Thought for the day 26.05.08

The flames of anger, pride, hatred, envy are more devastating than other fires; they arise in the mind stealthily and in spurts; they are ever demanding more and more to feed upon. Fire is called 'Anala' in the Bhagavad Geetha, for "Anala" means, "Not enough". You dread fire when it leaps at a distance; what then is to be said when it is inside your very self? How to put out these awful flames? Well, Sanathana Dharma (the ancient spiritual code) has certain extinguishers tested by experience and guaranteed by sages. They are Sathya (Truth), Dharma (Righteousness), Shanti (Peace) and Prema (Love). Saturate your heart with these and you are rendered "fireproof"

ACID RAIN

Clean air and clean water are basic human rights. These have however become increasingly scarce and expensive commodities in the “Modern world”.
Many poisonous gases and other chemicals are poured into the atmosphere everyday as waste products from power stations, factories and cars. Two of these waste gases are Sulphur dioxide (SO2) and Nitrogen Oxide (NO) which get mixed with the moisture in the air and become Sulphuric Acid (H2SO4) and Nitric Acid (H2NO3) respectively. These acids are absorbed by the rain clouds and the rain which falls is a weak acid. This phenomenon is called Acid Rain. Acid rain is a perfectly normal and essential phenomenon. But we, with our highly industrialized society, have added a great deal more of these gases to the natural system and begun to overload the natural system and its controls.

CAUSES:

1. World wide some 100 million tonnes of Sulphur a year enters the atmosphere as a result of human activities, like:
a) Burning of fossil fuels without adequate treatment of the resultant products.
b) Vehicle exhausts also contribute a significant amount of pollutants which increases the degree of acidification.
c) Untreated sewage- It is often discharged into the sea. This helps stimulate the growth of those algae that generate dimethylsulphide which quickly oxidizes in the atmosphere above the seas to give sulphur dioxide.

2. Modern farming with its heavy inputs of artificial fertilizers plays havoc with natural cycles. Synthetic fertilizers contain high proportion of nitrogen in the form of nitrates or ammonium salts. At least 10% of this evaporates directly into the atmosphere.

3. Poisonous gases like sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide from coal-fired power stations and factory chimneys. By building tall chimneys to clean up urban areas, Industry has merely succeeded in dispersing acid rains.

EFFECTS:

Rain clouds are carried over great distance by the wind. This acid rain can fall a long way from the place where the gases first entered the atmosphere. The global environment is thus damaged.
It kills trees and destroys many wildlife habitats. Vast stretches of forest in Europe and the Unites States have been destroyed by acid rain. It has been estimated that the damaging effects of acid rain in Europe causes the loss of timber worth over $20 billion every year.
When Acid Rain falls into lakes, rivers or sea, it harms the fish, plants and other water-life. It can pollute drinking water supply and can directly affect human health.

It can weaken the stonework of structures and buildings.
Acidification also alters the chemistry of soil. Soluble toxic minerals such as lead, aluminium, cadmium, mercury etc. which normally remain harmlessly bound to the particles of the soil, get dissolved in the acids and are available to plants with disastrous effects. Part of it is also washed out into water supply adversely affecting human and marine life.

It damages the crops and makes the soil infertile and acidic.

An Earnest Request

You are more than the Earth,
More than the sky which give us rain,
More than the star which gives us light,
More than the aim which gives us life,
More than anything and everything,
More than this whole universe,
You are the only one, the Almighty!
Oh! God, please do save my pleople,
Please do save my planet,
Please do save anything and everything
That you have created.

Thought for the day 20.5.08

We should try and seek fulfilment in our everyday life by moulding our mundane activities on spiritual values. You must have your hands in society and your heads in the forest. That is to say, whatever the activities with which you are occupied, you must be steadfast in holding on to spiritual ideals. This alone is the true spiritual exercise, which will bestow lasting peace on you. Remember that you are the Atma (spirit). All your spiritual exercises should be directed towards establishing yourself in this firm conviction and unwavering faith, culminating in your life's fulfilment. All your senses should be sanctified by offering the actions performed through them to God.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the day 19.5.08

Lord Buddha

Buddha undertook various spiritual practices in order to ralize his true Self. But none of these practices could show him the path to Nirvana (liberation). Ultimately, he realised that Nirvana lies in making use of the five senses in a sacred manner. He understood that japa (repetition of God's name), Dhyana (meditation),yajna (ritual of sacrifice), Yoga etc., were mere physical activities. These spiritual practices are needed only for those who are attached to the body. One who abides in the Self need not undertake any of these practices. Buddha taught that Nirvana can be attained only by cultivating Samyak Drishti (sacred vision), Samyak Vaak (sacred speech),Samyak Shravanam (sacred listening), Samyak Bhavam (sacred feeling) and Samyak Kriya (sacred action).

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the day 18.5.08

Forbearance is one of the most important qualities that you should posses, and it absoutely essential on the spiritual path. It is by putting yourself under test in difficult circumstances that you can cultivate this quality of forbearance. There is nothing extraordinary about returning good for good, but doing good in return for bad, that is something great, and the practice of such a virtue requires a great deal of skill. However much other people may criticise you, however much they may comment and condemn, you should never lose your forbearance. You should remain unperturbed and continue to enjoy inner peace.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the day 17.05.2008

You are awake when you feel that you have full knowledge; but, when awake, you are aware only of the many, not of the One. It is only when you are in deep sleep that all the multiplicity vanishes; then you are not aware of the world and of your deluded picture of it. Examine even while awake the stages of dream and deep sleep and realilse that wakefulness deludes the seeker of Truth; the senses are deceptive; they are inefficient instruments. Mind does not have any powers. The only power is Atma Shakti, the power of Atma. Mind has no form. Mind can be said to be woven of desires. The Atma shines on the hear, whether the heart be pure or impure. However, it would be best if the heart is purified and if the strongest desire is for God.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the day 16.5.08

In the spiritual sphere, the responsibility for success or failure is entirely one's own. You have no right to shift it on to others. The fire will rage only as long as it is fed with fuel. Hence, do not add fuel to the fire of the senses. Detach the mind from the evanescent and attach it to the eternal. Plant the seeding of Bhakti (devotion) by the practice of Namasmarana (remembering the Lord's name). That seed will grow into a mighty tree with the branches of virtue, service, sacrifice, love, equanimity, fortitude, and courage.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thoughts for the day 15.5.08

Education does not consist in the accumulation of information and facts from a multidue of books. Reading of books can only enrich you in the information that you may gather but can never give or promote good qualities. Good education is a process by which characgter is improved and by which one will be able to use one's intelligence and sharpen one's mind so as to distinguish right from wrong. It is only when the contents of education are closely linked with ideals of sacrifice, forbearance, truth, and love that the youth will get the benefit of education. Students will never get any befenfit out of education if it is devoid of these noble principles.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the day - 14-5-08

You should not let any weakness in you dissuade you from the right path. If in a big tank there is a small hole, all the water willl flow out. In the same manner, even if you have a small sensory desire in you, then all that you have learnt will be of no avail. Attraction for the world distracts you from the reality. You should guard yourselves by desisting error and resisting evil. Good work and selfless love will help you to tread the path of wisdom.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

$$$$$....... LIFE.......$$$$$

Our life begins with our Cry

Our Life ends with Other's Cry

Try to utilize this gap in LAUGH

as much as possible between these cries

.....................................................................................................

Laugh so hard that even sorrow smiles at you.

Live life so well that even death loves to see you live.

Fight so hard that even fate accepts its defeat...

...............................................................................................................................

Speaking without egos,

Loving without intentions,

Caring without expectations,

Praying without selfishness

is the sign of True Relation...

................................................................................................................................

Don't expect anything from Life

because expectations hurt.

When you don't expect,

every moment is a

surprise

and every surprise

brings happiness with it.

...................................................................................................

This poem was nominated for the best poem of 2007,

written by an African Kid.

"When I born, I black

When I grow up, I black

When I go in the Sun, I black

When I scared, I black

When I sick, I black

and When I die, I still BLACK

AND you WHITE fellow

When you born, you pink

when you grow up, you white

when you go in the sun, you red

when you cold,you blue

when you scared, you yellow

when you sick, you green

and when you die, you gray

and you calling me coloured??

.....................................................................................................

Fallen flowers can't climb back

so, don't think about the past....

Love the present....

Live for the future with a

beautiful and sweet smile

......................................................................................................

Thought for the Day -- 13.05.2008

God is the Antharyaami (Indweller), and so, when He is sought in the outer world He cannot be caught. Love Him with no other thought; feel that without Him nothing is worth anything; feel that He is all. Then you become His and He becomes yours. There is no nearer Kinship than that. You have come from God; you are a spark of His Glory; you are a wave of that Ocean of blis; you will get peace only when you again merge in Him. Like a child who has lost his way, you can have joy only when you rejoin your mother.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Carrot / pumpkin Ladoo

Ingredients:
Carrot/pumpkin -------------- 500 gm
Sugar -------------- 200 gm
Dry coconut (ground) --------- 50 gm
Ghee/ oil ---------------- 1 teaspoon


Method:
1. Wash, peel& grate carrots/pumpkin,
2. Heat ghee/oil add grated carrot/pumpkin and cook till soft,
3. Add sugar, continue cooking till the water dries up and remove from fire.
4. Cool slightly and make small balls,
5. Roll balls in coconut powder.

Thought for the day 12.5.2008

The first stage is karma-jijnaasa----the execution of karma (action) on proper lines, with proper mental attitude; then comes dharma-jijnaasa--the observance of moral codes for the upkeep of society and the discharge of one's duties and obligations; last comes Brahma-jijnaasa - resulting in the appreciation of Nammasmarana (repetition of the Lord's Name) as the primary sadhana.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Heart

Heart is not a dustbin to dump all worries......

It is the place for keeping happiest moments.

Let your heart be happy always .

Thought for the day .... 11-05-2008

A green gourd sinks in water; but a dry one floats. Become dry, rid yourselves of attachments, desires, avoid anxieties, worries. Then you can float unaffected on the waters of change and chance. Even water, when it becomes steam, can rise into the sky. Become light, lose weight, bale out so that you may rise higher and higher. Yoga is defined as chiththa vriththi nirodha-the preventin of impulses that agitate the inner consciousness of man. These impulses add to the ballast. Be free from desires that drag you down; have only the yearning to come face to face with the Truth. That Truth is shinining inside you, waiting to be discovered.

Bagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the day 10-05-2008

The Vedas are for all mankind; they have prayers for peace, subjugating the anger of the elements and of human communities; they invoke the forces of nature to be calm and beneficent; so, the paaraaayanam (recitation) of the Vedas promotes world peace and human welfare.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Mixed vegetable Pickle

Mixed vegetables pickle can be prepared from mixing vegetables such as carrots, peas, cauliflower, turnip, raddish, raw jack fruit bulbs, drumsticks, brinjal etc.

Ingredients:
Mixed vegetable pieces ---------------- 1 kg
Red chillie powder ---------------- 80-100 gm
Mustard powder ---------------- 25 gm
Turmeric powder --------------- 10 gm
Methi powder ---------------- 10 gm
Asafoetida powder ---------------- 1 gm
Chopped onions ---------------- 50 gm
Lime juice ----------------- 150 ml
or
Tamarind ---------------- 100 gm
or
Citric acid ---------------- 5- 10 gm
Salt ---------------- 100 gm
Gingely oil ---------------- 400 gm


Method: Mix vegetables with salt and turmeric powder and dry in the sun for 2-3 hours. Heat oil and add mustard and asafetida. Fry the vegetables for 15 to 20 minutes. Add all powders and fry. Finally add limejuice, add a pinch of a sodium benzoate and kMS (Pot. Meta. Bisulphate ) Bottle in clean and dry bottles.


Note: The quantity of salt, vinegar and oil are important in pickles and to be maintained. For long shelf life. The quantity of spices can be altered as required.

Thought for the day 09-05-2008

The lotus in the heart of man pines for the Sun, the splendour of the Lord. But to attain it is hard. Withdrawal of all affection towards the world alone can win it. God is the nearest and dearest entity, but ignorance hides Him from the eye. The love that God bears man is unequalled; yet, He apears to man as a distant, formidable, unapproachable phenomenon. The stars appear as dot of light, for they are at a great distance from us. So too God appears insignificant or ineffective to many, because they are keeping themselves too far from Him. If some people say there is no God, it only means they are at too great a distance to be aware of Him.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Thought for the day 08-05-08

The Deha (body) is a vehicle that even gods aspire to possess. You know that gods seeks to come into human form so that they could utilise the intelligence, discrimination, detachment, etc., that the human body alone is capable of exercising, to realise the Ultimate Reality, which when known makes everything else known. If only he intensifies his thirst for God, he can lilve in perpetual content, instead of grovelling in perpetual discontent, pining for trivial satisfactions. The Deha has to be nourished so that man can reach the Dehi, the real indweller.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Tomato Pickle

Ingredients:
Tomato -------------------------- 1 Kg

Salt ------------------------------ 100 gm

Fenugreek seed powder ------- 2 tsp

Red chillie powder ------------- 75 gm

Tamarind ----------------------- 100 gm

Asafoetida ---------------------- a pinch

Mustard seeds ------------------ 2 tsp

Gingely oil ---------------------- 250 ml

Vinegar ------------------------- 6 tsp

Citric acid ---------------------- 1 tsp


Method: wash firm ripe tomatoes and cut into small pieces. Heat oil and season mustard. Then add cut tomatoes and fry well. Add a thick extract of tamarind and bring to boil. Add all powdered spices and salt and cook for a few minutes till oil separates. Finally add vinegar and remove from fire. Add a pinch of sodium benzoate and bottle.

MYANMAR - CYCLONE VICTIMS

பாரதத்தினை தாக்க வந்த நர்கீஸ் புயல்

செயல் இழந்து போகும் என நினைத்தால்

செயலிழைக்க விட்டது மியான்மரை

பலியாகிப் போனதே உயிர்கள் பல

விண் ஞானம் வீணாய்ப்போனதேன்?

உயிர் இழந்த ஆன்மாக்கள் சாந்தி அடைய பிரார்த்திக்கிறேன்.

சேவை செய்யும் அன்பு உள்ளங்களுக்கு வாழ்த்துக்கள்

Thought for the day 07-05-2008

.....................................................................................................

You feel the presence of God when silence reigns. In the excitement and confusion of the market place, you cannot hear His Footfall. He is Shabdabrahma, resounding when all is filled with silence. That is why I insist on silence, the practice of low speech and minimum sound. Talk low, talk little, talk in whispers, sweet and true.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

.....................................................................................................

Pickles and Chutneys

Pickles are prepared with vegetables /fruits by using salt, vinegar or oil and spices. Chutney is prepared by using sugar, salt, vinegar and spices. These are natural preservatives. Small amounts of chemical preservatives are also permitted.

Lime Peel Pickle

Method: Lime peels, after extracting the juice can be pickled. Add 200 g. of salt to 1 Kg. Lime peel and soak them in 20% citric acid solution for one week. (50 g. of citric acid dissolved in 250 ml. Water) adding 10 g. Of turmeric powder. For curing.

After the peels become soft, heat 300 g ., gingely(till) oil, season with 10 g. Mustard and pinch of asafetida. And add to the peels. Keep in tight glass containers.

Thought for the day ..... 06.05.08

Be one a great scholar or an officer having high authority, one is but a child to one's mother. Those who forget thier duty toward their mother are sure to lose themselves in wilderness. You are but a reflection of your mother. Therefore, the first of all you should carry out your duty toward your mother and make her happy.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Jams and jellies ... Recipe

Jam is prepared by boiling the fruit with sufficient quantity of sugar to a reasonable thick consistency. Jam can be prepared either from an individual fruit or mixed fruits, i.e .mangoes, apples, pineapple, banana, grapes, guava etc., Good jams and jellies are prepared with fruits rich in pectin. Pectin is a naturally occurring substance in fruits which acts as jellying agent when combined with sugar and acid and helps in proper setting of jams and jellies.

Fruits rich in pectin are apple, guava, Papaya, wood apple, lemon peel etc.

Fruits having medium pectin are blue grapes, pineapples, straw berries, plums, bananas etc.

Fruits with low pectin are watermelons, muskmelons, tomato etc.

However, the amount of pectin present in fruits varies according to the stage of ripening of fruits. Just ripened fruits have maximum pectin.

The important constituents in the preparation of jams and jellies are pectin, sugar and acid in correct proportion. Jelly is transparent and can be used in the place of jam. Excess sugar or over cooking make the jam/jelly hard and excess acid or low sugar make them watery. Correct setting is required for long shelf life of these products.


1. mixed fruit jam

Ingredients:

Fruit pulp……………………………….. 1 Kg.
Sugar ……………………………….. 1 kg.
Citric acid ……………………………… 1 ½ tsp
Red colour……………………………… Sufficient quantity
Cocktail essence…………………… ½ tsp
Sodium benzoate (S.B)……….. a pinch

Preparation of pulp

Wash the fruits, peel and cut into small pieces. Add 50-100 ml. Water and cook till the pieces become soft. Pass through a sieve.

Method: Mix pulp and sugar and boil till end point is reached. Add citric acid just before removing. The end point can be determined by looking for bubbles at the sides of the vessel while heating or by sheet method or plate method.

Sheet Method: Take a small quantity of the boiling mixture in a wooden ladle, cool and drop slowly. If the jam is ready, it will fall in the form of a sheet.

Plate Method: Drop a small quantity of boiling mixture on a porcelain/stainless steel plate. Cool, and tilt the plate. When the mixture slides down as a single mass then the jam is ready.

Jelly: This can be prepared by boiling a pectin rich fruit like guava, woodapple, karonda in water, straining, mixing the strained extract with sugar and acid and by boiling to a sage at which it will form clear gel. An ideal jelly is clear, transparent and firm.

Thought for the day ....... 05.05.2008

Human existence is enveloped in infatuation (Moha). When one frees oneself from this infatuation, one will be able to experience true happiness. This infatuation breeds egoism and posessiveness, which bring about the loss of one's name and fame. One who is filled with ego will be unable to experience love from others. It is therefore essential to overcome this infatuation. By conquering infatuation, one becomes endearing to others.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Ginger Murabba – Recipe

Select fibreless ginger and scrape it thoroughly. Cut into pieces if necessary. Boil in 0.5% citric acid solution under pressure ( 10 lbs) for 30 minutes to soften the pieces. Wash, prick and take the weight of the pieces, finally, give the sugar treatment as described in the case of Tuity fruity.

Thought for the day 04-05-2008

Compassion towards all creatures is the greatest virtue; wilful injury to any creature is the worst vice. Know this to be true; spread love and joy through compassion, and be full of joy and peace yourself. You do not have joy and peace now, mainly because your vision is warped and blurry. It is directed towards the faults and failings of others, instead of towards one's own. Really speaking, inquiry and investigation should begin with oneself. For what we see in others is the reflection of our own selves, our own prejudices and preferences.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

SOLAR ENERGY

.................................................solar panel....................................


All of us know that without sun there would be no life on earth. Without sun light we cannot make food and, there would be nothing for us to eat.

The sun also makes the wind blow and the ocean currents flow. Its heat makes clouds, rain, snow and all the climatic changes on our planet.

We can utilize the light or heat which comes from the sun. There are many different ways to use solar energy. Satellites are also working with the help of giant solar panels. Plants grow with the help of solar energy. We are getting rain from clouds with the help of solar energy. So solar energy is existing, since the sun was born.

It is amazing to note that the Greeks were the first to use solar architecture, over 2000 years ago. They built their houses so the Sun’s rays entered during the winter, but weren’t able to enter during the summer. Entire city were built this way. The Romans got the idea to put glass in windows, which allowed the sun’s light to pass through but trapped its heat. 700 hundred years ago people used simple magnifying glasses to concentrate the light of the sun into beams so hot they caught wood on fire. In 1700s some one in Europe found out that water could be boiled by collecting the sun’s heat behind a few panes of glass. A water heater using solar energy. In 1920s people heated their water with solar hot water heaters. Fifty years ago a new technology was invented using solar panels to turn the sun’s light directly into electricity.

There are endless ways to use solar energy. All these ways can be divided into two basic categories. First one is, Solar thermal Energy. We can use the sun’s energy to heat things he water in our houses, the food in a solar cooker and so on. This is done with the help of solar thermal energy. Thermal means heat, so solar thermal energy just means heat energy from the sun.

In the 2nd way we can use solar energy is to turn light from the sun directly into electricity, using solar panels. Solar electric panels are made up of silicon, the same thing that makes up sand. There is more silicon on the planet than almost anything else. But making a solar panel is difficult and expensive. The silicon has to be heated to super high Temperatures in a big factory, and then formed into very thin wafers. When sunlight hits a solar panel, it makes electrons in the silicon move around. The electrons flow through wires that were built into the solar panel and thus we have electricity. We can do whatever we want with this electricity, run a calculator, a CD player etc. In order to use it in night time or when sun stops shining on solar panel, a battery is attached. The batteries are big, heavy, rectangular boxes, sort of like car batteries. Electricity from a solar panels flows into attached batteries while the sun shines, and then the stored electricity in the batteries can be used at night, or when the sun is behind the clouds. The average size of a solar system that completely powers a house is 2,000 watts. That’s not a lot of power just enough to run 20 or 30 light bulbs. To makes 2,000 watts of power we need solar panels that are about 24 feet long by 10 feet high. That’s about as long as one and a half cars and a little higher than most of your ceilings. We can save energy by using solar energy. Solar ovens needs no electricity, gas or wood to work, they cook food using sunlight. Solar cookers can also be used to make water safe to drink, make doctor’s tools safe to use, and heat water for laundry. Anything you can cook in a normal oven. Though solar energy is more expensive when compared to ordinary electricity made by coal plant, it is safe for the environment and hence solar energy is not much expensive.

Most of the rich people, upper Middle class families in Madurai are not accustomed to use solar energy. Solar water heater may be installed in their houses and thus they may help to save electricity. Nowadays, there are a lot of apartments built in and around Madurai. Promoters may come forward to use solar energy by installing solar panels to get light in the common area and fix solar heaters to each flat. Government may also come forward to give subsidiaries in installing solar water heater, solar cookers etc. Bank and financial institution may also come forward to sanction loans for using solar energy in domestic use and give necessary propaganda for using solar energy. Many people are being residing in the extension area in Madurai. It will take more time for the Government to erect street lights in those area. So people from that area can join hands and come forward to utilize solar energy and can light up their area.

Tuity fruity (Raw Papaya Preserves)

Ingredients:

Raw papaya pieces cut in to small cubes ------ 1 Kg

Sugar ------------------------------------------ 1 ½ Kg

Citric acid ------------------------------------------ ½ tsp

Water ------------------------------------------- ½ liter


Method: Dice peeled raw papaya, blanch in boiling water for 10 minutes and dip the pieces in cold water. Dissolve sugar in ½ liter water by boiling, and filter. Add sufficient quantity of colour and soak the piece for 24 hours. Next day drain out the syrup, and boil sugar syrup for 15-20 minutes. Add pieces and soak for 24 hours. Third day also repeat the 2nd day’s process. Fourth day add citric acid and heat the mixture to thread consistency. Drain the syrup and dry the pieces. Pack in polythene bags.


Note: Blanching is dipping the pieces in boiling water for a specified time and then sudden cooling by dipping in water of normal temperature. This treatment destroys enzymes and softens the vegetables.

Every Drop is PRECIOUS

Raju enjoyed playing with water. He used plenty of water whenever he took bath. And he often forgot to turn off the tap. His parents wanted to teach him the value of water. But Raju never cared for the advice of his parents. He thought that since his father was paying the water bill he could waste water. On holidays he would sit under the shower and keep water running while he sang all the nursery rhymes he knew. The father would say, "Son, due to population increase water has become a precious thing. This nature's gift is limited in supply, and it keeps us alive. Your wastage of water is keeping some field dry or someone without water to cook food".

For Raju it was all nonsense. There is water everywhere. Water is just water. Seas are full of water. In monsoons clouds pour down water as if to drown you. There are rivers of water, seaside lakes and ponds.

One day Raju forgot to take his drinking water bottle to school. On that day school taps went dry due to low pressure. Raju felt thirsty but there was no water. By the time periods ended his lips and throat were drying up. He felt giddy. On the way he knocked at a door and asked for some water to drink. The lady of the house said, "My son, in ths colony, taps have been dried for two days. For sake of water I couldn't wash even a tea cup myself, sorry".

On weak legs Raju toddled ahead. He sat down under a tree panting. Had God appeared to him and asked for a wish, Raju would've asked for a glass of water.

Just then a cyclist who was passing by braked and asked Raju if he was alright. Raju opened his mouth to say how thirsty he was but words struck in this throat which was too dry to let out sounds. His mouth pantomimed. His eyes were fixed on the water bottle in the cycle basket. It had some water. The cyclist understood and handed the bottle to Raju. As he drank water life surged in him.

Now Raju turns off the taps after using water so tight that his parents have some difficulty in turning it on. They smile because it tells them that their son now knows how precious water is.

MORAL: In coming times water will be scarce that it can start wars. We must realise it right now and learn the value of water.

Thought for the day

03-05-2008

Life becomes sweeter with a little dose of denial; if you satisfy all your desires, life begins to turn insipid. Deny yourselves may of the things your mind runs after and you will find that you become tough enough to bear both good fortune and bad.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Lemon Barley Water

Ingredients:

Lemon juice ----------------------------------- 1 litre

Sugar ----------------------------------- 2.5 Kg

Water ----------------------------------- 1 litre

Barley flour ----------------------------------- 3 tsp

KMS ----------------------------------- ½ tsp

Method : Make a paste of barley powder, with little water and gradually add the entire quantity of water given. Heat the mixture till it becomes clear. Add sugar and dissolve. Filter, cool and mix with the juice. Add essence and KMS. Store in clean bottles.

Note: Addition of citric acid helps in (1) clarification of sugar syrup,(2) balancing of taste and (3) prevention of recrystallization of sugar.

Thought for the day

Thought for the day - 02-05-2008

The cause of man's suffering is that he has constricted his love to himself and his family. He should develop a broad feeling that all are his brothers and sisters. Expansion of love is life; contraction of love is death.

Thought for the day - 01-05-2008

When an iron filing comes in contact with a magnet, the iron filing also gets the properties of a magnet. Likewise, the knower of Brahman (the Universal Absolute) becomes Brahman. You are all children of immortality, you are eternal. The relationship between you and God is eternal. The body changes through many births, but the mind and deeds continue from birth to birth. Just as an accountant totals the accounts of the day and carries the balance over onto the next day, our mind follows to the next life. You should be able to control the mind by controllilng the senses, then you can merge iln truth and experience oneness with God.


Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Grape Crush

Ingredients:

Grape juice--------------- 1 litre
Sugar --------------- 2 Kg
Water --------------- 1 litre
Citric acid --------------- 4-5 tsp
Tonovin(essence)------- 4 tsp
Sodium Benzoate------- 1 tsp


Method: Wash grapes, crush with wooden crusher and boil for 10 minutes. Strain the juice. Prepare the syrup as in the case of pineapple squash. The same recipe can be used for other crushes also.