Walk with Lord Ganesha

One fine morning, after a few days of my stay in the hostel, an incident occurred which revealed to me my true friend. After the bell had rung I started for the Institute. I stopped awhile to offer prayers to Lord Ganesha installed in front of our hostel. When I opened my eyes I heard, “Why do you boys leave me alone at the hostel?” I thought of the loneliness that pervaded the hostel after all the boys had left for the Institute. A little surprised I replied “Oh! Lord. Why don’t you accompany me to the Institute? I would be blessed to have your company while I go to the Institute.”
Lord Ganesha seemed pleased with my words. He stepped out of his beautiful little enclave and I could see his little vehicle following its master. I was reminded of the merit that I must have acquired in my past lives to have this blissful vision. His form was small, coming only up to my chest. Wooden sandals adorned his feet. A vision of the beautiful dancing trunk would rid one of the sorrows of the earth. The trunk sometimes made movements in the air or rested on the protruding stomach. Dressed in yellow and green silk Lord Ganesha looked more beautiful than anything in the world. The little mouse was very happy, as it was moving out with its master after many days.
Crossing the hostel gate we moved on towards the Institute. After a while our conversation began. I was very interested in listening to him narrating the events relating to His birth, getting an elephant head and how He became the ‘Agrapujya’. This narration thrilled me to the core. By habit, I tried to speak in between His narration and committed other mistakes too. When I did such a mistake He would punish me by hitting me with His trunk. It was more than a reward for me. Of course they served the purpose.
As we moved on He was on my right. Every time a vehicle or something else neared me I was afraid that they would collide with Lord Ganesha. Understanding my thought He replied, “Do not worry. None can harm me. I am invisible to everyone else except you.”

On reaching the Institute we walked towards the temple built for Him. As we ascended the steps He was ready to receive the prayers of many students who were waiting there. I made pradakshina, offered prayers and left for the classroom.
The forenoon session was over. I descended the steps on my way back to the hostel for lunch. He was there throughout overlooking the studies and classes of all students. Now He also was ready to come back to hostel. I was blessed again. This time we talked things relating to the material and spiritual worlds. We reached the hostel gate. A sudden thought caught me still, “What about lunch for Lord Ganesha?” The all-knowing Ganapathi immediately said, “I need none of the food you take. Your Vidya and Jnana are My food. If you study well My hunger is satisfied. You go and have your lunch. I shall wait for you.” I walked into the hostel. He waited for me in His beautiful little enclave.
I had my lunch. I was filled with the thoughts of Lord Ganesha. I left my room for afternoon session of classes. He was waiting for me. As I offered my prayers He came out to walk with me. I had thought about talking to Him on some topics and questions. He said, “We have spoken this morning. From now onwards we shall walk quietly.” I obeyed His command. As had happened in the morning He came back with me to the hostel after the classes. Our walks continued every day. He came with me to the library often. He always had the blissful smile on His enchanting face. I had at last found my soul companion.

Originally published in Sai Nandana – the commemorative publication of the Sri Sathya Sai Hostel for Senior Boys at Prasanthi Nilayam on the occasion of the 75th Birthday of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.

My First Darshan

Our first visit to Prasanthi Nilayam was during 1983 for the International Bal Vikas Rally. We stayed in tents put up behind Round buildings (Presently Punjabi Canteen and North blocks). Remember the nice time we, all the children, had getting Swami’s Padnamskar (at least three times) sitting in neat rows on the sands before the Mandir. Every time He walked between the rows we would pick up the handful of sand after He had passed by and carry it to our bags. One day He distributed Photographs and once vibhuti packets. By the time we returned from Parthi our hearts were filled with His love and our bags with the sand from His feet.

Other memories of the trip are that of the journey by train- we had to change two buses and three trains to reach Parthi. It was such a rush time that in the train we took from Guntakal we were all huddled inside the mail van with no light, for food a tin of biscuits was passed inside.

Talk by Sam Pitroda

At the workshop on Innovation organized by SBMAF Mr. Sam Pitroda (born to a carpenter in rural setting of Orissa, is today the Adviser to the PM on Public Information Infrastructure & Innovations and has 100 patents to his credit, considered the brain behind India’s Telecom revolution) spoke via video link from US.

We need to innovate ourselves and then as a community collectively and then as a nation.
Innovation has a new definition because of Web which has add to Richness and Reach.
US has been the cradle of Innovation because of the right ecosystem: Risk capital, education etc. Bu their innovation has its roots in defense and has its focus for the Rich.

We need Locally relevant and globally competitive Innovations with a multi disciplinary approach.

It should
remove Disparity,
address the Demography of India and
lead to Development.

Govt needs to Re-engineer the processes (most of them were designed during the British Raj). We have 19th century mindset, 20th century processes and 21st century needs.

Think of the benefits of connecting 2,50,000 panchyats of the country by broadband- video training, communicate and evaluate the effects of Govt schemes.

NREGS, RTI, RTE are innovations of recent times.

This is the most important decade in modern history of India.

We need to think of innovation beyond products and services.

Indian youth are capable but are held up in the boundaries of family, customs, region and thought. Elders need to let go, allow them to think out of the box, make mistakes, celebrate failure as they move on the road to success.

How many students travel to 15 states in India? There is so much to learn in India.

‘We’ need to change- to change ‘India’.

Sai Anandam

17/06/2010

Met the childern of 'Sai Anandam'- a orphanage near Bhubaneswar run by the alumni of Sri Sathya Sai University who are here for His Darshan. Was filled with lot of positive thoughts seeing their love for Swami and the jest for life. My esteem for Sri Lala Susant multiplied many folds seeing the care he is taking for the 15 children at present times when parents find it hard to bring up one or two children. Pray Swami to Bless all of them....


Talk by Ananda Shankar Jayant
http://www.ted.com/talks/ananda_shankar_jayant_fights_cancer_with_a_dance.html
Its a talk by Padma Shri Ananda Shankar Jayant about her conquer of Cancer with the power of thoughts, devotion to God and dance.
16mins to view but inspires for times to come.

Did you share yourself today?

Loved this article from TOI

In a country where millions struggle for bare necessities, scores of obscure Indians try their best to meet the gap between the rich and poor. Indrani Rajkhowa Banerjee reports
TIMES NEWS NETWORK


ARE you one of those whose heart is full of compassion but the pockets don’t quite match up? Don’t worry. In a country where millions struggle for basic necessities, money isn’t the only way to reach out. Keep aside your cheque book and explore more meaningful ways to make a difference in this world. Yes, this story is not about the huge sums of money that mighty corporates or the rich donate. We are also not talking about how we ‘gift’ clothes that we’ve outgrown or offerings made out of religious compulsions on auspicious days.
Here we are talking about people like Nandan Pandya, who hit the headlines for distributing footwear among the barefoot poor at traffic signals in Mumbai or the 70-year-old man who attends every wedding in his locality in Navi Mumbai to collect leftover food and feed the hungry kids in his neighbourhood. We are talking about the nameless and faceless Indian who reaches out to the needy on his way to work, in unusual ways.
You don’t need much to be an everyday philanthropist. As Ajit Singh Narulla from Delhi’s Rajouri Garden realised. A real estate builder, Narulla and his friends set out on mini trucks every evening with potable water tanks to distribute drinking water in the shanties of west Delhi. Narulla says, “These shanties have no water supply and it can be terrible in Delhi’s punishing heat. We thought that we could help by getting a little proactive.” They take turns and bear the expense themselves. “The remaining water is used to fill huge earthen pots that we’ve installed in strategic points in Rajouri,” he adds.
Meet Ratan Chheda from a posh Mumbai locality. A Parsi from Kutch, Mrs Chheda unflinchingly delivers five litres of buttermilk everyday for the three summer months at a nearby milk booth to be distributed amongst the thirsty vendors, watchmen and taxi drivers. “Chaach or buttermilk is like nectar for a Parsi family, the most vital drink for the day. It gives me immense joy to share a nutritious glass with the thirsty traveller or labourer,” says Chheda. Astrologer Sunita Chhabra says, “Giving should not be a selfish act. Astrology says ‘concentrate
on karma and not on the
fruits of karma’. Give because you wish to give, not because you think you have to.”
“Give something that you enjoy yourself,” says Mumbai-based grooming expert Chhaya Momaya, who takes a bunch of urchins every Friday to a Chinese joint or buys them fluffy pastry, bags of potato chips and Pepsi. “Kids will always remain kids. They long to taste the goodies that they see us buying, and there’s no happiness like sharing a meal you love with those who truly relish it,” she says. R Kumar, a Delhi-based journalist, never leaves home without packets of glucose biscuits in his car. He hands them to poor kids and cops stationed at traffic lights. Kumar feels, “It’s better than giving them money. As for the cops, they are just grateful that someone even stopped by to think of them!”
There are scores of others who go about their daily business without even letting their families know. Surprisingly, most of them didn’t want to be named but at the same time agreed that “sharing their experiences would encourage more people to come forward to reach out to the needy”. Says Anant Nadkarni of Tata Council for Community Initiatives, “Giving should not be under pressures of fear, desires or some form of deprivation or guilt wherein the whole ‘act of giving’ could be some kind of a compensatory behaviour. What is important is to understand that giving is about the receiver.”
Always wanted to help but couldn’t figure out the right way? Take a cue from Rohan Solomon, lead vocalist of rock band Cyanide. Little girls at Khushi Home in Delhi call him ‘guitar wale bhaiyya’. He drops in during his free time and shares some music with the kids. He also gets them Tom and Jerry DVDs. “What most people don’t realise is that these kids have the right to have fun as much as they have the right to food, clothing, shelter and education.”
“Engineering student Pradip Ugra from Pune, who spends his birthdays with the elderly in an old age home, agrees. “It’s heartening to see the smiles on their faces. Sometimes altruism can be nothing but giving your time to make someone smile.”
Delhi-based businessman Nitin Gupta’s family doesn’t make offerings to priests on shraadh ceremonies. The entire family shares food and spends the day playing antakshri with blind kids from an orphanage in Vikaspuri, Delhi on such occasions. “There is so much hunger around that food never gets wasted here,” says a known lady restaurateur from Delhi, letting out a trade secret. “The leftover food in every restaurant is eaten by the waiters and their families.” Five-star hotels like the Taj Palace Delhi gives away surplus food to Father Agnel Bal Bhavan, a hostel for lepers. The Le Meridien gives excess food to Asian Food Bank and other leftovers to People for Animals. Meridien regularly gives wilted flowers to an NGO for women and children where natural colour is turned into dye. The remaining food from the Times of India Mumbai’s director and executive canteens goes to Pavement Club, a project for street and underprivileged children.
If you’ve wondered about the authenticity of those mute donation boxes in malls, we would say it’s safe to dip into your wallet. Pradyuman of CRY, Delhi, says, “Though the percentage of these collections is less than donations from corporates and individuals, it definitely helps our cause.”
Prasad Dhume, a former engineer, gave up his job to dedicate full time to the cause of those who have their upper knee amputated, by providing them low-cost artificial limb accessories. He says, “Giving is our culture. But give what they want rather than give what you have!” So, the next time you see that girl next door feeding biscuits to her canine friends don’t think how deep your pockets are. It’s your feelings that matter!
indrani.rajkhowa@timesgroup.com