general stuff

Get Out Of The Rut Of Materialistic Greed .... Queenie-tessential

2011-11-05T19:44:00.000+05:30

Roti, Kapda Aur Makaan: the three necessities of life that we take for granted. In fact, not only do we assume they will always be there, but we take them to a new level, where they no longer are a necessity, but a luxury. What happens when it is taken away from your? When you don't know where you will sleep tonight or where your next meal will come from, or if your are left with one pair of clothes to survive? Ever thought of that?

***

Rohit (Timmy) Narang challenged himself by doing a TV challenged himself by doing a TV programme where he would have none of the above. Timmy runs Ambassador Sky Catering, where they provide thousands of meals per day. Ironically, he was chasing a grain of rice not knowing when and where he would get his next meal. "We seed food on plates being wasted. None of us blink at it. We go to fancy restaurants and pay dollars for gourmet food. Imagine if you don't know when and how you will find a morsel of food," he said, narrating his recent experience. "Your attitude in life changes. Your behavior towards people change. You are in survivor mode, and all you care about it how will you feed yourself."

***

We sleep on comfortable beds in our air-conditioned rooms. We aspire for bigger homes and furniture that spell luxury. Even pillows today have their own hierarchy. "What if you really don't know where you will rest your tired body?" Timmy asked. The world of luxury has hit us like a hurricane. Clothes have to be stylish and branded, otherwise they are not up to the mark. "I probably have clothes that are lying for years in my closet with tags still on them," he laughed. "The funny thing is the more we have, the more we think about it and the more complicated our lives become."

***

The experience has changed Timmy completely. "I now worry about my driver's meal times," he said, referring to how many times we overlook the fact that those who work for us may not have eaten till late in the day.

***

"We have way more than we need. If we really reflect on our lives, we need so much less than we have. Life is so much simpler and better when you are out of this rut."

***

"But you knew the experience would be temporary?" I asked him. He paused and answered, "Yes, it was temporary, but when someone like me, who has been a stickler for nutrition and good food which I have every few hours, gets none... all this become a reality," he said.

***

"My friends mocked me when I planned on going for this," he reminisced. "Today, I feel a strength within me that is powerful. I know I can live without materialistic greed," he said to me convincingly.

***

"It's time to reflect," he said, "To give back to people who don't have all this. Not with money, but real food, clothes and shelter. Unfortunately money sometimes does not reach them," he said. "We have much more than we need. We have to prioritise and it's time for me to make people who don't have 'roti, kapda nor makaan' feel better," he said, with a positive spirit.........

Makings Of A Great Hero.... MANI SHANKAR

2011-11-05T19:11:00.000+05:30

I get up every morning and tell myself I want to enjoy life at office today. But I end up preoccupied, nervous or just plain sad. At night, I look back and realise that I failed once again. Tell me how to enjoy life. Make it a short answer, something I can hold in my heart.............. -- Divya, Age 26

***

Swami Vivekananda once famously said, "This world can only be enjoyed by Heroes." Nobody said it better. So, if you want to enjoy your life, be a Hero. That's your short answer. Hold that in your heart everyday.

***

Now, for the long explanation. For starters, "Hero" isn't gender specific. It doesn't mean a male matinee idol. It doesn't mean a sports sensation or a rock star. It doesn't mean the celebrities, the champions or the men we sometimes wished we were. A hero is none of them. Hero is actually a state of mind. It's your response to the world - your reflection of your inner-self.

***

How do you become a hero? To begin with, be on good terms with all persons, with the world, with the situation you find yourself in right now. A hero never rages against reality. She accepts her reality even as she moves to change it. Anger isn't her favorite emotion. She is calm, in the face of adversity, has the strength to smile when others feel the need to cry.

***

A hero never compares herself to others. She knows that there will always be someone better, fairer, sexier, smarter, richer, more successful than herself. She has the courage to feel good about anyone who is in that list, and has the strength not to let them shake her aim or goal.

***

A hero is interested in her own career, however humble it may seem. She knows the world has a way of putting down everyone. She will learn to ignore the world and pursue whatever she does till she does it fantastically well, for she knows that is the gateway to future success.

***

A hero is always looking for virtues in others. Even though she knows there are more frauds than good people, she is never hesitant to seek and praise goodness, greatness or any other virtue in anyone. She can do that because she is confident of herself. Her foundations are rock solid within, and this liberates her. She is nobody's fool. When she cuts someone down, it is with minimum force - done with poise and grace.

***

A hero is gentle on herself. She knows how precious her life is, how beautiful all life is. She knows she is a visitor to this planet, here on a short holiday, and it's important to have fun in every moment. So nothing really needs to be taken very seriously.

***

She is smart enough to know that if she doesn't live her present moment in happiness, she isn't likely to live the future moment either.

***

So look at yourself every morning, Divya, look at the inner self, look at the true your, till a radiant smile spreads across your face. You know you are a hero. You will live today like a hero.

***

Nothing and nobody will come in your way, for you hold the keys to your life, and your happiness is solely in your hands. Now go ahead and have a truly great day....

Don't cry over challenges ... MANI SHANKAR...

2011-09-20T23:06:00.000+05:30

ANY ONE WHO LOSES CANNOT BE CALLED A LOSER. BUT THE GUY WHO GIVES UP WITHOUT EVEN TRYING IS A REAL LOSER
When will our society arrive at a stage where people are not labelled winners and losers? Why are we always pitted against each other, made to compete for everything? Why do we make life so damn tough for others? I need to know this immediately," says 14 year-old Prithvi.
***
Despite the philosophical nature of the questions you have raised. I am quite sure that one of the three things has recently happened to you:
1. You performed badly in a test or exam.
2. Some girl you fancied told you to get lost.
3. An older sibling, a teacher or a parent scolded you or called you a "loser" for something you did or did not do.
***
Even if none of these things have happened, get the word "loser" out of your head, now and forever. It should no longer exist in your vocabulary. Here's why. There is a serious difference between losing and being a loser. Anyone and everyone who loses cannot be called a loser. In fact, no one who loses can be termed a loser. But the guy who gives up without even trying is a real loser.
***
We compete for everything because as humans, we are programmed to be eternally dissatisfied with whatever we have. It's in our nature to fight with each other all the time. But don't let that worry you. Conflict is a fact of life. Better prepare for it.
***
Don't get philosophical and start feeling sad about the world either, for only stiff competition can bring out the best in you, sharpen your mind, strengthen your sinews, make a real man out of you.
***
So whether it's the exam hall or the cineplex mall, you are going to be competing for marks, for chicks, for attention, for practically everything. You can't get soft on the world and cry about why we make life so tough for ourselves.
***
Life would be boring without the spice of challenge, without obstacles and conflicts. Imagine if every boy had a proper girlfriend and everyone was going steady all the time... yuck! Where
s the spice of getting a "look" from someone who is already "booked"? Life would be like driving a thousand miles on a road that goes straight on a plain flat countryside. Where's the scenery, where are the bends and turns, the bumps and uphill climbs?
***
If you have absolutely everything you want in life and there was nothing more to aspire for, you would die out of sheer boredom. If you have nothing in life and have given up wanting any thing, your brain would shrink and wither away. So stop snivelling about life and become tough.
***
We all need an identity for ourselves. When you grow older, you need to look back and mark the milestones of your life and say "here is where I wrote my entrance exam", or "on this day I won that trophy" or even "I was wearing this shirt when she walked out of my life", or "on this very place we lost the finals". All those milestones are nothing but obstacles you managed to overcome, or which overwhelmed you. Either way, they are great moments that defined your life.
***
So friend, forget about defeat and victory. Concentrate on being there and doing that. In life, even losing something after heroically trying is a very great achievement.
***
So stuff the philosophy and get your ass cracking. Sweat it out, bury your head in that book, get your sleeves dirty, whatever. Just get real with life......
"WE COMPETE FOR EVERYTHING BECAUSE WE ARE PROGRAMMED TO BE ETERNALLY DISSATISFIED WITH WHATEVER WE HAVE. BUT DON'T LET THAT WORRY YOU. CONFLICT IS A FACT OF LIFE."
*******************....... MANI SHANKAR.. The author, a film, director, will help the youth strike a balance in their relationships....

Allot Worry A Small Slot In Mental Circuit... ANUPAM KHER

2011-09-20T21:27:00.000+05:30

The renowned actor decodes the finer nuances of human psyche and behaviour and shows the route to self-improvement...

Anxiety has never been judged as a positive emotion. It is linked with everything that is worthy of being discarded - nervousness, worry, stress and many more. People with the anxiety syndrome are not too difficult to detect either.

***

They are tense, edgy, have a nervous look about them and they display a giveaway sometimes. Like nervously biting their nails, or even chewing a handkerchief. For them, life is a series of worries; will their child come back safely from school, will their children pass in their exams this year, do you think the maid is thinking about quitting her job?

***

And the worries are not just about the todays. They stretch into tomorrows and the days after. Will the children find suitable life partners, will the spouse remain faithful to them when they grow old, what happenes if they contract a life threatening disease?

***

In contrast, there are the what-me-care types; the people who have never known a worry. They go through life blithely, having never known what a crinkled frown is. You may think that such people are darned lucky. But pause awhile and consider the baggage that such an attitude brings.

***

They never review their lives, never look back in introspection - let alone in anger - they just coast along from day to day. Is this the correct state of bliss to be in? Certainly not.

***

So you will realise that sometimes what we perceive to be a good state of being is also fraught with a lot of pitfalls. If the worrier is caught up in his thoughts and cannot break away from them to carry on with constructive endeavours, the what-me-worry folk may not be doing any mid-course correction at all and may go on from blunders to disasters.

***

Contrary to what we are led to believe, the worrier therefore may actually be sometimes better off than someone who never worries. The ideal situation would of course be to have a blend of both; to worry just a little, not overtly.

***

Unfortunately, it is the worriers that are always noticed, not the never-worry folks. Only those close to the latter know that beneath their self-assured facade may lie a lifetime of errors.

***

What does one do to stop worrying all the while? For starters, one should consciously limit one's worrying hours. Instead of getting vexed all the time, it would be a good first step to curtail worry time to say, an hour at a fixed time. That would make the person conscious of his tendency when his mental circuitry gets into the loop.

***

Snap out of it and wait till the appointed hour. I find this method more effective than telling people to put a blanket ban on putting on their worry caps.

***

And what should those people who are without a care do? They should stop believing that they are in a state of bliss. It is time for them to wake up and get real about their life and routine. As I say, it is time to take a close look in the mirror...... ANUPAM KHER

Hope is the best miracle worker in life... Anupam Kher

2011-09-01T20:21:00.000+05:30

THE CHANGE WITHIN

I had written some weeks ago about now different people have different ways of coming to terms with the loss of a loved one. What is however infinitely more difficult than coping with death, is coping with near-death. I am referring to people who are living with terminal illnesses, like cancer, AIDS, or diseases of the autoimmune system which have no cure, as yet.

***

Not only are many such patients unable to accept reality when confronted with it, but there is a huge proportion of patients who buckle down mentally as disease destroys them slowly, ever so slowly. Therefore, to help them countenance their fate, almost all such illnesses have large support groups. That is why in such cases, there is a debate on whether the patients ought to be informed about the true state of their health or not.

***

Last week I met two survivors of the Big C at a funeral occasion. It was at the mourning ceremonies of one of the most energetic actors of yesteryear, Shammi Kapoor, who crossed the Great Divide. At the ceremony, I met the scion of one of the country's largest film production houses, who was looking paler than usual. He was one of the brightest youngsters in the industry and was working on offering entertainment on the internet and also on cellphones. Now, he had lost some weight and some of his crowning glory. I asked him what the matter was. "I am down with cancer," he said starkly. "But cancer has chosen a wrong victim... I am determined to fight back," he said,with determination in his eyes.

***
At the same place, I also met another woman who also told me about her battle with cancer. "I read your columns which are filled with hope," she said. "And now you must write about people like us, and give others who are battling such illnesses, hope..." So here I am madam.
***

And I realised then that my younger brother Raju too had successfully, and very bravely, waged a battle against cancer a few years ago. Raju was down with cancer of the urinary bladder and a stage came when the surgeons had to remove his bladder completely to save him. That entailed him to a life with a catheter sticking out of him and his fluid being collected in a pouch by his side. Not a pleasant existence for anyone. But miraculously, the surgeons managed to fashion a bladder from his large intestine, sparing him the indignity of life with a puch. Raju has been back on his feet since then, busy acting and directing television shows and doing the things he had always been doing.

***

Very often, life does not end with such illnesses. There are thousands of cases of people who have fought back and overcome such illnesses. The genius of physicist Stephen Hawking is one shining example. As I say, a bend in the road is not always the end of the road.............

****
THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF CASES OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE FOUGHT BACK AND OVERCOME WHEN THE DOCTORS HAD WRITTEN THEM OFF..........

TAKE PRIDE IN YOUR STRIDE.. MALLIKA BHATIA

2011-07-25T23:03:00.000+05:30

BEING PROUD OF YOURSELF ISN'T SUCH A BAD THING, TAKING PRIDE IN YOUR ACHIEVEMENTS, THE VALUES AND BELIEFS THAT YOU UPHOLD IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF ONE'S PERSONALITY. OF COURSE, ONE NEEDS TO KNOW WHERE TO DRAW THE LINE TOO

***

A high or inordinate opinion of one's own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in bearing: this is how a dictionary defines 'pride'. Clearly its meaning is quite obvious to all of us. It is what we do with it and how we let it affect us which causes all the trouble.

***

Another dictionary defines 'pride' as "a feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from achievements, qualities, or possessions that do one credit". It is the same feeling; all that's changed its how we perceive it, how we react to it and yet again, how we let it affect us. The purpose is to feel pride by the second definition. Once we understand the difference between the two, it is an effortless process.

***

It is very important for all human beings to be proud of themselves, without the pride. The boundary is thin, and hence a little tricky too.

***

In general terms, a deep feeling of happiness and satisfaction on ones achievements, accompanied by a desire to learn and grow more is the appropriate balance; it is achieved when one is ready to learn from everyone regardless of his/her stature, social standing, age or education; and also from every situation, regardless of our being involved directly, indirectly, or not at all.

***

The difference comes when we cross the fine line and move to superbia from pride. Pride also has humility as an integral part, yet just by being aware of our humility we take away its purity. The mere fact that we are aware of it goes against the true nature of being humble. If we are humble, then we just are. Awareness is not a necessary part of it.

***

People can look up to you for your values, work or beliefs and would ideally make you feel satisfied with yourself as a human being. It might not be the criterion for you to define and derive your satisfaction, yet it might help. It can also motivate you to learn, refine and grow more. That's pride. On the other hand, expecting people to appreciate you because you have strong values is a reflection of your feeling of superbia or pride by the first definition.

***

Buddhism provides a definition of pride that fits best in this case, "Pride is defined as an exaggerated positive evaluation of oneself, often based on a devaluation of others. It results in a kind of attachment to oneself and aversion to others".

***

Superbia creates expectation. Expectation to be complimented, to be followed, to be praised and even to be idolised. All this may be very subtle but on introspection, it clearly hits the face. Even if your first reaction on reading this is, "I don't feel so", just peep inside once. Think objectively and be honest to yourself while doing this analysis. If you find no traces of these feelings, then please be proud of yourself as you truly do posses a quality that's commendable. And if your find even slight traces, be proud of yourself for being strong enough to admit to it and being ready to change. Only when we accept our shortcomings can we actually get down to working on them.

***

Accepting your shortcomings is another huge part of moving from superbia to pride. When we can't see our faults, we are completely blinded by negative or inappropriate pride. We keep looking for excuses outside ourselves for things going wrong. Even while trying to evaluate a given situation we would be able to effortlessly see how someone else caused us trouble, how they are the main reasons for things back-firing and not going our way. We almost seem synonymous to being victims. We are the victims, not of others but of our own inappropriate sense of pride. Another thing that pride does to us it that it creates presumptions. We we operate out of negative pride, we naturally operate out of a pre-conceived notion about ourselves, which may not be what the other person thinks of us. Like we can easily tell the difference between an actual hard worker and a person who constantly seems/looks busy, similarly in the case of pride, we may believe that our pride does not show, but it is quite evident inn our actions, reactions and perceptions. Hence, it's a huge cycle of faulty self image, presumptions followed by unreal expectations and finally what goes for a toss is, where it all started from, 'pride'.

***

Why not just value yourself for what you are. Be realistic about your characteristics, have appropriate self-esteem, right amount of dignity, correct perception of your achievements. Why not be ready to learn and change, to be willing to improve, to become better people by simply taking pride in your stride.

...... The writer is a counselling psychologist and a holistic healer

Lord Is My Shepherd ... DOMINIC EMMANUEL

2011-07-25T20:28:00.000+05:30

AFTER SHARING some of my experiences from the scenic environs of Kerala about how spiritual life without God is impossible just at tea leaves (branches) have no life without being attached to the plant; about beginning our day the way singing birds do and experiencing God's infinite care as good shepherds much the way the shepherds look after their sheep, I can't resist myself telling you how spiritually refreshed I felt by discovering a nice little brook of cool and clear water down in the valley.

***

In my last days of exploring the lush green tea gardens, listening to birds and devouring everything that came my way, in the valley I found a stream of crystal clear water at the foot of two clusters of mountains. Going that far was a tough call for someone like me who is used to city roads, but I found a well-paved path, which led to that deeper portion of the stream where the quantity of water was more.

***

As I made my way further down the stream, the unmistakable sound of the water flowing over the little rocks and pebbles forming its own dance is stark contrast to the utter stillness of the valley was much more soothing than the recorded music of meditation halls. One could sit for hours and listen to that sound feeling comforted and uplifted. I began to see and feel why the sound of water flowing as well as the sound of the ocean waves are said to be therapeutic.

***

Having sat there for quite some time, I could not but stretch my hand out to touch the water. Quite spontaneously I took the water with my bare hands and began splashing it on my face.

***

I can hardly describe in words how I actually felt doing that. But it stealthily lead me to a memory of a Hindu friend of mine who had once told me how when she lost her dear mother, he father who happened to be familiar with the Bible went to a nearby church in New York and reciting Psalm 23 meditated on it to calm him down during that sad bereavement.

***

The precious Psalm, which is frequently used by both Jews and Christians to pray and meditate upon and which has been set to music by several composers goes like this:

***

"The Lord is my Shepherd, there is nothing I shall want. He makes me lie down in green pastures;

***

"He leads me beside quiet waters; He refreshes my soul;

***

"He guides me along the right paths for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil, for your are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me..."

***

While churches, temples, mosques and gurdwaras provide one an opportunity to pray and worship in a more structured and systematic way, I found that for the Psalmist (Psalms were supposedly composed by King David), the presence of God in all such places and imagined that even deer and birds would find a shelter on God's altar.

***

It all suggests that, as the poems of Rabindranath Tagore amply affirm, one can commune with God right in the midst of forests, hills, rivers and everything that nature has given us. "Thanks you Lord for your beautiful creation."

______ The author, a founder-member of Parliament of Religions, is currently the director of communication of the Delhi Catholic Church. He was awarded the National Communal Harmony Award 2008 by the Government of India. He can be contacted at frdominic@gmail.com

Abbreviations and Acronyms - 784

2011-06-28T10:50:00.000+05:30

1. RSDP : It stands for Ranjit Sagar Dam Project. It was in the news in March 2001 when this Rs. 3,800 Crore project was dedicated to the nation by the Prime Minister.

2. BALCO : It stands for Bharat Aluminium Company. It was in the news in March 2001, in connection with disinvestment of 51 percent of its equity to Sterlite Industries for Rs. 551.5 Crore.

3. NEAR : It stands for Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous. It was in the news in Feb. 2001, when it landed on the surface of Asteroid Eros after a five-year, 2-billion miles journey.

4. APCRH : It stands for Asia Pacific Conference on Reproductive Health. It was held in Manila in Feb. 2001.

5. PMK : It stands for Pattali Makkal Katchi. It was in the news in Feb. 2001 in connection with its pulling out from NDA to join ADMK front to face forthcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.

6. AA : Alcoholics Anonymous

7. AAFI : The Amateur Athletics Federation of India

8. ABC : Atomic Biological and Chemical (Warfare); Audit Bureau of Circulation

9. AC : Ante Christum (Before Christ), Alternating Current; Ashoka Chakra; Air Conditioner

10. AD : Anno Domini (in the year of our Lord)

11. ADAM : Animated Dissection of Anatomy for Medicine

12. ADB : Asian Development Bank

13. ADBS : Advanced Development Bank

14. ADC : Aide-de-camp (help or assistant)

15. AFP : Agence France0Presse

16. AG : Accountant General; Adjutant General

17. AGP : Accelerated graphics port

18. AGP : Accelerated graphics port

19. AH : Anno Hegirate (Mohammed's flight from Mecca to Medina, 622 AD)

20. AI : Artificial Intelligence; Air India

21. AICTE : All India Council for Technical Education

22. AIDS: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

23. AIFF : All India Football Federation

24. AIIMS : All India Institute of Medical Sciences

25. AINEC : All India Newspaper Editor's Conference

26. AITUC : All India Trade Union Congress

27. ALGOL : Algebraic Oriented Language.

28. AM : Ante Meridiem (before noon); Amplitude Modulation

29. AMIE : Associate Member of the Institute of Engineers

30. ANC: African National Congress

31. ANERT : Agency for Non-conventional Energy and Rural Technology

32. ANN : Artificial Neural Network

33. ANZUS: Australia, New Zealand US (Pacific Pact Nations)

34. AOC: Air Officer Commanding

35. APCTT : Asian and Pacific Centre for Transfer of Technology

36. APD : Automated Peritoneal Dialysis

37. APEC: Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation

38. APM : Administered Price Mechanism

39. ARPANET : Advanced Research Project Agency Network

40. ART : Assisted Reproductive Technologies

41. ASAP : as soon as possible

42. ASCII : American Standard Code for Information Interchange

43. ASEAN : Association of South East Asian Nations

44. ASEM : Asia-Europe Meeting

45. ASLV : Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle

46. ASSOCHAM : Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry

47. ASP : Application Service Provider, Association of Shareware Professionals

48. AT & T : American Telegraphic and Telephone Co. Ltd.

49. ATC : Air Traffic Control

50. ATM : Automated Teller Machine, Abode Type of Manager

51. ATP : Adenosine Tri-Phosphate

52. ATS: Anti-Tetanus Serum

53. AU: Astronomical Units.

54. AVARD: Association of Voluntary Agencies for Rural Development

55. AVRC: Audio Visual Research Centre

56. AVSM: Ati Vishisht Seva Medal

57. AWACS: Airborne Warning And Control System

58. B2B: Busines to Business

59. B2C: Business to Consumer

60. BARC: Bhabha Atomic Research Centre

61. BBC: British Broadcasting Corporation

62. BBS: Bulletin Board Service

63. BC: Befor Christ

64. BCG: Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (anti-TB Vaccine)

65. BENELUX: Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg

66. BGA: Blue Green Algae

67. BHEL: Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd.

68. bhp: brake horsepower

69. BIFR: Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction

70. BIMARU : Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh

71. BIMSTEC: Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand Economic Cooperation

72. BIOS: Basic Input Output System

73. BIS: Bank of International Settlement

74. BIT: Binary Digit

75. BOLT : Bombay Stock Exchange On-Line Trading; Build-Operate-Lease-Transfer

76. BP: Blood Pressure

77. BPL: Below Poverty Line

78. BPO: Business Process Outsourcing

79. BPR: Business Process Re-engineering

80. bps: bytes per second

81. BRO: Border Roads Organisation

82. BSE : Bombay Stock Exchange

83. BSF: Border Security Force

84. BSkyB: British Sky Broadcasting

85. BSNL: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited

86. C2C: Consumer to Consumer

87. C-in-C : Commander-in-Chief

88. c.v.: Curriculum vitae

89. C/0: care of

90. CA: Chartered Accountant

91. CAD: Command Area Development; Computer Aided Design

92. CADA : Command Area Development Authority

93. CAG: Comptroller and Auditor General of India

94. CAN: Calcium Ammonium Nitrate

95. Cantab: Cantabrigian (of Cambridge University)

96. CAPART: Council for Advancement of People's Action and Rural Technology

97. CAPES: Computer-Aided paper-less Examination System

98. CAS: Conditional Access System

99. CAT: Career Aptitude Test; Common Admission Test; Computerized Axial Tomography ( also called CT); Computer Adaptive Test

100. CBA: Colliding Beam Accelerator.

101. CBDT: Central Board of Direct Taxes

102. CBFC: Central Board of Direct Taxes

103. CBI: Central Bureau of Investigation

104. CBM: Confidence Building Measures

105. CBSE: Central Board of Secondary Education

106. CBU: Completely built-up

107. CCPD: Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis

108. CD: Compact Disk: Certificate of deposit

109. CDAC: Centre for the Development of Advanced Computing

110. CDM: cold dark matter

111. CDMA: Code Division Multiple Access

112. CEO: Chief Executive Officer

113. CERN: Conseil European pour la Researche Nucleare (European Laboratory for Nuclear Research)

114. cert: Computer Emergency Response Team
cf compare / refer (L. Confer)

115. CFC: Chloro Fluoro Carbon

116. CFL: Compact Fluorescent Lamps

117. CFO: Chief Financial Officer

118. CFSL: Central forensic Science Laboratory

119. CGFNS: Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools

120. CGI: Common Gateway Interface

121. CGS: Chief of General Staff; Centimetre, Gram, Second

122. CIA: Central Intelligence Agency

123. CID: Criminal Investigation Department

124. cif: cost, insurance and freight

125. CIGAR: Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research

126. CII: Confederation of Indian Industry

127. CIS: Commonwealth of Independent States

128. CISC: Complex instruction-set omputing

129. CISCE: Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations

130. CITU: Centre of Indian Trade Unions

131. CKD: Completely Knocked Down

132. CMIE: Centre for Monitoring the Indian Economy

133. CMP: Common Minimum Programme

134. CNC: Computerised Numerical Control

135. CNN: Cable News Network

136. CO: Commanding Officer

137. COD: Cash on delivery

138. COFEPOSA: Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Act

139. COMPS: Coastal Ocean Monitoring and Prediction System

140. COMSAT: Communications Satellite Corporation

141. CONCORD: Council of North Indian States for Co-operation and Regional Development

142. COPRA: Consumer Protection Act

143. CORBA: Common Object Request Broker Architecture

144. COSMEP: Consortium of Schools of Mathematics Experience Programme

145. Costford: Centre of Science and Technology for Rural Development

146. CPI/M: Communist Party of India / Marxist

147. CPR: Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation

148. CPWD: Central Public Works Department

149. CRIDA: Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture

150. CRIS: Centre for Railway Information System

151. CRISIL: Credit Rating Information Services of India Ltd.

152. CRM: Customer Relations Management

153. CRR: Cash Reserve Ratio

154. CRY: Child Relief and You

155. CSIR: Council of Scientific and Industrial Research

156. CSO: Central Statistical Organisation

157. CT: Computerised Tomography

157. CTBT: Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty

158. CVR: Cockpit Voice Recorder

159. CWC: Chemical Weapons Convention

160. Cwt: Hundredweight (112lb)

161. CYMK: Cyan, Yellow, Magenta, Kinda

162. D & C: Dilation and Curettage

163. D.Litt.: Doctor of Literature

164. D.Phil.: Doctor of Philosophy

165. D.Sc: Doctor of Science

166. DAP: Di-Ammonium Nitrate

167. DC: Direct Current; District of Columbia

168. DDT: Dichloro-diphenyl-trichloro-ethane

169. DET: Directory Entry Table

170. DG: Dei Gratia (by the grace of God)

171. DHSD: Duplex-High Speed Data Service

172. DIG: Deputy Inspector General

173. DMA: Direct Memory Access

174. DMK: Dravida Munetra Kazhagam

175. DMZ: Demilitarized Zone

176. DNA: Deoxyribo-nucleic Acid

177. DPBS: Developmental Press Bulletin Service

178. DPEP: District Primary Education Programme

179. DPT: Diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus (vaccine)

180. DSB: Digital Satellite Broadcasting

181. DSL: digital subscriber line

182. DSP: Digital Signal Processing

183. DTP: Desktop Publishing

184. DTS: Digital Theatre System

185. DV: Deo Volente (God willing)

186. DVD: Digital Versatile / Video Disc

187. DVI: Digital Video Interactive

188. DVS: Desktop Video-Conferencing Software

189. E & OE: Errors and Omissions Excepted

190. E-MAIL: Electronic Mailing

191. EAM: emergency action message

192. ECA: Essential Commodities Act

193. ECG: Electro Cardiogram

194. ECGC: Export credit guarantee corporation of India

195. ECOSOC: Economic and Social Council (UN)

196. ECR: Electron Cyclotron Resonance

197. EDI: Electronic Data Interchange

198. EDMS: Electronic Document Management System

199. EEG: Electro Encephalogram

200. EEZ: Exclusive Econimic Zone

201. EFTA: European Free Trade Association

202. e.g.: exempli gratia (for example)

203. EGP: Exterior Gateway Protocol

204. EIS: Executive Information System

205. EL: Electro-luminescent

206. ELINT: Electronic Intelligence

207. ELISA: Enzyme Linked Immuno-Sorbent Assay

208. ELT: English Learning and Teaching

209. EMI: Equated Monthly Installments

210. EMRC: Educational Media Research Centre

211. ENIAC: Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator

212. ENT: Ear, Nose and Throat

213. EOF: end of file

214. EOS: Electronic Online System International

215. EOU: Export Oriented Unit

216. EPABX: Electronic Private Automatic Branch Exchange

217. EPIC: Enhanced Proliferation Control Initiative

218. EPI: Expanded Programme of Immunisation

219. EPIRB: Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon

220. EPROM: Erasable, Programmable Ready Only Memory

221. EPS: Encapsulated Postscript

222. EPZ: Export Processing Zone

223. EQ: Emotional Quotient

224. ER&DC : Electronic Research and Development Center

225. ERM: European Exchange Rate Mechanism

226. ERNET: Educational and Research Network

227. ERNIE: Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment

228. ESA: European Space Agency

229. ESCAP: Econimic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

230. ESMA: Essential Services Maintenance Act

231. ESP: Extra Sensory Perception

232. ESR: Electron Spin Resonance

233. et al.: et alii (and others)

234. et. seq: et sequentia (& what follows)

235. etc. et: cetera (and so forth)

236. ETT: Embryo Transfer Technology

237. EURATOM: European Atomic Community

238. EUTELSAT: European Telecommunications Satellite

239. EVE: economic valuation of the environment

240. EVR: Electrovideo Recording

241. FAO: Food and Agriculture Organisation

242. FAQ: Fair Average Quality; Frequently Asked Question

243. FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation

244. FBTR: Fast Bredeer Test Reactor

245. FBW: Fly-By-Wire

246. FCI: Food Corporation of India; Fertilizer Corporation of India

247. FCNRA: Foreign Currency Non-Resident Accounts

248. FCRA: Foreign Contribution Regulation Act

249. FEMA: Foreign Exchange Management Act

250. FICCI: Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry

251. FIDE: Federation Internationale d'Echecs

252. FIFA: International Foodball Federation (Federation Internationale de Football Association)

252. FII : Foreign Institutional Investors

253. FIPB: Foreign Investment Promotion Board

254. FIR: First Information Report

255. FIRE: Fully integrated robotised engine

256. FLAG: Fibre optic Line Around the Globe

257. FLC: Foreign Legal Consultant

258. FM: Frequency modulation

259. FMCT: Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty

260. fob: free on board

261. for: free on rail

262. FOSDIC: Film Optical Sensing Device for Input to Computers

263. FPD: Flat panel display

264. FPO: Fruit Products Order

265. FRCP: Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians

266. FRCS: Fellow of the royal College of Surgeons

267. FRGS: Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society

268. FRS: Fellow of the Royal Society

269. FTII: Films and Television Institute of India

270. FYI: for your information

271. G7: Group of Seven (US, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Japan and Canada) G8 includes G7 pluse Russia

272. GAAP: Generally Accepted Accounting Practices

273. GATE: Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering

274. GATS: General Agreement on Trade and Services

275. GBP: Geosphere-Biosphere Programme

276. GCC: Gulf Co-operation Council

277. GCR: Grey Component Replacement

278. GDP: Gross Domestic Product

279. GDR: Global Depository Receipt

280. GEDIS: Gateway Electronic Data Interchange Services

281. GEF: Global Environment Fund

282. GEMS: Gateway Electronic Mail Service

283. GHQ: General Headquarters

284. GI: Government Issue (American Soldiers)

285. GIS: Geographical Information System

286. GMAT: Graduate Management Admission Test

287. GMDSS: Global Maritime Distress and Safety System

288. GMO: Genetically Modified Organisms

289. GMRT: Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope

290. GMT: Greenwich Mean Time

291. GNP: Gross National Product

292. GOP: Grand Old Party (Republican Party)

293. GPS: Global Positioning System

294. GPSS: Gateway Packet Switching System

295. GRACE: Ground Rules and Code of Ethics

296. GRAM: Geo Referenced Area Management

297. GRE: Graduate Record Examination

298. GRS: Gender Reassignment Surgery (Sex Change)

299. GSI: Geological Survey of India

300. GSLV: Geo-Synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle

301. GSM: Global System for Mobile Communications

302. GSP: Generalised System Preference

303. GUI: Graphical User Interface

304. GVW: Gross Vehicle Weight

305. HAL: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited

306. HB: Hard Black

307. HBV: Hepatitis-B Virus

308. HDML: Hyper Devices Mark-up Language

309. HF: High Frequency

310. HFD: High Frequency Doppler

311. HIV: Human Immunodeficiency Virus

312. HMI: Himalayan Mountaineering Institute

313. HMV: His Master's Voice, Heavy Motor Vehicle

314. Hon: honourable, Honorary

315. hp: horse power

316. HRPT: High Resolution Picture Transmission

317. HSD: High Speed Diesel

318. HSRRSS: High Spatial Resolution Remote Sensing Satellite

319. HT: High Tension

320. HTML: Hyper Text Markup Language

321. HTR: High Temperature Reactor

322. http: Hypertext Transfer Protocol

323. HUDCO: Housing and Urban Development Corp.

324. HV: High Voltage

325. HVAC: Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning

326. HVNET: High Speed VSAT Network

327. i.e.: id est (that is)

328. IA: Indian Airlines

329. IA & AS: Indian Audit and Accounts Services

330. IAAI : International Airport Authority of India

331. IAEA: International Atomic Energy Agency

332. IAMR: Institute of Applied Manpower Research

333. IARI: Indian Agricultural Research Institute

334. IAS: Indian Administrative Service

335. IATA: International Air Transport Association

336. ibid or ib.ibidem (Latin): in the same place; book or chapter

337. IBM: Internation Business Machines

338. IBRD: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development

339. ICAO: International Civil Aviation Organisation

340. ICAR: Indian Council of Agricultiral Research

341. ICBM: Inter-Continental Balistic Missile

342. ICCR: Indian Council for Cultural Relations

343. ICJ: International Court of Justice

344. ICMR: Indian Council of Medical Research

345. ICPD: International Conference on Population and Development

346. ICRA: Investment Information and Credit Rating Agency of India

347. ICRISAT: International Crops Research Institute for Semi Arid Tropics

348. ICSE: Indian Certificate of Secondary Education

349. ICSI: Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection

350. ICU: Intensive Care Unit

351. ICWA: Indian Council of World Affairs

352. ICWAI: Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India

353. IDA: International Development Agency

354. IDBI: Industrial Development Bank of India

355. IDE: Integrated Device Electronics

356. IEEE: Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers

357. IELTS: International English Language Testing System

358. IFAD: International Fund for Agricultural Development

359. IFC: Industrial Finance Corporation; International Finance Corporation

360. IFS: Indian Foreign Service; Indian Forest Service

361. IGF: India Growth Fund

362. IGIDR: Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research

363. IGNOU: Indira Gandhi National Open University

364. IIPA: Indian Institute of Public Administration

365. IISCO: Indian Iron and Steel Company

366. IIT: Indian Institute of Technology

367. ILO: International Labour Organisation

368. IMAP: Internet Mail Access Protocol

369. IMCO: Inter-government Maritime Consultations Organisation

370. IMEWS: Integrated Missile Early Warning Satellites

371. IMF: International Monetary Fund

372. in cog: in cognito (in disguise)

373. INA: Indian National Army

374. INDIPEX: Indian International Philatelic Exhibition infra dig infra dignitatum (below status)

375. I.N.R.I.: Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum (Jesus of Nazareth, Kind of Jews)

376. INS: Indian Newspaper Society

377. INSAT: Indian National Satellite

378. INSDOC: Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage

379. INTACH: Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage

380. INTELSAT: International Telecommunication Satellite

381. INTUC: Indian National Trade Union Congress

382. IOC: Indian il Corporation

383. IP: Internet Protocol

384. IPC: Indian Penal Code

385. IPCL: Indian Petro-Chemicals Corporation Ltd

386. IPO: Initial Public Offering

387. IPS: Indian Police Service; Inter Press Service

388. IQ: Intelligence Quotient

389. iq: idem quod (the same as)

390. IRA: Irish Republican Army

391. IRBM: Intermediate Range Ballistic Missie

392. IRC: International Red Cross

393. IRDP: Integrated Rural Development rogramme

394. IREDA: Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency

395. IRRI: International Rice Research Institute

396. IRS: Indian Revenue Service

397. ISBN: International Standard Book Number

398. ISC: Indian School Certificate

399. ISDN: Integrated Services Digital Network

400. ISI: Indian Standards Institution, Inter Services Intelligence

401. ISKCON: International Society for Krishna Consciousness

402. ISO: International Standards Organisation

403. ISRO: Indian Space Research Organisatio

404. ISSN: International Standard Serial Number

405. IST: Indian Standard Time

406. ITA: Information Technology Agreement

407. ITBP: Indo-Tibetan Border Poice

408. ITI: Information Technology Agreement

409. ITU: International Telecommunication Union

410. IUCAA: International University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics

411. IUCD: Intra-Uterine Contraceptive Device

412. IUI: Intrauterine Insemination

413. IVF: In-Vitro Fertilisation

414. IVM: In-vitro Maturation

415. I-R: Infra Red

416. JCO: Junior Commissioned Officer

417. JIPMER: Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research

418. JP: Justice of Peace

419. JPEG: Joint Photographic Expert Group

420. KG: Knight of the Garter; Kindergarten

421. KKK: Ku Klux Klan (US. Secret society-Anti-Negro, Anti-Jewish)

422. KMT: Kuomintang (Chinese National Party)

423. KRC: Konkan Railway Corporation

424. LASER: Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation

425. LASIK: Laser in situ Keratomileusis

426. LCA: Light Combat Aircraft

427. LCD: Liquid Crystal Display, Least Common Denominator

428. LCM: Lowest Common Multiple

429. LERMS: Liberalised Exchange Rate Management Scheme

430. LIC: Life Insurance Corporation (of India)

431. LIPS: Language Independent Programme Subtitles

432. LIS: Land Informtion System

433. LL.B.: Bachelor of Laws

434. Loc: cit Loco citato (at the place quoted

435. LPG: Liquefied Petroleum Gas

436. LSD: Lysergic acid diethylamide

437. Lt.Col.: Lieutenant Colonel

438. M: monesieur (Minister)

439. M.A.: Magisiter Artium (Master of Arts)

440. M.D.: Doctor of Medicine

441. M1: Money supply with public

442. M3: Aggregate monetary resources

443. MAD: Mutually Assured Destruction

444. MAIT: Manufacturers Association for Information Technology

445. MASER: Microwave Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation

446. MBA: Master of Business Administration

447. MBBS: Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery

448. MCC: Marylebone Cricket Club

449. MCLR: Medium Capacity Long Range

450. MDA: market development assistance

451. MFN: Most Favoured Nation

452. MICR: Magnetic ink character recognition

453. MIDI: Musical Instrument Digital Interface

454. MISA: Maintenance of Internal Security Act

455. Misc.: Miscellaneous

456. MIT: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US; Master Instruction Tape

457. MKS: Metre Kilogram Second (System)

458. MI: Military Intelligence

459. MLA: Member of Legislative Assembly

460. Mlle: Mademoiselle (Miss)

461. MLP: multiple line printer

462. Mme: Madame (Mrs.)

463. MMTC: Minerals and Metas Trading Corporation

464. MMX: Matrix Manipulation Extension; Multimedia extension

465. MNC: Multi-National Corporation

466. MODEM: modulator demodulator

467. MODVAT: Modified Value Added Tax

468. MOSFET: Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor

469. MOU: Memorandum of Understanding

470. MP: Member of parliament; Madhya Pradesh

471. MPEG: Motion Picture Experts Group

472. mph: miles per hour

473. MPLAD: Member of Parliament Local Area Development

474. MRA: Moral Re-Armament

475. MRCP: Member of the Royal College of Physicians

476. MRTPC: Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission

477. MS/MSS: Manuscript/Manuscripts

478. MSCI: Morgan Stanley Capital International

479. MTBE: methyl-tertiary-butyl-ether

480. MTCR: Missile Technology Control Regime

481. MVC: Maha Vir Chakra

482. NAA: National Airports Authority

483. NAAC: National Assessment and Accreditation Council

484. NABARD: Nation Bank for Agriculture and Rural Developement

485. NAFED: National Agricultural Co-operative Marketing Federation

486. NAFTA: North American Free Trade Agreement

487. NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration

488. NASDAQ: National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation

489. NASSCOM: National Association of Software and Service Companies

490. NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

491. NATPAC: National Transportation Planning and Research Centre

492. NAV: Net Asset Value

493. NB: nota bene (note well)

494. NC: Network Computer

495. NCAER: National Council of Applied Economic Research

496. NCC: National Cadet Corps

497. NCERT: National Council of Educational Research and Training

498. NCO: Non-Commissioned Officer

499. NCSA: National Centre for Supercomputing Applications; National Computer Security Association

500. NDA: National Defence Academy

501. NDC: National Development Council

502. NDES: New Data Encryption Standard

503. NGO: Non-Government Organisation; Non-Gazetted Officer

504. NICD: National Institute of Communicable Diseases

505. NIMHANS: National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences

506. NIV: National Institute of Virology

507. NMDC: National Mineral Development Corporation

508. NMR: Nuclear Magnetic Resonance

509. NOC: No Objection Certificate

510. NPC: National Productivity Council

511. NPT: Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

512. NRF: National Renewal Fund

513. N&S: Network and Systems

514. NSEI: National Stock Exchange of India

515. NSP: Native Signal Processing

516. NSUI: National Students Union of India

517. NTPC: National Thermal Power Corporation

518. NTSC: National Television System Commission

519. O & M: Organisation & Methods

520. OAPECL: Organisation of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries

521. OAS: Organisation of American States

522. OAU: Organisation of African Unity

523. OCD: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

534. OCR: Optical Character Recognition

535. ODA: Overseas Development Administration

536. ODI: Open Data Link Interface

537. OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

538. OGL: Open General Licence

539. OIC: Organisation of Islamic Conference

540. OIGS: On India Government Service

541. OK: All Correct (slang)

542. OLE: Object Linking and Embedding

543. ONGC: Oil and Natural Gas Corporation

544. OOP: Object Oriented Programme

545. Op. cit.: Opero Citato ( in the work cited )

546. OPCW: Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons

547. OPEC: Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries

548. OPV: Oral Polio Vaccine

549. ORT: Oral Rehyderation Therapy

550. OXFAM: Oxford Committee for Famine Relief

551. Oxon: Oxoniensis (of Oxford University)

552. PAC: Public Accounts Committee

553. PAL: Phase Alternation Line

554. PAN: Permanent Account Number

555. PAYE: Pay as you earn

556. PC: percent; post card; Personal Computer

557. PCA: Professional Chess Association

558. PCM: Pulse Code Modulation

559. PCMCIA: Personal Computer Memory Card International Association

560. PDA: Preventive Detention Act, Personal Digital Assistant

561. PEC: Project and Equipment Corporation

562. PEN: (International club of) Poets, Playwrights, Essayists, Edutors and Novelists

563. PERT: Project Evaluation and Review Technique

564. PETA: People for Ethical Treatment of Animals

565. PGIMER: Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research

566. PGM-FI: Programmed Fuel Injection

567. PGP: Pretty Good Privacy

568. Ph.D.: Doctor of Philosophy (Philosophiae Doctor)

569. PHDCCI: Punjab, Haryana, Delhi Chamber of Commerce and Industries

570. PIB: Press Information Bureau

571. PIGS: Pre-implantation Genetic Screening

572. PIL: Public Interest Litigation

573. PIM: Personal Information Management

574. PIN: Postal Index Number

575. Pixel: Picture element

576. PLAB: Professional and Linguistic Assessment Board

577. PM: Post Meridiem; Prime Minister

578. PMG: Post Maaster General

579. PMUPEP: Prime Minister's Urban Poverty Eradication Programme

580. PNR: Passenger Name Recorder

581. POTA: Prevention of Terrorism Act

582. POW: Prisoner of War

583. PPP: Purchasing power parity; Point-to-Point Protocol

584. PPS: Post Post Scriptum (additional post script)

585. PROLOG: Programming logic

586. PS: Post Scriptum (written after); Private Secretary

587. PSLV: Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle

588. PSN: Processor Serial Number

589. PTA: Parent-Teacher Association

590. PTIL: Press Trust of India

591. PTO: Please Turn Over

592. PVC: Poly Vinyl Chloride; Param Vir Chakra

593. PWD: Public Works Department

594. PZD: Partial Zonal Drilling

595. QED: Quod Erat Demonstrandum (which was to be demonstrated or proved)

596. Q Queue: qed Quod Erat Demon-Standum (that which was to be demonstrated)

597. QR: Quantitative restriction

598. QSO: Quasi-stellar object

599. qv: quod vide (which see)

600. R & D: Research and Development

601. R & M: Renovation and Modernisation

602. RABMN: Remote Area Business Message Network

603. RAC: Reservation Against Cancellation

604. RADAR: Radio Detecting and Ranging

605. RAM: Random Access Memory

606. RAPD: Random Amplified Polymorphic Deoxyribonucleic Acid

607. RAW: Research & Analysis Wing

608. RBI: Reserve Bank of India

609. RCC: Reinforced Cement Concrete

610. RD: refer to drawer

611. RDX: Research Department Explosive (Cyclotrimethylin Trinitrate)

612. REM: Rapid Eye Movement

613. RFC: Request for Comments

614. RH: Rainwater Harvest

615. RIP: Requiescat in pace (May he or she rest in peace); Raster Image Processor

616. RISC: Reduced Instruction-set Computing

617. RITES: Rail India Technical & Economic Services

618. RLO: Returned Letters Office

619. RMS: Railway Mail Service

620. RNA: Ribonucleic acid

621. ROM: Read Only Memory

622. RONW: return on net wotrth

623. RPM: Revolutions per Minute

624. RSE: Renewable Source of Energy

625. RSS: Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh

626. R.s.v.p.: Respondez S'il Vous Plait (Reply if you please)

627. RTG: Radio-isotope Thermoelectric Generator

628. SACLANT: Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic

629. SASE: Self-addressed stamped envelope

630. S & T: Science and Technology

631. SAC: Space Application Centre

632. SAIL: Steel Authority of India Limited

633. SAM: Surface to Air Missile

634. SAPTA: South Asian Preferential Trade Agreement

635. SARS: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome

636. SASER: Sound Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation

637. SAT: Scholastic Aptitude Test

638. SAVE: SAARC Audio-Visual Exchange

639. SCABA: Self contained Air Brathing Apparatus

640. SCI: Shipping Corporation of India

641. SCM: Supply Chain Management

642. SCSI: Small Computer Systems Interface

643. SCUBA: Self-contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus

644. SDR: Special Drawing Rights

645. SEANWFZ: South East Asia Nuclear Weapons Free Zone

646. SEBI: Securities and Exchange Board of India

647. SENSEX: Sensitivity Index (of Share Price)

648. SET: Secure Electronic Transmission

649. SEZ: Special Economic Zone

650. SFCI: State Farm Corporation of India

651. SGPC: Siromani Gurudwara Prabandak Committee

652. SHAPE: Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers, Europe

653. SIDS: Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (Crib Death)

654. SIFT: Sperm Intra-Fallopian Transfer

655. SIM: Subscriber Information Module

656. SITA: Suppression of Immoral Traffic Act

657. SITE: Satellite Instructional Television Experiment

658. SLFP: Sri Lanka Freedom Party

659. SLR: Statutory Liquidity Ratio; Single Lens Reflex

660. SLV: Satellite Launch Vehicle

661. SMTP: Simple Mail Transfer Protocol

662. SNA: System Network Architecture

663. SOHO: Small Office Home Office

664. SOLAS: Safety of Life at Sea

665. SPCA: Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

666. SPECT: Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography

667. SPTM: Self-Printing Ticketing Machine

668. STAR(TV): Satellite Television Asian Region Ltd.

669. START: Strategic Arms Reduction Talks

670. STC: State Trading Corporation

671. STD: Subscriber Trunk Dialing; Sexually Transmitted Diseased

672. STP: Software Technology Park

673. STQC: Standardisation Testing and Quality Control

674. SUNFED: Special United Nations Fund for Economic Development

675. SUV: Sports Utility Vehicle

676. SVP: Saturated Vapour Pressure

677. Swift: Secure worldwide immediate fund transfer

678. SWOT: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats

679. T & D: Transmission & Distribution

680. TA: Territorial Army; Travelling Allowance

681. TACAMO: take charge and more over

682. TADA: Terrorist and disruptive Activities (Prevention Act)

683. TAFE: Technical and Further Education (in Australia)

684. TAFTA: Trans-Atlantic Free Trade Agreement

685. TAPS: Tarapur Atomic Power Station

686. TB: tuberculosis

687. TBSE: Technology Bureau for Smalle Enterprise

688. TCP: Transfer Call protocol, Transmission Control Protocol

689. TDA: Trade Development Authority

690. TDMA: Time Division Multiple Access

691. TELCO: Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company

692. TERLS: Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station

693. TFT: Thin-Film Transistor

694. TIFAC: Technology and Information Forecasting and Assessment Council

695. TIFR: Tata Institute of Fundamental Research

696. TIPS: Technology Information Pilot System

697. TIPTOP: Tape input-tape Output

698. TISCO: Tata Iron and Steel Company

699. TLC: Total Literacy Campaign

700. TMO: Telegraphic Money Order

701. TNG: The Next Generation

702. TNT: Trinitro-toluene

703. TOEFL: Test of English as a Foreign Language

704. TPM: Total Productivity Maintenance

705. TQM: Total Quality Management

706. TRACT: Transportable Remote Area Communications Terminal

707. TRIMS: Trade Related Investment Measures

708. TRIPS: Trade Related Intelectual Property Rights

709. TRYSEM: Training of Rural Youth for Self-employment

710. TSE: Test of Spoken English

711. TTC: Telemetry, Tracking & Command

712. TTE: Travelling Ticket Examiner

713. TWE: Testof Written English

714. TWT: Two Way Time

715. UCI: Universal Childhood Immunisation

716. UCIL: Uranium Corporation of India Ltd.

717. UCR: Under Colour Removal

718. UGC: University Grants Commission

719. UHF: Ultra High Frequency

720. ULEV: Ultra Low Emission Vehicle

721. UNCED: UN Conference on Environment & Development

722. UNCIP: United Nations Commission for India & Pakistan

723. UNCLOS: United Nation Convention on the Law of the Sea

724. UNCSTD: United Nations Conference on Science and Technology for Development

725. UNCTAD: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

726. UNEP: United Nations Environment Programme

727. UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation

728. UNFPA: United nations Population Fund

729. UNI: United News of India

730. UNICEF: United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (now, 'United Nations Children's Fund)

731. UNIDO: United Nations Industrial Development Organisation

732. UNITA: Unionfor the Total Independence of Angola

733. UNMOGIP: United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan

734. UNOPS: UN Office for Project Services

735. UNPROFOR: UR Protection Force

736. UNRRA: United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration

737. UNU: United Nations University

738. UPA: United Progressive Alliance

739. UPS: Uninterrupted Power Supply

740. UPSC: Union Public Service Commission

741. URL: Uniform Resource Locator

742. USAID: United States Agency for International Development

743. USO: Udaipur Solar Observatory

744. USP: Unique selling proposition

745. VABAL: Value Based Advance Licensing

746. VAN: Virtual Area Network

747. VAT: Value Added Tax

748. VATIS: Value Added Technology Information Service

749. VBT: Vainu Bappu Telescope

750. VC: Vice-Chancellor, Victoria Cross; Venture Capital

751. VCR: Video Casette Recorder

752. VD: Venereal Disease (see STD)

753. VESA: Video Electronics Standard Association

754. VHRR: Very High Resolution Radiometer

755. VHS: Video Home System

756. VIP: Very Important Person

757. VIRUS: Vital Information Resources Under Siege

758. VPI: Vital Information Resources Under siege

759. VPP: Value Payable Post

760. VRML: Virtual Reality Modelling Language

761. VRS: Voluntary Retirement Scheme

762. VSAT: Very Small Aperture Terminal

763. VSSC: Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre

764. VTEC: Variable Valve Timing and Lift Telectronic Control

765. VTR: Video Tape Recovder

766. WAIS: Wide Area Information Service

767. WARDEC: Wargaming Development Centre

768. WAY: World Assembly of Youth

769. WDM: World Debt Market

770. WEF: World Economic Forum

771. WFTU: World Federation of Trade Unions

772. WG: Working Group

773. WHO: World Health Organisation

774. WIMP: Weakly Interacting Massive Particle; Windows, Icons, Menus, Pointers

775. WMD: Weapons of Mass Destruction

776. WMO: World Meteorological Organisation

777. WPI: Wholesale Price Index

778. WTO: World Trade Organisation

779. WTP: willingness-to-pay

780. WWF: World Wildlife Fund, now renamed Worldwide Fund for Nature

781. WWW: World Wide Web

782. WYSIWYG: What you see is what you get

783. XBT: Expandable Bathy Thermographic

784. Xmas: Christmas

The Art Of Giving And Receiving_ PETER JONES

2011-06-27T23:22:00.001+05:30

As the Governor of the Bank of England wades into the fray, it does not seem too much to ask of bankers to make it clear that they are spending a portion of their bonuses on the Big Society. Those who already are must overcome their modestry and let us know about it.

***

Euergesia - "benefaction, philanthropy" - was a virtue of the well-born Greek. Many inscriptions and statues, erected by the euergetist to himself or by a grateful people, attest the practice. The culture spread to Rome. Over 11 years, Pliny the Younger spent two million sesterces on his home town in benefactions.

***

Discussion about the theory of giving was intense. In general, euergetism was personal and reciprocal: it served the interests of the giver - everything from patriotic display to political self-advancement - as well as that of the recipient. But in fifth-century B.C. Athens, radical democrats thought a lavish benefactor might be seeking political advantage. So they invented the leitourgia (out "liturgy"), under which the 300 richest citizens in any years were ordered to subsidise state activities. Greeks then started to argue that the generous man did not look for a return. But this meant that, if one was done a good turn, one should refuse on principle to respond. If so, did this make receiving the benefit a nuisance? Some argued it did. To get out of this bind, the Roman Stoic Seneca defined a beneficium as "an action which gives pleasure and finds pleasure in so doing, from a natural and spontaneous inclination". Seneca does agree that "everyone who serves another has thereby served his own advantage" but goes on to insist that the advantage consists not in what one gets back, but from the fact that all virtue is its own reward. Aristotle by contrast drew an analogy with the artist, who rejoices in something he has created.

***

A famous Greek benefactor, T. Claudius Atticus, offered to hand over his vast fortune to the emperor Nerva. "Keep it", said Nerva, "and use it well". Come on, you bankers, do the same: prove you are a load of euergetists. You can start with launch of www.classicsforall.org.uk.... By arrangement with the Spectator...

How Gandhi became Gandhi... GEOFFREY C. WARD

2011-06-21T20:43:00.000+05:30

Some years ago, British writer Patrick French visited the Sabarmati ashram on the outskirts of Ahmedabad in Gujarat, the site from which Mahatma Gandhi led his salt march to the sea in 1930. French was so appalled by the noisome state of the latrines that he asked the ashram secretary whose job it was to clean them. A sweeper woman stopped by for an hour a day, the functionary explained, but afterward things inevitably became filthy again.

***

But wasn't it a central tenet of the Mahatma's teachings that his followers clean up after themselves?

***

"We all clean the toilets together, on Gandhiji's birthday,"the secretary answered, "as a symbol to show that we understand his message."

***

Gandhi had many messages, some ignored, some misunderstood, some as relevant today as when first enunciated. Most Americans - many middle-class Indians, for that matter - know what they know about the Mahatma from Ben Kingsley's Academy Award-winning screen portrayal. His was a mesmerizing performance, but the script barely hinted at the bewildering complexity of the real man. Who was at the same time an earnest pilgrim and a wily politician, an advocate of celibacy and the architect of satyagraha, a revivalist, a revolutionary and a social reformer.

***

It is this last avatar that interest Joseph Lelyveld most. Great Soul concentrates on what he calls Gandhi's "evolving sense of his constituency and social vision", and his subsequent struggle to impose that vision on an India at once "worshipful and obdurate".

***

This is not a full-scale biography. Nor is it for beginners. Lelyveld assumes his readers are familiar with the basic outlines of Gandhi's life, and while the book includes a bare-bones chronology and is helpfully divided into South African and Indian sections, it moves backward and forward so often, it's sometimes harder than it should be to follow the shifting course of Gandhi's thought.

***

But Great Soul is a noteworthy book, nonetheless, vivid, naunced and clear-eyed. The two decades Gandhi spent in South Aftrica are too often seen merely as prelude. Lelyveld treats them with seriousness they deserve.

***

"I believe implicitly that all men are born equal", Gandhi once wrote in the midst of one of his campaigns against untouchability. " I have fought this doctrine of superiority in South Africa inch by inch".

***

It actually took a long time for the Mahatma to turn that implicit belief into explicit action, lelyveld reminds us. When Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi arrived in Durban from Bombay in 1893, he was a natty 23-year-0\old British-trained lawyer, hired to help represent one wealthy Muslim Indian trader in a dreary civil suit against another, and primarily interested in matters of religion and diet, not politics.

***

Initially, Gandhi was simply affronted that discriminatory laws and bigoted custom lumped educated well-to-do Indians like him with "coolies", that impoverished mine, plantation and railroad workers who made up the bulk of the region's immigrant Indian population. The non-violent campaigns he waged to bring about equality between Indians and whites over the next 20 years would lead him to advocate equality between Indian and Indian, first across caste and religious lines and then between rich and poor.

***

Soon after returning to India in 1915, Gandhi set forth what he called the "four pillars on which the structure of swaraj would ever rest": An unshakable alliance between Hindus and Muslims; universal acceptance of the doctrine of non-violence, as tenet, not tactic; the transformation of India's approximately 650,000 villages by spinning and other self-sustaining handicrafts; and an end to the the evil concept of untouchability. Lelyveld shrewdly examines Gandhi's noble but doomed battles to achieve them all.

***

He made a host of enemies along the way - orthodox Hindus who believed him overly sympathetic to Muslims, Muslims who saw his calls for religious unity as part of a Hindu plot, Britons who thought him a charlatan, radical revolutionaries who believed him a reactionary. But no antagonist was more implacable than Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, the brilliant, quick-tempered untouchable leader who saw the Mahatma's non-violent efforts to eradicate untouchability as a sideshow at best. He even objected to the word - Gandhi coined for his people - "Harijans" or "children of God" - as patronizing; he preferred "dalits", from the Sanskrit for "Crushed", "broken".

***

Sometimes, Gandhi said Indian freedom would never come until untouchablility was expunged; sometimes he argued that untouchability could be eliminated only after Independence was won. He was unapologetic about that kind of inconsistency.

***

As lelyveld has written in Move Your Shadow, "Gandhi had hoped to bring about India's freedom as the moral achievement of millions of individual Indians, as the result of a social revolution in which the collapse of alien rule would be little more than a byproduct of a struggle for self-reliance and economic equality". Foreign rule did collapse, in the end, "but strife and inequality among Indians worsened".

***

Gandhi is still routinely called "the father of the nation" in India, but it is hard to see what reamins of him beyond what Lelyveld calls his "nimbus". His notions about sex and spinning and simple living have long since been abandoned. Hindu-Muslim tension still smoulders just beneath the uneasy surface. Untouchability survives, too, and stand-issue polychrome statues of Ambedkar in red tie and double-breasted suit now outnumber those of the sparsely clothes Mahatma wherever dalits are still crowded together.

***

Gandhi saw most of this coming and sometimes despaired. The real tragedy of his life, lelyveld argues, was "not because he was assassinated, nor becuse his noblest qualities inflamed the hatred in his killer's heart. The tragic element is that he was ultimately forced, like Lear, to see the limits of his ambition to remake his worlds."

......................... GEOFFREY C. WARD, a biographer and a screenwriter for documentary films, spent part of his boyhood in India and is currently writing a book about Partition....

GREAT SOUL CONCENTRATES ON WHAT HE CALLS GANDHI'S 'EVOLVING SENSE OF HIS CONSTITUENCY AND SOCIAL VISION', AND HIS SUBSEQUENT STRUGGLE TO IMPOSE THAT VISION ON AN INDIA AT ONCE 'WORSHIPFUL AND OBDURATE... IT IS A NOTEWORTHY BOOK... VIVID AND NAUNCED...........

TRUSTED AND TRIED... Sadguru

2011-06-21T19:20:00.000+05:30

If you draw your own map while driving your own vehicle, it is wonderful. But you may take a lifetime to cross an uncharted territory without a map.

***

Let's say that you are going to Kedarnath. Somebody is driving and the road ahead is laid out for your. If you came alone and there were no proper directions, definitely you would have wished that if you had a map to tell you how to get there.

***

On one level, a guru is similar to a map, a living map. If you can read the map, you know the way and you can move ahead. A guru can also be compared to a bus driver. We sit in the bus and doze off and he takes us to our desired destination; but to sit in this bus and doze off, with peace of mind, we must trust the bus driver. If with each curve on the road, we think, "Can this man take me safely? Will this man go off the road? What is his intention?", we will only go crazy.

***

To live and survive, you need trust. Daily, we trust a lot of things unconsciously. Let us say you are sitting in a bus. Unknowingly, you trust this vehicle. You have placed your life in the hands of this mechanical mess. We trust the bus unconsciously, and risk our lives while traveling in it. The same trust, if it arises consciously, would do miracles for us in our lives.

***

When we say trust, we are not talking about something new in life. To be here, to breathe in and out, you need trust, isn't it? Your trust is unconscious. I am only asking you to bring a little consciousness to your trust. It is not something that is impossible. Life is based on trust and nothing in this earth will exist without this....SADHGURU JAGGI VASUDEV, A prominent spiritual leader, is a visionary, humanitarian, an author, poet and internationally-renowned speaker. He can be contacted at www.ishafoundation.org.

Give Immunity to Bribe-Givers... THINKING ALLOWED... Antara Dev Sen

2011-04-27T22:39:00.000+05:30

Talk of rotten luck. Right when the government was readying to fight bribery and corruption, it was smacked silly by the ghost of bribes past. Darn! As we say, our bad luck is worst only.

***

So just as Kaushik Basu, chief economic advisor in the finance ministry, stated that the government was looking at possible changes in law to give immunity to bribe-givers to help transparency, the cash-for-votes scam resurfaced with a vengeance to rock Parliament. According to a WikiLeaks expose, sneaky American diplomats in India had reported that the last United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had bribed members of Parliament (MP) to buy their votes during the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2008.

***

Dr Basu, of course, was talking of more mundane cases of bribery, in the context of a policy paper being prepared to combat corruption intelligently and through critical policy changes. Right now, Indian law sees both giving and taking a bribe as offences. And under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, a bribe-giver is protected only if he does it to nab the bribe-taker. For years, many have been pointing out the unfairness of this law that further victimises the victim. Now, finally the government seems ready to break the nexus between such shifty givers and takers that would help people report corruption without fear of punishment. "Complete immunity should be available to the bribe-givers in all cases", Dr Basu said.

***

And right then comes the charge revealed by WikiLeaks that the last UPA government doled out crores to buy the confidence of the House and stay in power. Now, it wouldn't do to claim that the alleged bribe-giver (i.e., the government seeking the confidence of the House) should get immunity while those who received the bribe (i.e., voting MPs including those who are supposed to have happily pocketed the dough and then not voted for the government) should be prosecuted. So "complete immunity" to "bribe-givers in all cases" may not work. Perhaps, we need to look at the mechanics of bribery and the role of compulsion.

***

Compulsion does fuel most of our corruption. A study by Trace International, an anti-bribery organisation, found that 77 per cent of all reported bribes in India were out of compulsion, not real choice. Most bribes - 51 per cent - were paid to access the timely delivery of a service to which we are entitled. We have all faced this demand for chai-paani of varying lavishness, most of us have given in, the rest are probably still fighting to get their water connection installed or police case registered.

***

Next came bribing as self-preservation - to avoid harm, at 16 per cent. Then there was the matter of the kickback, where 10 per cent had to be coughed up to receive your legitimate payments for services rendered. All that's compulsion, wouldn't you say? Bribing just to keep going, to live your life, to stay alive.

***

Out of bribes given to gain unfair advantage, three per cent went to influence government officials, four percent to get inappropriately favorable treatment and five per cent to win new business. So only 12 per cent of bribes were paid to get an edge over others.

***

"IT TURNS OUT THAT 91 PER CENT OF DEMANDS IS FROM GOVERNMENT CHAPS. CENTRAL OFFICIALS LEAD THE PACK WITH 33 PER CENT, THE POLICE A CLOSE SECOND WITH 30 PERCENT, STATEMENT AND CITY OFFICIALS COME A JOINT THIRD AT 10 PER CENT EACH."

***

That bribes play a vital role in Indian business is common knowledge. A couple of years ago Transparency International did a study on countries most willing to pay bribes abroad, and apna India topped that Bribe Payer's Index. In certain areas, we have unparalleled expertise.

***

From the angle of those demanding bribes in our country, it turns out that 91 per cent of demands is from government chaps. National-level government officials lead the pack with 33 per cent, the police come a close second with 30 per cent, state government and city officials come a joint third at 10 per cent each, state employees are fourth and six per cent and after most of the pie is mopped up, representatives of the ruling party can still claim two percent. And you thought government service was just about warming chairs?

***

Our bribe-scape ranges from the sublime to the magnificent. Right now, trapped in an unstoppable roller-coaster of scams - from the Commonwealth Games to the 2G spectrum scam, from Adarsh apartments to bulletproof jackets, from paid news to cash for votes, among numerous others - we have a kaleidoscopic vision of how money makes the world go round. What we don't have, though, is a clear picture of how to stop it and get off.

***

The Congress-led UPA government's attempt to curb corruption could bring this roller-coaster screeching to a halt, predictably with some unfortunate fall outs. But to bring in real reform, we need intelligent changes in law. And our legal system - though not beyond corruption itself - seems ready for it as well.

***

This month, the Supreme Court made two significant rulings that refused to punish victims and went beyond legal statutes to deliver real justice. First, it ruled in favour of decriminalising suicide, pointing out that one who attempts suicide was in desperate need of help and punishing him would be unfair. In another case, it ruled that a woman and her family cannot be treated as an accused under the Dowry Prohibition Act for giving dowry at the time of marriage. The woman is a victim of not culpable, it said.

***

As a judiciary refuses to treat victims of crime as criminals themselves, the time is ripe to push for immunity for bribe-givers who are essentially victims. I only hope that we do not get distracted by these high-profile, high-value bribery cases that shake up the national imagination.

***

Even if it sounds unfair, immunity to all bribe-givers may work. If the bribe-taker knows that he can be safely put away by the bribe-giver at any time, he may be less likely to accept so graciously. The fact remains that no one can force a bribe down your throat - but a bribe-taker can indeed withhold services or endanger lives to force the giver to bribe him. The two are never on par.

***

Of course, it may seem more civilised to have a case-by-case evaluation of which bribe-giver gets immunity and which does not. Sadly, that allows too much discretionary powers to decision makers. Usually, in our country, discretionary powers are not conducive to justice. They are used merely for profit.

***

Why on earth did the silly old cash-for-votes scam have to erupt now? Nah, our bad luck is worst only....................... ANTRA DEV SEN is editor of The Little Magazine. She can be contacted at : sen@littlemag.com

OZONE! Global Warming Affects Us Mentally Too... sulogna mehta

2011-04-27T21:57:00.000+05:30

It now seems that climate change is not only detrimental for the planet and ultimately, to our physical well being, it affects our mental health too. Experts say that depressed and maniac people become worse with seasonal changes, while extreme climatic conditions affect people's behaviour, making them either "low" or aggressive. Scientists also point out that micro-level mutation in our genetic constitution is possible with changes in temperature, which will manifest itself over a period of time.

***

Dr. V. Pramod Kumar, superintendent of Government National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), said, "Patients suffering from clinical depression get worse in winter while the condition of those suffering from mania (displaying extremes of behaviour) deteriorate in summer. These are also patients who show seasonally-affected disorder syndrome (SADS). Accordingly, we have to alter the dose of medicines and vary the treatment for these patients."

***

Dr D. Keshav Rao, president of Hyderabad psychiatry society, concurs with Dr Kumar that more mania cases are admitted to hospitals during summer and mood disorders and irritability are common when temperatures are extreme. "Since dark, gloomy and cold weather leads to depression, those suffering from SADS, are subjected to photo therapy, by exposure to very bright light," says Dr Rao.

***

Psychologists say that depression cases double during winter, while in temperate climates, cases of mental disturbance, mood disorders and irritability come down. Clinical psychologist and trauma therapist Seema Hingorrani says "When it's very cold cloudy or incessantly rainy, there's usually a 40-80 per cent increase in anxiety and depression cases.

***

Again, thanks to global warming, the extreme heat, especially during summer, coupled with pollution and traffic snarl, leads to more incidents of road rage, hot temper, mood swings, irritability and aggressive behaviour."

***

Increase in the release of green-house gases leading to global warming has resulted in unpredictable weather conditions, untimely rains or draught......

Mantras for life... V. Balakrishnan

2011-04-22T09:48:00.000+05:30

There are certain people who are always happy and contented. Sages of the past ascribe to such people certain qualities that enable them to lead pleasant life.

***

Aarogyamaanrunyamavipravaasa...

Sabhirmanushyaissaha samproyoga...

Swapratyayaa vrithirabheethavaasa...

Shadjeevalokasya sukhani raajan...

***

Health, freedom from liabilities, adsence of a situation that compels one to live abroad, the company of virtuous people, congenial occupation and fearless course of life are the factors that leave a person delighted and satisfied. A healthy mind is said to dwell in a healthy body. Therefore, one has to keep the body energetic and free from diseases.

***

Liability of any kind is the root cause of tension and restlessness. One should never borrow money if one is not in a position to repay. Liabilities distance a person from friends and relatives and a "borrower" is looked upon with contempt and laughed at by his/her own kin and kith. Hence, our forefathers warned us against borrowing and lending.

***

People leave their motherland at times of utter crisis - it may be financial or some other emergency situation. But being forced to go abroad and settle down there is a pity since one can never have peace of mind. Living away from near and dear ones, rid of the solace of one's native land and devoid of one's identity, leave people frustrated. Such a person never experiences peace of mind. Being able to live in one's own motherland is a blessing indeed.

***

We all need a job to earn a means of living. But if the occupation does not satisfy our interests, it becomes a hard chore. We must enjoy our work, only then can we do justice to it. Any work which is not done full-heartedly, becomes mechanical, devoid of soul.

***

True friedns or the company of good people who are concerned about our progress promote our well-being. Their words inspire us and full us with positive energy. The fellow-feeling one shares with them adds to our confidence. Hence, the sages say that the kind of people we associate with is a deciding factor in our peaceful existence.

***

While prescribing norms for a joyous and peaceful life, our forefathers did not forget to warn us against the possible flaws in one's character that bring about woes and worries and against which one has to stay alert.

***

Eershoorkhrinee thwasanthushta....

Khrodhamano nityasankita...

Parabhaagyopajeeveecha...

Shadethe dukhkhabhaagina.....

****

The people who keep watching others make riches and fortunes and stay envious of them can never be happy.

***

The sages of the past point out that six categories of people live in permanent dejection - the envious ones, the ones who cannot bear the worries of others, those discontented with what they have, the angry folk, the always-hesitant ones and those who depend on and serve the lucky ones to make a living.

***

The precepts evolved ages ago from long experience and observation, remain true universally even today.___ DR VENGANOOR BALAKRISHNAN is the author of Thaliyola, a book on Hindu beliefs and rituals. He has also written books on the Vedas and Upanishads. The author can be reached at drvenganoor@yahoo.co.in

How To Develop A Good Self-Image

2011-03-01T21:19:00.001+05:30

We all tend to think too little of ourselves, and so we fail to achieve more than a fraction of our true potential.

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The self-image is the key to human personality. Change the self-image and you change the personality and the behaviour.

***

We always act in accordance with our self-image, and our feelings and behaviour are always consistent with this inner picture of ourselves. This is the blue print from which our subconscious mind works.

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Be entirely positive. List only your good points. Write down the things that you can do. The things that you are better than others. The things you are proud of.

***

Constantly work at the idea of a new positive attitude.

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Be sure, therefore, to picture strongly to yourself the kind of person you wish to be.

***

Mentally see yourself acting with courage and determination in the given situation. Do this repeatedly and you will soon form a habit of acting courageously.

***

Try to picture yourself as an outgoing, friendly person when others love to be with you.

***

It is the little things you do each day - the way you react to what is happening, how you develop good feeling for others, what you are constantly thinking about yourself, and how this expresses itself through you day-by-day - that gradually builds up your self-image.

**********

Do you think that I will be of any use to my students in developing their personality? _Question asked by a teacher.

2011-02-22T21:04:00.001+05:30

Answer:

Certainly, you are the right person for this job. It is your good fortune that you have chosen such a noble profession. There is great praise for a teacher in our scriptures. In one of the Sanskrit hymns, the teacher is compared with Brahma, Vishnu, and Maheshvara. Therefore, you should never forget that you are doing a great service in moulding the lives and characters of numerous students within the four walls of the classroom. Students come to you with great expectations that they will get something purposeful in life from you. Your duty is not only to teach them syllabus, but to help them in building character. Students coming out from educational institutions with character and integrity alone can build this great nation. If you can do that in your humble way, you will be doing immense service to your nation and to the youth.

***

A lit candle alone can light another. Therefore, at the very outset, you must have firm conviction in the power of goodness; and it should express through your life and character. Sri Krishna says in the Bhagavad-Gita (3:21). "What ever a great leader does, other persons do that very thing! Whichever standard he sets, the world follows it." Your life itself will be a great source of inspiration for the students. Teaching without practising will not produce any positive results. Modern students are very intelligent. They will watch your life and character. If they do not find those things in practice, they will not care for your words.

***

If you sincerely love your students, and are really interested in their welfare, they will certainly follow your footsteps. You must develop infinite patience and forbearance. Never find fault with your students for their shortcomings and mistakes, rather highlight their good qualities and successes. Swami Vivekananda said : "If you speak kind words to boys and encourage them, they are bound to improve in time. If you can give them positive ideas, people will grow up to be men and learn to stand on their own legs. In language and literature, in poetry and art, in everything we must point out not the mistakes that people are making in their thoughts and actions, but the way in which they will gradually be able to do these things better. Pointing out mistakes wounds a man's feelings. We have seen how Sri Ramakrishna would encourage even those whom we considered as worthless and change the very course of their lives thereby! His very method of teaching was a unique phenomenon. He never destroyed a single man's special inclinations. He gave words of hope and encouragement even to the most degraded of persons and lifted them up. We, too, must follow in his footsteps and lift all up and rouse them."

***

You should be able to enter into the hearts of your students. They should find in you their friend, philosopher, and guide. Then alone will they open their hearts and freely express their problems. Your approach to their problems should be positive, and you should try your utmost to help them in solving their problems, if it is within your reach. This intimacy and mutual love and affection will strengthen the relationship between the taught and the teacher. Once you put them on right track, they will grow up as real men and women of character and integrity. They will remain grateful to you throughout their lives for your great service rendered to them. For you, there will be job satisfaction bringing in peace and happiness alround. _Swami Srikanthananda

***

Our children are so sensitive that we are afraid of telling them anything. We do not know how they will react. How should we deal with them?._ Question asked by a Parent

2011-02-22T20:41:00.000+05:30

Answer :

The first thing is to set an example through one's own life. If your life is pure and disciplined, even without your telling they will assimilate those qualities. Secondly, you must give them certain amount of freedom. Do not try to be a policeman, always watching and suspecting their movements. At the same time, you must keep a watch over them from a distance. If you sense something wrong with them, first verify the truth before arriving at a conclusion. You can easily collect the facts from their teachers and friends by occasionally visiting their working place or school or college. No human being is perfect. It is our nature to make mistakes. No one does it intentionally; it is out of ignorance. Naturally, children due to their lack of experience in this world will commit mistakes. You must learn to forgive them. "To err is human, but to forgive is divine", so goes a popular saying. After a certain age, they should be treated as friends and handled with great love and respect. As far as possible, do not take recourse to corporeal punishment and harsh scolding. Develop tremendous patience to correct them in a friendly way. Your genuine love and concern for them will certainly bring about a change in their behaviour. Give them positive ideas, good literature to study, expose them to good surroundings. Once you provide them with good food, they will not go in search of bad._ Swami Srikanthananda.

How far can I depend on others to develop my personality ?_ Question asked by a young student.

2011-02-22T20:26:00.001+05:30

Answer :

This is the most crucial time of your precious life. You are young and there is tremendous youth energy in you. You should be very alert and careful. This is the right time for you to mould your life and character. Young people always want freedom, without knowing the meaning of the term. You are still young and your mind is not yet fully matured. Restless mind and turbulent senses will always try to pull you down. Giving freedom to such minds and senses is a sign of weakness and certainly harmful. Since you are not able to discriminate between the right and the wrong, it is always better for you to seek advice of elders, specially your parents and teachers in serious matters. They are your well-wishers. Their mature advice will certainly help you to follow the right path. Even if they scold you for your mistakes, it is for your good. Since they love you, and are interested in your well being, you should take it in the right spirit._Swami Srikantananda

Good Sayings ABSORPTION

2011-02-19T22:02:00.000+05:30

Children, we are told, absorbe the best things in literature.

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Every individual not only absorbes his culture, he passes it on with modifications. _Stuart Chase

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The ability to absorbe things that are beautiful is born along with one's birth. _T.S. Subramanian

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India has always absorbed all that is highest and noblest and true. _G.Francis.

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Good Sayings ABSENCE

2011-02-19T21:46:00.000+05:30

Absence from whom we love is worse than death. _William Cowper

***

Absence is to love that wind is to fire : It extinguishes the small, it enkindles the great. _Compte De Bussy

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Judicious absence is a weapon. _Charles Reade

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Absence extinguishes the small passions and increases great ones, as the wind will blow out a candle and blow in a fire. _La Rochefoucauld

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Failing to be there when a man wants her is a woman's greatest sin, except to be there when he doesn't want her. _Halen Rowland

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Absence makes the heart grow founder. _Thomas H. Bayly

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The absent are always in the wrong. _Phillippe Destouches

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GOOD SAYINGS... ABILITY ..

2011-02-17T21:12:00.000+05:30

There is something that is much more scarce, something rather than ability. It is the ability to recognize ability._ ROBERT HALF

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Do what you can, with what you have, where are you. _THEODERE ROOSEVELT

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Natural abilities are like natural plants that need pruning by study. _SIR FRANCIS BACON

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Natural ability without education has more often raised a man to glory and virtue than education without natural ability. _CICERO

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Native ability without education is like a tree without fruit. _ARISTIPPUS

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A man may be so much of everything that he is nothing of anything. _SAMUEL JOHNSON

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Since we cannot know all that is to be known of everything, we ought to know a little of everything. _PASCAL

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Men take only their needs into consideration - never their abilities. _NAPOLEON BONAPARTE

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For a clever child without means, the need may well be to help develop his abilities.

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It is no use having a big bank balances unless one is ABLE to draw on it. _Dr.T.N. KRISHNASWAMI

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Achievement is not always commensurate with ability. _PAUL E. CAMPBELL

***

Many creatures have greater ability in one director or another. Arthur Osborne

***

People change, as do their attitudes, ambitions and abilities.

***

A distorted view of one's abilities can make it hard to cope with the real world. ALISON GARDNER

***

The winds and waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators. _EDWARD GIBBON

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There is great ability in knowing how to conceal one's ability. LA ROCHEFOUCAULD

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Ability is poor man's wealth. _M. WREN

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Ability to concentrate is the prime virtue in any research establishment. _E.F. RUSSELL

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There is no interest without knowledge, and knowledge is acquired by those having ability to acquired it. _EDGAR SCHMIEEDELER

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Ability determines training, and training may give rise to interest. _EDGAR SCHMIEEDELER

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Ability is of little account without opportunity. _NAPOLEON BOANAPARTE

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Ability gives relief to the body as well as to the mind. _A.F. HARRISON

***

There is increasing dissatisfaction with disease and disability.

What's on your mind?.. Sadguru

2011-02-15T23:18:00.000+05:30

Questioner : Why do human beings suffer more than the animals?

Sadhguru: Animals suffer physically if things go wrong. Human beings suffer because there is a discretionary intellect. Human beings suffer much more than the other creatures because most of their suffering is mental and mental suffering is self-created. S/he suffers more because s/he is a much better expert at creating suffering for himself or herself and for others.

***

Of all the creatures on this planet, human beings create the maximum suffering for themselves and for all other creatures, isn't it? This is because they have a discretionary mind. They can choose to be lead the life anyway they want. At any movement one can either make himself or herself joyful or miserable.

***

Your mind is not a solid state, it is a fluid. You can make it acquire any shape right now. You can look at a tree and say "Oh! God is living there, wonderful", or you can look at the tree in terror and say "Maybe devils are hanging around there". There is no end to the mind. You can make just about anything with your mind _ you can make ecstasy out of it or misery out of it. Most people have learnt how to make misery out of it because they are exercising this discretionary dimension of mind unconsciously.

***

The source of human suffering is just that s/he has a choice. So right now s/he is suffering your bondage, it's okay, but if you are suffering your freedom it is a tragedy, isn't it? Right now, that's the tragedy that a human being has made himself to be. But if you wish, this moment you can make your life heaven or hell. The choice is yours.

***

There is a very beautiful story. There was a yogi who was aged and nearing his death, so he went about telling everybody that he is going to heaven. So all the other yogis just looked at him and they thought, "How does he know that he is going to heaven?" As the yogi was very confidently telling everybody in the town, so all of them gathered one day and asked him, "How do you know you will go to the heaven? You do not know what's on God's mind whether he wants to send you to heaven or hell". The yogi replied "I don't care what's on God's mind, I know what's on my mind, I'm going to heaven and that's all". In reality, that's all it is.....______ SADHGURU JAGGI VASUDEV, a prominent spiritual leader, is a visionary, humanitarian, an author, poet and internationally-renowned speaker. He can be contacted at www.ishafoundation.org.

Don't despise accountability... Anupam Kher

2011-02-15T22:58:00.000+05:30

There is a general notion that we become lesser human beings if we are accountable to someone. Indeed, the very matrix of most people is etched in such a way to avoid accountability; as if accountability is to be despised at any cost. All children want to grow up to being adults as fast as possible primarily because they want to be independent and stop listening to the dictates of others. But is total independence from everyone independence from everyone a desirable state of existence?

***

Before I answer this question, I would like to explain that I am not speaking from the point of view of orthodoxy, which is very prevalent in our society, viz. all of us must listen to our elders at any cost. Such a belief comes loaded with its own negatives. I have seen thousands of instances where supposedly well-meaning decisions of elders have wreaked havoc in the lives of their scions. Wrong choices in careers, in professions and in later life - all forced upon by the elders - have made all too many people unhappy and I am not upholding this way of life for a moment.

***

But the accountability I am referring to is in terms of a sense of spirituality and calmness which we all seek. When we are children we all need the service of our parents as mentors; such a practice is unquestioned across all societies. What happens when we grow up? We erroneously believe total independence is the way forward in adulthood. We would like to believe that we do not need any advice on matters personal as we have all the answers; in any case, we know best. Yet we do not realise that on the professional front, we are continually seeking advice to advance our careers. If you are a doctor or a lawyer or a CA, you are not only adhering to a system of internship and working under seniors for many years, but you are also joining your professional associations to keep abreast of advancements in your field.

***

Even in the corporate sector, you are not only seeking - and welcoming - gyan from your seniors, but you also attend in-house development programmes and also more specialised mid-career courses offered at major business schools the world over. Then why the preference for independence in other matters?

***

When I say be accountable, I mean that we become better human beings if we mentally feel accountable to our spouses, our children and others near and dear to us. Rather than rest on our seniority, or in the case of some men, their belief in being seen as macho, and above any questioning by family members, let us constantly review our attitudes and our decisions from their perspective. Let us have the humility to sit down with them and discuss if our beliefs are correct and incorrect. Let us understand that we are accountable to everyone around us as our beliefs and attitudes impact them.

***

And we should do it all the more; because we love them... The writer is a renowned film and theatre actor.....

The Blood Patriot... Shankar Roychowdhury

2011-02-09T01:15:00.002+05:30

"Ittehad, Itmad, Qurbani" (Unity, faith, sacrifice) _ Motto of the Azad Hind Fauj (The National Army)

The 114th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose - recently commemorated on January 23, 2011 - is an appropriate occasion to remember him and the Azad Hindu Fauj. On this occasion, the government of West Bengal declared that the day would henceforth be observed as Deshprem Diwas, or Patriotism Day. The implied paradox that patriotism could be reduced to an annual one-day event seemed to escape notice. If patriotism is not to be the last refuge of the scoundrel, it has to be a full-time job, without weekends or holidays.

***

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was a patriot, perhaps one of the greatest freedom fighters India's struggle for independence has produced. He remains an unblemished and unchallenged icon for a cynical, disillusioned generation in search for role models. On the international stage, Netaji keeps company in the pantheon of soldier heroes like Simon Bolivar, Jose de San Martin, Giuseppe Garibaldi and Ho Chi Minh, an aspect downplayed in India, especially by the ahimsa establishment, whose votaries claimed exclusive credit for non-violence for bringing Independence to this country.

***

There have always been murmurings of an unspoken conspiracy of silence to keep Netaji at a profile lower than the "conformist" freedom fighters. Earlier, the Indian Left had reviled Netaji during the 1940s as an Indian Quisling, heaping opprobrium upon him for collaborating with the Axis powers against their beloved spiritual homeland, the Soviet Union. The Indian National Congress - India's Grand Old Party dominated by the Nehru-Gandhi duopoly - viewed Bose as a threat to the establishment and successfully manipulated his exit from the organisational hierarchy.

***

Now, over the past few years, the very same political class which had earlier denigrated him or sought to sideline him is scrambling to retrace steps and re-appropriate Netaji for their political agendas, especially as the next Assembly elections in West Bengal looms closer. Those who had done their best to consign him to oblivion after Independence, have now rediscovered his electoral weightage and are strenuously attempting to reconfigure Netaji as one of their own.

***

Netaji's greatest achievement was the revival and revitalisation of the Indian National Army (INA) after the initial pioneering effort in 1941 by Capt. Mohan Singh failed to fructify. Under his inspirational leadership the INA became India's Mukti Bahini, seeking to confront the country's colonial overlords militarily for the first time since the Sepoy Mutiny in 1857. "Chalo Dilli" was no street slogan for political processions, but a proclamation of grand strategic intent, though achievement of the objective had all the prospects of a hard long war.

***

West Bengal has appropriated Netaji as its own illustrious son, though his birth place and initial education were in Orissa and the INA has created had few, if any, exclusive linkages with Bengal, except in individual capacities. The INA recruited extensively amongst the Indian diaspora in what is today Southeast Asia, but their core fighting strength was fashioned out of the wreckage of the British-Indian infantry battalions incarcerated in Japanese prison camps after debacles in Hong Kong, Malaya and the retreat from Burma. These included illustrious entities like 1/14 Punjab (now 5 Punjab of Pakistan Army), and 2/17 Dogra and 2/18 Garhwal Rifles, both adorning the post-Independence Indian Arm. These were trained professional infantry and there was thus a strong leavening of the traditional British martial classes in the INA. But they were totally intermixed into what today's class-regimentalised Indian Army would designate as "all India, all class" units, while the Bahadur Group of the INA commanded by Col. Shaukat Hayat Malik can lay strong claims to be the earliest ancestor of the special forces in the Indian Army, the Navy and the Air Force.

***

The initial offensive of the INA was incorporated into Operation U-Go launched by the Japanese 15th Army under Gen. Renya Mutaguchi in 1944 in the Imphal-Kohima region on the Indo-Burmese border. From this liberated zone inside India the INA planned to revert to a guerrilla mode and infiltrate into the strategic depths of India's eastern region in Assam and Bengal, to build up a low-intensity campaign in the interior exploiting anti-British sentiment fanned by the Great Bengal Famine raging at the time, while the Japanese hammered won the front door. The ultimate outcome for India if Japan had emerged victorious can only be speculated on, but the history of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere which Japan sought to establish in Asia does not make, for comforting reading.

***

The post-Independence Indian Army is the spiritual and temporal heir of two armies - the British Indian Army and the Indian National Army. From the former, it has imbibed almost every aspect of its functioning, mannerisms and attitudes; from the latter, nothing. Its principal opponent, the Pakistan Army, is a highly Islamicised military which uses terror as a weapon of state. Is there any matching military and spiritual doctrine to provide sustenance for an avowedly secular Indian Army, now mired in moral distress as well? In the 64th year of the nation's Independence, the modern Indian Army must introspect deeply upon its Azad Hind Fauj heritage which stressed patriotism as a way of life, something with far more substantial foundations than the mere regimental loyalties which have served so far. The true heritage of Netaji and the INA, which goes well beyond the mere military and into the spiritual, ethical and emotional region of military motivation, will provide succour. The teachings of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose must become required study material in its professional institutions, to motivate the Army and prepare it for the future in an increasingly turbulent environment.....

............... GEN. SHANKAT, ROYCHOWDHURY is a former Chief of Army Staff and a former member of Parliament

The Sovereign Remedy .... Swami Purushottamananda

2010-10-14T16:56:00.000+05:30

Fear is not today's problem. Fear is not any one man's problem nor of a certain class of people. Fear has enveloped the whole world. And then, fear is not of a single type; innumerable varieties of fears are there. Everyone is tormented by one or the other type of fear, and all are busy in conquering their fears. But what is the root cause of all fears? Sages have solved this riddle ages ago. As long as man has identified himself with his body and mind he cannot get rid of fear completely. But he can only minimize his fears by various means. Swami Vivekananda says that the absolute remedy for overcoming fear lies in realizing one's true Self - the deathless, the birthless, the omnipotent, the omniscient Atman! Because Atman, in other words God, alone is beyond all fear._ Swami Purushottamananda.

FEAR AMONG THE TEENAGERS - A FACT - BUT NO NEED TO WORRY ... Swami Purushottamananda

2010-10-14T16:48:00.000+05:30

For many teenagers, their sudden bodily and mental changes come as a shock. But this shock is only temporary - they soon realize that these changes are common to all the therefore nothing dangerous. For some teenagers, however, the transition is not smooth. The prolonged presence of fear may cause deep and long-lasting damage to their personality. Such youngsters need sympathetic help from their elders. They must be taught that they are going through a transition period, and a new body and a new mind are being formed, that all these changes are perfectly alright and are not signs of any weakness or disease.

***

Swami Vivekananda said a wonder-ful thing in this regard, which seems a reliable standard - "The best guide in life is Strength.... The sign of vigour, the sign of life, the sign of hope, the sign of health, the sign of everything that is good is - Strength."

***

What this means is as follows: Watch impartially; none of these bodily and mental changes will weaken the body, nor bring about a loss of general health, nor lead to lack of vigour in the mind, which means that these changes are for the better and not for the worse. In spite of these doubts and fears lingering in the mind, the students will manage to remain in usual spirits and keep up good academic performance. If this happens, it means there is nothing to worry and the fears will slowly disappear when he or she evolves into an adult.

***

Fear affects different teenagers differently, according to their constitution, temperament and upbringing. Some students are shy and diffident in making new acquaintances; some may find it difficult to accommodate themselves in a new environment; in some, it may manifest as a fear to speak boldly; in others it may result in a lack of confidence to shoulder even minor responsibilities; some may tend to avoid challenging opportunities while some may choose to remain reserved always. Thus, it is not possible to say definitely how this "Adolescent fear" might affect an individual.

***

Knowing this, you should avoid comparing yourself with others. Comparing with others will invariably leave you morose or disheartened; instead of such fruitless activities, busy yourself in developing the faculties and talents that you already possess. These are beneficial, confidence-building measures.

***

It is better to know that in spite of all these steps and preventive measures, a little fear could continue to remain in the heart, mainly because adolescence is a period of transition; both body and mind undergo great changes; new feelings and aspirations enter the brain and heart; one's whole perspective of the world undergoes a sea-change. During such turbulent periods, a little fear might remain in spite of all your efforts. This you must learn to quietly put up with. It will leave you when you pass out of adolescence and become an adult. Time is the only remedy for this fear. Bear with it patiently.

***

Identify some dependable, trust-worthy, sympathetic, helpful elders. Approach them for general and specific guidance. Their love and help will prove most beneficial to tide over turbulent times, quell your fear and remain happy and peaceful. But, as we have already mentioned, speaking of these fears with our same-aged friends and brooding over them will only make a mountain of more-hill and bring in unwanted suffering.

USING FEAR - FOR SELF-PROTECTION ... Swami Purushottamananda

2010-10-14T16:26:00.000+05:30

In spite of all the arguments against fear, it has a positive role in our lives. It acts as a stimulus for our self-protection. If we had no fear, how could we guard ourselves against dangers from wicked people or wild beasts? For self-protection, carefulness and caution are inevitable and these proceed only from a sense of fear. Thus, it is fear that helps us to protect ourselves.

***

However, fear turns into a real evil when we start fearing illogically - for instance, imagining hideous things staying in the dark, or having a fear in your heart even after preparing well for the exams, or becoming too nervous waiting for the results, or stage fright, or accidents, etc. There are some youngsters who compulsively imagine an accident while riding a vehicle, and some others who yield to stage fright even before small, friendly gatherings. Hundreds of such silly reasons for baseless fears can be found.

***

If you entertain such baseless fears, there is no end to it and your whole life could be doomed to be a horrible hell! So, learn to think clearly and steer clear of such baseless fears and try to lead a happy, wholesome life. Again, Swami Vivekananda will prove to be of great help in this effort. His powerful will be most effective in dispelling many kinds of ignorance and will instill a new life in your fear-stricken soul......

FEAR : THE REMEDIES ... Swami Purushottamananda

2010-10-14T16:16:00.000+05:30

It is most essential therefore, that youngsters take appropriate steps to wipe off this blot on their personality - the blot of Fear and Cowardice.

1. Clarity of thought is the most useful tool in dispelling fear. You must be able to analyse circumstances and experiences in your own life, boldly and impartially. In order to learn to think clearly and analyse meaningfully, you will have to associate with brave, wise men who know how to do it.

It is essential to live in an atmosphere which is throbbing with bravery and confidence and courage in order to imbibe these faculties. Such wise men create this kind of an atmosphere around themselves. The environment itself will have a tremendous positive impact on your mind and the personal influence of these elders will gradually bring about a revolution in your mind.

2. Never give expression to your fears even if they enter your heart once in a while. Use your willpower and forcefully throw out the thoughts that cause fear immediately. And vigorously recall strength-giving ideas, especially Swami Vivekananda's words.

Give your mind some strong auto-suggestions such as : I am bold, I am strong.

Giving expression to fear through words or gestures only enhances it all the more. And it will provoke others to take undue advantage of your fearful state. Once you get into a lower position in the eyes of others and allow them to bully you it will be very difficult for your to set yourself again to a state on par with them.

3. Fill up your mind with powerful ideas and healthy, positive thoughts. Always think and speak of boldness, bravery and courage. Read strength-giving literature.

You will have to read powerful ideas and assimilate them. Swami Viveka- nanda, the epitome of Strength and Courage Incarnate, has bequeathed a priceless legacy of strength and courage in the form of his letters and lectures. You must make a sincere effort to study this literature - a veritable treasure-house of power. This is a study that will open new horizons before your mind and introduce you to many new and powerful ideas. Allow Swami Vivekananda's ideas to just enter your mind once and then watch for yourself how your personality will get transformed.

4. Never sit idle when some fear arises in your heart. If you sit idle, you will start brooding over it. That will only enhance the fear in your heart. The popular proverb - " an idle mind is the devil's workshop" has great truth in it. This proverb actually explains the state of our own mind! So, when fear arises in your heart, don't sit idle. Get up at once and do one of the following:

a. Start reading Swami Vivekananda's words of strength and hope.

b. Take up some constructive and creative activity.

c. Go to some dependable elders you know and spend some time in their elevating presence.

d. Take deep breaths rhythmically and do some methodical exercises.

e. Pray intensely to God in whichever form you like.

5. If you want to achieve success in overcoming fear, there are certain rotten personal habits you must avoid at all costs:

a. Wandering about doing nothing

b. Losing yourself in idle gossip

c. Brooding over your weaknesses

d. Postponing your duties

e. Lingering in an undecided state of mind.

All of these exhaust the brain, weaken the mind, and drain all your energies, leaving the inner core of your personality greatly damaged.

A more detailed list of remedies is given later.

FEAR : THE CAUSE... Swamy Purushottamananda

2010-10-14T15:35:00.002+05:30

More and more students are developing various fear complexes and phobias than ever before. In all aspects of their life, fear seems to be stopping them from going ahead. Often, they are found to be afraid for no apparent reason. Many students again, are afraid for reasons which they cannot express to others. Even those in the prime of their youth are found to be devoid of courage and a spirit of adventure. Swami Vivekananda thundered, "I want iron wills and hearts that do not know how to quake." But, alas! youths who should actually radiate energy and be filled with bravery and courage are often seen to exhibit their opposite qualities! When a challenging situation comes up, by taking part in which, these youths could develop these positive qualities in their personality, they are found to be strangely backing out beating a retreat and accepting failure, all in a queer and stupid manner. What is the reason? Lack of Self-Confidence.

***

A weak body is the root cause for this lack of Self-Confidence. Added to this weak body is a weak mind that further complicates the matter. A weak mind is a safe heaven for fear and cowardice. "I am inclined to believe that one who is a coward will be born after death as an insect or a worm..." said Swami Vivekananda. A young mind is a storehouse of unbounded energy and enthusiasm. And this great curse of weakness is ruining it and destroying personalities. So, students must recognise the reasons for the ruin of their personality and make the best use of time in their formative years.

***

As a student, you should know that it is quite possible to overcome fear. The sooner this conviction comes to your, the better.

The Spirit of Cleanliness...V. Balakrishnan

2010-09-07T20:28:00.000+05:30

BRUSHING OUR teeth is something we do every morning without sparing a second thought. But like each and every act of daily life, this too had come under the keen observation of the sages of the past. And like many other daily acts, they prescribed a routine for cleaning our teeth too.

***

Accordingly, before cleaning the teeth, one has to hold water in mouth, gargle well and spit it out. While doing this, bow your head Dto the left side, for there are rishis in front of us and devas on our right side. As per old beliefs, the left side alone is vacant.

***

Now start brushing. Take a small, green twig of neem, red mandaram, fig or mango tree, beat its head with a stone and brush with this softened end. this prescription appears in Devi Bhagavatham also.

***

However, on certain days like Vavu, Prathama, Shashti, Navami, Ekadasi etc, this sort of brushing is not permitted. On these days, gargling 12 times with fresh water will do.

***

While brushing, mentally chant the prayer:

"Annadyaya vyoohadhwamse somorajayamagamatu

Samemukham prakshalyate yasasa cha bhagena cha

Ayurbalam yasorvarcha: pasuvasooni chabrahma

Prajnjancha medhancha twannodehi vanaspathe"

In Kerala, Sankarasmriti does not encourage people to brush using these twigs. According to the text, burnt chaff or leaves of the mango tree are preferable to twigs.

***

Householders should not brush their teeth on Sundays and Tuesdays. There is also a taboo on brushing one's teeth on birthdays, Prathipadam. Chaturdasi etc as well. However, no such restrictions are binding on Mondays. It is a must-day for brushing!

***

Like wise, the texts warn us not to brush our teeth facing southwards. You can face east or northeast while brushing your teeth.

***

ONE MAY wonder why there are specific instructions with regard to trifles like brushing one's teeth.

***

Traditional beliefs and observances have something remarkable in them and that is why they persisted so long. For one, these prescriptions urge us to do justice to great beings. And, more importantly, they indicate that no task is mundane.

***

In Yajanavalkya Smriti, for instance, bathing is mainly classified into Mukhyam and Gaunam, and these have six and seven sub-divisions respectively. All auspicious acts are supposed to bath. Otherwise they don't incur any results. Hence, one has tobegin the day with bathing.

***

However, there is restriction on bathing on certain days like Ahashti, Ashtami, and newmoon. Likewise, one should not take bath immediately after food, while suffering from diseases and at mid-night. Dip-bath in water bodies or bathing in medicinal water is recommended.

***

While bathing in a lake or river one has to imagine the presence of holy river Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati and worship them uttering the shloka:

"Gangae cha Yamunae chaiva Godavari Saraswathi Narmada Sindhu Kaveri Theertho asmin samindin kuru"

After taking bath, one should stand in water and undertake certain observances to please the deities. Then drying your hair and body, again as per specific prescriptions, you can return home.

***

These restrictions and prescriptions succeeded in ensuring personal and social wellness apart from imposing habits of hygiene on our ancestors......

.................DR VENGANOOR BALAKRISHNANAN... is the author of Thaliyola, a book on Hindu beliefs and rituals. He has also written books on the Vedas and Upanishads. The author can be reached at ...DRVENGANOOR@YAHOO.CO.IN.

Cyber Relationships Ruin Real Ones....

2010-08-30T20:38:00.000+05:30

With more and more people turning to the online world for comfort, real relationships are being sidelined...........

Chatting, Pinging, Emailing, Twittering and texting - the cyber world is throwing newer forms of connecting with people, every other month. Innovation, something that usually took years to develop, is now literally taking place with a snap of a finger. While it is great for technological progress, is it really that great for relationships?

***

Many being online interactions with no serious intent except to connect, have fun, network and 'be around" as they put it. "If you aren't on Facebook you're pretty much an old hat and better relegate yourself to a tomb," say the with-it, who are always connected and available. "What! You've got to be kidding, you don't know how to twitter? Get a life babe/dude. You'd rather have been born in the 16th century," is yet another common perception. With comments like these, youngsters, who may not be web-savvy, are literally arm-twisted into being "connected'. They fear that if they don't, they'd be looked upon as 'un-cool" and be the odd ones out.

***

What starts off as a way to get familiar with people eventually turns into a dependence of sorts, with people freaking out if their Internet connections are down for even a few hours. It slowly veers into personal space where couples who usually "communicated" inter-personally, now prefer to sit silently next to each other, busy with his/her laptop "communicating" with an unknown stranger.

***

Often, the ramifications on relationships aren't too evident. Over time however, it eats into special time and before one knows it, one has transgressed into an emotional connect with an online person who "listens", makes no judgments, completely accepts you for what you are and allows you to vent. Since virtual buddies don't live with each other, it makes it easier for them, to be more accepting, accommodating, tolerant and less complaining about peculiarities. In this safe haven of anonymity and total approval, people don't even realise how and when they slip into an emotional attachment with a stranger.

***

This new age phenomenon of emotional connections in the virtual world is here to stay. But we have to safeguard ourselves from falling into trap, that to an undiscerning eye, shows no evident threat. It is a hazard so severe that, if not taken care of, could spiral into something that you can't control.

***

As simple as it may sound, developing a solid relationship with your significant other decreases the probability of "online infidelity". A unifying bond between you two, and putting your faith in similar ideas of loyalty may help you draw boundaries and around what is acceptable and what is not - in both the virtual world or in reality.

***

Keeping each other in the loop about to who you connect with and who you interact with on various sites, could be another method to keep a check on yourself.

***

Those who swear by the concept of "individuality" would exclaim, "Are we supposed to share everything about our lives with our partners..." But isn't it a healthier method to share everything with each other, so that you don't fall prey to temptation? If your intentions are clear, what's there to hide, right?...............

..........THE WRITER IS A PSYCHOLOGIST WITH LILAVATI HOSPITAL, MUMBAI..............

FINDING GOD .. the Gandhian Way

2010-08-30T20:04:00.001+05:30

A part from being the father of the nation and the driving force behind our freedom struggle, Mahatma Gandhi was also a man whose faith instilled a moral compass of the highest order in not just his followers but anyone who performed public service. If one observes the Mahatma's life, he or she would understand that spirituality was at the centre of every action undertaken by him. Liberating the country with his concept of ashima (non-violence) and tolerance, the Mahatma had imbibed the highest ideals of faith in his followers, urging them to renounce the use of force to prove a point and treat each faith with the same respect that they would afford their own. And it is a well known fact that Gandhi's commitment to religion did not mean commitment to a single religion.
***
Every faith had full freedom and complete equality, and in his prayer meetings his Gita has the same space as the Holy Quran, the Bible and the Guru Granth Saheb. He spoke of a Ram Rajya because Lord Rama was an ideal, an image that most Indians could identify with, but there was no propaganda in his concept of divinity, and there was always equal space for all faiths. When Gandhiji was asked about his opinion on God and spirituality he said, "The Truth is my God."
***

And it's that universal truth which has inspired the likes of everyone from Martin Luther King Jr to Nelson Mandela. That truth laid the foundation for the way in which Bapuji conducted his life. He never really considered himself a religiously or communally inclined person. Nevertheless in his morning prayers and even in his last breath - his belief in the truth being a manifestation of God was unwavering.

***

Once he was asked about the relevance of the phrase Hey Ram in his life. And he replied that he felt the same degree of peace and contentment when he uttered the phrase that another individual would feel uttering the name of Mohammed. If both names were capable of invoking a similar effect - that of utmost calmness and fulfilment - weren't they one and the same thing? It was just one of the pointers to how secular Gandhi was in his outlook.

***

On the eve of India's independence, when Sardar Patel and Pandit Nehru unfurled and tricolour at the Red Fort, Gandhiji was nowhere in sight. When Bapuji was questioned about the same, he said India would not have achieved true independence until the day the Hindus and the Muslims learned to co-exist in harmony. He literally lived by the mantra of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, which means the whole world is one family....

................THE WRITER IS THE DIRECTOR OF THE GANDHIAN STUDIES CENTRE AT BHAVNAGAR UNIVERSITY.....................
****

MORE THAN A CENTURY AFTER MAHATMA GANDHI, THE FATHER OF THE NATION USHERED IN THE ERA OF A SPIRITUAL AND HOLISTIC APPROACH TO POLITICS AND SOCIETY, HIS PHILOSOPHY FINDS A MODERN DAY RESONANCE IN ALMOST EVERY ASPECT OF LIFE............

***
.............'''''''''If one observes the Mahatma's life, he or she would understand that spirituality was at the centre of every action undertaken by him'''''''''''''''........................

Only a few people in the world are capable of being silent, meditative..Osho International Foundation

2010-08-29T18:45:00.000+05:30

FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE says: All that is needed is to know the art of listening. Listening to the winds and listening to the clouds and listening to the dancing trees, the falling leaves - utterly in silence, you mind weaving no thoughts, no thinking - is the very foundation of listening.

***

It does not mean you have to agree. There is no question of agreement, because a man like Nietzsche is not so mean that he wants you to agree with him.

***

He simply wants you to understand him, and then it is up to you what you do with it. Agree or don't agree - but at least listen! There are only very few people in the world who are capable of being silent, meditative, capable of listening. It is a strange phenomenon: if you can learn the art, it is not a question of listening to my words. It is a question of the art of listening. It is within you.

***

BEST SILENT IS MEDITATION

Said differently, I call it meditation - just being silent. Even listening does not give you the accurate description of the state that is needed for you to find the truth of your own self. But listening is certainly one of the easiest processes of meditation. And as you become able to listen, you listen to the winds and the rain and the clouds and the whole heartbeat of the universe. In that listening, you will open up; your bud will become an open rose.

***

"I KNOW AND YOU DON'T KNOW" IS INHUMAN

The very idea that "I know and you don't know" is inhuman. It is uncultured, it is uncivilised. It may be that I have experienced something that I can share with you, but I cannot denounce you as ignorant. I can only say, "Perhaps you have missed it, perhaps you have bypassed it. Perhaps you are innocent and you have not looked at it." I cannot call you ignorant and propose that I am the knower and you are ignorant and take your dignity, your freedom, your inquiry, and ask you just to believe.

***

TRUST IS ANOTHER NAME OF LOVE

Love yourself and love all that is all around you. there is no need to create chains, there is no need to create prisons. Love is enough. But love is not a belief, love is a reality. It is in your very Heartbeat, it is your experience. It is not in the scriptures; it is not Christian and it is not Hindu, it is not Mohammedan. Love is the blossoming of your inner being just like a rose....

Courtesy Osho International Foundation.......

Conquer Ego, Conquer Death.. J.S.NEKI

2010-04-30T23:01:00.001+05:30

A great existential truth is the certainty and inevitability of death. This frail body is destined to be overtaken by age. Youth comes, but soon departs; when senility descends, it never departs - only its victim does. Guru Tegh Bahadur observed, "One might become anxious should something unexpected happen. But on the worldly pathway, nothing is stable or permanent".

***

Yet, we live in this world ignoring the transience of life. We want to live it the way our whims dictate. Even the thought of leaving the world in which we have invested our desires, plans and programmes becomes a dread for us.

***

There are cultural nuances that determine the intensity of this apprehension. Someone has said, "Life is for the European a career, for the American a hazard, and for the Indian a holiday". In the Semitic cultures, one's soul after death is believed to wander around in the dark space until the Day of Reckoning. That is a highly despairing and frightening prospect. In oriental cultures that subscribe to the theory of reincarnation, death is at once the beginning of a new life. So the dread is not always as intense.

***

The Sikh view is somewhat different. It holds that at death, the body which is but dust, returns to dust; that which speaks therein is breath and that returns to wind. Then the question arises: "Who, in reality, dies?" Guru Nanak tells us:

....What perish are man's sensorium,

His discords and his ego.

That in him, which observes all, perishes not.

And adds elsewhere:

Don't think, I have died - only the demon within me has. The One who pervades all, does not die...

Guru Arjan Dev, in fact, believes that since atma (the soul is imperishable, no one really dies, no one really can die.

***

No one dies; none is capable of dying...

The soul dies not, it is imperishable.

That what you believe dies, does not even exists.

***

In the Guru's point of view, not only is life a play, even death is a play. Isn't watching a good play until its final drop-scene, simply enjoyable? Should it not be so for life, inclusive of its exit? Where then is room for mourning? Guru Amar Das asks:

***

For whom should we mourn, O Baba? This world is but a play!

The mourner is therefore reminded:

The one who now laments will also arise and depart.

When he himself was about to depart from this world, Guru Amar Das summoned his family and, as reported by his nephew Baba Sunder in his famous "dirge", addressed them in the following words:

***

O my children, siblings and family, reflect in your mind:

The pre-ordained death warrant cannot be avoided, the Guru is going to be with his Lord...

***

And then, the Guru in this own sweet will, sat up and further addressed his kin:

***

Let no one weep for me after I am gone. That would not please me at all.

***

Such a placid departure can be the outcome only of an insight-fully lived life.
***
What, then, is insightfully lived life? Not the one that begun crying, endured complaining and concluded in disappointment. The aim of insightful life is to be aware - joyfully, serenely and divinely. It does not hanker after life.
***
Hankering after life also subsumes hankering after commodities. Isn't that simply a vain aspiration?
***
This weeping is all in vain; the world ignores the Lord, and weeps for maya.
***
Such evils as ostentatiousness, greed, pride, dishonesty and nepotism sprout from hankering after things. This enhances our bondage to worldliness and pushes the chances for our liberation further and further away from us. It is such hankering that also creates restlessness and generates fear of death.
***
Those who do not cling to life and care not for its commodities remain spiritually blissful. They not only live a blessed life, but also earn a blessed death. Guru Nanak said:
***
THE DEATH OF HEROES IS HALLOWED, AND IT IS APPROVED BY GOD.
***
One might ask, who are the heroes referred to here?
***
Guru Amar Das informs us:
He alone is a brave warrior, a hero.
Who conquers and subdues his vicious inner ego.
"Conquering the ego is conquering the whole world", said Guru Nanak. This, then, is the requirement for a heroic spiritual life.
***
We all think man fears death. But, in reality, he fears himself. The remorses and repentances of life haunt him. One who has no remorse, nor any ground for repentance, has no reason to fear death. Death, the most dreaded evil for many, is not so for those who are spiritually illumined. For them it is of little concern.
***
Only right living can prepare us for safe or even joyous dying. Let us, then, be of good cheer about death and know this that no evil can happen to a good man either in life or after death. Death, be assured, is no evil. It is impossible that a thing so natural, so necessary, and so universal should ever have been designed by our Creator as an evil to mankind.
***
Let us conclude with these lines from Karib:

PEOPLE SAY IT IS GOOD TO LIVE FOREVER,,,,, BUT WITHOUT DYING, THERE IS NO LIFE. SO, WHAT WISDOM SHOULD I PREACH? EVERYTHING WORLDLY IS PERISHING RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME....!

Why were the Pyramids built ?

2010-02-21T19:52:00.000+05:30

The Pyramids were built as tombs for the pharaohs of ancient Egypt.

***

The early kings, or pharaohs, were buried in tombs inside roughly built stepped pyramids. The greatest pyramids came later. The largest is that of the pharaoh Khufu (also called Cheops) at Giza. Over two millions blocks of stone were needed, each dragged into place by hundreds of slaves. Inside the burial chamber, the pharaoh's body, preserved as a mummy wrapped is cloth, was buried in a stone tomb. Around him were food, clothes, weapons: everything that he might need in the next world.

How can ice float on water..?

2010-02-21T19:41:00.000+05:30

Ice floats on water because a piece of ice is lighter than the same amount of water. The ice is not very much lighter than the water, so it floats low in the water.

***

When water freezes to ice, the water molecules line up in rows. But as they do so, the molecules move apart slightly. The ice increases in size as it forms and this gives ice a lower density than water, making it float in water.

***

The force between the molecules is very strong, and nothing can resist the expansion that occurs as the ice forms. This is why water pipes sometimes burst in winter. The ice expands and cracks the pipe. Then when the weather gets warmer, the ice melts and water pours from the cracked pipe. It is unusual for liquid to expand on freezing, but it is a good thing that water does so. The layer of ice that may form over lakes and the sea in winter prevents the water beneath from freezing.

The End And The Means... Swamy Vivekananda...

2010-01-25T21:37:00.000+05:30

One of the greatest lessons I have learned in my life is to pay as much attention to the means of work as to its end. He was a great man from whom I learned it, and his own life was a practical demonstration of this great principle. I have been always learning great lessons from that one principle, and it appears to me that all the secrets of success is there: to pay as much attention to the means as to the end.

***

Our great defect in life is that we are so much drawn to the ideal, the goal is so much more enchanting, so much more alluring, so much bigger in our mental horizon, that we lost sight of the details altogether.

***

But whenever failure comes, if we analyze it critically, critically, in ninety-nine per cent of cases we shall find that it was because we did not pay attention to the means. Proper attention to the finishing, strengthening, of the means, is what we need. With the means all right, the end must come. We forget that it is the cause that produces the effect; the effect cannot come by itself; and unless the causes are exact, proper and powerful, the effect will not be produced. Once the ideal is chosen and the means determined, we may almost let go the ideal, because we are sure it will be there, when the means are perfected. When the cause is there, there is no more difficulty about the effect, the effect is bound to come. If we take care of the cause, the effect will take care of itself. The realization of the ideal is the effect. The means are the cause: attention to the means, therefore, is the great secret of life. We also read this in the Gita and learn that we have to work, constantly work, with all our power; to put our whole mind in the work, whatever it be, that we are doing. At the same time, we must not be attached. That is to say, we must not be drawn away from the work by anything else, but still we must be able to quit the work whenever we like.

***

If we examine our own lives, we find that the greatest cause of sorrow is this: we take up something, and put our whole energy on it; - perhaps it is a failure, and yet we cannot give it up. We know that it is hurting us, that any further clinging to it is simply bringing misery on us; still, we cannot tear ourselves away from it. The bee came to sip the honey, but its feet stuck to the honey-pot and it could not get away. Again and again, we are finding ourselves in that state. That is the whole secret of existence. Why are we here? We came here to sip the honey, and we find our hands and feet sticking to it. We are caught, though we came to catch. We came to enjoy; we are being enjoyed. We came to rule; we are being ruled. We came to work; we are being worked. All the time,we find that. And this comes into every detail of our life. We are being worked upon by other minds, and we are always struggling to work on other minds. We want to enjoy the pleasure of life; and they eat into our vitals. We want to get everything from nature, but we find in the long run that nature takes everything from us-depletes us, and casts us aside.

***

That is the one cause of misery: we are attached, we are being caught. Therefore says the Gita: Work constantly; work, but be not attached; be not caught. Reserve unto yourself the power of detaching yourself from everything, however beloved, however much the soul might yearn for it, however great the pangs of misery you feel if you were going to leave it; still, reserve the power of leaving it whenever you want. The weak have no place here, in this life or in any other life. Weakness leads to slavery. Weakness leads to all kinds of misery, physical and mental. Weakness is death. There are hundreds of thousands of microbes surrounding us, but they cannot harm us unless we become weak, until the body is ready and predisposed to receive them. There may be a million microbes of misery, floating about us. Never mind! They dare not approach us, they have no power to get a hold on us, until the mind is weakened. This is the great fact: strength is life, weakness is death. Strength is felicity, life eternal, immortal; weakness is constant strain and misery; weakness is death.

***

Attachment is the source of all our pleasures now. We are attached to our friends, to our relatives; We are attached to our intellectual and spiritual works; we are attached to external objects, so that we get pleasure from them. What, again, brings misery but this very attachment? We have to detach ourselves to earn joy. If only we had power to detach ourselves at will, there would not be any misery. That man alone will be able to get the best of nature, who having the power of attaching himself to a thing with all his energy, has also the power to detach himself when he should do so. The difficulty is that there must be as much power of attachment as that of detachment. There are men who are never attracted by anything. They can never love, they are hard-hearted and apathetic; they escape most of the miseries of life. But the wall never feels misery, the wall never loves, is never hurt; but it is the wall, after all. Surely it is better to be attached and caught, than to be a wall. Therefore the man who never loves, who is hard and stony, escaping most of the miseries of life, escapes also its joys. We do not want that. That is weakness, that is death. That soul has not been weakened that never feels weakness, never feels misery. That is a callous state. We do not want that.

***

At the same time,we not only want this mighty power of love, this mighty power of attachment, the power of throwing our whole soul upon a single object, losing ourselves and letting ourselves be annihilated, as it were, for other souls-which is the power of the gods-but we want to be higher even than gods. The perfect man can put his whole soul upon that one point of love, yet he is unattached. How comes this? There is another secret to learn.

***

The beggar is never happy. The beggar only gets dole, with pity and scorn behind it, at least with the thought behind that the beggar is a low object. He never really enjoys what he gets.

***

We are all beggars. Whatever we do, we want a return. We are all traders. We are traders in life, we are traders in virtue, we are traders in religion. Alas! we are also traders in love.

***

If you come to trade, if it is a question of give-and-take, if it is a question of buy-and-sell, abide by the laws of buying and selling. There is a bad time and there is a good time; there is a rise, and a fall in prices: always you expect the blow to come. It is like looking at the mirror. Your face is reflected; you make a grimace-there is one in the mirror; if you laugh, the mirror laughs. This is buying and selling, giving the taking.

***

We get caught. How? Not by what we give, but by what we expect. We get misery in return of our love; not from the fact that we love, but from the fact that we want love in return. There is no misery where there is no want. Desire, want, is the father of all misery. Desires are bound by the laws of success and failure. Desires must bring misery.

***

The great secret of true success, of true happiness, then, is this: the man who asks for no return, the perfectly unselfish man is the most successful. It seems to be a paradox. Do we not know that every man who is unselfish in life gets cheated, gets hurt? Apparently, yes. "Christ was unselfish, and yet he was crucified." True, but we know that his unselfishness is the reason, the cause of a great victory, the crowning of millions upon millions of lives with the blessing of true success.

***

Ask nothing; want nothing in return. Give what you have to give; it will come to you - but do not think of that now. It will come back multiplied a thousandfold - but the attention must not be one that. Yet have the power to give; give, and there it ends. Learn that the whole of life is giving, that nature will force you to give. So, give willingly. Sooner or later you will have to give up. You come into life to accumulate. With clenched hands, you want to take. But nature puts a hand on your throat and makes your hands open. Whether you will it or not, you have to give. The moment you say, "I will not", the blow comes; you are hurt. None is there but will be compelled, in the long run, to give up everything. And the more one struggles against this law, the more miserable one feels. It is because we dare not give, because we are not resigned enough to accede to this grand demand of nature, that we are miserable. The forest is gone, but we get heat in return. The sun is taking up water from the ocean, to return it in showers. You are a machine for taking and giving; you take in order to give. Ask, therefore, for nothing in return; but the more you give, the more will come to you. The quicker you can empty the air out of this room, the quicker it will be filled up by the external air; and if you close all the doors and every aperture, that which is within will remain, but that which is outside will never come in, and that which is within will stagnate, degenerate, and become poisoned. A river is continually emptying itself into the ocean and is continually filling up again. Bar not the exit into the ocean. The moment you do that, death seizes you.

***

Be, therefore, not a beggar; be unattached. This is the most terrible task of life! You do not calculate the dangers on the path. Even by intellectually recognizing the difficulties, we really do not know them until we feel them. From a distance we may get a general view of a park: well, what of that? We feel and really know it when we are in it. Even if our every attempt is a failure, and we bleed and are torn asunder, yet, through all this, we have to preserve our heart - we must assert our God head in the midst of all these difficulties. Nature wants us to react, to return blow for blow, cheating for cheating, lie for lie, to hit back with all our might. Then it requires a super-divine power not to hit back, to keep control, to be unattached.

***

I know the difficulties. Tremendous they are, and ninety per cent of us become discouraged and lose heart, and in our turn, often becomes pessimists and cease to believe in sincerity, love, and all that is grand and noble. So, we find men who in the freshness of their lives have been forgiving, kind, simple, and guileless, become in old age, lying masks of men. Their minds are a mass of intricacy. There may be a good deal of external policy, possibly. They are not hot-heade, they do not speak; but it would be better for them to do so; their hearts are dead and, therefore, they do not speak. They do not curse, nor become angry; but it would be better for them to be able to be angry, a thousand times better, to be able to curse. They cannot. There is death in the heart, for cold hands have seized upon it, and it can no more act, even to utter a curse, even to use a harsh word.

***

All this we have to avoid : therefore I say, we require super-divine power. Superhuman power is not strong enough. Super-divine strength is the only way, the one way out. By it alone we can pass through all these intricacies, through these showers of miseries, unscathed. We may be cut to pieces, torn asunder, yet our heart must grow nobler and nobler all the time.

***

It is very difficult, but we can overcome the difficulty by constant practice. We must learn that nothing can happen to us, unless we make ourselves susceptible to it. I have just said, no disease can come to me until the body is ready; it does not depend alone on the germs, but upon a certain predisposition which is already in the body. We get only that for which we are fitted. Let us give up our pride and understand this, that never is misery undeserved. There never has been a blow undeserved; there never has been an evil for which I did not pave the way with my own hands. We ought to know that. Analyse yourselves and you will find that every blow you have received came to you because you prepared yourselves for it. You did half and the external world did the other half; that is how the blow came. That will sober us down. At the same time, from this very analysis will come a note of hope, and the note of hope is: "I have no control of the external world, but that which is in me and nearer unto me, my own world, is in my control. If the two together are required to make a failure, if the two together are necessary to give me a blow, I will not contribute the one which is in my keeping and how then can the blow come? If I get real control of myself, the blow will never come."

***

We are all the time, from our childhood, trying to lay the blame upon something outside ourselves. We are always standing up to set right other people, and not ourselves. If we are miserable, we say, "Oh, the world is a devil's world." But why should we be in such a world, if we really are so good? If this is a devil's world, we must be devils also, why else should we be here? "Oh, the people of the world are so selfish!" True enough; but why should we be found in that company, if we be better? Just think of that!

***

We only got what we deserve. It is a lie when we say, the world is bad and we are good. It can never be so. It is a terrible lie we tell ourselves. This is the first lesson to learn: be determined not to curse anything outside, not to lay the blame upon any one outside, but be a man, stand up, lay the blame on yourself. You will find that is always true. Get hold of yourself.

***

We re to take care of ourselves-that much we can do-and give up attending to others, for a time. Let us perfect the means; the end will take care of itself. For the world can be good and pure, only if our lives are good and pure. It is an effect, and we are the means. Therefore, let us purity ourselves. Let us make ourselves perfect.........

Mind is an action that can be stoppped... PARAMAHAMSA NITYANANDA

2010-01-25T19:42:00.000+05:30

A simple and straight understanding is: mind is not an object, it is an action. People ask me, 'How to stop the mind? How to go beyond the mind? ' I can say that this is a Frequently Asked Question - FAQ!

***

I tell them, mind is not a thing to be fought with. It is not a thing to destroy it. It is an action.

***

Just imagine that you are walking. If you don't want to walk, what do you do? You just sit. Let us say you are talking. If you don't want to talk, what do you do? You become silent.

***

In the same way, mind also is an action. If you don't want to think, don't think, that's all! But our mind says, 'No, I have tried many things. I have tried many times. It comes back again.

***

Just think: it is you who's doing it. Is there anybody else doing it inside? No. And it is a simple action. So when you don't want it, just stop, that's all!

***

If you say that you have tried and that after some time it comes back, it means you wanted it to start again. That is why it started. If you understand to start it again, you will take responsibility for your decisions and take the right decision - to stop it. Let us take the whole responsibility upon us.

***

Understand: the mind is just one portion of your brain. Most often we think our mind is bigger than our brain. With your leg you can do many things. Walking is one action of your leg. You can kick or play or also run with your leg. In the same way, thinking is just one action of your brain. Mind is just one action of your brain.

***

Even when you are silent your whole body is functioning. It means that the mind is only one part of your brain! Even without the mind, the brain is able to operate your day-to-day life. The brain is able to keep you alive.

***

Living your life without having what you call as 'mind', is what I call Living Enlightenment! That is the essence. If your mind is a part of your brain and you have the courage and clarity to switch it off at your will, then it is your slave; it is under your control. If it is otherwise, if it is an industry, then please understand that you are a slave to it. Be Blissful! .............. PARAMAHAMSA NITYANANDA.....www.nityananda.org

Education and Women... Swamy Vivekananda...

2010-01-18T07:09:00.002+05:30

It is very difficult to understand why in this country so much difference is made between men and women, whereas the Vedanta declares that one and the same Self is present in all beings. Writing down Smritis etc., and binding them by hard rules, the men have turned the women into mere manufacturing machines. In the period of degradation, when the priests made the other castes in competent to study the Vedas, they deprived the women also of all their rights. You will find in the Vedic and Upanishadic age Maitreyi, Gargi and other ladies of revered memory have taken the place of Rishis. In an assembly of a thousand Brahmanas who were all erudite in the Vedas, Gargi boldly challenged Yajnavalkya in a discussion about Brahman.

***

All nations have attained greatness by paying proper respect to women. That country and that nation which do not respect women have never become great, nor will ever be in future. The real Shakti-worshipper is he who knows that God is the Omnipresent force in the universe, and see in women the manifestation of that force. In America men look upon their women in this light and treat their women as well as can be desired, and hence they are so prosperous, so learned, so free and so energetic. The principal reason why our race has so degenerated in that we had no respect for these living images of Shakti, Manu says, 'Where women are respected, there the Gods delight, and where they are not, there all work and effort come to naught." There is no hope of rise for that family or country where they live in sadness.

***

Women have many and grave problems, but none that cannot be solved by that magic word: education. What does our Manu enjoin? 'Daughters should be supported and educated with as much care and attention as the sons.' As sons should be married after observing Brahmacharya up to the thirtieth year, so daughters also should observe Brahmacharya and be educated by their parents. But what are we actually doing? They have all the time been trained in helplessness and servile dependence on others; and so they are good only to weep their eyes out at the approach of the slightest mishap or danger. Women must be put in a position to solve their own problems in their own way. Our Indian women are as capable of doing it as any in the world.

***

Female education should be spread with religion as its centre. All other training should be secondary to religion. Religious training, the formation of character and observance of the vows of celibacy-these should be attended to. Our Hindu women easily understand what chastity means, because it is their heritage. First of all intensify that ideal within them above everything else, so that they may develop a strong character by the force of which,, in every stage of their lives, whether married or single-if they prefer to remain so-they will not be in the least afraid even to give up their lives rather than flinch an inch from their chastity.

***

The women of India must grow and develop in the footprints of Sita. Sita is unique. She is the very type of the true Indian woman, for all the Indian ideals of a perfected woman have grown out of that one life of Sita. And here she stands these thousands of years, commanding the worship of every man, woman and child throughout the length and breadth of Aryavarta. There she will always be, this glorious Sita, purer than purity itself, all patience, and all suffering. She who suffered that life of suffering without a murmur, she the ever chaste and ever pure wife, she the ideal of the people, our national God she must always remain. She has gone into the very vitals of our race. Any attempt to modernise our women, if it tries to take our women away from that ideal of Sita, is immediately a failure as we see every day.

***

Studying the present needs of the age, it seems imperative to train some of them up in the ideals of renunciation, so that they will take up the vow of life-long virginity, fired with the strength of that virtue of chastity which is innate in their blood from hoary antiquity. Our motherland requires for her well-being some of her children to become pure-souled Brahmacharins and Brahmachirinis. Even if one amongst the women became a knower of Brahman, then by the radiance of her personality, thousands of women would be inspired and awakened to Truth, and great well-being of the country and society would ensue.

***

Brahmacharinis of education and character should take up the task of teaching. In villages and towns they must open centres and strive for the spread of female education. Through such bevout preachers of character, there will be the real spread of female education in the country. History and puranas, house-keeping and the arts, the duties of home life and the principles that make for the development of character have to be taught. Other matters such as sewing, culinary art, rules of domestic work and upbringing of children will also taught. Japa, worship and meditation shall form an indispensable part of the teaching. Along with other things they should acquire the spirit of valour and heroism. In the present day it has become necessary for them also the learn self-defence-how grand was the Queen of Jhansi! So shall we bring to the need of India great fearless women-women worthy to continue the traditions of Sanghamittra, Lila, Ahalya Bai, and Mira Bai-women fit to be mothers of heroes, because they are pure and fearless strong with the strength that comes of touching the feet of God. We must see to their growing up as ideal matrons of home in time. The children of such mothers will make further progress in the virtues that distinguish themselves. It is only in the homes of educated and pious mothers that great men are born.

***

If the women are reaised, their children will by their noble actions glorify the name of the country; then will culture, knowledge, power and devotion awaken in the country..........

Religious Education... Swamy Vivekananda...

2010-01-17T14:42:00.000+05:30

Religion is the innermost core of education. I do not mean my own or any one else's opinion about religion. The true eternal principles have to be held before the people. First of all we have to introduce the worship of the great saints. Those great-souled ones who have realised the eternal truths are to be presented before the people as the ideals to be followed - Sri Ramachandra, Sri Krishna, Mahavira, Sri Ramakrishna and others. Keep aside for the present the Vrindavan aspect of Sri Krishna and spread far and wide the worship of Sri Krishna roaring out the Gita with the voice of a lion, and bring into daily use the worship of Shankti - the Divine Mother, the source of all power. We now mostly need the ideal of the hero with the tremendous spirit of Rajas thrilling through his veins from head to foot-the hero who will dare and die to know the truth, the hero whose armour is renunciation, whose sword is wisdom. We now want the spirit of the brave warrior in the battle-field.

***

Make the character of Mahavira your ideal. At the command of Ramachandra he crossed the ocean! He had no care for life or death. He was a perfect master of the senses and wonderfully sagacious. Build your life on this great ideal of personal service. Through that ideal all the other ideas will gradually manifest themselves in life. Obedience to the Guru without questioning and strict observance of Brahmacharya-this is the secret of success. As on the one hand Hanuman represents the ideal of service, so on the other he represents leonine courage, stroking the world with awe. He has not the least hesitation in sacrificing his life for the good of Rama. A supreme indifference to everything except the service of Rama. Only the carrying out of Sri Rama's behest is the one vow of his life. Such whole-hearted devotion is wanted.

***

At the present time the worship of the divine play of Sri Krishna with the Gopis is not good. Playing on the flute and so on will not regenerate the country. Playing on the khol and kartal and dancing in the frenzy of the kirtana has degenerated the whole people. In trying to imitate the highest sadhana, the preliminary qualification for which is absolute purity, they have been swallowed in dire tamas. Are not drums made in the country? Are not trumpets and kettle-drums available in India? Make the boys hear the deep-toned sound of these instruments. Hearing from boyhood the sound of effeminate forms of music, the country is well-nigh converted into a country of women. The damaru and horn have to be sounded, drums are to be beaten so as to raise the deep and martial notes, and with 'Mahavira, Mahavira' on our lips and shouting 'Hara, Hara, Vyom, Vyom', the quarters are to be reverberated. The music which awakens only the softer feelings of man is to be stopped now for some time. The people are to be accustomed to hear the Dhrupad music.

***

Through the thunder roll of the dignified Vedic hymns life is to be brought back into the country. In everything the austere spirit of heroic manhood should be revived. If you can build your character after such an ideal then a thousand others will follow. But take care that you do not swerve an inch from the ideal. Never lose heart. In eating, dressing or lying, in singing or playing, in enjoyment or disease, always manifest the highest moral courage. Never allow weakness to overtake your mind. Remember Mahavira, remember the Divine Mother, and you will see that all weaknes, all cowardice will vanish at once.

***

The old religions said that he was an atheist who did not believe in God. The new religion says that he is the atheist who does not believe in himself. But it is not selfish faith. It means faith in all because you are all. Love for yourself means love for all, love for animals, love for everything, for you are all one. It is the great faith which will make the world better. The ideal of faith in ourselves is of the greatest help to us. If faith in ourselves had been more extensively taught and practised, I am sure a very large portion of the evils and miseries that we have would have vanished. Throughout the history of mankind if any motive power has been more potent than another in the lives of great men and women, it is that faith in themselves. Born with the consciousness that they were to be great, they became great.

***

Infinite strength is religion. Strength is goodness, weakness is sin. All sins and all evil can be summed up in that one word: weakness. It is weakness that is the motive power in all evil-doing. It is weakness that is the source of all selfishness. It is weakness that makes man injure others. Let them all know what they are, let them repeat day and night what they are: 'So'ham'. Let them suck it in with their mother's milk, this idea of strength-I am he! This is to be first heard; and then let them think of it; and out of that thought will proceed works such as the world has never seen.

***

Tell the truth boldly. All truth is eternal. Truth is the nature of all souls. And here is the test of truth: anything that makes you weak physically, intellectually and spiritually, reject as poison. There is no life in it, it cannot be true. Truth is strengthening. Truth is purity, truth is all knowledge. Truth must be strengthening, must be enlightening, must be invigorating. Go back to your Upanishads, the shining, the strengthening, the bright philosophy. Take up this philosophy. The greatest truths are the simplest things in the world, simple as your own existence. The truths of the Upanishads are before you. Take them up, live up to them and the salvation of India will be at hand.

***

Physical weakness is the cause of at least one-third of our miseries. We are lazy; we cannot combine. We speak of many things parrot-like but never do them. Speaking and not doing has become a habit with us. What is the cause? Physical weakness. This sort of weak brain is not able to do anything. We must strengthen it. First of all our young men must be strong. Religion will come afterwards. Be strong, my young friends, that is my advice to you. You will be nearer to Heaven through football than through the study of the Gita. You will understand Gita better with your biceps, your muscles, a little stronger. You will understand the mighty genius and the mighty strength of Krishna better with a little strong blood in you. You will understand the Upanishads better and the glory of the Atman, when your feet and you feel yourselves as men.

***

Strength, strength is what the Upanishads speak to me from every page. It is the only literature in the world, where you find the word "Abhih", 'Fearless', used again and again. In no other scripture in the world is this adjective applied either to God or man. And in my mind rises from the past the vision of the great emperor of the West, Alexander the Great, and I see as it were in a picture the great monarch standing on the banks of the Indus, talking to one of our sannyasins in the forest: the old man he was talking to, perhaps naked, stark naked, sitting upon a block of stone, and the Emperor astonished at his wisdom, tempting him with gold and honour, to come over the Greece. And this man smiles at his gold and smiles at his temptations, and refuses. And then the emperor standing in his authority as Emperor says, 'I will kill you if you do not come', and the man bursts into a laugh, and says, 'You never told such a falsehood in your life as you tell just now. Who can kill me? For I am spirit unborn and undecaying.' That is strength!...

***

There are thousands to weaken us, and of stories we have had enough. Therefore, my friends, as one of your blood, as one that lives and dies with you, let me tell you that we want strength, strength, every time strength. And the Upanishads are the great mines of strength. There in lies strength enough to invigorate the whole world. The whole world can be vivified, made strong, energised through them. They will call with trumpet voice upon the weak, the miserable and the down-trodden of all races, all creeds and all sects to stand on their feet and be free. Freedom, physical freedom, mental freedom and spiritual freedom are the watchwords of the Upanishads.

***

But no scriptures can make us religious. We may study all the books that are in the world, yet we may not understand a word of religion or of God. We may talk and reason all our lives, but we shall not understand a word of truth until we experience it ourselves. You cannot hope to make a man a surgeon by simply giving him a few books. You cannot satisfy my curiosity to see a country by showing me a map. Maps can only create curiosity in us to get more perfect knowledge. Beyond that they have no value whatever. Temples and churches, books and forms are simply the kindergarten of religion, to make the spiritual child strong enough to take the higher steps. Religion is not in doctrines or dogmas, nor in intellectual argumentation. It is being and becoming. It is realisation.

***

We may be the most intellectual people the world ever saw and yet we may not come to God at all. On the other hand, irreligious men have been produced from the most intellectual training. It is one of the evils of western civilization-intellectual education alone without taking care of the heart. It only makes men ten times more selfish. When heart be followed. It is the heart which takes one to the highest plane, which intellect can never reach. It goes beyond the intellect and reaches what is called inspiration. Always cultivate the heart. Through the heart the Lord speaks.

***

The intensest love that humanity has ever known has come from religion. The noblest words of peace that the world has ever heard have come from men of the religious plane. At the same time the bitterest denunciation that the world has ever known has been uttered by religious men. Each religion brings out its own doctrines and insists upon them as being the only true ones. Some will even draw the sword to compel others to believe as they do. This is not through wickedness, but through a particular disease of the human mind called fanaticism. Yet out of this strife and struggle, this hatred and jealousy of religions and sects, there have risen from time to time potent voices proclaiming peace and harmony.

***

The time was ripe for one to be born who would see in every sect the same spirit working: the same God: one who would see God in every being, one whose heart would weep for the poor, for the weak, for the downtrodden, and at the same time whose grand brilliant intellect would harmonise all conflicting sects not only in India but also outside India; and bring a marvellous harmony, the universal religion, into existence. Such a man was born and I had the good fortune to sit at his feet for years. I learned from my Master the wonderful truth that the religions of the world are not contradictory of antagonistic. They are but various phases of one eternal religion. Sri Ramakrishna never spoke a harsh word against anyone. So beautifully tolerant was he that every sect thought that he belonged to it. He loved every one; to him all religions were true. His whole life was spent in breaking down the barriers of sectarianism and dogma.

***

Let our watchword then be acceptance and not exclusion. Not only toleration, for so-called toleration is often blasphemy. Toleration means that I think that you are wrong and I am just allowing you to live. Is it not blasphemy to think that you and I are allowing others to live? I accept all religions that were in the past and worship them all. I worship God with every one of them, in whatever form they worship Him. I shall go to the mosque of the Mohammedan; I shall enter the Christian's church and kneel before the crucifix. I shall enter the Buddhistic temple, where I shall take refuge in Buddha and in his Law. I shall go into the forest and sit down in meditation with the Hindu, who is trying to see the Light which enlightens the heart of everyone.

***

Not only shall I do all these but I shall keep my heart open for all that may come in the future. Is God's book finished? Or is it still a continuous revelation going on? It is a marvellous book-these spiritual revelations of the world. The Bible, the Vedas, the Koran and all other sacred books are but so many pages, and an infinite number of pages remain yet to be unfolded. Let us take in all that has been in the past, enjoy the light of the present and open every window of the heart for all that will come in the future. Salutation to all the prophets of the past, to all the great ones of the present and to all that are to come in the future...........!!!!!!

What is meant by liberalisation of the Indian Economy...?

2010-01-15T18:23:00.000+05:30

Liberalisation of the economy forms one of the pillars of the New Economic Policy announced by the government in 1991-92. Liberalisation means freeing the economy from direct or physical controls imposed by the government such as industrial licensing, price and distribution controls on products, import licensing, foreign exchange control, control of capital issues by companies (i.e. collection of funds by sale of their shares and debentures, or funds), direct control of credit (laying down the limit on credit that the financial institutions might grant), restriction on investment by large business houses, and the like, so that development and operation of the economy is increasingly guided by the freely operating market forces. The new economic policy was built on the assumption that too many government controls gave room for widespread corruption and retarded the growth of the economy. Accordingly, India has been consistently trying since 1991-92 not only to liberalise its economy but to integrate it with world economy (globalisation).

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What is deep freezing...?

2010-01-15T18:12:00.000+05:30

Deep Freezing is a method of preserving food by lowering its temperature to 18 degree centigrade or below. It stops almost all spoilage processes, although there may be some residual enzyme activity in uncooked vegetables, which is why these are blanched (dipped in hot water to destroy the enzymes) before freezing. Micro-organisms cannot grow or divide while frozen, but most remain alive and can resume activity once defrosted. Commercial techniques freeze foods rapidly in order to prevent the growth of large ice crystals which would damage the food tissue on thawing.

When were the Present Continents Formed...?

2010-01-15T18:02:00.000+05:30

At the very time when oil was beginning to form, an enormous shift took place in the Earth's crust, which slowly resulted in the formation of the present continents.

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Numerous studies, even in recent years, confirm the theory that the great continental mass pushed out of the sea in the earlier periods and then split apart into several pieces which drifted about the Earth for hundreds of millions of years. Finally, between the middle of Cretaceous and early Tertiary Periods (100 million to 50 million years ago) these pieces split up again to form land masses recognisable in form to the continents of today. These sections are still drifting apart.
***
This interesting suggestion, first put forward by the German meteorologist, Alfred Wegener (1880-1930), is known as the theory of 'continental drift'. Wegener, who was also a daring explorer and experience geologist, published his ideas in a book printed in 1912. It naturally created a great stir in scientific circles, which soon split into two groups, one of his supporters and one of his opponents. They are both eager to prove or disprove his theory.
***
In a few words, wegener's idea was as follows: in dim, distant times the continental masses were joined together in a single block (or shield), which Wegener called Pangaea. The rest of the Earth was covered by a primeval mass of water, the Pantalaxia.
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During the Eocene Period, about 50 million years ago, a slow but steady movement then began. The Pangaea cracked and, pulled apart by the rotating movement of the Earth, the bits began to drift away from each other as if they were floating on a heavier, more elastic base.
***
According to Wegener, it was because of this shifting that the folds occurred in the Earth's crust which lifted up the loftiest mountain chains still existing in the world today.
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HIV - 'RESERVOIR' FOUND IN BRAIN...ANI

2010-01-11T07:39:00.000+05:30

Aussie scientists have discovered that the brain also acts as a key "reservoir" for HIV, a finding that may be a serious threat to the search for a way to eradicate the virus from the body. While scientists are using antiretroviral drugs to get rid of HIV altogether, they are finding it difficult to perfect techniques to kill off infected cells in the known reservoirs for HIV in the body.

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Melbourne-based Dr. Melissa Churchill said that HIV was known to hide out in the thymus and lymph tissues, the gut, spleen, testes, bone marrow, but they have recently found that it also resides in astrocyte cells in the brain.

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"The astrocytes are basically the support cells - they mop up toxins released from other cells and maintain a really nice environment for the neurons to function," quoted Churchill as saying of the vital role played by these cells for congnition.

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"Previously, People weren't sure if we have to actually consider it as a genuine viral reservoir, but it is," she added.

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Churchill and an international team of researchers used latest in high-powered microscopes to examine brain tissue from HIV-Positive people to gauge the presence of the virus in these astrocyte cells.

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She said that it was believed that the virus had about a "One per cent" presence, but the research showed it was up to 19 percent and "very significant".

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In her opinion, the discovery poses several new challenges for scientists now progressing the work of finding ways to eradicate HIV from the body.

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"One of the issues of the brain as a reservoir is that it's quite inaccessible to the immune system and to anti-retrovirals," Churchill said.....Deccan Chronicle Article by ANI

Marry For Happiness, Not Misery... ......

2010-01-10T22:27:00.002+05:30

Girls continue to suffer in a bad marriage because parents don't support them. In such cases they must fall back on their qualifications and be truly independent.....

Most Indian parents, even the urban ones, appear to be suffering from an acute case of divorce phobia. It's terrifying to see them brainwash their unhappily married daughters to adjust and compromise to a life of hell, boredom or indifference. This disturbing trend of not wanting to support their child when she wants to walk out of an unhappy marriage, is everywhere. No matter how modern and liberated everyone claims to be, divorce is viewed as the ultimate failure in life which makes every other achievement seem insignificant.

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Why is it that parents who bring their child up with no gender bias, instill the need to study well, be outgoing and independent suddenly act all 18th century when she wants to end a bad marriage? Sociologist GK Karanth says modern parents are at cross-roads. "They bring up their daughters to be smart and well-educated because deep down they want her to grow up and marry well, as these qualifications will be a prerequisite for certain matrimonial alliances." But when she is growing up it is never instilled in her that marriage and not career or financial independence is the true goal. Karanth also feels the modern man wants an intelligent wife who is smart, modern and progressive, but still wants her to be mild, submissive and "yes, yes sir, three bags full" variety. His mind is ambiguous about what he truly wants. This is where problems crop up as roles, expectations and fulfillment clash.

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Parents refuse to accept that problems can't be fixed and coerce the wife to endure a bit more torture, saying all marriages face rough weather.

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When a well educated, pregnant girl in her late 20s complained to her father that her husband was being both physically and verbally abusive, he told her every would be fine once the baby came along!

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Another mother thought her child was being ridiculous when she wanted to leave her cheating husband. "Men are like that, as long as he comes home to you and is being nice, how does it matter?"

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Yes, today's independent girl doesn't really need parental support as she can get herself a job and be financially independent, but at such a vulnerable and difficult time she does need someone to hold her hand and tell her that she's not alone. This is where parents are failing.

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Even if the couple is simply incompatible and the girl is miserable parents don't want the D word mentioned.

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India is still considered to be a patriarchal society and a divorced girl is looked upon secretly as a failure by most. Vineeta Shah, an emotional consultant says, "Divorce is stigma, even if parents are supportive they are viewed as a "fast" family with no values." Shah says it is imbibed in a girl that she has to adjust, you don't always get everything, you need to give in more....

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The poor girl is so confused that it takes a lot of strength and soul searching to say, "I will manage without anyone's help." If things get really bad, parents are there but they are reluctant to stand by their daughter.

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If minor changes and adjustments make the relationship work, go for it. But if dialogue, communication and small compromises don't work then the relationship is not going to work, says Shah. That's when women need to realise that now is the time to show how independent they can be without a husband or parents to hold their hands..........

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Sun Dried Wonders... Taste It...MEALANIE ANDRADE....

2010-01-10T18:37:00.000+05:30

Sun-dried tomatoes are an acquired taste but once you get used to the intense flavour you will be hooked. Just a handful of sun dried tomatoes goes adds a more complex taste and they can be used in a variety of wonderful ways.

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Sun-dried tomatoes can be bought in jars, packed in olive oil. These just have to be drained (use oil for salad dressing or stir-fries) before using. If you buy them in a packet, they need to be reconstituted before use. Soak them in hot water for half an hour. Drain the water (use this for stocks and pasta sauces), and use. Once reconstituted, they need to be consumed within a few days. If they are in oil, they can be refrigerated for two weeks after opening.

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Here are two easy recipes to get you started.

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Sun-dried Tomato Hummus
INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cup boiled chickpeas

1/2 tsp chopped garlic

3 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp readymade tahini

1/4 tsp salt

Olive Oil

A handful of chopped sun-dried tomatoes

Chilli flakes, a pinch Parsley, chopped finely

METHOD

Place boiled chickpeas in a mixer and blend till smooth. Add crushed garlic, tahini, salt and lemon juice. Remove and keep aside.

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Take chopped, sun-dried tomatoes and place in mixer with one tbsp of olive oil.

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Blend till a smooth pesto forms. Place hummus in a bowl with the sun dried tomato pesto carefully landled on top of it. Swirl it around but do not mix it completely. Drizzle with olive oil and garnish with chopped parsley for colour.

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Chicken with Sun-dried Tomatoes

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil

4 boneless chicken breasts, halved

Freshly ground black pepper

10 sun-dried tomatoes, drained

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 zucchini, finely sliced

1 cup of broccoli florets

1 1/2 cups of chicken stock

1 tsp oregano

1 1/2 tsp cornflour

1/4 tsp chilli flakes

1/4 cup cream

Pasta to serve

Grated Parmesan

METHOD

Cut Chicken into cubes, sprinkle with pepper. Saute chicken in olive oil for five minutes. Keep aside. Heat more oil and fry onions till soft. Add the garlic, zucchini, and broccoli. Add half the chicken stock and let it simmer for fiver minutes. Mix the remaining stock with the oregano and cornflour. Add chicken and chilli flakes and cook till sauce is thick. Lower the flame and slowly add the cream. Blend well. Season to taste and top with grated Parmesan. Serve with pasta of your choice....

Cool The Planet PLANT A TREE.. M. Sonalee

2010-01-10T18:12:00.000+05:30

Planting trees has often been the first line of defence against global warming. Trees, after all, cool the atmosphere by drinking in the carbon dioxide from the air. Scientists say that trees absorb and store the key greenhouse gases emitted by cars and power plants. All plants absorb carbon dioxide but trees process significantly more than smaller plants do, due to their large size and extensive and root structures.

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Says environmentalist Subhas Datta, "In essence, trees are like the kings of the plant world. They have much more "woody biomass" to store carbon dioxide than smaller plants." Subsequently, they are considered nature's most efficient carbon sinks.

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According to Datta, certain trees are better absorbents of carbon dioxide than others. "There 'carbon traps' usually grow quickly and live long," says Datta. Unfortunately, both qualities cannot be found together in foliage. Normally younger trees grow faster but their older partners are better absorbents.

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It has been found that trees that grow slower can store much more carbon over their significantly longer lives. A study shows that tropical, evergreen forests are better at tackling global warming. According to a study by Dr Govindasamy Bala of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, evergreens like confers and red cedar, "cut down on emissions and help keep the planet cool." Dr Bala also observes that the further a person moves away from the equator these gains are eroded. According to researchers, planting trees in mid and high latitude locations do not have similar effects. In fact, on the contrary they could increase temperatures by 2100.

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Therefore, you need to plant the right tree at the right location to avail of the benefits of carbon sequestration. If one takes the US into consideration, each specific region will have a tree that is the best absorbent in that region. For instance, in Hawaii, it is the eucalyptus; loblolly pine acts best as an absorbent in the Southeast while poplars are best in the Great Lakes.

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Stan Wullschleger, who is a researcher at Tennessee's Oak Ridge National Laboratory specialising in the physiological response of plants to global climate change, observes that there are dozens of tree species that could be planted depending on location, soil and climate.

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It is prudent to remember that ultimately a tree of any shape, size or genetic origin can help absorb carbon dioxide. "The least expensive option is to plant a tree in your garden (if you have one) as it will help offset the production of carbon dioxide," suggests Datta.

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Trees that are low maintenance are the best absorbents. This has been pointed out by Dave Nowak, a researcher at the US Forest Service's Northern Research Station in Syracuse, New York. While studying the use of trees for carbon sequestration in 2002, he discovered that trees like the common horse-chestnut, black walnut, London plane, American Sweetgum, Douglas fir, ponderosa pine, red pine, white pine, hispaniolan pine, scarlet oak, red oak, Virginia live oak and bald cypress are very good at absorbing and storing carbon dioxide. In his research paper, Nowak advises urban land developers to avoid trees that require a lot of maintenance, as the burning of fossil fuels to power equipment like trucks and chainsaws will only erase the carbon absorption gains otherwise made.

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So, if you want to tackle global warming, all that you need to do is to plant a neem tree in your garden or anywhere in the vicinity! Simple, isn't is?

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Work Like A Master.... Swamy Vivekananda...

2010-01-08T00:06:00.001+05:30

We read in the Bhagavad-Gita again and again that we must all work incessantly. All work is by nature composed of good and evil. We cannot do any work which will not do some good somewhere; there cannot be any work which will not do some harm somewhere. Every work must necessarily by a mixture of good and evil; yet we are commanded to work incessantly. Good and evil will both have their result, will produce their Karma. Good action will entail upon us good effect; bad action, bad. But good and bad are both bondages of the soul. The solution reached in the Gita in regard to this bondage-producing nature of work is that, if we do not attach ourselves to the work we do, it will not have any binding effect on our soul. We shall try to understand what is meant by this "non-attachment" to work.

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As the tortoise trucks its feet and head inside the shell, and you may kill it and break it in pieces, and yet it will not come out, even so the character of that man who has control over his motives and organs is unchangeably established. He controls his own inner forces, and nothing can draw them out against his will. By this continuous reflex of good thoughts, good impressions moving over the surface of the mind, the tendency for doing good becomes strong, and as the result we feel able to control the Indriyas ( the sense-organs, the nerve-centres). Thus alone will character be established, then alone a man gets to truth. Such a man is safe for ever; he cannot do any evil. You may place him in any company, there will be no danger for him. There is a still higher state than having this good tendency, and that is the desire for liberation. You must remember that freedom of the soul is the goal of all Yogas, and each one equally leads to the same result. By work alone men may get to where Buddha got largely by meditation or Christ by prayer. Buddha was a working Jnani, Christ was a Bhakta, but the same goal was reached by both of them. The bad tendencies are to be counteracted by the good ones, and the bad impressions on the mind should be removed by the fresh waves of good ones, until all that is evil almost disappears, or is subdued and held in control in a corner of the mind; but after that, the good tendencies have also to be conquered. Thus the "attached" becomes the "unattached". Work, but let not the action or the thought produce a deep impression on the mind. Let the ripples come and go, let huge actions proceed from the muscles and the brain, but let them not make any deep impression on the soul.

***

How can this be done? We see that the impression of any action to which we attach ourselves, remains. I may meet hundreds of persons during the day, and among them meet also one whom I love; and when I retire at night I may try to thin of all the faces I saw, but only that face comes before the mind-the face which I met perhaps only for one minute, and which I loved; all the others have vanished. My attachment to this particular person caused a deeper impression on my mind than all the other faces. Physiologically, the impressions have all been the same; every one of the faces that I saw pictured itself on the retina, and the brain took the pictures in, and yet there was no similarity of effect upon the mind. Most of the faces, perhaps were entirely new faces, about which I had never thought before, but that one face of which I got only a glimpse found associations inside. Perhaps I had pictured him in my mind for years, knew hundreds of things about him, and this one new vision of him awakened hundreds of sleeping memories in my mind and this one impression having been repeated perhaps a hundred times more than those of the different faces together, will produce a great effect on the mind.

***

The whole gist of this teaching is that you should work like a master and not as a slave; work incessantly, but do not do slave's work. Do you not see how everybody works? Nobody can be altogether at rest; ninety-nine per cent of mankind work like slaves, and the result is misery; it is all selfish work. Work through freedom! Work through love! The word "love" is very difficult to understand; love never comes until there is freedom. There is no true love possible in the slave. If you buy a slave and tie him down in chains and make him work for you, he will work like a drudge, but there will be no love in him. So when we ourselves work for the things of the world as slaves, there can be no love in us, and our work is not true work. This is true of work done for relatives and friends, and is true of work done for our own selves. Selfish work is slave's work; and there is a test. Every act of love brings happiness; there is no act of love which does not bring peace and blessedness as its reaction. Real existence, real knowledge, and real love are eternally connected with one another, the three in one; where one of them is, the others also must be; they are the three aspects of the One without a second-the Existence-Knowledge-Bliss. When that existence becomes relative, we see it as the world; that knowledge becomes relative, we see it as the world; that knowledge becomes in its turn modified into the knowledge of the things of the world; and that bliss forms the foundation of all true love known to the heart of man. Therefore true love can never react so as to cause pain either to the lover or to the beloved. Suppose a man loves a woman; he wishes to have her all to himself and feels extremely jealous about her every movement; he wants her to sit near him, to stand near him, and to eat and move at his bidding. He is a slave to her and wishes to have her as his slave. That is not love; it is a kind of morbid affection of the slave, insinuating itself as love. It cannot be love, because it is painful; if she does not do what he wants it brings him pain. With love there is no painful reaction; love only brings a reaction of bliss; if it does not, it is not love. when you have succeeded in loving your husband, your wife, your children, the whole world, the universe, in such a manner that there is no reaction of pain or jealousy, no selfish feeling, then you are in a fit state to be unattached.

***

Do you ask anything from your children in return for what you have given them? It is your duty to work for them, and there the matter ends. In whatever you do for a particular person, a city, or a state, assume the same attitude towards it as you have towards your children-expect nothing in return. If you can invariably take the position of a giver, in which everything given by you is a free offering to the world, without any thought of return, then will your work bring you no attachment. Attachment comes only where we expect a return.

***

If working like slaves results in selfishness and attachment, working as masters of our own mind gives rise to the bliss of non-attachment. We often talk of right and justice, but we find that in the world right and justice are mere baby's talk. There are two things which guide the conduct of men: might and mercy. The exercise of might is invariably the exercise of selfishness. All men and women try to make the most of whatever power or advantage they have. Mercy is heaven itself; to be good, we have all to be merciful. Even justice and right should stand on mercy. Al thought of obtaining return for the work we do hinders our spiritual progress; nay, in the end it brings misery. There is another way in which this idea of mercy and selfless charity can be put into practice; that is, by looking upon work as "worship" in case we believe in a Personal God. Here we give up all fruits of our work unto the Lord, and, worshipping Him thus, we have no right to expect anything from mankind for the work we do. The Lord Himself works incessantly and is ever without attachment. Just as water cannot wet the lotus leaf, so work cannot bind the unselfish man by giving rise to attachment to results. The selfless and unattached man may live in the very heart of a crowded and sinful city; he will not be touched by sin.

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This idea of complete self-sacrifice is illustrated in the following story:-

After the battle of Kurukshetra the five Pandava brothers performed a great sacrifice and made very large gifts to the poor. All people expressed amazement at the greatness and richness of the sacrifice, and said that such a sacrifice the world had never seen before. But, after the ceremony, there came a little mongoose, half of whose body was golden, and the other half brown, and he began to roll on the floor of the sacrificial hall. He said to those around, "You are all liars; this is not sacrifice." "What!" they exclaimed, "You say this is no sacrifice; do you not know how money and jewels were poured out to the poor and every one became rich and happy? This was the most wonderful sacrifice any man ever performed." But the mongoose said: "There was once a little village, and in it there dwelt a poor Brahmin, with his wife, his son and his son's wife. They were very poor and lived on small gifts made to them for preaching and teaching. There came in that land a three year's famine, and the poor Brahmin suffered more than ever. At last when the family had starved for days, the father brought home on morning a little barely flour, which he had been fortunate enough to obtain, and he divided it into four parts, one for each member of the family. They prepared it for their meal, and just as they were about to eat there was a knock at the door. The father opened it, and there stood a guest. Now, in India, a guest is a sacred person; he is as a god for the time being, and must be treated as such. So the poor Brahmin said, "Come in, sir; you are welcome." He set before the guest his own portion of the food, which the guest quickly ate and said, 'Oh, sir, you have killed me; I have been starving for ten days, and this little bit has but increased my hunger.' Then the wife said to her husband, 'Give him my share,' but the husband said, 'Not so." The wife however insisted, saying, 'Here is a poor man, and it is our duty as a wife to give him my portion, seeing that you have no more to offer him.' Then she gave her share to the guest, which he ate, and said he was still burning with hunger. So the son said, 'Take my portion also; it is the duty of a son to help his father to fulfil his obligations.' The guest ate that, but remained still unsatisfied; so the son's wife gave him her portion also. That was sufficient, and the guest departed blessing them. That night those four people died of starvation. A few granules of that flour had fallen on the floor, and when I rolled my body on them half of it became golden, as you see. Since then I have been travelling all over the world, hoping to find another sacrifice like that, but nowhere have I found one; nowhere else has the other half of my body been turned into gold. That is why I say this is no sacrifice.

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This idea of charity is going out of India; great men are becoming fewer and fewer.

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Now you see what is Karma-Yoga means; even at the point of death to help any one, without asking questions. Be cheated millions of times and never ask a question, and never think of what you are doing. Never vaunt your gifts to the poor or expect their gratitude, but rather be greateful to them for giving you the occasion of practising charity to them....................

The Teacher And The Taught...Swamy Vivekananda...

2010-01-07T23:11:00.002+05:30

My idea of education is Gurugraha-vasa. Without the personal life of the teacher, there would be no education. One should live from his very boyhood with one whose character is a blazing fire and should have before him a living example of the highest teaching. In our country the imparting of knowledge has always been through men of renunciation. The charge of imparting knowledge should again fall upon the shoulders of Tyagis.

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The old system of education in India was very different from the modern system. The students had not to pay. It was thought that knowledge is so sacred that no man ought to sell it. Knowledge should be given freely and without any price. The teachers used to take students without charge and not only so, most of them gave their students food and clothes. To support these teachers, the wealthy families made gifts to them and they in their turn had to maintain their students. The disciple of old used to repair to the hermitage of the Guru, fuel in hand, and the Guru, after ascertaining his competence, would teach him the Vedas, fastening round his waist the threefold filament of Munja, a kind of grass, as the emblem of his vow to keep his body, mind and speech in control.

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There are certain conditions necessary in the taught and also in the teacher. The conditions necessary for the taught are purity, a real thirst after knowledge, and perseverance. Purity in thought, speech and act is absolutely necessary. As for thirst after knowledge, it is an old law that we all get whatever we want. None of us can get anything other than what we fix our hearts upon. There must be a continuous struggle, a constant fight, an unremitting grappling with our lower nature, till the higher want is actually felt and victory is achieved. The student who sets out with such a spirit of perseverance will surely find success at last.

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In regard to the teacher, we must see that he knows the spirit of the scriptures. The whole world reads Bibles, Vedas and Korans; but they are all only words, syntax, etymology, philology-the dry bones of religion. The teacher who deals too much in words and allows the mind to be carried away by the force of word loses the spirit. It is the knowledge of the spirit of the scriptures alone that constitutes the true teacher. The second condition necessary for the teacher is sinlessness. The question is often asked: 'Why should we look into the character and personality of teacher?' This is not right. The sine qua non of acquiring truth for oneself, or for imparting to others, is purity of heart and soul. He must be perfectly pure and then only comes the value of his words. The function of the teacher is indeed an affair of the transference of something and not one of mere stimulation of existing intellectual or other faculties in the taught. Something real and appreciable as an influence comes from the teacher and goes to the taught. Therefore, the teacher must be pure. The third condition is in regard to the motive. The teacher must not teach with any ulterior selfish motive, for money, name or fame. His work must be simply out of love, out of pure love for mankind at large. The only medium through which spiritual force can be transmitted is love. Any selfish motive, such as the desire for gain or name, will immediately destroy the conveying medium.

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It is not easy to be a disciple. The first condition is that the student who wants to know the truth must give up all desires for gain. What we see is not truth as long as any desire creeps into our minds. So long as there is in the heart the least desire for the world, truth will not come. The rich understand truth much less than the poor people. The rich man has no time to think of anything beyond his wealth and power, his comforts and indulgences. I do not trust the man who never weeps; he has a big block of granite where his heart should be. Therefore knowing what prosperity means and what happiness means, one should give up these and seek to know the truth and truth alone. Unselfishness is more paying, only people have not the patience to practice it. It is more paying from the point of view of health also. Love, truth and unselfishness are not merely moral figures of speech, but they form our highest ideal, because in them lies such a manifestation of power. Self-restraint is a manifestation of greater power than all outgoing action. All outgoing energy following a selfish motive is frittered away; it will not cause power to return to you; but if restrained, it will result in development of power. This self-control will tend to produce a mighty will, a character which makes a Christ or a Buddha.
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The second condition is that a disciple must be able to control the internal and external senses. By hard practice he has to arrive at the stage where he can assert his mind against the commands of nature. He should be able to say to his mind, 'You are mine; I order you, do not see or hear anything.' Next the mind must be made to quiet down. It is rushing about. Just as I sit down to meditate, all the vilest subjects in the world come up. The whole thing is nauseating. Why should the mind think thoughts I do not want it to think? I am as it were a slave to the mind. No spiritual knowledge is possible so long as the mind is restless and out of control. The disciple has to learn to control the mind.
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Also, the disciple must have great power of endurance. Life seems comfortable, and you find the mind behaves well when everything is going well with you. But if something goes wrong, your mind loses its balance. That is not good. Bear all evil and misery without one murmur or hurt, without one thought of unhappiness, resistance, remedy or retaliation. That is true endurance. When my Master Sri Ramakrishna fell ill, a Brahmin suggested to him that he apply his tremendous mental power to cure himself; he said that if my Master would only concentrate his mind on the diseased part of the body, it would heal. Sri Ramakrishna answered, "What! Bring down the mind that I've given to God to this little body!" He refused to think of body and illness. His mind was continually conscious of God; it was dedicated to Him utterly. He would not use it for any other purpose. Remember also the man on the Cross! He pitied those who crucified him. He endured every humiliation and suffering. He took the burden of all upon himself: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Such is true endurance. How very high he was above this life, so high that we cannot understand it!
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The next condition the disciple must fulfill is to conceive an extreme desire to be free. No one is desiring anything beyond the body. What is the world but a combination of stomach and sex? Look at millions of men and women-that is what they are living for. Take these away from them and they will find their life empty, meaningless and intolerable. Such are we. And such is our mind; it is continually hankering for ways and means to satisfy the hunger for the stomach and sex. These desires of the body bring only momentary satisfaction and endless suffering. It is like drinking a cup of which the surface layer is nectar, while underneath all is poison. But we still hanker for all these things. Renunciation of the senses and desires is the only way out of this misery. If you want to be spiritual, you must renounce. This is the real test. Give up the world-this nonsense of the senses. There is only one real desire: to know what is true, to be spiritual. No more materialism, no more this egoism. I must become spiritual. Strong, intense must be the desire. If a man's hands and feet were so tied that he could not move and then if a burning piece of charcoal were placed on his body, he would struggle with all his power to throw it off. When I shall have that sort of extreme desire, that restless struggle to throw off this burning world, then the time will have come for me to glimpse the Divine truth.
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Our sole concern should be to know the highest truth. Our goal is the loftiest. Let us worship the spirit in spirit, standing on spirit. Let the foundation be spirit; the middle, spirit; the culmination, spirit. Stand thou in the spirit! That is the goal. We know we cannot reach it yet. Never mind. Do not despair, but do not drag the ideal down. The important thing is: how much less you think of the body, of yourself as matter, as dead, dull, insentient matter, how much more you think of yourself as shining immortal being. The more you think of yourself as shining immortal spirit, the more eager you will be to be absolutely free of matter, body and senses. This is the intense desire to be free.
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There are the conditions which a man who wants to be a disciple must fulfill; without fulfilling them he will not be able to come in contact with the true Guru. And even if he is fortunate enough to find him, he will not be quickened by the power that the Guru may transmit. There cannot be any compromising of these conditions. With the fulfillment of these conditions the lotus of the disciple's heart will open and the bee shall come. Then the disciple knows that the Guru was within himself. He opens out. He realises. He crosses the ocean of life, goes beyond, and in mercy, without a thought of gain or praise, he in his turn helps others to cross.
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With the teacher our relationship is the same as that between an ancestor and his descendant. Without faith, humility, submission and veneration in our hearts towards the teacher, there cannot be any growth in us. In those countries which have neglected to keep up this kind of relation, the teacher has become a mere lecturer, the teacher expecting his five dollars and the person taught expecting his brain to be filled with the teacher's words and each going his own way after this much is done. But too much faith in personality has a tendency to produce weakness and idolatry. Worship your Guru as God, but do not obey him blindly. Love him all you will, but think for yourself.
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The teacher must throw his whole force into the tendency of the taught. Without real sympathy we can never teach well. Do not try to disturb the faith of any man. If you can, give him something better, but do not destroy what he has. The only true teacher is he who can convert himself, as it were, into a thousand persons at a moment's notice. The true teacher is he who can immediately come down to the level of the student, as transfer his soul to the student's soul and see through and understand through his mind. Such a teacher can really teach and none else.
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Development of Personality...Swamy Vivekananda

2010-01-03T19:21:00.002+05:30

You see what is happening all around us. The world is one of influence. Part of our energy is used up in the preservation of our own bodies. Beyond that, every particle of our energy is day and night being used in influencing others. Our bodies, our virtues, our intellect, and our spirituality, all these are continuously influencing others; and so, conversely, we are being influenced by them. This is going on all around us. Now, to take a concrete example: a man comes, you know he is very learned, his language is beautiful and he speaks to you by the hour-but he does not make any impression. Another man comes, and he speaks a few words, not well-arranged, ungrammatical perhaps; all the same, he makes an immense impression. Many of you have seen that. So it is evident that words alone cannot always produce an impression. Words, even thoughts, contribute only one-third of the influence in making an impression, the man, two-thirds. What you call the personal magnetism of the man-that is what goes out and impresses you.

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Coming to great leaders of mankind, we always find that it was the personality of the man that counted. Now, take all the great authors of the past, the great thinkers. Really speaking, how many thoughts have they thought? Take all the writings that have been left to us by the past leaders of mankind; take each one of their books and appraise them. The real thoughts, new and genuine, that have been thought in this world up to this time, amount to only a handful. Read in their books the thoughts they have left to us. The authors do not appear to be giants to us, and yet we know that they were great giants in their days. What made them so? Not simply the thoughts they thought, neither the books they wrote, nor the speeches they made, it was something else that is now gone, that is their personality. As I have already remarked, the personality of the man is two-thirds, and his intellect, his words, are but one-third. It is the real man, the personality of the man, that runs through us. Our actions are but effects. Actions must come when the man is there; the effect is bound to follow the cause.

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The ideal of all education, all training, should be this man-making. But, instead of what, we are always trying to polish up the outside. What use polishing up the outside when there is no inside? The end and aim of all training is to make the man grow. The man who influences, who throws his magic, as it were, upon his fellow-beings, is a dynamo of power, and when that man is ready, he can do anything and everything he likes: that personality put upon anything will make it work.

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Now we see that though this is a fact, no physical knowledge? How much of oxygen, hydrogen, carbon-how many molecules in different positions, and how many cells, etc., etc., can explain this mysterious personality? And we still see, it is a fact, and not only that, it is the real man; and it is that man that lives and moves and works, it is that man that influences, moves his fellow-beings and passes out, and his intellect and books and works are but traces left behind. Think of this. Compare the great teachers of religion with the great philosophers. The philosophers scarcely influenced anybody's inner man, and yet they wrote most marvelous books. The religious teachers, on the other hand, moved countries in their lifetime. The difference was made by personality. In the philosopher it is a faint personality that influences; in the great Prophets it is tremendous. In the former we touch the intellect, in the latter we touch life. In the one case, it is simply a chemical process, putting certain chemical ingredients together which may gradually combine and under proper circumstances bring out a flash of light or may fail. In the other, it is like a torch that goes round quickly, lighting others.

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The science of Yoga claims that it has discovered the laws which develop this personality, and by proper attention to those laws and methods, each one can grow and strengthen his personality. This is one of the great practical things and this is the secret of all education. This has a universal application. In the life of the house-holder, in the life of poor, the rich, the man of business, the spiritual man, in every one's life, it is a great thing, the strengthening of this personality. They are laws, very fine, which are behind the physical laws, as we know. This is to say, there are no such realities as a physical world, a mental world, a spiritual world. Whatever is, is one. Let us say, it is a sort of tapering existence, the thickest part is here, it tapers and becomes finer and finer; the finest is what we call Spirit; the grossest, the body. And just as it is here, in the microcosm, it is exactly the same in the macrocosm. This universe of ours is exactly like that; it is the gross external thickness, and it tapers into something finer and finer until it becomes God.

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We also know that the greatest power is lodged in the fine, not in the coarse. We see a man take up a huge weight, we see his muscles swell, and all over his body we see signs of exertion, and we think the muscles are powerful things. But it is the tin thread-like things, the nerves, which bring power to the muscles; the moment one of these threads is cut off from reaching the muscles, they are not able to work at all. These tiny nerves bring the power from something finer still-thought, and so on. So, it is the fine that is really the seat of power. Of course we can see the movements in the gross; but when fine movements take place, we cannot see them. When a gross thing moves, we catch it, and thus we naturally identify movement with things which are gross. But all the power is really in the fine. We do not see any movement in the fine, perhaps because the movement is so intense that we cannot perceive it. But if by any science, any investigation, we are helped to get hold of these finer forces which are the cause of the expression, the expression itself will be under control. There is a little bubble coming from the bottom of a lake; we do not see it coming all the time, we see it only when it bursts on the surface; so, we can perceive thoughts only after they develop a great deal, or after they become actions. We constantly complain that we have no control over our actions, over our thoughts. But how can e have it? If we can get control over the fine movements, if we can get hold of thought, before it has become action, then it would be possible for us to control the whole. Now, if there is a method by which we can analyse, investigate, understand and finally grapple with those finer powers, the finer causes, then alone is it possible to have control over ourselves, and the man who has control over his own mind assuredly will have control over every other mind. That is why purity and morality have been always the object of religion; a pure, moral man has control of himself. And all minds are the same different parts of one Mind. He who knows one lump of clay has know all the day in the universe. He who knows and controls his own mind knows the secret of every mind and has power over every mind.

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Each man in his childhood runs through the stages through which his race has come up; only the race took thousands of years to do it, while the child takes a few years. The child is first the old savage man-and he crushes a butterfly under his feet. The child is at first like the primitive ancestors of his race. As he grows he passes through different stages until he reaches the development of his race. Only he does it swiftly and quickly. Now, take the whole of humanity as a race, or take the whole of the animal creation, man and the lower animals, as one whole. There is an end towards which the whole is moving. Let us call it perfection. Some men and women are born who anticipate the whole progress of mankind. Instead of waiting and being reborn over and over again for ages until the whole human race has attained to that perfection, they, as it were, rush through them in a few short years of their life. And we know that we can hasten these processes, if we be true to ourselves. If a number of men, without any culture, be left to live upon an island, and are given barely enough food, clothing and shelter, they will gradually go on and on, evolving higher and higher stages of civilisation. We know also, that this growth can be hastened by additional means. We help the growth of trees, do we not? Left to nature they would have grown, only they would have taken a longer time; we help them to grow in a shorter time than they would otherwise have taken. We are doing all the time the same thing, hastening the growth of things by artificial means. Why cannot we hasten the growth of man? We can do that as a race. Why are teachers sent to other countries? Because by these means we can hasten the growth of races. Now, can we not hasten the growth of individuals? We can. Can we put a limit to the hastening? We cannot say how much a man can grow in one life. You have no reason to say that this much a man can do and no more. Circumstances can hasten him wonderfully. Can there be any limit then, till you come to perfection? So, what comes of it? That a perfect man, that is to say, the type that is to come of this race, perhaps millions of years hence, that man, can come today.
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All great Incarnations and Prophets are such men; they reached perfection in this one life. We have had such men at all periods of the world's history and at all times. Quite recently there was such a man who lived the life of the whole human race and reached the end-even in this life. Even this hastening of the growth must be under laws. Suppose we can investigate these laws and understand their secrets and apply them to our own needs; it follows that we grow. We hasten our growth, we hasten our development, and we become perfect, even in this life. this is the higher part of our life, and the science of the study of mind and its powers has this perfection as its real end.
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The utility of this science is to bring out the perfect man, and not let him wait and wait for ages, just a play-thing in the hands of the physical world, like a log of drift-wood carried from wave to wave and tossing about in the ocean. This science wants you to be strong, to take the work in your own hand, instead of leaving it in the hands of nature, and get beyond this little life.
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Good Sayings-52

2009-12-14T19:51:00.000+05:30

1021. If men will have no care for the future, they will soon have sorrow for the present.

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1022. If God is to live in us, pride must die in us.- Dr S. Radhakrishnan

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1023. Watch your words, watch your actions, watch your thoughts, watch your character, watch your heart.

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1024. The season of failure is the best time for sowing the seeds of success.-Paramahamsa Yogananda

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1025. Rudeness is the weak man's limitation of strength.

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1026. Practice economy, but do not be stingy.

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1027. Instead of loving people and using things, we love things and use people.

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1028. Happiness and misery are mental states.-Swami Ramdas

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1029. Love lives by giving and forgiving. Self lives by getting and forgetting. Love is selflessness, Self is lovelessness.

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1030. Mind is a gold mine and a rubbish heap as well.

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1031. The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws.

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1032. A great fortune in the hands of a fool is a great misfortune.

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1033. Thinking good thoughts, precede good actions.

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1034. Truth is the first causality in the game of politics.

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1035. Obstacles are stepping stones and not stopping stones to success.

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1036. Men take more pains to mask than mend.-Benjamin Franklin.

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1037. The best speakers are the best listeners. Learn to listen.

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1038. Mind cannot be annihilated when noble thoughts are entertained.

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1039. Expansion means life, love is expansion. Love is therefore the only kind of life. He who loves lives.-Swami Vivekananda.

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1040. God is the inner ruler of your heart. He is the silent witness of your thoughts. You cannot hide anything from Him. Become straight forward.-Swami Sivananda.

Good Sayings-51

2009-12-13T19:38:00.003+05:30

1001. Genius is the ability to reduce the complicated to the simple.- Dennis Conner

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1002. One who talks incessantly makes others bored.

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1003. Character is merely a habit, long continued.

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1004. Idle young man becomes unhappy old man.

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1005. It is vain to expect out prayers to be heard, if we do not strive as well as we pray.-Aesop

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1006. Nothing is impossible to a willing heart.

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1007. He who laughs lasts.

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1008. It is better to starve than beg.

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1009. He enjoys much who is thankful for little; a grateful mind is both a great and a happy mind.

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1010. The trouble seems to be that too many people think the law should be enforced; and not enough think it should be observed.

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1011. Doing business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you are doing but no one else sees.

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1012. Explanations of all the intellectuals of the world do not equal the experience of one individual.

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1013. There never was any heart truly great and gracious, that was not also tender and compassionate.

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1014. Where there is forgiveness there is God Himself.-Nanak

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1015. Hopes enables us to endure the hardships of life with courage and contentment.-Zarathushtra.

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1016. Whoever cares to learn will always find a teacher.

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1017. A barking dog is often more useful than a sleeping lion.

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1018. There is only one true friend who is always with you, in you and around you. He is God.-Baba

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1019. One of the most curious mistakes is to think that man derives happiness from being idle.-Leo Tolstoy.

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1020. Nurture great thoughts, for you will never be higher than your thoughts.- Benjamin Disraeli.

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Good Sayings-50

2009-12-12T19:34:00.003+05:30

981. Dharma, violated, destroys; Dharma, cherished, protects.
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982. Reject the gain that leads to a loss; Accept the loss that leads to a gain- Vidhura...
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983. All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.
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984. Religions are not meant for separating men from one another, they are meant to bind them- Gandhiji
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985. Children have neither past nor future. They enjoy the present, which very few of us do.-Richard Garfield.
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986. The man who never alters his opinion is like standing water, and breeds reptiles of the mind. _ William Blake.
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987. Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it.- Confucius
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988. Pleasure is attained by fulfilling desire; happiness by overcoming it.
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989. Speak not except what may benefit others or yourself. Avoid unimportant conversation.
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990. I disapprove of what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it.- Voltaire
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991. Amassing wealth often ruins health.
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992. Correct yourself and the world stands corrected.
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993. Constant practice often excels even talent.-Cicero.
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994. Time is Money.
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995. No man is happy who does not think himself so.
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996. The humble are pure gold, the proud are brass.
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997. Doing nothing is better than being busy doing nothing.
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998. Experience helps us to grow, accomplishment helps us mature.-G.Goodwin
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999. One day is lost if we have not laughed even once.
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1000. He who can take no great interest in what is small will take false interest in what is great.-John Ruskin.
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