A sage in the making

I'm back to Bindra again; I wonder how many of u read the news clipping on his'views on life'.

It was just truly remarkable of him to say that he feels his life is wasted on 'just shooting'!! . If a person who has achieved something historical in his sphere of activity realises at such young age that there is more to life than just sports, and regrets that he has'wasted ' his life just shooting, where are we???

INDIAN of the week!

Who else but Bindra!! Not just 'cause he has done the country proud with a Gold; his equanimity at the hour of pride is simply remarkable to say the least.

A marvel of A sportsman from the land of Gita.Sadly we also have the likes of sreeshanth,Harbhajan...

diary worth keeping

I read recently an article in Matruvani(Mata Amrutanandamayi's Ashram publication)which i share below for the benefit of u all. I tried to follow but failed miserably ;may be one of u might ...I am sure anyone who cares to spend a few minutes at the end of day to write it out would surely be a better person in life in very short time. May be u could try...Here comes the article -

AMRITA DIARY

By Dr. SIVAMRITA CHAITANYA

Every day, read and contemplate these guidelines. When you make your daily entry, write the date and respond to as many of the 24 guidelines as are applicable that day. If a day’s notes exceed a page, continue on the next one. If they fall short of a page, continue the next day from where you have stopped. Please pay special attention to the questions you are continuously leaving blank, perhaps considering them irrelevant. Only if we are true to our heart and persist in our efforts will we be triumphant in life.

What is my supreme aspiration in life? (Express in fewest words. Be clear and specific. Write the aspiration every day without fail.)

1. What is the immediate goal to be realized in order to achieve my supreme aspiration? (i.e. precise goal to be achieved within the next few years. Write the same thing daily until it is attained or the period is over.)
2. The effort I put forth to materialize my supreme aspiration. (Every day, do something helpful to realize your dreams, and state precisely what you have done.)
3. The effort I put forth to materialize my immediate goal.
4. A good deed I did to help others. (Mention all relevant details.)
5. Any help I received from others. (Specify the name of the person who has helped, and how it was helpful.)
6. What did I do for my own good without regard to my likes or comforts?
7. Physical exercise (like walking, jogging, hatha yoga, cycling, manual labour or housework.)
8. Emotional exercise (Describe attempts to conquer tamasic qualities like anger, laziness, despair, envy, hatred and anxiety, and nurture satvic qualities like joy, contentment, enthusiasm, humility, attention and awareness.)
9. Intellectual exercise (What did I study, memorize, write or contemplate upon?)
10. My prayer of the day. Did it include a heartfelt wish for the removal of pain or sorrow in someone who is neither related to me nor is my friend? (A prayer is a loving whisper from one’s heart to God. Each day, lot the words of prayer be ever new and fresh like a newly blossomed flower.)
11. Did I scorn, speak ill or complain about anyone or any situation? (Write the exact words used and name the persons involved. Resolve not to use such hurtful language.)
12. Did I console or cheer anyone? (Try to record those responses that come from the heat.)
13. What happened today that will be worth recollecting even after many years? Or what was the most interesting event of the day? Did I hear, read or experience anything funny, wise, thought - provoking, poignant and/or poetic?
14. Time spent without any thought (i.e. meditating relaxing). (Waiting patiently for divine intuition with a silent mind is one form of meditation. Another form is endless enjoyment of the name or form of the beloved deity or Guru.)
15. What worry is currently dominating my mind? If my best friend were facing this problem, how would I comfort him/her? Is it something that may happen in the future or something that has already happened? If so, is there any use in worrying about it? Can I change it through self effort? Is it a petty issue?
16. Did any of the day’s failures or tragedies provide me with a deeper insight into life? (If yes, write the details and mention the insight.)
17. Did I commit any mistake today? What did I do today to correct it? What have I done to ensure I will not repeat it?
18. Did I share with anyone any of my abilities, knowledge or resources in some way or other? (What we give today sows the seeds of what we reap tomorrow. Anyone desirous of success should give prime importance to this point.)
19. Was I punctual? Did I fulfill my commitments? Did I waste time? (Unlike money, time cannot be regained when lost.)
20. Was I able to keep my mind happy and peaceful under all circumstances? Was I able to talk to everyone with a smile? (Cheerfulness is an attitude of mind. A smile is the best ornament to enhance beauty, maintain one’s youthful luster and win over enemies. It is a priceless gift.)
21. Did I take anything extra from nature or society, or did I waste anything (like water, electricity, food or fuel)?
22. Was I able to maintain control with regard to food? While eating, was I able to maintain remembrance of God? (Control includes not eating or drinking anything that it is harmful to our health.)
23. Did I set aside some time to maintain silence or be fully aware of each thought, word, breath and action?

This article touches upon all aspects of an individual's life-be it body ,mind,emotions ,society atlarge and most importantly soul. I tried coloring to segregate aspects may be others could continue the exercise...

the mobile mania

Many might say we southerners are rigid folks with conservative mind set up that is difficult to change/adapt... like the way we vociferously refuse to accept a language despite being aware of advantages it brings along.( That by itself is a thought that calls for contemplation ...let us think aloud on that later.)What is reality ? Nay, we all are childish enough to obsessively cling on to anything new..here in this case technology. I wonder if anywhere else in the world mobile business would be such a hit like in T.N! U can' t walk 100 ft without sighting a person speaking on the mobile...we talk n talk incessantly oblivious of surroundings and still there is so much talk of 'communication gap' amongst families ,friends n neighbors despite huge telephone bills!

this tiny instrument has taken away from us all manners courtesy ..what not!!I am reminded of an article in F.T a couple of months back about priests speaking on the phone while doing Homam . We all must have a mute witness to such scenes many times in past. But not any longer. I feel we should politely tell them to switch it off before starting or atleast put on silent mode . We ourselves do it at home... don't we? Howmany times would we have stopped our puja to take a call ! Let us all take a solemn pledge to put it in silent mode before prayer time after all we do it while we are in a meeting /at college . Prayer is our personal n intimate time with our Creator .should we not give equal respect if not more than we give to another mortal slightly better than us in some way. When we practice it ourselves we won't hesitate to tell the priest to put it off when we do homam at home.

Thanks siva for gently reminding me to take time off to do what i like doing.

Friends,those of you who hav not yet enjoyed the magazine 'Frozen Thoughts"do get hold of a copy of it today and preserve for posterity. It is slightly pricey but worth every rupee. I wud love to share back issues of it to those who need it.

Time for little literature stuff...

Let me now share a poem i enjoyed reading recently

I died from minerality and became vegetable;

And from vegetativeness I died and became animal.

I died from animality and became man.

Then why fear disappearance through death?

Next time I shall die

Bringing forth wings and feathers like angels;

After that ,soaring higher than angels-

What you cannot imagine,

I shall be that.

Rumi

Thught for the day

watch our thoughts while alone ;watch our words when in a crowd That way we could have control over mind and tongue which in turn would relieve us of many self-inflicted hurts and problems

the week that was

From picture to pilgrimage to discourse by Swami Sukhabodananda on Gita ,it was Govinda all the way.And it was swift as well be it the movie or darshan at Tirumala.May be u can say the difference is that in the earlier Perumal shuttles from here to there whereas in the latter we ran the race. But i should say there was huge difference between screams of Govinda in the 'Q' and ecstatic chants of Govinda by Shri. O.S.Arun at the discourse.

for the benefit of our young friends and why for that matter also to test my memory skills,i try out a recap of the Gita lecture by Corporate guru Swami Sukhabhodananda .He calls mind a liar,deceiver what not.. 'cause it does all the damage in interpreting fact differently.He highlighted the need of intellect to sift the real from the interpretations the mind has to offer. He segregates people in to 3 types-those who live in past,those who always keep planning for future n those who are lost in the present moment. It is necessary to obtain a right mix of the 3-that is.. use past experience , to strategise for future while focus should be on present.It is necessary for the mind to be present to the 'present'(live the present with awareness?) and be conscious of it always.

So much for the previous week. This week has begun with a visit to srikalahasti and Gita lecture by Smt.Sunandaji .

this can happen only here

The other day while on walk along singara chennai roads we noticed strange bedfellows!
A krishna temple on the platform and a laborer's home a few feet away. Nothing new n strange for that matter,right?
What separated the two was a garbage bin full to the brim not to mention the dogs n crows competing to have their share of the leftover. YOu can well imagine the stench associated with such a place.

I have no doubt who is the most "fortunate" /unfortunate of the lot i got to see ...GOD !!!

A genius of a devotee must have thought it fit to place Him right next to his own people('Hari'jan)Sheer Humiliation!! All of us who patronize such roadside temples do the same. don't we?

Jokes apart,what do v do with the likes of such devotees who neither think before building /offering worship at such places .Stop supporting such places of worship. If worship in such places we must, let us atleast clean up the surroundings 'for god's sake' What do u think? தெய்வ நிந்தனை விட இது கேவலம் இல்ல?

Hi!!

Hi all,

Here I am to share our(elan's and mine who else!)thought lines on what we see,hear n read with like-minded(?!)folks .

we wud be glad if u 2 respond and also come up with your own 4 us to mull over.

shall start off with what v saw on sunday last during our evening walk...well...may be 2morrow?