It serves no purpose if you merely acknowledge that the Lord has come but do not yearn to benefit by the Advent. Offer your entire self, your entire life, to Him; then your adoration will transform and transmute you so fast and so completely that you will merge into Him. He thinks, He feels and acts as you do; you think, feel and act as He does. You will be transformed as a rock is transformed by the sculptor into an idol, deserving the worship of generations of sincere men and women. In the process you will have to bear many a hammer stroke and chisel-wound, for He is the sculptor. He is but releasing you from petrification! So today, offer your heart to the Lord, and gladly let Him transform you. Practice the three disciplines of silence, cleanliness and forbearance. In silence you can hear the voice of God. Through cleanliness you earn purity. By forbearance, you cultivate love.
Recently a routine police patrol was parked outside a bar in the Outback. After last call, the officer noticed a man leaving the bar so apparently intoxicated that he could barely walk. The man stumbled around the parking lot for a few minutes, with the officer quietly observing. After what seemed an eternity, in which he tried his keys on five different vehicles, the man managed to find his car and fall into it.
He sat there for a few minutes as a number of other patrons left the bar and drove off. Finally he started the car, switched the wipers on and off; it was a fine, dry summer night, flicked the blinkers on and off a couple of times, honked the horn and then switched on the lights. He moved the vehicle forward a few inches, reversed a little, and then remained still for a few more minutes as some more of the other patrons’ vehicles left. At last, when his was the only car left in the parking lot, he pulled out and drove slowly down the road.
The police officer, having waited patiently all this time, now started up his patrol car, put on the flashing lights, and promptly pulled the man over and administered a breathalyzer test. To his amazement, the breathalyzer indicated no evidence that the man had consumed any alcohol at all! Dumbfounded, the officer said, “I’ll have to ask you to accompany me to the police station. This breathalyzer equipmentmust be broken.”
“I doubt it,” declared the man with pride. “Tonight I’m the designated decoy.”
When Sarah Sanders bought her house, she was drawn to a particularly gorgeous tree on the property. Over the years, however, it began to rot. The city soon came calling, since the dead tree posed a safety hazard for Sanders and nearby residents.
Although she was devastated, Sanders enlisted the help of a local artist to remove the tree and turn it into something beautiful that the whole neighborhood could enjoy.
Although the tree no longer exists in its original form, people in the community will get to cherish it for years to come.
Arjun Bhogal is on a unique mission. He has been walking since the past three years with the aim of raising funds for two organizations which are working in the fields of water and marine conservation. In 2012, he started off from the UK with a friend, and is right now moving towards Australia. Watch this interesting walk and talk with Arjun who was recently spotted in India.
On April 1, 2012 two men started off on a unique mission – that of raising money for organizations which are working in the fields of water and marine conservation, and of raising awareness about water conservation. And this, they decided, would be done completely and entirely on foot – no cars, no buses, no trains.
So they started walking, and one of them has been walking till date. Starting from Cardiff, Wales in UK, they aim to reach Cardiff, New South Wales in Australia by the end of this year.
That’s mind boggling – 10,000 kilometres on foot, covering 15 countries.
Arjun Bhogal and Kieran Rae are calling this the Borderwalk Project, and they began walking with the hope of raising £25,000 for the organizations, WaterAid and Marine Conservation Society.
Sometime in 2014, Kieran had to go home, and Arjun is continuing the journey solo. He was in India recently, when an organization called Million Ways to Live got a chance to catch up with him.
Since more than 3 years now, he has been camping and recording his journey, living off local food, water, and the supplies that people have generously offered on his way.
Except for ferry rides, boats or flights to cross over water bodies, this entire journey has been and will be on foot.
He is carrying gadgets and equipments powered by solar panels provided by an organization called Goal Zero.
On his journey, Arjun has also learnt about the various ways through which he can get access to clean drinking water for himself, in areas where he does not have any other option.
According to Arjun, the random acts of kindness that he has got a chance to witness all through his way have made the entire journey possible.
“A Russian man called Valentine, the nicest man on this planet, knocked on my door and offered me a kilogram of walnuts. We had dinner with his friends, and a month later, he drove up behind us and said he has come to have lunch…he even booked us a hotel…” remembers Arjun.
He has walked through some of the harshest conditions in terms of climate and social surroundings. “You can adapt to anything…you just have to accept the situation you are in,” he says.
WaterAid is an initiative which works in about 37 countries worldwide, helping different communities access safe drinking water and sanitation. These are some of the most marginalised communities, and WaterAid work with local partners in setting up sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene projects for them. Marine Conservation Society works for securing the future of living seas and protecting the marine wildlife.
“We wanted to spark people’s imagination, hopefully inspire younger people and serve as an example, that if we can do this, then you really could do anything,” says Arjun in an interview here.
The duo met at the University of Wales where Arjun studied film and video and Kieran studied graphic design. They plan to produce a documentary of their journey and raise awareness about environmental issues through it.
அமெரிக்க ஜனாதிபதி ஆனார் ஆபிரகாம் லிங்கன். தேர்தல் சமயத்தில், அவர் வெற்றி பெற உதவிய சிலர், தங்களுக்கும் பதவி கேட்டு, அவரை நச்சரித்து வந்தனர். இது சம்பந்தமாக ஒரு பொது மேடையில் லிங்கன் பேசும்போது, ஒரு கதை கூறினார்…
‘ஒரு மன்னன் வேட்டை யாடப் புறப்பட்டான்; தன் அமைச்சரிடம், ‘இன்று மழை பெய்யுமா?’ என்று கேட்டான். ‘பெய்யாது…’ என்றார், அமைச்சர். அதை நம்பி பரிவாரங்களுடன் புறப்பட்டு சென்றான். வழியில், கழுதை மீது அமர்ந்து சென்று கொண்டிருந்தான் ஒரு விவசாயி.
அவனிடம் மன்னன், ‘என்ன குடியானவரே… இன்று மழை பெய்யுமா?’ என்று கேட்டான்.
‘கட்டாயம் பெய்யும்…’ என்றான்.
சற்று தூரம் சென்றதும், கடும் மழை பெய்தது. தொப்பலாக நனைந்து விட்டான் அரசன். திரும்பும் வழியில் அதே குடியானவனைக் கண்டார். ‘மழை பெய்யும் என்று எப்படி உறுதியாக சொன்னாய்?’ என்று அவனிடம் கேட்டார்.
‘மழை பெய்யுமா, பெய்யாதா என்று எனக்குத் தெரியாது; என் கழுதைக்குத் தெரியும். அவை தன் காதுகளை முன்பக்கம் நீட்டிக் கொண்டிருந்தால், அன்று மழை பெய்யும்…’ என்றான் குடியானவன்.
அரண்மனை திரும்பிய அரசன், அமைச்சரை பதவி நீக்கம் செய்து, குடியானவனின் கழுதையை அமைச்சராக்கினான். அதன்பின் தான் பிரச்னை. ஊரில் உள்ள எல்லா கழுதைகளும், தங்களுக்கும் அமைச்சர் பதவி வேண்டும் என்று நச்சரிக்க துவங்கின…’ என்றார் லிங்கன்.
‘புரியாத சங்கடம்’ என்ற கட்டுரையில், கி.வா.ஜ., எழுதியது: ஒரு சத்திரத்து திண்ணையில், இருவர் படுத்திருந்தனர். அவர்களில் ஒருவர் தெலுங்கர்; அவருக்கு தமிழ் தெரியாது. கையில், நீண்ட தடி வைத்திருந்தார்; அதன் பக்கத்தில் ஒரு வளையம் இருந்தது.
மற்றொருவர் தமிழர்; அவருக்கு தெலுங்கு தெரியாது. அவர், காதில் கடுக்கன் அணிந்திருந்தார். இரண்டு பேரும் வயது முதிர்ந்தவர்கள்.
இரவு நேரம் அது! தடியை தலைமாட்டில், சுவரோரமாக படுக்க வைத்து, தூங்கி கெண்டிருந்தார் தெலுங்கர். வளையம் வெளியே நீட்டி கொண்டிருந்த நிலையில், அதற்கு சற்றுத் தள்ளி படுத்திருந்த தமிழர், சற்றே புரண்டார். தடியின் வளையத்தில் கடுக்கன் மாட்டிக் கொண்டது. இதனால் தமிழர் புரள, தடி அசைவதை அறிந்த தெலுங்கர், அதை மற்றவர் எடுக்கிறாரோ என்று எண்ணி, ‘நாதிரா…’ (என்னுடையதடா) என்று தெலுங்கில் கூறினார். கடுக்கன் அகப்பட்டுக் கொண்ட சங்கடத்தில் தமிழர், ‘காதுரா…’ என்றார். தெலுங்கில் காதுரா என்றால், ‘இல்லையேடா…’ என்று பொருள். அதனால், தெலுங்கர் கோபத்தோடு தடியை இழுத்தார்.
தமிழர் ‘ஐயோ… காதுரா…’ என்று அலறினார்.
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கன்னடம் பேசும் மாத்துவர்கள் வீட்டில், விருந்து நடந்தது. பெரும்பாலும் கன்னடம் பேசுபவர்களே விருந்துண்டனர். அவர்கள் நடுவில் ஒரு தமிழர் இருந்தார்; அவருக்கு கன்னடம் தெரியாது. சாப்பிட்டுக் கொண்டிருந்த போது, ஒருவர் பாத்திரத்தில் எதையோ கொண்டு வந்து, ‘சாக்கா… பேக்கா…’ என்று கேட்டார். தமிழரோ, ‘இரண்டு வித பட்சணங்களில் எது வேண்டுமென்று கேட்கிறார் போலிருக்கு…’ என்று எண்ணி, ‘சாக்கில் ஒன்று போடு; பேக்கில் ஒன்று போடு…’ என்றார்.
கன்னடத்தில், சாக்கா என்றால், போதுமா என்றும், பேக்கா என்றால், வேண்டுமா என்றும் பொருள். ‘போதுமா இன்னும் வேண்டுமா…’ என்று பரிமாறுபவர் கேட்டார். அவர் பேச்சு புரியாத தமிழர், இரண்டு விதமான பண்டங்கள் என்று நினைத்து விட்டார்.
The World Map on the banks of the Lake Klejtrup in Denmark is a 4,000-square-meter walkable map of the world built out of soil, stones and grass. It’s the work of only one man — Søren Poulsen, who spent the last 25 years of his life building it.
Søren Poulsen, the creator of “The World Map”, was born in Denmark in 1888. Having spent part of his life in America, he returned to the village where he was born by the lake in Klejtrup. In 1943, Søren Poulsen was working on the drainage of the surrounding meadows when he found a stone shaped like Jutland, inspiring him to create a small world of his own. The following year, with the help of primitive tools and a wheelbarrow, Poulsen started laying big stones on the ice on the lake, and slowly the World Map took shape.
Søren Poulsen continued building his map until his death in 1969. The final map measures 45 meters by 90 meters, and was built entirely to scale —one 111-kilometer degrees of latitude corresponds to 27 centimeters on the map. Today, the Verdenskortet ved Klejtrup Sø (Danish for “World Map at Lake Klejtrup”) is a popular attraction in the Viborg area.
My dear students, the culture of Bharat is sublime, splendorous, sacred, and divine. It can fulfill all your high desires and quench your deepest thirst. First translate this awareness into actual practice and enshrine the experience in your hearts. Then share the joy of that experience with others. Never allow your minds to get agitated with limitless desires. You must render your homes bright by pleasing your parents. If you cause grief to them your entire life will be soaked in grief and your children, in turn, are sure to sink you in sorrow. Never be arrogant towards your parents just because you earned a degree. “Consider the Mother as God; consider the Father as God; consider the Teacher as God; consider the Guest as God.” Follow this fourfold exhortation with full faith in its validity, derive bliss (Ananda) therefrom and inspire others by your example, so that the Motherland may progress and prosper. Fulfil this desire of Mine, with My blessings.
Throughout the centuries, peace has always been something fought for, and it still is something worth fighting for. We celebrate peace both in simple everyday things, and also in matters that concern the whole world. Just as history has seen people and nations that went against peace, there were also famous legends who have shown us what it is. Here are touching truthful quotes by some of these unforgettable figures.
Take off with Natarajan 
