My SCRAPBOOK (సేకరణలు): A COLLECTION of articles in English and Telugu(తెలుగు), from various sources, on varied subjects. I do not claim credit for any of the contents of these postings as my own.A student's declaration made at the end of his answer paper, holds good to the articles here too:"I hereby declare that the answers written above are true to the best of my friend's knowledge and I claim no responsibility whatsoever of the correctness of the answers."

Friday, July 04, 2014

1548- Which is the most Dangerous Letter in English ??

The Answer is "W"...as in Wrong
"W" is a tension generator...
because all the worries and troubles get begins with "W"...
Who ? Why?
What ? When ?
Which ? Whom??
Where ?
War...
Wine...Whisky... Women...
Wealth
And finally .......
You have to accept this :
WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT.......
WIFE.....
__________________________________

Labels: , ,

1547— Real Meaning Of Idol Worship!

Meeting Between Swami Vivekananda And Mangal Singh (Alwar)
---------------------------------------------
In the beginning of 1891 (most probably February 1891) Vivekananda reached Alwar (currently a district in Rajasthan) where he met the king of the state Maharaja Mangal Singh Bahadur or Mangal Singh.

Mangal Singh Bahadur, the king of Alwar was Westernised in his outlooks and had no respect for Indian and specially Hindu culture and traditions and used to feel proud for his attitude. He used to spend all his time in the company of Westerners, in hunting and other luxuries.

Incident
Swami Vivekananda reached Alwar and went to meet Mangal Singh at his palace. When Mangal Singh met Vivekananda he started making fun of him.
He first asked Vivekananda — "Well Swamiji, I hear you are a great scholar. You can easily earn a living and live a comfortable life, then why are you living a beggar's life and roaming like a vagabond?"

Vivekananda immediately retorted— "Maharaja, tell me why you constantly spend your time in the company of Westerners and go out on shooting excursions, neglecting your royal duties?"

Everyone present in the court was shocked and taken aback. The king too became confused. He tried to give an excuse, "Well, I like it, I enjoy it", he continued, "don't your Indian rishis and munis waste all their lives meditating and worshipping for the same reason?"

Now Vivekananda saw some stuffed animals and paintings of the king's huntings in the court's walls. The king used to consider those as his achievements. Vivekananda criticized Mangal Singh saying, "Even an animal does not kill another animal unnecessarily, then why do you kill them just for amusement? I find it "meaningless"."

Mangal Singh smiled and replied— "The idols you worship are nothing but piece of clay, stones or metals. I find this idol-worship "meaningless"".

It was a direct attack on Hindu belief and Vivekananda had to give a strong reply to it. He started explaining to the king that Hindus worship God alone, using the idol as symbol.
But his reply failed to convince Singh. Thereupon, Vivekananda saw a portrait hanging in the wall of the court. Vivekananda approached towards the painting, looked at it, and asked the dewan of the court to take it down from the wall. It was a painting of Singh's deceased father. When the dewan took the picture down from the wall, Vivekananda asked him to spit on it. All were taken back, The dewan was horrified. The king was furious, "How dare you ask him to spit on my father?", he cried, in a tone of demanding an explanation.

Vivekananda saw, the king was gripped. He smiled and quietly replied, "Your father, where is he? It is a just a painting— a piece of paper, not your father."

Vivekananda's reply followed the logic of the king's previous comment on Hindu idols. So, he was perplexed and speechless and did not know what to say.

Vivekananda once again started explaining to him,
"Look Maharaja, this is a painting of you father, but when you look at it, it reminds you about him, here the painting is a "symbol".Similarly when a Hindu worshipper worships an idol, the idol reminds him about his beloved deity and he feels the presence of the deity in the idol. Here too it is a "symbol". Maharaja, it is all about anubhuti (feelings and realization).

Now Mangal Singh quickly realized the real meaning of idol worship. He apologized to Vivekananda for his frivolity and rudeness and thanked him for giving him the lesson. He also requested Vivekananda to stay at his palace for few days.
_____________________________________

Labels: , , , , ,

1546- Hinduism

"The basic tenet of Hinduism is 
happiness, health and enlightenment for everyone and 
suffering, pain and agony for none."
 
-Pranab Mukherjee (the President of India)
______________________

Labels: , ,

1545- Need for a stable center:


(Thanks Ben Gilberti)
__________________
We wonder why Muslim countries like Iraq and Syria and Egypt can't be democratic societies like us (the USA), but we fail to understand the need humans have for a stable center. Just look at the Hajj in Mecca. This is a metaphor for a stable center around which the people find meaning, order, and a place in their society. We all have this need.

What the Islamic mind fears about western democracy is that it has no Center. A secular society like ours make the individual ego its center so everything revolves around this consuming center. Our whole economy circles around this Ego Center like the pilgrims circle around the Hajj. America especially, with our worship of freedom makes the Ego Center our God. We are a people of ego centers...
-Ed Conley

_____________________________

Labels: , , ,

1544- Why do you disappear, when you meet God?



In simple terms,ego represents the negative trait. True humbleness is simply egolessness. It is dropping all personality and the decorations one has accumulated around oneself and just being like a small child who does not know who he is and is innocent.("Truly I tell you, unless you are converted and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven"Math18:3).
 

Ego (ahamkaaram) does not allow to give credit to God's grace, for whatever is achieved and wants to hog the credit itself. If one gets rid off negative traits and attains benevolent traits while dedicating oneself as well whatever he does- in God's name , one elevates oneself to Godhood filled with His effulgence. ("...there is no offering more worthy, no satisfaction greater, for the washing away of sins and to offer oneself purely and completely to God..."- Imitation of Christ)


___________________________

Labels: , , ,

1543- Analogies for the soul & the body:

-------------------------
"You are the light shining upon the wall. Do not venerate the wall.'
(via Julia Hayes)
--------
"The physical existence is like the peel of a fruit. The peel of fruit has no purpose of its own. Only as a protective layer for the fruit it is meaningful. The moment you eat the fruit the peel goes straight to the trashcan."
-Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev
---------
"You are God's present being unwrapped. Don't identify with the paper."
-Mooji
---------------------------

"Just as the movie screen is intimately one with all images and, at the same time, free of them, so I, the light of pure Knowing, am one with all experiences and yet at the same time inherently free of them."
~ Rupert Spira
______________________

Labels: , , ,

1542- మంచి & చెడు


Labels: , ,

Tuesday, July 01, 2014

1541- photos

Na Vasanthakumar's photo.
"Truly I tell you, unless you are converted and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Math18:3).
-----------------------------------------

Place: Kumbakonam.

Labels: ,

1540- photos



Jidhu Mg's photo. A lone house! Home alone
Camera:alpha 57 Lens:50mm
___________________________________________

Biswarup Saha's photo. Football Fever
©2014 All Rights Reserved to Biswarup Saha
____________________________________________
 
Krrutiika Joshi's photo. Haunting eyes!
_______________________________________________
 

Labels: ,

1539- photos


Chepauk Ramesh's photo., Gypsy family
_______________________________________________
 
Gowrishankar Krishnan's photo. "Beauty Vs Innocent"
Iruttukkal Muniyappan Temple, Salem
_______________________________________
 
Debangan Chakraborti's photo.*REPOST*Destination Somewhere
Santiniketan, West Bengal
_________________________________________________
  Narayan Dravid's photo. , Peeping into the sanctum sanctorum: Varanasi
__________________________________________________

Labels: ,

Monday, June 30, 2014

1538- photos


shared Yogesh Gupta's photo.,Khajjiar, famous as mini switzerland, in himachal pradesh.
______________________________________________________ 
 
Palais Du Grand.. central place in Brussels.. Extremely Enjoyable..
And Very Lively.. Great to be over there..
________________________________________________________
shared Srivatsaa photography's photo.,Reflected colours streak a rain-washed street
MG Marg , Gangtok
  _____________________________________________________
shared Krishnan Soundararajan's photo., Krishnas Butter Ball 
mahabalipuram - Chennai
________________________________________________


INCREDIBLE INDIA
Bhubaneshwar takes its name from Tribhuneshwar, a form of Shiva and most of the old temples in the town are dedicated to him
____________________________________________________

Labels: ,

1537- photos



shared Armando Bruck's photo., Angkor Wat, Cambodia

___________________________________________



Vishnu statue in Angkor Wat temple , Cambodia
_________________________________________

Labels: , ,

1536- photos



shared Malvika Singh's photo., Evening aarti, Varanasi, 
_________________________________________________

Labels: , ,

Sunday, June 29, 2014

1535- photos

shared Aswin Natesh's photo.
Light House - HDR
Chennai

Photo: Light House - HDR
Chennai

Date: 15/06/2014 



Labels: ,