Diseases - Curse or boon?

Diseases  - Curse  or boon?

By

P.R.Ramachander

(This is  based on posting of my face book friend Bhanu Ravi. Thanks to her )

Diseases  are a  curse   to those   who love their body,

For it makes them controltheir  toungues  as well as desires,

But to those     who  love   only god  , it seems to be a boon,

For it makes them  pray  and beg God to get cured.

Narayana Bhattathiri   wrote  Narayaneeyam,

To get   get cured  of his rheumatism   and became great,

Narayana  THeertha   wrote   Krishna  Leela  THaringini  ,

To get cured   of the great  stomach  pain he had.

Vasudeva Gosh was able   to see Krishna Chaithanya ,

AS he was praying to get   cured  of his leprosy,

SAnathana  Goswami  was   able   to get complete love,

O f Chaithanya  Maha Prabhu  due to the rashes in his body.

All of us   got the   great Vishnu   SAhasra  Nama ,

From Bhishma  due to his  lying on bed of arrows,

WE also got   Bhagwatha  from sage   Shuka  ,

Because Parakshith happened to die  by a snake.

WE are able  to chant the  great  stotra of Mruthyunjaya,

Because  the  sage Markandeya  hugged the god to get rid of death,

WE all got the   great epic     of Ramayana   from Valmiki,

Because   he was  unable to see  , the  sufferings  of Sita.

Just because   diseases   induced   these great ones  ,

Leave behind them the   religious gems , we need not invite  disease,

But  You   should never  become  a sorrowing weak one before it,

For  diseases affect   your body but  not your soul  which is always pure.

Never  allow   diseases   of body to rule over you  ,

Because   what   determines your mental health is devotion,

Try  to prevent  occurrence of diseases by leading disciplined life,

And if they come ,  turn your  mind towards Gods and saints.

Never  get dejected  because of sickness,

Do not hate  life    because  of sickness,

Call  God for help and learn to live  with sickness,

For He would bless   you to lead a  healthy life.

GST -illustrated by BIRTHDAY business

GST  -illustrated by  BIRTHDAY  business

By

P.R.Ramachander

(( Based on a whatsapp message  I received. Thanks to the anonymous  author)

Suppose  it is my son’s   birthday tomorrow,

I buy sweets   to  give to all  the children in his class,

And  gave it  to your son    for proper distribution,

And next day morning    we all  wish him birthday .

He   starts to his school after  that  and his  classmate Tintu,

And his mother who are our neighbours meet him at our gate ,

And he dutifully  gives them one    sweet each  and when he  reaches,

The school  , he gives  one sweet to his   security  uncle at the gate.

Then he  distributes  one sweet  each to  his teacher ,

And all his class mates  making  them all happy,

But his best friend Gaurav  was absent  that day,

So Tintu gets   two sweets   and Gaurav no sweet.

Let us look  this distribution    as  his business,

The sweet is the tax that  he pays, What we  gave,

To Tintu and  his mother   is the local tax,

What he  gave to security  uncle  at gate  is security tax,

What he gave to teacher  and class mates  is service tax,

The addition sweet   that  Tintu got  is the sur charge .

When school principal    came   to know of his business,

Where some one gets two   and some one nothing ,

He introduced   a new rule   in the school  that,

All sweets   are to be given to him for distribution

AND    THIS     IS     GST

Sitaram - The Portrait maker of Gods

Sitaram -  The Portrait maker of Gods

 By

P.R.Ramachander

God’s pictures are the treasured possession of most of the Hindus. They keep it with reverence in their prayer room. Most of the time we are not bothered to find, who painted it. For example I have been charmed by the Bala Krishna as well as Viswaroopa paintings of Guruvayurappan. I also reverentially look at and fold my hands, when I see the great painting of Puducode Annapoorneshwari, (Which is in the home of thousands of people originating from Puducode) who is my family Goddess. Some how I never wondered as to who painted these great pictures.

About   eight years  back   I came to know that these have been painted by Sri Sitaram, who was 77 at that time  and even then he   very busy in making oil paintings of various gods in Palakkad. Sri Sitaram belongs to Guruvayoor and was given initial training by his father Sri Srinivasa Iyer , who was a celebrated painter. He had the good fortune to Meet Sri Kondaiah Raju , a celebrated oil painter who was producing almost all the calendars in India originating from Sivakasi , some 40 years back.. Sri Sitaram got interested in oil painting and specialized in Portrait painting. He was especially interested in Painting Gods and that too Guruvayurappan. His painting skill is very great .

   He told me   that Several   days the Guruvayur temple authorities permitted him to   see   for some time Guruvayurappan , at the time of Nirmalya  Darsanam   when  the God only wore a Kaupeena and his painting of Guruvayurappan  is an extremely rare thing to get .In Puducode also   after the morning Pooja it seemd he used   to be shut inside the temple after morning pooja , so that  he can see the goddess   extremely well.

  When I met him accidentally  before eight years,  I had the God fortune to help him get  lot of contacts and orders to draw God’s pictures.  I am  attaching his paintings of Guruvayurappan and Puducode Bhagawathy. After  That  I lost all contact with him,

No charity in business and no business in charity

No charity  in business  and no business  in charity

Translated by

P.R.Ramachander

(This pretty meaningful story was posted by my friend  Hamsabai SAnthana Krishnan  in facebook today. My thanks to her)

My mother   was sitting near  the outer  door ,

Of my house   wanting   to buy  some leafy vegetable.

And a lady   carrying  several verities  of   leafy vegetable came ,

And my mother   chose   carefully   what she wanted.

When my mother  asked the price  the lady hawker  told “Five rupees a bundle”

And my mother  asked it for three  and said to her  , if the price is three  rupees,

Give  me four bundles, but the   hawker   did not agree  and started walking away,

And after a few steps   she returned back,  and said , “Ok Madam,  four rupees.”

My mother did not agree  but at the end the hawker gave it for three ,

And when  she was r trying  to keep  the basket  on her head , the hawker fell down,

And my mother  rushed  to help  and the  when asked   why? What happened?

She told my mother, “There was no food in my  home and I am starving  from morn.”

My mother asked her to wait  and came  with a plate  of six Idlis  and Chutney,

And made  her eat them and the  thankful hawker  with   eyes  filled with tears went away,

And I asked mother, “By bargaining  you got a profit of eight rupees  and this idli costs thirty rupees?”

And My mother  told me son,”No charity  in business   and no business  in my charity.”

GST -A hindi song

Anyway, here’s a despondent song, after listening blankly to Arun Jaitley’s yet another eloquent discourse on GST. Writes  Some one .I am  trying to make you understand that song-(?)

Translated by

P.R.Ramachander

GST Ka Safar Hai Ye Kaisa Suffer

Koi Samjha Nahin Koi Jaana Nahin

Hai Ye Kaisi Structure, Bharte Hain Sab Magar

Koi Samjha Nahin Koi Jaana Nahin

This is  the travel of GST, what  a travel it is,

No one has understood , and no one knows,

What type of structure  it has  ,Throughout  India but,

No one has  understood and no one knows.

GST Ko Bahut Time Humne Diya

I-T Ko Full Support Nibhaayenge Hum

Rote Rote Jamaaye Hain TDS Magar

Coughte Coughte Balance Bhi Jamaa Denge Hum

Jaati Hai Tax Kidhar, Hai Kise Ye Khabar

Koi Samjha Nahin Koi Jaana Nahin

We  gave  a lot of time to GST,

We will   take full support from IT,

Crying and crying  we would  deposit  TDS, but,

Coughing and coughing   , we will deposit  the balance also,

Where does this tax go, Has any one this information,

No one has  understood and no one knows.

Aise Tax-Slabs Bhi Hain, Jo Samjhe Hi Nahin

Jinko Samajhne Se Pehle Hi Tax Aa Gayi

People Aise Bhi Hain Jo Khaye Hi Nahin

Jinko Khane Se Pehle Hi Tax Kha Gayi

Jaitley Fresh The Magar, Thak Gaye Samjhaakar

Koi Samjha Nahin Koi Jaana Nahin

There are  some type of tax slabs  which is not understandable,

Which before we understood it   became tax,

There are also people    who  have not taken food,

Jaitley was   fresh but became times making us understand ,

No one has  understood and no one knows.

GST Ka Safar Hai Ye Kaisa Suffer

Koi Samjha Nahin Koi Jaana Nahin

Hai Ye Kaisi Structure, Bharte Hain Sab Magar

 

 

This is  the travel of GST, what  a travel it is,

No one has understood , and no one knows,

What type of structure  it has  ,Throughout India but,

 

One who desires to become a Sanyasi, Will never become a sanyasi.

One who desires  to become a Sanyasi, Will never become a sanyasi.

By

P.R.Ramachander

(Based on stories    told by the great  Thenkachi Swaminathan   and  swami Ramakrishna  Paramahamsa.My grateful   acknowledgements to those great  human beings )

There was   one  old men who looked,

Like a  great devotee   , who was minding ,

A small   shop in front  of the temple, who used to say,

“I am desire less  and I want to forsake the world “

Once a sage   came   to that templw    and heard,

What the old  shop keeper was telling  and sae told him,

“If you want to forsake the world,  come with me.”

“Most of children are young  and once they ,

All grow up , Nothing would be better, I would come with you.”

The sage smiled   and went away   , came back   after many years,

And heard the old  shop keeper   tell the same  thing  and as before,

Invited him to accompany   him    but the  old shop  keeper replied,

“I have performed marriage of all my children,  And as soon as ,

I see my grand children, I would definitely come with you.

The sage smiled   and went away   , came back   after many years,

And heard the old  shop keeper   tell the same  thing  and as before,

Invited him to accompany   him    but the  old shop  keeper replied,

“ There  are several   civil cases  pending against the family,

And as soon as I win them, I would definitely come with you.”

The sage smiled   and went away   , came back   after many years,

And saw that   the  old man’s shop  was looked after by his sons,

And the sage asked, “where  is your father?”   and they replied,

“A few years back he died ,had he been alive now ,

He would have forsaken the world     and come with you.”

The smiling saint laughed  and told them,  that their father,

Was very much with them and called a dog   which was guarding ,

Their shop and asked the dog, “Are  you willing   to come with me?”

And the dog replied in human voice, “My children   are careless,

And so  I am guarding their shop, If only  they are responsible..”

The sage told    the sons , I will tell you  a very small story,

“A married lady used  to complain   to her husband  ,

That her brother  was daily threatening  to take Sanyasa.”

And her husband replied, “He will never take   and I would show you,

How it is done and then he tore of his cloths   wore a Kaupeena,

And told  his wife , “From today  you and all ladies like you are my mother”

And while going away , he told  his wife, “This is how to take sanyasa.”

Sentences that attracted me

                                Sentences that attracted  me

Translated by

P.R.Ramachander

  (In Whatsapp  some one has selected  these tamil sentances    as the ones he liked. I also liked them and have translated  in english.  Tamil original  is given below  .Thanks to the original selector)

Talk   and   remove  all misunderstandings ,But do not keep on talking

Talk  about it to the concerned  people,But do not tell  each and every one.

Watch what  is happening  now,But do not keep on  fishing in the past.

Show steadfastness but not adamancy,

Tell all relevant  news but not unnecessary   words

Desire for a   settlement but do not wish for a  debate ,

Argue it out   but do not quarrel,

Get explanation but not enmity,

Even if is  uncomfortable   , talk  only the truth

Even if you have influence  , do only   the right thing,

Allow those who oppose  to speak , patiently listen to it,

Come to a conclusion     as quickly as possible

Do nt waste time, do it fast,

If it   would get over  only by itself, attend to some other job.

Live happily   without enmity   with any one,

Life is short but  it is indeed pretty.

                        என்னைக் கவர்ந்த வாசகங்கள்...

✳பேசி தீருங்கள்.

பேசியே வளர்க்காதீர்கள்.

✳உரியவர்களிடம் சொல்லுங்கள்.

ஊரெல்லாம் சொல்லாதீர்கள்.

✳நடப்பதைப் பாருங்கள்.

நடந்ததைக் கிளறாதீர்கள்.

✳உறுதி காட்டுங்கள்.

பிடிவாதம் காட்டாதீர்கள்.

✳விவரங்கள் சொல்லுங்கள்.

வீண்வார்த்தை சொல்லாதீர்கள்.

✳தீர்வை விரும்புங்கள்.

தர்க்கம் விரும்பாதீர்கள்.

✳விவாதம் செய்யுங்கள்.

விவகாரம் செய்யாதீர்கள்.

✳விளக்கம் பெறுங்கள்.

விரோதம் பெறாதீர்கள்.

✳சங்கடமாய் இருந்தாலும்

சத்தியமே பேசுங்கள்.

✳செல்வாக்கு இருந்தாலும்

சரியானதைச் செய்யுங்கள்.

✳எதிர் தரப்பும் பேசட்டும்.

என்னவென்று கேளுங்கள்.

எவ்வளவு சீக்கிரம் தீர்வு வரும் பாருங்கள்.

✳நேரம் வீணாகாமல்

விரைவாக முடியுங்கள்.

✳தானாய்த்தான் முடியுமென்றால்,

வேறு வேலை பாருங்கள்.

யாரோடும் பகையில்லாமல் புன்னகித்து வாழுங்கள்....

🎭வாழ்க்கை குறுகியது,

ஆனா

அழகானது...

Each person understands you, according to his nature.

Each person understands you, according  to his nature.

By,

P.R.Ramachander

(This story posted by my friend   Athreya Gothram Bairava  Ramani , brings home a great truth. Thanks to  him)

One man did great  thapas   and made   god appear before him,

And when God   did   appear God asked  him, what do you want?”

The man replied  , when other  human beings   come near me ,

I should be   able   to  read   all their thoughts” God said  fine and disappeared.

After   a month  that  man again  made God  appear  before him,

And asked, “ Please  take back    the power that you gave  me the other day.”

God asked “Why son?” . He replied  “No one is liking me , Some think I  am a liar,

Some think I am mad, some  think I am jealous   and so on , I am not able  to bear it.”

God said, “Close   your eyes  tight   and lie   down below  this Banyan tree and observe”

He did like that, First a drunkard    came there   that he was   lying there  due to  drinks,

One thief came  “Oh a thief who  robbed   all night  and  getting prepared to rob today,”

One saint came and he thought”A great saint   and he must be  in Samadhi”

God then came   and told that  man,  “Did you not observe  that each one,

Who came here  understood according    to his nature   and thought  process,

And this would mean that  each person would understand you   as per his mind,

And so do not bother, Travel in your path with courage and you will win.”

How we live together is more important than how long

How we  live together  is more important than how long

By

P.R.Ramachander

(based on the  post of  my friend Rajagopalan Srinivasan )

Husband and wife should be  like milk and water,

For when  water is poured  in milk , it merges  with it,

For when milk   and water   are heated   till all water  goes out,

The Milk   rises    up  in great  anger   and once water is put back,

The milk  gets pacified , as it has  got back  his wife ,

But if no one pours water   in to the boiling milk  ,

It would ebb  out and  put  out the fire of the stow

Proving that the family fire  would   be put out ,

Once  the  husband   and  wife  are  not in a mixed state.

The spring   of life , is when they both understand this,

Ramu cursed the God for a bad day and God answered.

 Ramu  cursed the God for  a bad day  and God answered.

By

P.R.Ramachander

(Based on a message in Whatsapp.My a thanks to the unknown writer)

Ramu  used to daily   wake up , pray god  ,

And then  do all his duties   one after another,

But one day   , he forgot    to pray   God,

And all through the day  , everything was  bad.

That night   mulling over things that  happened  to him.

He went to his bed room    and saw   the image  of God there,

He shouted at  that God , “I daily    salute   you  as soon as I wake up,

But today  I did not do it and you  punished  me so much,

I am bidding bye   to you    for ever    and ever.”

Then the God in his   room asked  ,” Son that is bad,

For all throughout    the day   I was only   doing good  to you”

Ramu was    furious   at that  God who was    telling a lie,

“I woke  up lae te today  and the tyre  of my byke  was punctured,

I  caught a bus  which met with an accident   and I reached office one hour late .

So  i  was late   to go to canteen  for lunch   and I did not get anything there,

I had applied   for a personal loan  and was expecting a  call from them,

I got their call  but since charge  of the battery   of my cell phone was over ,

I could not talk to them and I just   wanted    to relax for   some time,

By seeing the TV   in air conditioned    room  but  AC   was not working,

And I am fed up with life  today and do you  mean to say  ,

All these are  punishments    for forgetting     to salute you.”

God loudly laughed    and started   talking    to him, “According to your Karma,

It is a very bad day for you and when you were  sleeping  God of death  ,

Came in search of you   and I argued    with and some how   sent him back,

And  to  do this I had no other   option except    to make   t you sleep late.

It was fated that  a van losing control over  its break   was supposed to dash,

At your byke   and kill you at the spot and so I made your buke not waork,

In Your canteen  when they were about to close   a  dead lizard fell in Sambar,

And so to save you  , I some how managed  to see  that you wont get food there,

And I knew that person who promised   you loan was   cheating you ,

And I saw to it that   your phone does not work the   entire day  so that  you are safe,

There   was a short circuit in your AC machine and it would have   exploded   and killed  you,

And so I saw   to it  that o it was not working. Did I do anything wrong  ,

For your act of   not saluting me  , as soon as  you wolw up?”

Ramu started crying    and  begged    for God’s pardon and God said,

“Do not ask for my pardon . Have faith in me   and remember   always,

My planning   would be much more   perfect    than yours .God be with you.”

How Krishna’s feet suffered burn injuries

How Krishna’s feet   suffered  burn injuries

By

P.R.Ramachander

(This is a very popular  story from north. My attention was drawn in to it by the post of Meena Rajan  . Thanks to her)

Lord   Krishna   and his wife  Rugmani  .

Were one day staying   in a   hut,

By the side   of river Yamuna ,

Just for a change    and also enjoy.

That night   Lord  Krishna   did not  get sleep,

And was tossing himself    most of the night   , when,

Rugmani asked   him  “what is the problem Lord?

It is unusual   for   you   to toss like this?”

The Lord replied  ,” My devotee  Radhika  ,

Who is in  the other   side   of the  Yamuna ,

Is not getting   sleep, because  she could not get,

Her  usual milk boiled with saffron, almond   and sugar.”

Rugmani immediately swung   in to action    and   got,

In to  a royal boat   with a  very hot   cup of steaming milk,

Reached  the  hut of Radhika    and   offered it to her,

And told  , “please drink this immediately    and sleep.”

RAdhika  just closed  her eyes and   drank that very , very hot milk,

And slept and Rugmani   returned back  to Lord Krishna,

And he had covered   himself   and was still  trying to sleep,

And Rugmani pulled    his   blanket   and saw  that his feet has gor burning  injuries.

Rugmani asked   her lord , “it  is   raining  outside   and you  had not,

Gone out anywhere    and how   come these  burns in your  feet?”

And he replied “ by  drinking  very hot milk  , Radhika’s   heart,

Was burnt  as  she keeps  my feet   always   in side her heart.”

The witness Lord Krishna defends himself

The witness  Lord Krishna  defends   himself

By

P.R.Ramachander

(I have  written it in a summary form   from the face book post of my learned friend  Rajagopal   Srinivasan (my deep sense  of gratitude to him.)  .  Though  it is a conversation   is between Udhava   and Lord  Krishna  before  Lord Krishna’s departure  from the world  , this is not the Udhava  Gita  , which is spread over 22 chapters ,   in the eleventh  Skandha  of Bhagawatha  Purana. Udhava  Gita  also called   Hamsa Gita  explains why the Yadhu race   should be completly detstroyed. I am  not sure whether this conversation  forms a part of it. But the  principle   expounded in this small   work is simply great , It tells us that  God is the witness   of everything  and when a human being   fogets this he commits    sins. It also tell that  God does  not interefere  in   any one’s  life  unless   he wants it.  )

Lord Krishna    was about to leave  this world ,

And he asked  Udhava    who was   his great friend,

“My dear friend  , I am about   to leave this world,

Can I do  something    for you  , please  ask.”

With great  hesitation   Udhava   asked Krishna ,

“ My dear God,  who is   my friend , for quite  some time,

I am not able    to understand you at    all,

Would you permit me to ask you? And  the lord said “By all means.”

Udhava     “ People call you   the friend   of those  who are in trouble.

How come  , you did not   tell   Yudhishtra    not to gamble?”

You could  have blessed  Pandavas  , so that  they win in the gambling,

YUdhishtra   lost all his   assets   and himself  and was    about  to keep,

His brothers  as wager  and you   could  have gone  in  and prevented it  .

When he kept  Draupadi  his  mascot of luck as wager  , you could have ,

Made the  time lucky  for the pandavas  and made  them win.

When Draupadhi lost   all her respect and  was  dragged  in to the  royal assembly,

You waited till , Duschasana  tried   to dirobe her  to help her, Was this right?”

And  after  these  harsh   questions   with tears  Udhava  asked  “Why?”

Lord Krishna smiled   and replied  “ It is a universal law    that the one,

Who uses   right judgement wins and Yudhishtra   lacked it   ,

And Duryodhana   had it in plenty, and that is  why Yudishtra lost.

Duryodhana  had money   and no skill   to gamble   and so  ,

He provided   that money   and asked  Sakuni to play,

If only Yudhishtra had asked  me to play instead of him.”

“Not only that  , Yudhishtra   knew  that  he was taking a wrong decision,

And knew that  I would have prevented  the play   and so he  prayed God,

“Let  not Krishna   knew   about it and he should not come to the  gambling hall.”

And I was  just  waiting  outside    the hall  , waiting for  somebody  to call me.”

“When their elder brother  kept them as wager  all younger Pandavas ,

Were cursing their brother  but never once prayed me   to come and help them.

And when Duschasana  dragged her in to the gambling   hall  ,

Even Draupadhi    failed  to call me for help , thinking  she could manage .

But when Duschasana   started   disrobing her  , she called  me,

And I went  in and helped    her  , so that further problems were  not there.”

Udhava replied  “Very well explained  my lord   but can I ask   another  question?”

And when Lord Krishna nodded  Udhava asked    the lord  ,

“Does that  mean you   would   come and help people  only when they call you?

Wouldn’t  you for establishing  Dharma, come   to help   your devotees  in trouble.?”

Lord Krishna   replied , “  Human life   goes  on according  to their karma,

And I only remain there   as a witness  , never  interfering  in what is happening.

And I believe   that  it is the  Dharma  of Gods” Hearing that  Udhava  laughed and said,

“And so you will allow us to   to accumulate mountain of sins, never  interfere and allow us to suffer  more.”

My dear friend, “ Krishna told , “ when a human being realizes   that,

For all his actions  I am a witness, He would not be able to do evil acts.

When they forget about it ,  they forget my presence  and  decide  to do sins,

And  feel they  can hide it from me,  and they  would take  wrong decisions and commit sins.

Had Yudhishtra realized  that I am a witness   to what he  did  ,

He would not have done  the mistakes  and things would be different.”

Udhava clearly   understood   what  Lord Krishna   was trying to tell him ,

And knew that  after doing  all ills   , keeping God   as   witness near him,

When  he   fails   or when he   undergoes   suffering   as a punishment ,

Calling  that  witness   to come  and help him  was a wrong strategy.

To get rid of all germs in your home , switch off the TV

To get rid of  all germs  in your home  , switch off  the TV

By

P.R.Ramachander

(Based on the posting by Kesavan  Sivaramakrishnan. Thanks to him)  

I got up one morning   and  I went  to brush  my teeth,

Suddenly    some one with  a white coat   and mini beard,

Jumped from the  inside the  wash basin    asked me  “Would  the paste ,

You are using  kill  the germs in your  teeth , ours   ,

Would   do    for  a period   of twelve  hours, you please know.”

I moved   to   the  bath room  to use   the  toilet  and suddenly,

An ex-cinema actor appeared there  and asked me whether ,

The commode   is really  clean or not   when I blinked,

He sprayed  some thing   and  pulled the chain of flush tank ,

And told me “Sir, You look, how clean and how neat  it is now?”

Later   when  I wanted to wash my hand   some little one jumped ,

There  with a bottle   and showed me   by a blue  light,

That  my hand   was full of germs   and  what I need,

Is the new liquid soap   which will   wash away   all  those germs?”

I some how escaped from him   and another  one with a blue light,

Showed me how my hands    were   reeking in germs   and how,

I will   get sick , if I use that    liquid soap    and requested me,

To use   their latest  brand  of anti septic  lotion,

And he also told  me, “I can    save lot   of water by this technique.

Some how   after managing   to avoid   pestering   that gent,

When I was  about to go to the   bathroom to take a bath,

A skimpily   clad   lady was  standing   at the door   and told me,

“That the soap  she had would only  kill all  ten types  of germs”  .

When I somehow managed   to avoid all those ladies ,

And went to take  my  coffee , Another lady  , who appeared,

Never  to have entered any kitchen  and was   telling my wife,

“You  know this bar, It would clean and also kill all germs.”

Then I thought if I am not able to drink my coffee ,

Let me have a glass  of water  and  an engineer like chap,

Held my hand  and showed   me again by blue light,

That the water   that  I  was about to drink  was full of germs and recommended ,

His great  Ultra violet   filter   which would  kill all germs.

With lots and lots   of great difficulties  I wanted to dress,

For going to office   and one lady from   some where ,

Appeared  snatched   all my cloths   and showed me  ,

How full of germs they were  and gave me a free  sample,

Of  her  product which would   make my cloths   germ free.

After  some how edging her off   , when I   went to the living room,

A  man in suit  smiling all over  was teaching  my wife  ,

How the floor   was full of germs   and the only way,

To get rid of all of them was a cup full of liquid he had in his hand.

How Do I wish a father’s day to him who is my father ?

How   Do I wish  a father’s day   to him who is my father  ?

By

P.R.Ramachander

Oh father , you  are    the head of  our    household  ,

For you   are the one who had  taken  care of it , all  your  life.

I would like   to wish  you  a happy  Father’s day , but

You were short tempered   and  quarrelsome

You punished  me  as you were very strict and shouted  at me ,

You were    very adamant  and  you were  very   rough

And  you  did  not  seem  to have  any love for me  in you  at all.

  I  know  the distance   of my  connection  with  my mother,

Is the length  of the umbilical   chord.

But what about the distance  between me and   the heart of  my  father?,

Should it be measured  in kilo meters  or light   years?

Mother’s love is  the truth, it is her power of endurance,

And there  is no stain  or scar  or shortcoming in it.

But my   father  appeared  to me   only  as a machine    without love ,

Who is interested  only in earning money for us and bragging about it daily.

Is  he the one who does not know how to laugh,

Is he  the one    who does not know  how   to crack jokes?

Is he the one  who stares   at me  when I   spend money?

Is he the one who chides me  and beats me   at home?

Oh , What nonsense I am telling about my father , on  this day , which is his day!

He is rain  at home   , which ensured me a  future cool climate ,

He  walked in sun and   his sweat  was my     future   health,

His  anger and adamancy  was  my  future  good life,

His  roughness   lead me in to   a good path of  bright future,

His  day and night work    lead me   to this  high income.

Hiding his  love silently  he     used to stare  at  me,

If we were sick, it was he      who used  to take me  to  the hospital,

He  was the plank    that used  to bind  my  arms  when there  was a fracture,

It was he who would put  me   in school  ,

And it was he who was   my yesterday’s light   and my  today’s path.

Who is there  in the world  who without getting anything ,

Had spent most of his life   towards the welfare   of his family?

What is there  in the world which is substitute  for father’s love?

Knowingly or unknowingly in most houses  father becomes a sob.

After   working extremely hard   all his life till health permits,

And after   establishing   all his children in good positions,

When he   wants to take  rest, I should  not even disturb  him by  my  loud talk,

I  should know his  needs and spare  no effort   to look after  him well .

I should  not allow the luster   in those  eyes  to  ever fade away,

I should  not allow     his pretty smile    ever to vanish from his face ,

I  should  not ever  allow his  hope   to fade  till  he  moves away,

To the security of God’s  hands  , oh my father , oh my father

Even if  I tell  millions of times   “  A very happy father’s day “

Would  I ever be able   to compensate ever , his sacrifices  and love,

Even If I hug him  now , He would say, I have become old , so do not crush me “with a laugh,

Even When I invite him  for a five star  dinner, he would say,

“I have been eating   only curd rice  daily  for dinner   for  the past  ten years,

Even If I buy  a great present , He would say  , “What  will I do  with this in heaven”

And then I would  ask him, “What  do you  want , pa?”

He would smilingly say, “Your love and care  till I breath my last.”

Please  tell me , “Would million tonnes of love   ever compensate him?”

You are great not because of your status but by your vision

You are great  not because  of your status  but by your vision

By

P.R.Ramachander

(Based o the  posting of Rajagopal  Srinivasan  in face book. My thanks to him.)

A huge  hawk   was  flying on the   sky,

Thinking  about  his greatness and strength.

It thought  about its    huge   talons   and  teeth,

And   its   razor sharp sight  covering miles  and miles.

It was  seeing the  animals that   were  moving on the land with great  contempt,

And also happened   to see   a huge elephant   walking slowly.

And then its laugh  became   very loud   and was  heard by the  elephant,

And The elephant   with eyes  full of confusion stared  at the hawk.

Then the hawk roared “It is said that  you are very strong ,

Very huge   and very powerful among all animals   that move on land,

And I am not able to understand  why so many adjectives,

To you   who is born and going to walk   and die on the land.

The elephant calmly told  . “True  I live  in the land  ,

But my eyes   are   always   are  looking above to the heaven,

And true  You are   flying always   in the sky   but,

Your eyes   always   search for corpses  on the land.”

“Our greatness   does not consist    of  High above we are,

But  it depends   solely  on  our   vision  to matters high,

And  because   of    your pride  that  you are  great , you are low,

And because   of my humility   and Vision I am greater,”

Saint Ramanuja-The great social reformer born 1000 years back

Saint Ramanuja-The great  social reformer  born  1000 years back

By

P.R.Ramachander

Albert  Einstein  is  supposed   to have told  ““Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth. (said of Mahatma Gandhi)”I hope every one    would agree  with this   but if they  know  more   about  Saint  Ramanuja    who    lived 1000  years back in India , I am sure  they would   say  “ How can   any one like   this , with thoughts   belonging   to twenty  twenty second centuary   lived    and preached   in  our  India, one thousand   years back?”

  One   thousand years  back  India was  pervaded  by an orthodox religious   crisis  that was sweeping India.  Untouchability   and caste differentiation was    a normal practice  .  The Hindu religious  lingua was   Sanskrit  which was   considered   as the languages  of Gods . The new religions  Jainism and Budhism   were   trying to convert   as many Hindus as possible    to their   religion.  Two great Bhakthi movements     in tamil  called  Vaishnavism    and Shaivism were    sweeping across   Tamil  Nadu.  Both these  movements had great saints   as their sentinals.. Though a few  Brahmins joined   these Bhakthi movements   , the  saints of these  movements    were  mainly people    from other castes. A great  philosophy  movement lead   by Adhi Sankara    had just got over. It was at this time  that  Saint  Ramanuja    was born in a village called   Sriperum Pudur   to  Kesava Somayaji     and Kanthi mathi  . Kesava  Somayaji was great Vedic scholar    as well   as a professional priest. Once when Saint Ramanuja   was still a boy , a young boy of  a caste  lower than Brahmins    was  prevented from entering the temple  . Though as a young kid, he could not do much, he saw to it that he gave   the Prasada  of the temple to that  boy daily  . Since Kesava Somayaji was a Vaishnavite , he was a great follower of the Tamil  Vaishnavism   as propagated   by the 12  minstrels called   Azhvars  . Most of their preachings   were  in the   form of Tamil songs and Poems.  The young Ramanuja    was attracted  by this    and started  teaching  these   to young boys all around   who were  not Brahmins.  When  Ramanuja   attained   his teens  , he was put   to learn Vedas   in an Advathic school run by  One  Yadhava Prakasha  .  Ramanuja    who was already a great scholar    could not agree    with what he was taught   by  Yadhava Prakasha and so he  chose to learn  religion from  one Kanchipoorna  (Thirukachi nambi)  , a  non  Brahmin devotee   of  Lord Varada   of Kanchi  .

     Much before this time ,  one a   great devotee of   Lord Vishnu called Nathamuni started   collecting the tamil devotional works   of all the Azhvars and   the entire   collected work was called    as Nalayira  Divya prabandham (The collection of four thousand divine verses ). This collection  was inherited by   one of   his Disciples   called Yamunacharya  , who had been told    about    the impending arrival   of a great saint    who would take it from him. But as   per God’s will   Ramanuja   could not meet him when he was alive .But as per his wishes Ramanuja   got trained  by great  Vaishnavite scholars .  From then on it was his mission  to put Vaishnavism  and its philosophical basis  in firm footings.  He travelled all over India  for that   and   reached   the feet of God Vishnu   when he    was   120 years  old.   

   Saint Ramanuja differed   with Adhi Sankara in the  philosophical approach   to god. He is the creator  of Visishtadvaitha  philosophy. In essence, visishtadvaita says brahman is one without second, but this brahman is qualified as a soul(paramatma) and a body(jivatmas and achit).They are not different in the sense of how a wave is not different from the ocean(but at the same time it is not identical). He also evolved the Saranagathi Thattwa (Principle of absolute surrender) through which the Antharathma can merge with the Paramathma. Two schools of thought differentiated later on the Saranagathi. One school believed that the Saranagathi does not need an effort on your part and is a passive surrender (Marjara Saranagathi-kitten like surrender) and the other school believed that your effort is very much needed even after the surrender and is an active surrender (Markata Saranagathi- the surrender of baby monkey). Unlike Adhi Sankara Saint Ramanuja made the tamil BHakthi movement as a part of his philosophy. In fact, even todayTamil is used in pooja and rituals by his followers. Saint Ramanuja also travelled all over India and conversed with all scholars. But due to Tamil becoming a part of his school, his school is mainly confined to Tamil Nadu and neighbouring states

     Saint Ramanuja apart from    his  being   a religious  reformer   was also    a great   social reformer with ideas   which are  not  being accepted   even today  by  Hindu religious  people.

1.Unlike   Saint   Ramanuja   his wife was very orthodox.  One day  Ramanuja    had invited one of his Gurus(Thirukachi Nambi  )   who was  a non Brahmin   devotee  for lunch in his home. Unfortunately he could not reach  in time   and the Guru arrived. His wife Thanjamambal fed the Guru outside the house   , and after he went away took   bath and  washed the place where  he took food   and Ramanuja arrived at that  time. He was   so pained  by her orthodox behaviour  and her insulting his guru  that   he took a decision to  go away  from his  wife   and took Sanyasa, He was perhaps   the first orthodox Brahmin   who  did not give any importance  to caste. Those times, the   present day Dalits were called  “Theru kulam”  - ie  “Street people”    and he changed it to  “thiru kulam “ i.e  “Divine  people”  .Much much later   almost after  900 years  Mahathma  Gandhi decided   to call them, “Harijans”  -“People  of Lord Hari”

2. Ramanuja was   directed   to one Guru called  Thirukoshtiyur Nambi   to get   initiation. But every time he went,  he was sent back  saying  that  the   time was not ripe   and on the   seventeenth time  Thirukoshtiyur Nambi    taught   him  the eight   lettered manthra   “Om Namo Narayanaya” and warned him that   if he teaches  that  Manthra   to any body else   it would not effective for him but to the one who learnt it from him.  Immediately Ramanuja climbed  on the top of the temple tower  , managed to draw huge crowd   and Taught   the Manthra to all of them.  When his Guru   got angry , he told him that   that if by the act of his teaching,  thousand of devotees were  benefitted but he  alone  is not benefitted, it was a good act   and worth doing again and again.

3. Yamuacharya    had an ardent non brahmin follower   called Mareneri nimbi  .After the death   of Yamunacharya that   Maraneri nambi  became a great follower of Ramanuja and his Guru Mahaparna. , One day  Mareneri Nambi breathed his  last and Mahaparna  performed his funeral rites   as per Brahmin custom. When other   people objected  Ramanuja drew  their attention   to the fact that Jatayus funeral was done   by Sri Rama  and thus defended his  Guru’s action,

4. One Mohamedan princes in Delhi  was given the pretty idol of  Krishna   taken away   from Karnataka  . She fell in love   with that Vigraha . Ramanuja went to the palace   and called out the God  , who came out.  Later  not only  Ramanuja performed the marriage of that  princess   with Lord  Ranganatha   but also  built   a temple  for her in Sri Rangam temple . Even   today   Pooja is performed at this  temple of  that princess (Thulukka Nachiar )  according to Hindu rites. He also modified regular  worship  Srirangam temple, the presiding deity, Ranganatha, and offered  him  a daily offering of rotis, sweet with a heady scent of  ghee  – made with wheat (in contrast to the orthodox rice meal) and made him even wear colored lungis (not the white cloth worn by Hindus) to please a Thulukka  Nachiar.

5.Another great reform brought by Ramanuja was the inclusion of Tamil   in Worship methods in temple     as well  as rituals like marriage  . This was great reform because   even   till today , majority of the   devotees   believe that  worship should be done   only using  Sanskrit  , as it is the language of Gods . In all temples maintained by follows of Ramanuja, the worship would not be complete   without recital of verses   from Thiruppavai., a tamil  prayer  composed  by Aandal.

           A   poet of modern times   who was   his follower has told  :-

If we compare   this Ramanuja   to two incomparable social reformers  ,

Of the twentieth centaury   and tell   about it ,

He can be called  Periyar with a sacred  thread  ,

And Ambedkar   wearing   the twelve Vaishnavite marks.

This   is not that true  because  Unlike  these  two great social reformers  Ramanuja  believed   in God  and  his social reform was  very much within   his religious   reforms. He could be possibly compared with  Narayana  Guru  a social reformer of Kerala   and  Swami Baswaesvara , the great   social reformer  of Karnataka..Narayana  Guru  told his followers to  believe in Hinduism  and  built his own temples  where  every one was allowed. Guru Basava  on the other hand asked his followers  to become staunch devotees of Lord Shiva and again created his own temples.

   In case of Ramanuja   a social reform based  on Bakthi   was already   sweeping over Tamil Nadu   and all that he did was to become  a member of  that BHakthi  group  and fortified it with philosophy as   well as religious  beliefs.