Kabir was a weaver.
This weaver likes Kabir.
The great thing about country is that cultures, both old and new, coexist in harmony. We have been open to the best of religious tradition and cultures from all over the world. This we owe to the universal and open vision of our ancient scriptures. While religious wars were bleeding Europe, people of various religions were living together peacefully in India. India is the birth place of four major religions – Hindu, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. Octavia Paz, the famous Mexican poet, called India `a living museum’. He was admiring the fabulous differences that side by side in India. To day people of all faiths lives in the spiritual garden of India- a secular India.
Kabir, the child of Ram and Allah
We have had great saints and spiritual leaders-leaders who taught people to love one another, to seek the truth, and to lead good lives irrespective of their religious beliefs. Their messages have come down to us in the form of poems, songs and legends.
One such poet –saint who lived 600 years ago, was Kabir, there are number of legends about Kabir’s birth but we know for certain that he was raised in a family of Muslim weavers. As he grew up, two things left a deep impact on Kabir. Since it was a time when Persian poetry and philosophy were influence north India, they shaped Kabir’s thinking. Then Kabir met his guru, a Hindu named Ramananda, who was against strict and formal ways of worship. Kabir spent a lot of time with his guru. He grew tired of the outward shows of religious practice and caste divisions. He urged people to find their roots in God rather than in rituals. Kabir called himself the child of ram and Allah. He preached and practiced love and equality.
He urged people to look within themselves. ``do not go into the garden of flowers! O friend! Go not there; in you is the garden of flowers!
Here is Rabindranath Tagore’s translation of Kabir’s famous poem.
Lo! I am besides thee
I am neither in temple nor in mosque.
I am neither in Ka’aba nor in Kailash.
Neither am I in rites and ceremonies, nor in yoga and renunciation.
Can you understand what Kabir was trying to say? That there was no need to visit is holy places, because your own heart is the holiest place. He wanted people to forget their differences and just believe that Allah, Akbar, Ram or Rahim are alone and the same.
Ooty is such a common destination for South Indians that it is no more “cool” to go there for your honeymoon or wedding anniversary.
During my school days, a trip to Ooty from Madras was a must every summer. let me share the wonderful experiences i had in ooty.
Toy train journey was nostalgic. The magic of toy train is still pretty much well preserved. I could see and hear children screaming with joy at every turn. If you are planning a trip to Ooty with your children, then a toy train journey must be added to your itinenary.Ooty has always been a hot tourist destination. There are hotels and resorts across all budgets.Ooty Lake: As with most travelers to Ooty, lake was our first destination. Ooty lake is an artificial lake built during British regime. It has a unique irregular shape (like “L”) which s impossible to see in any natural lake. Boating at Ooty Lake is a must and I personally prefer the rowboats. It might take some time for you to get used to rowing, but it becomes extremely pleasurable once you get a hang of it
From the Ooty Lake, we headed to botanical gardens. This huge garden was originally built to grow European vegetables, but was later converted into a garden and is currently maintained by the Tamil Nadu Horticultural Department. In olden days, it used to be common to see film shooting in progress at botanical gardens.
Just 28 Kms from Ooty, the lake formed owing to the dam is an excellent spot for spending endless hours in solitude or in company with loved ones. Summer is the peak season at Ooty but it is now a year round destination. I particularly like Ooty during the rains because of the mist and lack of crowd.
Great Ghandi
Alexander the great wanted to fulfill the ambition of his father to be a world conqueror. He himself was no less ambitious. He started on his conquering campaign. Country after country submitted to his might. He wanted to be proclaimed a `god’ for his might. He approached the famous philosopher Cleisthenes and asked him to make the declaration. But the philosopher did not agree. When Alexander asked him, ``is the world conqueror, Alexander the great, not a `god’? ‘’ he said, ``no, he is simply a conqueror. To be a god he is not to be world conqueror but a self conqueror.’’ The king considered this answer very rude and the philosopher had to pay with his life the price for speaking the truth.
Both the above- mentioned persons were the students of Aristotle. Cleisthenes learnt an ideal, which raised him to divine heights while Alexander nursed only an ambition. It is not bad to be ambitious, but it should not be divorced from an ideal.
Ambition is concerned with man’s desires and desires have no limits. If one has an ambition to be a very rich man, then he is likely to adopt any means for the purpose. One is likely to forget the finer ideals of life while pursuing one’s ambition.
Humanistic ideals are much higher than mercenary ambitions. Gandhi rightly said, ``a person without an ideal is like a rudderless ship’’. A man is respected for his ideals and not for his personal ambitions. A person who has no respect for truth, it’s not for his personal ambitions. A person, who has no respect for truth, is not imbued with love and kindness and is extremely selfish, is of no use to society even if he is right, great or learned.
Riches or fame do not get us heaven. They may generate in us selfishness and pride which are sins. On the other hand virtues like humility, love kindness and co-operation are the gateway to happiness. These qualities endear us to society and yield in return inner peace.
Higher is not one who has high ambitions, but one who has ideals. Ambition should always be guided by ideals. An ambition without ideals is harmful for the individual as well as for society.
Mahatma Gandhi offers a very good example of ambition being guided by an ideal. His politics was always guided by his principles of truth and non-violence. He never separated politics and religion. His ambition of liberating India was guided by his ideal of truth and non- violence. He would never sacrifice his ideals for his ambition. It would probably be not wise to consume one’s life in any ambition losing sight of truth, justice, kindness, love and sacrifice. An achievement without these ideals would be hollow.
A life without ambition is dry and uninteresting but ambition should always be guide by ideals. An ambition guided by ideals becomes noble and without ideals it becomes mercenary.
Before nursing an ambition in your heart, you should evaluate you capabilities and potentialities. The world is like a crossroad, you should carefully consider which way you can successfully tread. Edison was fit only for science, Socrates for philosophy and Gandhi for non-violent agitation. If we reverse their roles they would not be successful and famous. The bible rightly says, ``know thyself’’. So know your capabilities and then gear all your energies to achieve success. But never lose sight of the ideals of love, sacrifice, kindness and co-operation.
COUNTRIES AND THEIR EMBLEMS:
We may know a lot about countries but these will be helpful too..
1.Australia - Kangaroo
2.Bangladesh - Water lily
3.Belgium - Lion
4.Canada - White lily
5.Denmark - Beach
6.France - Lily
7.Germany - Corn flower
8.India - Lioned Capital
9.Iran - Rose
10.Ireland - Shamrock
11.Israel - Candelabrum
12.Italy - White lily
13.Japan - Chrysanthemum
14.Hong Kong - Bauhinia
15.Mongolia - The soyombo
16.Nether lands - Lion
17.Newzealand - Southern cross
18.Norway - Liion
19.Pakistan - Cresent
20.Spain - Eagle
21.Sri Lanka - Lion
22.Sudan - Pound
23.Sweden - Krona
24.Switzerland - Swiss Franc
25.Syria - Pound
26.Thailand - Baht
27.Turkey - Lira
28. United Kingdom - Pound
29.U.S.A - Golden Rod
30.Zimbabwe - Zimbabwe Bird
And When it is 12 Noon in India......it is....:
Afghanistan - 11.00 AM
Algeria- 6.30 AM
Australia- 4.30 PM
Argentina- 3.30 AM
Cuba- 1.30 AM
Canada- 1.30 AM
China- 2.30 PM
Denmark- 7.30 AM
Egypt- 8.30 AM
Finland- 8.30 AM
France- 7.30 AM
Germany- 7.30 AM
Hong Kong- 2.30 PM
Iraq- 9.30 AM
Japan- 10.00 AM
Malaysia- 2.00 PM
Myanmar- 1.00 PM
New Zealand- 6.30 PM
Nigeria- 7.30 PM
Pakistan- 11.30 AM
Russia- 9.30 AM
U.S.A- 10.30 PM
Hope it was useful....
Living past- hungry-food-
Great king- Ashoka-Dharma
We know what hunger is.
We know what feels is like.
Millions of children without food face hungry in the so many countries.
They do not get even their rice or roti every day. They go to bed hungry.
The right to sufficient food and water is a basic human right. That is why hunger is more than just a social injustice.
`All men are my children. I am like a father of them as every father desires the good and happiness of his children; I wish that all men should always be happy.’ These are the words of Ashoka, the great Mauryan emperor, who lived almost 2,500 years ago.
He is one of the greatest personalities of history. Much of our knowledge of Asoka comes from his edicts, which were inscriptions engraved on rocks and pillars. His greatness is not based on his political or military achievements but no his message of peace and Dharma. So intense was his determination to help people that he undertook the difficult task of installing pillar and engraving rocks across his empire. He wanted his message to reach everyone. He wanted all people to be touched by the noble ideas of dharma.
Fortunately, these edicts have survived over the centuries, keeping Ashoka’s message alive. The message is relevant today as when it was written. `Of all victories, the victory of dharma is the noblest. One may win a piece of land by fighting a war, but by kindness, love and pity one can win the hearts of people. The sharp point of the sword spills blood, but from dharma springs the fountain of love. The victory won by arms brings fleeting joy but the victory of dharma brings lasting joy’.
For Ashoka, the welfare of his people was an extension of his `love for the land’.
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