Art
of Living silver jubilee celebrations end
By K G Vasuki
Bangalore:
Silver jubilee celebrations of the world famouse Art
of Living meditation course came to an end on Sunday with
a large number of people attending the ''Maha Sudarshan
Kriya'. Millions of people gathered at the Jakkur Airfield
in Bangalore to attend the mass meditation ''Maha Sudarshan
Kriya', a meditation technique devised by the spiritual
guru in 1981 on the third and the final day of the Art of
Living silver jubilee celebrations. President APJ Abdul
Kalam, who arrived soon after the kriya, said he was ''delighted''
to be participating in the celebrations. Dr. Kalam appreciated
the efforts of Ravi Shankar for bridging the gap in the
society.
"Respected
religious leaders and the members who are assembled here,
I have put forward a three dimensional approach for the
evolution of the society. Can the Art of Living with multiple
religious conglomerate here (will) evolve a system that
can capture and propagate an action-oriented doctrine on
the evolution of the citizens?", said President APJ Abdul
Kalam. Spirituality should have the following missions...number
one- The evolution of the society, number two using music
as a binding force of the mind and hearts throughout the
world. Just now I saw...any violent god will melt there...third...making
fine arts as a part of the curriculum in the secondary and
university education. Fourth, celebration of inter-religious
festivals...every religious organisation should celebrate
the festivals of other religions, five...multi-religious
community projects for e.g. religious schools should welcome
20 percent poor boys and girls from other religions. Six,
the education system must be able to draw the best thoughts
of all the religions and promote among all the participants.
A healthy exchange of ideas, promotion of a common goal
among the participants to become a useful member of the
entire society, radiating harmony everywhere should be the
goal of the entire educational process," said Kalam. Conscience
is the light of the Soul that burns within the chambers
of our psychological heart. It is as real as life. It raises
the voice in protest whenever anything is thought of or
done contrary to the righteousness. Conscience is a form
of truth that has been transferred through our genetic stock
in the form of the knowledge of our own acts and feelings
as right or wrong. He further went on to say that a virtuous
and courageous person can alone use the instrument of conscience.
He or she can alone hear the inner voice of the soul clearly.
"In an impious person this faculty is dead. The sensitive
nature of his or her conscience has been destroyed by sin.
Hence he or she is unable to discriminate right from wrong.
The members of the "Organization of Spiritual Glad tidings"
should develop this virtue of the ability to use their own
conscience and also inspire others to do so which will enable
them to enjoy the freedom and remove their anxiety and worries,"
he added. "Wisdom has got to be inculcated to the mankind
by the parents, teachers and leaders from various walks
of life in the society and most respected religious and
spiritual leaders of various religions and traditions. Such
training and exposure among our youth will definitely enable
them to develop human values and ethics needed for promoting
universal harmony," he said. Leader of Opposition L.K.Advani,
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, BJP leader Anantha
Kumar, a galaxy of other leaders and dignitaries were also
present at the event.
Sadhu Yadav's arrest in flood relief
scam stayed (Go
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New
Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday stayed the arrest
of Railway Lalu Prasad's brother-in-law and Lok Sabha Member
Sadhu Yadav till March 9 in connection with the non- bailable
warrant issued against him in the Bihar flood relief scam
case. The stay order was issued by the Justice S K Agrawal
who asked the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP from Gopalganj
to appear before the appropriate court in Patna before March
9 to seek solution under the law.
The Delhi High Court had on February 17 stayed the arrest
of Sadhu Yadav till today. Staying the execution of the
non-bailable warrants (NBW) issued against him by a Patna
Court, Justice S K Agrawal had also issued notice to the
state of Bihar to seek its reply by today to the anticipatory
bail plea of Sadhu Yadav. Apprehending his arrest in 1999-2000
flood relief scam, Anirudh Prasad alias Sadhu Yadav, had
moved an anticipatory bail application before the High Court.
His counsel had claimed that Yadav was falsely implicated
in the case due to political dispute after the Janta Dal
(U)-Bhartiya Janta Party combine assumed power in the state.
Special Judge (Vigilance) R N Prasad in Patna had issued
an NBW on February 13 against the MP on the request of the
vigilance bureau which had grilled him in December 2005,
about his links with Santosh Jha and other accused in the
case. It was the first NBW against a politician in the scam
which came to light last year. Additional Director General
of Vigilance Neelmani had earlier claimed that there was
sufficient evidence to prove the charge that Sadhu Yadav
had received 'ill gotten money 'from the supplier of relief
materials and alleged kingpin of the fraud Santosh Kumar
Jha, who is in judicial custody. Former Patna District Magistrate
Gautam Goswami is one of the main accused in the case related
to cheating of Rs 17 crore meant for providing relief to
flood-hit people in several districts of north Bihar in
the year 2004. Goswami was conferred 'Young Asian Hero'
award for his role in providing aid to flood victims last
year before the Bihar government ordered a vigilance probe
into the scam on April 26 following allegations of misappropriation
of relief funds. Goswami is lodged in jail since his surrender
on June 30, 2005.
Victorious Indian cricket team given
welcome (Go
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by Sushil Pareek/Chandrika
Jain
Mumbai/New
Delhi: A victorious Indian cricket team, which arrived
in two batches in Mumbai and Delhi, was on Monday given
jubilant reception by their fans in the wake of their clinching
win over Pakistan in the Hutch one-day series. The Indians
won the series 4-1. Fans welcomed Irfan Pathan, Zaheer Khan
and Ajit Agarkar, while the real heroes -- Yuvraj Singh
and Mahendra Singh Dhoni chose to take connecting flights
to Chandigarh and Ranchi respectively. Singh and Dhoni had
posted an unbeaten third-wicket stand of 146 in just 99
balls to power India to 287 for two in 46.5 overs in reply
to Pakistan's 286 for eight on Sunday. Yuvraj ended on an
unbeaten107, while Dhoni scored a rollicking 72 of 56 balls.
Pakistan won the first match in Peshawar before being outclassed
in the next four games when India made four successful run
chases. Losing captain Inzamam-ul-Haq said India had played
well after losing the test series 1-0.
Sunday's was India's 13th consecutive successful run-chase
and their 12th victory in their last 16 matches. Kiran More,
chairman of Selection Commitee, said the Indian team will
now gear up for the forthcoming series with England. "It's
quite good. It will be a good start. We have some plans
and we will work on those areas. We will also work on concerned
areas. It should be an interesting series. England is a
good side," said More, when asked about the team's immediate
plans. The 16-member England squad led by captain Michael
Vaughan arrived on February 13 for a 40-day tour of India.
The team is due to play three tests and seven one-day matches
during the two- month trip. The first test begins in Nagpur
on March 1.
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