There is nothing greater in the world than Bhakti (devotion). Once sage Narada demonstrated to his disciples how devotion is greater than anything in the world, including the Divine. While the Divine was greater than the cosmos, which the Lord as Vamana could measure in two steps, the Lord Himself is held in his heart by the devotion of the devotee. Devotion bestows the highest benefits. Devotion alone is the means to Realisation. Devotion alone confers supreme peace. Devotion is the panacea for all ills. Divine love encompasses all sacred acts. To achieve oneness with the Divine, one will have to be prepared to sacrifice everything. It is not easy for anyone to recognise the truth about the Divine. His leelas (miraculous sportive activities) are beyond the grasp of the mind and speech. There is no Veda or Sastra superior to devotion.
Nature is quiet, yet powerful. Nature is proud, yet humble. Nature is complicated, but simple in its actions. Nature is always there, and you cannot avoid it. Our planet is an open book, it’s got nothing to hide from us. There’s actually no limit to what it can teach us about life. Here are some statements of appreciation we ought to give to the best and most important teacher of all time – Earth.
Earth, teach me quiet
– as the grasses are still with new light.
Earth, teach me suffering
– as old stones suffer with memory.
Earth, teach me humility
– as blossoms are humble with beginning.
Earth, teach me love and care
– as mothers nurture their young.
Earth, teach me courage
– as the tree that stands alone.
Earth, teach me acceptance
– as the leaves that die each fall.
Earth, teach me renewal
– as the seed that rises in the spring.
Earth, teach me to forget myself
– as melted snow forgets its life.
Earth, nothing and no one can teach me more than you do.
10,000 vehicles off the roads; 2 lakh man hours and 1 lakh litres of fuel saved
he IT industry is known for its innovative, time saving, efficient solutions for a wide variety of challenges.
Now it appears that the sector has woken up to another challenge – traffic and environmental pollution that diminishes the quality of life of its employees.
The industry in Hyderabad employs 3.5 lakh and the city is among the top-5 in the country that accounts for $100 billion worth of IT exports.
But it has just realised the pressure it’s exerting on the city traffic and the impact of the additional carbon emissions to the environment.
A survey found that about one lakh man hours are being wasted each day with employees struggling to get to the offices, negotiating tough traffic.
So, as a start, about 11,000 IT employees are now taking public buses on Thursday to get to their offices in the Hi-Tec City-Gachibowli IT Hub of Hyderabad. Thousands of others car-pool, walk or cycle to their offices as part of an initiative by HYSEA, which represents firms that export IT services worth $10 billion.
“About 40,000 litres of fuel is being wasted each day, resulting in 96 tonnes of additional emissions of carbon dioxide. The numbers are staggering considering the small area,” Ramesh Loganathan, President of HYSEA (Hyderabad Software Exporters’ Association), told BusinessLine. And what it achieved over the month is encouraging.
Benefits aplenty
Most companies in the IT corridor reported reduction of up to 20 per cent of cars. Over 10,000 motor vehicles are off the roads each Thursday. The city is free of about 273 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.
Enthused by the response to the Car-Free-Thursday initiative, the association is now planning to expand the scope.
It is going to ask companies to discourage staff coming in cars on Thursdays. It wants them to introduce parking fee and introduce a system of allowing cars with even or odd numbers.
The association has decided to lend its voice to the World Car Free Day that is slated to happen on September 22.
Hyderabad is among the 1,000 cities across the world that consented to join the movement.
In association with the Cyberabad police, Road Transport Corporation and other stakeholders, the HYSEA has come out with a vision document ‘Re-imagining Transport in Our Cities’.
“The idea is to promote sustainable transport and make Hyderabad a congestion-free and pollution-free smart city,” the document said.
The industry, with the help of the IT department of Telangana, is planning to develop necessary infrastructure to encourage the staff to use cycles.
“To begin with, we are asking hundreds of Car-Free-Thursday initiative volunteers to use cycle at least for a day or two to get to their offices,” Loganathan said.
You may install idols and worship them. But do not forget the inner significance of all that worship. All external activities are necessary only to help you to get the spirit of non-duality and experience unity in diversity. Love and sacrifice are very important. Where there is pure, unsullied, selfless, sacred and sublime love there is no fear at all. Giving and not getting is the underlying principle of spiritual sadhana. Your heart is full of love, but you are using it only for selfish purposes instead of diverting it towards God. God is in the heart and not in the head. The heart is full of love. Every day, remind yourself that God is one; all religions uphold the same principle of ‘One God, who is omnipresent.’ Do not have contempt for any religion, as each is a pathway to God. Fostering love towards your fellow-beings, receive the blessings of the Divine. This is the goal of life.
Youngsters in 32 villages of Ghoshergram and Jhunjkagram panchayats in Bankura district of West Bengal have formed groups that spread awareness on issues related to health, education and development in amazing ways.
Kshama Mondal, 19, of Housibad village, which falls under Jhunjka gram panchayat in Chhatna block of Bankura district, West Bengal, enjoys learning new facts related to the food and nutritional needs of her people and then putting this important information to practice. From being an active participant in the nutrition camps that are organised regularly in her village, Kshama has moved on to encouraging others. As a member of the Hosibad Naba Tarun Taruni Dal, a youth group in her village, she is involved in creating awareness on nutrition, health, education and development. Encouraging this process are the activists of the Kolkata-based non-government organisation, Development Research Communication and Services Centre (DRCSC).
Currently, 32 youth groups, comprising 10-15 members, have been set up in Ghosher and Jhunjka gram panchayats, covering 32 villages of Chhatna block. Over 50 per cent of the members are girls like Kshama. –
Youngsters in 32 villages of Ghoshergram and Jhunjkagram panchayats in Bankura district of West Bengal have formed groups that spread awareness on issues related to health, education and development. (Credit: DRCSC\WFS) Anirban Banerjee of DRCSC, shares, “We partnered with Welthungerhilfe of Germany to implement the Fight Hunger First Initiative (FHFI) in the rural areas of West Bengal. Food security, income security and education security form the focus of this programme. We realized that to ensure sustainable progress in all three areas, it was imperative to involve the youth, which is why we are reaching out to youngsters between 12 and 22 years.”
He believes that not only will young people be able to mobilise and motivate their family and friends but eventually, as adults, they will also be in a position to sustain the movement to ensure a far reaching impact.
One group has been constituted in each village and they have been trained to function independently.
Suryakanta Das of DRCSC’s Education Team, elaborates, “The groups are involved in creating awareness and monitoring Integrated Child Development Service (ICDS) and mid-day meals. Besides this, they conduct workshops and discussions on nutrition, check on the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and even keep an eye on the workings of the school management committee or the village education committee for the proper implementation of the Right to Education Act.”
Kshama looks forward to being with her group as their joint activities help them form a bond with the community.
“I like explaining the Infant Young and Child Feeding (IYCF) cards to the pregnant women and lactating mothers. It feels nice to be in a position to help and guide them towards better health,” says the teenager.
Her group even conducts workshops where the nutritional value of different leaves, fruits, grains that are available in the area is explained and the local women taught to cook nutritious meals. “For us young girls these are important learnings for life,” she smiles.
Another way in which the youth groups put forth their messages is through street plays.
“We write and stage the street plays on themes like basic hygiene, hand-washing, healthy diet and good food habits. We also emphasise the importance of taking children for timely check-ups to the primary health centre,” elaborates Amita Roy, 15, of the Bortor Ashar Alo group from Bortor village under Ghosher gram panchayat.
Commemorative occasions like World Water Day, World Climate Day, World Health Day, Global Family Day, Earth Day, and so on, are observed in Bortor village with rallies and plays. The youngsters now even act as the bridge between the school and the community, calling for meetings between parents and the school management or village education committees so that the local community’s Right to Education is realised.
However, it is their green fingers that are truly inspiring. Ten groups have created gardens on the premises of 11 primary schools as well as two ICDS centres, all of them managed and maintained by the enthusiastic members themselves.
To get to know the local topography better, the groups draw up a village profile map, clearly demarcating the agricultural land, fallow land, ponds, rivers, forest, and so on.
“While its mostly the boys who participate in this activity, there are some girls too who take part, especially those interested in mapping, topography, resource management,” remarks Sarla Tudu, 16, of Dharam Mandoya group from the tribal village of Kendua under Jhunjka gram panchayat.
At the Siuli Pahari Primary school, a wonderful green patch is being cared for by the Siuli Pahari Nabajiban Dal.
Kakoli Mal, 13, a group member and a secondary school student, elaborates, “We have pitched in to create this school garden, utilising whatever area was available for the purpose. The students help us out by watering the plants or doing the weeding, but the hard work of planting and manuring is done by us. We have planted a variety of vegetables, tubers, leafy vegetables and this produce is used to prepare healthier mid-day meals.”
Those involved in managing the school gardens hold weekly classes on natural resource management and talk to students about their local environment and the ecology as well. The merit of using organic fertilisers, such as vermi-compost or compost and liquid manure, is widely known these days.
“For the youth, participating in such group initiatives has many advantages. It provides practical learnings related to environmental education, which is a part of their syllabus in school. Apart from this it prepares the ground for them to become eligible for the work-for-pay schemes of the panchayat, like doing surveys, once they turn 18. Many of the youth in the 18-22 age group, who are part of the initiative, have become vocal participants in the gram sabha meetings and have the potential to be community leaders. They have realised that knowledge is power,” observes Das.
One successful youth leader who has emerged through this intervention is Laltu Gorai, 21, who has been elected the Upa-Panchayat Pradhan of Benagoria village that falls under the Ghosher gram panchayat. Laltu has been able to better facilitate the implementation of schemes like the MGNREGA because of his broader awareness and community experience thanks to the experience he gained during his work for the local youth group.
There have been numerous multiplier effects of this intervention. Currently, youngsters from within the community are motivated to come forward and work together to bring about positive changes in their lives – be it related to their health, education or employment. The trust factor is high and the bonding strong, which only brightens the chances of this transformation being sustained in the coming years, too.
Written by Ajitha Menon for Women’s Feature Service (WFS) and republished here in arrangement with WFS. – in http://www.thebetterindia.com
Sometimes it is not the big things that make a difference but the small gestures that touch the heart.
An 8-year-old girl named Rasika Joshi saw a picture of Aamir Khan with Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis. Being a huge fan of Aamir Khan, she asked her father, Manoj Joshi, what was Aamir Khan doing with the CM.
To which he replied that he is giving a cheque to the CM for the relief fund to help the farmers who lost their crops to bad weather and are struggling to survive now.
Inquisitive, Rasika asked if her photo would be clicked if she donated the money to which her father said yes. That excited Rasika and she decided to give her piggy bank donations to the farmers to help them.
Her benevolent gesture impressed her family as well as the Maharashtra CM who said he was touched by her gesture. He assured that no matter what, her savings would reach the farmer.
Her father was elated by the CM’s response to the little girl’s plea and his reaction to it.
Earlier, many celebrities including Ajinkya Rahane, Akshay Kumar, Nana Patekar etc have donated funds to aid the farmers in drought-stricken Maharashtra. The recent rainfall has brought relief to some of the areas, however, many areas still remain dry with people struggling to make the ends meet.
Will there be another Rasika Joshi to help them out and show them love?
Every being is an embodiment of the Divine. True human relationship can grow only when this truth is recognised. The first stage is where you recognise, ‘I am in the Light.’ Next is when you know, ‘The Light is in me,’ and finally you realise, ‘I am the Light.’ ‘I’ represents love and light which connotes Supreme Wisdom (Jnana). When love and light unite, there is Realisation. The path of devotion is easier than the path of wisdom. Love should come from within, not forced from outside. Develop spontaneous love. The attitude of petitioning to God for favours should be given up. Love of God should not be based on quid pro quo, seeking favours in exchange for prayers and offerings to God. Place your faith in God and do your duty to the best of your ability. Saturate yourself with love and share it with all.
You may have immense faith in God. But from time to time, the power of Maya may undermine this faith. So be vigilant. In Mahabharata even staunch devotees of Krishna like Dharmaraja and Arjuna displayed hesitancy in following the advice of Krishna and had to be reminded of their duty through Bhishma and Draupadi respectively. Faith in God should never waver. In no circumstance should anyone go against the injunctions of the Divine. Whatever worship one may offer, however intensely one may meditate, if one transgresses the commands of the Lord, these devotional practices become futile. The reason is that the Lord has no selfish objectives or goals. It is out of small-minded, narrow and selfish motives that people choose to act against the sacred and noble commandments of the Lord. Even small acts of transgression may in due course assume dangerous proportions.
Who wants to ride through 17 cities, over 3000 kms, in 2 weeks over bumpy roads in a flimsy vehicle? Only crazy extreme-adventure-sport-loving foreigners, right? Wrong! There’s one daring 29-year-old from Mumbai who also decided to take on the challenge. Meet Rutavi Mehta, just back from her maiden auto rickshaw race, which she finished in only 12 days.
In April, 2015, about 250 people from over 50 countries came down to India to be part of a very unique adventure sport – an auto rickshaw run. The challenge was to drive an auto rickshaw for about 3,000 kms, from Jaisalmer in Rajasthan to Shillong in Meghalaya, covering the breadth of the country in just two weeks — that’s six states and 17 cities. This feat, considered one of the most dangerous adventure sports in the world, had to be accomplished without any backup teams of mechanics, no guidance in terms of directions or any other help, in barely roadworthy vehicles that are certainly not meant to be driven long distance.
Among these 250 people, there was just one Indian participant – Rutavi Mehta.
Rutavi and her team at the finish line
“I had known about this adventure sport since a long time,” says Rutavi, a travel consultant by profession. “It was in 2007, when a couple of rickshaws had come down to the hotel where I was working as a marketing head earlier…that’s when I came to know about the run.”
At that time though, she hadn’t even dreamt that she would herself participate in the run one day.
Rutavi is from the hospitality industry and has backpacked through Europe in the past. As a travel consultant today, she runs her own company called Photokatha – a place where various travelers from across the country share their travel experiences. She also runs various campaigns with tourism boards of different states as a consultant. Recently, she got a chance to design and head a Kerala Blog Express campaign where 27 international bloggers traveled in different parts of Kerala to experience the culture of the state.
The Rickshaw Run is organized by a UK-based group known as ‘The Adventurists.’ The first run took place in 2006, when the contestants covered the route from Kochi in Kerala to Darjeeling in West Bengal. Since then, the sport is organized with a different route in India every six months, and there has never been a single run in which all the participants have reached the finish line.
There is no prize for winning this difficult race, which is more about giving than getting. –
The only necessary requirement for competing is that every team (usually 3 people) should raise a minimum amount of £1000 (USD 1550) for organizations that are working towards the protection of the environment. The two organizations they donated to were Cool Earth and Planeterra. Cool Earth is an environmental charity group working for the protection of rainforests and the local communities living in those areas. Planeterra is also a non-profit organization that helps empower local people to develop their communities and conserve their environment.
Rutavi was very unsure about participating in the race at first.
“A couple of my friends from the travel blogger industry were coming to India and they wanted to be a part of the run. They had already registered for it, but I was not sure,” she remembers.
Being a woman and travelling pan-India was a scary thought to begin with. Moreover, she did not know how to drive a rickshaw. But the sense of adventure, the spirit of charity, and the motivation of friends added up and she got herself registered. “I went out, borrowed a rickshaw and learned how to ride it in a few days.”
Every team in the run has a maximum of three members. Rutavi participated with her friends Derek Freal and Ryan Brown who are travel bloggers from USA — they called themselves Teen Romanchaak Yaar (three adventurous friends). The teams are required to cover a distance of 300 km each day, with one person driving for 100 km at a stretch. –
“In a rickshaw, 300 km is like 600 km by car, since the maximum speed is only 55 km/hr, and you don’t have any cushions to support you during the bumpy ride,” says Rutavi.
The race is an expensive one, says Rutavi. The registration fee itself is £2500, a part of which goes directly for charity. In return for the registration amount, they only get the rickshaw. Her team decided to crowd fund this fee, and with the help of friends, family, some corporate organizations and the travelling network created by all three of them, they raised enough for registration as well as for the cause even before the race had started. As for their accommodation, they partnered with different organizations and individuals.
“Since we are travel bloggers, many companies supported us. Zostel (a chain of backpackers’ hostels) came on board as the hospitality partner. In most of the cities we stayed in Zostel and we partnered with similar organizations for our stay and food in other parts,” says Rutavi.
Mountainous terrain, broken roads, unknown paths, and rivers to cross – Rutavi saw it all during the journey.
“I met people from so many countries and got a chance to learn about their cultures. People from Norway, Canada, some countries that I had never even heard about – I learnt how they live, about their culture, food, music, and so much more. There was also a lot of creativity going on around us. Rickshaws were decorated in many unique and brilliant ways,” she says.
But there were some very difficult spots as well. The rickshaw run is considered to be one of the most dangerous adventurous sports by many.
This is because the difficult roads have to be covered on a three wheeler seven horsepower rickshaw, without any support or knowledge about the way, without any back-up or a set route. Rutavi’s team survived two accidents also. One was in Allahabad and the other one in Guwahati, just 150 km before the final destination. But she did not give up and made it to the finish line in spite of some bad injuries.
The one thing that she realised with this journey is that no matter which part of India you are in, people are very helpful. She was amazed to see how the local people turned up to help every time they needed something. If the rickshaw broke down, mechanics would help them without taking any money in return, and people would also offer food at many places. All because they were happy to see a very simple vehicle being used for a charitable cause!
Rutavi says she has travelled to 1500 destinations around the world so far. This enthusiastic wayfarer has spent months exploring Lakshadweep all on her own. She also goes to Ladakh for two months every year where she teaches kids.
Rutavi says that besides getting the thrill of adventure from her rickshaw run, she had one more motive for doing it:
“To empower Indian women with a ‘women can do, and will do’ attitude. People keep saying India is not safe. The aim was to show that women can travel fearlessly in India. It all starts with the realization that they can overcome any fear,” she says.
“My attitude towards rickshaw rides has also changed. Whenever I travel by rickshaws now, I talk to the drivers and tell them about my experience. Many of them can’t believe that I rode a rickshaw for such a long time,” she concludes laughing.
Festivals indeed occupy an important place in our lives and they bring our family and friends together. But aren’t we supposed to spread happiness and share our joy with the world too?
This year, from Spiderman to Bahubali, we stumbled upon some of the most innovative designs of Ganesha idols.
But, this wonder woman, Rintu Kalyani Rathod, chose to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi in a totally different way.
She has her own bakery, ‘Rini Bakes – Bake my Dreams’ in Mumbai. Apparently, this wonder woman made a 38 inches tall chocolate Ganesha with 35 kg of chocolate in 50 hours.
After 5 days, she has planned to immerse Ganesha in milk, feed the chocolate Ganesha to hundreds of underprivileged kids and spread happiness in the lives of those kids.
This is what this amazing lady said on her Facebook post:
“It pains me tremendously to see the way our environment is exploited in the name of devotion. I just couldn’t bare the sight on the beach after the visarjan. Drunk people dancing on the streets on vulgar film songs blaring from loud speakers is not devotion.
I am a commercial designer turned designer baker. I decided to make my idol from chocolate last year. We immersed the idol in milk and distributed the chocolate milk among the underprivileged kids prasad. 1100 people took the prasad last year. It was a 28 kg, 32 inches tall idol. Real visarjan is done by bringing smiles on the faces of little kids not by polluting our waters.
This year my idol is 35 kg and 38 inches tall. It took me 50 hours to make it. Hope to distribute prasad to many more people this time, so bappa can stay in them forever. After all, bappa’s favourite place to reside is inside us, nowhere else.”
Isn’t this the perfect way to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi? After all, happiness doesn’t result from what we get, but from what we give.
If you really believe in God, then do your bit. Be a better person and celebrate the spirit of mankind.
News Source: Facebook andShuvro Ghoshal in www.storypick.com
Take off with Natarajan 