Shanthi mantra from Rigveda.

The Rig Veda is nearly 4000 years old .The following is a shanthi mantra from this Veda which is the earliest of all the 4 Vedas.

Vangme manasi.

Om! Vangme manasi pratishta ,
mano vaachi prathishtam
Aaveeraaveerma edhi vedasya ma aanisthah
shrutamma maaprahaaseer anenaa dheetena,

Ahoraatraan samdhadhaami ritam vadishyami,
satyam vadishyami!Tanmaamavatu tadvak aaramavatu
Avatu maam avatu vaktaaram avatu vaktaaram!
Om! Shanthi, shanthi, shanthihi!

Let my speech be rooted in my mind
Let my mind be rooted in speech!
Let Bramhan reveal himself to me ,
Let my mind and speech enable me to grasp the truths in the Vedas
Let not what i have learnt and heard ,forsake me.
Let me spend my days and nights in continuous studies.

I meditate only on the truth
I speak the truth
May that truth protect me.
May that truth protect us all!
Let peace prevail against all troubles.

Om ! Peace,Peace,Peace!

Shanthi mantra from Brihadaranyaka upanishad.

Shanthi mantras are prayers repeated before the commencement of a puja or homam or at the end ,to bless one and all.They are found in the Vedas and Upanishads.

Om! Asato ma sadgamaya,
tamaso ma jyotir gamaya,
mrtyorma mratam gamaya,

Om! Shanti, shanti ,shanthihi!

Lead me from the unreal to the real,
Lead me from darkness to light,
Lead me from death to immortality!

Om ! Let there be peace, peace and more peace!

Waterfalls---Photo's.

Waterfalls near Waynad----Kerala.
Waterfalls near Devaprayag-----Uttarakand.
Waterfalls near Yellagiri---Tamilnadu

Lucky frogs.

I read somewhere that frogs will no longer be dissected in school or college labs ,thanks to the introduction of some technological simulations,to replace the actual dissection!A victory for the champions of animal rights. Lucky frogs!

I often read leading columns in which i am [my observations] treated like a guinea pig in few of the journo's personal labs [mind] . Should i be flattered or flustered ,that a single person's views and nature[mine,an insignificant and humble blogger] should be taken to reflect millions of other Indian's views and nature?

I am sorely tempted to rope in those animal activists [aren't they called peta's as against neta's?]to champion my rights and also hope that scientists formulate a technique soon enough ,to stimulate creative thoughts in those scribes ,doing away with the need of human guinea pigs.

May i suggest as a first step, a electrical infusion into the cranium to effectively combat this Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde tendencies?


Note .i wrote this today viz 27 th jan ,but the blog post shows yesterday's date.

Shanthi mantra [prayer] from kathopanishad.

Om! Sahana vavatu!Sahanau bhunakthu!
Sahaveeryam karavaavahai!
Tejas vinaavadhitamastu ma vidvishaavahai!

Om! Shanthi, shanthi, shanthihi!

Om! May he protect us!
May he nourish us!
May we work together with all our strength and energy!
May our study be vigorous and effective!
May we not argue or quarrel with each other!

Om ! Let there be peace in me !
Let there be peace in my environment!
Let there be peace in the forces that act upon me!

Open garbage dump free.

An decade back the streets were spotlessly clean.The fragrance of flowers blooming on the road side trees and in adjacent gardens made my daily walking exercise in these streets a pleasurable outing.It never failed to rejuvenate me.

Those were the days of onyx.Then came Neel and the streets sheen dulled with the garbage though cleared ,left a streak of trailing muck owing to the sloppy work done,souring my once pleasurable sojourns.

A few months back Neel quietly slipped away carrying along with them their precious garbage bins.There after all the waste of all the residents were flung on my street in plastic covers or just emptied from their bins.This is cleared by a bul dozer only once a week ,the daily SOS to the concerned authority falling on unconcerned ears.

The street that was once upon a time, quite clean has now become a regular pig sty.Pigs [white] dig, search, gobble, roll chase each other knocking down every one and every thing in the process and grunt with obvious pleasure at this bonus, an amusement park right in the middle of a thickly populated modern mega city,with free meals without having to scavenge for them in the distant out skirts,raking up clouds of mosquito's, flies and a thick stench,whilst i am held a prisoner in my house , too scared stiff to venture out on foot .Nor do i dare open my windows.Aren't pigs the carriers of that deadly disease enchylepattis?

Ramky the new conservancy company is nowhere in sight
.
There is a move afoot to make Tamilnadu 'open air defecation free 'by 2015.Excellent aim and highly commendable.Concerned authorities,can't you also aim at making Chennai' open garbage dump free' as soon as possible?Is it asking for the moon?

PS.I am not singing that song from my teenage years ---,'I have been walking these streets so long'----as i am no longer able to even walk on these streets.

PPS.Either in response to this post and persistent phone calls or both,the corporation has acted.The bleating of goats and squealing of pigs have been replaced by chirping of birds.Thanks are definetly due.
The only remaining grouse is that the new bin is stubbornly stuck right under my window when it can be easily moved to the opposite side ,the tenements on that side, whose inmates generate the largest share of the garbage, are tucked quite a distance away from the road and foul smell. 3.2.12.

Photo.The clean up after this write up.

The oprah show.

Oprah comes out as a very spiritual and brutally frank person.She seems to have actually lived and is living most of the concepts very many only know intellectually.
She was essentially stating what Auvaiyar the woman saint of Tamilnadu said several centuries earlier.viz
'Aridhu aridhu manidu pirappu aridhu',

meaning. 'To be born in this world is itself exceptional and to be born as a human being is even more so',in her own way.

She also emphasised on the maxim from Gita we are familiar with 'Do your duty, what ever it may be ,to the best of your ability'.

The rough edges of life teaches a lot to a person who is willing to learn and profit by it than what a person born into a cosy,comfortable and cushioned life may not.

She also spoke about sending out a lot of positive energy and also receiving them from the people she interacts with.She also said that she was at that point of interview on that stage was receiving a lot of negative energy!
There was just one another , a, quick witted, intelligent person, whose fullisade of verbiage is well known ,but seemed uncharacteristically tongue tied in her presence on that stage and a whole lot of mixed audiences at her front ,who were hanging on to every word she spoke and cheering her often.

Now , from whom could have that super star of talk shows be receiving such a energy from?

PS.If her visit to vrindavan leads to some positive amelioration in the pathetic conditions of the abandoned widows and not merely to project a negative image , i am not complaining.

Identity crisis.

Read an article in a daily about the current hot topic,of Rushdie's aborted visit.

I have read only one of that authors writings , an compilation of his short stories.I had to read each passage twice or thrice with full concentration since the language flowing with apparent ease out of that authors pen was too high, intricate and as tough to decode as a complicated mathematical problem.

Now back to that article. I have no quarrel with the journo's view that there is too much of identity politics which is making a mockery of the concept of secularism.My objection to that article centres around the journalist sneering at the payment of salary to temple priests in Gujarat .Let me make it clear in here that i hold no brief for BJP or any other political party.In fact in this state --Tamilnadu which is ruled only by members of periyar pariwar who do not believe in god or religion [especially Hinduism]and were inimical and still are to some extent to Brahmin's and jeer at Brahmanism, temple priests are paid salaries by successive govts.Though it is a paltry sum it is nevertheless an amount that is eagerly awaited ,to fill in the gaps, owing to the poor earnings of priests.There was also a move to provide free bicycles to priests presiding over temples located in remote areas.

If one can take cudgels on behalf of indebted farmers and rush to the defence of tribals and expect the state to come to their aid ,how is it justified to treat a person with contempt and disdain just because he is 'temple priest'?

Most temple priests [whether Brahmin or non Brahmin] are as poor as church mice .And poverty is poverty what ever one's occupation may be.

Further the journo laments at the govt incurring huge expenditures in providing the infrastructure for Kumbmela .If they ,didn't wouldn't cholera stalk such massive congregations and stampedes occur frequently?The implication is ,of what concern should it be to the state if a few 1000 of the teeming superstitious multitudes drop dead like flies in the so called' holy city' ? Aern't they all blessed to attain moksham on the spot?

One thing that is crystal clear is that the votary against identity politics is himself enmeshed in this strangulating web with his strong and deep belief' not to believe' [some what selectively] and in expecting every one else to subscribe to and identify with that belief of his.


Photo.The floating rock with which Rama and his sena built the bridge over the sea to carry them to lanka.I photographed this at Rameshwaram .A closer look at this rock ,which was actually floating revealed a lot of small perforations and coral like networks. They are said to be found in abundance in this sea coast.

The path way to brahman as per Mundakopanishad.

**Satyameva jayate naniritum satyen pantha vithatho devyan!

Meaning; Truth wins ever and not untruth.

It is the only pathway to Brahman and seers pursue this to reach him.

The effect of realisation has been neatly summed up as follows...

On realising him what is individual life?What even the sun, moon stars and lightening in the clouds?What need be said then of the fire?
All these are but reflections of that One undying light.He fills all the quarters and all over head and down below.He alone exists!

**************************

The method to reach Brahman as prescribed in Mundakopanishad.

Satyen labhyastapas hosh atma samaya gyanena bramhacharin nityam|
Anthaha shareera jyothirmayohee subroyum pashyanthi yatya:ksheenadosha||

Meaning:
Truth penance , understanding and purity are essential to realise Brahman,within. When the heart is cleansed Brahman is revealed as a shining light burning brilliantly within oneself.

Further--
As a skillful archer when aiming makes his arrow merge in the target in his sight and the two become but one and the same thing, so should your 'self' the arrow be merged by concentration in the target viz--Brahman.

The need to realise Brahman according to Mundakopanishad.

To the question-why one must realise Brahman the following explanation is given.

Man's sufferings lasts only until he sees the supreme being, that dwells within himself.

The indwelling supreme spirit and the individual soul are like two birds.They cling to one another and are on the same tree."One eats the fruits of the tree and the other looks on ,happy."

One is attached to karma .The other is free of karma's.

When a man see this detached universal ruler within himself ,the distinction between good and evil drops out.He is freed from desires and passions and becomes one with the universal ruler and finds eternal bliss.

The web of deceit.

Yesterday i saw as audience from Romania.It sent alarm bells ringing.I also remember seeing this audience a couple of weeks back from the country which i recall from an article in the readers digest ,as notoriously famous as the world capital of online crimes.

According to that article an nondescript town in Romania is the hub of all world wide online frauds like phising etc.It is virtually a cottage industry, the capital being minimal,only a computer , some unknown soft ware and a Internet connection.

Now why should my blog attract the attention of online criminals when i am no millionaire unless they are deluded by my importance in a country that is considered rightly or wrongly as fast emerging super power , by the curbs imposed on my freedom of expression by the censors.And why should they pop again yesterday?Are they peeved at my according some Nigerian con men an pre eminent status that is rightly and justifiably theirs?Have they any tricks up their sleeves to empty my account that is yet to be fattened by the Nobel prize sum?

Whatever the case may be ,one thing is for sure ,my innocent foray into this virtual world has both the lawmakers and law breakers,hot on my heels!

The Nigerian connection.

My stats [provided by google themselves,much to my consternation and pleasant distraction.Ignorance was such a bliss!] revealed 2 Nigerians as my audience ,a week back.Why on earth would Nigerians be reading my blog was my first reaction.But soon forgot about it.

Few days back i received an Sm's that i had snapped 1 million euro dollars in a lottery and was given a contact number.

Though i have blocked all pesky calls ,that was acted upon after my complaint in this blog against the company and the govt for not honouring their Vaada ,i do receive a few sms's 4--6 ,mostly regarding Internet connections.

I deleted that sms immediately having been forewarned by newspapers about on line and mobile lottery frauds.It is also my reasoning that no one would shower millions upon me ,out of the blue without some catch in it.

But quite a few succumb to the temptation of quick and easy money ,like the story carried by a daily recently about a business man who sold two of his houses to double the sum as promised by Nigerian con men and lost it all.

Could it be that ,my mentioning in jest about receiving Nobel prize for being censored [the Nigerian audience came only after that post] has attracted these con men.
Adept as all con men are in detecting human weaknesses and turning it round smoothly to their advantage ,may be they detected my initial desire but forgotten over time and shelved to my subconscious,to build a fairly large and decent sports facility ,in the suburbs ,open to all youngsters free of cost , in my son's name, by coming into a lot of money.The highly far fetched 'Nobel prize' sum being one.

The very next day the same sms turned up and i deleted it immediately fearing it like the serpent of sin.There after i didn't get any more.

Whether i am going to be conferred with the much coveted nobel prize by the Swedes, or not [It all depends on the extent of my censor's fears] one thing is sure ,my blog is attracting world class con men's the Nigerian trickster's attention , who are eyeing the bounty hungrily, already.

PS. In hind sight may be i should have saved the contact number to produce it here in the fond hope that the concerned authority will act upon it.

Mundakopanishad.

The Mundakopanishad which is nearly 3000 years or more, old like most other upanishads answers the commonly asked questions regarding god.Who ,what and where is he?Why should one know of this?What are the methods to reach and realise god and what is the effect of doing so.

The following sloka answers the question ,who is god?

Yasimando: prithvi chandarikshamotham manah.Saha pranoshcha sarvam!

Meaning.....
He is the whole universe.Heaven,earth,sky ,your mind and your life breath.They are all woven into him!


Sunrise over gulf of Mannar in Bay of Bengal at Thirupullani near Ramar sethu.

Photo on top.Sunrise in space.

English,birth and economic status.

An ageing respected intellectual in a discussion on reservations reiterated that he speaks English because his mother did and there fore he belongs to creamy layer. My mother doesn't speak English but i do.I belong neither to creamy layer or to the down under.

If speaking English dis entitles one to the benefits of reservations then that MBC boy who speaks excellent English even better than my son's college mates , though his mother is a illiterate servant maid and father an illiterate farmer and hails from one of the dirtiest and congested slum in Chennai ,ought not to receive the benefits of reservations,.Well, he has and is now a govt teacher drawing a handsome salary of 20,000 rs ,at age of 28.

The intellectual seemed to imply that since he was an Aiyar [Brahmin] he was born with a silver spoon.
.
A poor man, blind as a bat wept when his seniority [he was 45 years old] was overlooked and many younger men of lower castes were appointed to the teaching posts.He cursed his skin ,only a shade lighter and his birth that kept him away from securing a permanent job and pay off debts incurred on getting his sisters married off,and at the thought of taking more loans for his day to day living in some sordid quarters.He is a Brahmin and cannot speak English.

A hush of embarrassed silence fell on all those poor blind people of all castes and religion crowding in that small room of the association .Many came forward to comfort him and pleaded with him to not take the extreme step.An unbelievable scene! The much reviled and despised Brahmin being consoled by lower castes over whom they have said to have lorded !A petition was dispatched to the concerned authorities immediately, seeking his appointment to the post.

I come across Brahmin priests who can chant complicated Sanskrit slokas with ease but can't converse in English or even understand it.They and their sons live in pokey houses and are forced to eye the dakshina's on the arti plate wistfully and longingly.

In middle class just like it is in lower classes the scramble for those limited free seats of 30 % in which all castes apart from FC's can also compete, is so intense that for FC's getting one is like securing the Olympic gold medal!In middle class households all mothers of my age group are graduates and can speak good English irrespective of the caste or religious denominations they belong to.The so called BC's, MBC's and minorities are much more forward in intelligence, scholarship and in prosperity than most of the so called FC's.

The FC's students having spent all their energy in these scrambles for free seats[i.e seats available without having to pay the exorbitant capitation fees or donations running in lakhs] in colleges have little left of it to do justice to the jobs they land up in ,mostly the pvt sector, jobs in pub sector being an unattainable dream.

In present times the sharp lines delineating birth and ability to speak English from economic status has blurred .In here at TN,definitely.

And what happened to that poor blind Brahmin.?His face lit with joy and heaved a huge sigh of relief when he heard that his name was on a list released two days later.There had been a mix up in the dates and it was sorted out ,landing him the job.

Photo:Poor Brahmin boys training as priests.This photo was taken at Thirupillani at one of its temple festivals.

Cultural terrorism.

An worthy on a debate on the merits of teaching Gita to school children in a neighbouring state opines very knowledgeably that it is a insidious route to foist Sanskrit on unsuspecting minds and labelled it as cultural terrorism!

I am not going to dwell on the merits or demerits of imparting Gita's gyan on school students but whether learning a language directly or indirectly constitutes cultural terrorism

In my primary school at Mysore I learnt Kannada ,as it was compulsory, though i am a Tamilian.Was i subjected to cultural terrorism at so tender an age?I still remember and know none other than the kannada nursery rhymes i learnt ,then!
Then in middle school at Hyderabad i had to learn Hindi and English along with Tamil.The first two being alien to my mother tongue.Yet listening to bhajans and old film songs in Hindi and reading a good english book never fails to unwind me.Is that cultural terrorism?

Even if i am woken up in the middle of the night and asked to sing our national anthem , iwould do so immediately [standing up of course].So would all Indians ,though it is in Bengali . So are Bengali's culturally terrorising us?

I am writing this piece in English having first thought it out in English ,though i am a oriental bharatwasi and not occidental Britisher.Wasn't terrorism perpetrated on me by Macaulay?
The worthy himself spoke his mind in English though he is a bharatiya kannadiga.Wasn't he also an unsuspecting victim of cultural terrorism?

Learning a language by association or otherwise serves only to broaden one's outlook, understand other cultures overcoming pre-formed prejudices and expand one's knowledge.

Labelling acquisition of the knowledge of Sanskrit an language that has given formal expression to the noble concept vasudeiva kutumbakam [viewing the whole world as one family] as cultural terrorism is totally uncalled for.

Namoona's.

Innocent Jarawas.
An youngster on the highway.
Jarawa 's thatched shelter in the Andamans.
Father and son.
Photo:Jarawa safari?

I learnt whilst studying law that the decisions of Supreme court has the force of law and that it could be amended or abrogated only by laws passed by the parliament.
Is it so?

Roads are used as merrily as ever in the Jarwah reserves though a supreme court order prohibits any movement ,just as reservations in here at T.nadu are way over the top of the cap of 50 % as set by a supreme court decision.It is 69 % ,that is strictly followed.

Poor 'Jarwahs' of Andamans and poor 'Brahmins [fc's] of Agraharams.One is black and other is white. One is primitive and the other is traditional.Yet both have a common link...
They are both viewed as namoona's in their respective reserves and are made to dance to tunes.

Advise to Aravind.K.

We are famous for giving unsolicited advise to all and sundry and I am no exception. So how can I let slip this golden oppurtunity to give some useful tips when Aravind has so humbly appealed to the public to advise his team on its next course of action?

My advise to Aravind is 'Steer away from political arena and the electoral process if you do not intend to affiliate with any one of them, formally.'Though doughty,your crowd pulling and manipulations are still at a nascent stage .The crafty politicians veterans in the game of power will swallow you whole and still look starved and scrounge for more!

Since you are convinced with the efficacy of Lokpal to root out corruption,stick to peaceful dharna's, processions and jailbharoa's,concentrating in Delhi and get back the nations spotlight on the vexatious issue viz corruption,preferably before each parliamentary session [it maybe a long battle,Rome wasn't built in a day nor was our freedom won overnight],to apply pressure on legislators.

Curtail personal vendettas, if you really believe that the cause you are fighting for,[with which no citizen has any quarrel] ,is greater than the hurt that was caused to you by vindictive and punitive measures and others, in the process of doing so.I have been there before and still am and therefore know very well how it feels like.

And one thing at a time please.Shelve other reforms for the future.

Maari malaimuzhainchil.....Thiruppavai..23.

Maari malaimuzhanchil mannik kidanthurangum seeria singhamarivutru theevizhithu,
Veri mayirponga yeppadum perndudhari mooree nimirindhu muzhangi purrapattu,
Podharuma po le ' ,nee poovaipoo vanna ! un koilninringane' pondharullik koppudaiya,Seeria singha sanathilirundhu yaamvandha kariam aarayindhu arrule lorempavai!

Meaning:

Like the majestic lion that wakes up from its sleep in the cave that it has taken shelter from the rains,
Opening its eyes that glitter like sparks of fire ,framed by a lush mane having a unique fragrance,
And stretching its muscular yet lithe frame and vigorously shaking itself out of its lethargy, and announcing its presence by raising its head to roar and stride out of the cave,
'You' ,whose colour is that of the blue hued [kayampoo,] flower ,
Leave your temple of residence and come to our place here, seat yourself on the beautiful ornate throne and examine our pleas and bless us!

Inner meaning: When a person is at the end of his or her tether and makes a heartfelt plea to be rescued , Bhagwan comes forward at once in all his majesty to help!

Poetic meaning:

The description of a lion waking up from its deep slumber has been so well brought out that the scene seems to come alive before one's eyes .
Krishna's majesty has been compared to the king of animals,since we can relate and comprehend it .His masterful stride and the position as the sole occupant of the enviable status 'lord of all gods'-- ' devadhi devan' has been effectively rendered.

Narayana suktam

பெருந்தேவி தாயார் ஸமேத ஸ்ரீ தேவராஜ பெருமாள் -ஸ்ரீ வரதராஜ கோவில் -காஞ்சிபுரம்

                                                            நாராயண ஸூக்தம்

This is a Vedic prayer dedicated to Narayana.

Some of the slokas are...
                                                                    ஹரி  ஓம் !
                                                                     Hari om!


நாராயண பர ப்ரம்ஹ தத்துவம் நாராயணா பர :
நாராயணா பரோ ஜ்யோதிராத்மா பர :

Narayana para brahma tahthvam Narayana parah!
Narayana paro jyothirathma Narayana paraha!

பெருந்தேவி தாயார் ஸமேத ஸ்ரீ தேவராஜபெருமாள் -ஸ்ரீ வரதராஜ கோவில் -காஞ்சிபுரம்

meaning.
Narayana  alone  is the Supreme Ishvara
He is the loftiest of all principles.
He is the Supreme reality.
Narayana is theSuperior light

He is the Supreme self

தஸ்ய ஷிகாய மத்யே பரமாத்ம வ்யவஸ்திதஹ ஸ சிவா  சேன்தற சோக்சரஹ  பரம  ஸ்வராட் !
Tasya sikhaya madhye paramatma vyavisthitah sa brahma,sa siva,sa  sendra soksaraha paramah svarat!
meaning:
The Brahman is found in the centre of the flame of knowledge The Supreme Lord Sriman Narayana resides steadily there in  with His enchanting golden form .He is the indweller of Karma vasyas like Brahma.Siva, Indra as well as Mukta Jivans liberated from Karmas of either kind.

ஓம் நாராயணா வித்மஹே வாசுதேவாய தீமஹி தன்னோ விஷ்ணு ப்ரசோதயாத் !

Om Naryanaya vidhmahe vasudevaya dhimahi tanno vishnu prachodayat!

May we meditate on Sriman Narayana alone for accomplishing that .Let us position Lord Vasudeva in our minds .
He is free from all blemishes and is Pure.
May this all prevading Lord invigorate us to travel to sanmargam to His Supreme abode .


ஓம் சாந்தி சாந்தி சாந்திஹி !
Om shanthi, shanthi shanthihi!
Om!Let there be peace, peace and more peace!
                                                                   *********

Note.This is an enchanting sanskrit sloka .Its beauty lies in its choice of words with inner meanings.This can be savored only by reading or chanting it aloud.The full version is available on the internet.

Respect.

Thank those who do not respect you.They have given you freedom .You need not smile,please or talk to them .You can be natural and even frowning.You will be complete.

When people love and respect you, you are obliged to return their courtesies because you would not want to hurt them.But when they do not respect you they will not be hurt by your actions or words .So they set you free!

When you gain respect ,you often do at cost of freedom.Wisdom is to put freedom first and not bother with respect.

Where there is true love, genuine respect simply follows....

Thus says Sri Sri Ravishankar.

Photo's of Brihadeeswar temple at Tanjavur.

The famous Brihadeeswar [Siva] temple built by Raja Raja,the Chola emperor nearly a1000 years earlier.I took these snaps a couple of years back.
The circumbulatory passage that winds around the temple.
A side view of the temple.
A side view of the temple.The steps leads one out after having a darshan of the huge lingam enshrined within.
An close up of the temple.The image of Lord Muruga on his vehicle the peacock,dominates.


View of the temple from ,back. A little touch up is all that is needed to bring back the original glow to these ancient sculptures in stone .

PS.This photo isn't enlarging.Tricks?

Dear censor,your unwavering attention exposed periodically by obstructions never fails to revive either my flagging spirits or my despondency and lack of self worth.

Thanks a ton!

My Nobel prize ,it seems ,is just round the corner.

I am tripping and falling all over in my excitement and haste to forewarn Aangsansuikyi about the impending dethronement of her hegemony as the only Asian woman Nobel Laurette for withstanding bravely,constant harassment and continues surveillance by her country men and rulers ,lest she be baffled ,ruffled and piqued at the news of its conference for similar reasons on a unknown entity from a very well known ,democratic neighboring country.

Kamakshi amman koil 's photo

This is the front view of the famous Kamakshi Amman koil at Kancheepuram.This temple was consecrated and the deity Kamakshi Amman was worshipped by Adi Shankara .

Brahman according to Taittriya upanishad.

Varuna instructs his son Bhrigu on the immanence of Brahman in the 3 rd valli of Taittriya upanishad.
The teaching is that food should be looked upon as Brahman .For from food indeed all are born in this world and by food do they live since it is the food we eat that enable us to speak, think,act and exercise our will and understanding,and after death ,all beings become food for other beings.

The following sloka exhorts.

Annam na nindhate!Annam na parichksheeti!Annam bahu kuveerth!Na kanchan vastho prathyachsheeth !

Meaning:

We should not speak ill of food!We should not throw away food!We should produce plenty of food!We should let no one who comes for food to be turned away!

**************

Yesh adesh ! Yesh upadesh!--This is the rule !This is the teaching--From Taittiriyoupanishad.

We have in the Taittriya Upanishad a valedictory exhortation which reveals to us something of the system of education that produced the cultured among the ancient inhabitants of this sacred land.

After having taught the Vedas the teacher instructs the pupil thus...

"Speak what is true:Do your duties.Continue without neglect the daily study of the Veda.Now that you have come to the end of your stay with your teacher ,marry and bring forth progeny."

And then...

Satyam pramdhithvyam!Dharmane pramdhithvyam!
Kushlaanpramdhithvyam!Bhoothyai na pramdithvyam!
Svadhyay pravachanbhyam na pramdhithvyam!

Meaning: Do not swerve from truth!Do not swerve from Dharma!
Work for the welfare of all! Take care of your self!
Share your knowledge with others!

And then the following sloka..

Devipitru karyabhayam na pramdhithvyam!
Mathudevo bhav! Pithudevo bhav!
Acharyadevo bhav!Aathidevo bhav!

Meaning:

Remember the Gods and your ancestors!
Honour your Mother.Look upon her as God!
Honour your father .Look upon him as God!
Honour your teacher as God!
Honour your guest.Look upon as if God came to receive your attention!
Then further...
"May you ever exercise your understanding and distinguish the good from the blame worthy,
Avoid the latter and ever do what is good,
Follow all that was good in your teacher's life, not any other.
You will meet better persons than even your teacher with whom you lived,to study,Show them due respect!"

And then the following sloka...

Shradya deyamAshardhya deyam!Shriya deyam!Hridya deyam!
Bhiya deyam!Sanvida deyam!

Meaning...

Give gifts with sincerity and not with indifference!
Give gifts with joy.Give gifts with humility!
Give gifts with fear lest they offend the recipient!Give gifts with kindness!

Further..

"If your mind is troubled with any doubt as to what is right or wrong ,follow the example of the gentle and the pious elders living in your neighbourhood,in regard to those matters."

And then concludes saying

"Yesh aadesh! Yesh upadesh!"

This is the rule ! This is the teaching!

Figuring out Anna.

There are heaps of analysis on this topic that mine would just be another speck in this research.The analysis's are of such mountainous proportions that any one angling for a doctorate need only to assemble them chronologically and pat would a PhD land on their hands ,just for the asking.

Nevertheless i am adding my bit to this monumental mental exercise that taxed and squeezed out various observations from all over the country.
The most important exercise is whether he is 2nd Gandhiji?Does his actions and speeches warrant such a tittle?

His prescription for the treatment of alcoholics i.e lashes and his immediate remark to that famous slap "Bus sirf ek ?''[only one?]has triggered this debate.

Definitely, there is a wide chasm between the original and the current.Whilst Gandhi was highly educated ,hailing from a family of fairly good means and was well travelled ,the new age Gandhi is a rustic,of lesser means and education.
Yet the common thread between the two is that they question daringly those powers who consider themselves to be of divine origin.

Whilst Gandhi was branded as a half naked fakir for daring to question the mighty emperors of the world --the so called enlightened Britishers ,Anna is dismissed as a half baked simpleton with crude ready fix methods ,by those who have come to view the control of this country as their sole prerogative and right ,once they are voted to power.

It is their guts the courage to stand up to the rulers who think that they are infallible,that has struck receptive chord in hearts of all those seething in resentments bottled over the years for having been taken,for a ride.

Both have their idiosyncrasies and both are not bothered to conceal it.

Regarding the violence bit, there is surley a wide gap.
But to my mind ,it is the aggressiveness of Anna ,a nonentity from nowhere with nothing to lose to mock and shake the well entrenched that appeals to youngsters ,his main fans.Don't all youth like a bit of ragging,laugh at those who slip and fall and love to break rules?

The populace of Delhi the seat of power of India are quite insular .They think that only they exist and that they alone hold the key to the destiny of this vast sub continent.I too felt the same as a Delhite in my formative years.And when a nobody from nowhere is ready to take on those mightier[politicians] than them without the hassle of voting and selecting an candidate from the equally poised untrustworthy and provides them a simple straight method to acheive what is upper most in their mind -- do away with corruption ,all chipped in wholeheartedly.To agitate on the streets and get things done quickly.

The failure at Bombay maybe because like all those living down the Vindhyas ,there is never a feeling that we control the destiny of India.We leave it to the Northies to safe guard our national interests since they are the scarred and succesful warriors of many a battles and confrontations , historically and geographically,having faced the full brunt of successive and never ending foreign invaders ,greedy looters and land grabbers,starting with Alexander from 325 bc onwards whilst south's contacts were mainly with maritime traders [it is another story that the ostensibly harmless traders brought the entire country under its grip]and are as always content to let the experts and veterans put up a spirited ,successful and tenacious fight ,to preserve the ethos--dharma of this country.