Time Magazine picked top 10 wives who showed strong character during troubled times. Jhansi queen Lakshmibhai found place among great wives in history who showed courage in troubled times. These women are famous for their courage, composure and character in tough times. Indians will never forget Jhansi Rani and Bhagat Singh. Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi life history: Rani Jhansi Lakshmi Bai's original name is Manikarnika. She was born in Varanasi on November 19, 1835. 1839: She lost her mother at the age of 4. 1842: Jhansi Rani married Jhansi king Raja Gangadhara Rao. 1851: She lost her son (4 months after birth). 1853: She lost her husband.When she was 18 year, Jhansi Rani already lost her mother, son and husband. She was a symbol of courage, patriotism and valour. 1858, June 18: Rani Jhansi Lakshmi Bai died in the war. Top 10 resolute wives in history: 1. Eleanor Roosevelt (USA) 2. Queen Esabella (Spain) 3. June Carter Cash 4. Cleopatra (Egypt) 5. Sarah Palin (USA) 6. Ellen de Generes and Portia de Rossi 7. Michelle Obama (USA) 8. Jhansi Rani (India): Most courageous woman in history. 9. Melinda Gates (USA) 10. Elin Nordegren I don't know how you can compare great warrior like Jhansi Rani with ordinary women like Michelle Obama and Sarah Palin. Please share your list of great wives. … [Read more...]
International Laughing Day special
Except human beings, no other living thing created by the great God in this universe can laugh. Hence, we are the luckiest people on this globe, having this unique quality. So live this great life happily and with full of laughing moments. See yourself how much you feel happy after your heart- felt laughing experience. As per the researchers, laughing benefits us and our health in a number of ways. Benefits of Laughter: 1. Releasing us from stress and train: Usually during stress some harmful hormones will be secreted in our body. But we laughed heart fully, beneficial hormones will be released. 2. Rapid increase in the production of natural killer cells which kills micro-organisms causing cancer and other harmful organisms as revealed in the research. 3. Increase in the production of “Immunoglobulin-A and also Immunoglobulin-B. That is concerned with respiratory related diseases. 4. Control of blood pressure: As per the researcher, Dr. Pal McGhee, after doing 22 years of research, he confidently revealed that B.P decreases by 10-20 m.m of pressure after ten minutes of laughing. He also said laughing is a good exercise for lungs also. 5. Effect on blood circulation and heart diseases: Professor Dr.Michael Millar of university of Maryland Medical centre claims the speed in blood circulation increases by22%.The problem of occurring heart ailments is 40% more in non-laughing personnel, when compared to laughing persons. 6. Effect on the life span of the cancer patients: Professor Swenswebaak of Norwegian University of Science and Technology after thorough observations found, the life span of … [Read more...]
How to Boost Your Confidence?
Self-Confidence is nothing but to believe in yourself. Think what you are and what you can do in your life. Some people are born with full of self-confidence but not everyone; some of us need to work on it. There are some important key factors which make you feel confident and now I’m going to discuss some important factors to increase your confidence. 1. Dress Nicely: Wearing good clothes that fit you correctly will definitely increase your confidence. Many of us do the mistake that we wear clothes that look nice but do not necessarily suit our body type. We should wear clothes that fit you well. If your body is healthy, avoid wearing too tight or too loose cloths. On other hand if you are very skinny please do not wear very loose clothes. 2. Physical Activity: Get involve in any physical activity like dancing, cycling or running will make you feel better. If every day we do yoga for 30 minutes, it will not only increase our physical muscular strength but also our mental strength and self-confidence. Regular exercise will make your body fit and physical fitness has a huge effect on self confidence. 3. Remember Your Good Qualities: Everybody has some good and some bad qualities. Always remember your best qualities. It is true that a nervous person has less confidence. Discover your best things and focus on your talent. Make a list of your good points and remind it daily, especially when you feel nervous. It will boost your confidence. 4. Positive Attitude: We know that nobody can always think positive and there are some limits of positive thinking. But if you decide you can definitely make a positive attitude towards your life. Please avoid self-pity and never try to gain sympathy of others. … [Read more...]
Motivational article: Disabled?…..Who?
“I cried because I had no shoes and then I met a man who had no feet.” Anisha sulked as she walked into the stadium with her parents. She had still not forgiven her kid brother Anoop for upsetting her weekend plans. It was with great difficulty that she had convinced Papa to them out to the multiplex for a movie. Normally multiplex visits were reserved for vacations. However, two days ago Anoop had been selected for a dance programme as a replacement for another boy who had fallen ill and they would have rehearsals in the weekend. She had not paid any attention when Anoop had excitedly told them what the programme was about and frankly she didn’t care. All she heard was that it some sporting event and she was not interested in sports at all. She sat on a seat beside Mama and wistfully thought of the lazy lunch at the mall they would have had if only……… Still feeling gloomy, she saw small boys standing in neat rows on the stadium ground and she tried to figure out which of them was Anoop. Just then something else caught her attention. She saw that in one part of the ground, some foreigners were practicing running. “Oh, it’s an international athletic event!” she thought. For some reason she got up and went near where they were practising. As she saw them from up close, she froze. All their legs ended at the knee and below that they had some contraptions attached. And that was what they were using for running! Tears of pity welled in Anisha’s eyes but she noticed that the eyes of those who she pitied were far from sad. Instead of glum faces she saw genuinely cheerful, happy people laughing and joking. One athlete even looked at her and waved. The childish Anisha in … [Read more...]
Whither the sporting spirit?
The Randiv-Sehwag incident has become quite a controversy. Sri Lankan bowler Suraj Randiv bowled a no-ball to Virender Sehwag when one run was needed to win. This resulted in a six but robbed Viru who was batting at 99, of his century. Prima facie, Randiv’s act does seem intentional, but let us not pass judgement on that. What this incident reminds us is that winning is not only important, it has become the only thing that matters; and if you are losing you need to make sure that your opponent is at least robbed of his glory. The actions of sportspersons, sports lovers, sports bodies and even governments of countries have proved time and again that winning is vital, and it is not necessary that one plays in a straightforward manner. They say, “If winning is not everything why do we keep score?” Of course one plays to win, but winning by breaking the rules, or more cleverly, winning by bending the rules without actually breaking them is just not done. What is important is “not that you won or lost but how you played the game”. The Sri Lanka incident reminds one of the 1981 incident when Greg Chappell instructed his brother Trevor to bowl under-arm for the last ball in a match against New Zealand to prevent a six. This kind of bowling was within the laws of the game but considered to be unsportsmanlike. The rules have changed since. Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ is part of folklore. In the 1986 FIFA World Cup, Maradona hit a goal against the United Kingdom which he first said was partly ‘Hand of God’ but later conceded that it was deliberately hit with his hand. This goal should not have been condoned. Argentina went on to win the cup that year. Why is that ‘win’ so important? Is … [Read more...]
‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’
“Charity begins at home but should not end there.” – Sir Francis Bacon. In early August, 40 billionaires in the US led by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates made a pledge – to give away at least half of their wealth to worthy causes. Buffett and Gates also plan to approach the super-rich in India and China and exhort them to do the same. The majority of the rich of course leave the bulk of their riches to their children. Whether kingdoms, wealth, businesses, the beneficiaries are children most of the time. It is high time this changed; and no, we don’t need the millionaires and billionaires donating to religious causes, considering that a large number of our countrymen need assistance to even satisfy their basic necessities, require education and jobs. This habit of refraining from passing on every pie one has made to one’s offspring does have multiple benefits. The billionaire will have so much money, much more than what his children would require to lead a comfortable life. The bulk of the money can therefore be used for meaningful purposes. After all, the Hitopadesha says “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” or “The entire Earth is but one family”. Moneyed men can work for the betterment of people beyond their immediate family, people who desperately need all the help they can get. Though it may seem that this super-rich man is robbing his children of their rightful inheritance by donating most of his wealth for philanthropic purposes, he is actually going them a favour. How ? One often sees and hears about people whose downfall has been caused by too much wealth; imagine the consequences if one is squandering away the hard-earned wealth of one’s parents! Confident that … [Read more...]
Sensitivity – a forgotten trait
I pick up the newspaper on the doorstep still half asleep and the headlines of a woman’s murder in the city stare back at me. A few days later, I read that her husband, an HR manager with a renowned software company has confessed his guilt to the police. Maybe a week later, I read about a number of beggars dying overnight in a beggars’ colony run by the government and the authorities make the dubious claim that all those deaths were natural. A couple of days later, heavy rains lash the city and as I flip television channels, a local channel is reporting that the torrential rains have claimed the life of an auto driver. They even zoom the shot to show the dangling hand of the deceased driver. I soon realise that they have shown the macabre visual thrice and that I am still watching it. I switch off the TV set, ashamed at myself and disgusted with the channel. These three incidents are not connected in any manner, but continue to bother me. Some more thinking and I conclude - people in the government, media and the populace which includes you and me have become insensitive. We are no longer receptive to the pains, sorrows, troubles and tragedies of others. All we are sensitive to now is our own feelings. In the case of the murder, if the husband is indeed the culprit, it is terribly shocking. How can a husband cold-bloodedly plan to kill his wife of three years? Can such a brutal act be justified even if there was any provocation? Can any reason be good enough for snuffing out a life in cold blood ? Psychologists blame stress, work pressures et al for crimes like this one, but of what use is pinpointing the cause when we can’t come up with a reasonable solution? The reactions to … [Read more...]
Bearing a grudge hurts – yourself
“I have learned silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet strange, I am ungrateful to these teachers,” says Kahlil Gibran in the book ‘Sand and Foam’. Bearing grudges is human; it is very difficult to shake off that feeling of resentment. Consider the feeling of rage or anger, where the poison from the system is spewed out completely at one go, though often with disastrous consequences. Contrast this with the feeling of rancour which works like slow-poison. You may have a former friend who has belittled you in the past and who you are nursing a grudge against. If you care to notice, you will see that the friend is blissfully unaware of your animosity. It is your insides which are corroding with malice, you want to teach her a lesson someday. This feeling will remain long after you have forgotten the reason for the ill-will you bear her and all you will end up with is an ulcer. The best way to do away with this feeling is to deal with it right away and not let it rankle within you. If it is something you can sort out with the person, just do it at the earliest and forget the whole episode. A lifetime of bearing venom is detrimental to one’s physical and mental well-being. Most of the resentments we nurse are for silly reasons and we may be harbouring them even from childhood. It may be against a sibling for putting us into trouble, a cousin for a perceived slight, a teacher or even a parent for unjust punishment. When somebody very close has hurt me, I try to remember at least one good turn which that person has done. This makes me feel better immediately. The problem is that we give ourselves so much importance that … [Read more...]
Steer your thoughts, worry no more
We don't function well when we worry. Worry hinders our work and spoils our health. Being a habitual worrier, I decided to solve my problem and found for myself; three ways in which I can make my tensions disappear just by steering my thoughts in a particular direction. Consider the following examples: A cell of my body dies, another is born - does it make any difference to me? I will not even be aware of this death or for that matter, the birth. In my lifespan, a second, a minute hardly matters; these are insignificant in the context of my lifetime. Similarly, compare one's self to the universe. A person is not significant enough to constitute even a speck of this universe, so huge are its dimensions. Even if I was no more the next minute, it will go on just the same. Where is all this discussion heading? What has all this got to do with worry? -When you are worried about your job, some work place problem, a family quarrel, obstinate kids, the thoughts like the above will help you put these issues in perspective. You will realise that events like these are not of prime importance. They are trivial, a very tiny part of your life. Happy occasions and worries, victories and defeats keep occurring in everybody's life. They are just one of the thousands of things which have already happened or will happen in the future and should be treated as such. - When the worm called 'worry' starts eating into you, make some time to ponder over whether the worrisome incident will continue to bother you tomorrow, whether it would make a difference to your life a year from now. Why, ten years hence you may have forgotten this incident and if you do remember you may be having a good laugh over it. I surely have no idea … [Read more...]
Questioning the Rule of Obedience
"Just obey, don't ask why!" This is how elders usually admonish children when they ask questions. "Obey your guru", the scriptures say. Do not question, do not hesitate to do as you are told. The rule of obedience may hold good in certain specific contexts but to blindly follow such strictures will be to our own peril. To impose the rule of obedience on small children who are unable to discern between right and wrong, who have no experiences to learn from is correct. If a child asked not to cross the street on its own disobeys, it may prove fatal for the child. But to prohibit them from asking questions is wrong. Indian tradition expects the rule of obedience to be followed without questioning, even from adults. By questioning the tenet of obedience, I do not mean any disrespect to the elders. They are after all senior in age and from their vast repertoire of experiences, are wise to the ways of the world. But we cannot live our lives, build our principles, take up professions or even marry, blindly based on what they say, irrespective of whether they are right or not. Also, what was right for them need not be right for us. As to ‘obedience to the guru’, the moral calibre of our teachers today cannot be compared to that of sages and seers of yesteryears. Even otherwise, I personally feel that instead of blind obedience to the guru, people should be encouraged to question him. After all, it was by seeking, that the sages of yore were able to find the truth, Brahman, Nirvana, whatever name you call it. So it is not unquestioning compliance but a teacher’s guidance when sought, which will aid our quest, spiritual or otherwise. By simply obeying, we will never learn to make our own decisions. Not only that, a stronger argument is … [Read more...]
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