I read this story in the October – December 2008 edition of “SanghSandesh”, which is the magazine published by the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (UK):
There was a young student-archer who became so good in his art that he could shoot an arrow into two with the next shot. He began to boast that he was a greater archer than his guru,
One day his guru, an old man in his 70’s, asked the youth to accompany him on a trip across the hills. The journey was uneventful until they came to a deep chasm.
A single log spanned the chasm. The guru walked down to the centre of the log, un-shouldered his bow and taking an arrow shot it into a tree on the other side. His next shot split the first arrow in two.
“Now it’s your turn” he said, walking back to where his student was standing. The youth stepped gingerly on the log and very slowly and carefully made his way to the middle. But his heart was in his mouth. He knew that if he lost his footing, he would plunge to his death. His hands trembled as he strung an arrow into his bow. Preoccupied with the danger he was in, he found it hard to focus on the target. Consequently when he let go of the arrow, it missed the tree altogether. Whimpering, he turned around.
“Help me!” he shouted to his guru. “I’ll fall!”
The old man walked up to him, took his hand and stepping backwards led him to safety. Neither of them said a word on the return journey but the boy had much to think about.
He had realised that to be a master of his art it was not enough to know how to control the bow, he had to learn how to control his mind too.
Many thanks to HSS (UK) for the use of this story!
Right, well as you can tell from the last post I just added TweetSuite to my blog and it’s brilliant! I just added a post as per normal, saved everything as per normal, and published it… yes… as per normal. The only difference is that it updated Twitter automatically. For all those who haven’t caught up on what Twitter is, it’s MicroBlogging. A small post worth 140 characters giving a short sharp concise message to everyone on what you’re up to! Check out my post about Twitter.
Here’s how to add TweetSuite to your blog. Head on down to http://danzarrella.com/beyond-tweetbacks-introducing-tweetsuite.html and download the plugin (You’ll find the link part way down the page).
Then once it’s downloaded, log in to your hosting area for your blog, find the directory for your site, then go to the contents directory, and then the plugin directory. Upload it here in Zip format (using Zip upload) and it will automatically extract.
After this, head back to your blog admin area, e.g. www.lifeof7.com/admin and get to the area where your plugins are (usually the ‘plugins’ tab). Activate the TweetSuite plugin and go to the Settings tab. Make sure everything is to your liking, insert your Twitter username and password, and save.
Then as normal, create a post! Remember, when you create a post, the title of it will show up on Twitter as a Tweet, and it will turn the long URL into a ‘TinyURL’ for people to click on.
Simple!
P.S. Don’t forget to create a Twitter account before you do all this otherwise you’ll be stuck halfway!
On the evening of 9th February 2009, a London home owner and his son discovered a leak in their upstairs bathroom. On inspection they found it to be caused by the heavy rain…
You might think this was part of a news headline. And you wouldn’t be alone in thinking that.
This happened to me just 10 minutes before writing this post.
I went to brush my teeth before bed and I noticed there was a pool of water on the floor near the sink. Now being in my own world most of the time my first reaction was “Oh… Must have been me opening the water too much” but then I thought that there was no way I could have splashed THAT much water! My gaze turned to a shelf unit next to the sink which was about hip height. It was full of water! Automatically my gaze carried on upwards and I realised the fan (which is mounted on the ceiling) was dripping. My first action was to open the loft up. The next was to shout to my dad while I was climbing the ladder.
It only turned out to be a small leak but it’s a big thing if the ceiling gets wet and comes down!
All that was needed was to clean it up a bit and put a bucket and sort it out in the morning. I can’t do much more with it at the moment so I thought I would write a post about it.
My words of advice to you guys is that if it rains really hard for a long time, just head up into the loft and check your tiles. It will only take around 5 – 10 minutes to check everything’s ok but at least you have peace of mind that nothing else will happen, and if it is going to you’re prepared for it.
Twitter is a neat website that you can update people about what you are doing and see what they are up to as well. It’s like a mini-blog where each update is 140 characters or less. I’m there aswell! Check out Sawan Gosrani. It’s very easy to set up an account, and you can even tweet from your mobile phone!
I’ve also added a Twitter update to lifeof7.com. Check out the widgets on the right hand side of this page and you’ll see one that says “Twitter Updates”.
My previous name was Sawan SHAH. Shah is a general community name for a collection of surnames. My family surname (the one my grandfather and those before him used) is GOSRANI.
I’ve been debating about it for a while and I finally did it. I finally locked into my heritage.
Sometimes you don’t realise how much value there is to a family name. The name “Gosrani” for me signifies all the hard work and dedication my ancestors put in to building the family and supporting the family. It signifies to me a lineage which is defined compared to using a surname. It tells me that my children will carry on the family name and it means that I need to set a good example for them to follow so that people everywhere can say “Those are Sawan Gosrani’s children. Look at how polite, smart, and caring they are.”
I know how happy my parents used to get when someone commented positively about myself or my brother Suraj. This is how I want to feel with my children.
It’s funny but since I commited to changing my name, my whole outlook in life has changed. I will now do whatever it takes to sustain my family’s needs. I now feel like I have a greater sense of responsibility because it’s now not just my name on the line, but the family’s name. And I know I will uphold the good name of my family.
I’ve met many people who knew my grandfather and he was such an amazing man. Everyone, even to this day, still say “Oh yes. I remember your Grandfather. Jethalal Gosrani, what a great guy. So smart and he did so much for others.” This is the name I want to carry on.
It’s very easy to change your name by Deed Poll. You go to a number of official websites, get the forms sent to you, fill them out, and send them back. Simple! I would say however, do it if you’re truly sure. Your name is your identity and people will surely recognise you by it. If you choose to change your name for good reasons and if you think it will make a positive change then I highly suggest it. You will have to send a letter to all the different organisations who hold details about you like the UKPA and DVLA, etc, but it’s worth it.
I’d also suggest doing it while you’re young (before you sign up for bank details, or anything else which will need changing) and I’d definetely suggest doing it before you get married (if you’re male, or a female who won’t be changing her name after marriage). It’s cheaper to change one person’s name by Deed Poll rather than 2. After marriage, if the lady (or the gent) changes their name to their partner’s name, documents will still need to be changed. If the name is taken upon marriage then it’s an automatic change and no Deed Poll is required, just a notification to the authorities.
