My experience of the Vedic Wisdom.

I grew up in Maharashtra, India – the land of ancient Vedic tradition. It is a part of the world that worships the five elements and hundreds of deities bearing different names. 

As a kid, I have seen many poor communities that lived happily and harmoniously without any luxuries. Such communities included people from different backgrounds, earning their living through inherited skills like in carpentry, weaving, pottery, metal work and so on. Once a week, a washerman picked up laundry from our home and returned it the following week washed, ironed and neatly folded. There were 'Tongawalas' who earned livelihood by driving a horse cart. There was an elderly Muslim gentleman who rode over 20 miles every day on his bicycle to deliver newspapers and magazines. A barber came home occasionally to give us a haircut. A carpenter made us a cricket bat and benches from waste wood for a song! The grocer gave us credit, fully trusting us. A fruit vendor on his bicycle sold us fruits. There were numerous small tradesmen who made a honest living selling all kinds of wares  and services door-to-door. There were travelling salesman who used to sell salt, cloth, bangles, aluminium utensils, cheap toys, ice cream etc. A kalaivala used to amuse the kids by setting up a shop on the ground.

Each of them was very happy pursuing his profession and we loved them for their dedication to work. In general, workers had pride in their workmanship and most importantly were contented. Being happy was primary. Earning money was secondary.

The primary school I studied at had no electric gadgets like fans, television or telephones. People believed in nature as the Almighty that provides resources for living. It was considered a sin to sell water or spit into it. I have witnessed people greeting each other by chanting the Lord’s name “Ram Ram.” Disputes in villages were often amicably settled in a ‘panchayat’ – a small court headed by the village chieftain – without any paperwork.

Social practices too had a code of behavior. It was considered a duty for sons to take care of old parents. Divorce was almost unheard of. At home, parents encouraged kids to wake up before sunrise and offer prayers. Every morning and evening, oil lamps must be lit at home. People believed (many still do) that some plants and trees like Tulasi, Neem, Bilva, Peepal, were divine. Even a blade of grass is a divine fit for offering to Lord Ganesha.

For most of us, life was simple, smooth and fun. Such was the great Wisdom of Vedic Tradition!

The Art of Aging

 Am I getting older? No. I am just chronologically gifted! in fact, I feel proud to be a member of the octogenarian club.

What is the Art of Aging? Art refers to a certain skill. So, the Art of Aging means the skill to age gracefully and face reality.

Most people fear old age. Whether you like it or not, aging happens since the day you were born. You need to accept growing old; it is inevitable. 

It is a part of life. If you are 80+ like me, think you are among the lucky ones to survive past 80.

You have entered a new phase of learning. Regardless of how you have lived in the past, you will gain new perspectives about life.

No doubt, you will face new challenges, both physically and mentally.A lot of weird stuff may be happening to your body. Lifting weights, running or climbing the stairs aren't exactly things to do after 80. Your food menu may change - not by choice but more by necessity. You may tend to forget many things like your glasses, keys and names. People around you may start treating lightly of what you say-some may become indifferent. 

You have more time to pursue things that make you happy. There are many things that can engage you positively with least disturbance to others. Enjoy the beauty of nature around you- see the wonderful colors of leaves and flowers, listen to the birds chirping, admire the beauty and innocense of little children, grow small plants and get excited when you harvest a produce -there are so many such nice pastimes for you. 

If you are a religious person, you can perform a puja at home or read some shlokas. If you are good in expressing yourself, write articles of interest.

Choose your attitude - Be always positive in your thinking and talking. Try and enjoy the food you eat even if it is not your favourite. Gauge how people feel when they are with you. Do they feel comfortable? Laugh with them, inspire them, encourage them and bless them for a wonderful life. Avoid arguments.

In Mahabharata, there is an interesting epiosde called "Yaksha Prashna." In this episode, Yama Dharmaraja in the form of an Yaksha asks many questions to Yudhisthira, the eldest of Pandavas. I recall two of the questions and answers that seem most relevant to seniors:

Question: What is the most surprising thing in this world?

Answer: The most surprising thing is, though all humans know they are mortal, everybody goes about their life as if they are going to live forever.

Question: What is the greatest happiness?

Answer: Contentment

Remember these wonderful responses by the wise Yudishtra.

In short, the Art of Aging is to find your own ways to enter the most exciting and perhaps the final phase of life!

Remembering My Mother

Twentyfive years ago, my beloved mother breathed her last on the last day of the year 1996. She was the most important person in shaping me. I remember her often and would like to write about her in this blog.

My mother was born in the year 1916 at Soolamangalam, a small village near Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu. She was named Gomathy in remembrance of her family's 'Kuladeivam' (family deity at Sankarankoil). Her father Sankaran and grandfather Swaminathan were rich Mirasdars (agricultural landlords) who lived in the village for generations. Because of a family feud, Sankaran lost much of his property and died young leaving his widow and eight children in the care of his father. 

In those days, people got married at young age. My mother got married when she was barely fourteen. My father had just entered college then. They lived together for a short time when misfortune struck again. Most unexpectedly, my paternal grandfather who was a practising doctor passed away. The burden of the family fell on my father's shoulder. It took some years of separation and distress for my parents. My mother was unfazed with all the struggles she had to endure. 

I was born soon after my father got a government job at cordite factory in Nilgiris. My family then moved to Kirkee, a suburb of Pune, where my father worked  at the High Explosives factory until his retirement. Much of memory revolves around my childhood days in Pune.

My mother was an exceedingly talented person. She was a good home maker. Her self-taught talents included cooking, stitching, crochet, embroidery, rangoli, home medicines and more. She made the most productive use of time. Best of all, she was a born leader and organizer. She leveraged her qualities to launch a women's association called Vanitha Vilas Ladies Club. Her objective was to engage the ladies in learning many skills to become more useful to their families and the community. Using a rented a bicycle, she taught the ladies to ride it. She borrowed a sewing machine and helped the members sew simple clothes at home. The picture shows a group of ladies and kids in the early stages of the club. She encouraged the ladies to participate sports like ring tennis and shuttlecock. Assembling the kids around, she organized cultural events that included drama and dancing. I recall that she took us on a field trip to the Paisa Fund Glass Factory in Talegaon. We all had loads of fun! 

One of her great qualities was to be clear and honest in conversations. Friends liked her and sought her advice. She had the gift to patch up broken relationships. Among many things I learnt from her, the most important are courage, honesty and integrity. 

I cannot describe her fully. To say in just one line, she was a wonderful human being. On this last day of the year, I fondly remember her and pay my humble tributes to her. She was a great and rare mother. Indeed, I am proud of her. I really love you, Amma! 

Ministers and Manners

 This blog is an interesting story that my father had told me. It is set in the years 1932-33. My father had just graduated in Chemistry from Annamalai University. He desperately wanted a job. It was very difficult to get a job those days. Madras (now Chennai) was the Mecca for job seekers as there were many companies. So, my father set out to seek his fortunes in Madras. Instead of mailing his CV, he went door-to-door visiting many companies. In one of the foreign companies dealing with chemicals, the English manager was kind enough to grant him an interview. On seeing my father, the first question he asked was, "Are you a buyer or seller?" My father replied, "Neither I am just a job-seeker." 'Ok. I see" said the boss, "Tell me what you can do for me?" My father reeled out his academic credentials. The English boss was unimpressed. He pointed to the books on a nearby shelf and said, " Youngman, whatever you told me now is all within my arms reach. So, why should I hire you? Can you develop a chemical formulation and sell it?" End of interview. No job.

 Totally disappointed and frustrated, my father looked at the newspapers. He chanced to read an ad. from the Indian Express seeking reporters. He applied and got the job. Added to the salary was a bonus in offering tuitions to the big boss Ramnath Goenka's young son. So, my father started his first job as a journalist.

The Editor Kasa Subbarao asked my father to interview Mr. P.T. Rajan (grandfather of present DMK minister P.T. Rajan) who was then a minister in the Justice Party Government. The Justice Party was the ideological predecessor of the Dravidar Kazhagam (DK). Smartly dressed, my father visited the office of Mr. P.T. Rajan. An attendant ushered him into a waiting room and went to inform the minister about his seeking an interview. My father waited patiently. After a long wait, the minister came out. Brushing past my father without even a glance, he shouted at the attendant, "Hey, you come here, haven't I told you not to let any dog from Indian Express to enter this premises?" My father got the hint and walked out quietly.

 Back at the Indian Express office, my father gave a tearful report of the humiliating incident to the editor. The Editor was a smart man. He calmed down my father and said, "Don't worry. Such insults are quite common in a journalistic career. But you know, the pen is mightier than the sword. Watch me, I will teach the minister a lesson." 

The next day, the Indian Express carried an editorial titled, "Ministers and Manners" lashing out at the minister's way of treating a media representative.

How to Live Happily?

People have been searching for an answer to this eternal question since times immemorial. Who does not want to be happy? Every day, we are being bombarded with a variety of messages from writers, politicians, priests, journalists, advertisers, film makers and others promising happiness. Do they really work? 

During my younger days, I dreamt of leading a very happy life. In pursuit of my goal, I read many self-improvement books that provided tips on how to lead a happy life. Most of these books were written by Americans, with catchy titles to attract ambitious people like me. The first book I bought was titled, "How to Win Friends and Influence People?" This book, written by Dale Carnegie, is reportedly been purchased more than thirty million times. I was greatly inspired by this book and was almost sure it will lead me to the path of success in my career and life, and then on to eternal happiness. The book was good, but it did not work for me as expected. I was worried that happiness was elusive but did not give up hope. So, I bought a second book by the same author. It was on "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living?" This book promised to grab worry by the horns and wrestle it to the ground, thus paving the way to happiness. Alas, this book too did not help me much as I was married then and worried about finding a decent flat to start living with my young wife in the city of Bombay. 

Being a firm believer in the power of optimism, I did not easily give up. I read more books, sought the advice of my seniors, saw inspiring movies, heard lectures on Bhagavad Gita- anything that held the potential to make me happy. The net result was confusion, a sense of fear and insecurity about the future. Many questions arose in my mind - like how Americans are wealthy and happy while India with all the holy religious leaders continued to struggle in poverty and unhappiness.  

It took me long time to realize what went wrong. I was trying to mimick the life of some successful people banking upon false values like fashionable life, material possessions, social reputation, and so on. I thought Americans are very happy as portrayed in the TV commercials, particularly the ones promoting drugs. The truth is many of them are really worried and depressed. One has to merely see the TV news on the number of shootings and violence that take place everyday. 

Interestingly, many poor Indians seem to be really happy for no reason to be happy. Just see the most beautiful smiles of poor children in India. Their parents struggle to make a living and yet are supremely happy. So, clearly money, materials and fame do not make one really happy. As my father used to say, "You can buy the most expensive bed in the world; it still does not guarantee you sound peaceful sleep."

So, how to live happily? You know that happiness is a state of mind. It does not come in 'fit all' forms. Every person is born different. So, happiness is also different to each one. To a child, even a cheap toy can bring happiness. One has to find happines by looking within. You cannot be happy by looking at others and comparing. Do some "Atma Vicharam" (Self-introspection) and discover your own inherent strengths and leverage them for activities that make you happy. Enjoy simple things in life like playing with a child and listening to music. Take a walk looking at birds, animals, plants and flowers. 

In short, make a change and start living a life based on your honest feelings. You will slowly find peace within yourself. After all, you are the one responsible for your happiness, and you alone can discover it!

Japan - The Land of the Rising Sun

Last week, I visited Japan after a lapse of 36 years. I enjoyed pleasant nostalgic memories of my earlier trips including my orientation in Japanese language, the long technical training at Mitsubishi Electric in Kobe and later at the Japanese management training program. I found Japan has not changed much - it still remains an unique country that combines tradition and modernity.

The Japanese Emperor is revered and lives in a grand Imperial Palace. The palace has many gardens and I had the time and opportunity to visit the Eastern Gardens of the Imperial Palace. Like you see some places in India, the palace has a moat around it. (see picture alongside).

The Royalty and the people of Japan love nature. You can witness this love of nature exhibited in many forms - like in art, colorful paintings, roof gardens, sculpture and others. Ikebana - the art of flower arrangement is an example. The Japanese have maintained a continuity of traditions along with amazing transformations of the country through technology.

The Vedas proclaim "Aham Brahmāsmi (I am the Universe). Each one us is a part of the Almighty. Like the dew on each blade of grass shines like a gem reflecting the Sun, each of us have the sparkling Jeevatma in us. So, it is in Japan - the land of the rising Sun.

Buddhism, an offshoot of Hinduism, originated in India and later spread to Japan. Vedas too got transmitted to Japan by the sea route from South India and Southeast Asia. In fact, a year ago, a delegation of 150 Vedic priests conducted a grand yagya at Mount Fuji in Japan to cleanse the environmental problems faced by Japan. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A--V8NV4eyc).

There is some similarity between Sanskrit (Samskrutam to be correct) and Japanese languages. I noticed it in some words - like we say  "homa" in Sanskrit to describe the Vedic ritual fire; in Japanese they call it "goma." The priest is called "achari" in Japanese - similar to "Acharya" (teacher) in Sanskrit.

I derive great inspiration from Japan and can go on and on with many more observations. This is just to share my immediate thoughts soon after I returned to India from Japan.

If you have any comments, please feel free to write to me. Dhanyavaadah!

The Power of Fire

Today, through the courtesy of abc News, I watched the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in London. The Most Rev. Michael Bruce Curry, the presiding bishop of the American Episcopal Church, delivered an amazing sermon that included the following references to the revoloutionary power of fire:

"French Jesuit Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was arguably one of the great minds, one of the great spirits of the 20th century. A Jesuit, Roman Catholic priest, scientist, a scholar, a mystic. In some of his writings, he said from his scientific background as well as his theological one. In some of his writings, he said as others have, that the discovery or invention or harnessing of fire was one of the great scientific and technological discoveries in all of human history. Fire to a great extent made human civilization possible. Fire made it possible to cook food and to provide sanitary ways of eating which reduced the spread of disease in its time. Fire made it possible to heat warm environments and thereby made human migration around the world a possibility, even into colder climates. Fire made it possible, there was no Bronze Age without fire, no Iron Age without fire, no industrial revolution without fire. The advances of science and technology are greatly dependent on the human ability and capacity to take fire and use it for human good.

Anybody get here in a car today? An automobile? Nod your heads if you did, I’m guessing, I know there were some carriages. But those of us who came in cars, the controlled harnessed fire made that possible. I know that the Bible says, and I believe it, that Jesus walked on the water, but I have to tell you I didn’t walk across the Atlantic Ocean to get here. Controlled fire in that plane got me here. Fire makes it possible for us to text and tweet and email and Instagram and Facebook and socially be dysfunctional with each other. Fire makes all of that possible and de Chardin said that fire was one of the greatest discoveries in all of human history. And he then went on to say that if humanity every harnesses the energy of fire again, if humanity ever captures the energy of love, it will be the second time in history that we have discovered fire."

Let me draw a parallel with the beliefs in Hinduism. For Hindus, Fire is considered as most sacred. Called Agni in Sanskrit, fire is central to all vedic rituals. In the Rig Veda, Agni is the first of the cosmic gods to be invoked; The very first sloka (verse) of Rig Veda reads:

अग्निमीळे पुरोहितं यज्ञस्य देवमृत्विजम् ।
होतारं रत्नधातमम् ॥१॥
Agnimeele purohitam yagyasya devamrtvijam |
hotaaram ratnadhaatamam ||1||

Roughly translated, Agni meele means “I praise Agni.” Purohitam yagyasya means “the priest of the sacrifice.” Devam means divine and rtvijam is the priest who officiates at the sacrifice. Hotaram refers to the priest who invokes -the Invoker. Ratnadha means “the one who bestows the jewel of ecstasy or the inner physical, mental and spiritual wealth, the nectar"; tamam is the superlative of Ratnadha. So, in short, the first verse in the Rig Veda dedicated to fire god Agni means:

“O Agni, I praise Thee,
O priest, O divine minister
Who officiates at the divine Sacrifice,
Who is also the invoker, the Summoner,
Who most bestows the divine wealth upon us.”

About two hundred verses in the Rig Veda extol the virtues of Agni. We embody Agni, the flame of aspiration, in our hearts. All forms of fire are associated with Agni including the sun, lightning, sacrificial fire, domestic fires, and the digestive fire (jaataraagni) which is within all living beings. Fire is considered a witness in Hindu ceremonies such as marriages. Fire is used to cremate the dead in the Antima Sanskar - the final rites. Fire is an unique element as it cannot be polluted. To keep the fire burning at home, we light oil lamps.

The Persians too built fire temples on their mountaintops and echoed similar thoughts in their most ancient scripture, the Zend Avesta: “We worship the Fire, the son of God, the holy lord of the ritual order. And we worship all the Fires and the mountain that holds the light. And we worship every holy celestial spirit and every holy earthly spirit."

Bishop Michael Curry's sermon highlighted the power of fire. It matches well with the basic teachings of Hinduism. To quote Rig Veda again,

"O Agni! Master Strength! O Leader! You gather around all the peoples of the world and bind them together. You burn bright in the high seat of Revelation. You bring us all the Riches."

May the Power of Fire continue to serve us as a source of constant inspiration and enlightenment!