The Puttaparthi Sai Baba

From ordinary believers to the President of India, his clout spread far and wide but controversy also followed Puttaparthi Sathya Sai Baba all along.

India had, and has, several godmen but none could match his name and fame.

The death of Sathya Sai Baba was wrongly predicted by him, he did not live into his 90s as he prophesies on numerous occasions! Yet another false boast, and one which confounds all the devotees who blindly believed his words and in his divinity. He died a sick man, in more sense than one!  The BBC has announced his death, but adds that he has been accused of fraudulent miracle tricks and sexual abuses. This is an epitaph that will always follow him and, as researchers and historians collect and study the evidence, the accusations and the reason Sai Baba avoided prosecution will become evident and a permanent part of his otherwise largely bogus ‘story’

In fact, Sathya Sai Baba's influence had no barriers as his millions of followers spanned the globe.

Top-ranking politicians including prime ministers, Union ministers, governors, chief ministers, filmstars, sportspersons, industrialists and virtually the 'who's who' of the country rank among the high-profile devotees of the Baba.

Born into an ordinary family as Satyanarayana Raju in the sleepy Puttaparthi village in the dry Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh, on November 23, 1926, he was to later become Sathya Sai Baba, the reincarnation of the saintly Sai Baba of Shirdi.

Now, Puttaparthi -- which metamorphosed into a self-contained city -- finds itself on the international map, thanks to the large number of the Baba's foreign devotees who visit Prasanthi Nilayam day in and day out. It boasts of an exclusive airport where chartered flights, carrying Baba's devotees from different parts of the globe, land.

In 1944, a small temple was built for Sathya Sai Baba's devotees at Puttaparthi and in 1950 a sprawling ashram popularly called the 'Prasanthi Nilayam' was built, making it his permanent abode.

His divine preaching apart, Satya Sai Baba pioneered many social service activities beginning with a tiny general hospital at Puttaparthi which has now transformed into the Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, a 220-bedded super-speciality hospital.

Another super-speciality 333-bedded SSIHMS was established at Whitefield on the outskirts of Bangalore, where the Baba's summer abode Brindavan also stands.

The Sathya Sai Central Trust manages all the service activities and also runs the Sathya Sai University (formerly Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning) at Puttaparthi. Besides, the trust also runs many schools and dispensaries in different states while it has also completed large water supply projects in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.

Volunteers from the Sathya Sai Seva Organisation are always found in the forefront carrying out relief and rehabilitation work during natural calamities not only in AP but also in other states.

Sathya Sai Baba established three primary mandirs (spiritual centres) in India - Dharmakshetra in Mumbai, Shivam in Hyderabad and Sundaram in Chennai.

Besides, there are Satya Sai centres located in over 114 countries in the world.

In 1957, Sathya Sai Baba went on a temple tour of north India and made his only overseas trip to Uganda in June 1968. In 1963, Sathya Sai Baba suffered a stroke and four severe heart attacks but survived.

Since 2005, Baba used a wheelchair and his failing health forced him to make fewer public appearances. In 2006 he suffered a fractured hip when a student standing on an iron stool slipped and both the boy and the stool fell on Baba. He gave darshan from a car or his porte chair.

Sorry

2 Corinthians 7:8-9
"Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while—yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us."




It's not the hurt that we should be apologizing for. Nobody expects your dentist to apologize to you for doing wisdom tooth surgery on you.
But it's the intent behind the hurt. Was it to protect ourselves that we ended up hurting the other person, or was it to really help the other person be built up or was it simply because we were not in the best of moods, and the other party just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time?

Sometimes we apologize for causing hurt. But is that a biblical practice? As though the absence of hurt was a cardinal virtue? Then God would have so much to apologize for. But obviously, the absence of pain is not a virtue in itself, as the Bible clearly teaches.
Rather, what we have to reflect on is the heart's motive behind causing the hurt, & our mistakes in rendering the hurt, if well-intentioned. Of course, if it's really just us being frustrated at something else at hand, I think that's perfectly understandable.
Thus that's why an "I'm sorry I made you feel this way." is one of the most backhanded and selfish "apologies". Far better not to apologize then. Stop adding to the hurt and piling up your sins before God.

But if you're genuinely sorry for your selfish reasons, an apology is a great way to demonstrate your repentance, especially when followed up with a clear statement of where you were wrong.
And if your conscience was clear but your actions caused harm and more damage than intended, it would be the right thing to apologize too.
Don't just say sorry. Explain and confess clearly what you are saying for. Then you will be in a very good position to a receive grace and mercy and be at peace with all men.

So next time you say sorry ,better Be sorry before you say it .

Should'nt we change the game ?

Hockey is the National Game of India. Hockey has been played in India for time immemorial. There was a golden period of Indian hockey when hockey stalwarts of India ruled the game. On the international scenario there were no competitors to match the magical hands of Indian hockey players. The might and power of Indian hockey made India synonymous with the game. Unmatched excellence and incomparable talent of Indian players became folklore. The ball-juggling feats of players like Major Dhyanchand made people to think that Indian players used some kind of black magic. The Golden Era of hockey in India was the period from 1928 - 1956 when India won 6 successive gold medals in the Olympic Games

 in the 2010 Hockey World Cup, frankly speeking it was sad to see the type of performances. Except the match against Pakistan,  the players were seriously missing the preparation which the team need for a big tournament like World Cup.

 if you ask  a spectator then he will surely say that the performance was not up to the mark. Although we cheered the team many times in the matches, but was really surprised to see that none of the Indian players were there near to the goal post to protect the attacks of the opposition.

Our defense was the worst in the matches, attack was good, but they never dominated the oppositions. Now come back to the Hockey India. In my honest opinion they were the real culprits behind this poorperformance of the team. They were only thinking about how to become the boss of the association.

Controversies too played major role in the poor performance of our national team in the world cup of our national game. Players were looking for money (which was their rights too) but they got it from winning only one match. The elections of the Hockey India too played a big role in the preparation of the players.

Now the real  topic here is , weather the time has arrived when we seriously need to think about the national game. Do you think that Hockey is played in schools or collages ? I don’t think so. We don’t have the bench strength, so we need to rely on these tested players only. Go for cricket and you will see that children’s of nursery schools too have the knowledge of cricket. BCCI, the Board of Cricket Control in india is the richest sport organization in India. The team is getting good sponsors too.

Believe me that here are so many players available in the bench that you can create 100 or even thousands cricket team, and all of them will have almost the same strength. Indian Premiere League, one of the most popular sports in India is one of the examples of the bench strength of cricket players and the flow of money in this game.

So considering all these factors, why are we crying for the Indian Hockey Team? There are no sponsors for it, while players are not that much good, and no one is serious about promoting it, so why to cry for it? Just move ahead and make cricket the national game, which has all the glamour and money

22 April is Earth Day .

                                         

समाचार पत्र पढ़ कर ज्ञात हुआ कल पृथ्वी दिवस है या यु कहिये की तीन सौ पैसठ में से एक और दिन मानाने का बहाना ढूंढ लिया हम जैसे फालतू लोगो ने |क्या हमने यह सोचा है की एक दिन पृथ्वी दिवस ,कार्बन दिवस ,आदि दिवस मना कर हमारी अपने गृह के प्रति जिम्मेदारी ख़तम नहीं  हो जाती है |यह प्रयास लगातार प्रतिदिन चलने सेही विश्व का भला होगा |

 १९७० मे अमरीका मे प्रथम पृथ्वी दिवस मनाया और २० लाख लोगो ने इसमें भाग लिया |पृथ्वी दिवस पर कही रैली निकलेगी तो कही चित्रकरी कर के पृथ्वी को साफ़ व् हरीभरी रखने का सन्देश दिया जायगा कही पुनः काम में आने वाली वस्तु व् हाई ब्रीड कारे जो कम ईंधन व् कम प्रदुषण करती है का उपियोग बताकर जागरूकता फैलायगे|तो कही सिर्फ बिजली ,इंधन का दुरूपयोग रूक कर व् कूड़े का सही निस्तारण कर के पृथ्वी दिवस में योगदान दियाजायगा|

लम्बे समय से इंसान पृक्रति से दूर हो रहा है रासायनिक खाद व् कीटनाशक का इस्तेमाल कर के पृथ्वी को खोखली कर रहा है  आज का इंसान अपने माता पिता संतान  को जो मन से इज्ज़त्त प्यार देता है उसी तरह का समय ,ध्यान पृथ्वी व् वातावरण की और भी दे तो कतिपय यह संसार सभी जीव जन्तुओ व् इंसान के लिए स्वर्ग होजाए |

मुझे याद आता है की मेरे बचपन में गर्मियों में छत पे रात को सोते थे |वो सुहाना हवा का बहना रात का ठंडा बिस्तर.पर आज वातानुकूलित कमरों में टीवी देखते हुए रात बिताना ज्यादा आरामदायक है ...परन्तु आज रात का तापमान बढ़ गया व् छत पे नहीं सो सकते |प्रदुषण की वजह से तापमान बढ़ रहा है व् बरसात व् अन्य मौसमो मे बदलाव देखा जा रहा है |इस बदलाव से पहाडो की बर्फ पिघल रही है व् समुद्र  का पानी तेजी से बढ़ रहा है |

अगर समय रहते इंसान नहीं सुधरा व् सही  कूड़ा निस्तारण ,गैर रासायनिक खेती ,वृक्षारोपण ,लकड़ी को इंधन के रूप में इस्तेमाल रोकना ,खनिजो का दोहन कम करना ,और सबसे जरूरी दिनचर्या मे बदलाव ला कर परंपरागत तरीका इस्तेमाल करना आज समय की मांग है |यदि हम अपने आने वाली पीढ़ी को बीमारी ,झुलसाने वाली गर्मी ,पानी में डूबी हुई पृथ्वी नहीं देना चाहते है तो हमें आज यह सभी ठोस कदम उठा कर पृथ्वी दिवस मानना होगा |

"देश में निकला होगा ......

मित्रों नमस्कार ,कल मेरा इक मिलनेवाला दस दिनों की बंकोक पटाया देशो की यात्रा से सकुशल लौट आया सकुशल इस लिए कह रहा हूँ क्यों की आजकल दिल्ली मुंबई यात्रा में ही रेल में आग लग जाती है तोह कभी किसी को फैक दिया जाता है |असामाजिक ताकतों की दबंगता बढ़ रही है ,खैर मेरा विषय यात्रा से सम्बन्धहित  है |

तो कल जब मै वहा पंहुचा तो उसने बताया की उन देशो मै काफी पैसा ,चकाचौंध है .....
जब वो हवाईजहाज से उतरा तो उसे कई हिन्दुस्तानी टेक्सीवाले मिले उनमेसे इक उन्होंने कर लिया | बातो बातो में
 "पता चला वो उदैपुर के पास राजसमन्द का है फिर तो क्या बात वो ड्राईवर कई बाते पूछने लगा बोला "चुनाव का क्या नतीजा निकला जब मै लौटा तब विधानसभा चुनाव हो रहे थे, विदेश मै मेवाड़ी भाषा में बात करते हुए बोला 'फौर लेन सड़क रो काम कटा तक पुगियो ",अबार फेतःसागर में कत्रोक पानी है " आदि .
अब तोह अनजान देश में मिलने वाला जाननेवाला था हमें भी |

रात को घुमने के बाद व्हो होटल ले गया व् कल रात खाना साथ उसके घर खाने की दावत दे कर चला गया |दूसरेदिन समयसे पहले ही वो ड्राईवर आगया हमने बाते की व् घूम फिर कर उसके घर पहुचे वहा उसने दाल बाटी बनाई व् खूब  घी ड़ाल कर मेरे आगे परोस दी " मेरे मित्र ने चाय पीते हुए आगे सुनाया |
"जब वो परदेस में रहने वाला ड्राईवर खाना खाने बैठा तो बटियो को देख कर अनायास ही उसकी आखो से आसू टपकने लगे" |बोला "गाव में हर हफ्ते दल बाटी बनती थी" और सुबकने लगा"|
क्या आज हमारे देश ने इतने भी तरक्की नहीं की जो लोगो को दो जून रोटी के लिए विदेश का रुख करना पद्रह है | मुझे उस यात्राव्रत्रांत ने सोचेने पर मजबूर कर दिया |

मित्र की यह यात्रा वृतांत सुन कर मुझे याद आया कैसे दिल्ली प्रवास के दौरान मुझे घर की याद आने पर राजस्थान की बस में बैठ कर जी हल्का करता था | क्या हम मेवाड़ी लोग अपने घर से इतने करीब है |

A rough stone shaped smooth .Kalidas

Kalidas is considered to be one of the greatest Indian literary personalities of all time, and his work form the cornerstone of Indian mythology. Little is known about his personal life, but legends abound. He is known to be familiar with Greek Astronomy, and has used a few Greek terms in his work. According to one such popular legend, Kalidas wasn't always so wise and learned. In fact, there was a time he was considered to be one of the stupidest people in the kingdom! 
One sunny day, Kalidas was sitting on a branch of a tree, trying to saw it off. But the dimwitted man was sitting on the wrong end of the branch, so when he finally sawed through the branch, down he tumbled! This act of sheer stupidity was observed by some shrewd pundits minister passing by. 
Now these pundits wanted to play a trick on the arrogant princess, to teach her a lesson. She was determined to marry someone who would defeat her in a debate about the scriptures. The princess had heaped considerable abuse on them over a period of time, and they were determined to extract their revenge. So, when they chanced upon Kalidas, they decided to present him to the queen as a suitable match for her. 
In order to conceal his stupidity, the pundits asked Kalidas to pretend that he was a great sage, who was observing a vow of silence. Kalidas readily agreed, and they presented him to the queen, saying that Kalidas would only communicate by way of gestures. When the queen asked Kalidas a few questions to test his intelligence, Kalidas gesticulated wildly and the astute pundits 'interpreted' these gestures as extremely witty answers and retorts. The princess was suitably impressed, and the couple was married without much delay. 
Kalidas's stupidity could be concealed for only so long, and the night of the wedding Kalidas blurted out something inane. The princess realized that she had married a prize fool. Furious, she threw him out of her palace, and her life. 
The dejected Kalidas wandered around, till he came to the bank of the river. He contemplated taking his life when he suddenly saw some women washing clothes on the edge of the river bank. He observed that the stones which the women were pounding with clothes, were smooth and rounded, while the other stones were rough and ragged. This observation hit him like a thunderbolt, and it dawned upon him that if stones could be worn through and change their shape by being pounded upon by clothes, then why couldn't his thick brains change, by being pounded upon by knowledge!
Kalidas thus grew determined to become the wisest and most learned man in the country, and to achieve this end he started indulging in intellectual pastimes,reading, meditating and praying to his goddess Kali to grant him divine knowledge. His wish was fulfilled. 
Kalidas's contribution to Indian literature is tremendous. Though his writings were in Sanskrit, they have been translated into numerous languages. While numerous writings have been attributed to him, only seven works are proved to be genuinely his. 

1. Malavikaagnimitra (Malavikaa and Agnimitra)
2. Vikramorvashiiya (The story of Urvashi and Pururavas)
3. Abhigyanashakuntala (Shakuntala)

Of these plays, Kalidas is best known for the play Shakuntala, which has gone on to receive worldwide attention.

Subh Labh........

Today one of my friend ask me a question should it be Shubh Labh or Labh Shubh that people write with kumkum at there worship place.and my answer was Shubh & Laabh : These are 2 words that are firmly embedded in the psyche of every Indian. Every household & business establishment has these 2 words along with the Swastika & the images of Goddess Lakshmi & Lord Ganesha on either sides. 


           
Shubh Labh is an inscription one sees in many business places (or at entrances to traditional business places) in India. It is written in devnagri script on either side of a swastika  with KumKum. Literally translated it means, auspicious profit and is generally denoted by a Swastik which is pointed towards right.

I am not sure where this term started from (do let me know in case you are aware) and I am also not sure how this term escaped the attention of them socialists how can profit be auspicious, after all we are socialists during our heady days of socialism.

The Marwaris  and many others have something called a Bahi Khata pooja which is basically a day on Diwali /Laxmi Pooja where the ledgers and records are worshipped. When something is worshipped, the underlying meaning is that it is good, ethical. Which is why, for many businessmen, being fair in business is a big thing. The connection with spirituality and worship is a way of "corporate governance", though the meaning of it has been largely diluted today and shubh labh is now more about labh than about shubh.