Eat, Pray, Love - by Elizabeth Gilbert

Eat in Italy
Pray in India
Love in Indonesia(Bali)

From the book: "Gilbert's aim was to visit three places where she could examine one aspect of her own nature, set against the backdrop of a culture that has traditionally done that one thing very well."

This book is a travel diary - a travel across nations and also deep within. Her language and writing style is very beautiful.

She amazingly explains her experience of getting in touch with the divine nature. After 'Autobiography of a Yogi' - this is one book that left me transformed in a very subtle way. When I read about how she meets her ex-husband in a different consciousness plane, tears started flowing down my eyes. It was not emotional, but something deep within me was touched. It was quite intense.

Check this site after reading the book
http://www.elizabethgilbert.com/faq.htm

பொன்னியின் செல்வன்

பொன்னியின் செல்வன் பற்றி பேசிக் கொன்டிருக்கும் பொழுது, நன்பர் ஒருவர் இந்த தளம் பற்றி சொன்னார். பார்த்ததும் அசந்து விட்டேன். எத்தனை நூல்கள். நீங்களும் அனுபவியுங்கள்.

http://pm.tamil.net/akaram_uni.html

Isha Yoga - Inner Engineering

http://v10vj.blogspot.com/2008/05/its-not-about-something-it-is-about.html

Any post I write about Isha yoga programme and my experience cannot be different from what Vijay has written - including the weight loss(20 pounds in my case) and backpain free part. Thank you, Vijay !!

J.K.Rowling's Harvard Speech

The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination

J.K. Rowling Speaks at Harvard Commencement from Harvard Magazine on Vimeo.

http://harvardmagazine.com/commencement/the-fringe-benefits-failure-the-importance-imagination

Interesting facts: Timezone

Same longitude, but Kritimati is 1 day ahead of Honolulu
Honolulu(157° 51' 30" W) Tue 10:30 AM
Kritimati(157° 20' 0" W) Wed 10:30 AM

These 2 cities are along the same longitude, but there is a 2 hours difference
Chatham Island, NZ Wed 10:15 AM
Anadyr, Russia Wed 8:30 AM

More and more human beings on this earth

Q: What is life? Why are we living this life? I don't understand.
A: Get married and have kids, you will not have the time to think about this question

After few years of getting married, the question remains...
Q: If you want, go ahead and adopt a baby, but you should also have a baby of your own.
A: If I adopt, that baby will be my own, why bear one more?

Q: You should have a baby of your own blood
A: As a matter of fact, it's highly likely that my baby won't even have my own blood group. So how can it be the same blood. I have donated blood few times..there are some people in this world who have my blood now and I don't even know them. They have my blood :-)

After some time....
Q: Why are you refusing to have a baby of your own? After marriage, everyone should have a baby, that's what the whole world is doing?
A: Just because the whole world is doing something, it need not be the correct thing for me. I do not feel the need to have a daughter or a son, so why should I give birth to a kid?

Q: You may not realize it now, maybe after 10 or 20 years, you will regret this decision
A: How can you be so sure? The reason why people go for children is because they think that it completes their life or because it's just a by-product of their relationship. I do not want a kid for either of these reasons. If I need a kid to make me feel complete, I will have one. But that's not the case. It's very inappropriate to say that a woman becomes a "complete woman" only after she bears a kid.

Q: Why are you so adamant? What is your problem? What is stopping you from having kids?
A: Imagine you are in a Apple farm given to you, just for you alone. You have enough apples to feed you for a lifetime. These trees were planted by someone else and you desire for something of your own. So you go about planting trees and wait for it to give you apples. You might feel happy. You will then start tending to these trees and forget the ones that were already there. Without any care and maintenance, those trees will perish. The apples from those trees would have been wasted. Isn't it foolish to create new ones when there is so much to take care of?

There is so much life on this earth that need care and love. Why create a new one?

'Left to Tell' by Immaculee Ilibagiza

This is a must read book. When I had a discussion with a friend on how it is possible to look at an attacker as a victim, he suggested this book. 2 years ago, I would have thrown the book away considering it as a religious book or something on propagation of Christianity. But now I can see it differently. I see the power of thought and the power of positive thinking in Immaculee's prayers.

Until this book, I had never even heard of the Rwandan genocide - not that I have been aware of every important thing happening in the world, but I did read newspapers regularly and watched the news channels. I don't remember this being a big news that caught the attention of the world. Also this happened when I was in my final year in high school, and my whole world revolved around the board exams. It was also the time I believed that there was no war in the world(nothing bigger than what's going on in Srilanka and Kashmir). These kind of genocides/holocaust were a thing of the past. So when I read this book, I was shaken to the core.

800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed by trained killers and normal civilians - with full government support. The whole country was filled with hatred towards the Tutsis and people stopped working until the 'job was done' - the job of killing Tutsis. I can't believe that radio was used to propagate the message of killing Tutsis who were referred as cockroaches.
Amidst all this suffering, it's amazing to see how Immaculee could remain optimistic. Forgiving the killers of her family is difficult, but she did it. Forgiving is not an act of kindness and definitely not to make the attackers feel good. It just gets the hatred and vengeance out of the victim. If a victim can see the attacker as a victim of his mind's craziness, then forgiveness happens naturally. With that, the victim will have the power over the situation and can walk through life, unscathed.

Here's a link to my friend's blog on this book.
http://deepakktrenewal.blogspot.com/2008/11/left-to-tell.html

நட்பு - சத்குருவிடமிருந்து இன்னொரு முத்து

http://www.vikatan.com/av/2008/nov/05112008/av0901.asp

எனக்கு முதல் நண்பன் மூன்று, மூன்றரை வயதில் பள்ளியில் கிடைத்தான். அவன் பெயர் அச்சுத் என்று இன்றைக்கும் ஞாபகம் இருக்கிறது.

கல்லூரி போனதும் பள்ளி நண்பர்களை மறப்பதும், வேலைக்குப் போனதும் கல்லூரி நண்பர்களை மறப்பதும், இடத்துக்கு ஏற்றபடி நண்பர்களை மாற்றிக் கொள்வதும்தான் பெரும்பாலானவர்களிடம் காணப்படுகிறது. என்னால் நட்பை அப்படி வகைப்படுத்திப் பார்க்க முடிவதில்லை.

பொதுவாகவே, ஒருவருடன் உறவு ஏற்படுத்திக்கொண்டால், அது கடைசி வரை நீடிக்கும் என்றே நம்புவேன். ஆனால், நட்புக்கு மதிப்பு கொடுப்-பவர்கள் வெகு குறைவு என்பதை என் அனுபவம் உணர்த்தி-யிருக்-கிறது.

எனக்குக் கிடைத்த பல நல்ல நண்பர்கள், வேறு அவசியங்கள் வந்ததும், எங்கள் நட்பு குறித்த தங்கள் பார்வையை மாற்றிக்கொண்டதைக் கண்-டிருக்கிறேன்.

இன்றைக்கு பத்திரிகைகளிலும் தொலைக்காட்சிகளிலும் என் முகத்தைப் பார்த்துவிட்டு, சில பழைய நண்பர்கள் தொடர்புகொண்டு பேசுவது உண்டு.

என் நண்பன் ஒருவன் என்னைவிட இரண்டு வயது சிறியவன். காற்றில் பறப்-பதற்காக கிளைடர் வடிவமைக்க முனைந்தபோது, எனக்கு உதவியவன். கிட்டத்-தட்ட 27 வருடங்களுக்குப் பிறகு அவனை அட்லாண்டாவில் சந்தித்-தேன். அந்தச் சந்திப்பு மிக இனிமையாக அமைந்தது. அன்றைக்கு நான் விதைத்த பறக்கும் ஆசை இப்போது அவனை விமானியாக்கி இருப்பதாகச் சொன்னான்.

இதைப் போல் இன்னும் பல பழைய நண்பர்களை என் யோகா வகுப்புகளில் அடையாளம் கண்டு பேசியிருக்கிறேன். அவர்கள் முன்பு பார்த்த ஜக்கி வேறு இன்று பார்க்கும் சத்குரு வேறு என்பதால், பலருக்கு என்னை அடையாளம் தெரிவதில்லை.

உயிரற்ற சிறு விஷயங்களாக இருந்தாலும், அவற்றுடன் தொடர்புவைக்-கையில், அதை ஆழமான உறவாகவே பார்க்கிறேன். மைசூர் நகரத்தின் பூமியு-டன், மரங்களுடன், மலைச் சாரல்களுடன் எனக்கு இருந்த ஈடுபாடு இப்-போதும் இருக்கிறது. அங்கு எனக்குள் எழுந்த லட்சக்கணக்கான கேள்விகளும், அத்-தனைக்கும் ஒரே கணத்தில் கிடைத்த பதிலும்கூட ஒருவித நட்புப் பிணைப்பு தான்.

இப்படி, செடியோ, அமரும் இடமோ, பாறையோ, பூவோ, மக்களோ, எதுவானாலும் அவற்றுடன் எனக்கு ஏற்படும் பிணைப்பு வாழ்க்கையின் மிகப் பெரும் ரகசியப் பரிமாணங்களைத் திறந்து காட்டியிருக்கிறது.

இன்றைக்குப் பல்லாயிரக்கணக்கானவர்களுக்கு என்னுடன் தொடர்பு ஏற்படுகிறது. இதில் என்னுடையதைவிட அவர்களுடைய தேவையே அதிகமாக இருக்கிறது. ஆனாலும், அவர்கள் மீது நான் வைக்கும் நம்பிக்கையும் அவர் களுடன் எனக்கு நிகழும் பிணைப்பும் அவர்களிடத்தில் நேர்வதில்லை.

இதை ஒரு குற்றமாகச் சொல்லவில்லை. ஆனால், எதனுடனும் பிணைத்துக் கொள்ள முடியாத நிலை காரணமாக வாழ்க்கையில் எதையெல்லாம் இழக்-கிறீர்கள் என்பதை நீங்கள் அறிவதில்லை.

இந்தியாவில் ஆறு வருடங்கள் இருந்த ஒரு பெண் டாக்டர் அமெரிக்கா திரும்பும் முன் வியந்து பேசிய விஷயம் ஒன்று உண்டு.

''இங்கே எல்லாமே கூட்டாக நடக்கிறது. வகுப்பில் ஒரு மாணவி எழுந்திருப்-பாள். பாத்ரூம் போய் வர அனுமதி கேட்பாள். அனுமதித்ததும், 'மேடம், என்னு-டன் அகிலாவையும் அழைத்துப் போகலாமா?' என்பாள். பாத்ரூம் போவதற்குக் கூட யாரையாவது கூட்டிக்கொண்டு போகும் அளவு இந்தியாவில் சேர்ந்தே இருப்பது ஆச்சர்யமாக இருக்கிறது.''

அன்பினால் சேர்ந்து இயங்குவது மதிப்பானது. தேவையினால் சார்ந்து இயங்குவது அருவருப்பானது.

நண்பர்கள் விலகிப் போகையில், அது என் இதயத்தையே உடைத்துப் போட்டுவிடுவதில்லை. ஆனால், நல்ல நட்பை ஆழ-மான உறவாக பலப்படுத்திக்கொள்ள முடியாதவர்கள் எனக்கு ஏமாற்றத்தை அளிக்கிறார்கள். அந்த விதத்தில், நட்பைப் பொறுத்த வரை, சமூக அளவு-கோல்-களில் கொஞ்சம் பின்தங்கியவனாகவே இருக்கிறேன்.

பள்ளியில் எனக்கு மிக நெருக்கமாக இருந்-தான் ஒரு நண்பன். இருவரும் சேர்ந்தே பல நூறு கி.மீ. சைக்கிளில் சுற்றியிருக்கிறோம். மலை-களில் அலைந்திருக்கிறோம். பள்ளி முடிந்து வேறு வேறு கல்லூரிகள் சென்-றோம். எங்கள் நட்பு தொடர்ந்தது. தொழில் செய்ய முனைந்த-போது, அவன் தேயிலைத் தோட்டங்கள் வாங்-கினான். திடீரென்று தொடர்-பைத் துண்டித்து-விட்-டான்.

ஏன் என்று 15 வருடங்-களுக்குப் பிறகு தான் தெரிந்தது. தொழிலில் மேலும் மேலும் நஷ்டமாகி, கடன் சுமை கூடிவிட்ட நிலையில், அவன் என்னைப் பார்க்கத் தயங்கி பின்வாங்கிவிட்டான். அவனை அழைத்தேன். ஒரு வேலை தந்-தேன். அவன் தன்னை நிலைப்படுத்திக் கொண்-டான். பின், ஆப்ரிக்காவில் வேலை தேடிக்-கொண்டான்.

அதற்காக நட்பை உபயோகமானது என்றோ, சாதகமானது என்றோ, வாழ்க்-கையை வளப்படுத்திக்கொள்வதற்கான வாய்ப்பு என்றோ நான் ஒருபோதும்பார்த்--த-தில்லை.

70 வயது டாக்டர் ஒருவர் தன் நட்பு எப்படி சிதைந்துபோனது என்று என்-னிடம் சொன்னார்.

''முன்பெல்லாம் என் நண்பனைச் சந்திக்க வீட்டுக்கு எப்போது போனாலும், பியர் கொடுப்பான். உங்களைப் போல ஏதோ ஒரு குரு சொன்னார் என்பதற்காக, திடீரென்று குடிப்பதை நிறுத்திவிட்டான். எனக்கும் பியர் கொடுப்பதில்லை. அப்-பேர்ப்-பட்டவன் வீட்டுக்கு எப்படிப் போவேன்? எங்கள் நல்ல நட்பு சிதைந்து விட்டது.''

இது போல், ஏதோ ஒன்று வழங்கப்படும் வரைதான் சில நட்புகள் தாக்குப்பிடிக்-கின்றன.

உலகில் இன்று மிகுந்த செல்வாக்குள்ள தலை-வர்களுடன் பழகுகிறேன். ஒரு போதும் அவர்களுடைய தொடர்பைப் பயன்-படுத்திக்கொள்ள விரும்பியதில்லை. ஆனால், அவர்களுடன் சேர்ந்திருக்கும் கணங்களில் எங்களுக்குள் மிக ஆழமான-தோர் பகிர்தல் நிகழ்கிறது.

நண்பர்களுடன் பகிர்தல் என்பது கொடுக்கல் வாங்கல் அல்ல. அது ஒரு விதத்தில் ஒருவர் மற்றவரில் கரைந்து போதல். இதை உணர்ந்தவர்களால்தாம் நல்ல நண்பர்களாகத் தொடர முடியும்!

Smile

It was one of those days when my spirit was at a low ebb. Something shocking had come to my notice and I was shaken totally. I was more shaken to realize that this thing has been going on in the world always, but just because it came to my notice, I got so hurt and heartbroken.

It was almost 24hours since I was like that and I was walking to the parking lot from my office on this friday evening. I had a long face and deep in my thoughts. I just crossed a bar when an old man(looked American, but he had a little accent) came out and told me 'Smile'. That was it, I forgot everything and I was just there at that moment. I smiled big and he said 'look how pretty you are when you smile'. I just couldn't stop feeling happy at this lovely reminder on what is important in life.

He spoke to me for a minute - I hardly remember what exactly he spoke. He was telling me how important it is to smile. He asked me if I was a bartender and I said 'No'. He asked me if I was studying, and for some reason I nodded my head. Then his parting statement was 'Don't talk to strangers, except me' and he walked away to get his car. I crossed the road, all the while smiling and feeling so happy. After crossing the road, I turned around to acknowledge him and he was driving away, but he did look at me and we waved at each other. I felt so grateful.

Who was he? I have no idea, but he came at the right moment in my life to give me such a simple reminder. This life is full of surprises and hope - if alone we could open our eyes and see it.

Will I exchange this life with any other

"பெண்ணாய்ப் பிறப்பதற்கு மா பாவம் செய்திருக்க வேன்டும்"
Whenever I heard someone say that, I never argued with them. I knew why many women would say that. I never analyzed to see what it meant to me.

However, today I'm so very happy and consider this life to be the best boon I could ever get. A dog, cat, tree, stone or any other thing in this existence may not be able to see life the way a human being can see it.

2 weeks back, when I was on top of the Camelback mountains, the heavy wind that was sweeping me away was so refreshing. After such a hike, it was weird to feel so energetic, thanks to the wind. I stood on the summit and looked down at the city of Phoenix basking in the early morning sun. I always loved to watch the sun slowly light up the city, as it rises over the mountains. This wonderful sight, the feeling of the wind on my skin, the whooshing sound in my ears, the smell of the early morning fresh air and the awareness of all this - do I want to be anything else or anyone else at this moment? NO, NEVER.

Last week, on a full moon night, I was sitting with my husband in our patio. The moon was so white and bright and my whole being felt like it was washed by the moonlight. Just looking at the moon, relishing its beauty and all that it had to offer, blew me away. Where was I and what did I do all these years? I kicked myself for missing hundreds of full moon nights in my life. If I were anything other than a human being, would I have enjoyed these? I really doubt it. So will I exchange this life with any other life - NO, NEVER

கடவுள்

கடவுள் எங்கே என்று தேடித் திரிந்த என்னிடம்
கல்லையும் ஓவியத்தையும் காண்பித்து
இதுதான் கடவுள் என்று அடித்துச் சொன்னாய்
பிறப்பும் இறப்பும் கடவுளின் செயல் என்றாய்

ஆனால் காலன் உன் வீட்டிற்கு வந்ததும்
கடவுள் இல்லவே இல்லை என்று முடிவெடுத்துவிட்டாயே

கடவுள்தன்மை எங்கும் எதிலும் உள்ளது என நான் உணர்ந்துவிட்டேன்
இனி,
உன் தேடல் தொடங்கட்டும்

ஆயிரம் ஜன்னல் - சத்குருவின் புதிய ஆனந்த விகடன் தொடருக்கு அவரின் முன்னுரை

வாழ்க்கையை நீங்கள் காண்பதெல்லாம் அங்கங்கே திறந்திருக்கும் ஜன்னல் சதுரங்கள் வழியேதான்!

பாதி உண்மை என்பது உண்மையே அல்ல. அதே போல், அரைகுறை வாழ்க்கை என்பது முழுமையான வாழ்க்கை அல்ல. பெரும்பாலான சமயங்களில், நீங்கள் முழுமையாக இருப்பது இல்லை!

சமூகத்தின் ஆதிக்கத்திலிருந்து விடுபட முடியாமல், மற்றவர் செய்வதையே செய்துவந்திருக்கிறீர்கள். வாழ்வது என்பது வளர்ச்சியின்றி, ஓரிடத்தில் நிலைபெற்று நிற்பதல்ல. புதிய அனுபவங்களுக்குத் தயாராகாமல், பத்திரமாக இருக்க வேண்டும் என்று உங்களை நீங்களே சிறைக்குள் பூட்டிக்கொண்டுவிட்டீர்கள். அதனால், வாழ்க்கையின் முழுமையான வீச்சை நீங்கள் உணர்வது இல்லை.
என்னைச் சுற்றி அந்தச் சுவர்களை எழுப்பிக்கொள்ளாததால்தான் என் வாழ்க்கை வித்தியாசமாக அமைந்தது. அற்புதமாக மலர்ந்தது. மற்றவர்களால் என் கேள்விகளுக்குத் திருப்தியான விடை அளிக்க முடியாதபோது, அந்த விடைகளை அனுபவப்பூர்வமாகப் பெற்றுவிட நானே தேடிச் சென்றேன். வாழ்க்கையில் என்னைச் சுற்றி நிகழ்ந்த ஒவ்வொன்றும் எனக்கு ஏதோ ஒரு அர்த்தத்தைக் காட்டிவிட்டுத்தான் போயிருக்கிறது.

என்னை வித்தியாசமானவனாகக் காட்டிக்கொள்வதற்காக வலுக்கட்டாயமாக நான் எதையும் செய்யவில்லை. எதையெல்லாம் என் வாழ்க்கையில் அர்த்தமுள்ளதாக உணர்ந்தேனோ, அதையெல்லாம்தான் செய்தேன்.

சில விஷயங்களைப் பெறுவதற்கு வேறு சில விஷயங்களை விலையாகக் கொடுத்துதான் ஆக வேண்டும். கொடுக்கத் தயாராக இருந்தேன், கொடுத்தேன். கொடுத்ததைவிட கோடி அளவு அதிகமாகப் பெற்றேன்.

''உங்கள் அனுபவங்களை எங்களுடன் பகிர்ந்துகொள்வீர்களா?''

''ஓடும் நதியிலிருந்து ஒரு கை அள்ளி, நான் உங்களுக்குக் கொடுக்க முடியும். அவ்வளவுதான். அதனால் உங்கள் தாகம் தீர்ந்துவிடப் போவதில்லை. தாகம் தணிய வேண்டுமானால், நீங்களேதான் குனிந்து நதியிலிருந்து அள்ளிக் குடிக்க வேண்டும். நீங்களே அருந்துகிறபோதுதான், எனக்கு நேர்ந்ததெல்லாம் உங்களுக்கும் நிகழும்.

உங்களை வாழ்க்கை முழுவதும் பாதுகாப்பு உணர்வே பிரதானமாக இயக்கியிருக்கிறது. அந்தத் தந்திரங்களை விட்டு விலகினால்தான், வாழ்க்கையின் முழுமையான உண்மையான அர்த்தத்தை நீங்கள் உணர முடியும்.

உங்களுக்காக சில ஜன்னல்களைத் திறந்து காட்டுகிறேன். ஆனால், சுவர்களை உடைத்துக்கொண்டு நீங்கள் வெளியேறும் நாள்தான் உங்களுக்கு முழு விடுதலை!'

க்ராண்ட் கேன்யன் - என் தம்பியின் பயண அனுபவம்

"எனதருமைச் சகோதரியே!

கணிப்பொறியின் திரைக்குள்ளே
மணிப்பொழுதைக் கரைத்திடும் வாழ்க்கையிலே
சில நாட்கள் கிடைத்ததே பாசம் கொண்டாட
என நினைத்து உனதில்லம்தேடி வந்தால்
எங்கென்னை அழைத்துச் செல்கின்றாய்
மைத்துனனின் துணையோடு?

பூக்களின் மணம்வீசும் பூஞ்சோலைக்கா?
குளிரோடையின் சுகம்பேசும் பனிமலைக்கா?
எனக் கேட்டேன் ஆவலுடன்.."

எனதருமைத் தம்பியே!
உனக்கெப்போது பொறுமை வருமோ?
சொல்கிறேன் கேள்!
எனதினிய துணைவனின் துணையோடு
உனையழைத்துச் செல்வேன் ஓர் அரிய இடத்திற்கு!!-அங்கே

பூக்களின் மணம்பேசாது!
குளிரோடைக் காற்றும் வீசாது!

கண்டயிடமெல்லாம் கரும்பாறைகளுண்டு!
செல்லும்வழியாவும் கடும்வெயிலுமுண்டு!
தாகம் தணிக்க நீரும் இராது!-வியர்த்த
தேகத் தினிலே உப்பும் இராது!

அவ்விடம் கண்டு, ரசித்து,
ஓர் கவிதை வரையடா என்று
அன்புக்கட்டளை யிட்டாள்!
இல்லை! சவால் விட்டாள்!

என்ன இது!
பல்லாயிரம்மைல்கள் கடந்து
என்ன நிலைமையில் இங்கு வந்துள்ளேன்
என்றுனக்குத் தெரியுமா?
கவிஞனென்று நானா கூறினேன்?
கூட்டத்தினுள்ளே எவரோ கூறினால்
நானென்ன செய்வேன்? - என்று
வடிவேலு பாணியில் அழுதாலும்
விடுவதாய்த் தெரியவில்லை!

உம்மிருவரையும் காணவந்த
எனக்கு இதுவா நீசெய்யும்
விருந்தோம்பல்? என சின்னதொருகோபம்
எழுந்தது எனதுள்ளத்தில்.
மௌனமாய், மலைப்பாய், உடன்சென்றேன்.

சாலைகள் கடந்து
சமவெளிப்பகுதியும் கடந்து
புள்வெளி மரங்கள் கடந்து
அவ்விடம் அடைந்தோம்!

பள்ளத்தாக்கு! - எனது
உள்ளந்தாக்கிய பள்ளத்தாக்கு!
திகைத்தேன்!
விரிந்தவிழிகள் இமைக்கும் தொழிலை மறந்தன.
பிரமித்தேன்!
புவியரசன் வாய்பிளந்து மிரட்டினான்.
நானோ வாய்பிளந்து மிரண்டிருந்தேன்!



பள்ளத்தாக்கின் ஆழம் சில ஆயிரமடிகள்!
விரிந்துகாணும் அகலம் பத்துமைல்கள்!
நீளமோ சில நூறு மைல்கள்!

இருவரும் பள்ளத்தாக்கின் கதைகூறினர்!

"பல்லாயிரம் ஆண்டுகள்கடந்து பின்சென்றால்
இன்றுள்ள பல்லத்தாக்குப் பகுதி
சமவெளியாயிருக்க அதன்மீது
தூரத்துப் பனிமலைகள் உருகி
காட்டாறொன்று பாய்ந்தோடியது!
கொலராடோ எனும் பெயர் கொண்டு!

சமவெளியில் பாய்ந்த அந்த நதி
தனது கரைபுரண்ட சீற்றத்தில்
கர்வம் கொண்டு
நிலமகள் பொறுமையின் அளவறிய
தனது அகழ்வுப்பணியைத் தொடங்கியது!




ஆண்டுகள் நகர நகர நிலத்தின்
ஆழம் அதிகரித்தது!
நதியின் அகலம் சுருங்கியது!
அகழ்வுப்பணியை முடுக்கியது!

புவியரசி தன்னுள் புதைந்துள்ள
பலமுகங்களை பலநிறங்களை
கம்பீரத்துடன் காட்டத்தொடங்கினாள்!

புன்னகையுடன் நதியிடம் சொன்னாள்,
நதியே! சீறிப்பாய்வதும்
நிலத்தை அகழ்வதும் உனதுகுணம்!
எந்தவொரு சீற்றத்தையும்
உள்வாங்கிக் கொண்டு
பொறுமைகாப்பது என்குணமென்று!

நாணத்தால் நதிதன் அகலம் சுருக்கி
ஆழத்தில் நிலத்தின்மடியில் தவழ்கிறது
தாயின் பொறுமையுணர்ந்த சேய்போல!"

இவ்வாறு கதைகூறிமுடித்தனர் இருவரும்.

எனது தலைகவிழ்ந்தது!

மொழிக்கு அணிசேர்த்தால்
கவிதையாகும், பாடலாகும், கட்டுரையுமாகும்!

புவிக்கு அணிசேர்த்தால் அது
பூஞ்சோலையாகும், பனிமலையாகும், மலைமுகிலாகும்!

இங்குநாம் காணும்காட்சி
இலக்கணமறியாக் குழந்தையின் மழலைமொழி!

மழலைப்பேச்சின் அழகிற்கு எந்த
அணியிலக்கணம் தடைகூறும்?

கட்டுக்கடங்காத இந்த எழிலை
கவிதையென்னும் எல்லைக்குள்ளா
கட்டிப் போடுவது?



இப்படியே விரிந்துகிடக்கட்டும்
இதன் இயல்பான கம்பீரத்துடன்!
எனக்கூறி நழுவினேன்.

"சமாளிப்புத் திலகமே!"
வந்தனம்!என பட்டம்கொடுத்து
வழியனுப்பிய இருவருக்கும்
என் மனமார்ந்த நன்றி!

- சரவணன்

tamilkey - இது அற்புதம்

http://tamilkey.mozdev.org/installation.html

இது நாள் வரை தமிழில் blog எழுதுவதற்க்கு, special keyboard அல்லது ஏதாவது தளத்தில் எழுதி பின்னர் இங்கே copy செய்ய வேன்டி இருக்கும். ஆனால் இப்பொழுதோ, tamilkey உபயோகித்து இங்கேயே எழுத முடிகிறது. ஆங்கிலம் - தமிழ் என்று மாற்றி மாற்றி எழுதுவதும் மிக சுலபமாக உள்ளது. இதற்காகத்தான் இத்தனை நாட்கள் (அறியாமையில்) காத்திருந்தேன்.

Change is huge

Change is huge, be it change of school, change of city or changing the world. But any change requires some effort from our side, without which we cannot survive.

Many of us know that trees should be planted, roads should be cleaned, wildlife should be preserved, food contamination should be prevented, bribery should be abolished, violence should be shown its exit door, kids should be protected from abuse, current education system should be changed and more and more. We keep waiting for that one person who will come and change this world. Yes, we had a Gandhi to help us get independence, but if lakhs and lakhs of people had not come out of their homes to fight against the British, we wouldn't have had this independence. So why are we now waiting for just that one person or organization to work towards making this world a better place. Isn't it time we give atleast little bit of our time, effort or/and money to make this change?

http://www.ted.com/index.php/speakers/view/id/147



"There's never one right way to make change....
One can do it as a Tech person, Finance person, non-profit person or an entertainment person. Everyone of us is all of those things and more. And I believe if we do these things, we can close the OPPORTUNITY gaps, we can close the HOPE gaps and if we can do this, the headlines in 10 years might read something like this...
New AIDS cases in Africa falls to zero
US imports its last barrel of oil
Israelis and Palestinians celebrate 10 years of peaceful co-existence
Snows have returned to Kilimanjaro
eBay listing for a presentation - obsolete museum piece, contact AlGore"

That's when he brought tears to my eyes. Many of us, even those involved in making this change, lose hope sometimes. Thanks to people like Jeff Skoll, this Change is inevitable!!

In the Presence of the Master

A weeklong Sathsang with Sadhguru at IIIS

Hiking the Camelback mountains in Scottsdale

After a wonderful trip to the Grand Canyons, my husband was quite pepped up about hiking. So the next weekend, we decided to hike the Camelback mountains which is a few miles from home. The trail is just 1.5 mile long and the summit is at around 2700 feet. I didn't know that the trail has been ranked as a strenuous one. All I was worried about was the Arizona summer heat. So we had 3 liters of water for the two of us and took some salty snacks - suggested for a Grand canyon hike, not required here :)

We started the hike 2 hours after sunrise, at 7am. Initially it was very interesting - walking along the trail which was a little bumpy. A rattle snake crossed our path on our way up. The snake and every other fauna and flora seemed to merge with the landscape. Everything was brown in colour - with the exception of a few bushes and the Sahuaro(the long cylindrical cactus plant in the photos). Last week, Sahuaro had beautiful white flowers, and now we could see red fruits which added colour to this scenery. Scottsdale with its palm trees and golf courses looked green and beautiful from our trail.

















Click on the photo to see other hikers on the summit.
The sun was getting on to us. Atleast 4 times, I had to pour water on my head to cool me off . It was very hot and we were getting tired. I envied those people who were climbing down, since they had started earlier. When we crossed a mile, we noticed that we just crossed the first hump of the camelback mountain. We were wondering if we should go back, since this is the first time we were trying something like this. Fortunately, after drinking more water and taking some rest, both of us decided to continue. The last half a mile was very strenuous. We had to literally crawl/use all our 4 limbs to climb up. The photo was taken from this last half a mile. There was no trail here.

This is just the 2nd time I'm going for such a hike. The first one was in Bangalore - don't remember the name of that place - where we went so unprepared. There was no trail and we hiked just after a heavy lunch. We had no water and I blacked out then. That has been a good lesson. With enough water, I now know that I can survive any such hikes.

We loved it so much that we decided to hike every weekend. Last sunday, when we went again, we started hiking at 6am and it made all the difference. Last time, we took 2 hours to climb up, but this time we made it in one hour. However, the return trip took the same 1 hour.

One best thing about hiking is that you are always alert. Every step has to be taken consciously. With an ankle that is prone to sprains(old injury), during the first hike, I had to endure severe pain when I twisted my ankle. Also, I noticed that I let my body loose while coming down the slope. I always have a tendency to run down a slope, since gravity would aid me immensely. I could not afford to do that here, because, the trail was so rocky. I learned to control my speed and took every step with full awareness - I wish I could be this aware during my yoga practices. Maybe I should practice my kriyas somewhere on this narrow trail, where a slight misstep would result in a steep fall. Mind-body coordination also improved over the last one week. How amazing life would be if every moment could be lived like this!!

AIDS awareness - why is it difficult to reach the middle and upper class people

http://specials.rediff.com/news/2004/nov/30sld1.htm

Why is it difficult to reach people who are not in the lower strata of life?

2 years back, when I met Dr.Manorama, she showed me a video on how this adoption materialized. I have written about this in my previous post 'Child Adoption'.

4 Books and 3 movies

Sitting at home for the last 3 months, I used the opportunity to read a lot of books and watch some selected movies. Some of these impressed me, rather transformed me in their own ways.

Every Second Counts by Lance Armstrong
Before reading the book, I knew very little about Lance Armstrong - a cancer survivor who won 'Tour de France' title seven consecutive times between 1999 to 2005 . This book gave a glimpse of his life - living through the chemos, life after cancer treatment and preparation for 'Tour de France' in a great detail. True to the title of the book, he has lived his life as though 'Every Second Counts'. I hear many people talk about how a near death experience transforms them and it is after such an experience that they live life more intensely. This is a must read book to understand this better.

Autobiography of a Yogi - Paramhansa Yogananda
Wow...Aha....Whoooooaaaaa.....
I can't think of any more words to express what I felt while reading this book.

Snow - Maxence Fermine
A very beautiful poetic story.

The Namesake - Jhumpa Lahiri
Not my best pick. But okay to read once. Got a glimpse of how life turns out when you you live in America and have Indian roots

3 Very interesting movies:

1. King Corn - After this movie, I started realizing how much America is living on Corn, from food to cars, there's corn everywhere. Almost every cereal box and fruit juice box has corn syrup in the ingredient list. The guy with a car registeration plate as 'CORNFED' said it all.

2. What the Bleep do we know
One other movie that brings Science(Quantum physics) and Spirituality together. Oh my, there's so much in this existence that we are unaware of, but we human beings go about assuming that we've got nature under our control. Pity us!!

3. Phenomenon
Review from Wikipedia: "George Malley (John Travolta) is a man whose life is transformed by a strange flash of light he observes on the evening of his 37th birthday. Over the course of the following days, George starts to experience an extraordinary form of genius-level intelligence, rapidly absorbing vast amounts of information, formulating new, revolutionary ideas, and even exhibiting telekinetic abilities."

Consumerism vs 'The Story of Stuff'

I always wondered how a consumerism economy such as in America, was sustaining for such a long time. How can a society as a whole have this kind of a culture!

Why do Americans love shopping (more than people in many other countries)?
Why is it so easy to throw away stuff and buy new stuff in this country?
Why is it cool to have the latest electronic gadgets?
Why isn't it frowned upon when someone buys a new car every 6 months?
Why is it that people(especially the youth in cities) in countries like India are falling for this kind of culture and habits?

I got answers and better insight into the aftereffects of this from 'The Story of Stuff'. A must see for everyone who thinks that I've gone nuts by asking such questions. For others...hmm... you will anyway watch this.

http://www.storyofstuff.com/

Taslima Nasrin

Taslima Nasrin - when I was in school, she was all in the newspapers. Her book Lajja(Shame) was released and the government of Bangladesh had banned it. The feminist in me got attracted and influenced by her. Reading Lajja was the next best thing I did. The book touched me deeply. I couldn't accept the atrocities people could do to each other in the name of religion. Anyway, my respect and adulation for Taslima grew and I watched her struggle over the years. When she came to India, I was amazed at how our country supported and stood by her. Little did I know that people had motives behind supporting her. The same vote-bank politics that supported her, has now thrown her out of India to win the fundamentalist's votes. Politics and the vote bank have become so important in our country, that you never know when someone is doing a deed just out of sheer humanity. 'Secular' India took a stand to support fundamentalists instead of Taslima.

It's heartbreaking to see such a great courageous mind being suppressed. It hurts to see death threats being issued by Indians and it hurts more to know that the Indian government wants her to leave India, because Muslim organizations do not like her in our country. The government cannot listen to such organizations that use violence to meet their requirements. Where will our country go if people start using this method to get everything that they want?

July 29, 1994, it is said that 200,000 people demonstrated in Dhaka demanding that Taslima Nasrin should be hanged. That's a lot of people. Just to see one person die(which is what will happen to all of us) why are we spending so much energy? If a small percentage of these people could really open their eyes and see what she's talking about and either prove or disprove it, that would make sense.

I read Lajja again when I was in college and then shared my book with friends and cousins. I haven't read any of her other books. In all these years, when Taslima called Kolkata her home, she would appear in the newspapers once in a while. I was not madly following her life or books, but everytime I see her in the news(even today), I'd cherish my childhood feeling of idolizing her. It is a must read book.

Some of her books can be read online at
http://taslimanasrin.com/

Letter from Salman Rushdie to Taslima when she first received the 'fatwa' in 1994
http://humanists.net/nasrin/rushdie.htm

Let Humanism be the other name for Religion - Taslima Nasrin

Eyes

A friend mentioned how he was attracted by Sadhguru's eyes - very powerful. True, his eyes are really magnetic. More than the normal times, when I saw him at Sathsangs or during BSP, it was FIRE. There was so much love, affection, care and something very intense about it.
Well, the reason I'm blogging this is not to write about Sadhguru - for many know it. If you have not seen him, then these last few lines would mean nothing. The reason I'm writing is because this friend mentioned that he finds my eyes also very powerful. Oh yeah, I thought to myself, he should have seen me when I am confused or upset. No one would even want to look at my eyes - they would be so dull.
I then told him that everybody's eyes have that charm and power, just that they cloud their eyes with their own thoughts. If we can go beyond those thoughts, we can see the true being. If only we can see it, there will be no fights or destruction in this world.

Fun stuff

What Your Flip Flop Says About You

You are an outdoorsy person. You feel most comfortable in nature. Beautiful scenery and good weather always brighten up your day. Being outside allows you to feel calm and connected to the world. Problems don't seem so big when you realize how small you are in the scheme of things. Your ideal warm weather place: Costa Rica

The Flip Flop Test

Your Personality Profile

You are dependable, popular, and observant. Deep and thoughtful, you are prone to moodiness. In fact, your emotions tend to influence everything you do. You are unique, creative, and expressive. You don't mind waving your freak flag every once and a while. And lucky for you, most people find your weird ways charming!

The World's Shortest Personality Test

What Your Soul Really Looks Like

You are a warm hearted and open minded person. It's easy for you to forgive and forget. You are a grounded person, but you also leave room for imagination and dreams. You feet may be on the ground, but you're head is in the clouds. You see yourself with pretty objective eyes. How you view yourself is almost exactly how other people view you. Your near future is calm, relaxing, and pretty much what you want. And it's something you've been anticipating for a while now. For you, falling in love has never been easy. You can only fall for someone who is very patient and persistent.

Inside the Room of Your Soul

Spirituality in Democracy

I was watching Vaibhav Shiva DVD, in which Sadhguru talks about how in early days, the Kings nurtured Spirituality. That's when, this thought just flashed through my mind. In India, the Kings encouraged and supported Spirituality. This was done not to win any election, but just to develop spirituality. However, in the last few decades, governments and other political parties have been developing/supporting a particular religion just to gain mass support. There is no spirituality in this.

I see that in this century, it's with common people's support that spiritual organizations have been growing. Then I realized, oh yes, people are the Kings in our country - that's democracy for us. So no wonder the common man - the King of today's India - is nurturing Spirituality.

P.S.: Please do not argue with me if common man is really the King of India. That's a theoretical statement which holds true atleast in the context of Spirituality.

பணமும் வாழ்க்கையும்

பணம் சம்பாதிக்க வாழ்க்கை வாழ்வதோ
வாழ்க்கை வாழவல்லவா பணம் சம்பாதிக்க வேண்டும்??

Orange man

A nice outcome of my 6 week long vacation in India. As a friend commented, this is what I did with lot of time and a creative mind(actually I copied this idea from a email forward) .

Food for the future world

I visited my Aunty who recently constructed a home in Erode. The vegetables in her garden were very good and that's when I was told that the house is on a 'nel vilaiyum boomi'. Recently my cousin brother divided his agriculture land into many plots and sold them away. Even in the current world situation, we know very well that we do not have enough fertile land to produce food for the growing population. What with all these lands turning to residential areas!

I cannot blame my aunty or my cousin for doing this. My cousin said that he cannot profit from agriculture, since there is no support from government. Also, he mentioned how the yield has come down drastically in the last 2 decades, due to the use of fertilizers. Even though they have enough water to cultivate the land, they are unable to see any money, so he was left with no option but to sell it.

If this continues, where will the whole world go for food? Will we have enough land to feed the future?

Also check this...
http://deepakktsnapshot.blogspot.com/2008/04/global-famine-warning.html

Value of 'One' life

Last week I was reading a news article on riots in a Asian country. It was about how local people claim that more than 100 people were killed by the riot police but the government claims that 'ONLY' 18 people died. I have been reading such statements since the day I started reading newspapers. However, what stuck me this time is that people are so bent upon statistics even when it comes to lives. Someone claims 100 people have died, but the government comes back to say that lesser people died - how does that matter? Even if one life is lost, it is very bad. What is the point in playing with numbers!!

Project Green Hands - Gift of trees

Gift of trees - this is a great idea proposed and implemented by Isha volunteers. It takes US$1 to nurture a sapling and plant a tree in India(PGH is now spread across Southern India). US volunteers who wanted to participate in this effort to bring 33% green cover to Tamilnadu, decided to spread awareness and do some fundraising. Gift of Trees is one wonderful idea. We can buy a Gift of Trees certificate for different denominations($10, $20, $50, $100, etc) and send it as a gift to a loved one. Christmas, Pongal, Birthdays, Anniversaries, Valentine's day - there are many occasions when we would want to buy gifts/cards/bouquets. Instead, if we can buy this certificate, Isha's 'Project Green Hands' will plant 1 tree for every dollar in honor of the person who receives the certificate.

You can contact me if you are interested in getting these certificates for your loved ones.

http://www.ishafoundation.org/ProjectGreenHands

Stress and me

I had resisted for a long time to write my experiences with Yoga. The last 1.5 years has transformed me to such an extent in every possible way that sometimes I don't recognize myself. My resistance to write was due to two factors - first, I could hardly get these experiences in words, in any language; second, it will be easy for anyone to judge me as one other crazy being. Anyway, whatever happened to me in the last one week is magical and marvelous(though not the first time).

Since I started practicing yoga and kriyas(www.ishafoundation.org), I have been very calm, composed, joyful and free of many physical ailments (especially back pain - my 24/7 partner for 6 years). Life was going in a very positive way. I got busy with volunteering at Isha yoga, Center for Visually Impaired(CVI, Atlanta, GA) and few other organizations. I had 2 amazing opportunities to give a car ride to Sadhguru. Got wonderful friends and social life in Atlanta improved. The list goes on and on.....

However, 3 months back, I started suffering from severe back pain and slowly I started feeling that I was going back to how I was 2 years earlier. I would get upset or emotionally disturbed without any reason. However, I was still not losing control and I was able to handle everything in a peaceful, calm way. But back pain was something that I could not tolerate and I tried changing my chair in the office, sitting posture, sleeping posture and also stopped doing Hata yoga. Nothing helped me. I realized that there was some problem with my mind or body that was impacting the other, but I couldn't figure out the problem.

Suddenly, last week(1 day after volunteering at the Isha Yoga Inner Engineering class), out of nowhere I felt like talking to my husband for a long time. I didn't know what I was going to talk. I just called him from work and luckily he was also free. As I started talking, I realized that there was one issue that came up 3 months ago and one part of my mind knew that it's not a big deal. Meanwhile, another part of my mind kept thinking about that issue and slowly a poison tree had been developing in me, without my knowledge. My good sane mind had been suppressing this. This suppression had developed so much stress in me without my awareness. Last week I got sick, rather felt so sick for no good reason. After I realized the problem and became aware that this is the root cause, life is back on track. Right after I was done talking to my husband, my body felt like water flowing in a river that we call 'Existence'. I felt like there were knots in every cell of my body that untangled themselves.

The next day I did surya namaskar and realized how flexible I was. In the last 3 months, I had trouble bending forward. It's so surprising how stress killed my body's functions. Inspite of reading about it and hearing it in the yoga class, it's great to learn this experientially.

Coffee stirrer

My first encounter with this 'Coffee Stirrer' was during my college days. Hot chocolate was getting popular in Chennai and small stalls were sprouting up in all local train stations. One day, I decided to try it, finally succumbing to my tongue. I got a small cup of hot chocolate and he game me a straw(or that's what I thought). The straw looked different - tiny and cute. I used the straw to drink the hot(very hot) chocolate and the moment it reached my tongue, hmmm....you know what would have happened. Assuming that my taste buds have been destroyed permanently, I rejoiced when I started feeling my tongue again.

Anyway, even then I didn't realize that it's a stirrer and not a straw. But that story was long forgotten until last week. I happened to use a stirrer and suddenly remembered this incident and wondered why stirrers are hollow. I goodSearch-ed(www.goodsearch.com) 'coffee stirrers' and found this interesting article.
http://www.benratesitall.com/index.php?id=1128577696.Coffee%20Stirrers.msc

However, I couldn't find an answer to my question...
Why are coffee stirrers designed as mini straws, rather why are they hollow?

As Ben mentions in his article, is it just to save manufacturing costs. With everyone going "GREEN", maybe it's high time we start thinking about non-plastic stirrers.
Also, why do we have disposable stirrers - how much plastic is being wasted damaging the environment! Anyway, that's a topic for another whole article.