Friday, September 18, 2020
Tuesday, August 18, 2020
Bhagwad Gita - It Is Your Own Story
During my hostel days in PUC, we used to have an hour of ‘Bhagwad Gita’ class on Sunday mornings. The lady who took it had least interest in Gita and it used to be a boring class. When she started in her monotonous tone “Dharmakshetre Kurukshetre” I would be dragged into the land of sleep and it used to be a struggle to keep my eyes open. Needless to say I gained absolutely nothing from those sleepy hours.
Same words with magical effect
Recently I started listening to Manoj Kaimal’s talk on ‘Bhagwad Gita’. And when he started “Dharmakshetre Kurukshetre”, I was captivated. He explained that the word ‘Kshetre’ means field (the war field in the setting of Mahabharat yudh) and also temple. This refers to our body. It is in our hands to make this physical body into a war field or a temple. I felt as if nectar started pouring into my inner core. It was very fascinating how every incident and words were compared to things in our daily life in such a way that it made a deep impact. From then on I was waiting eagerly for his Monday evening discourses.
Parikshit and the dead snake
Parikshit was the last king of Chandra Vanshi, the grandson of Pandavas and son of Abhimanyu. One day Parikishit was in a forest for hunting and he felt thirsty, so he went to sage Shamik. Sage was engrossed in his meditation and he didn't listen to King Parikishit. Such a humiliation prompted Parikishit to put a dead snake around Shamik's neck. After some time Shamik's son came to his father and on seeing a dead snake around his neck, he cursed Parikishit that he would be dead in seven days by getting bitten by a snake.
In our daily life when we get irritated by people, mindlessly we throw dead snakes at them. For example, while you drive when somebody doesn’t allow you to overtake, some abusive words may be uttered. We think these words are harmless (the other person hasn’t even heard it, right?), just like that dead snake. But we need to remember that every action of ours is going to come back to us. Once this fact sinks into our psyche, we will be very careful with our words and actions.
When you are in your own shoes
Arjun had single handedly fought and defeated the Kaurav sena with great warriors like Bhishma, Dronacharya etc. when he was in the guise of Brahannala. His mind or hands didn’t waver even once. But when he was in the battle field of Kurukshetra, in his real identity, he was trembling and his bow, Gandiva slipped from his hand.
When we confront difficult situations in life, standing in our own shoes, we get blinded and can’t see any solution. If we can just step aside, mind becomes calm and receptive to the solution that already existed.
Is your intellect blindfolded?
To face our life in a balanced way, we need to let our mind direct us under the guidance of intellect. Manoj beautifully described the reason why things get into a mess . Our mind is Dritharashtra, who was blind from birth and intellect is Gandhari. Gandhari chose to spend her life time blind folded. Same way we keep our intellect blind folded and let the mind run amuck and complicate our lives!
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PS: If anybody is interested to listen to Manoj Kaimal, it’s Rm 30 per talk, which can be paid through PayPal. Whoever is interested can mail at mkaimal@gmail.com. And Manoj will help you with payment and then send a Dropbox link to download the talk.
Thursday, July 30, 2020
Dentist- the sacrificial lamb of the millennium (Covid-19 effect)
It is interesting to take a look at the life expectancy of
dentists. A 2007 article by Randy Lang, “Stress in Dentistry - It could kill
you!” in ‘Oral Health’, reported that dental literature confirms dentists are
subject to a variety of stress-related physical and emotional problems. He
elucidates:
STUDIES AND STATISTICS
* The suicide rate of dentists is more than twice the rate
of the general population and almost three times higher than that of other
white collar workers.
* Emotional illness ranks third in order of frequency of
health problems amongst dentists, while in the general population it ranks
tenth.
* Coronary disease and high blood pressure are over 25% more
prevalent among dentists than in the general population.
* Dentists suffer psycho-neurotic disorders at a rate of 2
1/2 times greater than physicians.
* The #1 killer of dentists is stress-related cardiovascular
disease.
* The dental profession in North America loses the numerical
equivalent of one large dental school class each year.
And then, CDC said in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly
Report that the dental professionals were 23 times more likely to have IPF
(Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis) than the rest of the population. IPF causes
scarring of the lungs. Something in their workplace environment may have been
poisoning them, investigators said, although they don’t know what.
Starting from a disadvantageous position
So a dentist’s life is starting with a disadvantage, and literally
they are in a unique position. Majority of hours are spent bending over a
patient in an awkward position, their necks often bent or crimped, their backs
strained while trying to peer into the depths of their patient’s mouths and
holding tools for long periods of time. Now with the microscope dentistry, they
are forced to sit in a taut straight back position which can be very bad for
the spinal health.
Covid-19, the last straw that may break the camel’s back?
Now with all the precautions and preparations that a dentist
is supposed to adhere to while attending a patient, it looks like they are the
sacrificial lambs of the millennium. Let us take a closer look.
First of all,
take a look at how a dentist has to wear the PPE (Personal Protective
Equipment) here . While
sealed inside the PPE, one starts sweating profusely. Just watch the above
video at 10.59 minute to see his wet shirt in this much short time of showing
how to wear and remove the PPE. When the dentist works for hours in the clinic,
imagine the wet clothe inside the PPE!
Gloves
In the above video, you will see that the dentist has to
wear two pairs of gloves, the first is one size smaller. Even with the correct
size glove, how I used to wait for the moment of finishing the dental work so
that my hands could be freed and the skin could breathe!
Wearing a pair of gloves one size smaller is unthinkable for
me, but the practicing dentist has no other go. He/she has to tolerate the
hands being cramped for hours together. This is added to the high incidence of
carpel tunnel syndrome among dentists due to repetitive motions and the demands
on their hands.
A study was published in 2011 on the ‘Effects of Wearing the
Wrong Glove Size on Shoulder and Forearm Muscle Activities'. Almost all subjects mentioned that their hands
felt fatigued in the gloves that were one size smaller—a sensation that would
likely increase if the gloves were worn for longer periods. Wearing the wrong glove size led to decreased
forearm muscle activation, that resulted in increased shoulder movements. Myofascial
pain syndrome in the shoulder may be caused by the continuous operation of inefficient
shoulder and forearm muscle activation patterns while wearing gloves of the
wrong size during tasks that require manual dexterity.
Healthy hands are important for many activities in our life
and if their health is non-optimal, dentists have a compromised life!
Masks
Dentists are more prone to acquire infections through saliva
and aerosols. Surgical masks (SMs) are used by dental professionals to reduce
microorganisms shedding from the mouth, nose, and face of the patient. Dental
clinics are places with a high concentration of various infectious
microorganisms, present on the surgical mouth masks used by dental
professionals. A recent (2020 February) study performed for the assessment of
bacterial and fungal contamination on the used surgical masks among dental
professionals found that most of the micro-organisms isolated from the used
surgical mouth mask were potentially pathogenic. Dental professionals should
change the mask after each dental operatory procedure, especially those beyond
2 hours. Double-layered surgical mask or 95% efficiency for aerosol particles
of 3.0 to 5.0 μm in diameter should be provided to patients as well to prevent
cross-contamination.
Continuous use of face mask causes reduction of oxygen in
the blood, reduction of oxygen to the brain, one starts feeling weak and it can
even lead to death.
While wearing the PPE, in 15 to 20 minutes the mask and the
clothes get wet. One cannot drink water or use the
toilet till the PPE is removed, which may be after several hours. On a lighter
note, all lady dentists have to forget about wearing saris and other Indian
dresses and hair styling during the clinic hours!
References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7113990/
J Family Med Prim Care. 2020 Feb; 9(2):
759–763.
Sunday, June 14, 2020
In communion with the Goddess
A famous Indian saint, Neem Karoli baba once remarked, 'Thousands of people have come to meet me. All their requests can be categorised under 20 headings, it is not a long list. Like 'When will I get married?'
'Please bless my daughter to get a job'
'Baba, bless me to have a son.'
Nobody came to ask for God. They asked for garbage (materialistic pursuits) and I granted them that.'
This was the specific flower I offer to Goddess and usually it's pistil is always hidden inside the petals. But in one flower on this day, it had come out and was standing up towards the Heaven, to convey a message to me!
'Please bless my daughter to get a job'
'Baba, bless me to have a son.'
Nobody came to ask for God. They asked for garbage (materialistic pursuits) and I granted them that.'
Purpose of temple visit
The purpose of visiting temple is also similar for majority of people. I could always feel the cloud of such aspirations, and it used to be sort of a mild distraction. During the lockdown period I was mentally at the temple of the Goddess whose mantra I was chanting daily. And what a different state my inner self experienced! It was just ecstatic. As the temple was locked, there was no crowd and no mental cravings floating in the atmosphere.Totally by Grace of the Goddess
For 80 days at a stretch I was lucky to have this experience and it gave me an opportunity to expand my spiritual horizon. At 4 am every day I was there at the temple, cleaning the premises, chopping my head (ego), then chanting and praying so that Devi could fill me up! Then at dusk time repeating the same process, this period became like my 'Sanyasashram'. Though my stepping into 'Vanaprasthashram' in 2005 was a voluntary one, slipping into this was totally a gift from the Heavens.Sign from flower
On June 8th, the 79th day of my special sojourn, while I was collecting flowers for puja, I was awestruck to find a flower like this:
This was the specific flower I offer to Goddess and usually it's pistil is always hidden inside the petals. But in one flower on this day, it had come out and was standing up towards the Heaven, to convey a message to me!
Sunday, May 10, 2020
Manifesting goals and changing your destiny
For every person who is successful in ‘manifesting goals’ or
‘changing the destiny’, I find nine people who have miserably failed, in spite
of following various techniques very sincerely for long periods of time.
I just typed ‘Manifesting goals’ on Google search and I was
really amused by the amount of information and the number of videos that popped
up. It is really interesting to have some idea on this:
1.
In this video, I share a few insights into some
simple practices that you can do to help you manifest your goals
2.
Guided Meditation/hypnosis for Manifesting your
goals and dreams by connecting with your SOUL ENERGY
3.
How to manifest your goals FAST
4.
The three step goal setting and manifestation
formula
5.
How to manifest your goals by scripting
6.
Manifesting goals through law of attraction
7.
No.1 secret to faster manifestation
8.
Three days manifestation technique
9.
Manifest your ultimate goals and destiny
..... and on and on and on...
What is the purpose of your incarnation?
For a moment let us pause and think about the purpose of our
incarnation. The Earth is a school and we are here to learn certain lessons.
Each lesson once learnt, is planned to take us to higher or deeper lessons.
When we don’t learn, or refuse to learn from an experience, it keeps repeating,
intensifying with each repetition. We are here to experience and enjoy this
materialistic world, without getting totally pulled into its drama. The fact
that we are souls having a human experience here should finally become an
experiential fact. In the materialistic world, nothing succeeds like Ego and in
the world of consciousness, nothing fails like Ego.
Where do we stand (as humans) in the Universe?
Copernicus introduced the idea of heliocentric universe,
leaving Earth as just one planet among the others orbiting the Sun. The
seventeenth century realization that the stars were heavenly bodies like our
own Sun, located at incomprehensibly far distances, changed completely the
position of our Sun and of ourselves in the cosmos. The Sun was just another star
like the others, endlessly travelling its lonely path through space. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries, astronomers found that our Sun was a member of a huge star system,
the Milky Way.
With improved measurements of distances outside of our
Galaxy, this huge 100,000 light-year wide system turned out to be just one among
multitudes of others, such as the nearby (over two million light-year distant!)
Andromeda galaxy. In modern cosmology,
Copernicus’ ideas have been extended to the ultimate in that our home location
in the universe does not appear to be special in any way. In this situation,
where do you think we stand?
It doesn’t help to think of humans as something special. We
are part of this Universe, just like any other being. Generally speaking, other
beings take as little as possible from the earth and contribute to the best of
their ability; we extract much more than needed and are not bothered to put in
maximum contribution.
Imagine a common place scenario
Scene 1:
It may be easier to
understand our need to manifest from where we belong. Imagine a household, the
parents, a daughter and a son. The kids are small and need a lot of attention
from the mother. They all have aspirations to do different things during the
weekend. After a hectic week, the mother wants to spend time with her friends.
The father wants to play badminton the whole morning and ‘loosen up’ with
friends in the evening over a beer party. The daughter wants to go for her
dance class in the morning and the son wants to go for his football game. Children
are not old enough to go by themselves and either the mother or father has to
accompany them.
Imagine that all four of them are trying to manifest their
wishes, how do you think it will work out? Each one of us is not a separate entity;
we are just dots in the infinite matrix. Or a single piece of the huge jigsaw puzzle that is the Universe. If we try
to manifest something which doesn’t synchronize with others around us, or the
other puzzle pieces, it is difficult for it to happen.
Scene 2
The father is a daily wage earner and at the end of the day
he brings rice, dal and some vegetable, which his wife will cook for dinner.
The son demands chapatis and the daughter dosas. Tell me, will it be possible to
fulfil their demands?
At the soul level we decide what experiences we want to go
through during this life time and according to that we decide our place of
birth, parents, capabilities and the
surroundings. As we incarnate, we start comparing our lives with those of
others and we get into a groove of perpetual dissatisfaction and sadness because
we are unable to have what they are having, whether it is opulence, career, or relationships.
Look for happiness inside
We can reach a place of bliss and peace only by realising that
they reside inside of us, not by accumulating or achieving things. Whatever is
destined to come to us, which we decided at the soul level, will come to us. We
have created the present destiny through the previous karma. Realising this at
the intellectual level will be of no help at all. It has to reach the
experiential level, beyond which we are rooted in a blissful state. This takes
years of understanding and sadhana, which makes it possible to just do our
karma in a state of surrender and peace.
Finallly, it may help us and the Universe if we can switch
from our ‘Want based approach’ to ‘Need based approach.’
References;
Sunday, April 26, 2020
Are you being rebooted?
I am not in the habit of taking nap daily. After the
lockdown, I am forced to take a nap once in two days or so because I feel so
sleepy. When I work on computer in the afternoon, I will fall asleep while
typing something. When this happened a couple of times, I saw that my work was
not progressing and decided to hit the bed. One day my mobile phone almost fell
off my hand as I was sitting and checking the messages. During chanting with
mala in the hand, the mala slips down multiple times. Then I tried reading a book, and realised that
the page was not progressing even after half hour because after reading a few
sentences I would fall asleep, and then when I open my eyes, I would have
forgotten what was read, so go back to the same sentences and so on.
While in these sleeping episodes I was totally transported
into a very deep state which was rather unique. After ten days of same pattern,
it set me thinking. I decided to take a close look at it from different
perspectives.
Astrologically speaking..
2020 marks the opening of a new world era signified by rare
outer planetary alignments. It is a significant year that requires a new set of
rules and assumptions about time and reality. During January until December
2020 we will experience the very rare triple conjunction of Jupiter, Saturn and
Pluto (first time since 1284!).The meeting of Saturn and Pluto signifies a key
turning point in the journey of transition and fundamental changes to the world
as we know it. Jupiter, planet of expansion and growth, entered Capricorn on
December 3, 2019 and will remain until December 19, 2020. Jupiter will conjoin
with Pluto exactly on April 5th, June 30th and November 13th to
start a new 13-year Jupiter-Pluto cycle. Two strong energies meet, with one
wanting to go to the heights (Jupiter) while the other draws to the depths
(Pluto).
Saturn in Aquarius: Change is in the Air!
(March 22, 2020 – March 7, 2023): In the airy climate of Aquarius,
Saturn works hard at forming a bridge between ideas of the past that have
proven their usefulness and the unfolding concepts for the future. The emphasis
is on reordering structures and boundaries, making connections, distributing
information, and developing innovations to achieve a better future for
humankind. As the co-ruler of Aquarius Saturn is the “planetary Gatekeeper for
the New Age” preparing the planet and all its inhabitants for the new
consciousness.
It is important for us to realize that now is the time to
open our hearts more deeply than ever before and there’s no point in fighting
it.
2020
This is the only year we are likely to live through wherein the
first two digits will match the second two digits. May be we can consider this a special
privilege. 2020 tells us to be prepared for what is coming our way. Emotional and
physical changes are about to enter our lives and we need to be prepared both
mentally and physically.
A quantifiable physical change in the Universe follows when
there is an energy shift. This shift may be around you as in the environment or
in other individuals, and it can also occur inside you. 5D ascension timeline is happening now.
During the process of spiritual awakening, we become aware
of more dimensions than the one reality we are living in and the one that we
know so well. As the higher dimensional energies start calling us we start
resonating with them and go on our quest to find out more about who we truly
are. We learn about universal energies and different frequencies and what
ascension truly means: an energetic shift from 3D to 5D by raising our
frequencies to a much higher level and transmuting low frequencies of fear into
unconditional love up to a point where no fear / trigger is left. We come
across a lot of information and are learning a lot about ourselves, the
Universe and humanity.
3D
This is the material world of fear. Energetically, this is a
place of very low vibration, enhancing the illusion of separation, duality and
free will. There is only one timeline (reality) available here and we live
with the construct and illusion of the ego-mind of linear time. Through the
illusion of duality we experience light and darkness, good and bad, joy and
despair, better and worse. We have the choice to act as saints or demons. That
is actually the only choice we have on this plane: Love or fear, light or
darkness.
4D
The magical dream world sets in here and it is also called
the Astral Plane. It is a dimension that is less dense and much more fluid than
the third dimension, but still has only one timeline (reality). It hosts the
illusion of duality, the ego, and thus fear is able to exist here.
5D
This is one of pure and unconditional love, with absence of
fear. We totally start living from the heart. Here it is possible to tap into
the collective consciousness through the altered mind, and learn more from
there. The astral realm is a place where light and darkness come into conflict
easily. Dark magic has its place here, dream walkers for example can influence
us on this plane easily when we are still full of fear and have not learned yet
to set healthy energetic boundaries, i.e. when we are able to create our own
light and sustain it so that it simply absorbs the darkness. The body is
lighter and of a different cellular structure. Our higher self gets fully
integrated into our physical body and takes over the guidance. But before the
higher self can be fully anchored into the physical body, the healing of all
bodies (the mental, the emotional and the physical; healing = remembering our
wholeness) has to be completed. Therefore, your higher self will slip in and
out for a while until it can move in permanently. You will know when your
higher self is integrated, when you do not question the universal flow and
simply trust your journey. You do not feel the need to interfere or control
that flow anymore. In 5D everything comes without an effort as we have
rediscovered that the Universal energetic flow always guides us perfectly. We start
connecting through our hearts and feel the connection and love instantly.
It is time for us to emerge as butterflies from our cocoons.
An upgradation
So, a definite upgradation is in the offing for the whole
world in general and for individuals specifically. How much will come through
your way will depend on how deeply you have been on your spiritual path in the last
few years. When you are upgrading your
computer, after installing the software you need to reboot the computer right?
This may be Nature’s way of rebooting us by making sure there is more sleeping
time. So how many of you have been on the spiritual path seriously and are
finding that you are feeling too sleepy?
References:
https://thewakeupexperience.eu/3d-4d-and-5d-the-dimensions-and-their-differences/Sunday, March 29, 2020
Can you feel the Nature smiling?
Look around and notice things
Today morning I was pleasantly surprised to notice the
accelerated growth of plants nearby. We are fond of gardening and take care of
and observe plants very closely. I could sense their happiness in the absence
of pollution- pollution not only from the vehicles, but also from the talks
steeped in negativity when people meet. I find this a positive outcome of the
current lockdown.
Yesterday evening I saw a cat sitting in front of our gate,
as if in meditation because it has gotten used to the lockdown for humans. I
took its photograph, then walked slowly towards it to take another picture. It
turned around, looked at me and stood there calmly.
Two days back I was watching a group of cows on the road. It was just an ordinary scene, but I could sense intensely what they were feeling- a sense of calm and contentment.
Humans, a separate entity?
When we look at the living beings around, they seem to know
the art of coexistence. The animals eat only what they need, plants and trees
are giving back to Nature many fold of what they are taking. Humans, the most
intelligent beings, have been caught up in a morbid spiral of Wall Street greed. We
want (as opposed to need) several huge meals a day. The normal values of blood
sugar, blood pressure and body temperature are lowered so that a huge number of
people can be classified as having a medical condition and brought into the net
of daily medication, an assured income for the prescribing doctors and drug
companies.
Our wardrobe is bursting with the number of dresses, and
each dress made with enormous amount of cloth. Our vehicle is a status symbol
and needs to be updated periodically with costlier and fancier ones.
It is time to take responsibility
The time has come to take responsibility for our actions. The Nature was coughing, gasping for
breath, but nobody noticed. Animals were killed ruthlessly to satisfy our
taste buds and overuse of plastics killed tons of animals and fish. The Nature
was forced to take action, make humans realise that actions have consequence.
So an invisible virus came into the picture, man started coughing and all the hell was let loose! Panic overbuying
of things and extreme fear and panic is spreading. This is not going to resolve
the situation.
Can we do something?
Let us calm down and take stock. Once born, everybody has to
die, death being the only certainty in life. So let us not fear death. We
cannot eradicate all disease causing germs from our environment. They are also
part of the eco system. But we can increase our immunity by remaining calm,
joyful and by helping others, instead of seeing them as enemies and trying to
grab things for ourselves while depriving others. Let us also eat nutritious
home cooked meals and avoid overconsumption of factory made food products.The
greatest lesson for us is that economic growth is not the only thing in life.
There is much more to this beautiful life. Let us go inward and experience that
fulfilment.
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Thursday, February 06, 2020
Cosmetic spirituality
It is very
interesting to find every other person on spiritual path now a days. At the same time there is too much confusion.
They are not experiencing the mental peace and stability expected out of the
spiritual practice.
First
thing first
When I start
training dentists, I stress the importance of being a good human being to
become a good professional. It holds true in the spiritual path too, but nobody
gives importance to the first steps, 'Yama and Niyama' of the Eight limbs of
Ashtanga yoga. It used to intrigue me how such people progress on their
spiritual path. I have seen many dishonest persons who do rigorous meditation
to reach 'Realization', but don't make any progress.
My doubt as to why
they do so got clarified recently. When we discussed that telling truth and
being honest are pre-requisites to get Realization, he told, 'No, I don't think
so. Angulimal was a thief and murderer. Valmiki was a downtrodden person. But they
did become great personalities, right?' I was shocked to hear this, but didn't
have anything in response then.
During my
meditation, I got the answer. There are two aspects: one, Angulimal and Valmiki did not
project themselves as good human beings. They admitted they were doing sins,
then stopped it completely and walked the path shown by Buddha and a sage.
Second, an ignorant
person committing a sin is not the same as a learned person. A chandal and a
Brahmin committing murders will get very
different karmic result, because the chandal doesn't know the implications of
his karma whereas a Brahmin is fully aware of this. People on the spiritual
path committing sins are going retrograde in their journey.
Thoughts,
words and deeds
For a spiritual
person, thoughts, words and deeds need to be in alignment. They can't afford to
think something, talk contrary to that and do something exactly opposite.
Sadly, this is very prevalent. Some gurus feed their disciples satwik food,
then they will go out with friends to McDonald's. Supposedly enlightened
persons announce they do free courses and before the course is over, the
participants are forced to 'donate' amounts/ jewellery/ other valuables, which
in many instances are higher than the amount that would have been a reasonable
fee.
We can just satisfy
ourselves with the reasoning that this is how it is in Kaliyuga.
Tuesday, December 03, 2019
The Denmark countryside
A chance encounter in Tiruvannamalai
Our New Years are
spent in Tiruvannamalai, where the January 1st is ushered in through
meditation. There were two Danish ladies staying in our adjacent room. I was
making a jasmine flower garland sitting outside my room when they were also
sitting nearby. One of them was fascinated by the way I was stringing the flowers.
I showed her how it was done and made two small garlands for them too. We got
friendly and when we told that we will be visiting our daughter in Copenhagen, Denmark,
one of them told she lives in Denmark too and we must visit them. It was taken
as just a friendly remark.
It was followed up
We kept in touch and when the time was nearing for our visit
to Denmark, she was asking about our dates to visit her house in Farso. Now it
was clear she really meant what she told and we started planning a side trip
from Copenhagen to her place for a week.
We boarded the train from Copenhagen
by about 4 pm and when we arrived at 9.45 pm, our friend was waiting with her
daughter to drive us to her farm in Farso. After a long drive on reaching her
house, we were surprised to see that she had kept a lavish dinner ready for us.
It was almost 1 o'clock when we went to sleep after enjoying the delicious dinner.
Totally planned up
In the morning when I looked out of the window I saw the beautiful vast farm around. Our stay in Farso was so meticulously planned out by our
friend and her husband. Their daughters and grand children joined us for lunch
on the next day and we had a great time. For dessert she had made rhubarb
crumble which was so delicious!
On the third day after breakfast we all started for Jesperhus
park, which was reached after crossing the ferry. Amazing time was spent at the
park till the evening.
Jesperhus
Jesperhus, a 20-acre family-owned resort around Legind
Bjerge, south of Nykøbing Mors, Denmark, has a resort, a flower park, and an
indoor zoo. This largest flower park of Scandinavia is filled with perennials,
roses, various summer flowers of the world, succulents and giant flower
figurines.
The H.C. Andersen Fairytale Garden is based on 6 of the writer's
fairytales. The characters displayed in the garden are made from flowers,
houseleeks, and fiberglass. Walkways are lined with more than 100 perennial
herbs. The Oriental Garden is designed with an Asian theme, and features palms
and thousands of succulents.
There were bumpy boat ride, trampoline to jump, swings, car
rides and toy train to enjoy in the park.
Huge wind mills
Then we went to the beach side and saw huge wind mills.
Denmark is the leader in wind mill installation; it was a pioneer in developing
commercial wind power during the 1970s, and today a substantial share of the
wind turbines around the world are produced by Danish manufacturers such as
Vestas and Siemens Wind Power. Danish inventor Poul la Cour experimented,
taught and constructed wind power subjects around the year 1900. In Denmark's
electricity sector wind power produced the equivalent of 43.4% of Denmark's
total electricity consumption in 2017. It had the 6th best energy security in
the world in 2014.
In a few years, wind turbines will supply the equivalent of
60% of Denmark’s electricity consumption A significant part of the explanation
for this lies in the plans currently being executed by Vattenfall, both
offshore, nearshore, and onshore. Presently, the first four of 49 poles are
being constructed on the bottom of the North Sea. Once completed, Horns Reef 3
will be the largest offshore wind turbine park in Denmark to date.
Cooking in the garden, visit to the school
One day lunch was Indian dishes- vegetarian pulao, baingan
bharta and cucumber raita. It was fun roasting the brinjals for baingan bharta
in the garden and we all enjoyed lunch on the sunny afternoon.
After the lunch our visit to the school where our hosts’
daughter works was planned.
She trains dyslexic children. Since 1993, public
schools in Denmark, Folkeskolen, have been obliged to differentiate education
according to students’ needs in general and not by transferring students to
special needs education. The general objectives of supplementary and special
education state that children with special needs should be taught in mainstream
schools as far as possible. If differentiated teaching is not sufficient,
pupils can remain in a mainstream school class and receive special education in
one or more subjects as a supplement to ordinary teaching. All pupils are
offered vocational training. Young people with special educational needs are
offered a more comprehensive vocational training programme than others, and
they might also be offered a work-training programme of longer duration during
their last years of schooling.
It was very interesting to know their examination system. A
series of national tests were introduced in spring 2007 in order to provide
teachers with a tool for better overall assessment of pupils’ academic level.
The tests are individual and computer-based and take approximately 45 minutes. The
national tests are innovative as they are constantly adapted to the level of
the individual pupil. If the pupil answers the first question correctly, the
following question is automatically made slightly more difficult. If the answer
is incorrect, the next question is automatically made slightly easier.
Therefore, all tests will differ. When the test is completed, the computer will
print out a text describing the pupil’s academic level in the subject tested,
exempting teachers from correcting the test assignments. Denmark has
established several institutions and monitoring groups with the aim of
evaluating the quality of support systems for learners and the outcome of
schooling.
Fully automated cow farm
From the school we went to a fully automated cow farm. About
250 cows were managed by two people. The temperature inside was controlled.
When it became windy, the blinds would automatically come down. There were
rotating brushes onto which the cows can press their body where it needs to be
scratched. There were robots to do the milking, the quality of the milk is
assessed and the optimal quality milk would go to one chamber and the suboptimal to another
chamber. Once the milking is over the cow is given a sweet laddu and nudged to
leave the chamber. The milked cows are tagged so that if by chance they enter
the milking chamber again, they are not milked again.
The floor had a flat grill and continuously moving robots
were throwing the waste materials down from where they were pumped to the field
growing grass to feed the cows. In case of any system failure, the computer on
site dials the phone number of the care taker, who would then reach to tackle
it.
A morning for meditation
One day after the breakfast we all sat down for meditation and
it was a deep experience. Meditation when done in a group of likeminded people
always takes the vibration to a high level. They took us to the hospital where the
husband worked as a nurse and we took a round there, with all ultramodern facilities.
An Indian meal for the family and friends
One day’s dinner was cooked by us for our hosts, their
family and friends. We had very interesting conversation over the dinner table.
To the harbour and the boat
On the last day morning we went to the harbour and inside
the boat owned by one daughter of our friend. During school holidays of
children, the family sets sail and visit other places, which is highly
educative for the kids.
References:
Monday, December 02, 2019
Gymming, Yogasana and Qigong
Going
to gym is more of a status symbol now a days. Though I am not a regular gymming
person, during travels, gyms are frequented. Somehow I always felt it fell much
shorter than the yogasana practice. Of course it has several benefits like
cardiovascular fitness, access to equipment, opportunity to make friends,
increased energy levels and helps to establish a healthy routine. I find the
muscular appearance of gymming persons very repulsive (it is a very personal
opinion, I know so many who swoon over such a bulging body).
Every day I practice yogasanas and pranayama and have recently
started some Qigong and Tibetan rites.
Qigong which combines meditative and
physically active elements, is the basic exercise system within Chinese
medicine.
Today morning I started with Qigong first and the experience was
amazing. Inside of the body which felt dense in the beginning started expanding and
became light and one with the surrounding. Immediately I could feel the
difference between gymming, yogasanas and qigong from the aspect of the five
elements.
Gymming basically is targeting the muscles, it is concerned with
the Earth element. Yogasanas take care of the muscles and the internal organs.
The twisting asanas help to rejuvenate liver, spleen, stomach etc., Shirshasana
brings new energy to the brain. So it is involving the Earth, Fire, and water
elements. Qigong affects the air and ether elements also which explains the
expansive feeling I got. Of course if yogasana is followed by pranayama, it
takes care of air and ether elements. But I experienced a difference here. The qigong
felt more thorough, as if it was permeating even the minutest spaces in the
body!
Thursday, November 21, 2019
Cambodia- a slice from the past
Visiting Cambodia and the Angkor Wat temple was a dream
in the recesses of my heart and finally we arrived there on the afternoon of 26th February 2018.
When I deplaned and noticed the small, clean airport, the memory laden breeze that
carried fragrance of the glorious past touched my face, transporting me to
the Khmer Empire.
We took a tuk tuk to reach the Siem Reap pub hostel where we
had booked the room. Tuk-tuk is a two-wheeled carriage pulled by motorbike that
can fit anywhere from two people to entire families, and they are a ubiquitous
sight throughout Cambodia. Its official name is remorque, or “trailer” in
French, but they are colloquially known as tuk-tuks. Once we reached the hostel, we fixed one tuk tuk to take us around for the remaining days of the one week stay.
Siem Reap hostel was a nice place to stay, the staff was
friendly. It had a small pool, though we didn’t use it, which had interesting
instructions.
Phnom Bakheng
In the evening we went out to the Phnom Bakheng, the state
temple of the first Khmer capital in the Angkor region that is surviving as one
of the world’s greatest architectural treasures. The Temple of Phnom Bakheng
was constructed between the late ninth and the early tenth century by
Yasovarman I as the centerpiece of his new capital, known as Yasodharapura.
Phnom Bakheng is a symbolic representation of Mount Meru,
home of the Hindu gods, a status emphasized by the temple's location atop a
steep hill 65 m above the surrounding plain. The temple is built in a pyramid
form of seven levels, representing the seven heavens. At the top level, five
sandstone sanctuaries, in various states of repair, stand in a quincunx pattern.
These five represent the five peaks of Mount Meru. In the sixteenth century, an attempt was made
to construct a large seated Buddha around the central shrine, which has since
been dismantled. Originally, 108 small towers were arrayed around the temple at
ground level and on the various tiers; most of them have collapsed. Each
terrace contains 12 towers which represent the 12-year cycle of Jupiter.
According to University of Chicago scholar Paul Wheatley, it is "an
astronomical calendar in stone." Today, Phnom Bakheng is a popular spot
for panoramic views of the Angkorean landscape, often enjoyed by visitors at
sunset. We reached there by about 5 pm, there was quite a big
queue already and then we saw this board:
Abandoning the plan to go to the top, we selected a place to watch the sunset and were rewarded by a beautiful view.
Angkor Wat
Next day early morning we started on the tuk tuk and reached
the Angkor Wat temple by 7 am. View of the temple complex across the huge water
body was indeed breathtaking!
Angkor Wat, Cambodia's famous UNESCO World
Heritage Site, is a temple complex in Cambodia and is the largest religious
monument in the world, on a site measuring 162.6 hectares. It was originally
constructed as a Hindu temple dedicated to the God Vishnu for the Khmer Empire
and was gradually transformed into a Buddhist temple towards the end of the
12th century. It was built by the Khmer King Suryavarman II in the early 12th
century in Yaśodharapura (present-day Angkor), the capital of the Khmer Empire.
Angkor Wat translates to "City of Temples" or
simply "City Temple." New temples and ruins are being discovered
nearly every year. Khmer bricks were bonded together almost invisibly by using
a vegetable compound rather than mortar.
It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology: within a moat more than 5 kilometres. Its walls are adorned by numerous devatas.
Angkor Wat is unusually oriented to the west, a direction
typically associated with death in Hindu culture. Bas-reliefs at Angkor Wat
read counterclockwise, another indication that the temple is associated with
funeral rituals. Cambodians are so proud of their ancient monument, that they
put it on the Cambodian flag in 1850.
It is really interesting to read how archaeologists rediscovered
the remains of an invisible kingdom deep in the jungles of southeast Asia that
may have been the template for Angkor Wat.
Bayon
The Bayon is a richly decorated Khmer temple at Angkor in
Cambodia. The Bayon Temple complex was built under the direction of the
Mahayana Buddhist ruler Jayavarman VII, who ascended to the Khmer kingdom's
throne at Angkor in 1181 A.D. He erected the site for Buddhist worship,
although it later was renovated and used as a Hindu temple. Following
Jayavarman's death, it was modified and augmented by later Hindu and Theravada
Buddhist kings in accordance with their own religious preferences. The Bayon's
most distinctive feature is the multitude of serene and smiling stone faces on
the many towers which jut out from the upper terrace and cluster around its
central peak.
The Bayon was the last state temple to be built at Angkor and
the only Angkorian state temple to be built primarily as a Mahayana Buddhist
shrine dedicated to the Buddha. The similarity of the 216 gigantic faces on the
temple's towers to other statues of the king has led many scholars to the
conclusion that the faces are representations of Jayavarman VII himself. Others
have said that the faces belong to the bodhisattva of compassion called
Avalokitesvara or Lokesvara.
The original name for the Bayon was Jayagiri (or
"Victory Mountain"). After French occupancy, it was later named
Banyan Temple due to its religious significance and Buddhist imagery (the
Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment under the Banyan tree). When the
local Khmer came to work at renovating Banyan Temple, there was a
mispronunciation in Banyan, which was pronounced Bayon. The name then stuck. The
outer wall of the outer gallery features a series of bas-reliefs depicting
historical events and scenes from the everyday life of the Angkorian Khmer.
Ta Prohm
Ta Prohm is the modern name of the temple at Angkor, originally
called Rajavihara ,built in the Bayon style largely in the late 12th and early
13th centuries. It was founded by the Khmer King Jayavarman VII as a
Mahayana Buddhist monastery and university. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Ta
Prohm is in much the same condition in which it was found: the photogenic and
atmospheric combination of trees growing out of the ruins and the jungle
surroundings have made it one of Angkor's most popular temples with visitors.
The temple's stele records that the site was home to more
than 12,500 people (including 18 high priests and 615 dancers), with an
additional 80,000 souls in the surrounding villages working to provide services
and supplies. The temple had amassed considerable riches, including gold,
pearls and silks. It was abandoned and neglected for centuries after the fall
of the Khmer Empire in the 15th century. In the early 21st century when the
effort to conserve and restore the temples of Angkor began, it was decided that
Ta Prohm would be left largely as it had been found, as a "concession to
the general taste for the picturesque."
According to pioneering Angkor
scholar Maurice Glaize, Ta Prohm was singled out because it was "one of
the most imposing temples and the one which had best merged with the jungle,
but not yet to the point of becoming a part of it".
But work has been done
to stabilize the ruins, to permit access, and to maintain "this condition
of apparent neglect”. The trees growing out of the ruins are perhaps the most
distinctive feature of Ta Prohm.
Neak Pean
Neak Pean at Angkor is an artificial island with a Buddhist
temple on a circular island in Jayatataka Baray, built during the reign of King
Jayavarman VII. Neak Pean was originally designed for medical purposes (the
ancients believed that going into these pools would balance the elements in the
bather, thus curing disease). Four connected pools surrounding the central pond
represent Water, Earth, Fire and Wind. Each is connected to the central water
source, the main tank.
Some historians believe that Neak Pean represents
Anavatapta, a mythical lake in the Himalayas whose waters are thought to cure
all illnesses. The name is derived from the sculptures of snakes (Nāga) running
around the base of the temple structure, neak being the Khmer rendering of the
Sanskrit naga. They are Nanda and Upananda, two nagas traditionally associated
with Lake Anavatapta.
Preah Khan
Preah Khan was built in the 12th century by King Jayavarman
VII, with the goal of honoring his father, King Dharanindravarman II. Preah
Khan translates to “Holy Sword” in Khmer, named by Jayavarman VII in honor of
his battle victory against the invading force of Chams, who belonged to a
kingdom in what is now Vietnam, in the year 1191. The temple of Preah Khan is
one of the largest complexes at Angkor, a maze of vaulted corridors, fine
carvings and lichen-clad stonework.
This majestic temple complex is surrounded by a moat and it
was the centre of a substantial organisation, with almost 100,000 officials and
servants, simultaneously serving as a city, a temple, and a Buddhist
university. Its aesthetics are very similar to nearby famous Angkor temple Ta
Prohm, with vegetation and trees seeming to swallow the ruins.
Like Ta Prohm it
is a place of towered enclosures and shoulder-hugging corridors, but unlike Ta
Prohm, the temple of Preah Khan is in a reasonable state of preservation thanks
to the ongoing restoration efforts of the World Monuments Fund (WMF).
Food in Cambodia
Consuming food is a spiritual act for me and I do it with
deep reverence. In this aspect there was some set back in Cambodia due to the
following points:
You can see the items on the menu card below. One day while roaming in the market, we came across kids wearing T-shirts with 'Eat a bug' written on them, carrying trays of fried bugs to sell.
I have to mention that we got amazing banana split to sample!
Cultural program
One evening was spent watching the cultural program and it
was just like being in Heaven for me. I enjoy dance and it was such a joy
watching the fine performances.
See the dancer's hand and finger movements in the video below. As a dancer I know how tough it is to get those finger movements. It is so amazing!
Angkor Wat- archeological information
Angkor Wat, the great temple of that name, and the city in
which it is set, are one of the great marvels of the world – but where did it
come from, and what were its origins? When exploration began in the 18th and
19th centuries, it was quickly obvious that there was strong Indian influence.
The numerous inscriptions were written in an Indian script and many of them
were in Sanskrit, the sacred language of the Hindus. Furthermore, the temple
was established to Vishnu, a Hindu deity, and also included statues of Buddha.
There was clearly strong Indian influence, but did this also imply an Indian
invasion?
The cause of the Angkor empire's demise in the early 15th
century long remained a mystery. But researchers have now shown that intense
monsoon rains that followed a prolonged drought in the region caused widespread
damage to the city's infrastructure, leading to its collapse. The Angkor Wat
Discovery is the somewhat controversial concept that refers to the visit of
French naturalist Henri Mouhot to Angkor Wat in 1860 and the publication of his
travel notes in 1863. These memoirs had an umprecedented reception in Europe
and Mouhot was credited with the discovery of the "lost city of
Angkor". Researchers believe the Angkor civilization was established in
A.D. 802. The Angkor civilization was booming in the early 1100s when
construction began on the Angkor Wat temple site. The last major stone temple
at Angkor was constructed in 1295, and the latest Sanskrit inscription dates to
the same year. The last inscription in Khmer, the language of Cambodia, appears
a few decades later in 1327. And the excation continues.
When you visit Angkor Wat, be in your heart centre. And you
can sense the glory and the splendour of the bygone era, just like I could feel!
References:
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