Bear's Prophecy

I was following West-Indies and Pakistan's test match. After two balls of Pakistan's second innings, I left the scorecard to watch cricket news. While returning back to the scorecard, I said ``DOOM'' with a wish that the third ball of Edwards should uproot a wicket. Viola! Indeed the first wicket was gone on the third ball.

Quotes on God: 3

• How can I be fearful with His presence inside my heart, the One, whose remembrance destroys the fear of birth, old-age, and death. [Prahlaad to Hiranyakashipu, Vishnupurana]
• I consistently bow to Govinda, Who is Kaal or passage of time (for everyone), Who is beyond the artistry of Kaal himself, Who is ornate, Who is left even when the world disappears, Who destroys the malice of Kaliyug, and Who is the only help to shape up our destiny. [Shankaracharya in Govindaashtaka]
• The One who created this universe with three qualities, viz., sattva, raja, and tama, without the help of anyone consistently cares for ignorant, undevoted, and unthankful alike. [Tulsidas in Ramcharitmanas]
  
• O Lord, I am a small boy and You are the creator of the universe. (In that situation) How can I sing praises of You? If You are happy with my meditation and sacrifice, grant me the boon that I can sing Your praise right now. [Dhruv to Sri-Vishnu, Vishnupurana]
• I bow to You, Who is only truth (light), Who cannot be completely characterized, Who is all-pervading, Who is present in polymorphic forms, and Who is the soul of everyone. [Akruur to Krishna, Vishnupurana]
  

Adam (by Bruno)

While we are at flash-videos,
this one
is nice too!

Really Funny Flash

Click here

Sleeping Beauty

Audrey Hepburn in The Roman Holiday.

Comments

Few words about the photo are in order. I took it with a Canon-SLR camera on a DELL-flat monitor and not by screen capture techniques which didn't work (easily) on DVDs. I love my camera, Yay! The room was made dark and the monitor bright. The eye-cup was covered for complete darkness and best results.

Total time

The time spent in setting up the shot was about 10-12 mins and another 30 mins went in taking five pictures of her. All came out pretty nice.

Prize in the end

I got a 2048 by 1556 resolution image from negative unlike 1024 by 768 obtainable from screen capture.

Shri Ram Dhyana: Ramcharitmanas

Poet:	Goswami Tulsidas
Source:	Shrimad-Ramcharitmanas
Kaand:	Uttarkaand
Doha No:	50
Singer:	Devarshi Narad

MEANING

O lotus eyed one! O slayer of worries! please shower Your blessing on me and take a look on this destitute. You have a blue lotus like body and You are like bumble-bee for the lotus like heart of Lord Shiva, the slayer of Kamdev. You are the slayer of the pride and group of demons and You provide bliss to saints and soft-hearted persons. You crush sins and You are like cloud for the farmer-like priests and saints. You provide shelter to the shelterless. Your strength is immeasurable, You reduce the weight on earth by slaying sinners, and You absolved the grief due to Khar, Dushan, and Viradha (demons). You slayed Ravan, You are total bliss, and You are best among the kings. I sing glory of You, O bumble-bee of the lotus-like dynasty of Dashrath. Your glory is sung by Purana, Veda, Upanishad, saints, demi-gods, and priests alike. You are the ultimate abode of mercy, You are perfect, You slay pride within us, and You are flawless in every way, O ornation of Kaushalya. Your name is purges away the dirt present in Kaliyuga and destroys bondage; Tulsidasa, the poet, takes refuge in You.

Beauty Secret Revealed

If you are a frequent shopper at Amazon, you must be aware of their free shipping offer over USD twenty-five purchases. I had to purchase a book which was worth USD twenty-three. I started looking for some measly stuff on their website and purchased my beauty-secret, with a cost little over USD two. My order was set; I got free shipping!

Yesterday, the box was delivered to my office. The delivery guy, a very friendly one, whispered to me, ``Bhaaluu^! Can't you walk to the corner of the street for your beauty-secret?'' I smiled since I could notice the open-package. I explained him what happened at Amazon. He smiled and said, ``That's what I wondered; otherwise I thought you don't like purchasing your beauty-secret in person.''

As an endnote, some explanations are needed. I wanted the book to be delivered at my office address; this forced the beauty-secret to arrive in office as well. It was still under a brown-box, to be noticed. However, recent anthrax and mail-terrorism requires each box to be opened in the mail room and inspected. The beauty-secret is nothing but a Dove beauty bar without fragrance.

* * *

^ Name has been changed for privacy purposes.

Quick n Tasty Toast

If you love Bread and Butter, this post may lead you to a wonderful quick treat. Many of you would have enjoyed cold sliced-loaf with butter in Italian, Spanish, French, or other European restaurants. I have a very little modification to this serving:

Ingredients: Loaf bread, Butter.

Medium: Microwave oven.

Slice 10-12 thin, about 1 cm, pieces of loaf-bread. You can use loaf of your choice and taste; I enjoy a french bread made with flour, yeast, rosemary, kalamata olives, salt, and yeast. Put the slices on a plastric tray and heat for about 20-25 seconds in microwave oven at medium power^. Take out the tray, apply butter according to taste, and eat. Yum Yum.


^You may want to heat 6 slices at a time for about 15-20 seconds to prevent bread from getting cold and hard at crust.

Lighter Side: You Rock! You Rule!

Excerpts from the Kanak-Dhara-Stotra by Adi Shankaracharya

Goddess Lakshmi has a celestial of praises, hymns, and prayers around Her. Among the few I have seen, I like Kanak-Dhara-Stotra the most; its poet is Adi Shankaracharya. The stotra has a beautiful story behind itself. Once, Adi Shankara was roaming with His disciples for bhikshaa, i.e., begging. During the course, they came across a very old feeble woman with a really dilapidated hut. She had nothing but an amla to eat. However, out of virtue, she gave the amla to Adi Shankara and preferred to remain hungry instead of turning away the visitor. Adi Shankara was moved by her dedication and improvised, what is known as, the Kanak-Dhara-Stotra. After the stotra finished, Goddess Lakshmi appeared over the thatched hut and showered numerous gold coins to make the old woman rich^. I am presenting a very small portion, about 1/6th, of the whole stotra. The full stotra can be found at the following site on Sanskrit.

Meaning

1) Salutations for the Goddess with blooming lotus like face, Who was born in the Ksheersagar^^, Who came out from Ksheersagar along with amrit or nectar of immortality, and Who is dear to Narayana, i.e., Lord Vishnu.

2) Salutations for the Goddess who rests on a ice-color lotus, Who leads the whole celestial universe into their actions, Who is beyond the mercy of nature and its maintainers, i.e., devataa, and Who is dear to conch-shell holder, i.e., Lord Vishnu.

3) Salutations for the Goddess, Who is the daughter of Bhrigu, Who is seated on the chest of Lord Vishnu, Who is prosperity in every form, Who resides in a beautiful milieu of lotuses, and Who is dear to Damodara, i.e., Lord Krishna or Vishnu.

4) Salutations for the Goddess who brings forth light into everyone's life, Who has lotus like eyes, Who is an essential part in creation, Who showers prosperity in this universe, Who is prayed and worshipped by devataa, and Who is dear to son of Nanda, i.e., Lord Krishna or Lord Vishnu.

Footnote

^ All the atheists, please, this is history and has records. Do not slander this event here.
^^ Lakshmi came out after Ksheersagar was churned for years alongwith other divine entities. Amrit or nectar of immortality also came due to the same process and hence Lakshmi is referred as its sister.

Guidelines for Feedback/Comments

Only for New Visitors: While these are just guidelines and not rules, it will be good if you follow them so that your voice is heard and appreciated.

• If you are happy with the posts here, no problems. Thanks for the appreciation.
• If you are unhappy, please mention the reason for being unhappy. A baseless unhappiness is not a good show for you. It shows that the feedback-person is naive and does not knows how to write. It does no harm to the blogger [me].
• If you think work is plagiarized, have the original source ready. If the original is already cited in my work, then learn a lesson: It is a good practice to duly reference the original work.
• If you don't know about Sanskrit, read/request a translation. Do notequivocate or mislead other readers by guessing that these works are plagiarized. In short, don't guess around to suit your low purposes.

Happy Blog-reading!

Photo

Yay! I added photo to my profile. Have a look!

Best regards,
Bhaaluu

God and Me: Mirabai

The relation between God and world continues to be a relation between nothing and everything. This eternal truth is very nicely reflected by Mirabai in the famos poem ``Jo Tum Todo Piya." The soulful composition and rendition by Vasant Desai and Lata Mangeshkar, respectively, prompted me to share this beautiful gem with my blog readers. Notice how beautifully Mirabai admits in every line that she is inseparable and totally dependent on Krishna.

1) You [Krishna] may break the bond of love from me, but I will not do the same. If I break the bond of love from you, whom will I substitute you with? In essence, God cannot be replaced.
2) If You [Krishna] are a tree, I am a bird. If You are a lake, I am a fish.
3) If You are a mountain, I am grass over it. If You are the moon, I am chakora^.
4) If You, O Lord, are a pearl, I am the thread. If You are gold, I am the bond of marriage^^.
5) The Lord of Mirabai is the resident of Vraj, i.e., Krishna. I am Your's in entirety, O my Lord.

^ Chakora is a bird which continuously watches moon.
^^ Notice in all these You-I relations, Mira places herself on the lower pedestal and defines the dependence by using a dependence in nature.

My Mother: Maa

This is the image version of the poem in the previous post. Meaning can be accessed there. With suggestions from Anna, I have changed the line "anaathagodadhaariNiiM" to "samodagodadhaariNiiM"

My Mother: Maa

When I started writing this poem yesterday night, little did I know that May 8th is mother day and is in sight. I feel happy that I wrote this poem around the right time in some sense. However, for me, every day is Mother's day. I hope blog-readers will like this poem dedicated to my mother. Oh yes, and a break from politics.

Maa

triputravRRindasevitaaM |
trilokashokavedhitaaM ||
trikaalachakramuktidaaM |
smaraami chaarumaataraM || 1 ||

dine dine suharShadaaM |
sujanmadaaM supoShaNaaM ||
sadaa sapremapaalitaaM |
smaraami chaarumaataraM || 2 ||

aGYaanabhaavanaashiniiM |
mukundabhaktibhaaShiNiiM ||
vimuuDhaguuDhaGYaanadaaM |
smaraami chaarumaataraM || 3 ||

kurogamadhyasevitaaM |
kuyogamadhyapreritaaM ||
abodhakaalakhelitaaM |
smaraami chaarumaataraM || 4 ||

anaathagodadhaariNiiM |
samastaduHkhavaariNiiM ||
kapolalolachumbitaaM |
smaraami chaarumaataraM || 5 ||

vishaalaniirajaakshiNiiM |
sadaa hRRidau nivaasiniiM ||
sugaNDachakrashobhitaaM |
smaraami chaarumaataraM || 6 ||

sukhaamRRitasya yachhiniiM|
viShaadashokabhakshiNiiM ||
kukaalakaShTaghaalitaaM |
smaraami chaarumaataraM || 7 ||

sadaa karaavalambitaaM |
sadaa sukhaadicintitaaM ||
dayaakshamaadadaamyahaM |
smaraami chaarumaataraM || 8 ||

hare vidhe prasiida me |
varottamaM dadaamyahaM ||
yadaa manuShya janmadaM |
tadaa ushaiva maataraM || 9 ||

Meaning

I remember my beautiful mother who is served by three sons^, absolves the pain and misery of this world from me, and gave me a chance to attain salvation by giving me birth.||1||

I remember my beautiful mother who gives me happiness every day, gave me birth and raised me ever since then, and always nurtured me with love and affection.||2||

I remember my beautiful mother who destroyed the ill-knowledge within me, is the first one to tell me about Mukunda*, and gave deep knowledge to the utmost ignorant son [that is me].||3||

I remember my beautiful mother who always took care during my sickness, encouraged me during struggle, and played with me during my un-conscious [infant] years.||4||

I remember my beautiful mother who took this orphan (me) into her hands and lap, [and hence] destroyed all my grief and sorrows, and kissed my cheeks [after I was born].||5||

I remember my beautiful mother who has beautiful big lotus like eyes, always resides inside my heart, and has two beautiful dimples in her cheeks.||6||

I remember my beautiful mother who showered me with potion of happiness, eats up [destroys] sorrows and grief from my life, and slays my pain during bad times.||7||

I remember my beautiful mother who always, supports me by lending her hand, thinks about my happiness and bliss, and forgives/mercies my ignorance.||8||

O Hari! O Destiny! Please be happy with me and give me the best boon. Whenever I am born as a human, I shall be born as the son of Usha^^.||9||

Comments

Chhanda - paMchachaamara

Footnote

^ We are three brothers.
* Mukunda is another name for Lord Vishnu.
^^ Usha is the name of my mother.

From rediff.com: Bush's failure in Iraq

Rumsfeld offered to free Saddam: Report

May 01, 2005 15:28 IST

United States Secretary of Defence, Donald Rumsfeld, paid a secret visit to former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and offered him freedom and possible return to public life if he made a televised request to armed groups for a ceasefire with allied forces^, a media report said.

Saddam promptly rejected the offer, Ynetnews reported quoting London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi daily.

Rumsfeld made the offer when he visited Iraq about two weeks ago and only a few Iraqi officials in Jordan knew of it, the Arab daily reported.

Two weeks ago, Britain's Telegraph had reported that Iraqi gunmen were offered a "deal" to halt all attacks in return for a reduced sentence for Saddam, who is likely to be sentenced to death.

------------------

Remark: The champs almost admitted defeat. Seems their economy crunch and miscalculations are becoming nightmare of life. Very soon they will have to leave Iraq without a drop of oil, I suppose.

^ Look who is talking. When every alpha, beta, and gamma report asked US to not attack Iraq, they were adamant that we will bring peace there and prosecute Saddam. Now handle the peace and prosecute Saddam! Instead they are talking the opposite: free Saddam and forget the war. Isn't it too late after two useless attacks on Iraq?

Music in Nature

"This was In 1968.One day I was sitting on the banks of the Ganga at Rishikesh, watching the river flow by. At just one spot close to me I heard the river flow with a kind of 'quiver', like a sort of musical ornamentation. I immediately recognised it as a natural Gamak. From that moment onwards my style naturally took on the subtlety of a flowing river." - Pandit Jasraj (c.f.~memories)

Comment:

Also, have a look at the bird-chirping article.

Kalidasa: ka kha ga gha

Once the King asked Kalidasa to make a poem in Sanskrit with the alphabet ka, kha, ga, and gha inside it. Those who have had Sanskrit lessons could guess how hard it is to make such poem. However, Kalidasa quickly improvised a timeless piece; he made a poetic conversation between a man and a small girl:

kiM tav baalaa
vidyunmaalaa^
kasyaaH putrii
kanakalataayaaH
haste kiM tav
taaliipatraM
kaa vaa rekhaa
ka kha ga gha

The translation follows:

Who are you girl?
[My name is] Vidyunmaalaa*
Whose daughter?
[Daughter] of Kanaklataa&
What is in your hands?
A Palm leaf
What are those marks/lines?
[The alphabets] ka kha ga gha.$

^ Some people argue the name as kaa~mchanamaalaa, meaning a gold necklace.

* Vidyunmaalaa means a garland of lightening, a beautiful name. Incidentally, there is a chhanda by this name.

& Kanakalataa is the name of a flower; it literally means golden creeper.

$ Finally note that Sanskrit does not have any punctuation marks. It is a punctuation free and permutation invariant language.