I am never alone

Cold was the feeling, A creeping chill of the moon less night

Dread and exhaustion, was all that was of me

A shell of a human , empty of heart and soul

Life's all but a mirage lingering desolately for miles ahead.

The road I am on, found no end, So many twists,turns and forks

When ever a brief respite of end was sought, it curved another bend

Tired and senseless I walk along,

Deep within, my heart numb and hollow

Winding and turning I trudge on, So many lanes join and split

Not knowing where , what and which lay ahead.

Standing at a fork on this path of misery, I am suddenly scared and all alone  

Tears of sorrow streak my face, as I shudder a look ahead

Heaviness of a long lost hope lay curdling in my brain 

I struggle to put one foot behind the other, A traveler lost on the ways of the World.

A gentle hand lay sweet upon my shoulder,

Not knowing who, I feel hope

I turn to see but feel with my heart 

A brief but soothing breeze, an outstretched arm with a helping hand.........

I thank you God,  for the day you touched me,

And now I smile each time I look upon my way

The road has warmed and all my sorrows are tamed

Within my heart , I now know,  Your friendship and love will always remain.

So be the next bend I travel frightening and new,

I will walk without pain or sorrow

Now that I am at last at peace with my hope

Your Love shines forth on my way, Sure lost I'll never be again

A cheer of warmth holds me now, an embrace of life sweet and warm 

I walk steady by the beats my heart,  

Breaths as light a fluttering feather

Not before, but knowing this now, On all my roads , I am never alone

Arise, Awake and sleep not until goal is reached

ഉണരുക മര്‍ത്യ ....അജ്ഞാനമാം അവിവേകതമസ്സില്‍നിന്നുണരുക
നിന്നിലെ നിന്നെയറിഞ്ഞു നീ ജ്ഞാനസാഗരതീരത്തണയുക, ഉദയസൂര്യനായിത്തീരുക.
ക്ഷുരസ്യധാരയാലുംനിശിതമായ് മനസ്സിനെ അടക്കുക
അഹംകാരധാര്‍ഷ്ട്യത്തെ ഒന്നായ് ജയിച്ചു നീ നിന്നിലേക്കണയുക

പഞ്ചേന്ദ്രിയങ്ങളാല്‍ നീ തന്നെ സൃഷ്ട്ടിച്ചയീ സംസാരമരീചികയെ വെല്ലുക
നിന്നിലടങ്ങുന്ന മായയാണീ ജഗത്തെന്ന മിഥ്യയും, ഞാനെന്ന ഭാവവുമെന്നറിഞ്ഞീടുക
താന്താനിതെല്ലാം മറ്റൊന്നുമില്ല നൂനം സനാതനം എന്നാത്മതത്വത്തെ അറിയുക
ബ്രഹ്മവും തത്വവും അഹമെന്ന സത്യത്തെ മനസ്സാവരിക്കുക

സായന്തനത്തിന്റെ ഓർമ്മക്കുറിപ്പുകൾ

പ്രപഞ്ച സീമകളെ പൊന്നിൽ കുളിപ്പിച്ച്, കത്തിയമർന്ന തീഗോളം കണക്കെ,അസ്തമയസൂര്യൻ കടലലകളുടെ ചെഞ്ചുവപ്പിലേക്കു മറയുകയായി

പലകോടി മാനവജീവിതയാത്രകളും,വിടപറയുന്നൊരീവെളിച്ചത്തിനൊപ്പം അവസാന കനൽ ചിന്തി വിസ്മൃതിയിലേക്കു  കെട്ടടങ്ങുന്നു

പകലിന്റെ ചക്രവാളങ്ങളിലേക്കു ജീവിതാർത്ഥം തേടി പറന്നുപോയ പറവകൾ മിക്കതും പറന്നു തളർന്നു തിരികേ കൂടിന്റെ സുരക്ഷയിലേക്കു ചേക്കേറികഴിഞ്ഞിരിക്കുന്നു

നീലരജനിതൻ അതിരുകളിൽ വീണുടഞ്ഞുയരുന്ന ജീവിതസമരകാഹളമായി ഒരു രാപ്പാടിതൻ അവ്യക്തശോകമധുര ഗാനമെവിടയോ മുറിഞ്ഞില്ലാതാകുന്നു

കയ്യെത്തിപിടിച്ച വിജയത്തിന്റെ മധുരനിമിഷങ്ങളെ ഓർമയുടെ പുഞ്ചിരികളാൽ  താലോലിച്ചും, കൈപാടുദൂരേവെച്ചു  വഴുതിയവയെ നഷ്ടബോധത്തിന്റെ നെടുവീർപ്പുകളാൽ സ്വാന്തനിപ്പിച്ചും, ഒരു പകൽ കൂടി എരിഞ്ഞടങ്ങുന്നു

ജീവിതമെന്ന മഹായാത്രയുടെ അനന്തവീഥിയിലെ ചെറിയൊരിടവേളയവസാനിപ്പിച്ച് കാലം മുമ്പോട്ടു മറ്റൊന്നിലേക്കു തിരിയുന്നു

കഴിഞ്ഞതെല്ലാം ഒരുപിടി ഓർമ്മകളിലൊതുക്കി നിയതിയുടെ പാവക്കൂത്തരങ്ങിൽ മറ്റൊരങ്കം തുടങ്ങുകയായി

ഇന്നിന്റെ തീരാത്ത ജീവിതതൃഷ്ണയുടെ ചിവീടൊച്ചകളും നാളയുടെ അനിശ്ചിതത്വമൗനവും യാമിനിയിൽ അലിഞ്ഞില്ലാതാകുന്നു

നഗരവീഥികളുടെ നിയോൺ കണ്ണുകൾ നിശാസുന്ദരിയുടെ ലാസ്യനടനലഹരിയിലേക്കു ചിമ്മിതുറക്കുകയായി

ഒരു പുതിയ പുലരി, പ്രത്യാശയുടെ,അതിജീവനത്തിന്റെ മാറ്റൊലിയുമായ് നാളെ കിഴക്കു വിടരുമെന്ന് നമുക്കാശ്വസിക്കാം

ഇനി സുഷുപ്തിയുടെ കാണാക്കയങ്ങളിലെ സ്വപ്നനിധികൾ തേടി നമുക്കുളയിടാം, എല്ലാം മറന്നൊന്നുറങ്ങാം ...

AthmabOdhanaam mOkshahEthu (ആത്മബോധനാം മോക്ഷഹേതു)

paThanthu SaasthraaNi yajanthu dEvaan                 പഠന്തു ശാസ്ത്രാണി യജന്തു ദേവാൻ      
kurvvanthu karmmaaNi bhajanthu dEvathaaH          കുർവ്വന്തു കർമ്മാണി ഭജന്തു ദേവതാഃ
aathmaikyabODHEna vinaa vimukthir -                   ആത്മൈക്യബോധേന വിനാ വിമുക്തിർ -
na siddhyathi brahmaSathaantharE//pi                      ന സിദ്ധ്യതി ബ്രഹ്മശതാന്തരേfപി

Vivekachudamani (1:16)
 വിവേകചൂഡാമണി (൧:൧൬)

ശാസ്ത്രങ്ങള്‍ പഠിക്കട്ടെ, ദേവന്മാരേ ഉദ്ദേശിച്ചു യാഗയജ്ഞങ്ങള്‍ ചെയ്യട്ടെ, ധര്‍മ്മ കര്‍മ്മ കലാപങ്ങള്‍ അനുഷ്ഠിക്കട്ടെ, ദേവതകളെ ആരാധിക്കട്ടെ, ഇതും മറ്റെന്തൊക്കെ തന്നെ ചെയ്താലും, ബ്രഹ്മാത്മൈക്യജ്ഞാനം കൂടാതെ നൂറു വിരിഞ്ചന്മാരുടെ ആയുഷ്ക്കാലംകൊണ്ടുപോലും നിരതിശയ സുഖസ്വരൂപമായ മോക്ഷം പ്രാപിക്കാന്‍ സാധ്യമല്ല. നാനത്വബോധമാണ്‌ ബന്ധകാരണം; അതിനു പ്രതിവിധി ആത്മൈക്യബോധമേ ഉള്ളൂ. മറ്റുള്ളവയൊക്കെ സഹകാരി കാരണങ്ങളേ ആകൂ; സാക്ഷാല്‍ ഉപായം അദ്വൈതജ്ഞാനം മാത്രമാകുന്നു.

വ്യാഖ്യാനം : സിദ്ധിനാഥാനന്ദസ്വാമി ((C) ശ്രീരാമകൃഷ്ണമഠം, പുറനാട്ടുകര, തൃശ്ശൂ‌‌‌ര്‍)
 

You may learn countless scriptures and study thousands of theologies, You may do countless Yajnas and holy sacrifices and make offerings to Gods, You may be an atheist and go about doing your daily duties or Karma, You may be an ardent believer and do your daily prayers and worships ,But until and unless you understand and realize that God (Brahman or the omnipresent and omnipotent) and You (Atman or soul) are one and the same, You will never ever attain salvation or freedom from worldly existence (Jeevanmukti or Moksha) even if you try for lifetimes of a hundred Brahmas (*1) ( Creator of life)

(*1) The basic unit of Vedic cyclical time is the day of Brahma,(Creator of Universe) which lasts 4.32 billion years. The day of Brahma (also called a kalpa) is followed by a night of Brahma, also lasting 4.32 billion years. The cycle of days and nights of Brahma toes on for Brahma's lifetime of one hundred years (36,000 nights), equivalent to 311.04 trillion of our human years. During the day of Brahma, life, including human life manifest.s During the night of Brahma, life is not manifest.

The Yuga Cycles

Each yuga cycle is composed of 4 yugas. The first, the Satya-yuga, lasts 4800 years of the devas (demigods) The second, the Treta-yuga, lasts 3600 years of the devas. The third, the Dvapara-yuga, lasts 2400 years of the devas. And the fourth, Kali-yuga, lasts 1200 years of the devas . Since a deva-year is equivalent to 360 human or earth years, the lengths of the yugas in earth years are, acording to standard Vaishnava commentaries, 432,000 years for the Kali-yuga, 864,000 years for the Dvapara-yuga, 1,296,000 years for the Treta-yuga, and 1,728,000 years for the Satya-yuga.

This gives a total of 4,320,000 years for the entire yuga cycle. One thousand of such cycles, lasting 4,320,000 years, comprises one day of Brahma, (the Creator in the Hindu Holy trinity ) whose job is to create this visible and invisible universe and all its dead and alive. inhabitants A day of Brahma is also called a kalpa. Each of Brahma's nights lasts a similar period of time. Life is only manifest on earth during the day of Brahma. With the onset of Brahma's night, the entire universe is devastated and plunged into darkness. When another day of Brahma begins, life again becomes manifest.

Each day of Brahma is divided into 14 manvantara periods, each one lasting 71 yuga cycles. Preceding the first and following each manvantara period is a juncture (sandhya) the length of a Satya-yuga (1,728,000 years). Typically, each manvantara period ends with a partial devastation. According to Puranic accounts, we are now in the twenty-eighth yuga cycle of the seventh manvantara period of the present day of Brahma.

Altogether, 453 yuga cycles have elapsed since this day of Brahma began. Each yuga cycle involves a progression from a golden age of peace and spiritual progress to a final age of violence and spiritual degradation."

from the Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 3, Chapter 11

This would give the inhabited earth an age of about 2 billion years. Interestingly enough, the oldest undisputed organisms recognized by paleontologists - algae fossils like those from the Gunflint formation in Canada - are just about that old.

(From Stewart, Wilson N. (1983) Paleobotany and the Evolution of Plants. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.)

ORU NOV22-NDE ORMAKKU (To the fond memory of a NOV 22nd )

Aa vandya vayodhika vishwakarmalayathinde cement padavukalilude kalaaminnum
chada-pada shabadathode kettumaranna aa ozhukkode odiyirangi pokunnu...

Aa swarangal... Aa ormakal...Jeevithamenna maha yathrayile edavelakalil sahatha sanchariyayi ee ormakal mathram ...avakku nirangalundu, gandhangalundu......... Dukhathinde, kaivittupoya nalukalude, ariyatha nalayude ariyunna ennalakalakunnu ava... Maraviyude konukalilekku kaalam koriyitta varnna prampancham

........................................................................................................................................................................

Nashta vasanthangale thirichonnu varumo...

Aa venalkkalamenikkorikkalkoodiyonnu tharumo...

Piriyatha veenayum naadavum pole,

Cheratha nadiyum suryanum pole

Marikkatha innalakalude maaratha sughandhamayi

Parayathha kelkaatha ishtathin nombaramoorum madhuramaayi

Karayatha chirikalude vattathha nanavaayi,

Manassinde konile mayatha mazhavillayi

Veendum tharumo enn ormakalkkullil ne,

Jalakakkonile a cheru velichakkeerine

Kalam thottoru unagatha murivumaayi

kaathu njaan nilppivideyinnum

Sarayuvil amaratha Ramane pole,

panchavadi marakkatha Sitaye pole

----------------------------------------------------------------------

That grand old ‘Vishwakarmalaya” stands head strong, baring its time hardened stony blocks to the elements challenging the mightiest – TIME stands still here head bowed- life still meanders out of its many noisy corridors and time worn steps - down with the same passion and vigor- Along its many corners memory freeze frames to the those old scenes . Those sounds … the smell of fresh “kaavi” paint … chalk powder flowing out from classes... Many a soft whispers making out along the footsteps and tree shades of the ground... the ever inviting ambience remains the same but the “sattwa” is gone. The life flows out on and on...With its unrelenting and sometimes cruel pace “the greatest of the conjurers” draws out schemes after schemes, making and marring destinies ,drawing people far and near, away and close….

O mighty Time I plead to thee,

Please bring me back those days , the days of my lost summer

That being the never separated bell and chime,

That being the ever parted sun and shade

That being the ever alluring scent of yesterday that refuses to die

That being the unsaid, the unheard sweet agony that lingers on

That being the smiling tears, wetting the deep downs of memory

That being the never fading portrait, etched out along the annals of memory

Just give me that splinter of light trickling along the slight window crack

Just once and for once only and I stand waiting

Like “Ram” who was never to be lost in Sarayu,

Like “Sita” who’d never ever forget panchavadi

A Hindu's Views on Hinduism

For one to be a true Hindu he needs to know what Hinduism stands for and according to me it is choice and freedom to practise a belief system of one's own.

We can find a lot of aspects in Hindu ways of life that are contradictory as well as utterly negative and derogatory to popular beliefs. Frequently in scriptures we can find Gods coming in as characters that exhibit all flavours of human tendencies and emotions and many of their actions put to test the very belief of the followers. But again we must consider that Hinduism, unlike any other religion is not organized, hierarchical or structured. It is neither strict nor hard in its beliefs and forms rather a way of living than a religion.

What we must understand is that being a very very flexible religion Hinduism permits a lot of different thoughts and interpretations of its rules and regulations along with the very nature of it's Deities. A lot of literature that may come across as blasphemy is tolerated and even promoted so that people can discuss and relate wordily life with spiritual life. Ultimate aim of Hinduism being the union of man and god or God Realization, it gives a lot of paths for that depending upon the status of mind of each follower. All philosophies are right depending on the level of spiritual growth one has obtained. This is very well elucidated in Bhagvad Gita.

A true Hindu never questions other's faiths and never degrades anyone on the basis of their beliefs . One must discuss , assimilate facts and then think upon it and find out what is right for one , but then one must also make allowance to other's right to be like that too. What is right for one may not be right for other and Hinduism advocates and accepts it unlike many other religions. Other religions have a strict hierarchy and well defined right/wrong concepts which makes them uneasy with the freedom of Hinduism. They are baffled with the outright contradictions in Hindu scriptures and thus cannot digest the facts behind them.

Hinduism provides all but a freedom of choice.. The freedom to choose from a lot of its many scriptural paths, a path of your liking to satisfy your needs and reach the God/Place which you want to ultimately.

Hinduism as a belief system does not advocate what to do and what not - it merely points out the various scenarios and the results and urge the follower to make a choice" An intelligent choice" as there are more than enough instances and examples of each action and its reaction in its multitude of scriptures and literature.

3 Questions

The most important questions that comes up in life are :-

Q1) Which is the perfect time to act ?

The most perfect time to act is NOW!!-- The Present Moment. Why?? Because it's only now that we have any power to act. We cannot predict what will happen in the next moment, but can very well do what we should do, right now!!. Time that's gone is gone for ever and what that will come is a mystery, Only this moment is under our control. .

Q2) Who are the most important people in life?

The most important people in your life are People who are with us right now. As explained earlier we have no control over the past (Which is gone forever) or over the future moment, but can act only in the present moment. So the people whom we are with, are the most important people for us for the present, as we don't have any idea of knowing whether we will meet anyone else or who will remain with us in future.

Q3) What must be most important action?

The most important action is To do good to the people whom we are with. As this being the most important time and whom we are with right now are the most important people, the most important action for us is to do good to them in whatever possible way we can and must. Again we don't know what will happen in next moment, who will be with us then and what results our actions bring, So the Best action for now is to do GOOD , in whatever manner we can, to all those who are with us right now. Doing good is an excellent insurance for future, as by doing so, we can be sure that we have not offended anyone and most importantly there is no guilty feeling.

Bhagvad Gita - What I Learnt

Life is a process of a series of experiences which are mysteriously and inextricably connected with the entire universe in all its planes of existence - Thus when Bhagvad Gita offers solutions to the problems of life and prescribes method of regulating and harmonizing its modes it has to take into account every thing in the universe to which life is related – The greatness of Gita lies in its integrality of its scope the universality of its teachings the all comprehensiveness of its doctrine.

The primary cause of trouble in which man finds himself is the erroneous notion which he has about his relations with the body, the world and virtually with God. The perishable nature of body and the world, and the immortal nature of the conscious soul within are forgotten – Truth and Falsehood of life comes into light when the events and facts are analyzed with pure reason unbiased with objects of sense-perception.

Man cannot cease action. Action is the law of individual life. To act, and not allow the reason to get attached to acts is the essence of Karma yoga. Cessation from physical action is not non-action. Vital, emotional, mental and intellectual action is real action. Through out his life, Man has no freedom to abstain from actions. According to Gita action law or Karma Yoga is action based on the consciousness of the absoluteness of God, the surrender of oneself to God.

The sense of possession is the greatest of deluding factors in human life. Bhagvad Gita talks about this as follows

“What ever that had happened, happened for good
What ever that is happening, is happening for good
What ever that is going to happen is also for good
Why worry about anything that you lost,
For nothing in this world was brought by you when you came in here
And nothing will be taken back by you when you leave this world

Whatever riches you claim to be your own today was some one else’s yesterday
And it will be some one else’s tomorrow for sure.”

So don’t worry about all this but live your life according to the law of Karma.

The Bhagvad Gita may be called “anasakti –Yoga” – The Yoga of non-attachment.

[Actions as Devotion to God, God as supreme, Free form attachment to the fruits of one’s action and equal apathy towards other beings – Marks of one who will reach the final destination – i.e. Brahma sakshathkaram ]

The emotional spirit of the Bhagvad Gita’s teaching, is the continuous consciousness of Absolute while the routine duties of life are discharged without reluctance and with joy of the knowledge of the fact that entire activity of universe is an overflow of the process of divine consciousness

The agent, the goal, the instrument and the process of action is Brahman. Essence of Gita’s ethical philosophy is based on “isavasya Upanishad” where the doctrine of “Nishkama Karma” has been suggested.

The purpose of human life is the recognition of the divine and Gita describes a number of ways and their relative merits, so that each reader is presented freedom of choice – A knowledge powered and intelligent choice..

FAITH ..Thats all everyone has

An atheist professor of philosophy speaks to his class on the problem science has with God, The Almighty.

He asks one of his new students to stand and.....

Prof: So you believe in God?

Student: Absolutely, sir.

Prof : Is God good?

Student: Sure.Prof: Is God all-powerful?

Student : Yes.

Prof: My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to God to heal him. Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But God didn't. How is this God good then? Hmm?

(Student is silent.)

Prof: You can't answer, can you? Let's start again, young fella. Is God good?

Student: Yes.

Prof: Is Satan good?

Student : No.

Prof: Where does Satan come from?

Student: From...God...

Prof: That's right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world?

Student: Yes.

Prof: Evil is everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything. Correct?

Student: Yes.

Prof: So who created evil?

(Student does not answer.)

Prof: Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the world, don't they?

Student: Yes, sir.

Prof: So, who created them?

(Student has no answer.)

Prof: Science says you have 5 senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Tell me, son...Have you ever seen God?

Student: No, sir.

Prof: Tell us if you have ever heard your God?

Student: No, sir.

Prof: Have you ever felt your God, tasted your God, smelt your God? Have you ever had any sensory perception of God for that matter?

Student: No, sir. I'm afraid I haven't.

Prof: Yet you still believe in Him?

Student: Yes.

Prof: According to empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your GOD doesn't exist.What do you say to that, son?

Student: Nothing. I only have my faith.

Prof: Yes. Faith. And that is the problem science has.

Student: Professor, is there such a thing as heat?

Prof: Yes.Student: And is there such a thing as cold?

Prof: Yes.

Student: No sir. There isn't.(The lecture theatre becomes very quiet with this turn of events.)

Student : Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat.But we don't have anything called cold. We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can't goany further after that. There is no such thing as cold . Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence ofheat . We cannot measure cold. Heat is energy . Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it .(There is pin-drop silence in the lecture theatre.)

Student: What about darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?

Prof: Yes. What is night if there isn't darkness?

Student : You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, brightlight, flashing light....But if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? In reality, darkness isn't. If it were you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?

Prof: So what is the point you are making, young man?

Student: Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed.

Prof: Flawed? Can you explain how?

Student: Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You argue there is life and then there is death, a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life: just the absence of it.Now tell me, Professor.Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?

Prof: If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do.

Student: Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?(The Professor shakes his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the argument is going.)

Student: Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist but a preacher? (The class is in uproar.)

Student: Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen theProfessor's brain?(The class breaks out into laughter.)

Student : Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor's brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain,sir. With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir?(The room is silent. The professor stares at the student, his face unfathomable.)

Prof: I guess you'll have to take them on faith, son.

Student: That is it sir... The link between man & god is FAITH . That is all that keeps things moving & alive.

A Prayer That Was Answered

I asked for strength and God gave me difficulties - To make me Strong

I asked for wisdom and God gave me problems - To Solve

I asked for courage and God gave me dangers - To Overcome

I asked for prosperity and God gave me Brawn and Brain - To Work

I asked for Love and God gave me troubled people - To Help

I asked for Favours and God gave me opportunities - To Utilize

I received nothing what I wanted, but received everything what I really Needed.......

Time : Management at its premium

We are being conditioned throughout our lives to hurry, be efficient, and never to waste time. Each of us ,every day, every minute, are influenced and hoodwinked by product ideas that provide fast-foods, speedy deliveries and instant success. We are bombarded with time saving technologies and gadgetry , super swift software and precision chronograph that track time to the nth degree. We move faster, talk faster, work faster and live faster. Children wants to grow up faster and grownups grow old faster. In today's mad rush, that we call life, the time itself seems to be picking up speed.

What is the impact of eating breakfast during the commute to work or using a cell phone as we weave through city traffic? A safety hazard? Absolutely. A stressor. Of course. A time saver? Not really.

The one thing that never returns however hard we try is time. You cannot save, stretch or salvage time. You can only use time. If you use it for trivial, needless or superfluous things, you are actually wasting it. We try to cheat life by cramming more into each hour, but by doing so, we simply displace something else or ruin what that hour already contains.

There are only a few things that can be done simultaneously while preserving the integrity of each, such as listening to the radio while taking a bath or reading a book while waiting for a delayed flight to depart, but these are few and far between. In general, what appear to be time savers are actually life wasters in disguise. In the name of personal productivity, organizational efficiency or time strategies, we have been sold a bill of goods by well-meaning time management consultants who are paid handsomely to keep us on the fast track. Sometimes we are moving in the opposite directions to the track. What is the point in running up a down escalator?

Time management is not doing more things in less time. It is doing more important things in the time that we have. And who is to determine what is important? You are. It's your time. It's your life. You may want to live it at a fast pace and in that process burnout before your time or may go slow and wait, watch and enjoy all that life unfolding before you, savoring each and every moment that we have on this beautiful paradise called EARTH. The choice is yours .

At times it's more important to slow down and enjoy the moment

There's a walking trail in one of the parks I've had once visited, that winds its way leisurely around a little pool, through green grassy lawns, a small wooded area, along a rivulet and eventually emerges on the other side. People negotiate its many twists and turns as they get their daily dose of exercise. A pleasant walk indeed through morning mist and dew.

But none too surprising , there were shortcuts invariably at almost every turn. Little paths worned out through the grass by people who have been programmed by life to seek out the shortest distance between two points. Has this world gone completely mad? Why would someone whose sole purpose in the morning was to exercise or enjoy the outdoors want to take a shortcut? Yet its sad but true. Man is always hurrying..Hurrying to get things he wants or thinks he wants.

Carrying on on this, I think, we negotiate life the same way. We try to get through it in the least possible time. Who has time to smell the flowers? Just trample them underfoot as we carve another shortcut through life.

It's a beautiful life, but who has time to notice? Life expectancy has increased but its benefits have been nullified by our distorted perception of time. We are living faster than the speed of life. We are literally racing to our deaths. If you are a participant in the rat race, get off the track. Let the die-hards pass you on the way to the finish line.

The secret of life is not to be the one to finish it first, but the one to enjoy it the most. Don't live speedily; live abundantly.

ഒരിഷ്ട്ട ഗാനം

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Hinduism and The Matrix

The Matrix an action masterpiece created by the Wachowski brothers has produced millions of fans around the world. But does the Matrix trilogy have deeper meanings than just guns technology and computers. This is a take on that thought.

The Matrix philosophy.

There are some interesting connections between The Matrix trilogy and Hindu philosophy. The Matrix has got some aspects that may be considered as example for some of the concepts of Hinduism. Maya, Moksha, the concept of God and the balance of good and bad can all be understood through its well-known plot.

For the uninitiated, The Matrix is about a computer hacker (Neo) who is given the knowledge by Morpheus (A Guru or Acharya perhaps ?) that the world he was living in is not real, and just a simulation created by machines of the future. He also comes to know that machines have enslaved humanity and are now harvesting and breeding them just as a power source. He comes to know of the escaped rebel group who are fighting war against these machines and races to save the city of the real world (Zion), created by others like him, from the machines.

Let's start from the beginning . Neo, a computer hacker, is wondering about what The Matrix is, after he hears about it in a chat room. It haunts him for a long time, until he meets Trinity, aide of Morpheus, who tells him how to find out. Neo asks her, "What is the Matrix?", to which Trinity replies, "Twelve years ago I met [Morpheus], a great man, who said that no one could be told the answer to that question. That they had to see it, to believe it." Morpheus here forms what can be said as a guru or teacher, a realized one who leads his followers to truth. He tells Neo exactly what Ramakrishna Paramahamsa said to Swami Vivekananda's question, "What is God?" Hinduism says that God cannot be explained and that truth can only be experienced.

Later in the movie, Morpheus shows and explains to Neo about the Matrix, the world from which he was living in before he got to the real world. Neo asks, "This isn't real?" To which Morpheus replies, "What is real? How do you define real? If you're talking about your senses, what you feel, taste, smell, or see, then all you're talking about are electrical signals interpreted by your brain." In Hinduism, this concept of the "Matrix" is called Maya. It is said that the world we live in is just an illusion, created by our minds. Our senses, feelings and emotions are just illusions we trick ourselves into believing in. In explaining Maya, Sri Adi Sankara very often refers to the example of the rope and the snake. As long as one mistakes a rope for a snake, he is frightened and reacts to the rope as if it were a real snake. When he realizes that what he sees is only a rope, he laughs.

The Hindu concept of God is the state in which one realizes that the world is just a Matrix, or Maya, and that everything around him is an illusion. This state is called Nirvana, or much more aptly the state of Nirmohatva, which Neo attains in the movie after he realizes what the Matrix is. ( The poem Bhaja Govindam by Sri Adi Sankaracharya goes like this :

" satsangatve nisangatvam ;

Nisangatve nirmohatvam;

Nirmohatve nischalatatvam;

Nischalatatve jeevanmukhti")

Then, in the second movie, the Creator calls Neo "an unbalanced equation". By this he is hinting to what exactly Hinduism puts forward. Good cannot be alone in this world. Without Badness, the aspect of goodness has no meaning. Without Darkness one cannot appreciate light.There has to be a balance of good and evil, of creation and destruction. Among the Hindu Pantheon of Gods, the three main deities or TRINITY are Brahma the creator, Vishnu the Preserver and Shiva the destructor. Creation and preservation does its part in sustaining the world for a time after which destruction is necessary because "Everything that has a beginning has an end."

The Wachowski brothers might not have thought of Hinduism when they created the Matrix trilogy. But taking on the spirit of sanathana Dharma ( the real and imperishable Truth), to fully realize oneself , we must do what Morpheus says "Wake up, Neo, Wake UP."

Arise, Awake and Rest Not Until the Goal is Reached!!

Swami Vivekananda

Life - Boring? NEVER ...

I've often found people telling me (others) that their life is so boring and there is nothing left in the day to cheer them up. Far too often I've seen people fall into a tiresome routine, where they repeatedly do the same thing over and over again; day after day, everyday. They begin feeling that there just isn’t any excitement in their lives anymore. They start wishing that they were someplace more exciting, doing something that demanded a little more action, a little more fun to do and so on. In fact, they begin wishing they were anywhere but where they are right now.

Well there is nothing unnatural or unusual about feeling bored from time to time. This is just our bodies’ way of telling us to up the life's tempo; to find something a bit more challenging, stimulating and interesting to do. Sometimes we get the message loud and clear and immediately quicken our pace by setting our sights on the achievement of a worthwhile goal or objective. And sometimes we don’t, allowing ourselves to sink into a sea of monotony, where everyday is just as dull as the day before. Its plain fact that boredom is never an issue whenever we are doing something we really enjoy.

Its cent percent true that life is never boring, but often people choose to be bored and forget how captivating and enjoyable life is. I for one feel that people are not bored by situations or surroundings but primarily with their selves. Their life, drudging along in the fast lanes, cease ; to stop, wait and relish those small happenings and incidents, to appreciate and understand the beauty of life around them, to enjoy the thrills of never ending challenges that lay along the path. They become kind of robotic beings with no mind and action of their own.

Happiness can never be found it’s but created. Every situation has got something to cheer about and every setback can be opportunity..An opportunity to do better.

My favorite Quote

"You laugh at me because I am different, but I laugh at you because you are all the same."

-------- UNKNOWN

Human Normality

A baby that didn’t cry wouldn’t be normal. A wild animal that didn’t like to hunt wouldn’t be normal.(A politician who follows people's politics likewise wouldn't also ,at present be normal)And a human being who doesn’t like to think and learn isn’t normal. This definition of human normality is proper, even if statistics show that most people are not, in this sense, normal. If that’s so then defenitely something is terribly wrong, but the problem is not with this definition.