message for the day

Message For the Day…”Nothing Can be More Powerful Than Character …”

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It is often declared that knowledge is power. No! No! Character is power. Nothing can be more powerful on earth than character. Riches, scholarship, status, authority, etc. are all frail and flimsy before it. There is no dearth of books today; nor is there lack of gurus. Educational institutions spread knowledge everywhere. The Sun of Knowledge (Jnaana Bhaskara) is showering His rays in plenty to all alike. But, one can hardly find those who have imbibed the nectarous wisdom thus offered and are dwelling in the ecstasy it can confer. The mountain range with lust, anger, hatred, envy and pride as the peaks, shuts out the splendor of the Sun. Charity, compassion, fortitude, sympathy, and sacrifice, arise from the higher levels of consciousness while opposite tendencies breed in the lower levels. Remember, a strong virtuous character cannot be earned from any book; it is earned only through intimate involvement with society.

Sathya Sai Baba“

Message For the Day…” Dedicate Yourself to the Progress Of Society and Your Country …”

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You must regard the prosperity and joy of others in the community as your own. Only then will India or any other country deserve prosperity and joy. Your happiness is bound up with the happiness of Society. Your physical, mental and intellectual strength and skills have to be dedicated, not merely to your own progress, but equally to the progress of Society. You must try to benefit yourself and the Society through such service. Use the strength, skills, and spirit of service for such work. A machine gets rested if it is not put to use; the human machine too gets rusted if it is not put to constant meaningful work. The pulse is not the correct indicator of your being alive; work and activity is the evidence and the value of real living. Your role is to translate your strength into activity along the path of duty.

Sathya Sai Baba

Message For the Day…” Who Is God … ” ?

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What or who is God? When the answer to this question is sought, one discovers that God is the glory immanent in Nature. The earth rotates on its axis at a speed of thousand miles an hour. As a consequence, we have alternations of day and night, which helps us to live on this globe. Besides, it moves around the sun at the rate of 66,000 miles an hour, causing the seasons which bring rains for crops and vegetation which sustain human life. The earth does not profit in the least by these rotations but human beings survive, enjoy life and prosper on account of them. Nature must indeed be laughing at the sterile frenzies, the endless pursuits, and the countless miseries to which human beings submit themselves to, in their search for achieving the unachievable! You must search in Nature the sacred lessons it holds for you; then, you will understand how deep and how everlasting is the Truth that it conveys to you!

Sathya Sai Baba

Image Of the Day… Upside-Down Rainbow !!!

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upside-down rainbow. What is it?

Circumzenithal arc by Dudley Williams

Circumzenithal arc by Dudley Williams
Circumzenithal arcs have been described as an “upside down rainbow” or “a grin in the sky.” They’re wonderful! See photos here.

Duke Marsh caught this circumzenithal arc on October 3, 2012 from New Albany, Indiana. Thanks, Duke.

People who look up a lot may occasionally see the rainbow-like arcs depicted in the photos on this page. They’re called circumzenithal arcs, and they’re not really rainbows. Instead, they’re caused by ice crystals in the upper atmosphere. These arcs are related to the frequently seen halos around the sun or moon. Les Cowley of the great website Atmospheric Optics says of these graceful and colorful arcs:

The circumzenithal arc, CZA, is the most beautiful of all the halos. The first sighting is always a surprise, an ethereal rainbow fled from its watery origins and wrapped improbably about the zenith. It is often described as an “upside down rainbow” by first timers. Someone also charmingly likened it to “a grin in the sky”.

Look straight up near to the zenith when the sun if fairly low and especially if sundogs are visible. The centre of the bow always sunwards and red is on the outside.

Les says that the most ideal time to see a circumzenithal arc is when the sun is at a height of 22 degrees in the sky. Look here to see Les Cowley’s illustration of the various kinds of halo phenomena, related to circumzenithal arcs. And enjoy the photos below, contributed by EarthSky friends on Facebook. Thanks to all who contributed.

Dan Szulewski captured a circumzenithal arc from Hermiston, Oregon on June 22, 2014.

Julie Gurnhill caught this one on February 27, 2013.

John Gravell captured this circumzenithal arc from Boston on October 17, 2012.

Rene Pennings captured this circumzenithal arc on May 21, 2012.

A lovely circumzenithal arc amidst high clouds by Dudley Williams on December 18, 2011.

Andrew R. Brown saw a jet pass in front of a circumzenithal arc, from Ashford Kent in the UK, on November 19, 2010.

Here's that same circumzenithal arc from Andrew R. Brown again, minus the jet!

Bottom line: When you see an upside-down rainbow in the sky, you are likely seeing a circumzenithal arc. It’s related the halos often seen around the sun or moon, caused by ice crystal in the upper atmosphere. The photos here are by EarthSky friends on Facebook. Thanks to all who contributed!

Gallery: Rainbows around the world

Source::::: Deborah Byrd In Earth sky news site

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Message For the Day…” Good Conduct Must be the Main Key to Your Life … “

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Lord Krishna declares in the Bhagavad Gita, “There is nothing in the three worlds that I am obliged to do, nothing unaccomplished that I have to accomplish, but I am still engaged in activity (karma)”. Lord Krishna says this, for, if God is inactive, the Cosmos will come to a grinding halt. You too, must take the lead and follow it. Translate your strength into activity along the path of duty. The young follow the lead of elders. So elders must consistently hold on to ideals and work towards their realization so that the entire universe can attain prosperity and peace. Mother Earth teaches her children this lesson of service and sacrifice. Good conduct must be the main key to the life of every being. Remember, it is the ‘way of living,’ the path of virtue, that keeps you in the memory of people long after death.

Sathya Sai Baba

Simple Story With a Strong Message… Gold Coins !!!

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AKBAR’S GOLD COINS

This Akbar – Birbal story is just one of the many stories, which are an integral part of rich Indian heritage.

The wisdom of Birbal was unparalleled during the reign of Emperor Akbar. But Akbar’s brother in law was extremely jealous of him. He asked the Emperor to dispense with Birbal’s services and appoint him in his place. He gave ample assurance that he would prove to be more efficient and capable than Birbal. Before Akbar could take a decision on this matter, this news reached Birbal.

Birbal resigned and left. Akbar’s brother in law was made the minister in place of Birbal. Akbar decided to test the new minister. He gave three hundred gold coins to him and said, “Spend these gold coins such that, I get a hundred gold coins here in this life; a hundred gold coins in the other world and another hundred gold coins neither here nor there.”

The minister found the entire situation to be a maze of confusion and hopelessness. He spent sleepless nights worrying over how he would get himself out of this mess. Thinking in circles was making him go crazy. Eventually, on the advice of his wife he sought Birbal’s help. Birbal said, “Just give me the gold cons. I shall handle the rest.”

Birbal walked the streets of the city holding the bag of gold coins in his hand. He noticed a rich merchant celebrating his son’s wedding. Birbal gave a hundred gold coins to him and bowed courteously saying, “The Emperor Akbar sends you his good wishes and blessings for the wedding of your son. Please accept the gift he has sent.” The merchant felt honoured that the king had sent a special messenger with such a precious gift. He honoured Birbal and gave him a large number of expensive gifts and a bag of gold coins as a return gift for the king.

Next, Birbal went to the area of the city were the poor people lived. There he bought food and clothing in exchange for a hundred gold coins and distributed them in the name of the Emperor.

When he came back to town he organized a concert of music and dance. He spent a hundred gold coins on it.

The next day Birbal entered Akbar’s darbar and announced that he had done all that the king had asked his brother-in-law to do. The Emperor waited to know how he had done it. Birbal repeated the sequences of all the events and then said, “The money I gave to the merchant for the wedding of his son – you have got back while on this earth. The money I spent on buying food and clothing for the poor – you will get it in the other world. The money I spent on the musical concert – you will get neither here nor there.”

The Moral:-

This is true even today.

The money you spend on friends is returned or reciprocated in some form or the other.
Money spent on charity gets converted into blessings from God which becomes your eternal property.
Money spent on pleasures is just frittered away!

So when you spend money, think a little, if not a lot!

Source::::unknown… Input From a Friend of mine

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Message For the Day…” Do Not Allow Your Mind to Boss over You …”

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All of you are pilgrims in the journey towards the city of liberation. Every life is but a stage in the journey, your body is a rest-house for a short stay during the pilgrimage. The mind is the caretaker in the place of our rest. Do not treat the Mind as a Master or Owner, but take care of it so that the house we are privileged to occupy is not damaged or polluted. We must treat the watchman politely and not destroy its interiors. A restless mind is an important source of ill-health. Many are constantly afflicted with some source of worry or other, never free from anxiety. Why? Because they are identifying themselves with the body! One acquires their body, through their past activities and deeds, caused by the twin pulls of love and hate. You can escape from this cycle, if you realize the Oneness of the Divine being present in you and in everyone.

Sathya Sai Baba

Image of the day !!!

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Happy anniversary, Cassini spacecraft

 

June 30 is the 10-year anniversary of the Cassini spacecraft’s successful insertion into orbit around Saturn. Imaging team leader Carolyn Porco expresses the wonder.

Here's one of the latest views of Saturn by Cassini. This composite image was snapped by the Cassini spacecraft on May 4, 2014 and processed by Val Klavans. More details: on Flickr

In the past 10 years, no spacecraft has consistently delivered the wonder of our solar system like the flagship-class NASA-ESA robotic spacecraft Cassini. No surprise, because it’s orbiting the amazing planet Saturn, world of rings and moons. June 30, 2014 is the 10-year anniversary of Cassini’s insertion into orbit around Saturn. It’s hard to convey in words how wonderful the Cassini images have been since that great day. They are stark, pleasingly symmetric and startling in their beauty. Carolyn Porco, who leads the imaging science team on the Cassini mission, had this to say today on CICLOPS, the official website of the Cassini imaging team.

On the night of June 30, 2004, we flawlessly guided ourselves into orbit around Saturn, and in doing so, took up residence in the house of the sun’s most glorious planet. Our long voyage to this faraway place was over, and we were about to embark on a scientific exploration that would make history. It was hard to take it all in. I was certain that evening there was nothing we could not do.

The last decade has been the kind that can define a human life. Wandering a distant, alien wilderness of endlessly moving worlds, all of us under the commanding and splendidly garlanded presence at its center, one can surely be forgiven for feelings of rapture and sacred calling. It changes you. It has changed me.

And it has changed all of us, Carolyn, who have been privileged to view these images. Thank you and congratulations, Cassini mission imaging team!

Want to see some of the images? Here are a few, from past EarthSky posts:

Best images of great Saturn storm of 2011

Night and day on Saturn

Crescent Saturn

Best views of Saturn hexagon

Saturn’s moon rains water onto Saturn

A 360-degree view of Saturn’s auroras

Saturn’s largest and second-largest moons

Rainbow rings of Saturn

Video: Ride with the Cassini spacecraft orbiting Saturn

Cassini finds vortex at south pole of Saturn’s moon Titan

Image from Cassini captures five of Saturn’s moons

NASA Cassini spacecraft provides new view of Saturn and Earth

Yin and yang of Saturn’s moon Iapetus

Cassini spies Venus from Saturn’s orbit

Blazing objects in Saturn’s weirdest ring

Bottom line: June 30, 2014 is the 10-year anniversary of the Cassini spacecraft’s insertion into orbit around Saturn. Don’t we live in an amazing time of history?

Source::::Earth sky news

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Message For the Day…” Yearn For the Happiness and Prosperity of all Mankind…”

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Virtuous living, beneficial thoughts, elevating ideals and righteous conduct can confer not only good health, but what is even more precious, Aatmaananda, the ecstatic Awareness of the Reality itself. When one yearns for the happiness and prosperity of all mankind, he or she is blessed with the wisdom and strength to mark out the way and lead them towards it. The person sees one’s chosen God in everyone. Every act of theirs will be as pure, as sincere and as sacred as an offering to God. A very effective way to conquer all sources of physical and mental disease and debility is awareness of one’s Divine (Aatmic) Reality. That will bring about an upsurge of Love and Light, for, when one recognises that he or she is the Atma, one would cognize the same Atma in all, and share in the joy and grief, strength and weakness of all.

Sathya Sai Baba

Image of the day…

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One frame from a time lapse of the Milky Way, with some light pollution and fast-moving cloud cover … and an iridium flare.

Nature & Man: Iridium Flare, Milky Way, Clouds and Light Pollution by Mike Taylor. Visit Mike Taylor Photography.

Mike Taylor in Maine contributed this interesting photo. He calls it Nature & Man. It’s one frame from a time lapse of the Milky Way, photographed in western Maine. The shot includes quite a bit of light pollution and some fast-moving cloud cover. Most of the light pollution in this image is coming from Farmington, Maine which is about 35 miles from this location. Perhaps most interesting to most skywatchers is the bright iridium flare captured here. As Mike said, they are often mistaken for meteors, but, instead:

An iridium flare is a specific type of satellite flare that is made when the antennas of an Iridium communication satellite reflect sunlight directly onto the surface of the Earth. The satellites are in a near-polar orbit at an altitude of 485 miles. Their orbital period is approximately 100 minutes with a velocity of 16,800 miles per hour.

The uniqueness of Iridium flares is that the spacecraft emits ‘flashes’ of very bright reflected light that sweep in narrow focused paths across the surface of the Earth. An Iridium communication satellite’s Main Mission Antenna is a silver-coated Teflon antenna array that mimics near-perfect mirrors and are angled at 40-degrees away from the axis of the body of the satellites. This can provide a specular reflection of the sun’s disk, periodically causing a dazzling glint of reflected sunlight.

At the Earth’s surface, the specular reflection is probably less than 50 miles wide, so each flare can only be viewed from a fairly small area. The flare duration can last from anywhere between 5 to 20 seconds and can easily be seen by the naked eye

Source:::: earth sky news site

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