Be The Star You Are Meant To Be

Well its' been a while since I last wrote. Not that I was procrastinating but just have been busy until a friend who reads my blog regularly reminded me that I have not written anything for the past 3 months (Wow, that long Huh?). Oh ya before I proceed further, I have also launched my own Photography Blog, yup what better name than inderjitphotography.blogspot.com. There won't be write-ups on photography but will only document photos of my adventures and my creative mind and of course I will appreciate comments from all of you on how I can improve my photos further. So why wait! Go there now...... but only after you have read this new post :)

Yes, You want more out of life than just a job. Whether you work for a large company, a startup, a nonprofit, or you are an entrepreneur, you want to be a star; a complete and total personal and professional success. But professional success is complicated and may be elusive. To achieve professional success and become the star you are meant to be you need a professional success blueprint.

Here is a strategic blueprint for becoming the professional success-the star-you are meant to be. The first thing you need to know is what the qualities of a successful person are. Research shows that all successful people have five things in common:

Successful people are self confident
If you want to become self confident you need to do three things: 1) Become an optimist. Learn from, and forget yesterday's mistakes. Focus on tomorrow's professional success. 2) Face your fears and take action. Action cures fear. Procrastination and inaction compound it. Failure is rarely fatal. Do something, anything that will move you closer to achieving your goals. 3) Surround yourself with positive people who are interested in professional success.

Build a network of supportive friends. Jettison the negative people in your life. And just as important, find a mentor to help build your confidence and guide you along the way.

Successful people create positive personal impact
If you want to create positive personal impact, you also need to do three things:
1) Develop, nurture and constantly promote your personal brand. Figure out the two or three things you want to be known for and then act in a way that is consistent with these things.2) Dress for success; make your self-presentation impeccable. Check the mirror on your way out the door. Your appearance should show that you respect yourself as well as those around you. 3) Finally, use proper etiquette. Of course, the most important etiquette rule of all is simple; make the people around you feel comfortable.

Successful people are outstanding performers
There are three things essential for becoming an outstanding performer:
1) You have to remain technically competent. The half life of knowledge gets shorter every day. Become a lifelong learner to remain technically competent throughout your career to be a true professional success. 2) You need to set and achieve high goals. Set milestones to help you keep on track with your goals. Focus on your goals every day. Do at least one thing every day that moves you closer to accomplishing each of your goals. 3) You need to be well organized. Manage your time, stress, workspace and lifestyle well to achieve maximum professional success.

Successful people are dynamic communicators
Three keys to dynamic communication:
1) You need to become an excellent conversationalist. Listen more than you speak. Show a genuine interest in other people and what they have to say. You should do what you can to help them reach their goals, because helping other people find professional success is what makes you a success. 2) To be a professional success, you need to write in a clear, concise, easily readable style. Write like you speak; imagine yourself in a conversation with the person reading your writing. 3) Finally, you need to present well; to groups of two or two hundred. People who have achieved professional success almost always have the ability to make dynamic presentations that move their audience to action.

Successful people are interpersonally competent
The three keys to interpersonal competence complete the picture:
1) Become self aware. Understand yourself and your impact on others. Use your self awareness to better understand others and to increase your influence with them. 2) Build solid, long lasting mutually beneficial relationships with other people. Relationships are the key to long term professional success. Treat other people with dignity and respect, and they will reciprocate. 3) Finally, find ways to resolve conflicts with a minimal amount of problems and upset to relationships.

Conflict is inevitable in business and life. Find ways to resolve conflict in a manner that enhances, not detracts from the relationships you've worked so hard to build.
Implementing these five essential elements of professional success and taking the time to learn the various aspects of each will help to ensure your professional success in any endeavor you undertake. Simply knowing them is not enough, you must take the time to learn and perfect each one as you implement them.

Love And Freindship: Why Being Friends Is Important To Your Romance

It’s no secret that learning how to be friends with your wife, husband, boyfriend or girlfriend is a key ingredient in a successful romantic relationship or marriage. Unfortunately, however, many couples concentrate too much on romance and not enough on friendship; which, ironically, can be a great way to stifle a romantic atmosphere and speed along a breakup or divorce.

Is Romance Tracker really telling you that you should decrease the amount of old-fashioned romance in your relationship and concentrate on other things? Well, sort of. In instances where romance is abundant but friendship is lacking, sometimes it can be healthy to take a step back from the roses and love letters to bolster another area that’s just as important to your overall happiness: friendship.

The definition of a friend is something that every human being innately understands, but sometimes it’s good to remind yourself of what friendship is when building a relationship with your sweetheart. A friend is someone who you can laugh with and tell secrets to without fearing repercussions; a friend is someone who supports you almost unconditionally and allows you to be yourself; and a friend is someone with whom you can share your favorite hobbies, pastimes and interests.

If these are qualities that are absent in your relationship, it might do you some good to concentrate on becoming better friends with your significant other. You may never be best friends with your sweetheart, but a relationship that focuses only on textbook romance or physical love, while ignoring simple friendship, will be less successful and more vulnerable to problems in the long run.

So, how do you become better friends with your sweetheart? Well, learning to have a sense of humor helps, as does making sure that you don’t take anything too seriously. And learning about your significant other’s interest and hobbies is another great way to build friendship, as well.

Becoming better friends with your sweetheart may take a lot of time and effort, but it’s a surefire way to make your relationship stronger. So what are you waiting for? Set aside the romance for a while and concentrate on being buddies. Your sweetheart will thank you for it!

Guru Nanak - Founder Of Sikhism Part 3

GURU'S DISAPPEARANCE:
The Janamsakhis narrate that one morning, Guru Nanak went to bathe in the neighboring river called Baeen. People saw him enter the river waters but no one saw him get out. For three days Guru Nanak's whereabouts were unknown. During that period he had a vision of God's presence where he was entrusted by the Almighty with the task of preaching the Divine Name (NAM) to the world. The Almighty commanded:"Thou art welcome, O Nanak, that hath absorbed thyself in Nam.Do go hence and do the work for which thou wast born.People of Kalyug have adopted horrible practices and are extremely degraded in mind.

They worship a variety of gods, have forsaken the Name and are immersed in sin.Go thou, spread Love and Devotion to the Name, and lighten the burden of the earth.Go thou, and glorify the name of God and destroy hypocrisy."The Guru then sang the following Sabad:"Were I to live for millions of years and drink the air for my nourishment;Were I to dwell in a cave where I beheld not sun or moon, and could not even dream of sleeping;I should still not be able to express Thy worth; how great shall I call Thy Name?O true Formless One, Thou art in Thine Own place- As I have often heard I tell my tale- if it please Thee, show Thy favor unto me.Were I to be felled and cut in pieces, were I to be grounded in a mill;Were I to be burned in a fire, and blended with its ashes,I should still not be able to express Thy worth; how great shall I call Thy Name?

Were I to become a bird and fly to a hundred heavens;Were I to vanish from human gaze and neither eat nor drink,I should still not be able to express Thy worth; how great shall I call Thy Name?Nanak, had I hundreds of thousands of tons of paper and a desire to write on it all after the deepest research;Were ink never to fail me, and could I move my pen like the wind,I should still not be able to express Thy worth; how great shall I call Thy Name?"(Sri Rag Mohalla 1, p-14)Then a voice was heard,"O Nanak, to him upon whom My look of kindness resteth, be thou merciful, as I too shall be merciful. My name is God, the Primal Brahm, and thou art the Divine Guru (Mei aad Parmeshar aur tu Gur Parmeshar)."This has been stated in the Puratan Janamsakhi. The Guru himself confirms that the Almighty asked him to go to the world and sing His praises.

The Guru says that after he had done his duty in this world, the Almighty called him again:"Me, a minstrel out of work, God applieth to His work;Thus spake the Almighty unto meNight and day, go and sing My praises.The Almighty again did summon this minstrel to His most Exalted Court.On me He bestowed the robe of Honor of His praise and prayer,On me He bestowed the goblet brimming with Nectar of His Holy Name,Those who at the bidding of the GuruFeast and take their fill of the Lord's Holiness attain Peace and Joy.Thy minstrel spreadeth Thy Glory by singing Thy Word;Nanak, he who uttereth true praises obtaineth the Perfect One."(Majh di Var-pauri 27, p-150)It is said that after three days when he reappeared, some people saw hallow around his head.

Some people say that Guru Nanak's Guruship started with his reappearance from the water. Bhai Gurdas, an eminent Sikh writes that first the Almighty bestowed His blessings on Baba (Guru Nanak) and then He sent him to this world to spread the Divine Word:"Pehlan babei paya bakhash dar, pichhon dei phir ghal kamaee."(Bhai Gurdas- Var 1, pauri 24)Who was Guru Nanak's Guru? When he was asked, who his Guru was, Guru Nanak replied that God Himself was his Guru:"Unfathomable and Infinite is God Who acted as Guru of Nanak."(Sorath Mohalla 1, p-599)The Guru remained silent for a day after the reappearance and then he made this announcement, "There is no Hindu and no Musalman." This meant that there was no difference between man and man.

This declaration made Nawab Daulat Khan and his Qazi very mad. The Nawab asked the Guru to explain whether his Qazi was not a true Muslim. The Guru described the traits of a true Muslim:"He who is firm in his faith,Has a right to be called a Muslim.His acts must be in accord with his faith in Prophet,He must clean his heart of his pride and greed,Not troubled by the two impostors- life and death,Resigned to the Will of God;Knowing Him as the Doer,Free himself from the self, andBe compassionate towards all beings, O Nanak,Such a one may call himself a Muslim."(Majh ki Var Mohalla 1, p-141)The Nawab then asked the Guru, "If there is no difference between the Hindus and the Muslims, why don't you join us in our Namaz (Muslim prayer)?" The Guru agreed to join them to take part in their prayer in the mosque where Qazi led the Namaz.

When Namaz was offered, the Qazi and the Nawab both stood, kneeled and bowed in their prayer but the Guru remained standing. After the Namaz was over, the Qazi said,"Why did you not take part in the prayer?" The Guru replied, "I did take part in the prayer but both of you did not." Then he explained,"While the Qazi performed the service, he remembered that there was a well in his courtyard, and his mind was filled with apprehension lest his newly-born filly should fall in the well. The Qazi's mind was, therefore, not present in the prayer. Also while the Nawab was pretending to pray, his mind was set on purchasing horses in Kabul."Both admitted the truth of Guru's statements and the Nawab cried aloud to the Qazi,"Thou seest not Khuda (God) speaking to us through Nanak?" The Muslims perform five Namaz at five different times a day. The Guru addressed the meaning and virtue of Namaz:"Five prayers thou sayest five times a day,With five different names;But if Truth be thy first prayer, The second to honestly earn your daily living, The third to give in God's name, Purity of mind by thy fourth prayer, And praise and prayer to God thy fifth;If thou practiseth these five virtues, And good deeds be thine Kalma- the article of faith,Then thy can call thyself a true Muslim.

By mere hypocrisy, O Nanak, A man is deemed false through and through."(Majh ki Var Mohalla 1, p-141)Guru Nanak never asked a Muslim or a Hindu to become his disciple to get a place in heaven after death. He told the Muslim to become a true Muslim and to a Hindu to become a true Hindu in order to get salvation.

To Love And Be Loved

Enough of Sikhism for the time being. I have to write this. I know I have written about it before but Yes, I just have to write it again. I had a wonderful dinner with a dear friend last night who is apparently having some difficult time in a relationship. Eventhough there is so much pain in her but yet she made my dinner conversation with her an enjoyable one. When I reached home my thoughts pondered again on this topic called Love. And I would like to share with all of you, what went in my head.

LOVE- it's the one thing everybody talks about, but few truly understand. People have always searched for love - love with family (in particular with parents), love with friends, love with intimate partners. Most of us are never completely fulfilled, and many are miserable their entire lives.

It seems almost to be an elusive pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. We grow up believing that "one day I'll have it", and yet, in human terms, what does love really mean?For many people love means acceptance. Fooled into believing that to be loved is to be accepted, and to be unloved is to be an outcast, we use (actually, we abuse) the word "love" as a reward for good behaviour. We believe that if we behave a certain way, or adopt a particular way of thinking, we will be loved more and therefore accepted. And on top of that, we do things in order to please others in the hope that we will be loved just that little bit extra. Loving and pleasing are not the same thing.

Love has become conditional. "If you don't do this, I won't love you anymore". How many parents have told their children that they won't love them if they continue misbehaving or being disobedient? How many couples have told each other they will love them more if they do as they are told? Love is not a prize to be idly thrown about as a bribe. Love is serious stuff because we have lost sight of what love really is. If we truly understood love, we would stop playing games with each others emotions and lives and not use it to emotionally blackmail each other for personal gain.Real love is unconditional love, and means exactly that - unconditional.

Loving someone exactly as they are, not trying to make them into someone we may be more comfortable with, just 100% acceptance. But how do you know you can unconditionally love someone? Well, you have to start by unconditionally loving yourself.Unconditional love can only be expressed when we have experienced it for ourselves. We expect to be loved by others, but we find it difficult to accept the necessity of loving ourselves first in order to understand what it means to express love. Unconditional love stems from forgiving ourselves and others in order to find the compassion and understanding necessary to know what it means to unconditionally accept a person, and we can only do that when we unconditionally accept ourselves.

When we know what it means to unconditionally love we free ourselves from our emotional limitations and allow others to be themselves. We stop judging and condemning, we stop criticising and manipulating. Unconditional love nurtures the growth of wisdom, and fosters the principle of truth, for without truth unconditional love is unable to exist. Love will only exist in an honest heart, free from fear and doubt. Become honest with yourself and you will find what you are looking for, but avoid facing the truth within and the illusion of conditional love with keep you from true happiness.Recognising our inner fears is the first step towards unconditional love. Many people fear intimacy; we fear allowing another person to get close to us and find out who we really are, insecurities and all.

We fear we will be rejected because deep down we don't think we're good enough, yet a fear of intimacy and love always destroys a relationship before it has even begun. If we are honest with ourselves, we would recognise all the wonderful things about us that make us unique and irreplaceable. Knowing and loving our uniqueness will attract a person into our lives who will love us as we are. Living a lie or an illusion will only serve to create further illusion and deception, eventually resulting in misery. Unconditional love is the greatest lesson humanity can learn.Love is a pure state of being; it is ever present, growing and evolving through unconditionally loving ourselves, and then having the understanding to share that unconditional love with another.

Learning to forgive those we believe have emotionally hurt us, we can bring unconditional love into our lives by changing our thoughts and our entire outlook on life. Through forgiveness we can touch the essence of our love, and change the perception we have of our life.Love is the most important thing in life; without it, we make our life harsh and cruel, empty and meaningless. The rainbow is in our hearts, and love really is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, waiting for us to claim it as our own.

Guru Nanak - Founder Of Sikhism Part 2

Lets continue the journey of Guru Nanak in Part 2

BARGAIN:
In spite of the accumulating evidence about the spiritual greatness of the Guru, Mehta Kalu was not convinced and thought that his son was wasting time in profitless contemplation. So he wanted to put him to trade. He gave the Guru twenty rupees (Indian currency) and sent him to the nearest town- Chuharkana, to buy goods of common use and then sell them at a profit. The family servant Bala was also sent with him.

On his way the Guru met a group of faqirs (ascetics) who were hungry for several days. The Guru spent all the money in feeding the faqirs and called it a true bargain. He realized the nature of his act and did not go home but sat under a tree outside his village. Bala went home and he narrated the whole story to his father. The father became very angry but the Guru explained to him that he could not think of a more profitable bargain. The aged tree under which he sat is still preserved. It is called Thumb Sahib or the holy tree in memory of the Guru. All this failed to have any effect on Guru's disinclination towards ordinary world affairs and he remained deeply immersed in meditation.

GURU'S MARRIAGE:
In order to bring him around the worldly affairs, the next step came the marriage. The marriage date is given different in different Janamsakhis (birth stories), and it is presumed that he was between 14 to 18 years of age when he got married. His wife, Sulakhni, was the daughter of Bhai Mula, a resident of Batala in Gurdaspur district. She gave birth to two sons, Sri Chand and Lakhmi Das. His father soon found out that even the married life did not divest him of his pre-occupation with matters pertaining to his Divine mission.

As a matter of fact, his concept of duty was not to serve himself and his family rather to transcend it so that the self might participate in the divine scheme of things and spiritualize the world around him. Humanity was his family and serving the humanity was the service of the Lord. Bhai Gurdas writes that the Guru saw the whole world in flames; flames of falsehood, tyranny, hypocrisy and bigotry. He had to go and extinguish that fire with eternal love, truth and dedication. He had the divine mission to teach to humanity, the lesson of the brotherhood of mankind and the fatherhood of God. "The Primal Being created the Light; all men are the creation of Providence: all human beings have sprung from one Light. Who, then, is bad and who is good?"

GURU NANAK COMES TO SULTANPUR:
Jai Ram, Guru's brother-in-law was serving as Dewan (Minister) to the governor, Nawab Daulat Khan Lodhi of Sultanpur. It is said that both Jai Ram and Rai Bular were of the opinion that Nanak was a saint misunderstood by his father; and thus Jai Ram promised to find a job for him in Sultanpur. Guru's sister was deeply devoted to her younger brother. On their annual visit to Talwandi, when she noticed her father's impatience at her brother's indifference towards worldly activities, she decided to take him to Sultanpur. Her father gave his consent. Jai Ram got the Guru the post of a store-keeper of Nawab's state granary where the grain was collected as a part of land revenue and later sold.

The Guru carried out the duties of the store-keeper very efficiently. The minstrel Mardana subsequently joined the Guru and other friends too followed. Guru Nanak introduced them to the Khan, who provided them suitable jobs in his administration. Every night there was Sabad-Kirtan (singing divine hymns). One day he was weighing provisions and was counting each weighing as 'one, two, three.........ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen'. When he reached the number thirteen (13)- 'Tera' (in Punjabi language Tera means number 13, and Tera also means 'thine', that is 'I am Thine, O Lord'), he went into ecstasy. He went on weighing by saying,"Tera, tera, tera,......." The customers did not know how to carry the bountiful gifts of this store-keeper. They could not understand the bounties of the Lord.

Ultimately the situation reached its climax when a charge was levied against the Guru that he was recklessly giving away the grain. The Nawab ordered an inquiry which was conducted very carefully. The Guru's detractors were surprised when the stores were found full and the accounts showed a balance in favor of the Guru. After that the Guru sent in his resignation to the employer to embark on his divine mission.
To BE CONTINUED IN PART 3.........

Holy Bath At The Golden Temple

The Golden Temple At Night
Majestic View Of The Golden Temple

The Holy Bath With My Nephews

Golden Temple - Sikhism Sacred Shrine

I'm often asked what my favorite sacred places are in the world, among the many I have visited, I could not choose one in particular, but included in the top ten would certainly be the Golden Temple Of Amritsar. It is a place of both stupendous beauty and sublime peacefulness. Originally a small lake in the midst of a quiet forest, the site has been a meditation retreat for wandering mendicants and sages since deep antiquity. The Buddha is known to have spent time at this place in contemplation.Two thousand years after Buddha's time, another philosopher-saint came to live and meditate by the peaceful lake. This was Guru Nanak (1469-1539), the founder of the Sikh religion. After the passing away of Guru Nanak, his disciples continued to frequent the site; over the centuries it became the primary sacred shrine of the Sikhs. The lake was enlarged and structurally contained during the leadership of the fourth Sikh Guru (Ram Dass, 1574-1581), and during the leadership of the fifth Guru (Arjan, 1581-1606), the Hari Mandir, or Temple of God was built. From the early 1600s to the mid 1700s the sixth through tenth Sikh Gurus were constantly involved in defending both their religion and their temple against Moslem armies. On numerous occasions the temple was destroyed by the Moslems, and each time was rebuilt more beautifully by the Sikhs. From 1767 onwards, the Sikhs became strong enough militarily to repulse invaders. Peace returned to the Hari Mandir.The temple's architecture draws on both Hindu and Moslem artistic styles yet represents a unique coevolution of the two. During the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839), Hari Mandir was richly ornamented with marble sculptures, golden gilding, and large quantities of precious stones. Within the sanctuary, on a jewel-studded platform, lies the Adi Grantha, the sacred scripture of the Sikhs. This scripture is a collection of devotional poems, prayers, and hymns composed by the ten Sikh gurus and various Moslem and Hindu saints. Beginning early in the morning and lasting until long past sunset, these hymns are chanted to the exquisite accompaniment of flutes, drums, and stringed instruments. Echoing across the serene lake, this enchantingly beautiful music induces a delicate yet powerful state of trance in the pilgrims strolling leisurely around the marble concourse encircling the pool and temple. An underground spring feeds the sacred lake, and throughout the day and night pilgrims immerse themselves in the water, a symbolic cleansing of the soul rather than an actual bathing of the body. Next to the temple complex are enormous pilgrims' dormitories and dining halls where all persons, irrespective of race, religion, or gender, are lodged and fed for free.Amritsar, the original name of first the ancient lake, then the temple complex, and still later the surrounding city, means "pool of ambrosial nectar." Looking deeply into the origins of this word amrit, we find that it indicates a drink of the gods, a rare and magical substance that catalyzes euphoric states of consciousness and spiritual enlightenment. With this word we have a very clear example of the spirit, power, or energetic character of a particular place becoming encoded as an ancient geographical place name. The myth is not just a fairy tale. It reveals itself as a coded metaphor if we have the knowledge to read the code: The waters of Amritsar flowing into the lake of the Hari Mandir were long ago - and remain today - a bringer of peacefulness.

After Kugan - Your Rights Upon Arrest By The Police--

Any arrest without a warrant effected in circumstances not specified under S23(1)(a) to (k) and S105 of the Criminal Procedure Code is unlawful. (Pls buy your CPC ok)

How Long Can The Police Detain You?
They can detain a person up to 24 hours for the purposes of investigation. If investigations cannot be completed within 24 hours they must release the arrested person or they must produce him before a magistrate for a remand order in order to detain him further for a period not exceeding 15 days, under S117 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

What Are Your Rights Upon Arrest?
(1) Right to be informed reason of arrest
Under the Federal Constitution, an arrested person have the right to be informed as soon as possible in ordinary language of the grounds of his arrest unless there can be inferred from the surrounding circumstances or if he makes it impossible for the arrester to inform him. Under the new S 28A CPC, a person arrested without a warrant shall be informed as soon as may be of the grounds of his arrest by the police officer making the arrest.
(2) Right To Contact Lawyer
The Federal Constitution also gives the arrested person a right to consult and be defended by a lawyer of his choice. This right to contact lawyer can be denied if the police are of the view that allowing access to a counsel before an investigation is completed would:
(a) interfere with the evidence;
(b) alert other unarrested suspect; or
(c) hinder the recovery of stolen property
Once investigations are completed the person arrested must be allowed to consult his lawyer within a reasonable time.
The new S28A of CPC now has imposed on the police officer making the arrest to inform the person arrested before commencing any form of questioning or recording of any statement from him that he may communicate and consult with a legal practitioner of his choice.
Where a legal practitioner has been requested by the arrested person the police shall allow a reasonable time for the legal practitioner to be present to meet the person arrested at his place of detention and for the consultation to take place.
The Police officer shall defer any questioning or recording of any statement from the person arrested for a reasonable time until the communication/attempted communication or the consultation has been made. The police officer shall provide reasonable facilities for the communication and consultation free of charge.
The police officer may not allow the person arrested to communicate and consult a lawyer if he reasonably believes that:
(a) in allowing the arrested person to see his lawyer would result in:
(i) an accomplice taking steps to avoid apprehension; or
(ii) the concealment, fabrication or destruction of evidence or the intimidation of a witness
(b) Having regard to the safety of the other persons, the questioning or recording of any
statement is so urgent that it should not be delayed.
(3) Right to contact relative/friend
The person arrested has a right before police questioning takes place to make a phone call to inform his relative or friend that:
(a) he has been arrested
(b) the time, place and reasons of his arrest;
(c) the identity of the police officer who arrested him;
(d) the police station where he is detained;
(e) the duration of his detention.
This right can be denied if the police reasonably believes that:
(a) by allowing him to phone a relative or friend would result in an accomplice of the person arrested taking steps to avoid apprehension or the concealment, fabrication or destruction of evidence or the intimidation of a itness; or
(b) having regard to the safety of other persons the questioning is so urgent that it should not be delayed.
(4) Right to remain silent
If you are arrested, you have the right to remain silent. If the police want you to answer question, you may say "I will answer in court". There is nothing (in theory, anyway) that the police can do to force you to speak.

What are you remedies if the arrest or detention is unlawful?
(1) Civil claim for damages
If you are unlawfully arrested you may sue the police for wrongful arrest and claim damages
(2) Writ Of Habeas Corpus
A person who is unlawfully detained, may apply to the High Court for a writ of habeas corpus. By issuing the writ, the High Court may command the production of the person detained and inquire into the cause of his detention. If there is no legal justification for the detention, the party is ordered to be released.
We should know our rights but most Malaysians do not know their rights cos we live in 'Bolehland'.

Source: Criminal Procedure Code and Your Rights And The Law.

The Ghost Of Kugan

The past few weeks the killing or "dying" of Kugan - a car thief- in police custody gained much publicity and why not, with the involvement of some politicians like Uncle Sam Of MIC trying to become an Indian hero again after his much popular defeat in Sugai Siput demanding explanation from the government over Kugan's death with the Keris wielding Hishamuddin warning him not to take the law into his own hands. One wonders since when Uncle Sam started fighting for justice?... HMMM. Kugan was a criminal but he did not deserve to die in police custody. Criminals just like prostitutes are born not out of choice but due to society or peer pressure for materialism. Kugan was not a Rajhini Kant or Amitabh Bachan or a slumdog millionaire that deserves a statute in the Wax Museum or a Bollywood movie but he deserved justice. He shouldn’t have died in police custody as any criminal is innocent until proven guilty cos the law as we all know does not say Guilty until proven innocent. The police (majority of them) are always biased when comes to people of certain ethnic background and treat them unfairly and prejudicially. This is based on my experience working for a legal firm sometime ago. The Government should investigate and if the police officers are wrong they should be brought to justice and let the law decide their fate. Let it be a reminder to all then that Malaysia condemns racism and does not tolerate any injustice or police brutality. This is what I call a transparent government. If the government can speak for the world against the atrocities committed by the Zionist against Islam and brand it as acts of racism and terrorism then we should start sweeping from our own backyard .. Also this may help them to win Indian votes in the next general elections. The time is NOW and hopefully Najib realizes this.

PS Can someone tell Samyvellu to stop being a Cowboy ?

Of Curries and Indians

Warning: The following post is extremely controversial, and may result in rioting, looting of embassies, or tension between nuclear powers. Or it just may make you feel hungry. Whatever. You have been warned. Travelling sometimes if not most of the time broaden your horizons. It is true indeed. My trip to Hong Kong last year (sounds like many many moons ago) okay last December, led me to an interesting discovery on Curries. Yes, of all the places in the world-Hong Kong. I was at Starbucks having my Latte when I read interesting facts about curries and this is what I have to say: Clearly, this is a subject of the utmost importance, unlike trivialities such as the world financial crisis or global warming. West-east versions of curry have a long history. "English curry, a yellow brown gloopy substance eked out with raisins and sugar, was on my grammar school menu in 1953," wrote Neil Thomson from Australia. And Jane Austen mentions curry in Mansfield Park, first published in 1812.
Now the ultimatum: When I went to India last year it was amazing to discover that there was nothing on the menu in any restaurant that I recognized. No balti curries, no chicken tikka masala and not one of the waiters (baiyah) knew what a vindaloo was. I can see the time has come to tell the truth. The truth I discovered in Hong Kong :)
None of the popular curries are from India. Those "Indian Curry Houses" that you see in every town in Britain are not Indian at all. The vast majority of them are Bangladeshi. Staff come from a specific district of Bangladesh. Sylhet in the northeast of that country actually specializes in breeding British curry houses waiters.
Another myth: Vindaloo is a super-hot Indian curry.
Fact: Vindaloo is not Indian. It's Portuguese. Sailors from that country arrived at the Indian city of Goa with a pork dish called vinha d'alhos, which means wine and garlic stew. The natives filled with pity for people living on bland European food, fixed the recipe and shortened
vinha d'alhos to vindaloo. The Portuguese agreed that the revised version was way better than the original, and spread it around the world. But it wasn't good enough for Inda. Even today,
asking for vindaloo outside Goa produces a diagonal head-sway, which is an Indian body language for: "I don't know what you're talking about, idiot foreigner."
Myth three: The top indian curry dish is Chicken Tikka Masala.
Fact: It's not Indian at all, but from Glasgow, in Scotland. A drunken Scotsman ordered chicken tikka (a dry dish) instead of chicken curry (a wet dish) and demanded that curry sauce be poured over it.
Brits particularly like an Indian dish called balti. But there's no such food in India. Bangladeshi restaurateurs in the English city of Birmingham started serving food in tiny iron woks, so they could serve less and charge more. Having no work for wok, they called it balti (bucket in Hindi/Punjabi) curry. Believing this to be an exotic import, UK diners went crazy for it. The result is that vast numbers of British tourists go to India and have the following conversation:
"I'd like a balti curry please."
"You want a bucket curry?"
"A balti curry."
"Yes sir. Would you like your bucket on the bone or off the bone?Mild, medium or hot?"
Some people in Canada discovered authentic curry thanks to products from an Indian goods export firm called Sharwoods.
Actually, Sharwoods products come from the north of England- and the company was started by a man named Jim. YOU MAY NOW RIOT.

Guru Nanak -The Founder Of Sikhism -Part 1

GURU NANAK - Founder Of Sikhism

Guru Nanak was born in 1469 at Rai Bhoeki Talwandi now known as Nankana Sahib situated in Punjab province of West Pakistan. This place is about 55 miles north-west of Lahore. His father, Mehta Kalu was a Patwari- an accountant of land revenue in the government. Guru's mother was Mata Tripta and he had one older sister, Bibi Nanki. From the very childhood, Bibi Nanki saw in him the Light of God. She is known as the first disciple of Guru Nanak.

GURU'S SCHOOLING: At the age of seven, Guru Nanak was sent to school, which was run by Pandit Gopal Das, at his village. As usual the teacher started the lesson with an alphabet but the teacher was wonder-struck when the Guru asked him to explain the meaning of the letters of the alphabet. However at the helplessness of his teacher, the Guru wrote the meanings of each and every letter of the alphabet. This was the first Divine Message delivered by Guru Nanak. This was an explanation of deeper truth about human beings and God and the way to realize God in terms of the alphabet. The teacher stood abashed before the Divine Master and bowed to him. He then took him back to his father and said, "Mehtaji, your son is an Avtar (prophet) and has come to redeem the victims of Kalyug (the age of Falsehood). He is destined to be a world Teacher, there is nothing that I can teach him." Many writers believe that Guru Nanak was first sent to different schools belonging to the Hindus and Muslims to learn about Vedas (Hindu Scriptures) and Quran (Muslim Scripture), and only after obtaining the knowledge from those scriptures, he started his religion. According to Malcolm, Guru Nanak is said to have learnt all earthly scenes from Khizr -the Prophet Elias. "There is a reason to believe," writes Cunningham, "that in his youth he made himself familiar with the popular creeds both of Mohammadans and the Hindus and that he gained a general knowledge of the Quran and Brahmanical Shastras." The Message that Guru Nanak gave to this world, came to him direct from God as he confirms himself:"O Lalo as comes the Divine Word from God to me So do I narrate it."( Tilang Mohalla 1, p-722 )"I am saying what He commandeth me to say."(Wadhans Mohalla 1, p-566)It is also mentioned in the Janamsakhi (biography) that many times Guru Nanak said to his companion Mardana, "Mardana, play the rebec, the Divine Word is coming. " This confirms the fact that education from the Hindu and Muslim religious institutions, had no bearing at all on the Divine Word that Guru Nanak received from God and delivered to this world.

CEREMONY OF SACRED THREAD: Guru Nanak was nine years old and according to the custom among the higher castes of Hindus, he was required to invest himself with the sacred thread called 'Janaeu'. Great preparations were made by his father for this ceremony. The family priest named Hardyal, started chanting Mantras (Hindu hymns) and was ready to put the thread around Guru's neck when he refused to wear it. The whole assembly was astonished. They tried to persuade him every way to wear the Janaeu but in vain. Then the Guru uttered the following Sabad:"Though men commit countless thefts, countless adulteries,utter countless falsehoods and countless words of abuse;Though they commit countless robberies and villainies night and day against their fellow creatures;Yet the cotton thread is spun, and the Brahman cometh to twist it.For the ceremony they kill a goat and cook and eat it, and everybody then saith 'Put on the Janaeu'.When it becometh old, it is thrown away, and another is put on,Nanak, the string breaketh not if it is strong."(Asa di Var, Mohalla 1, p-471)The priest in utter despair asked, "What kind of sacred thread O Nanak, would you wear?" The Guru replied,"Out of the cotton of compassionSpin the thread of contentmentTie knots of continence,Give it twist of truth.That would make a Janaeu for the soul,If thou have it, O Brahman, put it on me.Such a thread once worn will never breakNor get soiled, burnt or lost,The man who weareth such a thread is blessed."(Asa di Var, Slok Mohalla 1, p-471)

COBRA SERVES THE DIVINE MASTER: As usually is the case in villages, the father sent his son to graze the buffaloes in the pastures. One day while the Guru was grazing the buffaloes, he fell asleep under a tree and the herd destroyed the crops in the neighboring fields. When the owner saw his crops damaged, he became furious and lodged a complaint with Rai Bular, an officer-in-charge of that area. Rai Bular sent for the son and his father to adjust the quarrel. The Guru told them that no damage was done to the crops; rather it was blessed by God. Rai Bular sent his messengers to inspect the fields. But to everybody's surprise the investigators could not find any damage in the fields rather the crops were doubly blossoming. The field where this miracle happened is now known as Kiara Sahib. On another day the Guru was sent to graze the buffaloes in the pastures and he fell asleep under the shade of a tree. As the sun rose higher, the shadow moved away. A big cobra came out of its den and provided shadow with its hood over the face of the Divine Master. Rai Bular happened to pass by that side with his attendants. When he saw this strange scene, he was convinced that the boy was a man of God. Upon seeing the people, the cobra retreated to its den and Rai Bular touched Guru's feet in great reverence and thus became Guru's disciple.

GURU SITS IN SECLUSION: As he grew a little older, he avoided company and sought seclusion. For days he would sit silent in solitude and spent his time in meditation. Parents became anxious about his health and to them his unworldliness appeared insane. One day they sent for their physician Hari Das. The physician came and began to feel Guru's pulse. He withdrew his arm and asked, "O physician, what art thou doing?" The physician replied that he was diagnosing his disease. Upon this the Guru laughed and then uttered the following Sabad:"They have sent for the physician for me!He taketh my hand and feeleth my pulse.What can a pulse disclose?The pain lies deep in the heart.Physician, go back and heal thyself,Diagnose thy own disease,Then thou mayst diagnose the disease of othersAnd call thyself a physician."(Malar ki Var, Mohalla 1 p-1279)Hari Das was familiar with such cases and thus asked, "So you think that I am sick too and need a cure." The Guru replied, "You suffer from the sickness of your soul. Egoism is the disease. It separates us from the source of life, God Himself." Hari Das asked if there was any remedy. The Guru replied,When man shall possess the Name of the Bright One,His body shall become like gold and his soul be made pure;All his pain and disease shall be dispelled,And he shall be saved, Nanak, by the true Name."(Malar Mohalla 1, p-1256)After a good deal of discussion, Hari Das bowed before the Divine Master and told his parents to leave anxiety about their son as he was born 'A healer of the world's sickened souls.'