Being a Hindu

ॐ असतो मा सद्गमय ।

तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय ।

मृत्योर्मा अमृतं गमय ।

ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥

What does being a Hindu mean to you?

For me Being a hindu means to acquire spiritual knowledge

• Reading the teachings and biographies of the saints and mahatmas of India like Sant Gynaeshwar, Sant Tukaram, Eknath, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Goswami Tulsidas, Surdas,Kabir Das, Ramana Maharshi , Ramakrishna Paramhansa,Swami Vivekananda etc. to name a few.

• Gaining the knowledge of the scriptures like the Bhagavat Gita, Narayaneeyam,Shrimad Bhagavatam and Ramayanam.

• Reciting the archana’s like Lalitasahasranamam, Vishnusaharanamam, Hunuman Chalisa or the Shiv Namavali (Any one) everyday.

• To chant the mantras like Panchakshari Mantra, Gayatri Mantra, the Mrityunjaya Mantram or the Maha Mantram

        (Hara Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

          Hare Krishna Hare krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare ) continuously.

• Bhajanam – Singing praises of the guru and the god.

• Meditation or Dhyana

• Having opportunities to listen to Satsang of realized saints and mahatmas

• Most importantly to develop an attitude of selfless service towards the downtrodden and the daridra narayans.

• And having unflinching faith in one’s guru.

In addition to this I will add one more point seeing the current environment

Every Hindu should become self sufficient. i.e he should be able to earn money through dharmic ways so that he does not require to takeup adharmic activities for his livelihood. For that the hindu has to be skilled so that he is employable or can be a dharmic entrepreneur. The relentless focus has to be on the upliftment of the hindu and not to teach anybody else a lesson.

One must definitely point out any unrighteous activity coming before our eyes, but to impose what one thinks as righteous on others is adharma, and one should strictly keep away from it and only
follow one’s dharma.

Yoga: Jeeyo Aur Jeevan Do

    

Find your balance on and off the mat.

It was July 2023 when I was suddenly laid off from my company that I added yoga to my daily routine. I never knew at that point of time that yoga was going to become my new job and without layoff.

Doing yoga not only improved my mental health exponentially but also help me relax and be anxiety free.

We a group of around 30-35 sadhaks, practise yoga under the umbrella of Bhartiya Yoga Sansthan with its train of expert gurus in Sarita Pawar, Prabhavati Gaikwad, Mangala Pawar, and Sunil Kripan (nicknamed khicho) completely free of cost. Women again are in a majority here with age from 18 to 77 years.

The oldest sadhak Godke Tai at 77 years performs all the asanas efficiently every morning leaving the newcomers to shame.

Bharatiya Yoga Sansthan with its mantra “Jiyo aur Jeevan Do”, yoga is practised in 3 Stages.

•  Yogasanas (Physical Postures)
•  Pranayam (Breathing Exercises)
•  Dhayan and Prayer (Meditation)

The curriculum is very precise and a set timetable to followed for each day of the week.I am sure that the selfless service of the teachers and the founder goes a long way in making each class a success. I am very clear the research by our ancient rishis and sages is very accurate and powerful.

The asanas not only help in maintaining the harmony between the body and the mind but also help in maintaining different systems of the body like the digestive, respiratory and excretory systems etc. One of the asanas “Mandokasan” helps the pancreatic glands to produce insulin which helps in controlling diabetes.

Sleeping pills or whisky has become a constant companion for people to sleep, doing yoga relives them of any external companion and gives sound sleep.

Today, I am happy, enthusiastic and look forward to do “Gehera Lamba Swaas” and 8 Surya namaskars with Khicho every morning from 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM and trying to make it a habit.

Since the currently trending topic is Lakshadweep, I hope that we do are able to open some yoga centres in the scenic beauty admist the beaches of Lakshadweep.

Namaste, Unemployment  

Japo Re Japo – Ram Naam Japo

              If one chants the holy names of the lord, even in helpless condition or without desiring to do so, all the reactions of his sinful life departs, just as when lion roars, all the small animals flee in fear. – Bhaktivinoda Thakur

We have noticed in the recent years, there has been an exponential rise in drugs and alcohol addiction, divorce rates, acts of violence, old parents being thrown out by their children, sexual crimes against women, love-jihad cases, being unpatriotic, antisocial, getting in depression and anxiety eventually leading to suicides amongst children.

As per the Bhagavat Gita the increase in Kama(Lust), Krodha (Anger), Lobha (Greed), Mada (Ego),Moha (Attachment),matsarya(Jealousy) are the reasons for the evil in the society.

Today when we open the news channels in the morning all we hear is about how many people have dies in the wars happening across the globe.

An unrighteous rule leads to the rise of terrorism or naxalism. The scriptures say that a righteous leader or govt in power will always lead to a happy and prosperous nation and a peaceful world.

Some people have linked the terrorist attacks to religion. I strongly believe that no religion would support the killing of innocent civilians be it Islam or any other religion. I am sure holy places like Mecca-Madina are to bring sense of happiness and joy to the pilgrims and devotees visiting it.

The western modern-day solution to these problems seem to be setting up of deaddiction and rehabilitation centres for drug abuse along with therapy for depression and sex education of sexual crimes. I believe these are myopic solutions.

I believe an holistic approach would be to give them spiritual education at an early age so that they develop the courage and valour to face the problems of the world.

I believe when children get attached to bad influences they get caught in a vicious circle. If children get attached to God and have faith in him they would not get attached to bad influences and in case he does, he would get back to normal, as he would have stains of spirituality in him, inculcated at an early age.

Hinduism says, the easiest way to get attached to God is to recite the name of Lord continuously. Having a realised guru helps in the spiritual process.

Shrimat Bhagavatam says sravana (listening),kirtana (singing),smarana (meditating),pada-sevana (serving),archana (praising),vandana(worshipping),dasya (slaving), sakhyam (friendship) and atma—nevidanam (surrender of the self) these nine processes are accepted as pure devotonal service.

Man has progressed enormously in his intellectual capacities, he has reached the moon and also has AI enabled driverless cars, but sadly had dropped down on his value system. There is need to make sure that the spiritual quotient gets better in every individual so that we can have a peaceful world.I am sure all religions and leaders would coincide on that.

PS: This article is inspired by the Satsang of Shri Hit Premanand Govind Sharan Ji Maharaj

Importance of Naam Jap
Education in schools and righteousness in leadership

Solution to today's Issues plaguing the world

Message to my sister on her wedding day

Girl to Boy: I love you more than being proven right!

My best wishes and sincere prayers as you step on to a new beginning in your life..

Remember life will not be always a bed of roses as you would know, there would be difficulties and I am sure you will be able to tide over each situation and adapt yourself with the new environment with flying colors'.

Life would be sheer happiness if you accept every situation and move ahead with courage and service attitude.

You will have new parents, your in-laws, I am sure you will treat them the way you look at your parents.

Your husband will require your continuous and uninterrupted support and care, I am very sure you are up for it.

If you have to be successful in your life make sure to lose minor battles to win the war and remember success will be when you will be sipping coffee together with your husband with the same love and affection that you do today, even after 50 years. I am sure you can look up to our parent's as an example.

And one more thing, I am very fond of the reels you make, your reels are very creative and you should continue making them.

I am sure by now you would have trained your husband to cook ,clean, mop and wash clothes so that you can continue making reels, but make sure your life is measured by the service you do and not by the reels your make.

Live your dreams, fly high, standing firmly on the ground and staying connected with your roots.

Wish you a happy and prosperous married life.

Always,
Your Well Wisher

OMG -2 Review

Pleasures are as necessary for the well-being of the body as food, and are consequently, equally required -Vatsyayana author of Kamasutra

OMG-2 has been an incredibly progressive film, which touches the Indian taboo subjects in a very gracious manner. The film deals with the topic of Sex education in a very open manner with proper decorum.

Coming to the topic of Sex Education, if it should be imparted to the students, I am of the strong opinion that it should be but in an Indian way.

Indian Tantra Shastras are full of Shringar Ras (erotica) and I am sure India can impart sex education in an effective manner much better than western counterparts. There are many tests other than the Kamasutra’s which speaks about seduction (https://youtu.be/jnS66SszwEs) and sex education.

I am very sure that the children within the age group of 12-18 years are curious to know about sex and they would be better off being formally educated than without it.

Questions regarding masturbation, having sex with multiple partners, simultaneously, all arise in an inquisitive mind and should not be pushed under the carpet. How does he satisfy his curiosity? Are his parents able to answer him convincingly or should he be left to “google baba”.

Many crimes (cybersex) related to obscene videos of gfs being uploaded on the internet is common. For many it would be an unbearable trauma even leading to suicides. These are better off being formally addressed.

Is the society open to such change?

I believe the society was never ready for anything innovative or pathbreaking. It took reformers and innovators like Narayana Guru,Chattampi Swamikal, Martin Luther  to break the existing status quo.

Coming back to the film OMG-2 very disappointed with the film being given ‘A’ certification when the target audience for the film would be teenagers.

The current government seems to be conservative in its outlook in terms of its thoughts and actions and looks to impose its views on others which could be detrimental to a progressive nation like India.

A complete family experience: DMart

It has always been a pleasant experience shopping in DMart.

My mother along with my brother and me  travel in our small car to shop for our monthly groceries in DMART. We get to see many middle-class families coming along with their kids to shop together. It simple symbolises the Indian middle-class way of shopping.

It is a very positive and happy sign to see that families come together to buy wholesome foods rather than any junk food. It gives a lot of joy to see an Indian company providing a complete shopping experience to its people in an Indian way.

What helps making the shopping experience far more enriching is the price which is absolutely unmatched whether its JioMart, Amazon or Flipkart for that matter. To be frank  the shopping experience which is derived from shopping at DMart cannot be matched at any of these well-known stores. Shopping in DMart is like a movie going experience where you can have a popcorn and softy ice-cream after the shopping that to at an unmatched price.

So what makes DMart deliver at these prices which other shop keepers are are closing down?

DMart does not open its stores in high rich rental places, they own the space and built their own stores which is not at the prime locations and thus escape the high rental costs.

They procure the groceries in bulk from the farms directly and hence are able to provide better rates to the consumers.Their profit is based on economies of scale rather than MRPs.Also to be noted here there is never any marketing budget allocated by DMart. I think many startups should look into this area.

It provides a price which is definitely far below the MRP for most of the products. What really makes it better is it is airconditioned and has multiple check-in counters that make it easy to clear the payments.

What could have been better is a dedicated customer agents who can help us chose the products and clothes of our liking.

All in all it is a paaisa vassol experience along with a complete family experience to shop from DMART to see other families coming and shopping  for aesthetic foods rather than junk foods.

Progressive vs Regressive

कुछ लोग अपनों के लिए अपने सपने को भूल जाते हैं  ||

और कुछ लोग सपने के लिए अपनों को भूल जाते हैं ||

What according to you is Progressive ?

 

If a louis Vuitton bag, determine your progressive ,you are being myopic.

If you are wearing trendy/shorter clothes, determine your progressive, you are being myopic.

If the Iphone you own, makes you progressive, you are again being myopic.

If you travel by a Mercedes, or eat in Starbucks,and that determines your progressive, you are again being myopic

If the no, of Likes and followers on social media determine your progressive , you are being myopic.

 

A person who does not have the sense, sensibility and sensitivity for his fellow beings and nature is regressive.

Progressiveness is in compassion and empathy towards fellow beings and nature alike.

 

Like Swami Gaur Gopal Das has put it clearly

•        Compassion towards fellow beings
•        Not imposing your ideas on others
•        Giving respect to the choices of others

This is progression.

There is a lot of troll junta around today, who just do things to get mileage and are not empathetic or compassionate about anything in particular. This is regressive.

My grandfather who studied up to class 7 and never moved out of his village was very progressive much more that any Stanford/Harvard  going graduate ,living in the metros as he had compassion even for his enemies.

PS: This post is inspired by the talk of Swami Gaur Gopal Das Speech in Indian Express Adda.