2014 Gratitude Series #1

I'm starting my gratitude series for this year from today, my usual end of the year series. So here goes #1

Yesterday morning while driving to office, it was raining and the road was wet and slippery. Since it was  before 8 am, traffic was light and I was going at a fair clip.
A mini bus, one of the many transport vehicles on OMR which ferries passengers in this stretch scuttled into my lane. I was in the 1st lane, adjoining the pavement and was going in a relaxed manner and was peeved at this guy cutting in. But since he was going at a good pace and seemed to be accelerating, I didn't slow down and was just going to pick up some more pace so I could follow in his wake.
But suddenly this guy just braked and stopped, just when I was accelerating hoping to keep up with him. In a split second I had to slam my brakes and veer the steering to avoid climbing onto his back side.
It got my heart pumping and adrenalin flowing into my veins and probably shaved a few years off my life too. The acid rose in my threat and my head was flooding with choice epithets to throw his way, but I took a deep breath and stopped myself. Instead of four letter words, I chose to thank him for saving me from disaster and giving me time to avoid him. I thanked God for giving me the time to react well and change speed and direction to avoid the crash. I thanked my car for responding well and avoiding the mishap. And then I thanked the driver, again and again.
The acid taste dissappeared. The pulse came down to normal. My heart stopped pounding and my whole body and mind settled down again to its normal state of peace and calm.
My son who was next to me was immune to all this. He was swotting for his exam, we were on the way to his model exams (12th Std) and his equilibrium was not disturbed because his father had not flown into a rage.
In a few minutes I became normal again and went on my way without this incident marring the rest of my day.
I'm grateful to God for giving me the ability to choose my mood. I thank the driver for showing me that I was still human and was capable of anger inspite of all the inner tinkering that I'm doing and more importantly, thank him for giving me the crucial few split seconds needed to turn the car away from disaster. I'm grateful for my car, the ever reliable Toyota Corolla for backing me up and responding.
Thank you Lord for yesterday and today and all the good things you're bringing me tomorrow.
Feel grateful for every little thing in your life. It could save your life.
Thank you for reading this. Have a lovely day / night :)

Good bye to a dear old friend..... who I never met.

I lost a very very dear friend last night who stays in my Apartment Complex. She suffered a heart attack and was taken away abruptly last night.
She is very active on FB and gives a bright new positive comment to every event. She had a way of looking at things that made you feel good about yourself and the world around. She offered to help in whatever way she could to reduce some of the sufferings that modern day parents inflict on themselves.
Active on FB and off it in community events, I never had the chance to actually meet her. She had asked me to come over through FB once and later repeated it through my wife, and I fully intended to go over and meet her.....
But alas, death snatched her away before I could carry out my intention.
I was devastated when I heard the news this morning since I never really thought there was so little time left for her. I was sure that I will meet her soon and just kept postponing it for the last one month due to all the other commitments, work, family, BNI, social engagements, etc.
We connected so well together at the soul level since many of her posts resonated with my thoughts and I genuinely wanted to meet her.
And now I'm going to see her in a glass coffin, later today, waiting to be cremated tomorrow. 
What can I tell her now? Sorry I took so long......
What excuse can I make up for this cruel oversight?
We think we have all the time in the world.. that we can postpone meeting people we like, love, respect, look upto,....
Is there anyway we can turn the clock now and give ourselves another chance. There's no backspace button in our life where we can erase our mistakes and recreate a different life in the past.
All we have is the present. And all the things that we have been postponing till now.
Tell I love you to those you care and do it today, right now. You don't know what the next hour or the next minute has in store for you.
Wake up. Hug those you love. Call up or visit those you have been postponing to do.
They may not be here tomorrow. And I don't want another person writing a note like this one.
We have just this moment. Hug, kiss tell I love you, I care for you. I respect you.

Rest in peace dearest Raji maami, I'll miss you. GC will miss you.... You are a great soul who had the power to do a lot of good for our community. Your energy will be sorely missed. 
Travel on.... and look after all of us from above... Love you and miss you ...

God bless your family and give them the strength to bear with this loss. If you have affected us so deeply, I'm scared to imagine how devastated they must feel. God bless and protect them.

Ode to a dear old friend Mrs Raji Kichami
https://www.facebook.com/raji.kichami

Happy Deepavali

Deepavali or Diwali means "a row of lights". It falls on the last two days of the dark half of the Hindu month of Kartik (October-November).

Mythical Origins of Diwali

There are various alleged origins attributed to this festival. Some hold that they celebrate the marriage of Lakshmi with Lord Vishnu. In Bengal the festival is dedicated to the worship of Kali. It also commemorates that blessed day on which the triumphant Lord Rama returned to Ayodhya after defeating Ravana. On this day also Sri Krishna killed the demon Narakasura. In South India people take an oil bath in the morning and wear new clothes. They partake of sweetmeats. They light fireworks, which are regarded as the effigies of Narakasura who was killed on this day. They greet one another, asking, "Have you had your Ganges bath?" which actually refers to the oil bath that morning as it is regarded as purifying as a bath in the holy Ganga.

Give and Forgive

Everyone forgets and forgives the wrongs done by others. There is an air of freedom, festivity and friendliness everywhere. This festival brings about unity. It instills charity in the hearts of people. Everyone buys new clothes for the family. Employers, too, purchase new clothes for their employees.

Rise and Shine

Waking up during the 'Brahmamuhurta' (at 4a.m.) is a great blessing from the standpoint of health, ethical discipline, efficiency in work and spiritual advancement. It is on Deepavali that everyone wakes up early in the morning. The sages who instituted this custom must have cherished the hope that their descendents would realise its benefits and make it a regular habit in their lives.

Unite and Unify

In a happy mood of great rejoicing village folk move about freely, mixing with one another without any reserve, all enmity being forgotten. People embrace one another with love. Deepavali is a great unifying force. Those with keen inner spiritual ears will clearly hear the voice of the sages, "O Children of God unite, and love all". The vibrations produced by the greetings of love, which fill the atmosphere, are powerful enough to bring about a change of heart in every man and woman in the world. Alas! That heart has considerably hardened, and only a continuous celebration of Deepavali in our homes can rekindle in us the urgent need of turning away from the ruinous path of hatred.

Prosper and Progress

On this day, Hindu merchants in North India open their new account books and pray for success and prosperity during the coming year. The homes are cleaned and decorated by day and illuminated by night with earthen oil-lamps. The best and finest illuminations are to be seen in Bombay and Amritsar. The famous Golden Temple at Amritsar is lit in the evening with thousands of lamps placed all over the steps of the big tank. Vaishnavites celebrate the Govardhan Puja and feed the poor on a large scale.

Illuminate Your Inner Self

The light of lights, the self-luminous inner light of the Self is ever shining steadily in the chamber of your heart. Sit quietly. Close your eyes. Withdraw the senses. Fix the mind on this supreme light and enjoy the real Deepavali, by attaining illumination of the soul. He who Himself sees all but whom no one beholds, who illumines the intellect, the sun, the moon and the stars and the whole universe but whom they cannot illumine, He indeed is Brahman, He is the inner Self. Celebrate the real Deepavali by living in Brahman, and enjoy the eternal bliss of the soul.

The sun does not shine there, nor do the moon and the stars, nor do lightnings shine and much less fire. All the lights of the world cannot be compared even to a ray of the inner light of the Self. Merge yourself in this light of lights and enjoy the supreme Deepavali.

Many Deepavali festivals have come and gone. Yet the hearts of the vast majority are as dark as the night of the new moon. The house is lit with lamps, but the heart is full of the darkness of ignorance.

O man! Wake up from the slumber of ignorance. Realise the constant and eternal light of the Soul, which neither rises nor sets, through meditation and deep enquiry.

May you all attain full inner illumination! May the supreme light of lights enlighten your understanding! May you all attain the inexhaustible spiritual wealth of the Self! May you all prosper gloriously on the material as well as spiritual planes!

With excerpts from the writings of Swami Sivananda

Read the full article at:
http://hinduism.about.com/od/diwalifestivaloflights/a/deepavali.htm

New metal added...... HB

A new metal is added to chemistry:

Name: Husband
Symbol: Hb
Atomic Weight:
-Light when first found...
-tends to get heavier over the years with time.

Physical Properties:
Boils at any time with inlaws.
Can freeze in front of his own family.
Melts if sees other women.
Very Bitter if questioned.

Chemical Properties:
Very Reactive
Highly Unstable
Possess Strong resistance to Gold, Silver, Diamond, Platinum, Credit cards & Cheque books.
Money saving Agent.

Occurrence:
Mostly found in front of the TV.