Daily Sholkas: Dec. 11, 2015

Bg 2.47

karmaṇy evādhikāras te mā phaleṣu kadācana

mā karma-phala-hetur bhūr mā te saṅgo ’stv akarmaṇi

Translaton:

47. Thy right is to work only, but never to its fruits; let not the fruit-of-action be thy motive, nor let thy attachment be to inaction.

Commentary Excerpts:

The traditional belief of Hinduism has not at all been shaken in the Geeta-theory that single-pointed, divine dedicated Karma, without desire for the fruits, shall bring about inner purification, which is a condition precedent to spiritual awakening. The Geeta only gives an exhaustive exposition of this idea to incorporate in it ALL activities in the social and personal life; while in the Vedas, Karma meant only the religious and the ritualistic activities.

Almost all of us refuse to undertake great activities, being afraid of failures, and even those who dare to undertake noble endeavours, invariably become nervous ere they finish them, again, due to their inward dissipation. To avoid such wasteful expenditure of mental energy and work with the best that is in us, dedicated to the noble cause of the work undertaken, is the secret prescription for the noblest creative inspiration; and, such work must always end in a brilliant success. This is the eternal law-of-activity in the world.

The future is always carved out in the present. Tomorrow's harvest depends upon today's ploughing and sowing. But, in the fear of possible dangers to the crops, if a farmer wastes his present chances of thoroughly ploughing, and carefully sowing at the right time, it is guaranteed that he shall not have any harvest at all. The present moments are to be invested intelligently and well, so that we may reap a better time in the future. The past is dead; the future is not yet born. If one becomes unhealthy and inefficient in the present, certainly he has no reason to hope for a greater future. This fundamental truth, very well-known and easily comprehended by all, is, in the language of the Geeta, a simple statement: "If success you seek, then never strive with a mind dissipated with anxieties and fears for the fruits." In this connection it is very interesting to dissect carefully and discover exactly what the Shastra means when it says: "Fruits-of-action." In fact, the reward of an action, when we understand it properly, is not anything different from the action itself. An action in the PRESENT itself, when conditioned by a FUTURE-time, appears as the fruit-of-the-action. In fact, the action ends, or fulfils itself, only in its reaction, and the reaction is not anything different from the action; an action in the present, defined in terms of a future moment, is its reaction. Therefore, to worry over and get ourselves pre-occupied with the anxieties for the rewards-of-actions is to escape from the dynamic PRESENT and to live in a FUTURE that is not yet born!

 The stanza gives the four injunctions guiding us to be true workers. A real Karma Yogin is one who understands: (a) that his concern is with action alone; (b) that he has no concern with results; (c) that he should not entertain the motive of gaining a fixed fruit for a given action; and (d) that these ideas do not mean that he should sit back courting inaction. In short, the advice is to make the worker release himself from all his mental preoccupations, and thus through work make him live in the joy and ecstasy of inspired self-forgetfulness. The work itself is his reward; he gets himself drunk with the joy and satisfaction of a noble work done. The work is the means; the Higher Self-experience alone is the Goal-Divine. By thus re-acting readily to all external challenges, with his devoted attention upon Him, one can find peace easily, and a bosom thus purged of its existing vasana-bondages is, to that extent, considered better purified for the purposes of meditation and the final Vedantic-realisation of the Infinite glory of the Self.

 

Sources: vedabase.com; The Holy Geeta

Sorry for the medical break..

Hari Om!

I am down with viral fever and simply not up to the task of posting the updates, please give me a few days...


Meanwhile want to share A VERY HAPPY DISCOVERY! YOU CAN ORDER THIS REALLY BEAUTIFUL GITA PUBLISHED BY THE MISSION ON FLIPKART!

It is hardbound, handy size, great printing, has fine BW photos of Gurudev, and costs only Rs 135.- plus delivery. Link here:

http://www.flipkart.com/srimad-bhagavad-gita-english/p/itme9g636mzx2yxu?pid=9788175974715

Pujya Guruji on practical application of Gita in daily life

Gurudev's Introduction to the Second Chapter

Hari Om! I am copying excerpts from the Commentary by Gurudev. (It is present in some editions only):

We find in the Gita all the known paths to perfection sketched out in the Vedas namely, jnana, bhakti and karma, by which realisation of the Upanishads is reached when one has fully purified oneself by the pursuit of ritualism, karma-kanda, and has spent a period of time in living the upasana-kanda. People believed that these three are irreconcilable factors, and so many schools rose up and each started quarrelling with all the others. This was the chaotic condition in which Vyasa found Hinduism, during the pauranika age. In the Gita he has tried to find for the Aryan children of the Vedas reconciliation and a synthesis in which all can walk hand in hand.

Many are the modern reviewers of the Gita who fail to realise this idea and claim, as in Gita Rahasya, that "jnana accompanied by bhakti and dominated by karma is the Gita way for Perfection". Others say, "bhakti is the most emphatic creed in the Gita teachings". There are still others who say that jnana alone is the theme and that the Gita is an exclusive textbook for sannyasins. In fact, all these are explained in the Gita and much more- the synthesis of them all, as indicated in the body of Gita- chap. 2

Photos from Sidhbari

Album link: https://picasaweb.google.com/115043577362135880088/GeetaMarathonMusings

Chinmaya Deenabandhu Krishna today!

Live Chanting from the Gita Marathon Camp- Sidhabari, 2015

Dear all,

Hari Om!

This is Ravi. As desired by many participants for a "chanting-only" audio for their personal use and practise, I today started the task of manually cutting and pasting only the chanting and the repeating portions from the main audio file. I have done verses 1 to 10 of Chapter 1 (pls note verse 8 seems to have been skipped).

Google drive link is:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-D4RPMbawmKQXFYSnpOcTRldUU/

Pls try if it works.

The file is not of professional quality and also, the start and stop points, volumes etc are not consistent, being a live discourse. On the other hand, there is some beauty to hearing exactly what we heard at the camp.

Pls let me have your feedback as to whether you would like to have more verses recorded/shared in this manner. I will proceed or abandon this effort based on your feedback.

Thanks and Hari Om!

Ravi

Gurudev Quotes

Google Drive audio link test

Pantula Rama Yehi Murare

Shirt Vastu

There was a guy sitting next to me on the plane, as I flew back from the Himalayas. He had prominent religious marks painted on his forehead, and wore a solid rudraksha garland. He was pretty much staring at everyone on the plane, especially the shirts they wore. He answered my quizzical look with a question: Do you believe in astrology and vastu? I said my favourite number was 7, but I did not believe astrology was a useful thing, riddled with quacks and tricksters exploiting the gullible. A look of infinite sadness came over him, and he muttered, Buddha-like, that I was highly misguided about India's priceless heritage.

Andhra Swami, for that was his name, had already saved millions by helping them reconfigure and reposition their doors, windows, stairs and wells, water pots and kitchen sinks, apart from gas stoves and grills. But in a blinding flash of genius, he realised that the real vastu effects untackled till today were happening right next to a man's bosom... in his shirt! In our male-dominated society, we have been recklessly ruining our future with mindless and thoughtless and often tasteless choice of shirtage. Well, for Andhra Swami, it was a revelation and he moved swiftly to create a huge Shirt Vastu business.

He told me, looking directly into my eyes, how Tipu Sultan wore his long shirt with the wrong number of buttons, only to be killed in battle. Shivaji Maharaj wore a kind of sarong with no stitches, and beat Aurangzeb. Lord Mountbatten wore his famous coat with the right number of pockets, all in the right places, except the inner left pocket, That made his Lady stray towards a man who wore, on the advice of a Banarasi sadhu, always a Scottish pink rose in his button hole.

Andhra Swami used numerology, graphology and some plain psychology to figure out the colour, fabric, number of pockets, type of stitch, collar size, sleeve length, front or rear buttoning (Yes!), slits on the side, number of buttons, left- or right-side up etc. to optimise Nature's blessing for every man, so that he would succeed in profession, business, family, bed room, and bath room. He would not need to go to other astrologers any more. Least of all Vastu and Feng Shui. You see, God works his wonders right next to our skin. We need look no further!

Andhra Swami also has arrangements with the leading clothiers and shirt-makers of the world from Italy to Irinjalakuda, so one can get the goods made and delivered quickly and easily.

I will not share his long analysis of my fate and choice of upper garment. Suffice to say, when he offered his services and named his fee, I felt I would have to lose my shirt to pay him. USD 200 per consult!

Phew. I am changing to Angavastram. No more shirts. 

Google Drive - one place to upload and share audio/video/photo/text/PDF...

Please upload the file and make it "share it with a link". Copy that link and then paste that link into your blog post here in http://Geetamusings.blogspot.in Remember that BLOGSPOT, GOOGLE DRIVE, YOUTUBE, PHOTOS, AND GOOGLE+ are all from Google and connect seamlessly.

Illustration from Gita Press

Group Photo with Guruji & Swamiji

Medieval Copy of Bhagavadgita at Kangra Fort Museum, Himachal

The book lies open at the beginning of the Tenth chapter. It was painted and scribed locally and was used for regular prayer by the royals amidst all their strife.

Upanishad Ganga - Teleserial inspired by Gurudev

Two shlokas: Oct.25, 2015

Bg 1.1

dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca

dharma-kṣetre kuru-kṣetre samavetā yuyutsavaḥ 

māmakāḥ pāṇḍavāś caiva kim akurvata sañjaya

Translation:

Dhritarashtra said: 1. What did the sons of Pandu and also my people do when, desirous to fight, they assembled together on the holy plain of Kurukshetra, O Sanjaya?

Bg 1.2

sañjaya uvāca

dṛṣṭvā tu pāṇḍavānīkaṁ vyūḍhaṁ duryodhanas tadā

ācāryam upasaṅgamya rājā vacanam abravīt

Translation:

Sanjaya said: 2. Having seen the army of the Pandavas drawn up in battle array, King Duryodhana then approached his teacher (Drona) and spoke these words.

Commentary

1.1 In the entire Geeta this is the only verse which the blind old king Dhritarashtra gives out. 

... the viciousness of his past and the consciousness of the crimes perpetrated seem to be weighing heavily upon the heart of the blind king, and so he has his own doubts on the outcome of this war.

2.2. Duryodhana, unsettled in his mind, runs to his teacher, Dronacharya. When our motives are impure and our cause unjust, however well-equipped we may be, our minds should necessarily feel restless and agitated. This is the mental condition of all tyrants and lusty dictators.

Sources:
1. Translation and commentary from The Holy Geeta by Swami Chinmayananda
2. shlokas transliteration from vedabase.com
3. BG photo from the book..by Nirmalananda Giri

Google account: easy to do

Dear friends,

You would have received an email looking like this:

Hello,

The purpose of this message is to inform you that Sachi has invited you to join their private blog "Geeta Marathon Musings". To accept this invitation, click on the button below.

Accept invitation

Important: You will need to sign in with a Google Account to accept the invitation to view this blog. If you don’t have a Google Account you can create one here.

Happy blogging,

The Blogger Team

The google account is easily set up. You don't need a Gmail account! You use your usual email ID and create an account in google. This will enable to use a number of services of Google, like:

1. Upload photos - picasa

2. Upload Youtube videos.

3. Google hangouts.

4. Blogger... so you can add your posts to our http://Geetamusings.blogspot.in

Please read the information copied from Google Help page, here:

Please give me your email IDs

Dear all,
Hari Om!
Please share email IDs of all Geetha Marathon attendees who would like to be a part of this study group!

THANKS!

Welcome!

Hari Om!

Dear fellow sadhakas from the Geeta Marathon Camp!

I offer my pranams to Swami Swaroopananda-ji and begin this blog. He kindly blessed it just as we were boarding the flight from Sidhbari to Delhi yesterday, saying we were already a group and should pursue the study with dedication.

This blog is open for you to make posts, make comments, and share thoughts and experiences. You can add photos and text and give links to your files- text, movies, music etc. through URL's. You can copy paste text. I intend to make a post everyday, quoting from the Holy Geeta.

From the foothills of the Himalayas-

Blessed by the footfalls of the Siddhas,

We return with Geeta in our heart.

Enshrined by Swamiji,

Planted as a seed,

Ours to nourish, water and love.

So it becomes the holy tree

of God. The holy song of life.

The Holy Geeta that guides

Our thoughts, words, deeds,

and illumines our path.

Welcome, fellow hearts!

Hari Om!

A Lot of Romance over Coffee

A lot of romance can happen over coffee!

Call me old school, or just plain "old", but I often watch life, sitting in a Coffee Day, sipping my latte. The life I watch often involves young people getting to know each other, and sometimes it is their first date.

Two young things, the girl with an Andhra accent, the boy with a Malayali trademark stubble and accent, are getting to discover commonalities over coffee. They have both chosen to call this silicon garden garbage metro as home.

Boy: I work in a famous US brand offshore service center. It's surely exciting, answering to the name "Pete" and trying my call center accent!
Girl: I work for an Indian $1.5B telecom giant! It's not a direct Airtel job but our company has been running the subcontract for long now.
Boy: what's challenging in my role is to explain things to our customers who get pissed off easily. Other day, some guy was screaming that his toaster went kaput with the fifth slice of bread. How do I tell him we have no clue how long such a thing works? Not even our Chinese factory can figure it out. Just like a good old light bulb! As Edison has said, there is no science that can predict how long a filament bulb will burn.
Girl: Same here! Some nut was screaming the other day that we had billed him Rs 3748.84 excess for data usage. How can I explain to that moron that our billing algorithm came from IBM and runs a million factors to compute the bill, and no human can override it!? Only thing we know is it always bills more than what's fairly chargeable for the usage. That's how we became a $1.5B company.
Boy: Computers! That reminds me. We are running a tablet sale - you can get an 8"one with Android 1.0 at $56!
Girl: We are launching 4G in 200 cities now with a ₹250 up plan. We expect to touch $3B soon! Also new fancy algorithm!
Boy: Do you know we started a trade-in for old car tyres? We take them back and dump it in the Indian ocean for $50.
Girl: Is that why the sea is rising? I read it on our free NowNews app.
Boy: wow. We have so much in common!
Girl: They say marriages are made in heaven, through a common password for Wifi 😁

Mission Impossible 5 : It all started with Hanuman

Most cineplexes in Bangalore are running multiple shows of the latest  Mission Impossible 5 (released recently but grossed $300+M already!) Tom Cruise leads spectacular action and chases with several nail-biting moments and white-knuckles fight scenes. There's beautiful imagery of London, Vienna, and Morocco. There is an incredible bike chase scene. There is a superwoman Faust (Rebecca Fergusson) statuesque like Maria Sharapova and finessed in everything she does including fights. Opera and Symphony fill our ears through DTS surround sound with loud explosions and noises rending the air at regular intervals. Guns hidden in trumpets and stuff.

The MI formula for success is straight forward. Take off where Bond ends. A goulash of a super agent, American politics, international safety fears, almost invisible "devils", European and Mediterranean locales, chases, bombs, some arty scenes, encrypt/decrypt geeks and incredible sci-fi scenarios. All ends well as the totally self-less Ethan Hunt walks away into the dark until next time.

Do you see what I see? That super-dad of poets and script writers, Valmiki. That original super hero Hanuman. Danger, Vice, and Horror like only a ten-headed monster called Ravana can conjure up. A distant island where a damsel lies captive in distress. A good man lost in the forest, hell-bent on righting the wrongs and retrieving his beloved wife.

Comes Hanuman. First off, he jumps across the ocean. Several "minor" hurdles on the way. Clever and secretive, he discovers Sita. Gives her the good news. Gets a taste of the action and kills a few baddies. Encounters Ravana in his own den. Escapes unscathed. His tail is up, in fire, and sets Lanka on fire, too!

Change to the scene of the great battle. Lakshmana in the throes of death. What does Hanuman do? Leaps across to Himalayas, lifts a whole mountain, and is back before day-break.

Incredible action! Impossible challenges. Herioc Missions. The original Mission Impossible Hero was Hanuman!

Pichai vs. Nadella

Now that Google has chosen as CEO Mr. Pichai, the juggernaut wins my Indian attention.
It's now Pichai vs. Nadella, the battle of giants.
Kozhumbu fights gongura, or is it
Biryani pitted against thayir sadam?
One guy searches well,  the other opens my windows.
My choice is still confused. Google cloud etc. is always underwhelming me as a user. And Windows 10 didn't install on my PC despite much hoopla and emails promising me the best.
Neither Google nor Microsoft really know what to do with India, but Facebook of everything fame is their common enemy. Maybe things will settle when Zuckerberg names a Khosla or Singh as the new CEO. And Apple becomes Mango under a new boss who speaks Konkani. Let everything then cook in the tandoor!

God is an NRI

God is an NRI. Actually it is such an obvious truth that I don't even have to say it.

An NRI lives in a place other than India and comes for much-celebrated short visits. Reminds me of Ganesh Chaturthi, Durga Puja, Christmas and Janmashtami. Right? God is an NRI.

Where God lives, you have blue skies, bluer waters, flower and fruit filled gardens and smooth pathways where stylish vehicles glide carrying angelic beings. That's right, God lives elsewhere than in India.

In India we have ungodly filth, poverty, corruption and exploitation . Rotten people running our lives with ill-gotten wealth and ill-concealed incompetence. No God here!

When God comes, we celebrate with noisy joy and heap fabulous hospitality on Him in return for trinkets. Sounds like an NRI,  right?

The arrival of an NRI is at inconvenient hours, and when they emerge, there is hardly any resemblance to the selfies posted on Facebook. These fair weather visitors are here for the good food, good clothes, happy shopping and attention of doting people. They brag about how the 8ft snow pile in their frontyard was cleared in a jiffy on barely a thought (it means a mere phone call) by wondrous beings and wonderful machinery. It all sounds unbelievably like heaven and we imagine, what a mountain of ice-cream to eat! Sounds like where God lives, right?

Have you wondered why our godmen soon acquire a fake foreign accent and look listlessly as they focus their grace exclusively on their NRI bhaktas? Obviously they are in close touch with God.

Have you wondered why 90% of the time Modi is calling on NRIs to come and make in India,  believe in India, be proud of India? He is secretly saying all these things as a prayer to God.

Did you know crossing the ocean is a time honoured metaphor in India for becoming an NRI? Or becoming one with God?

Don't wait for God. Fix your life. Don't save the mangoes,  jackfruit, pickle and sandige for that elusive guest from far away. Enjoy it while you're here. Let's show what we can do here. God help us!

The Yoga Pill

The Yoga Pill

With 177+ nations and millions and millions of people embracing Yoga,  it is becoming as big as IPL. Lots of brands, lots of stars, and lots of millionaires are just round the corner.

There are many who think Yoga is a secret Hindu conversion strategy.  There are many other equally stupid people who are trying very hard to prove that yoga works no better than hard physical exercises or physiotherapy.

They don't understand that the true power of yoga comes from the mind. It unites the mind, breath and posture for countless benefits over the long term. It helps anyone of any religion, as long as he or she is human.

But the biggest problem in yoga is YOU HAVE TO DO IT. It is not for lazy slouches.
Wait. That's till now. Let me tell you how everything is going to change very fast, soon.

Let's welcome Yogi Raj Gurubrahma. I will find it easier to type YRG. YRG lives in the upper reaches of the Himalayas higher than 15000 feet. He lives by eating very sparingly - just once a month a rare root he plucks from within the ground. During the eight months of snow, he eats only twice. He is around 150 years of age. He doesn't need WiFi or cellphone or TV. He is a clairvoyant and teleporting expert.

YRG has decided to give the world the Yoga Pill. This consists of extracts of his secret root and some berries. It will be mass-produced after a global patent by the world's largest pharma companies. The Yoga Pill gives ALL THE BENEFITS of all asanas, bandhas, mudras and pranayama. You take it once a day at bed time. It works in the deeper layers of your consciousness between 2 AM and 3 AM.  It generates powerful subconscious energies to confer all the benefits of yoga, WITHOUT ANY EFFORT.

Soon,  yoga studios and yoga gurus will all close shop. Just one Yoga Pill will replace all the nonsense.

And someone will sell spurious substitutes. Some devil advocates will argue it is no better than hard exercise and physiotherapy. Someone will insinuate a Swiss connection for YRG.

And so on.

Note: I hope you won't stop doing yoga. Because I was simply tempting you about something that's not true and making fun of the credulous. Until YRG comes round, you had better do yoga!

The Case of the Selfie Stick

Not long ago it was
That people smiled at each other.
In front of the famous leaning tower,
Or the relic of a long vanished power.

The smile started fresh at first,
But grew tired and dishevelled
As people trundled taking in the sights-
Sun hat, goggles, silhouettes, city lights.

But all that camaraderie is gone.

Now a long stick proclaims our penchant
For narcissistic selfies that enchant.
No rule of thirds, composition-free,
Light and depth all replaced by "me".

Today I shoot and write my own story.
Every picture an autobiography.

You no more see tourists showing each other photos.
It's Instagram, Facebook, or Picasa.
No savouring the moment, no streetside ice cream.
Everyone is a hit-and-run team.

What a miserable picture of fun!
Running away from your own private paparazzi!

Patanjali Yoga Sutras

http://www.ideasthatwork.in/2015/06/patanjali-yoga.html

The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali

And what flower is it?

This flower is a favourite for everyone around. It is quite fragrant and by evening time, the flowers on the shrub entice everyone with a heady attraction. It starts off as white, individual flowers on a long stem, and slowly turns yellow as it withers. As far as I know, we get these flowers all round the year.

The sapling cutting came from a friend's house. We did't know the name of the flower, and everyone asks, " And what flower is it?"

My daughter said, she will take a picture, and search on Google. You can search for a match using the Google search. You first search for images. In the images search result, the search box has a camera icon. Clicking this, you can get the option to give a URL or upload an image from your computer. The search engine gives results.

I tried the same. Here is the result I found:

Hmmm. Not very helpful. Well, even before this, I had tried my old trusty method of search.

I found this answer. Eureka!

Brunfelsia Lactea, or Brunfelsia Gigantea...Lady of the Night, they say!

A cockroach's wise words to man

A COCKROACH'S WISE WORDS TO MAN

You may call me creepy,  crawly,
But man,  you're no match for me.
You constantly complain of
Pollution, jams and garbage.
I silently cope with this human baggage.

Pesticide is a constant theme in your media.
In everything from milk to mango -  see Wikipedia.
You invented pesticide to exterminate,
Verily that will make you ex, my mate!

Crawling everywhere, see our might,
Without bark or bite, we cause such fright,
We start, scamper in light  bright,
But have a ball causing you such blight.

When will you, oh man, realise?
We're Nature's army to neutralise
All your humbug, hell, en masse
Clean up your act,  stop this trespass.

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

(Pic from Usborne.com)

The Story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Goldilocks.  She  went for a walk in the forest.  Pretty soon, she came upon a house.  She was desperate to charge her mobile and was missing a good Internet connection. She knocked and, when no one answered, she walked right in.

At the table in the kitchen, there were three bowls of breakfast cereal.  Goldilocks was hungry.  She tasted the cereal from the first bowl.

"This is too bland! Tastes like all bran" she screwed up her face.

So, she tasted the cereal from the second bowl.

"This porridge is too fruity," she said.

So, she tasted the last bowl of cereal.

"Ahhh, this chocolatey crunchy nutty cereal is just right," she said happily and she ate it all up.

After she'd eaten the three bears' breakfasts she decided she was feeling a little tired.  So, she walked into the living room where she saw three devices. All connected! A large iMac, a lovely iPad and a Cromebook. Goldilocks sat in the first chair to check her mail. 

"My Inbox is too full of spam!" she exclaimed.

So she sat in the second chair.

"This iPad is just right for FB! Wow,  better update my status or people will start missing me!"  she whined.

So she tried the last and smallest chair and had a go at the Cromebook.

"Ahhh, let me click my selfie.. :) this pic is just epic," she sighed.  But just as she settled down into the chair to rest, the power went and all devices  broke into total silence!

Goldilocks was very tired by this time, so she went upstairs to the bedroom.  She lay down in the first bed, but it was too hard.  Then she lay in the second bed, but it was too soft.  Then she lay down in the third bed and it was just right.  Goldilocks switched on Cartoon Networks, and to the delectable mayhem of Tom and Jerry, fell asleep.

As she was sleeping, the three bears came home.

"Someone's been eating my cereal," growled the Papa bear.

"Someone's been eating my mixed fruit meal," said the Mama bear.

"Someone's been eating my choconuts and they ate it all up!" cried the Baby bear.

"Someone's been sitting in my chair," growled the Papa bear.

"Someone's been sitting in my chair," said the Mama bear.

"Someone's been sitting in my chair and they've broken into my iPad," cried the Baby bear.

They decided to look around some more and when they got upstairs to the bedroom, Papa bear growled, "Someone's been watching Toons sleeping in my bed,"

"Someone's been sleeping in my bed, too" said the Mama bear.

"Someone's been sleeping in my bed and she's still there holding the remote!" exclaimed Baby bear.

Just then, Goldilocks woke up and saw the three bears.  She screamed, "Help!"  And she jumped up and ran out of the room.  Goldilocks ran down the stairs, opened the door, and ran away into the forest.  And she never returned to the home of the three bears.

Moral of the story: get 4G today. Xperia Z3 compact. Best for selfie.  2 day battery!
THE END

The Kerala that I saw

I am nearing the end of my stay at an Ayurveda centre in Kerala. I am visiting the state after perhaps a decade.
I must state up front that I have always felt a love for Kerala. I don't know why.

This time I expected a lot of changes - basically a more urbanised place, with Bollywood influences and ubiquitous smart phones and traffic snarl ups.
Let me tell you what I saw:
1. The people here (this is a village sort of place) are surprisingly rustic even now. No trace of urban influences.
2. Keralites are still quite uncomfortable with English.
3. This place has discipline and hard work. I find a very attractive trait of job focus. I didn't hear  about this before - people said the folks are agitationist work-shirkers. In fact I read a couple of days back that 80% of vegetables consumed in Kerala come from Tamil Nadu.  And they found out there is very high pesticide level in them. When I asked a veteran from Palakkad why they don't find a way to grow their own vegetables, the answer I got was that they are too lazy.
But at least in this place I find people to be punctual and hard-working.
4. I saw some movies on TV, TV reality shows and a movie award function on TV. Most women continue to be buxom, Mohan Lal is fighting goons like when he was a 25 year old slim man. Given his girth and age, it must be a challenge for fight sequence choreographers.
5. There is hardly any influence of North India on the cuisine here at least.
6. It is green, beautiful, rustic as I saw it 25 years ago.
7. They still believe in melodious music. Most music I hear is raga based.
8. Lots of temple music carried over the wind to my ears - thrills me morning and evening.
9. People are up front, smiling, no politics it seems.
10. I like this Kerala. Of course I didn't touch Trichur or Kochi etc. Maybe they have all changed a lot.

It's God's mercy that we have green and simple places still in India.

Elephant Medicine

I am at Gurukripa Ayurveda Heritage centre near Pattambi. This is run very well by Dr. Unnikrishnan and Mr. Krishnadas.
It's been two days,  and I have met the doctor thrice. We have conversations about medicine, life style, yoga and guru etc. Especially about the Guru, we both agree that finding a real guru is a rare blessing. We mention Ramakrishna Parahamsa. Adi Shankara. And I ask him about his guru.
"His name is Sri Nilakantha Namboodaripad. I am really lucky to have met him,  right here. I had heard about the Himalayas but I didn't know if there were real gurus there. But here, I was lucky to meet my master Sri Nilakantha Namboodaripad, when I was 14.
He knew and taught me many things: yoga, meditation, ayurveda,  chikitsa, martial arts,  even elephant medicine.

"Do you know that the science of caring for elephants has been documented in texts? As much as or even more than treatment for humans! There is an ancient text called Paalakapyam (see the link in the end)

"To treat an elephant is very difficult. We have to sit, maybe on top of a tree,  and watch him for several hours. Then only we can understand the medical problem and give treatment. We have all the same treatments for an elephant - kashayam, dhArA...

"I was lucky to find such a guru. That is why we have dedicated this hospital to his name. "

Postscript: This place treats only humans. Right now 32 people are undergoing therapy. It is more a wellness centre than a critical care  place.
The elephant photo is from the  internet  taken at Guruvayoor temple
 http://gurukripaheritage.com  

Elephants in Kerala Culture 

Reconciling Myth and Science

The Hindu is joining the discussion about laughable claims made nowadays in regard to mind-blowing scientific and technological progress in ancient India. Authors who ought to remain buried are being given a voice to mouth inanities about the need to be rational and scientific.
Read this:
Scientists debunk ancient spacecraft claims

Now I think even I have something to say on this:

1. Old Indian mythology is full of inventions that compare well with man's latest and greatest inventions. Rama's arrow that he diverted from drying up the ocean before the Setu was built is supposed to have created a desert when it struck northwest India. Pushpaka Vimana, miraculous multiple births etc. are commonplace.
2. Our rishis had astounding observations on astronomy and pathbreaking contributions to mathematics.
3. Nobody in his mind will dispute 1 and 2.
4. That ancient Indians made spacecraft and head transplant etc. are only a part of legend. They cannot be extrapolated to actual scientific and technological constructions because ancient India was not so keen on developing experimental set-ups, the rishis were basically thought leaders.
5. Ayurveda, metallurgical marvels, and our progress in areas like food cultivation, textiles and jewellery are actual achievements from ancient times we can verify and be proud of.
6. If we believe ancient Indians were scientific, we also have to understand they would not make fabulous and unprovable claims. They would welcome the evolution of science in the west eagerly as AN EXPERIMENTAL IMPLEMENTATION OF THEIR THOUGHTS AND CONCEPTS. The resultant inventions and discoveries would be welcomed by ancient Indians as much as by the western scientific community.
7. In any age and time there are charlatans, progagandists and crazy scientists. Being an ancient civilisation, India would have had its due share of them.

Let us celebrate the Iron pillar. Mohenjadaro and Harappa. Dwaraka. Taxila and Nalanda. Brihadeeshwara temple. The Taj Mahal. These are more than enough to show how great ancient Indians were. Our languages, our cuisine, our yoga, our music, our dance, our festivals, our clothes and adornments, are all proof that we belong to a fabulous and glorious tradition of science and culture. We don't need to fly kites or launch spacecraft 7000 years ago. Or indulge in head transplant to show how great we are.

Finally, let us understand human civilization, science and technology is still a works in progress.

Pravasi Bharatiya

NRI Anthem

Born in a dusty backstreet,  just like you,
Some time,  somehow, I flew over here.

Made my mark,  made my dough, learnt to drive on the right.

But inside me, like bucolic bacteria, grew home-sickness.

True I  was given the key to this city.  True I won patents for obscure inventions. True I found a cure for cancer.

But I still missed my sundal, that nagaswaram in the pandal, some hot prasadam at the car festival.

So I erected a replica temple. I founded my Sabha called Shabash. Imported priests, artistes and caste marks.

Call me "that NRI" . It no longer hurts. Call me a caricature in Bermudas.  I don't care.

I have arrived home. I don't need a visa for Margazhi.

Life's choices : accepting and rejecting

This brainwave of a matrix came to me this morning. We can either accept, reject or choose Life. We can accept, reject or choose God.  By Life I mean all that we see around us and all that happens to us. By God I mean the supreme Truth or Being experiencing which symbolises the ultimate experience of liberation.
Whereas accepting and rejecting are obvious terms,  choosing means making it the basic driving force of our life. Choosing means pursuing and prioritising that choice always.

So the nine types are:
Bhogi- he rejects God and Chooses Life.
Rogi- he rejects Life,  he rejects God.
Humanist- he rejects God and accepts Life.
Dharmi- he accepts God and pursues Life.

Tyagi -  he rejects Life and accepts God.
Bairagi- he rejects Life and chooses God.

Yogi- he accepts life and chooses God.
Buddha- he accepts Life, he accepts God. He is choiceless.
Sadguru- he chooses Life,  he chooses God. He lives amidst everything and integrates Life and God.

There are many states from Rogi to Sadguru. One can be pro Life and be a humanist. One can be rooted in righteousness and be a Dharmi. One can be a renunciate, Tyagi. One can move from that position towards God as a Bairagi. He can become a Buddha.

(The Buddha shown above came from Myanmar courtesy Kiran Kannappan.)

Tooth in my fries

News.au report: 

A HUMAN tooth was found in french fries sold at a McDonald’s in Japan last year, the firm said Wednesday, the latest in a series of woes involving contaminated nuggets and a chip shortage.A customer complained to the Japanese arm of the fast food giant after finding a foreign body in a serving of potatoes from an outlet in Osaka, two senior vice presidents told a press conference in Tokyo.
An independent investigation ordered by McDonald’s determined that the object was a tooth but concluded that it had not been cooked, said McDonald’s Japan senior vice president Hidehito Hishinuma.

Now I am thinking, how would a great dancer like Padma Subrahmanyam depict this with nava rasa bhava sancharis?

1. Adbhuta: This is the obvious. Imagine finding a tooth with your fries. It makes you sit back, open your eyes wide, and say, "what miracle is this, a real tooth in a real favourite of mine!"
2. Hasya: You're on your way home from the dentist, with your extracted tooth nicely wrapped up in a napkin resting in your breast pocket, and you find it in your bag of fries!!!! Surely that deserves a toothless smile. It's the tooth's way of saying good bye with due decorum.
3. Sringara: this is a bit of a stretch, but Padma will pull it off. She will show a daughter-in-law gloating over the tooth of her erstwhile tormentor, her M-I-L, duly sent away to the next world, now cringing forgiveness after making an appearance in her bag of chips. "Teaches the M-I-L right, now I can have all the good times with my man!"
4. Shanta: I am The Yogi @ McDonald’s. I stare at everything, a bag of chips, the Big Mac, a human tooth, all with the same equanimity.
5. Karuna: I call the store manager, calmly point at that tooth, and see his horror at the discovery and the pathos in his eyes as he sees his plum job saying good-bye to him, and I say, "don't, worry, I won't tell." Maximum compassion.
6. Bheebhatsa: a child finds the tooth. He says, my God, that school bully has planted this to spoil my meal...now the whole bag of chips has to be trashed....
7. Raudra: Strict Vegetarian, vadhyar types, goes into a paroxysm of anger at finding the tooth, and that means the only thing he might reasonably eat in goddamned McDonald’s is now shown to be pure Non-veg.
8. Bhaya: The girl at the counter, and this is her first day in the McDonald’s, sees the tooth coming back on a tray carried by the livid customer, demanding an explanation. Job Chuss?
9. Veera: Headline: "Famous palaeontologist discovers the missing link in a bag of fries!"

What makes the world go round?

It is the grand grand finale of the Kaun Banega Karodpati. Big B has invited the four biggest names in Indian cinema:
1. Aamir Khan
2. Salman Khan
3. Shah Rukh Khan
4. Rajnikanth

The BIG question, with the GRAND PRIZE, is going to be asked and the one with the right answer will win the GRAND PRIZE.

The question is asked in a solemn voice by Big B:
What makes the world go round? Each one has to give the answer, and in the end Big B will give the right answer. They draw lots.

The first to go is Aamir Khan.
His answer:  Planetary Motion.

The second to go is Salman Khan.

His answer: US Dollar.

The third to go is Shah Rukh Khan.
His answer: Love.

The last is Rajnikanth.
His answer: Curd Rice.

There is a deafening silence. Big B finally rolls his eyes towards Rajni and says, "Of course, ladies and gentlemen, Rajni has the right answer. He is always and forever the BEST. HE GETS THE GRAND PRIZE.

Rajni says, "Wait, macchan, no hurry. Let me explain my answer for your billion viewers., Let them understand the GREAT TRUTH.

" The world goes round no doubt following the laws of planetary motion. Aamir seems in a way  to be right. But the question is what makes the world follow planetary motion?

"Salman said, US Dollar. That also sounds quite precise. After all, everything, including all the armies of the world, all the banks of the world, all the governments of the world, all the jobs of the world, need the backing of the US Dollar. But actually, the US Dollar goes round in correct and wrong ways around the world, but why?

"Now Shah Rukh gave the text book answer. But it is actually a British conspiracy that spread the word about Love. Love is a nice thing, I myself like it quite a lot, but is that a special thing? Even if the world did not go round, it would be still there.

"Big B, your Big question for the Grand Prize is about WHAT MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND!!!????

" Now my answer is Curd Rice. Credit to KBC for having given the correct answer also as one of the options.

"You know better than anyone else that the oldest, grandest, most scientific, most powerful civilisation in the world is the TAMIL CIVILISATION.

"All cultures, languages, sciences, everything, was invented in Tamil. Even Sanskrit and English and Physics and Maths. Now the world goes round because of Tamil Culture.

"But what is the most important, key, thing in Tamil Culture? CURD RICE.

"Let me tell you the story. Sage Agasthya came down to Tamil Land and created the entire race. He made them the greatest civilisation. They were better than Asuras. They were better than Devas. But the Tamil people were very upset. They told Agasthya that the gods had got Amritha or nectar of immortality from churning the ocean. The demons had got immense power, and the biggest of all powers is the power to do Tapas. So they could thrive even without Amritha.

What about the Tamil people. They threatened Agasthya that he would be in serious trouble if he did not give them something better than Amritha.

"Sage Agasthya meditated for 1000 years. At the end of it all, he was tired and hungry. But he had the answer. It had to be CURD RICE!!!!

"Curd rice is better than Amritha. Every Tamil civilised man, woman, child and creature eats it at least twice a day. They carry it secretly on trains, planes, to schools, colleges, and even in space ships while testing them in ISRO and NASA. Google, Microsoft, Apple, NASA, everybody serves curd rice in their canteens. All airlines serve curd rice. All trains and buses stop for curd rice.

That makes Tamil people intelligent, happy, and powerful. They fly around the world. They rock wherever they go. They control science, industry, weaponry, politics, movies, music and love. They are singularly driven to achieve. And that drive comes from Curd Rice.

"Take away Curd Rice. The Tamil heroes and heroines will be powerless and witless. The world will stop going round. Period."

Thunderous applause. GRAND PRIZE. RAJNI RISES TO STRATOSPHERE, FOR A MORSEL OF CURD RICE.