Memories .. yaadein

A Friend emailed me today,because of a beautiful memory of a spring time.. which involved the two of us and a beautiful tree filled with white flowers. 

As I read the emailed, the feeling was brought to life and I could picture that spring day and that lovely tree.. We were like little kids in candy store.. don't know what made us so happy....
may be it was nature's gift.. the pure.. unconditional... shower of love..

Thanks for bringing the memories back .. To the beautiful life, beautiful memories and good times ..  Yes Cheers to all of them :)

Reminds me of a song from the hindi movie yaadein..

Nagme hain, shikwe hain, Kisse hain, baatein hain
Baatein bhool jaati hain, Yaadein yaad aati hain

Yeh jeevan dil jaani, dariya ka hai paani
Paani to beh jaaye, baaqi kya reh jaaye
Yaadein, yaadein, yaadein

Duniya mein yun aana, duniya se yun jaana
Aao to le aana, jaao to de jaana
Yaadein, yaadein, yaadein

Baatein bhool jaati hain, Yaadein yaad aati hain
Yeh yaadein kisi dil-o-jaanam ke
Chal jaane ke baad aati hain
Yaadein, yaadein, yaadein

The Soul returns to wander

Its been so many months in fact a year and few months have passed by ..where have i been ? 
lost in day to day life.. living life..today it was a total coincidence that i landed here .. I have thought about writing and coming back to you but it just didn't happen. But hey here I am .. and here it starts again ..

Have been lot of articles on Happiness, living in harmony, how to control your thought process.. how to start thinking positive.. Its easy to read or preach .. its difficult to put in practice but i have been trying to make it my way of life .. whenever negativity strikes.. i am trying to out strike it with positiveness.

This quote stayed with me and it enjoy it every time i read it,

"Sometimes you sense how faithfully your life is delivered, even though you can't read the address"-Ted Rooser

Keep up the faith .. keep up the good work, good thoughts, good action  and have a good life :)

yellow

yellow, a color of sun

a color of sunshine, a color that defines brightness..a color that always shines

yellow, a color of friendship

a color that starts a spark, a color that defines happiness.. a color of warmth

yellow, a color of haldi.. bride's preparation for shringaar

a color that brings basant, a color that defines bahar.. a color of begining a color of start

....yellow a beautiful color .. a color of this flower .....

Sometime price comes as a Surprise

Strange coincidences,
I started working this week and in my workplace i saw a painting
and for some reason i went to igoogle while getting bored and i see the same painting there and believe me or not it is an artists work "Bathers at Asnieres" Oil on canvas and the painting goes back to 1884 and is being sold for 87$ online.

Things have an impression on us when we know their price or sometimes price comes as a surprise !

Swatantrata Diwas

I got to celebrate Independence day here today along with some Indians. we had a small program with Flag hoisting, it was great to see Tiranga :)

Enjoyed singing National anthem along with other Desh bhakti songs ..

Missed my school days when i used to sing them every year

Missed school day and my country... my home ..

Oh when will it be just you and me ?

Here is a beautiful Amma bhajan, i listened it yesterday for the first time n fell in love with the lyrics and the tune.. just love it so much that i m posting it here..

When will it be Just You and Me ...

If i were a wave in the sea... I'll bathe your feet in my pure embrace

You and me .. Just you and me....You and me .. Just you and me

If i were the wind eternally free ..i could caress your face and comb your hair

You and me .. Just you and me....You and me .. Just you and me

If i were the sand warm and soft ...i'll be the bed in which you lie

You and me .. Just you and me....You and me .. Just you and me

If i were a bird up on your palm, i'll sing you a song of lost melody

You and me .. Just you and me....You and me .. Just you and me

If i were a rain and i fell in your cheek, will u brush me away or let me merge ?

You and me .. Just you and me...You and me .. Just you and me

If i were a wave in the sea... I'll bathe your feet in my pure embrace

You and me .. Just you and me....You and me .. Just you and me

But I am not a wave in the sea, nor am i wind eternally free...

Oh when will it be just you and me ?

Oh when will it be just you and me ?

Oh when will it be just you and me ?

But I am not a sand warm and soft, nor am I a bird up on your palm...

Oh when will it be just you and me ?

Oh when will it be just you and me ?

Oh when will it be just you and me ?

The choices we make ...

... lead the life we live ...

So lead us from darkness to light ...

Back from visiting Amma

Lombard Chicago Amma summer tour 30 june-2 july 2010..

Wonderful darshan, great experiences .. life filled with love just pure love :)

Thank you so much amma for being with us always !

Amma says

Remember O mind, this supreme Truth: Nobody is your own!

Because of doing meaningless actions, you are wandering in the ocean of this world. Remember this song, have satsang and always chant your mantra. Give up talking about others.

We find time for every useless and unnecessary thing, yet we say that there is no time to think of God. Do not go to vulgar movies or read novels. Are we not sitting in front of the television or going shopping for hours on end?

If you always fix your mind on the Lord, peace will be experienced.

Things that happenned to me in last month

1) Graduated, a dream fulfilled... mine n of loved ones..
2) Moved in with a person whom i love a lot ...started making a home
3) Emptied out apt n workplace
4) Moved to a new city.. new State...
5) Drove 14 hrs in a 36 hr trip ..
6) Cooked so many different things
7) Went out for walks almost every night after dinner
8) Started working out
9) Finally got a swimwear and got into the pool for the first time
10) Slept in

why do u wanna marry me ???

why do u wanna marry me ?

and he said so that i can kiss you anytime i want ....

Back to back ...

why do u wanna marry me ?

and she said so that i can kiss you anytime i want ....

sweet how sweet ...

yup that was home sweet Alabama ...

Phewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Lazy windy cloudy rainy stormy lightening thundering Sunday .....
as lazy as one could get ...

Inspirational Do it anyway ! source unknown

Do It Anyway

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered.

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.

Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and some true enemies.

Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you.

Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight.

Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, people may be jealous.

Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow.

Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough.

Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see in the final analysis it is between you and God.

It was never between you and them anyway.

Just got this sometime back in a fwd email and it sounds perfect to read at this moment and just perfect new post .....

wandering soul ...

many goals met.. soul still wanders and wanders and wanders .......

I know in my heart it is you ...

In the still of night
from the darkness comes the light

and i know in my heart it is you ....

In my heart in my soul
there is the glory for the lord

and i know in my heart it is you .....

When the truth is revealed
all the sorrows will be healed

and i know in my heart it is you ....


thanks for being with me ...my dearest amma ..

i feel your presence every day every minute and i know it is YOU..
and it is all because of YOU ...

A glimpse of winter on 7th jan 2010

Lake outside the school, frozen ....

the geese are having some conference and the theme for the conference is

"Climate Change and its implication on Geese community"

A closer view !

Happy twenty ten...

Another New year knocks at our doorsteps, named twenty ten ...

whats new about new years .

Is it all the same....
boundless time, bound in the boundaries of 12 months ..

Or

As always a time for new aspirations, new hopes, new dreams, new goals...
its time for Change !

New year has begun n it brings in a change for sure....
the change personally has begun on the first day itself .....
and there is more to come ...

Will embrace the change and move ahead ...
as i have some chapters to write, tasks to finish ...dreams to fulfill and make it a happy 2010 !

My first long drive in snow ...

Its winter time with the festivities around the corner and the time for winter break... Last two years were spent in my motherland with my loved ones in the mix of warm and cold weathers of plains and Dhauladhar mountains...

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 ...

Fall graduation 2009

19th Dec'09 attended the fall graduation...

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 !

come away with me --norah jones

Come away with me in the night
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

.........

All conditioned things
are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, shadows,
like dew drops and a lightning flash:
contemplate them thus.

---The Buddha---

Give with humility and take with gratitude

I read this article in speaking tree TOI and its well written .. solves most of the fight that people go through while taking...and they keep thinking how will you give back..

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

On the verge of crying, I could barely express my gratitude. Saying a simple ‘thank you’ did not seem adequate for the effort taken by a friendin trying to get me a job in a vulnerable phase in my life. And so, thereafter, I must have tried to express my thanks many times over till she simply smiled and said: “It is your time to take.”

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.