The path of surrender is like the life of a kitten. Just as the kitten places all its burdens in the mother cat, so too the devotee must place their complete trust on the Lord. The mother cat holds the kitten in its mouth and transports it safely at all times, including very narrow passages. So too, the devotee must place all their burdens on the Lord and surrender fully to His will. Lakshmana is a great exemplar of this path. To serve Rama, Lakshmana renounced all obstacles in his path, like wealth, wife, mother, home, even sleep and food for full fourteen years. He felt that Rama was his all, his happiness and joy, that Rama would grant everything he needed, and his life’s purpose was only to follow Him, serve Him, and surrender his will to Him. If you place all burdens on the Lord and adore Him continuously and consistently, He will certainly provide everything you need.
To attain the knowledge of righteousness (dharma), first, you must receive training under wise people, who are imbued with righteousness (dharma). Next, you must aspire to purify yourself (Atma shuddhi) and practice truth (sathya). Thirdly, you must realize the value of knowledge of the scriptures(Vedas), which is the voice of God. When these three steps are completed, you will clearly understand the truth and discriminate it from untruth. This enquiry into truth must be done in amity and cooperation. Everyone is entitled to attain spiritual wisdom. Everyone must be equally eager to discover the truth and benefit from it. All opinions must be tested on the touchstone of dharma, of universal goodness(sarvaloka-hitha). The principles that pass this test alone must be chosen and practiced, and shared with the world. Then will help humanity to progress. Then, everyone will develop joy and happiness in equal measure. All of you must use this method and perform noble and pure deeds consistently.
Devotion has to be continuous and uninterrupted like the flow of oil from one vessel to another. Without love (prema),nothing in this world can be acquired. Only when there is love, does attachment (anuraga) in its turn create the desire to protect and guard. In the path of self-effort based devotion, also called as ‘young-one-of-the-monkey’ path, the child has to rely on its own strength to protect itself — wherever the mother might jump about, the child has to attach itself fast to the mother’s belly and not release its hold, even if pulled apart! So too, the devotee has to stand the tests at the hands of the Lord and hold on to the Lord’s name at all times and under all conditions, tirelessly, without the slightest trace of dislike or disgust, bearing the ridicule and the criticism of the world and conquering the feelings of shame and defeat. This type of devotion was practiced by little child Prahlada.
Consider how much talent the Lord has given to people. With that endowment, seek the four goals (purusharthas). Move forward on the path to the Lord, adhering strictly to the demands of truth. That is the purpose of the gift of talent. Only those gifted with eyesight can see things; those bereft of sight do not have that fortune. So too, only those gifted with truth, longing for the four goals and adherence to dharma, can see the Lord; all others are blind. The Lord has also given people instruments for developing their intellect and discrimination. If they use them well and try to realise God within themselves, the Lord will add unto them fresh talent and new sources of power, for He is full of grace toward the struggling. When people seek to follow dharma, the truth will also reveal itself to them.
With an aim to safely dispose end-of-life tyres, Anubhav Wadhwa is a 16-year-old on a mission.
It all started when 16-year-old Anubhav saw someone setting fire to a couple of tyres. It got him thinking about what happens to tyres that have served their time. After a quick Google check, Anubhav realised that burning tyres, an act that releases a cocktail of toxic gases, is a huge environmental hazard.
On the face of it, Anubhav may seem like any other teenager. But this extraordinary student of Pathways World School, Aravali, launched his first venture, a software product development company called TechAPTO, at the age of 12. Later, he launched Trends on Internet, an analytical company.
With a determination to act on the issue of safe disposal of tyres, Anubhav founded Tyreslessly, an aggregator of used tyres, in December, 2015.
Through its website, which was launched a couple of days ago, anyone can request a pickup of end-of-life tyres.
“Once the tyre is picked up, it is sent to a recycling plant and will undergo pyrolysis – an extraction process which can help convert tyres into usable by-products like fuel oils, steel etc.,” says Anubhav.
So what happens to such tyres usually? Anubhav says that these are carelessly burned and used to produce heat, especially for use in sugarcane industries.
“A majority of these industries burn tyres in a manner that is hazardous to the environment. The only way forward is to embrace pyrolysis,” he maintains.
He believes this process of recycling end-of-life tyres will, over the years, help in saving a lot of landfill space in the country.
“There are a lot of pyrolysis plants across India. But right now, the challenge is to get the used tyres to them.”
Tyrelessly currently operates only in the Delhi/NCR region. But the company plans to expand it’s services to all major cities by February. As of now the service is free of cost. However, Anubhav plans to generate revenue from advertisements on the website and later on from the sale of the recycled byproducts themselves.
Tyrelessly has been funded from the internal accruals of TechAPTO.
Anubhav is a firm believer in the power of communities and aims to increase tyre recycling rates in India with the help of student and local communities. It is his dream to create such communities across the country.
“Right now we are educating people about the dangers of tyre burning and with the help of these communities, we are procuring more such tyres,” says Anubhav.
Tyrelessly, that has just begun it’s collection process, hopes to achieve it’s first target of collecting at least 1,000 tyres by the end of February.
This super kid is definitely doing something right.
When asked about how he has achieved so much in such a short period of time, Anubhav says he owes it to his alma mater for recognising and channeling his talents.
Juggling his school work as well as these three companies doesn’t seem to be too much of a task for him. Anubhav starts his day as early as 6.30 a.m. He attends school, where apart from his academic responsibilities, including being a member of the student council, Anubhav also assists his teachers in preparing visual display material as well as projects. He gets back home around 5 p.m. and starts work then.
“Being a part of Pathways World School has been the most rewarding experiential learning for me. I feel that this has helped me evolve into a good human being.”
He feels that the two most important traits he developed and has held him in good stead are dedication and commitment.
After graduating as an IB scholar, Anubhav wants to be a barrister. His commitment towards achieving this goal is evident from his academic accomplishments and a keen sense of community service.
The world has taken note of this enthusiastic teenager.
ProSieben, a German TV channel that is aired in over 12 countries, featured Anubhav as part of a documentary for its show called Galelio.
As part of his vision towards ensuring sustainable development, Anubhav is working towards building strong relationships with governments and other key stakeholders. For now, Anubhav wants to just keep doing what he does best and spread the message of disposing tyres in a safe manner.
To learn more about Tyrelessly, please visit its website.
The Lord will protect in all ways and at all times those who worship Him in complete and pure uncontaminated devotion(bhakti), just as a mother protects her infants, a cow saves her calf from danger, and the eyelids guard the eyes effortlessly and automatically. When the infant grows up into an adult, the mother won’t pay so much attention to its safety. So too, the Lord doesn’t pay much attention to the wise one (jnani). The devotee who worships any form (saguna bhakta), like an infant of the Lord, has no strength except the strength of the Lord. For the realized soul (jnani), their own strength is enough. Therefore, until one can rely on one’s own strength, one must be an infant in the Lord’s hands, just like a devotee of the Lord’s form. No one can become a devotee of the Formless Supreme (nirguna bhakta) without having been a devotee of the form.
The Neerja Bhanot Pan Am Trust has been set up in the memory of Neerja Bhanot – the brave woman who was the senior flight attendant on board Pan Am Flight 73 that was hijacked in Karachi in 1986. Neerja showed immense courage and helped many passengers escape. She was shot on September 5, 1986 while shielding three children from terrorists.
The trust was set up by her parents Rama and Harish Bhanot, with the insurance money they received after her death, and an equal contribution from Pan Am. Today, they present two awards of Rs. 1,50,000 each. One award is given to an Indian woman who raises her voice against social injustice and also helps other women in similar situations, and another to honour an airline crew member who acts beyond the call of duty.
This is the 24th year of the award and it was given to Subhashini Vasanth of Bengaluru, for the first category. Subhashini’s husband, Colonel Vasanth Venugopal, lost his life while fighting terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir. He was awarded the Ashok Chakra (Posthumous) in 2008. Subhashini founded the Vasantharatna Foundation in his memory, with the aim of creating a support system for the families of martyred soldiers.
“I am proud to receive this award as it represents the spirit of Neerja Bhanot’s determination and grit in the face of overwhelming circumstances. A woman must always face all adversities in life and ensure she is treated with respect. She must stand up for her rights, come what may,” said Subhashini.
The award was presented on Wednesday by Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor who is playing the lead role in the biopic Neerja
Here are five things to know about this remarkable woman.
1. Subhashini Vasanth’s husband, Colonel Vasanth, was martyred on July 31, 2007.
She started an NGO named Vasantharatna Foundation for Arts in the same year, and named it after him because starting the NGO was something they had planned together.
Three months after the death of her husband, Subhashini wrote a play name Silent Front. It was based on the lives of army wives, and she was the protagonist. She performed the play in Delhi and Bengaluru and the funds generated through it helped strengthen the base of the Foundation in the initial years.
3. The foundation began work in Karnataka and has helped over 80 families till now.
She initially identified 30 families of martyrs in Belgaum, Bagalkot, Coorg and other parts of rural Karnataka, and started helping them. The foundation provides education scholarships to children and emotional and legal counselling to widows. She also conducts empowerment programs for women and outbound learning programmes for both women and children.
4. She co-authored a book named Forever Forty with Veena Prasad. It is the biography of Colonel Vasanth.
“The book is a collection of memoirs for my two daughters who were aged seven and 10 at the time of their father’s death. I want them to know their father as he really was,” she said.
5. She wants to add the award money she just won to a fund that she is setting up to give memorial awards to children of martyrs for all-round excellence.
The Sankranthi festival should be regarded as the day on which one turns one’s vision towards God. Your life may be compared to a stalk of sugarcane. Like the cane, which is hard and has many knots, life is full of difficulties. These difficulties must be overcome to enjoy the bliss of the Divine, just as sugarcane must be crushed and its juice converted into jaggery to enjoy its permanent sweetness. Enduring bliss is got only by overcoming trials and tribulations. Gold cannot be made into an attractive jewel without melting it in a crucible and converting it into a beautiful shape. When I address devotees as Bangaaru (golden one), I consider you very precious! Only by going through the vicissitudes of life with forbearance you become most valuable. Never allow yourselves to be overwhelmed by difficulties. Develop self-confidence and firm faith in God. With unshakeable faith, dedicate yourselves to serve your fellowmen and lead exemplary lives
Once when Narada asked Lord Rama about the nature of His servitors and of spiritual aspirants, the Lord answered, “My servitors are full of love; they always stand by righteousness and truth; their hearts melt with mercy; they avoid sin and renounce everything gladly; they eat in moderation, engage in doing good to others, and have no selfishness and doubts. They won’t lend their ears to flattery but are eager to listen to the praise of the good in others. Spiritual aspirants are those who endeavour to acquire such qualities and possess such a character. Anyone engaged in repeating the Lord’s name has self-control and discipline, faith, patience, comradeship, kindness, and joy as well as unalloyed love towards Me – such a person is dear to Me. Whoever with discrimination and renunciation, humility and wisdom is aware of the knowledge of Reality; who is immersed in the contemplation of My divine play (leela), dwells on My name at all times and sheds tears of love whenever the Lord’s name is heard from any lip —these are My genuine devotees.” Thus did Sri Rama answer Narada.
Manish Mamatani posted this photo to EarthSky Facebook. It’s wonderful Meteor Crater near Winslow, Arizona, sometimes said to be the best preserved meteorite impact site in the world. It is an impressive thing to see … worth taking the kids!
The mile-wide crater is the result of a collision between Earth and an asteroid, believed to have occurred only about 50,000 years ago.
Take off with Natarajan 