Dec

9

அருணை புரி வாழும் அண்ணலே

அருணை  புரி   வாழும்  அண்ணலே  நின்

 Arul Padam Paninthoruku Illai Oru Kuraiye

Karunai Pozhindu Kaththiduvai Enkalai

Enniyavai Yaavum Tharubavane

Porul Kidaitha Pothum Un Arul Vendi  Negizhginrom
Irul Neeki Pathai Katiyatharkku Magizhginrom

Thavam Yogam  Jnanam Margam Ariyom
Dhinam Un Padam Potri Perinbam Peruvom

Chinthanai Thavari Ninthani Seivorukum
Vandhadaiyum Un Karunai
Adhanal Karunai Pozhindu Kaththiduvai

இத்தருணம்....

Atmanjanamum Azhivilla Pugazhum
Utthamar Uravum Udavhum Uravinarum
Nittham Ennai Vandaiya Nee Arulvai Ramana
Petra Ippiravi Payanadaiya Uttra Guruve Engal Ramana
Matravai Venden Marupiravi Venden
Katradhu Un Naamam Kettathu Un Perumai
Nar thava Yogigal Naalum Unnai Pugazhndu Yetrida
Arunai Giri Valam Varum Anaivaraiyum Kathiduvai
Karunai Pozhindu Enkalai Kaththiduvai

Posted 2 days ago by swaminathanR

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Dec

9

Of God's wealth and people's wishes

http://expressbuzz.com/opinion/op-ed/of-god%E2%80%99s-wealth-and-people%E2%80%99s-needs/291946.html

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Dec

9

மாத்ரு பஞ்சகம் :தமிழ் வடிவம்

மாத்ரு பஞ்சகம்

தமிழ் வடிவம்: ஆர். ஸ்வாமிநாதன்


‘உன் மரண சமயத்தில் அருகே இருப்பேன்’ என்று வாக்குக் கொடுத்து தான் துறவியாக மாறுவதற்குத் தன் தாயிடம் சம்மதம் வாங்கியதும், அதன்படி அந்தச் சமயத்தில் தன் தாய்க்குக் கொடுத்த வாக்கை நிறை வேற்றியதும், ஆதிசங்கரரின் வாழ்வில் நடந்த அற்புதச் சம்பவங்கள். ‘எதைத் துறந்தாலும் தாயைத் துறப்பது தர்மமாகாது’ என்று நிலைநாட்டிய ஆதிசங்கரர், தன் தாய் மரணம் அடைந்த பிறகு, தாயின் அருமை பெருமைகளை வெளிப்படுத்திய ‘மாத்ரு பஞ்சகம்’ என்ற புகழ்பெற்ற க்ரந்தத்தின் தமிழ் வடிவம் இது. தமிழில் பின்வரும் மொழி மாற்றத்தைச் செய்தவர் ஆர். ஸ்வாமிநாதன்.
மனிதகுலம் முழுமைக்கும் சொந்தமான தாய்மையைப் போற்றுவதை ஐந்து ஸ்லோகங்களில் அற்புதமாகச் செய்துள்ளார் ஆதிசங்கரர். பெற்றெடுத்த அன்னைக்கு யார்தான் என்ன கைமாறு செய்ய முடியும்?
1. அன்னையே, என்னை ஈன்றபொழுது பட்ட வலி என்னென்பேன்; பற்களைக் கடித்து, ப்ரசவ வலியில் துடித்து, பெற்றெடுத்தாய். மலங்களினால் வருடம் பல துர்நாற்றம் அடையச் செய்தேன், பாவி நான். கருவிலிருந்தபோது, ஊனினை உருக்கி, உடலினை வருத்தி, உதிரத்தால் உணவு தந்து, உயிர் கொடுத்தாய்! உனக்கு என்ன கைமாறு செய்வேன்? பேரும், புகழும், பொன்னும், பொருளும் தந்து, போற்றினாலும் போதாது.
2. பள்ளியில் பரதேசிக் கோலத்தில் பார்த்தவுடன், கனவிலும் நினைவிலும் பயந்து, என்னைத் தழுவி, குழந்தைகளுடன் நீயும் ஒரு குழந்தையாய், கேவிக்கேவி அழுதாய். யாவரும் சேர்ந்து அழுதனரே. பாதார விந்தங்களில் பணிந்து உன்னைப் போற்றுவேன். பின் என் செய்வேன்? அன்னையே!
3. என்னைப் பிரசவித்து பட்ட வலியில் கூவிய நாமங்கள் என் காதில் இன்னும் ஒலிக்கின்றன.
‘அம்மா, அப்பா; ஐயனே, என்னை ஈன்ற
ஈசனே, சிவகாமி நேசனே; க்ருஷ்ணா, கோவிந்தா, முகுந்தா, முரஹரி ஆதிமூலமே, அச்சுதா என்று தெய்வங்களை உன் துணைக்கு அழைத்தாய் நன்றி சொல்ல என்னால் நமஸ்கரிக்க மட்டும்தான் முடியும்.
4. உன் மரண கால தாகத்தை என்னால் தணிக்க முடியவில்லை.
உன் இறுதி யாத்திரையில் என்னால் கலந்துகொள்ள முடியவில்லை.
கர்ண மந்திரத்தை உன் செவியில் சொல்ல முடியவில்லை.
கருணையால் இந்தத் தவறுகளை மன்னிப்பாய்
காலம் கடந்து உன் காலடியில் நிற்கிறேன் அம்மா!
5. “முத்தே, மணியே, மருக்கொழுந்தே, மாணிக்கமே, மரகதமே, என் கண்மணி ஒளியே, என் ராஜாவே, கண் உறங்கு, வாழ்க பல ஆண்டு” என்று தாலாட்டுப் பாடினாயே என் பத்ம ராகமே என்னால் இன்று ஒரு பிடி பச்சரிசிதான் உன் மூடிய வாயில் இடமுடிந்தது!

Original in Sanskrit by Adi Shankara


1. ஆஸ்தாம் தாவதியம் ப்ரஸுதி ஸமயே தூர்வார சூலவ்யதா |
நைருச்யம் தனுசோஷணம் மலமயீ சய்யாச ஸாம் வத்ஸரீ ||
ஏகஸ்யாபி நகர்ப்ப பாரபரண க்லேசஸ்ய யஸ்யாக்ஷம |
தாதும் நிஷ்க்ருதி முன்னதோபி தனய தஸ்யை ஜனன்யை நம ||
2. குருகுல முபஸ்ருத்ய ஸ்வப்ன காலேது த்ருஷ்ட்வா யதி ஸமுசித வேஷம் ப்ராவ்ருதோமாம் த்வமுச்சை | குருகுல மத ஸர்வம் ப்ராரு தத்தே ஸமக்ஷம் ஸபதி சரண யோஸ்தே மாதரஸ்து ப்ரணாம ||
3. அம்பேதி தாதேதி சிவேதி தஸ்மின்
ப்ரஸுதி காலே யதவோச உச்சை |
க்ருஷ்ணேதி கோவிந்த ஹரே முகுந்தேத்
யஹோ ஜனன்யை ரசிதோய மஞ்ஜலி :
4. ந கஸ்தம் மாகஸ்தே மரண ஸமயே தோயமபி வா
ஸ்வதாவா நோ தத்தா மரண திவஸே ச்ராத்த விதினா |
ந ஜப்தோ மாதஸ்தே மரணயமயே தாரக மனு
அகாலே ஸம்ப்ராப்தே மயிகுரு தயாம் மாதரதுலாம்
5. முக்தர மணி ஸ்த்வம் நயனம் மமேதி
ராஜேதி ஜீவேதி சிரம் ஸுதத்வாம் |
இத்யுக்தவத்யாஸ்தவ வாசி மாதர்
ததாம் யஹம் தண்டுல மேவகஷ்கம் ||

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Dec

8

Vizhiyodu Vizhi partha naal mudhal

Vizhiyodu Vizhi partha naal mudhal

Mathiyodu Enn Vidhi Maatra Thunai Vandhai

Un thunaiyodu Naam Nalam Nadi

Valam thedi vaazhivil suvai serpom

Ini Nathiyodu Karaipola Kalanthu vazhvom

Varapodu Neerpola Uyarndhu valarvom

Num Veedu Num Makkal Num Naadu

Nalam Vazha Naaldorum Naan Venduven

Porulodu Pughazhyodu Puvimeedile

Pini Pokki ,Tuyar Neeki , Nammai Karai Serpaan

Naam vazha Vazhi Kaatuvaan

Naranan Padam Seruvom

Naalthorum Nalam Serpom

Nankooram Naam Thedi Avan Padam Naadinaal

Pini Pokki Tuyar Neeki Nammai Karai Serpaan

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Dec

8

Me and Master Shri CPS

Never can one find an able journalist, most loyal to the profession and the proprietors, serving the same organisation for three score years and tirelessly working on all days of the year and selflessly training a band of journalists just out of his passion for subbing and rewriting. He was rightly known as Master in the profession because a lot of his pupils who have migrated to other newspaper or media companies still hold him in high esteem as their Guru.

I am referring to the great C P Seshadri of the Indian Express, Chennai. He needs to be described in detail to the presentday scribes especially on his birth centenary which is on December 7, 2011. He was spotted by Shri Ramnath Goenkaji as a tutor for his dear son Shri BDG in his adolescent years. Later, CPS became a Master for everyone in the newspaper group. Though he served the newspaper for so many decades, his bylines never appeared. Nor did his photograph until Shri Saeed Naqvi, a well-known editor, insisted that he write in the paper with due creditline. A few columns appeared after that. Earlier, Shri Raj Mohan Gandhi, who was an editor in Chennai in those days, goaded Master to write a few pieces for "Metroving" feature of the Indian Express city pages.

Master was not famous for socialisation and partying. He loved to work and worked all the time in the office. His white dhoti with a think black border, his white shirt and specs and above all, his inimitable gait, enabled his journo friends and colleagues to identify him even from a long distance.

I joined the company in August 1975 as an apprentice sub-editor. It was my father and his old colleague who introduced me to Master and entrusted me to him to be groomed into a journalist. I am a small spec as compared to my father, Mr M K Ramamurthy, who had worked with Shri CPS earlier in the Statesman, Calcutta. Master was with my father in the Indian Express, Bombay, for a while. He then moved to Chennai. In fact, when my father desired to move to Chennai after the Second War II started, Master facilitated the transfer, and they were great friends and colleagues in Chennai till the Great IE Strike preceding the Chittoor edition launch separated them.

After decades, my father felt the need to place me properly in life and career after my post-graduation (the other Madras newspaper was then dead against freshers) and approached Master. The friends met after years in the Express compound, near the Club House (now extant). Master promised to take me on board _ he talked to Shri BDG immediately and asked for me to be sent to him. Thus I became an apprentice and his pupil.

I devoted a few lines to my start in the career because I need to discuss the way Master groomed his men. He did not believe in written tests, panel interviews, etc. with which we are familiar today. He always went by on-the-job assessment and absorption of capable persons. He had a rare insight into the potential for a newsman in any journalist, whether as a reporter or rewrite person. He was strict with almost everybody. He would give greater attention to people whom he liked more. He would not give work to a person if he or she had comitted any wrong. The remorse averted recurrence of such mistakes. Some were even scared to go and ask him for leave or compensatory off.

This was not due to any bias but to his earnest desire to groom certain deserving people at a faster pace. He knew which kind of copy to give to a sub for editing. He would review every edited copy with a fine toothcomb. He was adept in even making wire stories far more interesting after severe subbing. He would look into galley proofs even in his advancing years to avoid printing and grammar mistakes. (He worked both in hot metal composing days and early photo-typing times). He loved the idea of updating the edition with the latest foreign news by listening to the BBC radio at night.

He liked to walk often in the second floor corridor to avoid cramps. He would go from the editorial department to the teleprinter department to get copies or stories and he would reach the reporters' room also, to seek clarifications required in their copy/ies. No one knew when he would enter the reporter's room like that! Many used to be caught with their pens down or puffing in the dark balcony on the side.

He always used to reach the office in early afternoon and go home only after the second city editon had gone to press. He never took any weekly holiday. He was there even on the so-called festival days. Thus he gave very little time to his family members and get-togethers. For one Diwali he had rushed from Vijayawada just a few hours before the daybreak. He would carefully avoid responding to invitations for functions or marriages. (But there were a very few events attended by him.)

Master was very much upset when the Emergency was imposed and the paper was subjected to severe censorship. He also used to get upset when good ( I mean trained) journalists left the paper and joined rival organisations. Of course, he got reconciled to that when a pattern emerged and poaching continued intermittently. Many incomplete journalists (I do not want to offend anyone with any other description ) who left the company purely for pecuniary benefits used to drop his name in the new company and claim that they were trained by him. This would be farther from truth in several cases.

He took ill a few months before his last day in office. He took treatment and rest only to return for a fresh session. Even after he finally said goodbye to the office, he used to remain in touch with his colleagues and give his opinion or comments on the news items.

He used to say that Shri RNG had asked him to go on working till he dropped dead like himself. So Master's excitement, ability to hone the copy like no one else could do it, and his affable nature endeared him to everyone. Some used to think he was heartless but only a very few knew the real master and the core of his heart.

He was called a prisoner of the Club House by a friend of mine and his old colleague, because never moved out of the Express Estate. He never kept money on his person, he would be picked up by office car and dropped home whenever he need to move around. He made only one foreign trip in his life (before I entered the company) due to tremendous love and pressure from Sri RNG.

He had never travelled by the Chennai public transport to my knowledge except once. That was in October 1977 when he took me to his daughter's house in Mylapore. A girl's horoscope had been compared with mine and found to be tallying by an astrologer in the city. I wanted a second opinion. He told me his daughter knew a very old astrologer, not a professional one, living nearby and we could consult him. It was an Ayudha Puja day and the Express office was closed for the day.

I went to his house and took him by an auto (a rare mode of transport for him) to his daughter's place. We met the gentleman who said everything was perfectly tallying (that I married that girl in February 1978 is a true story). Master told me to give the elderly person some money though it was not his nature to collect a fee. I kept a 100-rupee note on a plate in his pooja room and we left the place. Thinking that he had asked me to dole out a big sum that day, Master suggested that we travel by bus (Route No. 21) to Odeon Tower Clock in our return trip. He travelled with me that day and fortunately for us we got seats. Today, it is impossible to get a seat in that route bus in Mylapore. We got down at the bus stop and walked to his house. These details are not known to even his family members till this date and so I wanted to share them with my friends on his Birth Centenary. In fact, a couple of his friends are still here and everyone of us can write a book on him and Master deserves rich tributes from his pupils wherever they are. We rarely find such devoted teachers in this world.

He was a real Guru, of Hindu scriptural dimensions, to me and several others and continues to bless us from his Heavenly abode, and I salute that great soul on this very important day. Acharya Devo Bhava.

Posted 2 days ago by swaminathanR

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How a fridge rocked the house on Diwali

How a fridge rocked the house on Diwali

By R Swaminathan

The frigid response to a call for a new fridge for the house almost set afire a ten thousandwalla this Diwali day. The lady of the house saw water oozing out of the cooling monster in our living room, and said something must be immediately done to get a new one.

What strikes a stingy husband in such a situation is the possibility of repairing the machine. The refrigerator was studied closely by me for the source of the spring. The tray below the crisper tray holding milk satchets was the villain of the piece. It was crushing the outlet too much and water was dripping in front of the fridge.

A quick examination of the tray revealed that it had been overloaded with all sorts of things _ cheap to expensive articles. The stored items below the overloaded milk tray included almonds, cashew nuts, cardamom jar, dates packets, laddus (giant size) acquired in recent marriage functions (from the groom's side), gram dhal, rava (half empty) and maida packet of 2010. God knows why all these things are hoarded in a fridge. A ready explanation is to protect them from pests and for a longer shelf life.

The fridge was overloaded with dough in two containers, prepared more than a week ago, and cooked items (when a spouse goes out for an impromptu dinner, the items are readily pushed into the fridge for the morrow.) The homemaker's job becomes easy next day. These foodstuffs sometimes emit a foul smell.

It is needless to describe the condition of the vegetable tray; it accommodates anything from broken coconuts and copras to fruits like mangoes and apples, simply because rest of the place is already fully occupied. No one wants the apples to roll out in the living room like gooseberry from a broken sack and so dumps them in the tray.

That the fridge is the most abused, overused and misused electrical appliance in the middle class homes these days will not be contested by any one. It is never switched off even if the people of the house look for getaways and spells of holidays to enjoy elsewhere. The electricity department really takes care of the defrosting operations whenever there is a forced or unexpected power failure/breakdown or shutdown. That again causes the ice in the chamber and below that to melt and spill all over the place.

The next place to look for is the door. The person who discovered the scope for creating shelves for an assortment of bottles, cans, lemons/eggs, chunam, betelnut powder, etc., needs to be hanged without a trial. Bottles come in sexy shapes and sizes and keep multiplying in the fridge after every shopping spree.

So I decided on "Operation Dehoarding " to please the madam. Removed as many things as possible and educated the user to keep the place free for the water to flow smoothly into the defrost tray provided at the back. Of course, it took a lot of argument to convince the person that the time is not ripe for a new fridge for the house even in an exchange mela or through combo offers. Things cooled off easily in a few minutes, and the special TV programme was another factor that brought about peace in the house.

Of minds, media and marriage

Of minds, media and marriage

R.Swaminathan

A strong case has been presented in the September issue of Brahmin Today to try to show how Brahmins should not go in for inter-caste or inter-religious marriages.. It is sought to be shown that the parents are ultimately responsible for the wayward thinking or  behaviour of  adolescent girls _ their not being properly indoctrinated at the time of festivals or rituals at home while giving more importance to their studies or career. We want good education, it becomes well nigh impossible to retain them during such occasions.
Love marriages are becoming common place, and the increasing success of such weddings is driving more people to experiment with it. The entertainment media are entirely responsible with all kinds of  episodes and feature films justifying and promoting love,  elopement and marriage against the wishes of elders.
It may be the misfortune of the present generation that there is tremendous exposure to channels and films. The advent of DVD player gives the children total privacy and immense opportunity to acquire a different mindset and a value system! Mobiles are playing havoc all the  24-hours on them.
The economic decline of parents in their middle age and the fact that their exit salary in most cases happens to be the entry emoluments of the youth diminishes the parents' role and they just wish  to buy peace.  
One argument that has not been mentioned, may be due to want of space, is the trauma the characters of such inter-caste marriages will be facing in the later part of their life when their own children question them, or show propensities that irritate or worry their parents. Confusion arises over the cultural affinity they should exhibit. Reminiscences of the type we are familiar with become impossible. People need to take a look at the value of our heritage and stand to benefit in the long run.
The protégés of love marriages say “good and bad are solely dependent on personal views. I have seen well- oiled and beautifully working love marriages and terribly shattered arranged ones.  It is also true the other way round.. It depends on the person who handles that...boy or girl or the parents.”
A well-educated, mature and lovable person from a lower caste is always superior to the haughty, half-learned and harsh upper caste person or Brahmin, it is argued. Their contention is :  “We have to develop the qualities of Brahmins among all, and not breed a race by  species choice alone. DNAs are no guarantee for your mental status or maturity. No race is pure for that matter,”

“Satyakama Jabala is revered; so do Ashtavakra, Aswathama was denounced and doomed but not Sanjay, he got the Divya Drishti. We need to build and develop such godly men.”
But it must be emphasized here that Lord Krishna himself highlighted where the Sattva Gunas are extensively present. The virtues He has recommended are more intensely and widely seen in the Brahmin community than in others. Being divine is second nature for a Karma Brahmin.
Another point to note here is that boys and their relatives from other communities  are eager  to trap and somehow marry the Brahmin girls to boost their profile in society and win greater social acceptance.  If  the girl is a Brahmin and the boy is from some other caste or community,  there is little or no opposition from the boy’s side.
Brahmin girls need to be educated about the high status they enjoy in the traditional society and should exercise their choice very carefully and with a lot of discrimination. They should know that the brilliance and ascribed status they come across elsewhere  is available within the community provided they are ready to wait and see.

Our Jagadgurus can do it

Our Jagadgurus can do it




By R Swaminathan


The themes like "Whither Brahmin?" seem like evergreen topics that have wide attention and acceptance. This is comparable only to the movement we saw when a Rishi like Ramana popularised Atma Vichara (Self Inquiry) or Vivekananda gave his own brand of Advaita Vedanta. Is it a cry in the dark? Or is it a genuine concern for the betterment of the community. But Brahmins must think for a minute that their plight has come to such a pass that they prefer to watch what is happening to their community through soap operas and sponsored serial programmes. No one can be ambitious and impractical enough to argue for a political stake but everyone must think why there is no initiative or endeavour for example from spiritual leaders who head various Mutts to do good to the community.
The Brahmin community is beset with several problems and most of them social and economical. In our society there is lack of recognition or proper voice whenever someone is trampled upon or victimised or vandalised or his efforts bear no fruit.
That there is no spontaneous reaction to acts of injustice is a matter of regret  that needs a separate column.
In the economic sphere, we find a large number of families struggling to sort out their family problems like marriage of their daughters  and sons. For instance, in a recent swayamvaram held in Chennai for Brahmins we saw how the boys waiting to get married outnumbered the girls by several times. Is it because the Girls (Girls because their economic power has made them Big. and to speak from commanding position) want to delay their marriage or because their parents need their help for a few more years to settle financial issues like early retirement of the father or educational loan of the brother who is right now abroad, or because their minds  have been polluted by several cases of the so-called love marriages involving spouses of other communities?
The pathetic situation can be remedied if, and only if , our spiritual leaders or jagadgurus spread a word among the members of the community that they are ready to facilitate or even arrange mass weddings without ostentation and grandeour. Many middle class families try to ape others and become bankrupt, and wallow in debt and poverty the rest of their lives. That their children care little for them once their job is done is a different tear-jerker..
I have heard several anecdotes from my father about how the great sage of Kanchi could inspire people who came to him to help bless the children for an early marriage and how he advocated simple marriages and avoidance of dowry. Many have forgotten his principles and preaching, and are making easy ready-to- handle compromises in today's world.
Let us see how the problems in many well- to- do families can be solved if they are brought together at a function organised by a Mutt Head. The children who get married, without elaborate lunches we see in air-conditioned marriage halls and several times a day for two days or even more, will have respect for simple living and high thinking of the Seer who inspires them to live by the ideals of the traditional Brahmin family.
Brahmin associations also can do a lot for such community weddings on a small scale so that those who are hunting for brides or grooms succeed easily and end up with conducting the marriage as per scriptural injunctions sans all that make-up or paraphernalia.
Marriage is an important event not only for the couple who must strive to make the relationship a permanent and enduring one and extend its benefits to the next generations. It also rids the parents of several worries they have in maintaining their grown-up children and ensuring a safe future. Partners found and bound under the canopy of spiritual organisations will have lasting values, and of course, the new tribe of A to Z Marriage Facilitators will find their going tough after such events. When the event is sought to be made very big, naturally we find it dfficult to organise things to the satisfaction of both sides and there we find middlemen entering and making a fast buck. We can and should end this vicious circle. But will our Jagadgurus extend a helping hand to us and in time?