How beautiful place, Rameshwaram is ?

Temples and south India have a deep connections .Be, it Tirupati Balaji, in Andhra Pradesh ,Meenakshi temple in Madurai or Lord shiva temple in Rameshwaram,  all are bonded with Indian mythology and have a long history .

With these pilgrimage sites many stories are connected. But ,what make these places popular. There are many things that have made it popular like the work of sculptures on stones, design, and its connection with Lord Rama .

 It is said that when Lord Rama was constructing a bridge on the sea He worshipped the linga of Lord Shiva and the temple symbolises that worship.

Here the flow of tourists and pilgrims remain all the year. Those who know or  have  knowledge of its old history , I think they never miss the opportunity to come over here.

But there is a barrier of language for some who don't know or understand English language.The locals here understand either their own language i.e tamil or English.So, before planning you must keep in mind .

Never think that you won't be able to enjoy these states without English language but you may face problems.

Here, many of the local people do not understand and speak Hindi language. But, no doubt the people of southern states are well disciplined, kind-hearted and always eager to help you and the fact is you really enjoy the local area, local people and local dishes and above all the gorgeous beauty of nature that you would have hardly seen anywhere .

 

 The taste changes differently but I really love south people, their food and the Godly presence of nature.

 

The taste of people here is different and does not resemble northern states.In recent years ,a large differences I have come across i.e.the people here speaks hindi and you could also easily get the food with a flavour of north.So ,before planning to visit this area you must keep all these things in mind .Idli, Dosa ,upma ,medu bara and many other dishes you can easily get there .

Our journey to Rameshwarm started from chennai Egmore .The train was at 5.30pm and it departed exactly at 5.30  , no late but we had hardly travelled  an hour a message from the railway department came saying the train will go up to Mandapam a few kilometres before Rameshwarm .Early in the morning around 4.30 AM the train reached Mandapam.Thanks,to the railway department they had already arranged a number of buses for Rameshwarm station.We all occupied our seats and left for the destination but the unfortunate part was that we fail to see the railway bridge that links Rameshwarm i.e the Pamban bridge.

The bus passed the Pamban bridge in dark.By 5AM ,we reached the gate of Rameshvaram temple.We ,all were very excited .At very , reasonable rate we got the guest house of the temple situated close to the sea shore and close the main gate.As the morning fell the level of excitement reached at its peak we all got ready to go for bath in the sea.As we reached there I found many pilgrims from different states .They were also taking deep into the holy water.

Very exciting part to see here is you won't see high sea waves  that we usually find at the sea shore. After bath ,we entered the temple premises and there we bathed in the 'Kunds" for that they charged us a some amount .'

In the premises there are many 'kunds'in which pilgrims take holy deep before entering the' Sanctum Sanctorum' .We also did the same and after completing we did the darshanam of the 'Shiva Linga '.Here, you also get the chance to see the shiv linga mada  from common salt.

One more interesting fact that I came to know later that the devotees and pilgrims do not offer water to the Shiv Linga because it is not made from  stone but  sand .So devotees are not allowed to offer water .The temple city, Rameshwarm is really a beautiful place to visit.

Science and spirituality

Is science superior to spirituality? This is the question that has been arising in me since time unknown.And ,to find it's answer I met many people starting from scientists to saints.But, they didn't give me a satisfactory answer, they all gave different theories and opinions on the subject.

  Then, one day all of a sudden I planned a tour to Puri, in Odisha .I don't remember how and why I planned that tour but that gave me an immense pleasure and peace of mind. After darshanam ,when I was coming out of the holy place ,an idea of visiting a 'Math' , a place where saints live struck me.It was the Math of Adi Guru Sankaracharya.I without wasting a second moved towards the same which was not  far away from the temple .

The day was Guru Purnima and  Sankaracharya disciples were present in the hall surrounding Him.Like others, I also sat on the floor to hear His speech relating to God.

When His speech ended I stepped towards another saint who was also present in the hall. He was old enough and held a holy book .To him , I asked the same question .The soft hearted saint after a short pause ,gently answered the question whose answer I had been looking for a long time.He said ", Dear child, science and spirituality never meet each other ."He again added ", See my son, the point at which science ends is the beginning of spirituality.Science calls  the undefined point , infinity and spirituality defines the infinity. So, spirituality hold a high rank than science." With folded hand I thanked him and left the place.

Why Covid-19 cases are more in Italy ?

The outbreak of Covid-19 has badly affected many nations worldwide. Everyone knows that the origin of this deadly virus is Wuhan city, China but has not affected China as badly as other nations.

The virus reached the developed , developing and under developed countries but the cases reached its peak in countries like United States, Italy , Spain etc.

Why the figure reached its peak in the country like Italy?

Kota, a coaching hub facing challenges .

Kota , a coaching hub has been in news since the day extension of lock-down period was announced.

The outbreak of Covid-19 has created uncertainty among the students here. A large number of students get stuck in Kota, are demanding to send them back home .The matter of concern is that many are  young boys and girls .

 

In Kota ,every year a large number of aspirants from nationwide come to get coaching for engineering and medical .But, this time due to outbreak of Covid-19 the situation existing here is quiet different.

Many students have opened a revolt on social media against the  state and central government.

 The U.P government took a appreciable step by sending  buses to bring the students back  home town. The buses reached Kota ,and after  thermal screening they were allowed to board the buses.

The administration even provided food, sanitizer , masks , water bottles to all the aspirants.

The Rajasthan government was earlier issuing permits to students interested to return home. But ,now the administration has stopped issuing those passes because of some reasons.

Many students and parents have raised voices against the government of Bihar which has not yet taken a concrete step to bring them back home.

 The administration of Jharkhand has also not taken a step regarding this serious matter.

 Though the students in Kota is not facing problems related to food as the coaching centers and  Kota administrations have been helping them, since the day of lock-down.

Students are feeling stressed and alone  due to restricted interaction with other students. They are thinking about their home , parents and how to go back home soon .

All these reasons have also  collectively affected their study as they are not able to concentrate on their study because of this pandemic.

              The spread of covid-19.

Covid-19 confirmed cases is rising in India at an alarming rate .The worst affected states like Maharashtra, Kerala,Tamil Nadu Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh etc. are taking all possible steps to prevent the spread of this deadly infection.
 Mumbai is badly affected by this pandemic. The number of  new  positive cases  is in increasing trend in Mumbai and 70 % of patients are below 50 years of age. Due to this rise in number, in several states of India ,the government has taken a  step of extension of lock-down period to May 3.
       But , is extension of lock -down a right step to prevent spread of this pandemic ?Many experts and even W.H.O have also welcomed this step and appreciated the nation for its right decision at right time.
      It is said that lock -down helps in breaking the chain of covid-19. Keeping in view the same ,the government has divided all the districts into three zones.The most affected area with higher number of positive cases has been directed to declare hotspots ,those with lesser number of cases as non-hotspots and those which have reported no cases as green zones .
 The  health ministry has said that there is no community outbreak of the disease till now.
The situation prevailing in the country is not so good.But, the good news is that there are many districts in India where there is no confirmed cases of covid-19.The government has even said that very strong containment measures will be implemented in the hot spot districts.
To the help of the needy people, along with the government many N.G.O'S have come forward providing free masks, sanitizers and free food to all who need that .
      The pathetic part is that at many places in the country people attacked our brave soldeirs like doctors, nurses, cleaning staffs and police . Those who are attacking these people have forgotten their duties towards the nation.They don't know the fact that how these brave soldeirs are working hard day and night to save people from the deadly infection.At last I again repeat the same mantra
     
                Stay Home Stay Safe

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          How to prevent spread of                                    covid-19 ?

Already,so many things have been written on covid-19 but, still all are patiently waiting for the news when the announcement of life saving vaccine or medicine would come that completely cure this infectious disease.Really, this disease has become a matter of concern for all the nations. This virus like invisible enemy targeting the human lives and the whole human race is helpless before it. What to do now? 

          It is true that W.H.O and medical experts are giving advises time to time and in addition to that other branches of health like Ayurveda, Yoga ,Homeopathy etc are also playing a vital role in fighting against Covid-19.
Let's see the advises of experts of these branches.As per Ayurveda use of herbs like basil leaves, cinnamon, cloves, pepper,ginger will help in boosting the immunity. Chywanprash an  ayurvedic medicine also has the character of boosting immunity .

      

Ayurveda recommends to drink ginger tea, cinnamon tea ,tulsi tea that help in improving the immune system. Ayurveda also suggests to do yoga, meditation to boost the immune system. Drinking hot water has also importance in improving immunity.
Many do not give importance to ayruveda but the fact is it  is a life science branch which has been existing since time unknown.Undoubtedly ,the modern people do not have respect for this branch but in the present situation no one has better option  than ayurveda.At last I would like to  request everyone to follow the instructions of doctors and stay locked in the room.

    Stay home Stay safe.

Impact of covid-19 worldwide.

The outbreak of covid-19 has forced the world to rethink .Not a single nation is well prepared to face the challenges that have come in the form of pandemic.Not a vaccine, not a perfect medicine that truely fight or fight one hundred percent against this infectious virus .An atmosphere of uncertainty and fear prevails everywhere .What to do ? How do we defeat this deadly virus which like monsters engulfing the human beings?
 But, thanks to doctors ,medical teams ,researchers who without losing hopes have been continuously working hard as soldeirs in this battle field.

   The fact is all the nations is passing through tough times and no has complete solution to this pandemic.The lock-down period will extend or not ,is difficult to predict as the data of infected cases has been rising exponentially.

When we all come out of this situation is the major question now.Will it take a few more days or a few weeks or months hardly anyone answer.Will everything be normal  after the pandemic or will take more time for life to come on the track.Several questions like these are in queue for proper reply.

 To me it seems that the pandemic will bring  a major change in the thinking of individuals .Because of lock-down many small businesses may likely to shut. Even, the big business houses may also think of bringing changes in their working system.Since school s are closed the education system may also bring some changes in imparting knowledge.This pandemic will definitely teach a lesson to all nations.
After the pandemic every nations will again think about their future ,and they will work on ,what to be done if such cases may again gets repeated in the future .
I think the demand of artificial intelligence will rise more especially in the treatment of corona like infections so that the  direct  contact with the patient will get reduced.     
Not  only in treatment even in education system also the use of artificial intelligence will be more so that the education of the children not get disturbed.
The pandemic has badly affected the supply chain that can be explained by one example.All over the country the production of  dairy products  and veggies are going on the large scale but because of closure of restaurants, hotels the consumtion get reduced .The farmers are facing problems in selling their products.They are not getting the correct price of their products instead they are selling the items at low prices. Because of lock-down the supply chain gets disturbed and resulted in less consumption of different items..

As factories are shut down the situation of unemployment has come before the contract workers and what after lock --down ,will they again success in getting their jobs back.
Because of lock-down many like truck drivers, taxi's drivers, auto rikshaw drivers have become jobless.They are directly depending on government's help.
Think about the road side sellers ,vendors who have been obeying lock down .Now ,they are jobless.Is the situations relating to their employment will get improve after the lock-down period. The real picture will come after the pandemic.But no doubt, the pandemic has badly affected all the nations.

How is the Ramayana  important during lock down period?

Don't you think that during lock down period that is running now ,the telecast of the Ramayana on a T.V screen is an appreaciable step to create a healthy environment all around ,when everyone has been living in a fear of  covid -19 .
 Ramayana is a real story of Lord Rama . It's  not a fiction that many in  the society think and understand.Breaking of bow of Lord Shiva ,killing of Ravana or the other series of events that occurred during the life of Rama do not make Him Lord Rama but the qualities that He displayed during His entire life made Him a God.Even , during extreme worst conditions He remained stable is the quality that made Him great and superior among all the characters of Ramayana.
 To me Ramayana is a way of living or teaches art of living like how to be an ideal parents, ideal brother,ideal son ideal daughter etc.It imparts knowledge about how to remain calm and stable when you  come in the clutch of worst situations.Lord Rama never loses His temper . He never flew in the flood of emotions . If you minutely see His Life you will find everything in the balanced form.And ,He always chose the paths which were full of difficulties.Generally we humans are in the habit of following easy paths but He did opposite to the Human's nature.He set many examples in His entire life.
Ramayana clearly  explains about the duty of every individual .
The modern people who before lock down did not have time  to enrich their knowledge have got a golden chance to watch ,understand and learn the real meaning of Ramayana through the T.V serial. I hope every individual must take  advantage of this golden opportunity.

    Ram Navami and Lord Rama

Many a time people ask why Lord Rama
occupies the superior position among all the characters of 'The Ramayana'. It's true also.

Why people give so much importance to Lord Rama? I asked the same question to a saint to whom I know since long ago.

Keeping a smile on face the saint replied never, think that Lord Rama is  important for breaking the bow of Lord Shiva or killing Ravana. 

His superiority lies in His qualities that he displayed during Ramayana. Amid crisis, tough times, adverse conditions He never lost His temper, remains stable all the time .

 

This particular character makes Him Lord not His humbleness and sacrifices that He made. That is why people worship Him and try to follow His footprints.

 All the characters of The Ramayana is full of qualities and teach lessons to everyone. But, one such character to whom Lora Rama also liked and gave much importance is 'Sabri.'

 The story of Sabri is very unique and teaches a great lesson to the people of  the present world .
Sabri , a young girl belonged to a low caste or a tribal society called Bhil. 

As she reached, her young age her father decided to marry her .For marriage Sabri's father arranged many goats to feed the guests who was about to attend the ceremony .As Sabri came to know about the goats that his father had brought to sacrifice she ran away from  home to a forest called 'Dandkarnay wan. 'She used to sleep on the tree .She would sweep the road that led to the river before sun up for the saints that lived in the same jungle. Daily before sunrise she swept the road .

Anyhow ,a saint named Matang came to know about her auspicious job. The great saint invited her to his own cottage or ashrama and allowed her to live there. 

She even told that she belonged to a low caste still  the saint gave space in his ashram.

 Days rolled by the saint grew older and one day before taking the last breath the saint Matang called her and said Sabri Lord Rama will come to you one day and give you darshanm.

The words of saint Matang occupied space in the heart of Sabri. Everyday she used to go to forest to collect berries for Lord Rama and would taste them so that she could only offer the sweet one to the Lord Rama.With passage of time she turned old, hair turned grey ,teeth broken but there was no change in her patience.

And, the day came. Lord Rama came to her ashram without thinking about her caste because He loves true bakti.

What I mean to say here is the people of present time wants everything  in an instant. They want success instantly without keeping patience .I think Like Sabri, if people also work hard , have faith in their own dedicated efforts and keep patience then he or she will definitely achieve the goal in life.
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      What I see out ,during Covid-19                              pandemic .

The outbreak of Covid-19 has changed everything. Have you ever thought about the labourers who earn on a daily basis? How, they have been living without money in this tough times ? I don't know how many of you know about them. In the blog today ,I want to talk about such brave ones.
Today when I stepped out to buy groceries the real picture came before me.Out ,all the things were looking different. The road which remained busy all the time was empty and had a deserted look ,no movement of private vehicles ,no traffic congestion,no honking .In the name of traffic ,a few police patrolling vehicles were crawling. Except grocery and medicines shops all shutters were down .Even the opened shops had also a small numbers of buyers , queuing up waiting for their turn ,maintaining social distancing.
         After buying essentials , I approached towards a woman veggie seller , sitting roadside with her wares.She welcomed me with a smile on her face .It seemed as though I was her first customer.No mask, no protective equipments on her body.Her facial expressions displaying her helplessness.In the curfew like situation when everyone stay-locked at home, her selling wares in the adverse conditions, along the road side says a different story that cannot be expressed in words but can only be felt.
I thanked God and also to this brave soldier who in the hour of need serving people.

 How Covid-19 affecting people ?

It is known that the pandemic caused by covid-19 has brought the fast moving world to a standstill , factories shut down, flights were grounded, trains stopped, In short, everything has stuck at its place. If we closely look we find that except essential services nothing going it's way. A few days ago everything was normal but now the fact is before our eyes.The deadly virus has forced the innocent masses to live stay locked at home.The time has turned the normal life to troubled ones .And God knows whether the lock down period will end soon or may extend.

 As far as other nations are concerned hardly do we find a place on the globe where people are not living under the scary environment of Covid-19.Even the nations having the tag of developed ones are also finding themselves hopeless and helpless in this turbulent times.Their ,all options and technological progresses have failed in the battle against Covid-19.At the present stage, no one has the answer to this deadly infectious disease and this is the fact.

What to do now? How ,the human race will survive and save themselves from this pandemic is the major question that stands before everyone ? The figures and data of infected persons have been rising at an alaraming rate.The deaths figure coming from all over the world is also shocking.The worst sufferers are the countries like Italy, Iran, U.S are still struggling with this infectious disease.

     Are the guidelines by W.H.O like social distancing, hand washing and staying locked at home are enough to defeat covid- 19.Then, what are the other options left ? No ,we have no better options other than following the guidelines of W.H.O and experts.Let's see the guidelines .
(1) Wash hands regularly for 20 seconds with soap and water or alcohol -based hand rub.
(2) Cover nose and mouth with a disposable tissue or flexed elbow when we cough or sneeze.
(3)  Avoid close contact ( 1 meter or 3 feet) with people.
(4) Stay home and self -isolate from others in the household if we feel unwell.
(5) Never touch eyes, nose or mouth if hands are not clean.

The guidelines also recommend against  big group gatherings and request older people and anyone with existing health problems to stay at home.
Researchers also suggest that the spread of covid-19 may slow down with humid and higher average temperatures in countries like India.
The other way to slow the spread is less interaction of people with each other.
Drew Harris ,a population health researcher and assistant professor at the Thomas Jefferson university college of public Health says that reducing the opportunities for gathering helps folks social distancing .One more experts say that don't be panic.
Health experts also recommend at least 20 seconds washing with soap and water after using the bathrooms , before eating or after blowing nose or sneeze.

The situation prevailing all over the world is very disappointing.  when we all come out of this is the main question that worrying everyone.It's not that efforts are not being made by the researchers but no satisfactory results have yet come.
If we talk about another way of boosting immunity then to me meditation and yoga seems to be the better option.Some also suggest to have hot drinks as a precaution.It's up to you what precautionary steps you would like to add in your daily routine .But, I think in addition to following the guidelines suggested above if we all  add yoga to our daily routine the result will be different and soon we could defeat the covid-19.