When the heart is too heavy:

It is pinching and piercing, tumultuously twitching and heavily weighing, when the heart goes astray on some emotional surcharge. Emotional upheavals, say the sadhus, mahatmas and the yogis, have to be controlled, checked and effectively monitored by an individual self to secure peace and solace. It’s not that easy, they should know. I have seen many a mahatmas, highly perturbed mentally and moving berserk physically, unable as they are to control themselves on emotional front. Many of them are a kind who get irritated at the first instance that occurs to them. I have seen a naga sadhu losing his temper on a disciple of his simply for the reason that the offering(dakshina)she made to him was too meagre in terms of cash. There is hardly any place any where, where one can go to procure some peace. One has to struggle with his/her own heart, when the whirl wind of a stormy sort of thoughts overtakes the whole body system. One may  even himself/ herself go for some compromise with the tortuous feelings as struggle alone may not suffice. I take it like there is no go against this sort of state of heart and  mind, and the individual concerned has to take it to himself as his fate. In the midst of torments and upheavals, I as one, feel like submitting to the immanent will, the Destiny.

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Parading naked–a novel mode of protest:

A girl, in Sibsagar district of Assam (India), was molested by an army jawan named as Anil Kumar Upadhyay a few days, as per media reports. The case was registered with the local police, but they, as usual of course, failed to deliver any positive results. The culprit was, however, produced before a local court and thereafter the matter was referred to the army, who in their turn, sent it to the army court. Nothing specific happened. The locals protested in different ways starting with their dharna against the local District Collector. They also took off their clothes and led a march bare chested through the streets to draw the attention of both the public and the government. Good thing was that they didn’t remove their underwear. The mode of protest so adopted by them was a novel and unique one to focus their demand for an immediate action against the molester, but in Assam, where nagaas (a religious sect roaming totally naked without any clothing at all on their body from top to bottom ) serve their faith with nothing like any cloth piece, including even an underwear, on their body, the protest of this type is hardly supposed to have elicited any impact.

Technorati Tags: culprit,culture,protests,march,molestation,assam,government,public

Is it that there is a parallel government in Mumbai?

Raj Thackeray, the MNS chief in Mumbai gave a call to people in general there not to pay road tax on the pretext that the local government is not giving a proper account to the tax payers. No road tax is to be paid, he has said, unless the authorities concerned duly account for the money so collected. Collections are so huge, he further asserted, and compared to that the amenities provided locally are too meagre. The big amount so collected is not only to be fully accounted for, this has to be used basically for the need of the local citizens without diverting the funds  elsewhere, he suggested in a tone and tenor of a direction. The demands so raised may be alright and there must be strong protests on that count. Modes of protest are many and there can’t be, and must not be, any refraining from resorting to them, but in no way an individual can take law into his hands all out disturbing the local administrative machinery, which ultimately affects the local public only.

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Nagpanchami:

Nagpanchami is a festival observed by hindus and even others almost every where in terms of Hindu mythology. It fell due yesterday in India and was celebrated with full enthusiasm by the worshippers of Lord Mahadev. Lord Mahadev is the one God who is kept ornamentally garlanded by live snakes who continue creeping and hissing around his neck all the time and, with that faith in mind, his devotees dedicate this day to the snakes. They worship them, they feed them and they sing in their praise. Snakes are mainly served with milk as it is considered to be the choice food for them, which factor is more a myth than reality. In real terms, as it is said, snake are not that fond of milk nor they relish it much. In fact, they are the victims of snake charmers, who keep them under fed or without any food at all for several days before Nagpanchami (called by some also as gudia) falls due. The snakes virtually keep starving for days together remaining in full control and captivity of the snake charmers. Snake charmers have a definite purpose in such doings of theirs. They keep them unfed or starved so that their snakes could entertain a maximum number of clients who voluntarily and devotedly feed them with milk. If the snakes are not empty stomach, they may not be able to entertain the devotees, the clients of snake charmer, in the required  measure, or they may be able to do so only upto one or two cases. Snake charmers go from door to door taking advantage of devotees desire to worship and serve the snakes, and such number runs in several dozens.

Technorati Tags: nagpanchami,snakes,lordmahadev,worship,devotees,devotion,starving

Why charity can’t begin at home?

India is passing through a worst phase of economic crisis. Soaring prices have made the life of routine consumers a hell. There is nothing in sight to indicate any improvement on that count. Any decision that is taken by the governments, both at the level of the Centre and the States, in the name of overcoming the crisis only bounces back to aggravate it instead of remedying it. The parliamentarians of the country were in a hurry to sumptuously enhance their salary and perks costing public exchequer abnormally. Looks like they are the people remaining hungry without any food like millions of the people in India. Hungry they are, but it is for power, pelf and privileges. If they can’t do any thing else in the interest of the people, they can at least set a pattern by foregoing a certain percentage of their increased salary like it is done in France very recently. They took a decision that President and the Prime Minister of their country should go for a 30% cut in their salary directing it to serve the interest of the people in general. May be others, particularly their parliamentarians, fall in line with the President and the Prime Minister in days to come. This one is too meagre a measure like a drop in the ocean so far as overall economy is concerned but a drop too counts when there is an economical crisis like it is there in India. Let charity begin at home first.

Technorati Tags: country,india,soaring prices,parliament,parliamentarians,charity

Rahul Gandhi is ready for a larger role:

As per reports of the media, Rahul Gandhi has broken his silence expressing necessary willingness on his part to play some more positive a role both at the level of the party (All India Congress Party) and the government if, as he said, so decided by the party chief Sonia Gandhi and the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The announcement so made appears to be encouraging, if taken on its face value. There could be many who may not be that happy with such a move, particularly those in the party itself, who have a feeling that it was Rahul Gandhi who was himself responsible for a flop show during last elections in Uttar Pradesh. As the reports say, Rahul Gandhi was not willing to plunge into a major role either in the party or the government, or both. He was in fact mobilised for the purpose and it is only the outcome of this mobilisation that Rahul Gandhi consented to more vigorously work both for the party and the government. Quite possible that he agreed with some amount of reluctance. Any individual, howsoever young and energetic, is hardly capable of delivering the goods with the required enthusiasm for the tasks. Only time will tell if he can really meet the aspirations of the people at large.

Technorati Tags: rahulgandhi,politics,congress,sonia gandhi,people,tasks

An address to blog readers:

I am handling about half a dozen blogs and obviously, like every blogger, I do feel interested to see that my posts are read well by the viewers and the readers. I felt like reaching my readers through some of my posts some time back to point out my anxiety to them but had to resist my intention with the hesitation that this might be taken as an attempt to over publicise my writings and could even form a span with the result that I withdrew. Soon thereafter I came across an article by a co blogger online with the title including ‘guidelines’ to the readers talking of as to what she expected from her readers. This inspired me a lot and on a re-thinking I too thought of falling in line with her and have an interaction with my viewers, hence this post. General psychology of the readers is to have just a snap shot view of a post without straining their mental nerves to go deep into it with of course a few exceptions who always prefer to be quite thorough. Heavy traffic elicits a better rating for the blogger and, in respect of paid blogging, it counts more commercially if necessary ads on the posts are clicked properly, which is an area often ignored by the readers. Even ‘ratings’, ‘like’ and the comments links too are not practically followed by many. My blog ‘Avenues’ at the Wordpress.com has hundreds of comments running in several pages, but that’s again a zone all the readers just can’t cover and this should be enough for the remaining readers to use a few words at least by way of comments. This strengthens the relationship between the authors and readers. By giving a complete perusal of a post, the readers are the ones who contribute much in raising the morale of the authors. The readers after all are the best judges to apply their discretion in a manner they so prefer to do.

Technorati Tags: blogging,comments,rating,ads,readers,writers,judges,news

Continuing regular studies at 50:

One Saravanapavan, who is 50 years of age, is continuing as a regular medical student in Madras Medical College, Chennai, with the privilege of occupying necessary accommodation in the college hostel itself. He is in fact a criminal who was involved in Chennai Airport bomb blast case of 1984. Convicted and given a punishment of life imprisonment by a local court, he was finally acquitted of all the charges against him by the Madras High Court. Currently he is away abroad presumably on student Visa itself, as the news says. How come the college authorities permitted him to continue in the college and also its hostel? I don’t think they have any valid reply to offer in the matter. Madras University is not alone in this connection as various other universities/ colleges in the country are permitting unauthorised occupation of hostel rooms to outsiders mainly including the goons, anti social elements. Reportedly Allahabad University has permitted around 125 outsiders to stay in its hostels unauthorisedly for quite a long time and several of them are not paying even the prescribed fee for the purpose. May be that is the state of affairs every where.

Technorati Tags: university,students,rules,anti social elements,news

Relevance of salvation (moksha)

As referred to in Vedic philosophy salvation called moksha is the state of securing an abode in heaven with freedom from the cycle of birth and rebirth. Budhism too talks of it and so do certain other religions. Apparently it looks like a total loss of one’s own entity in whatever form and shape it could be but the belief of the people as it practically works is entirely different. The advocates of this conviction believe that their entity as such remaining intact it transcends to the horizons of peace and tranquillity in the heaven when they are able to attain the moksha. It looks to be so intriguing and confusing on the face of the fact that once total entity of an individual living being is lost on attaining moksha where is the question of any element left as some residual to enjoy and relish its fruits and if there is nothing of this sort why should one surrender its soul to the unknown. Mahadevi Verma, the great poetess, once wrote “…rahne do hey deo hamara marne jeene ka adhikar” (O! Lord, allow me to keep my right to live and die to myself intact). Possibly the practitioners of path to moksha are oblivious of the real truth behind the phenomenon as otherwise none will ever compromise his/ her own entity as such for any thing whatever it is.

Technorati Tags: concept,conviction,life,cycle of birth and rebirth,soul,death,phenomenon,religion

Quotes may land you in trouble!

It has always been quite in vogue to use some quotation or the other while delivering a speech. An excellent orator like Atal Bihari Bajpai, ex Prime Minister of India, always used to get a thumping applause for it. Manmohan Singh, the present Prime Minister of India, tried to follow him, if not fully atleast partly. He did so even when he was the Finance Minister and made it a note to add famous lines of the revolutionary the great Ram Prasad Bismil on most dry a subject like budget. The lines so quoted were 'Sar faroshi ki tamanna ab hamarey dil mein hai'.There is a thinking that quotes add strength to a speech and naturally why the speakers, particularly politicians, should miss that opportunity which they can't help using relevantly or even otherwise. But the practice may lead the speaker into trouble also like it happened with Samajwadi leader Amar Singh who picked up a portion from a song sung by Mohd. Rafi in a film with the quote '...patthar ke sanam...' supporting his criticism against Mayawati, U.P. Chief Minister, ridiculing her over enthusiasm for necessary/ unnecessary construction of buildings, parks and monuments. The small quote was not taken lightly and she had even to come out with the threat of necessary police action against him.

Technorati Tags: politics,speech,oratory,atal bihari bajpai,manmohan singh,monuments

Why fall prey to bluff mongers?

Money is the need for every one as no life can run without it. All the people need it, in fact there are many who hanker for it and they are always in search of easy money and to entrap such people there is no dearth on earth of the traders who most enthusiastically volunteer themselves to entertain them on apparently looking very convenient terms. one such community of traders is that of those who offer service on online surveys. I have not come across even a single one who offers a genuine service in India. May be some where else in the world map they do this job fairly in an honest manner to the real advantage of the persons otherwise so interested in making money. I don’t rule out some imaginable exceptions but by and large they are of the kind that you ask them for moon and they are there to give it in terms of money. It is a different matter that when it comes to a physical reality it is found to be only a total nullity and without any substance. The total deal works out to be a fake one. They are very gentle and submissive offering you allurements till such time you get registered with them but the moment you get yourself registered with them as a member their tone and tenor changes assuming a negative variance. Disgusted, if you lodge a claim for the money you paid them, they will either be not available at all or at the most they will refer you to some other web site which might be so difficult for you to get through search engines. There are various other alternatives available online itself for generating extra earnings which deal with their clients honestly and fairly.They are the ones who can be tried free of charge and there is no question of any risk for your money. If there are any questions in the matter, this author is available to you on his email azal2abad@yahoo.com.

It is you who can manage aging, not the doctors:

Aging is a natural process.It can only be checked but can not be stopped altogether.Much depends on how the individual concerned is able to manage it.

Since ages it has been a matter of concern for the people on earth as to how they can ensure a longer span of life for themselves.There is nothing like any short cut available for the purpose. One,who is born once, has to grow old and die some day ultimately. What a person can do is to meticulously take due care of his/her health applying necessary precautions with a will in that direction.

In Paleolithic age, it is said, people used to live much longer a life obviously for the reason that they had to toil hard involving a great deal of physical labour to earn their livelihood. Contemporarily there have been several instances where many of the persons had the bliss of leading a comfortable life for much bigger a span. London based Indian author of eminence Nirad Chaudhary died at the age of 102 years. Dubai based Indian painter of great repute M.F.Hussain died at 95+. Zohra Sahgal, a pace setter movie star in India is hale and hearty and continues performing her roles even today. She celebrated her 101st year of life only some time back in Mumbai.

The key note point for a better life health wise is simple living which includes plain sort of food habits. Physical exercise on a routine basis is another component essentially warranted in this connection. For exercise one is not required to be an athlete or an acrobat as even a normal walking coupled with controlled breathings is enough for the purpose.Yoga is another most important a therapy which is conveniently possible for every body -a child, an adult and equally an old man.

Technorati Tags: health,exercise,age,aging,yoga,food habit,athlete,acrobat