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” I Had No Money for School Fees …But My Son Is Going To IIT”….Thanks to AnandKumar”s Super 30 Project !!!!

June 25, 2013Natarajan1 Comment

Students from underprivileged families crack the IIT-JEE Advanced thanks to Anand Kumar’s Super 30 educational programme.

Pranav Kumar, Bhanu Pratap, Ankit Kumar, Shivangi Gupta, Abhishek Kumar, Santosh Kumar and Hanjala Shafi cleared the fiercely competitive Indian Institute of Technology Joint Entrance Examination (IIT-JEE) this year. These students and 23 others from Anand Kumar’s Super 30 share one thing in common: all of them come from poverty-stricken families.

While the intelligent and hard-working youngsters studied for the JEE, their parents were fighting for survival and earning their livelihood by working as labourers, landless farmers, electricians, salesmen, smalltime shopkeepers and magazine vendors. These poor folks never dreamt that their children will become part of prestigious IIT campuses, but thanks to Super 30, a free coaching centre for underprivileged students in Bihar, it was made possible.

Super 30 is an innovative school run by Anand Kumar in Patna since 2002. Each year, Kumar selects 30 meritorious students — mostly from poor families — and grooms them for the IITs. The students stay with him; they are provided free food and lodging. And Kumar bears the expenses on his own, with no financial help from anyone.

And the main feature of Super 30 was reflected yet again in this year’s results, announced last Friday — of Kumar’s 30 wards, 28 cracked the examination and will make it into an IIT.

The mood at Kumar’s residence in a congested lane in Patna’s Jakhanpur locality, from where he runs Super 30, was overpowering as successful students basked in their newfound glory.

Joy knew no bounds for Bhanu Pratap from Uttar Pradesh. His father Rampyare Pratap is a labourer and the sole breadwinner in the family; they have often had to go without food. Along with Bhanu’s mother Geeta Devi, he was at Kumar’s house celebrating their son’s achievement. “You have shown us a day we never even dreamt of. We shall always be obliged to you,” said Geeta Devi, as her husband nodded.

“I think Anand Sir not only prepared us (for IITs), but also gave us the confidence to excel, even in the face of difficult odds,” added Bhanu.

And there are many like Bhanu who were part of the Super 30 this year.

source::::rediff.com

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Message For The Day….With Pure Devotion Lead Your Life in Peace and Bliss…

June 25, 2013NatarajanLeave a comment

The chief source of bliss is dedication to God. Nothing else can give that genuine and everlasting joy. Become conscious of your kinship with the Lord – it is not mere folklore or a fairy tale or a faked theory. This kinship has existed from the beginning of Time and will persist till the very end of Time. Every individual is born in the path of righteousness (Dharma Marga), journeys through the path of action (Karma Marga), rushes through the path of sages (Sadhu Marga) to reach the Supreme Reality (Brahma Marga). The path of action and the path of the Sages are illumined by the Jnanendriyas (organs of perception). Keep the Jnanendriyas and the Karmendriyas(sense organs) uncontaminated and pure. The cow eats grass and drinks gruel and gives sweet, sustaining milk. So too, let the experiences you gather through the organs, help in the production of sweetness and kindness. With pure devotion, lead your lives in peace and bliss.

Sathya Sai Baba

Strange But True ….A Stray Dog Steps Into Action Where No Human Would Even Volunteer…

June 24, 2013Natarajan2 Comments

In a heart-rending act of animal kindness, a stray dog steps in where no human would and buries a dead puppy by the side of a road.

Onlookers watched in awe as the mongrel circled and sniffed the lifeless pup after finding it in a ditch where it had been left to rot in the midday sun.

But rather than leave it to scavengers, who would inevitably have torn it limb from limb, she spent more than three minutes gently raking sand over the corpse with her snout with extraordinary care.

But there were no sermons, ceremony or quiet reflection at this impromptu canine burial service… not even a bark.

Tender: Onlookers watched in awe as the mongrel came across the lifeless pup in a roadside ditch where it had been left to rot in the sun

Once she is happy that the puppy’s body is entirely covered, the black-and-white dog simply turns around and walks silently away.

It was an extraordinary act of respect rarely seen in the animal kingdom and is sure melt hearts across the world

It is unclear whether she was a grieving mother burying one of her litter or just a passing stranger with a caring heart.

Nor is it clear where the moving scene, captured on a bystander’s mobile phone, was filmed but Arabic script on it’s YouTube page suggests it may have been made in the Middle East or the Persian Gulf.

Dogs are known to bury bones and toys to come back for later, but it is rare to see a dog burying another dog

The mongrel goes to extraordinary lengths to ensure the dead pup is completely covered in sand

Proper job: The mongrel goes to extraordinary lengths to ensure the dead pup is completely covered in sand

No ceremony: Once she is sure the puppy's entire body is covered, the black-and-white dog simply turns around and walks silently away

No ceremony: Once she is sure the puppy’s entire body is covered, the black-and-white dog simply turns around and walks silently away

It echoes pictures taken in December of a dog in China standing guard over his dead mate in a busy road where she was mown down by a speeding car.

Those heartbreaking pictures, taken in Zhangzhou, in China’s Fujian Province, show the animal carefully nudging the female dog after she was hit and killed by a car.

Vigil: The dog refused to move from her side despite the female lying in the middle of the busy road

Touching The male tries licking the top of her head as he tries to revive her

Moving: The male tries licking the top of her head as he tries to revive her

After he fails to wake her, the male refuses to leave and stays within feet of his mate for six hours.

The male was seen repeatedly licking the face of dead dog and keeping a watchful eye on her as he dodged the oncoming traffic. But he never strayed more than a short distance from her side.

When he got tired the dog lay down next to her as he kept up his vigil for hours.

source::::;mailonline .com

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“UBUNTU “..I am Happy Because We are Happy !!!

June 24, 2013Natarajan1 Comment

african ubuntu

An anthropologist proposed a game to children in an African tribe. He put a basket full of fruit near a tree and told the children that whoever got there first won the sweet fruits. When he told them to run, they all took each others hands and ran together, then sat together enjoying their treats.

When he asked them why they had run like that when one could have had all the fruits for himself, they said, ‘UBUNTU, how can one of us be happy if all the other ones are sad?’ (‘UBUNTU’ in the Xhosa culture means: ‘I am because we are.)”

source:::: Reblogged from Propel Steps blog site

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Dare Devil On A Tightrope Walk !!!

June 24, 2013NatarajanLeave a comment

Life in the balance: Wallenda explains at a press conference following his tightrope walk that the winds were unpredictable making it all the more risky

Daredevil Nik Wallenda has completed a breath-taking tightrope walk that took him a quarter mile over the Little Colorado River Gorge in northeastern Arizona.

Wallenda performed the stunt late on Sunday on a 2-inch-thick steel cable, 1,500 feet above the river on the Navajo Nation near the Grand Canyon.

He took just more than 22 minutes, pausing and crouching twice as winds whipped around him and the rope swayed.

‘Thank you Lord. Thank you for calming that cable, God,’ he said about 13 minutes into the walk.
Breath-taking: Nik Wallenda succeeded in crossing the Little Colorado River Gorge in Arizona on Sunday night

Breath-taking: Nik Wallenda succeeded in crossing the Little Colorado River Gorge in Arizona on Sunday night

Easy does it: Wallenda gives a thumbs-up sign as he nears the end of the rope and kneels for a short break

Balancing act: Wallenda is the first person ever to attempt walking across the Grand Canyon on a tightrope

Wallenda didn’t wear a harness and stepped slowly and steady throughout, murmuring prayers to Jesus almost constantly along the way. He jogged and hopped the last few steps.

Winds blowing across the gorge had been expected to be around 30 mph. Wallenda told Discovery after the walk that the winds were at times ‘unpredictable’ and that dust had accumulated on his contact lenses.

‘It was way more windy, and it took every bit of me to stay focused the entire time,’ he said
Steady as he goes: Wallenda held a 43lb metal balancing pole

Rock steady: The aerial walker Nik Wallenda makes his way across on the quarter-mile journey

Man on the wire: Wallenda's stunt was broadcast with a ten-second delay on the Discovery Channel

Almost there! Wallenda managed to run the last few feet of his tightrope walk over the Grand Canyon which was broadcast live on TV

The ranger Elmer Phillips said Wallenda appeared to be walking like any normal person would on a sidewalk. But he said he got a little nervous when Wallenda stopped the first time.

‘Other than that, a pretty amazing feat. I know I wouldn’t even attempt something like that,’ Phillips said. ‘Very nicely done.’

Wallenda told reporters after the walk that he hoped his next stunt would be a tightrope walk between the Empire State building and the Chrysler building in New York. But he said he would give up tightrope walking altogether if his wife and children ever asked him

Sunday’s stunt comes a year after he traversed Niagara Falls earning a seventh Guinness world record.

Wallenda wore a microphone and two cameras, one looking down on the dry Little Colorado River bed and one facing straight ahead. His leather shoes with an elk-skin sole helped him keep a grip on the steel cable as he moved across.

The event was broadcast live on the Discovery Channel with a ten-second delay. He was watched by 1.5million people compared to the 8million who watched Felix Baumgartner jump from space.

His parents — both highwire walkers — used to ram home the importance of being prepared for the unexpected, pelting him with pine cones as he swayed on a practice wire in their garden, or coming up behind him and shaking the wire.

His father and mentor, Terry, was the reassuring voice in his earpiece when Wallenda stepped out over the abyss.

Still, Nik admits that some eventualities can never be foreseen out on the wire. He was once stung by a bee and has had birds land on his balancing pole. Out in the Arizona desert, that could be a vulture.

As to how he copes with the extraordinary mental strain, Wallenda, an unshowy performer who usually does his walks in shorts and T-shirt, doesn’t shed much light on the subject.

It’s basically all he knows, he says. There’s certainly an otherworldly quality to a man who claims to get ‘very peaceful’ out on the wire.

In the past, Wallenda has hung from his teeth from a helicopter, and ridden a motorcycle up a steel cable. But he doesn’t like being called a daredevil.

‘I do consider what I do an art,’ he says. ‘And I consider a daredevil more of somebody who says: “I’m going to do something that’s never been done before but I haven’t trained for it.” I train and train and train and over-train for this.’

His wife Erendira, 32, is another wire walker

He got down on one knee to propose when they were both on a high wire!!!. But then who else would tolerate a husband with such a career?

She and the children watched him succeed in his breath-taking stunt on Sunday night.

They always say a family prayer, but there is no real ritual before his walks, he insists.

‘I’m not superstitious. I give my wife and kids a hug and a kiss, and say: “See you in a few minutes” — just like I do when I go out to get groceries

source:::::mailonline.com

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Optimist and Pessimist !!!!

June 24, 2013Natarajan1 Comment

Pessimist-and-Optimist

There is a story of identical twins. One was a hope-filled optimist. “Everything is coming up roses!” The other was a said and hopeless pessimist.

The worried parents of the boys brought them to the local psychologist.

He suggested to the parents a plan to balance the twins’ personalities. “On their next birthday, put them in separate rooms to open their gifts. Give the pessimist the best toys you can afford, and give the optimist a box of manure”. The parents followed these instructions and carefully observed the results.

When they peeked in on the pessimist, they heard him audibly complaining, “I don’t like the color of this computer…I’ll bet this calculator will break…I don’t like this game…I know someone who’s got a bigger toy car than this…”

Tiptoeing across the corridor, the parents peeked in and saw their little optimist gleefully throwing the manure up in the air. He was giggling. “You can’t fool me! Where there’s this much manure, there’s gotta be a pony!”

– Author Unknown…. reblogged from Propel Steps Blog Site…

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See It To Believe it !!!!

June 24, 2013Natarajan2 Comments

He has stunned audiences with jaw-dropping stunts that defy logic and can make the most skeptical cynic believe in magic.

But in an daring new act, Bradford-born Illusionist Dynamo today took his impressive skills to even greater heights.

The 30-year-old entertainer took in London’s sights by levitating beside the roof of a 15ft double-decker bus.

Defying gravity: Dynamo looks relaxed as he floats beside a 15ft bus. He levitated as the bus crossed London's Wetminster Bridge

Defying gravity: Dynamo looks relaxed as he floats beside a 15ft bus. He levitated as the bus crossed London’s Wetminster Bridg

It has to be seen to be believed: These amazing pictures, taken by fans from the street (left) and inside the bus (right) show the trick from different perspectives

Thrilling: Smiling fans on the upper deck have a prime view of the stunt, which beggars belief

Astonishing: Dynamo stretches his left arm and his feet dangle in mid-air as the bus moves ahead

Smiling for the cameras, Dynamo, whose real name is Steven Frayne, travelled alongside the two-storey bus with the palm of his hand placed on the roof.

He hung in mid-air with his other arm outstretched as he crossed Westminister Bridge. A police escort cleared the way for Frayne’s daring feat, ensuring there was no traffic around the bus.

Frayne’s awad-winning show documents the tricks he has up his sleeve- from his mesmirising sleight of hand to his ability to walk on water.

He gained notoriety when he ‘walked’ across the Thames in 2011 to promote a new series of his show Magician Impossible.

Frayne has built his name on the celebrity circuit, astounding famous names with his tricks.

His previous tricks have included making Little Britain star Matt Lucas levitate before a live audience at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium, and turning signed lottery tickets into cash in front of Robbie Williams and Davina McCall.
Acclaimed: Dynamo has baffled celebrity clients and industry experts with his skills. He was recognised by the magician's society, the Magic Circle, last year

Acclaimed: Dynamo has baffled celebrity clients and industry experts with his skills. He was recognised by the magician’s society, the Magic Circle, last year.

source::::mailonline.com

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Faith Sees Invisible and Receives The Impossible !!!

June 24, 2013NatarajanLeave a comment

A ‘devotee’ wrote a letter to the editor of an Indian newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to the Temple . “I’ve gone for 30 years now, he wrote, and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 mantras.
But for the life of me, I can’t remember a single one of them. So, I think I’m wasting my time and the Gurus are wasting theirs by giving services at all.”

This started a real controversy in the ‘Letters to the Editor’ column, much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher:“I’ve been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals.

But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this… They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work.
If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to the Temple for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!

A physician gives me medicines. I do not know what is in it I definitely do not know ‘how’ it is curing my illness. I have faith in the physician. My faith and the power of the medicine of the physician makes me well. I do not know ‘how’ but I know it ‘does’.”
.
Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and
receives the impossible!

Thank God for our physical AND our spiritual nourishment!!!!

source::::unknown…. input from a friend of mine…

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Message For The Day….”Egoism is Darkness …Surrender Is Light …”

June 24, 2013NatarajanLeave a comment

Arjuna’s dejection was a case of finely disguised egoism. He was a hero until he came to the battlefield and became a coward. It was all about ‘I and Mine’; “I will go to hell, I would rather beg, I will not fight my uncle, my Guru, my cousin, etc.” ‘I and mine’ are two poison fangs; they have to be removed to make you harmless. Krishna counselled Arjuna: “You are not killing, so don’t be conceited, they are deathless; the death sentence on their bodies has already been pronounced and you are merely executing God’s will!” Krishna made Arjuna aware of himself and removed his delusions. Arjuna realized that he was but an instrument in the hands of the Lord. You too must learn from that lesson, for otherwise, there will be no end to your misery. Always pray Thamaso maa jyothirgamaya – Lead me from darkness to light. Egoism is darkness (thamas); Surrender (Sharanagathi) is light.

Sathya Sai Baba

Laughter the Best Medicine For Stress ….Try this One !!!

June 23, 2013Natarajan2 Comments

There was a man who couldn’t stand his wife’s cat. So, one day, he decided to get rid of him by dumping him a long way away from the house.

He put the cat in the car and drove about 20 blocks away, then he left him at the park. But when he got home, the cat was there as if nothing had happened.

The next day he decided to take the cat somewhere further away, about 50 blocks. He put him out of the car and drove home. And again, the cat was there waiting for him. ‘This is impossible,’ said the man to himself. ‘tomorrow I’ll make sure he can’t come back!’

The next day he puts the cat in the car and he drives around, taking turn after turn – right, left, right, right and so on.Eventually, after about an hour of driving, he finally lets the cat out and drives home.

A few hours later, the phone rings at his house and his wife answers it. It’s the husband, and he asks: “Is the cat there?” “Why, yes.” says the wife, “he’s been here quite a while, where are you?”

“Put that specimen on the phone, I’m lost and I need directions from him !!!!

source::::babamail net

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