Category Archives: General

default posts

Factual, General, Learning, Smart, Trivia, WhatsApp

What is Chardi Kala?

Leave a comment

Chardi Kala means keep your morale (spirits) high no matter what the situation is. Have faith and keep doing good and stay positive , leave rest to God. This positive thinking will give you calm , peaceful and positive mind that doesn’t get bothered with obstacles of life , you will be in charhdi kala (high spirits ) always.

Sikhs are always happy because of the “Charhdi Kala” given to them by Guru Gobind Singh, the Tenth Sikh Guru.

This concept is commonly translated as “high morale,” but it is much more than that. According to Encylopedia of Sikhism,

“It stands for a perennially blossoming, unwilting spirit, a perpetual state of certitude resting on unwavering belief in Divine justice.”

Word “Kala” of Sanskrit origin has several shades of meaning, but the dominant among which is “energy.” Chardhi in Punjabi means rising, ascending, soaring. So “Charhdi Kala” means an intensely “engergized”, ever-ascending state of the spirit of an individual or a group.

If someone asks a Sikh (Ki haal hai) (How are you?), his answer would be “In “Charhdi Kala!” meaning I am in ascending spirits even when he might be in great pain or sorrow!

Sikh meditate and pray everyday. The prayer is concluded with the following liturgy:

Nanak Naam Charhdi Kala tere bhane sarbat da bhala.

In the name of Guru Nanak, let there by ascending spirit and welfare of all.

So a Sikh prays not only for himself or his family, but also for all living beings in the universe. When you have this kind of spirit and operate at that level, this brings happiness – Charhdi Kala just happens!

A Sikh prayer cannot be complete without praying for the welfare of all. So this spirit has a lot to do with the power of prayer.

It is a mental stage that keeps a person strong during the most difficult moment in life – even when one is facing a life and death situation. The spirit of defiance of all hardships is very much part of it. Sikhs are tenacious people who do not lose faith! Even when they lose, they do not know if they have lost because they never accept defeat!

This spirit of “Charhdi Kala” is unique to the Sikhs.

Factual, General, Learning, scary, Trivia, WhatsApp

Population Statistics Simplified

1 Comment

The current population of Earth is around 7.8 Billion.
For most people, it is a large figure, that is all.

 However, someone has condensed the 7.8 billion in the world into 100 persons,
and then into various percentage statistics.
The resulting analysis is relatively much easier to comprehend.

Out of 100:

11 are in Europe
5 are in North America
9 are in South America
15 are in Africa
60 are in Asia

49 live in the countryside
51 live in cities

12 speak Chinese
5 speak Spanish
5 speak English
3 speak Arabic
3 speak Hindi
3 speak Bengali
3 speak Portuguese
2 speak Russian
2 speak Japanese
62 speak their own language.

77 have their own houses
23 have no place to live.

21 are over-nourished
63 can eat full
15 are under-nourished
1 ate the last meal, but did not make it to the next meal.

The daily cost of living for 48 is less than US$2.

87 have clean drinking water
13 either lack clean drinking water or have access to a water source that is polluted.

75 have mobile phones
25 do not.

30 have internet access
70 do not have conditions to go online

7 received university education
93 did not attend college.

83 can read
17 are illiterate.

33 are Christians
22 are Muslims
14 are Hindus
7 are Buddhists
12 are other religions
12 have no religious beliefs.

26 live less than 14 years
66 died between 15 – 64 years of age
8 are over 65 years old.

If you have your own home,
Eat full meals & drink clean water,
Have a mobile phone,
Can surf the internet, and
have gone to college,
You are in the miniscule privileged lot.
(in the less than 7% category)

Amongst 100 persons in the world, only 8 can live or exceed the age of 65.

you are over 65 years old. Be content & grateful.  Cherish life, grasp the moment.

You did not leave this world before the age of 64 years like the 92 persons who have gone before you. You are already the blessed amongst mankind.

Take good care of your own health because nobody cares more than you yourself!

Cherish every remaining moment.

Factual, General, Trivia, WhatsApp

When the Traditionalists got a Big Jolt

Leave a comment

Way back in 1937, two young long-haired women in saris stepped into a small photo studio in Madras.

They changed into striped pyjama suits and struck a pose in front of the studio camera.

One of them leaned languidly against a chair, while the other’s eyes focused on something outside the frame.

Both of them held cigarettes perhaps just for the thrill of it.

That’s world-renowned Carnatic vocalist MS Subbulakshmi and the legendary Bharatanatyam dancer Balasaraswati who were just having a bit of fun.

The two teenaged friends both became world-famous artists. From strictly disciplined households, the two asserted their independence by secretly arranging this photograph of themselves dressed outrageously in Western-style sleepwear and pretending to smoke cigarettes.

This iconic photograph was first made public only 73 years later, in the 2010 biography of Balasaraswati penned by her son-in-law Douglas Knight J.

By this time, the successful careers of these artists were so highly revered over decades, almost deified, that this picture quite suddenly threw light on a whole new aspect of their lives – just two young friends attempting to do something unconventional.

The stir caused by the release of the photograph among fans of both luminaries is perhaps understandable, particularly in the case of Subbulakshmi.

It is a very important picture that goes to show that not everyone was born with a nine-yard saree or does everything traditionally.

That is our own perspective, and we don’t like things that fall out of it. We all need a jolt sometimes.

Read more about MS Subbalaxmi and Balasaraswati here:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._S._Subbulakshmi

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balasaraswati

General, Learning, Smart

Mind Gym

Leave a comment

Comment your answers below.

The names of 20 world capital cities, are hidden in the clue phrases below.
The Clues are based on how the syllables of the Capital cities’ names are (closely) spelt or (closely) pronounced.
Clues are cryptic ofc e.g…… Devil’s den, go down… HELSINKI
Go for it

  1. The growth is green and velvety, and the bovine gentle.
  2. Deep within, the spiritual you.
  3. Quantum of goods and your own shelter.
  4. Cleaning a heavy load.
  5. Aimless, but moving.
  6. Hold up so much water, and we could be questioned.
  7. A laugh on one small transport vehicle.
  8. Small flexible container for Father.
  9. Keep replicating by 2.
  10. Possible to tolerate, for once.
  11. Going in a small vehicle, the bovine is tough.
  12. Took you by surprise most astoundingly.
  13. A Male unwell.
  14. Being of me, a slight move, to a water barrier.
  15. Churning out computers greets the bloke.
  16. A great battle once seen.
  17. Overcome by fire.
  18. Supportive upright pillar, handy in archery.
  19. Abnormal and unwise, and removed of.
  20. A level being of someone or something.
Factual, General, Smart, Trivia, WhatsApp

Repentance

Leave a comment

This iconic photograph depicts the end of the career of matador Alvaro Munero. In the midst of the battle, he suddenly, in remorse, sat down at the edge of the arena. After, in an interview, Alvaro will tell: “Suddenly I saw not horns, but the eyes of a bull. He stood in front of me and looked at me. Just stood and watched, making no attempt to attack. The very innocence that all animals have in their eyes looked at me with a plea for help. It was like a cry for justice and somewhere deep inside me, I suddenly realized that he was addressing me the way we address God in prayer: “I don’t want to fight you, please spare me, because I did you nothing wrong. Kill me if you want, if you will, but I do not want to fight with you. ” And I, reading it in his eyes, felt like the worst creature on earth and interrupted the battle. After that I became a vegetarian and started fighting bullfighting. “

This story was published back in 2012. After thousands of other foreign publications told about this case, millions learned about the matador Alvaro Munero, and the photo became one of the most recognizable.

General, WhatsApp

Growing up!! Aah…

Leave a comment

Somewhere between
“ 8 toffees for 1 rupee” and
“1 toffee for 8 rupees”,
we grew up*!

Somewhere between
“stealing chocolate from our sister” and “Buying chocolate for her children”,
we grew up!

Somewhere between
“Just five more mins Maa” and “Pressing the snooze button”,
we grew up!

Somewhere between
“Crying out loud just to get what we want” and
“Holding our tears when we are broken inside”,
we grew up!

Somewhere between
“I want to grow up” and
“I want to be a child again”,
we grew up!

Somewhere between
“Lets meet and plan” and
“Lets plan and meet”,
we grew up!

Somewhere between
“Being afraid of our parents”
and
“Praying for our parents” we finally grew up
And as we grew up, we realize;

How silently, our lives have changed..