Presently people are not celebrating Sankranti in its true spirit. They confine it to mere performance of rituals, in the absence of purity and sanctity. In the past, of all the festivals, Sankranti was considered the most important. It is the day on which farmers bring home the harvested crop, feed the poor and rejoice. Vedic scholars get up during the early morning hours (Brahmamuhurta) and chant Vedic mantras, purifying the hearts of one and all. This festival also has a special significance for the householders. They invite their newly married son-in-law to their house, present them with new clothes and distribute sweets and rice puddings to all, thus the entire household abounds with joy. Cool winds, mellifluous bird songs and the sweet sugarcane crops herald the arrival of Sankranti. This festival bestows great joy and auspiciousness on farmers, householders, priests and children. It must drive away all disappointments and despair, and fill every heart with hope and enthusiasm.
Today people talk harsh words which hurt the feelings of others. If you see inappropriate sights, listen to bad talk, and indulge in unholy activities, you are investing time in activities which ultimately ruin you. When you misuse your senses, how can you expect to be happy and healthy? In order to enjoy perfect health, you must make sacred use of your senses. You may be a pauper or a millionaire, but God has given each one of you five senses and a heart (hridaya). Make proper use of them and sanctify your lives. That heart which is filled with compassion (daya) is hridaya. As you think, so you become (Yad bhavam tad bhavati). In order to sanctify your senses, you should utilise them in the service of others. If you cannot undertake any service activity, at least speak softly and sweetly. You cannot always oblige, but you can speak always obligingly.
The foremost activity everyone should engage in is to serve fellow human beings. Instead, people are wasting precious time worrying about either the past or the future. Embodiments of love! This body is not meant to be engaged in mere eating and drinking, and thus wasting away our valuable time. We must realise the truth that God has given us this body for serving others. All great men have sanctified their lives only by serving humanity. Every limb in the human body has been granted by God for Karmopasana (worshipping God through service). Karmopasana is the only means by which the human life can be sanctified. We are undertaking various sadhanas (spiritual efforts). But, all these can give us only temporary satisfaction, not eternal joy. Our ancient sages have been able to achieve eternal joy through conscious effort. Therefore you must develop firm faith in the truth that nothing provides eternal joy, except service to humanity.
First, it should be noted that “kudos” is not the plural form of “kudo”, so a “kudo” was once technically nothing. However, because so many people in the last century, mainly in the United States, have thought kudos was plural, in some dictionaries today “kudo” is considered a valid word meaning the same thing as kudos (yet another word created via back-formation).
To answer your question, kudos in English means:
1) Praise / Accolades
2) Credit for one’s achievements
The word “kudos” comes from the Greek κῦδος (kudos), meaning “glory” or “fame”. The “-os” ending in Greek typically indicates a singular noun and is supposed to be pronounced like “-ose”, rather than “-oze”, as many Americans usually pronounce it, “koo-doze”, or as a lot of British people tend to pronounce it “-oss”, “cue-doss”.
The word made its way into English around the late 18th century / early 19th century, meaning pretty much the same thing as it means today. The first documented instance of the “singular” word “kudo” didn’t pop up until 1926.
Popular cricket and tennis matches today involve several lakhs of rupees. As sports become business with no room for human values, peace becomes a casualty. Sports and athletics must be practiced with a sense of spiritual oneness, transcending differences of nationality, language and religion to experience good health, peace and bliss. Since time immemorial, sports and athletics were intended mainly to promote health and experience joy. Today these objectives are being forgotten and replaced with commercial motives and self-interests. People cherish body attachment, resulting in one’s outlook being very narrow and limited. Consequently, peace and happiness are lost. In every action in your daily living, you should be sportive and cooperative with unity and harmony. You must recognise that the indwelling Spirit (Atma) is one and the same in all beings and develop the spirit of oneness and equality. Then the Divinity present within you will be manifested and your human nature will become divine.
When the Lord’s name is pronounced by your tongue, and the image is adored by the mind, these should not degenerate into mechanical routine; the meaning of the Name and the content of the form must at the same time inspire and illumine the consciousness. Escape the routine; involve yourselves in the attitude of worship deeply and sincerely. That is the way to earn peace and content, for which all human activity ought to be dedicated and directed. Planting the sapling of the cotton-tree, how can you hope for the mango? Do it now! That is the urgency of this problem of all problems, of winning peace and contentment. If you feel hungry now, you cannot have your meals tomorrow; nor do you eat your meals now fearing that you will be hungry tomorrow. Eat when you are hungry – not before or after. Aspire now, adore now, achieve now.
The New Year brings with it new beginnings and felicitations of various kinds – best movies of the year gone by, television series, best designers etc.
Now here is an award with a difference – Tamil Nadu’s RS Puram police station, in Coimbatore city, won the award for the ‘Best Police Station’ in the country in the category of SMART Police Stations, an initiative by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
SMART Police (S-Sensitive and Strict; M-Modern with mobility; A- Alert and Accountable; R- Reliable and Responsive; T- Trained and Techno-savvy) was a concept that was introduced by Prime Minister Modi at the 49th annual conference Directors General/Inspectors General held in Guwahati in November 2014.
Station House Officer T Jothi, Inspector (law and order), received the award from Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh at the All India Conference of Director Generals/Inspector Generals of Police held at BSF Academy Tekanpur in Madhya Pradesh.
The Union Home Minister, Shri Rajnath Singh presenting the medals and trophies after inaugurating the three-day All-India Conference of Director Generals / Inspector Generals of Police, 2017, at the BSF Academy, in Tekanpur near Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh on January 06, 2018. The Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri Hansraj Gangaram Ahir, the National Security Advisor, Shri Ajit Doval the Union Home Secretary, Shri Rajiv Gauba and other Senior Officers are also seen.
This is yet another feather in the station’s cap, the RS Puram station has an exclusive room for visitors, a waiting hall, investigation room, a receptionist cabin, treated drinking water and a ramp for the disabled. The all-woman police (east) has set up a crèche for the kids accompanying petitioners.
Station House Officer Jothi attributed the station winning the award to the teamwork of Tamil Nadu police. “No single person was responsible for the award. It is a team from the top to the constable level,” he said. “The station has been chosen as the best in the nation based on 80 parameters including basic amenities, crime detection, property recovery, cleanliness and citizen-friendly,” he said, as per a report in DNA.
The Hindu reported, following instructions from the State police headquarters, the Coimbatore City Police sent a file containing the initiatives it had taken in the past for effective and friendly policing. Based on the proposal a Home Ministry team visited the city and interacted with people who fell under the police jurisdiction limits.
Some of the parameters considered for the assessment include the rate of crime detection, execution of warrants, recovery of properties, enforcement of local laws and special acts, preventive arrests and detention under Goondas Act.
Here are the other stations that made it to the top 10 list released by the Ministry:
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, a great disciple of Lord Krishna, said, “Think of God incessantly. Chant His Name. There is nothing in this world except God.” He went about singing the glory of Lord Krishna in the streets. Some miscreants, jealous of his growing reputation, snatched away the cymbals from his hands. Thereafter he started playing on a drum while singing the Divine Name. The drum too was also broken by the miscreants, but he was least perturbed. He started clapping and singing bhajans, as he felt there was no need for instruments to sing the Lord’s Name. Then they beat him up mercilessly. His body started bleeding profusely, but Chaitanya continued to chant the Divine Name calmly, and within a few minutes, all blood and pain disappeared miraculously! Remember, difficulties in life do not cause any hindrance to a person pursuing a noble course of life. In spite of troubles and difficulties, they always remain at peace and contemplate on God constantly!
The root-cause of all discontentment is envy. You can be self-satisfied only when envy is eradicated from your heart. The contented individual enjoys peaceful living. How does envy arise? Discontent over what one lacks gives birth to envy. For example, when you compare yourself with those who are better off, or hold higher office, or score higher marks, or are more good looking, you suffer from a consciousness of your own inferiority! It is a crime to entertain envy within. To get rid of this evil quality, look at those who are worse off than you. For instance, when you look at those who got lower marks, you can derive comfort from the fact that you have done better than them! Hence, get rid of envy by comparing yourself with those who are worse off. In due course you must develop a sense of equal-mindedness towards those who are better off and those who are worse. Such equal-mindedness is a Divine quality.
Take off with Natarajan 