Great is the power of thought

Read somewhere, found worth sharing-
Thoughts can be more powerful than the mightiest weapons.Thoughts rule the world when translated into action.People re-shape their destinies just by their thoughts.
Let's analyse our thoughts.The scientific guys say that about 30,000-40,000 thoughts cross our mind in a day which are of 4 basic types:-
Positive thoughts:Focussed ones.They carry best intentions for ourselves and others.
Necessary thoughts: "I must get the notes xeroxed" or "I must return that book at the library" etc
Waste thoughts: Thinking too much about the past or worrying too much about the future.Thoughts that others spill out as gossip.
Negative thoughts: Feelings of anger, fear, ego, greed, sadness, doubt, regret and unease.They drain away our energy.
A large % of our thoughts is negative or waste which becomes the root cause of our stress.
So, by increasing the quota of positive thoughts, we can expeience a relaxed state of mind.


And here comes a stupid story...
Once a yogi and his disciple were in a big city.They had no money either for food or night stay.The disciple was perplexed.The yogi smiled and assured him that everything will be alright.
For a few seconds, the yogi sat in meditation and after opening his eyes said "Follow me, we are going to stay in a hotel and eat there too."
After sometime, they found themselves at a hotel.On hearing their footsteps, the manager came out and said "I believe you have no money.But i can allow you to stay if you work in the kitchen."
"Fine",the yogi responded.
The disciple asked him"Did you use any magic?"
Yogi said"I wanted to show you how the power of thought works.When you think in concentration , your thought materialises." Therefore, one should be very careful about what one thinks of because...

Your thoughts become your words.

Your words become your actions.

Your actions become your habits.

Your habits become your character.

(Funda zada ho gya na?)

college tour to nainital

The news was in the air since a week but..."Bete I'm sorry", the active HOD had told us (Because our HOD who suffers from Acute Indecisiveness and apathy, was on leave, perhaps on a vacation with biwi n kids).But our hardwork n perseverance finally paid...(If i went on to describe the term "hardwork" here, it would take 3-4 blogposts ;) Phew!finally, we were going and the venue decided was Nainital (but there was still that "doubt ka keeda" till we sat in the bus at midnight.)
Then came the night of departure.All set.Unending advice from mom and dad. Happiness on bro's face...shukar hai rab da kuchh din di rahat milegi...
The bus as expected was late but it was late beyond imagination.Scene at home(11:35 p.m.) -
Worried expression on mom's face.Dad was cool.Bro was loosing patience.

Bro: bas bohot ho gya tera...chal ab dafa ho jaa
Those two hours of endless wait...sara balance udd gya do ghanto mein...
me: abe kahan ho yaar?
Friend on phone: bas 15 min mein pohoch rahe hain.
me:2 ghante ho gye, abhi tak tu 15 min mein hi aa raha hai?
Friend:  #*&%^&#
me: ok ok pohochne se 5 min pehle missed maar diyo
Bro: Nikal jaa ghar se


Then late at night, we boarded the bus and headed to the destination.As expected, the journey was far more fun than the destination itself.All that excitement didn't let anyone sleep...everyone cheering, shouting n all...endless sessions of games..n..songs..not for a nanosecond, did silence prevail.

We didn't know when it dawned.The view was breathtaking....the sun painting the sky with strokes of red.(None of us is normally awake so early.)
After having a light breakfast on the way, our energy levels stabilized and then i took a nap.It was then that the length of the journey came to our notice.

By noon we reached bhimtal, all tired by the journey, where we stayed at Seahawk.

After lunch, we went out to have a look at Bhimtal lake.The real spots were due for the next day.

Came the much-awaited next day.Early in the morning we reached Nainital.

In the little time we had, we tried to explore as many places we could...to name a few...Cave Garden, G.B.Pant zoo, Mango lake,Tibetan market, snow view, St. John church,a masjid, a gurudwara, Naina Devi Temple...beautiful

                                                                                                 Tibetan market

                                                                                          Naina Devi Temple

                                                                                                          Naini lake

                                                                         Nainital lake

                                                                                          a pheasant at the zoo

We should do a little research before visiting a place...
A friend had told "Don't dare to miss the Governor House."
So me and 3 of my friends went there walking nearly 5 kms.We were cursing the governor  to have built his residence so far.But we were happy that the hardwork will be worth it.All drained of energy but with loads of excitement still in us, we reached there, to find that the Governor is in for stay! :(  This snatched away all the enthusiasm.On the way, we had asked a dozen people about it.Everyone praised but nobody cared to tell us that visitors are not allowed till a week.
Anyway, we returned to the resort late evening where the DJ was awaiting us.Later, we relaxed at the bonfire with steaming cups of coffee,in the chilly night.
I wrote this all for i wanted to capture every bit of it :)

Be You

Above all, be yourself
Be, but don't just exist
There's more to life
Than just being another
Name on the list.
Be active, alive and
Adventurous, boisterous,
Brave and bold
Confident, cool and
Clear-headed, daring,
Determined and decisive
Eager, earnest and
Eloquent, free-thinking,
Fresh and fun-loving,
But, above all,
BE YOU

-Anonymous

(u must be thinking...abe kya yaar, saare achhe achhe words mila rakhe hain, kya tha ye,poem or thought, a mantra or what? But somebody said to read it from time to time)
But  do words really cast some magic?

Smell the Coffee

Hi all,I read this little story somewhere and found it worth sharing......so here it goes...
A group of young professionals thought of giving a pleasant visit to their former teacher.After greetings n all...were exchanged and general conversation was going on,the teacher observed that all of them...at some point or the other,complained of a stressful life.
He went up to his kitchen and made them coffee.He poured it in cups-some stylish expensive ones and some ordinary.As expected,most of them readily picked up the expensive ones,as everyone wants the best for him.
The teacher remarked-That's the problem,my friends.Your life is coffee,poured in cups of money,jobs and societal position.You should be concerned with coffee.But you are envying your cups which are just tools to hold it. So smell the coffee...take in its aroma...as Content Matters.Not the Container!

The Two Wolves

An elderly Cherokee Native American was teaching his grandchildren about life.He said to them-"A fight is going on inside me,its a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.

One represents anger, regret, greed, inferiority, lies, arrogance, superiority.The other wolf stands for love, peace, hope, kindness, truth, compassion, faith.The same fight is going on inside you and every other person too. "

They thought about it for a minute and then one child asked his grandfather-"Which wolf will win?"

The old Cherokee simply replied-"The one i feed"

On a rainy thursday...

The alarm rang.I hit the snooze button.Five minutes later, it again asked me to get up.But a lazy me, again punched it off.The loop repeated for sometime until the loop terminating condition arrived:i finally made up my mind to get off the bed.6.30 am.The view outside soothed the freshly awoke eyes.Soft continuous rain, cool air n mild waft of the mitti ki pleasant khushbu.

I decided to stay back at home and enjoy the day, sipping hot coffee with choco-cookies, going thru the newspaper without worrying about missing the bus today,a late breakfast, reading a nice book therafter, going thru my collection of old newspaper cuttings and also, solve some maths exercises that are pending.

Except the last one, these thoughts, simply thinking about them is a state of pure bliss.

As the entire day stretched before me, i thought of putting it down here, it feels good, i don't know why.Perhaps, its the assurance that its a good way of killing time.

I am reminded of a famous video called the sunscreen.I tried uploading it here sometime ago, but it was taking a lot of time.So, those of you who haven't seen it yet, m giving the link, and those who have seen it already, go through it once more and feel good about everything.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfq_A8nXMsQ

Now, after hours of endless rain, what's left is a beautiful clean sky and a cool, little chilly breeze.

And rain mixed with soft comforting music...what more can one ask for...

So m gonna dive into my collection and bring out some calming tracks to listen alongwith another cup of coffee.you want some?

life these days

i had been planning as hell to write a post (same way as i plan daily to study...kal se pakka!)but time wouldn't let me.reminds me of the lyrics of purani jeans-vo karna planning roz nayi yaar...nice song.

Instead of time i shud have used the term-assignments...engineers ka aadha dimag assignments banane me hi jal jata hai aur baki ka aadha....mba k sapne lene mein...

Anyway,dint go to college today.was not feeling well.so,finally got a chance to post something.yay :) (getting ill was not that bad) Moreover,had a test today,that too my fav subjct IF...ok lets leev this part...(or my bro wud accuse me of takin a leave purposefully ;)

There are more reasons to b happy today...most imp one being that bhai came out as a university topper(now he has a reason to shout at me for not studin...n i may hav to hear that bhai-se-kuchh-seekho stuff) All cheerful scene at home.But we dint have that customary hindi movie scene:

"Maa main first class first pass ho gaya hu"    followed by the jug jug jiyo beta

"Khade khade muh kya dekh rahe ho, jaao, ab to sab ka muh meetha karna hai."
"Parameswar ki kripa hai, masterjee"

here's a dose of typical filmy masala with south-indian chutney....watch till d end

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfR3N-HB4i4

(aaargghhh...uploading here takes lots of time)

Heard that really-breaking news about Giancarlo Fisichella finally givin Force India their first ever points in Formula 1 on their 30th attempt ??

jhatka!!! i know...sabko laga tha..most people dint even know that india had a F1 team!

I wish i had a 'real' money plant in my backyard coz m planning to buy this.again planning:D but things are deceiving sometimes.

i realised very early that putting a calvin-n-hobbes strip in every post is not gonna make it intersting...so m on the hunt for more masala and more audience as the blog is in its formative years rite now...

right now m reading sonal kalra's sunday column in ht...i find her article calming yet amusing...kya likhti hai boss...every1 relates to it.

And 'kite runner' is my nxt target

And today is Gurupurab( Guru granth sahib's ).Wish u all a very happy gurupurab :)

n belated happy Ganesh chaturthi too.

Blame it on kismat

Situation 1 :-

Kid : just 2 more marks and i would have crossed that bloody topper for once in my life.....but meri toh kismat hi bekaar hai...

Situation 2:Girls out on a shopping spree

Girl : Meri choice ka kuchh nahi milta iss poore sheher mein.meri toh kismat hi sadi hui hai...

Situation 3: A pathetic punjabi singer singing in a voice more pathetic than the channel itself

Guy watching tv: Ye aatthvi fail log bmw par ghoomte hain...aur hum engineers baith ke integration kar rahe hain

Mom: aisa nahi hai, all your friends have managed to get respectable jobs with handsome salaries

Guy: and me??? still lazing around at home...saala kismat hi kharab hai

In different situations in our life, it happens often that we blame things on kismat.

Someone has to take the blame and its lot more easy to blame life and kismat, as they dont give back a reply or yell at you for being such a moron.

So its a good way to get relief from all that you wanted but couldn't get anyhow...

But i never understood this kismat theory till date.I mean..you have resources,you have things more than you actually require and most importantly,you have a brain...y not use it.

Okay,don't shout at me for this "free-pravachan"(for which i shud pay u to listen), m not intending at showering fokat ki advice on anyone.just putting down what i feel.

Well, i guess it's all a game of satisfaction and faith in yourself.

Some people believe that if blaming on destiny gives you mental peace,then why not?
because it's all for attaining peace in stressful times.

And then people listen to all those "Songs of Hope" :-

(even i have my own collection ;) )

1.Allah ke bande-Kailash kher

2.A hero lies in you-Mariah Carey...this one's amazing

3.saaiiyaan ve-from the movie tara rum pum

4.hai jazba junoon toh tu himmat na haar

jo kare justjoo vo chhuye aasmaan -by the band "Junoon"

5."lakshya"-title track

6.Yaha ke hum sikander- movie : jo jeeta wohi sikander

7.A song that goes like...

Duniya maane bura toh goli maaro,

Darr ke jina hai koi jina yaaro

Yaaro pe sada jaan karo fida....

8.Dil Chahta hai-title track...cool

Anyway, have you ever felt like blaming anything on your destiny??You may also share your collection of such songs ;)

After a long break...

Finally, my college started today after a long break of one complete month + 10 days 25 minutes and 18 seconds.(engineers are precise at everything,you know) Okay,that may not be too long for some but for a person as vella* as me,they were like unending years of sleeping, eating, and repeating with boredom and berojgari as icing on the cake (And,you know,that old saying..idle mind = devil's workshop).

For the jaankaari of my audience-

*vella = a person who has got nothing to do(except making other's lives miserable) is called vella in punjabi

How many books can one read, how many movies can one watch, how much tv can one view...

and that too when shows like sach ka saamna and Rakhi ka swyamwar are on air

Anyway, i would have watched if it was cyrus broacha ka swyamwar, or leonardo dicaprio ka swyamwar, or david beckham or even brett lee.

So, after all this, the most eagerly awaited day came(guys are more eager.....should i mention the word "birdwatching" or checking out new chicks).Subah-subah saj-dhaj ke, everyone boarded the bus to college, which was khacha-khach full with new faces.As we reached college(read central jail) our excitement levels were pulled down by the scene at college.Freshers, both guys and girls, being treated as "nazuk kaliyaan" by the professors,authorities and staff.

Not even intro yaar! That's too much. Now, it isn't like...isse vo ghis jayenge.Neither are we gonna eat them up with chilli sauce and heinz ketchup.

Who's gonna tell them, kis professor ko kaise patana hai, how much buttering is required on whom, who is a heartless moron, which one has the most beautiful soul, who is dhokhebaaz, least and most attendence is required in which subjects, best places for different tasks, best authors, about notes,inside stories and so on...

Chalo agar baad mein ye sab ho bhi jaye, but hamara itna bada fun element khatam hi kar diya.

But koi baat nahi, hum bhi apni seniorgiri execute kar ke hi rahenge.

Okay, there have been some serious cases regarding ragging fuchhas...like the recent aman kachroo's case-

and many more...

Kanpur

Student admitted to the hospital after ragging

Nursing College, Anantapur

Student committed suicide due to ragging. The parents of the victim forced her to go to college even they were knowing about the ragging accident.

Stanley Medical College, Chennai

21 students suspended for ragging MG College,Kerala

Girl attempts suicide after being ragged by seniors on regular basis.

GMC, Jammu

First year student ragged by senior girls which led to tissue injury.

St Soldier Therapy and Rehabilitation College in Jalandhar

The case of sexual harassment. Students refuse to die down. Case registered.

Mallabum Inst. Of Technology

Student was forced to consume narcotics.

IHM Kolkatta

Senior students forced Ashumendra to consume alcohol and non-vegetarian food. When he refused, he was slapped.He sustained serious injuries on several parts of the body.later he was left on the railway tracks near Sealdah railway station.

Lekin........the more you prevent something, the more it happens.

so, why don't these guys make ragging official ??? like... in presence of authorities.

hence, ensuring fun and safety......that is....sab khushh.What do you say??Shouldn't it be made a healthy tradition??

Funda zada ho gya na?? koi baat nhi.Talking about "love aajkal", i watched it expecting it to be a hilarious affair, but turned out, it was just one of those @#$%^# romantic hindi movies.Moreover...the punjabi they use...(actually "overuse")...in hindi movies.. is pathetic.

Now, do you expect me to keep talking endlessly? and that too on monday...the most horrible day of the week??

Signing off for today :)

Rethinking religion

The topic is rotten,i know.

And brings out a dull,monotonous,stupid and terribly boring image of the content but Relax!!! I am not going to start off a boring debate on what is right...what is wrong...what should be done and what not...

and i don't bear any personal grudges about anything or anyone in particular.I am just expressing my perception about it.(No hard feelings please)

The most debated topic is here.Actually i am too extremely bored of it but still wished to collect all my thoughts and opinions about it, settle the dispute once n for all and come to a conclusion inside me.(this means...take a sigh..no further posts on it :) )

In the name of religion and faith some intelligent guys(or they seem to be so) are having a ball.Fake babas everywhere, making innovative stories about different gods, goddesses, aatma, dharma, shudhhi, moksha-prapti...(a mixture of all such complex words they use....as normal language doesn't create that effect),their unusual ways of blessing people...baseless predictions about people's lives, career, marriage, offsprings and so on.Asking them to perform different sort of rituals and acts...thus,making good money in name of donations.

And the most disturbing fact...that people believe them..God knows why??

In villages,its understandable that literacy levels are not very appreciable.So people getting into these things is justified(though it should not be) but the shocking scene is that we have witnessed some well-educated people being a part of superstitious practices.

Some time ago,i came across a news report informing me that a devotee of goddess Kali cut his tongue and presented it to the goddess,in a temple in West Bengal.

But that was not it.I searched for such stuff and was horrified to find an endless list of these practices by hardcore religious fanatics.

Some of them included-

• Drinking goat blood directly from its body so that Goddess Kali descends upon the drinker (images can be viewed here ...watch at your own risk )
• A rural Indian doctor beheaded a five-year-old girl as part of a bizarre ritual to help a villager produce healthy male heirs.
• Unmarried daughters to plow parched fields naked in a bid to embarrass the
  weather gods to bring some badly needed monsoon rain
• Mormom temple garments to be worn as part of Endowment ceremony
• Scientology e-meter and jewish kaparot

I also don't understand the "confession box" thing in churches.Its like washing off all your sins so you can commit fresh ones.

Coming back to the topic...(I tend to get off-track...forgive me for that)

This topic is such that "Millions of people = Millions of views".And one cannot dare to share one's views! Because if you do that people's minds will run at light's speed to form countless opinions about you and you maybe even get regarded as some insane atheist or whatever.So the key is to keep shut at such discussions and observe other people clashing with each other(relegion Vs. reason)

Some people say that God or anything supernatural does not exist.And its just a myth created by some intelligent people so that man does not become boastful of things he accomplishes.....(i mean...stuff like that...to induce all desirable qualities in man).But the trick went wrong i guess....and way too far??

So i guess, humanity is the only religion.somebody has said-

"Think good

Be good

Do good

-this is true religion"

I don't know where to end...

Various religious issues still wait to be resolved like equal rights for homo n bi-sexuals,capital punishment,inter-faith marriages,ritual abuse and many more.This means more debating....(but not here anymore)

Pearls of Wisdom

Some of my favourite quotes by great people-
Start your day with the first one...

• We live in an awesome world, make it an awesome day;

Live simply, Love generously, Care deeply, Speak kindly, Leave the rest to God

• First they ignore you; then they laugh at you; then they fight you; then you win

- M.K. Gandhi

• If the wind will not serve, take to the oars.

-Latin proverb

• If A is a success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z; work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut

-Albert Einstein

• A ship in harbour is safe but that is not what ships are made for.

-John.A.Shedd

• Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game

-from the movie A cinderella story(2004)

• If you can't ignore an insult, top it; If you can't top it, laugh it off; If you can't laugh it off, then its probably deserved

-J.Russell Lynes

• I had the blues because i had no shoes until, upon the street, i met a man who had no feet -----read it n u wud never b sorry for things that u don't have

• 残り物には福がある。 Nokorimono ni wa fuku ga aru. Literally: Luck exists in the leftovers.
• 門前の小僧習わぬ経を読む。 Mon zen no kozō narawanu kyō wo yomu. Literally: An apprentice near a temple will recite the scriptures untaught.

-Japanese proverbs

• A drop of water shall be returned with a burst of spring.
• Since light travels faster than sound, people appear bright until you hear them speak