AWAKENINGS

Prelude: Sage Uddalaka Aruni’s discourse with his son Svetaketu in Chandogya Upanishad gives an insight into the knowing of ultimate truth and the real Self. Svetaketu: Supreme Being is said to be nameless and formless? How can I know this principle? Uddalaka Aruni: Son, you might have seen many earthen pots of many forms having different names. There are also gold and steel articles of different forms and names. When you crush them, you will get the essence of the articles like clay, gold and steel. Though the forms and names are lost, the essence of the articles is revealed as clay, gold or steel. That revelation as to the nature of the mud or metals is the ultimate truth. Form and names are immaterial to know the Reality, which is the Supreme Being. Svetaketu: Father, you had told me about the non-living things. How about living things like human beings, animals and insects? Uddalaka Aruni: A man, a tiger or a fly is having different names and forms. But, when it dies, it loses its...

Introduction: Brihadaranya Upanishad meaning ‘Big Forest’ is a longest upanishad. It can reasonably be called as Yajnavalka’s Upanishad because many of the concepts and principles explained in this upanishad are as enunciated by the sage Yajnavalka. The dialogues about Creations, Brahman, Self, Birth, Death, Meditation, Gunas and Salvations are enunciated in this upanishad and symbolisms are very much evident therein. Yajnavalka’s dialogues with his consort Maitreyi and also with Gargi Vachaknavi, a woman saint in the court of Janaka are full of wisdom. The theories of DA(see below) and Neti, Neti (Not this, Not this -ariving at the Truth by negation) are also in this Upanishad. A few of these wonderful and lasting wisdom will be dealt with in a manner so that everyone could understand the in-depth meaning of these principles. In this article, the theory of ‘DA’ is explained. The two letters ‘DA’ denote Damyatta (Control pertaining to Devas), Datta (Charity pertaining to Men) and Dayad...

THREE Rs: Requests, Recommendations, Reactions and Remedies: Requests: The COBRA which stands for Combat Battalion for Resolute Action was formed to tackle the well armed and organized Naxal groups with 10000 strong men geared for guerilla warfare with latest equipments and outfits. The force had made demands, among other things, for the special reinforced helmets of 1000 as the initial supply for the force to the Home Ministry recently. Recommendations: The Home Ministry, on considering their requests, had restricted the supply just to 10 helmets only. The stand taken by the home ministry was based on the presumption that only ‘leaders’ needed the specially toughened helmets rather than all 900 personnel in a battalion. The Ministry had justified their stand on the view that personnel ‘leading’ an operation were more vulnerable to enemy fire as they tended to stand out and that Maoist groups were adept at spotting commanders to target them. The ministry had reiterated that there was...

Harvest No.2: Pope Benedict XVI’s Speech On Islamic Terrorism Late Pope Paul John II had advocated the massive campaign to convert Hindus into Christianity during his visit to India on the 9th November 1999 – the eve of Deepavali Festival and the present Pope Benedict XVI had chosen 12th September 2006 – the worst day of 9/11 for U.S. - one day after the terror attack of Twin Towers in New York to speak at West Germany about Islamic terrorism perhaps to harvest Muslims as converts. But his speech had immediately evoked widespread revolt throughout the Muslim world, which made Pope to tender regret and then even he had to apologize for his speech. Pope would not speak oft hand and his speech would have normally been gone through various stages with his experts and advisories who were supposed to approve the same. Yet, Pope had to retrace his words and forced to tender an apology, which is very rare. It is universally held that there is no violence approved by any religious sects. It is ...

Facts on Modi U.S. Visa issue had come to focus, when Leader of Opposition, L.K.Advani took up the matter with U.S.Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice who had called on him. Advani said to her: He had no complaints about the U.S. not granting a visa to Narendra Modi, since that comes under the jurisdictions of the American authorities and their sovereign rights. Rather his complaint was about the fact that when Modi himself had not applied for the visa, the U.S. authorities made it an issue from their side. Advani had conveyed to Rice that he found it difficult to accept that Modi, an elected leader in this country whose performance as the Chief Minister of Gujarat has been praised, was campaigned against by the U.S., when he did not apply for the visa. Advani quoted Modi as having told him that he did not apply for a visa. In fact, even earlier when Modi’s U.S. visa was cancelled, it was not applied for, since he had already had a valid visa on his passport. On that occasion, though M...

Popular Face One: Mr.Shivaraj Patil, Home Minister of India. On the 13th September 2008, there were five series of co-ordinated bomb blasts killing 20 people and injuring 90 others in busy markets across the Indian capital of Delhi. The bombs, the first of which exploded at 6.15pm, all went off within 45 minutes of each other and were centred on three main areas. Even in such a tragic occasion, Mr.Patil was more concerned about his appearance rather than to rush to the spot to oversee the rescue operations and to seize the situations from going out of control. It was proved by Television footings, Mr.Patil had changed his dresses three times consequently after the blasts ripping through New Delhi. The details are as under: 1. White Suit at 6.30 p.m. to attend Congress Working Committee Meeting. 2. Dark colored suit while giving bytes to TV cameras, after the blasts. 3. White colored suit to inspect the blast sites and to visit hospitals in the company of Sonia Gandhi. Even while the pe...

‘Solar Energy is a safe solution for our energy crisis and is environmental friendly’ may be a pleasant music for the ears. But in reality, it is otherwise, mainly due to the that commercial generation of solar energy needs vast area of lands apart from water for the periodical cleaning up of parabolic mirrors. As on date, there are two types for the generation of solar energy. 1.Photovoltaic panels. 2.Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) The first one is used for a limited power generation of heating water for bath, lighting a few streets or houses. Its power is user specific and cannot be useful during winter and rainy days. Cells in the Photovoltaic panels convert sunlight directly into electricity and these panels sit mainly on roofs and need little land. These are individual focus and could not be extended for mass generation of electrical energy. The second one contains parabolic mirrors, shaped as ultra long troughs, which concentrate sunlight into a long tube of molten salts that...

Harvest No.1: Pope John Paul II’s visit to India The heading “Harvest of Hindus as Converts” is courtesy Pope John Paul II who had declared during his visit to New Delhi during the Deepavali festival on November 6, 1999 that the church would reap a harvest of faith in the Asian Continent in the new millennium. The document of this declaration was christened as "Ecclesia in Asia" (The Church in Asia). Pope’s declarations were prominently published in the newspapers under the bold headings such as “Convert Asia Next: Pope”. He had exhorted the audience that the Asia should be evangelized in the third millennium like Europe and the two Americas in the first and second millennium respectively. Pope had wondered that it was indeed a mystery why the Savior of the world, born in Asia, had until now remained largely unknown to the people of the continent. Pope’s message was that this position should be reversed by aggressive efforts of conversion of other religious sects in Asia whi...

Satyameva Jayathe: Golden Howdah at Mysore Dasara Festival It is said that golden howdah weighs around 800 kg. The howdah is made of pure gold. The howdah has two wide seats in rows, bigger than the interiors of a family car. This golden howdah will be mounted on the back of a decorated elephant selected specially for the occasion in view of the strains and stress that animal would be put through the traveling of a distance of about 2.5 miles from the Mysore Palace to the Banni Mantapa grounds. The sacred idol of Goddess Chamundeshwari will be installed inside this howdah. The Elephant carrying the Howdah is trained and groomed to do the job years before it actually does it. Now a days the honor of carrying the Golden howadh and the statue of Chamundeshwari has fallen on Elephant Balarama. Elephant Balarama which is around 51 years old, had again got the honour of carrying the howdah for the 10th year in a row. The experts says that this is a task for which not every elephant is qualif...

‘ Heart bleeds! Eyes shed tears of blood!’ – These are the impotent reactions of Armchair Critic and Action less Wood like me on reading a news item of ‘Death of 49 infants due to outsourced clinical trials at A.I.I.M.S.’ I am ashamed of myself in just simply airing the agonies in an Editorial! Bare Facts of the tragic episode are these: · 139 new clinical trials were outsourced to India. Cost of conducting clinical trials in India is less – between 20-60% as compared to trials in industrialized countries. · This clinical market trial was being undertaken for the past 2 ½ years. 4142 babies were undergone these trials. Of 4142 babies, 2728 were below the age of one. The parents of all these babies were poor and illiterates. They had been picked up by the hospital attending the outpatients and inpatients services. This itself goes to prove that the doctors would be more prone to catch the infants of these hapless parents rather than treating them for their ailments. · Five forei...

Kids are not useless By Sruti G.Chandran, Standard V, Sishu Griha, Bangalore. Please notice, especially adults: That we kids want more attention. I have always been noticed that if our family has a problem and if kids suggest an idea to get out of the problem, adults usually say, ‘Shut up or Get Lost or Stop Interfering.’ If adults are nicer people, they just ignore it. I just want to say that just give us one more chance to prove that every child is special. Adults always say that children are very useful or they say that every child is special, but they don’t really mean it. If adults don’t give us a chance, we ourselves will prove it. If we can’t prove it, I will prove it. But before, I do let me tell you that if kids come in the guise of adults to give an idea, adults will immediately follow it. I also want to say that please follow our ideas too. Now let me prove that kids are useful. Please read this: 1. Kids are very spirited and more kind hearted than adults. 2. Kids are extrem...

The Link below will lead to video of Vegetable Orchestra. Music is being played by using all sorts of fresh vegetables reshaped as various musical instruments and the audience are served soup at the end of music with these vegetables! Enjoyable and Innovative http://www.gemueseorchester.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=46&Itemid =

The Law of the Garbage Truck Courtesy: G. Vaidyanathan (web source) Do you let a bad driver, rude waiter, curt boss, or an insensitive employee ruin your day? However, the mark of a successful person is how quickly one can get back their focus on what's important. I learned it in the back of a taxi cab. I hopped in a taxi, and we took off for a railway station. We were driving in the right lane when, all of a sudden, a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his breaks, skidded, and missed the other car's back end by just inches! The driver of the other car, the guy who almost caused a big accident, whipped his head around and he started yelling bad words at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean…he was friendly. So, I said, "Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!" And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now call, "The Law of the Garb...

Difference Between Working & Serving Courtesy: S. Shankar, Lucas-TVS “ Working and Serving are like doing what you like and liking what you do.While you get paid in the former with time bound restriction, the latter gives you happiness without any time frame. Read the article below to feel happy in your office. – Blogger. One evening a scholar was addressing the participants on the concept of work culture. One of the participants asked the following question: "I am a senior manager of Materials Department and I joined an organization 25 years ago as an Engineer Trainee and over the last 25 years I have gone through every experience in the organization. During the initial part of my career, the job was very challenging and interesting. However, all those exciting days are gone since I do not find my joy any more interesting because there is nothing new in my job. I am now feeling bored because I am doing a routine job. However, Sir, I am living in the same house for over forty ...

The Cracked Pot A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole, which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the masters house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water in his masters house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do. After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you." "Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?" "I have been...

Perfect Predictions: Swami Vivekanda and Astrologer Swami Vivekananda explains a very wonderful phenomenon seen in a village called Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu. “In the said village lives a man of the Chetty caste, generally passing for an astrologer. I, with two other young men, went to see him. He was said to tell about anything a man thinks of. So, I wanted to put him to the test. Two months ago, I dreamt that my mother was dead and I was very anxious to know about her. My second was whether what my Guru had told me was right. The third was a test-question—a part of the Buddhistic mantra, in Tibetan tongue. These questions I determined upon, two days before going to this Govinda Chetty. Another young man had one of his sisters-in-law given poison to, by some unknown hand, from which she recovered. But he wanted to know the author of that delivery. When we first saw him, the fellow was almost ferocious. He said that some Europeans came to see him with the Dewan of Mysore and that since th...

Satyameva Jayate: The first word NICE is the abbreviation for Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises and the second word nice is an adjective. NICE which was entrusted with the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor project referred to as BMIC project, could not complete the project – the remaining portion of the peripheral and link roads on account of stalling of the work by the H.D.Kumaraswamy government due to various allegations of corruptions, nepotisms, land grapping, irregular tenders etc. The JD(S) partnered Congress and BJP coalition governments put in every possible effort to stop the project, but the Supreme Court came in the way of the Kumarasway government’s plan. The government was rapped on five occasions by the high court and the SC in the past three years. The saddest part of the story is that the NICE had already completed 39.5 km of the total length of 41 km of peripheral road and 7.1 km of the 9.1 km of link road and only 4.5 km of expressway is to be completed...

Lord Krishna declares: Action is superior to Inaction. Action here means work done by body. Inaction here means not idleness, but, mental work powered by the knowledge. Hence action falls under the category of yoga of action, while Inaction falls under the category of yoga of knowledge. According to Krishna, physical work is superior to mental work. How? Yoga of action is outward looking. Yoga of Knowledge is inward looking. Works by the body – senses in particular duly monitored by the mind are the source of power and energy for yoga of action. Thoughts monitored by the mind are the source of power and energy for yoga of knowledge. Action leads to tyaga – sacrifice. Knowledge leads to sanyasa –renunciation. Action in its final stage becomes perfect or pure action. Knowledge in its final stage becomes actionlessness or salvation or samadhi. A man practicing Yoga of knowledge can cure or curse without any space constraint. Such Yogis are capable of inflicting their benevolence without a...

The following thoughts are based on the Bhagavad Gita. Wise, yogi and sanyasi achieve purity of Mind. Purity of Mind leads to peace of Mind. How does one achieve Purity of Mind? Mind is also a sense organ like eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and skin. But mind is not a tangible object like other organs. Activity of mind is thinking. Suppliers for mind’s activities are other sense organs through sight, sound, smell, speech and touch. Thoughts of mind may be bad, good or pure. Capacity to hold thoughts by mind depends upon its memory. Memory is controlled by Time. Time erases Memory due to power of Forgetfulness. Intellect getting support from Consciousness is the gatekeeper of mind. Intellect filters thoughts and helps to prevent bad ones to enter mind. But all cannot afford to have the gatekeeper and hence mind is filled with all bad thoughts in many human beings. Vehicles of Bad thoughts are Desires driven by Lust, Anger and Greed. Such Bad thoughts gatecrash into Mind defeating Gatekeeper I...

Satyameva Jayate: Explosive Expenses of Rs.56 crore The three buildings built a few years back at a cost of Rs 56 crore — Ambedkar museum, the library and the administrative block — are expected to be razed next week under the orders of Ms. Mayawati, the present Chief Minister of U.P. with the help of explosives. The three buildings to be demolished are spread over 25 acres adjacent to the Ambedkar Smarak. Actually, the three buildings were inaugurated by Ms.Mayawati, the BSP supremo herself in 2003. The decision to demolish the three structures was made on April 22 so that a new gallery complex and a screen wall would come in place of the demolished structures. The gallery would comprise an elephant court besides statues of BSP icons, including Mayawati. The court would have 62 elephants, (election symbol of BSP) each costing Rs 62 lakh. It is said to be the dream project of Ms.Mayawati. How does this going to help the dreams of the poor needs to be addressed by Ms. Mayawati, who has ...

Bhagavad Gita has this to state about ‘action and attachment’: "One has to do Karma or Action without any expectation of its resultant reward or Fruit. The motive force of action should not be the fruit of action. At the same time, Non-attachment to the fruit of action should not lead into inaction. One, who works only to enjoy the fruit of his labour, is verily unhappy because one has no control over the fruit of action." Explanatory Comments: Currency note has no value as a paper, as the paper cannot boil even a cup of water. But, the same currency note can buy us enough firewood to boil not only water but also to cook our food. Such is the power of the paper in view of the stamp of authority and approval printed on it. Action becomes powerful, if the action is stamped with ‘yoga of action’. Yoga of action here means selfless action or simply action without attachment to the fruit of action. The phrase – ‘Action without attachment to fruit of action’ contains two factors – ...

Satyameva Jayate: T. R. Baalu’s issue is rocking both houses of parliament for the last few days. I am not going to the merits or demerits of the politically surcharged situations. Then, ‘what prompts me to refer this issue?’ you may ask. When the opposition members in the Rajya Sabha raised the question about Baalu’s issue yesterday, it was reported that when Petroleum Minister Murli Deora rose from his seat to answer the allegations in the Rajya Sabha, the Prime Minister Mr.Manmohan Singh who was presesnt since then, rose from his seat at the same time and left the house immediately! I am really pained that this act of our gentleman Prime Minister is disrespect to the democracy and to the public at large. But the same Prime Minister had told to the Press afterwards that his office has done ‘nothing unusual’ on the T.R.Baalu issue for it to stoke a controversy.

One may be wondering how an egg can teach children? Actually, the teachers teach young kids discipline through Eggs. Even then, your wonder would not have been vanished and you might be too eager to know the details. Children are normally boisterous, while playing. How can we discipline the children while playing? The teacher gives an egg to every child and tells them that ‘it is their pet eggs!’ The children are asked to keep the eggs without breaking them. Those children who keep them without breaking, are crowned as “Egg Star.” After this exercise, the children are more careful all the time. There is no chasing, no fighting, no jumping, no dashing. Even when they are walking up the stairs, they are careful. This exercise is practiced successfully at a Chinese School – Jinkangyun Elementary School, Kunming City.

‘NASA corrects its estimate on the findings of a 13-year old German school boy’ are the news reported in the newspaper. The details are as under: NASA had estimated the chances of the Apophis asteroid’s collusion with Earth at 1 in 45,000. The message was shared with its sister organization – viz. European Space Agency. Nico Marquardt , the 13 year old school boy, used telescope findings from the Institute of Astrophysics in Potsdam to calculate the estimate. The school boy took into consideration the risk of Apophis running into one or more of the 40,000 satellites orbiting Earth during its path on April 13, 2029. The Apophis asteroid will pass by earth at a distance of 32,500 kilometres. With these findings, the boy estimated that the chances of collusion of a Apophis asteroid with the earth should be a 1 in 450 chances and not a 1 in 45,000 as estimated by the NASA. NASA had acknowledged that the boy had it right! - Source: The Times of India