Practise Shreddha and Steadfastness - II

As promised last week, here is another story of a small boy who was steadfast in his thought and pursued his efforts with Shreddha.
Once upon a time, there was a person by name Vajashrava who wished to accumulate punyam by giving away alms to the poor. So he arranged for a big yaagam and at the end of it planned to give alms to the poor. He asked his servants to get weakest and old cows from his yard. He had a small son by name Nachiketa who was observing that. He could see that those cows are old enough to give milk, neither they can be used for farming nor can be used for other purposes.

Nachiketa is a boy who is well versed in Shastras and possess staunch faith on them. He learns humbly from his Guru and pursues his orders with utmost sincerity. On seeing his father's actions, he was reminded of the Shastra knowledge he learnt, where it is mentioned that "One must always give away good things to others and the gifts a person give should be useful to others. Also, those things that are  liked by us should be given to others, which will subdue our sense of attachment."

So he told his father "Father, why are you giving old and weak cows to poor people? Those cows are not going to be of any useful to them. Though you think it as a way to acquire punyam(virtue), it is in fact papam(sin), to give such gifts to poor people. Please do not do that". Vajashrava replied "My son you are of small age and so you cannot understand these acts of the world. If I give away all the healthy cows of mine, how will I earn money and livelihood in the future. So let me continue doing this daanam(charity)". Worried Nachiketa thought for a while and told "Father, Shastras also mention, that children are the greatest wealth of a parent. You can give away me and get punyam. To whom will you give me?"

Vajashrava was busy in his work and did not heed his words. Nachiketa kept asking him repeatedly "To whom will you give me"? Vajashrava got angry and told "Go away, I give you to Yama". Nachiketa took these words seriously and in order to adhere to his father's words started his way to meet Yama, Lord of Death.

With his streadfast faith and shastra abhyas (practice), he crossed the Vaitarani nadi, which great sages find difficult to cross and reached Yamaloka. While he reached the doors of Yamaloka, he came to know that Yama Dharmaraaja was not in Yamaloka and waited behind the doors. After three days, Yama Dharmaraaja on his return to Yamaloka saw the small boy waiting behind his doors for three days without food and water. He felt bad for not serving his guest with due honor. He along with his wife Yami, welcomed him, provided him a seat and gave him food and water. He then spoke to him "My son, I am very sorry for keeping you wait behind my doors without any food or water. I was failed to perform my duties towards a guest and hence to cleanse my papam (sin) please ask three boons from me".

Nachiketa was happy to hear those words from Yama Darmaraaja himself and asked, "My father would be angry on me, because I left him in order to keep up his words. So please grant me the first boon that my father should not be angry on my return and should be always happy" . Dharmaraaja was happy to hear his self-less wish and then asked for the other two.

Nachiketa continued "I would like to be blessed with Vigyanam (scientific knowledge) by you". "Granted" told Dharmaraaja. Nachiketa then continued "Shastras say that a man is reborn again and again like a crop being grown and harvested. But those who attain Atmagyana are able to cross over this cycle. So can you teach me the ways to attain Atmagyana". Dharmaraaja was taken away on hearing this third boon and hesitated for a while as Atmagyana can be taught to only befitting people. So Dharamaraaja replied "My son, you are of small age and not in a position to learn that. You can ask any other things like health, kingship of this world, unparalleled  wealth etc". However Nachiketa remained steadfast in his desire to learn Atmagyana and uttered "I am not interested in anything else other than learning Atmagyana verily from you, Dharmaraaja".

On seeing Nachiketa's unshakable faith, he started teaching him Atmagyana. This story is from Katho Upanishad where Dharmaraaja teaches Nachiketa the ways to attain Atmagyana.

This story reveals steadfast faith and efforts with shreddha will surely yeild success. This story also emphasizes the way guests have to be treated and also the bhava (intention or mindstate) behind giving alms to the poor. As mentioned here, we should give those things that will be useful to others.

On a careful read of Dhruva and Nachiketa's story, we could find that both boys when confronted with rejection of their desire and thought, did not react with despair. They in turn provided the due respect for their parents and elders and at the same time tried other good ways to pursue their desires and thoughts.
This is an important quality to be cultivated to our children; not to despair or react badly during rejection, but to evolve as a person with integrity and find other ways to achieve their desire.


This story of Nachiketa is also referenced in this story: http://meinall.blogspot.com/2011/04/implied-meaning-of-lord-krishnas-pranks.html

Having listened to the story of small boy Nachiketa, we can enjoy this small boy's beautiful rendition of carnatic krithi "Pibare Ramarasam" by Sadasiva Brahmendra.

Pibare Rama Rasam

By Sadashiva Brahmendrar

Ragam Aahir Bhairavi, Thala AAdhi
Pallavi
Pibare rama rasam, rasane Pibare Rama Rasam

Charanam
1. Doorikrutha pathaka samsargam,
pooritha nana vidha phala vargam.
2. Janana marana bhaya shoka vidhooram,
Sakala shastra nigamagama saram
3. Pariplalitha sarasija garbhandam,
Parama pavithree krutha pasandam.
4. Sudha paramashrama ashrama githam,
Shuka shaunaka kaushika mukha peetam

English Translation
Pallavi
Drink the nectar of Rama, Oh connoisseur, Drink the nectar of Rama.
Charanam
1. Which removes the society of sinners
And fills you up with the fruits of many types.
2. Which removes the fear and sorrow of death and birth,
And which is the essence of all holy books including Vedas.
3. Which is the egg that looks after Lord Brahma,
And which makes you extremely pure.
4. Which is the pure music of sages in their Ashram,
And which can be heard from the face of,
Sages like Shuka, Shaunaka and Kaushika.

Story references: http://www.celextel.org/
http://www.moralstories.wordpress.com/

Lyrics courtesy: http://www.celextel.org/

Our Visit To Tallinn

It was a wonderful trip to Tallinn during the Easter long weekend. It was planned by us in a short notice, however things fall in place by God's blessings. The entire trip was enjoyable as they were sunny days and so a great salutations to Lord Surya (Sun God).
We started on April 22nd morning from Tampere and by the time we reach the harbour of Linda Line it was around 10.30 AM. Our ferry is at 12 and it started drizzling which slowly turned to rain showers. I was praying Lord Surya to bless our trip with sunny days and yes, he answered it. The rains were only during our ferry travel and by the time we reach Tallinn it was sunny. Barathraam enjoyed the ferry travel. We took a taxi to our guest house which was cheaper when compared to Tallinn. We stayed at Valge Villa and the hosts are very cordial. The rooms were good with small, well-equipped kitchen except for the kreeech sound from the wooden floors.
We refreshed ourselves and set out to have a look at the city. Tallinn has good public transport by buses, trolley bus (running on electric lines) and trams and also has good frequency even during easter weekend. It is cheaper to take one/two or 3 days tickets rather than single travel tickets. We got it at R-Kiosks. We took trolley bus 3 and get down at Vabaduse Valjak. We visited the Old town, the famous Toompea Castle and the Russian church (we found it good to visit church on Good Friday). Its worthy to mention that those streets and the place is a mixture of ancient heritage with a modern outlook. To my surprise we saw some Indian restaurants too in the middle of the Freedom Square. Need to say, that there is a large crowd of people at Tallinn in every corner we saw, seams like a real tourist destination. Tourist books speak about a place called Katharina Kaik as a famous passage and we paid a visit there.. (Wonder whats it?? Namma oor santhu (The narrow street in our places!) ). I read that Rottermann square is a place for cheap shopping and we went there. But to my disappointment I found eveything to be as costly as in Finland. It may be because Estonia has adopted Euro as its currency from 1st Jan, 2011. We then got the trolley bus and reached our guest house.

The next morning, as we woke up the sun shined brightly and we got ready to visit Tallinn Zoo. I was hoping that Barathraam will enjoy it as he has started recognizing animals and birds. We took the trolley bus connection 3 from our Tedre bus stop to Vabaduse Valjak  and then got to the other side and took trolley bus number 6 and got down at Zoo. We were happy to see many children entering along with us.  The Zoo was really nice with many different collections of birds, tiget, lion, fishes, elephant, deer and also strange species like Kangaroos, Polar Bear etc. It did has a vast open space for a variety of sheeps and goats. Barathraam got tired in the mid and slept while we covered most of the species and thought of giving some rest to our legs.
Whenever I visit Zoo, I get a guilty feeling on our human approach towards animals. Though we give enough space for the animals to roam, it cannot be matched to the space given to it by Nature. I really felt bad on seeing a big Polar bear walking exactly on the same path again and again within a fenced area. If a living being is constrained within walls it will surely lose its originality.


Then we thought of getting some details about the museums in the tourist information centre and visited Viru Keskus, the shopping centre in the town center. We decided to pay visit to the science museums for family and kids. It had few exhibits on science principles, the 4D movie and some journey in black. We did not visit 4D movie and the journey in black. But otherwise, there was not much to see in the museum when compared to science museums in India. I personally felt that the entrance fee is a bit costlier for the exhibits in the museum. We then returned back to our cage.

Next day, we planned to visit the open air museum ROCCA AL MARE which had many special events for the Easter on that day. From the map we found it to be just opposite side of Zoo and got down in the same stop as we did the day before. But we could not locate the place easily and after we enquiries we came to know that it is in a road parallel to the zoo and we had to walk 20 minutes to that place from Zoo stop. When you plan to visit that place, see the correct route from the map. We were surprised to see the number of cars and people entering the museum and thought it should be a special day there. As we stepped in, we were welcomed by trade fairs from rural communities. All products starting from soaps, chocolates, breads and toys to clothes and crafts. We were surprised to observe Barathraam not willing to come away from a shop selling wooden cars and wanted to have it. This was the first time he demanded something to be bought for him and I am sure it will continue from now. We then saw traditional village houses which had rooms for cattles and livestock. I was amazed to see a room with a bed and a cradle, almost similar to "thottil" (cradle in Tamil). The picture of it is here. It reminded me that different cultures have similar traditions during the course of time. There was another example for it in the museum. It was the water juice coming from the birch tree. A passer-by mentioned that during Spring, the birch tree absorbs water from the ground and pumps to the whole part of the tree and by having a hole in the stem will let some water juice coming out. We all could taste that, which ofcourse is full of health benefits (like our palm water taken from palm tree.)

We ate food prepared by us and then saw some village games played during Spring in Estonian culture. I also got planted two plants with the help of the village girls there. It was a nice Spring festival and we could enjoy the Estonian traditional way in a true sense. In the evening we met our friend Venki and his friend. We all went to the Kadriorg lake, but we could not visit the palace as it was closed already. We took Barathraam to the park there and he enjoyed playing there a lot and did not want to come out of it. Somehow we persuaded him to take him away from there.

Next and the last day, we went to the botanical garden. We took bus no 34A (also 38) from Viru Keskus and got down at Kloostrimetsa. The botanical garden was big and hosted many plant varieties. Rock garden welcomed us and I could see people planting flower plants. We went to the "Green House" which was very big. We could see most of the flower varieties, plants, trees and cactus family. It was a real bliss to be there, for its a long time since I saw such a green place.. (Yes, we were in Finland watching snow all these days!!)
I am surprised to see coconut, palm and banana tree there. They had some groups from the schools and an instructor explained all of the trees and their collections. We talked to the instructor and could see that the instructor is part of ISKCON and she bid adieu to us saying "Hare Krishna". Barathraam enjoyed seeing the plants and also having his hand in the soil. Below are some photos from the "Green House".

Banana tree

A cactus family (Mother, Father and their younger ones).

This plant is named "Krishnae" and is found in India, Himalayas!

Doesn't this plant look like having two eyes, two long ears and a big mouth?

This is how they give sunlight to the plants during winter. They have artificial sunlight and air circulation conducive for the plants growth.

Flowers planted outside

And, Here is our little Barathraam enjoying the Nature.

On the whole, it was a leisure trip enjoyable with the blessings of God.

If you want any details about visiting Tallinn, I can give my two cents.

Practise Shreddha and Steadfastness

Last two weeks we heard story on how important is practicing and internalizing.
This week we can listen to a story on how to practice and pursue our efforts.
Our scriptures has outlined it simply as "Shreddha" in Sanskrit, which means being confident and steadfast with complete faith on God. This story is about a small boy who remained a Pole star as a result of his efforts with Shreddha.

Most of  us are aware of Pole star, which is a bright start above North Pole and also remains in the same position when viewed from different parts of earth. In Indian legend, this star is called as "Dhruva Nakshatra" named after the small boy Dhruva. So, here goes the story on how the small boy turned into a bright Star!

There was a King by name Uttanapada and he had a wife Suniti. As they did not have any offspring, the King married Surichi, who gave birth to Uttama. Soon after Suniti also got conceived. Surichi got afraid that her son might not get into the throne, made some plot and moved Suniti away from the Royal Court. Suniti lived away from the Royal Court and gave birth to Dhruva.

Dhruva as he grow, learnt many good qualities from her mother and other noble people  visiting their house. When he was around five years old, he constantly nagged his mother asking who is his father. One day Suniti told that his father is the King of this country and on hearing this Dhruva wanted to see him. Suniti dressed up Dhruva as a Royal Prince and sent to the Royal Court to see his father. However, she instructed him to only see his father and not to speak to anyone in the Royal Court. Anxious Dhruva waved his head and ran towards the Court.

The moment he entered the Royal Court, being a Prince by birth, he walked gracefully towards the centre and was very happy to see his father sitting majestically on the throne.  Being a small boy, he wished to sit on the lap of his father and approached towards him. The King inquired about his whereabouts and was happy to see his son after many years. While Dhruva was about to sit on his father's lap, Surichi came and pushed him away saying, "You should have born to me if you want to sit on his lap". The small boy Dhruva did not expect this treatment, but decided to go away. As his mother taught him, before leaving the place, he bowed to his father and small mother Surichi as they are elders to be respected.

Dhruva then went weeping towards his mother Suniti and explained the happenings. Suniti was sad on hearing it and told that though he cannot sit on the lap of his father who is the King of this country, he can gain a permanent place in the heart of the King of this Universe, who is the Lotus-eyed Lord Vishnu. The moment she uttered those words, Dhruva bid farewell to her saying "Matha, as you told, I will go and search the King of the Universe, Sri Vishnu and get a permanent place for us".

Dhruva went out to the forest and roamed all around. He asked all trees, plants, animals and other living beings in the forest, whether they know the lotus-eyed King of Universe. Silence was the reply from everyone. He did not get deterred and wandered more and ate whatever he got along the side. Seeing this Rishi Narada came and blessed him saying "Oh My son Dhruva, I am pleased with your determination to see Lotus-eyed King of Universe. However you cannot see him by wandering, but have to sit in Padmasana and meditate on him by chanting the mantra "OM NAMO BHAGAVATE VASUDEVAYA". Please carry out this procedure with your confidence and determination and you will surely see the Lotus-eyed King of Universe. He did the same for sometime and one day Lotus-eyed Lord Vishnu appeared before him and told him "My son Dhruva, I am pleased with your shreddha bhakti towards Me. Please ask what boon you want". Dhruva did not have anything to be asked for except to be with the Lord always. Lord Vishnu then granted him a permanent place with him as a Pole Star and hence the pole star is named as Dhruva.

There are many morals that can be learnt from this story.

Sage Narada guiding Dhruva with the mantra and a procedure illustrates that, if one is determined in their effort then God will bless us with a path to proceed and make our efforts fruitful. 

Perseverance is not related with age, as a small boy like Dhruva can do efforts with utmost Shreddha.

One may be rejected by some of his own kith and kin and friends, but if he is determined, he can reach skies, as Dhruva became the Pole star.

This Barathiyar song sung by Yesudas strikes our heart directy with a message "to be determined".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L90cvNSYXdo

Next week we can listen to another small boy who showed steadfastness and Shreddha.

Importance of Mantra Upadesam

As promised here is a humorous story on the importance of uttering words from a person who has internalized it!

There was a Pandit by name Chandrasekar who was a member in the court of King Nanda. He was a good friend of King Nanda. One day King Nanda on his way to hunting, crossed Chandrasekar's home and thought of paying a visit to his friend's home. When he entered, Chandrasekar's wife was surprised. She greeted him and offered seat and told him that Chandrasekar is performing his daily pooja and will be completing within few minutes. The King could see Chandrasekar chanting some mantra and finally completed his pooja. Chandrasekar was very happy on seeing the King visiting his home and welcomed him. The King asked him what Mantra he was chanting. Chandrasekar replied that his Guru has blessed him with a mantra to chant everyday to lead a healthy life. The King asked his friend to tell that mantra so that he can also chant everyday.

But Chandrasekar replied, "O King, this mantra upadesam has to be given by a Guru who has mastered it and being a novice, I cannot do the mantra upadesam to you."

Eventhough the King insisted him to tell the mantra, Chandrasekar replied that the mantra will not have effect if it is not duly learnt from a Guru and refused to tell him.

The King felt his words disrespectful and furiously told "Come and meet me in the court tomorrow"

Chandrasekar thought deeply on how to face the King tomorrow and escape from his punishment, while at the same time not telling him the mantra.

Next morning, Chandrasekar entered the court and made a bow before the King. He saw the security people and with a loud voice ordered them as
"Go and put the handcuffs to the King". "He has involved in many wrongdoings that affects the citizens of his nation"

The King, Members of the court and the people were shocked by his statements. The security people did not react to his words and the King immediately ordered his security people as
"Go and put the handcuffs to the Pandit".

Immediately the security persons arrested the Pandit. Now Chandrasekar bowed before the King and told

"We both uttered the same words "Go and put handcuffs", however the security persons obeyed yours while they did not react when I ordered them. This is a simple incident to prove, that words are not mere words and carry momentum based on who says so and with what intention. Similarly only a Guru who has internalized and mastered a Mantra can do upadesam and only then it will have an effect on us when we chant."

Let us all pray God to show us our Guru who could help us in our efforts.

This is a soul stirring song by Maestro Ilayaraja on our JagadGuru Adi Shankaracharya.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nj5nx4ywkYQ

Words from me

There are umpteen things that might interests you in this high-tech world..
What matters finally is what you do - which really shows what you are interested in!

I am still searching mine..
Let me know if you have any!
If you are passionate about your interests, do drop in your comments for my post on Drop Outs!

@Anusha - I have posted my short movie here as I could not add it to the comments section. Hope you will like it :)

Practise and Preach

Saints advices us what they practice and only those words have its effect on the people. This is evident from the below story.
Guru Ramakrishna Paramahamsa used to spend sometime daily in meeting his devotees and blessing them. Once a lady along with her son came to meet him. The lady told to Guru that his son used to eat sweets everyday which is not good for his health, and hence pleaded him to advice his son on that. Guru after having a smile at the boy, told the lady to come after two weeks.After two weeks the lady visited Guru along with her son. This time, the Guru recognised them and asked the boy to come near him. He then told the boy that it is not to good to eat sweets daily as it would affect his growing teeth and body. Also, he added, that if he eats sweets daily, their parents have to spend more on sweets and thus could not get him good books or clothes. Finally he patted the boy and asked "So when do you eat sweets from now?" and the boy replied "I am a good boy and eat sweets occasionally". Saying this the boy ran outside.

The lady is happy for she knows that her son likes the Guru a lot and would want to adher his words to him. But she wondered why her Guru did not say these words when they came first time and asked the same to the Guru.



Guru replied "When you came first time, I used to daily eat sweets brought by the devotees. How can I advice your son not to do something, when I myself doing it daily?

From that day I stopped eating sweets and that gave me the strength and power to advice him on not eating sweets. And I am sure, that made him understand quickly why eating sweets is bad. Only when we preach what we practice, are our words full of sincerity and appeal to the listener"



It may appear to us just as telling words, but whatever we utter will have real effect only when we internalize those words within us. Hence we all should learn to practice and then preach.

We will listen to another humourous story on this topic next week!



A lighter song this week.. As soon as I think about children and sweets, I am reminded of the ever enjoyable "Jelabi" advertisement of our childhood.

Here it iswww.youtube.com/watch?v=mk8Z0WbSWV0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8VEaPjeLhQ

Enjoy!

Story Courtesy: www.balsanskar.com

Secret behind Hanuman's power

Secret Behind Hanuman's power:

This week we can listen to a story of Lord Rama, remembering his Janmadina on April 12th, Tuesday.
Hanuman the ardent devotee of Lord Rama expounds that all his valorous deeds are possible only because of chanting Rama Nama. He is the one who crossed the ocean with formidable courage and belief. As we pitch in to do any activity, we would be faced with many obstacles. So it is with Hanuman. He faced many obstacles while he crosses the ocean. Soon after he took off from Rameshwaram with a resounding "Jai Seetha Raam", he found a mountain rising up on his path and blocking his way. As he approached nearer, the mountain spoke to him "Namaste Hanuman. I am mountain Mainaka. I know that you are travelling to Lanka in search of Seetha. This ocean being very long of more than 100 Yojanas (an ancient metric), I offer you to have a short stay here and boost up your energy. It is every individual's duty to serve Aditi (Guest) and that too for a Rama messenger, I feel blessed to serve you. Please accept my offer."



Hanuman who started fiercely, did not want to get halted by this offer and want to reach Lanka as early as possible. Hence he replied, "Dhanyawad Mainaka. I am sorry that I cannot abide your offer now as Rama Karya is of utmost important than my rest. However I can just touch you with my hands, and acknowledge your Aditi Seva." Saying this he continued his fierce jump again.



Next came a big snake called Surasa, blocking his way. She yelled at Hanuman saying ,"Oh, Hanuman. I got a boon from Brahma that all beings going by this side has to enter my mouth once and can then cross the place. So now its your turn." Saying so, she opened her big mouth.



Hanuman replied, "Naga Matha, I am going for an important Rama Karya, once it gets completed, I will come and enter into your mouth". But Surasa did not accept that. So Hanuman doubled his size than Surasa, seeing that Surasa grew bigger than him. Hanuman quadrupled his size and again Surasa grew bigger. While Surasa grewing bigger than Hanuman every time, suddenly to Surasa's surprise Hanuman shrink his body to the size of a thumb, entered into Surasa's very big mouth and came out the next moment. Surasa now paved way for Hanuman and appreciated his wise action.



As Hanuman further travelled, he found his speed getting dragged down by some force. After looking around, he found a demoness residing in ocean which attracted his shadow and thus slowed down his speed (This incident proves the existence of Bermuda Triangle). She rose up and blocked the way of Hanuman. Hanuman recognized her enormous strength, so took a small size and entered into her body through her mouth. He then pierced her organs and came out of her stomach, thus tearing her into pieces.



Hanuman after winning over these obstacles multiplied his speed and landed on a mountain in Lanka. While we read this a story, a meticulous observation will provide insight on how we have to handle obstacles.

1. Hanuman faced hospitality which indeed is a hindrance (not an obstacle) to his Rama Karya through Mainaka. He won that with his persistence character.

2. He has to abide by Brahma's boon of Surasa, and at the same time should not get trapped. He won that obstacle by his wise action.

3. Recognizing Simhika as a powerful demoness, he won her by his valour and strength.



And, at the end, he attributes his prowess to the Rama Nama that he chants.



Similarly we all will face many difficulties and obstacles when we take up some efforts. As Hanuman displayed, it is important to win over each obstacle either by our character, wisdom or strength and we can get the power by chanting Rama Nama.



As Meera Bai sings in this song, there is no other valuable other than Rama Nama.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUqA69N_0MM - By Dr. Lata Mangeshkar


paayoji mainne ram ratan dhan paayo - 2

Vastu amolik dil mera sataguru - 2
kripaa kari apnaavo (payo ji maine)

janam janam ki punji paal - 2
jag mein sakhovaayo (payo ji maine)

kharcha na koi chor na lutai - 2
din din badhat savayo (payo ji maine)

sat ki naav khevatiya satguru - 2
bhavsagar taravayo (payo ji maine)

meera ke prabhu giridhar nagar - 2
harash harash jas gaayo (payo ji maine)

Story: Taken from Sundara Kandam of Ramayana
Lyrics Courtesy: www.hindilyrix.com