Shukla Bose: Teaching one child at a time

Educating the poor is more than just a numbers game, says Shukla Bose. She tells the story of her groundbreaking Parikrma Humanity Foundation, which brings hope to India's slums by looking past the daunting statistics and focusing on treating each child as an individual.

 

Pays to proof read!

The young monk’s first day.

He is assigned to helping the other monks in copying the old canons and laws of the church by hand.

He notices, however, that all of the monks are copying from copies, not from the original manuscript.

So, the new monk goes to the head abbot to question this, pointing out that if someone made even a small error in the first copy, it would never be picked up! In fact, that error would be continued in all of the subsequent copies.

The head monk, says, 'We have been copying from the copies for centuries, but you make a good point, my son.' He goes down into the dark caves underneath the monastery where the original manuscripts are held as archives in a locked vault that hasn't been opened for hundreds of years.

Hours go by and nobody sees the old abbot. So, the young monk gets worried and goes down to look for him. He sees him banging his head against the wall and wailing.

"We missed the R! We missed the R! We missed the R!

His forehead is all bruised and he is crying uncontrollably. The young monk asks the old abbot,

'What's wrong, father?' With a choking voice, the old abbot replies,

'The word was... CELEBRATE’.

KIDS - Now & Then!

Thought of the Day..

Life Is Very Similar To A Boxing Ring...

DEFEAT Is Not DECLARED,...

When YOU FALL Down...

Its DECLARED...

When YOU REFUSE To Get Up...         

Samay Nathi..

સંબંધનો એક ચમકારો પણ પૂરતો હોય છે (ચિંતનની પળે)

ચિંતનની પળે - કૃષ્ણકાંત ઉનડકટ

ધન વિના મોજશોખ માણે છે, કોઈ એવા અમીરને ઓળખ,
તું જ આસન લગાવ અંતરમાં, તું જ તારા કબીરને ઓળખ.
- હરજીવન દાફડા

દરેક સંબંધનું એક આયુષ્ય હોય છે. કોઈ સંબંધ કાયમી હોતા નથી. માણસ એની એક જિંદગીમાં અનેક સંબંધો જીવે છે. એક સમયે જે સૌથી નજીક હોય એ થોડા જ સમયમાં દૂર થઈ જાય છે. ઘણી વખત જેની કલ્પના પણ ન હોય એ વ્યક્તિ નજીક આવી જાય છે. સંબંધોનાં કોઈ કારણ નથી હોતાં. કોઈ વ્યક્તિ શા માટે તમારો દોસ્ત છે? કોઈ વ્યક્તિને મળવાનું શા માટે મન થાય છે? જે ગમતું હોય એ જ કેમ દૂર થઈ જાય છે? દૂર થવું હોય તેનાથી દૂર નથી થવાતું અને નજીક રહેવું હોય તેને દૂર જતાં રોકી નથી શકાતા! આ બધું કોણ નક્કી કરે છે? શું સંબંધો નસીબનો જ એક ભાગ છે? આપણને સમજે અને આપણને ગમે એવા લોકો કેમ બહુ થોડા હોય છે?

એક બાળકે તેના ટીચરને પૂછયું, પરી કેમ માત્ર સપનામાં જ આવે છે? ટીચરે કહ્યું કે, આપણાં મનમાં આપણને ગમતી વ્યક્તિની એક કલ્પના હોય છે. એ આપણને રૂબરૂ નથી મળતી ત્યારે સપનામાં આવે છે. દરેક વ્યક્તિના મનમાં અમુક સંબંધો જીવતાં હોય છે, એ ઘણી વખત સજીવન થઈને સામે આવી જાય છે. મોટા થતાં જઈએ એમ સંબંધો બદલાય છે અને સપનાઓ પણ બદલાય છે. મોટા થઈ જઈએ પછી કેમ પરી સપનામાં નથી આવતી? કારણ કે આપણે તેને ભૂલી ગયા હોઈએ છીએ.

સંબંધો સપનાં જેવા છે. ક્યારેક ઊગી નીકળે છે અને ક્યારેક તૂટી જાય છે. આપણને કંઈ લેવા દેવા ન હોય એવી વ્યક્તિ ઘણી વખત આપણી સાવ નજીક હોય છે. ખુશીમાં યાદ આવતાં લોકો અને તકલીફમાં યાદ આવી જતાં લોકો ઘણી વાર જુદા જુદા હોય છે. તમે કેવા લોકો સાથે જીવો છે, કેવા લોકોને મળો છે, કોની સાથે તમને ગમે છે, કોની સાથે તમને ફાવે છે, તેના ઉપરથી તમે કેવા છો એ નક્કી થતું હોય છે. એક ફિલોસોફરે સરસ વાત કરી છે કે તમારે કોઈ વ્યક્તિને સમજવી કે પારખવી હોય તો તેના મિત્રો અને તેના સંબંધો કોની સાથે છે તેની તપાસ કરો, એ માણસ કેવો છે એ તમને ખબર પડી જશે.

માણસ બદલાય છે એમ એના સંબંધો બદલાય છે. શાળાના મિત્રો જુદા હોય છે, કોલેજના ફ્રેન્ડસ વળી સાવ જુદા હોય છે. સાથે કામ કરનારા લોકોમાંથી અમુક આપણને સારા લાગે છે. બાજુની ચેરમાં બેસીને કામ કરતી વ્યક્તિ પાસે હોય છે પણ સાથે નથી હોતી અને દૂર રહેતા લોકો પાસે નથી હોતા પણ નજીક હોય છે. ઘણા લોકો ચાલ્યા જાય પછી જ યાદ આવતા હોય છે. દૂર જાય ત્યારે જ તેની કિંમત સમજાય છે.

એક ભાઈની બાજુમાં બેસતા કર્મચારીની બદલી થઈ. એ માણસ ઓછું બોલતો પણ જ્યારે બોલતો ત્યારે સુંદર બોલતો. સારું થયું હોય ત્યારે અભિનંદન આપતો અને કંઈ ભૂલ થઈ ગઈ હોય તો સુધારવામાં મદદ કરતો. એ માણસ પ્રેમથી બધાની વિદાય લઈ ચાલ્યો ગયો. તેની જગ્યાએ જે માણસ આવ્યો એ બોલકો હતો. નક્કામી અને વાહિયાત વાતો કરતો રહેતો. કામ હોય ત્યારે છટકી જાય. બદલી પામીને ચાલ્યો ગયો હતો એ માણસ વારંવાર યાદ આવી જતો. કેટલાંક સંબંધો હોય ત્યારે નથી સમજાતા અને ન હોય ત્યારે આવા સંબંધો જિવાઈ જતાં હોય છે.

કેટલાક સંબંધો આગિયા જેવા હોય છે. જરાક અમથા ઝબકીને અજવાળું આપી ચાલ્યા જાય. આગિયાની એક ખૂબી ખબર છે? એ અંધારું હોય ત્યારે જ દેખાય છે. ચારે બાજુ રોશની હોય ત્યારે આગિયાની હાજરી વર્તાતી નથી. કેટલાંક સંબંધો પણ એવા જ હોય છે, એ અંધારા કે મુશ્કેલી વખતે જ પ્રગટે છે. ક્યાંક કોઈ રોશની ન હોય, ક્યાંય ધ્યાન પડતું ન હોય ત્યારે એ સંબંધ જીવતો થાય છે અને મુશ્કેલી દૂર થતાં જ ગુમ થઈ જાય છે. આવા લોકો અને આવા સંબંધો ઘણી વખત એન્જલ કે ચમત્કાર જેવા લાગતા હોય છે. દરેકની જિંદગીમાં ક્યારેક આવી કોઈ વ્યક્તિ આવી જતી હોય છે જે બહુ થોડો સમય રહે છે અને પછી તેની હાજરી સતત વર્તાય છે.

એક માણસ વિદેશ ગયો. અગાઉ ક્યારેય ન ગયો હોય એવું નવું શહેર હતું. આજુબાજુમાં અનેક લોકો હતા, પણ બધા જ અજાણ્યા. કોઈ સામું ન જુએ અને બધા ફટાફટ પસાર થઈ જાય. એ માણસ નવી ધરતી પર ઉદાસ હતો. ક્યાંય ગમતું ન હતું. ગુમસૂમ બેઠો હતો. અચાનક જ એક માણસ આવ્યો. ‘હાય’ કરીને વાતો શરૂ કરી. સાથે કોફી પીવા લઈ ગયો. મજાથી વાતો કરી. હસ્યો અને હસાવતો રહ્યો. અડધી કલાક પછી એ ઊભો થયો અને કહ્યું કે બાય, હું જાઉં છું. તેણે ન તો નામ પૂછયું હતું કે ન નામ કહ્યું હતું. એ જતો હતો ત્યારે પેલા ભાઈએ તેને પૂછયું, તમે કોણ છો? આમ અચાનક મને ખુશ અને હળવો કરીને તમે ચાલ્યા જાવ છો? તમે કોઈ ફરિશ્તા છો? પેલા માણસે આંખમાં આંખ પરોવી અને કહ્યું કે, ના, હું ફરિશ્તો નથી. એક અજાણ્યો માણસ છું. પહેલી વખત આ દેશમાં અને આ શહેરમાં આવ્યો છું. મને ક્યાંય ગમતું ન હતું. જીવ ઉદાસ હતો. તમને જોયા અને મને થયું કે આપણામાં કંઈક સરખું છે. કદાચ એ આપણા બંનેની ઉદાસી હતી. મને થયું કે તમારી સાથે વાત કરું, થોડુંક હસું અને આપણા બંનેની ઉદાસી દૂર કરું. દોસ્ત, મારે નામ નથી કહેવું, આપણો સંબંધ કદાચ આટલી ક્ષણો પૂરતો જ હતો. મારે તો એટલું સમજવું હતું કે, આપણી ઉદાસી દૂર કરવી હોય તો કોઈની ઉદાસી દૂર કરવી જોઈએ. ક્યારેય એકલતા ફિલ ન કરો. આટલું કહી એ ચાલ્યો ગયો. એ માણસ ગયો અને બધી જ ઉદાસી સાથે લેતો ગયો.

કોણ હતો એ ખબર નથી પણ જ્યારે મન ઉદાસ હોય ત્યારે એ નજર સામે આવી જાય છે અને બધી ઉદાસી ચાલી જાય છે. એને મેં નામ આપ્યું છે, આગિયો!

ઘણી વખત સાવ અજાણી જગ્યાએ આવા થોડીક વાર ચમકી જતાં સંબંધો મળી આવે છે. સંબંધો જીવનનો એક ભાગ છે કે પછી સંબંધો જ જીવન છે? કોઈ ચોક્કસ પરિસ્થિતિમાં તમે કેવું વર્તન કરો છો અને આખી સ્થિતિને કેવી રીતે ટ્રીટ કરો છો તેના પરથી તમારા સંબંધોનું માપ નીકળતું હોય છે.

ઓળખતા હોય તેવા લોકો અને ઓળખતા ન હોય તેવા લોકો સાથેના આપણા સંબંધ કેવા હોય છે? એક વાત યાદ રાખો કે ઓળખતા ન હોય તેવા લોકો સાથેના સંબંધો પણ તમારી છાપ છોડી જતાં હોય છે. કોઈ રસ્તો પૂછે ત્યારે તમે જે રીતે વાત કરો છો તેના પરથી પણ તમારું માપ નીકળતું હોય છે. તમે એ રસ્તે ન જાવ, એ રસ્તો આગળથી બંધ છે, તમારે ધક્કો થશે. બહેતર એ છે કે તમે બીજા રસ્તે જાવ. થોડું દૂર થશે પણ તમે વહેલા પહોંચશો. આવું કોઈ કહે ત્યારે આપણે તેને ન ઓળખતા હોઈએ તો પણ એવું ફિલ થાય છે કે કેવો સારો માણસ છે. તમારા વિશે કોઈને આવો અભિપ્રાય છે?

સંબંધો લાંબા ગાળાના હોય કે ટૂંકા ગાળાના, વર્ષોના હોય કે ક્ષણોના, આપણા સંબંધોથી આપણી કક્ષા મપાતી હોય છે. કાયમી રોશની ન આપી શકાય તો ક્યારેક આગિયા બનીને ચળકી જવામાં પણ મજા છે, કારણ કે આવા સંબંધો ઘણી વાર આખી જિંદગી રોશની ફેલાવતા રહે છે.

છેલ્લો સીન

સામેનો માણસ ‘કેવો છે?’ એનો જવાબ ‘આપણે કેવા છીએ?’ એ સવાલમાં છુપાયો હોય છે.

Manav..

The Old Phone..

When I was quite young, my father had one of the first telephones in our neighborhood. I remember the polished, old case fastened to the wall. The shiny receiver hung on the side of the box. I was too little to reach the telephone, but used to listen with fascination when my mother talked to it.

Then I discovered that somewhere inside the wonderful device lived an amazing person. Her name was 'Information Please' and there was nothing she did not know. 'Information Please' could supply anyone's number and the correct time.

My personal experience with the genie-in-a-bottle came one day while my mother was visiting a neighbor. Amusing myself at the tool bench in the basement, I whacked my finger with a hammer. The pain was terrible, but there seemed no point in crying because there was no one home to give sympathy.
I walked around the house sucking my throbbing finger, finally arriving at the stairway. The telephone! Quickly, I ran for the footstool in the parlour and dragged it to the landing. Climbing up, I unhooked the receiver in the parlor and held it to my ear. 'Information, please,' I said into the mouthpiece just above my head.

A click or two and a small clear voice spoke into my ear. 'Information.'
'I hurt my finger...' I wailed into the phone. The tears came readily enough now that I had an audience.
'Isn't your mother home?' came the question.
'Nobody's home but me,' I blubbered.
'Are you bleeding?' the voice asked.
'No,' I replied. 'I hit my finger with the hammer and it hurts.'
'Can you open the icebox?' she asked.
I said I could.
'Then chip off a little bit of ice and hold it to your finger,' said the voice. 

After that, I called 'Information Please' for everything I asked her for help with my geography, and she told me where Philadelphia was. She helped me with my math. She told me my pet chipmunk that I had caught in the park just the day before, would eat fruit and nuts. Then, there was the time Petey, our pet canary, died. I called, 'Information Please', and told her the sad story. She listened, and then said things grown-ups say to soothe a child. But I was not consoled. I asked her, 'Why is it that birds should sing so beautifully and bring joy to all families, only to end up as a heap of feathers on the bottom of a cage?'

She must have sensed my deep concern, for she said quietly, 'Paul, always remember that there are other worlds to sing in.'

Somehow I felt better.

Another day I was on the telephone, 'Information Please'
'Information,' said in the now familiar voice.
'How do I spell fix?' I asked.

All this took place in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. When I was nine years old, we moved across the country to Boston. I missed my friend very much. 'Information Please' belonged in that old wooden box back home and I somehow never thought of trying the shiny new phone that sat on the table in the hall. As I grew into my teens, the memories of those childhood conversations never really left me. Often, in moments of doubt and perplexity I would recall the serene sense of security I had then. I appreciated now how patient, understanding, and kind she was to have spent her time on a little boy.

A few years later, on my way west to college, my plane put down in Seattle. I had about a half-hour or so between planes. I spent 15 minutes or so on the phone with my sister, who lived there now. Then without thinking what I was doing, I dialled my hometown operator and said, 'Information Please'.

Miraculously, I heard the small, clear voice I knew so well. 'Information.' I hadn't planned this, but I heard myself saying, 'Could you please tell me how to spell fix?'

There was a long pause. Then came the soft spoken answer, 'I guess your finger must have healed by now.'
I laughed, 'So it's really you,' I said. 'I wonder if you have any idea how much you meant to me during that time?'

I wonder,' she said, 'if you know how much your call meant to me. I never had any children and I used to look forward to your calls.'

I told her how often I had thought of her over the years and I asked if I could call her again when I came back to visit my sister.

'Please do', she said. 'Just ask for Sally.'

Three months later I was back in Seattle. A different voice answered, 'Information.' I asked for Sally.

'Are you a friend?' she said.

'Yes, a very old friend,' I answered.

'I'm sorry to have to tell you this,' she said. 'Sally had been working part-time the last few years because she was sick. She died five weeks ago.'

Before I could hang up she said, 'Wait a minute, did you say your name was Paul?'
'Yes,' I answered.
'Well, Sally left a message for you. She wrote it down in case you called. Let me read it to you.' The note said, 'Tell him there are other worlds to sing in. He'll know what I mean.'

I thanked her and hung up. I knew what Sally meant.

Never underestimate the impression you may make on others! You just never know! Whose life have you touched today?

Thought of the Day..

Every battle is not meant to be fought & every point is not meant to be proven.

Some things in life are just meant to be..!

Bedtime Story..

360° Aerial Panorama

AirPano is a noncommercial project focused on high resolution 3D aerial panoramas. AirPano team is the group of russian photographers and panorama enthusiasts. During the next 2-3 years they plan to shoot the aerial panoramas and create the virtual 3D tours of the most interesting places of our planet.

Very Impressive!

Wireless..

Forgiveness..

Who Packed Your Parachute?

Sometimes in the daily challenges that life gives us, we miss what is really important. We may fail to say hello, please, or thank you, congratulate someone on something wonderful that has happened to them, give a compliment, or just do something nice for no reason.

Charles Plumb, a US Naval Academy graduate, was a jet pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy lands. He was captured and spent 6 years in a communist Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal and now lectures on lessons learned from that experience.

One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at another table came up and said, "You're Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!" "How in the world did you know that?" asked Plumb. "I packed your parachute," the man replied.

Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand and said, "I guess it worked!" Plumb assured him, "It sure did. If your chute hadn't worked, I wouldn't be here today."

Plumb couldn't sleep that night, thinking about that man. Plumb says, "I kept wondering what he might have looked like in a Navy uniform: A white hat, a bib in the back, and bell bottom trousers. I wonder how many times I might have seen him and not even said good morning, how are you or anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot, and he was just a sailor."

Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor had spent on a long wooden table in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands each time the fate of someone he didn't know.

Now, Plumb asks his audience, "Who's packing your parachute?"

Everyone has someone who provides what they need to make it through the day. Plumb also points out that he needed many kinds of parachutes when his plane was shot down over enemy territory - he needed his physical parachute, his mental parachute, his emotional parachute, and his spiritual parachute. He called on all these supports before reaching safety. His experience reminds us all to prepare ourselves to weather whatever storms lie ahead. As you go through this week, this month, this year... recognize people who pack your parachute!

"દવા ની સાથે સાથે દિલ થી કરેલી દુવાઓ પણ કામ કરે છે"

ડૉ.શરદભાઇ અમદાવાદ શહેરના જાણીતા સ્ત્રીરોગ નિષ્ણાંત છે. એમના જીવનનો આ યાદગાર પ્રસંગ એમના જ શબ્દોમાં:

“આ વાતને વીસ વર્ષ થ્યાં છે. મારે ત્યાં દીકરાનો જન્મ થયો. સમય કરતાં એ ઘણો વહેલો આવી ગયેલો. જન્મ સમયે એનું વજન માંડ દોઢ કિલોગ્રામ. અત્યંત નબળો બાંધો. મારા મિત્ર ડૉકટરે સલાહઆપી કે, તાત્કાલિક આને નારણપુરા ખાતેની એક પ્રસિધ્ધ હૉસ્પિટલમાં લઇ જાવ. એને કાચની પેટીમાં ઘણો લાંબો વખત રાખવો પડશે.

આખા અમદાવાદમાં એ સમયે માંડ બે-ત્રણ જગ્યાએ જ કદાચ આ સુવિધા ઉપલબ્ધ હતી. મારા દીકરાને દાખલ કર્યો. એ સમયે અન્ય નવજત બાળકો પણ ત્યાં હતાં. બે-ત્રણ દિવસે એકાદ બાળક ઇશ્વરને પ્યારું થઇ જતું હતું. હું ખૂબ જ હતાશ થઇ ગયો હતો. ડૉક્ટર પણ એમના શક્ય તમામ પ્રયાસો કરતા હતા.

મારા દીકરાની સ્થિતિ ઘણી જ ચિંતાજનક હતી. આ પરિસ્થિતિમાં મણિનગર ખાતેનું મારું દવાખાનું પણ ચાલુ રાખવું જરૂરી હતું. કારણ મારા દર્દીઓને તકલિફ પડે, તો જાય ક્યાં? હું આખી રાત મારા દીકરા પાસે રહેતો અને સવારે ઘેર આવી, નાહી-પરવારી સવારના દર્દીઓને તપાસ મારા દીકરાની હાલતમાં ખાસ કોઇ સુધારો જણાતો ન હતો. આપરિસ્થિતિમાં એને અન્ય જગ્યાએ લઇ જવો પણ કેવી રીતે? ડૉક્ટરે પણ ઉપરવાળા ઉપર ભરોસો રાખવાનો દિલાસો આપી દીધેલો.

એક દિવસે સાંજના મારી ઓપીડી પતાવી હું દીકરાને જોવા અધીરો થઇ રહ્યો હતો, ત્યાં જ મારા સ્ટાફ નર્સે કહ્યું કે કોઇ મુસ્લિમ બાઇ આવી છે. મેં કહ્યું કે, સમય પૂરો થઇ ગયો છે. કાલે આવવાનું કહી દો. હું દરવાજા બંધ કરી બહાર નીકળી રહ્યો હતો ને એ મુસ્લિમ બાનુ હાથ જોડી મને કરગરી રહીહતી. હું ગુસ્સે થઇ ગયો. ‘મારે બહાર જવાનું છે. તમે કાલે આવજો.’ જવાબમાં એ રીતસરની મારી સામે ઝૂકી પડી. ‘સાહેબ, ખાનપુરથી ચાલતાં આવ્યા છીએ.મારી હાલત જુઓ. અવતીકાલે પાછું ચાલીને જ આવવું પડશે. દયા કરો સાહેબ, અલ્લાહ…. તમારા દીકરાને ખૂબ લાંબુ આયુષ્ય આપશે…..’

હું સડક થઇ ગયો. એનું છેલ્લું વાક્ય મારા હૃદયની આરપાર નીકળી ગયું. પાછો વળી ગયો. એ બાઇને ખૂબ શાંતિથી તપાસી, જરૂરી દવાઓ પણઆપી.’કેટલા પૈસા આપું,સાહેબ?’ એના હાથ ફરી જોડાઇ ગયા. હું એને જોઇ જ રહ્યો. જે બાઇ આઠ-દસ કિલોમીટર ચાલીને આવી હોય. એની પાસેથી શું લઇ શકાય? મારાથી બોલાઇ ગયું, ‘બહેન… તું મને ફરીથી દિલથી દુવા આપ….મારા માટે એ જ તારી ફી છે.’ એ બાઇએ જીર્ણ થઇ ગયેલા સાડલાથી આંખો લૂછી ખરી, પણ …. આભારવશ બનેલી એ આંખો કાબૂમાં ના રહી.’અલ્લાહ…. આપકે બેટેકો લમ્બી ઉમ્ર દે….’ એના અંતરના આશીર્વાદ લઇ, હું જાણેહલકોફૂલ થઇ ગયો. અને પછી જે ચમત્કાર સર્જાયો, એ આજીવન નહીં ભૂલાય.

મારા ફોનની ઘંટડી રણકી ઊઠી, ‘શરદભાઇ… ગુડન્યૂઝ. ઇંગ્લૅંડથી મારા એક પરિચિત ડૉક્ટર આપણી હૉસ્પિટલમાં આવ્યા છે.તમારા દીકરાને એમણે તપાસી ઇંગ્લૅંડથી લાવેલું એક ઇંજેશન પણ આપી દીધું છે, દીકરો રડી રહ્યો છે. ડૉક્ટર મિત્રનું કહેવું છે કે, એ ઘણો જ સ્વસ્થ છે. ચિંતા કરવાની કોઇ જરૂર નથી. તમે જલદીથી દીકરાને મળવા આવીજાવ…’

હું હૉસ્પિટલ પહોંચ્યો, ઇંગ્લૅંડથી આવેલા ડૉક્ટર મને ભેટી પડ્યા. ને હું હીબકે ચડી ગયો…. મારા દીકરાએ પણ મારી સાથે સૂર પુરાવ્યો ત્યારે બંને ડૉક્ટરોની પણ આંખો ભીની થઇ ગઇ.

Humility!!

A British, an American, a Canadian and an Indian were in a discussion during an Antique Collectors dinner.
 


British: “I have inherited a large fortune....I want to buy the world’s rarest 10 pens!”
 


American: “I am wealthier. I will buy the best 20 antique watches in the world!”
 


Canadian: “That’s nothing. I am a rich guy.... I intend to purchase the best 50 Vintage Cars!”
 


They then all wait for the Indian to speak....


He stirs his coffee, places the spoon neatly on the table, takes a sip of his coffee, looks at them and softly says: ...................

“I'm not selling!!!"

Gujarati..

Thought of the Day..

If you are right then there is no need to get angry. And if you are wrong then you don't have any right to get angry.  

Patience with family is love,

Patience with others is respect,

Patience with self is confidence and

Patience with GOD is faith.

Never Think Hard about PAST, It brings Tears.

Don't Think more about FUTURE, It brings Fears. Live this Moment with a Smile, It brings Cheers!!!

Every test in our life makes us bitter or better,

Every problem comes to make us or break us,

Choice is ours whether we become victim or victorious!!!

Search a beautiful heart not a beautiful face. Beautiful things are not always good but good things are always beautiful. Do you know, why God created gaps between fingers? So that someone who is special to you, comes and fills those gaps by holding your hands forever.

The 50 Top Puns..

1. I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me.
2. I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. It's impossible to put down.
3. Did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was cut off? He's all right now.
4. It's not that the man did not know how to juggle, he just didn't have the balls to do it.
5. I couldn't quite remember how to throw a boomerang, but eventually it came back to me.
6. There was a sign on the lawn at a drug re-hab center that said 'Keep off the Grass'.
7. I was going to look for my missing watch, but I could never find the time.
8. I used to have a fear of hurdles, but I got over it.
9. A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking into it.
10. Police were called to a daycare where a three-year-old was resisting a rest.
11. To write with a broken pencil is pointless.
12. He drove his expensive car into a tree and found out how the Mercedes bends.
13. Atheism is a non-prophet organization.
14. I did a theatrical performance about puns. Really it was just a play on words.I used to be addicted to soap, but I'm clean now. 
15.  
16. Show me a piano falling down a mineshaft and I'll show you A-flat minor.
17. A bicycle can't stand on its own because it is two-tired.
18. Need an ark to save two of every animal? I noah guy.
19. A new type of broom came out, it is sweeping the nation.
20. A small boy swallowed some coins and was taken to a hospital. When his grandmother telephoned to ask how he was a nurse said 'No change yet'.
21. The new weed whacker is cutting-hedge technology.
22. Some people's noses and feet are built backwards: their feet smell and their noses run.
23. When William joined the army he disliked the phrase 'fire at will'.
24. Did you hear about the guy who got hit in the head with a can of soda? He was lucky it was a soft drink.
25. There was once a cross-eyed teacher who couldn't control his pupils.
26. The butcher backed up into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his work.
27. I wanted to lose weight so I went to the paint store. I heard I could get thinner there.
28. Lightning sometimes shocks people because it just doesn't know how to conduct itself.
29. A prisoner's favorite punctuation mark is the period. It marks the end of his sentence.A rule of grammar: double negatives are a no-no. 
30.  
31. Sleeping comes so naturally to me, I could do it with my eyes closed.
32. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
33. Atheists don't solve exponential equations because they don't believe in higher powers.
34. It's raining cats and dogs. Well, as long as it doesn't reindeer.
35. I relish the fact that you've mustard the strength to ketchup to me.
36. My new theory on inertia doesn't seem to be gaining momentum.
37. I was going to buy a book on phobias, but I was afraid it wouldn't help me.
38. The man who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.
39. What did the grape say when it got stepped on? Nothing - but it let out a little whine.
40. When a clock is hungry it goes back four seconds.
41. If you don't pay your exorcist you get repossessed.
42. She got fired from the hot dog stand for putting her hair in a bun.The dead batteries were given out free of charge. 
43.  
44. John Deere's manure spreader is the only equipment the company won't stand behind.
45. Pencils could be made with erasers at both ends, but what would be the point?
46. I was arrested after my therapist suggested I take something for my kleptomania.
47. A hungry traveller stops at a monastery and is taken to the kitchens. A brother is frying chips. 'Are you the friar?' he asks. 'No. I'm the chip monk,' he replies.
48. Yesterday I accidentally swallowed some food coloring. The doctor says I'm OK, but I feel like I've dyed a little inside.
49. What's the definition of a will? (It's a dead giveaway).
50. Two peanuts were walking in a tough neighborhood and one of them was a-salted.

zindagi..

Valentine Story

John Blanchard stood up from the bench, straightened his Army uniform, and studied the crowd of people making their way through Grand Central Station. He looked for the girl whose heart he knew, but whose face he didn't, the girl with the rose.

His interest in her had begun thirteen months before in a Florida library. Taking a book off the shelf he found himself intrigued, not with the words of the book, butwith the notes penciled in the margin. The soft handwriting reflected a thoughtful soul and insightful mind. In the front of the book, he discovered the previous owner's name, Miss Hollis Maynell. With time and effort he located her address. She lived in New York City. He wrote her a letter introducing himself and inviting her to correspond.

The next day he was shipped overseas for service in World War II. During the next year and one month the two grew to know each other through the mail. Each letter was a seed falling on a fertile heart. A romance was budding. Blanchard requested a photograph, but she refused. She felt that if he really cared, it wouldn't matter what she looked like.

When the day finally came for him to return from Europe, they scheduled their first meeting - 7:00 PM at the Grand Central Station in New York. "You'll recognize me," she wrote, "by the red rose I'll be wearing on my lapel." So at 7:00 he was in the station looking for a girl whose heart he loved, but whose face he'd never seen.

I'll let Mr. Blanchard tell you what happened:

A young woman was coming toward me, her figure long and slim. Her blonde hair lay back in curls from her delicate ears; her eyes were blue as flowers. Her lips and chin had a gentle firmness, and in her pale green suit she was like springtime come alive. I started toward her, entirely forgetting to notice that she was not wearing a rose. As I moved, a small, provocative smile curved her lips. "Going my way, sailor?" she murmured. Almost uncontrollably I made one step closer to her, and then I saw Hollis Maynell. She was standing almost directly behind the girl. A woman well past 40, she had graying hair tucked under a worn hat. She was more than plump, her thick-ankled feet thrust into low-heeled shoes. The girl in the green suit was walking quickly away. I felt as though I was split in two, so keen was my desire to follow her, and yet so deep was my longing for the woman whose spirit had truly companioned me and upheld my own. And there she stood. Her pale, plump face was gentle and sensible, her gray eyes had a warm and kindly twinkle. I did not hesitate. My fingers gripped the small worn blue leather copy of the book that was to identify me to her. This would not be love, but it would be something precious, something perhaps even better than love, a friendship for which I had been and must ever be, grateful. I squared my shoulders and saluted and held out the book to the woman, even though while I spoke I felt choked by the bitterness of my disappointment.

"I'm Lieutenant John Blanchard,and you must be Miss Maynell. I am so glad you could meet me; may I take you to dinner?"

The woman's face broadened into a tolerant smile. "I don't know what this is about, son," she answered, "but the young lady in the green suit who just went by, she begged me to wear this rose on my coat. And she said if you were to ask me out to dinner, I should go and tell you that she is waiting for you in the big restaurant across the street. She said it was some kind of test!"

It's not difficult to understand and admire Miss Maynell's wisdom. The true nature of a heart is seen in its response to the unattractive. "Tell me whom you love," Houssaye wrote, "And I will tell you who you are."

Happiness..

Burden Of My Own..

A Monarch of long ago had twin sons. As they grew to young manhood, the king sought a fair way to designate one of them as crown prince. All who knew the young men thought them equal in intelligence, wit, personal charm, health, and physical strength. Being a keenly observant king, he thought he detected a trait in one which was not shared by the other.

Calling them to his council chamber one day, he said, "My sons, the day will come when one of you must succeed me as king. The weight of sovereignty is very heavy. To find out which of you is better able to bear them cheerfully, I am sending you together to a far corner of the kingdom.

One of my advisors there will place equal burdens on your shoulders. My crown will one day go to the one who first returns bearing his yoke like a king should."

In a spirit of friendly competition, the brothers set out together. Soon they overtook an aged woman struggling under a burden that seemed far too heavy for her frail body. One of the boys suggested that they stop to help her. The other protested: "We have a saddle of our own to worry about. Let us be on our way."

The objector hurried on while the other stayed behind to give aid to the aged woman. Along the road, from day to day, he found others who also needed help. A blind man took him miles out of his way, and a lame man slowed him to a cripple's walk.

Eventually he did reach his father's advisor, where he secured his own yoke and started home with it safely on his shoulders.

When he arrived at the palace, his brother met him at the gate, and greeted him with dismay.

He said, "I don't understand. I told our father the weight was too heavy to carry. However did you do it?"

The future king replied thoughtfully, "I suppose when I helped others carry their yoke, I found the strength to carry my own."

Few Jokes..

एक बार एक आम आदमी जोर जोर से चिल्लारहा था, "प्रधानमंत्री निकम्मा है ."

पुलिस के एक सिपाही ने सुना और उस की गर्दन पकड़ के दो रसीद किये और बोला, "चल थाने, प्रधानमंत्री की बेइज्ज़ती करता है?"

वो बोला, "साहब मै तो कह रहा था फ़्रांस का प्रधानमंत्री निकम्मा है." \

ये सुन कर सिपाही ने दो और लगाए और बोला, "साले, बेवक़ूफ़ बनता है! क्या हमे नहीं पता कहाँ का प्रधानमंत्री निकम्मा है?"

-----

एक दिन सोनिया गांधी के सपने में महात्मा गांधीजी आकर बोले,
"मैने मरते समय कॉंग्रेस को सादगी, ईमानदारी, टोपी, चश्मा और डंडा दिया था, कहॉं है वो?"

सोनिया ने अत्यंत विनम्रता से कहा,

1. "टोपी तो राहुल लोगोंको पहना रहा है.
2. सादगी मेरे और प्रियंका के पास है.
3. ...चश्मा मनमोहन के पास है.
4. ईमानदारी स्विस और ईटली के बैंक में सेफ है
5. और डंडा आम आदमी की सेवा में लगा रखा है.

It’s YOU..

One day all the employees reached the office and they saw a big advice on the door on which it was written: ‘Yesterday the person who has been hindering your growth in this company passed away. We invite you to join the funeral in the room that has been prepared in the gym’.In the beginning, they all got sad for the death of one of their colleagues, but after a while they started getting curious to know who was that man who hindered the growth of his colleagues and the company itself.

The more people reached the coffin, the more the excitement heated up. Everyone thought: ‘Who is this guy who was hindering my progress? Well, at least he died!’ One by one the thrilled employees got closer to the coffin, and when they looked inside it they suddenly became speechless.

There was a mirror inside the coffin: everyone who looked inside it could see himself. There was also a sign next to the mirror that said: ‘there is only one person who is capable to set limits to your growth: it is YOU.’You are the only person who can influence your happiness, your realization and your success. You are the only person who can help yourself.

Your life does not change when your boss changes, when your friends change, when your parents change, when your partner changes, when your company changes. Your life changes when YOU change, when you go beyond your limiting beliefs, when you realize that you are the only one responsible for your life. Examine yourself, watch yourself. Don’t be afraid of difficulties, impossibilities and losses: be a winner, build yourself and your reality.

Moral: Change YOURSELF!!!

GAYATRI MANTRA & Its Scientific Meaning..

Gayatri mantra has been bestowed the greatest importance in Vedic dharma. This mantra has also been termed as Savitri and Ved-Mata, the mother of the Vedas.

Om bhur bhuvah swah
Tat savitur varenyam
Bhargo devasya dheemahi
Dhiyo yo nah prachodayat

The literal meaning of the mantra is:

O God! You are Omnipresent, Omnipotent and Almighty, You are all Light. You are all Knowledge and Bliss. You are Destroyer of fear, You are Creator of this Universe, You are the Greatest of all. We bow and meditate upon Your light. You guide our intellect in the right direction.

The mantra, however, has a great scientific importance too, which somehow got lost in the literary tradition. The modern astrophysics and astronomy tell us that our Galaxy called Milky Way or Akash-Ganga contains approximately 100,000 million of stars. Each star is like our sun having its own planet system. We know that the moon moves round the earth and the earth moves round the sun along with the moon. All planets round the sun. Each of the above bodies revolves round at its own axis as well. Our sun along with its family takes one round of the galactic center in 22.5 crore years. All galaxies including ours are moving away at a terrific velocity of 20,000 miles per second.

And now the alternative scientific meaning of the mantra step by step:

(A). OM BHUR BHUVAH SWAH:

Bhur the earth, bhuvah the planets (solar family), swah the Galaxy. We observe that when an ordinary fan with a speed of 900 RPM (rotations Per minute) moves, it makes noise. Then, one can imagine, what great noise would be created when the galaxies move with a speed of 20,000 miles per second. This is what this portion of the mantra explains that the sound produced due to the fast-moving earth, planets and galaxies is Om. The sound was heard during meditation by Rishi Vishvamitra, who mentioned it to other colleagues. All of them, then unanimously decided to call this sound Om the name of God, because this sound is available in all the three periods of time, hence it is set (permanent). Therefore, it was the first ever revolutionary idea to identify formless God with a specific title (form) called upadhi. Until that time, everybody recognized God as formless and nobody was prepared to accept this new idea. In the Gita also, it is said, "Omiti ekaksharam brahma", meaning that the name of the Supreme is Om , which contains only one syllable (8/12). This sound Om heard during samadhi was called by all the seers nada-brahma a very great noise), but not a noise that is normally heard beyond a specific amplitude and limits of decibels suited to human hearing. Hence the rishis called this sound Udgith musical sound of the above, i.e., heaven. They also noticed that the infinite mass of galaxies moving with a velocity of 20,000 miles/second was generating a kinetic energy = 1/2 MV2 and this was balancing the total energy consumption of the cosmos. Hence they named it Pranavah, which means the body (vapu) or store house of energy (prana).

(B). TAT SAVITUR VARENYAM:

Tat that (God), savitur the sun (star), varenyam worthy of bowing or respect. Once the form of a person along with the name is known to us, we may locate the specific person.Hence the two titles (upadhi) provide the solid ground to identify the formless God, Vishvamitra suggested. He told us that we could know (realize) the unknowable formless God through the known factors, viz., sound Om and light of suns (stars). A mathematician can solve an equation x2+y2=4; if x=2; then y can be known and so on. An engineer can measure the width of a river even by standing at the riverbank just by drawing a triangle. So was the scientific method suggested by Vishvamitra in the mantra in the next portion as under:-

(C). BHARGO DEVASYA DHEEMAHI:

Bhargo the light, devasya of the deity, dheemahi we should meditate. The rishi instructs us to meditate upon the available form (light of suns) to discover the formless Creator (God). Also he wants us to do japa of the word Om (this is understood in the Mantra). This is how the sage wants us to proceed, but there is a great problem to realize it, as the human mind is so shaky and restless that without the grace of the Supreme (Brahma) it cannot be controlled. Hence Vishvamitra suggests the way to pray Him as under:

(D). DHIYO YO NAH PRACHODAYAT:

Dhiyo (intellect), yo (who), nah (we all), prachodayat (guide to right Direction). O God! Deploy our intellect on the right path. Full scientific interpretation of the Mantra: The earth (bhur), the planets (bhuvah), and the galaxies (swah) are moving at a very great velocity, the sound produced is Om , (the name of formless God.) That God (tat), who manifests Himself in the form of light of suns (savitur) is worthy of bowing/respect (varenyam). We all, therefore, should meditate (dheemahi) upon the light (bhargo) of that deity (devasya) and also do chanting of Om. May He (yo) guide in right direction (prachodayat) our(nah) intellect dhiyo.

Career..

Points to ponder..

Surati..

Gujarati Books..

If you like reading Gujarati Books, here a website link that you can read all the books that are available.  These are pdf files so it will be a delay before you can read them.
Enjoy...!

The Old Fisherman..

Our house was directly across the street from the clinic entrance of Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. We lived downstairs and rented the upstairs rooms to out patients at the clinic. One summer evening as I was fixing supper, there was a knock at the door. I opened it to see a truly awful looking man. "Why, he's hardly taller than my eight-year-old," I thought as I stared at the stooped, shriveled body. But the appalling thing was his face -- lopsided from swelling, red and raw. Yet his voice was pleasant as he said, "Good evening. I've come to see if you've a room for just one night. I came for a treatment this morning from the eastern shore, and there's no bus 'til morning."

He told me he'd been hunting for a room since noon but with no success, no one seemed to have a room. "I guess it's my face...I know it looks terrible, but my doctor says with a few more treatments..."

For a moment I hesitated, but his next words convinced me: "I could sleep in this rocking chair on the porch. My bus leaves early in the morning."

I told him we would find him a bed, but to rest on the porch. I went inside and finished getting supper. When we were ready, I asked the old man if he would join us. "No thank you. I have plenty." And he held up a brown paper bag. When I had finished the dishes, I went out on the porch to talk with him a few minutes. It didn't take a long time to see that this old man had an oversized heart crowded into that tiny body. He told me he fished for a living to support his daughter, her five children, and her husband, who was hopelessly crippled from a back injury.

He didn't tell it by way of complaint; in fact, every other sentence was preface with a thanks to God for a blessing. He was grateful that no pain accompanied his disease, which was apparently a form of skin cancer. He thanked God for giving him the strength to keep going. At bedtime, we put a camp cot in the children's room for him. When I got up in the morning, the bed linens were neatly folded and the little man was out on the porch. He refused breakfast, but just before he left for his bus, haltingly, as if asking a great favor, he said, "Could I please come back and stay the next time I have a treatment? I won't put you out a bit. I can sleep fine in a chair." He paused a moment and then added, "Your children made me feel at home. Grownups are bothered by my face, but children don't seem to mind." I told him he was welcome to come again. And on his next trip he arrived a little after seven in the morning. As a gift, he brought a big fish and a quart of the largest oysters I had ever seen. He said he had shucked them that morning before he left so that they'd be nice and fresh. I knew his bus left at 4:00 a.m. and I wondered what time he had to get up in order to do this for us.

In the years he came to stay overnight with us there was never a time that he did not bring us fish or oysters or vegetables from his garden. Other times we received packages in the mail, always by special delivery; fish and oysters packed in a box of fresh young spinach or kale, every leaf carefully washed. Knowing that he must walk three miles to mail these, and knowing how little money he had made the gifts doubly precious. When I received these little remembrances, I often thought of a comment our next-door neighbor made after he left that first morning. "Did you keep that awful looking man last night? I turned him away! You can lose roomers by putting up such people!" Maybe we did lose roomers once or twice. But oh! If only they could have known him, perhaps their illness' would have been easier to bear. I know our family always will be grateful to have known him; from him we learned what it was to accept the bad without complaint and the good with gratitude to God.

Recently I was visiting a friend who has a greenhouse, As she showed me her flowers, we came to the most beautiful one of all, a golden chrysanthemum, bursting with blooms. But to my great surprise, it was growing in an old dented, rusty bucket. I thought to myself, "If this were my plant, I'd put it in the loveliest container I had!" My friend changed my mind. "I ran short of pots," she explained, "and knowing how beautiful this one would be, I thought it wouldn't mind starting out in this old pail. It's just for a little while, till I can put it out in the garden."

She must have wondered why I laughed so delightedly, but I was imagining just such a scene in heaven. "Here's an especially beautiful one," God might have said when he came to the soul of the sweet old fisherman. "He won't mind starting in this small body." All this happened long ago -- and now, in God's garden, how tall this lovely soul must stand.

The tax System explained in Beer terminology..

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100…

If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this…

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that’s what they decided to do..

The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve ball. “Since you are all such good customers,” he said, “I’m going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20″. Drinks for the ten men would now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his fair share?

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody’s share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer.

So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by a higher percentage the poorer he was, to follow the principle of the tax system they had been using, and he proceeded to work out the amounts he suggested that each should now pay.

And so the fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% saving).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% saving).
The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28% saving).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% saving).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% saving).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% saving).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But, once outside the bar, the men began to compare their savings.

“I only got a dollar out of the $20 saving,” declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,”but he got $10!”

“Yeah, that’s right,” exclaimed the fifth man. “I only saved a dollar too. It’s unfair that he got ten times more benefit than me!”

“That’s true!” shouted the seventh man “Why should he get $10 back, when I got only $2? The wealthy get all the breaks!”

“Wait a minute,” yelled the first four men in unison, “we didn’t get anything at all. This new tax system exploits the poor!”

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn’t show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had their beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn’t have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and government ministers, is how our tax system works. The people who already pay the highest taxes will naturally get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore.

In fact, they might start drinking overseas, where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

Friendship..

When I reached home late one night , Dad asked: "Where were you?"

I said, " at a friend's place"

Dad called 10 friends of mine in front of me.

4 said: "Yes Uncle, he was here."

2 said: "He left just now."

3 said: "He is here Uncle, studying !"

1 went the extreme, said: "Yes Papa; what's up ?...!!! "

Giving..

It was a really hot summer’s day many years ago. Adam was on his way to pick up two items at the grocery store. In those days, he was a frequent visitor to the store because there never seemed to be enough money for a whole week’s food-shopping at once.

You see, his young wife, after a tragic battle with cancer, had died just a few months earlier. There was no insurance -- just many expenses and a mountain of bills. He held a part-time job, which barely generated enough money to feed his two young children.

Things were bad -- really bad.

And so it was that day, with a heavy heart and Rs. 40 in his pocket, he was on his way to the store to purchase a packet of milk and a loaf of bread. The children were hungry and he had to get them something to eat. As he came to a red traffic light, he noticed on his right a young man, a young woman and a child on the grass next to the road. The blistering noonday sun beat down on them without mercy.

The man held up a cardboard sign which read, "Will Work for Food." The woman stood next to him. She just stared at the cars & buses that stopped at the red light. The child, probably about two years old, sat on the grass holding a one-armed doll. Adam noticed all this in the thirty seconds it took for the traffic light to change to green.

He wanted so desperately to give them a few rupees, but if he did that, there wouldn’t be enough left to buy the milk and bread. 40 rupees will only go so far. As the light changed, He took one last glance at the three of them and went off feeling both guilty (for not helping them) and sad (because he didn’t have enough money to share with them).

As he kept riding his cycle, he couldn’t get the picture of the three of them out of his mind. The sad, haunting eyes of the young man and his family stayed with him for about a mile. Adam could take it no longer. He felt their pain and had to do something about it. He turned around and went back to where he had last seen them.

Adam went close to them and handed the man twenty of his forty rupees. There were tears in his eyes as he thanked Adam. Adam smiled and went on to the store. Perhaps both milk and bread would be on sale, Adam thought. And what if he only got milk alone, or just the bread? Well, it would have to do.

Adam pulled into the parking lot, still thinking about the whole incident, yet feeling good about what he had done. As Adam stepped out of the parking lot, his foot slid on something on the pavement. There by his feet was a 500 rupee note. He just couldn’t believe it. He looked all around, picked it up with awe, went into the store and purchased not only bread and milk, but several other items he desperately needed.

Adam never forgot that incident. It reminded him that the universe was strange and mysterious. It confirmed his belief that you could never out give the universe. He had given away twenty rupees and got 500 in return. On his way back from the store, Adam rode by the hungry family and shared additional 100 rupees with them.

This incident is only one of many that have occurred in one's life. It seems that the more we give, the more we get. It is, perhaps, one of those universal laws that say, "If you want to receive, you must first give."

There is a little rhyme that goes like this:

"A man there was, and they called him mad, The more he gave, the more he had."

Most times, we think that we don’t have anything to give. Yet, if we look more closely, we ’ll see that even the little we have could be shared with others. Let us not wait for a time when we think we’ll have lots and then we’ll give. By giving and sharing the little we have, we open up the storehouse of the universe and permit rivers of good to come our way.

Don’t take my word for it. Just honestly try to give and you’ll be surprised at the results. Generally, the returns do not come back from those we give to. It comes back from sources we could hardly imagine. So give your way to riches.

Take a chance on this universal principle. Take a chance on yourself. Universal principles always work.

Sometimes the return from giving happens very quickly as in the true story above. Other times, it takes much longer. But be assured of this: Give and you will receive - and you’ll receive lots more than you ever gave.

And when you give, don’t do it with a heart of fear, but with a heart full of gratitude. You will be amazed at how it all works out.

Open the gates of affluence in your life by giving a bit of what you have to those in need. As the great Teacher said, Give and it will be given unto you in good measure.

Compassion and Connection..

Did you know that the feeling of compassion and connection is probably more powerful to fight diseases than all the world’s medications put together? And this is no mumbo jumbo. It has all been scientifically proven.

So please take a few minutes to read the rest of this article and share with us how you think we can improve positive connection and combat diseases…

Even if this case has been featured in many books and articles, there is no way to discuss the health benefits of human connections without beginning with the true story of the town of Roseto. This small Italian immigrant town created big fuss in the medical community in the 1960s.

When researchers began to go over death records from this little town, they discovered that people generally didn’t die of diseases but of old age. Heart attacks were especially rare. In fact, there were no records of ANYONE under the age of 45 ever dying of heart attack.

What was even more astonishing was people in Roseto didn’t live a very healthy lifestyle. They smoked, drank, ate and worked hard. Low cholesterol diets didn’t exist in their vocabulary. And the pollution from working in the slate quarries should have been enough to destroy even the toughest hearts.

But it didn’t!

What the people of Roseto had was an extremely strong family and society connection. They took the time to stop and talk and smile and shake hands as they walked through the town. If someone got sick or came upon hard time, he or she could rely on the neighbors to help. Thefts and crimes were literally non-existant. There was not a single case of burglary reported in anywhere.

They had connection, and that connection kept them healthy.

Sadly, as the Roseto community “developed,” so did the modern diseases. In the 1980s, the little town of Roseto had ‘Americanized’ and heart attacks had become just as common as anywhere else.

Many other close communities have a similar health structure. The traditional Amish community, for example, has only half the cancer risk of the average American, lower cholesterol, less diabetes and some Amish communities are even seen to be immune to heart attacks.

Several studies have revealed that married people, especially married men, live longer and suffer less diseases than those who’re not married.

Other studies show that people who get divorced have 20% more chronic health conditions such as cancer and heart diseases and type 2 diabetes. What’s more, even after people move on and get remarried, the chronic disease rate is still 12% higher.

This shows how much the lingering and chronic stress of separation and disconnection from those we love can negatively impact our health.

There are finally numerous studies that show that people who develop life-threatening diseases have a much greater chance of overcoming any health problems if they have a strong base of supporting friends and family.

There is an old Jewish story about a Rabbi who visited hell. He saw people sitting there on two sides of a long table with the most delicious bowl of soup in front of each and every one and spoon in hand. But their arms were splinted on wooden slats so they couldn’t bend their elbow and enjoy the soup. Everyone was pale and miserable. Then he visited heaven and surprisingly the scenery was exactly the same except that there, everyone was feeding the person across from them so now they were enjoying the soup and connection with smile and laughter.

Human connection is free. It has no negative side-effects and may actually be quite pleasurable from time to time.

Hun Surat..

My Surat, city where I grew up.