This site provides a collection of Self-Development / Personality development articles, tips and suggestions from various sources to SPA (Spread Positive Awareness). Collection of finest things in life. It is a journey from Information to Transformation. These are the articles helped me in evolving my thought process. I do not own these content. i have given the relevant references and sources details to the best of my knowledge. I am ready to remove it if required.
Saturday, October 18, 2014
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Friday, September 12, 2014
Keep Calm and Carry On
Stress is defined as mental agitations created by unfulfilled desires. When one has excessive desires or too many expectations from people and situations around them, then one invites a great deal of stress into their lives.
Improving the quality of our desires reduces stress. One should try to avoid becoming a slave to desire. Instead, be a master of desire and live like a queen.
"You want your kids to be Einstein but don't forget they have your genes. Don't drive them bananas "
By - Jaya Row, Founder, Vedanta Vision
Read in India Today, September 2014. Page - 18
Learn to be gentle with yourself. Strive for inner beauty instead of only being concerned with outward appearances.
By - Sara Abdullah Pilot
Social Entrepreneur and Yoga teacher.
Saturday, August 30, 2014
39 Years of SuperStar
I liked it because of simplicity and some profound messages from these movies...
My favorites
- Ketta paiyan sir avan - Mullum Malarum - 1978
- Vazhkaiye vesham - Aarilirunthu Arubathu Varai - 1979
- Nallavana irukkalam! Aana rumba nallavana irukkakudathu - Dharma Durai - 1991
- Namma aalunga kitta namma mozhi la paesunaa dhaan namakku mariyadhai - Yejaman - 1993
- En vazhi thani vazhi - Padaiyappa - 1999
- Katham Katham - Baba - 2002
Sunday, August 17, 2014
Pharrell Williams - Happy (Official Music Video) - YouTube
YouTube Link
- Artist: Pharrell Williams
- Album: G I R L
- Released: 2014
- Source: 24HoursOfHappy.com
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Life is easy. Why do we make it so hard? - TED Talk by Jon Jandai, TEDxDoiSuthep
TED Talk Link
Excerpts from Speech
- True Civilization : four basic needs: food, house, clothes and medicine must be cheap and easy for everybody
- But now, to be happy, we need to come back, to connect to ourselves again, to connect to other people, to connect our mind and body together again. So, we can be happy. Life is easy.
- But, life is harder and harder. We make it hard for whom? We work hard for whom right now? I feel like it's wrong, it's not normal. So, I just want to come back to normal.
- my life is easy and light now. my life is easy and light now. That's enough for me. People can think whatever they want. I cannot manage anything outside myself. What I can do is change my mind, manage my mind. Now, my mind is light and easy, that's enough. If anybody wants to have a choice, you can have a choice. The choice to be easy or to be hard, it depends on you.
Saturday, August 2, 2014
TED Talks Notes - Dan Gilbert: Why are we happy? Why aren't we happy?
Friday, April 25, 2014
Michael Pollan’s Top 14 Food Rules to Healthy Eating
I’ve chosen what I found to be the 14 most all-encompassing and useful rules from the book. May they keep you fit, healthy and energized in the new year!
1. Avoid food products containing ingredients that a third-grader cannot pronounce.
2. Avoid foods you see advertised on television.
3. Eat only foods that will eventually rot.
4. It’s not food if it arrived through the window of your car.
5. Eat mostly plants, especially leaves.
6. Eat animals that have themselves eaten well.
7. The whiter the bread, the sooner you’ll be dead.
8. Have a glass of wine with dinner.
9. Stop eating before you’re full.
10. Eat when you are hungry, not when you are bored. If you’re not hungry enough to eat an apple, then you’re not hungry.
11. Don’t get your fuel from the same place your car does.
12. Do all your eating at a table.
13. Leave something on your plate.
14. Break the rules once in a while. “All things in moderation. Including moderation.”
Watch This Video and You’ll Never Eat McDonald’s French Fries Again
In this video, Michael Pollan, author of the new book, Cooked, tells a horrifying story about how McDonald’s French fries are made. Skip to 3:10 in the video — you’ll be shocked.
Corporate cooking add salt, fat and sugar (All those are really really cheap)
1960-70, In the form of marketing, they have literally killed Home cooking and moved people to Fast food. Ads said, Women liberation and people got hooked to it.
Small book - Food rules by Michael
The way marketing works is by creating an anxiety and solve the problem
One diet for America - Eat anything you want just cook it yourself(real wisdom in that)
Key Points in the Video
- Poor women who cook have healthier diets than wealthy women who don’t cook.
- In America, rates of home cooking have decreased 50% since the mid-60s.
- On average in America, we spend 27 minutes cooking per day, and 4 minutes cleaning up (which means it’s probably fast food — who can do dishes and scrub pots and pans in 4 minutes?).
- To be healthy, eat anything you want, just cook it yourself.
Saturday, April 19, 2014
A Trip to Babaji Cave, Himalayas
Day-3
Noida Ashram
http://www.yssofindia.org/ashrams/Yogoda%20-Satsanga%20-Sakha%20-Ashram,%20Noida
B – 4, Sector 62, NOIDA 201307
Dist. Gautambudhanagar, Uttar Pradesh
Phones: (0120) 2400670, 2400671, 2950515
E-mail: noidaashram@yssi.org
How to reach Noida Ashram - http://www.yssofindia.org/ashrams/places-to-see-in-noida
It has a good meditation hall. It has amicable rooms available for members and guests.
Then we headed to Haridwar.
Day-4 at Haridwar
Haridwar has many ashram and ghats(Ganga). Kanchi Kamakoti Mutt is also there. Kanchi Kamakoti Mutt has a private Ghat wherein one can take bath in Ganga.
R S Dave
Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam (Mutt)
Madrasi Dharamshala
3 Jodhamal Road, Near Birla Ghat
Haridwar - 249401 (Uttarakhand)
Email: haridwar.kanchimutt@gmail.com
Phone: 01334-224005 Mob: 94123-79061
Mutt prices are very cheap. it ranges from Rs. 80 to Rs. 300.
Sightseeing in Haridwar:
Haridwar has a very rich ancient religious and cultural heritage. In the ancient scriptures of India, this place is well known by the name of Mayapur. Located in the foothills of the Himalayas, Haridwar represents the point where the Ganga reaches the plains. Haridwar is an ancient pilgrimage site, held in reverence for centuries. It is a gateway to the Himalayan pilgrimage shrines of Badrinath and Kedarnath. Once in twelve years, it hosts the famous, Kumbh Mela. Here is the list of some of most popular tourist destinations in and around Haridwar.
Chandi Devi Temple, Haridwar : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandi_Devi_Temple,_Haridwar
Best part is going to this temple through a Ropeway. it is a nice experience.
Chandi Devi Temple: Legend has it that Chanda-Munda, the army chief of the local demon king, Shumbha-Nishumbha, was killed by Goddess Chandi here after which the place got the name Chandi Devi. This temple, situated on top of the Neel Parvat on the other bank of river Ganges was constructed in AD 1929 by Suchat Singh, the then King of Kashmir. The temple is a 3-km trek from Chandi Ghat and it is believed that the Adi Shankaracharya established the main statue in eighth century AD. The Chandi Devi Temple is now also accessible by a ropeway, which starts near the Gauri Shankar Temple.
Mansa Devi Temple, Haridwar
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mansa_Devi_Temple,_Haridwar
Again, there is a ropeway to reach this temple as well.
Mansa Devi Temple: This temple a top the Bilwa Parvat is dedicated to Goddess Mansa Devi. One can have a panoramic view of Haridwar, the Ganges, and the countryside from this place.
Vaishno Devi Temple: This temple is a newly constructed and a true replica of the original Vaishno Devi temple in Jammu & Kashmir.
Har ki Pauri:
This photo of Haridwar is courtesy of TripAdvisor
It is one of the most popular ghats in Haridwar. This sacred ghat was constructed by King Vikramaditya in the memory of his brother Bhartrihari. It is believed that Bhartihari eventually came to Haridwar to meditate by the banks of the holy Ganga. When he died, his brother constructed the Ghat in his name which later came to be known as Har ki Pauri.
This sacred bathing Ghat is also known as Brahmakund. The golden reflection of floral diyas in the river Ganges is the most enchanting sight in the twilight during the Ganga aarti ceremony at the ghat.
Pavan Dham
Dehradun Rishikesh Raod | 3 Km from Har-ki-Pauri, Haridwar
Other links:-
http://zeenews.india.com/news/uttarakhand/places-to-visit-in-and-around-haridwar_598843.html
Night life in Haridwar
There are two crowded street near Har Ki Pauri. Moti Bazaar is the one. There is a Mathura Walo sweet shop is famous over there. Some famous sweets are Chandrakala, suryakala and Bhathusha. Chotiwala is a popular restaurant. After daily aarthi, this place is full of fun and energy. it goes till 11pm or so.
I also did a massage in Har Ki Pauri on the ganges. it was really good. It costs only Rs.200.
Day 5 in Rishikesh
Laxman Jhula and Ram Jhula are suspension bridges. One can walk on the bridge and it has a breathtaking views of Ganges.
Vashishta Gufa is good place for meditation. it is maintained by Purushottamanand Trust
Swami Dayananda Ashram
“Swami Dayananda Ashram (Arsha Vidya Pitham) is located at Rishikesh, 223 KM North East of Delhi via Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Roorkie and Haridwar. From Haridwar, Rishikesh is 20 KM away.
http://www.dayananda.org/visit-ashram.html
It is a serene place on the Ganges. It is a good facilities. Devotees can stay and meditate.
Day 6 - Trip to Babaji Cave
Babaji cave is located in Kukuchina, near Dunagiri, near Dwarahat in Himalayas. It is 300 kms from Haridwar. It is 10 hours journey on the Himalayas. You can see the Ganges throughout the journey.
“Garam chai” at Joshi’s tea house in Kukuchina. We stayed in Joshi's Lodge. It is 4 kms from Babaji Cave.
KUKUCHINA (Dunagiri)
County of Saints
At the end of the road north from Dwarahat towards the Dunagiri temple, 5 kms. Ahead, sits a small ashram that was created in honor of a very wonderful saint from Assam, known locally as Bengali Baba. It is the trailhead to Mahavatar Babaji’s cave where he met Lahiri Mahasayaji.
Kukuchina is sparsely populated with one bus arriving daily from Haldwani and a few shared jeeps from Dwarahat that makes it peaceful, quiet, tranquil and pollution free spot. Being the end of the road there are only mountain trails going north to the high Himalayas.
The ashram sits on a hill across the small valley from the cave with farms scattered throught out the mountains. It is a fruit and vegetable growing region and every household has their own dairy cows. Herbal and Ayurvedic enthusiasts would find this area very rich in local medicinal herbs.
Day 7 - 2nd April 2014 - A visit to a Babaji Cave
This was most exciting experience of our journey. It is 4 kms trek from Kukuchina. there is a kacha road for 3kms. Old people can travel in a vehicle for 3 kms. After that, it is a one km hike to reach Babaji cave. I went to the smaller cave as well. It is a good meditative experience.
In the afternoon, we visited Dunagiri Vishanavi Devi temple. Then, We visited YSS ashram in Dwarahat.. There we met the Japanese monk who is the current priest of YSS Ashram for past 43 years has been dedicatedly been observing meditation he teaches Kriya yoga.
He shared his experience on Kriya yoga. Kriya yoga is the highest form of meditation which Krishna taught to Arjun. It is a scientific method. It bridges Human consciousness with divine consciousness.
Yuga - is a cyclic evolution(http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yugas-Ages-based-on-Sri-Yukteswar.png)
Kriya yoga was taught by Babaji to elevate Humankind in Dwapara yoga.
Routes
Link:-
Detailed blog by http://divyodaya.wordpress.com/
Day 8 Camping at Shiv Puri
On the way back from Dunagiri, we visited Adi Bhadri temple as well. it is a one of the heritage site.
We did a Rafting as well. it has 9 km, 16km and 35 kms Rafting. it was a wonderful experience.
Rafting experience
More the Rapids, more fun in Rafting as well.
Shivpuri : One of the most scenic camp sites, Shivpuri also has the beautiful Glass house on the ganges, offering splendid views of the river.
Kaudiyala : the most popular starting point of the river tour, Kaudiyala has camp sites on the river bank.
The rafting stretch between Kaudiyala and Rishikesh, offers some of the fast action white water rapids. With opportunities for plenty of bodysurfing and bird watching, the rafting stretch offers an opportunity to enjoy the natural surrounding.
Starting from Daniel's Dip at Kaudiyala to begin with and then the biggest rapid on the Ganga - The Wall, Marine Drive, Three Blind Mice, Roller Coaster, Golf Course, Club House and Initiation are some of the rapids that can let one overcome the fear of life and death.
Day-10 A visit to Akshardham, Delhi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akshardham_(Delhi)
Swami Narayana temple. It has some robotics shows, IMAX movie on Swami and 10 min boat ride on Indian Heritage.
Lesson that I learnt personally is instead of living a live on Fear, live a life on Love, compassion and wisdom. it is a life worth living.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
The wisdom of Arthasastra by Chanakya
studies, he wanted everybody to get benefited. He believed in sharing knowledge and not in hoarding of it and so he later became a professor of Political Science at the University.
Though Chanakya was just a professor in the Taxila University, which seemed to be far away from the happenings in the country, heacrually was able to influence the governments in a big way. His students looked up to him as an ideal teacher who inspired and exemplified great knowledge. They respected him and were ready to fight at any moment at his orders. Chanakya went from Takshashila to Pataliputra, which was famous as a centre of learning and was known to honour scholars. Chanakya's extraordinary scholarship and genius gained recognition among the scholars of Pataliputra, who honoured him. Later Chanakya became the president of the 'Sangha' (Trust).
He took a promising young boy of ten (Chandragupta Maurya), from the streets and
brought him up to become one of the greatest emperors of India. In the War of Independence for Northern India, the source of strength for Chandragupta and his army was the power of mind and the towering personality of Chanakya. After Alexander's death in Babylon, all his satraps were either killed or dislodged, one by one. Alexander's lieutenants divided his empire among themselves in 321 B.C. No realm east of the Indus was mentioned in that settlement. It meant that the Greeks themselves had accepted that this region had gone out of their rule.
Seeking revenge for being insulted in the court of the ruler of Magadha, Chanakya
vowed to dethrone the haughty Nanda king, who was harassing the people of the land. The Nanda kings' reign was marked with cruelty and imposition of heavy taxes on their subjects. Therefore, they earned the wrath of the people. With determination Chanakya as a single person stood opposed to the might of the Nandas and Amatya Rakshasa. He dethroned the Nandas, put Chandragupta on the throne, and also installed Amatya Rakshasa, who was trying his utmost to destroy Chandragupta, as the minister and created the great Maurya dynasty.
Chanakya was a very brilliant person. He was full of determination in achieving objectives. He was well-versed in all the 'Vedic Shastras' or branches of knowledge, an expert economist; a statesman par excellence. He was a master in the four methods of persuasion, enticement, sowing dissension, and punishment or war.: He was mature in the strategy of war, and very intelligent. one could make out what was going on his mind. So secretive was he in his method, and far-sighted. In any endeavour, his calculations never went wrong and he never missed his aim. He was at the same time very religious and given to strict renunciation. Apparently of this strict nature, he employed various methods carefully at the right time to destroy enemies. There was no branch of knowledge, which he had not mastered. He was widely experienced in the world. There seemed to be nothing, which he did not know. He was, in other words,
a personification of all things that make a genius. Considered in any way, people equal to Chanakya are very rare in the world. An expression "like the strategy of Chanakya", has become proverbial.
The whole nation was bewildered by the cleverness and wit of this seemingly benign
personality who went on to single-handedly unify the country with the sheer power of his character. Probably the most accurate description of Chanakya can be found in Nehru's words in the Discovery of India, "Chanakya has been called the Indian Machiavelli and to some extent the comparison is justified. But he was a much bigger person in every way, greater in intellect and reason."
Chanakya dreamt of a country reaching the zenith of development in terms of ideologies and social and economic development. A self-sufficient economy, which does not depend on foreign trade. An egalitarian society where there are equal opportunities for all. Establishment of new colonies for the augmentation of resources. He also advocated the development of the annexed colonies. His imperialistic views can be interpreted as the development of natural and man made resources. He lived his life working to his optimum capacity in pursuit of vision of a happy, strong and prosperous India.
His works have been faithfully preserved through word of mouth for well over two thousand years. Nitishastra, a treatise on the ideal way of life shows his in-depth study of the Indian way of life. Many of his nitis or policies have been compiled in the book, Chanakya Niti.
CHANAKYA'S ARTHASHASTRA
Uhanakya's Arthashastra also known as Kautiliya Arthashastra, is a classic statecraft.
It deals with the politics (Raja Dharma), leadership, qualities and disciplines required for a Rajarishi - a wise and virtuous king.
According to Kautilya, a Rajarishi is one who has self-control, having conquered
the inimical temptations of the senses; cultivates the intellect by association with elders; keeps his eyes open through spies; is ever active in promoting the security and welfare of the people; ensures the observance (by the people) of their dharma by authority and example; improves his own discipline by (continuing his) learning in all branches of knowledge; and endears himself to his people by enriching them and doing good to them.
- Concerning Discipline
- Concerning Law
- The Conduct of Courtiers
- The End of the Six-Fold Policy
- The Work of an Invader
- The Conduct of Corporations
- Strategic Means to Capture a Fortress
- The Plan of a Treatise
- The Duties of Government Superintendents
- The Removal of Thoms
- The Source of Sovereign States
- Concerning Vices and Calamities
- Relating to War
- Concerning a Powerful Enemy
- Secret Means