150th Birth Anniversary Celebrations of Swami Vivekananda in German

One of the German Students of our Vivekananda Institute of Languages has researched and submitted a paper on the 150th Birth Anniversary Celebrations of Swami Vivekananda in German.

http://issuu.com/sriramakrishna/docs/a_paper_presentation_in_german_on_150_birth_annive

Her name is Ms. Vijaya Madhavi, II Diploma, Sep-Dec 2011. the Seminar was conducted on 16th November 2011 Wed. Please click and follow the link. My thanks to Swami Anupamanandaji for making a historic moment for the German Student as well as the German Department.

Today's Headlines

Just put your mouse on a city anywhere in the world and the newspaper headlines pop up...

Double click and the page gets larger...you can read the entire paper on some if you click on the right place.

You can spend forever here

http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/flash/
Also, if you look at the European papers, the far left side of Germany will pop up as The Stars & Stripes (European edition, of course). AND, this site changes every day with the publication of new editions of the paper.

Hope you enjoy this.

The Human Clock

The Human Clock

This is extremely clever and it does actually work ! Both formats

And actually on correct time. Who conceives this stuff and puts it together, eh..

Click anywhere in the clock and it becomes Digital, another click and it returns to normal. Fascinating..

Don’t miss the human clock. Fantastichttp://lovedbdb.com/nudemenClock/index2.html

Meet Mr Sandeep Bachhe in his auto rickshaw: MH-02-Z-8508

This is the mail of one Mr. Rohit AmbErkar on Facebook

Meet this wonderful Mumbaikar.

Qualities of an Exemplary Human being. Exact Narration by an auto-rickshaw passenger, Suvendu Roy of Titan Industries, who shares his inspirational encounter with a rickshaw driver in Mumbai:

One Sunday, my wife, kid, and I had to travel to Andheri from Bandra. When I waved at a passing auto rickshaw, little did I expect that this ride would be any different... I looked in front and there was a small TV. The driver had put on the Doordarshan channel. My wife and I looked at each other with disbelief and amusement. In front of me was a small first-aid box with cotton, dettol and some medicines. This was enough for me to realize that I was in a special vehicle. Then I looked round again, and discovered more - there was a radio, fire extinguisher, wall clock, calendar, and pictures and symbols of all faiths - from Islam and Christianity to Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism. There were also pictures of the heroes of 26/11- Kamte, Salaskar, Karkare and Unnikrishnan. I realized that not only my vehicle, but also my driver was special. I started chatting with him and the initial sense of ridicule and disbelief gradually diminished. I gathered that he had been driving an auto rickshaw for the past 8-9 years; he had lost his job when his employer's plastic company was shut down. He had two school-going children, and he drove from 8 in the morning till 10 at night. No break unless he was unwell. "Sahab, ghar mein baith ke T.V dekh kar kya faida? Do paisa income karega toh future mein kaam aayega." We realized that we had come across a man who represents Mumbai – the spirit of work, the spirit of travel and the spirit of excelling in life. I asked him whether he does anything else as I figured that he did not have too much spare time. He said that he goes to an old age home for women in Andheri once a week or whenever he has some extra income, where he donates tooth brushes, toothpastes, soap, hair oil, and other items of daily use. He pointed out to a painted message below the meter that read: "25 per cent discount on metered fare for the handicapped. Free rides for blind passengers up to Rs. 50. My wife and I were struck with awe. The man was a HERO! A hero who deserves all our respect!!! Our journey came to an end; 45 minutes of a lesson in humility, selflessness, and of a hero-worshipping Mumbai, my temporary home. We disembarked, and all I could do was to pay him a tip that would hardly cover a free ride for a blind man.

I hope, one day, you too have a chance to meet Mr Sandeep Bachhe in his auto rickshaw: MH-02-Z-8508.

Cute Photos from Facebook

Rajani's Movie in GERMAN

The German name of the movie is: Der Geisterjäger. A Comedy scene is taken from the movie. Watch and enjoy. Guess the name of the original movie? If you have watched it you shall certainly know it.

Train loses track, turns up at wrong station

It Passed Through 3 Stations Before Reaching Warangal Where The Gaffe Was Noticed

This news item was published in The Times of India on 08th September 2011

Vijayawada: Once an atheist from Japan toured India. After returning home, he wrote: “Now, I strongly believe that God exists. Otherwise, it is not humanly possible to see the trains running and criss-crossing all over India.” Though it could have been a cruel joke, the Indian Railways has always lived up to the adage.

In a hilarious incident, an express train lost its way and ended up at a wrong destination and the authorities realised the mistake only after the passengers started screaming about the train’s “changed” path. Curiously, the train passed through three railway divisions before the gaffe was noticed and top bosses in all the three divisions were now searching for ‘scapegoats’ at the field level to escape the axe.

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), which runs special trains between pilgrim destinations, planned a train from Tirupati to Varanasi via Bhubaneswar. The special train left Tirupati around 7 pm on Tuesday and reached Vijayawada at 8.30 am on Wednesday. Around 1 pm, the train chugged into Kazipet station in Warangal, even as the bewildered passengers looked on helplessly.

The furious passengers informed the station authorities, who immediately alerted the divisional officers at Secunderabad. The mistake was noticed only after a divisional operations manager in Secunderabad swung into action and asked the authorities at Vijayawada to revert the train to Vijayawada for its onward journey to Bhubaneswar via Vizag section. Since it was a special train, many of the on-duty staffers were not aware of the train schedule either.

While the train was given clearance to chug back to Vijayawada much to the delight of the harried passengers, the top officials of Guntakal, Vijayawada and Secunderabad divisions had three-hour teleconference wherein it was found that a communication gap had led the train on to the wrong route. The authorities at the Guntakal division (under which Tirupati station functions), who handed over the train to Vijayawada division officials at Renigunta station, had wrongly mentioned the destination station code resulting in the chaos.

They mentioned the code of Bilaspur station (BSP) instead of Bhubaneswar (BBS) during the handing over of the train chart, leading the officials at Vijayawada to allow the train to take the Warangal route for the journey to Bilaspur. The train left Gudur station around midnight.

“We have allowed the train to take the Warangal section as it was the original route for Bilaspur. There was no fault on our part,” defended a senior official at Vijayawada station.

After realising the major goof up, the authorities brought the train back to Vijayawada to proceed to Bhubaneswar for its onward journey to Varanasi. “No senior official could not notice the mistake immediately as it was not a scheduled train,” said a senior official. In fact, even passengers had no clue about the wrong path as several of them were in deep sleep after the train left Vijayawada.

Warangal station superintendent Jayakumar requisitioned a separate engine to change the direction of the special train after nearly 1,000 passengers rushed to his cabin. “I do not know as to who has allowed the train in Warangal section. But once Vijayawada division cleared the signal for the special train, we allowed it travel back,” he said.

“Though the journey was agonizing, we thank our stars that the train did not run into another train though it had taken the wrong route,” said a passenger, trying to steal a smile.

Surrendering To Puri Jagannath

This article appeared in The Times of India on 05^th JUL 2011 (Tue)

by Ratnottama Sengupta

Lord Jagannath resides in Puri on the shores of the turbulent Bay of Bengal. Once a year he comes out of the temple and devotees vie with one another, trying to pull the cord of his commanding chariot. The rest of the year, a restricted crowd gets a glimpse of him inside the distinctive temple, the only one in the world devoted to siblings: the reigning deity at all other places of worship are consorts or mother and child.

Many moons ago, a senior journalist from Hyderabad was in Bhubaneswar. When she expressed a desire to visit the Lord in Puri, she was informed that she could not gain entry for only Hindus were allowed. “Let me see the outside then,” she said, and made her way to the temple. Walking around, admiring the architecture, her eyes fell on a man beckoning her. “Want to go in?” She nodded and followed him silently as he led her through a maze of doors and courtyards. Not a word was exchanged, not even when the lights went out without warning. When the bulbs came alive just as suddenly, she found herself in the garbhagriha, face-to-face with the main idol whose magnificence overwhelmed her. “Ya Allah!” she exclaimed in sheer admiration as the experience could not be described in words.
What is so special about this image of Krishna at Puri? Why was Sri Chaitanya of Nadia – considered an avatar of Vishnu, no less – willing to give up everything for a darshan of Jagannath? Why do crowds throng the temple despite the heat and dust, the confined space, and the exploits of pandas? Doubtless, it is the allure of the icons of Jagannath, Subhadra and Balaram. The figures are crafted in wood that comes from an uncontaminated tree with distinctive marks. What is less known is that periodically the idol ‘dies’, like any human. But what prompted the craftsman to create an ‘imperfect’ God? A damaged idol is normally immersed in water. The Puri idols have very large, round eyes without eyelashes, and stubs for hands without fingers.
One story says that an Orissa king asked an artisan to make an idol of Krishna that no one in the universe had ever seen. He agreed, on one condition: he would not be disturbed by anyone as long as he worked on the image. “Granted,” said the king. But when days lapsed into weeks and months, the queen could not contain her curiosity. One day she forced open the door and entered the room. Immediately the craftsman left, leaving the icons incomplete, never to return.
“Think,” said my guide. “Who are the people who have no eyelashes, or have mere stubs for fingers?”
In a flash i was reminded of Shamba, Krishna’s son who had travelled to Konark because he had contracted leprosy. “Those days, there was no cure for leprosy. Only those who could take a dip in the holy waters of the Chandrabhaga during a solar eclipse benefited from certain properties in the refracted rays of the sun at that position. That is why leprosy patients travelled here from far and wide.”
It became clear to me that the enlightened artisan had given form to the saying: “Bhakter bojha bhagawan dhoye” – “The Lord takes upon himself the suffering of his devotees and absolves them when they surrender to him.”

Vivekananda Express

I had the great privilege of seeing the "Vivekananda Express" today (29th May '11 SUN) at Secunderabad Railway Station platform 10. Below are some photos of my visit and a news report of the same (from IBNTV.com). Further browse this link: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1999971192332.128941.1035108361

HYDERABAD: Vivekananda Express, an exhibition train showcasing the life, works and teachings of Swami Vivekananda was opened by Swami Anupananda, director of Ramakrishna Mission for public viewing on Saturday on platform no. 10 of the Secunderabad station.

The exhibition will be open from 10 a.m to 6 p.m till May 30. The opening day saw a large footfall of visitors. Vivekananda Express was flagged off by Mamata Banerji, the then minister of Railways on January 12 from Howrah station on the occasion of 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.

The special exhibition train has air-conditioned coaches with special exhibits such as photographs, write-ups and others elucidating the life and philosophy of Swami Vivekananda. After its exhibition at Kakinada Port station for three days, the Vivekananda Express arrived Secunderabad Station. It will next move to Khammam, where it will dock from May 31 to June 1, at Vijayawada from June 2 to 5 and at Guntur from June 6 to 9.

The West plays with Hindu imagery again

This article was published in The Times of India on 08th May 2011 Sun

Look at these dirty pictures:

More ‘Godly’ shoes

These pictures are a testimony to the westerners' careless attitude towards Hindu gods. Do indians ever try to depict such pictures of Jesus C

hirst??? Let me express my regards. I sincerely beg your pardon if I have hurt your sentiments. I am terribly moved by this act of theirs.

For details of the article, click on the folllowing link:

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?skin=pastissues2&enter=LowLevel

Do not be sleep deprived

This article was published in The Times of India on 07th May 2011 Sat

Practise the following tips to get sound sleep
Dr Anand recommends:

• Regular Sleep-wake Schedules Avoid caffeine four to six hours before bed time.
• Do not smoke, especially nearing bed time or if one is awake in the night.
• Avoid heavy meals for dinner.
• Get regular exercise Minimise noise, light and excessive hot and cold temperatures where one sleeps.
• Try to wake up without an alarm clock.
• Attempt to go to bed earlier every night for a certain period of time.

This will ensure that you’re getting enough sleep.

For the detailed article, click the following link:

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?skin=pastissues2&enter=LowLevel

The Revival Of Bhakti - Sri Ramanujacharya's Life History

This article was published in The Times of India on 07th May 2011 Sat in the column Speaking Tree

The Revival Of Bhakti

Sangeeta Venkatesh

Aguru wondered whether his student was worthy of receiving the ashtakshara mantra that would release him from earthly ills. After much deliberation, he finally disclosed it, but only after wresting a promise from him that it would not be revealed to others. The student pondered over the mantra and the next day, went atop the village temple and announced the mantra to a large gathering that had collected there. The guru, furious, said that the worst hell awaited him. To which the student replied, ‘If this act of mine delivers thousands to heaven, i do not mind going to hell.’ Thrilled, the guru hugged his disciple. The guru was Saint Tirukkottiyur Nambi.Ramanuja was born in a Vaishnava family at Sriperambudur, near Kanchipuram. His own teacher, Yadavaprakash, felt threatened by the clarity and extent of his knowledge and so decided to kill him. However, due to divine grace Ramanujacharya survived. Ramanujacharya was against the caste system. He took an illiterate but knowledgeable saint, Kanchipurna as his teacher. One night Ramanuja invited Kanchipurna to his house. After serving him food, Ramanuja offered to wash his feet. Kanchipurna was embarrassed as Ramanuja was a Brahmin. An upset Ramanuja declared that one who was devoted to God was beyond any social order. Ramanuja expounded the Vishishtha Advaita philosophy – qualified non-dualism. It talks of a personal God who is one and only one (non-dual), but vishishtha, one with unique attributes. It says that the Supreme Being is ‘soul of all souls’. He explained that there were three factors of interplay: God or Brahmn, we or jivatmas, nature or prakriti. He further explained that God manifests in two modes: Chit or sentient, living beings and achit or non-sentient, without consciousness. Brahmn along with these two modes formed the Tattva Traya or the threefold doctrine of Vishishtha Advaita philosophy that established an organic relationship of oneness of the universe and individual souls along with Brahmn. Individual selves are sparks of the divine and the world is no illusion. This philosophy is an integral part of Sri Vaishnavism, which says that Sriman Narayana is Paratattva, Supreme Truth. He is the abode of all life and is antaryamin, the internal controller. He is easily approachable and responds to his devotee’s loving devotion. The philosophy is theistic and says Brahmn is the union of Vishnu and Lakshmi (Sri), the father and mother elements, respectively. Ramanuja was deeply influenced by the 12 alwars or Vaishnavite poet-saints, who were immersed in bhakti or devotion towards Narayana. Through bhakti, Ramanujacharya advocated saranagati or total surrender to God. Indeed, Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita advises Arjuna to rise above the lesser dharmas or duties which keep the soul bound to matter. He urges Arjuna to 'surrender all unto me and I shall free you from fears, bondage and sorrows'. The act of surrender is termed as saranagati, which forms the nucleus of the vishistha advaita philosophy, and is referred to as the prapatti yoga. In deference to Yamunacharya’s wishes, Ramanujacharya wrote the Sribhashya, a commentary on the Brahmasutras, Gita Bhashya, Saranagati Gadyam, among many other works. He travelled all over India and standardised the liturgy at many temples including the Sri Venkateshwara temple at Tirupati, and the Cheluvanarayana temple at Melkote, Karnataka, where he spent a major part of his life.

Today is Ramanuja Jayanti.(Akshya Tritya)

Don’t depend on brokers and middle men - Indian government is totally online

The following information was sent to me by my student: Vinay Chakravarty II Diploma German Jun-Sep '11. I thought it is very useful so I have published it here. I thank him once again for sending such a useful mail then sending thrash junk mails to be circulated among others for no special cause.

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