Blood Donation: A selfless service

Some of the greatest human virtues one can possess are compassion and empathy, which form the basis of being human, of us existing as a society and of growing together. A virtuous act performed out of compassion or good intentions not only helps someone in need, but also give satisfaction to the doer. Inner peace is a direct result of our intentions and our thoughts, which in turn also shows up in the way we respond to various events happening in our lives.

However, not many live their lives based on these principles; the fact is that there has been a constant increase in aggression levels and negativity, which needs to be changed. And human beings tend to change themselves when they are inspired and encouraged to do so; when they feel that the soul within them feeds on goodness and virtues; when they realize that being human is more than just earning and living for themselves.

The moment we realise that our single act of kindness has the power to change another life or even better, save another life, is the moment we begin our transformation journey. These acts of kindness can be as simple as giving food to hungry or a piece of cloth to underprivileged. The act of blood donation however represents one of the kindest and selfless endeavours of saving an unknown person’s life. Blood is a vital component that cannot be made artificially; there is no replacement element or compound for it. Only a human being can help another human being with it through blood donation. And a single unit of blood can help save three lives.

Many people have the belief that blood donation will make them weak or will impact their health in an unconstructive manner, especially in India such beliefs are highly prevalent. Recognising the need of the hour and to spread the awareness, an Indian organisation called Dera Sacha Sauda started organising Mega Blood Donation camps under the guidance of their Spiritual Master Saint Dr Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insan. He encouraged people to come up for the cause, guiding them about the benefits of blood donation not just for the receiver but for their own selves as well. Blood donation helps the formation of new blood cells, the new blood cells thus formed improve immunity thereby helping the body to fight against diseases.

For many years the blood requirements of Indian Army had been fulfilled through blood donation camps conducted in Dera Sacha Sauda and in the process, have also created three world records for maximum units of blood donated.

Inspired and aware, their volunteers across the world keep organising such camps in their respective locations especially to celebrate their special occasions; the governments and local authorities of foreign nations also have recognised these efforts and sent letter of applause for their service towards mankind.

Truly, if we all join hands in such a noble cause and be a regular blood donor, no one will have to die due to lack of blood, ever. I pledge to do my bit and be a regular blood donor; I hope you too contribute by donating blood in your nearest blood bank.

Sunaria Post Office gets flooded with Greeting Cards on 23rd September

Despite the digital era, Greeting cards continue to hold their special place due to the personal touch, emotional connect and display of love. Many of us still keep the collection of cards received on our special occasions and cherish them a lot. In our school/college days, the students would count the number of cards received on their birthdays; receiving more than 10 cards would make them feel on top of the world.

Now imagine receiving lakhs of cards on your special occasion, may be your birthday or marriage anniversary? Alright, let’s bring down the number to a few hundreds. Still not there, is it?

But there is someone who has been almost setting up a record for receiving a huge number of cards even behind the bars- Baba Ram Rahim.

23^rd September- A day His followers term as GuruGaddiNashini Diwas, or the day when Baba Ram Rahim was chosen as the third master of Dera Sacha Sauda Sirsa- saw a humongous number of cards reaching the Sunaria post office. According to the post office, lakhs of cards were received for Baba Ram Rahim from his followers wishing him for the occasion. These greeting cards are still inundating the post office in huge numbers.

I believe one has to be really special to receive such kind of a gesture.

While lakhs of mails have benefited the post office in terms of their earnings, the phenomenon has also upped the working hours for the post office personals significantly. But profits are pouring in and who doesn’t like a good earning. They are witnessing this for the second time; similar phenomena had happened during the birthday of Ram Rahim on 15^th August. Back then the officials commented that on any given day their work would end at 1 pm, but since the cards started coming in, they had to work till 6 pm.

Just like in August, this time also the cards have poured in from various parts of the country, mostly in coloured envelopes. These cards are being received as speed post and general post, and may be as expensive as 50 Rs to 150 Rs and are all addressed to Baba Ram Rahim. Post scanning process, these are being carried in sacks to the Sunaria Jail in Auto rickshaws, since the number is too huge. According to the post office employees, they have never witnessed such a heavy in pour of greeting cards for anyone in their entire careers spanning decades.

This is not just amusing but also surprising, as sending greeting cards in huge numbers speaks volumes about the amount of faith that His followers have in Him and also about the love and emotional attachment they share with Him. These followers celebrated the 23^rd September doing many welfare activities and carried on with their prayers customs. Well, one thing is for certain, Baba Ram Rahim is going to keep on creating new records, irrespective of where He is and nothing seems to deter that in the past, present or future.

Note: Picture courtesy: Google

The Kismet Connection- Can we change our fate?

Fate, Destiny, Nemesis, Kismet- known by thousands of adjectives, believed in by majority of people, is the development of events that happen outside one’s control and are regarded to be predestined.

Sometimes people wonder if fate is real or imagined, but karma is definitely one of the factors that influences the fate. We often marvel and look back into our past lives, wondering if it was bound to happen and if a change in our decisions could have led to a better or different outcome. That is when we also often think of ‘Kismet’, believing that few things are bound to happen a certain way because it was predestined.

Fate is believed to have been set by a number of factors, the karmas or deeds of previous births, spiritual tendencies of our soul gained by transcendent meditation or prayers of previous births and our own freedom of actions and ability to take decisions in the current life. The upbringing, family environment, social environment and companionship have a lot of influence on the way we think, act and take decisions in our current lives. It is believed that to complete the full circle of life and death, to achieve the human birth, one’s soul has to go through 84 lakhs birth and death cycles, embodying the trees, insects, birds, animals, finally reaching the human life. Since fate is affected by the karmas of previous birth cycles, our actions (positive or negative) from our previous lives affect our fate as human being.

We associate tragic incidences of our lives with fate, like accidents, illnesses and other materialistic losses too. One would believe that since the karmas are already done, there is humanly no way possible to go back in time and change them. True. So is there a way around? Yes.

Meditation- A form of prayer, continuous recital of holy words given by true spiritual saint is the only way through which we can change the consequences of the negative karmas done in the past. Meditation has the power to change the fates. Since times immemorial, true saints have sung the admirations of meditation through hymns and songs. Guru Nanak dev, Kabir das ji, Meerabai, Tulsi das ji, Sur das ji, all had laid emphasis on the oneness of God and perpetual meditation of the Supreme power to attain salvation and contentment in life.

How can you learn to meditate, and where will you find the true Guru who can teach you to meditate? A true Guru will be the guide to your soul, will take nothing in cash or kind and will be your lifecoach, helping you in every step that you take, internally and externally. In today’s world, Saint Dr Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insan is such a lifecoach and true spiritual guide to more than 65 million people. He teaches the method of meditation through his holy discourses or Satsang. Millions of people have experienced life changing amendments since starting meditation. True Guru is the hand that holds your soul and guides it to the path of enlightenment, hence it is vital to reach out to the true spiritual master.

Satsang- a place where the true spiritual saints teach about self-awareness and provide tonic to soul in the form of God’s words, helps to cut down on the negative events of future.

As per Saint Dr Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insan, one should make meditation a part of daily routine. As and when the beings recite God’s name, listen to holy discourses and start living a genuinely authentic life, the negative penalties of the past actions start diminishing, their soul starts to grow powerful and feelings of transcendent happiness begin to take over. One begins to start noticing internal changes, growth of self-confidence and abilities to take a better decision as one continues to practice. Meditation is a very powerful tool, it heals the soul and body, it disrupts the vicious cycle of bad karmas and helps create new positive karmas, leading to change of human fate. Saint Dr Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insan also emphasizes on the importance of doing good deeds, refraining from vices so that the positive actions have positive impact on future.

It is thus, a choice, an effort that human beings can make towards being able to live a better life and create their own fate, a choice that we all can make.

What are your viewpoints on this? I would love to hear from you in the comments below.

World Laughter Day 2018

World Laughter Day 2018

The World Laughter Day- A day that originated in India, is celebrated across the world on the first Sunday of May. The day was first celebrated in India on May 10, 1998. The World laughter Day was created by an Indian Doctor, Dr Madan Kataria, who was the founder of Worldwide Laughter Yoga Movement. His movement was inspired by the hypothesis that facial expressions can have a huge impact on the emotions and mental state of a human being.

Celebrations

At present there are more than 6000 laughter clubs in more than 105 countries across the 5 continents, where people gather to avail the curative benefits of this wonderful laughter therapy. On the World Laughter Day, people group together at various places like parks, town hall, city halls and laughter clubs etc. Messages by Dr Madan Kataria are read, which are about joy, love, non-judgmental attitude and world peace. After that the laughter groups laugh their heart off, spreading their smiles far and wide. The laughter is started with the simple “Ho-Ho-Ha-Ha” sounds and it eventually gets so contagious that in no time the groups are rolling with bursts of laughter. This event is non-racial, non-religious and non-profitable whose sole purpose is to spread unconditional joy and love and contribute towards world peace in their own way.

Benefits of Laughter

Laughter and smiling are the most basic of human behaviors and are part of universal culture. They aid bonding, forming unique and genuine relationships and promote a sense of overall well being. Laughter is the best medicine and has huge paybacks.

Reduces Stress Hormones and increases Happy Hormones

Today’s stressful lifestyle and increase of tension at workplace often leads to overproduction of certain immunosuppressant hormones like cortisol, whose excess quantity can prove harmful for the immune system. Laughing lessens the presence and production of these hormones. On the other hand, it also increases the production of happy hormones like endorphins and neurotransmitters. The endorphins increase the threshold for pain tolerance, acting as natural pain killers, improve the mood and ease out tension. The neurotransmitters improve the brain functioning and overall brain response.

Natural Cardiovascular exercise and regulates Blood Pressure

Laughter engages the core, the muscles of stomach expand and contract engaging the abdominal muscles and diaphragm. Laughing also gets the heart pumping and also works out the lungs. Laughing has shown significant lung function improvement for people suffering from lungs disorder. In fact, heartfelt laughing for some time will help to burn the same amount of calories as slow walking.

Laughing also helps to regulate the blood pressure, in the same way as exercise does, reducing the risk of stroke and heart attack. It improves the blood flow as well as oxygen level in the blood.

Positive thinking, decreased anxiety and improved mental state

Laughter and smiling have shown to generate a significant improvement in positive thinking. The endorphins that get released while laughing improve positive thinking and drastically reduce the anxiety. Smiling authentically wile interacting or having a way to make people laugh improves the relationships and social binding. Such people are better liked and feel confident and are better equipped against the mental problems.

Better Mood and overall well being

The benefits of laughter are limitless. It improves your overall mood, boosts creativity, enhances the brain’s capability to function well, improves the resiliency and lift up the soul. Laughter can heal the mind as well as body. Laughter has the power to create a sense of overall well being in an individual and such individuals can uplift the people who they come in contact with too.

Off late, comedy movies and laughter shows have become extremely popular, both on television as well as social media. Some of the blockbuster comedy movies of 2017 were Jattu Engineer, starring Saint Dr Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh ji, Toilet- ek prem katha, starring Akshay Kumar, Barelly ki Burfi and Newton. These movies were well received by the general masses because of their ability to make people laugh and convey a message at the same time.

Considering all the benefits and positive impacts, we all must understand the significance of laughter and should promote and practice it in our daily lives. So this 6^th May 2018, let us gear up to spread the joy, smile and laughter on the World Laughter Day. Do let us know in the comments below on how are you going to celebrate this day 😊😊

Domestic BO Collections- HKNKJ & Jolly LLB 2

10^th February saw the release of two movies, sporting two heroes, both having their own huge fan base.

Yes, we are talking about Jolly LLB 2 and Hind ka Napak ko Jawab, starring Akshay Kumar and Baba Ram Rahim respectively. Usually, in such cases, one of the movie flops out and the other gathers a good number in terms of collection. But in this case, both have managed to do fairly well on the box office. The domestic collections of both are quite good with HKNKJ gaining an edge over 6 days total collections. So let us see how each one of them fared in terms of Domestic Box Office Collections.

Hind Ka Napak Ko Jawab

Day 1 (10th Feb, Friday) - Rs 15.10 crore

Day 2 (11th Feb, Saturday) - Rs 15.25 crore

Day 3 (12th Feb, Sunday) - Rs 19.85 crore

Day 4 (13th Feb, Monday) - Rs 12.9 crore

Day 5 (14th Feb, Tuesday) - Rs 14.96 crore

Day 6 (15th Feb, Wednesday) - Rs 11.97 crore

Total six-day box-office collection of HKNKJ: Rs 90.03 crore

Jolly LLB 2

Day 1 (10th Feb, Friday) - Rs 13.20 crore

Day 2 (11th Feb, Saturday) - Rs 17.31 crore

Day 3 (12th Feb, Sunday) - Rs 19.95 crore

Day 4 (13th Feb, Monday) - Rs 7.26 crore

Day 5 (14th Feb, Tuesday) - Rs 9.07 crore

Day 6 (15th Feb, Wednesday) - Rs 5.89 crore

Total six-day box-office collection of Jolly LLB 2: Rs 72.86 crore

Impressive show put up, we wish them both good luck.

Italian Food love- Photo only blog

So I went to this good food joint called Sam's Pizza over the weekend and had an Italian buffet. Thought of sharing some gorgeous delicious looking pics with you. Here we go:

My plateful of salads

The hot and sour veg soup

Assorted Garlic Breads- Really delicious :)

Coke and PinaColada mocktail- really tasted like pinaepple lassi

Time for some great Pizzas

Sigh! World's best and tastiest brownie

Movie review - Hind Ka Napak Ko Jawab

I see many movies and my weekends are usually reserved for watching them. I have been reading a lot about the famous actor Saint Dr. Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insan especially on twitter. What caught my interest was that he has created a world record for having done 43 credits like director, art director, fight director etc. After reading so much I decided to watch his upcoming movie “Hind ka Napak Ko Jawab”. He dedicates this movie to the army, in his own words “We owe so much to the Indian Army. They are the reason we sleep peacefully at night.” So let us see how the movie fares.

The Beginning with Surgical Strikes

This movie has been directed by Saint Dr. Gurmeet Ram Rahim ji Insan and His daughter Honeypreet Insan. Together they have done a respectable job. The Hero of the story is a character called Sher-e-Hind who is a patriotic person. The movie unravels the surgical strikes conducted by India on Pakistan and captures the essence very well, but that is only the beginning. The real adventure starts when the hero takes on a very hard and top secret mission. He moves to the enemy nation and without uncovering his true identity works towards fulfilling the mission. 

Romance

The hero meets his soul mate in the enemy nation and marries her, I think there is a very strong message here that true love knows no boundaries. Despite belonging to the rival nation, he chooses to marry her. The song “Ye Jana Tujhe Paa Ke” is beautifully shot on the hero and heroine and is every lover’s dream. It is extremely romantic and soulfully sung, I liked the choreography of this song a lot.

Social Messages

As the storyline proceeds, we also get to see some strong messages for the fairer gender- to respect them, and for the fair gender themselves to be strong. Our society needs to see this and understand this. I, being a woman myself, appreciate this a lot. Actress Honeypreet insan shows her stronger side in the movie and can be seen kicking the butts of the villains. The movie also touches upon the issue of liberation of Baluchistan. Overall, the movie shows Indians can accept others with open arms, can be friendly for all, will show love to all, but will fiercely protect their motherland against any threat. That for me is the biggest reason to watch this movie.

Some Fancy High Tech Stuff

There are gadgets, super fancy flying bikes, and a chopper cum car, that is some serious advanced technology that I hope someday we can see coming to reality. They are certainly a treat to the eyes and kids will love this superhero stuff. The hero not only adds hi-tech glamour to the movie by using high end gizmos, but also delivers dialogues with great conviction. You feel the punch when he talks. You love it when he beats the hell out of the goons. You absolutely adore it when he does the on-screen romance.

Some amazing and surprising facts

I must praise the villains too who bear an uncanny resemblance to well-known terror faces. Many actors are fresh faces and have done justice to their roles. Music is exemplary and has been appreciated by the listeners a lot. Check out the sets in the song, do you know that these are made in a small city of Haryana, Sirsa? I was almost shocked to know that, seriously, I think this person has converted the impossible to possible. Want to know more? Then here you go- some of these actors are real life doctors, teachers, students and that too in Sirsa itself. Still want to know more, then I would say you plan a trip to Sirsa, like I am planning to.

My Verdict

This movie is quite different from all other movies, it is an entertainer and worth the penny. After watching the movie I left the theatre thinking about so many points, this movie has given me enough food for thought and has given me a direction at a very personal level as well. I am glad to see a non-stereotyped movie coming up with such subjects. I would recommend this movie, you need to see it, you need to think through it and you need to capture the essence with open mind.

Do let me know what your view points are. Have you seen HKNKJ yet? Do pour in your comments below.