November 2009

The chief Physician

J. Peter Daniel

“Just a tiny prick on the wound; initially, it will be painful; after that, it will be alright” the Nurse informed the patient named Maran in the treatment room.  Actually, he had come to the Hospital with a swelling on his right thumb.  The damage had occurred when he had tried to close the main door in his house.   Initially, he didn’t care about it.  After a week, it developed into swelling which was posted for operation.

While the nurse was conversing with him, a Doctor in white coat entered the room with a stethoscope.  Quickly, he explained the procedure step by step to Maran.  His heartbeat had gone up when he listened to the words of knife, scissors, stitching, etc.   Slowly, the Doctor finished the procedure and prescribed medicines for alleviating the pain.  After a week, Maran entered the Doctor’s cabin and showed his healed hand and expressed his gratitude to the Doctor.  Moreover, Maran quite forgot the prick and the pain.

This episode teaches lessons related to life.  The outward appearance of the swelling is actually indication of inward damage.  The cure of the swelling depends on the healing of inward part.  For complete cure, the swelling has to be operated to remove the pus as well as administer antibiotic medicine to suppress the virus and bacteria.

Similarly, the world has been immersed with evils such as social injustice, casteism, terrorism, drug addiction, immortality, debauchery, same sex marriage, rivalry among brothers, divorce, accumulation of wealth in one place and poverty in another.  The outbursts of evils are due to the inward selfish attitude of people.  For instance, gratification of sexual desire leads a father to rape his own daughter of nine years with a help of his wife and greed for wealth leads one to kill his own son to get rid of a curse, and so on.

These evils are like the wound and have disturbed whole human race.   People try to undo past, present and future ‘karma’ by doing a lot of outward religious activities.  It hasn’t either cured their inner turmoil or delivered them from evil.  It has aggravated the problem instead of alleviating it.  One of the scholars said that he wanted to do good things but he was doing evil.  He wanted to escape from this but no one can do it.  Who will help this type of a wretched person?

We have tried our best to untangle ourselves from the spider’s web but ended up with a new problem.  In the end, we feel lonely and depressed because of our attitudes haunt us day and night.  It may be a relationship problem, emotional hurt, hurting others, cheating, etc.

We have to realize and accept our inability to deal with our own problems. The acceptance of inadequacy helps us realize that we need a specialized physician who can clean and transplant our heart. The human doctor cannot perform this type of operation because they have studied to treat the patients physically. In this operation, we need a doctor who is flawless and sterile from all those evils.

If you are in this situation, it is better to start searching for a specialized Doctor; just we are finding out the right Doctor for our kind of disease.  The first question is how to recognize such a person?  First of all, the person should not have done any evil or sin in one’s life time on earth.  Secondly, the birth of the person should be different from other persons’.  Otherwise, the inborn nature of evil comes as a default. Thirdly, the person should endure hardship and death just as we do. Fourthly, the person has to face the consequence of death. Fifthly, the person has to resurrect from death.

Second question comes, who is that person?  It is better to analyze the criteria. The fifth point deals with the resurrection as per the sequence. The word ‘resurrection’ has not been attached with any leader. It has been credited only to Jesus Christ who has resurrected and is living today. His tomb was left open. He came to this world with the purpose of delivering a people from power and presence of sin. He lived and died for us. His birth was unique and different from normal.

Third question rises, what do we have to do?  For instance, the doctor should get permission from the patients before touching them. Similarly, Jesus Christ is being standing at the door of our life and knocking at our heart. He will not enter unless until we open the door because the key is with us. Once we open our heart to Jesus Christ, then He will come and dwell and dine with us. We have to confess our sin as well as confess that Jesus Christ is our Lord who has incarnated as human after setting aside all His power and glory. He substituted our place on a cross. He was buried on the same day and kept in the borrowed tomb which was guarded by the soldiers. On the third day, the stone was rolled away and Jesus Christ was raised and revealed to many people before going to heaven. He promised that He will come back as He has gone up to heaven.

The following prayer, done silently, will help you feel the burden rolling away from you. Moreover, you will feel the presence of God and power of God.

“Lord, I believe You came to this world to die for me and my sin. I often try to act as though I am a saint but I am a sinner when compared with your holiness.  I accept my sinfulness. I have to die but you have died for me and paid the penalty of my sin.  Thank You, Lord Jesus for being my substitute. Lord, please accept me as Your child and give me a new heart, new life, new thoughts, new purpose, new Spirit and a new vision.  Do come into my heart and be the Master of my life. Please give me a peace which can’t be given by this world. Give me a heart to seek You and know You more. I pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.”  Amen.

This prayer makes you feel His presence in your life.  You have to continue to be in touch with God reading the Word of God (The Bible) and praying to Him about everything going on in our minds and life, and have fellowship with like-minded people who have accepted Him just like you.

P.S. You can use the above article as tract for distributing among patients

J. Peter Daniel
Glocal youth vision
Kingdom of Bahrain
Email: peterpearline@gmail.com / yahoo.co.in
Skype: peterpearline
www. glocalyouthvision.wordpress.com
www.kirubai.org
http://www.glocalleadersnetwork.com

I.  A touching story by a girl.

“When I was a little girl, my mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then. And I remember one night in particular when she had  made breakfast after a long, hard day at work.

On that evening so long ago, my mom placed a plate of fruits and extremely burned toast in front of my dad. I remember waiting to see if  anyone noticed! Yet all my dad did was reach for his toast, smile at my mom, and ask me how my day was at school. I don’t remember what I told him  that night, but I do remember Watching him smear butter and jelly on that toast and eat every bite!

When I got Up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my mom apologize to my dad For burning the toast. And I’ll never forget what he  said: ‘Baby, I love burned toast.’

Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him if He really liked his toast burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said, ‘Debbie,  your Momma put in a hard day at work today and she’s real tired. And besides-a little burnt toast never hurt anyone!’ You know, life is full of  imperfect things…..and imperfect people. I’m not the best housekeeper or cook.

What I’ve learned over the years is that learning to accept each other’s faults – and choosing to celebrate each other’s differences – is the one of  the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting marriage relationship.

And that’s my prayer for you today. That you will learn to take the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of your married life and lay them at the  feet of GOD. Because in the end, He’s the only One who will be able to give you a marriage where burnt toast isn’t a deal-breaker! We could  extend this to any relationship in fact – as understanding is the base of any relationship, be it a husband-wife or parent-child or friendship!! “

“Don’t put the key to your happiness in someone else’s pocket.”

II. Helicopter Parents:  Parent types:  1) Helicopter:  parents hover overhead, rarely out of reach, whether their child needs them or not.  2) Rotor Blade: The overfly fussy parent, fidgeting constantly over their off spring.  A lot like the rotor-blades of a chopper.  3) Curling:  As in the Olympic ice sport of curling, parents who try to ‘sweep ice’ (obstacles) out of their child’s path.  4) Black Hawk: Like the US military helicopters, aggressive parents who will do whatever it takes for their child’s success.  Today, parents need counseling.  They should understand that every child cannot be forced to excel in everything, and that a child needs unstructured play time. Children should be given space to take charge of their life.  ‘Parental anxiety’ is predominant worrying for the best environment for their children.  In a generational shift three factors are true:  First, parents will be highly involved in their children’s lives; Second, parents opt for fewer children, wait longer to have them and are more affluent, so they tend to micromanage children’s lives and have trouble letting go;   Third, An outward sign of economic anxiety, parents want to prepare their children for fierce competition they are likely to face in an uncertain job market.  In an effort to be aware of every aspect of their child’s life, and therefore control it a lot of parents take the ‘friend’ approach.  Unfortunately, buddy parents often turn overprotective due to lack of faith, and time for their child.  Hovering can frustrate children and make them stifled, and some react to become ‘rebel’.  Setting boundaries is a good practice, with freedom to move within those limits.  Here are some signs to recognize: 1) Quick fixers: Always opt for shotgun solution to suit their child.  If the child does not like a teacher, parents will demand the principal replace him or her.  2) Ranters & Ravers: Loudly complain about anything that doesn’t go their child’s way: always crib about unfair treatment or about losing out to those with better contacts.  3) Attention seekers: Believe the world revolves around their child.  If their kids want to run up and down airplanes aisles, so be it.  Be expected to ooh and aah over them.  4) Rule bakers:  Show little respect for the views and needs of others, or fo authority.  They always side with their child, no matter how poorly behaved or bratty.  5)  A telltale sign:  Parents masquerading as their child online.  There needs to be a balanced between protective parenting and permissive parenting.  The household needs to be a democratic set-up.  Parents should be authoritative, but not authoritarian, they need to discuss disciple and responsibilities.   (Nandini Narayan & Sharmi Ghosh Dastidar, India Today 21 September 2009, p. 60-64)

Half of world’s hungry live in India:

India is high on the hunger map. Despite the government’s tall promises on the food security bill, nearly 50 per cent of the world’s hungry live in India and the global economic crisis may add more as food prices decline. Nutritional and health indicators are also extremely low.

About 35 per cent of India’s population – around 350 million – do not know where their next meal will come from. Nearly nine out of ten pregnant women aged between 15 and 49 years suffer from malnutrition and anemia.

Though many hope that the economic recession, will not last more than a year or two, there is one segment that is going to feel its impact lifelong. A majority of children below five in the country whose health may be compromised forever. Experts warn that the country cannot afford to wake up when its too late, when shocking figures start showing up in health data.

Balamma carries leftovers from the home where she works as domestic help for her two children. Her two-year old toddler, crying in hunger usually gets his first meal at noon. Balamma’s husband Krishna has not been keeping well and getting work as construction labour has been very erratic recently. “It’s very difficult, even when we have to buy oil and dal once a week. I don’t give the children any milk because I can’t afford it,” she says.

In India, 40 to 45 per cent of the children under five are already undernourished and stunted in growth. And 70 per cent of the children consume less than 50 per cent of the micronutrients they are supposed to consume. This deprivation, made worse by economic recession could be a healthy future lost forever for an entire generation.

Dr B Sesikeran, Director of National Institute of Nutrition says, “Even those marginally better nourished, will be pushed into the undernourished bracket because of the economic recession. That is a major concern.”

For children less than two years old, this will leave a lifelong imprint.

Dr G N V Brahmam, community data expert on nutrition, says, “Diet survey have shown intake of protective foods like pulses, leafy vegetables and other vegetables is very, very low. Midterm solution is to fortify foods with micronutrients because we are not able to meet through balanced diets.”

Nutritionists point out that this is nothing less than an emergency and existing infrastructure must be quickly geared up to meet the challenge. http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/hunger_crisis_a_future_lost.php accessed on 16 October 2009

Humor

Gloria Greenwood

From half way across the store, I could hear a mother calling for her son: “Jimmy, Jimmy!”  I turned a corner into another aisle and found a sis-year-old playing by himself.

“Are you Jimmy?” I asked.

“Yes”

“Didn’t you hear your mother call?”

“Yes”

“Aren’t you going to go to her?”

He shook his head.  “She ‘s not hysterical yet.”

Note: Item II and III has been taken from Glocal Urban Vision – Rev. J. N. Manokaran – http://www.glocalleadersnetwork.com

October 2009

“You see to it?”

J. Peter Daniel

“Brother, Pray, God will deliver you from all your problems” – usual statement comes forth from the Christian believers after listening to the problems or issues of person.  It is just like telling indirectly, look after your problems by yourself.   It is easy to wash our hands by pointing towards the direction to God.  It is true to focus the problem to God.  But there are certain times or situations, people come to us with guilt of doing some mistakes or seeking solution for their own problems in their life.  It has to be dealt properly otherwise it will aggravate their problem, sometimes it leads to depression.

In Bible, we see in two occasions the same statement has been used to send the person away by washing their hands.

1. Judas, the betrayer: Matt 27:3-5

Judas was purchased by the chief Priests to execute their schemes.  Planned move of capturing Jesus Christ was worked out beautifully.  So they were very happy. At that moment, Judas went to meet high priest to confess his own sin and guilt.  But the high priest who is in the position of counselling and interceding for others has used Judas just like a disposable cup and uttered the word, “what is that to us?”

The chief priests have forgotten their duties and sent him with his own guilt. He committed suicide.  If the high priest could have counselled him then there might be a change in his life. Many times, just like a high priest we forget to take some time off to counsel others when they are coming to us with a need.   In addition, we are not giving adequate counselling to the people according to their needs.  For this, we need to have closure walk with a Counsellor Jesus Christ who can put His word in our mouth to counsel the counselee.

2. Pilate: Matt 27:24-26

Pilate has tried his level best to release Jesus Christ from the accusation of Jews.  His wife also warned him not to do anything against Jesus Christ.  But he was not able to do so, due to the persistent shouting from high priests.  At last he washed his hands and handed over Jesus Christ to their desires by uttering the same word “You see to it”.

As Christians, we have to stand out for the truth and contend for faith.  Instead, of  we are giving in to the whimsical of the world pressures that leads to give up our values, ethos, vision and mission of God’s calling in our life.

We have to evaluate ourself and see whether we are standing out for the justice or giving up our values to the pressure of this world.

Let us take a stand for Christ, counsel the friends with the help of the counsellor and bring many to His fold.

J. Peter Daniel

Glocal youth vision

Kingdom of Bahrain

Email: peterpearline@gmail.com / yahoo.co.in

Skype: peterpearline

www. glocalyouthvision.wordpress.com

www.kirubai.org

http://www.glocalleadersnetwork.com

Integration of Maintenance

J. Peter Daniel

A word ‘Maintenance’ is used until the life time of the equipments.  The other related words such as  ‘design’, ‘sales’, ‘purchase’ and ‘Execution’  are for a limited occasion.  For instance, the word ‘sales’ would be used until selling the equipments. The word ‘Execution’ would be used until the completion of the project.  In addition, the maintenance is an integral part of sales, design and Execution.   It should not be segregated or viewed as a separate section.

Maintenance has to be decided during the initial discussion of procuring the equipments.  Some of the companies quote the rate less, when compare with other companies.  But they will catch up with the price of other companies by way of quoting high for spare parts and annual maintenance contract.  At that time, there would be less chance for negotiating or downsizing the cost.

Secondly, the provision for maintaining the equipments  are very important to discuss in the initial stage rather than waiting until handing over the equipments to the maintenance department.  In many occasion, the maintenance department blame the project department for excluding the provision for accessing the units.  To avoid such incidence, we have to involve maintenance personnel up to some extent of sending the equipment drawing to get their opinion about it.  It will surely ease the tension.

Thirdly, the aesthetic look is mostly hiding the need of providing proper provision for maintenance.  The architecture desires for aesthetic look in each and every areas.  For instance, the architectural engineer wanted to keep the light at the centre of the toilet.  The centre point is exactly located at access panel.  It is not possible to install the light.   The option is to reduce the size of the panel or move the light.  In other way, whether we have to think of aesthetic look or maintenance.

Fourthly, the compromise attitude possesses a big problem in later stage.   It starts with squeezing all the services in one small space.  In later stage, it is impossible to unscrew or reach the damage parts in the equipments or pipeline in the shaft.

Fifthly, the provision for  maintenance of unit  is not providing small opening to touch the Unit that is located above the false ceiling.  Actually, the maintenance provision should be given for removing the unit for doing major repair work and also replacing the unit.

Maintenance is integrated with the other related works; “Designing, ‘Procuring” and “execution”.  Maintenance is the centre and the focal point. It portrays the importance of focussing maintenance in each and every stage.  In addition, the design, Purchasing and execution have linked with each other.  It is obvious that the three stages are equally important that has to be focus on maintenance.

—Article Published in Al-Mohandis Issue 50 – Bahrain Society of Engineers Sept. 2009

The Nature of Success

Set Realistic Goals

When I was a freshman in college I learned an unforgettable lesson.

I was having a rough week when there was a lot to do and very little time to do it. I was overwhelmed. I panicked.

That night a friend stopped by my dorm room. When I told him my problem, he said, “Mac, I’ll share something with you that my grandmother told me a few years ago. She said to always remember: ‘Inch by inch, life’s a cinch. Yard by yard, life is hard.’I said, “Bob, here I am drowning in work and your lifeline is a quote from your grandmother. Come on!”

After he left, however, those twelve little words kept dancing in my head. I took out a piece of notebook paper and listed all the things I had to do in the next three days. That night I began knocking them off one by one.

Three days later I took out that paper and marked through the last thing on the list. It felt great! And then I took out another piece of paper and wrote down the words: “Inch by inch, life’s a cinch. Yard by yard, life is hard.” I then folded the paper and put it in my wallet. As many of you know, I’ve been collecting quotes ever since.

You see, over the years I’ve learned that success doesn’t come cascading like Niagara Falls; it comes one drop at a time through short-term, realistic goals.

Experts on motivation disagree on a lot of things, but one thing they all agree on is that your levels of motivation are directly tied to your expected probabilities of success. In other words, if you believe you can do something (the goals are realistic), you’re likely to be highly motivated. If, however, you think you can’t (because the goals are unrealistic) your motivation level falls greatly.

The lesson here is to continue to dream big dreams, but realize that the short-term goals that take you to the next plateau are the real keys to success.

******************

August – September 2009

Winner or Loser

J. Peter Daniel

The trend of the younger generation is to have victory in all the fields. They are not able to accept the word ‘failure’ or ‘defeat’ or ‘loser’.  This has been clearly indicated in the cricket scenario.  The cricketers will be praised when they win.  But they will be ruined when they fail to win.  The failure is a bitter pill that will take long time to digest it.

As a Christian believer, it should not take longer time to digest it.  If it is so, then first, it will raise a lot of doubts about God, besides anger against God and starts to blame ourselves and finally it ends up in depression.   For instance, my family has prayed for my driving license everyday. The younger one has prayed everyday in family prayer.   Test date has come. I failed on the test.  I have to reappear again after two month.  I informed to my wife about the failure.  She took it at the right sense.  After some time, I received SMS from my wife’s phone stating that I am a loser with crying smiley.  I was angry with the message and answered it that the failure is not final.  I went home and found that my elder daughter has sent the message to me.  I talked with her for 10 minutes about what made her to send the message.  She told that God is not answering our prayer. I explained her that God will provide everything according to His will not by our own desire. Later on, I understand that God has allowed the failure to teach my daughter about the Great truth of God’s way of answering our prayer.   Ultimately, I am a winner even though I failed in the driving test.

In Bible, we are seeing that failures are a way for teaching the people to use them for God’s future ministry.  Moses drove away to wilderness after murdering Egyptians.  God trained him for forty yeas wilderness life that has helped him to lead the people in wilderness for forty years.  There were ups and downs in David’s life.   He was chased for 40 years by Saul, after God anointed him as a king. This experience has given him a support when he fled from his palace due to Absalom.  He learnt how to be in high position and also abased when the situation called for.  Joseph was in wilderness and Potiphar’s house.   He learnt the life as a slave as well as to manage Potiphar’s house that has made him to manage the food grains for whole country.

We have to understand that God allowed certain things in our life that will be painful in the beginning stage but it will be good to us as well as to others in a long run.  (Rom. 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose”).

Let us consider failure as a stepping stone of our spiritual growth.   So, we move forward with a hope of growing in to perfection.

J. Peter Daniel

Glocal youth vision

Kingdom of Bahrain

Email: peterpearline@gmail.com / yahoo.co.in

Skype: peterpearline

www. glocalyouthvision.wordpress.com

www.kirubai.org

http://www.glocalleadersnetwork.com

Psalm 23
(For the Work Place)

The Lord is my real boss, and I shall not want.
He gives me peace, when chaos is all around me.
He gently reminds me to pray and do all things without
murmuring and complaining.

He reminds me that He is my source and not my job.
He restores my sanity everyday and guides my decisions
that I might honor Him in all that I do.

Even though I face absurd amounts of e-mails, system
crashes, unrealistic deadlines, budget cutbacks, gossiping
co-workers, discriminating supervisors and an aging body
that doesn’t cooperate every morning, I still will not stop—
for He is with me! His presence, His peace, and His power
will see me through.

He raises me up, even when they fail to promote me.
He claims me as His own, even when the company threatens
to let me go. His Faithfulness and love is better than any bonus check

His retirement plan beats any 401k there is!
When it’s all said and done, I’ll be working for Him a whole lot longer and for that, I BLESS HIS NAME!!!!!!

Are You Blessed?

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness……….you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.

If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation…….you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.

If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep…you are richer than 75% of this world.

If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace……. you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy.

If your parents are still alive and still married……..you are very rare, even in the United States.

If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful…..you are blessed because the majority can, but most do not.

If you prayed yesterday and today……..you are in the minority because you believe God does hear and answer prayers.

If you can read now, you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world that cannot read at all.

If you are still regretting over anything today, make yourself understand that you are blessed more than many people around you.

Try cheering them up in some way, you will be satisfied more with your life. Bless you.

China bans controversial electric-shock therapy for Internet addicts

Tue, Jul 14 06:05 PM

Beijing, July 14 (ANI): The Chinese Health Ministry has ordered a halt to the controversial electroshock therapy, which it was useing to treat teen Internet addicts. The ministry has said that the therapy, which was administered by a clinic in Linyi, Shandong province, is not safe. There is still a fierce debate over whether electroshock therapy was appropriate for young internet addicts or not. “We have no clue whether this freaky treatment has side-effects,” said Kong Lingzhong, editor of a domestic Internet addiction-themed portal.

The Shandong clinic stopped giving shock treatment to teenagers as soon as they received the Health Ministry’s notification, Yang Shuyun of the clinic said. She, however, emphasized that the program led by Dr. Yang Yongxin was not exclusively about electrotherapy, and said it had important medical and psychological elements too.

More than 3,000 young people were being tricked or forced into in to the four-month long course. To enroll their children, parents or guardians had to sign a contract acknowledging that they would be given electric shocks of up to 200 milliamperes. The treatment cost 6,000 yuan per month. Patients were considered “cured” or “reborn” once they admitted to their addiction. It was reported that shocks were given if patients broke any of the center’s 86 rules, which included prohibitions on eating chocolate, locking the bathroom door, taking pills before a meal, and sitting in Dr. Yang’s chair without permission.

Details of the treatment first became public when former patients wrote about their experiences online.

Internet addiction is a growing problem in China, which now has nearly 300 million Internet users, including many adolescents who spend several hours each day playing computer games. (ANI)

India can have over 300 new hypermalls by 2011: Study

Indian cities have the potential to have over 300 new hypermarkets by 2011, mostly in tier-I and tier-II cities, according to a joint study by global auditor KPMG and the Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Assocham).

The study, Reinventing India’s Retail Sector, said, “Even in 2008, 212 towns had sufficient market potential for hypermarkets for break-even existence. It is a different matter that this potential is yet to be realised.”

Organised retail is growing at 20 per cent annually, and encouraging mall building, which would ultimately amount to the creation of hypermarket chains, it added.

According to Assocham president Sajjan Jindal, given the expected growth in income and consumption in the 25 leading cities, five or more hypermarkets are feasible in every city even in 2009.

“Going forward, in 2011, this number is anticipated to grow to 52 cities as a few tier-III towns will also gain the market potential to support five or more hypermarkets,” he said.

Jindal said after 2011, organised retail would grow at 15 per cent as enough competition will have emerged by then.

UK to crack down on ‘tantriks’, ‘babas’

LONDON: British authorities are cracking down on the many ‘tantriks’, ‘babas’ and psychics who prey on the fears and desires of the Asian community by promising them remedies, everlasting love and good fortune.

Most newspapers published in Indian languages here carry hundreds of advertisements from such individuals, promising ‘100 per cent guarantee’ of love and riches, or promising to cure cancer and lift curses. The soothsayers industry is said to be worth 40 million pounds every year.
Now, authorities in the east Midlands town of Leicester, better known as ‘Little India’, have announced  a campaign against such ‘babas’ and ‘tantriks’, most of whom have origins in the Indian sub-continent.

Deputy mayor Manjula Sood said: “I have heard of people being asked for 500 pounds and more for prayers  or talismans. They think a curse will be placed on them if they refuse.

One recently came to Leicester and took a room at a hotel where she charged clients 500 pounds for 10-minute sessions.”
Resham Singh Sandhu, chairman of the Sikh Welfare and Cultural Society, said the Sikh community was lobbying with newspapers to stop publishing advertisements from such people.

******************

Newsletter – July 2009

Recession – Economic or spiritual???

J. Peter Daniel

Indeed, recession has fetched gloominess in the world.   Even, the ruler of the nations has not able to unearth the reasons or solutions for the same.  But the repercussion of the problems are well known by the closure of unshakable business, rise in unemployment increase in suicide rate.   The questions rise to each and everyone that why good God has plunged uncertainties into the earth while the economy was booming with development of IT and other fields.

If you flip into the Bible, we will see the same incident happened to Israelites, who God has chosen to be His representative of whole nation.   Come with me to the Book Haggai to get the glimpse and solution for the contemporary issues.

1.  Identification of recession:

The recession has never come in one day suddenly just like magic.  It has penetrated slowly and steadily.  For instance, pin hole in ‘HEPA’ filter (used for bone marrow transplant patient) has become useless because it won’t filter dust particles carried by the air.  It ruins the sterility and safety of the patient.  Similarly, Haggai 1: 6, 7, we are seeing that the people are toiling for keeping their life as a state of art.   The word ‘sown’, ‘eat’, ‘drink’, ‘clothe’, ‘wages’ reveals their quantum of their work and luxurious lifestyle.  At last, it has ended up in flushing out in a tiny hole (Haggai1:6b).

Secondly, Israelites has looked much for their hard labour but all were crashed down to nothing.  Booming of real estate has become murky.   Blossom of share markets has become sour.

2. Reasons for recession:

God has brought Israelites out of slavery to their promised land of Jerusalem to build God’s temple.  But these people have started to build their own houses(Haggai. 1:4).  They have completely forgotten the purpose of coming back to God’s chosen place.

First, they have said that the time has not come to build God’s house (Haggai 1:2).  Whereas, they have built their own houses.  Displacement of priority has caused the damage to their life as well as to the nation..

Secondly, Haggai has repeatedly given a wake up call of “consider your ways” (Haggai 1:5,7,15).  For, their ways were drifted away from the path of God.  They started to choose their own path just like a prodigal son.

Thirdly, Israelites worked and offered unclean offerings to God (Heb. 2:14).  They have neglected God in their life.   In our life, we are giving meagre amount as a tithe to pacify God and forget to fulfill His mission.    God never accepts our own way.  He wants us to do His will in our life.

3.  Originator of recession:

The Americans are struggling to conclude about origin of the recession.  Experts are blaming Globalisation, mishandling of resources, finance policy etc..  The prophet Haggai has clearly mentioned that God has brought the recession on Israelites.   In Haggai 1:9, God has blown it away whatever they brought it to their home.  He called for a drought on the land and the mountains on the grain and the new wine and the oil, on whatever the ground brings forth, on men and livestock, and on all the labour of your hands (Haggai 1:11).

4. Solution for Recession:

Obama, the President of USA won the election by coining a word ‘Change’.  But he is not able to change even iota of the problems.  The problem is lingering and becomes worst than before.   The recovery of recession is clearly depending on our ways. Here we are seeing that God is challenging the Israelites to look forward of blessings before laying of stones (Haggai 2:15,18).  God showers His blessings when we think in our heart to do His ministry in this world.

Let us consider our ways, shed off the selfish life and move on to do God’s work for His glory so that the nation will prosper.

J. Peter Daniel
Glocal youth vision
Kingdom of Bahrain
Email: peterpearline@gmail.com / yahoo.co.in
Skype: peterpearline
http://glocalyouthvision.wordpress.com
www.kirubai.org
http://www.glocalleadersnetwork.com

1.  Free breakfast for school kids in Thiruvananthapuram:

The city corporation here has launched a free breakfast scheme for school children up to the eighth standard in what is billed as the first such programme in the country. The scheme called ‘Unarvu” (awakening), which got underway yesterday, covered around 25,000 children studying in government schools and 15 aided schools in the coastal stretch of the state capital. The project is mainly financed by the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation with the support of the Parent-Teachers Association of the respective schools. As a beginning, most of the schools served ‘idlis’ and ’sambar,’ whereas the inaugural fare in some schools included chapathis’, vegetable curry and ‘vada’. “The scheme was launched as we are keen that no child should fail to attend schools because of hunger. A survey some time back found that there are lot of students who find it difficult to concentrate on lessons in classes as they come to schools without proper breakfast,” City Mayor C Jayan Babu said.

To start with, the Corporation had set apart Rs 50 lakh for the scheme.

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Free-breakfast-scheme-for-school-kids/articleshow/4641115.cms accessed on 11 June 2009)

3. 119 schools get zero pc result:

The SSC result, this year, reflect poor teaching standards in many schools in Gujarat.  Ahmedabad city also had its fair share of zero’ schools their number being 12. Besides, 12 schools each in Vadodara and Surat districts recorded zero per cent pass percentage, while 13 schools from Panchamahal district figured in this category. There are 1,236 schools in the state whose result averaged between zero and 30 per cent this year, compared to 968 schools last year. Of those schools with 100 per cent result, Rajkot district topped the list with 36 schools, while Ahmedabad city and Anand district stood second with 31 schools each and Surat came third with 29 schools.

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/119-Ahmedabad-schools-get-0-result/articleshow/4618683.cms accessed on 5 June 2009)

4. Divorce cases filed every day:  Between January and June 2009, as many as 1,400 couples in the city have decided they cannot live with each other and have filed for divorce in family courts.  A trend is new as the year 2008 saw only 5,000 cases. When the family court was set up in 1984 because divorce cases in civil courts were taking too long, there were 800 pending cases. Today, say family court officials, there are an average 25 cases of matrimonial discord being filed every day. While a mutual consent petition may be resolved in as little as two months, cases are known to drag on for 5-6 years, and more, in some cases.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Bangalore-25-divorce-cases-filed-daily/articleshow/4618574.cms accessed on 5 June 2009)

5.  Corporation schools closed down The Chennai Corporation’s decision to merge its schools that lack patronage has led to the closure of 30 schools in various localities in the city. The number of schools run by the civic body has come down to 283 after the merger.. A total of 313 schools – 139 primary, 109 middle, 38 high and 27 higher secondary schools – are run by the civic body. Corporation schools in Chintadripet, Thousand Lights, Chamiers Road, and T.Nagar are among those that have been merged with the schools nearby. “The vacant school buildings will be properly used for achieving educational goals,” said Mayor M.Subramanian. The number of students in corporation schools had increased in the recent years and now it was 1,37,000, but in some schools the number had been declining, he said. (Aloysius Xavier Lopez, http://www.hindu.com/2009/06/10/stories/2009061057670100.htm accessed on 10 June 2009)

6.. Every 2nd student in India enrols in pvt college: Despite higher education being vital to a rapidly developing country like India, the government’s share in higher education — in terms of number of institutes and student enrollment — has dwindled over time. Simultaneously, academics note, the stake of profit-seeking politicians in the higher education business has risen. In 2001, when private unaided institutes made up 42.6% of all higher education institutes, 32.89% of Indian students studied in them. By 2006, the share of private institutes went up to 63.21% and their student share went up to 51.53%. In other words, every second student in India signed up with a private institute. Globally too, the private sector has seen opportunities in higher education, but there have been few takers in comparison to India.. For instance, although there are 39.1% private higher education institutes in China, merely 8.9% students study in them. In the US, private universities constitute 59.4% of higher education institutes, but only 23.2% of American students pursue their education in them. “It does signify that higher education in these countries is predominantly a public service,” noted Ved Prakash, vice chancellor of the National University of Education Planning and Administration (NUEPA). Academics in India have researched on how public spending by the Union and provincial governments has fallen. In his work, Prakash notes that between 2002 and 2006, deemed universities — or ‘doomed universities’ as one academic waggishly described them — grew by a whopping 96%. In the same time span, central and state universities grew by a modest 11% and 22% respectively. This unabated growth without any quality check has forced academics from Harvard University to scrutinize this sector and note, “The rapid expansion of capitation fees colleges came about as a result not of great middle-class pressure or demand, but rather the entrepreneurial activities of politicians.”  Even the Supreme Court recently expressed its concern about the quality of education in private institutes and the corruption that is rampant there. Within private higher education, the professional streams have seen the maximum growth. Private engineering colleges, which accounted for just 15% of seats in 1960, now account for over 85% according to data from the All-India Council for Technical Education, the regulatory body for professional technical education. From a tiny base in 1970, medical colleges in the private sector have grown by an eye-popping 900%. The private sector now accounts for over 45% of medical colleges in the country. In 2006, Sanat Kaul in his paper ‘Higher education in India: Seizing the opportunity’ highlighted instances of a single politician running more than 100 educational institutes. “There are rampant cases of malpractice in the form of illegal charges for allocating seats from the management quota. Income tax raids have revealed that seats are sold for cash, and a medical seat can fetch as much as Rs 25 lakh. The black money involved runs into thousands of millions of rupees,” Kaul observes in his study funded by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations. But none of this has elicited any action from the government. And naturally so. In their 2004 paper, ‘Indian higher education reform: From half-baked socialism to half-baked capitalism’, Devesh Kapur and Pratap Bhanu Mehta, both fellows of Harvard College, argued that politicians who had been sugar and liquor barons had turned to higher education as an industry because of its high returns.. “Even as political parties rail against de jure privatization, de facto privatization continues unabated,” they noted. Kapur and Mehta acknowledged that while there was no statistical data, “there is little doubt that a majority of private institutions have been supported or made possible by the direct involvement of politicians.” (Hemali Chhapia, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Every-2nd-student-in-India-enrols-in-private-college/articleshow/4682368.cms accessed on 21 June 2009)

(The above news has been taken from Rev. Dr. J.N. Manokaran website: http://www.glocalleadersnetwork.com

June 2009

Burial Mound……

J. Peter Daniel

Last month, one of my colleagues celebrated his Birthday for the sake of celebrating it.   Because, he hated to know that he is growing old.  Moreover he thought that it is a reminder of nearing to grave. It shows that he was not able to accept the fact, the life is short.

In a short span of life, the people are living as dead even though they are alive..  Jesus has pointed out the same in Luke 11:37-54.  He picked out the specific group of people who are living but they are living as though there is no life in their lives.   Let us see the title and their activities that God has explained in this passage.

1. Living graves:

A Burial mound is a place for burying dead people.  In Middle East, there is no identification of dead person just like name and duration of life on this earth.  It looks like a 6 feet hump all around the places. There is no surprise if the same place may be turned in to construction site or landscape of ‘twin towers’ in the near future.

In verse 44, God had specifically mentioned Pharisees and Lawyers as a living grave. They were known by all of them because they were sitting on the higher places and expectation of applauses from his people.  Robes were flowing from top to bottom to show their strength.   They were famous law makers and then breakers of their own law.

God had equalized them with grave.  Because their deeds are clean outwards (v. 39) but inward parts were full of greed and wickedness. Their activities were more important than their attitudes. They lifted one law as to be followed but left alone other laws.  Making the law has burden for other people but not willing to help them for a moment.

In our present day to day life, we are seeing a lot of people are living without Christ like characters and biblical values.   Further, there is no thin line between the world and the Christian believers.   Their lives are equivalent to nameless graves that everyone walks over it.  Living but really they are dead.

2. Build the tombs:

Living graves people will build the tomb for prophets and saints (v.47) who lived during their father’s time.   The reason is to hide their father’s iniquities and to escape from the curse of forefathers’ sin.   Likewise, present day Christians have started to build a lifeless structure (tomb) just like symbolic of washing the feet, talking lengthy about apologetics without having any purpose, arranging irrelevant programs, procuring more advanced gadgets (sound system, LCD, gospel vehicles) to show the fellow Christians and the world that they are doing God’s ministry.  But they have left the core of bringing new souls to Church everyday.

God calls Peter to leave fishing job, a profession of caught and killed.  He was asked to take up the life giving job of catching the men. Let us analyse ourselves, are we building the tomb or are we living as a tomb in this world.  If we do God’s work in bringing souls then we are catching the men for giving eternal life.  Let us realize that we are here to seek the lost to give a life through Jesus Christ.

J. Peter Daniel

Glocal youth vision

Kingdom of Bahrain

Email: peterpearline@gmail.com / yahoo.co.in

Skype: peterpearline

http://glocalyouthvision.wordpress.com

www.kirubai.org

Rick Warren

(Rick Warren was the Pastor at Pres. Obama’s inauguration)

You will enjoy the new insights that Rick Warren has, with his wife now having cancer and him having ‘wealth’ from the book sales. This is an absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren, ‘Purpose Driven Life ‘ author and pastor of Saddle back Church in California

In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said: People ask me, what is the purpose of life?   And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity.. We were not made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.

One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body– but not the end of me. I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act – the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity.

We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn’t going to make sense.  Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you’re just coming out of one, or you’re getting ready to go into another one.

The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort; God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.

We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that’s not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character.

This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer.  I used to think that life was hills and valleys – you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don’t believe that anymore.

Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it’s kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life.  No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on.

And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for. You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems:

If you focus on your problems, you’re going into self-centeredness, which is my problem, my issues, my pain.’ But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.

We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her- It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.

You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life. Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy.

It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don’t think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease. So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence.  First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit.. We made no major purchases.

Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church.

Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation.

Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back.. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.

We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity?

Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God’s purposes (for my life)?

When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don’t get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn’t put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He’s more interested in what I am than what I do.

That’s why we’re called human beings, not human doings.

Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.

Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.

Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.

Painful moments, TRUST GOD.

Every moment, THANK GOD.

Global News

Reconversion plan in Orissa.

Bhubaneswar: April 30: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has planned a grand “reconversion” ceremony in riot-hit Kandhamal district of Orissa soon where an estimated 400 Christians are scheduled to return to Hindu fold. Senior functionaries of the VHP’s “dharma prasar” wing are scheduled to meet over a three-day conclave in Puri, 65 km from here, starting from Friday where the programme is likely to be given the final shape. “We have not yet decided the place and timing. The Puri meeting would take the final decision”, VHP dharma prasar unit’s eastern region secretary Harihar Tripathy told this newspaper on Thursday. The reconversion ceremony is most likely to be held in June, he indicated. Mr Tripathy further indicated that nearly 1,100 Christians have returned to Hindu fold in Kandhamal district since January. The church and the Sangh Parivar have been on a collision course in Kandhamal district over conversion. Kandhamal recently witnes sed widespread communal violence following last year’s murder of VHP leader Swami Laxmananand Saraswati, who was opposed to conversions by the churches. The violence had led to death of at least 38 people. Meanwhile, the VHP “reconverted” 733 tribal Christians to Hinduism at Jada village in Sundergarh district two days ago. (Asian Age 1/5/09)

Seven year old girls marry frogs.

Women have to kiss a lot of frogs to find a prince, according to the well know expression, but two seven year old girls in India cut short the quest and married the amphibians.  Vigneswari and Masiakanni wore traditional Indian bridal saris and gold jewellery for a double wedding in their remote village in Tamil Nadu.  The marriages were conducted as part of a centuries old Tonga harvest tradition to “prevent the outbreak of mysterious diseases in the village”

Hundreds of villagers in Pallipudpet, 150 miles from Madras, walked to the temple, carrying the brides on their shoulders while the frogs were tied to sticks decorated with flowers.  At the ceremony, a priest tied the brides’ hand on behalf of the grooms and pronounced them frogs and wives before a holy fire.  After the ceremony, the frogs were thrown back in the pond.

Young Saudis say a loud no to high dowry

Young Saudi man have started an online campaign to boycott marrying Saudi Women because dowries and marriage costs ae spiraling.  “Let her become a spinster!” is the theme of the campaign which is attracting a large number of young Saudi men who can’t afford to marry Saudi Women and are looking for non- Saudi brides.  The websites leading the campaign want Saudi society to intervene before the cost of marriage gets completely out of control.  The websites areasyeh.com, almgha.com, toyota4arab.com, tomaar.com, alhora.com, and montdiatna.com.  “The theme of the campaign may a bit harsh… but these young men have their reasons”. Said Abdullah Aljefn, an Islamic Scholar and researcher.  He said the campaign touches on an important issue which should be studied in Universities and schools.  “For most young Saudis, getting married is a dream that is becoming increasingly hard to achieve”. Said AlJefn said. “Shariah law allows the girl to ask the man for whatever dowry she likes: this is not wrong or banned in Islam”. He said.

Goat accused of trying to steal car

Police in Nigeria are holding a goat on suspicion of attempting to steal a car.  The animal was handed over by a vigilant group.  Which claimed it was a car thief, who had used black magic to turn himself into a goat to escape arrest.  Another man also attempting to steal the car had escaped, a police spokesman said reports citing a different police spokesman said the animal was being held at the station.

Man tried to trade daughter for beer.

A Mexican father in California has been arrested for arranging to sell his 14 year old daughter for $ 20,000 and 100 cases of beer.  Police arrested Marcelino de Jesus Martinez after he approached them because an 18 year old man had failed to pay the bride price.  Authorities in Greenfield, a small rural town 50 miles south of San Jose, said Martinez was unaware of united States laws prohibiting the sale of children.

Burial Mound……

J. Peter Daniel

Last month, one of my colleagues celebrated his Birthday for the sake of celebrating it.   Because, he hated to know that he is growing old.  Moreover he thought that it is a reminder of nearing to grave. It shows that he was not able to accept the fact, the life is short.

In a short span of life, the people are living as dead even though they are alive..  Jesus has pointed out the same in Luke 11:37-54.  He picked out the specific group of people who are living but they are living as though there is no life in their lives.   Let us see the title and their activities that God has explained in this passage.

1. Living graves:

A Burial mound is a place for burying dead people.  In Middle East, there is no identification of dead person just like name and duration of life on this earth.  It looks like a 6 feet hump all around the places. There is no surprise if the same place may be turned in to construction site or landscape of ‘twin towers’ in the near future.

In verse 44, God had specifically mentioned Pharisees and Lawyers as a living grave. They were known by all of them because they were sitting on the higher places and expectation of applauses from his people.  Robes were flowing from top to bottom to show their strength.   They were famous law makers and then breakers of their own law.

God had equalized them with grave.  Because their deeds are clean outwards (v. 39) but inward parts were full of greed and wickedness. Their activities were more important than their attitudes. They lifted one law as to be followed but left alone other laws.  Making the law has burden for other people but not willing to help them for a moment.

In our present day to day life, we are seeing a lot of people are living without Christ like characters and biblical values.   Further, there is no thin line between the world and the Christian believers.   Their lives are equivalent to nameless graves that everyone walks over it.  Living but really they are dead.

2. Build the tombs:

Living graves people will build the tomb for prophets and saints (v.47) who lived during their father’s time.   The reason is to hide their father’s iniquities and to escape from the curse of forefathers’ sin.   Likewise, present day Christians have started to build a lifeless structure (tomb) just like symbolic of washing the feet, talking lengthy about apologetics without having any purpose, arranging irrelevant programs, procuring more advanced gadgets (sound system, LCD, gospel vehicles) to show the fellow Christians and the world that they are doing God’s ministry.  But they have left the core of bringing new souls to Church everyday.

God calls Peter to leave fishing job, a profession of caught and killed.  He was asked to take up the life giving job of catching the men. Let us analyse ourselves, are we building the tomb or are we living as a tomb in this world.  If we do God’s work in bringing souls then we are catching the men for giving eternal life.  Let us realize that we are here to seek the lost to give a life through Jesus Christ.

J. Peter Daniel

Glocal youth vision

Kingdom of Bahrain

Email: peterpearline@gmail.com / yahoo.co.in

Skype: peterpearline

www. glocalyouthvision.wordpress.com

www.kirubai.org

Rick Warren

(Rick Warren was the Pastor at Pres. Obama’s inauguration)

You will enjoy the new insights that Rick Warren has, with his wife now having cancer and him having ‘wealth’ from the book sales. This is an absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren, ‘Purpose Driven Life ‘ author and pastor of Saddle back Church in California

In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said: People ask me, what is the purpose of life?   And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity.. We were not made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.

One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body– but not the end of me. I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act – the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity.

We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn’t going to make sense.  Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you’re just coming out of one, or you’re getting ready to go into another one.

The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort; God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.

We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that’s not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character.

This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer.  I used to think that life was hills and valleys – you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don’t believe that anymore.

Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it’s kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life.  No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on.

And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for. You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems:

If you focus on your problems, you’re going into self-centeredness, which is my problem, my issues, my pain.’ But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.

We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her- It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.

You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life. Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy.

It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don’t think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease. So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence.  First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit.. We made no major purchases.

Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church.

Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation.

Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back.. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.

We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity?

Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God’s purposes (for my life)?

When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don’t get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn’t put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He’s more interested in what I am than what I do.

That’s why we’re called human beings, not human doings.

Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.

Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.

Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.

Painful moments, TRUST GOD.

Every moment, THANK GOD.

Global News

Reconversion plan in Orissa.

Bhubaneswar: April 30: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has planned a grand “reconversion” ceremony in riot-hit Kandhamal district of Orissa soon where an estimated 400 Christians are scheduled to return to Hindu fold. Senior functionaries of the VHP’s “dharma prasar” wing are scheduled to meet over a three-day conclave in Puri, 65 km from here, starting from Friday where the programme is likely to be given the final shape. “We have not yet decided the place and timing. The Puri meeting would take the final decision”, VHP dharma prasar unit’s eastern region secretary Harihar Tripathy told this newspaper on Thursday. The reconversion ceremony is most likely to be held in June, he indicated. Mr Tripathy further indicated that nearly 1,100 Christians have returned to Hindu fold in Kandhamal district since January. The church and the Sangh Parivar have been on a collision course in Kandhamal district over conversion. Kandhamal recently witnes sed widespread communal violence following last year’s murder of VHP leader Swami Laxmananand Saraswati, who was opposed to conversions by the churches. The violence had led to death of at least 38 people. Meanwhile, the VHP “reconverted” 733 tribal Christians to Hinduism at Jada village in Sundergarh district two days ago. (Asian Age 1/5/09)

Seven year old girls marry frogs.

Women have to kiss a lot of frogs to find a prince, according to the well know expression, but two seven year old girls in India cut short the quest and married the amphibians.  Vigneswari and Masiakanni wore traditional Indian bridal saris and gold jewellery for a double wedding in their remote village in Tamil Nadu.  The marriages were conducted as part of a centuries old Tonga harvest tradition to “prevent the outbreak of mysterious diseases in the village”

Hundreds of villagers in Pallipudpet, 150 miles from Madras, walked to the temple, carrying the brides on their shoulders while the frogs were tied to sticks decorated with flowers.  At the ceremony, a priest tied the brides’ hand on behalf of the grooms and pronounced them frogs and wives before a holy fire.  After the ceremony, the frogs were thrown back in the pond.

Young Saudis say a loud no to high dowry

Young Saudi man have started an online campaign to boycott marrying Saudi Women because dowries and marriage costs ae spiraling.  “Let her become a spinster!” is the theme of the campaign which is attracting a large number of young Saudi men who can’t afford to marry Saudi Women and are looking for non- Saudi brides.  The websites leading the campaign want Saudi society to intervene before the cost of marriage gets completely out of control.  The websites areasyeh.com, almgha.com, toyota4arab.com, tomaar.com, alhora.com, and montdiatna.com.  “The theme of the campaign may a bit harsh… but these young men have their reasons”. Said Abdullah Aljefn, an Islamic Scholar and researcher.  He said the campaign touches on an important issue which should be studied in Universities and schools.  “For most young Saudis, getting married is a dream that is becoming increasingly hard to achieve”. Said AlJefn said. “Shariah law allows the girl to ask the man for whatever dowry she likes: this is not wrong or banned in Islam”. He said.

Goat accused of trying to steal car

Police in Nigeria are holding a goat on suspicion of attempting to steal a car.  The animal was handed over by a vigilant group.  Which claimed it was a car thief, who had used black magic to turn himself into a goat to escape arrest.  Another man also attempting to steal the car had escaped, a police spokesman said reports citing a different police spokesman said the animal was being held at the station.

Man tried to trade daughter for beer.

A Mexican father in California has been arrested for arranging to sell his 14 year old daughter for $ 20,000 and 100 cases of beer.  Police arrested Marcelino de Jesus Martinez after he approached them because an 18 year old man had failed to pay the bride price.  Authorities in Greenfield, a small rural town 50 miles south of San Jose, said Martinez was unaware of united States laws prohibiting the sale of children.

March – April 2009

‘DAM’ BELIEVERS

J. Peter Daniel

Water is one of the natural resources that God has provided for us. It flows for the benefit of people those who are living in the nearby areas. In addition, it fetches income and productivity that makes people flourish economically.

Man has erected dams across many rivers for producing electricity as well as for irrigation. But this affects the survival of people, who are dislocated and their irrigation facilities and freedom are affected.

God has called us to be channels of blessing to the world. But the flow of blessing is being stopped due to the man made dams, such as crooked attitudes, preconceived ideas, traditions etc. Let us see how God’s blessings are being blocked and how it can be demolished for the effective flow of God’s blessings through us.

Disciple Peter builds a dam of Tradition:

Disciple Peter had the privilege of hearing sermons directly from the Lord Saviour Jesus Christ against keeping of Sabbath as a tradition and about keeping the other laws. In addition, He heard the last commandment of ‘go all over the world to preach the Good news (Gospel)’. God had also given him the key for unlocking the gates of Heaven.

Peter has forgotten all the teachings for the sake of keeping an insignificant tradition/mindset of discriminating against Gentiles. God has demolished his mind block by showing a vision regarding eating of unclean animals. It is a pathetic stature of a disciple even though he was with Him for 3.5 years.

In another incident, God spent a few minutes with the Samaritan outcast woman which changed her life as well as the lives of the villagers. The reason is that the truth has set her free from all the bondages so that God’s blessings have flowed from her to villagers.

Let us shed the mindset that is hindering us from preaching the gospel to others.

Disciples behave as a dam: (Matt 19: 13, 14):

The disciples had started behaving like a dam by refusing to allow them from coming to Jesus Christ. But He rebuked the disciples and compared the children to the kingdom of heaven. Jesus entertains everyone equally irrespective of age, creed, caste religion etc.

In another place, Andrew introduced the small boy with five loaves and two fishes to Jesus Christ. By this, Jesus Christ has done a miracle and explained the great truth of bread of life to the crowd.

Nowadays the pastors, elders and preachers are erecting a dam to follow their footsteps in each and every area of their life instead of guiding them towards Lord Jesus’ Christ. Due to this a lot of Bible believing believers have become slaves to saints after being freed from sin. Due to their enslavement, many potential believers have drained their talent for the sake of obeying them.

Let us evaluate ourselves, whether are we helping others to find out the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ or we are erecting a dam. Let us lead people to the Lord Jesus Christ.

J. Peter Daniel

Glocal youth vision

Kingdom of Bahrain

Email: peterpearline@gmail.com / yahoo.co.in

Skype: peterpearline

www. glocalyouthvision.wordpress.com

www.kirubai.org

Our bank account with God?

Tue, Feb 17 05:50 PM

Sushma Chawla

As a child I always aspired to be a doctor and serve the people in a village. I worked hard (my father worked harder) to realise my dream.

There was a lady, Sarupi, who worked part-time in our house, washing our clothes, escorting all four daughters of the house to school and back. En route, she used to explain the benefits of good deeds.

She often said, “Every good act you do gets deposited in your bank account with God and whenever the need arises, that’s what you withdraw.” Days, months and years passed by and I became a full-fledged doctor.

Sarupi was always present in my OPD with some patient or the other. She was very proud of me, and her pet discourse never varied: “Deposit in your bank account with God!” Believe me, I never took it seriously until something happened that changed my worldview.

One Diwali, a friend tied the thread of two ‘atom bombs’ together and lit the fire. One hit my right eye..

I screamed in pain and felt as though my whole face was burnt. I was rushed to an ophthalmologist who treated me immediately.

After a long, terrible hour, he told me that my eye was safe. Sarupi came to see me when I was convalescing.

She sat with me for an hour, fondly enquiring about everyone’s wellbeing and then softly asked, “Could you withdraw enough from God’s bank for your needs?” That was the day I understood that our only hope of mercy from Providence is to invest heavily in being of service to our fellow-beings: it was a major miracle to have escaped unhurt.

Glocal News:

Recent Miracle in Egypt

A Muslim man in Egypt killed his wife because she was reading the Bible and then buried her with their infant baby and an 8-year old daughter.. The girls were buried alive! He then reported to the police that an uncle killed the kids. 15 days later, another family member died. When they went to bury him, they found the 2 little girls under the sand  ALIVE! The country is outraged over the incident, and the man will be executed at the end of July. The older girl was asked how she had survived and she says:- ‘A man wearing shiny white clothes, with bleeding wounds in his hands, came every day to feed us. He woke up my mom so she could nurse my sister,’ she said. She was interviewed on Egyptian national TV, by a veiled Muslim woman news anchor. She said on public TV, ‘This was none other than Jesus, because nobody else does things like this!’ Muslims believe Isa (Jesus) would do this, but the wounds mean He really was crucified, and it’s clear also that He is alive! But, it’s also clear that the child could not make up a story like this, and there is no way these children could have survived without a true miracle. Muslim leaders are going to have a hard time to figure out what to do with this, and the popularity of the Passion movie doesn’t help! With Egypt at the centre of the media and education in the Middle East , you can be sure this story will spread. Christ is still controlling and turning the world. Please let this story be shared…

The Lord says, ‘I will bless the person who puts his trust in me.

SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN EGYPT

Experienced by 98% of foreign women visitors

Experienced by 83% of Egyptian women

62% of Egyptian men admitted harassing women

53% of Egyptian men blame women for ‘bringing it on’

Source: Egyptian Centre for Women’s Rights

Iraqi footballer shot dead by fan

An Iraqi football player has been shot dead by a spectator as he was about to score an equalizing goal.. The shooting happened in the last minute of a game between two local rivals on Sunday, police say. The striker was shot in the head during the match in the city of Hilla, acc ording to local security officials. The game was being played between Sinjar and Buhayra. The suspected killer has been arrested as police carry out an investigation

Priest sets up prayer group for Saudi regime

By: Charles Boyd

Thursday, 12 March 2009, 15:13 (IST)

An Indian Catholic priest has set up prayer groups dedicated to praying for Saudi Arabia and its King, despite being imprisoned by the regime which outlaws all religions but Islam.

The prayer groups will be operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week and will pray primarily for King Abdullah, but also for the prosperity of the Saudi nation and for Indian Christians in the country.

In 2006 Fr George, from Kerala state in India, was arrested by Saudi religious police after he was sent to the country to help prepare Indian Christians for Easter.

Although he was only imprisoned for four days, Fr George said he received a profound call to pray for the country. He says during his imprisonment he had a vision of “a chalice cup planted on the map of the Saudi Kingdom”, reports AsiaNews.

After his release, Fr George set up the Christ Army for Saudi Arabia (CASA) – groups of people who pray and fast for Saudi Arabia. So far 500 people have joined the groups.

Fr George said, “Our primary prayers are for the king of Saudi Arabia and for the prosperity and richness of the Saudi kingdom who so generously welcome tens of thousands of Indians to work there, thus leading to a better lifestyle and improved standard of living in their native India.”

He also spoke about Indian nurses working in Saudi Arabia, “Seventy five per cent are Catholics from Kerala. I tell them they should serve their patients with the love of Christ, serve the sick with tenderness and love.”

He added that many of the labourers from India in Saudi Arabia could also “make a responsible and positive contribution to Saudi society”.

Fr George also spoke of his hope for CASA, “In Saudi Arabia when Christians and our dear Muslim friends interact so closely on a daily basis, each respecting the other as individuals and respecting each other’s religion, it gradually builds up fraternal collaboration. All this will be fulfilled through our prayer cells of CASA.”

Church sees red in short film made as study aid for students

Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 8 (PTI) The Catholic Church in Kerala has voiced strong objections to a short-film prescribed as a study aid for students, which allegedly casts the Christian establishment in poor light.

The church is angered that the CD of a short-film has been given to teachers during their cluster meetings recently, with the suggestion that it could be shown to school students as an auxiliary material while teaching the craft script writing.

The church saw it as a “devious means” to create ill-will in young minds about the church and religious heads.

Fr Paul Thalekkat, official spokesman of the Syro Malabar Church, said this was an ‘uncultured’ means to malign the church. “It is highly objectionable, reprehensible and totally uncultured to have prescribed such a film as a study material for young children,” Fr Thalekkat told PTI.

This would inculcate hate in the minds of children and was meant to insult the church establishment, which had rendered invaluable service to the society, he said.

This is not the first time churches in Kerala are taking exception to contents of study material since the LDF came to power three years back. Last year, Christian bodies and Muslim outfits came out openly against certain portions in a school text, alleging its contents were atheistic and anti-religion.

The Government then set up an experts’ team, which suggested deletion of portions from the controversial segment in the textbook, titled “Jeevan without religion”. PTI

Election in India 2009

It is the world’s biggest democratic elections ever! And here are some interesting facts about the first phase of polling that began on April 16, 2009. Lakshadweep 105 polling booths accessible by boats only EVMs were carried to Minicoy Island by helicopter Andaman Nicobar Island The Andaman Nicobar group of Islands is one constituency and is 700 Km long. Many places require 35-40 hours journey by ships. Poll personnel to some places have been dispatched by helicopter. Arunachal Pradesh 4 Polling stations i.e., 13-Lumta and 12-Pakke under Kessang (ST) Assembly Segment, 40-Mramboo under 41-Anini (ST) Assembly Segment and 35 - Upper ModoiDeep under 49-Bordumsa-Diyum Assembly Segment each have 3 voters respectively. Many polling parties in Tawang, Kurung Kumey, Upper Subanisiri, upper Siang, Mechuka, Dibang Valley, Anjaw, etc. have reached their polling station by foot for 3 to 4 days from nearest helipad/ road head. 690 polling parties have been transported by helicopter to remote villages bordering Myanmar and China borders. Highest polling stations are located at Thinghbu (alt. 12,148 feet) and Mago (alt.12,248 feet) and Luguthand (alt.13,157 feet) which are also snow bound and located on the Indo-China border. Assam Porters have been engaged for carrying the polling materials for 5 polling stations as it involves a 40 km trek through an area infested with wild elephants in Bokaijan District.

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March 2009

Standing in the middle of the road

J. Peter Daniel

A media has covered the episode of beating the girls in public in a banner of protecting the culture.  It has been broadcasted repeatedly in many channels. The crux of the matter is that the VHP volunteers went into the pub and chased out the girls in a violent manner.  The media persons stood and covered the whole incidence without helping the people or stopping the violence happening in the pub.  ‘Standing and watching’ is the attitude of the contemporary generation.  This type of people is the ones standing on the middle of the road.

The Christians have also fallen into the category of video-camera man. They have also started to watch the ‘damasha’ even though the things are  going wrong in front of their own eyes.  For instance, Christian believers know that the pastors are preaching the wrong doctrine of prosperity theology.  These people never say a word against it.  It is  equivalent to standing on the middle of the road or driving a car in the neutral gear.  These people are those who waste their own time as well as the time of others.  In addition, some of the followers fall into the trap  by following the model.

In Bible, we are see the characters of this type

1. Jonathan:

Jonathan knew that his dad Saul was wrong in treating David.  Even though Jonathan helped David, he forgot to rebuke his dad for his wrong doing.   It encouraged Saul to multiply his sinful attitude in dealing with his successor David

The reason may be that Jonathan didn’t want to come under the curse of his

dad. Secondly, he gave usual respect to his dad that would have been the

culture those days. Thirdly, he had a mentality of playing safe on both the sides

to earn a good name.  Jonathan’s life ended in the battle field along with his

father.

2. David’s brother :

David’s elder brothers were watching the display of Goliath’s talk day after day.  They didn’t step in to the battle field for fight.  His brother David came to the battle field to give food to his beloved brothers.  At that time, he heard a terrible voice of Goliath from the opponent side in the battle field. He enquired his brothers to know about the statement of the opponent.  His brothers rebuked him for coming to the battle field. They chased him out from the battle field.  At last the story ends that David came out as a victorious man.  His brothers were also watching his brother fight from a distance.

A person standing in the middle of the road never allows other person to come forward.  He puts a lot of obstacles like discouragement, infusing fear, terrify with the past incidences, brainwash with good words.   These types of people are very dangerous.  They are just like the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Let us evaluate our self whether we are in the following category.

· Am I standing in the middle of the road when the situation wants us to stand up and move ahead.

· Are we ready to confront the wrong things in the society?

· Are we able to stand up against the false doctrines?

Let us take a stand like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and rebuke the wrong doings happening in and around us.

J. PETER DANIEL M.E.

76, Living spring Avenue

Sanjeevipuram, Bagayam,

Vellore 632 -002

Phone: 0416 2260066 ®

www.glocalyouthvision.wordpress.com

email: peterpearline@yahoo.co.in

Slumdog Millionaire – Reflection

As an Indian I am proud to know that Slumdog Millionaire has brought laurels to the country. Danny Boyle the director with Loveleen Tandon has produced a master piece.   A.R. Rahman deserves full praise and commendation for his world class contribution.

The script writer Simon Beaufoy has woven the story in a very attractive style that the audience are not bored but taken along the narration.  The film has brought the stark realities of India before the global audience.  The elite of the country has spoken against the movie as it brings the other side of India, which is not IT superpower urban India but real India.

1. Slums:  25 to 40 per cent of urban population in India lives in slums.  The movie brings out the pathetic life in slums.  The narrow streets, lack of health and hygiene, tin roofs, open sewerage, garbage heaps …etc.
2. Lack of human dignity:  Jamal (Dev Patel) who appears in the Kaun Banega Crorepati (Who wants to be a millionaire) is ridiculed by the anchor Prem Kumar (Anil Kapoor).  It is shown as selling tea is ‘mean’ job and publicly ridicules him.
3. Children:  Children do not have opportunity for education.  In fact, they are kidnapped, maimed and sent to beg on the streets.  The money that is collected by begging is taken by the gang leader Maman.  ‘Missing children’ in India mostly end up as child beggars in big cities.
4. Children  and starvation:  The starving children steal food in a moving train, roughed up and thrown from the running train.  Miraculously they escape.  The way the children are treated for this crime is horrific.
5. Human trafficking:  The stark reality of human trafficking especially of woman is also brought out well in this movie.  Women, exploited to be dancers and sex slaves is open fact in India.
6. Violation of human rights:  The hero Jamal is picked up when he comes out of the show and is tortured to know the truth.  How did he know all the answers when more educated could not even the first few rounds.  Police are brutal and violate all laws of the land.
7. Attitude of upper class:  Prem Kumar (Anil Kapoor) informs the police that Jamal could have cheated because he wanted no body in the show to win.  He could not tolerate a socially lower class (caste) boy winning the prize of million rupees.
8. Riots:  riots are a common feature in India.  Minorities are attacked with impunity, with the help of law enforcing agencies from time to time.
9. Underworld:  The mafia gang operates in cities like Mumbai with impunity.  They could violate human rights, bribe police and escape.  Many teens are getting attracted towards these elements.
10. Karma: At the opening scene, a title card is presented: “Jamal Malik is one question away from winning 20 Million rupees. How did he do it? A) He cheated, B) He’s lucky, C) He’s a genius, D) It is written.” At the end of the film, the answer is given as ‘D’ – written.  This promotes the idea of ‘karma’ where everything is predetermined and nothing could be changed.

Thus the film has opened the window to view the ground realities in India.  Instead of contesting the portrayal, leaders should work to address it.

Rev. Dr. J.N. Manokaran, Managing Director,
Trainers of Pastors International Coalition (TOPIC)
6B1 Doshi Flats, 59 Chetty Street,
Ayanavaram, Chennai 600023
91-44-26602864

Give drug raid teens a chance, says HC

Advises counselling for 10 of the youngsters caught in the Juhu nightclub bust last year

By Hetal Vyas

Posted On Friday, March 06, 2009 at 06:22:59 AM

Ten teens booked during the October 2008 drugs raid at a Juhu nightclub have been advised counselling by the Bombay High Court, after judges thought they should be “given a chance so their careers are not affected”.

The accused, two girls and eight boys, were arrested on October 5 along with over 200 others from a drug-fuelled party at Bombay 72 Degrees East.

They were booked by the Anti Narcotics Cell of the Anti Terrorism Squad, but approached the HC urging it to quash the FIR registered against them.

Though all 10 tested positive for drug use in the blood tests conducted immediately after their arrest, the teenagers in their petition denied that they were users.

They insisted that none of them had ever even smoked a cigarette. They claimed that they had passively inhaled the drug-infused smoke while passing through the party area on their way to the terrace restaurant.

They had moved the court stating that since they were students of reputed city colleges and intended to take up further education in India and abroad, the case would hamper their career growth.

Taking a lenient stand, the division bench of Justice Bilal Nazki and Justice A R Joshi on Thursday suggested that the prosecution send the youngsters for counselling “so they can have better future”.

“They were just consumers, not vendors. They should be given a chance so that their careers are not affected,” remarked Justice Nazki.

During proceedings, additional public prosecutor Aruna Kamat-Pai told the court that the prosecution is supporting the accused in undergoing immunity (or detoxification). “The fact that they have agreed to undergo immunity means that they had consumed the drugs.”

The court has now granted the prosecution four weeks to decide its course of action.Meanwhile, Dr Yusf Merchant, president of Drug Abuse Information Rehabilitation and Research Centre (DAIRCC), said, “The rehabilitation centre does help addicts get comfortable with themselves.

Youth are usually driven to drugs due to boredom and stress. At rehabilitation centres, we try to increase their self-esteem.

Strong family ties and love of close family members helps drug addicts recover. At my rehabilitation centre, almost 85 per cent addicts have recovered till date. Punishment never works with them.”

Class X student fires at teacher in Lucknow

28 Feb 2009, 2019 hrs IST, PTI

LUCKNOW: A high school student allegedly shot at and injured his class teacher at a school on Saturday afternoon.

Police alleged the Class X student of the Red Rose School was angry with his teacher after he was scolded for not wearing the uniform when he had gone to collect his admit card for the examinations.

“The student had gone to school this morning to collect his admit card for board examinations. And during this he got a scolding from his class teacher Akhilesh Mishra for not turning up at the school in his school uniform.

The student then went to his home and came back with his father’s pistol and waited outside the school, till the school got over and shot at his class teacher as he came out from school,” said Inspector at Sarojini Nagar police station Abhishek Sirohi.

“According to doctors, the teacher is out of danger and currently admitted at Trauma Centre here, while the accused is absconding. No arrests have been made so far in this case. The student is a son of a railway officer,” said the police inspector.

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February 2009

WORLD’S EXPATRIATES

The world is facing a worst economic crisis witnessed never before.  This generation has learnt the word ‘retrenchment’, ‘recession’, ‘Global melt down’  related to the field of economics. People are not able to recover from this shock.  Economists predict that the economy will still surge this year and may follow next year also.  The economy hump has reduced the speed of the developments of many   ‘i’ related fields like ‘iway’, ‘inet’, ‘ipod’ ‘itower’ etc.  Now, the government has to try hard to bring back the economy to the level of ‘ieconomy’.

The slowdown of economy has gripped the expatriates who have come from other countries for their livelihood.   It has become a mirage in the desert.   The fear of future has gripped each and everyone.  Many people want to give up their life  due to the  diminishing hope of the future.

Bible refers to the world as a temporary place.  God came to this temporary and uncertain world to rescue us and take us to His permanent house that He has made for us (Jn. 14:2).  God has called us to live as expatriates in this world.  He has also given us a set of principles to adhere to live in this world.

A.   Live as expatriates of the world:

John gave the definition for the world as lust of the flesh, lust of eyes and the pride of life.  The world has immersed itself within this category.   The people of this world are thinking that they are doing fine in all the fields.   But the fall has come just like the tower of Babel.  The present generation is confused about the whereabouts of the money just like the ancient times when people got confused when God scattered them  by different languages.  The reason for the economic slowdown is lust and pride of the people.   This two brought down the economy.

The problem has made us to rethink about the consequence of putting the trust on lust, pride and the world.  John urges us to anchor our faith in God by doing His will in this earth that abides forever.

B.  Live as a citizen of heaven:

The passport is essential for any citizen to roam in a foreign country.   As a Christian, we need the passport of salvation to roam in this temporary world.   In addition, the passport reveals that we are all citizens of heaven (Phl. 2:20).  Many a time we forget that we are God’s children and belong to God’s kingdom.

We forget this main principle and behave as though we have no hope in this world.  It is not a good habit for the believers.  Let us hold on to God’s promise.   He promised that one day we will be transformed to the heavenly body to attain the incorruptible, undefiled, inheritance that will not fade away that has been reserved in heaven for us.

C.  Live as a witnesses of heaven:

The believers have to live in this world as the witnesses citizens of the heaven.  It means that our life has to reflect the God’s kingdom, God’s value, God’s image on this earth.  For that, Jesus said that we have to live as light and salt to this world.

Let ask God to keep us by His power and His faith that has won the world, to live as an expatriate and witness in this temporary world.

J. Peter Daniel M.E.

Glocal Youth Vision

Villa 0432, R, 2210, Barbar 0522

Kingdom of Bahrain

Website: www.glocalyouthvision.wordpress.com

Email. peterpearline@gmail.com

Phone.  0097336998530

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8-yr-old girl married off to a frog in TN

VILLUPURAM: The annual ritual of getting a girl married to a frog organised in Pallu Puthupattu village on the Tamil Nadu- Puducherry border is a interesting meeting of fairy tale and real life.

On the first Friday of Thai (Tamil month) every year, a girl of Pallu Puthupattu village is married off to a frog that is fished out from a temple tank.

On Friday 8-year-old R Vigneswari of the village was married to a frog that was fished out from a Sri Muthu Mariyamman temple.

At the wedding the residents adopted all the rituals that are followed during a normal wedding. The people residing at western side of Sri Muthu Mariyamman temple were considered as relatives of frog. They visited the residence of the bride, Vigneswari and obtained permission of her parents for the marriage.

The girl decked up with bridal make up and saree was taken out on a rally on Friday evening. The procession culminated at pond in Vannankulam.

After three-hour long ordeal they have caught a frog from the tank. Amidst chanting of devotional hymns and beating of drums, temple priest, on behalf of the amphibian, tied nuptial knot to Vigneswari in a pandal set up at near a school.

Residents greeted the ‘newly married couple’ and offered moi (cash) to them. Dinner was served to all the invitees in pandal. After performing pujas the frog was released into the temple pond.

The local residents believe that performing such marriages will protect them from evil forces and ailments.  An elder Pachaiyammal said: “People were conducting such marriages for many centuries now. We believe that Sri Mariyamman would protect us from evil forces if such marriages were conducted annually.” Villagers said that according to legend, the people here had suffered from various hardships and a large number of children and others died following outbreak of cholera and other ailments in the village.

When they offered prayer to Sri Mariyamman, the goddess appeared in their dream and suggested them to conduct ‘divine marriage’ every year.

In the dream the goddess said, the marriage must be conducted between Lord Shiva, who would be a reincarnation as a frog and live in the temple tank, and herself, as she would reincarnate herself as a girl child.

100 new HIV and Aids cases in Oman every year

Muscat: Oman’s Ministry of Health (MoH) is launching a two-year National Aids Community Awareness Campaign on Wednesday to address the issue of HIV/Aids in the community.

“Almost 100 new cases HIV infection are diagnosed annually,” said Dr Ali Ahmad Salim Baomer, Head of Aids Section at the MoH.  He said the new campaign, called Let’s Talk about Aids, was aimed at reducing discrimination to people living with HIV/Aids in the country.

He said that 1,119 Omanis are living with HIV/Aids infection. “More than 50 per cent of people living with HIV/Aids in the country are youth between 15-35 years of age and 25 per cent of the figure are women,” he said.

He points to “unsafe sexual behaviour” as the major cause for the spread of the disease

BBC presenter says talking faith in Britain difficult

By Jonathan Wynne-Jones and Richard Eden, the Telegraph Group Limited, London 2009

Published: January 18, 2009, 23:15

London: Jeremy Vine, the BBC radio presenter, has claimed that it is becoming “socially unacceptable” to be a Christian in Britain. The Radio 2 host said that he felt unable to talk about his faith on his show because he feared how people would react.

He argued that society had become increasingly intolerant of the freedom to express religious views. “You can’t express views that were common currency 30 or 40 years ago,” he said. “Arguably, the parameters of what you might call ‘right thinking’ are probably closing.”

His comments follow the claim from Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, the head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, that Britain was an “unfriendly” place for religious people to live.

The cardinal said that the rise of secularism has led to a liberal society, hostile to Christian morals and values, in which religious belief was viewed as “a private eccentricity” and the voice of faith groups was marginalised.

Vine, 43, is a practising Anglican, but said he would be compromised by being more open about his faith on air. “Just blurting it out would be destructive,” he said. “Just because something’s true doesn’t mean you can say it. That’s quite an important principle.”

Two Hindu activists held in Tamil Nadu

Chennai: Two Hindu activists were arrested in Thiruvannamalai town of Tamil Nadu yesterday for attacking foreigners following a dispute over rituals performed at a marriage, a police official said.

“Trouble arose after Hans, a German, and Julie, an American, married yesterday according to Hindu rites in a small temple but exchanged rings in the sanctum sanctorum as a sign of their matrimony. Volunteers of the Hindu Munnani [Hindu Front] objected to this and a scuffle ensued,” Superintendent of Police V. Balakrishnan said on phone.

“Later, the miscreants stoned Shanti Malai Ashram, where the foreigners reside. They damaged furniture and a three-wheeler. To prevent further trouble, the temple has been closed, two suspects S. Babu and K. Murugan have been detained and the foreigners have been given police protection,” Balakrishnan said.

Similar trouble had arisen two years ago. The cause for the ire against foreigners was that the couple exchanged rings inside the temple in the Christian manner instead of tying a Taali [chain] around the bride’s neck as per Hindu rites, police sources added.

Thiruvannamalai is a temple town, 190km south of Chennai. It attracts over 300,000 Indian and foreign visitors every year. Over 800 people from the US, Europe, Australia, and other countries live in this town.

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January 2009

On the Move…..

Today, the people in this world are migrating from one place to another. The women also join this bandwagon by moving to different countries, to carry out their work. The rural youth has moved to nearby cities. The youth in one city move to another city or even other countries depending upon their requirements. The movement is a part and parcel of life, which was not the case in the nineteenth century. In Bible, we see that God has told Adam to multiply and fill this earth. It means to go throughout the world and inhabit it. Recent technologies have fulfilled the same. This is the reason that the world has named itself as a “Global village’. Moving from one country to another country is a great calling of God to many stalwarts in the Bible. Let us see how and what were the reasons for God to move people from place to place.

1. PERSECUTION moves us:

Jesus Christ, as a child moved from place to place with the help and guidance of the Lord. His move has been recorded in Mathew as a prophecy of Old Testament prophets. The wrath of the king has made the prophecy and God’s will fulfilled in His life.

In our life too, God allows some of the persecutors to drive us away from our comfort zones to fulfill His will in our life. God allowed persecution through Pharaoh so that the Israelites could run away from Egypt with the help of Moses. Aquila and Priscilla were moved from Corinth due to Persecution. It helped them to take care of Paul as well to mentor Apollos

2 . NEED moves us:

God’s plan is beyond imagination and no one can comprehend. He took Joseph and Mary from Nazareth to Bethlehem . Though the move may look insignificant but it was a significant move for the shepherds. Due to this,the shepherds had the oppurtunity to come and worship the Lord Jesus Christ.

The movements of Jesus benefited not only for the shepherds but also Simon and Anna, the servants of God who were waiting for Messiah.

God wants us to move from one place to another not only for reaching out the unreached soul but also for the benefit of the servants of God. It is good for us to be ready for the move whenever he calls us to do so.. He may call us to leave our own comfort zone like own house, car, salary to another place where you may not have suchcomforts. Are you ready to move for the dying soul as well as for God to revive His servants?

• Be in tune with God’s frequency.

• Expect the move

• Accept the move when it comes.

• Enjoy the move

• Be willing to move

• Be ready to move again.

Wish you a happy New year 2009.

J. Peter Daniel M.E.

Glocal Youth Vision

76, Living Spring Avenue, Sanjeevipuram,

Bagayam, Vellore -2

Website: www.glocalyouthvision.wordpress.com

Email. peterpearline@yahoo.co.in

peterpearline@gmail.com

phone.  0097336998530  (Bahrain)

THE ANT AND THE CONTACT LENS

(A true story by Josh and Karen Zarandona)

Brenda was a young woman who was invited to go rock climbing. Although she was scared to death, she went with her group to a tremendous granite cliff.

In spite of her fear, she put on the gear, took a hold of the rope, and started up the face of that rock.  Well, she got to a ledge where she could take a breather.  As she was hanging on there, the safety rope snapped against Brenda’s eye and knocked out her contact lens. Well, here she is on a rock ledge, with hundreds of feet below her and hundreds of feet above her.  Of course, she looked and looked, hoping it had landed on the ledge, but it just wasn’t there.

Here she was, far from home, her sight now blurry.  She was desperate and began to get upset, so she prayed to the Lord to help her to find it.

When she got to the top, a friend examined her eye and her clothing for the lens, but there was no contact lens to be found.  She sat down, despondent, with the rest of the party, waiting for the rest of them to make it up the face of the cliff.  She looked out across range after range of mountains, thinking of that

Bible verse that says, “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth.”  She thought, “Lord, you can see all these mountains.  You know every stone and leaf, and You know exactly where my contact lens is. Please help me.”

Finally, they walked down the trail to the bottom.  At the bottom there was a new party of climbers just starting up the face of the cliff.  One of them shouted out, “Hey, you guys! Anybody lose a contact lens?”

Well, that would be startling enough, but you know why the climber saw it?  An ant was moving slowly across the face of the rock, carrying it!

Brenda told me that her father is a cartoonist.  When she told him the incredible story of the ant, the prayer, and the contact lens, he drew a picture of an ant lugging that contact lens with the words, “Lord, I don’t know why You want me to carry this thing.  I can’t eat it, and it’s awfully heavy.  But, if this is what

You want me to do; I’ll carry it for You.”

I think it would probably do some of us good to occasionally say, “God, I don’t know why you want me to carry this load. I can see no good in it and it’s awfully heavy. But, if you want me to carry it, I will.”

God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called.

To me, that is not only a faith builder, but also a reminder that I need to stop asking questions and simply carry the load that the Lord has given to me.  It is God that does the work!  We just carry the contact lenses!

Indian News:

1.       E-Prostitution sends shock waves:  Anti-Vice Squad of the city busted an online prostitution racket by arresting a 28 year old pimp at a bungalow on Ayanavarm-Konnur High Road on 11^th December.  A female model based in Bangalore and a woman from Mumbai was rescued from the gang, which allegedly ran the online racket, police said.  Enquiries reveal that the women were brought to Chennai promising great future in modeling.  During investigation, it was found to be operated mainly in Hyderabad, Mumbai, Kolkat and Chennai.  (Kellys Talk, 14-29 December 2008, p.1)

2. Student suicide rate in city comes down:  According to recent statistics from the National Crime Records Bureau for 2007, the rate of suicides by students in Chennai has reduced by nearly half compared to figures for the previous year.  In 2006, 226 students committed suicide – highest among Indian cities.  This figure fell by 48.23% to 117 in 2007, putting Chennai at second place among cities.  The 2007 statistics put Delhi on top of the list with a total of 120 suicides.  Bangalore occupied the third spot with 116 suicides, one less than the figure for Chennai while Mumbai was fourth with 82 students taking their lives.  However, there has been an increase on 6% across India in the number of suicides (from 5857 in 2006 to 6248 in 2007).  In other words, 17 students ended their lives every day in 2007.  (Karthika Gopalakrishnan, The Times of India, 15 December 2008, p.7)

3. More men committed suicide in India than women: Report: India reported 122,637 suicides last year — an average of 336 every day — with more men ending their lives than women, the latest report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has revealed.  Although suicide was a nationwide phenomenon, five states — Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka — registered consistently higher number of suicidal deaths during the last few years. Overall, 2007 recorded an increase of 3.8% over the previous year’s figure of 118,112. Poverty was surprisingly not the major reason for suicide with more people ending their lives due to family (23.8%) and health problems (22.3%) than bankruptcy or sudden change in economic status (2.7%), love affairs (2.8%), dowry dispute (2.6%), unemployment (2%) and suspected/illicit relation (1.1%). Only 2.3% of people committed suicide due to poverty. Incidentally, it is not the comparatively poor states like Bihar, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh which witnessed suicides in higher numbers. The dubious distinction, in fact, went to well-off states like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Out of the total 122,637 suicides committed in the country last year, the highest, 15,184, was reported from Maharashtra followed by Andhra Pradesh (14,882), West Bengal (14,860), Tamil Nadu (13,811) and Karnataka (12,304). These five states accounted for 57.9% of the total suicides reported in India. The remaining were reported from the other 23 states and seven Union Territories (UTs). UP, the most populous state (16.6% share of population) reported comparatively lower percentage, accounting for only 3.2% of total suicides. As far as suicides committed by farmers (16,632) are concerned, Maharashtra (4,238) surpassed all other states with its Vidarbha region becoming the focal point. According to the NCRB’s report, Karnataka saw 2,135 farmer suicides, Andhra Pradesh (1,797), Chhattisgarh (1,593), Madhya Pradesh (1,263) and Kerala (1,232). Although the overall figure shows a slight fall from 17,060 in 2006, the broad trend remained unchanged with indebtedness becoming the main cause. The number of farmers who committed suicide in Maharashtra accounted for more than a quarter of the total suicides reported in the state.
Referring to the sex profile of persons committing suicide during 2007, the NCRB report said social and economic causes led most males to kill themselves whereas emotional and personal causes mainly drove women to end their lives.

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/More_men_committed_suicide_Report/articleshow/3842361.cms accessed on 16th December 2008)

II         Global

1.         Students in US don’t mind lying, stealing & cheating: In the past year, 30% (35% of boys and 26% of girls) of US high school students have stolen from a store and 64% have cheated on a test, according to a new, large scale survey suggesting that Americans are too apathetic about ethical standards.  The Josephson Institute, a Los Angeles-based ethics institute, surveyed 29760 students at 100 randomly selected high schools in US, both public and private. 36% said that they used Internet to plagiarize an assignment.  42% said they sometimes lie to save money – 49% of the boys and 36% of the girls.    (The Times of India, 2 December 2008, p. 11)

2.         Global child porn racket busted, 170 arrested: More than 170 people around the globe, including at least 61 in the United States, have been arrested in a major operation targeting international child pornographers. So far, Operation Joint Hammer has rescued 11 girls in the United States, age three to 13, who were sexually abuse by child pornography producers, US Attorney General Michael Mukasey and representatives of the European Union said at the Justice Department. Dozens more were located in Europe, including several young female victims in Ukraine. Authorities found connections between producers, distributors and customers in nearly 30 countries as a single investigation grew to a global inquiry into the dark corners of brutality and child abuse for sexual pleasure. The investigation, code-named Operation Koala in Europe, was first developed when investigators determined a pornographic video found in Australia had been produced in Belgium. “This joint EU-U.S. coordinated effort began with the discovery in Europe of a father who was sexually abusing his young daughters and producing images of that abuse,” Mukasey said. Further investigation showed a number of alleged online child porn rings. Some included dangerous offenders who not only traded child pornography, but also sexually abused children, the officials said. Agents are still attempting to locate child victims whose images have appeared in photos and videos and more arrests are expected as the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Postal Inspection Service continue the investigation.  A Postal Service official said ringleaders primarily targeted prepubescent female victims to satisfy their customers, but noted that other groups produce photos and videos of boys and girls of all ages — or even infants. (http://ibnlive.in.com/news/global-child-porn-racket-busted-170-arrested/80443-2.html accessed on 13 December 2008)

Item No I and II has been taken from http://www.glocalleadersnetwork.com

October 2008

Radical or Retreat

Keziah was a girl child born to the lovable family of Daniel and Deborah.  The parents enjoyed the development of their child.  They noted down each and every moment of the child’s development in a diary.  Keziah grew up as a normal child. At her second  birthday celebration, parents turned back pages of the diary and read out their writings before the relatives and friends .  It was amazing for them to review the 24 months of their child’s growth.  They found that each stage of the growth has less resemblance to  the previous one.

The internal development is also revealed externally.  The external appearance of a beautiful butterfly comes out from the internal development of the ugly caterpillar.  No one likes the caterpillar. But after its development in to a butterfly, it never goes back to caterpillar stage.

The Christian development is in the radical changes that are in an upward and forward movement.  There is no retreat in  Christian life.  Many a time, a force of gravity acts against and restricts us to move forward.  The emotional hurts of the past, criticisms,  failures of the past, absence of affirmation from the loved ones, stress in office work, politics, gossip etc., makes us to walk in the downward spiral of spiritual life.   The shadows of the past life pull us down from climbing up in our spiritual life.

Let us go to the scripture and find out how we have to move forward in our spiritual life.

A.  Let us go on to perfection Heb. 6:1;

Paul says to Corinthians that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Cor 5:17-18. This is the foundation step for entering into the Christian life.  The laying of the foundation for the building should be one time.  In the same way, going back to elementary principles of Jesus Christ again and again is a mockery of all things become new.  Paul writes in Hebrew 6:1 that the Christian has to move towards the perfection.  The word ‘retreat’ is not in the dictionary of the Christian soldiers.

The college students never go back to the elementary school to study the basics.

1.  One thing we have to do.  Forget what is behind (Phil 3:13).  It includes of our past history, story, hurts, tragedy, bitterness, signification etc.  Jesus Christ never dwells in the past glory or insult or criticism etc.

2.  Moving toward what is ahead, focus our life completely on Jesus Christ.

B.  Let us bear fruits Heb 6:7:

The tree grows upwards and bears fruits.  The fruit is the indication of the quality of the tree. If the fruit is good, then the tree is good and vice versa.  The indication of the Christians moving toward the perfection is bearing good fruit.  The fruit is a blessing of person who is cultivated.  In the same way, Christians should be a blessing to God and to others.

Let us put behind the past, let us bear fruits for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and move forward towards perfection to reach the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

J. Peter Daniel M.E.,

76, Living Spring Avenue , Sanjeevipuram, Bagayam,

Vellore 632 – 002, Phone. 0416 2260066, 09443800395.

email: peterpearline@yahoo.co.in, Peterpearline@gmail.com

http://glocalyouthvision.wordpress.com

Global News

Brit churchgoers turn to Internet for dating tips

Monday, 08 September , 2008, 20:57

London: British Christians seems to have lost their touch with women, and are thus going on dating workshops to improve their technique in everything from chat-up lines to body language so that they can hit the right chord with the opposite sex.

The clergy has said that due to falling numbers and lack of experience in relationships, many churchgoers find it difficult to get a partner and are losing personal skills, such as flirting and reading signals.

So, a large number of Christians are increasingly signing up for internet dating sites, like Christian Connections, and attending special courses designed to make them more successful in turning a first date into a long-term relationship

According to Peter Spalton, known as the dating doctor, churchgoers are usually timid and the course can provide them with tips to appear more attractive.

And with the lessons, they would learn how to greet someone, how to hold good eye contact and how to judge whether the other person wants to be kissed at the end of the evening.

“The first meeting is crucial in making or breaking a relationship. The workshops are all about giving people the confidence to make their date a success. They go through the whole process of what is acceptable to talk about and when it is appropriate to try to take things to the next level,” the Telegraph quoted Spalton as saying.

He believes that chat-up lines can turn out to be the key to make someone laugh and feel relaxed, but at times some Christian jokes might not be well received.

According to Christian Connections, one should avoid using one-liners such as “You float my ark” and “I didn’t believe in predestination until tonight”.

Jackie Elton, founder of the agency, said that the number of people using Christian dating sites has doubled over the past year.

“There’s been a massive rise in internet dating sites as Christians are struggling to find a partner in church. They know what they want, but many congregations are too small or have a gender imbalance that makes it really difficult for them. As a result they are not getting the kind of experience they need and that’s why they are turning to the workshops,” she said.

The Rev Richard Cunningham, the director of the University and College Christian Fellowship, said that with the fragmentation of the society, many people now lack the necessary skills to date successfully.

“With the growth of the internet, people are losing social skills we used to take for granted, and have drifted away from being able to read signals,” he said.

Will the world end tomorrow?

Tue, Sep 9 01:30 AM

As physicists get set to recreate the Big Bang, German chemistry professor Otto Rossler predicts that their experiment will actually create a mini black hole that will suck all life and light into it and lead to the end of the world. On Wednesday, somewhere below the French-Swiss border, scientists at CERN (a European organisation for nuclear research) are getting ready to drive two beams of particles into each other at close to the speed of light in a machine called the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).

This will recreate the Big Bang and answer questions about the origins of life, the universe and everything. Black hole creation Though no one really knows what ‘will’ happen, all sorts of theories of sudden annihilation abound.

CERN’s strongest opponent Otto R and #246;ssler, a German chemistry professor, argues that just as with the Big Bang, this experiment too will create a mini-black-hole, an intense gravitational field that will keep sucking in matter until the entire world, and all its light, is gone. To counter the bad press, a rap video on CERN is doing the rounds on YouTube.

Presumably made by the young scientists of the organisation, the video explains everything related to the project in a fun, literally off-beat way. The hugely popular video reiterates a statement made by CERN Director General Robert Aymar: “The LHC will enable us to study in detail what nature is doing all around us.

The LHC is safe, and any suggestion that it might present a risk is pure fiction.” If Thursday comes And in case you wake up Thursday morning and wonder why doomsday didn’t arrive, the Mayans might have an answer for you.

Hold on for 21-12-2012, which is when the Mayan Calendar comes to an end, because of a presumably catastrophic change. One theory even ties in the R and #246;ssler black hole theory with the end of the Mayan calendar -according to it, the black hole will suck in everything on earth over four-and-a-half years, which is 21-12-2012.

Many websites are dedicated to the Mayan theory, including one called Doomsdayguide.org where a countdown declares 1564 days to go.

If you’re scared stiff, don’t hesitate to check out Survive2012.com.

Student killed by peers outside college :

A young life bubbling with energy and dreams was cut short by his peers whose hands, instead of shaping a bright future for themselves, held fast to deadly weapons. Adding to the dangerously rising incidents of violence among youth and deaths resulting from it, a student of Government College in Sector 1, Panchkula, was brutally done to death by a group of boys from the same college. While Raipurani resident Khushal Sharma, studying in the final year of BA, died of grievous wounds after the attack with sharp-edged weapons near the college main gate, his friends Arun and Sunny were also badly injured in the assault. While they are both admitted in General Hospital-Sector 6, Arun’s condition is said to be critical. According to sources, the victims were given a wild chase from the college gate by the accused armed with knives, iron rods and sticks before quickly catching up with the helpless boys at a nearby bus-stand. Ironically, the scene of crime was at a walking distance from the college and only half a kilometre away from the mini-secretariat that houses the offices of the DC and Panchkula SP. Apparently learning about the incident from the media, RC Goyal, principal of government college, Panchkula, said, “It’s a very sad and tragic incident. Nothing of this sort ever happened on the college premises earlier.” He appeared absolutely clueless about any animosity among his students. (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Panchkula_student_killed_by_peers/articleshow/3535620.cms accessed on 28 September 2008) http://www.glocalleadersnetwork.com

Man offers eyes to god:

In a case fit to the religious fervour and blind belief, 40 year old Mudukappa Karadi removed both his eyeballs to ‘appease’ God. Mudukappa had caught the attention by removing his right eyeball and placing it in front of the Shankaraiajja math recently in Adagal village of Badami taluk.  He had been undergoing treatment at Kumareshwar Hospital in the city.  All of a sudden, he removed his left eyeball also early morning on Tuesday. Attempts made by the doctors and relatives to stop him failed to bear any fruits. Various speculations are being made about his abnormal behaviour in the village. The villagers say that Mudukappa never used to mingle with others and often danced in rapture claiming that spirit of God has entered his body.  Several people of the village including Gram Panchayat president and few members justify his behaviour which reflects the prevalence of illiteracy and lack of awareness among them. Belonged to Kuruba community, Mudukappa is a poor farmer with five acres of barren land and eight children. He has been struggling to make his both ends meet. “Shankraiajja had been coming in my dream since last fortnight and demanded my eyes. I am unaware of how the eyeballs were removed”, Mudukappa claimed.  His statements to ‘offer’ other parts of his body to the God have raised panic among the doctors. Doctors operating on him are facing stiff resistance from his wife Hanumavva and other members of the family who

are strongly supporting his blind belief.

(http://www.deccan.com/chennaichronicle/Nation/NationalNews.asp#Mobiles%20turn%20saviour accessed on 3rd September 2008) http://www.glocalleadersnetwork.com

Market full of gods:

The 200 crore Akshardham Temple in Delhi is in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s largest Hindu temple, which gets more than 70000 visitors every week.  Rs. 27 crore was Siddhivinayak temple’s annual revenue in 2006-2007.  40-45 per cent of the music market of Hungama Mobile, a service provider, is in the religion segment.  30 per cent of Lladro’s topline sales is in the religious segment.  Reserve price of a Ganesh idol in Adventurine at a Ma Passion auction: Rs. 25 lakh.  30-40 music companies in Delhi, Lucknow, Varanasi, Patna and Ranchi sell devotional CDs and cassettes.  Rs. 2 crore was the online donations made to Mata VAishno Devi temple.  Rs. 474 crore is its annual revenue.  Most movie goers prefer spiritual entertainment to preaching.  (Jisha Krishnan, The Week, 28 September 2008, p. 64-67) http://www.glocalleadersnetwork.com

Good, Better, Best:

30% of students on the top 50 business schools are women.  20% of the top business schools charge a fee from companies coming for campus recruitment.  53% of students in the top 50 Business schools came from engineering background and 21% were from the commerce stream. The top 10 Goverernment B-schools are:  IIM Ahmedabad, IIM, Lucknow, IIM, Indore, NITIE, Mumbai, FMS, Delhi, IIFT, Delhi, SJMSOM, IIT Bombay, JBIMS, Mumbai, IRMA, Anand, IHMR, Jaipur.  Top 10 private schools:  XLRI, Jamshedpur, SP Jani, Mumbai, XIM, Bhubaneswar, IMT, Ghaziabad, MDI, Gurgaon, IMI, Delhi, NMIMS, Mumbai, Symbiosis, Pune and SJ Somaiya, Mumbai.(Sunit Arora, Outlook, 29 September 2008, p. 36-50) http://www.glocalleadersnetwork.com

UK opens first state-funded Hindu school:

Britain’s first state-funded Hindu school opened its doors to its first batch of 23 students. – aged four to five years – started their term in a temporary building. For the one million strong Hindu community in Britain, this school is a significant step. Admission to the school will require a referral from a local temple to ensure that priority is given to practicing Hindu families. The students will study the national curriculum, but Hindu ethos and philosophy will be included into all aspects of teaching. Students will have yoga and meditation classes as well as lessons on the Bhagwad Gita. There are sceptics who say faith schools are divisive. But Britain has over 6,500 faith schools of which a large majority are Church of England and Roman Catholic schools. There are plans to open another Hindu school in Leicester in the near future. (Akanksha Banerji,http://www.ibnlive.com/news/uk-opens-first-statefunded-hindu-school/73660-2.html accessed on 16 September 2008) http://www.glocalleadersnetwork.com

Workers spend 600 hrs ogling at colleagues:

A new survey of office-goers in Britain has thrown up stunning statistics. Office workers in Britain spend around 600 hours ogling at a colleague they have a crush on, the survey has revealed. According to the study, office staffs spend almost 60,000 hours sitting at their office desk during their career. And they do a lot of things during the career to break monotony and to maintain some semblance of order. During the entire period, they drink nearly 32,000 cups of tea or coffee and make about 110,000 phone calls, reports the Sun. And two out of five employees end up in bed with their workmates, the study found. So much for mixing work with pleasure! They will also write 50,000 lists of things to do over the years, receive more than 320,000 emails and have 13 job interviews. That is a lot of ambition and literary pursuit to have. To reach the results, a total of 1,200 workers were polled.

(http://www.ibnlive.com/news/workers-spend-600-hrs-ogling-at-colleagues/72429-19.html accessed on 29 August 2008) http://www.glocalleadersnetwork.com

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