SANSARA AND NIRVANA

Happy is one who knows samsara and nirvana are not two.

-Milarepa, "Drinking the Mountain Stream"



30.9.06

THE SMART FARMER

Farmer John lived on a quiet rural highway. But, as time went by, the traffic built up at an alarming rate. The traffic was so heavy and so fast that his chickens were being run over at a rate of three to six a day.

So one day Farmer John called the sheriff's office and said, "You've got to do something about all of these people driving so fast and killing all of my chickens."

"What do you want me to do?" asked the sheriff.

"I don't care," said Farmer John. "Just do something about these crazy drivers!"

So the next day he had the county workers go out and erected a sign that said
SLOW: SCHOOL CROSSING.

Three days later Farmer John called the sheriff and said, "You've got to do something about these drivers. The 'school crossing' sign seems to make them go even faster."

So, again, the sheriff sends out the county workers and they put up a new sign:
SLOW: CHILDREN AT PLAY. But that sped them up even more!

So Farmer John kept calling, and the sheriff kept changing the signs.

Finally, Farmer John said to the sheriff, "Your signs are doing no good. Can I put up my own sign?"

The sheriff was ready to let Farmer John do just about anything in order to get him to stop calling every day. He said, "Sure thing, put up your own sign."

And after that, the sheriff got no more calls from Farmer John.

Three weeks later, curiosity got the best of the sheriff and he decided to give Farmer John a call. "How's the problem with those drivers? Did you put up your sign?"

"Oh, I sure did. And not one chicken has been killed since then. I've got to go. I'm very busy." He hung up the phone.

The sheriff was really curious now and he thought to himself "I'd better go out there and take a look at that sign... it might be something that WE could use to slow down drivers..."

So the sheriff drove out to Farmer John's house, and his jaw dropped the moment he saw the sign. It was spray-painted on a sheet of wood:

NUDIST COLONY
*** Go slow and watch out for the chicks ***


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VOTING RIGHTS FOR NRIs

NRIs to get voting right soon: OIA Minister
New Delhi, Sept 29. (UNI): The legislation seeking to confer voting rights on Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) will be taken up for final consideration by the Parliament during its winter session, Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi anounced here on Thursday.

Taking to mediapersons after announcing the schedule of the next "Bharatiya Pravasi Divas" in Delhi, he said the concerned legislation had already been considered by a Standing Committee, to which it was referred by the Parliament. The report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee was being discussed by his Ministry with the Law Ministry.

"The final bill will be introduced in the winter session of the Parliament," he said, pointing out that the standing committee had concurred with the provisions of the proposed legislation, which sought to amend the People's Representation Act, 1951 to give voting right in fulfilment of the vociferous demand for the same from the NRIs.

Mr Ravi said as many as 59,600 Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) cards have been issued so far under the scheme, which was officially launched by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the last year's Bharatiya Pravasi Divas in January this year.

"There is a heavy rush for OCI card," he said, adding that the foreign missions abroad were asked to take quick steps to issue the OCI card whose holders are entitled to many benefits like multiple entry, multipurpose lifelong visa to visit India; exemption from reporting to police authorities for any length of stay in India and parity with NRIs in financial, economic and educational fields, except in the acquisition of agricultural or plantation properties.

Persons registered as OCIs have not been given voting rights, nor have they been allowed to contest elections or hold constitutional positions.

Under the OCI scheme, the eligible person is granted registration certificate in the prescribed format (an OCI booklet of passport size is issued along with a universal visa sticker (U), with lifelong validity and multiple entry, which is pasted on the foreign passport of the applicant.

The application for registration as an OCI can be made online, Mr Ravi said said, noting that if the application was complete and clear, the OCI document could be issued in 15 days.

A special cell of the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) supervises the functioning of the OCI scheme, he said.

Persons of Indian Origins of certain categories who migrated from India before 1936 (when the British drew the Indian boundary) and acquired citizenship of a foreign country other than Pakistan and Bangladesh are eligible for the grant of OCI as long as their home countries allow dual citizenship in some form or the other under their local laws.

Replying to a question, Mr Ravi said the Government might increase the benefits of the insurance scheme meant for the NRIs.


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NRIs to get voting rights in India

NRIs to get voting right soon: OIA Minister
New Delhi, Sept 29. (UNI): The legislation seeking to confer voting rights on Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) will be taken up for final consideration by the Parliament during its winter session, Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi anounced here on Thursday.

Taking to mediapersons after announcing the schedule of the next "Bharatiya Pravasi Divas" in Delhi, he said the concerned legislation had already been considered by a Standing Committee, to which it was referred by the Parliament. The report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee was being discussed by his Ministry with the Law Ministry.

"The final bill will be introduced in the winter session of the Parliament," he said, pointing out that the standing committee had concurred with the provisions of the proposed legislation, which sought to amend the People's Representation Act, 1951 to give voting right in fulfilment of the vociferous demand for the same from the NRIs.

Mr Ravi said as many as 59,600 Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) cards have been issued so far under the scheme, which was officially launched by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the last year's Bharatiya Pravasi Divas in January this year.

"There is a heavy rush for OCI card," he said, adding that the foreign missions abroad were asked to take quick steps to issue the OCI card whose holders are entitled to many benefits like multiple entry, multipurpose lifelong visa to visit India; exemption from reporting to police authorities for any length of stay in India and parity with NRIs in financial, economic and educational fields, except in the acquisition of agricultural or plantation properties.

Persons registered as OCIs have not been given voting rights, nor have they been allowed to contest elections or hold constitutional positions.

Under the OCI scheme, the eligible person is granted registration certificate in the prescribed format (an OCI booklet of passport size is issued along with a universal visa sticker (U), with lifelong validity and multiple entry, which is pasted on the foreign passport of the applicant.

The application for registration as an OCI can be made online, Mr Ravi said said, noting that if the application was complete and clear, the OCI document could be issued in 15 days.

A special cell of the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) supervises the functioning of the OCI scheme, he said.

Persons of Indian Origins of certain categories who migrated from India before 1936 (when the British drew the Indian boundary) and acquired citizenship of a foreign country other than Pakistan and Bangladesh are eligible for the grant of OCI as long as their home countries allow dual citizenship in some form or the other under their local laws.

Replying to a question, Mr Ravi said the Government might increase the benefits of the insurance scheme meant for the NRIs.

29 Sept. 06


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REPENTANCE

Prayer does half, repentance does all.





29 sEP 06

WHO WILL SING MY HEART'S SONG

Today's Quote

A friend hears the song in my heart and sings it to me when my memory fails

-Pioneer Girls Leaders' Handbook

GOD AND THE YARD WORK IN THE USA

YARD WORK
==========

YARD WORK - AS VIEWED FROM HEAVEN
(overheard in a conversation between God and St. Francis):


God: Francis, you know all about gardens and nature; what in the
world is going on down there in the U.S.? What happened to the
dandelions, violets, thistles and the stuff I started eons ago?
I had a perfect no-maintenance garden plan. Those plants grow
in any type of soil, withstand drought, and multiply with
abandon. The nectar from the long-lasting blossoms attracts
butterflies, honeybees, and flocks of songbirds. I expected to
see a vast garden of color by now. All I see are patches of
green.

St. Francis: It's the tribes that settled there, Lord. They are
called the Suburbanites. They started calling your flowers
"weeds" and went to great lengths to kill them and replace them
with grass.

God: Grass? But it is so boring, it's not colorful. It doesn't
attract butterflies, bees or birds, only grubs and sod worms.
It's temperamental with temperatures. Do these Suburbanites
really want grass growing there?

St. Francis: Apparently not, Lord. As soon as it has grown a
little, they cut it....sometimes two times a week.

God: They cut it? Do they bale it like hay?

St. Francis: Not exactly, Lord. Most of them rake it up and put
it in bags.

God: They bag it? Why? Is it a cash crop? Do they sell it?

St. Francis: No sir, just the opposite. They pay to throw it
away.

God: Now let me get this straight...they fertilize it to make it
grow and when it does grow, they cut it off and pay to throw it
away?

St. Francis: Yes, sir.

God: These Suburbanites must be relieved in the summer when we
cut back on the rain and turn up the heat. That surely slows
the growth and saves them a lot of work.

St. Francis: You aren't going to believe this Lord, but when the
grass stops growing so fast, they drag out hoses and pay more
money to water it so they can continue to mow it and pay to get
rid of it.

God: What nonsense! At least they kept some of the trees.
That was a sheer stroke of genius, if I do say so myself.
The trees grow leaves in the spring to provide beauty and shade
in the summer. In the autumn they fall to the ground and form a
natural blanket to keep the moisture in the soil and protect the
trees and bushes. Plus, as they rot, the leaves become compost
to enhance the soil. It's a natural circle of life.

St. Francis: You'd better sit down, Lord. As soon as the leaves
fall, the Suburbanites rake them into great piles and pay to
have them hauled away.

God: No way! What do they do to protect the shrubs and tree
roots in the winter to keep the soil moist and loose?

St Francis: After throwing the leaves away, they go out and buy
something called mulch. They haul it home and spread it around
in place of the leaves.

God: And where do they get this mulch?

St. Francis: They cut down the trees and grind them up to make
mulch.

God: Enough! I don't want to think about this anymore.
Saint Catherine, you're in charge of the arts. What movie have
you scheduled for us tonight?

St. Catherine: "Dumb and Dumber," Lord. It's a really stupid
movie about....

God: Never mind--I think I just heard the whole story from Saint
Francis!

BUDDHIST WISDOM - TAKE AWAY THE ARROW

He who seeks happiness should withdraw the arrow; his own lamentations, longings and grief. With the arrow withdrawn, unattached, he would attain to peace of mind; and when all sorrow has been transcended he is sorrow-free and has realized Nibbana.

-Sutta Nipata

WHY WE DIDN'T?

Sins of Commission

A Sunday School teacher asked her class, "Does anyone here know what we mean by sins of omission?"

A small girl replied, "Aren't those the sins we should have committed, but didn't?"


19.9.06

ISHWAR AND WE

The Lord is the operator; we are
But his innumerable instruments.
May we, in our consciousness, realize
The bliss he alone can give us.

-Shvetashvatara Upanishad
Excerpted from The Upanishads

POPE AND HIS QUOTE FROM PAST ON PROPHET MOHAMMED

15 Sep, 2006
The Times of India

NEW DELHI: Pope Benedict XVI's attack on Islam has stirred anger in India with the head of the National Commission for Minorities saying he sounded like a medieval crusader.

Pope Benedict provoked worldwide outcry with comments Tuesday during a visit to his native Germany in which he talked about the "issue of jihad, holy war", a term used by Islamic extremists to justify acts of terror.

"The language used by the pope sounds like that of his 12th-century counterpart who ordered the crusades," said Hamid Ansari, chairman of the National Commission for Minorities.

The commission's role includes maintaining harmony between officially secular India's majority Hindu population and Muslims who number 130 million in the country of 1.1 billion.

In Kashmir, dozens of lawyers wearing black court robes marched Friday through the streets of the summer capital Srinagar, shouting, "Those who dare to target Islam and the Prophet will be finished."

Police were also deployed around churches and dozens of Christian missionary schools in Kashmir to prevent any violence against Christians, but no trouble was reported.

"What he said was nothing but blasphemy," said Kamal Farooqi, a member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, but he also called on Muslims to "exercise restraint and not lose their cool."

Pope Benedict's speech explored the historical and philosophical differences between Islam and Christianity and the relationship between violence and faith.

In Mumbai, the Roman Catholic's official spokesman Father Anthony Charanghat insisted the pontiff was only seeking to explain how Islamic terrorists use the concept of jihad or holy war as a theological justification for violence.

But Father Julian Saldhana, a theology professor at Saint Pius Seminary in Mumbai, said the pope had "reproduced a quotation which is derogatory of the Prophet Mohammed ... without showing he disagrees with it."

"It would be good if he now told us what he appreciated about the Prophet." Christians officially make up atleast 2.3 percent of India's population.

19.9.06

STATE OF YOUR LIFE

Today's Quote

The state of your life is nothing more than a reflection of your state of mind.

-Dr. Wayne Dyer

BUDDHIST WISDOM

Not disparaging, not injuring,
restraint in line with the Patimokkha,
moderation in food,
dwelling in seclusion,
commitment to the heightened mind:
this is the teaching
of the awakened.

-Dhammapada, 14, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

19.9.06

Letter to PM and others concerning Bankey Bihari temple at Vrindavan

Respected PMJI,
I am writing to you concerning the Bankey Bihar Temple in Vrindavan which generates income in billions of rupees. However, in spite of government's establishment of some sort of trust etc. with govt. participation, the income is pocketted by greedy pandas and others who are in charge there.

I suggest that the management of this temple must be given to the managing committee or trust of Shri Balaji's temple in south of India who is running the famous and highly reverred temple in the south of India most efficiently and utilizing its income for national good.

This may allow the huge income from Shri Bankey Bihari's temple to be utilized for development of Vrindaban which is badly needed and perhaps for the establishment of some great universitites or colleges in the area which are non-existent.

Thank you.

Yours truly,

SHER SINGH AGRAWAL
SEATTLE, USA

SHRI BANKEY BIHARIJI'S TEMPLE AT VRINDABAN

PLAYING WITH RELIGIOUS SENTIMENTS



Unconditional apology by the concerned priest Anand Goswamy of Vrindavan’s famous Bankey Bihari ji Temple for hurting religious sentiments of crores of Hindus across the world by dressing holy deity of Lord Krishna in western attire with mobile-phone in hand is not enough. Responsible ones should be arrested and their rights of admission in the holy temple should be snatched for life so as to be a lesson for others in future.



Considering huge income of the Temple being swallowed by priests, system of management on lines of Tirupati and Vaishnodevi should be implemented there. Income from the Temple should be exclusively spent for an ambitious plan for Vrindavan by extending development programme to include all nearby places of religious importance by ultimate unification of Vrindavan with Mathura.

19.9.06

HELP YOURSELF FIRST

One of the most beautiful compensations of this life is that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself. Ralph Waldo Emerson


16.9.06

YOU IDIOT

A man joined a big Multi National Company as a trainee.
On his first day, he dialed the kitchen and shouted into the phone:
"Get me a cup of coffee, quickly!"

The voice from the other side responded: "You fool, you've dialed the wrong extension! Do you know who you're talking to ?"
"No" replied the trainee.

"It's the Managing Director of the company, "you idiot!"

The trainee shouted back: "And do you know who YOU are talking to,you IDIOT ?"
"No!" replied the Managing Director angrily.
"Thank God!" replied the trainee and put down the phone.

BUDDHIST WISDOM

Learning is like a design in water,
contemplation like a design on the side of a wall,
meditation like a design in stone.

-Adept Godrakpa, "Hermit of Go Cliffs"


14.9.06

THINK OF GOD

Guruji said, “When you begin work, think of God.” Now, that does not mean just a light, off-the-top-of-the-head thought of Him. Sit for a few moments, concentrate, and pray, “Lord, let me be with You this day. Let me see how much I can carry You in my thoughts and into my work.” Then plunge in your activities with joy and enthusiasm, because you are doing them for God. At noon, take a little time again to think deeply of God, and then go back to your work.

SWAMI YOGANANDJI


SEPT 15 06

TALK TO HIM, IN YOUR LEISURE TIME

During every little period of leisure, plunge your mind into the infinite thought of Him. Talk to Him intimately; He is the nearest of the near, the dearest of the dear. Love Him as a miser loves money, as an ardent man loves his sweetheart, as a drowning person loves breath. When you yearn for God with intensity, He will come to you.

ALZHMEIR AND AYURVEDIC DRUG

2. India Drug Gives Alzheimer's Hope
news.bbc.co.uk

LONDON, ENGLAND, September 5, 2006: Scientists in the UK and India are examining the ancient Indian ayurvedic medicine for possible use in drugs to treat Alzheimer's disease. Researchers say ayurveda works in the same way as conventional drugs for boosting mental agility in the disease. They found that the plants used in ayurveda acted to improve memory and concentration in Alzheimer's sufferers. Alzheimer's disease is a progressive, degenerative and irreversible brain disorder. There is no known cure. The disease causes intellectual impairment, disorientation and eventually death.

Researchers from King's College, London and Jadavpur University in the eastern Indian city of Calcutta, studied five plants commonly used in ayurvedic medicine. They found that the plants acted to prevent the breakdown of neurotransmitters, improving memory and concentration in people with Alzheimer's disease - the most common form of dementia. The scientists are now trying to identify the chemical compounds responsible so they can be used to develop more effective drugs.



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