leadership

Earth Day On APRIL 22… Why On This Date ?…

NatarajanLeave a comment

 

First Earth Day 1970

The first Earth Day – April 22, 1970 – marked the beginning of the modern environmental movement. Approximately 20 million Americans, especially on college campuses, participated in a national teach-in on environmental issues and protests against environmental deterioration on the first Earth Day. It’s hard to imagine it now, but the first Earth Day was a revelation to many, a way not only of raising consciousness about environmental issues but also of bringing together separate groups that had been fighting separately against issues including oil spills, pollutions from factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, the loss of wilderness, air pollution and more. Since then, Earth Day is always celebrated on April 22. But why April 22?

In the late 1960s, there were love-ins, be-ins ... and, like the first Earth Day, teach-ins. Here are two organizers of the first Earth Day. Image via earthday2013funphotos.com

Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson is widely credited with suggesting the first Earth Day on April 22. It was a movement whose time had come, and Nelson wasn’t alone in 1970 in suggesting a grassroots demonstration aimed at protecting the environment. San Francisco activist John McConnell also asked Americans to join in a demonstration in 1970, and McConnell chose the spring equinox (March 21, 1970) as his date. Today, you can find Earth Day events on both the spring equinox and April 22.

April 22 continues to be the larger event, however, and the official date of Earth Day. Some say April 22 was chosen to maximize the number of students who could be reached on university campuses, and that’s undoubtedly true. But the April 22 date for the first Earth Day also stemmed from a much-earlier observance: Arbor Day, which began in Nebraska in 1872.

The date of Earth Day, April 22, stems from an earlier observance, Arbor Day. The most common practice on Arbor Day was the planting of trees. Here is Arbor Day at N.Y. Public School #4, 173rd St. & Fulton Ave., New York. Date unknown. Via Library of Congress.

J. Sterling Morton was a Nebraska pioneer, a writer and editor for Nebraska’s first newspaper, and later secretary of the Nebraska Territory. He advocated planting trees in what was then a dusty and treeless prairie. At a meeting of the State Board of Agriculture in January 1872, Morton proposed that Nebraska citizens set aside April 10 as a day to plant trees. He suggested offering prizes as incentives for communities and organizations that planted the most trees. It’s said that Nebraskans planted about one million trees on that first Arbor Day in 1872. Ten years later, in 1882, Nebraska declared Arbor Day as a legal holiday and the date was changed to Morton’s birthday, April 22. Arbor Day grew to become a national observance. I can recall learning about it as a child in the 1950s and ’60s.

It seemed natural to schedule April 22, 1970 – Arbor Day – as the first Earth Day. Today, a common practice in celebration of Earth Day is still to plant new trees.

Bottom line: Why do we celebrate Earth Day on April 22? The date stems from an earlier observance, Arbor Day. And the date of Arbor Day was set due to the birthday of J. Sterling Morton, a Nebraska pioneer and journalist, who launched the first Arbor Day in 1872.

source::::Earth sky News

natarajan

Water Out Of Air !!!….

NatarajanLeave a comment

 

.


One of the biggest problems still haunting the poor regions of the world is the lack of clean drinking water. This is such a nccessaity that we take for granted, but many populations do not. Now, a new solution has arisen, one that is both simple and very promising.
In the Namib desert where rain is rare but fog common, a beetle survives by condensing water on its back until drops roll down into the insect’s mouth. Now this principle has been magnified onto a grand scale, providing a possible solution to the desperate lack of water that plagues the populations of many of the world’s dry regions.
There is no lack of solutions being experimented with for water shortages. Wells, recycling techniques and methods for cleaning poisoned water have all attracted considerable efforts, particularly since the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation have made the issue a priority for their considerable resources.
However, many of these techniques have floundered; great on the page but unsuited to real world conditions. Those technologies that are cost effective represent only partial solutions, working well where a permanent water supply is available, but unsuited to regions where surface water vanishes in the dry season and groundwater is hard to reach. As deforestation and Global Warming expand the areas where water is scarce or erratic something else is needed.
While Warka Water to be treated with caution after so many false dawns, it has the advantage of being designed to match the conditions where most alternatives perform the worst.
The towers have a 9m tall bamboo or juncus frame holding up a plastic mesh net. As the temperature falls during the night water condenses onto the net and rolls down to a reservoir at the bottom of the tower. Where the beetle draws just a few life-giving drops from the Namib fog, the much larger surface area of the nets allows a 100l a night to collect under ideal conditions. Mesh is used, rather than a solid surface, so that air can circulate, bringing in ever more water.
As the designers Arturo Vittori and Andrea Vogler put it, “The lightweight structure is designed with parametric computing, but can be built with local skills and materials by the village inhabitants.”
The beetle has proven an inspiration to many but Warka Water claim their carefully shaped design produces much more water for less cost than previous versions.
The Warka Water tower is named after a fig tree native to Ethiopia, and depends for its success on a large temperature difference over a night. Since desert regions are notorious for huge temperature variations, particularly during the dry season, Warka towers should flourish where they are needed most.
“It’s not just illnesses that we’re trying to address,” Vittori told the Smithsonian Magazine, although with 1400 children a day dying from waterborne diseases that would be reason enough.  “Many Ethiopian children from rural villages spend several hours every day to fetch water, time they could invest for more productive activities and education,” Vittori says. “If we can give people something that lets them be more independent, they can free themselves from this cycle.”
Vittori hopes to install two Warka Towers in Ethiopia next year, and believes that, “Once locals have the necessary know-how, they will be able to teach other villages and communities to build the Warka.” Cost estimates for the remote constructions of systems are notoriously unreliable, but Vittori believes the towers can be built for $500 each, a quarter or systems that purify equivalent amounts of water. They are seeking sponsorship to bring the idea to fruition. While we suggest Warka Beer would be a great fit, anyone wanting to get behind the idea should make contact.

Read more at http://www.iflscience.com/technology/water-fresh-air#dZH7jGzDxpyLOHWB.99
In the Namib desert where rain is rare but fog common, a beetle survives by condensing water on its back until drops roll down into the insect’s mouth. Now this principle has been magnified onto a grand scale, providing a possible solution to the desperate lack of water that plagues the populations of many of the world’s dry regions.
There is no lack of solutions being experimented with for water shortages. Wells, recycling techniques and methods for cleaning poisoned water have all attracted considerable efforts, particularly since the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation have made the issue a priority for their considerable resources.
However, many of these techniques have floundered; great on the page but unsuited to real world conditions. Those technologies that are cost effective represent only partial solutions, working well where a permanent water supply is available, but unsuited to regions where surface water vanishes in the dry season and groundwater is hard to reach. As deforestation and Global Warming expand the areas where water is scarce or erratic something else is needed.
While Warka Water to be treated with caution after so many false dawns, it has the advantage of being designed to match the conditions where most alternatives perform the worst.
The towers have a 9m tall bamboo or juncus frame holding up a plastic mesh net. As the temperature falls during the night water condenses onto the net and rolls down to a reservoir at the bottom of the tower. Where the beetle draws just a few life-giving drops from the Namib fog, the much larger surface area of the nets allows a 100l a night to collect under ideal conditions. Mesh is used, rather than a solid surface, so that air can circulate, bringing in ever more water.
As the designers Arturo Vittori and Andrea Vogler put it, “The lightweight structure is designed with parametric computing, but can be built with local skills and materials by the village inhabitants.”
The beetle has proven an inspiration to many but Warka Water claim their carefully shaped design produces much more water for less cost than previous versions.
The Warka Water tower is named after a fig tree native to Ethiopia, and depends for its success on a large temperature difference over a night. Since desert regions are notorious for huge temperature variations, particularly during the dry season, Warka towers should flourish where they are needed most.
“It’s not just illnesses that we’re trying to address,” Vittori told the Smithsonian Magazine, although with 1400 children a day dying from waterborne diseases that would be reason enough.  “Many Ethiopian children from rural villages spend several hours every day to fetch water, time they could invest for more productive activities and education,” Vittori says. “If we can give people something that lets them be more independent, they can free themselves from this cycle.”
Vittori hopes to install two Warka Towers in Ethiopia next year, and believes that, “Once locals have the necessary know-how, they will be able to teach other villages and communities to build the Warka.” Cost estimates for the remote constructions of systems are notoriously unreliable, but Vittori believes the towers can be built for $500 each, a quarter or systems that purify equivalent amounts of water. They are seeking sponsorship to bring the idea to fruition. While we suggest Warka Beer would be a great fit, anyone wanting to get behind the idea should make contact.

Read more at http://www.iflscience.com/technology/water-fresh-air#dZH7jGzDxpyLOHWB.99
water bamboo tower
It’s not that scientists haven’t tried many solutions – wells, recycling systems, cleansing poisonious or fetid water – all of those have seen a lot of money and effort put in them.

Unfortunately, many of these techniques, while looking good on page, do not stand up to real world conditions. Now comes a solution that is so simple, yet ingenious – the Warka Towers.
water bamboo tower
These towers are 9 meters tall, built on a cheap bamboo or juncus frame and holding up a fine plastic mesh net. As the temperatures drop during the night, water condenses on the net and, like the beetle’s system, the drops of water roll down the net into a reservoir at the bottom of the tower.
water bamboo tower
But while the beetle extracts only a the few drops of water it needs to survive, the much larger area surface of the nets creates about 100 litres of water every night. Since the towers use a net and not a solid surface, the air circulates through, allowing the net to capture more and more moisture.
water bamboo tower
The architect of this brilliant idea, Artuo Vittori, says that the towers can be built for only $500 a tower, and he hopes that once more are introduced to the African continent, the local population will learn to build these towers for itself, thus populating the dry regions with these towers, an elegant solution for a terrible problem!
water bamboo tower
water bamboo tower
water bamboo tower
water bamboo tower

source::::ba-ba mail site

natarajan

Message For The Day…” Service to Society Is the Highest Service… “

NatarajanLeave a comment

The Gita advises that service to the society (Sangha) is the highest service (Seva), as well as the most beneficial spiritual discipline (Sadhana). No one can run away from this obligation; you have to use the community wherein you are born for sublimating your ego and saving yourself. Service taken up as a Sadhana teaches fortitude (Sahana). That is why Krishna directed Arjuna to engage in battle to win back his share of the Kingdom, and ensure for the people righteous administration and an atmosphere wherein they can strive successfully to attain salvation. This he had to do in a spirit of dedication and surrender to the will of God, irrespective of his own likes and dislikes, and the consequences that might flow from his unselfish activities. Even Avatars (incarnations) demonstrate in their lives the supreme importance of Seva.

 

Sathya Sai Baba

A Clever Hunter @ Work !!!

NatarajanLeave a comment

Clever Bird Hunts Intelligently!
Birds, except for Parrots and a few other, are not considered to be very clever compared to the rest of the animal kingdom, which is where we get the term ‘bird brain’. But in this video (We believe this is a Heron hunting for Brill), we see another side to this animal. The bird patiently and cleverly fishes, much like humans do, using a bait for the unsuspecting fish. It’s truly a pleasure seeing such a clever hunter at work!

 

 

source::: You Tube and ba-ba mail

natarajan

” இந்த பிரசாதம் சுந்துவுக்கு …”

NatarajanLeave a comment

தன்னிடம் அளவு கடந்த பக்தி கொண்டவர்களுக்கு மஹான் தேவையான போது ஆசிகளையும் பிரசாதங்களையும் வழங்குவது வழக்கம்.

நான் சொல்லும் இந்த நிகழ்ச்சி திருச்சி சுந்தரேசனைப் பற்றியது. அவருக்கு மஹானிடம் இருந்த ஈடுபாடு கொஞ்ச நஞ்சமல்ல. எல்லாமே தமக்கு மஹான் தான் என்று மனதார நம்பிய பக்தர்களில் அவரும் ஒருவர். சுந்தரேசன் தனது ரயில்வே பணியில் இருந்து ஓய்வு பெற்ற பின்னர் சென்னை நங்கநல்லூரில் தன் மகன் வீட்டில் தங்கியிருந்தார். அப்போது அவருக்கு உடல்நிலை முற்றிலும் கெட்டுவிட படுத்த படுக்கையாக இருந்தார். இந்த நிலையில் காஞ்சி மஹானைப் பார்க்கப் போகவில்லையே என்கிற கவலை அவரை ஒரு பக்கம் வாட்டி எடுத்தது.

அந்த சமயம் மஹான் பிறந்த அனுஷ நட்சத்திரத்திற்கு மறுநாள் பெரியவா கிரஹ ராஜகோபாலும், பிரதோஷம் மாமாவின் நெருங்கிய சீடரான ஆடிட்டர் ரவியின் தந்தையும் அனுஷ பூஜை பிரசாதங்களை எடுத்துக் கொண்டு மஹானைப் பார்க்கப் போயிருந்தார்கள். மஹானிடம் பிரசாதத்தை சமர்ப்பித்த பிறகு, அங்கே வரும் பக்தர்களுக்கு வழி விட்டு ராஜகோபால் ஒரு பக்கமாகப் போய் அமர்ந்து தியானத்தில் ஆழ்ந்துவிட்டார்.

அந்த சமயத்தில் மஹான் அவரை அழைத்து, “இந்த பிரசாதத்தை கொண்டு போய் சுந்துவிடம் கொடு” என்று சொல்வது போன்ற நினைவு அவர் மனதில் ஓடியது.

திடீரென்று விழித்துப் பார்த்த அவர், தன் அருகில் யாரும் இல்லாததைக் கண்டு வியந்தார். தனக்கு மஹான் இட்ட உத்தரவு பிரமையா, மஹான் இட்ட கட்டளையா என்று தடுமாறிக் கொண்டு இருந்தபோது மஹான் அழைப்பதாக மடத்து ஊழியர் ராஜகோபாலை அழைத்தார்.

மஹானின் முன் பவ்யமாக அவர் நின்றபோது, மஹான் அவரிடம் பிரசாதத்தைக் கொடுத்து, “இதைக் கொண்டு போய் அவனண்டே உடனே கொடு” என்று மட்டும் சொன்னார். பொறிதட்டியது போல் ராஜகோபாலுக்கு உடனே அந்த சுந்து யார் என்று புரிந்து விட்டது. வேறு யார்? அவருடைய பெரியப்பாவும் மஹானின் தீவிர பக்தருமான சுந்தரேசன் தான்.

அவன் யார்? என்று சொல்லாமல், பிரசாதத்தைக் கொண்டு போய் கொடு என்றால் தியானத்தில் இருந்தபோது மஹான் சொன்னதும் உண்மையான கட்டளை தான்.
தன் மனதில் தோன்றியதற்கும் இப்போது மஹான் கட்டளை இடுவதற்கும் சம்பந்தம் இருப்பதாகத் தெரிந்தது.

ராஜகோபாலும் “யாரண்டை” என்கிற கேள்வியை எழுப்பிக் கொண்டு நிற்கவில்லை.

பிரசாதத்தை எடுத்துக் கொண்டு போய், நங்கநல்லூரில் இருந்த தன் பெரியப்பாவிடம் சமர்ப்பித்தார் ராஜகோபால்.

“நான் பார்க்கவரலேயேன்னு நீயே எனக்குப் பிரசாதத்தை அனுப்பினியா மஹானே?” என்று கண்களில் நீர் வழிய கேட்டபின் அந்த முடியாத நிலையிலும் பிரசாதத்தை பயபக்தியோடு உட்கொண்டார். உடல்நிலை மோசமாகத்தான் இருந்தது.

இருந்தாலும் மஹானின் பிரசாதத்தை உட்கொண்ட பின்னர், மேலும் சில தினங்கள் அவர் உயிரோடு இருந்து பிறகு இறைவனடி சேர்ந்தார். மஹான், தன் பக்தர்களை எப்படி எல்லாம் ஆட்கொண்டார் என்பதற்கு இது இன்னொரு உதாரணம்.

 

source::::www.periva.proboards.com

natarajan

” God’s Own Child From God’s Own Country “….

NatarajanLeave a comment

Edmund Thomas Clint was a child prodigy from Kochi, Kerela. Sadly, he lived only for 7 years and passed away due to kidney failure.

But what he did in those 7 years is a work of sheer genius. At such a tender age, he had the creative bent of an artistic legend: he created some fine 25,000 artwork in just 2522 days!

Clint Road in Kochi is named after him. There are books and films on his unbelievable journey, yet this is an untold story. The video rightly attributes,

“Gods Own Child from God’s Own Country”

 

 

 

source::: You Tube and Story Pick

natarajan

Message For the Day…” Every Human Being is an ‘ Amsavatar’…”

NatarajanLeave a comment

Oblivious to the presence of the Divine within, people embark on the quest for God. They behave like a person who goes to borrow milk from their neighbour, forgetting the wish-fulfilling cow (Kamadhenu) in their backyard. Avatars are of two kinds: Amsavatar and Purnavatar. Every human being is an Amsavatar (partial incarnation of the Divine); in the Gita, Lord Krishna says, ‘a part of the Divine Soul has become the individual soul in the world of living beings (Mamaivaamso jeevaloke jeevabhutah-sanaatanah)’. Many partial incarnations get caught up in Maya (worldly illusion), develop egoism and possessiveness, and lead worldly lives. Purnaavatar (full incarnation of the Divine) may behave, according to the circumstances, as if they were subject to Maya, but they are free from Maya at all times. They subdue and transcend Maya, and manifest their full Divinity to the world throughout their lives.

 

Sathya Sai Baba

Sri Mahapriava Sri Pada Darsnam …On Anusham Day …

NatarajanLeave a comment

 

Anusham Special – 18 APRIL 2014…

Here is a beautiful compilation of Guru Paduka Stotram, interwoven with Periva’s rare photos – carefully chosen sets where you can get to have his Padam/Paduka darshan in almost every photo.

 

 

 

source::::www.periva.proboards.com

natarajan

 

 

 

Kitchen That Feeds 100000 Daily …

Natarajan3 Comments

Free kitchen in India run at the Sikhs’ holiest shrine produces 200,000 flat breads and 1.5 tonnes of lentil soup daily.


Two hundred thousand rotis (Indian flat bread), 1.5 tonnes of dal (lentil soup) and free food served to 100,000 people everyday are what makes the free kitchen run at the Golden Temple in the western Indian city of Amritsar stand apart.By all measures, the kitchen (called langar in Punjabi ) is one of the largest free kitchens to be run anywhere in the world.The concept of langars was initiated centuries ago by Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikh religion.

At the Langar, no one goes hungry – and everybody gets a hot meal regardless of caste, creed and religion.

All Sikh Gurudwaras (places of worship) have langars, but the one at Golden Temple – Sikhs’ holiest shrine – has little parallel.

“Anyone can eat for free here and on an average we serve food to 100,000 people. On weekends and special occasions double the numbers of people visit the langar. The langar never stops and on an average 7,000 kg of wheat flour, 1,200 kg of rice, 1,300 kg of lentils, 500 kg of ghee (clarified butter) is used in preparing the meal every day,” says Harpreet Singh, manager of this huge kitchen.

“The free kitchen uses firewood, LPG gas and electronic bread makers for the cooking and we use around 100 LPG cylinders and 5,000 kilograms of firewood every day,” he adds.

The kitchen is run by 450 staff, helped by hundreds of other volunteers.

Sanjay Arora, 46, from New Delhi, comes to volunteer at the langar two days a month. “This is seva (service) for me. I feel happy after doing this service. This is not just free food because here you forget all the differences that separate humans from each other,” he says.

Volunteers also wash the 300,000 plates, spoons and bowls used in feeding the people. The food is vegetarian and the expenses are managed through donations from all over the world.

The yearly budget of the langar runs into hundreds of millions.
/Showkat Shafi

The “langar” or free kitchen at Golden Temple in the Indian city of Amritsar is perhaps the world’s largest free eatery. The Langar or free kitchen was started by the first Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak

/Showkat Shafi
Around one hundred thousand (100,000) people visit the langar every day and the number increases on weekends and special days.
/Showkat Shafi
People from all over the world especially ” Sikhs” visit Golden temple at least once in their life time.
/Showkat Shafi
Everybody is welcome at the langar, no one is turned away. It works on the principle of equality between people of the world regardless of religion, caste, colour, creed, age, gender or social status.
/Showkat Shafi

People sit on the floor together as equals and eat the same simple food at the eating hall of the Golden Temple langar.

/Showkat Shafi
Langar teaches the etiquette of sitting and eating in a community situation.
/Showkat Shafi
People from any community and faith can serve as volunteers.
/Showkat Shafi
The lines of status, caste and class vanish at the langar. Everybody is treated as equals.
/Showkat Shafi

The meal served is hot but simple: comprising roti (flat Indian bread), lentil soup and rice.

/Showkat Shafi
The utensils are washed in three rounds to ensure that the plates are perfectly clean to be again used.
/Showkat Shafi

Running the kitchen also means washing and cleaning thousands of plates, bowls and spoons.

 

/Showkat Shafi

Some 450 staff and hundreds of volunteers help to run the kitchen.

/Showkat Shafi
Five thousand kilograms of fire wood is used every day for preparing the meals at this langar, that runs 24/7.
/Showkat Shafi
A Sikh volunteer prepares the dal (lentil soup) that will be served for the meals at the langar.
/Showkat Shafi
Around 200,000 rotis are prepared every day at the langar which is served to the people.
/Showkat Shafi
Wheat flour being put in a contraption that acts like a dough maker. The dough will be used for making rotis (Indian flat bread).
/Showkat Shafi
Rotis (Indian flatbread) are cooked over electric machine .
/Showkat Shafi  in Alzazeera .com
natarajan
Women play an important role in the preparation of meals. Volunteers make stacks of rotis that will be served at the free kitchen.