Source:www.earthsky.org
Natarajan
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Halo and sundogs over Montana
Source:www.earthsky.org
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Natarajan
The Incredible True Story Of The World War 1 Christmas Truce….
During the Christmas Truce of 1914, WWI soldiers sang carols, exchanged gifts, and supposedly even played a soccer game.
In the midst of the unrelenting violence of World War I, a ceasefire suddenly swept across areas of the Western front in 1914. Massive amounts of life had already been extinguished, but there was one circumstance that halted the brutality and bloodshed.
It was the first Christmas of the war. It was a day for peace – if only fleeting.
On the night before Christmas, Captain Arthur O’Sullivan of the British army’s Royal Irish Rifles was stationed in Rue du Bois, France. He heard a German accent float from across the barracks. It said, “Do not shoot after 12 o’clock and we will not do so either.” Then, “If you English come out and talk to us, we won’t fire.”
One Irish rifleman ventured out of his trench to test the invitation. After arriving back safely with a German cigar as a gift, others made their way onto the still battlefield. No Man’s Land filled with soldiers meeting each other halfway.
And so began the unofficial Christmas Truce of 1914.
Along the lines in France and Belgium, soldiers began hearing carols in the distance. German troops sang “Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht” (“Silent Night, Holy Night”) and the Allied troops chimed in – singing in alternating languages.
Cautiously, more soldiers began emerging. Germans held up lanterns and called to the British – assuring them in broken English that they wouldn’t shoot. Instead, they wished them a Merry Christmas. Men from both sides intermingled, shook hands, and shared cigarettes and food.
Some, despite a great debate of the event, even say that a soccer game broke out. Historian Alan Wakefield said, “If it happened — and there’s very few collaborative accounts — there’s second, third-hand accounts of somebody hearing of a game going on somewhere.” However, if you’re keeping score, those who heard about it happening said the game ended three to two for the Germans.
The Christmas Truce also provided a time for the armies to collect their deceased soldiers from the fields. This gesture meant a lot in terms of respect for the dead for both sides.
Many generals and senior officers were not on board with this overall show of goodwill. In some areas, peace lasted until the first few days of 1915 without many shots fired. The military made it clear that this was not acceptable wartime behavior. Another holiday truce of this kind was never recorded.
Fighting did still occur on Christmas in some areas. Corporal Clifford Lane of H Company Hertfordshire regiment explains that upon seeing some Germans emerge from the trenches with lanterns, he was ordered to open fire.
“The Germans did not reply to our fire and carried on with their celebrations.” Corporal Lane remembed. “They ignored us and were having a very fine time indeed and we continued in our wet trenches trying to make the most of it.”
He later regretted not engaging in the truce with the Germans. “It would have been a good experience,” he said.
But back in 1914, things magically aligned to allow for some holiday spirit. The soldiers involved in the Great War were either green newcomers or weathered veterans. They’d expected the fighting to be short and done by Christmas. The war wasn’t too ‘dirty’; the propaganda machine hadn’t churned up the seething hatred against sides.
The truce is attributed to the last of the romanticized, ‘gentlemanly’ soldiers of the era. These men confronted their enemies face to face. Military strategies may have certainly changed, but it’s comforting to know that on one frosty Christmas morning, adversaries laid down their arms. That they extended hands in a gesture of peace; however temporary it may be.
Universal History Archive/UIG/Getty Images
Photograph of soldiers playing football in no man’s land during The Christmas Truce.
Source…www.allthat is interesting.com
Natarajan
Message for the day…” Some people complain that recitation (japam) has not cured their pain, grief or greed! It is because they mechanically recite prayers and meditate out of habit or for social conformity or to gain reputation for religiousness!”
Millions recite the Lord’s Name, but few have steady faith! Fewer seek the bliss (Ananda) that contemplation on the glory of God within, the Atma, can confer. Some people complain that recitation (japam) has not cured their pain, grief or greed! It is because they mechanically recite prayers and meditate out of habit or for social conformity or to gain reputation for religiousness! When people who have learnt the precious scriptures revealing Atma-vidya (science of the Self) do not put into practice what they repeat orally and have no faith in the assertions, what profit can they get from it? The canker of doubt has undermined their reverential attitude to the scripture. They devalue the scriptures into money-or-fame-earning devices, and when they do not get money or fame through them, they are disappointed. They envy those who follow secular avocations. But if they only develop faith, scriptures themselves will foster them and ensure for them a happy and contented life.
Source….http://media.radiosai.org/
Natarajan
Last quarter moon is December 10…
Source:www.earthsky.org
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Natarajan
Message for the Day…” Do not waste time in idle gossip. Talk softly and sweetly, and talk as little as possible. Serve all as brothers and sisters adoring the Lord in them. Engage in sadhana; move every step as befits a person striving to realise God.”
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The cow transforms grass and gruel into sweet strength-giving milk and gives it away in plenty to its master. Develop that quality, that power to transform the food you consume into sweet thoughts, words and deeds of compassion for all. When your heart is filled with virtues, the Lord will shower His Grace abundantly. Draupadi earned the Lord’s Grace through her devotion and virtues. Without steadfastness and depth of faith, none can receive Grace. Endeavour to earn Grace by observing the discipline that I am keen you should follow. Give up your old worldly ways of earning and spending, saving and accumulating with greed, lust, malice and pride. Do not waste time in idle gossip. Talk softly and sweetly, and talk as little as possible. Serve all as brothers and sisters adoring the Lord in them. Engage in sadhana; move every step as befits a person striving to realise God. Source….http://media.radiosai.org Natarajan |
Message for the Day…”Earning and spending, laughing and weeping, hurting and healing, and the various acrobatics in daily living are but subsidiary to the adoration of God and the union with God.”
You may have witnessed chariot festivals (Rathotsavam) in pilgrimage centers. Huge temple chariots are gorgeously decorated with flags and festoons, stalwart bands of men draw them along the roads to the music of blowpipes and conches, and dancing groups and chanters precede it, adding to the exhilaration of the occasion. Thousands crowd around the holy chariot. Their attention is naturally drawn towards the entertainment, but they feel happiest only when they fold their palms and bow before the Idol in the chariot. The rest is all subsidiary, even irrelevant. So too in the process of life, body is the chariot, and the Atma is the Idol installed therein. Earning and spending, laughing and weeping, hurting and healing, and the various acrobatics in daily living are but subsidiary to the adoration of God and the union with God.
Source…http://media.radiosai.org
Pismo Beach sunset….
Source:www.eathsky.org
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Natarajan
Message for the Day…”Respect one and all. Unless each one is respected, whatever be their status, economic condition, or spiritual development, there can be no peace and happiness in life.”
Life must be spent in accumulating and safeguarding virtue, not riches. Listen and ruminate over the stories of the great moral heroes of the past, so that their ideals may be imprinted on your hearts. Nowadays, virtue is becoming rare in the individual, family, society and community, as well as in all fields, be it economic, political and even ‘spiritual’. So also, there is a decline in discipline, which is the soil on which virtue grows. Respect one and all. Unless each one is respected, whatever be their status, economic condition, or spiritual development, there can be no peace and happiness in life. This respect can be aroused only by the conviction that the same Atma (Self) that is in you is playing the role of the other person. See that Atma in others, feel that they too have hunger, thirst, yearning and desires as you have; develop sympathy and the anxiety to serve and be useful.
Source….http://media.radiosai.org/
Message for the day…”Cultivate love and devotion, then your activities will be saturated with compassion and charity, and yield the golden harvest of joy and peace. Love must be unselfish and universal. “
There is only one royal road for the spiritual journey – Love, love for all beings as manifestation of the same Divinity that is the very core of oneself. This faith alone ensures the constant presence of God with you, and endows you with all the joy and courage you need to fulfill your life’s pilgrimage to God. When the reservoir is full of water and you turn on the taps, then the buckets will be filled. Cultivate love and devotion, then your activities will be saturated with compassion and charity, and yield the golden harvest of joy and peace. Love must be unselfish and universal. You judge for yourself whether your love is narrow or broad, and whether your devotion is shallow or deep. Are you content with your achievement? Examine it yourself and pronounce the verdict on yourself, using your own discrimination.
Source…http://media.radiosai.org/
Natarajan
