Hara Hara Shankara, Jaya Jaya Shankara

Hara Hara Shankara, Jaya Jaya Shankara

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Stories Less Told - Janaka

JANAKA, the Great

In our mythological stories, we come across many rishis were brahma gnanis. Among kings too, there were many who attained moksha. Janaka, is one such king, whom even Krishna mentions in the Bagavadgita (3.20). The Upanishads too mention his name with reverence. If Mahalakshmi Thayar herself chose King Janaka as her foster father, we can imagine the what a great king Janaka was. He was a karma yogi to the core. He went beyond the realms of the body and its attachment and realised that the soul is only eternal. He knew that one has to work for the realisation of the brahman.
I would like to quote an interesting story of the monarch by which he proves himself to be a realised soul.

Yagnavalkya was GURU to King janaka. Janaka was an extremely humble student and never showed a pomp when he came for his lessons. He sat along with other students for his lessons. As he was a very sharp, interested student and a student who put to practise what he learnt, he was the guru’s  favourite. This obviously made the other disciples jealous. They thought that the GURU is partial because Janaka was the king and would receive favours from him. But the GURU was undisturbed and knew that a day would come when his disciples would know as to who was the sun and who was the lamp.

One day, when the King and other disciples were listening to the lesson about BRAHMAN, they saw a sudden fire flaring up and the entire city of Mithila was in flames. There was chaos everywhere. People were running hither and tither to save themselves. The disciples also got perplexed. They all ran to their cottages. What for? They were Brahmin boys who did have any property. The cottages were given to them by the king. Why then did they run to their cottages?? Just to save their clothes and loin cloth. But King Janaka did not move from his place. He and the guru were intently discussing the Brahman. When people approached the king, the king gave a sharp reply: “Mithilayam pradagdhayam namekincit pranasyati".. “Nothing do I lose even though Mithila may be consumed to ashes.”  Here was a king who never bothered for his kingdom when it was in fire while there were the disciples who were running to save their clothes. The students realised the greatness of King Janaka.

All of us are always within the limits and illusion of the body. We think that the body is eternal, Many a times we perceive that the body and soul are one. But this is wrong. The soul and body are NOT the same. The souls is eternal and is not affected by the sun, cold, rain or wind, happiness, sorrow, etc. All pain and pleasure is only for the body and not the soul. The soul in in eternal bliss. Because of its association with the body and its karma, it feels pain or pleasure. It is only the soul that carries our karma to our next birth. 
In order to reach to this state of mind where we realise that the body and soul are different and understand the nature of the soul, we must first accept this fact and have an urge within ourselves to get redeem from this samsara. The first step that all philosophies prescribe towards the end goal is karma yoga. We have to follow the rules laid down by our shastras and vedas. If we are going to believe that these are just books of superstitious belief, then it is our folly. We will always be in the vicious cycle of birth and death. Moksha may remain only a dream.


RAM RAM

Monday, October 6, 2014

Anna Danam Maha Danam

Anna Danam



We are all blessed with all comforts in life. A house to live, a vehicle to travel, sumptuous  food to eat, clothes to wear, money to save for the future and the ability to spend for any cause. W
hatever we have, we have it in excess. And when we have something in excess, it is always good to share with our fellow human beings – the less privileged. Hinduism is a champion when it comes to charity. The charity or Danam can be through vidya danam (sharing knowledge), sampatti danam (donating money), vastra danam (donating clothes) or anna danam (donating food).


Man is never satisfied with money. The more we get, the more we want. This leads to more greed and fear. On the other hand, knowledge obtained gives more satisfaction. Like money, the more we get, the more we want. But this process of acquiring more Vidya is not termed as greed. We call it “thirst”. By giving away knowledge, we get more knowledge. Knowledge cannot be robbed unlike money or wealth. Any kind of charity always increase the thirst. Man always wants more and more. But there is only one thing in this world which man forces himself to say “enough” and that is food. Luckily GOD has given a limited size of stomach so that however greedy the tongue gets, the stomach forbids the greed. Food or annam is the only charity where people get completely satisfied. There are no chances of any complaint or comparison with anyone when it comes to giving food. And it is considered to be one of the greatest danams. Man can live without clothes, house, education but food is an everyday need and a man without food goes to the extent of even begging in order to fill his hunger. Our Vedas have extolled anna danam as: 
Annadānam Samam Dānam Trilokeshu Na Vidhathe. There is no greater charity than donating food.

Our Kanchi paramacharya Shri. Shri. Chandrashekarendra Saraswati Swamigal was a champion of this anna danam. He devised a wonderful way or feeding the poor. This was called a “pidi arisi “ scheme where every householder would drop a handful of rice in a vessel on a daily basis. The rice collected at the end of a certain period would be used to cook food and serve the poor.


LAHARI also tried following this initiative for the first time. All the children of LAHARI were asked to drop a handful of rice and a spoon of dal on a daily basis. This was done for 15 days. We were able to collect 15 Kgs of rice and 5 Kgs of dal for this purpose. The rice and dal thus collected were delivered to a cook who cooked bisibele bath and curd rice. We don’t need any auspicious day to donate. However, our plan coincided with Dussera. The cooked food was given as a day’s lunch to the maintenance staff and security of our White House Apartment.   

The intention was to generate a social awareness among children towards charity. When there is a conscious effort in executing a good cause, it stays with us for long. It actually motivates us to repeat the act.  This initiative was well received by parents and children. It was an effortless exercise for all of them. The diligence and discipline that the children followed was remarkable. The annam danam was successfully done on 27th September, 2014.By the undiminishing grace of Paramacharya, we hope to make this an annual event. Thanks to all parents and children who participated and made it a success. May the Guru’s blessings be with you all. 

RAM RAM


Thursday, August 7, 2014

Stories less told


VISHWAMITRA AND PARASHURAMA

Vishwamitra and parashurama are different in their own ways. Vishwamitra was born as a king but went on to become the most venerable sage or a Brahmin. On the other hand, parashurama was born as a Brahmin but went on to become a terror to all kshatriyas as he was possessing the physical strength and the pride of a kshatriya. Quiet contrasting!!! A little insight into their parentage will open up an interesting story.

There was a king named Gadhi. He had a daughter by name Satyavati (not to be confused with the Satyavati of the mahabharatha) . Satyavati was a very beautiful and dutiful daughter. Once a rishi by names Richikar, a Brahmin, happened to meet her and asked if he could marry her. Satyavati’s father agreed and both of them were married. When Satyavati was planning to have a child, her husband Richikar was preparing a special dish that would give her a highly knowledgeable and sattvic Brahmana as their son. At the same time, Satyavati’s mother also wanted to have a son. She requested Richikar to make the special dish for her too. Richikar made a dish for the mother too. The dish he made for satyavati’s mother  would give her a son who was great in valour and be a kshatirya befitting his clan. The mother of satyavati was indeed very calculative. She thought that the dish which Richikar made for his wife would definitely be the best and she exchanged it with her daughter. Both of them had the dish.

Richikar came to know of this, only after the dish was consumed by both the prospective mothers. As a result of this, he said that Satyavati’s mother  whoud give birth to a son who would be a  kshatriya by birth but a brahmana by choice. While his own wife, Satyavati, would give birth to a brahmana boy but the child would have the qualities of a kshtriya – angry, powerful and ferocious. Satyavati repented for her actions and pleased for mercy. Richkar replied that nothing could be done but the birth of this child could be postponed.
Hence, since Satyavati’s mother  ate the dish which was static in nature, she gave birth to vishwamitra. Though vishwamitra was born as a kshatriya, he aimed at becoming a brahma rishi and lived up to the brahminical way of living.


Satyavati gave birth to a son who was called jamadagni.  Jamadagni married Renuka devi and their son was Parashurama. Though parashurama was born as  a Brahmin, he had the valour and ferocity of a kshatriya.
Thus, the exchange of a dish gave us two important characters who achieved the pinnacle of success in their own way. Parashurama is considered to be the 6th avataram of Lord Vishnu.


RAM RAM

Thursday, July 3, 2014

Rama and Krishna - A Comparison

RAMA and KRISHNA - A Comparison

The two itihasas - Ramayana and Mahabharatha encompass the two avatars of Lord Vishnu - Rama and Krishna. Quite contrasting in their character, they set different examples to us.


  1. Rama was born in the palace as a royal prince on Navami, Krishna was born in the jail on Ashtami.
  2. Rama was born amidst joy and celebrations, Krishna was born amidst fear and anxiety.
  3. Rama was born in summer during the day time, Krishna was born in the rainy season in the thick of the night
  4. Rama was fair complexioned, Krishna was dark in complexion
  5. Rama was a sober child, disciplined and adhered to what his parents told him while krishna was a naughty little boy who entralled everyone with his mystic plays and pranks
  6. Rama strictly followed the 'Eka Patni Vrata' that he would not marry anyone else other than Sita while Krishna married more than 16000 ladies the reason being given in my blogpost: http://lahariguru.blogspot.in/2013/06/rama-and-krishna-get-your-facts-right.html
  7. Rama always followed dharma. He would always do what was prescribed in the dharma shastras and follow them even if it gets him for a personal loss. Krishna always did what he thought was dharma. According to him, A nail must be taken by a nail and that it was not wrong to do adharma to beat adharma. But is this right may be the question of many. Each yuga has its own yuga dharma. If Rama's act suited that of treta yuga, dwapara yuga had its own dharma.  
  8. Whenever Rama had a war with someone or any army, he would always spare one person who would carry tales to his/her master. For eg., when he killed Thataki, he killed her son subahu too but spared mareecha. This mareecha came as a golden deer later to woo Sita. When he fought the 14000 rakshasas in janasthana, he spared one person called akampana who went and reported to Ravana and so on. But krishna never spared anyone. Whoever came to a war with him would be vanquished completely.
  9. Rama always followed rules of the war and protocols like sending a messenger before the war, giving the opponent a chance to realise etc. But krishna never had any protocol.
  10. Rama never claimed that he is GOD himself. Krishna proclaimed himself as the supreme
  11. Rama never gave sermons to anyone. Krishna took the position of an acahrya in delivering the bagavadgita.
  12. Rama took the entire clan along with him to vaikuntam when his avataram ended. But Krishna went single.
Whichever be the avataram, these two forms have captured all beings. They are being celebrated and held as role models. There is a famous saying that "Act like how Rama has acted and live like how Krishna has preached". This is the way to true happiness

RAM RAM


Saturday, June 28, 2014

Why Rama acted Thus - Part 2

Rama's Act


Another famous accusation for Rama was that HE sent Sita to the forest when she was pregnant. As if giving her an agni pariksha was not sufficient, he fell prey to the low minded thought of his own people. Didn’t HE have the confidence in Sita’s chastity? Was it not wrong on his part to suspect her purity?

A king must always know the state of affairs of the people and the kingdom regularly so that he can be a just and a good king. When Rama asked his ministers what opinion his subjects had about his rule and if his people were happy, his ministers updated him about it. Apart from the positive side of his rule, they also mentioned that people were wondering how Rama, the great and just king took back Sita who was touched by Ravana. How did HE accept Sita who was in Ravana’s kingdom for a year. The citizens felt that they were given a free hand to overlooking any wrong deeds done by their wives and women could get away with all misdeeds as their own king had accepted his wife.

Now, what do we expect a king to do? Ignore these words and sacrifice his dharma for the sake of the love for his wife? Allow the society to behave as it wants by setting an example of being one. Rama always stuck to dharma. Any doubt he had, he would refer to the rule books of dharma shastras for clarity. In order to protect a family, one must give up the member of the family, to protect a village, you must sacrifice a family, to protect a kingdom, one must sacrifice a village and so on. If for example, the son of PM is kidnapped by terrorists and ask the release of a highly wanted terrorist as ransom, would we agree to the prime minister accepting the deal and release the hard core terrorist.  Emotions always take a back seat in a country’s administration. 

Rama was not just a husband. HE was a king. And a king must put his subjects and their welfare before anything in this world. If he had ignored the people’s comment, then HE would set a bad precedent to his successors. A society flourishes only when women in the kingdom are chaste, respected and protected. That kingdom ceases to be a prosperous land where women have lost their character and live as they want. We must not think in terms of Sita’s feelings as a human being. She is Mahalakshmi thayar who has come to this world to show how a  woman must conduct herself as a daughter, as a wife and as a mother. So, Rama did justify his act as a king. Let us go beyond petty human emotions and look at it as an act done in the interest of the kingdom.

One must also appreciate the emotional pain Rama had to undergo after having separated from his beloved. HE was caught in between the love for his wife and his duty as a king. In the absence of Sita, he conducted an ashwamedha yaga. A yaga is not complete without the wife. If he wanted, he could have married again and fulfilled the yaga. But Rama made a golden statue of Sita. As a Kshatriya he is eligible to marry more than one princess. But he stuck to his “Eka patni vrata” and proved that he was a husband who never doubted his wife but did his duty alone. We don’t seem to sympathize with Rama as we consider women to be more emotionally affected. But Rama suffered more than Sita in silence and solitude.

There is another side to it too and an interesting one. Generally, women go to their mother’s house for her delivery. Sita was the daughter of the earth. She indeed went to valmiki’s ashram which is, in a way her mother’s place because valmiki, as a sage, emerged from the ant hill which is a part of the earth. Sita also emerging from the bhoomi, valimiki becomes her maternal side and Sita was rightly sent to her home. And as she wanted she spent her whole pregnancy in the ashram with positive vibrations all round, Rama fulfilled that wish too.

In the next occasion, Rama again asks Sita to prove herself when she comes to return Lava and Kusha to Rama. This must be considered as a fitting end to Sita’s avatar. IT was time for her to go back from where she came. Every Avatar has its own kind of end. For example, Krishna was shot by a hunter to mark the end of his avataram. In the same way, Rama saw to it that Mahalakshmi went to her abode before he retires to vaikuntam after his time in the earth.

So, Rama was dharma incarnate and what he did was always right. Not to blame him and make this as a topic for debates.

RAM RAM

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Why Rama Acted Thus

Rama's Act Justified


Why Did Rama Act Thus?

When we read Ramayana, we come across few acts of Rama which looks as though he acted in the wrong way. And there are always a few people who wait to find fault with out religion, our itihasas and puranas. As devout Hindus, we must always look to find answers for acts of GOD. Before we find answers, we must accept that whatever done by HIM MUST be to the good and with reason. With this mental attitude, we are bound to find satisfactory answers.

In one of my last posts, the reason for Rama killing Vaali in hiding was explained, the act of Krishna marrying 16000 ladies was elaborated. For those who missed it can find it here: http://lahariguru.blogspot.in/2013/06/rama-and-krishna-get-your-facts-right.html.
In this post I would like to elaborate on a specific act of Rama.

Why did Rama ask Sita to do agni pravesha after getting released from Rvana?

This is a famous accusation that we all do in general that Rama was very rude in asking Sita to enter into fire before accepting her back. How unjust and heartless can he be? Sita was longing to see HIM and he blatantly refused to take her as she was. Many acharyas and gurus have written bhasyam to the ramayanam. 

The reason is this.
Ravana had all the planets and devas under his control. Indra, Vayu, Agni, Varuna, Rahu, Ketu, Shani etc etc were all under his torturous rule. Agni was saddened at his plight. That Agni who was respected in rituals and Yagas was treated badly and was used as a cooking tool to cook for Ranava’s kitchen. HE had to deal with meat and flesh every day. It was years since he was taken as a prime person for the yagas. He felt extremely bad that his purity was hampered.  He therefore approached Sita and requested that she cleans him. Her very touch would give back to him his lost glory and purity. Sita who is mercy incarnate, telepathically informed this to Rama. One would term it as pride if Rama openly revealed Agni’s desire that Sita would purify him by touching him. Rama therefore asked Sita to show her purity to the world by entering Agni. Rama knew Sita's purity. There was no need for an additional proof. In order to purify Agni, he acted thus.

Even if we think of a normal being, no man would take his wife as is when she has lived with another man for a year or so. Rama at no point in his avatar revealed or acted to show that he was Vishnu’s incarnation. He acted just like how an ordinary man would act thereby purifying agni too.
An interesting comparison between Rama and Krishna in my next blog…

Ram Ram

Sunday, June 22, 2014

Interesting facts in Ramayana

Interesting Facts in Ramayana


Janaka

All of us know that janaka is the name of Seetha's father. But Janaka is actually the name given to the clan. The name of Seetha's father was Seeradwaja Janaka. He was a great scholar, a king, had attained mastery over upanishads and veda. He had studied under the great yagnvalkya. He ruled the kingdom of videha from its capital Mithila. Hence Seetha is also called Vaidehi and Mythili. Seetha, ocourse, was found in the earth when Janaka was ploughing the land. She is therefore the daughter of Mother earth. But since, Janaka grew her up as his own daughter, she is known as Janaka's daughter.

His wife was Sunayana and had two daughters _ Seetha and Urmila. Sita married Rama and Urmila married Lakshmana. He had a brother by name Kushadwaja. Kushadwaja had two daughters - Mandavi an Shrutakirti who married Bharatha and Shatrugna respectively.

Do you know how Dasharatha got his name?

Dasharatha was a very great king known for his valour and archery. He was sometimes invited by Indra himself for a war with the asuras. He could fight in 10 directions at a time. When he went to the heavns to help indra, the asuras would banish and would try to deceive the devas through maya and magic. But dasharatha could fight in all the directions simultaneously and win the war for the devas. Since his chariot could turn in 10 directions at a time, he was known as Dasharatha (one who could turn his chariot in 10 directions at the same time).

Who built a highchair with his tail?


All of us know that Hanuman went in search of Seetha. He crossed the ocean and had seetha's darshan too. But he was trapped by Indrajit, Ravana's son and was taken to Ravana's court. There he advised Ravana to mend his ways and return Sita to Rama. This advise was anyway ignored. When the war between Rama and Ravana was inevitable, Rama gave one last chance to Ravana. He sent Angada, the son of Vali as a messenger to Ravana. When Angada went to Ravana's court, Ravana did not have the courtesy to even offer a seat to a messenger. Angada then, as a show of his power, made a high chair with his own tail and sat at a position higher than Ravana's seat. Many of them think it was Hanuman who made a chair of his tail. But it was actually, Angada who did this act.

More in next

RAM RAM

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Stories less told - Rsayasrnga




Rshyasrnga

Rshyasrnga was the son of a sage called Vibandaka. While the birth of Rshyasrnga itself is very interesting, we will dwell more with his life than his birth.

Rshyasrnga was entirely brought up by his father Vibandaka. He had the body of a human but with deer horns. He grew up in a forest. The forest in which he grew did not have any female animals. So, he absolutely had no idea of a woman at all. His father was a single parent as his mother was a damsel in the heaven. He learnt the Vedas and Upanishads to perfection and was a bramhachari to the core – pure and unpolluted by desire. His father took utmost care not to mention ladies to his son so that he will be able to maintain his purity and have an uncontaminated mind. Women, Wine, Welath are the three forces that make a man lusty and wicked. Wine and wealth were out of question for a Brahmin boy. So, he made sure that Rshyasrnga did have the knowledge of a lady at all. 

All of us know that Dasharatha had only four sons but little do we know that he had a daughter too. Her name was Shanti. Dasharatha longed for a son. His friend Romapada was ruling Angadesha and wanted to have a daughter. He requested Dasharatha and shanti was given to Romapada as a gift. Unfortunately, when the girl Shanti stepped on Angadesha, it stopped raining and people were suffering. When Romapada went to the astrologers and was told that he had cheated a Brahmin once and hence the land of devoid of brahmanaas. Since it was the treta yuga, and there were no Brahmins to perform yagna, it stopped raining and people were suffering. The only solution was to bring Rshyasrnga to his land. If that sage, who is purity personified came to Angadesha and married his daughter Shanti, all other Brahmins would follow him in quest of knowledge and rain would again pour. 

Bringing Rshyasrnga was not an easy one as his father was always on guard. The king called out to people who were willing to go and bring Rshyasrnga. But none wanted to become the target of Vibhandaka’s curse. There was one female prostitute who was willing to sacrifice for the country. She went into the forest along with many other ladies They wore rudrakshaas, dressed up beautifully like rishis and entered the forest. Vibandaka was drawn by the devas for some help and when he was away from the ashram, the ladies entered it and tried to befriend Rshyasrnga. They introduced themselves as rishis and tried to take part in the yagna conducted by the young sage. The young Rshyasrnga was attracted to these pretty ladies. He was awed by their beauty and structure. He did not know that lust and kaama had entered him. He wondered who they were as his father had never mentioned about them while teaching the vedas and Upanishads. They decided to spend some time there and Rshyasrnga was happy in their company. Slowly, they drew him and requested him to come to angadesha and marry the king’s daughter. He did not even know what a marriage was. He went with them and was given a detailed account of marriage, its rituals and its importance. He agreed to marry Shanti and it was solemnised. 

When Vibhandaka came back, he was enraged and felt deceived. He went to angadesha and went on to cruse the king and his kingdom. The king romapada said,”please do not curse the kingdom, if you do so, your son will be held responsible for this as he is the king now” Vibhadaka had no choice but laid the condition that Rshayasrnga would return after the birth of a son.

Meanwhile, Dasharatha who wanted to conduct a putrakamesti yaga, was advised by Vasishta to invite Rshyasrnga to conduct it. When the para brahma itself is going to take the form of Rama, it is only justified that a sage like rsayasrnga conduct the yagna.

As per the request of dasharatha, Rshyasrnga came to ayodhya and conducted the putra kamesti yaga. And out of the yaga came a yagna purusha. He had a pot full of sweet rice which was distributed to the queens – Kausalya, keikeyi and sumitra. And we all know the Rama was born to Kausalya.

It could be informative to you that adisehsa was born as lakshmana, the sudrashana chakra as bharatha and the panchajanyam (vishnu’s conch) came as shatrugna. In Ramayana each character is a deva in the heaven. All wanted to participate in the lord’s leela and each one was born as some character in the Ramayana. 

We all know the story of Rama. An incarnate of dharma and justice. Reading or listening to ramayanam everyday gives us the bhakti, gnanam and vairagyam that ultimately leads us to moksha. For those who read or listen to the ramayanam will be protected for generations to come. This is the promise of Ramayanam

RAM RAM 





Sunday, May 18, 2014

Best recipe for any food

The Divine recipe 

We, as Indian Women, find great pleasure in cooking. Even tough we talk of women's liberation, freedom, cooking is something which is dear to a women's heart. In spite of their high flying careers and commitment, they cook for their family and derive a great sense of satisfaction.

Things might have changed for a few or many. But I am talking about majority Indians where the wife makes breakfast, dinner , lunch for the family. She may be a CEO of the company, still cooking for her husband and children is very close to her heart. Special recipes, special dishes like vada payasam during festivals, special snacks for kids are some of the opportunities she explores to display her culinary skills witht he outcome bringing a load of appreciation and satisfaction.

Why is it that when we eat outside, we restrict ourselves to only one dosa. When we go to a resort for 4 days, thinking that we need a break, we surely get bored of the food. We long for the home food. For men whose job involves a lot of travel, get bored of hotel food and crave for home food even if it is simple rasam and curd. But on the contrary, we hardly get bored of home food. Even if it is the same rasam, sambar, chapatis everyday, we tend to relish and long for the same the next day. Why is this so.? The food made at home not only has spices, salt, and dal but a lot of affection and love. A lot of interest by the home minister, the mother, with keenly searched recipes does her work with 100% dedication and commitment. And the outcome is a whole lot of aahs..and wow..by children and husband. This gives an encouragement and further motivates her. 

To make things better, I would like to propose a recipe. This recipe will go with any dish, will make it more tastier and return more happiness. And that is chanting while cooking. This will not only increase the taste of the food but the purity and holiness of what we eat. The vibrations that come out of the chant is a mixture of love along with devotion. These vibration will give good health and happiness to those who eat. 

It will be good if she chants it loudly. This is because, the chant will be heard by inmates and they too will be drawn into the track. We must offer the food cooked to the Lord and thank him for the day's food. After all,every grain eaten is HIS gift and we must not forget or overlook this aspect. Also, we must get our children into the habit of offering a small prayer before eating like "krishna arpaanam" (All belongs to krishna) so that the food is purified. Some may argue if the food is really purified, will we be free from diseases. Well, what we suffer is due to our karma. By doing this, we will accrue good karma and at least avoid suffering in future. After all, 

Even, when we go out for a treat, we must offer it to god. We don't know the state of mind of chef who cooks in a hotel. He would do it as a mundane job or with some grudge or with enthusiasm. Whatever be the emotions of the chef, the vibrations will surely affect us emotionally and physically. It is therefore not good to eat food outside. Even from the point of view of hygiene, our elders (shastras) don't advise us to eat outside food. But this is practically impossible these days. Our lifestyle has changed so much that it may be difficult to bring this into practice. So, at least, when we eat outside, let us offer it to god so that we can nullify the negative vibrations that has gone in. It will not only purify our food, but also our thoughts and mind. Let us keep this mind and make a conscious effort.

RAM RAM

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Stories Less Told

The preferred feet


The mahabharatha is considered as the fifth veda. The lessons that we learn from this epic is innumerable and immeasurable. Each incident and event that has been narrated in this, delivers us some lesson which we can follow in our lives.

When the war between the Pandavas and Kauravas was inevitable, there was a lot of horse trading. Salya, who was the uncle of Nakula and Sahadeva was inducted into the kaurava gang through deceive. Yuyutsu, who was one of the brothers of Duryodhana, changed his side to pandavas. Such things were prevalent in those days itself.

Shakuni, advised Duryodhana to go and seek Krishna's help in the war. It was his intention that Krishna be drawn to the kaurava's side so that victory would be certain. When duryodhana went to meet krishna, the lord was asleep. Duryodhana was a person who would not even bow to the feet of his own parents. He thought that if he sat at the feet of the lord, it would be degrading for a great warrior like him. He therefore sat near the head. After sometime, Arjuna entered, saw the lord asleep and humbly sat near the feet of the lord. When krishna woke up, he saw arjuna and started conversing with arjuna. Duryodhana then interrupted and requested for help. Krishna then asked both of them as to what they wanted. Since HE saw arjuna first, he asked Arjuna what he wanted. Duryodhana was in a way anxious if Arjuna would ask for the same thing which he wanted. But Arjuna asked just for the lord's blessing. A warrior requires a trustworthy charioteer, one who would know all directions, one who would take care of the horses, one who would never misguide him. Who else but the lord can be the best charioteer. He requested that Krishna be his charioteer in the war. Duryodhana was overjoyed with this request. He asked Krishna for his army at Dwaraka and was granted. He went away too satisfied. But little did he realise that he lost the battle the moment he gave up the lord.

Many a times, we seek mere materialistic pleasures leaving out the precious GEM. The LORD is the ultimate goal. The state of supreme bliss must be the goal of life. The materialistic pleasures are only temporary means to achieve the lord. But we turn the tables around and make the mundane pleasures as the very goal in life and use the LORD to achieve them. We offer all kinds of bribes and special prayers to get our desires fulfilled. This is not wrong. Asking GOD for favorus is not wrong. The GITA itself divides devotees into 4 classes and one of them is known as "artharthi" i.e. bhaktas who pray for desires to be fulfilled. But we must not remain in the state forever. Just like how we graduate to a higher class every year, we must graduate and lift ourselves from the state of temporary happiness to a level of eternal bliss.    

This is possible only by constant and conscious practice, introspection, satsang, chanting, reading and contemplating on the goal of life. In this fast paced life, we must make sure that we spend atleast 15 minutes everyday in solitude to deeply think and connect with the supreme.

RAM RAM 

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Time to Leave

GOODBYE

I was walking to hand over my ID card in office as it was my last working day. As I was walking, I started pondering. What I thought would be mine was to be handed over. An identity in office was to be surrendered. I was given a visitor card on the last day. What belonged to me yesterday, was no more mine today. Where I belonged to till today, will no more mine tomorrow. The accessories and facilities that I enjoyed till today will never be given to me from tomorrow. 


These are all small things in life. But can we learn something from this. Yes, the ultimate lesson. Everything in life is temporary. Be it our office, work, home, happiness, sorrow – everything is temporary. This feeling is not due to an overwhelming philosophical outlook that suddenly flashed in me. Though all this was known, it kind of came more strongly on me – a kind of vairagyam, one can say. Yes, I know within two days, I will be back to pavilion resuming my duties and to my EGO self. But, such times are ones where we can dwell internally and have atleast a fraction of realization for a fraction of second. One day, we are bound to lose everything including our breath. What we call my parents, my children, my husband, I, Mine, My etc – the very identity will be lost.

Why do we crib for something which is not permanently ours? Why do we harp on results? Why do we get disappointed when we see/hear/speak negative about us? Well, this is what we call EGO. As long as we think that the soul is the body, we cannot get off this. It will keep hitting us time and again. We are bound to get entangled in all dualities of life. When we realize that these feelings are only for the body and not for the soul, it will liberate us. Then, we won’t be languishing for all that we lost and fear for all that is yet to come.

But how do we achieve this equipoise? How can we thoughtless? For people like us, it is karma yoga to start off with. We have to learn to do our karma by being neutral to the result of the action. Yes, it is difficult but with slow, steady and conscious practice, it is possible. By doing karma, we clean ourselves from all impurities. When a mirror is dusty, we can’t have a clear picture of ourselves in it. Our reflections will be dusty. But when we clean the mirror, the reflections are clear. In the same way, our soul is covered with dust of our vasanas. We have to clean with the water of karma, wipe it with the cloth of devotion to make it clean. The atma will then shine and reflect on us. That is when true knowledge evolves. What I mean by karma is to do our daily duties as prescribed in the shastras, do our daily prayers, perform poojas on special festival days, arrange for satsang at homes to read, discuss about godhead and raise ourselves from this level of ignorance to a level of true knowledge.


RAM RAM

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Stories Less Told - Story of Ajamila

What’s in a Name

This is a story from the Bagavatham (6th kandam) where the Lord delivers a sinner from all sins just by the utterance of HIS name "unknowingly".

There was pious Brahman called Ajamila. He was a strict Brahmin who was performing his daily duties in a very disciplined way. He had many children and the name of the youngest son was Narayana. He had a special corner for the little one.

Once, when he was roaming in the forest, he happened to see a prostitute and some men around her. He was keen to know what her profession was.  Having known that she was a prostitute, he was drawn towards her. He left his house, his daily duties and was always with this lady. He forgot his family and his children. He gave up his anushtaanam and aacharam. The lord was completely out of his mind and sight. This went on for many years till he became old. 

When he was lying on his deathbed, he saw yama dhootas coming towards him carrying a rope to take his life. He was dead scared. However bold we may be when alive, the fear of death itself is enough to take our life. In the same way, Ajamila was terrified when he saw the messengers of Yama. He wanted some support and called out to his little son: “Narayana Narayana”. The child who was playing outside did not hear it and did not bother too. Whether the child bothered or not, the lord at vaikunta heard it and send his dhootas to protect his devotee. The Vishnu dhootas arrived at the spot and prevented the yama dhootas from taking Ajamila to yama loka. They argued that since he called out to Narayana in his last breath, he was bound to Vishnu loka. Yama dhootas could not convince the messengers of Vishnu, They went to Yama and asked him for advice. Yama advised that Ajamila be left to Vishnu’s abode.  Hence, Ajamila was carried to the home of the heaven. Also, Ajamila reented for his actions in the end and did sharanagati.  


Ajamila called out the Lord’s names and that was sufficient for HIM to protect. This means that even if HIS names are called out unknowingly, we will be protected. Such is the mercy of the lord. But can we think of the lord in our death bed. We may be in acute pain, or in coma, or have memory loss. There is no guarantee that we would be able to remember him. But,during our lifetime, if we make it a habit  to constantly chant HIS name, then by HIS grace alone, we can remember him at our deathbed. And whoever remembers him during those last moments will surely get moksham.

But, in today’s world, we are all so busy with our mundane work. We have many materialistic responsibilities. We don’t have priority to sit and pray. We are not able to ear mark even 10 minutes to the lord. We are all in a rat race. But he is MERCY personified. He gives us a wonderful  idea. We all know that Vishnu is extolled in Vishnu sahasranama, Shiva in the shiva sahasranama , goddess is praised in lalitha sahasranama, lakshmi ashtotharam, etc. There are innumerable names available. HE gives us an option to name our children with HIS/HER name. Even if we don’t have time for him, by calling out to our kids, we at least chant his name unknowingly. In this way, we will get punyam.

But we don’t want to take that option also. HE is ready to take us but we avoid him. We keep all kinds of fancy names, western names, names that have no meaning, names which are so abstract in their meaning and which are of no use. Even if our elders have given us such easy way to reach HIM, we don’t want to take that path. We are all indulged in so much of materialism that the society’s reactions is more important to us.

With this kind of running for money, name, fame, possessions, property etc, where would we have the mind to think of GOD at our last breath? It surely is not possible unless the LORD shows mercy on us. We don’t want to take even one step or even show inclination to what he advises. But we want to reach heaven in an easy way. I do all atrocities I want, live the life I want, but you have to give me what I need.  Zero input but 100% output. Does it sound logical?

And for those who have kept HIS names, cut short the name and call out by pet names. Narasimha become nacchu, mrutyunjaya becomes mrthyu. “Nacchu” in tamil means poison, mruthyunjaya means one who has conquered death but mrthyu means death. Isn’t it a wonder that we change the meaning of the name itself? So, when we have named our children with such beautiful names of the lord, let us call them fully and get the benefit of it.

RAM RAM




Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Ramanavami celebration at White House, R.T.nagar

Rama Rama Rama


At first, I thought I will blog the Ramanavami celebrations tomorrow. But hit the cake when it is hot. I just could not resist myself from the excitement on penning down a few lines about the event. So, here it goes!!!
It began a month back with the temple committee getting together for its act of planning, collecting donations, reaching out to public, program itinerary, prasadam and other activities.  We are not true devotees. Hence the small apprehension of the function being conducted well was lingering in our minds. But all these worries and apprehensions were all destroyed by Rama with his arrow of mercy. His bow was full of blessings today for all those who came and encouraged the event. We just climbed one step, he came down a 100 steps. Donations trickled in, people flowed in.

We had it all – chanting, bhajans, classical music, upanyasam, big ladies, small children, young girls performing –and of course the audience. The LAHARI children started off the celebrations with a lovely recital of Ramayana. The students of Smt. Chitra Bilvam rendered soulful performance with their cute and innocent voices. The rama keerthanas by Priyanka and Bhageerathi were divine and extremely melodious. And to add the most wanted pinch of salt to the food, was the ladies group with their ram bhajans, increasing the spiritual fervour. The last and the best program was that of Smt. Radha Ramaswami who spoke on the great qualities of Shri Rama. What an eloquent speech!!! What a majestic voice!!! What a great bhava in her talk!!!. It was rama rama everywhere. We were all spell bound. She wanted to give more and we wanted to listen to more. But Rama wanted the other way. He has been visiting parties organized for him all over the world. He must have been surely tired that he ended it in WH with a grand puliyogara and sweet pongal prasadam.






Once parvati asks Shiva:
Keno Paayena Laghunaam Vishor nama sahasrakam  |
Pat yathih panditaih nityam, shrothum icaami aham prabho ||
“By chanting which name of Vishnu in an easy way can one get moksham”

For this Shiva replies thus:
Shri Rama Rama Rama iti, Rame Raame mano Rame
Sahasra nama thathulyam, Rama Nama Varanane

which means that if anyone chants the name of Rama, it is equivalent to chanting the entire 1000 names of Vishnu (Vishnu sahasranama). So, we can be rest assured that we have all chanted sahasranama several times today. And Rama is sure to bless us with spiritual success. With a small note that this need not be an excuse for not learning the sahasranama..:)

And wherever Rama is there, Hamunan is there in all humility and shedding tears of joy.

Yatra Yatra Raghunatha keerthanam,
Tatra tatra krutamasta kanjalim
Bashpa vari pari purna lochanam

Wherever, the name of Rama is chanted, there all will be hanuman shedding tears of joy and in all humility.
What more can we want on such a great day – blessings, blessings and blessings everywhere.

All of us are so gifted to be a part of this apartment complex. With so much of spiritual vibrations, we are ably supported by residents. Let us all pray that the Lord will always shower his choicest blessing son us and give us bhakti, jnanam and vairagyam.

RAM RAM

Friday, March 28, 2014

GITA Satsang - Chapter 2.47

Chapter 2.47

This is one of the most popular slokas of the Bagavadgita. Often quoted and re-iterated by almost all modern day gurus, it sometimes gives a feel for many that this one sloka gives the entire essence of the GITA. It surely brings out the essence of karma Yoga, describes the duty of an individual in a nut shell. But we must be clear with one aspect of the GITA. Many modern day gurus treat Gita as a book for personality development, for success in one’s career, for having more money and success in life. But my friends, GITA is not meant for material success, it is for atma Gyan, for getting delivered from repeated cycle of birth and death. It is to experience the bramhan and to be one with HIM, in HIM. So, let us not read of understand GITA from the point of getting money, fame, name. All this will be restricted to this birth alone. And we are not sure what will we be in our next birth. So, having known what is needed at this hour, let us invest in a long term FD of life, all our punyams and reap heavy interest in the form of enlightenment. This is the best investment we can make and NOW.

So, let us read the sloka and translation:
                                      karmany evadhikaras te 
                                     ma phalesu kadacana  |
                                     ma karma-phala-hetur bhur 
                                     ma te sango 'stv akarmani ||

You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself to be the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty.

What Krishna tells is that all of us have a “prescribed” duty to do and we must do them for the welfare of the society. The duty we do, must be done for the sake of doing and not in return for any favour. The favours will automatically follow.

A common doubt that is bound to arise in our minds is that how can we act without a goal in mind? How can one do duty without being result oriented? Where is the motivation, when there is no reward? Very true. We have to plan our actions, set our thought process to achieve the same. The end result must always be in our thought. And having known the end result, we have to work for it. We must not waste our time and energy in dwelling in the future – be it the joy of success or the fear of failure. We must neither crib about our past nor rejoice in the happiness it gave us. We have to live in the present. When we live in the present, we are thoughtless and this state is absolute bliss. Every moment of living in the present will give us more happiness. This feeling slowly becomes a habit. Our mind power will not be wasted in unnecessary thoughts and imaginations. The mind becomes more concentrated and powerful. Success is bound to follow in abundance.

Some say that the result of this act is already pre-determined. Why then act? This is a wrong attitude. In many places, I have seen a small post card which tells the essence of GITA. – Whatever must happen, will happen. Yes, this is true and this is also in accordance to our karma. W must not misunderstand that since the result of our effort is already known, we need not act. What we experience is a result of our karma but what we will experience in future, is in our hands. 
For example, assume I fail in an exam. The failure is due to my past karma. I may have failed due to lack of competitiveness, lack of preparation, medical reasons or some karma that I did in previous birth. But having failed, how I react to this failure, is in my hands. This further will accrue more Karma. I can react in many ways. I can take it as a challenge for my next trial, I can degrade myself, I can commit suicide etc etc. So, we must act and this act must be in a way that we get good karma. 

Then why GOD? Why is he present? When everything is in our hands, why is he there? First, GOD is a witness to all our actions. HE is the accountant of our karma and the judge to give us the fruit. He is impartial. However, if we completely surrender to HIM: “sharanagati” as we call it, then we don’t have to do any karma. HE WILL TAKE CARE. But, we have to take the first step and ABSOLUTELY surrender. This state will take us another 1000 births. Till then, let us keep doing Nishkaama karma.

So, all of us have to do our “prescribed” duty. It is important for us to understand as to what is this “prescribed”duty. Vedas and shastras have given mankind the best way to live life to its fullest and attain eternal bliss. But we seem to be shunning it and getting our lives more messy.

The division of people based on varnas is a wonderful way to divide work. This was done for the welfare of the society. The division was as thus: Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Sudras. There is no high or low in any of the castes. Let us not indulge in low thinking and politicize the whole thing. 

Brahmins are regarded as the teachers. They have to do veda adyayanam, sandyavandanam and pray for the welfare of the world. Kshatriyas are the protectors of the world. Their duty is to have a health body and protect the citizens and country from external and internal conflicts. The third division are the vaishyas. They are agriculturists. They have to take care of mother earth in a way that she gives food to eat and water to drink. They are responsible for our health. And finally are the sudras. They are the dhobis, the carpenters, the tailors and all the other groups without whom the other three cannot live. Their duty is to help the other three classes perform their duty. By no means is one high or one low. If each one does their work in an orderly way, why would there be any conflict of high and low? 











We were all very happy and satisfied with our lives. A contented life, a respectable living was what we wanted and had. The British who ruled us divided us based on our caste. They identified the brilliance of the Brahmins and gave them respectable positions in society. Till then, the brahmana who was living his life for the society, started living for himself. That day was the beginning of the doom. When he started to do this, he broke his varna dharma. He started following the west in his practices. He left doing sandyavandanam, veda studies and other achaaras. Since he was regarded as a role model to all other varnas, the people of other varnas also followed him. They started to question that if the brahmana himself who is supposed to know bramha gyan has drifted apart, why not we. So, all people started to look upon towards the same kind of profession that gave them only money and luxury. Because of this, competition, greed, jealousy and hatred started to grow and spread.

Imagine, a marriage ceremony. We assign work to every member and each one carries it to the best of his ability. The marriage also is a suceess. But suppose, each member sees himself doing a small work or a work that doesn't befit his status, would it bring in peace? If the person who has to do flower decoration says that he will cook and not do his work, will the food be tasty. If the purohit who has to chant the mantras says that he would play the nadaswaram, will it sound melodious? Not at all. If each one of us does the duty that has been deputed to us, then the family is a happy one. This is the state we are in today. We are always comparing ourselves with someone who is more wealth and position. Due to this, there is a constant war within ourselves due to which anger and hatred grows.But, if the varna dharma is followed, then the society will be a happier one.

Further to the british, our selfish and greedy politicians divide people based on the caste. In purusha suktam which is a part of the vedas, it is said :

Brahmanasya Mukham aseed  |  Bahu rajanya krutha ||
Ooru tadasys yad vaisya  | Padbhyo sudro aajayatha ||

The brahmana came from the face of the Lord, The kshatriya from the shoulders, the vaishyas from the thighs and the sudras from the feet. So, each one of us have risen from an integral aprt of the Lord's body. All of us are pure and divine. Even the muslm kings could not divide us based on caste. The british succeeded. All the poison has been sown by the them which our politicians today are carrying forward.

Today, brahmanas do not want to do any kind of vedic studies. We are all lost in the material life of money and materialistic success. All the farmers are selling their lands for money and are migrating to the city for want of property and luxury. The kshatiryas do not want to be on the border of the country to protect us. They too want to enjoy city life. The sudras have started thinking that they are looked down upon and have changed their mindset. There is no one to help us lead a health and peaceful life.Who is truly happy today?  No one. Everywhere we see unhappiness, dis-satisfaction, greed, jealousy, selfishness and hatred. 

If we have to bring back the true satisfaction, we must follow our varna dharma atleast to some extent. Brahmins must atleast do sandyavandanam and learn a bit of Vedas so that it will be carried to our further generations.  A little of learning will surely pull them into that ocean. They will feel the divinity in them. They will be definitely encouraged to do more. All this must be done with the feeling of involvement. In the same way, kshatriyas must allow atleast one member of their family to national cause. Vaishyas must see that their varna dharma is protected and so also sudras. It is only then that we can have happiness and our country will be a central hub if spiritual and economic  progress.

I would encourage all of you to read “Voice of GOD”. This is a collection of talks given by the Kanchi Seer, the Living God, the walking GURU, Sri Chandrashekarendra Saraswati Swamigal or maha perva as we lovingly call him. There are 7 volumes of the same. He talks at length about the various aspects of Hindusim. We will be spell bound at the vastness and depth of his knowledge. I am not the one suited to talk about him as I am an “atom of a drop” in the ocean of people who know him and have spoken about him. The above thoughts are assimilated largely based on his lectures in Volume 1 of “Voice of GOD”.
                                       


Long Live Sanathana Dharma
Sarve Janaah Sukhino Bhavantu
RAM RAM