Man who led lights-off campaign

BHOPAL: The near total success of Earth Hour-2010 at the Betwa Apartments here on Saturday evening could well be attributed to an active Welfare Society of the apartment complex and its secretary N.R. Godse in particular.

   Godse, 61, a retired bank manager, is a member of one of the 56 families that reside in Betwa Apartments and has been living there for the last 4 years.

   After WWF India contacted him in his capacity as secretary of the Association to help make Earth Hour a success, Godse took it upon himself to ensure that residents switched off their lights between 8.30 and 9.30 PM. The association distributed candles to the residents and informed them that they should come down at the designated time after switching off the lights. "Initially, the association thought that we could cut off power supply from the mains but then decided against it. Something like this should be voluntary and should not be forced", he said.

   There was bound to be resistance to the idea but Godse, then, thought of a novel way to ensure compliance. Twenty-two children - all aged under 10 – were roped in by Godse to go door to door, appealing to residents to switch off their lights at the designated time. "I told them if someone asks you why are you doing this, tell them that its for us (the children)", he said. "I have lived my life, the effects of indiscriminate exploitation of the environment would be seen in the future", he added.

   The Welfare Society also organised festival celebrations, besides, celebrating January 26 and August 15. The Society gave out clothes to Bangladeshis. The 7 storey apartment has 10 flats.

courtesy: Rahul.Noroha@hindustantimes.com

प्रेरणा

सदा मुस्कराना और प्यार करना

गुणी जनों का सम्मान पाना

बच्चों के दिल में रहना

सच्चे आलोचकों से स्वीकृति पाना

झूठे दोस्तों की दगाबाज़ी को सहना

खूबसूरती को हरदम सराहना

दूसरों में नई ख़ूबियाँ तलाशना

दूसरों के लिये ख़ुद को अर्पित करना

उत्साह के साथ खिलखिला कर हँसना

खेलते हुए मस्ती भरे तराने गाना

मानवता के लिए मर मिट जाना

पर सच्चे नागरिक बनना और बनाना
------०--------

( उपरोक्त खूबियाँ है श्री जगत बिस्ट में )

प्रस्तुति -
जय प्रकाश पाण्डेय

Enlightened Citizenship

A Treasure-Trove

A Must Visit Website

Illumine has launched a website on Enlightened Citizenship. This is an attempt to invite people into the shared space of enlightened citizenship.

The spiritual and philosophical pillars of enlightened citizenship were laid down by Swami Ranganathananada. The website provides his extensive biography and a rich glimpse into his works.

Enlightened Citizenship is a treasure-trove of writings and talks of Mr V Srinivas - the founder CEO and lead researcher of Illumine - who has been deeply engaged in actualizing Swami Ranganathananda's "Science of Human Possibilities" in the form of constructs, knowledge tools, and institutional models. He believes that this translation will enable different segments of society to realize the promise of this new science in their day-to-day life.

The website is a compendium of a series of Foundation Notes bringing out the nuances of the enlightened citizen ideal.

Enlightened Citizenship is one of the most potent weapons we have to fight corruption and apathy in our public services. Accordingly, the website contains valuable interpretive presentations of Swami Vivekananda, Swami Ranganathananda and Mr Srinivas on enlightened citizenship and public administration.

It has also a whole section dedicated to enlightened citizenship and education as one of the critical challenges facing us is embedment of Citizenship Thinking in tomorrow's India (our students and children). 

The website also provides a window to Project Citizen SBI - a gigantic transformative exercise of India's largest Bank.

 The site is anchored by Mr V Srinivas and managed by Illumine Lab Communications - a division of Illumine Knowledge Resources. It may be reached at http://www.enlightenedcitizenship.org/

The CitizenSBI Blog congratulates Team Illumine for putting up this wonderful site of immense value in public domain and strongly recommends it to all our readers.

CoolBisht / Indore

END PAIN, NOT LIFE

Can we provide the healing touch? Can we be the healer and save a life?

A frail woman, an officer with State Bank of Indore, just after completion of Citizen SBI programme the other day, walked up to the facilitator and holding her hand, confessed that just two days back she was on the verge of committing suicide. While her tears continued to flow, she added that now after going through the programme she has found her inner strength and has realised that life is after all not so bad and there are others who have faced life worse than hers and have valiantly and happily lived a full life.

All her problem was that she has no children, though she is undergoing treatment for the same and her husband, though, ‘he cares’, is upset with her due to some family disputes. Her problems had become bigger and more important than life itself, which she was ready to end, while not bothering to find solutions to her problems. Life thus was being treated by her, very callously; as she fails to count the umpteen blessings it has also showered upon her.

Inadequate response to such deadly thoughts leads to disasters. Knowing this, Mr. Jagat Bisht, AGM, SBLC, Indore, immediately called her to his cabin and counseled her against thinking of taking to such an extreme step, in his usual calm, cool and compassionate manner. Mr. Bisht listened to her completely, gave her his valuable time and advice over a cup of tea, made her feel that life is worthwhile and that she has many people who care for her, viz, her mother, brother and sister, the faculty also and suggested her to approach them for help, confide in them and speak to them frequently. He also asked the facilitator to note her mobile number and to keep in constant touch with her.

A little care, sensitivity and humanity shown towards a person who considers herself a failure in life and is ready to put an end to it, can work wonders and save a precious life.

A Better Life

Life is meant for enjoying and not for ending just because of some paltry problems that can be easily solved. Problems galore, but solutions are within reach.

A dead end while driving means the person has to turn right, left or take a reverse. So it is with life, on reaching a dead end, if one does not turn to any of the side, it is suicide. When one door closes, there are many more that are open. However if one wallows in self pity, the tears in the eyes blurs vision of the new and open doors that promise a better and joyful life.

In this busy world, with tensions and stress literally killing the softer feelings of love, most of us are unavailable to our near and dear ones. Expression of tender feelings of love, kindness and humanity is virtually missing. The pain that each person goes through remains unsaid, since there is no one to listen and as the pain becomes more intense the instant remedy seems to end life.

The inner turmoil is so unbearable that death by burning oneself, drinking acid, slitting the wrist or hanging oneself appears less painful! And all because, no one cared or had the time to provide some solace in any form to the troubled soul.

A twelve year old due to fear of failure in his exams and the resultant fury of his father hangs himself! The boy has yet to experience the beauty of life and is still raw to understand its purpose but cruel words and actions have forced him to give up his life at such a tender age!

Is one conscious of the effects of his own behavior on his own near and dear ones? Should one wake up only when one has lost a dear one? The choice, no doubt is one’s own. The suicide of a dear one definitely will have a drastic impact on one’s life also.

When living conditions are adverse, animals hibernate, before which they prepare vigorously for the same. It is good to foresee the future and prepare for it. However, if sudden developments throws one overboard it is better to pause, introspect and prepare one self to face the challenge. In fact, the body, mind and intellect must be in readiness always, to face unexpected challenges, which is ensured by a constant process of evolution, within one self. Many paths lead to evolution- positive thinking, yoga, meditation and other self development techniques, which can be adopted as per the taste.

A Proper Mindset
The situations in life may not be in our control but our mindset is. And with our mindset in our hands, any adversity can be transformed into a blessing! A proper mindset sees life in its true perspective and never feels helpless.

History has recorded tragedies in the life of all great men and women - bitter childhoods, frustrated youth, neglected old age - but had they thought of suicide, they would not have created history! Their lives may have been worse than that of the person wanting to end life.

There are umpteen number of cases day in and out, in newspapers and magazines of people, with major physical handicaps, without both eyes, limbs, confined to wheelchairs, yet looking straight at life and living every moment not only for oneself but also as a service for others.

The harsh reality is that physical handicap can be overcome, but mental handicap due to one’s own negative thoughts cannot be cured by anyone other than the person himself. It is only one’s own choice to change that can do away with mental disability.

People take their blessings for granted- a healthy body, two hands, two legs, two eyes, two ears, a heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, free movement of the body, the many relatives we have- parents, siblings, spouse, children, cousins, aunts, uncles, friends, in-laws, acquaintances, a good job with a good salary, a house, car, bank balance and on it goes! So many things to feel grateful! Yet, a small adverse event pushes a person to suicide. Appreciating what one has and being thankful for it is the only key to happiness.

In the tremendous rush of life, can we pause for some time and turn our attention to our self, ponder for a while, feel thankful for all that we have and share our goodness with others, provide some relief to a person in pain— a kind word would do, a smile can help, a little giving can save a life!

Can we provide the healing touch? Can we be the healer and save a life? We talk about saving water, fuel, electricity, other resources, but what about life, precious life? If there be no life what is the use of all these resources?

Can we replace hatred with love, impatience with tolerance, cruelty with kindness, ambition with hope, and fear with faith? Can we trust the greater purpose of life to live with joy and peace with a sense of universal brotherhood? Can we nourish our life and that of others with faith, kind deeds, wisdom and righteousness and trust that it is purity in thoughts words and deeds that saves life.

Anything of beauty holds no meaning without a life to appreciate it! When we respect and love life we save life. With all its ups and downs, life is beautiful when we believe it to be so.

As said rightly by Colette, ‘What a wonderful life I’ve had. I only wish I’d realised it sooner.’

CONTRIBUTED BY Ms. HARINA, FACULTY, STATE BANK LEARNING CENTER, INDORE

'' सत्यम -शिवम् -सुन्दरम ''

जीवन में सत्य, शिव और सुंदर के थोड़े से बीज बोओ। यह मत सोचना कि बीज थोड़े से हैं, तो उनसे क्या होगा! क्योंकि एक बीज अपने में हजारों बीज छुपाए हुए है। सदा स्मरण रखना कि एक बीज से पूरा उपवन पैदा हो सकताहैआजकिसी ने कहा है, ''मैंने बहुत थोड़ा समय देकर ही बहुत कुछ जाना है। थोड़े से क्षण मन की मुक्ति के लिए दिये और अलौकिक स्वतंत्रता का अनुभव किया।

फूलों, झरनों और चांद-तारों के सौंदर्य-अनुभव में थोड़े-से क्षण बिताये और न केवल सौंदर्य को जाना, बल्कि स्वयं को सुंदर होता हुआ भी अनुभव किया। शुभ के लिए थोड़े-से क्षण दिये और जो आनंद पाया, उसे कहना कठिन है। तब से मैं कहने लगा कि प्रभु को तो सहज ही पाया जा सकता है। लेकिन हम उसकी ओर कुछ भी कदम न उठाने के लिए तैयार हों, तो दुर्भाग्य ही है ।

''''स्वयं की शक्ति और समय का थोड़ा अंश सत्य के लिये, शांति के लिये, सौंदर्य के लिये, शुभ के लिये दो और फिर तुम देखोगे कि जीवन की ऊंचाइयां तुम्हारे निकट आती जा रही हैं। और, एक बिलकुल अभिनव जगत अपने द्वार खोल रहा है, जिसमें कि बहुत आध्यात्मिक शक्तियां अंतर्गर्भित हैं। सत्य और शांति की जो आकांक्षा करता है, वह क्रमश: पाता है कि सत्य और शांति उसके होते जा रही हैं। और, जो सौंदर्य और शुभ की ओर अनुप्रेरित होता है, वह पाता है कि उनका जन्म स्वयं उसके ही भीतर हो रहा है।

''सुबह उठकर आकांक्षा करो कि आज का दिवस सत्य, शिव और सुंदर की दिशा में कोई फल ला सके। और, रात्रि देखो कि कल से तुम जीवन की ऊंचाइयों के ज्यादा निकट हुए हो या नहीं। गहरी आकांक्षा स्वयं में गहरी आकांक्षा पैदा करता है।

सौजन्य: ओशो इंटरनेशनल फाउंडेशन

प्रस्तुति: जय प्रकाश पाण्डेय

माइक्रो फाइनेंस शाखा

भोपाल

Paramhansa Yogananda

Quotes

“There is a magnet in your heart that will attract true friends. That magnet is unselfishness, thinking of others first... when you learn to live for others, they will live for you.”

“The happiness of one's own heart alone cannot satisfy the soul; one must try to include, as necessary to one's own happiness, the happiness of others.”

'' आत्म-गहराई ''

सुबह कुछ लोग आए थे। उनसे मैंने कहा, ''सदा स्वयं के भीतर गहरे से गहरे होने का प्रयास करते रहो। भीतर इतनी गहराई हो कि कोई तुम्हारी थाह न ले सके। अथाह जिसकी गहराई है, अगोचर उसकी ऊंचाई हो जाती है।''जीवन जितना ही ऊंचा हो जाता है, जितना कि गहरा हो। जो ऊंचा तो होना चाहते हैं, लेकिन गहरे नहीं, उनकी असफलता सुनिश्चित है। गहराई के आधार पर ही ऊंचाई के शिखर संभलते हैं। दूसरा और कोई रास्ता नहीं। गहराई असली चीज है। उसे जो पा लेता है, उन्हें ऊंचाई तो अनायास ही मिल जाती है।

   सागर से जो स्वयं में गहरे होते हैं, हिम शिखरों की ऊंचाई केवल उन्हें ही मिलती है। गहराई मूल्य है, जो ऊंचा होने के लिए चुकाना ही पड़ता है। और, स्मरण रहे कि जीवन में बिना मूल्य कुछ भी नहीं मिलता है।स्वामी राम कहा करते थे कि उन्होंने जापान में तीन-तीन सौ, चार-चार सौ साल के चीड़ और देवदार के दरख्त देखे, जो केवल एक-एक बालिश्त के बराबर ऊंचे थे!

   आप ख्याल करें कि देवदार के दरख्त कितने बड़े होते हैं! मगर कौन और कैसे इन दरख्तों को बढ़ाने से रोक देता है?   जब उन्होंने दर्याफ्त किया, तो लोगों ने कहा हम इन दरख्तों के पत्तों और टहनियों को बिलकुल नहीं छेड़ते, बल्कि जड़ें काटते रहते हैं, नीचे बढ़ने नहीं देते। और, कायदा है कि जब जड़ें नीचे नहीं जाएंगी, तो वृक्ष ऊपर नहीं बढ़ेगा। ऊपर और नीचे दोनों में इस किस्म का संबंध है कि जो लोग ऊपर बढ़ना चाहते हैं, उन्हें अपनी आत्मा में जड़े बढ़ानी चाहिए। भीतर जड़े नहीं बढ़ेंगी, तो जीवन कभी ऊपर नहीं उठ सकता है।

   लेकिन, हम इस सूत्र को भूल गए हैं और परिणाम में जो जीवन देवदार के दरख्तों की भांति ऊंचे हो सकते थे, वे जमीन से बालिश्त भर ऊंचे नहीं उठ पाते हैं! मनुष्य छोटे से छोटा होता जा रहा है, क्योंकि स्वयं की आत्मा में उसकी जड़ें कम से कम गहरी होती जाती हैं।शरीर सतह है, आत्मा गहराई। शरीर में जो जीता है, वह गहरा कैसे हो सकेगा? शरीर में नहीं, आत्मा में जीओ। सदैव यह स्मरण रखो कि मैं जो भी सोचूं, बोलूं और करूं, उसकी परिसमाप्ति शरीर पर ही न हो जावे। शरीर से भिन्न और ऊपर भी कुछ सोचो, बोलो और करो। उससे ही क्रमश: आत्मा में जड़े मिलती हैं और गहराई उपलब्ध होती है।

सौजन्य: ओशो इंटरनेशनल फाउंडेशन

प्रस्तुति: जय प्रकाश पाण्डेय

माइक्रो फाइनेंस शाखा भोपाल

'God of Sight'

Making life better for others

Dr. Sanduk Ruit (above left), estimates sight has been restored to about 3 or 4 million people through his method. Most of them live in the developing world, where a loss of vision can be worse than death because of the added burden thrust on families already drowning in hardship

HETAUDA (Nepal) - RAJ KALIYA Dhanuk sits on a wooden bench, barefoot, with a tattered sari covering thin arms as rough as bark. Thick clear tears bleed from her eyes, milky saucers that stare at nothing.

For nearly a year, cataracts have clouded out all sight from the 70-year-old grandmother's world. With no money, she assumed she'd die alone in darkness. But now she waits quietly outside the operating room for her turn to meet Nepal's God of Sight.

'I am desperate. If only I could see my family again,' she whispers in her native tongue. 'I feel so bad when I hear the baby cry because I can't help him. I want to pick him up.' Dhanuk and more than 500 others - most of whom have never seen a doctor before - have traveled for days by bicycle, motorbike, bus and even on their relatives' backs to reach Dr. Sanduk Ruit's mobile eye camp.

Each hopes for the miracle promised in radio ads by the Nepalese master surgeon: He is able to poke, slice and pull the grape-like jelly masses out of an eye, then refill it with a tiny artificial lens, in about five minutes. Free of charge. It's an assembly-line approach to curing blindness that's possible thanks to a simple surgical technique Ruit pioneered, allowing cataracts to be removed safely without stitches through two small incisions. Once condemned by the international medical community as unthinkable and reckless, this mass surgery 'in the bush' started spreading from Nepal to poor countries worldwide nearly two decades ago.

Thousands of doctors - from North Korea to Nicaragua to Nigeria - have since been trained to train others, with the hope of slowly lessening the leading cause of blindness that affects 18 million people worldwide. And later this year, US military surgeons will train under Ruit for the first time. Ruit estimates sight has been restored to about 3 or 4 million people through his method. Most of them live in the developing world, where a loss of vision can be worse than death because of the added burden thrust on families already drowning in hardship. 'You realize there are drops which make an ocean,' says Ruit, 55, an ethnic Sherpa who grew up poor in a remote mountain village on the border near Tibet. 'They're such wonderful cases that make you fully convinced of the power of the work.'

No one pays for anything, and the entire cost is about US$25 per surgery. That's US$12,750 for all 510 patients, equal to only about three or four surgeries in the US. Costs are kept down by keeping things simple. Using lenses manufactured at Ruit's Tilganga Eye Center in Katmandu, these remote eye camps are sustained through donations and fees from more affluent Nepalese patients seeking surgery. But it's not the technique or the lenses or the hospital Ruit is most proud of. It's the ripple effect from all of the doctors who come to Nepal to train under him and then go on to teach others who repeat the cycle. 

AP

Staying OK

By AMY and THOMAS HARRIS

Children depend on their parents for everything, food, care, nurture, life itself. The decision “I’m not OK – you’re OK”, permanently recorded is a product of childhood, in which the critical reality is dependency. In early childhood, a period we designate as first five years of life, thousands of events and perceptions, among them intense feelings, were recorded in the little person’s brain and are available for replay throughout his life. If in the present we find ourselves in a situation of dependency, we become a child again, feeling the very same feelings we did when we were little. We not only remember that child, we are that child.

When we treat a man as he is, we make him worse than he is. When we treat him as if he already were what he potentially could be, we make him what he should be.

What was once decided can be redecided. At childhood the position was arrived on the basis of feelings. The “I’m OK- you’re OK" is based on conscious thought, faith and the wager of action. It is a decision to reject our childhood assumption and to assert that we are no longer helpless, dependent children.

A transaction is the basic unit of behavior: you say or do something to me, and I say or do something back. Transactional analysis (TA) is determining what part of the three part - Parent, Adult, and Child – you initiated the transaction and what part of the three part me responded. TA is based on the observation that all of us are three persons in one.

The Parent is a recording of what the little person saw mother and father or parent substitutes do during a period, the first five years of life. The Parent may not be the same today. The Parent is a recording. We do not think with it, we merely play it back.

One of the most powerful ways in which the Parent enters our lives in the present is the “internal dialogue” in which we hear the same applause, warnings accusations and punishments we heard when we were toddlers. Most decisions follow an accumulation of signals or experiences. The child’s early assumptions are tentative and do not become firm without repeated reinforcement.

Parent, Adult, Child

We receive signals from mother’s and father’s three primary sources – Parent, Adult and Child (P, A, C). We internalize messages from these sources by recording them in our own Parent, where they remain for the rest of our lives. The most potent messages are the parent’s feelings, those things they said and did when their Child was hooked.

The parents’ conflict becomes the child’s conflict and confusion. By examining the P-A-C of our parents we can return the conflict to the place it belongs, then choose which Parent messages to live by. As grownups we no longer need our parents for survival. When the messages were recorded, we did.

Accepting responsibility for at least a part of the past made it possible to have power over the future. At each juncture of life we have had choices to make, regardless of what our parents told us or showed us. We have said both yes and no. if we are a part of the problem we can be part of the answer. This is the creative challenge of being, feeling and staying OK.

Three messages parents should give children- 1. You can solve problems. 2. You can think. 3. You can do things. Give frequent “what to do” messages. This will build their confidence in their own OK –ness and capacity to solve problems and will teach thinking. Achievement that brings joy to the child grows from unconditional acceptance before the act and not the other way around. On the other hand, the promised stroking must be delivered, else he does not learn to accept in life, nor does he learn to say “thank you” graciously.

Mahatma Gandhi

Quotes

A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.

As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world - that is the myth of the atomic age - as in being able to remake ourselves.

Be the change that you want to see in the world.

 

Each one has to find his peace from within. And peace to be real must be unaffected by outside circumstances.

 

In a gentle way, you can shake the world.

 

Man becomes great exactly in the degree in which he works for the welfare of his fellow-men.

'' कर के देखो ''

मेरे प्रिय सिटिजन भाई /बहनों ,
हमारी सदेव यह अभिलाषा रहती है कि दूसरे लोग हम से प्यार करें ....... हमसे मीठा बोलें, मधुर व्यवहार करे ...., सहयोग दें .....,सहायता प्रदान करें ......, पर हमें यह भी तो सोचना चाहिए कि दूसरा भी हमसे ऐसी ही अपेक्षा रखता है । इसलिए हमारा कर्त्तव्य हो जाता है कि हम जो चाहते है पहले उसे व्यवहार में आने दे , अब उसकी प्रतिक्रिया तो स्वयमेव उत्पन्न होगी ...... ।
पुचकारने से पशु और पक्षी तक आत्मीयता प्रगट करने लगते है फिर हमको -आपको क्या कहा जाये ? हम -आप तो प्रेम के लिए , आत्मीयता के लिए अपनी झोली फेलाए फिरते है ... अरे सीधी सी बात है आप मानवता /मनुष्य से प्रेम करिए संसार आपका आभारी होगा ..... आप लोगों के साथ नेकी का व्यवहार तो कर के देखिये .... आप की भलाई का समन्दर उमड़ पड़ेगा , परोपकार के नाम पर आपका किया हुआ हर कार्य असंख्य गुना होकर लोटेगा और आपके चारों ओर सुख , शांति , और संतोष बिखर जावेगा ।

-जय प्रकाश पाण्डेय ,माइक्रो फाइनेंस शाखा ,भोपाल

Entrepreneurs with a cause taste success

BUSINESS BENIGN

Two success stories shared by social entrepreneurs at the first Indian Philanthrophy Forum organized by Dasra in Mumbai last week

Vocations for the hearing impaired

It might sound a tad unambitious when a young MBA from Oxford starts a courier service with one delivery boy and savings of Rs.10,000. But Dhruv Lakra's Mirakle Couriers claims to be the only courier company in the world that employs the hearing impaired. With a staff of 55 employees, the company offers both domestic and international services.

   The tsunami in 2004 changed Lakra's life. He left his cushy job as an investment banker to help a tsunami-affected fisherman community in Nagapatnam for five months. "I realised that this is what I wanted to do with my life," says the 28-year-old, who has worked with several NGOs.

   In 2008, Lakra founded Mirakle Couriers as he wanted to offer the deaf community a "better vocations than candle making." He says, "I wanted to give them regular employment which uses their disability to their advantage."

   With special training sessions, Lakra ensures his boys' deliver efficiently while his back office is handled by hearing impaired women. They receive the minimum wage and have their own bank accounts. With plenty of bulk orders coming their way, Lakra hopes to break even by the end of this year." I treat it like any other business," he says.

On a mission

Safeena Husain (39) has traveled to the Himalayas, the Amazon and Africa to reduce poverty through education. This London School of Economics graduate "didn't want to be a globetrotting executive". So she became a globetrotting social worker. "While working for a US-based NGO, I found that after being educated, 40 per cent of women were more likely to immunise their children, reduce HIV, increase national income and fight poverty," says Husain.

   In 2005, she started the Foundation to Educate Girls Globally (FEGG), an NGO that aims to bring about large-scale transformation in girls' education.

   Her pilot project of reforming 500 government schools in Rajasthan has resulted in 99.5 per cent enrollment of girls in Pali, one of the state's most backward districts, as also an 85 per cent attendance of girls per class. She mobilises communities to be accountable for their schools by forming school managing committee run by the locals. "We also help village elders motivate parents to educate their girls," says Husain. Teachers are trained to introduce gender-sensitised study techniques.

   Husain plans to replicate the model in 2,500 of Rajasthan's schools over the next three years with government and private funding. Recently, she was invited by NATO to introduce the model in Afganistan as a means to counter terrorism.

courtesy: Tasneem Nashrulla / Hindustan Times

‘Every paisa is spent carefully’

Path to philanthropy

For Rohini Nilekani (50), wife of Nandan Nilekani, co-founder of Infosys Technologies, activism started in college. Later, being a journalist was her way of being in the socio-political space. With Infosys, wealth came her way and she began doing her small bit in education, microfinance and health sectors. But April 3, 2005, was the day when she experienced her moment of epiphany and realised that it had to be water that she had to support. That’s how Arghyam’s water connect happened. “I came into big money in 2005 through the Infosys ADR and decided to give it toward building up one sector. I started research on where it could be invested most strategically to make a difference.” Soon, she found that there were no Indian foundations that were exclusively focusing on the water sector. “Most people accept that there is a crisis ahead of us and unless we do things to repair our current trajectory, India will be in a tight spot in terms of water,” she says. In hindsight, Arghyam seems to be the right decision for her. It is now working in more than 800 villages and supports everything from hygiene training, groundwater management to rainwater harvesting.

Rohini chairs Arghyam and Pratham Books and, by own admission, is a hands-on chairperson for both. “That’s all I do. I don’t have to run a company and am no longer a journalist, even though I continue to write an occasional piece. This is my day job and that’s all I know best.” For Pratham Books, the motive is to create quality content for children, which is accessible, affordable and attractive. Nilekani has full-fledged teams running both the organisations on a daily basis. “I am very proud and lucky to have Sunita Nadhamuni in the team. From one to 35 members, our team is growing fast.”

For Arghyam, she created an Rs 100-crore endowment and has topped it up with another Rs 50-crore this year from her...

courtesy: sarika malhotra / financial express

Mother Teresa

Quotes

Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.




In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love.


 Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.

'' सच्चा देवता ''

स्त्री -पुरुषों के पास समय बिताने के लिए कोई काम न हो तो वे पतित हो जाते है । हमे काम मतलब श्रम से जी नहीं चुराना चाहिए अन्यथा हम ऐसी वस्तु बन जायेंगे जिसका प्रक्रति के लिए कोई उपयोग नहीं होगा , '' फल हीन अंजीर '' की कथा याद करो जिसमे कहा गया था कि बिना काम स्त्री -पुरुष झगड़ालू , असंतुस्ट ,अधीर और चिडचिडे हो जाते है चाहे ऊपर से वे कितने ही मीठे और मिलनसार ही क्यों न दिखाई दें , जो यह शिकायत करे कि '' मेरे पास कोई काम नहीं है '' या '' मुझसे काम नहीं बनता '' उसे झगड़ालू और शिकायत से भरा हुआ समझना चाहिए , उसके चेहरे पर थकावट -सी छाई हुई होगी ...... उसका चेहरा देखने में भला न प्रतीत हो रहा होगा ।

कई लोग ऐसा सोचते है कि उनके पास काम नहीं है तो वे भाग्यवान है या उनसे काम नहीं बनता तो वे खुशहाल है यह इस बात का प्रमाण नहीं है कि काम का न होना सौभाग्य या मनचाही वस्तु है । काम न करना एक तरह से प्रक्रति के विरुद्ध -विद्रोह है ,मनुष्यता का , या पौरुष का अपमान है , यह पुर्णतः अप्राक्र्तिक और लोकिक नियमो के विपरीत है ..... अपनी रोजी -रोटी के लिए thodee कमाई कर के अपने अन्दर अहं पल लेना ......बाल -बच्चे पैदा कर के घर चला लेना क्या इतना ही पर्याप्त है इस जीवन के लिए ........ सोचो तो जरा ...... अरे भाई कुछ काम करो । कुछ काम करो .... जग में रह कर कुछ नाम करो यह जन्म हुआ कुछ व्यर्थ न हो ............ । तो कुछ तो ऐसा 'काम' कर लो जिससे पूरे विश्व के उत्थान का रास्ता प्रसस्त हो....

जिस दिन इस धरती पर श्रम और काम की कीमत गिर जायेगी उस दिन यहाँ की सारी चहल -पहल और खुशियाली मिटटी में मिल जायेगी ... अतः हमें अपने काम और श्रम के द्वारा इस संसार को बहुत सुन्दर बनाना है काम ... काम ..और श्रम ही वास्तव में असली देवता है , और यही सिटिजन एस बी आई का मूल ध्येय है .........

--जय प्रकाश पाण्डेय
माइक्रो फायनेंस शाखा
भोपाल

MEGA LIVING

By ROBIN SHARMA

Today is the first day of your perfect life, a life that is yours to shape into something truly wonderful and lasting. The past does not determine your future and a change towards personal excellence can happen in the blink of an eye if you will make a firm commitment to raising your life to its highest level.

Think of the current limitations of your life. You have interpreted each one of these circumstances to be a roadblock or negative element in your life, when this is not the case. If you set limits on yourself, your spirit will slowly die and you will fulfill your negative prophecy. There are simply no limits for a person who accepts no limits.

Clouds will always be there but anyone who conditions her mind and body to the correct degree will rise above any cloud to live with lasting bliss in the blue sky of life. Dedicate yourself to such self enhancement each and every day of your life. A time will definitely come when your personal power takes you to a place where you have real freedom and joy. This is a place where all dreams come true. This is the place of self-mastery. This is a place called Mega Living!

10 Golden Rules for Mental Mastery:

1. What you think every second matters. Today’s thoughts will serve to build your dreams of tomorrow.

2. Your outer world reflects your inner world. Change the thoughts you put into your mind.

3. You alone are responsible for what you think.

4. Change does not take place in a day. Work hard on it.

5. One of the great keys to a better life is to change your self image, which depends on the mental pictures we constantly run through our minds.

6. Anything you faithfully and honestly believe you can achieve, you will achieve if you take persistent action in that direction. Repeat dreams.

7. What you think about and believe is what you attract into your life.

8. Your subconscious mind plays a great role in the outcome of your life.

9. Your mind has the capacity to hold only one thought in its focus at any one time. Ensure each thought is a valuable and positive one.

10. There is a success mechanism inside your mind which craves positive stimulation.

Visualize the perfect you and feel that you are that person. A wandering mind will do more to make you tired than a 10 mile run.

The first step to eliminating mental fatigue is to control every thought in your mind. Realize that fatigue is your own creation. Your discipline must take over.

Visualization, where one mentally rehearses the ideal performance in his mind over and over before the actual event, should be a tool in the success arsenal of every peak performer. How could you hit a target you cannot even see? One of the truest laws of Nature is that what you focus on constantly with great emotion and expectation will become a reality. Start off small. Small victories always lead to large ones.

There are many things that still remain mystical in this world and one of them is the principle of why, when goals are written down and kept at the center of your mind they come true, provided you take action to have the desired result..

Success formula to achieve your goals:

1. Clearly decide on your goal and picture its attainment in your mind every night just before you sleep. Picture yourself having achieved it.

2. Repeat your desire aloud ten times before you sleep.

3. Through repetition of thought, the goal will become a burning desire.

4. Develop a clear plan, seek opportunities for fruition.

5. Write the goal, plan action and date of achieving it. Repeat this aloud 10 times a day with belief in its purpose and with intense feeling.

All your dreams will be placed at the forefront of your consciousness and the forces of thought will make them come true. Everyday review your goals and consider how you will feel once you reach them. You will then constantly be motivating both your conscious and subconscious mind to fulfill your dreams.

Understand the tremendous power of vigorous exercise on a daily basis as a tool for self-mastery and life excellence. Make one of the best decisions of your life and make the commitment to an exercise routine today. Remember the spirit of Kaizen: if you are not moving forward, you are moving backward .Wake up each day to the wonders of physical mastery. It will add power and focus to your dreams.

When the breath wanders, the mind is unsteady, but when the breath is still, so is the mind still .Good breathing practices as well as good posture will unleash the vitality that lies inside you. Deep breathing can change the state of your mind and the state of your life. Green Fog breathing technique, wherein, you visualize the air as deep green fog entering your body through your nostrils, moving slowly through out your body, and is calming, relaxing every muscle, then exhale it along with any tensions that may have accumulated. This is the very best breathing conditioners for the mind, body and spirit. One of the easiest strategies for powerful physical and mental transformation is yoga.

Everything is created twice- first in your mind and then in the outside world. Thoughts combined with the emotion of faith and belief yield phenomenal results. Create a personal destiny. Thought is matter and thoughts influence matter. This is why belief in your desires and goals is so very powerful and can reshape your life. You hold the most incredible instrument of change and success ever created!

Your outer world reflects your inner world. The mind is a treasure house of power to bring you all the richness you seek. It will soon come as surely as the night follows the day.

When you soak your mind in thoughts of wealth, happiness and peace, you start to tap and harness the incredible power of the subconscious mind. Feed it the right nutrition in the form of affirmations and visualization. Relax your mind and create your own mantra. The Law of Attraction states that what you constantly and consistently focus on in your inner world is precisely what you will receive in your outer world. Whatever you believe as true in your mind’s eye will certainly manifest itself in your reality.

Exert your will power to do those things which you may not like to do. Do that which you fear and the fear vanishes into thin air, never to return.

We are here to give to others. The purpose of life is a life of purpose and a life of purpose is created through constant service to those around us. The quality of your life will be measured by the quality of your contribution. Do not let even one day slip by without practicing random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty. Success is a journey not a destination. Enjoy the journey as you pass through life. To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived – that is to have succeeded.

Man’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions. The quality of your life is the quality of your communication, the way you communicate with others and more importantly, the way you communicate with yourself. What you focus on is what you get.

Revitalize the habit of laughter; it will put far more living into your life. To enhance your concentration and power of focus, count your steps when you walk. A quiet clear mind will concentrate steadily on all important tasks. Silence is golden, as it is the space between the bars that holds the cage. Again, the spoken word is a powerful influencer of the mind. Mentally manipulate and condition towards the positive.

Act tough and you will be tough. Have courage and inspire others with your actions. But always be considerate. Be so strong that nothing interferes with your peace of mind.

Robin Sharma is one of the most widely read authors in the world with his blockbusters such as The Greatness Guide and The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari not only topping bestseller lists but being translated into nearly 50 languages.

Megaliving: 30 Days to a Perfect Life / Robin S. Sharma / Jaico Publishing House

Abridged by Harina, State Bank Learning Centre, Indore

Social Responsibilities of Public Administrators

By Swami Ranganathananda

Based on a speech delivered by Swami Ranganathananda at the Indian Institute of Public Administration New Delhi in 1977

The happiness and welfare of the people in a state depends upon the type of administration they get and on the quality of administrators.

We have achieved political freedom. But, we have a vast un-developed population to whom not even elementary level of existence is available. What does this freedom mean to all these people who do not have basic necessities of life? This question should stimulate not only administrators, all organs of state legislature, executive and judiciary, but all sections of our citizen.

Being and Function

Every administrator is primarily a citizen of India and he should always be aware of what it means. Some of the mature citizens, who choose to be and are called upon to become, become our administrators for some years of their life. This means that they are essentially citizens of free India called upon to perform particular function in service of our nation. Hence, Citizenship constitutes our primary being and what do we do as administrators merely constitutes the function that we discharge, deriving inspiration from that being. Hence, we should not treat ourselves merely as functionary, for we will become defunct without any dimension, reduced to nothing when we retire or cease to perform function otherwise. “If one centers around being and pours his/her being into his/her functions, those functions become enhanced and glorified with the energy and grace of that fullness of being ; he / she continues to be full even when one ceases to be functionary.” This is fruit of a profound philosophy of man which we have in our own Vedanta.

The fullness of being of every one of us consists primarily as our inalienable status as Citizens of free India: all other functions performed by us are terminable and are like ‘zeros’ which get their value from the figure before them. It is by this awareness of basic being that one becomes a focus of intrinsic worth and dignity; and by thinking merely in terms of one’s functions, one tends to reduce oneself more and more to the status of ‘Zero’.

Hence, we should be aware of our primary being and allow that being to flow into and fill all our functions; such function will, thus, achieve new and significant new quanta of energy and grace.

We should find a motive that can enliven and energize our administration for its effective functioning and for being development oriented. A functionary need not be bureaucrat, static and wooden while working as a bureaucrat. A bureaucrat is wooden and static because he has no imagination and is only guided by rules and manuals, and can not respond to the human situation and urges.

A dynamic tradition inspired of the national urges and patriotic motivation can make a functionary responsive to human urges and aspirations. A functionary attitude makes one a mere careerist and job seeker, making him defunct even while functioning.

Bureaucracy: Static vs Dynamic

The difference in above two is of attitude. Static bureaucrat reflects low and poor state of man, as a mere functionary who draws from his functions to enrich his inner being which is otherwise empty. Such state of mind is prone to succumbing to corruption.

The dynamic bureaucrat represents a man inwardly rich in his being, in his strength of citizenship awareness and patriotic impulse and pouring out that richness into his function. This attitude fosters the spirit of service and retains much innate strength to resist and overcome corrupting influences.

A change of attitude can produce tremendous results. An attitude can be controlled, manipulated and can be made to grow. It can enrich both, one’s being and function. It can make one alive, vibrant, responsive and responsible.

We cannot but admire people who are moved by ideas and visions and who respond to human situations. It is they, who become great administrators, with imagination as their greatest asset. “Imagination’ is a remarkable value, making person dynamic and giving purpose to his life.”

Even after achieving freedom after long struggle, being ruled by sterile bureaucracy is a serious tragedy which has taken away poetry of life and ecstasy of freedom and has converted administration into prosaic business of seeking money, power and pleasure. It has brought in its wake social evils like corruption, various malpractices and unconcern for common man and his welfare.

We can transform the administration and society with dynamic functioning of bureaucracy where actions are surcharged with vision, energy, joy and enthusiasm for human growth and development, giving meaning and significance to all the actions.

Social life and administration should be conducted with spirit of service as a constant feature of one personality which expresses itself in inter-human relationship with spontaneous “What can do for you? How can I help you?”attitude.

When this learning is internationalized that person has achieved profound education and has achieved first stages of his spiritual growth “atma vikasa”.

THE HUMBLE CITIZENS OF STATE BANK

By Smita Kalve

Working with State Bank has been a fulfilling experience for many and it is a very heartening to hear the citizens argue over the question of whether money should be given as an outer fruit for many acts done during the course of performing our duties whether small or big.The bank has given all of us the opportunity to contribute to the society and we do not realize and also do not want to accept the fact that we are being paid for our contribution also.

During the course of citizen SBI classes many participants have narrated stories of helping people in need whether it be by the smallest of act as issuing a draft after banking hours or providing small monetary help (Rs 50/-100/-) to a customer in dire need of money or somewhat bigger by sanctioning a small loan under the government sponsored schemes or otherwise or by the smallest of action of honesty.

Some examples of the stories shared are:

One of our guards found a bag containing about Rs 1.5 lacs in the bank premises after working hours and immediately handed over the same to the branch manager. The bag’s owner was traced and the money handed over to him.

A young girl the student of one of the colleges in the University was late in depositing her exam fees the delay of which would have cost her a complete year as due to some compelling reasons her parents had been late in sending her the required money. She approached the Branch Manager after the close of business hours who after hearing her story opened his own cash drawer deposited the money in the respective account

One of the field officers in a village branch after much opposition from his Branch Manager sanctioned loans under Government sponsored schemes to persons who had a criminal background which helped them to start a small legal activity and pruned them away from their illegal activities.

One of the Branch Managers of a village branch decided to grant loans under DIR scheme to the lowest of the people in his area for small activities like basket weaving etc even though the Branch Managers of other banks were not willing to even sanction loans under the scheme as the loans were not being repaid. The loans not only helped in the upliftment of people of the area but most of them were repaid in time and fresh loans granted to the same people under banks usual schemes.

Such citizen stories of positive contribution abound in our Bank. As a facilitator I have argued time and again for money as one of the outer fruits in these moments but our traditions make us humble enough not to accept the fact that money is also one of the outer fruits when performing these duties the argument being that we would have got the same if we had not done these acts.

Ms Smita Kalve is a faculty at State Bank Learning Centre, Indore

'' सिटिजन आवाज ''

इस कविता में सूरज इसलिए ,
ताकि 'सुबह ' का एहसास रहे ,
इस कविता में ख्वाब इसलिए ,
ताकि उम्मीद का सिलसिला बने ,
इस कविता में याद इसलिए ,
ताकि जीवन में रोमांच मिले ,
इस कविता में 'आग ' इसलिए ,
ताकि सबको परम सुख मिले ,
इस कविता में 'आवाज ' इसलिए ,
ताकि ' जागते रहो ' की मुनादी मिले ,
इस कविता में सुख इसलिए ,
ताकि ग्राहक को संतोष मिले ,
इस कविता में ''सिटिजन '' इसलिए ,
ताकि सच्चे अच्छे को अधिकार मिले ,
इस कविता में' चेयरमेन' इसलिए
ताकि ' सिटिजन एस बी आई ' को याद मिले ,
इस कविता में '' ओबामा '' इसलिए ,
ताकि ' परिवर्तन ' को प्यार मिले ,

----००-----
-- जय प्रकाश पाण्डेय
माइक्रोफाइनेंस शाखा भोपाल
9425852221

Building one's life in the Ideal of Fulfillment

By V. Srinivas

How does a person, caught up in the warp and weft of daily struggle, of the pressure of income, family relationships, inter-personal conflicts, and the pressures from one's own desires, fears, aspirations, and responses, engage with himself and the world, such that he or she can mould himself into a person living, breathing, and realizing the Ideal of Fulfillment?

To answer this question, one must first examine what the Ideal of Fulfillment means to such a person. One can answer this question simplistically and say "O, the Ideal of Fulfillment is so vast, so immense that each one's interpretation is unique and personal to that human being"

While this is true, it is also true that the Ideal of Fulfillment is also a General Model for living in the world. It is this "General Model" that we seek to perceive.

This Ideal is first and foremost a philosophy of total human fulfillment. Total human fulfillment means "complete and total manifestation of all the positive inherent in the human being".

A person living the Ideal of Fulfillment is living at the peak of his or her potential as a human being.

The Ideal of Fulfillment is secondly, a new mode of science – the science of developing human beings along the pathways of their intrinsic capacities rather than along the pathways of extrinsic (acquired) skills. Put another way, this is the science of developing "inside-out" action in humans and human systems in the context of "outside-in" forces.

This is a new mode of science because it demands that we engage with "relational knowledge" more than with "objective" knowledge. Objective knowledge represents the world outside us. "Subjective" knowledge represents the world within us. Relational knowledge focuses on the interactions between the world within us and the world outside us. Motivation, Inspiration, Commitment, Loyalty, Team-spirit, these are in the realm of "relational knowledge". Such relational knowledge being the heart of all human behavior at an interpersonal and collective level.

The Ideal of Fulfillment is also a "technology" – a framework of models and applications that allow us to solve certain classes of challenges more effectively than in the past.

This "technology" underlying the Ideal of Fulfillment we call "Enablement".

Enablement represents the capacity to serve other human beings in the highest possible manner such that he who serves is not just gratified by the outcomes but is also simultaneously invoked and put on the path of personal excellence.

Put another way, enablement is the technology of "personally transforming work" – work that consciously and purposively shapes the individuals concerned besides shaping the objects and events around in similar fashion.

This three-fold perspective of the Ideal of Fulfillment remains at the backdrop when we take up the question of moulding one's life in that Ideal.

To mould oneself in the Ideal of Fulfillment would mean putting into place two key building blocks – which Swami Vivekananda succinctly summarised as "Tyaga & Seva" – renunciation and service.

What do renunciation and service mean in the context of one's living in the world? Renunciation and Service would, in their highest sense in the world mean being able to combine a deep seriousness of intent in every moment of life with an equally deep commitment to one's own and every other person's evolutionary freedom in the same context.

Deep seriousness of intent – in its most palpable and living sense – manifests as complete identification with the subject, object, or task at hand – a complete burring of the boundaries between the observer and the observed.

(see Box 1 for 'the practice of utmost seriousness in every action').

Commitment to evolutionary freedom – in oneself and others – means the primary recognition that the purpose of all work, all results, all struggle is human evolution – and that all "context" in work is valid insofar as it supports that evolution. In short, the complete identification with subject born of deep seriousness of intent is counter-balanced by the complete willingness to let go of the same subject – if it does not support or consciously comes in the way of evolutionary freedom.

(see Box 2 for ‘the recognition of evolutionary freedom in every individual').

Seen together – tyaga-seva - renunciation-service – seriousness of intent and commitment to evolutionary freedom – represent the building blocks of one's journey to the Ideal of Fulfillment.

A life of utmost seriousness combined with complete evolutionary freedom would lead to both great external achievement and deep personal peace. It would lead to intense engagements wrapped around a sharply defined "structural frame of human respect and mutual concern".

Such a life would be "successful" – in both societal and personal terms – not in any abstract sense of awards or recognition, but in terms of an everyday experiencing of growing meaning and strengthening purpose.

Box 1: The practice of utmost seriousness in every action.


What is seriousness? To be able to apply oneself wholly and completely – without the distortions of personal motive – onto the task or subject or person at hand – would be called seriousness.

To be serious about a task means to be serious about its purpose, to be serious about defining its "value" clearly and without obfuscation, to be able to establish the right resources – tools, capacities and information – needed to realized the value expected. And furthermore to be serious about carrying out all the necessary changes in oneself and the environment – so that the resources fructify into a realized value in the context of the purpose.



Box 2: The recognition of evolutionary freedom in every individual

To be able to recognize that man is at the center of all work is easier said than lived. Ever so often we "shift" from the people purpose to the apparent results born in a situation. Indeed it may be argued that collectives of individuals exist such that a "larger purpose" be served – but the counter argument is that there is no higher purpose than the people involved – those who work and those who benefit from the work – directly or indirectly.

When we say that people are the purpose of work – we mean people in the sense of being evolutionary entities – human beings who are marching through time – sometimes winning – sometimes losing – but always evolving.

This recognition means that we may not always be "nice" or "comfortable" to human beings in our choices at work – but it means that we always ensure that each person involved has the space and wherewithal to refine that experience into an evolutionary possibility for oneself.


V. Srinivas has spent more than 20 years working on the question of knowledge and how it enables human societies in ways that other resources do not. He currently leads the team at "Illumine Knowledge Resources", a design lab and consulting firm specializing in "architecting design collectives' in various institutional and community settings. He is based in Mumbai, India and can be reached at srinivas@illumine.info 

courtesy: illumine.info

Copyright 2006, Illumine

WHEN YOU CARE, THEY ALSO CARE

Moments from citizenship orientation programme for subordinate staff from State Bank of Indore

Help arrives to the needy in strange ways, which fortifies the existence of an all caring, omniscient Supreme power we call God.

A poor, pregnant lonely woman selling firewood gave birth to a baby one fine morning in the year 1986, in front of the house of Mr. Madhav Singh Bhavar, Messenger at Manavar Branch of State Bank of Indore .

She had no one to call her own or for help. She bore the pain of delivery, without any assistance or medication. Seeing her plight, Madhav asked his wife to immediately provide her some hot water to clean herself and her newborn baby, as he rushed to his branch to report for duty. The branch staff voluntarily contributed a small amount for the help of the poor woman. 

Half way through, he suddenly realised she must be hungry also and rushed back home to tell his wife to give her tea and some snacks.

His wife took great care of her, by helping her to take a bath, covering the newborn with a fresh piece of cloth after cleaning it up and providing tea and food to her. The poor woman gratefully bid goodbye to the kind family that afternoon.

Soon afterwards, Madhav had been on a deposit mobilizing spree when he met a woman, who recognized him instantly. She helped him recollect the much needed help he had provided to the poor woman, who delivered a baby at his doorstep. Madhav was happy to see the baby healthy and happy. After exchanging pleasantries and the cause of his visit to the village, Madhav left for home.

The next day the woman was seen in the branch with a man from her village who gave an amount of Rs Four lacs to Madhav to be deposited in the bank. With this deposit Madhav’s target for deposits for the period was achieved.

CONTRIBUTED BY HARINA, STATE BANK LEARNING CENTER, INDORE

THE THREAD OF SURVIVAL AND BONDING

Moments from citizenship orientation programme for subordinate staff from State Bank of Indore

The fields and the nearby bushes were the grazing areas for the cattle which were monitored by an eighteen year old boy, Bhavar Singh Khakodia and his friend Abdul. It was part of their daily routine, which helped their families to earn their livelihood.

Suddenly Abdul felt a sharp pain in his feet, followed by a severe burning sensation and giddiness. Bhavar examined his feet and couldn’t make much out of it. But the next moment he saw a snake not too long, creeping into the bushes.

His friend was bitten by a snake and Bhavar had to do something immediately to stop the poison from spreading to his legs.

As is common in the villages, Bhavar was wearing pajamas. The next moment as it occurred to him, he pulled out the thick thread that holds the pajamas around the waist and tied it to the feet of Abdul to prevent the snake’s poison from spreading further.

He ran to the village for help and saved Abdul.

As on date, Bhavar is working as a messenger with State Bank of Indore at Shamgarh branch and is twenty six years old.

Since then, the two families have developed strong bonds between them and though belonging to different communities they celebrate each other’s festival together as if they were their own.

CONTRIBUTED BY HARINA, STATE BANK LEARNING CENTER, INDORE

State Bank of Indore

Citizenship Orientation Programme

After completion of the Assistants to AGMs version of the citizenship orientation programme for State Bank of Indore, the programme is now being conducted for the subordinate staff at Indore, Bhopal and Gwalior. Here are two group photographs of participants presently attending programmes at State Bank Learning Centre, Indore. We shall be bringing you some moments of inner fulfillment from participants of these programmes soon.

CoolBisht / Indore

Powers of the Mind

“Powers of the mind” is based on a lecture delivered at Los Angeles, California on the 8th of  January  1900 by Swami Vivekananda.

All over the world there has been a belief in the supernatural throughout the ages. All of us have heard of extraordinary happenings , and many of us have had some personal experience of them.

Going about India you find hundreds of similar things in different places. There must be some truth somewhere, that is being imitated; you cannot imitate nothing. Imitation must be something substantially true. In very remote times in India, thousands of years ago, these facts used to happen even more than they do today. It seems that when a country is thickly populated , physical power deteriorates. Given a vast country thinly inhabited, there will perhaps , be more of physical power there. These facts, the Hindus being analytical minded, took up and investigated. And they came to certain remarkable conclusions. They found out that all these, though extraordinary, are also natural; there is nothing supernatural. It is not a freak of nature that a man is born with such powers . They can be systematically studied, practiced and acquired. This science they call the science of Raja Yoga.

The conclusion they derived that all these extraordinary powers are in the mind of the man. The mind is a part of the universal mind. Each mind is connected with every other mind. And each mind is in communication with the whole world. Have you ever noticed the phenomenon that is called thought transference? A man here is thinking something , and the thought is manifested in somebody else, in some other place. With preparations, a man wants to send a thought to another mind at a distance and the other mind knows that a thought is coming, and he receives it exactly as it is sent out. My thought has got to be dissolved into ethereal vibrations and those ethereal vibrations go into your brain, and they have to be resolved again into your own thoughts. Here is a dissolution of thought and there is a resolution of thought. It is around about process. But in telepathy it is direct. This shows that there is continuity of mind and the mind is universal. Your mind, my mind, all these little minds are fragments of that universal mind, little waves in the ocean; and on account of this continuity, we can convey our thoughts directly to one another.

The world is one of influence. Part of our energy is used up in the preservation of our own bodies. Beyond that, every particle of our energy is being used in influencing others. Our bodies , our virtues, our intellect and our spirituality are all influencing others; and conversely , we are being influenced by them. This is going all around us.

Now, let us take a concrete example. A man comes; you know is very learned, his language is beautiful, and he speaks to you by the hour; but he does not make an impression. Another man comes, and he speaks a few words, not well arranged, ungrammatical perhaps and he makes an immense impression. Many of you have seen that. Words, even thoughts, contribute only one thirds of the influence in making an impression, the man two-thirds. What you call the personal magnetism of the man - that is what goes out and impresses you. In our families there are the heads ; some are successful, others are not. Why? In failures, one does not like to confess one’s own faults and weaknesses. Each person tries to hold himself faultless and lay the blame upon somebody or something else, or even on bad luck. Coming to great leaders, great thinkers and great authors of the past, we always find that it was the personality of the man that counted. What made them so? Not simply the thoughts they thought, neither the books they wrote, nor the speeches they made, it was something else that is now gone , that is their personality. Our actions are but effects of the personality of the man.

MAN MAKING 

The ideal of all education, all training, should be this man making. The end and aim of all training is to make the man grow. The man who influences , who throws his magic upon his fellow beings and when the man is ready, the personality put upon anything will make it work. Think of this. Compare the great teachers of religion with the great philosophers. The philosophers scarcely influenced anybody’s inner man, yet they wrote the most marvelous books. The religious teachers, on the other hand, moved countries in their lifetime. The difference was made by personality. In the former we touch the intellect, in the latter we touch life.