Miffed's Scribblings

Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God can bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. Corinthians 9:6-8 Christmas is popularly known as a season of celebration and rejoicing. It truly is however it gains more meaning when the season is added with more of giving and sharing. This season is all about giving and that should not just stop with your family and friends. It is important to spread the joy of the holiday season to others. The holidays are always a time of year when people from all walks of life take time to celebrate each other, their children, and better days to come.   The Christmas holiday is about people’s thoughts and hearts surrendering to the season of giving.   Sharing without lo

Secularism as defined by the Cambridge English Dictionary is the belief that religion should not be involved with the ordinary social and political activities of a country. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, it is the "indifference to, or rejection or exclusion of, religion and religious considerations." In the political context, secularism is the principle of separation of government institutions and states from religious institutions and religious dignitaries. That means the government should remain neutral on the matters of religion and should not enforce nor prohibit the free exercise of religion, leaving religious choice to the liberty of the people. In short, the state would not discriminate against people based on religion. Indian secularism was not only a result of historical circumstances as a British colony but also a necessity. India is a diverse country with people of almost all major religions of the world (needless to mention that four major religi

Yes, it is a myth that the level of air pollutants increase during summer. Air Pollution is actually worse during winter. It is generally misunderstood by the people of urban areas may be due to suffocating environment they face every day. In reality, it is in winter when earth’s level of air is affected by pollutants. Globally it has been found that during winters more fuels and biomass are burnt. However, industrial pollution remains constant throughout the year. Perhaps people also believe that summer air quality is worse because of the long day hours and ultraviolet radiation. It becomes more suffocating in a sun-baked concrete weather. People may also believe this because of the high temperature of summer which feels like something huge and bad occurring above the earth layer. When winter arrives these cities can expect air that is more than twice as polluted as during the spring and summer. In a lower income country where they burn garbage and coal for heating, the levels

Dearest Maa  The seventh year it is since you left us. But the memories you left behind are still fresh. I was scrolling through all your photographs yesterday and my tears started to roll out. I never shed any tears while remembering you, but I don't know why that happened. Maybe it's because I'm not near my family and you. I miss you Maa. I wish you were here today. Here with me and neetu. I wanted you to see how we both have  changed. I know how happy you would be to see how maturely we deal with each other today. And that we don't fight anymore. The pain of loosing you will never ease. I can't see you, but I'm close at your side. I can feel your presence everyday. I won't mourn for you. I know you wouldn't like it either. All you need is love and prayers. I always remember you in all my prayers. In fact my prayers start with your name. No matter where you are may peace and blessings be always upon up. With all our love~ Neetu and Shanu  

At the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago, 125 years ago, Swami Vivekananda delivered his landmark address, about the need for harmony of religions. He spoke not only about universal toleration but of acceptance of all religions as true; he appealed to all religious and spiritual leaders to shun all forms of religious fanaticism, persecution, and violence. He will be remembered not only in India but throughout the world as the Messiah of Tolerance and India’s Prophet of Harmony of Religions. Swami Vivekananda’s perspective was inspired by his guru, Ramakrishna Paramhansa, who promoted the doctrine of ‘Jato Mat, Tato Path’ which recognizes the potential of all religions to act as means of attaining spiritual enlightenment: ‘Ekam sad vipraha bahuda vavanti.’ Vivekananda would narrate the story of ‘kupa manduka’, frog-in-the-well, as being illustrative of the closed minds of religious bigots. He believed that holiness, purity, and charity are not exclusive domains of any par

Gandhi was a hero and a great ambassador of the modern higher education. In his article titled ‘National Education’ published in Young India on September 1, 1921, he wrote that it might be true regarding other countries but in India where 80% of the population is occupied with agriculture and 10% of it with industries, it is an offence to make education merely literary. The great idea of the line is that education is much more than to gain literacy knowledge. Gandhi always talked about India as an agrarian country. Most of the Indian industries are based on agriculture. Therefore, Gandhi wanted more and more self-financed agriculture colleges should be opened and they should be attached to related industries. Gandhi thus stressed the self-reliance of the country and advocated self-sufficiency of the colleges and universities. Mahatma Gandhi was never in favour of government aid to boost education. He, however, wanted the university's control over the colleges and that of the gove

The nationalism that is been promoted today and the nationalism that was prevalent during our freedom movement has a vast difference. One universal dream of we Indians back then, during the British regime was Nation building. Moving forward with hope of freedom from the Britishers was the main aim for us. And as for the nationalists today the promotion of hatred is one of the many aims they try to impose on the young minds. And they have succeeded to a great extend in promoting that. When we look at the present situation here, tension and hatred against each other has visibly grown up in recent years. India’s National Movement was truly Indian in the respect that it was world’s first struggle for freedom based on truth and non-violence and its foundations was laid by the socio-religious reform movement of the 19th century. As of the present scenario, religious hatred is on the rise in India, with many politicians inciting violence and hate to win power. As a society, India mus

  I used to be very proud of my locality. I often portrayed it as a rape-free zone or eve a teasing-free area of my state, in front of my friends who aren't from here. But not anymore. I'm deeply ashamed and disgusted after a harrowing incident I went through yesterday. I can only urge all my sisters, friends, and loved ones to be aware of such filthy eve teasers who roam around the streets at night. So, whenever you are out at night take proper measures to tackle such rascals. The incident that I got to witness was something I never expected to happen, at least not here. So, after attending one of my friend's wedding ceremonies I decided to accompany myself with three of my female friends, whose houses were not too far away from the wedding venue. Since the girls were alone, I felt it necessary on my part to at least drop them off safely. The three girls were on foot and I was just footsteps ahead of them on my bike riding as slow as I could. After walking a distan