Tukaram Maharaj and International Women's Day

Last evening as I watched the Marathi serial Tu Maazha Saangati, I was yet again filled with admiration and devotion for man who truly practiced what he preached.  But what is the connection to International Women's Day! Tukaram's wife, Avali has been branded as a cantankerous, ill tempered woman. By whom? by society particularly men.

What was Avali to do?
During the drought he distributed the grain in the house to villagers without keeping any for the family;
Tukaram the moneylender floated all the promissory notes in the river;
returned all pawned articles without collecting the money;
He would give provisions from his shop on credit and hesitated to collect money due;
He would invite people home when there was barely enough food for the family.

How was Avali to run the home? She had to feed her children, she had to clothe them? Where was the flour going to appear to feed an army of devotees whom Tukaram had invited home?

That was Tukaram, his complete faith in the Vithuraya that makes him a saint  which is why I love him, but my heart goes out to Avali, everytime Tukaram turned away from material prosperity, she saw the innocent faces of her three children and their need for clothes and sweets!! The otherwise compassionate Tukaram did not allow her the luxury of indulging their children.

Devotees of Tukaram and posterity who criticized Avali, didn't once consider what she went through!! Their own homes, hearths and wife were secure!

Because Avali, Kasturba, Kamala and more recently Jashodaben, made sacrifices we have Tukaram, Gandhiji, Pandit Nehru and Narendra Modi (no comparisons only examples)

My Visit to Ramana Ashram

As one steps into the Ramana Ashram in Tiruvanamalai, one experiences peace and silence. I had heard about Bhagwan for many years but it was only in October 2017 that I was able to make the pilgrimage to His Ashram. No where have I seen such order and organization in silence!

On our arrival at 2 in the afternoon, we were greeted by 'Doctor' who should have been having his siesta at the time. He handed us our room keys and told us since the kitchen was closed we should have our lunch at the famous Nilgiri Restaurant nearby. I didn't want to step out of the Ashram, but I was hungry. We checked into the simple clean room across the road, had lunch and after a short lie down - we had driven six hours from Coimbatore!

Padma talking to the peacock

 Padma chaperoned me back to the Ashram. There were many people in the Ashram but there was silence around. I saw the fabled peacocks unafraid of people. Unfortunately the monkeys mesmerized  me and I couldn't take a photograph of the monkey who drank at the tap as a resident held the tap pressed for him. Yet when a visitor offered his services to the monkey, the monkey snarled at him!

As I stood outside the room where the Maharishi spent his last hours in his mortal coil, I couldn't believe I was finally at the place where this great man lived. We spent sometime in the meditation hall, each one looking for himself within through silence.



Bhagwan's Samadhi

The experience at the Samadhi Hall cannot be captured in words, it has to be experienced. Devotees sitting in nooks and alcoves in meditation. Some crossed legs, some in Vajra Aasan, some with their legs stretched out - that is the greatness of the saint He did not prescribe physical actions. Padma told me that once during Bhagwan's lifetime, a devotee sitting with his legs outstretched during meditation  was asked  to sit crossed leg, it seems that promptly Bhagwan too crossed His legs. Since Bhagwan had arthritis, he would sit with this His legs stretched. Bhagwan had said one rule for everyone, and so the rule applied to Him as well. Since devotees many adopt any posture they like as long as they are connected with Him or within in silence.

The Samadhi Hall was filled with the chanting of the vedas.  Other devotes in silence were circumambulating the Samadhi for long stretches of time, lost in their own world I witnessed the puja at the Samadhi. I truly felt blessed as I drank the 'tirtham' from the Samadhi. Later I heard the chanting of the Aksharmanmalai, one of the many compositions of the master. The form of chanting - one verse by the ladies followed by the gents, carried me to a plane I had never been before.


A bird's eye view of the temple

The next morning we visited the great Arunachala Temple at the foot of the Arunachala Hill. The temple was Bhagwan's first stop when he came to Tiruvanamalai.  I got a bird's eye view of the temple when we climbed the Arunachala Hill to see Skandashram and the Virupaksha cave. The Arunachala Temple spread over 25 acres is dedicated to the fire element, here Shiva is worshipped as Agni.

This was my first visit by with His Grace it wont be my last.

Life is not made up of coincidences, it is a chain of purposeful incidents, which we can see only as the chain progresses. This chain never ends😊😊😊......One has to turn back to see the design!!
I unlearnt the concept of coincidences in James Redfield's Celestine Prophesy, unlearning was easy since it was so obvious that meaningful incidents make up life - that's how the Celestine Prophesy came my way!!

Child Beggars - Adult Givers

Some months ago I read an article in the TOI by Santosh Desai where is he said,  "begging is a form of work". How right he is. Despite all the drives and all the legislations there are beggars all over the country.

There are beggars at all major crossing in Delhi and Noida, cannot say for Gurgaon. Most of them at the crossings are from Rajasthan. Rajasthan as one knows is a drought prone state and so livelihood options are few in any case and if the crop fails they are none! Begging is thus a lucrative profession, though it is hard work, to stand out in the sun, rain and cold from morning to night could not be the easiest of tasks. That it is not a matter of life and death is clear, if one recalls there  were no beggars in sight during the CWG. Did they go hungry? I am sure they didn't! So then how and why is beggary ubiquitous in India? The giver needs them.

Little children weaving their way through cars to the 'tune' of traffic signals they would do that only if there was something to gain. Stop to think who gives them? For us adults its an act of penance but we are destroying the lives of generations. It is a clear relationship of  SUPPLY and DEMAND.

However, begging is the tip of the iceberg, behind it lies a sordid saga of kidnapping, trafficking and maiming of children. There are no simple answers on how to put an end to beggary.

These little ones are the symbols of the  greatest failure of  every policy that touches the lives of children.  How can we live with this failure?

Seeta's Untold Story

The Untold Story of Seeta - her journey through fields, palaces and forests

How could Ram, regarded the best among all men publicly humiliate his wife in the name of ‘Dharma’? How could Seeta the daughter of the great Janak accept this humiliation? and I embarked on a journey looking for Seeta.

....when he handed her to the Queen he is reported to have asked her to hold Janaki or the daughter of Janak. Thus I began my journey on this earth.

 

…marriage was the ‘ultimate’ milestone of our lives. Marriage and wedding were synonymous to us. I realised later it was around the ‘wedding’ that we had built our dreams. Marriage I discovered…..

 

…the tinkling of the bells on my anklets must have caught the attention of princes and one of them turned around.

 

…my father spoke at length on Dharma. “Knowledge of Dharma is not merely the knowledge of values……. Do not arrogate to yourself the idea that you with your own judgment can assess the truth……

 

Each of them told us their sons’ likes and dislikes with regard to food. I wondered who would tell our husbands what we girls liked, - or was that not important?

 

….it was not your husband who said those words; it was the King of Kosala. Never forget that what the Raghu Race does will be cited as classic norms by folks in all ages to come.

 

..“As for your purpose in life, Seeta, we come into this life alone and we depart alone….

 

…..I felt my little one kick me in the stomach and then I felt another kick; it was different from the first……

 

I was sure I wanted them to grow up as Kshatriyas and to be equipped to take on their role as Kings. Their mother would protect their rights and not accept a slice of the cake for them – the entire cake was theirs.

 

Rishi Valmiki seemed to be expecting me, “Come Seeta”, was all he said

 

Surely this is Seeta’s son, thought Ram – the unmistakable spark- only Seeta’s off spring could have it.