Jain Santhara : what it really means?

Jain Santhara, has become a big issue. Apparently the court has a put a restriction on it & this has enraged the Jain community. There is a India-wide strike today & a peace rally to protest the restriction & make the court lift the imposed restriction.

All that is okay, but I believe that the Jain community has really forgotten what Santhara really means. Santhara is not a way of dying, but a way of living.

What the general community thinks Santhara means?

What the general Jain community thinks Santhara means, little movement, no eating food & water & removing all possessions to be one with the Universe in peace.

This would be pretty right, except that the Santhara does not come from leaving things, but real Santhara comes from leaving the attachment to things.

It is the attachment that is the real cause of karma-bandhan (paap). For example, an ascetic has no possessions, but neither does a beggar. Then why do we revere ascetics & not beggars? Both have them have no possessions! Because the difference is not in not-owning-possessions, but the real difference is, in not having attachment (aasakti) to them.

Even if a beggar has nothing & lives by the roadside, he wants everything, from bungalows to cars. Whereas, an ascetic has voluntarily left all his possessions, along with, more importantly his or we attachment to those possessions. If an ascetic wants worldly things even after deeksha (sanyaas) then he is no more than a beggar in reality.

And that is the difference that the Jain community seems to have forgotten these days. We have started believing in leaving things rather than leaving our attachment to things. We are today  changing just our clothes for Samayik & not our thoughts, our way of thinking, our attitude towards life.

Santhara in truth is freedom from all worldly possessions & the attachment to them. & that is the real way of Jain living, not just dying. & none but we ourselves are responsible for living truly free from all attachments & there is no one, no law that can stop us from living free. But first we need to realise the difference.

It is just as, the real meaning of Christmas gifting is to help someone in dire need & not just gift to your own loved ones. The real sacrifice on Eid should be of the thing that is the most dear to you because these are the real sacrifices that free us & freedom is all that we really want.

P. S. : this post is based on my personal opinion & understanding of the world. No offence intended.

How a Mother Nurtured her Son's Hidden Genius

This Mother Tore Off Labels And Nurtured Her Son’s Hidden Genius

By Stephanie Broadhurst/The Mother List
Here’s an incredible story about a mother who totally disregarded what experts said about her son and threw off the label that was slapped on him as a toddler. Instead, she followed her own instincts – with astounding results.
Kristine Barnett’s son Jacob was diagnosed with autism when he was 2, and doctors said he would never speak. She tried special education programs and therapies aimed at addressing his limitations. When teachers told her there was no hope, she rebelled and took her own path.
“A lot of people thought that I had lost my mind,” she recalls.
Instead of focusing on Jacob’s limitations, Kristine nurtured his interests. Now her 15-year-old son is on track to win a Nobel Prize for his work in theoretical physics.
Relying on the insights she developed at her in-home daycare, Kristine resolved to follow Jacob’s “spark” — his passionate interests. Why concentrate on what he couldn’t do? Why not focus on what he could? This philosophy, along with her belief in the power of childhood play, helped her son grow in incredible ways.
“He liked repetitive behaviors. He would play with a glass and look at the light, twisting it for hours on end. Instead of taking it away, I would give him 50 glasses, fill them with water at different levels and let him explore,” she says. “I surrounded him with whatever he loved.”
The more she did that, the more it worked. Then one night, as he was being tucked in, Jacob spoke. “It was like music … because everybody had said it was an impossible thing,” Kristine recalls.”I would tuck him in every night and say, ‘Goodnight, baby Jacob, you’re my baby angel, and I love you very much.’ One night he looked me straight in the eyes and said, ‘Night-night baby bagel.’ All along he must have thought I had been calling him a bagel!”
Jacob is now a student of theoretical physics at the Perimeter Institute in Waterloo, Ontario, with an IQ measured to be higher than Einstein’s.
Kristine chronicles her son’s incredible journey and breakthrough in her book “The Spark: A Mother’s Story of Nurturing, Genius, and Autism.”
When she talks to other moms who have children on the spectrum, ADHD, learning disorders, or other disabilities, she tells them: “It’s really important that when you have a label, you don’t let that label define you. What are your children good at? Let that define them. Create motivations that are self-driven. Let them pursue what they love.”
“As parents, we know in our hearts what our kids need,” she says, “and we need to trust that a little more. Even if that goes against what others are saying.”

Reblogged via : The Mother List

What has humanity come down to?

Today I was crossing the road & there was this poor lady (who looked physically distorted) trying to get passerby's attention.
But so many people passed her without even looking at her.
She wasn't begging for money, she was asking someone to buy her an asthma medicine (an empty bottle of which she held in her hand)
& people passed by as if she did not even exist.

What has mankind fallen to if we are not compassionate to fellow human beings?

Kyle's Valedictorian Speech will Restore Your Faith in Humanity

The Story Of Kyle

One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class walking home from school.  His name was Kyle.  It looked like he was carrying all of his books.  I thought to myself, “Why would anyone bring home all his books on Friday?  He must really be a nerd.”

I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.  As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt.  His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him.  He looked up, and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes.

Happiness is a choice, not just a chance

Happiness is the holy grail of human emotions. Everyone wants it, all can have it, yet few really have it.

Here Is what I think, happiness is not something that can be bought or otherwise owned, but it is a conscious choice to be happy. (except probably in the most dire circumstances such as prison camps).

If you are reading this, you are not one of the 774 million illiterate people in the world. You are not dependent on someone else to read this out to you. You are one of the only 31% of world population who has access to the internet. & you have idle time to be reading this, you are not trying to work your way to the next meal!

In my short experience of life, I have realised that everything passes on, almost nothing is as forever-ish or permanent as we seem to believe or think. An understanding of which gives us the ultimate choice, the choice to be happy. Every moment we have something to be happy about & something to be sad about. We have been taught to achieve perfection, from  school (get 'perfect' marks) to college (get the 'perfect' job) to work (get the 'perfect' promotion) which makes us see that perfection is the source to happiness. But that is not true. Not perfection, but satisfaction is the key to happiness. & We can be satisfied no matter what we do or do not have, if we choose to be.

Some more thoughts on happiness at Happiness = Reality - Expectations

Related Posts : Contentment is the Key to Happiness

Background music of life

There is a background music in life. 

Here is what you need to do to listen to it.

1. Go to a garden or a park.

2. Find an isolated space in the park, close to a tree preferably.

3. Sit down & stop thinking.

4. Yes, stop thinking about work, about your girlfriend or boyfriend or spouse.

5. Take out that iphone or ipod ear plug.

6. Relax. (lie down if it helps)

7. Be at peace with yourself.

8. Listen to the birds chirping, the air rustling the leaves of the tree, observe the ants working, the squirrels running around.

That is the music of life.

Rinse & repeat.

The Better India : Journalism Showcasing the good in India

The Better India : Positive News about the Unsung heroes of India

The Better India is a website dedicated to showcasing the Good in India.
Whether it is their old post on Abdul Kareem, the one man who planted a forest  or Swades  or the latest post on the communal harmony in Kishtwar they are showcasing the best things about India to the world & more importantly, to us, the Indians, who seem to have forgotten the good around us.

Here is a bio of the founders taken from their about section. 

The Better India was founded on 10th of July 2008, as an outcome of scarcity of  positive & developmental news in conventional sources of media. The Better India is an attempt to bring out the happy stories, the unsung heroes (and heroines!), the small good deeds, and showcase them to the world. Over here, you will read about the incremental progress being made by the people of this country, the developments happening on the social and economic front. We hope that by showcasing these here, we might be able to inspire at least one amongst you, the readers, to do something that leaves an impact. Small or big. But, an impact. - See more at: http://www.thebetterindia.com/about/

I haven't yet met them, so cannot update further. But on a first glance, a good initiative worth a look!

What goes around comes around

One day a man saw an old lady, stranded on the side of the road, but even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out. His Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her.
Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn’t look safe; he looked poor and hungry.
He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt. It was those chills which only fear can put in you.
He said, “I’m here to help you, ma’am. Why don’t you wait in the car where it’s warm? By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson.”
Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt.
As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was only just passing through. She couldn’t thank him enough for coming to her aid.
Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. The lady asked how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right with her. She already imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped. Bryan never thought twice about being paid. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were plenty, who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way.
He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance they needed, and Bryan added, “And think of me.”
He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight.
A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe. She went in to grab a bite to eat, and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip home. It was a dingy looking restaurant. Outside were two old gas pumps. The whole scene was unfamiliar to her. The waitress came over and brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair. She had a sweet smile, one that even being on her feet for the whole day couldn’t erase. The lady noticed the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain and aches change her attitude. The old lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Bryan.
After the lady finished her meal, she paid with a hundred dollar bill. The waitress quickly went to get change for her hundred dollar bill, but the old lady had slipped right out the door. She was gone by the time the waitress came back. The waitress wondered where the lady could be. Then she noticed something written on the napkin.
There were tears in her eyes when she read what the lady wrote: “You don’t owe me anything. I have been there too. Somebody once helped me out, the way I’m helping you. If you really want to pay me back, here is what you do: Do not let this chain of love end with you.”
Under the napkin were four more $100 bills.
Well, there were tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve, but the waitress made it through another day. That night when she got home from work and climbed into bed, she was thinking about the money and what the lady had written. How could the lady have known how much she and her husband needed it? With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard….
She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to her, she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low, “Everything’s going to be all right. I love you, Bryan Anderson.”
There is an old saying “What goes around comes around."

Reblogged via storyforsoul.blogspot.in

What if our study of the universe is like the story of the blind man & the elephant

There is a classic story of three blind men & an elephant.

There were three blind men who encountered an elephant. They wanted to 'see' an elephant & decided to feel it up.

One grabbed its trunk, another it's leg & a third one its tail.

The first one exclaimed, an elephant is flexible, like a rope, thick on the top, thins down at the bottom.

The second said, the elephant is like a pillar, sturdy. No chance of flexibility. Maybe some joints but not even close to a rope.

The third one said, you are nth wrong, an elephant is like a snake, thin & flexible. & I cannot hold it still. It ends above the aur so maybe it is hanging from a tree! I hope it does not attack me.

I think human understanding of the Universe at this stage is similar to those three blind men. We see one part of the universe & we think we have fathomed it. We have discovered gravity, electromagnetism, quantum mechanics & how they work. We think we know how the atoms work, how chemistry works. We think we know how atoms are but we have never 'seen' one. We think we know how atoms are made & even how galaxies are made. Each of those maybe correct in their own rights, but I think we are still away from truly understanding the Universe.

We still do not know how to save the Earth, the only planet till date where we can survive & how to save ourselves from ourselves.

Happy Friendship, not just the friendship day!

I am wishing my friends, happy Friendship! instead of happy friendship day!

Because it is the friendship the needs to be celebrated, not the day!

Book review : Tuesdays with Morrie

I would like to thank Bulbul Tunkalia & Kruti Munot for suggesting this wonderful heart-touching story to me.

'Love each other or perish.' - Professor Morrie

This story is not just about a teacher, Professor Morrie, or the author (& student), Mitch, neither just about life, but about loving & living. (I mistyped living as loving, only to realise it is correct too)

It is a beautiful story about what a dying man can teach the living, healthy ones about truly living. It is a story of love, compassion, heart-wrenching suffering, but most importantly living & embracing the present.

Professor Morrie reminds me of Mehra Uncle & my Nanasa, two vividly different & wise people who live on in me through their teachings.

The story also reminds me of Mrs. Rita Arora & Kanhaiya Lal ji Lodha, two great teachers who are both ill right now. :-(

Professor Morrie talks about 2 very important things, embracing life & loving people.

'Death can end life, not relationships.' -Professor Morrie

When you think about someone, when you think what they taught you, of the happy times you spent together, that person is listening, somewhere, somehow he or she is listening, and smiling. :-)

It is a wonderful story that brings you closer to your family & loved ones, that tells you there is only so much time we all have in Life, spend it lovingly with your loved ones, with people you love & people who live you.

I cannot put it better than Professor Morrie right now, so go ahead & read the book.

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

Edit : Listen!

Listen to your loved ones, talk to them, while you can. Saying good words about them when they are no more is not as good as saying the same good words (in present tense rather than past tense) to them in person.

Early Morning Tribute to Mehra Uncle

Shri B. K. Mehra (19xx-2013) lives on in our heart & mind forever.

A sportsperson himself, he was also a great ambassador for sports.

This post is a tribute to his sportsman spirit.

He had created a sports club in Jawahar Nagar, by the name of Janupyogi Kendra. While he was the president, he allowed no parties there, I mean no marriage functions there, even though it is a huge source of income. He always used to say, I have not made it for people to get married here, but for kids like you & the kids who play on the street, they should come here & play in the lawn. He made badminton courts, tennis courts, established table tennis tables. Later he started vocational training for underprivileged girls & basic computer training for underprivileged kids, a small library too, free of cost to whoever wants to read. You could always donate if you want to.

Till date we are playing there, only because Mehra Uncle had once said, jab tab tum log (ya koi na koi) yahan khelte rahoge, it will be a place of sports. The day people stop playing here, it will become a marriage lawn.

Our every day game of badminton is, in a way, tribute to that great man, Mehra Uncle.

We miss you Uncle.

Book review : Siddhartha

Siddharth (book by Hermann Hesse ISBN : 978-81-7234-368-2) is not a story of fiction, it is a story, compiled in parts, of different truths in different parts.

It is not about Gautam Buddha, as the name initially gave an indication to me, but about a different path to the same state. As a learner in the realm of science, I can appreciate this story in a very different manner. Which reminds me of Prof. Suchitra Mathur's class on 'Criticism & Appreciation of Literature' where I think I imbibed a very important lesson, no review is ever right or wrong, for every review is unique & thus in itself complete. The review reflects the understanding of the text by the critic, not the book itself. I have only begun to understand Siddhartha & hence my review may not reflect the book, but it is not supposed to, either.

What I have said above would make more sense if you have ever gone through interactive literature. Where, you can input a name & the character takes up that name, & you can make the choices for the character & the story changes as the different 'names' make different choices. This book is about one such character name, called Siddhartha. This is not a usual story of spirituality, not your regular, go into the woods or to the Himalayas, meditate, recite holy chants, bathe in the Ganga, 'wash' your sins & achieve Nirvana, it is quite the contrary. (personal note : I do not think it makes a wee bit of difference to achieving Nirvana, but I will keep to myself for another post or a discussion in person)

This is a book of lust, passion, friendship, worldly belongings & most importantly, the flight from them. It does not begin as such, but is such, nonetheless. It begins as most stories begin, in an isolated village, among the Brahmans, the well of knowledge (& arrogance), the search for spirituality, the distractions & finally the self-revelation.

To some parts of the story, I feel so empathic that I had almost replaced reading Siddhartha with Sambhav, so diverse is the text.

Surprisingly, I just realised, this story is not at all about religion, but talks about atheism, rather neo-atheism aka atheism 2.0 that I had talked about in a earlier post, (will update the link when I find it) which is spiritual atheism. Siddhartha as a character emphasises the need to not follow a pre-defined path so that you can find a new path. A new path to the same final state, Nirvana. Oh, but the story's 'plot' has its roots in Hinduism/Buddhism & is easier to understand if you have a glimpse into either religion. 

Siddhartha, as a character emphasises that it's not just the end that is important, but also the means of how have you reached it, though he does not preach a path or say one is better than the another, but quite the contrary, everyone must find his or her own path. You can be guided in the direction, but achieve long-lasting peace, Nirvan, you must follow your own path. It is the very experience of the path that makes the peace long-lasting, perhaps.

There is still much that I have not covered in the review. I may come back & edit the  review as understanding dawns.

As usual, the book was recommended by Kruti Munot.

Edit : The boom has been so beautifully  written & translated that while reading it, you do not even realise that the book has even translated from German language!

Wisdom from A Quora Celeb

This post is courtesy Kruti Munot (www.krutimunot.com) (yes, the Quora celeb.)

It is worth reading, understanding & imbibing in life. The following was her answer to a question on Quora, & she's just a high-school student!

Two things my father always says:

• The best gift you can give somebody to show you love them, is freedom. 

This explains why my parents put very few restrictions on me. They knew I wouldn't misuse the freedom. Being responsible and respecting the space others give me- definitely changed me(positively)!

• There is nothing universally right or wrong. 

Rightness is a relative concept. If you think something another person is doing is wrong, it might be perfectly right for them. Before knowing the purpose of why they did it, you shouldn't point at their action.

Everyone has a story.

A 24 year old boy seeing out from the train’s window shouted…
“Dad, look the trees are going behind!”
Dad smiled and a young couple sitting nearby, looked at the 24 year old’s childish behavior with pity,
suddenly he again exclaimed…
“Dad, look the clouds are running with us!”
The couple couldn’t resist and said to the old man…
“Why don’t you take your son to a good doctor?”
The old man smiled and said…
“I did and we are just coming from the hospital, my son was blind from birth, he just got his eyes today.

Every single person on the planet has a story. Don’t judge people before you truly know them. The truth might surprise you.

Suspended Coffee : Do something for someone who can never repay you.

"We enter a little coffeehouse with a friend of mine and give our order. While we’re approaching our table two people come in and they go to the counter:
‘Five coffees, please. Two of them for us and three suspended’ They pay for their order, take the two and leave.

I ask my friend: “What are those ‘suspended’ coffees?”
My friend: “Wait for it and you will see.”

Some more people enter. Two girls ask for one coffee each, pay and go. The next order was for seven coffees and it was made by three lawyers - three for them and four ‘suspended’. While I still wonder what’s the deal with those ‘suspended’ coffees I enjoy the sunny weather and the beautiful view towards the square in front of the café. Suddenly a man dressed in shabby clothes who looks like a beggar comes in through the door and kindly asks
‘Do you have a suspended coffee ?’

It’s simple - people pay in advance for a coffee meant for someone who can not afford a warm beverage. The tradition with the suspended coffees started in Naples, but it has spread all over the world and in some places you can order not only a suspended coffee, but also a sandwich or a whole meal.

Wouldn't it be wonderful to have such cafés or even grocery stores in every town where the less fortunate will find hope and support ? If you own a business why don’t you offer it to your clients… I am sure many of them will like it.

Reposted via Quora

Stop Child Labor - What you can do?

The article was originally written by Hemali Sangani, co-founder, Sambhav.

Child labour in housing societies is not unusual. In fact, as per the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report, more than 40% of domestic help in Mumbai (more popularly known as City of Dreams) are under-15 girls.
As a co-founder and committee member of Sambhav – We Can Make a Difference, I decided to take up this issue and raise a voice against employment of children in homes. Later, Sambhavites unanimously decided to organize “Say No to Child Labour” Campaign on June 12, which also happens to be World Anti-Child Labour Day. As we were discussing our action plan for June 12, our family, friends and neighbours asked us a range of questions on the existing rules, penalties, reporting procedures, after-effects of removing a child labourer from work, etc. It is at this point, that we decided to draft a section on general FAQs related to child labour, which can be circulated through electronic mediums.
The FAQs are as follows:-
1. Why fighting against child labour is important?

• India has the highest number of child labourers in the world.
• Of the child labour force, 86% do not receive any education. (Source: CRY website).
• When children are employed they are exploited and abused. It affects their heath as well as overall development since they are deprived of their education and recreation.

2. Why is Sambhav targeting child labour in housing societies?

• Child labor in housing societies is rampant. In fact, more than 40% of domestic help in Mumbai are under-15 girls [Source: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report].
• In October, 2006, government announced penalties for the employers of child labourers in houses, shops, restaurants, etc.
• Housing Society Bye Laws, (governed by the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, 1960), were recently amended to ban child labor in the housing society’s. It provides that a society should ensure that children below the age of 14 are not working on the society’s premises, including in any flat.
• Penalties: The guilty (individual hirer) would be punished with a maximum fine of 1 year prison and/or Rs 20,000 in fine [Bye Laws 49(b) & 153 (c)].
• Please note that there are ‘NO’ exceptions to the above rule i.e. a child laborer cannot work in a housing society for any type of work.

It is because of these reasons, Sambhavites decided to target child labor in housing societies.
3. In most cases parents send their children to work. If we do not employ a child laborer in our house, the parents may employ the child somewhere else.

• There are two broad categories of parents –
First, ones who are unaware of the advantages of education and the various government schemes, which provide for the free education to poor children.
Second, those who do not want to send their children to schools as it will deprive them of the extra income what their children are earning.

• In the first case, we individuals, can go extra mile and make the parents aware of the advantages of education in a child’s future. We can also educate them about free education as well as Midday Meal schemes in government-aided school.
• In the second case, once again we individuals can act responsible citizens and report such cases to government or local NGOs. 1098 is a 24-hour childcare helpline no. The authorities at 1098 would then take it forward – depending on the nature of each case, the authorities would counsel the parents, provide some financial help or take some rehabilitation measure. Please note, that by reporting on 1098, the authorities would not take harsh measures against the children or their parents. Rather, they would help in every way possible.

4. Children are the major source of income for poor families. What would these families do in order to survive?

• If you ask. “Is it not true that if a family is extremely poor and is in desperate straits then the parents would need to send their child to work?” Then the answer of course is ‘YES’.
• But reframe the question as “Are all families sending their children to work so poor that they need their child’s income in order to survive?” The answer is firm ‘NO’.
• In fact, the rural areas are full of examples of children belonging to very poor families who are in school while their relatively better-off counterparts are working (SOURCE: MVF India).
• A large number of factors that have nothing to do with the economics of the situation, such as tradition, ignorance of parents on account of illiteracy, lack of access to alternatives, and so on govern the decision of the family to send a child to work or to school.
• We must remember that education is a fundamental right of every child in India. In fact, education is a direction in breaking the vicious circle of poverty.

5. What if the child is studying as well as working?

• Firstly, the law clearly provides that child labour (in any form) is strictly banned. There are no exceptions to the above rule.
• Even if a child is going to school, he/she is still not allowed to work in the after-school hours.
• After-school hours are meant for child’s recreation, which would promote a child’s overall development and not for working in homes, restaurants, shops, etc.

6. I tried convincing a child labourer in my society to go to schools and study. But he’s least interested in education. What more can I do?

• Let us rewind our life and go back to our primary school days (in the age group 6- 10 years). How many of us, were enthusiastic about waking up for the school? How many of us, (without our parents interfering) finished our homework first and then head for playing with our friends? How many of us understood the importance of education in first place? I’m afraid the answer is not many of us.
• It was because of our parents/guardians/tuition teachers that we studied during our primary school days, completed our homework, indulged in extra-curricular activities like drawing, cycling, dancing, etc.
• It is important for all of us to understand, that like us, there are many child labourers who do not like studying. But as our parents mentored our lives and made you and me an educated person, we should be taking care of the rights of such poor children.
• I want to raise a voice against child labour in my society, but am afraid that it would affect the relationship between my family and my neighbors.
• This is for every individual to decide what they want to do – accept things as they are or raise voice against wrong, maintain relationship with your neighbor ad turn a blind eye or take a step in shaping a child’s future.
• Do what appeals to your self-conscience as you are answerable only to yourself.

8. How can I contribute?

• ‘BE’ a responsible citizen and ensure you do not employ child labour.
• ‘ACT’ as a responsible citizen and ensure that your society does not employ child labour.
• ‘EDUCATE’ and create awareness amongst people employing child labourers and the parents sending their children to work.
• Further, ‘REPORT’ cases of child labour.
• Take the initiative and create a difference, it is ‘SAMBHAV’.

We later approached the committee members of 11 housing societies (24 buildings) located in Borivali West/Kandivali West areas of Mumbai and requested them to allow us to put up the “stop child labour” posters on the notice boards of each building. After having discussions with the committee members on the above FAQs, they promised us to take up the child labour issue in their upcoming annual general meetings.
Please note that Sambhav- We Can Make a difference is a group of working professionals who have come together to make a difference in our society and our neighbourhoods. You can find us on facebook – our facebook page name is “Sambhav-We Can Make a Difference”.

The writer is the Co-Founder and Committee Member of Sambhav.

Reblogged via http://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2011/06/what-can-you-do-to-stop-child-labour/

What led me to write the previous post

I forgot to mention the context of the previous post. My (maternal)
grandfather had a minor heart attack today. He was brought from the
village to Jaipur & admitted in Fortis. I met him in the morning then
came back from showroom later in the evening to meet him. One of his
acquaintances, a 'powerful' person with contacts at Fortis was also
there with me to meet him.
Now neither of us had visitors passes. Both the passholders were
upstairs. I called upstairs to send a pass.
While we were waiting for the passes, I was shocked that this person
argued with the guard, used their 'power' to enter the lift & get to
the ICU floor without the pass.
The reason I was shocked was at the abuse of power on someone who was
doing his duty, the guard, to crush a system that was made for the
benefit of the patients.
Do we humans, possibly the most intelligent species on the Earth,
really need to be so SELFISH?

The Power of Women - A liberated mind

Vasanth Kannabiran Photo:Nagara Gopal

Teacher and activist, Vasanth Kannabiran takes pride in her tireless crusade for women's rights. She says she could never have described herself as a writer, poet or scholar but for the feminist movement.

As she walks towards you slowly, in her crisp cotton saree, with bobbed silver hair and a warm smile, she exudes a radiance that is almost palpable — one that is but a reflection of countless struggles braved, of numerous wars won. Of a life spent well.

30 reasons to be Vegetarian - PETA

Amazing video by PETA. Video courtesy : www.goveg.com

Posting on blog, because I want to have this video for a very long time.

Are you a vegetarian? answer in the comments below