Mind and Health : Warrier's Collage 17092020

Posted by : M G Warrier Prayer https://youtu.be/FGtaw55iq1o Prithwi Gayatri Mantra Warrier's Collage 17092020 : Mind and Health A Interaction 1) E X Joseph, Atlanta, US " Feel so good to be wished. Thank you dear Warrier. We are at Atlanta.You have woken up to a beautiful day and we have just ended one." (Many Thanks. To borrow a thought from Citi Bank's old hoarding (It read, "Citi Never Sleeps") at Haji Ali in Mumbai : "Collage never sleeps : Someone is reading or 'writing for' Collage 24x7! ) 2) Jyothikalakshmi, Chennai " Missing out on your daily doses of reading is like a penance I would say. These daily write-ups are connected like threads. 😃 Rich source of information and entertainment. Vitamins I and E. Vitamin L-Learning also. Certain days I do not get time, or do not feel like reading anything, out of physical or mental tiredness. So the above statement is based on my experience. But the sustained supply of Collage is very helpful. I always try to catch up on the major missings. So missing a day's Collage disturbs the mind. Therefore, making it essential or mandatory to be regular with these medicines for the mental peace. The brain feeds." (Today's theme is "Mind and Health"-Collage) 3) M K Ramamurthy Reg : Dubai Desert Safari " Reminds me of the experience our daughter, my wife and myself had there some years back. We visited Kuwait and en route visited Dubai . One night we went for Desert Safari. We were transported with four others ( four doctors from Bombay) by van in the sands . It was going fast and after some distance, started dragging to one side. The driver said it was due to the uneven levels in the sand. When it was going over a ridge like surface fell down on right side and after a few rolls landed on its wheels. Fortunately none of us was injured except my wife who was under shock. We returned to the desert camp where a doctor , an ambulance and the police were called. The police ( two of them) were very polite in their queries and after noting down what we had to say, left with the instruction that we should contact if any help was needed. The doctor was quite efficient and examined my wife and gave ome tablets. We did not go for the Camel ride but returned after having dinner there." B Readers Write V Babusenan Killi Valavan was a cruel Chola king. He ordered that the two very young boys of an enemy of his be trampled to death by elephants, in a public place. Their bodies were buried up to the neck in sand and the elephants were slowly approaching. At that juncture, Kovur Kizhaar, the Sangham poet, appeared on the scene and told the King thus: " Look at these children, The crowns of their heads are still soft. As they watch the elephants, They even forget to cry, Stare dumbstruck at the crowd In some new terror Of things unknown. Now that you 've heard me out, Do what you will." The King relented and spared their lives. The same poet Kovur Kizhar bravely told two other Chola Kings too much interested in battle: " When one of you loses, The family loses, And it is not possible for both to win. Your ways show no sense of family." The poet Nettimaiyar asked Ugra Pandyan a very relevant question : "Is this right, O lord rich in victories, This ruthless taking of other men's lands While being very sweet to proteges?" The chieftains of the Sangha period, though generally despotic in nature, admired and respected poets. They were very generous too to them. Naturally some poets would have exploited this by flattery. Paari, the good-natured chieftain of Parampimala (in the present Coimbatore district) was an intimate friend of the great poet Kapilar who made fun of such poets thus: " It is not only Paari, The rain too Keep the world going in these parts." About Paari, who loved singing and dancing beyond anything else , Kapilar had to say this: "The great black hill Is a strange place indeed: Inaccessible to kings Who fight with spears, Yet open to any girl With a drum in her hand, Her eyes lined with kohl Blue black as the water lily, If she should come singing." As Paari was to Kapilar, Nedumaan Anchi was to Avvaiyaar. Anchi was the ruler of Thakidoor (the present Dharmapuri in Salem district). He was a brave and chivalrous chieftain much devoted to the saintly poet. The elegies of Avvaiyaar on Anchi's heroic death in war are heart-rending in their pathos. For instance: "The spear that pierced his chest Pierced at once the wide eating bowls of great and famous minstrels, Pierced many begging palms, And dimming the images in the eyes Of men he sheltered, It went right through the subtle tongues of poets Skilled in the search for good words." Here is an excerpt from a touching poem on the general condition in those battle-riven days: "The horse did not come back, His horse did not come back. All the other horses have come back. The horse of our good man, Who was father in our house To a little son with a tuft of hair..." The poet Ponmudiyaar deftly encapsulated the duties of all members of society, in the words of a woman, as follows: "To bring forth and rear a son is my duty. To make him noble is the father's. To make spears for him is blacksmith's. To show him good ways is the King's. And to bear a bright sword and do battle, To butcher enemy elephants, and come back: That is the young man's duty." Avvaiyaar presented a brave mother who happened to see her son lying in pieces in the battle field: "When she saw him there in all his greatness, Mother's milk flowed again in the withered breasts Of this mother for her warrior son Who had no thought of retreat." Meet another brave mother in the following poem: " You stand against the pillar of my hut and ask: Where is your son? I don't really know. This womb was once a lair for that tiger. You can see him now only on battlefields." The poems ,partly or fully quoted above, are Puranaanooru poems translated by A.K.Ramanujan. I am aware that these few pieces are quite inadequate representation of this vast canvas of ancient realistic poetry. The objective is limited:only to kindle an interest in it." C Current Affairs Inflation Vs Growth : How to balance? https://m.economictimes.com/news/economy/policy/view-growth-and-not-inflation-is-indias-real-problem/articleshow/74441834.cms This article was published in ET during March 2020. D Mind and Health 1) Mind-Body connection https://www.rwjf.org/en/blog/2017/10/does-the-mind-impact-health.html Mind can influence healing 2) Dualism https://www.simplypsychology.org/mindbodydebate.html Mind and body E Blogs and Links 1) Loneliness and Aloneness https://www.speakingtree.in/blog/aloneness-vs-loneliness-759836 Matha Amrutanandamayi's view 2) Meditation https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/readersblog/meditate-plenty-in-2020/meditation-benefits-for-students-26099/ A student shares her thoughts on Meditation F Leisure 1) Borrowed riches Words borrowed by English from Tamil* The following words of Tamizh origin have found their places in English dictionary/language: Candy = Kandu in Tamizh (just as in Kalkandu) Cash = Kaasu (this is wrongly mentioned in some dictionaries as French origin) Catamaran = Kattumaram Cheroot = Churuttu Betel = Vettrilai (This is wrongly attributed to Portuguese) Coir = Kayaru Coolie = Kooli (in some works it is mentioned as of Hindi origin) Corundum = Kuruvindham (ruby) Cot = Kattil Culvert = Kalvettu Curry = karry Godown - Gidangu Jaggery - Sakkarai Mango = Maangai (wrongly attributed to Portuguese in some dictionaries) Mongoose - Munguse Mulligatawny = Milagu thanneer (pepper water) Pariah = paraya (a caste) Pandal = pandal Pappadam = papadam Teak = Thekku maram Aiyo = Exclamation patchouli = pachai ilai (green leaf) *Received from C V Subbaraman 2) Watch your breathe Watch your Breathe* A beautiful story is told about a great mystic, Nagarjuna: He was a naked fakir, but he was loved by all real seekers. A queen was also deeply in love with Nagarjuna. She asked him one day to come to the palace, to be a guest in the palace. Nagarjuna went. The queen asked him a favour. Nagarjuna said, "What do you want?" The queen said, "I want your begging bowl." Nagarjuna gave it -- that was the only thing he had -- his begging bowl. And the queen brought a golden begging bowl, studded with diamonds and gave it to Nagarjuna. She said, "Now you keep this. I will worship the begging bowl that you have carried for years -- it has some of your vibe. It will become my temple. And a man like you should not carry an ordinary wooden begging bowl -- keep this golden one. I have had it made specially for you." It was really precious. If Nagarjuna had been an ordinary mystic he would have said, "I cannot touch it. I have renounced the world." But for him it was all the same, so he took the bowl. When he left the palace, a thief saw him. He could not believe his eyes: "A naked man with such a precious thing! How long can he protect it?" So the thief followed.... Nagarjuna was staying outside the town in a ruined ancient temple -- no doors, no windows. It was just a ruin. The thief was very happy: "Soon Nagarjuna will have to go to sleep and there will be no difficulty -- I will get the bowl." The thief was hiding behind a wall just outside the door -- Nagarjuna threw the bowl outside the door. The thief could not believe what had happened. Nagarjuna threw it because he had watched the thief coming behind him, and he knew perfectly well that he was not coming for him -- he was coming for the bowl, "So why unnecessarily let him wait? Be finished with it so he can go, and I can also rest." "Such a precious thing! And Nagarjuna has thrown it so easily." The thief could not go without thanking him. He knew perfectly well that it had been thrown for him. He peeked in and he said, "Sir, accept my thanks. But you are a rare being -- I cannot believe my eyes. And a great desire has arisen in me. I am wasting my life by being a thief -- and there are people like you too? Can I come in and touch your feet?" Nagarjuna laughed and he said, "Yes, that's why I threw the bowl outside -- so that you could come inside." The thief was trapped. The thief came in, touched the feet... and at that moment the thief was very open because he had seen that this man was no ordinary man. He was very vulnerable, open, receptive, grateful, mystified, stunned. When he touched the feet, for the first time in his life he felt the presence of the divine. He asked Nagarjuna, "How many lives will it take for me to become like you?" Nagarjuna said, "How many lives? -- it can happen today, it can happen now!" The thief said, "You must be kidding. How can it happen now? I am a thief, a well-known thief The whole town knows me, although they have not yet been able to catch hold of me. Even the king is afraid of me, because thrice I have entered and stolen from the treasury. They know it, but they have no proof. I am a master thief -- you may not know about me because you are a stranger in these parts. How can I be transformed right now?" And Nagarjuna said, "If in an old house for centuries there has been darkness and you bring a candle, can the darkness say, 'For centuries and centuries I have been here -- I cannot go out just because you have brought a candle in. I have lived so long'? Can the darkness give resistance? Will it make any difference whether the darkness is one day old or millions of years old. The thief could see the point: darkness cannot resist light; when light comes, darkness disappears. Nagarjuna said, You may have been in darkness for millions of lives -- that doesn't matter -- but I can give you a secret, you can light a candle in your being." And the thief said, "What about my profession? Have I to leave it?" Nagarjuna said, "That is for you to decide. I am not concerned with you and your profession I can only give you the secret of how to kindle a light within your being, and then it is up to you." The thief said, "But whenever I have gone to any saints, they always say, 'First stop stealing -- then only can you be initiated.'" It is said that Nagarjuna laughed and said, "You must have gone to thieves, not to saints. They know nothing. You just watch your breath -- the ancient method of Buddha -- just watch your breath coming in, going out. Whenever you remember, watch your breath. Even when you go to steal, when you enter into somebody's house in the night, go on watching your breath. When you have opened the treasure and the diamonds are there, go on watching your breath, and do whatsoever you want to do -- but don't forget watching the breath." The thief said, "This seems to be simple. No morality? No character needed? No other requirement?" Nagarjuna said, "Absolutely none -- just watch your breath." And after fifteen days the thief was back, but he was a totally different man. He fell at the feet of Nagarjuna and he said, "You trapped me, and you trapped me so beautifully that I was not even able to suspect. I tried for these fifteen days -- it is impossible. If I watch my breath, I cannot steal. If I steal, I cannot watch my breath. Watching the breath, I become so silent, so alert, so aware, so conscious, that even diamonds look like pebbles. You have created a difficulty for me, a dilemma. Now what am I supposed to do?" Nagarjuna said, "Get lost! -- whatsoever you want to do. If you want that silence, that peace, that bliss, that arises in you when you watch your breath, then choose that. If you think all those diamonds and gold and silver is more valuable, then choose that. That is for you to choose! Who am I to interfere in your life?" The man said, "I cannot choose to be unconscious again. I have never known such moments. Accept me as one of your disciples, initiate me." Nagarjuna said, "I have initiated you already." Inspirational Stories Religion is based not in morality but in meditation. Religion is rooted not in character but in consciousness." *Forward received from Dr T V Surendran, Mananthavady