Most people are afraid of solitude...Not having a friend or a partner or family with you all the time is something many people cannot imagine. But doesn't solitude have a beauty of its own? In fact if you consider this is in a philosophical way we come to the world on our own (unless we are one of the twins/triplets!), go from this world on our own and when we sleep (ie more than one third of our life time), we are on our own (not sure until we wake up)...
Solitude, I meant is not complete isolation or loneliness or complete lack of social contact. Infact on the contrary I meant it as living on our own at the same time having a great social life...It is important to make a distinction between 'Loneliness' and 'Solitude'.
Loneliness is a negative state, marked by a sense of isolation. One feels that something is missing. You can be in a big party and can feel completely lost or you could be with people you know and still feel lonely (I remember a movie written by MT Vasudevan Nair-'aalkoottathil thaniyae'..this concept is beautifully expressed!).
Solitude is the state of being alone without being lonely. It is a positive feeling and constructive state of engagement with oneself. In solitude you yourself are your best companion! Solitude would be an ideal opportunity to reflect on ones own life...A person will have all the time in the world and it is no longer time that controls you, but you control time. You are not adjusting your life for someone else but your life gets adjusted for you. There is no hidden agenda, no sacrifices, no disturbances...you are like a free bird. Solitude in this manner can be refreshing, rejuvenating, replenising and revitalizing ones own inner state of richness.
The duration and degree of solitude and its effects also depends on ones personality: For some its alright attitude and feel very comfortable on their own, some cannot remain on their own even for a few minutes and gets terribly disturbed and dissatisfied, for others like monks solitude is a way to spiritual awakening (specifically long-term solitude).
In scientific terms human nature is to form social/ personal relationships especially from a evolutionary point of view. Though long term total isolation can be disturbing and might have untoward effects on human physiology; solitude can be a bliss; where you are what you are, how you are and be 'yourself'.
I conclude by a popular quote: Loneliness is the poverty of self and solitude is the richness of self.
About Me
- PCV
- London, Leicester and Kerala
- I am a Medical Doctor, born and brought up in Kerala, settled in England for last 27 years. Interested in almost any and every field under the sun. I believe in 'Simple living and simple thinking'and try to follow this principle in life...This is a snapshot of what I wish to write; but many of the things I want to write are still under the iceberg! Lokah Samastha Sukhino Bhavanthu
Visits so far
Wednesday, 22 July 2009
Saturday, 4 July 2009
Homosexuality in India
The Delhi High court in a landmark judgement last week struck down the provision of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which criminalised consensual sexual acts of adults in private, holding that it violated the fundamental right of life and liberty and the right to equality as guaranteed in the Constitution. However, the court was clear that “the provisions of Section 377 will continue to govern non-consensual sex and sex involving minors.” The court quoted from Nehru's own words "the theme of inclusiveness" that is so fundamental to India's constitution ie the rights of minority sect.
This ruling doesn't mean that homosexual act in india is legal, but it is not criminal. It is important to make this distinction in the judgement between decriminalising the act and legalising the act. Indian judiciary has stepped in once again when the politicians, legislatures and conservatives hesitated to act conclusively. This indicates the strength, power and fairness of the Indian constituition /Judiciary
There will be a lot of opposition especially from the conservative elements of the society. The points that are likely to be raised against this ruling are that-Homosexuality is against the law of nature (I don't know who dictates or defines 'law of nature'?), it is not according to the traditions, values, religion(s) and that the society will fall into chaos.
A persons sexual orientation or behaviour is likely to be influened by both nature and nurture; wearing my hat as a scientist I would say it's more in your 'genes than in your jeans'. ie more genetic factors combined with hormonal (pre and post natal) and environmental influences. So from a medical point of view homosexuality could a 'normal' variant (or 'abnormal' based on ones thinking)
The issue has been mentioned in various religious traditions. All the abrahamic religions(Judaisim, Christianity and Islam) believe that homosexual behaviour is sinful. In Indian religious traditions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism) it is less clear and is seldom discussed in detail. However, rig veda says 'Vikruti Evam Prakriti' which probably mean 'what seems un-natural is also natural', and some interpret this as 'any act is natural'.
I also remember a malayalam movie in this context- 'Deshadanakkili Karayarilla'...a movie that clearly portraits the relationship between two girls (a lesbian and possibly a bi-sexual) so subtly handled by none other than late P. Padmarajan. He is so skillful and tactful in producing such a work of art during his time. This reveals his genius nature and wide variety of themes he uses in his movies.
Coming back to the subject of LGBT, a change in law doesn't change society's perception. This is a step, society may take many years to accept or follow. It would be better to debate on this subject from a social, political and legal angle rather than bringing religion into it. Most importantly what is required is an awareness, education and more open discussion.
This ruling doesn't mean that homosexual act in india is legal, but it is not criminal. It is important to make this distinction in the judgement between decriminalising the act and legalising the act. Indian judiciary has stepped in once again when the politicians, legislatures and conservatives hesitated to act conclusively. This indicates the strength, power and fairness of the Indian constituition /Judiciary
There will be a lot of opposition especially from the conservative elements of the society. The points that are likely to be raised against this ruling are that-Homosexuality is against the law of nature (I don't know who dictates or defines 'law of nature'?), it is not according to the traditions, values, religion(s) and that the society will fall into chaos.
A persons sexual orientation or behaviour is likely to be influened by both nature and nurture; wearing my hat as a scientist I would say it's more in your 'genes than in your jeans'. ie more genetic factors combined with hormonal (pre and post natal) and environmental influences. So from a medical point of view homosexuality could a 'normal' variant (or 'abnormal' based on ones thinking)
The issue has been mentioned in various religious traditions. All the abrahamic religions(Judaisim, Christianity and Islam) believe that homosexual behaviour is sinful. In Indian religious traditions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism) it is less clear and is seldom discussed in detail. However, rig veda says 'Vikruti Evam Prakriti' which probably mean 'what seems un-natural is also natural', and some interpret this as 'any act is natural'.
I also remember a malayalam movie in this context- 'Deshadanakkili Karayarilla'...a movie that clearly portraits the relationship between two girls (a lesbian and possibly a bi-sexual) so subtly handled by none other than late P. Padmarajan. He is so skillful and tactful in producing such a work of art during his time. This reveals his genius nature and wide variety of themes he uses in his movies.
Coming back to the subject of LGBT, a change in law doesn't change society's perception. This is a step, society may take many years to accept or follow. It would be better to debate on this subject from a social, political and legal angle rather than bringing religion into it. Most importantly what is required is an awareness, education and more open discussion.
Sunday, 28 June 2009
കഥ പറയും മുന്പേ......
AK Lohithadas passed away this morning...Very sad and unexpected loss to the whole malayalam film industry.
I would say that he is one of this kind of 'scripwriter- director' whose movies were high in artistic content,but at the same time, depicted common mans life and themes in a realistic way...very similar to the 'Padmarajan- Bharathan', 'Sreenivasan-Sathyan Anthikad' combinations he made many successful movies in what is called the 'Golden age of Malayalam cinema' (eighties and ninties) with Sibi Malayil. Before this time there were broadly two types of movies ie either the art /parallel cinema and the mainstream commercial movies. The boundary between these two were gone in the late 80's ...thanks to all these filmakers.
Lohithadas' first script was for the movie 'thaniavarthanam' and after that there was no turning back. He wrote script for about 30 movies, directed about 10 movies, acted and wrote songs in a few. He received many state and atleast one national award (Bhoothakannadi-his debut movie as a director) if I remember correctly. Most of his movies had a bit of tragedy in it and may be thats one of the reason it stays in mind for ever.
Some of his memorable movies and scenes for me include:
1. The helpless mother mixing poison in rice and giving it to her son (Thaniavarthanam)
2. The dashing of the hopes and aspirations of a middleclass young man and his family due to just one incident and how the society sees it and dictates the life of people (Kireedam)
3. The relationship and love between two brothers and the circumstances that lead to one's concealment of the others death and the trauma, he experiences..... (Bharatham)
4. The dreams of a poor fisherman father (and daughter) who wants his daughter to become a doctor being shattered by her love and subsequent marriage to her childhood friend (Amaram)
5. The life of an extended farming family in Kerala told through the responsible and loving elder brother (Vatsalyam)
One dialogue I cannot forget is in Dasharatham (Mohanlal). This dialogue probably summarises what Lohithadas has to say about life....
"ഇതു എന്റെ life ആണ് . ഞാന് അത് ചില്ല് പാത്രം പോലെ എറിഞ്ഞു പൊട്ടിക്കും , അലമാരിക്കുള്ളില് ഇട്ടു പൂട്ടും , ചപ്പാത്തി പോലെ പരത്തും ,റബ്ബര് പന്ത് പോലെ കളിക്കും അത് എന്റെ ഇഷ്ടം . ആരും ഒന്നും പറയണ്ട ”
This list is endless ...His highness abdullah, Kamaladalam, Adharam, Sallapam, Kanmadam etc, etc...His loss is irreplacable( like Padmarajan), but I hope he has shown the way for others to make similar themes in the future and bring back the golden days of Malayalam cinema...
I would say that he is one of this kind of 'scripwriter- director' whose movies were high in artistic content,but at the same time, depicted common mans life and themes in a realistic way...very similar to the 'Padmarajan- Bharathan', 'Sreenivasan-Sathyan Anthikad' combinations he made many successful movies in what is called the 'Golden age of Malayalam cinema' (eighties and ninties) with Sibi Malayil. Before this time there were broadly two types of movies ie either the art /parallel cinema and the mainstream commercial movies. The boundary between these two were gone in the late 80's ...thanks to all these filmakers.
Lohithadas' first script was for the movie 'thaniavarthanam' and after that there was no turning back. He wrote script for about 30 movies, directed about 10 movies, acted and wrote songs in a few. He received many state and atleast one national award (Bhoothakannadi-his debut movie as a director) if I remember correctly. Most of his movies had a bit of tragedy in it and may be thats one of the reason it stays in mind for ever.
Some of his memorable movies and scenes for me include:
1. The helpless mother mixing poison in rice and giving it to her son (Thaniavarthanam)
2. The dashing of the hopes and aspirations of a middleclass young man and his family due to just one incident and how the society sees it and dictates the life of people (Kireedam)
3. The relationship and love between two brothers and the circumstances that lead to one's concealment of the others death and the trauma, he experiences..... (Bharatham)
4. The dreams of a poor fisherman father (and daughter) who wants his daughter to become a doctor being shattered by her love and subsequent marriage to her childhood friend (Amaram)
5. The life of an extended farming family in Kerala told through the responsible and loving elder brother (Vatsalyam)
One dialogue I cannot forget is in Dasharatham (Mohanlal). This dialogue probably summarises what Lohithadas has to say about life....
"ഇതു എന്റെ life ആണ് . ഞാന് അത് ചില്ല് പാത്രം പോലെ എറിഞ്ഞു പൊട്ടിക്കും , അലമാരിക്കുള്ളില് ഇട്ടു പൂട്ടും , ചപ്പാത്തി പോലെ പരത്തും ,റബ്ബര് പന്ത് പോലെ കളിക്കും അത് എന്റെ ഇഷ്ടം . ആരും ഒന്നും പറയണ്ട ”
This list is endless ...His highness abdullah, Kamaladalam, Adharam, Sallapam, Kanmadam etc, etc...His loss is irreplacable( like Padmarajan), but I hope he has shown the way for others to make similar themes in the future and bring back the golden days of Malayalam cinema...
Friday, 26 June 2009
A tribute to the 'King of pop'
I was in disbelief when LA Times and CNBC first confirmed the death of Michael Jackson last night. He 'is' the king of pop music...a true legend. His music was an inspiration for one whole generation. He produced the sort of music which is played and popular in all parts of the world.
Michael Jackson's music was of a unique variety that left a long lasting impression when one hear it. It appealed all ages from paediatrics to geriatrics....He was a popular culture for over 4 decades...The influence and inspiration he had on the young generation is amazing. His flamboyant clothing (tight military style jacket) his dance movements like backward-gliding moonwalk, his feverish sometimes squeaky, crotch-grabbing dance moves and his high-pitched singing with his trademark sunglasses and his ever-changing, surgically altered appearance all meade him arguably the most exciting performer of his generation
I first listened Micheal Jacksons songs as a kid in school. His album Thriller was a great hit..one of the all time hits. His songs in that ie Thriller, Billie jean, Beat it etc were just out of the world...
The whole world is mourning his death....from Tokyo to Timbaktu...from Mombasa to Mexico
A mourning fan in front of his wax statue in Las vegas
In our college there used to be lot of people who dressed, acted and 'idoled' him. I remember a guy at Mar-Ivanious who was just like him...his mannerisms..the way he rode the bike etc..
Another major influence MJ had was in 'Break dance'....All the youngsters tried his signature moonwalking or various acrobatics!...infact every, almost every other student wanted to be like him.... If you speak to any person (young or old) about western music they would all know Michael Jackson. Such was his popularity......It seems that even a 'drink' in Malayasia is named after him!
Michael Jackson was the biggest pop sensation of our time (similar to Elvis and 'Beatles' in the previous era) . One of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, his other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records—including one for "Most Successful Entertainer of All Time"—13 Grammy Awards, 13 number one singles in his solo career—more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era. His peak was in mid 80's to mid 90's. Later in his life he faced many accusations and was described as a 'tortured genius'.
He was coming to London next month, where I was planning to watch him live for the first time :-( .......But his style and music will remain in millions of hearts for generations to come..........
His albums were:
Got to Be There (1972)
Ben (1972)
Music and Me (1973)
Forever, Michael (1975)
Off the Wall (1979)
Thriller (1982) Thriller is said to be the world's best-selling record of all time.
Bad (1987)
Dangerous (1991)
HIStory (1995)
Invincible (2001)
Michael Jackson's music was of a unique variety that left a long lasting impression when one hear it. It appealed all ages from paediatrics to geriatrics....He was a popular culture for over 4 decades...The influence and inspiration he had on the young generation is amazing. His flamboyant clothing (tight military style jacket) his dance movements like backward-gliding moonwalk, his feverish sometimes squeaky, crotch-grabbing dance moves and his high-pitched singing with his trademark sunglasses and his ever-changing, surgically altered appearance all meade him arguably the most exciting performer of his generation
I first listened Micheal Jacksons songs as a kid in school. His album Thriller was a great hit..one of the all time hits. His songs in that ie Thriller, Billie jean, Beat it etc were just out of the world...
The whole world is mourning his death....from Tokyo to Timbaktu...from Mombasa to Mexico
A mourning fan in front of his wax statue in Las vegas
In our college there used to be lot of people who dressed, acted and 'idoled' him. I remember a guy at Mar-Ivanious who was just like him...his mannerisms..the way he rode the bike etc..
Another major influence MJ had was in 'Break dance'....All the youngsters tried his signature moonwalking or various acrobatics!...infact every, almost every other student wanted to be like him.... If you speak to any person (young or old) about western music they would all know Michael Jackson. Such was his popularity......It seems that even a 'drink' in Malayasia is named after him!
Michael Jackson was the biggest pop sensation of our time (similar to Elvis and 'Beatles' in the previous era) . One of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, his other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records—including one for "Most Successful Entertainer of All Time"—13 Grammy Awards, 13 number one singles in his solo career—more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era. His peak was in mid 80's to mid 90's. Later in his life he faced many accusations and was described as a 'tortured genius'.
He was coming to London next month, where I was planning to watch him live for the first time :-( .......But his style and music will remain in millions of hearts for generations to come..........
His albums were:
Got to Be There (1972)
Ben (1972)
Music and Me (1973)
Forever, Michael (1975)
Off the Wall (1979)
Thriller (1982) Thriller is said to be the world's best-selling record of all time.
Bad (1987)
Dangerous (1991)
HIStory (1995)
Invincible (2001)
Sunday, 21 June 2009
The balance sheet of T20 world cup
Congrats to Pakistan who convincingly won the final against Srilanka. Pakistan, who fell agonizingly short in the last world cup and have been through so much problems as a country in the last two years, have pulled off a great victory. One might have felt sad for Srilankans, but Pakistan deserved to win the match and the cup. They peaked at the right time and thanks to Afridi who won the MOM award in both semi-final and final.
Afridi quite literally represents everything for a 'pakistani team'......He is a great talent (team) who has underperformed on many occassions previously, but has the calibre to beat any team anywhere in the world on his (their) day. This goes on to prove the age old notion that form is temporary, but class is permanent.
I went to watch a few of India's matches. Saw the first match in Nottingham where they won against Bangladesh, though not convicingly. Manikutty also had the first experience of watching a cricket match live again at Trentbridge where she saw Srilanka beating Westindies and India beating Ireland.
I was also at Lords last sunday only to see India being expelled from the world cup by a fighting English side. I must say that there is nothing more beautiful in cricket than at 'Lords' (the home of cricket) on a sunny day, packed with full capacity of passionate supporters.....It was literally a 'sea of Blue'.....But alas the Indian team let the fans down again in a big tournament! They lost all the 3 super-8 matches and left for home dejected. Who is to blame? The loosers were again the Indian supporters. The BCCI, team management and the team recieved hefty cheques as usual. It would have been wonderful if the players had shown a bit of the passion like their supporters and gone out of the tournament showing their grit and determination rather than being kicked out in such a cowardly and cheeky manner....
The T20 have given a few messages:
1. Twenty twenty is here to stay; though it may not affect the test cricket significantly, it will take away the sheen from one day internationals, who will definitely suffer
2. There are no under dogs or favourites in a T20. Anyteam can win or rather any one can loose as is being exemplified in this year s IPL where the bottom 2 teams from last year( Bangalore Royal Challengers and Deccan Chargers) went on to play the final
3. T20 is not just about hitting out or slogging every ball...there needs to be a clear planning, partnerships and perfect execution of the process to gain the upperhand.
4. Who said T20 will spell the 'death' of bowlers in cricket? infact it was the 2 teams with the best bowling resources (MMM ie Murali-Mendis-Malinga for Srilanka and AAA ie Aamir-Afridi-Ajmal along with Gul for Pakistan) that went on to play the final.
5. T20 will also totally change the way, the world views cricket. From 10 or fewer nations it will spread to many countries and it is only a matter of time and its not if, but when cricket will become a regular feature of Olympics.
Afridi quite literally represents everything for a 'pakistani team'......He is a great talent (team) who has underperformed on many occassions previously, but has the calibre to beat any team anywhere in the world on his (their) day. This goes on to prove the age old notion that form is temporary, but class is permanent.
I went to watch a few of India's matches. Saw the first match in Nottingham where they won against Bangladesh, though not convicingly. Manikutty also had the first experience of watching a cricket match live again at Trentbridge where she saw Srilanka beating Westindies and India beating Ireland.
Crowd support for India was tremondous where ever they played.....
Indian fans performing for the live telecast
I was also at Lords last sunday only to see India being expelled from the world cup by a fighting English side. I must say that there is nothing more beautiful in cricket than at 'Lords' (the home of cricket) on a sunny day, packed with full capacity of passionate supporters.....It was literally a 'sea of Blue'.....But alas the Indian team let the fans down again in a big tournament! They lost all the 3 super-8 matches and left for home dejected. Who is to blame? The loosers were again the Indian supporters. The BCCI, team management and the team recieved hefty cheques as usual. It would have been wonderful if the players had shown a bit of the passion like their supporters and gone out of the tournament showing their grit and determination rather than being kicked out in such a cowardly and cheeky manner....
The T20 have given a few messages:
1. Twenty twenty is here to stay; though it may not affect the test cricket significantly, it will take away the sheen from one day internationals, who will definitely suffer
2. There are no under dogs or favourites in a T20. Anyteam can win or rather any one can loose as is being exemplified in this year s IPL where the bottom 2 teams from last year( Bangalore Royal Challengers and Deccan Chargers) went on to play the final
3. T20 is not just about hitting out or slogging every ball...there needs to be a clear planning, partnerships and perfect execution of the process to gain the upperhand.
4. Who said T20 will spell the 'death' of bowlers in cricket? infact it was the 2 teams with the best bowling resources (MMM ie Murali-Mendis-Malinga for Srilanka and AAA ie Aamir-Afridi-Ajmal along with Gul for Pakistan) that went on to play the final.
5. T20 will also totally change the way, the world views cricket. From 10 or fewer nations it will spread to many countries and it is only a matter of time and its not if, but when cricket will become a regular feature of Olympics.
Monday, 18 May 2009
Red faced
Indians have again done themselves proud by 'mature voting' and giving a clear mandate in the recently concluded Elections, the biggest democratic process in the world. In todays unpredictive world specifically in South Asia where she is surrounded by volatile neighbours, India has shown the world the true meaning of 'by the people, for the people and of the people'.
In this 'election cyclone' along with the caste and communal politics, the communists also fell. They were routed in the red fortresses of Kerala, and its own Bastion in Bengal. What has happened since late Harkishan singh Surjeet handed over Party's mantle to the so called young 'Karats' and 'Yachuris'? How come from a tally of about 59 seats in 2004 they came down to a mere 24 in 2009?
A lot of questions to be answered by the official leadership of all left parties, though it is generally felt that the attitude of the so called 'young brigades' that were much more theoritical and inflexible led to this huge defeat. The National left front leaders forgot the key lesson in politics ie to have your house in order before you attack the UPA with matters like Nuclear pact; the left specifically CPM totally turned blind eye to the deepening crises in both Kerala and Bengal. The 'new breed of young' CPM leaders rather than being pragmatic and dynamic went for the rigid communist policies. They lost touch with common man and were more involved and infatuated with the outdated anti- imperialism.
Interestingly a lot of policies that paid rich dividends to the UPA govt are 'left' policies. The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, the National Old Age Pension Scheme, National Maternity Benefit Scheme, Mid-Day Meal and Integrated Children Development Scheme, the Targeted Public Distribution Scheme, National Family Benefit Scheme, Right to Information, Forest Rights Act, farm loan waiver etc. The left never made any attempt to high light this in their campaign and instead went after the blind propaganda of an 'unreal' third front based on an anti- left, anti BJP platform. The common people soon understood the stand taken by the third/ fourth front that they were trying to get as many seats as possible to be in a good bargaining post-poll position; but alas all their dreams were shattered by the convincing outcome of 2009 elections!
In Kerala it was clear that people were fed up with the infighting between the two major factions in the ruling CPM. The present leadership in Kerala were totally egoistic, autocratic, arrogant and aggressive against anyone who they felt were not supporting them. It is sad to note that the party which was once led by the legendary leaders like AKG and EMS are now in hands of a bunch of 'pseudo-comrades'. One person who came out relatively unharmed in this whole debacle is the Kerala Cheif minister Mr VS Achuthanandan.
The common man who supports the communist party is not unhappy with this defeat. In fact one of the Kannur comrades told me it was a 'good shock treatment' given by the people of kerala to a party which is a part of their life. May be this statement reflects the general feeling of the party supporters in the state.
There will be a lot of 'post-mortem' meetings and analysis of this whole result scenario. Though it is clear that the 'SNC lavlin case', the marriage of conveneince with PDP, the aggressive stance take by the CPM against the smaller parties in LDF, alienation of general public and anti-media stance were the main resons in the party's failing, the leadership may take some other 'vague' explaination line and get away this time. But its better to accept the mistakes, make necessary changes and attitude by a clear introspection...the sooner the party realise and correct this the better it is for Kerala....
In this 'election cyclone' along with the caste and communal politics, the communists also fell. They were routed in the red fortresses of Kerala, and its own Bastion in Bengal. What has happened since late Harkishan singh Surjeet handed over Party's mantle to the so called young 'Karats' and 'Yachuris'? How come from a tally of about 59 seats in 2004 they came down to a mere 24 in 2009?
A lot of questions to be answered by the official leadership of all left parties, though it is generally felt that the attitude of the so called 'young brigades' that were much more theoritical and inflexible led to this huge defeat. The National left front leaders forgot the key lesson in politics ie to have your house in order before you attack the UPA with matters like Nuclear pact; the left specifically CPM totally turned blind eye to the deepening crises in both Kerala and Bengal. The 'new breed of young' CPM leaders rather than being pragmatic and dynamic went for the rigid communist policies. They lost touch with common man and were more involved and infatuated with the outdated anti- imperialism.
Interestingly a lot of policies that paid rich dividends to the UPA govt are 'left' policies. The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, the National Old Age Pension Scheme, National Maternity Benefit Scheme, Mid-Day Meal and Integrated Children Development Scheme, the Targeted Public Distribution Scheme, National Family Benefit Scheme, Right to Information, Forest Rights Act, farm loan waiver etc. The left never made any attempt to high light this in their campaign and instead went after the blind propaganda of an 'unreal' third front based on an anti- left, anti BJP platform. The common people soon understood the stand taken by the third/ fourth front that they were trying to get as many seats as possible to be in a good bargaining post-poll position; but alas all their dreams were shattered by the convincing outcome of 2009 elections!
In Kerala it was clear that people were fed up with the infighting between the two major factions in the ruling CPM. The present leadership in Kerala were totally egoistic, autocratic, arrogant and aggressive against anyone who they felt were not supporting them. It is sad to note that the party which was once led by the legendary leaders like AKG and EMS are now in hands of a bunch of 'pseudo-comrades'. One person who came out relatively unharmed in this whole debacle is the Kerala Cheif minister Mr VS Achuthanandan.
The common man who supports the communist party is not unhappy with this defeat. In fact one of the Kannur comrades told me it was a 'good shock treatment' given by the people of kerala to a party which is a part of their life. May be this statement reflects the general feeling of the party supporters in the state.
There will be a lot of 'post-mortem' meetings and analysis of this whole result scenario. Though it is clear that the 'SNC lavlin case', the marriage of conveneince with PDP, the aggressive stance take by the CPM against the smaller parties in LDF, alienation of general public and anti-media stance were the main resons in the party's failing, the leadership may take some other 'vague' explaination line and get away this time. But its better to accept the mistakes, make necessary changes and attitude by a clear introspection...the sooner the party realise and correct this the better it is for Kerala....
Friday, 10 April 2009
Idealess and hopeless star singer contest
I couldn't help not writing a few words on this programme which I started watching recently.....Its called Idea Star Singer 2008, supposed to be a 'hit' programme in Kerala.I had asianet TV for the last 6 years but have not watched this till this year.
What happened on the 'Kacheri round' for Somadas and the subsequent bullying of him in the hands of the Anchor-girl and Judging panel is beyond some thing civilised people could comprehend in the 21st century. The respect and interest I had for this have gone.....
A person should never have been humiliated like this in front of a live audience and those watching this programme all over the world (and in youtube).....
To add insult to injury, the anchor person was appealing to the public (indirectly) not to vote for Somadas
Except one judge all were brutal, cruel and saddistic towards this unfortunate chap. I dont have any civilised words in my dictionary to express this atrocity...sorry.....
Thursday, 9 April 2009
Mani nadam-1
2 years ago while Mani was at Montessori Nursery (topic- Space)
Manikutty(MK): Acha
Achan: yes, molae
Manikutty: Acha are there people in Space in other planets like there are in Earth
Achan: No idea molae...It is possible :-)
Last year at Fairfield (Topic- even and odd numbers)
Manikutty: Acha, 2,4,6,8 etc are even numbers and 1,3,5, 7 are odd?
Achan: yes, that is correct
MK:Is Zero an odd number or even number?
Achan: Not sure molae
MK: I think it is even
Achan: why?
MK:because the pattern is even, odd, even ,odd...so as 1 is odd and 2 even, the pattern should be that zero is even...
Achan: I think you are right....
More Maninadams to come.......
Manikutty(MK): Acha
Achan: yes, molae
Manikutty: Acha are there people in Space in other planets like there are in Earth
Achan: No idea molae...It is possible :-)
Last year at Fairfield (Topic- even and odd numbers)
Manikutty: Acha, 2,4,6,8 etc are even numbers and 1,3,5, 7 are odd?
Achan: yes, that is correct
MK:Is Zero an odd number or even number?
Achan: Not sure molae
MK: I think it is even
Achan: why?
MK:because the pattern is even, odd, even ,odd...so as 1 is odd and 2 even, the pattern should be that zero is even...
Achan: I think you are right....
More Maninadams to come.......
Time is cyclical not linear.....
What goes round comes round...How true....
I never like to add any thing here from my clinical work...But today I really felt the urge to scribble this....10 years is a long time....but you clearly remember some of them...though many years have passed.
No coincidences only 'incidents for a reason'.....
I never like to add any thing here from my clinical work...But today I really felt the urge to scribble this....10 years is a long time....but you clearly remember some of them...though many years have passed.
No coincidences only 'incidents for a reason'.....
Sunday, 29 March 2009
Heart disease awareness
I was invited to give a talk on " Heart disease awareness" by the Leicester Kerala Community(LKC). When Binu (the secretary) mentioned this to me, as usual I said 'yes', but later realised that I have undertaken a substantial task and needed a lot of reading, research and references. However, it was a good learning process for me that reiterated a lot of points I already knew, refreshed some and also learned more on a few key issues.
The crowd was mainly composed of families with a nursing or health related background, that made the presentation all the more interesting as well as challenging. I took Achan, Dasachan and Manikutty too.
I wanted to make the talk more interactive and two-way rather than a lecture. I started the talk by asking about the risk factors for the heart and related illnesses. The crowd responded to this question beautifully and said about most of the known risk factors. I then introduced my newly found mnemonic (reminds me very much of my medical-school days) for this
ie "ABCDEFG-SO". I reminded the crowd to remember this all the time.
A- Age and Alcohol (and also being Asian especially from Indian sub-continent)
B- Blood Pressure (Hypertension)
C- Cholesterol (Especially high LDL, TG and low HDL)
D- Diabetes and Diet
E- Exercise (rather lack of exercise)
F- Family history of heart disease, high BP, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes
G- Genes
S- Smoking and Stress, Sex(male)
O-Obesity
I went through all these points one by one concentrating on the CED (Cause-Effect-Do)of these ie
Whats the Cause?
What are the Effects?
What can we Do?
'Nature and Nurture' both plays a part in the development of any problem. Nature is something which we cannot change and these are factors which are irreversible ie Age/ Male-sex/ Genes/ Family history etc. However we can do a lot on 'BCDE' ie BP/ Cholesterol/ Diabetes and Diet/ Exercise (Nurture).
The most important aspect of this whole symptom/ disease complex is that what ever you have (ie hypertension or obesity or heart-disease) the management is more or less the same by adopting a similar solution to many problems.
The strategy includes modification of life style factors ie eating more vegetables/ fruits, less fatty food, physical and mental exercise(like yoga, relaxation techniques), stopping smoking, reducing alcohol, taking regular medications if on treatment etc. I emphasised the age old saying 'prevention is better than cure'.
The feed back after the talk was quite good. I was presented a memento on behalf of LKC. The success of any talk/presentation depends on the home-work we have done. It is important to be simple, crisp and clear, at the same time keeping the crowd engaged and getting the message across.
Tail piece: Manikutty later told me that she felt my talk was boring....:-)
The crowd was mainly composed of families with a nursing or health related background, that made the presentation all the more interesting as well as challenging. I took Achan, Dasachan and Manikutty too.
I wanted to make the talk more interactive and two-way rather than a lecture. I started the talk by asking about the risk factors for the heart and related illnesses. The crowd responded to this question beautifully and said about most of the known risk factors. I then introduced my newly found mnemonic (reminds me very much of my medical-school days) for this
ie "ABCDEFG-SO". I reminded the crowd to remember this all the time.
A- Age and Alcohol (and also being Asian especially from Indian sub-continent)
B- Blood Pressure (Hypertension)
C- Cholesterol (Especially high LDL, TG and low HDL)
D- Diabetes and Diet
E- Exercise (rather lack of exercise)
F- Family history of heart disease, high BP, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes
G- Genes
S- Smoking and Stress, Sex(male)
O-Obesity
I went through all these points one by one concentrating on the CED (Cause-Effect-Do)of these ie
Whats the Cause?
What are the Effects?
What can we Do?
'Nature and Nurture' both plays a part in the development of any problem. Nature is something which we cannot change and these are factors which are irreversible ie Age/ Male-sex/ Genes/ Family history etc. However we can do a lot on 'BCDE' ie BP/ Cholesterol/ Diabetes and Diet/ Exercise (Nurture).
The most important aspect of this whole symptom/ disease complex is that what ever you have (ie hypertension or obesity or heart-disease) the management is more or less the same by adopting a similar solution to many problems.
The strategy includes modification of life style factors ie eating more vegetables/ fruits, less fatty food, physical and mental exercise(like yoga, relaxation techniques), stopping smoking, reducing alcohol, taking regular medications if on treatment etc. I emphasised the age old saying 'prevention is better than cure'.
The feed back after the talk was quite good. I was presented a memento on behalf of LKC. The success of any talk/presentation depends on the home-work we have done. It is important to be simple, crisp and clear, at the same time keeping the crowd engaged and getting the message across.
Tail piece: Manikutty later told me that she felt my talk was boring....:-)
Thursday, 26 February 2009
Raja Yoga- 4
Session 7 (24.02.2009) and Session 8 (26.02.2009)
These were the last 2 sessions of the course. The main thrust and core discussion again was on God and the Time- cycle. These sessions were more or less a continuation of the last 2 sessions (http://adhvaitha.blogspot.com/2009/02/raja-yoga-3.html).
A lot of questions were asked by the participants to get more clarity on the different ages of time-cycle, re-birth, capacity and purity of soul. It was a quite complex discussion, but I felt Paramjit tried his best to make us all understand the concept of birth and re-birth of each soul and the different ages. In the end we all did a role-play of the 'time cycle and souls'.
The points I think that were clarified included:
We have three teachers in life
1. Knowledge (application of this knowledge is Wisdom)- Best way
2. Learning from experiences/ mistakes- Second best way
3. Time- It might be too late as we may reached the point of no-return.
For a Soul to come to this world- needs a physical body; so the supreme soul also needs a physical body to come to earth. The supreme soul comes to the earth in the physical being who has the most pure and highest capacity soul. This would happen (according to Paramjit, already happened)in the most spiritual place on Earth ie Bharat (India). Paramjit tells that this person is called 'Shivababa' through whom God speaks the knowledge (the easiest way to be awakened and become 'soul conscious')
Summary:
It has been a wonderful journey for me so far. Did I learn anything knew? Yes, Of course a lot of things. I think this course has helped me in understanding more about our 'true self'. The concept of 'Mind- Intellect- Sanskara' is an effective way of having control over your thoughts and subsequently your actions with the 'intellect' acting as a 'filter'.
The understanding that 80% of your thoughts are those where you do not have any control over ( ie waste thoughts) is indeed an efficient way to express positive feelings and improve concentration. It also helps when we imagine that everyone including ourselves are playing a role, when we are interacting with people in different situations.
This form of Meditation is helpful in imagining that we are 'a point of light' (soul) and could be practiced at any time, anywhere and in any position that you feel comfortable. It doesn't require any formal way of preparation other than becoming soul conscious and practicing it regularly.
I have re-discovered that I could just close my eyes and go into a 'state of meditation' when ever, I want to. Even when Iam traveling in a busy train or at a crowded place or when going to bed or waking up from sleep or just even when Iam engaged in something I could take a minute or few minutes out, imagine the positive thoughts and feel the positive energy.
The first four sessions ie being a self sovereign, awareness of body and soul, the three levels of consciousness and Karma were quite a reiteration of many aspects that we already knew or are aware through one source or other. I would say that this was the best part of the course, that were simple to understand and comprehend.
The second half ie sessions on God, Time cycle and Tree of humanity were more complex, challenging and at times difficult to grasp. The concept of space, time, infinity etc is always going to be difficult to explain and understand in such a short period of time. But I felt Paramjit has done and doing a great service by taking such sessions and explaining this version of 'Raja-Yoga' in a simple, clear and most importantly, a practical manner. Om Shanthi......
These were the last 2 sessions of the course. The main thrust and core discussion again was on God and the Time- cycle. These sessions were more or less a continuation of the last 2 sessions (http://adhvaitha.blogspot.com/2009/02/raja-yoga-3.html).
A lot of questions were asked by the participants to get more clarity on the different ages of time-cycle, re-birth, capacity and purity of soul. It was a quite complex discussion, but I felt Paramjit tried his best to make us all understand the concept of birth and re-birth of each soul and the different ages. In the end we all did a role-play of the 'time cycle and souls'.
The points I think that were clarified included:
- There is a continuous stream of souls coming to the physical world.
- All the souls are pure, but differ in capacity
- Souls come to the physical world pure and goes back into soul world (at confluence age) pure
- Souls who have a higher capacity and/ or purest of the pure come early ie they come in the Golden age/ Silver age
- A soul in the Golden age will have born, many times more than ones in the silver age and this process is continuing into Copper and Iron age (present)
- The less purer souls (not impure) with a lesser capacity may experience only few/ even a single birth in the Iron age
- The Purity of the souls is inversely proportional to the population of the physical world.
- The seed of humanity, of the human family, is the Supreme Soul(God)
- The trunk of the tree symbolises the era of Golden and Silver age
- The closeness of the trunk to the seed/ root symbolizes how souls at that time embody God’s qualities. Such souls are revered as ‘gods’ and ‘goddesses’ ('Divine' beings)
- As a tree grows, its trunk expands in size and many branches and leaves are formed. New leaves signifies new souls and the population increases.
- In the copper age and later Iron age, prophet souls like Abraham, Sri-Buddha, Jesus Christ, Muhammad, Shankaracharya, Guru Nanak and so on starts appearing as people became more body conscious . New branches and sub branches signifies new religions (in Copper age) and later sects/ cults (in Iron age) respectively.
- Each Religion creates their own branch and brings with them their own followers from the Infinite Light, until they too decline and splits into many branches and sub-branches. Each branch thinks that they are the real tree...
We have three teachers in life
1. Knowledge (application of this knowledge is Wisdom)- Best way
2. Learning from experiences/ mistakes- Second best way
3. Time- It might be too late as we may reached the point of no-return.
For a Soul to come to this world- needs a physical body; so the supreme soul also needs a physical body to come to earth. The supreme soul comes to the earth in the physical being who has the most pure and highest capacity soul. This would happen (according to Paramjit, already happened)in the most spiritual place on Earth ie Bharat (India). Paramjit tells that this person is called 'Shivababa' through whom God speaks the knowledge (the easiest way to be awakened and become 'soul conscious')
Summary:
It has been a wonderful journey for me so far. Did I learn anything knew? Yes, Of course a lot of things. I think this course has helped me in understanding more about our 'true self'. The concept of 'Mind- Intellect- Sanskara' is an effective way of having control over your thoughts and subsequently your actions with the 'intellect' acting as a 'filter'.
The understanding that 80% of your thoughts are those where you do not have any control over ( ie waste thoughts) is indeed an efficient way to express positive feelings and improve concentration. It also helps when we imagine that everyone including ourselves are playing a role, when we are interacting with people in different situations.
This form of Meditation is helpful in imagining that we are 'a point of light' (soul) and could be practiced at any time, anywhere and in any position that you feel comfortable. It doesn't require any formal way of preparation other than becoming soul conscious and practicing it regularly.
I have re-discovered that I could just close my eyes and go into a 'state of meditation' when ever, I want to. Even when Iam traveling in a busy train or at a crowded place or when going to bed or waking up from sleep or just even when Iam engaged in something I could take a minute or few minutes out, imagine the positive thoughts and feel the positive energy.
The first four sessions ie being a self sovereign, awareness of body and soul, the three levels of consciousness and Karma were quite a reiteration of many aspects that we already knew or are aware through one source or other. I would say that this was the best part of the course, that were simple to understand and comprehend.
The second half ie sessions on God, Time cycle and Tree of humanity were more complex, challenging and at times difficult to grasp. The concept of space, time, infinity etc is always going to be difficult to explain and understand in such a short period of time. But I felt Paramjit has done and doing a great service by taking such sessions and explaining this version of 'Raja-Yoga' in a simple, clear and most importantly, a practical manner. Om Shanthi......
Thursday, 19 February 2009
Raja Yoga- 3
First and Second Session: http://adhvaitha.blogspot.com/2009/02/raja-yoga.html
Third and Fourth Session:http://adhvaitha.blogspot.com/2009/02/raja-yoga-2.html
Fifth Session 17.02.2009
Today Paramjit introduced the concept of God, which is the third way to settle ones Karma ie Remembrance and constant awareness of God
He first asked "who are your parents?" . If the question is asked to Sheep, it would say 'sheep'; an elephant will say 'elephant' etc similarly a human being (in 'body consciousness') would say its a Human or a 'Soul Conscious Being' would say its a soul and its the 'Supreme soul' (or Paramatma)
He/ she is known by different names like Prabhu, Ishwar, Jehovah, Allah, Bhagawan, Shiva, Jesus etc
His / her qualities include Oceans of love, purity, peace, happiness, mercy, bliss etc....
His /her roles include father, mother, friend, companion, brother, satguru, teacher etc
His/ her home is the 'Land of peace' or the 'incorporeal world' (Nirakar)
We communicate with God through our thoughts(ie Raja Yoga)
He gave the example of the first name JOHN who is known differently, but is all the same name
e.g: John (Leicester)
Sean (Ireland)
Juan(Spain)
Jean (France)
Johan (Holland)
Johann(Sweden)
Ian (Scotland)
(BTW in Malayalam he is known as Yohanaan)...
Similarly, Saint Nicholas (UK) is known as Santa Claus(US) or Father Christmas...Likewise God is known by many names like Prabhu, Ishwar, Jehovah, Allah, Bhagawan, Shiva, Jesus etc
A 'Guru' is a person who leads us from Darkness ('gu') to enlightenment('ru'); Satguru is a true guru.
I note that there is no equivalent word or term for Guru in English (like a lot of Sanskrit words). I am always wonder-struck by this divine language. The more I learn Sanskrit the more I feel the power in each word, each sentence, each hymn. I also felt the positive vibes with each pronunciation and one needs a proper Guru to understand this better. I should write on Sanskrit language (and Samskrita Bharati) soon in a separate blog.
God has infinite love, unlimited, ocean of love,peace, bliss. He/ she is beyond defamation, beyond praise. He/ she is the creator, sustainer and the destroyer. One point here I was not in complete agreement with Paramjit was when he said 'God is not Omnipresent'. Paramjit says God is present only in the incorporeal world. ie a non-physical world. God cannot be a human being because human beings have to go through the cycle of life and death where as god doesn't. Paramjit says this is one of the differences between a soul and a supreme soul.
Like an insulated electric wire,the 'insulation' of body conscious has to be removed to become soul conscious. Switching of TV doesn't stop transmission...so when we become soul-conscious we are able to recognise the overflowing love and bliss transmitted continuously by god. God never give sorrow, but always pass on happiness. When you remember god, you come to have 'god like qualities'. Its always a 2 way communication..experiencing all his love.
Paramjit then mentions the story of a person who believes that God would protect him all the time ie having cent percent or more faith. Once there was severe flood. This person believed that god would come for his help and so did not accept any other help. The water levels were rising. A pedestrian passing by said, "hey come on..the water is rising". This person replied, No.
As the ground floor flooded he went to first floor. After some time a 'boat' came and offered help. he denied it. Later he went to the roof and then a helicopter came to his help, but he did not accept help. later he drowned and reached heaven. He asked God why was he not helped during floods and allowed to drown. God replied " What I cannot understand is that I first send the pedestrian, then the boat and later the helicopter, But why didn't you accept any help?"!!
Realising and remembering God is like a spiritual lottery; do not beg....take it from God. We have a right over god ..he is always giving..'am I taking' is the question.....This power from god enables Karma; settles Karma with out suffering
People who are ignorant, disobeys God like Adam and eve, Pandora's Box, Sita crossing the 'Lakshman rekha' etc...No human being can be god...God is beyond the cycle of birth and death
and this seems to be the main difference between from humans.
Sixth Session (19.02.2009)
Today's topic was on TIME.
"Time don't control me, I control time".
In western concept time is linear. however, in the east time is cyclic..like the 'rain cycle'. ie the cycle of clouds-rain-water-streams-river-sea-evaporation-water vapour-clouds-rain etc.
When the water come down to earth as rain drops they are pure and clean. But they take the external dirt while flowing through river, sea etc and later when it become vapour and rain again, it become pure. Like wise every soul is pure, but have different capacity. Similar to electric bulbs(20w, 40w, 60w ore 100w) or a beaker with 1l, 2l, 5l, 100l capacity or a runner who can run a Marathon(26 miles) or a half-marathon, or some one who can run 5milesor 1mile, each soul has a capacity.
From the 'soul world' there is a constant drop of souls to earth( which enter a human body) like rain drops. Each quarter in this time cycle are called
Golden age
Silver age
Copper age
Iron age
There is a small gap between the iron age and next Golden age called the 'Confluence age'. The Golden age(like 'heaven') and Silver age (like 'semi-heaven') are ages when people were 'Soul Conscious'. In this half, ones actions are neutral.
In Copper age and Iron age (like 'hell') humans are 'Body Conscious'. During this second half (ie during the start of Copper age) 'religions' came (like Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity , Islam etc). Life span starts getting shorter and shorter as time progresses through the ages , population increases. The purity of souls decreases. In Iron age as Iron gets rusted quickly (unlike gold) people are also rusted with impure thoughts and actions.
God intervenes in the confluence age and takes them back to the soul world. Paramjit stopped this session by asking to think about four questions, which he would discuss in the last two sessions:
1. How does God intervene?
2. Who would know this is God?
3. Where
4. When this will happen?
A few questions were asked by the participants. There were a couple of people who joined at this session. They asked questions on God/ Time etc.
Summary so far: The concept of God and Time were introduced in the last 2 sessions. Interesting topics, explained with a lot of examples. I very much enjoyed the initial four sessions on being a self-sovereign, being soul conscious and Karma. However, I felt that the concept of Time and to some extent God, were a little more complex and a bit confusing.May be with time, the concept of time could be understood better.
Third and Fourth Session:http://adhvaitha.blogspot.com/2009/02/raja-yoga-2.html
Fifth Session 17.02.2009
Today Paramjit introduced the concept of God, which is the third way to settle ones Karma ie Remembrance and constant awareness of God
He first asked "who are your parents?" . If the question is asked to Sheep, it would say 'sheep'; an elephant will say 'elephant' etc similarly a human being (in 'body consciousness') would say its a Human or a 'Soul Conscious Being' would say its a soul and its the 'Supreme soul' (or Paramatma)
He/ she is known by different names like Prabhu, Ishwar, Jehovah, Allah, Bhagawan, Shiva, Jesus etc
His / her qualities include Oceans of love, purity, peace, happiness, mercy, bliss etc....
His /her roles include father, mother, friend, companion, brother, satguru, teacher etc
His/ her home is the 'Land of peace' or the 'incorporeal world' (Nirakar)
We communicate with God through our thoughts(ie Raja Yoga)
He gave the example of the first name JOHN who is known differently, but is all the same name
e.g: John (Leicester)
Sean (Ireland)
Juan(Spain)
Jean (France)
Johan (Holland)
Johann(Sweden)
Ian (Scotland)
(BTW in Malayalam he is known as Yohanaan)...
Similarly, Saint Nicholas (UK) is known as Santa Claus(US) or Father Christmas...Likewise God is known by many names like Prabhu, Ishwar, Jehovah, Allah, Bhagawan, Shiva, Jesus etc
A 'Guru' is a person who leads us from Darkness ('gu') to enlightenment('ru'); Satguru is a true guru.
I note that there is no equivalent word or term for Guru in English (like a lot of Sanskrit words). I am always wonder-struck by this divine language. The more I learn Sanskrit the more I feel the power in each word, each sentence, each hymn. I also felt the positive vibes with each pronunciation and one needs a proper Guru to understand this better. I should write on Sanskrit language (and Samskrita Bharati) soon in a separate blog.
God has infinite love, unlimited, ocean of love,peace, bliss. He/ she is beyond defamation, beyond praise. He/ she is the creator, sustainer and the destroyer. One point here I was not in complete agreement with Paramjit was when he said 'God is not Omnipresent'. Paramjit says God is present only in the incorporeal world. ie a non-physical world. God cannot be a human being because human beings have to go through the cycle of life and death where as god doesn't. Paramjit says this is one of the differences between a soul and a supreme soul.
Like an insulated electric wire,the 'insulation' of body conscious has to be removed to become soul conscious. Switching of TV doesn't stop transmission...so when we become soul-conscious we are able to recognise the overflowing love and bliss transmitted continuously by god. God never give sorrow, but always pass on happiness. When you remember god, you come to have 'god like qualities'. Its always a 2 way communication..experiencing all his love.
Paramjit then mentions the story of a person who believes that God would protect him all the time ie having cent percent or more faith. Once there was severe flood. This person believed that god would come for his help and so did not accept any other help. The water levels were rising. A pedestrian passing by said, "hey come on..the water is rising". This person replied, No.
As the ground floor flooded he went to first floor. After some time a 'boat' came and offered help. he denied it. Later he went to the roof and then a helicopter came to his help, but he did not accept help. later he drowned and reached heaven. He asked God why was he not helped during floods and allowed to drown. God replied " What I cannot understand is that I first send the pedestrian, then the boat and later the helicopter, But why didn't you accept any help?"!!
Realising and remembering God is like a spiritual lottery; do not beg....take it from God. We have a right over god ..he is always giving..'am I taking' is the question.....This power from god enables Karma; settles Karma with out suffering
People who are ignorant, disobeys God like Adam and eve, Pandora's Box, Sita crossing the 'Lakshman rekha' etc...No human being can be god...God is beyond the cycle of birth and death
and this seems to be the main difference between from humans.
Sixth Session (19.02.2009)
Today's topic was on TIME.
"Time don't control me, I control time".
In western concept time is linear. however, in the east time is cyclic..like the 'rain cycle'. ie the cycle of clouds-rain-water-streams-river-sea-evaporation-water vapour-clouds-rain etc.
When the water come down to earth as rain drops they are pure and clean. But they take the external dirt while flowing through river, sea etc and later when it become vapour and rain again, it become pure. Like wise every soul is pure, but have different capacity. Similar to electric bulbs(20w, 40w, 60w ore 100w) or a beaker with 1l, 2l, 5l, 100l capacity or a runner who can run a Marathon(26 miles) or a half-marathon, or some one who can run 5milesor 1mile, each soul has a capacity.
From the 'soul world' there is a constant drop of souls to earth( which enter a human body) like rain drops. Each quarter in this time cycle are called
Golden age
Silver age
Copper age
Iron age
There is a small gap between the iron age and next Golden age called the 'Confluence age'. The Golden age(like 'heaven') and Silver age (like 'semi-heaven') are ages when people were 'Soul Conscious'. In this half, ones actions are neutral.
In Copper age and Iron age (like 'hell') humans are 'Body Conscious'. During this second half (ie during the start of Copper age) 'religions' came (like Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity , Islam etc). Life span starts getting shorter and shorter as time progresses through the ages , population increases. The purity of souls decreases. In Iron age as Iron gets rusted quickly (unlike gold) people are also rusted with impure thoughts and actions.
God intervenes in the confluence age and takes them back to the soul world. Paramjit stopped this session by asking to think about four questions, which he would discuss in the last two sessions:
1. How does God intervene?
2. Who would know this is God?
3. Where
4. When this will happen?
A few questions were asked by the participants. There were a couple of people who joined at this session. They asked questions on God/ Time etc.
Summary so far: The concept of God and Time were introduced in the last 2 sessions. Interesting topics, explained with a lot of examples. I very much enjoyed the initial four sessions on being a self-sovereign, being soul conscious and Karma. However, I felt that the concept of Time and to some extent God, were a little more complex and a bit confusing.May be with time, the concept of time could be understood better.
Thursday, 12 February 2009
Raja Yoga- 2
First and Second session: http://adhvaitha.blogspot.com/2009/02/raja-yoga.html
Third Session (10.2.09)
Soul is a point of light which has three different levels of energy/ consciousness
1. Mind (Conscious)
2. Intellect (Conscience)
3. Sanskaras( Sub-conscious)
Mind creates a thought and then experiences the thought; The intellect acts like a filter, it analyses the experiences and thoughts and finally the action is made. This creates an imprint on our soul and this is called Sanskaras (or sub-conscious mind), that determine our personal traits.
Paramjit explained this by an example of smoking addiction. How we first generate the thought of smoking due to various reasons (trail or peer pressure or other reasons), then we act and later we act with out intellect and thus it becomes a habit/ addiction. Its a vicious cycle. In order to break this habit or stop the addiction we need to use our intellect to filter out the urge to act sub-consciously. Therefore the key to stop or quit an addiction or habit is to awaken your intellect.
When one is 'body conscious' ones intellect is sleeping and when one is 'soul conscious' our intellect is awake. Remember the most important aspect of Raja Yoga meditation is to consistently making our intellect stronger and thereby strengthening our conscience.
Paramjit also emphasised on speaking less and listening more that is a key communication skill. So speak less, speak softly and speak sweetly.
Fourth Session (12.02.2009)
Today's session was on Law of Karma.
Paramjit explained to us Karma ie 'the law of cause and effect'. As Laws in physics state there is an equal and opposite reaction to every action; in Spiritual terms this is "To what ever I give, I get back an equal amount".
The types of Action:
1. Positive
2. Negative
3. Neutral
A positive action would be to help others, to serve, to smile etc. A negative action is hatred, be angry, to hit etc and a neutral action is like "Iam going to write an article"...Now what you write can be a positive action or a negative action depending on the content.
There are 2 important aspects in Action
Similarly Paramjit gave the scenario of a recent charity dinner where one person comes forward and when every one looks on writes a hefty sum on a cheque and hand it over to the lord mayor. He gets a great applause. Another person meanwhile walks quietly along the side of the auditorium, writes a similar amount and drops it anonymously. No body notices this action. Both the persons were giving the same amount...so the action is the same, but the intention is different. Both had opened a 'karmic account'. The first one had settled it then and there itself, when he gets the applause, instant popularity and probably a television interview. For the second person he has now got a 'credit' in his/ her 'karmic account'.
In the cycle of "Past- Present- Future", the vital part is present. The present is 'the gift'. Make good use of present. Do positive action with good intention, unconditionally. Your past(or past karmas) cannot be changed and future (according to the law of karma) is based on present and past actions. So do good action altruistically in the present.
There are 3 ways to settle karma
1. Suffering
2. Good action
3. Is possibly the easiest way(?), which Paramjit promised to explore in the next session
A few more quotes from today
"Be simple and be a sample"
"Never give sorrow, never take sorrow"
We are half way through the course. It has been a fascinating journey so far and re-discovering ourselves. I must conclude that Paramjit is doing a great service to the society. om shanthi............
Third Session (10.2.09)
Soul is a point of light which has three different levels of energy/ consciousness
1. Mind (Conscious)
2. Intellect (Conscience)
3. Sanskaras( Sub-conscious)
Mind creates a thought and then experiences the thought; The intellect acts like a filter, it analyses the experiences and thoughts and finally the action is made. This creates an imprint on our soul and this is called Sanskaras (or sub-conscious mind), that determine our personal traits.
Paramjit explained this by an example of smoking addiction. How we first generate the thought of smoking due to various reasons (trail or peer pressure or other reasons), then we act and later we act with out intellect and thus it becomes a habit/ addiction. Its a vicious cycle. In order to break this habit or stop the addiction we need to use our intellect to filter out the urge to act sub-consciously. Therefore the key to stop or quit an addiction or habit is to awaken your intellect.
When one is 'body conscious' ones intellect is sleeping and when one is 'soul conscious' our intellect is awake. Remember the most important aspect of Raja Yoga meditation is to consistently making our intellect stronger and thereby strengthening our conscience.
Paramjit also emphasised on speaking less and listening more that is a key communication skill. So speak less, speak softly and speak sweetly.
Fourth Session (12.02.2009)
Today's session was on Law of Karma.
Paramjit explained to us Karma ie 'the law of cause and effect'. As Laws in physics state there is an equal and opposite reaction to every action; in Spiritual terms this is "To what ever I give, I get back an equal amount".
The types of Action:
1. Positive
2. Negative
3. Neutral
A positive action would be to help others, to serve, to smile etc. A negative action is hatred, be angry, to hit etc and a neutral action is like "Iam going to write an article"...Now what you write can be a positive action or a negative action depending on the content.
There are 2 important aspects in Action
- Actions are determined by intentions
- Intentions are based on Awareness
Similarly Paramjit gave the scenario of a recent charity dinner where one person comes forward and when every one looks on writes a hefty sum on a cheque and hand it over to the lord mayor. He gets a great applause. Another person meanwhile walks quietly along the side of the auditorium, writes a similar amount and drops it anonymously. No body notices this action. Both the persons were giving the same amount...so the action is the same, but the intention is different. Both had opened a 'karmic account'. The first one had settled it then and there itself, when he gets the applause, instant popularity and probably a television interview. For the second person he has now got a 'credit' in his/ her 'karmic account'.
In the cycle of "Past- Present- Future", the vital part is present. The present is 'the gift'. Make good use of present. Do positive action with good intention, unconditionally. Your past(or past karmas) cannot be changed and future (according to the law of karma) is based on present and past actions. So do good action altruistically in the present.
There are 3 ways to settle karma
1. Suffering
2. Good action
3. Is possibly the easiest way(?), which Paramjit promised to explore in the next session
A few more quotes from today
"Be simple and be a sample"
"Never give sorrow, never take sorrow"
We are half way through the course. It has been a fascinating journey so far and re-discovering ourselves. I must conclude that Paramjit is doing a great service to the society. om shanthi............
Thursday, 5 February 2009
Raja Yoga- 1
Tonight we went for the second session of Raja Yoga at Peepul centre. This is the 8 session (4 week course ie twice per week; Tuesday and Thursday) meditation course organised by Brahma Kumaris of Leicester. The course is free and helps people look 'into' themselves, to attain peace and happiness what ever the situation is. I first went for this course in 2006 (though I did not finish the course at that time); this time I hope I would be able to complete all the eight sessions.
Meditation is the process of re-discovering, remembering and using the positive qualities already dormant with in our selves. From dormant to dominant...
Paramjit (who delivers the course) said that Raja-yoga has 'no single magical solution' to everyone's problems; It gives us the tool to work out our problems and find solutions or happiness. He reminded to constantly say "Iam a peaceful being" ie Om Shanthi....
First session (Tuesday- 03.02.09)
The aim of the course is to become self-sovereign ie become a master of yourself, your mind. Yoga means Connection/ Link/ Union ie a link between you and your mind.
The most important message from last session is about MIND. Mind is a non physical organ- A subtle energy.
In the mind, we first generate a thought, then we visualise these thoughts, analyse these thoughts, process them, remember other similar thoughts, imagine thoughts and take a decision.We are the creator of thoughts and we experience the thought. Every thought is energy. Thoughts determine how we feel.
There are four types of thoughts:
Negative thoughts are anger, jealousy, frustration, sadness, hatred, lies etc. These are destructive and creates a negative connotation for you and people around you. Mind is like a rubbish bin. If we fill it with anger/ things of past it will generate more stress and bad odour. Remember, Anger is one letter ('D') short of DANGER
Waste thoughts are thoughts that often revolve around the past which we cannot change and do not have any control over. The vast majority (more than 80%) of our thoughts are 'waste' thoughts.
Planning thoughts are Neutral thoughts. Planning thoughts are acted upon creation eg washing face, putting on shirt etc, but do not emotionally affect us ie they do not have a positive or negative connotation associated.
There is no guarantee or certainty what will happen tomorrow or even next second. When you go to bed there is no guarantee that we will wake up tomorrow and every day we wake up, be happy and feel that we have a great day ahead of us, filled with all optimism and happiness. This also doesn't mean that we shouldn't plan anything; there should be a general planning, but not probably the finer aspects..that's all in the hands of someone/something else and this is not in our control.Yesterday is History; Tomorrow is mystery; and Today is ' the present' ie what you have. so enjoy it, be happy.
What we say, what we do and what we feel all have their origin in mind. The energy of the human mind is thought.The first and foremost step in Rajayoga is to recognise your thoughts. Try to have positive thoughts ie you are challenging yourself the way you think; between you and your mind. When one fully understand and harness it, one is able to master ones life and produce thoughts which give the most happiness and peace.
Second Session (Thursday 05.02.09)
The aim of todays session is to realise the true identity of self.
Who are you? Paramjit asked
One said 'Iam David'
Another said 'Iam a Human being'
Some one else said 'Iam a divine light inside'
Another person said 'Iam a Personality' (interesting to note that 'Persona' means Mask)
Another opinion was " Iam playing a role" ie a wife/ mother/ daughter etc
So is that a difficult question? Simple question but difficult to answer.
Who Am I? What is my true identity
The answer is Iam not 'this body', but Iam the soul/ spirit
The whole idea of this session is to change from " Body Consciousness" to "Soul Consciousness". when we are in the 'body conscious state' like majority of us are we are attached to conditions ie everything is based on the role we have. The whole happiness is on being the role/ external things..... like attachment to a person ie role of a father/ mother/ sister/ brother or Identifying ourselves with the qualification/ creation/ your new car etc.
When some one is in "Soul Consciousness" everything will be unconditional.. so it will be GIVING and not TAKING as in 'Body conscious' state......
Everything in the world will change. Our body/ cells are replaced regularly and we are not 'our body' a few years ago. Cells are constantly being removed and replenished. The only thing that doesn't change is CHANGE itself. According to laws in physics, Energy cannot be created nor destroyed and so Soul is eternal (but body will change)
Paramjit said about the example of a Surgeon at the hospital. A Surgeon when he operates on some one asks to bring in 'the patient' and if unfortunately the patient dies asks to take out 'the body' illustrating the point of soul and body. Understanding that you are soul being and not body being can be relatively easy, but to realise or experience that 'truth' may take time.
Meditation is the process of re-discovering, remembering and using the positive qualities already dormant with in our selves. From dormant to dominant...
Paramjit (who delivers the course) said that Raja-yoga has 'no single magical solution' to everyone's problems; It gives us the tool to work out our problems and find solutions or happiness. He reminded to constantly say "Iam a peaceful being" ie Om Shanthi....
First session (Tuesday- 03.02.09)
The aim of the course is to become self-sovereign ie become a master of yourself, your mind. Yoga means Connection/ Link/ Union ie a link between you and your mind.
The most important message from last session is about MIND. Mind is a non physical organ- A subtle energy.
In the mind, we first generate a thought, then we visualise these thoughts, analyse these thoughts, process them, remember other similar thoughts, imagine thoughts and take a decision.We are the creator of thoughts and we experience the thought. Every thought is energy. Thoughts determine how we feel.
There are four types of thoughts:
- Positive
- Negative
- Waste
- Planning
Negative thoughts are anger, jealousy, frustration, sadness, hatred, lies etc. These are destructive and creates a negative connotation for you and people around you. Mind is like a rubbish bin. If we fill it with anger/ things of past it will generate more stress and bad odour. Remember, Anger is one letter ('D') short of DANGER
Waste thoughts are thoughts that often revolve around the past which we cannot change and do not have any control over. The vast majority (more than 80%) of our thoughts are 'waste' thoughts.
Planning thoughts are Neutral thoughts. Planning thoughts are acted upon creation eg washing face, putting on shirt etc, but do not emotionally affect us ie they do not have a positive or negative connotation associated.
There is no guarantee or certainty what will happen tomorrow or even next second. When you go to bed there is no guarantee that we will wake up tomorrow and every day we wake up, be happy and feel that we have a great day ahead of us, filled with all optimism and happiness. This also doesn't mean that we shouldn't plan anything; there should be a general planning, but not probably the finer aspects..that's all in the hands of someone/something else and this is not in our control.Yesterday is History; Tomorrow is mystery; and Today is ' the present' ie what you have. so enjoy it, be happy.
What we say, what we do and what we feel all have their origin in mind. The energy of the human mind is thought.The first and foremost step in Rajayoga is to recognise your thoughts. Try to have positive thoughts ie you are challenging yourself the way you think; between you and your mind. When one fully understand and harness it, one is able to master ones life and produce thoughts which give the most happiness and peace.
Second Session (Thursday 05.02.09)
The aim of todays session is to realise the true identity of self.
Who are you? Paramjit asked
One said 'Iam David'
Another said 'Iam a Human being'
Some one else said 'Iam a divine light inside'
Another person said 'Iam a Personality' (interesting to note that 'Persona' means Mask)
Another opinion was " Iam playing a role" ie a wife/ mother/ daughter etc
So is that a difficult question? Simple question but difficult to answer.
Who Am I? What is my true identity
The answer is Iam not 'this body', but Iam the soul/ spirit
The whole idea of this session is to change from " Body Consciousness" to "Soul Consciousness". when we are in the 'body conscious state' like majority of us are we are attached to conditions ie everything is based on the role we have. The whole happiness is on being the role/ external things..... like attachment to a person ie role of a father/ mother/ sister/ brother or Identifying ourselves with the qualification/ creation/ your new car etc.
When some one is in "Soul Consciousness" everything will be unconditional.. so it will be GIVING and not TAKING as in 'Body conscious' state......
Everything in the world will change. Our body/ cells are replaced regularly and we are not 'our body' a few years ago. Cells are constantly being removed and replenished. The only thing that doesn't change is CHANGE itself. According to laws in physics, Energy cannot be created nor destroyed and so Soul is eternal (but body will change)
Paramjit said about the example of a Surgeon at the hospital. A Surgeon when he operates on some one asks to bring in 'the patient' and if unfortunately the patient dies asks to take out 'the body' illustrating the point of soul and body. Understanding that you are soul being and not body being can be relatively easy, but to realise or experience that 'truth' may take time.
Saturday, 17 January 2009
Oldest Mosque
I had the opportunity to visit the oldest Mosque in the Indian subcontinent. Its not in North-India or Pakistan/Afghanistan/Bangladesh, but is in Kerala State; 'Gods own country'. This is the Cheraman Perumal Juma Masjid at Kodungallur. I reached here on my way from Peruvarum to Thrissur in November 2007. Its beside the National Highway(NH17) equidistant from both Kochi and Thrissur(about 35km north of Kochi and also south of Thrissur)
Kodungallur is a place of great historical importance and used to be known as 'Muziris'. This is the place where the other two Abrahamic traditions also, first reached India ie Christianity (Christ's apostle, St Thomas is said to have landed in Kodungallur in 52 AD, St.Thomas Church established by him houses ancient relics and is believed to the first Christian church in India) and Judaism(AD 378, possibly before that). I will write on the St Thomas Church and Kodungallur in detail later.
Cheraman Perumal Mosque is said to have been established in 629 AD, during Prophet Muhammad's lifetime by his disciple, Malik-Ibn-Dinar. It is the the second oldest Mosque in the world to offer Jumu'ah prayers (for the last 1,380 years). The first mosque ever built in the world is in Saudi-Arabia; the Quba Mosque (Quba' Masjid or Masjid al-Quba) just outside Medina and so is considered to be the oldest.
Uniqueness
I reached here around 17:00 hours and you can just see the sun setting behind the mosque in this photograph. ie this Mosque faces east and is probably the only Mosque in Kerala that face east unlike other mosques which usually face west. Another peculiarity is that the mosque has an ancient oil lamp which always burns and is believed to be more than a thousand years old. People of all religions bring oil for the lamp as offering. This is one of the few mosques in Kerala which allow entry for people of other religions. Another unique feature is that 'Vidyarambham' a traditional Hindu ritual initiation ritual marking the start of a child's learning is held here every year
Architecture and Traditions
The mosque is built in the traditional Kerala architectural style, similar to Hindu temples. Similar to Hindu tradition, the mosque uses brass oil lamps. The Rosewood-pulpit, from where the priest recites the prayers, is covered with carvings similar to the ones seen in Hindu architecture. A block of white marble in the mosque is believed to have been brought from Mecca.
The Mosque had many renovations and reconstructions (11th and 18th centuries and recently in 1974,1994 and 2001). The ground floor of the shrine is left untouched and is still preserved. The front portion of the first floor has been replaced with minarets, while the posterior side of the first floor is still intact(see below)
Legend
There are two tombs, that of Habib-Ibn-Malik, son of Malik-Ibn-Dinar, and his wife/ sister Khumarriah inside the mosque, where Muslim priests light incense sticks, an Indian/Hindu tradition.
This Shrine stands as a testament of the religious tolerance and cultural harmony that exists in Kerala, similar to many other places of worship in this part of the world.
Kodungallur is a place of great historical importance and used to be known as 'Muziris'. This is the place where the other two Abrahamic traditions also, first reached India ie Christianity (Christ's apostle, St Thomas is said to have landed in Kodungallur in 52 AD, St.Thomas Church established by him houses ancient relics and is believed to the first Christian church in India) and Judaism(AD 378, possibly before that). I will write on the St Thomas Church and Kodungallur in detail later.
Cheraman Perumal Mosque is said to have been established in 629 AD, during Prophet Muhammad's lifetime by his disciple, Malik-Ibn-Dinar. It is the the second oldest Mosque in the world to offer Jumu'ah prayers (for the last 1,380 years). The first mosque ever built in the world is in Saudi-Arabia; the Quba Mosque (Quba' Masjid or Masjid al-Quba) just outside Medina and so is considered to be the oldest.
UniquenessI reached here around 17:00 hours and you can just see the sun setting behind the mosque in this photograph. ie this Mosque faces east and is probably the only Mosque in Kerala that face east unlike other mosques which usually face west. Another peculiarity is that the mosque has an ancient oil lamp which always burns and is believed to be more than a thousand years old. People of all religions bring oil for the lamp as offering. This is one of the few mosques in Kerala which allow entry for people of other religions. Another unique feature is that 'Vidyarambham' a traditional Hindu ritual initiation ritual marking the start of a child's learning is held here every year
Architecture and Traditions
The mosque is built in the traditional Kerala architectural style, similar to Hindu temples. Similar to Hindu tradition, the mosque uses brass oil lamps. The Rosewood-pulpit, from where the priest recites the prayers, is covered with carvings similar to the ones seen in Hindu architecture. A block of white marble in the mosque is believed to have been brought from Mecca.
The Mosque had many renovations and reconstructions (11th and 18th centuries and recently in 1974,1994 and 2001). The ground floor of the shrine is left untouched and is still preserved. The front portion of the first floor has been replaced with minarets, while the posterior side of the first floor is still intact(see below)
Legend
The popular legend is that a Chera king, Cheramanperumal of Kodungallor left for Mecca, embraced Islam, and accepted the name Thajudeen. He married the sister of then King of Jeddah. On his return trip, accompanied by many Islamic religious leaders, led by Malik-ibn-Dinar, he fell sick and passed away. But he had given letters for the team to proceed to Kodungallur. The visitors came to Kerala and handed over the letter from Cheraman Perumal to the reigning king, who gave all the facilities and support to establish their faith in the land. The king also helped to build the first Mosque at Kodungallur, by converting Arathali temple into a Juma-Masjid. However, 'Kerala Vyasan Kunjukuttan Thampuran' is of the opinion that an old Buddha temple was handed over to the Muslims to establish a mosque here.
History
'Keralolpathi' portrays Cheraman Perumal as a generic figurehead of the Chera Dynasty, along with a Chola Perumal and Pandi Perumal. Cheraman Perumal Bhaskara Ravi Varma was a king of the ancient Tamil-speaking Chera dynasty in the eighth Century AD. Kodungallur may have been his ancient capital. It is possible that the kings in those days were all called 'Cheraman Perumal'. ('Cheranad' for Kerala and 'Raja Perumal' means 'godly king')
All the records are folk tales and stories, and it gives a somewhat blurred historical picture about the origins of the ruling dynasty. The surviving manuscripts, such as Keralolpathi, Keralamahatmyam, and Perumpadapu Grandavari, are collections of myths and legends. Some historians doubt the reliability of these manuscripts due to the many discrepancies in it.
The 'Perumpadapu Grandavari' says the last Thavazhi of Perumpadapu Swaroopam came into existence on the Kaliyuga day shodashangamsurajyam. Cheraman Perumal divided the land in half, 17 amsha north of Neeleshwaram & 17 amsha south, totaling 34 amsha, and gave his powers to nephews and sons. Thirty-four rajyas between Kanyakumari (Cape Comerin, now in Tamilnadu state) and Gokarna (now in Karnataka state) were given to the 'Thampuran' who was the daughter of the last niece of Cheraman Perumal.
There are two tombs, that of Habib-Ibn-Malik, son of Malik-Ibn-Dinar, and his wife/ sister Khumarriah inside the mosque, where Muslim priests light incense sticks, an Indian/Hindu tradition.This Shrine stands as a testament of the religious tolerance and cultural harmony that exists in Kerala, similar to many other places of worship in this part of the world.
Thursday, 1 January 2009
New Year Resolutions
New year resolutions are universal. Another new year, many resolutions... The fundamental question is do we really need such resolutions? The answer would be a partial yes ie we need 'resolutions' but not 'new year resolutions as such', I would say.
If you want to do something new or change direction or stop something you consider yourself to be unacceptable, then one don't have to look for a new year to put this into practice. You can start doing it at the very moment you have decided to take that resolution. So its better to have an attitude of 'now or never' rather than 'new-year or never'.
A lot of people think at 23:59 on December 31 (in their own respective 'time-zones', waiting for the count down for new year), that "this year is going to be different". I am going to stop this, I am going to start that, I will do this , wont do that etc"..But by January 2nd they would have taken a few off the list and by the end of January most would have disappeared and its back to square 1.
Most of the popular resolutions are regarding weight (loosing or gaining), Quitting smoking/ less alcohol, studying something new, waking up early, more exercise, saving money, studying regularly, reducing debt, time keeping etc. However, more than 80% would have dumped the list into the rubbish bin in a few days.
Its always better to set realistic goals. The person himself or her self would know deep in their mind whats achievable and what aren't. Therefore set measurable goals; for example 'I would reduce this much weight (1-2 pounds/ kilos) in this much time' and take one step at a time to achieve this. Some people may need constant support and encouragement from their dear and near to achieve these goals.
The most important aspect is how we can self inspect,reflect and revisit on these life style changes. ie if you go back to a past resolution that is unfulfilled, that will often make you disheartened. A better approach would be to act on the same resolution in a new way. This doesn't have to wait till a particular day like new year or beginning of a month but start this moment itself..Be confident, show (yourself and the world) what you are capable of and you will be amazed by the result. Imagine and visualize this positive feeling in your mind and slowly and steadily work towards the goal.
So my new year resolution is not have a new year resolution list, but achieve my realistic goals, one step at a time with dedication, determination, persistence and optimism....
If you want to do something new or change direction or stop something you consider yourself to be unacceptable, then one don't have to look for a new year to put this into practice. You can start doing it at the very moment you have decided to take that resolution. So its better to have an attitude of 'now or never' rather than 'new-year or never'.
A lot of people think at 23:59 on December 31 (in their own respective 'time-zones', waiting for the count down for new year), that "this year is going to be different". I am going to stop this, I am going to start that, I will do this , wont do that etc"..But by January 2nd they would have taken a few off the list and by the end of January most would have disappeared and its back to square 1.
Most of the popular resolutions are regarding weight (loosing or gaining), Quitting smoking/ less alcohol, studying something new, waking up early, more exercise, saving money, studying regularly, reducing debt, time keeping etc. However, more than 80% would have dumped the list into the rubbish bin in a few days.
Its always better to set realistic goals. The person himself or her self would know deep in their mind whats achievable and what aren't. Therefore set measurable goals; for example 'I would reduce this much weight (1-2 pounds/ kilos) in this much time' and take one step at a time to achieve this. Some people may need constant support and encouragement from their dear and near to achieve these goals.
The most important aspect is how we can self inspect,reflect and revisit on these life style changes. ie if you go back to a past resolution that is unfulfilled, that will often make you disheartened. A better approach would be to act on the same resolution in a new way. This doesn't have to wait till a particular day like new year or beginning of a month but start this moment itself..Be confident, show (yourself and the world) what you are capable of and you will be amazed by the result. Imagine and visualize this positive feeling in your mind and slowly and steadily work towards the goal.
So my new year resolution is not have a new year resolution list, but achieve my realistic goals, one step at a time with dedication, determination, persistence and optimism....
Friday, 26 December 2008
Real crocodile tears
Just watched the programme 'Crocodile blues' in BBC. The programme is about Gharial, the world's oldest crocodilian, which is on the very edge of extinction. It evolved before dinosaurs, ie about 150 million years of existence and at present there are just about 200 wild breeding animals in the world! Most of the Gharials are almost confined to India, the majority in the Chambal river system. Gharials are fish eating reptiles which can grow to a length of about 20 feet long and about 1 tonne in weight.
Last winter about 10% (more than 100)of Gharials suddenly died in mysterious circumstances! How come one of evolution's most successful species suddenly perish? This programme is about finding the mystery regarding these deaths. The programme follows Rom Whitaker who is a living legend in Herpetology for the last 60 years. {He established the Centre for Herpetology, popularly known as the Madras Crocodile Bank, the Madras Snake Park and the Andaman and Nicobar Environment Trust (ANET)}.
Despite its immense size, Gharial is not a man-eater. It has thin, fragile jaws that makes it physically incapable of devouring any large animal, including a human being. The characteristic elongated snout shape varies with the age. The snout becomes progressively thinner as the Gharial gets older. The bulbous growth on the tip of the male's snout (a lump of cartilage) is called a 'ghara' (meaning 'pot'), present in mature individuals. The bulbous growth is used to generate a resonant hum during vocalization and it acts as a visual lure for attracting females
The detailed autopsy on these dead Gharials from Chambal river shows that internal organs are with in normal limits except some white powdery material and abnormal kidneys. Further analysis shows that the white powder is uric acid suggesting 'Gout' like illness. The acute renal failure raised the possibility of poisoning by metal pollutants. The search for the source of pollutant/ toxin leads Rom to river Yamuna.
The Yamuna is one of the most polluted rivers (carrying the industrial waste with it) in the country and Chambal is one of the cleanest river systems. It is more than likely that the toxins enter chambal-river-system where it meets Yamuna river.
The breeding at Madras crocodile bank was shown and the wonderful 'makeshift maternity ward'. The Gharials lay about 50 eggs, usually on a small sand hill at the river bed. It takes about 70-80 days for the eggs to hatch just before the arrival of the monsoon.
The inbred animals from Madras are released into the wild/ river. The small conservation project at Katarnia Ghat (Lucknow) was also shown. Rom also mentions here about Indian white-rumped vulture which suffered a near-extinction from ingesting the carrion of diclofenac (a pain-killer)treated cattle.
It is clear that the flora and fauna in India are facing tremendous pressure as a result of population migration, hunting and trapping for food and sport, global warming, rapid deforestation and industrialization. In fact, India contains 172 of IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) -designated threatened species. These include the Asiatic Lion, the Bengal tiger and the Indian white-rumped vulture. There are many conservation projects that aims to nurture these near-endangered species. I hope the success story of 'Project-tiger' is mirrored in conservation projects for other animals/birds too. If not, Gharial will be next on the long list of extinct animals from India.....
Thursday, 25 December 2008
Hollywood in Trivandrum
There used to be only one cinema theatre in our student days that showed Hollywood movies in Trivandrum. The Sreekumar-Sreevishakh (SKSV) Complex at Thampanoor! I think anyone brought up in Trivandrum will have some wonderful memories of this place. Unlike now a days, before Y2k, English movies used to take sometime, before it is likely to be released in Kerala.
The theatre is located on the left side of the main road as we go from 'Overbridge' towards central railway station. If we continue a bit further we reach New theatre which also used to screen English movies. New Theatre is the largest in the state with a seating capacity of 1200.
All these 3 theatres along with Sree Padmanabha and the erstwhile Sree-Karthikeya at Pettah belonged to veteran director-producer Merryland P. Subramaniam. I remember vaguely going to Sreekumar to watch Bruce-Lee's 'Enter the dragon' with family, probably one of the first English movies I have seen.
Sreekumar is the bigger of the two cinemas. There is always a problem with parking at this complex as the space is limited. Students usually come to watch the movies in bikes or use the auto-rickshaw's or buses. The favourite timings for us are the 13:15 show and 15:30 show. As English movies are shorter in duration ( about 90-100 minutes, compared to Indian movies which are at least 2-3hours long) it is very convenient to 'adjust' this slot into our 'college schedule'. Various factors affect these adjustments: the main being which movie is shown, then comes the timings of our classes at college/university, how exciting or boring are the classes, the teacher who takes these classes, how strict they are, pocket money, 'who all' are coming to watch it etc etc.
I especially likes the snacks at the interval. The food is great here; you have a range to select from bickies, 'cool drinks', tea, coffee, samosa, peanuts, crisps, 'faluda'/ falooda, ice-creams, popcorns etc. Faludas used to be my favourite. 'Faludas' are in different colours usually made with rose syrup and vermicelli, tutti-frutti, sugar, ice cream along with either milk or water.
Sometimes when its interval in Sree-Vishakh we can have a peep into Sreekumar and watch bits and parts of the movie being shown there. I know that some of our friends take a ticket to watch the 13:15 English movie at Sreevishakh and after about 90 minutes(towards the end of the movie), somehow manage to slip into Sreekumar theatre and watch the second movie too! Two for the price of one..
I also remember a Kathakali statue on the wall at the staircase corridor and always liked to touch its prominent nose when ever I pass by...At the New-theatre there used to be a magnificent statue of an Elephant (Not sure whether its still there)
Other cinemas in Trivandrum also evoke fond and nostalgic memories. In fact Trivandrum city holds the maximum number of theatres in Kerala. It is said that there are 16 A-Class theatres within a radius of 3 km which makes the city an ideal place to hold Film Festivals.
The other theatre complexes are 'Dhanya-Ramya' (used to be called Srikanth and Kasthuri), 'Kairali-Sree' ( Kerala state government owned, the other being Kalabhavan at Vazhuthacaud), and SL- theatre complex (Athulya, Athira, Anjali and Aswathy). I remember very clearly, going with my family to watch Navodaya Appachan's Padayottam (inspired by 'The Mount of Monte Cristo' by Alexander Dumas), the first ingenious 70mm movie in India and also Richard Attenborough's Academy award winning movie 'Gandhi'.
There are a few theatres that changed names and were renovated under new management like MP theatre that became Sreebala and Shakthi theatre that became Kripa. The other major cinemas are Ajantha, Central and Parthas (relatively new one). There are a couple of old ones which I remember, but has never gone there, namely Chitra theatre and Shiva theatre that used to screen mainly Tamil movies....
The list is not complete without mentioning 2 theatres in our area ie SIMI theatre in Kumarapuram and Kalpana at Pattom. Both were my favourite due to the proximity to our home and also they both had some sort of nostalgic aura associated with it. Its sad that both are now closed......
The theatre is located on the left side of the main road as we go from 'Overbridge' towards central railway station. If we continue a bit further we reach New theatre which also used to screen English movies. New Theatre is the largest in the state with a seating capacity of 1200.
All these 3 theatres along with Sree Padmanabha and the erstwhile Sree-Karthikeya at Pettah belonged to veteran director-producer Merryland P. Subramaniam. I remember vaguely going to Sreekumar to watch Bruce-Lee's 'Enter the dragon' with family, probably one of the first English movies I have seen.Sreekumar is the bigger of the two cinemas. There is always a problem with parking at this complex as the space is limited. Students usually come to watch the movies in bikes or use the auto-rickshaw's or buses. The favourite timings for us are the 13:15 show and 15:30 show. As English movies are shorter in duration ( about 90-100 minutes, compared to Indian movies which are at least 2-3hours long) it is very convenient to 'adjust' this slot into our 'college schedule'. Various factors affect these adjustments: the main being which movie is shown, then comes the timings of our classes at college/university, how exciting or boring are the classes, the teacher who takes these classes, how strict they are, pocket money, 'who all' are coming to watch it etc etc.
I especially likes the snacks at the interval. The food is great here; you have a range to select from bickies, 'cool drinks', tea, coffee, samosa, peanuts, crisps, 'faluda'/ falooda, ice-creams, popcorns etc. Faludas used to be my favourite. 'Faludas' are in different colours usually made with rose syrup and vermicelli, tutti-frutti, sugar, ice cream along with either milk or water.
Sometimes when its interval in Sree-Vishakh we can have a peep into Sreekumar and watch bits and parts of the movie being shown there. I know that some of our friends take a ticket to watch the 13:15 English movie at Sreevishakh and after about 90 minutes(towards the end of the movie), somehow manage to slip into Sreekumar theatre and watch the second movie too! Two for the price of one..
I also remember a Kathakali statue on the wall at the staircase corridor and always liked to touch its prominent nose when ever I pass by...At the New-theatre there used to be a magnificent statue of an Elephant (Not sure whether its still there)
Other cinemas in Trivandrum also evoke fond and nostalgic memories. In fact Trivandrum city holds the maximum number of theatres in Kerala. It is said that there are 16 A-Class theatres within a radius of 3 km which makes the city an ideal place to hold Film Festivals.
The other theatre complexes are 'Dhanya-Ramya' (used to be called Srikanth and Kasthuri), 'Kairali-Sree' ( Kerala state government owned, the other being Kalabhavan at Vazhuthacaud), and SL- theatre complex (Athulya, Athira, Anjali and Aswathy). I remember very clearly, going with my family to watch Navodaya Appachan's Padayottam (inspired by 'The Mount of Monte Cristo' by Alexander Dumas), the first ingenious 70mm movie in India and also Richard Attenborough's Academy award winning movie 'Gandhi'.
There are a few theatres that changed names and were renovated under new management like MP theatre that became Sreebala and Shakthi theatre that became Kripa. The other major cinemas are Ajantha, Central and Parthas (relatively new one). There are a couple of old ones which I remember, but has never gone there, namely Chitra theatre and Shiva theatre that used to screen mainly Tamil movies....The list is not complete without mentioning 2 theatres in our area ie SIMI theatre in Kumarapuram and Kalpana at Pattom. Both were my favourite due to the proximity to our home and also they both had some sort of nostalgic aura associated with it. Its sad that both are now closed......
Tuesday, 23 December 2008
ഇന്ത്യന് കോഫി ഹൌസ്
Thampanoor ICH
Indian Coffee House or popularly known as ICH is one of my favourite coffee shops in Kerala. I remember dad taking all of us to the coffee house at medical college junction. There used to be two Coffee-houses at that time(one opposite the Casualty and the other near the petrol station/taxi stand. The second one is closed now and the one near Casualty is the only one that exists here.
My favourite food here is mutton cutlet and my favourite drink is rose milk (as a child). Masala dosa is also a popular item and the uniqueness of this is that they put beetroot also in the masala and whole stuff looks reddish rather than the usual yellow masala colour. Some people like that very much, though I am not a great fan of ICH masala-dosa; but I like the plain dosa here very much.
The Shangumukham beach ICH( we went here in June 2007 as our flight to London via Colombo was delayed)
Steamed hot Coffee is the trade mark of this shop; having a cup of ICH-coffee is something one cannot experience any where in the world. Its not just the coffee but the whole atmosphere makes it a unique experience-the rich aroma, the strong flavour, the white cups and saucers, the classical uniform of the waiters and royal service gives us an unforgettable feeling.
ICH has strong presence across India in almost every city. The one in Calcutta (near Presidency college; a coffee-house, I very much want to visit someday) is quite famous historically because it used to be a popular hangout for the 'Bengali intelligentsia'There are over 400 branches in India and the maximum number ( more than 50 are in Kerala). The Coffee Houses were started by the Coffee Board in early 1940s, during British rule. In the mid 1950s the Board closed down the Coffee Houses, due to a policy change. The thrown-out workers then took over the branches, under the leadership of A.K.G( Comrade: A.K Gopalan) and renamed the network as Indian Coffee House. The Coffee-house movement/society is wholly owned and managed by the employees. The movement marked its golden jubilee in the year 2007. The only published book on its history is written in Malayalam by Nadaakkal Parameswaran Pillai called 'Coffee Housinte Katha' or History of Coffee House
There is more to ICH than coffee and snacks. Its the meeting place of a number of people. A number of political and cultural movements have started from small meetings at the ICH. Its a rendezvous for Politicians, Students, Intellectuals, Writers, Artists, Lovers, Businessmen, Executives etc. I still remember that a lot of our student meetings at Medical College (social, political and cultural) used to take place at the ICH opposite Medical College Hospital casualty. "will meet you at 4:00at ICH" was a common phrase during our student days....
ICH branch at east nada, Guruvayoor temple (note the name is written as India Coffee House rather than Indian Coffee House)
Trivandrum
Jyothi Building, Ulloor
Corporation Office Building, Tvm
M.L.A Hostel, Tvm
M.G.Road, Tvm
Secretariat,Tvm
Maveli Cafe,Thampanoor
Pazhavangadi, Tvm
Transport Bhavan, East Fort, Tvm
I.R.C Sanghumugham, Tvm
St.Jude medical Center,Karamana
Assembly Complex(Under ICH,MLA Hostel)
KOLLAM
Chinnakkada, Kollam
Pulamon Junction, Kottarakkara
PATHANAMTHITTA
M.C.Road, Thiruvalla
Municipal Junction, Pathanamthitta
ALAPPUZHA
Near K.S.R.T.C, Cherthala
Mullackal, Alappuzha
Palace Road, Alappuzha
N.T.P.C, Kayamkulam
Beach, Alappuzha
M.C.Road, Chengannur
Muttom Bazaar,Cherthala
Medical College,Vandanam,Alappuzha
Canteen,Alappuzha Beach(Under ICH,Mullakkal Branch)
KOTTAYAM
West Nada, Vaikom
Main Road, Pala
Paranani Arcade, Erattupetta
Mohana Shopping Complex K.K Road, Ponkunnam
Medical College Campus, Kottayam
T.B. Road, Kottayam
M.L.Road, Kottayam
M.C.Road,Near K.S.R.T.C ,Changanassery
Salim Complex, Perunna, Changanassery
ERNAKULAM
Kalady Junction, Perumbavoor
A.M Road, Kothamangalam
Cochin University Campus, Thrikkakkara
C.S Road, Ernakulam
Sudheendra Hospital, Ernakulam
D.H.Road, Ernakulam
Indiragandhi Co-op.Hospital, Kadavanthra
East Fort Gate, Thripunithura
High Court,Ernakulam
THRISSUR
Road South, Thrissur
P.O.Road, Thrissur
C.D.B North Bus Stand, Thrissur
East Nada, Guruvayoor
Herbret Road, Kunnamkulam
M.G.Kavu M.C.H, Thrissur1st
M.G.Kavu M.C.H, Thrissur2nd
J.M.H.Ist, Thrissur
J.M.H.IInd, Thrissur
By Pass Junction, Mannutthy
Kerala Agri University, Mannuthy
Muthuvanchira Towers N.H Road, Pattikkad
Nada Near Bus Stand, Irinjalakkuda
Municipal Office Compound ,Chalakkudy
Canteen,Patturaikkal.
Corporation Office Building, Tvm
M.L.A Hostel, Tvm
M.G.Road, Tvm
Secretariat,Tvm
Maveli Cafe,Thampanoor
Pazhavangadi, Tvm
Transport Bhavan, East Fort, Tvm
I.R.C Sanghumugham, Tvm
St.Jude medical Center,Karamana
Assembly Complex(Under ICH,MLA Hostel)
KOLLAM
Chinnakkada, Kollam
Pulamon Junction, Kottarakkara
PATHANAMTHITTA
M.C.Road, Thiruvalla
Municipal Junction, Pathanamthitta
ALAPPUZHA
Near K.S.R.T.C, Cherthala
Mullackal, Alappuzha
Palace Road, Alappuzha
N.T.P.C, Kayamkulam
Beach, Alappuzha
M.C.Road, Chengannur
Muttom Bazaar,Cherthala
Medical College,Vandanam,Alappuzha
Canteen,Alappuzha Beach(Under ICH,Mullakkal Branch)
KOTTAYAM
West Nada, Vaikom
Main Road, Pala
Paranani Arcade, Erattupetta
Mohana Shopping Complex K.K Road, Ponkunnam
Medical College Campus, Kottayam
T.B. Road, Kottayam
M.L.Road, Kottayam
M.C.Road,Near K.S.R.T.C ,Changanassery
Salim Complex, Perunna, Changanassery
ERNAKULAM
Kalady Junction, Perumbavoor
A.M Road, Kothamangalam
Cochin University Campus, Thrikkakkara
C.S Road, Ernakulam
Sudheendra Hospital, Ernakulam
D.H.Road, Ernakulam
Indiragandhi Co-op.Hospital, Kadavanthra
East Fort Gate, Thripunithura
High Court,Ernakulam
THRISSUR
Road South, Thrissur
P.O.Road, Thrissur
C.D.B North Bus Stand, Thrissur
East Nada, Guruvayoor
Herbret Road, Kunnamkulam
M.G.Kavu M.C.H, Thrissur1st
M.G.Kavu M.C.H, Thrissur2nd
J.M.H.Ist, Thrissur
J.M.H.IInd, Thrissur
By Pass Junction, Mannutthy
Kerala Agri University, Mannuthy
Muthuvanchira Towers N.H Road, Pattikkad
Nada Near Bus Stand, Irinjalakkuda
Municipal Office Compound ,Chalakkudy
Canteen,Patturaikkal.
Monday, 22 December 2008
Kolorful Kerala
This time when I visited Kerala, I noticed something peculiar and distinct. Most of the houses were painted in bright florescent colours. This is quite a marked difference from the Kerala I know. Usually homes in Kerala have white/light colour with the background provided by the natural beauty of coconut palms and lush green paddy fields and trees. In fact the term we use for painting a house used to be white-wash or വെള്ള or കുമ്മായം അടി .I noted these florescent coloured homes through out the whole length of Kerala from Kannur to Trivandrum (yes, on my spiritual marathon!). This included almost all the buildings including average sized homes, big mansions, hotels and even some official buildings.
When I asked Karunakaran Uncle the reason for this he said that there was a popular advertisement recently in television (Idiot-box) which 'clicked' and that most people just started following this....
A phenomenal change from 'Gods own country' to 'Box own country'....
Sunday, 21 December 2008
Shortest day
I like today, not because it is the shortest day of the year, but from today on wards days are going to get longer and better...till I came to UK never realised (or gave much thought)at the length of the day at home in Kerala.
Every day is similar in Kerala as we have 12 hours of day time and 12 hours of night all through the year, though I have noticed that on some days it gets darker earlier in December. It was when I went to Chandigarh (in June 1995) that I realised for the first time sun sets at around 8-9pm there.
I remember the day I landed in London. It was peak of summer here in 1997, July. The Drive in Jim's car from Heathrow to Micheal's home in Acton was so surreal. It was about 9:00pm, but sun was shining giving an impression of about 4:00pm back home. I then realised that in UK, in summer, sun rises around 4:00 am and sets around 10:00pm. After a few months I also realised that things are just the opposite in Winter when daylight is just for a few hours from around 9:00am to 3:00 pm.
When I started working these wide variations became more and more pronounced. When we are doing an on-call in Summer, if there is a call at 3:00 am (almost always there will be one), after attending the patient it is difficult to go back to sleep (if we get a chance, though this is rare) in spite of covering the venetian-blinds and sliding under the duvet. Worse is in Winter, when it is dark when we start to the hospital in the morning and still dark when we finish in the evening!
I soon became accustomed to the British weather too ie it doesn't matter it is summer, winter, spring or autumn, it rains every time. I still remember a gentle man whom I met in London once told me "You cannot trust 3 W's in Britain; ie Work, Weather and Women"!
Every day is similar in Kerala as we have 12 hours of day time and 12 hours of night all through the year, though I have noticed that on some days it gets darker earlier in December. It was when I went to Chandigarh (in June 1995) that I realised for the first time sun sets at around 8-9pm there.
I remember the day I landed in London. It was peak of summer here in 1997, July. The Drive in Jim's car from Heathrow to Micheal's home in Acton was so surreal. It was about 9:00pm, but sun was shining giving an impression of about 4:00pm back home. I then realised that in UK, in summer, sun rises around 4:00 am and sets around 10:00pm. After a few months I also realised that things are just the opposite in Winter when daylight is just for a few hours from around 9:00am to 3:00 pm.
When I started working these wide variations became more and more pronounced. When we are doing an on-call in Summer, if there is a call at 3:00 am (almost always there will be one), after attending the patient it is difficult to go back to sleep (if we get a chance, though this is rare) in spite of covering the venetian-blinds and sliding under the duvet. Worse is in Winter, when it is dark when we start to the hospital in the morning and still dark when we finish in the evening!
I soon became accustomed to the British weather too ie it doesn't matter it is summer, winter, spring or autumn, it rains every time. I still remember a gentle man whom I met in London once told me "You cannot trust 3 W's in Britain; ie Work, Weather and Women"!
The beauty of test cricket
Last night I read Ian Chappell saying 'Expect an Australian win' and South Africa have proved the plaudits wrong..They have managed to upstage the 'number one' test team in the second highest chase in Test match history by scoring 414 runs in the 4th innings! Brilliant, simply brilliant!! Full marks to Graeme Smith and his men who showed the intent, attitude and belief that anything is possible in cricket...
South-Africa has matured as a team in the last few years (Under Smith's captaincy) and who can forget their wonderful chasing in that famous 2006 ODI against Australia(438 in 49.5 overs) at Johannesburg. I still remember Anju texting me from India after watching that match (http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/match/238200.html)..
Australia's Vulnerability is exposed especially in the bowling department after McGrath and Warne retirement. Their invincible label is cracking as I said before(http://adhvaitha.blogspot.com/2008/11/end-of-australian-domination.html).Its looking increasingly likely that one of the other top 3 teams could upstage them as number one test team and its only a matter of time before it happens...
The recent 387 run chase by India and now this record chase clearly shows that test match is here to stay and illustrates the beauty, excitement and unpredictability of the game....
South-Africa has matured as a team in the last few years (Under Smith's captaincy) and who can forget their wonderful chasing in that famous 2006 ODI against Australia(438 in 49.5 overs) at Johannesburg. I still remember Anju texting me from India after watching that match (http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/match/238200.html)..
Australia's Vulnerability is exposed especially in the bowling department after McGrath and Warne retirement. Their invincible label is cracking as I said before(http://adhvaitha.blogspot.com/2008/11/end-of-australian-domination.html).Its looking increasingly likely that one of the other top 3 teams could upstage them as number one test team and its only a matter of time before it happens...
The recent 387 run chase by India and now this record chase clearly shows that test match is here to stay and illustrates the beauty, excitement and unpredictability of the game....
Jesus through Hindu eyes
Last night went to the talk "Jesus through Hindu eyes" by Shaunaka Rishi Das. There was a good crowd considering the time of the year. Shaunaka is from Wexford, Ireland and is the director of Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies (http://www.ochs.org.uk/)
It was a very interesting session and Shaunaka in his characteristic style talked about Jesus, teachings and bible and how this could be seen/ interpreted from a 'Sanathana Dharma' point of view. He definitely has great knowledge of both faiths as he was brought up as a Catholic before. He talked about Jesus as a 'Bhaktha yogi'. Jesus is the face of god and asks us to face god similar to Lord Krishna. This was very much like the 'Dvaitha' form of Hindu teaching.
A lively discussion followed. There were lot of Young people asking questions and getting involved in the debate. The questions included the act of atonement, resurrection, final judgment, concept of heaven and hell, trinity etc... The explanations I thought were very good and to the point while giving a holistic view to the faiths.
It was a very interesting session and Shaunaka in his characteristic style talked about Jesus, teachings and bible and how this could be seen/ interpreted from a 'Sanathana Dharma' point of view. He definitely has great knowledge of both faiths as he was brought up as a Catholic before. He talked about Jesus as a 'Bhaktha yogi'. Jesus is the face of god and asks us to face god similar to Lord Krishna. This was very much like the 'Dvaitha' form of Hindu teaching.
A lively discussion followed. There were lot of Young people asking questions and getting involved in the debate. The questions included the act of atonement, resurrection, final judgment, concept of heaven and hell, trinity etc... The explanations I thought were very good and to the point while giving a holistic view to the faiths.
Thursday, 18 December 2008
53 temples in 2 weeks
Continuing with my title 'Lack of planning'...I went to Kerala this time in August for 2 weeks. The main reason to bring back Manikutty who has been there for the last 8 weeks and also to attend the 'Aryans of Kerala' meeting (School reunion) which we had arranged. Manikutty (though on holiday) was admitted to Sanathana School (as she loves going to school!) and its amazing how much the kids are taught at this age. 3 languages( Malayalam, Hindi, English), science, maths etc etc...
I also planned to visit a few temples (But never 50!). I went to Kannur to visit Chinthu's parents. Karunakaran uncle took me to 7 temples in Kannur..then it was a journey through the whole length of Kerala from north to south..Literally from Gokarnum (almost) to Kanyakumari. By the time I was at Kanyakumari district visiting the Shivalaya temples, I realised the count was in to the forties....by the time I flew back to UK it was 53 to be precise...:-)
These are the temples I covered; will write on each temple in detail later.....
I also planned to visit a few temples (But never 50!). I went to Kannur to visit Chinthu's parents. Karunakaran uncle took me to 7 temples in Kannur..then it was a journey through the whole length of Kerala from north to south..Literally from Gokarnum (almost) to Kanyakumari. By the time I was at Kanyakumari district visiting the Shivalaya temples, I realised the count was in to the forties....by the time I flew back to UK it was 53 to be precise...:-)
These are the temples I covered; will write on each temple in detail later.....
- Madayilpara Shiva
- Devi temple
- Hanuman temple
- Parasshinikadavu
- Thrichambaram
- Raja Rajeshwara
- Vaidyanatha
- Perillasherry..then to Thrissur
- Vadakumnathan
- Paramekkavu
- Thiruvambady
- Navagraha temple (Chinmaya)
- Mahavishnu temple
- Guruvayoor
- Mammiyoor..then to Ernakulam
- Peruvaarum Naalambalam ie Shiva temple
- Rama and Hanuman temple
- Sreekrishna temple
- Vettakkoru makan
- Dakshina Mookambika
- Ganapathy temple
- Kodungalloor Devi temple...then to Trivandrum
- Gowreeshapattom Shiva temple
- Padmanabhaswamy temple
- Mahaganapathy temple( MC)
- Kumarapuram Ganapathy temple
- Pampa temples
- Shabarimala
- Malikapuratthamma
- Bhagavathy Kavu temple(MC)
- Attukal Devi temple
- Thozhuvancode Devi temple
- Althara Bhagavathy
- Hanuman temple(PMG)
- Pazhavangadi Ganapathy temple
- Gandhariamman Kovil
- Thampanoor Ganapathy temple
- Ulloor Sree Balasubramanya temple
- Cheruvakkal Sreekrishnaswamy temple
- Ambalamukku SreeKrishna swamy temple...to Kanyakumari
- Thirumalai
- Thikkurissi
- Thrupparappu
- Thirunandikkara
- Ponmanai
- Pannipakam
- Padhmanabhapuram (Kalkulam)
- Melangodu
- Thriuvidaikkodu
- Thiruvithankkodu
- Thriupannikkodu
- Thirunattalam and
- Kumarakovil
Monday, 15 December 2008
Lack of Planning
I have sometimes felt that "lack of planning is the best planning". I can give a number of instances in my life when I did not have any agenda, took a decision based on instincts at the crucial moments and being successful.
The first instance of this would be when I was a 4 year old when my parents took me to Holy-Angels convent supposed to be one of the best private schools in the area/city at that time. I guess, I just didn't feel right there (Don't know what is planning at that age anyway!)and I cried and tried to run away from mother superior and other nuns. So my parents send me to Arya Central School(another private school), which I felt was one of the best outcomes, destiny had for me.
Again doing pre-degree course at MarIvanious college; my medical entrance, coming to UK etc. In fact, though I wanted to do higher medical training overseas, I never thought of coming to UK; I felt that I should go to US and so planned to do USMLE. Getting a quick place at Hyderabad (through Ramesh, one of the librarians at British library) for IELTS was another unplanned coincidence and subsequently meeting Michael (1996/97), who invited me to come to his place in London and take PLAB exam. A lot of people at that time 'advised' me to take PLAB in India (where it was supposed to start from 1998). Somehow felt 1997 is the right time and so flew to London without any major planning; but that turned out to be one of the best decisions in life.
Another instance is meeting Andrea at the Oxford PICU who advised me to meet Sue to pursue my Genetics training. Infact getting into Oxford training rotation was sheer coincidence.
People say you cannot plan three things; Your birth, death and marriage. The first two you don't have any control, but may be third one you have a certain degree of control. But still we know a lot of instances where love/ marriage just happens between 2 individuals when it is least expected...so is life a coincidence and full of coincidences?
Ancient Indian/Vedic or spiritual and other mystical teachings insist on the fact that there is absolutely no coincidence in the world. That everything that occurs can be related to a prior cause or association, no matter how vast or how minute and trivial.
Generally when faced with a difficult decision, we try to come up with the best choice by carefully considering all of the options, maybe even resorting to lists and some people having lots of sleepless nights. Yesterday I read (from an article forwarded by Anju) that there is a scientific basis to all this...Recent studies have suggested that the best way to deal with complex decisions is not think about them at all—that unconscious thought will help us make the best choices.
So probably 'decision and planning' should be a combination of prescriptive( of what actions to take based on Logic), descriptive( ie the flaws in the way people do make a decision) and most importantly your gut feeling.....Trust your instincts, you will be right...
The first instance of this would be when I was a 4 year old when my parents took me to Holy-Angels convent supposed to be one of the best private schools in the area/city at that time. I guess, I just didn't feel right there (Don't know what is planning at that age anyway!)and I cried and tried to run away from mother superior and other nuns. So my parents send me to Arya Central School(another private school), which I felt was one of the best outcomes, destiny had for me.
Again doing pre-degree course at MarIvanious college; my medical entrance, coming to UK etc. In fact, though I wanted to do higher medical training overseas, I never thought of coming to UK; I felt that I should go to US and so planned to do USMLE. Getting a quick place at Hyderabad (through Ramesh, one of the librarians at British library) for IELTS was another unplanned coincidence and subsequently meeting Michael (1996/97), who invited me to come to his place in London and take PLAB exam. A lot of people at that time 'advised' me to take PLAB in India (where it was supposed to start from 1998). Somehow felt 1997 is the right time and so flew to London without any major planning; but that turned out to be one of the best decisions in life.
Another instance is meeting Andrea at the Oxford PICU who advised me to meet Sue to pursue my Genetics training. Infact getting into Oxford training rotation was sheer coincidence.
People say you cannot plan three things; Your birth, death and marriage. The first two you don't have any control, but may be third one you have a certain degree of control. But still we know a lot of instances where love/ marriage just happens between 2 individuals when it is least expected...so is life a coincidence and full of coincidences?
Ancient Indian/Vedic or spiritual and other mystical teachings insist on the fact that there is absolutely no coincidence in the world. That everything that occurs can be related to a prior cause or association, no matter how vast or how minute and trivial.
Generally when faced with a difficult decision, we try to come up with the best choice by carefully considering all of the options, maybe even resorting to lists and some people having lots of sleepless nights. Yesterday I read (from an article forwarded by Anju) that there is a scientific basis to all this...Recent studies have suggested that the best way to deal with complex decisions is not think about them at all—that unconscious thought will help us make the best choices.
So probably 'decision and planning' should be a combination of prescriptive( of what actions to take based on Logic), descriptive( ie the flaws in the way people do make a decision) and most importantly your gut feeling.....Trust your instincts, you will be right...
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