The MindSalsa

Why is India the Soul of collective Humanity? The reasons are; *Many vibrant religions took birth here in India. Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism among others. * Christianity came to India( Kerala and Tamilnadu) even before it arrived in Europe! *The oldest languages known to man, like Tamil and Sanskrit are from India. * Indians have proven to be the most accommodative and considerate people in the world. Three historical events support this: 1) The Parsis arrived in India sometime in 8th or 9th century AD in a kind of self exile from the then Persia( Iran), to safeguard their religion and culture. They were received warmly by the rulers that time in present Mumbai region. They kept their promise to be as ' milk in water', meaning they would effortlessly live in harmony with the local populace. 2) The second event concerns the arrival of Jews in India, maybe as long back as the 12th century. These people, who have had to face persecution in many places all over the worl

OUR MINDSET...A RESET. Why does a woman sometimes become a widow? It's something we all really know, It's because she had a husband! So it is not so difficult to comprehend. When this can happen to anyone, Why do many among us, strangely, mostly other women, Treat the widows of India badly, Hurting them, oh so sadly. When there be an auspicious function, They are kept in back seated isolation. Even in their children's wedding, alas! They cannot go to bless them, on the dais. It's time for us to change our mindset, And our attitude towards widows to reset As all our prayers will be in vain, If we inflict on these unfortunate ladies such pain.

It was like lightning at first sight, The light from your eyes searing My very Soul, I felt so like a harpooned fish, Pinned, impaled, Stuck hopelessly To your devilish good looks. You , my God! So hot, so very hot, Your looks could scorch the Sun. Evaporate all wisdom, Incinerate every discretion. Even in this swamp of heat, Even through the dense fog Of my senseless infatuation, I knew that you could never Ever be mine. You were alas! Cut out for much bigger Things in life. For much more deserving men, Taller, handsomer, richer, smarter guys, Just as a pot cannot grow A banyan tree, Nor a well hold An entire lake, I could never have you. Today the flame is extinguished, Today the infatuation is gone, Time has doused the fires , But you still remain as a sweet memory, Here's wishing you luck wherever you be. _______________

THE SIMPLE YET POWERFUL BALAJI TEMPLE Balaji is another name for Lord Vishnu, who is one of the three main Hindu deities. There is an internationally famous Balaji hill temple at Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh in South India. This temple has lakhs of devotees thronging for a Darshan (Sighting) of the Lord Balaji deity all year around. Devotees sometimes have to wait several hours for a quick Darshan of the Lord. The crowds get even larger on festival and other auspicious days. There are several other Balaji temples across India of course, especially in the South of India. But there is one, relatively less known Balaji temple on the outskirts of Hyderabad in Telangana, India, which is quite special indeed. This is called the Chilukuru Balaji temple because it is located in a small village called Chilukuru, about 30 kms from Hyderabad. What then is special about this temple? Firstly, this unassumingly small temple is among the very few probably which doesn’t have a money donation hundi. I

Dorai had just come back after completing his terrible 'assignment' when the door bell rang. He was shocked and terrified beyond words when he saw his victim with the same wound marks inflicted by Dorai, carrying his own dead body in his arms. Dorai fell down in a dead swoon with a horrified expression. After checking his pulse, the victim's twin brother rose, satisfied that quick revenge had been extracted. He wiped away the paint marks with a grunt of satisfaction.

Robin nudged Meera, “So then we can consider the matter settled, right?” “What is supposed to be settled, Robin?” “Come on Meera, we discussed sending Ratan to Boarding School at Ooty, didn’t we....” “O yes, I remember now- he is to be sent away before we tie the knot! I do remember… I also recall refusing to send away my son… and emphasizing that I am not trading my son for our selfish happiness.” Meera sighed and added, “There is no change in my stand, Robin. Ratan stays. You simply have to learn to accept him.” *** A few days later. “Wow, Mom, the kites are beautiful!” It was kite flying season and the three- Meera, Robin and Ratan were out on the terrace, along with many others, armed with beautifully crafted kites of various designs. Each one of them was flying a kite, watching it soar into the air. There was the usual friendly competition as to whose kite would soar highest. During this joyous occasion, Robin sidled to Meera and whispered, “How about letting him g

. Rathnam looked around anxiously before signaling his mistress to leave. Luckily no one was to be seen around in the noon heat. After she left, Rathnam sighed in relief. There were still a couple of hours or so for his teacher wife to return from work He was about to go inside his house when he looked up for some reason and saw him. Up above, perched on a coconut tree, was a coconut-tree climber, grinning down at him like a moron. The ill-clad guy seemed to be mocking him silently. From his perch high above on the coconut tree, he could see things around him from a vantage point. His sardonic look seemed to imply to Rathnam’s guilty mind that this wretched climber knew everything about his family and his fooling around with a mistress. Rathnam gasped in anxiety at the implications of this. This tree climber could foment trouble in Rathnam’s life. One hint to his teacher wife and there would be hell to pay! Though he was very furious at the man’s sly smile, he decided to placate hi

I used to be a nice looking woman in my younger days. My mom loved to say often that our family astrologer had predicted just after my birth that I would be a head-turner. But I wasn't prepared for what happened to middle-aged me a couple of weeks back. I was in a park nearby our house and doing some exercises, a place I go to regularly. Then suddenly it all happened within a few seconds. Iwas moving my head from side to side as part of my Spondylosis exercise when I suddenly sensed something or someone behind me. At almost the same instant, my head involuntarily turned around fully, enabling me to see a man trying to snatch my necklace! The man's screams on seeing my head 180 degree turnaround were much louder than mine as he fled. ***

It was terrifying! My mobile was ringing non-stop . It was about 12.30 in the night. The screen was blank! No number, no image or photo, just the ringing sound. Then before I could collect my wits and reject the call, I heard his voice. A jovial voice which under normal circumstances I would always enjoy hearing...That of my beloved elder brother. He always liked to joke and tease me, his kid sister. But now I was just terrified. It was an eerie, out of the world voice. " Hullo Valsala, this is Venkat. I just wanted you to know from me first. I am dead. I love you sis." The phone went dead after that. I was wide eyed with horror and deep sadness after that. I couldn't believe that even he, my jolly good brother would play such a terrible prank on me! Yet, how could a dead man talk? The blank screen and his talking without my accepting the call was very scary to think about. About an hour passed like that in sheer hell with me agonizing whether to call my b

THE ANCIENT WISE MEN OF INDIA SAY: MAN'S TRUE SELF IS A SMALL BUNDLE OF COSMIC CONSCIOUSNESS. ANIMALS HAVE A MUCH SMALLER LEVEL OF CONSCIOUSNESS THAN MAN, PROGRESSIVELY LOWER ACCORDING TO THE STAGE OF EVOLUTION. GOD AND EVOLVED BEINGS HAVE INFINITE COSMIC CONSCIOUSNESS. ALL HUMAN SPIRITUAL EFFORTS ARE TO EXPAND AND MERGE THE SMALL INDIVIDUAL CONSCIOUSNESS WITH THE INFINITE. THAT'S THE HIGHEST GOAL OF EVOLUTION. IF HUMANS ADOPT ANY OF THE PATHS RECOMMENDED BY ALREADY EVOLVED SOULS AND TRY WITH GREAT SINCERITY, THEY TOO CAN EVOLVE INTO HIGHER CONSCIOUSNESS. ON THE OTHER HAND, IF THEY CONTINUE WITH THEIR PETTY, MUNDANE LIVES, THEY WILL HAVE TO WAIT FOR MANY MORE BIRTHS TO EVOLVE UPWARDS. BUT, IF THEY LIVE A SATANIC LIFE, THEIR EVOLUTION WILL TAKE A DOWNTURN AND SUCH HUMANS MAY REVERT BACK TO ANIMAL LIFE AND CONSCIOUSNESS. JAI SRI KRISHNA. ***

As most Hindus know/believe, there are four Yugas or epochs in the repetitive cycle of Creation/Dissolution on Earth. The four Yugas are Satya, Treta , Dvapara and finally Kali.   The value systems and righteousness progressively decline with each Yuga and in Kali Yuga (Our present epoch), negative qualities and evil traits are supposed to be dominant and therefore, by the end of this Yuga, there will be dissolution and then Creation starts all over again. Of course, several thousands of years are still believed to be left in Kali Yuga, so no fear of dissolution any time soon! Since the Pandavas and Lord Krishna were supposed to have lived in the end years of Dvapara Yuga, it is said that the Pandavas were eager to know from their Lord and God, Sri Krishna as to what Kali Yuga would be like. The Lord, in his typical mischievous style declined to answer that directly. Instead he asked the five Pandava brothers to travel in the forest in different directions, then come back and rep

ENJOY THE PEACEFULNESS OF MEDITATION. SRI SAI CHANTING FOR MEDITATION: OM SAI NAMO NAMAH, SRI SAI NAMO NAMAH, JAI JAI SAI NAMO NAMAH, SADHGURU SAI NAMO NAMAH. *** ENJOY THE BLISS OF MEDITATION.

I do hope and believe that the great Indian monk, Swami Vivekananda requires no introduction as he, in his very short life of 39 years became famous, not merely in India but in the whole world. The objective of this post is to highlight some of the interesting events from his brilliant and illustrious life. There are so many anecdotes and events indeed which would show the brilliance and strength of character of this ‘YugaPurush’, the great disciple of Swami Ramakrishna. Here are just a few interesting anecdotes from the Swami’s life. * Narendra (Real name of Swami Vivekananda) had a reputation as a master story-teller even in childhood.When he spoke, people tended to listen in rapt attention, due to the charm of his words. One day in school, Narendra was seen talking with his friends who were oblivious of the fact that the teacher had started the class! Angry over the lack of attention, the teacher demanded to know from the students as to what he had been teaching. He was ama

WHOSE WORDS WERE PRECIOUS GEMS. Manikyavachakar, so called because his words (Vachakam) were like precious gems, was a Tamil poet-saint who lived in the Southern Indian city called Madurai in the ninth century. He is best known for his book of Shiva hymns called ‘Thiruvasakam’ which is a book dedicated to his God, Lord Shiva. Thiruvasakam forms volume eight of a great Saivite (meaning pertaining to Lord Shiva) text collection called ‘Tirumurai’ He was born in a temple priest family at a place called Vadhavoor very near to Madurai which was ruled by the Pandya Kings. From childhood, he was known for his scholarliness in imbibing all the religious texts of the time. He was also known for his compassion and above all, for his devotion to Lord Shiva. Unknown at that time to many, he was a restless seeker of his Guru and God, Lord Shiva. Soon enough, his reputation reached the ears of the then Pandya King who lived in Madurai. Impressed by the young Brahmin’s wisdom at such a yo

OUR DISCRETION IS FED DAILY ON JUNK MENTAL FOOD, LARGE SERVINGS OF UNHELPFUL THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS, SANDWICHED BETWEEN THE LAYERS OF THE CONSCIOUS AND SUBCONSCIOUS MINDS , WITH A GENEROUS SPREAD OF THE BUTTER OF OUR EDUCATED PREJUDICES. NO WONDER THEREFORE THAT OFTEN WE SUFFER FROM INDIGESTION OF THE MIND. JUST ANOTHER THOUGHT!

Time for peace between the Pandavas and Kauravas was running out and the war fever was thick in the air. Though opinion was split on this, it was anyway decided that Lord Krishna, the great friend of the Pandavas should make a last ditch attempt at peace. The wily Krishna, knowing full well the negative outcome of this ( Isn’t He the outcome Creator!) however agreed to go to Hastinapur to convince the arrogant Duryodhana, the eldest of the Kauravas, to try and avert a bloody war. When news reached Hastinapur about Krishna’s impending visit, there were a lot of hot discussions in the courtroom. The King, Duryodhana’s father, the Pithamaha ( Bhishmacharya),the minister Vidhura and quite a few other wise men were all for peace , but the adamant Duryodhana would have none of it. He was also ill-advised by another so-called well wisher… His uncle Saguni. Duryodhana with his equally deceitful Dusshasana even made plans to trap and imprison Lord Krishna! Anyway the interesting anecd

INDIA’S PROUD HERITAGE. BHARATA, AN EPITOME OF BROTHERLY LOYALTY. PART 2 BHARATA TRIES TO BRING SRI RAMA BACK. As we know, Dasaratha, the King of Ayodhya was shell-shocked on hearing his beloved wife, Kaikeyi’s demands. He never could have dreamt that she would misuse the boons granted by him in such a horrible manner. He pleaded with her to withdraw the two demands… To make Bharata the heir to Ayodhya’s throne, and worse, to banish Sri Rama to the forest for fourteen long years. When she refused to reconsider, the hapless king agreed reluctantly to Bharata’s ascension but begged of her not to ask Rama to be exiled. But Kaikeyi, her sense of good and bad blurred by her blind love for her son, refused haughtily. She further taunted him saying that the great descendants of the Raghuvamsam( Raghu or Sun Dynasty) were supposed to have a high degree of integrity and keep their word at any cost. Finally, it so transpired that Sri Rama himself, coming to know about these developme

INDIA’S PROUD HERITAGE. BHARATA, AN EPITOME OF BROTHERLY LOYALTY. PART 1 KAIKEYI’S SCHEMING. Bharata, one of Sri Rama’s younger brothers, occupies a special position in Indian hearts and in the Indian Epic Ramayana. He was a person on whom greatness was thrust, so to say, by the machinations of his ambitious mother, Kaikeyi, but chose righteousness and brotherly love over personal ambition. As many amongst us know, as per the holy epic Ramayana, Bharata was the son of Kaikeyi... Youngest among three wives that the great King of Ayodhya (called Oudh at that time) Dasarath had. Sri Rama, son of Rajmata (Crown Queen) Kausalya was the eldest, Lakshman and Shatrugnan were the twin sons of the second wife, Sumitra. When Sri Rama, the eldest son and rightful ascendant to the throne of the ageing Dasaratha, came to Ayodhya with his lovely wife, Sita, the overjoyed king announced Rama as the heir to his throne and even announced the day of coronation. Needless to say, this wonderful

THE POWERFUL,POIGNANT STORY OF KANNAGI THE AWESOME FURY OF A WOMAN WRONGED. There is an old saying in English that “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.” In the epic Indian story that follows, the protagonist is not scorned, but much worse- She suffers a terrible personal loss due to gross injustice meted out by a powerful Pandian king of the ancient Tamil kingdom whose capital was Madurai. This is an epic story about a chaste Tamil woman named Kannagi who wreaked revenge on a powerful king and the capital of his kingdom for unjustly executing her innocent husband. The entire city of Madurai had to pay dearly for the terrible mistake of their king. Kannagi features as the protagonist in a Tamil epic by name ‘Silappadhikaram’. The title implies that this is a story involving a ‘Chilambu’ or anklet. Kannagi, a lovely woman, is wedded to Kovalan, who is the son of a rich man. The couple lives happily in a town called Kaveripattinam, till a new woman named Madhavi enter

. HOW A DACOIT TRANSFORMED INTO A SAGE POET. PART 2… THE TRANSFORMATION OF DAKU RATNAKAR INTO SAGE VALMIKI. In part 1 of the amazing life story of Ratnakar, we saw him meeting the divine Sage Narada in the forest. Due to his dacoit tendencies and his sinful actions, he is unable to see the divinity in this sage and considers him as merely another Brahmin on his way through the forest. The nonchalance exhibited by the gentle looking sage irks this dangerous daku as he is used to victims groveling before him in terror, pleading that their lives be spared. When Ratnakar tried to frighten Narada, the sage merely smiled and asked him why he was accumulating this negative karma by indulging in looting and violence. Ratnakar is confused and irritated initially by this unusual query by the great personage. Ratnakar, however impatiently explained that he was doing all this for feeding his family. It was then that the Divine Sage smiled kindly at Ratnakar and asked him whether his fami

HOW A DACOIT TRANSFORMED INTO A SAGE POET. PART 1… RATNAKAR MEETS NARADA. Sage Valmiki is considered the foremost and the most ancient among the sage poets of ancient India. The venerable sage is best known for his immortal epic poem in Sanskrit, ‘Ramayanam’ consisting of 24000 verses, which gave the world the story of the Divine Avatar, Sri Rama. He is also known for, ‘The Yoga Vasishta’ which is a great philosophical work. However Valmiki had a very different life before he became a sage poet. Though born as Ratnakar to a sage called Prachatasa, he was lost in the jungle and later was rescued by a hunter who brought him up lovingly and trained him to be a hunter. Hunter Ratnakar later got married into a hunter family and sired quite a few children. But since Ratnakar found it difficult to sustain his family with his meager income, he soon fell into bad company and became a dacoit ( daku in Hindi). He started amassing ill-gotten wealth by waylaying and looting hapless travel

"How dare you!" thunders Greta Thunberg, addressing the monarchs of the nations. The roar of the teenage lioness is sadly lost in the loud din made by the powerful world leaders in their ritualistic, lip service meetings. While the assemblage of the mighty continue their usual babble about GDPs, trade deficits, economy, sanctions und so weiter, an angry Santa Claus is sending gifts of catastrophic climate attacks on humanity to drive some sense into them. The massive horse carriage carrying helpless humanity relentlessly to the very edge of the most dangerous precipice is occupied by us all. The blinkered horses are driven at racing speeds by the irresponsible powers that be, prodded on with whips of naked greed. Though the climate experts and many in the younger generation like Greta wail out in agony, it is heeded not by the people who need, emergently, to hear. The black forbidding abyss is near, very close. Once the galloping horses approach this dark hell, the

Thousands upon thousands of species Have sprung forth over time unknown, From the fertile uterus of the Creator Mother Enriching the jungles and oceans of Earth. But never indeed was the Mother so proud Of the myriads and varieties of Her Creation As of the two legged one that came forth In Her Union with the Creator Father. Though weaker on legs than most creations, And lacking the astute senses of many others, This one, the amazing creation called Man Overcame all disadvantages with his brain. As the Creators watched in awe and pride, Man surpassed even Their wildest dreams, Using his greatest gift- his unique intelligence To establish himself as the most powerful . Alas, Their pride soon turns into shame, They watch in shock and desperation As man displays a callous lack of respect, For his Creators and fellow creations. They look on in horror as man, with impunity And a stupidity unworthy of his benediction, Is hell bent on destroying his own environm

Mother Earth, the La Belle de Celeste was in a hurry. The Celestial Court was to convene an urgent session. Her loyal generals three, who had never asked for anything before, had requested Her Highness, Mother Earth, to convene this session. Though it was an extraordinary request, coming from Her mighty generals, the Mother knew what it was about. But She also knew She had to acquiesce, as Noblesse Oblige. Thus Her Royal Majesty, La Belle de Earth glided gracefully in, clad in flowing green robes and adorned by a rainbow. After She occupied Her Throne, She clapped Her elegant brown hands and said, “Summon them now." The three powerful Celestial Generals walked in, Agni the Fire, Vayu the Air and Varun the Water. They bowed to Her Highness and were guided to their seats after Mother Earth smiled in acknowledgement. “So what's troubling you three powerful gentlemen that you wanted to see me so urgently " " It's alas about your most favorit

There is a very interesting and educative anecdote from the life of the great Indian monk, Swami Vivekananda who, in his very short life of just about 39 years between January 1863 to July 1902 dazzled the world with his brilliance and eloquence and strode like a Colossus on the world’s arena of Spirituality, transforming the lives of millions of people. He is best remembered for his stunning speech at the World’s very first ‘Parliament of Religions’ held at Chicago between 11th to 27th 1893. But that’s a different story. This anecdote is about the time when the Swamiji was traveling in India by train. There were a few British people in the same compartment who were amused at his monk attire and his sage-like demeanor. Assuming that this Indian native would not be knowing the English language, they proceeded to make snide remarks and jokes about him. His nonchalant and unconcerned behavior only reinforced their beliefs that he didn’t understand English. However when a station

HAR HAR MAHADEV! HE IS LORD SHIVA IN PEACEFUL MEDITATION AND THE ETERNAL CONSORT OF PARVATI- -THE MOST GRACEFUL DEVI, SHAKTI- -SHIVA- PARVATI BEING THE ADHI-DHAMBATI, THE CELESTIAL,MOST PRIMEVAL COUPLE. SHIV AND SHAKTI ARE MATTER AND ENERGY, ONE CANNOT BE WITHOUT THE OTHER. AS NATARAJA, HE IS THE MOST GRACEFUL AND GRACIOUS ,GREAT LORD OF DANCE. AS RUDRA, HE IS BOTH FEROCIOUS POWER AND GENTLEST COMPASSION . AS NEELAKANTAN, HE'S HUMANITY'S SAVIOUR FROM THE WORLDLY POISONS. AS KAALABHAIRAVAN, HE'S THE FEARSOME DESTROYER OF EVIL. AS PARAMESWARAN, HE IS THE LORD OF LORDS. AS SANKARA, HE'S THE DOTING FATHER OF GANESHA, KARTHIKEYA AND AYYAPPA. THE EASIEST TO PLEASE AND THE FASTEST TO GRANT BOONS. OM NAMA SHIVAYA V R Shankar

• Do you get easily perturbed by happenings not in your control? • Do you keep wallowing in misery, real or perceived? • Do you feel the rest of the world is ganged up against you? • Are you restless due to not having a purpose in life? • Are you often confused about what constitutes your duty in life? • Do you have doubts about the best Spiritual path to follow, or the best Guru to emulate? For finding your remedy to each of the above, plus many other anxieties of life, please read the Bhagvat Gita of Lord Krishna and be guided by the Lord Himself. Before reading the Great Epic, you might find it useful to download and read my e book ‘How to lead an Ethical Life as per the Bhagvad Gita,’ which is a humble effort of mine to present the readers the essence of the Great Teachings by the Greatest Guru, Lord Krishna. The title is available on Amazon. Hari Om Krishna.

ONE OF THE GREATEST TREASURES OF PURE UNALLOYED WISDOM IS THE BHAGVAD GITA RENDERED BY LORD SRI KRISHNA AS GURUGYAAN OR GURU’S TEACHING TO THE GREAT PANDAVA WARRIOR SRI ARJUNA ON THE KURUKSHETRA BATTLEFIELD OF THE MAHABHARATA WAR. THESE TEACHINGS ARE ETERNAL PRINCIPLES WHICH ARE MEANT FOR AND CAN BE FOLLOWED BY ANYONE AND EVERYONE IN ALL WALKS OF LIFE IRRESPECTIVE OF RELIGION, REGION, RACE, COLOR OR COMMUNITY. ‘HOW TO LEAD AN ETHICAL LIFE AS PER THE BHAGVAD GITA’ IS A HUMBLE ATTEMPT BY ME TO INTRODUCE THIS TREASURE TO THE PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE GITA. THE MOST IMPORTANT AND RELEVANT TEACHINGS OF THE LORD HAVE BEEN PRESENTED TO THE READER IN THIS BOOK WHICH IS AVAILABLE IN E -BOOK AS WELL AS IN PRINT FORMAT ON AMAZON.COM. HOWEVER IT IS AVAILABLE ONLY AS E BOOK ON AMAZON.IN AS PER FOLLOWING LINK. HOW TO LEAD AN ETHICAL LIFE AS PER THE BHAGVAD GITA https://www.amazon.in/dp/B08314LY7K/ref=cm_sw_r_em_apa_i_wn7nEbM8M13KP ANYONE DOWNLOADING OR BUYING THIS BOOK MAY KINDL

MY (ONLY) NEW YEAR RESOLUTION We saw the frail old lady standing noontime in the hot Vizag summer, holding a cheap plastic bag in her left hand. Her hands looked more like dried twigs and grinding poverty was written all over her thin frame. Seeing us approaching slowly in the car, she waved the plastic bag at us with a tired smile on her face. My wife looked at me and smiled in quiet assent as I stopped the car near the poor woman. We knew that the cheap plastic bag would be holding the season’s offering called ‘Tati Pandu’ meaning palm fruit in Telugu, a simple fruit full of watery juice for thirsty throats. Though quite a few passersby would stop for this cheap fruit, most others preferred the colas and other drinks to this rustic delight. Sadly, even many among those who paused to buy would bargain away any measly profit these miserable sun- burnt folks hoped to get after several hours in the merciless heat. After we gave the amount quoted by the astonished woman for the full

Seldom have we seen or read about a brother from a Royal family who was so sincere and devoted to his brother or sister like Bharata was to Sri Rama. Bharata was in fact, a half brother, being son of Kaikeyi, one of King Dasaratha’s three wives. As we all probably know, Bharata was, against his will, forced to become the King of Ayodhya instead of the eldest son of King Dasaratha. The latter was sadly tricked into this by the cunning manipulations of Kaikeyi, with the help of her wicked lady attendant, Manthara. Bharata, unlike most other such Royal brothers in history, didn’t jump and grab the opportunity. He was thoroughly unhappy about this deceit of his mother and even threatened to assault her, though she was doing it for his ascension to the throne! That’s why Bharata should be considered as the noblest and most exemplary brother ever. In fact, Bharata ,in consultation with the wise sages like Vasishta, decided to go to the forest where Rama, Sita and Lakshman had gone fo

BHATTATHIRIPAD AND POONDHANAM There is a very touching story about the great Sanskrit Scholar Sri Bhattathiripad who wrote the poetic 'Narayaneeyam' in praise of Lord Krishna. Narayaneeyam is a poetic narration by Bhattathiripad about the omnipotent Lord Narayana and his ten ‘avatars’ or births on Earth ,including as Lord Rama and Lord Krishna. The poem is deeply devotional in nature as it dwells on the Divine Glories in all its verses. Earlier Bhattathiripad had been afflicted by very painful arthritis. When he started composing the epic Narayaneeyam at the famed Kerala Guruvayoor temple of Krishna, the pains are said to have vanished miraculously, due to the Blesings of Lord Krishna, the presiding deity of Guruvayoor temple. However this success unfortunately made him a bit proud of his achievement. When another poet, a humble person named Poondhanam approached him timidly to have a look at the latter’s work called ' Jnanapaana' ( Which too later became an epic

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2020