one day left to live series - 6 months and 13 days

Miss. Peg taught us few more exercises today. She also informed us that based on her evaluation from the last visit, it seems Sripathi behaves like a 2 month old baby. So our goals are now to ensure that he learns to control his head and trunk. We need to make sure Sripathi gets these exercises done at several intervals in a day. As his head is large and heavy most of these physical therapies are going to be difficult and painful for him. But we have start somewhere to help him stay independent someday. Me and Sripathi need an awful lot of strength and determination to perform these exercises.

Tomorrow is yet another therapy day. The visual therapist will be visiting Sripathi and evaluating him. BTW last night Sripathi had a tough time getting back to sleep after he woke up at around 2:00 a.m. He got some nap probably 30-40 mins twice this afternoon. I know that's not enough at all. Babies his age are supposed to nap 2 to 4 hours in the day and sleep for 12 hours at night. And Sripathi probably manages to get some 7 hours of sleep during the night and just 40 minutes of nap time during the day. This is the reason i'm trying to find about sleep therapy.

I was just looking up for some quote on sleep and see what i found
People who say they sleep like a baby usually don't have one. ~Leo J. Burke

Good night

one day left to live series - 6 months and 12 days

It was the sixth month checkup today. And Sripathi did well. I'm proud of my hero. And yes he had his Polio shot today. He did cry, well i would only worry if he didn't! His naps were okay, close to 2 hours. And he seemed quiet joyful in the evening with his paternal grandma and grandpa. :)
We have to watch him closely for the next couple of days. And tomorrow Miss.Peg will be here to continue on Sripathi's physical therapy.

Let me now go grab that glass of milk i've been wanting to drink for the past 30 minutes of so. And then i'll go catch 40 winks!

Thank you Aparna and Donna

Wow I feel so blessed, come to think about it, this is my second thank you blog in a row. God is just great, he has still kept me in a situation were i've been the recipient of kindness and love. Such kindness and love that i have to be grateful for.

Here is the lovely and my first ever mother's day card from my dear friend Aparna.
Aparna you'll never know how much this card means to me. Thank you and blessings to Sadhana and Charita.


Donna, Thank you for such a heart warming message i received from you today.
I'm sorry to hear about your sixth child, but I'm sure God had a wonderful reason. Though the sweet child had just 5 1/2 months, God chose the baby to live with you. :)
And yes Sripathi does have health problems, though now i'm taking it all in the right stride i really have to thank several people just like you, who have inspired me and motivated me to look at the positive side of everything.
In that aspect I want to mention my gratitude to my mom, for she was the first person to tell me how God has chosen us (me and Aravind my husband) to take care of Sripathi and that proves that God believed that we can give Sripathi all the love he truly deserves.
And thank you for your prayers Donna. May the all knowing almighty always keep your family healthy, wealthy and wise.


"Take nothing for granted in a second it can all be gone"

Thank you from the bottom of America (Florida)

Thanks to a friend who showed us a mentor in Ramu Anna.
Thanks to the mentor who made us chant the Nama.
Naive as we were, chanting the Nama, not knowing what it can do.
Thanks to the Nama for it dragged us to the Guru.
Thanks to the Guru who took us into his family.
Thanks to a special family who showered the utmost empathy.
Thanks for their empathy, we felt blessed every moment.
Thanks to the several moments i got to read a book i was lent.
Thanks to the lent book for it taught me a beautiful prayer.
Thanks to the prayer, for i pray it will stick with me forever.

Forever should i pray for the strength to overcome temptations, difficulties, doubts and anger in order to do His will.

one day left to live series - 6 months and 11 days

The pediatrician visit is not until tomorrow. Actually Sripathi will be getting his vaccination shot. He's been having seizures since he was 2 months old. So the neurologist had initially suggested that we stop vaccinations as that could trigger further seizures. Now that he is on medication we have been advised to restart his vaccination low and slow, like one vaccination per week and to proceed with the next shot only if he was alright.
So i just gave him 1.2 ml of Tylenol after confirming the same with a best friend/best doctor Lekshmi ji. The tylenol is to make sure he does not get a fever, as fever can trigger seizures.


Even after having the tylenol he had a hard time going to sleep. He did take short naps in the morning and afternoon, but i felt that was not enough. Moreover i had to rock him all along.
I'm trying to find some kind of sleep therapy, but nobody i know really knows anything about a sleep therapy.


Anyway today we went to costco to get Sripathi's passport size photographs taken.
BTW he already has his passport, since we are basically from India, we now need to apply for an Indian visa for Sripathi.



"Take nothing for granted in a second it can all be gone"

one day left to live series - 6 months and 10 days

Sripathi's nap time troubles are quite the same, but at least we are attempting to change. He did take a short nap at 10:00 am but the actually afternoon nap was very disturbed. Today for mother's day I gave him an ounce of organic applesauce. He seemed to like it, but later in the evening at around 8:00 pm he crying so badly. We realized that it was probably because he could not properly digest the applesauce or he was just plain gassy. Whatever now I'm a little concerned about trying to give him another spoon of applesauce.

But one good part is we have an appointment with him pediatrician tomorrow that we I'm glad that she can check on him to make sure everything is alright.

"Take nothing for granted in a second it can all be gone"

Happy Mother's Day

My first mother's day.
We had a nice satsang at home. I made a lousy apple-banana cake. I'm wearing a sari that my mom-in-law gifted me for my birthday. Sripathi is wearing the black outfit that I had sewed him yesterday :) And that was one noisy photo session to make sure Sripathi gives a smile.


"Take nothing for granted in a second it can all be gone"

one day left to live series - 6 months and 9 days

After a meltdown the previous evening and the following morning, i decided to bring a change before i lose it all. Moreover this is my first Mother's day. Happy Mother's day to me.

Sripathi is now 6 months and 9 days old. Its because of this soul that I'm changing myself and my life and I'm glad. He has been having an extremely hard time getting to sleep at night leave alone the worst part of getting an afternoon nap. But surprisingly today was a just amazing. He could actually catch up on some nap time without me having to rock him all along. He slept beside me for almost 3 hours, although he did wake up once in between but was able to get back to sleep in less than 20 minutes. I'm not going to prove myself with a photograph of a sleeping Sripathi with the date and time stamped on, as its against our culture to click pictures of a sleeping baby.

And I cannot believe myself that I actually hand sewed an outfit for Sripathi in less than 2 hours. I probably got all that energy just watching him sleep. Though I knit, this is the first time I have sewed anything.

And to mark the big change in my perspective, I decided to take him out for something fun. So off we went to Bruster's for Ice cream. And no I didn't feed my 6 month old any ice cream.

Also as part of the change, my dear husband will be sleeping along with Sripathi every night and will come to get me from the couch when he wakes up to be nursed.
And this is the time I would get to blog.


"Take nothing for granted in a second it can all be gone"

Silly Silhouette

Can you hear us toot...
behind our silhouette...

We got Stick'ed

Y . A . W . N

Though I'm sleep deprived, I somehow gathered the energy to blog
I was just thinking how my perspective has changed in oh so many ways after we brought our son home. I'm sure many moms can relate to this.

1. I seem to let my husband drive the car more often without any arguments, as I prefer to catch up with some sleep at the back like my son.
2. At home the Boppy is my best friend.
3. I'm not sure if I always mentioned where I’m going or what I’m doing to my husband, ironically now he knows how many times I use the loo.
4. Would kiss the hands of the person who invented diapers and wipes.
5. And the person who invented the wipes warmer deserves a Nobel prize.
6. Cannot appreciate the proverb "Silence is Golden" enough when my son is sleeping.
7. Great - I'm wearing a wrinkled pair of pants and a faded T-shirt while making 6 decisions over what to put on my son... Onsie or sleep 'n play...
8. I could enter my prized collection of gift bags into some weird contest.
9. Facebook seems to be the best entertainment when my son takes his afternoon siesta.
10. While not blogging or facebooking, I keep wondering how did my grand moms ever manage a houseful of children.

Sri Ramu ji

Its been two and a half years since I moved out of Hyderabad. And three and a half years since I first listened to Ramu ji's discourse. This week Sri Ramanujam ji is here in Orlando to give discourses at our local satsang groups.


It is said that we should never go in search of a Guru. God in his own way will send a Guru to us. We first listened to one of Ramu ji's discourse back in Hyderabad. We are grateful to Sri Balaji for introducing us to a satsang. The time we met and listened to Ramu ji was a turning point in our lives. It was Sri Ramu ji who stirred us in the path of nama chanting. Ever since we have been blessed with satsangs, nama and the grace of our Guru.

When I think back, I have very less memories of my work life or social life in Hyderabad but more of the wonderful satsangs we had every weekend.
The Seetha Rama Anjaneya temple opposite to Jayaberi on the road towards kothaguda and we sitting in front of the Andal sanidhi having a blissful nama sankeerthan. The satsangs at Sri Balaji's house, Sri Anand and Nithya ji's house, satsangs at construction site with workers. Our trip to Ongole to meet Guruji.


Now that Ramu ji is here, its like reliving those days. Although I'm not able to attend any of the discourses or satsangs so far the mere presence of Sri Ramu ji is so elevating. More so because he could visit and stay at our house, give his blessings to Sripathi and give me this great opportunity to do one small kainkarya of preparing his meals.

I hope Aravind is capturing at least few of the discourses in video or audio for me to savor later.

Home Satsang 09-13-2009

Radhe Radhe!

Here is a link to the (mp3 format) complete sunday satsang that was conducted at home.

http://www.mediafire.com/?emzymd5kmyt

The satsang started with the chanting of the Mahamantra followed by bhajans. Aravind ji then give a discourse on Jnaneshwar Maharaj, about his parents, birth, siblings, his most popular work - the Jnaneshwari's Gita, his abhangs and his followers. At the end we sang an abhang by Jnaneshwar Maharaj and the closed the satsang with the chanting of Mahamantra and distributions of oranges as prasad.

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.