Desalination Plants ...

Jai Gurudev !!


Desalination is the process by which salt and minerals are removed from salt water , so that it can be used for drinking and irrigation purposes .  In regions where there are no Fresh water bodies or where there are no sufficient rains , huge desalination plants are set up to convert the sea water into Fresh water. We can see many such desalination plants in Gulf region . The desalination plant involves multilevel distillation processes to desalinate the water to a higher degree.


Adelaide Desalination Plant, Australia

SaudiAl-KhobarDesalinationPlant .

Though the man made Desalination plants have gained popularity in recent years and the cost involved in the construction and maintenance are enormous , we can see the natural Desalination plants spread across widely especially in the tropical regions near the ocean , in beaches , near rivers and in other places where there are plenty of rainfalls and sunlight . 
The Natural desalination plants are a boon to the humanity . In India we find their extensive cultivation in Kerela . As one can easily guess , it's the coconut tree , which is the subject of discussion.
 

We can see the Coconut Tree as one such natural desalination plant . It's highly tolerant of salt water .The coconut tree taps the water from the ground and  just purifies it into clean and sweet coconut water and stores it  inside the coconut , which we relish drinking as tender coconuts. It cools our body system and is very good for our health too , a prescriptional medicine for many diseases also. 



San Blas Islands, Panama



Coconut trees in Juan Dolio Beach

  Having discussed of the Man-made and natural desalination plants , it  brings to our mind  , a wonderful comparison to the desalination plants  , that is quite amazing.
It's none other than us Humans .
As humans , we are so much stuck in the material world and we are not aware of own consciousness .And there comes something called as the Knowledge Factor , which acts as the Coconut tree and lifts us to a blissful state from the state of agony and misery . The Knowledge of our self wipes away our miseries, gets us rid off the ignorance ; purifies us and keeps us ever happy . The Knowledge or awareness that one develops during his lifetime can be termed as something very precious and never lost births after births .

  = =




Love & smiles....

Why do you do the Charity ?

Jai Gurudev !!

With our age moving up , at one point of time , we feel like doing charity or do some service to the needy like Orphanages , Old Age homes or handicapped institutions , donating blood, educatig children , adopting the kids  etc. 
The service may also include other types which is spiritually based like spreading the knowledge of Truth or Self Knowledge  to people through  various spiritual techniques . The spiritual techniques may be Yoga, meditation, Breathing techniques , Prayers , Chanting etc...
Whatever may be the service , the service can be broadly classified into five types as

1. First type is :We do the service just to show off or gain recognition .
     We generally see this type of service in case of politicians or even some rich people to be in the limelight in their social circle.
     They do that because it would gain fame and popularity to them .

2.  Second type : We do the service expecting some merit in future.
It's like we do some charity or help someone because we believe that it's going to fetch some good merit to us in our future.We have the belief that if we do something good to someone , we might get back the same or in multifolds in our next birth or to our children etc.

3.Third Type is : We do the service because it gives us Joy !!
Like if we relieve someone from their troubles or problem , we feel happy . Some thing inside us becomes happy . We feel some unparalled joy sort.
Once that joy of giving joy to others is tasted , then one tends to do similar services more and more to get more joy again and again.

4. Fourth type of Service : We do the service because it is needed at that particular point of time.

Whenever the situation necessitates some immediate action to be taken either by cash or kind , then the service is offered by the individuals without any second thought. Probably , it's like ,we always wait for an opportunity to serve others and just do it , when and where the demand arises.

5. Then come the last type of service , that is , " We serve the people /world as part of our nature " .
We do not even recognise that we are doing some service to others. We just do it as though it's our part of our job or nature. We just cannot keep quiet without doing it .




So, out of the five types of service , the last type of service stands above the rest .
One can see oneself growing in the five levels of service gradually , if they consciously do it , observing their state of mind at each step.

We also can observe one interesting thing here that , the first type of service is simply exhausting , draining out all the energy  whereas the last type of service does not give any tiredness at all and gives more energy and enthusiasm rather!!

So, hope you are in one type of service ?
If so , where do you stand ?!

Love & smiles....



   

Merry X'mas !!

Jai Gurudev !!

Snowy surroundings … Chilly  Air … Freezing temperature !!

The buildings , the trees everything wear a snowy white coat . The green leaves of the trees cannot be spotted out at all .People are  seen moving around with thick leather Jackets, pull overs  and Hats or Caps. This characterizes the  month of December .

None of the trees bear any flowers or fruits in this season .

Though this is the case , there’s one tree which provides us with the ample amount of gifts , chocolates and glitters with colorful lights and makes us happy in this season .

As you guess it right , that’s none other than the Christmas tree !! This marks the specialty of the Christmas tree ,where all the other trees go behind the scene, the X’mas tree alone is the one which stands above the rest .

 The X’mas tree indirectly indicates … the entry of the Divine in the times of tough in one’s life , due to whose Love , all our miseries vanish and we get all joy we want as like the Xmas tree gives us abundantly the gifts even in rough weather conditions .

The world celebrates the birth of the Master , Jesus Christ  in December  and it is a month of celebration all over the world .The city is decorated everywhere ,the malls , the houses, the shopping lanes everything decked up with sparkling lights everywhere. The  people are busy participating in the Christmas carols, singing the glory of  the Lord  , shopping to grace the festive occasion  and exchanging the gifts with the loved ones and attending special mass/prayers in the Church . The brightly colored ,  illuminated Star can be seen hanging in front of each house welcoming the birth of the Jesus Christ . Not to forget… the X’mas tree decoration that ‘s done with great interest and enthusiasm in every household. It’s a wonderful sight  watching them which delights the onlooker and we can say in short ,  a time for merriment time with friends and family.

Merry X'Mas for all !!

May we see the Bright Light in our lives !!

May the Birth of the Divine uplifts us in all ways !!

May the Joy and Happiness embraces us all !!

May the world live in eternal Peace forever !!

Love & smiles...

Born again and again !!

Jai Gurudev !!



 

How many Kgs of Joy do you need ?


A baby is born in a family ...
We see the baby does not come empty handed !!

Are you celebrating me ?

It brings in loads and loads of Joy to the family .

The celebration begins with the distribution of sweets to near and dears!!

The parents and the grandparents of the baby step into a wonderful world , with all their miseries vanishing . The problems of the family , if any would bother less or no more .

The presence of a child makes the atmosphere cool and enchanting.

The enthusiastic nature of the baby just radiates all around.

The innocent smile cannot be paralled with any other precious things in the world.

In short  we can the family is gifted to have a baby !!
The family which deprives of a baby can innately and deeply feel the real value of it !!

They say that the presence of a baby is the same as that of an enlightened master. Both fetch enormous joy and happiness to the people around. The reason being , they live in the present moment totally.

They do not sit and worry over the past nor they keep thinking of the future . What they do is , they are just absorbed in the present moment . And that infact is Yoga  !!

Apart from that , the baby by its actions , behaviour or appearance keeps reminding us of our ancestors or the family members who have departed . Something indicates us the connection.
Though the science says it's due to heredity , there's much more we can observe , apart from what science says !
During our lifetime , how much bondage do we develop with the individual family memebers !
Once the body is lost ,  we cannot lose the thick bondage we have developed in the whole lifetime as such.
May be because of  this so called bondage , the departed members rather departed souls keep returning back with a new body again and again into the world or the same family , says the scriptures.

And that's one of the reason , in most of our communities, the new born baby carries the name of its grandparent .

Probably , they would be christened a second name to suit the modern world and still that name stays with it as an alias .

So,  is it not apt to say ...
We are born again and again ...
Ofcourse everytime with a different body package !!






Love & smiles...    

In another forty years ....

Jai Gurudev !!

Everything created in this world , be it a flower or a fruit or an animal contribute something to the world before it loses its identity .

If that's the case, what is the contribution of man to the world ?

Does he make his presence in the world a beneficial one or a detrimental one ?

Taking a deep insight into this aspect , in another some years say 40 /50 years , none of us are going to be here for sure . In this short span of time , what can we contribute to the world ?

How can we be useful to the people around us or the world we are living ?

Instead of concentrating on "what I am going to get from this world ? " , 
if we question ourselves , " What I can give to this world during my short life span ?"
we can see a drastic change in the world and in  oneself too !!

The corruption, scams , violence etc etc will see its end soon then , is it not ?!

Love & smiles...

Homeopath pill and a man ...

Jai Gurudev !!

Homeopathy type of treatment is one of the effective ways to cure the allergy and asthma related diseases.

Though these medicines need to be taken for a longer duration of time , one can see  a permanent cure of the diseases , which allopathy medicines cannot do that .

What wonders us is the pills given as prescription . There are certain rules to be followed while taking the pills. It should be taken either half an hour before or after food / coffee / tea . The food intake also includes mint or any strong flavoured items. Further , the pills should not be touched by hands or fingers so that the pills do not lose its potency . The pills are nothing but minute sugar granules , which the homepathy doctors mix them with few drops of the medicine and shake them up instantly in front of us and provide us in labelled tiny containers. The pills numbering 4 to 6 would have to be counted and kept underneath the tongue . Normally they prescribe for a week and one needs to consult the doctor again for the next course of medicines.

But , this tiny pills doing magic is something to be amazed at .

Yes, the size of the the pills is as small as minute beads .

Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy believed that restoring the ‘vital forces’ of the body is the way to cure diseases that were incurable in his time. He also claimed that the very small doses of a medication would be enough to heal as the potency of a particular substance could be manipulated by succussion (vigorous shaking)     

If the homepathy medicine , whose size is 1 /10000  or even lesser of our body size can produce a significant effect on our body and cure the disease , why not a single person can influence the community or a group of people in the right way  ?

Why not a single person with his positive thoughts and attitudes /actions can bring in a positive change in and around the place he/she  lives in  ?

Will not the meditative powers of one can effect the thought process of the many ?

 Every single person can do wonders in a bigger level just as homeopath medicines do for the betterment of the world  !!

Love & smiles....

The Three types of Love !!

Jai Gurudev !!

Love is such an inevitable feeling in our life .

Guruji Sri Sri Ravishankar  says ,

" We are all born out of Love;

We move towards something called as Love .

And our destination is also Love !! "

It means,  a baby is born due to the love of a man and a woman .


Secondly , in every step of our life, our very purpose is love , either there will be the love towards an object or love towards power or the love towards other beings etc... Hence, it is said , we move towards the love .

Thirdly , our ultimate destination , after our body departs us, we become one with the universal Love or the source . so , our destination is also Love.  
Though the philosophy goes that way ,
in general we can classify Love into three types .

Type 1 : We always expect something from others . In any relationship , we try to get some benefit out of it . We move with others with the intention of getting something from them either monetarily or by other means.

This type of love is called as Tamasic Love !! 

Type 2: We love other person , only if the other person loves us. It's like a give and take policy , a business . You do something , then I 'll do something in return. You be good to me , then will I .
Something like that . This type of Love is called as Rajasic Love !!

Type 3 :  The third type of Love is the love in which we do not expect anything from others  . We  just love them and do whatever they want without  asking .
This type of Love is saying , " I am there for you . I want nothing but make you happy ! "
This is called as Satwik Love !!

In our day to day life , we would have come across all the three types of love .

If we closely observe ourselves , our love towards our family memebers or others would come under one of these three categories. 

The progress from Tamasic to Satwik Love is what one has to aim for in due course of time in any relationship .

That would definitely bring peace and happiness for sure !!

Love & smiles.....

The Dream in my waking state !!

Jai Gurudev !

On the way back home , happened to see the final journey of a good soul . Flowers being thrown all along the way. Common musical note from the the Drums accompanying …It’s a disturbing sight , however strong we may be.

Something pinches inside..

And the mind stays in the same mood for some time and then forgets it totally and starts to engross in the normal routine activities again.

Though this is the usual behavioral pattern , this time , a peculiar rather an unusual thought hit my mind.

Everyone who’s born in the world have to undergo the same process , No escape for anybody …be a militant or a Mahatma , be a politician or a normal man , be a good person or a bad person .

Envisioning  oneself in death bed , almost unconscious  creates some sort of fear . And that prevents us from proceeding further to imagine our  final journey to the graveyard.

If we just imagine ourselves lying dead  and run the thought horse ,  a little bit ahead of the happenings around  our dead body …

"Oh ! I am dead !!

I am laid down in the cot in the center of the hall .            

But then I can see what’s happening around .

I can make out who all have come to bid me good bye once for all !

I can hear what the people whisper among themselves.

I can make out who are all crying out from the heart and who are all just crying for name sake.

I can hear them who scold me for what I have hurt them during my life tenure.

Oh ! It’s a pity !!

I could see my loving family members and friends , undergoing a heavy pain in their heart due to the loss of their loving family member and crying aloud.

How I feel , I should appear before them and console them by uttering a few words  !!

Alas !! My body has lurched me in the middle and I am a departed soul now !!

Earlier , I was a pot !!

Now that , the earthenware is broken off and my soul doesn’t have any identification at all .

Now I am one with the space outside !!

Let me listen to the happenings around my dead body , for this is the chance to really gauge my life span …

Slowly I could calculate and estimate myself , my period of stay in the world  !!

How much I have been useful to the people around me ?

How good have I been to them ?

How much happiness , have I brought to them ?

And how bad I was to some people , which is causing them to scold me ?

Without my knowledge , how much misery also I have brought to them ?

Have I lived my life worth living ?

Have I made justice to my lifetime , God has given the opportunity to live in this wonderful world ?

Have I had any advances in my spiritual life , the path towards the Ultimate source ?

I could sense my heart becoming  heavy .I couldn’t control my tears …

“Why are you sitting all alone and  crying ? “

Suddenly the voice came from somewhere . Is it from heaven or what  ?

Again I heard the voice in more louder intensity , “Why are you sitting all alone and  crying , mummy ? “

Oh !!  It’s my son’s voice !!

I’m not yet dead . I’m still alive …

“Nothing dear !!” softly I whispered …

                                     Yes, I can talk too  !!

I have some more time to live , no doubt !!

I’m given one more chance and  can cope  up for the mistakes which I have been doing !!

I’m woken up from inside  !!

Love & smiles...

Flower -- One moment please !!

Jai Gurudev !!

Lovely and beautiful are you !

Fragrant and Fine are you !

Colourful and Catchy are you !

And you are an added beauty to this world

You bring in happiness ;

You decorate any occasion and make it very special !!

You take different forms as perfumes and scents !!

You bundle up as bouquets  and bring in spontaneous  smiles  !!

You carry  medicinal values  and raise your value !!

Though , you are so special and significant ,

You live only for a short duration !!

Indeed ,you have come to the world as a boon for the humankind!!

Can you please tell me ,

when will you feel on top of the world in your short little life span ?

 

Oh  well dear  !! I can say ,

I ‘ll be  happy , when my presence in the world gives a meaning ..

rather than falling off from the branch and die off useless !!

My joy is at its peak , when I reach the highest pedestal …

That is the abode of the divine !!

Before I get dry and leave this world ,

I wish I am taken to decorate the Divine …

I wish I stay in His heart as a garland !!

I wish I am offered at the Lotus feet of the Divine  !!

Oh Flower !!

Moved am I by your great thinking …

Shall I wish to become you and live up to my heart’s content !!

Love & smiles...

The Way of the Swan !!

Jai Gurudev !!

THE SWAN …

The spell of the very word opens up in our mind screen , a beautiful picture of the elegant bird .... the pure white coloured creature swimming in clean waters with all its glory and splendour …

The Swan captivates our heart not only by its appearance , but also by its special characteristic , which is very unique in nature. This is well spoken of in Tamil literature and  the poems hold the swan very high in esteem .

Guess what is that characteristic feature ?

Yes, the swan is believed to separate the milk from a mixture of milk and water. If we keep the mixture of water and milk in a bowl , the swan drinks only the milk leaving aside the water in bowl.

This unique  feature of identifying and separating the goodness makes the swan a special bird.

That’s the reason , the swan has occupied an important place in the Hindu Mythology too.

The Goddess of knowledge , called Goddess Saraswati is depicted as wearing white colour saree , holding the Veena and the books  and sits on the Swan .

The white colour marks the purity , the Veena indicates the arts , the books denote the knowledge . 

And the swan  is the vehicle of the Goddess Saraswati , the reason being its unique characteristic of separating the goodness from the bad.

In short , we can say , one can master the knowledge /Arts , only  if he moves with the attitude of identifying the positivity in every aspect of life , ignoring the negative attributes and becomes pure in his thoughts and actions . Then , Saraswati is supposed to stay in his/her tongue and actions too.

The knowledge flourishes only in the midst of positivity and purity  .

Here knowledge means the true knowledge , the knowledge of the Truth or Wisdom .

The Lake Manasarovar in the Holy Himalayas or the Mount Kailash is supposed to be the abode of Swans in India .

The Swans occupy a high pedestal rather a respectable position  in the spiritual sphere.

The Swan Concept  that is identifying and sticking to the positivity of any thing has also been stressed strongly in the Holy Book of Hindus , the Baghavad Gita.

In Gita, Lord Krishna uplifts Arjuna by his enlightening  words of wisdom in the midst of the Warfield, when Arjuna was totally depressed and dejected as he has to fight against his own cousins in the war.

Krishna , at one point says that , " Arjuna , this Supreme knowledge is being taught to you because you are Anasuya now ."

Anasuya means "Devoid of Fault finding eyes " “

Indirectly Krishna says that , since Arjuna has become the one who has stopped finding faults , his mental state has become ready to receive the supreme knowledge.

Else the knowledge will go waste , if the listener doubts everything and dwells on the negativities.

There is a certain mindset that even in the best of conditions , keeps finding fault. That type of mindset cannot know the sacred knowledge.

For instance, Hanuman never saw any fault in Rama.

From a distance , even craters cannot be seen.

Even on a smooth surface, there will be holes.

If you are interested only in the holes, then you will not be able to see the magnanimity of things.

So, becoming Anasuya is one of the prime factor in the path of Truth !!

Love & smiles....

 

Satsang - The environment Uplifter !!

Jai Gurudev !!






Satsang conducted by AOL Teachers Mr.Gururaj
& Mrs.Romna Gururaj.Their son Deivik is also seen.







 




Satsang in a slum





*Satsang*  in true sense means " The Company of the Truth " or "The True Company ".


It means as....


The company which gives the  upliftment of our soul,
the company which brings eternal Joy and happiness ,
the company which makes us forget our worries and sorrows,
the company which makes us to realise our inner self,
the company which we always look forward without our knowledge,
the company which always will be with us .... the Truth !!


We prefer to be in the company of our friends and relatives , due to which we get joy , no doubt.
But we can not always guarantee that. Sometimes, the negative tendacies also do crop up , like anger , greed, lust , violence etc... And sometimes, this company will pull us down also , making us depressed or feel low in our energy level. Also, this company favours the gossips , negativity , loose talks - the talks which do not have sense at all etc...




The kids actively participating in Satsang.



In the midst of these company , we can find our inner peace, enormous Joy , uplift our energy level in the positive direction in what we call as *Satsang* or the True Company.Not only that , the satsang , which involves the full participation of the people can do wonders . It can purify the environment , uplift the energy level in the surrounding area where it is conducted.

That's the reason , the satsangs when done in the slums , in the midst of the less fortunate people/kids , we can see their face glowing . The people would have forgotten the miseries they are undergoing due to various levels of agonies , they undergo.

That's the concept of Satsang at various low energy level areas.

We can say Satsang as the Power Generator , which brings Light and Love in the lives of the most needed ones at the appropriate time.

The persons participating in Satsangs regularly cannot deny the above fact. 



People having food after satsang



Normally the regular Satsang group , with the intention that the benefit of Satsang should reach the less fortunate people dwelling in slums , orphanages ,

 Blind schools, Old age homes, Handicapped schools, they move out in groups to those areas and conduct satsangs ,

followed by Food Distribution, clothes distribution, other amenities distribution, etc 



Slum Kids relishing the delicacies served



So, one can see every face being lit up with light and Joy , both the conductors of Satsang and the people who are participating .

 

The Blind School kids being
benefitted  by the satsang.
The Satsang group is also seen around





Satsang leaves everyone with their heart full and mind free ....
No doubt !!

Love & smiles...