learnings – Page 161 – Take off with Natarajan

” Obstacles in Our Lives ” …How It Help Us Ultimately … !!!

October 18, 2014NatarajanLeave a comment

GOD AND THE FARMER

ONCE UPON A TIME A FARMER WAS VERY MUCH DISSATISFIED WITH THE GOD.

HE WAS VERY UPSET WITH THE UNUSUAL ENVIRONMENT, BY THE GOD FOR FARMING.

EVERY SEASON, THE REPETITION OF THE SAME PROBLEMS SUCH AS DROUGHT, FLOOD, INTENSE HEAT, SNOWFALL etc. WOULD DAMAGE HIS CROP.

ONE DAY DISSATISFIED WITH THE ENVIRONMENT, HE COMPLAINED TO GOD, “YOU ARE GOD, BUT I FEEL YOU DON’T HAVE ANY IDEA OF AGRICULTURE AND FRAMING. ”

I PRAY “PLEASE GIVE ME A BOON THAT WHATEVER SEASON I WANT , THE SAME ENTERS AND THEN WATCH THE QUANTITY OF MY CROP THAT I WILL GROW. ”

GOD SMILED AND GAVE HIM THE BLESSING OF FULFILLING HIS WISH …………… THE FARMER SOWED THE SEED AND WHATEVER HE WANTED FOR HIS CROPS i.e. SUNLIGHT, RAIN, etc .

HE ASKED FOR IT AND GOT THE SAME.

HE NEVER LET THE HEAVY RAIN, FLOOD etc. TO ENTER IN THE ENVIRONMENT AS THEY WOULD DAMAGE HIS CROPS.

AT THE TIME PASSED , HIS CROPS GOT READY AND THE FARMER WAS VERY HAPPY, SEEING ALL THESE THINGS AS NEVER FELT BEFORE.

FARMER THOUGHT THAT NOW GOD WILL REALIZE THE TECHNIQUE OF PROPER FARMING.

NOW, WAS THE TIME TO HARVEST THE CROP. VERY PROUDLY HE WENT TO HARVEST BUT AS SOON AS HE HARVESTED HE WAS TOTALLY SHOCKED.

HE DIDN’T FIND ANY SEED INSIDE THE CROP.

HOPELESS, HE ASKED GOD THE REASON FOR SUCH A MISFORTUNE?

GOD REPLIED “IT WAS BUT NATURAL. AS YOU NEVER GAVE YOUR CROP THE OPPORTUNITY OF STRUGGLING WITH THE INTENSE HEAT OF SUN, WIND OF HEAVY RAIN FULL etc., AS A RESULT, THE CROP BECAME HOLLOW FROM INSIDE. WHENEVER WIND BLOWS, HEAVY RAIN FALLS, SNOW FALLS, FOG APPEARS, THE PLANT GETS STRENGTH FROM IT.

CROPS STRUGGLE FOR THEIR OWN IDENTITY AND AS THE RESULT THEY PRODUCE, SEEDS, SEEDS OF HAPPINESS, LONGIVITY AND TOLERANCE.”

SOURCE:::: unknown… Input from a friend of mine…

Natarajan

Message For the Day…” Human Beings are Bound by Merits and Demerits of Past Lives…'”

October 18, 2014NatarajanLeave a comment

God is not a separate entity. Man is the image of God. Scriptures declare that God appears in human form (Daivam maanusha rupena). Though God has no separate form, Avatars descend from time to time to show how human lives can be divinised. I have often declared that God does not come down as Avatar to relieve individuals of their troubles and sorrow and to confer joy and happiness on them. Difficulties, troubles and worries come in the natural course as a consequence of your past actions. The Gita declares: Human beings are bound by merits and demerits (Karma) from previous lives (Karmaanubandheeni manushya loke). As is your action, so is the reaction. When you stand before a mirror and offer salutations, the salutation is reflected by the image. If you scowl at the mirror, the harshness is reflected back at you.

Sathya Sai Baba

” AMUL Refuses to Cry Over ‘spoilt’ Milk ” !!!

October 17, 2014NatarajanLeave a comment

In the age of better-informed consumers and omnipresent social media platforms, it isn’t surprising that manufacturers are being held accountable for their wares.

Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation’s marketing arm Amul, however, used Facebook to show how seriously it took customer complaints that could hurt its brand image. The dairy giant responded to photographs uploaded on Facebook by a Gurgaon customer on October 10 showing ‘Amul Gold’ milk purchased by her resembling slop after she tried to heat it. The pictures were shared some 89,000 times and she proceeded to file complaints via e-mail and over the phone.

Amul’s response

The company’s response was immediate. Upon investigating, it found that the expiry date of the product was October 9, and questioned the basis of the complaint.

Rs. Sodhi, Managing Director, GCMMF, toldBusinessLine that Amul deals with complaints swiftly. “This particular complaint stemmed from her using expired stock. Milk is a perishable commodity to be used within the specified time. When the pH level dropped and she tried to make cheese by heating it, such a result was bound to happen,” he said.

The company gave a detailed response through its official Facebook page, where it stated that after visiting the customer at her home twice, she was informed that no problems had been found in any of the ‘Amul Gold’ batches.

The post on Amul’s official Facebook page garnered over 5,000 ‘likes’ and had been shared more than 2,500 times till late in the evening.

Amul also posted a video demonstrating where the consumer had gone wrong. The video, which was uploaded on YouTube, has received around 7,000 hits so far.

Amul’s response

The company’s response was immediate. Upon investigating, it found that the expiry date of the product was October 9, and questioned the basis of the complaint.

The post on Amul’s official Facebook page garnered over 5,000 ‘likes’ and had been shared more than 2,500 times till late in the evening.

Amul also posted a video demonstrating where the consumer had gone wrong. The video, which was uploaded on YouTube, has received around 7,000 hits so far.

SOURCE:::: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com

Natarajan

” Three Things I Have Learned From Warren Buffett “…. Bill Gates

October 17, 2014NatarajanLeave a comment

I’m looking forward to sharing posts from time to time about things I’ve learned in my career atMicrosoft and the Gates Foundation. (I also post frequently on my blog.)

Last month, I went to Omaha for the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting. It’s always a lot of fun, and not just because of the ping-pong matches and the newspaper-throwing contest I have with Warren Buffett. It’s also fun because I get to learn from Warren and gain insight into how he thinks.

Here are three things I’ve learned from Warren over the years:

1. It’s not just about investing.

The first thing people learn from Warren, of course, is how to think about investing. That’s natural, given his amazing track record. Unfortunately, that’s where a lot of people stop, and they miss out on the fact that he has a whole framework for business thinking that is very powerful. For example, he talks about looking for a company’s moat—its competitive advantage—and whether the moat is shrinking or growing. He says a shareholder has to act as if he owns the entire business, looking at the future profit stream and deciding what it’s worth. And you have to be willing to ignore the market rather than follow it, because you want to take advantage of the market’s mistakes—the companies that have been underpriced.

I have to admit, when I first met Warren, the fact that he had this framework was a real surprise to me. I met him at a dinner my mother had put together. On my way there, I thought, “Why would I want to meet this guy who picks stocks?” I thought he just used various market-related things—like volume, or how the price had changed over time—to make his decisions. But when we started talking that day, he didn’t ask me about any of those things. Instead he started asking big questions about the fundamentals of our business. “Why can’t IBM do what Microsoft does? Why has Microsoft been so profitable?” That’s when I realized he thought about business in a much more profound way than I’d given him credit for.

2. Use your platform.

A lot of business leaders write letters to their shareholders, but Warren is justly famous for his. Partly that’s because his natural good humor shines through. Partly it’s because people think it will help them invest better (and they’re right). But it’s also because he’s been willing to speak frankly and criticize things like stock options and financial derivatives. He’s not afraid to take positions, like his stand on raising taxes on the rich, that run counter to his self-interest. Warren inspired me to start writing my own annual letter about the foundation’s work. I still have a ways to go before mine is as good as Warren’s, but it’s been helpful to sit down once a year and explain the results we’re seeing, both good and bad.

3. Know how valuable your time is.

No matter how much money you have, you can’t buy more time. There are only 24 hours in everyone’s day. Warren has a keen sense of this. He doesn’t let his calendar get filled up with useless meetings. On the other hand, he’s very generous with his time for the people he trusts. He gives his close advisers at Berkshire his phone number, and they can just call him up and he’ll answer the phone.

Although Warren makes a point of meeting with dozens of university classes every year, not many people get to ask him for advice on a regular basis. I feel very lucky in that regard: The dialogue has been invaluable to me, and not only at Microsoft. When Melinda and I started our foundation, I turned to him for advice. We talked a lot about the idea that philanthropy could be just as impactful in its own way as software had been. It turns out that Warren’s brilliant way of looking at the world is just as useful in attacking poverty and disease as it is in building a business. He’s one of a kind.

SOURCE:::: Bill Gates in http://www.linkedin.com

Natarajan

Some Common Daily Habits That Might be Standing in Your Way of Happy and Healthy Heart ….

October 17, 2014October 17, 2014NatarajanLeave a comment

Could These Daily Habits Be Increasing Your Risk Of Heart Disease

Cardiovascular disease is a very common condition. There are many seemingly harmless everyday habits that might also be leading to an increased risk of heart disease and stroke. Here are some of the most common daily habits that might be standing in your way of a healthy and happy heart.

You don’t take care of your teeth
Poor dental hygiene is a surprising cause of heart diseases. Taking care of your teeth and gums not only leaves you with pearly white teeth, but also keeps your heart healthy. According to research, there is a link between cardiac risks and dental hygiene. This is because when gums are inflamed, bacteria enter the blood vessels, which then travel to the coronary area. This narrows the passages, leading to lesser blood flow.

You tend to bottle up your emotions
If you are feeling depressed, hostile or stressed, it could take a toll on your heart’s health. It is not uncommon for all of us to feel these emotions at some point in our lives, but it is how you handle them that makes all the difference. If you tend to bottle up or internalize stress, you may be in grave danger. Laughter and social support have been clinically proven to positively affect for stress and heart health.

You spend hours on the couch in front of your television set
Sometimes you just want to block out the world and become a couch potato, but if this becomes a daily habit, it could start to affect your heart. Sitting for hours at a stretch can increase your risk of heart attack and stroke, even if you exercise on a regular basis. The lack of movement is not compensated by intermittent exercise. This sedentary position affects blood levels of sugars and fats. If you must laze on your couch, at least get up and walk around every now and then.

You have an erratic sleep schedule
You may be at risk of a heart disease if you have an erratic sleep schedule. Sleeping less than five hours or more than nine hours a night may have an adverse affect on your heart health, because both extremes affect your levels of stress hormones and blood pressure.

You snore
Snoring, while annoying for your sleeping partner, may be a sign of a more serious condition – obstructive sleep apnea. This disorder, marked by breathing that is interrupted during sleep, has been known to cause blood pressure to shoot up when you are snoring in your sleep. You should consult your doctor immediately if you sleep regular hours but wake up feeling lethargic and tired.

Your exercise routine isn’t consistent
If you feel particularly motivated to exercise on a Monday morning, but then through the week, your motivation seems to dwindle, you are setting yourself up for heart damage. If you work out inconsistently, say by exercising rigorous one day and then taking the next week of because you have overstressed yourself, it could be bad for your heart health. The best thing to do would be to aim for a routine that is slow and steady so that your heart can get accustomed to the physical exertion and be able to adapt accordingly.

You tend to have too many cocktails
While getting belligerent once in a while on an occasion is completely acceptable, if you make it a regular feature, you will put yourself at risk of high blood pressure, heart failure, and high level of blood fats. If you have to drink socially, make sure you have just one drink a day.

You find yourself binge eating very often
One of the main risk factors for heart disease is excess weight. If you add binge eating to the equation, your heart is sure to suffer. Many people tend to overeat when they are stressed, bored or emotional, but it is in your heart’s best interest to stick to small portions.

You procrastinate on visiting the doctor for regular checkups
Just because you aren’t showing symptoms of heart disease, that doesn’t mean you are absolutely safe. Heart conditions have a nasty way of creeping up on you and affect just about anyone. The best way to stay safe is to visit your doctor for regular checkups and keep you weight, diabetes, cholesterol, blood pressure and smoking in check.

You tend to withdraw from the world
On some days, you feel you just want to shut out everyone and everything and go into your shell. That is fine once in a while, but if you make it a habit, it will manifest in some way or the other, most likely in the form of your health. People who have stronger ties with friends, family and society in general tend to live healthier, more fulfilled, longer lives. While it is important to have alone time every so often, reaching out to others and keeping in touch is equally important.

Vishal Ingole in http://www.lifehacker.co.in

Natarajan

Message For the Day…” One Must Pay Due Care to Understand the Teachings of Great Avatars…”

October 17, 2014NatarajanLeave a comment

There may be a few statements in Bhagavad Gita or other scriptures that might appear to contradict each other. For instance, in the Gita at one place, Lord Krishna stresses the need for action, at another the adherence to Dharma, and in another place commends renunciation of all Dharma and urges complete surrender to the Lord. These apparent contradictions are not contradictions. The teaching varies according to the state of spiritual development of the person concerned and the situation in which one is placed. The lesson here is one must pay due care and attention to understanding completely the inner significance of the great teachings of the Avatars and sages before any criticism is attempted.

Sathya Sai Baba

Black Swans Take up Feeding Carp as a hobby and habit @a Nature Reserve…!!!

October 16, 2014October 16, 2014NatarajanLeave a comment

This is a scene you probably won’t spot at the pond down at your local park. Dozens black swans at Shenzhen Safari Park seemed to be feeding carp.

The hungry fish thronged by the banks of the lake as the graceful black birds craned their long necks to feed them mouth to mouth.

The credulity stretching scene is a regular occurrence at the Guangdong Province zoo, where keepers said the swans have been feeding their carp friends every day for the past ten years.

Bizarre: Black swans feed golden koi carp at Shenzhen Safari Park in Guangdong Province, China

Good friends: Keepers at Shenzhen safari park say the scene is a daily occurrence when they feed the swans

Sharing is caring: A hungry carp opens his mouth to swallow feed pellets dropped in the lake by the swan

But why? Of course there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation, and its not that the swans and carp have made some kind of unholy cross-species alliance.

Zoo keepers told the Guangzhou Daily the black swans are not consciously trying to feed the fish, but it is a habit that has developed over time.

The swans’ feed consists of rather dry pellets, the keepers said, and the birds got into the habit of dipping them into the water first to make them more palatable.

Once the feed is moistened, it makes it easier for the long-necked swans to swallow.

Another helpful black swan feeds Koi fish at the Hyatt in Maui

Habit: The ritual began because the swans’ feed is so dry they need to dip it in the water to make it palatable

Besties: The carp soon caught on to where the food was coming from and now crowd around at feeding time

The carp started getting involved after stray pellets drifted into the middle of the lake.

They soon realised where it was coming from and now they are comfortable coming right up to the birds and eating it from their beaks.

Shanghaiist reports that the black swans and koi carp have been happily coexisting in this way since 2004.

SOURCE::::: mailonline.com uk

Natarajan

” This Teenager From West Bengal is the True Hero …” Malala Yousafzai

October 16, 2014NatarajanLeave a comment

As the world celebrates Pakistani teenager Malala Yousafzai winning the Nobel Peace Prize, Malala herself is celebrating the courage of a little known young girl from West Bengal’s Sandeshkhali area who has been quietly working against the trafficking of young girls from the region.

Anoyara Khatun, 18, from North 24 Parganas, has, with the support of other children and non-governmental organisations, built a strong network to resist trafficking of young girls and prevent child marriages in the region.

“Malala and the Malala Fund celebrate Anoyara’s exemplary courage and leadership. She has helped reunite more than 180 trafficked children with their families, prevented 35 child marriages, rescued 85 children from the clutches of child labour and registered 200 out-of-schools (drop-outs) into schools,” says a Facebook post by the Malalafund, an initiative by Malala.

The post made on October 13, International Day of the Girl, only a few days after Ms. Malala was awarded the Nobel Prize, has described Anoyara as “a true girl hero.”

When The Hindu met Anoyara at Sandeshkhali on Wednesday, she was aware of the Facebook post and could not stop talking about Malala. The first year student of a local college has also collected a number of vernacular newspapers that published news of Ms. Malala’s award and shared it with her friends.

“Though I have not met Malala, I did meet her father Ziauddin Yousafzai at Brussels in June 2012,” she said. She made the trip to Belgium when she was nominated for The International Children’s Peace Prize.

“Trafficking of young girls and child marriages were rampant in the villages here. Poverty and lack of awareness and education provided the ideal conditions for traffickers to operate here,” Ms. Anoyara said.

In 2008, Save the Children, an international non-governmental organisation working for child rights, helped establish a number of multi activity centres in the Sandeshkhali area. These centres help create awareness among the children of the region about the dangers of trafficking and similar crimes. Anoyara recalls stories of how she and others chased away traffickers who came offering jobs and marriage to young girls in the region.

Jatin Mondar, the State Programme Manager of Save the Children, West Bengal said that through these centres, the organisation had managed to put in place a “committee-based child protection model” in Sandeshkhali since 2004.

“Now, if someone approaches the villagers with the proposal to take a girl to Delhi or anywhere else for work, that person is sure to be handed over to the police by us,” Anoyara said.

Keywords: Malala Yousafzai, Nobel Peace Prize, Anoyara Khatun, Malala mentor

SOURCE:::: The Hindu.com

Natarajan

Meet Mr. Arvind Subramanian … Chief Economic Adviser to Govt. Of India…

October 16, 2014NatarajanLeave a comment

After his candidacy first emerged in August, US based economist Arvind Subramanian has finally been selected as chief economic adviser by the Indian government.

This announcement came at a newsconference in New Delhi where Subramanian was present. He is a development economist who worked closely with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan when both were at the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

According to analysts, one of the prime factors that tipped scales in favour of Arvind Subramanian was his proximity to RBI governor Raghuram Rajan. Narendra Modi personally handpicked Arvind to be his chief economic adviser.

Confirming his appointment in an impromptu news conference outside the Finance Ministry, Mr Subramanian said: “It is a great honour… to serve in a government that has a mandate for reform and change.” He said macro-economic stability and creating favourable conditions for investment will be priorities.

Traditionally, the chief economic adviser is responsible for producing the annual Economic Survey – a document on the state of economy that underpins the drafting of the Budget – and a mid-year economic update that is presented to Parliament.

Recently, Mr Subramanian criticised the Indian government’s decision to derail a WTO deal struck last year to streamline trade procedures by tying it to a separate controversy over food subsidies.

He also criticised Mr Jaitley’s maiden budget in July for being too optimistic in its revenue forecasts.

Mr Subramanian was educated in India and Britain and went on to serve at the IMF and at the forerunner to the World Trade Organization, before taking senior academic posts at Harvard and Johns Hopkins universities in the United States.

In 2011, Foreign Policy magazine has named him as one of the world’s top 100 global thinkers. He obtained his undergraduate degree from St. Stephens College, Delhi; his MBA from the Indian Institute of Management at Ahmedabad, India; and his M.Phil and D.Phil from the University of Oxford, UK.

Below is a small bio of Arvind Subramanian (Courtesy- Peterson Institute of International economics)

Arvind Subramanian is the Dennis Weatherstone Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and senior fellow at the Center for Global Development. His book Eclipse: Living in the Shadow of China’s Economic Dominance was published in September 2011, and he is coauthor of Who Needs to Open the Capital Account? (2012). Foreign Policy magazine has named him as one of the world’s top 100 global thinkers in 2011.

He was assistant director in the Research Department of the International Monetary Fund. He served at the GATT (1988–92) during the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations and taught at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government (1999–2000) and at Johns Hopkins’ School for Advanced International Studies (2008–10).

He has written on growth, trade, development, institutions, aid, oil, India, Africa, and the World Trade Organization. He has published widely in academic and other journals, including the American Economic Review (Papers and Proceedings), Review of Economics and Statistics, Journal of International Economics, Journal of Monetary Economics, Journal of Public Economics, Journal of Economic Growth, Journal of Development Economics, Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Oxford Review of Economic Policy, International Monetary Fund Staff Papers, Foreign Affairs, World Economy, and Economic and Political Weekly.

He has also published or been cited in leading magazines and newspapers, including the Economist, Financial Times, Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, and New York Review of Books. He contributes frequently to the Financial Times and is a columnist in India’s leading financial daily, Business Standard.

He advises the Indian government in different capacities, including as a member of the Finance Minister’s Expert Group on the G-20. His book India’s Turn: Understanding the Economic Transformation was published in 2008 by Oxford University Press.

With agency inputs

Source::::www.dnaindia.com

Natarajan

Message For the Day…” What is Non-Violence …” ?

October 16, 2014NatarajanLeave a comment

The observance of non-violence has been described as the highest form ofDharma. All the violence in the world today is due to the fact that people do not lead righteous lives. It has been said that the body has been given essentially to pursue Dharma. Among the teachings of the Buddha, the foremost was Ahimsa (not causing harm to anyone). Non-violence is not merely refraining from inflicting injuries on others with one’s limbs or weapons. Non-violence has to be practised with Thrikarana Shuddhi (purity of thought, word and deed). There should be no ill-feelings, which is itself a form of violence. To cause harm to others through one’s body is himsa(violence). No one should be harmed even by speech; our words should be sweet, pleasing and wholesome. All actions should be helpful to others

Sathya Sai Baba