Vintage India

The following photographs are of 19th Century India and around the time that Ramana was born. Its interesting to see how everything has changed so much, yet so very little!

Cows relaxing



Grinding flour



Hindu cemetry



Palmyra tree avenue



Cloth weavers

Brahma and the Lie

In the upcoming Arunachala Grace Newsletter there is a narrative on the Screw-Pine focusing in particular on its ayurvedic and medicinal uses. The Newsletter will be sent out within some days, so if you are not yet a subscriber, please check out the 'facility' at the left hand margin of this page and receive the free monthly Newsletter direct to your email inbox.

Even though the Screw-Pine did in fact lie to Shiva, I've always felt a great sense of compassion towards it - 'It wasn't his fault, he got bad advice! Give him another chance!'.

To find out about the Column of Effulgence (i.e. Arunachala), Brahma and the lie, and also to learn more about the Screw-Pine, read on:

*******************************************************

Brahma:

“. . . saw a white streak approach him and as it came near, he saw that it was a flower of the screw-pine. Though faded, it was very fragrant and pure. Brahma took it in his hands, whereupon the flower spoke to him, “Ah! Why do you stop me? I have been travelling for many thousands of years and am tired. Please let me go.”

Brahma turned to the flower and asked:

“Who are you? Where are you coming from?” It replied, “I am a flower of the screw-pine. I am sentient. I dwelt on the crest of this column for a long time at Siva’s command. I am now coming down as I desire to see the world.”

Brahma asked the flower:

“How far away is the top of this Column of Effulgence?”

The flower of the screw-pine derisively smiled at Brahma and said:

“Who are you? You seem to know nothing. You cannot know the origin of this column. There are crores and crores of Brahmandas inside this column. They are countless. Who can measure its dimensions? I have been coming down for many thousands of four-fold yugas. Yet I have not perceived the earth which is its middle region.”

When Brahma heard this he abandoned his pride, clasped his hands, bowed to it and prayed:

The Column of Light

“O great soul in the form of a flower of the screw-pine! I am Brahman, the Creator. There arose a dispute between Vishnu and myself. Both of us forgot the glory of Shiva. We became proud of our work, creating and sustaining the world. It is said that friendship arises even by exchanging seven words. You are a great soul. You must forgive my ignorance and be gracious to me. We began seeking the top and bottom of this Column of Effulgence in order to establish superiority over each other. Vishnu took the form of a boar and I, that of a swan. I am unaware of Vishnu’s fate. I who came to find the summit have flown for thousands of years and become weary. My life seems to be ebbing.

Friend! Fortunately I have met you. I am helpless. You are now my saviour. Pray, grant my wish. I beseech you. You must utter a life for me, your friend. Kindly avow in the presence of Vishnu that I have seen the summit of the Column of Effulgence and that you were witness to it since you (the flower) always decorates Siva’s head. Further, declare that I (Brahma) am superior to Vishnu.”

Implored thus, the screw-pine supported Brahma in his lie in the presence of the Column of Effulgence that the God had reached the summit. To punish them for this Shiva announced:

“Brahma . . . has uttered a falsehood, and I now cut off his fifth head for that perjury. Brahma shall not hereafter be installed in any Temple. And this screw-pine flower, which bore false witness, shall never again find a place on my head and shall not be used for my worship.”

[Abridged from The Glory of Arunachala]

*******************************************************

Screwpine

The Screw Pine is a shrub with fragrant flowers found wild in Southern India and grows in abundance along seacoasts and banks of rivers.

It is also known by the name of: Umbrella tree, Tamil: Thazhampoo and in Sanskrit: Ketaki. The shrub’s botanical name is Pandanus Odoratissimus of the Screw Pine family: Pandanaceae.

The Pandanus is also known as the Screw Pine due to the swirl of the leaves. It is one of the most useful plants in the tropics. Practically every part of the Screw Pine is used for all types of purposes: clothing, bowls, house building, food, medicine and fragrance.

It is only the male flowers of the tree that have a scent, which has been described as heavily fragrant, unforgettable and something similar to hyacinth-honey. The male flower of the Pandanus Odoratissimus can weigh two pounds or more and is also known as one of the five arrows of Kaman (the Indian Cupid).

Male Flower
A mature flower with opening petals. But, the flower is at its best as a bud.

Unripe Fruit


Ripe Fruit

Ganesan Lecture

For those who who enjoyed the downloaded broadcast of an interview with V. Ganesan on 'Touchstones' a spiritual programme on WCOM Radio, North Carolina, (U.S.), you may enjoy downloading and listening to a V. Ganesan Lecture at the Human Kindness Foundation. Right click and 'save target', this url:

http://www.wordtrade.com/essays/touchstones/audio/ganesanlecture0926.mp3

V. Ganesan with great uncle Sri Ramana

V. Ganesan is a wonderful story teller with a great memory and a very clear insight into the teachings of Sri Ramana. He grew up till the age of fourteen in the presence of his great uncle, Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi. After the mahanirvana of Bhagavan in 1950, Ganesan went on to get a Master’s Degree in Philosophy. After to return to Arunachala, where he was able to absorb reminiscences of Bhagavan that had never been recorded before. In addition to this, his close contacts with saints, sages and seers like Yogi Ramsuratkumar, Nisargadatta Maharaj and J. Krishnamurti, helped him to deepen and widen his understanding of the essence of Bhagavan’s Teachings.

Inner Path Walkabout

The following photographs are of part of the inner pradakshina path around Arunachala. Its very quiet and peaceful after the traffic, noise and action of the more generally used outer pradakshina pathway.

The post is Richard Clarke's and can be seen at this link here, where there are also lots more beautiful photographs.

Origin of Ramanashram

After the death of Sri Ramana’s mother, Alagammal on May 19th, 1922, it was decided to move her body from Skandashram to the foot of Arunachala as it is prohibited to cremate or bury a body on the Hill.

As to the decision to create a samadhi for his Mother Alagammal, Ramana declared:

“As there is no distinction in liberation and knowledge, a woman also liberated when alive should not be consigned to flames. Her body is verily a temple of God.”

Outside Mathrubuteswara Shrine

Consequently the body was interred in samadhi, and is now known as the Mathrubuteswara Shrine. The photograph above is taken from the adjacent Pali Thirtham, outside the Mathrubuteswara Shrine.

“After Mother’s* death I used to come now and then to the Samadhi and return to Skandasramam. One day about six months after Mother’s death, I went there on one such visit and after sitting there for some time, wanted to get up and go back. However something told me I should not go back but stay on there. It was as if my legs refused to get up. And I stayed on. That is how this Asramam began. Who knew then that all this would grow up?”

[Sri Ramana Maharshi]

* his own mother Alagammal

The Hill

Paul Brunton (1898-1981) was a British philosopher, mystic, and traveler. He left a successful journalistic career to live among yogis, mystics, and holy men, and studied a wide variety of Eastern and Western esoteric teachings. With his entire life dedicated to an inward and spiritual quest, Brunton felt charged with the task of communicating his experiences to others and, as the first person to write accounts of what he learned in the East from a Western perspective, his works had a major influence on the spread of Eastern mysticism to the West. He was also one of the first Westerners to first bring Arunachala and Sri Ramana Maharshi to greater public attention.

The following extract taken from Paul Brunton 1936 book ‘A Message from Arunachala,’ describes the Hill’s appearance and antiquity in a way which has not been bettered:

The Hill

Somewhere in South India there is a lonely Hill which has been honoured with a high status in Hindu sacred tradition and legendary history. It lies near the same latitude as French-ruled Pondicherry, yet does not enjoy the latter’s advantage of catching the cooling coastal breezes. A fierce sun daily flays it with darting rays. Its form is uncouth and ungainly – a tumbled, awkward thing whose sides are jagged and broken. Whose face is a mass of jumbled rocks and thorny scrubs. Snakes, centipedes and scorpions lurk beneath the crevices of its multitudinous stones. During the dry summer months, cheetahs make their bold appearance with dusk, descending the Hill in a snarling quest of water.

The whole peak offers no pretty panorama of regular outline, straight sides and balanced proportions, but rather the reverse. Even its base wanders aimlessly about on an eight-mile circuit, with several spurs and foot Hills, as though unable to make up its mind as to when it shall come to an end. Its substance is nothing but igneous and laterite rock.

A geologist friend from America who visited me lately proclaimed Arunachala to have been thrown up by the earth under the stress of some violent volcanic eruption in the dim ages before even the coal-bearing strata were formed.

In fact, he dated this rocky mass of granite back to the earliest epoch of the history of our planet’s crust, that epoch which long preceded the vast sedimentary formations in which fossil records of plants and animals have been preserved. It existed long before gigantic saurians of the prehistoric world moved their ungainly forms through the primeval forests that covered our early earth. He went even further and made it contemporaneous with the formation of the very crust of the earth itself. Arunachala, he asserted, was almost as hoary and as ancient as our planetary home itself. It was indeed a remnant of the vanished continent of sunken Lemuria, of which the indigenous legends still keep a few memories.

The Tamil traditions not only speak of the vast antiquity of this and other Hills, but assert that the Himalayas were not thrown up till later. Untold centuries, therefore, pressed their weight upon this time-defying pile which rose so abruptly from the plain.

And yet this unbeautiful and doddering greybeard among heights took my heart in pawn a few years ago and would not let me redeem the pledge. It held me captive in an intangible and indefinable thrall. It imprisoned me from the first moment when my eyes glanced at it till the last reluctant turning away of the head. I could no longer regard myself as a free man when such invisible chains clanged around my feet.

Krishna Janmashtami

Shri Krishna Janmashtami, or Sri Krishna Jayanti, celebrates the birthday of Lord Krishna. It is observed as Dahi Handi in Maharashtra, the formation of the huge human pyramids to break the pot hung high up. The festival is also known as Gokulashtami and Krishnashtami. In 2008, the date of Sri Krishna Jayanti in North India and East is August 24. In some parts of South India and in some parts of western India it is on August 23.

Shri Krishna is today one of the most widely revered and most popular of all Hindu Gods. He is worshipped as the eighth incarnation or avatar of Lord Vishnu. Krishna is also worshipped as a supreme god in his own right by numerous sects around the world.

To read the rest of this post go to this link here

*******************************************************

Krishna is one of the incarnations of Vishnu, the God who features very prominently in Arunachala mythology. This month's Arunachala Grace News will be featuring various narratives connected with Vishnu and his association with the Hill.

The September, 2008 issue of Arunachala Grace News will be sent out this upcoming week, so if you do not yet have your copy please go to the left margin of this page to the 'free subscribe' facility, in order to sign up for your subscription which will be delivered direct to your email inbox.

Thiruvannamalai - the movie

For those interested in the progress of 'Thiruvannmalai', the movie currently being shot in Tamil Nadu, the following updates are taken from this Tamil movie website.

“No one is sure about what’s so happening with heroines of Arjun’s films. First, in his film Durai, actress Padmapriya was removed and Keerath replaced her. Now, the same scenario occurs in his other film titled ‘Thiruvannamalai’ directed by Perarasu and Kavithalaya Productions churning it out. Mumbai based model Saaniya Vahilai was chosen by Perarasu to star opposite Arjun in the female lead role, he wanted to rope in a new actress with the belief that there wouldn’t any problems with the call sheets as the leading actresses do so. But things were completely different once photo shoot of Arjun and Saaniya was over. Mumbai missy didn’t give call sheets to the director and kept delaying in signing as well she was irregular and late to the shooting spot.

So, it all landed up Perarasu in the decision of changing the heroine and pursuit for the new one is going on now…”

“Director Perarasu has been rightly nicknamed "Oorarasu" as he names all his films after towns. He has to his credit "Thirupatchi", "Sivakasi", "Thirupathi" and "Dharmapuri". "Thiruvannamalai is the title of his latest film, starring Arjun and Mumbai import Sania Vakil. Pushpa Kandasamy produces this film on behalf of K. Balachander's Kavithalaya.

Perarasu is known for having sentiment and action in equal proportions in his films. But he comes out of this circle in "Thiruvannamalai". Instead of sentiment, he deals with the burning social issues that affect man's life. It revolves around politics which is getting dirtier by the day, increasing rowdyism and law and order problem. Man is dogged by a variety of problems, personal and social. In some cases man himself is a problem. How a man lives surviving these problems is the theme of "Thiruvannamalai". The film has also a liberal dose of spirituality.

Perarasu met the producer only with an outline and wrote the full story after the producer gave the go-ahead signal. Then Arjun was selected for the lead role.

Perarasu says "Thiruvannamalai" would be a new experience not only for him but also for Arjun. He is not doing it just as a commercial film. For Arjun also it is not another action film. They go beyond and make a new effort.

Arjun plays the role of a Cable TV operator. Sania Vakil is a school teacher. Karunas, who has been typecast as a comedian, is given a character role. Saikumar plays the villain.

The film is being shot in two parts - the first part in Kumbakonam and the second in Thiruvannamalai. The 'spectacular' scenes of "Girivalam", a special monthly event in Thiruvannamalai are a highlight. This mammoth procession of devotees around the hills on every full moon night, in fact, marks the story's turning point, says Perarasu. The background song 'Namma Nadai Pottuputta Veera Nadai..Nammappadai Singappadai," set to the music of Srikanth Deva, is sung by Perarasu himself.

Performing folk singers and artistes are featured in folk songs, Karagattam and Oyilattam. These songs have been recorded live.

The technical team includes Padmesh (cinematographer), 'Anal' Arasu (stunt), G.K. (Art), V. Jaishankar (editing). The story, screen and dialogue are by Perarasu.”

Simha Tank Renovation

In this earlier posting about King Harischandra, I mentioned work currently underway at the adjacent Simha Tank. The Simha Tank is one of my favourite spots around the Hill, as I very much like the iconic statue of the Lion standing sentinel at the front of the Tank. As previously mentioned the tank is being desilted and deepened. It probably will be difficult to believe but over the last few rainy seasons the water level of the tank actually overflows onto Chengam Road, and makes the spot look like a negative edge pool (i.e. infinity swimming pool).

In the below photograph, work continues on the inside of the tank, and very smart it looks too with its reinforced brick walls.

Hats off to the engineers for not damaging the abundant number of trees surrounding the tank.

However, we definitely have run into a problem with the Lion Statue and wonder who has sanctioned its new 'theme park' paint job?

I'm not surprised that they have covered his head - they probably want us to get used to him bit-by-bit. Surely showing him to us at one time would be too shocking!

Here he is again and in the below photograph one can get an idea of his head from the small opening at the edge of the cloth covering - Oh dear!

In addition his feet have also received a pedicure.

Below is a photograph of the Simha at the beginning of the tank renovation and also before his 'theme park' make-over. In comparison the new version looks ridiculous and its symbolic gravitas has been quite obscured.

I include here an earlier posting made about the relevance and symbolism of the Lion Tank.

"There are many religious and historical monuments at Arunachala but perhaps one of the most enigmatic is the wayside sphinx that appears in two places around the pradakshina road. Each sphinx stands next to a water tank (tirtham).

The sphinxes appear to have the head of a lion but, according to scholar Stella Kramrich, in fact are composed of three faces: the face of man, the face of the lion representing the Sun or Supreme Spirit, and the face of the dragon who, as the Destroyer of the Universe, stands for Transcendental Wisdom. Stella Kramrich further suggests that all three are superimposed on, and hence overwhelm the just discernible Death's head underlying them.

Speculating further on the history and meaning of the sphinxes, M. Bose writes in her book, 'The Hill of Fire':

. . . Today, these enigmatic sphinxes are used as mere shrines at which pilgrims, after taking a bath in the tank, make their offerings to Arunachala. But did they have a more important function in the past? For their symbology suggest that in long-forgotten rites they may have been gateways to the Sun, places of initiation where the neophytes, after being cleansed of sin and animal nature, received the highest knowledge that led to immortality in the Sun."

Swami Nithyananda Update

In the first week of August (August 1st-3rd) Swami Nithyananda visited Tiruvannamalai for a three day programme which comprised; a tree planting ceremony, question-answer talk, function at Arunachaleswarar Temple, homam at Dhyanapeetam Ashram, meditation session, Guru Puja at "Pavalakkundru", where Swamiji had his first self-realisation experience, walk to Skandashram, inauguration of the first Medical camp organized at Dhyanapeetam Ashram and night girivalam with Swami Nithyananda.

Temple Function

Homa at Dhyanapeetam Ashram

Pavalakkundru Function

For full report of visit go to this link here

Subsequent to Swami’s programme, I visited the developing Dhyanapeetam Ashram located by the side of Girivalam Pathway (across from Rajarajeshwari Temple) and was welcomed very graciously by the friendly sannyasins and sevas who man the Ashram. They told me that all are welcome to spend time at the Ashram where they can read literature and watch videos about Swami Nithyananda and his work.

The following two upcoming programmes will be available at Dhyanapeetam Ashram:

August 23rd and 24th an ASP * programme which is open to all and conducted in TAMIL.
August 23rd and 24th an NDSS (Nithyananda youth members training camp for ages 18-40 years) programme .

For registration and details for either of the above call: (0)999-45-58334 or (0)944-49-91089

Website dedicated to all Swami Nithyananda functions and events in Tamil Nadu check this site here.

* What is Ananda Spurana Program all about?

The Ananda Spurana Program (ASP) is an introductory level 2-day meditation program that works on the seven energy centers (chakras) in the human body . .

How are the ASP meditations different?

The ASP consists of a package of seven transformational meditation techniques drawn from all religions for all regions, and cognized and enriched by Swamiji's keen insight and knowledge. These meditation techniques dramatically restore the life energy; eliminate deep rooted Engraved Memories (Samskaras), thereby infusing good health and bliss. which is the innate nature of every being. These meditation techniques can be practiced by one and all and have been enriched to suit the modern man's mind and mind-set. The techniques allow the blossoming.”

Above excerpt on ASP taken from this link here.

Sparsa Hotel Update

What a nice surprise to visit Sparsa Hotel now that it is looking so green and luxuriant.

The pool is excellent and the management have wisely decided to surround it with bamboo covered creepers (they have yet to grow) in order to offer full privacy to their guests.

In the photograph below you can see the bamboo screen at the right side in closer detail.

From the concourse of the Hotel, a very nice few of Arunachala. The Hotel is located just off the girivalam roadway path, so very convenient for all those early morning walks.

The smaller buildings are part of the Hotel infrastructure and comprise shops, a health club, an ayurveda centre, an internet facility, a gift shop and various other bits and pieces.



Below -- the shop concourse from another vantage point.




In the next photograph some of the residential quarters with separate facilities upstairs and downstairs.

In the next photograph, the Hotel's internet facility, which is awaiting two more computers.

And the small reading room.

And lastly a photograph the very interesting 'retro' motor scooters given to guests to use during their stay at the Hotel.

New VodPod

There is now a new video pod at the bottom left hand column of this page. The four videos are:

Shiva Bhajan
Beautiful devotional Shiva Bhajan by Anuradha Paudwal from her Album Shiv Sagar

Nisgardatta Maharaj Talk

Talk with Nisgardatta Maharaj which is an excerpt from the “Extra Features” of the DVD “I Am That I Am”.

HWL Poonja Discourse

Discourse of HWL Poonja (Papaji) entitled, "Turn your face towards Consciousness,", in which he uses the analogy of a fish in the water crying "I am thirsty", to describe that Consciousness alone is.

Vande Mataram - Maa Tujhe Salaam

Video of A.R. Rahman's reinvention of India's national song Vande Mataram, 'Maa Tujhe Salaam' from his smash 1997 album 'Vande Mataram'.

Temple Timings

Arunachaleswar Temple daily opens at 5.30 a.m. and closes at 9.30 p.m. During the midday period of 12.30 p.m. to 3.30 p.m. all the shrines inside the Temple Complex, including both Shiva Sannidhi and Unnamulai Shrine, are closed. However several of the Gopuram Gates to the Temple are continuously open throughout the day, so one can enter and exit the Temple Complex without interruption.

During Deepam Festival and every Poornami (Full Moon) the shrines at Arunachaleswar Temple DO NOT close during midday.

Daily pujas performed at Shiva Sannidhi are as follows:

*6.00 a.m. Ukshakala Puoja
8.30 a.m. Kala Santhi Puja
*10.30 a.m. Uchikala Puja
*6.00 p.m. Sayaratchai Puja
7.30 p.m. Irandam Kala Puja
*8.30 p.m. Arthajama Puja

* Pujas marked with an asterisk are conducted during Poornamis – others excluded. Please note that the puja timings on the Temple website have not been updated and the above is correct.

click photo to enlarge
For information about ordering special pujas at Arunachaleswarar Temple (online) please go to the Temple website here.

Nandi the Bull

Yesterday, Sunday August 17th, visited Arunachaleswarar Temple (Big Temple) after a long absence. Many people who live in Tiruvannamalai visit the Temple daily, in much the same way devotees who live in the suburb of Ramana Nagar, often visit one of the major ashrams located in that area. I always enjoy my visits to BigTemple and if it was closer to my home, would visit much more regularly.

Whilst there I checked out a couple of items readers of Arunachala Grace have written about. The first request came from Grasshopper, who asked for some photographs of her favourite, Periyar Nandi. The second request (which I will fulfil in the following post) was for information of Temple timings (in addition have also included information about specific pujas available at the Temple).

Nandi
The Periyar (Big) Nandi statue at Arunachaleswarar Temple is located in the Fifth Prakaram facing the Vallala Maharaja Gopuram and just outside the One Thousand Pillared Mandapam.

Nandi, is most renowned as the carrier and principal follower of Shiva. He is also the gatekeeper of Siva’s abode, which explains the close association of a statue of Nandi at the gate of many Shiva Temples.

In Sanskrit, a bull is called ‘vrisha’, which also connotes righteousness or Dharma, thus making it important to seek the blessings of Nandi before proceeding to worship Lord Shiva.

In Siddhar traditions, Nandi is one of the primal Gurus and amongst others was the guru to Siddhars Thirumulanathar and Patanjalinathar.

The largest Nandi Statues in India can be found at:

Lepakshi, Andhra Pradesh
Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu
Chamundi Hills, Mysore, Karnataka
Bull Temple, Bangalore, Karnataka
Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu,
Hoysaleswara Temple, Halebidu, Karnataka
Shanthaleswara, Halebidu, Karnataka

Nandi at Chamundi Hills, Mysore, Karnataka

India Independence Day

Today, August 15th, is the anniversary of India’s Independence Day and commemorates its independence from British rule and its birth as a sovereign nation in 1947. The day is a national holiday in India and is celebrated throughout the country with flag-hosting ceremonies. The main celebration takes place in New Delhi, where the Prime Minister traditionally delivers a nationally televised speech from its ramparts.

Tryst with Destiny was a speech made by Jawaharlal, the first Prime Minister of independent India. The speech was made to the India constituent Assembly, on the eve of India’s independence, towards midnight on August 14th, 1947 and reminds Indians about the dawn of a new beginning.

Tryst with Destiny
"Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance. It is fitting that at this solemn moment we take the pledge of dedication to the service of India and her people and to the still larger cause of humanity.

At the dawn of history India started on her unending quest, and trackless centuries are filled with her striving and the grandeur of her success and her failures. Through good and ill fortune alike she has never lost sight of that quest or forgotten the ideals which gave her strength. We end today a period of ill fortune and India discovers herself again. The achievement we celebrate today is but a step, an opening of opportunity, to the greater triumphs and achievements that await us. Are we brave enough and wise enough to grasp this opportunity and accept the challenge of the future?

That future is not one of ease or resting but of incessant striving so that we may fulfil the pledges we have so often taken and the one we shall take today. The service of India means the service of the millions who suffer. It means the ending of poverty and ignorance and disease and inequality of opportunity. The ambition of the greatest man of our generation has been to wipe every tear from every eye. That may be beyond us, but as long as there are tears and suffering, so long our work will not be over.

And so we have to labour and to work, and work hard, to give reality to our dreams. Those dreams are for India, but they are also for the world, for all the nations and peoples are too closely knit together today for any one of them to imagine that it can live apart Peace has been said to be indivisible; so is freedom, so is prosperity now, and so also is disaster in this One World that can no longer be split into isolated fragments.

We have to build the noble mansion of free India where all her children may dwell. The appointed day has come-the day appointed by destiny-and India stands forth again, after long slumber and struggle, awake, vital, free and independent. The past clings on to us still in some measure and we have to do much before we redeem the pledges we have so often taken. Yet the turning-point is past, and history begins anew for us, the history which we shall live and act and others will write about.

It is a fateful moment for us in India, A new star rises, the star of freedom in the East, a new hope comes into being, a vision long cherished materializes. May the star never set and that hope never be betrayed! We rejoice in that freedom.

The future beckons to us. Whither do we go and what shall be our endeavour? To bring freedom and opportunity to the common man, to the peasants and workers of India; to fight and end poverty and ignorance and disease; to build up a prosperous, democratic and progressive nation, and to create social, economic and political institutions which will ensure justice and fullness of life to every man and woman.

We have hard work ahead. There is no resting for any one of us till we redeem our pledge in full, till we make all the people of India what destiny intended them to be. We are citizens of a great country on the verge of bold advance, and we have to live up to that high standard. All of us, to whatever religion we may belong, are equally the children of India with equal rights, privileges and obligations. We cannot encourage communalism or narrow-mindedness, for no nation can be great whose people are narrow in thought or in action.

To the nations and peoples of the world send greetings and pledge ourselves to cooperate with them in furthering peace, freedom and democracy. And to India, our much-loved motherland, the ancient, the eternal and the ever-new, we pay our reverent homage and we bind ourselves afresh to her service. Jai Hind."

Vande Mataram
The song Vande Mataram was composed by Bankin Chandra and an English translation rendered by Shree Aurobindo. This version is now considered the official one, however only the first two stanzas are recognised as the National Anthem. The video is a reworking interpretation of the national song (Vande Mantaram) by A.R.Rahman.

Mother, I bow to thee!
Rich with thy hurrying streams,
Bright with orchard gleams,
Cool with thy winds of delight,
Dark fields waving Mother of might,
Mother free.

Glory of moonlight dreams,
Over thy branches and lordly streams,
Clad in thy blossoming trees,
Mother, giver of ease
Laughing low and sweet!
Mother I kiss thy feet,
Speaker sweet and low!
Mother, to thee I bow.

Who hath said thou art weak in thy lands
When the sword flesh out in the seventy million hands
And seventy million voices roar
Thy dreadful name from shore to shore?
With many strengths who art mighty and stored,
To thee I call Mother and Lord!
Though who savest, arise and save!
To her I cry who ever her foeman drove
Back from plain and Sea
And shook herself free.




Bharatma
Thou art wisdom, thou art law,
Thou art heart, our soul, our breath
Though art love divine, the awe
In our hearts that conquers death.
Thine the strength that nerves the arm,
Thine the beauty, thine the charm.
Every image made divine
In our temples is but thine.

Thou art Durga, Lady and Queen,
With her hands that strike and her
swords of sheen,
Thou art Lakshmi lotus-throned,
And the Muse a hundred-toned,
Pure and perfect without peer,
Mother lend thine ear,
Rich with thy hurrying streams,
Bright with thy orchard gleams,
Dark of hue O candid-fair

In thy soul, with jewelled hair
And thy glorious smile divine,
Loveliest of all earthly lands,
Showering wealth from well-stored hands!
Mother, mother mine!
Mother sweet, I bow to thee,
Mother great and free!

Tiruvannamalai District Forests

Many who visit Tiruvannamalai, are concerned when they see the rapid urbanisation of the area - something which will probably continue in the foreseeable future. However, in spite of the large population of Tamil Nadu, it is very encouraging to see the forest statistics of the State. In the below diagram, Tiruvannamalai District is in the top right of the photograph - with lots of good, green forest cover.

The next diagram is of the Forest Cover of Tiruvannamalai District.

Varalakshmi Puja

This Friday, August 15th Varalakshmi Puja is performed in Hindu Temples and homes dedicated to the Goddess. On this day it is believed Lakshmi emerged from the ocean of milk. The name Varalakshmi is interpreted as Vara=boons, Lakshmi=she who grants the boons.

Legend has it that Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati played a game of dice. Lord Shiva claimed to have won but Parvati believed otherwise. There arose a dispute between the two with regard to the winner and the Goddess called a Gana, Chitramani to mediate and settle the matter. When Chitramani confirmed that Lord Shiva won the game, Goddess Parvati became angry and accused Chitramani of lying. Lord Shiva knew that Chitramani had not lied but Parvati was not convinced and cursed Chitramani to suffer from leprosy and be born on earth as a leper.

When Lord Siva convinced Goddess Parvati, that the Gana had been telling the truth, the Goddess granted Chitramani the boon that if was able to participate or perform Varalakshmi Puja, he would be relieved of the curse and cured of leprosy. After years of wandering, Chitramani was able to participate in Varalakshmi Puja performed by a group of celestial angels and be cured of his leprosy. Since then the Varalakshmi Puja has been performed every year. For another legend of this Puja go to this link here.

The worship is observed by married women with the belief that the Goddess will guard their husband’s life and also grant boons to those who observe the puja. It is said that Lakshmi will enter the house of anyone who thinks of her and bless them. Varalakshmi Vratham is considered very auspicious because it is marked by strict observance of certain practices and austerities. It is also called Varalakshmi Nonbu.

India's Railway Minister

After the recent post on Arunachala Grace about the current Tiruvannamalai Railworks at this link, a reader sent in an interesting article about the current India Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, which I reproduce below.

“It is not easy to explain Lalu Prasad's success as India's Railway Minister and his earlier failure as Chief Minister of Bihar.

While Bihar under his stewardship acquired the image of the most backward state in India, mired in poverty because of the lack of development, the same Lalu Prasad, when he took charge of the Railway Ministry, transformed it into a miracle of modern management technique.

The astonishing nature of his achievement was highlighted during the presentation of the railway budget when he announced the enormous profit of Rs.20,000 crore (Rs.200 billion). And this remarkable feat was made possible without increasing passenger fares and freight rates.

Not surprisingly, Lalu Prasad has become the toast of business schools, which are eager to fathom the secret of his success. So the one-time bare-bodied cowherd, who used to ride buffaloes in the paddy fields of Bihar in his poverty-stricken childhood, stalks these days into the hallowed precincts of management and business institutes to lecture an audience in business suits on how to successfully run an establishment.”