What Happened at Our Meeting
on
11th February, 2004
Pres. Henry opened the meeting with a warm welcome to DG Jones, AG Joseph & IPP Chris who is visiting from UK. He asked IPP Chris to say a few words. IPP Chris said the he came to Hong Kong this time with his boss who returned to the UK yesterday. He decided to stay one more day so he could see all his friends in Rotary. He gave us an update on his life in the UK. He warmly welcomes anyone from our club to visit him in Cardiff, UK. He has left his contact information with Hon Sec Eddy for anyone wishing to visit him there.
Pres. Henry then presented a Presidential Citation long overdue to IPP Chris from IPDG Gloria for his leadership of our club last year. IPP Chris very graciously said that he is receiving this award on behalf of the club for the extraordinary year he had as President.
Then Pres. Adhikari from India made an appeal for joint project in India. For example, Supply of Parabolic Solar Cooker to VIVEKANANDA KENDRA for their hostel.( Promotion to use Non Conventional Energy Sources) Environment Friendly Project -MICRO CREDIT to purchase Gas Chullha to 20 women thru Mahila Hakka Saurakshan Samiti- -Lectures on Vedic Mathematics & its usage- programme can be developed to train teachers as well as students -Bee Keeping programme for farmers & implemented for last one year. Use of bees in increasing Agricultural Production.
DG Jones then addressed the meeting. He told us this is his second round of visit to the clubs after returning from his visit to Mongolia. He thanked everyone for the support given to him. He announced this year's Presidential Citation for this year. We must nominate one Rotarian from our club to receive this award. Therefore we are encouraged to submit a candidate for this award. He gave us further update concerning our district namely Rotary activities in Mongolia. A new club called Tuul, which have 40 or more high-powered chartered members that included two very important members. One member is the Vice-President of the country, and the other is the Deputy Prime Minister of the country.
He also gave us additional information about our district. He touched upon our Rotaract & Interact clubs. He said we now have 29 Rotaract clubs with 3,000 members and 36 Interact clubs with 3,000 members in Hong Kong. RYLA movement is well under way on the second stage of the final program in February. There will be 2 groups of Ambassadorial Scholars coming from D1110 from southern England UK and one from D7890 USA. . One of the scholars will come from Mongolia.
The Rotary Centennial Bell will be coming on May 4th to Hong Kong to help us celebrate the 100-year of Rotary.
Finally he congratulated us on our 50th Anniversary this year and wished us good luck for the rest of the year.
Pres. Henry thanked DG for his remarks & information.
Pres. Henry called upon VP Robert to make his report on the Family of Rotary program in our club. VP Robert announced our program for the Families of Rotarians party, which will be held at the home of PP Hubert on 14th February and encouraged all to go to this fun filled gathering.
Rtn Kishu then introduced the speaker Mr. K.P. Daswani, EX-Vice Chairman of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Indian Art Circle, Trustee of the Hongkong Chinmaya Foundation and World Council of Hindus. The title of his talk is "Vision of Life"
Mr. Daswani began by revealing the Anatomy of Action. (Reactions of our actions determine our pain and pleasure) Actions are prompted by our desires/aspirations which are the crystallized forms of our thoughts. Our thoughts are formed by our understanding of life. Looking around we find that the great majority of us are in pain and living a life of frustration. This leads us to the conclusion that there is an error in our understanding of life, giving birth to wrong desires and consequently wrong actions.
The known process of gaining understanding of life is as follows:
First each one of us is born with certain inherent tendencies displaying as Child's inclination towards music, medicine, engineering, law etc. Later this understanding is influenced by family's traditions, education and further enhanced by the social and political environment in which he comes to live.
How shall one determine the correctness of one's understanding of life?
To operate even a simple machine we need a manual. To get optimum efficiency out of any mechanism one has to know the laws which govern its functioning. Our body/mind mechanism is the most complex machine thru which life expresses itself. Yet no doctor or parent, school or college hands us out a manual explaining the mystery of life!
He pointed out that the '"Scriptures of Humanity" are these manuals which hold the key to this mystery but did not elaborate on this point. He, however pointed out three primary conclusions in this regard.
First point is life is indivisible. We mean that the same life that flows through my body also flows through yours. Also the same life flows through the body of birds and animals & the plant kingdom. Life is one. An example is electricity. It is pure energy. No one really know what electricity is. All we know is when you plug it into motors, light bulbs and refrigerator it performs differently according to the properties of that particular mechanism. In itself and by itself it is neither hot nor cold, neither light nor sound. It is sheer energy! A great mystic's statement is that when you pluck a flower, you shake the very stem of the tree. The whole tree trembles to its very roots. Such is the indivisible bonding in this creation.
And so when you touch any part of nature you will affect the whole universe. We have to be sensitive enough to know that every thought and action of ours is not an isolated action but a universal action and affects the whole.2. Based upon above understanding, we can come to the conclusion that no body in this creation is redundant. Nobody can be high and nobody is low. While our parents are the last link in our making, let us not forget that mother nature has been labouring for millions of years to produce you as you are.
The Sun, the Moon, the Stars, The mountains, the oceans and the cyclones; all have participated in your birth. Each has a share in making you what you are today. And the whole mother nature is your father & mother. And to her you are as precious as anything else in nature.3. Then why are there so many diversities in this creation? As any mechanism has many parts, as my own body while being one has many limbs; so too, Life being ONE has infinite parts. Each part has a specific function to perform. No part can do the job of other part. In some such sense you too are unique. You have no duplicate. What you are born to accomplish, none else can achieve that. When you are carved out of this
universe, you are given a special job. That job can only be done by you. Therefore you must find out what is your job and what is your role in this universe.Take for example this analogy: If this group here all boarded on an airplane bound for Shanghai and the plane is set on auto-pilot. There is nothing we can do to change it. All of a sudden someone in the group says "I don't want to go to Shanghai" However there is nothing we can do because we are on auto-pilot. Exactly in this manner, you chose to be carved out for a particular mission and now it is your duty to discover this "purpose or role" thru inner contemplation. Each one has a purpose/mission in life. Because you are unique and there is no one in creation like you. With your uniqueness you can do things no one else can do. You can contribute your strong points to this universe.
The final point is we must set ourselves en-rapport with the rhythm of the Universe. All problems of humanity are the problems arising out of our incapacity to be in harmony. An awakening into the fact that my own survival solely depends upon the survival of all and nothing in this creation exists only for its own sake shall lead us into a new dimension of "The Vision of Life" and fill our lives with joy and ecstasy of a fresh texture!
Pres. Henry then asked PP Hubert to thank the speaker.
Pres. Henry closed the meeting by proposing a toast to RI coupled with the Rotary club of Mid-Levels.
What is Donor Advised Fund of TRF ? The Rotary Foundation Donor Advised Fund (DAF) established in April, 2002, is an instrument for U.S. Rotarians and Rotary Affiliated groups who want to coordinate their giving to the Rotary Foundation and other preferred charities.
Similar to DAFs offered by community foundation in the USA, a DAF enables Rotarians to create a separate investment or savings account earmarked exclusively for their charitable giving. A Rotary DAF account can be established with an initial gift of US$20,000 or more. The contribution is then invested in one or any combination of four (4) investment pools selected by the donor. The donor recommends when and how much to grant to charities over time and at the convenience of the donor.
The Rotary Foundation is proud to offer this new way of giving to help Rotarians meet their ongoing charitable objective while continuing to support the Foundation's essential programmes.
The Donor Advised Fund is structured for a U.S. audience. If you are not a U.S. citizen or your Rotary affiliated group is not located in the USA, please contact The Rotary Foundation before trying to establish a DAF account.
Joke & Cartoon
Subject: FW: Ice Fishing Blonde
Here in the frozen north ice fishing is a very common hobby in the winter months
A blonde decided she needed something new and different for a winter hobby. She went to the bookstore and bought every book she could find on ice fishing.
For weeks she read and studied, hoping to become an expert in the field.
Finally she decided she knew enough, and out she went for her first ice fishing trip.
She carefully gathered up and packed all the tools and equipment needed for the excursion. Each piece of equipment had its own special place in her kit.
When she got to the ice, she found a quiet little area, placed her padded stool, and carefully laid out her tools.
Just as she was about to make her first cut into the ice, a booming voice from the sky bellowed, "There are no fish under the ice!"
Startled, the blonde grabbed up all her belongings, moved further along the ice, poured some hot chocolate from her thermos, and started to cut a new hole.
Again the voice from above bellowed, "There are no fish under the ice!"
Amazed, the blonde wasn't quite sure what to do, as this certainly wasn't covered in any of her books. She packed up her gear and moved to the far side of the ice.
Once there, she stopped for a few moments to regain her calm. Then she was extremely careful to set everything up perfectly - tools in the right place, chair positioned just so.
Just as she was about to cut this new hole, the voice came again, "There are no fish under the ice!"
Petrified, the blonde looked skyward and asked "Is that you Lord?"
The voice boomed back, "No, this is the manager of the skating rink!"
Photographs of Our Meeting
on
11th February, 2004
Our guest speaker was Mr. K.P.Daswani who spoke to us on "Vision of Life" (L to R) PDG Uncle Peter, guest speaker Mr. Daswani & Pres. Henry. (L to R) Hon Sec. Eddy, DG Jones, & visiting President R. P. Adhikari, Rotary Club of Nasik Riverside, Dist 3030, India. . (L to R) AG Joseph, PP's Hubert, Taj, IPP Chris & PP George. (L to R) Rtn Kenny, VP Robert, PE Rudy, PP's Tim, Stephen, JL.
(L to R) Rtn Kishu, PP John, Rtns Andy, Tony, Heron & Dir. Laurence. 
Pres. Henry giving one of our club banner to Pres.Adhikari in exchanging for and IOU 
Welcome back IPP Chris. Chris bringing us up to date on
what happened to him since he left.
Pres. Henry handing Chris his certificate which he received on his year as President. 
Pres. Adhikari offering us a chance to do a joint project with his club in India.
previous home
VP Robert announcing his Rotary Family program which he has mapped out for us on 14th February. 
(L to R) Program Chairman Dr. Tony, Rtn Heron, Dirs Laurence, Jason, Rtn Kishu & PP Desmond. 
Pres. Henry presenting a photograph of the speaker. 
PP Hubert thanking the speaker for a very interesting talk. Group Photo of our members with PDG Uncle Peter, Pres. Henry & the guest speaker & other members of our club on 11th February, 2004
