Krishna Is Great

Welcome to our BLOG – new blog :-)

2009-02-02T20:28:00.001+04:00

Hare Krishna! Hare Rama!!

From now onwards… the blog will be posted here… www.KrishnaIsGreat.com

Keep visiting. Keep chanting. Enjoy the Bakthi.

Hari Bol :-)

Peace, Opulence and Bliss - Part 1

2009-01-31T20:03:00.001+04:00

Many of us have heard the wonderful explanations and realizations given by our beloved Guru Maharaj on the song ‘Jaya Raadha Maadhava’. I was fortunate to hear one of them and I have tried my best to transcribe the same for all our pleasure. I can never convey the mood of Maharaj through my writing which is full of inebriates and I very much apologize for the same. It is only out of a sincere wish to bring to record the transcendental words of Maharaj, I have made a puny effort.

The kirtans we sing must not be converted into rituals. The importance of feelings when we sing the kirtans is well understood if we understand one supreme truth. Every one of us without exception has to face Yamaraj as our lives are full of sins. Because we have chanted the holy names a bit here and there, we hope that like Ajamila, Vishnu dutas will arrive. We have seen so many people passing away. Some people pass away very calmly and comfortably. They don’t feel anything. It is just a gradual change. Some people have to struggle. The end must be very comfortable. This is our endeavor and where there are names of Krishna, being non-different from Krishna Himself, they should spread the peaceful attitude in the whole of life. Passion should be decreased completely to the minimum except that we are showing passionate mood in the service of Krishna . In service we have to be active. Otherwise our whole being must be exhibiting by now complete peace and this is how we try to understand the Supreme Absolute Truth. As soon as we chant the Mahamantra or a few lines of the kirtana, all peace is pervaded. The names of the Lord being completely transcendental, they do not have any material inebriates in them. The three modes of material nature are completely absent. We are following this culture for the past 25 or 30 years and now is the time our devotional service should mature. Maturity must be exhibited and by understanding these things we can very well exhibit maturity. Even without understanding, the kirtan gives us peace.

We sing the kirtana, ‘jaya radha maadhava..’ We are very clear in mind that the glorification is the monopoly of the Supreme Absolute Truth. We can never have glorification. We are completely consumed and contaminated by the three modes. Somehow or the other, the major part of the day we should try to come out of the modes and the only way is to glorify the Lord through these kirtans.

We sing ‘jaya yashoda nandana..’ and the literal meaning of ‘Yasoda’ is one who gives us the fame. ‘Yash’ means ‘fame’ and this one of the opulence of the Supreme Lord and this opulence we can never have unless we have unflinching faith in the process and thereby in Krishna . We must cultivate unmoving faith. Our constitutional position being parts and parcels of Krishna , there is no other way but to serve the Absolute truth. We may have any one of the relationships with the Lord out of the five relationships. Shantha, daasya, sakhya, vaatsalya and madhurya. All these relationships can very well be realized just by being peaceful. That is the first relationship.

As soon as we see His energies, unknowingly we become peaceful. Suppose we see the mass of water, in beaches, we feel the peace. There is no reason why we should go there but everybody loves to go there. Somehow or the other we are attracted because the mass of water is His energy and not only that, when we deeply think about it, the sea appears calm and this increases our calm attitude. As son as this calmness is introduced in our lives, nothing disturbs us, and any situation we face, we are cool and there are no ripples in our lives. The unnecessary ripples are caused by the lower modes. There are millions of combinations of the three modes and almost non-stop they trouble us. And every time we have to keep them quiet. This is a continuous endeavor. Srimad Bhagavatham says, ‘grnatas ca sva-ceshtitam’. We accept by our own endeavor.

‘Yashoda’ gives us unparalleled fame and every living entity is struggling for that. I want to be famous; you want to be famous but we do not know that this opulence is given by Mother Yasoda. And why is this opulence given by her? Because she is the mother of Krishna . And we very well know from our experience that cow can only produce calf. Hog will produce hog. Equal species can have the same type of children of the same species. Yasoda must be belonging to Krishna’s species. Unless she is Krishna’s species, He will not accept her as His mother. And Krishna’s species means sat, cit and anand. Eternity is there. Complete knowledge is there and because eternity and knowledge are there, the third thing is bound to be there and it is bliss.

There is an ocean of difference between happiness and bliss. All the living entities who are completely and constantly in touch with Krishna, through His names, through Srila Prabhupada’s literatures and through so much other spiritual infrastructure, their ‘yash’ or fame increases. We may have riches but riches and opulence are completely different. We may own so many material things, but opulence means that with all these facilities, we are unflinchingly attached to the devotional service of Krishna . This devotional service is non different from Krishna. In the spiritual world, the process and the goal are the same. We are discussing about Him and he is very well present here and that is why we are keeping quiet and listening. Real opulence means we are saturated with Krishna and this comes by undeviated attention ( ananya cetaah satatam) and this gives us the opulence of fame. But the conditions required are very serious. In Srimad Bhagavad Gita 8.14, the Lord says,

ananya-cetaah satatam / yo maam smarati nityasah
tasyaaham sulabhah paartha / nitya-yuktasya yoginah

"For one who always remembers Me without deviation, I am easy to obtain, O son of Paartha, because of his constant engagement in devotional service."

Each word in the verse being Krishna Himself are very very potent. Our mind has two qualities. Flickering (cancalam) and unsteady (asthiram).We have to make it steady. Enough of monkey behaviour we had. Now is the time to make it steady. The mind must cooperate with us. As soon as the mind cooperates with us, and we have unflinching faith in devotional service, then that will force us to be completely steady and peaceful. We are not disturbed by the ups and downs of life. Always there will be some waves of the modes of material nature, but people who are unflinchingly attached to devotional service are not affected, and this is the opulence.

Maharaj went on to explain how the opulence brings us bliss and the realization of Krishna and I shall try to post it in the subsequent mails.

The Thief of Time

2009-01-31T08:37:00.001+04:00

In Srimad Bhagavatam, the result of not utilizing time for devotional service to the Supreme Lord Krishna is very emphatically stated in the following verse: SB 2.3.17

aayur harati vai pumsaam / udyann astam ca yann asau
tasyarte yat-kshano neeta / uttama-shloka vaartayaa

"Both by rising and by setting, the sun decreases the duration of life of everyone, except one who utilizes the time by discussing topics of the all-good Personality of Godhead."

In his transcendental purport, Srila Prabhupada explains:

"This verse indirectly confirms the greater importance of utilizing the human form of life to realize our lost relationship with the Supreme Lord by acceleration of devotional service. Time and tide wait for no man. So the time indicated by the sunrise and the sunset will be uselessly wasted if such time is not properly utilized for realizing identification of spiritual values. Even a fraction of the duration of life wasted cannot be compensated by any amount of gold."

Very often in devotional service, we always give excuses for not reading Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam.. The main reason we give is "time". 'If only I have more time!!'. The fascinating thing that we discover that when we suddenly have "more time", it is quickly taken up. The "new" time we have is somehow eaten up. It's hard to put our finger on it - material society is such that life has become complicated and unnecessarily busy. We rarely have anyone say that they have plenty of time on their hands. We always complain that there aren't enough hours in a day. Every living entity has exactly the same number of minutes - 1,440 minutes in a day. The truth is that everybody wants more time but everybody has all the time there is. It is the one that the poorest beggar on the street or the most powerful person in the world has exactly the same amount of. Everyone starts each new day with a bag filled with 1440 minutes. The problem is the existence of a "thief" - a thief who steals time from us.

At the start of every new day, a bag full of minutes is delivered to us and at that very moment onwards, the thief of time strikes at our hearts. He will rob us of our valuable time with the Supreme Lord Krishna, to do our daily chanting and reading of scriptures. This thief's name is 'Later', and he has dedicated his 'life' to stealing the living entity's time. Whenever he meets somebody who wants to engage in the process of devotional service, he says, ".. Very good. But not today. Today you should clean your car, spend time with your family, catch up on your sleep". He will urge you to do anything and everything except devotional service - that comes later! The truth is that there is no way for us to progress in devotional service until we deal with this creature. His power lies in his stealth; if you see him you have him beaten.

Therefore, as our beloved Guru Maharaj says: "No matter how small a step towards devotional service - start it now and do not delay." If the task is too great - break it down into small parts. We must be involved in a daily battle with "later" in devotional service. He must not allow us to be robbed of the chance to engage in the transcendental service of the Lord.

In the Bhagavad-gita (2.40) the Lord has explained such contact in the following words: "Endeavors in devotional service are never baffled. Nor is there failure. A slight beginning of such activities is sufficient even to deliver a person from the great ocean of material fears."

Simplicity

2009-01-30T12:23:00.001+04:00

In Bhagavad Gita Chapter 13 verse 8 Lord Krishna while explaining Arjuna about what all comprises to be knowledge says

amaanitvam adambhitvam / ahimsaa kshaantir aarjavam
aacaaryopaasanaḿ shaucam / sthairyam aatma-vinigrahah

"Humility; pridelessness; nonviolence; tolerance; simplicity; approaching a bona fide spiritual master; cleanliness; steadiness; self-control" are some of the important qualities which Krishna is declaring to be knowledge.

Here the quality - aarjavam is worth meditating. Srila Prabhupada gives very nice definition for this word in his purport to the above verse. He says - "Simplicity means that without diplomacy one should be so straightforward that he can disclose the real truth even to an enemy."

Our life should be simple. The way we think should be simple. Our speech and actions should be simple. Our interaction with other living entities must also be simple. Only when we are in this position, we will be able to peacefully and blissfully perform devotional service. On the other hand if we are having duplicit nature, then we will be constantly meditating on how to revenge/retaliate other living entities and there will hardly be any room for Krishna in our thoughts, heart or even in our homes.

Devotional service is simple for simple-hearted people and complex for the complicated souls. We can see this practically in children. They are innocent and their hearts are not filled with anarthas like us and so they pick up the process of bhakti at a greater speed than compared to us. I was fortunate to have the association of few young devotees from a village near Chennai and I was casually asking each one of them how many rounds they chant - Those devotees were in the age group of 5 to 12 and each one of them were saying 8,12,16 etc. One boy among them was chanting 40 rounds daily. I was simply surprised when he said that. His friend immediately remarked that he spent all his spare time chanting - and that's why he was able to chant at least 40 rounds. Here I was struggling to chant 16 rounds daily and even on days when I had spare time - I didn't bother to chant extra rounds and even when I did, it indeed requires a great effort to convince my obstinate mind to chant those extra rounds - in spite of knowing the importance of Holy Names.

Another practical experience many of us would have experienced is that children learn the shlokas faster than us. Basic reason being the children are more eager and receptive to hear about the Lord whereas our minds are not 100% present there when we do it . We think about ‘n’ different things and engage ourselves superficially in this process. Since we keep complicating our lives with so many things, even after years of practice - we are not able to relish the process of chanting or study of scriptures. So how to improve our fabric of devotional service ? Maharaj always insists upon giving this valuable gift of bhakti to the next generation - Reality is he very well knows our complex minds and that’s why is insisting on us to take association of simple children and in the process of teaching them shlokas, bhajans etc, we not only get into the habit of studying the scriptures and also practically learn from them how to simply love Krishna. Couple of weeks back in one of the classes, one child was telling me happily that she had invited Krishna for her sister's b'day party. Indeed Krishna would have been very pleased by her loving gesture and I was just wondering how many times I have missed to talk to Krishna with the same loving mood like her. I thank Gurudev and Krishna for the association of such children and hope that I give away all complex thoughts and approach the Lord with simple heart like these children and perform sincere devotional service.

No Arguments Against Vedic Literature

2009-01-28T20:28:00.001+04:00

We were fortunate to have the wonderful association of Maharaj in Rajkot. Maharaj gave very illuminating and wonderful explanation on Srimad Bhagavatam verse 1.6.25

etaavad uktvopararaama tan mahad / bhutam nabholingam alingam ishvaram
aham ca tasmai mahataam mahiyase / shirsnaavanaamam vidadhe ‘nukampitah

Then that supreme authority, personified by sound and unseen by eyes, but most wonderful, stopped speaking. Feeling a sense of gratitude, I offered my obeisances unto Him, bowing my head.

Purport: That the Personality of Godhead was not seen but only heard does not make any difference. The Personality of Godhead produced the four Vedas by his breathing and He is seen and realized through the transcendental sound of the Vedas. Similarly, the Bhagavad Gita is the sound representation of the Lord, and there is no difference in identity. The conclusion is that the Lord can be seen and heard by persistent chanting of the transcendental sound.

Anyone who does the transcendental vibration they will never go wrong. Vibrations are very important. By vibrating the verses of Srimad Bhagavatam and Srimad Bhagavad Gita we can achieve perfection in pronouncing the vibrations. This matter is very much settled by the verse 1.6.25 Vibration is the way to see Krishna. This is settled matter. No arguments. Nirnayam – decided matter. No appeal.. If we can develop faith in these transcendental vibrations our devotional service will increase leaps and bounds. We should not object the Vedic literature and that is Vedic culture. It is called ved vakya which is never to be questioned or argued. Each and every phase of the purport is very important and we have to realize these statements.

The whole Srimad Bhagavatam has got a general purpose – It is included in this verse

Each and every canto has got a specific purpose – It is included in this verse.

Each and every chapter has got a specific purpose – It is included in this verse.

Each and every verse has got a specific purpose – It is included in this verse

Each and every word has got a specific purpose – It is included in this verse.

There is no other literature with so much of vast literature available in this planet. It is important to think about these things. Srimad Bhagavatam is exclusively meant for conditioned souls. We are all conditioned souls and also reconditioned. TV/AC/Fridge are reconditioning us always. Therefore in order to get out of this conditioned and reconditioned life this Vedic literature is very important. Nobody can disagree with anything mentioned in Srimad Bhagavatham. We don’t require anything else in this world except Srimad Bhagavatam. We have to have unflinching faith in the Vedic literature. By this process we will increase our devotional service.

Krishna - The All Wonderful Absolute Person

2009-01-27T21:58:00.001+04:00

In Srimad Bhagavatam, we find in many places that Krishna is glorified as "adbhuta karmana" (one whose actions are wonderful). In the 10th canto, we come across this word when Sri Sukadeva Goswami recites the Lord's pastimes related to the killing of demons like Putana, Dhenukasura, Aghasura etc. A question came up in my mind, "The Supreme Lord is the creator, maintainer and annihilator of this material world and this activity cannot be done by anyone else. He does all this just by His sankalpa. For such a person, it is not at all a difficult task to destroy the demons who are tiny specks in creation. He is the one who gives powers to these demons. Then why He is called 'adbhuta karmana', just because He kills demons or defeats Jarasandha's army and why Srila Sukadeva Goswami should explain such incidents in great details with great wonder ?" Its like glorifying a great boxing champion as wonderful when he kills a mosquito. The person may actually get offended by this glorification(?). However by the blessings of Maharaj, I came across the answer for the above question in the following shloka of Srimad Bhagavatam (10.50.29)

sthity-udbhavaantam bhuvana-trayasya yah
samihite 'nanta-gunah sva-leelayaa
na tasya citram para-paksha-nigrahas
tathaapi martyaanuvidhasya varnyate

"For Him who orchestrates the creation, maintenance and destruction of the three worlds and who possesses unlimited spiritual qualities, it is hardly amazing that He subdues an opposing party. Still, when the Lord does so, imitating human behavior, sages glorify His acts."

Though the Lord is all powerful and can do anything He likes, even small (from His point of view) deeds such as killing demons are glorified as wonderful because of the following reasons.

For devotees who forget that the Lord is the Absolute Truth (because of their excessive love for Him), these superhuman activities appear wonderful because they see the Lord as their companion and not the Supreme Person.
For others who do not recognize Him as the Absolute Truth and consider Him to be just a powerful human being, these activities sound very wonderful because they cannot be imitated by normal human beings.
For great sages and scholars, the Lord's activities are wonderful because they are completely spiritual (beyond the material modes) and just by hearing them, one can attain liberation from birth and death. Nowhere, we have the instance of a person becoming liberated by hearing somebody's activities. In Bhagavatam, the pastimes of baby Krishna stealing the butter etc in Vrindavan is described in a few shlokas. Everyday many living enitities in this material world steal. But great sages like Sukadev Goswami do not glorify them or record them in the scriptures. Also we cannot attain liberation by listening to our pastimes.
All His activities are wonderful because whatever the Lord does is beneficial to all living entities. When He kills the demons, the demons attain liberation from material sufferings being purified by the Lord's direct touch. People who hear about such activities also become purified and walk straight on the path back to Godhead. In this regard, Srila Prabhupada writes - "God is Absolute. So even His killing is good. When He becomes angry at someone, even His object of anger is blessed". So all His actions are nothing but expression of His compassion towards all living entities. We should submissively study the scriptures with faith to appreciate this fact.

It is because of this reason the Lord makes a solemn declaration in Bhagavad Gita verse 4.9

janma karma ca me divyam / evam yo vetti tattvatah
tyaktvaa deham punar janma / naiti maam eti'so arjuna

One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.

In this regard Maharaj was explaining to us in Rajkot, "Why to think about His creation of this world? If we just see our body, we can understand that Krishna is adbhuta karmanah. Our mouth is the most sophisticated plumbing system. It produces the exact amount of saliva required to digest the food. There is food pipe, wind pipe inside our body. When I eat and breath at the same time, the food never goes to the wind pipe. It is so perfectly arranged. The blood vessels in our body are so much intertwined and they work in perfect co-ordination to ensure continuous pumping of blood throughout our body. In this way, if we just study our body we can understand that Krishna's acts/creation are wonderful. No one can imitate His actions."

All we need to do is to submissively study and hear His glorious activities and by such purification process we can reach His lotus feet.

I pray at the lotus feet of Maharaj and Srila Prabhupada so that I will get some taste and faith in listening to the pastimes of the Supreme Lord and get purified.

Taking Shelter Of Scriptures

2009-01-27T18:12:00.001+04:00

When we face difficult situations in our lives, and do not know how to handle those situations, we should take shelter of sadhu/spiritual master and submissively inquire from him and learn what needs to be done and what should not be done. During times, when we are not blessed with the physical association of sadhus, we should turn our attention to scriptures bestowed by Supreme Lord, wherein He has very clearly explained the do's and dont's in our lives. Krishna resides as "mantra-murti" in these shastras and mercifully reciprocates to our queries in mind if we learn them with faith.

Srimad Bhagavatam verse 1.1.2 very nicely glorifies the beauty of Bhagavatam and also about the qualifications required for us to understand this great scripture.

dharmah projjhita-kaitavo 'tra paramo nirmatsaraanaam sataam
vedyam vaastavam atra vastu shivadam taapa-trayonmulanam
shrimad-bhaagavate mahaa-muni-krte kim vaa parair ishvarah
sadyo hrdy avarudhyate 'tra krtibhih shushrusubhis tat-kshanaat

"Completely rejecting all religious activities which are materially motivated, this Bhagavata Puraana propounds the highest truth, which is understandable by those devotees who are fully pure in heart. The highest truth is reality distinguished from illusion for the welfare of all. Such truth uproots the threefold miseries. This beautiful Bhagavatam, compiled by the great sage Vyasadeva [in his maturity], is sufficient in itself for God realization. What is the need of any other scripture? As soon as one attentively and submissively hears the message of Bhagavatam, by this culture of knowledge the Supreme Lord is established within his heart."

The quality of the person who will be able to understand the message revealed through the scriptures is very clear defined in this verse. Only if we are 100% pure in heart - nirmatsaraanam - non-envious, then we would be able to understand the message of Bhagavatam. We would not be able to gain any kind of knowledge or instruction from the scriptures - either by possessing the scriptures at home, or by reading it in challenging mood. Unless we are simple and straight forward in our thoughts, words and deeds, we will not be able to even touch the scriptures. It is not only important to seek shelter of scriptures, it is equally more important to follow the instructions provided in them.

In verse 16.23 of Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna very nicely explains the position of those who don't follow the scriptural injunctions.

yah shaastra-vidhim utsrjya / vartate kaama kaaratah
na sa siddhim avaapnoti / na sukham na paraam gatim

He who discards scriptural injunctions and acts according to his own whims attains neither perfection, nor happiness, nor the supreme destination.

In his purport to the above verse, Srila Prabhupada very nicely explains the meaning for whimsical nature and also the result of this attitude - "The word 'kaama-kaaratah' is very significant. A person who knowingly violates the rules acts in lust. He knows that this is forbidden, but still he acts. This is called acting whimsically. He knows that this should be done, but still he does not do it; therefore he is called whimsical. Such persons are destined to be condemned by the Supreme Lord. Such persons cannot have the perfection which is meant for the human life."

By the mercy of spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, Sri Krishna and Srimad Bhagavatam - we are provided with all the details of what needs to be done and what should not be done. Even after knowing these instructions, if we are lethargic and negligent in following them - then we are digging our own graves. I pray at the lotus feet of Srila Gurudev to bless me to to take shelter of the scriptures sincerely and to give up this whimsical nature.

Go Green

2009-01-25T21:31:00.001+04:00

Now-a-days we see so many people insisting upon saving the environment, growing more trees, "Go-GREEN", etc. Trees are also part of Krishna's creation and killing them mercilessly is also an offense. Srimad Bhagavatam being amala-puran and practical theistic science for people of all ages - very nicely explains the importance of preserving trees. When Maharaj Parikshit inquired about the potency of the Supreme Lord, by which he brought out the secondary creation, Sukadeva Goswami explained to him about the activities of king Prachinabarhi and his ten sons Pracetas - who were bestowed with responsibility of increasing the population. The Pracetas underwent long austerities under water and when they emerged from water, they saw the entire surface of the world covered by trees. Somehow they were annoyed by this and using the mystic power gained by their austerities - started burning the trees to ashes using fire coming from their mouth. When Soma - king of the trees and predominating deity of the moon saw their misuse of powers, he advised them very nicely - not to misuse their anger in destruction of trees which are created by Krishna for a very special purpose. In verses 6.4.7 through 15 of Srimad Bhagavatam, King Soma very nicely insists on the importance of trees.

Soma says that duty of government or king is not only to protect the citizens, but also other living entities like animals and trees. No living entity should be killed mercilessly. He also explains how fruits and flowers of trees serve as food for birds, insects - grass and legless entities serve as food for the cows and buffaloes and food-grains serve as food for human-beings. In verse 6.4.12-13 he says

tokaanaam pitarau bandhu / drshah pakshma striyaah patih
patih prajaanaam bhikshunaam / grhy ajnaanaam budhah suhrt

"As the father and mother are the friends and maintainers of their children, as the eyelid is the protector of the eye, as the husband is the maintainer and protector of a woman, as the householder is the maintainer and protector of beggars, and as the learned is the friend of the ignorant, so the king is the protector and giver of life to all his subjects. The trees are also subjects of the king. Therefore they should be given protection."

antar deheshu bhutaanaam / aatmaaste harir ishvarah
sarvam tad-dhishnyam ikshadhvam / evam vas toshito hy asau

"The Supreme Personality of Godhead is situated as the Super-soul within the cores of the hearts of all living entities, whether moving or nonmoving, including men, birds, animals, trees and, indeed, all living entities. Therefore you should consider every body a residence or temple of the Lord. By such vision you will satisfy the Lord. You should not angrily kill these living entities in the forms of trees."

If we are unable to help anyone, at least we must refrain from hurting them. So even if we don't plant and grow trees, let us not indulge in the sinful act of killing them but rather protect the existing trees in whatever way we can for His pleasure.

How To Relish Transcendental Vibration?

2009-01-24T15:57:00.001+04:00

Chanting of the holy names, studying Srimad Bhagavatam and Srimad Bhagavd Gita involves transcendental vibrations. To perceive this transcendental vibration is very difficult for neophytes like me. Many times we enjoy kritans sung in new tunes. But when sung in normal tunes we may not. This shows that we are not truly relishing the transcendental vibration of the holy names. This difficulty can be overcome by being satisfied in our material things. In this connection, I would like to share one important shloka which our Guru Maharaj had instructed us when we were in Rajkot last month.

To relish the transcendental vibrations we should remember the verse S.B 8.19.26.,so that our mind is focused on the vibrations.

yadrcchaa-laabha-tushtasya / tejo viprasya vardhate
tat prashaamyaty asantoshaad / ambhasevaashushukshanih

"A brahmana who is satisfied with whatever is providentially obtained is increasingly enlightened with spiritual power, but the spiritual potency of a dissatisfied brahmana decreases, as fire diminishes in potency when water is sprinkled upon it."

Tej means spiritual potency. The spiritual potency increases as we are satisfied in our situation. We should be completely satisfied and never blame anything. We are suffering for our own activities which we have done.

bhunjaana evaatma aatma krtam vipaakam

- (SB 10.14.8) This is our condition. For the reactions of our activities we suffer. Either enjoyment or miserable condition.This is vipaakam (reactions to our activities). Once we come to this conclusion then we close the material accounts by being satisfied. If we are not satisfied then material accounts continue, but then we don't want to continue our material accounts. It must be stopped or reduced to a minimum. This is santosh.

We are waiting to see the Lord at the time of death, whatever condition we are in - whether we are sinful or not. The devotees are not scared of death instead they are happy to see the Lord. That’s why their spiritual potency does not decrease. On the contrary, the spiritual potency increases because of santosh. To get santosh we should accept the material things as they are, and again that which cannot be changed should be accepted as such.

In shastras it is mentioned

santosha trishu kartavyah / svadhaare bhojane dhane
santosha trishu na kartavyah / svaadhyaah japa dhaanayoh

"One should be always satisfied with these three things - their spouse, the food, and the amount of wealth they obtained. One should never be satisfied with these three things - the amount of scriptural study, the amount of chanting and the amount of charity they performed."

In these three things we should be satisfied - Svadhaare, Bhojane, Dhane. We should be satisfied with our life partner,food and money - For satisfaction gives all opulences. If we are dissatisfied in these three things then our spiritual potency decreases. This is asantosh. Then we start hankering. With this hankering we cannot relish the transcendental vibrations. The gist is that in order to relish the transcendental vibration we should be satisfied completely.These instructions should continuously remain in our mind, so that this material account is completely closed.

I pray to the Lotus feet of our Gurudev, Prabhupad and Sri Krishna that i remain satisfied in all aspects so that i could relish the transcendental vibrations.

What Is In A Name?

2009-01-24T09:05:00.001+04:00

It is said that the sweetest sound for any person is the sound of one’s own name. Whenever we hear someone talking about us mentioning our name, immediately we become attentive. Nowadays the parents are so crazy to see that their children’s name is on the top of the list that the majority of parents name their child beginning with the alphabet ‘A’ so that their child’s name will be in the top of the list at least alphabetically, if not by any other merit. We are mad about numerology and give all kinds of meaningless names to our children without giving proper thoughts. Even if we give them a nice name, we tend to abbreviate it in so many crazy ways and call them in that way. On the day of initiation we are given a Krishna daasya naama (name of Krishna’s servant) and even after being so fortunate, we do not endeavor to remember or call by this initiated name but continue with the karmic name. I came to understand what a great misfortune it is to do like this, after I went through the pastime of Ajamila. We find that Ajamila named his youngest son as Narayana and he was very much attached to this child. Because the child’s name was Narayana, the old man always chanted the holy name of Narayana.

While describing the life of Ajamila to Maharaj Parikshit Sukadev Goswami says in Srimad Bhagavatam 6.1.26 -

bhunjaanah prapiban khaadan / baalakam sneha- yantritah
bhojayan paayayan mudho / na vedaagatam antakam

"When Ajamila chewed food and ate it, he called the child to chew and eat, and when he drank he called the child to drink also. Always engaged in taking care of the child and calling his name, Naarayana, Ajamila could not understand that his own time was now exhausted and that death was upon him."

Srila Prabhupada writes in his purport to SB 6.1.25 that although Ajamila was referring to the small child and not to the original Narayana, the name of Narayana is so powerful that even by chanting his son’s name he was becoming purified. Prabhupada also mentions that Ajamila was saying, ‘Narayana, please come eat this food. Narayana, please come drink this milk.’ Somehow or the other therefore he was attached to the name Narayana. This is called ajnaana sukriti. Then in his purport to SB 6.1.26 Srila Prabhupada makes a very very powerful statement which is worth remembering by all of us. Although calling for his son, he was unknowingly chanting the name of Narayana, and the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is so transcendentally powerful that his chanting was being counted and recorded.

How much kind the Lord is to the conditioned souls like us? This reminds us of the statement by our beloved Guru maharaj , ‘whatever condition you are in, please chant on japa mala beads. If you cannot chant on the beads, then at least chant on your fingers and if you cannot chant on your fingers, at least start chanting and KRISHNA WILL COUNT for you.’

Ajamila was engaged in so much abominable sinful activities and the question arises in our mind as to how he could name his son as ‘Narayana’ to become eligible for all this fortune. Srila Prabhupada gives a wonderful explanation in his purport to Srimad Bhagavatham 6.2.32

‘In the beginning of his life Ajamila was certainly very pure, and he associated with devotees and brahmanas.; because of that pious activity, even though he was fallen, he was inspired to name his son Narayana. Certainly this was due to good counsel given from within by the Supreme Personality Of Godhead. The Lord, who is situated in everyone’s heart, is so kind that if one has ever rendered service to Him, the Lord never forgets him. Thus the Lord, from within, gave Ajamila the opportunity to name his youngest son Narayana, so that in affection he would constantly call ‘Narayana! Narayana!’ and thus be saved from the most fearful and dangerous condition at the time of his death. Such is the mercy of Krishna. In our Krishna consciousness movement we therefore change a devotee’s name to a form that reminds him of Vishnu. If at the time of death the devotee can remember his own name, such as Krishna dasa or Govinda dasa, he can be saved from the greatest danger. Therefore the change of names at the time of initiation is essential. The Krishna consciousness movement is so meticulous that it gives one a good opportunity to remember Krishna somehow or other.’

Importance of Recitation

2009-01-23T09:28:00.001+04:00

Last month when we went to Shree Shree Radha Neela Madhava dham, our spiritual master was insisting on the importance of recitation of shlokas. Maharaj said that recitation has a subtle and sublime effect on us. But we fail to understand the importance of the same and keep ignoring it or do it in a very sporadic and mechanical manner. We also tend to do the recitation in a very whimsical manner - when we are pressed down by problems or when our near and dear ones are sick etc...Such behavior only depicts our fruitive attitude. Maharaj said that if all the family members are engaged in devotional service, then time should be adjusted in such a way that each member of the family does the recitation for significant time in a day - so that the recitation continues through-out the day in the house. The effect of such auspicious vibration, will purify not only our minds - but also the whole environment around us.

We tend to forget the value of these statements. So to hammer this point on our dull brains, Maharaj insisted that whenever we recite Bhagavad Gita and Bhagavatam, we should make it a habit to recite the following two verses along with their translations as they very nicely brings out the glories of recitation.

nivrtta-tarshair upagiyamaanaad
bhavaushadhaac chrotra-mano-’bhiraamaat
ka uttamashloka-gunaanuvaadaat
pumaan virajyeta vinaa pashughnaat

"Glorification of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is performed in the parampara system; that is, it is conveyed from spiritual master to disciple. Such glorification is relished by those no longer interested in the false, temporary glorification of this cosmic manifestation. Descriptions of the Lord are the right medicine for the conditioned soul undergoing repeated birth and death. Therefore, who will cease hearing such glorification of the Lord except a butcher or one who is killing his own self?"

Srimad Bhagavatam 1.6.25 Srila Narada Muni, while explaining to Vyaasadev about his first meeting with Supreme Lord says

etaavad uktvo pararaama tan mahad
bhutam nabholingam alingam ishvaram
aham ca tasmair mahataam mahiyase
shirshnaava naamam vidadhe anukampitah

"Then the Supreme authority personified by sound, unseen by eyes, yet most wonderful, stopped speaking. Feeling a sense of gratitude, I offered my obeisances unto Him, by bowing my head."

In his purport to the above verse Srila Prabhupada says - "That the Personality of Godhead was not seen, but only heard does not make any difference. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, produced the four Vedas by His breathing and the Lord can be seen and realized through the transcendental sound of the Vedas. Similarly the Bhagavad Gita is the sound incarnation of the Lord and there is no difference in identity. The conclusion is that the Lord can be seen and heard by persistent chanting of the transcendental sound."

I pray that I remember this instruction of Gurudev and practice it daily in my life and chant the shlokas lovingly for His pleasure.

Health tips (health, personality, society, life)

2009-01-21T21:19:00.001+04:00

Health:

Drink plenty of water.
Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.
Make time to practice meditation, yoga, and prayer.
Play more games.
Read more books than you did in 2008.
Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
Sleep for 7 hours.
Take a 10-30 minutes walk every day. And while you walk, smile.

Personality:

Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
Don't over do. Keep your limits.
Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
Dream more while you are awake.
Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your resent happiness.
Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
Smile and laugh more.
You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree..

Society:

Call your family often.
Each day give something good to others.
Forgive everyone for everything.
Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
Try to make at least three people smile each day.
What other people think of you is none of your business.
Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:

Do the right thing!
Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
GOD heals everything.
However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
The best is yet to come.
When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

Commanding the Lord

2009-01-21T20:53:00.001+04:00

The scriptures recommend that we should become the servants of the servant of Lord Krishna. But if we really become servants of the servants, then, instead of us serving the Lord, the Lord serves us beyond all our imaginations. Of course this is an embarrassment for pure devotees; their motive of service is not to get service from the Lord, but the Lord being bought over by the unmotivated service of His sincere devotees, does anything for their welfare. In Srimad Bhagavatam 1.16.16, there is a list of menial service that Lord Krishna did to the Pandavas which we cannot normally imagine the Supreme Lord to do for anyone.

saarathya paarashada sevana sakhya dautya
viraasanaanugamana stavana pranaamaan
snigdeshu paandushu jagat pranatim ca vishnor
bhaktim karoti nr-patis caranaaravinde

"Maharaja Parikshit heard that out of His causeless mercy Lord Kirshna [Vishnu], who is universally obeyed, rendered all kinds of service to the malleable sons of Pandu by accepting posts ranging from chariot driver to president to messenger, friend, night watchman, etc., according to the will of the Pandavas, obeying them like a servant and offering obeisances like one younger in years. When he heard this, Maharaja Parikshit became overwhelmed with devotion to the lotus feet of the Lord."

Lord Krishna performed services like:

1. Sarathy - He served as the Charioteer of Arjuna in the Battle. Being a charioteer is one of the most menial service one can do. In the battlefield, since the fight will be so intense and fast that the fighter will not have time to tell the charioteer which way to turn. So, many times, the fighter commands the charioteer with signs using his legs hitting the back of the charioteer.Krishna took such a low position of service to serve Arjuna in the battlefield. At the end of everyday, Krishna would also feed and bathe the horses and maintain the Rath clean for Arjuna.

2. Paarashada - Yudhishtira Maharaj wanted the Lord to preside over the Rajasuya ceremony and worship Him. Without any hesitation the Lord accepted the request of the Pandavas and in the process He delivered Sishupala who did not like Krishna being worshiped in that ceremony.

3. Sakhya - The Lord acted as the intimate friend of the Pandavas, especially Arjuna. During informal interactions, Arjuna would often deal with the Lord as if He is his side-kick, but Krishna would always enjoy such informal interactions wherein Arjuna and the other Pandavas would forget the opulence of the Lord and deal with Him as if He is one among them.

4. Dautya - When every attempt failed to stop the war, the Lord volunteered to go to Duryodhana as a messenger on behalf of the Pandavas begging at least 5 villages for them so that there would not be unnecessary loss of lives on either sides. In that process He was even insulted by Duryodhana but the fact is that the Lord was willing to go to any extent to serve His pure devotees.

5. Viraasana - Once the battle is over for the day, both the camps will do strategic planning for the next day's fight. During that time, the Lord would act as a night watchman for the Pandavas camp so that the spies won't sneak in from the opposition camp to learn about their next day's strategy. He was doing this to protect the Pandavas at any cost.

6. Anugamana - Krishna was always following the instructions of Yudhishtira Maharaj, Kunti Maharani, Vidura etc even though He is the almighty Lord.

7. Stavana - Whenever the Lord went to meet the Pandavas, He would says glorifying prayers to them and greet them lovingly, eventhough it should have been the other way round.

8. Pranaamaan - The Lord was offering obeisances to the Pandavas whenever He met them.

He did all these to the Pandavas only because they were malleable to the will of the Lord. They were willing to act in whatever way the Lord desired. The interesting word we should observe in this connection is jagat-pranatim - The whole world is obeying the Lord, but the Lord is obeying His sincere servants.

Bhakti - The Only Way to Realize Krishna

2009-01-20T21:33:00.001+04:00

In our day to day life, we come across so many kinds of incidents both in our lives as well as in the external world. If we try to comprehend the reasons for these things using our mind, or try to manipulate why Krishna has allowed these things, it will simply lead to bewilderment. Our senses are limited and Krishna is unlimited - so we can never judge or ascertain Krishna's actions.

In the 4th Mantra of Sri Isopanishad it is said

anejad ekam manaso javiyo / nainad devaa aapnuvan purvam arshat
tad dhaavato 'nyaan atyeti tishthat / tasminn apo maatarishvaa dadhaati

"Although fixed in His abode, the Personality of Godhead is swifter than the mind and can overcome all others running. The powerful demigods cannot approach Him. Although in one place, He controls those who supply the air and rain. He surpasses all in excellence."

There are few points we can learn from the above verse:

i) Although fixed in His abode - It means that though Krishna is fixed in one place, localized and the greatest, He can be simultaneously omni-present.A very good example of this is found when the Lord stood before Kunti mata as she was glorifying him. However,at the very moment, Uttara mata shouted and called out to Krishna as the Brahmastara was about to kill Parikshit Maharaj in her womb. The Lord was still standing before Kunti Mata but simultaneously he covered the child with his own energy and protected Parikshit Maharaj. Also during His pastimes in Dwaraka with His queens, with His friends in Vrindavan and in so many other places we find the Lord exhibiting His omnipresent nature - though He eternally continues to reside in His Supreme abode. This act of the Lord is inconceivable by mental speculation and unexplainable by material standards. This is due to our limited understanding and potency to understand the Lord's actions.

ii) The personality of Godhead is swifter than the mind and can overcome all others running - Our mind is supposed to be swifter than our actions. But this verse clearly points out Krishna is swifter than the mind. Since Krishna is the Supreme personality of Godhead, He is the fastest and the most excellent. No one is greater or equal to Him. He can do anything He wants. He is the cause of all causes. It is stated by the Lord personally that He is the cause of all the demigods and sages. Even the demigods and great sages cannot understand Krishna as their energies are limited.

Glorifying these potencies of Supreme Lord, Prajapati Daksha prays in Srimad Bhagavatam verse (6.4.29) :-

yad yan niruktam vacasaa nirupitam
dhiyaakshabhir vaa manasota yasya
maa bhut svarupam guna-rupam hi tat tat
sa vai gunaapaaya-visarga-lakshanah

"Anything expressed by material vibrations, anything ascertained by material intelligence and anything experienced by the material senses or concocted within the material mind is but an effect of the modes of material nature and therefore has nothing to do with the real nature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Supreme Lord is beyond the creation of this material world, for He is the source of the material qualities and creation. As the cause of all causes, He exists before the creation and after the creation. I wish to offer my respectful obeisances unto Him."

Daksha very carefully points out that material designations cannot be names of the worshipable Lord: yad yan niruktam vacasaa nirupitam. Nirukta refers to the Vedic dictionary. One cannot properly understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead merely by picking up expressions from a dictionary. In praying to the Lord, Daksha does not wish material names and forms to be the objects of his worship; rather, he wants to worship the Lord, who existed before the creation of material dictionaries and names. As confirmed in the Vedas, yato vaaco nivartante/ apraapya manasaa saha: the name, form, attributes and paraphernalia of the Lord cannot be ascertained through a material dictionary. However, if one reaches the transcendental platform of understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he becomes well acquainted with everything, material and spiritual

In the above verse, Kind Daksha clearly tells us that we cannot understand Krishna through the process of mental speculation or using our mind. If we try to speculate about Him, then Krishna will be illusive to us. The Lord is Supreme Pure and we are completely impure. The only way we can understand the Lord is through the purificatory process of Bhakti which is non-different from the Lord. So instead of speculating the reasons for each and every happenings using our mind, let us simply accept His Supremacy and simply endeavor to act in a manner pleasing to Him.

Helpful tips on building a household budget (and sticking to it!)

2009-01-20T17:30:00.001+04:00

Be realistic. Sure, we could all save a bundle if we didn't have to eat or entertain ourselves. You can cut your grocery bill by up to 15% or so, but a 25% or more reduction in spending is just unrealistic. Plan on spending some money on entertainment, everybody needs some reward.
You're budgeting your money to save money. You're doing this for a reason- make it count. Try to save at least 5% of your income each month.
Track your actual spending. Don't fall into the trap of setting up a detailed budget and then forget to track against it. Track your spending daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly, hourly, whatever- just make sure you're tracking what you actually spend!
Make a list of free things to do each month. A concert in the park, hiking on the weekend, volunteer time at a soup kitchen. Be creative.
Correcting bad spending habits. You've invested your hard earned money into a budget spreadsheet or budget software, now make it pay off. How do you correct bad spending habits? Discipline and learning from your past mistakes.
Plan for the unexpected. Make sure you put aside some emergency funds for unexpected events (medical bills, automobile repair, loss of employment, etc.)
Don't panic. If you spend more than you make in a given month, treat it as a lesson learned, not the end of the world.
Reward yourself. Try to reward yourself at the end of each month for a job well done. This will help you stick to your goals in the future.
Stick with simple budgeting tools. Don't get lost with the latest and greatest budget software that has the most bells and whistles. The more robust the budget program, the more confusing. Keep it simple.
Don't let your budget rule your life. The world is stressful enough today, it doesn't need any help from you. Stick to your budget as best you can, learn from your mistakes and try to improve every month.

Procrastinate And Perish

2009-01-19T19:55:00.001+04:00

In Srimad Bhagavad Gita, while describing the worker in the mode of ignorance, Lord Shri Krishna says in 18.28

ayuktah praakrtah stabdhah / shato naishkrtiko ‘lasah
Vishaadi dirgha- sutri ca / kartaa taamasa ucyate

"The worker who is always engaged in work against the injunctions of the scripture, who is materialistic, obstinate, cheating and expert in insulting others, and who is lazy, always morose and procrastinating is said to be a worker in the mode of ignorance."

‘Dirgha-sutri as meaning a long thread. Supposing the newspapers are lying here, within few minutes we can clear them. But we do not clear it and then every time we see the newspapers, we keep saying, ‘it is to be done. Tomorrow I will do it’. Or otherwise we ask so many people to do it. What can be done in three minutes, we keep on postponing to tomorrow and tomorrow never comes. Tomorrow will be today again. This is the long thread and this attitude has to be avoided. That which is to be done, should be done immediately. Procrastination is the thief of time. As soon as we postpone, so much breath is wasted ordering others. It really steals our time.

Srimad Bhagavad Gita gives us the direction. At the moment we are without direction. Then how can we go to the destination? Suppose a steamer is there, there will be a sail. If we open the sail, we will be dragged in the direction of the wind. If the sail is not opened, the boat will go hither and thither. Our sails are completely closed. So again and again we are in birth, death, old age and disease. There is no sail and we don’t have the time to spread the sail. And we do not have time to take advantage of the direction of the wind when it is favourable. At the moment, the wind is favourable to us. The cupboards are full, but we are lamenting. Why? Because our sails are closed. We keep on saying, I will open the sail tomorrow. But who knows, tomorrow, the direction of the wind may change and as soon as the direction of the wind changes, we start blaming the wind. ‘Ah! I wanted to open the sail. But the wind is not favourable.’ But when it was favourable, why did you not do it? This is procrastination.

Every one of us is a dirga sutri. Unless we are forced, we will not do the material activity and unless we are extremely forced, we will not do the spiritual activities. In the beginning force is required. The urgency is that we should utilise the time when the winds are favourable. Now prasadam is there, bathing facilities are there, bed is there, tables are there, light is there, everything is there but we are procrastinating. Then in miserable conditions we blame the whole world, except us. This tendency has got to be stopped.

Any work has to be done immediately and finished off never to be left for the next second. When you are getting out of the house, if there is any impediment on the pathway, we immediately clear it. We don’t step over it and go. If we do that, then again the next time we get out, the same impediment is there. So better clear it off for once and all. Then we become completely free to be with Srimad Bhagavatham and Bhagavad gita.

Material activities cannot be ignored because in kaliyuga we require to perform them for our maintenance and so many other things. Expertise in material activity is the spiritualization of material activity. Whatever activity we do, that activity has to be performed so very nicely, that the employer or customer whoever it is, should be completely pleased with us. This pleasing effect is Krishna. Bliss is flowing from Him. As soon as we are pleased with the dealings between us, that is Krishna. If we perform the activities very clearly, thinking that we are dealing with Krishna, seeing Krishna everywhere, then the activity becomes relishable. You are happy and the persons who come in contact with you, they are dancing. That is the spiritualization of activities.

In the spiritual activities, because the results are not tangible, we postpone the activity for the whole of our life and the whole life time passes away. Procrastination is a thief of our time and a thief has got to be imprisoned so that it doesn’t come in to our life again. Lord Brahma’s life time is only a blink in the eternal time and our life time is not even a blink and hence we have to be very serious about these things.

The Debt Owed to the Mother

2009-01-19T19:01:00.001+04:00

Once a youth asked Swami Vivekananda, “It is said that to repay a mother’s debt is difficult. Why is that so?”

In his reply, Swami Vivekananda asked a counter question, “Do you want a practical answer to your query?”

“Yes, Your Holiness!”

“Fine! Take some courage. Pick up that stone lying there, tie it onto your belly and go to your office. Meet me in the evening after you return.”

Imagine the plight of one who has to work with a 2 to 3 kg stone attached to his stomach.

He returned in the evening, exhausted, and reported to Vivekananda, “I have gone through a veritable ordeal in order to get the answer. Now please enlighten me about the debt owed to the mother.”

“When did you tie the stone?”

“Early in the morning.”

“So, it has not been more than a day, right?”

“Yes!”

“You became tired in just one day while your mother carried you for months together. Just imagine, how difficult it must have been for her? But she never complained. Do you need any further practical answer?“

Evaporation of Miseries

2009-01-18T19:02:00.001+04:00

In the second chapter of Srimad Bhagavad Gita, Shri Arjuna is asking Shri Krishna about the symptoms of a transcendentally situated personality. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is clearly answering this question by explaining the qualifications of such a personality and I was listening to a lecture given by our beloved Maharaj on one of the qualifications from Srimad Bhagavad Gita 2.56 and I am summarising herewith a few of the points spoken by Maharaj.

duhkheshv anudvigna-manaah / sukheshu vigata-sprhah
vita-raaga-bhaya-krodah / sthita-dhir munir ucyate

"One who is not disturbed in mind even amidst the threefold miseries or elated when there is happiness, and who is free from attachment, fear and anger, is called a sage of steady mind."

Maharaj was telling that it is very difficult to come to the conclusion that in both happiness and misery, we should become very steady. It is nearly impossible in this age because this age is particularly meant for activities which are increasing the sense gratification and as soon as there is some impediment into it, we become angry and agitated. Here Krishna advises us that if we can cultivate Krishna consciousness in our life, then when there is misery we won't be miserable. One thing we have to understand is that everything is under the control of Krishna and as soon as we remember this control of the Supreme Authority, then whatever comes, we take it as His mercy and He never does anything wrong for us. It may appear to us that this is not good for me, but in the end it proves to be a very nice thing for us. For a few moments or few months we may feel what Krishna is doing with me. But later everything becomes clear for us.

Sudama was completely poor and he was an intimate friend of Lord Krishna but he was not at all dissatisfied with his condition and because he was equal minded in poverty too, in the end, Krishna gave him so much that he got all the opulences. On the other side, there were the two sons of Kuvera - Manigriva and Nalakuvera. As we know, rich man’s son gets easy money and as soon as the riches are there and they see that they are going to inherit the father’s property then three things follow.

stri – illicit connection with women
dyutam – gambling
aasavam – intoxication

These three things are there without fail, when easy money is there. Once in order to enjoy, they entered into the Kailasha gardens and were playing in the waters of the lake, completely intoxicated along with some girls. And it so happened by their destiny, that Narada muni passed that way. They were completely shameless and did not even care for Narada muni and they remained naked. Those who drink wine, they completely forget themselves and their lives are described in Srimad Bhagavad Gita 16.7 as

pravrttim ca nivrttim ca / janaa na vidur aasuraah
na shaucam naapi caacaro / na satyam teshu vidyate

"Those who are demoniac do not know what is to be done and what is not to be done. Neither cleanliness nor proper behavior nor truth is found in them."

The mentality of persons intoxicated with riches is wonderfully spoken by the Lord in Srimad Bhagavad Gita 16.13-15:

The demoniac person thinks: “So much wealth do I have today, and I will gain more according to my schemes. So much is mine now, and it will increase in the future, more and more. He is my enemy, and I have killed him, and my other enemies will also be killed. I am the lord of everything. I am the enjoyer. I am perfect, powerful and happy. I am the richest man, surrounded by aristocratic relatives. There is none so powerful and happy as I am. I shall perform sacrifices, I shall give some charity, and thus I shall rejoice.” In this way, such persons are deluded by ignorance.

When Narada muni saw that these 2 boys were behaving like trees standing naked, he cursed them to accept the body of the trees. By the causeless mercy of Narada muni, they became the yamalarjuna trees in the courtyard of Nanda maharaj and they were delivered by Krishna. The point is that if we do not behave properly, then we are going to glide down. Intoxicated by riches, if we ignore the saintly elderly persons, then the horrible results awaits us. That is why Krishna advises us that in miserable conditions we should not be disturbed at all. When we are in nice situations, we should not be elated, as this elation will throw us into bad activities.

Nobody really can escape the miseries and we all have 7 problems (birth, death, old age, disease, adhibautic, adhyatmic, adhidaivic) in front of us. These 7 problems are inevitable and there is no cure for it.

Krishna advises us to get attached to Him and all these miseries even though inevitable become happily bearable. Without Krishna we cannot face the misery. That is why Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Srila Prabhupada insist us that we chant the holy names of Krishna. Communion with the Lord through the transcendental sound vibration is the complete perfect way out of our miseries. If we take advantage of these transcendental vibrations, then we cannot go wrong at all. In the same way, if we learn a few verses and we sing them, we become completely elevated from the material platform to the spiritual platform. As soon as we speak a verse from Bhagavad Gita, we are speaking out Krishna. As soon as we get in touch with the whole spirit Krishna, our mind leaves the limited boundary and there is complete evaporation of miseries.

Importance of Arcanam

2009-01-18T18:54:00.001+04:00

While explaining about the nine process of devotional service Prahlad Maharaj says in Srimad Bhagavatam verse 7.5.23 as follows..

shri-prahraada uvaaca

shravanam kirtanam vishnuh / smaranam paada-sevanam
arcanam vandanam daasyam / sakhyam aatma-nivedanam
iti pumsaarpitaa vishnau / bhaktis cen nava-lakshanaa
kriyeta bhagavaty addhaa / tan manye 'dhitam uttamam

Prahlada Maharaja said: Hearing and chanting about the transcendental holy name, form, qualities, paraphernalia and pastimes of Lord Vishnu, remembering them, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, offering the Lord respectful worship with sixteen types of paraphernalia, offering prayers to the Lord, becoming His servant, considering the Lord one's best friend, and surrendering everything unto Him (in other words, serving Him with the body, mind and words) — these nine processes are accepted as pure devotional service. One who has dedicated his life to the service of Krishna through these nine methods should be understood to be the most learned person, for he has acquired complete knowledge.

Among the above nine process - arcanam means worshiping the Deity. Deity worship is very essential for householders. The bliss and benefit of having Deity at home can only be experienced individually and indeed cannot be expressed in few words. Deities regulate our life and force our dirty, lazy minds to keep things clean. They eliminate the feeling of voidness in the home and our lives and keeps us going at all times. We remember our Maharaj giving the example of how even an adult feels scared to enter a big hall when its dark - whereas if we have Deity of Lord, even a small child enters the hall bravely without any fear. Such is the power and potency of the Deity. The process and mood with which we should worship the Deity is very nicely explained by His Divine Grace in his purport to the above verse.

He says - "Especially for householder devotees who are opulent in material possessions, the path of Deity worship is strongly recommended. An opulent householder devotee who does not engage his hard-earned money in the service of the Lord is called a miser. One should not engage paid brahmanas to worship the Deity. If one does not personally worship the Deity but engages paid servants instead, he is considered lazy, and his worship of the Deity is called artificial. An opulent householder can collect luxurious paraphernalia for Deity worship, and consequently for householder devotees the worship of the Deity is compulsory."

Having Deity at home is to revive our lost relationship with the Supreme Lord. So understanding this, we should serve the Deities with our own endeavor and not employ others for serving Them. If we keep servants for serving our Deities at home, then even after millions of birth, we will not be able to revive our relationship with Him. We might very well see that even in case of our own relatives like parents, grand-parents or our children, the loving reciprocation which we experience, the satisfaction which we get when we serve them directly is much more than when we employ care-takers for the same.

Our hunger cannot be satisfied, if we ask someone else to eat for us. Similarly we will never remember Krishna - if we keep delegating to others, even the basic service which we are supposed to do Him. Ambarsih Maharaj was the king of the whole planet and had so many people under his control. But still He used to clean the temple with his own hands (karau harer mandira-maarjanaadishu - SB 9.4.18-20), bathe the Deities, offer flowers to Them, perform pooja etc.

We are nothing when compared to Ambarish Maharaj's powerful position. So let us atleast sincerely endeavor to serve our Deities at home to the best of our capabilities. Indeed the only way to control our wavering senses, is to engage them in the service of Deity who is non-different from the Lord of Senses - Hrshikesha.

Whom To Invite

2009-01-17T00:15:00.001+04:00

Recently I came across a following story which very nicely tells what level of importance needs to be given to wealth, success and love. Once a woman came out of her house and saw 3 old men with long white beards sitting in her front yard. She did not recognize them. She said "I don't think I know you, but you must be hungry. Please come in and have something to eat."

"Is the man of the house home?", they asked.

"No", she replied. "He's out."

"Then we cannot come in", they replied.

In the evening when her husband came home, she told him what had happened. "Go tell them I am home and invite them in!" The woman went out and invited the men in.

"We do not go into a house together," they replied.

"Why is that?" she asked.

One of the old men explained: "His name is Wealth," he said pointing to one of his friends, and said pointing to another one,"He is Success, and I am Love." Then he added, "Now go in and discuss with your husband which one of us you want in your home."

The woman went in and told her husband what was said. Her husband was overjoyed. "How nice!!", he said. "Since that is the case, let us invite Wealth. Let him come and fill our home with wealth!"

His wife disagreed. "My dear, why don't we invite Success?"

Their daughter was listening from the other corner of the house. She jumped in with her own suggestion: "Would it not be better to invite Love? Our home will then be filled with love!"

"Let us heed to our daughter's advice," said the husband to his wife. "Go out and invite Love to be our guest." The woman went out and asked the 3 old men, "Which one of you is Love? Please come in and be our guest." Love got up and started walking toward the house. The other 2 also got up and followed him.

Surprised, the lady asked Wealth and Success: "I only invited Love, Why are you coming in?"

The old men replied together: "If you had invited Wealth or Success, the other two of us would've stayed out, but since you invited Love, wherever He goes, we go with him. Wherever there is Love, there is also Wealth and Success!!!!!!"

The word "Love" is being used very loosely and rampantly in this misguided civilization. The point is that love is present, but it is a perverted form of love. Why ? Because this material world is a reflection of the spiritual world and thereby everything is topsy turvy and it is not eternal. This does not mean that we don't know how to love and what to love.

In Caitanya-cartitamrta (Madhya 22.107) it is said "Pure love for Krishna is eternally established in the hearts of living entities. It is not something to be gained from another source. When the heart is purified by hearing and chanting, the living entity naturally awakens."

Nectar of Instruction Text 4 shows the right path :

dadaati pratigrhnaati / guhyam aakhyaati prcchati
bhunkte bhojayate caiva / sad-vidham priiti-lakshanam

There are six kinds of activities :

giving charity to the devotees
accepting from the devotees whatever they may offer in return
opening one's mind to the devotees
inquiring from them about the confidential service of the Lord
honoring prasada, or spiritual food, given by the devotees
feeding the devotees with prasada.

"The International Society for Krishna Consciousness has been established to facilitate these six kinds of loving exchanges between devotees."

He further adds : "The life of the Krishna conscious society is nourished by these six types of loving exchange among the members, therefore people must be given the chance to associate with the devotees of ISKCON because simply by reciprocating in the six ways mentioned above an ordinary man can fully revive his dormant Krishna consciousness."

So Whom should we invite? The answer is we must invite Krishna. Will He come by just mere utterance of invitation. No. We have to invite with LOVE. One an only way is by sincerely calling out

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

This is the only way to purify our existence. I sincerely pray to our beloved Maharaj to bestow upon me his love and blessings which will allow me to chant lovingly.

Supreme Lord's Will is Supreme

2009-01-16T14:03:00.001+04:00

Atheistic persons, in order to avoid Krishna consciousness, in order to avoid Krishna, the Supreme Person, they push forward the theory that life is caused by matter. But that is not the fact. It is Krishna who has entered this material world and He is supervising all the actions and reactions of this material world. Therefore it is moving. Foolish persons, they are thinking that material world is by chance and the prakrti is working automatically. Prakrti is jada. Jada-prakrti. without any sense. The motor car has got the wheels, the machine, everything, but it has no sense. So unless there is a sensible driver there, it cannot move. But we are so foolishly educated that we do not accept this fact. We say that:"Matter is the cause of life. We do not accept this theory that life is the cause of matter." As soon as they accept that life is the cause of matter, they have to accept God. Immediately. Immediately they have to accept God.

Lord Krishna said in Bhagavat Gita 9.10:

mayaadhyakshena prakrtih / suyate sa-caraacaram
hetunaanena kaunteya / jagad viparivartate

"This material nature, which is one of My energies, is working under My direction, O son of Kunti, producing all moving and nonmoving beings. Under its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and again."

It is clearly stated that the Supreme Lord is the Supreme director Supreme will and the background of this material manifestation, but the management is being conducted by material nature and without the superintendence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, cannot do anything. The Supreme Lord by His mere glance injects all the living entities into the womb of material nature, and they come out in their different forms and species, according to their last desires and activities. He simply glances over material nature; material nature is thus activated, and everything is created immediately according to supreme will. In this context there is a story of Jagannathji. In Puri temple every day at night at the time of Shayan arati, the Lord wears new dress because after closing the Jagannathaji temple the demigods visits the temple. One night when demigods were taking darshan of Lord Jagannathji. Yamaraj saw one bird sitting on one of the pillar. Garuda dev saw Yamaraj looking at the bird and thought that Yamaraj will take the life of this small bird because once Yamaraj drshti is cast on someone, it means he is sure to die.To save this bird Garuda dev took the bird and left him at long distance in a tree hole near Mansarovar in Himalaya and thought that Yamaraj cannot find the bird. After darshan when Yamaraj saw up, the bird was not there he got angry on Jagannathji and said that you tell us to do our work properly and on the other hand you are interferring in our work. I saw a bird who was sitting here, his life had come to an end but you gave him protection. Then Jaganathji himself looked into the matter and said that this bird is suppose to die after 2 minutes by snake in a hole on the tree at Manasarovar. and Garuda dev kept this bird at the same place. This means every thing happens according to Supreme will of the Lord.

Nepali Calender ..http://www.nepalicalendar.com/

2008-12-21T21:14:00.000+04:00

Poush-2065	DEC 08/JAN 09

Uzhunnu Vada

2008-12-07T13:01:00.001+04:00

Uzhunnu Vada served with coconut Chutney

Finally I made it and here’s the recipe for you..

Ingredients:-

Urad dal soaked in water for 2 hours - 2 cups
Finely chopped shallots - 10
(I used Onion as I didn’t have shallots)
Green chillies - 3
Chopped Ginger - 1 tsp
Chopped curry leaves - 2 tsp
Crushed pepper - 1 tsp
Baking Soda - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - to taste

Method:-

Grind urad dal and salt together adding very little water,into a coarse paste.It would be better if you don’t add water at all.But if you think,your grinder won’t coperate,just add necessary water little by little.
Now add shallots,ginger,curry leaves,pepper and baking soda into the ground paste and mix them together.

Pat your hands with water and make a ball with the paste.Flatten it and make a hole in the center like a doughnut.Wet your hands with water,when ever needed.

Drop the vadas into hot oil and deep fry till golden brown in color.Serve with chutney or Sambar.
(If you’ve accidently added more water while grinding,you can always use Urad dal powder to compensate it.I had even tried Uzhunnu vada with urad dal powder itself,and it came out good ,of course not as perfect as with soaked dal,but you could satisfy your taste buds,with much less effort.And its perfect for other bye products of Uzhunnu Vada,like Dahi Vada,Sambar Vada,Vada Koottu curry etc. )

Note: We can make without onion too ... it is great taste ...

Ven Pongal

2008-12-07T12:47:00.002+04:00

Ven Pongal is a typical tamilnadu breakfast. Less ingredients and easy to prepare and yummy to eat.

Ingredients
Raw rice / Pacharisi - 1 cup
Moong dal / Pasiparuppu - 1/2 cup
Ghee - 2 tbsps
Cumin - 1/2 tsp
Pepper - 1/2 tsp
Cashew nuts - few optional
Water - 4 1/2 cups

Method

1. In a pressure cooker fry the moong dal with little ghee until it becomes slightly brown and a nice aroma comes out from the dal.
2. Add the washed rice , water and rice and pressure cook it.
3. Heat the reamaining ghee in a pan add the cumin and pepper (slightly crush the cumin and the pepper) fry for 1 or 2 mins add the broken cahews and fry it together and pour it over the cooked rice and mix well. Serve with coconut chutney, pongal curry, vadai.

Mother Teresa Quotes

2008-12-06T20:25:00.002+04:00

I don't know what God is doing. He knows. We do not understand, but of one thing I'm sure, He doesn't make a mistake.

THE MOST URGENT QUESTION IS WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR OTHERS?

God loves a cheerful giver,

Joy can multiply itself in a heart that overflows with love.

Love for my neighbor will lead me to true love for God.

Where God is, there is love, and where love is, there always is an openness to serve.

Lord must be brought to every man and woman. Lord is the only answer.

It isn't how much we do, but how much love we put into what we do that really counts.

Mother Teresa Quotes::

2008-12-06T20:23:00.000+04:00

If we worry too much about ourselves, we won't have time for others.

Good works are links that form a chain of love.

Peace begins with a smile.

Holiness is not the luxury of a few. It is everyone's duty: yours and mine.

Countries that allow abortion are poor because they do not have the courage to accept one more life.

Love begins at home. Start to love and serve your family, your neighbors.

Prayer makes your heart bigger, until it is capable of containing the gift of God Himself.

Simple acts of love and prayer keep the light of Christ burning.

Holiness is not the luxury of a few. It is everyone's duty, yours and mine.

MOTHER TERESA

2008-12-06T20:19:00.002+04:00

"Keep the joy of loving God in your heart and share this joy with all you meet, especially your family. Be holy--let us pray."

"There is no greater sickness in the world today than the lack of love."

"We can do no great things; only small things with great love."
"God loves a cheerful giver. She or he gives best who gives with a smile."

"The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread."

"Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless."

"We need to find God, and God cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature--trees and flowers and grass--grow in silence. See the stars, the moon, and the sun, how they move in silence. The more we receive in silent prayer, the more we can give in our active life."

"God made the world rich enough to feed and clothe all human beings."

"The other day I dreamed that I was at the gates of heaven. And St. Peter said, 'Go back to Earth, there are no slums up here.' "

"Pride destroys everything. To imitate Jesus is the key to be meek and humble in heart."

"There is only one God and He is God to all; therefore it is important that everyone is seen as equal before God. I've always said we should help a Hindu become a better Hindu, a Muslim become a better Muslim, a Catholic become a better Catholic."

"People who love each other fully and truly are the happiest people in the world. They may have little, they may have nothing, but they are happy people. Everything depends on how we love one another."

"When I was crossing into Gaza, I was asked at the checkpost whether I was carrying any weapons. I replied: Oh yes, my prayer books."
"If you have a sick or lonely person at home, be there. Maybe just to hold a hand, maybe just to give a smile, that is the greatest, the most beautiful work."
"Prayer gives us a pure heart and a pure heart can do much."
"Keep your heart pure. A pure heart is necessary to see God in each other. If you see God in each other, there is love for each other, then there is peace."
"The poor do not need our sympathy and our pity. The poor need our love and compassion."

"I don't know what God is doing. He knows. We do not understand, but of one thing I'm sure, He doesn't make a mistake."
"God has created us to love and to be loved, and this is the beginning of prayer--to know that he loves me, that I have been created for greater things."
"The joy of Jesus will be my strength--it will be in my heart. Every person I meet will see it in my work, my walk, my prayer--in everything."
"Keep the light of Christ always shining in your hearts. Only He is the Way to be trodden. He is the Truth we must speak out. He is the Love we must love."
"Faith in action is love, and love in action is service. By transforming that faith into living acts of love, we put ourselves in contact with God Himself, with Jesus our Lord."
"Christ is hidden under the suffering appearance of anyone who is hungry, naked, homeless, or dying."
"People are hungry for God. Do you see that? Quite often we look but do not see. We are all passing through this world. We need to open our eyes and see."
"We must convert our love for Christ into deeds. We must express Christian love in concrete, living ways."
"Let us bring love and compassion to win the world, to bring the world the gospel of Christ. Let us all bring the good news that God loves the world!"
"You who have received so much love, share it with others. Love others the way that God has loved you, with tenderness."
"Communion with Christ gives us our strength, our joy, and our love."
"All of us must be saints in this world. Holiness is a duty for you and me. So let's be saints and so give glory to the Father."
"My prayer for you is that you come to understand and have the courage to answer Jesus' call to you with the simple word 'yes'."
"Love does not measure; it just gives."

~:: Mumbai After The Smoke Has Cleared ::~

2008-12-06T18:25:00.002+04:00

On Monday most of Mumbai, India attempted a return to normal activity, in the wake of the 60-hour-long siege last week. Some facts about the attacks are a bit clearer now, others still hazy. Based in part on the confessions of the only terrorist captured alive - Azam Amir Kasav (also identified elsewhere as 'Ajmal Qasab'), Indian officials now say that there were only 10 gunmen involved, all members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistani militant group with links to the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir - though Pakistan officially denies any involvement. According to recent reports, the ten attackers were responsible for the deaths of 172 people, including 19 foreigners, and 239 wounded. While mourners of the victims attended to their loved ones, and people all over the world held vigils, a Muslim graveyard in Mumbai refused to bury the nine dead gunmen - an official saying that they were not true followers of the Islamic faith.

An Indian soldier stands guard outside the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower Hotel following an armed siege on November 29, 2008 in Mumbai, India.

Photographers and members of the media cover a gunfire at the Taj Hotel in Mumbai November 28, 2008. At the front of the Taj, bleary-eyed journalists who had earlier mobbed National Security Guards chief J.K. Dutt when he announced the end of the siege were pushed back roughly behind a rope that had marked an unofficial boundary for them. Hundreds of media workers dived for cover as stray bullets whistled above them during the final stages of a firefight.

Indian commandos stand on a balcony of the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower Hotel after they gained control of it, on November 29, 2008 in Mumbai, India.

The lobby area of the Taj Mahal Hotel is seen in Mumbai, India, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2008, shortly after Indian commandos killed the last remaining gunmen holed up at the luxury Mumbai hotel Saturday.

MSecurity officials survey a destroyed room inside the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower Hotel after the armed siege on November 29, 2008 in Mumbai, India.

A policeman, shot at five times, holds up his metal belt buckle which saved his life on November 29, 2008 in Mumbai, India.

The interiors of Nariman House, Mumbai headquarters of the ultra-Orthodox Chabad Lubavitch movement, are seen after the commando operation in Mumbai, India, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2008.

A member of a Hindu congregation holds his hands in prayer to mourn those killed in the Mumbai, India terrorist attacks, while at the Hindu Temple and Cultural Center of the Rockies November 29, 2008 in Littleton, Colorado. The congregation listened to a prayer and then paused for two minutes of silence in solidarity with those killed in the attacks.

Muslims release pigeons symbolising peace during a rally in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad against the Mumbai attacks November 29, 2008.

An Indian Catholic woman prays following a Sunday Mass, at the Cathedral of the Holy Name, in Mumbai, India, Sunday Nov. 30, 2008.

Policemen and their families attend a meeting to pay tributes to Mumbai's policemen, in photographs in background, who lost their lives in terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2008.

Dhole Deepk, a policeman who was wounded at the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower Hotel during the armed siege with militants that ended yesterday, is seen at the Mumbai hospital, on November 30, 2008

Mumbai Residents walk with candles in the street near The Oberoi Hotel during a demonstration against the recent terror attacks in the city on November 30, 2008 in Mumbai, India.

People standing on the roadside shower flower petals as the body of Hemant Karkare, the chief of Mumbai's Anti-Terrorist Squad is taken for cremation in Mumbai, India, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2008.

Sunil Yadav, A National Security Guard (NSG) commando who was injured during an operation in the Taj Mahal hotel, shares his experience with media in a hospital in Mumbai November 30, 2008.

People make offerings and take the aura from the light of the Artee, at the end of an inter-faith service at the Hindu Sabha Temple in support of Mumbai attack victims, in Brampton, Canada. on Sunday Nov. 30, 2008.

Forensic experts sit outside the Nariman House Jewish centre, which is guarded by police, at Colaba Market on November 30, 2008 in Mumbai, India.

The body of a suspected terrorist lies in the wreckage inside the Nariman House building in Mumbai November 28, 2008.

This is an undated image released by Mumbai State police department on Monday Dec. 1, 2008, of Azam Amir Kasav who the police said was the sole terrorist captured alive in the recent attacks in Mumbai. Kasav is purported to be the same terrorist photographed in the act here.

Waiters organize for reopening the site of the first target of terrorist attacks this week, the Leopold Cafe on November 30, 2008 in Mumbai, India.

Raflles Eeaus Codes, a tourist from Spain who was wounded at the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower Hotel, lays in a bed at the Mumbai hospital on November 30, 2008 in Mumbai, India.

Moshe Holtzberg, the 2-year-old orphan of the rabbi and his wife slain in the Mumbai Jewish center, cries during a memorial service at a synagogue in Mumbai, India, Monday, Dec. 1, 2008. Holtzberg will fly to Israel Monday on an Israeli Air Force jet with his parents' remains and the Indian woman who rescued him, an Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

Muslims pay homage to the victims of the Mumbai attacks during a special prayer meeting at a mosque in the northeastern Indian city of Siliguri November 29, 2008.

A boy attends a candle lighting ceremony in Mumbai, India on Sunday, Nov. 30, 2008.

Relatives and neighbors mourn as they attend the funeral of Haresh Gohil, 25, who was killed by gunmen near Chabad-Lubavitch center,also known as Nariman House in Mumbai, India, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2008.

Several burning funeral pyres of victims who died in the attacks in Mumbai, India, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2008.

Family members of Maibam Bimolchandra Singh react as his body is brought to his hometown Imphal November 29, 2008. Singh, an employee in the Trident-Oberoi hotel in Mumbai, died in the Mumbai attacks.

An Indian commando signs autographs for a crowd of grateful people in Mumbai November 29, 2008.

Manoj Kanojia, 27, cries as he speaks to his mother on the phone at a hospital in Mumbai, India, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2008. Manoj suffered two bullet wounds in Wednesday's shooting at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Train Station in Mumbai.

Afroz Abbas, age 10, winces as he is helped to lie down on his bed at a hospital in Mumbai, India, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2008. Afroz was injured in the back and said he lost his parents and three other relatives in Wednesday's shooting at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Train Station in Mumbai.

Workers sweep the ground in front of the Taj hotel in Mumbai November 29, 2008.

A rubber dinghy lies in a police station in Mumbai, India, Thursday, Nov. 27, 2008. Indian security officers believe the gunmen who went on a terror rampage in Mumbai may have reached the city using a black and yellow rubber dinghy found near the site of the attacks.

People wait on the platforms of the landmark Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus train station, one of the several places where the attackers shot at people, in Mumbai, India, Monday Dec. 1, 2008. Mumbai returned to normal Monday to some degree, with many shopkeepers opening their doors for the first time since the attacks began. As authorities finished removing bodies Monday from the bullet and grenade-scarred Taj Mahal hotel, a Muslim graveyard refused to bury the nine gunmen who terrorized this city over three days last week, leaving at least 172 people dead and wreaking havoc at some of its most famous landmarks.

People eat at Cafe Leopold, one of the several places where terrorists shot at people, after it reopened in Mumbai, India, Monday, Dec. 1, 2008.

A woman cries, during a candlelight march for the victims of the Mumbai terrorist attack in which more than 195 people were killed, in Mumbai, India, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2008.

Biggest Fireworks in the History... Atlantis Hotel (Dubai) Opening

2008-12-06T18:24:00.000+04:00

How to Know True Love ?

2008-12-01T12:03:00.004+04:00

How do you know when you have found true love? I have heard this question countless times and have to be honest with you. No one really knows how true love works. There are different types of love. Puppy, true, and false are the three most common forms around. The best way to really identify true love is to explain the differences between these three. Puppy love is the type most teenagers experience. It is pure infatuation. The parties involved in a puppy love will feel the need to constantly stay at each other's side.

Usually, puppy love is found in couples without any previous relationships. These couples feel the need to boast about their feelings, often displaying heavy public emotion. They constantly feel the need to physically touch one another and have an obscene knack of showering one another with pet names and compliments. Without their companion, by their side, they may exhibit a lack of self-confidence, bouts of depression, and serious jealousy issues. It is this immature nature that separates puppy love from true love. This type of relationship has a legitimate threat for abusive situations.

False love is exactly that. This is a relationship based on lies. These relationships tend to base primarily on their passions and lusts. Couples in false relationships have one party, who truly cares about the other party, who has no moral or ethical obligations to their mate. Psychological and physical abuse is fairly commonplace. Someone always gets hurt when these relationships end.

True love is unlike any other form of love. Couples truly in love appreciate every moment they are together, even when they are apart. They are comfortable knowing every detail of each other's lives. Their relationships are so strong, a psychic bond is formed. Similar to the bond between mother and child. For example, it is not uncommon for a couple to be in two different stores and purchase the same item, or be in different sections of the same store and come back with the same item in their hands.

True love is when a couple accepts one another, regardless of how they change. They feel so comfortable talking to one another, that they can hold a serious conversation during the most private moments. They are so comfortable with their relationship, they can change in front of one another without a second thought. True love is knowing this is the person you are going to be with until the day you die. You can easily picture taking care of your mate, when they are at their worst or best. They naturally recognize when something is bothering their mate. Children blessed enough to have parents truly in love, enjoy their parents playful proddings. They get a chance to see what it takes to make relationships work. Without a good working understanding, children are at a distinct disadvantage in their future relationships. It is imperative for children to see parents sharing their affection with the entire family, which will only further enhance their chances of having successful relationships. It is important to note, every relationship requires a lot of work. Couples experiencing true love have less work to do, however there are still areas they have to work at. Puppy love can grow, but requires a lot of work and patience. False love will never work, because one person does not feel the same as the other. People truly in love will find a way to make things work, even when times are at their hardest. Without that determination, there is no chance of success.

Deadly terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India

2008-11-29T11:07:00.000+04:00

A policeman gives water to an injured child at a hospital in Mumbai on Nov. 26, 2008. Cama Hospital in south Mumbai was also a terrorist target in Wednesday's attacks.

Plumes of smoke rise above the Taj Hotel.

At least 78 have been killed in the brutal attacks in Mumbai, India, the rich island city known as the New York of India.

The armed assailants opened fired at random in the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station in southern Mumbai. A.N Roy, police commissioner of Maharashtra state, said the terrorists had used automatic weapons and lobbed grenades in some places.

In addition to the crowded train station, gunmen targeted two five-star hotels, including the landmark Taj Hotel, above, and Leopold's restaurant, a tourist attraction.

India's financial capital became a scene of panic as people fled to escape the destruction and mayhem. Above, people seek cover at the front of a hotel in Mumbai.

India media reported two gunmen had taken a position on an abandoned train at platform 7 of the train station and were in a pitched gun battle with police commandos.

TV grab from Indian TV via Sky News shows an armed man suspected to be one of the assailants, according to Sky News. The terrorists reportedly were holding 40 people hostage in the Taj Mahal hotel..

A policeman stands guard after shootings by the assailants at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus station.

Mumbai police stand guard outside the rail station.

A man injured in firing supports himself on a railing.

Hundreds watch the police survey the destruction at the site of an explosion.

A man shows the wounds of another man who was injured in a gunbattle at the Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus.

People grieve during the devastating attacks in Mumbai..

Source : nydailynews

Obama's Mumbai Statement On Terrorist Attacks

President-elect Obama has released a statement on the Mumbai terror attacks:
"President-Elect Obama strongly condemns today's terrorist attacks in Mumbai, and his thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families, and the people of India. These coordinated attacks on innocent civilians demonstrate the grave and urgent threat of terrorism. The United States must continue to strengthen our partnerships with India and nations around the world to root out and destroy terrorist networks. We stand with the people of India, whose democracy will prove far more resilient than the hateful ideology that led to these attacks," said Brooke Anderson, Chief National Security Spokesperson

Mumbai Terror Attacks pics

2008-11-28T19:42:00.008+04:00

India,Taj Mahal Palace hotel ..... A Balck Day ....

2008-11-28T17:53:00.004+04:00

The Taj Mahal Palace hotel resort was commissioned by Jamsetji Tata and first opened its doors to guests on December 16, 1903. Tata allegedly decided to build the luxurious hotel after he was refused entry to one of the city's grand hotels of the time, Watson's Hotel, as it was restricted to 'whites only'. The original Indian architects were Sitaram Khanderao Vaidya and D. N. Mirza, but the project was completed by an English engineer W. A. Chambers. The cost of construction was 421 million Rupees. During the World War I, the hotel was converted into a 600-bed hospital.

The side of the hotel seen from the harbor is actually its rear. The front faces away to the west. There is a widespread misconception that the architects' building plans were confused by the builder so that he built it facing away from the harbor. This is not true, as the hotel was deliberately built facing inland rather than to the harbor. This was probably a deliberate snub to the British king by Jamsedji Tata due to nationalist feelings. Some people believe that the front of the hotel had to face inland because the horse carriages, in which guests came to the hotel, could easily approach the hotel from the city. The carriages were then taken to Wellington Mews. Five decades ago, the old front was closed off, and access is since then through the harbour-side entrance.

There used to be a Green's Hotel at the Apollo Bunder, which was purchased by the Taj Mahal Hotel. It was at the Green's Hotel, that a small group of pro-Indian Goans (largely employees of the Indian state and communists) assembled and formed the Goan Liberation Council demanding that Portugal cede Goa to India , in the 1950s. This was done at the instigation of Jawaharlal Nehru, and funded by the Kamani Group of Companies. In 1973, Green's hotel was demolished and the present Tower wing was constructed in its place.

And the black day in the history of Taj 26-11-2008

And after a gun battle of more than 24 hours, at around 11.35 PM on 27th Nov, ""All hostages at Taj Hotel in Mumbai have been rescued, but there could be some still trapped at Trident hotel and Nariman House where operations were on to flush out terrorists, Maharashtra police chief A N Roy said on Thursday, ruling out any negotiations with the terrorists."

The damage has already happened.. Death toll of more than 125 people with more than 400 injured, the never sleeping city of India has for sure seen almost 2 days of sleepless nights. The beauty of Taj is also damaged a lot. Its true it can be bought back to its original state but
what about the lives of those innocent people and the brave police people who gave their lives for a cause.......? ???

Forgiving others is the best attitude

2008-11-27T17:16:00.005+04:00

A kindergarten teacher has decided to let her class play game. The teacher told each child in the class to bring along a plastic bag containing a few potatoes. Each potato will be given a name of a person that the child hates, so the number of potatoes that a child will put in his/her plastic bag will depend on the number of people he/she hates.

So when the day came, every child brought some potatoes with the name of the people he/she hated. Some had 2 potatoes; some 3 while some up to 5 potatoes. The teacher then told the children to carry with them the potatoes in the plastic bag wherever they go (even to the toilet) for 1 week.

Days after days passed by, and the children started to complain due to the unpleasant smell let out by the rotten potatoes. Besides, those having 5 potatoes also had to carry heavier bags. After 1 week, the children were relieved because the game had finally ended.

The teacher asked: "How did you feel while carrying the potatoes with you for 1 week?"

The children let out their frustrations and started complaining of the trouble that they had to go through having to carry the heavy and smelly potatoes wherever they go. Then the teacher told them the hidden meaning behind the game. The teacher said: "This is exactly the situation when you carry your hatred for somebody inside your heart. The stench of hatred will contaminate your heart and you will carry it with you wherever you go. If you cannot tolerate the smell of rotten potatoes for just 1 week, can you imagine what is it like to have the stench of hatred in your heart for your lifetime?"

Throw away any hatred for anyone from your heart so that you will not carry sins for a lifetime and to the end of 'sansara'.

Forgiving others is the best attitude to take!

Love others even if you don't like them........ and if you want to see a better world.

Diwali & Govardhana Puja

2008-11-25T11:46:00.005+04:00

Diwali

The Hindu New Year – is a five-day festival. Anecdotes from the Puranas abound for each of the days. Diwali can be observed by illuminating hundreds of candles in different parts of the temple and offering various preparations of food to the Deity. This ceremony was observed by the inhabitants of Ayodhya while Lord Rama was in exile, away from His kingdom. The joyful day on which Lord Rama returned is observed as Diwali, or Dipavali (“dipa” means candles, and “vali” means numerous.) During a different era, this was also the day on which Lord Krishna performed His childhood pastime of breaking the pots of yogurt and letting Himself be bound by Mother Yashoda.

* Read: The five days of Diwali

* Listen: Harinama Chintamani Dasi narrates Binding Sri Krishna, from Ananda Vrindavan Champu by Srila Kavi Karnapura. Listen to Part 1 | Part 2

* Listen: Srila Prabhupada’s original dictation of the passage of the KRSNA Book where Mother Yashoda binds Krishna.

* Shop: More than 3000 Diwali gifts at the Krishna.com store

Govardhana Puja

The day after Diwali is referred to as Annakuta, or Govardhana Puja. On this day the inhabitants of Vrindavan (Lord Krishna’s abode on Earth) would hold a harvest festival in honor of King Indra, the demigod who provided the rains essential for the harvest.

One day, however, Lord Krishna wanted to teach Indra a lesson. He convinced the inhabitants of Vrindavan to honor Govardhana Hill instead, whose fertile soil provided the grass upon which the cows and bulls grazed, and to honor the cows and bulls who provided milk and ploughed the lands. Outraged, Indra retaliated with terrifying thunderstorms. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, calmly lifted Govardhana Hill with the little finger of his left hand. For seven days and seven nights the Lord held up Govardhana Hill, providing a giant umbrella to shelter the inhabitants of Vrindavan from the torrential rain. Realizing the futility of his actions, King Indra bowed down before the Lord with folded hands and offered prayers of supplication. In this way, Lord Krishna demonstrated that He is Deva Deva, the lord of the demigods, and that any purpose for which demigods might be worshiped could easily be served by worshiping Him, the cause of all causes.

Several thousand years later, on this same day, Srila Madhavendra Puri established a temple for the self-manifest Gopala Deity on top of Govardhana Hill.

To celebrate this festival, devotees build a replica of Govardhana Hill made of various opulent foods, worship Lord Krishna as the lifter of Govardhana Hill, worship the hill as His incarnation, and worship the cows and bulls who are dear to the Lord.

At the end of the festival, the hill of prasada (sanctified food) is distributed to the public. All Vaishnava temples in India observe this ceremony, and hundreds of people are given prasada according to the capacity of each temple.
Listen

* Harinama Chintamani Dasi narrates The Lifting of Govardhana Hill, from Ananda Vrindavan Champu by Srila Kavi Karnapura. Listen to part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

* Amal Bhakta Das narrates Worshiping Govardhana Hill, and Lord Krishna Lifts Govardhana Hill from Srimad-Bhagavatam, translated by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Buy Srimad-Bhagavatam audio books | books

View
A short video excerpt from Vrindavan, Land of Krishna, which includes footage of Govardhana Hill. Buy the DVD.
Read
* The Farmer and Krishna. Hare Krishna Dasi discusses Krishna conscious farming and cites Govardhana Puja as an ideal example.
* Service to the Cow. Krishna Himself explains how care of this sacred animal forms the basis of Govardhana Puja.
* The Authenticity of Spiritual Places. How do we know if a holy place is truly authentic? Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami explains.

Experience
* Prepare food for Govardhana Puja
* Learn Sanskrit at Govardhana Hill

Reason and Love

2008-11-25T11:37:00.001+04:00

by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura

We do not mean to say that Reason is a foolish principle. On the contrary we do not find better admirers of Reason than our humble selves. We hold that man’s superiority amongst all created beings consists in man’s possessing the noble gift of Reason.

What we maintain is this, that independent of this noble principle there is another higher gift in man which goes by the name of Love. Reason helps Love to maintain its proper bounds in the Spiritual world. Love often tends to degrade itself by exercising its function on objects other then God and converts itself into lust for women, wine, meat and gold. Here Reason advises her to rise higher till she reaches her proper sphere above.

Thus we find that the object of Reason is to help Love and not to create it. Reason may be properly styled as the servant of Love and must always be subject to her in all her hopes, aspirations, and holy works.

The Rationalist on the contrary considers Reason as all and all! This is a degradation of humanity! The progressive Rationalist, on the other hand, believes in the principle of love, but attempts to make her the maid-servant of Reason! This is another error! He makes spiritual love sometimes a prisoner in the jails of Reason! Love wants to soar on her spiritual wings to a realm where the Jailor (Reason) cannot go and the latter is sure to tie up her wings for fear lest she goes to an unworthy place!

Love utters sounds of a spiritual character peculiar to herself, but Reason, having no previous experience of it, mistakes it for a disease and administers medicine for her cure!! Thus it is that the natural strength of the Queen of our Soul is crippled by artificial administration of the dry principle of Reason and she rests in us as if a bird taken in a cage! Oh! What a havoc doth Reason commit by abuse of his power. Oh! Shame to the Rationalist! God help the man!!

Theist take care of those amongst you who mix with you only by assuming the name of Theist but are in fact Rationalists of a very dry character. They are divisible into two classes vis. the designing and the dupes. The designing Theist is he who is in fact a Rationalist but by assuming the name of Theist wants to degrade the sincere by his bad influence. He that calls himself a Theist in order to get rid of the name of Rationalist but still holds Love in subjection to Reason is a dupe because he is unable to find out his own position. The sincere Theist should however take care of both of them and preserve the sovereignty of Love over Reason and his comrades.

From an article called, The Temple of Jagannath at Puri, by Thakur Bhaktivinode on September 15, 1871.

Try this mask for a beauty and smooth skin

2008-11-25T09:45:00.004+04:00

Ttake a ripe avocado and pill it and take out its seeds
then mix it with a spoon of honey and a spoon of limon juice and some milk........

1 - put this mixture in the fridge for 30 min

2 - put the mixture all over your face and neck for 20 min
then wash it with cold water

3 - this mask will help you get a white , very smooth skin
I hope you will try it

Nepal 'Buddha Boy' returns to jungle

2008-11-22T18:38:00.005+04:00

Devotees stand in a queue to be blessed by Ram Bahadur Bamjan, believed to be the reincarnation of Buddha, in Nijgadh town, about 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of Katmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2008. Bamjan, 18, has re-emerged from the jungle in southern Nepal, attracting thousands of devotees, officials said Tuesday. After retreating into the jungle for more than a year, he re-emerged Monday.
Seventeen-year-old Ram Bahadur Bamjon speaks to devotees from nearby villages in the remote forest in Ratanpuri, 150 km (95 miles) southeast of Kathmandu, November 11, 2008. Thousands of people flocked to the remote jungle in southeast Nepal to see a boy some believe is a reincarnation of Lord Buddha, who reappeared after going missing for more than a year, police said on Tuesday. Picture taken November 11, 2008.

Ram Bahadur Bamjan, in white, believed to be the reincarnation of Buddha, blesses a Buddhist monk in Nijgadh town, about 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of Katmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2008. Bamjan, 18, has re-emerged from the jungle in southern Nepal, attracting thousands of devotees, officials said Tuesday. After retreating into the jungle for more than a year, he re-emerged Monday.

Ram Bahadur Bomjam meditates beneath a tree in Nepal's Bara District in 2007.

Ram Bahadur Bomjam, a young man who is believed by followers to be a reincarnation of Buddha, has returned to Nepal's jungles to meditate alone, police said Saturday, as scholars cast doubt on his supporters' claims.

Nepalese teenager Ram Bahadur Bomjam -- who his followers believe is the reincarnation of Buddha -- has returned to the jungles to meditate alone, as scholars cast doubt on his supporters' claims

Ram Bahadur Bomjam (right), a young man who is believed by followers to be a reincarnation of Buddha, has returned to Nepal's jungles to meditate alone, police said Saturday, as scholars cast doubt on his supporters' claims.

Ram Bahadur Bamjan, right, believed to be the reincarnation of Buddha, looks on as devotees come to seek his blessings, in Nijgadh town, about 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of Katmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2008. Bamjan, 18, has re-emerged from the jungle in southern Nepal, attracting thousands of devotees, officials said Tuesday. After retreating into the jungle for more than a year, he re-emerged Monday.

Ram Bahadur Bamjan, center in white, believed to be the reincarnation of Buddha is surrounded by Buddhist monks in Nijgadh town, about 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of Katmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2008. Bamjan, 18, has re-emerged from the jungle in southern Nepal, attracting thousands of devotees, officials said Tuesday. After retreating into the jungle for more than a year, he re-emerged Monday.

Ram Bahadur Bamjan, in white robe, believed to be the reincarnation of Buddha, blesses a devotee in Nijgadh town, about 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of Katmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2008. Bamjan, 18, has re-emerged from the jungle in southern Nepal, attracting thousands of devotees, officials said Tuesday. After retreating into the jungle for more than a year, he re-emerged Monday.

Ram Bahadur Bamjan, right, believed to be the reincarnation of Buddha is surrounded by Buddhist monks in Nijgadh town, about 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of Katmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2008. Bamjan, 18, has re-emerged from the jungle in southern Nepal, attracting thousands of devotees, officials said Tuesday. After retreating into the jungle for more than a year, he re-emerged Monday.

Ram Bahadur Bamjan, believed to be the reincarnation of Buddha, looks on as devotees come to seek his blessings, in Nijgadh town, about 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of Katmandu, Nepal, in this Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2008 file photo. The Nepalese teenager revered by many as a reincarnation of Buddha returned to the jungles to meditate after a few days of appearance in the public, officials said Saturday Nov. 22, 2008

Nepal 'Buddha Boy' returns to jungle

2008-11-22T18:01:00.007+04:00

KATHMANDU (AFP) – A young man believed by followers to be a reincarnation of Buddha has returned to Nepal's jungles to meditate alone, police said Saturday, as scholars cast doubt on his supporters' claims.

Known as the "Buddha Boy," Ram Bahadur Bomjam, 18, became famous in 2005 after supporters said he could meditate motionless for months without water, food or sleep.

"Bomjam went back into the jungle late Friday and all the devotees have left," police officer Gobinda Kushwaha told AFP from Neejgad, a town in Bara District, 60 kilometres (37.5 miles) south of Kathmandu.

The "Buddha Boy" reappeared earlier this month after supporters said in March 2007 that he was going to meditate for three years in an underground bunker, although he was spotted on two occasions.

For the last 10 days, he has been blessing thousands of devotees who came daily to the site in dense jungle close to Neejgad.

The president of the Nepal Buddhist Council said claims by his supporters that he was a reincarnation of Siddartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, were not credible.

"We do not believe he is Buddha. He does not have Buddha's qualities," said Mahiswor Raj Bajracharya, president of the Nepal Buddhist Council, a centre for Buddhist study and research in Kathmandu

"He may have achieved great heights in meditation, but that alone does not make him a Buddha. A Buddha needs life experience, a young man who has not seen the world at all cannot be a Buddha," said Bajracharya.

Despite being officially secular under the new Maoist government, Nepal -- where around 80 per cent of people are Hindu and 11 per cent are Buddhist -- remains a deeply spiritual place.

"This is a country where people worship idols and stones, and everyone educated or not believes in the supernatural," the Buddhist scholar said.

Some 7,000 people gathered Friday to hear the youth speak.

"Materialism has brought forth fear, worry and disputes and has created war in this country. One should follow religion and philosophy for inner happiness," Bomjam told the crowds in a 15-minute address.

People joined a six-kilometre (3.75-mile) queue to be blessed, a wait that 43-year-old farmer Singha Bahadur Tamang said was worthwhile.

"This is a miracle and he is the reincarnation of Lord Buddha himself," said Tamang, who traveled eight hours by bus to hear Bomjam speak.

"I've been here for the last 10 days and the feeling is amazing. I really feel at peace here," he said.

The head of the committee that organises events around Bomjam insists he survives without food and water.

"We have never seen him eat or drink and we believe he's a god in human form," said Bed Bahadur Thing, president of the Buddha Jungle Meditation Conservation and Prosperity Committee.

At the height of Bomjam's fame, a French TV crew filmed the youth eating fruit and an AFP correspondent caught him napping.

On Friday, visitors to the jungle site put money into collection boxes, though Thing declined to say how much had been collected.

"Many people say we're just doing this for the money, but we have expenses for volunteers, food, security and maintenance," he said.

"After he has gone back into the jungle, we will make our accounts public."

Skin Care

2008-11-18T11:11:00.003+04:00

Your skin is perhaps the most key organ of the body, exposed and vulnerable to the elements. While the skin protects, provides sensation and the feels, it also needs to be looked after well to maintain its glow. At Bubbles, we offer a whole host of choices for your skin.

Skin Treatment

Herbal (for normal to dry skin)
A powerful anti aging treatment which restore, the skin to a smooth radiance with nourishing ingredients like almond, Vitamin, B, sandalwood, vetiver, jasmine and seashells.

Honey (For Dry Skin)

Honey is a powerful natural moisturizer, by softening and bringing a natural glow to the face, honey gives skin a porcelain look.

Neem (For Oily Skin)

Neem has natural therapeutic properties and keeps skin looking healthy and fresh.

Flower (For Normal to Dry Skin)

This combines a unique blend of extracts of lotus, sunflower, lavender, hollyhock and orange flower, which revive and restore the natural balances of the skin while the soothing aroma of flowers refreshes the mind.

ACNE – Treatment

Through cleansing, discouraging blackheads and reducing oiliness this painful teenage syndrome con be greatly controlled.

Vegetable Peel

A specialized skin rejuvenating treatment, the vegetable peel follows a gentle dermabrasive process to refine the skin and minimize scars with active ingredients from almonds, sandalwood and henna.

Thermo Herb (Herbal – for dry, pigmented skin)

There are several herbs known to revitalize the skin including thermo herb facial. It is a mini face-lift based on an ancient thermal mask consisting of rose mint, soya seeds, almonds, sandalwood and ashwagandha.

Thermo Herb (floral – for dry skin)

This uses a combination of flower extracts and herbs to rejuvenate and refresh skin, giving it new life.

Facials

Our facials at Bubbles not only benefit your skin but also help in deep relaxation and relief from stress. Each facial package is tailored to meet your individual skincare needs by targeting specific concerns and helping to resort optimum skin health.

* Regular Clean Up

* Premium Clean Up

* Anti Acne Clean Up

* Aloe Vera Facial

* Pearl Facial

* Gold Facial

* Silver Facial

* Diamond Facial

* Fruit Facial

* Aroma Facial

* Aroma Skin lightening

* Cucumber Facial

* Dry Fruit Facial

* Orange Facial

* Dead Sea Facial

* Dead Sea Spa Facial

* Chocolate Facial

* Marian Spa Facial

* Elizabeth Arden Facial

* Nina Ricci Facial

* Agless Facial

* Pigmentation Facial

Super – Deluxe Facial (oily – pigmented skin)

This facial is specially recommended for oily, pigmented skin. It includes a herbal scrub and a special vegetable peel pack.

Fruit Facial (dry skin)

A delightful blend of cucumber, carrot and papaya extracts to hydrate and soften normal to dry skin.

Galvanic Facial

Specially prepared for young skin, this facial tackles skin problems like pigmentation and scars left behind after acne and pimples. A soothing combination of fresh vegetable and fruit juices and neem extracts.

Aroma Facial (eye treatment included)

Aroma facial uses essential oils of mint, eucalyptus and sandalwood. Their delicate aromas soothe and relax both body and mind.

Precious Pearl Cream Facial
This natural whitener is enriched with minerals, amino acids and proteins to moisturize the skin and keep it flawless and youthful.

Gold Facial
This revolutionary product is enriched with 24-carat pure gold, giving the skin a rare glow. A potent anti-ageing formula, strongly recommended as a pre-bridal facial.

Bleaching

* Face

* Full Arms

* Half Arms

* Feet

* Under Arms

* Neck and Back

* Half Leg

* Full Leg

* Full Body

Waxing

We provide full body waxing at Bubbles for smooth and glowing skin.

Under Eye Treatment

This helps in the treatment of dark circles, puffiness and gives brightness to the eyes.

Wart Removal

Permanent wart removal is also done at Bubbles.

natural skin care

2008-11-18T10:44:00.005+04:00

Many of us realize how important it is to be physically fit but fail to attach the same importance to our skin. Our skin is covered with millions of pores, hundreds of sebaceous glands and a huge number of sweat glands. The skin constantly eliminates toxins from the body through perspiration and helps in regulating the temperature of the body. In fact the pallor of the skin and the elasticity are indicators of internal health. Such an important organ surely deserves a little bit more care than the mere topical application of creams and lotions. A healthy skin is determined by our life styles, and also by what we eat and drink. Hence Natural skin care coupled with diet and exercise is very important.

There is no substitute for cleaning -- Twice or thrice a day for a dry skin and 4-5 times for an oily skin is sufficient. The cleaning agents can be in the form of soap or in the form of creams, lotions or gels. Fresh milk is considered to be a good natural cleanser. While cleaning, remember never to stretch or pull the skin. Always apply cleansers and creams in an upward motion and towards the ears. Repeat the procedure a couple of times taking care to leave the cleanser on the face for some time. A combination of milk, honey and oatmeal massaged into the skin is very effective. Remove all traces of cleanser by rinsing with water. In India, a mixture of rice flour with curd is often used to remove make up and open up the pores.

Natural skin care is not complete without us using a skin freshener or a toner. Strictly speaking a toner or an astringent ensure that the acid alkali balance is not affected. If you have a dry skin go in for a non-alcoholic freshener and if your skin is oily, an alcohol and water base would be efficient. Lavender oil mixed with distilled water works wonders on all skin types. The malic acid in apple juice is an excellent exfoliator.

Very often it is found that skin looks dull and lifeless. This is because of accumulated dirt, sebum and dead skin. Facemasks are used to rejuvenate the skin. Clay and fullers earth contain aluminum silicate, which not only removes the excess oil, but also helps in removing the dead cells. Some clays like kaolin absorb the toxins also and is best suited for oily skins. Oatmeal coupled with bran is a good dead cell peeler. Rich in vitamin B and E, this combination works wonders for the skin. You do not have to go to a beauty parlor to apply these face packs, there are some inexpensive options that you can do at home. Indians tend to use masks made from cucumber, curd and lemon juice. This has a double effect of cleansing and bleaching.

Natural skin care is easier than it is often made out to be. Lettuce leaves sprinkled with lemon juice and dipped in olive oil have an invigorating effect
when they are kept on the cheeks for some time. In fact, the extracts and pulp of many fruits can be used as effective masks. A mixture of orange rind and the ubiquitous curd is an extremely wonderful exfoliating agent. The mixture can be used on any type of skin. The results may vary from person to person.

The use of Moisturizers in natural skin care cannot be undermined for they guard the skin against the natural element of heat and cold. A combination of lavender essential oil, hazelnut oil and chamomile pure essential oil in the right proportion is a good moisturizer for any skin. This combination is vital for natural skin care as it soothes stressed out skin. In India, the juice of cucumber and buttermilk is used to soften and lighten skin.

The use of sunscreen in the form of lotions and creams cannot be emphasized enough. The ultraviolet radiation from sunlight (especially in tropical countries like India), causes damage to the skin. A sunscreen with an SPF of over 15 applied at least 10 minutes before you go out blocks most of the UVR.

So if you want to have a healthy skin, drink plenty of water, exercise regularly, reduce stress, sleep well and eat healthy. As you age, the production of hormones and oil in the body slows down. Use external applications judiciously and rejuvenate your skin. Remember organic fruits and vegetables vitalize the body; sour cream and yogurt contain lactic acid (a natural alpha hydroxy acid) which helps in exfoliation. Organic honey is good for any type of skin and fresh aloe Vera gel hydrates, detoxifies and revitalizes. Natural skin care is not as difficult as is often made out to be.

Homemade Skin Care Recipes: Honey & Wheatgerm Facial Mask

2008-11-18T09:42:00.002+04:00

Exfoliating your skin is an important step in skin care maintenance. By removing dead skin cells, you reveal the newer, softer skin beneath. This easy homemade

Ingredients:
-2 TBSP Honey
-2 TBSP Wheatgerm (untoasted preferable)In a bowl, mix together honey and wheatgerm. Place in airtight container. This recipe makes about 3 to 4 applications.

To Use:
Before applying the Honey & Wheatgerm Facial Mask, either steam your face or use directly after a warm shower to open your pores and allow the mask to do its magic!
To steam your face, pour almost boiling water into a bowl. Hold your face about 12 to 18 inches over the bowl and drape a towel over your head, covering yourself and the bowl. Steam your face for about 5 to 10 minutes.
To use the Honey & Wheatgerm Facial Mask, scoop out about a tablespoon of the mixture into the palm of your hand. Rub your hands together to make the Honey & Wheatgerm Mask pliable. Gently rub mixture onto face and throat. Let sit for 15 to 20 minutes. Rinse with hot water to remove the entire mask. Follow with toner and moisturizer.

Shelf Life
As with any homemade natural skin care recipe, this mask has a shelf life of about a week. Although honey is an antibacterial, water may leak into the pot if it's kept in the bathroom. That's why the container is so important.
I like the little pots found at the personal care/travel section in my local super store. The newer airline regulations about what can and cannot be taken on the plane have spawned regulation-friendly containers. They are perfect for the small amount of personal skin care recipes that I create!

Why these ingredients?
Honey is an incredibly versatile food. Not only is it a fantastic emollient that attracts and retains moisture, but honey is also packed with essential vitamins, minerals, and amino acids which help you maintain healthy skin. In addition, honey also has antibacterial properties. Personally, I prefer to use local honey from local producers. It keeps costs down as well has helps support local honey bee keepers. skin care recipe can be whipped up quickly using ingredients most of us keep in the kitchen.

At Home Homemade Skin Care

2008-11-18T09:33:00.001+04:00

Caring for skin and keeping it soft and supple doesn't have to be expensive. In fact, one can find everything needed for beautiful, soft, radiant skin right in the kitchen! Many over the counter skin care products contain these natural ingredients mentioned below in this article. Why not save some money and just go straight to the source?

Homemade Skin Care - Facial Scrub

Sugar scrubs and facial scrubs sell anywhere from a few dollars to as much as $50 in some of your high end stores, but women don't have to spend a small fortune for a jar of scrub.

To make your own facial scrub, simply mix granulated sugar, yes, the kind you can buy at the store, with enough whole milk to form a paste. Once you have a paste, you can use this sugar scrub on your face and neck, just like the high priced over the counter skin care facial scrubs, by gently rubbing the mixture in circular motions on your face and neck, and then rinsing thoroughly.

Homemade Skin Care - Fruit Skin Conditioner

Fruit can be a wonderful skin conditioner for dry skin. Take about half of an avocado and about half a banana and mash it together with a little bit of olive oil to make it moist, and you have a perfect conditioning mask for dry skin. Simply smooth the mashed mixture onto your face and neck and let it sit for about 20 minutes. Rinse thoroughly with lukewarm water.

If skin is very oily or has dark spots, a mixture of lemon juice, milk, and enough flour to make a light paste and then spread the mixture on the trouble spots. Let it sit for 1-3 minutes and then rinse thoroughly.

If the spots are very dark, using pure lemon juice can help reduce the dark spots, sun spots or age spots. Nothing can remove them completely and it won't happen over night, but using citric acid, such as what is found in lemon or lime juice, can help reduce skin spots over time.

Personal Skin Care: You Can Do Everything on your Own

2008-11-18T09:27:00.002+04:00

When it comes to personal skin care there is a lot for you to keep in mind. After all, not everybody is lucky enough to have perfect skin without having to do a thing. Luckily, skin care is one area of the health and beauty industries that has become very popular as of late. If you are hoping to restore your skin to its natural beauty, you will want to consider several things.

First off, personal skin care has a lot to do with the products that you are using. There are hundreds of skin care products on the market for you to choose from. Of course, not all of them are going to be right for your skin care situation. But at the same time, you should be able to find plenty that are more than helpful.

Before you consider what your personal skin care regimen should entail, you need to outline your goals. In other words, what problems are you having with your skin? As you can imagine, taking care of dry skin is much different than treating acne. If you treat everything in the same manner, you will find out soon enough that you are not making a lot of headway.

Where can you shop for personal skin care products? Basically speaking, your local drug store should have a large selection. If this does not suit your needs, go to a beauty supply store in your area or search online and see what they have to offer. As long as you look around at the different establishments, you will find plenty of stores that sell the skin care products that you want to buy. Of course, shopping around can also work to your advantage financially as well. After all, if you can save money by shopping at one store instead of another, you might as well do so.

Diwali

2008-11-09T13:15:00.007+04:00

Significance in Hinduism

The festival marks the victory of good over evil, and uplifting of spiritual darkness. Symbolically it marks the homecoming of goodwill and faith after an absence, as suggested by the Ramayana.

On the day of Diwali, many wear new clothes and share sweets and snacks. Some North Indian business communities start their financial year on Diwali and new account books are opened on this day.

Hindus have several significant events associated with it:

Return of Lord Ram to Ayodhya: Diwali also celebrates the return of Lord Ram, King of Ayodhya, with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana to Ayodhya after a 14 year exile, and a war in which he killed the evil and demonic king Ravan. It is believed that the people of Ayodhya lit ghee lamps along the way to light their path in the darkness. Since Lord Ram traveled from South India to his kingdom in North India, he passed through the south earlier. This is the reason why the festival is celebrated a day earlier in South India.
The Killing of Narakasura: Celebrated as Narak Chaturdashi, one day before Diwali day, it commemorates the killing of Narakasura, an evil demon who created havoc, by Lord Krishna's wife Satyabhama. This happened in the Dwapar Yuga during this time of Lord Krishna's avatar. In another version, the demon was killed by Lord Krishna (Lord Krishna provokes his wife Satyabhama to kill Narakasura by pretending to be injured by the demon. Narakasura can only be killed by a woman) himself.^{[citation needed]} Before Narakasura's death, he requested a boon from Satyabhama (believed to be an Avatar of Bhudevi), that everyone should celebrate his death with colorful light.
Austerities of Shakti: According to the Skanda Purana, the goddess Shakti observed 21 days of austerity starting from ashtami of shukla paksha (eighth day of the waxing period of moon) to get half of the body of Lord Shiva. This vrata (austerity) is known as kedhara vrata. Deepavali is the completion day of this austerity. This is the day Lord Shiva accepted Shakti into the left half of the form and appeared as Ardhanarishvara. The ardent devotees observe this 21 days vrata by making a kalasha with 21 threads on it and 21 types of offerings for 35 days. The final day is celebrated as kedhara gauri vrata. In eastern part of India, specially in Bengal, Kali puja has been celebrated on the day of Diwali.
Birth of Goddess Lakshmi: According to the Puranas, the goddess of Wealth, Prosperity and Luck Lakshmi was born from the churning of the Milk Ocean, along with other magical beings and objects including Amrit, Kamadhenu,Chintamani, Halahal aka Poison, etc. She was sought by both the Devas(Gods) and Danavas(Demons) but she chose Vishnu as her husband.
Krishna defeating Indra: Govardhan Puja is celebrated the day after Diwali. It is the day Lord Krishna defeated Indra, the deity of thunder and rain. As per the story, Krishna saw huge preparations for the annual offering to Lord Indra and questions his father Nanda about it. He debated with the villagers about what their 'dharma' truly was. They were farmers, they should do their duty and concentrate on farming and protection of their cattle. He continued to say that all human beings should merely do their 'karma', to the best of their ability and not pray for natural phenomenon. The villagers were convinced by Krishna, and did not proceed with the special puja (prayer). Indra was then angered, and flooded the village. Krishna then lifted Mt Govardhan and held it up as protection to his people and cattle from the rain. Indra finally accepted defeat and recognized Krishna as supreme. This aspect of Krishna's life is mostly glossed over but it set up the basis of the 'karma' philosophy later detailed in the Bhagavat Gita.

Spiritual Significance

While Deepavali is popularly known as the "festival of lights", the most significant spiritual meaning is "the awareness of the inner light".

Central to Hindu philosophy is the assertion that there is something beyond the physical body and mind which is pure, infinite, and eternal, called the Atman. Just as we celebrate the birth of our physical being, Deepavali is the celebration of this Inner Light, in particular the knowing of which outshines all darkness (removes all obstacles and dispels all ignorance), awakening the individual to one's true nature, not as the body, but as the unchanging, infinite, immanent and transcendent reality. With the realization of the Atman comes universal compassion, love, and the awareness of the oneness of all things (higher knowledge). This brings Ananda (Inner Joy or Peace).

Diwali celebrates this through festive fireworks, lights, flowers, sharing of sweets, and worship. While the story behind Deepavali varies from region to region, the essence is the same - to rejoice in the Inner Light (Atman) or the underlying reality of all things (Brahman).

The Five daysDiwali celebrations are spread over five days in India and all over the world. All the days except Diwali are named according to their designation in the Hinducalendar.

Vasu Baras (27 Ashvin or 12 Krishna Paksha Ashvin): Baras means 12th day and vasu means cow. On this day cow and calf is worshipped.
Dhanatrayodashi or Dhan teras (28 Ashvin or 13 Krishna Paksha Ashvin): Dhan means "wealth" and Trayodashi means "13th day". Thus, as the name implies, this day falls on the 13th day of the second half of the lunar month. It is an auspicious day for shopping of utensils and gold.This day is also regarded as the Jayanti of God Dhanvantri who came out during the churning of the great ocean by the gods and the demons. Dhanvantri Jayanti
Naraka Chaturdashi (29 Ashvin or 14 Krishna Paksha Ashvin): Chaturdashi is the fourteenth day on which demon Narakasura was killed. It signifies the victory of good over evil and light over darkness (Gujarati: Kali Chaudas, Rajasthan : Roop Chaudas).
In south India, this is the actual day of festivities. Hindus wake up way before dawn as early as 2:00 in the morning, have a fragrant oil bath and wear new clothes. They light small lamps all around the house and draw elaborate kolams /rangolis outside their homes. They perform a special puja with offerings to Lord Sri Krishna or Lord Sri Vishnu, as he liberated the world from the demon Narakasura on this day. It is believed that taking a bath before sunrise, when the stars are still visible in the sky is equivalent to taking a bath in the holy Ganges. Hence, when people greet each other in the morning, they ask "Have you performed your Ganga Snaanam?".
After the puja, children burst firecrackers heralding the defeat of the demon. As this is a day of rejoicing, many will have very elaborate breakfasts and lunches and meet family and friends. In the evening, lamps are again lit and Goddess Lakshmi is worshipped and offered special dishes. This being a no moon day, many will offer special tarpana (offerings of water and sesame seeds) to their ancestors. This day is also called as Roop Chaturdashi
Lakshmi Puja (30 Ashvin or 15 Krishna Paksha Ashvin): Lakshmi Puja marks the most important day of Diwali celebrations in North India. Hindu homes worship Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, and Ganesh, the God of auspicious beginnings, and then light lamps all across the streets and homes to welcome prosperity and wellbeing.
Govardhan Puja (1 Kartika or 1 Shukla Paksha Kartika) : Also called Annakut, is celebrated as the day Krishna defeated Indra. Lord Krishna taught people to do their duty or 'karma' and take care of nature. He reasoned that worshiping Indra or any other deity for a successful harvest did not influence the outcome - only hardwork did. His was the message that we should take care of nature and nature would take care of us. 'Karma' symbolizes all the work we do for ourselves, community and nature. For Annakut a mountain of food is decorated symbolizing Govardhan mountain lifted by Lord Krishna. In Maharashtra it is celebrated as Padva or BaliPratipada. The day commemorates King Bali. Men present gifts to their wives on this day.
Bhaiduj (also Bhayyaduj, Bhaubeej or Bhayitika) (2 Kartikaor 2 Shukla Paksha Kartika): on this day, brothers and sisters meet to express their love and affection for each other (Gujarati: Bhai Bij, Bengali: Bhai Phota). Most Indian festivals bring together families, Bhaiduj brings together married sisters and brothers, and is a significant festive day for them. This festival is ancient, and pre-dates 'Raksha Bandhan' another brother-sister festival celebrated in the present day.

Lakshmi Puja

Diwali marks the end of the harvest season in most of India and Nepal. Farmers are thankful for the plentiful bounty of the year gone by, and pray for a good harvest for the year to come. Traditionally this marked the closing of accounts for businesses dependent on the agrarian cycle, and the last major celebration before winter. The deity of Lakshmi symbolizes wealth and prosperity, and her blessings are invoked for a good year ahead. There are two legends that associate the worship of Goddess Lakshmi on this day. According to the first legend, on this day, Goddess Lakshmi emerged from Kshira Sagar, the Ocean of Milk, during the great churning of the oceans, Samudra manthan. The second legend (more popular in western India) relates to the Vamana avatar of Vishnu, the incarnation he took to kill the demon king Bali. Thereafter it was on this day, that Vishnu came back to his abode, the Vaikuntha; so those who worship Lakshmi (Vishnu's consort) on this day, get the benefit of her benevolent mood, and are blessed with mental, physical and material well-being.^[8] In Nepal, people worship Lakshmi, God of money and wealth, in hope of getting financial security from Goddess Lakshmi.

As per spiritual references, on this day "Lakshmi-panchayatan" enters the Universe. Sri Vishnu, Sri Indra, Sri Kuber, Sri Gajendra and Sri Lakshmi are elements of this "panchayatan" (a group of five). The tasks of these elements are:

Vishnu: Happiness (happiness and satisfaction)
Indra: Opulence (satisfaction due to wealth)
Kubera: Wealth (Generosity; one who gives away wealth)
Gajendra: Carries the wealth
Lakshmi: Divine Energy (Shakti) which provides energy to all the above activities.

In Jainism

Diwali has a very special significance in Jainism, just like Buddha Purnima, the date of Buddha's Nirvana, is for Buddhists as Christmas is for Christians. Lord Mahavira, the last of the Jain Tirthankaras, attained Nirvana or Moksha on this day at Pavapuri on Oct. 15, 527 BCE, on Chaturdashi of Kartika, as Tilyapannatti of Yativrashaba from the sixth century states:

Lord Mahavira is responsible for establishing the Dharma followed by Jains even today. According to tradition, the chief disciple of Mahavira, Ganadhara Gautam Swami also attained complete knowledge (Kevalgyana) on this day, thus making Diwali one of the most important Jain festivals.

Lord Mahavira attained his nirvana at the dawn of the amavasya (new moon). According to the Kalpasutra by Acharya Bhadrabahu, 3rd century BC, many gods were present there, illuminating the darkness. The following night was pitch black without the light of the gods or the moon. To symbolically keep the light of their master's knowledge alive:

16 Gana-kings, 9 Malla and 9 Lichchhavi, of Kasi and Kosal, illuminated their doors. They said: "Since the light of knowledge is gone, we will make light of ordinary matter" ("गये से भवुज्जोये, दव्वुज्जोयं करिस्समो").

Deepavali was first mentioned in Jain books as the date of the nirvana of Lord Mahavira. In fact, the oldest reference to Diwali is a related word, dipalikaya or deepalikaya, which occurs in Harivamsha-Purana, written by Acharya Jinasena ^[11]and composed in the Shaka Samvat era in the year 705.

ततस्तुः लोकः प्रतिवर्षमादरत् प्रसिद्धदीपलिकयात्र भारते |
समुद्यतः पूजयितुं जिनेश्वरं जिनेन्द्र-निर्वाण विभूति-भक्तिभाक् |२० |
tatastuh lokah prativarsham-aadarat
prasiddha-deepalikaya-aatra bharate
samudyatah poojayitum jineshvaram
jinendra-nirvana vibhuti-bhaktibhak

Translation: The gods illuminated Pavanagari by lamps to mark the occasion. Since that time, the people of Bharat celebrate the famous festival of "Dipalika" to worship the Jinendra (i.e. Lord Mahavira) on the occasion of his nirvana.

Deepalikaya roughly translates as "light leaving the body". Dipalika, which can be roughly translated as "splenderous light of lamps", is used interchangeably with the word "Diwali".

The way Jains celebrate Diwali is different in many respects. There is a note of asceticism in whatever the Jains do, and the celebration of Diwali is not an exception. The Jains celebrate Diwali during the month of Kartik for three days. During this period, among the Shvetambaras, devoted Jains observe fasting and chant the Uttaradhyayan Sutra, which contain the final pravachans of Lord Mahavira, and meditate upon him. Some Jains visit Pavapuri in Bihar where he attained Nirvan. In may temples special laddus are offered particularly on this day.

Vira Nirvana Samvat: The Jain year starts with Pratipada following Diwali. Vira Nirvana Samvat 2534 starts with Diwali 2007. The Jain businesspeople traditionally started their accounting year from Diwali. The relationship between the Vir and Shaka era is given in Titthogali Painnaya and Dhavalaa by Acharya Virasena:

पंच य मासा पंच य वास छच्चेव होन्ति वाससया|
परिणिव्वुअस्स अरिहितो तो उप्पन्नो सगो राया||

Thus the Nirvana occurred 605 years and 5 months before the Saka era.On 21 October 1974 the 2500th Nirvana Mahotsava was celebrated by all the Jain throughout India.

Significance in Sikhism

The story of Diwali for the Sikhs is a story of the Sikh struggle for freedom. From the time of Guru Nanak (1469 – 1539), the founder of Sikhism, popular seasonal or folk festivals like the harvest festival of Baisakhi, or previously ancient Hindu festivals such as Holi and Diwali began to take on a new significance for the Guru’s students, the Sikhs. The Guru used these festivals and special days e.g. first day of each lunar month, as symbols or pegs for his teaching themes. The enlightened ideology of Guru Nanak gave new significance to ancient festivals like Diwali and Baisakhi

Bandi Chhorh Divas

Shri Darbar Sahib, Amritsar being lit up for Diwali.

For Sikhs, Diwali is particularly important because it celebrates the release from prison of the sixth guru, Guru Hargobind Ji, (hence also called "Bandi Chhorh Diwas" or "the day of release of detainees") and 52 other princes with him, from the Gwalior Fort in 1619.

The Mughal Emperor Jahangir had imprisoned Guru Hargobind and 52 other rajas (princes). Emperor Jahangir had imprisoned the sixth Guru because he was afraid of the Guru's growing following and power. The Emperor was asked to release Guru Hargobind which he agreed to do. However, Guru Hargobind asked that the princes be released also. The Emperor agreed, but said only those who could hold onto his cloak tail would be allowed to leave the prison. This was in order to limit the number of prisoners who could leave.

However, Guru Hargobind had made a large cloak with 52 tassels and so each prince was able to hold onto one tassel and leave prison.

Sikhs celebrated the return of Guru Hargobind Ji by lighting the Golden Temple and this tradition continues today.

Martyrdom of Bhai Mani Singh Ji

Another important Sikh event associated with Diwali is the martyrdom in 1734 of the elderly Sikh scholar and strategist Bhai Mani Singh, the Granthi (keeper/reader of Sikh scripture) of Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple). He had refused to or was unable to pay jizya - a special tax imposed by the Mughal Empire on non-Muslims - on a religious meeting of the Khalsa on the Diwali day. This and other Sikh martyrdoms gave further momentum to the Khalsa struggle for freedom and eventual success in establishing the Khalsa rule north of Delhi

Bhai Mani Singh was a great scholar and he transcribed the final version of Guru Granth Sahib Guru Gobind Singh Ji in 1704. He took charge of Harmandir Sahib's management on 1708. In 1737, he received permission from Mughal governor of Punjab, Zakariya Khan to hold the religious meeting on Diwali for a massive tax of Rs. 5,000 (some authors say it was Rs 10,000). Invitations were sent to the Sikhs all over India to join Bandi Chhorh Diwas celebrations at Harmandir Sahib. Bhai Mani Singh thought he would collect the tax-money from the Sikhs who would assemble for the purpose of Diwali Celebrations as subscriptions. But Bhai Mani Singh Ji later discovered the secret plan of Zakariya Khan to kill the Sikhs during the gathering. Bhai Mani Singh Ji immediately sent message to all the Sikhs not to turn up for celebrations. As Bhai Mani Singh could not arrange the money to be paid for tax, Zakariya Khan was not happy about the situation. He ordered Bhai Mani Singh's execution at Lahore by ruthlessly cutting him limb-by-limb to death. Ever since, the great sacrifice and devotion of martyr Bhai Mani Singh Ji is remembered on the Bandi Chhorh Diwas (Diwali) celebration. upon dictation from

Uprising against the Mughal Empire

The festival of Diwali became the second most important day after the Baisakhi, when Khalsa Guru Gobind Singh in 1699. was formally established by the Tenth

The Sikh struggle against Mughal Empire's atrocities on non-Muslims, especially on Sikhs, which intensified in the 18th century, came to be centered around this day. After the execution of Banda Bahadur in 1716, who had led the agrarian uprising in Punjab, the Sikhs started the tradition of deciding matters concerning the community at the biennial meetings which took place at Amritsar on the first of Baisakh and at Diwali. These assemblies were known as the Sarbat Khalsa and a resolution passed by it became a gurmata (decree of the Guru).

Diwali in different regions of India

The celebrations vary in different regions:

In South India

In Southern India, naraka chaturdashi is the main day, with celebration with firecrackers at dawn after lakshmi puja.
The main festival in North India Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka is on Amavasya (No moon day) evening with Lakshmi Puja which is followed by lighting of oil lamps around the house.
The third day is celebreated as Balipadyami as the day of Vamana's victory over 'Mahabali'. This festival is greatly celebrated in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

In Gujarat

In Maharashtra

In Maharashtra, Diwali starts from Vasubaras which is the 12th day of the 2nd half of the month of Ashwin. This day is celebrated by performing an Aarti of the cow and its calf- which is a symbol of love between mother and her baby.

The next day is Dhanatrayodashi (dhana=wealth, tra=3 dashi=10th i.e. 10+3=13th day) or Dhanteras. This day is of special importance for traders and business people.

The 14th day of Ashwin is Narakchaturdashi. On this day before sunrise, people wake up and bathe after rubbing scented oil on their body (they also bathe using Utna). After this the entire family visits a temple and offers prayers to their God. After this visit, everyone feasts on Faralkaranji", "ladoo", "shankarpale" and "mithai" as well as some spicy eatables like "chakli", "sev" and "chivda". which is a special Diwali preparation consisting of delectable sweets such as "

Then comes Laxmi- poojan. It occurs on Amavasya i.e. no moon day. The dark night is illuminated by lamps and at dusk crackers are burst. New account books are opened after a pooja. The stock exchange performs a token bidding called Muhurta bidding. Generally the traders do not make any payments on that day (according to their belief Laxmi should not be given away but must come home). In every household, cash, jewellery and an idol of the goddess Laxmi is worshipped. Friends, neighbours and relatives are invited over and celebrations are in full swing. The broom used to clean one's house is also worshipped as a symbol of laxmi in some places .

Padwa' is the 1st day of the new month - Kartik in the Hindu calendar.

Bhaubeej - it is the time where in the bond of love between a brother and sister is further strengthened as the sister asks God for her brother/s long and successful life while she receives presents from her beloved brother/s.

Homes are cleaned and decorated before Diwali. Offices perform pooja. Bonuses and holidays are granted to employees on these auspicious days. People buy property and gold on these days too. Children build replica forts in memory of the founder of Maratha empire, Shivaji Maharaj. For children, Fire works, new clothes and sweets make Deepavali the most eagerly awaited festival of the year.

In Bengal (Deepawali)

Kali Puja is light-up night for Kolkata, corresponding to the festival of Diwali (pronounced Dipabali in Bengali), where people light candles in memory of the souls of departed ancestors. The Goddess Kali is worshipped at night on one night during this festival. This is also a night of fireworks, with local youth burning sparklers and crackers throughout the night. Kolkata had to pass legislature a few years back to ban fireworks which break the 65 decibel sound limit, as ambient noise levels were going up to 90 decibels or more in parts of the city.

Melas

Mehndi is applied on women's hands at a Diwali Mela.

To add to the festival of Diwali, fairs (or 'melas') are held throughout India.^[13] Melas are to be found in many towns and villages. A mela generally becomes a market day in the countryside when farmers buy and sell produce. Girls and women dress attractively during the festival. They wear colourful clothing and new jewelry, and their hands are decorated with henna designs.

Among the many activities that take place at a mela are performances by jugglers, acrobats, snake charmers and fortune tellers. Food stalls are set up, selling sweet and spicy foods. There are a variety of rides at the fair, which include Ferris wheels and rides on animals such as elephants and camels. Activities for children, such as puppet shows, occur throughout the day.

In other parts of the world

In Nepal, family gathering is more significant during Dipawali. People in the community play "Deusi and Bhailo" which is a kind of singing and dancing forming a group. People go to all the houses in the community and play songs and dance, and give blessing to the visited house, whereas the home owner gives some food like rice grains, Roti,fruits and money. After the festival, people donate some part of collected money and food to the charity or welfare groups and rest of the money and food, they go for picnic. People also play swing called Dore Ping made out of thick ropes and Pirke Ping or Rangate Ping made out of woods.

Diwali celebrations in Coventry, United Kingdom.

The Divali Nagar or "Diwali capital" in Chaguanas, Trinidad and Tobago.

In Singapore, Diwali is marked by 2 kilometres of lights across the Little India area.

Diwali is celebrated in various parts of the world, in countries such as the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Suriname, Canada, Guyana, Kenya, Mauritius, Fiji, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Australia, much of Africa, and the United States.^[14] With more and more Indians and Sri Lankans now migrating to various parts of the world, the number of countries where Diwali is celebrated has been gradually increasing. While in some countries it is celebrated mainly by Indian expatriates, in others it has become part of the general local culture. In most of these countries Diwali is celebrated on the same lines as described in this article with some minor variations. Some important variations are worth mentioning.

In Nepal, Diwali is known as "Tihar" or "Swanti". It is celebrated during the October/November period. Here the festival is celebrated for five days and the traditions vary from those followed in India. On the first day (Kaag tihar), crows are given offerings, considering them to be divine messengers. On the second day (Kukur tihar), dogs are worshipped for their honesty. On the third day, Laxmi puja and worship of cow is performed. This is the last day according to Nepal Sambat, so many of the businessmen clear their accounts on this day and on finishing it, worship goddess Laxmi, the goddess of wealth. The fourth day is celebrated as new year. Cultural processions and other celebrations are observed in this day. The Newars celebrate it as "Mha Puja", a special ritual in which the body is worshipped to keep it fit and healthy for the year ahead on this day. On the fifth and final day called "Bhai Tika", brothers and sisters meet and exchange gifts.

In Trinidad and Tobago, communities all over the islands get together and celebrate the festival. One major celebration that stands out is the Diwali Nagar, or Village of the Festival of Lights. It features stage performances by the east Indian cultural practitioners, a folk theatre featuring skits and plays, an exhibition on some aspect of Hinduism, displays by various Hindu religious sects and social organizations, nightly worship of Goddess Lakshmi, lighting of deeyas, performances by various schools related to Indian culture, and a food court with Indian and non-Indian vegetarian delicacies. The festival culminates with magnificent fireworks displays ushering in Diwali. Thousands of people participate in an atmosphere devoid of alcohol and in a true family environment.

In Malaysia, Diwali is known as "Hari Deepavali," and is celebrated during the seventh month of the Hindu solar calendar. It is a federal public holiday throughout Malaysia. In many respects it resembles the traditions followed in the Indian subcontinent. 'Open houses' are held where Hindu Malaysians welcome fellow Malaysians of different races and religions to their house for a sumptious meal. 'Open house' or 'rumah terbuka' is a practice very much unique to Malaysia and shows the goodwill and friendly ties practised by all Malaysians during any festive occasion.

In Singapore, the festival is called "Deepavali", and is a gazetted public holiday. Observed primarily by the minority Indian community, it is typically marked by a light-up in the Little India district. The Hindu Endowment Board of Singapore along with Singapores' government organizes many cultural events around Deepavali time.

In Sri Lanka, this festival is also called "Deepavali" and is celebrated by the Tamil community. On this day, it is traditional for people to wear new clothes and exchange gifts.

In Britain, Hindus and Sikhs celebrate Diwali with great enthusiasm and in most ways very similarly to as in India. People clean and decorate their homes with lamps and candles.A popular type of candle used to represent this holiday is a diya. People also give each other sweets such as laddoo and barfi, and the different communities may gather from around the country for a religious ceremony and get-together. It is also an important time to contact family in India and perhaps exchange gifts through the post. It is a greatly celebrated holiday and is a great way to connect with the culture and heritage of India. Diwali is becoming a well known festival in Britain and non-Indians also join in the festivities. Leicester plays hosts to some of the biggest celebrations outside of India itself. Diwali also coincides closely enough with the British Guy Fawkes (Bonfire Night) traditions on November the 5th that in many areas, such as the East End of London, a kind of joint festival has evolved where everyone celebrates and enjoys the same fire and fireworks for their own diverse reasons.

In New Zealand, Diwali is celebrated publicly among many of the South Asian diaspora cultural groups. There are main public festivals in Auckland and Wellington, with other events around the country becoming more popular and visible. An official reception has been held at the New Zealand Parliament since 2003.

Fireworks

Firecracker Concerns
Nowadays there is a significant growth in campaigns on creating awareness over the adverse impacts of noise and air pollution. Some governments drive to keep the festival less noisy and pollution-free. The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board has banned production of crackers with noise levels of over 125 decibels. In survey of UP Pollution Control Board, it was revealed that the emission of smoke was found more in the light illuminating fire crackers. Levels of SO₂Sulphur dioxide) and RSPM (respirable suspended particulate matter) was found marginally higher on Diwali day. Crackers, which use large quantities of sulphur and paper, spew out sulphur dioxide and charcoal into the air, also lead and other metallic substances are suspended in the air causing respiratory problems. Considering these facts, bursting of crackers is prohibited in silent zones i.e. near hospitals, schools and courts.

Navratri

2008-10-02T20:41:00.003+04:00

Happy Navratri
Jai Mata Di

The Navratri is observed during the nine days period from, pratipada (1st tithi) to Navami (9th tithi) of the bright fortnight of the month of Ashwin (September-October). During this period Goddess Durga, the embodiment of might and maternal care, is worshipped with almost devotion. The legend is that two demons Shumbh and Nishumbh, became so powerful that their atrocities made the gods leave their seats of power and flee for life. With no solution in sight all the gods got together and prayed to the primordial power to save them. They continued to worship & prayer for nine days, where on the primordial power (Aadi Shakti) appeared in the form of Durga and took upon herself the combined might of all the gods and annihilated the demons. As such it is the worship of divine force to overcome evil forces. During the nine days period, fasting and austere living is adopted. Mother goddess is worshipped with devotion. Devotees concentrate their worship on the idols or photos of Mother Gayatri as well and perform ?Laghu anushthaan? as described under the chapter ?Navaratri anushthaan? else where in this almanac. On the concluding day, the Goddess is given devotional adieu, beseeching to visit again next year. It is believed that the Pooja and Anushthaan performed in this duration is highly propitious, to get over the evil forces and to sail safe through the turbulent life.

Happy Navratri.....

2008-10-02T20:30:00.010+04:00

Subh Navaratri

Maa Bhagwati Aapki Har Manokamna Ko Pura Kare Aisi Maa Durga Se Mein Prathna Karta Hoon !!

Krishna Is Great

Welcome to our BLOG – new blog :-)

Peace, Opulence and Bliss - Part 1

The Thief of Time

Simplicity

No Arguments Against Vedic Literature

Krishna - The All Wonderful Absolute Person

Taking Shelter Of Scriptures

Go Green

How To Relish Transcendental Vibration?

What Is In A Name?

Importance of Recitation

Health tips (health, personality, society, life)

Commanding the Lord

Bhakti - The Only Way to Realize Krishna

Helpful tips on building a household budget (and sticking to it!)

Procrastinate And Perish

The Debt Owed to the Mother

Evaporation of Miseries

Importance of Arcanam

Whom To Invite

Supreme Lord's Will is Supreme

Nepali Calender ..http://www.nepalicalendar.com/

Uzhunnu Vada

Ven Pongal

Mother Teresa Quotes

Mother Teresa Quotes::

*MOTHER TERESA*

~:: Mumbai After The Smoke Has Cleared ::~

Biggest Fireworks in the History... Atlantis Hotel (Dubai) Opening

How to Know True Love ?

Deadly terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India

Mumbai Terror Attacks pics

India,Taj Mahal Palace hotel ..... A Balck Day ....

Forgiving others is the best attitude

Diwali & Govardhana Puja

Reason and Love

Try this mask for a beauty and smooth skin

Nepal 'Buddha Boy' returns to jungle

Nepal 'Buddha Boy' returns to jungle

Skin Care

natural skin care

Homemade Skin Care Recipes: Honey & Wheatgerm Facial Mask

At Home Homemade Skin Care

Personal Skin Care: You Can Do Everything on your Own

Diwali

The Five daysDiwali celebrations are spread over five days in India and all over the world. All the days except Diwali are named according to their designation in the Hinducalendar.

Lakshmi Puja

Significance in Sikhism

Bandi Chhorh Divas

Martyrdom of Bhai Mani Singh Ji

Uprising against the Mughal Empire

Diwali in different regions of India

In South India

In Gujarat

In Maharashtra

In Bengal (Deepawali)

Melas

In other parts of the world

Fireworks

Navratri

Happy Navratri.....

MOTHER TERESA