PRAYERS

1. Jai, jai Shankar deendayala, Jai, jai Sai Nath kripala.
2. Deen bandhu dayal Shankar Jaani jan apnaiye / Bhava sar paar utaar moko nij swaroop dikhaiye/ Jaane ajaane paap mere tinahi aap nasaaiye / Kar jori bhori nihori mangon begi daras dikhaiye / Devi Sahai sunaye Shiv son prem sahit je gaavahin / Bhava bandh te chhuti jahin te nar sada ati sukh paavahin.
3. Sai, Jai Sai, Come and uplift us. Oblige us, oblige us. We fall at the feet of Sai and say, 'Sai rakho, Sai rakho.' Kripa karo Maharaj.
4. We are in the embrace of love of the Beloved. We shall go and reside in the Mandir and reside there. ('Tera man mandir kahalaye'). The face of the Beloved is engraved on my heart. Why should we do prostrations (sazda)? Why namaz, and why fast? What use all these rituals? Do I offend the orthodox? I do not care. Sai is always with me.
   

Love for Life, Death And God

Every religion tells us that God is omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent. Modes of worship vary from one faith to another, but everyone who believes in God regards Him as all-knowing, all-powerful and present everywhere. If a person believes in God and keeps these divine attributes in mind, he will actually become a God-realized soul. As for me, I cheat God and my own self by indulging in activities thoughts and ambitions that are not good and I know from my own conscience that these being ignoble can never get divine approval. Since I am a very ordinary person, slave of base passions and ambitions, I just try to ignore God in such situations. Keeping in mind that He knows all and that one cannot hide anything from Him is still helpful spiritually as one keeps oneself within limits and feels repentant for nurturing evil ideas. Spiritual masters tell never to forget God and Death. I think that besides remembering God and death one should also not ignore this beautiful and wonderful life. Sai Baba's teachings give us the message of living this life happily and meaningfully. If one serves a suffering person, one derives lots of pleasure.This makes our life worth living. It is a unique enjoyment. Too much ascetecism, like observing fasts and subjecting oneself to physical hardship for spiritual purification does not appeal to me, nor is it advocated by Shri Sai Nath. Too much asceticism as well as too much sensual pleasures both result in making one feel "spiritually heavy". I hope I have been able to express myself through this eaxpression. Many of us have felt that fundamentalism and orthodoxy of a religious person is far inferior compared to the simple lover of God or a spiritual person. In fact religious fundamentalism and orthodoxy is extremly harmful both for the individual and the society. The truth of this statement is proved by the havoc that is perpetrated by the religious bigots in India and other countries of the world. I prefer simple spirituality to religiousity.

Dr. N. C. Misra, Ph. D.

Slumdog Millionaire

Following is the review of the above mentioned movie written by my daughter-in-law, Sow. Ribhu :

Slumdog Millionaire won eight Oscars on 22 Feb 2009. The winners have done India proud. Although the Indian movie entry (in the best foreign film category) got lost midway and could not even reach the final list of nominees, I try to appease myself with the fact that Slumdog Millionaire was based on an Indian backdrop, has an all Indian cast and involved quite a few Indians otherwise as well.

The movie does not misrepresent anything and this very fact hits hard, more so because it is shown by a firang. It is easy to stay ignorant of the facts that are buried within our premises. There is much hue and cry about the movie script and the way it’s directed. We all know how corrupt we Indians are. Haven’t we seen people around pick pocketing and faking their identities as tour guides? Re-sealing the cap of bottled water also does not come as a surprise. But we are also egotist enough not to let anybody else say it. We will do anything to maintain and enhance favorable views of self. We love ourselves and this love makes us forget the bitter realities. India has infrastructural (roads, electricity, water) problems in addition to poverty, illiteracy and corruption. No doubt the movie is a work of art, not because of what it is about; but because of how it is depicted. The movie is about slum’s crowded lanes, hunger struck children, child abuse, cruelty and local gunda raj. Still it manages to leave you happy and besieged with emotions, possibly because of its fairy tale ending.

I do wish although, instead of Slumdog Millionaire, it would have been an all-Indian movie. That would have made me proud in totality.

Regards,

Ribhu

Who is lucky?

There are two brothers who are my close relatives. The elder brother is a retired Chief Engineer, the younger is Vice President in a multinational company. The elder's wife is Professor of Psychology in a well known University. First, about the elder brother - he has (had) two issues, a daughter and a son. The daughter was pretty, smart and charming; was married to a very good boy of her choice. She had a two year old daughter. She died on 11th of this month of Hepatitis. Her husband, her father-mother are emotionally ruined and are unable to come to terms with the harsh reality, that is death. She was only 32 years old when she died. Her brother is settled in the USA with his wife.

The younger brother has just one issue, a daughter. He brought her up as a princess. She got married two years back, but within a year divorced her husband. She is living in Istanbul and working there as a school teacher. To my mind excessive care and protection made her a 'spoilt child' and a rebel against her parents. Now she does not even want to see her parents. The rich and prosperous parents are heart broken on account of their only child.

Can we call any of these brothers lucky? Shakespeare had rightly remarked, 'Never call a man lucky till you have seen his last day.'

Me and my God

Is there God? The question is as old as human civilization. There is God, say some; there is no God , say others. The question of God's being or not being cannot be resolved by reasoning and arguments. It is a matter of personal experience. One who has experienced Him believes in Him and one who has missed such an experience cannot accept Him. Thus the believers and the non-believers are both right according to their own experiences.

For me, God is a reality. It is not just an abstract concept. Every being and everything that exists is proof of God's existence. Belief in God and adherence to rituals prescribed by different religions are two different things. Sometimes strict observance of rituals hurts my faith in the Almighty. For me, "Na vaju aati hai, na namaz aati hai, bus sizda kar leta hun jub tu saamne hota hai".

When one believes in God, one loves Him. Loving God is Bhakti or devotion. Love has many forms - the love between spouses, the mother's love for her child, the love of a child for parents etc.etc. For me, God is father. It is very important for all lovers of God to establish a definite and clear relationship wth Him. My God, my father, is a very loving and affectionate Being. I get everything from Him. Almost always He gives what I ask. Yet like a caring parent He will refuse giving that which is going to harm me. He is such a fond and protective father that I have become a spoilt child. My ego, my aham (which the scriptures define as a person's greatest enemy) is also satisfied by My Father. I do not bow or kneel before anyone; I donot ask favors from anyone; I am not dependent on anyone. I remain my egoistic self. It is all because my God gives me everything and prtects me in all possible and even impossible ways. I have put my head on His feet; need I bow down before anyone else?

Love for God keeps me protected and keeps me provided what I need. I cannot live without Him. Shri SAINATH Maharaj ki Jai.

On Getting Old

Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that had the human body not been subject to decay and death, nobody would have cared to remember Him. How true! The fact that everybody has to die someday, makes us realize that we are imperfect and limited in our abilities. This makes us remember and pray to Him.
Here I am not going to talk of death but of getting old. In a sense, a person never gets old; only one's body gets old. I mean a person's unique nature and his personality traits almost never change. An eighty year old has the same urges, desires and impulses that he had as a child of four. It is another matter that he has, in his old age, learned to hide the child in him behind the facade of sobriety.
Society expects a particular behavioral pattern from the elderly person. This behavioral pattern is cultural and varies from one community to another. The old man is expected to act in a particular manner. He must conform to the social image of an old person. If he acts otherwise eyebrows are raised and the community around him feels outraged. An old Englishman's behavior is different from that of an old Indian. The latest global Mantra is personal freedom and non-interference in a person's life. Youth today guards his personal freedom very zealously. I respect the principle of personal freedom, yet I have two points to make in this regard - this principle being very individualistic, breeds intolerance which in turn has finished joint family system and even harmonious community living; secondly, this principle if put into practice by an elderly person like me should not offend anyone.
Now I am going to be personal.The society in which I live does not approve of my expression of love for my wife because I am 73 and she is 66. Some days back I went to a Mall to purchase some gift for my wife for the Valentine Day. (She is the only woman I have loved in my life). The counter girl was amused when I told her that I need a gift item for the Valentine Day. Her reaction made me feel as though I am doing something not expected of a man of my age. Age itself has put many restrictions on my way of living. I cannot eat what I like because I have to be careful about blood sugar, cholesterol, triglycerides and what not. My body will not permit me to play cricket. I would be unwell if do not go to bed by 10 in the night. I cannot participate even as a spectator or audience in various entertainment programs that are organized late in the evenings. Added to these age related restrictions there are many social restrictions. One more example. I am fond of wearing bright and colorful clothes while an 'oldy' is expected to don 'sober' and dull clothes. When I put on a bright red or green shirt, I violate well established social norm or at least social expectations. Being a diabetic, I may sometimes need some eatable given to me even before my grandchildren get their breakfast. This need of mine is more likely to be taken as an old man's gluttony.
While I champion the cause of old person's personal freedom, I know there is a limitation to it. A time may come in a person's life when it is physically not possible to live by himself/herself. Then your 'personal freedom' is gone with the wind.
Finally, I pray to God not to grant me such a long life to make me a total dependent on others. Krishna, You are right. We remember You because of old age and death. HARE KRISHNA!

I like your article in your blog. It is very philosophical aspect about life.

Shailbala.

Ram naam satya hai & Shehnai.

On 11th. February a young lady, just 31 years old died in Sir Gangaram Hospital, Delhi, leaving behind a two year old very cute and charming daughter and a very loving and caring husband. She was Maneesha the pretty daughter of my brother-in-law, Ratan.

On 16th. February the wedding of Shefali was solemnized at Delhi with a boy of her choice. The wedding was planned months back, even before Maneesha fell ill.

My wife and myself reached Delhi on 15th. morning and were taken to Late Maneesha,s father-in-law's house where a grand 'Mritak Bhoj' ( feast after death) was organized. With tears in our eyes we both ate this lunch.

On 16th. night we participated in the ceremonies of Shefali's wedding. Shefali is the daughter of one of my wife's younger sisters. Band, music, dancing and a really grand dinner were part of this ceremony. We took our dinner here.

The girl who died in the prime of her life and the girl who got married to her prince charming are first cousins. These are two sides of the coin of life. We have to accept life as it is.

Oh God! I pray to You to give rest to the departed soul of Maneesha and grant all pleasures and happiness to the newly wed Shefali and her husband.

When someone's wishes are fulfilled I become rich. When someone dies a part of me also dies.
Sainath give me peace.