A Thought for Today-132: November 3, 2007

My body has been used to walking since childhood. Walking has been a source of knowledge, creativity, energy and delight to me. When you walk in the open, under the boundless expanse of the sky, your heart too becomes naturally large and expansive - Acharya Vinoba Bhave

A Thought for Today-131: November 2, 2007

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it - George Santayana

A Thought for Today-130: November 1, 2007

Some people instead of trying to drown their sorrows, take them out and give them swimming lessons - The Illustrated Weekly of India, Sep.23, 2007

A Thought for Today-129: October 31, 2007

Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbours and let every new year find you a better man - Benjamin Franklin

A Thought for Today-128: October 30, 2007

A kind heart is a fountain of gladness, making everything in its vicinity freshen into smiles - Washington Irving

A Thought for Today-127: October 29, 2007

You cannot teach people anything. You can only help them discover it within themselves - Galileo

A Thought for Today-126: October 28, 2007

To acquire knowledge, one must study; But to acquire wisdom, one must observe - Marilyn von Savant

Self-Improvement-7: "Anyway!"

People are unreasonable, illogical and self centred. LOVE THEM ANYWAY.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. DO GOOD ANYWAY.

If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies. SUCCEED ANYWAY.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. DO GOOD ANYWAY.

Honesty, and frankness make you vulnerable. BE HONEST AND FRANK ANYWAY.

People favour underdogs, but follow only top dogs. FIGHT FOR SOME UNDERDOGS ANYWAY.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. BUILT ANYWAY.

People really need help but may attack you if you help them. HELP PEOPLE ANYWAY.

Give the world the best you have and you will get kicked in the teeth. GIVE THE WORLD THE BEST YOU HAVE GOT ANYWAY!

Source: Not known

Eyecatchers-41 : We have lost 9,512 Years to Unpunctuality!

Abhishek D.Shah does some quick math and says we have lost 9,512 years to unpunctuality!

"The two-minute noodle takes 10 minutes. The instant coffee takes too many instants and the 30-minute pizza hardly ever arrives before the 60th minute. And apparently time is money. I can only wonder what our economy would be like if we learnt the art of being on time.

Being in the media, 'deadline' is a word I encounter on a daily basis. "The deadline is on the 20th but you can give it to me by the 22nd," a friend from a publication tells me. I wonder if the guys compiling the dictionary should reconsider the meaning of the word.

I was invited to a friend's wedding recently. The invitation requested my gracious presence at 7.30 p.m. Not wanting to scar others, I decided to go in for a hair cut and promptly reached the salon by 6.30 p.m. The stylist was efficient and I was done and ready by 7 p.m. As I left the salon, I noticed someone I knew getting an elaborate facial done. Guess who? The bride. Her presence at the reception hall was not be felt until 9 p.m.

It is inspiring to note that in the airline industry, an "on-time" performance means being lat by a maximum of one hour. It is simply amazing how we manage to be late with such consistency. It is an art form we have mastered and are transferring to future generations.

Being five minutes late is not a crime but, consider this. We are a billion Indians. If each of us is late by just 5 minutes, we are late as a country by 5 billion minutes. I will spare the math but that is roughly 9,512 years. Just imagine all that we could do in so much time!"

With grateful thanks to: Mr.Abhishek D.Shah and The Hindu, Chennai edn ('Metropolis', Oct.27, 2007)

Letters-2: A Letter from Srimat Swami Turiyanandaji Maharaj(Excerpt)

Dear Sridhar,

....It is avidya, or ignorance, which is the field of lust and anger. Patanjali defines avidya as follows: "To regard the non-eternal as eternal, the impure as pure, the painful as pleasant, and the non-Atman as the Atman - this is ignorance."

In other words, it is ignorance which makes one perceive the unreal world as real, the impure body as pure, happiness in painful sense enjoyments, and to consider wife and children - none whom is really one's own - as one's own. These false perceptions are caused by ignorance. This avidya is without beginning: there is no way of ascertaining when it originated. It is also without end in the sense that until one attains illumination by the grace of God, it remains and is not destroyed. This ignorance does not allow us to move towards God. So Krishna said in the Gita, "Those who take refuge in me alone shall cross over this maya." Our duty is take refuge in Him and lead a God-centred life.

What Swami Vivekananda said is true: "Devotion to God is dormant in everyone. It manifests itself when the veil of lust and gold is removed." The attempt to remove that veil is called sadhana, or spiritual disciplines; and when this veil disappears, the kundalini awakens. Nothing will be achieved if you scatter your mind in all sorts of things. Hold on firmly to your chosen path and resolve that you will attain liberation and devotion through it; then only will you succeed.

I wrote to you more than once: "He who is full of faith and zeal and has subdued his senses obtains knowledge; having obtained knowledge, he soon attains the supreme peace." (Gita, IV.39). But "The man who is ignorant and without faith and always doubting goes to ruin. Not this world nor the world beyond nor happiness is for the doubting soul." (Ibid, IV.40) - These are the words of God. Now, do as you please.

With love and best wishes

Swami Turiyananda

(a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and a brother-disciple of Swami Vivekananda)(Excerpt)

A Thought for Today-125: October 27, 2007

Cruel and cut-throat competition is the nature to be found in the lower order. To be cooperative with fellow beings is of mediocre order. To dedicate oneself for the welfare of fellow beings is of the high order - Prof.K.Subrahmanyam (Values in Education)

Self-Improvement-6: "A to Z Tips for Success"

Arrive a little early for every date or appointment.
Be enthusiastic in everything you do.
Complete every assigned task.
Do a little more than is required.
Express yourself after you know the facts.
Feel comfortable in every situation by acting yourself.
Go all out to please your friends.
Help others as you would have them help you.
Identify yourself by accomplishments rather than words.
Join in and help when you are needed.
Keep a level head.
Listen more, speak less.
Make the most of what you have.
Never say never.
Open your heart to those less fortunate than you.
Please yourself by pleasing others.
Quickly respond to an emergency.
Remember business plus quality equals profit.
Study, study, study to excel.
Take advantage of any opportunity.
Use your spare time intelligently.
Value your health.
Work at your work.
Xit any quality leading to failure.
You are your most important asset.
Zestfully meet any challenge.

- Abhishek (Details not available)

Lessons in Shaving

Your daily morning facelift could be more lasting if you follow Dr.T.A.Lincoln's advice. Dr.Lincoln of the Oak Ridge National Lab, USA, has made a study of the general shaving habits and has come to the conclusion that they are not very efficient.

First of all, time element is important. Just when you arise in the morning is not a good time. The facial skin is the thickest after the night's sleep due to accumulation of water. The expended skin draws in a part of the follicles. These show up again after the water drains off. DR.Lincoln's advice: Wait at least for an hour after you wake up. Second, hot water creates the same problem: It swells the skin and draws in the hair. Dr.Lincoln suggests the use of salt water instead. This draws out the facial moisture.

Considering that the beard grows about half a millimeter a day, Dr.Lincoln claims you can increase the efficiency of shaving by 40% if you follow his procedure.

Courtesy: Science Today, August 1973

A Thought for Today-124: October 26, 2007

I am just an ordinary man without any special ability in any direction, except perhaps this one thing. I do things I believe ought to be done. And when I make up my mind, I act - Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of USA

(Biography of Theodore Roosevelt :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Roosevelt)

A Thought for Today-123: October 25, 2007

Every man must prove himself in his own way. Once is never enough. You must always risk a second time, a third, a fourth, no matter what it is you want to achieve - Aldo Donati in Daphne du Maurier's 'The Flight of the Falcon'

A Thought for Today-122: October 24, 2007

When politicians become insensitive to criticism and the society no longer responds to traditional forms of protest, the angry dissenters tend to switch over from verbal denunciation to physical violence - G.K.Reddy, The Hindu of August 15, 1974

A Thought for Today-121: October 23, 2007

Extensive knowledge only gets in the way. One must know only what is required. That is what is most difficult of all, and it is where the whole secret lies - Lev Landau, eminent Russian Physicist in Evgeny Gabrilovich's, "The Fifth Quarter"

A Thought for Today-120: October 22, 2007

Intellect is like a creeper, which can grow and blossom if fostered on unselfish lines. It can be crooked and cankerous, if fed with selfishness and lust. And it may remain useless, if it is not put to use due to laziness and lethargy. Blessed are the people who can make use of the intellect for their own fulfilment and for the betterment of society. Fools are they who keep the gift of reason unused. Mediocre are they who use it only for the day's needs. Intelligent are they who use it for elevating themselves. Wise are they who use reason for seeing good in all. It is after all everybody's responsibility to see that the intellect is put to full use - Professor K.Subrahmanyam (Values in Education)

A Thought for Today-119: October 21, 2007

Every moment is full of possibilities. It only requires your keen appreciation and best use of it to prove them to the world - Tondaradipodi Alwar

An African Old Saying

Every morning in Africa,

a gazelle wakes up.

It knows it must outrun

the fastest lion

Or it will be killed.

Every morning in Africa,

a lion wakes up.

It knows it must run

faster than the slowest gazelle

Or it will starve.

It does not matter whether

You are a lion or a gazelle.

When the sun comes up,

you would better be running.