Holi - Festival of Colours 2016 at Barwon Park Mansion

Barwon Park Mansion

20th Mar 2016 11:00 am. 

It was a perfect weather with temperatures hitting just around 22°C and perfect for a day in the sun.This is what, it was when we entered the arena of Festival of colors at historic Barwon Park Mansion, Winchelsea.Built in a bluestone this pretty 42 room Mansion with stables is built in 1871 on a Victorian rural landscape. The event was organised by ISKCON Melbourne. Actually, the main event organisers and crew members are from – Hare Krishna Valley  which is one of ISKCON’s farming community. It was a well organised event with facilities like, Toilets, Car Park and also stalls featuring some of Hare Krishna’s delicious dishes etc. Then, there was some other stalls and designated areas like Book Shop, Hare Krishna Mantra Meditation tent, Bhagavad Gita Card reading, Jumping Castle for kids, Henna Body art etc.However, the and center of attraction was the live Music stage and stage performances by various artists. I played Holi after a long time and had fun. My eldest son enjoyed the coloring part very much and he finished packets and packets of colors – spilling colors everywhere I guess.The best part was, all the colors are organic and wouldn’t stain your clothes, body or place where they are thrown.

Holi is a age old festival of india celebrated traditionally for two day. On day one, all the clutter and junk in the house is burnt, which is synonymous with killing of a demoness Holika. The scriptures say that, in the days of yore there was a small boy called Prahlad who is the son of the greatest of demons called Hiranyakashipu.The name Prahlad means – always joyful with love of God and Hiranya means Gold and Kashipu means a soft bed. So the father was a gross materialist who did not believe in God and son was totally spiritual and a transcendentalist.So, this was the basic incompatibility of the demoniac father. He did not like his own son worship in the Supreme God Vishnu, whom he hated. He ordered his sister Holika to Kill Prahlad. Holika a demoness had a magical blanket which if one wears, will not be burnt in fire. So she entered a huge fire, wearing this blanket and holding Prahlad. Then, suddenly there was a huge wind which blew away the blanket she was wearing and Holika was burnt to ashes in no time. Meanwhile, the little Prahlad who was always absorbed in the thoughts of God remained perfectly fine and the fire did not harm him at all.

Festival of Colours 2016 at Barwon Park Mansion

Festival of Colours 2016 at Barwon Park Mansion

Holi is celebrated in all parts of India but, it is especially (Albeit two days before the Holi) celebrated with zeal and fervour of Radha and Krishna in Mathura, Vrindavan and all over Vraj. In Barsana the place where Srimati Radha Rani grew up and Nandgaon where Lord Krishna grew up the holi is not only played with colors but, women of Barsana hit the men of Nandgaon with sticks mockingly and the men carry shield to protect themselves from this beating by womenfolk. Why is this so? The history says that one time Lord Krishna visited his beloved Radha's village on this day and playfully teased her and her friends. Taking offence at this, the women of Barsana chased him away. Since then, men from Krishna's village,Nandgaon, visit Barsana to play Holi. 

Finally late noon, after a wonderful time playing Holi and having a delicious lunch headed back to Melbourne with my family. I look forward to this event in 2017 and would highly recommend everyone to join this family fun - The festival of colours.

Its Me

Enjoy the colours of life, sometimes Blue - go beyond the Blue, Red - don't be angry, Pink - Hold on, Stay Healthy, yellow - Be Happy, make others Happy, Orange - Purity in words, thoughts and deeds, Green - don't become green with envy but become like a tree - develop the tolerance and serving others selflessly.... 

Solar Eclipse and the Supreme God

Solar Eclipse

 You may or may not have noticed and did not happen in your part of the world. Recently there was a Solar Eclipse on March 8^th and here are some of the photos from the wonderful cosmic event. Unfortunately it could not be seen from Melbourne.

Solar Eclipse

Solar Eclipse

          

Solar Eclipse

Since  childhood, I have a great passion for eclipses and especially the solar eclipse because, it is more volatile or happening on your face, during the day than a lunar eclipse which happens when you are in bed or indoors. And it is an astrological marvel and a wonderful event to see it, taking place right in front of our eyes. As a child this used to evoke a bit of thought process, about the universe, the planets, Sun called as Surya Narayana.In Hindu tradition actually, the time of eclipse is a big thing. Means, there are so many do’s and don’ts observed during the time of eclipse. For example, pregnant women are not allowed to be exposed to the Sun or Moon light depending on what eclipse it is.Infact they are not even allowed to move out of their bed, sleep in a straight position (except for emergency). Not allowed to cut any vegetables and close any doors and so on. It is believed that the harmful rays during the eclipse cause Congenital defects and harm to the foetus. And then, during the period of eclipse we are not allowed to eat anything, nothing is cooked in the kitchen and if something is cooked, that is consumed and thrown away. For some long life products like Milk, Yoghurt and pickles, Kusa grass (a type of grass found in India) is placed on the food containers. It is said that, once you keep the kusa grass, the items can be consumed afterwards. Recently, I read somewhere that Kusa Grass has this property of absorbing the harmful ultraviolet rays released during the time of eclipse. Then lot of people take a dip or bath in the rivers and pray to the gods for Moksha or liberation. It is believed that whoever takes bath during an eclipse in a holy river like Ganges gets moksha or liberation. So does everyone – thousands of people who take bath get liberation? This was a question asked by Mother Parvathi to Lord Shiva. And Shiva answered that, not everyone who takes bath gets liberation but, one who takes bath with devotion and pious mind will get Moksha and that will be about 10 or 15 out of thousands.   

Here is an interesting excerpt from Srila Prabhupad’s Lecture on Bhagavad-gita 16.8 - Tokyo, January 28, 1975.

“So this is called jagat. Everything is going on. But it is going in such a way... Just like these cars are moving with high speed, but they are very careful to pass within the lane. Otherwise there will be collision. Similarly, all these planets, they have got their own speed for rotating, and there are hundreds and thousands and millions. They are rotating, but there is no collision. Now, how it is made? Who has made this lane? A car is moving in sixty miles, seventy miles speed, but they are ordered just to remain within the lane, the marking line. Who has made it? The police department, the government. So how can you say there is no control? We have to... This is called upamā, analogy, the points of similarity.

Analogy means the points of similarity. Then you can conclude some idea.

Now, as we see in the street that the cars are moving in high speed but they are within the orbit, within the line, demarcation of line, white line or yellow line, so there is some brain, there is some management, everything is there, Similarly, all these planets, they are rotating with high speed. Just like this planet. It is rotating 25,000 miles in twelve hours. Is it not? The circumference of this earth is 25,000 miles and... Yes, day and night, twenty-four hours. Almost one thousand miles per hour it is... Now the car is moving seventy miles per hours. It appears very with good speed running. But the earth is running at one thousand miles per hour, but we cannot understand. The arrangement is so nice. The perfection that it is... We cannot understand it. It is practical. We see the morning, day, coming. That means earth is moving. When the aeroplane moves also, there are so many jerking, those sound. They're all imperfect. But here you see that such perfect arrangement, it is moving one thousand miles per hour, and there is no jerking. There is nothing of the sort. We are thinking, "We are sitting in the same place."

And there is no brain? Here it requires so much brain to move the car orderly on the street. So many police has made, so many government, scientist, this, that, so many, and this not only one planet, but many millions: yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-anda-koti [Bs. 5.40]. First of all there are many millions of universes, jagad-anḍa-koti. Koṭi means unlimited. Or 100,000 times 100,000. So yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-anḍa-koṭi-kotisu [Bs. 5.40]. And each universe... Kotisu asesa- vasudhadi. Vasudha means planet. Just like this is one planet. Asesa. Asesa means you cannot count, so many. That's a fact. You are seeing every day. Asesa-vasudhādi-vibhūti. And each planet has got different climate, different varieties, not that every planet is of the same. Now they are studying that the moon planet is also planet, but it is differently situated. Differently situated, as they are studying, that is different from the śāstras, but there is difference from this planet to that planet”.

Mahadevji - Lord Shiva in Vrindavan

Gopeshwar Mahadev

I had recently been to Vrindavan and upon my visit to the holy place realised the fact “Vaishnavanam Yatha Shambu”. It is said that Lord Shiva is the greatest Vaishnava. So, no wonder where Krishna is doing his pastimes, Lord Shiva is there. We see a proof of this in Braja Mandala ,Vrindavan where Lord Shiva appears as Mahadev, Keshtrapal (Protector of Dham).Thus, it is said that anyone visiting Braj requires to take the permission of Mahadev to enter the dham. Featured Photo is taken at the entrance of one of the famous Shivji temple in Vrindavan, called as Gopeshwar Mahadev, where Lord Shiva is dressed as a Gopi. The pastime is that one time Lord Shiva, along with mother Parvathi visited Vrindavan during the pastimes of Lord Krishna and wanted to enter the Rasa Lila dance of Krishna with Gopis. Lord Shiva was stopped and was explained that in Vrindavan pastimes, there is only one Purusha or the enjoyer and the rest are Prakriti or the enjoyed, existing purely to serve the Lord. Lalitha Sakhi, a confidential sakhi of Radha rani took Lord Shiva to a Kund (pond) and asked him to take a dip. Once he came out of the Kund he transformed into a beautiful Gopi.

And there are so many other temples of Lord Shiva like, Chakleshwar Mahadeva near Manasi ganga at Govardhan, Nandishwar Mahadeva in Nandgaon and Bankhandi Mahadev in Vrindavan, Kundeshwar Mahadev in Radha Kund, Kedareshwar Mahadev, the Kedarnath temple located in a remote corner in the Braj mandala parikrama marg, Kameshwar Mahadev and many others.

Even in  Mathura Lord Shiva’s temples surround the town in all the four corners. There are 4 Shiva lingas located in the four corners to protect the city, called as the dik-pala of Mathura. They are namely, Gokarnesvara Mahadeva in the north, Pippalesvara Mahadeva in the east, Rangesvara Mahadeva in the south and Bhutesvara Mahadeva in the west.

Aasheshwar Mahadev

Aasheshwar Mahadev

 The below photos are from a place called Aasheshwar Mahadev, near Nandgaon where Lord Shiva sat down in meditation with Aasha – a hope or desire to get a darshan of baby Krishna. The story goes that, once Lord Shiva visited Nandgaon disguised as a Babaji covered with ashes and snakes hanging around his neck and knocked the door of Nana baba. Mother Yashodha was shocked to see the form of Babaji and feared that her little baby Krishna would be scared to see this Babaji, she refused to show him. Then Mahadev left that place and at a distance sat under a tree and started meditating on the form of Baby Krishna for his darshan. Meanwhile, Lord Krishna who is the Supersoul and Paramatma understood the desire of Shiva and suddenly started crying incessantly. Then, the woman folk of the village explained to Yashoda Mataji that probably, she might have offended the Babaji by not letting him have look at baby Krishna. Then, Mother Yashoda took baby Krishna to the place where the Babaji was meditating and immediately upon seeing him, Krishna started smiling happily.Mother Yashoda requested the Babaji (Shiva) to live permanently in Nandgaon so that Krishna is always happy. And, Shiva agreed to stay on the condition that everyday, the prasadam of Krishna is given to him. And, it is a custom that is still followed today at Nandgaon temple.

Stop Hitting the Snooze Button and Start your day as a Winner

It is said that one’s greatest enemy is the mind itself. In Uddhava Gita, Prayers of Avanti Brahmana, Lord Krishna explains that the Brahmana says that the cause of his suffering is not due to his fate, time,place, circumstances, Horoscope, Demigods,forefathers or any other living entities but, due to the uncontrollable enemy called Mind.That's why in Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna say to Krishna it, it seems

impossible to control unsteady mind which is obstinate and powerful which is more difficult than that of trying to control the wind.And, Lord Krishna acknowledges the fact and informs that it is possible by practice and detachment. Again in Bhagavad Gita, 6.6, it is said that for one who conquered his mind will act like a great friend and for one whose mind is uncontrolled, it acts like a greatest enemy.

So what does hitting the Snooze Button on your Mobile or Alarm got to do with Mind  and trying to control it?.

Let’s try to understand this from the perspective of the modern science.

It's all too tempting to hit the snooze button when the alarm goes off in the morning. Don't do it: You might think the extra few minutes will give you time to wake up, but it does more harm than good.

While you might think that hitting snooze will give you a chance to finish your natural sleep cycle and wake up feeling rested, that's not what happens. After you hit snooze and drift off, your brain starts its sleep cycle all over again. When the alarm goes off a second time, you're likely at an even deeper, earlier part of your sleep cycle, which results in you feeling even worse than you did the first time.

If you regularly wake up feeling groggy, they explain the trouble may be that your alarm is going off at the wrong part of your sleep cycle. Try setting your alarm a few minutes later (or getting up a little earlier) and sticking to a regular sleep schedule to get a nice rhythm going.

And from the point of Vedic scriptures of India, as previously explained, it is quite important to control the mind. The very first thing the mind starts playing with you the time, when Alarm rings in the morning. You hear the sound and the mind says - C'mon, you had such a terrible night, you hardly had a couple of hours of good sleep, Actually you can start getting up on time from tomorrow, what is more important than having a good sleep and rest for life, The job that you want to do can wait, you can make up the time by doing some work faster like a bath or a quick breakfast and so on..

The moment you hit the snooze button, you are falling to the temptation and trick of the mind. Basically, you are starting your day as a looser. And, imagine the whole day working in a looser consciousness.

So, what is the solution.? Be realistic, before you go to sleep, make sure the time you want to get up is mentally and physically possible. If you think, you can’t get up say at 5:30AM, set the Alarm to 5:40 or 5:50 but, never snooze. And, once you make that first Win, you will have that self-confidence to further control the restless mind for the rest of the day and you are working in a positive,  Winner Consciousness.

This principle applies in every sphere of life, both day to day work situations and even more for a person aspiring success in spiritual life.

There is a nice verse from Katha Upanishad 1.3.14,

uttisthata jāgrata prāpya varān nibodhata:

ksurasya dhārā niśitā duratyayā;

durgam pathas tat kavayo vadanti.

Arise! Awake! Approach the great and learn.

Like the sharp edge of a razor is that path,

so the wise say−hard to tread and difficult to cross.

This was one of my new year resolutions to get up on the first ring of Alarm for which, I started doing from a week before 1st of Jan 2016 and it is working out well for me.

The Missing Goat

I got this interesting forward from one of my friends. While the accuracy, place and time of the incident cannot be verified, the story has some interesting points to ponder, think about and valid take home points.

Mr and Mrs Goat with Family

It all started one lazy Sunday afternoon in a small town near Toronto in Canada.  Two school-going friends had a crazy idea.  They rounded up three goats from the neighbourhood and painted the number 1, 2 and 4 on their sides.  That night they let the goats loose inside their school building. The next morning, when the authorities entered the school, they could smell something was wrong.  They soon saw goat droppings on the stairs and near the entrance and realized that some goats had entered the building.  A search was immediately launched and very soon, the three goats were found.  But the authorities were worried, where was goat No. 3?  They spent the rest of the day looking for goat No.3. There was panic and frustration. The school declared a holiday for the students.  The teachers, helpers and the canteen boy were all busy looking for the goat No. 3, which, of course, was never found.   Simply because it did not exist.

We are all like those folks in the school – we may have our own goats, but are obviously looking for the elusive, missing, non-existent goat No.3.  So instead of making the most of what we have and focusing on our strengths, we worry about the missing piece – our shortcomings. Our mind is so programmed to see the things to completion, a continuity and a carry forwardness. If this is denied then the program gets messed up. An absence of something is always larger than presence of something.

Do the best you can with what you have and be grateful for what you get. Success and happiness will come your way. (Depending on your Karma, you get both Happiness and distress over the course of time.)

There is a nice verse from Srimad Bhagavatham,

sukham aindriyakam daityā
deha-yogena dehinām
sarvatra labhyate daivād
yathā dukham ayatnata

Translation: Prahlāda Mahārāja continued: My dear friends born of demoniac families, the happiness perceived with reference to the sense objects by contact with the body can be obtained in any form of life, according to one’s past fruitive activities. Such happiness is automatically obtained without endeavor, just as we obtain distress. (Srimad Bhagavatham Canto 7. Chapter 6.Verse 3)

By the way, Stop worrying about goat No.3.

Parachuting and Types of Learners

Parachuting with a Coach

What is the use of holding leaves when your hands are already burnt. This is an old telugu saying which means, some of the mistakes we commit in life are irrevocable or can’t be turned around and you have to live with them. For example, someone decided to jump off the plane, I mean Parachuting. So it’s a thrill that some people want to experience it. So there are steps and training provided so make sure that the parachute opens in time and one lands safely. Here, one makes a choice to jump and expects all these things to happen as per normal and have exciting time. So one makes a conscious choice to jump, jumps off and follows the steps for safe landing. Very rarely, the parachute doesn’t open and people had injuries, died etc.. very rarely. Anyway, once you jump and you are in the air being pulled by the earth’s gravitational force, you have to do what you need to do.You can’t say that, look all this looks risky, I am not going ahead with this and want to go back to the plane. Sorry, it’s too late. So in life also, we get these things and that’s how we all learn our lessons in different ways.Srila Prabhupad gave this classification of people based on their learning.Got this from Wiki "Despite the perception of danger, fatalities are rare. About 21 skydivers are confirmed killed each year in the US, roughly one death for every 150,000 jumps (about 0.0007%).In the US and in most of the western world skydivers are required to carry two parachutes. The reserve parachute must be periodically inspected and re-packed..."

Reminds me of a joke from a movie I saw long time ago. A comedians car breaks down in the middle of nowhere and that guy asks for a lift.When, the protagonist of the movie stops to give him lift. This guy locks his car, takes the Wires off from the Battery, puts a padlock to the bonnet, goes back again, opens the Bonnet and smashes the engine with a huge stone and then sits in the car.The Hero asks him, what is that you are carrying ? He says, its an umbrella.Then, what about the one in the Bag. He replies it's a raincoat, incase I loose the umbrella.Well, a bit extreme comedy.

It is said that there are four types of people,

1. The First Class one - is the one who hears from others like someone elder to him, from the Saintly persons, Holy scriptures and learns and understands what is right or wrong.

2. Second Class - is the one who doesn't learn by just hearing but, they like to see others and then follow.

3. The third Class one - is someone who doesn't understand by hearing or seeing but, wants to personally experience and then learns his lessons.

4. The Fourth Class - Of Course are the ones who does not learn either by hearing, seeing or even by personal experience.

I know, it hard and not practical to be always the 1st Class but, let's at least try for the 2nd or 3rd class or a mixture of all and hopefully never the 4th Class.

The photo you see is that of one of my good friend who did this parachuting few years ago.I asked him, if he would do it again.He said never because, though it wonderful and adventurous is, there is an element of risk which is not really required. I thought, I agreed with him. In Bhagavatam, it is said that this human form of life, body is very precious and special because, although it is temporary, with this body one can enquire about the Atma Tattva, the nature of Soul, God, Absolute Truth etc. It’s good to have some fun and adventure but, not worth taking unnecessary risks - is what I think also. More ever it is said in Bhagavad Gita and Bhagavatam that our thoughts, desires and actions decides or creates, the body we are going to get in our next life. So if someone is addicted to flying in the air etc. next life they may get the body of a bird. King Bharata was contemplating on his pet deer and he had to take on the body of a deer in his next life.

Lincoln Square Park and Taking Time for Relaxation and Introspection

Lincoln Square Park, Carlton - Melbourne

This is where I go during the lunch break at work. It’s a small area called Lincoln Square Park, situated off Swanston Street in the City of Melbourne between Queensberry and Grattan Streets, Carlton. The location is close to Melbourne's CBD, University of Melbourne and right in front of my work place. I like this place because of the beautiful and majestic trees in the Park. I simply go there to sit down and do my mantra meditation. Sometimes, I simply sit and hear to the birds sounds, see leaves and fruits of the trees. It’s also interesting to see number of people who come here to relax. They normally come here with a take away, have their lunch. What I noticed is that even while having lunch, people are talking on their Mobile. Infect, before they start eating they call someone and finish their lunch while still  conversing. Otherwise, people are busy watching Facebook or WhatsApp. I know a friend who told me that as soon as he goes home, he starts the TV so that he doesn’t feel lonely. While it is good to be social and chatty, what is happening is people are losing their ability to think, plan or introspect. They are afraid to be alone, to be silent and feel uneasy to face the realities of life. To add to this, today's life is so hectic and busy, people rarely get a chance to think deeply about themselves or the world.

Wikipedia says "Introspection is the examination of one's own conscious thoughts and feelings. In psychology the process of introspection relies exclusively on observation of one's mental state, while in a spiritual context it may refer to the examination of one's soul”. So how many people do this.? Very few. And, the result is constant tussle of emotions like, hankering and lamentation, attachment and renunciation, comparing oneself with others,criticize.What I feel is that, it is important for everyone to take time out in silence, close to nature which means even the simple act of sitting under a tree or watching some birds which can be done in anywhere in a city or countryside.

I would like to call Introspection as looking inside. Focusing your attention to your internal world, talking to your mind, finding out what your real intentions are. Is it really needed or required.? How does it matter, what is inside, as long as you are happy, enjoying life, talking to friends ?.

This reminds me a quote "“When you squeeze an orange, you'll always get orange juice to come out. What comes out is what's inside. The same logic applies to you: when someone squeezes you, puts pressure on you, or says something unflattering or critical, and out of you comes anger, hatred, bitterness, tension, depression, or anxiety, that is what's inside. If love and joy are what you want to give and receive, change your life by changing what's inside.” 

                                                                                                                                     ― Wayne W. Dyer."

“Speech is silver, but Silence is Golden proverbial saying, meaning that discretion can be more valuable than the most eloquent words”.

Again in Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 10. Verse 38 line 3 -  Lord Krishna Says the following “maunam caivasmi guhyanam - Of secret things I am silence.Srila Prabhupada further says in his Purport to the verse "Among the confidential activities of hearing, thinking and meditating, silence is most important because by silence one can make progress very quickly".