Warrier's Collage October 8, 2021

Welcome to Warrier's COLLAGE On Friday October 8, 2021 Saundarya Lahari https://youtu.be/xJ_CqmL9MY8 Good Morning After reading yesterday's Collage, more readèrs wished Vihaan. We are grateful to all. Nice Day M G Warrier A Messages 1) Dr Charan Singh charan singh (@CharanSingh60) Tweeted: Unity in Diversity - 32 गुरु जहाजु खेवटु गुरू गुर बिनु तरिआ न कोइ गुर प्रसाद प्रभु पाइऐ गुर बिनु मुकति न होइ गयंद, 1401, गुरु ग्रंथ साहिब Guru is Ship Guru is sailor Without Guru none can swim (across world ocean) or get Mukti God is found by Guru's grace https://twitter.com/CharanSingh60/status/1445851571825217537?s=20 2) K P V Karunakaran Mumbai Navaratri* Shakti that you worship for nine days as Navratri resides in your body, in your psycho-physical system, in the mooladhara as the Tripura Sundari, Rajarajeshwari and the whole of the practice of Tantra is to win over this Devi and take her carefully to the sahasrara where she meets her Lord who is always sitting. When this happens then the ecstasy of Saundarya happens and the Yogi is no longer an ordinary human being. (See C for more) *Forward received from a friend. B Collage Profile : Albert Einstein "Albert Einstein - Biographical - NobelPrize.org" https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1921/einstein/biographical/ Einstein always appeared to have a clear view of the problems of physics and the determination to solve them. He had a strategy of his own and was able to visualize the main stages on the way to his goal. He regarded his major achievements as mere stepping-stones for the next advance. At the start of his scientific work, Einstein realized the inadequacies of Newtonian mechanics and his special theory of relativity stemmed from an attempt to reconcile the laws of mechanics with the laws of the electromagnetic field. He dealt with classical problems of statistical mechanics and problems in which they were merged with quantum theory: this led to an explanation of the Brownian movement of molecules. He investigated the thermal properties of light with a low radiation density and his observations laid the foundation of the photon theory of light. C a) Saundarya Lahari 1) "Soundarya Lahari" https://www.manblunder.com/articles/soundarya-lahari This link will take you to lyrics and meaning. 2) Saundarya Lahari Stanza 27 "Soundarya lahari : 27th Sloka explained – Atmananda lahari" https://atmanandanatha.com/2019/12/07/soundaryalahari-sloka-27-humble-effort-to-explain/amp/ Now let us see the meaning of this mantra. “Let my speech, even prattle, murmuring, gossip, also be my japa. jalpa has all these meanings. Let my movement of hands be your mudras, my movements, walking be circumambulation for you, my eating and drinking be fire oblations for you, my lying down be prostrations for you, all my enjoyments be my surrender to You and let these actions of mine become the important part of Your worship. b) Rama Mantra : Vathsala Jayaraman RAMA NAMAM-1 The Rama Nama or name of Rama existed even before the birth of Prince Rama of Ayodhya. It is a sacred vibration which is full of bliss and has the power to control the mind and bring man back to his original divine nature. All karmas are burnt off with the blazing power of the Rama Nama. Every being has a right to return to his divine nature and thus every being has a right to chant the Rama Nama. Japa Yoga says that one must chant the name of God with love and devotion. This is true. One must feel love for God and call out His Name. But God responds even when we call His Name unknowingly and even in sleep. As we keep chanting, the powerful vibrations of mantra work and we develop purity and deep love for God. The greatness of Rama Nama cannot be described in words. Rama means "one in whose memory yogis revel in the bliss of Brahman" Rama is a Taraka Mantra -that is the mantra which takes you across the ocean of samsara. Only OM and RAM have the epithets TARAKA in ancient Mythology. The letter RA has been taken from the eight lettered Narayana Mantra and MA has been taken the five lettered mantra of Shiva. Both are life giving letters ( Jivaaksharas for the mantras. NARAYANA without RA will become Na a yana (not for good) NAMA SHIVAYA without MA becomes an inauspicious word meaning 'destruction' Vathsala Jayaraman (Rama Namam-2 at H) D Readers' Contributions V Babusenan Thiruvananthapuram Decoding fears "It has been decided that the four of you should , as per the instructions given to you earlier, destroy the front portion of the building at location X, exactly at 3 a m on 13th November 3021." You cannot expect, even in your dreams, such a message from a terror group for obvious reasons. Terror outfits, drug peddlers, economic offenders and countries engaged in war use code language to communicate. We know that during the second World War, Germans used very tough secret codes and but for the ingenuity of British code-breakers, they would have won the war. We have recently seen that some powerful drug users and peddlers are behind the bar because the Narcotic Control Board was able to decode their messages. It is a very challenging job on many occasions. Let us for some fun try to watch how Sherlock Holmes, the detective non-pareil, decoded a message in cipher code in the absence of its key. Here is the message : 534 C2 13 127 36 31 4 17 21 41 Douglas 109 293 5 37 Birlstone 26 Birlstone 9 47 171 As the coded message and it's key would not come by the same post, Holmes waited for the next post, but it did not come. He was faced with two options : either to ignore it or to decode it somehow which would be not an easy task. Holmes chose the latter option. Apparently, the numbers suggested some bulky book the first number being 534. The next number C2 might stand for Chapter2. But that had to be ruled out as in any book the first Chapter could not comprise the size of a big book itself! It could however be the second column. The number 293 would suggest that the 2nd column was a lengthy one. Beside, the book must be a common one, perhaps the Holy Bible. On second thoughts it was to be ruled out as the Holy Book had different editions and paginations. There were two books found in every English home : the railway guide Bradshaw and the book of general knowledge Whitaker's Almanac. The former was unlikely as it was poor in narration. But the latter suited perfectly and the following message of an imminent murder emerged : "There-is-danger-may-come-very-soon -one -Douglas-rich-country-now-at-Birlstone-House-Birlstone-confident-is-pressing." The incident hinted in the coded message took place soon. One Douglas, a country gentleman in Birlstone, Sussex was horribly murdered. Although Holmes could not prevent the murder, his intervention brought to light a sensational story of Crime in which his arch enemy Prof. Moriarty was involved. E Current Affairs 1) Nobel Prize for Literature 2021 goes to Abdulrazak Gurnah "Novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah wins 2021 Nobel Prize in literature - World News" https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/world/story/novelist-abdulrazak-gurnah-wins-2021-nobel-prize-in-literature-1861883-2021-10-07 Tanzanian novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah won the 2021 Nobel Prize in literature for his uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonialism and the fate of the refugees in the gulf between cultures and continents. Abdulrazak Gurnah was born in 1948 and grew up on the island of Zanzibar in the Indian Ocean but arrived in England as a refugee at the end of the 1960's. Until recently, he was Professor of English and Postcolonial Literatures at the University of Kent, Canterbury and has published ten novels and a number of short stories. "The theme of the refugee's disruption runs throughout his work. He began writing as a 21-year-old in English exile, and although Swahili was his first language, English became his literary tool," The Swedish Academy said in a statement. The statement added that Abdulrazak Gurnah consciously breaks with convention, upending the colonial perspective to highlight that of the indigenous populations. Thus, his novel ‘Desertion*’ (2005) about a love affair becomes a blunt contradiction to what he has called “the imperial romance”. *Check here for a Book Review : "DESERTION | Kirkus Reviews" https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/abdulrazak-gurnah/desertion-2/ An initially unidentified narrator reveals events following the 1899 appearance of orientalist Martin Pearce in an unnamed village on Africa’s east coast, in what was then the Uganda Protectorate. Pearce (who had been robbed and beaten by his African guides) is taken in by Muslim “shopseller” Hassanali Zakariya. Later, having been rescued from his rescuer by fellow Englishman Frederick Turner (a district officer), when Pearce returns to thank Hassanali’s family, he falls in love with the shopseller’s beautiful sister Rehana. What happens next is withheld, pending lengthy chunks of historical and ethnographic background information—and the story leaps ahead to the early 1950s, as Gurnah (By the Sea, 2001, etc.) traces the fortunes of three siblings (in what was then Zanzibar): underachieving, virginal Farida and her brothers, Amin and Rashid (the latter, we gradually learn, has attempted to piece together the earlier story of Rehana and Pearce, whose relation to Rashid’s family will be even later revealed in a flurry of convoluted afterthoughts). The story does become more involving, as Gurnah details the bookish Rashid’s uneasy relationship with the confident Amin, Amin’s doomed love affair with a divorced woman (Jamila) who leads “a life of secrets and sins” and is involved in anticolonial political agitation, Farida’s own love for a man she cannot have—and Rashid’s departure to study in London (where he achieves second-class citizenship and learns “how to live with disregard”). But the complicated links joining Rehana, Pearce, Turner and Rashid’s family are themselves kept secret for so long that, while the opening chapters here take forever to build momentum, its concluding ones are hurried and overcrowded with last-minute explanations. 2) Health Talk Health Talk CAB Pune organised a health talk on ‘Boosting Immunity and improving diet during COVID-19’ on September 17, 2021. Dr. Geeta Desai, diet consultant and lifestyle counsellor conducted a session and Shri V G Sekar, Chief General Manager and Principal gave a brief account of the initiatives taken by CAB to prevent COVID-19 among staff members. Dr. Desai prescribed many simple, traditional, and effective tips and highlighted the significance of consuming a balanced Indian meal consisting of a good mix of carbohydrates, protein, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals. *Source : RBI Newsletter 3) Safety on the road : M G Warrier To The Editor The Hindu oss the world Letters October 7, 2021 Safety on the road This refers to the article "Road accidents can be reduced" by M P Nathanael and The Hindu editorial "Recognising altruism" (both October 7). Many road accidents are 'caused' by careless or rash driving by drivers who consider driving licence as a licence to drive vehicles the way they like. Post-accident, drivers escape punishment for two reasons. One, the victim is not available to argue the case and the drivers get stronger legal protection. Bad roads, unsafe vehicles, laxity in enforcement of safety regulations and drunken driving are some of the reasons for death and injury on the roads. Stricter implementation of existing laws relating to roadworthiness of vehicles, drivers' health, traffic rules and better amenities for pedestrians on the road also will help in reducing road accidents. M G Warrier Mumbai 4) Zero vacancy approach "Needed: A zero-vacancy approach to top level appointments" https://www.moneylife.in/article/needed-a-zero-vacancy-approach-to-top-level-appointments/46688.html This is a 2016 article. Why now? To know more... open this link : https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/high-courts-in-crisis-situation-with-huge-vacancies-says-supreme-court/article34379186.ece This report is 6 months old. Sadly, position has not improved much. 5) RBI approval for NARCL https://www.businesstoday.in/industry/banks/story/rbi-approves-licence-of-national-asset-reconstruction-company-308597-2021-10-06 RBI approves licence of National Asset Reconstruction Company The company has hired P.M. Nair, a stressed assets expert from State Bank of India (SBI), as the managing director.The other directors on the board are IBA CEO Mehta, SBI deputy managing director S.S. Nair and Canara Bank’s Chief General Manager Ajit Krishnan Nair. F Leisure 1) Vivek Amin Nagpur I recollect the day, in 1978, me availing my first Casual Leave in our esteemed institution. Within 2-3 months, I had to take leave, so I telephoned my superior of Byculla office to intimate. Incidentally connection went to a wrong person (WP) outside RBI. Me:- Sir I will be on leave today as I am not well. (Wrong Person receiving phone) WP:- Which office you work. Me:- Is it Byculla office, RBI? WP:- Sorry I wish I would have been replying from an Institution as great as RBI. Me:- Sorry Sir, wrong number. WP:- Listen, can we talk for a minute. Me:- Yes. WP:- You people are doing an excellent job. We are proud of your institution. Me:- Yes Sir, thanks. But I think you are over-aged to join RBI now. I do wish your children good luck to join it. WP:- Nice. thank you. G Quotes about today's world "21 Inspirational Quotes About Life and Our World" https://www.liveabout.com/quotes-glimpse-of-our-world-2832810 Like : "The world is not dangerous because of those who do harm but because of those who look at it without doing anything." Albert Einstein (Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory of relativity, but he also made important contributions to the development of the theory of quantum mechanics.) H Continued from C(b) Rama Namam-2 Many saints have proclaimed that the surest path to liberation is the singing the Divine Names of God. The chief among them was the great saint from South India by the name Bhagavan Nama Bodhendra Saraswati Swamigal. More than 300 years ago, in the ‘Mandana Misra Agraharam’ of Kanchipuram, Suguna Devi wife of Sri Mohana Pandurangan gave birth to a handsome baby boy. They named him Purushotthaman. Even in his childhood, the boy possessed all the qualities of an ‘Avatara Purusha’. Sri Mohana Pandurangan worked in Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam in the service of the then Peetadhipati, Sri Viswadhikendra Saraswati Swamigal. One day, when the father was leaving home for his work at the Mutt, Purushottaman cried adamantly that he would accompany his father. No sooner had the Peetadhipati seen Purushottaman’s radiant face and his lustrous form than he enquired as to whose child it was. Sri Mohana Pandurangan at once said that the child belonged to the Mutt! That was because the child was born after the couple were blessed bythe Guru. Pleasantly surprised by the response, Sri Viswadhikendra Saraswati Swamigal asked if he really meant it, or if he was just joking. The father said that he was serious and subsequently, the couplehappily gave away the child to the Mutt. The Guru arranged for the education of Purushottaman and left for Varanasi. The child, along with another mate named Jnanasagaran,learnt the Vedas, Shastras, Itihasas, Puranas and all the scriptures. After having mastered the scriptures, both the students desired to have the darshan of their Guru, who was then in Varanasi. The intensity of their desire made them undertake a journey to Varanasi by foot. Thus both Jnanasagaran and Purushottaman started out for Varanasi. Jnanasagaran was an expert in ‘jyotisha’ (astrology).From his astrological calculations based on the time of departure, he predicted that they wouldn’t reachVaranasi together and that one would die on the way. The two young boys were grief stricken. Then and there they decided and took the vow that the one who survived would, after the performance of last rites of the dead friend, proceed to Varanasi, have darshan of the Guru and then give up his life by falling into the Holy Ganga. Just as foreseen, Jnanasagaran passed away enroute. Purushottaman reached Varanasi, had darshan of his Guru and paid his respects. Narrating the story about his journey along with Jnansagaran, their vow and his friend’s death, he said that he was going to jump into the Ganges and give up his life. His Master stopped him and advised him that one had no right to commit suicide. This earthly body is a gift of God and we do not have any right to destroy it ourselves. By commiting suicide, one suffers unsaid tortures after death. The Guru explained to Purushottaman in detail why he should not end his life. But Purushottaman insisted in falling into the Holy Ganga and end his life as he had given his word to his friend. Then his Guru said, ‘You have been born in this world to liberate those millions of souls who are struggling in the ocean called Samsara. Take up Sanyasa. According to Shastras, taking up Sanyasa is akin to taking a new birth. Thus, both your promise and my wish shall be fulfilled. Purushottaman agreed. The next morning, on the banks of the Ganges in the holy city of Varanasi, Purushottaman was accorded Sanyasa. He was given the name, ‘Bhagavan Nama Bodendra Saraswati’. For a while, the Guru kept Sri Bodendra with himself and gave him mantropadesa. One day, the Guru called Sri Bodendra Saraswati and asked him to go out to the world and spread the greatness of the Divine name of God. He said, ‘the Vidwans are well learned and would question the statement that mere Divine Name can lead to liberation. You are to properly argue with them based on shastras and establish the greatness of Bhagavan Nama.” He instructed his disciple to go to Puri Kshetra and meet a Mahan by the name Lakshmidhara Kavi in order to obtain the book “Bhagavan Nama Kaumudi” which dealt with the greatness of Bhagavan Nama. The Guru asked him to write Granthas based on this Text. Adhering to his guru’s words, Bodendra Saraswati set out to Puri. It was about midnight when he reached Lakshmidhara Kavi’s home. Not willing to disturb the household at night, the ascetic rested in the pyol outside the house. That night, a strange incident happened. A Brahmin accompanied by a woman clad in purdah knocked the door of the Kavi.. A young man came out of the house and enquired what they wanted. The visitor said that he had a doubt and that he wanted to get clarified from Lakshmidhara Kavi. The young man said that he was Lakshmidhara Kavi ‘s son, Jagannatha Kavi. He said that his father was out of town. However he had taught him all the Shastras and that he could clarify the visitor’s doubt. The Brahmin said, ‘Myself with my wife went on a pilgrimage to the north. On our way my wife was kidnapped by somebody. After a week, she, clad in a purdha came to me and requested me to accept her. However, she is in altogether different garments and she has lost all her jewels including the most auspicious mangalya. I wanted to know if I could lead a family life with this lady again. My household people won't accept her. If she is not accepted she would commit suicide. What is the way out?" Jagannatha Kavi immediately said, "Let her say 'Rama Nama' thrice and she will get purified". However the man was not satisfied and he asked Bodhendra who was waiting outside. Bodhendra said, "Your doubts are reasonable. Even sita faced the same problem.,.Tomorrow let this lady dip into Narayana Theertham adjoining the temple in front of all the people and say Rama Nama once and prove her purity to the world." The next morning, the whole city gathered around the pond adjoining the temple. The Brahmin brought the lady clad in purdha. The lady without any tilak or flowers prostrated before her husband and Bodendra said "RAM" aloud, she got dipped into the pond. To everyone’s surprise, when the woman emerged out of water, she had shed her black purdha and was clad in the same saree with flowers and auspicious ornaments which she wore at the time of departing from her husband. She had proved everyone that she had been purified by the Rama Nama. Sri Bodendra Swamigal asked her to cook the meals for the day, and he himself partook of it. Later Sri Bodendra Saraswati Swamigal returned to Kanchipuram and wrote 8 different Texts that spoke about the greatness of Bhagavan Nama. “Bhagavan Nama Rasodayam” was the most important among them. After giving charge of his duties to his successor to the Peetam he set out to live like a real ascetic, relinquishing everything. He reached out to every nook and corner of Tamil Nadu and spread the glory of Taraka Mantra. He initiated everyone who came to him with Rama Nama, irrespective of caste, creed or religion and purified them. It would not be an exaggeration to say that there is virtually no place in Tamil Nadu where he has not set his foot. One day, Sri Bodendra Swamigal was camping in a village near Needamangalam, a place adjacent to Raja Mannarkudi in Tamil Nadu. A couple came to have his darshan and invited him to their home for lunch. The Swamigal also agreed to come the next day. On the following day, Sri Bodendra Swamigal arrived at the couple’s residence. He sat down to eat. A plantain leaf was laid and food was served. Just then, he noticed a little boy in the house and asked him to sit down beside him and have his food too. In spite of his repeated requests, the little boy was unresponsive. The parents slowly explained to the Swamigal that the boy could neither hear nor speak. He was deaf and dumb by birth. Hearing this,tears rolled down Swamigal’s eyes. He cried uncontrollably because, just a while back, he had made a proclamation in one of his works that one would escape the fear of death if he sings or hears the Taraka Nama even once. He had thought that the Taraka Nama could spare none as everyone would at least hear the Divine Name knowingly or unknowingly during their lifetime. He felt bad that for this little boy because the little one could neither utter nor hear the Lord’s Name during his lifetime and there was no way out for him! The devoted couple consoled the Swamigal, "This is our karma and we have accepted it. Swamigal should not shed tears on this account. Please do accept the 'bhiksha' [food]." At the tearful pleadings of the hosts Sri Bodendra Swamigal had three handful of food and then took leave of them. The couple reverentially accompanied the Swamigal to the entrance to the village. Hungry that this boy was, he reached out to the leaf that Swamigal had eaten from, and ate from the remnants. No sooner had he eaten the ‘Uchchishta’ from Sri Bodendral’s leaf than he began singing the Names of the Lord! When the parents returned to the house, they could not believe their eyes seeing their hitherto deaf and dumb child jumping in joy crying out Bhagavan Nama in Bhakti. Indeed, the Uchchishta of the great saint had performed this miracle! One evening, in the place called Govindapuram, next to Tiruvidaimarudur, Sri BodhendraSaraswati Swamigal sat on the banks of river Cauvery after his regular ‘anushtanas’ . He watched the small kids playing and joined them. He asked them to bury him in the sand and said that he would come out of another place. Fascinated by this play, the kids wanted to do it again and again. This continued for some time. At one point, Swamigal was covered under the sand and he did not come out of the other end. The kids were panicked and called the elders nearby. The elders rushed in and decided to dig the ground in search of the Swami. Just then, a voice came from inside asking them not to do so and that Swamigal had gone into Jiva Samadhi there and wished to be so forever. Even today, we have Bodendra Saraswati Swamigal’s Jiva Samadhi in Govindapuram, a place between Aduthurai and Tiruvidaimarudur, next to Kumbakonam. It is said that Bodhendra Swamigal lives there chanting the Rama Nama all 24 hours and round the year. Devotees who go there and chant the Taraka Mantra in His Samadhi. One can hear Rama Nama emanating from the Samadhi when they spend their night there. A few can even see the form of the Mahan in Danda and Kamandala circumambulating the Samadhi chanting the Rama Nama. Today, anyone going to Sri Bodendra Saraswati Swamigal’s Samadhi Govindapuram with problems and sufferings in their heart and pray with Bhakti are ridden of their ills. Rama Nama is called ‘Taraka mantra’ as it is the very cure for the disease of samsara. It is derived from the roots of the two great mantras, the Asktakshara, ‘Om Namo Narayanaya’ and the Panchakshara, ‘Nama Sivaya.’ The Sthala Purana of Kasi states that Siva whispers the Rama Mantra in the ears of all those who breathe their last in this sacred place. Vathsala Jayaraman