 the speed of light. It might be possible for us to peek into our past, right from the beginning of life & the universe with the help of Quantum Entanglement or similar sources. Go where no man has gone before!

Caution: This might be all theory