Forgive and Forgot - Most liberating forces.

Choosing to forgive set you on a path of liberty that allows you to live your life as you were meant to. I have chosen to live a life of forgiveness and I am definitely a better instead of bitter. Don’t bear grudges, just let it go.

I had forgot everything you did and forgive you for all the issues.
This post is particularly meant for you ( Hope the right person got this message) and expecting your comeback soon.

Back 2 FSGR...

Finally we are back to FSGR (Fruit Shop on Greams Road). Its one of our favorite place in the city for the juiceholics. I was thinking of writing a post on FSGR, but someway missed out everytime. Finally Here goes ...

We were into Loyola college for the Cricket Net practice on Saturday for our cognizant CCA cup. Very tired of the session and plan to land up somewhere we can chill out ourselves and there is our FSGR in Greams Road.

Sharon took us to FSGR first time ( He likes to visit lot of places in the city - ranges from juice shops to adventure spots and he is the source for our weekend plans).

The inner view of the Fruit shop is completely in contrast to the outside world.
You feel like you are in a Coolest place of the city.
A delicious snapshot of the Cheery blended with grape and various fruits welcomes your saliva in prior to you.
Its not just a Fruit shop, but looks like an office of an Interior decoration agency.
The hanging lamps and the wall posters along with the xclnt arrangement of seatings makes you feel like you are in a hill station.

They have lovely garden where we can relax well with a Cool breeze and sometimes surprises with Funky Magics.

And a gr888 thing we notice in FSGR is, the juiceman is a kind hearted person.
When some stranger or Economically Challenged Person( Pls avoid calling people by the name begger) comes to shop, they offer a juice instead of like other shoppers who either shout at them or give mere 50 paise .

The juiceman became friend of us soon and Sharon tries different combinations.
Soemtimes end up with lovely combos, sometimes thrown to recycle bins. But our juicemen, shankar is very gentle. He wont get irritated and loves the mad thoughts.
Shankar told that they had opened their branch in Dubai.

Those days we frequently visit FSGR but later on reduced from fortnite to monthly basis.
And not much variety of juices to add up on earlier days. Mere they provide the seasoned fruit juices, but they have their own quality which made them unique.

Later they tried their hand at innovative juices, way of serving the customers, stylish glassmaterials, juicemachines and the attractive tiles.
They have ground floor on the beginning and renovated to increase to first floor, where all the commited couples land at first floor for the privacy.
We see many couples who just buy a juice and spend time for hours. We poor guys see them sadly :-) and finish our quenchies quicker and fly off.

Now a days, they came up with lots and lots of innovative and lovely juicips like
Twists in the Tale ( Kiwi fruit spcl), Cheery Cheer - its an elegant milkshake blended with restrained flavors of cherry. Blueberry Magic - jamun spcl, Canton Cooler ( alltime favorite)- Lychee fruits dipped n Honey,
Tang N Ginger punch - A light ginger with Grape blended with fruits, Ban D Banna - a subtle flavor of banana, Vaticna Orange , Peach Premium and a lot ...

This time there was a Guy and Gal sat opposite to us and seems like already an hour passed.
They never bother about the surroundings and chatted loudly. We heard few conversations that were very funny but cant make up anything from that.
Our guy heard better as he sat near to them.

And the conversation goes like this...
Gal: So and so my guy is gong to buy a car and he is planning to took his new girl friend to ECR.

Guy: I have less time to spend with my girl. and how about your would be?

Gal: My would be dont have time to reach me da. Guy i am dating now is dumbo man, he is not coming out frequently.And whats our plan this weekend, shall we go to Bikes and Barrels ( Its a Pub).

Guy: Lets decide later yaar, might the girl in my apartment have some other plan.

OMG...whats going on and who is lover to whom and who is going to marry whom?

We were laughing at each other but confused of the surrounding and left the FSGR.

Phir Milenge shankar anna.

PS: For those who wish to chill out at FSGR,its near to Cafe coffee at Greams road ( Dotn ask me where is Greams Road ...). Thye have their site too http://www.fruitshopongreamsroad.in/

Lost in the Back Seat of the CAR...

I was on Vacation for 5 days in my Sweet Home.

It was Sunday morning(01-07-07) around 11 AM in my home.
Went to Back seat of My Car with the "Code Name God" book in the one hand and pulling Snoopys's Ear ( Snoopy is my pet dog) on the other.

First i thought of having a glimpse of the concept but When i started reading the book i had lost the outside world and time goes on.Was reading the book continuosly as the concept was very good.

Meantime my MOM starts searching for me and thought that i would have gone to friends place.Later in the noon around 3:30 PM, when Dad came to the car to start somewhere and saw myself reading a book inside the car and Snoopy were sleeping well...he was surprised to see me there and the funniest part is Snoopy was lying on my LAP like a child and slept well.i dont want to disturb this guy as he is in sound sleep and just told DAD to start the car.

Meanwhile we had not given any updates to my MUM.DAD reached Hari uncle's Home for some discussion.Snoopy is still sleeping !!! you know when i kicked snoopys leg slowly, this guy simply turn that side and slept off again. But remember snoopy is very active guard and hears even a low decibel but our man is in vacation mood and sleeping well today.

DAD lost his patience and called me to come inside Hari uncle's home. Okeiiii..enuf reading and chumma acting/behaving like a book worm. We had good time there chatting,munching and watching TV. Snoopy wakes up finally and barked on surprise about the new place. Very Good Morning Snoopy Sir:-) . Snoopy got down and sat in between my legs and watched our conversations.

Meanwhile MOM pinged me to my mobile and scolded me nicely on came to know that i was lost inside the CAR :-)

and Here Goes...

"Code Name God" is a must read book for all the Readers...But you should read certain sections of the book more than once to understand. The book is not all about science and its connection with spirituality. Mani begins on a rather philosophical note.

About Author:
Mani Bhaumic is the inventor of the LASER technology . He was born in a village in Bengal when the independence movement was at its peak. His father was a school teacher and freedom fighter. He lived in abject poverty and was close to starvation and death many times in his childhood. He talks about how he was influenced by his father, grandmother, fellow freedom fighters and Gandhi. He says “Gandhi exhausted an entire empire by sheer force of his goodness”. During the famine in Bengal, his grandmother starved to death by giving her portion of the food to him.

He rose from such a background to become a great scientist and multi-millionaire. He also gives an honest account of how he indulged in his wealth.

Concept...

This book describes Bhaumic 's spiritual journey, his discovery of god. He tries to explain god using Physics and how he does it, is simply mind blowing. He also proves that he is first a scientist and then a spiritualist.

Here are few amazing facts from the book...
The book essentially divides into three parts.
First, where Mani'schildhood life soaked in poverty and hunger.
Second, where the author moves to the US as a researcher and becomes a millionaire in the process.
Third, where the extreme richness leaves him contemplating on the more profound aspects of life and uses science to find answers to them.

We are treated to a wide array of scientific facts based primarily on the Quantum Physics theories that try to explain the spiritual aspect of One Source - the concept of One God!

Take a block of mud and arrange it into three different shapes - a triangle, a square and a circle. Now, even though we have three distinct matter that exhibit different attributes, the source of each of them is the same - a grain of sand. They are different, yet they are formed of the same source. Similarly, the world is formed by an energy particle called quark from which the universe sprang. This energy is all pervading and the order that underlies and enfolds all orders. And it is this One Source which we call by the Code Name: God.

Now, if you can understand that paragraph, you would understand what is behind all the complex jargon and complicated inferences that Mani uses to explain the science-part. Despite the author's valiant attempts to simplify the mind-boggling interconnections of quantum theory, a lot of it still continues to whoosh over my head. You cannot "locate" something that presents itselfin a form you do not expect to see, even if it is right before your eyes.

But it was also not sensible to hope that such riddles about universe, nature and spirituality which have baffled the human intellect since time immemorial would get answered within the span of a 200 odd page book.

Having said that, riddles need not be solved to be enjoyed. And that's why I enjoyed reading the book.

The Sixth Finger ...

I have a sweet, little Black Samsung Mobile bought .
Has all the features from mp3 to camera, Just like a Sixth Finger in my Hand.

It has Mobile Tracker facility where when someone took your mobile and change the SIM , the number of the new SIM will be sent to the mobile number saved in the tracker option.Nice feature heina? But what’s the use of having the feature without using it. Am blaming myself now.

Configured my favorite ring tones ( Jeans theme music for my family and Britney spears voice message - for the friends ) while receive calls.

Generally leave it in my keyboard tray,in office and near to my pillow when @ room.

On friday nite 11:30 PM, june 22 2007, i was reading the Saddam’s biography.On seeing the sony ericsson mobile on the slab,my friend ( Boopash)asked me did Arun came to room today ( Actually my friend arun was leaving home that night and inform to another friend of mine but he had not informed to me or boopash). i just told him, as mobile is there he might have gone out somewhere. But the mobile kept in the slab is not arun and its my other roommate’s mobile( they both have same type of mobiles).So my friend just closed the door without locking the same, so that arun will open it when he comes late.

That pave the way for our beloved thief to steal our mobiles ease.

Next morning, i was sleeping well till 10′o clock. Suddenly Boopash wake up me and asked where is your mobile and not able to find any of our mobiles too.simply told him that arun might be playing da, ask him and continue my morning dreams.He woke me up and told that loosu someone had took our mobiles.

OMG !!! what a lovely start for the weekend!!!3 of our mobiles were lost.

As usual our minds started thinking the fact behind this.We should have closed the door though we felt that arun might come late.Or atleast my friend should have informed to us about his travel.Or atleast one of my roommates who knows arun’s travel should have told us so that we would have locked the door.We searched the entire room.

Thought the possibility of who would have came on morning.
Is the servent maid?
Is the lady who comes to wash the clothes?
Is the guy who drops the Bisleri?
Or the friends of my Ex roommate ( Lot of guys like driver, guy working in a steel industry, guy searching for a home in chennai — these people jus come and go without our knowledge and came to know only when our house owner informed us ).
I went into a mini depression, and naturally thought that someone had stolen it.
But how can i blame anyone without any proofs or doubts. thats not fair.
I did panic, but blamed ourself of not locking the doors or atleast we should have kept the mobiles in the inner room.But more importantly, my trust in people has lost.
I started a mini rant as to how I shouldn’t trust people anymore, how there is no sanctity of private space and so on.
Might someone would have came to room and on seeing us sleeping well, the evil mind would have played the rest.
A satisfactory part is i had kept my IPOD in the backpack on that day alone ( It will be lying beside with me near to the pillow everyday).

Its pain to lose a mobile and the sad part is losing all the numbers.I had cute snaps of my Little darling ( My niece). Few poems which i typed in mobile and saved there itself.,Reminders, Favorite mp3s etc…
Its just like losing your 6th finger…


Even i thought of using the SIM Backup feature opted by HUTCH for taking the backup of all the numbers in the SIM.As usual being a lazy fellow forgot about that and in the midst of busy tasks not able to type a copy of numbers too.That too Leo’s like us will be proud of our belongings and its hard to get our belongings shared to others.

Thank god, when i bought the samsung mobile, my friend told me that common da buy IMATE or a Blackberry.Definitely i would have literally cried when i bought blackberry and lost it.

Then we blocked the sim immediately and went to hutch shop to get duplicate sim to retain the old number.Number got activated and back to my old NOKIA mobile on sunday evening.Sad part is my friends duplicate SIM got activated only on tuesday evening.

Really felt like i was in a lonely land left alone for the two days.We were much used to the compactness and easier way of communication (Usually i always do something with the mobile — Games, change the settings : let me take rest, but why shud my fingers ). Now felt bad with empty hands.But the past generation before 10 years lived without the mobile and used the landlines in the home to make a call. Our generation is void of using the memory. We wont know the numbers we saved in the mobile.Technology gaves us lot of benefits and reduced the time gap and communication but we lost the way to use our memory, planning and lot of basics.Even today my dad used to remember lot of address, phone numbers in his mind. but i wont know even my number sometimes, i have my number saved as MyNumber in the contact list .

Okei…let me use the technology but without compromising to the basics from now onwards…

Anyway every day is a day full of lessons to be learned.

Lessons learned:

Use the utility/features available ( i shud have used the SIM Backup option of hutch to take backup of my numbers, Mobile Tracker option in my mobile to trace the thief)

Avoid Communication gap ( My friend shud have informed us that Arun is going home so that we would have locked the door)

Get Clarified immediately ( atleast me or Boopash shud have asked my other roommate whether Arun have told anything that he will come late or going home)

Aware of Risk and Mitigations ( eventhough Arun will come latenite to room, we shud have locked the door and let we wake up and open the door when Arun comes back)

A tool will be good only as much as you use it…

The Blood Red ...

The Book Thief...

One of the best novel I have read after long time, it will challenge the most sophisticated reader...

The Book Thief is positioned as juvenile fiction, a story for teenage readers, Some will argue that a book so difficult and sad may not be appropriate for teenage readers…Adults will probably like it (this one did), but it’s a great young-adult novel…It’s the kind of book that can be life-changing, because without ever denying the essential amorality and randomness of the natural order, The Book Thief offers us a believable hard-won hope…The hope we see in Liesel is unassailable, the kind you can hang on to in the midst of poverty and war and violence. Young readers need such alternatives to ideological rigidity, and such explorations of how stories matter. And so, come to think of it, do adults.”

THIS NOVEL IS NARRATED BY DEATH.

Usually i always read the preface and check the last episode of the novel to validate whether it has stupid 3 words "To Be Continued" mentioned at the end. And maytimes I buy the novel and read it without having the last episode ( It will be very embarrasing to read a novel without the last epdisode after you come to know by reading till the penultimate episode). And as usual checked this book.
The last lines in The Book Thief, where death says "I'm Haunted by Human's" will attract the readers,without keeping it in almirah to read it later.

It’s just a small story really, about among other things:
a girl,
some words,
an accordionist,
some fanatical Germans,
a Jewish fist-fighter,
and quite a lot of thievery. . . .

While the telling of the story is done simply,there is nothing simple about the novel. It is complex and many-layered.

Consider first the cover with a snaking row of dominoes and a finger about to push the first one over. Think of the layers of symbolism you, in your adult experience, can put to that image without reading the book. Read the book and relate it, in just one instance, to the events which led to the rise of Nazi Germany.

Set during World War II in Germany, this is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau.
This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.

EXCERPT from the Book:

I saw the book thief three times.

BESIDE THE RAILWAY LINE

First up is something white. Of the blinding kind.Some of you are most likely thinking that white is not really a color and all of that tired sort of nonsense. Well, I'm here to tell you that it is. White is without question a color, and personally, I don't think you want to argue with me.
***A REASSURING ANNOUNCEMENT ***Please, be calm, despite that previous threat.I am all bluster--I am not violent. I am not malicious.I am a result.Yes, it was white.

It felt as though the whole globe was dressed in snow. Like it had pulled it on, the way you pull on a sweater. Next to the train line, footprints were sunken to their shins. Trees wore blankets of ice.As you might expect, someone had died.

They couldn't just leave him on the ground. For now, it wasn't such a problem, but very soon, the track ahead would be cleared and the train would need to move on.There were two guards.There was one mother and her daughter.One corpse.The mother, the girl, and the corpse remained stubborn and silent."Well, what else do you want me to do?"The guards were tall and short. The tall one always spoke first, though he was not in charge. He looked at the smaller, rounder one. The one with the juicy red face."Well," was the response, "we can't just leave them like this, can we?"The tall one was losing patience. "Why not?"And the smaller one damn near exploded. He looked up at the tall one's chin and cried, "Spinnst du! Are you stupid?!" The abhorrence on his cheeks was growing thicker by the moment. His skin widened. "Come on," he said, traipsing over the snow. "We'll carry all three of them back on if we have to. We'll notify the next stop."As for me, I had already made the most elementary of mistakes. I can't explain to you the severity of my self-disappointment.

Originally, I'd done everything right:I studied the blinding, white-snow sky who stood at the window of the moving train. I practically inhaled it, but still, I wavered. I buckled--I became interested. In the girl. Curiosity got the better of me, and I resigned myself to stay as long as my schedule allowed, and I watched.Twenty-three minutes later, when the train was stopped, I climbed out with them.A small soul was in my arms.I stood a little to the right.The dynamic train guard duo made their way back to the mother, the girl, and the small male corpse. I clearly remember that my breath was loud that day. I'm surprised the guards didn't notice me as they walked by. The world was sagging now, under the weight of all that snow.Perhaps ten meters to my left, the pale, empty-stomached girl was standing, frost-stricken.Her mouth jittered.Her cold arms were folded.Tears were frozen to the book thief's face.

About Markus Zusak
He is the author of I Am the Messenger, winner of the Children's Book Council Book of the Year in Australia, Fighting Ruben Wolfe, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, and Getting the Girl. The author lives in Sydney, Australia.

PS: Book is available in LandMark and Odyssey... and the next in my wishlist is " The Reluctant Fundamentalist "by Mohsin Hamid and Saddam - " The Rise and Fall ".

Stash of substance on your IPOD...

Now you can have the TEXT of great poems, speeches, rants, philosophical doctrines, aphorisms and more on your iPod...

Type the content in the Notepad file and upload in the notes folder in ipod and have a gr88 reading...

My IPOD is full of
> Blake's Innocence & Experience
> More Haiku, Issa for the iPod
> Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus
> Selected Haiku
> Two Lincoln Speeches
> Shakespeare Monologues
> U.S. Constitution
> Declaration of Independence
> 3 Gilbert and Sullivan Lyrics
> Billy Collins Poems

PS: More addins for IPOD available....will update in forthcoming posts

Why didn’t you want me Mommy?

Month One:
Mommy, I am only 8 inches long, but I have all my organs. I love the sound of your voice. Every time I hear it, I wave my arms and legs. The sound of your heart beat is my favorite lullaby.

Month Two:
Mommy, today I learned how to suck my thumb. If you could see me, you could definitely tell that I am a baby. I’m not big enough to survive outside my home though. It is so nice and warm in here.

Month Three:
You know what Mommy, I’m a girl !! I hope that makes you happy. I always want you to be happy. I don’t like it when you cry. You sound so sad. It makes me sad too, and I cry with you even though you can’t hear me.

Month Four:
Mommy, my hair is starting to grow. It is very short and fine, but I will have a lot of it. I spend a lot of my time exercising. I can turn my head and curl my fingers and toes, and stretch my arms and legs. I am becoming quite good at it too.

Month Five:
You went to the doctor today. Mommy, he lied to you. He said that I’m not a baby. I am a baby Mommy, your baby. I think and feel. Mommy, what’s abortion?

Month Six:
I can hear that doctor again. I don’t like him. He seems cold and heartless. Something is intruding my home. The doctor calls it a needle. Mommy what is it? It burns! Please make it stop! I can’t get away from it! Mommy!! HELP ME!! Mommy!!!! . .

Month Seven:
Mommy, I am okay. I am in God’s arms. He is holding me. He told me about abortion. Why didn’t you want me Mommy?

One more heart was stopped.
Two more eyes will never see.
Two more hands will never touch.
Two more legs will never run.
One more child of God destroyed.
One more mouth that will never speak...

Mission Accomplished...

Finally the D-Day arrives.

for all the Hard work we did for the past 2 years, its time to relax and party. And the masti is, we are going to have our MS Convocation on July 2nd week.
From the day Cognizant had MOU vyth BITS for making the Associates to pursue MS degree, we had only one convocation ( Convocation for the first batch and only few associates turned up and this disappointed the academy a lot and stopped the convocation function at all).
Why not we too suffer bcoz of the past happening.

We decided and had discussion and finally come up with the request of having convocation and promised them our presence.
Cheer up Prabhu...We did it and deserve it...
I had keep up my promise of telling u all "Phir Milenge" on that day...Its ur turn :-)
Waiting for all u guys 2 meet u all soon...

Welcome aboard...

Dont scream for the change,Be the change you seek in the world...

The reason for the post is beacuse of bad experience of looking at the society and guilty of being one of the inactive person in the society.

Thanks to rediff and my project manager ( Tx jay :-)) to add up more on this post.

It was sunday evening and was rushing for my friends wedding reception.My friend mailed me, called me, sms me, reminded me repeatedly to be there as i had missed her wedding.
Seems like am a gud friend and thats why such reminders :-)

almost reached the place and searched for the reception hall.
There it comes the problem which increase my temper and ignited my dormant volcano inside the mind...

Saw a roadside tent,there lived a a mom, dad and 2 kids sleeping on the street.No one should have to live this way !
The environment portrays the family condition is very poor. Mere a tent where you can see the stars thru the roof of the rent.

The boy wears a short unfit shirt with lot of stitches and holes,trowser was in very bad condition.

In searing heat, a man lies in a fetal position and withers away the last few hours or days of his life.

Further down the gutted street, a cow has succumbed to hunger, thirst and decease.

The carcass lay sprawled across a patch of dirt. The fetid odour of rotting flesh rises unbounded.

Raucous crows and a swarm of flies compete in frenzied feeding off the animal. Pedestrians rush by, preoccupied with their own pain and hardship.

There's no time for the dead or the dying in this city.

The horde of destitute people on the streets is unsettling.

On the other side lived a rich people who is becoming richer and richer and poor is becoming much poorer...

Why such contrasts and difference.

Not only on the living condition,

Look at the traffics, roads, infra structure of the country.

Eventhough the roads are well laid, that will soon be a home for mosquitoes to breed once the rainy season is on……

Dont blame the government alone for not laying the proper roads, but its all because of us who haven’t maintained it properly.

Where has the discipline gone????, where has the mutual help and kindness gone??.


To mention few,the drive from the chennai airport to the city laid bare the unimaginable horrors that India is unfortunately known for.

In utterly chaotic traffic, devoid of discipline, etiquette or courtesy, man, beast and vehicle jostle for space.

Strange smells, jarring noise and shocking sights greet your vehicle at every turn.

The appalling poverty rattles every outsider who visits the place.

The sight of people living, eating and defecating on the streets they call home was gut-wrenching.


There is another story and a different perspective of Chennai and the rest of India.

In recent times, India's numerous success stories have received wide media coverage.

In the last few years, India has become a powerhouse for information technology services.

Educated and skilled in the complexities of computer software technology,

Indian youth are fast becoming the preferred backbone of IT departments of many a Fortune 500 company.

Indian doctors have long had a stellar reputation in the United States. The high cost of healthcare in the US and other western countries has given Indian medical tourism forceful traction.

Indians are also making the news in the fields of science, politics, business and theatre, to name a few.

Indians are Nobel Prize and Booker prize winners, congressmen, business tycoons, astronauts and CEOs of blue chip American companies.

With much publicity and high profile manoeuvering,

Indian business trumpeted its arrival on the world stage by taking control of competing businesses. The fifth richest man in the world is an Indian. His wealth was not inherited nor did he find it in his backyard.

The list goes on.

Clearly India is breaking away the shackles of colonialism and failed economic policies and a renewed confidence is taking hold.

A "can do, will do" attitude pervades the country.

The exceptionally talented and excessively wealthy co-habit the same space as the illiterate, unskilled and the destitute.

How did such a contradiction come about?

Scarcity of jobs is advanced as one reason but, as in any complex issue, there are probably many more. Caste and sub-caste, religion and regional differences feature prominently and frequently as the bane of Indian society. Each segment fiercely protects its turf.

Skewed religious teachings and beliefs have often impeded peaceful co-existence. Karma, the belief that a person's current circumstance is a result of actions in a previous life, often gets in the way of reaching out to the needy with a helping hand.

Some of these beliefs and attitudes have a crippling effect.

Society is fractured along numerous fault lines.

When India does arrive as an economic and military power, what values will it have to offer? What strengths will India project that others
would wish to emulate?

India today displays an insatiable appetite for anything western. Whether it is music, clothing and fashion or malls, morals and values,

Indians have embraced them with an unabashed zeal. But what then of the Indian culture that stretches back a few millennia.

Is there anything of value to be salvaged?

But when you drift back to thoughts of the streets of Chennai.

"How is it that such smart people can allow this to happen?"

It is not clear to us how and when the street people of India will join the mainstream of society and be able to live in dignity.

Yet we do believe that in time to come, India will find its way.

It is timely that India's ascent is taking place in these troubled times.

Perhaps, the answer lies in the religious and spiritual traditions that India has gifted the world.

It is time for calm and circumspect leadership.

The time has come for India to take its place at the table.

Consider ourselves…
Being a software engineer and having a good family background, we live happily.With a big apartment in the Heart of the city,a guard for security,a well trained sniffer dog to add up the security,
a home theater, Television, fridge, computer pc etc ect ect.You wont even have kids at home, but buy a lot of play toys to decorate the showcase . Enjoying the weekends in resorts and pubs and lot more to add up…

But I Hav’nt seen a single chair in the family staying on the roadside
Spending the time in A/C cabins without knowing the outside world ( life is outside and not end within ur cubicle ). U wont get everything by googling guys.
we remember the credit card numbers but not even the Dad's mobile itself ( are you checking ur dad's number in the mobile’s contact list :-))

Eventhough you wont believe in the tradition of Rangoli,you still wont let anyone to walk on it, as it is the creation of your family girls.Why dont you think tis concept with ur fellow citizens.

The Solution :

Believe that while India has several Silicon Valleys within it,
the country also has three Nigerias within.
"The Indian private sector is doing extraordinary things and the country is bursting with energy, yet behind all these is the reality,

"alluding to the rampant poverty that coexists with affluence. That reality,is that there are still close

to 800 million people in India who live on less than $2 a day despite India being a democracy, which is its greatest pride.

In India, democracy has not allowed the rule of the majority.

"What you see issue after issue, state after state is that powerful minorities, farmers, minority interests and landed interests

have been able to capture the political system and extract government benefits for themselves [by way of] subsidies, etc,".

Noting that Indian democracy is wedded to these powerful minorities,this is not an unfamiliar concept in democracy --

in the US they are called special interests.

But in India it has proved deadly because people who do not get represented are the ones who are powerless.
Little wonder, that at the annual United Nations Human Development Index, India fares very badly.

"It is a great shame for Indian democracy. The large majority of people have somehow slipped though the cracks. So you see that India does

worse than Bangladesh, worse than Cuba, worse than Syria, on all these measures. It does worse than many other countries

that have lower per capita GDP [gross domestic product] than India has".

"It is one of the important things that will make it impossible for India to continue
this extraordinary growth and for this growth to trickle down to the masses,". There are all kinds of models of economic policy --

from Hong Kong which was totally laissez faire to South Korea which had lots of tariffs and regulations, to Taiwan which was somewhere in the middle,

to Singapore which was pro-market but had a huge government presence.
"But there were three factors that were in common in all these East Asian models. First was broad hospitality to markets and trade,

investment in education, particularly for the poorer half of the population, and third was the investment in health".

"Those are, so far, lacking in the Indian case" .
When one looks at India's great growth story, one has to ask oneself that if the country does not make significant

investments in education and healthcare -- which is essentially the investment in children that CRY is talking about --

will India be able to sustain the growth rate and sustain it in a way that it spreads to the entire country?
What we have to do in a sense is to take advantage

of the great political strengths that India has -- its openness, its democracy, its freedom and its participation at the civic society sector".

"In other words, if India's strength is the society, not the State, if India's strength is the micro growth,

not the macro growth, if India's strength is the small entrepreneur and not the technocrat, then we have to leverage that

and use that as best as we can".
"That is where you come in because it means that the only way this problem is going to be solved is if Indian society

and the friends of Indian society mobilize and petition the government and get civic society involved, get nonprofits involved...

That is the only way to get it solved -- a broad, multi-pronged, multi-tier strategy that tries to attack the problem".
India is not going to get some "great minister of health or minister of education or minister for children's affair"

who is going to suddenly make all these things happen and therefore there is no point sitting around for a good government.

The only way it could happen is by pressing the government as well as through a charitable solution.

"It has to be bottom up approach and not a top-down approach which means that you can't wait around and hope and wish. We have to reverse them".
"All this sounds very gloomy, but I think it is less gloomy and India growth story is not as fragile as it sounds because of the faith we have on the friends like you
and few organizations which really helps poor a lot. Ignite the Ray of Hope, which one day will glow like SUN.

There are all these problems but there are all these solutions and people, who are interested,
who are motivated and who want to do something and who are beginning to change the dynamic".

If not you, who else buddy. atleast let we do our part instead of waiting for the change to occur.
You love the nasha of doing good things and once u start admiring it, the journey of life never ends...

Henry miller's quotes well on the change...

" I saw the errors I had made and assumed full responsibility for everything.
You know, instead of being a man who would say, ‘Well, it’s a rotten system we live under,’ and griping about politics,
economics and the social condition, I said, ‘Despite all that, I could have acted differently, I could have come out,’ do you see?
And I saw that as being the fault of my own nature, character and temperament.
I accepted it, and once I did that, a great weight fell off me.
I was liberated.
I was able to really enjoy myself."

What you are going to give back to this nation when you are going to sleep on the cradle of graveyard...
We must be the change we wish to see.

Dont scream for the change,Be the change you seek in the world...

For the Chocolate Lovers...

Come across tis lovely pictures whn i surfed online sites to order Chocolates...

Cadburies come up vyth a good innovation to promo the Dairy Milk Chocs......

Fact File: Elephant

Elephants have very good memories. This helps them to survive in the wild as they can remember where to find food and water during droughts. There are two types of elephant, the African and the Asian. The way to tell the difference is that the African elephant has much larger ears. An elephant’s trunk has over 100,000 muscles and tendons, lots more than the 600 we have in our entire body.
Fact file: Zebra

Zebras are white with black stripes, and no two animals carry exactly the same markings, the greatest variations occurring around the shoulders. As the zebras move in families, the stripes help them recognise each other, as well as helping to provide a cooling system for their skin. An extinct relative of the zebra is the quagga, the last of which died in a zoo in 1883. There is currently a breeding programme to reconstruct the quagga from DNA, a few remaining skulls, pelts and photographs.

Fact File: Piano

The Piano was invented in the 1720’s by Bartolomeo Cristofori. The name piano is an abbreviation of piano et forte (soft and loud). Despite having about 230 strings the piano is not classed as a string instrument; it's part of the percussion family because the strings are struck by hammers.

Fact File: Naming Conventions

Would your little darling be just as sweet by any other name? Apparently not! Statistics reveal consistent favouritism when it comes to naming newborns in the UK. Topping the polls for boys since 1994 is Jack, despite stiff competition from Joshua, Thomas, James and Daniel, who’ve been jostling in the top five since 2002. More fickle are the females, it seems – after five years in the number one slot, Chloe was pipped to the post in 2004 by Emily, Ellie, Jessica and Sophie.

Fact File: Hippo

Despite weighing up to three tonnes, a hippo is surprisingly agile, and can gallop at speeds of up to 30kph, but it cannot jump or even step over obstacles. The skin of a hippo is extremely tough and resistant to most land and marine obstacles as well as predators, but it is so sensitive that the hippo has to spend most of its days submerged in water to protect it from sunlight. It opens its huge mouth frequently, not just to yawn but as a display of the power of its huge teeth which are prized.

PS: Being Chocoholic made my cloths fit, as i put up more weight...

A Superhero shud always be a SuperHero...

A Superhero shud be a Superhero...

Do u xpct ur Superhero always havng date vyth a girl, roaming behind her, waiting 2 have candle light dinner with her, behaving like a normal human creature who try to punish his fellow worker, justifying his act of evil...
No way ..!
A Super hero shud always be a Super Hero...
He shud mesmerise us for the entire timeline of d movie.

Cmon spidey, wht happen 2 u..u too fall on the trap :-(
Spidey 3 is full of spideys personal life and no heroism unveiled tis time...He is roaming behind Mary Jane 2 xprs his love...

In a scene,where spidey rescues a lady and the crowd started chanting...

Crowd: [cheering] Kiss him! Kiss him!Peter Parker: Go ahead, lay one on me!Gwen Stacy: Really?Peter Parker: Yeah! They’ll love it!Child in Crowd: [covering eyes] Don’t do it, Spidey![Gwen pulls a part of Spider-Man’s mask down; they kiss]Child in Crowd: Eww…
Mary Jane ( Spidy’s Girlfriend looks at all this )
Mary Jane Watson: That was OUR kiss!
Mary Jane Watson: Let me ask you something. When you kissed her, who was kissing her? Spider-man, or Peter?Mary Jane Watson: Do you want to push me away?Peter Parker: Push you away? Why would I want to push you away… I love you!

wht a pathetic scene to watch, typical Tamil cinemaism...

v slowly gtng irritated and started shouting Arae baba...wht happen 2 tis guy.Chotus and munnas shouting Spidey spidey spidey ..!!!but spidey listens to Mary jane alone.no heroic acts in the movie, mere the climax has the few action cuts that too spideys friend Harry comes to rescue spidey when he was hurt by sandman...

Here s the climax:
Peter and Aunt May are told that Sand man is the guy who killed his uncle Ben. Peter as black spidy kills the sand man and then comes to Aunt May.

Peter Parker: Flint Marko; the man who killed Uncle Ben, he was killed last night.
Aunt May: Oh my… What happened?
Peter Parker: Spider-Man killed him.
Aunt May: Spider-Man? I don’t understand, Spider-Man doesn’t kill people. What happened?Peter Parker: I uh… he… he was… I thought that you’d feel… He deserved it, didn’t he?
Aunt May: I don’t think it’s for us to say wether a person deserves to live or die.
Peter Parker: Aunt May, he killed Uncle Ben!
Aunt May: Uncle Ben meant the world to us, but he wouldn’t want us living one second with revenge in our hearts. It’s like a poison. It can take you over, before you know it, turn you into something ugly…
Peter Parker after breaking off from Mary Jane dates Eddie Brock’s girl friend. Eddie looses the job to Peter
Eddie Brock: Please, I’m begging you. If you do this, I will lose everything. There’s not a paper in town that’ll hire me.Peter Parker: You should have thought of that earlier.

Later on Eddie Brock’s becomes villain,

Peter Parker: Eddie… We can settle this…
Eddie Brock: you got a point there, Parker…
Eddie Brock: I’m thinking… Humiliation. Like what you did to me. You remember, Parker? Remember? You took my girl away from me. Now, I’m gonna take yours away from you.
Peter Parker: Eddie, it’s the suit. You’ve got to take it off.
Eddie Brock: Yeah, You’d like that, wouldn’t ya?
Peter Parker: I’ve been there, Eddie. The power; it feels good. But you’ll lose yourself to it. It’ll destroy you. Take the suit off Eddie, it’s not too late!
Eddie Brock: [“Thinking” about it] Nah… I like being *Bad*. It makes me… -HAPPY…

One more example of how spidey is like a normal Hero of Regional Films:
Harry and Peter are best pal’s but Harry always believed that Peter killed his father. In order to take revenge, Harry tries to take away Mary Jane from Peter. Mary Jane saddened by Peters behavior chooses Harry for the company. Its strange situation when we are rejected by someone we make decisions in haste. Like a creeper which just wants a tree, any tree to climb. Then we realize that we where wrong. Peter ( as black spidy ) takes Harry on even though he is his best pal and hits him badly. Later Mary Jane gets kidnapped by Eddie Brock and Sandman. Peter ( as good spidy ) goes to Harry.
Peter Parker: Harry! I need your help. I can’t take them both, not by myself.
Harry Osborn: [turns to reveal scars] You don’t deserve my help.
Peter Parker: Harry… she needs us.
Harry Osborn: Get out.
But then Harry realizes that spider man didn’t kill his father. Harry has to choose now. His best pal is in trouble. Will he allow his pride and anger or will he help Peter?
Peter fights with sand man.(Flint Marko)

Flint Marko: I didn’t want this. But I had no choice…
Peter Parker: We always have a choice. You had a choice when you killed my uncle.
Flint Marko: My daughter was dying, I needed money. I was scared. I told your uncle all I wanted was the car. He said to me ‘why dont you just put down the gun and go home?’ I realise now he was just trying to help me. Then I saw my partner running over with the cash… and the gun was in my hand… I did a terrible thing to you, I spent a lot of nights wishing I could take it back. I’m not asking you to forgive me, I just want you to understand.
Peter Parker: I’ve done terrible things too…
Flint Marko: I didn’t choose to be this. The only thing left of me now is my daughter.
Flint Marko: I’m not asking for your forgiveness. I just want you to understand.
Peter Parker: I forgive you.Peter Parker: …I forgive you…
Sand man goes away. Sometimes its difficult to understand whats good and bad. Spider man could have fought with sand man but then knowing the intension of the sandman , he decides on not doing so.

Spidy gets hit very badly by Sandman and Brock.

News Reader: This could be a tragic day for the people of New York… Could be the end of Spider-Man…

Harry jumps in from nowhere and puts his hand forward towards spidy.

Harry Osborn: [Helping Spider-Man up] Came just in time
Peter Parker: Actually, a few minutes earlier wouldn’t have been so bad.
Brock makes a deadly move on Spidy. Harry gets in the way and takes the blow.


In the end Harry stays on the laps of spidy waiting to die ,

Peter Parker: Hey, pal. How you doing?
Harry Osborn: Been better.Peter Parker: We’ll get you through this.
Harry Osborn: No.
Peter Parker: I should never have hurt you. Said those things.
Harry Osborn: None of that matters, Peter. You’re my friend.
Peter Parker: Best friend.
Harry dies on the Spidy’s lap.

eee...oooo..ohhhh...

Film Ends vyth a moral:
Peter Parker: Whatever comes our way, whatever battle we have raging inside us, we always have a choice. My friend Harry taught me that. He chose to be the best of himself. It’s the choices that make us who we are, and we can always choose to do what’s right.

But where does the strength of the spider gone. where does that heroic act diminished.

Spidey please come soon with ur Heroic acts in forthcoming episode...

Kal Ho Na Ho...

Death…an eventuality.

When? No one ever knows…
What if you know?
Will you live each day differently?
Will you make amends?

We have often heard people say — “Live everyday as if it were your last”. But guess till we are actually there the import of that would fail to hit us. Cause we are people who think months ahead…will I be promoted? Will I get a hike? Will the real estate costs soar? Should I come back offshore?

We are so preoccupied with all those “planning” that we fail to look at the present…live each day to its fullest. Let me be honest…how much ever I try…I haven’t managed it so far. I just read “Tuesdays with Morrie” by Mitch Albom. Its a real-life experience between a student and a teacher….

Its about Mitch’s Sociology Professor…Morrie Schwartz…who suffers from ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) and has few months left to live. Its also called Lou Gehrig’s disease…Stephen Hawking is a victim of the same. As Morrie slowly sinks into his final days…Mitch returns to spend time with him after nearly 20 years. Morrie and Mitch capture life’s essence in their Tuesday meetings…as Morrie gives simple answers to life’s questions on death, fear, marriage,family etc. Morrie can move you with his love…and also his aphorisms - “When you learn how to die, you learn how to live.”

There was another book by Mitch Albom called “Five people you meet in heaven”…on how a keeper at a theme park dies saving a girl…and goes to heaven only to meet 5 people from his life…who offer him answers on his life’s turn of events.

I had done a post on my Grandma…condition is very critical,no more hope of recovery and passed away... Reading about Morrie brought back those memories…I was almost close to tears. Its not a great book in my opinion…but then you never know, most times it’s the simple things in life that impact you deeply. If you are someone who can see beyond words…and appreciate books that allow you some introspection…read this.

“Don’t hang on too long, but don’t let go too soon.” - Morrie

Take Care while it Matters…

Your grandparents live with you…if not when did you last visit them?
Or when was the last time you spoke to them?
If you don’t remember the answers to these questions…its time you took care of them.

It was my schooltime when i was in 12 th std.

Those past years have been tough for my family and me. My Grandma is in her later stages of life, waging a war between life and death.She walks with 3 legs ( A stick for the balance), that too only for a few metres.
If you have a unfamiliar sound coming on the sleepless nights; If you have a body which covered mere by skin;
If there is a pulse reading you feel while holding her hand, which says the heart beat fine which ensures your saturation is fine…you are alive!
Never mind if you don’t open your eyes or talk or recognize people around you. Measurable parameters are fine, so you are alive??

She has a speacial love and affection on me and the same from me without any selfishness.

Manytimes she urge me to come closer and hold her hand instead of placing her hand on my shoulder, she believes on my affection more than her hope.

She asks questions which she doesn't know what it is and that too repeatedly for countless times. Those days she told me a lot of stories and urge our serventmaid to continue the stories when she feel very tired and she will make sure that he is going in the right direction of the story...…

all 78 years old. She was married at 13 and had taken care of our grandpa's family single handedly with lot of courage and kindness... she was always keen on developing the wealth in terms of land and succeeded too.The house they lived in, stretched from one street to the next….so big a house that you can never manage to cover the place at a glance with lot of serventmaids, cattles, pet animals.Its amazing to hear that she had time for all.Now she hardly talks…if she does talk, it’s slurred.

Her brain is affected and her memory comes in flashes. She fails to recognize my Dad sometimes but can talk about her relatives at the same time.But at times she would surprise you with amazing clarity on looking at me.Did somebody say old age is nothing but second phase of childhood? I cannot but agree more. While feeding her, we usually stand around her,urging her to open her mouth for a teaspoon of water or a coffee whcih she likes much…coaxing her like you would a 1 year old. We await every single word she utters like never before.I pray god for her long life, for her to be back on her feet and talk incessantly as always.

My school days came to end. Finally i had spent a solid 2 months of time especially for my grandpa.Its time for engineering entrance exams,had been away from her for a month, done my exams and came back with ray of hope that she will be brave and bold as like before.But for my expectations, she was very weak and not able to walk too, always lying on the bed where her entire life shrink in a bed.My 12th results came, secured a gud percentile.We have to go to chennai for engineering counselling.But the grandma's condition is very critical and no more hope of recovery.Nothing can be done as my date of counselling is nearing and we left chennai, praying god with tears in the eyes.We were in University...My engineering admission got over and Dad got a call that Grandma is expired.we rushed back home immeditely for the final things to be done for her...

As for the questions at the start,
I make it a point to take care of them at least every fortnight. While we run around with a heat of hope each day, we fail to pause and attend to few things…which might mean lots to others. Not that we don’t want to…just that we don’t realize that such things can make a difference.

Take care while it matters…

That fortune is -- MOKSHA...

Continuation of the previous post!

Is there anything superior to even mOksHA?

Of course, Yes! The lustrous body, defeating a grand greenish mountain, the lip that shines better than a ruby, the red eyes that puts a ‘just then blossomed’ lotus to shame;The devotional rejoice, to address HIM as achyuthA (one who destroys the sins of the devotees), to address HIM as Lord of the Lords, and to address HIM as the cow herd boy krisHNa;

The bHaktha thondaradippodiAzhvAr feels that these are even greater than mOksHA itself. He goes on further to declare thus:‘If I get even the indhira lOka fortune, instead of this, I shall not prefer Oh Lord ranganAtHA!’

The original text is from thirumAlai (sacred garland) sung by thondaradippodiAzhvAr.

The Lord who wears it is the ranganAtHA of shrIrangam. ThondaradippodiAzhvAr is one of the 12 AzhvAr(s) of tamil bHakthi cult. The AlvAr(s) are great mystic devotees who lived during the advent of kali yugA. They have sung many poems in praise of the Lord, which also have great spiritual and philosophical significance. Each verse is an ecstatic outpouring of these devotees in their liberated state of mind.

The concerned full verse is:

pachai mAmalai pOl mEni, pavaLa vAi, kamala chengaNN, achyuthA amarar ErE,
Ayartham kozhundhE ennum, ichuvai thavira yAn pOi indhira lokam ALum –
achuvaiperinum vEndEn arangamA nagaruLAnE!

This is a gem of a pAsuram and the most renowned one. We can see this in the inner wall of shrIrangam temple, along with another one.

pachai mAmalai pOl mEni:The AzhvAr perceives the dhivya mangaLA vigraha thirumEni (sacred auspicious idol) of Lord ranganAtHa as a flourishing large greenish mountain. He says it a large mountain (mAmalai) because of its majesty. He addresses it as greenish (pachai), since only a greenish mountain is a treat for the eyes, and definitely not a dry one. The mountain has a unique characteristic. When we see it from a distance, it appears as though it is very near. But, if we actually walk towards it for a while, it appears to recede away from us. The more we go near, the more does it appear to recede! This is just true with the Lord. When we start realizing him, we feel HE is very close, such that we can immediately reach HIM. But, when we actually start our spiritual journey, he plays with us, not coming to our hold so fast.

pavaLa vAi:The AzhvAr is captivated by the lips of the Lord, which shines brighter than a jewel. He compares that with pavaLam/ ruby.

kamala chengaNN:HIS eyes are red and broad like a lotus. Tradition has it that these eyes are the ones that transformed many ordinary mortals to immortal AchAryA(s). The moment they see these, they renounce the material world. Such is the spiritual power of HIS eyes. It holds you completely. You become as if held by a magician at the very second. You renounce money, reputation, relatives, any thing and every thing!

chengaNN: He addresses it as red for two reasons. The eyes become red out of compassion and great affection to HIS devotees. They also become red due to anger, at any harm done to HIS devotees by others.

achyuthA: He is called achyuthA, since he removes the sins of all the bHakthA(s).
amarar ErE ayartham kozhundhE:He is addressed Lord of the Lords, to reveal his universal greatness. On the contrast, he is also addressed beloved krisHNA, who wandered along the cow herd boys in AyarpAdi. He is the master of the world, at the same time very accessible like a boy next door. These are two distinct qualities of the Lord.

When the AzhvAr has the fortune to rejoice the Lord in this way, he considers even the mOksHA as inferior to this. He ignores that completely (achuvai perinum vEndEn). Such is the ardent devotion, he had. The commentators of this pAsuram wish to say vaikunTam/ abode of the Lord as being referred by the phrase - indhira lOkam ALum. They do not want to take the literal meaning as such. They feel that actual indhira lOkA as too low a comparison for this lofty experience.

vaikunTam (abode of nArAyaNa) versus bHUlOkha vaikunTam (shrIrangam) – devotees prefer the latter . Every great soul prefers a life in a dhivya dhEsham, very near to the lord singing his praises for ever, being in the company of similar people.

In the same lines, another AzhvAr wishes to be born as a grass in the mountain of thirumalA. How noble a wish?
Let us also follow the same path and wish soulfully for unwavering devotion and a life at his lotus feet in a sacred place!

‘I shall not need, even if I get THAT fortune!’

‘I shall not need, even if I get THAT fortune!’

What is THAT fortune? Is it the food, shelter and clothing? - No, he has the bHagavath prasAdham as food, temple as the shelter, and a dhothi as clothing. He is contented with that!

Or, is it the wealth that he refers as THAT fortune? - No, he has the Lord in the temple as the privileged ancestral wealth. Definitely, not that!

Is it the fame and reputation? - No, he has the fame of the adiyan/ bHAgavathan (servant/ devotee) of the Lord. He is indeed very proud of that!

Is it the relatives and friends? - No, he has the entire sAdHu janam(s) (devotees) as his close relatives. He has no concerns whatsoever regarding that!

Or, is it the fancies of the youth? - No, having seen the grandeur of the Lord’s vigraha thirumEni (idol), he remains captivated by it. The mind by itself does not seek any other external fancy
He seems to be very firm in his determination, at least with respect to this material world!

Ummm… Is it the indra lOka, that is referred by him as THAT fortune? - No, even that place is subjected to the laws of karma. It is after all, a higher version of this world, and for that instance, even more dangerous. And for a person of his stature, is it after all this? No, definitely not!
Ok, I have found it at last. Since, he is a true devotee; he cannot seek anything other than liberation/ mOksHA . Yes, it is the mOksHA at the lotus feet of the lord, to serve him with unswerving devotion for ever.

But, Why does he say ‘I shall not need, even if I get THAT fortune/ mOksHA’. Everyone knows liberation is the greatest fortune for a realized soul. But, he refuses that also.

Is there anything superior to even that? Wow, sounds great! Is it not?

Who is he? What is that he regards greater, for which he is ready to sacrifice even mOksHA?

Silly Point...

The promos of a movie showing a popular film star smoking have led to protests: “Why is smoking being foisted on impressionable young minds?”

The silly point is that we protest about the star shown as a smoker, but not about the same star being shown as a drug-dealing gangster or an underworld don. When movies blatantly exhibit sex, rape, addictions, crime, violence and murder, and when movie stars are today’s perverse role models, isn’t it silly to be shocked when the same happens in society?

Not long ago, Indians were shocked by the news of a Mumbai schoolboy murdering his own mother - just to get money to enjoy like the hero of his favorite movie. Before that, Americans were aghast at a chilling real-life perversion of the violence routine in Hollywood - schoolchildren shooting their teachers and co-students. Movie-makers may rationalize that movies just reflect social trends, but can it be denied that they often initiate, perpetuate and aggravate the vicious circle?

The sillier point is that we readily believe what movies show and stubbornly disbelieve what life shows. We imagine “and they lived happily ever after” - the utopian ending of most movies - will materialize in our lives, while reality glares at us all around - no one lives ever after and no one lives happily. After all, no man is a hero to his own wife and no woman is a wife to her own hero. We believe that we will one day enter the heaven of enjoyment shown in the movies, while the hell of suffering in the world around threatens to suck us in at every moment. We vicariously enjoy as the movie hero as he miraculously dodges every calamity and exults in his three-hour immortality, while we actually shudder as the daily news of natural and human disasters exposes our helpless mortality.

The silliest point is that we forget the person who never forgets us - God, and we remember the people who never remember us - movie stars. We enthrone ephemeral heroes as the kings of our heart, while we banish the eternal hero Krishna from our heart. We search in a false cyber world, for love, excitement, enjoyment and protection, while we blind and deafen ourselves to the source of all love, excitement, enjoyment and protection living within our own hearts. When selfish movie-makers invite us to their hi-tech illusory paradise, we squander our hard-earned money to enjoy it for a few moments. But when the supremely selfless Lord invites us to His eternal spiritual paradise, we are not ready to invest even a few thoughts to probe into its reality.

When we read about a half-man half-spider performing impossible antics in the comics section of a newspaper, we adore him. When we read about the half-man half-lion incarnation of God performing chivalrous pastimes in the sacred scriptures, we deride Him as mytho-logical. Are we logical? We have time to tune to newer and newer channels while watching TV, but we have no time to tune in to Krishna’s channel of devotion in our own heart.Its not just silly, actually. Its tragic. If we don’t give up our silliness, we will have to cry for it. Worse, we will have to continue our silliness - and its attendant suffering - for many more lives.

Fortunately we have an alternative. Irrespective of how silly we become, Krishna remains our benevolent Lord unconditionally. So He gives us an easy way out - His holy names. Attentive devotional chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra acts like a divine torchlight, which exposes the material silliness around us and reveals the spiritual substance within us.

Intelligent people embrace chanting as the most intelligent activity and tune into and enter a blissful world far superior to the “enter”-tainment world, that is the default tuning of the silly.

Send a Knee Mail - God will answer you !!!

Nowadays almost everyone is accessible on email.

What about God? He is available on a very special type of email, which is as old as the human race and which requires no internet. Its knee-mail – mailing prayers from our heart to God while standing on our knees.

Almost all the great wisdom traditions of the world urge us to physically express humility while praying. In addition to the kneeling down common in Semitic religions, the Vedic culture recommends prostrating the entire body in panchanga and ashtanga pranamas.

Some people deride rituals as useless show-offs and say that only the inner feeling, bhava, counts. Agreed that consciousness is crucial in communion, but do the externals not affect the internals?

Try this exercise:

Sit relaxed on an easy chair, put one leg across the other, place your arms behind your head, lean backwards – and now try to feel humble. Almost impossible, isn’t it? Our very posture makes us feel bossy. Based on profound understanding of this empirically observable psychophysical science, the Vedic texts prescribed physical activities that facilitate the awakening of divine emotions in our heart. A ritual with spirit becomes spi- ritual.

Most people pray to God when they want something which is beyond their human ability to get. While praying, we often intuitively try to feel and express humility, knowing we depend on divine grace. To receive God’s answers to our knee-mails, we need humility – especially in our brain. Many people lose faith in God when their prayers are apparently unanswered; they feel that either God doesn’t exist or that He can’t fulfill their prayers - or doesn’t care to. But are we not presuming that we know better than God what is best for us? This presumption is rooted in a fundamental philosophical misconception that we can enjoy life in this world and that the main purpose of God’s existence is to provide and protect our material enjoyment. Of course we do need basic material resources for our existence. But as souls we are essentially spiritual and eternal; whereas everything in this world is material and temporary. Due to this inescapable incompatibility, nothing material can make us truly happy.

Often due to our spiritual myopia, we forget this basic fact, but thankfully God doesn’t. A mother sometimes withdraws or withholds toys from her child to ensure he doesn’t neglect his studies and miss out on a bright career. Similarly God sometimes withdraws or withholds our cherished toys – wealth, love, positions, possessions – to ensure we don’t neglect our spiritual growth and miss out on a bright spiritual career in the hereafter. God wants us to be happy in this world too, but not at the cost of our eternal happiness in the next world. A lost child feels so happy when at last he returns home. Then how much more happy will we – the lost children of God - be when God takes us back to our eternal home? God is constantly planning and endeavoring to provide us this supreme happiness. All we need to do is cooperate with His plan by serving Him, come what may. Therefore when our prayers appear to be unanswered, we can pray to God for the wisdom to accept His plan and the determination to participate in that divine plan.

The best prayer - the one prayer that will never fail – is the prayer asking for strength to serve God in every situation. When a child calls the name of his parent, a responsible parent immediately provides his real needs. Similarly when we chant the Holy Names of God, especially the Hare Krishna maha mantra, He will immediately provide our real need - the strength to serve Him.

When we humbly chant and pray for this inner strength, we will find that God will never disappoint us.

Why Shud a Prince Beg?

Suppose a beggar, who has never seen anything more valuable than currency notes, gets a priceless jewel as alms. Unaware of its value, he puts it aside and keeps begging. Tragic, isn’t it?

Vedic wisdom suggests that most modern humans are like this beggar. All of us are souls transmigrating in various human and subhuman species. All species crave for material pleasures, a craving that makes them wretched like a beggar.

A beggar’s state has three characteristics:
What he wants is not in his control; he cannot force people to give alms
Most of the time, he doesn’t get his wants; most people neglect beggars
Even when he gets his wants, he never gets it as much as he wants. No beggar can become a millionaire by begging.

Similarly,
The sensual pleasures we want depend on many conditions beyond our control. For example, we can enjoy food only when we are healthy, peaceful, the cook is expert and the server is polite.
Most of the time, we don’t get the pleasures we crave for.

For example, how many people can afford all the jazzily advertised food products they desire?
Even when we get sensual pleasures, they are never as much as we want, because, the body inescapably limits our enjoyment.

For example, even if a glutton is allowed to eat free in a five-star hotel, can he enjoy eating continuously lifelong? All bodily pleasures are flickering, whereas our craving is everlasting.
This poverty is imposed on us by our material desires. Fortunately we are now given human bodies, which are like priceless jewels. Why?

As souls, beloved children of the supreme millionaire, God, we are entitled to unlimited happiness. We are eternal, and so is God. Consequently when we love Him, we eternally rejoice in divine love. Only in human bodies do we souls get the intelligence to choose to love God instead of material objects. Just as a jewel, when offered to a jeweler, yields immense wealth, similarly the human body when offered in devotional service to Sri Krishna, yields everlasting happiness. And the most easy and effective form of devotional service is chanting the holy names.

Unfortunately, as we currently know no happiness other than material, we unwittingly put our advanced human intelligence aside and continue seeking animalistic sensual pleasures. Therefore, great sages like Srila Prabhupada, who know the true value of the human body, tirelessly invite us to give up begging for sensual pleasures and be reinstated in our princely spiritual status by chanting.

The Secret of Fearlessness

Have you seen how peacefully a child sleeps in the lap of his parent, even in a noisy, crowded local train? The hustle-bustle disturbs everyone, but not the child – due to his implicit faith in the protection of his parent.

All of us strive diligently to overcome our many fears – financial, familial, social, academic and physical. However the necessary security measures like insurances, helmets, buzzer alarms, health checkups fail to free us from a disconcerting sense of insecurity within us.

Why? ...

The Vedic texts explain that all fear originates in an unbalanced, unrealistic material conception of life. The material aspect of our life has its importance; we need to feed, clothe, house and provide for ourselves and our loved ones. However Krishna explain in the Bhagavad-gita (16.10) that when we seek our sense of identity, self-worth, security and pleasure exclusively from our material positions and possessions, we open ourselves to fear. Because the material realm is characterized by constant, unpredictable changes, which often threaten to destroy or harm whatever is dear to us. We prepare ourselves to face some of the small, predictable and controllable changes, but still we consciously or subconsciously dread the huge, unpredictable and uncontrollable changes. Is there any way to overcome this deep-rooted fear?

The more things change, the more we need to embrace the things that don’t change.
The Bhagavad Gita (2.14) describes, “Of the material, there is no endurance and of the spiritual there is no cessation.” Beyond the stage of material activity that preoccupies our mind lies a vast, unexplored realm of spiritual tranquility. We are spiritual beings, souls, originally from a spiritual world, the kingdom of God, who is our eternal loving father. Currently we are occupying material bodies and inhabiting this material world. The more we harmonize with our spiritual nature, the more we become fearless. Understanding that we are, at our core, spiritual and, hence indestructible, fills us with an unshakeable self-security; we recognize that worldly upheavals that affect our material assets have no power whatsoever to hurt us.

Moreover, understanding that a benevolent God is ultimately orchestrating all material happenings helps us to see order amidst change, plan amidst chaos.

The most practical and potent technology to equip ourselves with steady vision of this spiritual reality is divine sound. By chanting the bona fide holy names of God like the Hare Krishna mantra, we progressively experience both our own spiritual identity and God’s the protective presence and guidance in our life. The more we enrich our faith by chanting, the more our devotion for Krishna increases. And when we make our life’s work a devotional offering for His service, we focus more on the object of our service – God and not its fruit – the immediate material result. This shift of focus releases large reserves of mental energy, which are choked by our worry about the future. Chanting gives us the calmness to see that almost all fears are more perceived than experienced.

The more we become free from fear of the future, the more we can fully absorb ourselves in our present duties. Thus spiritual principles and practices empower us to access and utilize even our material talents better and execute even our material duties better. Ultimately spirituality is the only way to conquer the greatest of all fears – death.

For a mature devotee, death is not a fearful termination of existence, but a joyful reunion with God in His everlasting abode. Therefore just as the child stays peaceful amidst chaos, let us become tranquil amidst ups and downs by empowering ourselves with spiritual devotion.