Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

The man we know as Santa Claus has a history all his own. Explore the articles here to find information about the history of Santa Claus, his earliest origins, and how he became the jolly man in red that we know today.

The legend of Santa Claus can be traced back hundreds of years to a monk named St. Nicholas. It is believed that Nicholas was born sometime around 280 A.D. in Patara, near Myra in modern-day Turkey. Much admired for his piety and kindness, St. Nicholas became the subject of many legends. It is said that he gave away all of his inherited wealth and traveled the countryside helping the poor and sick. One of the best known of the St. Nicholas stories is that he saved three poor sisters from being sold into slavery or prostitution by their father by providing them with a dowry so that they could be married. Over the course of many years, Nicholas's popularity spread and he became known as the protector of children and sailors. His feast day is celebrated on the anniversary of his death, December 6. This was traditionally considered a lucky day to make large purchases or to get married. By the Renaissance, St. Nicholas was the most popular saint in Europe. Even after the Protestant Reformation, when the veneration of saints began to be discouraged, St. Nicholas maintained a positive reputation, especially in Holland.

Some Fast Facts:
Each year, 30-35 million real Christmas trees are sold in the United States alone. There are 21,000 Christmas tree growers in the United States, and trees usually grow for about 15 years before they are sold.
Today, in the Greek and Russian orthodox churches, Christmas is celebrated 13 days after the 25th, which is also referred to as the Epiphany or Three Kings Day. This is the day it is believed that the three wise men finally found Jesus in the manger.
In the Middle Ages, Christmas celebrations were rowdy and raucous—a lot like today's Mardi Gras parties.
From 1659 to 1681, the celebration of Christmas was outlawed in Boston, and law-breakers were fined five shillings.
Christmas wasn't a holiday in early America—in fact Congress was in session on December 25, 1789, the country's first Christmas under the new constitution.
Christmas was declared a federal holiday in the United States on June 26, 1870.
The first eggnog made in the United States was consumed in Captain John Smith's 1607 Jamestown settlement.
Poinsettia plants are named after Joel R. Poinsett, an American minister to Mexico, who brought the red-and-green plant from Mexico to America in 1828.
The Salvation Army has been sending Santa Claus-clad donation collectors into the streets since the 1890s.
Rudolph, "the most famous reindeer of all," was the product of Robert L. May's imagination in 1939. The copywriter wrote a poem about the reindeer to help lure customers into the Montgomery Ward department store.
Construction workers started the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree tradition in 1931.

Wishing you a happy new year

Team HARImation

Comeon Terror we will show you the doors of hell

Mumbai, India Under ATTACK

26th Nov 2008

26th Nov 2008 evening...another buzy day from office for many of us earning a bread in mumbai, unknown of the fact that terror is ready to strike back. Soon people will find that they have lost there near and dear ones irrespective of the fact that the ones who will suffer the concequences have nothing to do with it at all, soon they will know that mumbai is again under attack...

26th Nov 2008 Night (around 915 PM IST) First thing we got to know when were closing our days in office was that it was a gang war broke off in Mumbai CST so were asked by our PM (Project Managers) to leave early as to avoid more conciquences...but all in vein.........as we knew it later that it was a Terror Attack, initially people thought it to be more or less common as mumbai peoples are very strong when comes to face terror may be this land has that magic to bring out baghat sings every time when asked for...10 PM by the time it was clear that it was a pre planned attack on mumbai.

The November 2008 Mumbai attacks were a series of ten coordinated terrorist attacks across Mumbai, India's financial capital and its largest city. The attacks, carried out by armed men using automatic weapons and grenades, began on 26 November 2008 and ended on 29 November 2008. At least 173 people were killed and at least 308 were injured in the attacks.
Eight of the attacks occurred in South Mumbai, at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, the Oberoi Trident, the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, Leopold Cafe, Cama Hospital, the Orthodox Jewish-owned Nariman House, the Metro Cinema, and a lane behind the Times of India building behind St. Xavier's College.There was also an explosion at the Mazagaon docks in Mumbai's port area, and a taxi blast at Vile Parle.
By the early morning of 28 November, all sites except for the Taj Mahal Palace had been secured by Mumbai Police and security forces. An action by India's National Security Guards on 29 November resulted in the conclusion of the Taj Mahal Palace encounter, ending all fighting in the attacks.
Ajmal Amir, the only terrorist who was captured alive, disclosed that the attackers were members of Lashkar-e-Toiba, the Pakistan-based militant organization, considered a terrorist organization by India, the United States, and the United Kingdom, among others.The Indian Government said that the attackers came from Pakistan, and their controllers were in Pakistan. The attacks drew widespread condemnation across the world.

It was so weared that even walking on those roads can call out the hearts from the cage. Blood spread every where, People running with pain and stress but still trying to help each other when there own house was on fire. people who were not close in prefered to lock them selves in there rooms for the next few days untill every thing was in control.

Will the Earth meet its end by 2012

Will the Earth meet its end by 2012 ?

Read these facts and decide by yourself...Scientific experts from around the world are genuinely predicting that five years from now, all life on Earth could well finish. Some are saying it'll be humans that set it off. Others believe that a natural phenomenon will be the cause. And the religious folks are saying it'll be God himself who presses the stop button...
1. Mayan Calendar

The first mob to predict 2012 as the end of the world were the Mayans, a bloodthirsty race that were good at two things:Building highly accurate astrological equipment out of stone andSacrificing Virgins.

Thousands of years ago they managed to calculate the length of the lunar moon as 329.53020 days, only 34 seconds out. The Mayan calendar predicts that the Earth will end on December 21, 2012. Given that they were pretty close to the mark with the lunar cycle, it's likely they've got the end of the world right as well.
2. Sun Storms

Solar experts from around the world monitoring the sun have made a startling discovery: our sun is in a bit of strife. The energy output of the sun is, like most things in nature, cyclic, and it's supposed to be in the middle of a period of relative stability. However, recent solar storms have been bombarding the Earth with so much radiation energy, it's been knocking out power grids and destroying satellites. This activity is predicted to get worse, and calculations suggest it'll reach its deadly peak sometime in 2012.
3. The Atom Smasher
Scientists in Europe have been building the world's largest particle accelerator. Basically its a 27km tunnel designed to smash atoms together to find out what makes the Universe tick. However, the mega-gadget has caused serious concern, with some scientists suggesting that it's properly even a bad idea to turn it on in the first place. They're predicting all manner of deadly results, including mini black holes. So when this machine is fired up for its first serious experiment in 2012, the world could be crushed into a super-dense blob the size of a basketball.

4. The Bible says...

If having scientists warning us about the end of the world isn't bad enough,religious folks are getting in on the act aswell. Interpretations of the Christian Bible reveal that the date for Armageddon, the final battle between Good an Evil, has been set down for 2012. The I Ching, also known as the Chinese book of Changes, says the same thing, as do various sections of the Hindu teachings.

5. Super Volcano

Yellowstone National Park in the United States is famous for its thermal springs and Old Faithful geyser. The reason for this is simple - it's sitting on top of the world's biggest volcano, and geological experts are beginning to get nervous sweats. The Yellowstone volcano has a pattern of erupting every 650,000 years or so, and we're many years overdue for an explosion that will fill the atmosphere with ash, blocking the sun and plunging the Earth into a frozen winter that could last up to 15,000 years. The pressure under the Yellowstone is building steadily, and geologists have set 2012 as a likely date for the big bang.

6. The Physicists

This one's case of bog-simple maths mathematics. Physicists at Berekely Uni have been crunching the numbers. and they've determined that the Earth is well overdue for a major catastrophic event. Even worse, they're claiming their calculations prove, that we're all going to die, very soon - while also saying their prediction comes with a certainty of 99 percent- and 2012 just happens to be the best guess as to when it occurs.

7. Slip-Slop-Slap-BANG!

We all know the Earth is surrounded by a magnetic field that sheilds us from most of the sun's radiation. What you might not know is that the magnetic poles we call north and south have a nasty habit of swapping places every 750,000 years or so - and right now we're about 30,000 years overdue. Scientists have noted that the poles are drifting apart roughly 20-30kms each year, much faster than ever before, which points to a pole-shift being right around the corner. While the pole shift is underway, the magnetic field is disrupted and will eventually disappear, sometimes for up to 100 years. The result is enough UV outdoors to crisp your skin in seconds, killing everything it touches.

Indus Script

Ancient Indian Scripts
The Indus Valley Civilization was the first major urban culture of South Asia. It reached its peak from 2600 BC to 1900 BC roughly, a period called by some archaeologists "Mature Harappan" as distinguished from the earlier Neolithic "Early Harappan" regional cultures. Spatially, it is huge, comprising of about 1000 settlements of varying sizes, and geographically includes almost all of modern Pakistan, parts of India as far east as Delhi and as far south as Bombay, and parts of Afghanistan.

The main corpus of writing dated from the Indus Civilization is in the form of some two thousand inscribed seals in good, legible conditions. (In case you don't know what seals are, they are used to make impressions on malleable material like clay.)

Although these seals and samples of Indus writing have been floating around the scholastic world for close to 70 years, little progress has been made on deciphering this elegant script. However, we should not blame scholars for their lack of progress, for there are some major impediments to decipherment:

Very short and brief texts. The average number of symbols on the seals is 5, and the longest is only 26.
The language underneath is unknown.
Lack of bilingual texts.
For instance, consider Champollion, who deciphered Egyptian hieroglyphs with all of these 3 important clues: there were very long Egyptian texts; he knew Coptic, a descendant of Egyptian; and the Rosetta Stone, a bilingual text between Greek and two written forms of Egyptian.

But the script isn't as bad as undecipherable. For one, even though scholars don't have long texts and bilingual texts, they can still theorize about the language underneath the writing system. There are several competing theories about the language that the Indus script represent:

The language is completely unrelated to anything else, meaning an isolate. Well, this doesn't get us anywhere.

The language is "Aryan" (some form of Indian-Iranian Indo-European). The historical languages spoken in Northern India and Pakistan all belong to the Indic branch of Indo-European, including Sanskrit, Hindi, Punjabi, etc., so maybe the people of the Indus valley spoke a very old Indo-European language?
The major problem with this model is the fact that horses played a very important role in all Indo-European cultures, being a people constantly on the move. "There is no escape from the fact that the horse played a central role in the Vedic and Iranian cultures..." (Parpola, 1986) Sidenote: "Vedic" means from the time of the Vedas, the earliest text in India, and the Vedic culture is from around 1500 to 500 BC. However, no depiction of horses on seals nor any remains of horses have been found so far before 2000 BC. They only appear after 2000 BC. Very likely there were no Aryan speakers present before 2000 BC in the Indus Valley.


The language belongs to the Munda family of languages. The Munda family is spoken largely in eastern India, and related to some Southeast Asian languages. Like Aryan, the reconstructed vocabulary of early Munda does not reflect the Harappan culture. So its candidacy for being the language of the Indus Civilization is dim.

The language is Dravidian. The Dravidian family of languages is spoken in Southern Indian, but Brahui is spoken in modern Pakistan. So far this is the most promising model, as in the following points:
There are many Dravidian influences visible in the Vedic texts. If the Aryan language gradually replaced the Dravidian, features from Dravidian would form a "substratum" in Aryan. One of these features is the appearance of retroflex consonants in Indian languages, both Indo-European and Dravidian. In contrast, retroflex consonants do not appear in any other Indo-European language, not even Iranian ones which are closest to Indic. (For more information on retroflex consonants please visit my Phonetics page).
Another possible indication of Dravidian in the Indus texts is from structural analysis of the texts which suggests that the language underneath is possibly agglutinative, from the fact that sign groups often have the same initial signs but different final signs. The number of these final signs range between 1 to 3. The final signs possibly represent grammatical suffixes that modify the word (represented by the initial signs). Each suffix would represent one specific modification, and the entire cluster of suffixes would therefore put the word through a series of modifications. This suffix system can be found in Dravidian, but not Indo-European. Indo-European tongues tend to change the final sounds to modify the meaning of a word (a process called inflection), but repeated addition of sounds to the end of word is extremely rare. Often many suffixes in an agglutinative language correspond to a single inflectional ending in an inflectional language.
The Dravidian model isn't just an unapplicable theory...But first we have to know what kind of writing system is the Indus script.

A count of the number of signs reveal a lot about the type of system being used. Alphabetic systems rarely have more than 40 symbols. Syllabic systems like Linear B or Cherokee typically have 40 to 100 or so symbols. The third ranges from logophonetic to logographic, running upwards of hundreds of signs (like 500 signs in Hieroglyphic Luwian, and 5000 symbols in modern Chinese).

It appears that the maximum number of Indus script symbols is 400, although there are 200 basic signs (ie signs that are not combined from others). This means that the Indus script is probably logophonetic, in that it has both signs used for their meanings, and signs used for their phonetic values.

Many signs start off as pictorial representation of a physical object, often misleadingly called pictograms. They really are should be called logograms because they represent words in the language. However, it's next to impossible to write out a word with abstract meaning pictorially. What all early writers figured out was to use a logogram not for the object or idea it was originally supposed to stand for, but for all words sounding similar to the original word for that object or idea. For example, in English to write "leave" we can use a picture of a "leaf". This is called rebus writing, and is a tremendously common pattern in all early writing systems. We could also then use the same "leaf" symbol to stand for the sound in "relief", adding another symbol in front of the "leaf" symbol in order to indicate the "re" sound. So the logogram gained a phonetic value as well.

Deepawali

DEEPWALI

Diwali, or Deepawali, is a major Indian festival, and a significant festival in Hinduism , Sikhism and Jainism. Many legends are associated with Diwali. Today it is celebrated by Hindus, Jains and Sikhs across the globe as the "Festival of Light," where the lights or lamps signify victory of good over the evil within every human being . The festival is also celebrated by Buddhists of Nepal, particularly the Newar Buddhists.
According to one theory Diwali may have originated as a harvest festival, marking the last harvest of the year before winter. In an agrarian society this results in businessmen closing accounts, and beginning a new accounting year. The deity of wealth in Hinduism, goddess Lakshmi is therefore thanked on this day and everyone prays for a good year ahead. This is the common factor in Diwali celebrations all over the Indian subcontinent.
In North India, it is the homecoming of King Rama of Ayodhya after a 14-year exile in the forest.The people of Ayodhya (the capital of his kingdom) welcomed Rama by lighting rows (avali) of lamps (deepa), thus its name, Deepawali, or simply shortened as Diwali. Southern India marks it as the day Lord Krishna defeated the demon Narakasura. In western India it is also in honor of the day King Bali went to rule the nether-world by the order of Vishnu. (There is another festival 'Onam' which is celebrated in Kerala around the month of August to mark this legend)
Diwali comes in the month of October or November.
In Jainism it marks the nirvana of Lord Mahavira, which occurred on Oct. 15, 527 B.C. The Sikhs celebrate Diwali for a different reason;, on this day, the Sixth Guru, Guru Hargobind Ji, was freed from imprisonment along with 52 Hindu Kings (political prisoners) whom he had arranged to be released as well. after his release he went to Darbar Sahib (golden temple) in the holy city of Amritsar. There, he was greeted by sikhs and many other people. In happiness they lit candles and diyas to greet the Guru. In India, Diwali is now considered to be a national festival, and the aesthetic aspect of the festival is enjoyed by most Indians regardless of faith.
Stories related to Dipawali
Hindus have several significant mythological events associated with it:
Return of Lord Rama to Ayodhya: Diwali also celebrates the return of Lord Rama, King of Ayodhya, with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana to Ayodhya after a 14 year exile, and a war in which he killed the demon king Ravana. It is believed that the people of Ayodhya lit oil lamps along the way to light their path in the darkness. Since Lord Rama traveled from South India to his kingdom in North India, he passed through the south earlier. This is the reason why the festival is celebrated a day earlier in South India.
The Killing of Narakasura: Celebrated as Naraka Chaturdasi, two days before Diwali day, it commemorates the killing of Narakasura, an evil demon who created havoc, by Lord Krishna's wife Satyabhama. This happened in the Dwapar Yuga during this time of Lord Krishna's avatar. In another version, the demon was killed by Lord Krishna (Lord krishna provokes his wife Satyabhama to kill Narakasura by pretending to be injured by the demon. Narakasura can only be killed by his mother, Satyabhama) himself. Before Narakasura's death, he requested a boon from his mother, Satyabhama (believed to be an Avatar of Bhudevi - Narakasura' mother), that everyone should celebrate his death with colorful light.
Austerities of Shakti: According to the Skanda Purana, the goddess Shakti observed 21 days of austerity starting from ashtami of shukla paksha (eighth day of the waxing period of moon) to get half of the body of Lord Shiva. This vrata (austerity) is known as kedhara vrata. Deepavali is the completion day of this austerity. This is the day Lord Shiva accepted Shakti into the left half of the form and appeared as Ardhanarishvara. The ardent devotees observe this 21 days vrata by making a kalasha with 21 threads on it and 21 types of offerings for 35 days. The final day is celebrated as kedhara gauri vrata.
Krishna defeating Indra: Govardhan Puja is celebrated the day after Diwali. It is the day Lord Krishna defeated Indra, the deity of thunder and rain. As per the story, Krishna saw huge preparations for the annual offering to Lord Indra and questions his father Nanda about it. He debated with the villagers about what their 'dharma' truly was. They were farmers, they should do their duty and concentrate on farming and protection of their cattle. He continued to say that all human beings should merely do their 'karma', to the best of their ability and not pray for natural phenomenon. The villagers were convinced by Krishna, and did not proceed with the special puja (prayer). Indra was then angered, and flooded the village. Krishna then lifted Mt Govardhan and held it up as protection to his people and cattle from the rain. Indra finally accepted defeat and recognized Krishna as supreme. This aspect of Krishna's life is mostly glossed over - but it actually set up the basis of the 'karma' philosophy later detailed in the Bhagavat Gita.
Bali's return to the nether world: In Bhavishyottara and Brahma Vaivarta Purana, Diwali is associated with the Daitya king Bali, who is allowed to return to earth once a year.

On the behalf of all the members, participents, well wishers & Team HARImation...

We WISH You ALL A HAPPY DEEPAWALI

May God enlightens our way to acchive him

Radhay Krishna

MAA DURGA

MAA DURGA

Durga Durgoti Nasini

Goddess Durga

Durga, in Sanskrit means "She who is incomprehensible or difficult to reach." Goddess Durga is a form of Sakti worshiped for her gracious as well as terrifying aspect. Mother of the Universe, she represents the infinite power of the universe and is a symbol of a female dynamism. The manifestation of Goddess Durga is said to emerge from Her formless essence and the two are inseparable. She is also called by many other names, such as Parvati, Ambika, and Kali. In the form of Parvati, She is known as the divine spouse of Lord Shiva and is the mother of Her two sons, Ganesha and Karttikeya, and daughter Jyoti. Destroyer of demons, she is worshiped during an annual festival called Durga puja, especially popular among Bengalis.

Her Appearance

There are endless aspects of Durga described in the Puranas and Agamas and the iconography is consequently very varied. She is usually pictured as having ten arms holding Sword, Conch, Discus, Rosary, Bell, Winecup, Shielf, Bow, Arrow, and Spear. She is most often shown riding a lion from which comes Her august name, Simhavahini, "She who stands astride the king of beasts". She is gorgeously dressed in royal red cloth and has several ornaments decorating Her personage. Her hair is dressed up in a crown (karandamukuta) which then flows out in long luxuriant tresses that are darkly luminous and soothing to the eye. The various tools reflects the eminent supremacy that helps in controling the universe and obey Her will.

Weilding Energy

Goddess Durga exists eternally, always abiding in her own sweet nature and inhabits the hearts and minds of her ecstatic devotees. As Shakti power, she shapes, nurtures, and dissolves names and forms, while as subtle spiritual energy called Kundalini, She lights the lotuses fo the seven centres of awareness in the sacred human body. Goddess Durga killed the powerful demon Mahish and all his great commanders. When demonic forces create imbalance all god unite becoming one divine force called Shakti or Durga.

Durga Chalisa

Namo Namo Durge Sukh karani,Namo Namo ambe Dukh harani.Nirakar hai jyoti tumhari,Tihun lok pheli ujayari.Shashi lalat mukh mahavishala,Netra lal bhrikutee vikarala.Roop Matu ko adhika suhave,Daras karat jan ati sukh pave.Tum sansar shakti laya kina,Palan hetu anna dhan dina.Annapurna hui jag pala,Tumhi adi sundari Bala.Pralaya kala sab nashan hari,Tum gauri Shiv-Shankar pyari.Shiv yogi tumhre guna gaven,Brahma Vishnu tumhen nit dhyaven.Roop Saraswati ko tum dhara,De subuddhi rishi munina ubara.Dharyo roop Narsimha ko amba,Pragat bhayin phar kar khamba.Raksha kari Prahlaad bachayo,Hiranakush ko swarga pathayo.Lakshmi roop dharo jag mahin,Shree Narayan anga samihahin.Ksheer sindhu men karat vilasa,Daya Sindhu, deeje man asa.Hingalaja men tumhin Bhavani,Mahima amit na jet bakhani.Matangi Dhoomavati Mata,Bhuvneshwari bagala sukhdata.Shree Bhairav lara jog tarani, Chhinna Bhala bhav dukh nivarani.Kehari Vahan soh Bhavani,Langur Veer Chalat agavani.Kar men khappar khadag viraje,Jako dekh kal dan bhaje.Sohe astra aur trishoola,Jase uthata shatru hiya shoola.Nagarkot men tumhi virajat,Tihun lok men danka bajat.Shumbhu Nishumbhu Danuja tum mare,Rakta-beeja shankhan samhare.Mahishasur nripa ati abhimani,Jehi agha bhar mahi akulani.Roop karal Kalika dhara,Sen Sahita tum tin samhara.Pan garha Santan par jab jab,Bhayi sahaya Matu tum tab tab.Amarpuni aru basava loka,Tava Mahirna sab rahen asoka.Jwala men hai jyoti tumhari,Tumhen sada poojen nar nari.Prem bhakti se Jo yash gave,Dukh-daridra nikat nahin ave.Dhyave tumhen jo nar man laee,Janam-maran tako chuti jaee.Jogi sur-muni kahat pukari,Jog na ho bin shakti tumhari.Shankar Aacharaj tap keenhon,Kam, krodha jeet sab leenhon.Nisidin dhyan dharo Shankar ko,Kahu kal nahini sumiro tum ko.Shakti roop ko maran na payo,Shakti gayi tab man pachitayo.Sharnagat hui keerti bakhani,Jai jai jai Jagdamb Bhavani.Bhayi prasanna Aadi Jagdamba,Dayi shakti nahin keen vilamba.Mokon Matu kashta ati ghero,Tum bin kaun hare dukh mero.Aasha trishna nipat sataven,Moh madadik sab binsaven.Shatru nash keeje Maharani,Sumiron ekachita tumhen Bhavani.Karo kripa Hey Matu dayala,Riddhi-Siddhi de karahu nihala.Jab lagi jiyoon daya phal paoon,Tumhro yash men sada sunaoon.Durga Chalisa jo gave,Sab sukh bhog parampad pave.

For 108 names of Godesses Durga: http://www.durga-puja.org/108-durga-names.html

For more please click on the below link: http://www.durga-puja.org/

Jai Ganesh

JAY GANESH
Hindu mythology has rich abundance of legends that are told and retold so many times that one forgets which is the original, which is myth and which a mere figment of fantasy. But the flavour of hearing them narrated by elders and ardent devotees continues to hold folks spellbound in its permeating aroma of divinity. The Gods, Goddesses, smaller Deities and Demigods worshipped by the Hindus, is awesome just in sheer number, and each one of the Divinity has His or Her prowess extolled in basic simmple foklore. A child in a Hindu family grows up amidst such folklore and delights in the eternal victory of the good over evil. No wonder that as one grows up, one goes to town on the religious bandwagon.

Hindu mythology would be bereft of all its charm if we do not bring Lord Ganesha into any discourse. Is it not true that begining of any activity auspicious, and of worship, is essentially with the invocation of the Elephant headed Lord Ganesha? The Lord who is the remover of all obstacles. The Lord who paves way to success. Ganesha Chaturthi always brings in its wake the aura of festivity and joy. Of commencing new businesses, and ventures, and a spate of new activities.

Born out of the dirt of Parvathi's body, Ganesha as an fine lad is said to have gaurded His house upon instruction from His mother, from anyone entering. The boy, not recognizing Shiva as His father refused Him entry. An enraged Shiva who did not recognize. His own child started fierce battle with the support of Deva Ganas, and ultimately Nandi beheaded the beautiful lad. Hearing Parvathi's lamentations Shiva realized His mistake and tried His best to locate the head of the boy, but in vain. The Lord then decided to put the first head He came across which happened to be that of an elephant, and thus restored the boy's life. The anguished mother sought and was assuaged through a boon that Ganesha should be considered by all as the eternal remover of obtstacles, and hence the first worship should be made to Him before it is made to any other manifestation of divinity. Thus Ganesha is also known as Vigneswara, the remover of all obtacles.

In India there are hundreds of temples for Vigneswara and every Shivite temple would invariable have a shrine for Vigneswara. Ganesha the elephant faced God is one of the most popularly worshipped forms of divinity - as a remover of obstacles and the embodiment of good luck, in the Indian system of beliefs and practices. How we wish we could gain His Grace and by a virtual flourish of an invisible magic wand wish our fears and worries away! May Vigneswara the remover of all impediments, bestow on us the ability to overcome our difficulties, the compassion to understand others.

GANESHA SHLOKA

Samukaschiaka Danthascha Kipilo Gajakarnakam
Lambodarascha vikatoah vignarajo ganaadhipam

Dhoomakethurganaadhyaksham Faalchandro Gajananam
Vakrakunda Shoorpakarno Herambam Skandapurvajam
shodasaitani namamiyam pateth Shrunuyaadapi
Vidyarambhe Vivaahecha Pravesha Nirgameih Thadaa
Sangrame Sarvakaryeshu Vignasthasya Na Jayatheih.

Exam Fever

Exam fever

Now that the examinations are here many students must be under tremendous stress. But it is not just the students who are stressed as teachers and parents too face the same situation. Why do people get stressed? Adolescents are faced with the demands of their developmental tasks and that of a complex society. They need to acquire skills of adjustment to emerge into adulthood unaffected by these demands. If they lack these skills or if too many demands are made on them, they fail.

Students are anxious as they are worried about whether they would be able to live up to the expectations of their peers, parents and teachers. Optimal anxiety motivates and keeps them ahead but over-anxiety disables. Anxiety is contagious and passes to other students, teachers and parents. Adolescents, when stressed out, tend to perceive everything as an emergency. Some of the reasons for increase in stress level are identity crisis, the need to make career oriented decisions, teachers/parents attitude and peer pressure. The inability to communicate with parents also plays a major role.

Good memory depends upon a good brain. The brain needs a good supply of oxygen, glucose, calcium, phosphorus and iron. So make sure you sit in a well- ventilated place when studying. Your diet should include milk, cheese, walnuts, wheat germs, green leafy vegetables, ragi and dates. Do not forget that "breakfast is the brain food". Fatty meals, sugar and acids take away calcium from the system. Diets rich in fibre like fruits and vegetables help to reduce stress.

Good concentration is important to improve the memory. Learning and memorising by understanding and recalling what one has learnt is helpful. Organising and framing a logical relationship is important. Master not just the content of the subject, but also the process of answering.

Anxiety and fear hamper recall and result in a mental block during examination.

Watching television for a long time could lower academic performance. It `steals' away the reading time. Time management is about self-discipline. Time must be managed between filled and unfilled time. Filled time is the time spent sleeping, bathing, eating, dressing and attending school. A student has 10 hours of unfilled time. How best is the student going to utilise this? Make a timetable for the 10 hours.

Seven to eight hours of sleep is necessary for optimal physical rest and brain functioning. A positive thought is the seed of a positive result. Always feel positive. This will help to lessen stress.

If a student has symptoms of anxiety or depression, seek medical help immediately.

When stressed out:


Go for a walk or do some stretching exercises.

Talk to your friends for a while.

Do some deep breathing/breathing exercises.

Listen to music.

Practise Transcendental Meditation, yoga, relaxation exercises, aroma therapy.
Academic performance during exams is affected by:


Study Habits

Family environment

Watching television

Distraction/attentiveness

Ambition

Attitude towards study

Medical problems

Anxiety, depression
Recommended study habits:


Study regularly

Set a time table for all subjects

Sit in a place with no distraction

Use a dictionary

Read and think

If you do not understand, ask teachers/parents/friends.

Read subjects you like in between subjects you do not like.

DIET CHART

Diet chart:( For Therapeutic Yoga Practitioner)..

Breakfast (7 to 9A.M.):

1. Orange juice or any fruit juice, - 1 cup.
2. Fresh apple or any fresh fruit. – 1.
3. Germinated grams.- ¼Th cup.
4. Wheat bread or Roti & vegetables
or Dalia & vegetables or corn flacks
with milk.
5.Horlicks. – 1 cup.

Lunch:

1. Salad ( a mixture of tomato, cucumber, - 1 cup.
Radish, lettuce, carrot, etc..
With salt, pepper and lemon juice or
Salad dressing ).
2. Vegetable soup - 1 cup.
3. Rice or wheat bread or roti
4. Pulse.- 1 cup
5. Cooked green leafy vegetables (sabji)
6. Cooked green fresh vegetables of any kind (sabji)
7. Curd .

Afternoon Refreshments (3 to 5 P.M).

1. Fresh fruit of any type.
2. Salted biscuits or any light food.
(Easily digestible).
3. Cheese. – 1 slice.
4. Horlicks - 1 cup.


Dinner:

1. Salad. – 1 cup.
2. vegetable soup. - 1 cup.
3. Wheat bread or Roti - 2 or 3.
4. Pulse.
5. Cooked green vegetables

* * * * * * *

Eat balanced diet which include salad, fresh green vegetables and fresh fruits along with other dishes of the day. Eat at least two hours before going to bed at night. Eat not more than about eighty five percent of your capacity. Eat slowly after chewing the food very thoroughly. Do not drink water during meals, but only about after half an hour of finishing your meals.

Take ten to twelve glasses of water everyday.

Avoid fried, roasted and spicy food. Exclude red pepper, pickles, hot spices, chutney and arhar dal from your menu. Non vegetarians should avoid meat.

Do not take more than two cups of tea or coffee, do not take coke and other aerated drinks. If possible stop drinking tea and coffee. Avoid taking bed-tea or drinking water as you get up in the morning.

Diabetic patients must avoid fried, fatty, spicy, starchy and sugar-containing food, for a period of four to five months from the date of starting yoga practice; the diabetic patient should not take rice, potato, banana, orange, mangoes and such fruits in which the percentage of sugar is high.
They can take an apple a day. Non vegetarians can add small quantities of fish, liver and eggs in their diet but should avoid meat or chicken for a few months..