WAKE UP...

Vicky Mane, one of the avid readers of my blog, suggested that I write up something about the recent events or happenings. I usually do not write about the national events or on sports because, thousands of web pages are being published on such topics in the web-world every day. So just for what Vicky lovingly suggested I crawled all over the net in search of "good" news I can post in my blog. I traveled from Times of India to Ind. Exp. to Deccan herald to Hindu...and over to Washington post, BBC.UK, New York times. I searched for all news except from "pink papers" They all carried the following keywords: riots, terror, pain, brutal, suicide, stress, violence, attacks, victims... Do you as a reader find the above words, beautiful?? Would you like these words to be associated with you?? No one, in their sane minds, would prefer it. Then why should I write about it . Is there any dearth of stress and violence in our world? What can we achieve by reading such awful words in the daily noose(news, i mean). Just by writing scores of articles on such topics does the violence or terrorism end?? So what can we do to stop the advent of dark age & tyranny back into our world? Can we stop the terrorist or terrorism ?... Can we fight the "invisible" & "face-less" group of havoc creators all alone ?? Can we sabotage their horrific plans ??? The common answer for all the Qs above is .... NO! So what can we do?? WE CAN do a good activity. WE CAN spread the goodness in our environment. WE CAN be of help to the society. WE CAN spread so much goodness around us that the negativity can be at least nullified!!! CAN shows the ability. Everyone has the inherent ability to be of use to the society one lives in. But most of them are unaware and have no desire to do or achive anything, for themselves and for the society. They them selves are so much stuck in their own lives that they are not able to contribute anything to the society. They are, forgive me, a burden for this planet. Why join a group that is ANTI-TERRORISM?? JOIN a group that is PRO-PEACE... Joining anti-terrorism will not stop terrorist from surprising us with their bloody gifts. Peace in every human heart will deter them in their mis-adventures. Trust ME... It always has, and it always will! What's the difference between bad people and good people...do you know?? Bad people plan a tyrannical act and STICK to it. Do you think that those bloody terrorists would give silly excuses like, "tomorrow my sister is getting married, i can't execute the plan now" OR "i am having a headache/stomach-ache, Sorry i cant be of any help to u". If that were the case then there would have been no blasts at all !!! These lame excuses are given by the "duffer" good ones. When I ask people to experience the life transforming YES!+ course, these are the reasons they(good people) put up. The similarity between the good and bad people is that they both plan. The difference is that the bad ones EXECUTE the plan, while the good ones...discusses... analyzes... argues... the plan they came up with and they discuss more...analyze more... argue more on the same plan. In the process, they get tired... they take a pillow and go to SLEEP. WAKE UP. WAKE UP...NOW. Enough of LAZINESS and SELF-CENTEREDNESS. BE OF SOME, AT LEAST A LITTLE, USE TO THE SOCIETY !!! GOT THAT??? Thanks to Vicky, I could write something that had been in my heart for a long time. जय गुरुदेव -- OAK Tree

GURU... What does it mean??

The etymological scholars will agree that the words "Guide" and "Gravity" have been derived from the word GURU. Guru means heavy. Heavy in knowledge. You see, Guru's every word matters! Each word Guruji utters carries voltage. Who can have such tremendous weight in knowledge? Obviously, one who has complete knowledge in it. And one who has complete knowledge in the particular field can also guide anyone easily thru’ it. So guru also means a guide. But what’s the need of a GURU. If you have to go to an unknown place, what do you do?? Ask directions. Don’t you?? You see, when you require a person to guide you on the route to an unknown place then do you think you know the routes of life very well?? If life was like Australian highways, no curve for miles together, then everyone would have become an Einstein. Who needs a guru? (Here starts an amazing paradox) One who is light in knowledge drowns in the ocean of samsara (Worldly life)!! A Guru is like a swan, swims “on” the water but does not get wet!!! It is amazing that Guru, who is heavy, floats over the ocean of samsara like a boat and one who is light (in knowledge) drowns in the material world like a stone. Now guru who floats, sinks in the ocean of samsara without getting wet and brings up the “drowned” to the surface and makes him/her heavy, so that they too can float!! Confused?? I guess your head might be spinning by now. Despite all the complexity, guru remains so simple. If guru is not simple then who else will simplify the complexities of life?? -- O.A.K. Tree

A Pic with in a Pic!

Just click here... P I P

Lesson 1. Managing the expenses

As promised, but one day late. Before starting with the lesson 1, there are three habits you need to inculcate in yourself, if you want to become rich and wealthy. Discipline, consistency and Sincerity with yourself. Without these habits, it will be very difficult to be wealthy. I start with the very basic step of managing the expenses. Everyone writes some kinda "accounts". Whenever I spend for any necessary items(also unnecessary items) I write down the amount. In short, record it. After one week, I do some balancing act. What's that?? I deduct the amount I spent from the amount I had in the beginning of the week. This happens every week. I do all that stuff on excel. If you see carefully the above picture, you will observe that the expenses are categorized in two classes: Budgeted expenses and non budgeted expenses. Generally, budgeted expenses are those expense which you expect to occur once in a day/week and you do not know how much amount you will be spending on it. Like Food-stuff, traveling, etc. You can arrive at the budgeted figure by calculation (22 days x Rs 8 per seat in rickshaw) or by using your gut feeling! Un-budgeted expenses are those for which you need no budgeting. Such expenses may happen suddenly, unexpectedly. Or in some cases you may know the amount and the period when you will be paying. Like Railway pass in my case is non- budgeted as I take a quarterly pass. So it happens only once in three months. I know when I need to buy a pass, I also know the amount I need to pay. I do not require any "budgeting" for it. Now, why undergo such an ordeal? Well, budgeted expenses helps you understand whether you spend within the budget or you overspend. Un-budgeted expenses lets you know how much have your spent on the "uncontrollable" part of you expenses. When I know this I get a fair idea of how my expenses will be in next month. That's the estimation part. We shall learn that later. Over the period you will be able to know the trend of the expenses. Is your actual more than the budgeted? Is your budget increasing every month? etc. Go ahead and check out the new style of expense management. You can make modification in the statement as per your requirement. The above photo is what & how I maintain the expenses. Next lesson will be on "Personal" Finance. It gonna be very personal... P.S. The next blog on finance will be published on Aug 2, 2008 Saturday as next Saturday I'll be busy with YES!+ जय गुरुदेव -- O.A.K. Tree

Guru Poornima on blogs!

Did you see the full moon last night? If I had a camera I would have taken its pic. It looked sooooo awesome that I literally stood on the road to admire it. Such magnetic charm it had. Well, It was a special full moon. The full moon of GURU POORNIMA! All the time we make guruji run our errands. He is at our beck and call all the time. He does so much for us. So on guru poornima we give something in return to guruji. One Question guruji would ask here is, "Anyway what is yours??" Is it not true? When you are born you have nothing that you bring in this world. You do not even have an "identity" when you are born. So "Anyway what is yours??" Infact you borrow everything. I mean EVERYTHING. Your thoughts are not yours (you do not bring them from mother's womb), Name is "given" to you by your parents, Place you stay is what you get "by-default". All the happy & sad phases in life are experienced here and now!!! So what is the ideal gift that, we as a sadhak, can offer to guruji? WAKE UP!!!! Got it ??... P.S. Today Vaishali maushi performed guru-puja at 6:30 am. Later, Shweta Shukla (shweta-di) took the Long Kriya @ K.V. I had a Transcendental Experience in kriya. I totally forgot where I was until guruji said "Turn to your right side..."

When Ravi became Ravi-bhaiyya.

Finally Ravi (RBK as we all know him) was pronounced as a teacher of YES!+ course. We now have Shweta-di and Ravi-bhaiyya in Dombivli. Today, we all were at Ravi's abode to celebrate the beginning of new phase in his life. What he experienced in ashram for those 21 days while undergoing TTC was... BLISS. That's what he said... Nonetheless, I was in bliss hearing his experience. I wondered when would I become an AOL Teacher?? There was a deluge of good news today; Ravi completes MBA, Hariharan completes CA, I complete first sem of Symbi's MBA, Siddhu got his job reinstated... I remember how I ran all the way to Ravi's house from office. I left office in Prabhadevi at 8pm and at 9pm I was at his house in Dombivli. Quite an impossible feat! We then wallowed in the tranquility of the slow chants of Aum Namah Shivaya! Oh! What an evening...Aho Niranjana!!! -- O.A.K. Tree

Some questions 2 Ponder...

If electricity comes from electrons... does that mean that morality comes from morons? If people from Poland are called Poles, then why aren't people from Holland called Holes? Why is a person who plays the piano called a pianist, but a person who drives a race car is not called a racist? If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked, then doesn't it follow that ... Electricians can be delighted? Musicians can be denoted? Cowboys can be deranged? Models can be deposed? Tree Surgeon can be debarked? Dry cleaners can be depressed? -- O.A.K. Tree

Pooktre... What's That???

Every one has some kinda hobby. It may be reading, writing poetry, photography, numismatics, philately etc. etc. Ever wondered of an unusual hobby? Well, one such is Pooktre Art. That's what Peter Cook and Becky Northey of Queensland, Australia have named it! In 1986 Peter had the idea of growing a chair. Nine years later Peter and Becky became partners. Pooktre was born. Together they have mastered the art they call Pooktre, which is the shaping of trees as they grow in predetermined designs. Some are intended for harvest to be high quality indoor furniture and others will remain living art. Following are some of the pics extracted from their website: Visit Pooktre Art Website -- O.A.K. Tree

Lessons on Finance - A Prelude

Today is Saturday and from today, every Saturday will be "Finance Literacy Day". I had already mentioned in the earlier post about the importance of Financial literacy. Well, so I have decided to impart some basic lessons on managing the personal financial, online. Every Saturday, I will post a lesson on personal finance. I will begin first from managing the personal finance and then, over the period, we will look into managing your personal portfolio of wealth. All in very easy steps! Do not worry about the terminologies! They will be simplified to the maximum extent possible with example (where ever required). Now, there are zillions of web-pages dedicated on managing personal finance, so what makes this stand out from the rest of the crowd. Well, just keep reading my blogs on finance and you will soon realize !!! Jai Gurudeva. -- O.A.K Tree

Mexican on a Bicycle

On the America-Mexico border, there were few guards standing. A man comes from the Mexico side on a bicycle and enters America. He is halted by the guards and is frisked by the guards for any smuggled articles. They notice that the man has only few bills of money, and is carrying a sack of sand on the carriage of his bicycle. Suspiciously, the guard asks him, “What’s that on the bicycle carriage?” He replies, “Just a sack full of sand, senor. You may check it if you want to!”

Mexican on a bicycle. DISCLAIMER: The photo is for representational purpose only. No offense intended.

The guard passes the sack through the metal detector. It contained nothing but sand. The Mexican is allowed to pass. This starts happening every day. But the guard suspected the Mexican of smuggling something which he somehow could not figure out. After 30 years, the American guard and the Mexican met at the bar. The Guard, now retired, asked the Mexican, “I sure that you were smuggling something. Tell me what was it?” Mexican smiles and says, “Bicycles!”

New Ideas!

Bau has got a unique ability to reinvent ideas. Most of you may know that Bau finds it hard to live without internet. Bau has a blog called Bawa 'n Dinesh . In the June `08 advance course Bau, in his own style, asked everyone to start a blog...and that’s it... almost every YES!+ guy and gal have got a blog URL. His words really carry voltage !!! Now the problem is that not many of the Blogging novices are expert in Internet technology. So they mail Bau or comment his blog asking to give tips on Blogging. (It was like "OK Bau, we started our blog. But, what to do now?”). Our "Compassionate" Bau agreed to give the "new-comers", tips on Blogging and starts "YET" another blog on how to blog!?!?! (That’s BLOG SUTRAS) Just Google-search for the Blogging guides. You will, for sure, find scores of blog on how to give a better look for your blogs (Designer Templates), Widgets, Heap of esoteric Codes, and many things even I do not know about. But, what makes Bau's blog different from the flock??? Fun and Knowledge simplified...Nothing else. Well, You always get something new & interesting matter to read about when you visit his blog, even if you know the matter. That’s BAU!!! And I am going to learn it from Bau. P.S. I am soon going to start blogging on new topics like cartoons, jokes & fantastic stories. जय गुरुदेव -- OAK Tree

Delicious Kothimbir Wadi

Kothimbir as it is called in Marathi, (Coriander in English) is a wonderful herb. Did you know...???

• The herb has great success in treating loss of appetite and other dyspeptic complaints. When used in laxatives, it eases griping.

• The roots, leaves and leafstalks can be used to flavor soups, salads, beans and curries.

• Chewing the seeds after eating garlic is used to freshen the breath after eating garlic.

• Coriander is included in lotions and ointment to treat piles (hemorrhoids), rheumatism, menstrual disorders and painful joints.

• Historically, the fruits have been used to treat wounds and burns and the herb has antimicrobial properties.

Here is a dish that most maharashtrians prepare and eat: Kothimbir wadi... This lovely, tasty dish is very easy to prepare. This is how it is prepared... Take 4 cups fresh coriander leaves. Clean, wash and finely chop fresh them. Reserve 2 tablespoons for garnish. Wash, remove stems and finely chop 4 green chillies. Mix freshly chopped coriander leaves, green chillies, a small amount of jaggery, say, 2 tsp., salt, cooking soda, 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder, a cup of Besan (gram flour) and 2 tablespoons oil. Add enough water to make a thick batter. Now, Pour the batter in a greased plate or a tray. For those with creative inclination may use Idli Mould plates!!! Place the tray or plate in the cooker and steam on high heat for 15-20 minutes or till firm and cooked. Remove, cool and cut into cubes of equal size. Heat sufficient oil in a kadai and deep-fry the wadis till they are light golden brown in colour and crisp. Drain the oil using an absorbent kitchen towel. It is ready to be served. You may garnish it liberally with chopped coriander leaves. Generally, Tomato sauce goes good with it. I have eaten kothimbir wadis many times, but one that Shalmali's mom prepared... they were heavenly! Sorry folks, I do not have any pics of the dish prepared. So, do prepare it , take a pic and mail me a copy. Happy Eating! JGD -- OAK Tree

Da Vinci Style!

Everyday after reaching the office, I start my PC, check my office mails. Then start FireFox and hit bawandinesh.blogspot.com Today, I was exceptionally excited after reading bawa's blog. He said in his blog that, he has created another blog which will help a novice in blogging with the tips and tricks. The challenge was that you have to find out the name of the blog. No hints or clues. Once you find you must post a comment on his new blog before 10:30pm Monday (7th July ) I really had a hard time completing my model (Office work). So, I thought, I will hunt after I reach home. Luckily, I reached home by 9:30pm. So I had sufficient time to search. After dinner I started searching. Using google, simple logic and common sense, found his "another blog". It reminded me of the book, "Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown. There are many clues to look for but only the wise one shall find. And only s/he shall seek knowledge! I enjoyed hunting. What joy when I finally found it!! What's the name,... well go and find out?? What's the fun, sans challenge ??? "... Seek and ye shall find... " -- O.A.K. Tree

Lovely Rains

July 1, 08 wwaaaahhhh... What a morning... It started raining early morning. From the years of experience with the local trains of mumbai, I knew that the trains would not be running. I walked up to the Dombivli station, only to see hordes of people waiting for trains to start. The trains were terminating at thane. No point in going all the way to office and getting stuck there. Well, I get a off from office work due to the heavy rains! Wonderful!! The rains continued to pour till late evening. The whole mumbai city was flooded. It rained non-stop when there was high tide. This aggravated the situation. So... 26th July again...??? Lets C -- OAK Tree