Motivational – Page 43 – Take off with Natarajan

Message for the Day….””Cultivate an ounce of pure devotion! That is sufficient for you to be awakened from the delusion…”

January 4, 2016January 4, 2016NatarajanLeave a comment

Many dull-witted moderns are puzzled at the purpose of all the constructions and conditions, conventions and customs that revolve around the temple. They cannot grasp the significance of any answer because it is beyond their limited understanding. A patient suffering from high fever will find even sweet things bitter; so too, those afflicted with the high fever of worldliness can never taste the real sweetness of truth. The fever must subside; then they can appreciate the value of the things of the spirit. Similarly if you deny yourself of the bliss derivable from surrender to the Lord, and run about madly pursuing sacred spots, sages, and holy rivers, how can you be helped? Cultivate an ounce of pure devotion! That is sufficient for you to be awakened from this delusion! Devotion will teach you that you can attain peace only by returning to your own native home, which is God within you. Until then, homesickness will haunt!

Sathya Sai Baba

New Year money tips for your child……..!!!

January 4, 2016NatarajanLeave a comment

The over-concerned species that we parents are, New Year is a great time to ensure that we leave our children with something to learn by, says Murad Nathani

It’s the time of new beginnings and new resolutions. While some resolutions fade out in the course of the year, some are successfully carried out; those which stay close to our hearts and which truly make a difference to our lives! So how about starting off the New Year with conversations that can make a difference to your child’s life, in the long run?

I am talking about talking to them on the topic of money in a way that they understand the importance of good money habits early on in their lives. Here is a low-down on the conversations you must have with your child on the big ‘M’:

Understanding Money

The younger your children are, the bigger their demands are. What they lack is a basic understanding of money and which is precisely what they need to learn. No, we don’t want them to become too concerned about money either but let’s say, a hands-on experiential learning would help a great deal.

For starters, a learning tip in this direction would be allowing your child to pay at the toy store or grocery, so that they can see the physical transaction take place, thereby helping them learn the value of a certain amount and what you got them for that amount.

In addition to this, it is essential that they learn, all money spent is money earned in exchange for work and therefore needs to be spent a little more carefully.

Managing Money

Once your child understands the basics of barter and what a certain amount of money can buy them, you can take the conversation a notch higher. A pre-teen or a teenager influenced by peer pressure may come to you not with demands on what they are doing, but rather what their friends are doing. A strong realisation between wants and needs is therefore required at this stage.

As a parent, you don’t want to turn your child down with a straight no, but give them the explanation behind your ‘no’.

Moreover, many parents are from the school of thought that they should give their child what they didn’t get when they were younger. This may however not be the right approach if it is not well-balanced with an understanding of money.

In the conflict of being a parent versus a friend, it is essential that one strikes the right balance. You could work towards an understanding where you make sure what they ask for is relevant at that age or if they can make better use of it when they are a little older. You can also ask them to set a certain goal or target to achieve, either a financial or non-financial goal to help them understand how to achieve something by working towards it.

Smart Money Management

As your child begins to grasp a better understanding of money, the next step is to learn the next level of money management. To learn how to better manage their money as young adults, and learn the art of budgeting and how to spend within a certain limit.

Investments and credit should also become a greater part of their vocabulary here. It’s not anymore only about how much they save and spend, but also about building their own financially independent future.

Remember, the topic of money is not part of their school or college curriculum and hence it is difficult for our children to identify what is the next step for them. For teens especially, it shouldn’t be that they step into college and don’t know what goes where in managing their finances!

Planning at the start of the month along with different needs and requirements corresponding to the amount of money is just one step in this direction, but what about paying back on time, the dynamics of credit?

Or do they know the role of credit institutions and how it could impact their ability in future to get a loan? Decisions made based on a lack of sound financial knowledge can potentially affect the success of a child’s future.

Hence, it is essential that your child is actively involved in the understanding of money management from spending and saving to managing and investing.

Photograph: swister_p/Creative Commons

Murad Nathani is Co-Founder & CEO — Slonkit, first of its kind money management tool that aims to become a guide for today’s digital savvy children, in terms of understanding and managing money

Source…….www.rediff.com

Natarajan

Message for the Day…” One should see his own faults and not repeat them again …”

January 3, 2016NatarajanLeave a comment

What is important is not the acquisition of argumentativeness but the acquisition of single-mindedness, equanimity, and freedom from likes and dislikes. Why does one undertake these spiritual disciplines, this chanting, meditation, devotional singing, etc.? Isn’t it for acquiring single-mindedness and one-pointedness? Once that one-pointedness has been earned, human effort becomes unnecessary; the inner significance of life gets revealed. So those eager to become spiritual aspirants, should not yield to arguments and counterarguments. They should not be enticed by the wiles of bad feeling. They should see their own faults and not repeat them again. They should guard and protect the one-pointedness they have acquired, with their eyes fixed on the goal they are after, dismissing as trash whatever difficulties, defeats, and disturbances they encounter on their path. They must dwell on subjects that would give enthusiasm and joy, and not waste valuable time building up doubts regarding all things, big and small.

Sathya Sai Baba

Germany Opens Bicycle Superhighway…..

January 3, 2016NatarajanLeave a comment

Intercity travelling by bicycles is about to become a reality in Europe, as Germany opens the first ever superhighway for bicycle-only traffic. The Autobahn is not yet ready —just the first five kilometer of the bicycle highway has opened to the public, but when it’s done it will span over 100 kilometers and connect 10 western cities including Duisburg, Bochum and Hamm and four universities. The highway will run largely along disused railroad tracks in the crumbling Ruhr industrial region, and is hoped to benefit almost two million people who live within two kilometers of the route. These people will be able to use sections of the highway for their daily commutes, avoiding urban traffic jams and air pollution. The new track is predicted to take 50,000 cars off the roads every day.

Photo credit: PATRIK STOLLARZ/AFP/Getty Images

Bicycle highways are taking shape elsewhere around Europe too, such as in the Netherlands and Denmark, where the idea was first pioneered. The banking centre of Frankfurt is working on a 30-kilometer path south to Darmstadt, while the Bavarian capital of Munich is plotting a 15-kilometer route into its northern suburbs. Nuremberg is already studying the possibility of a track linking four cities. In the capital Berlin, the city administration in early December gave the green light to a feasibility study on connecting the city centre with the southwestern suburb of Zehlendorf.

Germany is already familiar with bicycle lanes, but unlike the ageing single-lane bike paths, where tree roots often create irregular speed bumps, or a lane can abruptly end in a busy intersection, the new superhighways will be a luxurious four meters wide, have overtaking lanes and cross roads via overpasses and underpasses. The paths will be lit and cleared of snow in winter.

Martin Toennes of the development group RVR, is trying to raise 180 million euros ($196 million) so that the entire 100-kilometre route could be completed. Aside from that, he will have to come up with money for maintenance, lighting and snow clearance. “Without (state) support, the project would have no chance,” Toennes observed.

Photo credit: PATRIK STOLLARZ/AFP/Getty Images

Sources: AFP / Inhabitat

Say Good Bye ….

January 1, 2016NatarajanLeave a comment

Acceptance is always one of the hardest things we face in life. There are so many things we have to learn to accept on a regular basis, including our flaws, our failures, our disappointments, our regrets, and our mistakes. And as the year draws to a close, I’d like to come to terms with these small things and make sure I let go of them before the new year crashes in. Free yourself from what is keeping you dwelling in the past, and start the year with a fresh motivation to move on. I’m convinced that most of us can relate to some of the following affirmations…

H/T: thoughtcatalogue.com

Source……www.ba-bamail.com

Natarajan

Message for the Day….” For a true devotee, every day is a festival. Consider every minute, every day as new and live in joy.”

January 1, 2016NatarajanLeave a comment

Today everybody is enthusiastic about New Year’s Day. For a true devotee, every day is a festival. Consider every minute, every day as new and live in joy. All great men and women have sanctified their lives only by serving humanity. Service is not merely helping people in difficulty. Every limb in the human body has been granted by God forkarmopasana (worshipping God through service). Karmopasana is the only means by which the human life can be sanctified. So undertake selfless service, and when you do good work, you will enjoy peace in life. Cultivate good qualities and prepare yourself for sacrifices. Sacrifice bestows eternal bliss. Share your education and wealth with your fellow human beings. In fact, God is the real owner of your earnings. As God’s trustee, use your earnings properly. Constantly contemplate on God with faith that He is always with you and win over your demonic qualities.

Message for the Day….” Remember the name of God Every minute….”

December 31, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Look at the blossoms in the garden! When the gardener plucks the flowers, the buds exult that tomorrow is their turn to be gathered into the gardener’s hands, and their faces are full of joy when they unfold in that hope. Do they feel any sadness? Do their faces droop? Are they any the less bright? No. The moment they know that the next day is their turn, they make themselves ready with great gusto and excitement. In the same way, you must be ready on the path of spiritual practice! Enthusiastically remember the name of the Lord every minute, without worrying and feeling sad that your turn is tomorrow or because someone died today. For people who transformed themselves into spiritual aspirants, their mind (manas)is Mathura, the birthplace of Lord Krishna), their heart is Dwaraka (Lord Krishna’s playground), and their body is Kashi (holiest land of Lord Shiva).

Magic Bank Account…!!!

December 31, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

This is really worth reading. I hope you enjoy it.

An interesting perspective – One never might have really looked at it this way –

THE MAGIC BANK ACCOUNT

Imagine that you had won the following *PRIZE* in a contest: Each morning your bank would deposit $86,400 in your private account for your use. However, this prize has rules:

The set of rules:

1. Everything that you didn’t spend during each day would be taken away from you.

2. You may not simply transfer money into some other account.

3. You may only spend it.

4. Each morning upon awakening, the bank opens your account with another $86,400 for that day.

5. The bank can end the game without warning; at any time it can say,“Game Over!”. It can close the account and you will not receive a new one.

What would you personally do?

You would buy anything and everything you wanted right? Not only for yourself, but for all the people you love and care for. Even for people you don’t know, because you couldn’t possibly spend it all on yourself, right?

You would try to spend every penny, and use it all, because you knew it would be replenished in the morning, right?

ACTUALLY, This GAME is REAL …

Shocked ??? YES!

Each of us is already a winner of this *PRIZE*. We just can’t seem to see it.

The PRIZE is *TIME*

1. Each morning we awake to receive 86,400 seconds
as a gift of life.

2. And when we go to sleep at night, any remaining time is Not credited to us.

3. What we haven’t used up that day is forever lost.

4. Yesterday is forever gone.

5. Each morning the account is refilled, but the bank can dissolve your account at any time WITHOUT WARNING…

SO, what will YOU do with your 86,400 seconds?

Those seconds are worth so much more than the same amount in dollars. Think about it and remember to enjoy every second of your life, because time races by so much quicker than you think.

So take care of yourself, be happy, love deeply and enjoy life!

Here’s wishing you a wonderful and beautiful day. Start “spending”….

“DON’T COMPLAIN ABOUT GROWING OLD…!”

SOME PEOPLE DON’T GET THE PRIVILEGE.!

Source….Input from a friend of mine

natarajan

Unusual Airport Runways Around the World….!!!

December 30, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

1. Gisborne
Airport, New Zealand

This North Island airport is one of the few in the
World that has a railway line running through its runway. Both the railway
And the airport are active, so let’s hope they are precise about their
Scheduling.

2. Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport, Saba Island

Blink and you might miss it. With only 400m in length, this Caribbean island has the shortest commercial

air strip on the planet. Obviously, this tiny runway is only suitable for small aircraft.

3. Courchevel Altiport, France

This airfield high in the French Alps is a convenient yet treacherous drop-off point for wealthy skiers

at the chi-chi Courchevel slopes. In fact, there are ski runs no far from the 1,762 ft (537 m) mountaintop

runway. Frequent fog, snow, ice and low clouds make it even more extreme. You’ll want to make sure your

small plane or helicopter pilot is well trained.

4. Don Mueang Airport, Thailand

There aren’t many airports in the world that have an 18 hole golf course right amongst the runways. Fore!

5. Tenzing-Hillary Airport, Nepal

If you’re planning on trekking to Mount Everest, chances are you’ll arrive via this small Nepalese airport

in Lukla. It has a short runway with a 9,334 feet (2900 meter) drop off the edge. Not for the faint of heart.

6. Agatti Aerodrome, Lakshadweep, India

This 4000 feet long island runway doesn’t leave much margin for error. A few more inches, and passengers

are going to be swimming sooner than they bargained for.

7. Barra International Airport, Scotland

Barra International Airport, on a remote northern island in Scotland, has the only beach runway for scheduled

flights in the world. At high tide, some of the runways are underwater..

8. Gibraltar International Airport

These are red lights you don’t want to run..

9. Gustaf III Airport, Saint-Barthélemy

This runway is so tiny, only planes with a maximum of 20 people can land here. That helps keep St. Barts

an exclusive upscale Caribbean haven for the rich and famous.

10. Kansai International Airport, Japan

With land at a premium in Japan, they decided to build this major airport on an artificial island offshore in

Osaka Bay. If its ocean setting doesn’t give you chills, its also regularly subjected to earthquakes, typhoons

and storm surges. Oh, and the island is also sinking. This airport’s construction and constant reinforcement

makes it the most expensive civil works project in modern history.

11. Madeira Airport, Portugal

The previous airport on this Portuguese archipelago was notoriously challenging due to its short runway

surrounded by high mountains and the ocean. So, they extended it with an impressive – yet frightening –

platform supported by 180 columns off the edge of the land.

12. Narsarsuaq Airport, Greenland

This runway is short and sweet whether you’re coming or going. It is considered one of the world’s most

challenging approaches.. Pilots have to fly up a fjord known for its turbulence and wind gusts.

13. Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport

A pair of grave makers are embedded into Runway 10 at this airport, in remembrance to the Dotson Family who

used to own the land. One of the graves dates back to 1857. The law states that next of kin need to authorize

the moving of family graves, and when they couldn’t be located, the airport engineers let them be.

14. Wellington Airport, New Zealand

This airport in New Zealand’s capital city has a short runway, so only smaller aircraft can land there.

It’s known for turbulent landings due to the channeling effect of the Cook Strait creating gusty winds.

15. Princess Juliana International Airport, Sint Maarten

This beachside airport on the Dutch side of Saint Martin is right across the street from Maho Beach. It is

known for its extremely low-altitude flyover landing approach, and tourists flock here to experience the rush

of the planes overhead. Definitely one of the craziest airport runways you got to see to believe.

16. Ice Camp Barneo, North Pole

This snowy strip not far from the North Pole is open for just 4 weeks per year. Built on a drifting ice

base, it’s a fully functional runway suitable for cargo planes like the Antonov AN-74. Perhaps Santa

Claus uses it too.

Curiosity’s 10 best images of Mars in 2015….

December 30, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

As of December, 2015, Curiosity has acquired over 292,000 images from Mars’ surface. Here are our picks for the top 10 images by the rover in 2015.

Strata rocks and dark sand in an area that has been named ‘Kimberley.’ The strata in the foreground dip towards the base of Mount Sharp, indicating flow of water toward a basin that existed before the larger bulk of the mountain formed. The images obtained by NASA’s Curiosity rover in October, 2015, led scientists conclude there were ancient lakes on this area. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Since its August 5-6, 2012 landing on Mars – an event known to space scientists as seven minutes of terror – NASA’s Curiosity rover has been studying the surface of Mars. Its job now is to determine whether the Gale Crater area, the area in which it landed, ever had the right conditions to support microbial life. As of December, 2015 – using its 17 cameras – Curiosity has acquired over 292,000 images from the surface of Mars. The images on this page are our picks of some of the best images captured by the rover in 2015.

Curiosity has seen a lot of layered rocks on the surface of Mars, like these amazing rocks captured in July, 2015.Read more about this image. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

The rover mission’s official name is the Mars Science Laboratory. The rover itself is 9 feet (about 3 meters) long and 7 feet (about 2.7 meters) wide, and weighs about 2,000 pounds (900 kg).

It’s not Arizona or Utah … this is planet Mars as seen by Curiosity on September, 2015. This image shows regions that include a long ridge teeming with hematite, an iron oxide. Just beyond is an undulating plain rich in clay minerals. And just beyond that are a multitude of rounded buttes, all high in sulfate minerals. The changing mineralogy in these layers of Mount Sharp suggests a changing environment in early Mars, though all involve exposure to water billions of years ago. Image via NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Sunset on Mars. The Curiosity rover captured the sun setting on April 15, 2015 from the Gale Crater. The color has been calibrated and white-balanced to remove camera artifacts. The rover’s ‘Mastcam’ sees color very similarly to what human eyes see, although it is actually a little less sensitive to blue than people are. Dust in the Martian atmosphere has fine particles that permit blue light to penetrate the atmosphere more efficiently than longer-wavelength colors. That causes the blue colors in the mixed light coming from the sun to stay closer to sun’s part of the sky, compared to the wider scattering of yellow and red colors. Image via NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Two orbiters that were already studying Mars when Curiosity arrived. They are the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and Mars Odyssey. These two act as satellites, relaying pictures and data from the rover back to Earth.]

Diverse composition of mineral veins at the ‘Garden City’ site investigated by Curiosity suggests multiple episodes of groundwater activity. The prominent mineral veins vary in thickness and brightness, and include: 1) thin, dark-toned fracture filling material; 2) thick, dark-toned vein material in large fractures; 3) light-toned vein material, which was deposited last. Researchers used the Mastcam and other instruments on Curiosity in March and April 2015 to study the structure and composition of mineral veins at Garden City, for information about fluids that deposited minerals in fractured rock there. Image via NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Because color images use much more data or bandwidth to be transmitted to our planet, a lot of black and white images are sent to the orbiting spacecraft that occasionally passes over t

he rover’s location for a short time. However, some color images are eventually sent.

This is an area lining the northwestern edge of Mount Sharp. The scene combines multiple images taken with the Mast Camera on NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover on Sept. 25, 2015. Dunes are larger than wind-blown ripples of sand or dust that Curiosity and other rovers have visited previously. You can see the dark dunes by clicking again after opening this panorama. Image via NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Giant antennas at California (USA), Australia and Spain compose the Deep Space Network that receives pictures and data from the Mars spacecraft as well as from other interplanetary spacecraft.

A selfie on Mars. Curiosity extended its robotic arm and used the camera on the arm’s end to capture this self portrait on October 6, 2015. The image was taken at the ‘Big Sky’ site, where its drill collected the mission’s fifth taste of Mount Sharp. Image via NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

]

Dark rocks on route to mountains. Diverse terrain is visible on this image taken on Mount Sharp on April 10, 2015. The color has been approximately white-balanced to resemble how the scene would appear under daytime lighting conditions on Earth. Image via NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Damage on the aluminum wheels is evident after 7 miles (11.3 km) on the odometer of the Curiosity rover. Mars’ terrain and diverse rocks led to more wheel damage than was expected. However scientists think the 20 inches (51 cm) wheels may permit the rover to continue its mission. Image via NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

A Solar Eclipse from Mars. Curiosity captured Phobos, one of the two small martian moons passing in front of the Sun in July, 2015. Although Phobos is only about 14 miles (22.5 km) in diameter, it orbits Mars at just 6,000 km ( 3,728 miles) which is relatively close. Image via NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Where is Curiosity right now? The rover is located in an area of Mount Sharp that has been named Namib dune. The rover is analyzing the composition and grain size of a ripple.

Source….www.earthsky.org

Natarajan

1. Gisborne Airport, New Zealand

This North Island airport is one of the few in the World that has a railway line running through its runway. Both the railway And the airport are active, so let’s hope they are precise about their Scheduling.

1. Gisborne
Airport, New Zealand

This North Island airport is one of the few in the
World that has a railway line running through its runway. Both the railway
And the airport are active, so let’s hope they are precise about their
Scheduling.