Faith vs Atheism

I have seen many people who go to some Guru/GOD just cribbing about their problems. They believe that if they have true faith in their GOD; then the GOD will do some magic to solve all their problems.

This kind of faith is dangerous. Many self-proclaimed Gurus take advantage of such followers to build their spiritual business empires.

On the other hand, some people have decided not get into this confusion of faith.
They call themselves as atheist. Meaning they do not believe in any such GOD/Guru.

According to me, real Gurus are those who teach their followers to have faith in themselves. Having faith in yourself will give you the confidence. This confidence will be helping you to overcome your problem. This may sound as modern philosophy, similar to 'believe in yourself' theory by Baba Ranchoddas. But, Vendanta philosophy have mentioned this about thousands of years ago.

Recently, I came across one quotation from Swami Vivekananda in this regard.

The Vedanta teaches men to have faith in themselves first. As certain religions of the world say that a man who does not believe in a Personal God outside of himself is an atheist, so the Vedanta says, a man who does not believe in himself is an atheist. Not believing in the glory of our own soul is what the Vedanta calls atheism.

-- Swami Vivekananda
[Practical Vedanta, Page: 3]

Now, think on your own; whether you have faith in yourself or you are atheist?

Ganesh chaturthi puja references

Today is Ganesh chaturthi. Many devotees will worship लाडका बाप्पा (meaning: favorite God; used as a synonym for Lord Ganesh) and celebrate his festival.


Well, I believe that devotee should have freedom to choose how he/she wish to worship his/her God. Ideally we don't need any specifications, rules about how one should do puja.

But, traditionally it is done in some specific way. This puja involves 16 steps hence named as shodasha upchar puja.

Today, I found some audio, pdf resources which are good references for this puja.
They are available for download here http://www.esnips.com/web/yogiz-ganeshpuja

I hope that, these references would be useful for some of you.

Indian Govt office related links

Today, I came across www.india.gov.in.

It has some useful information related to many services being provided by the various Central & State/UT Governments in India.

How do I? page includes links to information related to:

Obtain:
* Birth Certificate
* Caste Certificate
* Tribe Certificate
* Domicile Certificate
* Driving Licence
* Marriage Certificate
* Death Certificate

Apply for:
* PAN Card
* TAN Card
* Ration Card
* Passport
* Inclusion of name in the Electoral Rolls

Register:
* Land/Property
* Vehicle
* With State Employment Exchange
* As Employer
* Company
* .IN Domain
* GOV.IN Domain

Check/Track:
* Waiting list status for Central Government Housing
* Status of Stolen Vehicles
* Land Records
* Causelist of Indian Courts
* Court Judgements (JUDIS)
* Daily Court Orders/Case Status
* Acts of Indian Parliament
* Exam Results
* Speed Post Status
* Agricultural Market Prices Online

Book/File/Lodge:
* Train Tickets Online
* Air Tickets Online
* Income Tax Returns
* Complaint with Central Vigilance Commission (CVC)

Contribute to:
* Prime Minister's Relief Fund

Others:
* Send Letters Electronically

new year diary 2010

This blog was nearly silent in the last year. Let new year bring new hope to post something here.

On this occasion, let me share this electronic diary 2010.
It was forwarded to me by one my friends. I found it useful and worth sharing.

@All
May all of you get success in your respective goals for the coming year.

Valuable

This is one of my favorite photographs clicked by me.

You may be wondering what is so special about this simple photograph of one silver plate?
Answer:
It is not a silver plate.
Remember William Shakespeare's quote 'All that glitters is not ...' .

To help you a bit; let me give you a hint.
This is not a silver plate but something much more valuable than it.
.
.
.
.
.
....

OK. If you haven't guessed it yet, here is the answer.
It is a top view of glass of water. [:)]

Then why did I said that it is more valuable than silver?
Because one cannot survive without water but silver is not a necessity.

Many a times we ignore the importance of things that are readily available to us. In Sanskrit we call this 'अतिपरिचयात अवज्ञा'(Atiparichayat avadnya).

Let us understand that economic 'value' of something do not determine its real 'value'. In fact most of the valuable things in life comes free or they are very inexpensive.

Express yourself

This is what I read in one of the ads of 'Airtel'

An awkward question...
A difficult answer...
An embarrassing truth...
A flattering lie...
A frank yes...
A blunt no...
A warm hello...
A curt goodbye...
A sincere sorry...
A heartfelt thanks...

Make the most of every moment...
Leave nothing unsaid. Express Yourself.

Well, that's why I have started this blog.
the 'Leave nothing unsaid' part may not be feasible...

So, I will express 'Anything which I feel worth sharing...'.
This makes a brief description for this blog.