All the pain and pleasure people experience are the results of their own actions and not due to any act of the Divine. God is only a witness, a postman! He delivers to you whatever letter is addressed to you. The grief or joy you derive from the contents of the letter is intended for you! Likewise suffering or happiness one experiences is the result of one’s own bad or good deeds! However, God will shower ‘special grace’, when you pray to God with a pure heart, without a trace of selfishness and with sacred feelings. Also, when a person has done some unique sacrifice in a previous life or sometime in the past, the Divine rewards it at the appropriate time. Lord Krishna rescued Draupadi when Duryodhana attempted to disrobe her by making her sari endless. This was in return for the spontaneous act of Draupadi wherein she tore off a piece from her sari to stop the bleeding from Krishna’s finger.
Ranked 737 in the Forbes global billionaire list with personal wealth of $2.4 billion, Yusuffali’s diversification does not stop here.
Yusuff Ali seen with former late President APJ Kalam. Photograph: Courtesy, Yusuff Ali/Facebook
For Yusuffali Musaliam Veettil Abdul Kader, or Yusuff Ali MA as he is better known as, diversification is a natural trait. Born in Nattika in the Thrissur district of Kerala in 1955,
Yusuffali left the country in 1973 when he was 18 to join his uncle MK Abdullah in Abu Dhabi.
The latter ran a manufacturing company there. Yusuffali developed the import and wholesale distribution of the group, and soon ventured into retail.
In the 1990s, he launched a chain of supermarkets called Lulu.
Yusuff Ali is the s the managing director of the $5.8-billion Lulu Group.
Today, he owns over 100 supermarkets and grocery outlets and is the managing director of the $5.8-billion Lulu Group.
His business has acquired a global scale with presence in Malaysia, Indonesia and India.
With hospitality as his next area of interest, the 60-year-old staked a claim on history this week after he entered into a $170-million agreement with London-based property developer Galliard Homes to create a five-star hotel at the site of the original Scotland Yard Police Station in London.
He has set up a separate hospitality arm, Twenty14 Holdings, to focus on acquisition and management of assets around the globe.
The hotel arm is looking to expand its operations in Europe, North America and India, it has been reported. Recently, the company acquired a property at Business Bay in Dubai, which is expected to open in October.
It also jointly with Al Hashar Hotel owns the Sheraton Oman Hotel in Muscat.
“The future growth markets for us in the hospitality sector include Britain, West Asia, India and Southeast Asia,” a Lulu spokesman was quoted in Abu Dhabi’s The National.
“Since we are now firmly established in the retail sector, we want to diversify into hospitality as these two are complementary,” he added.
Ranked 737 in the Forbes global billionaire list with personal wealth of $2.4 billion, Yusuffali’s diversification does not stop here.
His companies, which have operational base in West Asia, Africa, Southeast Asia, India and the UK among others, employ 34,420 people from 37 nationalities.
A Padma Shree recipient, Yusuffali expanded his retail empire to India when he launched Lulu Hypermarket in Kochi in 2013.
He has also invested in food processing units in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Mumbai, and is building a mall and a food processing unit in Hyderabad.
Yusuff Ali seen with HE Badr bin Mohammed Al-Otaishan, Governor of Jubail touring the newly opened LULU Hypermarket along with HRH Prince Saud Bin Abdulla bin Abdul Aziz and other dignitaries. Photograph: Courtesy, Yusuff Ali/Facebook
He also has a presence in the Indian banking sector.
In 2013, he acquired a 4.99 per cent stake in the 93-year-old Catholic Syrian Bank in Thrissur and a 4.47 per cent stake in Kochi-based Federal Bank to become the biggest individual shareholder in the two Kerala-based lenders. The billionaire, though, also likes to give money to charity.
A website dedicated to him says: “Yusuffali is very closely involved in many social, charitable and humanitarian activities both in India as well as in West Asia, and plays a vital role in fostering the interests of non-resident Indians and keeping intact the communal harmony among them.”
Money could buy you a vacation, a day to the spa, a good education and a fancy home but what it can’t buy you is a break, relaxation, will to study and a family. While we look out for various ways to earn money and stress out all the time, we are losing out on our health and our energy.
We seek happiness in all avenues possible but one does not have to search oceans and travel through vast lands to be satisfied. Satisfaction comes from within and having knowledge that it always originates from the way we really look at the world.
Stop running after money because money could give you temporary happiness but it won’t be permanent!
Here are 9 things money can’t buy; for everything else you have your credit card!
1. Love
Love that comes from your family, friends, pets and the world cannot be bought. No matter how rich you are or how poor, love cannot be bought; it has to be earned! How do you earn love? By being kind and understanding.
You help people in need and you show your loyalty to the people who are really important to you and that is how you earn respect.
2. Respect
While someone like Steve Jobs earned immense amount of money, he also earned immense amount of respect. You are nothing without respect. It is an established fact that when people respect you, they believe in you and that is why they invest in your ideas and your ideals.
They invest their time in listening to you and following your advice.
If you want to go far in your life, you have to be respected till the day you die.
3. Friends
Turning into a workaholic may get you all the shoes, clothes and cars you like but who would you share your adventures with?
Friends are stepping stones to success and no one likes to be alone all the time. Money cannot buy you true, good friends and you must always remember that!
4. Trust
Trust is just like respect and love. If you’re trusted, you will be given money and not the other way round. Maintain a good reputation, have good habits and be a good, disciplined person in life and trust will follow you.
5. Patience
To earn more money or ever achieve any important goal in your life patience is the number one thing you must remember. Patient people invest in long term goals and long terms ventures ending up earning a lot of money.
Money can’t buy patience but patience can get you money!
6. Luck
Luck is a challenge; one minute it is right there and the next it’s on to help someone else.
Everybody needs just a little bit of luck, even the rich!
If luck is on your side you just need to work hard but if luck is not on your side you definitely cannot buy it with happiness!
7. Wisdom
Knowledge only enhances a human being’s personality, never destroys it. Knowledge is gold and is the best way to gain success however it cannot be bought.
It entirely depends on the person’s power to absorb information and the willingness to apply it to her/his life that brings wisdom.
8. Missed opportunities
A missed opportunity is a goal lost. Always embrace opportunities as they come and never take advantage of them as sometimes opportunities once lost will never return. Not even Bill Gates can buy opportunities. A person can make use of them as they come and sometimes s/he can even create opportunities for others and help him grow but s/he cannot buy opportunities for herself/himself.
9. Time
Time is money! A saying everybody lives by. If you waste time you’re wasting money. Bill Gates earns $250 a second and that is the perfect example of how important time is. Time is limited but money couldn’t be endless. Don’t waste your time doing something that isn’t productive if you want to get rich sooner. Use it for projects that make sense and can help you grow!
Meditation has many known health benefits, such as increasing longevity and reducing stress. People have been practicing meditation for over two millennia, with Hindu texts describing meditative forms as early as the 6th-century BCE. In my youth, if I heard the word ‘meditation’, all I could think about was a person in the Far East, sitting with his legs crossed and humming to himself. A couple of years ago I was introduced to real meditation and discovered the calming and healing properties it has, and now I’d love to share them with you.
What is meditation
The Webster dictionary defines meditation as “the act or process of spending time in quiet thought: the act or process of meditating”. Many people meditate without even knowing that they’re doing it. A person sitting and fishing for a few hours in silence is performing a type of meditation, the same as another who might be jogging with their headphones on. It involves dedicating 100% of your attention to one subject. Meditation has also been a key factor in Eastern religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism, as well as Western religions like Christianity and Judaism
Health benefits of meditating
Meditation has many proven health benefits, such as silencing your internal chatter, calming and grounding one’s self, and getting in touch with yourself, to name a few. A recent Harvard University study discovered that daily meditation can rebuild the brain’s gray matter in as little as eight weeks. Participants also reported a reduction in stress – a prime factor in the decrease in gray matter density.
Who can meditate
From young children to elderly people, everyone can meditate. There are many forms of meditation, some more suitable for people of different ages, so don’t be daunted if one form doesn’t work for you. Finding the meditation that suits you best is very gratifying.
Before you start meditating
The first thing you need to do, is decide on the purpose of your meditation: You may want to calm down, get to know yourself better, or even make an important business decision. Knowing why you’re meditating is the first step to a useful meditation. You don’t need special clothes (but comfortable ones make it easier) or equipment. All you need a quiet spot and to reserve some time for it.
When you begin your meditation, don’t lay down or sit in a slumped position – these positions do not help you stay alert and focused. Sit up straight, either on a chair, on your heels or cross-legged. Find the position that is comfortable for you, sitting in the lotus position is not mandatory in meditation.
Don’t meditate after eating, digestion can be very distracting during a session. If you just had a meal, wait for 2 hours and let your stomach calm down. You should avoid smoking for at least 30 minutes before the meditation.
Find a quiet spot that you will be comfortable in, this is essential for the first few times you meditate. Once you are comfortable with meditation, you’ll be able to do it in noisier places. Remember to switch off your cell phone – it’s a distraction. Consider lighting a scented candle or some incense to help your meditation and switch off or dim the lights – bright lights may also be a distraction.
How to meditate
Do some basic stretching before you start, it will loosen up your muscles and help you be more attentive to your body later on.
Breathing is the most important factor in meditation, we use each breath as a focal point. Close your eyes and deeply inhale through your nose, then slowly exhale through your mouth. Feel how your chest expands and contracts with each breath. Listen to the silence between breaths – notice how everything becomes still and quiet. You may even notice your heartbeat slowing down. If your thoughts begin to scatter, concentrate on your breathing.
As a beginner, focusing might not come naturally. Give it time and be patient with yourself. Some people find that focusing on their breathing won’t quiet their minds, and may need to try other methods:
Counting your breaths may help – count each breath and when you reach ten, start over. However, if you become focused on the numbers and not on the breathing, stop.
Another alternative is repeating a mantra – there’s a reason some people say “Om” when they meditate – it helps drown the outside world and focus on the sound. You can repeat any other word that helps you calm down if Om is not for you.
Try visualizing a calm place – it can be anything: the beach, a forest, your childhood home, etc. as long as it’s your sanctuary. When you find your sanctuary, don’t be afraid to explore it – there’s no need to try and “create” your surroundings, they’re already there.
Set aside at least fifteen minutes a day for meditation (more is welcome). Remember: short daily repetitions are better than one long weekly session because they form a habit. Eventually, the practice of meditation will find its way into your everyday life. You’ll find yourself considering your food choices more carefully, making decisions more consciously and focusing on things you read, watch or listen to with greater attention.
One last thing
Learning to silence your inner thoughts takes practice, but managing to attain inner peace is a huge reward. Remember – “practice makes perfect”, so keep meditating regularly. It may take you a few weeks or even a couple of months to learn to properly focus, so don’t get frustrated or disheartened it you’re not a meditation guru overnight.
A boat docked in a tiny seaside village. An businessman tourist complimented the local fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them.
“Not very long,” answered the fisherman.
“But then, why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more?” asked the businessman. The fisherman explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family.
The businessman asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”
“I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife. In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, play the guitar, and sing a few songs… I have a full life.”
The businessman interrupted, “I have an MBA from Harvard, and I can help you! You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat.”
“And after that?” asked the fisherman.
With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to the city, Los Angeles, or even New York City! From there you can direct your huge new enterprise.”
“How long would that take?” asked the fisherman.
“Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years,” replied the businessman.
“And after that?”
“Afterwards? Well my Friend, That’s when it gets really interesting,” answered the businessman, laughing. “When your business gets really big, you can start selling stocks and make millions!”
“Millions? Really? And after that?” said the fisherman.
“After that you’ll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife and spend your evenings doing what you like and enjoying your friends.”
Priti Kohal’s love of flying began when she was a 16-year-old living in Mumbai. But her passion for planes started sitting in the driving seat on the open road, not wide-open skies.
As a teenager, Kohal, now age 45, would take her parents’ car, unbeknownst to them, for joy rides around town. She loved being in control of the vehicle and the freedom that came with it.
“I just loved the thought of getting away,” she said.
When Kohal turned 18 and officially received her driver’s license, her passion for driving intensified. “It was great to be able to do things on my own without having anyone ferry me around,” she said. “After the car I moved on to faster modes of transportation.”
Kohal earned her pilot’s license in 1994 and since 1996 has been a pilot with India’s Jet Airways — she’s one of 600 female pilots in India — and she’s been a captain since 2009.
There are only 4,000 female pilots worldwide, versus 130,000 male pilots, according to the International Society of Women Airline Pilots. Kohal’s doctor mother and engineer father taught her and her sister that they weren’t any different from men and could do anything they wanted as long as they had fun doing it.
This family support has helped her excel, but many women entering traditionally male-dominated professions in India encounter more obstacles. Kohal says she hasn’t run into sexism, but other females in the airline industry have and continue to face hurdles simply because of their gender. In 2009, Air India fired ten female flight attendants for being overweight. GoAir, a budget airline in India, said in 2013 that it only wanted to hire small, young females to be flight attendants in order to save money on fuel by keeping the weight of the plane down. And there are stories in the media and social media of notes being left on flights, or complaints being made, by passengers upset that they’ve flown with a female pilot.
However, Kohal never thought twice about being in the airline business. “I never considered being a pilot different from being an engineer or a teacher,” she said. “There were no limits for what we could do.”
Short flights, long days
When her children were younger, Kohal only flew one- or two-hour flights. She woke at 03:30, fed her baby, put him back to sleep and then headed off to the airport by 04:00. She’d work her flight and usually be home by 10:30, having the remainder of the day to spend with her children. By sticking with this system and meticulous planning, Kohal said she has never missed an important milestone or a school meeting for her children, now ages 14 and 11.
When her children were young, Kohal flew early in the morning and was home by 10:30. (Credit: Courtesy of Priti Kohal)
Contrary to how it might appear, being a pilot is a “very good career” for managing home and work life, Kohal believes, but it takes strategic planning. She decided to choose her flights so that she could spend time at home with her children. As long as someone doesn’t mind getting up in the wee hours of the morning, they can be home for long stretches of the day, she said.
As Kohal’s children have gotten older, her schedule has changed a bit, too. She’ll now captain long-haul flights, but tries to be away from home no more than four nights each month. The sacrifice: Kohal doesn’t get to see her husband, who is also a pilot and captains Boeing 777 planes for Air India, as often as she used to. He’s typically away for four days at a time, and then he’s off for six days. When he’s home, she spends her evenings with him — “all six nights are booked for my husband,” she said — but when he’s away, she can do as she pleases.
“It’s freedom for me,” when he’s in the air, she said, with a laugh. “I can do what I want for those 16 hours and he can’t reach me.”
When both are away, Kohal’s parents, who are retired, look after the children. Indian families tend to have strong support systems, she said. When grandkids are young, grandparents are happy to help, but when they are older there’s an expectation that children, in turn, will help their ageing parents.
Having that (wider family) support is important because it eases up an entire part of your life that you would have to constantly monitor,” she said.
Priti Kohal balances her flight schedule with that of her husband, who is also a pilot. He travels more than she does. (Credit: Courtesy of Priti Kohal)
A disciplined approach
These days, Kohal’s typical routine goes something like this: She wakes up at 05:30 and gets ready for work, arriving at 09:00 where she receives her flying assignment. She typically flies for a few hours a day — unless she’s taking an overnight flight. That means she can be home by 14:30. After an hour nap, Kohal is wide-awake to greet her kids when they get home from school.
The family has dinner by 20:30 and bedtime for the children is at 21:30, without exception.
“One aspect of being a pilot is that rules can’t be broken,” Kohal said. “You can’t mess up when you have to be stabilised at 1,000 feet. So I have some hard rules at home. They have it tougher than I did when I was younger.”
She’s usually in bed by midnight, but when her husband is away and she doesn’t have to fly the next day, Kohal will stay up reading until 02:30. “That’s my time,” she said.
Hard work pays off
Kohal attributes her success to one thing: hard work. For instance, only 0.1% of people pass the pilot’s entrance exam — and it’s given only twice a year. She was the only one to pass in her class.
Kohal has accomplished nearly everything she’s set out to do, but looking at her situation, she doesn’t think that she’s done anything extraordinary. Many educated women in India have successful careers, she added.
“Anything you set your mind to do, you just do it,” she said. “Tomorrow it will be something else.”
The shadow of a Royal New Zealand Air Force P3 Orion is seen on low-level clouds while the aircraft searches for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in March 2014.Photo: AP
Plane debris that could possibly be linked to missing Flight MH370 has been discovered washed up on the beach of a remote island in the Indian Ocean, officials revealed Wednesday.
The component found is believed to be the flaperon from a Boeing 777, the same type of plane that disappeared over the southern Indian Ocean in March 2014 with 239 people onboard.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 is the only Boeing 777 currently unaccounted for, and experts have taken the part away for further analysis in an attempt to determine its origin.
This is the first major development in the flight’s puzzling disappearance over a year ago in an event that has become one of the biggest unsolved aviation mysteries in history.
However, this is not the first time a plane has disappeared or crashed under mysterious circumstances. Here are some of the other unexplained aviation disasters that have taken place in the last century:
1. Aer Lingus Flight 712
On March 24, 1968, Aer Lingus Flight 712 from Cork in Ireland to London’s Heathrow Airport crashed into the sea, killing all 61 onboard.
But when investigators looked into the crash, they could find no explanation for what brought the plane down. In the years following the crash, several witnesses came forward to claim that the plane had been shot down by an experimental British missile — a claim that was strongly denied by the British government.
2. B47 Stratojet Bomber
In March 1956, a Boeing B47 Stratojet long-range bomber carrying three US Air Force personnel vanished over the Mediterranean Sea while en route from MacDill Air Force Base in Florida to Ben Guerir Air Force Base in Morocco. The plane disappeared without a trace. Frighteningly, the bomber was carrying two nuclear warheads, which were never recovered.
3. Helios Airways Flight 522
On Aug. 14, 2005, Greek air traffic controllers lost contact with Helios Airways Flight 522 as it headed toward Athens airport to begin its descent after a short trip from Cyprus. Strangely, the plane stayed within its set holding pattern around the airport for over an hour. When fighter jets were scrambled to intercept the flight, they saw the pilot slumped over the controls. The plane descended rapidly around 30 minutes later, crashing into a hillside outside the city and killing all 121 souls onboard. An investigation into the crash determined that there may have been a gradual cabin pressure loss that had likely incapacitated the crew.
4. Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Electra
One of the most famous aviation mysteries in history occurred in 1937 when the Lockheed Electra plane piloted by pioneer aviator Amelia Earhart vanished over the Pacific Ocean during her attempt to circumnavigate the globe. No wreckage was ever found, and the plane’s disappearance has been the focus of intense conspiracy theories ever since. There have been stories of her being shot down by the Japanese or being a spy. Some have speculated that she faked her own death, and a very small contingent is convinced she was abducted by aliens.
5. Flight 19
Flight 19 was the name given to a US Air Force training exercise that took place on Dec. 5, 1945, involving an Avenger Torpedo Bomber. The plane disappeared over the Bermuda Triangle with 14 airmen on board. The Air Force then sent a Mariner flying boat with 13 men onboard to attempt to find the missing aircraft. That plane also went missing. Neither of the planes, nor the 27 crew members in total, was ever seen again, and investigators could never determine the cause of either flight’s disappearance.
6. Egypt Air Flight 990
Flight 990 was a scheduled flight from Los Angeles to Cairo with a stopover in New York. But on Oct. 31, 1999, the Boeing 747 mysteriously crashed into the Atlantic Ocean about 100 miles south of Nantucket, killing all 217 people onboard, including 14 crew members. While investigators never discovered the specific cause of the crash, the FBI believed that the evidence suggested the crash was deliberate rather than accidental. Egyptian and American authorities never agreed on the cause of the crash, with the Egyptians concluding it was due to mechanical malfunction and the Americans stating it was the responsibility of the relief first officer.
7. Pan Am Flight 7
Pan Am Flight 7 was once considered one of the most exclusive and luxurious “around-the-world trips” available. But in 1957, during a leg from Los Angeles to Hawaii, the Boeing Stratocruiser vanished into thin air. Rescue crews hunted for five days before finding the plane floating in the ocean, hundreds of miles off course, with very little actual damage to the aircraft. Autopsies on the passengers found that they had been poisoned by carbon monoxide emissions, but no reason for the poisoning was ever found. Many speculated that it was possibly an act of insurance fraud.
8. Air France Flight 447
On the morning of June 1, 2009, Air France Flight 447, traveling from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, went missing with 216 passengers and 12 crew members onboard. The Airbus A330 had flown through a thunderstorm, but no distress signal was sent. For several days there was no trace of the plane, and it took over two years to recover the black boxes from the ocean floor. Analysis of the boxes found that a combination of equipment malfunction and human error resulted in the crash.
Those who have worked in the corporate world know that it is a kind of jungle, where only some survive. Over the years, a few lessons have been made clear to those who work in the world of big corporations. These 3 lessons are the most valuable of the lot, and I feel that I have to share them with you. Warning, some rude language ahead!
Don’t let all those things happening at your workplace get you down. Read on to find out how you can beat stress.
It’s Monday morning and the start of a new week. You get up from the bed with a sinking feeling.
The new boss shouts at you before others, he is never content with the work you do, and quick to pounce on you at the tiniest error.
But this job means a lot to you. You have a housing mortgage on your shoulders.
You are in your mid 40s and it would be extremely difficult to find another job.
Stress spirals into depression
The physical symptoms of stress shows on you: the stomach tightens into a knot, the heart races in panic, breathing becomes shallow and your palms go damp.
The food is tasteless and you worry even in sleep.
There is an emotional quotient too.
A stressed employee suffers from a hurt morale, bruised ego, fears and insecurity.
Instead of job satisfaction there is job revulsion.
If not checked, it could spiral into a depression or a nervous breakdown.
Here’s how to manage your stress:
Don’t make it worse:
Your stress is not going to go away by smoking all the day.
It makes you fall prey to self-pity and seek solace from cigarettes and alcohol.
Don’t crib about your boss to colleagues:
If you are stressed it is better not to spill out the angst to others in the team by painting oneself as a victim or the boss as a devil.
You could lose a lot in the long term including your job.
Identify the sources of stress:
Once you know the cause behind it you need to address it.
Determine how you are going to deal with it and whether it’s something that can be fixed or managed.
Being aware of your own stress level is a worthwhile objective.
Instead of being reactive to situations, try to observe your mind and the emotions as stress in the environment meets you.
Don’t be afraid to talk to your boss or top management about your stress source.
See the big picture:
Experts say that one experiences stress when s/he feels that the situation is out of control.
That vulnerability activates the stress hormone and wears down your confidence and concentration. The first step is to identify the stress factors.
Take breaks:
In today’s fast-paced work environment many people spend their entire day at their desk, even working through lunch.
This may cause heightened stress levels besides strain for the eyes!
Experts advise you to take short breaks, stretch arms while seated in the chair, let eyes wander to the furthest end of the room for respite from staring a computer monitor for hours, have coffee or tea at the pantry or even listen to favourite songs over the headphone.
Short breaks help you in calming your nerves.
Relax at home.
Your lifestyle outside the office plays a big part.
Experts say getting enough sleep, supportive friends and family can help maintain a more stable state of mind.
There are stress relievers like exercise, yoga and music.
Take up a hobby and you’ll find the office blues lose their potency to torment you.
Photograph (used for representational purposes only): Dadang Tri/Reuters
Love is Divine. You must love all. More so, impart your love even to those who lack love. Love is like mariner’s compass. Wherever you may keep it, it should always point towards God. In every action in your daily life manifest selfless love. Divinity will emerge from that love. This is the easiest path to God realization. But why are people not taking to it? This is because they are obsessed with misconception relating to the means of experiencing God. They regard God as some remote entity attainable only by arduous spiritual practices. God is everywhere. There is no need to search for God. All that you see is a manifestation of the Divine. All the human beings you see are forms of the Divine. Correct your defective vision and you will experience God in all things. The power of love is immeasurable. Hence, develop and practice the sense of the spiritual oneness of all beings.
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Take off with Natarajan 