Leadership and creativity

Most of us are dependence prone and seek directions, assistance, and attention even in situations where we can function on our own.
We are still a collectivist and a high power distance society. We  like to conform to the norms set by superiors, head of the family etc. That is why, we are less likely to engage in idea development behaviours and risk failure. ( Failure of creativity and leadership ).

We have historically a strong preference for personal relationships, paternalistic leadership, loyalty and dependability over efficiency and independence.
We need to develop effective leadership, confidence in our abilities, acceptance of our failures and voice in decision making process etc.( modified script)

SPIRITUAL BEINGS

We are not here by accident or by some incidences of nature. We are spiritual beings learning lessons of LOVE in this Earth School. We come here with our prarabhadh ( accumulated results of our Karamas of past lives ). Our planet ( karam Ktshetra .is created as a place to experience emotions, sensations, feelings and relationships. Here, we are involved in various kinds of actions-  karamas. Most of the things like our parents, place of birth and time of birth and major events of life ( like marriage, having children etc. ) are predetermined according to our destiny. Though our souls are the same , ageless and the traits as described in Geeta, however, according to our prarabhadh, , some are advanced and advance quickly than others depending on our free-will ( though limited but could be quite strong to advance ourselves spiritually). We must make full use of free will to progress in future.

The JOY

The JOY

Where there is EGO, there is separation, 

so kill your ego and be with everybody to give them joy.

Children are without ego that is why they are the source of joy

Mischief is the outcome of joy. Children are very mischievous

Parents say, don't do this, but let them do that, Krishn also did that

What you have in your hand, indicates  what you are inside

If you have a gun in your hand it indicates fear or violence

If you have flower in your hand it indicates you are like flower

If you have a flute in your hand, it indicates you are like a flute - hollow and empty|

Whatever you will speak you will sound like that

-------------------------------------------

above is the gist of the following  message

 

Sushma Gupta

www.sushmajee.com
http://sushmajee.blogspot.com/2011/07/sanskriti-and-sanskar.html

The philosophy of joy

The sole search of every being is joy.

Whenever one is searching,

whatever one is searching, one is looking for joy

— whether it is spiritual or material,

whether it is in the movies, bars,

or

in the church or temple;

whether it is money,

fame or power.

The search simply is for joy

and the Divine is all joy and bliss.

Bliss

is nothing

but qualified joy,

a joy that is devoid of feverishness,

suffering and pain.

Love

comes along with pain.

Silence

is a little serious;

joy

is mischievous.

One cannot have mischief

if there is no joy and Krishna is all mischief.

Krishna is absolute joy,

absolute bliss.

Nothing whatsoever could take away

the joy from Krishna.

If you look at his life,

it was miserable

— he was born in misery.

Kansa,

the uncle of Krishna,

is a symbol of ego.

Ego

is far away from joy;

ego tries to kill the joy in us.

Children are so full of joy

because there is no ego.

The moment ego comes,

separation comes.

We destroy

the bliss,

the beauty,

that innocent joy.

Kansa sent several people to kill Krishna

but was unsuccessful.

Krishna,

when he was just eight or ten,

fell in love with Radha,

she was much elder to Krishna.

That love was such a pure love.

People did not know

why they were in such a love with Krishna;

everyone would flock around him.

Mischief is the outcome of joy.

Children are very mischievous.

Parents say,

'Don't do this!', 'Stop that!'

It's very normal for children

to be mischievous;

we should let them do it.

Sometimes it entails trouble for the parents,

but there is also fun.

What is life without fun?

Krishna told many lies,

played and troubled people around him.

People around him would like

to be troubled by him.

People would complain with anger,

but the moment they came in his presence,

they would start giggling,

all their anger would vanish.

In the presence of pure bliss,

joy, all complaints vanish

and life appears like a play.

One can look at every trouble as a challenge

or can spend it crying and complaining.

You know,

what you have in your

hand indicates what you are inside.

If you have a gun in your hand, it indicates fear or violence.

If you have a flower in your hand, it indicates you are like a flower.

If you have a flute in your hand, you are like a flute

— hollow and empty.

Krishna

has the flute in the hand

and the whole style of standing indicates

his whole philosophy.

One leg is firm on the ground.

A dance can happen when your feet

are first touching the ground.

If your legs are buried in the mud,

a dance cannot happen.

Not even if it is up in the ground.

One leg has to be firm on the ground,

the other can be up in the air and then dance happens.

Joy is the dance of life and

the life of Krishna is such a dance.
One can imagine Krishna everywhere;

you cannot pinpoint Krishna as one thing.

Sometimes he may ride a horse,

be a charioteer and in some other place

he can be dancing.

Krishna is the symbol of all possibilities,

the total blossoming of all aspects of human, or Divine

— whatever you call.

It's very difficult to really understand

Krishna's personality.

The rishis called him the full embodiment

of the Divine total because all that a human could be,

a being could be, is all in Krishna.

You can see him as the perfect friend.

Once one of his close aides tells Krishna,

''O Krishna,

I cannot understand you.

I have been with you for the past fifteen years,

you confuse me more and more everyday!

At one point I see you as such a courageous person

who could alone fight war with

so many people,

at other times you hide yourself in the closet.

You behave completely eccentric.

One time you are so powerful,

another time so scared.

One time you come out with such a great wisdom,

another time you ask me advice.''

One place he is a servant,

another time king of the whole province,

who takes very good care of all subjects.

Contrast energies

Arjuna was ready to quit everything

and go to the Himalayas.

He was not ready to fight the war.

Krishna convinced him.

Krishna was a good teacher

because he taught as a friend.

He said,

''You're such a great warrior.

Anyway, everyone is already dead.
I do everything,

you just be an instrument.''

In the battlefield,

if someone could sustain the depth of awareness,

clarity of mind when everybody

is in such chaos, and give the highest knowledge,

that leaves you in awe of Krishna.

You can have a big smile

when everything is firm and

smooth but when everything

is upside down and you smile,

then you have achieved something.

Everything was upside down,

chaotic,

wherever Krishna went and yet,

the smile would simply capture everything.

His smile was so great that people would forget

their sorrow and joy would simply flood.
Even the saints would fall

in love in that field of energy;

people who have renounced

everything would be interested.

The dispassionate one will be drawn.

The word Krishna,

itself, means that which is attractive,

that draws everything.

The very core of your being is such;

the bliss of the self, the joy of the self is like that.

It just draws everything.

In a symbolic manner,

also, it is so beautiful.

Krishna was such a charmer that people

could not stay away from him.

Young and old,

boys and girls and even the rishis,

could not stay away;

they would just follow him around.

The gopis said,

''the love between you and me; only my soul knows.''

The depth of the love, joy, and devotion

was like wildfire all around Krishna.

In love there is 2 percent lust.

In lust there is 2 percent love.

You may have noticed when children are in deep love,

they come and hug, hang to your neck,

kiss you, lick all parts of your face.

What do you call it, love or lust?

Love.

But the act is very lustful.

It's the same thing with a puppy.

When you come back home,

the puppy will jump all over you and lick you

by which it is expressing its love to you.

Intense love wants expression.

You hug, shake hands, give flowers...

nothing really satisfies.

Love cannot be fully expressed,

yet it cannot be without expression.

That's the nature of joy and love.

It wants to find an expression.

The love of the gopis and Krishna was such a love.

Krishna means the most attractive.

It is the divinity that is the most attractive;

the energy that pulls everything to it.

Krishna is the formless centre which is everywhere.

Any attraction from anywhere is coming

only from Krishna.

Often people fail to see the spirit

behind the attraction and merely

hold on to the outer shell.

And the moment you try to possess

the shell, you will see Krishna

has played a trick and you will be left

with an empty shell in your hands and tears in your eyes.

The mind moves towards beauty, joy and truth.

Krishna tells Arjuna,

''I am the beauty in the Beautiful,

the strength in the Strong,

the wisdom in the Wise.''

Be clever like Radha —

don't be tricked by Krishna.

Krishna could not escape from Radha,

for, her whole world was filled with Krishna.

If you can see that

wherever there is an attraction,

there is Krishna;

then you are Radha,

you are in your centre.

RESPONSIBILITY

Responsibility;  Responsibility and Responsibility: Most important aspect of life ; you have responsibility for the SELF, Family, Community/Society (Social) ,  State (moral and Legal)  and spiritual; you are responsible where ever there is an obligation to fulfil.
Responsibility is defined as "The concept that one is answerable or accountable for something within one's power, control or management."
Traits of responsibility;
the ability to decide and act on your own without supervision,
instill a sense of duty,
social force that binds you to courses of action demanded by force;
trust worthiness,
deserving trust and confidence;
quality of being dependable and reliable;
leadership and importance;
level headedness, stability, maturity, common sense, reliability, rationality, reasonableness, dependability,
trustworthiness, conscientiousness, soberness, sensibleness;
capacity, competency, ability, capabilities, efficiency, loyalty;

If you are responsible, you are responsible in any situation .
People take some and avoid some responsibilities. But the logic is that you should own responsibility according to your ability and recognizable traits ; Accept the responsibility for any situation where ever you are for success and satisfaction for now and greater success and satisfaction later. Avoiding responsibility does not help anyone any where any time; It brings shame and regrets in future; Blaming others ( holding others at fault for causing something )  Justifying the Excuses and Denial ( ignoring the existence of something and facts ) are the expression of self guilt and  backfires some time.
Being or not being responsible is a mental aspect and an attitude. By accepting the responsibility you accept the challenges to attain any height, status, authority and many other attributes of responsibility. That leads you to the path of the progress in any sphere. you develop an attitude of discipline and organization which are necessary to purify and stabilize the mind to gain knowledge for spirituality. If you avoid responsibility , you are not responsible to self, the family, the society, employer, to in fact none. It is not a matter of convenience and comfort that one thinks / consider to do this or that. It is a matter of attitude what one should do what one is supposed to do. according to his/her qualifications and skills and specialization and background.
Being irresponsible brings defamation,, downfall, disappointments , regrets and frustration at a later stage in life. From my own experience while in active service, dealing and working with irresponsible people, I found that these people are not aware that they are irresponsible in spite of telling them repeatedly and illustrating them for their irresponsible acts. They do not accept their faults instead try to justify their actions with excuses; Never try to improve even with punishments, incentives, motivations etc. I worked hard to bring a change in this kind of people but without any results except in one or two cases with great and constant efforts.
Accept the challenges and responsibilities in life and get organized and disciplined to lead a better , meaningful and spiritual  life .

No one thinks about personal responsibility when things go well

KRISHNA and RAM: Comparison

Both are reincarnation- Avtar of Shri Vishnu but they came at different times with different missions;
1; Ram was born in a PALACE as a Prince in Soorya Vansh while Krishna was born in Chandra Vansh with struggle in the PRISON;
2; Ram was born at MID-Noon while Krishna was at MID-Night;
3. Ram ruled as King , Krishna never ruled as King;
4. Ram had only one wife while Krishna had several;
5. Ram killed  Indra's son, Bali and saved Soorya's son Sugreev; while Krishna saved Indra's son Arjun and managed to kill Soorya's son Karan;
6.Ram Lived 11,000 years while Krishna lived only 125 years;
7. Ram fought a war HIMSELF while Krishna never fought a war ( even avoided the war and hence known as RANCHHOD);
8. Ram traveled from North to South while Krishna mostly from West to East;
9. Ram never preached while Krishna was a great preacher ( known as Jagatguru) and gave a great philosophy of Geeta even in the battle field.
10.Ram as a Prince , had education from two Braham Rishis; Vashist ji and Vishwamitraji; ( any way , Ramayan was the time of Rishis .. ) while Krishna had formal education from Rishi, Sandeepanji;

For more detailed information, you may browse following link;

 http://sushmajee.com/v-raamaayan/notes/raam-mahaa/1-2-1-raam-krishn.htm

SHRAVAN Maas ; significance

 SHRAVAN maas is known as Lord Shiva's month when people all over worship HIM, maata Parvati, Lord Ganesh, Kartike and Nandi.
 A detailed description is given about LORD SHIVA, Shiva temples and Jyotirlinga etc. are given on  this site;
 http://sushmajee.com/shiv/index-shiv.htm

As Vedic Karma, we perform certain rituals including celebrating festivals and keeping fast on certain days and during certain months; details about them are given on this site
http://sushmajee.com/shiv/stories-2/51-som-vrat.htm

For each month and especially for one could see about SHRAVAN month on the following site;
http://sushmajee.com/vrat-festivals/vrat/maas-vrat/5-shraavan-vrat.htm

Stories related to the fasting on MONDAYS are given on this site;
http://sushmajee.com/shiv/stories-2/51-som-vrat.htm

SOCIAL CAPITAL

SOCIAL CAPITAL though a new concept but has been practiced in India from ancient times. SOCIAL CAPITAL is built on the basis of mutual trust, faith, interest, share and care. It even helps building the MATERIAL CAPITAL and FINANCIAL CAPITAL directly or indirectly and finally SPIRITUAL CAPITAL. It provides you great personal satisfaction and contentment. Its success depends upon the strength of your social networks. You may have several networks , social network of your friends and relatives; professional network of professionals ( most useful now for job prospects and career advancement and many other beneficial aspects of life etc.); Intellectual and spiritual networks of mentors and spiritual gurus. Once developed, these groups/networks go on increasing , providing you more and more benefits from interconnected networks. Accordingly your Social Capital goes on growing and its balance never goes down. It leads you for mental stability and hence an opportunity to gain the knowledge required to understand others and finally and more to SELF. It helps us to build up our SPIRITUAL CAPITAL - the ultimate resource to go with us at the time of our final departure from the world, leaving other capitals and resources back here itself. Depending upon the success and strength, partially, Social Capital may also go with you to be with you in the next birth.
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People come together to form the groups or networks ( also known as cooperative societies or clubs etc. best example are found in Gujarat for all kinds of networks and their visible success all over the world for Gujarati community); INFORMATION has become the most important and main resource  for the success and strength of all these networks. We all know the potential of information especially now living in the information society; and that ICT- Information Communication Technology has given the boost  for sharing the information locally and very widely around the globe and establishing even larger social networks and hence providing opportunity for building more and more Social Capital.

Rituals, Prayers and Yajna

RITUALS, Prayers and Yajna etc. 

Isvara, the Lord is to be recognized in the form of various and numerous cosmic forces , aspects or elements. These forces are viewed individually and are called devatas or devas or deities .
The Sun, Water, Fire, Air and Earth ( they are most visible to us ) and numerous other aspects or elements of WHOLE- the GOD , in the form of devatas or deities have been doing their respective jobs to sustain our lives for the time immemorial. What they have been giving us, we must also give them back something in return, at least recognition and appreciation by remembering them, by offering them oblation and prayer. They do not need anything from us but we need to respect them which is done in the form of prayers, yajan and rituals.
Out of these crores of devi devatas, FIVE, Ganeshji, Durgaji, Vishnu, Mahesh ( Shivji) and Suryadevji are worshipped daily by most of us. Among these five, SUN is not only the visible devata but most visible one . A recognition and sensitivity is involved here and therefore, we are advised that we must rise in time ( before the sun rise ) to welcome the Sun. The Sun is a blessing and when a blessing comes one should not be sleeping. One must be wide awake for its coming to receive the blessings.
see also
https://www.blogger.com/u/1/blogger.g?blogID=7434278182063497637#editor/target=post;postID=6270048756062122595;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=0;src=postname

Habit

Habit is the cumulative effect of our tendencies , behaviours and actions of past several lives. Therefore, what we get in present life is our sanskaras. It is very difficult to change this acquired trait . It takes a very great effort of will to resist or  to change slightly some particular habit or temptation and throw it out of mind altogether. It needs both physical and mental effort for applying an emotional act to check a habit.
Good qualities are needed for spiritual development, depend initially on good habits. Good habits give us true strength.

ART OF LIVING

Vedas reveal the ART OF LIVING as how to live well  in this world; all the rituals,  yagya, havan,  and prayers etc. to achieve limited desired results ( getting children, job , a house etc. ) . But the part of Vedas the "Vedanta " teaches as how to get out of this world ( the way for Moksh).

RELATIONSHIPS:

RELATIONSHIPS:
An individual is born in a family, at a place or at a particular
time according to his/her prarabhad ( a balance sheet of deeds of
previous lives ).A person is born in Ethiopia or America; Rajiv
Gandhi in the family of Nehru;.....etc.etc.Accordingly, we establish
our relationships depending upon where, which society or family and
time , we are born as many things depend upon the norms of the place
and the time (this is supposedly known as conditioning of the
individuals which in turn develops various traits of the individuals
including the faith and beliefs etc. ).

We have various kinds of relatives and different relationships with
them :

FAMILY RELATIVES: Natural affiliations, provide an opportunity to
associate with our parents , brothers and sisters ( the immediate
relatives in First category); Uncles ( paternal and maternal ) and
their children (cousins) (the next immediate relatives in 2ND
category);they are genetically related to us, mostly born and brought
up almost in the same environment; Let us analyze their
characteristics- How different are the children from their parents or
from their own brothers and sisters in their life styles ( nature,
behavior, communication , speaking, eating, dealings etc. in several
respects ). This difference further increases among 2ND category
relatives for obvious reasons, however ASSOCIATION we develop makes a
lot of difference. ( Association here means living together and
dealing with each other very closely ; the strength of RELATIONSHIP
is directly proportional to the amount of association with each other);

FRIENDS: Self created affiliations, create/ open opportunities for
better and longer association; perhaps, more responsible , dependable
and concerned- but there are only a few in this category.( though
loosely, we call many as our friends ).

COLLEAGUES: automatically affiliated relationship at work place and
other places of activities; again professional relationship provides
an opportunity for closer association as you spend maximum time in
life with them ( at least 8 hrs per day ) interacting, having lunch,
coffee etc. together; ( perhaps, we spend more time with professional
colleagues at work place than one spends even with his/her spouse or
ant other family member ) CLASSMATES and HOSTEL MATES during
schooling period also provide similar opportunities.
.
SPOUSAL RELATIONSHIP ( Conjugal Relationship); the most unique,
strange, permanent and ever lasting relationship. Two strangers meet
at certain point in life and then by the ritual of wedding, they
become wife and husband and consequently by virtue of marriage , all
the others in two families of in-laws become relatives automatically
( most of them unknown before ). Though all the relations are made in
heaven but Marriage is especially mentioned as made in heaven. This
relationship and association develops and progresses in several
stages in life:
Passion Stage ; Stage of intimacy;Immediately after the marriage ,
people feel that they are made for each other like Ram and Sita, Shiv
and Parvati etc. Nature/GOD has designed certain forces which
influence the people to develop close intimacy, care, affection ,
love and interest of all kind for each other. The time period of
immediate intimacy and relationship varies according to the
conditioning of individuals (Conditioning: family,social,
educational, professional and religious background etc.);

Realization Stage: Immediately after the passion stage, may be after
a year or two or even less, one fine morning , one of them or both of
them realize, no , we are different people.Some thing is wrong some
where; some other forces start building up, create misunderstandings,
confusions and conflicts etc. Clashes of interest, differences of
opinions about running the life in the REAL World start popping up.

Rebellion Stage: Differences and conflicts created / developed , now
generate further aggravations leading to SEPARATION or COMPROMISES;
traditionally people tend to compromise, continue living with each
other ever after knowingly fully well their conflicts and
differences.But, in present days, where the tolerance has been
reducing , people opt for separation and think of alternatives.(
superficial values, comparisons, superiority/inferiority complexes
play dubious role in separation ); Marriage as a contract is broken.

Stage of Compromise:After a short lived stage of realization and
rebellion, Marriage is accepted as a compromise. In fact, Marriage is
generally a compromise. Some people accept it as a matter of fate,
some as a matter of fact, but they accept to live together. Children
start coming, equations change, family starts developing and growing.
Joint responsibilities change the spousal relationship to parental
relationship of children. It moves on, Life goes on.New Relationships
start developing......
SAND WITCH STAGE:Around the age of 40 years or so, persons are in a sand witch stage
struggling with the responsibilities for children and aging
parents.Parents and children , both are important and need special
care and attention . Children need for their growth and development
while parents need for their diminishing system. Physically body
gets weaker in its over all functions ( digestive, circulatory,
respiratory etc. ) causing usual problems of Diabetes, hypertension,
etc.etc.; Mentally they loose memory and understanding which further
aggravate the situation, casing anger, anxiety and worry etc.etc.
complex and compounded problems of aging parents;Very crucial time
for most of the people managing their own family and maintaining the
balance with the parents.With new socio-economic environment, the old
traditional joint or collective family system is being broken down
and individualized or unit system is being developed.. New approaches
are developing for the support and assistance for seniors or old
peoples.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

with changing situation globally over time ( Space and Time )  our activities, our
whole perception and cognition and hence the behavioral and emotional
patterns have been changing. So, it hardly matters as who is who?Globalization has completely changed this scenario, though distances
have reduced geographically but increased socially and
psychologically ( so near but so far away from each other); NEW socio-
economic equation combined with and influenced by new technological
developments , creates another dimension in developing and sustaining
our relationships
----------------------------------------------------------------------

For meaningful, everlasting and strong relationship , mutual respect, trust,
attachment, commitment, care, love and affection are very essential
things , of course without any EXPECTATIONS from any one.----------------------------------------------------------------------

Among all the relations, the most respected relations are the MOTHERwho gives the LIFE --the creator and developer of individuals; the
TEACHER(S) who make /shape the LIFE and the DOCTOR(S) who save the
LIFE , and the MENTORS ( could be any person(s)- parents, teachers, friends ,
colleagues or any body in the society ) who give the directions and
meaning for the development and growth of the life.

Retirement Planning : Non-financial planning

For couples, lifestyle planning is as crucial as the financial planning for retirement. The push and pull is a common state affair for newly retired couples.
Retirement is a major transition as getting married or becoming parent. There are three major transition periods/times for any couple when they have to negotiate or renegotiate for better understanding of each other and happy living together;

1. MARRIAGE: People spend lot of time negotiating matrimonial alliance, and drawing conclusion is not easy for strangers to come together to live. Even after, they need lot of compromises and adjustments..  ;

2. PARENTING: Having children, taking care and bring up the children, also need a lot of negotiation, planning as it affects the whole life style of the family and extended family and friends;

3; RETIREMENT: Matured people in their lifestyle, thinking, dealing etc. need to renegotiate, plan for better/ happy living. Now they need more adjustments and compromises ( more than what they had during their married and parental life before ). Levels of understanding, intelligence, biases, whole view of the world around --- family, extended family, friends and now grown-up children and their families also to be taken into consideration ( dealings among three generations of different stages of understanding ).

Physical Body- Mind- senses complex goes through thorough / drastic changes right from childhood to adulthood to old age; P-M-B complex deals with Anatomy, physiology, genetics, psychology, social and financial aspects, Religious and spiritual aspects; In short , for retirement , one should plan:

Maintain healthy lifestyle,
Maintain strong ties with families and friends;
Render some volunteer work to give back to the society;
Develop and maintain effective communication at different levels among the people ( especially with wife and husband to deal with three generations in most cases );
Embark on " spiritual journey"  with good faith;
NEGOTIATE/ Renegotiate very well the terms of the new phase of life. It is more enjoyable if TWO do together.

Relationship

There is very vast literature on relationship as it is a big problem to keep it smooth and manage it in a wider sense.In fact, Relationships are managed not cured; if you want someone to be different, you yourself have to be different;a few tips for good relationship;
. Do not push too hard       ( be patient)
. Do not come across as a-know-it -all     ( be humble)
. Do not be judgemental      ( be accountable)
. Do not take the bait if provoked    ( be strong)
. Do not be mysterious        (be specific)
. Do not hide anything          (be transparent)
. Do not use other as a bad example (use  " .." statements)

The Paper Chase

Robert Fair De Graff revolutionized the market of pocket books through Simon & Schuster in May, 1939 and tapped into a huge reservoir of Americans who nobody realized  wanted to read. With iPhone , e-books , a new revolution in portable publishing appeared of recently but the true revolution began with De Graff whose paperback made reading into an activity that travels everywhere.
Do you know that 30 million trees are cut down annually to produce books in USA?
(Smithsonian.com , May 2013;p14)

Naveen Jain- Technophilanthropist

NAVEEN JAIN - an entrepreneur with passion to solve grand challenges with innovations-Born September 6, 1959; grew up in Uttar Pradesh, India, the son of a civil servant. He became a student of entrepreneurship at a very age. " When you are poor " he says " and basic survival is your concern, you have no alternative but to be entrepreneur.. You must take action to survive, just as an entrepreneur must take action to seize an opportunity".  Jain's actions and opportunities, ultimately put him on a trajectory to Microsoft, and then, through his founding of Infospace and Intelius, onto the Forbes 500 list. " My parents drilled into me the importance of education. It was a gift they themselves never had. I remember how my mother quizzed me in mathematics first thing in the morning and would often demand, Don"t make me solve this for you." Little did I know that she coldn't solve it because she had never been taught math in school. Today we have the technology , though AI, video games, and smart phones, to quiz every child on the planet and assure them access to the best education available. "
Jain signed on as the co chair of X PRIZE's Education and Global Development Advisory Group, and is now focusing his wealth on incentive competition to reinvent education and health care in the developing world. " Technology allowed me to create the capital I now use for philanthropy," he says, " and I can think of no better use of these resources than to focus on eradicating illiteracy and disease around the world. What is truly amazing is that today we actually have the tools to make this happen."

Nizam of Hyderabad

Osman Ali Khan, known as Asaf Jah VII , the last Nizam of Hyderabad and Berar, ruled from 1911 to September 17, 1948. Khan was proclaimed  the richest man in the world by Time Magazine in 1937- a net worth of $210 billion ( 9n 2007 dollars); Time, February 22, 1973.

some couplets

खुदा और जुदा
नुक्ता नीचे लगा तौ जुदा हो गया ,
नुक्ता ऊपर लगा तौ खुदा हो गया

आगाहा  अपनी मौत से कोई बशर नंही !
सामान सौ बरस का पल की खबर नंही !!

जली को आग कहते हैं , बुझी को राख कहते हैं !
जिनके सारे सबूत जल जांयें , उन नेताओं को बेदाग कहते है !!

आज खुदा ने फिर पूछा , तेरा हंसता चेहरा उदास कुंयों है ?तेरी आँखों में पियास कुयों है?
जिसके पास तेरे लिए वकत ही नहीं , वही तेरे लिए खास कियों है ?

रख होंसला तौ मंजर भी आयेगा ,पिआसे के पास् चल कर समुन्दर भी आयेगा !
थक कर न बेठ ऐ मंजिल के मुसाफिर , मंजिल भी मिलेगी, और मिलने का मजा भी आयेगा !!

सारा जहाँ है उसका जो मुस्कराना सीख ले  !
सारी  रौशनी है उसकी जो शमा जलना सीख ले !!
हर गली मे है मंदिर, हर राहा मे है मस्जिद !
ईश्वर है उसका जो सर झुकाना सीख ले !!

Dau Rangi Duniya

एक बाप के दो बेटे , किस्मत जुदा जुदा है , एक भाई बादशाह है , एक कैद में पड़ा है
निकले थे दो मोती - गो एक ह़ी सदफ से , एक पिस रहा है खरल में -एक ताज मे जड़ा है
टहनी पे फूल बाहम गो एक ही चमन थे , एक ज़ुल्फ़ मे लगा है , एक कबर पर चढ़ा है
चन्दन के थे दो टुकड़े , एक साँप के तले है और एक तिलक बन कर माथे पर लग रहा है
किया ही अजब शै है दो रंग यह ज़माना , जो आज बादशाह है , कल को वह ही गदा है

OM JAI JAGDISH HARE: Aarti

" OM JAI JADISH HARE " is the most sung devotional song ( aarti ) sung all over the world , each day in Hinduu households and temples. The song was composed by Pandit Sharadha Philauri in or around 1870s. Pandit Sharadha Nand ji was born in Phillaur near Ludhiana in Punjab.

ॐ जय जगदीश हरे ;
सब से अधिक गाये जानेवाला भजन /आरती है जो सभी हिन्दु परिवारों तथा मंदिरों में प्रति दिन सारे संसार मे गाई जाती है ; इसके रचयिता हैं पंडित शरधा फिल्लौरिया जो फिल्लौरिया गाँव मे लुधिअना के पास पंजाब मे पैदा हुए थे ; अथारासोसत्तर मे या उसके आस पास मे इसकी रचना की थी !

WEBSITE for Children: www.sushmajee.com

www.sushmajee.com is fully devoted for religious and spiritual literature and ideas about Puranas, Upanishads, Ramaya, Mahabharat , Geeta etc; Biographies of ancients personalities, Rajas and Rishies etc, religious dictionary and stories etc.

Besides, it includes information about Gayatri Siddhpeeth, Khadesar ( near Kanpur, UP); and

Six very nice publications of Shri Bhagwan Das Lahoti under the name of Daskriti :
Das Kriti - Here are Bhagwan Das Lahoti's works.
(1) Adhyaatm Raamaayan
(2) Raam Gaan - Raamaayan written here in English Language poetry. 
(3) Rudra Sanhitaa - A section of Shiv Puraan, in Hindi Language poetry.
(4) Krishn Leelaamrit - Bhaagvat Puraan's 10th Skandh in Hindi Language poetry.
(5) Devee Bhaagvat - Devee Bhaagvat in Hindi language poetry.
(6) Ganesh

 But , there is lot of very interesting and useful stuff for the children especially those who live outside of India;


Shishu Sansaar - Materials for children - Stories  -

Akbar and Birbal,	Mythological,	Animal	Great Indians,	Science,
Arabian Nights,	Religious,	Children	Great People,	Games,
Vikram and Vaitaal,	Asur,	Educational,	Indian Reformers	Sayings,
Sinhaasan Batteesee,	Gods,	Historical,		Quizzes,
Jaatak	Rishi,	Love Stories,		Other Websites for Children
Panchtantra	Mahaabhaarat	Religious		Videos for Children
		Sheikh Chillee

 

Happiness Makeover

We can certainly take some steps to improve our happiness.World Database of Happiness, a compilation of all available research on the subject could be seen at:
www1.eur.nl/fsw/happiness
Out of the ten steps to be taken to improve happiness , I like to discuss some aspects of them here;
Daily Dose of FRIENDS: " A strong social network is foundational " says Jim Harter , a chief scientist at Gallup and coauthor of  Wellbieng : The Five Essential Elements. Happy people PURPOSEFULLY plan for social times and get enough time of interaction with friends and/or family. Another research by Harvard's University's Nicholas Christakis, shows that if you proactively choose the right social network, bliss can be contagious.With each happy friend we add to our social circle, our own happiness grows by 9 percent. For each unhappy friend, our happiness declines by 7 percent. So find people you like, and commit to routines that put you in contact with them regularly. If you do not have healthy, trustworthy friends, expand your social networks- you will get a big happiness boost.
Social connectedness is a more direct pathway to well-being. Therefore, it is necessary to develop the social skills right from the childhood.
I very strongly believe in a good social network. From my experience right from childhood till now, I enjoy the benefit of social networking and feel very happy. Now, it adds to my happiness by finding old and long-time forgotten friends all over.
December 2013:
Happiness is not just about feeling good or having positive emotions.It is also an ability to deal with difficulties in life, to feel involved in your community, to recognize your own strengths, and to perceive the life you are living as that is meaningful.

Mahesh: My best friend

Mahesh Prakash, son of Shri Gyan Prakash ji from one of our family wing (Our ancestral family became too big, so it was known by its three different wings, namely mahelwale, kothiwale and our own wing.)- kothiwale.We were childhood friends. We were together in Chandpur and later in Meerut. Later he went to study Law in Lucknow University and I went BHU for my further education. We were known as the best friends .There are so many things which will will always remain in my memory. He was caring , dependable and most trustworthy person I ever had around. We had very clear understanding about each other, each other's feelings, emotions and needs.
He was not very intelligent but quite witty and sharp in conversation. He was always practical in his approach. He never had any second class in any of his examinations though in Law as there was no third division in that subject. He had several sisters and one brother . All his family members including his parents were living with him in Bijnor since he started his legal practice. He was fortunate having the succession of the most famous lawyer of Bijnor . Shri Jagdish Prashad left for the High Court leaving behind his office to be taken over by then his legal assistant, Mahesh. He took over nicely and within very short time he was very successful lawyer in Bijnor and became very popular in the District. Earned lot of money, constructed a big and nice house in civil lines; He took the responsibility of all his family members; sisters got married; brother got educated; He loved his family and took good care of all of them. He had earned all the means and resources. I feel sorry and sad that he could not do much for his own family- two daughters and a son as he died young prematurely leaving all of them on their own fate which was really bad for them. He died young at the age of fifty only with a prolonged illness of Neferitis Syndrom; perhaps, he could have been saved if his kidney would have been replaced timely. Knowingly or unknowingly, no body took care of his poor health what he deserved. My last meeting or to say departing meeting was in one of the evening when myself, Suresh and he had dinner together in his house. His office was taken over by his assistant, Subhash who later became very successful and popular like him. His parents died soon after his death as they were under great shock and stress because of their beloved and worthy son ; his son could not complete his education and entered into bad company and developed bad habits. His whole family was dislocated, had all kinds of problems; sold their house in Bijnor, shifted to Ghaziabad; almost ruined; rising to the top and then falling to the bottom; terrible end of his name and fame etc.A pure play of destiny. Rise and fall was dramatic and very sharp. I have yet to see so sudden rise and so sudden fall and such a case of pure play of fate and destiny especially of his wife Usha who has gone through all this play. A wonderful family with all happiness, riches and resources broken down to almost nothing. 
It looks like that he came for a purpose to settle down his parents family who all of them nicely settled.
July 2012: Virendra told me that his wife Usha died of blood cancer recently. I simply said that it is good for her that she is relieved from all these long sufferings. In fact she suffered in so many ways- financially, physically mentally, and socially . A lady who lived like a queen in riches and style, lived in rags and in miserable conditions after the death of her huuband.
I feel sorry and sad about his family. At time to time, I feel about him, his absence and his family. He will ever remain in my memory.

Status of daughters ( girls ) in our family

In general, the status of women in our society used to be very poor which of course has changed and improved a lot of recently with new developments in women education, awareness of rights, changing socio-economic environment in new trend of globalization, media etc.The status of daughters/ girls in our family , not of women ( daughter-in-laws ) , if I look back to several generations back was very poor. I could recollect the data upto the generation of my grandfather; My grandfather were five brothers and only one sister- RAM KATORI, married in Nehtaur; now completely forgotten family.I wonder if anyone  knows about her and her family? I observed ( during my childhood time ) that out of five brothers, she used to come to only our place at least once in a year. She used to come by herself alone , perhaps without any invitation or escort. She had two sons, I never saw the elder one, Shri Musaddi Lal ji, though I knew and met several times the younger one- Shri Damodar Das as he used to live with his sister, Smt Daropdi Devi in Chandpur. We knew  Buwaji, the daughter of Dadiji and her family as they lived in Chandpur. We had very close contact with them. I wonder if any of her brother cared for her not that they did not love her. Perhaps, she was the next to my grandfather ?
In the next generation of my father, the three brothers had one sister, CHAMELI DEVI, Married to Shri Ram Kumar Arya, Dhampur. The same story with her. I never observed that she ever visited her two other brothers, she used to visit only to our home in Jhalu, alone ; I never saw Phupaji visiting anyone in our family.She is also forgotten and her family is simply not known to most of us except my younger brother, Lakshmi Narain who lived with her for some time. I wonder if Rakesh or Dinesh know her and her family at all. I wonder if the same situation remains with the daughter of other grandfathers; though I know , Smt Sumarni Devi , daughter of Shri Chhangi Mal ji; and some of the daughters of Shri Behari Lal ji, especially Gyan Buwaji who used to live in Bijnor. Indraji, Kamlaji and Ramlaji, three daughters of Shri Har Prasad ji were quite known to many of us as that family was most visible
Among five of us, we had two sisters; One is dead prematurely and another younger one is widowed about two years now. Let us evaluate their situation; Lakshmi and her family is almost forgotten except for special occasions; Nobody cares for them; I am not saying about the reasons as why is it so.
With the exception of special occasion like wedding , daughters in our family were not seen much.
In my next generation, we have Sapna and her brother Sameer; Manish and his sister Radha and Ankur and his sister Dolly.Considering the effect of globalization, limitation of time with individuals, increasing distances and personal problems and priorities, I wonder that situation would be any better of our daughters in the family.
Cousins are cousins, who cares for them, relationship with them is very loose and fragile and fades away with time.
During our generation, Time was not the constraint; everyone had enough time for each other; Distances were small, most of the relatives used to live within 50 miles or less; most of the relatives were known to each other very well and closely; visits were quite frequent and very routinely on special occasions and festivals, though the means of transportation were very poor- Bullock carts or motors lorries on some routes , if not every day, once in a week or so. Fairs and festivals were the occasions when people used to meet each other.