Of the festival of Lights ....Happy Diwali Folks!

Asato ma sadgamaya
Tamaso ma jyotirgamaya
Mrtyorma amrtam gamaya..

Lead me from the illusion to the truth.
Lead me from darkness to light.
Lead me from death to immortality.

Wishing each one of you a very Happy Diwali and a Prosperous New Year!
Lots of Love and Light to all! :)

P.S -http://archives.amritapuri.org/bharat/mantra/asatoma.php

 

Rest in Peace..

Ever wondered what happens after one passes on to a world unknown to all of us?

This was my first experience of watching someone who has passed on ,so closely.
When my maternal grandmother passed on, I wasn't even born.
When my maternal grandfather passed on , i did not go to see him on his final journey as i had to stay back at home to look after my paternal grandparents.

When my paternal grandfather passed on , I was out of town , only to reach when it was the last bit of him going into the ambulance to take him to the crematorium.
When my paternal grandmother passed on , I was admitted in hospital after a spine surgery.I still remember , it was one day after my surgery , I was in immense pain only to be topped by the pain that I could not bid her farewell ;Though she did come to my dream that night and gave me the worlds warmest hug to say goodbye.

It was as if God was actually protecting me from seeing death that close ; coz i was always afraid to face the truth of death.
I am sure they are all in a peaceful place now and have united there to form one big happy family.

A few days back , my in-law , paternal grandfather passed on.
He was unwell for the last 4 month and we prayed each day that he passes on peacefully instead of suffering like he was.
But still , when i got the news, something stirred within me.

I dint know how i was going to face seeing him and the funeral procession there after, I must admit i was scared ; and my grandparents did flash before me...

But i guess ; i have matured over time and HE up there realized that and decided to make me face it.

We went there , and I saw him laid down, looking at peace where he was.
It dint feel like anything I did not want to feel.

It was only once before that I had met him and took an instant liking to him.
He looked adorable.Very knowledgeable from what I had heard of him.

The one time i met him , we chatted like we'd known each other already. He told me a few stories, some of his village , some of how he battled a heart surgery and cataract and some of his travels.
Very interesting indeed.
The best part about the conversation was , we dint speak each others language.
He spoke Marathi and I spoke in Hindi. But somehow, both of us understood each other.As they say , we "spoke the language of the heart".
 It was wonderful to know him. I feel privileged.

As i saw him go on his final journey and watched his 3 sons and Ameya , carry him on their shoulders, i could not hold back the tears, but at the same time was proud to see the number of people who had turned up to pay their last respects to him; and i was told that each one there knew him personally! wow! what a fulfilling life I'd say.
Not many get the privilege to pass on in the same home they were born! He did! Good karma i guess :)

This is a tribute to him, my grandparents and all the people Ive known and been close to who are in a world unknown to us.. which i would like to believe..is a world with the kind of peace we dream of.. a world with no terrorists , a world where there is no anger,jealousy or any other vices.. just beauty all around with a fresh fragrance in the air...

Rest in Peace, Ajoba. You will definitely be missed.

Of Life ... :)

Ganpati Bappa Morya !!!

Its that time of the year again! :)


He is here! :) The cutest of all , to bestow upon each one of us His light and demolish every obstacle that comes our way!


Here's wishing each one of you a Happy Ganesh Chaturthi , may the good lord bless us all with good health and peace in our lives!

om gan ganapataye namo namah mp3 | lyrics

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Of Sense and Sensitivity....

Saturday evening went by , watching Aashayein. Loved it!
Cut to - The morning after .Sunday.
As usual, went about our chores and took the stash of the Sunday editions .

To my surprise/disgust/whatever you may like to call it (but something to that sentiment), read the following review on the movie :

http://www.punemirror.in/index.aspx?Page=article&sectname=Entertainment%20-%20Film%20Reviews&sectid=58&contentid=2010082920100829001951162724dc210

I definitely had a response for Mr.Minty!!
Have e-mailed him. Lets wait and watch if i do get a response! or my "Aashayein" go for a toss ;)

Here goes :

HI Minty!
This comes 4 minutes after reading your review on "Aashayein".

Just one question out of curiosity "Have you even watched the movie?"

Sad , but true , you seem to be in a real bad mood for the past few weeks.
It makes one wonder , if you can rate a movie like "Aisha"  3 stars , which has only no brainer-women strutting their stuff and  glamor quotient , What happens when movies like "Aashayein" are made with so much sensitivity ?

Well , the answer is,you rate it a mere 1/2 star , if it is to be believed it is not a  printing error.

In my opinion, which is not as privileged as yours to be published, Aashayein is made for the sensitive souls and for the numerous people who have seen their near and dear ones go through the struggle for a hope of survival. Aashayein is not expected to provide only a high entertainment score but it is also an inception of a concept to have a shelter for terminally ill people who choose to step out of the mainstream world into a cocoon free from fake sympathy and assurances of false hopes.

Instead of mocking at it , i would love to see you watch and understand the metaphor the movie clearly showcases.
The Indiana Jones angle is a tool to execute the one last wish for people who face their death for no fault of theirs. This makes it significantly different than the last wish offered before a criminal is executed.
"The bald gifted kid" is just a way to tell us humans that we should not give up hope.

One cannot blame you for not noticing such sensitivities in these metaphors. If Aashayein hurts your sensibilities, then I am sure the upcoming move ,"Mallika" would awaken them!

If you prefer John in Dostana as opposed to Aashayein, then you shouldn't have reviewed this movie at all in the first place.  Genuine critics are unbiased and unpersonal.Hard to find, obviously!

I wonder how many people may miss this sensitively made film after reading your review.

Sigh !!!

Prayer........

Prayer doesn't just happen when we kneel or put hands together and focus.

When u hug a friend, tht's prayer...

When u cook something to nourish family & friends tht's prayer.

When you send them off with 'Drive Safely' or 'Be Safe' tht's a prayer too.

When you are helping someone in need by giving your time,energy, and money, you are giving prayer and answering one at the same time...

Prayer is a vibration.It feels good. Prayer is the VOICE of LOVE.

P.S- This is something i read on the internet. Its not original :) (only putting the pictures in is my idea)Loved it , hence posted it here... :)

The joy of giving...A lesson learnt for life...

This is what my lesson for this weekend was!:)
All this while i've been thinking to myself... that i'm above all this materialistic pleasure..
Im way above a lot of people i know..
I wonder why money gives them such a high...
Why people are so egoistic.. why can they not let go...
And all through this unknowingly i definitely had an ego of my own which i was nurturing..

We had a maid who worked with us for about 3 months. She din't quite need to work and that was very apparant in the way she went about doing the chores assigned to her.

In no time we were kind of looking for someone to do a better job and hence gave her quite a decent notice period saying we will need to replace her and she seemed pretty ok with the idea.. so there was no guilt :P

Her last day with us.. was the day i learnt a lesson for life...
The joy of giving can compete with no other...

My husband was helping me clean the kitchen draw when a brand new box.. more or less of a showpiece by itself came out of there
... It was one of the many that i had bought for mom..on my trip to Jaipur nearly 3 years ago... she had never used it and it was still brand new.. so she passed it on back to me for our new home...
And the circle continued as i tucked it away to use it some other day too..




Out it came...
He looked at it.. as i showed it off to him and told him the story behind it and how i got it so cheap and how it could cost a bomb here.. and bla bla bla...
He din't say much. Just heard me out.
A brief silence .
"Let's give this to her" He says
"Who??!!" I say (with a "haw" expression on my face)
"The maid" He says
"R u crazy" I say
"Huh? Why? Whats crazy about that?"
"NO NO im not giving it" I say
"U know what it feels like to give? Have u ever felt the joy of giving?" He says
"Yes ofcourse i have, but.. but... not this... this has been stored for so long.. and i wanna use it someday" i say
" Ya, but you said you got it real cheap.. and it looks like it comes from her land, so whats the harm if u just gave it to her.. she'll be so happy"
"NO ways.. i love it and i am going to use it soon.. maybe even now" I say...
"Come on.. its ok love.. we CAN defnitely afford to make someone happy " he says...

I change the topic hoping he forgets about it and get on with my other chores...

Time comes for her to leave..She says her goodbye...

The words repeat a million times in my head and heart " the joy of giving .. the joy of giving..."

Involuntarily..not even realising what i am about to do.. I go .. pick up the box.. hand over the salary and this box to her...

The smile on her face was something that cannot be matched with any materialistic gain ever!
She was shocked and happy at the same time.The expression very obviously said " this is brand new.. why would she give it to me"
I did not explain as i did not think there was any need to...:)
I Just put my hand on her shoulders and say " Take care.. come by sometime "
She bid farewell and left.

I felt sooo small...
Here i was thinking i'm above all these materialistic pleasure and I can let go easily.. and all the gyaan...
But when it came to action it actually took some convincing... i couldnt believe myself...
But yes.. I have learnt this lesson.. and its for life...
I promise myself this...
I will never deny the joy of giving ever again! :)

Thank you my most prized possesion for teaching me the most important lesson of my life and unknowingly helping me grow on a spiritual level each day:)