SHARING

This is beautiful and means more than a thousand words can say............

"Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle,
and the life of the candle will not be shortened.
Happiness never decreases by being shared." 
----- Siddhartha Gautama Buddha

Life isn't easy and we all know that. For some it is even more so difficult than the rest. Happiness and Joy in such a condition seems as a distant horizon for it easily wearies the mind, body, and soul of a person.

The greatest gift we can give to ourselves and everyone around is the gift of sharing. In a situation where any one of us has been blessed with the priceless gift of delight, we should hasten to share it out with those who may be needing it too. Perhaps a smile... a warm thought... a kind word... a helpful gesture... a prayer... or maybe just a simple hug can do wonders. This may perhaps seem unimportant and insignificant ... but to the person you will be giving it shall the whole world.

Happiness and joy is contagious. All it takes is to light up the spark and the sooner than we think, that tiny spark bursts into huge flames quickly warming those plenty hearts around you reaching out to everyone with its light. Share this gift freely. It shall only enhance by spreading and we will not lose anything. In fact, it doubles up in huge measure and becomes a blessing it was meant to be. For them..... As well for us.

Without a second thought we should invest our energy into cultivating relationships as such associations are like a garden, the more time we spend tending and planting in the garden, the more spectacular the garden turns out to be. Similarly, our focus should be on investing our time, effort and imagination into developing and maintaining meaningful relationships as it is our sincere efforts only that shall yield good results and we shall see all the relationships flourishing and growing.

We live in a truly abundant universe that is filled with opportunities and possibilities. We should give ourselves and everyone around us the gift of our ongoing personal development because when we commit to take care of ourselves, we become a better, friend, business partner, employee, spouse etc. Believe in yourself and the support everyone around you can, this way we shall discover the key to unlock our unlimited potential.

Teach the people how you should be treated by treated them the same way. When we project an exemplary picture to the world, in which we commit to keep improving, we tend to give ourselves freely and this helps others to achieve their dreams too. Exactly the same will be reciprocated back and everyone around us will become part of our support system.

What are you waiting for, take the plunge today and commit to become the type of person you want the world to be. This way the world will seem to change and will be filled with all the right type of people. If you want the world to change, then change the only thing you have control over, change yourself and the world will change. Everything around you will change as you change. Anything you pursue will always elude you; everything you embrace will be attracted to you

Still why are people hesitant? Sharing happiness should become one's second nature. Happiness never gets abridged but expands with multiplier effect by sharing.

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Role of the Women of Today

  

India is gradually emerging as a powerful nation since women began playing significant roles for the development of the country. The role of woman in India today is phenomenal and the transition of woman from the past to present is worth mentioning as the woman who was once considered to be the masters in the art of home making are now considered to be the forces that shape a country.

So true are the words of Albert Einstein- “The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.”  

In India, there was a time when women were just confined to kitchen and house, but gradually, awareness towards education uplifted them where they began to get educated and some after higher education came out on the social and political platform to rub shoulder with the men. This struggle was the opening up of the new horizon for a new womanhood in India.

The new generation of women seem to have wheels under their feet where girls are extremely ambitious and focused. They seem to emerge from clearly defined boundaries of their homes and enter schools, colleges with a well-defined role at the workplace. They efficiently rearrange their career and social life along with her family life following all the traditions and festivities. A great amalgamation of Western emancipation and Indian warmth, full of compassion and family values. They are extremely talented and progressive trying their best to walk on equal footings with men in all fields of the society.

Previously women faced many Social Problems like Dowry, Child Marriages, death during Childbirth, Sati and many other social problems but nowadays the status of women in India has been a subject to many great changes over the past few millennia. Today, they are well aware of their status and position in society so that they refuse to suffer but fight for their rights. There is no doubt this awakening is making them move faster towards a better tomorrow.

“The extension of women's rights is the basic principle of all social progress.” -- Charles Fourier

The status of women in modern India is a sort of a paradox. The modern Indian women have honed their skills and jumped into a battlefield of life fighting against social restrictions, emotional ties, religious boundaries and cultural clutches. She can now be seen working on par with men in every field. As compared with past women in modern times have achieved a lot but in reality they have to still travel a long way. Their path is full of roadblocks. The women have left the secured domain of their home and are now in the battlefield of life, fully armoured with their talent. They must avail themselves of the educational opportunities provided and learn to empower themselves.

"Educate a man and you educate an individual. Educate a woman and you educate a family."  

There is no arena, which remains unconquered by our Indian women. The most important name in the category of such women is the politician of recent times: Mrs. Indira Gandhi. In India, women have adorned high offices including that of the President, Prime Minister, Speaker of the Lok Sabha, etc. Where Kiran Majumdar Shaw is the richest Indian woman, there some of the notable and outstanding women who have set examples for others are Mother Teresa, Kalpana Chawla, Kiran Bedi, Sarojini Naidu, etc. Indian women have mastered anything and everything which a woman can dream of. But still women have a long way to achieve equal status in the minds of Indian men.

Development of our country depends on the empowerment of women. A man and a woman are like two wheels of a cart. The cart can move fast and safely too, when both of them pull it in the same direction and with equal strength. Hence no developing country or society can afford to ignore the role of women, if they are to progress. Because it is very positively acknowledged that history looks different when the contributions of women are included.

“You can tell the condition of a nation by looking at the status of women”- Jawaherlal Nehru.

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Contentment

Contentment is that learned behaviour which is not dependent on circumstances but it is a state of being, not a state of doing for it is entirely based on the riches we develop inside us through our upbringing, thought process and behaviour etc. It is the inner sense that makes us contended and satisfied, therefore we must understand that contentment is a journey not a destination with a beginning, a middle and an end and on its completion which we enjoy to the utmost while travelling. Living each day and savouring every moment of it as if it were our last should be our resolution and we must learn to cope with our frustration because total control in life is rarely possible and we get frustrated for different reasons on various issues.

At some point, we all get caught up in our own misguided attempts to find peace and contentment by over working ourselves to death.

This reminds me of a famous artist who met a fisherman enjoying himself and soaking in sunset.

“Why aren’t you out fishing?” the artist inquired inquisitively.

“Cause, I’ve caught all the fishes I needed for today.”

“Well, why don’t you go out and catch more? Make a profit, buy a bigger boat, hire more men and become wealthy. Then only you could just sit and watch sunsets.”

“What do you think I’m doing now?” the fisherman smiled.

Our frustration should be at such a tolerance level that it should not kill contentment giving rise to frustration. Today is all what we have, right now is all that we possess and we need to appreciate and thank God for the same.

Just living for ourselves shall give us contentment. Many of us don’t even know what exactly contentment is because we expect our environment to be exactly the way we want it to be. We want our spouse to fulfil our expectations and our children to conform to a prewritten plan we have ordained for them. And this way we want everything to fall into its perfect niche in the little cupboard where we compartmentalize every element of existence. Why?

Why can’t we not let everything go according to its own pace? Why do we not let everyone live their own way? Why do we need to command everyone? Why cannot we give space to our own near and dear ones so that they too live their own life? Why can we not be happy in the happiness of others?

When we’re focused and aware of our ambitious goals, we are likely to feel contented and happy because if we don’t know of our expectations, then life becomes dull and boring therefore always make small achievable goals and pursue for them vigorously for inspiration to a prosperous future. Enjoy even the small things in life as we can only be contented from such deeds only. This cannot be purchased from materialistic things as money is not everything in life. In the pursuit of contentment, chasing after life’s big pleasures instead of enjoying the small ones is futile because this is as if we are losing tiny sparkling diamonds that are strewn across our path in running after the big ones.

Never sacrifice family for the sake of your own achievements because family is the one who is the real well-wisher and always wants to see us happy and smiling even during odd circumstances. Just imagine for a moment … you are extremely rich living in a big house of your dreams with an expensive car and rich bank account and plan for a luxurious five star holiday. No doubt it is wonderful that you have achieved what you aimed for, but how, with whom and on what cost? You are standing all alone with no one to share your contentment whereas your other family members who may not be having so much wealth are united and happily enjoying themselves with each other. For wealth you might have sacrificed your family, but your family preferred sacrificing you for happiness and contentment.

You may have had to relegate your loved ones to the second best, but you have a failed a precious relationship in your awakening, and you have missed all your children’s childhood years, or been too busy to celebrate birthdays and remember anniversaries. At the end of the day, it’s no good having all life’s luxuries if there’s nobody meaningful to share them with. Discontentment leads to more desires and needs which is nothing but deception. We can only feel contented when we need to complete our journey from earth to heaven in peace, satisfaction and humanity, it is only then, when we actually can attain self-actualization.

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ONE IN A MILLION

Escalation in Prices, corruption, unemployment and different kind of scams etc. has made the life difficult to survive his living for every individual Indian. We all have already lost a huge amount in scams which could have been otherwise utilised for the various benefits for the common man of the country. Because of the ill governance from past regime, the apathy of a common man cannot be described in words as we had lost the zeal to progress and is continuously struggling to survive and earn our livelihood as there is a wide gap between the faith, trust, belongingness and harmony, not only among the different communities but also between a common man and the government. This is the reason why so many crimes, suicides and evil activities are taking place today. People are full of unhappiness, frustration and depression and have accepted all this as their fate which has forced them to incessantly slog on and on.

Due to all the above reasons businesses have slacked down affecting the overall economic and industrial growth of the country. The rise and development of any country has to be a combined effort to walk towards a new horizon as it is a chain process and cannot be a process of once or any one working alone. But it is no use crying over spilt milk and now the people have seen a ray of hope in a new face, Mr. Narender Modi, who has to prove himself at a national level. People have deposed their confidence in him and this hope has forced them to reverse their decision through ballot paper, the back bone of our democracy.

 

We all are once again filled with positive energy which will be beneficial to us as well as our country. The time has now come to bless our motherland with the fragrance of love, affection, truthfulness and honesty between the present regime and a common man in order to walk towards the path of a new sunshine paving the way for an improved bright future.

Where, there was negativity and we, the people seemed to be just living without any interest, making their lives dull and monotonous, there today, the aura around is fresh and full of positive passion and enthusiasm where each single person looks up with hope  and  confidence  towards  the  new government. A little more persistence, a little 

more effort, and what seemed hopeless failure will definitely turn to glorious success. You may not always have a comfortable life and you will not always be able to solve all of the problems at once but don't ever underestimate the importance you can have because the present has shown us the path of success once forgotten.

For all the above factors “Development” is the only mantra to scale over the menace of unemployment, growth, rise in price index, inflation etc. As the rise of a common man results in the rise of any nation, we should all move forwards towards a fresh beginning, encouraging each other towards the new beginning.

We should not expect wonders instantly from this new Government and all the controversial matters relating to religion, cultural heritage and border disputes etc. should be kept aside for the time being to give the new regime a chance for good governance as we have to prove that we are very peaceful and calm by nature for a certain period of time or otherwise we are as powerful as a blast of nuclear explosion which we have already proved through our ballot in a Democratic way, so now we are ready to give reasonable time to the new Government to prove their worth.

Imagine the future of our country where no one is poor, striving for his livelihood and the life of every citizen of our country is comfortable and peaceful. I know it is a dream, but it can definitely come true if we all unite and cooperate with the Government giving it a fair chance for excellent governance to march forward towards the path of great future where we will not only be known as “VISHWA GURU” but shall also shine as bright as “KOHINOOR” on the map of the world.

“DEDICATED TO ALL INDIANS”

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LUNCH WITH GOD

A little boy wanted to meet God. He knew that it was a long trip to where God lived so he packed his suitcase with two sets of his dress and some packets of cakes. He started his journey, after he walked a long distance, he found a park to rest. He was feeling tired and hungry, so, he decided to sit in the park and take some refreshment. He opened a packet of cake to eat.

He noticed an old woman sitting nearby, sad with hunger, so he offered her a piece of cake.

She gratefully accepted it with a wide look and smiled at him. Her smile was so pretty that the boy longed to see it again. After sometime he offered her another piece of cake. Again, she accepted it and smiled at him. The boy was delighted.

They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but never said a word. While it grew dark, the boy was frightened and he got up to leave but before he had gone more than a few steps, he ran back and gave the woman a hug and she kissed him with her prettiest smile.

Back home, when the boy knocked the door, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face.

She asked him, "What did you do today that makes you look so happy?"

He replied, "I had lunch with God."

Before his mother could respond, he added, "You know what? She's got the most beautiful smile I've ever seen in my life."

Meanwhile, the old woman, also radiant with joy, returned to her home. Her son was stunned by the look of peace on her face and asked, "Mom, what did you do today that made you so happy?"

She replied, "I ate cakes in the park with God."

Before her son responded, she added, "You know, he's much younger than I expected."

Too often we underestimate the power of; a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear,
an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.

Remember, nobody knows what God looks like. People come into our lives for a reason, for a season or for a lifetime.

Accept and Embrace all of them equally..... .... .. ..LET THEM SEE GOD IN YOU!

I read this story somewhere and here it is for you all. Thanks to the anonymous writer.

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SELF TRANSFORMATION

 “You do something that you could never have imagined yourself doing, become something you could never have imagined yourself becoming, and, ultimately, live a life greater than you could have ever imagined yourself living.” ~Dr. Judith Wright

Self-transformation is a sort of Self-improvement where we learn new skills, modify our habits, select new interests and behaviours etc. This technique of making small changes in our lives where we unknowingly accept the changes and keep improving our health habits, memory skills, relationship skills, musical ability etc. transforms our overall personality. Everyone loves self-improvement for it helps us to stay involved in our protean world confidently. The core feature of any successful transformation physically as well as psychological is self-discipline.

 Setting a goal for self-transformation is best  implemented by creating for ourselves a  paradigm, an idealized model of the person  we want to become. Comparing our present  condition to our paradigm will allow us to  steer a course through distractions and  temptations more effectively than trying to  reason our own thoughts that indulge into  ifs and buts and stop us from moving  ahead.  It is for sure that if we do so we  shall be happier, contented and a fully  confident person in better relationships with  much more self-esteem. Even the smallest  positive life change transforms us in some way or the other, pushing us forward on the personal evolutionary scale and fostering some level of self-awareness and growth. We shall always be comfortable and relaxed with the younger generation as this transformation will help us in understanding the present scenario with their mind set.

This personal transformation propels us from living a spectacular life. We should reflect on this prospect more with excitement than trepidation because the more committed we are to self-transformation, the less fear we will have of a sudden jump into the future. We will be familiar with the unfamiliar. We will be experienced in adapting, learning, and innovating.

  

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Faith in God

‘The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith, and the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety.’

Today in the world, we see many people who say that they have no faith in God. The one who do not have faith in themselves alone will have no faith in God. Truly speaking, nobody can live without faith in God; it is just impossible! Why?

Yes, it is true that God exists…where? Never be under the impression that God exists somewhere, having a special form, vested with special powers and so on. The form we create within our own hearts in a subconscious brain as a Supreme is God is the real God! This pure and sacred part of our heart is present in each one of us. Hence, God is within us only and we do not have to look for Him elsewhere. So the fact that God is with us at all times is very true.

Deep within us is a recognition that there is something beyond this life and someone beyond this world who controls the entire universe. We can deny this knowledge intellectually, but as a common man we cannot shy away from the visible truth which makes us all the more accountable for our actions. Without faith it is impossible to believe that He exists and that He also rewards our good deeds and punishes us for the wrong ones. Bereavement is the sharpest challenge to our trust in god; if faith can overcome this, there is no mountain which it cannot remove.

When you trust God, He'll even use your shortcomings to produce His expected outcome! His strength is made perfect in your weakness. Whatever is worrying you right now, forget about it...it might seem major today but eventually it won't. Take a deep breath & completely surrender yourself to God with full trust and faith.

Everyone asks for a miracle. Some ask for house, some a car and some for love. Just be happy with what you have and remember: your miracle is that you’re alive today for a better tomorrow. Life is full of chances, so have full faith with complete hope and love because it is your own faith that can move a mountain, hope can heal a heart, & love can bring a smile forever.

Many a times things have occurred in our lives that have no possible explanation other than God for example when God has so miraculously saved us from something beyond our control and changed our lives completely which we could never do it ourselves – such situations cannot be overlooked instead have to be acknowledged and praised His existence.

 God’s existence must be accepted by faith for faith in God is not a blind leap into the dark; it is a safe step into a well-lit room where the vast majority of people are already standing.

People will hurt you, God will heal you.

 People will humiliate you, God will magnify you.

People will judge you, God will justify you.

So have Faith in God

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YOUTH OF THE 21st CENTURY

Youth is that little bird who has broken out of the eggs eagerly waiting to spread out its wings in the open sky of freedom and hope. Youth is the full of life, energy, creativity and opportunities to conquer them as the youth of today are sure to be the leaders of tomorrow. The issues surrounding youth are as old as humanity. However, the issues facing youth in the 21st Century are far much different from issues of youth in the yester centuries. 

Many youngsters are spoilt indulging into wrong habits like smoking, drinking, drug-addiction and loitering around etc. It is rather a heart rendering sight on seeing so many youngsters languishing themselves in the dark addictions. This is the most prominent and disturbing phase of our life time.

Today, technology plays a major part in the lifestyle of the young generation. Sending a message to a friend who is thousands of miles away is as simple as pushing a button, direct access to unlimited storage of information takes no more effort than just a click on the laptop or a computer. Social networking such as Facebook and Friendster brings friends and family more closely together giving a huge potential to the youth to be creative and share their opinion through blogging etc. These tools are a big help in day to day living but we also have to acknowledge that it is making the youth “lazier” and “lazier”. How? One of the best example is the internet for when a student is asked to write an essay, he or she just finds it from a site, copies and then pastes its content to submit. Mostly all the resources are available in just within an easy reach, the youth hence makes no effort to do any research work or acquire knowledge from books, instead prefers to remain in the confines of their comfort zones. Exploring beyond their boundaries and capabilities seems a waste of time to him.

The most alarming factor is the growing indifference to the responsibilities they hold in society and neglecting the big role they play in its development. They fail to realize that it is them who are the hope of the future. Be it a kid or a youngster, everyone these days has an account on at least one social networking site which is a great place to catch up with old friends, or make new ones, having a dangerous side-effects of this dependency — whether knowingly or unknowingly.

1.      Opportunities :

All the opportunities are a stimulus towards competition for youngsters, but at the same time, the youth shouldn’t lose out on their moral values. It is important to maintain that balance between sticking to one’s values along with the drive to achieve. Since the future is in their hands, and so they have a lot of responsibility on their shoulders. They have to channelize this responsibility and their energies properly for its outcome is a benefit to the country and themselves too.

2.      Freedom :

The biggest advantage that this generation has is that they have more freedom than we did and this should be valued and treasured and not be misused. Meanwhile, all that the youngsters need for their own good is to take part in more outdoor physical activities, read more, rest better and avoid binging on junk food. We may run, we may hide, but we cannot ignore the responsibilities that await us in the future. Youngsters want to change world, where the elders want to enjoy their works. Indulging into wrong habits can ruin their lives completely. Though some of them can be controlled through rehabilitation, others can affect you permanently and can be a scar for life. This may lead to serious problems not only at the professional front, but, can also impact their social life. 

3.       Drinking, Smoking and Drugs :

  Alcohol, cigarettes and drugs are in fashion now days. It is not rare to see a twelve or fourteen year old holding a cigarette butt and drinking away from a bottle. Large scale misuse of freedom that their parents give them. Consuming alcohol is a status symbol today. Youngsters from college love to attend late night parties that serve alcohol. Many a times, they don’t even have a reason for the same but whenever they feel like drinking, they gather in a group to drink and smoke making a complete mess of their lives. Smoking, unfortunately, is getting extremely prevalent in the youth today. When today’s youth take to smoking and consuming alcohol excessively, then there is no exception on drugs too. Plenty of youngsters around the world have fallen to drug addictions and its slaveries and they enjoy it. 

4.      Junk food:

A massive group of youngsters today prefer junk food from places like Mcdonalds, KFC and several other such places. It is sad that a lot of them have forgotten the essence of home-cooked food, and prefer to grab a bite out with friends more often than necessary. 

5.       Lacking social awareness:

Having a good sense of social surroundings is important, but plenty of youngsters lack in this field. They have a poor sense of social judgment or what is important to the society and how to live in it. Today, we can see so many untoward incidents take place for example car stunts, rash driving, school bunking, smoking, drinking etc. Many youngsters are seen constantly plugged with their ear-phones with music playing at full volumes walking in public places due to the reason they don’t hear a car honking behind them or anyone warning them of the mishappening about to take place due to their carelessness!

6.      Money-awareness absent:

Parents work hard to earn money, and the youngsters hardly work to blow the money up. The youth of today are very demanding. They want the latest mobile, the latest laptop, they want the latest and branded fashion wear! They prefer spending high amounts of money at expensive food outlets, at bars and at unwanted parties. They spend a lot of money without realizing its value. They definitely have no value for money and wanting a lavish lifestyle without caring as to what it might take or cost is not of deep concern for them.

7.      FB, twitter 24×7, Vibor etc.:

There is no doubt about the fact that social networking is lovely for it helps people connect in a much easier manner. But on one side where social networking is a boon, there excessive and unwanted social networking a liability? There is a darker side of such sites too. It hinders your ability to develop intellect for the youth of today spend more than half their valuable time on social networking sites. They chat with friends, spend hours and hours commenting on pictures and what not. They are unable to maintain a balance between socializing and personal development, which is the most important aspect of any individuals life. This is lacking in majority of the youngsters today. 

8.      Pre-marital sex:

Rate of pre-marital sex is quickly growing higher and higher and even more shocking is that youngsters aged 16 to 20 are indulging in pre-marital sex. The youth of today are obviously not well-educated in sexual matters as they need should be therefore leading to higher levels of illegal abortions and diseases. Where does this all start? 

9.      Excessive hanging-out:

The youngsters of today aren’t serious about lifestyle. All they want is fun and frolic that excites them. In the 21st century youth spend hours and hours with friends discussing things that are absolutely worthless. So many young boys and girls just idle away their time, talking to friends in groups or alleys or hangout places just chilling and idling away their time.

10.  Conclusion.

A new generation has come of age bringing with it a lifestyle that is shaped by an unprecedented advance in technology and dramatic events both local and foreign. Because of this rapid change we can say that the older generations are finding it hard to relate to the new generation particularly with the new way of life and current trends. With the arrival of new forms of media such as cell phones, social networking and the internet, we are now in a world where the only thing constant is change. Youth is wholly experimental and with the full utilization of the talents of the Youth, India will become a complete Nation. Let us hope for the same. We should start think of humanity as a single moral community linked by mutual responsibility. Our present Pacific context compels us, as young people, to seek a new way of engaging with our people’s struggle for meaning and purpose. Because we are not products of forces beyond our control, we need a moral vision that situates the source of action and responsibility within ourselves. The construction of such a vision will include the key values of human dignity, justice, compassion, hope and peace. Secondly, there is a big need to encourage Youth population to participate more actively. The older we are, the deeper our roots are in the past and the less able we are to see ways in which the future is developing.

“Youth is like a fire

It crept forward.

A Spark at first

Growing into a flame

The brightening into a Blaze”

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