Yogakshemam Vahaamyaham?? Or....

Dear friends,
Many of us would have merely skimmed through Renuka Anantharaman’s post titled ‘Life’s Little Lessons Learnt from Little Creatures’ (posted 25-11-08). If however, one were to dwell a little longer to ponder over the message it carried (apart from appreciating the beautiful alliterations in the title) I thought it deserved more than a cursory glance, albeit the lady member has merely touched the tip of the ice-berg (read insect-kingdom). Ten years ago there were approximately 750,000 named insect species. Today, that number is over 1,000,000. And according to a recent article in Scientific American, entomologists estimate that there are likely over eight million different species of insects on Earth. When you compare that to 4,650 named and 4,800 estimated mammal species or the 72,000 named and 1,500,000 estimated fungi, it is easy to see that insects "out-populate" any other living taxonomic group on Earth
The best things come in small packages. Diminutive insects play a vital role in our ecosystems. They aerate the soil, pollinate blossoms, and control insect and plant pests; they also decompose dead materials, thereby reintroducing nutrients into the soil. The relationship between the bees and the flowers they pollinate is so intricate that they are thought to have evolved together.
Some say, "Four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise: Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer; coneys are creatures of little power, yet they make their home in the crags; locusts have no king, yet they advance together in ranks; a lizard can be caught with the hand, yet it is found in kings' palaces."


The ants teach us the wisdom of preparation. "Better to be prepared and not called, than to be called and not prepared," is a wise principle to adhere to. For instance, if I want a good job in the future, I need to prepare today. If I want a healthy marriage, I need to work on my growth and maturity today, for only mature people have mature relationships. And if I want God to use me, I need to develop the gifts and talents he has given me. As an old Chinese proverb says, "Dig your well before you're thirsty."


The coneys or rock badgers teach us the wisdom of precaution. How true is the old saying, "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread." If you want to avoid temptation, don't go where you know you'll be tempted. If you don't want to get into debt over your head, don't borrow what you can't pay. And if you can't swim, don't go into the deep end of the pool. God is faithful, but if we jump off a building, he won't catch us on the way down, as he doesn't go against his own rules! He won't change the universal law of gravity because of my foolishness and irresponsibility. He won't change the moral law either. If I try to break it, it will break me.


The locusts teach us the wisdom of unity. Have you ever tried to row a boat with a friend? If you don't pull together in harmony, you'll get nowhere fast, go in circles, or run into the bank. To keep moving forward, you don't have to over-exert yourself, just keep pulling together. And if we don't pull together as a family, a community, or a nation, working in harmony with the principles of life as found in our scriptures, we will end up on the rocks!


The lizards teach us the wisdom of perseverance. "If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done … Keep on sowing your seed, for you never know which will grow—perhaps it all will," say the Wise.
Likewise one can learn something useful from each of the 10quintillion insects sent on earth through God's creation!!!

Ciao
Warm rgds
V~v~R
13-12-08.

Dear friends,
Ahimsaka soldier of Islam!
(I am a believer in nonviolence and I say that no peace or tranquility will descend upon the people of the world until nonviolence is practised, because nonviolence is love and it stirs courage in people. There is advantage only in construction. I want to tell you categorically I will not support anybody in destruction.) --Abdul Ghaffar (Badshah) Khan
Dear friends,
The pain in everyone’s heart is palpable after the recent Mumbai –blasts. In the background of such extremely emotional trauma, I thought of sharing a review written in ‘Yes’ magazine, by Michael N Nagler on a book by Sree Eknath Easwaran (What an author!!) titled ‘Non-violent soldier of Islam’; while hoping that it is not out of place.
Little known in the outside world is a figure named Abdul Ghaffar Khan, who argued that religiously justified violence was "not God's religion." Known as Badshah Khan to his followers, the devoutly Muslim leader was called "The Frontier Gandhi" and built an Islamic parallel to Gandhi's violence-eschewing ideals of compassion for one's enemies and peaceful resistance to oppression as a means of overcoming it.
Now read on the attachment…………I am not trying to prove anything…..
Warm rgds
V~v~R
14-12-08
‘Life’s Little Lessons Learnt from Little Creatures’…Some More..!!
Dear friends,
After my obsession about the ‘insect world’ (thanks to Renuka Anantharaman’s above post) it is now the fabulous ’plant kingdom’. My neighbour Bilqueez is a Green-thumb…..a plant and animal lover. So last week when I saw her pruning the hedges I asked her, “Do you know what you are doing?”
“What?...just trimming the hedges….that’s all” she said.
“You are espaliering the hedges” I said.
“What’s that?” she queried
“ESPALIER..as a noun it means a tree trained to grow flat against a wall (see picture attached). As a verb..To train a tree in such a way…Typically fruit trees such as apple and pear are grown as espalier. The advantages of an espalier are that it can be grown in a small space, gets more sunlight, and provides easier access to the fruit.” I said showing off my vocabulary!
So there’s more to trees and plants than we think.
A few months back I noted this quotation from the journalist Hal Borland (1900-1978): "You can't be suspicious of a tree, or accuse a bird or a squirrel of subversion or challenge the ideology of a violet."

But astute linguaphile Mark Germer wrote in response:
"Recent work on information processing (even kin recognition) in plants suggests that there may be more going on there than we now understand; as for birds and mammals, it has long been appreciated that they are perfectly capable of deception and subversion. For my part, I don't find these things odd or disturbing, as it's the continuity of all life that intrigues me most. Humans are not alone
Deceptive and "criminal" behavior among animals, particularly those birds and mammals that live in social groups and pair-bond with their mates like us, is an endlessly fascinating topic. Of course predators and prey both use camouflage, the most basic form of deception. But within their own species, many individuals also act in ways that we would consider immoral, i.e. deceptive or downright destructive, and are responded to in much the same way that we do by their victims, mates, or the community at large.
Yet in a sense Hal Borland is still right, since how can you frame an "accusation" implying moral judgments against creatures acting on instincts that are the product of millions of years of evolution? Everywhere we look in nature we see ourselves mirrored, and we have much to learn about the roots and rudiments of our own behavior at both the individual and societal levels by doing so.
When ESPALIERED: ……Do the plants feel like a pampered pet being groomed, or do they bear the assault? It may be that they determine to just grow new vertical shoots in defiance while captive in our yards?
So next time you pluck a mango from a tree or trim that hedge, or chop, twist, bend, and stunt as you shape them, be aware that it may not be as oblivious as you think.

BTW, even bacteria have social lives and sophisticated coordination and communication. Don’t believe? Go to the paper @ http://star.tau.ac.il/~eshel/papers/Trends-published.pdf and read you will be amazed!
You mean “What has this to do with our group objectives?”…Search me. But if Arjuna could ask (Gita 13.1) Prakritim purusham..kshetram, kshetrajnam..gnyaanam..gnyeyam….veditum icchaami…I thought why not we!
Thank you all for your patience.
Warm rgds V~v~R 14-12-08.
Gregorian? New year 2009
Dear friends,
I thoroughly enjoyed viewing Sri S Srinivasan’s pps on Year-2009 and the optimistic messages it carried. I thought (as a compliment to the same) of penning my own version of how I look at the coming New Year.
We always visualize sunrise as the beginning of a new day and the sunset as the end. What we at times forget is that without darkness there would not have been a new dawn. Like wise, without problems we would never know the value of life. Yesterday, I was reading a story to my niece’s son who loves listening to stories. The wonderful thing is every time I read out something to him; I see his eyes light up because these stories carry some small lessons for him… a child all of 5 years…
BUTTERFLY
A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and it could go no further.
So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon.
The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.
What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If God allowed us to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. We could never fly!
My grand-nephew was quite confused and never understood a word of what I said; so, I gave him an example of his life. “There is a right time for everything”, I said. “You started to crawl before you started walking. You learnt alphabets before you started reading and writing.”
He added in his own innocent manner that it was all because of grandpa who with his stories helped him to know so many things.
After putting him to bed I gave his sayings a thought. We have so many expectations from life. When we start doing something we expect everything to fall into place. What we do not realize is that behind the success we have the blessings of the Almighty and our elders, the help of our friends, the trust of the innocent youngsters and our own efforts.
We shall move ahead with the memories of 2008 printed in our heart and look towards a new sunrise with a new confidence. Let us set our goals right this year as 4B helps us to see the year 2009 in a better way with Personalized encouragement for the Year 2009 from our ever friendly ’Cheenu’. In a lighter vein, no he is not crossing the fence as someone doubted! He may at best take a few snaps of the setting sun behind the minarets of a mosque at ‘Kanchi’ ….with background music tuned to some ‘Evening Raga’ ….his own way of symbolically conveying what he has in mind…..visuals speak better than a million words
Warm Regards,
V~v~R
14-12-08



Yogakshemam Vahaamyaham
(The Bhagavad Gita has a profound influence on the spirit of mankind by its devotion to God which is manifested by actions)— Dr. Albert Schweitzer
Dear friends,
Last Tuesday (9th Dec) was Gita Jayanthi Day: celebrated by all lovers of this most sacred scripture on the eleventh day (Ekadashi) of the bright half of the month of Margaseersha (December-January). It was on this day that Sanjaya narrated to King Dhritaraashtra the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna, and thus made the glorious teachings of the Lord available to the people of the world, for all time. The Gita is the most beautiful and the only truly philosophical song. It contains sublime lessons on wisdom and philosophy. It is the universal gospel. It contains the message of life that appeals to all, irrespective of race, creed, age or religion. Many words from this “Song Celestial” have been adopted as slogans by various institutions. Example..Nabhah sprusam deeptam by Indian Air Force (to mean touch the sky with Glory). Another.. Yogakshemam Vahaamyaham (from Gita 9.22) by LIC which is not a mere slogan but has become a mission statement meant for market penetration. It is around the latter that this story is spun.
ananyaascintayanto maam ye janaa paryupaasate
teshaam nityaabhiyuktaanaam yogakshemam vahamyaham

meaning – (I the supreme God or consciousness protect and take care, the yoga and kshema of my devotee who does my upasana with unstinted devotion taking me only as the consciousness behind every action always.)
Does anyone remember the story of a Brahmin who had once amended this verse from Gita because he thought it was NOT true. ? A story I heard goes like this………..
Arjunacharya, a Brahmin as poor as a field rat was writing his commentary on the Gita. He saw this verse and thought it a mistake to believe that the Lord would personally carry whatever was needed to each devotee. He therefore scratched out vahAmi (I personally carry) and inserted karomi (I have it done). The Brahmin thought, “What is the need for Bhagavan doing it Himself? Being all powerful, He will get it done."

After making the change in the text he went for Unjavrithi. While he was gone, his wife heard a knock at the door. Two handsome looking boys, but shaken up a bit were at her doors insisting that she quickly accept the food that her husband had sent for her. The boys were in pain and anxious to get away from her house sooner the delivery of food was made, because, they told her, that they were afraid the great Brahmin scholar Arjunacharya would probably thrash them again.

The good lady expressed her disbelief and swore that her husband would never hurt a fly leave alone do such a despicable act of beating children. But then the dark boy said, "See?" and turned to show her the marks on his back where he had been struck. Then they both dashed away.
Arjunacharya's wife was bewildered, and angry at her husband. She began to warm up and eat the food the boys had brought. Upon Arjunacharya's arrival, he was shocked to see his wife partaking the food, as it was quite unusual for her to do so without waiting for him. When admonished, she narrated the entire episode as to how the two boys had come and left a bountiful supply of food and after the dark boy had showed her the marks on his back, she got convinced about how cruel one could get in the heat of the moment no matter how great a scholar one professed to be. She just had no time for such an individual and as entreated by the boys she had cooked and now dining too. The acharya was no less perplexed. He thought for a few moments and asked his wife to describe the boys in more details….what they looked like. Upon hearing that one was of a beautiful darkish complexion and the other was fair, he could understand that his fortunate wife had been blessed with the darshana of Krishna and Balarama. The scar marks were the result of his having scratched out the word vahAmi. Krishna then had taken upon Himself to come personally to prove His words, "I carry for the devotees what they lack with my own hands."…the purport in this case being the much needed food for the poor Brahmin couple.!!!!!

Warm rgds
V~v~R
14-12-08

Coming or Going?.........Who knows?

Coming Or Going…Who Knows??
Dear Friends,
For the past few months, I sure didn’t know “whether I was coming or going!”…now a flashback…early 1962…
As a cadet, it is taboo to walk about in the premises with out one’s head gear. I saw from afar our new Commandant’s Jeep; I hastily put my side cap and gave a smart salute; the jeep stopped and out came the ‘Tiger’ (the Cos are known thus) and roared. “Come here!”. I marched, stood at attention and saluted again.
“Are you coming or going, son?” asked the commandant. I got flummoxed, stood silently ram-rod straight, but petrified; shaking as an aspen leaf. The commandant gently removed my cap, reversed it, putting it front-side right with brass buttons glowing and facing him, and said “Umm.. That’s better….The way you donned.. I didn’t know which side is your face; whether you are coming or going..” and laughed. “Don’t forget to report to the drill master in the afternoon for a pack parade..”
Cut to Recent days
During one of our culvert conferences in the evening with oldies, I addressed no one in particular “Guess what? I seem to experience a strange phenomenon for the past several months”
“What’s that?...age must be catching up after all” Chaturvedi
“Yeah ok. But that’s not it” said I.
‘Kyon Bhaai Biwi se jagada hua kyaa?” Gulati.
“No..Nothing of that sort..It is mystical, allegorical..Awe inspiring..” I replied. “I am kept under stress almost all the time with some problem or the other. It worries me no end….seemingly with no solution in sight at the first instance. But as time elapses there comes a light at the end of the tunnel and the problem just melts away..albeit through divine intervention. Each time the insurmountable become thing of the past I am left wondering why I worried at all. So now I throttle back, put my life on autopilot and tell Him,” Well, you gave the problem and so you solve it” and Lo and behold He does find a way.” I gushed forth.
My friend Martin had this to relate:
“I read recently how a well-known television circus show developed a Bengal tiger act that was performed live before a large audience. One evening, the tiger trainer went into the cage with several tigers to do a routine performance. The door was locked behind him. The spotlights highlighted the cage, the television cameras moved in close, and the audience watched in suspense as the trainer skillfully put the tigers through their paces.

In the middle of the performance, the worst possible fate befell the act: the power went out! For thirty long seconds the trainer was locked in with the tigers. In the darkness they could see him, but he could not see them not even the glow of their eyes. A whip and a small kitchen chair seemed meagre protection under the circumstances. But he survived, and when the lights came on, he calmly finished the performance.

In an interview afterward, he was asked how he felt knowing the tigers could see him but that he could not see them. He first admitted the chilling fear of the situation, but pointed out that the tigers did not know that he could not see them. He said, "I just kept cracking my whip and talking to them until the lights came on. And they never knew I couldn't see them as well as they could see me

We all feel caught in the dark with the ‘tigers of your heart’ or circumstances that seem to be out of your control? I sure have. But the Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?’?" Martin concluded. Martin is nearing 90.


I later prayed: "Dear God, thank you that my life is in your hands and that you are always with me in my dark days of despair just as you are in my happy days of rejoicing. Thank you, too, for your promise that you will never leave me nor forsake me. Help me to always remember this, and trust my life to you, and be willing to face what I am contributing to my situation, change what I can change, and learn to accept joyfully what I cannot change.”

Warm rgds
V~v~R
13-12-08

The Big Picture..........Is it worth it???

Dear friends,
Many a time I have wondered, "How I wish the Almghty would have shown the big picture?". I wish I knew what my life has in store for me; the challenges that would be prsented to me in the coming months or years; whether the bond I have established so far will go the distance; if my goals will be realised? Sometimes I feel I need help making a decision and I want to know which choice will work out best.
"We may consult psychics, astrologers,tarot cards, our dreams, and many other sources in the hopes of finding out what the future holds. Usually, at most, we may catch glimpses. And even though we think we would like to know the whole story in all its details, the truth is that we would probably be overwhelmed and exhausted if we knew everything that is going to happen to us.", that is my senior colleague Bhoovarahan for you.
" In many ways, not knowing what the future has in store brings out in us the qualities we need to grow.",continues Bhoovarahan at his best. " Just think of your life as you’ve lived it up to this point. If you are like most of us, you have probably done more and faced more than you could have ever imagined. If someone had told you as a child of all the jobs and relationships you would experience, along with each one’s inherent ups and downs, you would have become overwhelmed. With your head full of information about the future, you would have had a very hard time experiencing your life in the present moment, which is where everything actually happens."
" In many ways, not knowing what the future has in store brings out in us the qualities we need to grow. For example, it would have been difficult to commit yourself to certain people or projects if you knew they wouldn’t ultimately work out. Yet, it was through your commitment to see them through that you experienced the lessons you needed to grow. Looking back on your life, you would likely be hard pressed to say that anything in your past should not have happened. In fact, your most challenging experiences with their inevitable lessons may have ultimately brought you the greatest rewards. Not knowing the future keeps us just where we need to be—fully committed and in the present moment. " Bhoovarahan dipped his Marie biscuit in the Kaapi and stopped.
Our own saying goes thus:
"Atheetham na kinchit smaraami( next line???)................Aagamikam na kvachit chintayeth ?????
Raagadvesha vinaa Varthamaane Gunjami"
(Roughly translated it means: I don't keep recalling the past, never care to think of future; But I enjoy living and savouring the Present with malice towarsd none!)
Warm rgds
V V R
12th Dec 08.

Ashtaganapathy visits PUNE

Ashtaganapathy visits: (Part I)

Introduction:
The attached map shows (not to scale) the locations of the 8 Ganesha sthaapanas collectively called Ashtaganapathy. Additionally, we included in the itinerary Bhimashankar Jyotirlingam and Nasrapur (duplicate Tirupathy Venkatesha). We made Pune as HQ and launched out to different places by hiring a taxi covering roughly 1050 Kms totally in 3 days time viz. roughly averaging 350 kms a day. Each day we took off @ 7 AM and reached back home by 6.PM avoiding driving in the dark. The tariff was Rs.6.50 per km for a non a/c Tata Indigo. The toll taxes (quite heavy with several tolls enroute, but well maintained highways by Private entrepreneurs) and parking fees were to be borne by us. Of course we did tip handsomely the driver for his excellent service. We totally avoided (except for tea/coffee) eateries outside as there were none worth mentioning near the temples. So our 4 layered Tiffin carrier with home made food and bottles of water came in handy. As there are no good choultries we decided not to stay overnight any where but came home to rest at night. At the end of the trip none of us fell sick nor any one felt fatigued. All in all… a satisfying ennobling experience. One of our Maharashtrian friends wrote out slokas for recitation at each place.
I shall cover in parts the entire trip.
First day:
Ozar: (Pune Dist.) 85 kms from Pune (via Narayangaon; travel direction North).
Shree Vighneswar idol faces east, trunk towards left with Riddi & Siddi, Other idols are SUN, Shiva, Vishnu, and Devi. The only one with Golden dome & pinnacle, huge dwaara paalakas in granite; built
1785. River Kukadi flows nearby.
Sloka:
Bhaktanugrahe Gajamukho Vighneswaro Brahmapam
Nana Murti Dharop: naijamahima Khanda Sadatma Prabhu
Sweccha Vighnahara sadasukhakara sidha kallo swayepum
Ksehtre cha Ozarke namostu satatam tasme parabrahmane.

(Let my mind be concentrated on the God, who is elephant headed, benignant and remover of obstacles. He had defeated demon Vighnasur. He himself is Brahma. His greatness is undisturbed in
his different forms. He is the greatest artist, he gives happiness to his devotees, He who abodes at Ozar.)

Lenyadri: (Pune Dist.)100 kms from Pune (via Narayangaon, Junnar on Pune-Nasik high way. Srigirijaatmaja idol facing east tucked away in the 8th cave amongst 18 Buddhist caves. The idol is 7
feet high. It is quite a tough climb...307 steep steps…Parvathi is said to have consecrated the Ganesh idol when she performed penance inside the cave. Puja can be performed on your own.
Sloka:


Mayesh Bhuvaneswari Shivasati Dehashrita Sundari
Vighnesham Sutamaptukam sanhita Kurvetapo Dushkaram
Takhya Bhutprakat Prasanna Varado tishtathaya sthaapitam
Vande Girijaatmaja Parmaj tam Lekhanadri sthitham.

(Mother of universe, beautiful wife of Lord Shiva Goddess Parvati performed long penance of Shri Ganesh & at last obtained Shri Ganesh as her son. I salute Girija Parvati's son Girijatmaj who stays on
mountain Lekhanadri (i.e.Lenyadri)

Bhimashankar: 110 kms from Pune in Sahyadri ghat section is one of the 12 Jyotirlingams. This temple is closely associated with the legend of Shiva slaying Tripurasura. Shiva is said to have taken abode in the Bhima form, upon the request of the Gods, on the crest of the Sahyadri hills, and the sweat that poured forth from his body after the battle is said to have formed the river Bheemabharathi. Temple dates back to 18th century. The Sikhara of the temple was built by Peshwa Nana Phadnavees. The great Maratha ruler Shivaji is also said to have made endowments to this temple to facilitate the carrying out, of worship services. As with other Shiva temples in this area, the sanctum is at a lower level.


Ashtaganapathy visits: (Part II)

Backdrop:
Before I proceed with the second day of our travel, I thought I will share with you some pieces of information I gathered here and there. What we notice as Lord Ganesha's idol of today, with all
specifications, came into being, people say when Ganapati Atharvasheersha was written. We do see different moods and modes of Ganesh idols since 6th century. In the beginning Lord Ganesha had
only two hands, there after Ganesha came out with 4 hands with Gajamukh and a big belly. Rarely, Ganesha is seen with his trunk twisted on the right side, otherwise it is twisted on left side. Ganesha with right side trunk is supposed to be very rigid in application.
All temples are open from 5.30 AM to 11 PM all days.

Mahad: (Raigarh Dist.), 24kms from Karjat, 6 kms from Khopoli or 120 kms from Pune.
Varadavinayaka as known here, idol facing east, trunk twisted to left, with Riddi & Siddi, 25ft high dome with pinnacle. In the temple of Varadvinayak, one Nandadeep (lamp) is lit and burning for last 107
years. Mahad has beautiful surroundings. In the ancient period it was called as Bhadrak or Mahad & so many sages & sects had resided in this place. In 1725 A.D. Varadvinayaka's temple was built by peshava
sardar Ramji Mahadev Biwalkar & he gifted this to the village. There is a Gomukh towards north. Holy water (tirth) comes out of this Gomukh. Devotees can perform Pooja on their own. …………..Sloka:
Bhaktabhimani Ganaraj Ekam|
Kshetre MadhaKhye Varadam Prasanam|
Yastishtati Shree Varado Ganesham|
Vinayakasta Pranamami BhaktamII
(I salute Ganaraj who is leader of Ganas, who is proud of his devotees & who abodes at
Mahad & has pleasant appearance.)

Pali: (Raigarh Dist.), From Pune via Lonavla & Khopoli, Pali is at a distance of 111 kms. 30 kms. from Karjat. From Mumbai via Panvel & Khopoli, Pali is at a distance of 124 kms. Shree Ballaleshwar's original wooden temple was renovated & a new stone temple was built in 1760 A.D. by Peshwa Fadnis. Shape of the stone temple is in the form of letter "Shree" & faces east. During Dakshinayan at sun-rise, the sun rays falls exactly on the Vinayaka. Idol of Vinayaka sitting on stone throne faces east & its trunk is left turned. Temple complex has a big bell made in Europe. Afterdefeating Portuguese in Vasai, Chimaji Appa brought the bell here.
Village Pali is situated between fort Sarasgad & river Amba flowing on the other side. On being pleased by devotion of Ballal, Shri Ganesh remained in the stone worshipped by Ballal & hence is
called as Ballaleshwar of Pali. Among Ashtavinayakas, Pali's Ballaleshwar is the only Vinayak who is famous by his devotee's name & who is dressed up as Brahmin. Since Vinayaka gave his darshan in
the guise of Brahmin, idol of vinayaka at Pali is dressed up as Brahmin. This place is very famous & spiritually awakened. It is said that in Peshva regime justice was done by taking kaul (answer to the
question asked in the form of flower, leaves etc.) from Ballaleshwar. ……………..Sloka:

Vedo Sanstuvaibhavo Gajmukho Bhaktabhimaniyo |
Ballaleravya Subhaktapal Narat; Khyat Sada Tishtati ||
Kshetre Pallipure Yatha Krityuge Chasmistha Laukike |
Bhakterbhavite Murtiman Ganapati Siddhiswar Tam Bhaje ||

(I worshipped God Ganesh, who is elephant headed, who has been praised in vedas, who is popular by the name of his devotee (Ballal),who take care of his devotees & in this kritayuga who abodes
is Pallipur or Pali.)

Ranjangaon: On Pune-Ahmednagar Highway via Shikrapur, Ranjangaon is 50 kms. from Pune. Idol facing east is in a crossed legged sitting position with broad forehead & the trunk turned towards the left. Riddhi & Siddhi are installed. It is said that, original idol of Mahaganapati is hidden in a cellar in the basement; has 10 trunks & 20 hands. Meditating on that idol is called Mahaganapati Dhyaanam
Mahaganapati means powerful Ganapati. Mahaganapati has eight, ten or twelve hands. Lord Shiva could conquer Tripurasur (demon) on worshipping Mahaganapati. Therefore it is called Tripurari Varado
Mahaganapati. (Lord Shiva is called as Tripurari after his victory over Tripurasur)………Sloka:

Shree Shambhuvarprada Sutapasa Namna Sahastra Swakam |
Datwa Shree Vijay padam shivkar Tasme Prasanna Prabhu ||
Ten Sthapit Eva Sadgunavapu Kshetre Sadatishtati |
Tam vande Manipurke Ganapati Devam Mahant Mudra ||


(Shiva obtained a boon by propitiating Ganesha who stays at Manipur, who gave boon to Mahadev, whose appearance is beautiful & pleasing & who is statue of good qualities.)

Ashtaganapathy visits: (Part III)

Background:
There have been many interpretations of Ganesha body. Mudgala Purana seems to explain some. The elephant head denotes wisdom and its trunk represents Om, the sound symbol of cosmic reality. His twisted trunk represents the zigzag path to wisdom. It reminds us that there is no direct path, that we must turn right and left in the search for truth thus adding to the Ganesha sculpture a symbolic meaning about the position of his trunk. One priest told us, if it is turned towards left, it denotes success in the world which is associated with house holders. If it is towards the right, it stands for moksham, good for
those who renounce the material world. In lighter vein, when one chooses a Ganesha sculpture, the trunk position be kept in mind as per your requirement. And yes a prayer to Ganesh is invariably
accompanied by smashing a coconut, symbolic of smashing the undesirable forces inherent in one self. The significance of the mouse (muushhaka…strangely the Sanskrit word sounds the same) as the vehicle of Ganesha is explained by the Mudgala Purana, although a form called Heramba-Ganapati is depicted as riding a lion. There are also rare references to the peacock as the vehicle in some texts. (ref; Moreswar @ Moregaon described below)

Third Day: We started a little early. We had to accommodate Nasrapur (not Narsapur) as well apart from the 3 Ganesha sthalams.
Theur: is the nearest Ashtavinayaka from Pune. (Distance of 25 km from Pune, Theur is situated on the confluence of the Mula, Mutha & Bhima rivers on Pune Solapur highway, after Hadapsar and Loni, at a distance of 3kms.from Loni, a small road to the left leads to Theur. Don't miss this turning. Idol facing east is swayambhu and has a left side trunk. There are carbuncle and diamonds in the eyes of Vinayaka. Glowing all the time. Lord Brahma meditated here to subdue his wavering mind. As his worries (chinta) were removed the idol is called Chintamani. The place is called Sthar (stable) or Theur.
Sloka:
Brahma Srushtyadisakta Sthirmatirahittam Pidito Vighnasandhe |
Aakranto Bhutirakta Krutiganrajasa Jeevita Tyaktu Mischina ||
Swatmanan Sarvyakta Ganapatimamal Satyachintamaniyam |
Mukta cha stapayant sthirmatisukhadam sthavare dhudhi Midhe ||

(The one who is in search of happiness, whose mind is wavering like Lord Brahma, who is in the midst all calamities should go to Sthavar means Theur & worship Shree Chintamani & get rid of all Chintas
(worries) & calamities.)

Siddhatek: Situated on the banks of river Bhima, in Ahmednagar district. Take Pune - Solapur road via Daund (Daund is 78 kms from Pune and Daund-Siddhatek is another 18kms). Here the roads
were bad-real bad. Siddhatek is situated on the banks of river Bhima. Sage Vyasar had performed yagnya
(sacrifices) here. It is said that, years ago there was a heap of ashes from this sacrificial fire. However, this place is now covered by water. The swayambhu idol of Shree Siddhivinayaka is placed in brass frame. Brass idols of Jay and Vijay are placed on both sides of Siddhivinayaka. In the sanctum itself there is Shivapanchayatan and goddess Devi's small temple. The idol is swayambhu. facing north with his trunk turned right. Idol is Gajmukh; however belly of the idol is not big. Riddhi & Siddhi are sitting on one lap of Vinayaka. The pradakshana (circumnavigation) of the God is said to be very fruitful. One has to travel 5 kms. To complete one Pradakshana as the idol is attached to the hill itself. We skipped this for want of time.
Sloka;
Sthitho Bhimatire jagadvan kamen Harina |
Vijetu Daityo Tachuti Malbhavou Kaitabhmadhu ||
Mahavighnarten Prakhar Tapasa Seitpado |
Ganesh Siddhisho Girivarvapu Panchjanak ||

(Lord Vishnu, who was beset with calamities, performed penance on mountain Siddhetek on the bank of river Bhima. On receiving a boon from Ganesha, Lord Vishnu could kill the two demons Madhu & Kaitabh. Oh! Lord Siddheswar accept my salutation.)

Moregaon: Moregaon, on the banks of river Karha is in Baramati Taluka. Shape of this place is like a peacock & long ago there were many peacocks here, as such called "Moregaon'. We drove on
Pune-Solapur highway. Moregaon lies on the right side of Chaufula at a distance of 79 km from Pune. On the way to Moregaon have darshan of God Khandoba of Jejuri. But we skipped it.
The deity is in sitting posture, facing east with the trunk turning left & smeared with vermillion mixed in oil. On its head is the hood of Nagaraja. On left & right are brass idols of Siddhi & Buddhi. In front of the idol are the Mooshaka & Mayura (Peacock).The original idol of Moreshwar was small in size. As many layers of vermillion got applied on it, it grew bigger. Sometime after 100 &125 years this armour of vermillion casts off by itself & original beautiful idol inside this armour is seen again. The original small
idol was made up of atoms of sand, iron & diamonds & it is behind the present statue. It was consecrated by Brahma on its destruction by demon Sindhurasur,There is a mouse made up of black stone, holding 'Laddu' in his front two legs. On climbing the steps you will see a big 'Nandi in front of
Ganapati instead of Lord Shiva!! How come? :-
'Years ago, this Nandi was taken on a cart for its consecration in front of a near by Shivaalaya. However, the cart carrying Nandi broke down in front of Mayureshwara's temple and Nandi sat before
Mayureshwar's temple for ever. People tried their best to shift Nandi from this place but Nandi did not move an inch. The artisan had a dream in the night. Nandi appeared in his dream and said, "I want to
stay before Mayureshwar only. Don't try to shift me elsewhere forcefully, I won't come." People left with no other alternative, dropped the idea of shifting Nandi to other place. Hence this Nandiji
was consecrated before Mayureshwar. ……………………Sloka
NIJE BHUSWANANDJADBHARAT BHUMYA PARATARE |
TURIYOSTIRE PARAMSUKHDETVA NIVASASI ||
MAYURAYA NATH STAWAMASICH MAYURESH BHAGWAN |
ATASWA SANDHYAYE SHIVHARINI BRAHMAJANAKAM ||
(O! Lord Mayureshwar of Moregaon, you stay on sage jadbharat's land, on the banks of river
Karha which is known as "Bhuswanand' (means happiness on land). Shree Moreshwar, who is far from three qualities, who resembles Omkar, who is always in fourth state of yoga & who rides on peacock mayur accept my salutation.)

With that we completed Ashtavinayaka visits.
Warm rgds
V V R
24th Dec 007

What's in a Name?

What’s in a Name?
( “When from our better (read inner) selves we have too long been parted by the hurrying world, sick of its business, of its pleasures tired, how gracious, how benign is solitude!”)
-----William Wordsworth.
“What’s in a name?....” wrote one respected member recently in one of his humorous posts.
“Everything” he would say; the Shakespeare quote, “That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet”, not withstanding…….i.e. after he reads about my chance encounter with this Sastriji. Let me begin at the very beginning.
She looked cute with a pony tail tied with a rubber band; all of four years old; one tooth missing; grand niece of my friend. We were only too happy to escort her and reach the little girl over to her parents at ‘P’. Her name? Well that’s what this piece is all about.
My wife unlike me is a great planner. Though we usually have our meals before leaving for any rail journey, a four-layer Tiffin carrier packed by her is always a part of our luggage item in the event that hunger should attack us any time. The menu is standardized- lemon rice, curd rice and idlies soaked and smeared with ‘gun powder-gingili oil’ amalgam; papadam and varuval packed separately. This time we shared our coupe with just one other passenger a friendly, elderly Iyengar who we were to learn later was Srinivasa Sastrigal (not his real name), a retired Sanskrit teacher.
“Un per enna? What’s your name?” quizzed Sastrigal bending low towards the little girl sitting beside me. There was no reaction. The girl turned her head with an expression of extreme consternation and yawned.
“This is the problem. The children have pet names, surnames, middle names, name as per numerology, nick names, later maiden names. Bengalis even have a Bhaalonaam, a good name for identification in the outside world.” I volunteered.
“Un per sollumma thaathaakku...” I encouraged. After what seemed to be an eternity she gave out “ Hamsa…Hamsa...” repeating it twice. Sastriji rewarded her with a Parle’s Glucose biscuit.
“What a name!” exclaimed Sastriji. “This name is special. It reminds us all the time about the very essence of our existence”.
“Yes??” I blurted out rather puzzled. “How come?”
Sastriji began in right earnest. When he finished his exposition I felt as though I was still in SIES school attending ‘Shanbouge’s’ Sanskrit classes in the early fifties (fully awake this time).
“Heard about Ajapaajap?” Sastriji continued. “Na japyathe, na ucchaaryathe (apithu swaasa praswaasayo: gamana aagamanabhyaam sampaadhyathe) ithi Ajapa. Meaning, even without japam per se or utterances, mere inhalation/exhalation of ours itself constitute japam which action (without utterances) should be called Ajapam. In Agnipuranam, it is said that through inhalation/exhalation, the Atman enshrined in all living beings appears to utter continuously, silently and involuntarily (anaayaasa) “Hamsa…….Soham” (in reverse)...alternately. Something like what Valmiki was advised to keep reciting mara mara mara which in fact through his non-stop chant turned out to be Ramanama. Similarly, uttering continuously hamsa hamsa hamsaham saham saham turns into soham soham; and this the seers say is ajapa (involuntarily) by your Swaaasocchwaasam reminding us of the underlying esoteric philosophy.
“Ummm.. Now that’s a new one on Hamsa”, I thought when sastriji continued.
uccharathi swayam yasmaath swadeha avsthitha; siva:
tasmaath thathva vidaam cha eva sa evaajapa ucchyathe.

“Taking birth as a human is a rare gift. Be it as it may, we all strive to be with the Atman. There are many ways. One such is being conscious of the Ajapaajap. No matter what state we are in, every breath recites silently ‘Sa: aham or soham” meaning’ I am That. Aham bramaasmi’”
“But why Paramatma be termed ‘hamsa’”? was my wife’s doubt as I took a Glucose biscuit much to her discomfiture.
“Because merger with the Paramatma puts an end to the cycle of Samsaara.”, replied sastriji…………………’Hanthi jeevasansaaram ithi Hamsa:”

“ucchswaasa: cha ni:swaasa: Hamsa ithi aksharadwayam
thasmaath praanastha Hamsaakhya aathmaakaarena samsthitha:

And finally,
Ajapaa naama gaayathri yoginaam mokshadaayini
Thasyaa: samkalpamaathrena jeeva muktha na samsaya:

Thus ended Sastriji leaving us speechless. Little Hamsa who triggered the discussion had gone to sleep oblivious of what went around.

“Arul purivaai……karunai kadale”, hummed my wife the only accompaniment being the rhythm of the wheels on the tracks and some strange sound as the train crossed an occasional bridge.
“Hamsadhwani raagamaa?’ queried Srinivasa Sastrigal with a smile.
“Of course yes. Sa ri ga pa ni sa…… sa ni pa ga ri sa……No ‘ma. No ‘da’ ..Hamsadhwani…. meaning ‘The sound of the SWAN??” said I munching one more biscuit.

Epilogue

Soham. Our breath says it all; every moment; anaayaasa; despite us; So much for the name Hamsa! , my friend’s grandniece, whose real name (itta per) is Seetha lakshmi.
It set me thinking like our revered member Viji posted a story- as to how the supreme God decided to hide the Godhead, the source of all its potential………inside the hearts of every man and woman and child for they will never think to look there.
“Aamaam. Like we say, “Okkalle kuzhanthayai vechundu oorellaam thedinaalaam’”, had the last word……..you know who.
“Isn’t it ironic that in a world of God worshippers, none would recognize God if they see Him/Her/It... eyeball to eyeball. In our present state of evolution if we did recognize Him, we would demand that He performs magic tricks to prove Himself. Others may even demand that He heals someone to demonstrate His worth and authenticity.” I lamented and went back to solve the crossword under the night lamp.

V V R
20 Nov 007

The Bandh

The Bandh
Iyer, whose strong pair of legs walked this earth for ninety-three years, was the kind you love to hate. He was always in a good mood and had something positive to say. Asked how he was doing he would reply, "Things couldn't be better". For him, "Life is all about choices. Every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood." The bottom line is "It's your choice how you live your life". Through his brilliant and unexpected ways, he made things happen particularly when others insisted that there were compelling reasons why something could not be done.
Iyer did not begin his career at the bottom rung of the ladder. He began in the basement. A Palghat Iyer, he came to Mumbai when he was sixteen packing all his belongings in a rusty old tin box and indeed boarded at the Olavakkode Jn. with a one-way ticket in hand to GIP Dadar and prayers in his lips. The eldest of eleven siblings, he hailed from a remote village in Palghat, which as per Mr. T N Seshan produced 'cooks and civil-servants'. Iyer proved Mr. Seshan wrong for having equipped with yet another 'C', he became a clerk, a steno and subsequently rose to become the right hand man of a reputed industrialist of Maharashtra (B D Garware; and perhaps the IES officer which S Ganesan refers in his article may recall his association with fond memories) and stuck to Garwares till he retired. Somewhere down the line while still struggling with his Pitman’s Shorthand, he decided to shed that extra growth on his head –the tuft (Kudumai) due to sheer maintenance problems rather than office civility. “When it was so difficult to make both ends meet, where was the cash for Til oil for the tuft?” he would say. His culinary accomplishments would put to shame any house- wife. But his own wife easily out distanced him. "She could at short notice produce seven different dishes", he would say with tears in his eyes, for he lost his wife four years back. “We were in perfect harmony! We both agreed that “Madisaaru podavai” was not a requirement and a five yards saree was good enough for Mumbai’, he would chuckle.
Last year on Aug 15th, he took part in the walkathon for the last time and all his body building exercises at Matunga Athletic Club (MAC) came in handy. He was given the honour of hoisting the national flag at the gathering of the Residents Association, where his son had settled after retirement! Reminiscing his days in the early forties, Iyer was describing in his speech how he got injured protecting his (the then) five year old son from being lathi-charged at Juhu beach where he had gone to hear Gandhiji speak on the 'non-co-operation' movement.
"But that pales in comparison to that unforgettable incident in seventies when I got broken ribs after being thrashed to a pulp and left to die by the striking workers on a dharana, when I went pleading to restore order amongst them" he said.
“What happened?" queried his friends in unison, sipping tea at the flag hoisting ceremony. “Nothing much. I remembered that I had two choices. I could choose to live or die. I chose to live. The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was fine. When they wheeled me into the emergency room, the nurse asked me if I was allergic to anything."
I said, "Yes." The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, “Bandhs, dharanas and hartals- that's what I am allergic to". Over their laughter I told them " I want to live at least till my son comes from the border area where he is posted". Iyer swooned but survived thanks to the doctors and his own amazing attitude.
I read with a big lump in my throat that brilliant article of S Ganesan here in the Pattar group and I resolved to take on from where Iyer left and try and fill the void left by such great Palghat Iyers with humility and humbleness and of course with the fear in my mind "What if... I do not succeed"? I endorse every word of S Ganesan's article for we have lived through the same. S Ganesan may also know that most of us were perennially on debt from the South Indian Concerns Society/Co-op Bank paying back in installments so that we could remit that meagre amount each month for the sustenance of that distant family at a remote village in Palghat.
Iyer and I have the kind of relationship that I wish every one would be able to experience. It embodies the true meaning of trust, caring, risk-taking and all else that a relationship could embrace in our hurried and harried lives of Bandhs and hartals;(so very nicely brought out by S Ganesan in his article!) I learnt from Iyer that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude after all is everything.
I know because Iyer was my father. And we just performed his seventh Masikam.
Yours most humbly,

V V R (A retired Air Vice Marshal)
12th May 2005.

Belief

BELIEF - I thought I would post a fable titled 'The Eagle and the Prairie Chicken' with the BELIEF that it would be received well. I am told that in many Native American cultures, this story used to be told to the young adults just before they left for their vision quest.
“Once upon a time, there was an eagle. She soared and hunted and built her nest high on a mountain fastness and then settled down to sit on her three eggs until they hatched. But a storm approached and she was hungry. Off she went to find food and, while she was gone, the storm hit, her nest was thrown off the side of the mountain and two of her eggs destroyed. But by some miracle, one fell unharmed to the ground, safely landing in tumbleweed but unseen by the mother eagle. She returned, mourning her children.
On the ground a prairie chicken was returning from hunting. The storm had overturned her nest, too, scattering her eggs everywhere. She rolled them all back in, stumbling over a very large egg. Being rather stupid, she figured it was also hers and rolled the eagle egg into her nest. She returned to sitting on the nest and, one by one, the prairie chickens hatched, except for the big egg. She sat and sat and finally the biggest, ugliest prairie chicken she'd ever seen came forth. It was ungainly, with huge wings that dragged on the ground. And it was incredibly hungry all the time. The other prairie chickens pecked about in the dirt, found seeds and insects, and flew around about three feet off the ground. This one, however, couldn't fly, couldn't talk, and couldn't do anything like the others. It was pecked at and pushed around, and it was sickly and felt awful all the time. It took to going off by itself and being miserable alone, dragging its wings along behind it. One day, out in the canyon it saw a great shadow on the ground and, as it looked up, it saw the most magnificent bird flying above it. It swooped and soared, great and graceful. Then it swooped down and grabbed on of the prairie chicken brothers, breaking its neck and eating it as it flew off. The eagle that thought it was a prairie chicken watched all this in fascination. It wanted to fly like that, hunt like that and eat like that! But then it remembered that it had been told always to eat only bugs and seeds - that was the way of prairie chickens.
Immediately, it went to tell everyone about this. Most of the chickens ignored it, accusing the eagle of making up the story. One of the grandfather prairie chickens said, “No, listen to the strange one - it has seen an eagle, a great bird of the sky, one closest to the Great Spirit. Whenever you see that great shadow on the ground, run for your lives, for the eagle likes to eat prairie chickens." But the eagle that thought it was a prairie chicken did not obey. It went back often to the canyon and waited for the eagle to come. It watched it fly and wanted to imitate it. It dreamed of such gracefulness and freedom and power.
Then one day it climbed to the highest part of the mesa, dragging its heavy wings slowly behind, in pain. It stood just on the edge of the cliff and thought, "If I just fall off into the air, I'll fly. Even if I fall to the canyon floor and die, at least for a while I will know what it's like to be free and fly gracefully. It was just about to fall over the edge when it remembered all the things its parents and family and older ones had spoken. You're just a prairie chicken and that's all you'll ever be. Don't try to be something you're not. Just be the best prairie chicken you can be. He hesitated, and then slowly came down from the mesa. But sometimes he'd climb back up, think about flying, and then remember that prairie chickens couldn't fly. As days and weeks passed, it became more and more painful for the eagle to even think about flying. Growing weaker and weaker, one day the eagle that thought it was a prairie chicken died.”
----author unknown (from the collections of my net archives)

It died an earth-bound unhappy prairie chicken because it listened to the wrong BELIEF.
The moral? Well....... Stretch your boundaries and try new things rather than listening to the limitations that others have put on themselves. For 'As a man thinketh, so shall he become'
Man, alone, has the power to transform his thoughts into physical reality; man, alone, can dream and make his dreams come true.
Napoleon Hill
(1883-1970, American speaker, author, "Think And Grow Rich")


V V R
18th July 06

Paanchajanyam

Paanchajanyam

Dear friends,
While trying to catch up with my pending mails, I read that wonderful post from Sree KVG on ‘weapons of Lord Vishnu’. I love stories and so do the young ones. Hence I address this specially to them.
Dry philosophy seldom appeals to the human mind. But in the Bhaagavatham, even the most abstruse philosophical truths are put across by means of stories and legends. This perhaps is the secret of its popularity among all age groups. The very fact that it is a Purana proclaiming loud the truth that it is not an esoteric text meant for a select few but a sacred scripture meant to bring within the reach of all including householders, the peace that passeth understanding makes it even more appealing.
Paanchajanyam?? The conch that Vishnu holds (Vishnunaa vidhruta: kare Paancha Janya namostute), we say in our daily pooja. But thereby hangs a tale!!
What started for Krishna as a task of fulfilling gurudakshina to his preceptor Sandipani, led him to the acquisition of a conch. Krishna’s and Balarama’s stay at Gurukula had come to an end. As was the custom the brothers asked guru Sandipani what they could do to please him: how best could they pay their Gurudakshina.
“Rama, Krishna, I need nothing. But since you insist, my wife and I may as well let you know a sad story which has lived with us ever since. Long time back we went to Prabhasa with our only son. There while bathing in the sea, our son got drowned and we lost him for ever. If you can bring him back to us alive that shall be the greatest service you can do for us. I am asking you to do a difficult thing. But we have been told about the many wonderful deeds you have performed in Vrindavan and so I have hopes of your being successful in the task that I am setting for you.”, said Guru Sandipani.
“Well. So be it. With Guru’s blessing what is not possible? Said Krishna and Rama.
Taking leave of the old couple they reached Prabhasa. They sat on the shores of the sea for a while. Seeing them the Lord of the oceans came to pay his respects to them.
Krishna said, “May you be good. But then if you really want to please us return to us the young boy whom your waves swallowed years back. The boy is the son of our guru Sandipani. We owe him a promise. We need to restore their son to the old couple. Please let us have the boy.”
“Krishna, my Lord, I am innocent. It is not I who took him. There dwells under the sea an asura by name Panchajana. He always assumes the form of a conch and it is he who stole the young son of your guru.” said the king of the ocean.
Krishna promptly leaped into the ocean and soon found the asura. He killed him and opened up his entrails but could not find the boy. Krishna found a conch which was formed out of the body of the dead asura. He took it for himself and from there he went to the city by name Samvani the favourite place of Yama the God of death. Krishna and Balarama entered the city together and standing at the portals of the city Krishna blew loudly on his conch which he called Paanchajanya—meaning born of Panchajana. Yama heard the note of the conch and rushed out to receive Rama and Krishna. After worshipping them he stood with folded palms and said, “What will I have to do to please the Lord of the lords?”
Krishna said” O king of the dead, please do me a favour. We have promised to restore to our guru their son who was drowned in the sea at Prabhasa long ago. This is the dakshina we have been asked to pay and I am sure with your help we can do it. Charmed by his gentle words and at the same time, his commanding voice Yama said,”But certainly my Lord”. Yama then asked his assistants to bring the son of Sandipani.
Krishna took him with them and came back to earth to meet guru Sandipani and his wife. The old man was speechless out of joy. After a while he gathered himself and said “I have been the most fortunate among all gurus and I am sure no one has had such a pleasing dakshina from his disciples as I have been given. With you both as my disciples I have been cured of all malefic which are led by desire. You are great heroes and go home laden with my blessings. Infinite will be the fame that will be yours”
Krishna and Balarama took leave of the old couple and of their companions at the Gurukul and came back to Mathura. Krishna of course had acquired his Paanchajanya the conch- the marine mollusk with a spiral shell----we reverently address and recite the mantra in our daily pooja as we sprinkle the holy water on the devotees.
“Shankhamadhye sthitham thoyam Braahmitam Kesavopari
Angalagnam Manushyaanaam Brahmahatyam vyapohati”

Warm rgds
V V R
26 November 2007

Pandanus Odoratissimus

Pandanus Odoratissimus
“Foxed you? Alright, it is hnIl (Haneela in Sanskrit). Okay! One more clue. It’s a cursed but useful flower. No help? Wait for a while, because thereby hangs a tale”, said this young eleven year old ‘lady’ member of my Ivy League.
Flowers have been part of our culture and heritage since ages. They are used in our daily life for worshipping, religious and social functions, wedding and self-adornment. Yet, Can you imagine a flower debarred forever from being offered in worship? K…….. is a forbidden flower cursed by Lord Shiva for bearing a false witness of Lord Brahma. According to a legend, Lord Vishnu was resting on the serpent couch in the sea of eternity (Ananthasayanam). Lord Brahma, while passing by felt insulted when Lord Vishnu neither rose nor greeted him. Both flew into rage over the question of supremacy. (And you thought only we had the ego problems). The argument prolonged each claiming to be the creator of the other. The heated discussion led to a fight. The Devas were horrified at the intensity of the battle. Ultimately, they rushed to Lord Shiva for aid. On the request of Devas, Lord Shiva proceeded to the battlefield. There in the midst of the battle, Lord Shiva assumed the form of a huge pillar (shaft?) of light. Both Brahma and Vishnu were awestruck by the cosmic pillar (shaft?) of light. Brahma and Vishnu set off to explore the limits of the mighty pillar of light. Vishnu was unable to touch the base; came up and admitted defeat. Whereas Brahma on his journey upwards came across K………flower wafting down slowly with its whiff of fragrance.
When enquired of the flower from where she had come from, K……… replied that she had been placed at the top of the huge pillar of light. Unable to find the uppermost limits of the pillar, Brahma decided to take the flower back to Vishnu to bear witness that he had indeed reached the top of the pillar. Brahma gloated over the defeated Vishnu. This infuriated Shiva. Brahma was punished for telling a lie and the creator was banned from being worshipped. In the same breath, K………. was also cursed that she would never again be used in the worship of Shiva. Thus, K…….. is debarred forever from being offered in worship.
K……… though punished by Lord Shiva for perjury, has long been absolved by us the human beings. The plant as a whole and the flower in particular despite being cursed and debarred for worshipping is being widely used in one form or the other—yes--- Ketaki- it’s another Sanskrit name, Ketaki is also known as "keura" in Hindi. The botanical nomenclature of this plant is "pandanus odoratissimus". In English it is known as umbrella tree or screw pine. And we call it, yes --- “Thaazham poo”. Rings a bell now?
Ketaki is a densely branched shrub generally found along our Southern coast. The tree is considered a good soil binder. Both male and female flowers are produced on different plants. Our forefathers called the male plants as "Ketaki-viphala". The female plants were known as "swarna Ketaki". Male and female plants together were called "Ketaki dvayam" (a pair of ketaki).
The male fluorescence's are valued for their fragrance. Valuable attar (scent) is obtained from them. The flowers are also used for hair decoration. Flowers are used for extraction of "kewda attar, kewra water and kewda aromatic oil”.
"Kewda attar" is one of the most popular perfumes extracted and used by us since ancient times. It blends well with almost all types of fancy perfumes and is used for scenting clothes, bouquets, lotions, cosmetics, soaps, hair oils, tobacco and agarbatti.
All the parts of the plant have tremendous medicinal values. The roots are used as anti-septic. The kewda oil considered as stimulant and antispasmodic is useful in rheumatoid arthritis.
“So much for the Thaazham poo. (jhokg+)” and the kid ran off.
So when some of my friends begin their disquisition on the terrible state of the world with the timeworn, “You know, kids today are . . .” and go on and on, sharing vague notions of the terrible state of teens and young adults, based on watching the six o’clock news rather selectively, or who just want to vent their spleen or inflict their political views on a captive audience like me I feel sad for the kids. On the other hand, on few rare occasions, when I ramble from one engagement to another, and I find myself sitting next to some kids who’re quite talkative, I find it often a pleasant experience for me because I’m an inveterate people-watcher. I learn so much by watching and listening to the people I meet and see every day, hearing stories of sadness and others of delight, fear and joy, and others that would rival those on popular TV shows.
No, I don’t despair about kids today.
If you are looking for any lessons here, the obvious one is “Perjury and lie (then or now) is fraught with serious repercussions.” But in a lighter vein, the modern version seems: “what is good for the goose need not be good for the gander” (I believe that the original phrase was, "Sauce for the goose, sauce for the gander", or some such.) or ‘What is taboo for the Gods could be quite acceptable to the mortals.”


V V R
9th Feb 007

Parishechanam

PARISHECHANAM

Prologue
(“Thai poranthaal vazhi porakkum” is a saying known to almost every household in South. How true! Whew!! Last month has been particularly hectic. What with all those Poonals, Gruhapravesams, Kalyanams, and Sapthaahams each followed by a feast, we (read ‘I’) haven’t found the need to cook any more at home. On these special occasions I make the most of the opportunity by latching on either to the cook or the priest (Vaadhyaar) not necessarily in that order. So it was last week, I got sandwiched between a keen youngster and this highly learned scholarly Vaadhyaar during a sit-down-on-floor lunch.
“Why do we do this Parishechanam, sir?” asked this youngster struggling to fold his legs, thanks to his tight stone-washed Jeans!
I pretended to concentrate on that initial ‘drop’ of Paayasam not to allow that to mix with Paruppu which gets served in a hurry on the plantain leaf.
“Parishechanam???....This sprinkling of water? Oh! It is to keep the insects and ants away from your leaf.” volunteered another young one. That was followed by a loud laughter.
“………..amrutatwaayaa. May be we could get to know the significance from the erudite scholar Vaadhyaar himself after lunch” I suggested in that practised tone of issuing words of command in Parades during my soldiering periods.
All went quiet.)

Cut to Vetila-paakku session later

The next few minutes of explanation from Vaadhyaar held the audience spell bound. The discussion went off something like this. Hopefully I got him right!
“There is actually philosophical significance to the parishechana and prANAhuti mantras.
1) Parishechana: After we sit down for our meal, we say the mantra:
Satyam tvartena parishinchAmi (O Food! You are True. I encircle you with divine righteousness.) and we circumambulate our food with a sprinkling of water. This sprinkling of water is known as "parishechana". At night, this mantra is 'Rtam tvA satyena parishinchAmi', transposing the 'Rtam' and 'satyam'. "Satya" means that which is real or true. "Rta" is a notion of the Divine Law or moral principle. The term "Rta" is often found in the Rig Veda, and it is from this that the idea of "dharma" later evolved.
From this we can gather that the parishechana mantra is sort of a formulaic "protection" for the food we are about to eat.
2) PrANAhuti -- the offering to the vital breaths: The next step is the part of greater philosophical significance. Recall that in the Vedic tradition, every act eventually becomes an act of worship, an act of recognition of the pervasiveness of the Supreme Brahman and Its power. When we eat, we nourish our bodies. Food is therefore essential
for bodily sustenance. Within our body is the "ana" or vital breath. The "ana" has five activities or "prANa-s". The five prANa-s represent the various bodily functions that are
critical for survival. They are considered a manifestation of the power of the Supreme in the bodily plane.
[It is almost a universal cultural idiom to recognize breath as the vital force
behind life. In English, when someone dies they are said to have "breathed their last". In Tamil, the word "ushir" or "uyir" can mean both breath and life. ]
The idea is that by first making an offering to the prANa-s, we pay homage to their life-giving power by virtue of their performing the bodily activities that are crucial to our survival. In this way, this ritual recognizes that not only is food important to survival, but the very bodily functions that we take for granted are essential, and we
owe all of this to the Supreme, who sits as the superintending power behind all bodily activity, no matter how mundane.
The vital breaths or "prANa-s" are five in number. The latter four are derived from the first. They are: prANa -- the principal breath
apAna -- responsible for excretory activity
vyAna -- responsible for circulatory activity
udAna -- respiratory activity
samAna -- responsible for digestive activity
This act of thanksgiving to God who through these bodily functions sustains life is done by saying the following mantras, and eating a little bit of rice and ney (ghee) without chewing it (because, after all, the food is an offering, not meant for personal consumption):
om prANAya svAhA
om apAnAya svAhA
om vyAnAya svAhA
om udAnAya svAhA
om samAnAya svAhA
om BrahmaNe svAhA

om brahmaNi ma AtmA-amRtatvAya
The last line means, "May my self be united in Brahman (the Supreme), so that I may attain immortality."
Eating, then, is a profound act of worship which sustains the body so that we may further worship Brahman. Before and after eating the meal, water is sipped, once again with a mantra. The rishis of yore found this aspect of the ritual so important that they mention it in both of the largest Upanishads, the Brhadaranyaka and the Chhandogya, in virtually identical terms: Realized people, while eating, do as follows: before and after their meal, they "dress up" the prANa with water. The prANa receives clothing in this manner, and does not remain naked.
-- Chhandogya 5.2.2 & Brhadaranyaka 6.1.15
OTHER DETAILS
First you address the food "Namaste Anna. AsmAkam nityam astu Etat"
1. Om Bhurbhuvasuvaha: Sarva sAdhArana Prokshana Mantram for purifying the
food
2. Satyam tvA ruthEna ParishinchAmi: Here the food is addressed as satyam.
I encircle you with 'rutham'. These two words are often used in vEdAs. For eg. Brhma Yagnyam etc., In the evening the address is reversed.
3. amruta upastaranam asi; Be a 'lining' to the amrutam (i.e. the food)
4. amruta abhidAnam asi: Be a 'lid or cover' to the amrutam. (At the end of the meal)”

“I am not quite sure”, continues Vaadhyaar “why ‘clothing the prANa’ with water is so important, but both Sankaracharya and Ramanujacharya write that meditation on prANa having water as its garments is very important. It does make some sense, however, from other angles. Water is a purifier and drinking water before and after (Acamanam) is a purifier and sustainer of the body. Furthermore, the yoga shastras recommend that we eat food to fill only half our stomach; one half of the rest, i.e., one quarter of the stomach we should fill by drinking water. The rest should be air. This is supposed to be the ideal proportions for spiritual and bodily health. The mantras recited when sipping water before and after imply this as well:”
AmRtopastaraNam asi -- Oh water! You are the seat of immortality.

“In continuation now we will see Chandhogyopanishad.

Thath yadh Bhakthan prathamamaagachchEth thadhDhomeeyam!
Sa yaam prathamaam aahuthim juhuyaath praaNaaya svaahEthi!
PraaNasthrupyathi!
PraaNE thrupyathi chakshus thrupyathi!
Chakshushi thrupyathyaath aadhithyas thrupyathi!
AadhithyE thrupyathi dhyous thrupyathi!
Dhivi thrupyanthyaam yath kincha dhousva aadhithyaschaath adhithishtatha:
thath thrupyathi!
Thasya anuthrupthim thrupyathi prajaya pasuBhir annaadhyEna thEjasaa
brahmavarchasEnEthi!

Meaning: The person while eating makes the first offer of annam, and that first offer of annam becomes the oblatory instrument. That satisfies the praaNa. So the eating has to be done as a homam. When he does that at first praaNa gets satisfied. In the satisfaction of praaNa the eyes gets satisfied. When eyes get satisfied the Sun gets satisfied. When sun is satisfied the heavens are satisfied. When heaven is satisfied all those in heaven gets satisfied. When all get satisfied like this the people and the cows etc get the Tejas (halo??) and the power of brahma.

May be in short the offer of food has to be as homam.

My wife with the folded vetila in her hand addressed me thus, “Enna? Veettukku poka udhesam unda illayaa?” Now y (ears) of experience has taught me to recognize the tone and tenor of my wife as an order from Marshall rather than as a suggestion. I gathered my angavastram hastily and moved out not before thanking the Vaadhyaar profusely. I came home wiser.
“We didn’t know there is so much to eating though!” admitted the two youngsters.


V V R
15th Feb 07

Parrot's Oratory stuns scientists

Parrot's oratory stuns scientists

Elders quoting the scriptures often advise us “Nityam Bhaagavatam srunu, Suka proktam” meaning ‘Everyday hear Srimad Bhaagavatam narrated by Suka, (if you desire an end to your material existence)’. Further, the very first Skandhah, the very first Adhyaayah, verse 3 of Bhaagavatam says:
nigama-kalpa-taror galitam phalam suka-mukhaad amruta-drava-samyutam
pibata bhaagavatam rasamaalayam muhur aho rasikaa bhuvi bhaavukaah (1.1.3)

Roughly translated, “O ye devotees, Bhaagavatam is the fruit of the wish-yielding tree of Vedas, emanated from the lips of ** (parrot like sage) Suka and is the nectar of supreme bliss. Go on drinking this divine sweetness till there is only Consciousness left in you.’
(** It is said that a fruit bit by a parrot is exceptionally sweet. Note the pun on the word ‘Suka’ in this verse, which also means in Sanskrit a parrot!)
That sets you thinking doesn’t it? There are thousands of species of birds in the creation of the good Lord. So why this narration from ‘Suka (parrot) mukhaad’?, even granting it is allegorical. Is it because perhaps, parrots are special? Parrots are by far the favourite birds kept as pets. Why are parrots so valued and desired? And what makes them different from other birds? They come in a variety of brilliant colours and sizes, and are known for their intelligence and talking ability.
No other group of birds has the wide range of colours and colour combinations that parrots possess. Their intelligence allows them to understand much about their owners and to get into a lot of trouble exploring things (seen the movie ‘Bill & Coo’?). Parrots can be taught to talk (and even understand), sing, play games and do tricks (an umbrella cockatoo was taught to skate). Many parrots enjoy puzzles and mechanical toys. “They are also great lock pickers and escape artists”, say some bird watchers.
Want a bit of mythology thrown in? Our own God of Love ‘Kaama dev’ who carries a bow and quiver of arrows flies on the back of a parrot. Madurai Meenakshi holds a parrot and bouquet.
I can feel your impatience and you may say, “Alright. Cut it out. So did one-legged Long John Silver the villain pirate in the famous fictional novel of R L Stevenson titled “The Treasure Island” (remember the school days?) carried on his shoulders a pet parrot, but friendly to the lad Jim Hawkins.”
Yeah? But it is another thing when in this modern era ‘Parrot's oratory stuns scientists’
Read it all @ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3430481.stm
By Alex Kirby BBC News Online environment correspondent

Don’t say I cooe (e) d.

V V R
12th Feb 007

PATTAR AND THE PROFESSOR

PATTAR AND THE PROFESSOR

(Adversity & prosperity never cease to exist. The adornment of great men’s minds is to remain calm under both.)
-Tirukkural-12:115.

It was one of those Sunday mornings when every thing seemed to go at an easy pace. I picked the newspaper from the doorstep and settled down when the phone rang.
“Hello”. I said.
“Hello, uncle! Shankar here from J…….” said the voice at the other end.
“O hello Shankar. How are you?”
“I am fine uncle. I thought you should be the first person to know that I have passed my C A Exam in the first attempt!”
“Congrats, Shankar. So when are you sending me the sweets?”
“Only, if you come here. Thanks a ton uncle for all that help on ‘Cash Flow/Fund flow lessons’. We all miss you, uncle.”
“Say hello to dad and mom”, I said and replaced the hand set.

Shankar is the second son of Prof. K……., the then HOD faculty of XYZ…….. Engg, at one of the Colleges of Engineering at J………. Let me call him ‘K’. Soft spoken, suave, elegant and urbane, he is a walking, talking computer with phenomenal memory. Always well dressed, he loved to flaunt his dark RayBan glasses like M G R almost as if it was his trade mark fixture born with him. His first son D….. an eminent engineer is married and well settled in USA. His first daughter, P……. an accomplished vocalist too is married and well off. Another daughter G…….afflicted by juvenile arthritis must have settled too.
“And now the naughty Shankar about whom the professor was so much worried has made it good after all.” I said to myself after the phone call. Then like an avalanche my memories flashed back to those old days at J……… when fate brought me close to this person.

CUT TO J………… DAYS

We had just moved into R…….. a civil area and getting to know our neighbours. My daughter meanwhile had found a willing and accommodative friend in Shankar who lived opposite our Govt-hired-Bungalow. And as always, the children hit along very well indeed even before the elders could say ‘hello’ to each other! Unlike my Sahadharmini, I am an introvert and take a long time before I break the ice with strangers. My in-laws too from Mumbai were there to help us settle down. And we gossiped, laughed and watched the world pass by from our verandah which provided a beautiful view. Every morning, the Engg. College bus meant for the students would stop at K’s door step. It will wait for him to get in and settle at his window seat. His wife would hand over his Tiffin-set and wave him a fond ‘bye’. In the evening, just prior to dusk the lady would take the car out to pick up K. Sooner he arrived, a ceremonial tea and biscuits session would be laid on the lawn. This was followed by a brisk walk by the couple taking their Alsatian out. This was a routine executed with clock work precision each day.
“Such loving couple”, commented my M-in-L.
“Must be the effect of Samasaptamam”, put in my F-in-L.
“Enna…. You could take a lesson or two from them!” my Sahadharmini volunteered some free advice for me.
“He must be either a stingy fellow not to use his car or he wants his entire family’s service at his beck and call to loll in luxury like this” I protested.

Our next door neighbours were Shekhawats. They were merchants and very friendly. Their son Rajiv is a gem. He was in the first year of Engg. He would speak about K with rapturous admiration. He was all praise for K.
“Prof. is too good, uncle. None of us ever misses his classes. He makes things so easy. He knows by-heart the entire Electrical Machine design book. He would always ask one of us to come to the board and solve the problems. He would dictate notes extempore. Those notes are better than any guide available in the market.” And the ravings would go on and on about the Professor.
I finally decided to take the bull by its horn. Whenever I did, I had that uncanny knack of landing up in thick soup. This time was no exception.
“If Mohammad does not go to the mountain, let mountain go to Mohammad”, advised my F-in-L.
So I decided to pay a courtesy call on K’s that evening along with my wife. And I never knew that this visit would change my attitude towards life totally. When we landed at their gate, they were about to go for their usual evening walk. Their Alsatian dog Lassie barked furiously.
“Namaskara! We just moved in…… across the road, in fact”, introduced my wife.
“Yeah, my son Shankar told us. Air Force- aren’t you? ” queried Prof. K
“Yes sir,” I said extending my hand expecting a warm hand-shake.
BUT K WOULDN’T JUST SHAKE MY HANDS!!!.
I was upset and felt insulted and got ready to find an excuse to go back.
“Won’t you come in?” that was Madam K as if making amends.
“Please do. My wife makes the best filter coffee in this area. Ha Ha Ha”, said K.
“No thanks. Some other time may be. We just wanted to say ‘hello’. More over, it is time for the Municipal water tank to arrive”, I said irritably and departed.
We reached home in no time.
“So, how are K’s?” queried M-in-L when I came home.
“Very rude, snobbish, and uppity. No class! Amma.” said my wife angrily. She went in to make some coffee for all of us. This was perhaps one of the rarest of rare occasions when we both agreed on a view point.
“Yeah? Can’t believe it. They looked alright to me”, said my F-in-L.
“But Appa, the guy did not have the courtesy to shake hands when I extended mine to him”, I complained to my F-in-L.
“How could he have Appa?”, that was my daughter peeping over her Enid Blighton’s Famous Five Novel.
My daughter has this habit of doing several things all at a time. And she is good at pulling the carpet under your feet; a trait she has inherited from her mother.
“What do you mean?” I shouted at my daughter. “And by the way, when elders are discussing something, you better keep your trap shut”
“Appa. You keep telling me things. Now it is you, who do not ‘look beyond the tip of your nose’ as you often say!” She was serious this time.
After a long pause she said, “Shankar’s dad is BLIND in BOTH EYES! Happened long time back. Some ‘retina –betina detachment’ - so said our friend Shankar. So uncle couldn’t have seen your extended palm for a hand- shake. You see?”
That was my daughter 3 feet nothing teaching me a lesson in human behavioral science.
The Tsunami came crashing on me. My legs gave way. There was this uneasy silence in the room. Time stood still, until my wife gave a call: “Enna…… coffee is ready. Vaarungo.”
“No thanks”, I said haltingly. “I shall grab that filter coffee with K’s after all”
And I trooped out to ring his door bell at “Anukampa” one more time.

Epilogue

(Hard things are just put in our way, not to stop us, but to call our courage and strength)
-Anonymous.
(Happiness always looks small while you hold it in your hands, but let it go, and you learn at once how big and precious it is”
-Maxim Gorky.
I was to learn later in bits and pieces from madam S…. (Mrs. K) this incredible story.
It had been almost five years since K, fifty or so then, became blind. Due to a medical misdiagnosis he had been rendered sightless, and suddenly thrown into a world of darkness, anger, frustration and self-pity. Once a fiercely independent man, K now felt condemned by this terrible twist of fate to become a powerless, helpless burden on everyone around him.
‘How could this have happened to me?’ he would plead, his heart knotted with anger. But no matter how much he cried or ranted or prayed, he knew the painful truth that his sight was never going to return. A cloud of depression hung over K’s once optimistic spirit. Just getting through each day was an exercise in frustration and exhaustion. And all he had to cling to was his wife S….
S…was an ordinary Kannadiga housewife. She loved K with all of her heart. When he first lost his sight, she watched him sink into despair and was determined to help him gain the strength and confidence he needed to become independent again. Her rural background had trained her well to deal with sensitive situations, and yet she knew this was the most difficult task she would ever face. Finally, K felt ready to return to his job. The University accepted him with his handicap, but how would he get there? Here was some one used to driving himself, was now to take the bus, but was now too frightened to get around the college by himself. S…. at her old age soon learnt driving and volunteered to drive him to work each day, At first, this comforted K and fulfilled S's need to protect her sightless husband who was so insecure about performing the slightest task. Soon, however, S realized that this arrangement wasn't working - it was hectic, and costly. K is going to have to start taking the bus instead, he admitted to himself. But just the thought of mentioning it to him made her cringe. He was still so fragile, so angry. How would he react? Just as S predicted, K was horrified at the idea of taking the bus. "I'm blind!" he responded bitterly. "How am I supposed to know where I'm going? I feel like you're abandoning me."
S's heart broke to hear these words, but she knew what had to be done. She promised K that each morning and evening she would ride the bus with him, for as long as it took, until he got the hang of it. And that is exactly what happened. For two solid weeks, S…, accompanied K to and from work each day. She taught him how to rely on his other senses, specifically his hearing, to determine where he was and how to adapt to his new environment. Each morning they made the journey together, and S…. would take an auto back home. S… knew it was only a matter of time before K would be able to ride the bus on his own. She believed in him, in the K she used to know before he'd lost his sight, who wasn't afraid of any challenge and who would never, ever quit.
Finally, K decided that he was ready to try the trip on his own. One morning before he left, he threw his arms around S…, his temporary bus riding companion, his wife and his best friend. His eyes filled with tears of gratitude for her loyalty, her patience, her love. He said good-bye, and for the first time, they went their separate ways. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday... Each day on his own went perfectly, and K had never felt better. He was doing it! He was going to work all by himself!

"Sir, I sure envy you.” I said during one of our tete-a- tete.
Professor wasn't sure if I meant it or not. After all, who on earth would ever envy a blind man who had struggled just to find the courage to live?
"Why do you say that?” he asked.
"It must feel so good to be taken care of and protected like you are.” I responded.
"What do you mean?" K asked
"You know, every morning standing across the corner watching you when you get on the bus. S…. makes sure you cross the street safely and she watches you until you enter your bus. Then she blows you a kiss, gives you a little wave and walks away. You are one lucky guy, sir." I answered.
Tears of happiness poured down K's cheeks. For although he couldn't have physically seen her, he had always felt his wife’s warm presence, he later said.
“I am lucky, so lucky, for she had given me a gift more powerful than sight, a gift I don't need to see to believe - the gift of love that can bring light where there had been darkness.” Then he sprang a surprise. As though pre-planned madam K brought his violin.
“It’s only last two years he has been practising”, said madam K politely.
And he played a beautiful tune for me.
“Enri?..... Gothaa?.. Enu raga?.Can you guess the raga?” he asked.
“Gothu saar gothu. Ummm…. Panthuvaraali na?” I replied.
“Boy you are ok”, said my friend Professor K…….approvingly.

From then on I never failed to stop by at his residence “ANUKAMPA” to listen to his playing violin as I savoured the filter coffee of madam K.

V V R (a retired Air Vice marshal)
24th Jun 2005

Pattar, an Aero plane and the Silver Peg Measure

Pattar, an Aero plane and the Silver Peg Measure
(This is dedicated to our men in uniform in different parts of our great country who in their own quiet way are contributing enormously every day to the cause of humanity and making us proud of our lineage)
PROLOGUE:
(The first Secretary of Canadian Embassy in an interview on NDTV 24X7 on the night of 17th Jun 2005 said that it was a miracle how his wife who was perilously holding on to her dear life got saved from a deep ravine by Indian Air Force Helicopters. The couple was on a trek through a dense jungle a few kms away from Dharmasthala and Kuke Subrahmanya when the lady slipped and fell into a deep and narrow gorge. The weather conditions were not conducive to any rescue operations either.)

The Canadian connection with IAF rang a bell somewhere and my own memories flashed back almost 40 years ago when our gallant men in uniform (at least to my humble mind) did create a history of sort. But let me begin at the very beginning.
Ever since I can remember, I have been fascinated by aero planes. The reason was that except hearing some occasional distant drone or seeing some smoke trails in the sky (which later I knew as ‘jet-trails’) I never saw this mysterious machine from close quarters until the age of ten. That when I saw one for the first time, it was a beautiful metallic toy from Benares which my grand parents gifted me sooner they returned to the S……village, Palghat after their Kaasi Yaatra. Dismantling and re-assembling this craft became a magnificent obsession nay, an escape from ennui for me. I always wanted to become an engine driver. But then it was before I got this toy. My grandpa who was an expert astrologer used to comment rather disdainfully, “This brat will go out of our hands”, (meaning I will not be that traditional kutti vadhyaar). “With his Kujan (Mars) in swakshetram, vargottaman, unblemished and, being the Lord of 10th house, this boy is fit only to learn ‘Kalarippayatthe’-(the famous martial art of Kerala) and nothing else”. He was not far off the mark for I enlisted my self in the Pattaalam to become a professional soldier with no regrets what so ever. I think it was 1967 when I heard this unusual story being related in the bar by one of the sober officers. It went something like this in his own words :
“It was late 60’s and I, a subaltern was posted to P…... One of my secondary duties was the portfolio of Bar member (in-charge of the liquor cellar). At every station I would be handed over this duty. Why? Well, I being a tee-to taller qualified admirably for the post. I could not recognize one drink from another, and hence the cellar would be in safe hands. That’s why! I totally depended on Gomez (not the real name), the expert barman in-charge at P….. while making arrangements for station parties; and need I say that every party turned out to be a grand success- for Gomez never let me down!
There was never a dull moment for me in the Mess, for I was also in charge of accommodation. One afternoon, the President of the Mess Committee (PMC, normally a senior officer) summoned me and barked his orders, “Boy, we are informed that a team of officers and men from the Canadian Air Force will arrive here soon. We are to accommodate them in our Mess. Make sure that the rooms get spruced up. Now get cracking” This meant lot of work for me in the squadron and in the mess. I wondered why the visitors had to be in our Mess. But then there is this unwritten tenet in Pattalam “Junior officers are only to be seen and not heard!” So I got busy arranging things and spoke not a word. My squadron mates always pulled my leg, ‘Hey, You don’t drink, you don’t smoke, and you don’t w…..’ and the list of minor and major vices went on. ‘Then what do you do man for a living? You are a real square peg in a round hole!’ My Squadron Commander always came to my rescue saying, ‘But he is a good spanner’- (meaning an euphemism for an excellent techie). ‘He keeps your birds air-worthy, boys-don’t forget that’
We learnt that our govt had agreed to give away one LIBERATOR aircraft to the Canadian Air Force museum. This workhorse of WW II vintage had long stopped flying, biding their time to be finally written off as scrap. Under the situation, the squadron had its hands full to meet the real challenge of preparing one aircraft airworthy for the Canadians.
Cut to the Tarmac -The team from Canada was a huge contingent of men, material and machinery. They tumbled out of the giant transport aircraft and were welcomed by the Station Commander. Later, they were ushered into their respective rooms in our Mess. Next morning a meeting was held. The Squadron Commander asked them as to when they would like to go for their familiarization sortie. On hearing this they were shocked out of their wits. They had come fully prepared for a stay of at least a couple of months. They had never dreamt of flying this extinct bird all the way back to Canada. Their plan was to dismantle the aircraft, only to be assembled later at the Canadian museum. And here, they were being offered a fully airworthy aircraft with a choice to fly straightaway. Anyway, like all aviators they too were happy and thrilled at the prospects of actually flying the aircraft back to Canada.
However, on their specific request they continued to stay for a couple of weeks. Later, at a formal ceremony, the aircraft was handed over to them, followed by cocktails in our Mess. With Gomez at the helm of affairs, the party went off very well. Quite a few free and frank discussions got underway over the drinks. I was getting restless. For once I thought it would be better to get drunk like others than remain sober! All because every Canadian visitor without exception discussed about the usability or rather the non-usability of the “flushing system” of their attached toilets in their rooms. It was a fact that many of the flushes were inoperative. The PMC, usually a man of no few words gave me a mere stare, which spoke volumes and I thought the matter ended there. But more surprises were in store. Speeches were made. Mementoes were exchanged.
The Canadians had pre- planned to give us a memento specially made and flown in from Canada based on a specific request from their team at P…... Many messages were being exchanged by them at night between their Canadian Air base and P….in India using our W/T channels (Wireless Telegraphy).
Their memento was a unique peg measure for pouring liquor-- all in silver, shaped in the form of an English commode with a flush tank, a chain and the plumbing that goes with it. All one has to do is to pull the chain; and presto a peg measure of whisky will pour into the glass held underneath with the familiar gurgling sound of the flush. At the bottom was this inscription.
“You techies can sure maintain a LIBERATOR but not your Johnnies!”
Far from treating it otherwise, this perhaps was one of the finest compliments we techies could receive on our competence to keep our flying -machines air worthy. Gomez had the honour to receive this memento- the Silver Peg Measure”, concluded my colleague.
I couldn’t agree with him any less!
This memento may still be occupying its pride of place in P……. Air Force Officers’ Mess Bar.” But as for me, my favourite mantel piece which still adorns our mantel at home is the toy plane from Benares.

EPILOGUE
The Project Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), having taken off from the ground, has done the nation proud. The technical team who made it a success deservedly received accolades from every quarter, thus proving they are second to none. Hopefully, the LCA would soon be inducted in squadron service, where the well-knit Air Force “techies” would, get an opportunity to handle yet another machine. Our men behind the flying-machines are the finest lot and would measure up to any demanding situation to prove their mettle. This is neither an under statement nor a misplaced sense of overconfidence, but a conclusion based on years of experience, as a proud Air Force techie.
Wishing them “Nabhah Sprusam Deeptham” (Gita Chap XI, Verse24) the motto of the Air Force “touch the sky with Glory”

V V R (a retreaded Air Vice Marshal),
20th Jun 2007

Peace invocation

Peace Invocation

Taccham yoraavruniimahe
gaatum yajnaaya
gaatum yajnapathaye
daivii svastirastuna:
svastirmaanushebhya:
uurdhvam jigaatu bheshajam
sham no astu dvipade
sham chatushpade

Om shantih shantih shantihi
Vruneemahe;- we please/worshp/ could even be pray
Tad cham: That Supreme Being. The word cham may also mean the ‘causal being’
Yajnaaya gaatum: (by) singing during Homams Though actually gaatum is in infinitive form, meaning ‘TO SING’ like gaatum ichaami—I like to sing.
Yajnapathaye gaatum: (by) singing for the Supervisor Of Homams (Lord)
Swasthi: well being or prosperity
Maanushebhya: for mankind/humanity
Sham: happiness/fortune (often used in Vedas but very rarely in later language)
Dvipade: 2 legged
Chaturpade: 4 legged
Uurdhvam: upwards ( Like in Sandhyavandanam we say ‘Uurdhvaya nama: and point upwards, adharaaya nama: point downwards. etc
Bheshajam: Aushadham/Medicinal (plants/herbs)
Jigaatu: here it means ‘grow’ (it is from the root ‘ji’ to conquer)

Gist:
We worship the Supreme Lord for the welfare of all beings. May all our miseries leave us forever so that we may always sing for (to) the Lord and the Lord of yajnams during the holy fire ceremonies. May all medicinal herbs grow in potency so that all diseases may be cured. May the gods rain peace on us. May all the two-legged creatures be happy, and may all the four-legged creatures also be happy. May there be peace in the hearts of all beings in all realms.


V V R
29th Apr 07.

Prayer

Prayer

For me prayer is being in harmony with the universe. When I am in harmony with it my prayers are answered. My prayers are for guidance, wisdom and strength to deal with problems in life--not for specific outcomes. I believe those prayers are always answered, because the act of praying creates the state of mind that I seek. "Prayer doesn't change things: Prayer changes people, and people change things." My prayers are answered every day! The Good Lord allows me to wake up, breath, smell and see my surroundings, and hear all His marvelous sounds. My prayers are always answered, and the answer is always the same: Shanthi-peace.
V V R
Psalm of Comfort
As the deer longs for the water-brooks,
so longs my soul for you, O God.

My soul is athirst for God, athirst for the living God;
when shall I come to appear before the presence of God?

My tears have been my food day and night,
while all day long they say to me, "Where now is your God?"

I pour out my soul when I think on these things;
how I went with the multitude and led them into the house of God,

With the voice of praise and thanksgiving,
among those who keep holy-day.

Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul?
and why are you so disquieted within me?

Put your trust in God;
for I will yet give thanks to him, who is the help of my countenance, and my God.

- Psalms 42: 1-7

Christian, appropriate for many faiths

Providence

Providence

Dear friends,
I read with misty eyes the wonderful post by Sree KVG reminding us the relevance of Ramayanam to common man. I, from my childhood days have been fortunate to hear this mega epic being narrated time and again by my grandfather, a great scholar who was a well-known exponent of "Kathaakaalakshepam".
To say that those early days had a tremendous impact on my psyche would be an understatement. So I endorse every bit of what Sree KVG has put forth. To this day, when I require comfort from tedium I delve into the Cantos of Ramayanam and derive great solace and find new meanings into my life. Today when my life boat is being tossed in the choppy seas, I attribute it all to ‘Providence’ because I find it most intriguing and inscrutable.

Kindly recall Valmiki's Ramayanam - Ayodhya kaandam-Canto XXII-verses 15 to 30 which gives an insight into how Rama Himself felt about Providence. Rama is about to depart to the forest and He is at His best trying to convince the shell-shocked Lakshman that His own predicament had been brought about by 'Daivasya karmam' or 'Krutaantham' etc viz. Providence. So He commands to His brother, "Krutaantha eva drashtavyah......" and the punch line is
"Sukha duhkhe bhaya krodhah laabhaalaabho bhavabhavo. Yasya kinchit tathaa bhootham nanu daivasya karma tathu."(verse22).
(meaning, joy and sorrow, fear and anger, gain and loss, birth and death, and whatever similar experience comes to an individual, that is unquestionably the work of Providence)

He further goes on to say, "rishayoh api ugratapasah daivena abhi prachodithaah" (meaning ......strongly impelled by destiny, even sages are led astray…...by anger abandoning their strict regimen..)

Reading these helped me to accept things stoically. So like some one said, I 'take no thought for the morrow, for the morrow will take thought for the things of itself. He that feeds the ravens, and clothes the lilies, will never suffer me to famish nor to be naked'

My dad used to compare the providence to 'Kaala chakram'. His story goes that a certain king being taken prisoner, was bound in chains, and dragged along at the chariot wheels of his conqueror. As he went along, he kept looking at the wheel, and shedding tears—looking at the wheel again, and lifting up his eyes and smiling. The conqueror turned and said, "Why are you looking at that wheel?"
He said, "I was thinking, such is the lot of man; just now I was here; now I am there; but soon I may be here again at the top of the wheel, and you may be grinding the dust."

Why Providence is like a wheel?; because sometimes one part of the wheel is at the top, and then it is at the bottom. Sometimes this part is exalted, and anon it sinks down to the dust. Then it is lifted to the air, and then again by a single revolution it is brought down again to the earth. So it is with our life. Sometimes we are in humble poverty, and hardly know what we shall do for bread; anon the wheel revolves, and we are brought into the comfort of wealth; our feet stand in a spacious room; we are fed with sumptuous food; we drink of a cup overflowing its brim. Again we are brought low through affliction and famine. A little while and another page is turned, and we are exalted to the heavens, and can sing in praise of the good Lord. I have no doubt many of you here have experienced a far more checkered life than I have, and therefore feel the same.

'In a wheel there is one portion though that never turns round, that stands steadfast; and that is the axle", my dad would say. "So in God's Providence, there is an axle which never moves. So son, here is a sweet thought for you! Your state is ever changing; sometimes you are exalted, and sometimes depressed; yet there is an unmoving point in your state. What is that axle? What is the pivot upon which all the machinery revolves? It is the axle of God's everlasting love toward his covenant people. The exterior of the wheel is changing, but the centre stands forever fixed. Other things may move; but God's love never moves: it is the axle of the wheel; and this is another reason why Providence should be compared to a Kaalachakram”.

Hasn’t some poet said?

"Here He exalts neglected worms
To sceptres and a crown;
And there the following page He turns,
And treads the monarch down."

"Taqdeer ke kalam se koi bach na paayega, betaa", he would remind me.
That to my mind is how apt and relevant Ramayanam is: “Daivam hi thathaa prabhaavam…” (Verse 30).

Warm rgds
V V R
16th Sep 007

Peer Pressure of Different Kind

PEER PRESSURE OF A DIFFERENT KIND
("There are many ways to measure success; not the least of which is the way your child describes you when talking to a friend.")
----------Unknown)

Prologue

There is no greater innocence on the face of this planet than children. Likewise, there is nothing more marvelous that one can do than affirm the innocence of children. And if there is one striking difference between the present and a generation or so ago, it is that affirming the innocence of children is what everyone a generation or so ago delighted in doing. Adults delighted in the endeavors of children, and were eager to affirm those small creative endeavors of children. If my child drew a picture of a flower or a president or a crow, that picture could be shown to any adult, who then paused to show their appreciation and admiration of the child’s artwork. It is a striking thing about children that a little affirmation goes a very long way. It was not a long ago—indeed, it was so even during my childhood —that children benefited not only from the love of their parents, but also from the public trust. The story which I wish to relate concerns just this aspect (viz. in italics above).

Cut to 5 years back: to the daily morning scenes in front of our house just prior to the assembly at the Primary School opposite

If you could have predicted even once what (now late) Pallipuram Ramasastrigal Venkiteswaran Iyer (whose strong legs walked this earth for 94 years) would do under a given circumstance, you might either be a great astrologer like 'Padur Panickers' or a great dooradarsin/Antarjhnaanin. Simply put.. Iyer was unpredictable like our share market!!. But then he thrived on this very quality (for my friends and I with all our theoretical knowledge of problem- solving, thanks to our superficially acquired management qualifications) haven't been able to emulate even an amsam of Iyer's practical wisdom.

"Children today live in a different era. It is an era of lost innocence. On the one hand, children have been told not to trust any adult who is a stranger. This is understandable, of course, as parents protect their children from harm. But there is a fundamental loss that occurs, in that children no longer enjoy public affirmation in the way that they did once upon a time. No adult wants to smile at a child or compliment the child, lest this be taken as an untoward advance by the child’s parents. The irony here, though, is that just as nothing replaces the affirmation of parental love, it is equally true that nothing replaces the affirmation that comes from the public trust." lamented Iyer one day.

Arun Bhatt (the hero of our story) was all of 4 years, impish but smart; seemed happy to go to school (UKG class??) until......this scene on one wintry Marghazhi Monday. Iyer was plucking flowers from our garden for his daily pooja a ritual he meticulously followed and never delegated to any one. As an added attraction, he got to watch all the tamasha that went on…. wailing kids….angry parents…..cajoling grandpas ......servants on cycle…..kids alone with lost looks ……....ayahs on foot dragging the reluctant kids ...et all till the gong went off at school. Total silence prevails thereafter and suddenly a chorus of ‘out of tune’ prayers follow ....what could best be described as cacophony.

For the past 3 days though Arun would have nothing of that. He simply refused to go to school. His mom a sweet looking helpless lady of 30 odd was getting tired. She had to resort to the use of the last weapon in her armory of 4.. saama, daana, beda, danda. That's when Iyer decided to intervene.
"enriii? Enaakithu ammaa?' Iyer to the lady Sumati Bhatt.
"Nothing uncle. Raising a child has become exhausting and exasperating, “she replied. Arun decided to oblige his mom that day and went quietly inside the school premises. The
lady and Iyer got talking... sort of walk the talk...
"Yeah. But parenthood has been the most gratifying experience of my life. For the busiest of us...the most remote of us...for the most disgraced of us, parenthood is the essence of life. It will remind you of the treasure of the little children in our midst.” Iyer reminded Sumathi.
"True, Thaatha! But this boy of mine...............what to say?.............."was all I could hear of Sumathi because they went out of range. Another 15 minutes would have been spent in further discussions; Iyer and Sumathi parted company. I never gave the incident another thought.
Next day, at 07.55 A M we saw a strange sight. Iyer was carrying Arun's bag, water bottle and tiffin box, escorting the child to the school. The old man waved to the child and said, "tata". Arun happily went inside the school. No sign of Arun's mother though that day.
A few minutes later when Sumathi met my wife at our gate bargaining with the vegetable vendor, their dialogue went something like this:
"Iyer Thatha: he is an amazing old man.", Sumathi cooed happily. "You know Arun did not make any fuss today. He went off to school happily", she said.
"Yea... I saw that.. What was it all about? How this sudden transformation?" my wife asked inquisitively putting some beans on the scale because the vendor was getting impatient.
".........You see aunty, Arun was becoming impossible and has been complaining for the past 2 weeks or so" Sumathi started.
"What about?" my wife asked.
"Peer pressure......Some of his very close friends were teasing him.......saying they all had their wonderful grandpas or grandmas to escort them. They had grey hair, some carried even walking-sticks, held their bags with fondness....gave them éclairs. And Arun didn't have a grandpa here. He said unless I arrange one grandpa he may not go to school as he would not like to get taunted any more. Now tell me aunty, where could I go for a grandpa or how do I meet his strange demand?" Sumathi took a long breath and continued. "And surprise of surprises, Iyer was at our door steps this morning volunteering to escort Arun. My husband was in tears and I just managed to hold myself. That's it"

So we knew now where Iyer had disappeared early in the morning. But the next day's experience for Iyer was even stranger as related by him later to us.
Revealed Iyer, "At the gate, Arun gave me an éclair chocolate. Then he said, 'Thatha! This is because you may not be carrying one. Now you give me back the same like other thathas do'”. That morning Arun asked Iyer to stay longer in front of the school, saying "Thatha let all my friends see you. Meena and Rahul are yet to come. Hold on. Let them see that I too have a thatha who is escorting me and gives chocolates."

Mercifully, those two days were enough for Arun to show his friends that he too had a grey haired Thaatha who escorted him, wielded a stick and fondly carried his bag. Iyer and Arun became thick as thieves.

EPILOGUE

“Clearly, children have the ability to reach deep into our brains as well as our hearts." said iyer later. "As your child gets older, he'll start keeping more of his emotions hidden, partly because of peer pressure and partly because the toddler method of expressing every passing feeling can be exhausting.' Iyer laughed.
"Some kids are very confiding and will tell you everything, while others are by nature more likely to keep things inside. But as long as you're there when he needs you and are ready to listen, love will still flow in two directions. So Arun and I are friends", Iyer laughed again.
Their friendship continued for over 2 years. But a few days before Iyer's death Arun then 6 years old and in 2nd class was chatting with Iyer.
"Thaatha, how long do you want to live?" Iyer told him, "well I think I want to live to see you graduate from high school." The boy licked on his cream-cookie and seemed pensive for a few minutes. He asked Iyer how old he was now. Iyer responded, "I am 94." He looked at him and offered him the other half of the cookie. Then he said very astutely, "That means you have to live to be at least 103 years old; I think you really should wait until I finish with college. Maybe by that time someone will figure out how people can live forever." Yes, that came out of the mouth of a child. He continued to lick the cream and share the cookies with Iyer. Tears filled Iyer's eyes. A week later Iyer breathed his last.
"I just became a grandmother six months ago. I am looking forward to a conversation (with my grandchild) like that one you overheard" said Ambujam mami our neighbour with moist eyes when I related to her this incident.
How do I know so much about Iyer?
No marks for guessing. You are right. Iyer was my father. Now I wonder whether Arun Bhatt was the hero of the story after all or…..??

(There may be some doubt as to who are the best people to have charge of children, but there can be no doubt that parents are the worst.)
---------------George Bernard Shaw)
Warm rgds
V V R
22 Dec 007

Awareness : Vipassana

AWARENESS: THE KEY TO SPIRITUAL GROWTH

Apropos of the write up on the above by many based on the Buddhist tenets, I thought I may as well share in brief my own views on this topic per se based on my visits to Dharamshala, Tawang, Tenga valley,Bomdilla and the like during my service career. SVS hits the nail right on its head when he says that Buddhists believe that, I quote, “Awareness is at the heart of Enlightenment and ultimately leads to it. That is why the Buddha and others stressed the importance of mindfulness practices; being aware of your breathing, of your eating, of your walking, of everything that you do at all times.” unquote.
In fact, “Awareness and equanimity to avoid craving and aversion” is the central theme of VIPASSANA Technique—which when practised together lead to liberation from suffering. It is opined that if either is weak or lacking, it is not possible to progress towards that goal. Both are essential, just as a bird requires two wings to fly. That is seeking to be conscious of everything that happens within, yet not to react to it, understanding that it will change! This they say is what the Buddha called yatha bhuta jnaana dassanaa (the wisdom that arises on being AWARE of reality as it is.)
So when one of the Lamas presented me a book on Vipassana (Rs. 60/- only), I enjoyed reading it. You too would I am sure. The gist?
Vipassana is one of India’s most ancient techniques of meditation (2500 years old) rediscovered and propounded by Buddha Himself as a universal remedy for universal ills!!! At first the technique flourished in India but gradually it became corrupted, lost its efficacy and disappeared from the land of its origin. Fortunately, the neighbouring Burmah (Myanmar?) preserved the original form of Vipassana through out the millennia.
Vipassana is a Pali word meaning insight, seeing things as they really are. It is not a blind faith or philosophy and has nothing to do with sectarian religion. Instead, Vipassana is a practical method that can be applied by any one. (even me!! a beneficiary). Its goal is to calm the mind, eliminate tensions and negativities that make us miserable day in and day out. Later you may even stop pleading “Chanchalam hi manah Krishnaa….”
Vipassana is a journey into the TRUE SELF starting from the level of superficial, gross and apparent reality to penetrate to the subtlest level.
My personal view on awareness?...uuum..?
AWARENESS is seeing the truth behind all actions. Awareness is the first step to creating. When you begin to create something you want, it is important to be aware of what is actually occurring and not get caught up in what you think is happening. 'Cause our thoughts and feelings are not a good indication of what is real.

May we be inspired to live as- WE -true authentic selves?
So that we are an inspiration to our loved ones and foes.
This is my wish for all my fellow human beings.

Hope this is not asking for too much! In any case I seek forgiveness from all for imprudent impudence!!.

Rgds
V V R
18th Jul 06.

Atheism as part of Hinduism:

Atheism as part of Hinduism:
Many authors dwell upon three seemingly interrelated yet exclusive elements that must have intrigued us all no less at some time in our lives viz. Religion, Hinduism and Atheism. According to them, (and it has become a fashion with many to use this clichéd phrase, namely) ‘Hinduism is not a religion, but is a way of life’ and Atheism has a place in this ‘way of life’. So then which religion (according to the author) do the Hindus (religious or otherwise) of this sub continent (like me) and elsewhere who practise this certain ‘way of life’ belong to? Once this is answered everything else may fall in place.
Every religion no matter what, is a ‘way of life’. Every religion, at its core, advises on the best way to live, but in the end it’s a choice we make only for ourselves. We may choose to feed the starving or kill the innocent, but no matter what our earthly rewards or punishments may be, every action we take makes us who we are. And what, at last, could be more precious than the quality of our own character, and the integrity of our soul?
Since none of us is an expert on the creation of the universe, because none of us created it, and none of us was alive for the past billions of years to witness it, then we can safely say that we are all just trying to make sense of it (let us for a moment, however reluctantly set aside the ‘Maya’ theory). We believe in philosophies, truths, dogmas, faiths, or sometimes the lack thereof that have been passed down to us through myriads of ways of telling. Somehow we are at a better stage compared to our ancestors in answering the mysteries of Universe. We can explain comets, planets, their orbits, the birth and death of stars, the mechanics of atoms and so many more in the areas of biology, geology, & mathematics. It does not however mean that we know all. This tends to a discussion wherein one would like to know whether we can ever know 'All'. We cannot answer that with confidence.
[Knowing 'All' is the ability to explain every phenomenon that happened or shall happen with the tools of man i.e. science]
Science may answer with some degree of accuracy questions like:
HOW? How did earth form? How did man evolve? How do the planets move? How do the atoms collide? How does a plant grow? How do we see colours?
WHEN? When did the Universe come into existence? When do atoms decay? When will an eclipse occur? When will the next sun-rise occur?
WHAT? What happens when stars explode? What brought an end to dinosaurs? What made man move to different continents? What happens when we get fever?
But it fails miserably trying to answer 'Why?' [And that's the reason why our lives still embrace theology].
Why did Universe come into existence? Why are we the way we are? Why can't we be something else? There are so many Why’s that science cannot answer. And most probably it can never answer them. But a theologian had always answered these. He attributed everything to God. His explanations include the creation of the Universe, the Man, the stars and almost everything. This is one area science may never dominate. And hence there is always room for theology in Mankind (no matter what ‘way of life’ he follows) thanks to ever elusive WHY! You may call him a theist.
On the other hand, hear what atheists have to say:
“There seem to be many misconceptions about what an atheist is and is not, and what atheists do and do not believe. Although the following will not apply to all atheists, a general overview of atheism is as follows: An atheist, quite simply, has no belief in any deity. ("A-Theist" = "Without Theism") Atheists do not hate God; they simply do not believe in the existence of God or the divinity of God (or anyone else, for that matter).Disbelieving or disagreeing is not the same as hating. "Atheism" only tell you what a person does not believe. Atheists among themselves have wildly different views on many topics, and may only agree with each other when it comes to the subject of religion. Atheists are not servants of Satan. Atheists consider Satan (and similar beings) to be just another mythical entity. Also, many atheists devote a lot of their time to doing good in the world - recognising that there is no help "from above", it is up to humans to solve our own problems. Occasionally atheists will refer to themselves as agnostics - Agnostics (it means "without knowledge") consider the question of God to be unanswerable - there may be a God, or there may not, but we have no way of ever determining the truth of the matter”, they say.
“Is Atheism Wrong? Atheism, the idea that there is no God or Creator, is a conception of the human mind which occurs at various stages of mental and spiritual development. It appears in undeveloped minds who are unable to perceive any deeper reality than what is evident through the physical senses. Atheism also appears in more developed minds who see through the limitations of organized religion and its dogmas and can no longer accept them as true. It is wrong to say that atheists are bad, whereas those who believe in God are good. The important thing is the inquiry into Truth. If this inquiry is more alive in an atheist than in the dogmatic follower of a particular religion, such an atheist is a better seeker of Truth and therefore closer to God who is Truth than the so-called religious person. Going by this, many are atheists, including those who regard themselves as religious. What some believe in is not spiritual reality but in money, power, and ideologies, all of which are material. Seeing reality as other than Divine seems the root of all of problems.”
So when the author says that ‘ATHEISM IS A SUBCLASS OF HINDUISM.’ he is stating the obvious-because atheism is a subclass of every ‘ism’, not only Hinduism, because every religion has its fair share of atheists and theists and ever so many pairs of opposites.
So what is the big deal?
The bottom line in my humble opinion is (and hope sincerely that I am not wrong) “To have a right to do a thing (in this case to profess atheism and yet belong to Hinduism) is not at all the same thing as to be right in doing so”

V V R
Jun 2006
* * * * *

An Ant & A Grasshoper

I thought the parables of yore were meant to convey some permanent (moral) lessons. But not any more; if one were to read the twist in the Ta(i)l(e) of the older versions (obviously from the net), dished out by these young ones from my Ivy league. Looks like I am an outdated fossil almost like Rip Van Winkle, (a character in the story by Washington Irving falling asleep for 20 years in the Catskill Mountains and waking up to discover the world around him has changed. He finds that the American Revolutionary war has taken place and instead of being a subject of His Majesty George the Third, he is now a free citizen of the United States.
“You have company, uncle”, say these young ones to me. “His 20 years are nothing compared with Sleeping Beauty who dozed off for 100 years. The Seven Sleepers of Ephesus fell asleep in a cave for some 250 years, and Endymion in Greek mythology received the gift of eternal youth by sleeping forever. Our own kumbakarnan?..uum well”
Read this!

The Ant & the grasshopper......A parable for our times.....
OLD VERSION.....
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant's a fool and laughs & dances & plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food or shelter so he dies out in the cold.

MODERN VERSION
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant's a fool and laughs & dances & plays the summer away. Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving.
NDTV, BBC, CNN show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food. The World is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be that this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?
Arundhati Roy stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house.
Medha Patkar goes on a fast along with other grasshoppers demanding that grasshoppers be relocated to warmer climates during winter.
Amnesty International and Ban Ki-Moon the new secretary general U N criticize the Indian Government for not upholding the fundamental rights of the grasshopper.
The Internet is flooded with online petitions seeking support to the grasshopper (many promising Heaven and Everlasting Peace for prompt support as against the wrath of God for non-compliance).
Opposition MP's stage a walkout.
Left parties call for "Bharat Bandh" in West Bengal and Kerala demanding a Judicial Enquiry.
CPM in Kerala immediately passes a law preventing Ants from working hard in the heat so as to bring about equality of poverty among ants and grasshoppers.
Lalu Prasad allocates one free coach to Grasshoppers on all Indian Railway Trains, aptly named as the 'Grasshopper Rath'.
Finally, the Judicial Committee drafts the Prevention of Terrorism Against Grasshoppers Act [POTAGA]", with effect from the beginning of the winter.
The ant is fined for failing to comply with POTAGA and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the Government and handed over to the grasshopper in a ceremony covered by NDTV.
Arundhati Roy calls it "a triumph of justice". Lalu calls it 'Socialistic Justice'. CPM calls it the 'revolutionary resurgence of the downtrodden'
Ban Ki-Moon invites the grasshopper to address the UN General Assembly.

************ ********* ********* ********* ********* *****
MANY YEARS LATER

The ant has since migrated to the US and set up a multi billion dollar company in Silicon Valley
100s of grasshoppers die of starvation somewhere in India...

The End? Or A New Beginning?

I need to go to school again.

But then on a serious note that reminded me of a nice poem titled "Children Learn What They Live" by Dorothy Law Nolte, Ph.D. which I ferreted out from my archive for your reading pleasure.(Open attachment-virus scanned) An unassuming poem that is at once simple and profound. Some call it as today's something of a child-rearing anthem. She wrote the poem in her kitchen, sent it off, and thought no more about it. Its simple message went on to be passed around, eventually translated into more than 35 languages and even becoming a best-seller in Japan, where the Crown Prince revealed that he hoped to raise his daughter by it.

As for me, it is one of the best reminders one could have while serving the cause of children well.

Warm rgds
V V R
17th Jan 007

Anger

Anger:

'Krodhaath bhavathi sammohaha sammohaath smruthi vibhramaha
Smruthi bhramsaath budhinaasanaha buddhinaasaath pranasyathi.'
From anger arises infatuation; from infatuation, confusion of memory; from confusion of memory, loss of reason: and from loss of reason one goes to complete ruin. (Gita II-63,)

Listen to some of these Buddhist sayings:
If you keep thinking "That man has abused me," holding it as a much-cherished grievance, your ANGER will never be allayed. If you can put down that fury-inducing thought, your ANGER will lessen. Fury will never end fury; it will just ricochet on and on. Only putting it down will end such an abysmal state.
-Sunnata Vagga (A Buddhist Monk)

"Holding on to ANGER is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned." - Buddha

When all the myriad streams that flow in different places, each with its own colour and taste, enter the great ocean, they blend and become just one taste, with one name. In the same way, stupidity and wisdom both become one in the awakened mind. When one first starts along the path, there seems to be a distinction that this is stupidity and that is wisdom. But later, when one penetrates more deeply, one finds there is no difference between stupidity and wisdom !!!!.
-Visuddhi Magga (A Buddhist Monk)

Here is one doubt a disciple (Majjhima Nikaya) had and queried the preceptor:

"But what makes these 'experts' preach their opinion and call it truth?" asked the inquirer. "Is it an inheritance of humankind to do this, or is it merely something they gain satisfaction from?"
"Apart from consciousness," answered the Buddha, "no absolute truths exist. False reasoning declares one view to be true and another view wrong. It is delight in their dearly held opinions that makes them assert that anyone who disagrees is bound to come to a bad end. But no true seeker becomes embroiled in all this. Pass by peacefully and go a stainless way, free from theories, lusts and dogmas."

From "Buddha Speaks," edited by Anne Bancroft, 2000. Reprinted by arrangement with Shambhala Publications, Boston.

Now our very own home grown sayings:

To utter harsh words when sweet ones would serve
Is like eating unripe fruits when ripe ones are at hand.
-Tirukkural 10: 99-100

Men who conduct themselves virtuously
Are incapable of voicing harmful words, even forgetfully.
-Tirukkural 14:139

So what is the TRUTH???

"The truth is rarely pure and never simple." Oscar Wilde delivers some good news for those of us searching for "the" correctness and truth. We can stop looking. There is truth in everything, but what truth we extract is often a matter of our perspectives. Look for the plain simple truth for the rest of your life, and you will never find it. Look for truth in everything you see, and you will find it every day. And that's the TRUTH

With due respects to everyone, I may hasten to add and take the liberty to reiterate that none of these is my sayings for God’s sake.

But then let me end by putting my two paise bit in the cauldron of heated discussions:
All of us have the CHOICE. Every situation presents you with two paths. You can choose the path of reaction or you can choose the path of action. The first path is not really even about choice. It is the abdication of choice to every little event. You might have left the geyser switch on overnight. Or the printer jams. Or say you spilled Sambhar on your shirt. The first path allows these events to bring you down, because you simply react.

The second path is the path of choice. It is about choosing how you want to feel. Dead car batteries, Sambhar and pickle stains won't bring you down because they do not factor into your choice. If you choose to be happy, you will still be happy. These little events will still be inconvenient, but inconvenience is not the same thing as misery.

Which path will you take today?

Why would anyone speak cruel words?
Having observed the happiness that kind words confer?

And hey! These are no sermons. It is just that I wanted to share some thoughts on ANGER.

"Any person capable of angering you becomes your master; he can
anger you only when you permit yourself to be disturbed by him."

*Epictetus (55-135 AD) Greek Philosopher


Rgds
V V R
4th Mar 06

An Urban Twist to Quondam Phrases

An Urban Twist to Quondam Phrases

(We are familiar with several of these idio (ma) tic, short, pithy expressions; but some of these modern phraseologies seem to go overboard when the city bred use them! (Contributions from my....local......... Ivy League).
A.
Any small object when dropped will hide under a larger object.
A penny saved is ridiculous
All's well that ends.
B.
Be different, act normal.
By the time you can make ends meet, they move the ends.
C.
Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.
Conscience: What hurts when everything else feels so good?
D.
Drive defensively -- buy a tank.
Dinner is ready when the smoke alarm goes off.
Double your drive space - delete Windows!
E.
Enter any 11-digit prime number to continue...........
Everyone has a scheme that will not work.
E = mc^2 +- 3db
F.
Famous Last Words: "Hey! This really is a bottomless pit!!!"
Formula for success: Under-promise and over-deliver. -Tom Peters
Friends come and go but enemies accumulate.
G.
Give me ambiguity or give me something else.
Going the speed of light is bad for your age.
H.
Hard work has a future payoff. Laziness pays off now.
Hard work may not kill me, but why take chances.
He who laughs last probably didn't get the joke.
History is an inaccurate narration of what ought not to have happened.
I.
I have seen the truth and it makes no sense.
I may get older but I refuse to grow up!
I'll have to think twice about it before I give it a second thought.
I'm so poor, I can't even pay attention!
If an experiment works, something has gone wrong.
If you can smile when things go wrong, you have someone in mind to blame.
It's not hard to meet expenses, they're everywhere.
J.
Journalism is merely history's first draft. -Geoffrey C. Ward
Jumping to conclusions can be a bad exercise
K.
Knock. If the doors don't open, the bell may not be working.
L.
Lead me not into temptation. I can find it myself.
Life is what happens to you while you are making other plans.
Logic is a systematic method of coming to the wrong conclusion with confidence.
M.
Make it idiot proof and someone will make a better idiot.
Make sure brain is in gear before engaging mouth.
Matter will be damaged in direct proportion to its value
Mistakes are often the stepping stones to utter failure.
N.
No job is so simple that is can't be done wrong.
No question is so difficult as one to which the answer is obvious.
No sooner said the better.
Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself
O.
One thing is certain. If you can laugh at your troubles, you will always have something to laugh at.
Only adults have difficulty with childproof bottles.
Opportunity always knocks at the least opportune moment.
P.
Photons have mass? I didn't know they were Catholic!
Press any key to continue or any other key to quit...
Press any key... no, no, no, NOT THAT ONE!
Press ESC once to quit, twice to continue...
Q.
Quoting one is plagiarism. Quoting many is research.
R.
Reality is just another point of view.
Reality's the only obstacle to happiness.
Reputation: what others are not thinking about you.
S.
Simplicity is the beginning of all thing complicated.
Success comes in a can. Failure comes in a can not.
Suicidal twin kills sister by mistake!
Survey said: Three out of four people make up 75% of the population.
T.
Take my advice, I'm not using it.
The chief cause of problems is solutions.
The difference between stupidity and genius is that there is a limit to genius.
The highway of life is always under construction
The ideal resume will turn up one day after the position is filled.
The meek shall inherit the earth - - - - they are too weak to refuse.
The trouble with doing nothing is that you never know when you are finished.
There are three types of people -- those who can count, and those who can't.
To err is human, but to really foul things up requires a computer.
U.
Ultimate office automation: networked coffee.
V.
"Very funny, Scotty. Now beam down my clothes."
"Vu Ja De" - the feeling that you've never been anywhere.
V V R? What’s that Very Verbose Rabelaisian doing in a place like this?
W.
When all else fails, read the instructions.
When everyone agrees with me, I know I'm wrong.
When in doubt, do as doubters do.
When the going gets tough, everybody leaves.
When there's a will, I want to be in it.
X.
'Xcess of anything is bad except cash.
Y.
You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.
You get the most of what you need the least.
You never find a lost article until you replace it.
Z.
Zipping though the traffic is a distant dream even while playing computer games.

Ciao
V V R
13th Dec 007

Abhirami Anthadi And Thai Amaavaasyai

Abhirami Anthadi And Thai Amaavaasyai
New Moon days are ideal for introspection and spiritual matters. But Thaimaasa Amaavaasyaas (29th Jan 2006 this time) are special. How come? Well, listen to what my senior friends say.
“Abhirami is the Goddess of Thirukkadavur located on the road linking Mayiladuturai and Tarangampaadi. Lord Shiva who presides over the temple is called Amritha- Ghateswarar. It is believed that while transporting the Nectar (Amritham) got after churning the Ksheerasamudram, the Devas kept a pot of Amritham in Thirukkadavur. This pot fused with the land and became the Shivalingam.
It is also believed that it is at this temple that the Sage Markandeya (16 year old youth) prayed Lord Shiva and escaped from the clutches of death forever. No wonder then, that the conquest of Yama is acknowledged through celebration of 60th (Shashtiabdhapoorthy ) and 80th (Sathaabhishekam) birth anniversaries by hundreds of pilgrims here.
Yes, Muthuswamy Deekshitar's kriti Sankaram Abhirami Manoharam in Kamalamanohari praises this shrine as well. This is a vast temple with 5 praakaarams, imposing towers and ornate mandapams - hailed as one of the 8 Veeratta Sthalams of Shiva. A huge Rajagopuram with attractive stucco images depicting the sthalapuranam adorns its entrance. The Amrita Pushkarini, Kaala Theertham and Maarkandeya Theertham are all located in the temple. The Shankh-abhishekam (abhishekam with a conch) is of great importance here (as mentioned in Deekshitar's kriti as well) in keeping with the belief that Markandeya had performed this form of worship; and the mandapam associated with this is the Shankhu mandapam. Kaalasamhaaramurthy is the fierce form (Ugra) of Shiva, believed to have saved Markandeya from the clutches of Yama (Bhayankara Ghora Roopa - Yama Niigrahanugraha).
More importantly, it is for the above titled song Abhirami Anthadi that this shrine is famous. Abhirami meaning “She who is attractive at all times” is believed to be extremely powerful and fulfills the wishes of all her devotees. Abhirama Bhattar was so devoted to the Goddess that he was ever immersed in praise of Her attributes. This made him go about like a mad man. People even suspected him of practising evil rites. One day Raja Serfoji, the Mahratta king who was ruling over Tanjore visited the temple. The Archakas told him about Abhirama Bhattar. The king while returning to the palace casually asked Abhirama Bhattar the Thithi of that day. Abhirama Bhattar who was at the time visualising the Goddess in his reverie, answered that it was Pournami (Full moon). Raja went his way.
But actually the day was Amaavaasyaa (New moon)- Thai amaavaasyaa in fact. Bhattar realized his mistake soon and felt extremely sorry for having given a wrong information to the king. He then set up 100 rope hangings and hung in them. Below he created a huge fire. He prayed to Goddess Abhirami to help him prove that he was right. This he did by singing 100 stanzas in praise of Abhirami. As soon as one stanza was completed one rope was cut. The stanzas were composed in such a way that the first word of a stanza would have to be the last word of previous stanza (this style of poem is called Anthadhi meaning end-start something akin to anthakshari).It is believed that when he completed the 79th stanza, the Goddess appeared before him and reassured him that she would do the needful. She removed her Thirutthodu (the diamond earstud) and threw it in the sky where it stood stationed. The stud was so sparkling that it appeared like a full moon casting its milky white brightness all around. The Goddess then advised Abhirama Bhattar to go ahead and complete his poem. Bhattar continued and ended with 100 stanzas. Raja Serfoji watching the proceedings realized how great Abhirama Bhattar was and honoured him on the spot.

Each stanza of the poem Abhirami Andhathi is a gem of a poetry in itself. The language however is not the spoken Tamil and this is further complicated by the Anthadi formula making the thought process of the stanza entwined. But my favourite is stanza 32
“AAsaikkadalil akappattu, arul …………………….eesarbhagathu nerizhaye.”-
Meaning, “Being entangled in the ocean of Desire, I would have been dragged to hell to suffer for ever but for your protective lotus feet on which (I) a sinner could rest my head. How shall I sing your grace who occupies (being Shiva’s consort) His left?”
V V R
28th Jan 06

Aeroplane

Pattar, an Aero plane and the Silver Peg Measure
(This is dedicated to our men in uniform in different parts of our great country who in their own quiet way are contributing enormously every day to the cause of humanity and making us proud of our lineage)
PROLOGUE:
(The first Secretary of Canadian Embassy in an interview on NDTV 24X7 on the night of 17th Jun 2005 said that it was a miracle how his wife who was perilously holding on to her dear life got saved from a deep ravine by Indian Air Force Helicopters. The couple were on a trek through a dense jungle a few kms away from Dharmasthala and Kuke Subrahmanya when the lady slipped and fell into a deep and narrow gorge. The weather conditions were not conducive to any rescue operations either.)

The Canadian connection with IAF rang a bell somewhere and my own memories flashed back almost 40 years ago when our gallant men in uniform (at least to my humble mind) did create a history of sort. But let me begin at the very beginning.
Ever since I can remember, I have been fascinated by aero planes. The reason was that except hearing some occasional distant drone or seeing some smoke trails in the sky (which later I knew as ‘jet-trails’) I never saw this mysterious machine from close quarters until the age of ten. That when I saw one for the first time, it was a beautiful metallic toy from Benares which my grand parents gifted me sooner they returned to the S……village, Palghat after their Kaasi Yaatra. Dismantling and re-assembling this craft became a magnificent obsession nay, an escape from ennui for me. I always wanted to become an engine driver. But then it was before I got this toy. My grandpa who was an expert astrologer used to comment rather disdainfully, “This brat will go out of our hands”, (meaning I will not be that traditional kutti vadhyaar). “With his Kujan (Mars) in swakshetram, vargottaman, unblemished and, being the Lord of 10th house, this boy is fit only to learn ‘Kalarippayatthe’-(the famous martial art of Kerala) and nothing else”. He was not far off the mark for I enlisted my self in the Pattaalam to become a professional soldier with no regrets what so ever. I think it was 1967 when I heard this unusual story being related in the bar by one of the sober officers. It went something like this in his own words :
“It was late 60’s and I, a subaltern was posted to P…... One of my secondary duties was the portfolio of Bar member (in-charge of the liquor cellar). At every station I would be handed over this duty. Why? Well, I being a tee-to taller qualified admirably for the post. I could not recognize one drink from another, and hence the cellar would be in safe hands. That’s why!. I totally depended on Gomez (not the real name), the expert barman in-charge at P….. while making arrangements for station parties; and need I say that every party turned out to be a grand success- for Gomez never let me down!
There was never a dull moment for me in the Mess, for I was also in charge of accommodation. One afternoon, the President of the Mess Committee (PMC, normally a senior officer) summoned me and barked his orders, “Boy, we are informed that a team of officers and men from the Canadian Air Force will arrive here soon. We are to accommodate them in our Mess. Make sure that the rooms get spruced up. Now get cracking” This meant lot of work for me in the squadron and in the mess. I wondered why the visitors had to be in our Mess. But then there is this unwritten tenet in Pattalam “Junior officers are only to be seen and not heard!” So I got busy arranging things and spoke not a word. My squadron mates always pulled my leg, ‘Hey, You don’t drink, you don’t smoke, you don’t w…..’ and the list of minor and major vices went on. ‘Then what do you do man for a living? You are a real square peg in a round hole!’ My Squadron Commander always came to my rescue saying, ‘But he is a good spanner’- (meaning an euphemism for an excellent techie). ‘He keeps your birds air-worthy, boys-don’t forget that’
We learnt that our govt had agreed to give away one LIBERATOR aircraft to the Canadian Air Force museum. This workhorse of WW II vintage had long stopped flying, biding their time to be finally written off as scrap. Under the situation, the squadron had its hands full to meet the real challenge of preparing one aircraft airworthy for the Canadians.
Cut to the Tarmac -The team from Canada was a huge contingent of men, material and machinery. They tumbled out of the giant transport aircraft and were welcomed by the Station Commander. Later, they were ushered into their respective rooms in our Mess. Next morning a meeting was held. The Squadron Commander asked them as to when they would like to go for their familiarization sortie. On hearing this they were shocked out of their wits. They had come fully prepared for a stay of at least a couple of months. They had never dreamt of flying this extinct bird all the way back to Canada. Their plan was to dismantle the aircraft, only to be assembled later at the Canadian museum. And here, they were being offered a fully airworthy aircraft with a choice to fly straightaway. Anyway, like all aviators they too were happy and thrilled at the prospects of actually flying the aircraft back to Canada.
However, on their specific request they continued to stay for a couple of weeks. Later, at a formal ceremony, the aircraft was handed over to them, followed by cocktails in our Mess. With Gomez at the helm of affairs, the party went off very well. Quite a few free and frank discussions got underway over the drinks. I was getting restless. For once I thought it would be better to get drunk like others than remain sober! All because every Canadian visitor without exception discussed about the usability or rather the non-usability of the “flushing system” of their attached toilets in their rooms. It was a fact that many of the flushes were inoperative. The PMC, usually a man of no few words gave me a mere stare, which spoke volumes and I thought the matter ended there. But more surprises were in store. Speeches were made. Mementoes were exchanged.
The Canadians had pre- planned to give us a memento specially made and flown in from Canada based on a specific request from their team at P…... Many messages were being exchanged by them at night between their Canadian Air base and P….in India using our W/T channels (Wireless Telegraphy).
Their memento was a unique peg measure for pouring liquor-- all in silver, shaped in the form of an English commode with a flush tank, a chain and the plumbing that goes with it. All one has to do is to pull the chain; and presto a peg measure of whisky will pour into the glass held underneath with the familiar gurgling sound of the flush. At the bottom was this inscription.
“You techies can sure maintain a LIBERATOR but not your Johnnies!”
Far from treating it otherwise, this perhaps was one of the finest compliments we techies could receive on our competence to keep our flying -machines air worthy. Gomez had the honour to receive this memento- the Silver Peg Measure”, concluded my colleague.
I couldn’t agree with him any less!
This memento may still be occupying its pride of place in P……. Air Force Officers’ Mess Bar.” But as for me, my favourite mantel piece which still adorns our mantel at home is the toy plane from Benares .

EPILOGUE
The Project Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), having taken off from the ground, has done the nation proud. The technical team who made it a success deservedly received accolades from every quarter, thus proving they are second to none. Hopefully, the LCA would soon be inducted in squadron service, where the well-knit Air Force “techies” would, get an opportunity to handle yet another machine. Our men behind the flying-machines are the finest lot and would measure up to any demanding situation to prove their mettle. This is neither an under statement nor a misplaced sense of overconfidence, but a conclusion based on years of experience, as a proud Air Force techie.
Wishing them “Nabhah Sprusam Deeptham” (Gita Chap XI, Verse24) the motto of the Air Force “touch the sky with Glory”

V V R (a retreaded Air Vice Marshal) ,
20th Jun 06

Administrative Nightmare

Administrative Nightmare

Dear Sree S Srinivasan,
Thanks for that favourable comment about my 'signature'. Earlier I used the saying ‘Choices are the hinges of destiny' at the end of every mail and now this which you seem to have liked too. But the credit really goes to my (now retired like me) the then Sgt. Thomas my first Clk/GD (Clerk- General duties) by trade, a great soul who taught me 'service writing' when I was a mere subaltern. I had just passed out (I don't know why they use this phrase because it really means something else) from Air Force Training College and posted to a remote unit as a Commanding Officer. I was egoism personified. And this 'Man Friday' Sgt. Thomas brought me to the ground.
"Be brief, and to the point, sir.” he would say "There is no room for frills here (-in service writing). Just the subject, predicate and the object. That's it"
It is strange how things come back to oneself----the memories of the past. Hear this:
I had just finished conducting a COI (Court of Inquiry) on the loss of I Card of an Officer of the neighbouring unit. Since the proceedings were confidential the papers were to be put in the envelopes personally by me. And that was my undoing-not to have kept Sgt. Thomas near me before I sealed them with sealing wax. The originals reached the wrong end where it was not supposed to. The recipient rang me up about the faux pause. But for Sgt. Thomas it was just another slip by a young green thumb, a subaltern.
"Do not worry, sir." he said and produced a draft which read something like this.
"Due to an administrative error, the original of the attached letter was forwarded to you. A new original has been accomplished and forwarded to HQ Wing/JA (Judge Advocate office). Please place this carbon copy in your files and destroy the original."
And I with all my sincerity under my command signed and sent it. Surprisingly the recipients now had no comments. When my Station Commander Gp Capt GHK (an Anglo-Indian) read it he rang up to say “Son, you sure will go a long way up the ladder. We all wear our brains up our sleeves. But after reading your letter I feel you have it at the right place viz. in your boots. And by the way march that Sgt. to orderly room when I visit you next"
Sgt. Thomas and I were much talked about commodities in all the Officers’ bars in Gujarat-Rajasthan sectors for several months thereafter!!!.
And hey! If I may call you Cheenu (fondly), reading your posts in this forum gives me an impression that you've got what it takes to deal with pretty much any problem that comes your way, even if it doesn't quite feel like it. Your posts have bolstered my self-confidence, so you've got to keep that going on, too!
And now our time is up. We both are skating on thin ice. It is not on in this forum, I mean "You scratch my back and I yours." But I decided to use it any way; WHY? Well…….
pustakasyaa tu yaa vidyaa, parahastagataM dhanam.
kaaryakaale samutpanne, na saa vidyaa na taddhanam.

Knowledge that is in note-books in (our) shelves, and (our) money now in the hands of others, both are useless. When time comes for their use neither that knowledge nor that wealth will be available.
Ciao
Warm rgds.
Yours never Unfriendly,
V V R (Air Vice Marshal retired & retreaded)
09-09-007

Agnes & Wikipedia

AGNES and WIKIPEDIA

(We need to be open to the possibility that colleagues and even strangers have information and perspectives that may be of value to us. --Margaret Wheatley)

Agnes D'silva is 78 years old; a widow; a fine lady.
“Aamaam, with a golden heart and an enthusiasm of 16 years young", adds my Sahadharmini.
Agnes came into our lives 'accidentally', quite literally and figuratively. We didn't know her from Adams. She was walking her Pomeranian, tripped and fell in front of our gate. One look at her said that she has had a fracture in her right arm. After cajoling her pet dog deceitfully (luckily it understood our English) Agnes was rushed to the nearest hospital. X-rays confirmed our doubt and for the next few months Agnes's right hand was in plasters putting her out of action. Quite well to do, her son and daughter are both away across the 'ccccccc' (seven seas.). But that was almost a year back. As time passed, we got to know her well as a genuine social worker trying to establish a 'home' for HIV/AIDS affected poor. I of course accept quite gleefully and often shamefully with no inhibitions all her encomiums that she showers now and then on me saying " But for your steering it, the project would not have taken off; meeting the right people at the right time etc etc." I often make sure that when Agnes says these, my sahadharmini too is present because the next morning my coffee will have one extra teaspoon full helping of sugar (so sweet of her). We also helped her out to get her Medical Insurance claim in more measure than what the usual small print said in that policy.
OMG (Oh My God), I am digressing. Yesterday afternoon I got her call. Agnes is always direct. Not for her any preliminaries or exchange of pleasantries.
"Mr. V...............what is Raki? Here in this novel I am reading the hero says he has had a few glasses of Raki and he felt good! Is it some kind of a health drink?” asked Agnes.
"Umm. You got me there. An area which I am not too familiar being not a friend of Bacchus. But give me a little time and I will come back to you." I said.
“What a fauji are you? You don’t drink; you don’t smoke and you call yourself a retired VICE Marshal” admonished the impatient Agnes.
After a few minutes I returned her call and gave her a complete low down on RAKI.--a Turkish drink which when mixed with cold water turns white like milk--a few glasses is enough to send you to the nether world leaving you sweating; hence they even call it Lion’s Milk"
"Mr. V.... where did you get this. It is not in Dictionary. Nor is it in Thesaurus??" said Agnes rather surprised.
"WIKIPEDIA" I said
"What is that?" Agnes asked.
"For that you better come here" I said.
When Agnes sat in front of the compu and grasped its mind boggling power, she insisted then and there that we place an order for her own compu of minimum configuration.
“Agnes, Soon you will be a holy chutzpah (better than your padre) and even a specialist in verbigeration and refrigeration of knowledge.” I laughed.
“Oh Jesus……” cooed Agnes “I can’t understand a word of what you are saying” and left after a friendly wave with her Pomeranian tugging at her.
EPILOGUE
For me one of the many extraordinary stories of the Internet age is that of Wikipedia, the free online encyclopaedia that anyone can edit. This radical and rapidly growing publication, which includes I am told close to 4 million entries, is now a much-used resource.
"One of the biggest problems of the digital divide is the cost of access to information," says Jimmy Wales, 40, the visionary founder of Wikipedia. "We seek to make that cost as close to zero as possible." That said, Wikipedia's accuracy is often questioned: if anyone and every one can edit entries, how do users know if it is as legitimate as established sources such as Encyclopaedia Britannica? An expert-led investigation carried out by Nature Magazine -- the first to use peer review to compare Wikipedia and Britannica -- suggests that, for science articles, their accuracy levels are quite comparable. Unbelievably so.
So any lessons here? Or is it just a blabber?
Well. It is just that in the next interaction I have with any one be it even a stranger, I shall try and discover the value in his or her perspective.

Warm rgds
V V R
03 May 007.

An Instant Vacation

An Instant Vacation: Relaxing At Home
The title of this post could as well have been “The Return of the prodigal Braahmanan” or “Returned Wanderer”; but I opted for the above.
For some inexplicable reason, I believed that relaxation is best pursued outside of the home. As a result, I usually spend months anticipating weeklong vacations, seldom fully appreciating the leisure time I am blessed with on a more regular basis. Now I realized that it is possible to re-experience the same utterly relaxed state I slip into while on holidays within my home's walls. The feelings of serenity I seem to enjoy during any vacation are a product of my outlook rather than the locale. I think one gives oneself permission to enjoy oneself and unwind while on vacation. Now I find that granting myself the same privilege while at home allows me to experience complete relaxation, even when surrounded by routine.

“Our homes can be distracting places as most survival tasks are addressed there.” Opines my senior colleague Nanjundaiah who was also a professor in psychology. “Reviving the tranquility you felt on holiday is as easy as creating an atmosphere that helps you relax. First, divest yourself of the notion that messes must be cleaned up immediately and reaffirm that relaxation is as vital as physical nourishment. Then, set the mood. May be listening to your favourite music that reminds you of a nice vacation destination can put you in a vacation mind-set. Some-times sharing the exotic flavour of a favourite dish with near and dear ones can transport you to a more restful mental space. Finally, put aside your projects and commit to doing only what you consider truly pleasurable. Your responsibilities will wait as you put up your feet and revel in peacefulness that comes from within.”

“If you find it difficult to ignore the temptation to simply fall back into your usual schedule, consider that relaxation should occupy a prominent place on your to-do list.” Continues Nanjundaiah. “You deserve to take ‘your time’ and to care for yourself, even during life's busy periods. While you may not always be able to get away from it all, you can still nurture yourself and regain your peace of mind.”
And that (I mean peace) I regained in ample measure seems to support my senior colleague’s view.
Sitting on the culverts once again in the evening I related excitedly to my friends every detail of the trip my wife and I undertook to the temples and Kaavus. I laid emphasis on the “Aatmeekam” part of it and “Sthalapuraanams” making it sound as though it was a great pilgrimage long overdue. I thought I made a pretty good presentation sans Power Point!! when another senior colleague Suryanarayanan (popularly called Suri with an uncanny knack of rattling out instant made-up stories) had this to say
“Hardly had a few decades passed since His creation, when the good Lord the creator Himself was known to have been pondering as to ‘why at all I created the mankind?’. Reason? Well…….the people bothered Him incessantly with some request or the other to be fulfilled by Him. With no solution in sight, He at once called for a meeting of the council of Devaas.
“Where shall I go and hide?” He asked.
“The top of Himalayas”, said one Devar.
“When Mt. Everest itself has been conquered, what is the guarantee that people won’t reach me there?” questioned God.
“Why not at the bottom of the Pacific ocean?” suggested another.
“Oh even those depths are being measured and accessed with ease these days”, replied the Lord.
“The Moon, the Mars”, shouted some Devaas.
“Even those planets are no more inaccessible for humankind” lamented the good Lord.
That is when one of the Devaas got up and whispered thus into the ears of the Lord.
‘Go Sire! Go and hide in the depth of his heart. That is the only place where he would never think of searching You”
Even today all seem to search for God everywhere except deep down one’s heart.
Uummm…..Pity my memory is short. How many times have I heard during these Navaraathri days “Yaa Devi sarvabhootheshu chethana ithi abhidheeyathe, namah thasmai, namah thasmai, namah thasmai, namo namaha” (Salutations again and again to the Devi who abides in all beings as consciousness)
And again the good Lord had assured “Aham aatmaa Gudaakesa sarva bhoothaashaya sthithaha” (Arjuna, I am the self seated in the heart of all beings)-Gita Ch. X/ verse 20.
When I related this story to my Ardhaangini, and shared my thoughts on our search for peace, she as usual had the last word with her pithy statement, “How true? Like for God so is the saying applicable for peace ---as well….Haven’t you heard? Iduppile kuzhanthayai vaithu oorellaam thedinaalaam?”
I went back to the kitchen to stir the gosmalli sundal with gusto before the ladies troop in for the evening Kolu.
Warm rgds
V V R
30th Sep 06

Ashtaganapathy Visits

Ashtaganapathy visits: (Part I)
(This I dedicate to Sree Nanjundan who suggested that I should write a travelogue based on our recent visits to temples in Maharashtra)


Introduction:
The attached map shows (not to scale) the locations of the 8 Ganesha sthaapanas collectively called Ashtaganapathy. Additionally, we included in the itinerary Bhimashankar Jyotirlingam and Nasrapur (duplicate Tirupathy Venkatesha). We made Pune as HQ and launched out to different places by hiring a taxi covering roughly 1050 Kms totally in 3 days time viz. roughly averaging 350 kms a day. Each day we took off @ 7 AM and reached back home by 6.PM avoiding driving in the dark. The tariff was Rs.6.50 per km for a non a/c Tata Indigo. The toll taxes (quite heavy with several tolls enroute, but well maintained highways by Pivate entrepreneurs) and parking fees were to be borne by us. Of course we did tip handsomely the driver for his excellent service. We totally avoided (except for tea/coffee) eateries outside as there were none worth mentioning near the temples. So our 4 layered Tiffin carrier with home made food and bottles of water came in handy. As there are no good choultries we decided not to stay overnight any where but came home to rest at night. At the end of the trip none of us fell sick nor any one felt fatigued. All in all… a satisfying ennobling experience. One of our Maharashtrian friends wrote out slokas for recitation at each place.
I shall cover in parts the entire trip.
First day:
Ozar: (Pune Dist.) 85 kms from Pune (via Narayangaon; travel direction North).
Shree Vighneswar idol faces east, trunk towards left with Riddi & Siddi, Other idols are SUN, Shiva, Vishnu, and Devi. The only one with Golden dome & pinnacle, huge dwaara paalakas in granite; built 1785. River Kukadi flows nearby.
Sloka:
Bhaktanugrahe Gajamukho Vighneswaro Brahmapam
Nana Murti Dharop: naijamahima Khanda Sadatma Prabhu
Sweccha Vighnahara sadasukhakara sidha kallo swayepum
Ksehtre cha Ozarke namostu satatam tasme parabrahmane.

(Let my mind be concentrated on the God, who is elephant headed, benignant and remover of obstacles. He had defeated demon Vighnasur. He himself is Brahma. His greatness is undisturbed in his different forms. He is the greatest artist, he gives happiness to his devotees, He who abodes at Ozar.)



Lenyadri: (Pune Dist.)100 kms from Pune (via Narayangaon, Junnar on Pune-Nasik high way. Srigirijaatmaja idol facing east tucked away in the 8th cave amongst 18 Buddhist caves. The idol is 7 feet high. It is quite a tough climb...307 steep steps…Parvathi is said to have consecrated the Ganesh idol when she performed penance inside the cave. Puja can be performed on your own.
Sloka:
Mayesh Bhuvaneswari Shivasati Dehashrita Sundari
Vighnesham Sutamaptukam sanhita Kurvetapo Dushkaram
Takhya Bhutprakat Prasanna Varado tishtathaya sthaapitam
Vande Girijaatmaja Parmaj tam Lekhanadri sthitham.

(Mother of universe, beautiful wife of Lord Shiva Goddess Parvati performed long penance of Shri Ganesh & at last obtained Shri Ganesh as her son. I salute Girija Parvati's son Girijatmaj who stays on mountain Lekhanadri (i.e.Lenyadri)

Bhimashankar: 110 kms from Pune in Sahyadri ghat section is one of the 12 Jyotirlingams. This temple is closely associated with the legend of Shiva slaying Tripurasura. Shiva is said to have taken abode in the Bhima form, upon the request of the Gods, on the crest of the Sahyadri hills, and the sweat that poured forth from his body after the battle is said to have formed the river Bheemabharathi. Temple dates back to 18th century. The Sikhara of the temple was built by Peshwa Nana Phadnavees. The great Maratha ruler Shivaji is also said to have made endowments to this temple to facilitate the carrying out, of worship services. As with other Shiva temples in this area, the sanctum is at a lower level.

Shall continue ………….

Ashtaganapathy visits: (Part II)

Backdrop:
Before I proceed with the second day of our travel, I thought I will share with you some pieces of information I gathered here and there. What we notice as Lord Ganesha’s idol of today, with all specifications, came into being, people say when Ganapati Atharvasheersha was written. We do see different moods and modes of Ganesh idols since 6th century. In the beginning Lord Ganesha had only two hands, there after Ganesha came out with 4 hands with Gajamukh and a big belly. Rarely, Ganesha is seen with his trunk twisted on the right side, otherwise it is twisted on left side. Ganesha with right side trunk is supposed to be very rigid in application.
All temples are open from 5.30 AM to 11 PM all days.

Mahad: (Raigarh Dist.), 24kms from Karjat, 6 kms from Khopoli or 120 kms from Pune.
Varadavinayaka as known here, idol facing east, trunk twisted to left, with Riddi & Siddi, 25ft high dome with pinnacle. In the temple of Varadvinayak, one Nandadeep (lamp) is lit and burning for last 107 years. Mahad has beautiful surroundings. In the ancient period it was called as Bhadrak or Mahad & so many sages & sects had resided in this place. In 1725 A.D. Varadvinayaka's temple was built by peshava sardar Ramji Mahadev Biwalkar & he gifted this to the village. There is a Gomukh towards north. Holy water (tirth) comes out of this Gomukh. Devotees can perform Pooja on their own.
Sloka:
Bhaktabhimani Ganaraj Ekam|
Kshetre MadhaKhye Varadam Prasanam|
Yastishtati Shree Varado Ganesham|
Vinayakasta Pranamami BhaktamII

(I salute Ganaraj who is leader of Ganas, who is proud of his devotees & who abodes at
Mahad & has pleasant appearance.)

Pali: (Raigarh Dist.), From Pune via Lonavla & Khopoli, Pali is at a distance of 111 kms. 30 kms. from Karjat. From Mumbai via Panvel & Khopoli, Pali is at a distance of 124 kms.
Shree Ballaleshwar’s original wooden temple was renovated & a new stone temple was built in 1760 A.D. by Peshwa Fadnis. Shape of the stone temple is in the form of letter "Shree" & faces east. During Dakshinayan at sun-rise, the sun rays falls exactly on the Vinayaka. Idol of Vinayaka sitting on stone throne faces east & its trunk is left turned. Temple complex has a big bell made in Europe. After defeating Portuguese in Vasai, Chimaji Appa brought the bell here.
Village Pali is situated between fort Sarasgad & river Amba flowing on the other side. On being pleased by devotion of Ballal, Shri Ganesh remained in the stone worshipped by Ballal & hence is called as Ballaleshwar of Pali. Among Ashtavinayakas, Pali's Ballaleshwar is the only Vinayak who is famous by his devotee's name & who is dressed up as Brahmin. Since Vinayaka gave his darshan in the guise of Brahmin, idol of vinayaka at Pali is dressed up as Brahmin. This place is very famous & spiritually awakened. It is said that in Peshva regime justice was done by taking kaul (answer to the question asked in the form of flower, leaves etc.)from Ballaleshwar.

Vedo Sanstuvaibhavo Gajmukho Bhaktabhimaniyo |
Ballaleravya Subhaktapal Narat; Khyat Sada Tishtati ||
Kshetre Pallipure Yatha Krityuge Chasmistha Laukike |
Bhakterbhavite Murtiman Ganapati Siddhiswar Tam Bhaje ||

(I worshipped God Ganesh, who is elephant headed, who has been praised in vedas, who is popular by the name of his devotee (Ballal),who take care of his devotees & in this kritayuga who abodes is Pallipur or Pali.)

Ranjangaon: On Pune-Ahmednagar Highway via Shikrapur, Ranjangaon is 50 kms. from Pune. Idol facing east is in a crossed legged sitting position with broad forehead & the trunk turned towards the left. Riddhi & Siddhi are installed. It is said that, original idol of Mahaganapati is hidden in a cellar in the basement; has 10 trunks & 20 hands. Meditating on that idol is called Mahaganapati Dhyaanam
Mahaganapati means powerful Ganapati. Mahaganapati has eight, ten or twelve hands. Lord Shiva could conquer Tripurasur (demon) on worshipping Mahaganapati. Therefore it is called Tripurari Varado Mahaganapati. (Lord Shiva is called as Tripurari after his victory over Tripurasur)
Shree Shambhuvarprada Sutapasa Namna Sahastra Swakam |
Datwa Shree Vijay padam shivkar Tasme Prasanna Prabhu ||
Ten Sthapit Eva Sadgunavapu Kshetre Sadatishtati |
Tam vande Manipurke Ganapati Devam Mahant Mudra ||

(Shiva obtained a boon by propitiating Ganesha who stays at Manipur, who gave boon to Mahadev, whose appearance is beautiful & pleasing & who is statue of good qualities.)

Shall continue………….


Ashtaganapathy visits: (Part III)

Background:
There have been many interpretations of Ganesha body. Mudgala Purana seems to explain some. The elephant head denotes wisdom and its trunk represents Om, the sound symbol of cosmic reality. His twisted trunk represents the zigzag path to wisdom. It reminds us that there is no direct path, that we must turn right and left in the search for truth thus adding to the Ganesha sculpture a symbolic meaning about the position of his trunk. One priest told us, if it is turned towards left, it denotes success in the world which is associated with house holders. If it is towards the right, it stands for moksham, good for those who renounce the material world. In lighter vein, when one chooses a Ganesha sculpture, the trunk position be kept in mind as per your requirement. And yes a prayer to Ganesh is invariably accompanied by smashing a coconut, symbolic of smashing the undesirable forces inherent in one self. The significance of the mouse (muushhaka…strangely the Sanskrit word sounds the same) as the vehicle of Ganesha is explained by the Mudgala Purana, although a form called Heramba-Ganapati is depicted as riding a lion. There are also rare references to the peacock as the vehicle in some texts. (ref; Moreswar @ Moregaon described below)

Third Day: We started a little early. We had to accommodate Nasrapur (not Narsapur) as well apart from the 3 Ganesha sthalams.
Theur: is the nearest Ashtavinayaka from Pune. (Distance of 25 km from Pune, Theur is situated on the confluence of the Mula, Mutha & Bhima rivers on Pune Solapur highway, after Hadapsar and Loni, at a distance of 3kms.from Loni, a small road to the left leads to Theur. Don’t miss this turning. Idol facing east is swayambhu and has a left side trunk. There are carbuncle and diamonds in the eyes of Vinayaka. Glowing all the time. Lord Brahma meditated here to subdue his wavering mind. As his worries (chinta) were removed the idol is called Chintamani. The place is called Sthar (stable) or Theur.
Sloka:
Brahma Srushtyadisakta Sthirmatirahittam Pidito Vighnasandhe |
Aakranto Bhutirakta Krutiganrajasa Jeevita Tyaktu Mischina ||
Swatmanan Sarvyakta Ganapatimamal Satyachintamaniyam |
Mukta cha stapayant sthirmatisukhadam sthavare dhudhi Midhe ||

(The one who is in search of happiness, whose mind is wavering like Lord Brahma, who is in the midst all calamities should go to Sthavar means Theur & worship Shree Chintamani & get rid of all Chintas (worries) & calamities.)

Siddhatek: Situated on the banks of river Bhima, in Ahmednagar district. Take Pune - Solapur road via Daund (Daund is 78 kms from Pune and Daund-Siddhatek is another 18kms). Here the roads were bad-real bad. Siddhatek is situated on the banks of river Bhima. Sage Vyasar had performed yagnya (sacrifices) here. It is said that, years ago there was a heap of ashes from this sacrificial fire. However, this place is now covered by water. The swayambhu idol of Shree Siddhivinayaka is placed in brass frame. Brass idols of Jay and Vijay are placed on both sides of Siddhivinayaka. In the sanctum itself there is Shivapanchayatan and goddess Devi's small temple. The idol is swayambhu. facing north with his trunk turned right. Idol is Gajmukh; however belly of the idol is not big. Riddhi & Siddhi are sitting on one lap of Vinayaka. The pradakshana (circumnavigation) of the God is said to be very fruitful. One has to travel 5 kms. To complete one Pradakshana as the idol is attached to the hill itself. We skipped this for want of time.
Sloka;
Sthitho Bhimatire jagadvan kamen Harina |
Vijetu Daityo Tachuti Malbhavou Kaitabhmadhu ||
Mahavighnarten Prakhar Tapasa Seitpado |
Ganesh Siddhisho Girivarvapu Panchjanak ||

(Lord Vishnu, who was beset with calamities, performed penance on mountain Siddhetek on the bank of river Bhima. On receiving a boon from Ganesha, Lord Vishnu could kill the two demons Madhu & Kaitabh. Oh! Lord Siddheswar accept my salutation.)

Moregaon: Moregaon, on the banks of river Karha is in Baramati Taluka. Shape of this place is like a peacock & long ago there were many peacocks here, as such called "Moregaon'. We drove on Pune-Solapur highway. Moregaon lies on the right side of Chaufula at a distance of 79 km from Pune. On the way to Moregaon have darshan of God Khandoba of Jejuri. But we skipped it.
The deity is in sitting posture, facing east with the trunk turning left & smeared with vermillion mixed in oil. On its head is the hood of Nagaraja. On left & right are brass idols of Siddhi & Buddhi. In front of the idol are the Mooshaka & Mayura (Peacock).The original idol of Moreshwar was small in size. As many layers of vermillion got applied on it, it grew bigger. Sometime after 100 &125 years this armour of vermillion casts off by itself & original beautiful idol inside this armour is seen again. The original small idol was made up of atoms of sand, iron & diamonds & it is behind the present statue. It was consecrated by Brahma on its destruction by demon Sindhurasur,
There is a mouse made up of black stone, holding 'Laddu' in his front two legs. On climbing the steps you will see a big 'Nandi in front of Ganapati instead of Lord Shiva!! How come? :-
'Years ago, this Nandi was taken on a cart for its consecration in front of a near by Shivaalaya. However, the cart carrying Nandi broke down in front of Mayureshwara's temple and Nandi sat before Mayureshwar's temple for ever. People tried their best to shift Nandi from this place but Nandi did not move an inch. The artisan had a dream in the night. Nandi appeared in his dream and said, "I want to stay before Mayureshwar only. Don't try to shift me elsewhere forcefully, I won't come." People left with no other alternative, dropped the idea of shifting Nandi to other place. Hence this Nandiji was consecrated before Mayureshwar.

NIJE BHUSWANANDJADBHARAT BHUMYA PARATARE |
TURIYOSTIRE PARAMSUKHDETVA NIVASASI ||
MAYURAYA NATH STAWAMASICH MAYURESH BHAGWAN |
ATASWA SANDHYAYE SHIVHARINI BRAHMAJANAKAM ||

(O! Lord Mayureshwar of Moregaon, you stay on sage jadbharat's land, on the banks of river
Karha which is known as "Bhuswanand' (means happiness on land). Shree Moreshwar, who is far from three qualities, who resembles Omkar, who is always in fourth state of yoga & who rides on peacock mayur accept my salutation.)

With that we completed Ashtavinayaka visits. But since we had in our itinerary Nasrapur I shall describe that shortly……….

Warm rgds
V V R
20th Dec 007

Revelation of Vishnu Sahasranaamam

Revelation of Vishnu Sahasranaamam

I read with interest the two pieces of write-up on the above. First by Sree Raju Easwaran on the 12th; followed by the second of Sree Arun Kashyap on the13th Aug.
I was fortunate to be introduced (among many things in life) to these great slokas by my late father who had the knack of explaining them embellished with small stories. We have in our family a special attachment to these slokas too and I thought I could share some of the things I had been told. According to my dad (and as written in one of the issues in ‘Sruthi Vani’ Malayalam magazine), our ancestors (who were Iyengars perhaps followers of Ramanujacharya) after having been driven out by Tippu Sultan (from somewhere near Mysore) migrated to two villages in Palghat viz. Pallipuram and Tirunellayi where we continue to this day to practise Vaishnavaite Sampradayam or padhatis yet call ourselves ‘Smartha Iyers’. If I remember right one of our respected lady members obliquely and interestingly touched upon this subject of Vaishnavite-Smartha-Iyers’!! in one of her postings to the group.
For instance we start off by saying (during Samkalpam that is) “ Sree Bhagavath Aakhyaya Bhagavath Preetthyartham Sreeman narayana Preethyartham etc etc as different from “ Sree Parameswara Preetthyartham etc etc). Of course we put on Tiru Naamam(3 vertical lines) and not the Vibhuthi (3 horizontal lines). We have at home Vishnu Pooja (Saligramam 300 years old). But over a period of time we have accumulated Shiv-lingas too. We perform Vishvaksena Pooja at the start of everything ( I believe it is equivalent to Ganapathi Pooja etc.)
With this background one can imagine how deep rooted the recital of Vishnu Sahsranamam would be in our homes. My dad I remember mentioning something like this which summarizes the quintessence of the Naamaavali
“The Seers discuss three kinds of wealth - material wealth, knowledge, and devotion. The first two can be attained by anyone irrespective of their character etc. Those who have material wealth or knowledge are praised by the people of this world, and as a result get intoxicated with pride. But the third category of wealth is rewarded and praised by BhagavAn, and does not lead to anything except BhagavAn Himself.Lord RAma during His paTTAbhishekam gave away lots of material gifts to the participants, but He did not give any material gift to HanumAn. When SIta asked RAma about this, He told Her that He has already given to HanumAn what nobody else knows, and that She can find out what it is from HanumAn himself. When asked, HanumAn shows Lord RAma and SItA residing in His heart. This is what VishNu's nAma of ‘mahAdhanah’ indicates (in the following sloka); viz. that He gives away the greatest wealth there is, Himself, to His devotees. SrI Satyadevo VAsishTha adds that He is mahAdhanah because He has wealth that leads to absolute bliss, never diminishes, immense, cannot be counted or measured, and is prayed for by everyone else.” SrI vishNu sahasranAmam - Slokam 46. vistArah sthAvara-sthANuh pramANam bIjam-avyayam artho_'nartho mahA-koSo mahA-bhogo mahA-dhanah I Seek the indulgence from all learned members of the group while I attempt to scratch on the surface of the profound philosophy behind the Slokas the regular recitation of which has indeed brought peace and tranquility in our homes.
V V R
17th Aug 2005.

ON RAVANA & MORE……..

ON RAVANA & MORE……..

The post by ‘Viji’ on ‘Ravana’ made an interesting reading. Say what you may, there is always something for every one in our Epics, Puranas, legends, mythology and the like. One can derive moral lessons or look the other way from the obvious. If as the author says, Ravana’s character shows that ‘piety without virtue is useless’ and highlighted the ‘danger of lust and ego’ I am intrigued at the character TRIJATA an amiable Raakshasi who befriended Sita when she was the captive of Ravana in Lanka, which seems to say that one needn’t get labeled as cruel or virtuous merely because one is born and brought up in not so conducive an environment. Trijata is also called Dharmajna (the meaning is obvious). We are told that Trijata is a kind-hearted ogress who has been standing by the side of Vaidehi ever since she was brought into Ashoka Vana. The poet Kamban refers to her with epithets like 'thaayinum iniyaaL,' one whose love is deeper than the love of one's mother, 'karuththal il sindhayaaL,' one whose mind is not given to dark-thoughts, etc. Trijata, the old demon-lady narrates to her colleagues in Ashoka vana of the dream (that too in the early hours of the dawn which would mean it is bound to come true) that she had in which Rama takes away Sita and Ravana is paraded on a donkey.
"What is the need for you to shed idle tears, O Sita, when I have told you already about my dream?" asks Trijata. 'MunnE sonnEn kaNda kanaavin mudivammaa,' Did I not tell you of my dream earlier? Did I not tell you that this Ravana and his lot would be razed to the ground and that Rama and Lakshmana - the twin lions that I saw in my dream - would emerge victorious? 'pinnE vaaLaa pEdhuruvIrEl pizhai,' If you continue to shed tears for no reason, no. It's wrong. You are not to worry. Not to weep”.
The narration of the dream of Trijata in Valmiki's (Canto XXVII- verse 6—swapno hi adya mayaa drishtah daaruno roma harshanah- meaning --a dream which makes my hair stand on end etc etc….) is relevant. In Kamban's version as well, it says 'I saw Mahalakshmi holding a lamp in her hand, walking from Ravana's palace to the palace of Vibishana,' she says. 'And it was at that time that you woke me up.' 'annayE adhan kurai kaaN endru aayizhai, innamum thuyilga endru iru karam kUppinaaL.' Sita is thrilled. She pleads to the ogress,
"Please go back to sleep. Please resume your sleep and let the rest of the dream appear again, o mother mine!" she tells her with folded hands. But the moving account above - Sita pleading with her to resume her sleep so that the rest of her dream continues - very clearly establishes the kind of relationship that existed between the two of them. Sita stands before her with joined palms and addresses her (the ogress!!) as 'annayE'. Mother mine.
In a later scene, when the war was on, Indrajit (after all he was an expert in sorcery) kills an illusory Sita in the presence of Hanuman. Rama is in the grips of sorrow, crestfallen at the news. At that time Vibishana sees through the grand design of Indrajit. Assuring Sri Rama that nothing untoward could have happened to her, he assumes the form of a bee and reaches Ashoka Vana to come back with the good news. The account of Vibishana to Sri Rama on the safety of Sita contains a reference to Trijata. "I saw her alive in the Ashoka Vana," he tells Rama and continues, 'thIrppadhu thunbam yaan en uyirodu endru uNarndha sindhai,' (I heard her saying) All my sorrow would come to an end only when I die. 'pErppadhu sem solaaL ath thirisadai pEsap pErndhaaL.' But she was relieved of her sorrow as Trijata spoke gentle words, restoring her to her own self.
Trijata plays the role throughout, standing by the side of Janaki whenever the sky darkens. And some say that Trijata was the daughter of vibhishana!!!


Warm regards
V V R
13th Aug 06.

Gayathri Manthram

Gayathri Manthram;
Posting 07Aug 05

I too have attempted here to piece together information on the subject gathered from some of my senior colleagues (as I threw the subject for discussion) when we sat together in the evenings for a chat and exchange of ideas. So pardon my indulgence.
“Gayatri mantram is the sacrifice which all Hindus have been offering daily to God for over 3000 years. By constant chanting of the divine name we purify ourselves.”
“We just did that, didn’t we?” (20th Aug? MitthyAdheetha prAyaschitthArtham; Doshavathu Apathaneeya prAyaschitthArtham; Samvatsara prAyaschitthArtham--- said the samkalpam!!.)
“Chanting has a universal power, requiring neither wealth nor strenuous effort….”
“The Sun symbolizes the divinity which illumines the world. By chanting to it, we meditate upon the radiance of God which sustains and protects the whole Universe.”
“The all pervading power of God permeates everything as the energy of the Sun permeates every atom….”
“The Gayatri mantram… acknowledges God as the master..”
“If due to negligence you could not practise your daily meditation then you have to purify yourself by fasting for a day and a night. If you have given up the Gayatri mantram and want to begin that meditation again, then you have to undergo Upanayanam once again. At least that is what Sage Saunaka seems to have said?” (!!!!!)
“The sacred thread Yajnopavita is the symbol of purity. It reminds you to meditate and maintain that purity. It marks the transformation of the boy into adulthood. The three strands of thread stand for Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. They also symbolize Saraswati, Lakhsmi and Kali; or past, present and future; or the three letters of OM i.e. A, U, M or like some say the three qualities of nature Sattva, rajas, and tamas;” The main knot in the thread is known as Brahmagranthi or the knot of Brahma. This knot protects our body from diseases and evil vibrations.”
“How? Well, that’s another matter altogether. I shall reserve the discussion on that for a later date”
“The Gayatri mantram contains the power of Goddess. When practised regularly, it will bestow on you, blessedness, power, brilliance and illumination. Gayatri meditation is the highest form of meditation known in the Vedas. By practising this meditation three times a day, one attains perfection of body, mind and spirit (suffice to know that it does good to us)”
Now a story, which my own late father related to me once, which may interest
very young readers. (May not be as good as Harry Potter! though)
When Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva were just children, Gayatridevi put them
into a cradle of void (Akasha) or space, that was hung by the chains of the 4 vedas and with OM lullaby, she put them to sleep and the Devi disappeared. After a long time the Trimurtis got up and began crying. They grew up and were wandering in Akasha when they thought of finding their Mother. They sat in meditation for a long time. The fire of their austerity was scorching the universe. So the Universal Mother decided to appear before them. She manifested Her divine form. She came running for Her children to pacify them. The Trimurthis ran to their mother happily. Hence it is said that whenever any one during the times of confusion or difficulty sincerely prays for the Mother reciting the Gayatri Mantram, She is bound to rush to the child’s aid and guide him out of all troubles.
One’s own mother is said to be the first guru to the child. Under her loving care the child grows and follows her instructions. During the sacred thread ceremony the mother fixes a loincloth on the boy and teaches: “My son, treat every woman as your mother up to the age of twenty four. Until that time, maintain brahmacharya. Engage your mind in studying the Holy Scriptures and meditate on the great Gayatri mantram, which will be imparted to you ‘today’ (On the upanayanam day). May therefore Gayatri Devi protect you.” This is a mythological description of Devi Gayatri.

OM

V V R
20th Aug 2005

Query: The act of Charity/Giving

Query: The Act of Charity/Giving.

The question- “are we being selfish when we do charity?” like many other such queries in life is of paradoxical nature, meaning- though seemingly well founded, it is conflicting with our preconceived notion of what is reasonable. To attempt answering would therefore require intense profundity which I admit I do not possess. Nevertheless I thought I should share some of my views however illogical, unsound, mundane and unsavoury it may sound.
In any act of charity two important elements are involved viz. the giver and the recipient (keeping outside the purview of our discussions the item/material doled out during the act). Mercifully, the querist has directed that our focus needs be only on one element namely the giver. He has set the parameters unambiguously clear. He does not require any thesis or dissertation on the recipient, his status, recipient’s worth to deserve, but seeks an answer to the ethics of the act itself albeit through the giver. He wants to know “Isn’t the giver deriving mileage out of giving and being selfish in becoming happy?” To build up the discussions let me overlook the querist’s minor indulgence of presuming that ‘all givers dole out to get happiness for themselves’ which is not the case. But about that later.
Who is this giver? Who is this recipient? Whose item is being dished out? Who are we? Is there a difference? I thought Yajur Veda said “Ishaa vaasyam idam sarvam yatkincha jagatyam jagat? –God resides in all these whatever exists in this world”. So who gives what to whom? Didn’t Krishna remind us- “Aham hi sarvayajnaanaam bhokthaa cha prabhuhu ava cha”-I am the recipient and the Lord of all sacrifices? (Gita 9.24). Next, what is happiness in any case? Who is happy? Is the recipient happy after receiving? Is the giver truly happy before/during/after the act of charity/ gifts? Who knows for sure? Who set the threshold for happiness? Is it permanent? Or is it dynamically shifting? Who has the answers? Are we doing justice in voicing opinions on matters so profound that we know nothing about?
Generous, selfless giving is among dharma's central fulfillments. “Yajna tapah karma na tyaajyam….paavanani maniishinaam..-Acts of sacrifice, gift and penance should not be relinquished…..They when performed purify the heart.” (Gita 18.5) Hospitality, charity and support of God's work on earth arises from the belief that the underlying purpose of life is spiritual, not material. That is why Kahlil Gibran said on ‘giving’- “You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give”. Now when some one does that kind of a giving can we cast aspersions on that giver and say he derives advantage? That he is being selfish? When you help someone, you are bound to feel pure, whole and purposeful. It will be a happier moment than you ever had in weeks before. But can this be taken to being selfish? Mind you there is a whole world of difference here. The giver may not have been motivated to give because of an ulterior motive to derive happiness. He gave and then he realized he was happy. Is that his fault that his giving unwittingly became the causative factor for his happiness?
Years of humble soldiering taught me that one of the qualities that separate us from many other creations on earth is compassion. It is what makes us stand up tall instead of crawling on all fours. And standing up tall is what frees our arms to reach out to a fellow being and say “Let me help you”. Granted that we are not ® not supposed to feel happy in return. In fact a person preparing to march towards spiritualism is expected to be not influenced by pairs of opposites- principle of Dwandvam. “Accept with equanimity both sorrow and happiness at all times”, our Gurus advise us. But till I reach that exalted status my philosophy in essence is the concept of man as a heroic being with his own happiness as the moral purpose of my life, with productive achievement as my noblest activity and reason as my only absolute. Even with the danger of being dubbed as a person of hypocritical humility or selfishness (if you like) I shall continue to go out of my way to help others. Or else why would any one say “Do unto others, as you would have them unto you?” Other wise why would any one say,
Paropakaaraaya phalanthi vrukshaah
Paropakaaraaya vahanthi nadhyaah
Paropakaaraaya dhuhanthi gaavaah
Paropakaaraaya sathaam hi jeevanam
Like many millions I too must have a second job- offering to suffering humanity. As a byproduct, if I get happiness so be it. Of course some people pay a compliment or give charity as if they expect a receipt. That is downright bad. “Asradhayaa hutam dattam…….asad iti uchyate...”(Gita 17.28). I shall be careful not to step into that pothole. On the other hand I shall keep reminding myself “Na eava kinchit aham karomi iti-I do nothing at all”. “Sarvaarambha parityaagi- renouncing the feeling of doer ship in all undertakings”. I have had no occasion to change this attitude as yet. I may be wrong. But I shall correct myself as I trudge along. Like in Mahabharatha, it is stated “I know the right but I do not wish to engage in it. I know the wrong but I do not wish to refrain from it—Jaanaami dharmam na cha me pravruthihi. Jaanaami adharmam na cha me nivruthihi”. Who is nishkalangam in any case? “There is a crack in everything, my son. But that’s how the light gets in as well”, my dad used to say.
Compassion does not mean to be solicitous to someone who appears to be stray, imperfect or needy. It means to look at that individual as we see ourselves; as unique human beings with wants hopes needs dreams and desires. Look at it this way- We have been given this privilege to have some space on this earth. So like Jerold Pamas said “Philanthropy and service is the rent you pay for this very privilege; for the room in the planet.” Stretch the argument further- As a society we have come to a point where people too often treat one another as objects and opportunities, rather than as fellow human beings. Respecting each other as individuals or not doing so seriously impacts the future for all of us. For fear of getting labeled as selfish, are we to lead a life whose theme is simply, “each one for himself?” Isn’t that really selfishness? Is it alright to be immersed only in “my life my achievement, my happiness, my person no matter what the circumstances I might encounter, I care two hoots for others even when they are less fortunate?” Isn’t there an attitudinal deficiency here?
Nowhere is giving better unfolded than in the ancient Tirukural, which
says, "Of all duties, benevolence is unequaled in this world, and even in celestial realms. It is to meet the needs of the deserving that the worthy labour arduously to acquire wealth." Even the poorest Hindu practises charity according to his means. In this unselfish tradition, guests are treated as God (Athithi devo bhava). Friends, acquaintances, even strangers, are humbled by the overwhelming hospitality received. In Assam (during my tenure in Tezpur), the most hospitable Bodos (when being sidelined) used to say “Sir, You can kill a person with hospitality!”
We share with the less fortunate. We care for the aged. We honour Gurus with gifts of food, money and clothes. We encourage the spirit of helping and giving, called daana, within the family, between families and our priestly communities. Many devout Hindus, I am told take the dashama bhaaga vrata, a vow to pay ten percent of their income each month to an institution of their choice to perpetuate Sanaatana Dharma. This centuries-old practice is called dashamamsha. The Vedas wisely warn, "The powerful man should give to one in straits; let him consider the road that lies
ahead! Riches revolve just like a chariot's wheels, coming to one man now, then to another." (My wife wonders when our turn will come to be rich??). “Mera number kab aayega?” she bemoans.
The giving which is made to one who does nothing in return with the idea that it is ones duty to give and with due regard to the place time and recipient of the gift is said to be Satvtic-Daatavyam ithi yad daanam deeyathe anupakaarine, dese kale cha paatre cha thad daanam saatvikam smrutham. (Gita 17.20.)
So be a Master Of Giving.

“Naraseva is Narayanaseva”

For spiritually unfolding ourselves let us learn to give and give and give and give until it hurts. Because that hurt is our block. Many people give and they give generously, up to the point where they feel, "I have given a lot," or "I have given too much," or "I gave as much as I can give," or "I will give more when I can," or "I enjoy giving and I used to give a lot, but I can't give so much right now." These are the little blocks that come up within us, undermine and bind us down to the depths of the negative areas of our subconscious mind. And then we stop progressing.
But when a man has unfolded to the power of giving, he doesn't think about himself so much, because he is spontaneous. He is always looking for an opportunity to do something good for someone else. On the other hand when someone has not unfolded into giving, he thinks about himself a great deal, and he calculates his giving and creates his future limitation.
I have seen this working in reverse gear too. A spiritual person even if he doesn't have material possessions to speak of, always finds something to give; he gives what he has. He knows that he is not the gift, that he is not the giver at all, and when something comes his way, he gives of it freely. He is a vehicle for giving, and finally he is so full of abundance in consciousness that he fulfills his mission in life. If you give and give freely and spontaneously, you feel good about it, and if you do it again, you feel even better about it. But if you give and give selfishly, you feel bad about it, and if you continue to do so, you'll feel worse. “If you give and give spontaneously, you will awaken your inner nature, and spiritual power will flow through you, and you will merge with God within you..But if you give, and give selfishly, by hanging onto your gift after you have given it, you close the door to spirituality”, so says a popular Guru. He continues, “Giving is in many, many forms. The best way is to rely on your intuition. Give freely, and your gift will come back to you often doubled soon after the gift is given. Then this opens the door for another gift to be given out and soon you will find yourself giving every minute of every day in the most spontaneous ways.”
I wonder if Daanaveera Karna was selfish in giving or selfless. But that will be another debate altogether. “Enough of your pazhayasaadam write up taking up much of our computer time “ as some of you complained. So let me stop here.

What we are is God’s gift to us
What we become is our gift to God!
--Found in the net. Author unknown.

Rgds
V V R

KRISHNA: THE ENTERTAINER.

KRISHNA: THE ENTERTAINER.
(This I dedicate to all chidren)

Now a days my fellow members of ‘Secret-8-Ivy league’ (average age being 10 to 11) are busy rehearsing a play they propose to stage on Krishna Jayanthi night in our colony.
“Have you ever acted, uncle?” asked a 5 year old.
What could I say? Are we not all acting day-in and day-out?
“Yes, I have in a similar kind of play titled ‘Bhakta Kuchela’ staged in my village when I too was a boy of five”
“And what were you uncle- Krishna or Sudama?”
“ Neither. I was given a Chaamaram (a fan) by my seniors and was asked to fan the actor
Krishna till the play ended- as a punishment”.
They all laughed.
“How come uncle?”
“Oh, on an earlier occasion I forgot to pull the curtain closed as soon as Kamsa was felled by Krishna. What could I do? It was late night and I fell asleep”.
Again a roar of laughter.
“Alright, uncle please do come for our final dress rehearsal and let us know how you liked it. This is a theme we adopted from a magazine”, said the Director (11 year old)

"veNNaikku aadum perumAL"

The dawn is about to break. It is always better to churn the thayir (yoghurt) just before the Sun is about to rise. Any undue delay may melt the butter making it difficult to gather. Yeshoda prepares to get up; gently puts away the right leg of Kannan thrown carelessly on her lap and without waking him up, she gets up. After the usual morning ablutions and attending to her other chores she gets ready with paanai and matthu to churn out the butter with that sar… sar .. noise. Kalla Krishnan had been awake. Pretending to be fast asleep, his watchful eyes were monitoring his mother’s movements. Hearing the noise, he walks up to Yashoda hugs her from behind and enquires,
“Amma, what is this noise?” as if the Maya Kannan does not know anything at all!
Yashoda could have said, “O it is the butter churning up”. But no; she decides to tell a lie. Or else Krishna will swallow up all the butter, mess the floor by spreading mOr (butter milk) all
over. She no doubt wants to give her Kannan all the butter he wants but Yashoda is afraid of the mischief and the pranks he will let loose making her life miserable for the moment.
“Inside this Paanai, there is a Bhootham (man eating ogre). So run away or else it will catch you”, she tells Krishna.
He holds the whole Universe in his mouth (as shown toYashoda later!)As a babe in the cradle He had handled Poothana. Later Sakataasura, Trinaavrita,Vatsaasura, Bakaasura – all got wiped out by this child.
“Amma, is the ogre really inside?” queries Kannan innocently.
“Yes. Inside it is. And if you do not run away it surely will swallow you”
“But amma, will it not catch you?”
Yashoda is in a great dilemma. One lie usually leads to another. Any way she decides to continue with her pretensions.
“ You see the ogre dare not catch big people”, replies Yashoda.
Immediately Kannan pushes an Oral (mortar) near his mother and stands on top of it.
“Look at me amma. Now I too have become big. The ogre dare not touch me now. Am I right?”
In later period, He who would give Upadesam to Arjuna (when in bewilderment he says (“Chanchalam hi mana: Krishna!...) decides to give some dose to His mother Yashoda!!
“Amma, you want me to run away now. Is it justified? Sooner I leave; the ogre will eat you up. What will the world say? Everyone will blame me saying, ‘look at him, this is the child who let the ogre eat up his mother’. If one’s mother at home is not taken care of, what earthly use is there of Teerttha yaatraa? If one’s hungry mother is not taken care of how will Annadaanam be useful? Mata is one’s first relation. Father comes later followed by others. I will therefore not leave you alone.” says the God child firmly.
Yashoda is tongue-tied.
“So Kannaa! What do you want me to do?” says wearily Yashoda.
“Ha! That’s it. Now you are talking some sense. You could have asked me this earlier. I am here to give you correct advice under all circumstances”
“Alright my son. Let me hear your great advice”, says Yashoda a bit irritant now.
“Amma put both your hands inside the paanai. The ogre who is afraid of me is inside the
Paanai in the garb of vennai (butter) hiding like a coward. Just grab and gather it. Hand over to me and you see I shall swallow it immediately.
Yashoda gets up gathers Kannan in a tight embrace, with tears in her eyes. She gives
Krishna plenty of butter-mouthful and handful of Vennai.
Nandagopan dances in glee.

Epilogue

In the Bhagavatham, the lessons you learn are according to the state of your mind. To understand the glories of the Lord as related in the Bhagavatham, you have to enjoy the leelas of Krishna and realize their inner meaning. Krishna had always eluded the gopikas after playing his mischief. But once, out of compassion for them, he wanted to provide a clue by which they could trace him. One day they all lay in wait round their houses to catch Krishna. Krishna went into a house stealthily, broke a pot of milk and quietly hid himself. The gopikas found that he had broken the pot and tried to trace him. The milk-white steps which he had left revealed to them his hide out. Then, Krishna revealed to them the spiritual truth that if they cling to the feet of the Lord they will realize Him. "Follow my footsteps and you shall find me", Krishna told the gopikas.
The childhood episodes relating to Krishna have an esoteric meaning. For instance, when his mother, Yashoda, chided Krishna for eating mud (as alleged by Balarama), Krishna replied: "Mother am I a child, or a silly brat or a crazy fool to eat mud". In this way Krishna, even though he was a child, He was affirming His divinity indirectly.
Devotees of Krishna subscribe to the concept of lila, or divine play as the central principle of the universe.

Happy Sree Krishna Jayanthi


V V R
23rd Aug 2005

Guru & Goal Setting

Guru & Goal Setting

Sree S..........ji! The day is not far before we get a knock on our knuckles for wasting the valuable time of our fellow members with our Sadhu, morals and Stories and (miss)using (the pun intended to mean ‘avoid’ using) the platform so generously provided by the moderator of the group. So here is my understandably last response titled ‘Setting realistic goals’ albeit through involvement of a Guru (read Sadhu if you like) despite fear of a yellow card being pulled out on us. Any way two is company. Be my guest.

There’s a legend about a group of people who sought the world over for the Guru who would tell them the secret to life. Finally, they discovered he inhabited one of the highest mountain peaks in Tibet. (Alright when it was still independent-ok?). After an arduous climb, they reached the top and found him sitting in his cave.
“What is the secret to life?” they asked. The mystical reply came back, “TANSTAFL”
“And what does TANSTAFL mean, oh holy one?” asked the bewildered group.
The wise old guru was silent for several minutes before he finally answered, “It stands for………….
I get a grown whenever I tell this story, but there is a truth in it that’s a little more subtle than appears at first. Umm….. Have I built up enough tension? Wait a while longer and hear this to know TANSTAFL.
Cut to 1958.
Prof. Chatterjee our humanities lecturer walked into our syndicate A class of 20 (IIT KGP-1958). He asked us to give him a helping hand to push the chairs and tables aside so that we could get some free space in the room. He then placed a hat in the centre of the room. He drew a figure of a small square (1 foot side) with his chalk at a distance of say 4 feet away from the hat. He had a few coins. He called at random each one of us in turn by name; gave us the coins and explained that the idea was to toss as many coins as possible into the hat. He went and sat in a corner taking notes silently. There was chaos, confusion, shouting, consultations and queries seeking all sorts of clarifications. Bur for Chatterjee ‘mum was the word.’ He wouldn’t speak a word and said he, “I have said it all. And that’s it. Period” At the end of the experiment he told us what each one of us was!
We all behaved no different from any of the present day students; but each one carried a uniquely different meaning to Prof. Chatterjee by the way we performed? How? Lemme get serious now.
In an interesting research experiment, children were given plastic rings to toss over a stake in the ground, with no rules on how close to stand. (Note this)
I Some of the children stood way back from the stake and let fly with the rings with little chance of scoring. (like some of us stood as far away as even 6 feet from the hat trying to toss the coins in).
I I Other children went right up to where they were standing over the stake and then dropped the rings over it so that they couldn’t miss at all. (like some of us went close to the hat and dropped all coins with much glee)
I I I Some children went to a reasonably medium distance from the stake and tried from there.(like some of us who went near the marked square and tried from that distance of say 4 feet from the hat to toss the coins) These children (who had been found in an earlier test to possess a high need for achievement) chose to make it an interesting challenge, (as you would have already noted) rather than a wild gamble as the I st group had or a lead pipe cinch as the I I nd group had done.
IV Then there was this group of children who stood at some reasonable distance and tossed the rings. If successful they increased the distance and tried again giving them some more challenge. If unsuccessful they inched a few feet closer and tried until they found an optimum distance for them. (Some of us tried this method too)

So what’s new?

There are no right or wrong methods in this experiment. Consequently there are no right or wrong groups either. And hence it follows there are no right or wrong people too. But each one of us heart of heart knows which group we belong to. It depends on the way we have been brought up; our Vaasanaas. Some of us may be the care free, risk taking fellows, some very conservative cautious types, some may like to challenge their own capacities and some may try to optimize. But the world needs all types. In fact, you can try this out at home on your kids and wives/husbands/relatives/friends. Soon you would know which category each one belongs to. Bye.
Oh! Not so fast you mean. Alright what did the Guru say?
“It stands for ‘There Ain’t No Such Thing As Free Lunch”
Sure, there ain’t no such thing as easy achievement either. If you have a need for a feeling of achievement, you can’t satisfy it by setting a goal so easy you couldn’t have missed. And you can’t take any personal satisfaction in winning by chance either; Lady Luck gets the credit for that not you.
The child ego state in us may choose a goal that’s a cinch. Or we select one that’s such a gamble that fate determines the outcome so that our egos won’t be bruised. The wise who wants to experience the feeling of real achievement will set moderate goals. This way he/she will experience some successes and not frustrate himself/herself unnecessarily. A corollary to the proposition of moderate goal setting is tolerance for temporary failure. We must learn to tolerate mistakes and suffer defeat without losing purpose and motivation. We will have some defeats and some victories. Some time we move ahead, or stand still or even fall back. Life is a series of mistakes and set backs intermingled with victories and successes.
And the last word as usual from my wife, “Why all these lengthy write up? Just say Ellu muriye pani cheithaal, pallu muriye thinnaam.” That is TANSTAFL for her.
I know you sure want to know which category I belong? Uuummm…. “Ask no questions you will be told no lies”

Rgds
V V R
21st Jun 06

God demands, “Just that; and no other”?

God demands, “Just that; and no other”?

At some time or the other we all must have heard or lucky few may even have experienced the incredible power of prayer in healing and redeeming. A vow (a sort of promise) (Vazhipaadukal) is kept with a request for help when faced with a problem that seems to have no solution and later followed up with Thanksgiving (returning of thanks for benefits received). It helps us to appreciate that one shouldn't be too quick to think God doesn't have an answer. It helps to remind that God not only is abundantly able to meet our needs, but willing to work in exceptional ways to do so when necessary. Prayer therefore, means recourse to God. So much of Scripture, it seems, is written to lift us to this higher conviction about God's role in our lives. Even the Christians quote their holy Bible: ‘Ask and it shall be given to you. Seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you’ etc. etc. It's a pervasive theme of Scripture that the God, who created the rules of nature, can bend them when needed to accomplish his purposes. Time and again we see Him performing miracles in people's lives. Reflecting on these examples can help move us beyond the limits we tend to place upon how God might choose to work in our own life. It helps us, too, not to think too narrowly about what constitutes a miracle. It's easy enough to regard some events as miracles. When someone's cancerous tumour disappears overnight without explanation, even an agnostic physician will concede that a miracle has taken place.
Miracles come in many forms. But when ………………Hear this:

“Anybody who has offered the Tulaabhaaram prayer to Guruvaayoorappan will know what an effective prayer it is! There are many miraculous events associated
with that. Let me convey one instance which is known personally to me......
A widowed mother who was advised by her family priest to offer Tulaabhaaram to protect her ailing child prayed accordingly. The family was in dire straits and so she offered coconut husk as the material to be offered in Tulaabhaaram to save the child thinking God will not make a difference between costly materials or coconut husk! Her sincere devotion saved the child from danger. The mother died soon after, but the child remembered the promise about the offering. Being an orphan who was at the mercy of other relatives, he could not however perform the offering as a child....Soon after his basic education, he ran away and joined the armed forces, and gradually rose to the post of a Major in the Indian Army winning many laurels and medals for his gallantry. Due to professional commitments or Divine Design, though he remembered Guruvayoorappan, he could not actually make the offering during his service years. In his 60th year, he
wanted to offer the Tulaabhaaram. But being a man of higher status now, he did not want to offer mere coconut husk....So, he instead wanted to donate Ghee......When he sat in the Tulaabhaaram, much to the surprise of everybody around, the scales were not balanced even after more than 100 kg of ghee tins were placed! Then the authorities asked him whether this was the vow that had been made.....He sheepishly replied "no! My mother had actually made a vow to offer coconut husk equal to my weight when I was 9 years old because we were able to afford only that. But, before she could complete the offering, she died and it took so many years for me to come here and offer the prayer. So, I thought I will offer something that befits my current status!” The authorities advised him to prefer the offering of coconut husk only as that was the thing that was promised to Guruvayoorappan.
When they started placing the coconut husk on the opposite scale, another miracle happened. Only coconut husk weighing about 20 kg. were required to balance the well-built man who must have weighed at least 75 kg! Maybe, this man would have weighed only 20 kg. at the age of 9 years when the prayer was made on his behalf.... Probably, Guruvayoorappan wanted to show that it is devotion that matters to Him. This is not a mere hearsay story...... I can say this with confidence because, it was I who was the young child who was saved from death bed and the man who wanted to offer ghee instead of coconut husk was MYSELF!................

Charana sparsham.

Best regards,
M……………”

Post Script:

Before you charge at me with hammer and tongs and come down like a ton of bricks let me clarify that this real life incident is posted after I got the permission to do so from ‘M….’ a very elderly member of yet another Yahoo-group. (On my request he had agreed thus…., “Regarding the permission to post this in another forum, I wholeheartedly allow you to do that. Glory be to Shri Guruvaayoorappan. My blessings, etc. etc.”)

So when I read this amazing ‘posting’ of that member it left me bewildered no end and thought I could share with the members of this forum as well. Thanks for your time.

Rgds
V V R
02 May 06

Gem from Junk

GEM FROM JUNK
(Dandavat Namaskaram to Sree K V G. “Dhanyosmi”! For any reference to Pandava Gita brings that big lump in my throat and with moist eyes I seek the members’ indulgence when I take this liberty to post this piece which I had written last year for another similar forum.

PROLOGUE

Next month would be my dad’s Aabdikam.
One recent afternoon I was browsing his bookshelf looking for something to read. God was back on my radar screen and I was hungry to read something good about Him. For some unknown reason I was lead to a slim dog- eared book with an indistinct spine. I pulled it down; saw it was this book titled Pandava Gita, opened it up and noticed that it wasn’t one my dad had ever mentioned about. He had in his own hand inscribed to my son. “To V….., Find your Roots! like your great- grandpa. Love, from your grandpa”
I sat down on a chair and flipped dubiously through the first pages. And everything came back in a flash transporting me to those good old days. The book was no more an enigma.
The gem: the book or the Paper Boy?
Sigamani, a rag- picker came into our lives when he was just ten quite accidentally (pun intended). But that was 8/9 years back; for today he may be around nineteen or so. And to say that my old man had some contribution in shaping his life may well be an understatement. So we were not surprised to see him at my dad’s funeral (last year) extending a helping hand to all of us and wiping his own tears now and then as he went about quietly meeting our errands.
“I will be missing Thatha”, was all he could manage then.
Later around 4 PM when my friends, relatives and other mourners departed, Sigamani quietly handed over an envelope to me and was about to make his exit.
“Wait. What’s all this, Mani?” I had enquired.
“Ellai Saar,……uuuummmmm...” He had mumbled something. He was returning to us the loan he had taken from my dad for his bi-cycle; at least so he said because we never knew a thing about it. I promptly gave him back the money and bid him a fond ‘bye’ wishing him good luck.
But let me begin at the very beginning.
It seemed not too long back- one of those foggy winter mornings when my dad cut short his morning walk and came back home rather agitated with this then ten year old boy Sigamani in tow bleeding profusely from a leg injury caused by an accident.
“That reckless two-wheeler knocked this poor boy down. Of course it was not the scooterist’s fault. Nevertheless he didn’t even stop, you know”, my dad had burst out.
My daughter (a doc) administered the first aid and took him to the nearest clinic for further attention. Ever since that day Sigamani became the man ‘Friday’ for my dad. He would trim the grass, tend the plants, wash the car, pluck tender coconuts, and gather flowers for pooja-- all for some handsome pocket money, a nice chat with the old man and some sumptuous lunch. My dad later put him in the nearby government school. On dad’s recommendation, the boy was employed as a part time hand to handle the evening- rush- hour-customers at the grocery stores (owner being a generous naattukkottai chettiaar). In the morning the boy dropped the news papers and milk packets in our colony. Beginning of last year he decided to be more independent and became a Kabaadiwala, collecting old news papers, magazines and junks -- his last stop for the day sometimes being our house. My dad gave him our news papers free and held long parleys, having found in him a patient listener ‘like his grandson’. But in return, my dad was allowed to dig through Sigamani’s day’s collection of old papers, magazines and other junks and buy back what he liked.
“Years of visits to flea- markets have honed my skill to pick up gems from junks! Look at the ‘nice nice’ things these people throw away” my dad would say to my son.
“You are cool Thatha! But then you are dumping those ‘nice nice’ old books on to my shelves and messing it up”, my son would complain.
“De! De! Kazhuthakkii………….” my dad would start.
“I know what you are going to say”, my son would interrupt.
“What?” my dad would question.
“Kazhuthaikki theriyumaa karpoora vaasanai? Right?” my son would guess. He has heard this compliment number of times before.
“Yeah almost." “Bunder kya jaane adrak ki swaad” my dad would try his Hindi.
“Thatha, I am not a monkey and please remember my dad is your son too” my son would remind him. A sign that my son is striving to become his own person.
“That’s the whole point” the ld man would check mate.
Then there will be a roar of laughter. That would be a signal for my wife to join the discussion with an excuse to offer a cuppa to Appa and hear some juicy stories. I would be pricking my ears in the next room thinking “yaar mandai urularatho inrai dinam?”
“These old books tell tales, you know?” my dad would continue justifying his collection of junks.
“Oh?? Like what?” -that would be my son
“Look at this one: Pandava Gita. Have you heard of this?” - my dad would say.
“UUUmm No, Thatha” - my son replying disinterestedly.
How could he have? This was weird stuff to read for a guy who is being fed day in and day out on cricket, football and MTV. How can he appreciate this idea of a God who wants to woo him, court him and love him? Though it sounded weird, my dad’s imploration usually made my son to just go along with it for a while. But by the end my dad would have had him and all of us too firmly in his mesmerizing grip. His description of God made more sense to us than any we had ever have heard before.
“What God wants is for us to allow him to form an intimate relationship with us. He wants to hear from us, talk to us, and journey with us’, my dad would declare to no one in particular.
“See. This book, now thrown as garbage was first published in 1970@ Laburnum Road; Cost Re 1/-; published only 5500 copies. By the way who was Laburnum?” – my dad throws a question at my son.
“Must have been some British administrator, some one like Brabourne?” – ventures my son.
“Thought as much. Your GK can be written on the back of a postage stamp”.—my dad would say.” You know the name Bombay immortalized a city that was Kipling’s birthplace,” my dad would say of the author and poet Rudyard Kipling, the first Briton to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, in 1907. “The name, though, is of Portuguese origin—bom bahia, meaning ‘good bay’.” my dad would add sipping his coffee.
“You know V…., sometimes renaming proposals by politicians are provoked by misplaced beliefs that old names are linked to British or Portuguese colonial history. A couple of years ago, downtown Bombay’s Laburnum Road was to be renamed due to the British ring to the name. Then someone said, “‘But that’s a tree, not an Englishman,’ The road gets its name from the golden-yellow flowered, Indian native laburnum trees lining it. Ha Ha Ha.”—my dad would laugh loud.
Then suddenly my dad becomes serious and continues,
“Bhakti is the language of the heart. Mahabharata, Bhagavata and Vishnu Purana form a glorious trilogy. And found in them are the choicest prayers and out pouring of devotion. But they are voluminous works. So an unknown compiler graciously culled out some flowers of devotion from them and wove them into a garland. This is Pandava Gita. The immortal Vyasa composed the Mahabharata and the Puranas and Pandava Gita is an anthology of prayers from them. Therefore traditionally Vyasa is regarded as the composer of Pandava Gita as well. The anthology however is the labour of love a GEM of an unknown compiler—can you beat that?”
“Out of these 80 odd verses, which is your favourite one, Thatha?” queries my son glancing through the book.
“Uummm difficult to choose. Ok. I’ll put Dhoumya’s prayer on top. And there is a reason for it. By the way do you know who Dhoumya is? I bet you will draw another blank”
“Uummm so ok. Who was it?” my son would ask
“Dhoumya was the Purohit of Pandavas and was always given to study and worship. Yet he had a gnawing feeling of inadequacy about himself. He felt that he had not measured up to the expectations of a righteous life. Those who are truly holy and good are refreshingly free from self-complacency like Dhoumya. Your great-grandpa too was an eminent Shastrigal from a village in Palghat. When asked, he would say ‘as a village priest, my idol is Dhoumya’. I wonder which present day Vadhyaar would hold a similar opinion?” would be my dad’s sad refrain.
We all would notice an unmistakable wetness in the old man’s eyes when he thinks of his scholarly father enmeshed into abject poverty. So all of us except my son depart leaving the old man alone to reminisce.

EPILOGUE

Later I gathered from my son the full story about Dhoumya which went something like this:
“The news of Draupadi Swayamvar was being proclaimed throughout the land. On the suggestion by Kunti, the Pandavas who had been living at one brahmin’s house for long decided to move towards Kampilya of Panchalas. On the way, they met Sage Vyasa who was very happy to know their destination. He said fame and fortune awaited them there. They went ahead after receiving the blessings of the Sage.
During the night they reached the banks of river Ganga. They were tired and wanted to bathe in Ganga. At that time a Gandharva named Chitraratha was there in Ganga with his wives. He became very angry at the intrusion of his privacy and a great fight resulted. Finally the Gandharva pleaded with Yudhisthira. He was pardoned. The Gandharva offered beautiful white horses that never tired. Yudhisthira asked him to keep the horses till such time as when he needed them. Yudhishthira asked the Gandharva to suggest name of a rishi whom he could take as Kulaguru. Chitraratha suggested the name of Sage Dhaumya. The Pandavas were pleased with the suggestion. They approached Dhaumya. Dhaumya gladly accepted to become Kulaguru of the Pandavas.
DHAUMYA THUS BECOMES FAMILY PRIEST OF PANDAVAS
Quite a tale from the gem from the junk! But for me the gem is Sigamani, the paper boy. Why? Well, he could have as well not mentioned anything about the loan he took from my dad. And after my dad’s death none of us would have been any wiser about it! But no. He put the amount in an envelope and returned with grace- an unmistakable stamp of a thorough gentleman. A GEM.

Footnote: My wife tells me that her favourite pick from Pandava Gita is that of Gandhari’s prayer to Krishna
Twameva Mata cha pita twameva
Twameva bandhuscha sakha twameva
Twameva Vidya dravinam twameva
Twameva sarvam mama devadeva
As for me it is what Vasishta says,
Krishnaa ithi mangalam naama yasya vaachi pravartate
Bhasmi bhavanthi thasyaasu mahaapaathakakotayaha
Meaning as soon as one begins to recite the auspicious name ‘Krishna’, crores of his heinous sins turn into ashes (i.e. they are wiped out).
Can a sinner ask for more?
**********
(V V R, 10th Oct 2005)

Yantrasya mama doshena kshamyathaam Madhusoodana/
Aham yantram Bhavaan yantri mama dosho na deeyathaam//

Forgive my defects, O Madhusoodana!I am merely an instrument; Thou its operator; hence,do not consider me at fault.)
Warm regards
V V R
22 Jun 06

GANGA AND THE KAVERI CONNECTION

GANGA AND THE KAVERI CONNECTION

( SROTASAAM ASMI JAAHNNAVI—Gita X-31—Among rivers I am the Ganges)

The post titled “The history of Ganga, the divine river” by Sree Srinivasan Raju Aiyer was quite an eye opener and a wake up call to all who revere and worship the holy river. After giving us such an insight into the mighty Ganga, I couldn’t resist my temptation to pen something more on the Ganga viz. its connection with another holy river Kaveri.
According to a popular legend, once a year during the Tulaamaasa when Sun enters Tulaa Raasi, the river Ganga comes from Kasi, joins Kaveri underground in order to purify herself from the pollution caused by the crowds of sinners who bathe in her (Ganges) waters all the year round!!! People believe Kaveri to be as sacred as the Ganga throughout its course, with the same power to wash off all one’s sins.
Kaveri forms part of the Sapta Sindhu or the ‘Seven Sacred Rivers’. It originates from the Brahmagiri, Talakaveri in the Coorg district (the Western Ghats). There are several legends about how the river Kaveri was created. According to one of the most popular versions, when the Great Ocean was churned by the devas and the asuras in order to obtain amritam, the elixir of life, Lord Vishnu created Mohini, a nonpareil of infinite charm and appeal, to distract the asuras and restore the elixir to the devas. Goddess Lakshmi also sent along Lopamudre, an incarnation of Parvathi, to assist Mohini.
After the elixir was successfully restored to the devas, Mohini retired to Brahmagiri and turned into a rocky cave. Lord Brahma himself adopted Lopamudre as his daughter. After some years Kavera, a sage of renown, came to the Brahmagiri to meditate. Kavera was lonely and prayed to Lord Brahma that he might be blessed with a child. Brahma was pleased by Kavera’s devotion and gave him Lopamudre for a daughter, renaming her ‘Kaveri’.
Kaveri was very keen that her adopted father should have every happiness and prosperity in life as well as a land full of good and happy people. So she returned to Brahmagiri and prayed to Lord Brahma that she might turn into a river and flow through the country, pouring her blessings on the people and turning the land green and fertile. She also prayed that her waters might be so holy that all those who took a dip in it might be freed from all their sins. Brahma granted her both the boons readily and Kaveri was happy.
But something else was to happen to her before the boons could be fulfilled. Sage Agastya happened to see Kaveri when she was deep in meditation on the Brahmagiri. He fell in love with her and asked her to marry him. Although her heart was set on turning into a river of blessings, Kaveri could not refuse sage Agastya. But she made him promise that if ever he left her alone too long she would have the right to forsake him and go her way. Agastya promised and kept his word faithfully for some time.
But one day he got busy in a theological discussion with his disciples and lost track of time. Kaveri waited patiently for a while. After many hours had passed and there was no trace of the sage she jumped into Agastya’s special holy tank and flowed from there like a river. As soon as the disciples of Agastya saw what had happened they tried to stop her from flowing away. But Kaveri promptly went underground and appeared again at Bhaganda Kshetra and flowed on toward Valambari and finally into the Bay of Bengal. And it has been worshipped as a sacred river throughout its course ever since.
And finally those wonderful 12 names of Ganga maataa (one recites after a bath, while wiping ones limbs with a dry cloth?)--- Nalini nandini sita malini ca mahapagavisnu padarghya sambhuta Ganga tri patha gamini bhagirathi bhogavati jahnavi tridasesvari.

Warm rgds
V V R
10th Aug 06.

Kaun Banega Crorepathi-2 : Preparations

Kaun Banega Crorepathi -2: Preparations.

On Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays form 9 to 10 PM none of us at home is available to the world. We all turn into ‘Couch potatoes’ watching the Big B conducting the KBC-2 in a manner only he can do. On the night of 6th August, Amitabh Bachchan, the anchor in KBC-2 programme, posed this question: “In Hindu mythology, which God is known to have died after being shot by an arrow on his heel?”
“Lord Krishna, of course”, I said without waiting for the options.
“Appa, you are ok. Cool.” complimented my son, because the answer was right. The soup tasted better.
But what my family does not know is that I have this hectic parley with ‘the Secret 8’ (the children of the Merry Land School, just opposite to our house) almost every other evening learning these piquant tit–bits through active participation in their pleasantly exciting, appetizing discussions. It took some time to gain admission into their ‘Ivy-league’ as I call it because like in the Ivy league we are 8 of us.( Ivy League as you all know, is a specific group of eight academic institutions. These schools are Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton, and Yale. The league was formed in the 1940s by the presidents of the eight schools to foster intercollegiate football competition "in such a way as to maintain the values of the game, while keeping it in fitting proportion to the main purposes of academic life.)
Let me not digress. Let me get you all straight into a typical conversational quizzing day of our Ivy League, the average age excluding me being twelve. Cut to:
Location: Culvert in front of Merry Land School
Time: After school hours
Participants: Students and 1 Senior Citizen
Subject: Preparation for KBC-2: Hindu Mythology

“These are for those with a serious know-how of Indian Mythology”: so says our 5 year old leader of the group.

“Who was the one who ate up one of the demon pair Ilwal and Batapi!”?
“Is it Agastya?”
“Yes, it is... And he not only ate Ilwal/Batapi, but also drank the whole of the ocean...”

“Who, other than Drona and Arjuna, knew the complete plan of the Chakravyuha?”
“Drona's wife...? Jayadratha? Must be Krishna”.
“This is the tough mythology round.. And no, it is not Kripi.. Nor Jayadratha for that matter. The Divine Krishna's omniscience has to be ignored in this context.. And Krishna considered as the Gwala that he was.. Nope he didn't know it”.
“Does Subhadra count? She fell asleep when Arjuna was telling her about the Chakravyuha, but she only knew, well... half of it. No she does not.. And for the same reason nor does Abhimanyu”
“It's got to be Bhishma and may be also Karna”
“Any hints, uncle?”
“No and no... Just think about the story of how Arjuna came to learn the secret of the Chakravyuha from Drona, and you will reach the answer”..
“Is it Ashwatthama? Drona probably shared the secret with his son”.
“Well the answer I was looking for was 'Ashwatthama'.. Arjuna learnt that Drona was teaching his son secretly,.. He also followed Ashwatthama to the secret place.. And then Drona had to teach them both together... including Chakravyuha..”

“How was the 'Eighth Vasu' known as in his next birth?”
“Well... the eighth Vasu was Bhishma (Devavrata)”
“The answer is indeed Bhishma..”

“Name the two queens of Yayati”
“Sharmishtha and Devayani”
“Right!!”

“Now tell me who was the first (and perhaps only) love of Devayani, and why he refused to marry her”.
“Her father Sukracharya's student: Kach He considered his guru's daughter as his sister.”
“Right!!He did consider Devayani his sister, but for a more profound reason..”

“Name the Shankhs(Conch shells) of Krishna and the 5 Pandavas?”
“That’s easy”, I volunteered
Sri Krishna -PanchajanyaYudhishthira -AnantavijayaBhima -Paundra Arjun -DevaduttaNakula -SughoshaSahadeva -Manipushpak

“There is a particular order in which the incarnations of Vishnu are supposed to have appeared. What’s peculiar about this order?” (This was a classic from my late father)
“Any hints uncle?”
“ UMMM lemme seee. The answer has to do with science...”
Long silence.
“The answer is that the initial few avatars are in the order of evolution of vertebrates: Matsya (fish) >> Kurma (reptile) >> Varaha (mammal) >> Narsimha (higher mammal) >> Vaman (short-statured ape-man??) >> The human avatars
“You are right, uncle - the ten avatars do appear in an evolutionary order!”

“Do you know what is Vishnu's mace or gada called?”
“Vishnu's gada= Kaumudaki”, that response was from the 5 year old. Of course she is armed with Amar Chitra Katha.

“Durvasa is famous for his anger and curses all through the Indian mythology.. But what is that one famous boon that he gave as an exception?”
“Probably you are referring to the incident when Kunti, who was yet unmarried, had served him at her father's palace and Durvasa blessed her with a boon. He said that soon she will be the mother of a brave son! And Karna was thus born!”
“ Ummm ok. But my version is a bit different again: It was Durvasa who gave Kunti the mantra for invoking Gods who would then grant her sons with their own qualities.. And not only Karna, but the Pandavas too were born with the help of that mantra..”

Hmmm.. Too much time for the correct answer...All the same I need to raise the level of my questions a bit..
“What is the hometown of the Yaksha in Meghadootam?”
“As far as I remember, the Yaksha was an attendant of Kubera exiled to Ramtek. So logically his hometown must be Alkapuri. Am I right?”
“The logic is quite right... (Although it was to Ramgiri that the Yaksha was exiled..)”

“How did Nala hear about the woman he married, and how did he send his first message to her?”
“Damayanti, the daughter of king Bhima of Vidarbha was unparalleled in beauty and her renown spread far and wide. The attendants of Nala used to praise her in front of him and same was true of Damayanti's attendants. The first message was sent via a Hansa/swan captured by Nala who told Nala that it would carry his message to Damayanti if he spares its life.”

“Who was Ranchhodji (mythological, not Morarji Desai), and why was he called so?”
“Ranchodji was another name for Krishna/Dwarkadish. I believe he got this title when he ran away from His battle (with Jarasandh). He had lost on 17 previous occasions!”
“Sounds similar to our cricket team”
“Oh shut up you Dude”
“Krishna took all his Yadavas and ran away to Dwarka so that Jarasandh does not cross the sea and come after him”.
“You got the meaning of the name Ranchhodji right! But the explanation is slightly different. It's controversial whether Krishna lost in all 17 pervious battles. (Krishna was a hero and a God: so obviously his fans have tried hard to explain things in his favour). But in the 18th battle Krishna was facing both Jarasandh and Kalyavan. And his encounter with Kalyavan is the famous tactical story of Ranchhodji. About that later.”
“These prove at least one thing that Krishna was so tactful that he even resorted to deception and still remained popular. It seems.. Ranchhodji Krishnji Ran (battle ground) chhodke bahotbar bhagen hain (sometimes even with his mighty brother..)”. That was a comment from the senior most girl member!

“Which king served Kamdhenu's daughter, and got his son as a boon from her? You know that king served Kamdhenu's daughter, and got a son in blessing from her?”(Hint: The story is found in one of Kalidasa's creations. This from the 11 year old Sanskrit Pundit)
“Was it Bhojraj?? ???” I volunteered. I looked silly. “Or am I way off the mark?”
“Yes.. you ARE way off the mark.. uncle””Maybe it would be somewhat easier if I tell you that the creation in question was
'Raghuvamsham' ok? Uncle?
‘ O Alright! it was King Dileep who served Nandini to beget King Raghu.”
“Yes, that's right..” there was a round of applause. I put my collar up.

“On to much more recent mythology now..” That was our Vice President.
“Believe it or not. Tulsidas is said to have been visited by SreeRam and Lakshman once, when he was sitting at a Ghat in Varanasi.. But he didn't realize it was THEM, and sent THEM off after tilak, prasad, and having THEM recite: 'Jai Shri Ram'.. After a while, a parrot made him realize their true identity.. Can you tell me who the parrot really was? Bonus points for telling me what the parrot said..
“Hanuman”, I shouted excitedly and “he said, - chitrakoot ke ghat pe lagi santan ki bhid; tulsidas chandan ghise tilak det raghuvir.
“.Exact-Lee!!! Wow uncle you are cool”
(I only know the difficulty I went through in SIES to learn Hindi and Kabir ke dohe etc.)

“How did Krishna get the name 'Damodar'?
“ I know of a river Damodar, where the Dam refers to bunch of Algae! “
“Yeh! Stop joking yaar. Be serious da””But here it could be ropes with which Yashoda used to tie Krishna up..”, I intervened to
sort out the fight.
“Yup that’s right! “
“Probably refers to the incident when Yashoda tied Krishna to an 'Okhli' and Krishna dragged it in between two Kadamb trees and uprooted them.. and..”
“That’s enough uncle”

“Which of Krishna's wives did he win by 'Haran'?”
“Well, By "haran" you mean theft? is that it?” ”In that case Rukmini would be the one..”
“Yes, Rukmini's right!”

“Who was it that lost one of his/her eyes due to being disrespectful to Seeta?”
“Kaakaasura!”
“You're right! Although Tulsidas refers to him as Jayant..”
“But Jayant is Indra's son.. How he came to be known as KAkASURA is difficult to imagine..”
“That’s not part of the question. So leave it at that”

“In how many re-incarnations did Raavan become unified with Vishnu, and how many would it have taken him if he wanted to do it in a friendly way?
“.Something to do with...Jai and Vijai ? “
“Yes, Vishnu's bodyguards Jai and Vijay were cursed that they would have to be born on earth - 3 times if evil, OR alternatively 7 times if good - before they could come back to Vaikuntham”..

“But do you know why they were cursed?”

Well here goes the story..The learned sage Narad once fell into the influence of Maya, and got enamoured with a girl on earth.. He asked Vishnu to make him handsome for some time.. Vishnu asked him what he wanted to look like.. He asked to look like Hari himself..So Vishnu decided to play a jest with him and gave him the face of Hari (a monkey) instead of Hari (Vishnu himself)..When he was returning red-face) from the girl's house.. the two bodyguards happened to look at him, and could not control their laughter..Narad, already fuming, turned around, and condemned them both to Mrityulok.. It was only after Vishnu appeased him a little, when he assured them that they would return to Vaikuntham after three/seven births..

It would take Seven births to reunite with Vishnu in a friendly way.. While it would take only Three births if he was hostile to gods in each birth. They opted the latter choice obviously to be with the Lord as early as possible even if it meant taking the evil route!

“Is there a moral here?”
“ Hey! You have a set mind da”The three births: Hiranyaksha/ HiranyakashipuRavana/ KumbhakarnaKansa/ ShishupalaThis story, and several others are told in detail in the Baal Kaand of Ram Charit Manas to explain why Vishnu needed to take Avatar ..

THE DAYS PROCEEDINGS CAME TO AN END. THE CHILDREN LEFT ME FORLORN WAITING FOR ANOTHER DAY. But then I had become 5 years younger in their company. I wiped my moist bifocals and put it away. I took a deep breath and reflected on how wonderful my life was. Indeed, I was a rich man. I will always be grateful for the numerous times my children have helped me see things differently. Everything I Really Need to Know, I seem to learn from Children. My wife and I have been blessed with two lovely kids. Early in my role as father, I vowed to do my utmost to help our children realize life’s most precious lessons and to instill core values. I thought I was going to be their teacher. I soon learned it was I who was in training like it happens here with my “Secret 8-the ivy League” I once asked my friend SRP,
“How have you brought the kids up so well?”
“I? By leaving them alone”, he laughed.
That spoke volumes! Didn’t it?

V V R (7th Aug 2005)

For some the good Lord is like us only: no different from us!!

For some the good Lord is like us only: no different from us!!
Last month end the installation ceremony (praanapratishta) of the life-size deities of Sri Jagannatha, Subhadra and Balabhadra was completed in Bhadrak, Orissa. The praanapratishta ceremony was conducted by priests from the Puri Jagannatha temple, and lasted for three days as per one report. So, what’s new? Ever so many such installations are done all over; what is so special? Hear this.
“On the first day, akhanda naama kirtan was inaugurated. Then devotees went in procession to the Salandi river to collect holy water for the Kalashas and for the abhisheka of the deities. Five hundred years ago, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had visited Bhadrak and had bathed at the same spot where the devotees collected the water. As such, this water is very sacred to Gaudiya Vaishnavas.”
And if you do not know already, please be informed that Sri Chaitanya had a Kerala connection too. But about that later.
“The installation was done according to the Puri pantha, where the Lord is seen to perform the lilas of being "born" and then "dying" every 12 years in the navakalevara festival. Every detail of the birth ceremony is performed for Lord Jagannatha, including the tying of the umbilical cord and the burying of the embryonic sack. In Puri there are even specific families who will shave their head and perform the shraaddha ceremony for Lord Jagannatha so that "he can attain Vaikuntha". For some it may be difficult to understand this complex relationship in light of philosophical expositions on the Lord. This mysterious relationship is actually based on complete personal love for the Lord, not on ignorance of His supreme eternal position.
As per the tradition, the Lord was first invoked in a "delivery room" for His birth. The birth of the Lord occurred on ekadashi day, the 23rd of May, at which time devotees were allowed a brief darshan of the Lord without ornaments or alankaras, having just been born with no clothes. Following His birth, the priests were to bathe Him with pancha gavya and panchamrita. Just as the doors were opening for the devotees to have their first glimpse of Lord Jagannatha at His birth, rain began to pour down. It was extremely rare and auspicious for the rain to start at the precise time that it was supposed to.
Following the birth of Lord Jagannatha, the deities were bathed with holy water and sacred substances from the cow (ghee, yoghurt, milk, etc.) from 108 Kalashaas. As the abhisheka began, a rare bird came inside the altar and landed just inches above Balarama's head. He sat there the entire abhisheka (around half an hour) just staring at the deities being bathed. This particular bird is famous for staying in the Jagannatha temple in Puri too.
After the abhisheka, the priests wanted to close the altar, but the bird was refusing to leave. Finally after failing to get the bird to come out, the priests decided the bird should spend the night on the altar with Lord Jagannatha. The next morning, when the priests opened to door to offer naivedyam to the Lord, the bird immediately flew out on its own, never to be seen again.
Many sacred trees planted earlier around the temple, like the Peepal, the Banyan, the Kadamba, Bilva trees, the Champaka tree and many Neem trees have sprouted up and are now all growing well. The Kadamba tree is especially associated with Lord Krishna, as He was very fond of playing with the flowers of this tree, which resemble large round balls. The Peepal tree is worshipped throughout India, and in the Gita Lord Krishna states, ashvatthah sarva-vrikshaanaam, "Amongst all trees, I am the Peepal tree (ashvattha)". In Puri Jagannatha temple there is a Peepal tree that is considered a Kalpa Vriksha.
Early in the morning on the 24th, May the head priest, Sri Nanda Sharma, entered the garbhagriha, along with one assistant, to perform gupta mantra japa, the final rituals for the praanapratishta. While chanting the mantras, twice he fainted. When he came back to consciousness he told the other priest that he had seen a huge effulgence around Jagannatha and lost consciousness. Though he is over 80 years old, for the entire three days he went without eating any food, only absorbed in mantra japa and the pratishta rituals.
On the 24th the Lord prepared to offer His first alankaara darshana to His devotees. Over the previous two days, the devotees were only able to view the Lord for 30 minutes during His birth and abhisheka, so they were very anxious to see the Lord. Finally at 4 pm, following the completion of all the installation rituals and purnahuti, the Lord was dressed in Badashringar Vesha, and garlanded with lotus maalaas consisting of over 2,000 lotuses.

Now the Kerala connection. The origins of the text known as Brahma-samhita (Hymn to the Absolute Truth) are lost in cosmic antiquity. According to Vedic tradition, these "Hymns of Brahma" were recited or sung countless millennia ago by the first created being in the universe, just prior to the act of creation. The text surfaced and entered calculable history early in the sixteen century, when it was discovered by a pilgrim exploring the manuscript library of an ancient temple in what is now Kerala. Prior to the introduction of the printing press, texts like Brahma-samhita existed only in manuscript form, painstakingly handwritten by scribes and kept under brahminical custodianship in temples, where often they are worshipped as sastra-Deity, or God incarnate in holy scripture.
The pilgrim who rescued Brahma-samhita from obscurity was no ordinary pilgrim, and His pilgrimage was not meant, as in the custom, for self-purification but for world-purification. He was Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu--saint, mystic, religious reformer, and as per some full incarnation of the Supreme Lord, Sri Krishna, descending into the present epoch for the salvation of all souls. At the time of His discovery of the text, Sri Chaitanya was touring South India, preaching His message of love of Krishna and promulgating the practice of sankirtana, congregational singing of the holy names of God. Sri Chaitanya commenced this tour shortly after becoming a monk (sannyasi), at age twenty-four, and the tour lasted approximately two years. After a southward journey from Puri (in Orissa State) that carried Him to holy places such as Sri Ranga-kshetra, Setubandha Rameswara, and finally Kanyakumari (Cape Comorin), he turned northward and, traveling along the bank of the Payasvini River In Travancore state, reached the temple of Adi-kesava in Trivandrum district.
Upon beholding the holy image of Adi-kesava (Krishna) in the temple, Chaitanya was overwhelmed with spiritual ecstasy, offered fervent prayers, and chanted and danced in rapture, a wondrous sight that was received with astonished appreciation by the devotees there. After discussing esoteric spiritual matters among some highly advanced devotees present, Sri Chaitanya found "one chapter of the Brahma-samhita" (what we now have as Brahma-samhita is, according to tradition, only one of a hundred chapters composing an epic work lost to humanity). Upon discovering the manuscript, Sri Chaitanya felt great ecstasy and fell into an intense mystic rapture that overflowed onto the physical realm, producing a profusion of tears, trembling, and perspiration. Intuiting the Brahma-samhita to be a "most valuable jewel," He employed a scribe in hand-copying the manuscript and departed with the copy for His return journey to the north.
And my favourite? The very first hymn: ..
Isvarah paramah krishnah
sacchidaananda-vigrahah
anaadir aadir govindah
sarva-kaaranaakaaranam
Krishna who is known as Govinda is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal blissful spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin and He is the prime cause of all causes.
Rgds
Govindam aadi-purusham tam aham bhajaami),
V V R
17th Jun 06.

Focus on Charity

Focus on Charity
The print and the electronic media flashed the news that Bill Gates of Microsoft was to become Full-Time Philanthropist. Bill Gates announced that within two years, he plans to transition into full-time work for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the organization he founded with his wife, which focuses on global health and education. "I believe with great wealth comes great responsibility - the responsibility to give back to society and make sure those resources are given back in the best possible way, to those in need," he said. Gates added, "It's not a retirement, it's a reordering of my priorities."
Our own Narayana Murthy of Infosys too has announced that he would pass the baton to the next-Gen and he along with his wife Sudha Murthy would shift their focus on charity.
It is heartening that such people in their positions with wealth, in whatever form it may be: health, relationships, time, or resources, have decided to immerse in activities that would leverage this privilege for others. This made me recall the following inspiring quotes of Andrew Carnegie, one time world’s richest man.
“This, then, is held to be the duty of the man of wealth: First, to set an example of modest, unostentatious living, shunning display or extravagance; to provide moderately for the legitimate wants of those dependent upon him; and, after doing so, to consider all surplus revenues which come to him simply as trust funds, which he is called upon to administer, and strictly bound as a matter of duty to administer in the manner which, in his judgment, is best calculated to produce the most beneficial results for the community, the man of wealth thus becoming the mere trustee and agent ...” ----- Andrew Carnegie

“Man does not live by bread alone. I have known millionaires starving for lack of the nutriment which alone can sustain all that is human in man, and I know workmen, and many so-called poor men, who revel in luxuries beyond the power of those millionaires to reach. It is the mind that makes the body rich. There is no class so pitiably wretched as that which possesses money and nothing else. Money can only be the useful drudge of things immeasurably higher than itself. Exalted beyond this, as it sometimes is, it remains Caliban still and still plays the beast.”------- Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) @@

@@ (Andrew Carnegie, hailing from an impoverished family was a Scottish-born American businessman, a major philanthropist, and the founder of the Carnegie Steel Co.which later became U S Steel. He is known for having, later in his life, given away most of his riches to fund the establishment of many libraries, schools, and universities in Scotland, America and worldwide. A self made man who wrote his own destiny of ‘rags to riches’)

rgds
V V R
20th jun 06.

Fail Safe Mechanism?..... What is that?

Fail Safe Mechanism?..... What is that?

Any one would dread to be in the shoes of my friend Sree S Subramanian and undergo the experience similar to what he went through when his lady wife had to be rescued from a stuck elevator. Undoubtedly, as he says “Despite all the safety measures provided in an elevator (read any mechanism), they do not seem to be entirely fail-safe”. One couldn’t but agree with him entirely. In fact any maintenance engineer would know that what he has stated is really the principle underlying Murphy’s Law.
Even in systems like space vehicles, nuclear reactors etc where for obvious reasons the designer incorporates the highest safety and standby measures we have had any number of mishaps whatever be the reasons. As one associated in several aircraft accident investigation teams, even these ‘birds’ with all its safety measures and inbuilt stand by systems (of hydraulic, electrical and manual) taking over one by one in sequence during emergency, are prone to ‘strange behaviours’ (I liked those words of Sree SS ). Add to that the human error; you face a fact, “there is no fool-proof, fail-safe method to arrest catastrophic failures even with best of intentions”
Murphy's law is a popular adage which broadly states that things will go wrong in any given situation in which error is possible. "If there's more than one way to do a job, and one of those ways will result in disaster, then somebody will do it that way." It is most commonly formulated as "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong."
The law was named after Major Edward A. Murphy, Jr.,(An American), a development engineer working for a brief time on rocket experiments done by the United States Air Force in 1949.
Accounts differ as to the precise origin of Murphy's law and the details about how it was initially formulated. A project was on for the purpose of testing the human tolerance for g-forces during rapid deceleration. Initial tests used a humanoid crash test dummy strapped to a seat. But subsequent tests were performed by Edward Murphy’s assistant using gauges attached to a harness strapped to a chimpanzee.
The sensors provided a zero reading, however; it became apparent that they had been installed incorrectly, with each sensor wired backwards. It was at this point that Murphy made his pronouncement and in frustration, blamed the failure on his assistant, saying, "If that guy has any way of making a mistake, he will." "Murphy's law" was born; it was condensed to "If it can happen, it will happen," and named for Murphy in mockery. According to some, his father's statement was along the lines of "If there's more than one way to do a job, and one of those ways will result in disaster, then somebody will do it that way."
Murphy's law has taken on many different formulations. The proverb was phrased "Anything That Can Possibly Go Wrong, Does" —'Everything that can possibly go wrong will go wrong'." Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.(My favourite).
Additional mutations of the law and its corollaries have developed into humourous quotes like:
1. A slice of buttered bread, when dropped, will always land butter-side down on a new carpet.
2. When you need an item that is in a heap, it will always be the one at the bottom.
BEST Buses take ages to arrive, but when they do they always arrive in sets of three ( "you wait ages for a bus, then two come along at once!"). There actually is a logical explanation for this: the first bus is slowed down because of the time needed to let passengers get on and off. The subsequent busses are (typically) not allowed to pass the first bus, so you tend to end up with a full bus followed by a line of empty ones.
3. The day you forget your umbrella, it pours with rain.
4. When caught in a traffic jam, the lane that you are in will always be the slowest to move.
5. Nothing is as easy as it looks.
6. Everything takes longer than you think. Or, everything takes twice as long as it should; excepting that which appears easy, taking three times as long.
7. Anything that can go wrong will go wrong, and at the worst possible time.
8. If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong first.
9. If something simply cannot go wrong, it will anyway.
10. If you perceive that there are four possible ways in which a procedure can go wrong, and circumvent these, then a fifth way, unprepared for, will promptly develop.
11. Left to themselves, things tend to go from bad to worse.
12. Nature always sides with the hidden flaw.
13. Every solution breeds new problems.
14. All small objects of value will disappear when set down.
15. An Allegory: If you stop and ask someone for directions, and they tell you "You can't miss it"... then be assured that you will.
16. If you make it idiot-proof, someone will make a better idiot.
17. The day you forget to bring your calculator to Math or Science class, there will be a quiz or test that requires one.
18. A train/bus/plane will be late, unless you are late and need the delay to make it on board

Murphy's Law is sometimes also presented as a life philosophy, an area which is of interest to me now. Call it pessimism if you like but with age I seem to be embodying defensive designs; suspecting in the approach of anything whatsoever, a possible flaw . Then it's always within good measure to take the necessary precautions to make sure that those flaws can't happen. However, this is left open to controversy as my wife puts it bluntly,
“Enna……… of late you have become a Samsaya kudukkai?”
I pretend not to hear her busy with my SoDu Ku.
“I feel father has merely mellowed down to taking less risks”, supports my daughter.

No no. I do not walk up the stairs when the elevator is available. Available? Where? There is no Power supply when you require it most. And the standby generator is not on an automatic ‘take over mode’ thanks to whoever…….

Rgds
V V R
05 Jun 06

EULOGY TO A PATTATHI: AN EARTHY PHILOSOPHER

EULOGY TO A PATTATHI: AN EARTHY PHILOSOPHER

If by philosopher we mean one who acts calmly and rationally in the affairs and changes of life, well, I knew one Pattathi closely. She hailed from a remote village in Palghat, born in a family of twelve, and had a fifth grade education. This academic background, I was to learn later, turned out perhaps to be her biggest asset. Having had no formal schooling or training of any sort, her mind remained unstained, fresh as ever, always receptive and ready to soak in all sorts of ideas. This academic background not withstanding, she acquired varied skills through sheer personal efforts and interaction with people. Migrated from Palghat to Mumbai, she soon spoke better Marathi than most of the Maharashtrians did.
Her managerial abilities would have left many a modern day B-school boys astounded. She had this uncanny knack of understanding people. She would say that there existed a ‘special key’ that could open up even the most awkward individual. She was more of an atheist, but a pragmatic woman. We never heard her exchanging gossip or stories about others or even criticising any one. She was possessive but quick to part with her things if only to see the recipient happy. “Overtime, I have come to understand that some gifts are meant to be passed on and not repaid. For the biggest impact, do it for somebody who knows you have nothing to gain”, she would say.
She was at her best when the chips are down. She could produce outstanding results simply by not making excuses. I have often been struck by the coolness and aplomb displayed by her in emergencies. “Appadi ellaamthaan irukkum”, she would say, when situation became irretrievable; when an avalanche of problems blew you off your feet; when hopelessness stared at you and you were on the verge of giving up! “Things will be like that only” could be the nearest translation for these three words. But any further attempt to explain the import of these words or their underlying philosophy would mean writing a thesis on crisis management. Suffice it to say these words serve as a buffer to absorb the initial impact of any crisis and thus prepare you to take control of the situation thereafter. We have all heard the saying “Don’t just stand there –do something” But her philosophy seemed to dictate that in a crisis, the better advice might be “Don’t just do something-stand there!” What it meant was “Take it easy. Look for silver lining. Think what next?” As hard as it may be at the time you are going through it, every crisis presents an opportunity to test your nerves. It is true that we often have little control over ourselves WHEN we are swept by emotions, but we can have some saying, HOW LONG that emotion will last. Over the years, I was to learn that these words “Appadi ellamthaan irukkum” could indeed be the platform any one could use in times of trouble especially in all high pressure fields from fire fighting to corporate crisis. It helps if not to triumph over adversity, at least to push the odds greatly in your favour.
The first ten years of my childhood was spent with my grandparents in the same remote village in Palghat where she hailed from. There was this village school teacher who doubled up as the village post master who taught the children the 3 ‘R’s at a fee of two annas per month. We had the option to pay the fees in kind in the form of vegetables or bushels of rice. The only study material we were required to carry till fifth class was a black slate and a pencil, which we put to good use while fighting with each other. While this teacher struck terror in our minds in the school, the environment at home was just the opposite. My grand mother was an embodiment of love and compassion-a real comforter. As for my grandpa, being the village Vadhyar was too busy catering to the needs of others rather than our own mundane household requirements. I never thought of him as very emotional and he never was, at least not in front of me. I always saw him as that staunch disciplinarian who rarely cracked a smile. Afternoons were spent in imparting Vedic lessons to not-so-eager disciples, who looked at him with awe and respect at the depth of knowledge and insight he had on matters of religious rites and rituals. He spun the finest of Poonals for the consumption of the entire village equipped with just a couple of “Thakkilis” a device which spun thread out of raw cotton. I was his only errand boy. I loved to run across to the next street to buy fresh ‘Snuff’ (powdered preparation of tobacco) for my grandpa- an addiction he felt perhaps had nothing to do with spiritual or scholastic attainments. By the age of ten, thanks to my unbridled freedom I had transformed almost completely into a village urchin. Before things could get out of control I was packed off to my parents at Mumbai, where my father was struggling to make an honest living. Our house a rented chawl, resembled a transit camp-cum-lodge filled with near and distant relatives all from Palghat, with a singular aim of finding a job. But everything seemed to move with clockwork precision-thanks to this lady who I noted reacted differently from all of us even under stress. Her typical reaction to any difficulty was as though she knew all the time that the crisis was coming- except for its timing. As a result even if she yearned to be a little bit under stress, she never was. At worst she would say,”Appadi ellaamthaan irukkum” and carried on. She quietly helped each one of us to deal with all sorts of pressures. More than a dozen men and women of all hue and types had the privilege of her hospitality for months before they could find their own feet.
There was this particular incident which turned me inside out. It was in the late forties. The nation was passing through difficult times economically. Communal riots were common. Ration had been introduced. Long queues were common sights for kerosene, sugar and food grains. Rice being a rarity, we had to make good with Cholam. Our small rented house in the chawl was already bursting at its seams, when a couple with their new born baby girl dropped in from Karachi lock, stock and barrel, because the bread winner had sought from his employer The Grindlays Bank a transfer to Mumbai from Karachi. This meant stretching our meagre resources and facilities further. I was too young to even voice any opinion, but all the same I decided to lodge a mild protest. “Appadi ellaamthaan irukkum”, she shot back those three words. “It is important to give encouragement for family and friends, because their happiness and yours are inseparable”, she added. The impact on my young mind was instant. From then on I learnt that calm acceptance of even the most difficult situation is what life was all about. Those three words became the underlying philosophy of my life.
My forced migration from Palghat to Mumbai and the schooling years in SIES that followed was to become nightmare for me. I knew to read and write; but only in Malayalam. Nothing else. Here in Mumbai I was expected to pick up subjects in class six taught wholly in English. I made such a fool of myself that I became the butt of every joke providing free entertainment to the class. But then SHE came to my rescue. She took care not to belittle me for falling behind in class. On the other hand I was praised and prodded.
“Keep at it. You can top in the school”, she said.
“Me?’. I asked.
“Why not?” she dared. “Try and you can do it”
At that time I looked at her in disbelief. How could she know the choking fear I felt each morning? Night after night I would struggle with language and Maths problems only to discover I had them all wrong. On our first major exam I just scraped through in Maths (thanks to Muthuswami Iyer), with single digit marks in all other subjects. That evening I confronted her.
“I don’t belong with other students”, I said.
“So? What do you want?” she asked.
“I don’t want to fail’, I mumbled.
“You won’t. And I won’t let you quit as long as you are willing to do your best”, she commanded.
For the first time I was being asked to probe the limits of my potential. She was demanding excellence from me, and I decided to give it a try. And I never looked back. She made me top in the school. Principal Paramewsara Iyer was pleased. She succeeded in pushing me through Xavier’s College, IIT Kharagpur and helped me to become a professional soldier- all out of a rustic village bumpkin.
I have during my spare time tried to understand what life was all about. I read quite a few books on philosophy and religion. I tried to understand God and man, good and evil, virtue and vice, cleanliness and filth, heaven and hell, but never understood a thing. Over the years I have come to know that nothing we earn, none of the things that we accumulate belongs to us. I learnt to handle the rarest of rare resources as wisely as possible and to use what little money we had for the good of the greatest number. It is amazing how much work a well-knit family can get done when every one is working together and being of service to people who really need the help.
So when I got a call from Mumbai saying “She” was sinking, I took the first available flight to be at her side. But it was too late. She died of cardiac arrest. There were telephonic condolences pouring in from Singapore, Muscat, USA, and several parts of India-all confiding that her sacrifices defied reciprocation. I wept till there were no tears left in my eyes. Then I heard her voice:”Appadi ellaamthaan irukkum”. I knew she would not approve of my emotional out burst.
I know this for sure because this Pattathi was my mother!

Essence of Lord Hanuman:

Essence of Lord Hanuman
I took a print out of the above posting by one of our fellow members (ref: 26th Sep; Q & A by His Holiness Shri Datta Swami) which became a sort of piece-de- resistance during our evening discussions. I have, specially for the consumption of the tiny tots attempted here to piece together the various inputs my colleagues gave me on the subject.
“Hanuman is the son of a cursed apsara, a celestial, named Punjisthala, who by curse becomes Anjana, a female monkey. (Hence Hanuman is also called Änjanèya). She is the wife of Kèsari, a mighty monkey who once killed a huge elephant that caused trouble to sages and hermits. He therefore got the name of Kèsari, namely the lion, and is also called kunjara südana, the elephant killer.
One day when Anjana was on a mountain peak, Vayu Deva, the Wind-god, came nearby, and generated a forceful blow of air, so that her clothes slipped off from her body. The Wind-god was incited by her charm and possessed her, with her consent. She thus gave birth to Hanuman. Hanuman's birthday is celebrated as Hanumad Jayanti.
Hanuman grew up and inherited his father's qualities of quick flying, forceful travel, and mighty strength. Soon after his birth he saw the Sun, thought it to be a ripe fruit and took flight to catch hold of the Sun to eat. Indra, the administrator of universal laws, observed this. He hurled his weapon, the Thunderbolt, which struck Hanuman on his cheeks. Hanuman fell down on earth and swooned. The Wind-god, Hanuman's father, resented this and went into seclusion. This caused choking deaths and asphyxiation to all the living beings. To pacify Air-god, Indra withdrew the effect of his Thunderbolt, which had cut Hanuman's two cheeks. Thus he is called Hanuman, for hanuhH in Sanskrit is the word for cheek.
Brahma blessed Hanuman with a diamond-like body, even invincible to a brahma- astra, a super missile, and made him immortal. That is why when Ravana’s son Indrajit uses a brahma-astra, (in Sundara Kanda Valmiki Ramayana says)… “Though Hanuman knows the release from brahma-astra, he was silent due to his respect for Brahma…”
He is deathless, a chiranjeevi. He can leave his mortal body whenever he desires to do so. This is called icchaa maranam, dying at will. This is what Bhishma pitamaha does in Mahabharata, when he wants to live up to some time on the bed of sharp arrows in the war field itself.
One very important fact about Hanuman is: He is the fourth and the only other person in the Mahabharata to have heard The Gita from the mouth of Sri Krishna himself, the other four being Arjuna, Sanjaya and Dhritarashtra. He heard it by settling on the flag of the chariot of Arjuna which carried the Hanuman picture. It is also said that this was a boon that he asked of Lord Vishnu. He wanted to be of some assistance to the next avatar (incarnation) of Vishnu and he was granted the permission to be on Arjuna's chariot of whom Krishna was the charioteer in the war of Mahabharata.
Hanuman is also worshipped as five faced God - Panchamukha Hanuman. The origin of Sri Panchamukha Anjaneya Swami can be traced to a story in the Ramayana. During the war between Lord Rama and Ravana, Ravana took the help of a Demon Mahiravana, who was the king of pathala (Lower worlds). Anjaneya in order to protect Lord Rama and Lakshmana formed a fortress with his tail. But Mahiravana took the form of Vibheeshana and took Lord Rama and Lakshmana to pathalaloka. Anjaneya entered pathala in search of Rama and Lakshmana. He found out that to kill Mahiravana he had to extinguish 5 lamps simultaneously. So he took the Panchamukha form with Anjaneya, Hayagriva, Narasimha, Garuda and Varaha faces and extinguished the lamps. Mahiravana was killed immediately.
The story apart, Sri Panchamukha Anjaneya Swami was the main deity of Sri Raghavendra Tirtha, the saint of Mantralaya. The place where he meditated on Panchamukha Anjaneya Swami is now known as Panchamukhi, wherein a temple for Panchamukha Anjaneya Swami has been built. There is also a shrine for Panchamukha Anjaneya Swami at Kumbakonam. A 40 tall monolithic green granite idol of Sri Panchamukha Hanuman has been installed in Tiruvallur.

Children can recite the following two lines every day.
It is said that when recited every day all difficulties disappear and Lakshmi kataaksham results.

Panchamukha Hanuumadswarupam
Panchamukheshu maddhye Veeraanjaneya Hanuumathe rudra veeryo mukhascha!
Mukho hayagreeva Nrusimhasthu vaame thathaa dakshine gaarudo varaaha!!

V V R
29th Sep 2005

Double meaning

DOUBLE ENTENDRE OR DOUBLE MEANING

“No. No. You got me wrong. I didn’t mean that”- How many times have we heard such utterances from people in our day to day conversation? The fact is that no language is free from words and phrases which could have ‘double meaning’. English is no exception. Hear this one.
My senior colleague Ramakrishna is a remarkable individual. An agent for LIC, UTI, MFs, Shares, Bonds and what have you; he is a walking-talking encyclopedia on mythology as well. He does not look a day older than fifty though his actual age should be around eighties. He and his BSA-SLR bicycle are inseparable. At the drop of a hat he would be at Tirumala and when he is back he would have the famous laadoo for my (now late) father as prasaadam. For such a man to be confined at home, it had to be none other than the ‘cataract’ operation he had to undergo. The docs advised him rest for a fortnight. His feelings? “I have been handed over a sentence of R I”, he lamented.
“So what has these to do with Double Meaning? For Heaven’s sake, come to the point.” I can hear the readers saying.
Well take the word “Cataract” for instance. For me this word always brings back memories of SIES, King Circle, Bombay when my favourite pan-chewing, large framed, benign English teacher and school Headmaster of Pallasena origin Sree P V Parameswara Iyer, ever immaculately dressed, suited and booted with his large kumkuma pottu unfolding the beauty of poetries, elaborating the intricacies of the words and their purport as conceived by the poets who wrote them. I do not know from where he pulled out that day the poem titled “The Cataract of Lodore” by Robert Southey. But he shot out an open question to our class of thirty, “What does the word Cataract mean?” Without exception every one answered the obvious, “A cataract is the clouding of the eye’s natural lens. It can be corrected through surgery etc etc.” Sree PVP was not impressed. He had set his trap alright and every one got ensnared.
“So Raman? (That’s what he used to call me) what have you to say?” he stared at me over the lowered thin gold plated spectacle frame.
“Sir, I have read the poem before.” I confessed. Here it means ‘waterfall’”, I finished saying. I could feel that if I were close enough, Sree PVP would have hugged me. So I was given the honour to read out the poem to the class.
“So what is so great about it?” you may ask. Well…The incident left a lasting impression in me…….. Guru/Sishya relationship.
The Lodore falls flows down the valley over the edge into Borrowdale as beautiful as our own cataract of the Jog (falls) of Karnataka best seen after the rains! Robert Southey immortalized in his stunning poem the beauty of the falls. The poet laureate was actually yielding to the pleading of school children to describe the falls. The poem is a glory hole of magical description where Southey uses around 150 adjectives to describe how the water comes down at Lodore. Read it (The Cataract of Lodore) at the attachment below and become a child again: (don’t worry it is virus scanned)
Nearer home I have this story related to us by my late father ever so many times about ‘Meppattur Bhattatiri in a dilemma’. While Bhattatiri was spending his time in devotion at Guruvayoor, a worldly minded Namboodiri approached him with a strange request. He had quarreled with his mistress, and thought of effecting reconciliation with her by presenting her with a highly complimentary verse expressive of his love. Though himself without any learning or poetical talents he had the temerity to approach Bhattatiri with the request to compose such a verse for him evidently with the idea of passing it on as his own. Bhattatiri was in a fix. As a devotee he was bound not to use the divine gift of poetical talents for such purposes as composing erotic verses, but at the same time he did not want to disappoint his friend who was in great distress. So he composed the following verse with the double entendre, apparently erotic but really deeply devotional.
Narayaneeya Karunaa manojnaa seivaarthaneeyaa surathah uthsukaanaam/
Punyena labhyaa yadi labhyathe saa vasuvyayo api utsava eva nrunaam//
“The goodwill of Narayani (the name of the lady) is the one desirable thing which a lovelorn person should seek to obtain. Only by great good fortune can one have it. To obtain it one will not consider even the expenditure of all one’s wealth as misfortune.”
The real devotional import the poet has in mind and which could be obtained by a little change in construing it is: “The quality of grace belonging to Narayana (the Supreme Being) is the most desirable objective. That alone is to be prayed for by those who aspire after divinity. It is to be obtained only by one who has an abundance of good deeds to his credit. A devotee will joyfully sacrifice even his life to attain it.”

So I cannot be blamed entirely if to unwind myself I always remain intrigued, fatally attracted by Double Meanings, slips, puns, spoonerisms, and word plays always wondering whether what it reflects is in reality what it means; to laugh at the joke, to analyze it and then to laugh at it even more the next time.

Charles V, King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor, is reported to have said,
"I speak Spanish to God, Italian to women, French to men and German to my horse." One wonders how he would have completed, "and Sanskrit to…...” God’s own language full of wit and charm, embodying a deep appreciation of human and celestial behaviour in all its colorful manifestations.
You are richer today if you have laughed, given or forgiven!
-Anonymous.

rgds
V V R
17th Jul 06.

Cry Rivers

DO CRY ‘RIVERS’ OR EVEN ‘NIAGARA FALLS’ IF YOU MUST TO FEEL BETTER
(I dedicate this to all our nucleus families which we all know… is the most powerful composite unit designed to weather any storm)
“Those things that hurt, instruct.”
-Benjamin Franklin
PROLOGUE
Laughter is hailed as the best medicine; crying the other uniquely human attribute has been given a short shrift by all (except the first cry of the new born of course). Is this fair?
A Yiddish proverb says, "What soap is for the baby, tears are for the soul." Many religious traditions consider the act of crying a gift from God. There is strength in tears. We weep with gratitude over all the amazing gifts from God that come our way. We cry when we share moments of great elation with others. Tears enable us to get in touch with our deepest feelings. They help us express our grief at endings and the loss of those who are precious to us. Weeping arises from the heart and signifies an open and softened heart. Perhaps that is why people are embarrassed to cry; they do not want to reveal their vulnerability. But even if crying is relegated to privacy, behind closed doors, it is undoubtedly a safety valve which must function in times of extreme distress or else……. Remember? Your good old poem in school of --Alfred Lord Tennyson.? A dead soldier’s grief- stricken- wife was so shocked that she couldn’t even cry? It goes like this:
Home they brought her warrior dead:
She nor swooned, nor uttered cry:
All her maidens, watching, said,
‘She must weep or she will die.’

Then they praised him, soft and low,
Call'd him worthy to be loved,
Truest friend and noblest foe;
Yet she neither spoke nor moved.

Stole a maiden from her place,
Lightly to the warrior stepped,
Took the face-cloth from the face;
Yet she neither moved nor wept.

Rose a nurse of ninety years,
Set his child upon her knee--
Like summer tempest came her tears—
"Sweet my child, I live for thee."

So the damn bursts, when an old experienced lady pushes her small child in front of the woman. She cries and the healing begins for after all she had to live for her kid if nothing else!!! How poignant!!
One reader in his letter to the editor (ToI dated 8th Oct) had quoted an interesting observation by Sri Ramakrishna about tears. “Tears of repentance or sorrow flow from the corners of the eyes nearest the nose and those of joy from the outer corners of the eyes”.
So cry one must. If it is of any consolation, studies have proved that men weep an average of 1.4 times a month while women cry about 5.3 times monthly. But no debate please as to whose mind is fragile. Perhaps it is time to reclaim your tears as this incident in my life may indicate.

THE INCIDENT
The shock of events of the past few hours on that day had overwhelmed me all at once. Years since that cold day in January I still remember it like it was yesterday. (I guess to me it always will be ).Rain poured down as if it desperately needed to rid itself of all moisture; as if the clouds felt that they had to wring out all the water that night, that very night or else the world would come to a drastic end. To me that "end" seemed to come anyway. My body felt numb. While the world was moving along, I felt removed from it.
We had just lost our beautiful twenty seven-day-old grand child (girl). Diagnosis: SIDS, (sudden infant death syndrome). It was only a day before that my daughter had spoken with us. It was a routine cheerful call, like the one she often made- all was well…...and the very next call said, little Roochi could not be awakened from her nap. My daughter herself a doctor had tried in vain all attempts at revival. It was too late. Little Roochi was gone.
Hundreds of miles away I was fatigued as I settled into the chair. I had had no sleep. I began to reflect on the past hours, trying desperately to make some sense of it all. Why had Roochi, the child we all had waited so long for, been taken away so soon...she had barely begun her life... "God, she was just a child. How could a life so young be stolen so quickly?” No reply.
I got infuriated with Him. The question kept coming, and the pain in my heart just enveloped me. That was when my father spoke, "We don't fully understand what part we have in God's plan, my son. Perhaps Roochi had already completed her mission on earth. Right now your daughter needs you both more than any one else. Holding the family together can be summed up in one word: LOVE. Go son. Be with her" Those words didn't ease the bitterness that was creeping in. The next few hours were a blur. Ten hours later, we were with our daughter. I resigned my lucrative job.
The next morning dawned. More decisions, arrangements, telephone calls and funeral plans. When you've just lost a child, how can healing begin?
I remember long time back my dad asking my then 18-year-old daughter, L…, what her life’s big questions were. She had said that she didn't think much about spiritual things, and instead stewed about colleges, career, clothes and friends. But a short time later, over lunch she had come up with a big one: "Why is everything always being taken away, grandpa?" But that was long time back still in her teens when she lost some thing very insignificant in college and not quite as precious as her kid. She was at an awkward age too- too young to experience life on her own, yet too old to have it spoon-fed to her. She had always wanted to be independent; almost a rebel, who never took life too seriously and never conformed to rules unless she was entirely sure what purpose they were meant to serve.
And to go along with this conundrum comes the question "How does one stay positive in the midst of constant loss and suffering?"
My old man had responded to her something like this.
“Change is the law. The more we resist that universal fact, that reality, the more we suffer. The harder we try to grip and hold onto that which is passing through our fingers, the more we get rope burn. That is simply the truth. It is in our higher self-interest to learn to loosen our grip, unwind, and learn to forget”.
"You mean ‘Kiss the joy as it flies, and live in eternity’s sunrise’ as William Blake sang?” I had said in jest at that time.
“Things come and go, my child. All that are born die. The seasons pass, arriving and disappearing. The good and the bad news at once is that the old gives out and gives way to the new. We too follow the same course. Let’s think about what we do while here, and what we make of whatever hand we happen to have been dealt. ‘Whenever a door closes, a window opens elsewhere’. So keep going, remain optimistic, as well as realistic”, he had said-so relevant all the time.
But Roochi had left her mother in a devastating state due to the trauma and the shock she was put through.
“I saw her lying . . . still. No movement. Although I could have sworn that at any moment she was just going to smile up out of the baby blue bed that she rested in and bring peace to a room full of grief” my daughter had poured out to me drifting further into despair, insomnia and severe anxiety leading to stress induced IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). She had gone a week with only about six hours of sleep. It didn't even look like her. It wasn't her. Too long I glared at her. Questions running through my mind like a fast train at a speed so high to comprehend that I felt like I was losing my mind too.
I went online with my sister (an eminent doc at M…..). I told her what I was going through. She called me immediately. “Anna, to treat any Doc. is tough. And L…. is no exception. She is intelligent too. Right now she needs us all the time. She is going through a trauma, - ‘a silent grief’. Keep her engaged, give reassurance that we all are with her and soon she would come out a winner.” My sister became an angel to me as she lent me her strength and courage. She encouraged me to seek medical help and get the medication that my daughter so badly needed - and to not be afraid to do so. She was on call for me at all hours of the day and night and insisted that I call her whenever I felt the need. She talked to my daughter at 1am, 2am, 3am, 10pm, midnight, etc. for days, exchanging notes on seemingly unimportant irrelevant things until her medication began to work. We had a standing appointment for a phone call each night after my sister got home from work. My sister went without sleep herself many nights to be there for us when I needed to talk. She was calm, reassuring, and compassionate. She helped me to believe in myself, to value myself as a human being. I believe through her my daughter came out of the desperate situation.
There are times on our Journey through the huge-ness of life that we feel lost, unloved, helpless and defeated. What do we do when we find ourselves in such an unhappy state? Some of us escape into the land of danger and defeat. We "get out of ourselves" by drinking too much, or taking drugs, or feeling sorry for ourselves, or complaining, or whatever else that stops us from doing what is truly necessary...and that is taking responsibility for our own experience of life. And we look out at the world with envy imagining that everyone else out there has been given a more fulfilling and enjoyable life than we have. Not good!
“There are many healthier and happier alternatives. One of these alternatives, which is simple but HUGE in its force, is to "get out of ourselves" by getting involved in the lives of others who are less fortunate.” I had gently suggested to my daughter.
“Any time you feel yourself in a depressed and unhappy state, immediately get up and get out to help the world in any way you can. And as you make helping others a part of your everyday life, any feelings of depression and unhappiness will appear less and less and less...and feelings of joy, gratitude and all good things will appear more and more and more. It works every time, my child” I had said weighing my words carefully and haltingly. That seemed to ring a bell setting her thinking differently. Then she hugged her mother with tears pouring down her cheeks like rain out of heaven and continued till there was no more tears to cry, “oh mummy, What has come over me?” was all she could say. My wife started to pat her back and stroke her hair until her sobbing seemed to calm and finally stop. Eventually her rhythmic breathing suggested that she had fallen asleep. I, still wide awake, suddenly realized how comforting it was to have these women in my life.
So finally, I talked out and succeeded giving her a tear to shed. That became hers exclusively to use whenever it was needed. My wife gave her wisdom to know that God never hurts, but sometimes tests our strengths and our resolve to stand beside each other unfalteringly as one well-knit family. I was again reminded of William Blake,Think not, thou canst sigh a sigh,And thy maker is not by.Think not, thou canst weep a tear,And thy maker is not near. O! He gives to us his joy,That our grief he may destroyTill our grief is fled & goneHe doth sit by us and moan

My daughter L……….'s healing began that day after several days of ‘silent grief’.

EPILOGUE

"Row, Row, Row Your Boat,
Gently down the stream.
Merrily merrily merrily merrily
Life is like a dream.”
Life is tenuous, impermanent, and fleeting—not unlike a dream. I think we all must look into this reality at some point, and make some kind of peace with it. Everything is always slipping through our fingers; yet the answer is not to hold on tight or to push away.
Months later my son would ask his mother "Why are you crying?"
"Because I'm a mother," she would tell him.
"I don't understand," he would say
"And you never will." She would tell him
Later my son would ask his grandpa, "Why does mother seem to cry for no reason?"
"All women cry for no reason," was all he could say.
My boy has grown up into a man, still wondering why women cry. Some where en route he dropped this question. As for us nothing ever fazed us because we truly believed that we were invincible when we were around each other - we were each other's lucky charm. Although we both had our share of disasters and difficulties over the years, just a visit from any of our lucky charms was usually sufficient to change any situation for the better.
I am easily moved to tears...I always have been. Between the tsunami, the Katrina, Rita, the earthquake, and my own personal problems lately, I've been a regular, "Niagara Falls"! But, my mother always used to say, "Better out, than in"! And she meant it's better to let your emotions out, than to keep them inside.
“That, has never been a problem for you! You are not in that ‘1.4 times a month category’ in any case” says my Pa…… oops sorry my Pathni. Look who is talking?

V V R
14th Oct 2005











.

Care of Ageing Parents

Dear Respected fellow friends,
I have been reading with interest the topic on ‘Old Age Homes’. This subject will never stop eliciting fresh ideas, responses and views and would continue to do so as long as humans exist on this mother earth. I have read some and experienced few. So here I choose to talk & write about only that "few". The rest is theory & supposition and until I go through it myself and experience it, I would be only talking like one of the blind men & the elephant; each describing what he has touched, heard, read & understood but not experienced and clearly not seen the complete image - the grand scheme of things. On our life’s journey, we meet people, join groups, read & listen to thoughts/ideas that influence and shape us. I wish to share some of these ‘two paise bit’ here with you by reposting my earlier contribution on the subject in another forum, for whatever it is worth. When I look at my own kids I find that the fusion of East & West, the convergence of the eastern spirit with the western outlook is becoming extremely potent; as my dad used to say, "Eastern hearts & western minds". Thanks to him, even as a child I was always drawn to be independent and a bit spiritual. “There had to be a meaning to this life my son, a reason to this existence and a purpose even if we have not seen it as yet”, he would say often which I paraphrase, "I assure you, there is light at the end of the tunnel even if the tunnel takes a turn near the end" and thus you can't see the light. Have the patience and the persistence to go on independently, and you will get there. Alas he is no more (died in his sleep at 93). And I am struggling to get there with my children’s help. (Do read the old classic Jonathan Livingstone Seagull by Richard Bach and gift it to your kids).


Care for Ageing Parents...
On 4th of this month, there was a very interesting poser on the above subject submitted by one of our respected, anguished and concerned fellow members- titled "Of responsibility, freedom and grace....."That triggered me into posting this one just to buttress the author's idea that we are incumbent to do "whatever we can on ‘absolutely’ absolute scale to our aged parents" and it is so ordained in the scriptures too.
In Bhagavatam, an 'old man' is compared to a worn- out- ox (Gojaram) Ref. 3rd Skandam, Discourse XXX verses 13 &14. I quote, "Seeing him unable to support his family, his wife and others treat him not with the same respect as before, even as the miserly cultivators do not accord the same treatment to their old and worn- out- oxen. Yet the old man feels no aversion for them. Maintained (now) buy those very people he had brought up himself (in earlier years) and deformed (now) on account of old age he falls a prey to diseases like dyspepsia; his diet and activity both diminish and he remains confined to his house, awaiting his death and living like a house-dog (Gruhapala) on whatever is thrown despisingly by others". Unquote.
In the 10th Skandam, Discourse XLV Lord Himself describes how the parents are to be looked after. (Refer slokas 1 to 9).After killing Kamsa, Krishna rushes to his shackled parents in prison and addresses them "O Amaba (mother), Thaathah (Father)!"in order to delight them. I quote, "Ill-fated as we (includes Balarama) are, the privilege of living by your side could not be attained by us. Nor was that joy experienced by us which children dwelling in their father's house and fondled by their parents do. Even by serving them through a life of hundred years one is not able to get square with one's parents by whom one is brought into being and nourished. The servants of Yama actually make that son eat his own flesh on his departing from this world who though able bodied does not with his body and resources maintain them (his Parents).He, though capable if fails to support his parents is dead for all intents and purposes. But we were helpless, Sire, afraid as we were of Kamsa etc etc.." Unquote.
So geriatrics and care for aged has been a topic as ancient as the creation of beings. So then what?

Cut to the modern era. (Events are mostly true but names are changed)
Lata is a matron in a school in Coimbatore. Each week she struggles to squeeze in a few hours to make telephone calls, because she handles her Hyderabad-based widowed mother’s finances, medicare forms, and makes certain all bills are paid on time. Her husband having undergone kidney transplant recently is on medication. Her children are passing through that difficult adolescent stage, yet to get a grip on what the life is all about.
Viji is a Bank Manager in Bangalore. She has been taking more and more time away from her work so she can drive her father, who recently suffered a major heart attack, to the doctor’s office as well as back to the hospital for on going physical therapy. Her aged mother is only a moral prop. Her husband is at Mizoram. Her brother is in USA.
Subbu, an electrical engineer in Cochin, is using up his vacation days so he can attend to both parents at Pazhayannur, Palghat. He divides his days between the hospital to be with his mother, who broke her hip, and his parents’ house to care for his father, suffering in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Subbu knows that soon he will have to make arrangements for his father to be placed in a nursing home. To be or not to be is the question?

Here’s a fact: My father once told me. "Not everyone has children, but everyone has parents". He would often quote a Swedish proverb “Love me when I least deserve it, because that is when I really need it” “ O Thaathaa U R great”, my son would say.
And as parents grow older, their health can decline, making them increasingly dependent on their children. A growing number of adults find themselves not only parenting their children, but providing care for their parents as well. Care-giving for an elderly parent will become an increasing reality for more and more adult children. Currently millions of seniors require assistance with such basics as getting out of bed, dressing, cooking, cleaning, and handling money. On any given day, millions of us spend some time caring for our parents. On an average, such adults spend 10 hours per week in elder care-giving. Tasks involve assistance in household chores, personal care, providing transportation, managing finances, and selecting medical services. No doubt such duties interfere with our social, emotional, and family needs some or most of the time. In addition, many of us do not take a vacation from those duties for years.
Granted that this care is motivated by love. Yet giving care to an aging parent can exact a tremendous physical, emotional, spiritual, and financial toll, not only on the caregivers but also on their spouses and children.
Here are some tips/ways to help aging parents without burning yourself out. (Out of practical exposure to cases for the past several years)
Begin with a family consensus.
When faced by an imminent decision—typically, should mother or father be placed in a nursing home, it is better to have a consensus of opinions. In order to make care-giving a healing rather than a hurtful experience for your family, call for a conference with the principal people (Kaarnaverus) involved long before such a drastic decision must be made.
Those involved in the conference should include the aging parent(s), siblings, and other extended family members. Understanding everyone’s expectations early in the care-giving process can eliminate problems in the months ahead. During the conference, try to establish how many others will want to be actively involved in care-giving and the level of their commitment. If there are financial implications, establish some agreement as to how those will be shared and met (This is the toughest. You will face rough weather, cumulus-nimbus clouds and thunder storms). A key point during a family conference is to find out what the aging parent envisions. Does he or she plan to live alone, get a roommate, or move to a retirement community?
Don’t make promises you won’t be able to keep.
When Sivaraman’s 72-year-old mother at Thodupuzha began to express concerns about her future care, he quickly responded: “Amma, don’t worry about ending up in a nursing home, because I’ll always be able to take care of you.” However, as her mother’s health declined dramatically after a stroke, it became clear that the elderly woman needed 24-hour home-care.
“Because I work full-time with my insurance business, I could not provide Mother with the constant care she needed. Reluctantly, and with great guilt, I found a good institution that provided my mother with full-time professional care. In spite of the fact that the nursing home was an excellent facility at Pollachi, my mother resisted being placed there, and I felt as though I had abandoned her. She died two years ago, and I’m still feeling guilty that I didn’t keep my word to her.” The lesson from that sad experience: Don’t make promises you may not be able to keep.
Find out what social services are available.
Some families are able to afford to pay for the services of a social worker or nurse who specialises in geriatrics. However, for those who cannot bear this expense, seek lower-cost services available for the aging perhaps supplied by governmental and nonprofit agencies.
When calling for information and help, don’t become frustrated by the large number of calls you may have to make. The network of social agencies is constantly changing and being refined in order to meet human needs better. Be patient and persistent. Your effort will result in better knowledge and access to aid.
Many of the needs of elderly people do not demand highly skilled or experienced people. Those needs can be filled by ordinary people willing to give their time by visiting, fixing meals, cleaning, offering companionship, and providing transportation to markets and medical appointments. There is a saying "Parents start you off in life, but friends get you through it". Worth trying. What are friends for?
Tap into the power of a self-help group.
There are three compelling reasons for turning to a self-help group. First, while extended family members and friends can provide practical advice and emotional support, sometimes such informal networks are inadequate. Second, there may be relationships within a family that are part of the problem rather than part of the solution. Third, people in a self-help group offer each other not sympathy but empathy.
Here is an interesting piece of telephonic conversation I heard between a father and son. “But Appa, why can’t you come over here? What’s the problem?” queried the son from Kozhikode. “You are the problem”, said the old man (staying with his daughter at Delhi married to a Sardar) and banged the phone.
Whether you’re being worn down by the unpredictable behaviour of a father functionally impaired by Alzheimer’s disease, or you’re trying to juggle the demands of a recently widowed mother with the needs of your own children, you can connect with a group of people living through the same experiences.( Boy, does this help?) As soon as you arrive and begin to talk about your feelings, the other group members can identify with practically all of them. Especially refreshing to anyone who has felt isolated and helpless is the sense of security that comes from this type of group participation.”
Be sensitive to the primary caregiver.
No matter how many adult children make up a family, the responsibilities are not equally shared when parent care becomes necessary. Often one adult child emerges as the primary caregiver. If you are not the primary caregiver, maintain a sensitivity to the one who handles most of the responsibility. Here is a sad, but common, lament from Sandhya, a woman I know: “This is for all the sisters and brothers of caregivers who are ‘too busy’ with their own lives to lend a hand,” she begins. “A few years ago my life changed when my father became ill with a progressive disease. I put all my plans on hold and little by little gave up visiting my friends, socializing, Annamalai correspondence course, and spending time with my husband. I now must use all my ‘free time’ to take my father to the doctors’ appointments and tend to his needs. I am not complaining. My parents are wonderful people, and I consider it a privilege to care for them, but I am upset because my siblings do nothing to help me.”
If another member of your family is carrying most of the load, do whatever you can to pitch in and help. If you are geographically distant, consider using some of your vacation time to provide care for the aging parent, giving the primary caregiver some time off. Or if you live nearby, call the primary caregiver and offer your services a few hours per week.
Finally, as caregiver to an aging parent, be sure you know and respect your own limits. Otherwise you run the risk of becoming exhausted, sick, depressed, and burned out. In that condition you will not be helpful to aging parents or anyone else. Do make time for yourself and find ways to nurture your body and spirit. I think someone in this group once wrote FAMILY= (F)ather (A)nd (M)other (I) (L)ove (Y)ou.

Yours most humbly
V V R

I add now a post script to parents titled “Nurture - unconditional love”.

The children are with us for us (parents) to unconditionally love, nurture and provide the right kind of soil for them to bloom in their own seed-nature. The nest that we
provide them is to help them grow strong physically and psychologically, so that they can finally leave the nest to find their own destiny. They are not an investment from whom we should aspire to reap dividends of any kind. Therefore, when our children “grow up” and find strength in their wings and the courage to explore, we have also to ‘grow up’; bid the children a loving farewell and bless them for their maiden flight wishing them every success in their exploratory journey. We need to see them flap their wings first slowly and then powerfully till they take off into the open sky to see them go higher and higher till they are out of sight. (Sorry to sound like an aviator; habits die hard for an ex-Air Force guy) We must assure them that they will always be thought of in our prayers. And finally, we parents need to sit down, look at each other with a peaceful smile and a loving tear in the eye feeling contended for a job well done.

07 Feb 06

The Calf Path

Dear Om,
Thank you for the invitation to visit ‘Navadarsanam’. The visit in fact is long over due. I shall be bringing another friend too (Our I I T batch Nehru Hall!).
That is an interesting theme you have chosen for discussion on this anniversary- “ The Road Not Taken”-“Off the Beaten Track?”. That helped to reminisce my good old days when I was doing a short combined Defence course at Hyderabad; long time back when an officer (Squadron Leader) from Sri Lanka had passed on to me a piece of cyclostyled (not Xeroxed as is now) paper to keep me awake in the class (the contents seem to say pretty much the same thing!!!) which I still preserve as a memento. I never bothered to find its source though. Although he was a Buddhist (died in a crash I understand) I gave him a copy of “The Holy Gita” by Swami Chinmayananda in return. I don’t know what he did with it. Any way here is what his piece of paper said:

V V R
20th Jan 2005

The Calf Path
One day through the primeval wood, a calf walked home as good calves should;
But made a trail all bent askew, a crooked trail as all calves do.
Since then three hundred years have fled, and I infer the calf is dead.
But still he left behind his trail, and thereby hangs my moral tale.

The trail was taken up the next day, by a lone dog that passed that way;
And then a wise bell-wether sheep, pursued the trail o’er vale and steep,
And drew the flock behind him, too, as good bell-wethers always do.
And from that day, o’er hill and glade, through those old woods a path was made.
And many men wound in and out, and dodged and turned and bent about,
And uttered words of righteous wrath, because ‘twas such a crooked path;
But still they followed—do not laugh—the first migrations of that calf.

And through this winding wood-way stalked, because he wobbled when he walked.
This forest path became a lane, that bent and turned and turned again;
This crooked lane became a road, where many a poor horse with his load,
Toiled on beneath the burning sun, and traveled some three miles in one.

And thus a century and a half, they trod the footsteps of that calf.
The years passed on in swiftness fleet, the road became a village street;
And this, before men were aware, a city’s crowded thoroughfare.
And soon the central street was this, of a renowned metropolis;
And men two centuries and a half, trod in the footsteps of that calf.

Each day a hundred thousand men follow this zig zag calf again
And o’er his crooked journey went the traffic of a continent.
A hundred thousand men were led, by one calf near three centuries dead.
They followed still his crooked way, and lost one hundred years a day;
For thus such reverence is lent, to a well established precedent.

A moral lesson this might teach, were I ordained and called to preach;
For men are prone to go it blind, along the calf path of the mind,
And work away from sun to sun, to do what other men have done.
They follow in the beaten track, and in and out, and forth and back,
And still their devious course pursue, to keep the path that others do.

They keep the path a sacred groove, along which all their lives they move;
But how the old wood –Gods** laugh, who first saw the primeval calf.
Ah, many old things this tale might teach—but I am not ordained to preach.

&&&&&&&&&&&&


** Vanadevatas

Brahman: A Perspective

A Perspective
One of my friends posted a message "Earth's energy is out of Balance" giving us an opportunity to gain some insight into our own Philosophy of life and the Universe.
"The God is in His heaven,
And all is well with the world"
Said Robert Browning in his poem 'Pippa Passes'. And this would be true eternally. Perhaps the poet got his inspiration from the word BrahmAnandam! which we all are so familiar with.
In SrI VenkatEsa AshtOttharam the 74th NAmam of the Lord is"Jagath-karthrE Nama:" (One who is the Creator of the Universe and its beings).
The Brahma Soothram (1.1.2): "JanmAdhyasya yatha:" is the reference for this NAmam. He is the Creator of this Universe as the Omniscient, Omnipotent Brahman, and the embodiment of DayA. All created entities take their origin (originate) from Him in this wonderfully structured world .All are aspects of His splendour.
TaitthirIyam salutes Him as SrIman NaarAyaNan , who is the creator and Lord of the Universe:
" Pathim VisvasyAthmEswaram SAsvatham Sivam-Achyutham"
He is the Lord of the Universe and Jeevans; He is eternal, auspicious and never slips from His lofty status as Jagath KAraNan and Jagath Rakshakan.
Bhrgu, the well-known son of Varuna approached his father thus "O revered sir, teach me Brahman". Taittriya Upanishad states, "Seek to know that from which all these beings take birth, that by which they live after being born, that towards which they proceed and into which they merge; that is Brahman". And the answer settling the question is:"From Bliss all beings originate; live by Bliss after being born; and towards Bliss they proceed, and into bliss they get merged"
Our scriptures tell us that Prakriti (nature) always settles down to “as is where is” status, namely a state where every thing is in its place in perfect equilibrium no matter how hard one tries to unsettle it (scientist's conclusions not withstanding!). As in stable equilibrium, where objects when disturbed return to their original state, so also in the infinite time domain, all things in nature attain STABLE equilibrium. Take for instance, our mother earth which is in perpetual rotary motion on its spin axis and revolving in an orbit round the sun. We have mercilessly ravaged this earth, conducted nuclear explosions in its belly, razed mountains to the ground, stopped rivers on their tracks, and burrowed tunnels- but with no rattle or roll in its perpetual motion. New inventions have taken place, new medicines discovered, and quantum jumps made in technology. But in nature’s ultimate perspective nothing seems to have altered its stability. Otherwise, by the tonnage of nuclear explosions conducted so far, the earth should have been blown to smithereens; but no- life seems to go on. However, when nature wants to balance out things - be it an earthquake in Gujarat, a typhoon in USA, floods in China, heavy rains in Japan, drought in Rajasthan or Tsunami- nature follows its own method of leveling out. When viewed in this context, suddenly one seems to visualize an underlying principle – that our efforts notwithstanding every thing manifested and unmanifested is in its place for a purpose, in perfect balance and in sustained equilibrium – which includes us, the earth and the Brahmaandam as part of the very system- The BRAHMAN!.

Birthday Special

Birthday Special
(This piece is to remind us of the values which are central to all homes and hearts: the love of children. For the busiest of us...the most remote of us...for the most distraught of us.…the most demented and disillusioned of us… this is a write up to recall the essence of life and remind us of the treasure of the little angels called children in our midst)."

PROLOGUE

Every October, the 14th I usually sit glued to my telephone. Why? Well, that’s the day I love taking calls. Each ring will remind me that I am a year older; a little more matured and arguably more experienced for better or for worse.
“Happy birthday Mama”, that was my niece C….. (A dentist) from M……always an early caller.
“Thank you” I acknowledged.
“You are a big boy now, Mama- a senior citizen. Guess what? the more birthdays you have the longer you live!”
“Yeah? How come?”
“Obvious na? Think about it. How could you have more birthdays? By living longer na? O Mama, you really are getting old.”
“Ok. Ok. That’s a good one. You dentists are clever!” I retorted.
“How do you mean?” she questioned.
“You drill, then fill and finally bill heavily!!!” I laughed
“You are cool, Mama. Bye and take care.” she dropped the phone.
But my mind raced back to that birthday at Wellington Staff College, Ootty which for me will remain the best ever. Not my birthday though.

Cut to Year 1976

I was one amongst hundred odd young student officers (Sqn. Ldrs., Lt. Cdrs., Majors drawn from our Air Force, Navy and Army and those from other countries).
“At any instant, if a survey were made, one may find that Wellington perhaps will have (per square foot area) the maximum number of wives in their family ways” we would joke.
The reason is not far to seek. First, the salubrious weather; second, the 100 odd student-officers will be in the productive (pun unintended) age group; third, the staff course is a total relaxation and a far cry from the tension filled lives in the field; fourth, we could live with our families –a rarity in the forces. (Majority would have been just married knowing fully well they would have an extended honey moon at Ootty, a five star comfort with no hassles); fifth, Wellington being a hill station, the livable flat area available is very minimal. For the same reasons and many other factors, the place would also be teeming with a floating population of tiny tots, few months old to 5 or 6 years old. Not to make an exception my wife too was carrying our son - a Wellington product. But then these are women who unite with kindred spirits to raise families, maintain homes and uphold the most positive attitudes when facing the fears of losing a loved one. All military personnel swear an oath to uphold the constitution and protect our country, while their spouses take the unwritten oath to live a life of lengthy separations, endless anxieties and frequent moving despite their husbands having lost all sense of home, having moved about so much. Their commitment requires a unique blend of patriotism, dedication, hard work and most of all, flexibility. But what has that to do with birthdays? Well…….Hold your fire!
My daughter was just four attending the local Defence campus Nursery school. “Very popular and hyper active” as Sister Daphne the principal described her. But my wife in her weaker moments and in that physical state, used to tell her friends about my daughter L…., “ I have more pains after she came out than when I was carrying her”. I never agreed with her though. Parenthood radically changes a person. Raising a child may be exhausting, exasperating, expensive, but an experience most gratifying in life. The bond between parent and child is one of the strongest connections in nature. Romances come and go, but once you've bonded with your baby you're probably hooked for life, and not because you enjoy the prospect of changing hundreds of diapers. Although not new I too like any other father wasn't immune to the bewitching power of babies.
Clearly, children no matter whose they are have the ability to reach deep into our brains as well as our hearts. Well that may quite be the theme of the song that I shall be singing here.
Almost every other day at the drop of a hat and the least of excuses, our families were partying--- wedding anniversaries, birthdays of kids, posting out /in of staff, festivals; even failure in mid term exams was good enough excuse to unwind!
Taking a cue from adults and for reasons best known to her, my daughter, L….. one day took upon herself to announce in her class, “Today is my birthday. All of you are invited with your parents this evening and do come with gifts!” As usual L…. had pulled the carpet under our feet. That evening when I came back from my own classes at 5 PM I found my wife in doldrums. L’s friends all dolled up had started trickling down wishing “Happy B’day to L….”
We were not at all prepared to host a party on such large scale in such a short time. And importantly, it was not her birthday either. The time was at a premium. But then we, faujis are trained to thrive on such pressure exercises.
Months before the commencement of our course, we are required to send a detailed bio data about ourselves to the college to facilitate them to make the best possible living arrangements. On the first day of our arrival and after the Commandant’s welcome address each of us is handed over a printed brochure containing complete, comprehensive bio-data of each student officer and the members of his family. Thus amongst many other things we also knew whose birthday was when? So it was but natural that my colleagues having been caught unawares wanted to check back with me “Is that real? Is it your daughter’s birthday? When should we arrive? Hey, do not worry V V R….Don’t disappoint your kid……We will make it a pot-luck. So don’t bother about catering” So on and so forth. So pot luck it was; a variety of spread. A rare international cuisine, though the guest list got a little tricky because her invitation was to every child in the class. When parents asked if I needed help, I simply said ‘yes, of course’ with no hesitation.
“But everything is under control, sir. All taken care”, that was our cook-cum-maid Rajamma, a coorgie (recommended by the college) ever so soft spoken but always in charge, a veteran of many such parties coming out in an audible whisper in Tamil from the kitchen! Now that certainly put my mind at ease.
Rajamma continued her ramblings inside the kitchen addressing no one in particular, “Organized games are a must at this age of 4; otherwise the children will run wild through your yard, your house and anywhere else they can find. Even though 4 year olds love to play games, they don’t like to lose. Choose non-competitive games or change the rules of old games so no one is “out.” When you’re packing the goody bags, go to extra trouble to make sure every bag is exactly the same. Otherwise, you’ll be hearing a lot of, “Latha got a red ball. I want a red ball,” and you’ll be dashing around trying to placate everyone. To alleviate this problem, try not to hand out the goody bags until they’re on their way out of the door.”
I remember my wife adding, “Oh yeah! And if you still have a lot of tension and get a headache, do what it says on the aspirin bottle: "Take two and keep away from the children."
“Yeah But what do I do? I prefer to go to office which by definition is ‘A place where I can relax after my strenuous home life” That was me.
But then Rajamma promptly distributed our duties roping in even my mother for a special task.
The party was a roaring (pun unintended) success thanks to Rajamma’s culinary talents.
“The bag of assorted candies is ready, sir” Rajamma confirmed.
And I looked sadly to the departure of the pint-sized angels! My mother’s arthritis had flared up, and by evening, she could barely move. So she could not as planned by Rajamma possibly bless each child on the door by distributing the goodies. So Rajamma decided to fasten the candy bag to the door and watch the parade of young ones from the dimly lit kitchen. Rajamma’s daughter Rosie was also a must-guest for my daughter. The first to depart was a Red riding hood with her ugly aunt. Next went the dwarfs followed by the three little ghosts. Each picked out a sweet in turn. When the last tiny hand emerged full-fisted, I heard the elder Cinderella scold: "You're not supposed to take more than one!" I was pleased that a big sister was playing conscience for her little sister. Astronauts and aliens from Mars followed. More children had shown up than I had expected. The candy was running low, and I was getting fidgety. Sure enough I noticed two more kids about to depart. The elder reached into the bag and pulled out a Cadbury bar. I held my breath, hoping there would be one left for the tiny one. But Rajamma knew there were none. The tiny girl was still struggling to put her hand in the bag quite unsuccessfully. Then Rajamma did something incredible. She rushed to her daughter Rosie and whispered something into her ears. Rosie a small girl of 6 herself lingered but only for one extra moment and ran to the bag dipped her hand and pulled out yet an Amul, and handed over to the tiny one with a smile- all in one action. But I knew as well as Rajamma that Rosie as instructed had dropped her own Amul candy in the bag, pretended to pull out one, paused facing the doors and handed it over to the last visitor….. all under Rajamma’s instructions!!! When the tiny one said, "Thank you, I like Amul." then I watched the little one scamper away to join her friends. Tears ran down my eyes. One dear little 6 year old witch (that is how Rajamma dressed Rosie) had cast her spell on me. I acknowledged with a smile Rajamma’s presence of mind and couldn't help but think that I had just glimpsed a nugget of human being whose offspring Rosie surely is peace.

EPILOGUE

When last I heard of Rosie, I understand she is happily married rearing a kid.

And the interaction with parents later brought out so many fascinating stories. Hear this:
“The majority of American children celebrate birthdays with a cake topped with lighted candles. Most families use the candles to represent how old a person is turning, (i.e., one candle for a one-year-old, etc.). When the cake is set before the guest of honour, he or she is supposed to make a wish (without telling anyone what it is) and blow out the candles. If all the candles go out with one breath, it's believed that the wish will come true!” That was given out by a Major from USA.
“Some children receive birthday "spankings", which were originally based on superstition, but are now more a birthday prank or joke. Hundreds of years ago, spankings were given for each year of the birthday child's life. Beyond that number, a child received another spanking to grow on, one to live on, one to eat on, one to be happy on, and yet another spanking to get married on. At one time, it was considered bad luck if the birthday celebrant was not spanked because it was believed to "soften up the body for the tomb." Historians are unsure if the practice of swatting the birthday girl or boy was treated as a joke, as people view it today.” That from an Afghan soldier friend of mine.
“Singing "Happy Birthday to You" has also been a long-standing tradition on birthdays as well. It was written by two American sisters in 1893, and has been translated into several languages around the world.” Again the US soldier.
“Children in Argentina receive pulls on the earlobe for their birthday. Traditionally, they get one pull for each year of their life.” I am not sure who said that.
“At an Israeli child's birthday party, he or she sits in a special chair decorated with fresh flowers and greens. To celebrate the child's age, family and friends gather around the chair, lifting and raising it once for each year of life - plus one more for good luck!” I learnt it (later in my service) from an Israeli during a tenure.
“When Japanese children turn 7, 5, or 3, it is thought to be especially lucky. They are allowed to participate in the upcoming Shichi-go-san (meaning "Seven-Five-Three") Festival, celebrated annually on November 15. During this festival, children and their families visit a shrine or other place of worship, give thanks for good health, and ask to be blessed with continued well-being in the future. Afterwards, a family will often throw a party and bestow gifts upon the child. For this occasion, girls and boys always dress in their finest clothes, which may be traditional kimonos or western-style clothing.” This from a Japanese soldier. I remember this officer as a very good tactician during our sand model exercises.
“Another old tradition still practised by some English people is to make a birthday cake with symbolic objects baked inside. In medieval times, objects such as coins and thimbles were mixed into the batter. People believed that the person who got the coin would be wealthy, while the unlucky finder of the thimble would never marry. Today, small figures, fake coins and small candies are more common. Guests are warned ahead of time as well, so no one injures their teeth or swallows a tiny treasure” That from Sqn. Ldr. Williams RAF.( not his real name).
“Each year, Asante people in Ghana celebrate "krada" (meaning "Soul Day") on the day of the week that they were born. This observance involves a cleansing ritual intended to purify the inner soul. On a person's “krada”, he or she wakes up early and washes using a special leaf soaked overnight in water. An afternoon feast with family and friends is held in the person’s honour, and the celebrant usually dresses in clothing with a white background” This officer from Ghana was our neighbour. His daughter was a close friend of my daughter.

Just when you think you’ve finally figured out the trick to birthday parties, your child jumps to the next stage of maturity and you have to start from scratch all over again. At her fourth party, the children enjoyed the organized games but then refused to play them at her fifth (too boring). After awhile you feel like throwing in the towel, but you can’t because the party must go on. But take heart. The good news is children are fairly consistent along age lines. At each stage of maturity certain types of birthday parties work better than others.

If we focus on the main issues of home and hearth and heart. If we humans could recognize the preciousness of the children in our midst, we would be one step closer to heaven." ARE YOU?

VVR
13TH Nov 05

Braahmananum Bankum

Braahmananum Bankum

(Thoughts are usually repetitive; they at times reflect what you think is true, but may not be the truth itself.)
- Anonymous

My late father was a person whom people (except his grandchildren of course) loved to hate for his unbending principles, tenacity of purpose and meticulously disciplined life. Or else why would he at 93, even on that fateful night with that angina pain had to insist that he would (with no help) carefully fold on his own his heavy quilt and make his bed tidy (before collapsing for good?).
It was always either my son or my daughter who ran errands for him and in return they got his blessings in abundance.
It was a Sunday. My father had an account with The Catholic Syrian Bank (CSB) opened perhaps decades ago. He loved the bank for its Malayalee atmosphere. He had free access to the manager’s cabin and would speak to his heart’s content in Malayalam with the Brahmin lady manager from Thrissur. Later when it became difficult to climb the stairs of the bank building, he made me a joint account holder. The Bank is open on Sundays too. There was this sudden reshuffle of staff and Mr. J J a Christian took over as Bank manager from the lady.
My son was once given a ‘self cheque’ and told to withdraw some money. My son finished the bank job and as usual after loitering all over, he came home and gave his grandpa the money. When my father counted he found an extra hundred rupee note in the bundle. He gave a nice dressing down to my son, “Nee oru aayirathettan aakkum, poruppu poraathu etc etc.” for not counting the money at the counter and insisted that the same be returned forthwith. He also called up the Bank and informed them of the error. Calm prevailed thereafter. The event was a sequel. I never imagined at that time that months later, this incident was to have a great impact on some other total strangers.

Cut to Mid 2004 (after nearly 6 months??)

I was at the counter of CSB– a routine visit to update our pass Book.

“But madam, what is this debit amount shown?” I queried reconciling my Passbook...
“Well, sir, that’s a penalty imposed for not maintaining the minimum balance”, she answered.
“But then we always had an extra balance of over the minimum specified.” I pleaded
“Not enough, sir ever since the later half of the month of May. Since you have given us ‘standing instructions’ to pay your electricity Bills every month on demand automatically, you require to maintain a minimum balance of rupees five thousand! at all times and at any time for availing such facilities.” She clarified.
“Since when?” I asked.
“Please sir, speak to the Bank manger”, she terminated the conversation as other customers were getting impatient.
So I knocked and went into the manager’s cabin and introduced myself after the usual greetings for the first time. Unfortunately for me the interaction was not pleasant. I explained to Mr.. J J. the situation. He was brusque, not cooperative and very unfriendly.
“Yeah! We got the memo from our regional office last month. The minimum you have to keep for services like ‘standing instructions’ is now revised as rupees five thousand with effect from 15th May. It is all in black and white in English put up on the notice board. You may read it.” He admonished. There were others in the cabin wondering what had gone wrong? Why was the manger in such a foul mood?
Well……. He had a point. I never read their notice board which contained amongst many other points the details about their next union meetings, new canteen timings etc etc.
When I reached home my dad’s hawk eye on scrutiny did not escape this debit entry.
“What is this son?” he queried.
“O some paltry sum they have debited for……..” I mumbled so as not to invite his wrath for not reading the notice board regularly..
“For what”, he insisted.
I had to explain all that humiliating experience that was meted out to me at the Bank.
After what appeared to be a long silence, and introspection, he said,
“But then we are clear, son! It is the bank’s mistake”
“What do you mean Appa?” I said.
“Look. When did you say their memo is effective from?” my father.
“15th May” said I
“That’s the very day Lathika went and deposited cash of rupees Four thousand. So our balance has never fallen below rupees five thousand at any time after 15 May. Obviously there is some mistake. They have faltered and not credited our cash whatever be the reason.
He at once picked up the phone and called up Mr. J J.
“Alright. If it is so, we will examine and make amends by making a reverse entry.” Mr. J J assured. I would have left it at that. Not my father.
“Yeah. But how about all that bull……. You let lose on my son?” my father seemed to whisper to himself..
The phone went dead.
My father was late for his lunch. But he called my son; dictated a strong note to H Q CSB threatening them that he would withdraw our clientele once and for all and also his ‘Acharya’ FDs. (though very paltry amount by bank’s standard) and sent an email accordingly. Prompt came a reply from the H Q saying that they would send some one from Chennai region to investigate.
Next week a call came from our bank. An officer had been specially deputed to sort out the matter and requested that I be available.
“Yes, sir. Tell us what it is all about?” the officer began.
“The fact is that we never fell short of the minimum balance of rupees five thousand any time commencing 15th May” I pleaded
“Yes, we have checked the records. What you say is true. Your cash deposit entry was wrongly posted elsewhere to some other account. We're sorry, but the teller made a mistake.”
I then told the visitors the story of the extra hundred rupee note. I finished by saying, “This was even when it was causing a loss to the bank, and embarrassment to the teller and when my father caught the error during the transaction. How much the more would have been so afterward! I expect my bank to behave with at least as much integrity and nicety as my father.”
The branch manager had not said a word during all of this, and his silence continued as I sat back in my chair. I had no idea of how the visiting executive was going to react.
When he began to speak, his voice was soft, and he said in a dignified manner: “The Catholic Syrian Bank, sir, will not be less than your father.”
Then he promised that all the charges made to our account for that minimum cash penalty would be reversed.
“And yes! Please do convey our apologies to your father”
“Sure”, I said. I took a step forward and pinned a miniature metal aircraft on the visitor’s lapel. What else could an ex-Air force guy do? I had anticipated this pleasant meeting and I was prepared with the memento.
As I thanked him and stood to leave, I was grateful that even in today's impersonal business world, a tale of integrity still had power to touch the heart and sway the conscience.
Did I notice some moisture in the visitor’s eyes? Or was it my imagination?

Warmest rgds
V V R
20th Jul 06.

Birthday Bash

Birthday Bash?
Every ‘Aani maasa Aaslesha’ is a special day for us; my wife’s Nakshatra birthday falls on that day; a day to celebrate. But ever since my father’s demise, celebrations of all kinds have become far and few. Our children remember the English dates of birth and our non Hindu neighbours keep wondering how our birthdays fall on different dates each calendar year. It is only the two of us these days, my wife and I who keep referring to Panchaangam and wish each other and our children the traditional ‘Happy birthdays’.
We are happily married for the past 36 years. Call it our traditional upbringing if you like, ours was an arranged marriage. No courtship, no flowers or chocolates, no moonlight walks, no lingering good-byes on the front porch. We didn’t set out to defy romantic customs; it just turned out that way. And stayed that way. We were so busy bringing up kids thereafter; we had been married seven years before we remembered our wedding anniversary. It took us another ten years for us to notice each other’s Nakshatra birthdays.
But this year (29th Jun), I decided to throw traditions to the winds. Soldiering some times makes you do weird things and I am no different with my ‘brains in my boots’ so to say. Much against the sane advice of my beloved wife, and to celebrate my newness of ideas this year, I decided to have a so called ‘conventionally’ romantic evening: a quiet, just-the-two-of-us dinner at a nice restaurant. But the trouble started even before the word ‘go’. Being a ‘Meena Raasau Jaatah’, and true to the zodiac sign, I am labeled as inconstant, changeable, fickle minded like the fish . ‘Chanchalam hi manah Krishna’ is truly applicable to me. So after a number of ‘yes-no, yes-no’ finally I did decide to catch the bull by its horns and take my wife out for a dinner though it was pretty late in the night. It is not zimbly that I used to be addressed as ‘late Latif’ by my close friends in forces.
When we arrived at the restaurant, we were told there would be a 40-minute wait, and so we headed for another nice, but not so romantic, place. About halfway to our second choice I realized that the restaurant would not honour my credit card and I was low on cash. I sighed and said to my wife, “I do have enough dough for a place I know! That is Lakshmi Vilas Kaappi Hotel, where the proprietor G I (Ganesh Iyer) is sure to provide us a sumptuous dinner with a free ‘sweet paan’ to follow.”
“Umm…. Clearly, aren’t we veering off the conventional course a bit?” queried my wife. For many of her queries I never have an answer. So I maintained a stoic silence. We were soon on the door steps of Lakshmi Vilas.
“O hello sir, Vaango vaango. How come you are taking a walk so late in the night?” asked Ganesh Iyer. “Atthaazham kazhinjirikkum illeya?” I could sense that GI was not quite ready to receive any more customers that night. But I took the initiative to place the order as my wife went into select a ‘romantic’ spot. GI listened to my orders patiently and after what appeared to be a long pause, he said, “But pardon me sir, the day’s business is over”
“Today GI, I will have none of these ‘Nos’ from you. You got to produce something even it is out of your way”, I pleaded explaining the importance of the day (rather the night) and my determination to break new non-traditional paths.
“V V R, sir. Thair saadam and Uppilittathe is all I can offer. Nothing else. It is 11 PM, sir. Please do understand”, GI responded with some firmness.
The deal having been struck, I joined my wife inside the hall. There I found two servers methodically turning the molded plastic chairs up onto the Kadappa black stone topped tables.
“This section is closed”, one waiter said.
I started to protest but stopped to choke back a laugh. May be because the worker thought I was going to cry, he removed and re-laid the upended two chairs from a table and said, “This okay?”
I thanked him and after he had gone sat giggling leaving my wife a little confused. Surrounded by a forest of upside-down chair legs, we had our birthday dinner. It wasn’t exactly quiet, what with grill workers yelling at each other in the kitchen past the swinging door near our table strategically placed close to a wash basin. But it was just the two of us, if you didn’t count the maid servant with the mop that kept bumping our chairs.
At least it was an evening out. And we did have fun. In fact, by the time we had finished the last morsel of ‘finger lickin’ Thair saadam we were down right silly. The comic elements of the evening had not escaped us, and our attempts to muffle our laughter made everything seem funnier. Just as our romantic dinner was coming to an end, that swinging door to the kitchen flew open. We turned to see a kitchen worker toss a large trash bag through the doorway without even glancing in our direction. Thanks to my still intact reflexes (playing 7 tiles during my childhood days perhaps), I ducked and the bag came to rest close to our feet. This final touch proved too much for us and we burst into unbridled laughter.
When we were back home my wife said, “one of the main qualities women look for in men is a sense of humour. By such a measure our dinner was a roaring success and you have come out with flying colours as the true nut that I know of for ever so many years now”, said my wife.
“What to do? Manasaa chinthitham ekam daivam anyathra chintayeth. Man proposes God disposes.” I said philosophically.
“Never mind”, consoled my wife as she opened the fridge and surprised me by bringing on the dining table, a bowl of delicious home made gulaab Jaamoons. I took one piece and extended my hand surreptitiously for one more as she pushed the bowl gently out of my reach.
“How true the saying is”, she said
‘Aasai erukkudu Taahsildar aaka
Adhrishtam erukkudhu kazhudhai meakka”.
We laughed as our grandfather clock chimed twelve heralding the commencement of the first day of my wife’s ……..th year.

Warm rgds
V V R
3rd July 06.

V V R Family

My parents, my wife, and my two children

My wife Krishna, daughter Lathika and son Vivek at my son's Chaulam (Mundan ceremony) at Pazhani (TN) late nineteen seventies

AWARENESS: THE KEY TO SPIRITUAL GROWTH

AWARENESS: THE KEY TO SPIRITUAL GROWTH

Apropos of the write up on the above by a member in one of the forums based on the Buddhist tenets and the subsequent response from another, I thought I may as well share in brief my own views on this topic per se based on my visits to Dharamshala, Tawang, Tenga valley, Bomdilla and the like during my service career. The member hits the nail right on its head when he says that Buddhists believe that, I quote, “Awareness is at the heart of Enlightenment and ultimately leads to it. That is why the Buddha and others stressed the importance of mindfulness practices; being aware of your breathing, of your eating, of your walking, of everything that you do at all times.” unquote.
In fact, “Awareness and equanimity to avoid craving and aversion” is the central theme of VIPASSANA Technique—which when practised together lead to liberation from suffering. It is opined that if either is weak or lacking, it is not possible to progress towards that goal. Both are essential, just as a bird requires two wings to fly. That is seeking to be conscious of everything that happens within, yet not to react to it, understanding that it will change! This they say is what the Buddha called yatha bhuta jnaana dassanaa (the wisdom that arises on being AWARE of reality as it is.)
So when one of the Lamas presented me a book on Vipassana (Rs. 60/- only), I enjoyed reading it. You too would I am sure. The gist?
Vipassana is one of India’s most ancient techniques of meditation (2500 years old) rediscovered and propounded by Buddha Himself as a universal remedy for universal ills!!! At first the technique flourished in India but gradually it became corrupted, lost its efficacy and disappeared from the land of its origin. Fortunately, the neighbouring Burmah (Myanmar?) preserved the original form of Vipassana through out the millennia.
Vipassana is a Pali word meaning insight, seeing things as they really are. It is not a blind faith or philosophy and has nothing to do with sectarian religion. Instead, Vipassana is a practical method that can be applied by any one. (even me!! a beneficiary). Its goal is to calm the mind, eliminate tensions and negativities that make us miserable day in and day out. Later you may even stop pleading “Chanchalam hi manah Krishnaa….”
Vipassana is a journey into the TRUE SELF starting from the level of superficial, gross and apparent reality to penetrate to the subtlest level.
My personal view on awareness?...uuum..?
AWARENESS is seeing the truth behind all actions. Awareness is the first step to creating. When you begin to create something you want, it is important to be aware of what is actually occurring and not get caught up in what you think is happening. 'Cause our thoughts and feelings are not a good indication of what is real.

May we be inspired to live as- WE -true authentic selves?
So that we are an inspiration to our loved ones and foes.
This is my wish for all my fellow human beings.

Hope this is not asking for too much! In any case I seek your forgiveness for imprudent impudence!!.

Rgds
V V R
18th Jul 06.

Atheism as part of Hinduism: Related

Atheism as part of Hinduism: Related

I dwell upon three seemingly interrelated yet exclusive elements that must have intrigued us all no less at some time in our lives viz. Religion, Hinduism and Atheism. According to many, (and it has become a fashion with many to use this clichéd phrase, namely) ‘Hinduism is not a religion, but is a way of life’ and Atheism has a place in this ‘way of life’. So then which religion do the Hindus (religious or otherwise) of this sub continent (like me) and elsewhere who practise this certain ‘way of life’ belong to? Once this is answered everything else may fall in place.
Every religion no matter what, is a ‘way of life’. Every religion, at its core, advises on the best way to live, but in the end it’s a choice we make only for ourselves. We may choose to feed the starving or kill the innocent, but no matter what our earthly rewards or punishments may be, every action we take makes us who we are. And what, at last, could be more precious than the quality of our own character, and the integrity of our soul?
Since none of us is an expert on the creation of the universe, because none of us created it, and none of us was alive for the past billions of years to witness it, then we can safely say that we are all just trying to make sense of it (let us for a moment, however reluctantly set aside the ‘Maya’ theory). We believe in philosophies, truths, dogmas, faiths, or sometimes the lack thereof that have been passed down to us through myriads of ways of telling. Somehow we are at a better stage compared to our ancestors in answering the mysteries of Universe. We can explain comets, planets, their orbits, the birth and death of stars, the mechanics of atoms and so many more in the areas of biology, geology, & mathematics. It does not however mean that we know all. This tends to a discussion wherein one would like to know whether we can ever know 'All'. We cannot answer that with confidence.
[Knowing 'All' is the ability to explain every phenomenon that happened or shall happen with the tools of man i.e. science]
Science may answer with some degree of accuracy questions like:
HOW? How did earth form? How did man evolve? How do the planets move? How do the atoms collide? How does a plant grow? How do we see colours?
WHEN? When did the Universe come into existence? When do atoms decay? When will an eclipse occur? When will the next sun-rise occur?
WHAT? What happens when stars explode? What brought an end to dinosaurs? What made man move to different continents? What happens when we get fever?
But it fails miserably trying to answer 'Why?' [And that's the reason why our lives still embrace theology].
Why did Universe come into existence? Why are we the way we are? Why can't we be something else? There are so many Why’s that science cannot answer. And most probably it can never answer them. But a theologian had always answered these. He attributed everything to God. His explanations include the creation of the Universe, the Man, the stars and almost everything. This is one area science may never dominate. And hence there is always room for theology in Mankind (no matter what ‘way of life’ he follows) thanks to ever elusive WHY! You may call him a theist.
On the other hand, hear what atheists have to say:
“There seem to be many misconceptions about what an atheist is and is not, and what atheists do and do not believe. Although the following will not apply to all atheists, a general overview of atheism is as follows: An atheist, quite simply, has no belief in any deity. ("A-Theist" = "Without Theism") Atheists do not hate God; they simply do not believe in the existence of God or the divinity of God (or anyone else, for that matter).Disbelieving or disagreeing is not the same as hating. "Atheism" only tell you what a person does not believe. Atheists among themselves have wildly different views on many topics, and may only agree with each other when it comes to the subject of religion. Atheists are not servants of Satan. Atheists consider Satan (and similar beings) to be just another mythical entity. Also, many atheists devote a lot of their time to doing good in the world - recognising that there is no help "from above", it is up to humans to solve our own problems. Occasionally atheists will refer to themselves as agnostics - Agnostics (it means "without knowledge") consider the question of God to be unanswerable - there may be a God, or there may not, but we have no way of ever determining the truth of the matter”, they say.
“Is Atheism Wrong? Atheism, the idea that there is no God or Creator, is a conception of the human mind which occurs at various stages of mental and spiritual development. It appears in undeveloped minds who are unable to perceive any deeper reality than what is evident through the physical senses. Atheism also appears in more developed minds who see through the limitations of organized religion and its dogmas and can no longer accept them as true. It is wrong to say that atheists are bad, whereas those who believe in God are good. The important thing is the inquiry into Truth. If this inquiry is more alive in an atheist than in the dogmatic follower of a particular religion, such an atheist is a better seeker of Truth and therefore closer to God who is Truth than the so-called religious person. Going by this, many are atheists, including those who regard themselves as religious. What some believe in is not spiritual reality but in money, power, and ideologies, all of which are material. Seeing reality as other than Divine seems the root of all of problems.”
So if some one says that ‘ATHEISM IS A SUBCLASS OF HINDUISM.’ he is stating the obvious-because atheism is a subclass of every ‘ism’, not only Hinduism, because every religion has its fair share of atheists and theists and ever so many pairs of opposites.
So what is the big deal?
The bottom line in my humble opinion is (and hope sincerely that I am not wrong) “To have a right to do a thing (in this case to profess atheism and yet belong to Hinduism) is not at all the same thing as to be right in doing so”

V V R
* * * * *

An Instant Vacation: Relaxing At Home

An Instant Vacation: Relaxing At Home
The title of this post could as well have been “The Return of the prodigal Braahmanan” or “Returned Wanderer”; but I opted for the above.
For some inexplicable reason, I believed that relaxation is best pursued outside of the home. As a result, I usually spend months anticipating weeklong vacations, seldom fully appreciating the leisure time I am blessed with on a more regular basis. Now I realized that it is possible to re-experience the same utterly relaxed state I slip into while on holidays within my home's walls. The feelings of serenity I seem to enjoy during any vacation are a product of my outlook rather than the locale. I think one gives oneself permission to enjoy oneself and unwind while on vacation. Now I find that granting myself the same privilege while at home allows me to experience complete relaxation, even when surrounded by routine.
“Our homes can be distracting places as most survival tasks are addressed there.” Opines my senior colleague Nanjundaiah who was also a professor in psychology. “Reviving the tranquility you felt on holiday is as easy as creating an atmosphere that helps you relax. First, divest yourself of the notion that messes must be cleaned up immediately and reaffirm that relaxation is as vital as physical nourishment. Then, set the mood. May be listening to your favourite music that reminds you of a nice vacation destination can put you in a vacation mind-set. Some-times sharing the exotic flavour of a favourite dish with near and dear ones can transport you to a more restful mental space. Finally, put aside your projects and commit to doing only what you consider truly pleasurable. Your responsibilities will wait as you put up your feet and revel in peacefulness that comes from within.”
“If you find it difficult to ignore the temptation to simply fall back into your usual schedule, consider that relaxation should occupy a prominent place on your to-do list.” Continues Nanjundaiah. “You deserve to take ‘your time’ and to care for yourself, even during life's busy periods. While you may not always be able to get away from it all, you can still nurture yourself and regain your peace of mind.”
And that (I mean peace) I regained in ample measure seems to support my senior colleague’s view.
Sitting on the culverts once again in the evening I related excitedly to my friends every detail of the trip my wife and I undertook to the temples and Kaavus. I laid emphasis on the “Aatmeekam” part of it and “Sthalapuraanams” making it sound as though it was a great pilgrimage long overdue. I thought I made a pretty good presentation sans Power Point!! when another senior colleague Suryanarayanan (popularly called Suri with an uncanny knack of rattling out instant made-up stories) had this to say
“Hardly had a few decades passed since His creation, when the good Lord the creator Himself was known to have been pondering as to ‘why at all I created the mankind?’. Reason? Well…….the people bothered Him incessantly with some request or the other to be fulfilled by Him. With no solution in sight, He at once called for a meeting of the council of Devaas.
“Where shall I go and hide?” He asked.
“The top of Himalayas”, said one Devar.
“When Mt. Everest itself has been conquered, what is the guarantee that people won’t reach me there?” questioned God.
“Why not at the bottom of the Pacific ocean?” suggested another.
“Oh even those depths are being measured and accessed with ease these days”, replied the Lord.
“The Moon, the Mars”, shouted some Devaas.
“Even those planets are no more inaccessible for humankind” lamented the good Lord.
That is when one of the Devaas got up and whispered thus into the ears of the Lord.
‘Go Sire! Go and hide in the depth of his heart. That is the only place where he would never think of searching You”
Even today all seem to search for God everywhere except deep down one’s heart.
Uummm…..Pity my memory is short. How many times have I heard during these Navaraathri days “Yaa Devi sarvabhootheshu chethana ithi abhidheeyathe, namah thasmai, namah thasmai, namah thasmai, namo namaha” (Salutations again and again to the Devi who abides in all beings as consciousness)
And again the good Lord had assured “Aham aatmaa Gudaakesa sarva bhoothaashaya sthithaha” (Arjuna, I am the self seated in the heart of all beings)-Gita Ch. X/ verse 20.
When I related this story to my Ardhaangini, and shared my thoughts on our search for peace, she as usual had the last word with her pithy statement, “How true? Like for God so is the saying applicable for peace ---as well….Haven’t you heard? Iduppile kuzhanthayai vaithu oorellaam thedinaalaam?”
I went back to the kitchen to stir the gosmalli sundal with gusto before the ladies troop in for the evening Kolu.
Warm rgds
V V R
30th Sep 06

Abhirami Anthadi

Abhirami Anthadi And Thai Amaavaasyai
New Moon days are ideal for introspection and spiritual matters. But Thaimaasa Amaavaasyaas (29th Jan 2006 this time) are special. How come? Well, listen to what my senior friends say.
“Abhirami is the Goddess of Thirukkadavur located on the road linking Mayiladuturai and Tarangampaadi. Lord Shiva who presides over the temple is called Amritha- Ghateswarar. It is believed that while transporting the Nectar (Amritham) got after churning the Ksheerasamudram, the Devas kept a pot of Amritham in Thirukkadavur. This pot fused with the land and became the Shivalingam.
It is also believed that it is at this temple that the Sage Markandeya (16 year old youth) prayed Lord Shiva and escaped from the clutches of death forever. No wonder then, that the conquest of Yama is acknowledged through celebration of 60th (Shashtiabdhapoorthy ) and 80th (Sathaabhishekam) birth anniversaries by hundreds of pilgrims here.
Yes, Muthuswamy Deekshitar's kriti Sankaram Abhirami Manoharam in Kamalamanohari praises this shrine as well. This is a vast temple with 5 praakaarams, imposing towers and ornate mandapams - hailed as one of the 8 Veeratta Sthalams of Shiva. A huge Rajagopuram with attractive stucco images depicting the sthalapuranam adorns its entrance. The Amrita Pushkarini, Kaala Theertham and Maarkandeya Theertham are all located in the temple. The Shankh-abhishekam (abhishekam with a conch) is of great importance here (as mentioned in Deekshitar's kriti as well) in keeping with the belief that Markandeya had performed this form of worship; and the mandapam associated with this is the Shankhu mandapam. Kaalasamhaaramurthy is the fierce form (Ugra) of Shiva, believed to have saved Markandeya from the clutches of Yama (Bhayankara Ghora Roopa - Yama Niigrahanugraha).
More importantly, it is for the above titled song Abhirami Anthadi that this shrine is famous. Abhirami meaning “She who is attractive at all times” is believed to be extremely powerful and fulfills the wishes of all her devotees. Abhirama Bhattar was so devoted to the Goddess that he was ever immersed in praise of Her attributes. This made him go about like a mad man. People even suspected him of practising evil rites. One day Raja Serfoji, the Mahratta king who was ruling over Tanjore visited the temple. The Archakas told him about Abhirama Bhattar. The king while returning to the palace casually asked Abhirama Bhattar the Thithi of that day. Abhirama Bhattar who was at the time visualising the Goddess in his reverie, answered that it was Pournami (Full moon). Raja went his way.
But actually the day was Amaavaasyaa (New moon)- Thai amaavaasyaa in fact. Bhattar realized his mistake soon and felt extremely sorry for having given a wrong information to the king. He then set up 100 rope hangings and hung in them. Below he created a huge fire. He prayed to Goddess Abhirami to help him prove that he was right. This he did by singing 100 stanzas in praise of Abhirami. As soon as one stanza was completed one rope was cut. The stanzas were composed in such a way that the first word of a stanza would have to be the last word of previous stanza (this style of poem is called Anthadhi meaning end-start something akin to anthakshari).It is believed that when he completed the 79th stanza, the Goddess appeared before him and reassured him that she would do the needful. She removed her Thirutthodu (the diamond earstud) and threw it in the sky where it stood stationed. The stud was so sparkling that it appeared like a full moon casting its milky white brightness all around. The Goddess then advised Abhirama Bhattar to go ahead and complete his poem. Bhattar continued and ended with 100 stanzas. Raja Serfoji watching the proceedings realized how great Abhirama Bhattar was and honoured him on the spot.
Each stanza of the poem Abhirami Andhathi is a gem of a poetry in itself. The language however is not the spoken Tamil and this is further complicated by the Anthadi formula making the thought process of the stanza entwined. But my favourite is stanza 32
“AAsaikkadalil akappattu, arul …………………….eesarbhagathu nerizhaye.”-
Meaning, “Being entangled in the ocean of Desire, I would have been dragged to hell to suffer for ever but for your protective lotus feet on which (I) a sinner could rest my head. How shall I sing your grace who occupies (being Shiva’s consort) His left?”
V V R
28th Jan 06

[Paritranaites] I I Tian's Post

[Paritranaites] IITian's Post
Dear friends,
Being an Alma Mater myself (IIT KGP), I visit some web-sites often (almost like home coming) and so I could feel the anguish of one boy (Gautam Kumar) who has expressed so candidly that the politicians are determined to tear apart the well knit fabric of camaraderie of innocent pupils at all planes of education leave alone IITians. The posting certainly brought in a big lump in my throat as I mused along. Out of the many KGP slangs we used, the one which fits best into the situation is “pi-q” meaning ‘totally arbit!’ One of the most commonly used words during my time was 'toppo' (to copy drawings). Usually heard to describe a KGPite's first year life as copying the machine drawings from plate to plate blatantly. We Tam Brahms used to call it “eee adichaan copy”. But then those were not the days of Autocad, CAD/CAM etc.; but hand made paper, pencils, T-square and drawing box. Lot of water has flown in Cauvery since then.

If 50% reservations were to be the norm in 60s, I too a poor Brahmin would not have made it to IIT. I could not afford to get into any of the several State run colleges where I got admission with ease. But IIT with its merit -cum -means scholarship was tailor made for me- an education of class almost free. I think my father’s total emoluments at that time were Rs.310/- pm, 1/3rd of which he sent to support my grandpa’s large family at a village in Palghat. For job, mercifully (though paradoxical here to use that word) when the Chinese aggression took place I entered the Defence Forces and donned the uniform thereafter for 33 years with pride in service of the nation. I was fortunate because none asked me my caste either in IIT or Defence. But the experiences of my kids are different. My daughter who left behind a trail of record breaking, exemplary performances in K V Schools went into (thankfully) AFMC (Armed forces medical college). Today when she is doing her MD privately, she is the only one paying fees in her entire batch because all her friends are children of SC/ST/OBCs and very rich influential people (MLAs, business tycoons, theatre owners etc. etc.). My son who had a similar experience like what one respected Lady- member mentioned (in a group) withdrew his admission from a prestigious Christian college (for being slighted and insulted with castist comments); and graduated from elsewhere at more conducive environment. He also missed by a whisker the state civil services selection in the general category. He has decided to be a free lance consultant.

While in service I found that the children of Defence personnel suffered a lot being thrown around from place to place like nomads and were not able to get into any professional colleges of repute for want of domiciled status despite their excellent performances.

Simply put, a culture that got systematically developed and propagated from generation to generation, that is at once unique and prosaic, discrete and wild, in the spirit of frolic, friendship and sometimes even greater ties will vanish from IIT. Ever vibrant with life, reverberating with excitement even over inconsequential trivialities would vanish from IIT. The warmth and bustle of relentless activity would vanish too from IIT. Pity and sad.
As IITians, it was the pride we shared most; Today, though we are too mellowed by age and experience to make exalted claims about the uniqueness, IIT will only remain a relic to be cherished as a priceless memory, a precious symbol of carefree youthfulness left behind on a miniscule bridge of time for IIT will never be the same again.

Rgds
V V R
26th May 06

Priests? Who???

All qualified Hindus can become priests: TN
Hardly had the ink got dried after the new TN ministers inked their signatures, they appeared to be in a tearing hurry to introduce the supposedly dream-wish of Periyaar pertaining to temple worship, setting aside all other important issues of administration. Such actions and deviations from religious practices in the name of rationalism, losing faith in sastraic injunctions are neither new nor strange. My mind went back to our good old scriptures which while detailing their acts of sacrilege point out how they met with their miserable ends and their relevance even today.
Srimad Bhaagavatam tells us a story of a time when the cruel, tyrant and selfish King Vena blinded by pride stopped all religious functions, meddled with established traditions and started his own cult, with himself as the deity. He ordered everyone to worship him instead of Vishnu. “Na yashtavyam, na daathavyam, na hothavyam dwijaah”, he roared. The sages of the world foresaw disaster. They knew that such atrocities need to be stopped as otherwise there could be no peace or prosperity.
The sages went to King Vena and demanded that he change his ways; reasoning with him persuasively. They explained to him that his first duty as a ruler was to promote piety and religious beliefs in society; that if offerings were made to God, the humanity will live in natural prosperity. Vena, however, ridiculed their advice. “ko yajnapurusha?” he spat. (Who is that yajnapurusha-the deity)? “Mattho anyah ko agrabhuk poomaan?” He insisted that, as the rightful king, he was the divine embodiment of all the demigods, and should be the only object of worship for everyone.
King Vena's beliefs have a parallel in modern times. Today's governments, under the influence of modernism, argue that religion and traditional customs, being unscientific, are no longer of any value because they have been replaced by rational and objective scientific and economic theories; all we now need for success, they argue, is more and more expenditure on science and technology and economic development but none whatsoever on spiritualism.
When Vena refused to change, the sages decided they had no alternative than to remove him for the good of everyone. They cursed him and such was the power of their words (by their menacing sounds of ‘Hum’, Vena) that he immediately died. They then prayed for a divine incarnation of Vishnu to take his place. The new king became famous as Prithu, (the first constitutional ruler of this earth). He established townships and organised agriculture for the first time. Most importantly, he reintroduced religious functions and subdued the planet earth, not by devastating her, but by pleasing her and invoking her motherly instinct. Because of the unjust rule of Vena and the bad elements which had flourished at that time, she had withheld her riches. She said to King Prithu, "My seeds, roots and herbs, which are meant to be offered to God, were being used by untruthful men of no spiritual understanding, therefore I have hidden them, but you can now extract them."
The eco-friendly Green space activists of today may be happy to know that Bhumi, mother Earth, is conscious of the behaviour of human beings, and she responds to that behaviour appropriately. If they treat her kindly she supplies them with everything they need, but if she is mistreated she can keep back all these things. The way to please her and ensure abundance is through religious activity. Being herself a servant of God, she is pleased when she sees God being worshipped. In the Bhagavad Gita this principle is explained:
All beings live on food grains, which are dependent on rain. Rain is produced by yajna (religious ceremony) which is based upon the performance of duties as taught in the Vedic scriptures.
As the story is told in the Bhaagavatam, Bhumi took the form of a cow and asked Prithu to bring a calf. He then was allowed to milk from her all the herbs and grains which she was hiding in her bosom. When the mother cow sees her calf, she is overwhelmed with love and her milk flows freely. The symbol of the cow and her calf used here therefore emphasises that the relationship between the earth planet and her inhabitants is that of a mother and her children. (Remember? Janani janmabhoomischa swargaathapi gariyasi?)
We are told by learned Pundits that food grains - life's greatest necessity - will be plentiful only if society is religious. This is because grains are dependent on sufficient rainfall, which in turn depends on religious action, or following the laws of God as prescribed in the scriptures. According to the Vedic tradition, therefore, the scholars say that prosperity and happiness will be the natural result of living a religious life in harmony with nature. Any amount of human endeavour which does not take account of the need for pleasing God will bring the same result, but rather, as in the case of Vena, will bring disaster.
No marks for guessing who is Vena of today!!!
Warm regards
V V R
20th May 06

[Neethi Saaram]

The Chaanakya Quotes posted recently in a Group forum elicited some interesting discussions amongst us during my evening soiree with my senior colleagues. Next day Sree Bh………… Iyer of Peumbavoor handed over a thin book titled ‘Neethisaaram’ in Malayalam published at A R P Press, Kunnamkulam (cost-Onnekaalana: With 16 annas equal to a rupee the cost would have been then a mere 8 nayapaise?), And it contains over 120 verses gleaned and compiled from various Sastraas (Sarvasaastra Samahrutham ) and printed with no aksharabhrashtam!. I thought I would share a sample. I seek your indulgence for my poor translation though.

Srooyathaam Dharmasarvaswam sruthwaachaiva vichaaryathaam
Aatmanahprathikoolaani pareshaanna vichaarayeth.
(Hear all about Dharma, and having heard introspect intelligently and never do
unto others anything against the call of your conscience.)

Apareekshyan na karthavyam karthavyam supareekshya cha
Nachedh bhavathi santhaapah braahmanyaanakulaadhyathaa
(Before beginning any activity, examine thoroughly all aspects and then decide to launch as otherwise, you may end up in grief like the Brahmin Lady who killed the mongoose)

Avasyam anubhoktavyam kritham karma subhaasubham
Naabhuktham ksheeyathe karmakalpa kotisathairapi
(All past karmas good and bad must be endured by each for even after hundred crore Kalpas the past karma will not wear off on its own

Maathaapithaa cha me satruh yena baalye na paatthathe
Sabhaamadhye na sobhetha hamsamadhye bakoryathaa
(The parents who do not educate their children when young are like enemies to them; almost like being a crane in the midst of swans.

Vruscheekasya visham puccham Makshikaayaah visham sirah
Takshakasya visham dantham sarvaangam durjanasya cha
(The scorpion has poison on its sting, the fly on its head, the serpent on its teeth; but a wicked rogue has poison all over his body.)

Paksheenaam balam aakaasam matsyaanaam udakam balam
Durbalasya balam Rajaa baalaanaam rodanam balam
(The sky is the strength for birds, for fish the strength is water, for helpless the strength is the ruler but for children ‘crying’ is their strength.)

Upakaaropi neechaanaam apakaaraya varthate
Payah paanam bhujangasya kevalam vishavardhanam
(Any help rendered to wicked people will turn out to be disdain like feeding a venomous snake with milk will only make it more poisonous.)

Ashwaplavanjaambuda garjitancha streenaam cha chittam purushasya bhagyam
Avarshanaam cha api teevra varshanam cha Devaah na jaanaathi kuto manushyah?
(So inscrutable are the ways of the galloping horse, lightning, the mind of a woman, the fortune of men, lack of rainfall, and increase in rainfall that even Gods won’t be able to discern, what to speak of ordinary mortals?)

Sathyena lokam jayathi daanairjayathi deenathaam
Guroon shushrooshayaa jeeyaadh dhanushaa eva shaatravaan
(Conquer the people by honest means, the downtrodden through the acts of giving; the preceptor is pleased though services and the enemy is conquered by use of weapons.)

Janithaa cha upanethaacha yasmaath vidyaa prayacchathi
Annadhaatha bhayatraathaa panchaitha pitharasamatah
(The producer , the leader, the one who taught the skills, the one who fed you, the one who saved you from extreme danger—all these five deserve respects equal to ones own father.)

Sathyam maathaa pithaa jnaanam dharmobhraathaa dayaa sakhii
Shaanthi patni kshamaa putrah shat meema baandhavaah
(He who keeps the below mentioned six qualities as his relatives is excellent viz. who considers honesty as mother, wisdom as father, rightful ways as brother, compassion as companion, peacefulness as wife, and forgiveness as son)

Let me stop here before every one goes to deep slumber. Suffice it to say it was a good read of 120 verses @ 8paise!

Rgds
V V R
4th Jun 06