AWAKENINGS

  In this Brahdaranya Upanishad’s series, the present article deals with the Vital Force in the body which needs to control three factors – name, form and action. Some liberties have been taken with a view to make the concepts clear, though the core thoughts have been kept intact.    -   The Editor. As per Brahdaranya Upanishad, this Universe consists of three things. They are name, form and action.   Let us examine each one by one.   Let us take the case of Name. The actual source of name is speech. The source of speech is sound and the source of sound is tongue, an organ in the body.   The next thing is form. The source of form is sight. The source of sight is eyes, which are the organs of the body.   The last one is action. The source of action is body. The source of body is its organs including mind and intellect.   The man should realize that these three factors viz. name, form and action need to be abandoned to reali...

  Innovate to Succeed by   Dr. Nikhil Agarwal, Director, Europe Asia Business School (EABS) Two fascinating words are: Innovation and Collaboration. In the present recessionary times, these two words have become buzzwords for most organization. To treat Innovation as Invention is a great myth. Invention is creating absolutely a new product by individual research or idea, whereas innovation is commercialization of the invented product. There are various aspects of innovation, like disruptive, operational and incremental innovation, which are common in the business world. I was reading the Garfield cartoon strip in the Pune Mirror recently. The scene was set at a location where one person is diffusing a bomb whereas his partner is giving him instructions on phone. The person diffusing the bomb says, ‘Hurry up tell me the way out; only five seconds are left’. The person on phone say, ‘Can you see two wires one red and other green? Please cut the red now.’ The person w...

The goddesses of poverty and wealth once had an argument about who was more beautiful. As they were arguing, they saw a merchant coming towards them and decided to ask him to settle the matter. The merchant was filled with awe whey they told him who they were, but he turned pale whey they told him what they wanted him to do. It was plain to him that Goddess of Wealth was the more beautiful of the two, but how could he tell Goddess of Poverty that? She would be furious and would probably reduce him to poverty.   But he was a clever man and quickly gathering his wits, said: “O Goddess of Wealth, you are more beautiful than any other woman on earth or in heaven when you are entering a house, but you, O Goddess of Poverty, words fail to describe your grace and elegance, when you are leaving. There is non to compare with you in beautify” It was a judgement that pleased both the contestants because each thought she had been adjudged as the winner. But the real winner, of course, was the ...

Shri Ram Janambhoomi Trust Champat Rai confirmed that the idol of Lord Ram will be installed at the temple on January 22, and PM Modi has accepted their invitation.The Ayodhya Ram mandir will be inaugurated on January 22. Over 7,000 people have been invited by the temple trust, including cricket legends Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan, and billionaire industrialists Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani. MODI SPOKE IN HIS MAAN KI BAAT:  There is excitement and enthusiasm in the entire country in connection with the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.   People are expressing their feelings in a multitude of ways. You must have noticed that during the last few days, many new songs and new bhajans have been composed on Shri Ram and Ayodhya. Many people are also writing new poems. There are many experienced artists in it and new emerging young artists have also composed heart-warming bhajans.   I have also shared some songs and bhajans on my social medi...

THUS PRAISES MODI JAGDISH TRIVEDI, A COMMEDIAN PHILANTHROPIST …   There is a tradition of Dairo in Gujarat. Throughout the night, thousands of people join Dairo and acquire knowledge along with entertainment. In this Dairo, the trinity of folk music, folk literature and humour fills everyone’s mind with joy. Bhai Jagdish Trivedi ji is a famous artist of this Dairo.   As a comedian, Bhai Jagdish Trivedi ji has maintained his influence for more than 30 years. Bhai Jagdish Trivedi ji had a book titled – Social Audit of Social Service. This book is very unique. With accounts in it, this book is a kind of balance sheet. The complete account of how much income Bhai Jagdish Trivedi ji received from particular programs in the last 6 years and where it was spent is given in the book. This Balance Sheet is unique because he spent his entire income, every single rupee, for the society – School, Hospital, Library, institutions related to disabled people, social service – the entire 6 year...

  In this very year, ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Act’, which has been awaited for years was passed.   Now, every corner of India is brimming with self-confidence, imbued with the spirit of a developed India; the spirit of self-reliance. The record business on Diwali proved that every Indian is giving importance to the mantra of ‘Vocal For Local’.   The development of a country which does not give importance to innovation, stops. In 2015 we were ranked 81st in the Global Innovation Index – today our rank is 40th. This year, the number of patents filed in India was high, of which about 60% were from domestic funds.   Now, there is a lot of discussion about physical health and well-being, but another important aspect related to it is that of mental health. I am very happy to know that Mumbai-based startups like Infi-Heal and YOUR-Dost are working to improve mental health and well-being. Not only that, today a technology like Artificial Intelligence is also being used for ...

  Ancient Bharat   was culturally, religiously, philosophically, ethically were far far advanced compared to many nations of   the world at that time. Peaceful Co-Existence was and is and will be the Eternal Mantra of Bharat. Bharat was always for Ram   Rajya where the principle of ‘sarva jano sukino bhavantu’ (all people around the world to be happy) was the main ethics thereby ensuring justice for, by and of all and injustice for, by and of none. Bharat Sanatana Dharma was all embracive   and accommodative. Bharat practising Sanatana Dharma or otherwise called Hinduism had no problem in allowing religions like Buddhism,   Jainism, Sikkhims and Saivism to thrive in its soil. Problems had started when religions like Islam and Christianity who preach and practice and propagate that their religions alone are true, their religious gods alone are to be worshipped and all followers of other religions s are to converted or else annihilated had invaded our hol...

Mahara Sankranti or Thai Pongal are celebrated to worship Sun God by people  in India for blessings with life giving energy called Sun Rays. It is the festival of farmers around Bharat and especially in Tamil Nadu where Farmers worship God Surya by cooking Sweet Pongal in the open courtyard surrounded by all family members who, on seeing the  boiling rice, will shout full throated ‘PONGALO, PONGAL’. On Pongal, Farmers worship their domesticated animals like bullocks, cows and also their tools like plough, shovel, sickle ect apart from their   transport vehicles like carts, tractors and trailers etc.   Pongal festivals will be celebrated for three days – First Day to worship Sun God, Second Day devoted to worship their farm animals and third day to meet their relatives at common place to exchange pleasantries and spend their time joyfully. During the preparation of Pongal, Sugar Cane and turmeric bunch are important items in this festival. Actually, turmeric bun...