Saturday, 22 August 2015

Slow Decay of Traditional knowledge in Recent Times

             During my childhood times, especially during the months of December to February, every night after the dinner all the women in our village will engage in an artistic activity which perhaps will never occur in any part of the world except in India. This is an activity of drawing several designs with themes centered on flowers, trees, peacocks, divine figures and some complex geometrical arcs etc. connected in a beautiful fashion on ground in front of their house. They draw it by using fine power which used to be rice flour by right but changed to some other suitable substances these days. They use a myriad of colour combinations in preparing these designs. They are called as "Muggu" in Telugu, Kolam in Tamil and goes by respective local names in different states of India. The main purpose of this serves the both spiritual and material need for the home - i.e. it brings or receives auspicious blessings from the cosmos and gives a exemplary beauty to your place. I used to roam around and enjoy the picturesque designs of these "Muggulu" drawn by our neighbors. Here is the example one such design drawn by my mother during one of the biggest festivals we celebrate - i.e. Sankranthi or Pongal in January 2015. My mother is an gifted artist in this field and she used to maintain at least Two or Three books of these Kolam drawings. It will give them the following expertise in general.


Muggu drawn by my mother in front of my houise
  • The first step in these drawings is putting/and making the required dots which used to connect to make these Muggus. This will help them to memorize easily and also to document and to teach others in simpler way. 
  • Area selection - Depending on the size of the design, one needs to mentally calculate how much area is required for these Muggus which is again a subtle skill develops in soul. 
  • Colour combination - One of the striking feature you will immediately recognize is how efficiently colours have been used to enhance the beauty of these Kolams. A young girl who learns this arts shows very keen interest and gets expertise in selecting colors and it will help them to leverage the same aesthetic in every part of their life. 
        Sad part of the story is, in present busy life no one or to say very few are engaged in this practice. When visited my place recently there were hardly any women who were doing this. Definitely you can't see any young girls who participates now either because of their studies or blame it on their busy city lives. This slowly effects the fabric of the culture and down the the time the whole art will get lost and only remains is a past glory. The present day education and media also plays a diminishing role where it instigates a thought that these are all like taboo practices with old fashion but this is not true. One's existence is very much related to their culture and it is the duty of an individual to carry one these practices and to pass it to future generation. It has got many subtle benefits as explained earlier which helps both in individual and society at large. Here are some thoughts -
  • Mothers should engage their kids to participate and learn in these kinds of activities.
  • Schools and colleges should arrange social sessions where students will learn these kind of social traditional arts along with their regular training. 
  • Governments should arrange a cultural festivals where these traditional arts should be at display and encourage active participation and healthy competition among the youth. 
Hope the youth carry on their learning of traditional arts such as these and shows a rich diversity of  India wherever they goes. More of this kind of observation will follow soon on my blog .. 


Friday, 29 May 2015

My Toast master Journey

       Communication is the best tool to express our own persona, thoughts, Ideas and showcase our abilities to our peers, colleagues and to society at large. But this soft skill of communication is greatly neglected by many which underscore them in their career path. Soft skill of communication is often misattributed as a gifted innate boon for some special souls. But in my course of journey I found it rather contradictory that it is a skill to get mastery through dedication, hard work and a painful course of practice.

                In my first-ever technical presentation at IIT, I made a fiasco debit on the topic of discussion. I could not even pronounce a single sentence properly in front of my other fellow students and professor. That is partly because of I was not very good at English since I never pay much attention to improve my finesse over that language. But I still remember when I was in my secondary school, I made an impromtu speech on "Polluation and its disaster effects" at school level competition but that was in my local language- Telugu. To my surprise, I earned 2 or 3rd prize for my speech in that competition. School kids are really best in their creative and expression skills but they were often suppressed by Teachers.

              Come to the point - I gave my last presentation - i.e. my final thesis presentation on my research thesis but it is quite different before 3.5 years ago. Unlike my first presentation where I was stumbling at each juncture of my talk, I really made an impact with my latest talk which I got quite a good feedback from the audience. What is the difference ? I made some serious study to improve my language at first and of course it was refined with my interactions with people of diverse background which I had to speak to them in English. And more importantly I had practiced it countless number of times. That is the secret.

            After started my career, little did I get an opportunity to improve my journey of learning on soft-skills until I came to ALTERA. Unlike my previous company here there is a lot of stress on giving technical talks at various meetings. But it should not make us divulge in PPT presenters. The skill of standing and speaking still needs a lot of improvement on my end. Fortunately I got in touch with club " ToastMasters " at ALTERA where all the like minded people come together and learn to improve their soft skills. There are many exercises for you to chose your stream of interest. I chose "Competent Communicator" where one need to go through 10 exercises of prepared speech with different themes.

            I have started this Journey and to this date I could finish five out of Ten exercises of my CC course.

I gave my talks on following topics.


  1. Why I am a Vegan
  2. Failures as stepping stones for success
  3. Happiness with little
  4. My Inspiration
  5. Wisdom from my daughter. 
I am in midway of my target but truly I see a difference in myself though it is little after completing these sessions. Now I can learn to speak slowly and with composure. How to organize a talk, brand and storify it?

Hope I will finish the rest in coming 5 months and earn my title as "Competent Communicator"\\\

Tuesday, 16 December 2014

Quotes from Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura

1. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s instructions in Sikastakam, “param vijayate Sri-Krishna -Sankirtanam” is the only motto of the Gaudiya math.
2. The Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna is the only enjoyer. Everyone and everything else is the object of his enjoyment.
3. Anyone who does not serve Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is ignorant and a killer himself.
4. To learn to tolerate is one of the most important responsibilities of those living in the math.
5. Rupanuga devotees offer all glory to the original source instead of depending on their own strength.
6. Those who perform assorted religious activities can not serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
7. Become united with one purpose and serve Hari.
8. Where there is discussion about Hari, that is a place of pilgrimage.
9. We are not pious, sinful or learned or ignorant, we are the carriers of the dust of the feet of the Supreme Lord Sri Hari and we are initiated by the mantra “kirtaniyah sada harih.”
10. My advice is, do not criticize others. Try to rectify yourself.
11. Our supreme duty is to serve the residents of Vraja who are afflicated by Krishna ‘s departure to Mathura.
12. A pure devotee knows that everyone is the spiritual master. Therefore, a pure devotee can be jagad-guru.
13. If we want to follow the path of true auspiciousness, we should give up the countless opinions of people and only hear the words of the vedas.
14. Whatever is auspicious should be desired.
15. An intimate devotee does not have any other desire besides serving the followers of Sri Rupa Goswami.
16. There is no other way of associating with transcendence besides hearing.
17. As soon as we lose the shelter of a protector, everything around us will become our enemy and attack us. Topics about Krishna spoken by a genuine saint are our only protector.
18. A flatterer can never become a guru or a preacher.
19. It is better to remain in millions of species like birds, beasts, insects and worms than become deceitful. One who is free from deceit receives auspiciousness.
20. Vaisnavism is the other name of simplicity. The servants of the paramahamsa Vaishnavas are simple; therefore they are the best brahmanas.
21. The only duty of the most merciful persons is to transform the degraded taste of people. If you can save even one person from the great force of MahaMaya, then that will be a greater act of philanthropy than opening millions of hospitals.
22. Those who have not learned to develop their propensity to serve the Supreme Lord from self realized souls, no matter how pleasing their association may be, it should never be desired.
23. Preaching without practicing is nothing but a ritual of karma-kanda.
24. If one just serves the Supreme Personality of Godhead and his devotees, his attachment to his household will diminish.
25. Our main disease is to collect objects that are not related to Krishna.
26. We have not come to this world to become an artisan of wood or stone, we are only peons of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s mercy.
27. We will not stay in this world for a long time. Only if this body falls singing of the glory of Lord Sri Hari will our birth in this body be successful.
28. The only desired object in our life is to collect the dust from the Lotus feet of Sri Rupa Goswami, who fulfilled the desire of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
29. This material nature, which is averse to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is an examination hall. Tolerance, humbleness, appreciation of others, etc., are favorable to develop our devotion to Hari.
30. In every birth one gets a father and a mother. But one may not get instructions for his ultimate benefit.
31. Although the activities of a devotee and the misdemeanor of a pseudo-devotee appear to be alike, there is a heaven and hell difference – like milk and limewater.
32. Those who mistake dishonesty to be honesty (or a crook to be saint) will fall into great difficulty, as a person who tries to cheat an iron-smith by supplying him bad steel.
33. As soon as we get to know the absolute truth, we should become fixed in it. Instead of wasting a single moment of time left, we should be engaged in serving Sri Hari.
34. Many people mistake ‘imitation’ to be ‘following’. These two words are not the same. To play the role of Narada in a play is ‘imitation’ but to follow the path of devotion according to Narada Muni is ‘following’.
35. He who is constantly absorbed in discussing about Sri Hari is a saint. One who is constantly engaged in serving the Supreme Personality of Godhead is a saint. One who in all his endeavors tries to serve Krishna is a saint.
36. If the Supreme Personality of Godhead Narayana offers Himself, something remains unoffered, but a devotee can offer the Lord completely.
37. Do not try to become a guru to become envious. Do not try to become a guru in order to become absorbed in material attachments. But if you become my unalloyed servant, if you have acquired my potency, there is nothing to fear.
38. A bonafide spiritual master is non-different from Supreme Personality of Godhead. If one cannot say that the spiritual master is the personal manifestation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one will not be able to utter the holy name of the Lord.
39. In order to teach us how to serve Him, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself appears as the spiritual master.
40. A living entity can not derive real benefit by reading hundreds of books or pretending to render devotional service according to his own ideas.
41. Being cheated by those who mislead people in the name of hari-katha has become a sort of religion in this age.
42. Someone will be able to understand the profound meaning of the impartial truth that is being spoken fearlessly after hundreds of lives or hundreds of yugas. Unless hundreds of gallons of hard-earned blood is spent, we will not be able to make people understand the truth.
43. The Lord does not accept anything offered by those who do not chant one hundred thousand names of the Lord each day.
44. Association is the principle impetus in human life to serve Sri Hari. Due to association of non-devotees, one gets material prosperity. Due to the association of devotees, the spirit soul gradually becomes absorbed in serving Sri Hari. This is the greatest shelter for a human being. Never become averse to that.
45. Whenever there are material difficulties, the Supreme Personality of Godhead becomes the shelter and allows one to serve him.
46. As long as one has anarthas, one does not receive the good fortune of becoming a servant of Srimati Radharani. Those who discuss the transcendental pastimes of Srimati Radharani, the dearmost servitor of Sri Krishna, are sense gratifiers, covered enjoyers and prakrta-sahajiyas.
47. When anarthas will be removed due to chanting the Holy Name, then Krishna ‘s form, qualities and pastimes will automatically manifest from the name. There is no need to make an endeavor to artificially remember His form, qualities and pastimes.
48. All of you preach the message of Rupa Goswami and Raghunatha Dasa Goswami with great enthusiasm. Our supreme desire is to become the dust at the lotus feet of the followers of Sri Rupa Goswami.
49. Do not give up devotional service even if there are innumerable dangers, countless insults and endless harassment. Do not become disheartened that most people in this world do not accept the message of unalloyed devotional service. Never give up your devotional service and hearing and chanting about Krishna which is your everything. Always chant the Holy Name becoming more humble than a blade of grass and more tolerant than a tree.
50. We do not want to become great fruitive workers or religious leaders; all we want is to become the dust at the lotus feet of Sri Rupa Prabhu. That is our original identity.
51. We should never display any kind of aversion towards sankirtana-yajna which is perfect sacrifice, complete with the seven forms of sacrifice. If we have gradually increasing love for that, then everything will be accomplished and we will attain ultimate perfection. Just preach the words of Rupa and Raghunatha with enthusiasm and courage, with complete dedication to the followers of Sri Rupa.
52. If I stop preaching the unbiased truth due to fear that people will not like it, I am accepting the non-vedic way, rejecting the vedic way. Then I become an atheist and I lose my faith in the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the personification of truth.
53. In this material world there are only two representatives of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; the transcendental sound vibration of the Holy Name, and his eternally transcendental deity incarnation.
54. The deity is worshipped by the Holy Name – sentient is served through sentient.
55. For the pleasure of the Lord, His devotees call Him by His Holy Name to render service unto Him, not to fulfill their own desires.
56. The deity is the merciful incarnation of the eternal form of the transcendental Supreme Personality of Godhead of the spiritual sky (Vaikuntha). It is direct proof of the personal form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Vaishnavas do not imagine whether God is a person or impersonal. They are not idol worshippers.
57. Just as the purports of the vedas have been briefly described in the Brahma-sutra and the vedanta-bhasya, the conclusion and purport of the Srimad-Bhagavatam has been similarly described in a brief and accurate way.
58. Unless one studies Srimad-Bhagavatam under the guidance if a bonafide Vaishnava acharya, he will not be able to understand the real purport of the Brahma-sutra. Srimad Bhagavatamis the original commentary of Vedanta-sutra.
59. Sri Jiva Goswami specifically explained that Srimad-Bhagavatam is the original commentary of Vedantasutra.
60. The word “devotion” can not be applied to anything besides ‘Krishna ‘. ‘Krishna ‘ is the only subject of devotion. Brahman is the object of knowledge, Paramatma is the object of nearness, but Krishna is the only object of service.
61. Every word has a two-fold aspect; conveying a meaning based on knowledge and a meaning based on ignorance. The aspects of words that indicate something other than Krishna, Visnu or Sri Caitanya, conveys the mearning based on ignorance. In knowledge everything indicates Krishna and signifies Krishna.
62. What the ignorant masses understand about the ‘Krishna ‘ is not the real object of the word Krishna. In other words, ‘God’, ‘Allah’ and even the Sanskrit words ‘Isvara”, ‘Paramatma’ etc. only indicate a great energy coming out of Krishna. They do not indicate the total aspect of the word ‘Krishna ‘.
63. There is no work as auspicious as serving the spiritual master. Of all worship, the worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the greatest. But the worship of the lotus feet of the spiritual master is even greater than the worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Unless this is firmly realized we can not understand what saintly association means; we cannot understand what the shelter of a spiritual master means; we cannot understand that we are dependent and he is our maintainer.
64. If we take shelter of the lotus feet of the spiritual master, we can become free from illusion, fear and distress. If we wholeheartedly beg for his mercy without any deceit then the spiritual master bestows all auspiciousness upon us.+


(From Dandavats.com)

Friday, 15 August 2014