What is a Drop of Water!

Water consists of Hydrogen & Oxygen!

2 atoms of hydrogen bonded to 1 atom of Oxygen = 1 molecule of H2O.

When clouds form they become heavy with the gaseous form and then with change in temperature they condense to fall as liquid  raindrops onto the earth.

But Who is the Director behind this falling of simple rain onto earth?

Who is the director giving direction to the raindrops- when & where to fall ?

One drop falls at night onto the parched earth ,one falls onto a small lake in the afternoon and one drop falls into the morning into a dirty drain!

Is there some defined destiny connected to these different drops of rain falling onto different spaces?

Again when using water we define water as to being clean and drinkable and as unclean and undrinkable!

And yet after we rinse our mouths that pure clean water becomes undrinkable.

So we become the medium to change the character of water.( we are the कारक)

That which is pure becomes impure and then it needs purification.

Isn't all this very mysterious???

To my mind come many random thoughts .

There is a beautiful संस्कृत saying:

आकाशात् पतितं तोयं यथा गच्छति सागरम् ।

सर्वदेव नमस्कारः केशवं प्रतिगच्छति ॥

This verse demonstrates that Sri Krishna, as the embodiment of the Supreme Reality, receives all acts of devotion irrespective of their source or which deity is being worshipped – a teaching that finds perfect expression in the water-ocean analogy of the above verse, where all water naturally flows to its source regardless of where it initially falls.

However pure or impure they emanate from & are absorbed into That One Source.

They may go through various ways in Life but they all come back to the same One Universal  Source!

That does not mean that we take life casually.

We need to act with discrimination to avoid problems caused by our own distractions. 

That which is impure will definitely go through different processes to get purified .

Perhaps that is why at times in Life , we have to face great difficulties.

On the path of life,there are both travails as well as joys thrown at us , caused by our own  actions through the numerous births we have gone through. They are the Fruits of our Actions = Karmaphal ( good & bad).

Note: This quote is included within the Mahāshubhāṣitasaṃgraha (महासुभाषितसंग्रह, maha-subhashita-samgraha / subhasita-sangraha), which is a compendium of Sanskrit aphorisms (subhāṣita), collected from various sources. 

Shubhāṣita is a genre of Sanskrit literature, exposing the vast and rich cultural heritage of ancient India.

Let us remember to only follow the Path of Purity as much as possible to avoid the ramifications and vagaries of Karmaphal. 

ॐ असतो मा सद्गमय ।

तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय ।

मृत्योर्मा अमृतं गमय ।

ॐ शान्ति शान्ति शान्तिः ॥

Asato Ma Sadgamaya is the opening line of a profound Sanskrit mantra from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.

"Lead me from untruth (or the unreal) to truth (or the real)," and it's part of a larger prayer that guides from darkness to light and from death to immortality, seeking spiritual awakening, inner peace, and clarity,

This purifying chant, known as the Pavamana Mantra, helps align the self with higher consciousness, focusing on spiritual growth rather than material gain. 

May we all be on this Path of Truth!🙏🕉🪷

My Maternal Grandparents!AMMA-APPA!

I write this in memory and tribute to my grandfather and grandmother. 

It was a mere passing remark by my mother's nephew. 

He asked my mother as to what would have happened if her father , who was serving as Magistrate of Cochin state during British rule,had not resisted and just 'nodded his head' to what that Mopla Muslim had offered him!

The family, in that distant past ,would not have had to go through such sufferings!

And this is what my mother told him : What you are today in life with so much comfort is due to the integrity and the past actions of our elders!

I shall just relate what I have heard and retained in my memory. 

Sadly , there is no one of that era alive to corroborate or question those facts.

My grandfather was the only son of his parents. 

He was born in the village of Kalpathy,Palakkad district of Kerala state.

He was the first graduate from the village who was fluent in Samskritam ,Tamil, Malayalam as well as English. 

And that led him to secure the prestigious job of Magistrate in those times.

Being extremely upright and honest people were extremely respectful towards him.

I recall my mother telling me what her mother had told her. 

People passing their residence, would lower their umbrellas or remove their turbans out of respect.

My grandmother had been strictly prohibited to make neighbourhood visits or invite people for fear of being influenced and seeking favours.

During the afternoons after lunch , grandfather would take his siesta as it was the usual norm. 

Outside , there would be an orderly keeping watch.

However, one day my grandfather found a man from the Muslim community sitting indoors waiting for him.

Both surprise and agitation caught hold of him.

This man had come with sacks of grain along with gold and silverware. 

With great humility, he placed them in front of the magistrate begging for some favour in return.

The favour was to 'do away' with certain legal files wherein this man had been implicated for committing some fraudery.

Very rightly , my grandfather reacted in rage and forced this person out of the house along with the booty he had brought as offering.

The next person to be taken to task was the orderly whose duty was to guard the place.

What enticement had he been given to let such a person inside the home?

After this incident , my grandfather found that in his workplace there were some weird changes.

Documents under his jurisdiction had been removed without his permission. 

Unable to influence my grandfather, this crook having been insulted had approached a more pliable and compliant person to achieve his goal. 

Those very files connected with the man  were missing.

It was a very serious situation. 

He was questioned for which he had no answers.

Now he was facing scrutiny. 

After having served as magistrate for 10 years , he was obliged to submit his resignation.

This injustice took a very heavy toll on him mentally as well as on the whole family. 

For weeks, he would sit on the shore of the village tank and stare into nothing.

He went into a shell and my courageous grandmother had to come to fore for the upkeep of the family.

Indeed , as every Hindu woman is ascribed to be Shakti - Strength she stood up to the test.

Those days , at the time of marriage , Hindu girls were always gifted gold ornaments as Stree Dhan - not dowry. 

This gold used to be a stand-by in times of need.

My grandmother used the gold for providing food for the whole family. 

Later on, things changed for the better when my grandfather overcame this depression and joined the Military Accounts Department and was posted in the North of India. 

However, at times I wonder, had it not been for this incident , the whole history of our family would have been different!

Their ancestral roots were severed.

The old order changed yielding place to new.....

My mother was admitted to a Marathi school in Hingne. 

My uncles took up jobs in Pune and Kolkata.

The moral of this chapter in the history of our family is to illustrate that despite all the unjust and unfair travails that my grandparents went through, their integrity was solid.

Their indomitable courage brought them through the storms of life and they could face the world straight in the eye with no regrets!

My mother's nephew heard through all that my mother related and indeed had to bow down his head in respect to the innate integrity of our grandfather.

We all need to remind ourselves about the adage: 

The sins of the father are visited upon the sons!

That itself is warning , enough to be what one should be!

My humble and sincere Namaskarams to my Grandparents and My Dear Mother.🙏🕉🪷

 

श्यामलाल और लालजी !

यह सत्य घटना है.

बहुत वर्ष बीत चुके परन्तु स्मृतियाँ स्पष्ट रूप से मन-बुद्धि में अंकित हैं.

हमारे घर में पहले अहीर जगन्नाथ ( फतेहपुर बिछुवा) गैया लाकर , ताजा दूध दुहा करता था.नानी -नाना साथ में थे.

हम बहुत छोटे थे.

लेकिन अनेक वर्षों के पर्यन्त जगन्नाथ छूट गया.

उसके बाद फाफामऊ से श्यामलाल दूध अपनी साइकल पर लाया करता था.नेक आदमी था.

कई दिनों से दूध में मलाई कम निकल रही थी और दही भी पानी -पानी सा जम रहा था.

हम जब उससे शिकायत करते तो वह कहता था  : दीदी जी ,  आपके लिए हम दूध अलग से लाते हैं .खालिस दूध देते हैं.....आप ऐसा कैसे कहते हैं???

अब संसार विश्वास पर ही चलता है और यही शाश्वत सत्य है!

हम लोग श्यामलाल से दुखी थे पर वह अपनी ईमानदारी पर अडा रहता.

उसी समय कुछ माह पूर्व, घर पर लालजी का आगमन प्रतापगढ से हुआ था.

घर की शुद्धी  बड़े मन से करता था और खुश मिजाज भी था.

बगीचे में पानी देना और हमारे टिप्पू जी और बंसी भैय्या को शाम को घुमाने का काम भी किया करता था.

बहुत सभ्य था.

श्यामलाल दूर फाफामऊ से आता था और इस कारण 4 लीटर दूध उबालना, फिर ठंडा होने के बाद फ्रिज में रखना बहुत महनत लगती थी  ( गरम रसोई में पसीना -पसीना हो जाते ) और देर हो जाती थी.

जब एक दिन लालजी बोला - "बहनजी , हम हार्मोनियम बजाई का? हम भजन गाइबो.और दूध भी उबाल दैबो"।

हम दो बहनों ने सोचा- अरे यह तो कमाल का आदमी है ! 

गरम रसोई में हम दूध उबालते-उबालते अपने ही पसीने में स्नान किया करते थे. इसने तो हमें ऐसी दशा से बचाने की बात कर दी !हम दोनों गदगद होकर एकदम मान गए.

अब उन्हीं दिनों की बात है , मेरी एक सहेली के बेटे का जन्म 

हमारे घर के पास प्रचलित कमला नेहरू हास्पिटल में हुआ.

हम तीनों का भी यहीं जन्म हुआ था.मेरी बेटी और बेटे का भी!

तो उस संध्या हम दोनों बहनों ने वहाँ जाने का विचार किया.

घर पर उस शाम को हमारी बुआ का बेटा और परिवार के निकटस्थ बन्धु थे.

हम दोनों ने नवजात शिशु को देखा और विचित्र बात सुनी.

उसका हृदय दाहिनी ओर होने के कारण उसको परीक्षण में रखा गया था. सुना ऐसा बहुत ही कम होता है.

जब हम घर वापस आए तो लालजी दूध उबाल चुका था.

और कुछ देर बाद वह अपने घर चला गया.

तब बुआ के बेटे ने बताया कि बार-बार लालजी उन दोनों के पास आकर पूछ रहा था -भैया चा बना देई का? 

कुछ खैबो का ? कुछ चाही का ?

साथ - साथ, रसोई में दूध उबालने का रूपक भी रच रहा था। आश्वस्त होने हेतु , लालजी बीच-बीच में बडे कमरे में आकर अपनी चौकीदारी भी कर रहा था!

वास्तव में बुआ के बेटे और मित्र ने उल्टा लालजी पर चौकीदार करी थी.

उन्होंने देखा कि : 

दूध उबालने पर्यन्त एक बर्तन (3/4 लीटर का) में उसने दूध निकाल कर ठंडा करके गपा-गप पी लिया और फिर उसी बर्तन में जल भरकर बड़े भगौने में डाल दिया !

यह था कम मलाई लगने और दही का पानी -पानी होने का वास्तविक कारण! दोनों ने मिलकर रहस्य का अनावरण कर दिया !

हमारी रसोई के बाहर हस्त प्रक्षालन के लिए एक नल हुआ करता था और उसी के ऊपर एक दर्पण भी लगा हुआ था. 

लालजी ने बर्तन का सब दूध पीकर अपनी मूंछों पर ताव लगाकर अपनी सूरत बार-बार दर्पण में सराहा .

और सोचा बस सब कुछ ठीक-ठीक हो गया.

उसे क्या पता था कि चोर की चोरी पकडी गई थी.

हमारी माँ ने लालजी से कुछ नहीं कहा.

क्या कहते.....?लेकिन दूध उबालने का कार्य हम लोगों ने पुन: अपना लिया.

परन्तु उसी बीच एक और विचित्र बात घटी.

उन दोनों हमारे घर धर्मयुग नामक एक प्रचलित पत्रिका आती थी.

उसमें बच्चों के लिए कुछ विशिष्ट कहानी-लेख हुआ करते थे.

और यह कहानी हमने पढी!

एक किसान था जो प्रतिदिन अपने खेतों में जाकर काम किया करता था.

किसान की पत्नी अपने पति के लिए भोजन एक सहायक के हाथ भेजा करती थी.

एक दिन उसने सहायक से कहा : 

वर्ष में 12 माह होते है.

चन्द्रमा पूर्ण पुलकित है और नदी में भरपूर जल है.

इसका मेरे पति से उत्तर लेकर आना.

शाम को जब सहायक घर आया तो उसने किसान का उत्तर दोहराया.

वर्ष में 7 माह हैं, अर्धचन्द्र है और नदी में जल कम है.

अब रहस्य का अनावरण हो गया और सहायक की छुट्टी हो गई !

रोज वह 5 रोटियाँ और आधा भाग नवनीत खा जाता और ऊपर से आधा लोटा मट्ठा भी पी जाता.

लालजी उस प्रातःकाल झाड़ू लगा रहा था.

शुभ-मुहूर्त था और हम अपनी चुटिया बना रहे थे.

इस कहानी को उसे सुनाया और अर्थ पूछा  तो वह बौखला-सा गया.

बोला- "हम का जानी बहन जी! हम नाहि जानत."

पर होशियार तो था वह.

चोर की दाढी में तिनका. समझ गया.

कुछ दिनों के बाद उसने फिर हाथ मारा!

इस बार हमारे पिताजी के महंगे फाउन्टन पेन गायब किए और अन्तत: पूजागृह से हमारी पूज्य नानी जी का पूजित चांदी का शालिग्राम की चोरी करी.

उसने सब हद पार कर दिए थे !

उसके पर्यन्त उसका हमारे घर से नाता छूट गया.

हमारी मां का हृदय इतना शुद्ध और और कोमल था.

उन्होंनें उसे समझाया कि चोरी नहीं करनी चाहिए. 

मांग लेना बेहतर है.....

लेकिन वह करता भी क्या ? अपनी आदत से मजबूर!

कहावत सच्ची है : कुत्ते की दुम, टेढी की टेढी!

3 - 4 घंटे खड़ा रहा पर न क्षमा मांगी न अपना अपराध स्वीकार किया!

हमारे परिवार से उसका उतना ही बन्धन था!

चला गया. उसके बाद न उसे देखा न उसकी खबर मिली!

लेकिन लालजी की होशियारी अब भी मन को गुदगुदा देती है.

कैसी चालाकी से दूध पीना और पानी से पूरा कर देना!!!

दूसरी ओर, बेचारा श्यामलाल ! व्यर्थ ही हम उसपर शंका कर रहे थे जब की चोर तो घर के अन्दर ही था!!!

कहावत कितना सच है: 

अजब तेरी दुनिया गज़ब इंसान

पाप करे पापी भरे पुण्यवान!!!

Nostalgie!!!

NOSTALGIE!

Having been born in the North to mixed parentage ( North & South) connect with great ease regarding the soaking and washing of the Earthen Diyas.

Making the cotton wicks ,adding oil with utmost care over the handmade wicks.

Keeping them all ready on wooden trays to be transported to the terrace as well as the garden wall and gate.

My dear Mothe would light the குதி விலக்கு ( kuthi vilakku) that was the centre piece in our Pooja mandapam with 5 wicks one for each of our family member.

Mother would light the lamp talking of her Mother and Father ,adorn kumkumam on the golden bell-metal Kerala -style lamp.

I have it with me today and have been lighting the same with my children and grandchildren.

We all would chant our SHLOKAMs and then chant with folded hands and closed eyes the special SHLOKAM -Mahalakshmyashtakam .

Then all the earthen lamps would be lit and each of us would arrange the lamps with great care equidistantly on the terrace wall, on the garden wall wherever we found space.

According to our dear Father all dark corners and even bathrooms would get a glowing lamp that would spread that exclusive golden light special to oil lamps.

So many memories, so many voices and shadows from the past coming to life vividly !

Sweet and yet so very sad!

My Mother used to quote Shelley a poet she admired no end :

Our sweetest songs are those tell of saddest thought!

Am going to take some liberty by changing this immortal statement to

Our sweetest thoughts are indeed those that are the saddest !

Wonder as to why the past always seems more beautiful than the present!!!

🙏🕉🙏SHUBHA DEEPAVALI🙏🕉🙏 TO ONE & ALL!🙏🏻🪔🔆🪔🙏🏻

P.S.

And today is the 6th December 2022 and in the South of Bharat we celebrate காட்டிக் தீபமஂ- कार्तिक दीपोत्सवम्. 

Thinking of Amma, Mausi, Bai with whom.as a child I recall having made Pori undai (खील-गुड़ के लड्डू and lighting lamps for brothers!

In truth are we not All Brothers & Sisters???

*शुभस्य कार्तिक दीपोत्सव* ।

This year Kartik Deepam falls on the same day as 6 years ago and strangely I checked that 19th December 2003 the day Our Dearest Mausi left us was Ekadashi and this year too it is सफला एकादशी!

🙏🕉🙏🕉🙏

A tale between two cities

The night was a moonless one and the taxi was speeding along the dark road. Not a glimmer of light or a sign of life was evident on either side except for the lights of the car in front.

We the passengers inside were silent.  The silence outside and inside were together in tune mounting towards a crescendo.

At intervals, the gleam in the eyes of the driver would be reflected in the rear-view mirror. My heart was beating at a pace which had been hitherto unknown to me. My mother had in the meantime removed all her jewellery - bangles, ring and diamond ear tops that were gifted by her dear mother. She had tied them all in a handkerchief and slowly lowered them down her 'strumfhose' down to her heels and redonned her shoes.

It was winter and the open countryside bereft of trees, light and human-beings appeared utterly desolate. It stirred within our hearts emotions bordering on the eerie and the bizarre.

The air was bitterly cold and at times one could hear the weird howl of a jackal that heightened our rising anxiety.

At times, fear prompts the brain to think harder and I remembered my black nylon scarf with golden thread checks. If a nylon stocking could do the job so many times, it could be put to use once again in self-defence. My hands and fingers were numb due to fear and the cold. In order to stimulate them I kept on twining and untwining the scarf around my fingers. It would be used to form a noose round the neck of the man.

All of a sudden, as the car was moving, the driver bent left towards the young man seated next to him and pushed the door open and banged shut it hard.

Our hearts were in our mouth! He could have just pushed Sharma out of the taxi!

Forewarned is forearmed. Every action of this driver pointed towards something sinister and unnatural. He had reacted to Sharma's mild request to drive carefully within the holy city of Varanasi most aggressively and rudely. Under normal circumstances, I with my fiery reactive temper would have just told him to halt and would have got off at once.

Here, however, we were caught between the 'deep sea and the devil'. Trapped within a moving taxi driven by a suspicious chauffeur on an utterly cold and dark night ! 

We were relieved to see some far away twinkling lights in the distance and knew that we were nearing human habitation. Actually we were midway between two of the most holy cities of Varanasi and Prayag. It is amazing how emotions ensnare and release us. Fear that had haunted us for such a long distance now just vanished at the sight of tea-stalls, voices of people talking, hurricane lamp lights and buses full of passengers. 

We felt foolish to have undergone such rigours of mortification. Had our imagination stretched too much and too far!

The driver halted the taxi and went off to the tea stall to have some eats and tea. It was then that my mother spoke to Sharma and warned him to be careful asking him to remove his jazzy neck-tie just in case the fellow tried throttling his neck with it.

This was a petrol - refilling station and the driver was told to check oil, water and air so that the last leg of the journey would be smooth without any more hiccups.

The chauffeur was most sulky and boorish in his attitude.

Once again with the taxi in motion darkness loomed all around enveloping us like a cloak. Only the headlights of the moving vehicle were transforming the tall silent sentinels of trees into grotesque ghostly figures with outstretched beckoning arms.

All of a sudden, very strangely without any warning the taxi driver switched on the light inside the taxi. It was indeed very abnormal as it could unduly stress and sap the energy of the battery.

Next he asked us the time. Our earlier interaction had been very unpleasant and none of us replied to this unexpected query. Our voices were frozen due to the cold and darkness within and without. And then he brought the taxi to a complete halt.

It was menacingly dark. And then we heard the rumbling sound of a heavily over-loaded truck. Its head lights lit up our taxi. 

Our taxi driver had got off and was busily rummaging the dicky. I could not but admire my mother's presence of mind. She got out of the taxi and started signing to the truck to halt. Surely the truck driver would have seen her in the powerful headlights but he just sped away leaving us to our descending doom. 

In the meanwhile, I thought I could try driving off  but the scoundrel had got out with the  vehicle keys. 

He was pretending to open the bonnet, meddling with something and then banging the empty petrol and oil cans. One wondered as to why and for what he was waiting in that dark and desolate place! Then as suddenly as he had stopped, he got into the taxi and started speeding in the direction of Prayagaraj our destination. 

In the distance, the headlights lit up a white, newly-painted mile-stone and we saw the words HANDIA written in bold black contrast. 

My mother involuntarily shuddered and held my hand within hers. This place had been recently very much in the news for criminal activity. Possibly this driver had pre-arranged a rendez-vous with some miscreants but somehow something went amiss. 

His lighting up the inside of the taxi, asking us the time and then stopping the vehicle without any cause or warning had all been ulterior and deliberate. 

The timing had most probably and most certainly misfired. After having waited for sometime without any result there was no other option for him but to continue with the journey. His accomplices had somehow failed him. 

What a relief it was especially for my dear mother, to see the twinkling lights of our sacred city of Prayagaraj! We had reached holy Prayagraj after an unholy and agonising drive. 

The gods had been benevolent on us!

This is a true tale and not a tall tale. 

We had heard and still do hear of people being robbed, kidnapped for ransom or even being done to death. 

Often, when my mother and I used to sit together on a wintry evening in the cosy comfort of our home, the mere mention of Varanasi used to make us relive that adventure . 

My very own dear mother has gone away, the holy city of Prayag is far away on another continent but I still have that black, golden- checked gossamer nylon scarf. And it vividly brings back the memory of that winter's night. 

I still often shudder to think of what could have happened had the gods deemed it otherwise!!! 

Memories of Prayag, Ganga River..... !

We both had gone to Mumbai, Bharat after my dear mother's passing away.

It was December 2003.

My brother had performed the last rites being the only son. 

My mother had shifted to Mumbai during her last years after my father's death.

Part of the ashes (अस्थि) had been immersed in Nashik and he had kept a part for immersion in Triveni Sangam which is the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and (गुप्त - वाहिनी) - invisible Sarasvati rivers.

My husband and I took the remaining asthi (अस्थि) to Prayagaraj where my parents had spent the major part of their lives.

We had booked a room in the Yatrik Hotel where we stayed as our home in Tagore Nagar did not have electricity and had been uninhabited for quite some time.

After arriving in Prayagaraj, we had the sacred duty to go to Triveni Sangam.

On arrival, we arranged a boat and strangely the people on the banks of the Ganga intuitively got to know the purpose of our visit.

So two people in addition to the boatmen came aboard the boat. 

The boatman (मल्लाह) rowed us to the confluence of the 3 rivers. 

The colour of river Ganga is muddy whereas her sister Yamuna is dark bluish - black.

Sarasvati is invisible. 

Today the Sarasvati River has dried up but her sanctity is still preserved and Sarasvati is worshipped. 

Sarasvati Valley civilisation has been extensively studied by archaeologists. 

Bharat is the only country in the world where all our rivers are worshipped as Goddesses with the exception of Brahmaputra who is a male. 

I can see my husband's smiling face wearing a green sweater sitting on the boat and talking to the two men. 

It was a cold winter's day. The far side of the river was Jhusi. One could see  in the distance the Ganga Bridge. One side is the Fort supposedly built by Akbar. 

My husband, always a philosopher asked the elderly man about the state of Hindu Dharmic civilisation. He gave a very pessimistic reply saying it was ebbing away just as the Sarasvati river had dried up. 

It did sadden us. 

After we immersed my mother's ashes we had to give a dakshina (sort of payment ) to the other man. But the money is not handed to him personally. It is thrown into the flowing water and this person actually dives to get the money. 

Certain thoughts were passing through my head at that time. 

My mind was wondering about the transience of our own lives but the reassuring presence of my dearest husband so near to me, prevented me from going that way. 

That was something not for ruminating. 

This is how we humans delude ourselves and play the game of escapism. We humans do not have the courage and strength to face hard truths of life. 

As a child, I had gone boating many times on this very same Ganga when our elders would take the sacred water in their cupped palms and shower the water on our heads. 

This is called Prokshanam  (प्रोक्षणम्). 

This is believed to be as good as taking a bath. This is done when a person does not take a holy dip directly in the river. 

Both of us too did the same. 

It is believed in Sanatana Dharma that one drop of Ganga water can wash away sins committed over many lifetimes. 

Infact, there are Mantrams chanted whilst taking bath that are believed to transform and sanctify any water in any country into water as pure and sacred as the waters of the 7 most-revered rivers (Saptasindhu) of Bharat. 

Ganga, Yamuna, Sarasvati, Godavari, Narmada, Sindhu, Kaveri, are the 7 most sacred rivers of Bharat. 

गङ्गे च यमुने चैव गोदावरि सरस्वति ।
नर्मदे सिन्धु कावेरि जलेऽस्मिन् संनिधिं कुरु ॥

gaṅge ca yamune caiva godāvari sarasvati .
narmade sindhu kāveri jale’smin saṃnidhiṃ kuru ..

Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati, Godavari Narmada, Sindhu, Kaveri, 

May all these 7 holy rivers become confluent in this water and purify me. 

After immersion of the asthi we returned to Yatrik hotel. 

Today it is more than 7 years that I am alone without my dearest husband. 

He is in my thoughts each second of the day. 

Each morning whilst taking bath I chant this स्नान mantra and this very scene flashes in my mind's eye. 

I wonder where he is!

On that fatal day, April 30, 2014 I saw my husband lying with eyes closed forever. 

Everyday I relive that scene too. 

His 'asthi' too was immersed in this very Ganga by my son. 

I too shall join him one day and unite with all our dear loved ones gone long before. 

To my mind comes one of the most beautiful Sanskrit Subhashitams...... 

आकाशात् पतितं तोयं यथागच्छति सागरम् ।

सर्वदेव नमस्कारः केशवं प्रतिगच्छति ॥

ākāśāt patitaṃ toyaṃ yathāgacchati sāgaram .
sarvadeva namaskāraḥ keśavaṃ pratigacchati ..

As the drops of falling rain from the sky reach the ocean; 

So too all the prayers to all the gods ultimately get to Lord Keshava.

My interpretation is different. 

As the drops of falling rain reach the mighty ocean , we two too will join together. 

We two drops will once again attain each other! 

This is my only lasting last wish! 

🙏🕉️🙏हरि ॐ तत् सत्🙏🕉️🙏

Some childhood reminiscences

 Have been resolving to write a sort of consolidated memory of certain things that I did with my brother & sister.  What we did as children! 

My grandparents whom we called Amma&Appa had taught us Shlokams and we had seen our Pooja being lighted with a lamp both morning and evening. 

Ayya - Bai were our dear Uncle and Aunt. 

Our dear Aunt's name (Periamma =Elder Mother) was KRISHNAMBAL & Uncle's name was Harihara Sharma. 

They were most loving & we 3 children spent 2-3 years altogether in Bombay (Ganesh Bagh, Matunga ) when our parents were away in UK. 

In addition, every summer vacation (for 2 months) we used to go to Bombay to be with them. 

Those were the years - very rich, when I as a child learnt Tamil & Marathi. 

My Periamma had 5 children who were much older than us and they were MOST LOVING. 

Eldest son was called चूड़ामणि and his name was Prabhakar Sharma. 

To us he was ANNA JI- (Elder brother) who told us Tales of Valour about Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Who fought against cruel Muslim rulers especially Aurangzeb the Most cruel of Moghuls. 

Annaji married Sulochana (our famous Manni) who arranged my marriage to Appa. 

Manni passed away about 3 years ago. 

Their children: Usha(in Suisse) , 

Ashok-Poornima and Sushil-Kamala both brothers in Bengaluru. 

Anasuya was our elder sister, then Priyayamvada (whom we called Piri), next Sitaram (who named himself - He told his Father :Mera naam Sitaram) but he was called Baby by all and last brother was Krishna who's wife is Lekha. 

Except for Lekha, all the rest have become memories. 

Anasuya 's husband was Hariharan athimbair. 

Their children are Girija and Vinay. 

Priya' s husband was Balasubramaniam (Balan Athimbair). They did not have any children. 

Then as we grew up in Allahabad with grandparents fading away, we saw our Mother whom we called Mausi light the Pooja Lamp. 

Our paternal grandmother whom we called Dadi also followed the same Hindu ritual. 

Dadi was very orthodox and kept many fasts (jours de jeune) And we used to get delicious PRASAD after Pooja, & Arati. 

This was very normal in our home. 

One ritual that our Mother instilled was to say our Shlokams together in the evening. 

Coming back from school we would finish homework and go out to play but had been told by Mausi to come home as soon as it became dusk. This time is called GO.DHOOLI. Go =cow and Dhuli =dust. 

This is the time when Krishna Bhagavan, the Divine cowherd brought back cows home after grazing. 

And in the rays of the setting sun would be seen the dust raised by the cows coming home. =GO. DHULI! 

You children (Soumyarani & Aditya) know the Shloka :

"Godhuli dhoosarit komal gopavesham 

Gopala balak satai anugamyamanam, 

Sayandanai pratigriham Pashubandhanaartham

Gaschantum achyuta shishum 

Pranatosmi nithyam 

Gidhuli dhoosarit komal kuntalagram 

Govinda Bindu vasanam 

Gopala Balam manasaasmarami

So without fail,DAILY we used to BLINDLY OBEY.

Our parents used to return home LATER in the evening from the University. 

And were usually not at home. 

We would come inside the home , 

wash our feet well. 

And I being eldest and a girl used to light the Pooja Lamp. 

We would spread our special श्लोकम् straw mat and sit cross - legged and say our Shlokams with closed eyes and folded palms. 

However, we were very naughty. 

My brother and I being very close in years would chant Shlokams at different speeds, race each other and get into a real battle. 

And often my Mother would say :Are you saying your prayers or having a fighting match? 

But saying our श्लोक was something we did regularly and daily. 

And this discipline was due to Amma-Appa, Ayya-Bai, Mausi & our dear Dadi too. 

After saying our Shlokams we would take each family member's name and say Bhagavan, please protect & look after them in every way. 

After saying our Shlokams we would do namaskar in the Pooja room and go to every person in the family and say Namaste to them individually. Age did not matter. 

This was done daly. 

Today too I continue each morning and evening to light the Pooja Lamp. 

And the serene luminosity of the lighted lamp awakens many many hidden memories from the recesses of the mysterious mind.

First it reminds me of Mausi my Mother who gifted me the precious and beautiful Bell metal vilakku as an important part of the gifts given while leaving home with Appa after getting married. (10th March, Monday 1975).

My dear Aunt Bai had given me a Lakshmi-Ganesh framed picture that was at the centre of our Pooja wherever we put up our home.
Those are such sweet precious memories which I shall cherish as long as I am alive! 

As a little girl, seeing dear Bai, my dear dear gentle aunt lighting the lamp in Allahabad home every morning, I recall asking her  :Bai what do you think and pray when you light the vilakku. 

And she would give one of her sweetest smiles and say :O I pray to Bhagavan to keep you all safe, well, healthy and happy.
Such a simple but precious prarthana. 

And this is exactly what I do daily today!
For everyone in the family and also the world to be healthy and happy. 

My Grandmother & Grandfather taught us all the Sanskrit Shlokams that we know and I do marvel at their wisdom, patience and love to have bequeathed to us one of the most precious gifts of life for life! 

We as children (whether our parents were at home or not) came into the house at eventide, washed our hands & feet and would light the lamps (my Mother had two small silver lamps given to her by Amma our grandmother). 

We had a Popat Krishna (Sweet Krishna smilingly holding a parrot to his heart) at the centre of the Pooja shelf in our small study room that was shared by the 3 of us. 

Some of the Pooja items like the Deeparadhana item for Ararti, the small brass bell used during Ararti and a silver Lakshmi coming to me from Amma.
And brass panchpatra-uddharini, Shaligram and Shivalinga ((2)from Dadi my paternal grandma. I recall her taking these items to the Sangam-Thriveni for her annual Gangasnaan and they too had a purificatory bath.

So they have SPECIAL SACRED VIBRATIONS. 

While lighting the Lamp I also recall Bai saying to always take two wicks, never single. To use Til oil and say the special Shloka while lighting the lamp for 'enlightenment' and everything auspicious, good health and also 'over-coming enemies'. 

How naïve I was as a little girl! 

Enemies means the negativity within oneself but I used to interpret it as school friends with whom one had had a tiff! 

Such stark Immaturity! 

Time, experience and age has indeed made me a little wiser.
And one could never blow out the lamp. 

If one had to do so it was done gently with a flower that had been offered in prayer after application of milk on the sides of the vilakku.
Perhaps those reading this may wonder as to why so many rituals. 

Yes. Rituals connect us to those loved ones who taught them to us. 

And more importantly, we become more reflective and think deeply about the rituals. Why do we follow rituals? 

Thinking deeply one réalisés that they do hold weight. 

Rituals give a certain routine to be followed that leads to physican & mental discipline. 

Then once the child gains maturity and control he will evolve and understand the worth of rituaks that can be discarded. 

Rituals are just support systems that are besu in themselves. 

They are like arranging a table when guests are invited for meals. 

We set the table with new plates, shining cutlery, new table cloth and even light candles etc. 

If we can do this for friends why not do it for that ALL - PERVADING POWER ??? 

Of course, it all depends if one has Faith (Vishvas, Bhakti)! 

Lighting a lamp itself is beautiful as it spreads a glow all around and especially lighting up the eyes of our Devis & Devatas in the Pooja. 

Lighting lamps, agarbattis, offering favourite fragrant flowers to the diety, performing neivedyam (Brahmaarpanam) & arati are all part of the rituals of performing Pooja. 

This itself is a form of Meditation.

Lighting the Pooja lamp is something I grew up with. I saw my grandmothers, my mother and Aunt and all family members participating together.

Every Hindu home, however, affluent or poor always dedicates one small corner of their home to the Cosmic Power. 

And it is a beautiful custom. 

The same venerated deities are passed on from generation to generation and even if Bhakti /Vishvas are not the pivotal factors at least it is sentiment for the tradition that is carried on!
For me it reminds me and directly puts me in touch with all the great souls of our family. And their sacred memory gives me strength and courage to tide over little hiccups as well as the stormy events of life!

Just a short memoir of my sacred, childhood memories that I wished to pass on to you children. 

It may be of interest to you. 

Nature's way of self-protection!

Had gone upstairs to get my books to go into the garden when my eyes caught a fluorescent, big and beautiful beetle crawling on the dark floor.

As I had left my phone outside on the garden bench, I gently lifted the beetle onto a piece of paper to take it outside to photograph it.

Placing the beetle on the stone table, I found it to be still and lifeless. Poor little insect, I thought! 

Saddened by the sight of the beetle lying still, I started to sketch the garden view when suddenly a buzzing sound distracted me and I caught sight of the beetle coming alive to fly away leaving me to my solitude outside under the shade of the arbour.

How cleverly it had camouflaged itself appearing to be lifeless! 

How wonderful nature is!

My dear father (a botanist by training and a born nature lover ) had told me when I was just a little girl, very many long years ago that every creature from the minutest to the most gargantuan, protects itself in myriads of astonishingly clever ways! Survival at any cost! 

My father had introduced me to the famous Jean-Henri Casimir Fabre  a French naturalist, entomologist and author known for the lively style of his popular books on the lives of insects. We had a book in our home titled :The Insect Man. 

Fabre used to go out into Nature to learn about insects by lying on the forest floor for hours on end. Such was his passion and interest for studying Nature and insects that he was called the insect man! 

The more we learn we realise how much there is to know! 

Today the chance sighting of the 'little big beetle' stirred my mind and took me back in time ! 

It had the power to make me travel into the past, stir memories of my dear father and connected me to Jean-Henri Casimir Fabre who was born nearly 2 centuries ago 21st December 1823.

As my son would say as a little boy :I want to invent a Time travelling machine! 

And yes, we have our own individual, magical, travelling machine - our Mind that more than often takes us on rides! 

Thank you little beetle for making me fly into the past with your beautiful flight out into Nature from the bondage of being trapped inside the house!

Have you also ever wondered?

As a child i saw my maternal grandmother lighting the Pooja Lamp in our Pooja room. Then i saw my paternal grandmother doing the same. Then i saw my dear aunt and mother too following the same daily morning - evening traditions. Then while growing up I took on the role of lighting the lamp being the eldest daughter of our home.

I took great pride in washing the Pooja 'samaan' consisting of small 'vigrahams' of Ganapati, Sri Mahalakshmi, little toddler baby Krishna on his fours, the silver Shaligram and of course the beautiful lamp, Arati lamp, brass bell and agarbatti stand. 

This washing was a weekly ritual after which I would call my dear mother to see the brillantly shining silver, copper and brass Pooja samaan.

Then my mother would take cotton and roll out the wicks to be put into the lamp for lighting.

It is ordained in our Sanatana Samskaras that for auspicious times the lamp wick should always be in pairs never single. 

Single wick is used during times of sorrow after someone passes away. 

The use of two wicks symbolises the harmony and balance of the two forms of existing energies. Perhaps scientifically this explains the stability needed just like the positive proton needs negative electron. 

In our Sanatana Dharmic tradition, Shiva the male energy and Shakti the female energy are powerless without one another.

Shiva and Shakti are integral for one another.

Each day morning and evening the lamp is refilled with sesame oil or ghee and lighted for prayers and meditation. 

Much time has passed but this tradition continues in our homes.Each time i light the Pooja lamp, i connect with my mother,my grandmothersvand their sweet memories. I hear them chanting Shlokams. 

My daughter too follows this same beautiful generational tradition passed down through the ages and i hope that it will continue... 

Now let me not digress from the pivotal point of the title. 

I have noticed that the two wicks despite being being lighted together do not burn at the same rate! 

One remains longer and the other one gets burnt out faster. 

It is not just a one time happening. 

Have observed this happening perennially and  has made me wonder why! 

Each wick has a life of its own and its own individual burnout time. Is this a subtle lesson that the lamp is teaching? 

We all have a life span despite being together! 

This is exactly what i ask myself so many times. 

In the season of autumn I have watched falling leaves. Some fall earlier, some later and yet at the same time there are some leaves that are stuck to the branch refusing to fall despite violent autumnal winds and rain! 

There is a time exclusive for everything in creation. 

But yes they do fall finally reiterating the truth that after we come we have to go! 

Any thoughts??? 

When William became Vilvam......

It just happened recently that I was in the company of my summer holiday childhood  friends in Ooty.

This childhood friend has a lovely house in the sylvan green Ooty Hills.
Her elder sister along with another friend and I travelled by road to her place.
Bharat is such a wonderful land. People are so warm hearted everywhere and as we passed through rural areas we also stopped at eating houses to have tea, coffee accompanied by speciality eats of the region.

Vijayam knowing the place like the back of her hand knew where to stop for such eating breaks.

With my newly found 'freedom' of being in भारत भूमि  I could wag my tongue (not tail) with one and sundry!
At one place I met two young men from Odisha employed in the south in one such tea house.
Out of curiosity I put forward a query as to which city they were coming?
One of them said Bhubaneshvar (भुवनेश्वर in chaste Samskrit). So again I just asked him as to who was Bhvaneshvar after whom this city got this name. The answer I got was so disappointing.
He told me : O no no..... This is not a person but a place.
Yes I replied and then explained that Bhvaneshvar was the name of Surya the Sun with whose energy and light this planet
enlivened.
Then at Ooty we visited the Mysore Maharaja's Fernhill Palace which has been turned into a lucrative place of hospitality.
Our hostess treated us to some fresh fruit juices that were delicious indeed but turned sour by the price I observed she paid.
There the man who was at our service was exceptionally civil and courteous. Knowing my friend by face, he was proposing different snacks to partake. So finally we ordered some hot 'pakodas' of chillies, onion and potatoes.
The platter of freshly hot pakodas arrived. Just to make light conversation, I asked the man his name. And he said Vilvam. Now this name has great significance it is sacred to Hindus for the Vilvam leaves are offered to the Great God Shiva!
Pleasantly surprised, I congratulated the man on his name. He countered my statement and said - No no Madam, it is William.
O I said with innocent candour. He continued with great pride and said he was RC.
My questioning look made him clarify this term RC. I am a Roman Catholic.
This conversion expansionist tirade against Hindus of Bharat has been going on for a very very long time.
It is still being conducted in a war-like fashion. There was a Catholic of Italian decent called Robert de Nobili who came to Goa. He used to wear the clothes worn by sanyasis. He even kept the 'kudumi'. He studied Samskrit, Telugu and Tamil. In order to covert he used inculturation methods. He called the church as Matha kovil. The Bible was Vedam and he even wore the Rudraksha mala.
Such were the tactics employed.

To my mind came the thought of telling this man as to what pit he had fallen due to the weakness of his grandfather.
Conversion causes 'Breaching of the Sacred'. Original devotion, faith and respect of the converted victim is forcibly destroyed. The victim is forced to accept alien thought and philosophy and so becomes an alienated person in the very soil of his birth.
His places of worship are far away and his mind is occupied by thinking that is not akin to his origins.
So I went up to him and told him about the ravages of conversion. It is not a pleasant subject and neither easy to deal.
The West from where conversion continues do this not out of love or compassion. It is for getting followers so as to get numbers and numbers mean power.
In their own lands hardly are people taking to 'religious' life
They 'buy' people into Christianity by giving them money. Such people are increasing by the day and are called Rice Christians.
Was it not Bishop Desmond Tutu who said:When the white man came, we had the land and they had the book.
When he left, we had the book and they our land.
It is this that happens.
Moreover, there is a more sinister game at play. The West produces high grade weapons but at the same time preaches peace. One does wonder as to why this action is in exact antipodal position of the preaching !
Weapons get them money and conversion breaks nations. And then they get the opportunity of re-building war-torn nations with the advantage of greater financial power and better re-building technology.
So it is a win-win situation for them despite being the villains of this perennial on-going drama.
Mr. William nodded his head and heard me out solemnly and seriously.  I do hope he understood what really caused him to become Mr. William whereas he could have remained Shri Vilvam in this beautiful land of Bharatavarsham!
And so beware of these 'do-good' conversion organisations!
Saying this I folded my palms in Namaste and he followed suit in the manner, I do fervently hope, of an awakened Shri Vilvam!

We get what we seek not, we seek what we get not!

This is a touching story based on a real life experience!
I recall once some years ago I was in a taxi in Mumbai with my sister-in-law.

We had bought some stuff and also some vegetables and red tomatoes.
At a crossing, the traffic light was red and so the taxi halted.
Three children came running with open hands begging. As usual my mind had different thoughts to give or not to give.
But the milk of human kindness prevailed and I opened my purse to look for some money to give.
My anxiety that the traffic lights would soon  change to green made me fumble and as I did not find any cash I took out some tomatoes and handed it to the children.
They looked at me with surprise and said they wanted only money.
So a bit irritated I told them that after all they would not be able to eat money.
It was better to get tomatoes.
So they left with the tomatoes.

We had hardly inched a few yards forward in that super- crowded area when again the taxi stopped.
This time two women beggars came with open hands. By this time I had retrieved cash from my purse and so I offered them money.
And what do you think they said? We want tomatoes.
I was amused no end.
Perhaps they were the mothers of those beggar children who got tomatoes from me a little while ago or had seen me giving them tomatoes.

It made me wonder at the eternal human predicament.
  We seek what we get not and get what we seek not!
Life is like this.
Man is ever on a quest...... chasing shadows and never content!

What is in that sad and soulful bird-call that I hear everyday pulling at my heart and soul?

Why does this bird call out so soulfully and to whom?

Everyday when I slide open the glass veranda door I hear the sad soulful call of this bird.

It never comes in view but remains hidden within the branches camouflaged by leaves that have just sprouted on trees and plants.
What is the sorrow of this little bird?

घुघूति....... बासूति.....

आज अनेक वर्ष पर्यन्त मैंने पुनः उसी पक्षी के मार्मिक व करुणा भरे स्वर सुने....... लेकिन एकदम दूसरे वातावरण में......... पश्चिमी भू़खण्ड़ में।
मेघाच्छादित गगन ..... उदास वातावरण जैसे मेरा मन और यकायक इस पक्षी के बोलने ने मन को उड़ाकर जन्मभूमि पहुंचा दिया!
अनेक वर्षों पूर्व जब जीवन में बहार थी और जब हम सपरिवार मालौंज, रानीखेत हमारे पिताजी के पूर्वजों के गांव गए थे तब यही बोली पहाड़ों में देवदार व चीड़ के वृक्षों तले सुनाई दी थी..... परन्तु तब मन पर कुछ और ही प्रभाव पड़ा था।
मुझे याद है कि हम बच्चों ने भी इसी बोली की बहुत जोश के साथ नकल उतारी थी । तब हमारे पिताजी ने इस पक्षी के सम्बन्ध में एक प्रसिद्ध कुमाउनी लोकप्रिय कविता सुनाई थी।

घघूति बासूती,
माम कां छू,
मालकोटी,
के ल्यालो,
दूधभाती,
को खालो .......

और एक और लोक कविता.......

घुघूति बासूती,
भाइ आलो,
मैं सूति,

कहां गए वे दिन........?

बस पक्षी समान उड़ गए.......

जीवन में धूप-छाँव हमेशा ही रहे हैं!
हमारे निजि परिस्थितियों में परिवर्तन आने के कारण जीवन के संगीत में सुर बेसुरे हो जाते हैं - उदासी, अन्धकार व दुःख प्रवेश कर जाते हैं।

काश हम इन बेसुरे स्वरों को सुमधुर स्वरों में परिवर्तित कर पाते........क्या अपनी जीवनधारा में पुनः आनन्दमय श्रुति प्रवाहित कर पाएंगे?

लेकिन ओ री घुघूति..... तू तो अपनी ड़ाल पर से चुपचाप उड़ चली उत्तर दिए ही बिना..........!

SRI RAMA JAYAM.

The great Rishis and Munis of our Bharatavarsham studied Nature.It encompassed holistic observation, meditation and filtration of this knowledge through the ages metamorphosing all this study into wisdom.  The resulting  essence was scientific,logical and well-researched. It was then bequeathed to us and is our Samskriti. We are thus the inheritors of their sacred spiritual contemplation,wisdom, devotion and dedication.
However, through the ages, many other thoughts and beliefs were added on  which were extraneous and unnecessary. But the core structure of our Dharma retains the truth. We cannot and need not question the authority of our Vedas and Puranams. They are fundamental truths. If we follow them we will never falter and go wrong.
About 50-60 years ago we in our Bharatavarsham had never heard of terms such as depression and emotional problems. It was because we had a certain way of life.....of including the spirit that ensured healthy mind and body. We used our mind, emotions and thoughts, body and soul for harmonious living.
Shravanam that was a great way to imbibe wisdom.
Even I remember as a child going to the Asthika Samaj and listening to Katha-Kathakalakshepam by very knowledgeable Pandits who sang, chanted and explained Srimad Bhagavatham, Sri Ramayanam and our Puranams. Elderly men and women used to throng these places to do Shravanam of such sacred Kathas and Pravachanams.
As an aside, all our dance forms too originated from our great epics which form the basis of our Ithihasam.
Kathak, Kathakali, Manipuri, Bharatanatyam,Kuchipudi and Mohiniattam all have spiritual and sacred origins.
And let us remember and never repeat the inappropriate word myth. Ithihasam is history. Myth is imagined and untrue.
Shravanam makes great impact on minds. As we listen our minds carve images on the screen of our inner eyes.

श्री गणेशाय नमः

The Sri Ramayanam.

The main character is Sri Ramachandra who is Maryaada Purushottham.
Every problem encountered in this life has a solution exemplified by the life of Sri Rama.
Buddhi is superior to everything and listening to the right knowledge is most important. We have to learn to deal with emotions in a positive way.
Ramakatha shows us the way to live life. Krishna katha is for listening not for living life.
Guruji first dealt with the topic of Sri Rama Jayam.
After 'Ravana vadham' and conclusion of Rama-Ravana Yuddham was the task of giving this auspicious news to Sri Seeta Devi. The sacred task could have been done by Sri Lakshmana, Sri Anjaneya or Vibheeshana brother of Ravana.
Sri Hanuman ji was chosen due to his intelligence, clarity of Buddhi and word precision ..... he is called 'vaakapatu'one who knows how to converse with logic, correct expression and wisdom.
Sri Hanumanji goes to Sri Seeta Devi and says - SRI RAMA JAYAM and the message is delivered precisely and perfectly.
Now as a child I saw my aunt (Periyamma) making  beautiful 'kolam' in the Pooja medai and then writing Sri Rama Jayam. I was taught the art of kolam by my maternal grandmother and followed the same in our home at Prayag - Allahabad. Have also seen as Sri Guruji pointed out that at the beginning of a letter one always began with the sacred ॐ or Sri Rama Jayam.
These 'sacred rituals' go back into the immemorial history of our sacred nation.
It is believed that to repeatedly say Rama, Rama, Rama will usher in the auspicious and remove all negativities and sorrows. 
Ramanaamam is 'tarakanaam' - janma rakshaka mantram that will deliver us across this ocean of life,give us Moksham.
Shiva tells Parvati Devi that just to chant 3 times Rama is equivalent to taking 1000 names of Vishnu.
श्री राम राम रामेती रमे रामे मनोरमे,
सहस्र नाम तत्तुल्यम् श्री राम नाम वरानने!
So if we can achieve so much just by chanting this name how much more power meditating on Sri Rama will have !
VATSALYA RAMA -
Sri Rama was the son of Kaushalya and was born after 12 months. And so too were Lakshmana, Bharata and Shatrughna. When he was just 11 Vishvamitra Muni took him to destroy the Rakshasas for the purpose of याग संरक्षणम।
Then Sri Rama goes on to break the Shiva Dhanush at the court of Raja Janaka. Janaka Maharaja gladly gives him the hand of Seeta but Sri Rama says he needs his father's consent before accepting Seeta.
Sri Rama was extremely obedient and respectful to his parents. Each day would begin with obeisance to them..... and this reminds me of my Mama whom I never ever saw but who was an ideal son to my grandparents.
Dasharatha Raja built a palace so safe and secure to safeguard the infant Sri Rama in every way.
It is said that Raja Dasharatha had 60,000 wives. It was because Parashurama in rage was killing off Kshathriya kings. In order to escape death every year King Dasharatha would marry one wife in order to avoid death at the hands of Parashuram who refrained from killing a newly married person for one year.
Again this took me to a recent fact where Sri Lankan L.T.T.E. recruits were not asked to go to war if they were married.
Thus granting marriage a sacred and secure state. Perhaps this has something to do with historicity because after all Sri Lanka is where the Rama-Ravana Yuddham took place.

PATIENCE

Sri Rama by character was obedient, kind and patient and most of all with his parents.
He goes on exile for 14 years and when brother Bharat gives him the news of his father's passing and requests him to return as King, he refuses as the sanctioned period was not yet over. He was Kartavyaparayan and would not waive his duty at any cost.

SAHODARATTVAM

Affection for brothers and sisters was beyond everything......
Bharat is the son of Kaikeyi whom she wished to become king after Dasharatha.
During the exile period, Bharat comes to take back Sri Rama to Ayodhya with a  grand retinue of people and soldiers. Lakshman misconstrues and thinks that Bharat wishes to fight Sri Rama and so warns him.However,Sri Rama is so unselfish and affectionate towards Bharat that he declares that if Bharat has that mindset, he would gladly spend the rest of his life in exile.
Sri Rama says that for his brother Bharat he would stay permanently in the Dandakaaranya forest.
He was so proud of his brothers and loved them beyond his very life.
These days people fight for property. And yet what an ideal and model brother Sri Rama was!
Sri Rama knew how to handle people and situations with wisdom and control while showing respect to each and everyone without belittling anyone . he never hurt or harmed anyone and yet warded off harm most wisely.
It was like using the vine called 'raajathaali' that deters snakes without causing harm to anyone.
He used his inborn wisdom.

SAKHYABHAAVAM

At Shringavelpur, Guha a poor tribal welcomes Sri Rama with open arms and tells him to stay with him.
Sri Rama comforts him as a precious friend and shows great love and respect and asks him to ferry him across the river to go into the deep forest.
Very gently he tells him that his staying there would cause worry to the people of Ayodhya as they would keep on visiting him if he stayed on in Shringavelpur.
Later on during his PATTAABHISHEKAM friend Guha is given great importance again demonstrating his innate 'saakhyabhaavam'.
His friendship for Sugreeva also demonstrates his sincerity.
Sri Rama promises Sugreeva that he would get back his wife for him and takes an oath in front of Agni. He indeed kept his word.
Sri Ramachandra Bhagavan has been 'maligned and accused' unfairly for certain actions he took during his life time.
The incident of Vali-vadha is when Sri Rama shoots and kills Vali by hiding behind a tree. Sri Rama has been much maligned for this killing by people who do not know the context.
The dying Vali asks Sri Rama to explain his actions. He wonders as to the reason. Did he lose his mind because of his separation from Seeta?
There are many reasons.
Firstly, Vali had kidnapped Sugreeva's wife which was Adharmic.
Sri Rama goes on to explain that as a Kshathriya King he had the right to hunt animals. This right entailed him to hide. So it was fair.
In addition, there was a boon given to Vali. This boon empowered Vale to get 50% of the strength of the rival fighting against him. So Sri Rama had to hide from being seen by Vali to prevent this loss of strength.
The dying Vali agrees in the end and tells Sri Rama that he is Dharmavaan and Neethivaan and that he had questioned him as he wished to hear these truth from Sri Rama himself.

SEETARAMAN (SRIRAMA of SEETA)

The pure and sacred love Sri Rama had for Seeta is undeniably exclusive and exemplary.
In the Kamba Ramayanam, Sri Rama's love for Seeta is shown to be so great that  people started gossiping, ridiculing and questioning as to whether Sri Rama had gone to Vashishtha Muni's ashram to study the Vedas or to learn how to maintain a wife!
Sri Rama was a man of one word,one determination and one action, never ever wavering.
His inner and outer radiance and beauty were beyond description. His love and affection for Seeta was so great that he indulged her beyond everything. His love for her was beyond self and ego.
Once in a small ego clash he lost and Seeta won. But he tells her that losing to her is his joy, his comfort. He had so much love for her!

AGNIPRAVESHAM

Sri Rama tells Seeta after he brings her back from Sri Lanka that he feels strange to look at her after she has lived in someone else's house.
The people of Ayodhya too look at Seeta with suspicion.
But he being an ideal husband knowing her to be a Pativrata realises his Dharma to protect her Maryaada.
So he says - When 'painful' eyes look at a flame it hurts....... And by saying so he turns the people against himself as he faults his own vision.
All the people now side with the innocent Seeta.
Thus Sri Rama protects Seeta's impeccable reputation which was known to all.
So again Sri Rama puts himself second and takes the blame on himself.
Thus the Srimad Ramayanam is like the sun lighting our lives through every situation...... with Sri Rama at the core.

We are alive today.....and in comparison to so many we are more than fortunate.
My advice to you all is -
Live life as it comes to you.
Everything happens for good.
Sri Rama's charitram teaches us this.
See Bhagavan in everything, live like Sri Rama.
Accept, face life.

Rama, Rama, Rama, Rama, Rama, Rama, Rama,
Rama, Rama, Rama-Seeta, Rama, Rama, Rama !

EESVARORAKSHA, SARVAMEVASHUBHAAYA !

This was Sri Guruji Gopalvallidasar's Upanyasam on Sri Ramachandra Charitram.
Sri Gurubhyo Namaha!
🌺🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏

EESVARA ANUGRAHAM!

This is a true story .......told to me recently by a very dear and sincere friend of my husband.They were colleagues and we have known each other for over 40 years.

Our friend's father now long gone was a devout Christian from Kerala.He was greatly interested in learning the ancient science of Ayurveda.

The teacher of Ayurveda was from the royal family referred to as 'thampuran' was also an authority on Astrology.

Our friend's father became a student of the Ayurveda classes.He was not interested in the subject of  Astrology whereas there were others who took up the study of Astrology.

This Guru used to alternate from the Ayurveda class to the Astrology class.

One day as the Ayurveda class was going on a very old man clasping a Rudrakshamala in his gnarled hands chanting Narayanaa,Narayanaa,Narayanaa entered the class.

With folded hands he entreated the Thampuran to read his astrological chart and give him some consolatory answers because everything in his life was going awry and his whole family was suffering.

The Thampuran who was well-versed in Astrology took a good look at the astrological chart and in a minute knew what was in store for him.

However,he told him that things would work out and that he should come to him the next day for more details of his 'jatakam'.

The old man left the class chanting Narayanaa,Narayanaa,Narayanaa .......just the way he had entered.

After he had gone,the students asked the Thampuran as to why he had asked him to come the next day as he was so old ...........and he could have saved him the exertion of coming the next day.

The Thampuran started explaining.......

I am recounting exactly what our friend's father told his son.......

The old man's chart had clearly indicated that he would die within a few minutes due to the sting from a venomous snake.

Not wishing to cause distress to the old man he had asked him to return the next day.

The next day as usual the class was in progress.

The students and the Thampuran were astonished beyond measure to see the old man doddering into the classroom again clasping his Rudraksha mala chanting Narayanaa,Narayanaa,Narayanaa .......

The Thampuran was extremely curious and asked the old man as to what had happened after he left the day before.

This is what the old man related:-

He had started for home walking through the expansive rice fields for which Kerala is famous.

This incident occurred over 60-70 years ago in Thrissur ( Thrichur ) which was a small town.

Those days there were no tarred roads and today too it still remains a small town.

While walking homeward,the old man felt Nature's call and observed  a small coconut grove.

As he was easing himself near the coconut trees he heard a hissing sound followed by a big loud thud just behind him where he had propped himself.

On turning and looking behind,his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets and he could not believe what he saw.

A large serpent just behind him about to sting him had been hit on its head by a falling coconut killing it on the spot at that very moment!

Now as to the explanation of the astrological prediction .......the Thampuran explained that according to all the signs in his chart  imminent Death indeed had awaited the old man.

But his Narayanaa chanting had caused his future to change and prevented Yamaraja from touching him and he was saved!

Thus again proving that more things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of!

Everything is EESVARA ANUGRAHAM and EESVARA KRIPA!

Home for the elderly!

Today in Bharat there are types and types of homes these days for the elderly.

This is a new phenomenon as the age-old joint - family system has systematically been breaking down. Elders in the family are left behind to fend for themselves which is very traumatic and complex.
Loneliness, depression accompanying aging and disease force such parents to shift voluntarily into retirement communities with other couples in similar situation.
Here they get to live and share with others their problems and worries.

There is another type of home where children admit their aging parents so as to feel content that they have fulfilled their filial duties.
In such old-age homes the elderly spend their twilight years waiting for the sun to set on their lives ..... very often just living on memories.
For this to happen in the land of Bharat is pitiful and shameful.
In our great Mahabharat epic even the unrighteous father, Dhritharashtra of the Kaurava princes was not abandoned. He was cared for and looked after by Yudhishthira the eldest Pandav brother.And yes the very same Pandav brothers who had been sinned against!
Living in the West, during the first few years I used to admire the 'external aesthetics and order' of everything. The roads, the paths bordering these auto - routes with manicured branches, uniform tall trees and expanses of different shaded green fields. Jokingly I used to express to my better-half-'even to be a cow in the West would be so good!' But slowly the 'beans spilled out' and eyes opened for now I would never ever say what I said.
Dogs and cats are fed factory food pellets that come in packets..... instead of freshly cooked stuff. All this is to make life easier for owners of our 4-legged friends be they canine or feline. We always gave our GODS (to be read left to right and right to left) everyday freshly cooked chapattis and dal and milk.
God only knows what they feed these poor cows for them to become such huge monsters that cannot even give birth to calves normally. Caesarean section has to be performed to deliver calves which is abnormal.
In the West, everything is 'superficial' external beauty......, orderly and controlled.
And yet we speak of freedom, liberty and equality!
In order to comprehend life in the West, a great deal of observations have to be made and conclusions to be drawn.
Yet sadly we too in Bharat are going the same way!
As we grow older, we become more perceptive and sensitive.Sadness and tragedies affect us more during this stage. As our contemporaries, relatives and friends  'alight' at their allotted stops on this voyage of life we start becoming more and more lonely.......
I recall a phrase my dear mother used to say frequently in the mornings which was  never understood by me - she would say - another day gone..... it was out of melancholy and sadness that we all humans suffer looking at life's realities..... and I was so naive to just murmur something inane and carry on..... with my activities whatever they were !
Today I fully comprehend what must have been going on in my mother's mind. What a pity to not understand the unstated emotions of elders and give support when most needed!
Old age homes are verily like prisons with only a one-way door to escape.
While growing up looking at beggars and underprivileged people who were really needy, my mother used to say - what future can they dream of when existing under such conditions......!  This is exactly the condition of these old age home inmates....... what can they think of? What future dreams can they visualise? In such homes,sunshine comes when children come visiting their elders.I recall a statement made by a young girl whom I first met by chance in Venice and later in Dublin. She said something which really reflected the Truth. One Mother and one father can bring up 10 children but 10 children find it difficult to look after one father and one mother!
Maybe not true for all children but the trend is so....... or at least the parents feel too heavy a responsibility on their already stressed out children.
This very cycle of life turns on and on...... today born is one say old tomorrow as we say in Bharat.
And time carries him on its wings through youth to middle age and then old age... Does the youth of today ever imagine what life would be in a few years from now?????
Would it not be better to realize that happiness, joy and togetherness is what matter. Clean, sanitised, orderly old age homes are just buildings made of brick and mortar without laughter, heart and soul!

Namaste!

This morning we went to meet Nirmala Row a very sweet and good friend of many years who owns a shop where she sells sarees,salwar-kameezes and also has a team of tailors who stitch dresses and blouses .

She also keeps a range of designer sarees and other dresses that cater to the younger crowd.

She was talking very animatedly to a 'client friend' who was about to leave.

And as my sister-in-law and I entered her shop she said,"From today I am going to say Namaste to each and everyone who comes to me".

I for one am a traditionalist and from my childhood was taught by my dear father and mother to say Namaste. 

Very elatedly I joined her with enthusiasm and told her how today many people in the West are using Namaste as a written as well as a verbal greeting. 

She was taken aback and she loudly re-resolved that she would henceforth say Namaste. 

And then the very same day something very odd and strange happened.

We came home and were in the lift.We wished to go to the 11th floor but 'accidentlally' went down to -1.

And bang came in a young woman with a little boy between 7-8.

There was an icy silence as we all stood together ascending the floors.

It all seemed very wrong to me.Such silence among people living in the same apartment block!

So I took the step, perhaps a 'bit too far and precipitous'.

I 'heckled' her by saying Namaste.

She in turn said Hellooo to me with a dead-pan expression. 

It really put me off and I again took another 'dangerous' step and said in Hindi -

Kya aap Namaste nahin bolte hein?

(Do you not say Namaste?)

She replied very matter of factly- Mein to Namaste bolna hi bhool gayee hoon.

Aajkal to koi bhi Namste nahin bolta hei. 

Sab log HI ya HELLO  hi karte hein.

(I have forgotten to say namaste. These days people say HI or HELLO). 

So I said -Arrey aap to boliye chahey  aur bolen ya na bolen.

(O, whether anyone says or not, you should say) 

So pat came another reply when she said -Main to Sikh hoon Aur main Sat Sri Akaal boltee hoon.

Then I said -Avashya boliye -main bhi boltee hoon Sat Sri Akaal.

( I am a Sikh and I say Sat Sri Akaal).

( Do say so- I too say Sat Sri Akaal).

Our conversation was very sage and friendly.

We parted as we arrived on our 11th  and she was on the 14th floor.

Now this leaves me wondering as to where is our Bharat and what is this new India?

How do we revert this process of getting back to Bharat from this new India?

Can we reverse this?

However,on a positive note,I must not forget to state that this young woman was indeed very respectful.

She could have 'barked' back at me and said -Who are you to tell me how I should greet people?

And I would have been at the receiving-end with no answer.

Again this shows that Bharateeya Samskriti has not been fully lost for she spoke with respect.

Who knows what will happen in the coming years or perhaps when I speak to the next person on such lines?????

But I am an optimist and I pray and hope ...........Namaste!

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

We are drops in the ocean of Life but will we meet exactly as the same drops in this ocean of Life?

The Eternal conundrum!

My paternal grandmother used to say that we humans are like pieces of driftwood that are brought together and also separated by the Force of God.

I do believe in this truth.

While meeting is always joyful parting is terribly painful.

My question today is will we ever meet again as we met before?

Will our memories revive and will we know and relive the past that we had together?

There are so many questions but I seem to get no answers.

The only thing that gives me solace is to remember how you would act and react under these circumstances.

And this I shall do.

The Compleat Rambler

I returned to the Gurvayoorappan Temple a few weeks after the visit that I have mentioned in the previous post. The cycle rickshaw driver taking my husband and me from the Mayur Vihar flats to the temple turned out to be from Rajroopur in Allahabad, the city of my birth. Rapport was instant and the chat about Allahabad was continuous over the 10 minutes that he took to deposit us at the temple.

The temple is run in traditional Kerala style. A combination of simplicity, order and discipline marks the ambience. We request a special archana giving the name and nakshatram amd then wait for the purohit to complete the dialogue between manushya and Krishna. The garbhagriham is only lit by oil lamps and the vigraham can only be seen by the reflected light of these lit lamps. My thoughts and prayers take me to my late grandmother who had been a Krishnabhakta. I recall her stories of naughty Krishna, brave Krishna and timeless Krishna who came to the rescue of all those who called upon Him.

I sit for a while in the temple yard where I hear a devotee reading in softly audible tones from the Bhagvad Gita. The piece which catches my ear said that nothing was impossible for Krishna. Was this a direct message from Him to me, I wonder.

As I wait for the garbhagriham to open, a sweet old lady comes up to me and quietly offers me white jasmine flowers. She does the same to others around me. What was her heart seeking ? Others around me stand, wait, perform pooja and do pradakshina to the One who knows everything, does everything and yet is a silent witness. Krishna, I say to myself, do what you know is best and let me mould myself into accepting whatever you do. In the course of my pradakshina I see a lady in yellow sari scrubbing and polishing the brass deepams. She looks up frequently in the course of her work and greets the temple visitors with a beatific smile.

People experiencing a vibration, a harmony with something both deep within and high outside.

If, thus far, you, dear reader, have been with me inside the temple, let us walk together to the world outside till we meet again at another temple. If, on the other hand, you have been outside and merely watching I wonder what you think of my ramble.

SHUBHAARAMBHAM

We all have to begin somewhere and at sometime and so here I am blogging for the first time .

I am a bit apprehensive to put down my thoughts but I am under the cover of my 'invisible cloak' of annonymity as no one can see me .How wonderful technology is! We can pry into one another's innermost recesses and yet remain strangers. 

As a child reading books of fiction and mystery always made me wish for a cloak that would make me invisible to others even as I could see others .And today we communicate with the world without revealing one's identity !

The sun is playing 'hide and seek ' and it is a warm day.

I hope to record my innermost thoughts candidly so that after I am gone whoever chances to read them may perhaps vibrate with them here and there and feel the Truth. 

Though I had put these thoughts into words long ago, I found them in the drafts section. It is better to be late than never....... So here it gets to see the light of the blogosphere!