One of the forgotten legacies of the Father of the Indian nation, Mahatma Gandhi, was the talisman he gave to the masses. It goes,

I will give you a talisman. Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test. Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man [woman] whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him [her]. Will he [she] gain anything by it? Will it restore him [her] to a control over his [her] own life and destiny? In other words, will it lead to swaraj [freedom] for the hungry and spiritually starving millions?
Then you will find your doubts and your self melt away.

But like Gandhi’s other ideals of peace & non-violence, has the talisman also faded away in the information age? Let me try and translate this talisman today for the corporate world.

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In the last 24 hrs, I seem to grow rich suddenly. One of my relatives in Africa died, leaving me an estate worth 15.5 million euro, & I won two Australian lotteries each worth 400,000 US dollars. Am I lucky or what?

Before the congratulations start to pour in, let me tell you that all three of these are all internet scams. And there seems to be a sudden spurt in these e-mails in the last two days. Commonly known as 419 scams, these scamsters have a simple modus operandi that involves the following steps:

1. Send an email to unsuspecting people, informing them that they have won millions of dollars (or suddenly inherited them). Ask them to contact back.
2. Once the victim responds, he/she is convinced all the more by giving fake account numbers, company names etc. The net is cast now.
3. At this time, the email sender asks the victim to deposit a big sum of money as “processing fees” in some bank account. Once the deposit is made, the email sender vanishes with the money, usually without a trace.

Beware of such fraudulent emails. There are some excellent sites below that offer more details on these email scams, & how to protect yourself against them. Do look at them, knowledge is the best defense.

1. 419 Eater
2. Listing on iGeek.info
3. How to avoid internet scams

ना था कुछ तो खुदा था, कुछ ना होता तो खुदा होता
डुबोया मुझको होनी ने, न होता मैं तो क्या होता?

-मिर्ज़ा ग़ालिब

Translation:
God was there when there was nothing, when there would be nothing God was there
I was sunk by luck, had I not been there what would have happened?

By Mirza Ghalib

जी में ही कुछ नहीं है हमारे वरना हम
सर जाए या रहे, ना रहें कहे बगैर

-मिर्ज़ा ग़ालिब

Translation:
There is nothing in my heart, otherwise
I never remain without saying things out, without caring if my head is cut off!

-By Mirza Ghalib

Are you in Delhi on January 12? If yes, then you must come over for the Delhi Blog Meet being organized to get Delhi’s Blogging community together & thinking.

Ye you heard me right, thinking!! This is more than just another blog meet, it is a step forward towards making bloggers & online media practitioners more relevant to the community, and more responsible towards the society. Our intent is to convert a community from just another online group, to a community that has its presence in the society, that works together towards betterment of the society as a group & where each member gets the satisfaction of doing something in real life.

Not only bloggers, but vloggers(YouTube/etc users), photographers (Flickr/Picasa/etc users), twitters, facebookers….any & every online media user in cordially invited.

And if you do not use any of the online media, you are also invited. This could be a great opportunity to learn from those who already know, and to get a headstart in the online world.

All of this is free. I promise. No hidden costs, no fine prints. Just come over & we’ll all have a great afternoon of learning & idea transfer.

Hope to see you on 12 January!!

Links:

Register at: http://wiki.delhibloggers.in/delhi-bloggers-meets
Online group : http://groups.google.com/group/thedelhibloggers/

New Delhi is now going to be a super secure city. And we owe this to the visionaries who, in the name of law and order, are passing order after order that will make life impossible for the common man.

First, it was made mandatory to carry an ID card in Delhi. And now, people who do not have a driving license made in Delhi will not be allowed to drive on the city’s roads. What’s next, people whose passports are made in other states will not be allowed to board planes from Delhi’s airports???

Instead of making laws that make it easier for cops to harass the common man, why doesn’t the Lt. General make laws that make the corrupt police more accountable to the taxpayer? But naah, it is the voice that is the weakest that always gets crushed.

Who will guard the guards, sir? Who will?

I live in Gurgaon. Thanks to you, sir, I will not be able to visit Chandni Chowk for a kulfi, India Gate for the lazy afternoons, or CP for the shopping binge. But you can gloat, of course. You think you decisions will make Delhi a safer place. No one else in the whole city knows how. Maybe you should share this with the public who are on the receiving end of your “New Year presents”!

After a long time, I’ve read a very refreshing and soothing text. Here’s a small excerpt:

“Tune into The God Force, you can begin with: Daily prayer, silent meditation, choosing love over fear at every junction of life and intentionally replacing negative thoughts with uplifting ones.”

Read the entire article on Swagat’s Facebook Notes.

Million thanks to Swagat for sharing this wonderful thought. With your kind permission, I would like to share the entire content here.

The year of Bond is done. 2007 was good, 2007 was great. A year that took me to the other hemisphere, and brought me in close contact with the nation I always wanted to experience first hand. Met a lot of good people, made a lot of friends, and had a lot of fun.

I welcome 2008 with an open mind and heart. It is unfair to have a lot of expectations from a year that has just started. Even so, I would hope that I keep doing the best that I can, and let life treat me as fairly as it can.

A very happy New Year to you too!! May all your dreams come true, may your heart’s desires be fulfilled, and may your life be filled with love and happiness. My request to all is to spread love, not hatred this year. Love and forgiveness are the most powerful weapons designed, let us use them to spread joy and peace in the world.

God Bless!