For the Chocolate Lovers...

Come across tis lovely pictures whn i surfed online sites to order Chocolates...

Cadburies come up vyth a good innovation to promo the Dairy Milk Chocs......

Fact File: Elephant

Elephants have very good memories. This helps them to survive in the wild as they can remember where to find food and water during droughts. There are two types of elephant, the African and the Asian. The way to tell the difference is that the African elephant has much larger ears. An elephant’s trunk has over 100,000 muscles and tendons, lots more than the 600 we have in our entire body.
Fact file: Zebra

Zebras are white with black stripes, and no two animals carry exactly the same markings, the greatest variations occurring around the shoulders. As the zebras move in families, the stripes help them recognise each other, as well as helping to provide a cooling system for their skin. An extinct relative of the zebra is the quagga, the last of which died in a zoo in 1883. There is currently a breeding programme to reconstruct the quagga from DNA, a few remaining skulls, pelts and photographs.

Fact File: Piano

The Piano was invented in the 1720’s by Bartolomeo Cristofori. The name piano is an abbreviation of piano et forte (soft and loud). Despite having about 230 strings the piano is not classed as a string instrument; it's part of the percussion family because the strings are struck by hammers.

Fact File: Naming Conventions

Would your little darling be just as sweet by any other name? Apparently not! Statistics reveal consistent favouritism when it comes to naming newborns in the UK. Topping the polls for boys since 1994 is Jack, despite stiff competition from Joshua, Thomas, James and Daniel, who’ve been jostling in the top five since 2002. More fickle are the females, it seems – after five years in the number one slot, Chloe was pipped to the post in 2004 by Emily, Ellie, Jessica and Sophie.

Fact File: Hippo

Despite weighing up to three tonnes, a hippo is surprisingly agile, and can gallop at speeds of up to 30kph, but it cannot jump or even step over obstacles. The skin of a hippo is extremely tough and resistant to most land and marine obstacles as well as predators, but it is so sensitive that the hippo has to spend most of its days submerged in water to protect it from sunlight. It opens its huge mouth frequently, not just to yawn but as a display of the power of its huge teeth which are prized.

PS: Being Chocoholic made my cloths fit, as i put up more weight...

A Superhero shud always be a SuperHero...

A Superhero shud be a Superhero...

Do u xpct ur Superhero always havng date vyth a girl, roaming behind her, waiting 2 have candle light dinner with her, behaving like a normal human creature who try to punish his fellow worker, justifying his act of evil...
No way ..!
A Super hero shud always be a Super Hero...
He shud mesmerise us for the entire timeline of d movie.

Cmon spidey, wht happen 2 u..u too fall on the trap :-(
Spidey 3 is full of spideys personal life and no heroism unveiled tis time...He is roaming behind Mary Jane 2 xprs his love...

In a scene,where spidey rescues a lady and the crowd started chanting...

Crowd: [cheering] Kiss him! Kiss him!Peter Parker: Go ahead, lay one on me!Gwen Stacy: Really?Peter Parker: Yeah! They’ll love it!Child in Crowd: [covering eyes] Don’t do it, Spidey![Gwen pulls a part of Spider-Man’s mask down; they kiss]Child in Crowd: Eww…
Mary Jane ( Spidy’s Girlfriend looks at all this )
Mary Jane Watson: That was OUR kiss!
Mary Jane Watson: Let me ask you something. When you kissed her, who was kissing her? Spider-man, or Peter?Mary Jane Watson: Do you want to push me away?Peter Parker: Push you away? Why would I want to push you away… I love you!

wht a pathetic scene to watch, typical Tamil cinemaism...

v slowly gtng irritated and started shouting Arae baba...wht happen 2 tis guy.Chotus and munnas shouting Spidey spidey spidey ..!!!but spidey listens to Mary jane alone.no heroic acts in the movie, mere the climax has the few action cuts that too spideys friend Harry comes to rescue spidey when he was hurt by sandman...

Here s the climax:
Peter and Aunt May are told that Sand man is the guy who killed his uncle Ben. Peter as black spidy kills the sand man and then comes to Aunt May.

Peter Parker: Flint Marko; the man who killed Uncle Ben, he was killed last night.
Aunt May: Oh my… What happened?
Peter Parker: Spider-Man killed him.
Aunt May: Spider-Man? I don’t understand, Spider-Man doesn’t kill people. What happened?Peter Parker: I uh… he… he was… I thought that you’d feel… He deserved it, didn’t he?
Aunt May: I don’t think it’s for us to say wether a person deserves to live or die.
Peter Parker: Aunt May, he killed Uncle Ben!
Aunt May: Uncle Ben meant the world to us, but he wouldn’t want us living one second with revenge in our hearts. It’s like a poison. It can take you over, before you know it, turn you into something ugly…
Peter Parker after breaking off from Mary Jane dates Eddie Brock’s girl friend. Eddie looses the job to Peter
Eddie Brock: Please, I’m begging you. If you do this, I will lose everything. There’s not a paper in town that’ll hire me.Peter Parker: You should have thought of that earlier.

Later on Eddie Brock’s becomes villain,

Peter Parker: Eddie… We can settle this…
Eddie Brock: you got a point there, Parker…
Eddie Brock: I’m thinking… Humiliation. Like what you did to me. You remember, Parker? Remember? You took my girl away from me. Now, I’m gonna take yours away from you.
Peter Parker: Eddie, it’s the suit. You’ve got to take it off.
Eddie Brock: Yeah, You’d like that, wouldn’t ya?
Peter Parker: I’ve been there, Eddie. The power; it feels good. But you’ll lose yourself to it. It’ll destroy you. Take the suit off Eddie, it’s not too late!
Eddie Brock: [“Thinking” about it] Nah… I like being *Bad*. It makes me… -HAPPY…

One more example of how spidey is like a normal Hero of Regional Films:
Harry and Peter are best pal’s but Harry always believed that Peter killed his father. In order to take revenge, Harry tries to take away Mary Jane from Peter. Mary Jane saddened by Peters behavior chooses Harry for the company. Its strange situation when we are rejected by someone we make decisions in haste. Like a creeper which just wants a tree, any tree to climb. Then we realize that we where wrong. Peter ( as black spidy ) takes Harry on even though he is his best pal and hits him badly. Later Mary Jane gets kidnapped by Eddie Brock and Sandman. Peter ( as good spidy ) goes to Harry.
Peter Parker: Harry! I need your help. I can’t take them both, not by myself.
Harry Osborn: [turns to reveal scars] You don’t deserve my help.
Peter Parker: Harry… she needs us.
Harry Osborn: Get out.
But then Harry realizes that spider man didn’t kill his father. Harry has to choose now. His best pal is in trouble. Will he allow his pride and anger or will he help Peter?
Peter fights with sand man.(Flint Marko)

Flint Marko: I didn’t want this. But I had no choice…
Peter Parker: We always have a choice. You had a choice when you killed my uncle.
Flint Marko: My daughter was dying, I needed money. I was scared. I told your uncle all I wanted was the car. He said to me ‘why dont you just put down the gun and go home?’ I realise now he was just trying to help me. Then I saw my partner running over with the cash… and the gun was in my hand… I did a terrible thing to you, I spent a lot of nights wishing I could take it back. I’m not asking you to forgive me, I just want you to understand.
Peter Parker: I’ve done terrible things too…
Flint Marko: I didn’t choose to be this. The only thing left of me now is my daughter.
Flint Marko: I’m not asking for your forgiveness. I just want you to understand.
Peter Parker: I forgive you.Peter Parker: …I forgive you…
Sand man goes away. Sometimes its difficult to understand whats good and bad. Spider man could have fought with sand man but then knowing the intension of the sandman , he decides on not doing so.

Spidy gets hit very badly by Sandman and Brock.

News Reader: This could be a tragic day for the people of New York… Could be the end of Spider-Man…

Harry jumps in from nowhere and puts his hand forward towards spidy.

Harry Osborn: [Helping Spider-Man up] Came just in time
Peter Parker: Actually, a few minutes earlier wouldn’t have been so bad.
Brock makes a deadly move on Spidy. Harry gets in the way and takes the blow.


In the end Harry stays on the laps of spidy waiting to die ,

Peter Parker: Hey, pal. How you doing?
Harry Osborn: Been better.Peter Parker: We’ll get you through this.
Harry Osborn: No.
Peter Parker: I should never have hurt you. Said those things.
Harry Osborn: None of that matters, Peter. You’re my friend.
Peter Parker: Best friend.
Harry dies on the Spidy’s lap.

eee...oooo..ohhhh...

Film Ends vyth a moral:
Peter Parker: Whatever comes our way, whatever battle we have raging inside us, we always have a choice. My friend Harry taught me that. He chose to be the best of himself. It’s the choices that make us who we are, and we can always choose to do what’s right.

But where does the strength of the spider gone. where does that heroic act diminished.

Spidey please come soon with ur Heroic acts in forthcoming episode...

Kal Ho Na Ho...

Death…an eventuality.

When? No one ever knows…
What if you know?
Will you live each day differently?
Will you make amends?

We have often heard people say — “Live everyday as if it were your last”. But guess till we are actually there the import of that would fail to hit us. Cause we are people who think months ahead…will I be promoted? Will I get a hike? Will the real estate costs soar? Should I come back offshore?

We are so preoccupied with all those “planning” that we fail to look at the present…live each day to its fullest. Let me be honest…how much ever I try…I haven’t managed it so far. I just read “Tuesdays with Morrie” by Mitch Albom. Its a real-life experience between a student and a teacher….

Its about Mitch’s Sociology Professor…Morrie Schwartz…who suffers from ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) and has few months left to live. Its also called Lou Gehrig’s disease…Stephen Hawking is a victim of the same. As Morrie slowly sinks into his final days…Mitch returns to spend time with him after nearly 20 years. Morrie and Mitch capture life’s essence in their Tuesday meetings…as Morrie gives simple answers to life’s questions on death, fear, marriage,family etc. Morrie can move you with his love…and also his aphorisms - “When you learn how to die, you learn how to live.”

There was another book by Mitch Albom called “Five people you meet in heaven”…on how a keeper at a theme park dies saving a girl…and goes to heaven only to meet 5 people from his life…who offer him answers on his life’s turn of events.

I had done a post on my Grandma…condition is very critical,no more hope of recovery and passed away... Reading about Morrie brought back those memories…I was almost close to tears. Its not a great book in my opinion…but then you never know, most times it’s the simple things in life that impact you deeply. If you are someone who can see beyond words…and appreciate books that allow you some introspection…read this.

“Don’t hang on too long, but don’t let go too soon.” - Morrie

Take Care while it Matters…

Your grandparents live with you…if not when did you last visit them?
Or when was the last time you spoke to them?
If you don’t remember the answers to these questions…its time you took care of them.

It was my schooltime when i was in 12 th std.

Those past years have been tough for my family and me. My Grandma is in her later stages of life, waging a war between life and death.She walks with 3 legs ( A stick for the balance), that too only for a few metres.
If you have a unfamiliar sound coming on the sleepless nights; If you have a body which covered mere by skin;
If there is a pulse reading you feel while holding her hand, which says the heart beat fine which ensures your saturation is fine…you are alive!
Never mind if you don’t open your eyes or talk or recognize people around you. Measurable parameters are fine, so you are alive??

She has a speacial love and affection on me and the same from me without any selfishness.

Manytimes she urge me to come closer and hold her hand instead of placing her hand on my shoulder, she believes on my affection more than her hope.

She asks questions which she doesn't know what it is and that too repeatedly for countless times. Those days she told me a lot of stories and urge our serventmaid to continue the stories when she feel very tired and she will make sure that he is going in the right direction of the story...…

all 78 years old. She was married at 13 and had taken care of our grandpa's family single handedly with lot of courage and kindness... she was always keen on developing the wealth in terms of land and succeeded too.The house they lived in, stretched from one street to the next….so big a house that you can never manage to cover the place at a glance with lot of serventmaids, cattles, pet animals.Its amazing to hear that she had time for all.Now she hardly talks…if she does talk, it’s slurred.

Her brain is affected and her memory comes in flashes. She fails to recognize my Dad sometimes but can talk about her relatives at the same time.But at times she would surprise you with amazing clarity on looking at me.Did somebody say old age is nothing but second phase of childhood? I cannot but agree more. While feeding her, we usually stand around her,urging her to open her mouth for a teaspoon of water or a coffee whcih she likes much…coaxing her like you would a 1 year old. We await every single word she utters like never before.I pray god for her long life, for her to be back on her feet and talk incessantly as always.

My school days came to end. Finally i had spent a solid 2 months of time especially for my grandpa.Its time for engineering entrance exams,had been away from her for a month, done my exams and came back with ray of hope that she will be brave and bold as like before.But for my expectations, she was very weak and not able to walk too, always lying on the bed where her entire life shrink in a bed.My 12th results came, secured a gud percentile.We have to go to chennai for engineering counselling.But the grandma's condition is very critical and no more hope of recovery.Nothing can be done as my date of counselling is nearing and we left chennai, praying god with tears in the eyes.We were in University...My engineering admission got over and Dad got a call that Grandma is expired.we rushed back home immeditely for the final things to be done for her...

As for the questions at the start,
I make it a point to take care of them at least every fortnight. While we run around with a heat of hope each day, we fail to pause and attend to few things…which might mean lots to others. Not that we don’t want to…just that we don’t realize that such things can make a difference.

Take care while it matters…

That fortune is -- MOKSHA...

Continuation of the previous post!

Is there anything superior to even mOksHA?

Of course, Yes! The lustrous body, defeating a grand greenish mountain, the lip that shines better than a ruby, the red eyes that puts a ‘just then blossomed’ lotus to shame;The devotional rejoice, to address HIM as achyuthA (one who destroys the sins of the devotees), to address HIM as Lord of the Lords, and to address HIM as the cow herd boy krisHNa;

The bHaktha thondaradippodiAzhvAr feels that these are even greater than mOksHA itself. He goes on further to declare thus:‘If I get even the indhira lOka fortune, instead of this, I shall not prefer Oh Lord ranganAtHA!’

The original text is from thirumAlai (sacred garland) sung by thondaradippodiAzhvAr.

The Lord who wears it is the ranganAtHA of shrIrangam. ThondaradippodiAzhvAr is one of the 12 AzhvAr(s) of tamil bHakthi cult. The AlvAr(s) are great mystic devotees who lived during the advent of kali yugA. They have sung many poems in praise of the Lord, which also have great spiritual and philosophical significance. Each verse is an ecstatic outpouring of these devotees in their liberated state of mind.

The concerned full verse is:

pachai mAmalai pOl mEni, pavaLa vAi, kamala chengaNN, achyuthA amarar ErE,
Ayartham kozhundhE ennum, ichuvai thavira yAn pOi indhira lokam ALum –
achuvaiperinum vEndEn arangamA nagaruLAnE!

This is a gem of a pAsuram and the most renowned one. We can see this in the inner wall of shrIrangam temple, along with another one.

pachai mAmalai pOl mEni:The AzhvAr perceives the dhivya mangaLA vigraha thirumEni (sacred auspicious idol) of Lord ranganAtHa as a flourishing large greenish mountain. He says it a large mountain (mAmalai) because of its majesty. He addresses it as greenish (pachai), since only a greenish mountain is a treat for the eyes, and definitely not a dry one. The mountain has a unique characteristic. When we see it from a distance, it appears as though it is very near. But, if we actually walk towards it for a while, it appears to recede away from us. The more we go near, the more does it appear to recede! This is just true with the Lord. When we start realizing him, we feel HE is very close, such that we can immediately reach HIM. But, when we actually start our spiritual journey, he plays with us, not coming to our hold so fast.

pavaLa vAi:The AzhvAr is captivated by the lips of the Lord, which shines brighter than a jewel. He compares that with pavaLam/ ruby.

kamala chengaNN:HIS eyes are red and broad like a lotus. Tradition has it that these eyes are the ones that transformed many ordinary mortals to immortal AchAryA(s). The moment they see these, they renounce the material world. Such is the spiritual power of HIS eyes. It holds you completely. You become as if held by a magician at the very second. You renounce money, reputation, relatives, any thing and every thing!

chengaNN: He addresses it as red for two reasons. The eyes become red out of compassion and great affection to HIS devotees. They also become red due to anger, at any harm done to HIS devotees by others.

achyuthA: He is called achyuthA, since he removes the sins of all the bHakthA(s).
amarar ErE ayartham kozhundhE:He is addressed Lord of the Lords, to reveal his universal greatness. On the contrast, he is also addressed beloved krisHNA, who wandered along the cow herd boys in AyarpAdi. He is the master of the world, at the same time very accessible like a boy next door. These are two distinct qualities of the Lord.

When the AzhvAr has the fortune to rejoice the Lord in this way, he considers even the mOksHA as inferior to this. He ignores that completely (achuvai perinum vEndEn). Such is the ardent devotion, he had. The commentators of this pAsuram wish to say vaikunTam/ abode of the Lord as being referred by the phrase - indhira lOkam ALum. They do not want to take the literal meaning as such. They feel that actual indhira lOkA as too low a comparison for this lofty experience.

vaikunTam (abode of nArAyaNa) versus bHUlOkha vaikunTam (shrIrangam) – devotees prefer the latter . Every great soul prefers a life in a dhivya dhEsham, very near to the lord singing his praises for ever, being in the company of similar people.

In the same lines, another AzhvAr wishes to be born as a grass in the mountain of thirumalA. How noble a wish?
Let us also follow the same path and wish soulfully for unwavering devotion and a life at his lotus feet in a sacred place!

‘I shall not need, even if I get THAT fortune!’

‘I shall not need, even if I get THAT fortune!’

What is THAT fortune? Is it the food, shelter and clothing? - No, he has the bHagavath prasAdham as food, temple as the shelter, and a dhothi as clothing. He is contented with that!

Or, is it the wealth that he refers as THAT fortune? - No, he has the Lord in the temple as the privileged ancestral wealth. Definitely, not that!

Is it the fame and reputation? - No, he has the fame of the adiyan/ bHAgavathan (servant/ devotee) of the Lord. He is indeed very proud of that!

Is it the relatives and friends? - No, he has the entire sAdHu janam(s) (devotees) as his close relatives. He has no concerns whatsoever regarding that!

Or, is it the fancies of the youth? - No, having seen the grandeur of the Lord’s vigraha thirumEni (idol), he remains captivated by it. The mind by itself does not seek any other external fancy
He seems to be very firm in his determination, at least with respect to this material world!

Ummm… Is it the indra lOka, that is referred by him as THAT fortune? - No, even that place is subjected to the laws of karma. It is after all, a higher version of this world, and for that instance, even more dangerous. And for a person of his stature, is it after all this? No, definitely not!
Ok, I have found it at last. Since, he is a true devotee; he cannot seek anything other than liberation/ mOksHA . Yes, it is the mOksHA at the lotus feet of the lord, to serve him with unswerving devotion for ever.

But, Why does he say ‘I shall not need, even if I get THAT fortune/ mOksHA’. Everyone knows liberation is the greatest fortune for a realized soul. But, he refuses that also.

Is there anything superior to even that? Wow, sounds great! Is it not?

Who is he? What is that he regards greater, for which he is ready to sacrifice even mOksHA?

Silly Point...

The promos of a movie showing a popular film star smoking have led to protests: “Why is smoking being foisted on impressionable young minds?”

The silly point is that we protest about the star shown as a smoker, but not about the same star being shown as a drug-dealing gangster or an underworld don. When movies blatantly exhibit sex, rape, addictions, crime, violence and murder, and when movie stars are today’s perverse role models, isn’t it silly to be shocked when the same happens in society?

Not long ago, Indians were shocked by the news of a Mumbai schoolboy murdering his own mother - just to get money to enjoy like the hero of his favorite movie. Before that, Americans were aghast at a chilling real-life perversion of the violence routine in Hollywood - schoolchildren shooting their teachers and co-students. Movie-makers may rationalize that movies just reflect social trends, but can it be denied that they often initiate, perpetuate and aggravate the vicious circle?

The sillier point is that we readily believe what movies show and stubbornly disbelieve what life shows. We imagine “and they lived happily ever after” - the utopian ending of most movies - will materialize in our lives, while reality glares at us all around - no one lives ever after and no one lives happily. After all, no man is a hero to his own wife and no woman is a wife to her own hero. We believe that we will one day enter the heaven of enjoyment shown in the movies, while the hell of suffering in the world around threatens to suck us in at every moment. We vicariously enjoy as the movie hero as he miraculously dodges every calamity and exults in his three-hour immortality, while we actually shudder as the daily news of natural and human disasters exposes our helpless mortality.

The silliest point is that we forget the person who never forgets us - God, and we remember the people who never remember us - movie stars. We enthrone ephemeral heroes as the kings of our heart, while we banish the eternal hero Krishna from our heart. We search in a false cyber world, for love, excitement, enjoyment and protection, while we blind and deafen ourselves to the source of all love, excitement, enjoyment and protection living within our own hearts. When selfish movie-makers invite us to their hi-tech illusory paradise, we squander our hard-earned money to enjoy it for a few moments. But when the supremely selfless Lord invites us to His eternal spiritual paradise, we are not ready to invest even a few thoughts to probe into its reality.

When we read about a half-man half-spider performing impossible antics in the comics section of a newspaper, we adore him. When we read about the half-man half-lion incarnation of God performing chivalrous pastimes in the sacred scriptures, we deride Him as mytho-logical. Are we logical? We have time to tune to newer and newer channels while watching TV, but we have no time to tune in to Krishna’s channel of devotion in our own heart.Its not just silly, actually. Its tragic. If we don’t give up our silliness, we will have to cry for it. Worse, we will have to continue our silliness - and its attendant suffering - for many more lives.

Fortunately we have an alternative. Irrespective of how silly we become, Krishna remains our benevolent Lord unconditionally. So He gives us an easy way out - His holy names. Attentive devotional chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra acts like a divine torchlight, which exposes the material silliness around us and reveals the spiritual substance within us.

Intelligent people embrace chanting as the most intelligent activity and tune into and enter a blissful world far superior to the “enter”-tainment world, that is the default tuning of the silly.

Send a Knee Mail - God will answer you !!!

Nowadays almost everyone is accessible on email.

What about God? He is available on a very special type of email, which is as old as the human race and which requires no internet. Its knee-mail – mailing prayers from our heart to God while standing on our knees.

Almost all the great wisdom traditions of the world urge us to physically express humility while praying. In addition to the kneeling down common in Semitic religions, the Vedic culture recommends prostrating the entire body in panchanga and ashtanga pranamas.

Some people deride rituals as useless show-offs and say that only the inner feeling, bhava, counts. Agreed that consciousness is crucial in communion, but do the externals not affect the internals?

Try this exercise:

Sit relaxed on an easy chair, put one leg across the other, place your arms behind your head, lean backwards – and now try to feel humble. Almost impossible, isn’t it? Our very posture makes us feel bossy. Based on profound understanding of this empirically observable psychophysical science, the Vedic texts prescribed physical activities that facilitate the awakening of divine emotions in our heart. A ritual with spirit becomes spi- ritual.

Most people pray to God when they want something which is beyond their human ability to get. While praying, we often intuitively try to feel and express humility, knowing we depend on divine grace. To receive God’s answers to our knee-mails, we need humility – especially in our brain. Many people lose faith in God when their prayers are apparently unanswered; they feel that either God doesn’t exist or that He can’t fulfill their prayers - or doesn’t care to. But are we not presuming that we know better than God what is best for us? This presumption is rooted in a fundamental philosophical misconception that we can enjoy life in this world and that the main purpose of God’s existence is to provide and protect our material enjoyment. Of course we do need basic material resources for our existence. But as souls we are essentially spiritual and eternal; whereas everything in this world is material and temporary. Due to this inescapable incompatibility, nothing material can make us truly happy.

Often due to our spiritual myopia, we forget this basic fact, but thankfully God doesn’t. A mother sometimes withdraws or withholds toys from her child to ensure he doesn’t neglect his studies and miss out on a bright career. Similarly God sometimes withdraws or withholds our cherished toys – wealth, love, positions, possessions – to ensure we don’t neglect our spiritual growth and miss out on a bright spiritual career in the hereafter. God wants us to be happy in this world too, but not at the cost of our eternal happiness in the next world. A lost child feels so happy when at last he returns home. Then how much more happy will we – the lost children of God - be when God takes us back to our eternal home? God is constantly planning and endeavoring to provide us this supreme happiness. All we need to do is cooperate with His plan by serving Him, come what may. Therefore when our prayers appear to be unanswered, we can pray to God for the wisdom to accept His plan and the determination to participate in that divine plan.

The best prayer - the one prayer that will never fail – is the prayer asking for strength to serve God in every situation. When a child calls the name of his parent, a responsible parent immediately provides his real needs. Similarly when we chant the Holy Names of God, especially the Hare Krishna maha mantra, He will immediately provide our real need - the strength to serve Him.

When we humbly chant and pray for this inner strength, we will find that God will never disappoint us.

Why Shud a Prince Beg?

Suppose a beggar, who has never seen anything more valuable than currency notes, gets a priceless jewel as alms. Unaware of its value, he puts it aside and keeps begging. Tragic, isn’t it?

Vedic wisdom suggests that most modern humans are like this beggar. All of us are souls transmigrating in various human and subhuman species. All species crave for material pleasures, a craving that makes them wretched like a beggar.

A beggar’s state has three characteristics:
What he wants is not in his control; he cannot force people to give alms
Most of the time, he doesn’t get his wants; most people neglect beggars
Even when he gets his wants, he never gets it as much as he wants. No beggar can become a millionaire by begging.

Similarly,
The sensual pleasures we want depend on many conditions beyond our control. For example, we can enjoy food only when we are healthy, peaceful, the cook is expert and the server is polite.
Most of the time, we don’t get the pleasures we crave for.

For example, how many people can afford all the jazzily advertised food products they desire?
Even when we get sensual pleasures, they are never as much as we want, because, the body inescapably limits our enjoyment.

For example, even if a glutton is allowed to eat free in a five-star hotel, can he enjoy eating continuously lifelong? All bodily pleasures are flickering, whereas our craving is everlasting.
This poverty is imposed on us by our material desires. Fortunately we are now given human bodies, which are like priceless jewels. Why?

As souls, beloved children of the supreme millionaire, God, we are entitled to unlimited happiness. We are eternal, and so is God. Consequently when we love Him, we eternally rejoice in divine love. Only in human bodies do we souls get the intelligence to choose to love God instead of material objects. Just as a jewel, when offered to a jeweler, yields immense wealth, similarly the human body when offered in devotional service to Sri Krishna, yields everlasting happiness. And the most easy and effective form of devotional service is chanting the holy names.

Unfortunately, as we currently know no happiness other than material, we unwittingly put our advanced human intelligence aside and continue seeking animalistic sensual pleasures. Therefore, great sages like Srila Prabhupada, who know the true value of the human body, tirelessly invite us to give up begging for sensual pleasures and be reinstated in our princely spiritual status by chanting.

The Secret of Fearlessness

Have you seen how peacefully a child sleeps in the lap of his parent, even in a noisy, crowded local train? The hustle-bustle disturbs everyone, but not the child – due to his implicit faith in the protection of his parent.

All of us strive diligently to overcome our many fears – financial, familial, social, academic and physical. However the necessary security measures like insurances, helmets, buzzer alarms, health checkups fail to free us from a disconcerting sense of insecurity within us.

Why? ...

The Vedic texts explain that all fear originates in an unbalanced, unrealistic material conception of life. The material aspect of our life has its importance; we need to feed, clothe, house and provide for ourselves and our loved ones. However Krishna explain in the Bhagavad-gita (16.10) that when we seek our sense of identity, self-worth, security and pleasure exclusively from our material positions and possessions, we open ourselves to fear. Because the material realm is characterized by constant, unpredictable changes, which often threaten to destroy or harm whatever is dear to us. We prepare ourselves to face some of the small, predictable and controllable changes, but still we consciously or subconsciously dread the huge, unpredictable and uncontrollable changes. Is there any way to overcome this deep-rooted fear?

The more things change, the more we need to embrace the things that don’t change.
The Bhagavad Gita (2.14) describes, “Of the material, there is no endurance and of the spiritual there is no cessation.” Beyond the stage of material activity that preoccupies our mind lies a vast, unexplored realm of spiritual tranquility. We are spiritual beings, souls, originally from a spiritual world, the kingdom of God, who is our eternal loving father. Currently we are occupying material bodies and inhabiting this material world. The more we harmonize with our spiritual nature, the more we become fearless. Understanding that we are, at our core, spiritual and, hence indestructible, fills us with an unshakeable self-security; we recognize that worldly upheavals that affect our material assets have no power whatsoever to hurt us.

Moreover, understanding that a benevolent God is ultimately orchestrating all material happenings helps us to see order amidst change, plan amidst chaos.

The most practical and potent technology to equip ourselves with steady vision of this spiritual reality is divine sound. By chanting the bona fide holy names of God like the Hare Krishna mantra, we progressively experience both our own spiritual identity and God’s the protective presence and guidance in our life. The more we enrich our faith by chanting, the more our devotion for Krishna increases. And when we make our life’s work a devotional offering for His service, we focus more on the object of our service – God and not its fruit – the immediate material result. This shift of focus releases large reserves of mental energy, which are choked by our worry about the future. Chanting gives us the calmness to see that almost all fears are more perceived than experienced.

The more we become free from fear of the future, the more we can fully absorb ourselves in our present duties. Thus spiritual principles and practices empower us to access and utilize even our material talents better and execute even our material duties better. Ultimately spirituality is the only way to conquer the greatest of all fears – death.

For a mature devotee, death is not a fearful termination of existence, but a joyful reunion with God in His everlasting abode. Therefore just as the child stays peaceful amidst chaos, let us become tranquil amidst ups and downs by empowering ourselves with spiritual devotion.

A Blind Civilization

Imagine a person thrown out of an airplane falling high speed headlong towards the ground.

What would you expect such a person to do? Scream in fear, cry for help isn’t it? If you saw such a person smiling, saying “I am happy, feeling the wind whistling through my ears”, would you not call such a person insane? Practically the entire human race is in exactly the situation of this person. The moment of birth is the moment when we are thrown out of the airplane. From that moment our fall towards death begins. Moment after moment, minute after minute, hour after hour, day after day, month after month, year after year, decade after decade we are pushed slowly but inexorably towards imminent death. But because this change happens gradually, we do not realize the ghastly nature of our predicament. In childhood, in youth and in middle age and for some people even in old age they spend their life absorbed in the petty pleasures of the senses - television, movies, picnics, sports, sex and so on, unmindful of the ruthless slaughter at the hands of death that awaits them.

People, who say, ’I am happy” are either fooling others or fooling themselves because: how long are they going to stay happy? This is not pessimism, but realism. The suffering due to old age, disease and ultimately death is a reality; it is not a negative imagination of a foolish mind. Of course if there were no solution to the problem of death then ignorance would certainly be bliss. But if we could be saved from the awful agony of death, then would not seeking such a solution be foolish and suicidal?

There is a comprehensive, coherent and cogent spiritual science, delineated in the Vedic texts of ancient India, which explains our actual identity, the true nature of the afterlife and the process of conquering death. These texts explain that we are eternal souls, who are entitled for eternal life and enjoyment in an eternal realm called variously as the realm of pure consciousness or the Kingdom of God or the spiritual world. The very fact that we long for immortality in a world where everything is subject to death indicates that we belong to an immortal realm. Modern scientific studies in consciousness, near-death experiences and past life memories strongly suggest that a part of our being survives after death. The Vedic texts assert that only because of misidentification with the temporary material body does the eternal soul have to undergo the trauma of death. By understanding spiritual knowledge and cultivating spiritual consciousness we can all revive our spiritual identity.

God is eternal and so are His Holy Names. By concentrating our consciousness on the eternal sound vibrations of His Holy Names, we can be awakened to our eternal nature. All the names of God have great spiritual potency and for this particular age of Kali, the chanting the holy names the Hare Krishna maha-mantra “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Ram Hare Ram Ram Ram Hare Hare” is especially recommended by the Vedic texts. By regular spiritual practice when we have harmonized ourselves with the Supreme Lord who is our eternal father, death will then be a joyful reunion with our eternal family in the spiritual world.

Srila Prabhupad would often give the example of a cat holding a kitten and a rat in its mouth. For the kitten the cat’s mouth is a reservoir of maternal love and for the rat it is the source of greatest fear. Srila Prabhupad would say, similarly for a devotee death is actually the representative of Krishna with whom he is reunited after death, but for a non-devotee death is actually the ruthless separating sword of time, which leaves him bereaved of all his loved possessions and relatives.

The choice is ours; do we want to be a kitten or a rat?

Its all Bcoz of you Mummy...

Its all bcoz of u Mummy...

Its been long time……….. sat on the upstairs, listening songs in my IPOD and watching the blinking starts with the blinking eyes...

Tried again to count the stars 1,2,3,...65...123...oops.no way ! again missed the count...
let me try some other day.Whether i will succeed or not but i will come cross new stars and constellations every time . You love to watch the night sky once you admire it...

Slowly started recollecting the things happened the whole week. few things to be mentioned and has to be analyzed too...

And this one is such an interesting incident ...

One fine afternoon in our office, we started having lunch in the canteen instead of having it in the desktop.
Me and my friend sharon urged our frnds to have lunch in the canteen itself and the reason we told them was "Lets follow the company policy yaar" , but our friends guessed the reason behind v pulled them to the canteen,(guess wot???? GALS……… the entire GMR office comes to canteen for lunch…….)
Good exercise for our eyes…...Had north indian dish and checked whether we had Hindu or Indian express in the curry, finally…. Was happy to c only the curry……..

The topic goes to the Good looking girl who sat next to our table…….that’s when the ‘BULB’ right above my head started glowing (MOZHI effect)……….. and that’s enough for the guys……. I was the BAKRA for the day……………….
Hei Aryan how come the ‘BULB’ knows your Heart and hei that girl is looking you da.Hei man look at your plate and eat.
Teasing… Teasing…. Teasing to the core……. and that’s when I felt I wanna see the gal properly. She has given an wonderful opportunity for my friends to pull my legs for the rest of my lifetime...............
Oops she looks really cute with the Black salwar :-) .Dont think that me too caught in the trap and will start coming to the canteen regularly at the same time.

Day Two:

To my surprise, saw the same girl(and that’s called the fate…….or an another lucky day) , the ‘Black salwar’( the problem is none of us knew her name….. )…… and told my friend…… “hey… is she the same gal….. v saw her durin the lunch right….. next table…… black salwar……………”

MMM….. caught u man, my friend started pulling my legs again……." How come buddy….. none us remember her…… and u pointed out correctly……. Wots happening yaaar???”……….
Me being very clever tried to manage saying,’Chumma,Hoity Toity….. just felt that she might be that gal’….. it was very tough for me to convince them……. Somehow… manged to…. Finally Started praising my favorite Papad to divert the topic.

Day Three:

We came late to the canteen due to some Production issues. The same rocking Gang… showed our presence to the canteen with the loud Decibels.
Am the very innocent, kind hearted, gentle Calm guy in the crowd ( Am being very “modest” :-) ).

There is no such sort of diversion we had on Day 1 & 2. Have to go back soon to check the issues. Now came the topic again and Dinesh asked me, ‘hei dude where is your angel?”.
“Common buddy who's tat??”
And dinesh further cooked up the story, “You are very clever dude, dont act too smart, where is that black salwar who rocks on the other day?”
“But we are surprised…. why are u so keen on that girl who does’nt share her looks on u…. but u never had a crush till date na???”
Are you too busy in your life or no girl attracted you.

Hmmm…. let me start my philosophies...Its time to deliver before the Story goes in a new lane.

Ofcourse we do like many girls and think this/that girl looks good.

Some fall in love ( Guys i have question for which I haven’t received any answer till date. how many of you believe on “Love at first sight” and is that love a real one.)with a good looking girl.

Some fall in love with the girl/boy whom he/she thinks that he/she will be perfect match for their life.
For some,its just a puppy love…. starting at the ticket counter ending in the climax of the film.

Some people will have very great affection to their lovemates and will shed a pure love and the flavors goes on...

I have started analysing myself.
Dont you come across lot of Girls from College to till date ( Hope you asked What about school life man??!!:-) ).
Few attracted you.
Few were in the mind for few days.
Few are good friends for you.
Few seems like a CRUSH, but not.
But you didn't have CRUSH on a single gal even though you have come across very good looking, much affectionate, Caring girls.
Thats right and am not busy in life and wont say that am not interested too.
This depends upon How you were brought up too...

When ever a girl comes into the frame, I will start thinking that She is not like my mother.
Whenever a girl shows affection on me, whatever affectionate and caring, still thinks that this girls affection will never come upto my MOMs.
The way my MOM shows selfless caring, affection, way my MOM look after me every second.
She never compromise with anyone for ME.

Am the life for Her and her life is filled with my love.

When ever i comment that i saw a cute girl today , MOM simply smiles and knows that am just kidding. Who'll have such high trusts and belief ? never and not even my DAD….

Sometimes my friends will have a funny complaint like "I have taken hot drinks yesterday". Ha ha guys you are complaining to my MOM,
She ll never have such wrong assumptions about me and i never do things which I would feel guilty later.

Moreover when your MOM sheds her extreme love on you, you won’t feel like a girl to search for a love/affection. Love and affection from your MOM will definitely make you a caring and matured guy who will have their ambitions as a prior one ( but soemtimes such guys will be very kiddish… vyth childish behaviour... )
They will do all sort of things for their loved ones.

Why shud i fall in love with a girl...I want a girl who is like my MOM to travel with me in the journey called life and i wont think that i would come across such a girl in my life.

So Mamma, am delegating the work to you to find a good girl for me :-)
If not U……. who else can find the perfect match for me……………..

Its all bcoz of you mummy...My heart didn't have a special place for any Girl in the form of Lover... I do have special sisters other than my sibling and i have special love and care for them.
And i am happy for this and still the same kid you saw me from the first day of my life still addicted to chocies,tinkles and cartoons.

Mum, only i know...How Special You Are...

And the story of attraction will Contiue...

V have shifted 2 a new office named Sun Tech Park & come across a Cute Girl called Akansha :-).
So from now onwards... " A for Akanksha ..."

Ants and the Grasshoppers...

Brilliant parallel thought…which reveals the country’s present situation…

OLD VERSION…
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant’s a fool and laughs & dances & plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food or shelter so he dies out in the cold.

MODERN VERSION
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant’s a fool and laughs & dances & plays the summer away. Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving.
NDTV, BBC, CNN show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food. The World is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be that this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?

Arundhati Roy stages a demonstration in front of the ant’s house. Medha Patkar goes on a fast along with other grasshoppers demanding that grasshoppers be relocated to warmer climates during winter. Amnesty International and Koffi Annan criticize the Indian Government for not upholding the fundamental rights of the grasshopper. The Internet is flooded with online petitions seeking support to the grasshopper (many promising Heaven and Everlasting Peace for prompt support as against the wrath of God for non-compliance). Opposition MP’s stage a walkout.Left parties call for “Bharat Bandh” in West Bengal and Kerala demanding a Judicial Enquiry.CPM in Kerala immediately passes a law preventing Ants from working hard in the heat so as to bring about equality of poverty among ants and grasshoppers.

Lalu Prasad allocates one free coach to Grasshoppers on all Indian Railway Trains, aptly named as the ‘Grasshopper Rath’.

Finally, the Judicial Committee drafts the Prevention of Terrorism Against Grasshoppers Act [POTAGA]”, with effect from the beginning of the winter.

Arjun Singh makes Special Reservation for Grass Hopper in educational
Insititutions & in Govt Services.

The ant is fined for failing to comply with POTAGA and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the Government and handed over to the grasshopper in a ceremony covered by NDTV.

Arundhati Roy calls it “a triumph of justice”. Lalu calls it ‘Socialistic Justice’. CPM calls it the ‘revolutionary resurgence of the downtrodden’ Koffi Annan invites the grasshopper to address the UN General Assembly.

Many years later…The ant has since migrated to the US and set up a multi billion dollar company in silicon valley.100s of grasshoppers still die of starvation despite reservation somewhere in India …

As a result loosing lot of hard working ants and feeding the grasshoppers India is still a developing country……

Can any one dare to bring India out of this clutches…

Why do we read Bhagavat Geeta...

Why do we read Geetha, even if we can’t understand a Sanskrit word????

This is beautiful story - it might inspire you! Story:

An old Farmer lived on a farm in the mountains with his young grandson. Each morning Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table reading his Bhagavath Geetha. His grandson wanted to be just like him and tried to imitate him in every way he could. One day the grandson asked, “Grandpa! I try to read the Bhagavath Geetha just like you but I don’t understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the Bhagavath Geetha do?” The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and replied, “Take this coal basket down to the river and bring me back a basket of water.”
The boy did as he was told, but all the water leaked out before he got back to the house. The grandfather laughed and said, “You’ll have to move a little faster next time,” and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again. This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was impossible to carry water in a basket, and he went to get a bucket instead. The old man said, “I don’t want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You’re just not trying hard enough,” and he went out the door to watch the boy try again. At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got back to the house.

The boy again dipped the basket into river and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket was again empty. Out of breath, he said, “See Grandpa, it’s useless!”
“So you think it is useless?” The old man said, “Look at the basket.”

The boy looked at the basket and for the first time realized that the basket was different. It had been transformed from a dirty old coal basket and was now clean, inside and out.

“Son, that’s what happens when you read the Bhagavath Geetha.
You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, you will be changed, inside and out.
That is the work of Lord Krishna in our lives.”

And the Moral of the Story is...

There was a man who had four sons.
He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away.

The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer, and the youngest son in the fall. When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen. The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted.

The second son said no it was covered with green buds and full of promise.

The third son disagreed; he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen.

The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfillment. The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but only one season in the tree's life.

He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season, and that the essence of who they are and the pleasure, joy, and love that come from that life can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up.
If you give up when it's winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer, fulfillment of your fall.

Moral lessons: Don't let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest. Don't judge life by one difficult season. Persevere through the difficult patches and better times are sure to come some time or later

What what what...what should we call this?

Not that classes were devoid of fun either...
Let’s start with our favourite subject, MIS of course. Let’s call the prof, Mr. 47, because each session started with a firing of questions at the students like bullets from an AK-47 for about half the session. Howcome all the nuts end up teaching Fin??? You need to have a special talent to confuse the students to such an extent.Let’s revisit the time he conducted a quiz in the class and ran out of question papers with four students left out due to a comic goof-up in printing the papers…He stood, hands on hips (arms akimbo?), lips pursed together, eyes glinting like stony beads and then uttered the immortal line, “What are you doing now??” Well, a joke’s a joke and this one would have been quite funny had it been one, but he really stretched it more than just a bit thin when he turned around and shouted to the class, “Your time starts now”. Help!!!
Another classic was the statement he used to make in every lecture. “You have Textbook , You have polycopy , I know you use Proxy for Webpages, you have shareable folder too. Ithukumela enna venum ( Wht else you want)??? (How about a prof who can teach, for a change???). [Polycopy = a book distributed to the students consisting of a set of articles, cases and problems selected by the prof from an assortment of texts and papers, whether their own or from elsewhere]But perhaps the best example of his intellect, not to mention his hearing, was actually a situation enacted in the other section…

Prof: how many types of Testing are there??
S1: Errr..4?S2: Ummm…three?
That’s when the prof catches one guy who had no clue about the answer. (Just like the rest ;-) )
Student: (mumbling) Sir, err… none
Prof: Right my boy, ONE.
And now, we reach our favourite prof of this term. A person who taught us the not-so-fine points of MIS & Decision Support Systems. This was another mystery really. I mean, how on Earth all this MIS will ever help us at any point in our lives is quite beyond my comprehension, but hey, who gave me a choice???

“What what what what what? You don’t know the formula for ROI? How many of you have brought polycopy? How how how how? (Does this sound like our four-legged friends in full cry?) This, this is there in polycopy…open, open polycopy. I will not write this. It is there, it is there, share, share polycopy if you want. I will not write.”Boy oh boy, was this term going to be tough or what? The subjects and assignments came down on the class like a ton of BRICKS!
Yes, we are talking about the Role of Manager lecture now…and the prof who was better known as IndianExpress! Coz he most definitely was an Express ….and to be classified as an athlete with competitors of the calibre of his colleagues, he really had to be mahaan. He did his very best to make one of the most boring and futile subjects even more boring and futile by giving the most senseless and pointless assignments and an even more ridiculous project than I would expect from a man from my Mars posts!!!

There were also attempts made to change, or rather “enhance” the vocabulary of the students. “I don’t want the English meaning of technology, nor the Engineering one. I just want the meaning of the word to my level of understanding. Now you are managers, you ought to know these things. Arre, you don’t know what technology means? Boy oh boy, that could spell trouble for you my friend…because the next time you don’t read the text-book before attending class, I will come down on you like a ton of BRICKS!!!”

Why does anyone want to go to Agra? Pile on to Lucknow, people. This is where the action is! Rather expensive of course, but true value for money. Term-II somehow was more like Engineering College revisited. Specially in the lectures taken by a particular adjunct faculty. After all, where else would you find 10 people sitting in a class where 35 have been marked present? Of course, they were caught on two occasions, but that was only to be expected perhaps…..can’t expect 5 to proxy for 35. These Compatriots will just never learn to do it right…

(Yeah, the pun is intended again)...
There was also the amazing incident when a certain smartass thought he could sleep bang in front of the prof of the brickyard fame…
Prof: My friend.(No response)
Prof: My FRIend!(Still no response)
Prof: MY FRIEND!
S: (Eyes open now and thanking his stars he woke up just before the prof called on him) Yes sir.
Prof: Do you agree?
S: Yes sir!
Prof: With what?
S: Oops!
This was me in case any of you is wondering and trust me, it did nothing to ease my embarrassment to know that all the prof had done was take the attendance before he walked up to me and enacted this :-( (I prefer calling him a sadist for pulling this fast on me than blame myself for falling for it. I was sleeping damnit!!! So don't you dare laugh at me!!!)…

OK...incident concerning the dwarf who sat next to me:

Me: Dude, pass me the Sportstar...
D7: No. I am gonna read it...
Me: C'mon...you're taking notes. I need something to keep me awake...
D7: No! I don't give it to anyone..
Person X turning around (shall not name ;-) ):
D7, pass me something to read please...
D7: I only have "Sportstar"
X: Cool! Pass it...
D7: ???/...
Me: Ennangada dei..ponnunga ketta mattum kudukaringa ( Lip muscles stretch wider when gals ask anytin )
*Sigh*...the depths people sink to...

Letter from God...

THIS ISBEAUTIFUL ........AND YOU WILL CRY....
Sally jumped up as soon as she saw the surgeon come out of the operating room.

She said: "How is my little boy? Is he going to be all right? When can I see him?"

The surgeon said, "I'm sorry. We did all we could, but your boy didn't make it." Sally said, "Why do little children get cancer? Doesn't God care any more?Where were you, God, when my son needed you?"

The surgeon asked, "Would you like some time alone with your son! ? One of the nurses will be out in a few minutes, before he's transported to the university."

Sally asked the nurse to stay with her while she said good-bye to son. She ran her fingers lovingly through his thick red curly hair."Would you like a lock of his hair?" the nurse asked.Sally nodded yes. The nurse cut a lock of the boy's hair, put it in a plastic bag and handed it to Sally.

The mother said, "It was Jimmy's idea to donate his body to the university for study. He said it might help somebody else. "I said no at first, but Jimmy said, 'Mom, I won't be using it after I die. Maybe it will help some other little boy spend one more day with his Mom." She went on, "My Jimmy had a heart of gold. Always thinking of someone else. Always wanting to help others if he could." Sally walked out of Children's mercy Hospital for the last time, after spending most of the last six months there. She put the bag with Jimmy's belongings on the seat beside her in the car. The drive home was difficult.It was even harder to enter the empty house. She carried Jimmy's belongings, and the plastic bag with the lock of his hair to her son's room. She started placing the model cars and other personal things back in his room exactly where he had always kept them. She laid down across his bed and, hugging his pillow, cried herself to sleep.

It was around midnight when Sally awoke.

Laying beside her on the bed was a folded letter.

The letter said:"Dear Mom, I know you're going to miss me; but don't think that I will ever forget you, or stop loving you, just 'cause I'm not around to say I LOVE YOU. I will always love you, Mom, even more with each day. Someday we will see each other again. Until then, if you want to adopt a little boy! so you won't be so lonely, that's okay with me. He can have my room and old stuff to play with. But, if you decide to get a girl instead, she probably wouldn't like the same things us boys do. You'll have to buy her dolls and stuff girls like, you know.

Don't be sad thinking about me. This really is a neat place. Grandma and Grandpa met me as soon as I got here and showed me around some, but it will take a long time to see everything. The angels are so cool. I love to watch them fly. And, you know what? Angels doesn't look like any of his pictures.. Yet, when I saw them, I knew it was angels only. Angel himself took me to see GOD! And guess what, Mom? I got to sit on God's knee and talk to Him, like I was somebody important. That's when I told Him that I wanted to write you a letter, to tell you good-bye and everything. But I already knew that wasn't allowed. Well, you know what Mom? God handed me some paper and His own personal pen to write you this letter. I think Gabriel is the name of th! e angel who is going to drop this letter off to you. God said for me to give you the answer to one of the questions you asked Him 'Where was He when I needed him?' "God said He was in the same place with me, as when everyone needs him at the time. He was right there, as He always is with all His children.Oh, by the way, Mom, no one else can see what I've written except you.

To everyone else this is just a blank piece of paper. Isn't that cool? I have to give God His pen back now. He needs it to write some more names in the Book of Life. Tonight I get to sit at the table with Jesus for supper. I'm, sure the food will be great.Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. I don't hurt anymore. The cancer is all gone. I'm glad because I couldn't stand that pain anymore and God couldn't stand to see me hurt so much, either. That's when He sent The Angel of Mercy to come get me. The Angel said I was a Special Delivery!

How about that? Signed with Love from: God & Me.

Did you stop Sleeping on the bed?

A nice story (Source: Internet)
It was a vast sea lying ahead and for a few days the waters had been very turbulent…

The King had come out to visit the place and he noticed that indeed the sea looked dangerously disturbed …

Something else caught his sight and his heart skipped a beat…there it was a fisherman preparing to take his boat into the sea with his equipments ready for fishing…Afterall he had a family to feed…

King couldn’t but suppress his anger and asked the fisherman, “Why on earth are you putting your life in danger?Can’t you see what lies before? You are only jeopardizing your life”.

To this the fisherman replied, “Your Highness, this is our livelihood and we have been living like this for ages. Storm or no storm, we have to feed our families and keep the trade alive. I have grown up seeing my grandfather and my father do it”.

Oh really! Tell me how did your grandfather die?

He died in the sea while fishing; the tempest had engulfed him.

How about your father?

He too died while he was away in the sea.

Then why do you want to repeat their fate in your life? Aren’t you afraid of death which lies before?

The fisherman looked amused and asked the King, “Your Highness, may I ask you something?”

King said, “Yes Please”.

May Your Highness tell me how his grandfather died.

Well, he had a very peaceful death, he died while he was sleeping on his bed.

And Your Majesty, how did your father die?

He too died in his slumber on his grand bed…

Then if I may I ask My great King, “Did you stop sleeping on the bed”?

The King had understood.He was speechless…

The Star Fish Story

A nice story (Source: Internet)
Once upon a time there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work. One day he was walking along the shore. As he looked down the beach, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself to think of someone who would dance to the day. So he began to walk faster to catch up.

As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man and the young man wasn't dancing, but instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean.

As he got closer he called out, "Good morning! What are you doing?"

The young man paused, looked up and replied, "Throwing starfish in the ocean." "I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfish in the ocean?" "The sun is up, and the tide is going out, and if I don't throw them in they'll die." "But, young man, don't you realize that there are miles and miles of beach, and starfish all along it. You can't possibly make a difference!"

The young man listened politely. Then bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves and said, "It made a difference for that one."
There is something very special in each and every one of us. We have all been gifted with the ability to make a difference, and if we can become aware of that gift, we gain through the strength of our visions the power to shape the future.

We must each find our starfish. And if we throw our stars wisely and well, the world will be blessed.

Nandri maravaa...

Great AD on Gandhiji

It took Italians to make this one!

Superb Advertisement- shows popularity and respect to Gandhiji,

A great ad.... Ironically from a non- Indian company!!

And none the less this ad won the EPICA awards for best ad.

Click here to watch the AD...

Gandhigiri Works -- 1

From -- Vinut Hemrath -- Bangalore


Hi Friends,
I have an interesting incident to tell you all. This happened on Saturday (23rd Sept).
I, my wife and my mother had to go to my native place Davangere this weekend.
We boarded Chalukya express in the morning from Yeshwanthpur. All was well till Tumkur.
At tumkur two middle aged men boarded the train and sat beside me. It looked like they were relatives who had met after a long time.
From their talk it looked like they were right hands of some political guy and were completely engrossed in their political talk.
They were purposely talking loud so that other passengers in the compartment know that they are some influencial guys.
I was getting irritated listening to them. They bought some kallekayi (groundnuts/peanuts) and continued their talk.
I put on my MP3 player and dozed off unable to bear them.
I woke up after about 45 minutes and found to my horror that the whole compartment was full of groundnut shell.
Both of them had thrown the shell in the compartment itself not even caring for other passengers and nobody had complained.
I was furious and wanted to confront them. But I knew that they wouldnt even care for me.
At that moment Munnabhai and his Gandhigiri flashed into my mind. I thought why not try it...!!! But I wanted some support.
I told my wife about this and she readily agreed to support me.
Me and my wife armed with old papers and cover started cleaning the compartment....!!! Both of them were taken aback.
One of them asked What were we doing... I said We are cleaning so that we and the passenegrs who will board after us do not sit in the garbage....
Both of them were really surprised. He said why dont we just push all this under the seat. I said.... No, we cant.... and continued with my cleaning.
The other guy was ashamed.. He apologised and said sorry for what he had done....!!!
We finished our cleaning and were back in our seats and pretended as though nothing had happened. Both these guys were silent for the rest of the jou
ey...!!! :)
Gandhigiri works.

Memories of Mahatma - 2

Collection of Articles from Gandhigiri.org

GANDHI QUOTES
Mahatma Gandhi (1869 - 1948)

" Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed. Always aim at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well. "

" An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. "

" As long as you derive inner help and comfort from anything, keep it. "

" Freedom is not worth having if it does not connote freedom to err. It passes my comprehension how human beings, be they ever so experienced and able, can delight in depriving other human beings of that precious right. "

" Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes. "

" Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony. "

" Hate the sin, love the sinner. "

" Honest differences are often a healthy sign of progress. "

" Honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress. "

" I believe in equality for everyone, except reporters and photographers. "

" I cannot teach you violence, as I do not myself believe in it. I can only teach you not to bow your heads before any one even at the cost of your life. "

" I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent. "

" I think it would be a good idea. "

" I want freedom for the full expression of my personality. "

" In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in a clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness. Our life is a long and arduous quest after Truth. "

" Indolence is a delightful but distressing state; we must be doing something to be happy. "

" It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of nonviolence to cover impotence. "

" It is unwise to be too sure of one's own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err. "

" One needs to be slow to form convictions, but once formed they must be defended against the heaviest odds. "

" The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong. "

" Victory attained by violence is tantamount to a defeat, for it is momentary. "

" What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy? "

" Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it. "

" You must be the change you want to see in the world. "

" You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty. "

Memories of Mahatma - 1

Collection of articles from gandhigiri.org

THE DAY MOHANDAS COULD NOT TALK

C.R. Gopalakrishna

It was one of those times in summer, in early 1961. I was returning back to Waltair from Madras, after handing over his passport to my father who was on his way to Paris for a meeting with UNESCO. Of all days, the River Krishna decided to get into ‘spate’ and she did it successfully. So the Madras-Calcutta Mail, which normally goes via Vijayawada, and reaches Waltair in about 20 hours (in those days) was diverted via places I hadn’t known existed! Instead of the normal 20 hours, it took close to 40. Fortunately I had no luggage, except for a jute bag containing my change of clothes and toothbrush and paste. I was in one of those unreserved IIIrd class compartments, which was packed like a sardine can, filled with Malayalees. One can imagine the mayhem, with their non-stop rapid-firing dialogue that filled the compartment!
By the time I got down at Waltair, I felt I had corns on my rear!
Resigning myself to the long travel, I took out from my jute bag, Gandhi’s book on ‘My Experiments with Truth’ Next to me was an old gentleman, whom I didn’t notice at first. He had with him quite a few magazines and novels, having come fully prepared for the ordeal. After some time, when he had finished reading one of the Telugu magazines, I made bold to ask him if I could read it. Sleeping was out of question; sitting itself was at a premium. Came dinnertime, and at the station, I found that there was nothing available as the train was unscheduled, and they did not anticipate a massive crowd to descend on them. I resigned myself to starvation till I reached home. Just then, the gentleman sitting next to me opened a large Tiffin carrier, and looking at me said, “There is enough and more for the two of us.” Never did food taste so delicious. To top it, it was a typical Vijayawada style of cooking, where the chillies were liberally used. As I was eating I was steaming from my ears! And as we were eating, we started talking. And I told him what I was doing, and why I had come to Madras, and then asked about him. He was silent for a few minutes and then said he had retired in 1947 after serving the British India Police as a D.I.G. a senior position for an Indian at that time. I asked him for any memorable or exciting cases that he handled during his service. He smiled. Then he said, “I have many, but I will narrate to you an incident that took place when I was an Inspector at Vijayawada. This concerns the person whose book you are reading. It took place in the ‘late thirties.” I was very curious of what the incident was, and waited for him to tell me. We managed to wash our hands and sat relaxed as much as possible, and lit our cigarettes, and then he began.
“I was the Inspector at Vijayawada, a rarity in the British Police for an Indian. I was known to be very tough, but very fair in my dealings. I had brought in a lot of secure feelings in that city, and was always on the prowl, looking for mischief-monger, eve teasers and the like. I would not hesitate to arrest such persons, whoever they might have been. There used to be pressures brought onto me, but I would never wilt. Gradually, I won the people’s respect and support, though I was serving the British masters!
One day I got a message from Madras, which was then the Presidency Headquarters that Gandhi was visiting Vijayawada, and that I should make preparations to ensure that everything should go off peacefully, but to be alert and if necessary, stern. I was asked to assess the requirements of the police needed for security purpose, and if I thought reinforcements were needed, that I should ask for it.


The local Congress leaders were friendly with me, and that evening, after office, I went to meet them in their office as a casual visitor. And there was total excitement amongst them. “Gandhiji is coming! Bapu is coming! How do we plan all this?” was all that I could hear.
I probed a little, and came to know that things would be peaceful. I went back and sent a message to the S.P., a Scotsman, who was at Madras, and assured him that I could manage with the present force in my hands. “Be careful, ole’ chap! Otherwise, your head will be on the block!” he said. I assured him, I would.

Soon, the great day dawned. There was a complete festive look in the city. It was decked up with marigold bowers and arches, a large pandal was put up with the tri-colour draped behind, durries were in place, and I had arranged for my C.I.D men to mingle with the crown in plain clothes.

I had gone to the station in my full uniform, not to receive him, but to ensure that there was no trouble. But as he alighted from his 3rd class compartment with that beatific smile and that halo around his head, something in me made me step forward and salute him! Bapu raised his head and folded his palms in greeting with his toothless smile. I felt I was Blessed!
Bapu was taken in a huge precession by the citizens of the city, which slowly wended its way through out the streets finally arriving at the huge maidan where the pandal for the evening had been put up. He was constantly cheered, “Gandhiji ki Jai! Gandhiji ki Jai”. And he slowly walked up to the dais, with his staff, and his two grandnieces. It was a great and emotional scene, that one cannot forget,
It was Bapu’s prayer time meeting as well. He started with his Bhajan on ‘Vaishnavo Janotho’, and after that, he started his talk. He spoke to the people to support the struggle for a Free India, but while undertaking this struggle, he also cautioned them that the British should in no way be physically harmed. The fight was against the establishment and their policies, not on their people, who were here in the call of duty. And then he appealed for monetary support for the party activities. His Hindi to Telugu translator was doing a splendid job by conveying what Gandhiji was saying. I was standing near him, enthralled. Suddenly from the crowd, a little girl, could not have been more than 8 or 9 years, jumped onto the dais, and before the police could catch her, she was at Bapu’s feet. She was in tatters, but in her poverty, there was total peace and serenity on her countenance. Bapu bent down and smiled at her, holding her tender face in his equally tender hands. “Kya Chahihen, Beti?” ( “What do want, Child?”) he asked. Without a word, the girl removed her silver anklets, a few glass bangles and her thin gold chain and literally poured it into his hands. At that Bapu’s eyes were streaming with tears.
Her mother came forward, and seeing me, begged me not to arrest the child. “ She and I work in houses, cleaning vessels and cleaning the homes. We make around Rs.20/ a month, and somehow live by. Her father deserted me a few years ago.” I assured her I wouldn’t arrest her.
Bapu called me, and asked me what the mother said. I told him.
He fell silent, while two large tears dropped from his eyes. “I yet have hope for India,” was all that he said, even as he had his hand on the child’s head. Gandhiji did not speak any more that day.”




I fell silent at the end of his story. I was moved. “You can imagine how I felt! And how Bapuji felt” was all he said. By then, we were chugging towards Waltair. I asked him his name. “Subba Rao. I retired as I.G. of Police in Free India,” he said.

When Frnds tell our Character ..!

The cool guy! Never takes anything serious and I have never seen you getting tensed. Loves his sister and parents so much. Always willing to do anything for friends. A good poet and he is not the usual software engineer. He knows to enjoy the another face of life and lives it every day. Another face of life means writing poems, pinging everyone with good sms, sending some puzzles, tasting his favorite chocs, watching cartoons and reading cartoons, taking care of his sister and playing with his niece etc etc…I knew u right from the day one when we joined as an ELT in TCO academy block. I cant forget the dumsherads we played in out route number 1 bus, when we went to ayudha yezhuthu film with thiagu, when we had long/short chat with each other in elnet etc etc. Your poems were excellent and many of them brought out the hidden feelings (which we forgot in our day to day routine) in every one’s heart. Keep it up da. Share your poems with us for ever. I also remember the days when we used to kid u, linking with different girls. I don’t remember all the girl’s names as the list is so huge. But I remember one girl who used to board her bus in mogaappair and another girl ----. You used to take all those things light heartedly with a gentle smile in your face. Kadasila oru ponnum un kitta matama pochey da??? Sari there are many things to say about u . All the best for ur future da. Expect u to be in onsite in the near future and near by my location. Let us see. Please speak up during your appraisal and make sure u get onsite and promotion. Convey my wishes to ur sister and family. You are such a wonderful friend! All the best da! Take care of ur health! Bye da!

--> And this was written by One of my Best Friend Mugunth who is nw in US awaiting my arrrival thr...

Varisai ...

Kaneer Sindha Vendam

Better to Depart, Instead of Staying apart

Pain ...

Unsung Heroes of the Nation

Ray of Hope

Jannal Nila

INDIA - God's Own Country

• A man from the West, decided to write a book about holy places around the World. He started by flying to various holy places.
  
  Going to a very large place in USA, he began taking photographs and making notes. He spotted a golden telephone on the wall and was intrigued with a sign which read "1000 $ a minute." Seeking out the religious Guru he asked about the phone.
  
  The Guru answered that this golden phone was, in-fact, a direct line to Heaven and if he paid the price he could talk directly to God. The man thanked the guru and continued on his way. As he continued to visit the holy places in Egypt, Israel, Iran, USA, Europe, Nepal,Japan, Australia and all around the world, he found more phones, with the same sign and price, and got the same answer from each Guru.
  
  Finally, he arrived in India. Upon entering a temple, behold,he saw the usual golden Telephone. But TH! IS time, the sign read "Calls: 1.00 Rupees/Minute."
  
  Fascinated, he asked the Guru. "Guru Ji, I have been in Places all across the World, and in each Place I have found this golden telephone and have been told it was a direct line to Heaven and that I could talk to God, but, in the other temples the cost was 1000 $ a minute. Your sign reads 1.26 Rupees/Minute. Why? "
  
  The Guru, smiling, replied, "Son, you're in India now. This is God's Own country... and it's a local call."
  
  Welcome to India! India is a heaven!!!
  
  
  
  
  

This is what they call as Blackmailing...

Little Bobby...The story of Blackmailing


Little Bobby came into the kitchen where his mother was making dinner.

His birthday was coming up and he thought this was a good time to tell his mother what he wanted.

"Mom, I want a bike for my birthday."

Little Bobby was a bit of a troublemaker.

He had gotten into trouble at school and at home. Bobby's mother asked him if he thought he deserved to get a bike for his birthday. Little Bobby, of course, thought he did.

Bobby's mother, wanted Bobby to reflect on his behavior over the last year.

"Go to your room, Bobby, and think about how you have behaved this year. Then write a letter to God and tell him why you deserve a bike for your birthday." Little Bobby stomped up the steps to his room and sat down to write God a letter.

Letter 1

Dear God,

I have been a very good boy this year and I would like a bike for my birthday. I want a red one.

Your friend,

Bobby



Bobby knew that this wasn't true. He had not been a very good boy this year, so he tore up the letter and started over.

Letter 2

Dear God,

This is your friend Bobby. I have been a good boy this year and I would like a red bike for my Birthday.

Thank you.

Your friend Bobby



Bobby knew that this wasn't true either. So, he tore up the letter and started again.

Letter 3

Dear God,

I have been an "OK "boy this year. I still would really like a bike for my birthday.

Bobby



Bobby knew he could not send this letter to God either. So, Bobby wrote a fourth letter.

Letter 4

God,

I know I haven't been a good boy this year. I am very sorry. I will be a good boy if you just send me a bike for my birthday. Please!

Thank you,

Bobby

Bobby knew, even if it was true, this letter was not going to get him a bike. Now, Bobby was very upset. He went downstairs and told his mom that he wanted to go to church. Bobby's mother thought her plan had worked, as Bobby looked very sad. "Just be home in time for dinner," Bobby's mother told him.

Bobby walked down the street to the church on the corner. Little Bobby went into the church and up to the altar. He looked around to see if anyone was there. Bobby bent down and picked up a statue of the Mary. He slipped the statue under his shirt and ran out of the church, down the street, into the house, and up to his room. He shut the door to his room and sat down with a piece of paper and a pen.Bobby began to write his letter to God.

Letter 5

God,

I'VE KIDNAPPED YOUR MAMA. IF YOU WANT TO SEE HER AGAIN,

SEND THE BIKE :-)

Retiring Teacher

A teacher was retiring after 30 years of teaching, so each child
decided they wanted to bring her a special retirement present. A
little girl who was the daughter of a fine chocolate dealer brought
her a box full of fine chocolates.

A little boy who was the son of a florist brought her a big bouquet
of flowers. Another little boy who was the son of a fine liquor dealer
brought her a big box that was sealed, and it had something leaking
from the bottom of the box. The teacher said, "I bet I know what this is!"

She tasted some of the juices that were leaking from the box and said,
"I bet this is some wine!"

The little boy said, "Nope!"

She tasted it again and said "Liquor?"

The little boy said, "Nope!"

She tasted it again and said, "Beer?"

The little boy said, "Nope!"

She said, "Well what is it?"

The little boy said, "A puppy!"

Paalveethiyil Pallanguliyatam