Boy..Scout

When and where was Boy Scouts founded?

The origin of the Boy Scouts movement is attributed to the efforts of Robert Baden-Powell.  He organised an experimental camp attended by 20 boys, held from July 29 to August 9, 1907 on Brownsea Island, Dorset, England.  Outlining the principles of scouting, he, in 1908, wrote a book "Scouting for Boys" much of which was based on Baden-Powell's army career in Africa.  He also published a magazine 'The Scout' in the same yar.  Later that year the first official camp was organised at Humshaugh, Northumberland.  By 1909 the scouting movement had gained such momentum that in a rally held at Crystal Palace, London, 11,000 scouts participated.  Currently there are more than 38 million members involved with the Boy Scouts movement.  Indonesia has the highest scout membership with 89,09,435 scouts followed by USA and India.

Women Rights...

When and Where for the first time were women granted the right to vote?

In 1893 the Women's Sufffrage Petition was passed in New Zealand, making it the first self-gverning nation in the world to grant women the right to vote.  This pioneering feat was achieved when Governor Glasgow signed the Electoral Bill in September 1893 to that effect.

United Kingdom Vs Great Britain...

What is the difference between the United Kingdom and Great Britain ?

The United Kingdom comprises of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland whereas Southern Ireland is a separate nation.  Northern Ireland share a common government and passport with the nations of the large island.  Great Britain, on the other hand, includes the main Island of Scotland, Wales and England excluding the whole of Ireland-both Northern as well as Southern.  Great Britain is called so in order to distinguish it from Brittany or Little Britain, a province across the Channel in France.

Kuiper Belt...

What is 'Kuiper Belt'?

The Kuiper Belt is a donut-shaped region that extends to about 50 Astronomical Unit (AU) (1 AU=92.96 million miles, means distance of Earth from the Sun.)  Kuiper Belt is thought to be the source for short-period comnets such as Comet Halley or Comet Swift-Tuttle.  It is filled with icy bodies that are in solar orbit.  800 objects found in this region are called Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs).  On the other hand, it is estimated that there are more than 70,000 objects of more than 60 miles in diameter in the Kuiper Belt.  Dwarf planets like Pluto and UB 313 are considered as Kuiper Belt objects.

E1 Nino...

What is E1 Nino?....

E1 Nino is a climatically significant disruption of the ocean-atmosphere system characterised by large scale weakening of trade winds and warming of the surface layers in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific region.  The term E1 Nino, Spanish for "the Christ Child" was originally used by fishermen to refer to a warm ocean current that appeared around Christmas off the west coasts of Ecuador and Peru and lasted several months.  Nowadays the term has come to be reserved for exceptionally strong warm currents that bring heavy rains.

***

E1 Nino events generally occur at irregular intervals of 2 to 7 years, at an average of once every 3 to 4 years.  They typically last 12 to 18 months.  the intensity of E1 Nino events varies depending on the intensity of and area encompassed by the abnormally warm ocean temperatures.  E1 Nino influences weather around the globe and its impacts are most clearly seen in the winter.

***

Grand Slam...

What is the Origin of the term 'Grand Slam'....

The term Grand Slam is used today when someone wins all the four major tennis tournaments (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US  Open) in a year.  This application of grand slam was first used by sports journalist Allison Danzig in 1938 when he referred to the achievement of Australian Donald Budge who had won all the major tennis tournaments that season.  In the North America grand slam is also known as a baseball homerun with the bases loaded.  However the term originated in the game of bridge, where it means winning all the thirteen tricks in one hand...

Environmental Performance Index...

What is Environmental Performance Index?

The Environmental Performance Index (EPI) is a measure of environmental health and ecosystem vitality.  It is based on an assessment of 16 indicators like air quality, water resources, biodiversity and habitat, productive natural resources, sustainable energy, etc.  According to the 2006 EPI, New Zeland, Sweden and Finland have been rated as the best performing countries in the Environmental performance Index with EPI scores of 88.0, 87.8 and 87.0 out of 100, respectively.

World's Youngest Movie Director....

Who has the distinction of being the world's youngest movie director?

As per Guinness Book of World Records 2008, world's  movie is Kishan Shrikanth (b.1996).  In 2006, the Indian prodigy at the age of 9 directed a movie C/o Footpath about an orphaned boy who wants to go to school thus breaking the record of Sydney Ling of the Netherlands who directed a movie at the age of 13.

The inventor of World Wide Web?......(www)

Who is credited with the invention of World Wide Web?....

The credit for the invention of the World Wide Web (WWW) goes to Tim Berners-Lee (later given the title of Sir) and his colleagues at CERN (Eurropean Council for Nuclear Research), an international scientific establishment based in Switzerland.  They developed HTML (hyper text markup language), the format that directs a computer how to display a web page, HTTP (hyper text markup language), the format that directs a computer how to display a web page, HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol) that facilitates communication between clients and servers and URLs (universal resource locators) that identify resources like documents, images, dowloadable files, services and electronic mailboxes on the Web thereby reducing a range of complex instructions to a single mouse click.

***

The World Wide Web provides the facility for all the world's computers to be linked, making it easy to send documentation electronically via the Internet.  Mr. Lee deliberately refrained from patenting his work on HTTP, HTML and URLs because he wanted to encourage as many people as possible to use the Web.  The forerunner of the Internet, however, was the ARPANET.  ARPA stands for Advanced Research Projects Agency, a division of the US Defence Department that possessed linked computers across North America to enable exchange of information.

Think Big and Aim High....

Be Brave, be bold, dare and do. Nothing is impossible. No obstacle is insurmountable. If only you make up your mind, stay decided and stand firm like a rock, no one can stop you from gaining your goal and crowning yourself with success. With hope and faith, do give rein to your vision. Think big and not small. Look ahead and plan well. Above all, act and work hard. Do not vacillate, do not hesitate and do not rest till the job is done. Know what you want and go after it with single-minded concentration and total resoluteness.

***

Visualise the image of what you would like to become in life. Do you want to be a king, a revolutionary leader, a business tycoon, a famous lawyer, a renowned professor, a skilled engineer or a great sports star? Let your ambition surface. Be true to your own self. Your aspirations may seem mere day dreams and wild castle in the air at the start. Never mind and never fear. What appears impossible today will become a reality tomorrow with your determination, dedication and application. Anything, which you regard now as of great value or accomplishment, was a mere thought, idea, or dream at one time, be it the Taj Mahal or the aeroplane, or the atom bomb, or the moon-walk.

***

Success comes when you get what you want or desire. The starting point, then, is to know what you want in life. If you don't know what you want, the question of it does not arise at all. You must, therefore, have a goal, an objective or a target. You decide your goal according to your vision, day dream, inclination, ability, natural skill, knowledge and needs. Aim at the star and shoot high. Never settle for small things. Verily, the sky is the limit for those who dare and do.

***

Sachin Tendulkar, the indisputable high priest of the pan-Indian unifying factor called cricket who epitomises a confluence of aesthetics-personified sportsmanship of yore and an understated aggression essential to survive the modern-era grind, is a splendid example of the triumph of the mind and will. He has scaled more peaks than anyone in the domain of international cricket during his illustrious career. A long-standing cricketing phenomenon, his stratospheric levels of achievement have been acknowledged by all and sundry - the latest feather in his cap being the prestigious and coveted 'Padma Vibhushan' conferred on him by the Hon'ble President Ms. Pratibha Patil on May 5, 2008. Even after all his astounding achievements, the icon still remains a dedicated professional who rises every morning keen to play, looking forward to score many more runs for the country. A fierce fighter endowed with a cricketing brain of the highest order, he has become a role model for the youth with his impeccable behaviour on and off the field. Sachin's example is one where rare talent has been groomed to perfection by thinking big and aiming high and by tireless striving and relentless struggle. It teaches us that we can reach our goal only through a high sense of devotion, dedication and perserverance. His example should be emulated, not merely by budding cricketers, but also by all youngsters, who want to make it big in life.

***

Leading you on the road to success,,,,,

Treat friends, colleagues as equals at work place.....

JUST BECAUSE YOUR COLLEAGUE IS A CLOSE FRIEND DOESN'T MEAN YOU HAVE TO TREAT HIM/HER DIFFERENTLY. LEARN TO DRAW THE LINE BETWEEN PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIP...................

Usha Sriram, an art director with an ad agency was thrilled. Her best friend from college, Natasha had joined the same company and was in the same creative team with Usha. As day went by Usha realised that Natasha hadn't changed a bit since college - a procrastinator who never met deadlines and always left her dirty linen for Usha to wash. Soon she received flack from her boss and other co-workers as she was covering up for Natasha.

***

A good friend is not necessarily a great colleague. So, whether you are working with an old friend or happened to become good pals with a colleague, always draw a line between your professional and personal relationship. Don't know how to? Follow these simple guidelines.....

***

* SEGREGATE: Make it clear that inside the office you are only colleagues and being professional is a must. That means no covering up for each other, being overtly friendly or taking sides. Treat him/her like you would treat any other co-worker - be cordial, share light moments, have lunch, point out any wrong doings etc.

***

* USE IT TO YOUR ADVANTAGE...: "No body knows me like Kiran and vice versa. He has been my neighbour and friend since my childhood and today he is my boss. The one thing he can't stand is lies. You tell him that you won't be coming to work today because you are taking your wife out, he'll be cool about it and even recommend some good sports. But if you lie to him saying that you are sick and that's why you're not coming to work you're finished. So I always make sure I tell him the complete truth - even if it's absurd." says Vinod Kumar, an architect. You know your friend's character well and will be able to predict how he will react to which situation. Use that to your advantage and act accordingly in the office.

***

* NEVER START DOING HIS/HER WORK....: Helping a friend at work is fine, but doing his work is not good - both for him and you. He will never grow professionally and you will get overworked. Says Geetha Das, a computer programmer, "Reena and I din't know each other before but we became very close after we joined the same company. She got engaged a few months back and would leave early in the evening to meet her fiance.

....... Initially I used to finish up her work as she would leave early. But slowly she started dumping more and more work on me. Now I'am getting agitated as I feel I am being taken for granted."

***

* LEAVE YOU EGO AT HOME...: Take professional feedback and tips from your friend the same way you would take from any other colleague or even a senior. Take it seriously and change your work etiquette accordingly. Don't let your ego get in the way.

Correspondence Course....

A traffic police has chased a car driver, who is driving very rashly by beating all the other vehicles on the road....

Then the police shouted that driver , " hey do you know driving, why are you driving like this.....

Then the driver replied, " No sir i started learning the driving just now only......

Then the Police men asked that driver,,,,, " Then Where is your Driving Coach.....

Then the driver replied fearfully that ....... " SIR, THIS IS A CORRESPONDENCE COURSE ........... .......

Caller Tune

One fool has set a song of his choice as a caller tune on his Cell phone. But he always getting engage/busy response when ever he calls to listen the caller tune. The he gave a complaint to the customer care regarding this. Then the customer care people asked him to which phone number he is calling for the caller tune, for this the fool replied that for my caller tune why should i call others, i am calling to my cell number only,,,,,,

Dont ask that....

In a deep forest a person is doing a deep and intensive meditation to see a god. By seeing the sincereity of that person, that god felt happy and came in front of that person to fulfill his desire and asked him what he wants. Then the person said that, "Ohh my dear god, my wife has got a madness of shopping, every day she asks me to take her out for shopping, i am not able to bare the expenditures, so i sincerely request you to go give me a very big shopping complex as a gift, for my wife,,". Then the god replied that, " see my dear, its so expensive to build a shopping complex, as cement cost, bricks cost, engineers cost, workers cost, iron cost, etc., are increased too much, ........"ohhhh that's why i can't help you in this regard...." ..... please ask any other wish instead of this shopping complex....

Then the person stated telling the god about her wife's behaviour,,, "I don't know swami(god), my wife some times behaves as very angry? and some times she is so happy? and she sometimes talks and behaves in a different way with me.... ,,,, till now i am not able to understand her nature swami(god).... can u please help me how can i understand her behaviour ?......

Then the god immediately given a shocking response with that person that "Does the 2 floors of shopping complex is enough for u........

*********************************************


(As god himself can't understand the nature of the women...... and felt it easier to fulfill his first desire ..... )

CONCLUSION.....

A harmonious growth of the physical, the mental, the intellectual and the spiritual dimension is essential for the spiritual dimension is essential for the all-round development of personality. Struggle for perfection in all these aspects will ultimately lead us to the development of the real personality. Once we succeed in doing that, there will be a tremendous qualitative change in our lives. A great number of such people will certainly form a better society; and they will raise this nation once again to its highest glory.

.....................................................................................................

SPIRITUAL DIMENTION....

In this moral body, there is something, immortal, eternal, and of the nature of pure consciousness, bliss, peace, and source of tremendous power, energy, and knowledge. It is of the nature of effulgent light; never undergoes any change, free from birth, old age, and death. From it spring all divine qualities, such as love, compassion, service, purity, truthfulness, fearlessness, etc. That is our divine nature. This spiritual dimension is superior to all other aspects of personality. Sri Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita (3:42): 'The subtle organs are superior to the gross body, the mind is superior to the organs, but the intellect is superior to the mind. However, the one who dwells in this body is superior to intellect.' Though the divine dwells within our hearts, we are not aware of the fact. The physical body is a product of nature and made of five elements, which will go back to its source after death. But the divine within is entirely separate from the gross and subtle manifestations of nature. If that is true, then why are we not able to realize it? Sri Krishna says in the Bhagavad-Gite (5:15) 'Knowledge remains covered by ignorance. Thereby the creatures become deluded.' The moment we remove this screen of ignorance the knowledge of the Atman will shine forth, and then will manifest all the great virtues in our personality. Swami Vivekananda said: 'Teach yourselves, teach everyone, his real nature, call upon the sleeping soul and see how it awakes. Power will come, glory will come, goodness will come, purity will come, and everything that is excellent will come, when this sleeping soul is roused to self-conscious activity.'

***

It is our birthright to realize this divine within. Those who neglect this virtual aspect of personality are the killers of their own self, say the scriptures. The people of gross mind and dull intellect neglect their spiritual dimension, thinking that it will hamper their worldly affairs. They think that it is meant only for saints and Sannyasins to lead spiritual life; and they need not have to bother about it. The purpose of human life is to manifest this divinity within, irrespective of caste, creed, sex, colour, position, and status. Everyone must struggle to manifest this dimension. Swami Vivekananda says: 'If the fisherman thinks that he is the spirit, he will be a better fishermen; if the student thinks he is the spirit, he will be a better student. If the lawyer thinks that he is the spirit, he will be a better lawyer.' How to do it? By removing ignorance. What is ignorance? Ignorance is nothing but the impurity of the mind. The person of pure mind alone can realize this divine. And, therefore, one should never deviate from the path of righteousness. There are six enemies i.e, lust, anger, greed, delusion, pride and jealousy. The moment we drive them away from the mind, the Divine will reflect in that pure mirror of mind. Just remove the cloud of ignorance and the sun of knowledge will shine forth. How to remove these impurities from the mind?

***

There fore four different paths suited to different temperaments. They are : Bhakti Yoga, Jnana yoga, karma yoga, and Raja yoga. That is the path of devotion, the path of discrimination, the path of selfless action, and the path of meditation. Regular practice of these four yogas will help us to manifest our divine nature, removing all impurities from the mind. And, therefore, everyday, we must spare sometime for prayer, meditation, japa, selfless service, and practice of discrimination, which will certainly help us to develop the spiritual dimension of our personality.

****

INTELLECTUAL DIMENTION..

Strength is of four types, i.e, the physical, the mental, the intellectual, and the spiritual. Intellectual strength is superior to physical, and mental strength, and hence it forms an important part of our personality. Though this intellectual faculty is present in everyone, in most of the cases it remains dormant due to lack of proper training and intellectual exercise. Excessive use of modern electronic gadgets has converted man into a machine. The result is computers are keeping everything in memory, and, we, the human beings, are keeping our memory undeveloped. Originally, creativity, and deep thinking are taking leave of mankind; and artificiality, imitation, and shallow and superficial thinking are making their presence felt everywhere.

***

To cultivate different talents, such as music, fine arts, poetry, dance, drama, etc., creative thinking is absolutely necessary. Deep thinking brings out the hidden talents in man or woman in the form of inspiration, which is possible only through the power of concentration. The power of concentration helps us to grasp subtle and higher things. And here comes the role of the intellect. Our senses and mind are restless. Since the intellect is superior to them, it alone can bring them under control. And, therefore, one must develop tremendous will power to control the mind and to fix it on higher things, to achieve success in life.

***

The other function of the intellect is to discriminate between right and wrong. The mind does not have that capacity. It can provide you a number of solutions for your problem, but it is for the intellect to choose the right one. This world is a mixture of good and bad; and, therefore, unless we cultivate this power of discirimination, we will not be in a position to discriminate between the right and the wrong. In this age of advanced communication and technology, everything is brought to our doorstep, through Internet, Websites, and Satellite T.V. One need to develop the discriminative faculty of the intellect, especially the youth, to choose the right from the wrong. If they go on lapping up everything available on the multi-media without discrimination, they are sure to land in trouble. Once the mind gets addicted to such things, it is difficult to get out of their clutches. Hence, we need tremendous intellectual strength to control the vagaries of the mind. We must know the difference between intellect and cleverness. We have many so-called intellectual people in our country who are engaged in harmful practices. Intellectual strength strength is that which brings happiness to oneself and to the others. Otherwise, it is only cleverness or crooked intellect, which ruins oneself and the society.

***

The mind always tries to deceive us. It gives us convincing arguments to lead a comfortable life by applying short cut methods. It does not want to follow any discipline in the name of freedom, and, prefers easygoing life. Sometimes it forces us, even to do wrong things deviating from the path of righteousness. Hence we need a strong intellect, which will detect the evil motives of the mind and will assert its strength to follow the right paths, which leads to real success. Therefore, to develop a strong, discriminative, and determinative intellect, it is necessary to cultivate intellectual faculty.

***

MENTAL DIMENTION....

2. MENTAL DIMENTION:

The mind is superior to the body. It is the mind that makes the body, but not vice versa. Mind is a repository of thoughts. Negative and evil thoughts make a mind weak. Weak uncontrolled mind always succumbs to temptations, creating havoc with a person. The habit of brooding over failures gives rise to negative thoughts. Swami Vivekananda's words will certainly help us to overcome such weaknesses. He said: 'The remedy for weakness is not brooding over weakness, but thinking of strength. Teach men of the strength that is already within them.'

***


There are a few fortunate souls who are lucky enough to attain success without pitfalls; the rest have to pass through the hurdles and difficulties. But the real hero is he who welcomes challenges in life and faces them with boldness and courage. Such a person crossing all the hurdles comes out successfully like a lion. The following incident took place during Swami Vivekananda's wandering days, when he was staying at Varanasi. It conveys a profound message to the whole world. One day, while returning from the Durga temple, Swamiji was chased by some monkeys. To save himself, Swamiji started running, but the monkeys ran still faster and grew increasingly aggressive. Meanwhile, an old monk who was witnessing the scene called out to him: 'Stop running. Face the brutes.' Swamiji heard his call and turned to 'face the brutes.; Then the monkeys stopped harrassing him. Swamiji drew a great lesson from this incident. He learnt that one should not run away, when faced with danger or difficulty; and instead, one must face it boldly. In his later life, addressing a gathering in New York, he said: 'That is a lesson for all life-face the terrible, face it boldly. Like the monkeys, the hardships of life fall back, when we cease to flee before them. Cowards neer with victories. We have to face fear and troubles and ignoreance, if we expect them to flee before us.

***

Of late, people, especially students, have become so sensitive that a little admonition from parents for fewer marks in examination is enough to disturb their minds. Violence, crime, killing, committing suicide are the outcome of weak minds. Sri. Krishna says in the Gita that such a mind acts upon us like an enemy. He says: 'One should save oneself by oneself; one should not lower oneself. For oneself is verily one's own friend; oneself is verily one's own enemy' (6:5). The strong and disciplined mind acts like a friend, but the weak, uncontrolled, and frustrated mind acts like an enemy and leads to destruction. Here are a few observations about the strong and weak minds.

***

STRONG MIND :-

1. A strong mind always remains calm even in adversities.
***
2. It never succumbs to temptations, and develops tremendous courage to say 'No' to immoral thoughts and actions.
***
3. It always remains free from prejudice, suspicion, and jealousy.
***
4. Clarity of thinking makes it possible to take right decisions and come to right judgements.
***
5. Such a mind will never indulge in wrong actions, prompted by evil emotions, such as desire, anger, greed, fear, hatred, etc., but will be always guided by serious, deep and right thinking.
***
6. Positive thinking, concentration, fearlessness, adventurous nature, and self-confidence are the vital qualities of a strong mind.
********
WEAK MIND :--

1. A weak mind gets irritated and loses temper over trifling matters and reacts violently.
***
2. Such a mind can easily succumb to temptations, like bribery, stealing, etc.,
***
3. Due to confusion, suspicion, and prejudice, it fails to take the right decision and make impartial judgements.
***
4. Such a mind always compromises with and surrenders to evil forces.
***
5. It cannot face challenges in life, and tries to escape from them by adopting easy and cheap methods.
***
6. Such a mind always takes recourse to weeping and grumbling.
***
7. Such a mind never appreciates good qualities in others.
***
8. Restlessness, fear, tension, laziness, frustration, superstition, and negative thinking are the main characteristics of a weak mind.
*********
Even a weak and uncontrolled mind can be controlled by applying strong will power and regular training. The body needs nutritious food, so does the mind need good ideas. Thought-power is a great source for strengthening the mind. Sri Ramakrishna used to say that the mind is just like a laundered cloth; whatever colour you dip it in, it will take the same colour. Our actions are the concrete forms of our thoughts. Once we change our way of thinking and develop a habit of thinking and develop a habit to think noble and positive ideas, it will bring tremendous change in our conduct and behaviour. Swami Vivekananda has given us hope, when he said: 'Whatever you think, that you will be; if you think yourselves strong, strong you will be. If you think yourrselves weak, weak you will be.' Underestimating one's own capacity and constantly thinking in a negative way, such as, I am good for nothing, I am hopeless, I and worthless, I am a sinner, is the prime cause of our mental weakness. Tremendous power is hidden within us; positive thinking is the only way to bring it out.
***
The habit of reading good, mind strengthening, and wholesome literature always provides healthy food for our mind. The selection of such reading material and the company of good people will certainly enhance our mental strength. Specially for the youth, Swami Vivekananda's literature is most inspiring, and a storehouse of all positive and constructive ideas. While explaining the impact of this literature to Romain Rolland, Rabindranath Tagore Said: "If you want to understand India, study Vivekananda; in him, everything is positive, nothing negative.'
***
That was the main reason behind announcing Swami Vivekananda's birthday as the National Youth Day by the Government of India. One must cultivate the habit of studying the Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads, and such literature is enough strength in the body we can understand, assimilate, and practise such positive ideas in our life.
***
Often, evil company, vulgar and cheap novels, and movies create mental perversions, resulting in all types of psychological complexes and nervous weaknesses. Therefore, one must carefully avoid such things.
***
Through the practice of regular meditation, it is quite possible to improve our mental strength. Practice of meditation helps us to overcome depression, tension, and restelessness; and it makes the mind steady by controlling negative impulses and emotions. It helps us directly by erasing the bundle of tendencies from the subconscious mind, which is the root cause of problems. These accumulated tendencies are the products of our own past thoughts and actions. Meditation helps us in replacing these negative and undesirable tendencies with positive and divine thoughts.
***
So, positive thinking, the habit of reading good books, and the practice of meditation are the few means to improve our mental strength, which forms a part of our personality.
***

PHYSICAL DIMENTION.

1. PHYSICAL DIMENSION:... The human body is a rare gift of God. Good health is the source of happiness and success in life. Since the body and mind are closely related to each other, ill health causes mental worries and depression, not enabling to pursue a definite goal in life. Swami Vivekananda repeatedly asserted that we must develop muscles of iron and nerves of steel. In one of his lectures, he said: 'Be strong, my young friends, that is my advice to you. You will be nearer to heaver through football than through the study of the Gita. These ar my bold words, but I have to say them, for I love you. I know where the shoe pinches. I have gained a little experience. You will understand the Gita better with your biceps, your muscles, a little stronger.' Poor health not only creates tension in the person concerned, but also disturbs the whole family. To meet the medical expenses, the whole family has to suffer from financial strain. A healthy person always keeps his mind cool in all circumstances. He performs his duties efficiently, enthusiastically, and cheerfully. The development of physical strength, which is indispensable to serve others, to protect one's self-interest, should not be abused for destroying national property. Uncontrolled physical energy many times erupts in the form of caste and communal riots, anti-social activities, violence, robbery, harrassment, etc., disturbing the peace and harmony in society. One must canalize this physical energy into constructive purpose.

***

Habits play a vital role in developing physical dimension. Bad habits, such as drinking, smoking drug ediction, etc., can do great harm to the physical health, making a person weak and susceptible to chronic diseases. One must be very careful and should never fall a prey to such harmful habits. Even the company of such people who are the victims of bad habits should be shunned at all cost. The influence of bad company is very harmful to the teenagers. Their tender and immature mind can easily succumb to the temptations of bad habits. Therefore, tender and immature mind can easily succumb to the temptations of bad habbits. Therefore, parents and teachers should keep watch over them and motivate them to cultivate good habits. Developing good habits regarding food, sleep, exercise, and work is the secret of good health.

***

Practice of Yogasana and breathing exercises is the most effective method to keep the body fit, but one must practise them under the guidance of competent teacher.

***
In ancient India, learning in the Gurukula system, students used to spend their early days in the company of enlightened teachers. By practicing strict discipline, such as, brahmacharya, physical austerities, service to guru, study of different branches of knowledge, etc., they would attain tremendous energy within themselves. They were capable of retaining all the Vedas in their memory. The obvious reason is conservation of sensual and mental energy. Over-indulgence in sensual pleasures makes the senses bereft of vigour and strength, and unfit for higher achievements in life. Though our sages were married, they had tremendous control over their senses. By the practice of brahmacharya, one can easily transform the sexual energy into ojas, which makes the brain and the nervous system strong and brings new vigour and enthusiasm in blood. Single-pointed concentration and memory power are the results of brahmacharya.

***

Swamy Vivekananda has rightly said: 'Do you see, simply by observance of strict brahmacharya (continence) all learning can be mastered in very short time. One has an unfailing memory of what one hears or knows but once. It is owing to this want of continence that everything is on brink of ruin in our country.

***

So, nutritious food, regular exercise, cultivating good habits, and self-control help us to improve our health, which forms a part of personality development.

****