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learnings
Message For The Day…. Mahaperiavar”s Advice To Kids…
Message For The Day…” Are the Good Book Teachings put into Practice “?
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“Just a Slip … Not a Fall”….:” No Question of Giving Up”….
Climbing a ladder of success is definitely not an easy task. There is a saying that goes, “Rome was not built in a day,” similarly there is no successful person who has got the name and fame overnight. It’s not like successful personalities have never failed but they dared to stand against all odds, which can only attain through hard work and sheer determination. Let us take a look at these personalities who have never accepted defeat to achieve their goals, as compiled by listdose.com
1. Lionel Messi:
Argentinian striker, Lionel Messi is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of the modern generation. He plays for FC Barcelona and the Argentina national team. He has been described as Diego Maradona’s successor because of his prolific goal scoring record and ability to dribble past opponents. Widely recognised as the best player in the world and rated by some commentators, coaches and players as the greatest footballer of all time, he is the first football player in history to win FIFA world player of the year four times. Despite his successful career today, Messi as a child was diagnosed with a growth hormone disorder, or GHD. It is often called idiopathic short stature, but there are problems that go beyond being shorter than average. The treatments were expensive, a $900 monthly expense that his modest family could not afford. So his parents decided to move to Barcelona, Spain for the treatment.
2.Sudha Chandran:
Sudha Chandran is a well known Bharatanatyam dancer from Chennai, India. She completed her Masters in Mumbai, and while travelling from Mumbai to Chennai, she met with an accident. The wound on her right leg got affected by gangrene, which resulted in the amputation. But despite her injury, Sudha went on to become one of the most highly acclaimed dancers. She is recognized in many countries and has been honored with numerous awards and still receives invitations to perform dance in all over the world.
3 Ludwig van Beethoven:
Ludwig van Beethoven, a German composer and pianist is one of the most famous and influential composers of all times. Some of his best known compositions include 9 symphonies, 5 concertos for piano, 32 piano sonatas, and 16 string quartets. Miraculously, this great composer went deaf during his course of life as a musician. Then on, he was unable to hear his own compose music. In spite of his physical shortcoming, music made him carry on and gave the world some of the best music ever.
4. Thomas Alva Edison:
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman who developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a practical electric light bulb. He was also called ‘The Wizard of Menlo Park’. This extraordinary inventor, failed over ten thousand times on his attempt to invent the light bulb. For this Edison states, “I have not failed. I’ve just found ten thousand ways that won’t work.”
5. Abraham Lincoln:
Abraham Lincoln, The 16th president of the United States, was a self educated person. He faced many obstacles and fought it with determination to come up as a well known and successful leader respected all around the world. His success as president was particularly interesting because of the amount of personal and professional failure he had in his entire life. Lincoln had two business ventures fail, lost 8 different elections and had a complete nervous breakdown before becoming president in 1860. His story is indeed a great inspirational story which shows how one should keep moving towards one dream to eventually achieve it.
6. Helen Keller:
Helen is an American author, political activist, and lecturer and was the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. Her teacher Anne Sullivan played a very important role in Helen’s life by teaching her how to communicate. Hellen Keller has also campaigned for women’s suffrage, workers’ rights, and socialism, as well as various other progressive causes. Keller has met almost every President during her life and was friends with Keller famous personalities such as Alexander Graham Bell, Charlie Chaplin, and Mark Twain.
7. Nick Vujicic:
Nick Vujicic is an Australian Christian evangelist and motivational speaker who was born with no arms and legs. He was suffering from tetra-amelia syndrome, a rare disorder characterized by the absence of all four limbs. But this doesn’t stop him from taking his life ahead. The early days were quite difficult for him. Throughout his childhood, Nick not only dealt with the typical challenges in school, but he also struggled with depression and loneliness. But eventually, he came in terms with his disability and, at the age of seventeen, Nick started his own non-profit organization, ‘Life Without Limbs’. Today, he gives motivational speeches all across the world about life with a disability, on hope, and on finding meaning in life. He also talks about his belief that God can use any willing heart to do his work and that God is big enough to overcome any disability. It is his small foot on his left hip that helps him balance and enables him to use his one foot to type, write with a pen and pick things up between his toes.
8. Glenn Verniss Cunningham:
Glenn Cunningham was one of the United States’ fastest runners who shines against the greatest odds. At the age of 8, Glenn met with a horrible accident at school that left him with complete loss of skin around his knees and shins. So, doctors urged his parents to amputate his legs, but his parents refused it. The doctors told his parents that he would never walk normally again. However, Glenn and his family refused to accept such claims and with much determination and unwavering faith, he not only walked but also ran faster. In 1932 Summer Olympics, Glenn stood at fourth place in the Men’s 1500m and in 1936 Summer Olympics, he bagged silver in the same 1500 m. Then in 1934, he set the world record by finishing a mile in 4:06.8. Glenn received the James E. Sullivan Award for top amateur athlete in the United States in 1933. Such kinds of achievements would never happen without extreme will power and faith.
source::::: siliconindia .com
natarajan
” Sambhar or Kuzhambu Means ‘ Confusion ‘ ” !!!…Read Further ….
INDIAN FOOD SYSTEM
(More precisely South Indian, but more or less applicable to all Indian meal systems)The following are rough translations of the words of Kanchi Paramacharya extracted from the Tamil publication titled Sollin Selvar (The Expert of Words), Sri Kanchi Munivar by Sri Ra. Ganapathy. The different Indian delicacies are explained as follows.
SAMBHAR:
Sambar is also known as kuzhambu in Tamil, a term that literally translates to ‘get confused’. Paramacharya explains how these three courses are related to the three gunas of spirituality: the confusion of sambar is tamo guna, the clarified and rarified flow of rasam is rajo guna and the all-white buttermilk is satva guna. Our meal reminds us of our spiritual path from confused inaction to a clear flow of action and finally to the realized bliss of unity.
SAADAM:
Cooked rice, the main dish of a South Indian meal is
called sAdam. That which has sat is sAdam, in the same way we call those who are full of sat, sadhus. We can give another explanation for the term: that which is born out of prasannam is prasAdam. What we offer to Swami (God) as nivedanam is given back to us as parasAdam. Since we should not add the root ‘pra’ to the rice we cook for ourselves, we call it sAdam.
RASAM:
Rasam means juice, which is also the name of filtered ruchi. We say ‘it was full of rasa’ when a speech or song was tasteful. If something is an extraction of juice, then would it not be clear, diluted and free of sediments? Such is the nature of our rasam, which is clear and dilute. The other one, served earlier to rasam in a meal, is the kuzhambu. Kuzhambu contains dissolved tamarind and cut vegetable pieces, so it looks unclear, its ingredients not easily seen.
BUTTERMILK:
A western meal normally ends with a dessert. In a South Indian meal, desserts such as pAyasam are served after the rasam sAdam. Any sweets that were served at the beginning are also taken at this time. After that we take buttermilk rice as our final course. Paramacharya
explains that since sweets are harmful to teeth, our
sour and salty buttermilk actually strengthens our teeth, and this has been observed and praised by an American dietician. We gargle warm salt water when we get toothache. The buttermilk is the reason for our having strong teeth until the end of our life, unlike the westerners who resort to dentures quite early in their life.UPPUMA:
If the term uppuma is derived from the fact that we add uppu or salt, then we also add salt to iddly, dosa and pongal! Actually, it is not uppuma but ubbuma! The rava used for this dish expands in size to the full vessel where heated up with water and salt. The action of rava getting expanded is the reason for the term ubbuma.
LADDU:
Ladanam (in Sanskrit) means to play, to throw. ladakam is the sports goods used to play with. Since the ball games are the most popular, ladakam came to mean a ball. The dish laddu is like a ball, and this term is a shortened form of laddukam, which derived from ladakam.
Laddu is also known as kunjaa laadu. This should actually be gunjaa laadu, because the Sanskrit term gunjA refers to the gunjA-berry, used as a measure of weight, specially for gold. Since a laddu is a packed ball of gunjA like berries cooked out of flour and sugar, it got this name.
The singer of mUka panca sati on Ambal Kamakshi describes her as Matangi and in that description praises her as ‘gunjA bhUsha’, that is, wearing chains and bangles made of gunjA-berries of gold.
PAYASAM:
payas (in Sanskrit) means milk. So pAyasam literally means ‘a delicacy made of milk’. This term does not refer to the rice and jaggery used to make pAyasam.
They go with the term without saying. Actually pAyasam is to be made by boiling rice in milk (not water) and adding jaggery. These days we have dhal pAyasam, ravA pAyasam, sEmia pAyasam and so on, using other things in the place of rice.
Vaishanavas have a beautiful Tamil term akkaara adisil for pAyasam. The ‘akkaar’ in this term is a corruption of the Sanskrit sharkara. The English term ‘sugar’ is from the Arabian ‘sukkar’, which in turn is from this Sanskrit term. The same term also took the forms ‘saccharine’ and ‘jaggery’. And the name of the dish jangiri is from the term jaggery.
TAMBULAM:
It is customary to have tAmbUlam at the end of a South Indian dinner. In the North, tAambUlam is popularly known as paan, which is usually a wrap of betel nut and other allied items in a calcium-laced pair of betel leaves. In the South, tAmbUlam is usually an elaborate and leisurely after-dinner activity. People sit around a plate of tAmbUlam items, drop a few cut or sliced betel nut pieces in their month, take the betel leaves one by one leisurely, draw a daub of pasty calcium on their back and then stuff them in their mouth, chatting happily all the while.
The betel leaf is known by the name vetrilai in Tamil, literally an empty leaf.
Paramacharya once asked the people sitting around him the reason for calling it an empty leaf. When none could give the answer, he said that the usually edible plants don’t just stop with leaf; they proceed to blossom, and bear fruits or vegetables.
Even in the case of spinach or lettuce, we have to cook them before we can take them. Only in the case of the betel leaf, we take it raw, and this plant just stops with its leaves, hence the name vetrilai or empty leaf.
source:::::input from a friend of mine
natarajan
Message For The Day…”Your Real Nature is Purity, Peace and Joy…”
You may sometimes feel you are a sinner, and are essentially wicked. But if someone were to think like you and calls you “Hello sinner!”, you will resent it! Why? Because, your real nature is purity, peace and joy. You are divine. You are a manifestation of God! Your mind, intellect, memory, egoism and the senses (Manas, Buddhi, Chitha, Ahamkara, Indhriyas) are like the bricks, iron rods, cement and wood that go up to make a house for your soul to live in. They are not you; the real you is the Divine Soul (Atma). You will truly appreciate this only by constant meditation, moving in good company, listening to the talks of the realised ones, and by following certain prescribed course of discipline. That is why I lay so much emphasis on discipline
Doctors are Not Bound by Hippocratic Oath !!!
Myth: Doctors are bound by the Hippocratic Oath.
A binding agreement, as much a social contract as Social Security or Medicare, the traditional Hippocratic Oath holds those who swear to it to a strict code of professional and personal conduct. Contrary to popular belief, though, most doctors never take this oath, and, actually, most of us are probably glad they never do.
Original Hippocratic Oath
Although scholars disagree about when it was written, or even who wrote it, the general consensus is that the Hippocratic Oath was penned about 2500 years ago. Most commonly attributed to Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, the ancient vow demands a lot from doctors, including a certain level of chastity, charity and swearing to pagan gods. It provides in pertinent part:
I swear by Apollo the physician, and Asclepius, and Hygieia and Panacea and all the gods and goddesses as my witnesses that, according to my ability and judgment, I will keep this Oath and this covenant . . . to teach them this art . . . without fee or covenant.
I will use those dietary regimens which will benefit my patients . . . and I will do no harm or injustice to them.
I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody who asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect. Similarly I will not give a woman an abortive remedy.
I will not use the knife. . .
Whatever houses I may visit, I will . . . remain free of sexual relations with both female and male persons . . .
What I may see or hear in the course of treatment . . . I will keep to myself.
If I fulfill this oath and do not violate it, may it be granted to me to enjoy life and art, begin honored . . . . if I transgress is and swear falsely, may the opposite of all this be my lot.
Although ancient, swearing the oath was not used as a rite of passage at medical schools until 1508, when the University of Wittenberg first administered it. By 1804, it had been incorporated into the graduation ceremony of the medical school in Montpellier, France. However, it was still not commonly administered, and by the early 20th century, not even 20% of U.S. medical schools included the oath as part of their commencement ceremonies.
Outmoded Requirements and Prohibitions
The restrictive, ancient vow poses several problems for the modern practitioner. First, the oath forbids physician use of a knife, a key instrument involved in nearly every medical practice. Second, its prohibition against abortion violates U.S. law, and would alienate over 40% of the population. Third, its restraint on euthanasia runs counter to the modern trend toward physician-assisted suicide.
Fourth, who swears to Apollo anymore, let alone the much lesser known Asclepius, Hygieia and Panacea?
Fifth, many doctors treat, or at least give medical advice to, those close to them, including spouses and sexual partners, which is prohibited by the oath.
Sixth, the oath is potentially a binding contract, which, in our litigation-heavy society, could provide a dissatisfied patient with yet another avenue to sue her doctor. [Typically, when a patient sues a doctor, it is for malpractice – a claim that often must be brought within 1-3 years. Contrarily, when someone sues for a breach of contract, they often have a longer time period in which to sue.]
Modern Oaths
Although most do not swear to the original Hippocratic Oath, the majority of doctors do take an oath – often when they graduate from medical school. Despite early disinterest, physician oaths began to come into vogue after World War II.
During the Holocaust, doctors in Nazi concentration camps committed previously inconceivable atrocities against prisoners. Experimenting with extreme temperatures, radiation, untested drugs and vaccines, unnecessary and sometimes bizarre surgeries and infecting captives with deadly diseases, the exploits of concentration camp physicians shocked and horrified the world. Sane doctors realized stricter rules, and a code of ethics, were needed.
In 1948, the 2nd General Assembly of the World Medical Association adopted theDeclaration of Geneva, appearing below as amended:
“AT THE TIME OF BEING ADMITTED AS A MEMBER OF THE MEDICAL PROFESSION:
I solemnly pledge to consecrate my life to the service of humanity . . .
I will practice my profession with conscience and dignity;
The health of my patient will be my first consideration;
I will respect the secrets that are confided in me . . .
I will not permit considerations of age, disease or disability, creed, ethnic origin, gender, nationality, political affiliation, race, sexual orientation, social standing or any other factor to intervene between my duty and my patient;
I will maintain the utmost respect for human life;
I will not use my medical knowledge to violate human rights and civil liberties, even under threat . . . .”
Similarly, in 1964 a modern version of the Hippocratic Oath was penned by Professor Lasagna of the School of Medicine at Tufts University. Although the modern oath retains many of the themes of the original, it omits the troublesome parts about surgery, euthanasia, abortion and sexual relations.
A number of other, similar oaths have also been written, and today, nearly every medical school requires some sort of oath of its graduates, although most are seen as “ceremonial and nonobligatory . . . compared to that taken by a judge, president, or other politician when he or she is sworn into office.”
Future of Medical Oaths
Seen as essentially providing only general moral and ethical guidance, many physicians today find physicians’ oaths lacking. Some point to the number and diversity of specialties in modern medicine and note that one, generalized oath is inadequate. Others identify that the oaths often conflict with necessary medical experiments, or simply do not address them.
Still others find the oaths lacking when it comes to managing infectious, fatal diseases. Strict adherence to an oath would demand that physicians treat patients infected with lethal, highly contagious diseases, like the Ebola virus, regardless of circumstance or preparedness. Likewise, an oath may prohibit a doctor from sharing patient information that would help epidemiologists and others during an epidemic.
Despite their shortcomings, doctors’ oaths are likely here to stay. As Dr. Howard Markel recently noted:
“It is unlikely to become superannuated. It serves as a powerful reminder and declaration that we are all a part of something infinitely larger, older, and more important than a particular specialty or institution . . . . The need for physicians to make a formal warrant of diligent, moral, and ethical conduct in the service of their patients may be stronger than ever.“
source:::: today i foundout.com
natarajan
” God Will Never Leave You Empty ” ….
THE BOILING FROG SYNDROME..!!
Human Beings and frogs are the two creatures in nature who have tremendous power to adjust…Put a frog in a vessel of water and start heating the water. As the temperature of the water rises, the frog is able to adjust its body temperature accordingly. The frog keeps on adjusting with increase in temperature. Just when the water is about to reach boiling point, the frog is not able to adjust anymore. At that point the frog decides to jump out. The frog tries to jump but is unable to do so, because it lost all its strength in adjusting with the water temperature. Very soon the frog dies.
Human Beings and frogs are the two creatures in nature who have tremendous power to adjust…Put a frog in a vessel of water and start heating the water. As the temperature of the water rises, the frog is able to adjust its body temperature accordingly. The frog keeps on adjusting with increase in temperature. Just when the water is about to reach boiling point, the frog is not able to adjust anymore. At that point the frog decides to jump out. The frog tries to jump but is unable to do so, because it lost all its strength in adjusting with the water temperature. Very soon the frog dies.
What killed the frog?
Many of us would say the boiling water. But the truth is what killed the frog was its own inability to decide when it had to jump out.
We all need to adjust with people and situations, but we need to be sure when we need to adjust and when we need to face. There are times when we need to face the situation and take the appropriate action. If we allow people to exploit us physically, emotionally or financially, they will continue to do so.We have to decide when to jump. Let us jump while we still have the strength…
Many of us would say the boiling water. But the truth is what killed the frog was its own inability to decide when it had to jump out.
We all need to adjust with people and situations, but we need to be sure when we need to adjust and when we need to face. There are times when we need to face the situation and take the appropriate action. If we allow people to exploit us physically, emotionally or financially, they will continue to do so.We have to decide when to jump. Let us jump while we still have the strength…
God has given us a Heart and a Brain.. May Sai give us the courage to use them both wisely at the correct time and for the correct reasons..
source::::H.Deepa in http://debu7370.blogspot.com/
natarajan
What About the Right to Pre- School Education ?
Under the Right To Education Act, it is not mandatory for the state to provide for the care of the children until the age of 6 years when most social, emotional and cognitive skills are formed by this age.
A cursory glance at the streets of urban Indian cities and towns will show you the increasing number of infants and toddlers in the country. While most of them are perched on their mother’s hips, thereby being used as an indirect source of income for the family, the elder ones can be found playing on the pavement. One fine day, I had the opportunity to observe such a group of children. Until my auto came to an halt at a signal, they were playing among themselves. It was more of a role play, I could see from far. I could not really make out what roles they were assuming but I could vividly see their eyes full of glee and myriad expressions. Once the vehicles halted, they immediately came begging with the same glee stuck to their face. Many of the onlookers would have even wondered – are they really hungry? Why are they here? Sometimes I think it’s not just food. Theater and role play techniques are being taught in teacher training courses in order for those to be used as effective teaching tools for the preschool children. Who taught these kids on the streets ?
Once again, the words of Maria Montessori flashed in front of my eyes. “Education is a natural process carried out by the human individual and is acquired not by listening to words but by experiences in the environment”. But have we provided the right environment for these children – an environment which will help them realize their potential to the fullest?
The Right to Education Act of 2009 was implemented recently in the country. I have, myself, been a part of many discussions about the act and how effective it has been to reduce the dropout rates. But a part of me was always skeptical. This was because I was interested in children of the age group 2-6 years. All articles and reports wrote about free education from the age of 6 to 14 years as a fundamental right. What I feared turned out to be true. Article 45 of the constitution has been amended to say “Provision for early childhood care and education to children below the age of six years — The State shall endeavour to provide early childhood care and education for all children until they complete the age of six years.” One more endeavour added to the list of the state. It is not mandatory for the state to provide for the care of the children until the age of 6 years. I personally thought this was a major setback. Why? Because everyday we are striving to eradicate crimes like thefts, gang rapes, murders and so on. A closer look at why these happen will reveal to us a disturbed childhood.
When I say childhood, I am referring to their early childhood here. Scientific studies have revealed that most social, emotional and cognitive skills are formed until the age of 6 years. Early childhood development has emerged as one of the prime research areas in most nations in order to build a stable society for the future. Sure, it does make sense. If we can invest in our children of today, we expect to reap the benefit of a truly civilized society tomorrow. The earlier we invest, the more economical it is. Also, fostering a nourishing environment for the toddlers and the preschoolers will instill in them an interest to continue their schooling, which in turn will make the job of the state easier by actually reducing the dropout rates.
I also stumbled upon the history of preschool education in India. I was awestruck. Social and educational reformer Tarabai Modak was fondly referred to as “India’s Montessori”. She started the Balwadis, which are now operational in many states across India. She applied Montessori principles to suit the local conditions. The concept of neighbourhood schooling coupled with the non-formal nature of the education provides for the social, physical and mental health of the children. Her co-worker Anutai Wagh is also well known for her work to educate the tribal population. Gandhi’s framework of pre-basic education is highly relevant in today’s conditions. He envisaged an inexpensive preschool system in the neighbourhood community of children, where they are free to develop themselves by engaging in multitude of creative activities. Such an interaction with the environment is also expected to strengthen their moral as well as cultural values. Isn’t this what education is all about?
Well, it’s about time we recognized that they are not just preschoolers but the building blocks of tomorrow’s nation!
source:::: a thought provoking article by Aarthi Nandakumar in “The Alternative ” ….
Aarthi is a preschool educator at Jakarta. She is trained in the Montessori method of education and is passionate about working with children in the age group between 2 and 6 years. She believes that children are bestowed with endless potential and loves to explore them in her journey. As Maria Montessori says “The child is both a hope and a promise for mankind.”
natarajan
Where The Word “jackpot” Came From !!!
Today I found out the origin of the term “jackpot”.
Jackpot originally popped up around the 1870s and was from the poker game “Jacks or Better”. This is much like traditional five card draw, except in this case, if a player does not have a pair of “jacks or better” in the first round of betting, he has to pass. This doesn’t necessarily mean he has to be holding a pair of jacks, queens, or the like. It just means that he has to be holding cards that will beat a pair of tens.
Once the first person who has that has placed a bet in the opening betting round, the rest of the participants are free to bet as they will, regardless of the cards they hold. In the case where nobody holds “jacks or better”, the hand must be re-dealt with additional ante required, so the pot can grow just from antes.
When the game is finally over, no player is allowed to win with anything less than three of a kind or better. If, at the end, no one has better than three of a kind or more, then no player gets the pot and the hand is re-dealt with additional ante required to be added to the existing accumulated pot. Over time this pot can potentially grow quite large, hence “jackpot”.
Within a few decades of the term “jackpot” in poker popping up, the term morphed into a slang term for “trouble with the law”, and further morphed by the mid-20th century to primarily be associated with “hitting the jackpot” with slot machines. From there, it became even more figurative, referring to any big prize or good turn of events.
*Note: this article is written in cooperation with partycasino.com one of the most popular online casino gaming stops on the internet with over 160 games to choose from.
source::todayifoundout.com
natarajan
Take off with Natarajan 