Are We The Makers Of Our Destiny

By blogger on

The concept of destiny has fascinated humans since time immemorial. Is our success predestined? Or is it in our hands? Most modern thought has deemed that our endeavor alone determines our success. But with competition intensifying, changes accelerating and many unpredictable and uncontrollable factors determining results in today’s complex world, many people are re-examining this belief.

For example, a brilliant student, despite diligent studies, gets average marks, whereas a mediocre student, with last-minute cramming, gets high grades. Why? Are we just unwitting players in a cosmic lottery, with chance as the supreme arbiter? Or are results handed down by destiny, under the sanction of a just God? Some people recoil at the very mention of destiny. They fear that lazy people may opportunistically argue, “As the result is predestined, why work hard?” and so become irresponsible and fatalistic.

However knowledge of destiny does not justify fatalism because the Mahabharata clarifies, “Destiny determines the results of our actions, not our actions themselves.”

The Vedic texts explain that these two ideologies, karmavada (endeavor, karma, alone determines success) and daivavada (destiny, daiva, alone determines success) are the two extremes of the pendulum of human imagination.

In reality, success requires both endeavor and destiny. For example, in agriculture, a good harvest requires both diligent ploughing and timely rains. Ploughing represents endeavor and rains signify destiny. Despite ploughing, no harvest can result, if there are no rains. Similarly sometimes, despite our best efforts, we may fail, due to adverse destiny. When people are uninformed about the role of destiny in determining results, failures make them feel hopeless, “I am worthless and cannot do anything well”, even when they have the potential to perform in the future.

Consequently today many of our brothers and sisters are unfortunately and needlessly suffering from mental problems like inferiority complex, low self-esteem, depression and self-pity.

Lord Krishna gives us hope in the Bhagavad-gita by pointing out that though we don’t determine the result, we do play a significant role. Going back to the farmer analogy, the farmer must plough the field for favorable rainfall to produce crops. Similarly we must endeavor for destiny to produce results. Hence the Gita urges us to perform our God-given duty without attachment.

We need detachment because our material happiness and distress in this life are predestined by our own karma from past lives. We cannot change them no matter how hard we work. But by doing our present duties industriously and honestly, we can get our destined happiness. Also we can make for ourselves a bright future destiny, even if our present is bleak.

Moreover, even at present, destiny limits only our material happiness, not our spiritual happiness. All of us have equal and complete opportunity to awaken our dormant love for God and experience oceanic happiness thereof. This supreme fulfillment is available at our tongue tips, just by the chanting of the Holy Names of God, Krishna.

In the spiritual world the Absolute is always absolute; the name, form, quality and pastimes of the Absolute are all as good as the Absolute Himself. As such, one is understood to be an eternal servant of the Supreme Personality of Godhead if he considers himself an eternal servant of the holy name and in this spirit distributes the holy name to the world. One who chants in that spirit, without offenses, is certainly elevated to the platform of understanding that the holy name and the Personality of Godhead are identical.

To associate with the holy name and chant the holy name is to associate with the Personality of Godhead directly. Whatever instruments we need to chant names of God are already provided, no one has to purchase a tongue. We also have ears with which to hear the sound that the tongue vibrates.

Therefore we have all the instruments we need with us — a tongue and ears. We only have to chant Hare Krsna and use our ears to hear this vibration, and all perfection will be there for us. No inimical destiny can obstruct us in achieving divine bliss; rather when we take one step towards God, He takes a thousand steps towards us. Even a little spiritual dynamism brings enormous returns. And as we are intrinsically spiritual beings and as our lasting satisfaction comes from spiritual devotion, we can rejoice in knowing that our real happiness is not destined, but is in our own hands.

Hence intelligent people are cautious to not let over-endeavor for flickering material aggrandizement deprive them of the time and energy to strive for lasting spiritual enlightenment.

Let us therefore do our best (materially and spiritually) and leave the rest (to God faithfully).

Urban Governance and Infrastructure – Part 15

By blogger on

tv.eletsonline.com

Please be a part of Financial Inclusion & Payment System FIPS

Elets – A platform for disseminating creative ideas on ICT

Elets Technomedia is a technology media and research company that focuses on ICT in government, education, healthcare, agriculture and rural development sectors. Our mandate is to provide effective information on latest development in different ICT tools, techniques and their applications across our verticals through premier print publications, online portals and premier events, seminars, conferences and summits. Elets has created a name for itself as a technology media and research vendor of choice.

Strategies

To strengthen and facilitate knowledge sharing platforms engaging with partners across the globe through International conferences to provide cross-cultural grounding to stakeholders and participants To provide stakeholders with a platform to share models of best practice, knowledge and experience on a range of issues in the domain of ICT in Governance, Education, Health, security, Urban and Rural Development To mobilise the communities towards creating a digitally informed knowledge society based on shared understanding

Elets Focus Areas

Elets provides an unmatched versatility for working with multiple partners and consultants to mutually share knowledge. With a vision to provide effective information on latest development in different ICT tools, techniques and their applications across various verticals with focused reference to governance, education and health, we

a) bring niche monthly publications;

b) provide knowledge exchange fora and

c) conduct research projects, primarily through Events & Conferences

Over a Billion Tons of Food Wasted Annually

By blogger on

A new study says one-point-three billion tons of food are wasted or lost every year, causing significant harm to both the environment and the economy. The food losses occur as an estimated 870 million people go hungry every day.

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization says it has released the first study to analyze the impacts of global food wastage from an environmental perspective.

The report differentiates between food loss and food waste. Food loss is due to such things as poor harvesting, inadequate storage and transportation. Its more of a supply side issue. Food waste, meanwhile, comes on the demand-side during processing, distribution and consumption.

FAO Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva said, Every day, consumers, especially in the rich countries, waste almost as much food as the entire net food production of sub-Saharan Africa. The implication of this massive food waste for food security and sustainability is huge. If we reduce food loss and waste, we have more food available without the need to produce more and putting less pressure on natural resources.

The report Food Wastage Footprint: Impacts on Natural Resources says the amount of food that is produced, but not eaten, guzzles up a volume of water equivalent to the annual flow of Russias Volga River. That unconsumed food, it says, is also responsible for three-point-three billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

Developing countries suffer more food losses during agriculture production. But in high income regions, food waste at the retail and consumer level tends to be higher. Up to 40 percent of total wastage compared with only four to 16 percent in low income regions, he said.

Graziano da Silva added theres also the economic cost.

The food wastage means $750 billion every year. This impressive figure is the equivalent of the GDP of Switzerland.

Joining in the release of the new report is Achim Steiner, executive director of UNEP, the U.N. Environment Program. He called the $750 billion figure an extraordinary wake-up call for those thinking about food security and agriculture.

In that figure we may not even capture many of the more indirect impacts that are associated with degradation of natural resources. The impacts on climate change. The drivers that will cost perhaps not todays consumers of food, but tomorrows children and grandchildren, who have to run our economies and mange these impacts in ways that are economically not yet fully captured, said Steiner.

He emphasized the losses and waste do not only occur on land.

We again have phenomena where in many fishing fleets sometimes 20, 30, 50percent of the catch is thrown back into the sea. But it is not as if fish will happily continue to swim. Many of them will be dead and essentially no longer available either for consumption or indeed for maintaining the fish stocks of the world. So, we are really trying to address a phenomenon here today that concerns each and every one of us on the planet, he said.

He said the types of food being raised to meet the demands of growing economies are having a greater impact on the environment. More countries are adopting a Western style diet thats high in meat consumption. Livestock produce a lot of greenhouse gasses.

Our initiative with thinkeatsave.org is to reach out to literally citizens across all countries, all continents, in all sectors, to become part of addressing this phenomenon of wastage that simply is unnecessary, unacceptable and unsustainable in the 21st Century. We are all able to address this issue by becoming part of the solution, said Steiner.

Recommendations to reduce food loss and waste include raising awareness about the problems through media campaigns coordinating international initiatives and strategies and investing in public and private projects that reduce loss along the food chain from field to market to consumer.

e-Services – Governance

By blogger on

tv.eletsonline.com

Please be the part of our Upcoming Event FIPS

Elets – A platform for disseminating creative ideas on ICT

Elets Technomedia is a technology media and research company that focuses on ICT in government, education, healthcare, agriculture and rural development sectors. Our mandate is to provide effective information on latest development in different ICT tools, techniques and their applications across our verticals through premier print publications, online portals and premier events, seminars, conferences and summits. Elets has created a name for itself as a technology media and research vendor of choice.

Strategies

To strengthen and facilitate knowledge sharing platforms engaging with partners across the globe through International conferences to provide cross-cultural grounding to stakeholders and participants To provide stakeholders with a platform to share models of best practice, knowledge and experience on a range of issues in the domain of ICT in Governance, Education, Health, security, Urban and Rural Development To mobilise the communities towards creating a digitally informed knowledge society based on shared understanding

Elets Focus Areas

Elets provides an unmatched versatility for working with multiple partners and consultants to mutually share knowledge. With a vision to provide effective information on latest development in different ICT tools, techniques and their applications across various verticals with focused reference to governance, education and health, we

a) bring niche monthly publications;

b) provide knowledge exchange fora and

c) conduct research projects, primarily through Events & Conferences.

Mayan Gods

By blogger on

The ancient Maya people had a diverse pantheon of deities that were worshiped and often offered human blood. The rulers of the Maya believed that they were the direct descendants of Mayan gods and that blood was the ultimate sacrifice.

The Maya’s vision of the cosmos is one that is split into various levels, both above and below the earth. Upon death they believed that the soul would be transported to the underworld (Xibalba), a place of turmoil and fright were gods tested and punished unfortunate visitors.

One of the most important gods worshiped by the Mayan people was the being known as Quetzalcoatl. Also referred to as the Great Feathered Serpent Quetzalcoatl brought teachings of peace to the Maya. He is depicted as being a white deity with a long beard. It has been suggested that the carvings and drawings created by the Maya of Quetzalcoatl bear a striking resemblance to the god Enki in the ancient Sumerian culture.

Scholars disagree as to whether Quetzalcoatl and Thoth were worshiped as the same entity or different deities. The pyramid of the sun located in Teotihuacan seems to back up the former suggestion.

Another important Mayan god was Chac. Chac was worshiped as a benevolent god who could bring the rain. The ancient Maya people would often pray to Chac when they required water to help irrigate their fields. Chac is associated with the god of wind Kukulcan. Debate continues today as to whether Chac and Kukulcan were simply different forms of the same deity.

The sun god was known to the Maya as Kinich Ahau. Kinich Ahu was associated with the city Itzamal, were it was believed that he traveled to at midday each day disguised as a macaw. Kinich Ahu is usually depicted as having jaguar like features. This god was also called Ah Xox Kin, though this form was mostly associated with music and poetry and not the sun.

Agriculture was of fundamental importance to all ancient cultures. Yumill Kaxob was the Mayan god that represented agriculture. Yumill Kaxob is usually shown wearing a headdress of maize and is more youthful in appearance than other deities.

The god associated with death was known as Yum Cimil, though sometimes Ah Puch. He is represented in images as having a skeletal frame covered in black spots and adorned with ornamental bones. Yum Cimil is also depicted as having eyeless sockets, which was a typical symbol of the underworld.