Shashwat and his friends appealing to all parents and elders to make India win by voicing their opinion through VOTE!
‘Oh my God! Is this what you meant?’
Story one
Five cars honking at the same time, while passers gave me a look with utter disgust, oops!! I was in a no entry, zooming my car in the wrong direction.
I cursed the stranger in my heart, for having told me a wrong way. With fear in my heart, not wanting to get caught, I took a U turn and slowly made my way in the lane before .
Oh! Here comes the temple.. and comes the signal after that … and now the right turn opposite the state bank… and yes I reached my destination… The Heart said – ‘Sorry stranger – Oh my God! This is the way what you meant?’
Story two
I Have been popping the same medicines for days, and every time I ask the doctor, he says ‘continue, continue with the same medicines for few more days’. But nothing seems to be improving in me!
“So what if he is our family physician? He too is a human first , prone to the weaknesses like greed. He surely gets commissions for prescribing these medicines.. Who knows?? I will be alright anyways, let me give these up!”
I left the medicines but the ulcers increased and so did the pain,so much so that it could not have been worse …. Heart said- ‘Sorry doctor – Oh my God! A precaution is what you meant? ‘
Story three
‘I won’t allow you, no matter what. These two wheeler’s are too risky! Don’t you read the newspaper everyday!? So many accidents are reported every day.’
“But father, But, But…..”
“But father, But, But…..”
‘This is the final decision! You will not get a bike, that’s it!’
“Who says he is a father, he is a Hitler. He has no clue about the reality, just makes too much fuss. All my friends have two wheeler’s..”
One of those beautiful rainy days, me and my friends zoomed on his bike enjoying life to its fullest, I closed my eyes to save the moment in my mind..They say, I opened my eyes much later, at the hospital… “What happened how did I reach here?” , they said it was that biggest pot hole we crashed into, we became unconscious immediately .. Heart said -‘ Sorry father- Oh my God! This likelihood is what you meant?’
“My” Story four
Me- “Guru? Why do I need a Guru in life? I can teach the world “The Art of Living” myself..
The words of wisdom from elders , the laws of dharma taught by saints, yoga, meditation all sounded obsolete to me.
Until one day, when my Guru found me and I started my journey on the spiritual path and it all started making so much sense.
And even now, after fifteen years of walking the path, A feeling of wonder constantly knocks the door of my heart ‘Oh my God! Having a Guru, this is what it meant?? ‘
I am sure many such stories unfold in every life, when the meaning of words are revealed much later. They remain like those codes which never popped on the screen of life. And we reject them thinking they are untrue or unwanted, isn’t it.. 🙂
Doesn’t matter if these stories do not make any sense to you, sometime in future it may happen that the chord gets struck (like it did for me) and you say – ‘Oh my God!THIS IS WHAT YOU MEANT..’
Until then keep Smiling 😉 🙂
#VoteWisely
I stood by them one day, but I regret my decision today. What seemed like a ray of hope leaves me with only despair today!
That spoken truth & those ideologies for change, are now being kicked far away and unmindfully being compromised. Those high principals that resonated in their voices and seemed their very foundation, have shaken and crumpled down today. With their irresponsible actions they have proved that they are no Heroes. Like I had thought and many others like me did too, who stood shoulder to shoulder in their fight against corruption. Most of those ‘real’ leaders of the IAC movement such as Sri Sri, Anna ji, Kiran Bedi ji and others, no longer stand with them today. May be because these able leaders realized much earlier that they had those among their team members, who were callow and unworthy.
Time alone could have proved that those who are victims of their own weaknesses, driven by greed for power, who could compromise their love and devotion for their country, were no role models .Arvind Kejriwal talked about fighting the corrupt to gather support from the Aam Aadmi (ordinary citizens) and when the testing time came to stand by his words, he gave into those very corrupt hands (against whom he campaigned) for the sake of being in power!
He failed yet again, when time compelled him to take another test to prove his words and deliver his tall claims, when he ran away and quits his position as a chief minister of Delhi
- Is a chief ministers position so ineffectual?
- Couldn’t he have atleast put a few corrupt leaders behind the bar staying there?
- Was Rome built in a day, then can the deep rooted corruption in Indian political system end in a day?
- Did he reach out to the Aam Aadmi, to consult and take advice before quitting?
- Was his decision to quit powered by lust to gain more political power?
Bitter answers to some of these questions in future will prove if his love for the Aam Aadmi was driven by convenience or commitment, isn’t it!
Making noise is not enough! It’s when one goes through the tests of time and proves one’s ideologies by complementing actions that his/her character outshines that of ordinary mortals.
It feels evident to me today, that Arvind Kejriwal and his party members are continuing to take advantage of the innocence of my countrymen to fulfil their political ambitions, while we are failing to see any further than his hollow words. My heart aches to see such games being played. And the innocent being disillusioned by the pomp and show of his ‘fake idealism’.
Is our country so cheap and are we so naive that we will let them rob our country and bring it down to docks. Like they left Delhi in the middle of nowhere??
Can ‘you’ and ‘I’ be sure that he will not join hands with the corrupt again and compromise ideals for being in power tomorrow?
Can we really trust them to govern our country which faces terrible threats from looters inside and outside, when they failed to deliver their promises just yesterday?
Can ‘you’ and ‘I’ be sure that he will not join hands with the corrupt again and compromise ideals for being in power tomorrow?
Can we really trust them to govern our country which faces terrible threats from looters inside and outside, when they failed to deliver their promises just yesterday?
Wont their amateur and childish hands need much more skill and experience to nurture our wounded motherland?Why are they in such hurry to grab power? Can we afford to take a chance and hand over the greatest responsibility of protecting our borders in such hurry?
Of course we can’t . They owe it to us to prove themselves first. Before coming and asking us for votes. Actions speak louder than words. Until they do not prove with their committed actions, we shall wait and they shall wait too. 2019 is only 5years away, will be happy to stand by them another day if they pass the tests of time. I will be glad if they proved me wrong in future and gained my trust back and also that of my fellow citizens.
For now, we shall go with the lesser evil, with an expert who has experienced hands and his actions have written larger volumes of achievements than any of them out there.
I will choose actions and experience over words. As my mother land is grappling for every breath and I cannot trust the newborns to breathe life back in her, who are falling and failing to deliver at every step.
So that I won’t need to regret another day, I shall vote wisely.
What about you?
#VoteWisely
Jai Hind
– Vasudha Jhunjhunwala
In Between..
In ßetween words, is silence
In ßetween silence, is truth
In ßetween events, are emotions
In ßetween emotions, is poetry
In ßetween desires, is contentment
In ßetween contentment, is gratitude
In ßetween action, is rest
In ßetween rest, is surrender
In ßetween sorrow, is happiness
In ßetween happiness, is bliss
In ßetween matter, is space
In ßetween space, is creation
In ßetween failure, is success
In ßetween success, is dispassion
In ßetween challenge, is prayer
In ßetween prayer, is longing
In ßetween logic, is faith
In ßetween faith, is “the” strength
In ßetween greed, is service
In ßetween service, is love
In ßetween death, is life
In ßetween life, is immortality
The purpose is in ßetween….
CrAzY!
A soul full song & a Cup full tea
Have no meaning & that makes “me”
No flowers, no cherry blossoms, no twilight, no stars
Crazy is this moment, Is this not Mars???
Meanings there are, meaning there aren’t
Neither should nor woulds, no losses no grants .
The train blew a whistle, the heart hears a sound
CHUK chuk DHAK dhak, am “I” really bound!
No truth, no expressions, no laws, no ideas, no Vows
The “I” is freeeeeeed & flying NOW ..
😀Birthday gift :)
How does one feel when GOD himself visits and adorns one’s home??
The heart celebrates along with the entire nature. Such was the feeling when Gurudev visited DeoNiwas. Our ancestors in heaven also celebrated with us:)
Blessed are we for this lifetime and more….. One of the most cherished moments of my life are captured in this film by AKHIL. A birthday gift that i will be grateful forever 🙂 Sharing with all my dear ones..
A special gift on this Christmas Day
I was walking out feeling grateful after an extremely eventful day which could ‘otherwise’ have been quite a topsy-turvy experience…
More than 9 hours had passed after the first delay of our flight to Nice was announced.We were whiling our time in so many different ways at the Zurich airport. Shopping windows , clicking pictures of the decorated Christmas trees a second and a third time, drinking tea,coffee, juice, water..
And all of the above again and again for last many hours …
After all, how creative can one be with the limited possibilities of entertainment at an airport and that too after having taken a long 9 hour flight and sleeping very little at night ..
We had arrived at Zurich at 6 am after a long flight of 9 hours from Mumbai on this Christmas Day(quite unaware of the series of events, Santa had in store for us)
Hoping that our flight departure will be announced soon as it was already 5 pm now, we continued making desperate attempts to keep ourselves entertained at the this hour.
Until that last ray of hope also turned down into a black hole – As we got up and started our walk towards the departure gate, we happened to see the information screen which said – flight to Nice delayed further.
Delayed further ..Oh my God, why again!!!
When we inquired at the information desk, we were told that the airport at Nice was shut because of bad weather. And they would not guarantee the departure time until the airport reopens .
Without loosing a minute. We googled ( sincere thanks to Google, life would be very blue without google on the blue planet) and found that a storm had hit Nice. The same that had hit England few days back/travelled south of France/Paris was without electricity on Christmas Eve/storm hits Nice…
Do we want to be received by a storm on Christmas?? Ofcourse we are still young and adventurous but getting stuck in a storm would be stupidity not adventurous , isn’t it..
And we are wise beings ..
But how about the hotel bookings.. And the air tickets.. The onward journey from Nice .. The rerouting charges.. Where would we stay in Zurich .. It’s Christmas Eve wouldn’t the hotels be damn expensive.. Etc etc ..
Within a second, the storm in Nice felt quite distant from the storm of thoughts that had hit inside us..
Though we all know that the only thing certain about life is that it is uncertain, Yet whenever we come across a situation when we come face to face with another uncertainty the mind is the first one to betray us. Like a best friend behaving like a stranger suddenly…
Took a deep breath In (to energise) and then a long deep breath out (to relax) -thanks Guru for this magic mantra a deep realisation is what followed- there was no use struggling.
Patiently taking one step at a time we started unknotting this challenging new puzzle. What is the best thing to do.. Let’s see
Number One….
Number Two….
Number Three….
The outcome that followed was a patient, well thought decision of staying back in Zurich. Took exact 10minutes to make all the changes, few calls and few online bookings and we were almost sorted..
Yes Almost.. Remaining was only the last mile to be covered of cancelling our booking and getting our luggage (which was through checked in earlier in Mumbai). Which we were suppose to only receive after reaching Nice.
This should be simple-
After visiting a few airport counters ( all of us are quite aware of these formalities aren’t we) we finally seemed to have reached the point where the destiny of our luggage would be announced by the airport ‘God’ (of course that was God for us, after all he had our luggage/ our life with him). The airport God announced- “I regret but it’s Christmas, we are short of staff today, no one to sort your luggage and so you shall only get your luggage after the flight departs to Nice, which is uncertain, we are hopeful may be after 4-5 hours from now’ .
Wow! such kind words from God! Just 4-5 hours more..
Siddharth immediately intervened and asked “Could you please send our luggage to the hotel” to which God kindly replied “Yes , but it will reach you only by tomorrow”
Have you seen Tom and Jerry, it’s Shashwat’s and my favourite cartoon. All my jackets are in the suitcase and it was really really COLD outside, I imagined Jerry’s condition after being abandoned in a freezing winter..
When nothing works one thing surely does and so, I just closed my eyes and prayed from my heart, a sincere/deep prayer .
YES!!! I saw ‘the airport God’ talking over the phone with his colleague – explaining something in German.
Yipee.. I knew the prayer was heard and something will soon happen. And I told this to Siddharth “he is getting our bag” Siddharth thought, I was hallucinating… No I was not 🙂
Within 20 min the luggage came, yes a miracle had just happened for us. A prayer had just got answered .
I removed our jackets and we were soon walking towards the exit, with a grin..
With gratefulness in our hearts and with a feeling of being taken care of , feeling warm and comforted, We walked out.
The Christmas tree bears so many colorful gifts. I had just unwrapped one, on this Christmas Day and so there was a big grin on my face.. After an eventful day like today the heart was full of a Gratitude for the care and love God bestowed on us .
What a beautiful Christmas gift, Gratefulness itself, I thought to myself….. 🙂
Don’t sleep yet, Or you may regret…!
Don’t sleep yet,
Or you may regret…
The sight will be magical
When the first ray sings ‘that’ chronicle
Like a bride she walked
Of her wealth , they talked
Ancient was her pride
Glorious every stride …
A blanket of dust covers the truth now
To establish Dharma again, is Lord’s vow
Though the night has never been darker
And the goal has never looked further,
But morning is near
I hear the Temple bells, so clear
Few more hours of toil
A sacrifice, so worth for ‘my soil’
Bathed in sunlight
Shining so bright
Her golden chariot will pass by soon
As radiant and complete as a full moon
You want to watch it right!
I too, want to admire the sight.
Don’t sleep yet
Or you may regret…
For this vision will be a gift for those
Who kept awake until the last
ray of hope ..
Till the very last breath we shall fight
Dying for the nation is a delight
Living with might, living for the right
Is the very purpose of life ..
I won’t sleep yet
so that I find no reason to regret .
What it really means to have a Guru…
Working for Volunteer for better India has opened a new dimension in my life. And I feel, I am just starting to explore, what it really means to have a Guru and the strength that I carry, as a devotee.
As we all know VBI has been initiated by Gurudev with a vision for a JUST, Peaceful and Prosperous nation .
5,000 Kg Dry garbage removed from Aarey in less than 2 hours-
A VBI environment initiative
2000 volunteers came together for Road safety –
Mind your vehicle a VBI’s traffic awareness project.
( For more VBI Mumbai news- http://www.vbimumbai.org/vfabi/pastactivity)
While working for VBI projects we did not depend on logic. Faith drove us all the way .We did not wait for resources, people or any support to come to us first, we kept walking into the unknown deeper and deeper, as if into the blinding darkness. But we knew and we were, being carried and protected all throughout. Never before did I feel more comfortable being in the unknown.
We walked one step and 100’s of people joined us. Imposible was being achieved effortlessly.Out of nothing everything was being created, it was truly magical!!
It was unfolding so beautifully! As if, the power of Guru’s will was just starting to come alive, and in the process I was also realising the powers that a devotee is gifted with .Just like when Hanuman wrote Ram Ram( his master’s name) on the stones and threw in water, against the laws of nature, the stones floated.
We were also being bestowed with infinite strength and this could have been only experienced because we were being Guru’s instrument, and working for a greater vision.
Not having found a Satguru or shall I reframe and say, not having a Satguru find you, could be the greatest misfortune of ones life. Otherwise how does one explore the hightest possiblity of being in a human form?
It would be like owning a BMW or a Rolls-Royce, but not having learnt to drive it and not finding anyone else to drive it too!
It would be like owning a BMW or a Rolls-Royce, but not having learnt to drive it and not finding anyone else to drive it too!
Or it can be compared to being in a rocket which has not learnt to cross the threshold of gravity.
There can only be a limited understanding of life. Limited to the extent of where logic or intellect can take.
A Guru can guide us beyond, much beyond the sphere of our imagination. He can make us meet the Stars, the Sun and the Moon.
But why do we need a “Guru” to take us there?
We all know the law of marginal utility don’t we? Only if the senses could make us eternally blissful, gulab Jamuns would have been enough to do the job, Isn’t it 🙂
To explore the highest possibility that we are, we have to learn from an expert. Only the one who has found the treasure can lead us to it, as there are infinite possibilities of being lost on the way without a guide. Guru knows the exact patch.Following his footprint, learning right directions from his words of wisdom, makes the path so easy and so much fun. That is how one discovers being bliss. (Bliss- a noun not a verb)
With a Guru to guide him Hanuman could even raise a mountain, he could float stones on water. And we could meet the hiding Hanuman is us..
Such is the glory of being a devotee, of the one who has a master, a Guru. It is indeed the greatest fortune, the greatest gift and the only goal 🙂
And even after so many years of being on the path I still feel, that I am just starting to explore, what it really means to have a Guru…
Jai Gurudev
Udaipur – Part 2
The tribal community called “Bhils” found in this region is one of the oldest tribes in the world. It is said that this tribe claim belongs to the stone age.
This tribal community was as committed to the protection of their state as was the royal family of Mewar. The Bhil community people fought hand in hand with Mewari royal family for the cause of protection of their state. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that their unconditional support was one of the reasons why Mewar could maintain its sovereignty and could remain undefeated against some of the mighty attacks.
The city of Udaipur is surrounded by Aravalli hills (one of the oldest ranges in the world).
In those times a thick jungle sheltering wild animals surrounded Udaipur. The attacking armies would find it very difficult to pass through this difficult terrain to reach the city of Udaipur. Over these natural hurdles, the Bhils – experts in guerilla warfare, would shoot arrows of poison at these intruders to dampen their spirits further.
it’s said that destiny supports the brave! The kings and Queens who were ready to sacrifice their lives for the cause of their state and its people, it seemed even God extended a special umbrella of protection upon them by gifting Mewar it’s fearless tribal population in form of the Bhils..
Some Spiritual tales –
The Kings of Mewar called themselves the Custodians of Ek Ling ji. Ek ling Ji is the form of lord Shiva worshiped here.
The Kings official signatures read “Dewan of Ekling ji” .
By saying this they contributed all their wealth rightly belonging to lord Shiva. Being on the highest stature and still recognizing all belongs to God is a definite sign of deep spiritual roots,isn’t it!
Story of Prem Giriji–
King Udai Singh went hunting one night. He became curious seeing smoke rising at the top of a hill and he went towards it. Tracing it lead him to a mountain peak where he had an encounter with Saint Prem Giriji .
The sage blessed the king and intuitively told him that if the King choses to built his royal Palace on this particular peak, the King’s generations would rule for hundred years and more.
This is how Udaipur was founded by King Udai Singh. In the heart of City palace is located a temple of PremGiriji, even today, at the same place where the king was blessed by the sage.
God’s direct intervention, that’s what we would call this. Isn’t it.. And so Mewar dynasty continues to be the longest serving dynasty in the world. The present King is Its 76th generation serving as a king.
However this clan claims itself to be from the linage of lord Ram. Lord Ram had two children Lav and Kush. They believe they are descendants of Lav. There will always be critics who would over rule such claims, but to me what makes this clan one of the most unique is their commitment to live or die for the sake of their state and people.
And these values seeped downwards in their subjects, and both humans and animals reflected the same emotions of sacrifice.
Let me explain by narrating the two tales…
Sacrifice of Panna Dhai– Often among royal families would be found a sense of rivalry among cousin brothers for the greed of power to rule the throne.
Cousin Banvir wanted to be the uninterrupted crowned king of the Mewar dynasty and after killing Vikarmaditya elder son of King Sanga he also wanted to kill his youngest son, infant Udai Singh.
Blinded by his extreme greed for power, cousin Banvir planed to kill the infant while he was asleep. Panna Dhai, the prince’s maid got to know about his evil plans. To save the only heir of the throne Panna Dhai, quietly exchanged her own son (approx. the same age) with prince Uday and saved his life. At the cost of her own Son’s life.
Such sacrifice of a mother for loyalty towards her state is unheard of before or after this episode … isn’t it! Where a mother sacrifices her own child for protecting the heir of her state. Simply amazing..
Sometimes even the Animals reflected outstanding Heroism, another rare tale of Chetak– Most of us may have heard about the famous battle of Haldighati. Ranapratap the King of Mewar refused to succumb to the pressure of Akbar and sign a treaty on his terms. Furious Akbar sent his large army lead by Raja Mansingh (king of Amber) for a battle against Rana Pratap.
This was the famous battle of Haldighati. Rana Pratap fought bravely against the mighty army of Akbar. Read more @ http://www.indiaonline.in/about/Profile/History/Wars/Battle-of-Haldighati.html
Rana Pratap’s loyal horse Chetak was injured badly and lost one of his legs during this fight. But he did not give up. But laboured on to carry his master, about two miles away from the site of the battle field where he came across a small stream. It was here, while trying to leap across the stream that chetak collapsed.A heroic end of Chetak , even today the cenotaph still exists at Haldighati in Rajsamand district.
Though we have heard some of these tales in our childhood, but the morals seem to have been long forgotten now. Aren’t these epics our true wealth and our real moral guide? And if so, shouldn’t we sing these lores again and again to re-kindle nationalism and our pride in our civilisation!
These Suryavanshi kings who would prefer to sacrifice their lives but not trade their independence, for small sensory pleasures or weaknesses, are true Hero’s in my eyes.
Other facts-
Maharana Bhupal Singh was the first ruler to merge his state with independent India (18 April 1948). India’s first Union Home Minister (Loh Purush – the Iron Man) Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel reprimanded the reluctant Hyderabad and other states saying that “…if any ruler in India had any right to claim of independence it was Mewar, which has gladly and readily merged with the Indian Union saying that it was fulfillment of 13 centuries of their mission…but for Mewar no other rulers has that right…”
Today Udaipur continues to be one of the most attractive cities in the world. A city hosting one of the most magnificiant palace hotels like Uday vilas, Leela palace, Lake palace etc. Attracting thousands of tourists towards its outer beauty.
But I am sure, at a closer look at the history of Udaipur, every visitor would agree “Udaipur is not just a city of lakes but its real beauty lies in its rich culture, stories of invigorating bravery, a legacy few states in the world have a parallel with”. I think, It’s always the people and their values of a state which make it truly great. Udaipur in that sense is truly remarkable!!
Vasudha Jhunjhunwala
P.S- Special thanks to Ran Vijay Singh ji for being such a inspiring guide.
Vasudha Jhunjhunwala 