LOOK AT YOUR HANDS

Our Success is in our hand

Morning from the sleep as soon as one wakes up; we are supposed to chant

karaagrey vasathey laxmi,
karamadhey saraswathi !

karamooley sthitha gouri,
prabhathey Kara darshanam !!

Meaning :
On the tip of the palm is Goddess Lakshmi, in the middle of the palm is Goddess Saraswathi, on the base of the palm is Goddess Gouri, see the palm in the palm in the early morning.

Wake up and get up
The wakeup call is at the brahma muhurtha, the time when Brahma calls each one of us for the activities of the day. The time of creativity, the beginning of the activity. The god is who calls us in the morning. And one who doesn’t listen to this call of god will never get the ear of the god when he calls him. Thus be creative, getup as soon as we wakeup. Chant the above sloka and rub the eyes with the hand and take a deep breath by stretching the hands back, shake your legs and hands.

This sitting and chanting have a health concept
One who is on the bed is horizontal to the ground. Thus the gravity pull is not on him. The balance is not an issue. The body is at ease. (This is explained with the understanding of the non-Newtonian fluids in the body). As he gets up the whole body gets in to a different state of balancing. This should not be done without a preparation. The time for the preparation is the intermediate level in the body posture. That is the sitting position. The time for this is the one sloka chanting time. Thus the person will get out of the bed only after making sure that he is in full consciousness of the body. Thus the risk of any shock to him is taken care of.

The Motivational Message
The money, the goddess of wealth - the Laksmi is in the tip of the hand. One rubs the fingers to each other to show the money, thus matches for the position given to the goddesses.

Just behind the money, if education does not exist, the money will not be spent wisely. Thus the presence of education is very much essential in the hand. Olden days the iron-pen is used and it is pushed against the palm center while writing. Thus the godess of education, saraswathi is seen in the center of the palm.

No one can use the force without folding the hand. Thus the power, the sakthi remains at the base of the palm. Having money and skill without health is useless. Thus the arogya, the sakthi is essential in our hands. The Goddess of power, energy is the Gouri and the place for this goddess in the palm is given at the right place.

Look at these three powers, which are most essential factors for any one to act. The Kriya sakthi is the combination of money and energy. The Jnana sakthi is the skill. These are essental and knowing that these powers are in our own hand will make us active. The feeling that my abilities are in my own hands makes me to be a good performer. The sloka is to remind us that the Goddess is with us, now it is for us to act. Work hard to make money, learn well to create skill, eat properly and exercise will to generate energy. Then goddess will remain with us on our palm.
9502038875 / 9400105373 / drtpsasikumar@gmail.com / dr_tps@yahoo.com

Feeling Cold : Say NO with Bhakthi, Festival and Aroma Therapy

Feeling Cold : Say NO with
Bhakthi, Festival and Aroma Therapy

It is the cold season. People have more pain for silly reasons. Lot of respiratory problems also starts disturbing in this season.

Don’t keep telling people that feeling cold. The mind will start feeling. You agree that it is the feeling and not the reality. Thus if u keep feeling that it is not cold, the cold will not be felt.

He body reacts as the mind reacts. It is said that

sareera manaso yoga
Parasparamanurvajeth
aadhaara adheya bhaavena
thapthajya khadayoriva

The body and the mind is such related as the vessel and the oil.

There is no use of telling that I am feeling cold in the cold season. He season is same for all of us. And we say ‘very bad cold’. It is not that the cold is bad. It is that we are bad and thus we feel that the season is bad. The outlook must change.

The ‘namajapam’, Rama Rama, Krishna Krishna, Govindha Hari Govinda, Amme Narayana, Swamiye Saranamayyapa …. Just try these when u feel cold, the cold will go.

Try to take bath in the early morning in the cold water, once the body get conditioned in cold, the outside cold will not be a problem. If you take bath in the hot water the cold will be felt more.

Many of the festivals are necessarily to change the eating pattern, as the cold season demands more of eating. The cold season will also make people lazy, the festivals keep people on motion and enjoys and demands the social visits.

Accept the nature, and live with that. Enjoy the cold.

It is easy to say but difficult for the people, those who are sick.

The skin has more than 3000 pores in an inch-by-inch surface area on our body. The air gets into body through these pores in the skin. The cold season the pores get shrink and the oxygen flow gets reduced.

Thus many diseases and the pain increase for a small silly wound hit or hitch.
The body stretching can increase the oxygen and the blood flow.
Warming up.
Heating
Those who are sick, and to be protected from the cold could apply oil and cover the pores in the skin. And once the oil is removed, after a bath in hot water is a must, so that the pores will get opened. Use of Karpooradi thailam on the body before bath after a dry heating is good for the blood circulation. Dry heating can be done with water bag or use of bottle filled with warm water and rolling on the body.
At night keep the heating machine, at least a small mosquito mat heater in which keep the camphor. This will give a good smell and helps for the easy breath. This is camphor aromatherapy.



Dr T P Sasikumar drtpsasikumar@gmail.com 9502038875

Snana Samaya (While taking bath)

Snana Samaya (While taking bath)

Chant this sloka while taking bath

gangecha yamune chaiva
godavari sarasvati
narmade sindhu kaveri
jalesmin sannidhim kuru

Why?
The sloka will make you healthy.
How?
The water being held in the hand while chanting this sloka is cold or hot, doesn’t matter, by the time the chanting is over the body will get adjusted to the water to get ready for taking bath.
The water with which one is going to take bath could be cold or hot. When the shower pours it on the body in the bathroom, the body gets a shiver, as the water is cold; and gets a shock, as it is hot.
Anyone who feels the temperature of the bucket of water in the bathroom feels the temperature twice and the second time he feels the temperature is all right, or much adjusted. This happens as the body feels the temperature of the water; the body temperature gets adjusted for the water. Thus one could take bath in hot or cold water after holding it in hand for some time. Just pouring the water, cold or hot gives a jerking to the body. This jerking given to the body is not a healthy practice.
Therefore hold water in the hand for some time before taking bath. The time span is the time for chanting a sloka and let the sloka be that of water and river.
This gives a national integration message as the rivers in Bharath are being described here. Almost all the states are connected with the rivers mentioned above. Try to learn the river names and the states through which it runs.
The Saraswathi River, which is not on the topography of Rajasthan and Gujarat to be visible today, is flowing below the ground since BC3200. This shows this sloka is over 5000 years old. Ours could be the only civilization were slokas like this are living thousands of generations.
The sloka connects all the rivers and says the water is same. The dip in any river is equal as all the water is connected in the space. The water gets evaporated and they mix in the upper atmosphere and pours back. Thus all the water is the same and they are all connected.



Dr T P Sasikumar dr_tps@yahoo.com 9502038875

DEEPOJVALANAM [LIGHTING LAMP]

DEEPOJVALANAM [LIGHTING LAMP]

Dr T P Sasikumar
9911484007 / dr_tps@yahoo.com

SUN
Sun is the oldest concept of god in human, probably with the realization that without sun we cannot live or seeing it as a wonder in nature; likewise wind (air), water etc. Sun GOD is prathyaksham (the visible / evident).

…nama prathyaksha devaaya bhaskaraaya namo nama….

Among the five traditional concepts in GOD (surya, ganapathy, vishnu, siva, sakthi); many temples are not seen for the SUN in contrast to the other four. But concept of sun got into many of the prayers and poojas. The dwijan (Brahmins on puja activity) are to have gayathri practice praying sun.

Sun have cleansing power. Sunrays are invited by priests to make ordinary water into theertham / sankujalam.

ima aapa siva subha
sudhaascha nirmala paavanaa seethalaaschaiva
poothaa sooryasya rasmihbihi

Sunlight can make water cells to change its shape as water gets energized. It is found that drinking energized water purifies the blood.

Sunlight concentrated to ajna chakra (center place between eye-brows at joining at nose) through crystal is being used for treating psychic patience, called crystal therapy. This justifies the Gayathri chanting with inner meaning - asking for sun to enlighten.

ENLIGHTENMENT

om bhor bhuvasuvaha,
om tat sa vithurvarenyam, bhargo devasya dhimahi,
dheeyo-yonah pracho dayathu

May there be peace on mortal, immortal and divine planes. I meditate upon the most brilliant splendor of the Sun. May he stimulate our intellect so that we are inspired to take the right action at the right time.

The presence of sun is seen in the Agni. Agni in the personified and purified form is the lighted lamp.

DEEPAM
Lighted Lamp (Deepam) is an energy generator. A normal Deepam can harmonize around 30 feet radius area. Lamp can be lighted in ghee or high-density-oil. The highly viscous fluid has the capacity to rise through the wick, as they are non-Newtonian fluids. Wick is only the saakshi (the tool) and ghee or oil is what is being lighted. Thus the number of wicks (as misunderstood by many) has no sanctity. It is the deepam (flame / jwala / naalam / varthyam) what is to be counted.

eka varthyam mahaavyaadhi
dwi varthisthu mahath dhanam
thrivarthyam mohamaalasyam
chathurvarthyam daridratha
panjavarthisthu bhadram syaal
dwivarthyam sushobhanam

One naalam is not healthy, two is wealthy, three makes greedy and tired, four give poverty and five is prosperity. But the poet concluded by saying two are enough.

subham karoti kalyanam
arogyam dhyanasampada
shatrubuddhirvinasaya
deepajyotirnamostute

Let the light provide the light to make the activity better, let it provide health and concentration. I salute the light that destroys enmity (see the great thought - not the enemy but the enmity is that is being destroyed).

kalyana namakaram kalmashaghnam
kamrakaram kandhi dhoothandakaram
sandhyalakshmee kanda sootraikaratnam
deepajyothir mangalam nasthanothu

Glory the name you have who destroy gloominess, make the beauty with deleting darkness; your glow is like the rathnam on the sandhyalakshmi’s neck; I salute you light.

Deepam is to provide light. Thus while lighting the lamp devotee and the god have to be in light. Symbolically one flame has to be towards bhaktha and other must be for god. Generally pooja room faces east or west. Two flames in the lamp - one to east and other to west. In the presence of light both devotee and God joins, as athma and paramathma; indicated by the chin mudra (Jnana mudra) - joining pointing finger to thump.

LIGHT

om asathoma sath gamaya

thamasoma jyothir gamaya

mruthyorma amrutham gamaya

ohm! santhi santhi santhi

Oh Lord please lead me from the unreal to real. Lead me from darkness to light i.e., ignorance to knowledge, Lead me from death to immortality. May there be peace, peace and perfect peace.

KNOWLEDGE

ajaana thimirandasya
jnaananjana salakaya
chakshoorunmeelitham ena
thasmai sree gurave namaha

Not having knowledge is like cataract in the eye. Knowledge is the medicine. Having removed the cataract the eye can see the light. Thus the GURU (doctor) who gives knowledge (medicine) is the one who leads us from darkness to light.

GURU leads us to the light, never explains. Once you are in light, you view and realize. Thus the sun, light and lamp have an inner meaning to convey to the devotees. Let us have that blessing to see that light of blissfulness, enlightenment and realization.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

drtpsasikumar@gmail.com 9502038875

Before Consuming food

Before Consuming food
(Before start eating, pray looking at the food)

Consuming food is considered as a Yajna karma (sacrifice to fire) in Bharatheeya Tradition. The chanting is taken from Bhgavad Gita. It says the food that I eat is called brahmarpanam (offering to brahma). Brahma is the Lord of Creativity and the food is to make us creative, thus the concept of yajna, the energy creation for betterment is equivalent to the food intake and the creative output of the human. Consider the food as the havis (the ingredients for the sacrifice).

brahmarpanam brahma havir brahmagnau brahmana hutam
brahmaiva tena gantavyam brahma karma samadhina

Looking at the food, stay for some time, praying with the above manthra. The saliva will first get into the stomach as one looks at the food. Then the water through the achaman. This must be followed with bit-by-bit three times the sample food into the mouth. This is to inform the stomach, that this is the food that is going to be consumed, get prepared. This process of eating will make the food eating more systematica dn helps for better health.

TIMINGS
Meditation should be done before sunrise in the “Brahm-Mahurt” i.e. between 3.30 and 6.00 A.M. and Yajna should be performed after sunrise. Evening Yajna should be performed before. It is clear that “Yajnas must be performed in sunlight. The science of power of the sunlight is mentioned earlier. It is the essential duty of man to do Meditation and perform Yajna daily. In the same queue, consuming food must be only during sunlight time – day. See the nature, all the animals stop eating as the sun sets off.

IMPORTANCE OF BRAHMARPANAM
The importance of sacrificial life in the material, psychological and spiritual aspect has been clearly elaborated. The Yajna (Sacrifice) is looked on generally as some actions limited to offerings made in the sacred fire. But Yajna is a very wide term that encompasses all good actions including prayers, associations, donations and the basic essentials of a systematical life. It is said that Yajna should be performed with the intention of attaining worldly pleasures. It is an important duty of all men of four Varnas i.e. Brahman, Kshatri, Vaishya and Shudra including schedule tribe living in remote areas, to perform Yajna Karma.

WASHING
Better to have food after taking bath. It makes one fresh and feels happy and enjoys the food. At least the leg, hand and the face must be cleaned before consuming food. It is found that the food will provide better energy once the leg, hand and face is wet and cool during the consumption of food.

SITTING POSTER AND DRESSCODE
Wear clean loose dress and convenient according to season. The sitting position of the Brahma or Purohit of Yajna is reserved in the South, facing the North. Facing to east or west is also welcomed but not to face south and sit. “ A comfortable sitting position is called Aasan”. Most comfortable poster of sitting is in crossed legs as this poster reduced body to its minimum space occupancy and the energy gets densified. The blood pumping strain reduced in the body and more concentration is in the activity being done, let it be praying, reading or eating. During each time to consume the food, one has to bend and that make the stomach to press naturally and that makes the food gets to flow in stomach comfortable.

AACHAMAN
It is an important act to take three sips of water called ‘Aachaman’ before the start of Yajna. It is advisable and allowed for Yajmaanas and Brahma of the Yajna to have ‘Aachaman’ (to take a few sips of water), if / whenever they feel thirsty or lazy during the process of Yajna-karma. Same way during the consumption of food, minimum intake of water must be permitted for better eating and digestion. Many have the basic question of water intake during the food consumption. It is good to have little quantity of food. Not too much of water to reduce the food intake.

FOOD QUANTITY & QUALITY
‘mitham bhuktwa’ eat little. More quantity of eating will not make one strong. It is the quality of the food that matters more. Eat fresh and clean vegetarian energy food. More leafy and with fiber content is good. Don’t eat fast food and more spicy.

‘ardhapoorathayeth annam thadhardham vaarinam thadha’ is the saying. It is to say that half stomach can be solid food. Half of the half, that is quarter, has to be filled with water. Thus the rest quarter must be free for the air.

Vegetarian food is the best as they have energy in it. The non-vegetarian food is not having any life energy, as they are dead bodies. The meat will contain more than fifty percentage blood in it. The animal could have any disease and the meat will carry all the toxins it has in it. The animal while getting killed have the misery, agony, tension, worry, anger, distress etc. and all that feeling generates hundreds of chemical changes in the blood and that is carried to the consumer. Given an option better to be a vegetarian. Look at the higher grade of veganism for further reading on food. Also could read the book on microbiotics (you are what you eat). Bhagavad Gita describes the character of the individual based on the food he likes and consumes, this indicate our traditional scientific knowledge of food and the relation to the character.

Animals eat only that much it requires. The best habit is to eat what one likes and as how much is required. Many people eat for satisfying someone else, because of compulsion, give company, time pass etc. All these are harming the self. Many times eating is due to taste and not due to the requirement. The tip of the tongue understands the taste. The whole food processing in the body is around moving thirty-six feet without understanding the taste. Care need to be taken on this long journey of the food than the tip of the tongue. Thus the food quality needs to be redefined as the best food that gives energy of creativity.

DIGESTION / DHAHANAM
Dhahanam (fring) that is what happens in the stomach. The agni (fire) place is the stomach. When gets hungry, we get a fire in the stomach. This is the call for the food, called hungry. He stomach must get food. Like the fire in the Yajna require havis. That gets processed to make the energy.

Dalai Lama says ‘these are the days of fast food and slow digestion’. Don’t create long-term problems in life with bad habits of food. It is also important to flush out the waste instead of carrying and taxing the body. May people are not good in using toilets often, instead carry the dirt and move around. Body needs to be cleaned for being energetic.

Dr T P Sasikumar / 9911484007 / dr_tps@yahoo.com

BHOOMI VANDANAM

Bhoomi Vandanam

(Salutations to Mother Earth. Touch the ground with the hand before keeping the first foot on the ground in the morning when we getup from the bed after the sleep)

samudravasane devi
parvatasthana mandale
vishnupatni namastubhym
padasparsam kshamasva me

(another text version is mandithe instead of mandale)

It says, mother earth, you are with the rivers and mountains on you. Salutations to the wife of Vishnu deva. Forgive me for keeping my feet on you.

The mother earth is the wife of the protector Vishnu. Earth is the mother who feeds all of us. The mother with the mountains and the river flowing from that mountain is the breast milk that is being fed to its kids. This sloka is a salutation and begging the forgiveness for stepping on her, as we have no other go.

We all have the energy in us, what is called the bio-energy that supports our life, thinking and every other inner and outer activity. While sleeping, it has a calm working, and not much of energy is used. There is much energy around us; all in the form of subtle electromagnetic energy. Energies in the form of electromagnetic subtle particles settle around other energy and settle at peripherals.

At sleep one may have bad dreams and the other thought processes that also burn the bio-energy and thus disposes some electromagnetic energy around. These energies will settle around our AURA. Thus by the time we wakeup in the morning, the AURA will have an energy cover, which is not useful for us. This bad energy needs to be disposed off.

Electric equipment has a plug with the earth-pin for the disposal of the extra-unwanted energy. The unwanted energy that is around our body will automatically get earthened as we step from bed. This happens through the leg in the first step itself.

It has been observed that most of the paralytic and heart attack happens during the time when one gets out of the bed during when the earthling happens through the leg. It is proved that energy transfer trough hand is safer than the legs. That could be the reason for the sapa / beating and asirvada / patting being given with hands only.

Thus touching the ground for some time before the leg touch the ground is a good health practice in life. How much time to keep, is that prescribed by the sloka.


Dr T P Sasikumar dr_tps@yahoo.com 9911484007

poorthe mokshavapnuyath

Poorthe Mokshamavapnuyath

thapaparam kruthayuge threthaayaam jnaanamuchyathe
dwapare yajnamevahurdhaanameka kalau yuge

says manusmruthi. In kruthayugam only thapa, threthayugam knowledge. dwaparayugam sacrifis and in kaliyugam benevolence. This would have been defined for the historical and geographical reasons, taking the societal and environmental situation into account.

The dhana karma prescribed for the kaliyuga is known as the panjamahayajna. Panchmahayajna include brahmayajna, devayajna, pitruyajna, manusyayajna, and bhoothayajna. Chanting of the veda constitutes brahmayajna. Sacrifies and puja are devayajna. Tarpana is pitruyajna. Feeding guests is manushyayajna. Offering bali to various creatures is bhuthayajna. The Panchamahayajna together with agnihotra and aupasana are to be performed everyday. Four hundred yajnas or sacrifies are said to be mentioned in the Vedas. Samskaras, all forty of them, are to purify the individual.

Bharatheeya Dharma, branched out into anything like Buddha, Jain will also talk about being Philantharopy. Manushyayajna is important in the dharma sasthra. The Panjamahayathna is what is prescribed. Traditionaly that is what is followed.

Every morning a handful of rice (uncooked) must be seta apart for the poor. All families must do this without fail everyday. The rice thus kept must be collected from house to house, from quarter to quarter, cooked, offered to the diety of the local temple as nivedya and then distributed among the poor. With the handful of rice set apart some money also. This would be sufficient to support for the side dishes and the preparation cost. This will be a great service to the poor and to the god also. Charity like this should be encourage templegoing, not to speak about devotion. Since the food is first offered as the naivedya, it would mean that the devotees will take it as prasada (radiance or happiness) which will impart the inner purity.

ANNADANAM and VIDYAADHAANAM
Annadana or the gift of food is one kind of service or paropakara. We talk of service to the poor, social service and so on. Today all this is done with much fanfare and publicity. In the past the needy were served naturally, without making any noise.

With education we purify our intelligence, with meditation we purify our mind, with sloka or poetry we purify our speech, by exerting ourselves in the service of others one must purify the physic or body.

Many slokas indicate the importance of the annadanam.

gajathuragasahasram gokulam kotidhaanam
kanakarajitha paathram medhinee saagarantham
ubhayakula visudham kotikanyaapradhaanam
nahi nahi bahudhaanam annadhaanassamaanam

says annadhaanam is greater than donating many horses, elephants, gold ornaments, vessals, land, kanyadhanam etc.

The importance of feeding a knowledgable person indicates the importance given to education - learning and teaching.

sudrakoti sahasraanaam, ekam viprathu bhojayel
viprakoti sahasraanaam, ekam Vishnu prathishtitham
vishnu koti sahasraanaam ekaarudra prathishtitham
rudrakoti sahasraanaam ekojnaanihi bhojyathaam

meaning; donation to one Brahmin is equal that to a crore sudras – feeding one crore Brahmins is equal to constructing a Vishnu temple – making a siva temple is equal to making a crore Vishnu temple – feeding a knowledgable person is equal to making one crore siva temple.

This inner meaning can be read in many ways, in this context it says all Brahmins are supposed be knowledgable but not. The real knowledgable person if not Brahmin too is seen as higher. Thus the learing and teaching is the best service to the people and to god.

The importance of vidyadaanam is given here

annadhaanam param dhaanam, vidyadhaanam athath param
annena kshanikaa thrupti yavath jeevancha vidyaya

feeding is a good philantharpoy activity. But educating is much higher. The food will get digested soon. The education will remain the whole life.

ISHTA POORTHAM
Bharatheeya Dharma talks about two activities. Ishta and Poortha. Ishta karma is the activity that one does for the self, salvation, piece, better life, prosperity, what so ever. The poortha dharma is more of a social commitment.

agnihothram thapa sathyam vedaanaam chaanupaalanam
aadithyam vaisyadhevam cha ishta ithyabhitheeyathe

Service comes under “poorth dharma” and it includes digging wells and ponds, feeding the poor, building temples for the spiritual well-being, laying out gardens. Excavating wells and ponds has been mentioned first.

vaapee koopa thadakaani dhevathanayathanani cha
anna pradhanamudyannam poortha ithyabhitheeyathe

Ishta will take people to swarga and poortha can give moksha. Thus the social service is seen as higher.

ishtathelabhathe swargam poorthe mokshamavapuyeth

Swargalokam - heaven is the place of world after death for the good people and naraka – hell for the bad ones. The swargaloka is not the place of gods. The gandharvas used to be some time at the swarga loka too as guests from their gandhrvaloka.

Moksha (Freedom or Salvation) from the cycle of birth and death is the ultimate goal of Hindu religious life. Moksha is the state of supreme bliss and there is no quest beyond it. Moksha is release from all attachments. It is a state in which the self remains ever in utrammelled freedom and blessedness. The chief purpose of religion is to teach us how this supreme state may be attained.

The mention of feeding and educating are not seen as poortha karma directly, but had given much importance and could be rated as higher than many of the other karma. Thus reading between the lines and analyzing the relevance in today’s context poor feeding and educating are to be considered as the greatest dhana dharma and added into the poortha dharma.

Dr T P Sasikumar, Mayur Vihar
9911484007 dr_tps@yahoo.com