The glass half full..

At a meeting recently someone mentioned the much used analogy of the glass being half full or half empty. Reflecting on the meeting, a thought crossed my mind. Is it necessary that seeing the glass as half  full is being optimistic and half empty pessimistic? Can it not be that seeing it half empty is actually the ability to see the available potential for greater fullness? Also what is the frame of reference? If the frame of reference is changed to air then the glass is full irrespective of the amount of water! Indeed the half is only in reference to the size of the glass. The same amount of water in a glass half the size is a full glass (which only has the potential to become more empty - but is that being pessimistic?!).

What do you think?

Such is His Love

God comes to us all the time.
Sometimes in the form of people we love
to teach us Love.
Sometimes as those who irritate us
to show us areas of our mind that are weak.
Whether we learn or not,
He always comes.
Such is His Love.

Yes, God does comes to us,
to give us a chance to improve,
to express the perfection within.
Whether we express it or not,
He still comes.
Such is His Love

Happy Hanuman Jayanti!

Mangal moorti Maaruti nandan,
Sakal amangal mool nikandan

After a long time there is more than one blog post in a year - thanks to Shiksha's speech!

Hanumanji has always held a special place in my heart. Whenever I found myself in a crisis situation where I could turn to no one else for support, it was easy to turn to Him. And He never failed to deliver. Why else would He be called Sankat Mochan?!

Today, for some reason or other, seems to be an extra special Hanuman Jayanti day. Maybe because it falls on a Tuesday? I can only imagine what the crowds at the Sankat Mochan temple in Varanasi will be like, indeed at all temples dedicated to Hanumanji! As it is every Tuesday and Saturday the temple is packed!

I remember someone once asked my father at a Ramayan satsangh why Tuesday and Saturday are dedicated to Hanumanji. His answer, as always, was very fascinating as I had never considered the question before - if I am not mistaken neither had he! He said that Mangalvaar (Tuesday) is an auspicious day - from the word mangal which means ausipicious - whereas Shanivaar (Saturday) is usually considered an inauspicious day - hence many people worship Shani Dev on this day which is named after him. Shani Dev is very powerful and the Shani Graha when it affects someone has very dire consequences. One of the stories concerning the elephant head of Ganeshji attributes the destruction of the original head by the gaze of Shani Bhagvan. But as powerful as Shani Bhagvan is, his influence cannot affect Hanumanji. I got the following incidents from Wikipedia:

"The worship of Lord Hanuman is a panacea for the harsh effects of the 'unfavourable' presence of Lord Shani. In the Ramayana, Lord Hanuman is said to have rescued Shani from the clutches of Ravana and in gratitude, Shani promised Hanuman that anyone who prayed to Him (Hanuman), especially on Saturdays, would be rescued from the "malefic" effects of Saturn, or at the very least, the effects would be softened.

Another version of the encounter between Lord Hanuman and Shani Bhagavan is that once Shani climbed on to Hanuman's shoulder, implying that Shani's influence was beginning on Lord Hanuman. At this, Hanuman assumed a large size, and Shani was caught painfully between Hanuman's shoulders and the ceiling of the room they were in. As the pain was unbearable, Lord Shani requested Lord Hanuman to release him, promising in return, that if a person prayed to Lord Hanuman, he (Shani) would moderate or eliminate the malefic effects of his influence on that person; following this, Lord Hanuman released Shani." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shani)

Hence Hanumanji is worshipped on the most auspicious and inauspicious day of the week. On this most auspicious day of Hanuman Jayanti, may Hanumanji grant strength, knowledge and devotion to all!

Jai Bajrangbali!

Sri Rama Naumi

Yesterday was the start of Ramayan week. My wife Shiksha had to deliver a talk. She is becoming a true Ramkissoon in that she only finished preparing her speech at the last minute - albeit this was her first. Nevertheless with the grace of Sri Rama it went well. You can view the full speech here. Excuse any errors. You will find lots of unnecessary commas which she used to indicate places to pause!