Remember always to share !!

A holy man was having a conversation with God one day and said, ' God , I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.' God led the holy man to two doors. He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in.

In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew, which smelled delicious and made the holy man's mouth water. The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They were holding spoons with very long handles, that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful. But because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths. The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering. God said, 'You have seen Hell.'

They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man's mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking. The holy man said, 'I don't understand.'

It is simple,' said  God .  'It requires but one skill. You see they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves.'

Remember always to share !!

God Answers !

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.

Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect himself from the elements, and to store his few possessions. But then one day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky.

The worst had happened - everything was lost. He was stunned with grief and anger. God, how could you do this to me he cried. Early the next day, however, he was wakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island.

It had come to rescue him. How did you know I was here asked the weary man of his rescuers. We saw your smoke signal, they replied.

It's easy to get discouraged sometimes when things appear to be going badly. But we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of pain and suffering. Remember, next time your little hut is burning to the ground, it just may be a smoke signal that summons the grace of God.

For all the negative things we have to say to ourselves, God has a positive answer for it.

Share this on, you never know whose life may be in need of this today. There are some times that we all feel our huts are burning.

A Woman of Substance !!!

Dr. Kiran Bedi... heard about her for the first time when long time back a serial named "Udaan" was aired on Doordarshan, the serial was said to be inspired from the life of Dr. Bedi, a small town girl who went on to become the first woman IPS Officer of India... i was just a small kid then... still i remember the fervor and eagerness with which we used to wait for its telecast... the kind of motivation and inspiration the life of that small town girl brought to us is inexplicable.

Yesterday I was reading an interview of Dr. Bedi published in "Times of India" and suddenly all those memories got revived and i was inspired once again by her life... this time to write this article to show my admiration and gratitude to her for being my role model since childhood !!
Kiran Bedi, a retired controversial IPS Officer and a social activist, was born in Amritsar, Punjab on June 9, 1949. She is the second of the four daughters of her parents, Prakash Lal Peshawaria and Prem Lata Peshawaria. She did her schooling from Amritsar, inherited passion for tennis from her father, joined NCC, earned a Master’s degree in Political Science from Punjab University, Chandigarh, topping the University. Even while in active service in the Indian Police, she continued her educational pursuits, and obtained a Law degree (LLB) in 1988 from Delhi University, Delhi. In 1993, she did her Ph.D. in 'Drug Abuse and Domestic Violence' from the Department of Social Sciences, the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi.
She began her career as a Lecturer in Political Science (1970-72) at Khalsa College for Women, Amritsar, India. But she was not satiated with this career and had some more important missions to take on in her life. In July 1972, she joined the Indian Police Service... as she states she joined the police service "because of my urge to be outstanding".
She served in a number of tough assignments ranging from Traffic Commissioner of New Delhi, Deputy Inspector General of Police in insurgency prone Mizoram, Advisor to the Lieutenant Governor of Chandigarh, Director General of Narcotics Control Bureau and also on a United Nations deputation, where she became the Civilian Police Advisor in the United Nations peacekeeping department,and for which she was awarded with the UN medal. She is popularly referred to as Crane Bedi for towing the Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's car for a parking violation (the PM was on tour of United States then).
The path to success and glory has never been smooth... but the respect, adulation and accolade that you receive in return evens out the rough and coarse path... Dr. Bedi's life also has been full of controversies but they are a part and parcel of being a pioneer.. aren't they?
Her excellent PR work for her prison reforms policies lead to her winning, the 1994 Ramon Magsaysay Award. Subsequently, she has founded two NGOs in India: Navjyoti for welfare and preventive policing in 1987[2] and India Vision Foundation for prison reforms, drug abuse prevention, child welfare in 1994.
She voluntarily retired from IPS in December, 2007. After retirement she has launched a new website, www.saferindia.com The motto of this website is to help people whose complaints are not accepted by the local police. This project is undertaken by the non-profit, voluntary and non-government organization, India Vision Foundation. She is also hosting the TV show Aap Ki Kachehri Kiran Ke Saath on Star Plus.

Outstanding... yes she is... A Super Cop... A Super Human...

"The Motivating Bedi" - A Woman of Substance !!!

I salute her for being such a wonderful woman... Do you ?

(Information Source : Wikipedia)

Want to know more about her ? Here are some links...
Kiran Bedi on Wikipedia
Kiran Bedi's Website
Kiran Bedi's Blog

(Click on the picture to read the interview)

Conquer Your Weakness !!!

(Photo Courtesy : Michelle St.Sauveur)

This is a story of one 10-year-old boy who decided to study judo despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a devastating car accident.

The boy began lessons with an old Japanese judo master. The boy was doing well, so he couldn't understand why, after three months of training, the master had taught him only one move. "Sensei," the boy finally said, "Shouldn't I be learning more moves?"

"This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you'll ever need to know," the Sensei replied. Not quite understanding, but believing in his teacher, the boy kept training.

Several months later, the Sensei took the boy to his first tournament. Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent became impatient and charged; the boy deftly used his one move to win the match. Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals.

This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while, the boy appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called a time-out. He was about to stop the match when the Sensei intervened. "No," the Sensei insisted, "Let him continue."

Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake: he dropped his guard. Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him. The boy had won the match and the tournament. He was the champion.

On the way home, the boy and Sensei reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really on his mind. "Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?"

"You won for two reasons," the Sensei answered. "First, you've almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. And second, the only known defence for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm."

The boy's greatest weakness had become his greatest strength.

Inspiring...

We have lots of talks in our friend circle or in office amongst our colleagues about social and environmental issues, conservation of energy , water and what not. We feel very proud of ourselves just talking about such issues and tag ourselves as very "aware" citizens. Lets just ask ourselves are we really aware... if "Yes" what have we done to improve the things... have we in any what way contributed for the betterment of the society. NO. At least I haven't ... Come on now guys... lets just not fool ourselves anymore.

We all are aware but who takes the venture is the question...

How often do you find people working unobtrusively towards a great cause... without boasting their deeds... without trying to gain any attention... just doing their work silently...

I read about one such "Common Man" in today's edition of Times Of India and could not resist myself from sharing his story with you all... I don't know this person not even his name (not until the suspense is revealed towards the end of the article) but after reading the article I came to know about his great deed... I was inspired... Hope you too will...


Click on the image to read the story...