Mathru Devo Bhava

Today, thousands of people around the world celebrate Mother's Day by sending flowers and cards to their mothers. I personally don't believe in allocating a particular day for Mothers day. For Indians, everyday is mother's day. There is no day in my life when I am not thinking about my Mother who is my flesh and blood, the reason for my existence in this world - the one person who has stood by me through thick and thin. My mother brought us (me and my sister) up single handedly and she had to pass through so many trials and tribulations! In India in olden days as soon as one wakes up in the morning, the first thing he/she should do is to touch his/her mother's feet and offer his salutations. Our ancient Vedas have rightly declared "Mathru Devo Bhava" meaning "Honor your Mother as God." I think it is appropriate to quote Swami Vivekananda to summarize the Indian motherhood!

"In the West its ideal is wife, in India it is the mother". "In India the mother is the center of the family and our highest ideal. She is to us the representative of God, as God is the mother of the universe. It was a female sage who first found the unity of God, and laid down this doctrine in one of the first hymns of the Vedas. Our God is both personal and absolute; the absolute is male, the personal, female. And thus it comes that we now say: 'The first manifestation of God is the hand that rocks the cradle'." - Swami Vivekananda

Incidentally, today we celebrate the astrological (as per Malayalam calendar) second birthday(pirannal) of our sweet little girl. Happy birthday our dear little baby!

ya devi sarva bhooteshu matru roopena samsthita namastasyai namastasyai namastasyai namo namaha - Devi mahathmyam

Meaning: Salutations to the divine mother, whose art manifest in every being's existence as mother, I worship thee, over and over and over again.

A Tradition Worth Upholding

Even though I am residing far-off from my family, I still believe in maintaining robust family ties. However when I look around it is not the situation! Nowadays most people undervalue the family system that is still the most important institution for many Indians like us. The concept of family has also changed over time, now it only consists of father, mother and their children-we call it a "nuclear family"! I am not advocating for the traditional joint family system. It may not be practical in this fast moving world. But I strongly believe that it is possible to sustain healthy kinship bonds between grandparents, uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews, etc. by frequent visits, participation in festivals, celebrations, births, marriages, etc. But in this day and age children are growing up thinking that others can never be their well-wishers and they can trust only themselves - a kind of separation which has become a trait of their persona. For most of the younger generations "I and Me" matter more than "We and Us"! I must mention here that there are some people who take sadistic enjoyment by disintegrating families through creating troubles and making risqué remarks about other members of the family thereby instilling suspicion in their minds in order to make them fight each other! Only way to save the family is to be cautious of such persons!

I used to tell my two-year-old baby that the particular toy belongs to her and so on and so forth. I realized I'm sowing the seeds of separation in her little mind that may become one of the traits her personality later on. I believe an extended family can inculcate values of love, appreciation, peaceful coexistence, spirituality, respect to elders, strong family ties, hospitality, etc in young minds! Currently, it is a trend to defy traditional values and norms by saying that our value system is outdated and labeling it as faux pas! It is true that values will change over time to be in tandem with the changing world order. It doesn't mean to defy everything. I do believe children should be encouraged to be independent and self-sufficient (which was not the case in the traditional joint family) by positively influencing the child's attitude and behaviours. Thus we have to adopt the values that can still make significant positive changes in our and our children's lives! As I look back, I realize that the values I learned from my family are important aspects of my personal identity.

Vedic quotes

Piteva Putranabhi samsuajasva nama | - Atharvaveda
(Let us love each other the same way a father loves his children)

Brahmadwishaha avajahi | - Samaveda
(Destroy hatred by knowledge)

Ugram Vachaha Apavadhihi | - Samaveda
(Do not speak harsh words. Our words should exhibit our thoughts)

Sukritya Mahana Abhyavardhayaha | - Samaveda
(You become noble because of your good deeds)

Happy birthday dear little baby!

How fast two years have passed. You are two today! Our sweet little baby's wonderful smile and innocent naughtiness continues to bless our lives to this day(touchwood!). Your wholehearted love and smiles have been our reason to get through many tough times. MANY MANY HAPPY RETURNS OF THE DAY DEAR! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

We Love you very much our little baby!

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Asatoma Sadgamaya

Nilavilakku
Originally uploaded by In Search off...!!!.

Asatoma Sadgamaya
Thamaso Maa Jyothir Gamaya
Mrithyor Maa Amrutham Gamaya
Aum Shanti Shanti Shantihi

- BrihadaranyakaUpanishad (1.3.28)

Meaning: Lead me from the unreal to the real.
Lead me from darkness to light.
Lead me from death to immortality.
May there be peace everywhere.

Aum Poornamadah Poornamidam
Poornaath Poornam Udachyathe
Poornasya Poornamaadaaya
Poornameva Vasishyathe.
-Isa Upanishad

Meaning: God is perfect (infinite). This Universe is also perfect (infinite). If perfection(infinity) is taken from anything perfect (infifinite) what remains is still perfect (infinite). Let there be peace, peace, peace.

Om sahana vavatu sahana bhunattu
Saha viryam karawavahai
Tejasvinavaditamastu
Ma vidvishavahai
Om shanti shanti shanti
-Kato Upanishad

Meaning: Together may be be protected
Together may we be nourished
Together may we work with great energy
May our journey together be brilliant and effective
May there be no bad feelings between us
Peace, peace, peace

Know Yourself

A few days ago when I was visiting the Jaya Supermarket in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, I noticed some people sitting and holding their hands over their heads. I was wondering what was going on! Was it a Reiki session? Or Was it a spiritual gathering? Because of my curiosity, I went and stood near the small crowd to find out what was going on. Then I saw a banner hanging there with the inscription ‘Sahaja Yoga’! One of the volunteers came to me and asked me to join the group and claimed they can change my life in five (5) minutes! I was thinking, all these years I couldn't change my life and now somebody is telling me that he can change my life in 5 minutes??

My life is surrounded by self inflicted bondages and sufferings thereupon. Nowadays the concept of family has changed. When the family has more members, it has become a group of cliques with each having their own agenda and sorrows of their ego-centric existence. Swami Chinmayanada put this as attachment for one’s fellow being a healthy sentiment provided it does not degenerate into emotionalism beyond one’s control.

I have deviated from the previous subject of Sahaja Yoga. Coming back to sahaja yoga; it is about how to achieve balance between many aspects of our life through self knowledge-to understand about us and others (I know how difficult it is!). Sahaja yoga practitioner claimed that through sahaja yoga methods one can awaken the innate power of residual energy within our body (Kundalini). By correcting the seven (7) energy centers (chakaras) one can establish balance between psychological, emotional, social, intellectual and spiritual self. I have experienced the essence of yoga and meditation when I used to go for it at Sivananda Yoga Vedanta center in Trivandrum, Kerala. It really helped me release stress and worries and refreshed my mind. Nowadays I’m not following that (the usual excuses: no time, no mood, etc…)

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi founded Sahaja Yoga and she was the recipient of the United Nations Peace prize in 1989.

Hunger

After a long time, today I’m experiencing the effect of Hunger again. This has brought me back to the days when I had to satisfy with one meal a day and work all day! That time I was doing fulltime postgraduate study at University and concurrently doing another postgraduate programme from another open university in India. Even though I was eligible for scholarship from government, I didn’t get it due to the usual government red tape! I was struggling to meet ends even though I was doing some part time odd jobs. This situation had continued for several months. I managed to hide it from my family, my friends and others because I abhor sympathy! But one day, one of my best friends, Arun, found out my predicament. He narrated my story to our professor at the university. One fine day, my professor called me to his office and asked me why I hid it from him? From that day onwards he made sure I took proper food everyday! He even arranged an alternate fund to finance my scholarship. In the meantime I obtained another decently paid part time job and I said Goodbye to hunger!

There are so many organizations world wide to fight against hunger and give long tern assistance to people in distress. www.actionagainsthunger.org, www.changingthepresent.org, www.giveindia.org, etc. are some of the organizations specilising in these aspects. Please find time to visit these sites.


Some of famous quotes on Hunger (courtesy: changingthepresent.org):

"When I gave food to the poor, they called me a saint. When I asked why the poor have nothing to eat, they called me a communist." - Dom Helder Camara
"No clock is more regular than the belly." Francois Rabelais
"There is no sincerer love than the love of food." George Bernard Shaw
"The world is split between those who do not sleep because they are hungry and those who do not sleep because they are afraid of those who are hungry." Paulo Freire
"A hungry man can't see right or wrong. He just sees food." Pearl S. Buck