Purple Allamanda

Purple Allamanda (Allamanda Blanchetii)

Just as we step out of our door, right in front of us is this beautiful Purple Allamanda climber.
A perennial flowering plant native to South America is an easy to grow climber.
It comes in 20 colours.


Every part of the plant is poisonous and should be kept out of reach of children.
If one plucks it the white latex sap that oozes out can cause severe irritation.

Beauty can often be dangerous.
It is classic case of toxic beauty. To be admired but from a distance.

Private Poetry - Trespassers Welcome

Hand washing is useless, unless ..

With the rapid spread of the highly contagious CCP virus (COVID-19), medical experts have told us we must wash hands more often.

It is a very good suggestion not only now but always to maintain hand hygiene even in routine course, if we wish to stop the spread of disease.

A friend sent me a BBC news report that shocked researchers, that what we thought are clean hands in Britain are actually quite dirty. The report prepared by hygiene experts from Queen Mary, University of London (QMUL) and the [London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) report that.

25% of British people have faecal matter on their hands, 14% of bank notes and 10% of Credit cards have faecal matter and hence, lots of germs because of not washing hands. 

In general 11% of Britishers have hands so contaminated that the level of harmful germs is higher than that of a dirty toilet bowl. 

Horrified, I wanted to find out why this was so. 

My research shows the primary reason is that most Britishers believe that they live in very clean environments, so they really do not need to wash their hands.

Further investigation by me revealed that the way we wash our hands is also important.

I found this very good illustration by Taylor LJ which I am sharing with you. 

Remember washing hands is useless, if we are not doing it right.

Be hygienic, be safe, be healthy.

We are Human, not God.

Modernity has given us much to feel happy about, really?

Material  comforts may have increased tremendously but so has emotional sickness.  The mind wavers and wanders aimlessly and the spirit lies deep asleep in darkness.

Science and technology have delivered to humanity great gifts of physical health and material prosperity. Unfortunately, prosperity tends to make us arrogant and disrespectful. We forget we are human and come to believe we are gods.

When we believe we are like gods, we can either blossom into the Divine or we can regress into darkness. Generally speaking we have been disrespectful not only of ourselves, but also of Humanity and Creation. 

We live unnaturally, disrespecting, destroying, consuming or damaging everything we can in nature just for the heck of it.

The law of Karma applies to everyone. Simply put,  'Whatever goes around comes around'. 

Law of Karma states, every action will produce consequences related to that action. If we disrespect we will be disrespected, if we destroy we will be destroyed.

Life as we humans know, has almost come to a total standstill, thanks to the latest crisis.

But this has happened before. But this has happened before. We have to remember each time it happens that,

In a conflict between Humans and  Nature, Nature always wins.

In cooperation between Humans and Nature, Humans always win. 

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Interesting Links:
How the modern world makes us mentally ill - The School of Life 

Sat Sri Akal - Namaste

Coronavirus pandemic, has made many people realise that unnecessary physical contact will have adverse consequences. People have begun to greet one another with the world famous 'Namaste' or 'Sat Sri Akal'.  
The wise have learnt that in addition to physical, there are also psychological and spiritual consequences of unnecessary physical contact.

People across the world, have reduced the shaking of hands, embracing and kissing when they meet, choosing instead to using the greeting, Namaste or Sat Sri Akal, etc.

What is the meaning of Namaste or Sat Sri Akal and the bowing with the folding of hands?

Based on Sanatana Dharma (eternal order),  most Indians believe that every soul is part of that one divine soul. Also known as 'Prana' the all pervasive life force and energy that is omnipresent.

'Namaste' or Sat Sri Akal, simply means my soul recognises yours and therefore honours divinity. Those who greet in this manner acknowledge the divinity in everyone and all things.

This greeting by the Sikhs, Buddhists and Hindus when they meet another soul is performed with bowed head, palms touching,  fingers pointing upwards and the thumbs near the chest, to convey that with my entire being, that is my soul, mind and body, I humbly acknowledge the divine in you.

The Buddhists often do not utter anything. 
The Hindu will usually say 'Namaste', In Sanskrit 'Namaḥa' means  'respect',  'humble greeting’ or 'high regard' whereas 'te' means 'to you'.

The greeting of the Sikh's 'Sat Sri Akal' reminds themselves 
and the other that we are all part of that One divine existence, and timeless, present in every being. 

Namaskar and Namaskaram, Sat Kartar are alternate choice of greeting words. 

'Sikh' means the 'student or seeker'. A seeker is not bound by ideology or rituals. The Sikh greeting of Sat Sri Akal differs from the traditional Namaste, to reestablish the fact that the path of the Sikh is to awaken and realise the Divine.

Sat Sri Akal.

Everything is One. How we treat one person is, how we treat the whole universe. When we respect the individual, we respect not only ourselves, but we respect all of Creation.

_____________________

About Gurvinder Singh

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The best things in life, are free.

Hello Mr. Hornbill 

Our home overlooks a designated forest, but over the years it had been neglected and abused and greatly denuded. It was a very sad state of affairs.

Then concerned people and groups began to work together. Over past decade there has been a very good effort by citizen groups, environmentalists and the government forest department

When people collaborate and sincerely work together towards a goal, results have to come. 

Surprisingly, when we share our labours and energies for achieving something better, fatigue rarely occurs. Purpose fills our mind and body with inexplicable joy  and a kinship with others. 

In pursuit of comforts, we modern beings live in cocoons, mostly disconnected from nature. Is it any wonder that to just spot a Hornbill perched at the edge of our balcony, it should cause the heart to skip a beat? 

The inexplicable joyful emotion and the contemplation that follows can be a spiritual experience, that is not easy to describe.

The growth in the forest and green cover has had many benefits, for us residents and visitors to the vicinity they, 

• There is much less dust in the air and in our homes.
• The air feels fresher and more rejuvenating. The climate has become better, the weather cooler, even in summer. One rarely needs to turn on the air conditioning even in summer. Saving energy and money.
• Where there is respect and worship for nature no policing and enforcement is necessary. People have almost completely stopped throwing garbage onto the forest land so the environment looks and feels healthier. 
• The ground water levels have risen. The bore wells that we had drilled in our our housing society as a standby to overcome water shortages in summer now rarely run dry. 
• The noise levels are much lower as the forest absorbs noise and vibrations. 
• When we are respectful and welcoming, guests will flock to our home and enrich our lives. Butterflies and bees are more common. Sparrows, Mynas, Peacocks, Sunbirds, Parrots, Robins, along with many Squirrels are regular visitors all year long.
• The ambience, the chirping of birds and the fluttering of butterflies makes one feel in harmony with existence.

Its true, the best things in life are free.

The forest behind our home BEFORE  conservation efforts

The forest behind our home AFTER conservation efforts

The forest behind our home AFTER conservation efforts

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Thanks to my friend: Arvind Patole  for providing the image of the Great Indian Hornbill

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