Good Friday

"Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing."

Jesus Christ embraced suffering to liberate humanity from evil ways and instill in them the supreme  qualities of peace, forgiveness, and restoration of good relations, not only between  man and man, but also between man and nature. "Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing" his words from the cross is the ultimate message of  Good Friday. 

The inhuman suffering at the hands of Romans couldn't break his spirit and his good intentions. His words from the cross stands testimony to this, "Love your enemies. Do good to those who hurt you. "

His resurrection on the third day (Resurrection Sunday) symbolizes the victory of  good over evil and proves that good will always prevail.  

Can we manifest?

Miracles do not break the laws of nature, they are actually based on them.  - GMCKS
            
                                                                                                     
Can we manifest things? If we ask this question, 90%  will answer in the negative. Another 8 - 9 %  might oscillate between yes and no. Only 1 - 2% has faith in manifestation. 

One day after a group meditation, i had a vision. I saw a house. At that time we were living in a government accommodation . (My husband being a government employee) He had no plans of buying a house in the city. But i was fed up of living in temporary accommodations. I always loved to have a house of my own. Most of my free time was focused on this. On the other hand, my husband had many reasons against owning a home in the city. I was undeterred, and went on dreaming of a place of my own. 

Coming back to my vision; following night my husband called me , he wanted to show me something on the PC. He was on a popular Realtor's site. He pointed out to a housing project in the neighborhood. As i was going through it, he picked up the phone and dialed the contact number. No one answered. I thought that was it. But to my great surprise he sent an email to the builder. Next day the manager contacted us. After wards it was a whirlwind of  actions. With a little help from our kin we were able to finalize the deal. 

Faith is so simple. It is the ego that casts doubts.  

Holi - The Spring Festival of colors

Holi is a Spring festival celebrated in India , Nepal and all over the world, wherever there are Indians. It is a festival to celebrate good harvest. It is a time of forgiving and forgetting all debts and bad blood. It is a festival of fun and frolic, drums and music, It is a festival of love and color. It is a celebration of the victory of good over evil. It is the beginning of a New year. 

The word Holi originated from Holika, who was the sister of Hiranyakashipu, a king in a province in Punjab. By doing severe penance he got the boon of being indestructible, by humans or Gods or any other existing beings, things or weapons. He became so arrogant that he ordered his subjects to worship him instead of  God. The main dissenter was Prahlad, his own son who was a devotee of Lord Vishnu. Hiranyakashipu did everything, from cajoling to punishments, to convert his son. All in vain. So he took the help of his sister Holika to eliminate Prahlad. Holika convinced Prahlad to sit with her on a pyre. Unknown to Prahlad, she had covered herself with a fire-resistant cloak. When the pyre was lit, a strong breeze blew which picked up Holika's fire-resistant cloak and settled it on Prahlad. Thus the wicked aunt Holika was burnt to ashes. To commemorate this victory of good over evil, a bon-fire is lit on the eve of Holi known as Holika Dahan*, the symbolic burning of Holika. In olden days people used to apply the ashes from the bon-fire on their foreheads. Later the ashes gave way to colored powder (gulal). Hiranyakashipu was later killed by Lord Vishnu's Narasimha avatar (half-man, half-lion). 

The festival of Holi is celebrated on the full moon day of the month of Falgun (Februay, March). It starts with a bon-fire on the eve of Holi. Following day is a day of celebration. People apply color on each other, Youngsters use color sprays (pichkaris) to spray color on one another. No one is spared, not even strangers. A day of complete freedom, in the open air, accompanied by frolic, colors, drums and music. An intoxicating drink known as Bhang,made with leaves of hemp, is served. In the evening people wash up, wear new clothes and visit their friends and relatives and exchange traditional delicacies. There is no pooja (religious rituals) associated with holi. 

Holi is celebrated with mild variations in different parts of India. In Brindavan, Lath Mar Holi is celebrated, where men go around with shields and women strike on the shields with sticks, maybe a day of gender equality. In this place holi is a 16 day celebration. Kumaoni Holi and Khari Holi has more classical and ethnic music in it respectively. 

* burn to ashes 

The Symbolism

I have always wondered why Krishna loved butter. Was it  because he was brought up in Brindavan among cowherds? Usually one acquires the taste of what is fed to one as a child. But Krishna's love for butter was unique. Even after being fed adequately, he tried to consume butter by hook or crook. Why? 

Then something struck my mind. Wasn't that a symbolism. Wasn't he trying to get the attention of the people to something profound, through this act. This is what i think of it.

Imagine the churning pot to be planet earth and milk /curd to be the life on earth. Churning represents the karmic cycle. And as the churning  goes on butter surfaces and this butter symbolically represents the evolved souls that got detached from the karmic cycle. When one gets out of the karmic cycle one gets moksha. And what happens to such souls.They become one with the Supreme Parabrahman. Krishna here represents the Supreme Parabrahman. The Supreme Parabrahman is eagerly waiting for the evolved souls. Krishna's love for butter is a symbolic represention of the Supreme Parabrahman's unquenched love of the evolved souls.  

Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra

"Om Triayambakam Yajaamahe, Sugandhim Pushtivardhanam 
Urvarukamiva Bandhanaan, MrityorMukshiya Maamritaat."


This is Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra. Mrityu in Sanskrit means death and Jaya means victory. So the name itself suggests that it is a mantra to conquer death/ fear of death. It is addressed to Triambaka, the three-eyed one (Lord Shiva). This verse is taken from Rigveda. . It is to be chanted 108 times. 

Meaning of the verse made simple:

Om Triambakam Yajaamahe = Salutations to the three-eyed one (Lord Shiva), 

Sugandhim Pushtivardhanam = One who exudes Spiritual fragrance  and nourishes all beings 

Urvarukamiva Bandhanaan = Like a cucumber cut off from the vine, which is holding the cucumber in bondage, may Lord Shiva cut off our attachment/ bondage to worldly life.

MrityorMukshiya Maamritat =  May Lord Shiva liberate us from the fear of death by making us realize our immortal nature.

Adolescent Love

Adolescent love/ Puppy love is part of growing up. Some indulge in it for the sake of it. Some get serious and for some it is just a game - they flit from one love to another like a butterfly. Some walk into it unknowingly, like me. Being a very uncommunicative person or at best a misunderstood person, I can't imagine how it happened. But it happened. And like most puppy loves it ended too. And the best thing is we are still great friends. 

A word of caution to parents, do not get wound up when you come to know about your kid's Puppy love. See it as a part of growing up. 99.9% of the population had passed through this phase and the world has not come to a standstill. So be calm and composed. Just talk to the kid. Be a friend. Just remind them to be responsible. 

The most celebrated Puppy love is that of Radha and Krishna.

A Low Cholesterol Friend

I had a very good friend during college days, with whom i lost contact when college was over. Almost after 2 decades we reconnected and while talking he told me that he had survived a massive heart attack. As far as i know him, and still, he was a teetotaller, who did regular exercise and was cautious of his food intake. He was a good family man, a regular church goer, a charitable person and most of all a very humble guy. 

When i enquired, how this happened to him after following such a systematic life, he said that his *cholesterol levels were very low and the doctors too suggested that might be a reason that contributed to the heart attack. The good cholesterol HDL was 18 at that time, which was very low. We didn't go much into the technicalities, both being non-medical guys. 

I read somewhere, that studies show depression, violence and suicidal tendencies are related to low cholesterol. But if you come across this person, you will sham all those studies. 


* Low cholesterol and low potassium levels could be life threatening.