Monday, December 28, 2009
My first long drive in snow ...
Coming back to this year, warm weather is no where in sight but the warmth of the loved ones is very much there with a special someone who is much much closer than the others.... So it all started with the desire to be with that special someone ....
Weather was checked and a road trip to Indiana was set ... It all went fine with little hiccups while going .. though the real adventure turned out to be on my trip back to stl.
It was my first time driving in snow, i had heard people talk about driving in snow, breaking, accelerating skidding and all that comes along with it...
A drive from west Lafayette to Saint Louis, which takes about five hours take into account the time difference of one hour and the one where i would drive at the speed of 70 on average turned out to be little different in snow. My GPS went out of satellite coverage, car started skidding the speed reduced to 40-45-50... Hands were shaking.. the car chevy aveo was being drifted by winds as much as it possibly could and i saw few cars and small trailors which were upside down... freaked me out more ...at such a time, i felt amma was with me calming me down and letting me focus on driving ...or may be actually taking over the driving..
At such a time, the only thing i could focus on was amma and her bhajans on one CD, which might have played atleast 10 times today was my only source of strength and my only prayer at that moment was to reach home safely...
Once that stretch of bad weather was passed, i was all fine... back on the speed of 70 driving on 70W.. so slowly n steadily with amma's grace i made it and here i am sharing this experience with all of you out there..
Today's incidence reminds me yet again that we are nothing but the puppets at the hand of god and we don't know whats enstored for us at the very next moment and we still hold grudges, hatred and other negative things while we should be surrendering at the feet of almighty and develop love for all...
Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu ...
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Fall graduation 2009
One of my very good friend graduated, i was there for her... though i also witnessed the graduation of many other people whom i don't know at all .. some of them i have seen in my classes, been their TA , some with whom i have exchanged smiles or a hi in school ..
Though one man who caught my attention and i would say everyone's attention was a 86 year old Master's in History. It was a moment, chancellor recognized him with a introduction and there was this huge wave of clapping followed by standing ovation..
what a graduation and at this age..
Inspiring really inspiring ...
people follow their dreams .. no body can stop them ..
not even the age in this case ...
Hope i will be able to make my dream come true too ..
got to work hard for it ...
May 2010 is my target !
Saturday, December 12, 2009
come away with me --norah jones
Come away with me
And I will write you a song
Come away with me on a bus
Come away where they can't tempt us
With their lies
I want to walk with you
On a cloudy day
In fields where the yellow grass grows knee-high
So won't you try to come
Come away with me and we'll kiss
On a mountaintop
Come away with me
And I'll never stop loving you
And I want to wake up with the rain
Falling on a tin roof
While I'm safe there in your arms
So all I ask is for you
To come away with me in the night
Come away with me
Friday, December 4, 2009
.........
are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, shadows,
like dew drops and a lightning flash:
contemplate them thus.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Give with humility and take with gratitude
I am posting it here also because i remember not so long ago over a dinner , i was talking about the same and one of my Professors had narrated me a story about how he had lost his wallet at a ice hockey game and there was gentleman who called him up and told him about his wallet and met him at some place to return it. At that time this prof of mine thought of rewarding him with some money or do something for him and the man replied. No thanks may be you can remember this help some one else who might need it.
Since then this Prof always remember this man and helps people whenever he can ...
Here is the article by Jyoti Desai
Taken aback by the reply I perhaps further complimented her on her goodness, not understanding the full import of the words ‘your time to take’. Life got busy and we lost touch. But somewhere inside me the words ‘a time to take’ sat patiently waiting their turn to play a part in my life. The going was good. I was now in a position to help others. My natural response to all the words of gratitude that were showered on me remained, ‘it is all right, it is just your time to take’.
There is a time to take and there is a time to give. Golden words often quoted, and yet we only want to give, we would rather not take. The puzzled looks I have received when I have gently said ‘it is a time to take’ set me thinking. What is so loaded in the words ‘a time to take’?
Perhaps it is to do with our upbringing. Instilled in us is this value about not taking – it is a favour, about managing alone even in the most difficult of times without seeking support. And yet, taking is one of the most natural acts carried out by each of us since the time we are conceived.
We take life’s sustenance from our mothers, we take love from our siblings, we take knowledge from our teachers, we take companionship from our friends, we take affection from our pets, we take food from the earth, we take warmth from the sun and that is an endless list. And yet we feel no obligation to all these givers, because we are conditioned to view them as normal life situations.
Our minds are full of suspicion, and more so when we are at the receiving end. The mind works at a furious pace on the implications of taking. One of the fears is of having to return the favour immediately or at some point of time in the future, and the guilt of ingratitude if we are not able to do so. But does it always have to work in that manner? Perplexing, as it may seem, there is a far more complicated system at play which is difficult to decode. Seers therefore stress on abiding by the fundamental principle of giving with humility and taking with gratitude – a simple way to resolving confusing moments in this endless cycle of take and give.
Every one of us, in our lifetime, experiences moments when we give on impulse. We are stirred to give to causes, beggars, friends, strangers. Do these people give us something in return? Do we expect them to? No, but in doing so we experience a strange calm. And when we as takers are full of sadness and shame, are we forgetting to recognise the moment of calm being experienced by the giver?
In this endless game of take and give we should just play along, taking and giving as life asks us to, enjoying the gifts we take and give, without grudging our ‘misfortune’ for being takers, not feeling lesser for having taken or superior for having given.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
amma says
Sunday, October 25, 2009
four time zones for a family !
How is life these days ..
Members of the family at four different time zone
Its 1.40 pm here ...
For my sweetheart its 2.40 pm
For my daddy dear its 2.40 am
and its 1.10 am for my sweethearts at home ...
Though the part which is still good is all were talking to each other at the same time ...
Love all ...and pray for love and peace to keep growing ...
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Some quotations on Love.....
To love deeply in one direction makes us more loving in all others.
Anne-Sophie Swetchine
To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides.
David Viscott
- He who is in love is wise and is becoming wiser, sees newly every time he looks at the object beloved, drawing from it with his eyes and his mind those virtues which it possesses.
- Ralph Waldo
- Clarity of mind means clarity of passion, too; this is why a great and clear mind loves ardently and sees distinctly what it loves.
Blaise Pascal
Lois McMaster Bujold
Never pretend to a love which you do not actually feel, for love is not ours to command.
Alan Watts
Such is the inconsistency of real love, that it is always awake to suspicion,
however unreasonable; always requiring new assurances from the object of its interest.
Ann Radcliffe
Anton Chekhov
To fear love is to fear life, and those who fear life are already three parts dead.
Bertrand Russell
The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.
Carl Jung
There's a lot to be said for self-delusionment when it comes to matters of the heart.
One's first love is always perfect until one meets one's second love.
Elizabeth Aston
All love that has not friendship for its base, is like a mansion built upon sand.
Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Love is everything it's cracked up to be…It really is worth fighting for, being brave for, risking everything for.
Erica Jong
There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness.
Friedrich Nietzsche
What else is love but understanding and rejoicing in the fact that another person lives, acts, and experiences otherwise than we do…?
Friedrich Nietzsche
Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence.
H. L. Mencken
Sometimes when you look back on a situation, you realize it wasn't all you thought it was. A beautiful girl walked into your life. You fell in love. Or did you? Maybe it was only a childish infatuation, or maybe just a brief moment of vanity.
Henry Bromel
There is no remedy for love but to love more.
Henry David Thoreau
Just because you love someone doesn't mean you have to be involved with them. Love is not a bandage to cover wounds.
Hugh Elliott
Passion makes the world go round. Love just makes it a safer place.
Ice T
Love is the difficult realization that something other than oneself is real.
Iris Murdoch
We can only learn to love by loving.
Iris Murdoch
Friday, October 9, 2009
"Padaravindhangal" -- offering at amma's feet
Padaravindhangal panindhen Amma
Adharam ne endru arinthen Amma
Chedaram illamal chezhippai thandhu
Kadhoram inmozhiyal kavalai thirppai
Give me the wealth that can never be depleted. Whisper sweetly in my ear
and end my sorrows.
Amma endrazhaikkum un kuzhanthaikku inghe
Arulandri verethuvum vendam Amma
Summa ni inimelum irunthu vital
Pazhi yedhum yenakkalla unakke Amma
O Mother, wanting nothing except Your Grace,
this child of Yours is calling O Amma! Amma!
If You still remain silent then remember, Mother, You will be the One to blame, not I
***
Selvangal yeralam irunthalum un
Arul selvam illamal nargathi undo
Inbathil pangerka evarum varuvay
Ennalum thuyar thirka niye varuvay
Though we may have much worldly wealth,
could we ever attain the one true end without the wealth of Your Grace?
There are always many to share in our happiness,
but You are always the One who removes my sorrow.
***
Ellam un vilayadal ena arinthalum
Eno yen manathil innum nimmadhi illai
Thunbam vrumbhothum maravathunnai
Manamara potrum nal ullam vendum
I know that all this is but Your play and yet my mind knows no peace.
Please bestow upon me a mind that remembers and glorifies
You even when suffering comes.
***
The Tamil bhajan "Paatara Vintengal Papinthen Amma" sung by Amma and Her disciples. From the cd "Tamil Bhajans" (2002)
Monday, August 24, 2009
nice sms from my daddy
Problem is that it doesn't come with a map ...
We have to search our own ways to reach the destination ...
Enjoy as it comes !!!
Saturday, July 11, 2009
amma says ..
Friday, July 10, 2009
3-4-5 july at westin lombard Chicago
Its thursday night and reminds me of last thursday when my mind was stormed with so many things.. random thoughts .. emotions .. all time high !
finally things subsided one by one and all became clear and simple.
Visited chicago to meet amma and it was a different world for a weekend ... my heart longs for more but have to see that peaceful world within which exists in all ...
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Monday, June 1, 2009
Khol darwaza (open the door)
finally i found time to open the doors or may be the doors were openned to me ...
after i went through little discomfort in my so very busy busy day... it was like a magnetic pull ... I had to get asign.. an assurance that all is fine .. and i went to amma's site .. The random pic on the amritapuri.org was displaying amma hugging someone and showing a thumbs up sign !!!
All is fine my child thats what my mother was telling me .. assuring me ...
I read it few days back that God is always standing outside our door .. waiting for us to call out for him ...and here i am ... this soul who forgets to call out.... but somewhere due to some karmas i donno what.. My mother calls me and even opens the doors for me too
how wonderful and as if this was not enough.. one of my friends at amma's calls me and narrates amma's stories and everytime something kept happenning and we kept calling and talk abt our mother and i listen to this wonderful bhajan called " Khol Dawaza"
I absolutely love it and i am looking forward to hear the same from the goddess itself.

All this just makes me humble, leaves me with a heart filled with love and eyes filled with tears of gratitude and a deep desire to merge into divine.... increases my longing and my calling for my dearest amma
May we all get to open our doors to the ultimate or may the doors be openned to us :)
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Tumko hum dil me basa lenge on a lovely spring afternoon
a lovely spring afternoon...what an atmosphere specially for this ghazal.
perfect weather .. perfect timing..

Tumko hum dil me basa lenge
Saari duniya se chupa lenge tum aao to sahi
Ek waada karo ab humse na bicchadooge kabhi
Naaz hum saare utha lenge tum aao to sahi
Bewafa bhi ho sitamgar bhi jafa pesha bhi
Hum khuda tumko bana lenge tum aao to sahi
Raah taarikh hai aur door hai manzil lekin
Dard ki shamme jala lenge tum aao to sahi
Thursday, March 19, 2009
struggle to survive .. Hope Floats
How events change the course of our lives is an amazing thing ..
we watch things happen or sometimes we take decisions or make choices which seem the best at that time but years later the same thing turn out to be a disaster.
I have been reading and listening abt layoffs and people not getting jobs and how they are affected but i closely saw something happening to somebody whom i know for last four years....their life was good back home ...what makes people uproot themselves and their kids from a stable life ... is it the greed or is it the ambition to make big ? or is it just a search of better life and where does it all stop ?
The hope to be together .. the hope to just pull on with the situation .. the hope to fight the financial crisis .. the hope to make a living in a country that is not yours ...the hope to give a better living for the kids .. make people do things ...
God knows whats enstored for them .. or for all of us ...
But Life is most of the times the struggle to survive
with the hope that tomorrow will be a better day.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Seven Steps to Success in Graduate School
Though its coming too late... but its better late than never !!!
Seven Steps to Success in Graduate School (and Beyond)
Adapted from N. J. Halas
The following is a list of essential skills that all successful researchers have developed. Without these skills, you cannot expect to succeed in research. If you fully develop your abilities in each of these areas, you will lay a strong foundation for the rest of your research career that will lead directly to success in research. The responsibility for the development of these skills is entirely your own.
Your research advisor can provide guidance and assistance, but your graduate education is your personal responsibility.
This list is meant to serve as a personal barometer for you to analyze your strong and weak areas.
- WORK
Develop a sense of urgency and the habit of working hard at solving problems. - THINK
Understand, explain, and interpret your results. Continually ask how far you can push and extend your idea. Be contrarian: do not blindly accept claims and conclusions, but rather question whether they are really true and whether they can be extended or applied in new contexts. - READ
Investigate your area. Learn its history and context, understand its technical foundation and background. Learn to read technical papers with a critical eye, and with the expectation of being able to duplicate and extend what is described in the article. Follow your field by reading current journals. Know who did what in your field as well as related areas.Learn about other areas. Broaden yourself by reading articles in journals and magazines. Become familiar with other theoretical fields and application areas.
- WRITE
Write concise and focussed technical papers. Write a larger and more comprehensive document (thesis). Learn how to write proposals. Learn word processing and text formatting appropriate for scientific documents. - SPEAK
Discuss your ongoing research with peers, colleagues, and visitors in an informal setting and at conferences. Learn how to make a well-organized, coherent, and engaging presentation of your research results in front of an audience. Understand the differences in speaking to a general audience versus a technical audience. Cultivate professional contacts and associations. - MANAGE
Time: Develop a sense of how long any specific task will take you to execute.
People: Develop succesful working relationships with the people you work with.
Research: Develop a research program, not just a number of disconnected projects. - C0NTEMPLATE
Anticipate where research is going in your area, both your own and of your colleagues'. Become a generator of research ideas. Learn to be able to judge when an idea is feasible and when a research direction is important or impacting. Keep track of ideas, perhaps in a research diary. Search for connections between ideas.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
haan waali baat
aapse apki awaaz yun sunte sunte
gaar baat na kar paaye aap
aur baas apse haan waali baat hogi
haan hi sun lenge janab aapki ...
woh bhi sukun deti hai :)
iss ruh ko ...
gaar woh bhi sun ne ko nahin mili ...
to phir aaj bina awaaz sune...
jeene ki ek nayi koshish hogi ...
कितना लगाव हो गया है हमें
आपसे आपकी आवाज़ यूँ सुनते सुनते
ग़र बात न कर पाये आप
ओर ब़स होगी आपसे हाँ वाली बात
हाँ ही सुन लेंगे जनाब आपकी ...
वोह भी सुकून देती है :)
इस रूह को ...
ग़र वोह भी सुन ने को नहीं मिली ...
तो फिर आज बिना आवाज़ सुने...
जीने की एक नयी कोशिश होगी ...