Finding Nemo

I am sure many of us would have played the game of Snakes and Ladders while growing up. It is a multiplayer game where each player takes turns and throws in the dice and moves the number of squares as indicated on the face of the dice. The first player to reach the finish line wins and the last one to have been left behind is the loser. When I was a kid, the fun was not just the winning  but also  watching how many times and when a player gets bitten by the snake. Though we all played to get the ladder for the easy escape, we knew that getting bitten is inevitable as well.  This is an ancient Indian game which was brought to UK in late 1800s from where it got its world wide acceptance and variations! In one of the Ancient Indian variation, the game had the ladders displaying the virtues that one must aspire to lead a righteous life - Generosity, Faith, Reliability,  Humility, Knowledge  and Asceticism. While the snakes represented the vicious vices that are alwa...

चिता  यह कैसी आग है ? सभी तरफ फैली हुयी, ऊँची लाल तपती लपटें , सब कुछ जलाती हुयी ?                                   बढ़ती उफनती यह ज्वाला ,                                    मेरी तरफ ही आ रही है।                                     और वो मोहल्ले के बाबा,                                    देखो तो कहाँ जा रहे हैं ? और यह पड़ोस की नानी ? सुनती थी रोज कहानी, आज किधर जाती हो ? मुझे दूर कहाँ जाती हो ?                                    देखो तो बालसखा मेरे ,    ...

 We just concluded our Govardhan Pooja 2023 or Annakoot for this year. We displayed Sri Krishna in 4 different forms as he is worshipped in different parts of India and elsewhere. This was an eye opening for many as some of us didn’t realize that these were forms of Krishna! One of the most interesting form amongst all was the Lord Jagannatha! Lord or Bhagwan Jagannatha is any form is depicted as an incomplete form but with big rather huge eyes for its form. The question is why? The Lord has big eyes because he sees it all. He sees you, me and all of us. He sees all of our issues and our problems. He sees and watches each of the hardships we go through and supports us along the same.  But really what does he see? You me, others or our acts, wants, needs, stories and thoughts? Sri Krishna was born to Devaki and Vasudeva in a prison. But he was transported to Gokul and was celebrated by a doting mother and a father –Yashoda and Nandbaba. He was always surrounded by the people of...

 दषरथनन्दन, रघुकुल वंदन   हार्दिक अभिनन्दन  स्वागत  आप पधारे हमारे मठ  यहाँ हैं सभी सुख  मंत्रोचारण करते सभी मुख  ना ही कोई होता भय  सभी का पेट भरता यह अक्षय  पर ताड़का है  यह बड़ी भरी  कृत्यों से राक्षस  पर है यह नारी  कभी नष्ट कर देती  हवन समिधा   तो कभी ले भागती यह  यग्न फल  उद्धार करो हे कौशल्यानंदन  उठाओ बाण  कर दो छिन्न भिन्न  जो हमारा है  दिलाओ हमें  अधर्म से छुटकारा  दिलाओ हमें  मत करो विषाद  त्रिमातृका अपत्य  यह नारी नहीं  निशिचरी है या है दैत्य  पशु घात या नारी पे आघात  ऋषि कल्याण या समाज निर्माण  राम के प्रश्न कई  क्या समझ सका है कोई? राम ने ठाना था  राम राज्य का स्वप्न  कर दिया विश्व निर्माण में  अपना भी हवन  विश्वामित्र की आकुलता में  राम ने त्रिजटा का कर दिए वध  राम राज्य की स्थापना  की थी यहीं से प्रारब्ध  करो यज्ञ, करो व्यापार  लेन देन से बढ़ता है यह संसार  छीनो मत, उठाओ...

आओ खेलें होली,  रंगों से,  उमंगों से,  दिल की उन तरंगों से,  जो अनंत रंग देखतीं हैं और अंतरंग भी।   त्यौहार है यह रंगों का,  रंगों के एक हो जाने का,  रंग संग मन के मिल जाने का,  एक संग मिल उमंगों की पींगें बढ़ाने  का।  त्यौहार नहीं रंगों में भेदभाव का,  त्यौहार नहीं आपस में क्लेश बढ़ने का,  त्यौहार नहीं कलुषित विचारों का,  त्यौहार नहीं व्यभिचारों का।  जलाओ चिंगारी, विचारों की, कुरीतियां मिटाने की,  द्वेष दूर भागने की,  सद्भावना बढ़ाने की।   खेलो होली,  लगाओ रंग,  मचाओ हुड़दंग,  पियो भंग,  पर मत करो किसी का मान भंग।  आओ खेलें होली,  रंगों से,  उमंगों से,  दिल की उन तरंगों से , जो अनंत रंग देखतीं हैं और अंतरंग भी। 

  Just as we learned from the story of Yayati, there are a few lessons to learn from his father Nahusha too! Let me recap Nahusha’s story and then we can look at the lessons – Nahusha was a great ruler of the mankind on the earth. He had performed many yagnas and was well known for his principles and generosity. Just as fate would have it, Indra – the king of the gods had to serve a period of penance and left the throne vacant. Indra’s court and the advisors suggested to appoint Nahusha as the king of the Devas while Indra was serving the penance. Nahusha was initially surprised, thrilled but finally accepted the appointment. He did a great job of governing the court of the heaven. However, the extremities of the heaven and the powers started to catch on to Nahusha. He started to believe that he was superior to all and had all the powers in himself. He forgot how he ascended to the throne. In his pride and presumptuousness, he started to become arrogant, haughty and swell heade...

 In the last few days of 2020, I watched the recently released Disney movie – Soul with my family. It was an amazing enriching experience. The movie had a great message – find your purpose in life, and don’t let your life be governed by the goals you set forth for yourself. The goals are stepping stones towards your purpose and not the final destination themselves. This came in just handy as we were preparing for our goals for the new year and setting our resolutions. It is always important to work towards your goals but not let the purpose of life slip away from your view and thoughts. In this regard, I would like to take a slight spin on the story of Yayati. Please indulge with me in this story and the message I looked upon for myself. A long time ago, there used to be an Asura king Vrishaparva and his main advisor as well as teacher was the rishi Shukracharya. Their daughters Sharmishtha (daughter of Vrishaparva) and Devyani(daughter of Shukracharya) were good friends. They ...