Respecting ragpickers

Ragpickers are the people who visit the areas of our locality to pick up garbage generally. They collect useless household items like food remains, bottles, paper, plastic products like plastic bags, etc.

Without their service the useless remains would remain at home. House & locality wouldn’t be clean. Environment could become a breeding place for germs & insects. This can make people get infected easily due to the rise in germs & insects in the locality. This can make people ill. Even if one family member gets ill then his illness could spread to his family members. Children won’t be able to go to school. People who work may not show efficiency at work due to their illness & some may not go to work if illness is high. This can decrease work productivity. Decline in work productivity would affect profit & if profit will decline then even economy will suffer.

Thus ragpickers play an important role for any country’s economy but they don’t get the credit & respect they deserve.

Their work is very tough. Collecting useless products & dumping it at the place of collection & sometimes burning the waste keeps the environment clean. They do this monotonous job everyday sincerely even during harsh weather where many opt to stay at home. The work very hard but get paid very less. Many organisations consider them the last class of workers but in my opinion what they do is great.

People respect mostly those who’re better than them economically or have a good position in the society. We all must understand the significance of their hard work & respect them equally. One must be humble enough mentally to share pleasantries, smiles & statements with them without any hesitation as they are the prime conservers of our environment.

Purchasing a phone economically

I was bored with my HTC touch P3452 phone after using it for around 1 year. I was looking to buy a phone that has a 5 megapixel camera. I checked for many phones on Google but I wasn’t interested in spending that much.

I went to a mobile store & saw some phones kept for display purpose. I found that after being kept out for many months those phones are sold lesser than their actual price.

I felt that purchasing that type of phone would help me save some money. The phones kept for display are just kept out for customers to understand the phone’s features & in my personal humble opinion there isn’t any problem if one purchases it.

So to save some money I purchased a 5 megapixel Samsung galaxy smart phone.

Helping your own country person rather than helping a foreigner

Although I’m a believer of one world one family but when it comes to decide between an Indian & a foreigner I would prefer an Indian.

India’s economy is falling. 1 American dollar is somewhat equal to Rs. 64. 1 Euro is somewhat equal to Rs. 86. Some of my friends wanted to do their higher studies abroad but due to the fall of Indian currency against American dollar & Euro they’ve dropped this desire. They don’t want to be a burden to their family’s finance.

I feel sad for the fall of Indian currency. It’s high time to understand the problems & prevent it so that our next generation won’t suffer.

A simple way to improve our economy is by purchasing Indian products instead of foreign brands. By doing this Indian companies would prosper & foreign companies would suffer.

This will help Indian brands to grow & with their growth they can spread their products overseas & compete with foreign brands. This can surely happen as India is the second populated country in the world. If many Indians would purchase Indian products then popularity of Indian products would rise & it will inspire & motivate the Westerners to purchase Indian products.

Foreign companies in many cases shy to donate money to Government fund & NGOs during natural calamities like flood etc in India whereas mostly financial donations comes by Indian industrialists. The prosperity of Indian companies would help Indian industrialists to be more generous.

Thus as an Indian I humbly request you to show loyalty to Indian brands rather than western brands. Google search is free so please do some study before purchasing a particular product. Check weather its Indian or foreign & then buy it.

I agree to you that at times you’ll be compelled to purchase a  foreign brand as it can be better than an Indian brand but whenever possible please don’t hesitate to opt for an Indian brand.

A sign of being available for a relationship

Some months ago maybe this year’s February I was looking for an auto- rickshaw & so was a mongoloid female with 2 heavy bags. She was fair & with the help of colours had made her black hair become blonde. I found her struggling maybe because of the new place, hot weather, slow wind speed, high humidity, heavy luggage, etc. The hot weather even at around 17:00 hrs had made her face red. She was sweating a lot. There weren’t many people around.

After a long wait I got an auto-rickshaw before her. She looked at me with an expectation for the auto-rickshaw to be shared. Luckily we both were heading to the same direction hence shared the auto-rickshaw. In the auto-rickshaw I offered her water. The distance was long so we got to speak for some time. I asked her, ‘Are you new to this city?’ She replied, ‘Yes, I’m new to Mumbai & I’m from China.’ After a while she asked, ‘Do you reside in Mumbai?’ I remember answering yes enthusiastically. We spoke a lot about the positive aspects Chinese people have. She found it pleasing & found me knowledgeable & helpful person & took my phone number.

Some days later she contacted me as she wanted to visit some places in Mumbai for shopping economically. I helped her to do that. Whenever we met I noticed her wearing a flower on her left ear.

One day we were discussing Asia’s future due to climate change & she got to know that I know Astrology. She shared her birth details with me & I told her that soon someone is going to fall in love with you.

After some days she met & asked, ‘Am I not looking different today?’ I didn’t find her different but just to put a smile on her face said ‘You look pretty always but today you’re looking gorgeous ’My reply worked & she smiled but again asked me the same question & I became a bit blank as I didn’t know what to say.

She then asked, ‘Didn’t you notice I’m wearing a flower on my right ear today.’ I answered, ‘Yes.’ but asked, ‘What’s the big deal with it?’

She found me too innocent & naive. After some time she said, ‘A woman wearing a flower on her left ear means that she is available for a relationship & if it’s on her right ear then it means that she is either in a relationship or unavailable.’

I was glad to have learnt something that I didn’t know. I was overjoyed by the fact that she found someone who’ll accompany her for shopping & I can make myself scarce to complete my Master’s research.

To check if what she had told really had some significance I did a bit of Google search & found that wearing flowers on ears is a trend amongst Hawaiian women. I who follows Hawaiian path, Aloha didn’t know about it.

OM and Lord Ganesha

On 14^th August 2013, at around 14:30 hrs at Candies restaurant in Pali Hill I got a silver coin from an affectionate & a very nice lady I’ve ever met. The silver coin had the symbol of OM on side & the symbol of Lord Ganesha on the other.

I wondered whether these 2 symbols are connected & found that OM is written in different ways at different places. One of its forms symbolises Lord Ganesha. The upper curve is the head with trunk. The lower curve is the stomach.

Both OM & Lord Ganesha are very significant. People following Hinduism know that Lord Ganesha is the remover of obstacles & many pray to him before starting anything auspicious. Similarly people following Hinduism begin their auspicious work by saying OM once. Most mantras that Hindus recite begin with the word OM. Hindus while praying also use the word OM. OM is the symbol of the unchanging eternal universal supreme GOD. OM is the sound of the movement of the stars in the firmament; it’s the sound that manifested when the dawn of Creative Will stirred the Niraakaara (the Attributeless) into activity. (Bhagwan Shri Sathya Sai. SSS6, Chap. 42. Pranava the praana.) OM is also the most sacred of symbols, representing the primeval sound of creation & our most powerful mantra in prayer & meditation.

Lord Ganesha’s head is of an elephant. An elephant is a very nice animal. It eats satvic food only & has immense strength. It signifies the importance of eating satvic food to progress spiritually.

Lord Ganesha’s large head & ears indicate that he gained wisdom from listening. An elephant’s trunk is one of the few instruments in nature that can perform both gross & subtle actions. It can not only uproot a huge tree but also pick up the tiniest of needles. It inspires us to be able to develop our intellect, our powers of discrimination, in both gross & material world & also in the subtle or spiritual world.

Lord Ganesha in his right hand holds a hook or Ankusa & in his left holds a noose or Paasa. These tools were & are used by elephant-trainers to tame wild elephants. Symbolically, mind at times is like a wild elephant that runs between past, present & future. So one must use ankusa to tame & control his/her mind & noose to tie it down & keep it close to self.

Lord Ganesha also has a big belly which contains the whole universe. It symbolises an art to live i.e. one must accept & digest whatever experiences one goes through be it good or bad. Thus during all the trials & tribulations one must be equal-minded & realise that all experiences are learning experiences which brings us closer to GOD.

Lord Ganesha sits with one leg folded up & another leg rests on the ground. The leg on the ground signifies that one can live in the world like anyone. But the leg pointing upwards signifies that one’s concentration & meditation should remain focussed on the godhead within.

Lord Ganesha holds a Lotus flower, a Lotus flower grows in spite of being in stagnant or polluted water. It inspires all to grow in spite of living with the negative & political people around us.

References

1. Bhagwan Shri Sathya Sai. “Meaning behind the symbol of Lord Ganesha” [Online] Available: http://www.saibabaofindia.com/deeper_meaning_behind_the%20symbol_of_Ganesha.html (accessed August 16, 2013).

2. Bhagwan Shri Sathya Sai. “SSS6, Chap. 42 Pranava the praana” [Online] Available: http://sathyasai.org/search/volume06/sss06-42.pdf (accessed August 16, 2013)

Psychology about couple holding each other’s hand

Yesterday I had a rendezvous with a member of United Nations in Candies restaurant at Pali Hill.

For those who don’t know about Pali Hill, it’s a place in Bandra & Bandra is a small place in Mumbai city & Mumbai is the biggest city of India.

Seeing young men & women as a couple & holding each other’s hand is common in Bandra as many colleges are located there & it’s close to Mumbai’s seashore. While going & returning to Candies restaurant I saw many couples holding each other’s hands.

Although I’ve seen couple holding each other’s hand many times but I became inquisitive yesterday about the Psychology of hand holding while my friend was shopping earrings.

The thoughts that came in my mind were that our body has many nerves & many nerve endings are in our hands. Holding hand may stimulate the nerve endings. The stimulation can be pleasant or painful.

If it’s pleasant then brain releases oxytocin. Oxytocin is a chemical that hypothalamus in brain produces. Oxytocin makes people feel good. It also lowers the stress hormone levels. It relaxes the body, improves mood & pain tolerance. Oxytocin also acts on the dopamine reward system & brain releases dopamine. The release of dopamine gives immense pleasure thus couple hold each other’s hand.

A present that caused ectopic heartbeat

Today I had a rendezvous with a member of United Nations who is also a very nice & good looking person with beautiful dimples. Its monsoon & rains in Mumbai are unpredictable so I wanted to meet her at a place that is nearby to her to prevent her from much travelling. She however convinced me to meet at Candies at Pali Hill which is close to where I stay maybe she was too concerned about my convenience.

She left Mumbai around 4 months ago from today to work with United Nations in Delhi. When she left it was heartbreaking for me, for some days I was very low. It’s extremely difficult for life to go on in the same way when someone with a commanding, dynamic & fiery personality moves to another city.

I was nervous being unfamiliar to that restaurant but still highly exhilarated as within some moments I was about to meet a very nice member of United Nations whom I highly respect. She reached the restaurant earlier than me. The guilt of not being able to reach in time in spite of staying close to the restaurant exceeded my nervousness & made my knees become weak.

With tremendous adrenaline rush I somehow managed to enter the restaurant. With extreme nervousness & sheer exhilaration, some questions that were running in my mind were, whether I’ll be able to recognise her, how I should call her, by her name or Miss (her last name).

Luckily I located her in less than 15 seconds after entering not by seeing her face but by seeing her lustrous wavy hair. I went nearby & found her paying the bills that highly disheartened me. Free food so many times from her, didn’t make me understand how to take it.

I didn’t know what to tell her & what to consider. I wondered if I should speak to her like the way I did before or respecting her like one respects a member of United Nations.

She looked the same person with the same attitude she had before being a part of United Nations.

We took the food & luckily found a nice place to sit. Time was around 14:15 hrs, sky was overcast but no rains, wind speed was around 12km/hr, temperature was around 27 degrees, in short weather was pleasant for me. The restaurant TV was tuned to a channel called Movies Now & on air was Jumanji movie. I was extremely overwhelmed with bliss to have such a nice company, at such a nice ambiance.

We had just started eating & she presented me a small pouch with a big box of cookies. Somehow by the grace of GOD I didn’t become unconscious by her generosity.

She asked me to open the pouch. It was from a jewellery shop. Initially I thought that she wants to show me a ring which she might have got from some admirer of her but I was so wrong. When I opened it I found a silver coin with a very auspicious sign on it. That moment caused ectopic heartbeat to me. I didn’t know what to tell her. I was extremely elated. The radiance on her face & the gaze of her eyes had made me blank. Words couldn’t define her generosity. What I got is extremely precious. In my opinion one may get something similar but getting something so auspicious from someone whom he/she likes & respects & also who is so nice, means a lot. I think that I didn’t become unconscious because of the very auspicious silver coin with OM written on it & on the reverse the icon of Lord Ganesha.

She quickly kept the presents in my bag & commanded me to eat food. It reminded me of the days when she used to do the same. I felt that the extreme elation & so many thoughts running may make me unconscious but luckily I was okay & didn’t collapse.

We finished eating so many dishes & moved out to shop. I may have spent around two & a half hour with her but it seemed only a few minutes to me. (Albert Einstein’s relativity)

I don’t know what to tell her & how to thank her as I owe a lot to her. I’m indeed grateful to GOD for making me meet such a generous, honest, humble, kind, sensible, trustful person. Although she is 4 years younger to me her generosity & humbleness makes me a nervous, shy & timid. I know many females but I’ve never been so comfortable with them. I don’t know what is so different in her maybe it’s because her birth date is close to mine. I’ll always remember her in a very special way. I wish wherever her life takes her may she always have immeasurable bliss, happiness, joy, prosperity, the best & finest things & all the good luck possible for anyone to have.