Diwali Breakdown !!

Jai Gurudev !!




Diwali



This Diwali , we had been to our native place to celebrate with our parents . The family reunion during festivals especially during Diwali is something more gratifying for everyone. Infact that makes the celebration complete , we can say !

With all the train tickets booked months in advance for Diwali holidays, people who do not plan their trips well in advance will have a very tough time. This we experienced during this trip.

We had been in our car to our native place. After enjoying the Diwali , we started off on Diwali day itself after Ganga snaan and special Diwali breakfast to Bangalore.On the way back ,we had purchased many items which are exclusively available in our native place like boiled rice sack  for Rice and Idli preparation, Garlic, Dhall varities , vegetables like babana flower, banana stem , Palm root , groceries like horsegram , Palm Jaggery etc etc .. Almost the car was jam packed , with little place for my son to sit. So much full with iems . On the way , we had taken diversion to visit the family deity in a village , performed pooja to our heartfull , had a wonderful lunch at our relatives house and again continued the journey.

When we reached Salem , we started hearing a sound in the car . The AC had stopped working. We could very well feel the heat of teh mid day sun . Then when we stopped to check what had happened , we noticed the coolant had dried up perhaps there was a leakge . Somehow we drove down to the nearby petrol bunk and tried topping up the coolant. But still that didn't work , the temperature indication was still showing high. The car which was moving a bit also stopped . Any attempt to start the engine went in vain. The radaitor kept boiling . The metal sheath lining had damaged causing the water and oil to mix as a result.
Then , we find ourselves standing in the middle of the Highway road , inside the car , in the midst of lots of luggages. The next day , need to go to office/school.

Since it happened to be Diwali Day ,we could see each and every shop shut down , no mechanics could be spotted anywhere.We were left stranded . Somehow my husband managed to arrange for a mechanic through his local friend with so much difficulty. He seemed to have appeared from nowhere , soon checked the engine status and towed our vehicle to his shop nearby. He said, the repair would take another two days as the lathe shops are also closed for Diwali .All my worry was how to carry all the things back home.

I was thinking , "Oh ! what a bad Diwali day !! Will He not come for our help ? Will the car not be repaired
immediately in no time ?!"

Luckily the mechanic said on reading my worry lines that  he would take care of the things .We felt relieved and left the non perishable items in the car itself . Then the mechanic managed to drop us  to my husband's friend's place .There we rested for a while and when we were about to leave , I was taken aback on looking at the front of car which the mechanic had used to tow our car to his shop and drive us back  . At that moment, only thing that was visible in my eyes was those few words written in the front side of the car .

"Om Shri Shirdi Sai Baba Saranam !!"

Oh ! Baba !! You have appeared in time , when we were facing the most difficult situation and you had taken pains to pull us to reach the destination without us having to suffer a single pain , which we had never expected it !!
Jai Sai Ram !!


It so happened that I was observing  the Nine week Sai Baba Vratha , performing the Nine Thursday pooja . That was the the eighth Thursday , which I had to perform the Puja. How Sai has helped in time !!
I was very much moved !!


Guruji Sri Sri Ravishankar always says , "When you are in the path ( spiritual ) , you are always well  taken care of !!"


Jai Gurudev !!

Love & smiles...

A Gala Evening in the slum ...

Jai Gurudev !!




Slum Satsang



Today we had been to one of the slum in our neighbouring area for a Satsang from our Art of Living Center , Bhuvaneshwari Nagar .This is part of the Diwali Satsang in Slum. Devotees in our area doante for such noble causes  time and again Just before the onset of Diwali ,  we had distributed around 50 sarees /T Shirts /Diyas /Toliet articles like soaps , Paste, Toothbrush etc to each family rather each hut in two of the slums . We have not had the bhajan and food distribution that time.
Today , our center teacher Mr.Gururaj and his wife Mrs.Romna had conducted few simple pranayama sessions followed by the Ram Dhyaan mediattion for the slum dwellers there  . Next , we had sung a couple of Bhajan songs , which the people had recited enthusiastically along with us . This time the active participation of the people including the kids and men was comparitively high.


I would like to give a brief description of the slum in these areas and the people living there.
The people who live there are basically from North or interior Karnataka , who speak Kannada in Belgaum style dialect  and are mostly involved in construction works . Both men and women leave for their work in mornings and come back in nights . Small kids will be carried along with them to work. After work , the women make Jowar Rotis , thin and tasty ones along with Brinjal curry or Ridgegourd curry or Cabbage curry in the firewood stove. The main ingredients they use in curry is Peanut or groundnut powder. And one more thing each hut would be built on a small mound , made artificially with a door made of  tin or just a screen cloth . The inside of the hut is kept very clean , well organized and tidy. The same hut is used as kitchen, living room and bedroom too. We can see the wooden planks fixed on all sides inside the hut over which they place the vessels and things.Even women and kids will be neatly dressed . Only thing is that the surrounding areas outside the hut will not be clean. One more important thing is that they are very disciplined in their lifestyle unlike the upper class people , well behaved , friendly and very honest too.


When we entered the slum today evening , it was almost half past six. Sun had gone to bed already. Without any light , we couldn't see anything inside. Thought how the people over there live. Soon when we started the satsang  , our visibility increased gradually  , thanks to the rising moon. The moon light right on top of our head ,surrounded by a few bright stars created a beautiful ambience, with the cool breeze . The high rise cooconut trees on all sides seen in the fainted light added beauty to the scene. The kids really enjoyed the satsang . Infact, I felt as though the temple has been brought amidst them in a time when they had least expected it.


This was followed by the food distribution , home made by our volunteers , Ms.Neha & Chanda aunty group.The menu included sweet , Puliyogare/Tamarind Rice, Appalam /Papad , Banana and Payasam /Kheer. They came in queue and collected the food . Not to mention they thoroughly relished the food .


And we also distributed some used clothes which we had taken along with us to them .We left the place , bidding them good bye , uttering loudly , "Jai Gurudev !!" with our heart full  . You know the contentment of heart will happen only when we give and not when we take  !!


Many many thanks to our beloved Guruji ...His Holiness Sri Sri Ravishankar !!

Love & smiles...