Anubhuti and Vivke having fun

विवेकानन्द के कुछ प्रेरणादायी विचार

श्री विवेकानन्द की कोई परिचय देने की आवश्यकता नहीं है। वे एक महात्मा, एक सन्यासी, वेदांत पर पकड़ रखनेवाले विद्वान थे। अपने ३९ वर्ष के छोटे जीवन में उन्होने विश्व को काफी विचारोत्तेजना दिए। १८९३ में शिकागो के धर्मं संसद में दिए गए भाषण से उन्होने बहुत प्रसिद्धि पाई। वे विभिन्न संस्कृतियों का वृहद् ज्ञान रखनेवाले व्यक्ति थे।

श्री विवेकानन्द ने मानव सेवा को अत्यधिक महत्त्व दिया। उन्होने मानव सेवा की तुलना प्रभु वंदना से की है। उन्होने हर मानव में परम आत्मा की अनुभूति की है। इसके अतिरिक्त वे एक परम देशभक्त थे और उन्हें भारतीय होने का गर्व था। उन्होने भारतीयों को मुक्त होने का आवाहन किया था।

यहाँ पाठकों के लिए उनके कुछ विचार प्रस्तुत है: -

आनंदित रहें; दूसरो की आलोचना न करें, अपना संदेश दें, आप जो सिखाना चाहते हैं वह सिखाएं, और वहीं रूक जाएँ।

हितकर को अपनाएं और रुचिकर का त्याग करें।

उन्नत्ति कर, आगे बढ़, ओ बहादुर आत्मा! उनको आजाद करने के लिए जो जकड़े हुए हैं, दुखितों का भार कम करने और अज्ञानी हृदयों के गहन अंधकार को जाज्वल्यमान करने के लिए।

आभार मिले या नहीं, सो मत, निर्बल मत बन।

बुरे का साथ छोड़ो, क्योंकि तुममें पुराने घावों का दाग है, और बुरे लोगों का साथ वह चीज़ है जो घाव कुरेदने में सक्षम है।

बहादुर और खरा बनो; तब अनुराग से किसी पथ का अनुसरण करो, और तुम अवश्य सम्पूर्ण तक पहुंच जाओगे।

मुक्त हो, और तब जितने भी चाहो व्यक्तित्व रखो, तब हम एक अभिनेता की तरह मंच पर आएंगे और एक भिखारी के पात्र का अभिनय करेंगे।

जिस व्यक्ति की तुमने मदद की है उसका आभार प्रकट करो, उसे भगवान जैसा समझो।

विश्व में रहो, लेकिन इसके मत बनो, कमल की पत्तियों की तरह जिसका जड़ कीचड़ में होते हुए भी पवित्र रहता है।

ईशा का प्रतिरूप मत बनो, ईशा बनो।

निराश मत हो, जब पवित्र सुधा पहुंच में न हो तो इसका मतलब यह नहीं की हम विष का सेवन करें।

मेरी या अपनी सफलता से हवा में मत उड़ो; काफी बड़े काम करने हैं; यह छोटी सफलता क्या है उस आनेवाले कार्य की तुलना में?

हर एक के विभिन्न मतों के साथ निर्वाह करो, धैर्य, शुचिता और धीरज की विजय होगी।

अविश्वास के साथ शुरुआत करो। विश्लेषण करो, परीक्षा लो, सिद्ध करो और फिर ग्रहण करो।

ना तो मनुष्य या ना भगवान को या न इस विश्व में किसी अन्य को दोष दो और अच्छा करने का प्रयत्न करो।

सभी अच्छी शक्तियों को इकठ्ठा करो, इसकी चिंता मत करो कि तुम किस परचम के तले कार्यरत हो, अपने वर्ण कि चिंता मत करो - हरा, नीला या लाल, परन्तु सभी रंगों को मिला दो और श्वेत तीव्र पुंजा बनाओ जो कि प्यार का रंग है।

प्रकाश लाओ; अँधेरा अपने आप छंट जाएगा।

अपने स्वयं के कमल को खिलाओ, मधुमक्खी अपने आप आएगी।

सर्वश्रेष्ठ आदर्श को चुनो और अपना जीवन इस पर न्यौछावर कर दो।

स्वयं पर विजय पाओ और सम्पूर्ण जगत तुम्हारा है।

हमेशा स्वयं पर विश्वास पैदा करो।

मुक्त होने का साहस करो, अपने स्वछन्द विचारों के साथ जाने का साहस करो और उन विचारों को जीवन में अपनाने का साहस करो।

अहर्निश अपने आप से कहो, "मैं वह (ईश्वर) हूँ"।

कुछ भी इच्छा मत रखो, लालसा छोड़ो और पूर्ण संतुष्टि पाओ।

इस भारतीय जीवन से अलग मत हो; एक पल के लिए भी ऐसा मत सोचो कि अगर भारतीय अन्य संस्कृति वाले लोगों के तरह कपड़े पहने, भोजन करें एवं व्यवहार करें तो यह भारत के लिए अच्छा होगा।

इसकी परवाह मत करो कि कोई तुम्हारी सहायता करेगा। क्या भगवान सभी मानव सहायता से अत्यधिक समर्थ नही है?

एक पल के लिए भी देर मत करो, कल के लिए कुछ भी मत छोड़ो - निर्णायक घड़ी के लिए तैयार हो जाओ, वो तत्काल आ सकता है, अभी भी।

विध्वंस मत करो। रुढियों को बदलने वाले सुधारकों से संसार का कुछ भला नहीं होता। तोड़ो मत, गिराओ मत पर निर्माण करो। अगर कर सकते हो तो सहायता करो, अगर नहीं तो हाथ जोड़कर खरे रहो और देखो। अगर तुम सहायता नहीं कर सकते हो तो कष्ट मत दो।

किसी से घृणा मत करो, क्योंकि तुमसे निकली घृणा दीर्घावधि में अवश्य ही तुम तक वापस आएगा।

दूसरो को कष्ट मत दो। सभी को अपने आप के जैसे प्यार करो क्योंकि संसार एक है। दूसरो को कष्ट देने में मैं खुद को भी नुकसान पहुँचा रहा हूँ और दूसरो को प्यार करने में मैं अपने आप को प्यार कर रहा हूँ।

किसी पर भी तरस मत खाओ, सभी को अपने बराबर समझो, अपने आपको मूलभूत पाप असमता से निर्मल करो।

ये मत कहो कि हम निर्बल हैं; हमलोग कुछ भी और सबकुछ कर सकते हैं। हम क्या नही कर सकते हैं? सब कुछ हमारे द्वारा किया जा सकता है। हम सबके पास एकसमान महान आत्मा है, हम इसमे विश्वास करें।

अपनी उर्जा बात करने में मत खर्चा करो, अपितु शांति में ध्यान करो और बाहरी शोर शराबे को स्वयं को मत परेशान करने दो।

मूर्खों की तरह सभी कहे गए बातों को अपनी सम्मति मत दो। अगर मैं भी कुछ घोषित करूं तो उसमे अपनी अंतर्निहीत विश्वास मत दो। सर्वप्रथम अच्छी तरह समझो तब स्वीकार करो।

हर विचार जो तुम्हें शक्ति देता हो उसका अनुपालन करो और जो विचार तुम्हे कमजोर करे उसका त्याग करो।

प्रत्येक व्यक्ति को शासन करने से पहले आज्ञा पालन करना सीखना चाहिऐ।

इसलिए मन को उच्च विचारों और उच्चतम आदर्शों से युक्त करो, अहर्निश उसका ध्यान करो, तब उसके द्वारा महान हाँ कार्य सिद्ध होगा। अपवित्रता पर बात मत करो, अपितु यह कहो कि हम पवित्र हैं।

प्रथम चरित्र का निर्माण करो, प्रथम अध्यात्म उपार्जित करो और परिणाम अपने आप आयेगा।

सर्वप्रथम, हमारे युवा शक्तिशाली बने, धर्म उसके बाद आएगा। वीर्यवान बने मेरे युवा मित्र; यह तुम्हे मेरी सलाह है।

ह्रदय की सुनो, एक सच्चा दिल ज्ञान से आगे तक को देखता है; ये प्रेरित होता है; ये वह जानता है जो बुद्धि कभी जान ही नहीं सकती और जब कभी भी सच्चे ह्रदय और ज्ञान में मतभेद हो, हमेशा सच्चे ह्रदय का पक्ष लो जबकि तुम्हे यह भी पता हो कि जो तुम्हारा दिल सोच रहा है वह अतर्कसंगत है।

अपने सभी कर्मों का भार ईश्वर पर छोड़ दो; सब कुछ त्याग दो, अच्छा और बुरा दोनों।

जाओ और सबको कह दो, " तुम सभी में शास्वत शक्ति है और उसे जगाने का यत्न करो"।

अपने समक्ष यह लक्ष्य रखो - " जनसाधारण का उद्धार बिना उनके धर्मं को क्षति पहुँचाये हुए"।

दूसरो की सारी अच्छाइयों को सीखो। इसे अपने में समाह्रित करो और अपने ढंग से ग्रहण करो; दुसरे मत बन जाओ।

सबको यह शिक्षा मिलनी चाहिऐ कि ईश्वर उनके अन्दर है और हर व्यक्ति को अपना मोक्ष स्वयं पाना है।

बचपन से ही आनंददायक, सशक्त और उपकारी विचार उनके (बच्चों के ) मन में प्रविष्ट हो जाये।

हम साहसी बने, सत्य को जाने और सत्य का अभ्यास करें। लक्ष्य शायद दूर है पर उठो, जागो और लक्ष्य पाने तक रुको मत।

इसे एक नियम बना लो कि योगाभ्यास के बिना भोजन ना करें; अगर तुम यह करोगे तो भूख की शक्ति तुम्हारे आलस्य को मिटा देगी।

एक बार फिर अद्वैत के शक्तिशाली ध्वज को उठाओ, क्योंकि कहीं और तुम्हे वो नैसर्गिक स्नेह नहीं मिलेगा जब तक कि तुम यह न देखो कि ईश्वर हर एक में विद्यमान है।

मानव का अध्ययन करो, वह एक जीवंत कविता है।

बोलो, " अज्ञानी भारतीय, गरीब और दरिद्र भारतीय, ब्राह्मण भारतीय और चंडाल भारतीय मेरे भाई है"।

सबकुछ देखो, सबकुछ करो किन्तु आसक्त मत हो। जिस पल परम आसक्ति होगी, मनुष्य अपने आप को खो देता है, इसमे उपरांत वह अपने आप का स्वामी नहीं होता, वह दास बन जाता है।

खड़े हो जाओ, निर्भीक रहो, शक्तिशाली रहो। अपने कन्धों पर सारे उत्तरदायित्व लो और इसे जानो कि तुम अपने नियति के सृजनहार हो। सारी शक्ति और सहायता जो तुम चाहते हो वह तुम्हारे अन्दर मौजूद है।

सब कुछ फ़ेंक दो, अपनी मुक्ति को भी, और जाओ और दूसरो की मदद करो।

हम आसमान जैसे खुले हों, समुद्र की तरह गहरे हों, हममें धर्मोंन्मत्त जैसा उत्साह हो, रहस्यवादियों जैसी गहराई और संशयवादी जैसे बृहद विचार हों।

तुम हर संप्रदाय के व्यक्तियों के साथ अपनी सहानुभूति अवश्य रखो।

तुम अवश्य अपने शरीर, मन और वाकशक्ति को संसार के भलाई में लगाओ।

तुम कभी दूसरो के पथ का अनुसरण मत करो, क्योंकि वह उसका रास्ता है, तुम्हारा नही।

नोट: यह कथन "words of inspiration" से लिया गया है और। इसका मूल अंग्रेजी कथन ईसी ब्लोग पर उपलब्ध है। अनुवाद मैंने स्वयं किया है और इसमे काफी सुधार कि गुंजाईश है। आपकी राय वांछित है।

Some inspirational thoughts of Swami Vivekanand

Shri Vivekanand does not need any introduction. He was a saint, a sanyasi, a servant of people, an authority on Vedant (Hindu Philosophy). In his short earthly abode of thirty nine years (from 1863 to 1902), he gave this world substantial stirring. He leaped to fame after his address at Parliament of Religions at Chicago in 1893. He was a man of vast understanding of different culture.

Shri Vivekanand gave huge importance to the service of human kind। He equated service to humanity with the prayers rendered to the God. He felt the presence of supreme soul in each individual. Additionally, he was a devout patriot and felt pride in being Indian. He exhorted Indians to free themselves.

Here are some of his thoughts for the benefit of readers:-

Be positive; do not criticize others. Give your message, teach what you have to teach, and there stop.
Accept the beneficial and discard the pleasant.
Advance, forward, O ye brave souls, to set free those that are in fetters, to lessen the burden of of the miserable, and to illuminate the abysmal darkness of ignorant hearts.
Appreciation or no appreciation, sleep not, slacken not.
Avoid evil company, because the scars of old wounds are in you, and evil company is just the thing that is necessary to call them out।
Be brave and sincere: then follow any path with devotion, and you must reach the whole.
Be free, and then have any number of personalities you like. Then we will play like the actor who comes upon the stage and plays the part of a beggar.
Be grateful to the man you help, think of him as God.
Be in the world, but not of it, like the lotus leaf whose roots are in the mud but which remains always pure.
Be not an imitation of Jesus, but be Jesus.
Be not disheartened. When good nectar is unattainable, it is no reason why we should eat poison.
Be not inflated with my success or yours. Great works are to be done: what is this small success in comparison with what is to come?
Bear with the various opinions of everybody, Patience, purity, and perseverance will prevail.
Begin with disbelief. Analyze, test, prove everything, and then take it.
Blame neither man, nor God, nor anyone in the world. When you find yourselves suffering, blame yourselves, and try to do better.
Bring all the forces of good together. Do not care under what banner you march. Do not care what be your colour – green, blue or red – but mix up all the colours and produce that intense glow of white, the colour of love.
Bring in the light; the darkness will vanish by itself.
Bring your own lotus to blossom; the bees will come of themselves.
Choose the highest ideal, and give your life up to that.
Conquer yourself, and the whole universe is yours.
Cultivate always, "Faith in Yourself".
Dare to be free, dare to go as far as your thought leads, and dare to carry that out in your life.
Day and Night tell yourself, “I am He, I am He.”
Desire nothing, give up all desires and be perfectly satisfied.
Do not be dragged away out of this Indian life; do not for a moment think that it would be better for India if all the Indians dressed, ate and behaved like another race.
Do not care for anybody to help you. Is not the Lord infinitely greater than all human help?
Do not delay a moment. Leave nothing for tomorrow. Get ready for the final event, which may overtake you immediately, even now.
Do not desire anything. What makes us miserable? The cause of all miseries from which we suffer is desire.
Do not destroy. Iconoclastic reformers do no good to the world. Break not, pull not anything down, but build. Help, if you can; if you cannot, fold your hands and stand by and see things go on. Do not injure, if you cannot render help. Say not a word against any man's convictions so far as they are sincere.
Do not hate anybody, because that hatred which comes out from you, must, in the long run, come back to you.
Do not injure another. Love everyone as your own self, because the whole universe is One. In injuring another, I am injuring myself, in loving another, I am loving myself.
Do not pity anyone. Look upon all as your equal, cleanse yourself of the primal sin of inequality.
Do not say we are weak; we can do anything and everything. What can we not do? Everything can be done by us; we all have the same glorious soul, let us believe in it.
Do not spend your energy in talking, but meditate in silence; and do not let the rush of the outside world disturb you.
Don't nod assent like a fool to everything said. Don't put implicit faith, even if I declare something. First clearly grasp and then accept.
Every idea that strengthens you must be taken up and every thought that weakens you must be rejected.
Everyone should learn to obey before he can command.
Fill the brain, therefore, with high thoughts, highest ideals, place them day and night before you, and out of that will come great work. Talk not about impurity, but say that we are pure.
First form character, first earn spirituality and results will come of themselves.
First of all, our young men must be strong. Religion will come afterwards. Be strong my young friends; that is my advice to you.
Follow the heart. A pure heart sees beyond the intellect; it gets inspired; it knows things that reason can never know, and whenever there is conflict between the pure heart and the intellect, always side with the pure heart even if you think what your heart is doing is unreasonable.
Give up the burden of all deeds to the Lord; give all, both good and bad.
Go and tell all, “ In every one of you lies that Eternal power”, and try to wake it up.
Keep the motto before you - “ Elevation of masses without injuring their religion.”
Learn everything that is good from others, but bring it in and in your own way absorb it; do not become others.
Let everyone is taught that the divine is within, and everyone will work out his own salvation.
Let positive, strong, helpful thought enter into their brains (children's brains) from very childhood.
Let us be brave. Know the Truth and practice the Truth. The goal may be distant, but awake, arise, and stop not till the goal is reached.
Make it a rule not to eat until you have practised (yoga); if you do this, the sheer force of hunger will break your laziness.
Raise once more that mighty banner of Advaita, for on no other ground can you have that wonderful love until you see that the same Lord is present everywhere.
Read man, he is the living poem.
Say, “ The ignorant Indian, the poor and destitute Indian, the Brahmin Indian, the Pariah Indian, is my brother.”
See everything, do everything, but be not attached. As soon as extreme attachment comes, a man loses himself, he is no more master of himself, he is a slave.
Stand up and reason out, having no blind faith. Religion is a question of being and becoming, not of believing.
Stand up, be bold, be strong. Take the whole responsibility on your own shoulders, and know that you are the creator of your own destiny. All the strength and succour you want is within yourselves.
Throw away everything, even your own salvation, and go and help others.
We must be as broad as the skies, as deep as the ocean; we must have the zeal of the fanatic, the depth of the mystic, and the width of the agnostic.
You must express your sympathy with people of all sects.
You must give your body, mind and speech to “ the welfare of the world”.
You should never try to follow another's path, for that is his way, not yours.

Source: Words of inspiration, published by Swami Lokeswarananda,

ISBN 81-85843-25-2

आनंदतिरेक रहना ही जीवन है

आनंदमय विचारों से रचनात्मक ब्रह्मांडिय किरणें निकलती है। ये मानवों का विकास करती है और हमारे आस पास के वातावरण को शुद्ध करती है। "मैं कर सकता हूँ" या "हम कर सकते हैं" जैसे वाक्य, शक्तिपुंज का निस्सारण करते हैं। हमलोग इस विशिष्ट शक्ति का ज्ञानपूर्वक और तरीके से इस्तेमाल कर अपने आपको सामर्थ्यवान बना सकते हैं। उर्जा सरंक्षण की तरह हम अपने ऋणात्मक विचारों को कम करके, धनात्मक विचारों को सरंक्षित कर सकते हैं।

सकारात्मक धारणा एक आदमी को सुदृढ़ और विश्वासी बनाता है। इस धारणा का मतलब केवल ये दुहराना नही है की - " सब कुछ ठीक होगा" या " मैं अपनी मंजिल पा लूँगा" इत्यादि, इत्यादि। सकारात्मक दृष्टिकोण एक सम्पूर्ण शैली है। ये शैली बताती है कि एक व्यक्ति इस दुनिया में अपने आपको किस प्रकार चलाता है। स्वयं एवं अपने आस पास के व्यक्ति के प्रति समर्पण इसका एक माप हो सकता है। मेरे विचार से अपने स्वास्थ्य का अच्छी तरह ध्यान रखना किसी व्यक्ति के सबसे बड़े सकारात्मक दृष्टिकोण को चिन्हित करता है। अच्छी लहरों को उत्सर्जित करने के लिए हमे शारीरिक और मानसिक रुप से योग्य होना पड़ेगा।

यह संसार जीव जंतुओं से भरा हुआ है, जिसमे मानव को विशिष्ट तर्क शक्ति से युक्त किया गया है। यह विशेष ज्ञान हमे और ज्यादा उत्तरदायी बनता है। हमारा अपने सहभागी और अन्य जीव जंतुओं के प्रति उत्तरदायित्व अति महत्वपूर्ण हो जाता है। हमे इस चुनौती को स्वीकार करना होगा। हमे इस विश्व को रिहाइश के लिए एक बेहतर स्थान बनाना है। इस विश्व को और अच्छा बनाने के लिए हमे सुक्ष्म चीजों पर मेहनत करना होगा। सुक्ष्म चीजों में सुधार लाकर व्यापक परिवर्तन किये जा सकते हैं।

आज के विश्व में लोग असंतुष्ट है। वे विश्व में मौजूद अंतर्विरोध और संघर्ष से असंतुष्ट है। नैतिक मूल्यों, ईमानदारी और आदर्षा सामाजिक व्यवहार पर दवाब और खिंचाव है। मैं विलास और गरीबी के बीच के खाई को देख कर अचंभित हूँ। भौतिक प्रचुरता की चमक और दीन हीन गरीबी का अन्धकार संग संग हैं। एक विस्मयकारी समूह अशिक्षित है और उनमे से बहुत को दो जून का भोजन तक प्राप्त नहीं होता है। उनके लिए स्वास्थ्य सेवा एक विलासिता है। कई तो इतने अभागे हैं कि उन्हें अपनी बीमारी की वजह और मृत्यु के कारण तक का पता नहीं चलता। सभ्यताओं में संघर्ष है। जलवायु में परिवर्तन और बदतर हो रहा है। व्यापार नीतियां असंतुलित है। वैश्विक राजनीति अति संकीर्ण हो गई है। एक व्यक्ति की इच्छा, एक पूरे राष्ट्र के न्यायसंगत हित से ज्यादा महत्वपूर्ण हो गया है। प्रौद्योगिकी विकास की दिशा व्यापक जनहित की ओर नही है। प्रतिदिन, हम एक बर्बरतापूर्ण मानव व्यवहार से चकित होते हैं, वंचना की कथा से शर्मसार होते हैं और असभ्य आचरण से स्तंभित होते हैं। यहाँ वहाँ अति उग्र व्यवहार देखने को मिलता है। विवेक पीछे हट गया है। व्यक्ति खत्म हो गया है। अब वह मात्र एक समूह, गिरोह, जाति, खेमा, भीड़ अथवा झुंड का भाग है । कोई भी विवेक का इस्तेमाल नही कर रहा है और न ही नीति और सदाचार का पालन कर रह है ।

यह सब व्यक्ति में अबाधित और नैसर्गिक आनंद उर्जा के प्रवाह में बाधक है। हमे रचनात्मकता के विकास के लिए प्रयास करना होगा। मानव मस्तिष्क असीम क्षमताओं का भंडार है। हमे इसके सामर्थ्य को प्राप्त करना होगा। हम अपने आप से शुरुआत कर सकते हैं। हम इस समाज, देश, विश्व एवं ब्रह्माण्ड के अविभाज्य अंग हैं।

सामान्य विश्लेषण से ज्ञात होता है कि हमारे ज्यादातर संकट मानव जनित है। अतः इसका निराकरण हमे अपने आपको समर्पित कर किया जा सकता है। अगर हम अच्छे बन जाएँ तो यह विश्व अवश्य अच्छा बन जाएगा। हमारी सम्मिलित धनात्मक उर्जा इस विश्व को बदल सकती है। जॉन ऍफ़ केनेडी ने कहा था, " हमारे संकट मानव निर्मित हैं, अतः वे मनुष्य द्वारा हल किये जा सकते हैं। मानव भविष्य की कोई भी समस्या मानव दक्षता से ऊपर नही है।" मुझे इस कथ्य में पूर्ण विश्वास है और मैं यह आशा करता हूँ कि आपका भी इसमें घोर विश्वास हो।

और आनंद दायक विचारों के साथ वापस लौटूंगा .........................

Incredible India

Tourism is called the smoke free industry. It generates revenue without consuming natural resources. The prime reason of tourism is the natural curiosity of human being. We want to explore and we want to know. India provides the Ideal setting to quench the thirst of explorers of adventure, knowledge, history, heritage, geology, people and much more. Tourism is growing worldwide. Increase of disposable income with the individual is helping this Industry to grow at a faster pace in recent years. India has been a very important beneficiary of Tourism boom. The number of tourists visiting India has increased from 2.12 million in 1995 to 3.92 in 2005. The rate of growth during the decade 84 percent. The number of tourist has further rose to 4.42 million in 2006. The rate of growth of this sector has been sustained from many years now. It is heartening to note that Forex earning from this sector rose from USD 5731 million in 2005 USD 6570 million in 2006 recording a growth of 14.7%. This sector is among the top foreign earners for India. Tourism sector provides both direct and indirect employment which is highly required in India. As per the NCAER survey of 2002-03, this sector gave employment to 38.8 million people and accounted for 8.3 percentage of the total employment.

The “Incredible India” campaign of Ministry of Tourism has been the most focused media campaign of the Government of India. Its audio visual advertisement on prime television channels of the world and over Internet has generated a lot of interest in India. The quality of advertisement is fabulous. The fliers and booklets are also outstanding. The focus is on rich and diverse cultural heritage of India. Enchantment has been diversified from the Triangle of Agra, Delhi and Jaipur to Rural tourism, eco-tourism, adventurous sports, religious places, cultural monuments, Indian cuisine, herbal treatment and relaxation, medical tourism, visits to royal places, Yoga and spiritualism, Indian dances and martial arts, festivals etc. India can offer three sixty five days tourism because of its diverse weather.

Government of India has made concerted efforts to reap the benefits of inflow of tourists as a result of “Incredible India” campaign. Visa rules has been simplified. Medical visa has been added as a new type of visa. Bed and breakfast scheme has been put in place to compensate the shortage of hotels. Infrastructure around tourist places is being improved. Maintenance of monuments and other tourist attractions is being given due importance. As a result of “Open Sky” policy the connectivity of tourist places has increased. Initiative has also been taken to increase the number of qualified tourist guides.

India has the potential to enhance her world share from 0.49% of the world tourists. It is very small when looked from the point of view of sheer expanse of India and its profuse cultural and historical diversity. In the year 2006 as per the data of World Tourism Organization the receipt from international tourism reached the whopping USD 733 billion. There is huge opportunity for India. The Government of India needs to provided further positive impetus to garner higher number of international tourists.

अभिव्यक्ति की स्वतंत्रता और इसका महत्व

अभिव्यक्ति की स्वतन्त्रत्ता भारतीय संविधान का एक अनुपम उपहार है। यह मौलिक अधिकार वाले खंड में अनुसूचित है। किसी भी लोकतंत्र के लिए यह स्वतंत्रता नितांत आवश्यक है। लोकतंत्र में लोगों को अपना प्रतिनिधि चुनना होता है। यह चुनाव बिना उपयुक्त जानकारी के असंभव है। तर्कसंगत और उपयोगी जानकारी बिना स्वतंत्र और निरपेक्ष मीडिया के संभव नही है। भारतीय संविधान में समाचार पत्र अथवा अन्य माध्यमों का वर्णन नही है। यह सब अभिव्यक्ति की स्वतंत्रता में ही सन्निहित है। इसी स्वंतत्रता के भरोसे हम निर्भीकता से अपनी बात कहने में सफल होते हैं। यह विचारों के आदान प्रदान में सहायता पहुंचाता है। इसके बूते बिना हिंसा के क्रांति आ सकती है। भारतीय न्यायालयों ने भी इस स्वतंत्रता को समुचित आदर कि दृष्टि से देखा है।

भारतीय लोकतंत्र एक सफल लोकतंत्र साबित हुआ है इसमे संविधान की इस धारा का महत्वपूर्ण योगदान है। अगर हम अपने पड़ोसी मुल्कों या भारत के साथ ही आजाद हुए देशों को देखें तब हमे ये अनुभव होता है कि हमारा लोकतंत्र कितना विश्वास के साथ आगे बढ़ा है और बढ़ रहा है। ये किसी भी भारतवासी के लिए गर्व कि बात है।

अभिव्यक्ति कि स्वतंत्रता हमे एक स्वर देता है। इस स्वर का इस्तेमाल हम स्वच्छ राजनीति, सुशासन एवं विकास के लिए कर सकते हैं। इस स्वर का उपयोग दमन के खिलाफ कर सकते हैं। इस स्वर से समाज की अन्य कुरीतियाँ यथा गरीबी, जातिवाद, सामंतवाद, धर्मान्धता, दहेज़ प्रथा, स्त्री भ्रूण हत्या का समूल नाश किया जा सकता है।

लेकिन प्रश्न यह उठता है कि भारत में ऐसा हो क्यों नही रहा है। इतने आदर्श विचारों के बाबजूद आदर्श समाज क्यों नही बन रहा है। इसके कई कारण हैं। सबसे प्रमुख कारण है अज्ञानता, अशिक्षा एवं रुढिवादिता। इसके अलावा अन्य कारण है स्वार्थ। स्वार्थ समाज के हर चरण और हर वर्ग में है। लोग अपने से कमजोर लोगों का अपने फायदे के लिए दोहन कर रहे हैं। सब अपना हित साधने में लगे हैं। लोगों का विचार सामाजिक या राष्ट्रीय नही है। भारतीय गाँधी जी के धरोहर्ता (trusteeship) के अवधारणा को भूल गए हैं। सब अपने अधिकार कि बात करते हैं किन्तु जब कर्तव्य कि बात अति है लोग बंगले झाँकने लगते हैं। मनुष्य एक सामाजिक प्राणी है और इसे समाज के लिए सोचना चाहिए। आज अगर हमने उन्नति कि है तो उसमे हमारे समाज का योगदान है। अगर ये समाज न होता तो हमे बोलना नही आता। जिस प्रकार हमारे शारीर को सुगठित करने में वातावरण का महत्व है उसी प्रकार हमारे मानसिकता को संवारने में हमारे समाज का महत्व है। आज व्यापारी केवल अपने लाभ का विचार कर रहे हैं। सरकारी सेवक अपने कर्तव्यों का निर्वहन नही कर रहें हैं। राजनेता अपने वोट कि व्यवस्था में लगे हैं। इस सामाजिक मानसिकता के ह्रास के वजह से ही संविधान में वर्णित अनमोल विचारों का फल नही मिल रहा है। यहाँ तक कि समाचार पत्र एवं इलेक्ट्रोनिक मीडिया भी किसी न किसी दवाब में आकर पक्षपातपूर्ण रवैया अपनाते हैं।

किन्तु इस प्रश्न का उत्तर भी अभिव्यक्ति कि स्वतंत्रता में ही है। एक सुनियोजित, शांतिपूर्ण वैचारिक क्रांति कि आवश्यकता है। अन्याय के खिलाफ खरे होने कि आवश्यकता है। अपने दिए गए कर्तव्यों का समुचित, सुरुचिपूर्ण निर्वहन की आवश्यकता है। भारत बदल रहा है, यह तेजी से प्रगति पथ पर अग्रसर है। हम कामना करते हैं कि यह बदलाव भारत को विश्व में एक विकसित एवं सामाजिक समरस राष्ट्र के रूप में स्थान दिलायेगा। यह एक ऐसा देश होगा जहाँ सही मायने में अभिव्यक्ति की स्वतंत्रता होगी।

Recognition of Gandhian values

United Nations decided to observe the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi on 2nd October as International Day of Non-violence. Gandhi was the leading light of the strenuous freedom struggle of India. He believed in simplicity and led by example. This half clad Fakir inspired the freedom struggle and other social and politicial struggle of the world. His philosophy of truth, non-violence, tolerance and trustee-ship is still very relevant in this strife torn world. He believed in hating the crime and not the criminal. His works were carried on by Nelson Mandela and Marthin Luther King Jr. in substantive way.

Today world has become very intolerant. People are not ready to listen to others' viewpoints. They force their perspective on others even with violent means. Violence can not solve any problem. It can only compound and will launch counter violence. Gandhiji said, "An eye for an eye only ends up in making the whole world blind".

In this backdrop, United Nations has taken a very positive step. It should not allow it to become another ritualistic day organization. The philosophy and ideals of Mahatma should be propagated to the every corner of the world to make this world a better place to live. Gandhi does not any introduction to the world, but his philosophy does need an introduction.

Boost to Renewable Energy

The price of the crude oil is hovering around USD100 per barrel despite the slow down of US economy. The other reason for this high rate is the domestic problems of major oil producing nations and depreciation of USD. Indian economy is developing at a rate of 9 percent per anum. For sustaining this rate of growth India requires huge amount of energy. Beside the fossil fuel is depleting at a very fast pace. We need to have sustainable energy use policy. The other big consumer among developing countries is China. Both India and China are at the basic level of development. Both of them have to develop economic lot of around 2.5 billion of people. Therefore, the requirement of energy is going to increase only.

There is a clear cut case of development of alternative and renewable energy. Earlier, the investment in research and development of alternative energy was not lucrative. But with the high crude oil price and the threat of climatic change the investment in this field is feasible. There is need of huge investment in solar, wind, geothermal, tidal, micro-hydel, biomass, hydrogen energy. Concerted efforts of both National Government and private sector players are urgently required.

In such scenario, the Indian government has allotted rupees 10,460 crores (2.6 billion USD) for the development of new and renewable sources of energy in the country during the 11th five-year plan from 2007 to 2012. This is a big positive step. Government of India has been doing incremental effort for this sector. Probably, this boost in the allocation of resources in the current five year plan may go a long way.

Mithila Painting

Mithila is the land of Paag, Paan, Maach and Makhan (traditional maithil headgear, beetle leave, fish and a water fruit). It is the place where Sita was born and brought up. It is the land where Lord Ram fell in love. However, in modern days the Mithila or Madhubani painting has given Mithila a place of pride among the art world. Mithila painting is a very traditional art passed from generation to generation. Tulsidas has describe the intricate painting on the walls of Jankapur during the marriage of Shri Ram in his acclaimed Ramchartiamanas. This is an art practised by Maithil women. Few decades ago, girls learnt this art by making Aripan (floor painting) on different religious occasions or by painting around the main doors. Still in some villages, Aripan is seen and appreciated by all villagers on the occasion of “Devothan Ekadashi”. Some of them become more adept in this art and start teaching the next group of young girls. Mobility and nuclear family broke this tradition. This void has, however, been filled by the training institutes in Mithila painting. Secondary and college going girls take this Art as hobby ensuring continuous flow of accomplished artists.

Mithila painting has a rural origin and in the beginning only home-made colours were used. Colours are derived from clay, bark, leaves, berries and resins. Basically white, black, green and red colours were used. Colours were obtained from plants and resins. These plant extracts were then mixed with juice of banana tree or other gum for better adhesion of paint. Two types of brushes are used in drawing the painting. One is made of bamboo twigs sharpened at the tip. This is used for making thin lines (Kachni) and other minute details. The other is made by putting some cloth on bamboo tip and is utilized for filling up. Some experts perceive three streams of Mithila painting by use of colours. The first is by women of Brahmin community who use brighter hues. The second stream is that by Kayastha ladies, who use the same colour but in muted brightness. They basically use black and red colours. The third is by Dusadh community (watch man) which is a scheduled caste community. This is called “Godhana” style in Mithila painting. They use hand made paper dipped in the liquid of cow dung. This gives it a bit dull look. However, in modern day all three styles have intermingled. The colour scheme prevalent earlier is no more relevant. The easy availability of artificial colours in different shades and special nibs have given wings to the imagination of Mithila painters.

This tradition started when people used to paint the walls of their mud houses with murals of gods, goddesses and flora and fauna for beautifying their abode. The theme of Mithila painting is generally taken from the sacred texts. The Ramayana, the Mahabharata, Purans and some Tantric mythological tales provide splendid scope of this style of painting. Kohbar, Dasavtar, kamaldah, Krishna Leela, RAAS, Ram vivah. The motifs of Goddess Kali and Durga also find place because of prominently “Shakta” orientation of Maithils. These paintings serve an important spiritual function, creates auspicious and protective settings for the family’s rituals. Like the Kohbar, meaning nuptial room, is meant for protection of the newly wed couple, bless them in their conjugal life and bestow fertility. Kohbar painting has both mythological folk tales and tantric symbolism. The central theme in the Kohbar may be Sita Ram wedding/love or RadhKrishna Leela. Kohbar contains symbols of fertility and prosperity like bamboo tree, fish, peacock, elephant, turtle and lotus etc. take peripheral place in the Kohbar. No marriage is solemnized without the Kohbar painting. Dasavtar gives the ten manifestation of the Lord Vishnu. The subjugation of “Kaliya Nag” by Lord Krishna is also a favourite theme.

A colossal drought hit Bihar in 1962. During that period under the motivation of some NGO, maithil women for the first time painted on Paper. This became an instant hit and the Art community liked it very much. Thereafter there has been no looking back. This is now painted on Sarees, Salwar suits, Ties, handkerchief etc. Mithila painting on a pure silk Saree is a mature and sober fashion statement. Even the reputed greeting card brands do not miss to have Mithila painting designs on their cards for all occasions.

The villages of Jitwarpur and Ranti in Madhubani district have produced many widely acclaimed Mithila painters. In these villages, painting is done on a commercial scale. All sorts of painting ranging from portrait to landscape are painted. Sometimes paintings are made on commercial demands and sometimes just the shear imagination of the artists produce innovative painting. Ganga Devi depicted her journey from Madhubani, a small town in north Bihar to All India Medical Sciences, New Delhi. She came to Delhi for treatment of cancer she was suffering from. The train, doctors, hospital, syringe, medical ward everything she drew delicately. Her innovations were excellent, appealing and unique in many respects.. Jamuna Devi enjoyed painting animals especially cows. She painted some cows upside down. Some critics however did not appreciate such step thinking that it might disturb the originality of the folk painting of Mithila but majorities of them were in agreement with them. The other prominent painter are Karpoori Devi, Pushpa Kumari, Mahasundari Devi, Godavari Dutta and many more. The positive aspect about Mithila painting today is that it is supplementing income of many households, has brought out the rich cultural heritage of Mithila, has bestowed pride to Maithils and is enriching the canvas of Art world.

Indian Super Computer is fastest in Asia

The Super Computer EKA developed by Computational Research Labaratory, Pune has been adjudged 4th fastest in the world with the peak speed of 117.9 terraflop per second. The Computational Research Labaratory is a TATA subsidiary. The name EKA has been taken from the Sanskrit word meaning unity or one. EKA is a Hewlett Packard Cluster platform 3000 BL460c system. The innovation by CRL is the unique routing technology through which it has achieved this speed. The vista of super computers has traditionally been dominated by United States. But the forthcoming list of top super computers is expected to have new entrants from countries like Sweden and Germany.

The super computers have wide applications in Automative engineering, oil exploration, nanotechnology, drug synthesis, weather forecasting etc. These applications require huge amounts of mathematical computation at tremendous pace. Currently fastest super computers are:-

1. BlueGene/L System (IBM) US
2. BlueGene/P system, (IBM) Germany
3. Silicon Graphics (SGI), New Mexico
4. Eka, CRL (arm of Tata Sons) India.
5. HP Cluster Platform (Sweden

The significance of this Indian feat can be adjudged from the fact that the second fastest computer of India installed at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, is ranked 58th in the world.

Bravo India bravo!!!!! Kudos to Tatas!!!!

“JAANKARI” – RTI Act Innovated

The right to Information Act came into existence on 12th October 2005. After some reminders of the Judiciary, this Act was made operational in Bihar in June 2006 after framing of Rules etc. It came late in Bihar but it came with a bang. The bang was the innovative use of Information and Communication Technology for RTI Act.

Bihar is at the lowest level of development among states of Bihar. It has the lowest literacy rate. In this scenario, it is not easy for the larger populace to reap the benefits of revolutionary Right to Information Act. Many a time it has been felt that even writing simple application is beyond the capability of some individual. Even if he can write, he may not be aware about whom to address. The Government functioning is under veil of secrecy. The decision making process of the government is not easily comprehensible. In such a scenario “Jankaari” the ICT based RTI facilitaion centre comes handy. It is first of its kind in India. The Government of Bihar has collaborated with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited for this purpose. The general number 155311 can be dialled to reach “Jaankari”. The call can be made either from the residential telephone or from PCOs. In first case Rs. 10/- would be charged in the bill each time. While dialling from PCO the required card has to be purchased for paying the fee. The operator then gathers information from the caller and ask few questions and a RTI application to the concerned official is generated. You can know the status of your application subsequently by dialling the “Jaankari”. You can even appeal through them.

We may hope that this political will to unshackle the realm of governance to general public in Bihar would help in bringing Bihar up from the Abyss.

The functioning of “Jaankari” can be viewed from this Youtube video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pq3H5i6bkmk

Right to Information Act 2005

The most important act after independence of India is probably the introduction of the Right to Information Act 2005. The independence gave India the political space in the comity of nations. Expectations were high as is usual for the newly independent nations. Able guidance of contemporary national leaders steered India on the right path. Institutions were created with a lot of foresight and thought. The foundation of strong Union was envisaged to take care of the possible separatist tendencies of such a big nation. The administration became a huge monolith. The so called License permit Raj was established. The admixture of socialism and capitalism created unforeseen and undesired results. Despite independence, the Administration continued working behind the curtains. The people were left out of governance. This gave rise to corruption, ad-hocism and other mal-practices. Theoretically people were empowered but in real sense only a handful of people started reaping undue benefits. Vicious nexus of different interests colluded to bleed the nation. Transparency and probity hid behind the red-tape creating a fertile ground for breeding of corruption. Gradually, corruption became a way of life. People in general started losing faith in the Government machinery. Middle men made merry. Everything was possible at a cost. Nothing was possible without consideration. This was a very terrible situation for a nation.
The devolution of power by the way of Panchayati Raj Institutions came as a ray of hope. Hope was genuine because of the nearness of the governance. But the election politics on Panchayati level, caste-ism, lack of political will of State Governments, rule by proxies, inability to understand modern day governance and widespread illiteracy did not allow the Panchayati Raj system to provide the intended benefits.
In this gloomy scenario, the Right to Information Act 2005 came. This is a revolutionary Act and can be panacea of all ills of meal-governance. The need is to utilise this tool in an effective way. Alliance of intellectuals, common people, media can really make a difference by the help of this Act. Fortunately all the Government machinery has somehow established the necessary infrastructure for this Act. In the modern day information is the real empowerment. The crooks thrive on the denial or lack of information. Corruption spread its tentacles because of lack of information. Availability of information is the real empowerment of people. It is all more important in Democracy. Democracy is exercising of choice. Choice has to be informed. Good decision can be only made after having correct and related information.
The provisions of the Act is very simple. The fee for seeking information is reasonable. There is no fee for Below poverty line people. It does not ask the applicant the reason for asking information. The application format is simple. Information has to be provided in a time bound manner. Except for certain activities related to the State secret, commercial secret and relation with foreign governments, all other information can be obtained without much fuss. There is provision for pecuniary penalty for deliberately non-disclosure of information. Appellate authorities are in place to listen to the grievances relating to denial of information. The act also forces voluntary disclosure by all public authorities. This Act has the potential to herald India in a corruption free society. It will, of course, take time. Dissemination of information about this Act would go a long way in this regard. The need of the hour is to make people aware about this potent weapon. Bureaucracy would be forced to change by the pressure of this Act. The way India governs itself shall become different in coming years. Long live the Right to Information Act 2005.

More information about this Act can be obtained from http://www.rti.gov.in/

Self reliance of India in Cryogenic engine & GSLV

ISRO has achieved a significant milestone through the successful test of indigenously developed Cryogenic Stage, to be employed as the upper stage of India's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV). The test was conducted for its full flight duration of 720 seconds today (November 15, 2007) at Liquid Propulsion test facility at Mahendragiri, in Tamil Nadu. With this test, the indigenous Cryogenic Upper Stage has been fully qualified on the ground. The flight stage is getting ready for use in the next mission of GSLV (GSLV-D3) in It may be recalled that a ground test for 480 seconds of the complete stage was conducted on August 4, 2007. The indigenous Cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS) is powered by a regeneratively cooled cryogenic engine, which works on staged combustion cycle developing a thrust of 69.5 kN in vacuum. The other stage systems include insulated propellant tanks, booster pumps, inter-stage structures, fill and drain systems, pressurisation systems, gas bottles, command block, igniters, pyro valves and cold gas orientation and stabilisation system. Liquid Oxygen (LOX) and Liquid Hydrogen (LH2) from the respective tanks are fed by individual booster pumps to the main turbo-pump, which rotates at 39,000 rpm to ensure a high flow rate of 16.5 kg/sec of propellants into the combustion chamber. The main turbine is driven by the hot gas produced in a pre-burner. Thrust control and mixture ratio control are achieved by two independent regulators. LOX and Gaseous Hydrogen (GH2) are ignited by pyrogen type igniters in the pre-burner as well as in the main and steering engines. Apart from the complexities in the fabrication of stage tanks, structures, engine and its sub-systems and control components, CUS employs special materials like Aluminum, Titanium, Nickel and their alloys, bi-metallic materials and polyimides. Stringent quality control and elaborate safety measures have to be ensured during assembly and integration. Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) is the lead centre for the development of Cryogenic Upper Stage with the involvement of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) and other ISRO centres as well as several industries, both in public and private sector. The successful ground test of the indigenous Cryogenic Upper Stage for the full flight duration has validated the design robustness and performance adequacy for its use in GSLV.

source: http://www.pib.nic.in/

Mithila

Mithila is a region of Bihar comprising of district of Madhubani, Darbhanga, Samastipur, Saharsa and some parts of Muzaffarpur. The region is in the northern Bihar. Ordinarily, we can say that it is the region north of Ganga. The History and Tradition of Mithila dates back to the earliest dawn of Human civilization. In olden Days the region extended upto the Janakpur where the mythological king Raja Janak ruled. It is the land of Janak, Sita, Gautam, Yajnavalkya, Ahalya, Vidyapati, Bhola Lal Das, Surya Narayan Singh, Lalit Narayan Mishra, Baba Nagarjuna and many more.

The people of Mithila are known as maithil and they speak maithili language. Mithila is geographically very comfortable land. The land is very fertile, soil is easy to till, there is abundance of water, rivers of Kamla, bagamati, and Gandak put a layer of "pank" every year adding the nutritional content in the soil. Its borders touches the neighbouring country Nepal. And Maithils are on either side of the border. In Nepal, they are called Madheshi. This region has the socio-cultural and matrimonial relationship transcending the border. In yore, the citizen of either side had property in the other country. But with the tightening of Citizenship and other property law, presently, there are only few people having ancestral land in the other country. Mithila is very green. Orchards are still there and trees of Mango, black berry, lichi, guava etc are available in plenty. The crop scheme has paddy, wheat, maize and almost every pulse and edible oil crop. The area is rich in milk. The description of Mithila will be incomplete without mentioning that Mithila is the land of Paan, Maachh and Makhan. It is said that it is the only region in the world which grow Makhan. Fresh water fish like Rohu, Katla, ichna, pothi and others are available in plenty in ponds and canals of Mithila.The nature has bestowed on Mithila greenery and agricultural richness.Despite the gift of the nature, this region is agriculturally backward because of small landholding, migration of labourers and the sluggish and depressed peasantry. The respect for peasantry has vanished.

The agricultural richness of Mithila has made the Maithil easy going (aram talab). The population comprises of many castes and there is mixture of so called upper and lower castes. A definite hiatus may be felt in the upper and lower caste in Mithila which is similarly true for whole of Bihar. People of upper castes are generally more educated and more prosperous whereas the people of so called lower castes are are less educated and less prosperous. However, exceptions to this generality are becoming more frequent. Insame prejudice against the lower castes is gradually disappearing in Mithila and so is the prejudice against the families of Zamindars. The caste cleavage is, however, still apparent in the lack of community feeling. People of this area recognizes themselves as Brahmin, Rajput, Kayastha etc rather than Maithils as compared to their compatriot in Bengal (Bengalis) or Punjab (Punjabis). Maithils are more inclined to philosophical and intellectual pursuits rather than towards undertaking labour intensive works. They feel themselves more suited to white collar jobs.

Maithili language has been included recently in the Schedule VIII of the constitution. We can expect that the impetus generated by the inclusion in this Schedule will bolster the prospect and status of Maithili. It is a complete language. All ingredients of a complete language i.e. the script, grammar and epics are present in Maitili. It has its own script known as "Mithilakshar" or "Tirhutta". It has the complete grammar and epics. In the present days, only few people know the script and Maithili is written in Devnagari script. Despite the saying that:- "Mithila mein rahika je nai bajathi maithili, Kan par jhituka lagay satta sa khainch li", not every people speak Maithili. Even at the house Hindi is preferred and regrettebly the Sanskriti of language would not be passed over to the next generation. The positive torch-bearers are required to help in preserving the language. I hope to place the script soon on this page.

Religion wise Mithila is inhabitated by people of all religions but dominant groups are that of Hindu and Muslim. They have lived harmoniously. There have not been any major communal tension.The procession on the day of Muharram and Ramnavami are taken out with equal ease. Hindus promises to send their sons in the procession of Muharram for their welfare or if they are rewarded by one.

There are some exclusive features of Mithila. The first among that is the Mithila Painting or Madhubani Painting. This art has passed through generations since time immemorial. The Kohbar and aripan have always been there. But this painting came into prominence only after the great famine of 1962 when Mithila painting has been commercially exploited. Presently, almost all the greeting card makers including archies and hallmark have greeting cards with Mithila painting. It has also earned its repute as an instrument of interior decoration and fabric painting. In this painting mostly the homegrown colours are used and famous subjects are Ram vivaha, Raslila, Ram Darbar and Kamaldah etc. The symbolism is also used extensively like for the occasion of child birth or marriage the painting would have bamboo which reproduces itself rapidly. The second is the festival of Chauth Chandra which is celebrated in respect of Moon on 4th day of Bhadra. Ardhya is given to the Moon in the evening. People pay their regards to the first sight of moon on that day with fruit in their hand and chant:- “singha prasen mavadhi singha jamvavtahata sukumarak marodi tapasyah khasya mantakah”. The other exclusive festivals are Jitiya (for welfare of son), Haritalika Teej vrata, Vata Savitri (for welfare of husband), Madhushravani (Equivalent of Honeymoon and has special significance for newly wed couple). The third is the Saurath Mela. At certain conjunctions of the stellar bodies every summer, thousands of Maithil Brahmins from far and near assemble at a place called Saurath, a village approximately 6 km from Madhubani to settle the marriage of their sons and daughters.

The peaceful nature of the larger populace of Mithila is a very positive feature for Bihar. Despite all the bad name for our ancient state in recent past the Mithila remained relatively peaceful abode.

"Be Positive" is the Phrase of Life

Positive thinking radiates the positive cosmic energy. This nurtures the people and cleanse environment around us. I CAN DO or WE CAN DO emit waves of energy. We can change ourselves into a powerhouse by consciuos and systematic generation of this superior energy. Like conservation of energy, we can conserve our positivities by reducing the consumption of negativities.

Positive attitude strengthens the individual and makes him confident. Positive thinking does not merely mean repeating the words like things would be alright, I would achieve my goal etc. Positive thought is a trait in totality. It shows the way how a person carries himself/herself in real world situation. The dedication towards self and the people around him can be the barometer. In my opinion taking the best possible care of one's health is the most important positve aspect of the personality. One has to be physically and mentally capable to send out good ripples.

This world is inhabitated by living beings and among which human being has been bestowed with superior intellect. This superior intellect makes us more responsible. Our responsibility towards other living being and towards our fellow human being gains additional importance. We have to share this challenge. We have to make this world a better place to live in. We have to start from ourselves. To make the world better, we have to work at MICRO level. The MACRO level change can be effected by MICRO level conditioning.

In the present day world, people are dissatisfied. They are dissatisfied with the contradictions and conflicts in this world. There is pulls and pressures on morality, honesty and ideal societal behaviour. I am amazed to see the cleavage between affluence and misery. The worldly abundance shines with the darkness of abject poverty. A bewildering number of people in this world is illeterate and many of them do not get even a square meal. For them healthcare is a luxury. Several of them are so unfortunate that they never know the reason of their bad health and ultimate death. There is oft-quoted clash of civilizations. Climate is changing for the worse. Trade policies are skewed. Geopolitics has become narrower. Wish of an individual has prominence over the legitimate interest of the nation. The dirction of technological development is not guided by the larger good. Everyday, we are shocked by some wild human behaviour, we are ashamed of some tale of deprivation and we are astonished by some barbaric act. There is rampant prevalence of extreme human behaviour. Reasonableness has taken a back seat. Individuals are gone. They are just groups, gangs, tribe, party, crowd, herd. Nobody is applying the reasoning and adheres to ethics and morality.

These are the difficulties in continuous and natural flow of positive energy in the human being. Now we have to TRY to develop positivities. The human mind is the repository of immense possibilities. We have to inflect and realize its potential. Starting point could be we ourselves. We are a part and parcel of the society, country, world, universe and beyond.

General Analysis of the situation reveals that most of our woes are man-made. This can be rectified by dedicating ourselves to ourselves. If we become better, the world is certainly going to be better. Our combined positive cosmic energy can transform the world. John F. Kenedy said, "our problems are man-made and, therefore, they may be solved by the man. No problem of human destiny is beyond human being". I have complete faith in this saying and I hope that you should have more faith in this saying.
Shall come back with more positivities......