Mass prayer event at Orlando – August 29th 2009

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

By the grace of Lord Sri Hari and our beloved Sathguru Maharaj, we gathered for a mass prayer at Visconti Maitland, Orlando on a Saturday evening (29th August 2009). Our sincere gratitude to Nirmal ji and Aparna ji, Rupali ji, Sambi ji and Vinotha ji for their selfless service in taking care of the minutest requirements, starting from booking a hall to arranging for food.

It was Friday the 28th of August, Narayanan ji of Boston arrived with the Padhukas of Guru ji.

On Saturday evening at 6:30 pm with the blessings of Madhuri Saki sametha Sri Premika Varadan and Guru ji, all devotees from different satsangs came to Visconti, Maitland for the mass prayer event. We started with Sukanya ji singing kirthans of Sri Rama and Sri Krishna followed by a couple of bhajans and then we had Nama Sankeerthan for 15 minutes.

Then Narayanan ji gave a wonderful discourse of the importance of Sadhu Sangha. He started by narrating the story from Srimad Bhagavatham of young boy Dhruva and highlighted how the sangha of a Guru is most required in our quest for God.

The stories went in a chain linking different incidents in the life of Mahans and stories in Srimad Bhagavatham that stresses on the importance of shravana and Bhagavan nama smarana. He cited several Alwar Pasurams such as “Apothaiku epothey soli Vaithen” and “Eetchuvai perithum venden arangama nagarul aanen” and “Kulam tharun selvan tharum… Narayana enum namam”. He also explained the conversation between Suka Muni and Praikshit Maharaj on the existence of Naraka. When Parikshit questions Suka Muni, if the Lord was compassion personified why does he want a soul to suffer in Naraka? Could he not forgive or give him another chance or provide a path for Prayachitha or atonement for the sins the soul might have committed? To this Suka Muni says how a soul is suffering the likes of Naraka right here, don’t we see people quarrelling and at times hurting each other with weapons? When we fry sweets and savories for festivals like Sri Jayanthi or Gokulastami sometimes a fly was fall into the hot oil and burn itself which is similar to the kumbi bhakam in naraka that a soul may undergo for some of his wrong deeds on earth. And regarding atonements he says if only God provided atonements to all the sins that people will first learn of the atonement and then commit the sin assuming that he can alleviate the sin if he performs the right atonement.

Narayan ji then narrated the story of Ajamila, one of the favorite stories of Guru ji. Ajamila, although being a great sinner called out to his 10th son Narayana during his last breath and hence Sri Hari sent his Dhivya Suris to bring the soul of Ajamila to Vaikunta. He explained the conversation between the Yama Dhuthas and the Dhivya Suris. Also took us to Yama loka to hear the conversation between the Yama Dhuthas and Yama Dharma Raja. Some of these conversations were very interesting and kept ringing back in our ears. Like how the Yama Dhuthas on reaching Yama loka ask Yama Dharma Raja if there was anybody superior to him or is it only Yama Dharma Raja who is superior. To which Yama Dharma Raja does not answer and questions them on why they have returned without the soul of Ajamila a sinner. The Yama Dhutas then tell him that Ajamila screamed and hence they could not bring his soul. Now Yama Dharma Raja laughs and says who does not scream while they are being brought to Yama loka, you Dhutas must have been used to such screaming by now and should have still brought Ajamila here. But the Yama Dhutas say that this particular scream was very different and they’ve not heard this before and as his screamed there were 4 Dhivya Suris who arrived to take his soul. So Yama Dharma Raja curiously asked what did Ajamila scream? And the Yama Dhutas replied that he screamed “Narayana”. Immediately Yama Dharma Raja rose from his aasana with hands raised over his head and then said, now I’ll answer your first question. Then he goes about to say how he is not independent and how Sriman Narayana is the most supreme being. Then the conversation between the Yama Dhutas and Yama Dharma Raja continues as they ask that as per out rules any sinner should be brought here to Yama Loka and put to sufferings and how can this be overridden by chanting the nama of the supreme being at the last breath? To this Yama Dharma Raja beautifully explains that above all these Dharma’s and Shastras we have a Dharma called the Bhagavatha Dharma which was known only to 12 people and now he explains this Dharma in the Srimad Bhagavatham.

So as per Bhagavatha Dharma, the moment a soul recites the Bhagavan Nama at its last breath it belongs to Lord Sri Hari and he will take the soul onto his fold forgiving all his misdoings in the past. So if reciting the Bhagavan Nama at the last breath is sufficient why then do we require to chant his names now and go to satsangs? Here Narayan ji explained how we may know about everything except 2 things in life that is When we would die and how we would die. So we never know whether during that last moment of our death we would have the conscious to call out to the lord. Hence we require this satsang starting as early and continuously through our lives because it is this satsang that will carry us safely in this kali yuga. There will be sorrows and joys to devotees who attend a satsang but they will be considered as mere blessings of the Lord and the sorrows will seem trivial as we would gain clarity on approaching every deed.

Talking about sorrows, Narayan ji also narrated the story of how in the initial days Vivekananda requested Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa to ask Kali matha to give him more money as he was was bogged down with several debts after his fathers death. To this Sri Ramakrishna replies that he cannot ask favors but he would bless Vivekananda such that he can request Kali matha directly and said that the same night Vivekananda can go to the temple and Kali math would give him darshan and then he can request for whatever he wanted. So that night Vivekananda decides what all he should ask Kali matha and went to the temple. But on seeing Kali matha he simply asked for “Bhakti, Jnana and Vairagya”. Upon returning the next day Sri Rama Krishna Paramahamsa asks if Kali fulfilled his wishes? And Vivekananda replied that he forgot to ask for his wishes. The Sri Ramakrishna says that he will grant him one more opportunity. So the second night Vivekananda goes but the same thing happens. And the same conversation follows between Sri Ramakrishna and Vivekananda. Now he is granted a 3rd opportunity and the same thing happens. Finally on the fourth day Sri Ramakrishna says he cannot grant him any more chances to meet Kali. To this Vivekananda replies that he does not require any more darshans of Kali as on the 3rd night’s darshan, though he remembered all his wishes, he still asked for “Bhakti, Jnana and Vairagya” because in front of these his problems and sorrows seemed trivial. This shows how the Guru’s sangha guides us and gives us the clarity to choose the highest and the best even when we are in deep sorrow.

Later Narayan ji sang Jananeshwar Maharaj’s Abhang “Kala vela Nama ucharitha nahi” Where he sins how by “he” merely chanting the names of the Lord can witness all his forefathers attaining vaikunta. The satsang was concluded with the chanting of Nama for another 5 minutes. Finally Narayan ji thanked every devotee for joining us that evening and sharing the glories of the lord. As a satsang is not a satsang unless we have more and more devotees blessing each other by narrating the glories so that others can do shravana and singing the names of the lord and performing smarana. At the end all the devotees offered flowers to Madhuri Saki Sametha Sri Premika Varadan and beloved Guru ji followed by distribution of fruits and prasad.

Yet another Janmastami Satsang 2009 !!!

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

By the grace of Lord Sri Hari and our beloved Satguru Maharaj, we had yet another wonderful satsang. 7 familes and around 5 bachelors joined us at the residence of Sri Madhanagopal. The satsang started with Nama Sankeertan of Hare Rama Mahamantra, followed by an assortment of several enchanting bhajans.

Bhajans on Sri Krishna, his leela, Sriman Narayana, Sri Rama and the ever adorable Panduranga were sung.

Anand ji was leading the bhajans in his own inimitable style.

After a very intense session of Bhajans, Aravind ji proceeded to give a similar discourse on Srimad Bhagavatham as yesterday. (posted the details of the discourse on yesterdays post 13th August 2009)

The only difference being the discourse was in pleasing tamil as all the families and bachelors comprising of about 20 people who came to the satsang were tamilians.
We had a similar parayanam of the birth of Lord sri Krishna and also the parayanam of the divinely melodious "Venu Geetam".

The satsang concluded with Nama Sankeertan and distribution of very sumptuos prasadam. Everyone throughly enjoyed the satsang and the bhajans. We could all feel the enriching vibes in that large living room .

Janmastami Satsang 2009 !!!

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

By the grace of Sri Hari and our beloved Sathguru Maharaj, we had a wonderful satsang here at home to celebrate the birth of Gokul :)

5 families joined us at home for an evening of bhajans and parayana.
The satsang started with nama sankeertan of the Hare Rama Maha Mantra, followed by several bhajans on Sri Krishna, his leela's, his antics, his beauty and his grace.
Aravind ji, gave a discourse emphasizing on the need for nama sankeertan in this kali yuga and mentioned that there is yet another easier path to attain the Lord, that is the path of Katha Sharavanam. By merely listening to the stories of the Lord one can reach that supreme.

One great example to this path is King Parikshit. During the advent of Kali yuga, King Parikshit was overcome by kali's prowess due to exhaustion and thirst. He committed an unethical action as he did not receive any response from the Shamika Maharishi in his ashram which he happened to cross while tracing his way back to his kingdom after a grueling hunting expedition. He had requested water from the sage who was in deep meditation and did not notice the king. King Parikshit in haste threw a dead snake around the neck of the sage and left. The sage’s son Sringi who returned to the ashram later noticed the snake, was infuriated and cursed that whoever had committed this heinous act will die by bite of the celestial snake Thakshaka in 7 days.

This Sringi informed his father once he arose from meditation. Shamika Maharishi was most displeased and sent this sad message to king Parikshit as he felt it’s his right to know that is death is nearing. King Parikshit on hearing this news was overwhelmed to realize that in this world of uncertainties, he is sure of at least one thing that he die only the 7th day and never before. So he made his son ascend the throne and take care of the kingdom while he could retire to the banks of the holy Ganges and contemplate on the supreme.

As he went to the Ganges, Sri Suka the divine son of Sri Veda Vyasa came and enquired king Parikshit. On hearing about his curse, Sri Suka decided to recite the Srimad Bhagavatham in 7days to king Parikshit. Several other sages congregated to listen to the Srimad Bhagavatha from the divine Sage Suka.

Srimad Bhagavatham is comprised of 12 cantos with 18000 slokas.
Sage Suka recited the slokas in each canto. The first canto is how Kunti extols Bhagavan Sri Krishna and how Beeshmacharya extols Sri Krishna. The second Canto provides insights on the creation of the universe. The third Canto is about the avatar of Lord as Kapila who preached his own mother on liberation. Fourth Canto explains the way to lead life with Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha.
The fifth Canto is the story of Jadabaratha. The sixth and middle canto in Srimad Bhagavatham is the story of Ajamila which shows the Lords compassion. The seventh Canto is about the great bhagavatha Sri Prahalad. The eighth Canto is on the elephant Gajendra moksham and also the avatharams of the Lord as Vamana. The ninth Canto is the story of Lord Rama. Finally in the 10th Canto Sri Suka recites just 10 slokas on Lord Sri Krishna. Now king Parikshit is so disappointed. He has been listening to the Bhagavatham for the fast 5 days eagerly waiting to hear about his maternal grandfather and the supreme personality Sri Krishna. Until this moment Sage Suka addressed king Parikshit as ‘Rajanu’ but now seeing his earnest longing to listen more on Lord Sri Krishna he starts to address him as ‘Raja Rishi’. Meaning that he has developed a liking to the stories of the divine and hence he a Raja or a king among Rishis.

Now he explains in detail the birth and leela of Lord Sri Krishna. When Bhooma devi in the form of a Cow came to Lord Bhrama to save her from the burden from all the evil forces causing atrocities on earth, Lord Bhrama and all the devas along with Bhooma devi go to Lord Hari to protect them. So the Lord decided or made sankalpa to take birth as Sri Krishna in yadhu kula.
Thus in the avatar as Sri Krishna, the Lord descended with his entire prowess. The Supreme truth which the Vedas could not understand, the supreme truth that is in the heart of hearts, thoughts of all thoughts, who resides in the smallest atom to the largest star, the unborn is now born!!!

Thus the Bhagavatha parayana was performed, reading about the birth of Lord Sri Krishna. We also listened to the parayanam of the divine Venu Geetham. Everyone joined in reciting the most beautiful sloka ‘Barhapedam’

Our satsang closed with nama sankeertham and distribution of prasad
Happy Birthday Gokul!

Janmastami 2009 !!!

Janmastami falls on 13th midnight of August this year.
Recollecting the days back at home, when little feet like symbols are made from the entrance of the house to the pooja room resembling kutti krishna's feet :) These symbols are made from rice flour. As you follow the little feet you'll enter a pooja room filled with pleasant fragrance of agarbathi which is overridden by the appetizing fragrance of cheedai's, thattai's and muruku's


This year I intend to relive those days from my aan in chennai here in an altamonte apartment. To setup the stage for the Janmastami celebrations, stock up on Rice flour, jaggery, copara (dried coconut), urad dal, channa dal, besan flour, potu kadalai maavu, aval, coconut, cumin seeds, red chilly powder, sesame seeds, cardamom, oil, ghee and butter.

Chronicles of wellbeing - Part 1

Concentrate on protein intake :)

We require at least 50 gm of protein per day. Here’s a list of protein counter in several Indian recipes.

1. A cup of Indian dal - 15 gm
2. A cup of sprouted dal - 20 gm
3. A cup of nuts - 20 gm
4. A cup of milk - 9 gm
5. A cup of yogurt/curd - 9 gm


6. A slice of wheat bread - 5 gm
7. A slice of cheese - 4 gm
8. A bowl of veggie soup - 5 gm
9. 2 Roti's (with soyflour) - 5 gm
10. 2 Adai's - 8 gm
11. A cup of paneer - 25 gm

Note: A Cup measures 236 - 240 ml.And a Bowl measures to 2 cups that is about 470 ml

Mineral intake is second to protein. And Calcium is the most important mineral required.

1 cup of Yogurt - 415 mg

1 cup of Milk - 321 mg

1 cup of Cheddar cheese - 200 mg

1/2 cup of Paneer - 115mg

At most times we'll require to take additional calcium tablets or chewable to obtain the daily value of 1000 mgs :(

Iron is another important mineral and the daily recommended intake is 18 mgs.

Sadly i know of only a few foods that contain a non-negligible quantity of Iron.
A cup of Quinoa - 6.2 mg
A cup of Rajma dal - 5.2 mg

5 Drierd Peaches - 5.3 mgs

Please note it would greatly help me and others who may read this blog if anybody can share your comments or suggestions or corrections on these health tips provided above.

Nama Anubhava

The Oranges

We have satsangs at home on every Sunday and on one Sunday the 11th of January 2009 we were invited by a colleague (I’ll call him Mr.G) to conduct a satsang at his house at 7:00 pm. The community where he resides is just 3 miles away. This is what happened on that Sunday, as usual we started our first satsang session at our home at 4:30 pm. Until 4:45 nobody arrived and finally one member showed up with his daughter. So we continued the satsang and talks with him and his daughter until 5.15 pm. And the end we gave them oranges as Prasad.
After they left, we were getting ready for the second satsang at 6:00 pm and also the satsang at Mr.G's house.

A new member was expected to join our 6:00 pm satsang. At 5 mins to 6:00 she called us from a public telephone system asking for the routes as she was lost. My husband asked her to wait at the shopping complex from where she was calling and suggested that he would come and pick her up as it was only a 5 minute drive from our house. Now as I was chanting the Hare Rama maha mantra and waiting for this one member and my husband to arrive soon, the phone rang. That was strange, we generally mute all the Land line phones and mobile phones once the satsang starts, but since it was getting delayed today we had forgotten about it. It did not strike me that it could be the satsang member or my husband from the shopping complex trying to find each other or something. But anyways it was neither of them, but another satsang member who usually turns up for the 4:30 pm satsang sessions.

Mr.A as i want to call him going forward, requested that he and his family would like to join our 6:00 pm satsang. I was overjoyed and informed him to come in as soon as possible as it was already 6:00 pm. In another 2 mins or so, my husband and Ms.C (the member who was waiting at the shopping complex) arrived while i was chanting. She was an American lady and had never been to our satsangs before, so my husband tried to explain in brief about our satsang and requested her to chant the maha mantra along with us.

As we all were chanting, Mr.A arrived with his family. We settled soon and continued with the chanting, kitans and my husband gave a talk on why we chant, the purpose of your lives and benefits of a satsang gathering. By the time we completed our last round of chanting and discussions it was 6.50 pm. Yes we will be delayed for our third satsang session at Mr.G's house. So i immediately distributed the orange Prasad to all the members. So as soon as the members left, (of course Ms.C was stating back as we were had to drop her back at the shopping complex as her car was still parked there) my husband called Mr.G and informed him that we'll be late and would arrive before
7.15 pm. So as we were gathering the kirtan materials and some satsang materials like newsletters. As we were leaving the house i grabbed the oranges basket and off we went to drop off Ms.C and rush to Mr.G's house for the satsang.

As planned we arrived at 7:15 pm and my husband explained the flow of the satsang and we all chanted and sang kirtans and he gave the same talk on purpose and benefits of nama sankirtan. It was a really intense satsang of 40 mins. Everyone was so immersed in nama sankirtans and very interactive during the discussion on why we all should gather like this once a week. We were so happy that there was at least 1 representative from each of the 5 Indian families that reside in that community. As the satsang concluded, I as usually picked up my basket to distribute the Prasad. Suddenly a thought struck me, "Did I check if I have enough fruits for everybody in this satsang?" I did not want any member to go back home without Prasad. I was chanting the maha mantra and started distributing the Prasad, to my delight (as no one including my husband was aware of what was going on in my mind) there were 8 members for the satsang and exactly 8 oranges in my basket.
I would not overlook this as mere coincidence...

New York (December 2007)

One of the best cities. Its full of activiy and life.

We visited NY during Christmas of 2007.

There were lots to see during Christmas as the entire city if in the celebration spirit. Several Corporates contribute to the cityscapes.

Central park was still the highlight though it was cold.

So were the usual torist sites, the natural histrory museum, the empire state building, the rockerfeler center, WTC, the bull, nasdaq.

Washington D.C (December 2007)

Spent the day with Ashok roaming around Washington. A city of libraries.

Chicago (May 17 - 18th 2008)

A typical city, lots of life in the downtown area, look alike to gotham city.

Fasinating sculptures, skyscrapes, the Michigan Lake, Navy Pier, Honorary Swami Vivekananda way, Buckingham look alike fountain, Sears tower, Hancock observatry, house of blues, open air theatre, Millenium fountain are some of the places I remember from my visit to Chicago.

Haiku 8

O krishna krishna

your nama is the nectar

ever to be known

Back to Haiku (7)

Adorned in gold

as dark as the rain clouds

Venu Gopala!

River Cruise

We boarded the Rivership Romance for a cruise on the St.Johns River. One of Florida's longest rivers flowing north. It was a three-hour ecological tour. It was interesting to know about the tannic content of the river, the Spanish moss hanging over the trees, identifying birds like the Osprey, the Blue heron, the ibis and of course the alligators.

Birds of Florida - Part 2

Today at around 11.30 a.m, I spotted a pair of Sandhill Cranes near a temple premises here in Longwood, Orlando FL

Sandhill Crane

Large gray body with a bright red cap

Interesting Facts
1. Sandhill Cranes are noted for their elaborate courtship displays. Two displays are used to form mating pairs while three other displays occur only between mates and serve to maintain the pair bond.

2. When approached by an avian predator, Sandhill Cranes fly at the predator, kicking it with their feet.

3. A crane fossil approximately ten million years old was found in Nebraska and is structurally identical to the modern Sandhill Crane, making it the oldest known bird species still surviving.

Birds of Florida

July 27th

1.00 pm - Spotted a Limpkin near the shrubs

6.00 pm – Spotted mottled ducks near the pond

Maitland

Away from home in a far off town
Where taking a stroll is no more fun

I find it eerie to walk down the lane
So I sit in my hotel thinking again

How would I survive the days to come?
Or should I just pack up and run home

It is only my work that needs my concern
And I just have to adapt to this life on the run

It feels good in a way, to see new things
And experience whatever life brings

Oh and I’m living in the sunshine state
And it sure is sunny till eight!

The ‘o’ in the cloud says hellooo…

We just moved into our own apartment in Hyderabad a couple of weeks back.
It is June and the monsoon has set into Ardhra Pradesh.

Late afternoon, there was a loud thunder maybe it was the rain clouds saying ‘Hello Hyderabad… we are back with a bang’!
And this is how the clouds posed for me today.

They did perform a 2 minute show with a downpour and disappeared to God knows where! Well it happens; maybe they were in a hurry. But I’m looking forward to receiving more of their relations in Hyderabad in the coming weeks.

Excerpts from Bhagavad Gita

46. Arjuna says, 'Krishna, please may I ask You a few more questions?
Why did You create the Universe in the first place? Why did You create man? What is the purpose of human life? I hope You would be kind enough to explain.'

47. Krishna replies, 'Arjuna, at last you are beginning to think! Let Me start with the question about why I created the Universe. I have already told you that I exist even when the Universe does not. I am then in a state of sheer oneness and absolute bliss. It is not easy for ordinary mortals to understand that state but elevated souls can, especially when they go into a trance.'

48. 'Arjuna, you may not believe this, but like humans, I also enjoy sport. Devotees refer to My sport as Leela. Creation is a Leela of God! I created diversity so that I could play with Myself, appearing in numerous forms!'

49. 'You might have sometimes seen children play with dolls. They hold the doll and talk to it. And they speak as if the doll is talking back to them. They try to feed and even spank the doll if they think it is misbehaving. My Leela is similar!'

50. 'In one line: I separated Myself from Myself so that I could Love Myself! A mother shows love to her child. That is what your eyes see.
In reality it is I, acting as the mother, who is showing love to Myself acting as the child! Feel dizzy? Don't worry! You will soon get used to this kind of stuff!'

51. Arjuna says, 'Krishna, I have a problem here. If You say that all the action one sees in the Universe is just a manifestation of You loving Yourself, then how come there is desire, attachment, etc., all of which You disapprove of?'

52. Krishna replies, 'Well, that is an interesting point you have brought up. You see Arjuna, what you call attachment, desire, etc., are, truly speaking, merely distortions of Love. I have left room for such distortions to add spice to My Leela!'

53. 'Let Me now explain why I created man. Consider a tigress. You know how fiercely the tigress protects its cubs. That protective instinct is born of motherly love. But the tigress cannot know anything about the original source of this love. So, in My Creation, I decided that there should be one species that is capable of higher consciousness.
A monkey may love its kids but it is not evolved enough to be aware of Me, and to Love Me as the Supreme Creator. That is why I created man.
In fact, I created him in My own image, blessing him with innumerable treasures, making it easy for him to recognise Me.'

54. 'Among the various species, the human form is not only the highest, but also the most sacred. Jantunam, Narajanmam Durlabham. The human form is very precious because it is in this form alone that an entity in Creation can truly cognise Me and become one with Me.'

55. 'This automatically brings Me to the Purpose of Life. This purpose is very simple. From God you have come, and to God you must return; that is all!'

56. 'People, may shake their heads and declare, "This is impossible!
How can one make God the only object of life? What about family and relatives? What about work and relaxation? Should life become one long, dull and monotonous pilgrimage to something we do not understand?" Let Me answer this doubt.'

57. 'Arjuna, you should remember that it is I who created Society, building diversity into it. Therefore, I know very well that Society needs all kinds of services for it to exist and carry on. I am not asking anyone to walk away from life. But, and this is an important point, no matter who one is and to what strata one belongs, everyone can follow his or her vocation in life in such a manner that life's purpose is also duly fulfilled.'

58. 'How is that? Here is the answer. First, quietly chant My Name while going about your work. Let us say you are sweeping the floor. It is quite easy to sweep the floor and also chant My Name at the same time.'

59. 'By the way, there are no restrictions when it comes to Name selection. I am known by many Names and you can pick any one that pleases you. Just make sure that when you chant My Name, you do so with feeling and with Love in your Heart.'

60. 'Sometimes, chanting may not be possible while you are working.
For example, pretty soon you would be busy fighting. Obviously, you would have to concentrate on the battle and cannot be chanting My Name continuously. But no problem. Just think of Me for a moment before you start.
Say a small prayer like, "Lord, I am going to be busy for a while. But it is Your work I shall be busy with. Please bless it and accept that as a humble offering from me to You." After that short prayer, you can go about your business.'

61. 'When the task is completed, you can once again say a small prayer offering thanks and expressing gratitude. So, a little prayer before, work in between and a short prayer on completion - a spiritual sandwich if you like! That will do the trick, converting work into worship!'

62. 'Arjuna, the essential point is this. I have given man a body and a mind to discover Me and to come back to me. That is why I confer the human form on a select few. That opportunity ought to be properly used and not wasted.'

63. Arjuna asks, 'Lord, You say few but there are so many people on this earth! There is something here that I am missing.'

64. Krishna replies, 'If you look at the human population alone, it might seem large. But remember, there are 8.4 million living species!
Compare the human population with the total population of all the other species put together, including the innumerable tiny insects.
You will then realise that very few indeed are at the top of the evolution ladder, just one step away from God. Surely you would concede that is indeed a rare opportunity.'

65. 'So the big question before man is whether man should waste this wonderful opportunity, living like an animal or a demon. Instead, why not follow My simple three-point formula, which is:
1) Always think of me
2) Always think you are doing my work, whatever it be
3) Dedicate all your actions to me
Stick to this magic formula and you would be home in no time at all.'

66. Arjuna responds, 'Krishna, I have a little problem with Your observation that we should think we are working for You. Let us say there is a farmer who has employed a servant. The farmer pays the wages and therefore the servant is working for the farmer and not You.
How can the servant think he is working for You? This point is not clear to me.'

67. Krishna laughs and says, 'Arjuna, if you understand what the Cosmic Drama is all about, you would not be asking this question.
True, the servant is working for the farmer but that is so only in a worldly sense. In reality, who is that farmer but Me in disguise? That is the feeling of Oneness that you ought to have.'

68. Arjuna replies, 'You are in effect saying I must see God in all, aren't You? But I still have a problem. Let us say this farmer is stingy and cruel. How can I think he is You? You are Purity, Compassion and Love whereas that farmer is mean, dishonest and wicked.
See my difficulty?'

69. Krishna replies, 'Arjuna, if you look merely at the surface, you would only see a mean and wicked person as you describe him. But go a bit deeper and what do you find then? You will discover that the so- called wicked farmer is indeed God in disguise giving you a test! Test is taste for God, you know!'

70. Arjuna is unconvinced. He shrugs and says, 'Krishna this is just too much! You are supposed to be God. You know everything. Then why must You test a person and make him suffer in the process? Just why do You have to do that?'

71. Krishna says in reply, 'You have got it all wrong. When did I tell you that I test a person in order to find out what exactly he is like?
I know for sure everything about every person of the past, the present and also the future. When I test you, it is merely for helping you to know where exactly you are on the spiritual ladder.'

72. 'A smart devotee would say, "This is a test that God has given me.
And I have done just the opposite of what He expects from me, which means I have flunked! Let this be a lesson. Next time, let me get my act together properly and not fail like now."'

73. 'If people introspect like this all the time, there would be rapid progress. And when there is progress, tests would also become less frequent.'

74. Arjuna is not ready to give up and raises a new question. He says, 'Something is still missing. I can think of many noble souls who in spite of being very pure face a lot of suffering. How do You explain that?'

75. Krishna replies, 'Oh, you have noticed that, have you? Well, the answer to that so-called paradox is the following: It is true that those noble people you are referring to do not require any quality check. Yet I put them through the grind as a part of My Master Plan!'

76. A shocked Arjuna asks, 'Your give them suffering as a part of Your Master Plan? What on earth for?'

77. Krishna replies, 'Arjuna, you must remember that everything that God does has a purpose. In this world, there are any number of bad guys who keep on setting the wrong example. Don't you think the world also needs at least a few good role models for Kshama or forbearance?
Once again, God does everything with a purpose. If a blade of grass moves, that too is a part of My Master Plan. You must have that deep faith.'

More on this series available on
http://media.radiosai.org/Journals/Vol_04/01MAR06/gita.htm.

Jai Jagannath!

Puri in Orissa is one of the most renowned pilgrimage sites for the Hindus. All saints from the Hindu religion have preached the greatness of this place. Adi Shankarar swami established his mutt in Puri.

After we read about the glories of Puri I and Aravind decide to visit Puri this year and as Ugadi (the telugu new year) was on a weekday (Monday the 19th of March) we planned to travel over the long weekend. A few members from my family and a friend from work Deepak joined us.

Initially a friend of ours from work who is a native of Bhubaneswar was to travel along with us but unfortunately he could not come along but he was always available over phone and best of all he had planned your visit so well including the food, accommodation and a local tour guide!

Although the visit to Puri is sacred and a necessary step towards a spiritual journey, I felt I had it for once and that will do. This was basically due to the pandas who preside over the daily pujas of the temple. Well I don’t want to waste my time thinking much about it.

The darshan of Lord Jagannath, Baladev and Subadra has to a great extent calmed me from the external annoyance. And so I took back a part of them in me and also as idols for my puja.

From what all saints have described of Puri they all mention the importance of the Prasadam from here. It is considered divine. So we did have a lot of prasadam and also brought back the same for friends and family.

Puri as such is a very picturesque place. One can find every temple entrance guarded my two graciously carved and colorfully painted lions.
These lions are symbols of the Kalinga dynasty who ruled over the lands of Orissa.

At Puri Jagannath temple we also had darshan of the beautiful vigraham of Surya bagavan holding two lotus flowers on his hands. This vigraham was initially suspended between magnetic blocks in the konark sun temple.
Unfortunately as this magnet misguided several ships that crossed the Bay of Bengal the Portuguese destroyed them. Also as the temple at konark was not maintained and destroyed by several settlers from the west the vigraham of Surya bagavan was brought to Puri and has been here since then.

The Sun temple at Konark is a mystery that would never be revealed. The entrance to the temple has been sealed. One can only view the stone chariot which again is in very bad condition. Several sculptures have been destroyed by settlers and yet the amount of renovation and maintenance is not enough to recoup the original magnificence.

On our way back to Bhubaneswar we went to visit a Krishna temple around 17kms from the city. The form of Krishna here is called sakki or shakshi gopal meaning one who stands as witness. Every devotee who visits Puri to take darshan of Lord Jagannath should also visit sakshi Gopal to inform Krishna of their visit to Puri.

Ro's blog

I wonder how many people actually have the time to read blogs when there are several best sellers available.

Anyways this blog is for myself and anybody to just wants to feel good about the goodness of life or whatever it may be.

Do visit Ro's blog too.
http://failfastersucceedsooner.blogspot.com/

Her blogs are small yet makes you think.

There was one where she had posted a question about life.
I felt good she had a good question and fortunately i felt i had a good answer.
This is how it goes.....

Sometimes I feel I am loosing myself in the game of Life. People say never give up, fight for your Life. This world is only for the Survivors who are Fittest. Don't know if I am one amongst the Survivors ? If not where do I go, is there a different world for the "Not so Fittest" ?
Questions like Who am I ?, Where am I from ? Where am I to go? are still unanswered. Even if I am fittest in this world , what am I to achieve? and for what ? what Next?
Questions ? Questions ? and more Questions ?
No answer :(
Is there anyone to answer me?


Well this was my reply.....

Your questions remind me of Ramana maharishi.
And he says if you are really concerned about this question you wouldn't be sitting there and asking this. You would really be searching.

It’s like this. Say you've lost your bike keys. Will you be sitting on a sofa and saying where could the key be? You would actually be running around the house searching for the keys.

But yes we are not like Ramana maharishi we can't go under a cave and do tapas. But for this age and time all we can do is reiterate to our own mind that what ever we go is for the lord and we are merely here to serve him. Even this thought and attitude cannot happen over night it takes years. But it will lead us to the answers.

And Ramana maharishi also says that when all this answers come to you, you'll need them no more. By them you are aware of far greater things.

And you have already answered it in your previous post. "Success & Failures".
It’s not the success that finally gives you happiness it’s the process and the steps towards success that is genuine happiness.
We are all making a mistake in that way. When we are given a task we are not happy and when we work on the task we are not happy and finally when we complete the task also we are not happy. But ironically we feel so happy when a third person like the boss who so long knew nothing about you nor the task tell you that you’ve done a good job we are happy.

We first have to change our attitude towards these small things.We have to learn Zen. When we eat we have to be present there and happy when we eat that meal.
And of course that does not mean we have keep smiling all the time. Happiness is a state of the mind and we have to maintain it.

Like for example, you said a car driver almost hit you and didn’t bother. Yes what he did was wrong and what you did by complaining to the right or concerned person was absolutely correct. And I’m sure you would have felt responsible and happy when you did the right thing.

C for Catty

Catty, short for Karthik is one among those so called VLSI engineers.
Considering himself to be very busy working on codes on chips.
Although he's better working with ketchup on chips ;)

Lives in Chennai and eats at kai yendhi bhavans rather road side dhabas.
Oh but his all time favorite is 14 Idlies at Saravana bhavan.
After a morning walk or perhaps to put it right during his morning walks he halts at Ashok nagar Saravana bhavan fast foods and starts his breakfast with 14 idlies and gets back home to complete what his Mom has made for his breakfast.

He is now in love with his new found mobile phone, the Sony W700i.
Of course his first love is food. :)

Nano design on micro processor’s, data encapsulation for multi encryption and atomic energy coupled with cosmic energy in the evolution of mankind with programming in Java these are the kind of technical books he would never read. He prefers Calvin and Hobbes, Astrix and Tintin though.

Well enough of this entire unnecessary introduction, I could have simply said, he is best known to the world as my best friend!

Vegetarian

If any kid ever realized what was involved in factory farming they would never touch meat again. I was so moved by the intelligence, sense of fun and personalities of the animals I worked with on 'Babe' that by the end of the film I was a vegetarian.
-James Cromwell, actor (1940- )

Another Year - Another City

Last year (2005) in the month of April I moved to Pune, to be specific it was the night on 28th. I reached Pune station and headed straight to Hotel Kundan Palace with my parent's, it was company provided accommodation at Akurdi. BTW I still have not met the gentleman (who is related to my sister's in-laws) who sent us a cab at that wee hour.

Well now after a year I've left that BEAUtiful city and moved over to Hyderabad. I didn't bother changing my profiles. I still would like to say I'm from Pune and just moved to Hyderabad for a while.

Yep I liked Pune and still do, although Hyderabad is not a bad place to live. It is hot, but for a person like me coming from down south - Chennai, the heat of Hyderabad should not be a problem. And it’s well connected to the other cities and towns around. Getting around to different parts of India from Hyderabad is not a problem. Actually I had been to Chennai over the last weekend; it took almost 12 hours by bus, which was an overnight journey.

It’s easy to get out of this city at any time any where. If I want to go to Bangalore it’s just an overnight journey, again if I want to go to Pune it’s another overnight journey. Well of course these are the reasons I keep giving myself to like this city. "It’s always easy to get out and get away".

In a way its better I get to accept living in this city, because I find circumstances favoring a longer stay here. My fiancé will be moving to a new apartment next week. And after my marriage in July, I would eventually have to move in with him to "miyapur". That's where the apartment is!

But I don't know why but from the day I came here I've been thinking about way's to get out of Hyderabad. I know its not possible to move to another city in the next 6 months or perhaps in the next one year, but somehow I can't give in.

There are great many places to visit around Hyderabad, I got a map during my second week here. We visited to the most famous Hussian Sagar Lake. Well I suppose this lake seems to substitute a visit to the beach in Chennai. Why am I so sarcastic about Hyderabad I wonder???

Hmmm.. Come to think of it, I've never been to a lake and no way can I go to a beach in Pune. But there was never a time I winced about not being to a beach in almost one year.

I'll just have to take some time to get to know this place better. Hope I would have something interesting to blog rather something nice the next time I sit to write about Hyderabad.

Mumbai @ 2345

We had been to Bombay over the weekend. We took an early morning bus from Pune rather Chinchwad for 140 bucks each. After a short stop for breakfast we reached Dadar at around 9.30 am. We took a train to Mumbai CST, checked into to a hotel near Victoria Terminus, because we were warned about the price of hotel rooms in Mumbai and that it might get difficult to find accommodation during the late evenings. But we found this not so luxurious room for 400 a day. So we dumped one backpack and took only the necessary in the other and set out.

From the Hotel it was just one straight road to all the necessary "Places to Visit" in Mumbai.

The first on our list was Bombay Natural History Society; sadly we never could enter this place. We located the building but ironically we didn't know how to enter the building. We found this main door which remained locked on both the days we tried to visit it.

The second on our list was the Prince of Wales Museum. We recognized it by the gleaming doom that was as described in the travel guides. We paid for the tickets 10 bucks each and also the fee for using the Camera, boy that was 30 bucks :(

Well that was one good Museum. Everything on the 3 floors of the building was worth the sight. My partner is a history freak and he enjoyed it more that I did.

The third on our list was Jehangir Art Gallery. This time we did not find the building at all. Instead we found the National Gallery for Modern Art. We entered this place with a ticket of 10 each this time no cameras allowed. Some of the paintings though abstract were pleasing.

One artists' work we observed most was A.A. Almelkar

Note: They were selling copies of some of the paintings at one counter. We happened to like this painting of a young women holding the ropes fastened to a couple of goats. We paid 50 bucks for it. The picture was similar to the one we had seen on Omar Khayyam book. I had gifted that book to my friend.

The fourth on our list was Haji Ali Darka. That was a pleasant trip. We stepped out of the art gallery and asked the security guard as to how to get to the Darka. He gave a couple of bus route numbers. And right outside the gallery was the bus stop. We didn't spend even a minute there the bus came by immediately. The Darka was a B-E-A-Utiful sight, it was like an island, connected to the main land by a pathway making a visit possible only during the low tide.

Obviously the fifth on the list was the Mahalashmi temple. It was not crowded during our visit. So that was ggggoooooooddddd. We got a sacred thread tied around my wrist :

We had planned to go to Church gate and then return to CST so on our way back the sixth place on our list was the Chowpathy beach. We took a bus to Sur sager. I'm basically from Chennai which boasts of the second largest sea shore in the world "The Marina Beach". So I was not that excited about the visit to Chowpathy. Moreover the water as well as the beach was dirty. And oh boy, there were some 6 to 8 benches under parasols. So we ran and sat under one, had a sip of water and tried to relax, just then a guy walks up and asks us to pay 60 bucks... we were pissed off. Told him we are new to the city and we got up to walk towards the sea.

After a while we walked back to the bus stop. Took a bus to hanging gardens on Malabar hills which was the last stop. This was seven on our list. We found a park bench and rested for a while. And walked around the park, got a wonderful view of the sea from above.

We stepped out of the park; saw a vendor selling nuts again.

Nuts, now that was mandatory during the whole trip. Whenever we found a vendor selling nuts, we would do him a service by offering him 4 bucks for 2 small paper cones of peanuts. :D

Then we walked down to a tea stall had a refreshing cup of chai. Took a bus to church gate, the eighth on the list.

We walked around church gate; we saw the high court, the goal maidhan and then did some book shopping on the roadside. I picked up this book about Lance Armstrong - "it's not about the bike". And my friend bought a book called "Vedanta Treaties" some spirituality stuff, that's what he informed me:

The ninth on the list was hutatman chowk and the tenth the Flora Fountain. The two places are almost one. The hutatman chowk is known for business and the flora fountain for shopping. Shopping was not part of our itinerary so just walked down the streets and headed straight to the Hotel, had dinner and crashed.

The next morning we checked out at around 7. Walked towards the eleventh place on our list the Gateway of India. :) Something we were excited about. We clicked lots of pictures of the stone archery. There were statues of Chhatrapatin Shivaji and Swami Vivekhanda near the garden in front of the gateway.

Across the street was the famous Taj hotel.

It was 7.50 when we started hunting for a place to have breakfast. Sadly none of the restaurants were open except for one; we didn't like the place so we settled for a glass of sweet lime each.

At around 8.30 we got our tickets for the ferry to visit Elephanta caves the twelfth place on our list and the final. That rounds' to a dozen places we visited in Mumbai.

We bought "Luxury" tickets that cost 120 bucks each just 20 more than the usual. We realized we just wasted 40 bucks for the luxury that we found "written" only on our tickets and seen nowhere else.

Anyways, we were on our way to the caves, it took one hour in that slow as a tortoise motorboat. The ticket charge includes the fee for a guide. That was pretty cool. After we reached the dock we had to walk for almost 20 minutes to reach the cave.

The guide explained precisely about the cave, how it was excavated, how it was named and how it was destroyed.

We found a Maharastra tourism restaurant on our way back to the dock. So we stopped there to have dosas and a cup of chai. The price of which was our first ferry back to Mumbai :(. Yep we missed it.

It was 1:30 when we reach gateway of India. It was hot. We though of doing some shopping and then head to Dadar to catch a bus back to Pune. We took a taxi from gateway to flora fountain and we paid 13 bucks. Well it may not seem significant to mention it here but I was awestruck because in Chennai I would have to pay 40 bucks for a rick for the same distance.

We didn't do any shopping, simply to say the shops were not "my type". I wanted to check out cameras but being a Sunday most of the authorized outlets were closed. So we decided to head to Dadar immediately. My partner was never interested in shopping anyways.

So we walked to CST and took a train to Dadar. We found an air conditioned restaurant for Lunch around 3:00. Then headed right to the government bus stops to get a ticket back to Pune that was 155 bucks each. The bus started at 4:00 and reached Pune rather Akurdi at 10 to 6.

Well why the title Mumbai @ 2345? That was our "total" expense to, in and from Mumbai.
P.S: Includes all the pennies we spent for peanuts too ;)

Credits' to my partner!

Valley crossing

4th March 2006

Valley crossing at Nagphani, between Duke’s nose and Dutch’s nose.
(Dukes and dutches are considered husband and wife.)
It seems 2 years ago a couple got wedded in between the valley hanging on pulleys.
Must have been some wild wedding! Hope the adventure is lasting through their marriage.

The concept of valley crossing came up when mountaineers wanted to quicken their expedition. Earlier when mountaineers had to cross two mountains they had to climb one and descend and again climb the next to cross. This consumed a lot of time. But by crossing the valley using the pulley mechanism reduced their time.

Although for the process they need to set up the equipment. One of the members has to go up to the other mountain and set up the ropes and pulleys.
First they need to fasten the ropes to trees and rocks at both ends. Then attach the pulleys. Now the ropes need to be in equal tension for the pulley to pass from one end to the other with the weight of a member hanging. The members need to ensure their harness is in place and their pulley in control.

My experience was wild enough. It was about 200 feet of distance between the dukes and dutches. Most of the members had a smooth cross.

Nagphani is about 30 minutes from Lonavala station.
The view from atop nagphani is amazing.
And the view of the valley down between dukes and dutches was a great sight.
We could also sight the Mumbai express highway hanging between the valleys!

Tiger tiger burning bright... in the forest of the night...

Visited the Kanha tiger reserve between the 25th and 30th of January 2006.












The entire National Park area is 940 sq. km. located in the Maikal hills of the Satpuras, parts of Mandla & Balaghat districts of Madhya Pradesh.Apart from a healthy population of tigers, the reserve is the only habitat of Barasingha or Swamp Deer.

Fauna Found at Kanha
Mammals:
Chital
Sambar
Barasingha
Gaur
Wild boar
Sloth bear
Langur
Tiger

Birds:
The Reserve supports around 300 species of birds.Storks

Eagles
Drangos
Parakeets
Herons
Teals/Ducks
Green bee eater

Getting There
Road : Kanha National Park is connected by road with Jabalpur 175-kms and Nagpur 266-kms.

Temperature
Minimum : 2°C
Maximum : 43°C

Visiting Seasons
April to June (Summer)
November to January (Winter)
The park remains closed between July and November (Monsoon)


Flora Found at Kanha

Moist Peninsular Sal Forests

Southern Tropical Moist Mixed Deciduous and Dry Deciduous Mixed Forest