the speaking tree - Ways To Overcome Negative Emotions

Sanjay Teotia





There are two aspects to emotions. On the one hand emotions are our greatest strength and on the other hand, emotions are also our greatest weakness.There are two types of emotions ­ positive and negative. Positive emotions are associated with love, affection and compassion while negative emotions are associated with anger, greed, violence, hatred and selfishness. It is always necessary and better to enhance positive emotions and try to overcome negative emotions.Negative emotions destroy and damage the physical and psychological personality of a person. Negative emotions make the person selfish, self-centered and aloof.They increase the stress level of a person.Such a person thinks negatively most of the time and so there is no positivity in their life. Negative people are usually jealous by nature. They plot and plan on taking revenge; they become abnormal and obnoxious. They do not have a good word for any one or any situation. They only see the dark side, so they lose out on their creativity and fail to generate good will.
Emotion is often associated with mood, temperament, personality, disposition and motivation. Cognition is an important aspect of emotion. Negative emotions can be any feelings which make you miserable and sad. These emotions make you dislike yourself and others and they take away your confidence. They can hamper our enthusiasm for life depending on how long we let them affect us and the way we choose to express them.
The Bhagwad Gita teaches us to control our emotions and remain cool and calm. According to the Gita, all emotions, whether positive or negative, are generated in the mind only as per external stimulus. Soul is entirely different from mind. When we connect soul with mind, we feel the qualities and emotions of this mind.
For emotional balance, never react suddenly to anything. First think, then try to find out facts, assess the situation and then give your opinion or take action. Never be judgmental. Try to find out positive things or reasons in negative and adverse situations also. Always try to speak positive things. Emotional balance is genetic as well as acquired. It also depends on your group or friends circle.
If you are surrounded by negativethinking people who are always complain ing and criticising others, then you too tend to think negatively.So try to be in the company of positive people. Emotional balance occurs when we allow ourselves to feel whatever comes up, without stifling it or being overwhelmed by it, and learn to accept our feelings without judgment. Emotional balance is vital for personal wellbeing and the health of our communities. The path to freedom is paved with positive emotions. Negative emotions prevent inner transformation. Always avoid confrontation, try to find out the middle path. Negative emotions create negative aura and spread negative vibes from the person who has negative emotions. Prayer, meditation, faith in God and kind heartedness help you remain positive. Adverse conditions or tough times come in everyone's life but nothing is permanent. As the good time passes, in the same way bad times will also pass.
Have faith in God, as it protects us from negative emotions, negative psychology, negative thinking and negative perception. Negative emotions makes the person sadist by nature, he never wants to see others happy. Such persons have complaints about God also. When they are in difficult situations they ask God, `Why me in this situation?' They forget their fun times. They never said `Why me?' when they went through happy times.

LEGALLY SPEAKING - Social engg now a race for backward status

Dhananjay Mahapatra





The gory details of a 24-year old woman's grisly murder have muffled the loud footsteps of a disturbing development -a race among forward castes to figure in the backward class list to reap reservation benefits.A twenty-something Hardik Patel packed a meaty punch in his brazenly militant appeal for inclusion of the Patel community in the list of backward classes. Its potent impact spooked authorities into shutting down the internet and mobile services in many areas of Gujarat to prevent possible flare-ups.
Traditional landholders, the Patels have done exceedingly well in almost every field, especially politics, giving several national and regional leaders, not to forget a string of chief ministers in Gujarat.
It appears rather incongruous for members of the community to feel marginalized and ignored despite achieving phenomenal success, both materially and socially, and steadily throwing up so many role models.
The Morarji Desai government had set up a commission headed by B P Mandal on January 1, 1979, to identify socially and educationally backward communities to provide them with reservation in government employment. The commission, in its report in December 1980, recommended 27% reservation to other backward classes (OBCs).
In 1990, the V P Singh government dusted out the report and implemented its recommendations.Protests and judicial scrutiny could not impede the new political mantra -social engineering.
Two decades later, social engineering got a facelift when the Centre extended the 27% OBC quo ta to admissions in educational institutions. This too got the thumbs up from the Supreme Court.
Though it upheld extension of OBC quota in college admissions, the SC had expressed its view against the perpetuation of reservation. It disapproved of the politically motivated tendency to swell the list of OBCs. It had suggested a comprehensive study on OBCs to exclude those which had benefited from quota to shake off the historical social and educational disadvantages. Will a ruling party ever bite the survey bullet when elections continue to be fought on caste lines? They have scant regard for repeated SC rulings to limit the quota to 50% of the total availability of jobs or seats in colleges. In many states, it touches the 70% mark.
As space for merit shrinks in jobs and educational institutions, a cauldron of frustration is getting fuelled by competent youngsters, left behind by the not-so-competent armed with an OBC certificate. No wonder, the Jat community agitated and succeeded in getting OBC status. The SC had to step in and rescind the Centre's decision.
In the Ashoka Thakur judgment, which upheld 27% quota for OBCs in educational institutions, the SC underlined the recent trend of `forward' castes seeking `backward' status.
It warned, “When more and more people aspire for `backwardness' instead of `forwardness', the country itself stagnates.“
The SC had also warned, “While affirmative discrimination is a road to equality , care should be taken that the road does not become a rut in which the vehicle of progress gets entrenched and stuck. Any provision for reservation is a temporary crutch. Such crutch by unnecessary prolonged use should not become a permanent liability .“
While striking down quota for Jats in Ram Singh vs Union of India (March 17, 2015), the SC had said the determination of social and educational backwardness to warrant award of reservation benefits to a community must be based on contemporary data and not historical perception.
The SC had asked that if government after government claimed to have achieved all round development of the country and communities, why were more and more communities getting included in the list of OBCs and not a single exclusion? Was this the meaning of all-round development that more and more communities were getting backward?
No ruling party dare order a survey that would deprive communities of reservation as they fear losing votes in a geographic unit whose demographic equation has been virulently afflicted by politically crafted social engineering which has divided communities on the lines of those who have the OBC tag and those who don't.
In the Ram Singh judgment, the SC had said reservation should reach the most deserving. The yardstick to determine which community deserved reservation should be evolved using contemporary standards and must necessarily move away from caste-centric definition of backwardness, it had said.
“The perception of a self-proclaimed socially backward class of citizens or even perception of the `advanced classes' as to the social status of `less fortunate' cannot continue to be a constitutionally permissible yardstick for determination of backwardness,“ it had said.
Till political parties muster enough courage to undertake a comprehensive study and exclude communities which, through reservation, have climbed high enough in the socio-economic ladder, many Hardik Patels will emerge as rallying points for frustrated young victims of reverse discrimination.

Drink up more water guys! It's the easiest way to lose weight

If you are lossing your mind over your growing weight, here's some relief for you. Researchers now say that losing weight is now as easy as drinking a glass of water.

Researchers have shown that drinking 500ml of water half-an-hour before eating the three main meals of the day may help you lose weight.

"Just drinking a pint of water, three times a day, before your main meals may help reduce your weight," says Helen Parretti, a lecturer at the University of Birmingham.

For the study, which is published in the journal Obesity, obese adult participants recruited from general practices are monitored over a 12-week period.

Each of the participants are given a weight management consultation, where they are advised on how to adapt their lifestyle and improve their diet and levels of physical activity.

While half of them (41 adults) of those recruited are asked to preload with water, the other half ( 43 adults) are advised to imagine that they have a full stomach before eating.

Those in the group who are instructed to 'preload' with water lose, on average, 1.3 kg more than those in the control group.

Those who report preloading before all three main meals in the day report a loss of 4.3 kg over the 12 weeks, whereas those who only preload once, or not at all, only lose an average of 0.8kg.

"When combined with brief instructions on how to increase your amount of physical activity and on a healthy diet, this seems to help people to achieve some extra weight loss -- at a moderate and healthy rate,” Parretti points out.

"It is something that does not take much work to integrate into our busy everyday lives," Parretti says.

Meet Avani Mishra, all-India topper of Company Secretary exam

First impressions are always deceptive. Take, for instance, Bhopal's Avani Mishra. When you first meet her, she comes across as a regular girl-next-door, bubbling with enthusiasm and energy. But when you are told she's India's youngest Company Secretary, you curse yourself for not taking her seriously earlier. And when she tells you that she topped this year's All India Company Secretary Examination, the shocked look on your face is unmistakable. Excerpts from a chat with Avani.

Apart from being an all-India topper, you have also become the youngest to qualify the company secretary (CS) exam at the national level. What is your success mantra?

I started preparing for the CS just after getting admission in the National Law Institute University (NLIU). I cleared all the three stages in my first attempt, and that’s why I could clear my exam at the age of 19. More than studying for long hours, I chose smart learning. I kept myself away from any kind of distraction from social media too.   

You are a model and a regular student. How hard did you work to achieve this?

It was a little tough for me to manage regular studies with the CS exam preparation. But it’s not very tough to clear the CS exam. I prepared for the exam online under the guidance of Company Secretary (CS) Monika Goyal from Noida for 30 days and I am happy that I passed my exam with great success. I do modeling occasionally so it never disturbed my studies. 

Most people think that the CS exam needs more theoretical approach than practical. What do you think?

It is a myth that the CS exam is boring and hard to crack because it is more theoretical. I cleared the exam with the new syllabus. It is one of the most balanced examinations where students need both theoretical as well as practical approach to clear the exam.

You are pursuing law. How would clearing the CS exam help in building your career?

To prepare for the CS exam, I read corporate law. This qualification will help me in building good career in the corporate world. After completing my law, I want to work in a corporate house.

Whom do you give credit for your success?

My family, especially my parents, who gave me an environment conducive to study. Monika Goyal also played an important role in my achieving the first rank.

What will be your advice to youngsters preparing for the exam?

Be patient and maintain good temperament while going through the nine-day rigorous schedule of the exam.

Region and religion both matter for better population indicators

For better population indicators, region and religion both matter, suggest data from 2011 and 2001 decadal Censuses.

According to the data, in the more developed southern States all communities do better than in the more backward northern States.

Poor education indicators

Between 2001 and 2011, Muslims (24.65 per cent) remained the group with the fastest population growth, followed closely by Scheduled Tribes (23.66 per cent) and Scheduled Castes (20.85 per cent). All three groups have historically had poor education indicators, especially for women, and restricted access to health care.

However, in States such as Kerala and Tamil Nadu, which are considered advanced in terms of income and development indicators, population growth is low for all communities, the numbers show.

The population growth rate for Muslims in Kerala, for example, while substantially higher than that for Hindus or Christians in the State, is lower than the national average for Hindus, and half that of Hindus in States like Bihar.

“When the demographic transition is occurring, the better off communities first reduce their fertility, which is then followed by poorer communities. This is exactly what we are seeing, and in developed States, access to education and health becomes available to all,” Dr. P Arokiasamy, demographer and professor at the International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai, said.

A similar trend is observed in other States; those with higher than average Hindu growth rates have higher than average Muslim growth rates too.

Two notable exceptions are Assam and Uttarakhand, where the Muslim growth rate is significantly higher than the national average, while the Hindu growth rate is lower.

“It is undeniable that in the border districts of Assam, there is illegal immigration. There is no other explanation for the Muslim population growth there,” a senior Census official said.

Worst sex ratio

When it comes to sex ratio, Sikhs as a community had the worst sex ratio in 2011 at 903 females for every 1,000 males, followed by non-SC/ ST Hindus (929), while Christians had the best sex ratio (1,023 females for every 1,000 males) followed by STs (990). Here again, region matters.

In Punjab and Haryana, all communities see their sex ratios plummet to their worst, while in Kerala, the sex ratio of all communities except Sikhs and Buddhists rises above 1,000 females for every 1,000 males.

In Tamil Nadu, the sex ratio for Muslims, Christians and SCs rises above 1,000.

Keywords: Census 2011 data on Population by Religious Communities, census religion data, Census of India: Religion, religion data of Census 2011

NGO performs in city to bring about social change in villages

Ankita Bhatkhande TWEETS @aanks





Through street plays and traditional dances, the Jharkhand group is urging people to make calls to officials and help solve grievances of rural folk, whose complaints are uploaded on their website

A group of Gond adivasis, from Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh, are performing in the city to spread an initiative of CGNet Swara, a Jharkhand based NGO that works for the welfare of advasis, and to bring about social change in maoist affected villages of central India.Through street plays and traditional dances, the group is spreading the initiative “Chattis se Trisath“, that emphasises on looking at each other rather than looking away, and hopes to bridge the communication barrier between urban and rural India.
The initiative was the brainchild of Shubhranshu Chaudhary, a journalist born and brought up in Koriya District, Chattisgarh, where there was a huge disparity between people, the administration and the government.This was not only a result of the power equation and hierarchy, but also arose from the language barrier.While the initiative was launched five years ago, it is only recently that the group began visiting urban areas to spread the message. They will be performing in Mumbai till mid-September.
“Most officials did not understand what tribals said, and people were unable to voice grievances. They started befriending maoists as they knew the language, but it did not help solve problems of food, water and shelter. I wanted to devise a communication system that would be free and solve the issues of distance and language for the people. Thus Swara was born,“ said Chaudhary.
HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS
Villagers can call Swara's toll free number and record grievances in their own language. They will be prompted to give contact details of the official in charge at the administrationgovernment level. The grievances will be translated into English by Swara and uploaded on their website. People across the country -and the world -can make calls to the officials to remind them about the villagers' problems. “We realised that adivasis can be trained to register complaints, but sometimes their complaints get trivialised. But if people like you and me make calls, officials will be pressurised to acting,“ said Chaudhary.
THE IMPACT
Over the years, the initiative helped solve various problems, from basic demands for a hand pump, to major issues like not getting pension. People from all walks of life called officials, requesting them to act on complaints.
After having performed in villages, the group is now visiting institutions across Mumbai, urging people through traditional songs, dance and puppet shows to make calls for social change. “We want to bridge the barrier of language and distance, so that the world is a better place for tribals in the remotest parts of India,“ said Pawan Satyarthi, group leader at Swara.

Aug 28 2015 : The Economic Times (Delhi)

the speaking tree - A Green Diet

SWAMI CHINMAYANANDA





What we like to eat depends upon one's taste. There are only four things available: stones, plants, animals and humans.We cannot eat stones because our system is not geared to digest and assimilate them directly. And even though we sometimes destroy human beings with our cruelty , our progressive society does not allow eating them. That leaves us the vegetable and animal kingdom to choose from.We find that the very first progenitor of humanity , Adam himself, was eating only vegetables. It is only his second son who started this easy method of obtaining food because agriculture seemed to be too difficult for him, as it required a continuous process of putting forward effort to produce.
Whereas sitting behind a stone, waiting for innocent animals to come along, and destroying and eating them seemed to be the easier way! The food we eat and the thoughts and actions that spring forth from us have a distinct relationship. What is true in the computer world -garbage in, garbage out -seems to be true of our bodies too. If you put toxic food, or garbage, into your system, the texture of your thoughts and actions has a tendency to become more un-reconciling, selfish, less concerned for others, and lusty -and potentially dangerous to society .
Since our culture is essentially geared for the life of meditation, the mind that is constantly agitated and wandering finds it difficult to plunge into meditation. To such an individual, the toxin is an obstacle in reaching his goal.