Food For Thought

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Significance of Sankaranti

Makarasankaranthi - Uttarayanapunyakala ! Greetings To All !



Makara Sankaranthi Greetings -"Tamaso maa jyothir gamaya "


Makara Sankaranthi Greetings -"Tamaso maa jyothir gamaya "


" Ohm namo baghavathe Sri Suryanarayanaya ! "

' Samyak kranti iti Sankaranthi ' - kranti means change and sankranti means a secured change.

Sankranthi confers peace and heralds a welcome change.

The Sun is the presiding deity among the planets of solar system.The life process exists only because of the Sun. Lead me from darkness to light is the message vibrant in Sankranthi.

The Sun starts His north ward journey in His stately chariot driven by seven mighty horses and enters the ' Makara', sign of the Zodiac.

The north is considered as Himachala. Himachala symbolises a heart that is pure and cool as ice (hima) and steady as a mountain (achala).

The message directs to enquire into the truth. Sankranthi signifies internal vision.

Sankranthi is a holy day and Adi Sankara took sanyasa on this day.

It is customary to offer a mixture of jaggery and sesame (til) on this day.

Jaggery is sweet and symbolises love.

Til is also known as sneha which means friendship.

Develop harmony towards everyone is Adi Sankara's message.

"Sweet Pongal", rice cooked with milk, jaggery and ghee, is offered to Sun God on this festive day .

We rejoice in resonating " Pongalo, Pongal " and greet everyone with respect and love.

Makara Sankaranthi Greetings to all !!

Tuesday, January 08, 2008

New Year greetings !


'A Happy New Year To All '

Days fly, months roll and the year dawns and we call it a new year! Are we not to make life simpler, but we find ourselves in a web, get more entwined in circles and find hard the way out. Here are some remedies or you can call it as old wine in a new .....

1 Auto Suggestion:-

We build castles in the air and look forward that the whole world would change for our sake. It would be wholesome if we could realise before long that this would be not only difficult but not feasible. Instead can we not change ourselves and tune our way of life to suit the neighbourhood. Don't try to correct others. Develop an attitude to accept them as they are.

2. Love-Hate Relationship

When we like something, our expectations swell. Many a time, we find that we don't get what we wished for. Frustration begins when disappointment follows. What hurts us most is that the response rate and the degree of response is not the same even from our near ones. The lesson will be what 'Geetacharya' says not to expect any results but only do our duty.

3.Increased wants lead only to increased woes :-

Wants are satiable as well as insatiable. Wants are also classified as 'necessary, comfort, luxury and the likes'. When desires increase there is no end to it. The more the wants, more the sufferings. It is something like that we find it extremely inconvenient to live without comforts. Why give room to increased wants. We can be contented with the little we have to live for the day, that is 'today', why worry about 'tomorrow'.

4. Comparisons are odious :-

It is human nature to compare one self with others . It leads nowhere. Life is a high way. We have to go long miles. It would be wise to make our ground strong and go in the right path to reach the chosen destination. Let you be the leader and set good examples than comparing with others to belittle yourselves to that of a follower!

Life is like a game of cards. The hand that dealt you is determinism, the way you play is the free will.. The harder we work, the more of success we 'll have. When we walk on the high way, 'priority-shifting' becomes mandatory, lest it should lead to a dead end. The hurdles will be cleared once we measure it with an appropriate yard stick and change the plans.

5. Have alternate plans:-

Success comes only after trials and failures act as a stepping stone for success. The alternate plans will serve as back-ups to reach the goal. The key is to strive hard.

6. Niche Strategies:-



We can't leave a footprint if we always walk on a tiptoe. A resolution, like the one on a new a year day on these lines will definitely help.
Reading gives us some place to go when we have to stay where we are. Expand the horizon of thinking by good reading and listening to good counsel from the learned and experienced.
Lead from strength to strength and avoid playing a losing game. " Look at the other way ", appreciate the snack is 90 percent fat free than as with 10 percent with fat. The right thinking will be to make the way brick by brick with the available resources.

7. Prayers :-

Prayers bring in and usher faith in oneself. Do your part with utmost faith and leave the rest to the almighty, omnipotent and omnipresent.