Too much perfectionism at work will slowly kill you, but just the right amount of it is…perfect. Especially when it results in a meticulously stacked pile of carrots in a supermarket. You might be wondering if you’re in an art gallery!
Bored Panda collected a bunch of satisfying examples of perfectionism at work.
Source….www.boredpanda.com
Natarajan
When you satisfy God, the entire world will be satisfied with you. If God disowns you, then the world will also disown you. Hence, there is no need for you to make efforts to please this person or that person. Do not waste your life in the pursuit of mean and petty desires. Make earnest efforts to please God. When you please God and become dear to Him, the entire world will become yours. Thyagaraja sang, “Oh Rama! If I have Your Grace (Anugraha), all the nine planets (navagraha) will become subservient to me.” To become recipients of God’s grace, treat the pairs of opposites like pleasure and pain, happiness and sorrow, praise and blame with equal-mindedness. Always contemplate on God’s Divine Name and become deserving of His love. Once you become the recipients of God’s love, you need not be afraid of anything. You will achieve everything in life. Therefore, develop equal-mindedness and make efforts to earn divine grace.
Spiritual aspirants must carefully understand the distinction between the conduct of the ordinary (sahaja) person and spiritual aspirant. The ordinary person has no fortitude (sahana), is conceited (ahamkara), and is full of desires related to the world, through which the person is trying to have a contented existence. Aspirants engaged in contemplation of the Lord (Sarveswara-chinthana) as ceaselessly as the waves of the sea, accumulate the wealth of equality and equal love to all, and are content in the thought that all is the Lord’s and nothing is theirs. Unlike the ordinary person, the spiritual seeker won’t easily bend before grief, loss, anger or hatred or selfishness, hunger, thirst or fickleness. Aspirants should master all good things as much as possible and journey through life in fortitude, courage, joy, peace, charity, and humility. Realise that tending the body is not all-important, and bear even hunger and thirst patiently and engage uninterruptedly in contemplation of the Lord.
Endeavor to change the course of history, has always been a primary motive of human civilization, through several centuries. It has been observed throughout history, that several times people have tried to undertake a feat which brings them in direct face-off with nature. May it be the intent to master the air by inventing airplanes, building mega-structures such as pyramids, or even stopping the flow of one of the world’s largest water resources, “The Niagara Falls”.
Niagara Falls consists of Horseshoe Falls and the American Falls. Due to several years of rocks falling in, between the year 1931 and 1954, the American Falls faced erosion, which if not prevented would have resulted in the permanent extinction of the American Falls. With resulting public outcry and protests to save the American Falls, the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) – Buffalo district was encumbered with the immense responsibility of dewatering the American Falls for repairs. Taking up this historic challenge, a cofferdam was constructed, that took 3 days after working in two 11-hour shifts, resulting in cutting off of the flow of the Falls from 60,000 gallons per second to one-fourth of its capacity of 15,000 gallons per second.
Photo credit: Russ Glasson/Flickr
This gigantic effort, comprising 1,264 truck loads, carrying 27,800 tons of sand and earth, was carried out to fill the cofferdam. Another minor discovery, which emerged from the De-watering Project, was that of a dead-body of a woman, which would never have been possible if the American Falls had been in full-flow. The woman was wearing a gold band, with the tragic inscription ‘forget me not’ on the inside.
Rochester Shale, a type of rock, which started crumbling due to the de-watering project, was a major concern for the geologists who wanted to carry out tests. Pipes totaling 800 feet of length and approximately six inch diameter were laid to moisten the shale.
The motive behind the endeavor to pull off such a huge feat was to conduct tests to prevent further erosion and test the structural integrity of the American Falls. Having planned through all the tests, and having implemented their staggering efforts, USACE estimated that the work will be completed by 1972. A battery of tests consisting of chemical analysis of the rocks, microscopic inspections, and several other tests were conducted accumulating large amounts of engineering, geological, and other data.
After an effort of more than 5 years, the International Joint Commission in 1975 concluded that 385,000 tons of Talus had accumulated at the base of American Falls, and had resulted in reduction of waterfall from 100 feet to 45 feet, while the depth of the Talus ranged from 25 feet to 50 feet.
As per the consensus taken from the public, there was to be no noticeable change in the appearance of American falls. But, it was accepted that there would always be some risk involved in the viewing of falls owing to continued erosion around the Falls.
The important lesson that the effort taught the engineers, and which is also a lesson for all humanity, is that everything has a life span and nothing escapes mortality. May it be flesh and blood humans, or even a stupendous spectacle for humanity such as the Niagara Falls. As is well said, that change is inevitable, and so is the mere existence of everything. It is an important question to be asked that whether something is too big to fall such as the American Falls, or something is too small to rise, like the Talus which over the years caused near extinction of American falls. The dewatering of Niagara Falls in 1969 is abject lesson in the Power of Human effort as compared to the might of Powerful Nature.
Photo credit: Russ Glasson/Flickr
Photo credit: Russ Glasson/Flickr
Photo credit: unknown
Photo credit: Russ Glasson/Flickr
Photo credit: Russ Glasson/Flickr
Source………www.amusingplanet.com
Natarajan
Miracles happen! And the Army jawan who was found alive after remaining buried under 25 feet of snow for six days, is a living example of an amazing miracle.
10 Army personnel including a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) and nine other ranks of Army’s 19 Madras Regiment were stationed at an altitude of 19,600 feet on the Siachen Glacier in Jammu and Kashmir. On February 3, they were hit by a massive avalanche, and rescue operations have been on since then. The base was located on the Saltoro ridge, close to the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan.
On February 4, a Defence Spokesperson had said that the hopes of finding anyone alive were “very remote”. And later, the Indian Army had declared them presumed dead.
After probable locations of the incident were identified by the rescue team with the help of specialised equipment, they had to cut through up to 40 feet of ice at multiple locations. Frequent snow blizzards, extreme freezing temperatures and low visibility made the search operation very difficult.
“It was a miraculous rescue, all efforts are being made to evacuate Lance Naik Hanaman Thappa to the RR hospital in the morning,” Lt Gen D S Hooda, Northern Army Commander, told PTI.
Five bodies have been recovered so far, and four of them have been identified.
“The teams are working round the clock and observing all precautions since the unstable ice and snow in the region could trigger fresh avalanches. Rescue efforts will continue till all our soldiers are found,” said an Army spokesperson.
1. Subedar Nagesha TT – village Tejur, Hassan district, Karnataka.
2. Havildar Elumalai M – village Dukkam Parai, Vellore district, Tamil Nadu.
3. Lance Havildar S Kumar – village Kumanan Thozhu, Teni district, Tamil Nadu.
4. Lance Naik Sudheesh B – village Monroethuruth, Kollam district, Kerala.
5. Lance Naik Hanamanthappa Koppad – village Betadur, Dharwad district, Karnataka.
6. Sepoy Mahesha PN – village HD Kote, Mysore district, Karnataka.
7. Sepoy Ganesan G – village Chokkathevan Patti, Madurai district, Tamil Nadu.
8. Sepoy Rama Moorthy N – village Gudisatana Palli, Krishna Giri district, Tamil Nadu.
9. Sep Mustaq Ahmed S – village Parnapalle, Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh.
10. Sepoy Nursing Assistant Suryawanshi SV – village Maskarwadi, Satara district, Maharashtra
The survivor is a resident of Betadur village in Dharwad district of Karnataka.
“We are happy. The entire village is happy and relieved. We were eagerly waiting for some news for past few days. It was difficult to even believe that he was saved. Now, we need everyone to pray for his survival,” his uncle told The News Minute.
Source…….Tanaya Singh in http://www.the betterindia.com
Natarajan
K Ravichandran, a 48-year-old auto driver from Chennai, mortgaged his auto to pay for the medical expenses of his passenger who suffered a cardiac arrest during the ride.
It happened a few months ago when a passenger boarded his auto to go from Ramapuram to Triplicane. They had reached Mount Road, when the passenger, who was about 57 years old, complained of chest pains. The Good Samaritan took the passenger to a nearby clinic, where he was referred to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital.
On informing his family, the passenger’s son arrived from Kolkata that night. The cost of treatment was about Rs. 1 lakh. They spoke with the hospital’s Dean and got the cost reduced to Rs. 47,000. But his son was left with Rs. 15,000 only after spending on flight tickets.
“I decided to pledge my auto rickshaw, the only property I owned and managed to pay the balance,” Ravichandran told The New Indian Express.
This Sunday, Ravichandran was rewarded by the Anna Auto Welfare Trust – an organisation that was started to motivate auto rickshaw drivers and acknowledge them for such laudable deeds. 16 other auto drivers including three women were also awarded.
Anil Khicha founded Anna Auto Trust with the view that people who visit Chennai, meet auto rickshaw drivers first. And the kind of behaviour they experience, forms their impression about the city. If the good work of drivers is appreciated, it will encourage them to do better.
According to the report, the trust has printed stickers asking passengers to send their feedback to 9243000111. Based on this feedback, they call drivers who have behaved well and honour them every month.
Source…..Tanaya Singh in http://www.the better india .com
natarajan
Education and other things that make one grow and become big are of no use for spiritual progress; they bring about only spiritual downfall. That is why the world is called the ‘illusory universe’ (maya-prapancha). Truth, in whatever illusion it is immersed, will only shine more effulgently, for such is the nature of truth. How can we say that the objective world, which undergoes modifications every minute, waning and waxing with the waywardness of appearing and disappearing, is eternal truth? The characteristic of a spiritual aspirant is the attainment of Truth, not the search of the unreal in this evanescent world. In this false world, there can be no true living(satya-achara). There can be only false living (mithya-achara). True living consists in the realisation of the Lord. This must be borne in mind by everyone every moment of one’s life.
Sunny Splendor is a great piece of engineering – a solar vehicle that works as a mobile shop for people with disabilities to start up small businesses and earn a living. It was designed by Hari Vasudevan of Ostrich Mobility, and this is how it works.
“I earn more than Rs. 4,000 a day now and can even think of sending my children to a good school,” says Umesh, a street vendor from Bangalore who lost both his legs in a road accident. Umesh used to work as a driver earlier but his life came to a standstill for about five years after the accident. He could not find any suitable source of income and things became increasingly difficult for his family. So he set up a small cart and started selling items like tea, coffee, bread, biscuits, and chocolates. But business was never very lucrative because he couldn’t move around with his cart and had to remain stationary at the same spot all day long.
After struggling for a long time to make ends meet, Umesh received the most amazing gift a few months back. He was introduced to Sunny Splendor – a mobile shop meant for people with disabilities to run petty businesses from wherever they want.
Umesh at work
The team at Ostrich Mobility
“Umesh was able to increase his profits only because he got the chance to roam around with his shop. If one place is less crowded he moves on to the next, and keeps moving to the more crowded areas of the city,” says Hari.
For Umesh, the best thing about Sunny Splendor is that it needs zero maintenance and customers are often attracted to his shop just to find out how it works. This adds to his business and he has some very loyal customers who are amazed by his story and keep coming back to his shop.
When Rajanna sir became the commissioner, he visited my office to see the kind of things we manufacture. He asked me a simple question: ‘Why don’t you hire people with physical disabilities?’ I told him that we deal with heavy objects and it would be difficult to find a person with disability who would want to do this kind of work. Moreover, we are not some big corporate firm and it won’t be easy for us to change the complete infrastructure of the office building to make it suitable for differently abled people.”
But the question remained with Hari. He found himself thinking about developing a way to help people with disabilities find a source of income. “And the idea suddenly struck me – I decided to design an electric wheelchair in a way that it would work as a mobile shop to help people run small businesses,” he says.
Sunny Splendor is basically an electric wheelchair designed like a three-wheeler, with a lot of space to display the items for selling. The wheelchair’s batteries can be charged with the help of electricity as well as solar energy. Eight hours of sunlight are enough to get the vehicle fully charged, and it can run for about 45km at a speed of 15km/hr after one charge. Even those who don’t have access to electricity can use it with the help of solar charging only.
Sunny Splendor is available in the market for Rs. 1.5 lakh. But many people who need it the most don’t usually have the required money to make the purchase. So Hari and his team are talking to NGOs and other organizations to make it available to people with disabilities. As of now, two people in Karnataka are using the mobile shops gifted to them by Mahindra & Mahindra (as a part of the organization’s CSR activities). Three other people have received them from the Kerala government.
Hari, who is 44 years old, founded Ostrich Mobility after completing his M.Tech course in product design and manufacturing. Prior to that, he did his BSc in Physics and BE in Mechanical Engineering, followed by seven years of work in the field of manufacturing automobiles.
“Engineering is my passion…I got a chance to meet many kids with disabilities during college because my final year project was related to making a device to help them walk. And after a visit to a school for children with disabilities, I decided that I will do something to help such people with whatever engineering I know. In 2005, I got four orders for wheelchairs from a school, and I decided to continue from there,” he recounts.
In 2007, Hari started Ostrich Mobility with the idea of making electric wheelchairs. Today, the company sells more than 22 products, including various electric wheelchairs, mobility scooters, hospital beds, and more. All the products are designed by Hari.
Hari feels that anyone buying Sunny Splendor is actually buying a business that can grow much beyond the initial investment. However, it is difficult for someone who is poor to make that investment so Hari is looking for micro-financing companies to help people purchase the vehicle.
Source……Tanaya Singh in http://www.the better india.com
Natarajan
Embodiments of Love! The hallmark of love is selfless sacrifice(thyaga). Love seeks nothing from anyone. It bears no ill-will towards anyone. It is utterly selfless and pure. Failing to understand the true nature of love, people yearn for it in various ways. Love must be cherished with feelings of selflessness and sacrifice. In what is deemed as love in the world – whether it be maternal love, brotherly love, or friendship – there is an element of selfishness. Only God’s love is totally free from the taint of selfishness. Divine love reaches out even to the remotest being. It brings together those who are separate. It raises man from animality to Divinity. It transforms gradually all forms of worldly love to Divine love. Even the feeling of universal brotherliness is not the same as the experience of ekatvam(oneness). Even in such a fraternal feeling there is an element of self-interest. Those who really wish to promote universal brotherhood too should develop the consciousness of the one Spirit dwelling in all beings.
If you happen to visit the town of Goalpara in Assam, a splendid surprise will welcome you.
The entire project, which started in February last year, was undertaken by the businessmen in Goalpara, to paint all small and big shops in the town in one colour.
“The Deputy Commissioner had organised a meeting to discuss the Swachh Bharat mission. That was when I suggested the whole town should be of one colour so that it looks clean. He also wanted to ask us to do the same thing. The idea was appreciated and everyone came on board,” says 57-year-old Bimal Surana, who is the owner of a hardware shop in Goalpara.
Deputy Commissioner J.V.N. Subramanyam appealed to the business community to colour the entire commercial area in a unique colour.
The painted buildings are a part of a larger scheme launched by the DC in December 2014. It is called the Mukhyamantir Asomar Nirmal aru Seuj Abhijan – MANASA scheme, the state government’s own cleanliness program. A remarkable change took place in Goalpara under the District Administration and MANASA scheme. The numbers of workers and sweepers in the town have been increased from 30 and 23 respectively, to 60 and 30.
“The businessmen also get together, decide one day and clean the whole market. Nobody throws anything outside the dustbins. If anyone does, we stop them and explain the significance of a clean town,” says Bimal.
Goalpara Municipality is the second oldest municipality in the state of Assam. It was established in 1875 by the British Administrator. The town of Goalpara is the District Headquarters of a district by the same name.
The business community has contributed in many different ways. “The Deputy Commissioner asked how I will contribute. I have a hardware shop where I sell paint. So I said that whoever comes to purchase paint from me, I will set aside the profit margin and sell at the cost price. I have sold 6,000 litre of paint without profit. I just wanted everyone to take the initiative forward. No matter what it takes,” says Bimal.
Around 70 nameplates with proper directions have been installed on the streets, along with 50 sodium vapour lamps, 160 CFLs and 228 LEDs.
To ensure round-the-clock cleanliness, J.V.N. Subramanyam keeps visiting the municipal area on regular morning walks to check the progress of the work under MANASA.
According to a report by an executive officer of the Goalpara Municipality, Goalpara had very poor urban development indices prior to this scheme. The maintenance staff members were demotivated and this led to inefficient delivery of urban services. This in turn caused public discontent and non-payments of tax dues by the citizens. MANASA was launched to bring Goalpara out of this vicious circle by rebuilding trust among people and motivating the municipal staff. All conservancy staff members, including sweepers, were provided with two sets of uniforms, raincoats and jackets, helmets, gumboots, and hand gloves, with necessary appliances for cleaning garbage and solid waste. They were also provided with accident and health insurance.
Source…….Tanaya Singh in http://www.the betterindia.com
Natarajan
Take off with Natarajan 