MY CHECKLIST, NOT YOURS

Good Morning!!! God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change; Courage to change the things I can; and Wisdom to know the difference. Thy will, not mine, be done. *~*~*~*~*^Daily Reflections^*~*~*~*~* October 15, 2024 MY CHECKLIST, NOT YOURS Gossip barbed with our anger, a polite form of murder by character assassination, has its satisfactions for us, too. Here we are not trying to help those we criticize; we are trying to proclaim our own righteousness. TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 67 Sometimes I don't realize that I gossiped about someone until the end of the day, when I take an inventory of the day's activities, and then, my gossiping appears like a blemish in my beautiful day. How could I have said something like that? Gossip shows its ugly head during a coffee break or lunch with business associates, or I may gossip during the evening, when I'm tired from the day's activities, and feel justified in bolstering my ego at the expense of someone else. Character defects like gossip sneak into my life when I am not making a constant effort to work the Twelve Steps of recovery. I need to remind myself that my uniqueness is the blessing of my being, and that applies equally to everyone who crosses my path in life's journey. Today the only inventory I need to take is my own. I'll leave judgment of others to the Final Judge— Divine Providence.

IS IT SELFISH?

Good Morning!!! IS IT SELFISH? Around the Year with Emmet Fox October 15 Is it selfish to pray for yourself? Some people think that it is, and say that you should pray only for others, but this, of course is a foolish idea. You must pray for yourself constantly. How could it be otherwise? We worship God by believing in Him, trusting Him, and loving Him wholeheartedly— and we can attain to that only through prayer. The sole object of our being here is that we may grow like him— and we can do that only through prayer. The more we pray for ourselves the more power will our prayers have for any other purpose whatever; so, praying for ourselves is the reverse of selfishness— it is truly glorifying God. “Bow down thine ear, 0 Lord, hear me: for I am poor and needy. Rejoice the soul of thy servant; for unto thee, 0 Lord, do I lift up my soul” Psalm 86:1, 4

*WHY ARE JEWS SO SMART?*

*WHY ARE JEWS SO SMART?* _By Dr. Stephen Carr Leon_ *Since I spent about 3 years in Israel for internship in a few hospitals there, it came to my mind about doing research on "Why the Jews are Intelligent."* *It goes without denial that Jews are ahead in all aspects of life, such as engineering, music, science & most obviously in business - nearly 70% of world trade & businesses are held by the Jews - in cosmetics, food, fashion, arms, hotels & film industries (Hollywood etc)*!!!! *During my 2nd year, I was about to go back to California. This idea came to my mind & I was wondering why God gave this gift or ability to them? Is this a coincidence? Or is it man-made? Can intelligent Jews be produced like goods from a factory? My research took abt 8 yrs to gather all the information as accurately as possible, like their food intake, culture, religion, initial preparation of pregnancy etc. & I would compare them with other races*!!!! *Let’s start with initial preparation of pregnancy. In Israel, the first thing I noticed is that a pregnant mother would always sing n play the piano n would always try to solve mathematics problems together with her husband. I was very surprised to see that pregnant women always carry math books. Sometimes, I would help her to solve some problems. I would ask, "Is this for your child in the womb?" She would answer, "Yes to train the child still in the womb so that it would be a genius later on". She would solve maths problems without let-up until the child is born*!!!!!! *Another thing I noticed is abt their food. The pregnant women loved to eat almonds n dates with milk. For lunch she would take bread & fish (without the head), salad mixed with almonds & other nuts. They believe fish is good for the development of the brain & that the fish head is bad for the brain. And also it is in the culture of the Jews for pregnant mothers to take cod liver oil*!!!! *When I was invited for dinner, I noticed that they always like to eat fish (flesh & fillet), but no meat. According to their belief, meat & fish together will not give any benefit to our body. Salad & nuts is a must, esp almonds*!!!! *They would always eat fruits first before the main meal. Their belief is that if you eat the main meal first (like bread or rice) then fruits, this will make us feel sleepy & difficult to understand lessons in school*!!!! *In Israel, smoking is a taboo. If you are a guest, don’t smoke in their house, they would politely ask you to go out to smoke. According to scientists in Universities in Israel, nicotine would destroy cells in our brain & will affect the genes & DNA, resulting in generations of moron or defective brain. All smokers pls take note! (Ironically, the biggest producer of cigarettes is… you know who... Philip Morris International, a Co set up by a Jew and named after him)*!!! *The food intake for the child is always under the guidance of the parents! First, the fruits with almonds, followed by cod liver oil. In my assessment, most Jewish children know at least 3 languages, ie, Hebrew, Arabic & English. Since childhood they would be trained in playing the piano & violin - it is a must*!!!! *They believe that this practice will increase the IQ of the child & will make him a genius. According to Jewish scientists, the vibrations of music would stimulate the brain. That is why there are lots of geniuses among the Jews*! *Since grade 1 to 6, they would be taught business maths, science subjects would be their first preference. As comparison, I could see the IQ of children in California is about 6 years back. Jewish children are also involved in athletics such as archery, shooting & running. They believe that archery & shooting would make the brain more focused on decision-making & precision*! *In high school, students are more inclined to study science. They would create products, indulge in all sorts of projects although some looks very funny or useless. But all attention is given seriously - especially if it is on armaments, medicine or engineering. A successful project or idea would be introduced in higher study institutes, polytechnics or universities*! *Business faculty is given more preference in the last year of university. Students in business studies would be given a project & they can only pass if their group (about 10 in a grp) can make a profit of USD1 million!* *Don’t be surprised - this is the reality. And that is why half of the business in the world is held by the Jews. For instance, guess who designed the latest Levis? It is being designed in an Israeli university by the Faculty of Business & Fashion* !!!! *Have you seen how they pray? They always shake their heads - they believe this action will stimulate & provide the brain with more oxygen! (Every Jew is attached to his/her culture and religion)*!!!!! *Look at the Japanese, they always bow down their heads as their culture - lots of them are smart - they love sushi (fresh fish). Is this a coincidence!! Bowing down head is there in Hindu culture also*!! *In the USA, the commercial & trading centers for Jews are based in New York - catering only to the Jews. If any Jew has any novel & beneficial idea, their committee sanctions interest free loans & will make sure their business prospers* ! *Thus Jewish companies like Starbucks, Dell Computers, Coca Cola, DKNY, Oracle, Levis, Dunkin Donut, Hollywood films & hundreds of other businesses were given encouraging sponsorships*! *Jewish medical graduates in New York are encouraged to register with them & allowed to practice privately with this interest free loans!Now I know why most hospitals in New York & California always lack specialist doctors*! *Smoking leads to generations of morons! During my visit to Singapore in 2005, I was surprised to see smokers are regarded as outcasts & the price of a pack of cigarettes is about USD 7. Like in Israel, it is too taboo here. Singapore's form of govt is similar to the Israelis. And that is the reason why most of their universities have high standards, even though Singapore is only as big as Manhattan*! *Look at Indonesia, everywhere people are smoking. The price of a pack of cigarettes is very cheap only USD 0.70 cents! The result is, millions of people with very little intelligence. You can count the number of universities, what product they produce that they can be proud of, low technology, can't speak other than their own language! For instance, why is it so difficult for them to master the English language? All this is due to smoking, their diet, culture*!! *In my thesis, I do not touch on religion or race - why the Jews are so arrogant that they were being chased around since the time of the Pharaoh until Hitler. For me it is about politics & survival. The bottom line is: Can we produce intelligent generations just like the Jews ?* *The answer could be "yes". We need to change our daily habits of eating & parenting, maybe within 3 generations, it could be achieved.* *This I could observe in my grandson, for example, at the age of 9 he could write a 5-page essay on "Why I love tomato”*!!! *May all of us be in peace and succeed in producing future generations of geniuses for the betterment of humankind, no matter - Who You Are!

Somewhere between

So Well Written! Somewhere between “ 10 toffees for 1 rupee” and “1 toffee for 10 rupees”, we grew up! Somewhere between “Ground may aaja” and “Online aaja”, we grew up! Somewhere between “stealing chocolate from our sister” and “Buying chocolate for her children”, we grew up! Somewhere between “Just five more mins Maa” and “Pressing the snooze button”, we grew up! Somewhere between “Crying out loud just to get what we want” and “Holding our tears when we are broken inside”, we grew up! Somewhere between “I want to grow up” and “I want to be a child again”, we grew up! Somewhere between “Lets meet and plan” and “Lets plan and meet”, we grew up! Somewhere between "Being afraid of our parents" and "Praying for our parents" we finally grew up And as we grew up, we realize; *How Silently, Our Lives Have Changed.......*

*Ratan Tata ...

*Ratan Tata ...* *In His Own Words !* “I had a happy childhood, but as my brother & I got older, we faced ragging because of our parent’s divorce, which in those days wasn’t as common. My grandmom brought us up. "Soon after, when my mother remarried, the boys at school started saying all kinds of things about us. But our grandmother taught us to retain dignity at all costs, a value that’s always stayed with me. It involved walking away from these situations instead of fighting back. "And if it weren’t for grandmom, I wouldn’t be half the person I am today. "My father and I couldn’t agree on the same thing – I wanted to go to college in the US, he insisted on UK. I wanted to be an architect, he insisted on me becoming an engineer. If it weren’t for my grandmother, I wouldn’t have ended up at Cornell University in the US. It was because of her that even though I enrolled for mechanical engineering, I switched majors & graduated with a degree in architecture. My father was upset, but I was finally my own, independent person in college & it was my grandmother who taught me that courage to speak up can also be soft. "After college, I landed a job at an architecture firm in LA, where I worked for 2 years. It was a great time – the weather was beautiful & I loved my job. It was in LA that I fell in love & almost got married. But at the same time I’d made the decision to move back, at least temporarily, since grandmom wasn’t keeping too well. So I came back to visit her & thought that the person I wanted to marry would come to India with me, but because of the 1962 Indo-China war her parent’s weren’t okay with her making the move anymore & the relationship fell apart. "After the move, I did spend some time with my grandmom. I’d run with my dog, catch up with her & we’d have long chats. I’m glad I got that time with her before she passed, because right after I moved to Jamshedpur for an internship at what’s known as Tata Motors now. It was a waste of time – I was moved from one department to another & since I was a family member, no one told me what to do – I spent 6 months trying to be ‘useful’. "It was only after I moved to Tata Steel that I got specific work & my job got interesting. I started from the floor & understood the plight of those working there. So years later, when we downsized Tata Steel from 78,000 to 40,000, we ensured to pay them their present day wages until retirement–it’s been in our DNA to serve those who serve us. "Then, in 1991, JRD stepped down as the Chairman of Tata Industries and then from Tata Sons, there was vicious criticism. There were other aspirants, who were vocal of him having made the wrong decision. I had been through this before, so I did what I knew best–maintained silence & focused on proving myself. The criticism was personal–JRD got clubbed with nepotism & I, as the wrong choice. I was under scrutiny, but the time I spent on the floor served as a big plus – I hadn’t gotten there from nowhere! "All in all, it was a big move. I remember after I was appointed Chairman, I walked with JRD to his office, where he told his secretary that he had to move out. I said, ‘No, J, don’t move out, this is your office for as long as you want.’ He said, ‘Where will you sit?’ I said, ‘Where I’m sitting today–I have an office down the hall & that’s fine.’ "I was lucky to have him there. He was my greatest mentor & the years that he was alive, I used to go into his office & say, ‘J, I wish this had happened 10 years ago, we have such a great relationship.’ He was like a father & a brother to me & not enough’s been said about that. "Ever since, my life has been for & about growing the company. When I was appointed Chairman, it was believed my surname got me the position, but my focus was on creating something bigger than us all & on giving back, which has been in the TATA DNA since the start. With Jamshedpur for instance, while our workers were thriving, the surrounding villages were suffering. It became our goal to uplift their quality of life as well … things like these came naturally to us. "Even with the Nano – I remember seeing a family of 4 on a bike in the heavy Bombay rain—I wanted to do more for these families who were risking their lives for lack of an alternative. By the time we launched the Nano, our costs were higher, but I’d made a promise & we delivered. Looking back, I’m proud of the car & the decision to go ahead with it. "That’s what my life has been about—work became a lifestyle. I was always at Bombay House or travelling, that’s why even though I came close to marriage with 2-3 different partners, I couldn’t go through with it because they’d have to adjust to my lifestyle & that didn’t sit right with me. "Now that I’m retired, that lifestyle has changed again. People ask if I’m truly ‘retired’ & to that I say—there’s no doubt about it. I’m enjoying the separation from the company—I don’t look at newspapers & worry about the bad stuff anymore. "But let me tell you, retirement isn't about playing golf, or reading on a beach, whilst sipping on a cocktail. In fact, never before has the urge to do more, been greater. From affordable cancer treatment, to making the lives in rural India easier—I’m looking forward to making it happen at the Tata Trust. I’m trying to enjoy myself to be honest— I’m spending time with friends —old & new, across age groups, who I’m constantly learning from. "At 82, I’m still learning, so when you ask me to give advice, I feel like the ‘right advice’ changes over a period of time—but the one thing that remains unchanged is the desire to do the right thing. "So I’ll say this —leave the advice & do the right thing, even if it isn’t the easiest thing to do. When you look back at your life, that’s what’s going to matter the most. Doing the right thing.” *# RatanTata* *ૐ શાંતિ* 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

CHARACTER OF AN INSTITUTION / ORGANISATION / GROUP

CHARACTER OF AN INSTITUTION / ORGANISATION / GROUP 👇 It was the year 1946. Germany stood devastated by the Second World War. The Allies had won the war, and many German cities, including Munich, had been severely damaged by the British Royal Air Force. Munich, the picturesque capital of the Bavarian region of Germany, and centre of the country’s diesel engine production, had suffered as many as 74 air-raids. More than half the entire city had been damaged or destroyed. On one gloomy morning that year, at the Munich Railway station, stood the Directors of Krauss Maffei, the reputed German engineering Company. They were waiting for the arrival of their guests from India. Founded in 1838, Krauss Maffei was a leading maker of locomotives of various types, and an engineering company with a formidable reputation. Unfortunately, the Company now stood devastated by the World War, since their factories had been destroyed by the Allied Forces. The guests from India got down from their train. They were Directors from the Tata Group in India. If you had been there, you would have seen JRD Tata, the young, tall, lanky Chairman of the Group, get off the train. And accompanying him was a forty-year old engineer, Sumant Moolgaonkar, representing TELCO (now Tata Motors). They had come to Munich for discussions with Krauss Maffei, regarding the manufacture of locomotives in India. What they found, instead, were scenes of destruction and ruin. The Germans requested the Indians to take some of their unemployed engineers to India, alongwith their families, and provide them jobs and shelter. The Directors of Krauss Maffei are reported to have told the Tata Directors – "They are very skilled people. They will do whatever you ask them if you take care of them. They can also teach your people." This would have to be done without a formal contract, because the British, who were still ruling India, had forbidden Indian Companies from having any contracts with German Corporations, during those times of the World War. But this request was urgent, and compelling. Because in that year, with factories lying destroyed, unemployment in Germany was rampant, and the then German currency, the Reichsmark, had become almost worthless. The Tata Directors agreed to this request, and assured the Germans that their people would be well looked after. The German engineers from Krauss Maffei then came to India, and they were provided good jobs and housing by the Tata Group. They were well taken care of, and they also rendered great service to Tata Motors. In 1945, Tata Motors had signed an agreement with the Indian Railways for manufacture of steam locomotives, and this is where the German engineers provided valuable technical expertise. They helped the Company manufacture locomotives, which were amongst the Company’s very first products. In 1947, India became independent. In the 1950s, Tata Motors moved on to manufacture trucks in collaboration with Daimler Benz. Many years had now passed since that fateful meeting at the Munich Railway Station. Germany had substantially recovered from the ravages of the war, and the reconstruction effort had borne great fruit. In one of these happier years, the Board of Directors of Krauss Maffei was surprised to suddenly receive a letter from India. This letter was from the Tata Group. It offered grateful thanks for the services of the German engineers, and it contained an offer of compensation to Krauss Maffei for the skills which had been transferred by the Germans to Tata Motors. Krauss Maffei was surprised, even taken aback at this offer. There was no legal contract, and therefore no obligation for the Tata Group to pay any compensation. In fact, I think, neither did this expectation exist, because the Tata Group had helped by providing jobs and shelter to the otherwise unemployed German engineers, during those dark days. So, the Germans were astonished, as they read the Tata letter. This story was narrated many, many years later, in the 1970s, by Directors of Krauss Maffei, to Arun Maira, then a senior Director of Tata Motors. Arun Maira is one of India’s most respected and distinguished business thinkers today. In a thoughtful article that he wrote for the Economic Times in 2005 (thank you, Mr. Maira, for this wonderful piece), he recollects how two elderly German gentlemen met him as part of a business transaction in Malaysia, jumped up, shook his hands, and wanted to express their deepest gratitude to him. They then narrated to him this fascinating story, which, they said, is now part of their Company’s folklore. One interesting and unexpected sidelight of this story occurred when Tata Motors was asked to provide a legally binding financial guarantee in the 1970s, but this was rendered very difficult because of the Indian Government’s regulations at that time. This matter was taken up to German bankers, who said that a guarantee on a Tata letterhead, signed by the Chairman, was more valuable than any banker’s guarantee. I do not know what exact thoughts ran through the minds of Tata Directors in the 1950s before they sent that letter to Krauss Maffei, offering compensation where none was agreed upon or expected. But I think the Tata Group did this because it was the right thing to do. The right thing to do is never defined by formal agreements or legal contracts alone. Neither is it defined by the expectations that others have of us. What is right is defined by our own high expectations of ourselves, by the culture of fairness and trust that we wish to establish. Are we being truly fair to the people and the Companies we work with? We always know, if we listen deeply enough to our inner voice, whether we are being totally fair and right. The Krauss Maffei story holds such a beautiful lesson for all of us.

Ratanji Tata

What a beautiful anecdote.. This brought tears to my eyes... When Indian billionaire Ratanji Tata was asked by the radio presenter in a telephone interview: Sir, what do you remember when you got the happiest in life? Ratanji Tata said: I have gone through four stages of happiness in life, and I finally understood the meaning of true happiness. The first stage was to accumulate wealth and resources. But at this stage I didn't get the happiness I wanted. Then came the second stage of collecting valuables and items. But I realized that the effect of this thing is also temporary and the luster of precious things does not last long. Then came the third phase of getting a big project. That was when I had 95% of the diesel supply in India and Africa. I was also the owner of the largest steel factory in India and Asia. But even here I did not get the happiness that I had imagined. The fourth step was when a friend of mine asked me to buy wheelchairs for some disabled children. About 200 children. At the behest of the friend, I immediately bought the wheelchairs. But the friend insisted that I go with him and hand over the wheelchairs to the children. I got ready and went with him. There I gave these children the wheel chairs with my own hands. I saw a strange glow of happiness on the faces of these children. I saw them all sitting in wheelchairs, moving around and having fun. It was as if they had reached a picnic spot, where they were sharing a winning gift. I felt real happiness inside me. When I decided to leave, one of the kids grabbed my leg. I tried to slowly release my legs, but the child looked at my face and held my legs tight. I leaned over and asked the child: do you need anything else? The answer this kid gave me not only shocked me but also completely changed my outlook towards life This child said: "I want to remember your face so that when I meet you in heaven, I can recognize you and thank you once again....!!"