pondicherry

Pondicherry is a small township in the south of India.Legend has it,that it was a place renowned for knowledge,fine arts,music and architecture.
In recent times,it was a French colony till 1956 after which it was declared to be a part of India.Maharshi Arvind,an Indian revolutionary,came here in 1910 to prsue his spiritual goal for the welfare of the world.Subsequently he was joined by The Mother,who came from France in 1920 to help Sri Aurobindo in his mission.
Over the years,Pondicherry has become an international tourist destination with visitors coming here from all parts of the world.There are boarding and lodging facilities to suit every pocket and taste.There are lovely beaches and old French and Indian architecture.The nearest Airport is Madras or Bangalore and it has a Railway station connecting it to all parts of India.
The weather is hot and humid for most parts of the year,except from October to February.

It is an ideal place to relax,scuba diving,fishing, and other leisurely pursuits.There iare Art galleries,Art Musueums,auditorioums,museums and gardens.
The people are extremely gentle,helpful and polite.It has a cosmopolitan culture with people from all parts of the world staying here.Given the necessary support,Pondicherry has the makings of an international township.

friendship

Friendships are under enormous strain everywhere.This is due to the prevailing atmosphere of suspicion,scepticism,purposelessness and deceit everywhere.People have become fickle and opportunistic.The 'use and throw' culture has permeated every aspect of life.
In any relationship,there will always be ups and downs.Trust and sincerity are indispensable qualities to keep a relationship going.One has to be patient and charitable with a friend.No relationship based on economic factors can last.To be lasting, friendship has to be built on shared values and loyalties.
A self-righteous and condescending attitude prevents a relationship from growing.Humility,patience and continuous dialogue between friends can do wonders for a relationship.
In the present times,one has to be extremely cautious in the choice of friends.If one associates people who are disciplined,focused and determined,it automatically creates an atmosphere of goodwill.

Margaret Thatcher

When Maggie became PM,England was in dire straits.Unemployment,inflation,crime,racial tension and social discord had reached alarming levels.The people's morale was at an all time low.Businesses were closing and a large number of people had started leaving Britain for greener pastures.
Maggie had an unerring insight into the problems bedevelling Britain.The people had become lazy and immoral due to the existing state of affairs.
Gorbachev was the General Secretary of the Soviet Union and he was also trying to dismantle the command-control structure prevailing in the Soviet Union.Maggie promised all support to Gorbachev from NATO and Great Britain in his endeavour to bring freedom and prosperity in the Soviet Union.

Within a decade,Maggie introduced sweeping reforms in the economic policies and completely dismantled the socialistic pattern of society.She encouraged enterprise,private initiative,new ideas and tried hard ti improve relationships with Asian,Latin American and African countries.Putting "All eggs in one basket can be risky" was her favourite adage.When she left office,Britain had once again become a strong,purposeful and disciplined nation.

chhatrapati shivaji maharaj

What Cromwell did for England Shivaji did for India.He was the first man in recorded history to give the concept of "Swaraj-self determination' to the people. He instilled a sense of purpose,discipline and cohesiveness among the Marathas.
His uniqueness amongst all medieval Indian rulers was his total adherence to the Dharma..before Shivaji,India had for various reasons become weak

and stagnant.The poor and the infirm were feeling insecure and miserable.Women were being molested and humiliated everywhere by the zamindars and the local rulers.
Jizabai was a very strong and independent woman.She realized that her son Shivaji was a man of destiny and she and her husband Shajiraje arranged matters so that Shivaji could be educated in matters of warfare and politics.
Shivaji soon realized that given the circumstances and paucity of resources,he would have to resort to guirella tactics.Shivaji raided Surat,a commercial port and got huge amounts of precious stones and gold from the local merchants.As his strength and influence started growing,Aurangzeb and the Bijapur Sultan decided to cut him down to size.Afzalkhan was sent with a huge army to destroy Shivaji but Shivaji was able to kill Afzalkhan and rout his army.
Shivaji had realized that without the support of the Rajputs,it would be extremely difficult to realize his dream of Swaraj.He made many attempts in that direction but they had become so used to the status-quo that they could not see the writing on the wall.Shivaji was above religion,language or culture and recruited strong and sturdy youth in his army.He had enormous respect and affection for women and wanted them to be self-reliant and independent.Even the women of the enemy camp respected Shivaji for his bravery and sterling qualities of character and helped him in his moments of distress.

In many respects,Shivaji laid the foundation for a strong,united and prosperous India.

hour of god

The Hour of God

There are moments when the Spirit moves among men and the breath of the Lord is abroad upon the waters of our being; there are others when it retires and men are left to act in the strength or the weakness of their own egoism. The first are periods when even a little effort produces great results and changes destiny; the second are spaces of time when much labour goes to the making of a little result. It is true that the latter may prepare the former, may be the little smoke of sacrifice going up to heaven which calls down the rain of God's bounty. Unhappy is the man or the nation which, when the divine moment arrives, is found sleeping or unprepared to use it, because the lamp has not been kept trimmed for the welcome and the ears are sealed to the call. But thrice woe to them who are strong and ready, yet waste the force or misuse the moment; for them is irreparable loss or a great destruction. In the hour of God cleanse thy soul of all self-deceit and hypocrisy and vain self-flattering that thou mayst look straight into thy spirit and hear that which summons it. All insincerity of nature, once thy defence against the eye of the Master and the light of the ideal, becomes now a gap in thy armour and invites the blow. Even if thou conquer for the moment, it is the worse for thee, for the blow shall come afterwards and cast thee down in the midst of thy triumph. But being pure cast aside all fear; for the hour is often terrible, a fire and a whirlwind and a tempest, a treading of the winepress of the wrath of God; but he who can stand up in it on the truth of his purpose is he who shall stand; even though he fall, he shall rise again, even though he seem to pass on the wings of the wind, he shall return. Nor let worldly prudence whisper too closely in thy ear; for it is the hour of the unexpected, the incalculable, the immeasurable. Mete not the power of the Breath by thy petty instruments, but trust and go forward. But most keep thy soul clear, even if for a while, of the clamour of the ego. Then shall a fire march before thee in the night and the storm be thy helper and thy flag shall wave on the highest height of the greatness that was to be conquered.

 

- Sri Aurobindo

satyameva jayate

Bharat-symbol of peace,harmony,fraternity,equality,tolerance and justice.
Liberty and equality cannot be achieved without brotherhood.Till date all attempts to achieve economic equality have failed because of lack of cohesiveness and love among the people.For unity to be meaningful it is necessary to instill a sense of purpose,discipline,team spirit and cooperation among the people.Individually,Indians are perhaps the most intelligent people in the world but India has failed as a nation because of lack of cohesiveness and character in the people.
'What the best will do,others will follow'Bhagvad Gita.If the head of the family is righteous and follows the Dharma,the other members will also follow in his footsteps.Lord Rama is still reverd all over India because he embodied the qualities of truth,bravery,sacrifice,justice and a genuine concern for the well being of the subjects.He had to undergo enormous sufferings but he never wavered because of his total belief that'The truth will always prevail.'
Since eternity India has produced extra-ordinary people like Vishwamitra,Vashishtha,Valmiki,Buddha,Shankaracharya,Chanakya,Akbar,Shivaji,Rani Laxmibai,Guru Nanak,Kabir,Dnyaneshwar,Tiruvallavar,Ramakrishna,Vivekananda,Sri Aurobindo,Tilak,Tagore,Ambedkar and Sardar Patel.
Ancient India was renowned for learning,art,architecture,poetry and moral values.Throughout its history India has never tried to subjugate or conquer any nation.India's unique strength lies in its ability to assimilate any culture,language or religion without forsaking its identity.India has always welcomed people from all over the world with an open heart to settle and prosper in its territories.

napoleon

Napoleon Bonaparte is the only man in recorded history who was able to change the world for the better.History can be divided into pre-Napoleonic and post-Napoleonic periods.Before Napoleon the world was run at the whim and fancy of a few selfish and greedy individuals and after Napoleon the world entered into the Democratic age.
Napoleon ,though a megalomaniac,had the uncanny gift of being able to read the writing on the wall and had realized that the world stood on the threshold of change.All it required was for one man to seize the opportunity with both hands

and ignite the flame of liberty in the hearts and minds of people.
The French Revolution had done the work of centuries within a short period and given the concepts of Liberte,Egalite and Fraternite to mankind! Napoleon only gave them practical shape and brought democracy to Europe and subsequently to the rest of the world.