Navratri: Some Facts That You and Your Kids Might Like to Know.

Nava meaning nine, and ratri meaning night. Navratri in Sanskrit means nine nights. Shakti or feminine power is celebrated or worshiped during the sacred time of Navratri. Forms of shakti worshiped during Navratri are: 1. Durga, 2. Bhadrakali, 3. Amba, 4. Annapoorna, 5. Sarvamangala, 6. Bhairavi, 7. Chandika, 8. Lalita, 9. Bhavani.

In Chamunda Tantra we find these 10 forms of Shakti, called the "Dasa Mahavidya".

"Kali Tara Mahavidya Shorashi Bhuveneshwari
Bhairavi Chinnamasta cha Vidya Dhumavati tatha
Vagala Sidhdhavidya cha Matangi Kamalatmika
Ete Dus Mahavidya Sidhdhavidya Prakirtita".

These 10 "Mahavidya" are; Kali, Tara, Mahavidya, Shorashi, Bhuveneshwari, Bhairavi, Chinnamasta, Dhumavati, Vagala, Matangi and Kamala.

The "Brihat Dharma Purana" describes how these 10 forms of Durga Shakti have appeared. Sati, wife of Lord Shiva, wanted to go to her father's house, because her father, Daksha, was organizing a huge "yagya" (fire sacrifice). However, Daksha had not invited Lord Shiva to go and attend, so Shiva advised Sati not to go there. This angered Sati so much that fire emitted from her third eye, and she changed into Kali, a dark skinned Devi. Later, as the times passerby various other forms of Maa Kali took form.

The Navratri before Dusshera  being celebrated is known as Sharad Navratri, also known as Maha Navratri (The Great Navratri). Other months of Navratri celebrations include;

1. Vasanta Navaratri: Vasanta Navaratri, is nine days dedicated to the nine forms of Shakti (Mother Goddess) in the month of Chaitra (March–April) and is observed during the Shukla Paksha (waxing phase of moon) of Chaitra. The beginning of this Navratri also marks the start of the new year as per the Hindu mythological lunar calendar (Vikrami Samvat).
2. Ashad Navratri  : Gupta Navaratri, also referred as Ashadha or Gayatri or Shakambhari Navaratri, is nine days dedicated to the nine forms of Shakti (Mother Goddess) in the month of Ashadha (June–July). Gupta Navaratri is observed during the Ashadha Shukla Paksha (waxing phase of moon).this is mostly observed by shaktas only.
3. Sharad or Maha Navaratri: This is the most important of the Navaratris. It is simply called Maha Navaratri (the Great Navratri) and is celebrated in the 'pratipada' (first day) of the bright fortnight of the lunar month of Ashvin. Also known as Sharad Navaratri, as it is celebrated during Sharad (beginning of winter, September–October).
4. Paush Navaratri: Paush Navaratri is nine days dedicated to the nine forms of Shakti (Mother Goddess) in the month of Tarashi (December–January). Paush Navaratri is observed during the Paush Shukla Paksha (waxing phase of moon).
5. Magha Navaratri: Magha Navaratri, also referred as Gupta Navaratri, is nine days dedicated to the nine forms of Shakti (Mother Goddess) in the month of Magha (January–February). Magha Navaratri is observed during the Magha Shukla Paksha (waxing phase of moon).

Thus Navratri is celebrated 5 times a year, and it is always celebrated 9 days at a time.

The festival of Navratri celebrates the welcoming of Spring and Autumn. The end of Navratri, or the tenth day, marks Dusshera to celebrate as the day Lord Ram's victory over  the demon King Ravan in Lanka. During the Dusshera celebration on the 10th day effigies of  “Ravan” are set on fire, representing the conquering of good over evil.

Diwali is celebrated 20 days after, on the day Lord Rama returns to Ayodhya as the king along with Sita, Lakshman as well as Hanuman. Diwali (Deepawali) is known as the "Festival of lights", signified through diyas, which are lit to guide Lord Rama’s back to his kingdom, after  14 years of exile.

Celebrations in Gujrat are especially known for their extravagant garba celebrations every night during the nine days of Navratri. In older times the dance was performed with a clay lantern at the center representing the Devi. Dancing around this lantern symbolises that each human has this form of energy within him or her. Being performed in a circle, it may also represent the cyclical belief of time.

In West Bengal, India, an elaborate Durga Puja (the biggest festival in Bengal) is performed with statues of Durga slaying the demon buffalo Mahishasura in temples and communities. They are worshiped for five days, and on the fifth day, the idols are immersed into the river.

In Tamil Nadu women belonging to the Iyer community invite married women to their homes in the evenings and gift them with accessories like bangles, earrings and other items that are symbolic of their marital status. These are suggestive of prayers for their husbands and their long lives. A coconut, beetle leaves and beetle nuts, and money are also given as gifts to these women. A special recipe called ‘Sundal’ made of lentil seeds and pulses is made on each day and served to the guests. Some also display a `Golu` at their homes. `Golu` is an arrangement made on a make-shift staircase with nine stairs. Each stair symbolizes each day of Navratri. Decorative items, idols of Gods and Goddesses are placed on the stairs. In most cases, the dolls that are used for the ‘Golu’ are handed over from generation to generation.

In Andhra Pradesh `Batukamma Panduga` is celebrated during Navratri especially in the Telangana region. `Batukamma Panduga` means `Come Alive Mother Goddess`. Batuku in Telugu means life and Amma,which means mother. These nine days are dedicated to Shakti and are celebrated in a very unique way. Women prepare `Batukamma` which is actually a beautiful flower stack, arranged with seasonal flowers, in seven layers. It is made to look like a pot made of flowers. So, this festival is devoted to celebrating universal motherhood. Women wear silk sarees and gold ornaments and make the most of these nine days to dig a hole in their husband’s pockets!After preparing their respective Batukamma’s, women gather in the evening for the ritual. They place them in the centre and dance around them by singing folk songs dedicated to Goddess Shakti. Then they march towards a lake or any other water body and set afloat their Batukammas.

In Kerala, the festival is celebrated only for the last three days of Navratri. Ashtami, Navami and Vijaya Dashmi are of utmost importance as these 3 days are the most auspicious time. During the puja books, musical instruments (if any) are placed in front of Goddess Saraswati’s idol on the day of Ashtami for granting them wisdom and knowledge. On the tenth day, the books are taken out for reading.

In Karnataka, celebration of Navratri dates back to the times of Raja Wodeyar since 1610 AD. People spend these 9 nights in the the same way as were by the great Vijayanagara dynasty. It’s called `Naada Habba’ in the state. However, the basic reason for the celebrations remains the same - victory of Goddess Durga over demon Mahishasur, known to be a resident of Mysore. The celebrations include procession of elephants on the streets along with community fairs and exhibitions of handicrafts and artefacts.

In Maharashtra, The Navratri celebrations in Maharashtra, bear resemblance to Gujarat owing to its geographical proximity to the state. Each and every locality has its own garba and dandiya nights celebrations and the whole family drenches itself in the festive spirit. Women put haldi and kumkum on the foreheads of the married women as a gesture of `Saumangalyam`. Navratri is also an auspicious time to initiate new beginnings, buying a new home or a car. Women invite their friends to their homes and gift them with a coconut, beetle leaves and beetle nuts.

In beautiful hill state of Himachal Pradesh Navratri is celebrated as community festivals where people meet up with their relatives to collectively pay their respect to the "Almighty". It is the most important festival of Himachal. The 10th day of this grand festive season is called "Kullu Dusshera". Songs and dance are common ways to express devotion and exhibitions of various items are set-up. On Dusshera or Dashami, the deities from the temples of the village are taken out in processions with much fanfare and musical dances.

In most of the northern states that include Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, Punjabis celebrate Navratri by paying obeisance to Goddess Shakti. Most of the people in Punjab go on a fast for the first 7 days. They also organize a jagraata (keeping awake whole night by singing devotional songs dedicated to the Goddess). On the 8th day or Ashtami, the fast is broken by organizing a bhandara (community feast that includes puris and halawa chana). Nine young girls (Kanya) are worshiped as a mark of respect to Devi (Goddess) representing 9 forms of Goddess Durga. These young girls are offered good food and are gifted with a red chunri.

I wish, If Mighty Ma Ganga Was Just The Sabarmati River Front.

An estimated daily more than 4 billion litres of human sewage is discharged into the Ma Ganga Ganges. More than 300 million litres daily in the city Varanasi alone. The existing treatment plants have capacity to treat only 1.1 billion litres per day, leaving a huge deficit. Excessive pollution, put the Ganges in the most polluted rivers in the world. Coliform bacteria levels in the Ganges have also been tested to be at 5,500, a level too high to be safe for agricultural use let alone drinking and bathing. The leather industry in Kanpur with more than 400 tanneries uses chemicals such as toxic chromium compounds. Chromium levels now stands at more than 70 times the recommended maximum level. Same is the case with other heavy metals more importantly lead.


Several projects and plans have been in place with many thousands of crores already spent in the last 30 years. Phase I of the Ganga Action Plan (GAP) was initiated in 1985, completed in 2000. The second phase is still on. Other projects amounting to Rs 2589 crore have been sanctioned under the NGRBA programme. This includes a pollution abatement project at Varanasi worth Rs 496.90 crores. WHO has initiated a 10-year project starting mid-2011 with an plan outlay of more than 9000 crores.

One cannot rejuvenate rivers without handling core issues starting from its source– in this case, the Himalayas.

All I understand with all this monies spent and actions and plans laid with ever increasing pollution in Ganga in Varanasi and elsewhere that what is additionally required is willingness to changes our ways, implementation of action plans with honesty and intelligent city management system in place.

At the end, I appreciate and wish good luck to the new prime minister of India, who has repeated his vow in his thanks giving (Ganga Aarti) in Varanasi yesterday to clean Ma Ganga. However, I just wish if Ganga was just a kilometre stretch of Sabarmati riverfront in Ahmedabad, which might look inviting to tourists, but in reality the river is dead both upstream and downstream.

A blog in short: To Sum-up My Happy Take on Today's Developments (Indian General Elections 2014)

1. Decimation of Indian National Congress.

2. Decimation of BSP, DMK and to a large extent several regional parties like SP, JDU, SAD and monsoon cockroaches (i.e. Independents).
3. Emergence of an Indian voter shifting their loyalties to casteless and anti-religious vote banks.
4. Acceptance by Indian people that despite several negativities in our midst, negative campaign alone can not win votes. One has to persevere and perform.
5. That India is not willing to live in the past any more and want to move forward from 1984 and 2002. They want to live in the present, work or at least want to see someone working for their better future.
6. Emergence of new choice amongst young and old alike that what they want solutions, capability or at least a hope, to gain their support in the ballot boxes. India seems ready and willing to experiment with risks but not betrayal of their support at any cost.

With all above in mind, I can predict with certainty that India's voter would monitor the performance and words for next 3 years (Assembly elections in 2017) and will throw at us a decisive victory by an alternative force that is likely to be AAP or its like. 

I’m an outsider to Delhi and to politics as well- Narendra Modi

On may 5th 2014, Mr Modi presents his position in Delhi politics as being an outsider. I read this, the following day on the Times of India website. Following is my comment made on the online TOI which (I believe) most likely due to technical reasons was rejected repeatedly to be published. The automated reply was "can not be published due to the inappropriate content!!!).

Why BJP's prime ministerial nominee Mr Modi and his close associates within BJP seem super-confident about getting a majority on May 16. Indeed, BJP had exuded similar optimism in two previous general elections back in 2004 and 2009. In 2004, many then BJP leaders even allocated portfolios to themselves. But the question is, what makes them feel them to be luckier this time round? Reason are many but most important ones are; public anger against UPA's and their allies corruption and mis-governance, which led to unbearable price-rise, cost of living, even survival and resulting into extreme anti-incumbency. A large part of the credit for raising awareness and hope in India's public and especially amongst youth (a significant chunk of them are first time voters in Election-2014) goes to Anna-Kejriwal's, India Against Corruption movement and now AAP carrying the momentum forward to keep peoples enthusiasm alive.

I think, BJP should rather be grateful than abusive and violent for what they have gained because those who really worked hard and should have gained in this process-of-change-over have lost a great deal. This happened mainly due to lack of organised funding, poor man-power and resource management and lack of political think-tank, locally disorganised units and most evidently too quick expansion and too big a challenge on their shoulders. Passion seems to be their only weapon, food and finance. Looking back to India's own freedom struggle, these were the things those mattered then and even now, when you look at Kejriwal's fledgling AAP.

Undoubtedly, AAP would neither be winning a great deal nor will be a king-maker on May 16-17, 2014. But an important question is and must be lingering on the minds of people, who gave everything for the AAP movement believing that India can and will change its "way of politics" and hence "governance" and that is what is going to happen between post-election 2014 till 2019.

Frankly it seems no different unless momentum is kept, strategies are made, reorganisations are done more objectively and indeed in a more transparent manner. Media presence is maintained and revolutionised  not only for razing controversies but by careful issues-management of public concern, keeping in mind every section engaged in the diverse India both for TRP hungry media and possibly disillusioned India-at-large, post-elections -2014.

On the flip side, however if Modi's or BJP's self-proclaimatory governance plank can achieve, what India and Indians truly do need at this moment, who can be in argument with them, if only one has in his mind the best interest of the nation at the top.

Nine excellent lessons from politicians viewed as scoundrels. (Original Title: निकृष्ट समझे जाने वाले नेताओं से मिल सकती हैं 9 उत्कृष्ट सीख)

(Original author, Kalpesh Yagnik, National Editor of the Dainik Bhaskar. Translated by Prof Nirmal Gupta.)

Snake you did not become decent,
You did not even learned to live in the city.
May I ask one thing? Will you answer?
Then where did you learn to bite? Where did you get the poison?-Ageya (अज्ञेय)

This time around, here is a column on some of the untouched aspects of the leaders contesting in the world 's largest democratic elections.

They deserve scorn. They’re the center of ridicule. They’ve wrath of anger. They’re the reason of frustration. They’re a symbol of decadence. In different ways these leaders are defined so. Those contesting and who are making others to contest parliamentary election of this nation are ridiculed much more badly. Corrupt. Tainted, Selfish. Opportunist. Greedy for power are some of the titles given to them by us all.

This is indeed a fact on a wider scale. This is not, what we are calling each other but they themselves are addressing with. Life is, but the most influential school of politics. Yet, during election campaigns by these leaders seen so disgustingly perform acts can still teach us life’s inspiring lessons.

To understand this seemingly amazing thing, we need to observe following nine observations for serious understanding:

1. Demonstrate the ability to move the mountains
2. Ability to think until the cessation of brainpower
3. To challenge one’s own physical endurance
4. Keep calm and everyone together even when the carpet is pulled under ones feet.
5. Endure and protect one’s own, spewing venom.
6. Suffer constantly the ridicule of being the worst and yet respond lovingly
7. Meet absolute strangers, as if they’re own loved ones
8. Dissolve like water in an ever-changing scenarios
9. Neither perturbed of the past nor fear of the future. Stay joyous in the present.

1. Demonstrate the ability to move mountains:
Narendra Modi is the most relevant evidence, a tea seller in his childhood from a village like Vadnagar. An inferior and a backward amongst the powerful, eminent and mighty elite Brahmins, is today a top contender for prime minister of great India. Gradually he is poised to be the prime minister and going to move mountains. He is not alone. Even the one of Congress’s Rahul Gandhi, who was once called 'biggest defeat so far’, is also working day-and –night, night-and-day in his endless struggle to mountain, but only if he can pull thorough.

Look at Jayalalitha. She was a cine star. No one took her seriously. People come and go and she kept moving. She became the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. She lost and again won and kept moving. She was exposed in the Assembly. Curtains were pulled open by investigating agencies from her vast estate and unaccounted wealth. And now she is called a revolutionary leader. Relying on just one state she has become claimant of the prime ministerial position. She may not become one but has shown the ability to hold and move a mountain.

This is courage.

Then there is Mulayam Singh Yadav, Mayawati, and Mamata Banerjee. And then there is suddenly, over nightly famed Arvind Kejriwal. Everyone has rushed to move mountains. All this is an amazing motivator

2. Ability to think until the cessation of brainpower:
When despite a massive anti-incumbency environment again a Congress-led government came into being in the Centre credit was given to large rural vote due to attributed to the MNREGA scheme. Who would believe that a similar wages scheme was brought-in by the same Pranab Mukherjee, then finance minister in Indira Gandhi’s government! Winning the election by bringing-in to appease and relax the agitated rural youth by a scheme 25 times bigger than the earlier one was entirely a mental struggle. It’s said that Congress had thought on this plan for 2 years. This time also they have churn their brain in introducing the food security bill, which could not be introduced and enforced before the General Election because of the inordinate delay in introducing parliamentary bill for introducing the massive 1.5 lakh crore scheme.

For BJP, mission 272 was appearing an imagination because except in Karnataka, they have not gained anything better than zero in the south. Thinking of this they have aligned with smaller parties in the south. During a fierce election debate on fake encounters Amit Shah forced out intensely sharp Jairam Ramesh- only as a result of thinking till the end. When Congress suppressed its debacle in four states by suddenly declaring its support to the Aam Aadmi Party. It was nothing but efficient thinking. Although they are not able to think like they have done before. But that’s a different matter.

3. To challenge one’s own physical endurance:
We can say, that it’s true that politicos understand the importance of hard work when contesting an election in order to win. But we are also in various contests of life, like - family, professional, social and economic. When do we work for 20-22 hours continuously for 2-3 months? And observe same pace and energy in a nominee, who is 70-75 year's old as is seen in a 25-26 year refreshed contenders.

In fact, electioneering is in itself a process that creates a bone-breaking environment. Elections are national gymnasium where new or old, all perform cardio, functional or strength- forget their age and energies.

4. Keep calm and everyone together even when the carpet is pulled under ones feet:
We all are afraid of those, who cheat. The basis of politics is fraud. Associations of thirty are destroyed in a moment during elections. It becomes immaterial, who has first pulled the carpet and from under whose feet.

5. Endure and protect one’s own, spewing venom:
When are we moved most in life? Then when someone throw us out unaware. Then when some of our own spew the venom freely on us. This is quite common during elections. Fighter not only endure such vocal opponents, but also protect them. LK Advani is one example. In Aam Aadmi party, which is talking about the new kind of politics, every third party leader has endured this situation a multiple times. Top elite leaders in BJP have endured criticism from several unwanted and rectified their mistakes. Where they have not endured, people have left the stage. To tolerate venom spewing own one must have a big heart.

6. Suffer constantly the ridicule of being the worst and yet respond lovingly:
Even a small criticism can make us tense – a serious charge is another thing. But which human has not been charged? Even when we humiliate a politico by calling him shameless cheeky- not only he endures it such frightening insults but constantly searches for an appropriate answer. And this he does every day.

7. Meet absolute strangers, as if they’re own loved ones:
It’s indeed a big motivator. It’s not easy to meet freely and openly with those we know too well. To do this, one needs an open mind, enthusiasm and boldness. This style of a politician is indeed inspiring.

8. Dissolve like water in an ever-changing scenarios:
Until yesterday, Colonel Sonaram was a Congress’s soldier and Jaswant Singh of BJP army in a blink of an eye are seen in a new role. All partners of Alagiri have changed. Sensing electoral defeats ahead many Central leaders - ministers have quit from the battle ground. This may be bad but, adaptability to new environment is crucial for life. Election teaches us to do so.

9. Neither perturbed of the past nor fear of the future. Stay joyous in the present:
Perhaps we could also do that too. It’s impossible to learn so much from an election but we must. Because although politicos are evil but not there qualities and characteristics.

When we can learn something's from a stray stone lying on the road then why not from a politico who is as insensitive as a stone?

(Link to the original article-http://article.wn.com/view-mobile/WNAT875189a292245f4edb22331fdc91cc8e/)

(Translated by Prof Nirmal Gupta. Head of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery at Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow April 12-14, 2014).

Let's Make A Choice Between Awake Unconsciousness or Conscious Awakening

Isn't it that everyone seeks peace and harmony? Isn't that we all experience agitation, irritation, disharmony on many occasions in our lives. Believe it or not but whenever we suffer, we can't just keep the suffering to ourselves; we invariably distribute our own suffering to others around us as well. Unhappiness and misery permeate the atmosphere around us and those who come in contact with us. Yet, we all wish so dearly at all times to live at peace with ourselves, and at peace with others. After all, we all are social beings.

But how are we to live peacefully? How are we to remain harmonious within, and maintain peace and harmony around us?

Gautam Buddha investigated and researched for 6 years the reasons and how can we be relieved of our misery. To understand his teachings of salvation from pain and misery, we have to understand the basic cause of our own suffering. Simply put His teachings makes it clear that whenever we start generating any negative emotion or impurity in the mind, we become unhappy.

"A negativity in the mind or impurity, cannot coexist with peace and harmony".

Question is how do we start generating this painful negativity?

We become unhappy when we find someone behaving in a way that we don't like, or when we find something happening which we don't like. Unwanted things do happen or wanted things do not happen, creating tension within, so tense, so full of negativity, that our lives becomes miserable. One way to resolve this problem; if nothing unwanted happens in life, that everything keeps on happening exactly as we desire. For this we must have the power to stop anything unwanted. We know that this is something impossible. There is no one in the world whose all desires are always fulfilled, in whose life everything happens according to his or her wish, without anything unwanted happening.Another way is that we stop react blindly to anything unwanted. When we stop getting affected or reacting to anything unwanted, we will are likely to remain with peace.

Question arise, how can we stop reacting blindly (unaware), when confronted with events that we don't like and how can we stop creating tension and remain peaceful and harmonious at all times?

A simple solution that we all know to this is that if something unwanted happens; then we should divert our attention to something else. For example, get up, take a glass of water, start drinking, or go for walk or leave the place of conflict etc.—our anger won't multiply. Some suggest to start counting; one, two, three, four or start repeating a word, or a phrase, or some mantra, perhaps the name of a god or saintly person towards whom we may have our devotion; and let the mind get diverted, and to some extent we'll be free of the negativity and anger sooner rather than later.

These solutions are quite helpful and they often work. With this technique mind feels free from agitation. However, the solution works only for a small period of time. By diverting the attention we try and push the negativity deep into the unconsciousness but that still continue to generate and even multiply deep down in us. On the surface, we may appear in peace and harmony, but somewhere deep there is a sleeping volcano of anger and suffering of suppressed negativity, which more often than not erupts in violent explosions. Thus we recognize that diverting the attention is only running away from the problem.

"Escape is no solution; we must face the problem."

The real solution lies deep inside us. Whenever negativity arises in the mind, just observe it, face it.

As soon as we start to observe a mental impurity, it begins to lose its strength and slowly withers away. This is a real solution; it avoids both extremes—suppression and expression.

Burying the negativity in the unconscious will not eradicate it, and allowing it to manifest as unwholesome physical or vocal actions will only create more problems. But if we just observe, then the anger and frustration passes away and we become free of it.

All this sounds wonderful, but is it really practical?

It's not easy to face one's own negativities and impurities. When anger arises, it so quickly overwhelms us that we can't even notice. Overpowered by anger, we perform physical or vocal actions which harm ourselves and others. Later, when the anger has passed, we start repenting, begging pardon either from that person or from the Almighty. But the next time, we when faced with a similar situation, we make the mistake of again reacting in the same manner. This continual repenting did not help. The difficulty is that we were not aware when negativity started. It begins deep in the unconscious mind, and by the time it reaches the conscious level it has gained so much strength that it overwhelms us, and we become incapable in observing it.

Gautam Buddha, discovered that whenever any impurity arises in the mind, two things happen simultaneously. One is that the breath loses its normal rhythm and other is abnormal sensations start to occur in our body. We start breathing harder whenever negativity comes into the mind. This observation presents itself as a practical solution.

An ordinary person cannot observe abstract fear, anger or passion. But with proper training and practice it is easy to observe our own respiration and sensations those are arising in our body. Respiration and sensations will help in two ways. First, they are like our very own personal observers. As soon as a negativity arises in the mind, the breath will lose its normality and will warn us, “Look, something has gone wrong!” We cannot scold the breath; we have to accept the warning. Secondly, the sensations will tell us that something has gone wrong. Then, having been warned, we can start observing the respiration and the sensations, and very quickly we may get rid of the negativity which has tried to overwhelm us.

Out of ignorance we keep reacting but when wisdom arises—the wisdom of observing reality as it is. When we cease to react unconsiously, then we are capable of real action—action from a balanced mind, a mind which sees and understands the truth. Such action can only be positive, creative, helpful to us and to others. Mental-physical phenomenon is like a coin with two sides. On one side are our emotions, on the other side are the respiration and sensations in the body. Thus, by observing the respiration or the sensations, we in fact observe our own mental impurities. In this way instead of running away from the problem, we face reality as it is. As a result, these impurities lose their strength; they no longer overpower us as they did in the past. If we persist, they eventually disappear altogether and we begin to live a peaceful and happy life, increasingly free of negativities.

With some amount of self training, We can achieve a state of awareness of our breathing and also of what is happening deep inside us. Whatever it is, breath or sensation, we learn to observe it without losing our mental balance. We stop reacting and multiplying our misery. Instead, we allow the defilements to manifest and pass away. The more one practices this technique, the more quickly negativities will dissolve. Gradually the mind becomes free of defilements, becomes at peace.

"A peaceful mind is always full of love—selfless love for all others, full of compassion for the failings and sufferings of others, full of joy at their success and happiness, full of equanimity in the face of any situation."

This is the essence of "Vipassana Meditation". This is what Buddha's message in brief and in simple terms. He never established or taught any religion, any “ism”. He never instructed those who came to him to practice any rites or rituals, or any formalities. Instead, he taught them just to observe nature as it is, by observing the reality inside and be consciously awake rather then in a state of awake unconsciousness. 

Thankful that I was trailed, snoopgate woman tells court

The lady, who was trailed by the Gujarat police, allegedly at the behest of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi told the Supreme Court on Tuesday, May 6, 2014 that she is 'thankful' that she was trailed and urged the apex court judges to block investigations to determine if the surveillance was legal and ordered by Modi.

Probably the first time, I'm hearing 'a victim thanking for an atrocity' (snooping causing breach in ones privacy and investigation into the matter but led by Gujarat Administration). Surprisingly, the vain lady is now requesting the apex court not to appoint SC's retired judge to investigate the same matter because it will breach her privacy. Amazing joke to laugh at....!!! Oh I can smell a fish here too. Probably the best in the world- they say it's HILSA (हिलसा).