Interesting facts

                                       Interesting facts

• Clouds are numbered according to their altitude, with '9'  being the highest. That's why we say we're " on cloud 9", when we feel great.
• In the 17 th century, heavy rain in Germany would cause stray cats and dogs to be washed up in the streets or drowned. Thus, the term it's raining cats and dogs was formed.
•  The names of three wise monkeys are:  Mizaru - See no evil, Mikazaru - Hear no evil,  Mizaru - Speak no evil.
• Handshakes were originally meant to confirm you had no weapons in your hands or up your sleeves, hence the shaking motion to jiggle them out.
• The phrase ' crocodile tears' derives from an ancient belief that crocodiles shed tears while consuming their prey.

The Identity

                                           The Identity

           A river was flowing near the outskirts of a village. Once the ocean, the king of the rivers, asked the river, ‘ Why don’t you come and join me as others do?’ The river replied, ‘Oh king, these villagers depend on me for water. They know the value. So they dip their pots or vessels in my water and carry the water home for drinking, cooking, washing, bathing and other purposes. Since I am their only source of water, they take care not to pollute me. So I also feel that I should serve them and satisfy them more and more. I try to break the big stones hindering for depth and free  flow, so that when the rains come I could store more and more and pure water for their use. If I merge into you, my water will become saline and unfit for any use. Furthermore, I find pleasure at seeing the little birds coming and sitting on the banks to dip their beaks for a few sips of water. The travellers coming this side rest under the shade of the big trees on my bank enjoy the cool breeze and my pure and cool water. I will miss these small pleasures of life if I join you. So I would like to have my own small Identity, and enjoy my life serving the villagers here only.’

What a true statement ! The urge to serve others is found in every created thing in the world. Somewhere it is obvious, somewhere it is latent. A tree is so useful. It gives out oxygen, gives fruits, shade, wood for furniture and firewood. Cats and dogs as pets are of immense value.
 Nothing whatsoever in the universe can ever give you joy and contentment. You have to bring it to yourself. That is the spirit of service only. Service is always one of the cherished principles of all religions. The spirit of service is the expression of love only. When you do something for the world, the world will definitely take care of you. It is mutual. This is the law of Nature. In serving others, there is happiness to oneself and to others. In giving happiness, one understand the eternal , joyful nature of life. Living becomes meaningful and joyful.
Everyone wants to be useful in the world in his own capacity. Everything has a unique value and everything has a specific role to serve in this world.

When even a small thing finds itself useful to others and others recognize it, the living becomes joyful. When that value is recognized, the tendency to render more and more service to others develops. When a mother knows that her child likes a certain dish, her spirit of service motivates her to explore more and more to make the dish in different ways and delicious and make the child happy. This is the case with everything. Being of service to others is what brings true happiness.
All other pleasures and possessions pale into nothingness before service which is rendered in a spirit of joy. As Mahatma Gandhi says,

“ That service is the noblest which is rendered for its own sake.”

Life is a sacred gift. Everyone has a purpose in life and a unique talent to give and share with others. And wnen we blend this unique talent with service to others, we experience the ecstasy  and exultation  of our own being, which is the real and ultimate goal of our life.

The magic of a book - An amazing journey from a raw wood to a book

                                    The magic of a book - An amazing journey from a raw wood to a book


      Here  Carl Edward Sagan, the famous American astronomer, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, great author all rolled into one, puts the theme in an interesting, inspiring and beautiful words with such a profoundity, that it surpasses everything. To quote his words,

“ What an astonishing thing a book is ! It’s a flat object made from a tree with flexible parts on which are imprinted lots of funny dark squiggles. But one glance at it and you’re inside the mind of anotherperson, may be somebody dead for thousands of years. Across the millennia,an author is speaking clearly and silently inside your head, directly to you. Writing is perhaps the greatest of human inventions, binding together people who never knew each other, citizens of different epochs. Books break the shackles of time. A book is proof that humans are capable of working magic.“

What a splendid journey of a blessed raw wood of the tree resulting in the highest culmination, namely the magical creation of a book ! 

The miraculous power of contentment

                                 The miraculous power of contentment


     Once a king invited a saint to his palace. After offering him fruits with due respects, he started conversing with the saint. The king was over-awed by the glow shining on the face of the saint and said, ‘ Respected saint ! I am jealous of you . You don’t  possess anything, no responsibility to bother you, your contentment, happiness and purity reflects on your face ! What is the secret ? Whereas ,I have a huge kingdom with no enemies ,to rule over and servants to serve me with anything and everything I want.

The saint replied with a smile, ‘ I pity you , oh king !  You have such a small kingdom to rule over. You live in such a small place called ‘ palace ‘. The songs of the entire vast sky belong to me. I am the owner of the fruits of the trees in Nature. The fresh , cool water of the rivers is my drink. In my open hut, the moon and the stars are ever with me. I am more richer than you .’

This statement is not only apt from the self- reazied soul like saint, but is equally applicable for an ordinary man also.
Ordinary man feels happy when material growth is there and unhappy when it is not there. This is due to his uncontrolled, unsteady mind.

God has created man as well as Nature. Both are inter-dependent. We should develope a sense of our belonging to Nature, not a sense of mastering over and exploiting Nature.  If you take care of   Nature,  Nature will take care of you. You don’t need anything else.That magic power the Nature has. One has to experience to realize this. It is said,
“ God loved the birds and created trees ,
   Man loved the birds and invented cages.”
Out of ignorance and haughtiness, it is the human society that sustains itself by transforming Nature into garbage. Whereas the value of Nature is priceless. Nature is not only a provider of boundless bounties, but is also a great companion , and never betrays a heart that loves her. Nature is a great healer too. People go for  Nature-walk to get physical and mental vigour.   Nature is always  inspiring and rejuvenating.The vast sky with stars and planets, the ocean with its rich aquatic creatures, the trees, birds and animals are the richest wealth bestowed by Nature on man. Nature has given us so much, if we have eyes to see, ears to hear and a mind to enjoy, they become the doorway to happiness and enjoyment. Finding joy in ordinary things of life is the key to being truly fulfilled life. When you take time to appreciate and enjoy Nature in its varied forms, such as a flower, a fruit hanging from the tree, a carpet of green grass, cool breeze blowing, the mind will become grateful, joyful, contented , calm and serene.

An ordinary man is not to renounce the world like a saint. To be contented does not mean that you should not strive to achieve anything. In this mad world, man has to work and compete with others. This contentment will have profound impact on the individual. He can achieve a lot of things. A contented, grateful mind awakenes the inner abilities and talents. It will not only identify your problems, but also give you power and energy to solutions. Even when we experience a set back also, the mind when contented is serene and takes somekind of positive meaning in that and go ahead with the task undertaken. With peace in mind, staying motivated becomes natural.

If the spirit of contentment is not there, apart from the physical exhaustion, the man will be mentally dissipated. Once mentally dissipated, man’s efficiency gets ruined. Mental condition is more important. When contentment is there, the mind becomes calm and serene, and there is an inner dynamic fullness which makes man to act courageously in the world. Achieving a harmonious combination of inner excellence and outer efficiency is the true development in life.

Material prosperity and spiritual reality are inter-dependent. Without material reality, spiritual reality cannot be discovered, and without spiritual reality, material reality has no purpose. Spiritual growth is the ability to overpower the emotions so that one has the wisdom to appreciate and enjoy all things material without getting needy or clingy.

Religion and harmony

                                      Religion and harmony


            A pigeon and her baby pigeon were on the top of a temple. They were quite happy and were leading a peaceful life. The annual renovations of the temple started. So the pigeon and her baby shifted to a church top. After sometime when the white washing and cleaning of the church started, they shifted their residence to a mosque and enjoying the serene atmosphere there. Suddenly after sometime , the cleaning and whitewashing of the mosque was to begin on the eve of Ramzan, the birds came back to the temple which was ready for occupation after the renovations. One day, they were enjoying delicious food given by the priests, all of a sudden, they were drawn to a loud noise and cries outside on the road. They saw people carrying sticks and guns and striking and shooting at one another. The baby pigeon was perplexed and asked his mother the cause of the turmoil on the road. The mother replied, ‘ My dear child, they are striking and killing each other in the name of religion.’ The child innocently said, ‘ we live in temples, churches and mosques. For us all the places are good and peaceful. They are the same. Then why these human beings , so called the best among the creation, fight over this, for nothing ? I don’t  understand , mom .’
The mother replied, ‘ yes , my dear child ! I too don’t understand this. We may not be considered superior to them. But we don’t quarrel , fight ,and kill others over petty things. That is why God has assigned our residence higher than them.
People constantly write and quarrel with one another in the name of religion. Christians, Muslims, Hindus, do not understand that the Truth is one, only it is called by different names and all are seeking the same truth.
The ignorance clouds them and is the cause of the friction among them, their misunderstanding and quarrels. The hatred and violence are the base instincts in the human beings that instigate fights and destruction for supremacy over others. The pseudo religious leaders, selfish politicians and social platforms add fuel to this. Furthermore, addiction to electronic devices have made the people insecure, sick and feel inner disharmony. Irritation, anger, hatred and violence are the results of this only. People have become intolerant. This intolerance towards those who hold different opinions from ourselves,is witnessed in different spheres of life like religion, race, culture, language, gender, region, nationality, class and caste.
Birds live in their own territory. They build nests on the trees, eat the fruits, and spread the seeds to other places furthering the growth of the trees that sheltered them ,and leave a landscape as it was before or even richer than the earlier one. It is only the ungrateful man who in the name of religion kills people and destroy  the countries without cherishing the country where he lives or where his brothers live,and without caring for the bounties of Nature. Not only that , in destroying others , he does not gain anything. Infact, in destroying others, he destroys himself and his family, and his family carries the stigma for generations for no fault of theirs.
Wild animals never kill for sport. Man is the only animal to whom the torture and death of his fellow beings is amusing in itself.
Though the musical instruments like Violin, Veena, Guitar, Sitar,Harmonium, Piano etc. appear so different externally, when they join in an orchestra, they all follow a basic rhythm and tune producing one delightful music. Similarly, we can also see the harmony among various religions, when we go to the basic spiritual values that lie behind them. So all religions which have different external forms of sacred texts, rituals, special days of worship, places of worship etc. appear different from one another but their core spiritual values like love, compassion, sacrifice, service, spiritual knowledge are the same. The customs, rituals and their applications arose according to different surroundings and other circumstances of different nations. But the end result is perfection of men and women who feel that they are divine in nature.
Since all religions have produced men and women of greatest purity, holiness, compassion and service, we have to admit that all religions are basically one in being good and true. Furthermore, when we read the stories and about them and their teachings, they are equally inspiring, their teachings are universal and ever-green, going beyond all the barriers of race, religion or nationality.

Actually, religion is not something external. Infact, as Ramakrishna Paramahamsa says, “ Religion at the individual level is an inner ‘ thirst’ for God. When this feeling expands, it transfoorms and uplifts man from selfishness to unselfishness, from intolerance to brotherly love. But this transformative power cannot come from mere dry religious scriptures and dogmas, but can manifest only in a heart that opens or awakens to the presence of the Lord within. And conversing with the inner divine being is the simplest way for achieving this awakening. A heart that sincerely loves the Lord, can never hate fello beings who are His creation, not different from Him.
We should have understanding of others’s outlook. It does not mean we have to lose our individuality. As Swami  Vivekananda says, “ My religion cannot be yours, or yours mine. Although the goal and aim are the same, yet each one has to take a different road, according to the tendencies of his mind. The Christian is not to become a Muslim or a Hindu or a Buddhist, or a Muslim to become a Christian or Hindu or a Buddhist. But each must assimilate the spirit of others and yet preserve his individuality and grow according to his own law of growth.”

God has given us this precious gift of life. It is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well in harmony , making ourselves blessed , and also the great mother the 'Earth ' blessed.

Pause and ponder - ' Exercise '

                             Pause and ponder - ' Exercise '            

                             

        An intelligent boy offered these interesting facts when his mother asked him to do physical exercises for a long healthy life.

• If walking is good for your health, the postman would be immortal meaning long life.
• A whale swims all day, only eats fish, drinks water, and is fat.
• A rabbit runs and hops and only lives 15 years.
• A tortoise doesn't run and does nothing, yet it lives for 450 years.

          And you , my dear mom ! Tell me to exercise ? I don't think so.

Keep the Lamp of knowedge always burning

                      Keep the Lamp of knowledge always burning


   One evening, a man saw a blind man carrying a lamp in his hand and going on the road. The man could not control his curiosity and asked the blind man, ' you cannot see the light, then why are you carrying the lamp in your hand, it is of no use to you ?' The blind man replied, ' Sir, this lamp is not for me, but for showing the light to people like you so that I don't get knocked down by them who might walk on the road without looking at others coming in front. It is for protecting myself, I am holding it.
The story is allegorical. The blind man carrying the lamp denotes the  man in modern in this technological world and the man on the road represents machines. To safeguard himself from the onslaught of machines, the man has to keep his learning constantly burning.
As Oscar Wilde said : " We live in age when unnecessary things are our only necessities."
You can't stop technology as the materialistic progress depends only on advancement of technology. You can't stop technology. The main question is whether people will be bystanders that get run over by it or move ahead with it with the lamp of learning. History has shown that whenever automation or technology took place, people took up the challenge , faced it and moved ahead with it.
Automatic machines, robots have come to stay. Technology is used to assist the work we perform and ease the rigors of our work so that we can spend more time and energy on other better fruitful works.
Generally the learner is motivated when the subject of his study gets social recognition. But advancement in technology and digitalization and automation is so fast that when by the student finishes his course in graduation and post graduation , his studies become redundant and do not have market value.
To avoid this, one has to have a continuous learning methods, keeping one's intellect sharp observing the technological advancement. He has to evaluate his skill and position. To survive the future, he must update and upgrade work talent.work culture will get better prominence. The objective of continuous learning brings an inner joy to face any type of challenge. Develope ability to see things from the opponent's point of view. This will drive away the unknown fear and give inner strength to improvement.
 Being ignorant is not so much a shame as to being unwilling to learn. Nothing is impossible to a willing heart. The enormous poet of human mind and brain can take you to anything if you use it properly. Thus one can bring dynamism in life which is a sign of a live.y human being. We are not machines. When faced with challenges, the survival instinct comes into play , exerting a predominance. Our inner skills and talents are kindled, making it more creative and innovative. Our mind will become clear and pleasant. Then our intellect gets sharpened and the element of fear goes away.
Thus men can never become redundant. Even many skills done with hands like carpentry, pottery, cooking and tailoring  , vocal, instrumental music and other crafts cannot be totally taken over by automation and digitalization but reskilling and continuous innovation learning has kept and can keep the skills ever green and valuable. Machines and robots can do stereotyped jobs. It is man's imagination, creativity and innovation that give life to these skills also.
Instead of worrying about what you cannot control, focus your energy on what you can create.
Machines can do mechanical jobs only. But the  judgement, dexterity of managing them, repairing them lies with men only.
Generally man has to be on the move always, for progress.
Even if you are on the right track, you would get run over if you just sit there in the same place.
We have to remember this,
" One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man".
New technologies will create a new frontier of jobs also. We should believe the change always comes bearing gifts. We should use this technological advancements in the form of machines and robots as stepping stones to lead us to something better. These challenges are gifts that force us to search for new avenues. But whatever be the thing, human being is the supreme and his place cannot be taken over by anything.
Stephen Hawking predicted the invention of " brain-computer interfaces," connecting human brains to the internet. But with innovation comes risk, he cautioned and we must ensure that our own human wisdom can outsmart the power of technology.
We should have faith in our wisdom, that is the real and greatest strength to overcome anything.
A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking, because its trust is not on the branch, but on its own wings.
As rightly said by some one,
" During my 87 years  , I have witnessed a whole succession of technological revolutions. But none of them has done away with the need for character in the individual or the ability to think."
Furthermore, time is a circle. Things go back to the same starting point. This is seen in the fields of health, food and medicine.   Now a days Engulfed with technological advancements and being fed up with its side-effects, people are going back to old time-tested methods. Technology is advancing to tele-medicine, but still people love to have the touch of doctor only.
Similarly people will get bored with machines, yearning for human touch, will turn back to human beings only.
In the words of Albert Einstein: " I know not with what weapons world war third will be fought, but world war fourth will be fought with sticks and stones."

You are unique ! You are you only !

                                 You are unique ! You are you only !


       It is a human tendency to underrate oneself, comparing himself with others.

    Once a man was feeling himself inferior to others and wanted to know his worth. He went to a saint and presented his problem. The saint smiled and placing a beautiful red gem in his hands, asked him to go to different people and ascertain its value from them, without selling the gem. First the man  went to a big fruit seller of the market who looking at the gem, was ready to him one dozen of apples as its value. Then he went to a  potato merchant who was prepared to give him a big bag of potatoes in exchange for it. Next when he showed the gem to a oil merchant and the merchant was ready to offer him a big barrel of oil for that. Then he went to a goldsmith who ascertained the value of the gem for fifty thousand gold coins. Atlast he went to a specialist dealing in gems who said that the gem was invaluable and the entire world could not be equal to its worth. The man returned and reported the details to the saint. Then the saint smiled and said, ' you are this invaluable gem ! Understand, no one could rate your value. Each one rated its value according to his ability and his limited knowledge. The variations in the price itself point out the limitations of the valuevers and not the value of the gem. So each of us created by God is invaluable. We should realise this and not fall into the whims of others but do something meaningful in life befitting us.

You are unique. Generally it is a tendency among the people to compare themselves with others. The very nature of this creation is diversity. The purpose is to enjoy and identify, and experience unity in diversity. Comparison is impossible among things of different nature. Salt has its value and sugar has its own. Among the flowers also colors, shape, scents and blooming according to season are unique in themselves. It is the same case with animals, birds, trees, stones and everything in creation. The uniqueness of each thing makes it a valuable one and incomparable. No one is superior to another or inferior to another. It is a man made division, with his limited understanding, he compares and degrades the beauty and value of the entire diversity. Comparison is possible among the equals having the same characteristics. If someone likes salt dishes to sweet ones, the liking is subjective, individualistic and not general. Becuase of this , sweet does not lose its value. Similarly imperfections are bound to be there but they don't take away the value of the things. A person may be very kind but not good looking or may be poor but hardworking. Value him as he is. If everything is same or similar, man will get bored with monotany and the world. The diversity of the objects attracts him and keeps him engaged to discover and to do something worthwhile in life. The very purpose of creation of this world is to make man realise that the very same divine thread is woven into all objects including humanbeing who is also a part of the creation like a garland with the same single thread passing through different kinds of flowers .
It is the ignorant people who set values on the basis of status, power, wealth and other things earned again with the help of Nature only compare and differentiate human beings. These are external man-made artificial creations. The problem is everybody wants to be somebody else, nobody wants to grow. The best solution or remedy is to believe in yourself. The more you believe in yourself, the more you could trust yourself, the more you trust yourself, the less you will compare yourself to others and try to imitate them.
Don't compare yourself with anyone in the world. If you do so, you are insulting yourself. As Swamy Vivekananda said,
 " The greatest sin is to think yourself weak."
You don't need anybody to tell you who you are or what you are . You are you .
  Don't associate with men who belittle you or do not respect you. Seek the company of the good. Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you will start having positive results.
Continuously nourish your subconscious mind with noble thoughts, it will enrich your life and you will learn to live within yourself. You will find a source inside you which will always spring up a whole world of mysterious ,noble thoughts and spiritual riches beyond imagination.
Then the clarity of vision and a pure conscience and powerful mind will become your best friends. It is said, " We are not sent into the world to do anything into which we cannot put ourselselves."
Thus everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life. He has to discover and fulfil it. Therein he cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated.
All scriptures teach us that we should believe in ourselves, the energy and vitality is deep within us. And man can redeem himself by himself only and not by any one else.
Our existence has a purpose, a cause to pursue and a goal to achieve. If we have this conviction, our life will be joyous and meaningful. We are only responsible for the quality of our life and no use blaming on anything, circumstance or anyone. As rightly said,
For anything and everything,
" If you are not willing to learn, no one can help you,
 If you are determined to learn, no one can stop you."
Be a friend to yourself. You should love yourself. That will take away the inferiority complex.
Do not imitate others and never fall into the hands of others who want to change you according to their mould. Use every opportunity to improve yourself to get the best out you.
Never underestimate your worth and your role in the world. Realize your potential nobody else will.
" We are all inventors, each sailing out on a voyage of discovery, guided each by a private chart of  which there is no duplicate. The world is all gates, all opportunities."
Make yourself powerful. Discover the eternal divine potential in you.
You don't need companions from outside. Vision or goal, determination, perseverance,hope and your pure conscience  , all these your companions are in you and always with you.  With these faithful companions of yours, you will discover and land into the mines of eternal riches. Worldly success will not will not remain a goal but it will come as a byproduct.
You are divine. Whenever we  irrespective of being poor or rich, get joy from any experience either
from music, painting, watching a play or any absorbing soulful activity, that joy arises from somewhere deep within us. That is we our inner self. We are the joy.

 To sum up in the words of Rumi,
" You were born with potential. You were born with goodness and trust. You were born with ideas and dreams. You were born with greatness. You were born with wings. You are not meant for crawling. So don't. You have wings. Learn to use them and fly."

This is the ultimate goal of life which every human being is blessed with. He should make his life to realize this blessing conferred him and make use of it making his life equally a blessed one.

Do your best, the rest will be taken care of

                         Do your best, the rest will be taken care of.


     Faith and perseverance can achieve anything in life. Once a deer ran very fast, far away from the forest and found a beautiful meadow under a big tree on the outskirts. She was very tired , could not run further and found that green grassy place, a suitable one for giving birth to her child. Because she never wanted to get the baby frightened and devoured by the wild animals. She wanted to see the child in a safe place free from dangers and in a cheerful atmosphere. It was evening. The mother deer was exhausted and wanted to see her beautiful child. For a mother, there’s nothing more rewarding, more beautiful, more meaningful than to witness the birth of her child, the unique gift of the Almighty creator. The mother deer’s main concern was to see the child in a cheerful atmosphere. She saw from a distance, a hunter was aiming an arrow to shoot her. A tiger was coming out from the deep forest towards her. She was very tired, but not panicky. Her main concern was her duty to protect the child. She was not in a position to carry the child and run away fast from there. She simply closed her eyes as if praying to the Almighty, and with some inner strength , concentrated solely on her new born. Suddenly the clouds gathered in the sky with lighening and heavy thunder. The lightening struck the hunter killing him, his arrow missed the target deer and went piercing the tiger which fell down dead.  The deer was safe under the protection of the great tree.It started raining. The cool drops of rain removed the tiredness of the mother deer. She never bothered about the dangers surrounding her, but was intent on performing her duty. She was saved by the kind ‘Nature’ herself.

Obstacles are a part of life. They have to be there to test the strength of the doer. If things are achieved easily, they have no meaning, no value. Obstacles look frightful things you see when you take your eyes off the goal. That is why it is said, if one has good faith and perseverance in performing one’s duty joyfully and peacefully, the forces of Nature conspire together to help the person achieve success. As the great poet Goethe said  " Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid." One should never bother about obstacles. Obstacles become barriers only when you bow down to it.

Without obstacles, life has no charm. It is the challenges and obstacles that bring out the best in man.

Human mind and the Earth’s geomagnetic field

                            Human mind and the Earth’s geomagnetic field

         King Bhoja of Dhara country was a king known for his justice and love for his subjects.

        Once people complained that wild animals were entering into the kingdom , resulting in the destruction of the lives and property. The king with some of his ministers and a small army went into the forest and cleared the place by driving out the wild animals from the outskirts of the country. Just outside the outskirts of the forest, the king and the tired men saw a beautiful garden with all kinds of fresh fruits. The king ordered his men to go and ask the owner about buying some of his fruits when they heard a shout from above. They saw a man standing on the top of an elevated ground and driving away the birds which were trying to enter into the garden. The man seemed to be very happy and shouted from the top saying,’ I am the owner of this garden. All of you seem to be tired. Please come in, help yourself with these delicious fruits.’ The king felt happy and ordered his men to go inside the garden. When they along with the king went inside, they felt some unusual soothing calmness pervading everywhere. They enjoyed eating the lovely and juicy fruits in the garden. Some were plucking the fruits, suddenly they saw the owner coming down and shouting at them, ‘ you thieves ! You look rich and you are stealing fruits from a poor gardener like me. The king and his men were shocked at this. The king said, ‘ Sir ! You only invited us. With your permission, we entered the garden and enjoying your fruits cherishing your kind hospitality. The owner-gardener looked shocked and bewildered, ‘ Me ? I asked to take the fruits ? I am taking care of the garden and sell the fruits for money. It is my livelihood. How can I give you free ? Am I a fool ? Saying thus, when the man saw the birds above he ran to the elevated ground to chase away the birds. From there, feeling happy the man smilingly asked the people to enjoy the fruits. When the retinue of the king started partaking the fruits, the same man came down and started scolding them . The behavior of  the gardener looked very strange. The intelligent king felt and concluded that there is some mystery behind that elevated place standing on which the man shows his hospitality and magnanimity and when he is away from that place he behaves like an ordinary, stingy person. The king revealed his identity by showing his royal insignia namely the ring and bought the garden at a high price and rewarded the gardener with ample riches.

When the king got the elevated ground dug, he found the golden throne of  the King  Vikramaditya with thirty two steps adorned with sculpted divine damsels , which became alive narrating the tales of  

wise Vikramaditya when the king Bhoja tried to ascend on each of the steps. King realised that the greatness and magnanimity of Vikramaditya got reflected in the behavior of  the gardener whenever he stood on that elevated ground. On the normal ground, he behaved like an ordinary man.

There is a natural harmonic relatioship between the earth and human beings. Even in the Vastu shastra, construction of houses and buildings on the soil containing ant hills, bones, skeletons is prohibited. Similarly lands near the highway, cemetry, rivers are not recommended for building houses.

Human mind and brain have connection with the Earth’s geomagnetic field. Since the animals live close to the earth, natural disturbances like earthquakes, tsunami, before these happen, is sensed by them and is reflected in their strange, abnormal behavior.

In meditation also, one becomes one with Nature by completely sublimating the ego by surrendering oneself to God or Universal Consciousness and this enables the mind to get tuned to the gravitational
field of the earth resulting in mditation and complete absorption. Scientists believe that the human brain evolved in such a manner that the earth’s gravity has influenced the alpha wave production.

When one is close to nature, he experiences soothing calmness and unique joy within himself.

Since the wave frequency of the earth’s geomagnetic field may vary from place to place, this could be the reason that some places may be more conducive to creating posive thoughts and creativity eliminating evil and negative thoughts from the mind. In ancient times, this could have the reason for selecting centers for pilgrimage in all directions , facilitating purity of the mind, understanding cultures of people and integration of the world.

Is man the possessor of riches or trustee of the riches ?

                            Is man the possessor of riches or trustee of the riches ?



      Man is very ambitious and thinks whatever he gets belongs to him only. At times, he becomes so egoistic that barriers are created between man and man. He loses the joy of enjoying the real beautiful world and gets caught in his narrow web. But riches are not ever-lasting in life. But the human touch and human contact is above this and the most precious possession to be experienced. That he also knows. The question is not that man should not be ambitious or do anything extraordinary or earn enormous wealth. He should be ambitious, do good and great things and earn enormous wealth in a righteous manner. In fact, all should work according to their talent and capacity happily. But he should not allow ego to come into play. On the other hand, his things should be for his comforts and also something for sharing with humanity also, which is his big family. Nature is a great teacher. The rivers flow for others, they don’t drink their water.Trees produce fruits not for their eating but for others. Even the farmers use their knowledge in growing plants. They cannot create flowers, fruits or grains. They are just instruments. Like that ,we are also instruments of the creator in achieving various things.The greed should be nipped and live and let live policy should be the guideline of man’s life. The human qualities of love, kindness, charity and other noble qualities should be the foundation of his wealth. When the pride and ego are curbed, everything and everyone will be his only. If this spirit pervades, there is no poor man, no rich man. This is what man’s life in this world is meant for.
Rabia, the woman saint of Islam is known for her unflinching devotion to the Divine. Once a rich man offered money to Rabia. She told him that she was ashamed to ask for wordly things even from the Divine, to whom everything belonged. How then could she ask or take money from a person to whom the money did not belong ?

Getting at fascinating facts from the kingdom of Fauna

                          Getting at fascinating facts from the kingdom of Fauna

• Studies show that the farmers who called their cows by name reported higher milk yield than those who did not.
• No two tigers ever have the same stripes and this is how individual tiger can be identified.
• The female lion does most of hunting.
• Birds can recognize landmarks.
• A camel’s hump stores fat rather than water.
• Sheep prefer to drink running water.
• Rats multiply so quickly that in eighteen months, two rats could have over one million descendants.
• A mole can dig a tunnel about thirty feet long in just one night.
• The crows can remember the faces of humans who pose a threat to them. They retain those memories.
• A group of horses will not go to sleep at the same time- at least one of them will stay awake to look out for others.
• When ants find food, they lay down a chemical trail, called pheromone, so that other ants can find their way from the nest to the food source.
• The swans have monogamous marriages that last for many years. If one swan dies, its partner may remain celebate and mourn its mate for several mating seasons.

News from the kingdom of Flora

                                News from the kingdom of Flora

•  The darker the shell of the pumpkin, the longer the pumpkin lasts.
•   Oranges and strawberries do not ripen after being picked. Avocados and bananas do.
•   To speed up ripening of a pineapple, stand it upside down ( on the leafy end). 

•    The fragrance of flowers is due to the essence of oil which they produce.
•     One cup of raw kale contains more vitamin C than one orange 

•       The darker green a vegetable is, the more vitamin C it contains.
•       Blackberries are a natural source of vitamin K, which helps with muscle relaxation. 

•     Bananas are actually herbs. Bananas die after fruiting, like all herbs do. In India, once the bunch of fully grown raw bananas or fruits are plucked, the tree is cutdown and the inner white stem is taken out after peeling off the green layers of the tree ,and is used as a vegetable for cooking various nutrious dishes.
•  Some seeds stay alive for only a few days and after that they won’t sprout at all. Some other seeds need a rest period before they can sprout.         

•  The best fertilizer for the growth of the plants is the reflection of the gardener. That is to say that the gardener should go to look at them daily and attend to their needs with love and care. This is good both for the gardener and the plants. One can notice the joy of physical and mental growth reflected in both the thing grown and the grower. This is a gift and beauty of Nature.

A glimpse into the past

                              A glimpse into the past

• Early Egyptians created a compound for reversing baldness using the fat of crocodiles, goats, snakes, cats, lions and hippopotamus.
• The Romans had many techniques for dyeing the hair. They would use vinegar, berries, or crushed nutshells. They also used the henna , a plant that would produce a reddish brown dye. One of the stronger concoctions for dyeing hair was made from leeches mixed with vinegar. The mixture would be allowed to ferment and after two months they would apply to their hair. After letting it bake in the sun , it would turn the hair black.
• In the traditional Inca cuisine, different types of edible clays were used as ingredients in sauces. They provided an additional intake of minerals to the diet and also detoxification.
• In ancient Greece, sick people slept in ‘ medicine temples ‘ to dream about how to get better.
• In olden days live ant heads were used as stitches in surgery as mentioned in Sushruta samhita.
• Ancient Romans believed that lemons would provide an antidote for any and all poisons.
• Chocolate was used as a medicine during the eighteenth century. It was believed that chocolate could cure a stomach ache.
• Pretzels were invented by an Italian monk who used the treats as a bribe to get kids to memorize sciptures.
• It is believed that during the tenth century, Japanese Buddhists discovered tofu while on a missionary work in China. Vows taken by the Buddhists prevent them from eating meat, thus tofu became a nutritious dietary supplement. Over the years, the Japanese cultivated soybeans resulting in fine quality of tofu.
• Pumpkin carving was initially an Irish tradition.
• The game of marbles dates back to the Stone Age and is found in almost every culture.
• The game “ Snakes and Ladders” originated in India. Intially , the game was invented as a moral lesson to be taught to children about karma. People doing good works get elevated to higher realms through ladders and people doing bad actions are thrown down through the mouth of snakes into the lower regions. The game was earlier known as “Swarga patala”and “ Moksha patala”.

The discovery of joy

                                           The discovery of joy



         Once in a hermitage, the disciples prepared sweets known as laddus on the eve of some festival for worship. They placed them in a big plate. Their next worry was how to prevent ants from entering the sweet balls, because ants have such an unique power to be drawn to sweets that they appear from nowhere that to in swarms. The teacher understood their problem and to solve it, he put a lot of sugar grains at a distance around the plate. The students were perplexed. Soon their eyes fell on the armies of ants coming to the sugar crystals, trying to carry them and go back without even looking at the sweet balls.
The teacher smilingly explained to the students, 'Look, some people like ants are satisfied with external things and don't try to look beyond for better ones available.'

This world also has a beautiful exterior and a blissful interior. The human being is endowed with senses which have the outgoing tendencies. Mind follows the senses only. So, it is but natural for most of the people to get satisfied with external appearances only. They are carried away by the show. But show is not the substance. A swine notices only the mud and mire in the pond that also bears the lotus. A camel looks at the thorns only even in a beautiful garden. Such people are happy with external things like money and comfortable living. Such people get easily dejected or upset with obstacles in the way and cannot get over them. They curse the life and blame the world. But world is more than that. No use blaming it. You must dive deep into the sea to get the pearls. What good does it do to dabble among the waves near the shore and assert and cry that the sea has no pearls?

The same man has been given a powerful mind and the power of discrimination. But very few, wise men strive to go deeper for the elixir of life. When you take the peel of a banana, you can enjoy the sweetness of the fruit. If you break the harsh outer shell of the coconut, you get the sweet,healthy coconut water and white fleshy coconut to relish. It is the case with everything whether trees, or animals, or birds or subjects or any art or any game. Where there is absorption deeper into the thing, you can find joy. The more a man explores, the more rare things illumine him. There is a mystery underlying in the beauty of this universe. One can find the master stroke of the art of the creator in everything created. For that you need the inner eye. Once you realize and experience this, life is nothing but a joy, joy and joy only.For such a realized soul, seemingly called obstacles are nothing  but stepping stones to joy only. The goal of life is to realize oneself in everything, merging himself into eternal bliss and peace.
Learn to see things and what's beyond. You will be amazed at how much you missed along the way. Every single moment, it is a learning experience, every single moment, you'll discover something new.
If a man explores only by much searching and mining ,are gold and diamonds obtained and man can find everything truth connected with his being if he digs deep into the mine of his soul.

To put it in the words of Albert Einstein,

" The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious . It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger , who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed."

Equanimity of mind

                                   Equanimity of mind

      Human being is the highest evolved one in the creation. It is with a purpose. With his unique power of discrimination, he alone is endowed with the quality to realize the true eternal changeless nature of Himself in this constantly changing world. Life is a means to achieve that end only.

Life is a web of both pleasures and pain. Being caught in this web, purification of mind alone can lead to Self-realization namely discovering peace and bliss within himself. To achieve this, he has to develop equanimity of mind. That is to treat pain and pleasure as the same, not allowing them to enslave him. This is called samatvam or yoga accordint to Bhagavadgita. This is the sign of a self-realized soul. Actually, pain and pleasure are at the level of senses only. If one's mind is strong, he can rise above them . Sufferings becomes beautiful when anyone bears great calamities with cheerfulness, not through insensibility but through greatness of mind . In the same manner ,elation arising out of pleasures can be controlled , not allowing the mind to be touched upon or polluted by it.
When the equanimity is achieved, the events of life are mere passing sceneries in the journey of life. He becomes a mere spectator only.
Seeing life not as a struggle, but as an adventure of all the senses and all the faculties, one can develop equanimity of mind.
The ideal of equanimity is advocated by most philosophies and religions of the world over.
Life is a web only. An ordinary person will get into the web of pleasure and pain leading to nowhere. Where as , an intelligent cautious man , will extricate himself with his strong mind and find out and reach the goal of bliss .
     
                            ' Thus Life is a grindstone ,
                               whether it grinds us down ,

                               or polishes up,
                                 depend on us.'

     A teacher was giving a lecture to students to treat the pleasure and pain at the same level,  not being involving oneself into it. He was emphasizing the equanimity of mind for achieving spiritual knowledge. The students could not understand much. The teacher to make the subject more clear, pointed them to a donkey on the riverside carrying a load of dirty clothes to be washed by a washerman. In the olden days, washerman would carry the bundle of dirty clothes on the back of a donkey, wash them in the river, dry them on the banks of the river and carry the washed clothes on the back of the donkey back home.

     The teacher said," my dear students ! Look at this , the donkey is not aware of the bundle of dirty clothes on its back and takes them merrily and the same donkey is not aware that the clothes that are washed on its back. Just it goes on the road carefree without bothering about the type of clothes.            
In the same manner, man should never feel elated in pleasure nor should be weighed down by the pain, but should carry on his duties."
'  Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free.
  Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing.'
This is the ultimate wisdom.

Thus developing equanimity, when one is at peace and love with himself, to that mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. He should give his best to the world. Thus in the words of Rumi,
         ' Be a lamp or a lifeboat,
              or a ladder,
            Help someone's soul heal .'
And ultimately, this makes one to live life to the fullest.

The efficacy of words

                                      The efficacy of words



      Words arising from sound is nothing but  Brahman, the Supreme. The words arise from deep within, that is our life-force in the form of breath.
.
Once a teacher asked his disciples- " Why people always shout when they are angry?".
One of the disciples replied- " It is because they lose their peace at heart."
Then the teacher asked him, " why they shout at the person who is nearby ? Because generally people raise their voice to persons standing at a distance. "The student did not know and could not explain the reason. Then the teacher pointed out that in anger, people shout because their hearts go far away and are at a distance, though physically people may be nearby. Where as in love, the speech becomes soft and sweet because the hearts are together. When the hearts are together, distance matters not, when the lovers are separated by distance,even silence becomes more eloquent than the words. That is why while speaking we should be careful and choose words soft, sweet and effective words so that hearts don't fall apart. Harmony in relationship comes through love and kindness.

In controlling children also, there should be sternness in voice with the layers of love, kindness and concern. This will create a reverence with a fear towards the speaker. The person will definetly listen and understand and obey.

Even in meeting, or in solving any problem in a group, shouting never yields any result. Shouting reflects an uncultured, unbaked mind. The more you tune your mind with good thoughts, the words need not be loud and the words spoken with a poise and determination will be more effective in bringing people together and in getting positive results. On the other hand, shouting creates acrimony and rift among the members. Because the words spoken with good thoughts produce positive vibrations  and shouting in anger produces negative vibrations vitiating the atmosphere.

Even in music, the effect is seen. When the words are sung without any application of feelings and heart, the music cannot be listened to. Whereas the music, when sung with feelings and heart touches the heart of the listeners and transport them to the higher realms of bliss.

Where there is depth in thoughts, words can never be loud.
Don't raise your voice, improve your mind with good and noble thoughts and poised arguments, the words ,dressed in those thoughts will become precious and more effective. Words are powerful. In words are seen the state of mind and character and disposition of the speaker.
'  Raise your words, not your voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder. ' - Rumi.


Three things you cannot recover in life :

The word after it's said,
The moment after it is missed,
The time after it's gone.

Tradition verses Modern Law

 


                                  Tradition verses  Modern Law



     One can argue that just as the times have changed , so too should traditions.  When there is a practice of tradition that has been respected, acknowledged, practiced by all and over the years, no one seems to have had an issue with this.  Suddenly the new issue has been cropped up .That is mapping unpaid women's work. A servey to estimate the value of unpaid household chores done by women, to understand how much time is spent in cooking and washing and other things. This is an effort to convert a rich cultural society into a perishable materialistic society.

The Law should come into force in cases where women are ill-treated by husband, in-laws and are deprived of their rights. Similarly when admission is denied to women in educational institutions even if they qualify on merit basis. The Government should take action against pay-disparity given to women, unnecessary harassment meted  out to them in offices.

Regarding the freedom and equality, women are given opportunities to enter into the fields of men like sports, space, etc., though till now they were considered fitting jobs for men in accordance with their physical strength.

Family is the basic unit of society. All along, an Indian woman excelled in all her roles as a dutiful daughter, wife, a mother, as a daughter-in-law. In the role of wife, she has many roles such as a beloved, an ideal companion, partner, counselor, as a nursing mother. She does this willingly and happily. Even now , with men devoted to their career twenty four hours a day, it is woman who takes care of her career if she works outside, manages the house and children. Till today, there was no cry from her side.

To sum it up in the words of George Byron

' The labor of women in the house, certainly enables men to produce more wealth than they otherwise could; and in this way women are economic factors in society.'

The same is the case with Gay-marriage and Live - in Relationship. The courts should take into account traditional aspects and beliefs and not to be guided by the modenity.
Indian society is even now intact because of the traditions followed. One such tradition is marriage. Marrige is a beautiful institution, envisioned by the  ancient sages,ideal law-makers, devoted to the social welfare, taking into consideration the biological diversity and needs of the woman and man, making it complementary, whole being, resulting in the spiritual sublimation of the same and utilization of their complementary comlementary qualities for a proper, all-round upbringing of their progeny. Infact, the Hindu marriage may be described as the union of two families. In this union, there is no room for petty ambitions and personal ego-trips.The main factor is love for the entire family that one is marrying into. Not only this, the relatives of both the families get connected and stand together in good and bad times. Thus according to Hindus, marriage is a sacred institution devised for the welfare of the society.
It is said that a happy family is but an earlier heaven. This life is given to experience it to enjoy and realize it.

According to Hindu tradition, marriage between two souls is a very sacred affair stretching beyond one's life time. The couple are expected to carry out their traditional duties as householders and  upholders of family traditions and work for the material and spiritual welfare of each other, the members of their family and also society. Their destinies are intertwined by their previous karmas and they have a responsibility towards their family, society, deities,other living beings and their ancestors. Marriage  is the best moral means for the continuation of family through their progeny. Many festivals revolve around the family , cherishing and fostering various beautiful relationships of the members.
There has never been a moral degradation or mental cases in children also. Thus, instead of watering and nourishing the roots of all- beneficial sacred tree of marriage, what wisdom is seen in clinging to delicate branches, anytime-falling, untrodden paths of gay marriage and Live-in-Relationship and deliberate celebration of Father's day, Mother's day, siblings' day, Valentine day ? It is nothing but a movement towards and reflection of consumerism and not of culture.

The greatness of a nation is judged by the richness of its culture. A nation's culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people.
These modern trends in Gay-marriage and Live-in-Relationship may be for convenience and freedom, they may consider, but it is a reflection of uncultured mind and barbarism only, leading to chaos in society and the country.

 The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of the world that it bequeaths to its children.

Truth always shines

                                         Truth always shines

       
                This world is not full of sufferings. It is one's feelings and emotions that are the real causes for one's suffering.

In Nature, there is discipline and harmony everywhere. Creatures of all types live amicably in their own zones. It is only man who is supposed to be superior most creation , creates problems for himself and for others.

The goal of life is attainment of peace. But out of ego ,selfishness , greed , hatred , jealousy and discontentment, people keep on creating disturbances and lose the sight of the goal, namely peace. Faith is another factor which accounts for smooth trading , co-operation and relationship among people and nations. Faith  creates hope and he who has hope has everything. Another element for harmony everywhere is love. It is the bond that cements all. It is the faith and love that move the world. But monetary and materialistic thirst cuts off that bond also.

As rightly said, in short ,  now we have multiplied our possessions,  but reduced values. We talk too much , love too seldom and hate too often. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life.
That is why man struggles. After sometime, wisdom of the truth will dawn on him that no life grows great until it is disciplined and harmonized. He will realise the values of peace, faith, and yearn for them and embrace for establishing harmony and happiness.
This is the cycle of life , secret of life. He will realise the eternal truth that life is a festival only to the wise.

There were four candles burning in a room. The first candle ' Peace' was burning little and said, "  No one wants me now in this world . No one remembers me. What is the use of my flame ? Let me go out"  , saying thus, the flame of the candle got itself extinguished.

The second candle ' Faith ', looking at the first candle lamented, " I too don't have any existence now. For whose's sake should I shine? " saying thus , the flicker of the candle went off.

The third candle ' Love' looking at his friends told himself, "  In this world, money has taken my place. I am no more recognised. I have been thrown out. For whom should I show my light ?" , lamenting thus, it extinguished itself.

The fourth candle ' Truth' was still burning.

A child suddenly came into the room. Looking at the candles shedding down their flames , started crying. The 'Truth' candle comforted the crying child , " Oh my dear child ! Nothing is lost. Don't cry. I am still burning. With my flame , You can light all of them. They will come back to life again."

Fascinating facts about Great men

                             Fascinating facts about Great men

•      Dr.Joseph Bell taught his medical students to notice small details in their patients. He said that any observant doctor often could tell exactly what part of the body a patient was going to start complaining about.
• The Scientist Louis Pasteur, used to sneak a microscope into friends' houses under his coat and then examine the food they serving to make sure it was safe from germs.
• Charles Dickens only worked from 9AM to 2 PM writing his 28 books and over 200 essays without working longer than 5 hours a day.
• One time Albert Einstein was jotting down some notes about his thoughts while attending a banquet. Everyone rose in a standing ovation and they were applauding , so Dr.Einstein rose and clapped his hands too. He didn't realise the ovation was for him.

Show me the God

                                       Show me the God


              Faith is nothing but optimism. Faith is a passionate intuition and recognition of those things which are above the sense and it comes from within. Faith is unseen but felt.

Faith only makes things possible. If faith or confidence is not there, nothing can be achieved in life. If   one has faith, one has everything.

Rationalism is the trademark of a highly developed ego. The rationalists also live in this very world, enjoy the gifts of nature , watch the orderliness of the universe and the happenings of events beyond their understanding, yet their ego cannot yield to faith in anything. They become cynic, try to assert their superiority and ridicule and challenge the people who believe in the power of Supreme.

Once, one such arrogant so called rationalist went to a Self-realised saint and asked him to show him the God. He added that he wanted to see the God himself. The saint simply smiled and said, " look above , you can see God !" The rationalist looked above , and could not face the shining Sun at all . He closed his eyes. The saint said , " You are not able to see even the Sun, one of the tiny creations of the God, how can you see God, the creator of this entire variegated universe?"

The rationalist's ego was humbled and he bowed down to the saint in awe and reverence.

Eating with hands - Mindful eating

                                       Eating with hands - Mindful eating


     All machines need fuel to make them go, and the human body is like a living machine whose fuel is food. Right food supplies for energy and make the body grow, maintain itself, and repair daily.

All food is a priceless gift of love from Nature. We have to be thankful for all food, it is Brahman, the Supreme Being. His universal energy is transmuted into our individual energy and helps us in all we do .

From an early age, Indian children learn the pleasures and the skills of eating with fingers. For adults as well as children, this way of eating is part of enjoyment of a meal. Touching, feeling, smelling, licking and savoring the food with the fingers fulfill more than just humger.

Food is eaten with right hand fingers after thoroughly cleaning them with water .

In   vedic tradition , it is believed that eating food with the hands feeds the body, mind and spirit. Hands are our most precious organs of action. Our hands are said to be the conduits of the five elements of Nature - Space  , fire , air , water and earth. Each one of them flow through each finger. The five elements in the fingers are Fire, representing sight or thumb in the thumb, Air representing the sense of touch in the index finger , sound in the form of Ether in the middle finger, Earth representing smell in the ring finger and the quality of taste by water in the little finger.

It is believed that the five elements   begin to transform the food and make it digestible even before it reaches the mouth. This heightenes the senses so that we can smell, taste , and feel the texture of the foods we are eating, and even hear the sounds as we eat. All of these sensations help to ready the body, or to awaken the fire ( agni ) within ourselves. Agni is the term used for the digestive fire that breaks down the food, assimilating what is useful and eliminating the rest. This awakening aids digestion, and according to vedic beliefs, good digestion leads to good thoughts.

In Indian  cuisine, in addition to primary tastes sweet , sour , salty , bitter  , and pungent  , there is a sixth taste called astringent ( kashaya ) comes from ancient Indian medicine. To maintain perfect balance and ensure complete nourishment, Indians includes spices of all tastes at every meal.
Daily meals consists of chappaties ( wheat bread home-made), rice, vegetable curry , a legume curry , vegetable salad  , raita ( beaten curd with vegetable ) , chutneys and pickle.

South Indian meals consists of vegetable curries, both in fried and liquid form, rice, sambhar, rasam, curd or butter-milk and pickle in daily routine.
Thus, it provides all the elements of food pyramid.
All the six types of food which Ayurveda recommends as a practical technique for keeping our digestive fire strong are also included. They are-

1-  Choshya, the food that has to be sucked like fruits.

2- Peya, the food that is drinkable like soups and gruel.


3- Lehya, that has to be licked like chutney.

4-  Bhojya, the food to be eaten like cooked items like rice and dal .

5- Bakshya, the food that is to be broken with teeth and be eaten like nuts .


6- Charvya, the food that has to be chewed, all knids of rich fibre foods.

There is a pattern of spreading the food items in the plate on festive occasions and on normal days.
Kheer ( sweet milk pudding ) and little dal ( lentil) is to the extreme right. Moving anti-clockwise, Sweet chutney , Raita, vegetables, plckles to the left of the vegetables in order. Fried papad is served usually on the extreme left. Rice is served on the plate in the center. Then sambhar, khadhi, rasam, curd and milk pudding are served fresh as needed.

The method of proper eating food is very scientific as seen in the prescribed sequence for taking food.



'
पूर्वं  मधुरं   मध्ये लवणा म्लो  कटु तिक्तकषाया पय श्च  ततः त्रि दोष साम्यम l'

First sweet foods  , the second group to consume are salty and sour  , the bitter, hot and astringent foods foods in the end to maintain the balance of three humours,  vata , pitta  , and kapha .

There is a difference between eating and drinking for for strength and from mere gluttony.

A great variety of foods at one meal exerts a potent influence in creating a love for eating. Eating with hands is a way to feel connected to food. Eating becomes sensational and mindful.
The brain and the other organs of the body are affected by the quality of the blood which nourishes them and the blood is made up of the food eaten.
Indian foods have ayurvedic elements which prevents people from falling ill.
Food cooked and eaten with reverence is both nutrition and medicine.
 It is hard to imagine that until about four hundreds years ago, European people ate everything with their fingers. When a few people started using forks in England, every one else thought the idea of tools for eating was totally ridiculous.
It is said that in a dinner party held in London for diplomats, all took spoons and forks and sat down at the table. Only an Indian diplomat of well-repute went out, washed his hands and came to join the others. He started eating with his fingers. All were surprised. Before they could ask anything , the Indian diplomat said with a smile on his face, " I am eating dinner with my fingers , given to me by the God. It is pure and untouched by others. Spoons and forks are man-made and they do not belong to an individual in a public place, they are common and used by all, where as my fingers are naturally made, exclusively mine and no one can use them."

Hidden gems-3 Expertise

                                Hidden gems -3       Expertise


       It is faith in something and enthusiasm for something that makes life worth living.
   
       Work and learning are the two ingredients of life. Learning is a natural food for the mind. And work, the natural food for limbs of the body, involves the application of both the body and the mind.

Nobody is born an expert. But everyone of us have some talent hidden in us.
" It is in men as in soils where sometimes there is a vein of gold which the owner knows not of." -swift.
If we keep on doing things, we will strike our talent and goal.
Whatever we study or do we should love doing it. If we study a subject, we should never limit it with only one book. The more materials , we collect from other sources, all the more the subject and work will be exciting. Then nothing will be a burden. No more stress.
'The more we do, the more we can do ,
   the more busy we are, the more leisure we have.' - Hazlitt
 On the other hand, there will be a feeling of unique joy. Furthermore, the thirst and excitement will lead to expertise in that particular field. Interest and thirst will lead to curiosity. When you are curious, you find lots of interesting things to do. Curiosity enhances imagination, creativity and innovation, imparting uniqueness to the learner.
Constantly learn new things. The brain's ability to absorb increases as we learn more and more. Develop your skills and learn new ones, more knowledge equals more motivation. Consistency slowly makes for perfection. Management of time, consistency , work ethics, focus on the goal are key factors for success. Mistakes are common. A person who never made a mistake might have never tried anything new. We must love what we do in order to get the excitement. If we work with whatever tools we have, better tools will be found as we go along.
When we love the process more than the outcome, the end positive results will come naturally and easily and we will feel more motivated to do more and more.
Everyday becomes an opportunity for us to do better than what we did the previous day.
To put it aptly in the words of Steve Jobs -
'If you are working on something exciting that you really care about, you don't have to be pushed. The Vision will push you.'

A farmer had two sons. He sent them to cut down two trees and finish the work by evening.
Both of them started cutting the trees. The first son would cut for sometime , go out somewhere for sometime and then resume work. He was doing the work in this fashion and finished cutting down the entire tree by evening. The second son never took rest but went on cutting the tree continuously , yet he could not complete the given task by the stipulated time . The younger brother was perplexed and asked his elder brother, " I went on doing the work continuosly and could not finish it on time where as you kept on going out for short , short intervals, yet finished the work even before time. It is so strange !"

The first son replied, " Nothing strange in this, my dear brother ! I went out in between not for rest or food but to sharpen my Saw so that I could come and cut the tree more vigorously with the sharpened Saw. That is why I could finish the work easily without much effort ."

This echoes the words of Abraham Lincon : " Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four hours sharpening the axe."

Hidden gems - 2 Significance of Religion

                                      Hidden gems - 2   Significance of Religion




               Religion has played a cohesive bond among people. It is natural that people believing in the same religion, have stood by each other, with much strength and constancy .

    Religion is a disciplined way of life which instils a faith in higher Authority. It is the greatest motivating power for realising that infinite energy which is the birth right and nature of every man.

  In building up character, in making for everything that is good and great, in bringing peace to others and peace to one's own self, religion is the highest motivating power.

Names of the religions are different as they arose in different parts of the world in different times. But the same human values to be followed ,are advocated by all of them.  Fanatics take religion into their hands and cause destruction in the name of promoting their religion. It is the greed for power, land
fame and ignorance that mars the purity of religion.

Regarding the necessity and value of religion in leading a disciplined and harmonius life, Mahatma Gandhi says, ' If someone says that he does not believe in religion, it tantamounts to the saying, ' I breathe but I don't have a nose.'

Hidden gems - 1 Glory of mother

 



                                               Glory of mother




          Once, a man asked Swami Vivekananda, " Swamiji , why do you give so much importance to woman in your speeches ? What is so special about them. Like men, they have also been created by the  Creator". To this question, Swamiji did not reply, he simply pointed to a stone and asked the man to tie it around his belly and walk. The weight of the stone might be around four or five pounds. The man did not understand anything , but obeyed the order. He wrapped the stone in a cloth and tied it around his belly and tried to walk. The stone was heavy and could not put a step ahead. He cried in pain. Then the Swamiji replied, " This is the answer to your question. A woman, your mother carried you in her body for ten months bearing it joyfully . You are not able to bear it even for a second. Do you understand now ? That is why woman is the greatest and noblest creation of God."

Love, compassion, service all unconditional, all epitomized only one in the word ' mother .'

The sublime devotion and mystic connection that a mother has with her off-spring is beyond the description of words.

The most striking feature of woman is that she, not only gives birth to a child but also nurtures him with human values to make him a worthy creation of God, dedicated to the welfare of the world.
In indian culture, the principle of motherhood outranks everything because of her chastity. In fact, the purity and structure of the society is preserved only by the chastity of women.She is the visible manifestation of God. . Even the monks are required to touch the earth with their foreheads before their mothers.

There is a popular saying in Sanskrit-

" Mother and Motherland is superior to even heaven."

The natural state of motherhood is unselfishness. The highest credit given to mother is seen in the following quote by E.M. Forster,

" I am sure that if the mothers of various nations could meet, there would be no more wars."

Wanderings on ' Books'

                          Wanderings on ' Books'.

•  If we encounter a man of rare intellect, we should ask him what books he read.
• Books loved anybody who opened them , they gave you security and friendship and did not ask for anything in return, they never went away, never not even when you treated them badly.
• Old classics have an undying value, nevertheless the student should not begin, but end with them.
• In science, read by preference , the newest work; in literature, the oldest literature is always modern.
• Some books seem to have been written, not to teach us anything , to let us know that the author has known something.
• A man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them.
• A book is a success when people who have n't read it pretend they have.
• In a bookroom you feel in some mysterious way that you are absorbing the wisdom contained in all the books through your skin, without even opening them.
• You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.
• Once you learn to read and enjoy reading, you will be forever free.
• Eating and reading are two pleasures that combine admirably.
• Let us read, and let us dance, these two amusements will never do any harm to the world.
• Modern research studies prove that reading good books is an effective way to fight against depression in children.

Food for thought

                                     Food for thought

• To bless one's food is an ancient and universal human practice. Be thankful for all food, it is Brahman ( the Almighty ) . His universal energy is transmuted into our individual energy and helps us in all we do. So the Upanishads teach us that we should be grateful to food, never criticise food and never waste food.
•  Food when eaten slowly gives happiness and fulfilment. Fast eating is bad.
•   To eat is a necessity. But to eat intelligently is an art. 

•      There is no sincere love than the love of food .
•        Let food be thy medicine and be thy food.
•          You should enjoy eating. The loss of pleasure in eating , which can lead to depression, is itself an appetite depressant.

•  Mom's cooking is unbeatable.
•      According to Swami Vivekananda, whoever cannot cook well can't become a good sadhu. Unless the mind is pure, good tasteful cooking is not possible.
•           Find yourself a recipe, and you can cook one dish. Teach yourself, the science of cooking and you can cook creatively for ever.   

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Colorful facts

                             Colorful facts

• Purity is always represented in white color.
• Ignorance is indicated by black color .
• Renunciation is depicted in yellow or orange color.
• Red depicts Anger.
• The color you see in darkness is not black, but a dark gray called eigengrau .
• Native Americans believe that brown is the color of self-discipline.
• To the Greeks, chloros was a pale shade of green, hence the word chlorophyll.
• Human blood will appear green at 30 ft under water since red light doesn't penetrate that deeply.
• Owls are one of the only birds who can see the color blue.
• The blood of mammals is red, the blood of insects is yellow, and the blood of lobsters is blue.
• The plants that need to attract moths for pollination are generally white or pale yellow . Plants that depend on butterflies, such as the poppy or hibiscus , have colorful flowers.
• Almost all cultivated carrots were purple or white before the 17th  century.
• Straw berries can also be white or yellow and some can even taste like plneapples. 

Timeless truths

                              Timeless Truths

•     If we are incapable of finding peace in ourselves, it is pointless to search elsewhere.
• When you are totally at peace with yourself, nothing can shake you.
• Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging of an uncompleted task.
• The real measure of your wealth is  ,how much you'd be worth, if you lost all your money.
• Go where you are celebrated, not tolerated.
• Don't let the noise of others opinions drown out your inner voice.
• Do what you love and the money will follow .
• Don't let the past steal your present .
• Yesterday is history, tomorrow is mystery.And today ? Today is a gift.That's why we call it the present.

Socrates's House

                                          Socrates' House


Socrates , the great classical Greek philosopher, one of the founders of Western ethical philosophy was the most sober and most chaste of all men. He lived content upon very little or nothing, that entirely commanded his passions, and that his reasonings were so persuasive that he drew all men to his side.
No man ever taught to live well, like Socrates, for in his whole life, he was an example of untainted probity and in his discourses he spoke of virtues and of all the duties of man in all spheres of life in a manner that made him admired of all his hearers.

In the entire world literature and in all languages, there is always depiction of atleast one anecdote from his inspiring life.

It is said, once a house of a modest size was built for the wise philosopher. On every side, people shouted and cried. Each of them found a fault to tell of the house he had built up so well. All the so called friends commented that the house was so small, so mean and so miserable that one could not move at all. It was so narrow and so tight one could not budge to left or right. His so called friends went on criticizing and ended up saying that it could hardly be called a residence appropriate to his eminence. As the philosopher heard them cry, he laughed aloud,and replied, ' Friends, it is wrong on your part to criticize like this. This is not wise and proper.'
He added, " Though my small cabin is little worth,
                    It's everything I require on earth,
                    All I pray is, that it may be
                     Filled with friends who are true to me."

In this, the cream of Socrates's philosophy is reflected. According to him that to have need of nothing at all is a divine perfection, and that to have need but of little is to approach very near the Deity, and hence it follows that,as there is nothing more excellent than the Deity, whatever approaches nearest to it is likewise most near the supreme excellence. The philosopher's main delight was to be with his virtuous friends, to teach them all the good he knew, and recommend them to all whom he believed capable to assist them in the way to perfection.

Glorious past

                                        Glorious past



    In the history of man's social evolution, there is an inexhaustible and interesting store of facts and beliefs pertaining to various practices and customs.

• .The practice of shaving began in ancient times as a defence against enemies grabbing and pulling soldiers by their beards during battle.
• Crushed charcoal and stones were sometimes used as tooth powder for brushing teeth in ancient times.
• The Greeks invented ' Worry Beads' as a tool for relief from distress. While many cultures and faiths created beads for religious purposes. Greeks carried and played with them to relax.
• Hippocrates, the ' father of medicine ' prescribed pigeon poop as a cure for baldness.
• Sap from the roots of the marshmellow plant has been used in sore throat-soothing candies since the time of the ancient Egyptians.
• Hair braiding has historically been a method of socializing and passing on community traditions through generations of family members especially in African culture.
• Throughout history, Earrings have been effective amulets worn to ward off evil spirits and bring good fortune. Sailors believe that wearing earrings protect them from drowning, and that it helps their eye sight.Earrings were worn by both men and women. Ear piercing is quite a ceremony. A gold ring was believed to be a cure for all kinds of ear-troubles, although other metals, jewels and all sorts of materials were prevalent among primitive and among sea-faring men later. The ear was believed to be the center of intelligence. The custom of pulling a child's ear to make him remember his school lessons comes from that ancient belief.
• Ancient Egyptian ladies painted their mouths or lips red for magical purposes. It was believed in those days that by emphasizing the natural red circle of the mouth, they were well protected, as the good spirit of life was safe within them and could not escape from the body. At the same time, the bright red circle kept evil spirits from slipping in to cause troubles, the least of which were soreness, dryness of the tongue, and chopped lips. Red was the color of magic and was the 'stop' signal or danger sign, to any garrison of invaders that would cause fevers and plagues, a condition much dreaded in early times.
• Rice throwing is a very old custom believed to be a survival of the ancient religious rites of the Hindus and Chinese. Rice throwing symbolizes blessings from the elders. Among the orientals, rice is the symbol of fruitfulness and prosperity. Rice throwing symbolizes the bestowal of fertility, heath, wealth and happiness on the bridal pair and the youngsters. From time immemorial, rice has been the main dish of most orient people. They must have been aware of its nutrient values. Beneath the gesture of throwing rice, there lies deep in the nature of man , an unconscious knowledge of what is good for him. A symbol is merely convenient substitute for the real knowledge.

Fire under the ocean - A natural wonder

   

                         Fire under the ocean - A natural wonder

     Hindu mythology has many stories about the mysterious submarine fire that is hidden at the bottom of the sea. 

Puranas, epics and sanskrit literary works term this fire as ' Vadavanala or Vadavagni ' , vadava meaning ' mare ' and anala or agni denoting fire.

Vadavanala is a mare which breathes fire and stands on the ocean floor or it is fire found in the shape of a mare under the ocean. This submarine fire causes the sea water to evaporate and turn into mist, thus preventing the sea from overflowing on to the land. It is said that at the time of pralaya or deluge, vadavagni will stop doing this, causing the ocean to expand and submerge the earth. The fire of the submarine mare will burst forth in the form of volcanoes. Everything will be destroyed by lava and water. Thus there could be an interesting link between sea-level changes and mass extinction. Infact, oceans are the cause of both creation and destruction of the universe. Scriptures all over the world bear testimony to this fact.

Ancient wisdom is revealed through stories, symbols and rituals. The origin of fire-breathing mare is interesting. According to one story, Kamadeva, the cupid, the god of love, once tried to arouse desire in the mind of Shiva, the ascetic. Shiva opened his third eye, released a missile of fire anddestroyed the god of love and desire. The world cannot function without desire and love. Hence, Vishnu, the protector of the universe caught the fire of Shiva's third eye, turned into a mare and hid her under the sea. Thus the mare could be a symbol of fertility, movement and power.

According to Harivamsha purana, Aurva the grandson of the sage Bhrgu and the son of the sage Urva, gained great power by his austerities . He was requested by the gods to beget children to perpetuate his lineage. He agreed but warned them that his offspring would be so powerful that they would consume the world. So from his thigh he created a devouring fire which would have destroyed the world. But before that Brahma, the creator of the universe put the fire into the ocean as its habitation and water as its food, thus preventing the destruction of the world.

In the Mahabharata , a different version is seen. Aurva was the son of sage Chyavana. He wanted to take revenge upon the kings who persecuted brahmins. Even after the kings begged for forgiveness, Aurva continued to harbour his anger and hatred against the kings. His ancestors appeared before him and asked him to forgive his enemies. Aurva then discarded the flames of anger and hatred into the sea. Incidentally 'Arvan' means horse in sanskrit. So the fire and horse has relation.

This story may be a hint to the scientific fact. Most of the water in the deep ocean is extremely cold, almost close to freezing. There is another type of extreme environment found in the deep sea known as Hydrothermal vents. The water at the hydrothermal vents is very hot. It is heated by volcanic activity at tectonic spreading ridges. The hot water spews from holes in the crust called vents, looking like dark smoke because of dissolved chemicals it picked up from the underground. Certain types of Archaea and Eubacteria microbes are able to turn the chemicals from the hot water into the energy they need to survive. Many other types of living things including fish, shrimp, giant tubeworms, crabs and clams thrive in this environment as well. Underneath the earth geothermal current is present.
What a beautiful convergence of ancient wisdom and modern science !