Motivational

” ஸ்ரீ மஹாலக்ஷ்மி கடாக்ஷம் …

NatarajanLeave a comment

காஞ்சிபுரத்தில் இருந்து சுமார் 10 கி.மீ. தொலைவில் அமைந்துள்ள கூரம் என்ற கிராமத்தில், தன் மனைவி ஆண்டாளுடன் வாழ்ந்து வந்தவர் கூரத்தாழ்வார். ராமாநுஜரை விட ஏழு ஆண்டுகள் மூத்தவரான கூரத்தாழ்வாருக்கு இரட்டையராகப் பிறந்த இரண்டு பிள்ளைகளில் மூத்தவர் பராசர பட்டர்; அடுத்தவர் வியாச பட்டர்.

இந்த கூரத்தாழ்வார் மஹாலக்ஷ்மியின் கடாக்ஷத்தினால், எல்லாவிதமான ஐஸ்வர்யங் களையும் பெற்றிருந்தார். தாம் பெற்ற அந்த ஐஸ்வர்யத்தைக் கொண்டு, வருகின்ற பாகவதர்க்கெல்லாம் ததியாராதனம் (சாப்பாடு போட்டு) செய்வித்து அனுப்புவதை வழக்கமாகக்கொண்டிருந்தார். ஒவ்வொரு நாளுமே இந்த ததியாராதன வைபவம் நடைபெறும். தங்கத்தினால் ஆன அவருடைய வீட்டுக் கதவுகளில் தங்க மணி, வெண்கல மணி போன்றவை பொருத்தப்பட்டிருக்குமாம்.

ஒருநாள் இரவு பத்தரை மணிக்கு, காஞ்சிபுரம், வரதராஜ பெருமாள் கோயிலில் அர்த்தஜாம பூஜை முடிந்து, பெருமாளும் தாயாரும் பள்ளியறைக்கு எழுந்தருளி, கோயிலின் நடைகூட சாத்தப்பட்டுவிட்டது. அப்போது எங்கேயோ கதவு சாத்தப்படும் ஓசையும், அதனால் ஏற்பட்ட மணியோசையும் பள்ளியறையில் இருந்த பெருமாளுக்கும், பெருந்தேவி தாயாருக்கும் கேட்டது.

மணியோசையைக் கேட்ட பெருந்தேவி தாயார், ”யாருடைய வீடோ ரொம்பப் பெரிய தாக இருக்கும் போலிருக்கிறது. ரொம்ப பணக்காரராக இருப்பார் போலிருக்கிறது. அவர் வீட்டு வாசல் கதவை இவ்வளவு தாமதமாக மூடுகிறாரே. நாமே நம்முடைய உற்ஸவம் எல்லாம் முடிந்து கதவை சாத்திக்கொண்டோம். ஆனால், இன்னும் யாரோ ஒருவர் இதுவரை ததியாராதனம் செய்துவிட்டு, இப்போதுதான் கதவை சாத்துகிறாரே. அவர் யாராக இருக்கும்” என்று வரதராஜ பெருமாளிடம் கேட்கிறார்.

அதற்கு வரதராஜ பெருமாள் சொல்கிறார்… ”தேவி, அவர்தான் கூரத்தாழ்வார். அவர் நிரம்ப ஐஸ்வர்யம் உள்ளவர். அவருடைய செல்வத்தின் அளவை நம்மால் கணக்கிடவே முடியாது.

ஒவ்வொருநாளும் அவர் எத்தனை பேருக்கு சாப்பாடு போடுவார் தெரியுமா? ஒவ்வொரு
நாளும் காலையில் தொடங்கும் ததியாராதனம் நள்ளிரவு வரை நடைபெறுவது வழக்கம்.”

பெருந்தேவி தாயாரும் வரதராஜ பெருமாளும் இப்படிப் பேசிக்கொண்டது வெளியில் நின்றுகொண்டிருந்த அடியவரின் காதுகளில் விழுந்தது.

காஞ்சிபூர்ணர் என்ற பெயர் கொண்ட அந்த அடியவர், பூவிருந்தவல்லி க்ஷேத்திரத்தைச் சேர்ந்தவர். அவர் தினமும் காஞ்சிபுரத்துக்குச் சென்று வரதராஜ பெருமாளுக்கு திருவாலவட்ட கைங்கர்யம் (விசிறி விசிறுதல்) செய்பவர்.

பெருமாளும் தாயாரும் இப்படி பேசிக் கொண்டிருந்ததைக் கேட்ட அவர், மறுநாள் கூரத்தாழ்வாரைச் சந்தித்தபோது, ”ஆழ்வாரே, நீர் பெரிய செல்வந்தராமே? நேற்றிரவு உம்முடைய சொத்து மதிப்பை பெரியவர்கள் கணக்கு பார்த்துக் கொண்டிருந்தார்களே” என்று கூறினார். அவர்களைப் பொறுத்தவரை பெரியவர்கள் என்றால், அது காஞ்சி வரதராஜ பெருமாளையும் பெருந்தேவி தாயாரையுமே குறிக்கும்.

இப்படி ஒருவர் நம்மிடம் சொன்னால், நாமாக இருந்தால் என்ன செய்திருப்போம்? பெருமிதத்தால் பூரித்துப்போய் சிரித்துக் கொள்வோம். ஆனால், கூரத்தாழ்வார் என்ன செய்தார் தெரியுமோ?

”அடியேனுக்கு பக்தி உண்டு; பிரேமை உண்டு; வைராக்கியம் உண்டு என்றெல்லாம் பெரியவர்கள் பேசிக்கொள்ளாமல், அடியேனின் ஐஸ்வர்யத்தின் மதிப்பைக் குறிப்பிட்டு எப்போது பேசினார்களோ, அப்போதே அதைத் துறந்துவிட முடிவு செய்துவிட்டேன்” என்று கூறியவராக, தாம் பெற்றிருந்த அத்தனை ஐஸ்வர்யங்களையும் தர்ம ஸ்தாபனங்களுக்கு எழுதி வைத்துவிட்டு, தம்முடைய மனைவி ஆண்டாளை அழைத்துக்கொண்டு ஸ்ரீரங்கத்துக்குச் சென்றுவிட்டார்.

அப்படி அவர் செய்ததற்கு காரணம் என்ன தெரியுமோ?

ஒருவன் பெரிய பணக்காரராக இருந்தால், பெருமாள் அவனைக் கைவிட்டுவிடுகிறார். அவன் செல்வத்தை எப்போது துறக்கிறானோ அப்போதுதான் பெருமாளின் அனுக்கிரஹம் அவனுக்குக் கிடைக்கிறது. ‘யஸ்யாதம் அனுக்கிரஹிணம்’ யாரை கடாக்ஷிக்க வேண்டும் என்று நான் ஆசைப்படுகின்றேனோ, ‘தஸ்வித்தமராம்யஹா’ அவருடைய சொத்தை நான் உடனே அபகரித்துவிடுவேன் என்று சொல்லி இருக்கிறார்.

FullSizeRender (10)

திருமங்கை ஆழ்வார் அஹோபிலம் திருத்தலத்தில் அருள்புரியும் லக்ஷ்மிநரசிம்மனாய் எழுந்தருளி இருக்கும் மாலோல நரசிம்மரை மங்களாசாசனம் செய்யும்போது இப்படி பாடியிருக்கிறார்.

அலைத்தபேழ்வாய் வாளெயிற்றோர்க் கோளரியாய் அவுணன்
கொலைக்கையாளன் நெஞ்சிடந்த கூருகிராளனிடம்
மலைத்தசெல்சாத்தெறிந்தபூசல்வன்துடி வாய் கடுப்ப
சிலைக்கை வேடர்தெழிப்பறாத சிங்கவேள் குன்றமே.

அஹோபிலத்தில் பெருமாள் தம்மை சேவிக்க வரும் பக்தர்களிடம் இருக்கும் செல்வங்களை எல்லாம், கொள்ளையர்களை அனுப்பி பறித்துக்கொள்வாராம். அவர் ஏன் அப்படி செய்கிறார் தெரியுமோ? அஹோபிலம் புனிதமான க்ஷேத்திரம் ஆயிற்றே. இந்த க்ஷேத்திரத்தைப் பற்றி திருமங்கை ஆழ்வார் ஏன் இப்படி பாடியிருக்கிறார் என்று அதற்கு விளக்கம் சொல்ல வந்த பெரியவாச்சான் பிள்ளைக்கு ஆதங்கம் ஏற்பட்டது. தம்முடைய ஆதங்கத்தை பெருமாளிடம் முறையிட்டார். பெருமாள் அவரை சமாதானப்படுத்துவதுபோல்,

”கையில் பொருளுடன் ஒருவர் என்னை சேவிக்க வரும்போது, பெருமாளுக்கு சமர்ப்பிக்க தன்னிடமும் பொருள் உள்ளது என்ற எண்ணம் தோன்றும். அது அகங்காரத்தைக் குறிக்கும் என்பதால்தான் நான் அந்த பொருளை அபகரித்துக்கொள்கிறேன். அப்போதுதான் அவருக்கு என்னுடைய அருள் கிடைக்கும்”’ என்றாராம்.

இதைத்தான் திருமங்கை ஆழ்வார்,

‘சிலைக்கை வேடர்தெழிப்பறாத சிங்கவேள் குன்றமே’ என்று பாடி இருக்கிறார்.

அப்படி என்றால் மஹாலக்ஷ்மியின் கடாக்ஷத்தினால் நாம் பெற்றிடக்கூடிய ஐஸ்வர்யங்களுக்கு மதிப்பே இல்லையா என்று கேட்கத் தோன்றுகிறது அல்லவா? மஹாலக்ஷ்மி கடாக்ஷத்தினால் நாம் பெற்றிருக்கக்கூடிய செல்வங்களை, சாஸ்திரங்களில் சொல்லி இருக்கிற தர்மமுறைப்படி பயன்படுத்தினால், அதே மஹாலக்ஷ்மியின் கடாக்ஷத்தினால் நாம் பெறக்கூடிய நிறைவான ஐஸ்வர்யமான புருஷார்த்தம் என்கிற மோக்ஷ நிலையை நாம் அடையலாம்.

மஹாலக்ஷ்மி கடாக்ஷத்தினால் நாம் அடைந்திருக்கக் கூடிய செல்வத்தை,

அன்பும் அறனும் உடைத்தாயின் இல்வாழ்க்கை
பண்பும் பயனும் அது

அன்பு, அறன் இரண்டும் போதும். அவையே இல்வாழ்வில் குணமும் பயனும் தரும்.  (திருக்குறள் புதிய உரை – சுஜாதா)

என்று திருக்குறளில் சொல்லி உள்ளபடி பயன்படுத்த வேண்டும். அப்போதுதான் நாம் பெற்ற செல்வத்தின் நிறைவான பயனான புருஷார்த்தத்தை அடையமுடியும். அன்பும் அறனும் என்றுதான் சொல்லியிருக்கிறதே தவிர, செல்வத்தைப் பற்றி சொல்லப்படவில்லை. அன்பும் தர்மகுணமும் இருக்கும்போது செல்வமும் இருக்கலாம். ஆனால், செல்வம் வந்துவிட்டால், இந்த அன்பும் தர்ம குணமும் நம்மை விட்டுப் போனாலும் போய்விடும். செல்வம் அதிகம் சேர்ந்துவிட்டாலும் அன்பும் தர்ம குணமும் நமக்கு இருக்க வேண்டும்.

கூரத்தாழ்வார் அப்படிப்பட்ட உயர்ந்த பரிபக்குவ மனநிலையைப் பெற்றிருந்தவர். அதனால்தான் அவர், ‘ஹத்ரி’… முக்குணங்களைக் கடந்தவர் என்று போற்றப்படுகிறார். தர்ம, அர்த்த, காம என்னும் மூன்றையும் துறந்து, மோக்ஷத்தில் மட்டுமே விருப்பம் கொண்டவராக இருந்தபடியால்தான், தாம் பெற்றிருந்த செல்வத்தைக் குறித்து பெருமாளும் தாயாரும் பேசிக்கொண்டதாகக் கேட்ட உடனே, தாம் பெற்றிருந்த செல்வம் அனைத்தையும் துறந்து, ஸ்ரீரங்கத்துக்குச் சென்றுவிட்டார்.

SOURCE:::: Balhanuman’s Blog…http/balhanuman.wordpress.com from 

Natarajan

Message For the Day…” Truth Is the Very Embodiment of God …”

NatarajanLeave a comment

You must become heroes in action. It does not behoove of you to spend your time in idle talk, without involving yourself in some solid work for the benefit of the nation. Bend your body and work hard to attain glory. A seed that is sown in the soil, loses its shape to ultimately become a gigantic tree. That tree yields sweet fruits. Similarly it is only when you destroy your ego and lose your identity, real fruit of your actions come out. Therefore, remove your attachment to your body (dehabhimana) and develop attachment to the country (deshabhimana). Love is a quality permeating every living being. Truth is verily the embodiment of Divinity. It is in you, with you, around you, everywhere, protecting you always, at all times. You need not search for God in some distant place. Truth is the very embodiment of God. Do not ever move away from Truth.

Sathya Sai Baba

” This Man From France Received 30000 Birthday Cards…”

NatarajanLeave a comment
Manuel Parisseaux

More than 30,000 birthday cards have been sent to a man in France after his mother posted a request on Facebook which went viral.

Manuel Parisseaux, who turned 30 on Saturday, has got Down’s syndrome.

“We got cards from everywhere: Sri Lanka, Chicago, Hong Kong and sometimes with child’s drawings,” said his mother Jacqueline Parisseaux.

“I don’t understand why it got so big. Manuel is like us, he is moved to tears.”

The number of cards and gifts he has received has got so great that he has had to store them in a neighbour’s garage in his hometown of Calais, France.

They had to be delivered by truck as the mail carrier couldn’t deliver all the cards.

Ms Parrisseaux, 61, and her husband posted a message on Facebook on 3 November, asking for people to help celebrate Manuel’s birthday.

“My son Manuel is going to turn 30 years old on November 22. He has Down’s syndrome,” she wrote on her husband’s social media profile.

“I’m writing to ask you to take a couple minutes to send him a little card and to pass this information on to your friends so the chain doesn’t get broken.

“I thank you all for your gesture, which will make my Manu so happy.”

She said the request “snowballed” as soon as she posted it.

“We had a few hassles with Facebook because our post was shared 120,000 times and they thought we were a business or that we were running a scam.”

The family are currently sorting through all the cards and gifts, including boxes of chocolate, key chains and cakes.

They have said they will keep every card but cannot “respond to all of them”

SOURCE::::http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat

Natarajan

” A Teashop Owner Couple …Who Have Visited 16 Countries …” !!!

NatarajanLeave a comment

“If you really wish to chase your dreams, nothing can stop you from it,” – a line like this may sound tacky in isolation, but when Vijayan , a 65-year-old wayside tea-seller owning a tiny tea shop in Kochi says it , a decade’s worth of stories echoing hard work, sweat and conquered dreams tumble out.

Tea Shop

Vijayan has been a tea-seller for over forty years, however, that hasn’t stopped him and his wife from touring almost every scenic destination in India along with a whopping 16 other countries- Britain, France, Austria, Egypt, UAE, the list goes on.

His tea-stall is his only source of income, something that has never been an obstacle in fulfilling his dream of travelling all over the world. “I got the obsession in traveling from my dad; he took me to different places since I was 6 year old. We went to Madurai, Palani and many other places. Those travel memories with my dad helped me unleash my dreams” says Vijayan.

Tea Shop 7

Life was not easy on Vijayan while he was growing up. Trips with his father to almost all temples in Kerala triggered his passion for travelling; however his father’s death brought all possibilities of travelling to a standstill as he took up all family responsibilities. It was only in 1988 that he resumed travelling when he accompanied a man as his cook on a pilgrimage to the Himalayas.

What is the point of fulfilling your dreams if you have nobody to share it with, says Vijayan as he refers to his wife Mohana, who joined him forty years ago. Back then her life revolved around Kochi, but post marriage, the couple have explored exotic cities, all on their own. Excitement lights up her face as Mohana explains her most enjoyable journeys.

Tea Shop 4

“I was really excited when we first travelled abroad. Belonging to a very poor family, I never dreamt of a life like this. Later along with him I too became obsessed with the journeys. Switzerland is my favorite among the places we visited”, she says.  Switzerland may have been her favourite but according to her, seeing the statue of Jesus in Israel left her rooted to her spot for a long time.

Tea Shop6

For Vijayan, on the other hand, every experience was different, right from trudging through the deserts of UAE to heading down the magnificent Nile river in Egypt, Nile being one of the spots he wishes to visit again.

It’s hasn’t been easy for the couple to sustain such a lifestyle. With their sole source of income coming from their tea-shop, the only way out for them to pursue their love for travelling was via help through bank loans.

Despite all financial insecurities, the couple would take a loan, travel to a foreign destination, come back and spend the next three years repaying the debt they owed, and the cycle would go on.

Has toiling and working so hard helped him? “There will be many hurdles, but we can overcome that through hard work. If you really wish to chase your dreams, nothing can stop you from it” he says.

Vijayan follows a very simple funda for saving money, “I save rupees 300 a day for our tickets and spend just 10 dollars or less on picking up some tiny souvenirs from the places of visit. We don’t spend anything more.”

There is no question of spending lavishly for this couple.

They may have travelled to 16 countries, but one country on their to-go-list still eludes them – the United States of America, a place they have been wishing to go for a long time now since their last trip to Europe in 2012.

Teah Shop 5

Considering their age, the couple in recent times have faced difficulties in getting loans to finance a loan to their next dream destination. But all is not lost, says Vijayan. “Once I was completely stuck without money, then one of my old acquaintances who resides in South Africa offered me stay and food there. Then I somehow managed the ticket fare and visited the country. So am sure that somehow I will be able to visit the US”, he said.

Tea Shop 3

Despite the financial burden the couple will have to sustain, Vijayan is steadfastly stubborn about one thing, about not leaving his wife behind. “I can’t travel without her, I will happy only when she is around”, says Vijayan smiling.

Some dreams are worth going all out for, and Vijayan’s story sounds like one of those few.

SOURCE:::: Haritha John in http://www.thenewsminute.com/

Natarajan

Message For the Day…” What is the Gift to Swami on His Birthday , today …” ?

NatarajanLeave a comment

Many must be thinking about the gift to offer Swami on His Birthday. The present given to God must be pure, steady and selfless Love. You can rejoice that you have given the Lord a real gift only when you love your fellowmen, share their sufferings, and engage in serving them. Adopt villages and make them ideal villages. Rich and powerful have plentiful servants. The distressed, the poverty-stricken, and the diseased have no one to serve them. Go to them and be their friends and relatives, their closest well-wishers. Let them welcome you as such. Do not pour spirituality into the ears of those who are tortured by hunger and afflicted by pain. First satiate their hunger. Serve them as God and give food, clothes, and medicines and then teach them spirituality. I bless you with long life, good health, bliss, peace and prosperity. May you devote your physical, mental, intellectual and spiritual strength and skills for the service of the Universe.  

Sathya Sai Baba

 

In Vrindavan, work is on to build the world’s tallest religious structure…Krishna Temple !!!

NatarajanLeave a comment

Model of the Krishna temple planned at Vrindavan Picture by Sanjay K Sharma

The capsule elevator will rise up the steel belly of the skyscraper. On its 700-feet journey, it will take visitors past the various universes of Hindu mythology: Svarga Loka, that transitory place for righteous souls; Vaikuntha Loka, the abode of Vishnu; and finally Goloka Vrindavan, the eternal abode of Krishna.

At each stop, visitors will get a three-dimensional, light-and-sound experience of these planetary systems as described in the Vedic scriptures. From here, the elevator will move further up to the viewing gallery at the very top that will have telescopes through which visitors can see the Yamuna, Mathura, Govardhan, Nandgaon and, on a clear day, even the Taj Mahal, 70 km away.

The 70-storey, 210-metre-high Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir will be nearly three times the height of Qutub Minar and taller than the Great Pyramid of Giza. Conceptualised by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)-Bangalore, this sprawling 65-acre project intends to put Vrindavan on the world map.

About 2 km from the bustling temple town, on the highway to Mathura, work on the mammoth project, which is shaped like a peacock feather, has started. The foundation stone was laid on March 16, and last week President Pranab Mukherjee performed puja here. Over the next five years, here is how ISKCON aspires to transform what is today a vast stretch of barren land.

The architecture will be a fusion of western and traditional styles. The intended end result is a skyscraper temple. “The skyscraper is a concept from modern architecture and requires modern technology,” says Chanchalapathi Dasa, project president and vice-president, ISKCON-Bangalore. “And the shikhar, mandap and other structures will be built in the traditional Nagara architectural style which was prevalent in northern India.” The use of marble and glazing in the central structure also reflects this fusion.

World's tallest temple at Vrindavan to stand Thrice as tall as Qutab Minar

 

Chanchalapathi Dasa, project president and vice-president, ISKCON-BangalorePicture by Sanjay K Sharma

While the temple will occupy about 500,000 square feet, close to 700,000 square feet will be meant for education. As ISKCON believes in salvation through devotion to Krishna, as exemplified by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in the 15th and 16th centuries, the emphasis will be on the knowledge of Krishna that has been assimilated into local cultures across India and represented in dance, art, music, literature, architecture and even cuisine.

The Krishna Heritage Museum will preserve and showcase these varied expressions. The Science and Spirituality Pavilion will present contemporary scientific discoveries and concepts and try to correlate them with some of the concepts present in Indian Vedic literature — the bugbear of modernists. For example, the Bhagavad Gita Expo will offer students an expositional tour and concepts of the Gita “in a way that is appealing to the scientific temper of young people,” says Chanchalapathi.

The oganisation is relying heavily on technology to introduce younger children to Krishna. “The days when grandmothers told stories to children are gone. YouTube and 3D experiences have taken over,” says an ISKCON devotee. This is where “multi-sensory environmental story-telling experiences” will play a key role. The complex will have a climate-controlled, covered Krishna Leela Park spread across 200,000 square feet where children will get 3D experiences of the many acts Krishna performed as a child. An internally reconstructed Yamuna creek with boats will meander through this park.

Around the central complex, ISKCON plans to recreate 12 forests. “Vrindavan was a vana, a forest. But there’s no forest left now,” says Chanchalapathi. ISKCON intends to recreate those forests that find mention in Vedic scriptures in the area called Braj Mandal, a large part of which falls in Uttar Pradesh and some of which is in Rajasthan and Haryana. Each forest had its own kind of flora, fauna, water bodies and caves.

About 28 acres of land around the temple have been earmarked for these forests. For example, Talavana had tal (palm) trees with fruit that Krishna and his cowherd friends are said to have been attracted to. Similarly, there are other forests planned like Bhandiravana with banyan trees, Kumudavana with lotus and lily ponds, and Kamyavana with rocky, mountainous caves. ISKCON has been in consultation with the Uttar Pradesh forest department to source the trees.

Krishna, say his devotees, performed leelas, or magic, in these forests. Those experiences will be recreated. For example, the story goes that a demon called Aghasura came in the form of a gigantic python to kill Krishna. He opened his mouth and sat in wait. Mistaking his open mouth for a cave, Krishna and his friends decided to explore it. Once inside, Krishna saw his friends fainting because of the obnoxious smell coming from the guts of the snake.

He tore through the snake and released his friends. ISKCON wants to create a tunnel shaped like a python winding around a hillock. A water slide will take people through the snake’s cave-like mouth and out at a point where a large statue of Krishna is seen tearing open the snake’s body. The boat will take people past lakes of ‘gastric juice’ and remnants of other things the snake has ingested.

Model of the Krishna templeplanned at Vrindavan

Now if people are going to be visiting a site as expansive as this, housing will be critical, more so as the temple is a bit removed from the city. So it plans to build simple, inexpensive rooms,ashrams, cottages and bungalows. The bungalows will be put up for sale.

It’s hard to believe it when ISKCON members tell you that the estimated cost of this ambitious project is merely Rs 350 crore. “It’s all about intelligent design and creative engineering,” says Chanchalapathi. “This shikhar (skyscraper) that is contributing to the height is like the Eiffel Tower. It is a steel structure with an external façade. We have to spend some money on the façade, but internally it’s just steel.” He says while a skyscraper costs about Rs 75 lakh per square feet, “we are doing this at about Rs 11 lakh per square feet”.

Meanwhile, the civil engineering department of the Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi is reviewing the structural design. The wind tunnel test has also been conducted to see how the structure will hold out against storms. For water, which will be critical to create and sustain the forests, ISKCON has bought two plots of land on the banks of the Yamuna, about 3 km from the temple site, and installed pumps. Pipes from there will bring water to the site.

As of now, standing on the barren stretch, it’s difficult to imagine the picture ISKCON is painting.

SOURCE::: Veenu Sandhu in http://www.business-standard.com
Natarajan

The World’s Best Or Most Unlucky Goalie !!!

NatarajanLeave a comment

 

The World’s Best or Most Unlucky Goalie

When a game of soccer ends with a tie, the game moves to a stage called “penalty kicks”, in which the ball is placed in the penalty-kick position. Then, a player tries to kick it into the goal. The teams alternate between them, and (unless they are still tied) the team with more points wins. In this case, the goalie for the North Carolina Tar Heels found an unorthodox way to stop the ball…

 

SOURCE::: You Tube and ba-ba-mail site

Natarajan

” Google’s Internet Balloons Have already Traveled 3 Million Kilometers…” !!!

NatarajanLeave a comment

Google‘s Internet balloons, part of an ambitious experiment called Project Loon to bring web connectivity to remote areas, have cumulatively traveled 3 million kilometers since 2013, the company said Thursday.

Since announcing the project last July, the search giant‘s experimental wing, Google X, has refined the manufacturing process so balloons last 10 times longer—so far, a record of 130 days—in the stratosphere compared with balloons from last year. Furthermore, with automated processes, Google can now launch up to 20 balloons a day. The company is also using computer trajectory simulations to maneuver balloons accurately to their targets.

Google’s made big progress on Project Loon, but it’s not the only company aiming to blanket the world with Internet access. Facebook is also building an army of drones, airplanes, and satellites to bring the web to remote areas lacking Internet infrastructure.

For now, though, take a moment and think about what it means to travel 3 million kilometers:

“That distance would take you around the earth 75 times, or get you to the moon and back nearly 4 times over,” according to Google.

[Screenshot: via Project Loon]

SOURCE::::www.fastcompany.com

Natarajan

Awesome Zen Stories that Will Teach you Important Life Lessons….

NatarajanLeave a comment

Awesome Zen Stories That Will Teach You Important Life Lessons

Zen has a rich tradition of storytelling. Actually, just about the entire human race has a rich history of storytelling. Why do we like stories so much? Because we can identify with them. Stories, whether real or not, pull and tug at our emotions. We connect personally with stories.

Whereas someone can tell us that it’s important for us to appreciate and care for our parents, another person can tell us a story about the life of a daughter and her mother, and about how neither could ever see eye-to-eye all the way up until the day that the mother passed away.

Even if you aren’t a daughter, but a son, or if it was your father whom you had that type of relationship with, or even if you just feel like you don’t appreciate your mother or father (or both) enough, regardless, a story like that can touch you in a way that someone simply telling you, “hey, it’s important that you appreciate your parents”, could never do.

We need to experience something directly in order to really learn what it’s about. This is wisdom, as opposed to knowledge much like you’d acquire in a class at school, a parrot-like type of learning that serves as a nice basis for establishing the necessary foundation for certain larger tasks, but which can serve little real use elsewhere particularly in advancing your well-being.

I love Zen stories. Not just because I find them fun, because I do (most Zen stories require some level of meditative contemplation to figure out), I love them because their purpose is to teach a lesson. Also, Zen stories go beyond just Zen. They’re really just stories about life. So keep in mind I only say Zen stories because they originated from the Zen Buddhist tradition. They speak of truths which everyone can learn from though (as does all of Zen).

The lesson can be anything- any undeniable life truth which can be discovered through a life devoted to looking within yourself. This is the life of any Buddhist, many non-Buddhists, and should be the life of anyone who cares to find the path to true peace and happiness.

These stories only seek to point the way. Don’t take any of them for the truth without investigating them for yourself. The point isn’t to believe blindly, it’s to develop confidence in your life and in the way. By the way, I mean the way to live our best life and ultimately find peace within ourselves and with others. Here’s some of my favorite Zen stories:

6 Awesome Zen Stories That Will Teach You Important Life Lessons

1. Everything changes

“Suzuki Roshi, I’ve been listening to your lectures for years,” a student said during the question and answer time following a lecture, “but I just don’t understand. Could you just please put it in a nutshell? Can you reduce Buddhism to one phrase?”

Everyone laughed. Suzuki laughed.

“Everything changes,” he said. Then he asked for another question.

Explanation: One of the foremost teachings in Buddhism is that everything in life is impermanent. Suzuki Roshi (Shunryu Suzuki of Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind) is referring to this impermanence by saying “everything changes”. This is a very deep teaching, but I’ll attempt to sum it up in a way that can be understood and immediately helpful in a few words.

Because it encompasses everything, you can contemplate for hours on end and not realize the full magnitude of the principle of impermanence. You are impermanent, your loved ones are impermanent, your home is impermanent, even our planet is impermanent.

Why is this important? Because it teaches us that grasping onto things is one of the major reasons as to why we suffer. We need to live being aware of the ever-changing nature of reality and appreciate the present moment. It’s not about letting go, it’s really about not grasping in the first place. If we can learn to live in this way, we can find peace in everyday life.

2. Empty your cup

Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.

Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor’s cup full, and then kept on pouring. The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. “It is overfull. No more will go in!”

“Like this cup,” Nan-in said, “you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?”

Explanation: The story tells it how it is, so I’ll leave it at that.

3. Non-judgment 

Once upon the time there was an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. “Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically.

“Maybe,” the farmer replied.

The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. “How wonderful,” the neighbors exclaimed.

“Maybe,” replied the old man.

The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune.

“Maybe,” answered the farmer.

The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out.

“Maybe,” said the farmer.

Explanation: The farmer is practicing non-judgment. He understands the true nature of life, that you can’t judge any event as an “end” in a way. Our life doesn’t play out like a work of fiction. There aren’t definite breaks that separate one moment versus another, and there isn’t a perfectly formulated end which everything builds to.

There’s always tomorrow. And whether the day was good or bad, there’s a million effects which can arise from one event. Good and bad are interconnected. They are, in fact, two sides of the same coin. If things seem perfect, they aren’t. If it seems like it’s Armageddon in your corner of the world, it’s not. Things can change in an instant, at all times. And they will at some point or another.

This doesn’t mean that we can’t be happy. On the contrary, it means that we need to realize this truth and live in a way that we’re constantly aware of it in order to find peace and happiness. Don’t let this change the way you live too much just yet though. For now just think on it, observe your life through the lens of this infinitely co-arising universe. This act in itself can bring you a great sense of peace.

4. Right and Wrong

When Bankei held his seclusion-weeks of meditation, pupils from many parts of Japan came to attend. During one of these gatherings a pupil was caught stealing. The matter was reported to Bankei with the request that the culprit be expelled. Bankei ignored the case.

Later the pupil was caught in a similar act, and again Bankei disregarded the matter. This angered the other pupils, who drew up a petition asking for the dismissal of the thief, stating that otherwise they would leave in a body.

When Bankei had read the petition he called everyone before him. “You are wise brothers,” he told them. “You know what is right and what is not right. You may go somewhere else to study if you wish, but this poor brother does not even know right from wrong. Who will teach him if I do not? I am going to keep him here even if all the rest of you leave.”

A torrent of tears cleansed the face of the brother who had stolen. All desire to steal had vanished.

Explanation: This story is pretty straightforward, but it certainly doesn’t make you think any less than the rest. How quickly would most people turn their back on someone who commits a crime like stealing, just as the pupils did. But look deeper and you might just see another human being. Someone that simply needs to be shown the path.

Don’t write people off so easily. Expressing compassion isn’t always easy, but we’re all together in this life, so we can’t just help those that keep good behavior. Those people who commit such crimes are often some of the people that need help with the most basic spiritual and human principles, such as right and wrong.

If you have a loved one who’s committed a crime before you’ll know exactly what I mean. You know they can be better and they shouldn’t be thrown out just because they did something wrong at some point. Sure, we need to keep order, so they should be disciplined for their behavior, but we also need to take time to teach them right and wrong. We should strive to lift them up just as we strive to lift ourselves and those we love up despite their own flaws.

5. Be the boss

A horse suddenly came galloping quickly down the road. It seemed as though the man had somewhere important to go.

Another man, who was standing alongside the road, shouted, “Where are you going?” and the man on the horse replied,

“I don’t know! Ask the horse!”

Explanation: This is a short but well-known Zen story with a powerful meaning behind it. The horse symbolizes our habit energy. The story explains the way we usually live, at the mercy of our old habit energies which have been established not by our intentional actions, but by our surroundings and mindless activity.

The horse is pulling us along, making us run here and there and hurry everywhere and we don’t even know why. If you stopped to ask yourself from time to time why exactly you’re running around so much, sometimes you might have an answer, but it’s never a very good one. You’re just used to it, it’s how we’re taught to live.

But as much as we run, it gets us nowhere. We need to learn how to take back the reigns and let the horse know who’s boss.

You’re the boss, you’ve always been the boss, so start acting like it.

6. Watch yourself

There was once a pair of acrobats. The teacher was a poor widower and the student was a young girl by the name of Meda. These acrobats performed each day on the streets in order to earn enough to eat.

Their act consisted of the teacher balancing a tall bamboo pole on his head while the little girl climbed slowly to the top. Once to the top, she remained there while the teacher walked along the ground.

Both performers had to maintain complete focus and balance in order to prevent any injury from occurring and to complete the performance. One day, the teacher said to the pupil:

‘Listen Meda, I will watch you and you watch me, so that we can help each other maintain concentration and balance and prevent an accident. Then we’ll surely earn enough to eat.’

But the little girl was wise, she answered, ‘Dear master, I think it would be better for each of us to watch ourself. To look after oneself means to look after both of us. That way I am sure we will avoid any accidents and earn enough to eat.’

Explanation: This one isn’t a specifically Zen story, but it’s said to have been told by the Buddha himself. This story is meant to illustrate that taking care of yourself is the most important thing you can do to take care of others.

By learning how to nourish your mind and body you’ll naturally begin to treat those around you with more compassion, love, and kindness and create a more positive impact on the world around you as a whole. There is no division, taking care of yourself (in a spiritual sense, not in a material “buy myself things” kind of sense) equals taking care of others.

Specifically, by taking care of yourself, the Buddha was referring to mindfulness. The Buddha also said that by taking care of others, by showing them compassion and loving-kindness, we take care of ourselves.