Posts Tagged ‘prayer’
Written by Rahul on 17 August 2009
London, Aug 17 (ANI): Katy Perry has confessed that as a child she used to pray to God to have big boobs.
“I remember really vividly kneeling by my bed as a nine-year-old, saying my prayers and asking God to give me boobs that were so big that if I laid on my back I wouldn’t be able to see my feet,” the Sun quoted her as saying.
“Eventually that request was granted. A bit of divine intervention displays the power of prayer,” she added.
The singer also said that she avoids wardrobe malfunction by skipping in her outfits before going on stage.
“Every time before I go on stage, or go out where I know there will be a lot of Press, I take a skipping rope and spend about ten minutes, fully clothed, skipping,” she said.
“I look like Rocky. This way I can ensure that everything is firmly in place and I won’t have a wardrobe malfunction.
“Don’t want those boulders doing a show of their own,” she added. (ANI)
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Written by Rahul on 10 August 2009
Akola (Maharashtra), Aug. 10(ANI): On the occasion of auspicious Shravan (monsoon) month rituals, thousands of Hindu devotees thronged to Mahadev Temple located in forest area of Satpura mountain range and dedicated to Lord Shiva at Dhargad near Akola district of Maharashtra.
Devotees from all across India came in large numbers to mark the auspicious third Monday of Shravan month as per the regional Marathi calendar.
Though the Mahadev Temple is located in dense jungles, there is no end to the stream of devotees particularly during the Shravan season.
“This shrine is situated in dense forest area and there are animals also. But, due to the blessings of Lord Shiva, no untoward incidents have ever been reported so far. That is why people come here in large numbers every year,” said Suresh Agarwal, a devotee.
The pilgrims approach from several entry points before trekking up the mountainous terrain to reach the cave shrine.
“The idols were placed by an Eklavya (forest tribal) ruler…a war broke out that time and the king was unable to attend the annual prayer ceremony as he was busy in the war…the king was upset then Lord Shiva himself appeared in front of him. So, he founded the temple in this cave,” said Bhushan Gavande, another pilgrim.
Shravan month begins on July 22 and ends on August 20 and it is a common sight during this period to see devotees clad in saffron attires, visiting various shrines amid the chants of ‘Bam bam bhole’, the traditional hymn dedicated to Shiva.
Hindus worship Shravan as one of the holiest months. It is also the first of the four holy months known as the Chatur Mas during which those who have become monks and given up social bondage perform special prayers and rituals. (ANI)
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Written by Rahul on 02 April 2009
New Delhi, April 1 (IANS) Three Business Boeing Jets (BBJ) – all modelled on the US president’s office-in-the-sky Air Force One – were Wednesday inducted into the Communication Squadron of the Indian Air Force (IAF) by President Pratibha Patil.
The President also undertook the maiden flight of the BBJ christened Rajdoot. The other two jets are called Rajhans and Rajkamal.
She flew to Lilabari in Assam on way to Arunachal Pradesh in the aircraft emblazoned with the name of India, a red beacon on top and Indian flag fluttering in the front.
‘It will be more business-like with the journeys cut short. I can now give more time to study,’ Patil said before boarding the aircraft.
The supreme commander of the armed forces boarded the aircraft after a small prayer ritual was conducted. The president was accompanied by an entourage of 20 officials on the four-day tour of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.
With the flight, Patil formally inducted the jets into the IAF’s Air Headquarters Communications Squadron that is based at the Palam Air Force station here. The squadron ferries the president, the vice president, the prime minister, the service chiefs and other dignitaries.
‘We have ushered in the new era for flying our national leaders. The aircraft in its class is the finest. Its features are SPS (Special Protection Suite), more passenger comfort and lower noise level, which makes it class apart from what we have been flying,’ IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major told reporters here.
The IAF has purchased the aircraft from the US at a cost of Rs.9.34 billion each and they are equipped with state-of-the-art security gadgets and the latest communication systems.
The name Rajdoot was first initially borne by a Russian TU-124 and then by the Boeing-737 the new jet is replacing. The BBJ is based on a newer generation Boeing-737.
The aircraft has entered service nine months behind schedule due to last minute integration problems of the missile defence system and sorting out of end-user verification laws with the US.
‘We have sorted this out. No physical verification will be there for the equipments in the aircraft,’ Major said.
The three aircraft are being extensively flown across the country and are undergoing complete system checks. One aircraft will be dedicated for the president and the prime minister, another will be used to ferry special guests and senior ministers, while one will be on standby.
The aircraft have a spacious VVIP cabin and can carry a total of 46 passengers in four different zones.
The new jets have been configured to the same security specifications as the Boeing-747 that flies the US president. They are equipped with sophisticated electronic countermeasures, a protection suite and chaff dispensers to ward off missile threats, a secure satellite and VHF communication suite and other security gadgets.
Powered by two CFM-56 engines that are jointly manufactured by the US General Electric and the French Snecma, the long-range BBJs are designed to function as command posts in the event of an emergency. The jets are quieter and more fuel-efficient. It can cruise a speed of 41,000 feet at 450 knots.
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Written by Rahul on 08 March 2009
Dharamsala, Mar 7 (ANI): Tibetan exiles on Saturday began a five-day long prayer session to pray for the long life of their spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.
A religious association organised prayer session at Chamunda Temple with Hindu customs and rituals.
Several Buddhist monks and Tibetan exiles attended the praying session.
“After the long fifty years experiences, we are struggling at the moment for the support and understanding of the Tibetan movement. Only Indian bodies understood and supported us for a long time,” said Acharya Yeshi Phungchok, member of Tibetan parliament-in-exile.bout 20 Hindu priests from Andhra Pradesh joined to offer prayers at the seat of Tibetan government in exile.
In November, the Dalai Lama had put an end to speculation about his retirement, and said he would not retire.
He also said he was losing faith in the Chinese government’s desire to resolve the issue of Tibet’s autonomy. (ANI)
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Written by Rahul on 06 March 2009
Peshawar (Pakistan), Mar.6 (ANI): The truce inked between the government in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and the defunct Tehreek Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) last month in the Swat region, seems to have allowed the Taliban a chance to expand their harsh religious rule, reports the New York Times.ust days after the truce was signed, a member of a prominent anti-Taliban family returned to his mountain village, having received assurances from the government that it was safe.
The Taliban promptly kidnapped and tortured him before killing him.he militants then erected roadblocks to search cars for any relatives who dared travel there for his funeral. None did.
This week, two Pakistani soldiers who were part of a convoy escorting a water tanker were shot and killed because they failed to inform the Taliban in advance of their movements.
The imposition of the Shariah, in the area,includes a ban on music, a requirement that shops close during calls to prayer and the installation of complaint boxes for reports of anti-Islamic behavior.
Local residents are skeptical that girls’ schools will be allowed to reopen.
Previous accords with the militants in Pakistan’s semi-autonomous tribal areas have effectively created mini-states with sanctuaries for Qaeda and Pakistani militants.
The Pakistani government has argued that the truce in Swat would free the Pakistani Army, reduce civilian suffering and satisfy popular dissatisfaction with the local judiciary.
However, hundreds of thousands of people who have fled in the past six months to camps in surrounding districts or to relatives’ homes are staying put, unsure what they would encounter if they dared to return.
The Pakistani government agreed to the cease-fire with an aging Islamic leader, Maulana Sufi Muhammad, on February 16 after the army had already ceded about 70 percent of Swat, a pocket of snow-capped peaks and fertile valleys, to Taliban fighters.
The government said it saw the truce as a way to separate what it considered to be more approachable militants, like Muhammad, from hard-line Taliban leaders like Maulana Fazlullah, his son-in-law, who is a young warlord flush with money and weapons.
There was no mention of the future of girls’ education in the accord on Wednesday, an ominous sign, said opponents of the Taliban.
The militants have burned hundreds of girls’ schools in Swat in the past year, and banished the students to their homes.
The chief minister of the North-West Frontier Province, Ameer Haider Hoti, said during a visit to Swat this week that the girls’ schools would reopen. But the provincial government is strapped for money, and there is speculation that the government cannot afford to rebuild the burned schools.
Local and provincial officials appear to be powerless in the face of the Taliban, and many remain in exile in Peshawar. Some officials have fled to Islamabad, the capital, some as far as London.
Those who have ventured into Swat to negotiate the accords with the Taliban have been shown who is in charge. (ANI)
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Written by Rahul on 05 March 2009
Rishikesh (Uttarakhand), Mar 5 (AI): More than 400 foreign yoga practitioners from over 35 countries are taking part in a weeklong international yoga symposium in Uttarakhand.
The seven-day long 8th annual International Yoga Festival has been jointly organised by the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board and the Parmarth Niketan Ashram in Rishikesh was kick started from March 1.
The ongoing festival is drawing a large number of foreign tourists especially from west.
“The yoga festival has a very good mixture of teachers from all over the world. It also brings people to the Ganga (River) and puts them in touch with the whole spirit of India. So it’s a very wonderful feeling of bringing yoga students to the homeland of yoga,” said Davis Frawler, a tourist from USA.
Large numbers of visitors and yoga practitioners are coming every year to attend the yoga sessions and perform yoga exercises. Most of them attend this festival to introduce the culture of their country to the people from rest of the world who are present here.
“I am teaching Shinto Yoga in this festival. I want to introduce Japanese culture to the other countries’ people. I would also like to share the ancient wisdom of Japan, said Hikaru Hashimoto, a tourist from Japan.
The festival is held on the banks of the river Ganga, it offers a wide variety of yoga asans including Kundalini Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Reiki, Pranayama, Power Yoga, Yoga Nidra, Pranic Healing, Music Therapy, Yoga Therapy, Nada yoga, Meditation and special satsangs (prayer meetings).
The question-answer sessions with prominent exponents of Yoga are one of the highlights of the Yoga Week.
“Yoga is for all. It is beyond region and religion, beyond caste creed and colour.
The motive of this festival is to make the people from both India and western countries realize the importance of Yoga,” said Swami Chidanand Saraswati, President and Spiritual Head of the Parmarth Niketan, Rishikesh.
Yoga is helpful not just for physical health, but it also helps to overcome mental problems like stress, depression and frustration. First organised in 2001, the festival has since been held every year. By Ashish Goel (ANI)
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Written by Rahul on 26 February 2009
Kolkata, Feb 26 (ANI): Human rights advocate and community activist Martin Luther Kind III visited the headquarters of the Missionaries of the Charity on Thursday and prayed at the tomb of Mother Teresa.
“I am blessed that to get this opportunity to visit the place from where Mother Teresa carried out her service to humanity. World needs peace and humanity as Mother Teresa and Mahatma Gandhi provided,” Luther said.
“We came to pay tribute to walk in the areas and steps of Mahatma Gandhi and my father but also to reacquire inspiration because our world needs a message of non-violence and peace,” Luther added.
The nuns and novices of the Order sang hymns at the tomb of Mother Teresa as they joined in prayer along with Martin Luther King III. They felt privileged to meet the kin of the crusader of civil rights movement in the USA and a couple of them happened to be Americans.
“For me it’s a great privilege to meet him and to see him. Of course I remember his father and I remember the civil rights movement from the beginning and I know how much has been accomplished in our country through Dr. Martin Luther King Junior. It’s a tremendous privilege to meet him,” said Sister Mary Talbot of Missionaries of Charity, Kolkata.
Mother Teresa, an Albanian for over 45 years worked in aid of the poor, sick, orphaned, and dying, while founding and guiding the Missionaries of Charity’s expansion in Kolkata, first throughout India and then in other countries.
Martin Luther King, father of Martin Luther King III had visited India on a month long tour in early 1959.
On that occasion he had addressed several meetings in New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai, Thiruvananthapuram and Ahmedabad.
To commemorate the golden jubilee of his father’s visit to India, Martin Luther King III along with a delegation of like-minded peace activists from USA is presently touring India. (ANI)
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Written by Rahul on 22 February 2009
Mumbai/Varansai, Feb 22 (ANI): As Hollywood’s Academy Awards are to get underway later on Sunday, residents of Dharavi in Mumbai, are hopeful of Oscars for ‘Slumdog Millionaire’.
Residents are very happy with the movie’s nomination in ten categories, hopeful that the Oscars glory would encourage slum children to move forward in life.
“If the movie wins Oscar, it would definitely take our country to new heights. After this movie, we know that children from India can do a lot. This movie would especially benefit children from poor families, as they would be encouraged to move forward in life and achieve something in life,” said Zaheer, a resident.
They are hopeful that the movie would pocket a couple of awards, having done good business across the world.
Another resident Mohammad Nafees added, “The movie should get the award. The movie has done a good business. Slum children have also worked in the movie so it would be good for them if it wins.”
The film had received mixed response across India as some slum dwellers found it offensive since it depicts the lives of impoverished Indians and the treatment of the cast.
Its director, Danny Boyle, has faced accusations from some parts of the Indian media that his film was ‘poverty porn’.
Bollywood actor Sushmita Sen disagreed with controversy and said that the movie shows reality, which everybody wants to see.
“People like to look at reality. What are we doing miles away, we don’t even know half the things. And who knows by films like this people will also come forward to want to know India. Because when I see Slumdog, I say Mercedes as well as a bullock cart run on the streets of my country,” said Sen.
Meanwhile, people in Varanasi offered special prayers to the Ganga river for the film getting honours at the Oscars.
“Today at the Ganga river bank, we are offering prayer for the Oscar nominee ‘Slumdog Millionaire’,” said Ravikant Vishvakarma, a resident.
“Slumdog Millionaire” is nominated for 10 Oscars, including best picture and best director. It already has won at the Golden Globes, the Screen Actors Guild, and the British BAFTA awards. (ANI)
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Written by Rahul on 20 February 2009
Washington, Feb 20 (ANI): An unwell Katy Perry has urged her fans to pray for her quick recovery from influenza so that she can make it for her European tour dates.
Perry, 24, was not well when she attended the Brit Awards in London on February 18, and her condition has not improved since then.
She is worried for her tour, scheduled to begin on February 22.
The ‘I Kissed a Girl’ singer admitted in a posting on her website that her hotel room “smells like death”, and that she is doing everything to beat the bug.
“I can’t tell you how bad I feel right now. Last night I was sweatin’ it out… I have the doctor on speed dial if the fever gets over 101/102,” Contactmusic quoted her as saying.
“I thought I was invincible and then my body decides to show me otherwise.
“I’m stuck in bed for the next couple of days as I should be… I’m gonna go back to sweatsville and try and sleep it off some more… I gotta get better; I’m starting (a) tour on Sunday here (in London)… so say a little prayer if you think of it,” she added. (ANI)
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Written by Rahul on 19 February 2009
London, Feb 19 (ANI): Monks in northeast Thailand have built a temple out of one million recycled beer bottles, using them for its walls and roof.
The temple called Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew, which is also known as Wat Lan Kuad or ‘the Temple of a Million Bottles’, is in Sisaket province near the Cambodian border, 400 miles from the capital Bangkok.
Collection of the bottles by the Buddhist monks had begun in 1984, and after they amassed a huge number, they decided to use them as building material.
The monks have created a complex of around 20 buildings using the beer bottles, and they are encouraging the local authorities to send them more.
“The more bottles we get, the more buildings we make,” the Telegraph quoted Abbot San Kataboonyo as saying.
The complex comprises of the main temple over a lake, crematorium, prayer rooms, a hall, water tower, tourist bathrooms and several small bungalows raised off the ground, and which serve as the monks’ quarters.
As per the monks, the bottles, which are a mixture of green Heineken bottles and brown Thai beer Chang, do not lose their colour, provide good lighting and are easy to clean.
The building has a concrete core to strengthen it and the eco-friendly monks have created mosaics of Buddha using the recycled beer bottle caps.
The temple has been constructed out of 1.5 million recycled bottles, and the monks intend to use reuse more for the building, which is now on an approved list of eco-friendly sightseeing tours in southeast Asia. (ANI)
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Written by Rahul on 18 February 2009
Attari, Feb.18 (ANI): Tension on either side of the Indo-Pakistan border always generates panic among border residents of Punjab. Many a time, these residents have had to migrate to saver havens because of war or tension-related rhetoric.
In the wake of the terror attacks on Mumbai, trade between India and Pakistan through the land border checkpost at wagah has taken a beating.
In a bid to restore normalcy between the two South Asian neighbours, border residents arranged a prayer meeting and performed a ritual on Wedensday.
A majority of the people who participated in the even, said that politicians have their own agenda, and therefore, there was need to call on the Almighty to help resolve the problems of border inhabitants.
Rameshwar Parshad Tyagi, the chief priest at the function, said such special prayers would certainly reduce prevailing tensions in the border areas.
He claimed that religion always works to strengthen relations between different communities.
Hailing the efforts of the residents of the border area, Sawinder Singh, a local, told ANI: “Our efforts will turn sour relations of India and Pakistan to sweet.”
Harjeet Kaur, another border resident, claimed that her father was still in a Pakistani jail as a Prisoner of War (PoW).
She said that she was participating in the prayers to ensure that peace prevailed between the two countries. If peace prevailed, chances of her father returning to his homeland would brighten, she added. By Ravinder Singh Robin (ANI)
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Written by Rahul on 18 February 2009
Washington, Feb 18 (ANI): A new analysis of a medieval manuscript has pushed back the first mathematical use of the concept of actual infinity by some 2,000 years, all the way back to the third century B.C.
The manuscript in question is a tattered page of parchment on which a medieval monk in Constantinople copied the third century B.C. work of the Greek mathematician Archimedes.
Infinity is one of the most fundamental questions in mathematics and still remains an unsolved riddle.
Mathematicians today refer to actual infinity as an uncountable set of numbers such as the number of points existing on a line at the same time, while a potential infinity is an endless sequence that unfolds consecutively over time.
The parchment page, which pushes back the first use of the concept of infinity, comes from the 348-page Archimedes Palimpsest, the oldest copy of some of the Greek genius’ writings.
They were hidden for centuries because a monk partly scraped them off the animal-skin parchment in the 13th century A.D. to clear the pages to print a prayer book.
Also, a forger painted pictures over the prayer book hundreds of years after that.
A scholar named Johan Ludvig Heiberg in 1906 studied the written remnants behind the religious words to discover the Palimpsest, finding evidence of Archimedes’ systematic use of the concept of infinity in a portion of the document called the Method of Mechanical Theorems.
In the past few years, the Palimpsest was re-examined at a far higher level of detail using a hair-thin X-ray scanning technique at Stanford University’s Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource in California.
Stanford classicist Reviel Netz asked Uwe Bergmann of the Stanford scanning facility to focus on the edge of a torn page, where Heiberg had figured just one line of text was missing.
The X-rays produced images of phosphorus and calcium from the ink used on the document.
Netz examined the scan and was able to deduce the presence of previously unseen Greek letters, kappa and alpha, which were likely followed by an iota to spell the Greek word for “and.”
This led Netz to conclude that two lines were missing, rather than one and to arrive at a new reading of the passage, according to Bergmann.
“Scholars are now talking about some new words which are emerging in the reconstruction of the evidence in introduction to the Method, that Archimedes’ concept of infinity was rather different from what was previously thought,” Bergmann said.
In fact, the new reading reveals that Archimedes was engaged in math that made conceptual use of actual infinity. (ANI)
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Written by Rahul on 18 February 2009
Washington, Feb 18 (ANI): British actress Kate Winslet credits her toned physique to “a wing and a prayer”, insisting she’s “too busy” to even think about exercising.
The Oscar nominee, who has struggled with weight since she was a teenager, insists she hasn’t been slimming down for the big ceremony.
When asked if she was dieting, Winslet said, “N.O. (I) absolutely do not. I’m very sort of relaxed and vocal about these things. I have not done a stitch of exercise since October. I literally have not had the time.”
“I’m just going to eat normally, I’m not going to make cuts.
“If I’m keeping it together it’s by a wing and a prayer. I just want to enjoy this,” she added.
The 33-year-old actress is winning accolades for her role in The Reader, and is tipped to win the Best actress at the Oscars.
She has already scooped two awards in Golden Globes and walked away with Best actress gong at the Baftas. (ANI)
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Written by Rahul on 17 February 2009
Shimla, Feb 17 (ANI): Farmers of Shimla took part in a century old traditional prayer session to save the world from global warming.
To deal with the impact of climate change in farming, the farmers are now turning to ‘Homa Farming’.
The Himachal Organic Farming Forum (an NGO) is initiating the farmers to adopt traditional method of farming with the help of prayers.
“If we adopt the ‘Homa Farming’ method, it will help to revive our thousand years old culture. This type of situation would never arise again because this farming method works with the help of both solar and moon’s energy. If we perform the Soma yagya (an old method of farming through prayers) for five days, then there is a possibility of receiving rain according to the beliefs of a German scientist,” said Gopal Mehta, President, Himachal Organic Farming Forum.
The farmers at Naren village Panchayat in Shimla offered this century old method of prayers for a favourable environment on Sunday. Burning incense sticks at dawn and dusk is believed to help receive rainfall and purify the climate.
“Whatever negative vibrations are prevailing in the environment, it will get warded off with the help of ‘Homa Farming’. With the help of this method, there would be positive vibrations in the environment, sufficient rainfall and the whole system will start functioning in a normal way. It would be a benefit for our lives,” said P L Chauhan, a farmer.
Receding Himalayan glaciers could jeopardize water supplies for hundreds of millions of people and rising sea levels can become a menace to Mumbai and Kolkata, as well as Bangladesh, scientists warn. By Hemant Chauhan (ANI)
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Written by Rahul on 16 February 2009
London, Feb 15 (ANI): Quality time with undivided attention is what pleases your loved one rather than that “classy” gift you thought he or she would go nuts about, according to a new poll.
A telephone survey of 1017 UK adults, conducted earlier this month revealed that couples prefer spending quality time together on Valentine’s Day to receiving gifts
Almost nine out of 10 people in a relationship said that undivided attention would be preferable to an “indulgent gift” on Valentine’s Day.
The survey also found that men were less materialistic than women, with 91 percent preferring time to a gift compared to 86 percent of women.
The findings of the research were published by the Church of England’s www.yourchurchwedding.org website.
The poll and a new ‘romantic prayer’ published on the website, were released to coincide with the end of National Marriage Week.
“Anyone can grab a gift to hand to someone – but giving a person your undivided attention is the ultimate compliment,” the Daily Star quoted Rev Jan Harney, co-author of the new prayer, as saying.
He added: “Love is what matters to people, not expensive presents. These results underline that couples can have a special Valentine’s Day even if they have less money at the moment. After all, the best things in life are free.” (ANI)
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Written by Rahul on 15 February 2009
Jalandhar, Feb 14 (ANI): A large number of devotees, seeking greener pastures abroad, head towards a Gurudwara devoted to Sant Baba Nihal Singh Shaheedan in Village Talhan of Punjab’s Doaba region.
Thousands of individuals in Doaba region hold this holy shrine in high-esteem. And, these devotees include many of those who have long been nurturing a dream to get a visa to go abroad but couldn’t get it.
The popular feeling about this Gurudwara is that anyone offering a toy plane here can have his or her wish to go abroad fulfilled. Hence a lot of people visit this holy shrine and make a wish to go abroad.
For this, the devotees make an offering of toy planes; inscribed with names of different carriers. Devotees buy these toy planes from the shops outside this Gurudwara and they offer it to Sri Guru Granth Sahib.
It all started a few months back, when the word spread that wishes of settling abroad would be fulfilled if one offered a toy plane at the shrine.
On Sundays, about 40-50 planes are offered. In most cases, devotees who wish to fly to a particular country offer a toy plane of the airline of that country.
In Doaba region, where going abroad is dream of most people, a large number of people have an unshakable faith in the Gurudwara.
“I was trying to go to abroad for a long time. I heard a lot about this Gurudwara, that if ‘Akhand Path’ or prayer is organised here, all your wishes are fulfilled. I have come here to offer my devotion. I am thankful to this place, as my wish of going abroad has been fulfilled,” said another devotee.
“I went to Germany two years back. I decided to offer a toy plane at the Gurudwara when I come back from there, as my wish of going abroad was fulfilled,” said one devotee.
It has become a difficult task for the Gurudwara authorities to store so many toy planes.
Punjabi youth, who dream of greener pastures abroad, come in large numbers after they hear stories of wishes of their friends to settle abroad being fulfilled after they offered planes at the Talhan Gurudwara.
“Whenever somebody’s wish of going abroad is fulfilled, they come here at the Gurudwara to offer a plane. Punjabis from all parts of the world – England, America, Canada and many other countries come here,” said one young devotee.
” Our family has organized ‘Akhand Path’ or prayer at the Gurudwara. I had a wish of going abroad. I came to know that people come here to offer a plane if their wish of going abroad is fulfilled. So, I have also come here with a wish and if gets fulfilled, I will also come here to offer a plane,” said another youngster.
For the Punjabi youth, spending three to 10 dollars in buying a toy airplane hardly matters, if it increases the possibility of ultimately realizing a million-dollar dream. By Paramjit Singh (ANI)
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Written by Rahul on 09 February 2009
London, February 9 (ANI): While viral proteins are known to perform an elegant dance to create infectious structures, American scientists at the Scripps Research Institute claim that they have created the first crystal structure of an intermediate particle they knew was assembled first.
The researchers have revealed that their finding is based on the study of a virus called HK97, which only infects bacteria.
They, however, insist that their study still attains significance because well-known viruses like herpes and HIV are also known to assemble an “intermediary” structure before morphing into its final assault-proof, infectious form.
“The principles of this multi-stage protein coat assembly will likely be similar across all complex viruses. But this process has never been seen before at this resolution, and now we known that what we thought happens, doesn’t,” Nature magazine quoted the study’s senior author, Scripps Research Professor John E. Johnson, as saying.
He insisted that deeply understanding how a virus builds its protective coat might help medically target vulnerabilities in the first stage of that assembly.
“We believe that without its final shell to protect it, an immature virus will be much more defenceless to antiviral agents,” he said.
The researcher added that knowing how viruses build such vessels to protect the naked viral DNA inside would also be useful in the field of medical nanotechnology.
“The immature coat has lots of holes in it through which we could load drugs, and then seal it in the mature form to produce a potent delivery system,” he said.
Having “solved” the structure of the HK97 virus’ mature outer coat, Johnson and his colleagues revealed that it is made up of 72 protein rings – 12 pentagons and 60 hexagons – locked together like the chain mail suits worn by knights.
The researchers said that that coating forms the head of the virus, which is extremely small – thousands of times narrower than a human hair.
According to them, the crystal structure was very beautiful. They revealed that the proteins that made up the soccer ball-like form were flat in shape and pointed outward, like hands placed palm to palm in prayer.
However, the structure immediately changed shape when it “sensed” the presence of DNA, and the fingers on the praying hands folded down together, fingers interspersed and grasping each other.
“That’s why the final protein coat is so stable. The proteins are all intertwined around each other,” Johnson said.
While it was previously thought that the proteins went through this motion as a nearly rigid unit, Johnson said that his team’s work showed that the proteins significantly changed in structure during the transition.
The researchers have yet to determine whether this structural change happens all at once, or if it moves like a wave around the sphere.(ANI)
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Written by Rahul on 08 February 2009
Palakkad (Kerala) , Jan.8 (ANI): The recently organized “Dharmasooya Mahayaga” or religious fire ritual at Kinassery near Palakkad district in South India, saw people from various religious faiths, including hundreds of foreigners, taking part in the ceremony.
The five-day religious ceremony lasted till Friday morning this past week.
The Mahayajna was performed to develop communal harmony among members of different communities and also to seek world peace.
The rites were performed by Sri Tathata, the head of the Ashram and a group of 50 priests, who commenced it on January 27 and concluded it on February 6 morning. It was open to the public from February 1 to sunrise on February 6.
On all days, the rituals began with a “Ganapathi Homam”, which was followed by “Agnihotram” and “Yagavidhikal”.
There was “Shanthikalasam”, followed by group prayers, “Maha Dravya Samarpanam,” “Shrowda Yaga Vidhikal” and “Namasangeerthanam”.
Hundreds of the followers from almost every country, including England, France, Italy, America, Germany, Russia, Ukraine and Bangladesh, were present and took part in the rituals.
The supporters and general public were given daily meals twice a day at common platform so that they all could feel no disparity among them and develop a feeling of oneness.
“Taking part in the ceremony is a lifetime experience that is both wonderful and deeply transforming,” said a British visitor Janelle.
A grand prayer for Universal Peace and Harmony was organized on the last day of the ceremony.
Organisers at the Ashram described the ceremony as “the Yajna is so pure that the fire for it has been taken from the sun and at the end of it the fire will be delivered back to the sun.”
Meanwhile, the extremely beneficial and auspicious light and energy of the Mahayajna will be made available to the world.
“The main aim of this is to show everyone the true light, special rituals, prayers and meditation in order to balance the troubled forces working in the Universe as well as in human beings,” said Santosh Kumar, follower and a representative of the Ashram.
The Ashram is conducting this for the well-being of humanity by restoring Dharma among people’s thinking by including all the religion irrespective of their colour or age.
Besides, many religious priests of Christians, Hindus and Muslims communities were present during the occasion to deliver talks on communal harmony and world peace. By Juhan Samuel (ANI)
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Written by Rahul on 28 January 2009
Agra, Jan.28 (ANI): A number of cats at an Agra mosque have become cynosure of everyone’s eyes for the kind of affection and respect they enjoy here among the visiting devotees. These cats enjoy a sort of royal treatment here.
Devotees visiting the Sandali mosque near Taj Mahal offer eatables to these cats following the general belief that this gesture, which follows performing prayer at the mosque, would enable them to have their wishes fulfilled.
The belief is these cats have been bestowed with divine powers and thus they are offered milk, biscuits, meat, fruit, and many other delicacies by the devotees after their wishes are fulfilled.
These cats stay at the mosque like pets and at times would sit in the laps of those offering eatables to them once their wishes are fulfilled.
“Devotees feed these cats and also love them. These cats come and sit in the laps of those whose wishes are fulfilled,” said Noor Mohammed, a local resident.
People from other faiths also visit the mosque for fulfillment of their wishes and feed the cats.
“Many people come to this mosque. They make a wish and once their wishes are fulfilled, they give food to these cats,” said Ghias-ud-Din, another local resident.
According to the local belief, the 17th century mosque was built by Mughal ruler Shahjahan and houses the tomb of one of his four wives Sandali Begum, after whom the mosque was named.
Teeming with cats of different colours and sizes, the mosque has become an attraction for the devotees, who come from far and wide to make a wish at this place of worship. By Brijesh Kr. Singh (ANI)
Tags: affection, Agra, ANI, attraction, Begum, belief, Brijesh, Cats, century, cynosure, Din, Divine, everyone, Food, fruit, fulfillment, gesture, Ghias-ud, Jan, kind, meat, Milk, mosque, Mughal, Noor Mohammed, number, offer, offering, place, prayer, resident, ruler, Sandali, Shahjahan, Singh, sort, Taj Mahal, Teeming, Tomb, treatment, wish, worship
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Written by Rahul on 27 January 2009
London, Jan 27 (ANI): A new research has suggested that the Nasca lines in Peru, which are intricate geometric patterns, may have been made by ancient Peruvians for “prayer walking”.
The Nasca lines are a collection of lines, giant trapezoids, and figures of humans, plants and animals in a desert 400 kilometers south of Lima, Peru.
They were created between 400 BC and AD 650 by the removal of reddish oxidised stones from the desert pavement to reveal the lighter sand beneath.
They were long been thought of as messages to the gods, or as markers that tracked celestial objects.
Now, according to a report in New Scientist, new details about these geoglyphs suggest they may have been made for “prayer walking”.
Tomasz Gorka of Munich University in Germany analyzed five geoglyph complexes near the city of Palpa, focusing on the large trapezoidal structures that are etched on the plains there.
He measured anomalies in the Earth’s magnetic field caused by changes in soil density at various depths.
The team walked the entire site, an area of about 60 hectares, using hand-held sensors.
“We found other lines, in the interior of the trapezoid structures, which were not visible from the air,” said Gorka.
“The geoglyphs visible today are the most recent stage of a prolonged construction process during which the whole complex of drawings was constantly added to, remodelled, obliterated or changed by use,” he added.
Some of the lines produced stronger magnetic anomalies than others, prompting Gorka and Karsten Lambers of the University of Konstanz in Germany to suggest that the soil beneath was compacted by people walking back and forth during prayer rituals.
“This activity was closely connected to the placing of ceramic vessels along the lines,” perhaps as offerings, said Lambers. (ANI)
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