Remembering Gandhi Ji

I write this piece today because, its Mohandas K. (Mahatma) Gandhi’s birthday. A day when we remembered the great leader for his sacrifices as we sang praises as schoolchildren in India. I’ve always had a great bit of admiration for his persistence and simple approaches to solving problems.October 2nd celebrated in India as Gandhi Jayanti (Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday). Gandhi ji is lovingly referred to by many Indians as Bapu or the Father.Instrumental leader against India’s Independence movement against the British and is one of the most popular Indian figures.He gained prominence when he fought against discrimination in South Africa when he was practicing law there and then moved to India to fight for the independence. He is most well known for preaching non-violence and perhaps his best known quote is “Be the change that you want to see in the world.” Many Indians around the world take a lot of pride in the fact that Gandhi ji was an Indian.The role and contribution of Mahatma Gandhi in the freedom movement of India is noteworthy, extraordinary and exemplary.Here is a short description along with few instances of his life where he too committed mistakes but had the courage to admit them and that gave a new direction to his life.
Many people will admit that they made a mistake. But that doesn’t mean that they’ve changed their mind about anything in particular. It doesn’t mean that they are now able to avoid that mistake.One can improve himself by making mistakes, and learning from his mistakes. The lessons learnt must be remembered for a long time.There's nothing wrong in being wrong as long as you're able to correct yourself next time. Asking questions is an integral component of learning, and one must never be afraid of asking questions.

Gandhi ji

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born into the Hindu Modh family in Porbandar, in 1869. He was the son of Karamchand Gandhi, the diwan (Prime Minister) of Porbandar, and Putlibai, Karamchand's fourth wife, a Hindu of the Pranami Vaishnava order. Karamchand's first two wives, who each bore him a daughter, died from unknown reasons (rumored to be in childbirth). Living with a devout mother and surrounded by the Jain influences of Gujarat, Gandhi learned from an early age the tenets of non-injury to living beings, vegetarianism, fasting for self-purification, and mutual tolerance between members of various creeds and sects. He was born into the vaishya, or business, caste.
'Gandhi' is a family name. The Gandhi’s had been merchants for many years. They lived in a town called Porbandar. It now belongs to Gujarat State. The town had stone walls around it. As the stones shone in the sun, the town was known as 'Shwetapuri' (the White City).
Karamchand Gandhi was a very practical man. Gandhiji describes his father in his
autobiography as follows: 'My father was a lover of his clan, truthful, brave and generous.'Often there used to be readings from the Ramayana and the Mahabharatha in his house.There used to be religious discussions also among Jain,Parsi and Muslim scholars. Young Gandhi listened to all this with attention.
Putlibai was in the habit of visiting temples every day. She used to take Gandhi also with her. She used to keep stern vows and fasts. Religious practices were her very life breath. Her influence on the son was great. Many years later,Gandhiji, recollecting his early years, said, 'If there is any purity in me, it is all due to my mother.' The son imbibed from his mother the qualities of service, sacrifice and affection for others.
On January 30, 1948, Gandhi was shot and killed while having his nightly public walk on the grounds of the Birla Bhavan (Birla House) in New Delhi. The assassin, Nathuram Godse, was a Hindu radical with links to the extremist Hindu Mahasabha, who held Gandhi responsible for weakening India by insisting upon a payment to Pakistan.[17] Godse and his co-conspirator Narayan Apte were later tried and convicted; they were executed on 15 November 1949. Gandhi's memorial (or Samādhi) at Rāj Ghāt, New Delhi, bears the epigraph "Hē Ram", (Devanagari: He Rām), which may be translated as "Oh God". These are widely believed to be Gandhi's last words after he was shot.
He was nominated for the Nobel peace prize five times, in 1937, 1938, 1939,1947 and finally in 1948, few days before his assassination. However he was not awarded the Nobel Prize because he was “neither a real politician nor a humanitarian relief worker" [4]. The Executive Director for the Nobel Foundation Michael Sohlam has gone on record to state that not awarding him the Peace Prize was "a big regret" of the Nobel Foundation.

Few Instances of his life....

Young Gandhi ji had his primary education up to the seventh year at Porbandar. Then his education continued at Rajkot.He was a very shy boy. He never found fault with elders. He was very obedient.
Once an Inspector of Schools visited the school. The teacher dictated someEnglish words. Gandhi ji had miss-spelt the word 'Kettle'. The teacher noticed this, and made signs to the boy to correct it by copying from his neighbor. But Gandhi ji did not do so. He also felt that the same teacher, who had taught him that copying was bad, was not right in prompting him to do so. Still, the respect he had for his teacher did not grow less.
At that time, Gandhi ji had occasion to see two plays. They were 'Shravana Pitribhakti' and 'Harishchandra'. These two plays left a deep impression on his mind.The devotion of Shravana to his aged parents was a model in itself. Harishchandra suffered great misery for the sake of truth. Gandhi ji began to consider if he could not also live like them.On the plastic mind of the young, example and company act as powerful forces. When Gandhi ji joined the High school in his thirteenth year, he fell into evil company. But he soon realized his folly and returned to the right path.Sheik Mehtab, a classmate of Gandhi ji, was a strong boy. He always excelled all the boys in games and sports. Gandhi ji came to believe that, in order to expel theEnglish rulers from our country, it was necessary that one should become strong like Sheik by eating meat. This false belief took deep root in his mind. He tried to eat meat in secret. He found it distasteful. In the same way, he smoked cigarettes. He also stole a piece of gold to pay his brother's debts. He felt sad because he had not the free- dom to act as he wished. In a moment of despair, he tried to kill himself, by swallow- ing Matura seeds (an effective poison). But he lost courage and could not do so. At last he felt sorry for his conduct. He confessed his guilt in a letter and, with trembling hands, handed it to his father. The father did not say even a word, and simply shed tears of sorrow. This melted Gandhi ji's heart. He touchingly refers to this incident in his autobiography: 'Those pearl-drops of love cleansed my heart, and washed my sin away.'
Gandhi ji was married to Kasturba in his thirteenth year. Kasturba was also a girl of the same age.The immediate result of this was that a year's studies were spoiled. By the time Gandhi ji's High School education ended, a child was born, and died, and another was born. A boy of fifteen or sixteen years had already become a father. By that time Gandhi ji's father also had passed away.
Gandhi ji was only nineteen years old then. He was to leave for England on September 4,1888.The elders of his caste learnt this.They opposed his journey. But Gandhi ji disobeyed them and left. The elders declared that Gandhi ji was an outcaste.Gandhi ji had learnt from some elders about life in London as also about manners to be
observed in English society. Friends had told him that it was difficult to live without drinking wine and eating meat, in a cold country like England. But Gandhi ji tried hard to keep his promise to his mother. He went in search of vegetarian hotels, and was content to eat whatever food he got there. Every day he had to walk a long distance from his residence to the hotel. But he never felt it a hardship. In the end, he decided to cook his food himself.Gandhi ji also tried to practice English gentlemen's ways and manners and to learn to speak French, dancing and the art of public speaking. His expenses increased. Neither could he learn any of them. And then the realization came to him that his brother was struggling hard to send him money. Then he gave up all needless expenses, and began to live a simple life. His studies became his sole aim.Gandhi ji developed great intimacy with an English family. He pretended to be an unmarried man. He used to be quite free with the two-grownup daughters of the family. It looked as if the friendship would go beyond the proper limits. It was a testing time for Gandhi ji. At that hour, he remembered the promise he had made to his mother. It saved him from a moral fall. He felt repentant, and wrote a letter of apology to the lady of the house, confessing that he was a married man and the father of a child.
Gandhi ji stayed in England for two years and eight months. He obtained the degree of Barrister-at-Law. Without staying even for a day more, he started on the return journey to India, on June 12, 1891.During his stay in England, he tried some experiments in vegetarian diet.He came to the conclusion that a human being should not eat non-vegetarian food for any reason. He got acquainted with some great persons of the day, like Dadabhai Naoroji and Dr. Beasant. But there was no indication at all that some day Gandhi ji would become a great man. For the first time Gandhi ji read the Bhagavad Gita, in the company of two English Theosophist friends. Together they studied 'The Song Celestial' (the English translation of the Gita) by Sir Edwin Arnold. This roused Gandhi ji's interest in the Holy Books of the Hindu religion and his interest grew with time.The teaching of the Gita was a source of spiritual strength to Gandhi ji.

One should contemplate what went wrong and makes changes accordingly.And that’s how one regain the Gandhian pathway. After all, making postive changes in yourself is one of the Gandhian principles. Even the Mahatma was ‘born’ in a similar way.We all must know Gandhiji was not born a ‘Mahatma’. Like us, he also committed mistakes. But he transformed himself, by learning from his mistakes. A practice not followed by many.
Two influences, similar in nature, have led me in my own learning. One was a book by Mahatma Gandhi, his autobiography: My Experiments with Truth. From this book, I learned that the pursuing of the inner journey should not be separated from the pursuing of the outer and social journey, because we are not two separate beings. If we remove ourselves from the world, believing that we can follow our own individual enlightenment, irrespective of the world around us, then that is a delusion. We must find a way of life that combines the spiritual and the social, the inner and the outer — in a balance.In the end i would conclude that the freedom to make mistakes is important, but perhaps more important is each person's choice concerning what to do about the mistake once it's been made. Remorse may be appropriate, or regret or sorrow, but these reactions are all weak and timid in comparison to learning from the mistake. Take chances, make mistakes, but do so with a mindset that allows you to reflect on what went wrong, figure out why it happened, and make a plan to improve future outcomes of similar situations.Trial-and-error may not be the most effective way of solving problems, but it's often the only way that will work, so it becomes a necessity. Mistakes are an important part of the learning process, and many great things have been accomplished inadvertently through these means.

Shaheed Bhagat Singh

On his 100th Birthday we must remember that he was a true Marxist Leninist and a great Socialist Guru of Indian Revolutionaries.

Place of birth: Lyallpur, Punjab, British India
Place of death: Lahore, Punjab, British India
Movement: Indian Independence movement
Major Organizations: Naujawan Bharat Sabha,Kirti Kissan Party and Hindustan Socialist Republican Association.

Bhagat Singh was born in September 27, 1907 in the village Banga of Layalpur to Mata Vidyavati and Sardar Kishan Singh. Bhagat Singh grew up in a patriotic atmosphere as his father and uncle, were great freedom fighters and were put in jail many times by the British.He grew up at a time when the Freedom struggle was all around him. Since his young age he wondered why so many Indians could not get freedom from a few British invaders, he dreamed of a free India. The massacre at Jallianwala Bagh on April 13, 1919 drove him to go to Amritsar, where he kissed the earth and brought back home a little of the blood soaked soil, he was just 12 years old then. Kartar Sing Sarabha, hanged at the age of 19 by the British was Bhagat Singh's hero.

In those days political prisoners were not treated properly in the jail. They were not given proper food. They were made to suffer in every possible way. Bhagat Singh and his companions decided to fight against the wretched conditions. Bhagat Singh was sure of being hanged. But he thought at least the other political.Prisoners could benefit. All the revolutionaries went on fast. They fasted for two months. Then the Government said it would consider their demands. Some gave up the fast. But Jatin Das did not. He did not listen to anybody. On the 64th day of his fast, he died. Bhagat Singh fasted for thirty-two days thereafter.

The trial of Bhagat Singh and his companions began, it drew the attention of the whole world. The court was heavily guarded by the police. No spectators were allowed inside the court. The prisoners were brought to the court in chains. They used to shout 'Long Live Revolution I' and only then enter the court hall.

Bhagat Singh and BatukeshwarDutt stated, "If the deaf are to hear, the sound has to be very loud. When we dropped thebomb, it was not our intention to kill anybody. We have bombed the British Government. The
British must quit India and make her free." They also explained the objects of their association. The whole world came to understand their aim and activitiesbecause of the press reports.Finally judgment was given. Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru were to be hanged; some were to undergo lifeimprisonment; some were to be kept in jail for five years, some for seven, some for ten years.

Bhagat Singh was to be hanged! When the news spread, the people all over the country were mad with rage. Thousands of appeals were sent to the Government, pleading that he should be saved. Several leaders of public life joined in the appeal. But all attempts failed. It was decided to hang them on the 24th of March 1931. Even the members of the prisoners' families were hot allowed to meet them. Moreover, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru were hanged a day before the appointed day, that is, on March 23rd.
Even on the day of their hanging they were fearless. They were cheerful. They com- peted with one another to be hanged first. It was decided that first Sukhdev would be hanged and then Bhagat Singh and finally Rajguru. All the three climbed the platform. Kissing the rope, they themselves put it round their neck. They died with the name of Bharat Mata on their lips. Such was the end of the three champions of freedom.
That day no one in the jail touched food. Everyone was in tears. The next day, not knowing that the three prisoners had already been hanged, their relatives came to meet them. But it was all over with them. The dead bodies of the martyrs had been secretly burnt on the bank of the river Sutlej. Getting a clue thousands of people raced to the spot,but only the ashes remained. The people sobbed, with the ashes in their hands.
All over the country tributes were paid to the heroes who fought for freedom and sacrificed their lives.Hundreds of songs werecomposed and sung about the martyrdom of Bhagat Singh. Even today, the heroic spirit of Bhagat Singh is an unfailing source of inspiration to the youth of the country. His courage, spirit of adventure and patriotism are an example to one and all.

Here is a short story with a beautiful message...

Little girl and her father were crossing a bridge.The father was kind of scared so he asked his little daughter,"Sweetheart, please hold my hand so that you don't fall into the river."The little girl said, "No, Dad. You hold my hand.""What's the difference?" Asked the puzzled father."There's a big difference," replied the little girl."If I hold your hand and something happens to me,chances are that I may let your hand go.But if you hold my hand, I know for sure that no matter what happens,you will never let my hand go."
In any relationship, the essence of trust is not in its bind, but in its bond.So hold the hand of the person who loves you rather than expecting them to hold yours...
This message is too short......but carries a lot of Feelings.

My Idea of a Perfect Vacation...

I love vacation to beaches..the feeling of barefoot walking through the sand. Splashing in the waves as you go along is fun the sound out on an empty stretching beach overwhelms any thoughts but calm.I would love to go back and walk for miles on a beach and lie down with the water at my toes and the sand in my hair.
I want to feel the sand beneath my feet and the water lapping at my toes.
I want to gather shells and stand in the wind.
I want to run along the waterside and stare at the ocean.
I want to listen to the waves and close my eyes, to sit on the dunes and look far out to the ocean.
I want to walk along the beach hand in hand with my dear.
i want to go for a midnight walk on the beach with my dear.It would be gorgeous.Get up in morning and watch the sun rise over the ocean .Life doesn’t get much better than that.Ahhh!! what a blissful experience
I love beaches! The water, sun, wind, surf..the utter feeling of relaxation! Especially if you have someone special along, you forget all your stresses! I would love to live on a beach and just…be….Plus walking on a beach barefoot smooths the skin on the soles of the foot and also heard that is a great exercise for buns! Have you ever looked at the faces of people passing you going in the opposite direction? They are almost always smiling and relaxed….I remember As I walked down the beach, barely in the surf and felt pure joy. A man and his toddler daughter were walking toward me and he smiled at me as though he knew exactly how I felt. After they passed I turned facing outward at the ocean. A feeling of pure bliss flowed through my body. No thoughts. Purely peaceful silence. However, if you need to think there is nothing better than the beach...Ahhhhhh…I am here!
I am a true sea lover and can sit for hours on its shore and just listen to the sound of the waves.love being on the wide ocean, however I don’t like to sit inside a big air-conditioned room with hundreds of people. I want to be in touch with the elements of Nature,how great to be one with the elements of the ocean. All the stress drained away, refreshing the body and mind.Purely peaceful silence.However,if you need to think there is nothing better than the beach.Thoughts resemble the waves of the ocean, always in a state of motion, never standing still. These thoughts arise in our mind due to many reasons. There is a tendency on the part of the mind to analyze whatever it contacts. It likes to compare, to reason, and to ask questions. It constantly indulges in these activities.
I absolutely adore going to beaches for my vacations and can vividly recall all the beaches that I have visited .The most memorable beach vacation that I had was on the Florida Keys with white sand and sparkling clear water, just the same as it looks on those postcards.A dream beach destination that I want to travel to on my next beach vacation would be Jamaica. I heard that they have great beaches and it has places that are exclusive for couples.

Missing Rib

A girl in love asked her boyfriend.
Girl: Tell me... who do you love most in this world?
Boy: You, of course!
Girl: In your heart, what am I to you?
Boy: The boy thought for a moment and looked intently in her eyes and said, "You are my rib. In the Bible, it was said that God saw that Adam was lonely, during his sleep; God took one of Adam's rib and created Eve. Every man has been searching for his missing rib, only when you find the woman of your life; you’ll no longer feel the lingering ache in your heart."After their wedding, the couple had a sweet and happy life for a while. However, the youthful couple began to drift apart due to the busy schedule of life and the never-ending worries of daily problems. Their life became mundane. All the challenges posed by the harsh realities of life began to gnaw away their dreams and love for each other. The couple began to have more quarrels and each quarrel became more heated. One day, after the quarrel, the girl ran out of the house. At the opposite side of the road, she shouted, "You don't love me!" The boy hated her childishness and out of impulse, retorted "Maybe, it was a mistake for us to be together! You were never my missing rib!" Suddenly, she turned quiet and stood there for a long while.... He regretted what he said but words spoken are like thrown away water, you can never take it back. With tears, she went home to pack her things and was determined in breaking-up. Before she left the house, "If I'm really not your missing rib, please let me go..... She continued, "It is less painful this way...let us go on our separate ways and search for our own partners..."
Five years went by.... He never remarried but he had tried to find out about her life indirectly...... She had left the country and back....She had married a foreigner and divorced..... He felt anguished that she never waited for him. In the dark and lonely night,he lit his cigarette and felt the lingering ache in his heart. He couldn't bring himself to admit that he was missing her.One day, they finally met.... At the airport, a place where there were many reunions and good-byes.... He was going away on a business trip. She was standing there alone, with just the security door separating them. She smiled at him gently.
Boy: How are you?
Girl: I'm fine. How about you... Have you found your missing rib?
Boy: No.
Girl: I'll be flying to New York in the next flight.
Boy: I'll be back in 2 weeks time. Give me a call when you are back...You know my number... Nothing has changed.With a smile, she turned around and waved good-bye. "Good-bye." One week later, he heard of her death. She had perished in New York . In the event that shocked the world.. Midnight..... Once again, he lit his cigarette.....And like before, he felt the lingering ache in his heart....He finally knew, she was the missing rib that he had carelessly broken.

Sometimes,people say things out of moments of fury.....Most often than not, the outcome could be disastrous and detrimental....We vent our frustrations 99% at our loved ones....And even though we know that we ought to "think twice and act wisely" , it's often easier said than done. Things happen each day, many of which are beyond our control. Let us treasure every moment and everyone in our lives. Tomorrow may never come; give and accept what you have today.
Hope you find your right missing ribs and when you find them, don't forget to tell them what they are for you.

"When the end comes, not everyone is ready to go."

"Apocalypto" By Mel Gibson

Starring: Rudy Youngblood, Dalia Hernandez, Jonathan Brewer, Morris Birdyellowhead, Carlos Emilio Baez, Ramirez Amilcar.
Israel Contreras, Israel Rios, María Isabel Díaz
Written by: Mel Gibson, Farhad Safinia
Directed by: Mel Gibson
MPAA Rating: R for sequences of graphic violence and disturbing images
Language: Maya with English subtitles
Running Time: 137 minutes
ReleaseDate: December 8, 2006

Apocalypto is an Academy Award nominated 2006 epic film directed by Mel Gibson. Set in Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, it depicts one man's experience during the decline of the ancient Maya civilization.

This is one of the best movies I have ever seen during this period.If you are one of those people who watch a movie and really pay attention to detail then this is the movie for you. The cast was excellent. Every character was perfect for there particular role, you really get a feel for the characters and there personalities. From an art stand point I was mesmerized by the photography,make-up, costumes, and all the visual affects. As far as suspense it is a pure adrenaline rush!! I felt like i was part of the movie as if I was being captured, marching to an unknown place to be sacrificed, and chased through out the jungle fighting for my life. There is not a dull moment in the film every scene has a purpose if you pay attention. Mel displays many different core values in the scenes such as wisdom, brotherhood, loyalty, kingship, love, power, guilt, fear, terror, leadership, authority and many other values. Mel Gibson is a genius, the best at what he does. If I could give this movie 10 stars, I would. It was a pleasure to watch the beauty of the South American jungle and especially its indigenous people and their love for each other and their land. It was genius to me to counter that beauty with the brutality of the so-called civilization. The hero was magnetizing from the moment his eyes gazed into the forest -Stellar.

Life In US

I have never liked introductions. Introducing oneself is not a simple task after all. What do people want to know? What is interesting to them? Do they want my life story or just my name and occupation? Place of residence perhaps? Well, here it goes. I moved to US in Feb 07 living in Virginia in a one bedroom apartment with my partner. I am an ordinary person My passion has always been in the arts, animals and traveling. When I was a kid I used to secretly cry when I saw a homeless dog. I used to get seriously upset when I saw garbage in the otherwise perfectly beautiful scene. In my then naive perceptions of life, I wanted to literally change the world. Well I end up with my introduction and would like to put my views about the life in US in this blog.

Living overseas has enabled me to truly appreciate numerous cultures and customs from around the entire world. When I moved to the US, I realized Americans have a strong tendency to take for granted various privileges served to them on an open silver platter. Electronics, nice cars, and expensive housing are luxuries the typical local family will never enjoy.

While the United States continues to open its door wide to refugees, the invitation does not extend to all comers. America,in common with most other countries, now places restrictions on immigration. So if you wish to take up employment you need to apply for a visa, and there is absolutely no guarantee that it will be granted.For many immigrant categories a quota system is in operation, and when the annual quota is reached, applications in the pipeline are held over to the next fiscal. It has been attracting over a million immigrants a year - a greater number than at any time in its history. Nearly eleven million newcomers have made their home here during the past decade - nearly twice as many as in the 1980s and almost three times as many as in the 1970s. The reasons are not hard to find. Many of its industries are the leaders in their particular field and so are its academic institutions. It remains one of the world's leading economies, politically it is the most powerful country on earth and it is a trend setter in many ways. American commercial interests span the globe and our business culture is strongly influenced by them.

Well, now I hope to have a more balanced judgment after spending a while in US.
I would start with some some points:

- Basic amenities:

Taps do not run dry. No power cuts. Roads without bumps. Some people fall for that.....and I don't blame them. I have survived the other end of this scenario.

- Money:

How about a re-definition of USA as a place to make money? One gets highest-salary jobs, there are minimal government restrictions compared to most of the other places....well actually I don't need to write anything for this point. Its more than obvious!

- Open attitude:

This I believe is the major strength of USA. Willingness to accept new ideas. I have heard that once, when India was the richest country in the world, people were really open to new ideas. Decline started with stupid restrictions imposed upon the society.

- Accountability:

I don't have precise words to describe it but I sense a greater accountability in this place. Call made to cell phones do not get "lost in the network". Letters posted to and by me reach destinations in a timely manner. And many other small things.

-Diverse and Varied:
In a country as large and dynamic as the United States, nationalities and races mix. For convenience, however, we'll classify Americans according to several factors. The first is race: European (White), African (Black), Asian or Native American (American Indian). But even this is not a perfect classification system, since Hispanic Americans (those with a Spanish language background) can also be white, black or even part Native American.

Stated below are strictly my personal opinions :
I firmly believe that we need to do what history has taught us. Stay in a developed country, get self developed and then go back and try to develop our own nation. Someone would now say that what is there to go back to India from US and I agree that India has a long way to go, but imagine what would have happened if the TATAS ,AMBANIS,OR more recently AZIM PREMJI or NARAYAN MURTHY would have said that? It is not always that the sea has the same tides, it keeps on changing and changing for the good. after all our children are the future of our country and not for some other country. When I say that US or UK or any other developed country is good because of social or economical life,I need to remember that it is infact our own guilt that we try to hide from our own future. In short, I need to go back to India and raise my kids there in a socially, diversified society. I will certainly not have the conveniences I’ve in America, when I’m in India, but I was an Indian, am an Indian and will be an Indian. I don’t particularly care for Hinduism or any other religion; but my nationality, I’m proud of it.Yes, India is impoverished, developing, every day it amazes me how our young nation still holds up as one nation with its various divisions, violent and polluted. But, it is a democracy. It is a democracy that openly admits when it has been wrong. In US, I believe, there is a tendency to push debates under the carpet in the name of "patriotism".