July 1 to August 21 The Hindu NEWS. [To be read for Upsc mains]

Only the headings from The Hindu. If I missed anything, add it in the comments.

[V] July 1. Of Reliance, by Reliance, for Reliance. The gas flare up. Rupee fall: need to end short termism. Croatia's EU entry. An Indian mission to another frontier in space.

[V] July 2. A train journey worth making. India's first navigation sat soars to success. Putin's win-win offer to U.S. Gas allocation:EGoM to review priority ranking.

[V] July 3. The emerging debt trap. Head in sands on Snowden. Telecom commission approves hike in fdi. Beyond SL's big brother syndrome. Grant him asylum, uphold his freedoms.

[V] July 4. S&T. Affirming the right to read. restoring nature's shock absorbers (planing ahead sub topic), cbi will be given fnl autonomy. Egypt's army chief removes Morsy.

[V] July 5. The costly tyranny of secrecy. Egypt's political abyss.

[V] July 6. Next big idea in the Indian ocean. Food for politics. Fear unfounded. Freebies verdict.

[V] July 7. India, China agree to rebuild fragile defense ties. . India enters new era of space navig (idsa).

[V] July 8. Tax ball in India's court. Letting freebies be. LWE-hit states fighting Maoists with depleted police force. Growing risks to stability.

[V] July 9. Protect, don't snoop. IVF baby born using genetic screening. The fall spells more trouble. A path to environmental burnout. Wanted, an Indian Frankfurter. Learning to live in a new asia.

[V] July 10. When friends and foes are all the same.

[V] July 11. Mps, Mlas to be dq'd on date of criminal conviction. Seven year itch. A caustive rebuke. When expedience trumps expertise.

[V] June 13. MIT, I ask, where's my metadata? U.S. broke domestic and international law. Bhutan all set for elections. Malala celebrates sweet 16 at U.N. The elusive smoothness of the silk route. Living in an extreme world. Organs, made to order.

[V] June 14. Are slums a problem or solution? Why patients pay more.

[V] June 15. Bhutan's change of guard. India's date with the Arctic. An oasis against the knowledge famine. Telegram no more stop 100 stop.

[V] June 16. Crosscurrents in India-US ties. Too much dragon, too little kingdom.

[V] July 17. Total autonomy sine qua non, says cbi. Liquidity curbs help rupee recovery. Spooked by politics. Crime, caste and judicial restraint. isro tweaking transponder allocation norms. When leelabai runs the farm. No to peeping sams. Perpetuating short-termism. DBT for lpg a big success.

[V] July 18. S&T. Turning garbage into gas. Cabinet nod for mountain strike corps along china border. Mandela and the Mahatma. Betting big on fdi.

[V] July 19. All for the want of a horseshoe nail. Cannot risk a parallel army in north: Basil.

[V] July 20. Missing ingredient in the school lunch. Dancing in the dark. Not losing it in paradise.

[V] July 22. Looking beyond the headlines. Parliament should back the court, not criminals. NSA scoffs at Indian prism, favors coop on cyber security. Political meddling proves toxic for spcb's. Time lapse is no ground for quashing preventive detention. Demanding transparency in political finance.

[V] July 23. What Hindus can & should be proud of? At wto, India will face price catch. Scorpene sub delayed by one more year. Making negligence pay. The evidence is mounting.

[V] July 24. In china, rare remembrancr of fallen Uighur. Man with the midas touch in maritime world dies. 30% local sourcing norm can't be met. Meet Kirbo, Japan's robot astronaut. Cji criticizes media excess, but bats for self-regulation.

[V] July 25. Accept expert panel report on GM crops. A case against supreme immunity. A rejection of the maximum-force approach. Vanishing poverty trick. The unempowered Asian.

[V] July 26. Diet supplement for India-Japan ties. What Pathribal means for India?

[V] July 27. India, France agree to deepen defense ties. Helplesa before the power of mob. Pullin  out all the stops.

[V] July 28. Agreement on Master Partnership signed for giant optical telescope.

[V] July 29. A reprieve for reason. No exits from these tunnels of death. This bill won't eat your money. Why drones deserve a second look.

[V] July 30. Love in the water, fear on land. Empowering sebi the right way. The dishinesty in counting the poor. Promises to keep.

[V] July 31. Telangana will be India's 29th state. Home min worried about fallout. Looking beyond the high priced entry ticket.

[ ] 1. S&T. Telangana triggers nationwide demands for more states.

[ ] 2. Change the bathwater, don't throw out the baby. The shaky geopolitics of India's food security. Promised land. Govt. moves to keep parties outside rti.

[ ] 3. The drift to a national security. Accounting for accountability. No starting point to resolution.

[ ] 5. Half measure on tobacco control. Winning back credibility.

[ ] 6. Excavations reveal Khirsara a major industrial hub of Harappan era. Alcoholic tag causes hurt to tribal victims. The devil is in the detail. Chaophraya dialogue. Crude and not sweet at all. Safeguarding diplomatic e-mails.

[ ] 7. Parliamentary supremacy under attack. Statutory, mandatory self-regulation emerging as consensus model for media.

[ ] 8. Pilot scheme for U.K. visa bond soon. Scientific inovations - India has a long way to go. Sun's magnetic flip may affect Earth's climate. For a more inclusive ballot.

[ ] 9. Adding fuel to the fire. Banking on more than luck. Unequal status tells on women's nutrition. Family gets a say on a medical legacy. Another bit of pattanam puzzle found.

[ ] 10. A year of curiosity. Crisis looms on the horizon. Justice is still teething, 15 years on. Less corporate, more social. Plantation tamil's long battle for some land and a sense of belonging. Border spate with India easier to manage. They want their alienated land back for cultivation.

[ ] 11. Sunday story is Sand mining. (Looking at substitutes). In a first for India, nuclear sub's reactor activated. Reaching a milestone in nuclear technology.

[ ] 12. BOT projects hit speed bump. Push for Bermuda marine reserve. An ugly campaign. Nip this in the bud.

[ ] 13. Inaccessible India. A strategic milestone. No Immediate threat. A settlement long overdue. Their hands will look different. First ever amendment to historic RTI act tabled.

[ ] 14. Justice as a game of chance. Hyperloop concept unvieled. Playing responsible brother in Myanmar.

[ ] 15. RBI clamps down on outflows to defend rupee. Clean, convenient property transactions coming.

[ ] 16. Lookin for good company. What went wrong with India's Tb control. The leopard eaters of the himalayas.

[ ] 17. Leaving no stone unturned. Kepler's planet-hunting days over; alternatives sought.

[ ] 19. Focus should be on the real sector and not on the rupee. Rich world fails U.N. scheme on Amazon park. U.S. to help India face new security challenges. Food for thought.

[ ] 20. Miranda detention. 12th gram sabha too votes against vedanta mining. Irrational inexuberance. Where have all the women gone?

[ ] 21. A preventable tragedy. A charter for the cbi. India, China hope to finalize border defense co-op pact.

Upsc Mains: Blank answer sheet for practice.

Click here to download.

The Story of Civilization Volume.2 by Arjun Dev

This is the old ncert book by Arjun Dev. Useful for GS-1 world history topic.

Click Here to download.

Credits to my friend Manikandan who downloaded the entire book page by page as TIFF file. 

Feb 24 to June 30 The Hindu NEWS. [To be read for Upsc mains]

Only the headings from The Hindu. If I missed anything, add it in the comments.

[ ] Feb 24. Natl nctc. interntl rally. Sunday Open Page. Capital punishment. Link Mar 13th Lead.
[ ] Feb 25. Beyond commonwealth, cricket and curry. Sharper eye on earth's water. Taking freedom of mobility seriously.
[ ] Feb 26. No solace in this quantum of accountability. Building inclusive cities.
[ ] Feb 27. Railway Budget. How Ethiopians benefit from Indian (and other) land investors.
[ ] Feb 28. Economic Survey.
[ ] March 1. Union Budget.
[ ] March 2. An opportunity missed. Short term gloom, long term doom.
[ ] March 3. Sunday story. Railways. DBT a failure, beneficiaries excluded.
[ ] March 4. Police reforms kashmiris can do without. Shoots, kills and trades in animal parts.
[ ] March 5. Im against a govt that uses violence to govern. A model that delivers-TN.
[ ] March 6. Dont muddy the kishenganga verdict. Much ado about absense of trust (churchill-stalin agreement can be quoted somewhere)
[ ] March 7. S&T.
[ ] March 8. Patently just. Our bodies, our selves. In palk bay, goodwill slips thro fishing nets.
[ ] Mar 9. N.Korea vows to end peace pacts. Land lessons from Australia.
[ ] Mar10. Why are we on slow track?. Can electric vehicles withstand the Indian heat?
[ ] Mar 11. Pg.14. China. Lead Editorial. . Nat page, Bills.
[ ] March 12. The infrastructure challenge. Where bullet and ballot go hand in hand. Why the U.S. has not had an attack after 9/11 (NCTC argument)
[ ] Mar 14. Battle of ideas over Delhi's ruins. Putting bharat on an equal footing with India. Too early to cheer on HIV. S&T. Oslo summit asks: is melting of arctic sea ice a boon or a bane?
[ ] Mar 15. New glitters on the golden pagodas. Undp brackets india with equatorial guinea in hdi. Giving panthera tigris a chance.
[ ] March 17. Sunday story. Governance 2.0.
[ ] March 18 & 19. Promise of a new beginning. India's stake in the Egyptian renaissance.
[ ] Mar 20. Food security bill, anti-rape bill and markbot replicator. Aadhar is transparent and accountable.
[ ] Mar 21. Abel prize. S&T. No country for newborn children. Why India needs to vote for resolution on SL.
[ ] March 22. Caste, corruption and romanticism. Innovate against child deaths. UN resolution against SL.
[ ] Mar 23 & 24. A case for a new regional doctrine. Sunday story Unreformed.
[ ] Mar 25. Building it brick by brick. New chapter, old challenges. Stung into action.
[ ] Mar 26. Brics and mortar for India's global role. Pains of a bailout. Everyone needs a place to go.
[ ] Mar 27. The past & present of Indian environmentalism. In asteroid's aftermath, a sigh of relief. Nuclear coop, key to multiple projects: kazakh. India and America, battling together in Asia. Black carbon fron south asia melting Tibetan glaciers. Journey to where the sun doesn't shine.
[ ] Mar 28. S&T. Quantum computers turn mainstream. Largest ever cyber attack jams Internet. Mission accomplished. India will continue to work for peace, stability in Africa, says PM. Brics bank to focus on infra dvlpmt.
[ ] Mar 29. Gender justice, interrupted. Martyrdom does not help SL tamils. Picking friends, influencing neighbors. Srikrishna panel moots indian financial code bill. Successful ignition of indigenous cryogenic engine.
[ ] Mar 30 & 31. ATT. Water is the exilir of lifr, let us join hands to conserve it.
[ ] Apr 1. Outsourcing investment & other follies. No high five for RTE. A universal problem.
[ ] April 2. One river, two countries, too many dams. It's time for free trade pact with Russia, says India. A just order.
[ ] Apr 3. Expatriate worries. UN passes historic arms trade treaty. Why India abstained on arms trade treaty?
[ ] Apr 4. Reforms that never come. Mew light on dark matter. S&T.
[ ] Apr 5. Sugar industry decontrolled. The next contagion.
[ ] Apr 6. Time to revisit Vienna convention.
[ ] Apr 7. Sunday story: patent justice. Almaty talks: a winding road ahead.
[ ] Apr 8. CAD the danger is real. India needa a federal foreign policy. A treaty with gaping holes.
[ ] Apr 9. Why India is right on SL?
[ ] Apr 10. Keep the green tax. Antarctic team digs deep to find climate future.
[ ] Apr 11. Lessons from the east godavari pilot. Upholding the right to life. 5th gen fighter crosses a milestone. S&T.
[ ] Apr 13. Chimp human traits in hominid fossil. Not so free. The passing of a deadline. Afghan concerns lend weight to India, China talks. Proliferation, safety concerns at nuclear policy meet.
[ ] Apr 14. The way out of the mess on road.
[ ] Apr 16. India, tajik stress stakes in Afghan peace.
[ ] Apr 18. S&T. Resources below, turmoil above. Development without strings attached. Sour notes at the nuclear high table. The power to pardon. India, china could find common ground in Afghan.
[ ] Apr 20. An invitation from a neighbour. Beam us up, Bangalore. On the bright side. Russia launches bio-SaT.
[ ] Apr 21. Chechen link steps up Russia-US. cooperation.
[ ] Apr 22. The crisis in our community. Down to minus 45. Historic Serbia-Kosovo accord brokered by EU.
[ ] Apr 23. Serbian govt approves kosovo deal. Chechen rebela deny role in bombing.
[ ] Apr 24. Coal blocks allocation arbitrary, says parliamentary panel. Putting security back into childhood. The case that saved Indian democracy.
[ ] Apr 25. Last domino in the Balkans. A count that just does not add up. S&T.
[ ] Apr 26. Succumbing to the bogey of fear.
[ ] Apr 27. Compromised bureau of Inv. A turning point in Syria. Serb prez apologises for Serbrenica massacre.
[ ] Apr 28. Hal to produce cryogenic engines for Isro. Nepal, India and China: a vision of trilateral cooperation.
[ ] Apr 29. Pass to better relations with China. India, Russia agree on Afghan peace, but differ on drawdown. Freedom that must have limits.
[ ] Apr 30. Finally, common ground in the balkans. Indigenising defense. Hotspot in a spot.
[ ] World history. Serbrenica massacre.
[ ] May 1. Reliance jio, five others join to set up under-sea cable system. Arab league nod for Israel-Palestine land swap. Scientists downplay earthquake risks. The cat is out of the bag. We should liberate cbi from interference, says sc.
[ ] May 3. Any peace deal will be put to referendum, says Israeli Pm. Sciemtists find key to ageing. The significance of Niyamgiri. Silent spread.
[ ] May 4. Hamas reject softening of peace plan. Keeping children out of labour.
[ ] May 5. Sunday story- Sunny future. Many a hurdle on rte path. India to develop Iranian port. Indial considering more investments inIran.
[ ] May 6. Between life and death, the crucial difference. Why the failure in Almaty is a big deal. Tehran furious as Israel attacks Syria.
[ ] May 7. It didn't occur to us to inform court of changes. Fear of nuke disaster has no basis. The lion is Indian, not a Gujarati. Making sense of the depsang incursion. Iran for bigger Indian role in Syria.
[ ] May 8. Access to the printed words. Between mass hunger and bursting granaries. World heritage sites status sought for 6 rajasthan forts, himalayan park.
[ ] May 9. Kurdish rebels moving out of Turkey. Us, Russia agree on Syria peace process. S&T.
[ ] May 10. The Levant's last chance. Five basics to handle our border problem.
[ ] May 11. An Indian winter. Time to let the caged bird sing. Cash transfers are bad for food security. US orders 3d print designs removed.
[ ] May 12. Pakistan election.
[ ] May 13. Second chance to mend ties.
[ ] May 14. Rising farm wages will lift all boats. India's defense needa fdi. New danger zone for earth:un. Jusrists want India to sign Hague convention.
[ ] May 15. How India dealt with Iran without treading on US toea. Angelina ex may spread mastectomy awareness in India. My medical choice. Thanks to MNrEGA: no bonded labour anymore. India unveils first indigenous rotavirus vaccine. In malkangiri, losing the fight for hearts and minds.
[ ] May 16. India gets observer status in Arcric council. Sreme cells recovered from cloned human embryos. A to-do list for the new law minister. S&T.
[ ] May 17. Looking beyond gold. Sharing the burden of going green. UN for political transition in Syria.
[ ] May 18. Shocking betrayal on western ghats. Time to put garbage on the table. Turkey's kurdish challenge.
[ ] May 19. US cleara shale gas export to India. Not all brac1/2 mutations result in breast cancer.
[ ] May 20. A handshake across the Himalayas. How the world looks from India.
[ ] May 21. Your data, going on sale soon. India plays down omission of Tibet from joint statement.
[ ] May 22. Syria-Israel conflict in the Golan heighs. Li's pak visit to deepen all weather ties.
[ ] May 23 & 24. S&T. White Bengal tiger enigma solved.
[ ] May 25. Celebrating the African renaissance. Trailblazer Srinivasan.
[ ] May 27. Inflation indexed bonds, not the panacea.
[ ] May 28. The continuing tragedy of the adivasis.
[ ] May 29. Japan is an indispensable partner in India's quest for stability in Asia. EU lifts arms embargo against Syrian rebels. A major step forward in Colombia.
[ ] May 30. S&T. UID will result in loss of freedoms. Indua, Japan to speed up talks on civil nuclear deal.
[ ] May 31. When the dragon comes calling. Finally, new delhi, bangkok sign extradition treaty. India, Thailand hopeful of trilateral highway by 2016.
[ ] June 1. Nepal tactics, without a steategy. Rounded pebbles on Mars point to water flow. Keeping the markets clean. Highway to East Asia. When rights panels become retirement parks.
[ ] June 3. Isro's pslv bags new clients, launch orders. Make amendments to law public. Nawaz and the Islamist gauntlet. Sebi @ 25, still on a learning curve.
[ ] June 4. Political parties come within ambit of rti act. A race towards climate catastrophe. Colombia's chamce at last. Protesters prepare for the long haul in Istanbul
[ ] June 5. No place to hide. Time to check the Khemka syndrome.
[ ] June 6. Food bill in a political quagmire. S&T. PM gives NCTC a miss, focuses on red terror.
[ ] June 7. Politics in the time of sunshine. Change the climate for India's poor. Inadequate overhaul. Bird flu virus - mutations to watch out for. Cbi unwilling to take no for an answer.
[ ] June 8. Repression is no solution.
[ ] June 9. Xi, Obama tread carefully on cyber espionage. Surveillance a trade-off for security. Thro the PRISM, big bro is watching.
[ ] June 10. Under cover of darkness. India gets ready to roll out cyber snooping agency.
[ ] June 11. I do not expect to see home again.
[ ] June 12. From park to nation. India ranks 141 162  countries in peace index, even lower than SL.
[ ] June 13. S&T. Child domestic workers suffer from statistical invisibility. Dot, dash, full stop: telegram service ends july 15.
[ ] June 16. Sunday story: inside the glass house. Rouhani brings hopes of a new era. Lessons from Brazil's zero hunger. Be warned! It's climate weirding.
[ ] June 17. Defenders of nsa surveillance omit most of mumbai plotter's story. At g8, the big test for US-Russia relations.
[ ] June 19. Right place, wrong arrangement. Russia, turkey snooped on by UK at G20. What Rouhani's election should mean for Washington. China's Tianhe-2 is fastest supercomputer. After defeating the terror, wimning peace together.
[ ] June 20. Lethal surveillance versus piracy. India's surveillance project may be as lethal as prism. A man made disaster, says environmentalists.
[ ] June 21. Nature avenges its exploitation. Russia throws its weight behind Karzai.
[ ] June 22. Highest ever pollution levels in Singapore.
[ ] June 24. This squeaky wheel needs no oil. India, US will seek to narrow down differences. Will not detain Snowden, says Russia.
[ ] June 25. Not great being an Indian bustard. India assures US a share of nuke pie.
[ ] June 26. Putin rules out Snowden extradition. Trio of "supet earths" in a star's habitable zone. Navigation sat launch work picks up steam.
[ ] June 27. Clear legal basis to expel snowden. S&T.
[ ] June 28. When the ganga descends. Reimagining the silk route. Nuke industry has learnt its lesson. No wheeling and dealing over snowden.
[ ] June 29. One barefoot step, a giant administrative leap. A very reliable formula.
[ ] June 30. Wanted: a natgrid for disasters.

RBI Grade B Phase 2 Books (IGNOU Compilation)

I have compiled 3 pdfs for RBI phase 2 exam by taking separate files from IGNOU. Special thanks to Mrunal for the IGNOU links. Few chapters will not be there but they can be covered using any standard books.

Link for download: 

CLICK HERE

Syllabus (Phase-II):

(i) Paper 1 – English: Essay, Précis writing, Comprehension and Business/Office Correspondence.

(ii) Paper II – Economic and Social Issues:
  Growth and Development - Measurement of growth: National Income and per capita
income;
  Poverty Alleviation and Employment Generation in India;
  Sustainable Development and Environmental issues;
  Economic Reforms in India;
  Industrial and Labour Policy;
  Monetary and Fiscal Policy;
  Privatisation – Role of Economic Planning;
  Globalization – Opening up of the Indian Economy;
  Balance of Payments;
  Export- Import Policy;
  International Economic Institutions – IMF and World Bank – WTO – Regional Economic Co-operation;
  Social Structure in India – Multiculturalism – Demographic Trends – Urbanisation and
Migration – Gender Issues – Social Justice: Positive Discrimination in favour of the under
privileged – Social Movements – Indian Political System – Human Development – Social
Sectors in India, Health and Education.

(iii) Paper III – Finance and Management:
Finance:
  The Union Budget – Direct and Indirect taxes;
  Non-tax sources of revenue; Outlays; New Measures;
  Financial Sector Reforms;
  Capital Market, Money Market and Foreign Exchange Market;
  Stock Exchanges and their Regulation;
  Capital Market Intermediaries and their Regulation;
  Role of SEBI;
  Functions of the Money Market;
  Growth and Operation of the Money Market;
  The Foreign Exchange Market: From FERA to FEMA;
  Exchange Rate Management;
  Exchange Risk Management;
  Role of Banks and Financial Institutions in Economic Development;
  Regulation of Banks and Financial Institutions;
  Disinvestment in Public Sector Units.
Management:
  Management: its nature and scope;
  The Management Processes: Planning, Organisation, Staffing, Directing and Controlling;
  The Role of a Manager in an Organisation;
  Leadership: The Tasks of a Leader; Leadership Styles; Leadership Theories; A successful
Leader versus an effective Leader;
  Human Resource Development: Concept of HRD; Goals of HRD;
  Performance Appraisal – Potential appraisal and development – Feedback and Performance
Counselling – Career Planning – Training and Development – Rewards – Employee Welfare;
  Motivation, Morale and Incentives: Theories of Motivation; How Managers Motivate;
  Concept of Morale; Factors determining morale; Role of Incentives in Building up Morale.
  Communication: Steps in the Communication Process; Communication Channels; Oral
versus Written Communication; Verbal versus non-verbal Communication; upward,
downward and lateral communication;
  Barriers to Communication, Role of Information Technology;
  Corporate Governance: Factors affecting Corporate Governance;
  Mechanisms of Corporate Governance.

Either read it by PDF's or take a print out. Happy reading:)

An Unfathomable Story About God....

You were on your way home when you died.

It was a car accident. Nothing particularly remarkable, but fatal nonetheless. You left behind a wife and two children. It was a painless death. The EMTs tried their best to save you, but to no avail. Your body was so utterly shattered you were better off, trust me.

And that’s when you met me.

“What… what happened?” You asked. “Where am I?”

“You died,” I said, matter-of-factly. No point in mincing words.

“There was a… a truck and it was skidding…”

“Yup,” I said.
 
“I… I died?”

“Yup. But don’t feel bad about it. Everyone dies,” I said.

You looked around. There was nothingness. Just you and me. “What is this place?” You asked. “Is this the afterlife?”

“More or less,” I said.

“Are you god?” You asked.

“Yup,” I replied. “I’m God.”

“My kids… my wife,” you said.

“What about them?”

“Will they be all right?”

“That’s what I like to see,” I said. “You just died and your main concern is for your family. That’s good stuff right there.”

You looked at me with fascination. To you, I didn’t look like God. I just looked like some man. Or possibly a woman. Some vague authority figure, maybe. More of a grammar school teacher than the almighty.

“Don’t worry,” I said. “They’ll be fine. Your kids will remember you as perfect in every way. They didn’t have time to grow contempt for you. Your wife will cry on the outside, but will be secretly relieved. To be fair, your marriage was falling apart. If it’s any consolation, she’ll feel very guilty for feeling relieved.”

“Oh,” you said. “So what happens now? Do I go to heaven or hell or something?”

“Neither,” I said. “You’ll be reincarnated.”

“Ah,” you said. “So the Hindus were right,”

“All religions are right in their own way,” I said. “Walk with me.”

You followed along as we strode through the void. “Where are we going?”

“Nowhere in particular,” I said. “It’s just nice to walk while we talk.”

“So what’s the point, then?” You asked. “When I get reborn, I’ll just be a blank slate, right? A baby. So all my experiences and everything I did in this life won’t matter.”

“Not so!” I said. “You have within you all the knowledge and experiences of all your past lives. You just don’t remember them right now.”

I stopped walking and took you by the shoulders. “Your soul is more magnificent, beautiful, and gigantic than you can possibly imagine. A human mind can only contain a tiny fraction of what you are. It’s like sticking your finger in a glass of water to see if it’s hot or cold. You put a tiny part of yourself into the vessel, and when you bring it back out, you’ve gained all the experiences it had.

“You’ve been in a human for the last 48 years, so you haven’t stretched out yet and felt the rest of your immense consciousness. If we hung out here for long enough, you’d start remembering everything. But there’s no point to doing that between each life.”

“How many times have I been reincarnated, then?”

“Oh lots. Lots and lots. An in to lots of different lives.” I said. “This time around, you’ll be a Chinese peasant girl in 540 AD.”

“Wait, what?” You stammered. “You’re sending me back in time?”

“Well, I guess technically. Time, as you know it, only exists in your universe. Things are different where I come from.”

“Where you come from?” You said.

“Oh sure,” I explained “I come from somewhere. Somewhere else. And there are others like me. I know you’ll want to know what it’s like there, but honestly you wouldn’t understand.”

“Oh,” you said, a little let down. “But wait. If I get reincarnated to other places in time, I could have interacted with myself at some point.”

“Sure. Happens all the time. And with both lives only aware of their own lifespan you don’t even know it’s happening.”

“So what’s the point of it all?”

“Seriously?” I asked. “Seriously? You’re asking me for the meaning of life? Isn’t that a little stereotypical?”

“Well it’s a reasonable question,” you persisted.

I looked you in the eye. “The meaning of life, the reason I made this whole universe, is for you to mature.”

“You mean mankind? You want us to mature?”

“No, just you. I made this whole universe for you. With each new life you grow and mature and become a larger and greater intellect.”

“Just me? What about everyone else?”

“There is no one else,” I said. “In this universe, there’s just you and me.”

You stared blankly at me. “But all the people on earth…”

“All you. Different incarnations of you.”

“Wait. I’m everyone!?”

“Now you’re getting it,” I said, with a congratulatory slap on the back.

“I’m every human being who ever lived?”

“Or who will ever live, yes.”

“I’m Abraham Lincoln?”

“And you’re John Wilkes Booth, too,” I added.

“I’m Hitler?” You said, appalled.

“And you’re the millions he killed.”

“I’m Jesus?”

“And you’re everyone who followed him.”

You fell silent.

“Every time you victimized someone,” I said, “you were victimizing yourself. Every act of kindness you’ve done, you’ve done to yourself. Every happy and sad moment ever experienced by any human was, or will be, experienced by you.”

You thought for a long time.

“Why?” You asked me. “Why do all this?”

“Because someday, you will become like me. Because that’s what you are. You’re one of my kind. You’re my child.”

“Whoa,” you said, incredulous. “You mean I’m a god?”

“No. Not yet. You’re a fetus. You’re still growing. Once you’ve lived every human life throughout all time, you will have grown enough to be born.”

“So the whole universe,” you said, “it’s just…”

“An egg.” I answered. “Now it’s time for you to move on to your next life.”

And I sent you on your way..