The Resplendent
Guru
Hardeep Singh
The 10th Guru was born on 22nd
December 1666 to Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur ji and
Mata Gujari at Patna (Bihar). At that time, Sri
Guru Tegh Bahadur was away on a tour of Assam. He
expressed great joy on hearing the news of the
birth of his child and named him Sri Gobind Rai.
His mother Mata Gujari, her brother Mama Kirpal
ji and the leading disciples took good care of
his upbringing. He was taught Gurumukhi script in
childhood. He was told about the lives and deeds
of the previous Gurus. As he grew up he was also
taught the history of India, and was made aware
of the socia1, religious and political situation.
Right from the beginning he was also given
training in music, prayers and use of weapons in
accordance with the Guru traditions. Research
shows that the Guru s family had close relations
with Hindus, Muslims and people of other creeds.
The families of Nawab Rahim Bakhsh and Karim
Bakhsh and of Raja Fateh Chand find mention in
this context. All the Hindu, Muslim and Sikh
children used to play and study together. They
favoured the banks of Ganga for their games.
After returning from Assam, Guru Tegh Bahadur ji
called the whole family from Patna to Anandpur.
In Phalgun month of Vikrami year 1728, Mama
Kirpal started out with the whole family on a
journey to Punjab. It took them through Baksar,
Kashi, Prayag, Ayodhya, Lucknow, Mathura,
Saharanpur and Ambala. Leading Sikhs also
accompanied them. In Lakhnaur, Bhikhan Shah and
Peer Arifdeen met the Guru. They reached Anandpur
in the Magha month of 1729 as per Vikrami
calendar.. .. .. .
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Apostle of
Kriya Yoga
Brij Mohan Sharma
Not very long ago,
there lived among us one such great soul
whose divinely message of universal love
and light not only illumined the hearts
of his own countrymen but kindled the
sparks of divinity in the farthest
corners of the globe.
Born on January 5, 1893 this divine
emissary was known as Paramahansa
Yogananda. The title
‘Paramahansa’ was conferred on
him by his learned Guru in appreciation
of his exemplary life, his outstanding
spiritual achievement and his selfless
service to humanity.
As is generally the case with such holy
souls, the love of God and the urge to
seek Him was present in Paramahansa
Yogananda from his very birth. More often
than not, he would be seen in yogic
postures of meditation with half closed
eyes murmuring or chanting some prayers.
Visions of meditating saints and sages
was a matter of common occurrence with
him. In nutshell, many of the incidents
of his early life clearly afforded a
glimpse of his divine future.
Once, when he was about the age of eight,
he fell into a reverie. An immense flash
of light manifested to his inner gaze. He
saw divine shapes of yogis meditating in
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Golden boy of
Bollywood
Zeenat Zafar
The Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak boy
19-years ago has matured as a celebrity at 42.
The actor is a success story of Bollywood in
terms of his screen presence and movies he has
produced and directed. In personal life he
married for the second time his personal
assistant Kiran Rao 17-years junior to him.
This time round, he didn't elope or hide his wife
from the media like he did with Reena Dutta. He's
probably realised that there's an electronic
revolution going on, and there's nothing he can
do to stave off the sound bite specialists. And
true to form, the paparazzi circled like hawks
over the sylvan locale of Panchgani. Biwi No. 2,
Kiran Rao has learnt to live with the fact that
by marrying a celebrity she's traded a lifetime
of normalcy. And here she is hoping that their
marriage is as solid as Lagaan.
The recalcitrant Khan whom one has known as a
rookie reporter, the mind rolls back to the time
when I met him on the sets of Shekhar Kapur's
aborted Time Machine. Some things have remained
the same. He's well mannered, but doesn't mince
his words. If he's not sharp, he's blunt. If he's
happy, he'll smile that Toblerone smile of his.
No drama, no aggression and no bad-ass attitude
so common with the upstart new generation of
actors whose skills are inversely proportional to
their musculature... . ......more
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Knowing about
dyslexia
Aarti
Bollywood actor Aamir Khan’s
directorial debut, Taare Zameen Par (TZP)
focusing on the saga of a dyslexic child,
possibly is one of the outstanding Hindi films
produced in 2007. Released 21 December worldwide,
TZP vividly portrays the manner in which an
eight-year-old boy, disinterested in studies, is
humiliated and punished by all his teachers at
school. At his home, too, with utter disregard to
the boy’s special talent for painting, his
parents pack him off to a boarding school as a
disciplinary measure. The boy faces virtually
living hell and yet again fares badly in studies
until an exceptional art teacher (played by
Aamir) ‘discovers’ the hidden talents
of the child. Attempting to drive home the point
that every child is special, the essence is every
parent and teacher ought to understand and
respects a child’s ability. That it is every
one’s responsibility to show some care and
concern towards such special children and make
them feel important.
Dyslexia, a learning disability that affects an
individual’s ability to read, write and
spell, has been defined by the World Federation
of Neurology as “a disorder manifested by
difficulties in learning to read, despite
conventional instruction, adequate intelligence
and socio cultural opportunity.” Worldwide,
one in ten, every child is reportedly dyslexic
and the disorder is estimated to occur in about
15 per cent of all school-going children. In
India, about 30 million children are known to be
dyslexic.‘ .. ........more
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Animation as
a profession
Animation, whether
in films or ads, is fast catching
up in public imagination. Now
many Hollywood biggies are
outsourcing their work to India's
skilled techies. Brinda
Dasgupta reports
Nyah, what's up,
doc?" This famous one-liner
of Bugs Bunny has become
synonymous with the much beloved
rabbit leaning on a rock,
munching his carrot nonchalantly,
and delivering that one line that
has made him a favourite with
kids and adults alike all over
the world. Of course, the
animated rabbit is not our only
favourite. The list is endless.
There's Daffy Duck, and Porky Pig
(with his "Ubdee ubdee
ubdee, that's all folks!")
of Warner Bros. Animation, and
Tom and Jerry, the lovable
Flintstones family, the geeky
Dexter- by Hanna Barbara. Ask any
toddler what he or she would like
to watch on television- and the
inevitable answer will come,
"Cartoons!" It seems
there is a never-ending
fascination for them.
Indeed, animation has a different
charm altogether. There is
something unreal yet so fantastic
about seeing drawn pictures made
to move on screen. Technology has
truly come a long way since the
1928 hand drawn cartoon Steamboat
Willie made big waves - that was
the third Mickey Mouse cartoon
created yet the first one with
sound. Now computer graphics and
motion capture technology are . ... ......more
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Winter Body Care
Shahnaz Husain
During winter, the parts of the body
that become really dry are the feet, the back of
the hands, the knees and the elbows. These areas
need special care. Bath time is appropriate to
pamper the body and supply it with the oils and
moisture it needs. In fact, applying body lotions
and creams soon after bathing, while the skin is
still damp, helps to seal in moisture.
A variety of creams, lotions and oils are
available for the body. You can get yourself a
hand and body lotion, or a rich cream, depending
on the extent of dryness. An apricot cream is
ideal for the hands. You can also make your own
body lotion by mixing natural ingredients. You
would need a loofah or rough towel to give your
body a rub, after applying oil, cream or lotion.
This helps to smoothen rough skin and also
improves blood circulation to the skin surface,
leaving the skin glowing. It is particularly
helpful on rough areas like the knees and elbows.
Soap-free shower gels are better in winter. Or,
you can use a mild glycerine soap. For extreme
dryness, it is better to avoid soap. Oil massage
and body rubs can help to cleanse the skin
adequately.
Before your bath, apply oil on the body and
massage it into the skin. This helps to soften
the skin. Sesame seed (til) oil can be used, or
you can use any vegetable oil. According to
Ayurveda, mustard oil is good during winter, but
sesame seed (til) oil can be used all the year
round. You can warm the oil before use. I advise
the use of a lemon-turmeric cream as a pre-bath
treatment, for dry skins. In fact, it has even
been helpful in treating cases of
dry-skin-sensitivity. . . ..........more
Swami Nand Bab Ji
Saint of miracles
C.L.Trisal
 Swami Nanda Bab Ji (popular
known as Nanda-Moat) was born on Dec. 30, 1896,
at Purshayar,Habbakadal, Srinagar. His father was
Pt. Shanker Sahib and his mother Smt. Imberzal.
Smti Ibwerzal had a sister in Nunar, a village
near Laar, Ganderbal. She had no issue of her own
and adopted Swami Nanda-Bab-Ji. Nanda Bab Ji was
fairly conversant in writing English, Urdu and
Persian in a beautifully calligraphic style. He
was stubborn and obstinate to the point of
unrecluctantly getting whatever he would set his
mind on.
Nanda-Bab Ji was well built and his face would
always radiate with a spiritual grace. After
finishing his education, he joined the Police
Department and was posted as a Mohrarir in Police
Station, Pukhribal. It is said that Swamiji had
the vision of Sharika Maa at this very place. One
day, one of his colleagues advised him to remain
properly dressed as a Senior police Officer was
to visit the Station next day. Ignoring this
advice, Swamji went to Devi-Angan, next day, and
got absorbed in a deep meditation there. It was
witnessed by some of his other colleagues. When
the Inspecting Officer visited the Station, he
found Swamiji present to the great astonishment
of every body present there. From this date on,
the miracles of the Swami ji came on light.
After some time Swamiji was transferred to
Tangadhar where he joined against his wishes. One
day Swamiji left Tanghadar on foot for Srinagar,
without permission. On way to Srinagar he met a
British Officer who was wearing a hat. Swamiji
removed his hat and put that on his own head. A
legal action was instituted against him and
having been found guilty of insulting a British
Officer, he was dismissed from the State Service.
Since that episode he started wearing a hat for
the rest of his life. . ......more
Skating on
a roll
Rajesh Dhar
 Talent,
it is said, is what you possess and
genius is what possesses you. One finds
talented guys in every field of life not
to talk of the field of sports only, but
geniuses are rarely found in any field.
However, the state of Jammu and kashmir,
which has yet to create a niche in the
field of sports, can boast of some
geniuses performing in the medal winning
sports discipline of Roller Skating. Mir
Daniyal, Divij Balotra, Paras Thakur,
Ananya Khajuria and Rohan Kapoor are a
few to name. The dynamism, power,
strength and speed of these skaters kept
the state flag flying high in the
recently concluded 53rd National School
Games (NSG) held at Ahmedabad (Gujarat),
by winning 03 Gold, 04 Silver and 03
Bronze medals for their state. The state
contingent comprising of 45 skaters in
speed events, 10 in Roller Hockey and 20
in Artistic Skating was sponsored by the
Department of Youth Services and Sports,
J&K. In the medal tally, Mir Daniyal,
the versatile skater of the state, won 2
gold and 1 silver medal in U-19 (boys)
Inline races, Paras Thakur, the golden
girl won 01 gold and 01 silver in U-14
(girls) Quad races and Divij Balotra, the
horse on road, won 02 silver . .. .
...more
Statistical
Literacy
Imtiyaz Ahmad
It look men 1,50,000 years
to arrive at agricultural revolution,
50,000 years to arrive at space
revolution, some 1000 years to arrive at
computer/technology revolution and no
body knows where we are heading to. But
one thing is for sure that coming age is
going to involve huge complexities of
different kind and nature. Growing
complexities of human natural/social
phenomenon has left no alternative to the
world decision-makers but to depend upon
the numerous methods of measurement and
interpretation of the varied problems.
Nearly, every activity-mental or physical
or natural, is measured and interpreted
quantitatively. Today, whole world lives
in the world of numbers/statistics and
reaches to conclusive decisions on the
basis of Statistical knowledge. The whole
world now seems to hold that statistics
can be useful in understanding, assessing
and controlling the operations of
society. Also, the forecast of HG Wells
that ‘‘Statistical thinking
will one day be as necessary forthe
effective citizenship as the ability to
read and write’’ seems to prove
true. Today the authenticity of your
statements is suspected if you have
expressed it numerically.........
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