Thoughts and Actions

Before entering the "Collage" please open this link and leave your baggage of thoughts here : https://youtu.be/sWp9KcsqdpM 3 Sisters Waterfall, Julian Warrier's Collage 07092020 : Thoughts and Action https://youtu.be/Waq5rj4jpIk Please open the above link to listen to a brief address by Dr S Radhakrishnan at Kerala University on September 30, 1963. (Link received from Shri P R Rajasekharan Nayar, Thiruvananthapuram. Thanks from Collage to him) Yesterday, a reader enquired how "Collage" selected daily themes. Most of the days, the previous day's responses give me the subject. What remains uppermost in the mind becomes the subject for the next day. Today's subject was inspired by the link to a September 30, 1963 speech received from PRR Nayar. M G Warrier A Interaction 1) R Jayakumar Old age, Loneliness and Friendship.. "In his interaction V Babusenan Sir has said that as viewed by the British the Old age is an utterly joyless life in Scotland. One way to make it joyful is to tell them stories when they were young. To prove the point he has narrated a story he heard from a friend when he was not so old and the story is remembered by him even now. Not all old persons live joyless life. Many are fortunate to live with their family or atleast in a care centre. It is those who, by force or by choice, living alone in a house have a tormenting life. It is for them memories of old stories may be of help to fight each and every passing hour. My feeling is that not only the stories we exchanged with true friends when we were young but every moment we happily lived together are etched permanently in our memory and help us to recollect and be joyful. It will be too long to share personal experiences here. In his blog message dated 19 August 2020 enclosed to yesterday's Collage Warrier Sir has said that it is necessary to keep in touch with older persons whom we know well. 'Call a Friend'. Confused feelings is common in old age whether one is living in company or alone. It is because old persons want to share many things with someone but there are no one ready to listen. My parents lived with me all the time. But with all family pressures I don't think I fully gave my ears to whatever they wanted to tell me everyday. I could give time only to listen to their needs and health issues. They eagerly looked forward to phone calls from other children and grandchildren so that they could share with them what they could not share with me. It may be the same case with me now. I want to talk many things with the people close by but may be reluctant to share lest the listener starts feeling bored. Anyway with my hearing difficulties writing is more enjoyable than talking. So this Friends Circles we have created online, like our EXRBITESgroup or the Collage, is one way helpful to share our feelings through responses. Warrier Sir is very true to his suggestion to make a phone call if he feels some one will feel good about it. Long back he gave me his number and told me to call him any time. But I never did. Recently when we were discussing about positive and negative feelings during this lockdown one of my responses induced him to call me and have a chat. I liked it. When we need more friends with our common interests and concerns some friends prefer to close the chapter." ( Collage believes in "Interaction". Listens more, but responds at least to prove that communication is not just about talking. My experience is, sharing reduces burden, though no one else can carry your luggage for long-Warrier) 2) C V Subbaraman, Mysuru Part I : Pradakshinam " Suprabhaatham! The Collage of today (September 5, 2020) starts with a Pradakshinam. Auspicious beginning. In Samskrtam, Dakshinam denotes right side. In Pradakshinam, we move on our right in a round, clockwise. I now realize why Leftists do not believe in God!! " (For anyone to claim that s/he doesn't believe in God, first the person has to be sure that the God exists. In the "Ardhanareeshwara"* concept the position taken by Him is on my Left and Her Right. I think She is Right in being on the Left and conceding the Right position to Him. Inside Shiva temple, Pradakshinam is guided by : " Vrsham Chandam Vrsham Somasootram PunarVrsham Chandancha Somasóotramcha PunasChandam PunarVrsham"** We are not allowed to go full circle, as crossing the outlet of "Abhisheka Jalam" is to be avoided - Warrier) * For more : https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ardhanarishvara **More information : http://arunachalamystic.blogspot.com/2013/08/somasutra-pradakshinam-2.html?m=1 Part II : Poetry "It is difficult to trace the origin of poetry or poetical works. Rig Veda which is in poetical form is estimated to have been composed some time in the 12th Century BCE. Believers do not subscribe to this theory but date it back to time immemorial. Poetry is the musical outburst of inner thoughts of feelings of love, affection, compassion and other feelings. The treasure of poetry from different lands and different times has inspired human beings across the world for many centuries, and poetry survives and even flourishes even with the advancement of civilisation, disproving the MCaulay prescription that "poetry declines when civilisation advances." As poetry emerges from the inner recesses of human heart of feelings, poetry can never decline, so long as humans have emotions. Let us accept poetry, enjoy its sweetness, instead of entering into a prosaic discussion on its origin or forms-Subbaraman" (Also see D3) 3) PKK Nair Dr S Radhakrishnan " I had the good fortune of seeing and hearing Dr S Radhakrishnan at a very close range, twice! Once when he addressed the then Kerala Club New Delhi for a function as the Guest of Honour way back late 1961. He was then the Vice President of India. I was studying at the Delhi School of Economics and was present at the function . He was genuinely gentle. Very fair, tall and wearing a cap. In his speech lasting 30 minutes, he touched upon the progress made by Kerala in various fields like education, etc. I still remember his philosophic words of the need for one people one nation! He was a philosopher par excellence! The second time I saw him was at the Republic Day Parade on the Jan Path in New Delhi on 26 January, 1963! I was participating as a contingent of selected batch of the Delhi University in the Parade and Dr Radhakrishnan as the President of our country was receiving salutes from the participating teams! It was a historic occasion!! ( This note on memories is in c/w Teachers Day celebrations on 05-09-20) 4) S M Sendil, Chennai "The collection of 8500 key chains by PKK Nair, is a big achievement. There must be many many interesting stories behind the collection of the chains for sharing in the Collage. His other hobby, the science of reading handwriting, cannot be practised, as very few write now, in this age of laptop and smart phones. Babusenan's Urdu story of the two smart persons becoming the victims of lightening, while the third one escaping from it, is in circulation in the social media, in another form of a passengers of a bus dying, except the last one who went near the dangerous spot. Well, the story's unexpected ending makes it indelible from our memory. At least two full days required to read all the articles published in the daily Collage. Inevitably we skip reading some. Our retired life has become more active than even our service period in the Bank! -Sendil ( Collage tries to accommodate more responses and contributions from readers. Links are provided to retain the pattern which has found acceptability across age groups. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.) B Thoughts and Action 1) Reins are with you, use them https://www.readersdigest.com.au/healthsmart/conditions/mental-health/mind-games-how-silence-your-inner-critic You are the most important person. Others are there, because you are there. Think about this observation. 2) Thoughts, Words and Action https://www.speakingtree.in/blog/thoughts-words-actions Can't simplify more! 3) "Where do "I" reside ? https://youtu.be/-rgNWIeF9Qo An Oncologist's mail and Victoria's answer ? Talk on Karma Yoga by Swamy Sarvapriyananda in US. C Spirituality Govinda Nama Mahima Vathsala Jayaraman Today's Collage has been inscribed with Govinda Namam. This enable me to trace my article annexed to my commentaries on Thiruppaavai of Andal. Copied below is my article on Govinda Nama written in January 2018 during Margazhi festival : GOVINDA NAAMA MAHIMA 1 If 'GO' is taken to mean swarga or Moksha, Govinda is one who awards good company, moksha etc. 2 If 'GO' is taken to mean valuable astras , and vindhathi means one who is possessed of those astras, Govinda is Rama who got Astras from sage Viswamitra. 3 If 'GO'is taken to mean'cows, Govinda refers to one who understands and protects the cows or Jeevaathmas. 4 If 'GO' is taken to mean vedas, then Govinda is one who is realized thro Vedas or who is the essence of veda. 5 The word Gopi or Gopihi refers to chaturvedas and their angas. Govinda is one who protects vedas. 6 If Go is taken to mean the third eye or special vision, the Govinda is one who knows the past, present and future. 7 If GO is taken to mean fire or Jwalaa,Govinda is none but the Lord Surya lighting the entire world. 8 If GO is taken to mean water, the essential source, then Govinda refers to Matsya and Koorma Avatars of Mahavishnu. 9 If Go is taken to mean 'EARTH' or bhoomi, then Govinda refers to Varaha, Trivikrama and the ever walking Parasurama. 10.Govinda also refers to Hayagreeva, God of knowlege, since Go means the Gnaana. 11. Go means good words.Narasimha inspite of his anger blesses Prahlada. So Narasimha also is Govinda.So the name Govinda applies to all avatars of mahavishnu. 12.Go means Vajrayudha. As Indra was awarded with Vajrayudha made out of the skeleton of sage Dadhichi with the sankalapa of Vishnu, Govinda is equated to Paranthaama. As we think of 'Govinda' The first thing that comes to our mind is Bhaja Govindam of AdiShankara.Though it may look like admonishing of human nature, ultimately it is waking us from slumber.awakening from Moha to search for the divine within Kshatra Bandhu was a Kshatriya with all bad qualities. He was too arrogant. Once he met Narada. "DarshanA deva sadhavaha" On seeing Narada he became a sadhu. The name of the boy who was looking after him was 'Govinda'. The Rishi said that just by addressing him as Govinda, all his sins would be washed away. Govinda naama mahima is so great. "Yam yam yAnthi smaran bhAvam tyajethyanthe kalebaram" "SAnkEtyam pArihasyam va stomam helana mevava" "However you recite the Bhagavan Naama, with or without thinking of bhagavan, even for the sake of kidding or talking ill of Bhagavan himself, it yields the desired results." Just by addressing the servant boy by the name 'Govinda' daily in a casual manner, kshatrabandhu attained the feet of God not withstanding the sins committed by him. Another great kavyam highlighting Govinda mahima is Ashtapadi or Gita Govindam by Jayadeva. Though it dominates in Sringara rasa, it is treated on par with bhakthi mahakavyas and forms an essential part of Bhajana Sampradaya. It is of great regret that in South, specially in Tamilnadu, the term 'Govinda' is associated with stealing and cheating and dishonesty. This usage is so deep-rooted in us that whenever we are deceived we loudly proclaim "Govinda, Govinda and pattai naamam' I don't know whether they have misunderstood the Parasuram of Thondaradipodi Azhwar. As cases of cheating and robbery increase, we can console ourselves that Govinda naama recitation also will increase leading 'regret' first slowly leading to 'reformation' in the minds of unruly elements. Though 'Govinda Naamam' is recited by way of cursing the bad elements, it has its own vibration. A medicine cures a disease of both who know the real impact and that of a child which takes it unwillingly out of compulsion.Whether recited out of devotion, depression or accusation, Govinda Naamam has its intrinsic worth. 'GOVINDA NAAMA SANKEERTHANAM'---'GOVINDAA! GOVINDAA!' ( Feeling nostalgic. During 1950's, the chorus "Sarvathra Govinda Namasankeerthanam... Govindaa...Govindaa..." was part of discourses in temple premises and in the evening prayers of joint families in Malabar area. A related link is given below- Warrier) https://youtu.be/HsVC42kz2pI Jnanappana recitation by P Leela D Readers Write 1) V Babusenan Martyrdom of a lizard In the drawing room, the guests and hosts are engaged in animated talk. Suddenly someone says: "Why not you give your Lakshmy to our Mohan? It will be a perfect match." "Jhl, jhl, jhl." A sound comes from the roof. The host looks up and says: "See the lizard endorses the idea. Let us proceed." That is the importance being given to the lizard in an average Hindu household. Another Aggarwal story thrusts itself upon me wanting to be told, whatever be the consequences. Here is the story: A lizard in a small house loved its inmates dearly. They were a father,mother and two kids. It loved to watch the pranks of the kids, especially those of the boy. It used to encourage them while playing, with its "jhl, jhl". But, as the gouli sastra was unknown to them, the children did not attach any importance to it. On a certain day, the family prepared milk payasam to celebrate the girl's birthday. When it was ready, the father said: "Let us all go to the river and have bath before taking food." Covering the hot payasam loosely with a lid, the family left the house for the river quite close by. The lizard was watching this from the roof. A few minutes passed. A big cobra crept into the kitchen and from there into the hot payasam. The lizard was certain that the highly poisonous snake was dead and that it's curled up body sank to the bottom of the vessel. The mother, while removing the lid, would not find the dead snake until the bottom was reached. The damage would be done by then and all would be lying there dead on drinking the poison. "How can I bear the sight?" said the lizard to itself. "I can do only one thing to save them and that I will do." The family sat round the payasam expectantly. The mother removed the lid. Just that moment, the lizard unerringly fell into the still hot payasam. All of them, in one voice, cursed the lizard. The father said in anguish. "Let us throw it away with the payasam. Children, we shall make the payasam again next week." They shed a tear for the lizard on finding the curled up snake at the bottom of the vessel." 2) Vathsala Jayaraman Vilwa Pathra Lakshmyaascha stana utpannam Mahaadeva sadaa priyam, Bilva vriksham prayachchhaami eka bilvam Shivaarpanam. Darshanam bilva vrikshasya Sparshanam paapanaashanam, Aghorapaapasamhaaram Eka bilvam shivarpanam." Born from the breasts of Goddess Lakshmi, the Bilva tree is ever dear to Mahadeva. So I ask this tree to offer a Bilva leaf to Lord Shiva. To have darshan of the Bilva tree, and to touch it, frees one from sin. The most terrible karma is destroyed when a Bilva leaf is offered to Lord Shiva. Sri Bilvashtakam (v. 6–7) . According to Swami Sivananda, it is a healing tree which cures all diseases caused by vata (wind) and gives strength to the body. The Bilva tree grows in almost all parts of India, irrespective of the nature of the soil, and is bitter, astringent and dry by nature. Tall and austere, with a stern aspect, gnarled trunk and sharp thorns, the Bilva is undoubtedly Lord Shiva’s tree. Shiva is always worshipped with its leaves, and it is said that this tree is much loved by him. It is to be found in all Shiva temples throughout India. The Bilva is also found in Devi temples, where it is worshipped. At midnight, on the evening before Durga and Kali pooja (worship), a tantric ritual called Bel Varan is performed with the appropriate mantras. A particular energy is taken from the tree and placed in a kalash (pot). This energy is then transferred to the statue of Durga or Kali to charge or empower it for the coming pooja. The process is called prana pratishtha, the establishing of the life force in the statue. When the pooja is over, the energy is released, a process called visarjan. In the Atharva Veda it is described as being so sacred that its wood may not be burned for fuel. It is still worshipped today as a deity by certain tribes in India. Vilva fruit has medicinal properties and half ripe fruit is a cure for dysentry, diarrohea and full ripe fruit is medicine* for constipation. The famous Bilvashtakam extols the virtues of the vilva leaf and Shiva’s love for it. Why is the vilva so revered? By common knowledge, we know that the tree has been held sacred for many millennia and offerings made to Shiva are incomplete without vilva leaves. There are many symbolisms attributed to this leaf: the trifoliate leaves or tripatra are believed to represent various trinities – creation, preservation and destruction; or the three gunas or three syllables that make up AUM. the primordial sound that resonates Shiva’s essence. The three leaves are also considered to indicate Mahadeva’s three eyes, or the trishul, his emblematic weapon. Let us listen to what Satguru says about Vilva " Why is one leaf more sacred than another? Is it some kind of a prejudice? After all, everything comes from the soil. Both the neem fruit and the mango fruit come from the same soil but they taste very different, isn’t it? How one particular life processes the same soil and how another life processes the same soil is different. What is the difference between a worm and an insect, and yourself and another human being? It is all the same stuff but still what we make out of it is different. When people are on the spiritual path they are constantly looking for support in every possible way because it is unknown terrain. In Indian culture, every little thing that could support you was identified through observation and meditativeness. They did not leave out even flowers, fruits and leaves. Why is the vilva in particular considered sacred? It has always been said that the vilva is dear to Shiva. What does he care? It’s not that it is dear to Shiva. When we say it is dear to Shiva, we mean that in some way its reverberance is closest to what we refer to as Shiva. We identified many things like this and only those things are offered because they become your means to get in touch. When you offer the vilva to Shiva, you are not going to leave the leaf with him. You are supposed to take it with you after it is offered because this particular leaf has the highest capability to absorb that reverberance. If you place it on the linga and take it, it has the ability to retain the reverberation for a long period of time. It stays with you. You can try this: offer the vilva leaf, put it in your chest pocket and walk around, it will make a difference for you in terms of your health,well being, mental state – everything. This is not about gods, this is about you and your ability to access something." (*Ayurvedic medicines like Vilwadi Lehyam/Kashayam have Bilwa content. Collage adds a YouTube link : https://youtu.be/pyTqMY-MJOI) 3) C V Subbaraman, Mysuru Ref : Current Affairs September 5, 2020 Banks and Priority Sector Lending: The nationalisation of major banks brought in its wake a greater thrust in the area of directed bank credit towards what is called the "priority sector". While this concept and thrust have been desirable, it is not without its own fallacies. What is "priority" for bank lending is based on what is considered as "national priority". Agriculture is one of the main activities covered by the concept of priority sector. But agriculture includes cultivation of some items which are injurious to human welfare and human health. I am talking about the cultivation of Keshari "dal" or pulses in the regions of Uttar Pradesh and other adjacent States. Keshari dal is said to cause Lathyrism, paralysis of the lower body. Yet, governments and the RBI have been under pressure to not only finance production of Keshari dal but to treat such financing as "priority sector lending". Another instance is the cultivation of tobacco leaves. Tobacco in either leaves form or in the form of powder, used in products like snuff, chewing tobacco and beedis and cigarrettes and cigars is the cause of a majority of cancers of human beings. Governments spend thousands of crore of rupees every year for providing medical treatment of cancers and paralysis, yet encourage cultivation of these harmful products by treating the financing as priority sector lending. One is logically led to ask the vital question: Is killing human beings a priority for government and banks? One of the arguments in favour of the priority classification of such advances has been that it provides employment to a large number of small farmers. This is an illogical argument. If the red light areas in various metros like Mumbai, Kolkatta and Delhi and other towns provide self "employment" for a large number of unfortunate fallen women, would the government and RBI treat advances given to such fallen women for purchase of essential items like beds, A.Cs etc.(capital expenditure) and items like cosmetics (running expenses) also as "priority" sector? It would be socially reprehensible. While Governments and the RBI had an opportunity to review and make amendments in the classification of bank lending as "priority" sector, they have failed to bring about a change in the lendings to cultivation of tobacco, keshari dal, etc. and also to beedi manufacturing units (cottage industry!) which are harmful for human health. Perhaps, in a country of 130 crore population, factors causing harm to human beings are to be encouraged as a measure of population control? Subbaraman (It is open for the Government of the day to take a view on tobacco products and industry and disallowing activities or practices they consider "not in public interest" for health or ethical reasons. RBI may not be the right institution to take a view on such issues-Collage) E Blogs and Links 1) Prayer https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/readersblog/warriersviews/concepts-of-god-and-prayer-10725/ It's a private and personal affair. 2) Cultivate Will Power https://youtu.be/OvqtRZf_-NI First decide what you want to achieve. Then the journey will have a path and a destination. Journey is more important.