Look at some of the wonders in Alphabets and Numbers.
Take the Alphabets A, B, C and D.
Letters 'a', 'b', 'c' &’d’ do not appear anywhere in the spellings of 1 to 99
(Letter’d’ comes for the first time in Hundred)
Letters 'a', 'b' & 'c' do not appear anywhere in the spellings of 1 to 999
(Letter 'a' comes for the first time in thousand)
Letters 'b' & 'c' do not appear anywhere in the spellings of 1 to 999,999,999
(Letter 'b' comes for the first time in Billion)
And Letter 'c' does not appear anywhere in the spellings of entire English Counting
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Look at the beauty in the following combination of numbers!
1 x 8 + 1 = 9
12 x 8 + 2 = 98
123 x 8 + 3 = 987
1234 x 8 + 4 = 9876
12345 x 8 + 5 = 98765
123456 x 8 + 6 = 987654
1234567 x 8 + 7 = 9876543
12345678 x 8 + 8 = 98765432
123456789 x 8 + 9 = 987654321
1 x 9 + 2 = 11
12 x 9 + 3 = 111
123 x 9 + 4 = 1111
1234 x 9 + 5 = 11111
12345 x 9 + 6 = 111111
123456 x 9 + 7 = 1111111
1234567 x 9 + 8 = 11111111
12345678 x 9 + 9 = 111111111
123456789 x 9 +10= 1111111111
There seems to be some mystery behind these observations.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Goodbye 2008 and Welcome 2009!
Season's Greetings to all! It is the best time of the year to enjoy holidays and shop around for the best deals. As I write this, it looks as though I am sitting somewhere in the Himalayas with snow all around. What a beautiful sight! The trees look as if they are dipped in pure white snow. Water fronts are frozen. The ducks seem to have vanished. Wonder where they went in this cold!
In just a few days, we will say Goodbye to 2008 and get ready to welcome 2009. This is usually the time to review events in the current year. For me personally, it was a satisfying year as I had the opportunity to travel to India with my sahadharmini and visit places that I had always wanted to. My wife and I were really blessed to visit Pandharpur - the holy abode of Lord Panduranga in Maharashtra. It was the most exciting experience that I ever had.
Pandharpur is situated on the banks of River Bhima. As the river at this city flows in the shape of a crescent moon, it is called 'Chandrabhaga.' Standing on a small stone-platform is the black idol of Lord Pandurang, also called Vittal. The Lord is believed to be an avatar of Vishnu.Only at this place, I was fortunate to touch the idol's feet and bow my head at the feet of the Lord.
I can write a lot more on other places that I visited but then it would become a travelogue. My intention is just to share a few thoughts on 2008 and my hopes for 2009.
As an old saying goes "Always expect the unexpected." So it was with 2008. The year witnessed some of the most unexpected events such as:
-The subprime crisis in the US leading on to the crash of the financial markets globally.
-For the first time in the history of USA, a black American is elected to become the next president.
-The terror attacks in Mumbai killing over 170 people, and injuring hundreds.
-The steep fall of the oil prices after climbing a record high.
The media had a busy time churning out updates on all these events while people watched with varying emotions.
At the end of every year, I nurture the fond hope that the New Year will bring in peace,happiness and prosperity to all. For Hope is, according to Alexandre Dumas in his famous novel"The Three Musketeers", "the last thing extinguished in the heart of man."
So, with high hopes for a bright New Year, let me say "Welcome 2009!". May God bless all. Sarve Janah Sukhino Bhavantu! Let everyone be happy!
In just a few days, we will say Goodbye to 2008 and get ready to welcome 2009. This is usually the time to review events in the current year. For me personally, it was a satisfying year as I had the opportunity to travel to India with my sahadharmini and visit places that I had always wanted to. My wife and I were really blessed to visit Pandharpur - the holy abode of Lord Panduranga in Maharashtra. It was the most exciting experience that I ever had.
Pandharpur is situated on the banks of River Bhima. As the river at this city flows in the shape of a crescent moon, it is called 'Chandrabhaga.' Standing on a small stone-platform is the black idol of Lord Pandurang, also called Vittal. The Lord is believed to be an avatar of Vishnu.Only at this place, I was fortunate to touch the idol's feet and bow my head at the feet of the Lord.
I can write a lot more on other places that I visited but then it would become a travelogue. My intention is just to share a few thoughts on 2008 and my hopes for 2009.
As an old saying goes "Always expect the unexpected." So it was with 2008. The year witnessed some of the most unexpected events such as:
-The subprime crisis in the US leading on to the crash of the financial markets globally.
-For the first time in the history of USA, a black American is elected to become the next president.
-The terror attacks in Mumbai killing over 170 people, and injuring hundreds.
-The steep fall of the oil prices after climbing a record high.
The media had a busy time churning out updates on all these events while people watched with varying emotions.
At the end of every year, I nurture the fond hope that the New Year will bring in peace,happiness and prosperity to all. For Hope is, according to Alexandre Dumas in his famous novel"The Three Musketeers", "the last thing extinguished in the heart of man."
So, with high hopes for a bright New Year, let me say "Welcome 2009!". May God bless all. Sarve Janah Sukhino Bhavantu! Let everyone be happy!
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Lord Ganesha
What better way other than starting the New Year with prayers to Lord Ganesha who is believed to be the destroyer of all obstacles.
Most Hindu rituals begin with the chants " Shuklambaradaram Vishnum Shashivarnam Chaturbhujam, Prasanna Vadanam Dyayath Sarva Vigna Upashantaye". In this short prayer, Lord Ganesha is described as one who wears white garments (Shuklambaradaram), who is omnipresent (Vishnum), moon-colored (Shashivarnam), having four arms (Chaturbhujam), and a charming face (Prasanna Vadanam). The prayer seeks Lord Ganesha's blessings to remove all obstacles (Sarva Vigna Upashantaye).
In Tamil Nadu, it is common to see the idol of Lord Ganesha, also called Vinayaka, installed at public places such as street sidewalks/junctions and near tree trunks. Such locations are very convenient for the people in great hurry who prefer to have a quick 'darshan' without any time-consuming rituals.
The installation of one Ganesha idol on the street side seems understandable, and adequate. However, in some of the way-side temples in Chennai, I have seen two idols of Ganesha installed side-by-side. It was strange to me as with many others too. For a long time, I used to wonder why two idols for the same God at the same place? What is really the significance of installing twin Ganeshas in the same place? The Sankaracharya of Kanchi known as "Mahaperiyaval" offers an interesting explanation in the "Deivathin Kural" (Vol.6). Let me share a brief summary of what I have learnt.
There are two idols of Ganesha because they perform diametrically opposite functions. One of them is "Vignaraaja" - He creates vignams or obstacles, while the other is "Vinaayaka" who removes the obstacles; both seemingly opposite functions.
The commonly held belief is that Lord Ganesha is the remover of obstacle. Does it not sound strange that Ganesha also creates obstacles? Not really because the obstacle He creates is really a blessing in disguise. Due to Poorva karmas, it is possible that one can face a major or disastrous obstacle in the course of carrying out a task. In order to avoid it, Ganesha is the form of Vignarajah creates a small obstacle - like a speed breaker to avoid a collision. Thereby, He blesses the devotee to channelize the efforts in carrying on the task further avoiding a major obstacle. It's like giving a medicine to stir up a disease before curing it.
So, Lord Ganesha is a "Vigna Kartha" -one who creates obstacles and also a "Vigna Hartha" - one who destroys obstacles. Next time when you face a small obstacle in anything you do, take it as a blessing!
Remember Vignaraajo Vinaayakah. On that note and prayers to Lord Ganesha, let us begin a peaceful, prosperous and joyful New Year!
Most Hindu rituals begin with the chants " Shuklambaradaram Vishnum Shashivarnam Chaturbhujam, Prasanna Vadanam Dyayath Sarva Vigna Upashantaye". In this short prayer, Lord Ganesha is described as one who wears white garments (Shuklambaradaram), who is omnipresent (Vishnum), moon-colored (Shashivarnam), having four arms (Chaturbhujam), and a charming face (Prasanna Vadanam). The prayer seeks Lord Ganesha's blessings to remove all obstacles (Sarva Vigna Upashantaye).
In Tamil Nadu, it is common to see the idol of Lord Ganesha, also called Vinayaka, installed at public places such as street sidewalks/junctions and near tree trunks. Such locations are very convenient for the people in great hurry who prefer to have a quick 'darshan' without any time-consuming rituals.
The installation of one Ganesha idol on the street side seems understandable, and adequate. However, in some of the way-side temples in Chennai, I have seen two idols of Ganesha installed side-by-side. It was strange to me as with many others too. For a long time, I used to wonder why two idols for the same God at the same place? What is really the significance of installing twin Ganeshas in the same place? The Sankaracharya of Kanchi known as "Mahaperiyaval" offers an interesting explanation in the "Deivathin Kural" (Vol.6). Let me share a brief summary of what I have learnt.
There are two idols of Ganesha because they perform diametrically opposite functions. One of them is "Vignaraaja" - He creates vignams or obstacles, while the other is "Vinaayaka" who removes the obstacles; both seemingly opposite functions.
The commonly held belief is that Lord Ganesha is the remover of obstacle. Does it not sound strange that Ganesha also creates obstacles? Not really because the obstacle He creates is really a blessing in disguise. Due to Poorva karmas, it is possible that one can face a major or disastrous obstacle in the course of carrying out a task. In order to avoid it, Ganesha is the form of Vignarajah creates a small obstacle - like a speed breaker to avoid a collision. Thereby, He blesses the devotee to channelize the efforts in carrying on the task further avoiding a major obstacle. It's like giving a medicine to stir up a disease before curing it.
So, Lord Ganesha is a "Vigna Kartha" -one who creates obstacles and also a "Vigna Hartha" - one who destroys obstacles. Next time when you face a small obstacle in anything you do, take it as a blessing!
Remember Vignaraajo Vinaayakah. On that note and prayers to Lord Ganesha, let us begin a peaceful, prosperous and joyful New Year!
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