message for the day

Message for the Day…” Consider all whom you meet as the Lord of Srirangam, your Master. Show untarnished love towards all who come to you.”

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The emperor of the Cholas sought to visit the Srirangam Gopuram Temple, of which he had heard much. He got his chariot ready and in the next six months tried to make this journey many times. But on every occasion a recluse in ochre robes with a rosary around his neck and a halo around his head intercepted the vehicle. When the emperor alighted to honour him, he kept him engaged in conversation which was so enchanting that he forgot his journey and its goal. One day, when he lamented over his failure to fill his eyes with the glory of Srirangam, the Lord appeared before him and said, “Why do you lament? I am the Master who came to you so often as soon as you set out for Srirangam; recognise Me in all, that is the genuine pilgrimage to Srirangam.” Consider all whom you meet as the Lord of Srirangam, your Master. Show untarnished love towards all who come to you.

Source…….http://media.radiosai.org/

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Message for the Day…” Birth takes place along with sustenance for those being born. As a matter of fact, sustenance is ready first, and the birth of the individual to be sustained takes place later. “

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The word shastra used to indicate scriptures means, ‘that which commands, orders, and directs with authority’. The shastras need not contain orders like, “Before eating food, cook it well; before sowing seeds, prepare the soil through ploughing.” Who commands the newborn calf to seek food at the udder of the mother cow? Birth takes place along with sustenance for those being born. As a matter of fact, sustenance is ready first, and the birth of the individual to be sustained takes place later. The individual’s food and standard of living are dependent on the merit or demerit accumulated in previous lives while struggling for these two. But the really valuable guidelines for human progress are beyond the understanding of people and their intelligence. The learned should realise that activities recommended in the scriptures promote the best interests of people here and lead to peace and harmony in the hereafter.

Source:::::::http://media.radiosai.org/

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Message for the Day…” Spiritual effort should not become mechanical repetition of set formulae or execution of dry formalities! Remember, your spiritual endeavours must be to attract the grace of God on yourselves.”

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Once a sage had a cat in his hermitage. Whenever he performed a homa (offering oblations to gods into the consecrated fire), the cat frisked about the fire and gave a lot of trouble to him. So he caught it in advance and kept it under an inverted basket for the duration of the homa. His son who watched this operation for years thought that this cat-catching and cat-imprisonment were vital parts of the ritual itself. So he took great trouble to seek out a cat before every homa and felt happy when he got one which he could keep under an inverted basket in the same room. That is an example of meaningless mechanical repetition. Spiritual effort should not become mechanical repetition of set formulae or execution of dry formalities! Remember, your spiritual endeavours must be to attract the grace of God on yourselves. Your spiritual practices must be accompanied by a sincere prayer from the heart!

Source::::http://media.radiosai.org/

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Message for the Day…” Three types of activity reach God and earn His grace: (1) Activity not prompted by personal desire (2) Activity emanating from unselfish love and (3) Prayer arising from pure hearts. “

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People who wish to check the quality of gold, draw a line with it on a piece of stone and assess its quality by examining that streak. The test that will reveal the quality of your faith is whether you are practising sincerely the injunctions laid down by God. Your beliefs and actions must be expressions of faith. They must have holiness as their core. They must be so full of love and compassion that they attract to you the grace of God. Such karma (actions) is what is advocated through karma kanda of Vedic scriptures. It is the taproot of human progress, the very breath of happy human existence, the food that alone can allay the hunger of people and the life-sustaining water that can cure their thirst. Therefore the first and continuing duty is to engage oneself in activities that are taught or approved in the Vedas. Three types of activity reach God and earn His grace: (1) Activity not prompted by personal desire (2) Activity emanating from unselfish love and (3) Prayer arising from pure hearts.

Source:::: http://media.radiosai.org

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After Coimbatore’s Water Table Collapsed, This Simple Initiative Revived It…Thanks to ” Siruthuli “

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As cities across India are facing a severe shortage of water, Coimbatore has been trying to preserve and recharge its groundwater levels. At the forefront of this change is Siruthuli, an NGO that is dedicated to cleaning Coimbatore, and infusing green methods throughout the city!

Coimbatore, which was once a place of abundant rainfall, was shaken to reality following a drought in 2003.

As part of its initiative to recharge groundwater levels in the city, Siruthuli has implemented rainwater harvesting structures (RWH).                                               

“In 2003, Coimbatore received 65% less rainfall than in previous years. This made us release the need to save water, and harvest it when there was adequate rainfall,” says Shruthi Suresh, a representative of the organisation.

The organisation conducted a series of geo-hydrological studies in 2005, to better analyse how to approach the conservation of groundwater in the region. In association with the Corporation of Coimbatore, Siruthuli began conducting rainwater harvesting structures in various locations across the city.

However, one of the significant challenges of the construction was the fact that Coimbatore was primarily a hard rock structure, and thus percolation of water was difficult. The organisation persevered and came up with the idea of drilling bore wells for groundwater.

“We came up with this technique to recharge the groundwater. We recommended two types of structures using this technique. The first simply recharges the aquifers, while the other not only recharges but also pumps the harvested waters so that it can be used,” she explains.

According to Shruthi, the structures are installed in both open spaces, as well as on roadsides.

Today, thanks to the efforts of this organisation, Coimbatore has more than 600 rainwater harvesting structures in different locations across the city.

However, on average it has been observed that the open spaces have seen a much higher level of maintenance than the ones on the roadside ones. There have been instances where some of the roadside RWH structures have been shut down for new roads and construction.

However, the organisation is optimistic and has seen significant growth in groundwater tables, from the time the wells have been implemented. This can be seen in the table below:

The water that is harvested from the ground is what is used extensively for not only daily use but as drinking water. It, therefore, becomes imperative for the citizens of the city, to maintain and use the water judiciously.

Today, even with a shortage of water, Coimbatore maintains stable and sustainable groundwater tables.

This initiative goes along with one of the organisation’s chief objectives, titled, “Water Watch,” under which, they aim to not only recharge groundwater, but also rejuvenate water bodies, and restore the River Noyyal. The river, which once had 34 streams, is now reduced to just four.

In the future, Siruthuli plans to conduct a comprehensive study of the entire region. This will be done to better understand natural drains, vegetation, groundwater levels, land use, and livelihoods. The study will form the basis for developing watershed concepts, RWH structures, and more. These will be applied across Coimbatore, after a series of awareness campaigns.

Siruthuli has also been involved in spreading the message of going green and educating the next generation for the same.

You can read about their initiatives here!

Source…..Anakha Arikara  in http://www.the better india .com

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Message for the Day …Malice, envy or competition must have no place in your heart. Do not rush about discovering faults where none exists. That is misdirected enthusiasm. Instead, spread peace and joy!”

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As dedicated sevaks (servitors), whether your beneficiaries thank you or traduce you, gladly perform your allotted tasks. For, you are serving yourselves, not them, remember! Bouquets or brickbats, receive them with equal calm. It is only those who identify themselves with the body, that exult or feel pained! Remember, you are the Dehi (Indweller), not the deha(body) – this will give you strength to serve well. While doing Seva do not argue that this particular task is yours and that is not; do not be sticklers for boundaries and limits. Support and complement each other in joyful co-operation. Act as ideal satsanga(noble company), infusing energy and enthusiasm to all. Also, do not carry a greater burden than that is allotted to you and do not interfere with what other people are doing, or criticise others. Malice, envy or competition must have no place in your heart. Do not rush about discovering faults where none exists. That is misdirected enthusiasm. Instead, spread peace and joy!

Source:::: http://media.radiosai.org/

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Say it with a Post Card ….” Post Crossing ” is the way !

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‘Postcrossing’ members meet in Metro rail

At a time when social media networks have taken over communication, a few people still find charm in sending postcards.

What’s fascinating is that they send the postcards to strangers in some corner of the world and receive one from some other corner. The idea of ‘Postcrossing’ is to exchange postcards to anyone in the world through the website http://www.postcrossing.com where the addresses of registered members are available.

On Sunday, the ‘Postcrossing community’ in Chennai held its meeting in the Chennai Metro Rail. They boarded at Nehru Park and alighted at the airport for a discussion.

G. Prakashraj, a 21-year-old engineering student of Anna University recollects how he chanced upon the initiative. “I found the website and started off in a small way. We meet at least twice or thrice a year. For a change, we decided to meet in the Metro today,” he said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Have you ever received a postcard from an underwater post office? I have. That’s how exciting it can get,” he says, recollecting about the postcard he got from Vanuatu, an island nation located 1,000 miles east of northern Australia.

Arun Kumar Narasimhan, a member of the group, says he was fascinated to get a postcard on steam engines all the way from Finland. “This encourages people of all ages to continue writing letters and sending postcards in this digital age.” It also brings in new friends. Recently, the Chennai group met its Mumbai counterpart.

Mr. Prakashraj is planning to visit Bhutan with his postcrossing friend. “That’s what life is all about. Meeting new people and gaining new experiences,” he says.

Source…..www. the hindu.com

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Message for the Day…” remember that the service you render to others is a reserve that will help you with your future needs. Similarly, if you extend this idea and consider that bad deeds done to others are truly deeds being done to oneself, you will never do bad deeds!”

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The service rendered by a person ensures a bright future when that service is performed devoid of ego and in gratefulness considering it an opportunity given by God. Whatever you do for others, do it with a feeling that you are doing for oneself. In truth the service you render does more good to you! A small example: A friend is warmly welcomed, taken to the drawing room and offered a cup of coffee. This good act gets imprinted in the person’s heart and that person will remember the warm welcome received and reciprocate it. If you look after a friend who is hospitalised with none to look after, will that friend not reciprocate the help when you need it? So, remember that the service you render to others is a reserve that will help you with your future needs. Similarly, if you extend this idea and consider that bad deeds done to others are truly deeds being done to oneself, you will never do bad deeds!

Source:::: http://media.radiosai.org/

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Seen the photos of Deer eating garbage in Chennai ? …Here is the story behind it …

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Over the past month, upsetting photos of spotted deer feeding on plastic and other waste in and around the Taramani area in Chennai have surfaced on social media. The deer had reportedly strayed from the IIT Madras campus or nearby areas. The loss of the forest ecosystem forces these herbivores to munch on plastic which in turn results in their death due to stomach bloating.

The pictures, which many are sharing on social media, were perhaps first postedby Facebook user Aarthi Gopalan.

Unfortunately, this is not new to a city that has witnessed several deer deaths over the years.

In fact, an RTI by animal activist Antony Rubin revealed that 220 deer and 8 blackbucks died between 2013 and 2016 on the IIT Madras campus. The campus, a thickly forested area, has increasingly come under the scanner for disrupting the ecosystem in the area with toxic waste and with garbage during its annual student fest, Sarang. After the January 2014 edition of Sarang, The Fifth Estate, a website run by IIT Madras students, reported that 21 deer had died and three were injured during the event.

Speaking to TNM, Antony Rubin says, “There is too much construction, debris and waste on campus. This has been happening for quite some time now. DLF bought a property in the area which was occupied by deer. They cleared out the entire building, so the deer came out and they are feeding on the garbage over there.”

Antony warns that trying to ‘trap them’ could prove fatal for these creatures. “Deer are very sensitive. If they are caught by force, they literally die within a few minutes because they go into shock. The death rate during translocation is about 20 to 30%. The ideal way is to slowly guide them towards Guindy National Park or IIT. There should be no traffic and it should be calm, so that the deer are not stressed.”

Animal rights activist Shravan Krishnan wrote on Facebook, “We have in fact spotted deers as far as Gandhinagar, Indra Nagar and past Kotturpuram. The main reason for these deers to stray out is because of loss habitat especially in IIT.  These deers stray out for food and water during the summers. You only see deers coming out, but we have spotted a whole lot of animals such as pangolins, jackals, civet cats, jungle cats and monitor lizards also venturing out due to habitat destruction. This problem will get worse in the coming years.

The only way to stop deers venturing out is to improve their habitat and to stop construction inside IIT and other buffer areas. (sic)”

In November last year, in response to Antony Rubin’s petition before the National Green Tribunal (NGT), the Forest Department had admitted that “due to the presence of the solid waste stray dogs are entering into the campus and they are attacking the deer and blackbucks and causing fatal injuries and in such circumstances necessary directions are to be issued to remove all the solid waste and to see that campus is free of stray dogs and protect the wildlife (sic).”

In December 2017, the southern bench of the NGT had directed IIT Madras to ensure that no further damage or injury is caused to the animals, including endangered species on campus.

IIT Madras, on the other hand, had claimed that they have an efficient process for solid waste management in place and blamed the increasing number of stray dogs on the campus for the death of the animals.

Meanwhile, the southern bench of the NGT has virtually become non-existent as its last member retired and no new appointment is forthcoming. Pending non-compliance appeals before the court are now left in the lurch.

With no way of filing appeals here, activists end up incurring significant expenditure moving the cases elsewhere. “The case keeps getting rescheduled here. So we are trying to move it to Delhi. What else can we do?” Antony asks.

Source….Manasa Rao in http://www./www.thenewsminute.com/

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Message for the Day…” Watch your likes and dislikes with a vigilant eye and discard anything that threatens to encumber your spiritual path.”

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Reduce your wants to the minimum! A foolish desire to be up-to-date and to keep up with fashion, has made you gather needless habits and unnecessary articles. Examine your room, table, wardrobe, etc. and find out how many superfluous things you have accumulated. You have acquired them because you saw someone having them and you felt that unless you too possessed them you will look small in their company. You can all be happy with much less equipment than you seem to think essential. Once an article is with you for some time, you feel it is indispensable and you do not know how to live without it. Like the silkworm, you weave a cocoon for yourself, out of your fancy! Do not allow costly habits to grow; they are costly from the monetary as well as spiritual point of view. Watch your likes and dislikes with a vigilant eye and discard anything that threatens to encumber your spiritual path.

Source:::http://media.radiosai.org/

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