Finding Nemo

 ऊर्ध्वबाहुर विरौम्य एष न च कश चिच छृणॊति मे      धर्माद अर्थश च कामश च स किमर्थं न सेव्यते  न जातु कामान न भयान न लॊभाद; धर्मं तयजेज जीवितस्यापि हेतॊः      नित्यॊ धर्मः सुखदुःखे तव अनित्ये; जीवॊ नित्यॊ हेतुर अस्य तव अनित्यः These are the verses from original text of Mahabharata from the chapter 18. These are verses 49-50. In these verses Ved Vyasa, who is deemed as the author of the epic and possibly the great grandfather of the entire event, cries out loud throwing his arms up in the sky. He says - "With uplifted arms I am crying aloud but nobody hears me. From Righteousness is Wealth as also Pleasure. Why should not Righteousness, therefore, be courted? For the sake neither of pleasure, nor of fear, nor of cupidity should any one cast off Righteousness. Indeed, for the sake of even life one should not cast off Righteousness. Righteousness is eternal. Pleasure and Pain are not eternal. Jiva is eternal. The cause, however, of Jiva’s being invested with a body is not so.&quo

Long time back I wrote a small article on the topic of Ashwathama’s death – “Ashwathama is dead”.  Ashwathama was the son of Dronacharya – the teacher of Kauravas and Pandavas. Dronacharya could only be defeated when Yudhishthira confirmed the death of Ashwathama. It is said the Yudhishthira was embodiment of the Dharmaraja himself and was known for his principles. It is said that his compliance to principles and rules was so impeccable that his chariot would always be levitated above the ground by about 4 inches. This was an extraordinary feat, only available to gods themselves. However, the moment Yudhishthira replied to Drona affirming the death of Ashwathama, his chariot dipped by 2 inches. Though Yudhisthira’s affirmation was truthful, it was not complete truth for Drona. Yudhishthira’s character was forever marred by this affirmation. Dronacharya in his young days was a good friend with a young prince who later became a great king – Drupada of Panchal.

मन में इच्छा थी,     जीवन में रंग भरने की।  रंग ढूंढने चला मैं,     लाल नीले हरे पीले - सभी रंग।  कभी होली, कभी दीवाली,     कहीं लालिमा, कहीं हरियाली।  ऊँगली पकड़ खड़े होते देखा,     गिर गिर कर उठते देखा।  उन्मुक्त हँसी से खिलखिलाते देखा,     निश्छल मन से जीते देखा।  किसी के विरह में बिछड़ते देखा,     मिलान की ख़ुशी में फूलते देखा।  फिर एक दिन,      अचानक सब कुछ बदल सा गया।    निश्छलता के रूप में छल आ गया,      जोश से भरे चेहरों पर आयु का आवरण छ गया।  झुर्रियां दिखने लगीं,      साँसें उखाड़ने लगीं।  अपने पराये होने लगे,      विरही हैं प्रेम की आस तलाशने लगे।  इतने रंग दिखने लगे,      जीवन के चित्रपट भी छोटे पड़ने लगे। जीवन में कितने सारे रंग थे,      और हर रंग के अपने ही मायने थे ! अब तो बस मन में इच्छा है,      जीवन के सभ रंग देखने और समझने की।

I have often wondered as to why the moon rises late on the Karwa Chauth night. It’s probably because our hungry stomachs rebel and start cursing the moon instead of praying, that slows it down! Actually on a full moon day, the moon rises exactly at the time of sunset. The moon takes 27.3 days to travel once around the earth. This is also the next full moon day. To travel 360 degrees in 27.3 days, the moon moves approx. 13 degrees towards the east every day. Thus the moon rise increases by approx. 48 min per day in relation to the sunset. On the Karva Chauth day – 4 days after the full moon day, the moon rises 48*4 = 192 min (3 hrs and 12 min) after the sunset. Now please do notice the moon rise timings everyday and see the pattern!

We celebrated the coveted festival of Karwa Chauth a few days ago. My wife has always been very enthusiastic for this one day and does everything to make the day special for both of us. Over the years we have got connected with the world through the social media and many other means. Interestingly, the social media has opened us to a wider horizon and scads of ideas and opinions. One such opinion (and quite popular one0 piqued our interest – “Karwa Chauth has become regressive, and is still being used to bind women in a golden cage!” Both of us brainstormed, discussed and debated at many a points to understand the meaning of the opinion and the festival itself. And then we realized that we need to understand a bit more prior to passing our own opinion on the subject. Per my understanding, opinions cloud your ability to see clearly. We must try to stay away from them. It is on my wife's insistence that I chose to write on this topic. Please allow me to present my not so contig