Today - January 31

January 31^st. One month has already gone by from 2010!!!

In 1862 Alvan Graham Clark discovered the white dwarf star Sirius B, a companion of Sirius. There are very nice stories about these two stars. Sirius is the brightest start in the night sky with a mass of 2.1 times that of the Sun. It is also known as the Dog Star and has several mythological and historical importance's from different religions. You can read about it more from - http://www.bharathgyan.com/.

Happy February!

Jai Gurudev!
Love!

Today - January 30

January 30.

Nearly Two Hundred years ago in 1820 on 30^th January the coldest, driest and windiest continent of the earth, Antarctica was discovered by Edward Bransfield who was a master of the British Royal Navy. This is the southernmost continent, underlying the South Pole and surrounded by the Southern Ocean. About 98% of the whole continent is covered with ice, which averages at least 1.6 kilometers in thickness.

Today also marked the last public performance of The Beatles’ in 1969 on the roof of Apple Records in London. Formed in Liverpool in 1960 the band kept growing to become one of the most legendary and successful rock band. Even after forty years from the break up the band remains to be one of the best music bands ever in history with immense popularity.

Jai Gurudev!
Love!

Today - January 29

How about January 29?

The Raven was first published in the New York Evening Mirror by the American writer Edgar Allan Poe in 1845. It was written very logically and methodically. It is often noted for its musicality, stylized language and supernatural atmosphere. It still remains as one of the most famous poems ever written.

Jai Gurudev!
Love!

Today - January 28

Today (Actually Yesterday, I missed it) – January 28.

In 1754 Horace Walpole first coined the word Serendipity. Other than being an English art historian and Politian and what not, he was also famous because he revived the Gothic style and for his Gothic Novel, The Castle of Otranto. Now coming back to the word, everyone knows the meaning. But this word has been voted as one of the ten words that were hardest to translate. But this word is so widely used that it has been imported into many other languages rather than just being translated.

And then in 1896 something really interesting happened. Walter Arnold of East Peckham, Kent became the first person to be convicted of speeding. Now guess what happened then? Correct! He was fined! And he was fined 1 shilling, plus costs. That’s a shocker! ONE SHILLING. Any idea how much one pays these days? But don’t you want to know at what speed he was driving. He was speeding at 8mph which is 13 kilometer per hour, thus exceeding the contemporary speed limit of 2mph or 3.2 km/h!!! I think I can walk at 6 kilometers per hour. How much fine I should have paid.

Jai Gurudev!
Love!

Today - January 27

January 27^th.

In 1951 Nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site began with a one-kiloton bomb being dropped on Frenchman Flat. Can you imagine One Kilo-Ton! And this was the first testing at this site which was specially located for nuclear detonations. For sure was not one of the better days.

But quite fortunately in 1967 on the same day more than sixty nations signed the Outer Space Treaty banning nuclear weapons in space. Among the main principles of it, one is which bars States Parties to the treaty from placing nuclear weapons or any other weapons of mass destruction in orbit of earth, in moon or in any other celestial body. Yet unfortunately many countries keep launching space ships fully loaded with nuclear elements and in few incidents they collide and spread nuclear debris in the space. In one specific case I remember only 1% of the debris was cleaned and rest of it was still rotating the earth on its orbit. Not a reason to be very hopeful again.

Jai Gurudev!
Love!

Today - January 26

January 26^th. A glorious day and also a sad one for India.

This day is celebrated as the Republic Day of India when the constitution of India comes into force forming it a republic nation in 1950. Rajendra Prasad was sworn as the first President of the nation. But 20 years early in 1930 only on the same day The Indian National Congress declared this day as the Independence Day which finally was achieved in 1947.

In 1965 on January 26^th Hindi became the official language of India. Now in a big country like India where there are nearly 20 main languages and a thousand dialects being spoken it was always going to be difficult with a common language all over the country. But finally after a lot of discussions and debate Hindi which was one widely spoken language and finds it roots deep in one of oldest and richest languages of the world, Sanskrit was chosen as the one.

Tragedy stuck Gujarat on the morning of the Republic Day in 2001 when people were enjoying the nice morning and students were preparing to go the schools to attend the parades near the Bhuj area. With a moment magnitude somewhere in between 7.6 and 8.1 the quake killed 20,000 people and injured another 167,000. Yet again it showed how devastating these events can become and we need to be careful and become wise to look after each other as well the planet we live in.

Jai Gurudev!
Love!

Today - January 25

25^th of January.

On this day in 1554 the great city of Sao Paulo of Brazil was founded. It is the largest and the richest city in Brazil. It is also world’s 7^th largest metropolitan area and with an estimated population of 11,037,593 residents within 1,523 square kilometers it is the most populous city in the Southern Hemisphere. Because of its economical importance it is considered also as an Alpha World City.

In 1890 Elizabeth Jane Cochrane who is famous as Nellie Bly completed a rare fate. She finished her round-the-world journey in 72 days in that time. She was a pioneer woman journalist. In 1988 she desired to take a trip round the world to turn the famous fictional Around the World in Eighty Days into a fact. A year later, on November 14, 1889 she left New York and started her journey of 24,899 miles. After covering England, France, Brindisi, the Suez Canal, Colombo, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan in 72 days 6 hours 11 minutes and 14 seconds she arrived in New York which was a world record that time.

Jai Gurudev!
Love!

Today - January 24

And now here is – January 24^th.

A brilliant day in the history of educational developments. This day in 1826 the Mississippi College was founded in Clinton which became the first college in the state of Mississippi. Then in 1857, exactly after 100 years from the “War of Palasi” The University of Calcutta was formally founded as the first full-fledged university in whole of South Asia. Though India saw Sipahi Bidroho in the same year where Bengal was a crucial point and the whole country was going through a violent time, serious thought processes were put behind for educational infrastructure development. I am not sure if that has anything to do with the fact that Bengal kept of producing the brightest personalities of the nation then.

However on the same day in 1848 something big happened. A person named James W. Marshall who was an American Carpenter and sawmill operator by profession, found gold in the American River in California. This set the stage for the California Gold Rush. Unfortunately Marshall was forced from his own land by the resulting wave of gold seekers in that place, and personally was never profited from his own discovery. Its reported that nearly 3,00,000 people came to California in search of gold. Gold worth of billions of dollars in today’s value was found and many people were profited from this. But the biggest impact was that, California became a completely sustained city which was earlier a place of only few thousands.

Jai Gurudev!
Love!

Today - January 23

January 23^rd.

In 1897 on January 23^rd Elva Zona Heaster was found dead in Greenbrier County, West Virginia. Now how is that good news? Obviously it is not. But this was a very rare event. After the death of Zona for sometime there was no trouble, she was buried and examined by the doctor before that and people thought it was a natural process of death though there were some reports of seeing abnormal changes in the behavior of her husband after the incident. But Zona’s mother felt that her daughter is murdered by her son-in-law and saw some strange things happening, like indicating something. And finally her daughter’s ghost came to meet her one day and narrated how her husband has killed her. After this when Zona’s mother got the case reopened and the body was checked again, the same signs were found from the way Zona’s ghost narrated to her mother. Later Zona’s husband was prosecuted. This became famous as The Greenbrier Ghost where it is the only case in United States history where the alleged testimony of a ghost helped to secure a conviction.

At the same day same year Subhas Chandra Bose was born. He was one of the very few people who believed in using arm power to overthrow the British from India in their own battle. He formed the Azad Hind Fauz and fought hard with the British in Rangoon, Burma. He is famous by the name of Netaji.

Jai Gurudev!
Love!

Today - January 22

And then it was January 22^nd.

Football has been a very popular game for a long time. The World Cup, Euro Cup and the National leagues always keeps the football lovers busy. Sitting in your home you can easily follow the Argentina – Brazil match at night 2 O’clock. But there was a time when all these super fast mediums were not available. Only in 1927 on January 22^nd the first ever live commentary of a football match anywhere in the world was broadcasted. The match was played between Arsenal F.C. and Sheffield United at Highbury.

In 1984 the Apple Macintosh, the first computer to popularize the computer mouse and the geographical user interface was introduced today during Super Bowl XVIII with its famous “1984” television commercial. Now this can easily be thought of as a huge huge event. Mac became famous for the two reasons mentioned in the first line. But the commercial that was made to promote it itself became a huge hit and it is considered to be one of the masterpieces in advertisement. And Super Bowl, if you do not know, you can anyways know. By the way this was the first Mac!

Jai Gurudev!
Love!

Today - January 21

Three weeks into 2010, January 21^st.

Opel, the famous German automobile company, now a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Motors was founded on 21^st January, 1863 by Adam Opel and manufactured its first automobile on the same day in 1899.

Also the famous Monte Carlo rally that takes place along the French Riviera in the Principality of Monaco and southeast France first started in 1911 in this day. Since its inception this rally was an important means of testing the latest improvements and innovations in the automobiles. The rally will comprise of dry tarmac, wet tarmac, snow and ice, sometimes all in a single stage of the rally. The whole things just sound too exiting and think of the Drivers, how they would have felt behind the wheels.

Coming back to India, today in 1972 Meghalaya and Tripura, two small states from the North-Eastern part of India became a full-fledged state. Happy Birthday! There is another Tripura in the Bangalore Ashram, very important one indeed like the other one.

Jai Gurudev!
Love!

Today - January 20

January 20^th is the day for the American Presidents.

In 1937 Franklin Roosevelt was inaugurated for a second term as the 32^nd President of the United States.

Then in1961 John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as the youngest man, and first-ever Roman Catholic, to become the 35^th President of the United States.

And in 1981 Ronald Reagan is inaugurated as the 40^th U.S. President, the oldest man to be inaugurated at 69.

Now that’s not the end of the story! Today in 2010 the current President of US and the Noble peace prize winner completes his one year in the tenure. Yes, in 2009 exactly one year back Barack Obama became the 44^th President of the United States of America who is also the United States' first African-American president. So it’s been a quite nice year! Way to go, Sir!

Jai Gurudev!
Love!

Today - January 19

January 19!

This is the birth day of undergarments specifically of briefs! They were sold for the first time today in 1935 by Coopers Inc., in Chicago, Illinois. 30,000 pairs were sold within three months of their introduction. In UK it started in 1938 and soon 3,000 briefs were being sold per week. They became so popular that in 1948, every member of British Olympic team was given a free pair! Hick! The birth of one of the most important fashion statements which evolved at a rate much faster than Darwin could have imagined! :P

Also in India today Indira Gandhi was elected as the Prime Minister in 1966 for the first time as a woman to lead the nation and till now is the only one to do so. She was in this position for nearly fifteen years in three consecutive terms from 1966 to 1977 and then again in 1980 until her death in 1984.

Jai Gurudev!
Love!

Poush Sankranti

So here is story of Poush Sankranti which is also better known as Makar Sankranti or Pongal or Lohri or Bihu. This is the day when Sun transitions from one zodiac to another in its celestial path. In the parts of India where I belong to, Sun transitions from Poush to Magh and so it’s called the Poush Sankranti (Sankranti meaning the last day of the month). And it’s been a quite special day from my childhood.

Actually things started to happen from a day earlier only. On the previous day in the afternoon Moms and grand Moms will sweep the Aangan of the home (what you know as courtyard) with mud and cow dung. Now it might not sound very beautiful, especially in the urban locations. There is hardly any concept of courtyard or open lawns or playing areas for children. But as I have grown up mostly in the remotest villages of India, I saw all those things happening. And I can bet it was so beautiful. The whole courtyard used to look so spic and span. And when it dried up the fresh smell always used to be a pleasure.

Then by the evening again it was time for Moms and grand Moms to get their hands busy with coconut, milk, rice powder, jaggery and many more sweet things. This was the best part of the whole occasion for us. Because we used to get to eat lots of Pithas (sweet dishes made of all those above) not only at our own home, but since everyone will follow the same ritual and invite everyone else, it used to be a gala treat time for us. So we will all leave our books aside and sit sown with them to see those beautiful things getting ready to go to our big belly.

Also all the kids from a locality will gather together and arrange for a picnic on that night. They will get a makeshift house done with khair (I do not know what it called in English, basically it is the left over of the plant after the farmers used to pick up the golden rice from them) and bamboos. In the cold winter night they will stay in that small house and prepare dishes like chicken for everyone. And in the morning they will all get up, take a cold bath and then set that house on fire and soak in the blazing heat of the fire. Oh God! It used to be such a fun and pleasure that can not be described. Imagine you get up at 5 on a chilled morning, its all foggy around, you take bath in freezing cold water and then do not even wait to dress up properly but run to the fire! The joy it used to give was just unbelievable. And remember that I told about the bamboos. So whenever the joints of the bamboos catch fire it used to burst making sounds like, ‘pot, pot’! And we used to count those! :D

I remember two incidents particular to this. First, when we were in a very very remote village. Now on the two sides of our home, there were two families and the kids of those families were not fond of each other. Even the grown ups were not, I guess! However, so they will make separate picnic spots within a distance of 100 meters and woo each other in verbal arguments. So once it went so far, that one party literally bombed the house made by other party to set it on fire in the middle of the night. Oh my God! It was such a chaos. That time the grown ups actually had to interfere and calm things down. Since the house was already burnt, next morning they had to put a huge wood to keep the fire alive.

And in the next story, when we moved to a very remote village I hardly knew any of the kids there in the neighbourhood in the initial days. But I wanted that fire on the cold morning. So what to do? Now in winter during this time of the year the trees will shed leafs and in a village there were more trees in a house than what you can see in a block of a metropolitan. So what I will do is start collecting those leafs from one week earlier and on that morning use them as a complement for the house and it used to work pretty fine. Oh btw, we used to call that picnic house as ‘Burir Ghor ’ (the house of the old lady).

And as the Sun will rise and they clock will tick our feast used to start. After finishing off the first round quickly at home, we will set off for the whole locality, going from houses to houses and eating those delicious Pithas. These things are so tasty, and sweet and rich that even we will feel like our stomachs are already full but will never give up!

That’s not the end of the story! We will finish off our lunch also quickly. Because after that we will have loot! Yes, you read it correct. It used to be called loot only and the concept was also somehow similar to what you can think of generally. Actually what used to happen is, a group of people, whom we would call ‘Baishnov Dall’ (the Brahmins) will come to every home. They will sing with Dhol, Kartal and at the end of it they will through some dry sweets (Batasha, Kadambo) among the people and we will go and fight for those! Now you could buy those at the market but there was a secret for doing this. So that’s how the name loot was originated.

Now we would collect as much as of those sweets we could and get them home. We will give all that to our mother and ask her to prepare Mistanna (Payesam or Kheer) with those. No one will probably disagree to the fact that it will not make any difference to the taste of the Mistanna but for us it used to taste sweeter, if I may say so. And so in the evening we will have another round of the feast. But you know at the end of the day … after all these overdoses of sweets and sweets and more sweets the only thing we would look for is – a simple dish made my Mom for the dinner. And that used to taste heavenly, no doubt!

Jai Gurudev!
Love!

* * * * *

Its’ been seven years that I have ever done any of these things. So this year I decided to try all those things (like making Pithas which I never ever did earlier) and see what happens. After all, all this is for fun only, no? So I bought some stuff in the evening and started with the coconut, till then all went fine. Also I put the alarm at 6 in the morning to get up and take a bath. But since I went to sleep at only 12 in the night, the earliest I could get up was at 8. However I collected some leafs from the front of the house. Took a bath, well, not with cold water but with hot water. And then went on to get some heat from the fire. Finished my meditation. Started making those Pithas. It was an utter disaster, not to mention. However, I could make a few of those for me and my friends. So when my parents called in the evening, though we laughed about it, I told them that at least we got to taste those for the day. And they will be happy to know that, I still remember those beautiful days and tried to keep that culture alive in me. Next time I sure can do better! What say? :-)

Today - January 18

18^th of January.

For the lovers of cute looking Bentley – this is the day in 1919 Bentley Motors Limited was founded. 1919 seems to be a quite busy year where lots of things were happening.

Then in 1997 Boerge Ousland of Norway became the first person to cross Antarctica alone and unaided. This guy is a polar explorer in true sense. In successive years of 2005 and 2006 he successfully completed his journey towards South Pole and North Pole.

And in 2005 Airbus A380 which is the world’s largest commercial jet was unveiled in France. This superjumbo can carry 525 to 853 people based on the types of classes it has. It has length of 73m and wingspan of nearly 80m which you think of as a football field; actually it is wider than that. And with a height of 24.1m it can easily reach up to six or seven floored buildings rooftop. A sure giant!

Jai Gurudev!
Love!

Today - January 17

January 17.

In 1929 Popeye the Sailor Man, the famous cartoon character created by Elzie Segar, first appears in the Thimble Theatre comic strip. He is one of the funniest characters that has been ever created and made spinach an instant hit. J

Now the next is not a reason to celebrate rather to be worried about. In 2007, January17 The Doomsday clock was set to Five minutes from midnight in response to North Korea’s nuclear testing. Now this is a very interesting concept. The whole idea is to measure the time left before the destruction of the world. Initially it was a function of global nuclear threat but recently takes into account of climate changes and global warming issues also. Now each year this time varies based on if something good or bad has happened during that year. Like when India and Pakistan tested nuclear weapons in 1998 the change was -5 but in 2010 it was increased by only +1 because of the world wide cooperation to reduce nuclear arsenals and limit the effect of climate changes. No wonder, why the Copenhagen summit was not a great success.

So from now onwards make sure to do your part of good things so that we can slow down the clock.

Jai Gurudev!
Love!

Today - January 16

So … here comes January 16.

Exactly 101 years back today in 1909 Ernest Shackleton, an Anglo-Irish explorer from the time of Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration found the magnetic South Pole. He and three companions of him made a southern march which established record Farthest South latitude, closest to the South Pole in exploration history up to that time. For his achievement, he was Knighted by the King then.

Also recently in 2006 Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was elected as the President of Liberia. As of now she is the first and the only female in the history of Africa to head a state. She worked in the position of Finance Minister in 1980s but then moved to head different financial institutions before coming back to active politics.

Jai Gurudev!
Love!

Ashram Photos

Today - January 15

January 15 is going to be one of the most important dates mainly in the field of Astrology and Astronomy. Not because of the past! But because of right now, this day, January 15, 2010.

Because …, well before that, in 2001 today Wikipedia, the biggest encyclopedia went online! And in nearly 10 years it has become the largest source of information.

And last year in 2009 US airways flight 1549 made a miraculous unimaginable emergency and safe landing into the chilling water of Hudson. And even more miraculously all the passengers and crew members were saved without any major damages.

Now coming back to the story of today, today we are observing the longest annular solar eclipse of this millennium! Yes, the next is due on December 23, 3043 from the longest duration point of view. Hmmn. But this is not a total eclipse. The annular eclipse happens when earth is closest to Sun but Moon is at the maximum distance from earth. In that case the Moon looks smaller than the Sun from earth. And hence the Sun appears as a very bright ring, surrounding the outline of the Moon.

Interesting no? There is much more interesting things happening in that big open sky. Read to know more: http://www.bharathgyan.com/.

Jai Gurudev!
Love!

Today - January 14

January 14 is the New Year’s Day according to Julian calendar as we saw in yesterdays post.

Today in India people celebrate Makar Sankranti. In fact the same day is celebrated in different parts of India with a different name. Other than Makar Sankranti the day is also famous for Pongal, Lohri and Bihu. All these festivals are of new crops being collected.

Now the actual significance of the day is that the Sun makes the transition into the Makar or Capricorn zodiac from Dhanu or Sagittarius when the days start to become longer. The actual date of Winter Solstice is December 21 but due to earth’s tilt of 23.45 degree the date of Makar Sankranti slides further to what it is now, today, January 14. 1000 years ago it was on December 31^st whereas after 5000 year it will be end of February and after 9000 years it will be in June.

When we were child this was a very special day for us. Will talk about it in next post. This is the day for enjoying a nice meal! Go. Enjoy.

Jai Gurudev!
Love!

Today - January 13

January 13. Quite interesting.

Now those who thought that this year is old again and we have to wait for … ummn … yeah, 352 days more for another new year, think again! There is a secret. New Year is just one day away!!!

Yes, people who follow Julian calendar Or Old New Year format they still celebrate January 13 as New Year’s Eve. Now interestingly the Julian calendar was started by Julius Caesar in 46BC where as the commonly used (Now-a-days) Gregorian calendar was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII only in 1582. Slowly almost all the countries officially adopted the Gregory calendar except for few countries like Russia, North Africa where some people still follow the Julian calendar. In 20^th and 21^st century the New Year according to the Julian calendar falls on January 13/14.

Is not that interesting? Who knows if there were 365 types of calendars (either in past or sometime in the future) somewhere or the other on this earth people will be celebrating New Year everyday!

Jai Gurudev!
Love!

Story - II

Not a story but nothing but pure truth. But lets put this up as a story, the story of another girl (after Story - I) from Winter Break 2009-10.

As the advance course started we were having electrifying, high-energy Satsangs daily. People will go berserk singing and dancing. Now you can expect this from a crowd of the age group 18-22; if and mainly if the numbers are played from a hip-hop or rock chart. But how can you imagine this in a Satsang where people mainly chant and hymn songs praising the divine! But the crowd used to have such roaring energy that even the slowest song were sung at the highest tempo. And finally this needed to be intervened. However more about this later!

Now amid this super crazy sat-sang followers there was this girl! Before I say anything else, during advance course, you know, you are supposed to remain in full silence and not even look at others. And that too girls! You know the emotions and the hormones that play the nasty games in the mind and the body! But people always find loopholes everywhere. Like in Satsang we could sing even though we were in silence. And so I thought people could see also. J However, leaving behind all these silly things, there were enough reasons to look at her and I am very happy that I looked at her!

What was different in her from others? She was beautiful. Yes. She was charming. Yes. She had a smile on her face always. Yes. But they call it something else. I realized that later. She used to keep her long hairs on one side of her shoulder. And that always gave her a strikingly captivating beautiful look. But these were not the reasons for which I was being attracted.

While everyone will be jumping on their feet and shouting out loud she will sit quite and pretty with a glowing smile on her face. She used to sit with the small kids. And she would herself become a kid. She seemed to be on a level of ecstasy that I could never imagine of reaching during the Satsangs. I felt the energy every time I was in Satsangs, I cried many times. But as I told she looked to be on a different level completely. She would sing along slowly, her eyes will be closed, and her hand will move slowly and gently to the pace of the songs. The movements of her hands will be so sublime that she can easily be mistaken as that of a classical dancer. And that charm on her face. God! I could relate her that time only two one person I have ever known. Meera. Like Meera she will be lost in the love of divine! And whenever she used to dance, it used to be in complete harmony with the feeling.

Now she did not look Indian at all. I mean no way she looked like an Indian. I could not say why. But then I had this doubt. She could sing during the satsangs, even the toughest of Sanskrit slokas. Now it’s not difficult to accept that someone from outside India can also recite slokas. But at the same time the charm and beauty of her face was difficult to find somewhere else. So with all these doubts in mind I decided to talk to her once. But how? Our paths crossed twice, but I could never find a way to start with.

However on the second last day during breakfast I saw her. And finally I stopped her as she was about to go out from the kitchen. So she was not from India. She was from the land where the ancient sports event of the world originated. So I asked her name. It was a pure Indian name which has a close connection with an important part of Pooja (worshipping). Seems that’s a pretty common name In India and as well as in her country. So then I asked her if she knew Hindi or learned classical dance forms. She said no! So I asked again how beautiful she looked in the Satsangs and how could she recite those songs and slokas. She said something and then I knew why they said, it was something else!

She said it was because of the simple thing called Grace!

Jai Gurudev!
Love!

Today - January 12

And now its turn for January 12… And as I see it’s got few stories to tell from women’s world!

Like –

In 1915 the United States House of Representatives rejects a proposal to give women the right to vote. Though the western countries were quite developed and advanced and had more liberal mindset than the rest of the world, the gender discrimination seemed to persist even then.

But things changed pretty soon. On the same day of 1932 Hattie W. Caraway became the first woman elected to be a United States Senate. In 1932 Caraway surprised Arkansas politicians by announcing that she would run for a full term in the upcoming election, joining a field already crowded with prominent candidates who had assumed she would step aside. But Caraway's diligent and capable attention to Senate responsibilities won the respect of her colleagues, encouraged advocates of wider public roles for women, and demonstrated that political skills were not the exclusive property of men.

Like that?!

Jai Gurudev!
Love!

Today - January 11

January 11. Quite an eventful day!

In 1878 Milk was first delivered in bottles for the people. I wonder before that if everyone had their own cattle!

Also in 1922 first time insulin to treat diabetes in a human patient was used. Since then all forms of diabetes have been treatable as insulin became medically available, but a cure is difficult. So better watch out for your diet and keep a look on your health.

Exactly after fifty years from then in 1972 Bangladesh got its current name which was earlier known as East Pakistan.

And for all the fans of one of the most famous recent magical characters (in a good sense and as well as bad) this was the day! Because after a long long wait finally in 2007 JK Rowling completed the 7th novel in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. So it was anyways good. But it was bad because that was the end of the road for Harry Potter. Or is it? Is there a rumor saying … ;-)

Jai Gurudev!
Love!

Today - January 10

Today is January 10! Almost ten days over of this year!!

In 1863 today The London Underground, the world's oldest underground railway, opened between London Paddington station and Farringdon station.

In 1920 The League of Nations holds its first meeting, and ratifies the Treaty of Versailles, therefore ending World War I. Now you may think that, whoa! Some relief at last. The world is freed from the grasp of the pain and loss of war! But it was one of the main reasons for the initiation of World War II. Of the many provisions in the treaty, one of the most important and controversial required Germany to accept sole responsibility for causing the war and to disarm, make substantial territorial concessions and pay reparations to certain countries that had formed the Entente powers. The total cost of these reparations was assessed at 132 billion marks ($31.5 billion, £6.6 billion) in 1921, which inflation adjusted, is roughly equivalent to $400 billion US Dollars as of 2007. This was a sum that many economists deemed to be excessive because it would have taken Germany until 1988 to pay. The Treaty was undermined by subsequent events starting as early as 1932 and was widely flouted by the mid-1930s.
The result of these competing and sometimes conflicting goals among the victors was compromise that left none contented: Germany was not pacified, conciliated nor permanently weakened. And this proved to be one of the notable reasons of outbreak of World War II. So actually it is not a reason to celebrate the day! But thought it is good to know.

In 1946 The first General Assembly of the United Nations opened in London. Fifty-one nations are represented. Now this was one good outcome after the Second World War.

Stop Violence and Say no to War! Spread love!

Jai Gurudev!
Love!

Scary And Funny

This was one of the best experiences that I ever had! First it seemed like one to be very very scary. I am not joking, you will know why. But when I realized, I was trying hard not to laugh loud and make a fool of myself.

Yesterday, in between work I got up and wanted to use the toilet. As a regular practice (like other days) what I do is just open the door and take my first step. That’s it! That’s when it started. I was stuck at that place for a second which seemed like ages that time. What I see is a Woman standing and peeing in our toilet i.e. in guys toilet. My first thought was – when did they interchange the men’s and women’s toilet in the office! Hell! She had long hair, nicely combed and tied with a rubber band in the back. She was wearing a jeans and t-shirt! But why is that she had to be a she, not a he? Given that there was 100% chance that I was entering the right place and many guys these days have long hair. This reminded me of Bau and one of his stories from Rishikesh. Ask him! J

But when I saw her face, it for sure 100% resembled that of a beautiful woman. I am not sure how to say this. But when I saw her hands that also looked very much feminine with a white complexion, it never seemed to be like toned and all, that of the guys. I was shocked!

You know the funniest part all these while? While I was seeing and thinking all these rubbish, there were two more guys (they for sure were guys) on both side of that person and doing the same thing! Guess, I actually never concentrated on them!

But after sometime I started thinking let’s for what-so-ever’s sake assume that, the person was in fact a woman. My next question was – How on earth is she able to stand and pee like us, I mean the guys? I seriously had a proper look this time and this was the worst or the biggest of the shocks for me. I could never forget that moment!

Finally when she finished and turned, I realized she is actually a he who has come from outside and working on some project here for quite sometime. Unfortunately he has long hair, his muscles were not toned, and his face was quite different to be mistaken that of a woman!!!

Finally I went in and finished what I came for happily!

Jai Gurudev!

Love!

Today - January 9

So here comes January 9!

In 1816 Sir Humphry Davy tests the Davy lamp for miners at Hebburn Colliery. Though we know that this lamp is used as a safety measure in the mines but actually when this lamp was introduced it led to increase in the accident rates in the mines. Because this was supposed to work a measure of safety people started working in the mines which were earlier closed due to safety concerns.

Also this made a certain portion of the people working in the mine very ignorant of the actual situations. Fortunately the recent day systems are much more sophisticated.

Jai Gurudev!

Love!

Today - January 8

So today is, January the 8^th! What is his story?

In 1867 this day for the first time African American men are granted the right to vote in Washington, D.C. Sure that had been one significant step towards their liberation! And today in a country of 1 billion the average turn around in any damn poll is less than 50%. That’s my country! Where I also never voted till now! What a looser!

Let’s go vote next time!

Jai Gurudev!

Love!

Today - January 7

Here is the story of January 7.

Today in 1927 the first transatlantic telephone call was made – from New York City to London. Whoa! First transatlantic, is that what it says? Yes. I say this feels quite unimaginable today not to make a call from one part of the world to your relative staying on the opposite corner once in a week. Isn’t it? But in 1927 think how unimaginable that would have been to make just that one call and what an achievement it was to do so.

Rejoice!

Jai Gurudev!

Love!

Story - I

This is my first post from this year’s Winter Break. Whosoever has come and done some courses with AOL knows of many Guru Stories. I am not sure if I can classify this as one of those. Does not matter, because, this will be always a very special one for me and so I know I have to share this with everyone else.

So it was the second day of the New Year. We are having a grand grand Satsang with Vikram Hazra. More about him and the Satsangs later. Before the satsang started I was doing my Sadhana which I could not do in that morning, and I realized someone else, a girl sitting next to me is also doing her Sadhana. However, the story is about her friend, not her. As we finished with our Sadhana, she called out to her friend to sit there with us. As I heard the name, all my senses were like suddenly awakened and I felt a chilled wave running down my spine. She was a Muslim Girl! Now what the fuss about that? Or did not I expect to see a single Muslim girl among the crowd of 1400 people where there were many Christians also. Yes, to extent. I heard of many incidents where Guruji had sessions with some Muslim scholars and how those discussions went. But I was also aware that Guruji was the first spiritual person from India to visit Pakistan post independence and how famous or loved he is there! We also have around 40+ Yes+ teachers in Pakistan at this moment.

But that is not the reason of my botheration. Only when it was the end of the day I realized how special it was. How well Guruji has decided to give me that special knowledge.

Here are some moments from that Satsang. She is really very enthusiastic and full of energy! And she knows for sure how to blow a whistle! Boys will forfeit to her and I always had to put my hand on my ears sitting next to her whenever I will see her getting ready for the act! She enjoyed thoroughly all the songs from the concert.
Then someone came and removed Guruji’s photo from the stage. God! She was so upset about it. All the while she was saying, ‘I need my Guruji! I want to see him! Bring Him back!’ Her friend tried, unsuccessfully, to calm down her saying, ‘You do not need a photo of Him! He is always with us!’ She replied, when you can keep your eyes open and see Him, then no need to search in the heart! Well, well, great! So she was back to those days of kindergartens where they will through their hands and legs for the things they are asking for and their parents will go nuts. Only difference would have been here is that Guruji will be smiling!
And then there was a buzz in the air that Guruji might cut short his trip in Germany and be back a day early, just for us!!! And now that they have removed His photo, she started praying deeply, “Insha’Allah! Khuda duya kare ke mere Guruji aaj hi wapas aajaye hamare pass!” This will translate to – ‘God! Please make my Guruji come to me today only.’ Sitting next to her I was simply blown away by her this simple, subtle and powerful prayer. She made the prayer but I felt the strength of that in and around me!

Guruji had to oblige!

Lastly Vikram said he is going to sing a special song, ‘Shivoham’ which we need to listen from our heart in silence. The crowd till then was on their toes singing and dancing all the while! So as we sat quietly and Vikram started spelling the magic of his voice, everyone was on an upward ride of joy and happiness. I hoped that I will cry! But you know Guruji does not let me cry all the time! J He picks up very special moments for me. But I sensed that there were tears on her eyes. Uncontrollable. Though it was the tear of grace and love, it was a treat for my heart to see someone being lost in the ecstasy of it! I silently prayed and thanked Him!

So what is the moral of the story? As I said the issue was not having a girl from a different religion in an event which finds it roots deep into another religion, the two of which are on extremes. Apparently (?). But the concern was with me. Need to go back to the days of the starting of my journey in this path.

When I started my journey with AOL I had few serious doubts in my mind, and many of us have it. First I saw that in the Ashram everything will find a reference to only and only Hindu mythology or characters. While we say that now AOL is spread over 150 countries all over the world and have transformed the lives of millions irrespective of their cultures and religion, I could not accept that idea kind of fully to have only Hindu connection. The worst part is I was not very fond of Satsangs those days. I mean I loved the songs and the chants. They invoke huge power and positive energy. But I think I was not able to that sense that fully. And the songs were again for Shiva, Vishnu, Ganesha, Durga – all the Hindu Gods and Goddesses. I personally always liked Sufi songs and felt the same energy in those songs when I will sit quietly and listen to them. I loved Kabira’s dohas. I loved Junoon’s and Agnee’s songs. So it always used to bother me why and why there are no songs being sung like those in the Satsangs?

All these used to irritate me. I would go and ask these questions to my teacher or see when someone asks same type of questions how do the teachers reply. But after this incident, I had all my answers. And I felt very stupid because I thought like an idiot. Forget about Gods and religions and different beliefs or ideologies. All these are created by us for the sake of our own interest. To keep our dominance, to show our power over others. Above all these there is only this one power – Adi Shakti or Maha Shakti or the invisible unified universal force which keep us all united and make us move constantly. The only way to know everything is to know that power and source of energy. Religion is sought after as a medium to reach there but mostly acts as a distraction rather.

When your heart is open and spirit is up you will feel the vibrations and the energy anywhere on the earth and beyond it. When I went to Ajmer’s Darga I felt the same energy. When I went to Taj Mahal I felt the same love. And when I am anywhere else, now I feel the same energy and love. Just embrace all of it with an open heart. And you will be enlightened!

Jai Gurudev!

Love!

Today - January 6

January 6^th. What this day famous for?

Samuel Morse first successfully tests the electrical telegraph. Samuel Morse was an American inventor of the first type of electrical telegraph system which worked based on a single-wire telegraph system. This revolutionized the modern day system of rapid long distance communication. Say, Hi!

Also this day, Mother Teresa arrives in Calcutta to begin her work amongst India's poorest and diseased people. We all knew about her and her tremendous contribution for the Calcutta and India and the world. But how did it start or when? Born in 1910 only at the age of 18 she joined Sisters of Loreto as a missionary. She traveled few countries before coming to India in 1929 and went to Darjeeling. And slowly and gradually she set up the home for millions of helpless children. The rest is well known.

Take a bow. And a vow. Make a difference. Celebrate and be a reason for others celebration!

Jai Gurudev!

Love!

Celebrate - Today And Everyday

Once I read in ‘Like the Flowing River’ from Paulo Coelho about his experience of meeting some old lady, mostly somewhere in France. He figured out that the lady was always used to be happy, no matter what the reason may be. So one day he went and asked her. At this that old lady took Paulo to her home and showed him a calendar where she had marked everyday from that calendar for a special reason, because everyday had some history or events associated with that and she used to celebrate the day for that!

Now you see, that is something really fascinating and it should be! Let’s see some figures! The earth has a history of 4.54 billion years. That is 4540000000X365 days! Can someone tell me the number? Okay, let’s simplify. Historical and scientific evidence shows that ancestors of modern age human being existed around 35000-40000 years back. That it self is quite a long duration; is n't it? Okay! Much simpler than that is – right now it is 2010. So we have precisely (2009X365)+ days history during which billions and billions of people lived their life span. And now we have a little less than 7 billion people on this earth!

So the question is what all has happened during this time? Or how much we can imagine of that? Even highly classified probability researchers will not deny the fact that each day had at least one memorable event to share with all of us? And yet what we do is live for these specific moments – 1^st Jan, 14^th Feb, 25^th Dec and so on and on. But out of 365 days we actually have only very few moments like that! What we do is – keep waiting for one full year for one day and when it finally comes; we begin with a new period of waiting.

As I celebrated this year (it was indeed very special and different; remember Yes+. Posts will come) in a completely different atmosphere I realized that every single day is special. Worth a moment to live for and to celebrate! Every morning you wake up; know that it is very special. Because you are there to witness that time and what happens during that time. If this is not enough, look back and as I said everyday has its own story to say! Enjoy! Celebrate! Love! Live!

So I thought like that old lady I will post from now onwards for every single day saying why it is important for. What happened that day! This way I will be regular with my posts too! [J] And as it is already 5^th of January, I will briefly post about the last four days and for today. From tomorrow onwards everyday will have its own story!

January 1 – First obviously New Year! But at 45BC for the first time Julian Calendar was in effect. IST time zone officially adopted.

January 2 – Vulcan planet discovered.

January 3 – The construction of the Brooklyn Bridge begins.

January 4 – Luna 1 becomes the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon.

January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports that Wilhelm Roentgen has discovered a type of radiation later known as X-rays.

Jai Gurudev!

Love!