Friday, August 29, 2008

Pictures with Satguru HH Bodhinatha Veylanswami

With Satguru
Black & white picture with Satguru, Yoginathaswami and friends

With Mr Ananda Kumar


Friday, August 22, 2008

Thursday, August 21, 2008

My Prayers

My Prayers
I set my eyes beyond the skies and reach the height of my sight that my prayers shall be answered.
As the radiant sun shines and dazzles the spring water, let my mind
showers those near me and far for a beautiful joyous life.
As life is meant to be lived joyously, let me behold to that life and lives of others.
Just my happy thoughts.
Ravichandran Ceyon

Friday, August 15, 2008

Genting Highland Annual Outing - 2008

Assuming a different role now, from fun cart driver to ``speed boat'' ``pilot''
High on a fun-cart wheel!!! The maximum speed is ony 10kms/hr

We had a wonderful company outing to Genting Highland for 3 days - 10th August - 12th August. Seems an annual place that are being chosen by most of the staffs. I, for once had a good time this year. Maximized both indoor and outdoor games.

(more pictures coming soon)

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

The Lotus Of Our Heart

Picture credit : TAKA
Lotus of our heart. I love to see lotus flowers. It's an amazing feeling to set our sight on this plants in the pond. Serene and devout of it's surrounding, the blossomed lotus simply sends out an array of calm feelings.
No wonder ``spiritual'' people always have a soft spot for this flower and often became a symbol of purity and opening of one's inner higher consciousness.
I would stop by to sit and view for a moment these magical plant upon chancing a lotus pond when I drive back to my home town.
My Satguru's Guru, HH Sivaya Subramuniyaswami wrote extensively on lotus plant and how the symbolizes our life and how we can shine as a lotus plant amidst challenging world. ( MERGING WITH SIVA).
The lotus flower shines and binds my heart to see the finer part of life with no trepidation, elevated confidence, good hope, silent calmness, happy thoughts, and steadfastness.
I got a little lotus in my heart. So why don't you get one too!
Be a lotus flower! Ever shines and brightens our lives!

Monday, August 4, 2008

A cobbler In My Neighborhood

At 68, he feels happy and contended with life


Takes time-off to read newspaper when there are no customers in sight

Preparing for the day's work

Mr. Chong focuses on his mending job

A cobbler in My neighborhood.
Don't Rush Out And Buy A New Pair Of Shoes. Few stitches in times go extra miles.


Shoe repairers have an amazing way in transforming your shoes half or that which are sure to be scrapped at the moment you felt not wanted and worn out. As the inflation is souring to a new record high – more than 7%, why waste and depart some good savings money to just buy new shoes, when they can be repaired and reused, good as new.

I chanced to seek a casual talk with my neighborhood shoe repairer at walkway of a supermarket at Taman Sri Putri, Kulai. It was just a short walking distance from my home.

Mr. Chong Kim Shiu, 68 years old spinster had been a cobbler for the past 16 years after quitting various odds jobs in factories in Singapore. He is a familiar face in Kulai. He joined this rather small workforce as a self-employed shoe repairer since then.

Baring his tanned bare body, diligently mending shoes given to him by customers, his simple way and quite nature just gives me a sense of apology, of how many of us took cobblers for granted. Now as the economy is tight, many are turning to them to repair their shoes rather than replace with a new one.

I observed, men and women dropping off their shoes to him and he looked carefully and explained extend of damage and the cost of repair. Mostly he quotes on spot the chargers. I asked him what his income is in a day. He replied, ` cukup makan satu hari lor’. - Enough for a day expense. I deduced his earning should be about RM$30 – RM$50 a day.

Typical fixing works are changing, cutting, graving, stitching, and gluing soles. He learned this trade when he was working in a shoe factory in Singapore. No other formal training is needed. A simple cobbler job and a small capital, in the range of RM$2000, he set his sight to earn a decent living whilst his body could manage.

He concentrates only on repairing, restoration of shoes, boots, slippers and sandals as the main focus but not on making new footwear’s. This is only restriction as a limited itinerant worker.

While many of us felt gloom with the economic downturn that forced us to be more prudent in our daily savings, so getting our footwear to go more extra miles indeed one way of being smart person. Therefore don’t rush just to buy a new pair of shoes but just go to your friendly cobbler in your neighborhood and get them stitched up for those extra miles.