The Dalai Lama: Why I Laugh - by The Dalai Lama

Courtessy : http://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?shva=1#inbox/14467be4720d4db2
The Dalai Lama: Why I Laugh
by The Dalai Lama

[Listen to Audio!]

I have been confronted with many difficulties throughout the course of my life, and my country is going through a critical period. But I laugh often, and my laughter is contagious. When people ask me how I find the strength to laugh now, I reply that I am a professional laugher. [...]

The life of exile is an unfortunate life, but I have always tried to cultivate a happy state of mind, appreciating the opportunities this existence without a settled home, far from all protocol, has offered me. This way I have been able to preserve my inner peace.

If we are content just to think that compassion, rationality, and patience are good, that is not actually enough to develop these qualities. Difficulties provide the occasion to put them into practice. Who can make such occasions arise? Certainly not our friends, but rather our enemies, for they are the ones who pose the most problems. So that we truly want to progress on the path, we must regard our enemies as our best teachers.

For whoever holds love and compassion in high esteem, the practice of tolerance is essential, and it requires an enemy. We must be grateful to our enemies, then, because they help us best engender a serene mind! Anger and hatred are the real enemies that we must confront and defeat, not the “enemies” who appear from time to time in our lives.

Of course it is natural and right that we all want to have friends. I often say jokingly that a truly selfish person must be altruistic! You have to take care of others, of their well-being, by helping them and serving them, to have even more friends and make more smiles blossom. The result? When you yourself need help, you will find all you need! On the other hand, if you neglect others’ happiness, you will be the loser in the long run. Is friendship born of arguments, anger, jealousy, and unbridled competition? I don’t think so. Only affection produces authentic friends. […]

As for me, I always want more friends. I love smiles, and my wish is to see more smiles, real smiles, for there are many kinds—sarcastic, artificial, or diplomatic. Some smiles don’t arouse any satisfaction, and some even engender suspicion or fear. An authentic smile, though, arouses an authentic feeling of freshness, and I think the smile belongs only to human beings. If we want those smiles, we must create the reasons that make them appear.

-- The Dalai Lama, in an excerpt from his book "My Spiritual Journey"

Living In The Age of Distraction - --by Margaret Wheatley

Living In The Age of Distraction -by Margaret Wheatley

 COURTESY: http://www.dailygood.org/story/449/living-in-the-age-of-distraction-margaret-wheatley/

“Sit, be still, and listen, because you're drunk and we're at the edge of the roof. --Jalaluddin Rumi”

For years I assumed that the Titanic tragedy was a result of human arrogance, the belief in the indestructibility of the newest, largest, fastest, fanciest ship of all time. But actually the Titanic went down because of distraction. Other ships had been warning about the iceberg-filled waters for days, but the Titanic’s captain changed course only slightly and did nothing to slow the ship’s speed. When the radio operator received a call from a ship that was surrounded by ice—this was less than an hour before the collision—he responded, “Shut up, shut up, I’m busy.” By the time lookouts spotted the iceberg ahead, it was too late to slow the Titanic’s momentum.  

Although overused, the Titanic is a chillingly accurate metaphor ... ...

Dada - Dadi ni Vidya Parab - Deepak and Manjari Buch

Given below is the details of grass root work being taken up by Shree Deepakbhai  and Manjariben Buch. Looking at the same, if you wish, you may like to vote for them, on following link

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/heroes/

(if the link doesn't open directly, please copy the same in the browser address line)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Deepak and Manjari Buch
Nominated for : Empowering the poor.

Initiative - Teaching poor children for free

After more than three decades in office, Deepak Buch retired in style from his deputy manager’s post in Gujarat State Finance Corporation in 2005. But ‘what’s next?’ wasn’t bothering Buch and his better half Manjariben as the couple had long back decided to dedicate the post-retirement period to society. Their quest for the right cause soon found an answer in “securing the future of the poor but bright students”.

“I was speaking to my domestic help. His financial condition wasn’t good and it was affecting his children’s future for want of exposure and proper guidance. And it took us no time to decide that we want to help children of lower economic strata,” says Buch, 67.

On the Rath Yatra day in 2005, the elderly launched their free coaching centre and out of ... ... ...

DEMENTIA - TIPS TO DELAY OR AVOID

 *DEMENTIA - TIPS TO DELAY OR AVOID *      
        
Most of us start worrying about dementia after retirement - and that may be too little, too late. 

Experts say that if you really want to ward off dementia, you need to start taking care of your brain in your 30s and 40s - or even earlier.

"More and more research is suggesting that lifestyle is very important to your brain's health," says Dr. Paul Nussbaum, a neuropsychologist and an adjunct associate professor at the ... ... ...

POSITIVE EFFECTS OF METITATION (Thro TED)

HERE is the link, http://blog.ted.com/2013/01/11/4-scientific-studies-on-how-meditation-can-affect-your-heart-brain-and-creativity/

AND HERE is the text (For hyperlinks, please go through above link to TED)

Many people have tried to sell me on the idea of meditating. Sometimes I try it, and have an incredible, refreshing experience. But usually, as I close my eyes and focus on my breathing, while I know that I’m supposed to be letting all thoughts go, more and more fly through my mind. Soon I have a laundry-list of “to-dos” in my head … and then my legs fall asleep. It’s all downhill from there.


Today’s TED Talk, however, might actually ... ... ...

Mind - Adi Shankara charya

Amazing true story by Adi Shankaracharya ji  to explain the relationship of our mind & our Super Emotional Garbage !!!
Adi Sankara was walking through the market place with his disciples. They saw a man dragging a cow by a rope. Sankara told the man to wait and asked his disciples to surround them. “I am going to teach you something” and continued...
“Tell me who is bound to whom? Is the cow bound to this man or the man is bound to the cow?
The disciples said without hesitation “Of course the cow is bound to the man!. The man is the master. He is holding the rope. The cow has to follow him wherever he goes. The man is the master and the cow is the slave.”
“Now watch this”, said Sankara and took a pair of scissors from his bag and cut the rope. The cow ran away from the master and the man ran after his cow. “Look, what is happening”, said Sankara.
“Do you see who the Master is? The cow is not at all interested in this man. The cow in fact, is trying to escape from this man.” This is the case with our mind.
Like the cow, all the non-sense that we carry inside is not interested in us. We are interested in it, we are keeping it together somehow or the other. We are going crazy trying to keep it all together under our control.
 The moment we lose interest in all the garbage filled in our head, and the moment we understand the futility of it, it will start to disappear. Like the cow, it will escape and disappear.”
We can allow disappearing of all the unwanted things from our mind and feel relaxed.

Success & Successful People

Success in life is more than: Winning accolades for your work, getting rich & famous or having more than others.

It is about making a difference, creating an impact & fulfilling your inherent desire to create. 

Successful people:

1. Listen to the voice that encourages them to take challenges. 

2. Create an impact by bringing a change in people’s life.

3. Are passionately involved in their work. 

4. Stand by their principles even in challenging times.

5. Have the perseverance to achieve their goals & never quit. 

6. Remain a student forever & try to master their work.

7. Have an unwavering faith that what they are doing is right. 

8. Take risks to achieve their dreams.

9. Have a strong reason for what they set to do.

કાવ્ય - ગૌરાંગ ઠાકર

લ્યો, દીવાની આબરૂ જળવાઈ ગઈ,
દ્વાર પર આવી હવા ફંટાઈ ગઈ.


ફૂલની ફોરમ બધે ચર્ચાઈ ગઈ.
માવજત માળીની બસ વીસરાઈ ગઈ.


વાંસળીને કાજ ક્યાંથી લાવશું ?
ફૂંક તો ચૂલા ઉપર વપરાઈ ગઈ.


કોણ પડછાયા ઉપાડી જાય છે ?
એ જ જોવા સાંજ પણ રોકાઈ ગઈ.


સોયમાં દોરાને બદલે બા હતી,
ગોદડીમાં હૂંફ પણ સીવાઈ ગઈ.


મેં ગુમાવી એમ મારી મુગ્ધતા,
જેમ દરિયામાં નદી ખોવાઈ ગઈ.


તોપના મોઢે કબૂતર ચીતર્યું,
લાલ રંગોળી છતાં પુરાઈ ગઈ.


- ગૌરાંગ ઠાકર

સફળતા વિશેના સ્વામી વિવેકાનંદના સૂત્રો... - સ્વામી વિવેકાનન્દ (Swami Vivekanand)

સફળતા પ્રાપ્ત કરવાના રહસ્યો,તમે પણ જાણો .

સ્વામી વિવેકાનન્દનું વાસ્તવિક નામ નરેન્દ્ર નાથ દત્ત હતુ. તેઓ વેદાન્તના વિખ્યાત અને પ્રભાવશાલી આધ્યાત્મિક ગુરુ હતા. તેમણે અમેરિકા સ્થિત શિકાગો નગરમાં સન્ ૧૮૯૩ મા આયોજિત વિશ્વ ધર્મ મહાસમ્મેલનમા સનાતન ધર્મનુ પ્રતિનિધિત્વ કર્યુ હતુ. ભારતનુ વેદાન્ત અમેરિકા અને યૂરોપના દરેક દેશમાં સ્વામી વિવેકાનંદના ઉપદેશના કારણે જ પહોંચ્યો હતો. પોતાના અભિપ્રાય થકી સમગ્ર વિશ્વને હલાવી દેવાની શક્તિ તેઓમાં હતી. 

તેમણે રામકૃષ્ણ મિશન ની સ્થાપના કરી હતી, જે આજે પણ સક્રીય રીતે કામગીરી બજાવે છે. સ્વામી વિવેકાનંદે આપણને શીખવ્યું કે આપણું કામ કેવી રીતે કરવું જોઇએ.સ્વામી વિવેકાનંદે પોતાના કાર્યો અને ઉપદેશો વડે સમગ્ર વિશ્વમાં પોતાનો ડંકો વગાડ્યો હતો. જીવન કઈ રીતે જીવવું અને જીવનમાં સફળતા પામવા માટે પણ તેમણે કેટલાક સુવર્ણ સૂત્રો જણાવ્યા છે.
 
સફળતા વિશેના સ્વામી વિવેકાનંદના સૂત્રો...
 
૧. વીરતાપૂર્વક આગળ વધો. એક દિવસ કે એક વર્ષમાં સફળતાની આશા રાખશો નહિ. હંમેશા સર્વોચ્ચ વસ્તુને વળગી રહો.

૨. ડરો નહિ. તમે કેટલી વખત ... ... ...

SELF-CONFIDENCE

SELF-CONFIDENCE 
[ Courtesy: http://attitude-for-life.blogspot.in/2011_05_01_archive.html]

The business executive was deep in debt and could see no way out. Creditors were closing in on him. Suppliers were demanding payment. He sat on the park bench, head in hands, wondering if anything could save his company from bankruptcy. 

Suddenly an old man appeared before him. 

"I can see that something is troubling you," he said. 

After listening to the executive's woes, the old man said, "I believe I can help you." 

He asked the man his name, wrote out a check, and ... ... ...[click on READ MORE below]

The Dom Luís Bridge - Thro Wiki-Bhai

The Dom Luís Bridge is a 172-metre (564 ft) long metal arch bridge that spans the Douro River between the cities of Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia in Portugal. Designed by Téophile Seyrig, construction was completed in 1886.
Photograph: Diego Delso

Microsoft’s new CEO- Satya Nadella’s mail to the employees

Microsoft Corp named company veteran Satya Nadella as its next chief executive officer on Tuesday, ending a longer-than-expected search for a new leader after Steve Balmer announced his intention to retire in August.

Read below, the email Nadella sent to his employees, following his appointment as CEO.

Feb. 04, 2014

From: Satya Nadella
To: All Employees
Date: Feb. 4, 2014
Subject: RE: Satya Nadella – Microsoft’s New CEO

Today is a very humbling day for me. It reminds me of my very first day at Microsoft, 22 years ago. Like you, I had a choice about where to come to work. I came here because I believed Microsoft was the best company in the world. I saw then how clearly we empower people to do magical things with our creations and ultimately make the world a better place. I knew there was no better company to join if I wanted to make a difference. This is the very same inspiration that continues to drive me today.

It is an incredible honor for me to lead and serve this great company of ours. Steve and Bill have taken it from an idea to one of the greatest and most universally admired companies in the world. I’ve been fortunate to work closely with both Bill and Steve in my different roles at Microsoft, and as I step in as CEO, I’ve asked Bill to devote additional time to the company, focused on technology and products. I’m also looking forward to working with John Thompson as our new Chairman of the Board.

While we have seen great success, we are ............. [[click on Read More below]]...

વસંતના વધામણા..... - મનોજ ખંડેરિયા (Vasant na Vadhamana - Manoj Khanderia)

વસંતના વધામણા.....

આ ડાળ ડાળ જાણે કે રસ્તા વસંતના,
ફૂલોએ બીજું કૈં નથી, પગલાં વસંતના.
મલયાનિલોની પીંછી ને રંગો ફૂલો ના લૈ,
દોરી રહ્યું છે કોણ આ નકશા વસંતના !
આ એક તારા અંગે ને બીજો ચમન મહીં,
જાણે કે બે પડી ગયા ફાંટા વસંતના !
મહેંકી રહી છે મંજરી એક એક આંસુમાં,
મ્હોર્યા છે આજ આંખમાં આંબા વસંતના !
ઊઠી રહ્યા છે યાદના અબીલ ને ગુલાલ,
હૈયે થયા છે આજ તો છાંટા વસંતના !
ફાંટુ ભરીને સોનું સૂરજનું ભરો હવે,
પાછા ફરી ન આવશે તડકા વસંતના !

- મનોજ ખંડેરિયા

વસંતના વધામણા.....