Integrate The Process Of Dying Into Your Life

We don't give death serious thought unless we come face to face with it. Confronting death, we see clearly that we must leave behind all the things we possess, even our ideas, insights, and all that we think is 'ours'.

We sense the transitoriness of all that is created and know that we must part from our family and detach ourselves from all relationships.

We have no clue as to what will happen next. Do all the cherished memories of this life just vanish into oblivion? We are afraid and the element of uncertainty only adds to the intensity of fear.

The process of dying, interestingly, is woven into the fabric of life. There is a continuous cycle of death and birth in the seasons; winter gives way to spring.

The sun sets before it rises again, and each day and night display before our very eyes the continuous cycle of death and birth.

The varying shades of brown and green leaves speak of a constant process of life giving birth to life but not before the process of dying. The countless cells in our body die only to be replaced by new cells.

In our minds we experience the constant birth and death of myriad thoughts and ideas that are here one moment and have disappeared the next.

Death is an abstraction we fear. Dying, however, is a daily reality that we can learn to accept. The Death and Resurrection of Jesus is all about death and dying. The celebration is meant to take away the 'sting of death'.

The central message of the Easter Season is that if the process of 'dying' is integrated into one's life, then we need not be afraid of death, when it comes.

Death thus becomes an event in life. The Gospel of John tells us that Jesus went to Jerusalem after raising Lazarus from the dead, knowing full well that he would meet with his own impending death.

Here was Jesus, walking right into it not with any sense of bitterness and anger but with a sense of anticipation and joy in the full realisation that it would be His hour of triumph.

Here is one who is not afraid of death because his whole life has been a process of dying. During his life, Jesus was at pains to put this message across to his disciples and when he spoke of 'rising from the dead'.

Fear of death is largely linked to the ego. It is what we are most attached to that we are afraid of losing. The larger the influence of the ego, the greater the fear of death.

The way of the Cross which Jesus invites his disciples to follow is the way of daily dying to self. It is not a way that ends in death, but in His Resurrection.

We learn this from the stillness of meditation as it leads us into the present moment in all our daily activity. The faithful recitation of the word in our practice of meditation teaches us to turn our attention away from the ego and learn to live in the present moment.

"In the pre-sent moment, we experience a fullness of life that liberates us from the fear of death. Rooted in the present we can see the rising and falling of things which is the process of dying that renews and deepens life".

Rumi's Language of Silence and Love

The mystic, Jalalludin Rumi, saw the world both in its material and spiritual aspects, as a multipolar world — full of opposites that sometimes complemented each other and at other times, clashed. What Rumi taught us was to understand these inherent contradictions and harmonize them. "The life of this world is nothing but the harmony of opposites", he said.

The way to find harmony is not to get bogged down in the chicanery of words or in the hair-splitting of philosophies. The way to achieve it is through the language of silence. "When the lips are silent, the heart has a hundred tongues", says Rumi: "Listen! Clam up your mouth and be silent like an oyster shell, for that tongue of yours is the enemy of the soul, my friend".

Through silence, Rumi reaches a level of consciousness where he loses all his mundane identities. This is not an easy or pleasant experience. When an individual loses his historical identity, the loss is keenly felt at first. That is why Rumi cries plaintively "What shall i do, O Muslims, i do not know who i am?

I am neither Christian, Jew, Infidel, nor Muslim! I am from neither the East, nor West. I hail not from the land or from the sea. I am not from the land of India or China, Bulgaria or Saqsin, nor Iraq or Khorasan". Having lost his mundane identity, Rumi has attained a higher supra-existence, for he says "I have shed duality, and see the two worlds as one.

I seek One, i know One, i see One, i read One". It is in this shedding of duality that one is able to reconcile the opposites — sulh-e-azdad — and find the harmonious music of the spheres: "To look at the ocean, beyond the spray, to look at the essence, beyond the words".

Rumi wrote his Mathnawi, his poems, in memory of his master Shams Tabriz. The Mathnawi is nothing but a paraphrase of the Qur'an, and equally a paraphrase of the Gita and the Gospels.

In one of his ecstatic moments, he said: "I have sucked the marrow from the Qur'an, and the bones i have thrown..." Rumi had no respect for squabbling scholastics who lost sight of the spirituality of the Qur'an, and indulged themselves in splitting hairs about the words of the scriptures.

Nor did he have any patience with philosophers. "Paradise is populated by a majority of simple folk those who kept them-selves away from the mischief of philosophy".

Rumi's message is to rise above mundane identities, go beyond ritualism and scholasticism, beyond hypocrisy and the mischief of philosophy, and breaking the shackles of words to reach a state where we can say with him, "Beyond belief and unbelief lies a vast ocean. I wander carefree in that clime".

The path to reach that clime is through Love. And what is Love? Rumi despairs of defining Love. "However much i might try to expound or explain Love, when i come to Love itself, i am ashamed of my explanations... Love alone can explain the mysteries of Love".

Unconditional love is the ultimate vision

Life is a series of perceptions and responses to the external world. Our response depends upon our vision and understanding of life and our value system. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna differentiates between the type of vision that leads to happiness and freedom and the kind that leads to bondage.

The noblest or sattvic vision of life is one by which we see the one indestructible reality in all beings irrespective of their names, qualities, and characteristics. However, the world viewed through our senses appears totally different; no two objects are identical. How is it possible to see the one Truth or the oneness of all beings?

The mediocre or rajasic vision is one by which we see all things and beings as different from each other. When your attention is focused on differences and numerous dissimilarities are detected, it moulds your attitude towards other religions, cultures and countries in a negative way. A vision of oneness brings about integration and a vision of differences creates more and more divisions.

We see it happening all the time in our families and with people. It begins gradually as a simple difference of opinion between husband and wife, two friends or two communities. Two brothers clash for a greater share in the property forgetting that they belong to the same family. Once the vision of oneness is lost, differences are perceived which create conflicts generating more and more likes and dislikes. Such a person neither lives in peace and joy nor does he allow others to do so.

A tamasic vision is a low kind of vision in which the person gets fanatically and exclusively attached to just one or some things, persons, experiences or ideologies. This little finite attachment is taken for the 'whole'. Some people are crazy and greedy over money, while others are fanatical about power or pleasures in life. When people give exclusive importance to just one of the many things of this world, even though they appear to be successful in that particular field, their total life is miserable because everything else is neglected. A person with a tamasic vision can never live in peace and happiness.

The life of a person with a sattvic vision is predominated by just one emotion; the emotion of pure love. However, most people neither know what love is nor understand the meaning of it. Love is a very different thing. Just take the example of our body. Even though i see the many parts in the body, i have the vision ^ "In all these parts there is one Truth, that is myself. I am present everywhere in all of them." Therefore, we have equal love for every part of the body. There is no favouritism. We don't say, "I will only look after my head when it is unwell, but if something happens to my foot, that's not my problem!"

A vision of oneness is a readiness to serve all and it creates an attitude of forgiveness ^ kshama. When we hate someone, we actually hate ourselves, because that someone else is really not different from us. All bodies are made of five elements, hence the material cause of all is the same. At the same time, there is the same life force that enlivens me as well as others. Where is the difference? Therefore, who is hurting whom?

Just imagine the state of a person whose heart is filled with love, compassion, forgiveness and kindness. What will be the state of his mind? Will he not be totally happy and free?

How My Aunt's Legacy Unveiled The Stars

My aunt, Mary Beton, i must tell you, died by a fall from her horse when she was riding out to take the air in Bombay.

The news of my legacy reached me one night about the same time that the Act was passed that gave votes to women. A solicitor's letter fell into the postbox and when i opened it i found that she had left me £500 a year forever.

Of the two — the vote and the money — the money, i own, seemed infinitely the more important. Before that i had made my living by cadging odd jobs... i need not, i am afraid, describe in any detail the hardness of the work, for you know perhaps women who have done it... But what still remains with me... is the poison of fear and bitterness which those days bred in me.

To begin with, always to be doing work that one did not wish to do, and to do it like a slave... and then the thought of that one gift which it was death to hide — a small one but dear to the possessor, perishing and with it my self, my soul, — all this became like a rust eating away the bloom of the spring, destroying the tree at its heart....It is remarkable... what a change of temper a fixed income will bring about.

No force in the world can take from me my £500. Food, house and clothing are mine forever. Therefore, not merely do effort and labour cease, but also hatred and bitterness... So imperceptibly i found myself adopting a new attitude towards the other half of the human race. It was absurd to blame any class or any sex, as a whole.

Great bodies of people are never responsible for what they do. They are driven by instincts which are not within their control.

They too, the patriarchs... had endless difficulties, terrible drawbacks to contend with. Their education had been in some ways as faulty as my own. It had bred in them defects as great.

True, they had money and power, but only at the cost of harboring in their breasts a vulture, for ever tearing the liver out and plucking at the lungs — the instinct for possession, the rage for acquisition which drives them to desire other people's fields and goods perpetually; to make frontiers and flags; battleships and poison gas; to offer up their own lives and their children's lives... Watch in the spring sunshine the stock-broker and the great barrister going indoors to make money and more money when it is a fact that £500 a year will keep one alive in the sunshine.

These are unpleasant instincts to harbor, i reflected. They are bred of the conditions of life; of the lack of civilization, i thought... by degrees fear and bitterness modified themselves into pity and toleration; and then in a year or two, pity and toleration went, and the greatest release of all came, which is freedom to think of things in themselves.

That building, for example, do i like it or not? Is that picture beautiful or not? Is that in my opinion a good book or a bad? Indeed my aunt's legacy unveiled the sky to me, and substituted for the large and imposing figure of a gentleman, which Milton recommended for my perpetual adoration, a view of the open sky.

Excerpted from The Daily Times, Karachi.

Build bridges of loving kindness

Rama stood facing the ocean. His army had arrived. Even Vibhishana had come across from Lanka and taken refuge in him. Thoughts of Vaidehi were tormenting Rama. And everyone now pointed to the ocean saying that was the first challenge they had to meet. As he stood watching the vast, deep ocean, Rama wondered how they would cross it.

For three days and nights Rama prayed to Lord Sagara, who had been created by his ancestors by excavating the land and seeking the grace of Varuna, the water god. Yet Sagara did not respond to Rama's prayers. Since time was running out, Rama began to string his bow declaring his intention to shoot an arrow that would be so powerful as to dry up the ocean.

Hearing Rama's plans, cries rang through the air, birds flew home and animals ran hither and thither. The waters rose in agony. Seeing that his brother was determined to carry out his threat, Lakshmana pleaded with Rama to show restraint. "Great people like you do not fall into the trap of anger, that blinds reason and thinking. All that is born of anger does not last. That which is born of consultation and conciliation alone lives long after man. Your purpose should be achieved without resorting to such an extreme step. Devise some more durable way of crossing the seas," implored Lakshmana.

With his bow still in hand, Rama sees reason in his brother's argument. Sagara appeared before Rama with this appeal: "We, the earth, air, ether, water and fire are bound by the eternal laws governing nature. It is in my nature, therefore, to be fathomless and incapable of being swum across. We cannot break those laws. Not for greed, desire or out of fear will I solidify so that you and the army can walk over me for that would endanger the lives of beings that live in me. I will not part or move my course by transgressing limits. However, I will help you and your army cross the ocean by bearing everything that I can without overstepping my limits. Build on my chest a bridge and the well-endowed son of Vishwakarma, the monkey Nala, is capable of doing that. I will sustain the bridge."

The ocean lord advises Rama to shoot his arrow at a region that has polluted waters, so that it is cleansed of that impurity. Once the bow is strung, the arrow has to be released and so Rama decides to follow Sagara's advice. Nala comes forth to build the bridge. Says Nala, "The ocean responded only to punishment and not to request, this is true. But it is not just because it is ungrateful. It is also because it wants to provoke you to build a bridge on it, so that it sees a lasting solution to the problem it presents to many travellers."

The bridge was built and the war won, and good triumphed over evil. The bridge was more than a physical entity. It was a symbol of the need to find ways to preserve sanctity of life. Every form of life is subject to eternal laws. That which is sustainable is that which takes into consideration the aspirations and commitment of all beings, be they dangerous animals or fathomless waters.

Equally, Rama's mission was important. To find solutions within the given constraints was the true challenge. When he faced this truth, nature became his supporter and instead of fighting it he became empowered with its support. Because he was able to work in consonance with nature to achieve his desired goal, Rama's bridge symbolised the importance of understanding, compassion and harmony.

Steer Your Mind to Selfless Service

The human body is anyway impermanent, so it is better it wears out in service. Constant effort and hard work are absolutely essential.

Be engaged always in the service of people. The human body is anyway impermanent, so it is better it wears out in service. Constant effort and hard work are absolutely essential.

If ten rupees is earned by hard work, we must return a thousand rupees to society through more hard work.

Prayer and worship are not enough. There is no difference between the Creator and His creation. Do you need to show a candle to the sun? Similarly, you do not need to worship God.

He is within you and in everybody around you. In service to His creation you establish contact with the Creator.

Krishna, even though he was complete in himself, still worked relentlessly. Arjuna however wanted to run away from the scene. You cannot run away. You have to do your bit. Not always will the situation be to your liking.

You may not be able to change it. You can only change your mind, your attitude. If your neighbour makes too much noise, you can complain to the police.

If your street is noisy, you can move elsewhere, but if your mind is creating all the chaos, what do you do? Recognise those circumstances we can change and those we have to accept.

A king got pricked by a thorn when he was out hunting. He was furious and ordered that his entire kingdom be carpeted.

His ministers were in a fix. Wherefrom would they get so many rolls of carpet? A senior minister offered the suggestion that the king wear shoes and thankfully the king appreciated him.

Similarly, we too should be able to change our attitude, we cannot expect the world to change.

How can we change our attitude? For that, mind control is important. Our mind is like an old car that stops only after colliding against some object, for its brakes don't work well.

Modern cars come to a standstill the moment you apply the power brakes. The mind is like a supermarket with many thoughts.

In a supermarket we do not buy everything and anything. We take only that which we want. Similarly, we should let only some thoughts develop and let the others disappear.

The mind is like an elephant. An elephant, along its path, keeps plucking, tearing at any branch or leaves that come its way.

But when the mahout keeps it on track, it is focused and walks a straight path. To still the mind and to have its remote control in our hands, we need meditation.

However, people meditate, do japa while their mind is travelling elsewhere. To steer the mind you need to be aware, to be mindful. If someone were pointing a gun at you, how conscious you would be of yourself!

It is that kind of alertness or awareness that we should have all the time. If we are close to fire, how careful would we be!

That is how careful we should be with every moment of our life. The mind is like water, it is always turning downwards weighed down by our many desires and worldly aspirations.

Water always flows downwards. But look at fire, it always leaps upwards. If you put fire under water, it sends water also upwards in the form of steam. We should be like that. Our mind should be able to be light and alert.

As told to Sudhamahi Regunathan By MATA AMRITANANDAMAYI

Did you thank God today?

Ego manifests itself in different forms. We usually refer to ego as pride. We can have pride of knowledge, power and wealth. We attribute all that we are and all that we have done to our own individual efforts. We think we are superior to others in many ways.

Most religions say that God is the Creator. It is from Him that the entire universe came into being. We are but small specks in the entire scheme of Creation. If we examine our thoughts, how many times do we thank Him for our life? Few people go through their day-to-day lives remembering Him and His gifts.

True, we say mechanical prayers either at places of worship. We remember him when we want Him to save us from a calamity or from serious illness. But most of the time we hardly give Him a thought. Some even deny His existence. Scientists removed God from their view of the universe because He could not be verified by scientific instrumentation.

There are some enlightened scientists who have begun to question how such a perfectly designed universe and such a complex, well-planned organism as a human being could come about through chance. Those who delve into the intricacies of nature and are in awe of it have the humility to recognise there is some higher power responsible for this universe.

Pride of knowledge comes because of traps laid by the mind. When our soul enters the body, it works in this world through the mind. The brain is a complex organ that receives sense impressions from the world. Our culture makes us interpret these impressions in a certain way.

Besides receiving and interpreting impressions, the brain is a vehicle by which we can communicate with the world through language, to make our thoughts known to others. There are many involuntary actions controlled by the brain breathing, heartbeat and the release of hormones that regulate body functions.

Many think that the brain is the seat of thought. But there is a difference between the mind and the brain. The brain is like a computer which performs many functions. But it is the mind that controls the brain. The mind is a product of the causal plane of creation, a mixture of spirit and matter.

With the mind in control, many of our decisions and actions are based on meeting the mind's desire and wishes. Because the object of the mind is to keep us enslaved to the world, it controls us. The soul, having forgotten itself, goes along with the mind.

We go to school and gain knowledge of this physical universe. We are bombarded by sense impressions at every moment. Our brain has the capacity to take in billions of bits of information, store and retrieve them, much like a computer.

Words can be combined in billions of ways to create new stories, books, ideas, new inventions. The notes of the musical scale can be combined in billions of ways to create a wide variety of music. The mind can keep us occupied and involved in this world for aeons and aeons.

The mind has forgotten that the colours of the palette it uses to paint have been created by God Himself. That the notes of the scale that it uses to compose songs are of God's own making. The brain it uses to communicate with the world is also a creation of God.

Mind as Maya Confounds Mechanistic World View

In the age of science, information and knowledge, our basic article of faith is that, in order to manage any process, we should be able to measure it and understand it in precise quantitative terms.

As T S Eliot observed, today we measure our life in coffee spoons. We seek to understand the most involved webs of human feelings as chemical processes and reactions.

To nurture our zest for life, we believe that we only need to activate our adrenal glands that will, on their own, produce certain chemicals and send them into the bloodstream; and lo and behold, we will automatically be charged with a passion to live and achieve.

Likewise, if we stimulate our pituitary glands, the brain will begin to secrete certain chemicals that will signi-ficantly ease our muscular movements.

Then we will no longer feel that we are chunks of flesh, meant to sleepwalk our way through life. We will feel that we are inspired bundles of high energy, raring to go.

We are confident that our blood chemistry will enable us to summon our failing courage and rekindle our lost hopes.

This mechanistic world view is the result of the basic limitations of the western paradigm that is uncomfortable with the intangible refinement of the world of the infinitesimal.

Scientific laboratories are struggling to come to grips with the micro cosmos through angstroms and nanoseconds.

Science feels equally lost when it faces the grandeur of the infinite. For the Occidental mindset, it is a mission impossible "To see the world in a grain of sand,/ And heaven in a wild flower,/ Hold infinity in the palm of your hand/ And eternity in an hour".

Einstein's Theory of Relativity was the first to rattle the deterministic foundations of western science. The legendary physicist proved that there was nothing absolute or immutable about a given span of time or a given distance in space.

Quantum theory shook the foundations of western physics further. It proved that you cannot specify at which precise point in space will a subatomic particle like an electron be, at a given point in time. By S H VENKATRAMANI

Mahavira's Philosophy Of Absolute Love

Non-violence, sociability, compassion and peaceful coexistence are forms of love par excellence, according to Mahavira.

In the context of worldly affairs, the meaning of the word 'love' is the feeling of attachment to and affection for the body or material objects.

A person gets united with another only with the thread of love. Without physical love, the institution of family cannot come into existence: the mother cannot care for her child, nor can the organisation become strong.

There is no doubt that love imposes its sense of unity on what is otherwise perceived as duality. Yet bodily love often becomes a cause of conflict and malice.

This kind of love does not belong to the 'pure' category, but because it is inevitable for sustenance of life, it falls under the category of "mine-ness" — mamatva or possessiveness.

Mahavira classi-fied possession into three types: love for body, love for material objects, possession of karmic sanskars or imprints of past actions on consciousness. The first two kinds of love are 'mamatva'.

There is a link between mamatva and fear. The apprehension that 'something wrong may happen to the body' or 'that whatever i have may be lost' generates tension. In mamatva, love is a mixture of both happiness and suffering.

Spiritual love necessarily implies submission and total absorption of the self into the ideal. The Kalyan Mandir says: "O Lord! When you are in my heart, all my bondages get shattered, all my problems get solved just as the snakes at once run away from the sandalwood tree with the arrival of the peacocks".

In Jain tradition, high-esteem or implicit love is given more importance than even humility which is an explicit form of love. An individual with devotion surrenders himself to the ideal by dissolving his ego.

The wider the horizon of affection, the more the development of consciousness and this ultimately leads one to the path of supreme welfare and truth. "Anuragat viragah" — detachment — is born out of affection.

The path of affection born out of worldly attachments leads towards materialism, while pure consciousness is the destination of love that arises from the dissolution of delusion. The affection born out of delusion creates illusion.

Although materialistic attachment is inevitable for sustenance of life, all-embracing love is imperative for fulfillment.

Genuine love becomes deeply cultivated and gets transformed into sanskar for it gets deeply imprinted on the mind.

One may ask: If love is dominated with worldly attachment, then how can worldly attachment and renunciation be made compatible?

We can trace out the source of compatibility between worldly attachment and renunciation by keeping in view the philosophy of Anekant. When there is attachment towards materialism, detachment towards consciousness is created.

When attachment towards consciousness exists, detachment towards materialism becomes natural. Love that is defined by bodily attachment generates problems.

On the other hand, spiritual love solves our problems and uplifts our consciousness. Renunciation of worldly attachment and sublimation are Jain practices that help solve problems caused by attachment to physical pleasure.

Sublimation has the potential to bring down the graph of social crimes and open new dimensions for spiritual development. As told to Lalit Garg. By Acharya Mahaprajna

Planting A Tree Is An Act Of Faith

Most of us tend to see the environment as something that's out there. However, the environment is nothing more or less than our own total interdependence on every living creature.

By refusing to recognise this, we'll end up destroying not only what's out there but also ourselves for we are an intrinsic part of living Earth.

Thirty years ago, as member of a women's group from Kenya in Mexico, I found myself drawn to the story of women in rural areas there. They told us of shortage of firewood, food and clean drinking water.

That triggered off something in me... I began to reconnect to the environment of my childhood. We had plenty of everything. Why not them?

I realised all the shortages were due to degrading of the environment. I suggested tree planting because all these women were talking of issues that were connected to the land, things that were disappearing from the environment as it got degraded. I had stumbled on a very important part of the environment, the tree.

It became crystal clear that the tree was more than firewood. I came to appreciate why the tree is held sacred in many parts of the world for the tree is a symbol of hope and endurance; the tree is the very symbol of life.

I understood why Holy Scriptures give trees special place. I was on a journey of self-discovery. In many cultures — including my own — the tree was the abode of God, just as Mount Kenya was regarded as an abode of God.

When I talk to people of the significance of planting trees I try to share my perception of the tree from all aspects to drive home the point that by taking care of our trees, we help care for the environment and ourselves and all that is part of living Earth.

I do talk about the practical aspects — that we need firewood that we need trees to clean the air we breathe, to help us build homes, to source food, to hold the soil together, to ensure adequate rainfall... I relate all this to daily life and also connect it to holistic philosophies enshrined in Holy Scriptures.

God is presented as an entity — as one who is often depicted as appearing in bushes or trees. In the Bible, God is said to have created the Garden of Eden. What we believe is what we get.

The tree is the only living creature that goes deep into the belly of the Earth and brings out the goodies of the Earth to the surface through its roots and trunk; it brings up all the goodness for common good.

The tree is a powerful recycling 'plant'! More importantly, the tree is our cosmic connector for it brings Earth and Sky together.

Trees survive for hundreds of years. So there is a certain quality of endurance and stability that evokes respect and awe. The tree recycles life and enables us to see the different cycles of life.

Trees give us food in fruits; shade, shelter. In scientific terms, trees fix the problem of carbon emissions by absorbing them.

Trees are natural air-conditioners; they're life-supporting systems. So, go! Plant a tree today. Nurture it for the tree nurtures you.

Noble laureate and recipient of the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding, Wangari Maathai — who has planted more than 40 million trees — spoke to Narayani Ganesh during her visit to New Delhi as guest of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.

5 habits to get things done

Photo credit: Fotolia

Sure, there are different strategies to get more done, but according to Cube Rules, they're the habits you form that truly count in productivity. The blog lists five habits that will increase the amount you get done. For instance:

• Every day, develop a key list of two things you must get done.
• Work in batches—finish all of one type of activity, like making phone calls, in one go.

Full story at Cube Rules.

Life is an Opportunity, Make the Most of It

Life is an opportunity; it is God's greatest gift. Life, full of promise, is expanding every moment, and the transitory moments flit past before we know it. Pause to think: Am i being vigilant in life? Am i endeavoring to learn how to experience true consciousness?

What we are or wish to become and the constant exercise of its acceptance or opposition is what causes the state of inner conflict. This inner conflict is verily like a great war being waged in us and the huge armies of conflicting emotions attacking and counter-attacking reduce us to a state of helplessness.

This state gives rise to confusion and despair, increasing our vulnerability and affecting adversely our ability to move towards equanimity.

Only when you cultivate the habit of reaching out to conscious knowledge and concentration, you will move towards greater clarity and understanding of the present state. In order to set this process in motion, you need to make a fundamental change in your daily routine.

A person is able to make his future bright and secure only to the extent that he is able to transform himself. This transformation does not take place on its own.

This fundamental change will be the result of your dedication to those purposeful ideals which you form studying the scriptures, teachings of sages, and by emulating the high example set by noble preceptors.

When you perform your duty after becoming conscious of loyalty to self, then all directions inspire you to move towards your aim. When life's aim is clear, knowledge of direction is spontaneous. When your spiritual ambitions yearn for fulfillment, reawakening takes place.

Why do people contribute to Wikipedia?

In video 2/4 hear more from some of the global volunteers behind Wikipedia.

Via Jimmy Wales Start Contributing your Knowledge to world.

Creativity As Expression Of Inner Evolution

Every one of us is gifted with the power to engage with our creative instincts. But few of us take the trouble to explore creativity and give it expression in some form or medium. To engage with our inner creativity, we need to make ourselves stress-free, so that we can focus on uninhibited exploration of inner consciousness. In so doing, we come face-to-face with our creative instincts.

According to Swami Surya Jowel, "Sun as the creator and sustainer of life on earth has the potent energies of purification and resurgence of creative abilities. Suryayog can help awaken the subdued singer, dancer, painter or writer in you as it drives away negative energy and clears body, mind and soul of clutter. This enables the real you to emerge. By allowing the creative process to inspire, every one has the ability to express the beauty of Soul".

Creativity is liberation. It is a canvas where we can paint our dream away from rigid and suffocating guidelines and orthodoxy. "We realise that Creation is the perpetual harmony between the infinite ideal perfection and the eternal continuity of its realisations", said Rabindranath Tagore.

Creative art can help us overcome stress by enabling us to give free expression to positive emotions or even help us overcome negative emotions with the notes of soothing music, comforting rhythm of dance, celebratory stroke of colours, and smooth flow of words. Creative art is a mirror where the image of the Supreme Spirit is reflected as part of our own self. In this union depends the establishing of peace, happiness and better worlds.

Why we feel stressed all the time is because we confine ourselves to rigid perceptions that entrap us in our ignorance. We often forget that outside these parameters there is freedom, happiness and peace. All this exists not out there somewhere unreachable but well within us, in our own creative world, where we can give expression to our innermost spirit. Kahlil Gibran said: "Art is a step from nature towards the infinite".

Since every one of us has inherited some creative spirit as we are part of that Supreme Creative Spirit who created the universe and everything in it. As Tagore pointed out, everything around us is real, yet we do not see reality in its immediacy... It is only in artistic creation that reality comes alive before our consciousness, unveiled, and we see it, face-to-face. This is because in any creative pursuit, be it music, dance fine arts or writing, our outer self meets the inner, self-giving an expression which is an emotional harmony, a statement of soul consciousness.

Why do we seek out the mountains, hill stations, beaches or wildlife sanctuaries? We do so because all these represent the creative outpourings of the Creator. We, as part-participants of supreme creation find a resonance of the creative outside with the creative inner. In much the same way musicians, dancers, painters, poets and authors find easy entry into our hearts, cutting across boundaries and barriers of regions and faiths. This is an inner world of emotion rather than external reality; it strikes a chord in our sacred spaces.

Creativity is that Sakha or eternal friend whom you can trust with your innermost feelings and aspirations. Artistic expression is nothing but reflection of inner thoughts and convictions, that spring from a world that's our very own, free of regimentation. It is a move towards liberation from all that is binding and so limiting.

Rama As An Avatar Of The Sattvic Human

An avatar is... never merely a prophet. He is a realiser and establisher — not of outward things only, though he does realize something in the outward also... It was not at all Rama's business to establish the spiritual stage of that evolution — so he did not at all concern himself with that. His business was to destroy Ravana and to establish Rama Rajya... an order proper to the sattvic civilized human being who governs his life by finer emotions, moral ideals, such as truth, obedience, cooperation and harmony, the sense of domestic and public order — to establish this in a world still occupied by anarchic forces... the vanaras and rakshasas.

It was Rama's business to be not necessa-rily as perfect, but as largely representative of sattvic man, faithful husband, obedient son, a tender and perfect brother, father, friend — of the outcast Guhaka, of animal leaders, Sugriva and Hanuman, of the vulture Jatayu, friend of even rakshasa Vibhishana. All that he was in a brilliant, striking but above all spontaneous and inevitable way... with a certain harmonious completeness.

But most of all, it was his business to typify and establish the things on which the social idea and its stability depended, truth and honour, the sense of dharmas, public spirit and sense of order.

To truth and honour, much more than to his filial love and obedience to his father — though to that also — he sacrificed his personal rights... and went into exile in the forests. To his public spirit and his sense of public order he sacrificed his own happiness and domestic life and the happiness of Sita.

In that he was one with the moral sense of all the antique races, though at variance with the later romantic individualistic sentimental morality of the modern man who can afford to have that less stern morality just because the ancients sacrificed the individual in order to make the world safe for the spirit of social order.

Finally, it was Rama's business to make the world safe for the ideal of the sattvic human being by destroying the sove-reignty of Ravana, the rakshasa menace. All this he did with such a divine afflatus in his personality and action that his figure has been stamped for more than two millennia on our minds, on Indian culture, and what he stood for has dominated the reason and idealising mind of man in all countries...

When I spoke of the gap that would be left by his absence, I did not mean a gap among the prophets and intellectuals, but a gap in the scheme of avatarhood — there was somebody who was the avatar of the sattvic human as Krishna was the avatar of the overhead superman — I can see no one but Rama who can fill the place...

As for the avatarhood, I accept it for Rama because he fills a place in the scheme... for when I read the Ramayana I feel a great afflatus which I recognise and which makes of its story — merely fairy tale though it seems — a parable of a great critical transitional event that happened in the terrestrial evolution and gives to the main character's personality and action a significance of the large typical cosmic kind which these actions would not have had if they had been done by another man in another scheme of events.

By Sri Aurobindo Excerpted from The Purpose of Avatarhood: Letters on Yoga, Part I, Vol 22.

Pi-Day Reflections Einstein and Vedanta

Einstein's birthday on Pi-Day 3.14, that is, March 14, is truly a cosmic event. Pi is the ratio that is integral to a circle, and Einstein is synonymous to the law of relativity or e=mc2. Both the circle and the law of relativity are closely linked to ancient rishis and their wisdom for liberation. The rishis were dedicated people experimenting in various ways to understand the law and attain liberation.

A circle symbolizes anything that is periodic or cyclic, as in the circle of birth and death. The law of relativity or e=mc2 is a mathematical way of saying that energy e is proportionate to the mass m with the square of the velocity of light c2 as a constant.

Alvares won the Nobel prize for creating a bubble chamber at the University of Berkeley and showing us that mass is constantly being converted to energy and back again 1,023 or c2 times every second, thus physically validating Einstein's law of relativity. This is Truth at the subtlest level in all physical compounded matter.

The Buddha arrived at the same Truth. He says in the Tipitika that we are made up of tiny particles or kalapas. There being 43,000 such particles in a dust particle under the chariot wheel. In the blink of an eye trillions upon trillions of these kalapas arise and pass away.

It was this Truth or law that the rishis and sages of ancient India were trying to discover, so that by following it they would reach their goal, get liberated and be supremely happy. At the gross level they found that "Every action has an equal and opposite reaction".

This was the law of karma. We are born rich or poor, healthy or unhealthy because of our actions in previous rounds of birth and death. If we perform wholesome actions we are rewarded; if not, we're punished, so to speak. Since we all carry the conditioning or seeds of our past karmas, the rishis started experimenting on how to eradicate them.

The body and mind was their laboratory and tool. Diligently sharpening their mind with meditation and searching within their own body they discovered that the root of all our actions lay in our own body. They found that the outer world becomes a reality for us only when it comes in contact with our sense doors.

Then in our body starts a flow of aasavas or biochemical flow which produces pleasant or unpleasant sensations all over the body. Being unaware (moha) of them we react with craving (lobha) or aversion (dwesha) to these sensations. This reaction increases the biochemical flow, thus increasing the intensity of our feelings and sensations and causing us to react.

Having identified the root of human action, rishi-munis observed sensations without reacting to them with craving or aversion and found themselves getting liberated from seeds of past actions and started feeling subtler sensations till they could feel a free flow of sensations from head to toe.

This was the dharm-ganga that we have to take a dip in to get liberated. When we eradicate all our past karmas we experience e=mc2 in our body and experience the amrit, deathless state of nirvana where nothing arises or dies. This science of liberation of ancient India is called Vipassana available to us even today. May all beings be Happy.

By Rajiv Bhole  rajiv.behappy@gmail.com

Rumi's Eternal Dance As The Mystical Seeker

The quest for liberation and the path leading up to it has been metaphorised and expressed richly in various cultural traditions through music, poetry and dance. Jalaluddin Rumi's mystical legacy, for instance, continues to inspire generations, transcending all ethnic boundaries, reverberating in every corner of the globe.

Rumi was a passionate musician who believed that music and dance were to be seen as spiritual disciplines in themselves, a perfect trigger to lead the soul to higher dimensions a concept and philosophy which led him to found the order of the Mevlevi, the dance of the whirling dervishes, the "Sema" or turning, the sacred ritualistic dance, which represents the journey of the seeker who turns to truth through love and abandonment of the ego.

Rumi's meeting with his preceptor Shami Tabrizi, is considered the great catalytic point of Rumi's life, which converted him from an intellectual scholar to a passionate Sufi. The intense call was evocatively penned by Rumi as "the drum of realization of the promise is beating/ we are sweeping the road to the sky/ your joy is here today, what remains for tomorrow...". But Rumi also saw inner transformation as an arduous process, almost painful, since it required the death of the ego.

Rumi talks of the Islamic concept of Oneness: "What is Tawhid? To burn oneself before the One", says Rumi in his Mathnawi. Man has to die unto himself to be one with that divine consciousness. The death of the ego stands at the heart of Rumi's thinking, and is quite physically embodied in the swirling movement of the sacred dancing he evolved as a measure to attain truth.

Dance became a rhythmic expression of dhikr or remembrance. As Rumi would put it "...whatever there is, is only He/ your footsteps there in dancing/ the whirling... see... belongs to you/ And you belong to the whirling...", a kind of remembrance that the whole universe there is whirling around Him.

Equally magically, Rumi loved the "ney", the reed flute, and saw in it a metaphor for the seeker himself: "...listen to the reed, and the tale it tells, how it complains of separation...". The wandering minstrel that he was, he saw

music and dance not just as expressions of divine love, but complete 'paths' in themselves, in which the bliss of divine communion could be experienced easily. The true spirit of the Sufi is musically sketched as "...we are the flute, our music is all Thine/ we are the mountains, echoing only Thee...".

The ecstatic flight into the Divine was, for Rumi, best embodied in the path of music, "helping the seeker focus their whole being on the Divine... and in doing so the ego is destroyed and the soul resurrected". In quintessential Sufi style, he reaches out by declaring his mission as one of love, where "...love's nationality is separate from all religions. The lover's nationality and religion is the Beloved".

Shahram Shiva cites this as the enduring legacy of Rumi, "...where the world of Rumi is neither exclusively that of a Sufi, nor that of a Hindu, Jew or Christian... it is the highest state of a human being, a fully evolved human being...". It is a testimony of the universality of his mystic-musical appeal that Rumi concerts are being organised worldwide in this International Year of Rumi.

Solving Global Warming : Doing Something

Global Warming is a serious issue and most of us know about it but like many of us we are not taking it seriously. There are many Organization and people across the planet working day and night to make people aware of global warming and its effects.

Still many of doesn't give enough attention towards it and some even say that global warming and the related issues are all hype and issue is not that serious. May be every thing they tell may not be true at the same time cant be ignored.

If we don't wake up now and do some thing about it the effects and disasters will transcend our imagination.and by that time it will to too late to repair any damage.

You may not come in to direct effect of global warming for next 10 years (may be) but the nature is being affected severely and animals are facing extinction .Human life is the most blessed and gifted life and being born as human we must act and behave as human. Helping those who cannot help themselves is a gift and we all have it and doing our part will help .

The above Info graphic will explain the simple things we can do in our daily life to reduce the effects of daily life. Take it seriously be a responsible “HUMAN” .

Be a Catalyst

Every Little Bit helps , Blogging , sharing and Encouraging and following these tips and Ideas will definitely help .

• Share with Friends and Family members
• Learn More about Global warming and watch videos about it
• HOME by Yann Arthus-Bertrand will help you learn more about earth
• Ask your MP’s and Government  to go green .
• Plant More Trees and buy carbon credits
• Eat less meat
• Buy Local Foods ,fresh foods not frozen foods.
• Go to Farmer markets

Use Less :

• Paper bags Instead use a Cloth bag
• Use recycled Paper . avoid unnecessary Printing.
• Stop sending Junk and Spam Mail
• less is more . have no more than 2 children .
• Save Electricity and save money and Power.

Travel :

• Try to avoid air travel unless other wise necessary.
• try to walk to near by distances.
• Use bicycle
• Prefer Public Transports .

Thing I hate to see , only one person in a big car. such a waste of petrol and also creating traffic jams. Try to buy fuel efficient hybrid cars.

• Try to switch to Green Power .

In Home :

• Use Electricity Efficient Light bulbs and Home Appliances(*****)
• Turn off Appliances at Power point . TV and Computers . Not with remote or stand by mode . turn them off completely when not in use.
• Use clothes line not Dryer.
• Use solar water heater

Hope you will follow and implement most of these suggestion For a better planet. Stay Close to nature.

River Mythologies Tell A Different Story

With most of the world's rivers under threat from pollution and global warming, it would be instructive to revisit our traditional perceptions of rivers as life-givers and sustainers.

Spiritual tradition enjoins us to remember in our daily prayers the sacred rivers Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, Saraswati, Narmada, Sindhu and Cauvery as a thanksgiving to Mother Nature. In ancient times people held rivers in awe and endowed them with mystical origins.

The turbulent Ganga was brought down to earth by Lord Shiva and to humble the pride of Ganga knotted her in his matted locks. The Cauvery began its flow from a 'kamandala' that sage Agastya kept by his side while meditating. Vinayaka, taking the form of a crow, tilted the vessel and the water that spilt from the vessel became the wide and sprawling river. This is one among the many Puranic versions of the origin of the Cauvery.

The Cauvery since that timeless mythical day has been flowing through the plains braving the vicissitudes of history. In the process, under the patronage of administrators from the ancient Chola dynasty to recent times, the river has engendered glorious traditions of art, music and literature. The cultural heritage which Thanjavur and Mysore have inherited could rival that of any other in the world.

The trinity of Carnatic music, Thyagaraja, Shyama Sastri and Muthuswami Dikshitar, belong to the Thanjavur-Cauvery delta. The mighty temples that dot the banks of the river, many of them masterpieces of architecture, still bear eloquent testimony to what the Cauvery did, not only in fertilising the soil but in nurturing the mind and soul of man.

The alchemist (quotes)

 

Illustration from “The Alchemist Calendar 2011″, already on sale Celebrating this week ALMOST THREE YEARS in the New York times Bestseller List, you find below parts of the dialogue between the shepherd boy and the Alchemist on the way to the pyramids.

“Why do we have to listen to our hearts?” the boy asked, when they had made camp that day.

“Because, wherever your heart is, that is where you’ll find your treasure.”

“But my heart is agitated,” the boy said. “It has its dreams, it gets emotional, and it’s become passionate over a woman of the desert. It asks things of me, and it keeps me from sleeping many nights, when I’m thinking about her.”

“Well, that’s good. Your heart is alive. Keep listening to what it has to say.”

During the next three days, the two travelers passed by a number of armed tribesmen, and saw others on the horizon. The boy’s heart began to speak of fear. It told him stories it had heard from the Soul of the World, stories of men who sought to find their treasure and never succeeded.

“My heart is a traitor,” the boy said to the alchemist, when they had paused to rest the horses. “It doesn’t want me to go on.”

“That makes sense,” the alchemist answered. “Naturally it’s afraid that, in pursuing your dream, you might lose everything you’ve won.”

“Well, then, why should I listen to my heart?”

“Because you will never again be able to keep it quiet. Even if you pretend not to have heard what it tells you, it will always be there inside you, repeating to you what you’re thinking about life and about the world.”

“You mean I should listen, even if it’s treasonous?”

“Treason is a blow that comes unexpectedly. If you know your heart well, it will never be able to do that to you. Because you’ll know its dreams and wishes, and will know how to deal with them.

“You will never be able to escape from your heart. So it’s better to listen to what it has to say. That way, you’ll never have to fear an unanticipated blow.”

“My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer,” the boy told the alchemist one night as they looked up at the moonless sky.

“Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second’s encounter with God and with eternity.”

“Every second of the search is an encounter with God,” the boy told his heart. “When I have been truly searching for my treasure, every day has been luminous, because I’ve known that every hour was a part of the dream that I would find it. When I have been truly searching for my treasure, I’ve discovered things along the way that I never would have seen had I not had the courage to try things that seemed impossible for a shepherd to achieve.”

So his heart was quiet for an entire afternoon. “Everyone on earth has a treasure that awaits him,” his heart said. “We, people’s hearts, seldom say much about those treasures, because people no longer want to go in search of them. We speak of them only to children. Later, we simply let life proceed, in its own direction, toward its own fate. But, unfortunately, very few follow the path laid out for them—the path to their destinies, and to happiness. Most people see the world as a threatening place, and, because they do, the world turns out indeed, to be threatening place.

“So, we, their hearts, speak more and more softly. We never stop speaking out, but we begin to hope that our words won’t be heard: we don’t want people to suffer because they don’t follow their hearts.”

“Why don’t people’s hearts tell them to continue to follow their dreams?” the boy asked the alchemist.

“Because that’s what makes a heart suffer most, and hearts don’t like to suffer.”

From “The Alchemist” on Paulo Coelho’s Blog .

Transform Heat To Light With Inner Alchemy

Do not use heat as heat: use it as light. When you think anger is coming to you, close your eyes and meditate on what anger is.

Dig deep inside and find out the source from where it is coming. When we get angry we begin to think about the object of anger, about who has created it, and not of the source of anger, from where it is coming.

When you get angry, close your eyes. This is the right moment to meditate. Go deep, and you will come to the source of heat from where the accumulated energy is bursting forth to go out.

Observe it; do not indulge in it — because if you indulge in it, it will be thrown out without being transformed.

And do not suppress it — because if you suppress it, it will be thrown back to the original source which is overflowing.

It cannot absorb it. It will be thrown back again with a more forceful movement. Just be conscious. Move inward to the source.

This very movement slows down the process; this very observation transforms the quality of anger, because this calm observation is an antidote.

Anger and calm observation are different phenomena. When this calm observation enters into anger, it changes the energy, the very chemical composition of it, and heat becomes light.

Then the anger is neither thrown back to the original source which cannot contain it because it is overflowing, nor is it thrown to the object in a foolish wastage.

Then this energy neither moves out to the object of anger, nor is it suppressed back to the original source. This energy moves to the periphery of your body as light. When diffused, anger becomes ojas, an inner light.

So do not be disturbed and disappointed if you have much anger. That only shows you have much energy. A person born without anger cannot be transformed. He has no energy. So be happy that you have energy, but do not misuse it.

Energy in itself is neutral. This is the secret science of inner alchemy — to change heat into light, to change coal into diamond, to change baser elements into gold.

Our 'chemistry'is born out of alchemy. The word 'alchemy'comes from Egypt. The old name of Egypt was 'Khem'and 'Al Khem'means 'the secret science of Egypt'.

The Egyptians were deep in the alchemy of inner transformation, in how to transform the inner chemistry.

Many Egyptian mum-mies are preserved. They are the oldest, most ancient mummies, and still scientists are not able to probe into how and why they were preserved.

Why they were preserved is difficult to understand, but more problematic is the 'how', by what chemical process they were preserved.

They are still as fresh as if they had just died. If there had been any outer chemical process, our chemistry could know it; we are more chemically developed than old Egypt.

The real thing is that these bodies were preserved not by any outer chemical process, but by inner alchemy.

If your sex energy, which is the source of life, can be transformed inwardly, then your body can be preserved for any length of time very easily — even for a million years.

If the cells of your body lose sex then the body can be preserved, because birth comes through sex and death comes through sex. Your freshness, the youngness of the body, comes through sex, and then deterioration comes through sex.

Excerpted from The Ultimate Alchemy. Courtesy: Osho Inter-national Foundation. www.osho.com

The Little Guide to Inspiration

“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” - Jack London

We all have days when we’re just not very inspired, when we need passion and creativity breathed into us.

I know I do.

For anyone who needs a little shove, whose creativity has dried up, who needs to be moved … I humbly offer this simple guide.

While I never claim to have all the answers, nor that my way is the only way, I share here some things I’ve learned about inspiration, some tricks I’ve learned that work for me.

I’m often in need of inspiration, but in all cases I’ve found it. And it’s a wonderful thing.

What Is Inspiration?

Many people think of it as an elusive quality that can’t be forced, and yet it can be found if you look for it.

Others think it’s a way to find ideas, but it’s more than ideas … it’s being moved to put those ideas into action.

Inspiration is finding something else that is divinely inspired (people, nature, amazing ideas), having that inspiration breathed into you (“breath” is the root of “inspiration”), and then taking action on it. Creating, doing, inspiring others.

How to Find Inspiration

Inspiration is just about everywhere you can look, if you’re looking for it. That’s the key: to keep your eyes open. Too often we miss beautiful sources of inspiration, because we’re too busy thinking about other things.

Be observant. See everything around you as a possible source of inspiration.

Some possible sources of inspiration:

• blogs

• books

• magazines

• films

• people around you

• nature

• children

• art

• music

• history

• exercise

• religion

• great projects

• dreams

• social media

• photographs

• forums

• google

• success stories

• life, everywhere

Just keep your eyes open, at all times, staying present whenever possible, and allow yourself to breathe in that inspiration.

How to Stay Inspired

Inspiration isn’t just a one-time thing. You’ll need it on a regular basis.

When you practice the above method — keeping your eyes open, staying present, and breathing in inspiration — you get better at it. It becomes a skill you can use at any time, and you’ll use it often.

Some tips for keeping the inspiration coming:

• Work with inspired people – one of the best ways to stay inspired is to work with creative, energetic, positive people.

• Read daily – varied things, from blogs to magazines to books of all kinds.

• Get outside – nature is one of the biggest inspirations, and you’ll miss it if you’re inside all day.

• Talk with new people – they’ll always expose you to new and interesting things, if you’re open to it.

• Break out of your routine – see things from a different perspective. Take a new route home. Go to a new restaurant. Visit someplace new in your area.

• Find time for silence – it’s more inspiring than you might think. Unfortunately, not enough of us do it.

• Exercise – or at least get moving. It helps the blood to circulate, and gets ideas moving around. My most inspired thoughts come during runs.

Now Take Action

Don’t just feel inspired. Take this inspiration and use it, be moved, and do something. Channel that inspiration into creating something amazing.

Put that something out into the world, and in turn, you will inspire others.

Having trouble taking action? Read The Little Rules of Action.

“For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.” ~Vincent van Gogh

Post written by Leo Babauta. Follow Him on Twitter.

How Social Good Has Revolutionized Philanthropy

By  Zachary Sniderman

The term “Social Good” has been bantered about, but pinning down exactly what it means in concrete terms can sometimes be tricky. Is social good the same as “the common good”? Is it the same as normal fundraising? Is it just online giving, or is it particular to social networks and web trends?

Social good is equal parts online fundraising and advocacy via social networks. While the Internet has been used before by non-profits and charities to raise money, social good implies more than just money changing hands. Social good campaigns often combine the ability of the Internet to find, introduce and bond communities around a common interest. That interest, in this case, is usually a problem worth fixing.

Where social good starts to get fuzzy is just how that problem gets fixed. Social good campaigns can be about building safe, entirely free, online support communities, spreading awareness through updates, raising cash, or a combination of all three.

There are concerns that social good is less effective at raising money than traditional fundraising — that smaller online donations and campaigns only cannibalize the already shrinking philanthropy market. Still, others see it as a new, rapidly growing field, ripe with opportunity.

Ultimately, social good is defined as much by its process as the end result. It is, however, more than just fundraising by using social media. So what is it? While it’s impossible to suss out every nuance of the phrase, we spoke with four non-profits in the social good space to better grasp what social good does well. They collectively and separately saw it in terms of community building, public advocacy, wide-reaching awareness, and low-cost social impact.

Community Time

Social networks are all about building communities, and social good is no different. Livestrong has long been on the social good radar with their active Facebook communities and online forums. “It has really helped us with our fundraising and recruiting efforts for our events,” said Brooke McMillan, Livestrong’s online community manager. “But it’s not our first task. Our first task is to have people become part of our community”

That community can lead to direct donations, but it’s through genuine interaction. Social networking enables non-profits to better know their donors and build long-term giving relationships.

Sometimes the community is the end goal, as with Livestrong’s anti-stigma campaign. McMillan said their highest readership days are when people share personal stories. “We’ve actually seen that our international Facebook fans are sharing their stories and speaking about their personal stories online,” McMillan said. “It’s a great way to spread the message of talking about cancer in a forum that’s safer than in a country [where they] might not be able to do that.”

While these discussions were initially a way to convert Facebook fans into donations, McMillan now sees those forums and social good as “the actions of the people in the community you’ve built… if the organization builds a place that the community comes to, the good will come out of it.”

Charity and Advocacy

Social good is especially useful for mobilizing a large group of like-minded people. While this has normally manifested itself in flash mobs or group-buying, there’s a lot of potential for increasing public advocacy to solve pressing problems.

“Having 10 million people is more important than 10 million dollars,” said Ben Rattray, founder and CEO of Change.org. “For advocacy you need to mobilize people, and the web helps you mobilize people like never before.” Rather than see the community as the end goal, Rattray sees it as an important resource in the social good tool belt. “… People’s voices are more important than their pocketbooks.”

That mobilization, however, is earned. The goal is to find and cultivate life-long donors that feel invested in your organization. Donations for things like charity runs and other short-term projects are often given because a friend has asked for money, Rattray said. With long-term social good campaigns, companies can aggregate all those small donors and treat them like a larger donor. This is especially important for smaller non-profits with limited resources for donor outreach. That earned trust can pave the way for advocacy and systematic changes.

“The goal is not to make people happy about donating but to make change in the world and hopefully there’s a synergy between the two,” Rattray said.

Social Awareness

Philanthropy has always been a balance between raising money and raising awareness for a cause. For Mike McCamon, chief community officer for Water.org, social media is making both possible at the same time. Much of that comes from raising awareness through social media: “It’s always been my theory that someone’s got to have an itch for me to scratch before I can scratch it,” McCamon said. “The goal is to use social media in a very passive way to spread the viral news — here’s the problem and here’s a company that is solving it — and people will self-select.”

Social good can bring attention to a cause and the companies trying to solve it without blindly canvassing for donations (or “the ask”). “I want to build a relationship with someone over the next couple of years,” McCamon said.

That support can take the form of sharing social space online. Last year, Water.org launched a campaign called OneWeekForWater where users could volunteer their Twitter accounts much like in-stream advertising. Instead of product ads, Water.org would broadcast information or promotions for its charities. 100,000 people came to the site with 15,000 signing up to volunteer.

Much social networking is based on raising personal social capital, and campaigns like OneWeekForWater helped users by associating with a good cause. Water.org also benefited by reaching thousands of new fans through social friend networks. Receiving an update in a highly personal way, from a friend’s recommendation, can have more reach than traditional blind mailings. Given its success, Water.org plans to repeat the campaign later this year.

While awareness is important, McCamon remained practical about the intent of social good: “The end purpose of all of this is to solve a problem and to do that we need to raise money. Everything we’re doing in these social media channels, at the end of the day, is to help them donate.”

Saving Some Dough

Perhaps one of the best things about social good is its comparative cost. Social good, unlike traditional fundraising often requires far less money and resources to launch a viable, successful campaign. It’s because of this that many smaller operations have taken to social media to promote and support their causes.

That grassroots mentality drove Meaghan Edelstein to launch Spiritjump.org. Diagnosed with cancer, she initially started the site as a way to reach out to other patients. The site took off, despite starting on a budget of about $20. “You can reach a large group of people in a very short time, virtually for free,” Edelstein said. “And you can’t do that in traditional fundraising.”

Basing a non-profit on small transactions helps in a number of ways. Where larger companies might throw large fundraising events, low budget outfits can provide some financial transparency: “Mailings are expensive. Galas are expensive. Contributors are on to that and they don’t appreciate that,” Edelstein said. “They want to know their money is actually making a difference and not going to throwing parties.”

It also makes it easier to give. People don’t like writing a check for $5, but online, it’s much easier to just click a button and donate a dollar, Edelstein said. “You can reach out to people once a month, and yeah, it might be a dollar, but if you have a million fans and only half donate a dollar a month, that adds up.”

Moreover, large corporations are starting to get into cause marketing online. Non-profits with an online strategy could be missing out on a huge source of revenue.

As much as philanthropy often relies on money changing hands, Edelstein sees social good as “being conscious of what’s around you. It’s not necessarily writing a check.” Those other intangibles include community building and creating a real discourse around a problem. Social good also comes down to a feeling of participation. Donations are one-off payments — they are essential but finite. Social good, via social media, can help make those donors feel like they are part of the organization and part of the solution. It’s a win-win, where non-profits receive sustained donations and donors feel involved and engaged. If you don’t take those steps, said Edelstein, your audience won’t be there when you call for action.

Traditional fundraising certainly isn’t going to go away (nor should it), but social good does present a new set of philanthropic tools that can benefit donations, advocacy, and online communities. When asked about whether social good will stay separate from fundraising, Edelstein responded: “At some point it’s all going to be the same thing. It has to be.”

Found on :  Mashable & 92Y Social Good Summit

Transcend the Ego

In school, children are constantly reminded to "put the donkey last". Relegating the 'I'or the first person singular — that this page now uses in the lower case — to last place might have been nothing more than a teacher's fetish for the rules of English grammar.

However, the principle underlying the tradition of putting the 'donkey'— a euphemism for the first person singular — last could possibly arise from the realization that the idea of an individual who identifies his body with himself is an anthropomorphic concept that reeks of self-importance and arrogance.

In other words, it's the ego-expression that, though shackled by the body-mind entity, deludes itself to be master of all it surveys.

Contrast the concept of the individual 'i'and its infinitesimal smallness and limitations, with that of the more expansive and inclusive 'I'that refers to unlimited awareness.

The 'I'is all-pervasive; but the 'i'is restricted to the one individual who occupies a certain space. If the 'I'is infinite consciousness — without beginning or end — it is understood to be pure.

When it's not, it's impure and that notion is represented by 'i', a mere speck or less in the vastness of infinite consciousness.

Sage Vasishta took great pains to explain to Prince Rama the difference between the bada 'I'and the chhota 'i': When its own reality is seen the 'I'does not appear as the ego-sense any more, but as the one infinite reality, 'I'.

In fact, 'I'becomes entity-less. When this truth is revealed to one with a pure mind, says Vasishta, his ignorance is at once dispelled; but others cling to their own false notion like a child clinging to the notion of the existence of a ghost.

Craving for heaven and even for liberation arises in one's heart only as long as the 'i'is seen as an entity. So there is only unhappiness. The notion of 'i'as 'I'can be got rid of only through self-knowledge.

Only by the constant remembrance of the truth that the self is a pure reflection in the infinite consciousness does the notion of an anthropomorphic 'i-ness'cease to grow.

The world-appearance is a juggler's trick; all subject-object relationships between it and me is foolish. When this understanding takes root, 'i-ness'is uprooted. When it is seen that it is the 'i'that gives rise to the notion of a 'world', both of them cease in peace.

However, continues Sage Vasishta, the higher form of 'I-ness', which gives rise to the feeling "I am one with the entire universe, there is nothing apart from me", is the understanding of the enlightened person.

Another type of 'I-ness'is when one feels that the 'I'is extremely subtle and atomic in nature and therefore different from and independent of everything in this universe.

This, too, is conducive to liberation. It is the individual 'i-ness'that identifies the self with the body and this is to be abandoned.

By persistent culti-vation of the higher form of 'I-ness', the lower form is eradicated. Until then, all references to the individual must necessarily be represented by the lower case 'i'.

In due course even the higher form of 'I-ness'should be abandoned, Vasishta advises Rama. Then one may either engage oneself in all activity or remain in seclusion: For such a one there is no fear of downfall.

Krishna's Message Is That Of Universal Love

A man from India said to 'Abdu'l-Baha: "My aim in life is to transmit as far as in me lies the message of Krishna to the world".

'Abdu'l-Baha said: "The message of Krishna is the message of love. All God's prophets have brought the message of love. None have ever thought that war and hate are good. Every one agrees in saying that love and kindness are best".

Love manifests its reality in deeds, not just in words. For love to manifest its power there must be an object, an instrument, a motive.

There are many ways of expressing the love principle; there is love for the family, for the country, for the race, there is political enthusiasm, there is also the love of commu-nity of interest in service.

These are all ways and means of showing the power of love. Otherwise love would be unseen, unheard, unfelt and would remain altoge-ther unexpressed, and unmani-fested. Love is unlimited, whereas material things are limited.

You cannot adequately express infinite love by limited means. Perfect love needs an unselfish instrument, absolutely free of fetters.

The love of family is limited. Often members of a family disagree; they might even hate each other. Patriotic love is finite; the love of one's country causing hatred of all others, is not perfect love.

Compatriots also are not free from quarrels amongst themselves. The love of race is limited; so is the love of country.

Love must be free from boundaries. To love your own race may mean hatred of all others, and even people of the same race often dislike each other.

Political love is bound with hatred of one party for another, so this love is limited and uncertain.

The great unselfish love is bound by none of these imperfect, semi-selfish bonds; this is one perfect love, accessible to all and can only be achieved by power of the Divine Spirit.

No worldly power can accomplish love that is universal in nature. Animal creation is captive to matter, but to man, God has given freedom.

Animals cannot escape the law of nature, whereas man may control it, for he, containing nature, can rise above it.

The power of the Divine Spirit, enlightening man's intelligence, has enabled him to discover means of bending natural laws to his will.

He flies through the air, floats on the sea, and even moves under water. Man's intellect has enabled him to overcome limitations of nature, and to discover her mysteries.

The Divine Spirit will give to man greater powers than these, if only he will strive after the spiritual and endeavour to attune his heart to Divine infinite love.

When you love family members or compatriots, let it be with a ray of Infinite Love. Let it be in God, and for God.

Wherever you find the attributes of God — love that person — whether he be of your family or of another, of your country, faith, colour, race or another.

The underlying goal of achieving universal love should motivate you to accept everyone as your own and love them unconditionally.

By 'Abdu'l-Baha, son of the Prophet Founder of the Baha'i faith, on the occasion of Naw Ruz, the Baha'i New Year.

Cleverness and wisdom

Zomo the rabbit, though not big or strong, was known to be very clever. Zomo decided it was time he was known for wisdom too, so he approached Sky God.

Sky God told him he would have to earn it by bringing him the scales of the Big Fish Of The Sea; the milk of the Fearsome Wild Bull-Cow; and the tooth of the Mighty Leopard.

Zomo confidently agreed. He began playing his drum so loud at the shore, that the drumbeats went down to the bottom of the sea. Big Fish, dancing to the irresistible rhythm, flipped right out of the water. Zomo drummed faster and faster; Big Fish danced faster and faster, so fast that its jingling scales fell right off. Embarrassed, it jumped back into the sea. Zomo grabbed the scales and ran.

Back in the forest, Zomo climbed a palm tree till Wild Bull-Cow showed up. He goaded Bull-Cow, telling it that it wasn't really big and strong, daring it to knock down the little palm tree. Enraged, it charged. However the palm tree was soft and its horns stuck in it, so Zomo slid down, turned his drum upside down filling it with milk before it got free.

Zomo then ran to the top of the hill where Mighty Leopard lived, sprinkled some fish scales and a few drops of milk on the path, and hid. Leopard came striding down and slipped, rolling down the hill, hitting a rock. Its tooth immediately popped out. Zomo caught it and hopped away to Sky God.

Sky God smiled. "You are clever enough," he said. "But not wise ... three things in this world are worth having: courage, good sense, and deep understanding of things and creatures," said Sky God. "Little rabbit, you have lots of courage, a bit of sense, but absolutely no understanding. So next time you see Fish, Cow or Leopard ... better run fast!"

Like Zomo, we imagine that cleverness can easily bring us to wisdom, or that they are sister states of being. Actually they are more like distant relatives.

Cleverness is satisfied with short-term gains; wisdom acts from a wider perspective. Wisdom is founded on confidence rather than arrogance; learning from experience, yet forever open to the power of new possibilities.

Most of us are good at being clever, and are encouraged to be so, appreciated for being so. Being clever has made us more powerful. We are technologically advanced. We can build organisations, cities, countries. We can also destroy them.

How does it make sense to say, "He is a wise man but he does foolish things."

Wisdom is not just thinking intelligently, but living intelligently. More than just being effective in daily life, it means we choose our values and basic priorities well and we live by them. It means we can fail, but learn from mistakes. It means we take responsibility for the intended as well as unintended consequences of our actions.

When cleverness does serve wisdom, knowledge, information and experience can be distilled in a meaningful way. Often cleverness, recognised in showy brilliance, involves resourceful manipulation of elements; wisdom deals with accepting reality, putting things in perspective, and acting accordingly. While cleverness is often context-dependent and compartmentalised, wisdom is timeless, free of any particular context. Cleverness mostly is purposive -- a means to something else, and is often for a narrower gain; wisdom, recognising the interrelatedness of everything, is always for the good of all.

61 Ways To Find Inspiration When You're Stuck and Feeling Down

Life isn't always hunky dory. No matter how good we are at what we do, and how well we plan things out, we do get stuck. That's when we need inspiration - inspiration to move on, to do what we are supposed to do, to start something new, to build what we were trying to build...inspiration to carry on with life.

This article has a number of tips to help you find inspiration. They are written keeping in mind everyone who's stuck at something, doesn't matter what it is, is looking to get inspired. Hope you find some of them useful.

• Talk to someone you love.
• Watch a kid play. Watch how he lives in the present, enjoying every moment.
• Watch a movie.

Read the rest of Post Here : Dumb Little Man

Best of motivational Songs

These are Selected motivational and Inspirational songs which I use to lift up the mood and keep me inspired . And l Love to collect more songs like these add your Favorite songs which are Inspiring in nature and which are sure to lift up the mood.

Any Language is ok, mention them in comments and help me create a better list by sharing your thoughts and Suggestions .English ,Hindi and Telugu lists are here , I am hoping to create songs list in many more languages with your HELP !

Please do share links ,Ideas and this post .

English : 

1. Get Up, Stand Up – Bob Marley
2. Eye Of The Tiger
3. Danger Zone (Album Version) -Kenny Loggins
4. The Final Countdown -Europe
5. We Will Rock You -Queen
6. I Believe I Can Fly (Album/LP Version) -R. Kelly
7. Lose Yourself -Eminem
8. It's My Life (Album Version) -Bon Jovi
9. Could you be loved
10. I am Alive
11. Finger Prints
12. Conquest – Rocky
13. One step Closer
14. This is Me
15. Overture
16. The Measure of a Man
17. Omen
18. Don't Stop Believing
19. Hearts on Fire
20. I have a dream
21. Burning heart
22. Gonna Fly Now

Telugu : 

1. Indiramma Inti Peru kadu ra Gandhi
2. Maa Telugu Talliki (Leader)
3. Now or Never (Vedam)
4. Vandemataram (Leader)
5. malli Puttani (vedam)
6. Nee Prasnalu (Kotta Bangaru Lokam)
7. Parugulu Teeyi (Maryada Ramanna)
8. Athade (Athadu Title Song)
9. Every body (Chukkalo Chandrudu)
10. Enthavaraku (Gamyam)
11. Jagada jagada (Geethanjali)
12. kaklulu  (Nijam)
13. Krushiunte (?)
14. mounamgane (Naa Autograph)
15. Narasimha Title song
16. nenuanani neekem kadani
17. o maria o maria
18. sahasam swasga (okkadu)
19. sye sara sare sye (Idiot)
20. Urvasi urvasi

Hindi:

1. All izz Well (3 Idiots)
2. Kholo Kholo (Tare Zameen Par )
3. Lakshya
4. mera Jaha(TZP)
5. Sindbad the Sailor(Rock On)
6. Aashayen (Iqbal)
7. Mangala mangala (Agni) (Mangal Pandey)
8. Yejo desh hai (Swadesh)
9. Kuch Kariey (Chak De !)

Which gems and jewels did I miss ? please add your songs,list,and Suggestions in the Comments  ~~~Thank you ~~~

Indian Government Online useful links

Obtain:

1. Birth Certificate < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/howdoi.php?service=1 > .

2. Caste Certificate < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/howdoi.php?service=4 > .

3. Tribe Certificate < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/otherservice_details.php?service=8 > .

4. Domicile Certificate < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/howdoi.php?service=5 > .

5. Driving Licence < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/howdoi.php?service=6 > .

6. Marriage Certificate < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/howdoi.php?service=3 > .

7. Death Certificate < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/howdoi.php?service=2 > .

Apply for:

1. PAN Card < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/otherservice_details.php?service=15 > .

2. TAN Card < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/otherservice_details.php?service=3 > .

3. Ration Card < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/howdoi.php?service=7 > .

4. Passport < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/otherservice_details.php?service=2 > .

5. Inclusion of name in the Electoral Rolls < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/howdoi.php?service=10 > .

Register:

1. Land/Property < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/howdoi.php?service=9 > .

2. Vehicle < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/howdoi.php?service=13 > .

3. With State Employment Exchange < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/howdoi.php?service=12 > .

4. As Employer < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/otherservice_details.php?service=17 > .

5. Company < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/otherservice_details.php?service=19 > .

6. .IN Domain < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/otherservice_details.php?service=18 > .

7. GOV.INDomain < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/otherservice_details.php?service=25 > .

Check/Track:

1. Waiting list status for Central Government Housing < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/otherservice_details.php?service=9 > .

2. Status of Stolen Vehicles < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/otherservice_details.php?service=1 > .

3. Land Records < http://www.india.gov.in/landrecords/index.php > .

4. Cause list of Indian Courts < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/otherservice_details.php?service=7 > .

5. Court Judgments (JUDIS ) < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/otherservice_details.php?service=24 > .

6. Daily Court Orders/Case Status < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/otherservice_details.php?service=21 > .

7. Acts of Indian Parliament < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/otherservice_details.php?service=13 > .

8. Exam Results < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/otherservice_details.php?service=16 > .

9. Speed Post Status < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/otherservice_details.php?service=10 > .

10. Agricultural Market Prices Online < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/otherservice_details.php?service=6 > .

Book/File/Lodge:

1. Train Tickets Online < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/otherservice_details.php?service=5 > .

2. Air Tickets Online < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/otherservice_details.php?service=4 > .

3. Income Tax Returns < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/otherservice_details.php?service=12 > .

4. Complaint with Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/otherservice_details.php?service=14 > .

Contribute to:

1. Prime Minister's Relief Fund < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/otherservice_details.php?service=11 > .

Others:

1. Send Letters Electronically < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/otherservice_details.php?service=20 >.

Recently Added Online Services:

1. Tamil Nadu: Online application of marriage certificate for persons having registered their marriages < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/onlineservice_detail.php?service=2691 > .

2. Tamil Nadu: Online District wise soil Details of Tamil Nadu < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/onlineservice_detail.php?service=2693 > .

3. Tamil Nadu: View Water shed Atlas of Tamil Nadu < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/onlineservice_detail.php?service=2694 > .

4. Tamil Nadu: E-Pension District Treasury Tirunelveli < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/onlineservice_detail.php?service=2695 > .

5. Meghalaya: Search Electoral Roll Online by Name (2008) < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/onlineservice_detail.php?service=2697 > .

6. Meghalaya: Search Electoral Roll Online by EPIC number (2008) < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/onlineservice_detail.php?service=2698 > .

7. Meghalaya: Search Electoral Roll Online by House number (2008) < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/onlineservice_detail.php?service=2699 > .

8. Himachal Pradesh: Revised Pay and Arrears Calculator-Fifth Pay < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/onlineservice_detail.php?service=2702 > .

9. Meghalaya: Search Electoral Roll Online by Part number (2008) < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/onlineservice_detail.php?service=2700 > .

10. Andhra Pradesh: Online Motor Driving School Information < http://www.india.gov.in/howdo/onlineservice_detail.php?service=2705 > .

Global Navigation:

1. Citizens < http://www.india.gov.in/citizen.php > .

2. Business (External website that opens in a new window) < http://business.gov.in/ > .

3. Overseas < http://www.india.gov.in/overseas.php > .

4. Government < http://www.india.gov.in/govtphp > .

5. Know India < http://www.india.gov.in/knowindia.php > .

6. Sectors < http://www.india.gov.in/sector.php > .

7. Directories < http://www.india.gov.in/directories.php > .

8. Documents < http://www.india.gov.in/documents.php > .

9. Forms < http://www.india.gov.in/forms/forms.php > .

10. Acts < http://www.india.gov.in/govt/acts.php > .

11. Rules < http://www.india.gov.in/govt/rules.php > .

12. Schemes < http://www.india.gov.in/govt/schemes.php > .

13. Tenders < http://www.india.gov.in/tenders.php > .

14. Home < http://www.india.gov.in/default.php > .

15. About the Portal < http://www.india.gov.in/abouttheportal.php > .

16. Site Map < http://www.india.gov.in/sitemap.php > .

17. Link to Us < http://www.india.gov.in/linktous.php > .

18. Suggest to a Friend < http://www.india.gov.in/suggest/suggest.php > .

19. Help < http://www.india.gov.in/help.php > .

20. Terms of Use < http://www.india.gov.in/termscondtions.php > .

21. Feedback < http://www.india.gov.in/feedback.php > .

22. Contact Us < http://www.india.gov.in/contactus.php > .

23. Accessibility Statement < http://www.india.gov.in/accessibilitystatement.php > .