July Fourth

Via Wikipedia

https://goo.gl/0oVzP7

During the American Revolution, the legal separation of the Thirteen Colonies from Great Britain occurred on July 2, 1776, when the Second Continental Congress voted to approve a resolution of independence that had been proposed in June by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia declaring the United States independent from Great Britain rule.[5][6] After voting for independence, Congress turned its attention to the Declaration of Independence, a statement explaining this decision, which had been prepared by a Committee of Five, with Thomas Jefferson as its principal author. Congress debated and revised the wording of the Declaration, finally approving it on July 4. A day earlier, John Adams had written to his wife Abigail:

“” The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.[7] “”

Adams's prediction was off by two days. From the outset, Americans celebrated independence on July 4, the date shown on the much-publicized Declaration of Independence, rather than .....

What is Our Worth - A real good Story

What is Our Worth

Michael Jordan was an African-American man, born in 1963, in the slums of Brooklyn, New York.

He had four brothers and his father's wages were not sufficient to provide for the whole family.
He grew up in a poor neighborhood which was full of discrimination, to the point where he could not see any hope for the future.

When he was 13 years old, his father gave him a piece of used clothing and asked: "What do you think the value of this outfit would be?"

Jordan replied, "Maybe one dollar."

His father asked, "Can you sell it for two dollars? If you can sell it, it would mean that you are a big help
to your father and mother. "

Jordan nodded his head, "I'll try, but no guarantee that I'll be successful."

Jordan carefully washed the clothes clean. Because they didn't have an iron, to smoothen out clothes, he ..... [click on read more]

Funny

Krushna

http://goo.gl/bpOvyx


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FUTURE TECHNOLOGIES

FUTURE TECHNOLOGIES:

In 1998, Kodak had 170,000 employees and sold 85% of all photo paper worldwide.  Within just a few years, their business model disappeared and they went bankrupt. What happened to Kodak will happen in a lot of industries in the next 10 years - and most people don't see it coming. Did you think in 1998 that 3 years later you would never take pictures on paper film again? Yet digital cameras were invented in 1975. The first ones only had 10,000 pixels, but followed Moore's law. So as with all exponential technologies, it was a disappointment for a long time, before it became way superior and got mainstream in only a few short years. It will now happen with Artificial Intelligence, health, autonomous and electric cars, education, 3D printing, agriculture and jobs. Welcome to the 4th Industrial Revolution. Welcome to the Exponential Age.

Software will disrupt most traditional industries in the next 5-.....

Sitar + Tabala by Pt. Ravishankar and Zakir Hussain

Sitar + Tabala by Pt. Ravishankar and Zakir Hussain

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Giver's Gain

A Story from Indian Epic:

Giver's Gain

Once Krishna and Arjuna were walking towards a village. Arjuna was pestering Krishna, asking him why Karna should be considered an unparallelled Donor & not him ?

Krishna, turned two mountains into gold. 

Then said,  "Arjuna, distribute these two gold mountains among villagers, but you must donate every bit of it ". 

Arjuna went into the village, and proclaimed he was going to donate gold to every villager, and asked them to gather near the mountain. The villagers sang his praises and .....[Click on 'Read More' ]]

Hanuman Chalisa - Sooryagayathri

Hanuman Chalisa -

Sooryagayathri is the Granddaughter of Late M S Shubhalakshmi

https://goo.gl/4X2OIk

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Happiness :)

[Courtesy: Source not known to me]

This story is about a beautiful, expensively dressed lady who complained to her psychiatrist that she felt that her whole life was empty, it had no meaning.

So, the lady went to visit a counselor to seek out happiness.

The counselor called over the old lady who cleaned the office floors.

The counselor then said to the rich lady "I'm going to ask Mary here to tell u how she found happiness. All I want u to do is listen to her."

So the old lady put down her broom and sat on a chair and told her story: ..... [[Click on 'Read More' \/]]

Lessons from Three Ships around Titanic

*There were three ships which were nearby when the Titanic sunk !*

One of them was known as the -*Sampson*. It was 7 miles away from the Titanic and they saw the white flares signaling danger, but because the crew had been hunting seals illegally and didn't want to be caught, they turned and went the opposite direction away from the Titanic. This ship represents many people like us, who are so busy looking inward at our own lives that we can't recognize when someone else is in need.

The next ship was the -*Californian*. This ship was only 14 miles away from the Titanic, but they were surrounded by ice fields and the captain looked out and saw the white flares, but because the conditions weren't favorable and it was dark, he decided to go back to bed and wait until morning. The crew tried to convince themselves that nothing was happening. This ship represents those of us who often say – "I can't do anything now. The conditions aren't right for it and so we wait until conditions are perfect before going out."

The last ship was the - *Carpathia* This ship was actually headed in a *opposite* direction 58 miles away from the Titanic when they heard the distress cries over the radio. The captain of this ship knelt down, prayed to God for direction and then turned the ship around and went full steam ahead through the ice fields. *This was the ship that saved the 705 survivors of the Titanic*
                 
*-ANALOGY -*
Obstacles and reasons to avoid responsibility shall always be there, But those who accept it always find a place in the hearts of the world, always to be remembered for of good they do.

Herbs: The ancient Secret to Healthy Living

Herbs: The ancient secret to healthy living

One of the greatest gifts we humans have ever received from nature is a huge collection of herbs and spices. These herbs are used in flavoring the food items, as medicines, or in perfumes too.  These herbs are glorified in the Tenth Mandala of Rig Veda (10:97) as ‘The tawny (herbs & spices) plants were born in the ancient times, three ages before the gods; now I will meditate upon their hundred and seven forms’.

Following are the five popular herbs that help to a greater extent. .....[[Read on by clicking on Read More below]] .....

12 LIFE LESSONS FROM A MAN WHO HAS SEEN 12000 DEATHS

(Some one informed that, this post has been originally posted on  Project Fuel: http://projectfuel.in/blog/ )

12 LIFE LESSONS FROM A MAN WHO HAS SEEN 12000 DEATHS

Life's Lessons

Rooted in the hearts of many Hindus is the belief that if you breathe your last in Kashi (Varanasi) you attain what is popularly known as ‘Kashi Labh’ or ‘the fruit of Kashi’—moksh or “release from the cycle of rebirth impelled by the law of karma”.

Kashi Labh Mukti Bhawan in Varanasi is one of the three guesthouses in the city where people check in to die. The other two are Mumukshu Bhawan and Ganga Labh Bhawan. Established in 1908, Mukti Bhawan is well-known within the city and outside.

Bhairav Nath Shukla has been the Manager of Mukti Bhawan for 44 years. He has seen the rich and the poor take refuge in the guesthouse in their final days as they await death and hope to find peace. Shukla hopes with and for them.

 He sits on the wooden bench in the courtyard, against the red brick wall and shares with me 12 recurring life lessons from the 12000 deaths he has witnessed in his experience as the manager of Mukti Bhawan: READ ON .....[[Click on "Read More below]]

Anger & Response

As the carpenter went home after shutting down his workshop, a black poisonous cobra entered his workshop.

The cobra was hungry & hoped to find its supper lurking somewhere within. It slithered from one end to another & finally bumped into an axe & got very slightly injured.

In anger & revenge,  the snake bit the axe with full force. What could a bite do to a metallic axe? Instead the cobra 's mouth started bleeding.

Out of fury & arrogance, the cobra tried it's best to strangle & kill the object that was causing it pain by wrapping itself around the axe.

The next day when the carpenter opened the workshop, he found a dead cobra wrapped around the axe blades. The cobra didn't die because of someone else's fault but faced these consequences merely because of it's own anger &  wrath.
   
Sometimes when angry, we try to cause harm to others but as the time passes by, we realise that we have caused more harm to ourselves.

For a happy life, it's best we should ignore & overlook things, people, incidents, affairs & matters.

It is not necessary that we show a reaction to everything. Step back & ask urself if the matter is really worth responding to .

People that show no inclination to change, are best handled with silence & prayer.

Good Read

We live in a world of comforts. Our pizzas are delivered to us at our doorsteps; we are spoilt for choice in online shopping, choosing everything from sneakers to underwear with a simple click; even dating is as simple as swiping someone’s face right or left. We are earning big money, much more than what our parents did. We are young, we are independent, we are living it up.

Yet we are miserable. We are stressed because our jobs are not perfect; we are unhappy because our partners are not perfect; we are insecure because our bodies are not perfect. We are much more stressed than our parents were; .....

Small Tourch Light

Hello (not so) Little Friend,

I am sure it must be a matter of great pride and joy for you and your families that you have achieved a major ane significant milestone in your academic careeR.

With the opportunities that you would have got to reach to this stage, you would have been probably the best placed to perform, BUT, these provide only a strong platform. And as we know, from the analogy of drama theatre, that the best stage do not assure best performance. It's an actor herself who has to finally perform. So it's a pleased that you made the 'platform' proud by your performance.

As they say, there is no better motivator than Success. And we are sure you would be motivated .....

Picture your Future

Very Interesting and Practical.
(Please click on Link)

 http://youtu.be/4vl6wCiUZYc

Monk's Story

"Once upon a time in a faraway land, there lived a Chinese wise man and his disciple. One day in their  travels, they saw a hut in the distance. As they approached they realized that it was occupied in spite of its extremely poor appearance.

In that desolate place where there were no crops and no trees, a man lived with his wife, three young children and a thin, tired cow. Since they were hungry and thirsty, the wise man and his disciple stopped for a few hours and were well received. At one point, the wise man asked: .....

Pearl Carpet of Baroda

The Pearl Carpet of Baroda

Origin of Name

The most extravagant carpet ever made in the history of mankind, described by Sir George Birdwood, a connoisseur of Indian jewelry, in 1879 as "the most wonderful piece of embroidery ever known," the Pearl Carpet of Baroda, gets its name from the Maratha Princely State of Baroda, one of the four Princely States of the Maratha Confederacy, that was ruled by the Gaekwar dynasty since 1740.

The Maharajah Gaekwar of Baroda Khande Rao who ruled between 1856 and 1870, was one of the most notable connoisseurs and collectors of jewels and jewelry in the history of the entire dynasty, who would have gone to any extent, despite the expenditure involved, to acquire any jewel that captured his interest in any part of the world, or create any fabulous piece of jewelry that took shape in his fertile mind, using the  most highly skilled and experienced jewelry craftsmen, who had been trained in .....

Picture the DREAM !

Picture the DREAM !
(Click the Link Below)

 http://youtu.be/4vl6wCiUZYc

તારી ને મારી વાત

શબ્દોમાં ક્યાં સમાય છે તારી ને મારી વાત ?
અર્થોમાં ક્યાં ચણાય છે તારી ને મારી વાત

છલકાતી ચાંદનીમાં ઉતારી બધાં વસન,
ચંચળ બનીને ન્હાય છે તારી ને મારી વાત.

અવકાશમાં નિ:શ્વાસ બનીને ઘૂમી ઘૂમી-
એકાંતમાં પછડાય છે તારી ને મારી વાત.

આવી અતીતની આંગળી પકડીને આંખમાં
આંસુ મહીં ભીંજાય છે તારી ને મારી વાત.

રણ ખાલી-ખાલી આભ તળે એકલું નથી,
થઇ થઇ તરસ વિંઝાય છે તારી ને મારી વાત.

એની અવર-જવર છતાં ઉંબર નહીં ઘસાય ?
આવે ને પાછી જાય છે તારી ને મારી વાત.

રસ્તાની જેમ કાળ ખૂટે ક્યાં કે બેસીએ !
સપનાંનો ભાર થાય છે તારી ને મારી વાત.

– રમેશ પારેખ

A Duck or An Eagle !

 I was waiting in line for a ride at the airport. When a cab pulled up, the first thing I noticed was that the taxi was polished to a bright shine. Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie, and freshly pressed black slacks, the cab driver jumped out and rounded the car to open the back passenger door for me.

He handed me a laminated card and said: 'I'm Wasu, your driver. While I'm loading your bags in the trunk I'd like you to read my mission statement.'

Taken aback, I read the card. It said: Wasu's Mission Statement:
To get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest and cheapest way possible in a friendly environment.

This blew me away. Especially when I noticed that the inside of the cab matched the outside. Spotlessly clean!

As he slid behind the wheel, Wasu said, 'Would you like a cup of coffee? I have a thermos of regular and one of decaf.'

I said jokingly, 'No, I'd prefer a soft drink.'

Wasu smiled and said, 'No problem. I have a cooler up front with regular and Diet Coke, lassi, water and orange juice.'

Almost stuttering, I said, 'I'll take a Lassi.'

Handing me my drink, Wasu said, 'If you'd like something to read, I have .....