A GLASS OF MILK

GLASS OF MILK

 One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay his way through school, found he had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry. He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry so brought him a large glass of milk.

 He drank it so slowly, and then asked, "How much do I owe you?"

 "You don’t owe me anything," she replied. "Mother has taught us never to accept pay for a kindness."

He said ... "Then I thank you from the bottom of my heart."

 As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but his faith in God and man was strong also. He had been ready to give up and quit.

 Many year’s later that same young woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease.

Dr. Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes.

Immediately he rose and went down the hall of the hospital to her room.  Dressed in his doctor’s gown he went in to see her. He recognized her at once.

He went back to the consultation room determined to do his best to save her life. From that day he gave special attention to her case.

After a long struggle, the battle was won.

Dr. Kelly requested the business office to pass the final bill to him for approval. He looked at it, then wrote something on the edge and the bill was sent to her room. She feared to open it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay for it all. Finally she looked, and something caught her attention on the side of the bill. Tears of joy flooded her eyes as  she read the words ..   

                                                "Paid in full with one glass of milk" 

                                                            (Signed) Dr. Howard Kelly. 

 There’s a saying which goes something like this: Bread cast on the waters comes back to you. The good deed you do today may benefit you or someone you love at the least expected time. If you never see the deed again at least you will have made the world a better place - And, after all, isn’t that what life is all about?! 

Now you have two choices. 

The hardest thing to learn in life is which bridge to cross and which -- To burn

Mahashivratri

This year Mahashivratri falls on 23rd February 2009 when the Shiva principle descends to Earth a thousand times more than usual. On this day, to obtain the full benefit of Lord Shiva"s principle, one should chant "Om Namah Shivaya"  as much as possible.

Shivratri is the time when Shiva takes a rest.  Shiva rests for one "prahar" (three hours) of the night.  This "prahar" is referred to as the Shivratri.  When Lord Shiva takes rest, the function of  "Shivtatva" (Shiva Principle) ceases,  i.e. Lord Shiva goes into a meditative state. 

Shiva"s meditative state is the time when  He is engrossed in His own spiritual practice.

 During that time, the "Shivtatva" does not accept any tamogun (most base of the 3 elements in us - sattva, raja & tama)  or  any halahal (venom churned from the ocean)

 coming from the Universe. As a result,  the ratio of halahal or the pressure of the negative energies increases.  For protection from this pressure, things like  "bilva patra", white flowers, "rudraksha" beads etc  are offered to Lord Shiva.  These things attract the "Shivtatva" from the atmosphere,  thus providing protection from the increasing

 effect of the negative energies.

 The Earth is a gross object.

 Gross objects have very low velocities  i.e. they require more time to cover a specific distance in space.  Gods on the other hand, are subtle hence they  are capable of traversing space within a few seconds. 

That is why one year on the earth  is equivalent to just one day of heaven.

Science in the worship of Lord Shiva on Mahashivratri

The function of the  "Shivpindi"

1.  Emitting waves of Knowledge,  Devotion and renunciation  Predominantly  "sattva" waves of knowledge,  "raja" waves of devotion  and  "tama" waves of Renunciation (Vairagya)  are emitted by the "Shivpindi". 

During Mahashivratri, the emission increases by 30 percent.

2.  Emission of subtle vibrations  of chaitanya, bliss and peace The "Shivpindi" emits  subtle vibrations of chaitanya, bliss and peace.  During the Mahashivratri,  the emission increases by 25 percent.  This helps purify the subtle-body of  one who worships the Shivpindi on this day.  The "sun" or the "moon" channels in the body get activated as per necessity.  The capacity to absorb the sattvaguna  and chaitanya also increases.  Due to the presence of the unmanifest  Shiva principle in the Shivpindi  and the vibrations of peace emitted,  the Shivpindi remains cool and the  mind too experiences peace.  Worship of Shivpindi with devotion,  activates the dormant Shiva principle.  An offering of puffed rice and milk  reaches Lord Shiva in the subtle form. 

3.  Receiving the  "tarak or marak tatva (element)"  as required There is a confluence of the manifest  and the unmanifest elements along with the  "tarak and marak tatva" in the Shivpindi.  (Tarak = Saviour; Marak = Destroyer).  That is how worshipers receive the required element. The temperature of the Shivpindi increases due  to the emission of the marak tatva and there one experiences bliss.  Similarly,  when the tarak tatva is emitted, 

 the temperature drops and one experiences peace and bliss. 

Bilvapatra (Bel leaves)

Bilvapatra contains 2% Shiva tatva. By offering bilvapatra to the Shivpindi on  Mahashivratri, the manifest Shiva tatva near the stalk of  the bilvapatra gets activated.  Due to this, waves of chaitanya as well as Shiva tatva  are emitted by the bilvapatra.  The bilvapatra  attracts 20% of the Shiva tatva present in  the Shivpindi towards itself.  By immersing this bilvapatra  in water or by placing it in grains,  the Shiva tatva present in the bilvapatra is transmitted to them.  The Shiva tatva in the bilvapatra 

is activated to a larger extent on Mondays  when it transmits 10% of the Shiva tatva and sattvikta.  On other days only 1% of the Shiva tatva  is activated in the bilvapatra. 

Bilvarchan

Offering bilvapatra  to the Shivpindi and chanting the mantra  "Om Namah Shivaya" 

with each offering is known as bilvarchan. Continue offering the bilvapatra until the pindi

 is completely covered.  Offer the bilvapatra from the lower part of the pindi. By starting from the feet of the idol, more benefit is derived and the idol can be covered completely.

Chanting on Mahashivratri  "Om Namah Shivaya" Om represents an unmanifest state beyond  the 3 gunas (elements of sattva, raja & tama).  We bow to Lord Shiva, from whom Om was created. 

What does the word "Shiva" mean?

a. The word Shiva has been derived by reversing the letters of the word vash. Vash means to enlighten; thus the one who enlightens is Shiva.  He remains radiant and also illuminates the universe.

b.  He is the auspicious and  prosperity-bestowing principle. 

Some unique attributes

1. Physical attributes 

a. Ganga : Just as the sun is the focal point of the solar system and the soul that of the body, the focal point of divine consciousness  (chaitanya) in every object and  pure particles (pavitrakas) is ga-aum. The flow from which ga-aum originates is gan gaha = Ganga.  Ga-aum flows from Shiva"s head.  This is called the descent of the Ganga 

from Shiva"s head.  Since the river Ganga has a fraction  of the principle of the spiritual Ganga, no matter how polluted it becomes,  its purity is perpetually retained. Hence,  when compared to any other water in the world,  the water from the Ganga is the purest.

 This is realised not only by those who can perceive the subtle dimension  but also by scientific researchers.

b. Moon :  Shiva adorns the chandra (moon) on His forehead.  The point where the three frequencies - affection (mamata), mercifulness (kshamashilata)  and motherly love (vatsalya) originate  is referred to as the chandra (moon). 

Thus, one can conclude that chandrama  (the moon principle) is the state in  which the three attributes of affection,  mercifulness and motherly love are present.

c. Third eye :  Shankar is three-eyed,  i.e. He can perceive events of the past, present and future. According to the science of Yoga  the third eye means the Sushumna nadi (channel). 

d. Serpent :  One of the Names of Lord Shankar is Bhujanga-patihari.  Bhujang means a serpent or pure particles (pavitrakas),  pati means the nurturer and hari means one

 with a garland around His neck.  Bhujangapatihari thus means the One 

who nurtures pure particles and wears them like a garland. 

Various serpents represent groups of pure particles.  Though externally they appear like serpents, internally they are a kind of ladder.  To make spiritual progress one has to climb

 up holding onto the tail of the serpent.  Lord Shankar adorns serpents at nine points on His body  - one on the head, one around the neck,  one on each arm,  one on each wrist, 

one around the waist and one on each thigh. This implies that His body is comprised

 of pure particles or that serpents of pure particles  play all over the body of Lord Shankar 

who has the universe as His form. 

2. Spiritual attributes

a. One performing severe  austerities and the great yogi

Shiva is always seated in a bandha or a mudra.  His temperature rises due to heat generated  by performing severe austerities;  Hence, He uses the Ganga, the moon and

 serpents which endow a cooling effect  and lives on the snow-clad Kailas mountain.

b. Short tempered

If someone disturbs His meditation  the radiance generated by spiritual practice 

will be suddenly expelled and whoever is in front of Him will not be able to tolerate it, and gets destroyed. This is referred to as being "reduced to ashes  by Shankar"s opening of the third eye".

c.  One who is willing to undergo  any distress for the sake of imparting happiness to others 

The poison generated during the churning  of the celestial ocean (samudramanthan)

 was burning the entire Universe but no deity  came forward to accept it. At that time Shiva drank that poison  and saved the world from destruction.

d.  One who has both,  deities and demons, as His worshippers Neither did demons like Banasur, Ravan, etc.  worship Lord Vishnu nor did Lord Vishnu bestow 

any boon upon any demon. However, they worshipped Lord Shiva who blessed them.

e. Master of the spirits Since Lord Shiva is the master of spirits,  His worshippers are generally not possessed by them. 

Science in the idol - in the Human form

This represents the Brahman  in the form of the word (shabda Brahman).  Alphabets consisting of the sounds of  fifty-two basic letters and the forms  of fourteen Maheshvar verses (sutras)  have generated from it.  Later the universe was created from these.

2. Trident :  represents the following - The three components - sattva, raja and tama

The root of creation, sustenance and dissolution Volition, knowledge and action

3. Noose (pash) :  The noose represents the noose of time (kalpash)  (The rope in Lord Ganapati"s hand too is the same). 

Worship

a. Application of holy ash (Bhasma) Tripundra refers to the three horizontal 

stripes of holy ash applied to the forehead.  These stripes symbolise spiritual knowledge, 

purity and penance (spiritual practice of Yoga), so also they represent the three eyes of Lord Shiva. 

b. Wearing a rudraksha - Wearing a rudraksha when worshipping Lord Shiva is ideal.

 A rudraksha is reddish in colour with yellow stripes  and is flat like a fish.  On one side it has a slight opening which appears like an open mouth.  The rudraksha converts light frequencies of deities  from the universe into sound frequencies in the  body of humans and vice versa.  As a result, humans can absorb frequencies of deities  and thoughts can get converted into the language of deities.

A Genuine Rudraksha The rudraksha absorbs sama (sattva) frequencies. 

Similarly sama frequencies are emitted by its crests.  A real rudraksha can be recognised by the vibrations felt by holding it in the hand. At that time the body absorbs the

 sama frequencies emitted by the rudraksha. Nowadays, mostly Vikrutaksha is sold as a rudraksha. This is the seed of a type of wild berry. Vikrutaksha is used for sacrificial fires of  tantriks, black magic etc. by sorcerers.

c. Ritualistic worship of the pindi Only cold water and bel is offered

 to Lord Shankar"s pindi. Neither is it bathed with milk and panchamrut 

(a mixture of milk, curds, ghee, sugar and honey) nor offered turmeric, vermilion (kumkum) or white consecrated rice (akshata). Milk and clarified butter (ghee) symbolise sustenance while turmeric is an underground stem and represents  fertility of the soil, that is creation. Vermilion is prepared from turmeric. Since Lord Shiva is the deity of dissolution, substances such as milk, vermilion and turmeric are not used in His worship.

d. Circumambulation (pradakshina)

When circum-ambulating one should begin  from the left side and continue till the channel of the shalunka from where the water offered during the ritualistic bathing (abhishek) flows. Without crossing it one should complete  a circum-ambulation by moving in the reverse direction up to the other side of the channel.  The flow of a shalunka is not crossed as it is the flow of energy which adversely  affects the formation of semen and the five internal vital energies (pran vayu).

e. Chanting the Name of Lord Shiva-"Namaha Shivaya is Shiva"s five-syllabled mantra. 

The spiritual meaning of each of the five syllables is:

 na = Foremost deity of all the regions (lokas)

 ma = Bestower of supreme spiritual knowledge (gyan) and redeemer of the greatest of sins

 shi = Benevolent, serene and responsible for initiation by Lord Shiva 

va = Symbolic of a bull as the vehicle and Vasuki and Vamangi energy (shakti) 

ya = Auspicious abode of Supreme Bliss and Lord Shiva. 

Hence, obeisance (namaskar) to these five syllables.

Chocolate is a Vegetable

Chocolate is a Vegetable

 

Chocolate is derived from cocoa beans.

Bean = vegetable.

 

Sugar is derived from either sugar cane or sugar BEETS.

Both of them are plants, in the vegetable category.
   Thus, chocolate is a vegetable.

To go one step further, 
   chocolate candy bars also contain milk, 
   which is dairy.

So candy bars are a health food.

Chocolate-covered raisins, cherries, 
   orange slices and strawberries
   all count as fruit, 
  so eat as many as you want.

 

 

Remember:
"STRESSED"
spelled backward is
"DESSERTS"

Get.. Cet.. Go

HOT OPTIONS HINDUSTAN TIMES SUPPLEMENT HORIZONS

FEBRUARY 04, 2009 BOMBAY EDITION

Get.. Cet.. Go

Lakshmi Krishnan hands you the
key to cracking the cet 2009

Ten Days from today, swarms of students will throng the CET venues for a test of two-and-a-half hour duration a test as much of speed as of accuracy.  Months of preparation along various areas of quantitative, verbal and logical ability will face the final battle.

Let us look at two strategies that can be of use in effecting an approach to solving 200 questions.

STRATEGY 1

CET being a two and a half hour test, a student must have a clear plan for division of time over 200 questions.  Each question carries one mark.  No negative marking being the hall-mark of this exam, it makes sense to mark an answer choice for every successive question that a student attempts.  This would require a student to answer questions in serial order, such that every question is answered right then and there, rather than left for later.  This is a hassle-free approach to giving every single question a fair shot. 
It would mean a student attempts questions in sets of say, 40 questions at one go.  Thus a total of 200 questions divided neatly into five sets with a timed moving on from one section to another enables the student to get to the end step by step.

STRATEGY 2

This strategy is aimed at a student cracking the exam based not on his division of time alone, but on priority of area of solving.  The rationale behind this method is that every student has some area of strength an area that gives him his maximum accuracy in minimum time and it is advisable that the student starts his CET by attempting this area first. This way the student is setting aside securely his assured marks right away.  This also ensures the student is applying himself to solving the best questions first, when his concentration levels are optimum.  Solving questions which give him his highest level of accuracy on first priority basis ensures also, that the students level of motivation is high and enables him to solve the next rung of questions with full confidence. Barring may be an area like visual reasoning, which is dicey for any test taker, any area could be this first priority area for a student.  For instance someone may start off in the English section., finishing off the verbal questions and RC passage, if his accuracy and speed therein is basically good.

HO DO I DECIDE HPW MUCH TIME TO SPEND ON VARIOUS TYPES OF QUESTIONS?

It is important to be aware of distribution of time limits over types of questions.  Verbal reasoning questions are best attempted quickly and instinctively...  The odds of perfect accuracy on verbal reasoning questions (which include Assumptions, Conclusions, Inferences, Cause and Effect, Strong and Weak Arguments) are slim.  Whereas spending a minimum amount of time on verbal reasoning questions, which are easily solvable at high speed makes better sense considering the thin margin between perfect and high accurate
on this questions.  So spending a stipulated small amount of time on these questions with a resultant accurate of four on five correct, is still a better bet than stretching the time limit to make that five on five.  This is simply because there are other types of questions where investing those extra seconds per question pays off with more certainty.

Vocabulary based questions are another area that should move quickly. A typical vocab question is akin to a GK question glossing over it for a few more seconds will not move any mountain in favour of a guaranteed correct answer!  Grammar on the other hand, gives
a student a better chance at scoring considering that he has had enough practice during preparation.  So on a grammar question, or a paragraph completion question, spending a bit more time may pay off if used sensibly to weigh options or eliminate options to arrive at an answer choice.

Quantitative ability or math, as also data interpretation and data sufficiency/redundancy, are areas best solved when concentration levels are high, for they depend on calculation and application more than innate awareness or familiarity.

A predominance of varied types of reasoning-based questions in the CET clearly requires extensive practice in order to build a familiarity and ease that makes solving such questions almost a mechanical process.  The more practice a student can get on reasoning based questions, continuing right up to D-day, the better equipped a student will feel in confidently targeting a wide net of marks based on such questions.  These questions do offer a high chance at bagging a good number of assured marks easily and in a finite time frame.  Math or English questions offer accuracy based as much on aptitude as practice, but are relatively more susceptible to individual solving skills/ability.  These can form the second rung priority for a student.  Lastly, a student would do well to spend a fixed amount of time on attempting areas such as visual reasoning  or vocabulary which are relatively more open to chance but dont benefit from extending the number of minutes spent poring over them.

One cardinal rule that a student should ideally bear in mind at all times it is wise to mark an answer choice to every attempted question and not leave chunks of unmarked questions on this exam.  This also ensures avoiding a block error that one can easily fall prey to, whereby risking the earned marks too.

ANYTHING MORE IMPORTANT AND LIFE CHANGING THAN ALL THE ABOVE?

COURTESY HIDUSTAN TIMES MUMBAI EDITION THANKS FOR GUIDE LINE BY

MEERA KRISHNAN

Life is about correcting mistakes."

Monica married Hitesh this day. At the end of the wedding party,Monica"s mother gave her a newly opened bank saving passbook.With Rs.1000 deposit amount.

Mother: "Monica, take this passbook. Keep it as a record of your marriage life. When there"s something happy and memorable happened in your new life, put some money in. Write down what it"s about next to the line. Themore memorable the event is, the more money you can put in. I"ve done the first one for you today. Do the others with Hitesh.When you look back after years, you can know how much happiness you"ve had."

Monica shared this with Hitesh when getting home. They both thought it was a great idea and were anxious to know when the second deposit can be made.

This was what they did after certain time:

- 7 Feb: Rs.100, first birthday celebration for Hitesh after marriage

- 1 Mar: Rs.300, salary raise for Monica

- 20 Mar: Rs.200, vacation trip to Bali

- 15 Apr: Rs.2000, Monica got pregnant

- 1 Jun: Rs.1000, Hitesh got promoted

..... and so on...

However, after years, they started fighting and arguing for trivial things.They didn"t talk much. They regretted that they had married the most nasty people in the world.... no more love...Kind of typical nowadays, huh?

          One day Monica talked to her Mother:

"Mom, we can"t stand it anymore. We agree to divorce. I can"t imagine how I decided to marry this guy!!!"

Mother: "Sure, girl, that"s no big deal. Just do whatever you want if you really can"t stand it. But before that, do one thing first. Remember the saving passbook I gave you on your wedding day? Take out all money and spend it first. You shouldn"t keep any record of such a poor marriage."

Monica thought it was true. So she went to the bank, waiting at the queue and planning to cancel the account.
While she was waiting, she took a look at the passbook record. She looked,and looked, and looked. Then the memory of all the previous joy and happiness just came up her mind. Her eyes were then filled with tears. Sheleft and went home.When she was home, she handed the passbook to Hitesh, asked him to spend the money before getting divorce.

The next day, Hitesh gave the passbook back to Monica. She found a new deposit of Rs.5000. And a line next to the record:

"This is the day I notice how much I"ve loved you thru out all these years. How much happiness you"ve brought me."

They hugged and cried, putting the passbook back to the safe.

Do you know how much money they had saved when they retired? I did not ask.I believe the money did not matter any more after they had gone thru all the good years in their life.

"When you fall, in any way,Don"t see the place where you fell, Instead see the place from where you slipped.

My Mighty Heart - Heart attacks and drinking warm water - Please pass this to others as well

This is a very good article. Not only about the warm water after your meal, but about heart attacks .  The Chinese and Japanese drink hot tea with their meals, not cold water, maybe it is time we adopt their drinking  habit while eating. 
For those who like to drink cold water, this article is applicable to you. It is nice to have a cup of cold drink after a meal. However, the cold water will solidify the oily stuff that you have just consumed. It will slow down the digestion. Once this "sludge" reacts with the acid, it will break down and be absorbed by the intestine faster than the solid food. It will line the intestine . Very soon, this will turn into fats and lead to cancer . It is best to drink hot soup or warm water after a meal. 

A serious note about heart attacks - You should know that not every heart attack symptom is going to be the left arm hurting. Be aware of intense pain  in the jaw line. 
You may never have the first chest pain  during the course of a heart attack. Nausea and intense sweating are also common symptoms. 60% of people who have a heart attack while they are asleep do not wake up. Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Let's be careful and be aware. The more we know, the better chance we could survive. 

A cardiologist   says if everyone who reads this message sends it to  people, you can be sure that we'll save at least one life. Read this & Send to a friend. It could save a life. So, please be a true friend and send this article to all your friends you care about.

 Follow the mentioned tips to lead a healthy and a happy life.

ALWAYS LISTEN TO YOUR FAMILY DOCTOR