The most unforgettable Thank You

I was on my journey back home after temple darshan & Ramakrishna Math Visit at Mylapore and I suddenly spotted a curious face staring at me with a feeling that the person had known me well. I tried to remember the face but can’t figure out who the unknown person was. I went past the person thinking that whether it was just a new found syndrome or theory. As per “The Theory of Relative speculation of mind,-When you spot a good looking guy or girl with a charming face and smile somewhere, there is high probability that your mind might think or guess that you had actually seen that person somewhere before even though you had not seen or met that person.”

Many guys use this syndrome as an excuse to just start a conversation if they really like the other person.

Things got interesting as the unknown person started following me. I began feeling  suspicious.                I stopped at the nearby shop which sells handmade garments, clay lamps, clay bowels inquiring about their price . The price seemed to be a little bit on a higher side. I bargained but the shop dweller explained that it took a lot of effort to make those garments and the new generation’s craze for western outfits and items eating a large share of their income. The women explained that it was difficult to meet their daily expenses and that’s why they had to  charge more. I was taken over by her straight from the heart explanation. I bought some clay items & garments and paid the amount the shop dweller enquired without bargaining. The shop dweller was about to return the change of about fifty rupees, for which I politely refused. The shop dweller thanked me with a smile that bestowed kindness & gratitude.

I continued walking towards the Mylapore railway station. Just when I was climbing the steps, I heard some gossips from young people.  I turned back to see whether the unknown person was following me. To my surprise, I spotted that  person with a gang of four other friends, all belonging to an age group of 20 to 22. Noticing me, the unknown person stopped the conversation and started staring at me out of curiosity & shyness. Her friends suddenly started breaking into laughter. Laughing is contagious. I too broke into laughter and then asked them why they are laughing at me and why that girl is following me? “Are you people playing some prank on me?”.

“No Sir, Your name is Karthik right. In 2007, you worked in Udaipur. Right?”, enquired a tall girl in that group.

I was shocked and puzzled. I asked “You are right. How come you people know about me?”

“Nothing sir, our friend Shweta wants to offer her  gratitude to  you. Tell Shweta. Sir Ko thank you bolo……..”

"Thank you very much Karthik sir" said Shweta with a gentle smile.

“Don’t add so much suspense friends. Tell me who you people are? How come you know me?      Why Shweta is thanking me? What I have done Shweta?”, I asked out of sheer eccentricity.

“Well, we will not let you know the identity that much soon. We will give you clues and you should guess? If we reveal the identity so early then time won’t pass sir. For a clue, Well I am from Ahmedabad,Gujarat.” Said Shweta

“I had been to Ahmedabad four times on official work and I don’t remember us meeting there.

What you girls are doing here? “ I asked

“We are studying first year engineering at Anna University, Chennai.

Chennai to Ahmedabad….Nava Jeevan Express III AC coach.” Said Shweta.

I got it. I said “At that time, you were waiting for your 10 ^th standard results. Correct. I remember you were a bit anxious at that time. How are your sister, brother and parents? Hope they are all fine.

It’s great that you people got admission in one of the premier institutions. All the best. Keep up the good work.

It is so nice of you to recognize me and saying thanks to me for that little bit of information I shared with you on that journey”.

“Thanks a lot for your wish sir. When I saw you coming out of the temple, I instantly recognized you since you have not even changed a bit. You look like the same person I had met three years back” Sheweta said.

“I am surprised by seeing you here. Even if I happen to meet you, I never expected that you will thank me for that small information I have shared with you.

 Why this thanks and all yaar? I haven’t done anything great. Your attitude & character deserves special mention.”, I said.

Sheweta exclaimed “Well sir, you motivated me to aim for greater heights in life. You showed me the importance of single minded focus & determination in a way I could understand. It’s not been an overnight effort for me to come up to this point. The teachers, friends right from my childhood, persons like you whom I happen to meet in journeys and in some cases the persons whom I have not met till now have directly or indirectly influenced my journey till this point in life. I am very grateful and thankful to those personalities. I always pray for their welfare and thank them in my prayers. I have made it as a habit to thank them whenever I go to sleep at night or personally when I happen to meet them”.                  

Having been impressed with her level of thinking ability, I said “Fantabulous! What a powerful insight from a girl who has just passed out of High School.”

   I started to imagine how many times I had really thanked those so called teachers & friends who are responsible for what I am today. I found that it was lesser than a hundred times, hardly any. Whenever we achieve something great professionally, we tend to have a feeling that we have done it singlehandedly. Hardly do we thank the people who have helped & molded us right from our childhood days. Even if we do thank them at that moment, as time progresses we forget to thank them at our moments of success, be it promotion, or success in interviews.

But sometimes , when things go wrong we simply put the blame on other people. This seems very strange!

This simple concept of extending our gratitude to fellow human beings highlights that life is unassumingly simple but it is we who made it complicated anyways.

“How is your life going on sir? Can you share some of your experiences with us?”,Shweta asked.

After a moment of silence, I replied ”Fine, for all these days, I have been learning to experience life inwardly from the depth of our consciousness. It’s very much satisfying for me to practice living a life that is outwardly simple and inwardly rich. There have been so many distractions, disappointments, imperfections, temptations, conflicts with inner mind coming in my way but after practicing the teachings of the Supreme Personality Shri Swami Vivekananda, I got the courage to accept that these emotions & events are occurring due to the superimposition of the mind. Once we get rid of these superimpositions, our true nature of mind will suffice. Meditation is one of the ways to get rid of materialistic superimpositions.

A child just born whose mind, till it attains the age of two, is free of all superimpositions and that’s why a child spontaneously expresses its emotions be it crying or laughing. You know why a child cries frequently when it’s just born?”

 Fear, hunger & just to catch other’s attention, are the responses I got from those girls.

“You are all right to some extent. But something is holding you to go into further depth which you all are being capable of. Just you have to practice & train your mind to go into further layers of understanding.” I Said

Being curious to know more, Shwetha exclaimed “Quite Interesting sir. Can you explain from your point of view?”

“After its formation from a single cell to child, a child has approximately spent some three months conscientiously in mother’s womb thinking that is the World and is quite comfortable with the darkness. After coming out of mother’s womb, the child is frightened to see the light, sound & other beings for the very first time. The child birth is the most traumatic event both for the mother as well as the child.

One of the other reasons is that child’s mind being ever pure, free of superstitions & superimpositions, it instantly connects with the soul and is quite worried that in spite of repeated cycle of  births & deaths, it is still unable to reach the higher plane of supreme consciousness* and is worried of being born again. 

I promise you that this is not the final solution. There is no end to deeper understanding and you can go further depths with some practice and meditation. But when you plunge into the depths of life, you can find out that Life is exceedingly simple and it is us who have made life complicated due to the Superimpositions of different attributes in our mind.” I replied.

“Thank you sir, you have told something very simple yet powerful thought provoking concept.

Can these superimpositions affect our way of normal thinking?” asked Shweta.

In response I added, “Of course, the superimpositions of lust, anger, greed, ego, arrogance and ignorance in our mind influence our thinking process and augment the desire to seek pleasure in materialistic pursuits. Our mind is just a tool and it will act upon where it is directed. Seeking pleasure or joy is the basic nature of mind. You cannot eradicate it even through spiritual practice. But you can convert it to the other form. Passion for lust, greed & other materialistic pursuits can be converted into passion for knowing and Experiencing God inside us & other beings.”

“Sir, How come you know so much about the nature of human mind?”one of the girls asked.

I replied, “I am working on a science fiction novel and I have started the ground work for the novel. The story demands me to track the roots of the existence of Human species and other species greater than the human species. I promise that the readers will be taken to a new level of thinking and will train their mind to a higher super conscious plane in which they can handle their mind & emotions in a better way so as to aspire for reaching the Supreme abode.

We are here for a purpose and it’s a pity if we chose to spend our whole lifetime without desiring to know the purpose of our existence and arriving at false conclusions about life due to our inadequate level of our thinking.”

“Sounds Great! Oh it’s time we have to reach our Hostel. One last question?                            How to start the process of removing these so called superimpositions?” Shweta asked.

I added” For that you have to clearly define your purpose of your existence and goals with respect to your supreme personality and direct your emotions, desires to experiencing the divine personality that is embedded in our soul. Once you have clearly defined your purpose, you can clearly identify the superimpositions that will take yourselves away or come in way of realizing your purpose. You pile off those superimpositions through meditation and by converting it to the other form of blissfulness.

The same logic applies to your professional goals. If you have well defined goals, powered by ambition & desire to achieve your goals & serve the society, then the superimpositions of mind can be piled off with the help of single minded focus, will power, determination & self belief as catalysts. This is how the great discoveries both materialistic & spiritualistic have been made by well trained minds of eminent personalities.”

Shweta was getting late. She concluded, “It has been a great evening for all of us. It seems that we are coming out of some spiritual disclosure. The concepts and ideas shared here will definitely benefit us and will equip us to face challenges & tempting situations in our life. Thank you very much sir.”

“Don’t thank me alone. The information I have shared with you is not being invented by me. I have acquired this knowledge from the works of Swami Vivekananda and many swamiji’s from Ramakrishna mutt, Bhagavad Gita and the Sacred Vedas. I shall not keep your thanks with me. I shall pass on your thanks to all fellow beings including my friends, teachers, parents and other great personalities who have influenced me to come up to this point.

Thank You Everyone and looking forward for you to share this information to everyone.” I said.

“It is so nice of you to share your valuable experiences with us. We are looking forward to your Science fiction novel.” thanked the girls. 

(The girls left with smiles in their faces and I can sense the burning desire to achieve something remarkable in life from their eyes.)

I went into sleep that night thanking every one of my teachers, bosses, friends, eminent scientists & few noble men who have contributed to the welfare of my selves & mankind. I slept peacefully and woke up to a pleasant morning. Even though I received thanks from many of my friends & people, the “Thank you” that came from the young girl’s heart for the small motivational information I have shared in one of my journeys taught me the simple lesson of extending gratitude to fellow beings and it was one of the most unforgettable instances indeed.

* Those who will reach the supreme consciousness become part of that Divine energy by which the entire galaxy is being maintained. They will not come under the cycle of births and deaths .Occasionally they will be manifested as supreme personalities such as Krishna, Rama, Hanuman, Shiva, Jesus Christ, Prophet Muhammed, Swami Vivekananda to show directions to the mankind.

The concept behind writing this blog:

This blog was dedicated to my beloved teachers whom I forgot to thank in my moments of success and I can't bear the agony of waiting further to meet them personally to say thanks. Now I found a way to express my thanks even in my daily prayers & wish for their wellbeing.

all my teachers, “you were all so kind, gentle, caring, generous, selfless, strict in enforcing discipline and in spite of obstacles in your path, You showed us the light like a candle burning itself to show luminance to the World. And I am walking in the direction of light showed by you and I am so much indebted to you. Kindly accept my gratitude & heartfelt thanks.

Even if I manage to achieve great milestones in life in the future, I am still a student to the great personalities who taught me A,B,C,D...... & 1,2,3,4........

- A blog written by  Karthik, Edited by Kailash.

An Unopened Gift

An Unopened Gift

Demystifying God.

A blog by Karthik

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It was a serene Sunday morning filled with the melody of birds, insects and chilled winds. I chose silence to observe the rhythm of the nature. It’s the pause of silence in between sounds that adds beauty to the rhythm of music and makes the music pleasant to the ears. I chose to observe that silence. I began the day with prayers to the almighty.

I preferred to be seated on the corner of the park alone silently scrutinizing my thoughts in mind. Slowly I reduced my thoughts almost near to zero. I went into meditation with no thoughts in my mind. I started feeling more relaxed and fascinated by the emptiness of this world. Suddenly a phrase which I read from a magazine flashed in my mind.

“You are more than what you think you are.” I become restless prompting me to search for the divinity inside me. I prefer to enjoy the inner blissfulness inside me.

I started walking filled with thoughts of compassion and generosity.

My phone rings up to a call from my friend Ramesh.

Karthik. I hope you knew my situation. I need your help. Will you please come and meet me next week when you are free. I want to talk with you in person.

Hi Ramesh. I came to know about your situation. I feel sympathy for you. Don’t worry I am here to help you out of your depressed condition. Don’t lose hope. I pray the almighty to give you strength & courage to come out of the worst phase of your life.

Karthik, I have lost faith in almighty. You know how much I am devoted to God? Then why it happened only to me? If that God whom I pray doesn’t have powers to prevent an untoward fateful event from happening? Then Why should I pray him and devoted to him? What is the purpose in doing so?

Listen to me carefully. You have not understood the real purpose of your existence and your relationship with God. I will make it clear once I meet you in person. Till then don’t lose faith & hope in yourselves. I have an unopened gift for you. Upon opening it, your life will become definitely better than what it is now and you can understand the relationship between God & human being, importance of spiritual life and how to handle situations which are beyond your control. You will know the real meaning of Life. Just a few core beliefs and common practices needs to be changed.

I will come with that unopened gift when I come to meet you.

“An unopened gift. Sounds interesting. Will you also give that gift to me? Karthik.” asked Ashwata breaking her silence after a long time.

Hey Ashwata, you have lost. This time I have won. (I made a bet with ashwata that I will make her speak to me within today. She was angry with me for not coming to see her during holidays in her Grandpa’s home. For the past two days, she was just following me and not even uttered a single word. She communicated to me only with signals. I tried all the tricks of the game but nothing worked out on ashwata. I even asked sorry many a times. But surprisingly, the concept of unopened gift worked out.)

Are you frustrated? I just wanted to play with you Karthik. Sorry.

No need for sorry Ashwata. I really enjoyed you communicating with me through signals. Your cute eye and face expressions conveyed a lot than spoken words. But I am longing to hear your sweet voice. Thank God you broke your silence.

Karthik I tried to resist till tomorrow but that the topic unopened gift urged me to speak.

Karthik, you pointed out that some core beliefs & practices need to be changed. Can you throw some light on the topic?

Very observant of you my friend. Listen

The very belief that spirituality needs to be practiced at an old age and practicing spirituality & study of Vedanta at a young age will induce you to an aversion to the world leading to sannyas is a common misconception. Whenever a young person is found studying Bhagavad Gita, it causes anxiety in the minds of parents that his ward will be motivated to abandon the world & his responsibilities. This is nothing but distorted perception of reality. How does a book like Bhagavad gita encourage escapism? Lord Krishna advises Arjuna who is ready to leave the battlefield to fight the battle of life with a mind detached with the results of his actions.

The common belief that Bhagavad Gita & Vedas have information only for those who wants renunciation from all activities of life needs to be changed. By being aware of the message of Vedanta, all the issues and problems can be solved better with the help of the vast knowledge these Vedic scriptures have been endowed with. You will be equipped with a new level of understanding and reasoning. You will understand that the life you are living is not to be lived in that way. You will come to know that in many occasions of life, you have satisfied for an answer which is actually not an answer. This is due to the inadequate level of understanding life.

Last, you can understand the message of Vedic scriptures better at twenties when your mind, Intellect & senses are at prime than at seventies. Moreover it is during the phase of thirty years (From the age of 21 to 50); a person will be actively involved in all the spheres of life facing problems from all quarters. After 50 Years, a person normally tends to slow down. There is no point in realizing and ruing about missed opportunities & reaching for enlightenment at the fag end of your life. You need to extract the best out of existing situations when you are young when you are pitted against all the odds without waiting for the ideal conditions at an old age. This message is what Lord Krishna shared with Arjuna when he was prepared to leave the battlefield.

That’s Great Karthik. It dispelled some of the common notions. But how can I perform an action without yearning for its results? I used to study well to get good marks. I expect good ranks.

See Ashwata, when you perform an action expecting results, there are two probabilities. Either you feel happy, comfort & secure when you achieve desired results or you will feel disappointed, dejected & depressed when you don’t achieve the desired results.

Will you show a same kind of temperament in both occasions?

Definitely not.

Bhagavad Gita induces you to show the same kind of temperament in both of the occasions. The temperament to analyze & look for continuous improvement even when you achieve desired results. The temperament to analyze the cause for failure & look for alternate options with an eye for continual improvement even when you don’t achieve desired results. It equips you with an insight to discharge your duties as an offering to the God Himself. When you offer something to the supreme power that shall be nothing less than the best. Don’t keep the results of the good things & bad things with you. Offer everything to the God. It will help you understand that the criteria in which you have been ranked is immaterial and there is always scope for continual improvement even when you come first in your class. I hope you understand it the way I wished.

Yes I understood. Thanks. Why your friend ramesh had lost faith in God? What happened to him?

Many people like ramesh understand God as a supreme power which is beyond their reach and whatever their wishes will be fulfilled by God if they perform some special pujas & sacrifices. If everything goes well by chance, luck or their hard work, they will praise God. If it doesn’t go well or some untoward event happens, they will lose faith in God.

That means God doesn’t have powers to do good things for a person who believes in him? (Ashwata)

(After a long thought)

Temples have been build to harness the power of God by performing Vedic agamas & mantras regularly so that it can serve as an instrument for mankind to realize the presence of divinity (GOD) inside him & nurture the same by feeding the mind with divine thoughts & actions. By doing so, after few cycle of births & deaths, you will become a source of divine energy.

So assume that I have realized the presence of God inside me. How will it address my problems & issues? (Ashwata)

Once you realize the presence of God inside you, you will learn that except a sacrifice, every kind of action performed in this world is binding. Hence perform all action as if it were a sacrifice that you are doing in the name of God. Do it without any attachment. You will be tempted to learn & follow the rules & rituals prescribed in the sacred literatures to live a righteous life.

When you derive happiness from your own self, who alone yourself can deny happiness?

If you don’t realize the presence of divinity inside you, then you presume that God is responsible for whatever happens to you & surroundings and a human being doesn’t have control over the situations.

If you realize the presence of divinity inside you and attached to it, you will clearly perceive that the Gods in temples are not responsible for whatever events happen to you , the God (divinity) inside you and other creatures & the law of Karma as a whole is responsible for whatever events good & bad that happens to you and your surroundings**. The more you nurture the divinity inside you, the more blissful your life will turn out to be.

Moreover the power of reaction to an event (good & bad) is present inside you. Sometimes you cannot control the way things turning out, but you can certainly change the course of things by the way you react to an event. If all the mankind realizes this eternal truth and reacts to an event according to the ways prescribed in our Vedic scriptures, then all the problems surmounting the world will disappear.

That means Ramesh had not reacted the way prescribed in our sacred Vedas. (Ashwata)

That’s fantastic. You grasped the concepts clearly. You are really intelligent Ashwata.

The fact is that you are making me intelligent. Thanks a lot Karthik. So will you handover that unopened gift to Ramesh when you meet him? (Ashwata)

An unopened gift is already embedded in the souls of every human being. Once we peel off the layers of ignorance, core false beliefs, ego, false prestige and other obsessive habits, the divine personality laced with pure love scented with the fragrance of spirituality will emerge as an unopened gift .Learning from Vedic scriptures like Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads and implementation of the learning in day to day life holds the key to open the unopened Gift. Once the door to permanent happiness*** inside you is opened and all the inner blissfulness inside you is within your reach through practice of meditation and leading an ethical life as preached by the sacred Vedas & holy people.

Sounds great Karthik. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with me. Oh! The busy chorus of life started again. How to find silence in this noisy atmosphere? Yelled Ashwata pointing towards the traffic jam outside the park at 8.30 AM

I made her observe the silence between her heart beats by placing her thumb finger below the palms of her left hand.

You don’t care about the external world. Just observe the silence that is already inside you.

She smiled innocently with kindness & gratitude.

My phone rings to a call from my friend Prakriti. I put it in loudspeaker mode.

Karthik Have you finished with the task of writing the love story? (Prakriti)

Actually I am not satisfied with the way the story turned out. Give me time till 31 Aug 2010. I will finish it up. (Karthik)

Wind it up Karthik. I need the story urgently to help my friend’s love from the obstacles they are facing at present. (Ashwata breaking into laughter.)

“Karthik I can’t control my laughter. My stomach is paining. Are you writing a Love Story? I can never imagine how the story will turn out? A story to rescue lovers from obstacles. I think that they will run away from love & marriage after reading your story. I don’t think they will unite. “ Ashwata told in the midst of continuous laughter.

You are teasing me…. Ashwata… I will not leave you. (I started chasing Ashwata)

Karthik I am just kidding. Please leave me… (Ashwata).

I stopped there. Then she came slowly to me greeting with her childish smile. How nice is the true affection between a brother and sister. How lucky am I to have a sweet sister like Ashwata.

Post Script:

** No one is free from action. Every moment of their lives, people are forced to act whether they like it or not. This is because of the influence of the gunas. (Bhagavad Gita Ch3:5).

When the divinity (GOD) present in you is covered with layers of ignorance, the influence of the gunas will force you to act & respond in a way which will take you away from reaching the supreme abode. When action is inevitable*, why perform an action which will nullify your progress in your journey to merge with the supreme divine power?

*The state beyond action can neither be attained by abstaining from prescribed action nor by renunciation. (Bhagavad Gita Ch3:4).

***When such a state of never ending happiness is hidden inside you, why wait till old age and next birth to pursue happiness? You should start immediately from the very next moment itself to pursue the same. After opening the unopened gift, you may wonder at any moment that why I have not opened that Gift long time before. So my dear friends, I take immense pleasure in presenting you the Key : The Bhagavad Gita in PDF format to open that unopened Gift hidden deep inside you.

The download link is http://www.e-vedas.com/books/bg.htm

May you be blessed with an insight & thirst to know the Eternal Truths from the Vedas and with courage and conviction to pursue the same?

Kindly accept it as my Gift and grant an opportunity for me to help you.

Let all the Glory be to God.

A blog by Karthik.

Send in your comments/suggestions to karthikthewriter@yahoo.in

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(An Unopened Gift)

Rays of Change: Change is good but Climate Change is definitely not

I woke up in the morning believing it to be a just another day in hot summer. But to my surprise, there was pleasantness in the air with rain as the main ingredient. The fragrance of the moisture laden winds instilled a state of blissfulness in me.

I went out for a morning walk to enjoy the weather. I opted for a cup of tea. There I am very much perturbed to see an old man in his late fifties utter that it is better to take birth as an animal than a human being.

This is an instance of a human being not realizing his true potential, divinity and the purpose of his creation due to a lot of external and internal factors in the environment. The reason for the most of the evils & problems surmounting the World is the failure of the mankind in their life time to realize his own self and the purpose of his creation. I started to focus my thoughts through the prism of my own self on one of the problems the World faces now: Climate Change.

I returned home to see Ashwata standing at the gate. (Ashwata is my neighbor’s daughter in the apartment I live).

Karthik" you are such a selfish person". You have left me alone and went for morning walk to enjoy the weather all alone exclaimed Ashwata in an angry yet childish voice.

(Karthik) : Ashwata,You are sleeping that time and I don’t want to disturb you my sweet friend.

( Ashwata) No I don’t want any excuses. I will not allow you to enter inside the apartment. You stand there itself.

(karthik) : Ashwata, forgive me this time. Come on! The weather is pleasant, let’s go for a walk.

( Ashwata: With a smile on her face) : Ok karthik but with one condition, You have to take me to the nearest Garden and answer my questions.

Questions about what? I asked.

That is secret. I wont reveal you this moment exclaimed Ashwata.

We started walking amidst the drizzling rain enjoying the serene atmosphere.

Oh God Pl save me from this intelligent girl. I don’t know what she has in store for me this time? (Karthik).

Are my questions troubling you a lot? ,Karthik.

No ashwata, The fact is “Your questions are too much for your age. Sometimes I have to search deep within myself and books to answer your questions and I fear for the punishment you give once I fail to answer your question up to your satisfaction. You are an intelligent girl with lots of passion.

Karthik "It’s already raining and I am feeling cold" witted Ashwata with her sweet smile.

We have reached the Paradise garden. With the fragrance of fresh flowers, colors of lush green grass & flowers, drizzling rain, the place seemed like Heaven for both of us.

We choose to sit under a tree.

Karthik “You see how nice that sight of blossoming rose spotting a blossoming yellow rose.

Ya its very nice. You can't happen to see such sights too often (karthik)

How does a flower blossom? asked ashwata

I answered . Actually there is a connection between nature and the flower. The rays of sun light induce chemical reactions inside the plant which makes the flower to blossom

Of course the purpose of the flower is to blossom and give fragrance to the World. Nature is just an instrument to make the flower realize its purpose.

Then what's the connection between the nature and the human being? What is the purpose of a human being? asked Ashwata.

(Karthik) Ashwata only a few from last generation had found the answer to this question. If the majority had found the answer to this question, then definitely the world would have been a better place for us to live. Our generation should find the answer and implement it in order to make the World the better place to live for the future generations.

(Ashwata with eagerness in her voice) Its interesting Karthik. Now tell me the answer. At least we both will implement in the near future.

Karthik: See Ashwata, Our Universe is made up of five basic elements namely fire, water, wind, sky and the earth. The Earth houses all the four elements and all the elements are inter-linked with the Earth. Similarly our body and soul is made up of these five elements. Our being is just a subset of the universe.

Our being derives its energy from the universe. Our body is degradable and just an instrument for the immortal soul which resides in it.

Ashwata: Is our soul immortal? I am not getting it.

Karthik: Same on the lines of law of conservation of Energy, All the Energy contained in the Universe at the time of big bang will remain same in this universe beyond time. Only the Energy gets converted from one form to another. Similarly, Soul as a mixture of five basic elements can neither be created nor be destroyed. It can be transferred from one body to another body or higher state*. Every soul is immortal. Soul has no beginning, no end and no death. The divinity of the soul is present everywhere in this universe. Those who reached the higher state* after many cycle of births and deaths gets merged with the five elements namely fire, water, wind, sky and the earth and forms a source of supreme divine energy through which the life cycle of this entire universe is being maintained.

This is where the saying “God is present everywhere fits in.”

Great Karthik Then what is the purpose of a human being? asked Ashwata

I have already told the answer. You extrapolate it my dear friend.

Ashwata: Karthik from what you have said I can conclude that the supreme aim of an human being is to acquire that which never fades i.e our own good deeds, sacrifice, our spiritual excellence that follows us beyond the grave. Every thing else is left behind here with the body. Our main purpose is to purify our soul from impurities which is acquired during the cycle of births and deaths due to ignorance of our own self and to merge with the five elements of the universe.

Karthik: Great Ashwata, You are correct. Our soul like a diamond, it is ever pure but it is covered by the layers of impurities accumulated due to ignorance, karma. Once you peel off all the impurities by meditation, You can see the purity of your soul like rays of light radiating from a diamond. Diamond just like soul even when covered with impurities will not lose its shine and properties. But you cannot see the radiance of the diamond when it is covered with impurities.

(Ashwata in deep thought and then breaks into laughter.)

Ashwata: Ha Ha Ha….I can’t stop my laughter Karthik . I have imagined the sight of you and me becoming saints wearing red clothes and volunteering for spirituality. From what you have said it seems that everyone has to quit family, friends, job, politics and go to Himalayas and chant vedic hymns to become a perfect human being.

Karthik: No buddy, like many people you have also misunderstood the term Spirituality. It’s high time the term spirituality needs a makeover. People have misconceived opinions about spirituality. If such is the case, then what the sachin tendulkars, bill gates, ambanis,and millions of human beings with work & family commitments like you and me will have to do?

Will they ever reach the higher abode of Supreme Being with their deeds? Or do they have to quit their work, family commitments to reach the higher abode?

Definitely not Ashwata. According to Bhagawat Gita Ch 9:27,28 Lord Krishna says : Whatever austerities & duties you perform, Whatever you do, whatever you offer or give away do it as an offering to the God Himself. In this way, you will be liberated from your bondage of Karma. With your mind fixed on the God, you will be freed from the cycle of your actions. You will reach the abode of the Supreme Lord.

Ashwata: It’s really nice to hear that average beings like you and me have a chance to reach the Higher abode without staying away from our work & family commitments. But I have only one doubt, then why do some people quit everything in the name of spirituality?

Karthik: From what Knowledge I have gained till this date, I can conclude that some human beings after many cycle of births and deaths realized the temporary nature of this materialistic world and they want to renounce everything by not entering into any family commitment, by doing service to mankind & by meditation to liberate themselves from the cycle of births and deaths to reach the next higher dimension of life: The Eternal abode of Supreme being.

Guru Ji.. Will you please finish your spiritual disclosure? I can see rays of light radiating from your head? witted Ashwata pointed out the rays of sunlight behind my head.

Ok Madam As you wish.

Karthik what about your novel on Climate Change? I am damn sure if you pack this much spiritual content then no one other than yogis and gurujis will ever have patience to read your novel. Of course I will read it for the sake of your friendship.

Thanks dear. Actually my novel is not about spirituality. It is about an intelligent, passionate girl with research aptitude, strong will power and single minded determination fighting against anti social elements & industrialists with money power to combat climate change along with the help of an emerging cricketer (whom she met accidentally) who quits playing cricket to safeguard her. It’s about how a group of young minds with their intellectual power defy all odds to achieve their goal of cheap, clean & sustainable renewable energy solutions affordable to the common man.

Ashwata: sounds interesting. Have you ever come across such a girl? What prompted you to write this novel? What is the name of that girl in the novel?

(Karthik) Too many questions but one answer. Guess.

No I can’t Karthik. Don’t add this much suspense. Tell me na.

(Karthik) I have come across a young girl with lot of intelligence and passion. She is a child at heart and often mesmerizes you with her innocent smile. She troubles you with intelligent questions and often catches with little fights. She likes to read books on scientific inventions, research & spirituality and plans to join IIT in the near future. Truly climate change & that girl and is the motivation for me to write this novel. She is studying only ninth standard and I have extrapolated her life after 10 Years with my imagination in my novel. Her name is …….................................Ashwata.

(With a beautiful smile on her face & her eyes glowing with love, she expressed her gratitude by making me close my eyes. She whispered gently …….)

Karthik Anna I love you so much. I am really fortunate to have a caring brother like you to guide and motivate. Its really heartening to see your faith and confidence in my abilities. I will certainly put my best efforts to realize your dream …..sorry our dream of cheap, affordable renewable energy solutions for the common man.

Thank you so much my sweet sister, I cherish this moment. I can see the promise in your eyes. Mark my words Ashwata, You will reach for the stars. I would like to finish this pleasant morning session with my take on climate change.

So Nice of you Karthik ( Ashwata)

One Soul. Many Species. One Planet. One Future.

We, the human beings, superior form of all species in this planet, as a guardian to Mother Earth, should take oath to conserve the natural resources in this planet for the present and future generations by adopting eco friendly solutions like harnessing clean Renewable energy as an alternative to reduce emissions & pollution from Non Renewable Energy sources.

Our being same as the universe is made up of five basic elements namely fire, water, wind, sky and the earth. If we pollute these five elements in the Universe in the name of industrialization, globalization and for the sake of creating wealth for future generation, we end up in digging our own grave and also for future generation. Our being derives its energy from the Universe. If the basic elements of the Universe itself get polluted, what will happen for our being? Our ultimate purpose of existence gets defeated.

Remember Ashwata, The World is a great Gymnasium where we have come to make ourselves strong, pure & divine.

Our soul will have to take repeated cycle of births and deaths in the future to become pure, divine and perfect before merging with the source of supreme Energy through which the entire universe is maintained. Our soul will be transferred from one body to another. i.e we have came here for a short visit (picnic) and will have to visit again sooner or later. So my friends keep this in mind before doing any irreversible harm to our nature and its resources.

The ultimate purpose of a human being is to realize the presence of Omni potent Lord in the form of those five basic elements of Nature as perceived by our ancestors and to protect and preserve the environment from degradation for the present and future generations. Remember “Change is good but Climate Change is definitely not .Let us not destroy the Self by the self. Meditation is the key to realize this truth.

Ashwata: Simply Great. I have not thought on these lines before. You see Karthik, I would like to see the best of you in your debut novel. You should not give up like in your previous attempts.

Promise me, You have to complete the draft copy by June 5 2011 and the final version by June 5 2012

Sure Ashwata .I will keep the promise this time. As soon as the draft copy is ready, I will give the second copy of my novel to you for your review. First copy reserved for my ever loving parents and my younger brother.

“I anticipate the same by June 5 2011 ."Ashwata said.

Time: 9.00 AM. It started to rain heavily. Myself and Ashwata walked slowly enjoying the chillness of the pure drops of rain falling on us. Suddenly ashwata splashed a pool of water with her leg on my face and started running away. I chased and caught hold of her and started splashing water on her. We played in the rain for a while and then returned home. I started writing my novel on climate change with renewed enthusiasm and passion derived from my love for nature.

The present Climate Crisis can be solved with the collective efforts of every individual. Here's How to Start. Join Indian Youth Climate Network.

(IYCN) at www.iycn.in.

My Friends. It's time to take the initiative.

Let all the Glory be to GOD.

A blog by Karthik

5 June 2010

Send your comments/valuable feedback to karthikthewriter@yahoo.in

Ram The Warrior ( In Search of the Eternal Truth)

Ram: The Warrior In Search of the Eternal Truth

Date:15-05-2010 Time: 5.00 PM

I was returning from Chidambaram to Chennai on Rathimeena Travels. It was a short unplanned visit. I was little bit bored as I didn't happen to see any known faces in the bus to start a conversation to eat time.

Then my mind pondered over to the film Raavan by Mani Ratnam. Mani Ratnam's note that "Is Raavan the dividing line between the Good & Evil?" "Is there a Raavan in Ram & Ram in Raavan?” made me think on a different dimension.

If such is the case, presume that there exists Raavan attributes in Ram. Is it possible for Ram to overcome those Raavan attributes?

Will it be a daunting task for Ram to fight the Raavan attributes inside him than the Raavan in the outside World?

What special attributes Ram : an average human being needs to fight over the Raavan both inside him and outside him?

If you had heard or read Ramayana, then you can easily conclude that this is one of the reasons behind Kaikeyi demanding Lord Sree Ram's exile for fourteen years in a forest. Since being an average human being, Ram needs to acquire some special attributes, conserve & channel his youth power, spiritual & sexual energies by leading a chaste or brahmacharya life to fight a powerful demon like Raavan.

There is no better place in this Earth than forest where you can breathe pure air devoid of pollutants, drink and take bath in pure water, eat lush green vegetables and fresh fruits. Forest is a place where Ram can meditate in a serene atmosphere without any distractions from family, kingdom and other materialistic pursuits. Forest is an ideal place where Ram* can transform himself to Lord Sree Ram. What a powerful insight by Kaikeyi!

Many cursed Kaikeyi for sending Ram to exile and passing over the throne to her son Bharata. Actually Kaikeyi did more good to Ram by sending him to exile. (Ram Knows this better and that is the reason for gladly accepting Kaikeyi's order.) Kaikeyi as a mother showered equal love on both Ram & Bharata.

Human being is a mixture of both Ram: divine & Raavan: demonic attributes. The Quantum of mixture differs from one human being to another depending on their personality.

Ram attributes include Fearlessness, purity of heart, cultivation of spiritual knowledge, charity, sense control, sacrifice, study of the Vedas, austerity, virtue, non-violence, truthfulness, absence of anger, renunciation, tranquillity, aversion to criticising others, compassion, freedom from greed, gentleness, modesty, determination, courage, forgiveness, fortitude, cleanliness, and freedom from hatred. Those with divine nature are endowed with these attributes. (The Bhagavad Gita Ch 16:1-3)

Ravana attributes include absence of good behaviour, cleanliness, truth, absorbed in illusion and desire for sense gratification, engaging in unbeneficial, horrifying activities that is destructive to the World, attached to insatiable lust and absorbed in pride and false prestige due to lack of discrimination.

Those with Ravana or demonic attributes are engrossed in satisfying their sensory desires believing it to be prime importance. They are filled with anxiety bound by numerous desires, absorbed in lust and anger. They acquire money by illegal means for the purpose of sense gratification. (Ref The Bhagavad Gita: Ch 16).

My Inference:

Those who fight against the Ravana or demonic attributes both inside and outside him in the World becomes Ram The Warrior.

Those who fight against the Ram attributes both inside him and outside him in the World becomes Ravana The Warrior.

Then there are those who pretend to be Ram with hidden Ravana or demonic intentions. Such a person oscillates between the two states and lives life with a false purpose calling himself as GOD.

Choose not to follow those self acclaimed GODMEN. Try to follow and experience Eternal Truths of Life which cannot be destroyed. Just as Law of Gravitation existed even before its discovery, these Eternal Truths existed even before the creation of our Solar System. It is because of these Eternal truths which are the basis of the Sacred Vedas, great epics like The Ramayana, The Mahabharata , The Holy Bible, Holy Quran: Our Universe and our being exists today.

Ram or divine attributes are like pure water emanating from the top of a mountain. Every human being is born with these Ram: the divine attributes. Upon its passage from top of mountain to the surface of land, we accumulate impurities or dirt which has a label Ravana : the demonic attributes.

It is an analogy that we will not be able to see even our impression or mirror image clearly in impure water.If such is the case how can we able to see the Ram or divine nature of GOD that is embedded in our being which is called The Soul in the mind contaminated with impurities?

Meditation or Dhyana is the only way to purify our self from these contaminated impurities in our mind and to reach the divine state with which we are born with when we are a child.Meditation means complete isolation from this materialistic frenzied world to enter into the World of blissfulness that is inside us. That is why we close our eyes during meditation to see inside our being and to connect with the Soul.

Meditation is a channel in which Ram : an average human being can acquire special attributes like peace of mind, silence, self restraint, purity of thought, clarity etc & isolate himself from all the evils of this busy, materialistic, frenzied world. Meditation acts as a self Purifier.

An average human being needs a little dose of meditation every day to fight the Raavan or demonic attributes inside him to emerge as a divine being. This is one of the real goal of Life according to the Sacred Vedas.

This is one of the Eternal Truths which I inferred with the help of the great Epics : The Ramayana and The Bhagavad Gita which I have read a little bit whenever I got spare time.
My Friend! May you be blessed with an insight to know these eternal Truths and courage to pursue the same in your life.

Om Namah Shivaya: The sacred mantra which I started to utter to nurture the divinity inside me and to dispel the darkness.

Time:11.00 PM

Then the conductor shouted Koyembedu. It is the last stop in which I have to get down. I stepped out of the bus unwillingly as the same chorus of life will start again from the moment I stepped down. I would like to travel a lot to unseen places to explore a lot about our purpose of existence and to search for the Eternal Truths. In the hectic pace of life, I couldn’t find enough time. May be in the near future, I may find a suitable alternate career in Writing in which I can find lot of spare time. I already started writing a research based thriller novel based on Climate Change along with the help of two friends.

Sure this time I don’t want to let go this wonderful opportunity to awaken myself like I did many times. At some occasions, I may sound simply spiritualistic and at times getting distracted and wandering aimlessly over materialistic desires.

It’s high time I should start meditating to nurture the Ram: divinity inside me and to fight and destroy the Raavan inside me. Every time I plan to meditate but I fail to spare quality time other than during sleep till this day. But I am more confident this time. Let us see what will happen.

********************** A blog by Karthik *******************************

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