Dasvidaniya 2008...Welcome 2009...!!!

A year going by...leaving behind memories of all hues and tastes...sweet and bitter...every year seems to go faster than the previous and life just goes on!

2008 has been a very significant year of my life.It changed many aspects of my life.The most memorable event of my life has occured in 2008 - my marriage.Ami became my better-half.We tied knot in Feb'2008.Memories of Honeymoon are yet afresh.I had been to some of the most beautiful places during this phase.Another two new chapters of my life started - first as a Radio news reader and the other of getting four books published with my name as the Author.Being a part of Staff Welfare Committee of the Organization for which I work - NSEInfotech & NSE,I got lot of opportunities to do some noticable work for my colleagues as well as for society in my own small way.I successfully built a network of good contacts.This year has made me more responsible.One more new opprtunity is at the door of my life which just came in December 2008 which I would talk about in 2009!(Little Suspence you know...!)

It is not that the year was all Goody-Goody year.This year has also been a financial disaster for me.Actually not only for me but due to Global Economic Recession and slowdown each and every individual has got affected in some or the other way.But my loss has been due to my follies and greed or whatever one may call it.I lost heavily in Bearish Stock markets and my entire portfolio of investment has been washed away.Serial blasts in various parts of my country and Terror attack on Mumbai on 26 Nov 2008 has shaken not only me but also the whole nation.

But, as a friend Keisha SMSed me today - 'Life is only traveled once.Today's moment becomes tomorrow's memory.Enjoy every moment,good or bad,because the gift of life is life itself...', the wheel of time will keep rotating and we have to make the Best use of whatever we have got and make life of ourselves and others as beautiful and livable and lovable as possible.

I had taken a leave today from work to retrospect the year which is ending today.Whatever I gained or lost has given me lot of learning.I have made some new good friends.Lot of things happened during this entire year.I wanted to think about it all. So I spent the day at home.In the afternoon I slept for a good hour and half that I can not do on a normal working day being present in the office.(Though I have expressed my desire to do so, while taking a stroll after lunch on many occasions with my colleagues!)Then I went to Bandstand and Mount Mary Church to spend the last evening of the year 2008 and I had a good time with myself.I missed Ami as she is at her Parent's place now.After many years, this time that moment when an old year passes by and welcomes a new fresh year,I spent with my family.At 12:00 midnight,I lighted some beautiful floating colourful candles in water bowl and cut cake and shouted 'Welcomed 2009' forgetting all the worries and tensions!We all prayed to God to make 2009 the Best!And then we watched some T.V. prgrams and now I am writing this Blog and sharing my feelings with you all!

Now I am already into 2009.And I want to live it even better than 2008!(Lot of new year resolutions you know!)I give a warm and heartfelt welcome Hug to the year 2009!May it prove better than all previous years in everybody's lives.As in 2008, the year start situation was totally different from year end situation. Economy was at peak with sensex value of above 21000 level in January and in December it had fallen down to 9000 level.May the same situation-reversal phenomana occur this year too.I mean, in January 2009 the sensex level is at 9000, hope we see it at 21000 level again in December 2009!May all our dreams come true in this new year and we all live happily and this world become a better place!

Dasvidaniya 2008 ... Welcome 2009!

Temples...

Temple…I have always been fascinated by temples…be they in any form. I visit temple, Daherasar (Jain temple), mosque (Islami temple), church (Christian temple) and Gurudwara (Shikh Temple). I was always curious to go to an Agiyari (Parsi Temple) also. But no one other than Parsi can enter an Agiyari. That’s the reason I have not visited an agiyari so far. And I have found a divine feeling in a temple of any religion – a feeling of eternal peace, of a satisfaction, of a positivity.


I love going to Mount Mary church and have visited Haji Ali Dargah and a few other mosques in Aurangabad and Ahmedabad. Visiting GoldenTemple and another Gurudwara called ‘ManiKarna’ in Manlai were one of the most memorable experiences of my life. Though I don’t prefer going to crowded places much, I like visiting SiddhiVinayak and Mahalaxmi temples in Mumbai. During one of my visits in Vadodara there was a private temple – owned by a family, Jaggan Nath Temple and another Kashi VishwaNath temple – both are etched in my memory forever! Visit to Swami Naarayan Temple in Delhi was also an Amazing experience.

I used to attend Aartis on Thursday evenings in a Saibaba temple in Malad. I had attended Aarti in a CheharMata temple in Mandropur(a small village in Gujarat) a few evenings when I was there. I had attended Aarti in RiddhiVinayak Ganesh Temple a few times and during all these occasions of attending an Aarti, I have felt a kind of energy flowing into me, in to everybody around clapping during the Aarti. With those musical lines of Aarti, I feel I am directly communicating with God.
It’s again a feeling which cuts me across from the world outside and connects me directly to God. I wonder then, why don’t I attend an Aarti every day?


When ever I go to RiddhiVinayak Ganesh Temple near my home, I pray. I close my eyes, fold and join hands in Namaskar mudra and feel that something within me, my aatma in the form of a jyoti - is moving out. It flies and goes outside the temple. It moves towards sky. It enters the universe far, far above earth and enters a bigger Jyoti which we call as Parmeshwar or Ganapati bappa. At this moment, I start praying,” O God, please burn all the vices, all the weaknesses, all the negativity present in my soul and fill it with fresh energy, new strengths and great positivity and all the good qualities.” I wait for a few seconds for letting God do that and then feel that the spirit gets separated from Paramaatma Jyoti and starts moving back towards me. It enters the temple and finally comes back into my body. This entire process is very quick and takes only a few seconds. But this happens only when I am in a temple.

At times, when I am feeling very low or depressed then I go to a temple and I feel better. I sit for a few minutes in the temple and try to feel the serenity and purity around. I observe people praying and children playing.


I love roaming and visiting new places very much. I make it a point to visit temples whenever I go to a new city or a new location. Even when I have gone for picnics, I remember of having attended a temple or two at that new place. I had gone to Pune and Chennai for some official work and found and visited new temples. I had gone to Daman for picnic and had attended a prayer in a Church there. I had gone to various places during my honeymoon and there also at all the places me and my wife stayed, we attended lot of temples.


I recollect two-three experiences during these temple visits in these far-off cities.

I had gone to Pune for official work and after the work, I managed to visit two Ganesh Temples of the famous AshtaVinayak eight temples. My journey to these temples was very unique and interesting. I sat on a hay pile in a truck and reached the temple at RaanjanGaon! I took an interesting local transport ride to reach another AshtaVinayak temple.

My visits and journey to temples of Dwaarka, Somanath and Nageshwar in Gujarat were also very very interesting.

I had gone to Chennai for official work and after the work I visited a few temples. Temples of South India are peculiar and lovely. I visited a very old (more than thousand years they claimed) Shiva temple – Kapalishwar temple. It was a beautiful grand temple with hundreds of Shivalingas of different sizes.

The next day I visited Kamakshi Temple in Kanchipuram and a few other famous temples there. One thing I very much disliked was that the foreigners were not allowed in a few of these temples. I heard in other few temples of South India, even women are not allowed. I can’t digest this idea. Why shall there be any rule for a certain sect for entering or for not allowing them to have a Darshan. After all God treats every one equal and God does not believe in any kind of discrimination. Then why we humans make such discriminatory rules and regulations?

My most favourite part of temples of South India is the dome.


It is called Gopuram and it has got a very peculiar and beautiful pyramidal shape. I loved the Gopurams of Meenakshi Mandir in Madurai and that of Rameshwaram temple near Hyderabad. I loved the Gopurams of Tirupati Temple as well as Mahabalipuram temples. There are so many Gods and goddesses in Gopuram facing all four directions. I also love that pillar outside south Indian temples lit with lots of Diyas. Though the south Indian temples are generally dark (or so they seem due to the Black stone used for constructing them) , their grandeur make you feel good and little in front of God or Goddess residing in them.



Rameshwaram temple was huge and houses more than 21 wells inside its premises. One has to take a bath in the holy sea water , at the shore of which this ancient temple is standing, and purify his/her body with all 21 well’s water before finally having Darshan of Jyotirlinga of Shiva which is believed to be built by God Rama himself. It’s a great experience.


I have been lucky to visit 6 jyotirlingas (one I just mentioned – Rameshwaram). There are 12 of them across India. I wish to visit and have the holy Darshan of all of them. One thing I dislike about these famous Jyotirlinga temples and other big famous temples is the commercialization in and around these temples. If you wish to have quick Darshan or touch the idol and enter the GarbhDwar of the temple, spend money, buy Tickets and you can do that.

On one side you will see some devotees rolling their body literally on the ground and going for Darshan and on the other side you will find different queues for the Darshan of same God. Pay more and your queue will be shorter! Inside temples also there will be Pundits treating devotees differently depending on their spending capacity. Prasads will also be available in different denominations! I simply abhor these ideas. In front of God, I believe everybody is same – be it a millionaire or a pauper. Then why we have this differential treatment for different class of people?


I love the NeelKanth Mahadev temple located in the middle of a small forest like area near Paadaa Kendra in Mahesana in Gujarat. (My in-laws place).It is actually not a typical temple. It does not even have roofs or walls. But still it is one of my most favourite temples and whenever I sit in this temple, the feelings I experience can not be described in words.


Squirrels run all around me whenever I am praying the Lord Shiva sitting in this temple and doves and sometimes Peacocks play in the surrounding area of this small temple. I loved a few similar temples in Surat - Gujarat also.




Few years back we had gone to Daman in one of my office picnics. There are some very beautiful churches there. I could not help myself from visiting a huge ancient Portugal Church. There was some special kind of prayer going on when I entered the church. Everybody was standing in two queues and the Father was giving a white sugar candy to them as they bowed their heads to him and they were eating that candy as Prasad and moved forward. I also was very curious and just joined the queue without thinking much. As my turn came, I also bowed down my head and father handed me a candy. But he suddenly realized something and asked me to return the candy back as only Christians were allowed to eat it as Prasad. I was quite embarrassed. I could not decide what happened was right or wrong. I left the church with remorse. But then realized that I should not have tried to be part of a custom which I knew nothing about.











I have many more such experiences to share but place and time permits me to write this much only for this Blog! I would surely share other such experiences in future Blogs...

Mumbai Terror Attacks...When would I see the World Without Terrorism...???

Yesterday(On 28-Nov-2008, Friday) evening I was going to Churchgate, after my office hours, to read the news at Aakashwani(All India Radio).It was just 06:30 PM but due to winter being on it's way, it was dark and the street was almost empty. I felt like asif it was midnight. All the shops were shut. The city which is always on the run had come to a sudden halt and for the first time in my life I experienced fear while walking on the street. The fear of terrorists, the fear of sudden firing, the fear of unexpected sudden fatal attack...Since last two nights and two days they have made my city worse than hell. They have killed more than 100 and injured more than 300 innocent people of my city. They have succeeded in creating panic and grief among all of us.The entire nation is watching this drama. The whole world is condemning this ghastly and inhuman act. They are just 15 (or even less than that) but they have stirred the entire country. They came to Mumbai by sea route Wednesday night(26-Nov-2008) and dispersed in groups of two to three and started firing indiscriminately at various places liked Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Cama Hospital, Nariman Bhavan and many others. Some of them entered two top-Indian 5 star hotels - Taj and Oberoi (Trident). They have made hundreds of people captive and have already killed more than 100 for no reason. They are constantly firing bullets through state-of-the-art machine guns like AK47 as if playing with the toy and using hand grenades and other destructive weapons they have not only destructed valuable properties but also put a shameful blot on the capital hub of India - Mumbai.They have killed many foreign nationals also.They have killed a person who gave them water to drink.They have killed ATS (Anti Terrorist Squad) head and a few other top police men. They have killed businessmen and commmonmen. NSG Commandos had to be called to fight with them and to save lives of the captives they had held in two hotels and Nariman Bhavan building. An NSG commando and many hotel staff-members have lost their lives in the battle with these terrorists. There were lot many people waiting outside the hotels and the building terrorists had used for their mission.

I can write pages and pages of this episode and talk about fragile security system and corrupted political system and all that but I would not talk about all that any more.

Today morning, a courier person came to my home for delivering a mail. Usually my mother or sisters offer water to the postman or courier guys even without them asking for the same. But today my sister took the mail from the courier fellow from closed door only and when he asked for some water, she latched the door and came inside to get the water. This small example shows how terrorism and similar things affects us.It scares us. It makes us not put faith in fellow humanbeing.It destructs the bond between two humanbeings.

Why they do this? Don't they have heart? What would they finally achieve by creating a kingdom of terror? I remember the beautiful prayer song from the movie '1947:earth':

ईश्वर अल्लाह तेरे जहाँ मे नफ़रत क्यू है जंग है क्यू?
तेरा दिल तो इतना बड़ा है इंसान का दिल तंग है क्यू?

कदम कदम पर सरहद क्यू है? सारी ज़मीन जो तेरी है
सूरज के पहरे धरती है फिर क्यू इतनी अंधेरी है
इस दुनियया के दामन पर इंसान के लहू का रंग है क्यू

गूँज रही है कितनी चीखे प्यार की बाते कौन सुने
तूट रहे है कितने सपने इनके टुकड़े कौन चुने
दिल के दरवाज़ो पर ताले तालो पर है ज़ंग ये क्यू

I really wonder at times why humans have this vice called Greed? They want to conquer the world. They want the religion they are following to be accepted by all. They want to rule the earth. But consider the entire universe. How infinitesimally small we are. And afterall without God's wish does even a Leaf can turn? Then why this destruction? Why this bloodbath? Why this war?

Can't we simply live as Human beings? Without any labels of religion? Without any boundaries? Without any greed-ill wish? Just as a Human...

When would I see the world without terrorism? A world where peace and humanity prevails...

God into Human Body...???

I want to start this blog by asking you a question: Do you believe in God entering into a human body? I want this blog to be interactive. So please all the readers share your thoughts on the subject matter as comment (you can enter it using the link provided at the bottom of this Blog).I would like to know what you all think on this subject.
I believe in existence of God. I pray. I go to temples also. But I don't think God can enter into a human body. I have encountered many such incidents which I would like to share with you all.
There was a lady in whose body, they said, Ganesha enters. She has got a very good personality and there is certainly an aura around her. She has got excellent oratory skills. Her house is always full of devotees. Lot of people come to her for seeking solution of their problems. She sits in trance, hears the problem and suggests a remedy/solution. She gives some rice particles and/or a flower and asks the solution-seeker to do some number of fasts or may be to feed cow for a few days or such similar thing. I had also visited her place when I was a very young child. Till day my family members visit her place sometimes. But I don’t go now.

There was another lady in whose body, it is believed that KalikaDevi comes. Ditto same description of her place and devotees as in the above case. One peculiar thing in this case is that on Kali-Chaudas night (the night before Diwali) she appears completely different. She sits also in a different way, with one leg bent and the other half bent. Her tongue comes out so much that one would get scared looking at her this swaroop. An ordinary human being may not be able to bring out his or her tongue this much. She applies a big Red bindi on her forehead and keeps her hairs open (untied).She resembles Kalimata. Faint-hearted people may get heart-attack out of fear, if they see her in her this avataar. Her whole body shivers/vibrates and she moves her head and face in a circular motion. There are so many devotees on this night at her place that her whole home gets full with people and people occupy and fill up her neighbours’ home also.


One of my male friends is a great worshipper of DeviAmba and GanpatiBappa and celebrates both these festivals with great fervour and devotion. I have attended aartis during Navartri and GaneshUtsav at his place. He sings these aartis without referring book and also recites many Sanskrit shlokas after the aarti which he remembers by-heart(I wonder how?). On specific days during these festivals, he also becomes different. He also does what we call in Gujarati 'Dhune chhe' (ધુણે છે) .(Shakes the body with great power)This friend of mine is almost same age as mine and is a well-educated person. We may have to shift towards the walls and give him enough space when 'God' enters his body.

One of my aunts says Meladi Ma enters her body, another believes Bhuvaneshwari Ma enters into her. An uncle who visits my place can call Ashapura Ma whenever he wishes to call her into his body. My family members even though, elder than these people, bow down to them and seek their Aashirwaad when respective Gods enter their bodies.

At times, the people in whose bodies God enter become violent also and they hurt the person in front of them. They may slap the person or call certain person by calling out his/her name if that person is not in the vicinity. They remember old incidents and quote them during the conversation with the people in front of them while constantly shaking their hands and sometimes with their eyes moving in circular motion or in the upward direction.

I don't believe in this phenomenon. Earlier I used to when I was a child. During my S.S.C exam I had gone for the darshan of KaliMata Woman and seeked her blessings and kept the rice she had given me in my pocket while writing the exam. I had scored 90.85% in S.S.C exams. But today I am sure, it was my hardwork (and luck also) that fetched me good result. One of my cousins also had gone and seeked her blessings, but he had failed!

Today, I firmly believe that God can not enter a human body. Human is so small and God is so great that even if the human wishes/believes God enters his/her body, it may be a state of mind and a psychological phenomenon. Humans commits so many sins consciously or unconsciously that something as great as God can not enter the poor human body.

May be one of the reasons why they do so (not all of them though) is to garner attention and seek respect.May be psychologically they start believing that God enters their body to curb an inferiority complex or may be to show that they are special.In some specific cases, I am unable to decide why those individuals must be believing/behaving so.

What are your views?

Reading...

Reading is a very good hobby, a very good activity.Every wise and smart individual must read a lot.
I love reading. I strongly feel good reading can affect your personality in a very strong and positive way.
When you read fiction, you reach another world - a world of fantasy. Reading has got the power to enthrall you, make you feel moments of ecstasy or agony. You may laugh with the characters of the story or cry with emotion. I get goose bumps while reading. A good story makes the hair on my hands stand and I get the intense feeling of sharing that good story with a friend who has the same sensitivity. Reading may take you temporarily into another world - far from all your present worries and tensions. If the novel is interesting enough, you want to read one page after the other till the end day and night without the track of time. You might get addicted to it!
Non-fiction work also can work wonders in building your personality and character. They have the power to transform you into a new Avatar full of positivity, full of optimism. You can learn how to live a happy and successful life. I have personally benefited a lot by reading self-help books in my college days. They teach you right techniques to not only tackle the worldly problems but teach you how you can use mental power in healing and to achieve your personal goals.
Reading should start at very early age. Then it will become a habit. If a child reads stories, it becomes a better human being. It becomes creative, a thinker, and a right decision-maker. Stories like Aesop fables and Panchatantra Tales not only interest a child but also teach it the right lessons early in life.Researchers have supported the fact that a pregnant lady should read good books during her pregnancy and it will have positive impact on the child that will born.You should encourage children to read.Haven't you noticed how much children enjoy stories?Then why not make them read those stories themselves?
Elderly people also read to pass the time.You must have noticed your grandmother or grandfather reading the BhagvadGeeta or some other holy book.When others neglect elderly people,books become their best friend and Reading becomes their main and best activity to pass time.
Good reading gives you confidence. You learn how to talk in the outside world, how you can appear in interviews, group-discussions, debates. You read more and not only your vocabulary improves but also you have more stuff to talk, to discuss.
Reading newspapers is also a very important and good activity. You keep yourself abreast with current affairs. You can become alert and learn from others mistakes which appear in news. These days newspapers don't just print news but a gamut of other interesting stuff like interviews of celebrities, spiritual or inspirational articles, contests and much more. I spend a good amount of everyday time in reading newspapers and it has actually helped me a lot. I start my day with the toothbrush in one hand and a newspaper in the other! I read all the supplements provided with the main newspaper. I have the habit of carrying old newspaper supplements in my bag wherever I go. (That’s the reason you will always find me with a bag!)I read whenever I get the time and the space. In the crowded train every morning, I fold the newspaper article multifold, may be two-three months old supplement of Times or DNA or Gujarat Samachar and read it. At times other passengers look at my position and think I am crazy. There is no space to even move a limb and I manage to read in that situation. But that is how much I love and enjoy reading!