Taming the pride

In my previous post – "Main or May", I started a thought on the pride. Pride can come to a person in many forms – overconfidence being one of them and probably the most destructive too. Pride is a great feeling to have and is a great asset if in moderated quantity. Being a necessary evil, it helps one to move forward and overcome the inherent fear of failure, and at the same time, creates a path for self-destruction through complacency and too much of confidence on self or other. Pride comes with the sense of belonging and ownership. However, the nature makes no such claim. This is a human mind construct and creates boundaries.
We have all seen both the benefits and the destruction caused by pride. Let's see the symbolism of the same as seen in our scriptures!
Who better to kill pride or tame the feeling than Lord Shiva. Shiva took the form of "Bhairava" as a young child devoid of all the emotions of ownership and pride. Bhairava is always accompanied with a dog. A dog is a faithful companion of its owner. One would have noticed that the dog never walks away from the owner and strives for the owner's love. The dog wags its tail when it needs to be loved or petted and barks when it needs attention. Bhairava's dog is a parallel to human pride. The more you pet it, the stronger it grows. And like it or not, it always follows you. Bhairava, however is unmoved by the dog. The scriptures also represent the innocent looking Bhairava with a severed head in his hand. The severed head belongs to Brahma (Brahma's fifth head) which was severed to curb his pride.
History is full of examples where the great achievers became great losers just because they let their pride take over themselves. One must realize that we are all mere actors in the nature fulfilling our part in the grand scheme. If we do achieve something today, someone else shall be able to do the same sometime later or someone would have done so many times in the past.
Indra – the king of gods, was very happy with his arrangements and his rule. He had built the most amazing palace in the heaven and had all the very best apsaras in his court. This filled him with pride. The pride grew so much that he forgot all the steps required to keep heaven in shape and move forward. To make him realize, Vishnu took form of a small child and visited hi palace. Indra, the proud guide to his riches asked the child at the end of the tour – "how do you like my palace? Isn't it great". The child answered – "Yes. Definitely it is. But probably, the earlier Indra's were better". This made Indra realize that he too is part of the nature and the pride could be his destruction too.
Pride is a great motivation. Use it with caution!

What do I want - "Main" or "May"

I took a little time thinking on what do I want and what do I need. While doing so, I thought whether am I looking for "Main" (myself in hindi) or "May" (pride in hindi). Though a very glib pun on the sounds, yet a very profound meaning that changes the character of a person.

Below is my attempt in penning my thoughts.

कुछ ढूँढ रहा था मैं ,
कुछ पाना चाहता था मैं,
श्रम से बीज बोता मैं,
सोचता था फल खाऊँगा मैं।
                                       कभी मन को समझाता मैं ,
                                       कभी खूब मचल जाता मैं ,
                                       दूर भी जाना चाहता था मैं ,
                                       और अमर भी होना चाहता था मैं।
मन को शांत करता मैं ,
सब कुछ शांत करना चाहता था मैं ,
चाँद को चूना चाहता था मैं,
सूर्य से भी ज्यादा तेज चाहता था मैं।
                                         थोडा कुछ तो पाया भी मैं,
                                         और साथ ले आया मय।
                                         जिस मय से डरता था मैं,
                                         उसी मय मय हो गया मैं।
सभी कुछ तो जीत चूका था मैं।
फिर भी सबसे दूर हो चूका था मैं।
क्यों सब कुछ प् सका हूँ मैं?
क्यों अकेले रहने को अभिशप्त हूँ मैं?
                                           एक उत्तर ही तो चाहता हूँ मैं।
                                           वही एक सत्य तो ढूँढ रहा हूँ मैं।  
                                            प्रेम ही तो चाहता हूँ मैं,
                                            इस मय को ख़त्म करना चाहता हूँ मैं।

Devyani

I am sure that all of us have been stirred by the Devyani Khobragade arrest incident that has shaken the diplomatic ties between India and US for now. I spent much time yesterday reading through the news reports and talking to people with experiences into diplomatic scenarios. We spoke at lengths on the measures being taken by the various authorities and the excessiveness being exercised in matters deemed necessary. We all concluded that there were some gaps in the manner the situation was handled. This article today is dedicated towards the lamentation of these gaps.

In the Devyani case, the US officials have reported to have acted as per their rules and regulations. Their reports said that since the Indian Diplomat failed to align with their rules and regulations, they were supposed to take a corrective action and force the punishment on the accused. What were these rules? Putting appropriate salary to the domestic help (which is allowed as per US rules and regulations) in the visa application. However, the standards for the salary are too high and cannot be meted out since the employer is not paid enough. In such a case, the rules and regulations leave a case by allowing the domestic help to a diplomat, yet cut it down by raising the salary bar too high. In any case, the fact of the matter is, Devyani is in trouble which she may or may not have caused at all. She is at the center of mayhem being caused by someone else with different other motives that what is evident at this time.

At the same time, we ought to ask the question – how do you determine what is right? In the case above, it is seen that aligning to the rules makes a person right. If so, what makes the rule right? If following the rule makes a right or a good person, all law abiding people would be good people. If following the rule made good people, why did Jesus broke the law of the land? Why did Moses break the law and guided Jews out of slavery from Pharaohs? If the rules were good and following them made you a good person, why does every government changes the laws or rules set by the previous ones?

Rules or laws cannot be definitive. They are context based and time and place sensitive!

Sri Ram followed the rule of his ancestors to follow the word of his father. He went to exile renouncing his claim to the throne for fourteen years. Bhishma later followed the same rule to uphold his father's wish and renounced his claim to the throne forever and decided not to have children. The same law! In one case is considered great boon and in the other a great disaster! Had Bhishma laid claim to the throne, the entire Mahabharata could have been avoided. Duryodhana always followed the law. As per the law, he won Draupadi. He could do whatever he wished with her. She was no different than other courtesans in principle. However, we do consider him evil and his act of disrobing Draupadi the most evil of all – Why? He was just following the law. As per the law, Duryodhana was the eldest son of Dhritrasthra (elder of the two brothers – who ruled Hastinapur). Lawfully, he was the rightful heir to the throne. Yet we understand that he did injustice to the Pandavas. Following the law but not the principle behind it, will not make you a good person. Any rule or law which is applicable to a set of people in a particular timeframe at a place will not be applicable at other place as the parameters or the environment has changed. When Shabari fed half eaten fruits to Sri Ram, he ate them fondly. Though Lakshmana was enraged that how could a old, uncivilized woman offer leftover food to Sri Ram – future king of Ayodhya! Sri Ram pointed it out to Lakshmana that they and not Shabri were privy to court manners. It was they and Shabri who knew who they were. How could they expect the same court manners from Shabri when she hadn't been informed of the same? Thus the same rules do not apply to both! At the end of the war between Sri Ram and Ravana, the gods poured Amrit – or the nectar of life. Though Amrit fell on both the monkeys and demons, no demons got their life back. Doesn't the same rule applies to both?

Similarly, even in the US, every state has its own set of rulings with respect to certain topics. It is because the same rules do not apply to people when the environmental and social factors change. While such a dichotomy over the rules exist in a country, how could one be so sure that they take steps to jeopardize the relationships in a grave manner as this?

 

The Vishnu Avatars – looking through the glass

Last night we were watching the movie "Dashavtaram" for the umpteenth time. We love the movie and also have many good memories attached with the song – "Mukunda Mukunda". My wife taught dance to this number and the kids performed beautifully on the stage. Now that we watched it again and again, we tried to make sense of the name – "Dashavtaram" which undoubtedly refers to the 10 incarnations of Lord Vishnu.

Interestingly enough, Lord Vishnu is known to have descended upon the earth many a times to uphold the dharma or the laws of nature. Though our scriptures and wise learned people have often differed on the number of times Vishnu took different forms, there is no difference in understanding the common themes and the principles in each of these avatars. My attempt shall be to just have a look at those and understand the same.

As per the most well-read purana scripture – Bhagwat Purana describes 22 avatars of Sri Vishnu. While the most commonly known 10 avatars of Vishnu referred in multiple purana scriptures as per their appearance on earth are categorized as -

Yuga	Avatar Name	Story
Sata Yuga	Matsya	Vishnu appeared as the fish who saved Manu and the accompanying creatures on a boat during the great deluge.
	Kurma	The tortoise or the turtle on whose back, the mount Mandar was set so that it could be used as a stirrup to churn the ocean.
	Varaha	The boar who fought Hiranyaksh and rescued the mother earth (Bhudevi)
	Narsimha	The half man, half animal with the characteristics of lion infused into a man – appeared to save Prahlad and kill Hiranyakashyap
Treta Yuga	Vamana	A dwarf Brahmin appearance who went to the Asura king Bali asking for land covered in his three steps
	Parashurama	Another Brahmin appearance who vowed to free the earth of Kshatriyas with diminishing values and even beheaded his own mother when she digressed from her values
	Rama	The king of Ayodhya who laid the rules and established an order of living for the society
Dwapara Yuga	Krishna	The most colorful appearance of Lord Vishnu, where he plays roles of rule breaker, upholder of values, romancing the people and guiding them through the intricacies of the society
	Buddha	Well known as Gautam Buddha, who enlightened the man kind of a middle path to attain salvation while fulfilling their worldly duties
KaliYuga	Kalki	Kalki avatar is expected to appear in Kaliyuga or the present era. He is expected to end the world of its miseries and establish the laws again.

 

Now that we have the ten most important avatars categorized, let's look at the evolution in them.

• Number of avatars
  
  • SatYuga saw four avatars
    
  • Treta saw three
    
  • Dwapara saw two
    
  • Kaliyuga is supposed to see only one.
    
• Form of avatara
  
  • The Satayuga's avatars were evolving from the body of an animal and slowly developing as a human.
    
  • The Treta avatars were well formed humans who displayed their supremacy over other forms of nature.
    
  • The Dwapara avatars displayed supremacy over other humans or self.
    
  • The Kalyuga avatar is yet to be determined
    
• State of society at the time of avatara
  
  • During the Sata Yuga, there was no society. The nature was just forming and taking shape. The need was to develop the laws and set the principles based on which the further creations can live and coexist.
    
  • As the nature evolved, the different groups of people formed and so did their beliefs. The avataras played the role of binding them together
    
  • During the Treta Yuga, the society was formed however in the initial stages. The concepts of settlement and developing the culture was taking form. At the same time, the need was to move from the barbarian or animal instinct to a more humane instinct. This is seen in the act of Parashuram killing the Kshatriyas when they debased themselves using their power and refused to protect the other forms of the society. Sri Rama at the same time, took help from the animals (mainly monkeys and bears) to fight with Ravana – the king of Asuras. Thus displaying the growth or evolution of the human being from the animals.
    
  • During the Dwapara Yuga, the society was well formed and the human kind had progressed much further. The laws set by Sri Rama for the society were well followed. However, the requirements of the society and the nature were changing yet again. The laws applicable in the Treta Yuga were no longer applicable. They were still being followed though only in the form of letter and not in principle or philosophy. This is where the advent of Krishna infuses the fresh air. Sri Krishna, often viewed as rule breaker, broke the unmanageable rules and laws and taught to follow what you understand and what is right. In his teachings to Arjun (Sri Madbhagwat Gita), he lays the principles for the human beings. This is the same theme seen in Gautama Buddha. When the rules of the society became too rigid and impractical to follow, he infused a new path breaking all beliefs to lead life in a better manner.
    
  • The society today is the most advanced as compared to what we have seen in the past yugas. At the same time, we have seen the degeneration as well. Which is nothing but the turn of the time. Time runs in a cycle. What is up today will go down tomorrow and what is down today will come up someday.
    

I also wanted to touch upon a very sensitive yet important aspect in here, along with the evolution and maturity of the society we should also notice the change in the way the incarnations have appeared. At the time, when society was yet forming, the incarnations took the form of Brahmin as the source of knowledge. When the society was a little mature, they appeared as kings or Kshatriya as protectors. When the maturity reached even higher and society was looking for their path on deeds, Sri Krishna appeared – born as a Kshatriya, lived as a Viashya (cowherd in Vraj) and acted like a Shudra (Charioteer for Arjuna). I understand the forms of the society are a touchy topic and I may be hurting someone's sentiments, but when God himself made no difference, how can we?

Jeevan

Now that you got me started, I will croon out another one from my pocket. This may not be a fantastic piece of work, but is definitely close to my heart and in a way quite true to its meaning!

The best part is when it was composed? Almost 20 years ago!

                      आज जीवन का अर्थ कहो तुम ?
                      किसी कि हंसी छीनना ही क्या जीवन है?
                      किसी को दुःख देना ही क्या जीवन है?
                      अत्याचार करना ही क्या जीवन है?
जीवन तो एक अमूल्य धन है,
मानवता के निर्माण का साधन है। 
जीवन का तुम लाभ उठाओ,
संसार के मार्गदर्शक बन जाओ।। 
                       सच्ची राह बतलाना तुम,
                       हृदयसेतु बन जाना तुम,
                       जीवन का अर्थ प्रेम बतलाना,
                       नहीं किसी को द्वेष सीखना।।

Down the memory lane

Blame it on my wife! She started it a few weeks ago right from the day I was born a few years ago. She coaxed me to introspect and start squeezing out the thoughts on what I wanted to do in my life, realize what I couldn't and what I could. I know she wanted to make worthwhile of a day that meant special to us. However, no introspection is complete without the trip down the memory lane. In my case I call those as the dark ages. I am positive everyone goes through the dark ages at least once in the life. And yes, not everything in memory is worth remembering, but I am glad I found a few pieces that I would want to share here.
All these works are my own. However, please do not try to read much into the lines. I assure you that "Dark Ages" should be considered as dark. Remember, coal is dark but there are diamonds hidden somewhere along. So these are my diamonds –
One day I won't be there
I don't know how we would fare
But certainly I tell you
I won't ever forget you
In dreams and in action
You'll have eyes in me
I'll be there even when you don't need me
You may not remember me
But I'll live by your memories
I'll comfort you through all miseries
And I'll give you all my life
One day when I won't be there
And if my thoughts bring tears
Precious are those pearls for me
Please don't let them go away at least for me

Togetherness contd

Still full of the joy of our anniversary and pondering over the bliss of togetherness, I want to take another deeper dive into some of the well-known couples to all of us. This time, I just want to touch upon the ideas that brought them together and how they complemented each oher. May be if we are able to imbibe some qualities, we can rise to some heights as described.

Ram and Sita

The Sita-Ram couple is definitely the most revered and most worthy candidate of an idealist couple. Sita is the most obedient wife and offers every comfort to Rama. Rama in turn, loves her the most and performs every duty as needed for a husband.

• Sita follows her husband, when he goes to the forest as exile to keep up with the laws / principles of the Raghu clan.
  
• Sita leads her life in simplicity though being a princess, just because her husband chooses to do so. Ram vows to take care of his wife and fulfills all her needs.
  
• Sita observes the chaste of her husband when he shooes away the deautiful form of Surpanakha. Rama is also known as Maryada Purushottama – the ideal ma who followed all rules and never looked at any other woman.
  
• Sita quietly follows the Raghukula dharma when she crosses the Lakshmana Rekha to feed the disguised demon king Ravana. Ram trustd Sita and went away to fulfill her request.
  
• Sita undergoes the fire test to prove her chaste after having been kept captive in Ravana's kingdom against her wishes. Ram accept Sita for whatever she is, but accepts the firetest to subside the questions from the society.
  
• Sita quietly accepts the rule of the land and proceeds to forest when the people question her chaste again in Ayodhya. In order to setup an ideal state and its rules, Ram sacrifices his and Sita's personal life.
  

Saraswati – Brahma

Amongst all the goddess, only Saraswati is revered for her knowledge and not for beauty or appearance. Saraswati provides the calm and stability to the otherwise ever-moving nature of Brahma. Whle Brahma is always tryis trying to create something new to satiate his desire, Saraswati provides the knowledge to understand the creation and its purpose.

Parvati – Shankara

Parvati transformed the ascetic hermit Shankara into a household to benefit the cosmos. She provides him a way to understand the nature, the creation and its purpose. She helps Shankara to get involved with the nature and help it grow its own course than sit aside and discard the flow. Even though Shiva or Shankara play his role of the destroyer in the nature, he has to play his part in growing the nature at the same time.

Radha – Krishna

The fair skinned Radha and the dark handsome Krishna have been the ideals of the lovers for the ages. Having personified the love themselves, the duo have been worshipped for ages for their selfless for each other. Like it or not, every couple today compares themselves to them all the time. Radha provides a contrasting yet complementing perception to the Krishna's image.

• The love of Radha – Krishna brings out the play of the nature
  
• Fair skinned Radha represents the multiple colors of nature, while the dark skinned Krishna merges with the colors to bring them to life
  
• Radha and Krishna's love together brings about the creation of the Raasleela – the play of the damsels and the ideas and the perceptions
  
• While Krishna plays the asura wrenching youth fighting the might of Kansa, Radha provides the peaceful consort who calms him down
  
• While Krishna goes around breaking all societal barriers and rituals, Radha provides the calm and loving balm to him and to the society that has been broken to the shackles.
  
• Owing to the pressures, Krishna moves on to marry Rukmini and settle in Dwarka, Radha on the other hand devotes herself and her life for Krishna.
  

Laskhmi – Vishnu

Lakshmi and Vishnu have been much talked about and how Lakshmi keeps herself by the side of Vishnu. Vishnu also takes care of Lakshmi just as if it was himself. They complement each other.

The point we see is that both the parties in the couple play an important role in coming together. Once they are a couple, it is very hard to say who is because of whom! Both resemble each other and both complete each other.

Togetherness

Recently my wife and I completed 12 years of togetherness. We were just going through the memory lane and realizing what worked for us and what did not! The years had been rollercoaster of events, emotions and actions. One thing that stood out most importantly was strengthening of the resolve that we will always be together.

I still dread the days when she goes out vacationing with our kids. Even with all the independence and the fun and frolicking with friends, there is a big void deep in the heart longing for the family. I was happy that we did share the same feeling.

While discussing, we digressed from ourselves and wondered how the other people fared – particularly those who remain single. Being a male-chauvinist (my wife often holds me up to that), I would try to delve into the stories involving the male spinsters. Spinster is a word used for describing an old childless woman who has never been married. However, for the lack of a better word, I call the male counterpart a Male Spinster!

There is a story from Skanda Purana which exemplifies the need for a marriage –

Sumedha and Somavata were two poor Brahmin priests. Since they were poor, no one was ready to give their daughters to them in marriage. They tried desperately to secure charity from the kings or queens to be able to lead a happy married life. They were directed to a generous queen Simantini, who offered generous gifts and lunch to a Brahmin couple every day. While Sumedha and Somavata pondered upon ways to receive charity from Simantini, they came up with an idea. Sumedha dressed up as a woman and accompanied Somavata into queen's palace. The queen Simantini, saw Sumedha and Somavata as Parvati and Shiva and worshipped them accordingly. She fed them nicely and offered rich gifts. Her offering was so piety that Sumedha did turn into a woman and developed a liking towards Somavata. Somavata then married his friend Sumdha and used the gifts from the queen to setup their home and live happily ever after.

The above story tells the effect of loneliness on a person and the extent to which one changes the behavior to get rid of the loneliness.

It is also said that being loved is far more important than loving someone. A feeling that you are wanted by someone can give you a boost in your attitude, personality and commitment.

There is another story from Koothandavar sthala purana that not only talk about loneliness but also the wish for being loved –

During the Mahabharata war, the Pandavas were advised to offer a sacrifice to goddess Kali. The sacrifice was supposed to be a youth with an unscarred perfect body to win the battle against Kauravas. The search for the suitable sacrificial candidate ended at Aravan – Arjuna's son from the Naga princess Ulupi. Aravan agreed to climb up the sacrificial altar upon one condition – he wanted a wife who would mourn for him. This was quite a difficult demand as no one wanted to marry a young prince who was to die the very next morning. Finally, Krishna took the disguise of Mohini and agreed to marry Aravan. Aravan treated her as his wife and was sacrificed the next morning. Upon his death Mohini mourned as Aravan's widow. Aravan upon his death became Lord Koothandavar whose temple is in the Koovagam village in Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu. It is said that every year there is an 18 day celebration in which Arvanis / Alis / eunuchs / transgender / transvestite people marry him for a night before his annual death. The celebration is for 18 days since Draupadi granted a boon to Aravan that he caould see the entire Mahabharata war even after his death. It is said that Aravan's head was mounted on a pole and his eyes were open to witness the war. Since then, Aravan's head is kept at the four corners of any temple to ward off spirits.

 

 

Sale

Last week all my friends and we went out shopping during the greatest shopping fever in USA – Black Friday. To add the icing, today is the Cyber Monday – thereby adding wonderful deals on the internet encouraging the shoppers to shop around if they missed anything on the Friday. While on the way back home and discussing our loots, we discussed how consumer centric have all the festivals became? The day – "Black Friday" was supposed to be the "day after thanksgiving". As a tradition, the family would get together for the dinner on Thanksgiving Day and discuss their ideas. Getting clues from the discussions, the enthusiasts would then go out and buy the gifts to place under the Christmas tree. And look what has Black Friday turned out to be?

Is this insane? Does this happens only in US? Don't we Indians, despise such an expose of consumerism?

NO.

Just look at the lines of the consumers hoarding at the jewelers to buy gold on "Akshaya Tritiya" or the large number of shoppers buying metal on "Dhanteras". Ever noticed, how all the sales are offered around the major festivals be it global or regional?

The question then asked is why is there a mixture of the rituals along with the sales to promote consumerism. Well, they have always been together.

All our religion and the holidays are geared towards expanding the culture and helping the society. Growth is measured in terms of the accumulation of wealth or the realization of Lakshmi. Almost all of our functions or holidays or events tell us to buy new clothes, articles or even idols of gods. These have become rituals as we have been following them the same way in the past and want to follow them in the similar manner. Consider the growth of the society in this cycle – A household works hard to accumulate Lakshmi. The household later spends the same in the market (or gives it to the business) to get something to appease him, show off his acquisition of Lakshmi and at the same time – to complete the ritual. The business which takes the money from the household, in turn passes it on to the others who continue to produce the articles for which the Lakshmi is exchanged. This is a cycle. The more you spend, the better is the society. The better is the society, the better you live. After all we all strive for a better life, aren't we?

This phenomenon has not spared the God either. Look at Vishnu. Clad in golden clothes, wearing different types of cosmetics and even multiple jewelry. To decorate an idol of Vishnu, one needs to get to a clothes merchant, a jeweler, an idol maker and probably a painter as well. These will in turn reach out to their own industry for the raw materials. Every incarnation of Vishnu has been business friendly considering this. On the other hand consider the Shivalinga – not a great business friendly example. But wait till Shiva is transformed into Shankara through marriage with Parvati or is attracted by the Mohini avatar of Vishnu.

This transformation is actually realization of the needs. This is what we call as Marketing in the B-School.

We – Indians have all of it in us – turning business friendly, warlike or even knowledge oriented at any given instance. It's tough to say who is what at the given moment.

Generosity – Different look this time!

My previous posts – "Generosity or Charity?" and "Generosity – contd." have been focused on the power and effects of giving. The act of giving and sharing s so beautiful in countless ways.

However, we have to be careful on what we want to give away and got to be cautious of what is being asked of us. This is the theme of my today's post.

We know we need to possess the material before we can pledge it to someone else or in easier words – give it away. What we do not have, cannot be given. At the same time, it doesn't takes much to share the love or spiritual comfort from within yourself.

As the luck would have it, meeting the requirements most of the time, renders a thought of being omnipotent. And this is where we tend to make mistakes and overlook the power of the ask.

Let ponder on some of the very well-known stories –

• Vaman and Bali – When the Asura king Bali became powerful and expelled the gods from their heavenly abode – Swarga, Vishnu took the avatar of a dwarf Brahmin and begged enough land as covered in his three steps. Shukracharya – the teacher of the asuras recognized Vishnu in the form of the dwarf Brahmin. And so did Bali as well. However, true to his word, Bali granted the wish and lost everything to the gods – even when he was forewarned by his teacher and intellect as well.
  
• Kaikeyi and Dashratha – Kaikeyi – Dashratha's third queen had once saved his life in the war. At this Dashratha granted her three wishes. Kaikeyi requested a raincheck on the offer and Dashratha happily granted the same. The three wishes concluded into what we recall as Rama's exile and Dashratha's demise.
  
• Satayavati and Shantanu – Satyavati asked for her sons to be the kings after Shantanu in return for a marital knot. Shantanu happily granted the wish when assured from his son – Devavrata. This innocent looking wish became the killer and wiped out almost every dynasty from the face of India in the Mahabharata war.
  
• Sita and Ram – Sita requested Ram to catch the golden deer for herself. Though realizing that such a thing doesn't exists, Ram teaches Lakshmana not to underestimate the power of nature. Bowing to Sita's request, he leaves her behind to be abducted b Ravana.
  
• Ravana and Sita – When Ram went hunting the golden deer on her behest, Sita heard a cry in her name. She persuaded Lakshmana to go and check on her husband. Reluctantly, Laksmana gives up on his task to look after Sita, sets out to the jungle looking for Rama. While he does so, he draws a circle all around the house and requests Sita not to step out. Upon his departure, Ravana enters in disguise of a sage and requests Sita to step out of the Lakshmana-Rekha and give him the food. Though fully aware of the line, Sita crosses it and is abducted.
  
• Indra and Karna – Indra's son – Arjuna and Karna are equal warriors. Karna swears to take the side of Duryodhana and also promises Kunti that only one of them – Arjuna or himself would be killed. Indra realizing the power of Suryadev in Karna, ask him for his armour and ear-lockets. Though Karna had been warned of such guile by Suryadev, he listens to Indra and gives away his ultimate protection.
  

Apart from these stories, there are countless stories wherein Mahadev – Shiva Shankar gave away the wishes to anyone who worshipped him. Thereby earning the name – "Bhole".

Not realizing the power of the ask is either arrogance or ignorance. Either ways, it is harmful.

Be careful in what you wish for and what you are asked for.

 

Generosity – contd.

Expanding on the thought I seeded in the previous blog, generosity is also the display of the mental state of the human being. This is seen through a comparison of two interesting stories from the Mahabharata.

Both the stories start on similar grounds with two friends spending their childhood together playing, learning and growing up. One of the two friends grows up to be a king and the other a poor Brahmin. Bowing to their family and financial pressure, the poor Brahmin friend goes to the king friend asking for help. Now the stories take different turns. In the first story, the Brahmin is unable to ask for any help. Yet the king understands the need and provides everything without being asked. In the second story, the poor Brahmin approaches his friend and demands for provisions as they discussed in the childhood. The king, in return, derides the Brahmin and throws him out of the court. The first story is of Krishna – Sudama, while the other is of Drupada – Drona. It's the denial and the ridicule in the second story that leads to the darkness in the Mahabharata. Drona and Drupada become sworn enemies and the Pandavas and Kauravas play the role of actors fulfilling their desires.

Let us look at the symbols shown in these stories. Both the stories show the poverty in the society. However, in one story the king understands and takes proper steps to bridge the gap. While in the other the king actually denies to bridge the gap, thereby increasing the discomfort.

Imbalance is the state of nature and can never be changed. A generous person spreads comfort for all around them. He or She supports everone with what they need – material comfort or the emotional comfort. At the same time, we know we can share only what we have. Hence a generous heart also represents a peaceful mind. And peace all around. Lack of generosity (not charity) results in the discomfort all around us.

A beautiful Rahim's couplet describes this thought –
"रहिमन वे नर मर चुके, जे कहू मंगन जाही,
उनते पहेले वे मुए, जिन मुख निकसत नहीं."
"Says Rahim, he who has to beg is no longer a man. But those who refuse were never men to begin with."

Generosity or Charity?

Generosity is often described as charity. Are they same? I believe not!

While charity is an act of giving away something from your possession to the needy, generosity is the spirit that helps you think about charity. Charity is materialistic and is related to tangible resources only. While generosity on the other hand involved intangible resources like love. A generous heart soothes the needy more than the charity.

Charity is transactional in nature – you give what is asked for – nothing more, nothing less. While generosity goes beyond the boundaries of transactions and gives away without being asked or looking for anything in return.

Throughout or vast history, there are stories of generous kings and their subjects that have stood out as examples of greatness. Be it Karna, Bali, Virochana, Bhoj etc. However, in each of the story we always focus on the act of charity than the spirit of generosity. All these great men gave what they had and much more, when asked. At the same time, there is another story of Krishna and Sudama where Sudama couldn't express his need to his friend, but gets everything in return. We might have read this story in terms of friendship, but this story talks a great deal about generosity as well.

You can be charitable by donating money, but when you do not have any money can you be generous? Yes. It doesn't takes money to embrace someone with a warm heart. Love is not diminished by sharing or giving. Infact, it only grows this way.

On this topic, I would like to relate a couplet from Rahim –

Ve Raheem Nar Dhanya Hai, Par Upkaari Ang |

Baatanwaare Ko Lagai, Jyo Mehdi Ko Rang ||

"Those people are blessed who have charity inscribed on each and every cell of their body. Those who offer fragrance to others are always full of fragrance."

Victimization of Self

"I could have done better in the exams, if the neighbor had kept the music on a lower volume"

"These stupid people don't know when to stop partying. Can't they see I'm focusing for my interview?"

"I find happiness in other's happiness. I have given away myself for the others."

I am sure, we all come across such statements every day. We often know and revere the originators of such statements.

May I please have the liberty to hurt your feelings and call these revered people as cowards?

Yes these people are cowards who shy away from taking the responsibilities on their head and solving it. It is the easiest path for anyone to walk away from our responsibilities. After all, the world was created by the God for all of us to live happily or live with the consequences of our choices. God made all of us equal – giving the choice and the ability to think through. Then why do we blame someone else for our happiness? It is because we do not want to take up the responsibility on our shoulders and work towards it! Why do you think most of us complain about our boss or the workplace? Because, if you do not complain of them, the responsibility of your growth falls on you!

May a times we also find some people who not only complain of everything, make you the reason for their suffering too!. Be careful. Life is what we choose it to be. Never a bed of roses – we all know for sure. Every action or inaction in life has its consequence. I learnt somewhere that leaders are not who always take the right decisions, but those who make their decisions and live by the same.

Vacancies – Positions open – Deva or Asura?

We have all heard innumerable stories about the Devas or Suras and their arch-rivals Asuras. The story of their enmity has often taken heights and has been showcased by multiple high grossing Hollywood as well as Bollywood movies. Do you know that there are positions available amongst the Suras and Asuras equally if you are interested?

Many of us might recall the Sura and Asura are both brothers from the same father – Maharishi Kashyap but different mothers – Diti and Aditi. Due to their constant strife for power they are both assigned different homes – the sky (Heaven or Swarga) and underground (Patala), We have always visualized the Suras as the nice looking heroes who are always struggling to keep ugly looking, wrong doing Asuras at bay from capturing their abode.

Let's take a slightly distorted view and consider them equal and then understand them both!

• Both Devatas and Asuras are the offspring of the same maharishi.
  
• They are both the creatures of the same God – Lord Brahma
  
• They both fight for the same Lakshmi
  

However, there are a few differences as well –

• The Devatas strive to maintain their abode in Swarga, they never venture out of their territory. The Asuras on the other hand, do not consider the territory to be the binding factor. They are always looking to increase their territory.
  
• The Devatas always strive to keep the Lakshmi, while the Asuras always strive to get Lakshmi.
  
• The Devatas represent stagnation while the Asuras represent growth. 
  
• It is almost always seen that the killing of Asuras liberates or makes Lakshmi, while a downfall of Devata brings sadness
  
• Thefight amongst them is vertical – Up vs Down
  

So are the Asuras evil? Remember, "Evil" means absence of God. But we know, that the God is omnipresent and omniscient and nothing exists if God I not present!

So are Asuras evil? Nope. They are what the Devas are not. They represent the industriousness, relentlessness, hard work, ambition and growth. The only thing they lack is adherence to Dharma. For them the growth is their dharma. Throughout their quest for Lakshmi, they do not care for Saraswati – the goddess of knowledge. In little times, when they do care for Saraswati, it is to get Lakshmi and forget Saraswati later. Hence this phenomenon is referred to as VidyaLakshmi.

Remember the good Asuras who created legend for all of us – Prahalad (son of Hiranyakashyap) and his descendents – Virochan, Bali. Virochana – Prahlada's son followed the path of dharma and believed that his salvation would come if he helped others in their desires. Vishnu desires his neck and Virochana gives it away by beheading himself. Bali, his son, is no different! Bali gave away his entire empire to "Vaman Deva" – an incarnation of Vishnu only to live in Patala (Underground). What we do not realize is that the growing size of the Vamana avatara of Vishnu represents the growing form of the human desires.

Like it or not, the story says that there were good Asuras and there were bad Suras too. Being industrious and hardworking, the Asuras kept creating Lakshmi. Lakshmi on the other hand, came to being when the underground was mined or worked upon or killing of Asuras – choose what you like.

Probably, this is the reason why God likes them too. But the God creates a delicate balance for the nature to survive!

None of them bad! They both have good qualities. Choose what you are and when!

Kauravas in heaven

A few weeks ago, in my blog on "Did Yudhishthira went to heaven?" I mentioned that he saw Kaurava brothers in the heaven. And he was enraged. But do we know why?

Kuru – the great ancestor of the Pandavas and Kauravas once tilled a land close to Hastinapuri – his capital. He tilled the earth with such determination that he used his flesh as the seeds and his blood as the water for the seeds to germinate. Upon seeing this, Indra descended from his throne and asked Kuru for his wish. Kuru requested nothing for himself, but for others. He asked ascension to heaven for anyone who dies on the land he tilled. Though Indra could not refuse Kuru's request, he added a condition that the person must die as a warrior.

The land was later known as Kurukshtera and all who died (mainly Kauravas) ascended to heaven for just having died on the land.

Sometimes, we may have done our best and have been the most righteous of all, yet we may not be the one to achieve success. Never loose the hope. There are bigger things in play than you think. Remember, the scale on which the success or failure is determined is created by man. And hence the scale changes with time. What you can do is to set the scale in relative terms for yourself. Since you remain the subject all the time and you remain the measured quantity the scale works better when you measure how much good you did for yourself and others. Never try to judge yourself from other's perspectives.

If there is someone who can remember you, you have conquered the world.

Long ago, there was a king Indradyumna. He went to Swarga of his great deeds. However, after a few years he was sent back to the earth since his account of good deeds was drained. He was told if he could find anyone who could remember him, he can come back to swarga. Indradyumna went to the oldest man on earth who couldn't recognize the old king. However, the old man pointed the king to an old owl. The owl pointed the king to a swan who directed him to a turtle. The old turtle remembered the king and thanked him for the lake he built. The king couldn't recollect anything about the lake. The king had once donated so many of his cows that the earth moved by the moving of the cows from the shelter. This trough formed in the shelter area later became a pond and then the lake where the turtle lived. The king then got his right to get back to the swarga. Hence, knowingly or unknowingly, if you help others, you are sure to succeed.

Deepawali or Diwali – Why do we celebrate the same?

In my own quest, I missed my daughter's questions – Wh do we celebrate Diwali or Deepawali? What is this festival? And why is there so much hype about it?

Let's see!

Deepawali or the festival of lights has always been called Diwali in the easy linguistic terms. It is a festival to mark the return of Sri Rama in Ayodhya after completing his 14 years of exile. However, Deepawali in today's terms is a 5 day festival and each day has its own story. I will try my best to explain for each one of these.

Day 1 – Dhanteras

Dhanteras is the combination of two words – "Dhan" and "Teras". Dhan means money or wealth while Teras means thirteenth. Thus Dhanteras falls on the thirteenths day of the month of Kartik. It happens to be two days prior to Diwali and thus marks the start of the celebration. As evident from its name, the festival of Dhanteras is celebrated in the honor of Kubera – the yaksha and the symbol of wealth accumulation.

Per the legends, there are two prominent stories for this day –

Story 1 – At the end of the ocean churning or Samudramanthan, Dhanvantri appeared with a pot of Amrit or the elixir. This is what all the gods and demons came together for. It is said Dhanvantari appeared on the day which we call as Dhanteras.

Story 2 – It is said that there once was a young prince Hima who was said to die in 4 days of snake bite. His wife, upon hearing this, spread out all the gold and jewels all over the room and started to tell stories. She did not let the prince sleep and kept him engaged through the story telling and songs. At the destined time, when Yamraaj ented their chamber in form of a snake, he too got mesmerized by the princess' stories. At the same time, all the glittering gold blinded him and he couldn't see clearly. Blinded and lost Yamraaj couldn't keep track of the time and returned back silently in the morning. The princess saved the prince this way. Dhanteras, is celebrated to have the glittering gold all over to divert Yamraaj or any bad feeling coming near us.

Day 2 – NarakChaturdasi

Quite a controversial day! The northerners in India celebrate this day as Chotti Diwali. While the southerners celebrate this as the main Diwali. The stories for both the factions are similar with minor differences.

NarakChaturdasi story – Call me prejudiced, but I shall start with the Northerners story. Sri Krishna once fought with a demon named Narkasur. Narkasur was the son of famous Hiranyksha and had kidnapped 1600 women. At the end of a gruelsome fight, Sri Krishna finally beheaded Narkasur and freed all the captives. When the women pleaded as to where to go and about societal denial for their acceptance, Sri Krishna accepted them as his wives. Probably the reason for many widow ashrams in Vrindavan.

NarakChaturdasi story with the not-northern twist – It is said that Narkasur had the boon that he could only be killed by his mother. During the fight, Narkasur injured Sri Krishna. When Sri Krishna was hurt, Satyabhama – Sri Krishna's wife who accompanied him in this war, got enraged and fought Narkasur. By virtue of being the mother of the universe, Satyabhama killed Narkasur. Similar is the tory in the eastern part of India where they know this festival as Kali Chaudas or Kali Chaturdashi. The southerners celebrate this to be the main Diwali day.

While the means have been different, the end was the same – Victory of good over evil.

Day 3 – Deepawali

This is the day when Sri Rama came back to Ayodhya. In honor of his return the entire city was decorated with lights and the residents burnt crackers. This is the day very well known to all of us as well.

Some stories also tell that this is the day when the Pandavas lost their kingdom, brothers and wife in the game of dice. I am not sure, why people still consider this day auspicious for playing poker?

Day 4 – Pariva or Annakuta

Annakuta is referred to as the mixing of the grains and the all vegetation together. This is the day when Sri Krishna lifted the Mount Govardhana on his little finger to save all the residents from the wrath of Indra. The legend says that all the people used to worship Indra in order for timely rains which would be helpful for their agriculture. However, this developed pride in Indra. To curb his pride, Sri Krishna devised a plan of worshipping the mount Govardhana. When Indra saw this, he unleashed rain god upon earth and caused devastation. Sri Krishna saved all the people and animals of Brij under the shelter provided by Govardhana Parvata. It is said that SriNathji is an embodiment of Govardhana Parvata and is still there in the village named Jatipura close to Mathura.

Annakuta or Dhanakuta is mixing of strength, grains and vegetables till you get something good. This is also a turning chapter in the Vedic food preparation technique where mixing of grains was prohibited.

Day 5 – Yama Dwitiya or Dooj

Day five of the festival is the day of celebration of the brother-sister love. It is a day dedicated to the love of Yama and Yamuna – the son and daughter of Surya. It is said if any brother and sister pair takes a dip in Yamuna together on this day, both will have a long happy life.

 

All said, the festival of Diwali is also mark of the new crop. Diwali is celebrated just in time when the new Kharif crop is harvested. India being an agricultural country it is hard to distinguish the festivals from the crop cycles. Similarly, holi is celebrated when the Rabi crop is harvested. Since these crops are primarily north-indian, the festivals also resonate with north Indians more. Similarly, the Pongal, Onam, Durga Puja and Ganesh Chaturthi all follow the regional agriculture cycles. Don't they?

 

Lakshmi – The goddess of wealth and the thirst for her

In continuation of the ideas from my previous post, I take the liberty of writing some more.

We worship Lakshmi in many forms and strive to get more of her. In fact our thirst for Lakshmi never ends.

The question is how do we get Lakshmi? History tells us that you need to churn the ocean to get Lakshmi. Churn resembles hard work and also collaboration of the driving forces. The collaboration is to be understood from the perspective that there are two different opposing forces which work in tandem to give some and pull some fashion. The competition between the groups, the churn of ideas, and the dilemma in mind is fruitful till the time the forces work in tandem to produce greater goods for the organization and decision making. Consider the benefits for the consumers in the market when two product companies compete to enhance their shares.

However, there is one more point to the churn. When Lakshmi came out of the Kshirasagar, she immediately went to Sri Vishnu overlooking the handsome gods or powerful demons. This tells that though hardwork is important to realize Lakshmi, an innate knowledge of the purpose is even more important to hold Lakshmi by your side. What we need to inculcate in ourselves is the knowledge of self and work towards the attainment of the wisdom to understand the purpose.

Remember – being an Indra you may be the king, but will be worried for life – you would always run after Lakshmi but she'll run from you. Being a Vishnu, Lakshmi walks towards you – you help solve issues getting involved but not being consumed by them. Being a Shiva, you renounce Lakshmi – you still solve issues but neither get involved nor take part in anything.

Lakshmi – Goddess of wealth

This weekend all of my family was busy preparing for Diwali – the festival of lights. We started with cleaning up the home, decorating it with lights and other artifacts. At the same time, we took out the Ganesh and Lakshmi idols for cleaning, so that we can perform the Diwali rituals. My daughter asked me the question – why do we worship Ganesh and Lakshmi? They aren't a couple and also didn't we perform Ganesh Chaturthi a few weeks ago? Why do we also have a third goddess – Saraswati in the images related to Diwali? Wonderful questions – I remarked, and got back to study harder. Let's see if I can do justice to her curiosity or arouse more?

Ganesh is worshipped by the virtue of the boon he received from Lord Shiva.

Lakshmi as we all know is the wife of Vishnu. She is the goddess of wealth and good fortune. We all strive to get her and probably lead our lives in quest for more of her. Remember the post where I talked of how Indra runs after Lakshmi and Lakshmi finds comfort in the feet of Vishnu. All through our lives we fight for her. Why? Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth, prosperity and money as some call it. Lakshmi is symbolically denoted by water, gold, vegetation, elephants, lotus, owl and virtues.

The puranas talk about Lakshmi to have come out of the ocean (Kshirsagar) as a result of the samudra-manthan or the churn. Hence she is known to be a daughter of the sea. It is said that Lakshmi walked out of the ocean dressed in white with pot of wealth in her hand and a divine peace in her face. She overlooked everyone, walked over to Vishnu and put a garland around his neck. A lesser known fact is about Alakshami or Jyeshtha. Alakshmi or Jyeshha is considered to be the elder sister of Lakshmi. She is said to come out of the ocean dressed in blood red. Alakshmi is said to have emerged after the poison came from the churning of the ocean. Some also say that she was the product of the sweat or saliva from the snake Vasuki who was used as the rope to churn the ocean.

Alakshmi is attributed to everything opposite of Lakshmi – poverty or daridrata, fights or kalaha. She is said to have been disowned by everyone. Later listening to her plight, Sri Vishnu owned her and gave her equal status like Lakshmi thereby creating two sides of the same coin! Alakshmi is often considered to be embodied as the owl – the Lakshmi carrier.

From the above story about the Lakshmi, what we realize is when Lakshmi comes, Alakshmi follows. Lakshmi and Alakshmi come always together. While Lakshmi gives us the wealth, health and prosperity, Alakshmi pollutes the mind, home and creates situations for devastation. While Lakshmi is always welcomed and worshipped, Alakshmi is neither welcomed nor worshipped. But she always accompanies Lakshmi. How do we separate the two or rather reduce the effect created by Alakshmi? The answer is provided by Saraswati – the goddess of knowledge. Remember, Sarawati rides a swan. A swan is the only creature who can differentiate and separate milk from water. When we worship the goddess of knowledge, we get the power to distinguish between Lakshmi and Aalakshm and hence find ways to reduce the impact of Alakshmi. This is the reason for worshipping Lakshmi and Saraswati together. Lakshmi is never worshipped alone for the fear of Alakshmi.

Now we ask the question, we all study hard to be engineers or doctors or whatever and yet we do not gain Laksmi? What went wrong in our worship for Saraswati? The answer is simple! You got what you asked for! One studies not for knowledge but to earn Lakshmi. And hence you are not really worshipping Saraswati but another form of Lakshmi – VidyaLakshmi. Unless you gain blessings from Saraswati, there is no savior from Alakshmi.

I wonder how many of us have figurines of elephants in our house. Do we know why?

Violence - where does it all starts?

Tune in into any channel or read any newspaper. You will be looking at innumerable news filled with violence in many forms –political, poverty, castes, racism, domestic and even sex. The first thing I would have thought was disgust and anger for the one who inflicted violence. At the same time, the feeling for sympathy comes in for the victim.

I have often asked where does the violence starts? Is it only the result of the social or poverty injustice or is it inbuilt part of the human nature? I guess both. While there has been a great deal of discussion on the former reasoning, I shall work on the later part here!

Imagine a forest with a tiger and a deer. The deer is running all over chased by the tiger. Finally when the tiger catches the deer, the tiger rips the deer with it claws and tears the flesh of the deer’s skin with its teeth. The tiger savors the deer and then moves on looking for another prey another day. A violent story, ain’t it? I say NO.  This is the story of the survival. The tiger has to kill the deer for itself to survive. The deer has to run and save itself or else it will be killed.

Now let’s talk of another story – King Shibi and the dove. This story is very famous in both the Hindu scriptures as well as the Buddhist Jataka tales.

Once upon a time, king Shibi was very famous for his generous and altruistic character. Once a dove flew into the lap of the king looking for shelter. The dove was being chased by an eagle. The king immediately granted sanctuary to the dove. The eagle then cried foul and asked the king to feed his hunger. The king offered the food for eagle weighing equal to the dove. No food in the entire kingdom could match the dove’s weight. Finally Shibi started to cut himself in order to feed the eagle.

In one version of the tales, the eagle and the dove transformed into the gods and praised Shibi. Shibi was then offered a way to heaven.

In the other version, the eagle then stopped Shibi and called him fool. Enraged, Shibi asked him the reason for such salutation? The eagle explained – “If you take the dove away from me, you may save the dove but my family would die of hunger. If you give your body to me, what happens to my hunger tomorrow? Who would save this dove from me tomorrow? Who would take care of your kingdom tomorrow? Who would take care of the subjects and ensure a better life for tomorrow? Saving the dove is great, but is also against the nature. It’s the wish of the god who made dove weak and gave an eagle the hunger for the dove.”

This similar idea is also displayed in the Vishnu Purana – “Matsya Avtar” through the “Matsyay Nyay” or the rule of the wild. The big fish easts the small fish to survive and any disruptions in this cycle would lead to devastations as experienced by Manu. The great Manu was approached by a small fish and the fish requested – save me from the bigger fishes today and someday I shall save you. Manu took the fish to his home and kept her in a small vessel. The fish outgrew the vessel and many more with time while Manu kept transferring her to the bigger one. Manu couldn’t believe that his small fish has become the big fish now and can fend for itself. Finally one day when Manu couldn’t hold her in the pond or the lake or the river, had to let go of the fish in the sea. This was the time of the great deluge or “Pralay”. The Vishnu purana says that the same fish came to save Manu and his family’s boat. This fish was the first embodiment of the Lord Vishnu. This story teaches two concepts for the early mankind – empathy and the law of the jungle.

Thus violence for me is also the need for survival. The humane in us should be able to judge when the need subsides and when the cruelty starts.

 

 

Swarga – The heaven

The hindu scriptures are full of the mention of a place called "Swarga" or the heaven. The place – highly revered, is the ultimate aim of every human being. The demons fight with the gods all the time to gain access to the heaven. Also, even the gods when banished or exiled from the heaven try their best to get back. What is so special about the place called "Swarga"?
Swarga is a place where one goes when they have led their life rightfully and have done enough good deeds to earn their place in the heaven. One goes there to find the most important things –

1. Kalpavriksha or Kalpataru – The tree that showers anything you wish
2. Akshya Patra – The bowl that overflows with gold and food without an end
3. Chintamani – The gem that relieves all your worries
4. Kamadhenu – The cow which gives all you ask for
5. And obviously the ever beautiful apsaras

At the same time, we know that the king of swarga is Indra. A strong king but an anxious, nervous, fearful being who gets trembling as soon as some king on the earth performs a yajna. When any demon start coming to the doors of swarga, Indra gets worried. When a rishi performs a tapa, Indra is worried and tries to send his apsaras to lure the rishi away. What is he worried of? Indra is worried of losing the control of swarga. And when he or the gods can't control the situations or in case of defeat they run to the savior for help.
Let's draw a parallel into our own lives.
Think of your own organization or business. Every one of us is looking for at least the first four elements of swarga. They are all looking for an infinite source of investment, a never dying hunger for their products or services, absolutely no worries of competition or of resource problems. In our own different ways we all act like Indra and take on tensions and issues on our head which should be let go since we can't do much about them. Our focus should be in converting ourselves from Indra to the savior "Vishnu" as the time demands.
Always remember, while Indra craves for Lakshmi, she sits by the foot of Vishnu.

What do you eat?

Ain't that a popular saying? And probably true too. What you eat, reflects on you in various manners. However, I want to share a different perspective on the food and the way it is served. Once again, the thought is borrowed and is being reproduced with my touch below. I would like to give away the credits to Mr Devdutt Pattnaik – a great thinker and a wonderful storyteller.

I was watching the Masterchef program and I was amazed at how the participants prepared the four course meal and also how they prepared the regional cuisine thali's. I started thinking the difference in the Thali and the four course meal. When a four course meal is served, the cutlery and the plates are laid out on the table. The chef or the server then brings out one course at a time and you are supposed to eat it using the utensils laid out in the manner from outside working towards in. You are expected to eat the served food with minimum alterations – adding salt or pepper. Every course is brought on after the previous one is finished and taken away.

Contrastingly, the thali is served with all the food served at once. Though the chef prepares different items in the thali with different recipe, you still have the liberty to pick and choose the items you want to eat in any order you wish. Not only you can eat different items in any order, you can also mix multiple items together to create a new flavor.

Analyzing the two different foods above, you see an example of controlled release wherein you control the way your product is utilized. The product is not customizable, but is easy to use and provides satisfaction even while controlling the user behavior. The other example is of a product which provides the features, but allows the users to customize itself and use it in any manner they wish. The customizability can lead to a situation wherein the originator can't even identify with the end product. Let's see if you can identify examples of both these kinds?

Brahma’s fifth head

Brahma the creator of the universe is always seen with four heads. All of us must have heard different stories upon the significance of the four heads of Brahma. Some one says that the four heads represent the four "yugas" or the largest measure of time. Some say the heads are in four different directions to be able to see all around and be omniscient and omnipresent.

What is lesser known is that Lord Brahma was known to have five heads. There are two propagated stories depicting how the fifth head of Lord Brahma was lost.

Story 1

Brahma had the fifth head of a donkey. Once there was a war amongst the gods and the asuras. The gods were in a winning situation and the defeated asuras were fleeing away from the battlefield. Just then the gods realized that the donkey head of Brahma started calling out to the asuras requesting them not flee. The donkey head offered help to the asuras and told them ways to fight and defeat the gods. All the gods were furious at this display and requested Vishnu's intervention. The gods requested Vishnu to cut the fifth o the donkey head of Brahma. While Vishnu granted this wish, he also warned that if the chopped head falls down, the entire universe would be destroyed. The gods then requested Shiva to hold the chopped head of Brahma and he agreed. The place where Shiva finally rested the chopped head of Brahma is known as Rudratirtha, near Badrinatha.

Story 2

Brahma created various creatures, god, asuras, facets of life and nature. Finally he created a woman and named her Shatarupa – one who takes a hundred forms. He was fascinated with this creation of his. His fascination with Shatarupa was so great that he became obsessed with her. He could leave her out of his sight. She tried to escape Brahma's gaze by moving in different directions, and Brahma grew heads to keep her in sight. Then Shatarupa ascended upward hoping to escape, but then Brahma grew the fifth head facing upwards. Shatarupa then requested Shiva for help. Here are two versions on how Shiva helped –

• Version 1 – Shiva cut off Brahma's head and held it on his trident. He then rested the trident in Rudratirth.
  
• Version 2 – Shiva unleashed Rudra on Brahma. Rudra was also Brahma's creation. Rudra then destroyed Brahma's head by his claws and beak.
  

Since Brahma felt ashamed of the sin he committed towards his own daughter – Shatarupa, he is ever since chanting Vedas to absolve himself of the sins.

The moral of either stories is that when an organ or a person starts becoming a nuisance and is not performing upto the requirements, it's better to cut it off. We need to understand the purpose to realize the bigger perspectives than smaller gains or losses. Always realize what you need, what you can do than being happy or sad on little gains.

 

Ravana’s ten heads

On the occasion of Dussehra, I watched burning Ravana's effigy. The kids were excited and the crowd was enthralled. The entire celebration was construed as a fair. We even joked around that Ravana could never wear a round neck t-shirt or didn't need any one for chorus! Great enjoyment, but then the questions arose. Is there a man with ten heads? How would a man with ten heads look like? What are those ten heads? How would they behave? Do the ten heads speak on their turn or all at the same time?

Ravana's heads are best described in Anand Neelkantan's "Asura: Tale of the vanquished". He goes on to explain the ten heads as embodiment of the ten base emotions –

1. Anger
   
2. Pride
   
3. Jealousy
   
4. Happiness
   
5. Sadness
   
6. Fear
   
7. Selfishness
   
8. Love
   
9. Ambition
   
10. Mind (Devoid of all the above factors)
    

Ravana was educated that the nature gave him one head for the purpose of keeping only the tenth quality and not the first nine. A person with only the tenth head is slated to rise and shine.

Ravana did question the suggestion of 9 heads; and provide wonderful logic. Let's see how much we grasp and where?

Playing a devil's advocate, let me tell you the other part of the story –

• A misdirected anger can be harmful. Anger blinds your judgment. However, should you not be angry when you see the injustice? Should you not utilize your anger to electrify your emotions and push you into the right direction?
  
• Why shouldn't you be proud of your achievements? You worked hard and did you best. Why shouldn't you recognize your efforts?
  
• Jealousy motivates us. It helps us moving ahead. What's the harm in a healthy competition?
  
• Equanimity in sadness and happiness is close to being inhumane. How can you not be sad or happy for a loved one if not yourself?
  
• Why shouldn't you be afraid of death? Why shouldn't you plan for your loved ones after your death? We fear death not because we will be gone, but for our loved ones.
  
• You have gained a lot through sweating, Shouldn't you protect your gains? Why should your protection be called as selfishness? Selfishness – often leads to building empires. Shouldn't you be selfish and build something that others cherish?
  
• Whys shouldn't you love? Why should love be a base emotion? If so, why does a mother loves the child? Why should god love the humans?
  

Being able to draw a thin line and acknowledging is a true meaning of Vijayadashmi to me.

Let's ask ourselves, which head did we curb this Dussehra? Which Ravana did we kill this year? If we didn't are we qualified enough to celebrate the festival or burn the effigy of a person who was way more learned than us?

Rules

How many number of times would you have felt frustrated with some rules? And while in the same frustration mode, you would have exasperatedly questioned "who hell made that rule?"

This happens to all of us. Different time, and different place but to all of us.

Rules represent a manner in which each behavior must happen. Rules define boundaries to every code of conduct and define the parameters. The parameters (or metrics in the management terminology) are the basics to judgment. This classifies whether the conduct on the scales of morality, justness and righteousness.

We all follow the rules as they are everywhere. There is a rule for even our basis existence. Rules slowly become the laws, through enforcements. Our rituals are also rules followed by us in view of pleasing the gods.

Let's try to understand the origin of the rules. The rules are constructed as guidelines for behavior to uphold the principles. Having said this, I would also stress on the fact that the rules are bound with time and place and hence are circumstantial. Anything which is circumstantial is temporary. Consider this example – A north indian meal focusses on a wheat bread and puts rice in a bowl to add the taste. A south indian meal on the other hand focuses on the varieties of rice and provides wheat bread on the side. This ritual or a custom is based on the fact that paddy is grown in Southern India and wheat is grown in Northern India.

In our own quest for being known as a good person, we just follow the rules without understanding the underlying principle. Thus keeping the letter of the law we miss the intent. Are we becoming like Duryodhana, Dhritrashtra and Bhishma? They followed the law that could do whatever to their slave and yet disrobed their own daughter-in-law in front of everyone?

It was the rule of the "Raghukul" which Rama followed and went to exile. It was also the law of the land for the king to have a wife of remarkable reputation. Since a lowly citizen of Rama Rajya raised a finger on Sita's reputation, a pregnant lady was sent to the forest. Was following the rule right?

Rama followed his father's request and went to exile. This way he not only creates an empire but also cleanse the earth of the unruly asuras. Bhishma also follos his father's wish and creates a dynasty that led the whole India to the most bloody war. Following your father's wish or command is a rule. Is this rule right?

Rules are helpful in taming the desires and ambitions of the mighty over the meek. They help the meek to survive. But aren't they also hampering the free will of the mighty? Could be the mighty may provide a net new way of leading the life? An interesting comment from Devdutt Pattaik is "Rules don't make Ram Rajya. Rules make tamed animals".

I believe the principle is more important than the law or the rule itself.

The hindu dharma – based on the Vedic literature talks about principles and not rules or rituals or laws. The biblical, judeo-islamic cultures however, do talk of the set of rules dictated by the god himself or his messenger. I, in no way am qualified to question the righteousness of any of the rules. But understanding the principle and the circumstances that led to the rule will make it easy to follow whatever you want.

Finding Nemo

Quite an interesting name for my first ever blog.

Interesting since it reminds every one of the movie and its iconic place in the heart of almost all the kids and the indefatigable search of a father for his son.

Though my blog is not related to the movie and definitely doesn't swims under the ocean, but it is also an indefatigable search for the self. (I leave the judgment for the word – indefatigable to you).

I believe that life has a purpose. Everything we do or happens is for a purpose. It is the search for that purpose, which drives me.

I am sure that this blog would be confusing to you at times and probably may make no sense. But I would try to remain true to myself and record the search as it happens.

Reading or not – is your choice. Writing is definitely mine!

Did Yudhishthir go to heaven?

In the last few chapters of Mahabharata, "Svargarohanika Parva" to be precise, Veda Vyasa introduces a nice little story. And as we understand that every story has a moral or a purpose.

After the Mahabharata war, Pandavas ruled their kingdom for 36 years. In the 36^th year, the desire for giving up and moving to the heaven took on them. All the five brothers and their wife – Draupadi started to climb the mountain which was to take them to the heaven or "Swarg". On the way, all four brothers and Draupadi died leaving Yudhishthir alone on his journey.

Upon reaching the heaven, Yudhishthir saw his 100 Kaurava cousins in there but neither his Pandava brothers not his wife Draupadi. He felt anguish in him and charged the gods that they were being unfair by giving heaven to Kauravas and denying the same to his brothers and wife. This anguish shone on him like anger.

He charged the gods for being unfair and giving heaven to treacherous, murderous, unjust Kauravas.

The gods then asked him, what did he do to go to heaven?

Yudhishthir reminded them of the rightful, just life he led. He told them how he upheld the Dharma or the principles throughout his life. He told them of all the sacrifices he made during his journey to the heaven – his kingdom, personal riches, chariots even clothes. He told them that he never turned back even when his most beloved wife and his brothers passed away. He let go of everything that was dear to him.

"Everything" – The gods exclaimed, and asked the reason for his anguish and anger for the Kauravs?

Yudhishthir realized.

He had given up all his worldly possessions.

He had given up all his relations.

He had given up all his desires.

He hadn't given up his hatred for the Kauravas.

He hadn't forgiven the Kauravas.

He hadn't given up on his anger.

He hadn't 'let-go' of all that happened even after 36 years.

Once Yudhishthir understood this, he bowed to the gods and asked for forgiveness. He was told that the heaven image he saw was an illusion to make him realize.

 

But again the question is, did Yudhishthir really go to heaven? Did he stay there? Forever?

Update – I realized I missed writing my own interpretation on this.

To me the purpose of this story was "Forgive" and "Let Go". One does not only holds the worldly possessions and relations. But also the thoughts. We need to clear ourselves of the thoughts as well when cleansing ourselves. In my view this is what Yudhishthir missed.

There is one more story that showcases agony of the anger. I shall write that again later.