Warrier's COLLAGE June 22, 2021

Welcome to Warrier's COLLAGE Tuesday June 22, 2021 Vedantic Principles in Daily Life : Sarvapriyananda https://youtu.be/yY8i8ohXdjc (Talk sponsored by KHNA, Michigan, US) Good Morning A personal message : "Collage is independent of my personal likes and dislikes, beliefs and ideologies. Theme for each day is decided only on the previous day. Selection is based on what remains uppermost in my mind from the previous few days' interaction with the outside world. Time Management is an issue. This message is for those who have stopped opening COLLAGE for different reasons. I don't know how to reach out to them. Anyone interacting with them may please tell them that Collage is not about any specific spectrum of subjects and the only motive is to promote reading, writing and dissemination of information. Many Thanks to all of you who are keeping the Collage going 🙏-Warrier" Nice Day M G Warrier Satsangam with P Raman For Seniors and Super-Seniors : Chant the following NARAYANEEYAM Slokam as many times as possible daily for a healthy life: https://youtu.be/uckgRnkXB2M Lyrics : ASMIN PARATMAN NANU PAADMA KALPE THWAM ITHTHAM UTHTHAPITHA PADMAYONEE ANANTHA BOOMA MAMA ROHA RASIM NIRUNTHY VADAALAYA VASA VISHNOH P.Raman (This Stanza appears in Narayaneeyam Dasakam 8. Link: https://youtu.be/9cwopgYI1kM included in Collage on Saturday 🙏-Collage) A Select Responses 1) Pankajam Narayanan Mumbai "Wishes and Prayers for the house warming ceremony today (June 21, 2021). God bless all 🙏" 2) C N Pillai ​I enjoyed the forwarded Father's Day message from Badrinarayanan, Chennai. C N Pillai 3) V N Kelkar Mumbai D - Story time with Vathsala Jayaraman Many thanks to Madam Jayaraman for a comprehensive essay on the cunning bird with harsh voice. Crows are seen here and there, on the roof top, on the electric pole, on the compound wall, walking in the courtyard to eat offerings by granny. They are an intelligent lot, they can walk, fly and even swim, traverse in the sky and survey the earth below. We have been fed on the fables and parables connected with the bird. The first lesson in English writing in school begins with the story of the 'Thirsty Crow.' Crows have been a part of our socio-religious life and religious rituals from time immemorial. More on Kaka Bhushundi: (shared) Kaka Bhusundi the great devotee of Sri Rama lived the latter part of his life in the form of a crow. Though born in Ayodhya, he had no love for Sri Rama and was cursed by Lord Shiva for his arrogance and lack of respect towards his Guru. He lost his human birth and was born as a lazy and fat python and then underwent many thousands of births in lower forms. Due to the plea of his Guru on his behalf, Bhusundi retained his memory of past lives and was able to easily don and cast off countless bodies before he was finally born as a brahmin with great love for Sri Rama. His spiritual journey spanned over many lifetimes and his love for Sri Rama gradually increased. He was then given the human body. He was born as a brahmin with an overwhelming love for Sri Rama. The Uttarkand of Sri Ramacharitamanas gives a very interesting and informative discussion between Bhusundi the crow and the celestial eagle Garuda. Initially Garuda asks Bhusundi that when he was an enlightened sage, how was it he was still in the body of a crow. Bhusundi gave Garuda his life history spanning many thousands of births and how he finally evolved into a spiritual being with utmost love for Sri Rama. Garuda seeing the high levels of knowledge, wisdom, experience and bhakti in Bhusundi decided to ask him some pertinent questions on the doubts he had about jnana and bhakti, the relation between them and also the differences between them. Bhusundi replied that there was no difference between jnana(knowledge/wisdom) and bhakti. Jnana was one of the paths of reaching God and so was bhakti. Both of them were equally effective in steering the soul in the right direction towards God. Where a person was full of jnana, bhakti would inevitably reside in his heart and where bhakti was manifest in full, wisdom or jnana would manifest in the person. For example, we can see this in the instance of Sri Adi Shankara. He was a great jnani and later on when jnana peaked in him, bhakti flooded him and he wrote many beautiful compositions on the Supreme Shakti which was full of bhakti. Great saints like Tukaram, Meerabai and others walked the path of bhakti and when they were completely drowned in bhakti, they rose to the heights of jnana or wisdom. There is a close and intimate connection between bhakti and jnana and when one quality exists in full force, the other one will also manifest in all its majesty. Bhusundi the crow compared jnana and bhakti with male and female qualities. Jnana- wisdom, dispassion, yoga and realisation are masculine. Maya and Bhakti are feminine. Even a strong and resolute man will succumb to the charms of a woman unless he is extremely determined and goal oriented. A woman will never succumb to another woman’s charms. Maya never succumbs to the charms of Bhakti, and where Bhakti exists, Maya will not be present. Bhakti is a royal princess and Maya is called a mere dancing girl. Bhakti is beloved to Sri Rama and where there is no Bhakti, Maya presides. When a man develops Bhakti, Maya cannot touch him. When a man is enmeshed in worldly attractions or Maya, Bhakti will not come near him. Maya is terribly jealous of Bhakti as she will not come near a man who has developed strong devotion in his heart as she cannot influence him. The strong relation between bhakti and jnana will always exist and they do not exist apart from each other. One leads to the other. Understanding this, one must follow the path in which he has ruchi or taste. Only the path of approach is different in jnana and bhakti and on the way they merge into each other and flow in a strong united current towards the goal of enlightenment. The great Kaka Bhusundi is said to be alive even now, chanting away the Rama Nama and speaking endless of the glory of bhakti and Sri Rama. When we do the japa of SitaRam and meditate, we flow with bhakti and end up with jnana. VNKelkar B Light House 1) Serve Like A Torch : Vathsala Jayaraman A young man, was waiting to cross a jungle in the late evening hrs. He wanted to wait till the sun rose next morning. There came an old man with a small torch in his hand. He courageously started walking towards the jungle. The young man said, "even I, being so young hesitate to enter the forest.How do you dare? The old man said," My dear boy, this little torch will show the way for 3 feet. When I move it can pave the way for the next feet. In instalments of 3 feet I will cross the entire stretch of 3 km in one hour and reach home." He added, "This does not relate to this travel alone. If you catch hold of the teachings of great people, follow them step by step, you can pass thro this journey of life crossing all the hurdles easily. When you face a problem, automatically the solution will stand before you. If you wait endlessly for somebody to support, it will result in procrastination for ever. Come along with me. I will take you." The old man took hold of the young and started proceeding. Vathsala Jayaraman 2) Lady Meherbai Tata* So Majestic And Beautiful this Cottonian looks wearing the 245 carat famous Jubilee Diamond (double the size of Kohinoor) on her neck, a gift from her husband in 1900. The very diamond she pledged to save Tata Iron & Steel from a crisis in the 1920s and upon her death due to Leukamia in 1931, her husband sold this diamond and her other jewelry to set up a philanthropy trust to fund cancer research. She is Lady Meherbai Tata ( 1879- 1931 ), who grew up in Bangalore and studied at Bishop Cotton Girls School. Her father HormusJi Bhabha was a Professor and a eminent Educationist (one of the first Parsi's to study in England ) . She demonstrated her independence at a very young age ,while in school itself, as her father wanted to anglicize her name to Mary but she refused to change her Persian name Mehri. Sir Jamsetji Tata( Tata founder ) in 1890 visited Bangalore on the invitation of Diwan Sir Sheshadri Iyer and it was on these frequent subsequent visits that he came into close contact with the Bhabha family and took a great liking for their younger daughter and thought was a good match for his elder son Dorab. He told his son to visit the family and it was love at first sight for Dorab when she was introduced to him while serving refreshments. They married on Feb 4, 1898. She took national pride in the Sari and wore only that even while horse riding, traveling, driving or playing tennis etc. She made Sari fashionable wearing it with Edwardian blouses. She was one of the first Indian women drawn to play Tennis in a Mixed Double Match for Paris Olympics in 1924. She won many a International tennis tournament wearing the traditional 'Gara' saree! Travelled widely with her husband, charming many a world leader including US President, then King & Queen of England. Was the first Indian women to fly and went up for a few hours in a Zeppelin "Victoria Louise" in 1912. She was a Feminist Icon and spoke for women's causes like education, equal rights in the constitution, removing pardah system and untouchability. As president of the Federation of Indian Women’s League in India and as one of the founders of the Bombay Presidency Women’s Council, Lady Tata also brought India into the International Council of Women. She made a case for the Hindu Marriage Bill at a college in Michigan on November 29, 1927— two days after she and her husband Sir Dorabji Tata met the then United States President Calvin Coolidge at the White House. She was instrumental in getting the Sarda Act implemented in 1929 making Child Marriages illegal. She had great force of character which, combined with real kindness, and singular graciousness of manner, made her presence immediately felt in any conference. Women in many countries formed their impression of the modern emancipated Indian woman from her forceful speech, her beauty and wise tolerance.” She received CBE in 1919 from King George V, for her contribution for women's progress and World War I efforts. Homi J Bhabha , the famous nuclear scientist is her nephew ! Credit Courtesy , central tata file archive; Tata Trust , The Print *Forward received from Dr T V Surendran Mananthavady Also see : https://theprint.in/pageturner/excerpt/when-feminist-lady-meherbai-tata-sold-her-famous-jubilee-diamond-to-save-tata-steel/666298/?amp C Book Review : Civilization of Illiteracy https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JTE/v11n2/petrina.html "Literacy and illiteracy are no longer what they used to be. This is basically the conclusion of Mihai Nadin in his Civilization of Illiteracy . Nadin traverses over a few thousand years of the history of literacy, but the bulk of his attention is turned toward the contemporary. Now, he writes, we are witnessing the proliferation of literacies and multiplication of media on a scale that makes notions of a single form of literacy seem like a quaint dream of the past. The Civilization of Illiteracy is a documentary record of literacies and their forms which are circulating through the urban and hyper-urban creations which we have come to call our modern Babylon. Nadin may be out of vogue in his long, historical view of literacy, in his wordiness at a time when three-sentence paragraphs are an Internet average, and he may be out of vogue in his refusal to select any single specialized lens with which to analyze our Babylon. This break from academic and popular fashion is precisely what makes his work so far-reaching. However, there are big differences between authors and rhetoricians, and I could argue that his message will be lost in the painstaking details of the Civilization of Illiteracy. This argument would ignore the message and Nadin's medium is the message. Reduced to 880 pages of text without a single chart, comic, doodle, drawing, graph, icon, photograph, or sketch, our modern Babylon is in a book. There is only black print on white pages. Swoosh - nothing but text - pure text. If this is some kind of post-modern joke, I would finish the review at this point. To be sure, there is quite an irony in his choice of media&emdash;in his reduction of modern Babylon to Babel to text&emdash; but I assure you, Nadin is serious, if not seriously post-modern." D Readers' Contribution 1) Krishna Ganam : Vathsala Jayaraman Whenever we think of Shri Krishna ,his smiling face with a flute in his lips comes to our mind. The entrancing music of Krishna filled every body's hearts with love. The peacocks danced enraptured by his music; all creatures on the summit of Govardhana Hills stopped all their activities and stood motionless; celestial women riding in aerial cars stood infatuated and were deprived of their presence of mind; The calves that had been let loose to be suckled by their mothers stood motionless ,the mouths of calves remaining filled with milk from the dripping udders listening to Krishna having no mind even to swallow the milk; the birds perching on the branches were none other than sages who wanted to see Krishna without any interruption and listen to his flute; Rivers had their rapid flow towards the ocean arrested on listening to Krishna, clasped both the feet of Krishna with the arms of their waves; Krishna talked to Radha thro his flute tune which Radha alone could understand. The above is the impact of Krishna Ganam as described by Shri Vyasa in Shrimat Bhagavatham Shri Krishna asked his devotees what they would like to become in his hands. Many replied that they would like to become lotus, conch, chakra and so on. But Krishna wants his devotees to become flute in his hands. As explained by Krishna himself, as in the flute there are 8 main links- 5 organs of perception, mind, intellect and ego. If you get rid of your ego, you will be like a hollow flute.Krishna will come to you, pick you up,place his lips,breathe through you and speak through you. Every creature can become a part and parcel of Krishna Ganam. All of us are aware how Krishna persuaded the cowherds to worship Govardhana mountain in stead of worshipping Indra, Indra got wild and mobilised Samvartaka clouds to bring in sharp showers with thunder and lightning and Lord Krishna uprooted the mountain with one hand as easily as plucking a mushroom and sportfully lifted it with a finger. All men, women, cows & creatures took shelter under him. After a week the rain stopped, the cowherds returned home. Indra was hesitating to approach Krishna. Shri Krishna started playing a raga in his flute. Indra was enchanted and slowly moved towards Krishna to seek pardon. As Indra himself was mesmerized by this raga, the raga came to be known as ABOGI ( That which brings Bogi ( Indra) nearer. Captivated by the raga, Indra designated Krishna as the ruler of the cows (Govinda). Is is said that by singing the raga Abogi one attains the grace of Shri Krishna. The Abogi Raga is sung on auspicious occasions. It is Janya of 22nd Mela- Karahara Priya. The varnam 'Evari bodhana','manasu nilpa' of Thyagaraja, 'Sri Lakshmi Varaham 'by Dikshitar, ' Nekkurugi' by Papanasam Sivan and 'Sabhapathikku veru Deivam' by Gopala krishna Bharathi are famous pieces in the raga. Our Bhogi festival preceding Pongal is similar to Indra Vizha praisng rain God. Vathsala Jayaraman (V T Panchapagesan remembers : "I was doing some voluntary service for a year in Shiva Vishnu Temple for a year in the year 1993, in Washington, USA. One or two Americans used to visit the temple daily. One day an American came and asked me pointing to the Idol of Krishna, wanting to know more about him. I explained to him thus : "Krishna means BLACK. IT denotes ignorance prevailing within us. Ignorance begets Fear. Knowledge begets Confidence. Idol worship in any form develops concentration focusing our mind towards positive thought making our life blissful. After hearing more he went and sat before the deity sincerely praying for about half an hour..... We say Ramayan but not Krishnayan. We can follow the path of RaMa whose action is easy to be followed. Whereas Krishna was symbolic to Godliness without egocentric centers who has lived in formless form, the Supreme whom we say Narayana , Govinda , Krishna" 🙏) 2) Maradu Flats Demolition : V Babusenan Thiruvananthapuram While reading with interest our Editor's write-up on house warming, suddenly a spectacle came to my mind which shouldn't have as it could never fit in with the mood. It was the sad sight of the Maradu apartment buildings falling to the ground. They were demolished under the SC order for having violated the Coastal Regulation Zone Rules. If owning a house or a flat is a dream (of course, it is a dream for the fulfillment of which has gone a major chunk of one's life savings) how many such dreams were shattered! Such terrifying sights lead us astray and tempt us to see some truth in the saying : 'Fools build houses for wise men to live.' If that is true, our dear Editor and myself joined the coterie of idiots-he in1977 and I seven years earlier. (If I had a say, I would not have allowed Maradu Flats demolition. Whether the then owners would have continued to stay in those flats is a different matter. Commonsense is something law-enforcement agencies keep aside before getting employed/engaged. Details I'll give when we talk. In my case, we could start staying in the Sastamangalam house at a time we needed own house the most. Our continuous stay there was just 8 years, shorter than the period I stayed in the Cooperative Home. Thanks for sharing your thoughts 🙏-Warrier) E Knowing When To Stop! https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/readersblog/warriersviews/knowing-when-to-stop-and-make-a-new-beginning-30305/ "Different views/opinions keep coming in electronic, print and social media these days about developments small and big, irrespective of the immediate relevance of such events for society or the nation. If someone wants to remain active and in the “limelight”, by doing something harmless which he feels he can do, why not allow him to experiment? Why someone else should decide when I should withdraw from active life if I feel I continue to be physically and emotionally fit? When younger people said “I do what I do!”, we appreciated and encouraged them." This article was written in a particular context during March 2021. F Gold Management https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-17/india-s-hindu-temples-tap-into-gold-reserves-to-pay-covid-bills Collectively, Indians own the biggest private stash of gold in the world, and religious adherents have long donated gold to temples, often to honor deities associated with individual temples. Over the centuries, that’s made the country’s 3 million religious houses some of the world’s largest holders of the precious metal. But now India’s temples—shut for months because of the coronavirus pandemic and deprived of donations—are being forced to consider depositing some of their famed stashes of gold with banks to pay mounting bills. Hindu temples hold as much as 4,000 tons of the precious metal, according to the World Gold Council, a stockpile as big as Fort Knox’s and administered by trusts empowered by Indian law to act on behalf of the deity. The Travancore Devaswom Board, a prominent temple association in the southern state of Kerala, has for the first time decided to deposit some of its treasures with banks—which pay interest on gold deposits of varying terms—to raise funds and pay salaries, according to the board’s president, N. Vasu. The Mint, an Indian financial newspaper, has reported that the Travancore Trust spends about 500 million rupees ($6.8 million) each month on salaries and other costs. “There is some opposition against using God’s gold to pay wages,” Vasu says. “But we took this tough decision because this is one of the toughest periods we have ever faced.” My response : Gold Management According to media reports, collectively, Indians own the biggest private stash of gold in the world. Over the centuries, sentimental attachment to the precious metal reinforced by various compulsions, made the country’s 3 million religious houses some of the world’s largest holders of the precious metal. Now India’s temples—shut for months because of the pandemic and deprived of regular contributions from devotees—are finding it hard to meet even the day to day establishment expenses. This results in tens of thousands of families dependent on temple-related income for livelihood losing their only source of income. According to one estimate, Religious Bodies in India hold upwards of 4,000 tons of the precious metal, major portion of which is administered by trusts empowered by Indian law to act on behalf of the deities. Already The Tirupati temple, Siddhivinayak temple in Mumbai and Guruvayoor Temple in Kerala have tapped the investment avenue in gold deposits with banks like SBI to augment their income. It is reported that The Travancore Devaswom Board, a prominent temple association in Kerala, is also toying with the idea of depositing some of its treasures with banks—which pay interest on gold deposits of varying terms—to raise funds and pay salaries. Time is opportune to have a National Policy for Gold Management to mainstream domestic gold stock for productive deployment. Institutional arrangements for standardization of gold stock and a policy for making gold investment remunerative need to be strengthened. Needless to say, to attract investment at low cost, TRUST in institutions is a prerequisite. M G Warrier, Mumbai June 21, 2021 G Quotes about Visual Media https://www.quotemaster.org/visual+media Like : "The major accomplishment of analyzing illiteracy so far has been the listing of symptoms: the decrease in functional literacy; a general degradation of writing skills and reading comprehension; an alarming increase of packaged language (cliches used in speeches, canned messages); and a general tendency to substitute visual media (especially television and video) for written language. - Mihai Nadin (Mihai Nadin is a scholar and researcher in electrical engineering, computer science, aesthetics, semiotics, human-computer interaction, computational design, post-industrial society, and anticipatory systems. His publications on these topics number over 200, and he has lectured throughout the world. )