Will You Let Me Work For You?

Sriniketan,
You are right, we prefer working outside our house than otherwise. I know a lady who used to go to slum, give bathe to the children there and feed them; while her own sons would have returned from school and would be waiting for her for their food. And my recent story in Kumudam where the daughter-in-law refuses to take the plate on which her mil had eaten, but as an airline stewardess, when she sees a passenger puking, she wipes him with her own hand.

You need not ask Indhu; even I can tell you that you are right.When I attend function at my friends' houses at times I serve food - at least used to that till a few years back. But have never done anything like that inside the house.

You know Sriniketan, if there is something greater than Sri Ramanuja's humility and devotion, it is the devotion of his disciples. If you and other ILites are interested, I will write about his disciples also.

Normally we classify our tears into two - one class is shed when are in grief and the other is a manifestation of too much happiness. But the one you would shed while reading Sri Ramanuja's life story, belongs to the third category. Purifying, elevating tears of spiritual growth. I am happy you liked that lines.

thanks, thanks and thanks.
regards,

 

Dear Lalitha,
It was a slap on my face too, when I read it for the first time. And every time I read it the slap is becoming more and more forceful. Incidents like this one are to be remembered again and again. I first came to know about this when I was 35. When I remembered it for the thousandth time, when touched 50, the impact was different, and a little deeper too. We should never forget this incident in the life of a great saint.

There are times to instruct and times to just do. There's a time to command and a time to obey. No harm in commanding others if we do not let that thing go up right into our head.

About ego,well, I am privileged in that because I have two in-built ego-busters - one is my wife and the other is my daughter. Another technique that would help us buckle our ego is something like this.

You remember my walk series? When I walk on the Albert Victor Bridge at times I come across some lepers. They will be just lying there. A body full of wounds, puss and blood coming from a hundred places and they will be in a semi conscious state. I used to think that at the time of death there is going to be no difference between him and me. Which means, whatever things I have over and above what he has, would have no relevance at the time of death. Many times this thought has induced sobriety in me, at least for a short while.

Sorry dear, it's universal trait and nothing to do with the Zodiac signs.

A conversation a la Sunkan Style
Indhu: konja nerathukku munnadi varaikkum nallathaane irundheenga? en ippadi thideernu bayankarama cold pidichirukku?
Me: Vera onnum illa, ILla lalitha ezuthiana fbya padiachen. Adhularunthu....
Indhu: sari, sari, konjam thalliye nillunga, enakkum thothikka pokuthu...

 

Dear Sudha,

It's okay. No sweat. But the super star was not about the Super Star. It was about the mistakes we commit in our daily lives. So no question of offending his fans.

Ramanuja is such a great soul that he belongs not just to the Vaishnavites but to the entire humanity. In fact it was he who first brought out revolution in religion by standing up on the wall of Thirukosthiyur Sowmya Narayanan Temple and by giving the "mantropadesam" to all those who was willing to listen. And then he said that whoever was there on that day at that time, they and their families are Srivaishnavas.

I like this part of your fb very much. Recently in Chennai we saw the movie "Arai Enn 305il kadavul". In that picture, Prakash Raj appears as God. And in one scene, God will be cleaning up the toilets of the mansion He was staying. To a surprised onlooker he would say, "is it not our duty to keep our toilets clean?"

When we start serving our family loves comes into us on its own. No need to wait for many janmams.

That was a good one. In my profession many times I am paid to complicate things. I always try to convince the Assessing Officer and if I do not succeed, I confuse him, a job in which I am an acclaimed expert.

regards,

 

Sriniketan,
Will definitely do that. I was actually waiting for you to ask.

regards,

 

Dear Aruna,
thanks. Actually what I quoted is just one page from the life of the great saint. There are so many incidents like this. Will be writing about them in the days to come.
All our wrongs happen only without our knowing it. You know what Jesus said to God before he was crucified, "Forgive them father, for they know not what they do."

thanks Aruna. But Sri Ramanuja was at least a few zillion times greater than me.When he himself chose to work, why not me? May be I wont work after all, because I am not that great.

thanks, Aruna. You should either do whatever you love or love whatever you do. In either case you wont do anything.
I give this example when I talk about time. A boy is waiting for his lover to come. He is all alone in the park. Even if the wait extends to an hour, he wont mind. But at the same time standing in the queue for a railway ticket will be hell for him. I am not saying that you should fall in love with the Railway ticket. But try to fix that in the overall scheme of things and then understand its significance.

thanks for the fb, Aruna.

love,

 

Dear Swetha,

I feel as if my daughter had written this feedback to me. You know Swetha, when I and my daughter went on a bike raid a few days ago, I told this story to her. From her choked response I could sense that she liked this story very much and hence decided to post the story here.

Swetha, even if we are placed in the best of circumstances, we have a lot to complain. We curse a lot if the AC goes off on a hot summer day. (It happened yesterday in Chennai when the power in my client's office went off and there was no AC for 15 minutes). At that times I always remember our brothers an sisters who stand in the hot sun to lay the road, to pour the liquid tar on the surface standing by the side of the mobile furnace - the machine where tar is melted and mixed with stones.

Reading these lines I feel that suddenly all hours spent alone before the system writing this or that, had been worth the while. At the end of the day the game is worth the candle. What more do I want!
regards,

 

Dear Aishwarya,
In our tradition Sri Ramanujar is considered an Avatar of Adhi Seshan, the Lord's bed. Bearing our Lord ever since the beginning of time and even before that, Adhi Sesha is all love and one of the manifestations of his love is his birth as Sri Ramanuja.

Even to share his birthstar should be a great blessing. I am happy to know that you are blessed that way. The Ramanuja statue at Sriperumpudur has been blessed by Ramanuja himself. Thats the reason you find the statue so full of life and love. That you were able to visit the place for a second time shows how blessed a person you are.

Next time when you happen to visit Sriperumpudur, try to make a visit to Madhuramangalam. Instead of going off the highway for Sriperumpudur go straight and soon you'll reach a place called Sunguvar Chathiram. You need to make a turn there to reach Madhuramangalam, where there is an Embar Sannadhi. Embar is Sri Ramanuja's disciple (more about him in future posts) and it is believed that visiting that temple is particularly benefical for people having eye problems.

It's not a deviation at all.

You are most welcome. And thanks for saying that so nicely.
regards,