Choice Power

My contention is
Man is a CHOICE driven Animal !
Our delusion and illusion is that we are driven by Hunger ,Ambition ,Love , Hate, Lust and the hundreds of other names we can coin but fundamentally , in the final analysis , the path and it's outcome  is dependent on  a choice we made freely ( there can be coercion - but we have the Choice to Resist or Succumb )
We Chose not to stay connected with certain people
We Chose to connect with some
We Chose Our government
We Chose  to be efficient or inefficient
We Chose to believe in God or follow Atheism
and there is nothing wrong in this !
At every moment we are given this liberty to exercise our Will and the more informed the Self is the better would prove the outcome of our Choice
We are not restricted or censored by Universal  Law !  That's the beauty of Human Existence
I subscribe to the belief that even the content of our drama of this lifetime is a CHOICE we made , or the Soul did , in the vested interest of undergoing certain experiences considered useful
It's just that we have forgotten this fact and rail against circumstances and blame others , luck , and everything else in sight !
George BernardShaw said somewhere :
" Whenever there is a conflict between self interest and public good the former always takes precedence over the latter "
I agree .We all make Choices according to the above and there is nothing wrong in that . There is no need to feel guilty or mask it !
What I think is wrong is trying to garb natural  self interest, as something else .That in my book is dishonesty.

Salute to Women Folk : Untold story of a Braveheart

Truly history is the account of deeds and situations noticed and often recorded and  reported with the slant given by vested interests . Here is a story that makes us feel proud of our women folk ( if at all such a thing is still needed ! )

Reproduced as received . Must read

DID WE TEACH OUR CHILDREN ABOUT THIS WARRIOR? WHY WE DIDNT TEACH ? TO APPEASE CHRISTIANS AND SIDELINE INDIANS. SEE HOW SECULARS DESTROYED OUR HERITAGE
_Did you Know...._🤔👇🏼⚓

_Frankly, though I have heard of the name, and her achievements, in part, having been associated, in 1991with the Commissioning of CGS Akkadevi..but there is so much more to it..Read on.._⚓

```The year was 1555. India was being clawed and chomped upon by the deceitful colonial cheapskates - on east were the inglorious British while our western flank was violated primarily by the Portuguese.

The Portuguese Colonial power was at its peak in the 1500’s. They destroyed the mighty Zamorins of Calicut. Defeated the Sultan of Bijapur. Took away Daman from the Sultan of Gujarat, Established a colony in Mylapore, Captured Bombay and made Goa as their headquarters. And while they were at it, pretty much unchallenged, they even ruined the ancient Kapaleeswarar Temple to build a Church over it.
Their next target, the super profitable port of Mangalore.
Their only bad luck, just 14 kilometers south of Mangalore was the small settlement of Ullal - ruled then by a feisty 30 year old woman - Abbakka Chowta.

Initially, they took her lightly and sent a few boats and soldiers to capture and bring her back to Goa - Those boats never came back.
Shocked and enraged, they sent a huge fleet of ships this time, under the command of much celebrated Admiral Dom Álvaro da Silveira - The admiral soon returned, badly injured and empty handed.
Thereafter, another Portuguese fleet was sent - only a few injured from the crew managed to make it back.
Then the Portuguese went on to capture the Mangalore port and the fort anyways, perhaps planning to tackle Mrs. Chowta from the convenient distance of the Mangalore fort.
After the successful capture of Mangalore, a huge army under João Peixoto, an experienced Portuguese General was sent to Ullal.
The brief was simple: Subjugate Ullal and capture Abbakka Chowta.
The plan was foolproof- there was no way a 30 year old with a few men could withstand the might of an army of thousands with advanced weapons.
The Portuguese reached Ullal and found it deserted. Abbakka was nowhere in sight. They roamed around, relaxed and thanked their stars - Just when they were about to call it a victory - Mrs Chowta attacked with 200 of her chosen men - there was chaos all around and many portuguese lost their lives even without a fight - General João Peixoto was assassinated, 70 portuguese were captured and the rest just ran away.
So if you’re Abbakka Chowta, who’s just defeated a large army of aggressors, killed a general, captured fighters and defended her city - What will you do? - Rest and enjoy the moment right? - Right? - No!
Rani Abbakka Chowta, rode with her men towards Mangalore that same night, and laid a siege of the Mangalore fort - She not just broke inside the fort successfully - but assassinated Admiral Mascarenhas the Chief of the Portuguese power there and forced the remaining Portuguese to vacate the fort.
She didn’t just stop at this but went on to even capture the Portuguese settlement at Kundapura, a full 100 kms, north of Mangalore - Just to make a point.
The Portuguese finally managed to get back at Abbakka Chowta by convincing her estranged husband, to betray for money. She was arrested and put in the prison where she revolted again and was killed while trying to escape.
Abbakka Chowta was a Jain who fought against the Portuguese with an army comprising of both Hindus and Muslims, a full 300 years before the First War of Indian Independence in 1857.
What did we Indians do to her, as a mark of our respect and gratitude? - We just forgot her.
We didn’t name our girls after her. We didn’t even teach her stories to our kids. Yes we did release a Postal Stamp in her name, named a boat after her and erected 2 statues - yes just 2 statues in the whole of India for someone who should be our national hero.
We might have got to read a chapter about her in our text books, had she been a European or an American.
We Indians are still busy, arguing, if it was actually one of her daughters who fought the battles instead of her. Many talk about her being the last Indian to have the power of the agni-ban. In all this cacophony, our generation has lost a great hero - a great source of inspiration.```
(Google and see it is a true story)

Wisdom of the (S) Ages - Utility of Man

Nothing is Useless
This is a story about being of service to others and the usefulness of things !
           
In olden times, boys used to go to 'Gurukuls' and live there with the Guru for many years for their education. When the pupils had gathered knowledge and wisdom they wanted, they went back home with the Guru's blessings and settled down in life.

Once, two pupils, who were to leave the Gurukul for home,went to Guru and said, "Gurudev, please tell us what gift we may give you as your Gurudakshina?

The Guru was pleased with the pupils' love and gratitude. He too loved them because of their devotion, discipline and sense of duty. He expected nothing more from them. However, he decided to add a little more to his pupils'*
"wisdom."

So, he said to them,"Dear children, go into the forest behind our Gurukul and bring me some dry leaves for which no one has any use."

The pupils wondered why their Guru had asked for this strange gift. But being quite obedient, they left for the forest as their Guru wanted them to do.

As soon as they entered the forest, they came near a small heap of dry leaves beneath a tree. When they were picking up some of them, an old farmer came running to them and said,

"Please put those leaves back into the heap. I have collected them. I am taking them to my field. When I burn them, their ashes will make excellent manure which will enable me to have a rich crop of food grains."
    
The pupils left that heap and went a little further into the forest. There they saw three women collecting dry leaves and putting them into their baskets. "What do you do with these dry leaves?"asked the pupils."

Dear brothers,"said one woman, I use them as fuel to heat water for bath and for washing our clothes."

The second one said," We pin the better leaves together with reed-pins and make patravalis which are used as dinner-plates in ashrams and temples.

" I earn some money thus to feed my children." Said the third one,"I collect dry leaves of this particular tree. My husband who is a Vaidya uses them for preparing some herbal medicines. He cures many ailments."
    
The pupils then went still further into the forest. They saw some dry leaves under a tall tree. As both were looking at them, a big bird swooped down and picking up one leaf, flew away. The pupils watched the bird carrying the leaf to the top of a small tree nearby, where it was building a nest of dry leaves and grass. They did not wish to take away the dry leaves which were useful to the bird.
   
Both the boys decided to go back to the Gurukul. On the way, they saw a small pond in which a big dry leaf was floating on the water." There is a big dry leaf which is of no use to anyone,"said one of them. The pupils went to the pond and picked up the leaf. To their surprise, they saw two big red ants moving on it. As one of the pupils held the leaf in his hand, the ants stopped moving, as though to say,

*"This dry leaf has been our lifeboat. But for it, we would have been drowned in the pond."

The pupils, thereafter, gave up their vain pursuit and returned to the Gurukul. In a sad tone, they said to the Guru,"Gurudev, we found that even dry leaves have so many uses that we could not bring them to you. All the dry leaves we saw were being used for some purpose or other. Please forgive us for not bringing with us the Gurudakshina you had asked for."

"Dear children,"replied the Guru,"I have received the Gurudakshina I wanted. The knowledge you have gathered today is my real Gurudakshina. Even a dry leaf is of great use and help to man, bird and insect. How much more precious, then, should be man's body and use it to make your life as well as the lives of others happy.

Never miss a chance to use it to serve the needy, the sick and the aged or to help the ignorant and the poor. Never forget this great lesson you have learnt today."