 “By offering good tidings and wishing for all good things to happen, it was as if the people invited auspiciousness to the scene. Rama and Lakshmana then left with the sage.” (Janaki Mangala, 31)
hohiṃ saguna subha mangala janu kahi dīnheu |
rāma lakhana muni sātha gavana taba kīnheu ||
In the Vedic tradition, it is important to keep an eye out for signs of auspiciousness. A long time ago, while the king of Hastinapura ruled over his kingdom after victory in a very bloody war, he began to notice auspicious signs. There was no quarrel anywhere, and greed and fierce competition were not allowed entry into the city. The subsequent inauspiciousness followed the introduction of these unwanted elements in society. Once the bad omens were noticed, that the Supreme Lord had left the phenomenal plane to return to His spiritual abode was evident. As the Lord’s absence represents the most inauspicious condition, King Yudhishthira knew that the immediate future wasn’t so bright. Many thousands of years prior, however, the same Supreme Lord was in the process of leaving from a local town, but instead of relying on the external signs around them, the people of the town offered such nice prayers that auspiciousness personified arrived on the scene as an invited guest.
How does this work exactly? How can you create auspiciousness just by uttering a few words? Whether someone likes me or hates me, does it really matter in the end? If my boss says negative things behind my back or praises me to the hilltops, in the end all that matters is what he pays me. This is especially true if the relationship is based squarely on a business arrangement, where remuneration is expected. Isn’t every relationship the same way? How then can auspicious signs be found when the conditions speak otherwise? Are not the external circumstances the harbinger of things to come?
The outside signals are paid attention to in the Vedic tradition, which is the oldest system of spirituality in existence. Spirituality is an all-encompassing field. From knowledge of the internal comes the ability to cope with the external. It doesn’t work the same way when the order is reversed. I may know how to maintain a shirt and coat, but this doesn’t mean that I can automatically take care of myself. On the other hand, if I feed myself regularly, go to bed on time, and properly treat illnesses, I can then figure out how to get dressed properly and wear the clothes appropriate to the situation.
 Spirituality deals with the internal spark at the lowest level, the tiny but powerful force of spirit localized within the body. The fact that spirituality is considered separate from any other endeavor or narrow in scope shows just how much attention the external gets. The Vedas provide the first instruction that we are spirit soul, not part and parcel of the body. Our current dwelling changes constantly, from boyhood to youth to old age. However, the spirit soul’s fortunes can be shaped by how this body is utilized. To be put to the best use, the body must take actions under the proper conditions. Every collection of matter has an ideal utilization. If that property is violated, the item is not put to its proper use. Think of driving your car in the snow or using a fork to eat soup.
With the duties prescribed to each member of society based on their specific order, there is a proper time and circumstance for action. When marriage arrangements take place, members of the priestly class determine an auspicious sign based on the qualities of the participants and the specific alignment of stars. If the conditions are not conducive to a future full of wedded bliss, the marriage ceremony will not be held at that time. On a larger scale, the outside conditions at any given time can portend good or bad things for the future. For a group of citizens a long time ago, their desire for future auspiciousness was so strong that they did not worry about the external circumstances. Instead, they gave everything - body, mind and soul - over to their beloved Lord Ramaand His younger brother Lakshmana, who were on their way out of the town to escort a venerable rishi in his travels through the forests.
Why were the townspeople so enamored with Rama? Why not offer the same dedication to their own children? Shri Rama is the soul of all creatures, the original life force. From one have sprung many, and that one is supporting all the many at the same time. Because of His inherent qualities, every single life form is naturally attracted to Him. In the perverted version of that natural desire, the love turns to hate, but the attraction is still there. Even in apathy the attraction leads to association with the external feature of the Lord known as material nature.
With the residents of Ayodhya during the Treta Yuga, the personal presence of that original person was available. Everyone made the most of that opportunity by offering their love purely, without motive. An absence of motive means that there is no desire for personal benefit. I work at the office so that I can get paid. I go to school so that I’ll get an education. I give money to the poor so that I won’t feel as bad about their situation. I offer help to someone because I am afraid of the negative consequences that will come from not offering that help.
The residents of Ayodhya had no such motives or fears. They were tied in a bond of affection to the eldest son of King Dasharatha. Rama was a boy of less than twelve years of age when He had to leave the town for a short while. Vishvamitra Muni, a member of the priestly class, previously faced harassment in the forests from a Rakshasa named Maricha. That demon had fellow night-rangers with him to help in attacking the priests. Rama was a member of a royal family, so He was trained in the military arts. Vishvamitra knew that Dasharatha’s eldest son could protect him. Rama took Lakshmana with Him because the younger brother could not live without Rama. Lakshmana was equally as capable a fighter, with the duo combining to have a fire and wind effect. Fire can only burn the local area, but if combined with wind, it can spread across a much greater distance. With Lakshmana by His side, Rama could extend the reach of His protection to all the saints residing in the forest.
 Now that we have this information, the behavior of the residents seems odd. On the one side you have a mature adult approaching the king of the town for help in getting protection against the wickedest terrorists in the world. The rishi came to Ayodhya only to ask for this young boy to protect him. Meanwhile, the residents of the town viewed the same youth as helpless. Therefore when Rama was walking away, they prayed for His welfare. They asked God that Rama return successful and that He not as much have a single hair removed from His head while taking a bath. Can we imagine such purity in emotion? They prayed to God for God’s welfare. It seems silly to do this, but this behavior actually represents the height of devotion. It is the embodiment of selflessness.
Goswami Tulsidas very much appreciated these sentiments. In the above referenced verse from his Janaki Mangala, we see that the poet has personified mangala, or auspiciousness, and said that through their offerings of good tidings the residents essentially invited auspiciousness to the area. Omens be damned, what they offered to Rama was better than any external sign of nature. It was during these conditions that Rama and Lakshmana walked away with Vishvamitra. The same practice has been followed ever since that time by sincere devotees. In temples where God is worshiped, the deities are awakened to the chanting of the holy names. Auspiciousness is invited to the scene by first offering prayers to Tulasi Devi, the Lord’s beloved servant. Next, the spiritual master is honored, for he is the Lord’s representative. With the blessings from Tulasi Devi and the guru, the proper mood of worship is created, allowing the further proceedings to have lasting effects.
Though there are different methods of religion, and even smaller sub-religions that meet targeted goals, nothing can be higher than the mood of worship shown by the residents of Ayodhya. They prayed to God for God to be safe, and the same type of prayer can be invoked by reciting the maha-mantra, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”. Not to be confused with a prayer asking for personal wealth, the elimination of distress, or the perfection of mysticism, the sacred syllables uttered in the most wonderful prayer ask God and His energy for the benediction of being able to continue in service to Him.
Yet the innocent people of Ayodhya didn’t even ask for that. They just wanted Rama and Lakshmana to be okay. Of course the duo would always be in good spirits, and their vision would remain in the minds of the sweethearts protected by King Dasharatha. The boys would protect Vishvamitra well, and they would have the pleasure of escorting him to Videha, where a grand sacrifice was taking place. The auspicious conditions under which Rama and Lakshmana left were matched with the wonderful atmosphere of their return, when Sita Devi, the goddess of fortune herself, came to Ayodhya as Rama’s wife.
Just as the residents did not worry about outside conditions, time or circumstance when praying for Rama’s welfare, the sincere devotee does not have to pay much concern to the circumstance when reciting the holy names. The sound vibration representation of the same Shri Rama can be invoked, honored, cherished, and held on to for sustenance at any moment. Correspondingly, Shri Rama’s association, including the vision of His beautiful form leaving Ayodhya with His younger brother Lakshmana, can be created at any moment, even right at this very second, should we so choose.
In Closing:
When sadness upon the residents of Ayodhya fell,
Their worries for Rama’s welfare God they did tell.
Typically, future guessed from outside omens’ sight,
But residents decided auspiciousness to invite.
For proper time and circumstance why wait?
Insisted that brothers live in pleasurable state.
Let them successful in protecting sage return,
Then their eyes fruit of existence to earn.
Chant holy names at any time,
For auspiciousness to find.
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Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Inviting Auspiciousness
Immune Role in Brain Disorder?
Replacing immune cells in a mouse model of Rett syndrome, a developmental brain disorder, improved symptoms, suggesting a new target for treatment.
By Hannah Waters |
Microglia (green) and neurons (red). Wikimedia Commons, Gerry Shaw/Encor Biotech
Rett syndrome is a devastating genetic disease in which brain development—along with communication and motor skills—regresses after about 18 months of normal development. While previous work on this disease has focused on its neurological basis, new research published online yesterday (March 18) in Nature suggests that the immune system may be a target worth investigating: in a mouse model of the disease, bone marrow transplants significantly improved symptoms, extending lifespan far and beyond what was expected, increasing size and reducing tremors.
“It’s a very interesting, very provocative paper that could potentially be very important both for the basic biology of the disease as well as translational aspects of it,” said Qiang Chang, who studies the molecular mechanisms of Rett syndrome at the University of Wisconsin and was not involved in the new study. “But I think this is the type of work that probably raises more questions than it answers.”
Rett syndrome is caused by many different mutations in the Mecp2 gene, which lies on the X-chromosome and regulates thousands of other genes by binding to and altering methylation marks attached to DNA. Posing a further challenge to understanding the disease’s mechanism, Mecp2 is expressed in many tissues in the body. “Every cell type has methylation, but the methylation patterns may be different cell to cell,” said Zhaolan Zhou, who studies epigenetics and Rett syndrome at the University of Pennsylvania and did not participate in the research. “If that’s the case, Mecp2 may regulate and participate in different pathways in different cells.”
However, because Rett syndrome is a brain disorder, most of the research has focused on Mecp2’s activity in neurons—and not without good reason. “It’s extremely highly expressed in neurons, and it’s thought that the protein plays an important role in the maturation of neurons and brain circuit,” said Chang. Children with Rett syndrome are born essentially “normal” with symptoms showing up some 18 months later, and “that’s the window whenMecp2 is dramatically upregulated” in the brain, he added.
But the new research suggests that brain cells may not present the full picture. After reading a paper published a decade ago about how Mecp2mutations slow T-cell growth, neuroimmunologists Noël Derecki and Jonathan Kipnis from the University of Virginia School of Medicine decided to further investigate immune system interactions with Rett syndrome.
They focused on microglia, which are “classic immune cells that happen to live in the brain,” said Derecki. Microglia taken from the brains of mice lacking Mecp2 were less able to respond to invaders and “were very much impaired in a number of their functions,” he said. “If the immune system, including the microglia, was functioning in an impaired way, replacing the impaired immune system with a normal immune system might improve the disease somewhat.”
The researchers irradiated 4-week old male mice that lacked Mecp2 to kill off their immune cells—including microglia—and then injected their bones with marrow from normal mice. The idea was that the non-mutated stem cells in bone marrow would generate normal immune cells that then could migrate into and repopulate the brain.
Because male mice only have one X-chromosome, if their single copy of Mecp2 is missing, they are incredibly sick: they live just 8 weeks on average, are small, and have tremors and breathing irregularities. But the mice that received bone marrow transplants survived much longer—“the oldest mouse at this point is just under a year,” said Derecki—and they looked and acted much more like normal mice.
The mice weren’t cured, however; while some of their symptoms were reduced, the brain cells still carried the mutant copy of Mecp2. “It certainly is a disease of neurons, and the neurons still have their own problems—but it’s also likely a disease of many other cell types,” said Derecki. “We don’t think microglia cause the disease, but we think that when they malfunction, they make the disease much worse.”
But the research doesn’t mean that children with Rett syndrome should start getting bone marrow transplants, the researchers added. “[A bone marrow transplant is] a huge thing to do for a kid who is already sick,” said Kipnis. “But this study shows for the first time that there are targets other than neurons.”
And the immune system is a particularly appealing target for disease treatment because it’s “much more feasible to target than any other target so far,” added Kipnis. “You don’t have to deal with the brain and delivering drugs across the blood-brain barrier.”
Both Chang and Zhou want to know more about the possible mechanism and to see the results replicated in other labs, but they are intrigued. “The paper suggests that Mecp2 is important for every cell type,” said Zhou. “It’s created a fascinating biological problem to work out.”
The next step is to identify some of the genes that are regulated by Mecp2 in the immune system. “It could be thousands of them; we have no idea how big this mountain is,” said Derecki.
N. Derecki et al., “Wild-type microglia arrest pathology in a mouse model of Rett syndrome,” Nature, doi: 10.1038/nature10907, 2012.
Source: TheScientist
http://the-scientist.com/2012/03/19/immune-role-in-brain-disorder/
http://the-scientist.com/2012/03/19/immune-role-in-brain-disorder/
Posted by
Robert Karl Stonjek
Robert Karl Stonjek
Home Remedies for SNORING
SNORING
Snoring is the sound produced, while sleeping, due to the vibration in the respiratory structures. In this situation, the air movement gets obstructed while breathing, resulting in the sound. The throat or pharynx is a muscular tube that relaxes and decreases in size when a person is sleeping. For some people, this narrowing is enough to cause vibration of soft tissues in the pharynx. Some of the causes of snoring include muscle tone of the tongue, blockage of airway, age factor, alcoholic beverages, certain medications and sheer physical exhaustion. While the sound produced while sleeping is the only symptom of snoring, it is, at times, accompanied by heavy breathing as well. Snoring can, however, be treated at home also. Read onto get some natural remedies for curing snoring.Home Remedy For Snoring
Causes & Symptoms of Snoring
One of the most annoying health conditions, snoring, more than being a disorder, is a source of embarrassment for the affected person. It is most commonly noticed in adults, though young people cannot be completely excluded from the potential list of people affected by it. Snoring occurs when air flows past the relaxed tissues in your throat, causing the tissues to vibrate as you breathe. This leads to the production of hoarse or harsh sounds. Loud sounds, followed by heavy breathing, make up the only symptom found during snoring. There are various reasons due to which a person snores. To know more about the causes and symptoms of snoring, go through the following lines.Causes Of Snoring
Symptoms Of Snoring
Warning: The reader of this article should exercise all precautionary measures while following instructions on the home remedies from this article. Avoid using any of these products if you are allergic to it. The responsibility lies with the reader and not with the site or the writer.
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ஒரு பெண் ஆணிடம் எதிர்ப்பார்ப்பது..
THREE WAYS TO TAKE YOUR BUSINESS TO THE NEXT LEVEL
Sometimes its difficult to see the way forward or how to expand. These quick tips will rejuvenate your business and help you go from mediocre to amazing. Get the 3 strategies here!
INC shares…
Dealing with the same old growth problems? You may not be thinking big enough. Follow these “must do” steps to grow your company to millions in revenue.
1. Evaluate your financing, and ready your business for expansion.
“Women come into our program thinking about getting to 25 or 30 million,” says Engert. “We want them to get to 100 million and beyond.” He notes that access to capital and funding alternatives and how a business owner navigates and negotiates that process is one of the biggest issues facing entrepreneurs today, especially women. “We try to connect women in the program by tapping into our larger ecosystem,” he says. “There’s lots of capital out there to be deployed.”
Lisa Bair, founder and president of Hobart Group Holdings, a healthcare marketing and advertising agency, participated in Entrepreneurial Winning Women. She says: “To be honest, before Entrepreneurial Winning Women, I was so involved in running the business on a day-to-day basis, I hadn’t thought about its life cycle beyond $20 million in annual revenue—and we will cross that line this year. I completely revised my business plan after the Strategic Growth Forum.”
Engert recognizes that access to angel investors, small business loans, and a greater variety of financing alternatives are crucial for entrepreneurs. “It’s important to leverage your networks and advisory boards,” he says. “Tap into the variety of resources available, like larger organizations that would be teaming partners to you and your company. All large organizations are looking to tap into innovative entrepreneurial businesses these days, so explore that avenue.
2. Think big and be bold.
“Thinking big boils down to part confidence and part awareness,” says Engert. He advises that business owners step outside the box and think about where they can take their business. “Think about scaling, not only your service and product offerings, but also vertical opportunities that you could move into. Think outside the box about partners that you could team with to be innovative. There are a lot of conversions happening across sectors, don’t think in only your one particular sector or about just your product and services. Lots of large companies want to include young, innovative companies in their collaborative innovation networks.”
Bair put managing directors in place at the head of her marketing services businesses in New York and New Jersey and formed a third company devoted solely on product development. “I am now 100 percent focused on a three-to-five year vision,” she explains, “that includes building out our expertise, the possible acquisition of complementary companies and investment capital to allow us to scale.”
3. Build a public profile.
Studies based on past award winners show that women tend to be modest about their achievements. Many of the applicants for the Entrepreneurial Winning Women Program have company websites that don’t include anything about the leader. Revise your site to include information on your achievements, vision and insights. Press can put you on the map, what are you doing to increase your visibility?
Get more information at INC!
Elder Brother
“The human being is the elder brother of all other living beings. He is endowed with intelligence more powerful than animals for realizing the course of nature and the indications of the Almighty Father.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 1.10.4 Purport)
It’s just not fair. The elder brother gets all the grief, all the negative attention, and seemingly none of the benefits. The younger siblings can mess up all the time, perform poorly, set a bad example for others, and still not get nearly as much blame as the eldest child does. This is a fact of life that must eventually be accepted, for the older one is supposed to be wiser. They are expected to set a good example for the rest of the children to follow. The elder brother has the authority as well, for they are more powerful than the younger brothers until full maturity is reached. With that responsibility comes the potential for setting the best example and also providing the best protection. The elder brother who fulfills their obligations thus achieves a very high end in life.
Why does the eldest get this burden? What if they didn’t ask for it? The younger ones live under the protection of the parents and the elder brother. The protection of the parents is easy to understand. The mother and father provide for the food, clothing and shelter and make sure that the difficulties in life are minimized while the young ones have a chance to mature. The protection of the elder brother comes in the form of the shielding of the parents’ influence. In the majority of cases, the younger siblings can skate by without drawing too much attention to themselves, but the elder is not so lucky. They are the first ones to get the blame and the last ones to get the credit. Nevertheless, throughout the course of human history there have been some terrific elder brothers, who bore the responsibility without uttering a complaint and set the best example for future generations.
Of course a brother who is an incarnation of God would serve as the ideal example. Shri Ramachandra, also known as Lord Rama, the eldest son of Maharaja Dasharatha, set a terrific example for His younger brothers to follow. Sometimes the right course in life wasn’t apparently clear and Rama was not without His own difficult circumstances. As the eldest son, Rama was expected to be the successor to the throne, but on the eve of His coronation, He was instead ordered to leave the kingdom. Here was an instance where Rama was wronged without a reason. He was treated unfairly only because of the selfish motives of one of Dasharatha’s wives, Kaikeyi, who wanted her own son Bharata to be on the throne.“Please tell me which of Your enemies shall today be deprived of their life, fame, and friends by me. I am Your faithful servant, so please do instruct me as to how I shall go about bringing this whole earth under Your control.” (Lakshmana speaking to Lord Rama, Valmiki Ramayana, Ayodhya Kand, 23.40)
Lord Rama was the most powerful bow warrior of His time, so He could put up a violent resistance at any time. Indeed, this is what the younger brother Lakshmana suggested. Lakshmana was the third of four sons of Dasharatha, and he was the closest to Rama, though all the brothers respected and loved their eldest brother. Rama took the news of exile to the forest for fourteen years in stride, but Lakshmana did not. He did not have an example to set. Rather, he was able to follow his natural inclination of loving Rama first, without giving much attention to other details.
Lakshmana loved Rama more than anyone else, and he showed this by suggesting that the Lord enact a coup and take over the kingdom. Lest Rama think He would have to do all the work, Lakshmana insisted that he would administer the violent overthrow all by himself. Should Dasharatha or Bharata mount an opposition, Lakshmana would defeat them in battle. Rama was certainly pleased to the heart by the devotion shown by Lakshmana, but the suggestion was never taken seriously. Dasharatha and Bharata had done nothing wrong, and if Rama ignored the order, it would sully the family name established by the many pious kings who previously ruled in the Ikshvaku dynasty.
Rama set the example of an ideal elder brother and righteous ruler. He was detached from the outcome of events, though He fought rigorously to defend dharma, or religiosity. His brothers didn’t bear nearly the same burden because they were not the eldest in the family, but they appreciated everything that Rama did for them. Bharata, for his part, would later try to convince Rama to return home from the forest, but the Lord responded with many cogent facts relating to the shastras, or scriptures, and the need for upholding the good name of the father.
Many thousands of years later, an incarnation of dharma itself, Maharaja Yudhishthira, set a great example for his four younger brothers. The Pandavas faced many hardships and it would have been easy to ignore the rules of propriety and simply go on the attack against the aggressors in this case, the Kauravas. Bhima, one of the younger brothers, was always in an irritated spirit, angry at the people who had wronged his family. If not for Yudhishthira’s calming influence, Bhima might have acted upon his inclination towards violence. The eldest brother had much pressure on him, and sometimes he buckled under that pressure, but never did he completely abandon virtue. Rather, he was there every step of the way to set the best example, which would eventually result in the triumph of the Pandavas over the Kauravas. Of course that victory was not without the aid of the same Shri Rama in His original form of Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
In the bigger picture, the human being is considered the elder brother of all living entities. Strange to think that we have a relation to tigers, alligators and insects, but we do. Every life force is a part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, miniature samples of God that are vastly inferior in the output of divine qualities. Knowledge, wealth, beauty, fame, strength and renunciation exist in the human being but not nearly to the same levels as they are found in the Supreme Lord.
The variety in species exists because of guna and karma, or inherent qualities and fruitive action. Yet just because one person makes a mistake and another is free of mistakes doesn’t mean that there is any constitutional difference between the two. The results are just temporary, while the qualitative makeup is the same. In the same light, the lower species are either travelling upward in the chain of spiritual evolution towards the highest form known as the human birth or they have temporarily fallen down from the auspicious condition of the human life.
In either case the human being still bears the burden of responsibility, for they are more intelligent. If the younger brother and older brother should get into a fight, even if the older is not in the wrong, the parents will blame him. “But Dad, I didn’t start it. He hit me first.” What is the response of the parents? “Well, you’re supposed to know better. He doesn’t know what he is doing, but you do.” For the human being this same principle applies. Just because the tiger eats other animals doesn’t mean that the mature human being has to follow the same behavior. Rather, with the combination of sobriety in thought and activity in the mode of goodness, the human being has the chance to realize the oneness of spirit, to see the undivided in the divided.
“That knowledge by which one undivided spiritual nature is seen in all existences, undivided in the divided, is knowledge in the mode of goodness.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 18.20)
Not that everyone is the exact same entity or God Himself, but every living being is part of the giant collection of spiritual energy known as Brahman. Only the human being can realize Brahman, and from that realization comes model behavior, which seeks to maintain that equal vision and also advance to the next position of loving God in His personal form. The living entity must eat another living entity to survive, for that is the law of nature. At the same time, however, there is discrimination. Even amongst meat eaters, there isn’t a desire to eat other human beings or cats or dogs. Therefore, the human being naturally uses discrimination, and with the vision of Brahman, the right kind of discrimination is applied.“If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit, or water, I will accept it.” (Lord Krishna, Bg. 9.26)
How do we know which living entities we are allowed to eat? Grains, fruits, vegetables and milk have been provided to the human being for its sustenance. There is no sin involved in eating these foodstuffs when they have been first offered to the Supreme Lord. Animal flesh cannot be offered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for He has no desire to profit from another creature’s unlawful slaying. The food consumption of the human should also be limited, as eating is not meant solely to fulfill urges for sense gratification. It is correct to try to maintain the vital force within the body, for as long as there is conscious thought within the human form there is every chance of realizing God. But to try to go beyond maintaining the body and enjoy the senses at the cost of others is not a valid utilization of effort.
From setting the best example through loving God, the human being automatically has love for other creatures. With love for everyone, there is no question of anger, rage, greed, vengeance, or unnecessarily inhibiting the growth of others. Thus simply by loving God, by regularly chanting His names, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”, the elder brother that is the human being sets up conditions where everyone can move forward in their evolution towards the same platform of God consciousness.
In Closing:
The elder brother sets example on how to live,
Proper knowledge to younger siblings he gives.
In quarrel, spotlight on elder all the same,
Even if younger started, elder still to get blame.
Human being is elder of species, should set good example,
By knowing that all living entities of God are a sample.
Tigers and other creatures their prey they will chase,
Wiser human their behavior not to imitate.
Grains, flowers and milk for human being’s palate,
By devotion to God, in pure goodness sit.
Why Astrologers go wrong in their prediction?
- Lack of knowledge: This is perhaps the foremost reason. Most of the astrologers, after learning a bit, find it difficult to resist the temptation to start making predictions. A certain percentage of their predictions do turn out to be true since they have learnt a little bit of Astrology after all. They cannot hold themselves back from showing off their half baked knowledge. Another reason if the temptation to start reaping, as soon as possible, the fruits of their efforts made in learning the subject. Once the customers start flocking to them, they lose the urge to keep learning further. Also, they are left with little spare time to make further efforts to learn more. They get too busy duping people.
- Lack of Talent: In the modern times, since the pursuit of this subject is not considered very respectable, persons of genius do not take up the study of Astrology. They would rather prefer to become scientists, engineers, doctors, litterateurs, artists etc. This does not help the development of Astrology nor does it help add to the knowledge or find the missing links in this subject. Currently, there are no serious research projects related to this field. Thus this base of knowledge does not get updated.
- Incorrect Data: As the very basis of Astrology is mathematical, the data such as time of birth etc. must be accurate. If this data is incorrect, the horoscope and consequently the interpretation of it is bound to be faulty. The position of cusps, house divisions, and the planetary positions at any given moment needs to be accurate too. The numerous ephemeris differ from each other so much that it seems incredible. One must follow the most accurate data (for example, from NASA) for calculations, in this age of science. Normally, astrologers tend to take the easy route, that of following some ready-reckoner sort of things, leading to inaccuracies in their calculations.
- Destiny of the subject: It may so happen that the fate of the person who wants his future read, does not favor the person in knowing his future. This idea may seem far fetched but it is not. Even in modern times, with all the development of medical science, patients keep dying of fully treatable diseases. If a person is destined to die of pneumonia, he will in spite of the fact that millions of people around the world are successfully treated for it every year. If fate can play a role here why cannot it play the same role regarding Astrology.
- The very nature of Future: Modern science divides the universe in two parts: known and the unknown. It is believed that whatever is unknown today, will become known tomorrow. Over a period of time, every thing will become known one day. But the enlightened sages have said that certain aspects of the existence is unknowable. These things do not belong in the domain of human knowledge. Certain aspects of future also belongs to the same domain.
Cashing Out of Corruption
Are 15 million mobile phones enough to wage war on graft in Afghanistan?
Jan Chipchase
When police officers in Afghanistan's mountainous Wardak province began receiving their $200-per-month salaries via their mobile phones in 2009, many wondered why they had gotten a raise. They hadn't. It turns out their superiors had been skimming from their salaries, which were previously paid in cash.
That anecdote appears in State Department cables describing M-Paisa, a mobile-phone payment system run by Afghanistan's largest telecom operator, Roshan, that now reaches 1.2 million Afghans and is described by U.S. officials as a potential "breakthrough technology" for the country.
Whether it's a few dollars under the table or thousands stuffed in a briefcase, cash is linked to corruption at all levels in Afghanistan. According to the United Nations, government corruption is the biggest day-to-day concern of Afghans, looming larger than even poverty or violence. The U.N. estimated that between 2008 and 2009, half of all Afghans paid at least one bribe to an official; the average amount was $160.
The idea now taking hold in Afghanistan is to avoid graft by paying people electronically, using the country's network of 15 million mobile phones. "Anywhere you have a middleman touching cash, you increase the opportunity for skimming," says Zahir Khoja, executive director for mobile money at Roshan, which is partly owned by the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development.
As cell-phone use skyrockets in even the poorest countries, mobile money is seen as a way to extend banking services more broadly. The people with by far the most to gain are the impoverished 2.5 billion who don't have access to a bank account and can't reliably receive, send, save, or borrow money.
According to Afghanistan's banking authority, the country has only about 300 branches and a few dozen ATMs for 34 million people. Less than 5 percent of Afghans have bank accounts. The banks aren't trusted, either. The largest, Kabul Bank, is embroiled in perhaps the nation's worst public corruption scandal, which caused a run on deposits in 2010 after $900 million went missing.
According to Afghanistan's banking authority, the country has only about 300 branches and a few dozen ATMs for 34 million people. Less than 5 percent of Afghans have bank accounts. The banks aren't trusted, either. The largest, Kabul Bank, is embroiled in perhaps the nation's worst public corruption scandal, which caused a run on deposits in 2010 after $900 million went missing.
"The mobile network is one of the only networks that knit the country back together," says Kathleen McGowan, senior policy analyst for in Afghanistan for the United States Agency for International Development. The mobile-phone companies, which got going only in the last decade, also constitute Afghanistan's largest industry and its biggest taxpayers.
M-Paisa ("paisa" means money in the Dari language) allows anyone with a cell phone to receive a payment by phone with just a text message or, because most Afghans are illiterate, a call to a voice-activated menu. The recipient can then obtain cash at an M-Paisa agent. There's no bank involved; under a special license issued last year to Roshan, subscribers' funds are kept in escrow-like accounts.
Roshan licensed the technology in 2008 from Vodafone, which developed a successful mobile money program in Kenya that's called M-Pesa and has 15 million subscribers. The telecom initially had the idea of using the system to make microloans to small businesses. However, at the urging of the U.S. military, Roshan and the Ministry of Interior decided to see if M-Paisa could be used to pay salaries to the beleaguered Afghan National Police.
The pilot project, which began in 2009 with 53 officers, quickly showed the extent of the corruption problem. According to State Department cables made public by WikiLeaks, one frustrated commander demanded that his officers turn over their phones and PINs and attempted to collect their salaries from an M-Paisa agent.
"The comments we got back from [the policemen] were: 'We like this service because we get more money from M-Paisa,'" says Khoja, who estimates that about 30 percent of the officers' salaries had been getting stolen.
The Afghan police force faces higher casualties than either the army or the U.S. military, and the Ministry of Interior says paying officers promptly is important to keeping morale up. As part of its anticorruption strategy, the ministry is now expanding the mobile payment program to another 4,000 officers.
Making payments over cell phones would also cut the risk of transporting money around the country. About half of Afghanistan's 700,000 government employees don't have a bank account, and in some cases officials fly cash into rural regions to pay salaries. Ghulam Farooq Wardak, Afghanistan's education minister, threw his weight behind another mobile payment effort, led by carrier MTN, after one of his staff was killed during a cash delivery.
Although the Afghan government recently sought proposals to expand mobile payments, such efforts have moved slowly in part because of "determined" resistance from some bank and police officials, says Loretta Michaels, a Washington, D.C., consultant who worked in Afghanistan with Roshan to implement the mobile money system.
Corruption is a sensitive diplomatic issue with U.S. troops exiting the country, even as tens of billions in aid still pours in. McGowan, the USAID analyst, says electronic payments have the benefit of rooting out graft without singling out specific officials or looking like an "anticorruption crusade."
Other countries are also experimenting to see whether electronic payments can counter what experts call "money leakage." India, rocked last year by anticorruption protests, could save $22 billion annually by making welfare and other government payments electronic, according to a study by McKinsey. Officials in Argentina found that issuing electronic voucher cards practically eliminated bribery associated with certain public benefits.
In Afghanistan, experts don't think mobile payments alone will solve the country's corruption problem. "The bigger picture is about millions of dollars walking out of the country in people's suitcases to buy a Dubai villa," says Michaels. "But it's going to make a huge difference to individuals—to the rural teacher or policeman who suddenly sees an increase in their salary."
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