Books Enable Our Life

Books are the best source of any information. Without them, our life is a Big zero. You can read, write, publish, or print a book. Whatever be the purpose, it serves to enhance and empower our knowledge and skills. The book-reading is a hobby for many of us, while the writing is a hobby for many authors.

One should always read good books to gain the latest information and skill. Generally, the books dealing in Self-improvement, Health, Knowledge, and Spiritualism are widely read all over the world.

The collection of books held by a person will speak about the character and personality of that individual. Great leaders and thinkers always had a huge stock of books in their home and office.

The book-reading habit is sown during our childhood. It grows into a pastime or profession later, depending upon the career one chooses in life. Lawyers, for instance, should regularly browse several books and journals, if they desire to be successful in their trade. The bus driver doesn't need to learn the nuances of his job. However, he does read the novels, magazines, etc. in his spare time. Nevertheless, people having the reading habit through their lives stay busy and knowledgeable. They are respected for their age and wisdom.

Good books (I mean only the printed kind) can be identified by browsing for the Author's name, Publisher name, Quality of paper used, Table of Contents, Reviews made earlier, and Index page. You should certainly and randomly read the pages of a book to satisfy with the contents or the subject discussed. Through the experience of buying them, you will master the above tricks.

Technology has enabled a compact and portable format known as the e-Book. The new version has the same features as the print version, but costs cheaper. You can carry any number of them in your tablet or mobile for ready reference and reading. The main disadvantages of e-Books are the copyright and revenue issues. Because, their contents can be easily reproduced or printed for circulation among the readers, which affects the revenue to all parties involved in the publication of them.

The best way to dispose of old stocks is gift them to the needy people and a local library. Book banks gather the used ones of various genres and lend or distribute them freely to other people in helping their studies or career.

People who make the best and constructive use of books, tend to lead a happy life. Some people use them as pillows to get sleep. Sure, they make the finest companion when you are alone.

Goodwill: An Essential Ingredient of Human life

Goodwill refers to an attitude which has Friendly, helpful, or cooperative feelings. We tend to help only those known to us as Relatives, Friends, Colleague and Neighbors. What about those around us... unknown and strangers, Trees and Plants, Animals, Birds and Insects. Do we care when they are in trouble or distress? Honestly, many of us ignore them as we mind our business only... No goodwill is shown to them.

There are several occasions of this sort that we come across in our everyday life. We will look into a few cases here.

1) Bus Travel: When a person wearing dirty clothes boards the bus, most of the passengers express displeasure and ask him to occupy a back seat. However, this is an incorrect way of treating a fellow human being. On the contrary, if the same person happens to be a friend, we make him sit near to us.

2) Accident case: Again, if the person involved in a road accident is known to you, all kinds of help will be rendered to him. Nevertheless, the opposite reaction comes if it is an unknown face.

3) Puppies: Sometimes we notice puppies standing in the middle of the road and screaming for their lost mother. Actually, these young ones are looking for a kind heart to help them with the care and feeding. Again, nobody is bothered about this tender life, and we just walk past them.

4) Birds: Many birds are fast becoming extinct from our world due to the selfishness of human beings. Take the case of the sparrows that are gradually disappearing from our neighborhood. People ignore when the sparrows are found in their region. We shall try to help these birds multiply in their population, by providing the grains, water, etc.

A real-life incident is narrated here below to understand the value of Goodwill.

One doctor waived the fees for cesarean delivery. Moreover, he gave away the medications free of cost. The baby's father is a poor peon in a local dairy, and the expenses were a huge sum for him. As the baby is a female, the doctor made it free, and intended to help the poor parents save money that in turn could be used for educating the young woman. The parents since deposited the money thus saved by the name of that girl. This happened in Gujarat state of India, where the sex ratio is skewed at 886 girls per 1000 boys. Sensing the social implications of this phenomenon, this doctor regularly contributes to the society in this manner.

So GOODWILL truly means showing compassion for those who badly need some care and attention: the help provided to such needy is actually the God's Will or Goodwill.

Prayers For Welfare and Peace

Prayer' means an earnest request for help or favors. In normal parlance, prayer always refers to the communication made with God by the human beings. Prayer is a handy tool to seek solace and solutions when we face hardships and tense situations. It's a time-tested method followed and passed on by our ancestors.

A person can pray to the Almighty from any place or at any time. However, people proffer such prayers in front of God, in the visible form as statues and photos, or through the space of Nature. The former practice is very common among Hindus and Christians whilst the latter is found among Muslims and Parsis.

Prayers are performed in different ways depending on the religions and customs and traditions of the multitude. They can be classified into four major types as 1) Devotion: chanting of hymns and mantras and singing of god's praise are the methods used here. Hinduism and Christianity use this mode for their prayers. 2) Confession: Admitting mistakes and seeking pardon is the essence of this prayer. People go to the temple or mosque or church and submit their wrong doings and surrender to seek relief from what-they-feel as sins. 3) Gratitude: Expressing thanks or acknowledgment to God is another form of entreaty. Some examples of this nature are: students thanking for the high score, community hosting a festival for a good harvest, patients rejoicing after recovering from a serious illness, prayer before eating food, etc. 4) Petition: when something is sought or desired, prayer is made. This variety frequently abounds in our lifetimes.

Based on the intention, prayers can be either private or communal. When an individual implores for own needs, it's a personal prayer. However, when an individual or society offers prayers for the welfare of a member or other members of the society or even the world, it's a prayer for the common cause. If there is a scarcity of water, community prayers are held to invoke God for blessing with copious rain.

Very few people like saints and religious leaders pray for the welfare of others or the communities. Actually, such prayers make us broad-minded and unselfish: ultimately fetching peace and happiness for all.

Whenever happen to see a sick person or animal, I say a simple prayer to God for restoring their health. Sometimes, on seeing or hearing an ambulance pass by, I quickly put a word or two to God for helping the suffering soul.

Thirukkural, a Tamil classic written in 1st Century BC, makes it mandatory to remember and seek the blessings of God, if the soul desires to get out of the vicious cycle of births and deaths.

Prayers take you nearer to God. However, selfless service to others makes God come closer to you. Service to others means such services made for all kinds of life on this earth. Hinduism has gone a step further to say 'Make prayers with the food presented to the Almighty and feed the departed souls and ancestors by practicing rituals.'

Know the Value of Solidarity

Success is guaranteed when a team work is executed. Solidarity breeds power and peace. Otherwise, everybody is a loser. Calamities and disasters always bring the various sections of the populace together infusing new strength and faith in the oneness. During the Tsunami devastation in Tamilnadu, India, people helped each other to overcome the shocks and pains suffered by those affected. Financial and material aids poured in from all parts of India and other countries as well. Likewise, health plays another unifying cause as the human nature of a person is aroused. Though many cases can be put forth to emphasize the power of unity, the following examples will amply explain it.

Two brothers could not sell their ancestral property for more than 30 years as there was no understanding and unity between them. However, their children came closer and made a windfall profit through the sale of the property.

The spouse of a colleague working in another part of India needed funds for kidney transplantation expenses. The concerned branch where the staff worked had sent an email seeking the possible help from other offices of the bank. There was an unexpected, but amazing response to the email. A huge amount was collected from several people.

When wars are fought, members of armed forces battle bravely as a single force forgetting their personal differences like religion and customs and traditions for the sole cause of protecting their country's sovereignty. Many countries secured their independence through the collective efforts of the native people. A special mention of India's freedom movement is needed here. People belonging to several religions and cultures came together to fight hard for dethroning the mighty British rule. Similarly, many nations formed an alliance to defeat the selfish and ulterior motives of some countries during the two World Wars.

People in the Kerala state of India realized the power of unity and organized a cooperative to meet the expenses arising out of sudden death in the family. Members from each household of the locality joined together and formed a society where a nominal monthly contribution is done by each member towards a fund named as ' Death Relief Fund.' Whenever a member reports death in the family, a lump-sum payment would be made to that family to meet the expenses on the ritual/ceremony for the departed person. The subscription to the fund will be continued by one person of each family after availing the fund for the earlier occasion. This cooperative has bylaws and the formal registration with the government authority. The sole purpose of this outfit is to help out the poor people like casual laborers, hawkers, fisherman, etc.. It's a purely humanitarian approach.

United is always a force. It also insulates the humanity from adversities and discontent. Empathy and Sympathy alone can make us remain united. Nevertheless, this is realized belatedly by many only when to experience personally. A fist is more powerful than the fingers. Only when fingers are together, we can grip on anything.

Real Story of A Forsaken Mother

She was born to a rich family in Chennai but educated up to the 3rd Form only (a lower standard of schooling during 1930s). Because girls were restricted from moving out of the house and they were taught to take care of the household chorus like cooking, washing, etc.. However, this girl had developed a keen interest in reading books and possessed an inquisitive mind.

She was married to a poor but stubborn sergeant serving in the Indian Air Force. Her husband was also a hardworking and honest man. As he was away for most of the time in a year, the burden of managing the house and raising the five children fell on his wife. Yes, she succeeded in giving a decent education to the children by putting all hardships and hard work single-handedly. However, she had a soft corner for the elder son as he was weak in both health and education. This resulted in her helping him by giving money and jewels for starting a business without the husband's knowledge. 

The children got married in time after her husband retired from the military service. Life was moving smoothly until the elder son got embroiled in a police case. Her husband's health deteriorated rapidly due to the cancer, and he passed away sooner. The family pension was quite enough for the mother to lead a decent life. 

The estate of the husband was disposed of, and the proceeds were settled among the family members: this was to enable the elder daughter and son get resources for their family. She stayed with her daughters and gave money to them and the elder son.

By the time she slipped into the twilight years, the bank balance diminished. The children that enjoyed the money and other benefits distanced from her as she was of no avail anymore. Nonetheless, the youngest son came to the rescue and afforded the possible care and support like shelter, health care, etc.. 

Still, she had been loving the children and started yearning that they would take care of her. However, that never happened. She suffered like anything due to the frustration and dejection from the inhuman behavior of those four selfish children. She went to the extent of saying 'Never inform them upon my death. Nothing should be given from my assets after my death.'

The saddest part of her life came in the end. Due to the persistent thoughts and worries about uncaring daughters and sons, she developed a restless mind. Eventually, she got afflicted with a mild dementia leading to the incoherent actions and attitudes. She underwent a surgery at the ripe 86 years to replace a fractured thigh bone. Though bedridden, her wandering mind again sought the glimpses of her unloving children. Owing to the poor health conditions and to have a change of air, she was moved to a health care centre. Within a fortnight, her soul departed from the frail body for the heavenly abode.

We have several mothers living among us. Do respect and appreciate the dedication and love of Mother. That's what a mother desires to have from her children. During her lifetime. Mother is like a candle that sacrifices everything to shed light.