His Holiness The Dalai Lama visits Sikkim. (Dec 2010)

It was a cloudy evening some 6 - 7 years back from now. The entire hill town of Gangtok, Sikkim  had gone into a silent prayer. The decibel level had gone so low that you could literally hear the birds chirping and the ringing of the buddhist bells. People cutting across races, religion and social strata had come out of their houses and with folded hands were waiting for His Holiness The Dalai Lama's convoy to pass by the National Highway NH31. Never before had I witnessed such a dramatic change in the environment of an entire town just by the coming of one person. You could feel the peace and gratitude in the air and most people had tears in the eyes reminiscing the days of the times when they were living in their own country under the benevolent rule of The Dalai Lama of Tibet.

The Dalai Lama is the symbol of peace and tolerance all over the world and has shown that integrating spirituality in daily life can make a much more prosperous and violence free world. Persecution by the Chinese of his people for over 60 years has not made him loose his patience and speak harsh words for them. He still says that Love will win over hatred. Peace will win over violence. Forgiveness will win over greed.

His Holiness visited Sikkim again. In the video, He speaks at the International Conference on Science, Spirituality and Education held at Namgyal Institute of Tibetology in Gangtok, Sikkim, India, on December 20th, 2010.

Mark Zuckerberg - Creator of Facebook - TIME person of the year 2010.

You must have used FACEBOOK or have heard of it from crazy fans of it. I think FACEBOOK is the one and only company in the past decade which has come so close in challenging the absolute rule of Google over the internet. The information shared today in FACEBOOK by real users is so close to all the data is poured in website and other objects that make the internet.
FACEBOOK is a fantastic way of connecting with your friends and sharing with them things which you like e.g. photos, videos, ideas, etc etc. We also have a Great Art of Living community in Facebook and its a joy to share and view things posted by our Jai Gurudev Warriors of the Internet.

So it was only natural that FACEBOOOK creator Mark Zuckerberg is named the TIME person of the Year by TIME magazine for the year 2010. Here is an Interview done by TIME Magazine.
(To pause and view the video, just click on the video itself.)

Of Slippers and Habits

Well, it happened again. Without exaggeration, it was the 4th time that I lost my slippers in the Ashram. Teeming with joyful bubbling souls, nobody must have noticed the 'chappal' being just carried away by one of the bubbles. And still less nobody must have cared. Belongingness extended to the appendages of the hind limbs is what I don't like, specially when it is extended to mine.

I had gone to the ashram yesterday and had a wonderful satsang in presence of Gurudev. He answered some witty questions and some direct ones.
Somebody asked "What is the reason we get married"
He answered "You should know why you want to get married" ( laughter)

Another person asked "Does rebirth exist?"
Gurudev said "It does. There are many evidences."

Still another one said "I want to hear the slogan "Jai Hind, Jai Maharashtra" from your mouth"
He said "Look, I have left the slogans and shouting to you, I just give blessings!"


I stayed back in the Ashram and early morning had a cold water bath at 5 am and went to Sumeru mantap to do kriya and then came to attend Rudra Puja. Just when we reached VM, Guruji's car came and we followed just behind HIM, floating in the cloudy ashram morning amidst the Vedic Chants.
After a Blissful Puja, had a hearty breakfast at the Ashram Kitchen and then headed Home.

But the story I wanted to tell or rather an observation is this:
How much we are habituated to things. Responding to a particular situation in the same manner every single time.
Well I've lost my slippers 3 times before (thanks to people extending belongingness) and every time with the same belongingness, I have picked someone else. So when I lost it today, the first instict today was to pick up another. I just kept observing. It was an Aho moment. I thought 'Do I have a choice or not!"
Vrittis in the mind solidified by repeated actions creates bondage. Look in your life... how many bondages and crutches you have.. Are you still reapeating it?? Just observe.

Finally I sat in the Car and came back home barefeet. However insignificant, I felt a little free.

Vote for this Hero from India at CNN.

In this digital age where consumerism rules and there is a mad rush for making a career, earning a fortune and living a lavish lifestyle, we wonder whether there are enough people not selfish enough to save the planet.
Enter Narayanan Krishnan

Image courtesy cnn.com

In 2002, Narayanan Krishnan, a gifted young chef from Madurai, India, was working for an exclusive hotel group preparing haute cuisine for the ultra-rich. But when he went home to visit his family, something he saw shocked him to his core.

“I saw a very old man eating his own human waste for food,” he says.

This incident changed his life completely. He felt deeply the pain and the suffering of the hungry, homeless destitutes still his countrymen. He could no longer go to serve the ultra-rich the gourmets each costing thousands of Rupees. He decided to make a change.

Within a week he quit his job and started the movement known as "Akshaya Trust" with the simple aim of feeding healthy vegetarian food to those who can't afford it. “That spark and that inspiration is a driving force still inside me as a flame — to serve all the mentally ill destitutes and people who cannot take care of themselves,” Krishnan says. 

This year he is 29. he has served more than 1.2 million meals — breakfast, lunch and dinner — to India’s homeless and destitute, mostly elderly people abandoned by their families and often abused. Krishnan’s day begins at 4 a.m. He and his team cover nearly 125 miles in a donated van, routinely working in temperatures topping 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

He seeks out the homeless under bridges and in the nooks and crannies between the city’s temples. The hot meals he delivers are simple, tasty vegetarian fare he personally prepares, packs and often hand-feeds to nearly 400 clients each day. Krishnan carries a comb, scissors and razor and is trained in eight haircut styles that, along with a fresh shave, provide extra dignity to those he serves.

Narayanan Krishnan has been voted the top 10 Heroes of 2010 by CNN. You can vote for him and make him the CNN Hero of 2010.
Voting is very simple and requires just a click. Lets make him CNN Hero of the Year. Many more will be inspired.
I think he deserves it. Don't you?   VOTE NOW!

A Fresh Start to Blogging

For the past few months I was very irregular in posting to this blog. The reason (very lame) for that was I didn't have internet at home. But nonetheless I posted a few posts, released the Satsang Lyrics book  . But back with a bang, now I will be posting regularly talking my mind out about things in general and Art of Living (and all its associated paraphernalia) in particular.

By the way I got a Brand New Computer, assembled with my own hands, 4 gb RAM, 23" Monitor and the works... so making the best use of it to Blog.

The things that happened till now.... we had a series of Bhakti concerts, I travelled for a few satsangs in Bangalore, Coimbatore, Warangal etc.., I (along with 29,999 other people) had a mesmerizing Navratri celebration in the Ashram with Guruji, my pet grasshopper died....etc

Want to write about all these things and more...

And also you might have noticed that the template has changed, let me know your feedback and suggestions for improvement.

Do you listen to a song or to an Album?

Most of us listen to a song.
What I mean by this is that we come to know of the Artist by listening to the song and not the other way around.
For example, I came to know about Simon and Garfunkel when someone suggested me to listen to “ Sound of Silence”.
So if we are a casual listener, as opposed to a “FAN”, we tend to listen to popular numbers from a myraid collection of artists and from various genres of music. We come to know of a famous song from some where and that song finds  its way into our i-pods or mp3 players.
As opposed to the above is following a particular artist and listening to their complete albums. In the last few months I’ve been trying to listen to complete album of a few artists and I’ve found it very fulfilling. It’s as if I’m connected to that artist or band, and I’m part of their thoughts and happenings. It also helps me to understand what the musician is all about.
Curently I’m listening to Dave Matthew’s Band “Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux king” .
Try to do this:
“Mentally shut down all the songs which are there in your ipod or mp3 player, just take one album of some artist whom you like and listen to it when you feel like listening to music. When the mind is not bombarded by choices, it settles down and you’ll feel something wonderful coming out of listening to the music of that particular person or band.”

Let me know abour your experiences..





-

I'm Currently listening to Dave Mathhew's band...

Fun with designing..

Have been enjoying lately the joy of creating some cool logos, pamphlets and banners just to burst out the fountain of creativity that comes with a happy and joyful mind. Have been more than blown over by corel-draw and so did all these.... Have a look...everything from scratch!!

 More coming soon....

The joy of designing! CorelDraw Mania.

IT was in my mind for quite sometime now.The desire to design killing logos and breathtaking designs both for printing and for the web.I started with photoshop about an year ago and found it very good in the features and tools available for editing images. But I started learning coreldraw now and it's just been a week and what wonderous raptures I have gone through at times.. I like it certainly better than any other tool I have worked with though it would be cruel to compare it with photoshop or any other designing tool..
The joy of creating a design from scratch and the breathtaking effects which you can add just by a few clicks of your mouse has led me to that state where I wake up every morning and feel nice that I am going to learn and create something new.!

Have you tried CorelDraw ever?
If you know some good websites where I could get additional tutorials for CorelDraw X3 to improve my skills please let me know in the comment section..

Farewell song at college!!

The performance was on the spot. no practice . no pre-coordination. but it has come out good.
Well engineering over.... almost..

Love changes everything.

One of the most beautiful lyrics ever written.
To all you people in love out there...



Love, Love changes everything:
Hands and faces,
Earth and sky,
Love, Love changes everything:
How you live and
How you die

Love Can make the summer fly,
Or a night
Seem like a lifetime.


Yes, Love,
Love changes everything:
Now I tremble
At your name.
Nothing in the
World will ever
Be the same.


Love,
Love changes everything:
Days are longer,
Words mean more.
Love,
Love changes everything:
Pain is deeper
Than before.


Love
Will turn your world around,
And that world
Will last for ever.


Yes, Love,
Love changes everything,
Brings you glory,
Brings you shame.
Nothing in the
World will ever
Be the same.

Off
Into the world we go,
Planning futures,
Shaping years.
Love,
Bursts in, and suddenly
All our wisdom
Disappears.


Love
Makes fools of everyone:
All the rules
We make are broken.


Yes, Love,
Love changes everyone.
Live or perish
In its flame.
Love will never,
Never let you
Be the same.

The blue planet.

Today I went up to my terrace. The sun was about to set.A few bunches of cumulo-nimbus could be seen in the distant horizon.Suddenly a sense of awareness dawned on me and I smiled, I just noticed how beautiful is this place where we are living right now. Most often we are so lost in our own little worlds that we forget that we live in the BLUE PLANET. The third planet from the sun. In a solar system in the Milky Way. We forget to notice its beauty and the joy of living in the BLUE PLANET!

A little awareness about our own identity in this vast UNIVERSE can give a lot of solace and put a halt to the constant bickerings,complaints and worries of our little minds.

Just now somebody tweeted this link which I would like to share with you all. After a glimpse of these images, I think you will appreciate this post better.

Visit: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/01/earth_observed.html

What am I going to do in 2009?

Most of the personality development books today highlight the technique of "declaring your resolutions" to achieve efficiency and a sense of responsibility towards the goal which you have set.
This technique has been practiced in India since time immemorial wherein if a person realized a mistake then he would declare to everyone he meets that he would be doing so-and-so penance.
I feel this is a very powerful technique because when u tell the world your resolutions then there is a positive( maybe subconcious) pressure for you to work towards that goal and also the benifits of putting a goal in black and white cannot be emphasised enough.
So what are my plans for 2009? I have a fairly rough idea which I will try to explain as clearly as I can.
I have split the resolutions into two categories:

 Personal
1.More Sadhana(meditation), More seva(service) and ofcourse Satsang.
2.Start learning the flute.This is one of my foremost priorities and a deep wish as well . I am planning to learn the indian bamboo flute which is called Bansuri. So don't be surprised if after a year I am able to play the flute as well as I play the guitar now.
3.Work more on my fitness.

For this blog
Here are some goals which I want to achieve for this blog by the end of 2009.
1.Technorati:  A technorati authority of 100 or more.
2.Google Page Rank: I should be happy with a pagerank of 3 by the year end.
3.20% visitors from search engines. Well as of now it is only to the tune of 5% so a lot of SEO has to be done(sigh!, SEO is such a boring job).
4.Have 100 feed subscribers.
5.Increase the daily unique visits to 100.(As of now it is only around 30).
6.Make more use of Blog directories(Digg,Stumbleupon,Blogcatalog etc).


Well, a lot of work!So I better get started. Wish me luck!

Wonders of winter.

It's so refreshing to feel the cool winter air on your face when you walk.

Just reminds me everytime of back home.

To celebrate winter, I have installed the snow flakes widget on this blog.

Let me know how it looks. It's very fine so you will have to be really observant.

If you can't see it immediately,have some patience... it will show up.

Let the webpage load fully and look around the header section.

So guys, Gear up for Christmas and a Dhamakedar New Year.

TOO BAD HE MISSED!!!

A war that could have not been.
A war on terror?
All I can see is lakhs killed who did not know what is terror? And their wives and kids astray. A country destroyed.
A fitting goodbye. TOO BAD HE MISSED!!!



No wonder the whole country wants to do throw shoes at him:  BBC LINK

Out of site, out of mind.

Have not been able to post for a long time. My internet connection is to be blamed.
Well to keep up the update we had a fabulous celebration of Vikrant's birhtday in IIsc.
I won a singing competion in my college and very soon I am going to buy a new guitar(wow excited about that).
My mom is coming to bangalore.... home food finally!
willl get to regular posting pretty soon.!!

A series of series.

What do you do when you don't have a cable TV connection?? Watch movies!!
What do you do when you run out of good movies to watch??
Watch TV series.

Well , yes. We all have been addicted to one series or the other. Some made us cry, some inspired us, some just stirred the sweet romantic emotions and others just got us hooked for endless hours giggling and laughing.

The first series which I remember watching was.....yes, you guessed it right. FRIENDS!




It is such a normal series but still got millions of people hooked on to it. I still remember how we used to watch friends during my 1st year in the hostel, that too just before exams. wow, those were the days.
I must confess that I just love FRIENDS.Whenever I feel a bit low and have nothing to watch, I get out one of the old dvd of FRIENDS. It brings back all the happy memories and makes me feel lighter instantly.
My favorite friends character is JOEY! Simply love his happy-go-lucky attitude.PHOEBE is also cool. Who's your favorite??

Well guys(i refer to males here), some action now!

I've been watching HEROES seriously for some time now and I'm up to date with the episodes. I think it has reached season 3 episode 4. Ya?
If you are to still to watch it, just do it. It's cool with all the powers and special effects.



LOST. I really got lost into it. It's a decent series, a refreshing story of a few survivors of an airplane crash who end up in a undiscovered island. Things go as predicted and nice until they discover that there are 'OTHERS' in the island. But it's hell long.
I just finished season 4 episode 14. each season has about 23 episodes.




Just starting today PRISON BREAK. Haven't watched it yet but my friends who have tell me that it's cool . Have you watched it? How's it??






I know there are other cool series too, let me know about the other cool ones , specially in the science-fiction genre!

BUT no HINDI soaps please!!!

I knew this was coming!!

Well I've recently been reading a lot of posts in my friends blogs about a post called 'TAGGED' and I knew this was coming.
Thanks Bhawana for tagging me.

The rules are:

RULE #1 People who have been tagged must write their answers on their blogs and replace any question that they dislike with a new question formulated by themselves.
RULE #2 Tag 6 people to do this quiz and those who are tagged cannot refuse. These people must state who they were tagged by and cannot tag the person whom they were tagged by continue this game by sending it to other people. 

So a good boy that I am, will get on with it.

1. If your lover betrayed you, what will your reaction be?
# immediately : heartbroken
   after a week : hmmmm....
  after a month  : 'I'm busy'


2. If you can have a dream come true, what would it be?
# Peace,happiness and celebration for the whole world.

3. Whose butt would you like to kick??. Where do you see yourself in 10 years time??
# HMM... The butt of the person who put two such unrelated questions into one!
   It would still be in the mirror.



4. What would you do with a billion dollars?
# Invest,spend and donate with 60-30-10 %(Bawa's formula).

5. Will you fall in love with your best friend?
# Definitely, if my best friend happens to be a girl.

6.Which is more blessed: loving someone or being loved by someone?
# Loving someone is more blessed. Because when you do that sincerely, the second comes as a byproduct automatically .(e.g. Guruji)

7. How long do you intend to wait for someone you love?
# Till I don't forget waiting.( Longing is the quality of the fortunate.)

8. If the person you secretly like is attached, what will you do?
# Just start secretly liking someone else.(anyway it was just secretly so doesn't matter.)

9. If you could root for one social cause, what would it be?
#The spread of spirituality in all places. It remedies all social causes.

10. What takes you down the fastest?
# Elevator.

12. What's your fear?
#  There is nothing to be feared only understood! (am i being over wisely??). But yes, i have this unusual fear of sharp edges( edges of table etc.)( weird huh!!)

13. What kind of person do you think the person who tagged you is?
# A good sincere human being. And a very good friend of sakshi.

14. Would you rather be single and rich or married and poor?
# I stick with Abhay on this. RICH, married or single doesn't matter.

15. What's the first thing you do when you wake up?
# go back to sleep.

16. If you fall in love with two people simultaneously who will you pick?
# I think I will pick the one jisse 'bhav' jyada milta hai. but usally it happens the other way round.

17. Would you give all in a relationship?
# absolutely not!  Relationships are created,changes and ends. But i would give enough.

18. Would you forgive and forget someone no matter how horrible a thing he has
done?
# Yes, if it's in my power, I will.

19. Do you prefer being single or in a relationship?
# No preferences really. i will take it when it comes.(but slightly inspired by bawa n dinesh so a tilt towards singularship)

Now the people I tag:

Rashmin Bhaiya

Jeet

Abhishek

Pankaj

Aparna 

Sunand

The most commented post here!

Well I was thinking of hosting some sort of competition to give away free Entrecard Credits.Entrecard is a great service for smaller blogs.You get ad space which increases your visitors plus you get to know all the cool blogs out there.

The idea of doing this contest came from Uber Afilliate.It has a similar contest where the post has a freaking 1067 comments and where one comment is longer than my entire blog posts put together!

So the contest here is very simple.The commenter with maximum comments on this post wins.The prize is 100 EC.
The comment has to be minimum 5 words long.
The contest ends on 20th October).Comments on other posts does not count(However I have a surprize for the regular commenters.)
Since the competition is few it might well be easy to win.

I also have a post coming up featuring the importance and the joy of commenting if you are a blogger.Till then...
Happy Navaratri!! and Happy 100 EC's!!

Nomimate Sri Sri for NDTV Indian of the year!

NDTV has launched its Indian of the year campaign.
Quick,Quick vote for Guruji...
This year has been very adventurous as any, right from settling the Gujjar issue to mediating in the Amarnath row in Kashmir to organizing a massive relief campaign in Bihar floods to advising world leaders on mediation in the Nobel laureates Summit, there's no Indian whom we can be more proud of......
so go ahead and do it!
NOMINATE HERE

Fill Like this
Name:Your Name
E-mail:Your mail id
City:Your City name
Select your Category:Global Indians
Your Nominee: His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Also let me know if you have done it by commenting here.

 

Also spread the word around by sms,email or blog.

Jai Gurudev!

A fresh new look!

Phew! Its almost 5 am. Working on the new template for the past 7 hours.
So how is the new look?? One thing is certain, it's fresh!!
and also lot of things here are completely customized.
A few reasons made me change my older template to this one.A major reason being that I favour a 3 column template more than others simply because it can pack so much and make navigation so much easier for the readers.
Now the best part of the new template is the header which I created from scratch using photoshop.How's the vishalakshi mantap background?
Pretty huh?
The basic theme is called Maggo from Themelib.It took me some doing to convert this business template to a happy fresh look of a blog.

See the original template here.

This is the most I have spend in a template(I mean time).All the images here had to be hosted, the text fonts and colour had to be manipulated.Size of the header etc redone. So basically a lot of work for a day.
But still a lot is still to be done. I plan to change the basic blue body to light green which will blend with the header(again a lot of job in photoshop).
But enough for a day.Will catch some sleep before heading for Ashram!!!

Let the comments keep coming.If something is not working or doesn't look good please inform me.