A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty…….Albert Einstein
Jai Shri Ram Jai Shri Dadaji Jai Janani Devi JaiRenuka Devi
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Tuesday, June 21, 2011
A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty…….Albert Einstein
Monday, June 20, 2011
Sunday, June 12, 2011
THE PALE BLUE DOT
[edit] Reflections by Sagan In the book, Sagan related his thoughts on a deeper meaning of the photograph:
Sagan points out that "all of human history has happened on that tiny pixel, which is our only home" (speech at Cornell University, October 13th 1994, shown here inside a blue circle).
From this distant vantage point, the Earth might not seem of any particular interest. But for us, it's different. Look again at that dot. That's here, that's home, that's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.
Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.
The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.
It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.
………………………………………………………………………………….
published inInspiration Friends dt,11th June 2011
[edit] Reflections by Sagan In the book, Sagan related his thoughts on a deeper meaning of the photograph:
Sagan points out that "all of human history has happened on that tiny pixel, which is our only home" (speech at Cornell University, October 13th 1994, shown here inside a blue circle).
From this distant vantage point, the Earth might not seem of any particular interest. But for us, it's different. Look again at that dot. That's here, that's home, that's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.
Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.
The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.
It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.
………………………………………………………………………………….
published inInspiration Friends dt,11th June 2011
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Today 5th June World Environment Day!
.
1)Wangari Maathai:
Wangari Maathai has made environmental preservation in Africa her life’s work. And what a life it’s been! Born in Kenya in 1940, she was the first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate degree. She later went on to found the Green Belt Movement – an organization that has helped women plant more than 40 million trees on community lands throughout the continent. She also has been active in politics throughout her career, and in 1998 she became co-chair of the Jubilee 2000 Africa Campaign for debt forgiveness. In recognition of her contributions to sustainable development, democracy and peace, she was awarded the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize. Momentum recently had the honor of speaking with Maathai about climate adaptation in Africa, the role of women in the environmental movement and her hopes for the future.
2) Julia:
Julia Lorraine "Butterfly" Hill is an environmentalist, poet, writer, educator, speaker, and founder of the organization Circle of Life. She earned international fame as an environmental activist by protecting an old-growth forest in northern California from clear-cutting by a logging company. To prevent the logging, she lived in one of the trees a 1,000-year-old redwood known as "Luna" for 738 days until an agreement was reached with the Pacific Lumber Company.
Enduring not only illness and the forces of nature but also the efforts of Pacific Lumber to bring her down, Hill established the longest activist "tree sit" in the world, the prior record having been ninety days in England. Eventually a legal agreement was reached that provided for the preservation of Luna and all the trees within the three acres surrounding it; in return, Pacific Lumber received a $50,000 payment that was provided by Hill, with the stipulation that it be donated to a local college, Humboldt State University.
Her courage, commitment and profound clarity in articulating a message of hope, empowerment, and love and respect for all life has inspired millions of people worldwide.
Founder of the Circle of Life, an organization devoted to environmental education and activism
Youngest person ever elected to the Ecology Hall of Fame
Named by John F. Kennedy Jr., in George magazine, as one of the twenty most influential women in politics
Co-founder of the Engage Network and the inspiration behind What′s Your Tree
3) Jane Godall :
Originally brought to Africa to work with Louis Leakey, Jane Goodall began her work with chimpanzees in the Gombe Stream Reserve in 1970. By close observation, she documented the social organization of chimps in the wild, including their social nature, their tool-making, their occasional systematic killing of one another, their hierarchy and their social development.
Jane Goodall has also worked for the conservation of chimpanzees in the wild and for better conditions for chimps in zoos and research institutions, through speaking and writing, raising funds, and through the Jane Goodall Institute.
4)Dr. Vandana Shiva
Navdanya International, founded in India by physicist and internationally renowned activist Dr. Vandana Shiva, was born out of a vision of peace and non-violence. Navdanya’s aim is to defend and protect nature and the rights of people to access to food and water and dignified jobs and livelihoods. Promoting local and ecological food models is critical to alleviating poverty, hunger, and safeguarding natural resources, including water, especially in this time of climate change chaos.
Articulating rarely heard views from the global South, Navdanya believes that cultural and biological diversity is essential for ensuring creative, peaceful societies throughout the planet.
5) Nirupama Deshpande:
About SBK
Sampoorna Bamboo Kendra (SBK), founded by social workers Sunil & Nirupama Deshpande, was started around 12
years ago from tribal village of Lawada in Melghat Forest. SBK was started initially as a means to solve the malnutrition
problem in the region and to help improve upon the many other social problems that plague the region. Today with the
advent of mass produced goods, artisan based products are having a hard time competing at these price points and
hence artisan communities around the world and in India are dwindling. The artisan communities at one time formed the
base of a socially, economically and environmentally sustainable decentralized industrial economy, unlike today’s
western industrialized economies, which aren’t nearly as socially or environmentally sustainable. It is this
economy that is based on artisanry that they would like to resurrect. Hence, the ultimate vision behind SBK’s work
is to: “Restablish respect & honor for artisans in society”With such a deep vision, their work is well beyond
the activities of just generating a livelihood in the Melghat region, it spans the entire country. The Melghat is where they
are effectively developing this model that they hope to spread across all of India in hopes of revitalizing and
reestablishing India’s amazing tradition of artisanry, some of the best in the world and while in the process
employing rural India much more effectively and responsiblly than today. This vision has led them to generate livelihoods
in the Melghat region by offering trainings in bamboo handicraft & housing work to ST and SC youth. Bamboo was
chosen as it is an eco-friendly sustainable renewable resource with remarkable strength and flexibility, locally available
throughout India and has 100’s of applications for man-kind. In support of this work, they are involved with
marketing of handicrafts through an artisan cooperative, building awareness of bamboo applications, working to organize
artisans on a local, state and national level through Karigar Panchayats in order to fight for artisan rights and working to
change government policies to be more artisan supportive. In addition, their work concentrates on improving design and
production in order to ensure the trainees have viable livelihoods in today’s socio-economic environment. Outside
of the bamboo livelihood work, SBK is involved with other social development work in areas such as rural credit
generation, village-level micro-planning, SHG group creation and crèche center operation, all targeted at the local
Melghat population.Mission:
- Increase employment opportunities in rural India (particularly for SC/ST groups) by production of value-added items
- Promote cultivation and use of an eco-friendly material like bamboo
- Foster creativity, self-reliance and self-confidence among our traditional artisan communities
- Get Bamboo recognized as a modern engineering material
- Establish an artisan education system that spans from the local to the national levelAssistance
We could always use assistance in our everyday activities. If you genuinely understand and feel the cause that we are
fighting for and would like to either donate your time to us as a volunteer or donate money to help fund future activities
published the above article in Inspirations Friends.
The United Nations has declared 5th June as World Environment Day. The five women who contributed In this field, one of them a Kenyan woman procured Noble Prize in 2004 . A brief summary about them and their work.
1)Wangari Maathai:
Wangari Maathai has made environmental preservation in Africa her life’s work. And what a life it’s been! Born in Kenya in 1940, she was the first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate degree. She later went on to found the Green Belt Movement – an organization that has helped women plant more than 40 million trees on community lands throughout the continent. She also has been active in politics throughout her career, and in 1998 she became co-chair of the Jubilee 2000 Africa Campaign for debt forgiveness. In recognition of her contributions to sustainable development, democracy and peace, she was awarded the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize. Momentum recently had the honor of speaking with Maathai about climate adaptation in Africa, the role of women in the environmental movement and her hopes for the future.
2) Julia:
Julia Lorraine "Butterfly" Hill is an environmentalist, poet, writer, educator, speaker, and founder of the organization Circle of Life. She earned international fame as an environmental activist by protecting an old-growth forest in northern California from clear-cutting by a logging company. To prevent the logging, she lived in one of the trees a 1,000-year-old redwood known as "Luna" for 738 days until an agreement was reached with the Pacific Lumber Company.
Enduring not only illness and the forces of nature but also the efforts of Pacific Lumber to bring her down, Hill established the longest activist "tree sit" in the world, the prior record having been ninety days in England. Eventually a legal agreement was reached that provided for the preservation of Luna and all the trees within the three acres surrounding it; in return, Pacific Lumber received a $50,000 payment that was provided by Hill, with the stipulation that it be donated to a local college, Humboldt State University.
Her courage, commitment and profound clarity in articulating a message of hope, empowerment, and love and respect for all life has inspired millions of people worldwide.
Founder of the Circle of Life, an organization devoted to environmental education and activism
Youngest person ever elected to the Ecology Hall of Fame
Named by John F. Kennedy Jr., in George magazine, as one of the twenty most influential women in politics
Co-founder of the Engage Network and the inspiration behind What′s Your Tree
3) Jane Godall :
Originally brought to Africa to work with Louis Leakey, Jane Goodall began her work with chimpanzees in the Gombe Stream Reserve in 1970. By close observation, she documented the social organization of chimps in the wild, including their social nature, their tool-making, their occasional systematic killing of one another, their hierarchy and their social development.
Jane Goodall has also worked for the conservation of chimpanzees in the wild and for better conditions for chimps in zoos and research institutions, through speaking and writing, raising funds, and through the Jane Goodall Institute.
4)Dr. Vandana Shiva
Navdanya International, founded in India by physicist and internationally renowned activist Dr. Vandana Shiva, was born out of a vision of peace and non-violence. Navdanya’s aim is to defend and protect nature and the rights of people to access to food and water and dignified jobs and livelihoods. Promoting local and ecological food models is critical to alleviating poverty, hunger, and safeguarding natural resources, including water, especially in this time of climate change chaos.
Articulating rarely heard views from the global South, Navdanya believes that cultural and biological diversity is essential for ensuring creative, peaceful societies throughout the planet.
5) Nirupama Deshpande:
About SBK
Sampoorna Bamboo Kendra (SBK), founded by social workers Sunil & Nirupama Deshpande, was started around 12
years ago from tribal village of Lawada in Melghat Forest. SBK was started initially as a means to solve the malnutrition
problem in the region and to help improve upon the many other social problems that plague the region. Today with the
advent of mass produced goods, artisan based products are having a hard time competing at these price points and
hence artisan communities around the world and in India are dwindling. The artisan communities at one time formed the
base of a socially, economically and environmentally sustainable decentralized industrial economy, unlike today’s
western industrialized economies, which aren’t nearly as socially or environmentally sustainable. It is this
economy that is based on artisanry that they would like to resurrect. Hence, the ultimate vision behind SBK’s work
is to: “Restablish respect & honor for artisans in society”With such a deep vision, their work is well beyond
the activities of just generating a livelihood in the Melghat region, it spans the entire country. The Melghat is where they
are effectively developing this model that they hope to spread across all of India in hopes of revitalizing and
reestablishing India’s amazing tradition of artisanry, some of the best in the world and while in the process
employing rural India much more effectively and responsiblly than today. This vision has led them to generate livelihoods
in the Melghat region by offering trainings in bamboo handicraft & housing work to ST and SC youth. Bamboo was
chosen as it is an eco-friendly sustainable renewable resource with remarkable strength and flexibility, locally available
throughout India and has 100’s of applications for man-kind. In support of this work, they are involved with
marketing of handicrafts through an artisan cooperative, building awareness of bamboo applications, working to organize
artisans on a local, state and national level through Karigar Panchayats in order to fight for artisan rights and working to
change government policies to be more artisan supportive. In addition, their work concentrates on improving design and
production in order to ensure the trainees have viable livelihoods in today’s socio-economic environment. Outside
of the bamboo livelihood work, SBK is involved with other social development work in areas such as rural credit
generation, village-level micro-planning, SHG group creation and crèche center operation, all targeted at the local
Melghat population.Mission:
- Increase employment opportunities in rural India (particularly for SC/ST groups) by production of value-added items
- Promote cultivation and use of an eco-friendly material like bamboo
- Foster creativity, self-reliance and self-confidence among our traditional artisan communities
- Get Bamboo recognized as a modern engineering material
- Establish an artisan education system that spans from the local to the national levelAssistance
We could always use assistance in our everyday activities. If you genuinely understand and feel the cause that we are
fighting for and would like to either donate your time to us as a volunteer or donate money to help fund future activities
published the above article in Inspirations Friends.
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