The art of living

A group of young artists, theatrepersons, people from other creative industries and college students have come together to form the Art and Culture for Life Movement. “We want to address social issues and channelise the youth’s energy to contribute to social awareness,” explains Sushma Veer, founder. The group’s first such initiative ‘traffic awareness’, a road rally will be held on July 5 in the city.

“From honking, careless driving, accidents to following lane discipline — these are a few issues that will be addressed. These issues will be dealt with using art as a connective medium,” explains Sushma adding, “From caricatures, sketches to performances and skits, the rally promises to be expressive.”

Students from more than six institutes are coming together for this movement. “It’s a small start, but this is just the beginning. Music, art, literature to other forms will be used to communicate the social message. I’ve done a bit of writing for the event,” says Shrya S, student from Jain University.

Sushma, a producer and a creative director is also the founder of the NGO, Akanksha. “I believe that traffic woes disrupt a normal peaceful life. The ‘street’ is where it happens, and what happens there has an impact on a common man’s life.” Adds Tanima, a student and organiser of the event, “We’re holding a dance performance depicting ‘intrusion of space and peace of mind’. There are many such performances that would be held to create awareness.”

Zian C, an actor, who was last seen in the film I Am, will enact a play. “There is an act where the team will work on a skit, telling people to make Bengaluru a better place,” he says. Sushma adds, “A visual experience always leaves a deeper impact. Through this movement, we will also protect and promote indigenous art forms. The rally starts at the NICE road and moves to the other parts of the city.”

Source by:-http://www.deccanchronicle.com/tabloid/bengaluru/art-living-249

Spiritual leader Sathya Sai Baba passes away...!

Spiritual leader Sathya Sai Baba passes away...!

NEW DELHI: Spiritual leader Sathya Sai Baba, who was hospitalized on March 28 following problems related to heart and respiration, passed away on Sunday morning.

Former Supreme Court chief justice and Sathya Sai Central Trust member PN Bhagwati announced in a press release that Sai Baba breathed his last at 7.28am.

Baba's body for darshan will be kept at Sai Kulwant Hall on Monday and Tuesday, Sathya Sai Central Trust announced officially.

Preparations for last rites are under way. Four lakh devotees from India and abroad are expected to arrive.



For the first time since Baba was admitted to Sathya Sai Baba super speciality on March 27, the doctors did not issue a morning bulletin on Sunday.

Sathya Sai Central Trust, which runs social service activities in India and abroad, is to hold a media conference at 11 am.

In the Saturday evening bulletin, the doctors had termed Baba's condition as very critical.

Fearing the worst, hundreds of devotees in the town broke down as their hopes for recovery of the 85-year-old spiritual guru appeared to be fading.

Major industries minister Geeta Reddy and senior government officials rushed to the hospital on Sunday morning and were holding meeting with doctors and trust officials before making an announcement.

The state government has gone on high alert.

More than 6,000 policemen were rushed to the town for deployment and to make arrangements for the visits of VIPs.

Article Source:-Timesofindia.com

SWAMI RAMDEV AND HINDU DISUNITY

SWAMI RAMDEV AND HINDU DISUNITY

When CPI leader Brinda Karad attacks Swami Ramdev, she is not attacking Ramdev in particular, she is attacking Hinduism in general. This guru or that guru, makes no difference to her, she is against all gurus. Other gurus might think that they are safe, that Ramdev committed some sin, for which he is paying. But one of them will be next in the line of fire! Hindu gurus are all vulnerable in today’s India: the Shankacharya has already been hit, so has Satya Sai Baba, with accusations of paedophilia, Amrita Anandamayi has to live under the constant shadow of an hostile Kerala communist-dominated government, Dhirendra Brahmachari has been obliterated and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is periodically targeted as the ‘Guru of the rich’, the ‘glib Godman’ etc…

May I be forgiven my arrogance, but what Indian gurus have to understand is that for Indian communists, Hinduism is the N°1 enemy. Mao called religion ‘the opium of the people’. But for Indian communists, as for Britishers and Muslim invaders before them, what stands between their ambition for absolute power in India (and eventually a triumphant return of communism in the world – as Indian communists believe) is the hold that Hinduism has in the hearts of the rural people of India, who constitute 80% of this country. And still today, the humble farmer, from Uttar Pradesh to Tamil Nadu, has a natural understanding of the universality of God, who takes many names throughout the ages and can be Buddha, Jesus Christ, Ram or Mohamed and this humble farmer possesses the knowledge that there is something deeper than the skin and the mind, and a life beyond death. This knowledge is inbred, it is not in his head, not even in his heart, but in his or her genes transmitted from generation to generation.

Of course, the English speaking media is too happy to oblige Brinda Karat and come down hard on gurus with all kind of accusations, ranging from superstition to conman ship. There is of course a strong communist streak in most Indian newspapers, whether it is Frontline’s and the Hindu’s open allegiance to Communist China, or Brinda Karat being the sister of Prannoy Roy’s wife (not many people know that). Before Ramdev, they condemned the Shankacharya, before him Osho, before him Dhirendra Brahmachari. You can even go back to Sri Aurobindo, who was accused in the early 1900′s by the moderate Congress-controlled press to be a ‘fanatic’, when he was only demanding total independence from the British, long before Gandhi took it up. Accusation against Hinduism of superstition, brainwashing, ritualistic ignorance, date back from British missionaries and have been taken up today by communists. Yet, Hinduism, at least the Hinduism which goes beyond the rituals and becomes universal spirituality, has nothing to do with superstition and conman ship: it is all about science, knowledge and light. Look at pranayama, a science that has known for thousands of years how to harness breath and use it for controlling the mind, for a better, more healthy, more spititualized life. If you read Osho’s books today, you find a lot of solid common sense and wisdom. Sai Baba cannot have millions of disciples from the most humble to the presidents of India, without ‘something’ which is beyond superstition. So it goes for Amrita Anandmai, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Ramdev, or Guruma of Ganeshpuri.

Aticle Source:-http://francoisgautier.wordpress.com/

Microsoft Future Vision Montage 2019 Office Labs

India Tourism Finds Strength in Rich Art Forms and Cultural Heritage

India is not perfect. But that does not deter a tourist to enjoy his or her vacations in the ancient land known for most interesting historical spectacles; spiritual heights; rich and varied culture; frequent use of vibrant colors in almost everything - from attires to elaborate dance costumes to paintings and frescoes; varied landscapes with climatic contrasts, rich wildlife and lush vegetation; and aromatic spices known for their flavor. Beauty is not a thing that exists in isolation. All regions and parts of India might not be very hygienic or organized but it is its imperfections that makes the country all the more endearing to all those who visit it with an open heart.

The co-existence of the wonderful and the abject presents you the true image of life - ornate Hindu Temples with mighty Shikhars, intricate carvings, huge candle holders, and deities that have much religious significance with not quite well-managed crowds might lead you to wait for hours to see the grandeur of the shrine until you have an expert guide with you who knows all the short-cuts to facilitate your pilgrimage trip. The luxurious royal forts and palaces on the outskirts of major cities, famous as tourist attractions, might have small vendors and poor artisans around selling most beautiful wares at very affordable prices and still living in dire poverty.

Foreign tourists affirm that real strengths of India lies its rich art forms and cultural heritage. The Ghoomer and Kalbeliya dance performances on the bonfire nights at Sam Sand Dunes with a backdrop of the Golden Fort of Jaisalmer during the Desert Safari Tour is tantalizing. The Camel Fair at Pushkar in Rajasthan, the Dussehra at Mysore Palace in Karnataka, and the Rath Yatra at the Jagannath Temple in Puri, Orissa are some of the fairs and festivals that attract international tourists with their unique oriental spectacles that are exclusive to the region where they are held.

Theme and region based tour packages allow international tourists to spend their holidays just as they want them to be. Palace On Wheels, Deccan Odyssey, Royal Orient, and Fairy Queen are luxury trains offering top-end tour packages that cover some of the most popular tourist attractions and sites. They also offer choicest luxuries and world-class services along the way to recreate the royal past of the regions they target. Golden Triangle tourist circuit in North India links major historical sites of Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur that are world-renowned and include Taj Mahal, Red Fort, and Hawa Mahal. The famous Khajuraho Temples represents maverick side of Hinduism while Kerala Backwaters is an ultimate Nature retreat, where you can enjoy houseboat cruises and relax in idyllic Ayurveda resorts.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com

Art of Living Hong Kong

Happy Janamastami…

Janamashtami celebrates the birth of Lord Krishna. Ashtami is significant as it indicates a perfect balance between the seen and the unseen aspects of reality; the visible material world and the invisible spiritual realm.

Krishna’s birth on Ashtami signifies his mastery of both the spiritual and material worlds. He is a great teacher and a spiritual inspiration as well as the consummate politician. On one hand, he is Yogeshwara (the Lord of Yogas — the state to which every yogi aspires) while on the other, he is a thief.

The unique quality of Krishna is that he is at once more pious than the saints and yet a thorough mischief-monger! His behaviour is a perfect balance of the extremes — perhaps this is why the personality of Krishna is so difficult to fathom. The avdhoot is oblivious to the world outside and a materialistic person, a politician or a king is oblivious to the spiritual world. But Krishna is both Dwarkadheesh and Yogeshwar.

Krishna’s teachings are most relevant to our times in the sense that they neither let you get lost in material pursuits nor make you completely withdrawn. They rekindle your life, from being a burnt-out and stressed personality to a more centred and dynamic one. Krishna teaches us devotion with skill. To celebrate Gokulashtami is to imbibe extremely opposite yet compatible qualities and manifest them in your own life.

Hence the most authentic way of celebrating Janamashtami is knowing that you have to play a dual role — of being a responsible citizen of the nation and at the same time to realise that you are above all events, the untouched Brahman. Imbibing a bit of avadhoot and a bit of activism in your life is the real significance of
celebrating Janamashtami.

source:http://artoflivinghk.wordpress.com

Art of Living and You

Hi all. So what if I don't know to blog? I have come on the block. Oh! No, this is not me telling. You know I was pushed into blogging when I just became aware of the word. And the words above are the generous advice of that pusher. He is a friend of long standing. If I have to blame him, I have to blame for reasons that are countless. You know he is such an affable fella and a friendly devil kinda guy that you can't blame him even when you want to. Secretly I confessed to the fact that for many things I am today, he is the person that can take credit.

After all why should he do it to me or is he just kind to me alone? He is a couple of years older than I. he was a form ahead of me in school too. He, as I know was the most bubly and chirpy guy as a school boy. Oh! My...he was talking from anything to every thing though the topics naturally were limited to our age bound world. The games, dresses he had purchased from his pocket money and that blue skirt of our teacher. I did really enjoy the moments he used to narrate all these in his inimitable style, sometimes exaggerating sometiimes in an emotional voice. I don't remember disliking or objecting to anything except for that one day when he described the length of his teacher's legs. I was a bit frieghtened as I protested. He laughed at me first and then just switched over.

He was not like it as I knew. This thing bugged me all night long. I can't express what exactly I should call the thoghts that crawled my mind. But it is also true that appreciation for him surfaced strongly. But it never occured to me that he was growing up. Or was he grown up already?

More than anything else what brought me to adore him was his integrity. For some reason or the other I could not go to school or play without him. With him by my side, I felt safer always. He made fun off me, ragged me. But as always, his pranks showed me I had to grow more.

Now, in retrospect I think of him. He is coming back to our town after 32 years. They moved south after he finished high school. Later he called me to tell he had to give up further schooling for pursuing some job. He married a southerner taller than his own self. He built a home there and grew mango trees all around. This brings an incidence back to memory. In the mango season, while returning from school, we had to pass by a mangrove. And there was a hefty watchman gaurduing it. But my friend was all too clever for him. He used to yell and coo standing infront of the gate as if somebody else was trying to thieve mangoes and he wanted to alert the watchman. My friend was so quick to sense if the watchman wasn't around when he didn't turn up immediately. He would dash in, in big strides and whew.. would pluck a few mangoes. Always more for him and one or two for me. I didn't dare ask why.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/