Why Play With Koans, by Sam Mowe | DailyGood

Why Play With Koans, by Sam Mowe | DailyGood

Today I Will Do Nothing, by Grant Snider

Today I Will Do Nothing, by Grant Snider

PATTAR AND HIS ‘2-chakra Vaahanam’

(This piece is dedicated to my young Pattar friends who are the beacons of hope for the Seniors)

These days I am fighting a losing battle at home. No, no. It is not the battle of ‘The Bulge’ (my unsuccessful fight against the waxing and waning of my waist line); nor operation ‘The Desert Fox’ (my receding hair line); it is much more physical than that viz. the one-to-one (tu tu- mein mein) that I engage with my son on almost daily basis. The debate is about a contraption called Mobike. My son is a sportsman . Until recently, he was sporting long hairs tied with a rubber band like the management guru Arindham Choudhary or the Australian cricketer Jason Gillespie. Then he heard this joke from his grandpa, with whom he has a joint account in the C S Bank. The joke.

A young Christian boy had just gotten his driving license. He asked his grandpa, if they could discuss his use of grandpa’s car (could as well be Mobike). The old man said to him, "I'll make a deal with you. You bring your grades up, study the Bible a little, and get your hair cut, and then we will talk about it".  

A month later the boy came back and again asked his grandpa if they could discuss his use of the car. The old man said, "Son, I'm real proud of you. You have brought your grades up, you've studied the Bible diligently, but you didn't get hair cut!"

The young boy waited a moment and replied, "Well grandpa, I've been thinking about that. You know Samson had long hair, Moses had long hair, Noah had long hair, and even Jesus had long hair."

The old man replied, "Yes son, and they all walked everywhere they went!"

    My son seemed to have taken the broad hint and now looks a decent sort-of-a- chap with a regulation hair cut (though not anywhere close to my (H)Air Force standard). His grandpa has left for Vaikuntam nominating his grandson as the sole nominee for his Bank account. ‘My-my’ how the old man would have relished taking- in this unbelievable yet delectable spectacle of his grandson?

    “Appa when shall I get the two-wheeler?” he pesters “It is not your money in any case”, rubbing salt to the wound. Then the long drawn debate goes on. My beloved Pattathi remains a mute spectator. My daughter when she is here chips in now and then to support my case. But………my mind races to my own childhood days.

     Late Mr. P…….one of my father’s very close friends may not have been from Paadur (where every house has a learned Jyotsyer). All the same, he was no half-baked Vedic astrologer. My father would rush to him every Saturday night (after Atthaazham) for exploring the possibility of obtaining a suitable match for my younger sister who had just finished her MBBS from Nair Medical, Mumbai. The first look at her natal chart, I was told sent Mr. P….. into such a spin that he took some time to recover. Why?

“Lagnaal, Chandraal and Shukhraal, Kujan ettil iruppu unde!! Thrukketta Nakshtram!! Navaamsathil Kujan neechan. Guru vakrathil, Chandran balaheenan.” This meant that it was an ominous task to find a groom for her. But as luck would have it, Mr. P…… took out from his collection an equally impossible chart of a boy who willingly tied the knot the very next month (The affluent couple is presently enjoying their retired life at Navi-Mumbai with not a care in the world). This was the second time I admired this Jyotsyer- friend of my father for his accurate predictions and skill in match-making.

But the first time was when I, a mere 12- year –old (I was so close to Mr. P…. that I could take liberties with him) had asked him rather disdainfully, “Uncle? Do I have Vaahana yogam?”

“Badava rascal! Evada vaaa” he chided. “Yes, certainly, you would soon acquire one. Don’t worry”, he had said seriously. “And not a nadavandi, ok?” he added smilingly. I took his statement with a bag of salt. But amazingly, the prediction came true. I got a bicycle.

First time I ran into a car, I wasn't in a car myself. I was riding my second hand ‘Swift’ bicycle given to me in 1952 by my father. His boss Balasaheb D Garware gave away his son, (Ashok Garware’s) old bicycle to me. Why? Well, he appeared to have been very happy with me when we called on him at ‘Kapur Mahal, Marine Drive’. Trying to impress my sister, I hit a Morris Minor parked at the stop sign. There were no injuries to boy or automobil (now-a-days they don't make 'em like they used to).

My parrot green ‘Swift’ with blue and white streamers attached to the hand grips was my first real possession. In the Palghat village where I come from, any boy's bicycle is sacred, and treated with certain veneration. But on the day my bicycle arrived at Vile Parle, packed in a gunny bag in a knocked - down condition (pun not intended) I found it hard to pluck up the courage to ride it. I felt very vulnerable, a soft thing of flesh and brittle bone, when perched on that mass of steel which looked anything but a bicycle. But twelve-year-olds don't ask each other what they do for a living; they want to know if that Bike with the basket on the handlebars and the back fender removed is yours. Riding your bicycle for the first time is comparable to taking a spin in the family car when you finally get your driver's license (not a miniature, learner’s bicycle with training wheels attached as my own kids first rode upon). So I simply hopped on, testing the limit of my expertise with disastrous results; but soon ‘Swift’ and I were to become as one, enjoying the freedom of pedalling through distant unchartered routes- My companion was Pama (Padmakar Raut) who could ride his own bike ‘Rudge’ with such élan and aplomb to put to shame even the best of the acrobats from the Kamala 3-ring Circus riders.

I let go of ‘Swift’ the day my friend left me after battling his Cancer so bravely.

My bicycle is part of most of my boyhood memories. It would lie on the grass at Vile-Parle Park (No self-respecting boy used a kickstand!!!!) during “Sunday- afternoon- yellow-ball- badminton” matches of Senior Pattars. On most days, it was parked in the bike rack at Parle Tilak Vidyalay (where my friend Pama Raut studied) and it leaned against the wall outside the Parle Theatre during Saturday matinees (where Tarzan, Zoro and Superman transported us to imaginary worlds; and Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, Bud Abbot and Lou Costello provided the laughs).

Today I own a mountain bike, the 5th in a series since I began riding. I've found the old adage true: One never forgets how to ride a bike. And, even though my trips are not as long or rugged as they used to be, I've discovered that one doesn't forget the pleasure of riding.

            As a technical officer, at many an Air Force Station, when I used to exhort my colleagues thus, “Go for a bike; it doesn't use non-renewable resources or pollute (including noise pollution), is inexpensive both for ownership and in terms of public infrastructure to support it, can be parked anywhere, and is a healthy activity”, they would retort, "Blah, blah, blah. Tell us something new".

            But my CTO (Chief Technical Officer) SRP used to silence them by letting go his Brahma Astra, (the thunderbolt of the Gods) thus. But before that a word about this great personality.

Air Commodore Sreepad Ratnakar Patankar (not his real name), let us call him SRP

(his real initials) is also a Pattar, a pure unalloyed, unadulterated Koknastha Brahman. Whereas his second son is married and settled in USA, the elder one after joining the Air Force is doing very well like his illustrious father. SRP is a graduate from College of Engineering, Pune and what he does not know about MiG variants ‘is not worth knowing’. He is not an instinctive engineer. “He is a work-in-progress”. At any time of the day or night, we could consult him and seek his advice and SRP would give a clinching diagnosis on the technical snag. He could pin point with accuracy the fault in an engine by merely listening to the ground run. He had to his credit so many innovative methods and diagnostic routines that the Ruskies often consulted him on several finer points of repair routines. He would appear to concentrate deeply on something only he can see. That is SRP for you- a genius indeed. The only problem is that his spoken words travelled faster than his thoughts, as a result even if you ran to catch those words you would still be standing on the spot and listening to what he said an hour ago.-a Breathless Shankar Mahadevan of seventies. But he is a simpleton to the core. You needn't go too far to see a true Gandhian. Just walk into his nest and you would be astounded to see how simple a life he leads. But people often misread his quiet determination. SRP would never turn his back on any one in trouble.

“People confuse niceness with weakness and think I have no spine”, he would say. I

asked him once, ”what advice he would give the young officers?” “Well, Let other people talk about you, don’t ever talk about yourself.” And amazingly, when we were all wanting to get out of that salt mine of a place in the remote East, this officer refused his promotion and posting to Delhi just so as to be able to savour his only pleasure, namely maintenance of the R11 engine of MiG -21. Apart from several other common tastes I shared with him, our passion to ride bicycles was an aspect which bound our affections even more closely.

“O.K., here are at least two reasons that you guys have never heard before. Not in your wildest dreams”, SRP would argue coming to my rescue. And if they weren't already riding a bicycle for fun, fitness, or transportation, they would be convinced to get their gears spinning by the time SRP finished with them. This was how:

“First, a bicycle is in certain ways the most intelligent vehicle ever created. It has, perched on top of it the world's most advanced "engine" controlled with the most wondrous and sophisticated "computer." The engine often knows what's wrong with itself and usually fixes itself. A bicycle is also the world's most energy efficient mode of travel, using just 35 calories per passenger mile versus 1860 for an average automobile with one occupant. And the engine can run on all kinds of strange fuels, like Bindis, Baingan, Chapattis etc. In comparison cars use dinosaurs. Actually, they burn decomposed dinosaurs in an internal combustion engine that, evolutionarily speaking, is about at the Paleolithic era.” SRP would rattle out like singer, Shanker Mahadevan in one breath

“Appa, SRP uncle and aunty are in a world of their own. Spending their retired life offering their services in an Ashram near Pune which takes care of destitute and lepers”, reminds my daughter from Pune. I was not surprised.

              He taught me that life was all about Service and excellence.

Bikes are faster than cars. In all urban areas, this is literally true. Congestion,  traffic signals, parking-space-search time, and walking-to-final-destination time all add up to reduce (Oxymoron unintended) the speed of even the highest powered motor vehicle to about that of a bicycle. However, if you consider that the time cost of travel also includes the amount of time spent working to pay for the vehicle, bicycles come roaring ahead. (I did my part time MBA (Operation Research) from FMS, Delhi University). Don’t forget to consider the advantages of reduced life-cycle cost, replacement cost and the running (pun unintended) cost. By the way there is a hidden opportunity cost too –no medical bills due to BP, arthritis, obesity and the like and the EMI payments on loan...

Bicycling with the wind in your face and your senses on hyper-drive was life at its best during my first short 6 month stint as GOI inspector, at Bonham, Texas in the 70s. It was out of this world.

Try it before the time comes when you won't be able to.

So be a kid again. If you don’t believe, ask SRP.

But hear what my son has to say.

“Appa, according to Muhammad Ali, ‘A man who views the world the same at sixty as he did at twenty has wasted forty years of his life”

“Yeah? I know who you mean! Do you know what Confucius said, my son? To be truly happy and contented, you must let go of what it means to be happy or content.” I retorted.

“O, Appa You are cool”, said my son and went out making me feel like a nerd.

Then I prayed thus:

“Dear God, I thank You for the gift of this child to raise, this life to share, this mind to help mold, this body to nurture, and this spirit to enrich. Let me never betray this child’s trust, dampen this child’s hope, or discourage this child’s dreams. Help me, dear God, to help this precious child become all you mean him to be. Let your grace and love fall on him like gentle breezes and give him inner strength and peace and patience for the journey ahead even if it is on his MOBIKE.”

“What colour is my 2-chakra vaahanam?” you mean?

Parrot green, of course.

V V R (a retired retreaded Air Vice Marshal)

19^th Jul 2005

A Uneeeeque Disagreement

A Unique Disagreement Dear Young Minds, This one is from my C-in-C {Comra(i)d(e) in Crime}, Col (Retreaded) Haar-ki-Raat Singh!, a member of our CCCCC (Colony Concrete Culvert Conference Committee)....(average age of members as per censor carried out at the end of Nandana Varsha being 76+)..a member whom I (personally) love to hate. Why? Well, he talks sense; fires straight from his shoulders; calls a spade a spade; always dressed right for the occasion; gives a treat when beaten in Golf. Over to HKRS... Quote Robert Thorton or Thornton (some such name) related the following incident from his childhood: In the middle of one of my parents' more memorable disagreements, my father jumped up from the table, grabbed two sheets of paper, and said to my mother, "Let's make a list of everything we don't like about each other." Mom started writing. Dad glowered at her for a few minutes, and then wrote on his paper. She wrote again. He watched her, and every time she stopped, he would start writing again. They finally finished. "Let's exchange complaints," Dad said. They gave each other their lists. "Give mine back," Mom pleaded when she glanced at his sheet. * * * * * * All down the page Dad had written: "I love you, I love you, I love you." – Source: Internet When I told(ed) this to my Sahadharmini, she sim(B)ly, handed over to me six fools-cap blank sheets and a humble pencil. No marks for guessing what I wrote ( no not an imposition....a voluntary declaration) Ciao V~v~R 20-05-13 “What is beautiful is not always good, but what is good is always beautiful.” - Unknown".

Vrukshebhyo Namah........Vanaspathaye Namah

Vrukshebhyo Namah........Vanaspathaye Namah (What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and to one another.)-MKG Dear Young Minds, My 'fauji' postings to far-flung areas of Rajasthan gave me some unforgettable periods of experience and opportunities to mingle with the locals. Like every other non-urbanite of our great nation, Rajasthan too has its fair share of wonderful people who live close to nature; do not manage nature but let 'nature manage them'. A village in southern Rajasthan's Rajsamand district is quietly practising its own, homegrown brand of Eco-feminism and achieving spectacular results. For the last several years, Piplantri village panchayat has been saving girl children and increasing the green cover in and around it at the same time. Here, villagers plant 111 trees every time a girl is born and the community ensures these trees survive, attaining fruition as the girls grow up. Over the last six years, people here have managed to plant over a quarter million trees on the village's grazing commons. The village's former leader, Shyam Sundar Paliwal was instrumental in starting this initiative in the memory of his daughter Kiran. Read a report titled "For every girl child born, they plant 111 trees" by MAHIM PRATAP SINGH in Hindu paper dated 13th April 13, by a visit to: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-otherstates/for-every-girl-child-born-they-plant-111-trees/article4612837.ece This article shares more details about this remarkable hidden corner of the world; In an atmosphere where every morning newspapers greet us with stories of girls being tormented, raped, killed or treated like a doormat in one way or the other, some of our “village republics” seem to bring in some good news from time to time like the welcome showers on a parched land! But then we have always been sim(B)le people and like that (vo)nly no? Our scriptures are abound with paying respects to Nature; but then in the name of progress we lost out the 'helicopter view'. We recite, :namasthe vrukshebhya harikesebhya (The lore looks upon the trees as the flying curls of Hari:). In fact, Rudradhyaaya abounds in hymns to praise and worship the trees and all sources of water as the incarnations of Lord Rudra: dyo saanthi; anthariiksham saanthi; aapa saanthi; oushadhaye saanthi; vanaspathaye saanthi; sarvam saanthi.etc etc. (Let tranquility be to the sky, atmosphere, earth, water, and the entire flora and for everything.) Interestingly 'Kaamandakiiya Niithisaaram' has many pithy statements; (one such on a short-cut to heaven is given below. How I wish our Netas read this "Element of Polity"..Kaamandaka niithisaara. whose tenets hold good to a Tee even today) asvadhmekam pichumandamekam nyagrodhamekam dasathinthrinischa kapithhavilvamalakathrayancha panchamranali narakam nayathi. (One who plants one pipal tree, one neem tree, one banyan tree, ten tamarind trees, three jackfruit trees, and five coconut trees would never go to hell.) So? Planting trees was considered sacred which would help one attain heaven, since they were reckoned as the expressions of the ultimate knowledge about the divine, the Veda. It is interesting to note Jaambavaan’s briefing to Hanumaan on the eve of his 'flying' trip to fetch mruthasanjiivani. He described the medicinal plants as the icons of the highest knowledge, vedasvarupa. But who cares? Why waste time on the 'Chipko- movement' and the like? Let's continue to ravage our mother earth and leave nothing for our children!(sic)! Jai hind! Warm rgds V~v~R 11-05-13 “What is beautiful is not always good, but what is good is always beautiful.” - Unknown".

Corporate misdemeanour.

Corporate misdemeanour.

Dear friends,
Lots of interesting mails have been flowing in regarding Satyam's Corporate misdemeanour. Over some time, I too wish to pen a few posts looking at the event from different angles...because it provides an unique case study for every one to ponder and draw one's own lessons. One report for instance says that Raju was obsessed with possession of land and diverted huge funds to acquire the same thus deviating from the firm's main theme 'IT'. Without going into the merits or otherwise of such obsession, my sahadharmini immediately recalled her school days..and Leo Tolstoy's story "How much land does a man need?"
The central character of the story is a farmer named Pahom.He always cribbed that he did not own enough land. A landlady in the village decides to sell her estate, and the peasants of the village buy as much of that land as they can. Pahom himself purchases some land, and by working off the extra land repays his debts and lives a comfortable life.
However, Pahom then becomes obsessively possessive of his land, and this gets him into discord with his neighbours. This is a first sign that greed is disrupting his moral values. Later, he moves to a larger area of land at another Commune. Here, he can grow even more crops and amass a small fortune, but he has to grow the crops on rented land, which irritates him.
Finally, he is introduced to the Bashkirs, and is told they are simple-minded people who own a huge amount of land. Thus, he approaches them to take as much of their land for as low a price as he can negotiate. Their offer is very unusual: for a sum of 1000 rubles, Pahom can walk around as large an area as he wants, starting at daybreak, marking his route with a spade along the way. If he reaches his starting point by sunset that day, the entire area of land his route encloses will be his. He is delighted as he believes that he can cover a great distance and has chanced upon the bargain of a lifetime.
His journey across the land illustrates his greediness. He tries to cover as much land as possible, not content with what he already has. As the sun nearly sets, he realizes his error...he had walked too far... and runs back as fast as he can to the waiting Bashkirs. He finally arrives at the starting point just as the sun sets. The Bashkirs cheer his good fortune, but exhausted from the run, he drops dead. They bury him in an ordinary grave only six feet long, thus ironically answering the question posed in the title of the story.
Tolstoy’s message in the story is clear enough - Pahom destroys himself because he allows the sin of greed to guide his life.The truths in Tolstoy’s story can be rationalized, of course. Pahom makes choices of his own free will - and those choices lead him to destruction.
And some may say that Tolstoy’s religiosity seems quaint and out of tune with our complicated times.It might also be useful in our complicated times to do some simple substitutions for the word
“land” and see if the warning Tolstoy’s simple parable offers has a different ring. How about if one substituted - oil? convenience food (do you call it fast food? ),cheap goods? clean water and air? war? power? money? (I’m sure others are occurring to you….).Tolstoy seems to get complicated enough for us pretty quickly then…
And hey!, This has no link with my "Pattar Plans a Purchase" story.

Warm rgds
V~v~R
11-01-09

Annadaanam

Annadaanam
("God comes to the hungry in the form of food")--Gandhi.
Dear friends,
I have heard elders say that "there is no other 'Daanam' greater than 'Annadaanam'; It is the ultimate". My sahadharmini elucidates further, "That is the only 'Daanam' which having received, the recipient gets satiated and says 'no thanks..enough' as compared to any other 'Daanam'.... material or otherwise which never satisfies the receiver who will crave for some more and more!!!" A point which I pondered every time I sat with thousands of devotees for a free meal at almost all of the temples we visited in Karnataka State equipped with their mechanized kitchens!!!
With my 32 years of nomadic life as a soldier my children had the unique privilege of being with their grandparents who recalled for the kids stories from scriptures couched in moral values. Today if my son misses any one on this planet, he simply says "Grandpa". So now for some musings:
The Mahabharata war is over. The central characters are all in heaven/hell. In fact Yudhishtira is even surprised to see Dhuryodhana in Heaven! Karna too is in heaven but with slight discomfort due to nagging hunger. "Krishna! I feel so hungry here in heaven", pleads Karna.
"Well, suck your forefinger and may be you will get satiated" taunts Krishna. "Remember? That poor hungry soul who was once ready to eat out of your hands? What did you do? You directed him by pointing towards Dhuryodhana who at that time was dolling out 'Annadaanam'. Was that all the so called daanaveera karna could do? Now you suck that same finger and be happy and see if you could get appeased!" admonished Krishna.
Karna is the very embodiment of sacrifice. Nay, sacrifice is a synonym for Karna. In the entire world you cannot find one other man equal in the spirit of sacrifice to Karna. In weal or woe, triumph or defeat he could not forget the quality of sacrifice. But Karna was human after all. He had forgotten that Krishna had already granted him his request on an earlier occasion to make amends soon enough!
Cut to that occasion
Darkness had enveloped the battlefield. Krishna was with Arjuna. He in His sweet voice was calling out, "Karna! Karna!" Karna was gasping for breath in his last moments. He cried, "Who is calling me? I am here." Following the direction from which the words came, Krishna went near Karna. Before that, Krishna assumed the form of an indigent Brahmin. Karna asked him, "Who are you, sir?" Karna was nearing his last breath. Krishna (as the poor Brahmin) replied, "I have heard a lot about your reputation as a charitable person. You are known as, 'Daana Karna' (Karna the great giver). Today, not knowing your plight, I am here to ask you for a gift….. a donation." "Certainly, I shall give you whatever you want," replied Karna. "I am to perform the marriage of my son. I want a small quantity of gold," said Krishna. "Oh! Is that so? Please go to my wife, she will give you as much gold as you need", said Karna. The Brahmin broke into a laughter. He said, "For the sake of a little gold have I to go all the way to Hastinapura? If you say, you are not in a position to give me what I ask, I shall leave you. "
Karna declared, "As long as breath remains in me, I will not say 'no' to anyone." Karna opened his mouth, showed the gold fillings for his teeth and said, "I shall give this to you. You can take them." Assuming a tone of revulsion, Krishna said, "What is it you suggest? Do you expect me to break your teeth and take the gold from them? How can I do such a wicked deed? I am a Brahmin."
Immediately, Karna picked up a stone nearby, knocked out his teeth and offered them to the Brahmin. Krishna in his guise as Brahmin wanted to test Karna further. "What? Are you giving me as gift teeth dripping with blood? I cannot accept this. I am leaving", he said. Karna pleaded, "Swami, please wait for a moment." Even while he was unable to move, Karna took out an arrow and aimed it at the sky. Immediately rain poured from the clouds. Cleaning the teeth with the rain water, Karna offered the teeth with both his hands.
Pleased with his supreme sacrifice, Krishna grants Karna the vision of himself seated on Garuda, accompanied by his consorts. The Lord promises Karna to grant him whatever boon he wishes. Karna says that, although he could ask Krishna to give victory to Duryodhana and bring his armies back to life, he does not want to do so. He then requests two things: firstly, that as soon as he dies, his mother Kunti shall be informed. She will rush to the battlefield and proclaim publicly that Karna is her son and that he is not of low caste. Secondly, in order to reach Krishna's feet (that is, the liberation of his soul from the cycle of births) Karna wants to fulfill the good deed of feeding others (annadaanam). This is the only daanam he has not been able to carry out in this life, because nobody wanted to eat in the house of a person of low caste. He asks Krishna to give him in his next births the means to be liberal and the opportunity to carry out annadaanam. A moved Krishna grants Karna these favours and tells him that in his next life he will be reborn as Siruttontar Nayanar, famous for offering his own son as food to Lord Siva, after which he will attain moksham.
Warm rgds
V~v~R
31-01-09

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