The end of world ? Naah !!

How many times people predict the end

Films are made , books are sold

People go crazy thinking alls gonna end

Its not gonna last , the Mayans seemd to say

Finally , the day is just as another

Perfect ,as the good Lord made it to be

The sun shone brightly , the wind is clear

The end is infact , nowhere near.

Mayans might have run out of their calendar

So what , go and buy it from a nearby bookstore.

Find the child inside you

Childhood is the most wonderful time for everyone. We often go back and think about it with nostalgia. For me , i have decided to relive it once again alongwith my son. Each and every day , I make it a point to become a child once again. Playing with my son makes me feel young again. The time spent together also helps to creat a special bond between us.  I feel sometimes that  I have just forgotten to grow up.

I know there ia a child inside me. It asks me to do the crazy things I did many decades back. It wants to play with mom and dad. It asks for sweets and ice-cream and makes a fuss to eat lunch and dinner. It wants to go out and enjoy the games with its friends. It doesnot want to do its home work. It is innocent and accepts whatever it is told by elders. It wants to believe in good things and there is no doubt in its mind.  

After few years of growing up . this child enters its teenage and then becomes an adult. It is forced to do many things. Out of courtesy or out of force , it starts to change itself. It cultivates habits of proper communication , proper dressing ,proper table manners , proper this and proper that. All these are needed and essential for the growth of the child into adult. But this metamporphosis has its casualities too. In the process , the child looses its innocence. That is the biggest casuality. Clinging on that child-like innocence becomes diffcult as it grows up.

But all hope is not lost. The adult, at one point of time , makes up its mind to delve into itself and then , what does it find ? It just finds a child inside.

Ultimate spirituality is just identifying the child inside you. Go on , become a child today.

HAPPY CHILDREN'S DAY !

Detached Attachment

Detached Attachment - That is one of the keys for a seeker.

Attachment is any desire or bonding. As the holy scriptures recommend - To be attached to worldly or materialistic things is a very ignorant way of living our lives. But does this mean we should give up everything and head for the Himalayas ? Isn't the wish that "I will give up everything and go to Himalayas" also another desire? Yes, it is so. After going to the Himalayas if we start remembering the so-called materialistic good things and repent about it , then is it of any use ?Is that real viragya ? Isnt it better to be in the worldly life and remember Himalayas rather than go there and always keep on remembering the worldly life ?

Being detached from the worldly life is difficult. That also is not recommended. What is recommended for the seekers is to lead the worldly life without getting attached or bonded to it. But practically is that possible ?
Below points may help in that direction -

• Acceptance of the events in life as they come and believing that whatever is happening , is for the good. 
• Recognising that your actions are not yours , but you are just an instrument of the creator. All your actions are directed by that Universal force.
• Giving your 100% to your duty, but not bothering about an immediate result. Remember, if someone does not pay you back imediately for your help/support , he will pay back with interest later on. Just wait.
• When in pleasure , I never questioned the God - "Why me ?"  So, why should i question when i get some pain ? Recognise that pleasure and pain are just temporary and will pass.

A tribute to my friend - on friendship week

Friendship week , Aug 2012. I was travelling to office as usual in my bus. A co-passenger who works in the neighbouring company was next to me. He had some sad news that day :

There was a guy,also travelling in the same bus to office daily. I knew him quite well from the daily bus journeys. I have often seen him walking his aged father in my neighbourhood. Let us call him SM.

SM was very smart and talented guy. He used to solve critical issues and problems which many of his collegues gave up. He was a helpful kind of guy. He was strong willed. He used to walk long distance and not spend on autorickshaws unncessarily , instead treat his friends with fresh fruit juices on the way. He used to say - "Why pay for the auto, lets walk and midway have something good to refresh"

But he was not to be seen from quite sometime now. I learnt that he had been diagnoised with leukemia ( blood cancer ) a year back. Still he used to come and watch his friends play cricket on Saturday mornings. He used to keep a tally of the teams scores , when he could not play. He had such strong will power that he used to say - nothing will happen to me.

In the last few months , each week , SMs blood needed to be changed. Then it was once in 5 days , then once in 4 days. Doctos suggested bone marrow replacement , for which SMs elder brother had agreed to sell off their only home.

A week back , blood started to ooze out of his body... Then , SM passed away.
May His Soul Rest in Peace !

Where ever you are , my friend , wish you a happy friendship day ! I dont have much other words to convey the deep felt loss but , Life is just a journey somewhat like our daily bus commute to office. You have reached your stop , am just somewhere behind you, my friend.

Have belief and faith in God

A story from Mahabharatha :
During the Mahabharatha war , Bheeshma and Arjuna were fighting. All in the Pandava camp were worried for Arjuna as Bheeshma was a very skilled and experienced warrior. Each night the Pandavas were loosing sleep over this. Lord Krishna once arrived to find Arjuna peacefully sleeping whereas all others were sleepless worrying for Arjunas safety. So , Lord Krishna goes and wakes up Arjuna and asks him " Hey Arjuna, Arent you worried that Bheeshma is fighting with you and is very powerful and you may get killed ? How can you sleep with that worry of death ?".
Arjuna replied " Lord , I can sleep peacefully as you are awake. With you by my side , why should i worry ?"
Arjuna's reply is the core essense of my blog. This story shows the complete faith which Arjuna had over the Lord. We should also develop such a strong faith that the Lord takes care of ALL his creations, without fail. What is happening and what is going to happen is all HIS wish and HIS command. Such a strong faith and belief will go a very long way in our spiritual path.
Time for another story , this one from Ramayana :
When the bridge to Lanka was being built by the monkey army , Lord Rama was watching silently. He saw one monkey taking a stone, saying out aloud "Shree Rama" and dropping it in the ocean. And Lo Behold, it floated. Another monkey did the same, again the stone floated on the water. And so it went on , each monkey used to come with a stone , uttering the Lords name, drop it on the ocean ,and it just floated.
Now , Lord Rama was in an experimental mood :-) So, He also took a stone and dropped it on the ocean. But , it sank. He tried again , and yet again it sank. Now , he was perplexed and sat in a deep thought.

Along came Hanuman and looking at his Lord realised that something was wrong. So , he asked the Lord "Whats up , Captain?".

Rama replied " Look here dude , all these monkeys are throwing stones chanting my name and it floats. When I try the same , it sinks. Whats the problem ?"

Hanuman said "Thats pretty simple. Naturally , Sirjee, If You drop anybody , He has to sink. You are the ONE lifting the entire world up. If you throw off a stone, then it just obeys you"

This story is a sort of corollary to the first one from Mahabharatha. The monkey army had complete faith in the name of the Lord and that chanting the name of the Lord would make the  stone to float. And Lo!  it does so. Here , the belief and faith in the Lord is what is important. 
Lately , I see that there are many articles and blogs with questions of "Is there really a God ?" I am not able to undertand why anyone would keep on questioning about the existence of a God and thereby decline his or her belief considerably. Reading such articles and questioning only raises doubt in ones mind. An iota of doubt then grows in the doubting mind and then one day it becomes so big and strong that man loses faith and belief. Please donot feed more food for such thoughts. Remove such poisonous thoughts from anyone who tries to influence us. Whenever some one questions us "Why should we believe in God ? Am not seeing him", please tell them politely that "Please belive first, Proof will surely follow"

PS : I might have worded the story in a comical manner , that is only to keep up the interest for the readers and drive home the point that God also loves fun.

When do you remember God ?

When the body becomes weak
When the breath becomes difficult
When the mind gets cluttered
When the memory starts to fail you

This is when most remember God
This is when most start their prayers
This is when most become believers
This is when most try to reach the Supreme

O Man , why don't you wake up and realise a little earlier
Instead of waiting perpetually and procrastinating your source
Pray , Believe , Meditate and  Help the needy when the body is strong 
And enjoy the bliss , which comes along.

- prashanth rajarao

Keep our earth clean and green

It's amazing , the way it is
The sun shining and the moon smiling
Isn't it wonderful to feel the earth moist
When it rains and the sky kisses the land

It's amazing , the way it is
The lakes clean and the city green
Isn't it wonderful to see the birds sing
Each morning on your terrace wing,

It's amazing , the way it is
The stream sparkling and the peacock dancing
Isn't it wonderful to see the fishes swim 
In rivers and  lakes, not in our aquariums glim

It's amazing , the way it is
Man is just another creature , intelligent than any
But , he has to use his intelligence to co-exist with nature
Only when he realises that , will he stop polluting.

It's amazing, the way it is
I sure hope, it remains the way it is
For our kids , lets make a pledge
To keep our earth , clean and green.

- prashanth rajarao

Off Duty , On duty

A fresh day. Outside my home , its pretty good weather. Bangalore has recieved its little share of the summer monsoon over the last week and its green and clean near my house. I watch out of my balcony and see the small plants in the pots swaying to the gentle wind. Am sipping from my cup of lime juice as i start penning down this blog.

My thoughts wander .. I try to follow the thought chain ..

What makes man give his best to work ? Is that the expectation or the desire of a result at the end of the task ? Our Lord Krishna has advised to do our duty and not bother about the results. What is meant by duty ? If we are not bothered about the results , then why do them ?

Some thoughts , some questions , I say to myself - People on ST are sure to provide answers. That would be very encouraging and knowledge gaining. On second thoughts , what matters most to me is what I think of the answers. Surely , knowledge is welcome irrespective of the source , I grab at it. But the greatest source lies within. So, I close my eyes ( after finsihing off the lime juice ).
He appears. As usual , he is smiling. Not laughing , not roaring , but just smiling. At peace with himself. Put him anyplace and in any situation , he is always peaceful and smiling. Thats what I like about him. He answers me  :
"Duty is the fees you pay for occupying the space on this planet"
"In sanskrit ," he continues "Kartavya means duty.Kara also means "tax or duty". Lovely isnt it ? So , what is the duty one should pay ? It is simple - To server others in need of help is your duty"

Why shouldnt I focus on the results ?

"Go ahead and focus on the results. As they say , Begin with the end in mind. Visualise the results. But don''t be attached to them." he continues, leaving me wondering more.

"Some examples may help you. Suppose you are a farmer and you want to get a bumper crop. The result is that you should get a very good yield.  You start out with the necessary preparations for the same. But some factors like a good rainfall , etc are not in your hands. Suppose , you want to ascertain a good rainfall this season and then only till the land and sow the seeds, you will be failing in your action."

Similarly , if a student gets attached to the result of scoring First Rank , only then will he sit for the exam , he may never appear for the exam.
Suppose you are travelling from Bangalore to Mumbai by car. You make sure your car is in good condition , brakes are fine , tyre pressures are checked, etc before starting out. Maybe you will also get a map and still some may get a weather report checked.Right ?"

I nod along , seemed logical.

But if you wait till the weather is perfect all along the way , there are no traffic pileups anywhere , then you may not get started only. That is attaching to results and failing to do your duty.
Seems fine , except that - We work for a company and expect a salary from that. Do you mean to say that we shouldn't expect anything in result for our work ?
Its not like that. People are paid for their value added by doing the work. That value addition is the result of your work and as the owner gets a benefit due to the additional value , he performs his duty by paying for it. So , focus on what value you can add while at work or anything else.  Working just for getting money and paying your bills is fine , but you are not meant to just pay your bills. There is a bigger purpose. Seek it.

I open my eyes. It's time to go back to my work. I start checking my emails and there is one from my client in US. He wants me to get a software tape release done ahead of plan. I think - "How can i add value to ensure my client gets his request completed ? I make changes to the Release plan and .... (The rest of the story is just my duty )

Am I ?

Am I working or am I playing ?

When I enjoy work , it becomes play.

Am I happy or am I sad ?

Both are states of my mind , one follows another

Am I dark or am I fair ?

Colours are for my skin , the soul is colourless

Am I good or am i bad ?

What is bad for one , maybe good for another.

Why these questions today, I asked myself

I dont know the answer, but just want to live in the question for a while

- prashanth rajarao

Happy Ugadi ! Welcoming Nandana

Tomorrow is Ugadi - the Hindu New Year according to the Lunar Calendar.. It is believed that Lord Brahma started his creation on this day - Chaitra month shudda padyami - also celebrated as Ugadi. Ugadi means "Yugada Adi" - the start of the new year. At this time of the year, there is fragrance of fresh Jasmine and of Mangoes. All the trees are blossoming and are filled with fresh leaves as its the onset of spring. In my home garden , we have a bumper crop of Jasmine ( snaps of which i have shared on my facebook profile, for those interested )

Ugadi festival is celebrated in Karnataka ,Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. In Maharashtra it is known as "Gudipadva". On this day, people wake up early ( before dawn ) , take a head bath (oil bath ) after which they decorate the main door step of their houses with a string of fresh mango leaves called "torana". Ladies also draw colorful floral designs called "Rangoli" in front of their houses. This is very common in almost every house in Karnataka and AP,more prevelant in the rural areas.


People worship God invoking HIS blessings on the new year. They pray for health, wealth and prosperity and success in business too. Ugadi is also the most auspicious time to start anything new - a new project , a new home , a new family , etc.


This year , we are moving from Khara nama samvatsara to Nandana nama samvatsara. In Lunar calendar , unlike the English calendar , all the years have a name and not just denoted by numbers like 2012, etc. What a wonderful concept and such precision in astrology we have inhertied from our forefathers !


Below is a short poem I wrote and want to share here :

Looking ahead , a bright and new life
Leaving behind , memories and sweet moments.

Time spent with nature's peaks
Trying to understand what it speaks

Some more time with my dear ones
Trying to understand what I mean

All these are now only in the past
It was good and I have not lost

Am not complaining , am not remorse
As I am thankful I got at least so much

Now, on to the new year with gust and zeal
This is life , it is only to be Lived.

I wish all of you and your family a very happy and prosperous Ugadi !

What do you feed your mind ?

There is a saying that goes "You become what you eat". This means that what we eat basically determines our nature. Its further said by one Naturopathic "You become what you retain in your body and don't excrete". So, what remains after digestion determines what we become. If these are to be believed , we get an understanding that what goes into our body constitutes ( at least to a major extent ) on what we become. The more healthy food we give , the more healthy is our body. Similarly, a body feeding on only tamasic food, deteriorates.

Extending this to more subtler aspects, what is important to the development of a good mind ? It can be said that "You become what you think". What thoughts goes on in your mind ? What do you feed your mind ? As its important to feed good and nourishing food for the development of the body , its equally important to feed good and positive thoughts to our mind.

Now , let us look at how this works.

We can imagine our mind to have two extremely powerful "Thought Channels". One of these Channels is tuned to the frequency called "Negative Thoughts" ( Channel N ) and other Channel is tuned to "Positive Thoughts" ( Channel P). Just as we tune our radio sets to a particular frequency , our mind has a Searcher which tunes to either of these two thought channels. Our mind also has a transmitter which can transmit thoughts on many channels including these two channels - N and P. Now , its important to remember that more we tune to any of these channels , the more strong they become over time.

A mind which worries constantly has fallen into the worry habit, because it has strengthened the Channel-N. Initially , it might have started as a small problem and we spent some time worrying on that problem. In the process , we tuned to Channel-N and fed it lump some amount of worry as mind-food. It became strong , ultimately making "worrying" a habit - a natural way of life.

On the contrary , think of the time when you accomplished something or achieved something close to your heart. You certainly achieved that by thinking positive about it. It maybe you might not have noticed the positivity but it surely was there. A simple , single thought like "Yes. I can do it" will trigger Channel-P. Once Channel-P is active , it gets more positive thoughts and within a short span of time , you are all charged up.

Easier said than done , some of you might feel. How do we feed our mind , only positive and reinforcing thoughts ? While I agree that we cannot have full control on our thougts , it is also true that we can develop a positive thought process.

Firstly , It is important to start the day with the Channel-P. Once we start the day with P, then you can notice many positive things around. A traffic congestion on the way to office was usually spent N-Channel earlier. But with awareness of the Channel-P , it becomes easy to accept the situation as an inevitable part of the commute and Channel-P will start looking for ways to overcome or better utilizing this. You may take an alternate route , you may start listening to good audio-books on the travel or simply relax listening to music. So , we have moved away from cursing the traffic to something more positive each day. Doing this for a month , will make your P-Channel stronger and over time you will start laughing at these little problems which seem no longer relevant. Your day is much better thanks to the P-Channel.


How do we start our day with Channel-P ? Just try out these assertions daily morning -

1) Today is going to be a wonderful day.
2) Today is the first day of the rest of my life. I will make the best of today.
3) Today , I will give 100% of myself to my work/hobby/passion/etc
4) I have planned to spend the evening with my wife/husband. I will not let anything upset this plan
5) Whatever happens today , I will stay on a positive attitude and will not carry over my worries.

With that , my friends , I will leave you to tune to your respective Channel-P !! Wish you all the best !!

A better tomorrow ?

A better tomorrow ?

Yes, If tomorrow comes.
Why not make a better today

Instead of waiting for someday ?

 

There is no way to happiness.

For , you yourself are happiness.

Circumstances are at the periphery

They may influence , but its momentary

 

Laughs and smiles are what makes life.

Keep smiling and spread it for miles.

A child who questions before being born

This post is from Srimad Bhagavatham.


When Uttara was pregnant bearing Abhimanyus child, she was followed by the brahmashirsha astra which was provoked by Ashwattama. Ashwattam , the brahmin had pronounced that "Let all pandavas generation be killed and let no one be left". Cursing thus , Ashwattama had invoked the astra. When Uttara approached Lord Krishna , He was able to see the power of the astra. He consoled Uttara and promised that He would protect the child.

Krishna entered the womb of Uttara and was there when the astra entered her to destroy the unborn child. The child saw a glow from the astra.It enveloped him and he felt that we was being burnt. Then , the child saw another divine form. The new form was the size of a thumb and he was beautiful , dressed with yellow silk and a crown on His head. There was a blue sheen. He had four arms, decked with bracelets. He held a mace (gadha) in one hand and the mace was spitting fire like a torch. He was going round and round the child and was holding the astra at bay thus protecting the child. For months he stayed like this insided the womb of Uttara and finally the powers of the astra was subsided and quelled. As the the full grown child was looking , He then vanished.

The child was born, leading to great rejoicing in city of Hastina and the child was named Vishnurata as the Vishnu himself protected him. But Krishna called him Parikshit since the child , even when he was in his mothers womb used to look at the form of Lord Vishnu and ask himself "Who is this wonderful person dressed in yellow silk , wearing this lovely garland , with gadha in hand. He is protecting me all the time. Who is he ?" He had begun to question the form of the Lord even before he was born !

A lovely girl and her dog

A narrow path up a small hillock

Trees on both sides , tall and green.

A small riverlet flowing on one side

The water is cold and sparkling clean

On reaching the top , we come to a small house

With lovely plants in its garden

Bearing colourful flowers dancing to the wind

Is there anyone inside, we wonder.

We go further the pathway leading to the house

There is no door, whats the use of bell ?

We knock on the wall thinking it should bring the owner

And wait for some time , being well mannered

We are still waiting , while there is a cry from inside

A small girl , we think, she might have seen us

But still no one comes out, that makes us curious

Waiting no more , we venture inside

The house smells of an enchanting fragrance

Once inside , we feel we are in a Bliss

There is a small girl all curly and cute

A small dog by her side, stares at us mute

I ask her whats her name ?

She smiles and says "Dont know".

The dog looks at us, but doesn't bark

I then woke up - it was still dark.

-prashanth rajarao

Who is He ?

Why is He making all the leaves to fall?

Only to make the trees grow them all ?

Who is He,who makes the earth go around the Sun?

He, who creates the many stars, and plays with them all.

 

Who put the colour in the Parrots feather?

Who is the Master, who controls the weather?

Who is the one who provides shelter to a bird?

During winds and storm , who takes care of His herd ?




Who puts the smile on the childs face ?
Who teaches her just to embrace?
Who is He , who takes care of all
Without discrimination , he feeds all


Who is He who is beyond time and space
Am nothing, and also everything - is feeling His grace
Who is the one , who makes a rainbow
Outside my window , to Him I bow


 

- prashanth rajarao

Beach Trek in Uttara Kannada

On Feb 11th and 12th ,2012 , YHAI , Bangalore had organised a trek in Uttara Kannada district. The first day was a trek for 10 kms near a place called "Sirsi". From here we went to the Unchalli Water Falls which is 5 kms from the nearest bus place called "Heggarini". The water falls is majestic and a climb down of 2 kms in rough moutain terrain brought us to the river. 

On Feb 12th , from Sunrise to Sunset , the trek took us from Bada beach to Gokarna beach, On the way , we passed through many beaches. We took a boat ride from Agnyashini to Thadadi. Near Thadadi is the Belekana beach which was our starting point for the 14 kms beach trek.  

The order of the beaches we passed enroute our trek programme are : 

• Belekana beach- Start of trek 
• Paradise Beach 
• Half moon beach : We stopped over for lunch at this place 
• Om beach 
• Kudla beach 
• Gokarna beach- End of trek

From Gokarna beach , we took a bus to Ankola from where we boarded our bus back to Bangalore.

The experince was wonderful. Two days in the midst of nature. First day , encountering the challenges of the forest trek , Second day was more exhaustive as the sun was hot on the beaches and was a rocky climb across the beaches. The experience was thrilling and awesome. The places were very scenic and the terrain was rocky near the beaches.Adding to that , a simply wonderful group of people made the trek program really interesting and memorable.



Benefits of trekking

Am listing below some of the benefits of trekking. Of course this is a partial list and more to be experienced : 

• Recreational - both for body and mind.
• See new places
• Great stress buster
• Meet like minded people 
• Face unknown challenges en-route and overcome them- gives a mental high !
• Good exercise - burns fat 
• Increases energy levels ( and also hunger levels ) 
• Fights insomnia - you fall asleep in seconds after a days trek 
• Learn to love Nature and be with nature 
• If trekking is near a water-hole , you can enjoy a dip or swim 
• Feels great to walk/climb on mother earth in natural surroundings
• Scope for developing hobbies - Great for photography , bird watching , travelling , etc

And the list goes on ....



Sun rise near Kumta



Experience trekking to Enjoy life !

Of Memory

Searching the word "Memory" in the internet would give the reader many stuff to improve memory , many tricks to help the storage and retrieval problem. I also stumbled upon an audio book which i sometimes listen "How to improve your memory". The author ( or speaker as its audio book ) suggest many tricks including breaking the the words or names you want to remember into smaller words , linking them to an object , etc ,etc .. Go and hear it .. its interesting.

While many time we brood over the past events , sometime we also enjoy living in the past. This is all good and makes my memory sharp. Also my dad used to say , remembering good things does make me happy. Yes, indeed , it makes me happy when I remember the good time spent spent with old friends and family members. All that is good to some extent.What if I try to remember some past event which was painful ? Doing this would make me relive the painful moments also.Then , am i any better remembering them ? I think we should take the lessons from that and move on in life forgetting some of the past. Come to think of it , maybe thats why God gave us memory problems :-)

Lyrics of Pillangoviya

pillangoviya chelva krishnana elli nodidiri l


rangana elli nodidiri l

elli nodidaralli tanilla dillavendu balla janare ll


nandagopana mandirangala sandu gondinali l

chanda chandada gopa balara vrunda vrundadali l

sundarangada sundariyara hindu mundinali l

andadakala kanda karugala mande mandeyali ll


Sri gurukta sada sumangala yoga yogadali l

Agamartha dolage maduva yaga yagadali l

Srige bhagyanagi vartipa boga bogadali l

bhagavataru sada hadi paduva raga ragadali ll



i chara charadolage janangala ache icheyali l

kecharendrana sutana rathada achcha pithadali l

nachade madhava keshava emba vacha kangalali l

pichukondada purandara vittalana lochanagradali ll

The four goals of Life

With four arms , HE shows us
A Gadha , A Chakra , A Shanku and A Padma

 Each having its own meaning
Gadha denotes constraint of desires

 Chakra is the Dharma Chakra
Removing Adharma and maintaining Dharma


Shanku is the symbol of Prosperity
Its Lakshmi , who is the first devotee


Padma is the lotus
Which denotes peace and non attachment


These four also stand for the four goals
Dharma , Artha , Kama and Moksha


Choose any or all of them,
Shri Hari bestows to the sincere seeker


You may not get it all at once
It may take years or many lives


Strange are the ways of Divine
These four goals are for the mundane


For His greatest devotee , Shri Hanuman
None of these, desired the mighty Pavamana


He said "I dont want any of these four,
All I want is you , Shri Ram!"

- prashanth rajarao