Letter from President of India... Are we listening to his advice?

Here is an eye opener from our President of India. Let us be positive and do sewa for our society & country:

Why is the media here so negative?
Why are we in India so embarrassed to recognize our own strengths, our achievements?
We are such a great nation. We have so many amazing success stories but we refuse to acknowledge them. Why?
We are the first in milk production.
We are number one in Remote sensing satellites.
We are the second largest producer of wheat.
We are the second largest producer of rice.
Look at Dr. Sudarshan, he has transferred the tribal village into a self-sustaining, self-driving unit. There are millions of such achievements but our media is only obsessed in the bad news and failures and disasters.
I was in Tel Aviv once and I was reading the Israeli newspaper. It was the day after a lot of attacks and bombardments and deaths had taken place. The Hamas had struck. But the front page of the newspaper had the picture of a Jewish gentleman who in five years had transformed his desert into an orchid and a granary. It was this inspiring picture that everyone woke up to. The gory details of killings, bombardments, deaths, were inside in the newspaper, buried among other news.

In India we only read about death, sickness, terrorism, crime. Why are we so NEGATIVE? Another question: Why are we, as a nation so obsessed with foreign things? We want foreign T.Vs, we want foreign shirts. We want foreign technology.

Why this obsession with everything imported. Do we not realize that self-respect comes with self-reliance? I was in Hyderabad giving this lecture, when a 14 year old girl asked me for my autograph. I asked her what her goal in life is. She replied: I want to live in a developed India.
For her, you and I will have to build this developed India. You must proclaim. India is not an under-developed nation; it is a highly developed nation. Do you have 10 minutes? Allow me to come back with a vengeance.

Got 10 minutes for your country? If yes, then read; otherwise, choice is yours.
YOU say that our government is inefficient.
YOU say that our laws are too old.
YOU say that the municipality does not pick up the garbage.
YOU say that the phones don't work, the railways are a joke, The airline is the worst in the world, mails never reach their destination.
YOU say that our country has been fed to the dogs and is the absolute pits.
YOU say, say and say. What do YOU do about it?
Take a person on his way to Singapore. Give him a name - YOURS. Give him a face - YOURS.
YOU walk out of the airport and you are at your International best. In Singapore you don't throw cigarette butts on the roads or eat in the stores. YOU are as proud of their Underground links as they are.
You pay $5 (approx. Rs. 60) to drive through Orchard Road (equivalent of Mahim Causeway or Pedder Road) between 5 PM and 8 PM. YOU come back to the parking lot to punch your parking ticket if you have over stayed in a restaurant or a shopping mall irrespective of your status identity...
In Singapore you don't say anything, DO YOU? YOU wouldn't dare to eat in public during Ramadan, in Dubai. YOU would not dare to go out without your head covered in Jeddah. YOU would not dare to buy an employee of the telephone exchange in London at 10 pounds (Rs.650) a month to, 'see to it that my STD and ISD calls are billed to someone else.
YOU would not dare to speed beyond 55 mph (88 km/h) in Washington and then tell the traffic cop, 'Jaanta hai main kaun hoon (Do you know who I am?). I am so and so's son. Take your two bucks and get lost.' YOU wouldn't chuck an empty coconut shell anywhere other than the garbage pail on the beaches in Australia and New Zealand.
Why don't YOU spit Paan on the streets of Tokyo? Why don't YOU use examination jockeys or buy fake certificates in Boston??? We are still talking of the same YOU. YOU who can respect and conform to a foreign system in other countries but cannot in your own. You who will throw papers and cigarettes on the road the moment you touch Indian ground. If you can
be an involved and appreciative citizen in an alien country, why cannot you be the same here in India?
Once in an interview, the famous Ex-municipal commissioner of Bombay, Mr.Tinaikar, had a point to make. 'Rich people's dogs are walked on the streets to leave their affluent droppings all over the place,' he said.
'And then the same people turn around to criticize and blame the authorities for inefficiency and dirty pavements. What do they expect the officers to do? Go down with a broom every time their dog feels the pressure in his bowels? In America every dog owner has to clean up after his pet has done the job. Same in Japan.

Will the Indian citizen do that here?' He's right. We go to the polls to choose a government and after that forfeit all responsibility. We sit back wanting to be pampered and expect the government to do everything for us whilst our contribution is totally negative. We expect the government to clean up but we are not going to stop chucking garbage all over the place nor are we going to stop to pick a up a stray piece of paper and throw it in the bin. We expect the railways to provide clean bathrooms but we are not going to learn the proper use of bathrooms.

We want Indian Airlines and Air India to provide the best of food and toiletries but we are not going to stop pilfering at the least opportunity. This applies even to the staff who is known not to pass on the service to the public. When it comes to burning social issues like those related
to women, dowry, girl child! and others, we make loud drawing room protestations and continue to do the reverse at home. Our excuse? 'It's the whole system which has to change, how will it matter if I alone forego my sons' rights to a dowry.' So who's going to change the system? What does a system consist of ? Very conveniently for us it consists of our neighbors, other households, other cities, other communities and the government. But definitely not me and YOU. When it comes to us actually making a positive contribution to the system we lock ourselves along with our families into a safe cocoon and look into the distance at countries far away and wait for a Mr.Clean to come along & work miracles for us with a majestic sweep of his hand or we leave the country and run away. Like lazy cowards hounded by our fears we run to America to bask in their glory and praise their system. When New York becomes insecure we run to England. When England experiences unemployment, we take the next flight out to the Gulf. When the Gulf is war struck, we demand to be rescued and brought home by the Indian government.

Everybody is out to abuse and rape the country. Nobody thinks of feeding the system. Our conscience is mortgaged to money.

Dear Indians, The article is highly thought inductive, calls for a great deal of introspection and pricks one's conscience too.... I am echoing J.F. Kennedy's words to his fellow Americans to relate to Indians.....

'ASK WHAT WE CAN DO FOR INDIA
AND DO WHAT HAS TO BE DONE TO MAKE INDIA
WHAT AMERICA AND OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES ARE TODAY'

Lets do what India needs from us. Inform this to each Indian for a change instead of passing unnecessary gossips...

Thank you,
By: Dr. Abdul Kalaam (PRESIDENT OF INDIA)

how to survive a heart attack...

Let's say it's 6.15pm and you're going home (alone of course), after an unusually hard day on the job. You're really tired, upset and frustrated. Suddenly you start experiencing severe pain in your chest that starts to radiate out into your arm and up into your jaw. You are only about five miles from the hospital nearest your home. Unfortunately you don't know if you'll be able to make it that far. You have been trained in CPR, but the guy that taught the course did not tell you how to perform it on yourself.

HOW TO SURVIVE A HEART ATTACK WHEN ALONE
Since many people are alone when they suffer a heart attack, without help, the person whose heart is beating improperly and who begins to feel faint, has only about 10 seconds left before losing consciousness. However,these victims can help themselves by coughing repeatedly and very vigorously. A deep breath should be taken before each cough, and the cough must be deep and prolonged, as when producing sputum from deep inside the chest.

A breath and a cough must be repeated about every two seconds without let-up until help arrives, or until the heart is felt to be beating normally again. Deep breaths get oxygen into the lungs and coughing movements squeeze the heart and keep the blood circulating. The squeezing pressure on the heart also helps it regain normal rhythm. In this way, heart attack victims can get to a hospital. Do try to read and understand this practice and also tell as many other people as possible about this. It could save yours and their lives!!

I love her, but I'm just too shy

I came across this really touching poem, and wish to share with everyone, so that to learn to express yourself at the right time before you you lose time and regret for the rest of your life...

As I sat there in English class, I stared at the girl next to me.
She was my so-called "best friend". I stared at her long, silky
hair. I wished she were mine, but she didn't notice me like that.
And I knew it. After class she walked up to me and asked me
for the notes she had missed the day before, and I handed them to her.
She said "thanks" and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I wanted to
tell her. I wanted her to know that I don't want to be just
friends. I love her, but I'm just too shy. And I don't know why.

11th Grade

The phone rang. It was her on the other end. She was in tears,
mumbling on and on about how her love had broke her heart. She
asked me to come over because she didn't want to be alone, so I
did. As I sat next to her on the sofa, I stared at her soft eyes,
wishing she was mine. After 2 hours, a Drew Barrymore movie,
and three bags of chips, she decided to go to sleep. She looked at
me, said "thanks," and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I want to tell
her. I want her to know that I don't want to be just
friends. I love her, but I'm just too shy. And I don't know why.

12th Grade
The day before prom she walked to my locker. "My date is sick,"
she said. He's not going to go. Well, I didn't have a date and
in 7th grade we made a promise that if neither of us had dates we
would go together just as "best friends," so we did. Prom
night after everything was over I was standing at her front door
step. I stared at her. She smiled at me and stared at me with her
crystal eyes. I want her to be mine, but she doesn't think of me like
that, and I know it. Then she said, "I had the best time, thanks!"
and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I want to tell her. I want her
to know that I don't want to be just friends. I love her, but I'm
just too shy. And I don't know why...

Graduation Day
A day passed. A week passed. A month passed. Before I could
blink, it was graduation day. I watched as her perfect body floated
like an angel up on stage to get her diploma. I wanted her to be
mine, but she didn't notice me like that, and I knew it. Before
everyone went home, she came to me in her smock and hat, and she cried
as I hugged her. Then, she lifted her head from my shoulder and
said, "You're my best friend, thanks!" and gave me a kiss on the
cheek. I want to tell her. I want her to know that I don't want to be
just friends. I love her, but I'm just too shy. And I don't
know why…

A Few Years Later
Now, I sit in the pews of the church. She is getting married, now.
I watched her say, "I do" and drive off to her new
life, married to another man. I wanted her to be mine but she didn't see me
like that, and I knew it. But before she drove away, she came to me
and said, "You came!" She said, "thanks!" and kissed me on the
cheek. I want to tell her. I want her to know that I don't want to
be just friends. I love her, but I'm just too shy. And I don't
know why...

Funeral
yrs passed, and I looked down at the coffin of the girl who
used to be my best friend." At the service they read a diary entry
she had wrote in her high school years. This is what it read: I
stare at him wishing he were mine. But he doesn't notice me like
that, and I know it. I want to tell him. I want him to know that I
don't want to be just friends. I love him, but I'm just too shy, and

I don't know why. I wish he would tell me he loved me…

i wish I did too…
i thought to myself, and I cried...

A VOICE FROM THE WOMB : SMOKER'S SPECIAL

A PLIGHT TO SAVE THE NEXT GENERATION!

Benefits of Oats:

1. Eating oat regularly will lower your blood cholesterol level

2. Buy and eat oats if you're feeling sad. It's a natural antidepressant - will make you feel calmer and normally used to treat depression, anxiety and nervous disorder

3. Unrefined oatmeal can be eaten on regular basis to reduce stress while cooked oats will relieve fatigue

4. Because of its high fiber content, the other benefit of oats is in protecting us from bowel cancer.

The use :

1. A bowl of oat porridge with a spoonful of honey makes a calming breakfast for a child in the morning before an exam

2. If you suffer from constipation, try eating raw oats before looking for any drugs.

3. Oatmeal bath ( a form of water therapy) will help heal eczema and other skin conditions

A Nice Article about Love: (by Swami Vivekananda)

I once had a friend who grew to be very close to me. Once when we were
sitting at the edge of a swimming pool, she filled the palm of her hand
with some water and held it before me, and said this: "You see this
water carefully contained on my hand? It symbolizes Love."

This was how I saw it: As long as you keep your hand caringly open and
allow it to remain there, it will always be there. However, if you
attempt to close your fingers round it and try to posses it, it will
spill through the first cracks it finds.

This is the greatest mistake that people do when they meet love...they
try to posses it, they demand, they expect... and just like the water
spilling out of your hand, love will retrieve from you .

For love is meant to be free, you cannot change its nature. If there are
people you love, allow them to be free beings.

# Give and don't expect.
# Advise, but don't order.
# Ask, but never demand.

It might sound simple, but it is a lesson that may take a lifetime to
truly practice. It is the secret to true love. To truly practice it, you
must sincerely feel no expectations from those who you love, and yet an
unconditional caring."

Passing thought... Life is not measured by the number of breaths we
take; but by the moments that take our breath away.....

Life is beautiful!!! Live it!!!

"I Will Remember that person Not As The One Who Broke My Heart, But As
the One Who Taught Me, How To Live With A Broken Heart and how to love !!!!! "

YOU CAN MAKE SUCCESS HAPPEN

You cannot do everything, but you can do something.
Your success is but a determined action away.
Your life will always be what you make of it.
Your thoughts and actions will lead you to success or failure.
So the keys to your success and fortune are in your hands.
Always accept the responsibility for your actions.
Always set a higher standard for yourself.
No one is going to do it for you.
Only you can make it happen.

Have I Told You Lately...

Have I told you lately how much I need you ?!?
Have I told you lately how much I care??
Have I told you lately I love you ?!?!
and do you know I will always be there!!!!

As I started my day today
my thoughts went to you
and I thought how thankful I was
to know you are there!

Everything I do ..
I do for you
All my hopes and dreams
are based on you!

My heart has never felt so full
as it does now with you
I have not one doubt
of how very much I love you!!

I will do everything I can
to be there for you
anytime you need me
Just call out my name

Have I told you lately how much I love you ?!?!
... well, I am telling you now that
it is more numerous than the stars...
and much deeper than any ocean ..
and higher than the highest mountain top
found anywhere on earth!

DON'T MAKE YOUR THOUGHTS YOUR PRISONS

You're more important than any of your problems.
What you have outside you counts less than what you have inside you.
Courage gives you the power to face your difficulties.
It comes from the reserves of your mind
that are more powerful than your outside circumstances.
Your obstacles will look large or small to you
according to whether you are large or small.
Courage gives you the capacity to confront what can be imagined.
It gives you the ability to rise above your present reality.
Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear,
not absence of fear.
When you recognize that you're bigger than your problems,
you'll gain the courage necessary to overcome anything.

Difference between Focusing on Problems and Focusing on Solutions
Case 1
When NASA began the launch of astronauts into space, they found out that the pens wouldn't work at zero gravity (ink won't flow down to the writing surface). To solve this problem, it took them one decade and $12 million. They developed a pen that worked at zero gravity, upside down, underwater, in practically any surface including crystal and in a temperature range from below freezing to over 300 degrees C.
And what did the Russians do...?? They used a pencil.

Case 2
One of the most memorable case studies on Japanese management was the case of the empty soapbox, which happened in one of Japan 's biggest cosmetics companies. The company received a complaint that a consumer had bought a soapbox that was empty. Immediately the authorities isolated the problem to the assembly line, which transported all the packaged boxes of soap to the delivery department. For some reason, one soapbox went through the assembly line empty. Management asked its engineers to solve the problem. Post-haste, the engineers worked hard to devise an X-ray machine with high-resolution monitors manned by two people to watch all the soapboxes that passed through the line to make sure they were not empty. No doubt, they worked hard and they worked fast but they spent whoopee amount to do so.

But when a rank-and-file employee in a small company was posed with the same problem, he did not get into complications of X-rays, etc., but instead came out with another solution. He bought a strong industrial electric fan and pointed it at the assembly line.. He switched the fan on, and as each soapbox passed the fan, it simply blew the empty boxes out of the line.

Moral:

1.. Always look for simple solutions...

2.. Devise the simplest possible solution that solves the problems...

3.. Always focus on solutions & not on Problems...

'A Leader Should Know How to Manage Failure'

'A Leader Should Know How to Manage Failure' (Former President of India APJ Abdul Kalam at Wharton India Economic forum, Philadelphia , March 22,2008)

Question: Could you give an example, from your own experience, of how leaders should manage failure?

Kalam: Let me tell you about my experience. In 1973 I became the project director of India 's satellite launch vehicle program, commonly called the SLV-3. Our goal was to put India 's 'Rohini' satellite into orbit by 1980. I was given funds and human resources -- but was told clearly that by 1980 we had to launch the satellite into space. Thousands of people worked together in scientific and technical teams towards that goal.

By 1979 -- I think the month was August -- we thought we were ready. As the project director, I went to the control center for the launch. At four minutes before the satellite launch, the computer began to go through the checklist of items that needed to be checked. One minute later, the computer program put the launch on hold; the display showed that some control components were not in order. My experts -- I had four or five of them with me -- told me not to worry; they had done their calculations and there was enough reserve fuel. So I bypassed the computer, switched to manual mode, and launched the rocket. In the first stage, everything worked fine. In the second stage, a problem developed. Instead of the satellite going into orbit, the whole rocket system plunged into the Bay of Bengal . It was a big failure.

That day, the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization, Prof. Satish Dhawan, had called a press conference. The launch was at 7:00 am, and the press conference -- where journalists from around the world were present -- was at 7:45 am at ISRO's satellite launch range in Sriharikota [in Andhra Pradesh in southern India ]. Prof. Dhawan, the leader of the organization, conducted the press conference himself. He took responsibility for the failure -- he said that the team had worked very hard, but that it needed more technological support. He assured the media that in another year, the team would definitely succeed. Now, I was the project director, and it was my failure, but instead, he took responsibility for the failure as chairman of the organization.

The next year, in July 1980, we tried again to launch the satellite -- and this time we succeeded. The whole nation was jubilant. Again, there was a press conference. Prof. Dhawan called me aside and told me, 'You conduct the press conference today.'

I learned a very important lesson that day. When failure occurred, the leader of the organization owned that failure. When success came, he gave it to his team. The best management lesson I have learned did not come to me from reading a book; it came from that experience.

My Dearest Love

Where do I begin to express how I feel

and define my emotions, so honest and real?

With my pen in hand, I struggle in thought

and holding this in, such pain it has brought.

To love from afar is so bittersweet,
hiding true feelings, remaining discrete.

To hold you in daydreams is how I've survived

but reality still whispers, "I feel so deprived".

So darling just know, as my words start to flow

I'm writing to you from my daydreams' plateau.

It's only on that cloud, I'm free to express

and find enough courage to finally confess.

Each night in my dreams, when slumber sets in

that's when I hold you and our world begins.

My arms wrap around you and off we then soar

to land on a cloud and begin to explore.

I imagine your touch as a warming embrace
I remember your sweet smile time cannot erase.

Unshackled in dreams, your lips search for mine,
as our passion ignites, words cannot define.

With boundaries discarded, no measure of time
the love found in our world, no less then sublime.

My hands cup your face with a gentle carress

as these emotions for you, I try to express.

As I close this letter, know this without doubt

you are the one my heart dreams about.

But again I lose courage, today's not the day

I'll place this letter where all the others lay.