The Four Incarnations of sri Guru Swami Raghavendra Tirthangalu:

The spiritual energy in the land of Bharat is palpable, as saints reside throughout the length and width of the county. The spiritual power acquired by their austerities is utilized for the benefit of mankind.

Shankukarna of Brahma Lok, was born as Prahlad in Krita Yuga. Prahlad was devotion personified. Towards the end of Dwapara Yuga, Prahald was born as Bhalhika Raja, a king. In Kali yuga, he was reborn as saint Vyasarajja.

About four centuries ago, he incarnated himself as Sri Raghavendra - the benevolent Saint of Mantralaya, and entered into the Brindavan alive there. Thus, the Brindavan at Mantralaya is the Moola Brindavan of Sri Raghavendra. Mantralaya is situated on the banks of river Tungabhadra in Andhra Pradesh.

Please refer to the links provided , as this could help you to get an understanding of the time frames and the Yugas http://indiaheritage.org/rendez/article1.htm"
http://indiaheritage.org/rendez/article1.htm/

Shankhukarna

Brahma was assisted in his daily worship of Sri Maha Vishnu by Shankhukarna. Once Shankhukarna was late in getting flowers for worship. An enraged Brahma Cursed him to take birth in bhuloka amidst demons.

Shankhukarna prayed to Vayu Deva, who appeared before him, consoled and blessed him. Vayu Deva said that by divine will, Shankhukarna would take various incarnations in different yugas, to establish morality and righteousness. Shankhhukarna was reassured.

Prahlad

Hiranayakashipu was a powerful demon king in krita yuga. He wanted complete control over the universe. He would not accept the supremacy of Maha Vishnu. He did intense tapasya[penance]to Brahma in order to gain powers and immortality.

The devas were perplexed and requested Brahma to hasten his intervention. Brahma appeared before Hirannyakashipu and asked him to seek a boon. When Hiranyakashipu asked for immortality it was declared impossible by Brahma. Then Hiranyakashipu desired that he be killed neither by man nor by animal, neither weapon nor missile, neither inside nor outside, neither during daytime nor at night, neither by a terrestrial creature nor aquatic creature, neither by devata nnor by gandharva, neither on land nor in the air. The boon was granted. Upon securing this peculiar boon form Brahma, Hiranyakashipu began committing atrocities, and created havoc in the universe.

The devatas appealed to Lord Vishnu for protection form Hiranyakashipu. The Lord desired that Shankhukarna be born as the son of Hiranyakashipu. Thus the great devotee Prahlad was born to Kayadu and Hiranyakashipu.

Answering the prayers of Prahlad, Lord Vishnu appeared as Sri Narasimha from one of the pillars in the court hall of Hiranyakashipu, to protect first Prahalad & his devotees from evil forces.

Lord Narsimha - half man half lion - leapt out of a pillar straight at Hiranyakashipu and killed him, thus ending the evil deeds by the latter. If we surrender to the Lord with total faith and devotion, no force can harm us. This is the lesson learnt from the life and Prahlad.

Bhalhika Raja

Prahlad, in Dwapara Yuga, was reborn as Bhalhika Raja, in the Kuru Dyansty, and the elder bother of Shantnau - the father of Bhishma. Bhalhika had acquired extraordinary strength by the grace of Vayu Deva, and his personality was unique. Due to the cumulative merits acquired in his previous incarnation as Prahlad, Bhalhika lived a luxurious life.

Although Bhalhika was devout and pious, he was compelled to fight on the side of the Kauravas in the Mahabharata war, due to his birth as Shantanu's elder brother.

Bhalhika was aware that victory was reserved for the Pandavas, as Dharma and Sri Krishna were on their side. The purpose of his present incarnation was neither to acquire power, nor to fight for it, He was content to take darshhan of Sri Krishna. Bhalhika yearned to reach the Lotus Feet of the Lord in heaven. He was desirous of ending his life at the hands of Bhimsen, an amsha[incarnation]of Vayu, in the Mahabharata War. His wish was fulfilled, as he died at the hands of Bhima.

Sri Vyasaraja

Prahalad was born in Kali Yuga as Vyasa Theertha, to uphold the Vaishnava Dharma, which he reached to its zenith.

Vyasaraja was the raja guru of King Krishnadevaraya of the Vijayanagar Empire. He prevented the onslaught of enemies over the empire. With his spiritual power, the saint warded off the danger of the evil Kuhu Yoga which afflicted the king, and prevented disaster.

The saint worshipped Lord Venkateshwara of Tirupathi with devotion for 12 years and attained His grace.

Vyasaraja established the Vidya Peeth at Vijayanagar, and was its head for 71 years. Contemporary saints Sri Vadiraja and Sri Vijayeendra and enlightened men Purandara Dasa and Kanaka Dasa sought Sri Vyasaraja's blessings. They benefited form his knowledge of many rare subjects. He encouraged Dasa Sahitya in Karnataka, himself a great poet.

Sri Vyasaraja has authored three important treatises in Dwaita Philosophy entitled "Tharka Thandava", "Nyayamrita", and "Chandrika", besides several others. He installed the idols of Anjaneya at 732 places during his lifetime.
At the age of seven Sri Vyasaraja became a Sanyasi and remained so for 85 years. He attained Mukthi at the age of 92 at Navabrindavan near Hampi, on the 8th March, 1529.

Sri Raghavendra Swami

Prahlad incarnated as the son of Thimanna Bhatta and Gopikamba and was born at Bhuvangiri in Chidambaram Disteict, Tammilnadu. The child was born by the grace of Lord Venkateshwara of Tirupati and thus was named Venkatanatha.

Thimanna Bhhatta suddenly died, leaving Little Venkatanatha in the care of his elder son Gururaj. Venkatnatha's initial education was under the tutelage of his brother-in-law Sri Lakshminarasimhachar, at Madhurai. The young lad was a student par excellence. He was blessed by the Pontiffs Sri Vijayeendra Theertha and Sri Sudhindra Theertha at Kumbhakonam. The boy later became the student of Sri Sudheendra Thirtha.

Venkatanatha was later married to Saraswathi. They suffered due to poverty but Venkatanatha accepted life as God's will. In due course, the couple moved to Sri Sudindra Theertha's Math at Kumbhakonam, where Venkatanatha persued higher studies under his Guru's tutelage.

Due to old age, Sri Sudheendra Thirtha was weary of shouldering the responsibilities connected with the Peetha. Venkatanatha was brilliant and capable, therefore the appropriate person to take charge of the Peetha, the seer felt. Sri Sudheendra Theertha decided to initiate Venkatanatha into Sanyasa at Tanjore and approached the king Raghunatha Bhupal, who offered his palace for the function.

The "Ratnabhiskeka" of Venkatanatha was performed in the royal mantap amidst the chanting of Veda Mantras. Sri Sudheendra Theertha handed the saffron robes to Venkatanathha and consecrated him a monk. After the "Mantropadesha", Venakatanatha was given the monastic name "Sri Raghavendra Theertha". The ancient idols of Moola Rama, Digvijaya Rama and Jayarama with the Vyasamushti, were handed over, coupled with the administration of the Math to Sri Raghavendra Theertha.

Venkatanatha and Saraswathi were living a happy married life. Unable to bear the separation form her husband, Saraswathi committed suicide by jumping into a well. She was liberated form the cycle of births and deaths by Sri Raghavendra Theertha.

Sri Raghavendra Swami was constantly on the move form one place to another, propagating Bhakthi (devotion) and Harisarvothamatwa (Supremacy of the Lord) He stayed in Udupi for more than a year in the Math established by Sri Vijayendra Theertha. While at Udupi, Sri Guru Raghavendra Swami wrote the treatises "Chandrika Prakashika", "Tantra Deepika", "Nyayamukthavali" and "Sudha Parimala", which He dedicated to Udupi Sri Krishna.

Sri Swami during one of his travels came across an illiterate Brahmin boy - Venkanna, grazing cattle. The lad was an orphan suffering at the hands of his maternal uncle. Upon seeing Sri Swamiji, Venkanna ran to him and unburdened his woes to the saint. The compassionate Swami told the lad to think of him while in trouble.

Once Venkanna was forced to read to a message from the Sultan of Bijapur by the officer Siddi Masood Khan. The illiterate Venkanna prayed to Sri Raghavendra Swami. A miracle! The boy began to read! The letter was the promotion order for Siddi Masood Khan as Nawab. Elated the Nawab instantly appointed Venkanna as theh Diwan of Adoni Samsthan.

Nawab Siddi Masood Khan in due course, met Sri Raghavendra Swami at the instance of Diwan Venkanna. The Nawab offered to gift Sri Guru Raghvaendra Swami a few villages. Swamiji declined and asked only for Manchala, a village on the banks of Rivers Tungabhadra. Accordingly, the Nawab officially gifted the village to Sri Raghavendra Swami.

The saint would visit Ganadalam, a place approximately 5 miles in the north of Manchala, on the other side of River Tungabhadra. The place is scattered with rocks and has a natural cave formation. Swamiji would meditate in this cave for days together. His visits to this place before entering the Brindavan became frequent. A natural formation of Panchamukhi Anjaneya has occurred in this cave, on a rock adjacent to Sri Swami's place of meditation. Panchamukhi Anjaneya appeared before Raghavendra Swami and blessed him.

Sri Raghavendra Swami occupied Manchala on an auspicious day. The saint instructed Diwan Venkanna to arrange for a particular spot to be dug. Upon digging, a Bali Peetha was found. Raghavendra Swami asserted that as Prahlad in Krita Yuga, he had performed Yaga at this spot. The characteristic of that particular spot was such that success was certain. Desires would be fulfilled and peace would prevail. The Swami was desirous of having his Brindavan constructed on that holy spot.

The ruling diety of Manchalam Goddess Manchalamma, invited Guru Swami Shri Raghavendraya to establish his ashram and vrindavan at Manchalam.
In his reply Shri Guru Swami Raghavendraya is said to have accepted and expressed his being honoured in being asked to do so.
Then Manchalamma teased him by saying that one he establishes his ashram and his vrindavam , people would forget her and stop worshipping her.
To this Guru Swami Shri Raghavendraya assured her that if anyone visited his vrindavan without first visiting her and offering their prayers to her , he would ignore them. On hearing this, Goddess Manachalmma, was satisfied and blessed him.

Raghavendra Swami propitiated Manchalamma the presiding diety of the village, and invoked her blessings for contructing his Brindavan. According to her wish, the saint got a replica of goat's head erected before his Brinndavan. Sri Swami instructed divan Venkanna to get his Brindavan constructed only out of a particular block of stone.

According to instructions, Venkanna procured the stone block from Madhawaram village. Raghavendra identified this stone block as the one on which Sri Ram had sat for a while and relaxed. Employing expert sculptors, Venkanna got the Brindavan constructed.

At dawn, after worshipping Sri Moola Rama, Manchalamma,Sri Venkateshwara and after blessing all the devotees gathered, Sri Raghavendra entered the Brindavan on Sali Vahana Shaka (1593) 1671 A.D. Virodhi Krita in Shravana Masa during Drishna Paksha on Dwitiya, a Thursday. Shri Guru Raghavendra Swami declared that he would be alive for 700 years in the Brindavan, from the year 1671, which is the day of his taking his seat in the vrindavan, blessing one and all. 340 years have elapsed since Sri Guru Swamy Raghavendra Tirthangalu entered the Brindavan alive.

Miracles continue to occur with devotees at Mantralaya and in their houses in far-off lands.

All he seeks is Total Devotion , Surrender and mediatation of Sri Krishna.

Have Devotion to the Lord, however be free of Blind Faith.

Let Your Devotion be full of Bhakthi and Shraddha.

Manchala once a foresaken village, is today Mantralaya - a self contained town - forever bustling with activity.

HARE SREENIVASA
HARI SARVOTHAMA!!
VAYOO JEVOTHAMA!!
MOOLA RAMO VIJAYATHE!!
GURURAJO VIJAYATHE!!
OM SRI RAGHAVENDRAYA NAMAHA!

Sri Sri Sri Krishna ArpanaMasthu.

ASK AND RECEIVE

“IF THERE IS SOMETHING TO GAIN AND NOTHING TO LOSE BY ASKING, BY ALL MEANS ASK."
W. Clement Stone.

Ananda is eleven years old, and loves music.
He is exceptionally talented on soprano saxophone
and also likes to compose.

One day, maybe he'll play in a famous philharmonic orchestra and eventually become the conductor. Awesome!

For now, Ananda's biggest goal is to earn enough money
to buy a new saxophone and a keyboard to compose on.

When you're eleven it's hard to find a good- paying job,
especially when school takes up most of the week.

Ananda, however, is determined. He really wants the new instruments.
Every Saturday he goes down to the local mall
and stands near the doors of the main entrance.

He sets up a music stand and takes a clarinet from an old case.
In front of him he places a hand-written sign, and then he starts to play.

His sign reads:

MY NAME IS Ananda
I'M ELEVEN YEARS OLD.
I'M EARNING MONEY TO BUY A SOPRANO SAXOPHONE AND A KEYBOARD.
WOULD YOU PLEASE LIKE TO HELP?
THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

Beside the sign is a plastic container and the above personal request's list.

Ananda has Discovered a Magic Formula. It's called Asking.
He's doing what most People Need To Do - He's Taking Action.

As Ananda skillfully plays a selection of well-known tunes the money rolls in.
A dollar from a passing businessman, fifty cents from a young girl, five dollars
from a well-dressed grandmother.
At this rate it won't be long before Ananda's goal becomes a reality.

By using a little creativity and summoning up the courage to ask for help,
he's found a unique way to get what he wants.

With this type of gutsy determination, who would bet on him not achieving his greater musical ambitions?
Not Me, that's for sure.

It's been around for a long, long time, this Gift called Asking.
In fact, one of life's Fundamental Truth's states,

Ask and You shall receive.
Its that Simple! Of course,
Yes it is.

And kids are the masters.

Their formula is usually to Ask until they Get what they Want.

As Adults, We seem to Lose Our Ability to Ask.
We Come up with all sorts of Excuses and Reasons
to Avoid any Possibility of Rejection.

Children are not Programmed like that.
They Really Believe They Can Have Anything they ask for.
Whether it's a fifty-foot swimming pool or a chocolate ice cream cone.

Here's what You Need to Understand;
The World Responds to Those who Ask.

If You are not moving closer to What You Want,
You probably aren't Doing Enough Asking.

Remember the old song;

Ask and You Shall be Given,
Seek and You Shall Recieve,
Knock and Doors Shall Open,
Stretch Out Your Hand and You Shall be Reached.


Fortunately, to create Future Abundance there are many ways to ask.

Here are useful acronyms to remind you about asking:

ATTITUDE SKILLS KNOWLEDGE = A S K

It is Your Attitude with the Skills You Consciosuly Choose
to Employ with the right Knowledge, that Delivers Success.

ALWAYS SEEKING KNOWLEDGE

Majority of the People say Knowledge is Power.
This is far from the truth!

The Correct Usage of Knowledge is Power.

That's something to imprint in Your Brain Forever.

When You Ask, You Can Receive all sorts of information,
ideas, strategies, names of people with influence and,
yes, even money.

There are many good reasons to ask and the rewards are substantial.

BUILDING EXCELLENT RELATIONSHIPS

"SOME PEOPLE ENTER OUR LIVES AND LEAVE ALMOST INSTANTLY.

OTHERS STAY, AND FORGE SUCH AN IMPRESSION ON OUR HEART AND SOUL,
WE ARE CHANGED FOREVER."

Make a Decision Today to Build a Fortress around You.
Select Only the Best People. There are Many to Choose from.

Remember, Life is all about Building and Enjoying Great Relationships.

You deserve Your Fair Share!

It takes Confidence to Assert Yourself and Seek Out Excellent People.

PROSPERITY IN LIFE IS DERIVED MORE FROM WHO YOU KNOW, NOT WHAT YOU KNOW.

SUCCESS & GOALS ARE REACHED QUICKER DEPENDING ON WHO KNOWS YOU,
THAN JUST WHOM YOU KNOW.

Go Ahead and Ask for What You Want,
From Whom You Want and there are 99 % chances that

YOU WILL RECEIVE and if not "Experience is What You Will Get When You Don't Get What You want".

Dealing with Anger
Here is a simple article of mine that shows how we deal with anger .

It also shows how most of the times we unknowingly go through, "contagion".

This is a state wherein we mix our reactions arising out of an incident that disturbs us to an extent that we often allow our rationality to be irrationality.

The simple examples serve as good illustrators and indicate how we often behave.
I have an Aunty,
My aunty loves eating brinjal,
I hate eating brinjal,
So I hate my Aunty.

What I did is I mixed my aunty with brinjal.
I must understand that my aunty is not brinjal. (lol --> Lesson of Learning)

Similarly,
Ganpat is my peon,
Ganpat comes late to office,
I do not like people coming late,
I do not like Ganpat.
I have mixed Ganpat as a person with his -ve quality.

My boss is nagging,
I do not like nagging,
I hate my boss.
I hate all naggers.

Everytime i see a nagger or a person nagging the picture of my nagging boss comes before the eyes of my brain.
Friends, what we do is confuse ourselves and mix people and their -ve qualities.
We must learn to Seperate people from their qualities and love people unconditionally.

Lets work on dealing with the -ve quality.

We need to understand, that by you getting angry, -ve, qualities in aperson may not always improve or a person may not be cured of them.
Instaed by getting angry we are only giving ourselves ulcers.
Why people get angry is because they have high expectations from others.

These could be high standards of performance and when this does not match, they flare up.

Let me ask you one simple question,

By you getting angry, "CAN A DONKEY BECOME A HORSE?"
Its sheer IMPOSSIBLE, that a donkey become a horse, yes, your blood pressure
may rise, and you may develop ulcers in the process.

Although you can not make a Donkey a Horse, but you can always make a Donkey a Better Donkey.

Infact, if you just look at the good and +ve quality of the donkey, and acknowledge it, there are many chances that the donkey could well be a "better donkey".

Lets see how we can manage anger, now: Some tips..... Stop REACTING .....! Instead; PAUSE - THINK & then ACT (PROACTIVE)
Try this out for yourself now and see where you stand.
List down five things which make you angry, be specific, then rank them from 1 to 5, using 1 for the one which angers you most.

Next to each one write down the main reason why it makes
you angry. (People, Situations, Events which we are basically the Trigger)
Finally, write down next to each one what you do when you are angry in such a situation.
Include your physical responses as well as what you do and discuss your list with your partner.
Now find a near and dear one with whom you may sit and work to see if you can think of an alternative assertive response to each situation, or when ever the, Trigger is pulled.. what can you do instead..

Your journey towards a Better You has begun.

May your day be filled with inspiration and passion!

What Do Teachers Make?

What do teachers make?
The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life.

One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education.
He argued, 'What's a kid going to learn from someone who decided his/her best option in life was to become a teacher?'

He reminded the other dinner guests what they say about teachers: 'Those who can, do. Those
who can't, teach.'

To stress his point he said to another guest; 'You're a teacher, Vidha. Be honest. What do you make?'
Vicky, who had a reputation for honesty and frankness replied, 'You want to know what I make? (She paused for a second, then, began...).
'Well, I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.

I make an A grade feel like Bharat Ratna.

I make kids sit through 90 minutes of class time when their parents can't make them sit for 5 without an I Pod, Game Cube or movie rental.

You want to know what I make?' (She paused again and looked at every person at the table).

I make kids wonder.

I make them question.

I make them apologize and mean it.

I make them have respect and take responsibility for their actions.
I teach them to write and then I make them write.

Keyboarding isn't everything.
I make them read, read, read.

I make them show all their work in math. They use their God given brain, not the man-made calculator.
I make my classroom a place where all my students feel safe.

I make my students stand, placing their hand over their heart to say the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, One Nation Under God, because we live in the Democratic Republic of India.

Finally, I make them understand that if they use the gifts they were given, work hard, and follow their hearts, they can succeed in life. (Vicky, paused one last time and then continued.)

'Then,when people try to judge me by what I make, with me knowing money isn't everything,
I can hold my head up high and pay no attention because they are ignorant....
You want to know what I make.
I MAKE A DIFFERENCE. What do you make Mr. CEO?' His jaw dropped, he went
silent.

The resounding stacatto of silence was then punctured by a huge applause from the audience who rose in unison.

The Future as i Visualize it

The future as i visualize

Telecom:-

Let the nations of the world give up their hold and control on the telecommunications services.

Let this fall under the purview of the global body, the U.N. Let the U.N. allot service providers per nation, per region, per capacity and capability.

Let the UN unilaterally bring in the same levels in the telecommunication filed across nation for each nation.

Let the cost of the same be borne by the nations individually with the people of the world contributing. Let organizations and corporates come forward to take up major portions of the sponsorship or underwriting of the installation costs.

After all they are the ones who benefit the most from spreading their tentacles.

Let the spirit of Competitive Best prevail.

How does this help and in what way to what extent.

Nations across the world will have free, flow of communication facilities for the people living in them. This is more so critical even in today’s times when there are plenty of nations that are still developing or under developed.

Apart from economically speaking , even nations where a free , fair , legit govt of people is absent , it is a necessity for the communications to be free , fair and flowing for people at all times.

Individual whims, fancies and despotic brains will be kept out of the control / regulation factor of telecom services.

Users across nations can experience economical pricing.

Service providers will be able to compete for larger slices or pies of market share.

Competitive prices will also bring in its train competitive services.

This would mean a tremendous improvement in the overall quality of services all-round.

Elimination of wannabe service providers as players.

Creation of more jobs as the market spread will be bigger.

Hopefully this would be small steps of governments and forward thinking people in governance, though ultimately it would be a giant leap for mankind.

SANYASA.
Here is an opportunity to understand the concept of Sanyasa in the modern world.

‘Sanyasa’ is the most revered stage of life in Indian culture and glorified by the Holy Vedas.

In fact there are atleast 16 Upanishads (called Sanyasa Upanishads) that directly speak on sanyasa. In the Indian tradition, renunciation is considered to be the ideal.

Hence heroes in Indian culture are those who have renounced or sacrificed.
The word sanyasa comes from the Sanskrit word 'samnyasa': This is derived from two roots: ‘sam’ meaning complete or total and ‘nyasa’ meaning 'renunciation’.
So a sanyasi is understood as one who has renounced everything i.e. all egocentric actions and turned towards a higher life of austerity and asceticism.

The Holy Geeta defines sanyasa as “kamyanam karmanam nyasam sannyasam kavayo viduh”, meaning, “The Sages understand that Sanyasa is to be ‘the renunciation of desire prompting actions’".
The sanyasi’s resolve is to transcend the rigmarole of fleeting pleasures to achieve a permanent state of unbroken happiness (Godhood). The sanyasi’s oath in the Vedic tradition therefore renounces the pleasures of this world, and even pleasures of the astral world and of the heavens - all the three worlds.
So sanyasis don’t have any possessions and relinquish all material wealth as they have outgrown worldly pleasures out of right thinking. That’s what a Siddharta Gautama did to become a Gautam Buddha and influence millions across the globe.

That’s what a young Shankara did to become the great Acharya Adi Shankara. History tells us that the Vedic Rishis, the Buddha, Acharya Shankara, the exalted Thirthankar Mahaveer championed the path of renunciation over other paths.
But the sanyasa heritage in India has seen both extremes from the most austere to the opulent – from Mahaveer and Ramana Maharishi to the affluent Osho Rajneesh to the present day Baba Ramdev's and the Sri Sri's.

While some sanyasis lived a quiet teaching life in a remote place, others got dynamic in social life. In many ways, the ancient order of sanyasa was influenced by great Gurus, saints who were also reformers.
Swami Krishnananda of the Divine Life Society observes “Swami Vivekananda brought in a new atmosphere into the Sanyasa order by introducing a greater social sense...Monks who were originally spiritually oriented also became socially oriented on account of a need of the times that was felt.”
So what is the role of renunciates in this modern age? Though sanyasis have an educative role and a strict code of conduct, this may depend on their Guru, lineage and also their personal level of spiritual attainment.
But sanyasis in India have played a huge part in social life, when times demanded. A quick review of the Indian spiritual and religious organizations shows that we have had many active monks. It is also interesting, and often neglected, that many of the sanyasis created incredibly large
organizations, with much resources and follower base.
Historically it is well known that a learned Chanakya was responsible for the creation of the mighty Mauryan Empire. Swami Ramdas had Shivaji Maharaj’s patronage. Swami Vivekananda and Shri Aurobindo though they were sanyasis did not always wear orange robe and influenced great thinkers from political circles. Also many illustrious Gurus were renunciates (sanyasis) like Parahamsa Yogananda, Swami Rama, Swami Sahajanand, Swami Shivanand, Swami Niranjananand, Swami Satyanand among others who supported social upliftment.
In the not so distant past India has had larger than life social-reformer-saints like Sree Narayanguru (Kerala), Swami Keshwanand (Rajashtan), Jai Jalaram Bapa (Gujarat), Swami Dayanand Saraswati (Gujarat), Sathya Sai Baba (Andhra Pradesh) among others. In ancient times Gurus like Vashisht, Agastya and Vishwamitra advised the rulers. This heritage shows that
Gurus were not just showing the society the way to God but also got involved in
political and social issues. In fact people who are detached to material things are better able to do good to society.
Now have a momentary pause as to what is the connection between Yoga and life , society, govenance.

The most fundamental text of Yoga is the ‘Hatha-Yoga-Pradipika’, a classic written by Swami Swatmarama in the 5th Century C.E.

This textbook mentions (in Ch-1, v12) that yoga should be practiced in a country where justice is properly administered, where good people live a good life ,where women are honoured and respected for their wishes inside and outside their houses , where love flows freely,where food is not sought as in begged yet can be obtained easily and plentifully, where man smiles as a greeting at another on the street, where music pervades harmonious living, where tempatation of any kind ceases to exist, where thieves , robbers hardly exist and where rule of the law is absence of policemen and policing either lawful, legal or moral, where morals are not the dictates of a handful few who are despotic, driven by a fanatic zealot.

Is India one such country? May be that’s the India the social-reformer-Gurus want!!!

Love in the Time of Cholera, by Gabo.

As its title implies, Love in the Time of Cholera is a creative amalgam of two starkly contrasting elements: the sacredness of love, and love’s embodiment in everyday experience. Ultimately, the transcendental power of love emerges as the beautifully rendered theme of this evocative and paradoxical masterwork.
Throughout his oeuvre, Marquez has displayed courage in his willingness to explore a variegated stylistic repertoire.
While Love in the Time of Cholera has formal similarities to his other great works–One Hundred Years of Solitude and The Autumn of the Patriarch–it avoids relying exclusively on the stunning, hallucinatory quality of the former or the lush density of the latter.
Maintaining a folklore quality and grounded with the feel of everyday gossip, it incorporates images of love that hover between an otherworld beauty and a netherworld terror.
The historical setting of the novel is an “in between” time: from the end of the nineteenth- to the first decades of the twentieth century.
The location is an unnamed Caribbean seaport: one resembling Cartagena. Florentino Ariza–who, with his long frock coat and melancholy air, resembles a “rabbi in disgrace”–is overwhelmed by his love for Fermina Daza, a comely girl whose “doe’s gait” makes her “seem immune to gravity.”
Florentino’s antiquated attire and excessive sentimentality symbolize the romanticism of the last century, which is parodied and caricatured here and extended, like the frock, beyond manageable proportions. Indeed, he cannot even compose a business letter without incorporating lyrical flourishes. Love is his raison d’être, yet he reeks of it rather than shines, following always in its shadow, never seeming to grasp its essential light.
Florentino is placed in a precarious position when Fermina suddenly rejects him (after returning from an exile imposed by her father, who disapproves of Florentino for reasons of class). Her years of travel have so broadened her vision of the world that one quick glance at Florentino is enough to blot out every trace of her former passion and dreamy-eyed innocence. She simply tells him to “forget it,” demands he return her letters and gifts, and promptly decides to forget he ever existed.
Fermina embarks upon “a marriage of convenience” to the esteemed Dr. Juvenal Urbino, who in many ways serves as a counterpoint to Florentino’s overblown romanticism.
After completing a “course of specialized studies in France,” Urbino becomes “known in his county for the drastic new methods he used to ward off the last cholera epidemic suffered by the province.” He founds the Medical Society and organizes the construction of the first aqueduct and the first sewer system. He serves as president of two academies and is conferred with honorary titles from various organizations.
In one of the most powerful passages in the book, he and Fermina fly in the carriage of an “aerostatic balloon that on its inaugural flight carried a letter to San Juan de la Cienaga, long before anyone had thought of airmail as a rational possibility.”
Thus, he personifies a logical, pragmatic approach to life. Therefore it comes as no surprise that, when they marry, they do so in the absence of love. Even after they consummate their marriage, Urbino is “aware that he did not love her,” yet he’s “sure there would be no obstacle to their inventing true love”–like any other rational invention.
Love in the Time of Cholera is an “anatomy” of love. One of its most ingenious portrayals (in an anatomical and a visionary sense) is the growth of love out of the profane environs of “convenience.” All the meaningless details of everyday life shared by two people bound together (all the unpleasant smells, degrading tasks, and dulling routines; all the unspoken bitterness and rancor; all the sullenness and gloom engendered by unlived possibilities) are unmercifully catalogued.
Love’s power to grow in such dark interstices–and to transcend life’s profanity and to remain unscathed–is one of the more skillfully rendered themes of this work.
Just as love may transcend the limits of hyperrationalism, it may also transcend physical passion. Florentino’s nostalgia is eventually transformed into an awareness of the reality of love as it must be lived, in the present. While Dr. Urbino’s studies in France include his tutelage under the “most outstanding epidemiologist of his time,” one “professor Adrien Proust, father of the famous novelist,” Florentino is fated to live in the haze of a Proustian nightmare: one that evokes a bloated nostalgia for Fermina at his every turn.
While much of his time is spent traveling from one to the other of his 622 erotic assignations, through it all he still considers himself a virgin–untouched by anything other than his unrequited love for her.
After waiting half a century for Urbino to die, Florentino ends his self-imposed emotional exile (of fifty-one years, nine months, and four days) of unrequited love. He declares his “vow of eternal fidelity and everlasting love” to Fermina–while she’s attending to her husband’s funeral. Outraged by his poor timing, Fermina forbids him to return. Yet, through a series of letters that are meditative and philosophical rather than flowery and romantic, he persists. And then the final courtship of Love in the Time of Cholera commences.
Culminating in a steamboat voyage up the Magdalena River, the various themes of the novel coalesce into a symbolically complex and emotionally compelling adventure.
Throughout this final chapter, Marquez deftly evokes the higher aspects of love while maintaining a dark earthy humor:
He looked at her and saw her naked to her waist, just as he had imagined her. Her shoulders were wrinkled, her breasts sagged, her ribs were covered by a flabby skin as pale and cold as a frog’s.

On the riverboat, Florentino considers a quote: “Love becomes greater and nobler in calamity.” Later, as they paddle along and pass the sorrowful stretches of denuded forests, the “nauseating stench of corpses floating down the river,” the “bogs of ashes,” and the “vast silence of a ravaged land,” the quote calls into question the survival of higher values in the midst of such decay.
Florentino’s meditations also mark the inception of a new era: one that is as stripped of natural beauty as it is profaned in matters of the soul. Just as mankind was ravaged by the cholera plague, now the first signs of a humanly induced ecological devastation appear. Thus the voyage bears witness to certain historical developments. Along with personal signs of decay that reflect the aging process, we simultaneously witness the aging of Latin America and the world-at-large. The passengers are unnerved by such horrific images and are sadly haunted by all that is forever lost:
the alligators ate the last butterfly and the maternal manatees were gone, the parrots, the monkeys, the villages were gone: everything was gone.

The imagery of finality is counterpointed by a human drama of “love eternal,” comprising both the fanciful flight of uncaring youth and the inevitable conclusion of death.

My Dear Reader,

If you are of the type who can beasily scandalized or ashamed , then please skip the read here and below. Gabo writes beautifully and in his writings base of human nature is seen.

The reproduction below is of a favourite author of mine, Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Those who wish to obtain a beautiful ppt of his during his last years may please leave their e-id's with a brief on their profile here in the comments section.

Enjoy Gabo.

Best,

A.P.

Memories of My Melancholy Whores by Gabriel García Márquez

The year I turned 90, I wanted to give myself the gift of wild love with an adolescent virgin. I thought of Rosa Cabarcas, the brothel owner. "You ask the impossible, my mad scholar," she said. But I implored her and she promised to ring back within the hour.

I'm ugly, shy and anachronistic, and I live alone in the house where my parents lived, scraping by on a meagre pension from my mediocre career as a journalist. And I have never been to bed with a woman without paying. In short, I am without merit or brilliance.

On the morning of my 90th birthday, I awoke, as always, at five in the morning. My only obligation was to write my signed column for Sunday's paper, for which, as usual, I would not be paid. I had my usual aches and pains - my asshole burned - but my heart lifted when Rosa rang to say I was in luck. I gazed at the phosphorescent sweat on the naked body of the 14-year-old virgin asleep on the bed, and admired the brilliance of my language. "She was nervous," Rosa informed me, "so I gave her some Valerian."
She did not stir. "Let me call you Delgadina," I whispered, for like most solipsists

I preferred to invent my own names. I may have slept myself and a tiger may have written on the bathroom mirror - we magical realists can never be too sure of anything - and when I left her snoring in the morning she was still as pure as the night before.

"You fool," spat Rosa. "She will be insulted you did not care enough about her to abuse her." But I did not care: I had detected the fragrance of Delgadina's soul and had realised that Sex Was The Consolation We Receive For The Absence of Love.

I had planned to tender my resignation at the paper, but I was so moved at being given a voucher to adopt a stray cat that shat and pissed at will, that I resolved to continue.

And my fame grew. Every evening I would go to Rosa's house and spend the night admiring the sleeping Delgadina - whose body was filling out agreeably - while reading out loud the great works of literature; and by day people would read out loud the tacky sentimentality of my columns.
Late into the year, Rosa interrupted my reveries. "A client has been murdered," she shouted. "Help me move him."
I returned night after night, but Rosa's house was locked up. I pined for Delgadina. I sensed my cat might lead me to her, but like my own writing, he led me up a cul-de-sac.
At last, Rosa returned.

"Whore," I said. "You have sold Delgadina to secure your freedom."
"How wrong you are," she cried. "Others may consider you a sordid, delusional old man, but Delgadina loves you. She kept her distance because she wanted to save herself for you."

My heart soared. I was not a perv. I was a 91-year-old man with so much love to give and so much life to live. I will survive.

Curriculum Ideates

My Ideates on Curriculum are;

• In today’s world the academic institutions need to be revamped in as much as is feasibly possible.
• Towards this the institutions must be prepared to undergo a change
• The change that is being sought is one that spans across the institution.
• Every change must have a beginning whose end is the beginning of another change.

Towards this one must have the necessary vision besides the compatibility, capability in inducing the change.

The Department of Management Studies needs to be a scientific community established for education and research on administration, management, strategic thinking and marketing and present day H.R.
The subjects offered in the Department needs to span the spectrums of Administrative Science, Marketing, and Management and Organisation. The Department also must provide facilitation in security management, and in management and finance in higher education. Facilitation and research must address both public and corporate expertise.
What are the pre-requisites?

A Mission statement of its own – This must individually dove-tail into the corporate or university’s mission statement.

A Vision statement that drives the department towards all the levels of the stake holders in the community at large is the need of the hour.

Flexibility: - In terms of the ability of being able to realign itself with the sweepingly changing winds of business trends and scenario in the global village. It must be able to raise the bar for industry to deliver. Challenges set by the industry and global incidents must be addressed in its laboratories.

Be SMART: - Be / Have; Smart Achievable Realistic Tangible.
Build / Create its own Brand Image:-
Build / Create its own Brand Equity:-

Towards this it must have the courage and the capability to be choosey enough to screen its potential future stakeholders who come as students.
It must be able to showcase its achievements from the first year.
It must be able to attract talented resources from a pool that is fast diminishing.


The secrets of success:-

 Warm local culture and global class profile making, “the University”, the top pick among students.
 One-year program may be intense, but the international student body will make it worthwhile.
 Is as seen in small size and team-oriented high achievers who make for a nurturing environment.
 Innovative curriculum that makes for a rigorous experience and a strong alumni base which helps in the job hunt.
 The international diversity and desirable location make it a top choice for the globally minded.
 Individual and group coaches give the program a personal touch.
 Sterling reputation and strong faculty.
 A small size offers flexibility and sense of community in a globally diverse student network.
 Students applaud liberal arts focus and ability to take classes throughout the university.
 Teamwork is at the school's core, and the yearlong format makes for a great value.

To be able to successfully do so, it must be more pro-active than it has been.

It must have the ability to move swiftly by bringing in changes in its curriculum without going back and forth.

It must be lean and composed of faculty who have the ability to multi task.

Multi tasking must mean beyond conducting a few traditional events which all b-schools do.

It goes beyond evaluations and the traditional and accepted span of chores that any reputed management studies and department would discharge.

The team must be dynamic and driven as in their commitment towards delivering.

However there are two crying needs that need to be addressed.

They are:-

The need for a continuous faculty development programme is a must whose importance and value cannot be underscored.

A qualifying bench mark in terms of the faculty being self - driven to, “excel”, at all times in everything.



Academics:

Academic Calendar:-
The academic calendar needs to be well laid out through a semester based system.
However there must be adequate tests and assignments to ensure the students are toughened and their quality is sharper. This will also ensure that the students start addressing their tenure in the institute more seriously than as is seen now.
Giving of notes must be done away with.
The faculty must approach and deliver in a manner to facilitate the learning process and encourage the student to search for information and knowledge in relation to the practical world and real-life experiences from the corporate arena.

“When the Student is Ready, the Master Appears”, is an old saying which needs no explanation.

Most institutions have pride in the different and varied student bodies and clubs that adorn their academia.
Some of the suggestions here are;

Placement Cell: - A pro-active 24X7 proactive cell is of utmost importance.
This would ensue that the students needs for being suitably placed is met.
The earlier it is begun the later it is.

Toast masters Club: - This would ensue and enable the students get an opportunity to hone their vocabulary skills besides enabling them to rid themselves of their stage fright which is prevalent in many students given their backgrounds and upbringing.

The Activities Club: - An activities club provides opportunities for students needs like theatre, writing competitions, seminars and guest speakers being called to address the students is taken care of.

Sports Club: “The world wars were won on the play fields of Eton”, is by now a famous adage.
The importance of sports can hardly be underscored.
There needs to be a dedicated sports body or club with a coach and executive / manager wherein and with whom students can register themselves in terms of the sports / games they would like to pursue during their pursuit of academics.
After all a, “Healthy Mind that Exists in a Healthy Body”, is one of the keys to a successful human being.

Counselling Cell:- Given today’s world where stressors and their levels are besides being rampant, also fatal on a young brain of a young and budding human being, the need for a proper and well laid down counselling cell can hardly be diminished.

Such a counselling cell must be well established and staffed with qualified psychologists and counsellors. It would be but natural to have members of both genders present as psychologists and counsellors. They must have the ability and latitude to be present when the call comes, besides realizing that given the Indian scenario a counselee or a caller will never walk into a counsellor. Crisis never knocks; it just lands on your doorstep irrespective of age and gender.

The traumas that can ensue from an unattended or ill-attended case are too huge to be depicted here. Even a classroom driven student faculty interaction can plunge the student into a need for the immediate attention of a counsellor or a psychologist.
Whilst accepting the fact that times are different today and the attitude of many amongst the population has undergone a change, it stills call for a respectably adequate amount of discretion to be ensured in favour of both the caller and the counsellor.

Alumni Networking Club:- This is important as it helps the alumni to stay in touch with their alma mater as well with their colleagues. This needs a database to be maintained very vigorously and efficiently.

Alumni Clubs in Different Cities:-These are the brand ambassadors who could be talking on our behalf in the cities that they are based out of on account of their vocation.

Programs:
Under Graduate Programme:

Objectives: - To ensure that the graduating students are well equipped and mettle enough for taking their place in the corporate world.

Curriculum: - Must include a subject / paper on;

Critical and Analytical Thinking :-> CAT.
A programme on soft skills for students in all the years with an OBL for students of every academic year
A course / subject / couple of modules on;

 Etiquettes and Manners in the Corporate World,
 Inter Cultural relations - Surprises and Shocks.
 Psychological tests
Grooming and Self Presentation.
Besides this a real industrial visit across organizations in foreign locations is a necessity.

Eligibility: Minimum 5o % cut off as passing mark.

Career Opportunities: They range from entry – level executives positions to understudies in organizations.
Spanning across the entire spectrum of the industry, opportunities are available for the deserving and persevering students.
However a well placed management department can render effective student placement with the corporate world making a bee-line for the institute’s students.

Post graduate programmes:-

Objectives: - To ensure that the graduating students are well equipped and mettle enough for taking their place in the corporate world.

Curriculum: Subject / Modules on CAT, Soft Skills, Psychological Tests, are the crying need of the hour.

Eligibility: Graduates of any discipline with minimum 60 % marks and clearance of Entrance exam / Screening test with minimum 60 %.

Career Opportunities: - Range from Management Trainees to candidates already in jobs being considered by their respective organization s for a promotion [subject to their doing well in their respective organizations].

Certificate Programmes ( If any):

Management Education Programs.

Building Strategic Partnerships for Social Responsibility:- Building Strategic

Partnerships for Social Responsibility ,or,
Building and leveraging partnerships with non-profit organizations.
Attendees / Target Audience:-
General Managers who are seeking to enhance their company’s investment in social responsibility

SR managers or CSR committee members

Senior marketing managers

Public relations managers

Public policy officials.

Participant’s Benefits:-

Understand the role of social responsibility in forging a corporate or brand image

Choose the right non-profit partner.

Establish open and effective communication with non-profit organizations

Clearly define objectives and strategy for your partnerships.

Organizational Benefits:-
Demonstrate a sense of social purpose for your corporation
Build corporate or brand equity through socially responsible initiatives
Maximize the business and financial outcomes of strategic partnerships.

Curriculum: Case Studies and Classroom Discussions;

The strategic purpose of CSR

Developing the business case for social responsibility and partnerships with non-profit organizations

Guidelines for authentic social responsibility initiatives

Establishing objectives and measuring the value of your non-profit partnership

Understanding the people, priorities, decision-making processes and culture of non-profit organizations

Choosing a social-community issue that is appropriate and meaningful to your employees and external stake-holders

Crafting a partnership plan including identifying and negotiating with potential partners.

Designing strategies for effective execution

Positioning and communicating partnership programs to maximize impact and authenticity while minimizing the risk of being seen as opportunistic.

Engaging internal and external stake-holders through the process of partnering.



• Developing Your Leadership Presence
• Finance for the Non-Financial Manager
• Governance
• Human Resources
• IT Management
• Leadership
• Planning For Economic Recovery
• Marketing
• Operations Leadership
• Project Leadership
• Sales Management
• Strategy
• Strategic Analytics
• Tackling Challenging Conversations .

Senior Executive Programme: - For senior leaders who are one or two levels from CEO, Regional Director or Country Manager of their organisation. Participants typically bring more than fifteen years' management expertise and have responsibility for determining the future direction of their organisations, managing complexity, transforming their organisations and inspiring the individuals with whom they work.

Accelerated Development Programme:- Designed for those who have recently made, or are about to make, the transition from technical or functional specialist to a broader, more general management role. Participants typically have 10-15 years' relevant management experience. The ADP has a strong international flavour, with participants drawn from a diverse range of industries around the world.

NEW Tomorrow’s Economy: Opportunities and Pitfalls:- This programme looks at the impact of the financial crisis on the economy, financial markets and organisations in the immediate future and to the years beyond. It examines possible recovery patterns and equips participants with a practical tool-kit to minimise risk and maximise opportunities for their businesses in tomorrow's economy.

Corporate Governance: Managing the Board of Directors:- This two-day programme will provide you with an increased understanding of the legal, economic, managerial and behavioural decision making processes associated with corporate governance in times of calm and crisis.

NEW Changeability:- This can be a two day programme that is designed to give insights into companies that have successfully responded to change and the techniques used by their leaders. It also equips you with an action plan which can be immediately implemented to manage through adversity and give you a winning edge.
Training Programmes for the Corporate world: - In Classroom setting or in an OutBound Learning Mode.

Five Strategies to Engage Today's Students.

Incivility in the Classroom.

Award-winning educator Dr. Christy Price believes that, the new Five R's to reach Generation Y are as given under. My tu pence is as added in italics.

1) Relaxed learning environments.  It is of prime importance to, “Create a Relaxed Learning Environment. Hardly any Learning worth its name can take place if the environment is far from relaxed and more so if the learners themselves are anything but relaxed”.

2) Rationales for course goals, activities and grading.  Establish rationales. This should be done early on into the programme. They should be simple, easy to understand, meaningful and the participant must be able to make and visualize the sense in them. Only when this is done will it become easy to devise activities and accord grades if they are at all to be given. In my independent thinking grading as a system should be done with.

3) Relevant material linked to students and their future.  Learning material should be linked to each individual student’s future. It must make sense for the student to pursue. The student must be able to see the link between what he is studying and his chosen future, as he visualizes it for himself.

4) Research-based approaches.  Here it is not just research based. It has to be search based. This means it needs to be meaningful, individual student’s future based.

5) Rapport and Relational opportunities with fellow students and professors.  This is indeed very critical and meaningful. The facilitator must endeavour early on itself to establish a rapport with the participants and also with colleagues. Through this collective and cooperative based approach only will the programme and the delivery of the programme by all facilitators make sense and be a success.

It must be remembered that only when the team [here team refers to both participants and faculty as both are stakeholders in the drive] bonds well, will it pull together in unison for and towards success.

In case any faculty is weak in pulling his / her, own weight for any reason or on account of any ground whatsoever, it must be quickly covered by the others and the weak faculty given an opportunity to address it, through counselling, or even being given a time-out.

Adequate care must also be taken to ensure that the concerned facilitator is not castigated or made to feel hurt or impoverished on any account. In case this happens this would effect the morale of others slowly yet surely and thereby weaken the team, the cause, the efforts and the end result.

Perhaps it may be relevant say that over 90 % of the human souls are fractured souls in some way or the other. Sensitivity to others and sensitizing others is a critical area that could spell the difference between success and failure.
Thus this would enable and empower the faculty to return with zest and better, with stronger drives to deliver and make up lost ground.

Brief History:

The origin of carnatic music dates back to the 13th century A.D. with a book named Sangeetha Rathnakara written by Saranga Deva. It was spread and popularized with significant contributions by composers like Purandaradaasar (15th century A.D.) and the trinity of carnatic music Sri Thyagarajar, Sri Muthuswami Dikshithar and Sri Shyama Shasthry (18th century A.D.) who were contemporaries. Their compositions are filled with devotion and are unique in their own way. They have a universal appeal across all sections of connoisseurs of classical music, language being no barrier.

Key aspects of Carnatic Music:

The two main aspects of carnatic music are: Shruti (Pitch) and Laya (Tala).
There is a popular saying that elucidates this: “Shruti Maata Layaph Pita”, Shruti personified as Mother and Laya as Father

i. Shruti:

Shruti refers to the scale or the pitch on which music is rendered keeping its frequency as the foundation. Each shruti has three octaves or staayis namely: Madhyama Staayi , the normal octave, Mandara staayi and Taara staayi being the lower and higher ones respectively.

ii. Laya (Taala):

Taala refers to the rhythmic cycles in which the swara (notes) and the saahithyam (Lyrics) are set. Carnatic music is set to any one of the seven Taalas which are: Dhruva, Mathsya, Rupaka, , Jhampa, Thriputa, Ata and Eka.

c) Sapthaswaras:

The seven swaras S,R,G,M,P,D,N are the building blocks of the ragas and they cover one octave.

The swaras are denoted as follows:

S – Shadjam

R – Rishabham

G – Gaandaaram

M – Madhyamam

P – Panchamam

D – Daivatham

N – Nishaadam

Of these, S and P are called Prakriti Swaras (one that does not change) and the rest are called Vikruti swaras (one that changes).

The Vikruti swaras have sub-types.

R (Rishabam) is of three types namely: Shuddha Rishabam, Chatushruti Rishabam and Shatshruti Rishabam.

G (Gaandaaram) is of two types namely: Sadhaarana Gaandaaram and Anthara Gaandaaram.

M (Madhyamam) is of two types, Shuddha Madhyamam and Prathi Madhyamam.

D (Daivatham) is of two types, Shuddha Daivatham and Chathushruthi Daivatham.

N (Nishaadam) is of two types, Kaakali Nishaadam and Kaishiki Nishaadam.

A Raaga is characterized by a combination of a sub set of these Swaras.

Though some of them overlap in terms of frequency of the note, one can not replace the other nor can both of them co-exist in a particular raga.

The ascending order of the swaras in a raga is called Arohanam and the descending order of the swaras is called Avarohanam.

d) Raga Classification:

Main Ragas that have all the seven swaras in both Arohana and Avarohana are called Melakarta Ragas and the ones with fewer swaras of each of them are called its janya ragas.

If there is a retrograde step in Aarohana or Avarohana of a raaga, the raga is called a vakra raga.

e) Paddhathis:

Paddhathis or compositions are of many types.

They are:

Varnams, Krithis, Padams, Javalis, Thillanas and Viruthams.

Varnams are compositions which depict the varna or color of the raga.

Varnams are further classified as Adi thala varnams, Ata Thala Varnams and Pada Varnams.

Krithis are refined forms of compositions.

Their basic structure includes 3 parts, Pallavi, Anupallavi and Charanam.

Some Krithis have a pallavi and Samashti charanam (without an anupallavi) .

Some krithis have madhyama kala saahithyam and chittai swarams.

Padams are compositions which are descriptive.

Javalis are abhinaya types of compositions.

Thillanas are compositions which have sollukattus / jathis which are sung for dance recitals.

Viruthams are usually hymns of gods sung in ragas at a slowpace or within thala at the end of a concert.

i. Gamakas:

Gamakas refer to the variation of pitch of a note using heavy oscillations between adjacent and distant swaras.

These are made use of in sangathis(modifications) in krithis and in manodharma sangeetham (creative music).

ii. Mudhras:

Mudhra represents the unique signature of the composer used in their works. E.g. Guruguha for Sri Muthuswami Dikshithar.

f) Advanced concepts in music:

These are the ones that are sung in concerts.

They include: Alapana,Kalpana Swaram,Neraval, Ragam Thanam Pallavi etc.

They constitute Manodharma Sangeetham.

Alapana refers to presenting a sketch of the raga usually sung using akara prayogams or allowed phrases in the ragas which are called classic pidis in the carnatic music jargon.

Kalpana swaras are those sung by an artiste using their imagination along with some mathematical calculations called kanakku.

Neraval is elaboration of a single line using one’s creativity. It is usually sung in two speeds.

Ragam Thanam Pallavi is the most advanced concept in carnatic music.

Ragam refers to the Alapana.

Thanam is rhythmic version of the alapana which is sung using the syllables aa nam thaa nam.

Pallavi derives its name form the following words. Pa – Padam la – layam vi – vinyasam (variations) because it has saahithyam (padam), thalam (layam) and neraval (variations).

g) Vageyakaras (Composers):

The word vageyakara means one who gives a beautiful blend of swara and sahithya. The composers are mainly classified as pre-trinity and post-trinity composers.

STAGES IN LEARNING CARNATIC MUSIC:

As one commences learning carnatic music, the growth curve includes the following stages:

Abhyaasa gaanam (Varisais, Alankarams), Geethams, Varnams, Krithis, Manodharma sangeetham and finally Ragam Thanam Pallavi.

Learning in theory happens side by side along with the various stages or the levels.

Lord Sri Hari,Please Reside In My Heart Always-Vijayadasaru.

Let Sri Haridasaru Antharkatha Sri Vayu Antharkatha Sri Panduranga Vitthala Bless All.


“Munchae Maadiri Neevu ManchaleYatre”



“Deva Swabhaavo DivijaDrumoyaam Ishta Pradomae Satatam Sa Bhooyaat is perfectly correct .Satya and Nitya..”“



nAham kartA hariH kartA tatpUjA karmachaakhilam.h| taThaapi matkR^itaa pUja tatprasaadhEna naanyaThaa|
tadbhakti tadphalam.h mahyam.h tatprasaadaat.h punaH punaH|karmanyaasO harAvevam.h vishNOsthR^iptikaraH sadhA||
*******
Meaning:
I am not the doer, shri Hari is the doer, all the actions that I do are His worship. Even then, the worship I do is through His grace and not otherwise. That devotion and the fruits of the actions that come to me are due to His recurring grace

If one always practices to do actions with a dedicated spirit to Hari, in this way, it pleases Vishnu.

-Quote by Jagadguru Sriman MadhvAchArya in GitA tAtparya


|| Kumbakonam vaasi Sri Sri Vijayindra Tirtha Gurubyo Namaha ||



Ajaya Sri Sri Vijayindra Tirtha-Paramaguru of Mantralaya mahaprabhu Sri Sri Raghavendra Swamy.He is one of the greatest saints of Sri Madhwa parampare. Let the holy abisheka water which comes from his brindhavana remove all our fears and give us Gyana,Bhakthi,Vairagya!!

5 Q's.

THE 5 Questions .

One of my personal experiences involves the use of asking myself a few pointed questions that encourages me to go deep & think about the things that truly count for me.

Here are a set of Five Questions that are available to use irrespective of your whether you are a young male or female or a middle aged person or an elderly person.

Age is in your brain, Age is just a set of numbers, Age is your count you and others choose to keep of the time spent doing What?

So set aside Your Number and Just Focus on the Result You Desire.

Seat yourself down alone preferably, keep your cup glass of favourite beverage besides you, launch into your ipad or, laptop or iphone or BB or whatever is your play toy and start by tackling the Questions given below and honestly answering them.


*What would the child YOU once were think of the adult YOU have become?


*How old would you be if you did not know how old you are?


*What 3 things could you do over the next 30 days to raise YOUR Life to its next level of EXCELLENCE & FESTIVITY? [What is preventing YOU from doing it?]


*What do YOU want YOUR Life to look like in every area…..{Career, Personal, Financial, Spiritual}12 months / 24 months from now?


*What are the 5 things that make YOU most Happy?


Now that you have the answers / responses, Read them over Slowly.


Toss them over in your head.


Think of them and Ask Yourself What do You Need To Do Now?


How Critically do You Need what the Responses are?


What do You Need to Attain or Achieve Them?


What is Stopping You?


Who is Stopping You?

Very Often , we Realize and find that Most of the Times , it is " I , Me, Myself, who is Stopping Myself, Me".

So, Now You have the Responses.

For the Next Steps or sets of action ask your coach or write to or meet with your coach.

Best wishes,

A.S.Prasad.

Why do we need Coaching Today?

Mobility (Close family members, who might be mentors, live miles apart).

It's a Hyper technical world (People need to relate to people and life…not just GB, RAM & baud rates).

The Smaller the group, the more critical it is to nurture, mentor and keep leaders.

Attitudes/Values(Best learned by modeling within a coaching relationship).

A Coach Provides.....

Objectivity: Be sure the direction you choose is the right one.

Wisdom: Become clear in your reasons for going in that direction.

Network: Meet the people needed to get you there.

Motivation: You want to please him/her

Try To Answer This Question by Having a Discussion within Yourself.

If you had one or more people, whom you admired a great deal, WHO can offer themselves and their resources to help you reach your personal & professional goals in the next few years, how do you think it would accelerate your progress?

Who would you choose?

Some Probable Answers.

Nelson Mandela

Your Priest

Your Mother

Your Father

Malcolm X

Britney Spears

Thabo Mbeki

Robert Mugabe

Tony Blair

Kadar Asmal

Muhammed Ali

Will Smith

Winnie Mandela

Mahatma Gandhi

And what would you ask them for?

Personal Problems

Career Advice

Secrets of Success

How to avoid mistakes?

How to perform at your best?

How can I become Coachable?

Need to ask for help = overcoming the myth of individualism + culture change

Accept who I am (Discover, Internalize then Live who You are)

Begin to think (become a visionary) and then be proactive through a coaching relationship

Now lets look at How To…

Find A Coach (or do it by yourself)

Step 1

Set the framework for the relationship (who is Coach and Coachee?)

Step 2

Establish what is to be achieved

Step 3

Establish by when it is to be achieved

Step 4.

WRITE IT DOWN IN A CONTRACT!

Step 5.

SIGN IT!

Now, lets look at How to..

Coach in a friendly context

First get or Establish the ‘Coaching Moment’

Second Creating Dialogue.

Third Ask questions, get others to take ownership

Fourth is to Gather performance data
Balanced feedback

Fifth Step Collaborating on interpretation

Goal Setting 1… and Goal Setting 2…

Write down What you want. Put this in the Positive.

Everything you will gain by achieving your goal. Make it as descriptive and colourful as possible.

What you will lose by achieving your goal.

Take plenty of time on this list.

Feel free to write down silly things, since no one else will be reading this.

Imagine yourself having your goal, going through your normal routine, what comes up, is it all positive or are there any doubts.

What will you lose by not achieving your goal.

A lot of this may be the same as above but you may come up with some other things as well.

What you will gain by not achieving your goal.

Again, you may already have written some of these down.

See what else comes up.

Goal Setting 3…

Look at what you have written, and decide whether your goal is truly worth it. Either decide to go ahead with achieving your goal. Or decide to drop your goal.

Goal Setting 4…

Relax, let go. You are now totally committed (if you decided to keep your goal) to achieving your goal and will probably find yourself effortlessly and naturally achieving your goal

Goal Setting 5…

The first step in achieving your goal is to clearly state what you want. Put it in the present and make it positive.

Start with your current, limiting belief. Or your description of the situation.

"I am underachieving in my studies" ,or, "I can perform better at my workplace"

Turn it around. What do you want instead?

"I want to achieve excellent marks", or,"I want to be perform better at my workplace".

Make it completely positive, no negative words allowed at all.

If you can't think of how to do this, ask yourself what you will have once you have achieved your goal.

"I want to achieve my ideal marks", or,"i want to be the best at my workplace."

Turn it into the present tense, as if it is already true.

"I am achieving my ideal marks", or ,"i am the best at my workplace".

Neuro Linguistic Programming is simple as Changing the State.

State Changing (Moods)

Modeling

Visualization

Learning.

Example is leadership.- Albert Schweitzer

Leadership is the wise use of power. Power is the capacity to translate intention into reality and sustain it.- Albert Bennis

There are many elements to a campaign. Leadership is number one. Everything else is number two. - Bertolt Brecht

Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without the strategy. - Norman Schwarzkopf

Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it. - Dwight D. Eisenhower.

All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership - JK Galbraith

One secret of leadership is that the mind of a leader never turns off. Leaders even when they are sightseers or spectators, are active; not passive observers. - James Humes

Leadership is not a position. You are not a leader because you have the title of manager. Leadership is something that we earn from followers on a day to day basis.- The EMS Manager Newsletter.

Leadership is an opportunity to serve. It is not a trumpet call to self-importance.- J. Donald Walters

Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.- Stephen R. Covey


To have long term success as a coach or in any position of leadership, you have to be obsessed in some way- Pat Riley

Management works in the system; Leadership works on the system - Stephen R. Covey

I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting along with people. Mahatma Gandhi

Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things. Peter F. Drucker.

Thank You,
God Bless You
& Bye!
Prasad

COACHING - 1

Coaching & Mentoring
by Steve Banhegyi
CIDA City Campus, African Leadership School

A Quote…..

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.

Mark Twain (1835-1910, American Humorist, Writer)
What is Coaching?
"a process that enables learning and development to occur and thus performance to improve. To be a successful a Coach requires a knowledge and understanding of process as well as the variety of styles, skills and techniques that are appropriate to the context in which the coaching takes place"

What is Coaching? …

Coaching is not generally performed on the basis that the coach has direct experience of their client’s formal occupational role unless the coaching is specific and skills focused.

What is a Coach? or Who is a Coach?

A person who wants to see you win for the rest of your life.

A person to talk to when you run into problems or want to prevent problems from developing.

A person who will stay in contact with you across time and settings.

What is Mentoring?

"off-line help by one person to another in making significant transitions in knowledge, work or thinking“

Mentoring enables an individual to follow in the path of an older and wiser colleague who can pass on knowledge, experience and open doors to otherwise out-of-reach opportunities.

Coaching & Mentoring

Coaching & mentoring, both of which focus on the individual, can enhance morale, motivation and productivity and reduce staff turnover as individuals feel valued and connected with both small and large organisational changes.

This role may be provided by internal coaches or mentors and, increasingly, by professional coaching agencies.

Coaching & Mentoring.

Actively taps potential.

Fine tunes and develops skills.

Development activities are designed to suit client’s personal needs and learning styles.

Eliminates specific performance problems.

Can focus on interpersonal skills, which cannot be readily or effectively transferred in a traditional training environment.

Provides contacts and networks to assist with furthering their career or life aspirations.

Performed in the ‘live’ environment

Highly effective when used as a means of supporting training initiatives to ensure that key skills are transferred to the ‘live’ environment.

Coaches and mentors transfer the skills to the client rather than doing the job for them.

Coaching & Mentoring.

A therapist will explore your fears about riding a bike.

A consultant will tell you how to ride a bike.

A mentor will show you how to ride a bike.

A coach, when you decide you want to ride a bike, will run along beside you to provide support.

Traditional Training

Wholesale transfer of new skills, e.g. change in procedures, new systems (e.g. software application training), new job function.

Programmes are mostly generic and not tailored to individual needs. Delegates generally have to complete standard modules, so there is little room for tailoring the programme to account for existing knowledge, skills or preferences.

Not always sufficiently similar to the ‘live’ working environment to ensure effective skills transfer.

Best suited to transfer of knowledge and certain skills rather than the development of personal qualities or competencies

Reasons to Coach

The higher up you go in management; the value of your technical skill declines while the value of your interpersonal skill increases

Growing organisations need emotionally mature employees

Personal growth and development can seem like a painstaking process, especially when you approach it alone

Excessive employee turnover can rob a company of its base of knowledge

Ongoing interaction with a personal coach makes it easier to cope with the chaos (the sounding board)

360 degree Feedback (how well am I doing?)

Chaos

Rapid Change

Coaching Topics

Motivation

Goal Setting / Problems in reaching priorities

Interpersonal relationships (work & personal)

Personal / professional plans

Progress benchmarks

Personal roadblocks, blind spots & other concerns

Pressing decisions (To get perspective.)

Benefits to the Coach

Become better listener

Become better learner

Have clearer understanding of leadership styles requiring to ‘let go’

People want to work for them

Become better leader

Learn strategy & empowerment

In the Past..

On the farm / in the village:

Parent / Child

Grandparent / Grandchild

Society of Artisans:

Craftsman / Apprentice

University Scholar / Student

Knight / Novice

Artist / Protege

And Today…

In the home: decreasing parent-child conversations

In school / university: faculty & students rarely meet outside the classroom

In industry: the craftsman has given ground to the technician

EVOLUTION

THE EVOLUTION.

As i look at Life pass by outside, i hear a cacophony of jarring noises.

I see an unending ocean of traffic coming and going like a wave after wave.

It all seems so senseless.

It is an eyesore.

The village’s landscape has changed. It has mushroomed into a society.

It is now an overgrown and a multimagnified city.

The inhabitants come from places far and wide.

All for and with the same objective.

To earn a living!

Majority have walked out of their villages. Some have heard about their forefathers migrating from villages to towns that are cities. Majority were born in the city.

What losses did this result in?

To whom?

At what cost?

As so-called civilization and evolution overtook villages, towns, and changed things, people changed.

In the name of becoming civil, they lost humanity.

They lost their traditional, ancient skills, knowledge.

Century old practices were discarded.

Ancient Customs were flung aside.

Bygone Traditions were given the go-by.

The Loser Man and Succeeding Generations of People.

How did they lose?

In what way did they lose?

The Nuclear family shoved out the joint family.

Suddenly Uncles, Aunts, Grandparents were made to feel strangers no longer wanted in their own homes and had to stay separately.

Today even parents are made to feel that way!

This resulted in Bygone Traditions, Age Old Customs, Ancient Practices Being Abandoned for Quick-Fix Solutions.

Owing to this, went the ability and humanly evolved art of natural Counselling and Coaching.

Today, we have University and College qualified Counsellors and Coaches.

They come armed with paper Certificates, than Life Earned Experiences.

We no longer have the Old Wise Man, the Village Grand Mother.

Human or within family Counselling and Coaching practices and habits died.

Stress and stress related ailments are now family.

Instances of the elders being available to the younger in the family for handholding, passing down of skills from one generation to another, are almost dead and decadent.

Yes, people must change with the times or else we would be like dinosaurs in Jurassic park that died as they remained from evolving.

However the Change has to be for the Better not for the End or Death of Traditional Customs, Arts, Practices and Skills of Livelihood that Assured Financial Security and Dignified Living to the People.

With the oncoming of each new day, more and more people would be needed who would be able to, “Care” for Mental Health Cases.

Mental health is the Youngest of all Medical Sciences.

The oncoming world would need people who would be using and exercising more of their Mental prowess.

This means, More, Visualizers, Visionaries, Dreamers and People with Tremendous Foresight.

To Assist, Care and Heal them, and their Mental Health Issues, there would be a need for Mental Health Care Professionals.

It is here that, the elders as in the joint family system would have been a big assistance and Help.

It is here that the nuclear family would suffer the shocks, traumas of the progress, the evolution, the absence or lack of their own people whom they could or would be able to relate to.

This is applicable not just in India.

From Nagpur to Nairobi, from Bangalore to Buenos Aries, from Dubai to Denver, from Cape Comorin to Cape of Good Hope it is universal. It is a global phenomenon.

Every nation would feel this and have to address the issue of Growing Mental Health Concerns, later if not sooner.

This is no alarm –bell. It is the Wake-Up Call.

Those who ignore it will bear and face the consequences.

Those who are, Sensitive, Respond and Act would be the ones who can keep marching with changing times and still be evolving.

This is being Realistic and able to See the Clear Picture!!!!!

With Best Wishes,

A.S.Prasad.

HAVE TIME, INCLINATION, APPRECIATION & MOTIVATION - RELATIONSHIPS

I HAVE THE TIME, HAVE THE INCLINATION, APPRECIATION & THE MOTIVATION !!!!!.

The small details of our lives are what really matter in a relationship.

It is not the number of bedrooms in the house or how big or small or grand is the house, or the number of cars or the type of the car, neither the property, nor the the money in the bank.

These create an environment conducive for happiness but cannot give happiness in themselves.

So let me find time , incline myself to be my spouse's friend and do those little things for each other that help build intimacy.

At the end of it i want and need in as much as we want to have a real happy relationship with one another as in the marriage!

If i don't share this, nothing will happen to you or me or us.

If i do, i just might save a relationship / marriage. Many of life's failures are thanks to people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."

So even when the going gets tough , everything seems to be at its worst , and i have a very strong head-on wind blowing into me , and i am the last man standing i must strive forth and continue for it is there that,"Success Lies Just ahead of the Corner".

Let Me also Remember, that Motivation begins with Appreciation.

Once you acknowledge the things that YOU are doing RIGHT, it’s easy to feel MOTIVATED to try harder, the next time around or tomorrow.

Thanks ,

A.S.Prasad.

Difference Between Guru and Teacher.

Dear Reader,

Here is the difference between a Teacher and a Guru.

You may like to peruse slowly to make a Careful Choice.

With Best wishes,

A.S.Prasad.


A Teacher Takes Responsibility of Your Growth,
A Guru Makes You Responsible for Your Growth.

A Teacher Gives You Things You do not have and require,
A Guru Takes away Things You have and do not require.

A Teacher Answers Your Questions,
A Guru Questions Your Answers.

A Teacher Helps You Get Out of the Maze,
A Guru Destroys the Maze.

A Teacher Requires Obedience and Discipline from the Pupil,
A Guru Requires Trust and Humility from the Pupil.

A Teacher Clothes You and Prepares You for the Outer Journey,
A Guru Strips You Naked and Prepares You for the Inner Journey.

A Teacher is a Guide on the Path,
A Guru is a Pointer to the Way.

A Teacher Sends You on the Road to Success,
A Guru Sends You on the Road to Freedom.

A Teacher Explains the World and its Nature to You,
A Guru Explains Yourself and Your Nature to You.

A Teacher Makes You Understand How to Move about in the World,
A Guru Shows You Where You Stand in Relation to the World.

A Teacher Gives You Knowledge and Boosts Your Ego,
A Guru Takes Away Your Knowledge and Punctures Your Ego.

A Teacher Instructs You,
A Guru Constructs You.

A Teacher Sharpens Your Mind,
A Guru Opens Your Mind.

A Teacher Shows You the Way to Prosperity,
A Guru Shows the Way to Serenity.

A Teacher Reaches Your Mind,
A Guru Touches Your Soul.

A Teacher Gives You Knowledge,
A Guru Makes You Wise.

A Teacher Gives You Maturity,
A Guru Returns You to Innocence.


A Teacher Instructs You on How to Solve Problems,
A Guru Shows You How to Resolve Issues.

A Teacher is a Systematic Thinker,
A Guru is a Lateral Thinker.

A Teacher will Punish You with a Stick,
A Guru will Punish You with Compassion.

A Teacher is to Pupil what a Father is to Son,
A Guru is to Pupil what Mother is to Her Child.

One can always find a Teacher,
But a Guru has to Find and Accept You.

A Teacher Leads You by the Hand,
A Guru leads You by Example.

When a Teacher Finishes with You,
you graduate.

When a Guru Finishes with You,
you Celebrate!!!!!

BRAHMAN -

Human Mind is faster than flowing rivers.

Truth is Greater and Better than Heaven.

Anger, Ignorance, Self Conceit,

The cause of Dissatisfaction, Greed and Resentment is Hope.

HOPE in itself is not bad, Yet when Combined or Driven by Vanity from a bed of Selfishness, Conceit and Avarice is the Most Disgusting Cause of Disatisfaction.

Most humans are covered with this for something or the other that they seek either for themself or for Others.

This leads to the Question, "What should the ideal Human Being? Can everyone be a True Brahman?

So let me make an Attempt to answer the question in itself with a few more supplementary questions.

Who is a True Brahman?

What is a True Brahman?


A True Brahman as per the Buddha:

"Whoever is Friendly amidst the Hostile, Peaceful amidst the Violent, Content amidst the Clinging,

He, whose Passion and Hatred, Pride and Hypocrisy have just Fallen away like a Mustard Seed on a Needle Point,

Whoever speaks words that are gentle, informative, pleasant and offensive to none, him I call a true Brahman".

http://www.swami-krishnananda.org/brdup/brhad_V-04.html for The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad by Swami Krishnananda CHAPTER V. Fourth Brahmana: Brahman as the True or the Real.


Age is no Bar or Respecter of Knowledge.

A Knowledgeable Person irrespective of the Age is Supreme before all Beings.

Yes a True hallmark of a Supremely Knowledgeable Person is Humility.

Knowledge is and can be acquired while Humility as a quality is in born.

At best it can be imbibed over years of Conscious choice of practising Humility through Strict and Rigorous Discipline.

Discipline that tempers the Human Brain, Thoughts, Controls Acts

and Overcomes Temptations of the Highest Order,

is Like the Fine Tempering of Gold through Fire

and Constant Unrelenting Hammering into a Fine Piece of Jewellery,

that adorns the physique of a lady and thus increasing her

into a more Beautiful Being.


In an Individual being Brahman remains Hidden as the Inner most self and participates silently in the Sacrificial art of Living.

Truly Brahman is the Most Ancient Priest and the only True Priest.

Every Cycle of Creation is an Act of Sacrifice, a grand Ritual and every Aspect of Creation is either an aspect of ritual or a ritual by Itself.

This is best brought out by the Bhagawad Gita through the following verses;

He who is Free From Attachment,

who is Liberated,

whose Mind is established in Knowledge,

whose Actions are but Actions of Sacrifice only,

His Actions are Completely dissolved.[Ch. 4 V. 23].

Such a Person is the True Brahman.

His Offering is Brahman,

His Oblation is Brahman,

His Sacrificial Fire is Brahman,

The Sacrifice is Brahman.

He Certainly Attains Brahman, Who finds Brahman Situated in All Activities.[Ch. 4 V.24].

Some Offer Sacrifices to Gods while Performing Yagnas,

while the Mystics Worship the Supreme Brahman being

by Offering the Self in the Sacrificial Fire of the Brahman.[ Ch.4.V.25]

I am Kratu [Vedic Ritual],

I am Yagna [Sacrificial Ceremony],

I am Svadha [An Offering in the Sacrificial Ceremony],

I am Medicine,

I am the Mantra [the Sacred Chant]

i am Adyam, [Fuel in the Yagna],

I am Agni [Fire],

I am Hutam [the Burnt Remains of an Offering in the Yagna][Ch.9 V.16].

Power of Shri Guru Raghavendra.

Power of Shri Guru Raghavendra Swamy of Mantralayam to Revive the Dead .

Shri Guru Raghavendra Swamy is also lovingly known as; Raya, Rayaru, Gurudeva, Gurugala, Gururaya, KeshariNandan, Sakalpradtha, Mantralaya Swami, Kalparukshaya, Kamadhenu.

On a hot summer day, Rayaru was on his way home from a pilgrimage. He decided to rest in the shade of a tree at Krishnapuram (near Hubli). While there, he saw the Nawab (Muslim king) of the are walking towards him, with a sad demeanor. The Nawab had heard of his miracles and had come to him as a last resort. He stated that his young son had died from a poisonous snakebite and been buried in a tomb close by.

After hearing this, Rayaru contemplated silently for a few moments and then asked the king to take the body out of the tomb. When the puzzled Nawab did as he was asked, Rayaru sprinkled holy water from his kamanDala and prayed to his ArAdhya mUrthy (favorite form of the Lord). Lo behold, the young boy woke up as though he was getting up from sleep. The Nawab was beside himself with joy.

(Editor’s note:--> There are some very important points to note in this episode. Our shAstras talk about the concept of "Ayushya", defined as the total amount of time that a being is allowed to live on earth, in a particular body. Any death that happens before this time is untimely and is called "apamRutyu".

Our shAstras say that once "Ayushya" is over death cannot be prevented, since that is Divine Will. However, "apamRutyu" is a different aspect altogether. Life-histories of our saints and other great souls are replete with instances where they warded off untimely death in deserving cases. In this case, since the child had suffered apamRutyu, Rayaru used his divine powers to revive it.)

He did a similar thing in another instance. He was visiting the house of a village chieftain (called Desai). Hundreds of people had assembled for the occasion. As part of the food served to the guests, seekaraNe (a thick form of mango juice) was being prepared in a huge vessel. Unfortunately, when nobody was watching him, the Desai’s son fell into this vessel and drowned. When the Desai and his wife came to know about it, they were totally devastated. However, they wanted to hide the news because they did not want to inconvenience everybody who had assembled there.

Being an aparOxa gyani, Rayaru sensed the tragedy and asked the grief stricken couple to bring the dead boy before him. When this was done, he sprinkled water from his kamanDala and revived the boy. The joy of the ecstatic parents knew no bounds.

[The above is an extract from the material available at the website whose link for more reading is www. Gururaghavendra.org]

THE CHALLENGE I FACED.

THE POWER OF VISUALIZATION / IMAGINATION

Ever so very often each one of us is challenged at sometime or the other in one's professional calling.

Here it is a pleasure to share, what seemed to me a challenge when i first encountered it.

I was teaching a subject called,"Social Intelligence Skills", or otherwise commonly known as,"Soft Skills".

In the class of 60 odd students one of them was visually challenged.

One day during class, he shot a question at me saying,"Sir how can i improve my own speaking style?"

Whew! You could have heard even a pin drop in the room following the ensuing silence that came on.

It was tough to answer that!

Looking at him and the class , i asked him if he really wants me to tell him the response, he said,"yes sir".

Fine i said, and invited him to come to the front of the room.

Once there, i seated him on a chair and made him face the rest of the class.

Through gestures to the class i sought their silent cooperation.

To my young friend i said , would you like to take a small walk with me mentally.

He responded positively, though he was eager to know what that would mean?

I said, i am going to describe some scenes for you and i want you to imagine the scenes in the most powerful multidimensional theatre you have and that is in your brain. You are equipped with the most advanced audio-visual system.

Then i asked him if he was ready and willing to make the journey.

He responded positively and eagerly with a smile.I sensed his eagerness.

As i described scene after scene i was watching him , his face , his movements, his breathing.

The breathing was slow and rhythmic in a pattern.

His face had a smile never seen before .

His class mates watched him in delight though surprised.

Then i asked him to imagine he had his best friend sitting there on a bench in a lovely park.

his best friend wanted to chat with him. I said feel free to have a mental dialouge with your best friend and feel free if you wish to share aloud.
[Now dear reader we must rememeber that in india, even amongst males, there is a tendency to be reserved about some things. They may not share everything even if it means no harm to them]

So as he continued his mental dialouge he was having with his best friend. Then when i saw a change in his facial expressions, i intervened and said, Are you done , would you like to leave your friend now?

To this he said, "Yes", and as he was bidding a mental bye to his friend , i saw his facial expressions and his body language.

It was absolutely beautiful. It spoke of a young man who had found joy in knowing that he could actually talk with his best friend and seek his thoughts on improving himself.

As the exercise ended and i drew him slowly out of his wonder land where he had wandered so consciously, i softly told him ," Now do you believe for yourself that you can actually visualize for yourself the way you talk, your facial expressions and everything you wanted to know about yourself , which otherwise you felt you could not.

His simple response was,"Thank You Sir", it was beautiful , i enjoyed every moment of the talk i had.

His face spoke of relief and joy.

To me it was a challenge overcome, it was a moment of Truth, an "LOL"[Lesson of learning].

I now realized that i had it in me to coach even otherwise abled people.

Yes, this was a Gift of my Guru.Indeed!

Thank you,

yours sincerely,

A.S.Prasad