Attitude

Every Parent Knows the “PooFace” of their Babies …!!!

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Every parent knows that moment – your baby’s facial expression suddenly changes to one of concentration, and it can mean only one thing. It’s time for a nappy change!

Nappy manufacturer Pampers has used that universal look that indicates a baby is working hard in a clever advertising campaign for baby wipes.

The ad, titled ‘Pooface’, is part of the company’s “Don’t Fear the Mess!” campaign.

It not only captures poo faces of 10 gorgeous babies, but sets their changing expressions of effort to classical music in dramatic slow motion.

The result is a suprisingly entertaining clip.

While parents of babies everywhere will relate to the what is happening in the ad, those with older children will be reminded how happy they are that nappy changing days are now behind them.

Source…www.essentialbaby.com.au and http://www.you tube.com
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Message For the Day…” Which Will Help in the Upkeep of Your Body and Mind …” ?

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Sathya Sai Baba

People crave worldly happiness; this craving itself is the disease, and sufferings are but the drugs we take. In the midst of these, one rarely entertains the desire to attain the Lord. However, it is necessary to analyse and discriminate, for the spirit of renunciation is born out of such analysis. Without enquiry, detachment cannot be obtained. Miserliness is like the behavior of a dog; it must be transformed. Anger is the first enemy of a spiritual aspirant. Untruth is even worse – it destroys all the vital powers. Theft ruins life; it makes the priceless human life cheaper than rotten food. Moderate food, moderate sleep, selfless love, and fortitude will help in the upkeep of the health of both your body and the mind. Whoever you are, in whatever condition you may be, do not give room for dispiritedness! Be fearless and remember the Lord with unshaken faith and without any ulterior motive, all suffering and sorrow will fall away.

Message for the Day….” Do Not Waste Money…Do Not Waste Food…Do Not Waste Time…Do Not Waste Energy…Do Not Forget God…”

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Sathya Sai BabaI want you to exercise control over five vital things in life. (1) ‘Do not waste money.’ Realize that misuse of money is evil. If you wish to keep a photo of Bhagawan, have only one. Why waste your money on buying too many? (2) ‘Do not waste food.’ Realize that ‘Food is God.’ (3) ‘Do not waste Time.’ Time is God. Time wasted is life wasted. (4) ‘Do not waste energy.’ Understand that when you see, speak, hear, act or think energy is expended. In all these activities do not waste your energies unnecessarily. (5) ‘Do not forget God’, at any moment whatever you may be doing. God is present wherever you may go. He is with you, beside you and around you always. Hence there is no need for you to go to some temple to pray to God. Your heart is your temple. Turn your vision inward and understand the Atmic Principle.

 

Message for the Day…” No Weapon More Effective than Patience…”

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In this world, there is no penance higher than fortitude, no happiness greater than contentment, no good deed holier than mercy, and no weapon more effective than patience. Devotees should consider the body as the field and good deeds as seeds. Then with the help of the heart as the farmer, cultivate the name of the Lord to reap the harvest – the Lord Himself. Like cream in milk and fire in fuel, the Lord is in everything. Have full faith in this. As is the milk, so is the cream; so also, as is the spiritual discipline, so is the direct experience (sakshatkara) of the Lord! As a consequence of taking up the Lord’s name, four distinct fruits will be experienced by sincere seekers. They are: company of the noble, truth, contentment and control of the senses. Through whichever of these gates one enters, whether one is a householder, recluse, or a member of any other class, one can reach the Lord without fail. This is certain.

Sathya Sai Baba

Most Beautiful Bookshop in the World….

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This Must Be the Most Beautiful Book Shop in the World!

Completed in 2007 by Merkx + Girod Architecten, the Selexyz Dominicanen Bookstore in Maastricht in the Netherlands is an incredible church conversion that was originally consecrated in 1294. Located between Maastricht’s two major squares (the Markt and the Vrijthof), the bookstore is run by a large Dutch chain in collaboration with the city council of Maastricht.

beautiful book store

The location has not been used as a church for over 200 years. Before becoming a bookstore it served as a bicycle storage, exam hall for students, a Christmas market and venue for various shows and events. While some may find this usage peculiar, there are actually a significant number of abandoned churches in the Netherlands, many of them hundreds of years old.

beautiful book store

With land being a premium in the country, local governments have opted to convert and restore (just look at those ceilings!) rather than demolish these historic abandoned buildings. For those interested in more information, there’s a great write-up on this building at Crossroads Magazine.

beautiful book store

beautiful book store

beautiful book store

beautiful book store

beautiful book store

source….www.ba-bamail.com

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” கபிலாரண்யம் ….இப்போ கலிபோர்னியா …” !!!

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கட்டுரையாளர்-கணேச சர்மா

தட்டச்சு-வரகூரான் நாராயணன்.

30-03-2012ல் போஸ்ட் ஆனது.

கபில முனிவர் இருந்த இடம் அது. இவர் தவம் பண்ணிக்

கொண்டிருக்கையில் இக்ஷ்வாகு வம்சத்து சகரர் என்னும் அரசர்

அச்வமேத யாகம் செய்தார்.

இந்த யாகத்தைச் செய்ய வேண்டுமென்றால்,

முதலில் ஒரு குதிரையை எல்லா தேசங்களுக்கும் அனுப்புவார்கள்.

அதை எந்த அரசனாவது பிடித்துக் கட்டிப் போட்டால் அவனுடன்

யுத்தம் செய்து வென்று, பிறகு எல்லோரும் பாராட்ட இந்த யாகம் செய்யப்படும். பொதுவாக எல்லா அரசர்களும் வம்பு செய்யாமல் அந்தக் குதிரைக்குரிய கப்பம் செலுத்திவிட்டு அரசனைச் சக்ரவர்த்திஎன்று ஒப்புக்கொண்டு விடுவார்கள்.. ஆனால் இந்த யாகத்துக்கு முதலில் இந்திரன்தான் தடங்கல் செய்வான்.

ஏனெனில் நூறு அஸ்வமேத யாகம் செய்து விட்டால் இந்திர பதவி ஒருவனுக்குக் கிடைத்துவிடும்.

தனது பதவி பறி போகாமல் இருக்கும்படிப்

பார்த்துக் கொள்வது இந்திரன் வழக்கம். எனவே அவன் சகரர் விட்டகுதிரையைப் பிடித்துக் கொண்டு போய் பாதாள உலகில்

கபிலர் தவம் செய்யும் ஆஸ்ரமத்தில் கொண்டு யாருக்கும் தெரியாமல்கட்டிவிட்டான். அதைத் தேடிக்கொண்டு வர சகரன் தன் நூறுபிள்ளைகளையும் அனுப்பவே, அவர்களும் எப்படியோ கபிலாச்ரமம்வந்து சேர்ந்து, கபிலர்தான் பிடித்துக் கட்டிவிட்டதாக நினைத்துஅவரிடம் சண்டைக்குப் போனார்கள். அதனால் கோபங்கொண்ட கபிலர் ஒரு முறை முறைத்தார். அவ்வளவுதான்! அங்கு வந்தநூறு பேரும் சாம்பலாகிப் போனார்கள். இது சகரனுக்குத் தெரிந்துஅவன் சென்று கபிலரிடம் மன்னிப்பு கேட்டுக்கொண்டு அசுவமேத யாகம் செய்து முடித்தானென்பது ராமாயண முன்கதையில்

தெரிகிறது.

அந்தக் கபிலாரண்யம்தான் “கலிஃபோர்னியா” என்று திரிந்து விட்டது.

சாட்சியாக அந்தக் குதிரை கட்டின இடம் இன்றும் HORSE ISLANDஎன்று அழைக்கப்படுகிறது. நூறுபேரும் சாம்பலான இடம் ASH ISLANDஎனப்படுகிறது. இப்படியாகப் பெயர் காரணங்ளை அலசி ஆராய்ந்து

பெரியவா சொன்னால் திகைப்பு அடங்கவே அடங்காது

Read more: http://periva.proboards.com/thread/9584/horse-island-ash#ixzz3eiUQzJd7

Source…www.periva.proboards.com

Natarajan

” It is Better Late than Never….” For Financial Planning too.. !!!

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Let us take a look at some of the steps that are involved in getting your finances in order.

It is better late than never! This holds true for financial planning as well. You can start at anytime. Of course, it is always better to get your finances in order early, so that you can reap in the benefit for longer period.

Nevertheless, here’s how to go about it.

The first and foremost thing you need to do is prepare a budget.

This is a very simple process that involves noting down all your expenses (and proposed expenses) on one side of a sheet of paper and your income on the other side. The income should always be more than the sum of all the expenses; if this is not the case, then it is time to tighten your purse strings and reduce costs.

Next, start tracking your income and expenses for a couple of months to ensure that you are sticking to your budget. This budget needs to be realistic taking into account your lifestyle and spending patterns.

Following a strict budget will assist you in achieving your financial goals.

You should then decide the time period for the financial goals (e.g. education of a child, retirement, etc.) and whether these are short term, medium term or long term goals. A good financial plan lists down the long term and short term goals of a person, and this differentiation helps one to understand and predict future expenditures better.

For each time frame has different instruments and asset classes that must be invested in. Apart from the time horizon, one should also understand one’s own risk appetite and invest accordingly, that is, the lower the risk taking appetite, the more gilt or debt instruments should be used and vice versa.

It is highly advisable to start saving as early as possible as it will give you the advantage of additional years of investing and you can benefit from the magic of compounding.

For example, if a 25 year old saves Rs 5,000 per month at 10 per cent interest, your corpus will be around Rs 1 crore when you are in your mid-fifties. On the other hand, if you start savings Rs 5,000 a month at 30 years (with the same 10 per cent interest), the corpus after 30 years will be only Rs 60 lakh.

One should also make investments via the ECS route thereby making the whole process automatic, and ensuring that no surplus expenditure gets in the way of your investments and savings. It is advisable to invest in mutual funds through systematic investment plans (SIP). A SIP route ensures that one doesn’t need to time the market; the investment in SIP takes place each month irrespective of the market condition. Thus individuals can benefits from both an up market as well as a down market.

Life and medical cover are two very important investments that one has to make.

Ideally, one should ensure that there is adequate cover to take care of any debts, and provide for their spouse and children, apart from other dependents such as one’s parents.

It is advisable to go in for this cover early on in life, as the premiums will be lower, giving the maximum cover for the minimum premium.

An important aspect of building wealth is tax planning. One should consult with a tax expert to see the best investment and savings avenues through which one can save on taxes. One should also always ensure that the financial plan does not remain stagnant and is up to date.

Summary:

  • Make a budget and stick to it
  • Financial plans must be broken up into goals: short, medium and long term goals
  • Tax planning is important
  • Invest from as early as possible, and via ECS and SIP route

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com

 

Anil Rego is the founder and CEO of Right Horizons, an investment advisory and wealth management firm that focuses on providing financial solutions that are specific to customer needs.

Anil Rego in http://www.rediff.com

Natarajan

 

Message for the Day…” Make Your Conscience Your Guide and Preceptor…”

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You come to Puttaparthi to strengthen your relationship with the Divine. Hold on to it firmly. Put into practice at least one thing you learn from here. It is not enough to chant the names of God. God must be installed in the heart. Make your conscience your guide and preceptor. That will promote true devotion. All external paraphernalia will not help you. There are four mottos which all devotees should follow: (1) Avoid bad company (2) Welcome association with good persons (3) Remember always the transient and the permanent, and (4) Ceaselessly engage yourself in meritorious acts. It is through the above that you become good. Remember, the essence of all scriptures is: ‘Help ever; hurt never.’ If the above basic rules are followed, all countries will be happy and peaceful. Like India, every country is a part of the mansion of planet earth. When we have this broad vision, humanity will be one in spirit.

Sathya Sai Baba

” Confessions of a confused Indian engineer… !!!

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A guy who loved English literature but settled for electrical engineering and later, an MBA, pours his heart out…

When I started writing this article, I felt that such a topic might sound enormously blasphemous. I mean, it almost seems like a deliberate attempt to malign the second favourite national profession in our country (the first one is being a doctor). So, before you ask for my address, so that you can come over to beat me up, let me assure you it’s only mypersonal story. No coincidences whatsoever!

The first time I actually felt that it was high time to decide what to do with my life, I was in Class 8. Belonging to the ICSE board, we had to state our choices of stream in Class 9 itself. ‘Good people study commerce, great people study science, losers study humanities,’ everyone around said.

Except my father… he is a chartered accountant. J

I can still remember the heartbroken look on my father’s face, when I showed him the form with ‘Science’ written against ‘Stream of Choice’. Obviously, he would have loved his son to be in the same field as he was. But to think of it, had my father followed the footsteps of my grandfather, we would all be farmers today! Literally, ploughing in the ‘field’!

The first confusion started here.

I took up science because I loved physics and maths. But I equally loved English literature and history. This did raise some eyebrows. How could a sane person possibly love Science and Humanities at the same time?

Years passed and school was over. I went along with the herd mentality, sitting for every single engineering entrance exam I could find.  Medical was never an option (I could never see blood, so no confusion here!). I managed a decent rank and now it was time to decide a branch. This was relatively easy: I hated IT or computer science, the hot-selling electronics was houseful, and so I settled with electrical engineering.

But, it was fun. There were some amazing subjects like maths, mechanical engineering, power systems; and some horrible subjects too, whose names I don’t even remember. Being the President of the Tech Club at my college, I got lot of opportunities to conduct events, arrange activities and hone my technical and leadership skills. People looked up to me. Life was good, and it looked settled.

And one day it happened. It was third year and companies flooded in for placements. It was time to decide what to do next. M Tech? Nah! IT job? Never! Core Company? Err. May be!

And then I asked myself: ‘Dude, are you ready to spend the next 40 years of your life with motors, generators, transformers, transmission lines, substations and power systems?’

My inner voice replied: ‘No’.

I was stuck. What was I going to do with my career? What would happen to the electrical engineering learnt (rather digested) in four years? More importantly, what else could I get into, that I would love doing?

The immediate crazy answer was — Bollywood. But then the reality set in and my mind showed me three beautiful letters — M B A. To cut a long story short, I took a shot at CAT, made it to a premier B-School in Mumbai, and switched to marketing!

Now, when I sit back and retrospect, I feel that instead of engineering, I could have done an Honours course in economics or maybe a BBA, rather than looking like one of the ‘Gadhas’ Aamir Khan spoke about in 3 Idiots. But then I realise that I need to look ahead and forget.

Forget the injustice done to the learning of those four years. Forget the hurdles faced during job searches while switching from one field to another. Because after 40 years, no one in this world will be even bothered about why you did, what you did.

At that stage, you will be answerable to only one person.

And that person will be YOU.

And that person will ask you whether you gave in to peer pressure or did what you loved.

Please follow your heart, it’s never too late. Cheers!

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

A sufficiently confused corporate professional, Pramit has been working as a Sales & Marketing Professional in the Software Product Industry for the last three years. A trained singer, Toastmaster, and theatre actor at Bengaluru, he seizes every opportunity to gain cheap publicity and limelight, whenever he is not working, eating and sleeping.

Source….www.rediff.com

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