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HEMALATHA

27.3.1972      19.12.1995

Living without hurting others andhelping the poor to the extent possible isthewayforyourbrightfuture.

Hurting others( Except on duty)-SinHelping others      -Virtue

Living without hurting others andhelping the poor to the extent possible isthewayforyourbrightfuture.

Hurting others( Except on duty)-SinHelping others      -Virtue

Idedicate this book at the feet of my beloved, kindandsoftdaughter,Hemalathawhoalwayskeepsguiding me at every step in my life.

Author

J.P.BALASUBRAMANIAM

Pioneer Match Industries,Dharmapuri-636702.Tamilnadu

Originallywritten in Tamil titled ‘Sinthippom,Sinthikkavaippom’ byJ.P.Balasubramaniam

First Edition in Tamil      -June 2003 Second“      -Sept.2003

Third      “            -April2004Telugu            Edition      -Mar2004 First Edition in English -August 2004

Price.Rs10/-

Toobtainthebookbypost,sendattherateofRs.12/-per book by money order or Bank Draft.

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GITASAARAM

Whateverhappened,happenedwell Whatever is happening, happening well Whateverwillhappen,willalsohappenwell Whathaveyoulost?Whyareyouweeping?

YouhavelostnothingsinceyoubroughtnothingintothisworldNothinghasbeenwastedsinceyouhavecreatednothingWhatever you have taken, it has been takenfrom here Whateveryougaveaway,itwasgiventoyouhere.

Whateverisyour’stoday,willbesomebodyelse’stomorrow.

Itwillbeyetanotherperson’s,dayaftertomorrowThis change is universal.

llll

After reading this book, please give it to othersand get the grace of God.Don’t keep it idle.

GOD

INDEX

INDEX

GOD      ...      5

ASWAMEDHAYAGAM      ...19

VIRTUE      ...25

HUMANITARIANISM      ...33

COMPARISON      ...46

CONFESSION      ...51

SHORT-CUTS      ...66

RITUALS&CEREMONIES      ...74

DOWRYMENACE      ...91

REALELEVATION      ...97

LOVEMARRIAGES      ...103

TEMPLES      ...112

ARROGANCE      ...118

LYING      ...120

HEMALATHAMEMORIALTRUST      ...122

SERVICES DONE IN2003      ...125

PLEDGE      ...130

MYGREEDYWISHES      ...132

CONCLUSION      ...133

HowtogettheblessingsofGod? How to progress in life?

Howtoensureabrightfutureforourchildren?

Howbestcanwedoourdutytomankindinordertoimproveit?

HowdoesGodlook?Wedon”tknowwhetherHeis tallorshort?whiteorblackincolour?slimorfat?Whenyou think of him as Lord Muruga, He is Lord Muruga.When you thinkofhimasLordGanesha,HeisLordGanesha.Whenyou think of him as God Krishna, He is God Krishna.When you think of him as Allah, He is Allah.When you think of him as Jesus, He is Jesus.

WeworshipLordMuruga;Heacceptsourprayersandblessesus.DothepeoplelivinginNorthIndiaknowHim?DothepeoplelivinginforeigncountriesknowHim?WouldnotLordMurugawhoblessesus,willnotblessthosepeople?DefinitelyHewillblessthemalso.HewillblessthemintheforminwhichtheythinkGodexistsandworship.Whilegivingexplanationfora slogan in Bhagwath Gita, (Like the Bible for the Christians, theOuoranfortheMuslims,BhagwathGitaisfortheHindus) the Great Saint Ramakrishna Paramahamsar says“God isbeyondallreligions.Bywhateverreligionandbywhatever

manneryouworshipHim,yourprayerswillalwaysreachHim ”.

Godhasnofixedshape.Youcan’tconfineHiminanyparticularshapeorform.InwhichevershapeyouthinkHeexistsandworship,throughthatshapeHewillblessyou.Weshould realise this truth.

Where does God exist?He exist only intemples,churchesandmosques?ForanothersloganofBhagavadGita,RamakrishnaParamahamsarexplains:-“Wegoaroundthetemple,andlookingateightdirections,weofferourprayers.Howdidthiscustomoriginate?ItistoremindusthatGod exists every where in all the places and directions of the earth ”.Great Devotee Prahaladha says”God exist in the pillar and also in the dust”. Henceyoucannot find a place where God does not exist.Gita also says that God exist notonlyinhumanbeings,butinalllivingbeings.Youmayperhapsfind a place where air is not present.But you cannot find a placewherethereisnoGod.Weshouldrealisethisproperly.

WhatkindofworshipdoesGodprefer?Letusseewhat Gitasays-“Whoeverworshipsmewiththeeasilyavailablethingslikewater,leaves,flowers,andfruits,andwithapureheart , I accept them willingly ”.

Apureheartisthemostessentialthinginprayer.Godcannotbepleasedwithcostlyprayers,like

abishekam,aradhana,homam,kalyanautsavam,goldenchariotetc.WeshouldnotunderestimateGod’ssenseofvalues.Godassessesthevalueofaprayer,orofferingnotonitscost,quantityor grand style, but on the purity of the heart with which it isoffered.

Once there was a tussle between Sathyabamaand Rukmani about who had more love, affection and closeness towardsGod-Krishna.BothclaimedthattheylovedKrishnamorethantheother. Finallytheydecidedtoholdatestandfindout.Sathyabamaplacedgold,diamondandcostlyjewelson onesideoftheweighingscale;whileRukmaniplacedjustone tulasi leaf on the other side of the weighing scale with love, affectionandhumility.Thetulasileafwasheavierthanallthe goldandcostlyornamentsandthesidewithTulasileafcame downinthescale.TheTulasileafisacceptedbyLordKrishna withpleasure,sincethatisofferedwithhumilityandsimplicity andwithapureheart,ratherthanthecostlyjewelsofgoldand diamonds.This incident fromMaha Bharatha explains GodKrishna’spreferenceforsimplethingsofferedwithapureheart. WhenboyhoodfriendKuchelacamewithcookedavalpackedinaragandhesitatedtoofferittohisfriend,livingina bigpalace

.LordKrishnagrabbediteagerly,andateitwithlove.Loveanda pure heart are more important than costly offerings.

InKarnatakastateinatowncalledUdipi,youfind,in the temple, the main idol of Lord Krishna with his backfacing

thefrontdoor.Whenyouenterthetemple,youcanseeonly thebackportionofLordKrishna.Thereisaninterestingstory behindthis.Alowcastesinceredevoteewascomingdailyto worship Him. But he was not allowed entry inside the templebecauseofhiscaste,andhekeptreturninghomedisappointed. HewasdailyprayingtoGod,fulloftearsinhiseyes,requestingdarshanofHim.OnedayLordKrishnaappearedinhisdream andsaid,“Thereisaholeinthebackwallofthetemple.See methroughthathole.Iwillturnthatsideforyoursakeandyoucanworshipme”.ForthesakeofgivingdarshantothatsinceredevoteeGodKrishnaturnedaboutcompletely,andwecanseethat even today in Udipi.

Meat is prohibited from being offered to God.ButKannappa,agreatShivabhaktha,offeredmeattoLordSiva,thattooaftertastingittoknowwhetheritwasdelicious.ButLord Sivaaccepteditbecauseitwasofferedwithapureheartanddevotion.

GodisthepersonificationofTruth.Heisutterlyhonest.Hedoesnotknowhowtodowrong.Heisimpartial.Allofus arethechildrenofGod.Allofusareliabletomakemistakes, and in fact we are committing it frequently.But God is incapable of doing the least wrong or giving punishment to any man or even to any animal.He will not give that even to thelowcreatureslikedogs,cats,antsetc.Heiscarefulthatno injustice is doneto anybody.

Thereisabasicrulebehindtheentiresystemofjudiciary intheworld–“Ahundredcriminalsmayescapepunishment;butaninnocentpersonunderanycircumstancesshould notbepunished”.Whenevenordinarymenaresocareful not to punish the innocent, how can we expect that God will punish any person who has not done anything wrong? It isimpossibleandunimaginable.ThenwhyisGodpunishingpeoplein the form of diseases, poverty, accidents, etc?When God, the personification of GoodTruthHonestyand Love gives punishment for people, it must be based only onhonest, justifiable, and foolproof reason.That is on the basisof ourpastsinslikecheatingothers,committingfrauds,doingbaddeedscausingpain to others etc..

Godgivespunishmentinproportiontothesinswehavecommitted in this birth, the sins we have committed in our previousbirths,thesharefromthesinsofourmother,father,grandmother, grandfather, and the sins our ancestors committedlongago.

The great sages and rishis said that“ All thegoodandallthebadthingsthatwedowillhavetheireffectonusintheformofrewardsandpunishmentsinthisbirthandinthenextsevenbirthsandalsointhenextsevengenerations”-like son, grandson, great grand son etc.

One’s grandfather could have been a god-fearing, generousandaphilanthropicmanandsohemightbeblessed

withagrandsonlivingalifeofpeaceandhappinessmanywisemensay.Thegood,theancestorsdidhelpsamaninhisdaysofdifficulties.Wehearpeoplesayduetothevirtues(Punniyam,Punya)ofourforefathers,eventhoughbigproblemscame,we were able to overcome with little punishment.We also hearpeoplesay,thatduetothevirtuesoftheirforefathers;thedangerwhich came to their heads passed off damaging only theheadgears.Wealsoseethatwhenthegrandfatherisblind,theson is blind, and also the grandson is blind in the family.

Godisimpartial.Godneverthinks,“HeisanAmerican,Ilikehimalot;heisanIndian,Ilikehimalittle;heisanAfrican I dislike him”.God likes all men; He likes Ram, Rahim and JosephYoucan’tevenimagineabitofpartialityintheallwiseGod.

Though God likes all men, He has a very big duty to perform.HehasthreebigdutiesofCreation,ProtectionandDestruction.In discharging the duty of protection, He dispensesrewardsorpunishmentsaccordingtooursinsandvirtues(Punniyam,Punya)Ifwehavedonegooddeeds,which arevirtueswewillgetrewards;andifwehavedonebaddeeds,whicharesinswewillgetpunishments.Forgoodorbaddeeds,wehavecommitted,Godisnotgivingtherewardsorpunishmentsimmediately.Butonlyaftermanyyears.Butevenaftermany yearstheyarenotgivenitatonetime.Theyarespreadoverthisbirth,thenextsevenbirthsandoveroursevengenerations.

Whenwedowrongdeeds,weareinvitingpunishments

.Wecancheatsomebodyandcanearnafewthousandrupeesnow.Butthesefewthousandsofrupeesgain,willbringbacka big calamity later.Always we get a small gain by cheating others, but on the other handwe are taking a muchbigger punishmentwhichwillcomeatalaterstage.Oneisnormally pleased when he earns money and tells himself “ Oh I have cheated him.I have earned a lot of money.I have bought a bungalow and a car ”.Man is proud of his wealth earned by fraud, cheating and committing other sins.He little realises that he is going to pay heavily for this later on.

Is it possible for everybody to earn a lot of money by wrong means? Out of lakhs of people only a few are able to earn.Thatisbecausetheyhaddonesomegooddeedsinthe past.But people don’t realise that whoever get money bywrongmeanswillinviteheavypunishmentlateron.Ourassetslikecar,house,properties,happinessandpeaceofmindwill disappear gradually, and theywill be replaced with disease, poverty,atroubledmindandproblemsinthefamily.Whenwedoawrongdeed,wecanescapefromthepunishmentgivenbylaw,thepeopleandthegovernment;butwecanneverescapefromthepunishmentgivenbyGod.Wecanruntothefarcornersoftheuniverse,butthepunishmentwillpursueusrelentlessly and will catch with us.This is Truth, nothing but truth anda wholesome truth .

When youharmothers,bodilyormentally,itisasin.

Thepunishmentyougetforthat fromGodwillbeinproportion to the quantity and the quality of the sin .For examplefourdifferentpersonscommitthesamekindofcheating.Acheatsarich man and robs him of one hundred rupees.B cheats a middleclassmanandtakesonehundredrupeesfromhim.Ccheatsapoormananddepriveshimofonehundredrupees.D cheatsabeggarandtakesawayonehundredrupeesfromhim.

Will God award the same punishment to all thefour A,B,C and D?Never.God will register less sin against A as the rich man is not much affected and will register a little bit more sin against B as the middle class man is affected a little, but not much.As the poor man is more affected GodwillregistermoresinagainstC.GodwillregisterthemaximumsinagainstDasthebeggaristhemostaffected.Theamount ofsinregisteredtousdependsonthepeopleweaffect,onthe circumstancesinwhichtheyarecommitted,andonthequality of the pain inflicted on others.

When we inflict pain on others while dischargingour duty, it is not a sin.But If we fail to do our duty in order to avoid inflicting pain on others, the neglect of duty on our part itself is a sin.This is the essence ofBhagwath Gita.

Forexample:Ajudgehearsamurdercase.Itisprovedbeyonddoubtthattheaccusedhascommittedthecrime.But theaccusedisamarriedpersonandhaschildrenalso.Ifthe

judge awards him death punishment his wife will becomeawidow,andhischildrenwillbecomeorphans.Ifthejudgetakes intoaccountthesituationofthefamily,havemercyonhimandacquitsthecriminal,itisasincommittedfornotperforminghis duty properly.On the other hand if the judgeawards death punishmentorlifeimprisonmentasperlaw,theagonycaused tohimandhisfamilywillnotbringhimanysin,asthejudgeis doing his duty properly.

TheCBIDeputyDirectorMr.Madhavanwhohandled theBoforscorruptioncase,andwhoresignedhispoststating thereasonofpoliticalinterferenceinhiswork,wasanhonest andsincerepoliceofficer.Whenhewasaskedforhisopinion about the corrupt politicians swindling public money he said that it was like robbing a blind beggar of his earnings.

“Thetearsofthepoorpeopleislikeasharpsword”-

-Thiruvalluvar-greatTamilPoet.

Thereisaproverbwhichsaysthat“Ifthestrongpeoplepunish the weak,the strong people will be punished by God”.Theoppositeisalsotrue.Iftherichandthestronghelpthe poor and the weak, will not God help the rich and the strong?Yes,definitely without any doubt.God will help them.

Allouractionscomeunderoneofthethreecategories:

1. Sin

2. Virtue(Punniyam,Punya)

3. Astateinwhichthereisneithersinnorvirtue.

AllouractionsarecloselywatchedbyGod.Ouraction,itsqualityandtheresultantgoodnessorbadnessareregisteredandaccordingtothatthepunishmentsandrewardstobegivenarealsoregistered.Canweimaginedoingthesmallestdeed withouttheknowledgeofGod?Leavealoneaction,wecannot eventhinkwithouttheknowledgeofGod.Wegotothetemple and we pray to god, “God give me a house, give me goodeducation,givemeagoodjob”.Wemakelotofdemandsinourminds.Onlyweknowit;nobodyelseonearthknowsit.ButwebelievethatGodknowsourprayerandHewillfulfillit.ThenitshowsthatGodknowswhateverprayersandthoughtsthat are running in our mind.Hence it is a truth that without theknowledgeofGod,wecanneitherdoanyactnorwecanthink.

WegotothetempleandpraytoGod.Wesaythatwe should not tell lies in the temple and we should not do any wrongdeedsinthetemple.Canwelieandcanwedowrong deedsoutsidethetemple?WillthesenotbeknowntoGod? HowcanwebelievethatGodobservesusonlyinthetemple andnotoutsidethetemple?Isitnotfoolishtobelievethatour badthoughtsandbadactions,outsidethetemplewillremain unknown to God ?

Inourdaytodaylife,wedoseveralthingsthatGod

doesnotapproveofandthatGoddoesnotlike.Butwhenwe enter a temple, we pose as good men.We believe that Goddoesnotknowallourevilthoughtsanddeedsdoneoutsidethetemple.DoyouthinkitispossibletocheatGod?Believingso, are we notcheating ourselves?

ForinstanceRamaswamiisanevilperson,butheisastaunchdevotee.Whenhegoestothetempleandpraystothe God,willnotGodthink“Come,Ramaswami.Youpraytomeinthe temple with all love and humility.But do you think I don’t knowtheevilyouhavecommittedlastnight?Don’tIknowtheevil you have committed at midnight on the eighth of last month?Don’tIknowprevioustothat,youdidadarkdeedat2.00pm. themonthbefore?Apartfromcheatingothers,doyouwantto cheatMealso?Youwillgetthepunishmentforallthesinsyou have committed without fail and also for the sin now you are committing- posing as a good,honest person before me”.

God will never listen to the prayers of cheats.Only when people realise their mistakes sincerely, and only when they pray.“Oh God, I have committed mistakes due to ignoranceandIamsincerelysorryforthat.Iwillneverrepeat them.Pleaseforgiveme,God”.ThenonlyGodwillconsider their mercy-plea and may agree to reduce the severity of the punishment.But He will never cancel the punishment.

Oneofthemainreasonsforallourdifficultiesisour

tendencytounderestimateGod’sintelligencepowerandwisdom.God ismillions and millions of times more intelligent,more powerfulandmorewiserthanMan.Mandoesnotrealisethis andinvitesproblems.

God’spower,intelligenceandwisdomareincomprehensibletothehumanmind.Togiveanideaofthe vastness of the universe, let us look at what they say in Astronomy.Astronomerssay“Itiseasiertocountthesands onthebeachesthantocounttheplanetsintheuniverse”.TheplanetEarthwhereweliveisoneamongbillionsandbillionsof planets.Thedistancebetweenthesunandtheearthcannotbeeasilyrememberedintermsofmilesandkilometres.Itcanbe easily remembered, and calculated in terms of the time,that lighttakestotravel.Ittakeseightminutesforthelighttotravel fromthesuntotheearth.Someoftheplanetsaresofaraway fromtheearth,thatlighttakesthousandsofyearstoreachthe earth.This is calculated according to the powerful telescopeandotherinstrumentsavailablenow.Beyondthisexistsbillionsofplanets.Isitpossibletocomprehendthevastnessofspaceandthedistancebetweenplanets?Ourintelligenceistoosmalltocomprehendit.ImaginethepowerofGodwhocontrolsthe entireuniverse.

The population on this earth is 600 crores.But the number of planets in the universe is many more times.How dareweunderestimatethepowerintelligenceandwisdomof

Godwhocontrolsthisvastuniverse?TounderestimateHim,isin itselfan insult to Him.It is a sin.

ToimaginethatsuchpowerfulandwiseGodwouldnot seethroughourtricks,andthatHecouldbetrickedintograntingusfavoursbyourshowypujasandceremonies,thatHecouldbemadeapartnerinourcrimesbyofferinghimaportionofourill-gotten wealth, is an insult to Him

Thereisaveryimportantworktobedoneforyouinthe GovernmenteitherbyabigofficerorbyaMinister.Bothofthemareveryhonestandsincere.Thatworkhastobedoneagainst the rules. You are in a big dilemma and worrysearching for waystodoit.Somebodyapproachesyou.Youaredisclosing theworktobedonetohim.Forthathesays–“Oh!itisnota big thing for me. Come with me. I will complete your work by offeringacupofcoffeetothatMinister”.Hesaysbydrinking thatcoffee,hewillbeverymuchpleasedandhewillcompleteyourwork.Ifyoubelievehiswordsandgowithhim,areyounotafool?Apartfromthat,ifyouthinkbydrinkingacupofcoffee,suchanhonestandsincereMinisterorofficer,willexecuteyourbigworkagainsttheRules;youarealsoinsultinghim.Likewiseif you thinkGod who is having immeasurable quantity ofintelligence,powerandwisdom,willbepleasedbyyourelaboratepoojas,homas,yagas,ceremonies,shastrasetcandgrantyousomanyrewards,isitnotfoolish?IsitnotaninsulttoHim?

Godgivesonlyalittlecredittosincereprayerspoojas and ceremonies.He gives big credit only to the good deedslikealleviatingthesufferingsofotherpersons,especiallythoseof the poor.

ASWAMEDHAYAGAM

WegotothetemplestoworshipGod.Toworshipina bettermanner,welightthecamphorandpray.Forstillbetter mannerofworship,weofferflowers,fruits,coconutsandask the priest to do an archana in the name of our birth star.

For astill better manner of worship, we perform abishekamwithmilk,honeysandalpaste,panchamirthametc to the deity.For a still better worship, we make a homam oryagaminordertopleaseGod.ThetopmostformofworshipasperourVedasisperformingAswamedhayagam.

Aswamedhayagamcannotbeperformedbyordinary people.It requires a lot of resources and personnel.Not eventheRajasandMaharajascandoit.OnlyEmperors,like Dasaradha, Asoka etc who have vast territories and a good number of Rajas and Maharajas under their control, could perform this yagam, as it needs hundreds of yaga kundams,verybigyagamandapam,tonsofgheeandothermaterialsandhundredsofBrahminscholarswellversedintheVedhas.

AswamedhayagamistheultimatepujatogettheutmostblessingsofGod.ThereisastoryaboutthisyagaminMahaBharatha:OnceanEmperormadeelaboratearrangementsforperformingthisyagam.Aftercompletingalltheformalities,whenthepriestswereabouttostarttheyagam,amongooseappearedintheyagamandapam.Itsbody,exceptforthetail,wasshininglike gold.It had the capacity to speak clearly.

It came to the presiding Head priest and said tohim sarcastically“Whatvirtue(Punniyam,punya)isyourEmperorgoingtogetoutofperformingthisyagam?HewillnotgetevenafractionofthevirtueearnedbyapoorBrahminforthedeed done by him in the forest”.

Allofthemweretakenbysurprise.Herewasagolden mongooseanditspeaks.Theystoodfrozen.Theheadpriest gatheredcourageandsaid,“Thisyagamwillyieldthegreatest of virtues to our Emperor.Who else can do better than this? Explain your statement”.

Themongoosereplied,Onceinasmallvillage,apoor Brahminlivedwithhiswifeandtwosons.Hewasunemployedand he had no means of earning a livelihood in that small village.So he decided to leave for the next big town.

Healongwithhiswifeandsonswerewalkingthroughaforest.Theyhadnottakenanyfoodforthepasttwodays.Theywerestarvingandtired.Ontheirwaytheysatunderabigtree, and saw paddy grains scattered all over there.Happily they collected the paddy, ground it to rice and cooked it, with the firewood available in the forest.

Whentheywereabouttoeatthefood,therecamean oldMaharishi,alsotiredandstarving.HospitalitybeinginbornwiththisBrahmin,hewelcomedtheMaharishiandofferedhim hisportionofthefood.ItwasnotenoughfortheMaharishi.The

Brahmin’swifegesturedtoherhusbandtogivehimherportionalso.Whenthattoodidnotsuffice,histwosonsalsooffered their portions.After taking all the food, the Maharishi was completely satisfied and left, after blessing all of them.

TheBrahminhadbeenstarvingfortwodays;hehadpreparedthescarcefoodwithmuchdifficulty,inspiteofhungerfor two days, depriving himself and his family of a meal, heoffereditwithagenerousheartwithoutexpectinganyreturnstoagoodandrespectableMaharishi.Thisexamplaryactionhad broughthimthegreatestvirtuesfromGod.WhenIrolledoverthatholyspot;mybodyexceptthetailturnedintogoldandalsoIgotthepowertospeak.Togetmytailalsoturnedintogold,Irolledovertheholyspotofyouryagam,Butmytailremainedasitwaswithoutbeingturnedtogold.AssuchyourEmperorwillnotgetevenafractionofthevirtueearnedbythepoorBrahmin.

The poor brahmin’s offer of food was not even onethousandthof the effortsrequiredforperformingtheAswamedha yagam, and not even one in lakhs of amount spentonit.Butthevirtueshehadaccruedwastremendous.“Thevirtuesthatcomeoutofouractionsdependontheperson’sheart,intentionsandthecircumstancesinwhichitwasgiven,towhomitwasgiven,andwhatwastheconditionof the receiver etc ”.

In the Olympics games held once in four years,the winnersaredecidedveryverycarefully.Forinstance,inthe

Divingcompetitionintheswimmingpool,tenjudgesbelongingto ten different countries are appointed, to avoid partialityinselectingthewinners.Theyareassignedalistoftenparametersaccording to which they have to award marks to each of the constestants.The parameters are, the way the contestants standonthedivingplatform,thewaytheydiveintothewater,thekindandqualityofthesomersaultstheydobeforetouchingthewater,thepositionofthebodywhenittouchesthewater, theamountofwaterdisplacedwhentheconstestantsgointo thewateretc.Alltheseparametersaretakenintoaccount,for awardingmarks.

Allthetenjudgesawardmarksforeachparameter,themaximumperparameterbeingtenmarks.Takingintoaccountthe marks given by each judge and the total marks of ten judges,the winners for gold, silver and bronze medals are selected. Evenafterselection,theysubjectthecontestantstoundergo thorough medical check up to ascertain whether the winnershadtakenanysteroidstoboosttheperformance,whichisillegal.Theytakeutmostcaretoseethatanykindofmistakeshould not happen and only the real winners should get the medals.

Iftheordinarymen,withtheirlimitedintelligenceand resources, are prepared to take so much trouble to decide the real winners in the Olympics imagine how much carethe Almighty God would take and how many parameters he will have,insometiculouslyandperfectlyassessingthegoodand

badofmen’sactions,anddispensingrewardsandpunishmentsThe fortunes and misfortunes ofour lives, the joys and thepunishmentsweundergo,aredecidedbyGodveryverycarefully.Thereisnohalf-heartedorcasualapproachonthepartofGod.We get only what we really deserve.

Forthegoodthingsandproblemsthathappeninour life,weattributethereasonforthemasourtime,ourluck,our fate,etc.Whateverbethenamethatwecallitthetruthis,they havebeengivenbyGod.Ourdeedsonlyareresponsiblefor whatwegetinourlife,andnothingelse.Wedecideourfate.Goddoesnotdecideourfate.Godcalculatesourfatedependingupon the good and bad deeds performed by us.

“TherewardsandthepunishmentsGodgivesusare so meticulously calculated; they will not be more orless even by a needle’s point; and they will not come even asecondlateorearly.God’srewardsorpunishmentscomeexactly at the right time, in the right measure and in the right manner ”.

GodistheSupremejudgewhopassesjudgmentson our actions.In the court of God, there is no enquiry,no arguments, no witnesses, no cross examinations.BecausethereisnothingGoddoesnotknow.HeknowseverythingthereisnoneedforHimtomakeenquiriesortogetexplanations.He knowstheamountofgoodandbadcommittedbyeveryperson.

Godknowsperfectlythegoodandevilactionsofmen. Inhisjudgement,thereisnopossibilityofevenforthesmallest ofanerror.Godisaveryveryhonestandveryverytruthfulandveryverysincerejudge.Godwillneverpasswrongjudgementsor wrong punishments.or wrong rewards to any body inthe world and at any time.We can be very sure of that.

VIRTUE

Everybodyknowswellthathurtingothersisasin.Youaskanybodyhowtoearnvirtue?TheywillsaythatgoingtothetempleworshippingGod,doingpoojas,yagams,ceremonies etc will give us virtue.It is not perfectly correct.As hurtingothersisasin,thequiteoppositeofthat-alleviatingthesufferingsofothersmustbethereasontofetchvirtue.Thattootorelievethesufferingsofthepeoplewhoundergoverymuchdistressinlife is the greatest of virtues.

“YogisarefarbetterthanRishis”“ They are better than Gnanis,

ThereforeArjunaYoubecomeayogi”

(BhagwathGitaVIchapter–46thslogan).

Giving up all attachment for land, gold andwoman,sacrificing pleasures and desires and all joys in life and seekingthe blessings of God is the way to emerge as a rishi.It is a greatstateoflife.Butifayogiisfarnoblerthanarishi,how much a better personshould he be ?Who is a real yogi ? BhagwathGitasaysthatayogiisonewhodoeshisdutywith humility and devotion, without any expectations and the one wholeadshislifewithouthurtingothers,andhelpingthemindistress.

“Whenyouhelpapoorperson,Godisindebtedtoyou”

- Bible.

“Ifirmlytellyouthatwhenyouhelponeofmypoorbrothers, you are exactlyhelpingMe ” (God)

- Bible

TheBiblesaysthatextendinghelptothosewhoareinthe lowest position in society, to those who are poor.andto thosewhoaresufferingislikehelpingGodHimself.Gitaalso endorsesthisviewoftheBibleinadifferentmanner.

Bhagwath Gita says that God exists in all the livingbeings(humanbeings,animalsetc)ofthisworld.Itmeansthat Godexistsinthepoorneedysufferingpeoplealso.Henceifwehelpthosepeople,itisonewayofhelpingGod.Isitnot?We canask,WhyshouldIhelpthosepeople?IfGodsodesires, Hecanatnotimerelievethemoftheirsufferingsinamoment.

It is a perfect question.But the point is, God never goesoutofthewaytoshowmercytothosewhodon’tdeserve it.PerhapsHeislikeajudge,whocannotstepoutofthelimits of the law formed by Himself; to reduce punishment.God’s duty is to reward those who have done good and to give punishment to those who have done wrong.God Himself is bound by His own rules.

IfGodcanfloutHisownrulesandshowundeserving mercy to the suffering people, there will be no deaf, blind or handicappedpeople,atallinthisworld.ButGodisimpartial.

Hisrewardsandpunishmentsarebasedonlyonthegoodand bad deeds committed by the people.

TheQuoransaysthattherearethreewaystoreachthepalaceofGod:

The first way is      -      itwilltakeyouhalfthedistance through prayer            to the palace.

The second way is      -      it will take you upto thegates through Penance            of the palace.

Thethird way is to      -            itwilltakeyourightinsidethe relieve the sufferings            palace

ofthepoor

-Quoran

TheQuoranalsosaysthatGodlikesthosewhohelp the poor in their days of suffering than the people who offer prayer to Him.All religions insist on worshipping God,performing duty with humility, never-harming others, andhelpingthesufferingpoor.

FinaldestinationtoreachGodisthesame.Onlythe roadsaredifferent.Whateverroadyouselectshouldtakeyou to the destination - God.Propably one road may be a broadnationalhighway,oneroadmaybeastatehighwayandanotherroadmaybeavillageroad.Allreligionswerecreatedatsome

pointoftime.ButGodisthebeginningandendofallthings.

Prayer,Bhakthi,Poojas,Homam,Yagam,Meditation etc are performed mostly for selfish purposes: “ I should live well, my wife, my children should be happy.I should go to Heavenaftermydeath”.Thisistheselfishaimofmostofthepeople.Buthelpingthepoorpeopleandalleviatingthesufferingsoftheworstsufferersandthedowntroddenareselflessacts.

HowfoolishitistoimaginethatGod,withhisboundless wisdom,wouldnotbeabletoseethedifferencebetweenselfishand unselfish thoughts and deeds that we perform.OurfoolishnessingrosslyunderestimatingGod’spower,intelligenceandwisdomleadstoourfall.Wearediggingourowngrave.Byignorancewearewritingourownfatewrongly.Godisnotwritingourfate.Hedecidesourfateonthebasisofourgoodorbad deeds and thoughts.

ReformistsandRationalistssaythat“Ourlifeisinourownhands”.Itis100%truewhenwelookatitfromthespiritualpoint of view also.

Nobody has the power to change what is going to happen to us now or in the immediate future; but we can changewhatisgoingtohappeninthedistantfuture,Godwill give us a good life in future depending on the good deeds, thatwedonow.Thisistherealmeaningoftheproverbthat

“Wecanconquerourfatewithourwisdom”.

Supposewearedestinedtogetaseverepunishment aftersomeyearsfromGodforapastsin.Ifweperformgood and selfless actions continuously without looking for returns, and if we desist from doing sinful activities, God will certainly reducetheseverityofHisintendedpunishmentbyhalforbya quarter measure.There is also thepossibilityofthepunishment being cancelled completely.Besides this, God will shower His blessings and good rewards on us.

ArichindustrialmagnateinBangaloreusedtohelpthepoor in his own way.During winter, he would fill his car with woollenblankets,goaroundthestreetsofthecityatmidnightanddistributetheblanketstothepeoplewhowouldbesleepingand shivering in the bitter cold on theplatforms.He wouldsilentlywrapthewarmblanketsontheshiveringpoorandleavesilentlywithouttheirknowledge.Theywouldneverknowwho had helped them.

Is it not an exellent virtue to help the poor withoutdisclosingtheidentityandwithouttheknowledgeofanybody?WillnotGodnoticehisaction?Wouldnotheandhisgenerationsget the benefits of his exellant action ?Now the rich manis dead, and his son is abig industrial magnate in the state ofKarnataka.

Iwillnarrateareal-lifestory,whichhappenedinAmerica

toshowwhatwonders,selflesshelpcoulddo.Asyouallknow,Rockfeller is an American and therichest man in theworld.OnceHefellillandwasbedridden.Hewasinacuteagony.The bestdoctorsintheworldcouldnothelphim.Thebestmedicinesin the world had no power to cure him.

Allhissenseswereingoodorder,buthecouldnotgetup and move about.Daily reports of his various companies wouldcomeforhisattentionandadviceandheusedtoissue his orders, lying in bed, undergoing acute pain.

Asdayswentby,hisconditionwasgoingfrombadto worse.Thedoctorswerebaffled.Asalastresort,theycalled the psychologists.They examined him andsaid, “Helpthe poor.That may be the only and the last way to cure yourdisease”.

Rockfellerwasaverycleverbusinessmanandagoodadministrator.He knew how to make, keep and multiply his wealth.But he had neither done selfless deeds norhelped the poor or the downtrodden.As there was no other way, acting on the advice ofthe psychologists, he diverted a few million dollars to help the poor.In a miraculous way, he got better in a few days and was able to leave his bed.

Nowhavingexperiencedtheeffectofhisgenerositytothepoor,hegaveafewmoremillionstothepoor.Hishealth was restored.He became active and normal.Then heestablishedtheRockfellerFoundation(theequivalentofcharity,

trustorganizationsinIndia)whichissynonymouswithcharity allovertheworld.Hespenthundredsofmillionsofdollarsforthebenefitandprogressofthepoorandsufferingpeople.Eventoday Rockfeller Foundation is one of the biggestcharity organisations in the world.

InAmericaalmostallbusinesscorporationsandalarge numberofindividualsallotaportionoftheirincometocharitablepurposes as they know the value of charity.

Butthesituationinourcountryisentirelydifferent.Thereare lakhs of wealthy people here.About 95 percent ofthem contributeonlytothetemples,churchesandmosques.They do not come forward to help the poor needy and sufferingpersons.

When an employee with many years of service inabusinesshouseapproacheshisbossaskingforaloantomeettheexpensesofanoperationthathiswifehastoundergo,his bosswouldreply”Businessisdull,IamsorryIcan’thelpyou”

.ButimmediatelywhenagroupofpeopleapproachhimandaskforadonationtoconducttheKumbabishekamofatemple,he would willingly contribute a few thousand rupees.

Therearemanywhodonatetubelightsandelectricfanstothetempleswiththeirnameswritteninlargelettersonthem.Whatmakes them to donate to the temples and not to the poor?Therichmenthink“Whenwedonatetubelightsand

fans,Godwouldbedailywatchingournames.Godwillgiveus manytimesmorethanwhatwehavespentonthegoods.Whatistheuseofspendingmoneyonthepoor?Godwillnotknow aboutit.Wewillnotgetanyreturnonourinvestment”.Suchnarrow selfish views and gross underestimation of God’s powerspull us down, further and further.

HUMANITARIANISM

A social organization made a survey of the levelofhumanitarianqualitiesthatexistinthepeopleofvariouscountriesoftheworld.Ithasseriallynumberedthecountriesaccordingtothelevelofhumanitarianqualitiesofthepeople.Indiastandsat136thplaceinthatlist.MostoftheWesterndevelopedcountriescome in the first twenty places.

WhatisknownastheThirdWorldcountriesfindaplaceinthelistbelowhundred.Thecountriesatthetopofthelistarerichanddeveloped,whilethecountriesinthebottomarepoor andbackward.

Countries with more humanitarian qualities are rich, healthy and the people therein are endowed with good education,medical facilities and a good social order.In countries where there is less humanitarian qualities, there exists lot of poverty, disease, famine and starvation.

Whatishumanitarianism?Itisrespectingothers,not inflicting pain on them, and relieving the sufferings ofothers. TheseareallthequalitiesthatGodrespects,andtheseareall the things that gives virtues to us.The man who has more humanitarian qualities stands high among men.He gets themercyandblessingsofGod.Ifacountryhasalargenumberofsuchpeople,thecountrybecomeswealthyanddevelopsinallspheres.

“ServicetothepeopleisservicetoGod”

- SwamiVivekananda

“Theman,whoseesGodintheidolsofatemple,isatthebottomlevelofdevotiontoGod.Themanwhowipesthetearsofawidow,themanwhofeedsastarvingmanandalleviateshishunger,themanwhoseesGodinrelieving thepainofothers,isatthetoplevelofdevotiontoGod”.

- SwamiVivekananda.

Weareveryactiveandenthusiasticinbuildingtemples.There are more than two hundred temples in the town ofKumbakonamalone.ButintherichWesterncountries,theydonotgivemuchimportanceforbuildingchurches.Inmanybig cities, you cannot find more than four or five.

The Christian community in the Western countries is service-minded.Theystarthospitalsinthehillyandbackwardareasinthepoorcountriesandrendermedicalhelptothepoor.Even if there are only a few students, they start a school in a small house.These in course of time grow intobigorganizations,helpinginnumerablepoorandsufferingpeople.

TheChristiancommunitygivesmoreimportancetorenderservice to the poor,not only in their own country but also all overtheworld.Thoughtheyhavetheirownshortcomingsandllapses,theyhavegrownintoawelldeveloped,prosperousand

forwardlookingcommunity.Thefirsttwentyrichcountriesin theworld,withtheexceptionofJapan,areChristiancountries.

Do you think God has helped such countries to be properouswithoutvalidreason?Wehavealottoappreciate, congratulate and learn from them.If good qualitiesexistsevenamongourenemies,weshouldlearnthegoodthingsandfollow them in our life.Only then we can lead a good and enjoyablelife.

God will give neither less nor more of punishment to anyhumanbeingoreventotheanimals.Inthesameway,Hewillnotgivelessormoreofrewardstoanybody.AmandeserveswhateverGodhasgivenhim;hemayberich,ormiddleclassorpoor, he may be sick or healthy, he may be educated orundeducatedwhateverbehiscondition,itwasawardedbyGodafter perfect and meticulous calculation.

Sothereisnopointinapoormanbeingjealousoftherich,thesickbeingjealousofthehealthy,theuglybeingjealousofthebeautifulorthelessfortunatebeingjealousofthemorefortunate.

Because a good man has done many good deeds, Godhasgivenhimahappylife.Everymanshouldtakeavowtothiseffect: “ I will also do good deeds and put myself in thegood booksofGod.Iwillrisetoagoodpositionlikehimoreventoa better position than him ‘‘.

Gitasaaram      Myexplanation

Whatever happened,      Whateverrewards or punishments, God happened well      has given to every man they weregiven honesylyjustifiably and with perfect and

meticulouscalculation.

Whatever happens now,      WhateverrewardsorpunishmentsGodisis happening well            givingtoeverymanisbeinggivenhonestly,

justifiably and with perfect and meticulouscalculation.

Whatever is going to      Whatever rewards or punishments God happen,will happen well      intends to give to every man, will be

givenhonestly justifiably and with perfectandmeticulouscalculation.

“ Even an atom cannot move in this world without theapproval of God ”.“ God is the cause for all thingsand happenings”.

ThesewordssaidaboutGod,arehundredpercenttrue.Thesearethewordsofgreatsaintsandrishis.Thesaintsand rishis will talk nothing but the truth.They will not showthe wrong path to the people.To their sayings, a lot of additions hasbeenmadesubsequently.LikethelegendarybirdAnnam(swan)thatdrinksonlythemilk,carefullyavoidingthewater;weshoulduseourdiscerningpowers,topickuponlythetruthstold

bygreatmenintheirwritingsandspeeches.

Godhasplacedtherichpeopleinacomfortableposition.Therichpeoplehavetheresourcestohelpothersandcangetlotofvirtues.Therichpeople,withoutdoinganysacrifice,withoutgivingupanyoftheircomforts,withoutyieldingtoothers,theycandoservicetothepoorpeoplewiththeirwealthandstrengthentheirpresentpositionwiththemercyofGodorevenenhanceit.In the corporate world ofcompany executives it is said that“Thereisalwaysroomforimprovement”.Thesameistruein spiritual matters also.

Don’t imagine that only the rich people can helpthe poor and obtain virtues.Please remember the story, which the mongoose narrated about an old poor Brahmin and Aswamedha yaga inMahaBharata.

Awomansupervisorinmyfactoryhasalittledaughterandsheisstudyingintheeighthstandard.Shehasheardof my charitable activities from her mother.She goes daily to theschoolwithlunchpacketforthemiddaymeals.Onsome days if any girl in her classroom has not brought lunchthislittlegirlgivesherownlunchtoher.Pleasenotethatshedoesnotshareherlunch,butgivesitcompletely.Thisisanexcellantkindofhelponecangive.Sheisreadytostarve,but wantstofeedanotherstarvinggirl.Thereisarealsacrificein her act.I have done a lot of help to others, but there is no elementofsacrificeinthem.Iamgivingawaytothesuffering peopleonlytheexcessofwhatGodhasgivenme.Godwill

considerassupremeonlythehelpgivenbythatlittlegirl,ratherthan the help that I render to the people.

Therearemanypoorpeoplewhorendermeaningfulhelptothesufferingpeople.Thereisanoldsocialworker,about60 yearsold.HebringspatientsfromhisvillagetotheEyeCampthatweconductregularly.Hestayswiththepatientsallthroughthe day and leaves the Camp only after seeing off the patients toCoimbatoreforfurthertreatment.AsixtyyearoldwomangoestothegovernmenthospitalinDharmapurionceinaweek,and does little things to the poor patients there.Another woman takes free evening coaching classes to the children of poor parents in a slum.There are so many avenues one can doservice,withoutspendingmuchmoney,likehelpingthemiserablepeople, organizing blood donation and eye donationcamps, comforting those who are in agony, guiding those who areconfusedandbewildered.Wherethereisawill,thereisaway.

Letusgradedifferentdifficulties.Aleavesonatripin his car with his wife and children.He himself drives the car. Ontheway,oneofthetyreispunctured,Thestepneytyretoo is deflated.He and his family undergoes suffering.B is a factory owner and a certain amount of money has to be paid in the bank, to clear a bill on a particular day.He is short of money.Ifhedoesnotpayontime,hisprestigeandbusiness willsufferandcausehimmentalagony.Cisacollegestudent and he has no money to pay his college examination fees.

D’s wife is bedridden.He has no money to buy thedrugsthatthedoctorhasprescribed.Eisthemotherofachild.Herhusbandisawayandhasnotcomehomeforalongtime. Thechildcriesformilk.Themotherhasnomoneytobuythemilk.

Whosesufferingisveryacute?Supposeyouhavethechoiceofrelievingthesufferingofonlyoneofthemwhomwill youhelp?Withthenaturalinstinctofsympathy,youwilltryto helpeitherDorE.OfcourseitistherightthingtodoandGodwillloveyouforthat.Alwaysweshouldgivepreferencetorelievethe painsof the poor suffering people.

Thehelpwegivetochildren,womenandoldpeopleisagood help.If these categories of persons happen to be pooralso,itisdoublygoodtohelpthem.ThatperhapsisthereasonwhyitissaidintheBiblethat“Thehelpthatisgiventooneof my poor brothers is exactly like helping me(God) ”.

ActuallyweIndiansarefortunateinaway. Wehavea lot of miserable people here to be helped.We have full of opportunitiestohelpthemandtoaccumulatevirtue.ButintherichWesterncountries,itisdifficulttofindpeoplewhoarereally suffering.Sufferingpoorpeopleareverylessinthosecountries.Eveniftherearesomepeople,thegovernmentreadilygoestotheirhelp.

Inabigoffice,nearly100peopleareemployed.The officeManagerisanhonest,impartial,hardworkerandvery

efficient.Hehasthefollowing5qualitieswhichareveryimportanttocomeupinlife.1.Truth2.Honesty3.Hardwork.4.Nothurtingothers(Exceptonduty)5.Relievingthesufferingsofthepoor.

Thesalaryofeachofthe100employeesisRs.5000/

-amonth.TheManagerisaskedbytheManagementtoselect10amongthem,forpromotiontofivedifferentcategoriesofpostswith different salaries.

Forthefirstcategory,twopersonsaretobeselected andtheywillbepaidRs.10,000/-permonth.Forthesecond category,twopersonsatRs.9000/-permonth.Forthethird category,twopersonsatRs.8000/-permonth.Forthefourth category,twopersonsatRs.7000/-permonthandforthefifth category two persons at Rs. 6000/- per month.

The Manager has all the relevant details of the100individuals with him; like date of appointment, their qualifications,thetimeofcomingtotheoffice,thetimetheyleavetheoffice,the number of days of leave taken in an year, their efficiency andinvolvementintheirworketc.Hehimselfhasbeenintheoffice for5yearsandhasobservedthesemencloselyandrecorded hisimpressions.Withallthedetailsonhandandwithhisownobservations of their conduct, he calculates and compares theirefficiency, sincerity and their worth for the higher posts and makes his selection.

Someofhisrelativesareworkingintheoffice.Theyare notefficient.Someofthestaffarereallyhumbleandfaithfulandsomeotherspretendtobeso.Someofthemtrytoflatterhim speakinghighofhim.Allthesepeoplearenotreallyefficient. TheManagerignoringalltheabove,selectthereallyefficient and talented people for the promotion.

Some of the selected candidates may not showanyunduehumilitytowardshim.Theymaynoteventrytomeethimintheoffice.Someoftheselectedcandidateshaveeventalkedbadofhimonsomeoccasions.Heignoredalltheseinsignificantpoints.Butthesereallyefficientpersonsarehonestandwillbeinvolvingintheirworkwholeheartedly.TheManagerintelligentlyselects only such people for promotion and for the efficient workingoftheoffice.Hisaimisonlytogivepromotionstothe really efficient and really deserving persons.

Whenanordinaryofficemanagerignoresflattery,falsehumility, rejects any kind of recommendation and nepotismandselectsonlythehonestandhardworkingefficientpersons;don’t you think, God, with his immeasurable interlligence power and wisdom, will be very meticulous and careful in selectingtherightpersonstobestowHisblessingson?Thereisasaying“Agoodatheistisbetterthanafalsedevotee”.

GoddoesnotmindevenifanatheisttalksbadofHim. NeitherGod’sgreatnessisdiminishedbyhisbadtalk,noris elevatedbythepraiseofadevotee.Godisleastbothered

abouttributesofhisdevoteesorabusesoftheatheists.Heis above all such things and is unaffected by the people’sjudgements.

Just as the good Manager in the office judges hissubordinatesontheirefficiencyandnotontheirabilitytoflatterhim,Godjudgesusonlyonhowweconductourselvesinour dailylifeandnotonthebasisofourregularvisitstothetemple anddoingpujas.LetusrealisethatGodisimmenselytalented and intelligent.

Therearemanyatheistshavinggoodcharacter,they arehonestsincere,andgoodhearteddoingmanygoodthings in life and leading a happy life with a good wife andchildren.Youmighthaveseensuchpeopleorheardofsuchpeople.Whydoes God bless these atheists with such a good life ?God takesintoaccounttheirgoodqualitiesandcharitabledeedsin judgingthem,andHeignoresthefactthattheydonotworship Himorgotothetemples.Therearemanydevoteeswholeadanindisciplinedandselfishlife,committingmanywrongdeedswhileregularlygoingtothetempleandworshippingGod.Godwillgiveonlypunishmentsforthesedevotees.Godknowsthatthey are cheats, “ Tigers wearing cows clothing ”.

NobodycancheatGod.ThosewhotrytocheatHim will be ruined.Suppose two persons commit the samemistake.Onepersoncommitsthemistakewithoutanyintention.Anotherpersoncommitsthemistakewiththeintentionof

cheating.Willbothofthemgetthesamepunishment?Never. Godalwaysgivesmorepunishmenttothosewhotrytocheat Him.These cheats dig their own grave.

“Thosewhothinktocheat,getcheated”

-ATamilproverb

This proverb states the mere thought, on our part, of harmingotherswillevokethedispleasureofGodandwillgetpunished. OnecommonwayofearningthedispleasureofGodis by hurting others and committing sins which brings in punishment.Theotherwayisthethoughtofcheatingothersandinvitingpunishmentsduetoone’sbadthoughts.Godknowsaboutourbadthoughtsandregisterssinforthatandsubsequentlygives punishments for the sins.

InDharmapuridistrict,thereisaschoolforBlindchildreninasmalltowncalledBargur.AphilanthropicorganizationfromGermany, Christian Blinden Mission, is giving all help tothe Blind School for the past so many years.Even the school childreninGermanycontributeapartoftheirpocketmoneytothisblindschool.AdistantcountryofIndia,andinthataremoteplacecalledBargurandtheblindchildreninthatschool.TheyhavenotseenIndia,notseenBargur,notseentheblindchildren.Still they think that they should help those suffering poor.

AndwehavepeopleinIndiawhoworkonlyfortheirownwelfareandforthewelfareoftheirfamilyandchildren,indulging

in selfish poojas, ceremonies, abishekams etc.To whomdoyouthinkGodwouldprefertobestowHisblessingson?WhetherontheselflessGermanschoolchildrenwhorenderhelptotheblindtheyhaveneverseen,ortheselfishpeoplewhoneverthinkbeyondthemselves?IfwethinkthatGoddoesnotknowhowtochoosethegoodpeople;thennobodyisasfoolishasourselves.

Youmighthaveheardsomepeoplesay,“Iwascaughtinabigproblem.IprayedtoGodXandtheproblemdisappeared.TherewasanotherdifficultyandIprayedtoGodYanditalsodisappeared,GodZhasmorepowerandwillingnesstohelpusthanGodW.YouhadbetterapproachGodW,heisthemostpowerful”.IfsomeGodhasthepowerstorelieveyourproblem;thenwhomdoyouthinkgaveyoutheproblemoriginally?Pleasethink.IsitnotthesameGodwhohadgivenyoutheproblem originally? Through some people, through diseases, through accidents,inwhatevermanneritcomesitwasgivenbyGod onlyandHegaveittoyouasapunishmentforthesinsyou had already committed.

“GoodandBadarenotgivenbyothers”

-Tamilscholar-KaniyanPoongundranar.

Thepunishmentsandtherewards,wegetinlifearenotgiven by others.God gives all these things based uponour previoussinsandvirtueswehavecommitted.Godwhogave youthepunishment,knowswhentorelieveyouofitandthe timeofrelievingyouofthesufferinghasbeenalreadydecided

byHim.Hedoesnotreleiveofyoursufferingsonlyonthebasisof your prayers.

Asfaraspossibledonotmakeappealsandrequests toGod,particularlyunreasonableones.Godisall-wiseandallpowerful.HeknowswhattogiveyouandwhentogiveandhowtogiveHehasdevelopedaperfectjustifiablesystem.Letusnotinterferewiththatbeautifulflawlessandfoolproofsystem.Ifyouarealwaysgoingondemanding,Godmaybeirritatedbyyournaggingbehaviour.IfyouleaveeverythinginthehandsofGodand wait, God perhaps may give you more blessings.

COMPARISON

Oneofourcommonpracticesistocompareourselveswithothersandgetdisappointed.Thereisamainweakness inthispractice-thatwealwayscompareourselveswiththose who are better off than ourselves, and invite disappointment. When somebodyis handsome, we compare ourselves with him only on the point of beauty.But in many aspectslike wealth,wifeandchildren,wemaybeinabetterpositionthan him.Butwefeelsorrythatwearenotashandsomeasheis. Likewise we are comparing wealth, a good wife, a happyfamily,goodhealthetconindividualpointswithotherswhoaremore fortunate than us and feel disappointed.

Wemustrememberthesaying“Iwascomplaining that don’t have shoes,until I met a person without legs ”Atleastonceinourlifetime,haveweevercomparedourselveswithpeoplewhoareworseoffthanus?Therearepeoplewhoarestarvingwithoutonemealaday,whodonothaveahomeoftheirownandarelivingonplatforms,whocannotaffordtobuy booksandpenfortheirchildren,whohavenomoneytobuy medicines for their wives, who have no money to buy milk to feedtheirinfants.Doweevercompareourselveswiththeseunfortunatepeople?Onlywhenwecompareourselveswiththem,wecanrealisehowfortunateweare.Thenonlywewillbeina position to thank God for keeping us in a better position and also,wewillgetmorepsychologicalboostandstrengthinthe

mindandbody,tocarryonourwork.

“NobodycanrefusewhatGodgives,andnobodycangivewhatGodrefuses”.IfGoddecidestogivearewardorapunishment,nopoweronthisearthorevenallthepowers put together, can stop it.Likewise if God decides not to give youaparticularrewardorpunishment,nobodyelsecanever giveit.

Once General Padmanabhan, our ex Chief of the Army,saidinaninterview,“WheneverIvisitthewarfrontortheterrorist-hideouts in Kashmir, I trust more the ring of protection provided by God, than the ring of protection provided by my soldiers ”.

Yougotothedoctorforhealthcheckup.Heconductsthetestsofurine,bloodetcandsaysthatyouareaffectedby Diabetes ( Sugar disease}.He also asks you whether yourfather,mother,father’sfatherandfather’smother,mother’sfatherandmother’smotherwerediabeticandsaysthatiftheywerediabeticsyouwillalsogetthediseasedefinitely.Evenifyouarekeeping the body fit, by doing regular exercises and strictly controlling the diet, you cannotavoid the disease, says thedoctor.

Medical research says that based upon the parents andgrand parents qualities only,colour of the skin, colour of the hair,colouroftheeyes,yourphysique,healtheventocertain extent one’s character will be formed.Scientists say baseduponthe“GENES”onlythesequalitiesareacquired.Thenature

andqualityofthegenesisdeterminedbyyourheredity.Based uponthegenesofyourparentsandgrandparents,yourgeneswillbedetermined. Henceyourparentsandgrandparentsbody,healthandcharacterinfluenceyou.OurHindureligionhastoldmanycenturiesago,whatthemodernscientificresearchhas foundouttoday.Theeffectsofsinsandvirtuesaresaidtobepassedontothenextsevengenerations.WhatagreatReligionis our Hindu Religion.

If you desire that your children and the subsequent generations should live happily do a lot of good things.Onlyyourgooddeedswillprotectthem.Pleasedonotfoolishlythinkthat your wealth and your properties alone will protect them.

It is your duty to leave some property and money to your sons and daughters, but too much of it will only spoil them.Toomuchofmoneyearnedinwrongwayswillattract bad friends and bad habits and leadto a spoilt life.Only a moderateamountofmoneyandproperty,andlotofmeritswill takethemtoagoodposition,andhelpthemtogoupandupinlife.

Youshouldlearnthetruespirituallife,understandingGodandhowtoleadameaningfullifewhenyouaretwenty,notat the age of sixty.You can’t do much, by learning it at sixtywhenyouhavelivedmostofyourlife.Whenyoulearnitinyouryoung age, it will be very much helpful to you, to lead the life properlywhichinturnwillhelpyourchildren,yoursocietyand

yourcountryinagreatmanner.

“Atomscanneitherbecreatednordestroyed”

-Scientifictheory.

From the inception of the world, no new atomshave everbeencreatedordestroyed.Atomsaresuchtinyobjectswhichcanbeseenonlythroughamicroscope.Allthematerialsin this world, plants, trees,stones,buildings and living beingsaretheconstitutionofatomsonly.Theatomscanbechanged,buttheycannotbedestroyed.Ifyouburnlogs,yougetcharcoal, andwhenyouburncharcoal,yougetash.Butyoucan’tdestroyit.Thisisanestablisheduniversalscientificfact.Eveninthis muchdeveloped,modernworldthisisthetruth.Notonlynow,evenlateronalsoatanyfuturestage,atomscannotbecreatedor destroyed.This truth goes to show the greatness of God.

Iappealtotheatheiststonotethefollowingpoints.

1. Theglobalpopulationhasreached600crores.Eachoneofthe600crorepeoplehasdifferentanddistinctlinesoffinger prints.Who made these differences ?

2. Allthe600crorefacesaredifferentfromeachother.Everyfacehastwoeyes,twoears,onenoseandonemouth. But they have distinct features and none of them is a replicaoftheother.Eventwinshavedifferentfeatures, thoughsometimesonlytheirmotherscoulddistinguish themfromoneanother.Whomadethesedifferences?

3. TheDNAtestestablishesthefatherandthemotherofachild.Thebadmen,whodeceiveyoungwomen,runaway whentheybecomepregnant.Theydenytheirinvolvementeven after they are caught by the police.Only by this DNAtesttheparenthoodofthechildisprovedbeyonddoubt,andtheiratrocityisexposed.Thegenesofafatherare transmitted to the child, and in the same way the sins and virtues are also transmitted to their children. Who made these processes?

4. Inallthecountries,inalltheregions,inallthecommunitiesandsocieties,theratioofmenandwomenismaintainedat50:50.Sometimesitmaybe49:51or52:48.Butit isneverintheratioof70:30or60:40atanytimeinthehistoryofmankind.Theimbalancesinthisratiohappens,sometimesonlybythecruelandselfishactivitiesofmendue to war, female infanticide etc.Who decides; who has to get a male child and who has to get afemalechild,andwhoseestoitthattheworldgoesonmaintainingin the same ratio of men and women?

Oh.theatheists,pleasethinkhonestly.

CONFESSION

After committing all sins in life, some people, to wipe out the sins committed, go to the temples and pray to god.Some do short term penance for 48 days and go to worship LordAyyappa, some go to Rameswaram and sprinkle water onthemselvesatallthe22holyspringsandworshipRamanathaswamy,somegotoKasitakebathintheGangesandworshipLordViswanatha,sometakeabathintheGangesonthedaysoftheKumbamela.Theybelievethatalltheirsinswouldbecondoned,iftheydoallthesepoojasandvisittheholy placesandpraytoGod.TherearepeoplewhosaythatonecancommitamurderandgetGod’scondonationiftheyhavedarshanofthreeKumbhabhisekams.(verysacredritualinthetempleperformedonce in manyyears)Are we notgrosslyunderestimatingtheintelligencepowerandwisdomofGod?

EveryyearthenumberofpilgrimsgoingtoSabarimalaisincreasing.Manylakhsofpeopleobserve48daysofstrictanddifficultpenanceandmakeatediouspilgirimagetoworshipLordAyyappa.Theyspendmoneyandtheyhavethemental strength to undergo such ordeals of penance for the sakeof God.Theyareappreciablequalities.TogetthegraceofLordAyyappa,theyspendmoneyandundertakedifficulties.Ifsuchmoney and such sacrifices are utilised to help the children of Godwhoareinacutepainandsuffering;howhappytheLordAyyappawillbetowardsthem.Therearestudentswhocannot

buytextbooksandwhocannotpaytheexamfees;thereare patientswhosufferinagonywithnomoneytobuymedicines; there are mothers who cannot buy milk for their starvingand crying infants.If you help these people with the money you spend on poojas and pilgrimages, imagine how happy Lord Ayyappawillbe!ItissureandcertainthatHisblessingstothedevoteeswhohelpedthepoorpeoplewillbemanytimesmorethanHisblessingstothedevoteeswhocometoworshipHim.

TheProphetMohammedsays,“Therearesomewhowillprayregularly,whowillobservealltheceremoniesandwhowillundertaketheholypilgrimagetoMecca;butthey will utter lies very casuallythey will cheat, and depriveothersoftheirpropertyandtheywillfollowevilways.Theyare hypocrites ”.

Ahypocriteisonewhoisawolfhidingunderacow’s skin.He is worse than a murderer or a thief.The thief robs other’smoneyasheandhisfamilyarestarvingandsuffering.Themurderercommitsmurderinamomentofsuddenangerorforvengeance.Butahypocriteisawareofwhatheisdoing,andheisawarethatheshouldnotdoit.Buthebelievesthathecanget the forgiveness of God by offering poojas.Such belief is only fallacious and foolish.

Onlythosewhorepenttheirmistakesandthosewho honestly pray to God that they would never repeat them andbegforGod’sforgivenessmayperhapsbeforgivenbyGodtoa

littleextent.God’srealforgivenesscomesonlytothosewholeadalifeofhonestyandpurityandwhospendtheirliveshelpingthepoorpeople.Dothis,yoursinswillbewipedoutandyou willgetallprosperity!Dothat,yoursinswillbewipedoutand you will get all prosperity ! With statements like these, some religiousleadersandothersmisleadpeople;theyareinsome sensethecauseforthesocietyandthecountrytoreachsuch low social and moral levels as we witness them now.

AllofusareGod’schildren.AllareequalbeforeGod.IfGodforgivesthesinsofaparticularchildwithoutanyvalidreasonisitnotabetrayaltotheotherchildren?Godisalwaysimpartial.Whatever the law, order or rule that God stipulates, they are equal to all human beings.There cannot be any partiality in God’s actions and also there will not be at any point of time.

Therearemanygoodpeoplewhoswearthattheywouldneverharmothers,wouldneverdoevildeeds,andwouldearnmoney only by honest means.Of course it is a good and appreciablething.Theydon’tcommitanyfreshsins.Buthow cantheyredeemthemselvesfromthesinstheyhavealreadycommittedintheirpreviousbirths?Onlyiftheydogoodthings,likehelpingthepoorandsufferingthenonlythesinstheyhadcommittedalreadywillgetreducedorwipedout.Iftheyhadnot doneorinheritedanysins,Godwouldnothavegiventhemthisbirthatall.Hewouldhavegiventhemthesupremehappinessofbirthlessness.Hencethosepeoplealsoshoulddogoodthings.

Anactofhelpdiffersinquality,accordingtothemotivesandintentionsofthepersonwhodoesit.Inapublicfunction, fourpeopleA.B,C.&DgiveadonationofRs.2000/-eachtoa blindschool.Agives,thinkingthatheshouldhelpthesuffering blindpeople.Heknowstheiragonyandwantstobeofsome helptothem.BgivesthinkingthatifhegivesRs2000/-Godwillgivebackthemoney,manytimesinlateryears.Cgivesthinkingthatitisagoodpublicity.Thelargenumberofpeopleandthepress reporters attending the function would come to know aboutourdonationandournamewouldappearinthenewspapers.DveryreluctantlygivesthedonationasA,B,andC,hadgiventhe moneyhetellshimself“ifIdonotgive,itwillcreateabadnameamongthepeoplehere.Ishouldnothaveattendedthisfunction.Now Rs 2000/- is a waste ”.

All these thoughts run in their inner minds.Nobody knows about their thoughts.Actually D acts as if he has real concernfortheblindmorethantheothers.WillGodblessallthefourpersonsequally?Defenitelynot.Heknowstheirmotives,intentionsandthethoughtsrunningintheirmind.HewillgivevirtuestoAmorewhohasdonatedwithoutexpectinganything;andtoBalittlelesswhodonatedexpectingreturns;andtoC stilllesswhohasdonatedforthesakeofpublicity;andtoDfar less who has donated unwillingly.

In our enthusiasm to help others,“ we shouldnotencouragebeggarsandidlers,andencouragelazinesswhich

isamenacetothesociety”.Weshouldextendourhelponly

totheselecteddeservingpersons.Manyundeservingpeoplewouldtrytocheatandgethelpfromus,iftheycometoknowofour helping nature. There are number of orphanages, blindschools,schoolsforthehandicappedandashramswhichreceivelarge donations but don’t spend even half of it for the right cause.Thereareplentyofcheatsinourcountry.Wehavetosearch andsearchforgoodpeople.Hencepleasebewareanddonot get cheated, while trying to help others.

On many occasions, I have lent money to different people asloans to help them.But none of them has paid it back wholly.After many such occasions, Icame to the conclusionthatIwillnotlendmoneyasaloantoanybody.IfIwantedtohelpanybody,Iwillnotlendit,butcontributeasmuchas possible as a gift.I have been practising this for afew years.Whoevercomestomeforaloan,Imakethispointcleartohim.Ihavealsonotstoodasguaranteeforanyoneunderanycircumstances.Thesedecisionsofminehavesavedmefrom manyproblems.

We come across a good number of people whoby cheating and adopting all types of bad activities, get rich and leadaluxuriouslifewithacar,bungalowandothercomforts. Wealsoseehonestpeoplewithgoodqualitiesandwhohelp othersleadamiserablelife,bravingdifficultiesandproblems. We exclaim whetherGod exists at all ? And whether goodthingswillnothelp?Butwearelookingatthepresentonly.Let

uspatientlyanalyseandunderstandGod’sways.Weseeonly their present condition, which is actually the punishmentorrewardGodhasgiventhemfortheirpastsinsandvirtues.Ifwetake a long term view of life, propably for a span of15 or 20 years one can seegood people ultimately enjoying life, and while bad people getting punished.

Weplantacoconutsapling,andwewateritdaily.We protectitfromweedsandinsectsandlookafteritcarefullyfor sevenlongyears.Wefirmlybelievethatfromtheeighthyear onwards,itwouldyieldcoconutsandcontinuetodosoforthe next 70 to 80 years, which is a fact.Dowe have the samebelief in God? If we do good deeds now, we expect the benefit ina month or a year.If we are not getting the benefits we feelfrustrated.Wearereluctanttocontinuethegooddeeds.Letusnotforgetthatgooddeedsyieldgoodreturnsonlyveryslowly butcontinouslyforaverylongperiod.Pleasedon’tforgetthat the scholars and saints have said, that it extends to seven generations and seven rebirths.

“Desiretodogoodthings”“Neverstophelpingothers”

“Givefoodtoothersandtheneat”

-AathiChudi–wellknownTamilpoem

“Gooddeedsalwayshelp”.      -Proverb

Arethesenottrue?Wehavestudiedtheminourprimaryclasses.Havewestudiedthemonlytosecuregoodmarksin theexam?Shouldwenotfollowtheminourlives,inorderto improveourselves,ourchildrenandourcountry?

ThereisastoryintheMahaBharathatoillustratehowgooddeedsprotectaman.IntheGreatBattleofKurukshethra, KarnawasseverelywoundedbythearrowsofArjuna.Karna’scharioteerhadalsodesertedhimthechariotgotboggeddown inmudandKarnatriedtoretrieveitbutcouldnot.Hewasin death-throes.LordYamacouldnottakeawayhislife,astheGoddessofDharmawasprotectinghimforthegooddeeds,hehaddonethroughouthislifetime.Karnacouldnotdieuntilallthevirtuesaccruedbyhisdharmawastakenawayfromhim.AtthatstageGodKrishnaapproachedhiminthedisguiseofanoldBrahminandaskedforhelp.Karnasaidpatheticallyevenatthatstage,“Ihavegivenawayeverything,Ihavenothingtogiveyounow.Don’taskmeanythingwhichIwillnotbeinapositiontogive.Don’tputmeinapositionwhereIhavetosaynotoyou.AskmeonlythethingswhichIwillbeabletogiveyounow.”

LordKrishnasays“Youhaveaccumulatedalotofvirtues(punniyam)byhavingpractiseddharmathrought outyourlife,andyouaregoingtogetsomemorevirtues in the donation that you are going to give now.Give me theentirevirtues”.WithoutanyhesitationKarnagaveawayallthattoLordKrishnaandwithouttheprotectingringofDharma,

hegotkilledbyArjuna.

WhatanironythatGodhastobegamanforhisfavour.HereKarnasoaredhigherthanGod.Youcannotfindaparalleltothisinanyreligion.Thisisunique.Themoralbehindthisis thatinordertoraisesuchagoodmantoGodlylevel,Godwill nothesitatetolowerHimself.WecanalsofindGodsinHindu epics who work for the devotees.God is great.Do notunderestimateHisintelligencepower,wisdomorgreatness.Thatitself is a sin.

A man is awarded life imprisonment for commiting a murder, and he is undergoing the punishment in prison.Dependinguponhisbehaviourinprison;suchas,obediencetothe prison officials,accepting the prison life without protest, keeping discipline in the queue to get his food,doing the work allotted to him sincerely,obeying the orders of the officials without protest. Every year he gets remission in the periodofimprisonment.Thatremissionislessininitialyearsandmoreinlateryears.Forgoodconductinprison,thetwentyyearsoflifeimprisonmentwillgetreducedto14or15yearsandhe is released from the prison.

Inthesameaway,Godwillreducethepunishmentsweareduetogetinfuture;onthebasisofcontinuousgooddeedswedonow;tohalforevenaquarter.Eventobearthatreducedpunishment,hewillalsogiveusthementalstrengthtotakeitlightly.

Man has madecomputerswhich doatrillioncalculations(onelakhcrores)inonesecond.IfManhassuch powers, imagine how much powers God will have!We must realisethatGodhasintelligence,power,andwisdomthatwe cannotevenimagineormeasure.Inthepresentscientificallymuchadvancedstage,Americawithitsbrillianceinspacecontrol,through NASA is tracking, controlling, receiving and sending messagestohundredsofsatellitesinorbitatatime.Whena man with his limited intelligence and knowledge, can control hundreds of satellites which are situated thousands of miles away; is itdifficultfor God to put in operation a system,by whichhereceivesthesignalsfromapartofthebrainineachand every person about his actions, movements words, thoughtsetc?Allthesedatasmaybestored,andprocessedinsucha way that subsequently appropriate orders as punishments or rewards are delivered at appropriate times.

LetusnotimaginethatGodhaslikesanddislikesas wehave,thatHehaslimitationsaswehave,andthatHecanbeswayedbyourflatteryorabuse.LetusnotbelievethatGodwillunderstandonlycertainlanguagesandthatHewillbepleasedifhehearsmantrasrecitedinSanskritandobligeourdemandswhen he is in that pleasant mood.Does not God knowthe AfricanlanguageorthelanguageofEskimosinAntartica.TheidolofLordKrishnaturnedaroundintheUdipitemplesothathis truedevoteewhoisdeniedentryinsidethetemplecanhaveHisdharshan;DoesthatdevoteeknowSanskrit?Doesthe

uneducated hunter Kannappa who offered meat ( which is forbiddentobeofferedtoGod)toLordSiva,knowSanskrit? Has not God accepted their prayers and blessed them ?

Inordertogetthingsdone,wesometimespleasean officialbydoingsomeoddjobsforhim;wegethissuperiorsto influencehimorpoliticianstopressurehimorwetrytocorrupt him with money.But there are some officials who are not influencedbytheseconsiderations.Theyarenottemptedbyflattery,inducementsormoneyorbethreatenedbyforceorpower.They discharge their duty according to the rules and their conscience.When some men are so impartial, how can we imaginethatGodwouldbeanyless?Don’tthinklikethat.That itself is a sin.Please do not commit that sin.

ThereisaproverbinTamilwhichsays“Ifyoulookafter your neighbour’s children, your children will beautomaticallybenefitted”.Therealmeaningoftheproverbisthat when we help others, it is a good deed which earns us virtueandduetothatvirtue,Godwouldlookafterourchildren.

Godcreatedallofus.WeareallthechildrenofGod. When others hurt your children you will get hurt and will be angry with those people.Likewise God also will be angrywiththepeoplewhohurttheotherchildrenofGod.Whenothershelpyourchildren;youarepleasedandyoulookatthemwithloveandaffection.ThesamewayGodwillbepleasedwithyou,whenyouhelptheotherchildrenofGod.Pleasethink.When

wedothingswhichGoddislikesitisasin.

When we do things which God likes, it is virtue.Thegooddeedsofourswillbetransformedintoagoodlifeforusandourchildrenlateron.Henceweshouldalwaysdothingswhich God likes.We do poojas, Yagams and homams and other ceremoniesforaselfishpurpose:wewantourfamilyandour children to live happily.God knows our real character,our intentionsbehindperformingtheseceremonies,thoughwetry tohidethem.Whenweworkselflessly,withtruth,honestyand sympathy,andhelpthehopelesslysufferingpoor,Godknows our selflessness, and will give us more virtues.

Todayandnowitselftakeahundial,oraboxorapapercoverandwriteonit“ForDharma–notfortemples”.Put coinsandsmallamountsinitwheneveryouhavethem.Spare themoneywhichyouintendtospendonpoojasandhomams and ceremonies and fill the hundial.You will come acrosssufferingneedypoorpeopleattimes.Wheneversuchasituationarises,utilisethisamounttoalleviatethepainandsufferingof thosepeople.

Youcanvisitthegovernment,corporationormunicipalschools in your town.Only the poor children are studying there.YoucanmeettheHeadMasterandinformhimthatyou want to donate notebooks or text books or uniforms to the childrenofwidowsandalsotothehandicappedstudents.Youcanmeetthechildrenyourselfanddonatetheseessentialitems

tothemwithyourownhands.InthemonthsofDecemberorJanuarythestudentsstudyinginthetenthandtwelfthstandardshave to pay the examination fees.At that time also you can help them by paying those fees.You can also go to the government hospitals, select a few patients and help themdirectly.

“ Look at God as God, not as Vinayaka,Muruga,Rama,Krishna,JesusorAllah.WhenwethinkofGodas God our mind widens, we forget religions and we arerecharged”.Letusnotconfineourselvesinnarrowcircles;letuscomeoutofthetinycircleofourfamily,ourcommunity,ourfriends.Letusexpandandwidenourcircle;makeitbiggerthanthecity;biggerthanthestate;biggerthanthiscountry;bigger than this world, whybigger than this universe.

Lookathundredsofcountriesinthisworld.Lookatthevariouspeopleofthosecountries;theiractivities.Thenonlyyoucan learn the good things from them.Whenever you meet a person;yousearchifhehasanygoodquality.Ifthereisone,grabthatandimplementitinyourlife.Thenonly,yourself,yourchildren and your country can prosper.

Rationalists and self improvement analysts givethis prescription for success: work hard, plan properly,persist inyourwork;don’tbediscouragedbydefeat,haveperseverance,goondoinghardworkdayandnight.Youaresureofgetting success.Thesequalitiesalonewillnotbringsuccesstoyou?

Ifyouhadalreadypossessedvirtue(punniyam),thenonlyyou willgetsuccess.“Onlytheeffortisinyourhands.Theresultis inthehandsofgod”.Theyrefertoquotefewpeoplewiththe abovegoodqualities,whohadcomeupverysuccessfullyin life.If there is one man who succeeds with those qualities,therearethousandsofpersonswhohadneversucceededwiththe same qualities.They conveniently ignore these failures. We also see many people who succeed in life without thesequalities.

Nodoubtqualitieslikehardwork,efficiency,dedication,sincerityandperseveranceareimportanttosucceed;butthey alone are not sufficient.More than all of these, theyshould havetheblessingsofGodwhichisveryveryimportant.That blessings you will get only on the basis of the virtues iethe punniyamasitcalledcommonlyinourcountry,thatyouhave accumulatedbyyourgooddeeds.Hewillcontinuetoblessus only if we continue to dogood deeds.

Thethoughtswehaveandthedecisionswetake,are determinedonlybyourfate,whichisbaseduponthesinsandmeritsofourpreviouskarma.Whenwehavegoodfate,wewillbeguidedtotakegooddecisions,whenourfateisbad,wewill beforcedtotakeonlywrongdecisionsandfacefailureinlife.

Here is an incident to illustrate this point.Duringthe Gujaratearthquake,aman,hiswifeandchildrenwererushing outoftheirapartmentbyaliftinahurrytosavethemselves.

After coming out of the lift in the basement, the man saw his fourdays old new car parked there in the basement; andhe wastemptedtosaveit.Heaskedhiswifeandchildrentogo to the street and rushed up to his flat, to bring the car key to save the car also.Without going to the street, his wife and childrenwerewaitingneartheliftforhim.Inafewsecondsthe entire building collapsed, killing all of them.

Atthatcrucialmoment,thereweretwochoicesbeforehim.One,heandhiswifeandchildrencouldescapeabandoningthecar.Two,hehiswifeandchildrencouldescapealongwiththecar.Asaccordingtohisfate,hewasdestinedtodiewithhisfamily,hetooktheseconddecision.Takingintoaccounttheirpastsinstheyhadaccumulated,theyweredestainedtodie.Inthatcasehowcantheytakeadecisionwhichwillleadthemto escapefromdeath.Theycantakeonlyadecisionwhichwill lead them to death.God will induce them to take a decision leading to the death of his entire family.

Thewesternarchaeologistshavefoundabigancient city immersed in the sea, near the coast line of Tamilnadu. They found out that it was of the most ancientcivilised community.Theyhavecalculateditas7000yearsold.Even MohenjadaraandHarappacivilizations,consideredtobethe oldestandthebestareonly5000yearsold.2000yearsearlier than that,our country was as civilised as that.

Intheancienttimes,Indiawasnotonlytheoldest,but

one of the richest developed countries.Now India is ranked amongthepoorestcountries.Whoisresponsibleforthisgreatfall?Somepeoplesaycorruption,somesayimmoralpoliticians,some say population; some say the number of castes and religiousrivalriesbetweenthem.Buttherealreasonistobetracedtothesinscommittedbyaverylargenumberofpeopleofthecountryalso.Totallyselfishpeople,andthepeoplewithout integrity of character are the cause for the downfall.

“Ifwealthislost,nothingislost”.

“Ifhealthislost,somethingislost”.

“Ifcharacterislost,everythingislost”.

-Englishproverb.

“Thepersonswhodonothavegoodcharacter,willdobaddeedsandwillaccumulateallkindsofsins.When suchpersonsarelargeinnumbers,thecountryinwhich they live also slides downwards ”.

SHORT-CUTS

Somanypeoplehaveinventedsomanyshort-cutsto get health,wealth, prosperity, happiness, good wife, goodchildren,successinlove,successinelections,etcinthisworld.ThereareavarietyoftalismanstogetallthesebenefitsthroughAshtalakshmiyantra,Kuberayantra,Mahalakshmiyantraandwhat not.In that too, there are ordinary, special and super special talismans for quicker results.There are stones and gems and magic formulae to enhance one’s luck; there isvasthushastraandnumerologytohelpmentogetrichquickly,without the necessity of hard work.Quacks peddle a good numberofshort-cuts,promisingtotaketheignorantpeopleto quick money, luck and power.

Thesearethetricksquacksusetocheatpeople,who are weak and foolish, promising them quick riches.If one cangetthesethingsbyusingtheseshort-cuts,allofuscango tothetopoftheworldquickly.Godwillbecomeirrelevant.No onehasbecomerichusingthesemethods,andifatallthereis any oneit is just accidental.

Goddoesnotrecogniseorencourageanytypeofshort-cuts.God accepts only the straight forward routes.Life is a longstruggle,likeswimmingagainstthetide.WhenmillionsofpeoplearestrugglinginhonestwayshowwillGodignorethosepeopleandrewardthegreedypersonswhochoosetheshort- cuts?Don’tdreamthatGodwilldolikethat.Don’tgetcheated

like the people, who invested their money with dishonest financiers who promised them higher rates of interest and subsequently lost, not only the interest but also theprincipal. Only people who earned money in crooked ways, will investtheminsuchdubiousconcernsandloseit.Honestpeoplewhohave earned their money, in honest ways will not make suchbadinvestments.Nobodycancheatthem.Godwillblessthem,and will show them the way to take the right decisions.

The astrologers calculate and tell us of our past,the presentandthefutureonlyonthebasisofthetime,placeanddateofourbirth.Nowadaysintheaffluentfamilies,theparentsfix the time and date of birth of their children.They ask thedoctorstooperateandcausethebirthofthebabyatthedesiredtime.The Doctor obliges them and the baby is born at the specified time and date.

Sciencehasbestowedthepowerofchoosingthetimeanddateofbirthonyourhands.Wththatyoucanchangethedestinyofthebabiestobebornasbeggars,foolsanddisease-ridden,intoasrich,wiseandhealthy.Ifeveryoneimplements thistheneverybodywillberich,healthyandwise.Thewhole country, the whole world will be prosperous! Then we do not require the mercy and blessings of God also!

If it is true that nobody can change the punishmentsandrewardsdecidedonbyGod,thentheastrologybaseduponthetime,placeanddateofthebirthofapersonisalsonotvalid.

Maybetherewasalittletruthinitwhenpeopledidnothavethe powerstodecideonthetimingofbirth.Butatthepresentstagewithrationalthinking,wehavetoconcludethatastrologyisfalseornotfoolproof.

Saint Elango, the author of the great Tamilepic Silappadhigaram,wasthesecondsonofTamilkingPandian. Athisyoungagethisincidenthappened.Anastrologervisited the court of the king Pandian and examined the horoscopes oftheKing,Queen,thefirstsonandthesecondsonElango. After a deep study of all the four horoscopes, he said that after the king’s period, the first sonwill not succeed as king, but only the second son Elango will become the king.This shocked the whole royal family. The first son was very much disappointed.Elango was also upset and he did not want to takeoverthekingdomwhichbytraditionhastogotohiselder brother.Further he wanted to prove that the astrology is notcorrect.Againstmuchopposition,hedecidedtobecomeasaintandenteredtheholylifeandassumedthenameofSaintElango.Subsequently the first son became the king.

Thisisatrueincident,andeveninthosedays,astrologywasprovedfalse.Onlyaverypopularandefficientastrologer would have been allowed, to cast the royal horoscopes, and only a learned astrologer would have the courage to predictunpleasantthingstoaking.Ifsuchagoodastrologerhadbeenprovedwrong,howcanwehavefaithinastrology?

ThereisanincidentinMahabharataaboutastrology. SahadevawasoneofthePandavasandanexpertastrologer.JustbeforethegreatKurukshethrawarbetweenthePandavasandtheKauravas,Duryodhanaconsultedhimandrequested him to fix the date and time to start the war.Even though Duryodhanawasanenemytohim,Sahadevaadheredtothe principlesofDharmaandfixedanauspicioustimeanddateto start the war.If the war started on that date and time, the Kauravas would defenitely win it.

The Pandavas were very much disturbed. They blamed Sahadeva for this big problem.Sahadeva being a honest and principled person could not lie or cheat and fix awrongdate.Nobodyknewwhattodo. ButtheGodLordKrishnaknewthatKauravasshouldnotwinasperdestiny.Thevictory should come only to the Pandavas.He decided not to allow them to start the war at the auspicious time.

With his tricks, Lord Krishna caused the war to be startedatanothertime,andthePandavaswonit.Theywere destinedtowinthewar,andtheydid.Whatisthelessonwe learnfrom this? Even if an expert astrologer meticulously calculates and fixes the time, God will change that decision accordingtothefate.Astrologywillfailfinally.Hencewhatisdestinedtohappen,willdefenitelyhappen.Nothingcanchangeourfate.Isitnotfoolishtospendourmoneytimeandenergyonastrology,whichcannotchangeourfatedecidedonbyGod.

Pleasethink.

Iwasalsoabelieverofastrology.EventhoughIhave consultedthebestastrologers,nobodypredictedthedeathofmybeloveddaughterHemalatha.ItoohavelostfaithcompletelyinastrologyafterthedeathofmydaughterHemalatha.Ihave seen so many people, who have spoiled their lives blindly followingastrology.NowIdon’tfollowRaguKaalam,badtime or good time.Is there any country in the world which followsRagukaalamorYamagandam(consideredtobebadtimesasperastrology)infixingBus,Train,Ship,Airtimings?Itookdeliveryofmynewcarpurchasedintheyear2000andanotheronein theyear2004onlyinragukaalam.IknowthatGodwillneversay,“BalasubramaniamboughtthecarinRahukaalam,andsoheshouldbepunished”.IboughtanewFlatinBangaloreona Tuesdaywhichisconsideredtobeaninauspiciousday.AndI never performed any poojas on that occasion.

VasthuShasthraisanotherwayofcheatingpeople.I don’ttrustorfollowanyshortcuts.Ialwayspreachtoothers, what I myself follow in life.With all humility, I would like to say thatyou can’t see in my life“preachingone thing and followingthe other thing”.

Marathonisarunningracecoveringadistanceof26kilometers.InonemarathonraceheldinAmerica,morethanahundred people participated.The man who came first washonouredwithgifts,prizesandcertificates.Aweeklater,apressreporterfoundoutthatthewinnerhadnotrunallthe26kilometers.

Aftercoveringsomekilometresalongwiththeothers,thismanchose a shorter route, ran in that and again joined the mainroutemuchbeforethefinalpoint.Insteadoftheoriginaldistanceof26kms,heranactually20kmsandwasabletoreachthefinalpointmuchaheadoftheothers.Whenthiswasdiscovered later, the titles, prizes and certificates were recovered from him,and he had undergone punishment also.He had invited this humiliationbecausehehadchosenashortcuttowintherace.

LifeisalsoaverybigMarathon;itisalongrace.Allof usarerunninginsearchofhappinesspeace,andprosperity. Some try to take short-cuts like talismans, numerology,gemmology,VasthuShastraetc.Whenyoufollowtheseshort-cuts, do you think God would reward you with more benefits,ignoringtheotherswhoarerunninginthestraighthonestroute?IfGodchoosestohelpthesepeople,isitnotcheatingtheotherhonestpeople?Godwillnevercommitthismistake.Godwill not reward the cheats; instead, he will punish them.Oh the followers of short cuts, please think,you will not be getting rewards, you will only invite the displeasure of God, andsubsequentlythepunishmentsfromHim.Anymanwhoresortstosuchshort-cutswilldefenitelyreceivepunishmentslateron. Godwillalwayspunishcheaters.WhateverpunishmentsGod registers,thatwillbegivenonlyaftermanyyears.Thisistruth, truth and nothing but truth.

Youcanthink,Oh,thecheatinghashappenedinthemarathonheldinAmerica.HencecheatersarethereinAmericaalso!Yescheatsaretobefoundinallthecountries.Therearemurderers, rapists, plunderers, frauds, in all countries.If the percentage of these evil people is5%in America and otherdevelopedcountries,itis90%inthethirdworldcountries,(Indiaisoneofthethirdworldcountries)MoreoverthecriminalsveryrarelyescapepunishmentincountrieslikeAmerica;90%ofthemarecaughtandpunished.ButinIndia,90%ofthecriminalsandlaw breakers, escape punishment using power, money and politicalinfluence.LawispowerlessinIndiainthecaseofthe rich and the powerful.

ButinAmericaandinotherdevelopedcountries,lawisequallyenforcedonall,includingtherichandthepowerful.Themost powerful man on earth is the American President.The daughter of the present American president, George Bush’s brotherwasfounddrinkinginabar.Shewasbelow21yearsandsoshewastakentothecourtandfined.Itisillegaltheretodrinkbeforeyouare21yearsold.ThePrimeministerofEnglandisTonyBlair.ThePrimeMinister’s18yearoldsonwasfounddrunkinaparkbenchafterdarkinLondon.Thepolicetookhim tothepolicestationandchargedhim.WhenthePrimeMinister cametoknowofit,hesaidthatthepolicecoulddotheirduty.“Iam willing to go over to the police station, if Police call me ”. These incidents happened in the year 2003.

Inourcountry,itisnearlyimpossibleforthepolicetochargeorarrestevenapoliticianofasmalltownwhomighthavecommittedagravecrime?Thepolicewouldnotdoit,eveniftheydo,theywouldbetransferredtoanotherplaceorcensured.Howcanasocietylikethiscancomeup?HowwillGodhelp the societies like this ?

RITUALS&CEREMONIES

Inoursociety,wegivetoomuchimportancetorituals andceremonies.Theprinciplesgoverningthemareforgotten, bhakthi, humanism, discipline and morality are notgiven importance.Our rishis and saints, under the compulsion of time and circumstances, established certain rituals and cermoniestodisciplinethepeopleandtoguidethemtoleada good life.When the necessities and circumstances change,mostoftheritualsandceremoniesbecomeirrelevantincourseot time.It is wise on our part to discard some of them.

Intheoldendays,intheBrahmincommunity,therewasacustom.Ifthehusbanddiesthewifehastoundergotonsureofhead(removalofhair)wearonlythewhitedress,andshouldnotattendanyfamilyfunctionslikemarriageetc.Inmyschool daysIsawmanyyoungwivesputintothispatheticcondition. Nowadays as the educational level has improved and aswe havebecomemorecivilisedthiscustomisnotpractised.Now wecannotseeevenasinglewidowputintosuchhumiliation.Andevenremarriagesofwidowsaretakingplace.Havewenotchangedourselvesnow?

MarriagesarenotcelebratedinTamilNaduonTuesdaysandSaturdaysandalsoatnights.ButinourneighbouringstateofAndhraPradesh,marriagesarecelebratedonlyduringnightsandalsoonTuesdaysandSaturdayswhicharethedays

consideredasbadand inauspiciousinTamilnadu.

Ritualsandceremoniesdifferfromcountrytocountry, and sometimes they differ in the different parts of the same country.There are thousands of ceremonies in hundreds of countries.What is consideredauspicious in one country; is consideredinauspicious in another country.Let us not give undue importance to rituals and ceremonies.Instead, let usfollowtheunderlyingprinciplesofhumanitarianismandhelpingmentality.God will not see the rituals and ceremonies weperform;hewillseetheheartcharacterandintentionofthepersonwho is performing it.Let us throw away the rituals and ceremoniesthathurtotherspractisedinthenameofGod.Let usnotimaginethatGodwillbeangrywithusforabandoningcertainceremoniesthatareirrelevantnowandwhichhurtothers.

“Letusthrowoutthereligion

WhichdoesnotwipeoutthetearsofawidowAnd does not feed a starving poor ”.

-SwamiVivekananda

ThinkaboutwhatthegreatVivekanandahassaid.Godlooks for the intention of the people when they perform ceremonies.TheceremoniesthemselvesdonotpleaseGod. Had not Godaccepted the meat ( which is forbidden as anoffering)-offeredbygreatdevoteeKannappaNayanar?Please

donotgrosslyunderestimatetheintelligencepowerandwisdomofGod.

Pleasedonotmeasurethesuccessofapersononthebasis of the wealth he has accumulated.Only one rich man amongthousandsofrichmen,livesapeacefulandhappylife. All the others have lost their peace in the terrible process of makingmoney.Moneyaloneisnotlife.Ifwearemoderately rich, money will protect us.If we are excessively rich, we havetosafeguard themoney, andbe theservants ofmoney.

Themostessentialthingsoflifewhicharemoreimportantthanmoney,cannotbeboughtbyanyamountofmoney.Health,education,agoodwife,goodchildrenandapeacefulandhappyhome-thesecannotbeboughtbymoney.Allthewealthinthe worldcannotgiveyouahappyhome.“Moneyshouldbeaslavetoyou.Youshouldnotbeaslavetomoney”.Alwaysmoremoneybringsmoreproblemstoyou.Furtherthemoney that comes through evil means will bring intense pains and complex problems quickly.

Take the case of a typical rich man A.He has many businessorganizationsandindustires.He hasmanybungalowsandcars.Heisprofuselyrichandothersareenviousofhim.Howeverheisnotgettinggoodsleepatnights.Every dayatnight,heisthinkingabouttheaffairs,hehastomanagethenextday;howtopaythebills,howtopaytheloaninstalment,

howtomanagetheshortageoffundstobepaidtothebank,thenextday.Howcanhefallasleep?Itisnotonenight’sstory; everynightthesamethingcontinues.Hisbusinessturnoverisincroresandcroresofrupees;butheisalwaysshortofcash.Itisduetothefactthatifhehasexcessmoneyhestartsanotherbusiness.

B is moderately rich but abundantly wise.He hasa manageablebusiness;hehasacarandabungalow.Hehas no shortage of business funds.If there is a deficit, he has reservestomanageit.Ifheneedstenthousandurgently,hewillbehavingfifteenthousandrupeeswithhim.Onsomeotherdayifheneedsalakhofrupees,hegetstwolakhsofhismoney fromthepersontowhomhehasgivenasaloan.Thereisneveranydeficitforhiminhislife.Outofthesetwowhoistrulyrich?

A is a slave to his money.He is like a cashier who handles millions in a bank but cannot enjoy them.Like a caretaker,heisinchargeofthemoneyandproperties.Buthe doesnotbenefitfromit.Hespendshisentirelifeingoingon multiplying his money.He is really not wise.Patheticman. ThisiscalledtheMaya-illusion.HeiscaughtintheMayaweb. Therishis,theMahatmas,theleaders,thescientists,andthe philosophersoftheworldwerenotrichmen.Withtheiridealsandservice,theyhaveservedthesociety,andobtainedelevated,respectableplacesintheheartsofthepeople.Andtheirnames

havefoundaplaceinHistory.Eventhoughtheyhavedied,theirnames and life histories are in the minds of the people.The world remembers them even after so many centuries.

When we entered this world; we came with a returntickettogoback.Definitelywearegoingtoreturnoneday.Thedate of our death is also written on the ticket.Only thing, we don’tknowit.Itmaybetomorroworafter5yearsorafter50years.Wemayhaveagooddeath,oramiserabledeath,ending up as a bedridden patient, attacked by paralysis, unable tomovewithoutthehelpofothers;insultedbyothers,sufferingeachandeverydayashell,beinganuisancetoothersandatormenttoourselves.

Whenwefinallydie,wearenottakinganythingwithus.RememberthegreatscholarPattinathar’sfamoussaying-“Eventhebrokenneedlewillnotcomewithyouwhenyoudie”The brokenneedleisauselessthing.Ifevenauselessthingisnotallowedtobetakenwithyou,whatelseyoucantake.Youcan’t takeanything.Whatyouhaveamassedaswealthisuselessinyourhourofdeath.Butonlyonethingwillcomewithus-the sins and virtues, we have accumulated during our life time. Accordingtothatonly, Godwilldecideinwhichcountryandto whichparentandwithwhatqualities,wehavetotakethenextbirth.

Everyminutehundredsofchildrenareborninvarious

partsofthisworld.OnechildisbornasafirstchildwithallgoodqualitiesandcharacterstoawealthycoupleinAmerica,whohavebeenlongingforachildforsomanyyears.AnotherchildisbornasathirdchildwithmoderatequalitiesandcharactertoamiddleclasscouplelivinginamoderatelydevelopedcountryofBrazil.Another child is born as a third female child with thirdratequalitiesandcharacter,toapoorcoupleinIndiawhoalreadyhavetwogirlbabiesandintendedtokillthethirdchild,ifitisa femalechild.Yetanotherchildisbornasaneighthchildwith bad qualities and character, and with physical disability, to a couple in the always famine ridden poor African country,Ethiopia.

Whatalotofdifferencesaretherewithregardtoqualities,characters,health,parents,countryetc,betweenonechildandanotherchild.Godonlydecideswhichchildshouldbebornto whichparent,inwhichcountryandwithwhattypeofqualities andcharacter.

Godwhopossessimmeasurablequantityofintelligence,power and wisdom and who is very impartial and very very justifiabledecidesonwhichchildhastobebornwhere,when, how and to whom.It must be only on the basis of sins and virtuesthatchildcommittedinthepreviousbirths.OnlyonthatbasisGodcantakeanimpartialjustifiable,perfect,andprecisedecision.TheHindureligionwithitsfaithinthepreviousbirth, thisbirthandsubsequentbirthshassoperfectlylaiddownthe

impeccablesystemofgod.Howphilosophicallysoundisour Hindu religion.Please think.

Eachandeveryincidentinlife,willtakeplaceaccordingto one’s fate.Our life is determined by our fate.God hasawardedbadandgoodtousdependingonoursinsandvirtues.Thinkingthatwecanchangeonlyourlongtermlife(whichcan bealteredbyourselves,ifwecontinuoslydogoodthings)andthatwecannotchangeourpresentlifeweshouldnotremain idle, without taking sincere efforts.

Wecannotremainpassiveandidleinthebeliefthatwecannotchangeourpresentlife.Supposeastudentsays,“Iam notgoodinstudies;Godhasnotbestowedanyintelligenceonme.Ifyouaregoingoninsistingmetostudy,WhatcanIdo? Thatismyfate”.Isitfairifastudenttalkstohisfatherinthis way?

Is it fair if your grown up son refuses to get a jobor makesnoattempttogetitandroamsaboutwithbadfriends,blamingGodformakinghimonlyidle?Thenallmenwhocommitcrimesandwhonegecttheirduties,canblametheirfateand disown their responsibility.

Everymanshoulddohisdutyandpersistinhisattemptsto succeed though failures that he encounters at every step.Perseveranceisoneofthetopmostqualities,whichoneshouldtrytoacquire.Doingone’sdutyirrespectiveoftheresult(even

iffailurescome)isofutmostimportantinaman’slife.Thisis the essence of Bhagwath Gita.All happenings in life arethe resultofthecombinationoffateandhardwork.Supposeas peryourfateyoushouldgetaprofitofonelakhofrupees;with yoursincereeffortsandhardwork,youcanincreaseittooneandaquarterlakh.Onthecontrarywithyourlaziness,youcandecrease it to seventy five thousand also.

Inthesameway,ifapunishmentistobeimposedonusasperourfate,wecanwithoureffortsreducetheseverityofthepunishmentorwithourlazinessincreaseitsseverity.Itis all in our hands.

Look at it from another angle:You start and run a business.Itssuccessorfailuredependsuponyourfate.The effectofyourfateis90%.Andtheeffectofyourhardworkis 10%.Accordingtoyourfate,youshouldfailinyourbusiness.Henceinspiteofyourhardworkthebusinessbecomesafailureandleadstoaloss.Againyouaremakingasecondattempt. Nowtheeffectofyourfateis80%andtheeffectofyourhard workis20%.Againaccordingtoyourfate,youshouldfailandsoyoumeetfailure.Againwithyourpersevearance,youmakethirdattempt.Nowtheeffectofyourfateis60%andtheeffectofyourhardworkis40%.Stillaccordingtoyourfate,youshouldbedefeatedsoyouwillagaingetafailurethistimealso.Withremarkableperseverance,aftersometimeagainyouaremaking

afourthattempt.Nowtheeffectofyourdestinyis40%andthe effect of your hard work is 60%.According to your fate, you should get failure this time also.But God is noticing your exemplaryperseverance.Ohthisman,inspiteofhisrepeated failuresisnotcrumbled!Hegoesontryingforsuccess.Heistherealdutyboundhero.Ishouldgivemorevaluetothisman’s hardworkandHewillrewriteyourfateandwillgiveyousuccess

Thepercentagesofeffectofeffortandfatementioned aboveareonlyimaginaryestimates.Youshouldtakeonlythe moralbehind this.

“EvenifGodcouldfailyou,yourefforts

andhardworkwillberewarded”.

-Thiruvalluvar–thegreatTamilpoet

EvenifGoddoesnothelpus,oursincereeffortsandpersistent hard work will receive recogniton and rewards, thoughsmall.NothingisimpossibleforGodinthisuniverseisthefact. Onlytoemphasisetheimportanceofeffortsandhardwork,thepoethasapparentlybelittledGod.Yoursincereandpersistenteffortswillbringsmall,benefits,andifyoucontinueyourefforts withthesesmallbenefitsoveralongperiodoftime,thesesmallbenefitswillbecomebigfortunesasmillionsofdropsofwater make the flood.

Parentsspendsomuchoftheirtimeenergyandmoney

for the sake of their children.They take great efforts, make sacrificestobringuptheirchildrenandtoeducatethem,Theywanttogivetheirchildren,thebesteducationpossible.Though someofthemcannotafford,moneyisnoconsiderationtosuchparents when it comes to good education.They admit their childreninthebestschoolsiftheschoolisfaraway,theyshifttheirresidencesnearertotheschool.Ifthebestschoolissituatedinthenexttown,someparents,donothesitatetoshifttothat townalso.

SomeIndianparentsworkingandlivinginAmericadonotliketheirchildren,tobeeducatedinthecultureofAmericansociety.They return to India, sacrificing their comforts and a promising future in order to educate their children, in a good environment.Thesacrificestheparentsmakeforthesakeof their children are thrilling.

Greateffortsandsacrificesarenecessarytoensurea brightfutureforyourchildren.Willthesealoneensureabright future?Ifyouhaveamassedmoneybywrongmeansanduse ittoeducateyourchildren,theywillnotprosper.Yoursinswill spoilthelifeofyourchildren,eveniftheygetgoodeducation. Livingalifeofgooddeedsisthegreatesthelpyouaredoingtoyourchildren.Yourgooddeedswillhelpyourchildrenverymuch.Weseepersonswhostudiedinthebestschoolsareleadinga bad lives and are going down, from their good positions and therearepersonswhostudiedintheordinaryvillageschools,

leadingtheirliveswithtruth,honestyandhardworkandhave achieved great success in life.There are people who haveattendedtheprestigiousEnglishschools;buthaveilltreatedorneglectedtheirparents.Therearesomewhoreceivedonlyan ordinaryeducationinthevillageschoolsandyettreatedtheir parents with dignity and love, and gone up in life.

I have a Brahmin friend in Bangalore and his sonis employedinAmericaasacomputerEngineer,andhiswifeisalsoemployedinanothercomputercompanyinAmerica.Bothofthemarepaidwell,andtheyleadaverycomfortablelife.Myfriendisagovernmentemployee;afterretirement,acceptinghisson’sinvitationtocomeandtolivewithhiminAmerica,heand hiswifewentthereandlivedfor6months.TheydidnotliketheAmerican way of life and they decided to return to India.His son said “ It is my duty to protect and to give comfort to my parents.Iftheydon’tlikeAmericanlifeandwanttoliveonlyinIndiathenIwillalsoreturntoIndiaandwilllookafterthem”.Theson’swifealsoagreedwithhimandtheycamebacktoIndia, settledinBangaloreandsecuredgoodjobsforbothofthem. They are all happy.

Therewasanotherimportantincidentintheirlife.Aftergetting a job in America, and before leaving for America,the motherhadgotapromisefromhersonthatheshouldnotdo certain bad things in any circumstances.One of them wasavoidingnonvegetarianfood.OnceonhiswaybackfromAmerica

onavacationtoIndia,hewasservednonvegetarianfoodby mistake in the plane and he ate it unknowingly.He cametoknowaboutthemistakeonlyaftereatingthefood.Hewasvery muchdisturbedandonreturninghome,hefellatthefeetofhis mother,narratedtheincident,cried,andaskedforforgiveness.

HowdidtheseBrahminparentsbegetsuchagoodsonwithsuchagoodcharacterinthiscorruptworld?Theymust haveearnedalotofvirtuesearlyintheirlivesandalsointheir previousbirths,andithadgiventhemsuchagemofason.If youdesireyoursonwhomyouwanttogohighupinlifeand whomyouwanttolookafteryou,inyouroldage,youshouldaccumulatelotofvirtuesbydoinggooddeeds,apartfromgivingthebesteducationtothem.Noothershortcutswillhelpyou.

Whenyoucausepaintoothersandtherebycommitasin,atotalof16personsareaffected.Thepersonwhoisaffected by you; yourself; and seven different persons in your subsequentsevenrebirthsandthepersonsofyoursevengenerations.A minimumof16personsareaffectedwhenyoucausepainand commit a sin.In the same manner; when you help others in theirproblems,aminimumof16personsarebenefitted.You should never cause pain to others ( except in the process of doingyourduty)andshouldextendonlyahelpinghandasfar as possible.

2000 years had gone since Christianity came into existenceinthisworld.Inthese2000yearsithasspreadall

over the world, and the countries where Christians live are prosperous,richandprogressive.19outofthetop20wealthy countries in the world except Japan being the only exception areChristian.OntheotherhandthegreatestHindureligion which is the oldest in the world came into existance some 20,000 or 30,000 years earlier than the Christianity.But our peoplearepoor,hungry,uneducatedandsick.TheChristianshavemadesomemistakesandmisdeeds.Butinspiteofthese,by their social services, of providing education and medicalservicestothepoorandsufferingtheyaregettinggoodrewardsfromGod.Pleasethinkaboutthesaying“Handsthathelpare holier than the lips that pray ”.

Whynotwelearnandadoptinlifethatgoodandnoblequality of “Service“from them.We can prosper only if we dothat.Whoeverpossessesgoodqualitieswithoutanyhesitationweshouldlearnfromthem.Ihadrecentlyvisitedaschoolfor thehandicappedandorphansinDharmapuri,Iwaspainedto see a child with two legs and one arm missing.I was very muchdisturbedbythatsufferingchild.Almostallofyou,when you visit a Home for the Physically or Mentally handicapped childrenorwhenyoucomeacrosssuchpersonssomewhere, would be equally disturbed.

IfGodhadgivenusthepower,toturnthemintonormalpersons,withoutanyhesitationdefenitely,wewouldhaveusedthatpowerandwouldhavealleviatedtheirsufferings.DoesGod,

whoreallyhasthatenormouspower,helpthem?No.These miserablepeoplehavetoundergothesufferingeveryminute, every hour, every day until their death.

Infact,Godonlyhasgiventhemsuchapunishmentfortheirpastsins.ThisistherealHell.Thereisn’tanyseparateHellabove.Oh!sinners.Realise;foryouthatHellisreservedinyour subsequent rebirths.

In Iran, in the month of January 2004, in an earthquake30,000peoplewerekilled.SomepeopleaskHowcome30,000peoplediedinoneplaceandatthesametime?Wasnotthere even a single good person out of that 30,000 people ?How doesGodpermitincidentslikethis?DoesGodexistreally? Do we wrongly assume that God exist ?Like this so many questions come to our mind.

Theworldpopulationis600crores.Inayearonepercentof the population dies and two percent of the same areborn. Two percent is birth rate and one percent is death rate. Theexcessonepercentisthereasonfortheincreaseinpopulation.Onepercentofpopulationdieseveryyear.Itmeansthateveryyear6crorepeopledie.Henceeveryday1,64,383peopledie allovertheworld.(6croresdividedby365days).Thisisaneverydayhappening.Whenitisscatteredthroughouttheworld,wedon’tknowthesignificanceofit.Henceitisnotreportedas aNewsinnewspapers.Butthedeathof30,000peopleatone

time, in one placeis a rare occurrence.Hence it is abig incident and comes as a big news in newspapers, which we read;andsomanyquestionscometoourmind.Butifwego through statistics, it is not a big thing.

Deathis only for the body not for the soul.It issomethinglike,shiftingfromonehousetoanotherhouse.Afterthesoulhasleftthisbody,ittakesanotherbirthinanotherbody.Deathisapunishmentforsomepeopleandagiftforsomeothers.For whom it is punishment, and for whom it is a gift ?Every person from birth to death, is committing sins and virtues throughout his lifetime.When the person dies if he hascommittedmoresinsthanvirtuesinhislifetime,thedeathwouldthenapunishmentforhim,asthoughheisshiftingfromthe present house to a less convenient house or to a hut or to a platform he is taking the next bad birth.That may be as an eighth handicapped child to poor parents in Africa.

Ifthepersonwhodieshascommittedmoregoodthingsinhislifetime,thedeathwouldthenbeagiftforhim,asthoughheisshiftingfromthepresenthousetoamoreconvenienthouse,ortoabigbungalowortoapalace;heismovingontoabetterbirth,asthefirstchildwithallgoodqualitiestoawealthyAmericanparent.

Hence the death according to the sins andmeritscommittedbythepersonitmaybeapunishmentoragiftgiven

byGodtothatperson.Butanyperson’sdeathisdefinitelyapunishmentgivenbyGod,forhisfamilymembers,relativesandthe people depending upon that person.

Agoodmanwhoneverhurtsanypersonandasfaraspossible always helps others,has died leaving his wife and childrenpathetically.WeaskIsitfairfortheGodtogivedeath tosuchagoodperson?Thatdeathforthatpersonisreallya big gift given by God to him.God thinks, “ Oh such a good person,shouldnottoilinthispresentconditiionanymore.Let me give him a birth where he will be happier with all good environments and with good parents and with goodfamily members”.

But at the same time this good man’s death is a punishment given by God, for his wife, children, parents and otherdependants.

Likewisesomanyincidentsarehappeningforvariousreasonsinthisworld.Perhapsweareincapableofunderstandingthereasons;andtheremaynotbeanybodytoexplainitproperly.Some day the reason will dawn on us.Let us not have any doubts about the existence of God.

Out of ignorance and gullibility, the uneducated expresstheirdoubtsaboutGod.Buttheeducatedshouldnotbehave like that.We should have unshakeable faith always in God. OurfaithintheexistenceofGodshouldbesuchthatonecan

say” Even if my life is taken away I will not have any doubt aboutGod”.ThefirstrequisitetoreceivetheblessingsofGodistohaveatrue,clearandunflinchingfaithinHim.Godwillloveonly such loyal persons.

DOWRYMENACE

In most of the houses, the pain we inflict upon our familymembersandthesins,wearegettingoutofthatismuch.Sons,daughters,daughtersinlawetcwhoneglectandhumiliatetheirelderly parents; parents who indulge in their own pleasures andpastimes neglecting their duty of looking after their children; drunkenhusbandswhotorturetheirwivesdaily;brothersandsisterswhodoinflictpainoneachother.Abovealltherearethehusbands and their parents who torture young wives demandingunreasonabledowry.Letusatleastreducethesesinsifatall notpossibletocompletelystopit.Notonlytohumanbeings, even if you cause pain to animals that is also a sin.Non- vegetarians-please think it over.

Letmenarrateanincidentthatoccurredtomeayear ago.An elderly lawyer from Salem, known to me, came to Dharmapuribycartovisitoneofhisrelativesnearmyfactory. Aftermeetinghisrelatives,onhiswayback,hiscarcouldnot start.Thefranticeffortsofhisdriverprovedfutile.ThelawyerhadtoreturntoSalemurgently.Icametoknowofthisproblem,IaskedhimtoleaveforSalembybusandtoldhimthatIwouldarrangeforamechanic,getthecarrepairedandwillsendtheittoSalem.Ashehadnotbroughtenoughmoneytopaytohis drivertorepairthecar,hewashesitating.Isaidtohim“Don’t worry, I will pay and get the car repaired and will send it toSalem.”

The nextday after the car and driver had returned to Salem,thelawyermadeenquireswithhisdriverandsentme the money Ihad spent.Though I said that it was a small amount and that he need not bother to pay it, he insisted on repayingthesum.Iwasindeedsurprisedathisinsistenceto repay the expenditure involved.Perhaps he thought that he shouldnotgetmoneyfromotherswithoutavalidreason.Hewouldbeindebtedtome,ifhedidnotrepayiteithernoworlateron, in any other manner.Perhaps laterhe may not get an occasiontorepayit,eitherintheformofmoneyorbyhelping meinanyothermanner;hemaydiewiththedebtunpaid.May be these were the reasons behind his insistence to pay backtheamount.Itisforthisreason,someyogisandmaharishisdonot visit individuals at their houses and take food there.

Amongtheseselflesspeople,therearesomewhotorturetheirwivesandforcethemtogetmoregoldandcashfromtheirparents.How highly sinful they would become throughsuchmeanactslikethese?Iftheparentsarerichandgivevoluntarilytotheirdaughtersthereisnoharminreceivingthem.Butto pressurizingthepoorparentsandinflictingpainonthem,whohadwithgreatdifficultyandwithmuchborrowedmoneyperformedtheir daughters marriage is really a big sin.

In the marriage function, you pledge in the name of Godthatyouwouldprotectyourwifefromallmishapsdifficultiesandmisfortunes,thatyouwouldsharethejoysandsorrowsofthe

womanyoumarry(Thisisthemeaningofthemantraschantedbythepriestwhoperformsthemarriage)YoumakethispromiseinfrontofGodAgni,inthepresenceofhundredsofyourfriendsandrelatives,andwithArundhathiandotherholyplanetsblessingyourunion,youmakeherapartofyourselfandofyourlife.Butwhat happens within a short time ?

You forget your promises, you forget that she is part andparcelofyourlife.Yourgreedandunsatiabledesirecome to the surface.You demand your wife to get you money and materials; or your parents and sisters do it.Yousometimes jointhem,andsometimesjustletthemteaseherandpretendnottobeawareofthesethings.WhathappenedtoyourpromisemadeatthetimeofthemarriageinfrontofLordAgni?Butnowyouhaveforgottenit.YoucheatGodbybreachingyourpromise youtortureyourwifeandherparents.Areyounottreacherous?Do you think, from the accumulation of these sins, you can escapeGod’spunishment?Never.Never.

Inthesociety,somesectionsofpeopleareweakandtheyaretobeprotected.Theyarewomen,childrenandelders. Itisourdutytoprotectthem.Evenduringwartime,intheoldendays,thesesectionsofpeople,werespared.Ifanybodyharmedthesethreecategories,theywillaccumulatemoresin.Inthesameway,ifanybodydoesgoodtothem,theywillaccumulatemorevirtues.Thereisasaying“Eventheghostwillshowmercytowomen”.Willyounotaccumulatemoresinbycausingpain

tothiscategory?Pleasethink.

The story of Emperor Sibi is familiar to all of us.A hunter was in pursuit of a dove, wounded by him; the dove sought refuge with the Emperor.Taking pity on the dove’s plight,theemperorpromisedtohelpit.Laterwhenthehunter foundthedoveinthehandsoftheEmperor,hedemandedhisbirdbackoranequalamountoffleshfromtheEmperor’sbody. TheEmperorofferedtogivehisflesh,ratherthanthebirdback tothehunter.SuchanactoftheEmperorSibiismostlaudableandunparalleledinhistory,consideringthefactsthattherefugeissoughtonlybyabird(Notevenahumanbeing)anditwas chasedafteronlybyahunterwhoisnomatchtothestatusofanEmperor;onewonderswhethertheaboveincidentisrealor fictitious.

But you are cutting slowly the flesh of your wife who hastakenrefugewithyou,leavingbehindherbrotherssisters andalsoherparentswhomshetreatsasequaltoGod.Where do you stand ? Cutting your wifes flesh – in contrast totheEmperorSibiwhosacrificedhisownfleshforthesakeofasimplebird !!Can you escape the punishment from God for your treacherous act ?

InRamayana,inthefinalbattlewithRavanaRamawasnobleandmagnanimous.Attheendofaday’sbattle,RamafoundRavanawithoutarms,withnothingtodefendhimself,withhavinglostallhisweapons.Ramawasnotwillingtokillhis

enemywhowasunarmed.Eventhoughkillingtheenemyinthebattlefieldisnotasin,andinspiteofthefactthatinthemorningwhen the battle started Ravana was in possession of all theweaponsRamatoldRavanatogoandcomebackthenextday toresumethewar.Buttheyoungbrideswhohavecometolivein a strange housewith strange in laws without having anyprotectionandnotevensomeconsolingwords,fromanybodyinthehousearetorturedbyyouandyourparents.Howcruel?

That too what kind of wife ? The wife who treats you likeaGodthewifewhofeelsverymuchhurtandshedsmore tears than your own parentswhen you are in an hospital for treatmentforanaccident.Thewife,whowillnothesitateeven asecondtogiveherlife,toprotectyourlifefromdeath,ifsuch thesituationsowarrants.Youaretorturingsuchagoodwife!

The best relationship in this world is therelationship between the mother and the child.Even this relationship issometimessecondarytotherelationshipbetweenhusbandandwife.Yourwifeisthefirstpersoninthisworldtogetaffected verymuchwiththenewsofadebacletoyou.Thenonlyyour mothercomes.Whenyouaretorturingsuchagoodwifecould therebeamoretreacherousactinthisworldthanthis?Youaredoingthisafterall,forthesakeofmoney.Evenaprostituteearnsafewthousandsinanight.Forthatmoneyyouaretorturingyourwife,thewifewhomyouhavemarriedinfrontofLordAgni,thewifetowhomyouhavepromisedatthetimeofmarriagein

frontofGod, toprotectheruntilyourdeath,thewifewhomeventheghostswillforgive,thewifewhohastakenrefugewithyoutreatingyouasGod,thewifewhostandsbeforeyouwithoutany sortofprotection,thewifewhoispreparedtosacrificeherlifeforthe sake of your’s .

Don’tyourealiseyourtreachery?Don’t you realise your atrocity ?

Don’tyourealisehowmuchsinyouarecommitting?

After doing all this, can you imagine you canescape thepunishmentsfromGodfortheseacts?Youcan’tescape whereeverandtowhichevercorneroftheworldyougo.

IntheWesterncountries,thereisabsolutelynodowry menace.Hencethereisnosincommittedinthismanner.But onlyinthethirdworldcountireslikeIndia,thepeoplecommit sinthroughdowrymeance.IsitanywonderthatIndiastarves and stagnates ? You cannot escape the punishments for the sins committed against young brides.

Thosewhoindulgeindowrymenace,shouldrealisethatthey are committing great sins.Why are youaccumulating bags and bags of sins ?Is there any fool like you ?

REALELEVATION

The following five qualities are essential toachieve success in life:

1. Truth

2. Honesty

3. Hardworkirrespectiveoftheresult.

4. Nothurtingothers(exceptinperformingtheduty)

5. Relievingthesufferingsofthepoor.

These qualities are found abundant in the life ofallsuccessfulpersons.Weshouldbaseourlifeonthesequalitiesin order to achieve a successful and meaningful life.

Life is a big and a long struggle.We have toswimagainstthewavesinordertoreachourgoal.Wewillfacelotsof problemsandtroubles.Onlythepersonwhoispreparedtofacethem and manage them becomes an achiever in life.

Don’texpectotherstolightthecandle,whenyouare inadarkroom.Amongothersletyoubethefirsttolight.Itis easytobehonestinasocietyofhonestpeople.Butitisvery difficult to be honest and perfect in a sinful society like ours. Whereverweturnaround,wefindselfishnesscheatingfraud corruptiongraftnepotismandexploitation.Weshouldvowtoleadanhonestlifepractisingthefivequalitiesmentionedabove.Itiseasytowalkontheground,butitisverydifficulttowalkon

therope.Itmaybeeasytolivewiththeabovequalitiesinthe Westernsocieties;buttopractisetheseinoursocietyisvery difficult.Youtakeitupasachallengetolivelikethis.Donotblame the politicians, illicit-liquor brewers, selfishmerchants,adulteratorsandotherexploiters.Theywillbeonlylikethat.Itisfutiletotrytoreformthem,toquestion theatrocitiestheycommit,ortoseekjusticefromthem.

Itisimpossibleforyou.Youshouldignorethem.Can a mouse confront a mountain ?Why does God allowthese people to thrive in the society ?We can assume ,God has allowedthesepeopletogivepunishmenttoothersinners.

Inpractisingtheabovefivequalitiesdonottrytoachieve100%inanyoneofthem.Itisenoughifyouachieve90%.If you can achieve 90% in all the five qualities in this birth thatitselfisabigachievement.Hereisthestoryofagoodmanwho triedtofollowthevirtues100%andendedasabadexampleto others.

TherewasanhonestshopkeeperinBangalorewhosoldspare parts for machinery.In business, in keeping accounts andinpayingtaxeshewas100%honest.Hedidnotcheatthe government evenone rupee.And he did not pay even one rupee as bribe to the officials.As he was honest, he was a problemtothefellowbusinessmenandashewasnotgiving any bribe, he was a problem to corrupt officials.

Shopkeeperswhoadoptedbadpracticesandthetax officers who were corruptkept oncreating problems to thishonestmanandtriedtocreateproblemsforhim.Hecontinued topractisehonestbusinessinspiteofthetorturesgiventohim. Atonestagehecouldnolongertoleratetheproblemsgivenbythem.Hence he closed the shop.

Nobody was impressed by his honesty.People wonderedwhathehadachievedbyhavingremainedhonest. Hishonestydrovehimtoclosehisshop.Sopeopleconcluded that you cannot afford to be honestand also livehappily in these days.

Ihaveheardpeoplecommenting“MahathmaGandhi’schildrenandgrandchildrenarenotprosperous”.Peoplethink“They are Great people, exemplary leaders, people to beadmired, people fit for worship like God.But wecannot followtheminlife.Ifwefollow,wecannotsurviveinthisworld,wewillbecomepennilessandourwifeandchildrenwill live a miserable life ”.

Henceitisbettertofollowtheabovefivevirtues90% and become successful in this materialistic life .Only when you succeed in life and become rich, the others would listentoyou,havefaithinyourwordsandfollowyourideasandpracticeinlife.Inoursociety,itisveryraretofindpeoplewhopreach goodqualitiesandalsofollowtheminlife.Ifyoubelongtothat

category,youhavethebigresponsibilitytosetanexampleto theuneducated,ordinarypeople.Youshouldprovethatgood people can also lead a rich and happy life.

Youshouldcontinuetoleadagoodandhonestlifeandset an example for others to follow.God will be very much pleasedwithyouandwillgiveyouthebigthrone.Thepeople aroundyou,afterinitialcritisism,willcomeroundtoyourway slowly.Swami Vivekananda said “ Give me 100 honest and selflessyouths!Iwillchangethefutureofthiscountry.”Why not you be one of them?

Godhasgivenusthesixthsense.Weshouldnotbehavelikeanimalshavingonlyfivesenses.Educatedpeople,people with intelligence, people with thinking power should analyse, shouldknowthebestthingsandshouldcometothecorrect decision.If we follow the above five qualities in lifewe can changeourcountryforthebetter.Wearestandingverylowin international level inspite of having the best Hindu religion to guideus.Whatevernumberofschoolsandcollegeswestart, andwhatevernumberofindustrieswesetupandprovidejobsandwhatevernumberofhospitalswestartandruntoeradicatethedieseases,unlesswehavetheabovefiveimportantqualitiesneitherthepeoplenorthecountrycangetanyprogress.Howeverintelligently the governmentplans and implementsvariousprojects,andensurethatthebenefitsreachthepeople,Godwillgivepunishmentsthroughmanyotherwaystoeachandevery

personaccordingtothesinstheyhavecommitted.

He will not allow a country of sinners to prosper. Earthquakeshurricanesstormsandothernaturalcalamities–alltheseareGod’swayofpunishingsinners.WhynewdieseaseslikeAids,andSaarsarecomingupintheworld?Alltheseare createdbyGodtogivepunishmenttothesinners.However muchintelligent,efficientandcleveryoumaybeifyoudonot practisetheabovefivequalities,allyourtalentswillbenothing beforeGod’s will.

IfwehaveaproperunderstandingofGod,Hislikesanddislikes,andliveourlivesasperHisguideliness,wecanrisetotheleveloftherichWesterncountries.Insteadofborrowing moneyfromthem,wewillrisetoapositiionbybeingwherewe canlendthem.Youcanrise.Yourchildrenandtheirchildren canrise;thesocietycanrise,andourcountrycanrisetogreatheights.

The uncrowned king of the computer world, and the richest man in the world, is the chairman of Microsoft Corporation, Bill Gates an Americanselects and employs, intelligentpeoplefromvariouscountriesoftheworld.Hehas statedthatoutofallthepeopleworkinginhiscompany;south Indiansarethemostintelligentpeople.Thisistheplacewhere greatrishis,philosophersandyogiswereborn.Noteatingthe fleshofotherlivingbeingsisagoodwayoflife-preachesour

greatHindureligion.TheseareallthereasonsbehindthegoodacheivementsofSouthIndians.WithaproperunderstandingofGod’sways,ifweleadaproperlife,wecandefinitelyrisetotheposition of leading the entire world.

LOVEMARRIAGES

Youth!Youarethefutureofthiscountry.Youhavethe greatresponsibilityofleadingthiscountrytoprosperity.Asyou havethedutytoperformforyourfamily’swellbeing,youshouldalsohavecertaindutiesforthewelfareofyourcountry.Wehaveto remind ourselves of John Kennedy’s words:“ Don’t askwhatthecountryhasdoneforyou,askyourselfwhatyou have done for your country ”.

Youareindulginginloveaffairswhilestudyingincollege.Yourmindsaredivertedfromthemostessentialtaskofstudying.Loveisoneofthemostpowerfulforcesintheworld.Thatwill divertyoufromotherimportantresponsibilities.Itisverymuchbetterforyouandyourfamilyifyouturntolove,aftercompletingyour studies.Love, that blossoms in immature minds, is not goodforyou.Aftercompletingthestudies,afterfallinginlove, and after selecting your sweetheart, do not marry without obtaining the permission and participation of your parents.

Yourparentsconsent,permission,andapprovalmaynotbenecessaryforyou.Aftergettingemploymentandearningadecentsalary,nowyouarestandingonyourownlegs.Nowitmaynotbenecessaryforyoutogetyourparent’spermissionandtheirsupport.Buttheparents,afterspendingagoodportionof their lives in bringing you up, educating you, and after crossingmostpartoftheirlife;nowtheyneedyourloveandsupport.But pleasedon’tforgetthatyourparentsarethefirstpersonsinthis

worldtosee,feelhappy,andtocherisheachandeveryoneof yourelevationsinlife.Ifyouaregettingmarriedwithouttheir permission, ignoring them, imagine for a minutehow much painfulitwillbeforthem,howmuchtearswillrolldowntheir cheeks. Itisasintohurtanybody,itisabigsinifyouhurtyourparents.

“Thereisnoholiertemplethanyourmother

Nomoresacredmantrathanyourfather’swords”.

-Avvaiyar-GreatTamilpoetess

“Mother,Father,GuruandGod”.      -Tamilproverb

Indiahasgiventheselessonstotheworld.Ourgreat LordRamaledhislifeaspertheaboveguidance.Thereisnoprice in this world, for the agony, sacrifice and suffering a motherundergoesforherchildren.Itisimpossibletocompensateit. You can never repay the debt in your life time.

Motherisheldingreatesteemevenbythemaharishisandyogis.ThegreatAdiSankarawastouringNorthIndiawhenhismotherexpiredintheSouthIndiansmalltownofKaladi,hisnative place in Kerala state.Knowing his mother’s deathin advance by his spiritual powers, he came all the way down,undertakingagreatandlongjourney,inordertodothelastrites forhismother. Evenforrishiswhohavegivenupalltieswiththefamily,doingthelastritesofamotherisveryimportant.Evenif

youofferashoe,madeoutofyourownskintoyourmotheryoucannot repay the debt to your mother.

Motherhoodisholyandsacred.Eventhefatherofa great Rishi or Saint can fall at the feet of his son to get his blessings.Itisaccepted.Butamothershouldneverfallatthefeetofherson,evenifheisasholyasGod.Motherisconsideredtobegreaterthanherson,whateverthepositionhereaches. Hence she should not fall at the feet of her own son.

Thereisthestoryofayoungmanwho,atthebehestofhissweetheart,killedhismotherandwastakingherheartinaplateasanofferingtoher.Whenhestumbledonthewayhittingarock,theheartofthemotherwailed,“Son,areyouhurt?Be careful”.Suchisthegreatnessofthemother.Ifyouhurtsuch a mother’s feelings, you cannot lead a comfortable life.

Ihaveseennumerousyoungcouples,whodefiedtheirparents,gotmarriedandsufferedheavilyinlifelateron.Ifyou are in love, and want to get married,don’t be in a hurry.Bepatient.Incourseoftime,yourparentswillgiveyoupermission tomarry.Ifachoicetochooseanyoneofthetwoisgiventotheparents; either the parents should undergo the suffering or their childrenshouldundergothesuffering;90%ofparentswillpreferto willingly undergo the suffering for themselves,ratherthantheirchildrentosuffer.Ifyouarefirminyourlove,andarereadytoundergoanysufferingforyourlove;afteraspanofafewmonths

oryears,yourparentswillacceptyourloveandwillallowyoutomarry.Supposeyou are quite sure, that underany circumstancesyourparentswillnotallowlovemarriage;then guard yourself from fallinginto the trap of love and after the marriage, you love your wife.

Inthepresentmodernsociety,weseesomanyselfishpeoplewhodon’tbothertolookaftertheirparentsintheiroldage.Theyarecommittingagreatsin.IntheWesterncountries,the government looks after the elderly people,gives them concessionsintransportandinhealthcareexpenses.Elderlypeoplearegivenpreferenceinalltheplaceswhereevertheygo.Hencenosin is committed there in this aspect also.But in India, the situation is entirely different.We are not learning goodthingsfromthewesternpeople.Wearetakingonlythe badthingsfromthem,likemodelling,fashionparades,beauty contests,catwalks,exposureofthebody,luxuriousthingsetc. Do welearn their good qualities of involvement in work,punctuality,doingone’sworkwithoutsupervision,keepingone’spromises, practising honesty in business and in customer satisfaction, not intentionally cheating others but respectingthem,andaboveallhumanitarianismfromthem?Welearnonlythe things which give temperory pleasures, ignoring the goodqualities which will bring virtues from the God.

Iwillnarrateafewincidentsthatoccurredinwestern

countries.OncemybrothervisitedAmericaandduringatriptotheworldfamousDisneyWorld,inthecafeteriaintheselfservicecounter,heordered3cupsofcoffeeandonecupoftea.The salesgirlgave4cupsofcoffeebymistake.Onlyafterdrinking it,mybrother’sgroupofpeoplecametoknowofthemistake. Mybrotherdidnotcomplainandkeptquiet.Duringthecourseofthesameday,hehappenedtovisitthesamecafeteriaagainandhecasuallymentionedtothatsalesgirl,themistakethat she had committed in the morning.The sales girl expressed apologyimmediatelyandofferedacupofteafree.Shedidnot arguethatshehadbeenright,sheacceptedhermistake,andshecameforwardtocompensateforit,eventhoughshepersonallyhadtobearthecostofthatextracupoftea.Withthethinking thatthecustomerwillnotlie,thatthecustomerisalwaysright,sheacceptedhermistakereadily.Honestylevelsarehighwithpeople in America.The behaviour of the sales girl seemsexamplarytousbecausewecanrarelynoticesuchbehaviour,in our country.

AnotherofmybrothershadbeentoLondonalongwithhis family.His wife was travelling in a town bus.She was sittingnearthedoorofthebus.Ataparticularstopping,anold English woman boarded the bus with a bandaged hand.My brother’s wife got up and offered her seat to that old lady. Generally on such occasions in our country, the person benefittedonlywillsay“Thankyou”.Butthereapartfromthat

old lady, the people sitting nearby also thanked mybrother’swife.

AretiredgovernmentofficialfromBangaloreandhiswifeaccompaniedourgroup,whenIwentonatourofEurope.Theirsonwasworkingasacomputerengineerthereandhehadinvitedhisparentstogooverthereandstaywithhimforafewmonths.Theystayedwithhimforsomemonthsandtheytoldmeofan incident that happened there.

Oneday,hewentforshoppinginanearbyshopping complex, purchased the necessary items and was returninghomewithgoodsoverflowinginhishands.AnAmericanwomancame to himand offered to carry some of the goods for himeventhoughhewasreluctant.Shecamewithhimtohishouseanddeliveredthemthere.Whenheaskedher,whyshetook thetroubleofhelpingastranger,shesaid,“Youareasenior citizen, and you have come as a guest to our country.Yourhouseisonthewaytomyhouse.Thereisnomeaninginlife,ifI don’t do even this small help to you ”.It was a bit hard to believe.But this was real.Can wethink of such incidents happening in our country.

HereisanotherincidenttoshowthehumanitarianismoftheAmericansandofhowpublicopinionforcedagovernmenttowithdrawfromamajorwar.Nearlythirtyyearsago,when AmericawasengagedinawarwithVietnam,thousandsof

AmericansoldiersweresenttoVietnamtofightthere.HundredsofreportersandphotographersofallcountrieswereworkinginVietnam to report the daily happenings of the war.

OneAmericanphotographersentaremarkablephoto to his newspaper.It was published in that newspaper, andsubsequentlyinallnewspapersandmagazinesinAmericaandshown in television also.It created a tremendous and deep impact on the public mind.It has changed their minds.The peoplewhoweresupportingthegovernmentonVietnamwar, began to change their minds and oppose the war due to that singlephoto.InAmerica,governmentcannotandwillnotact againsttheopinionsofthepublic.TheAmericangovt,respectverymuchtheviewsofthepublic.Opinionpollsregardingmanyimportant issues are conducted there every week and some timesevenonceinfewdaysalso.Regardingthevietnamwar the opinion of the public, has changed a lot after seeing that photograph.Publicopinionsconductedshowedpeoplewhowereearliersupportingthegovernmenttoconductthewar,slowlychangingtheirmindsweekbyweekandopposingthewar,andasked the government to stop the war which forced the governmenttobringanendtothevietnamwar.

Asinglephotographbroughtthewartoanend.Whatactuallywasinthatphoto?AslendertenyearoldVietnamgirl,strippedcompletelynaked,wasfleeingfromhernapalm-bombedhut,fromburninghuts,flamesalloverthearea,terrorandgrief

writlargeonherface,tearsrollingdownhercheeks.Thissinglephotographexpressedwhatathousandwordscouldnotdo.

Thisphotographdisturbedtheconscienceofthepeople.Peopleaskedthemselves,whattheyweregoingtoachievebyterrorizing innocent small girls like this.Even if they achieve was that achievement an absolute necessity ?

Thepeople’sheartwasfullofhumanitarianismandthey didnotcareifthegirlaffectedwasanAmericanoraVietnamese.ThegirlinthatphotoislivinginAmerica,marriedandsettledtherewithfamilyandherphotographwaspublishedinarecent issueofTIMEmagazine.Pleasedonotcorrelatetheactionsofthe American government with that of American people and getconfused.Americangovernment’sactionsanddecisionsare taken by the American President and a few of his ministers,whichmaybewrongandwhichmaynotreflectHumanitarianism,on many occasions in international matters like Vietnam war etc and more recently in Iraq war also.

IfyouareinsearchofanaddressinanAmericancity, people approach you and ask, “ May I help you ”.If you are walkingonasunnypleasantday,strangerssaygoodmorning or Hai to you out of the goodness of their hearts.They love life and people, and they are open hearted.They delight inhelpingpoorandsuffering.Americaisprosperousandwealthybecausetheamericansaregoodnaturedandareofhelpful

attitude.God is awarding a good life to them as they have accumulated a lot of virtues (punniyam , punya)

TEMPLES

In most of the temples God is not present.Is itsurprising?Itisapopularsayingthat“Godlivesintheheartsofgoodpeople”.ItnaturallyfollowsthatGoddoesnotlivein theheartsofbadpeopleorwherebadthingsaretakingplace. God does not like bad things.Hence he will not be present wherever the wrong deeds takes place regularly .

Somanyfraudsandcheatingsareprevalentintemplesnowadayslikegrabbingtemplelandsandproperties,,resorting tofraudulentpracticesinthecollectionofmoney,takingmoneyfrom hundials, adulteration in pooja articles. Even thepriests who are doing the pooja rituals to the deityare not good at heart.Whensomanysinfulactivitiesaregoingonintemples howcanweexpectGodtobepresentinthetemples?Hewill not be there.

ForhowmanyminutesdowesincerelypraytoGod, outofthetimewespendtogoandcomebackfromthetempleWhenthecamphor-flameiscircledaroundtheidols,wespend afewsecondsthinkingaboutGod.Eventhen,atthattimealso,webargainwithGod.“OhGodgrantmethesefavourablethings,IwilldoabhisekhamtoYou;Iwilldropsomuchmoneyinthe templehundial;IwillperformthisorthatfestivalforYou”.WedobusinesswithGodandwetreatHimasacommissionagent. HowmanypeoplepraytoGodaskinghimtogivegoodthoughtsor to show good path to follow ?

IfGodgrantsfavourstothosewhogotothetemples frequently,thenthepriestswhoarewithGodmostofthetime, standing very close to him and uttering the holy mantrasconstantly,shouldbethegreatbeneficiaries.Godshouldhavebestowedthegreatestrewardsonthem.Pleasedonotforget thatLordKrishnalovedthelowcastedevoteesomuch,who hadnotenteredthetempleevenonceinhislifetime,andthat He turned around in order to enable him to have a better darshaninUdupitemple.Ifwegetonemeasureofbenefitfor our prayers we will get 100 measures of benefit for our good deedsfromGod.

Imakeanappealtotheintelligent,rightthinkinggood peopleandtothosewhoendorsetheviewsexpressedinthisbook,tostopgoingtothetemplesoratleastreducethefrequencyoftemple-visitsforsometime.IsitnottruethatthesameGod whoisinthetemple,isalsoinyourhouse?WorshipthatGod in your house itself.This is to help the uneducated, ordinary people.Ifwearegood,ifwearemoral,ifwesincerelyadoptgoodqualitiesineverydaylife,andalsogotothetemples,whatis the impression that we create on uneducated, ordinary people?

Theybelievethattherewardsthatweareblessedwithin life are the result of our going to the temples.Theydon’t understandthatGodhasgivenusrewards,becausewehave goodthoughtsinourmind,anddogooddeedsinlife,anddo real service to the suffering people.

If we are rich and enviableand if we don’t go to the temple,thepoorpeoplewillbeforcedtothink:Howcouldthis manbewelloffthoughhedoesnotgotothetemples?They will come to understand that God has granted us a good lifebecauseofourgoodthoughtsandthegooddeedswehavedone,andaredoing,andnotbecauseofvisitingtemples.Theywill try to put into practice some of our deeds at least on someoccasions.

Ihavebeenpractisingthisforthepastseveralyears.I wouldhavegonetothetempleperhapstwiceinayear.Thatwasalsoforthesakeofothers.Idon’tdonateanymoneytothetemples.If any body comes to me for donation for poojas or kumbabishekamfortemples,Ialwaystellthem:“Iwillnotgiveyouevenonerupeeforthetemple.Butifthereisapoorstudentor a poor patient who needs help, tell me.I will help him ”.

By observing me, some of my friends relativesand otherswhowereinitiallycriticisingmebehindmybackslowly realised and are trying to follow me.Some of them changedtheirlifestyleandareslowlychangingtheirthinkingandstartedhelpingthepoorandsufferingpeople.Theintelligentandthe educated people have a duty towards their less fortunate brothers.Evenifyouencounterdiscomfortsyoushouldbearwiththatandsetanexampleforotherstofollowyou.Inorderto beanexampleforthesociety,theyshouldreducetheirvisitsto thetemplesandmustshowtotheordinarypeoplewhobelieve

thatalltheirtroublewillvanishiftheygotothetemples.

WeneednotbescaredofGod’sillwill,ifwedonotgo tothetemple.WillnotGodunderstand,whatisourintentionfornotgoingtothetemples?WillHenotappreciateourwayof showingthegoodpathtotheunintelligentcommanman?The greatsaintRamanujaoncesaidthathewasreadytogotoHell; ifbyhisaction,hundredsofotherscangotoHeaven.Whenheis having such a good intention, God will take himfirstto Heaven.(ofcourseweshouldknowthatHeavenandHellare only concepts created to educate and discipline people)

Forthepast20years,inthemonthofDecemberIhavebeen distributing free sarees, dhotis or blankets to thepoor elderlypeople.Wevisitthehousesofthepoorintheslumsin thetownofDharmapuriandintheadjoiningvillages,seethe conditionoftheirhouses,selectthereallypoorelderlypeople and distribute tokens to them.On a particular day, we ask them to come to our factory, and allow the token-holders tocomeinsideourfactoryandwedistributefreesarees,dhotisorblankets to them.

Outsidethefactory,peoplewithouttokenswillbewaitingforfreesareesanddhotis.Afterthedistributionwasover,Iwillcomeoutofthefactory,andmeetthecrowd.Someable-bodiedpeople,wouldhavepushedtheweakandtheoldasideandwillbestandinginthefront.Someelderlypeople,whocouldnotcompetewiththem,willbestandingatthefarendofthecrowd,

patheticallylookingatme.Iwillaskmyassistantstogivethefreesareesanddhotistothosehelplesspeoplewhoarestandingfarawayfirst.Someofthepeoplestandinginthefrontwillnotbeelderly,andwillnotdeservethehelp.Iwillnotgivetheclothesto them.

Iamjustanordinarymanwithlittleintelligence.Even then,Ichoosetheelderlyanddeservingwhocouldnotcome nearertomeandaskmeforhelpandgivethemthecloths.Atthesametime,Idonothelptheundeservingwhocomenearer tomeandaskforhelprepeatedly.Ifanordinarymanlikemeis socarefulinselectingthepeoplewhodeservehelp,HowmuchcarewillGodwhopossessimmeasurableintelligencewisdom andpowertaketoselectthereallydeservingpersonsforthe benefits ? How much more wise and impartialwill He be in givingthebenefitstothedeservingpeople?

NoneofourtacticswillworkwithHim.Hewillnotgrant Hisblessingstothoseundeservedpeoplewhofrequentlygotothetemplesandbegforfavours.Hewillnotblessthemifthey hadnotaccumulatedvirtuesbytheirgooddeeds.Isitnottruethatevenifgoodpeopledon’tgototemplesandaskforfavours,He will grant them at the right measure and at the right time.

WeneedtounderstandGodandhismethodsclearly. “ If we take one step forward towards God, God will take tenstepstowardsus”.Ifhisrealdevoteesareintrouble,Hisheart

will shiver.He will be the first person to come to theirhelp evenwithouttheircalling.Evenifalltheforcesonearthtryto harm the real devotee of God,they could not make even a scratch on him.

ARROGANCE

Arroganceisoursecretenemy.LikeSagunioftheMahaBharatha,itactsasourfriendbutwithoutourknowledge,surelyleadsustofall.Wecanmanageanopenenemy.Butitisvery difficulttomanagethehidden,unknownenemy.Thefacelessenemycalledarroganceblocksourprogressoratleastslowsitdownconsiderably.Anarrogantmentalitydoesnotallowpeopleto recognise good things in others to respect the talents of othersortocongratulatethemontheirachievements.Itleadsmostof thepeopletoruin.Itpreventsusfromadjustingwithothersandaccommodatingtheirinterests.Letusnotforgetanoldproverb:“ Those who yield to others, never harmed ”.

Mckinseyisthebestconsultancycompanyintheworld.ItisafirstclassAmericanfirmspecialisinginconsultancywork,forsettingupverybigindustries,buildingbigdams,establishing carfactories,helpingtobuildallkindsofgiantcompaniesandin managing,assisting,andsolvingproblemsintheestablishmentof big projects.It provides consultation services to the governments also to sort out their financial crises, to plan economic activities etc.It is a very prestigious company, commandingrespectfromallquarters,throughouttheworld. All the directors in this company are Americans.They have chosen an Indian as their chief - Managing Director.He is, RajatGuptha,whobelongstotheWestBengalstate.HewasselectedasManagingDirectorforthreeconsecutiveterms,each

termlastingthreeyears.IftheAmericanDirectorswereproudandarrogant,wouldtheyhavechosenaforeigner,anIndian,astheirManagingDirector?

WhatisthesecretofsuccessofthemuchadmiredandrespectedRajatGupta?“BhagwathGitaisresponsibleforall mysuccess”.Hesays.“Itismyguide.Ihavefollowedthe principles advocated in the Gita and this is the secret of my success: Do your duty without expecting any returns.”

We shouldfollow the good principles, they adoptin their life.Then only our life will be prosperous.Whereevergoodthingsexistandwhoeverpossessgoodqualities,weshouldnothesitatetolearnandfollowthem.Suppose,wehavefour goodqualitieswithus;wemeetapersonwithsometwoother good qualities.We absorb them and practise; then the good qualitieswithuswillbesix.Thenweseeanotherpersonwith yetanothergoodquality,weabsorbitanditbecomesseven.Likewiseifwearegoingonabsorbinggoodqualitiesfromothers;wewillbefilledwithlotofgoodqualitiesandwewillgoupand upinlifetowardsprosperityandgoodness.Onthecontraryifwerefusetorespectothersandlearnfromthem,wewillbeleftonlywiththefourgoodqualitieswehave,untilourdeathand therewillnotbemuchprogressinourlife.Pleasethinkitover.

LYING

Lyinghasbecomeanordinaryroutinethingandhas becomeapartandparcelofourlifenowadays.Mostofusliemanytimeseverydayforonepurposeorother.Wedonotevenrealisethatlyingisabadhabit,andthatitisalsoasin.Lyingisanimmoralact,soughttobejustifiedbecauseitisacommonpracticeadoptedbyallinoursociety.Thereisnostigmaattachedtoit.Andwejustifyit.Webelievethatlyingisnotwrongand thatitisanecessaryevil,apartofourdailylife.Withoutbeing aware of it, we are committingsins almost daily.

It is true that we cannot get on in this world without uttering lies, particularly in a corrupt society like ours.Buthowmanyliesyouwilltellinaday?Takeapledgethatyouwillnotlieforordinarythings.Onlywhenitisabsolutelyneccessaryyou tell a lie.Take a pledge to this effect, and implementit. Every day reduce the number of lies you tell.

Gradually,bringthenumberofliestooneaday;then once in two days, and then once in four days.If you makeadeterminedefforttoreducethenumberofliesyouspeakandifyouarefirminyourresolutiontoreducethenumberofliesin your daily life, this one aspect alone will play a major part to clean your mindand change your life for the bettter, in a bigway.

Mostofthepeopleinthedevelopedcountriescommit thesinoflyingataverymuchreducedlevel.Oneofthe

developedcountriesJapanisrichandprosperous.Hereisan incidentthathappenedthere,toillustratetheircommitmentto truth.Ihaveafriendwhoimportsusedprintingmachinesfrom othercountriesandsellstheminIndia.HeimportsmachinesmainlyfromJapan.HehasclosecontactswiththefirmsdealinginoldmachinesinJapananddoesgoodbusiness.Heusedto go to Japan often for this purpose.

HepurchasesthemachinesthroughaJapaneseagentwho is specialised in selling machines which are in good running condition.TheagenttookourIndianfriendtoaJapaneseprintingfactory and showed him the machine, which was running smoothlyandwhichwasforsale.Theagentsaid,“Iaskedtheownerofthisfactorynottorevealthedefectsinthemachinetotheprospectivebuyers.Buttheownersaidthathecannotlie about the machines, and that if the buyer were to ask for the defects in the machine he cannot hide the same and that he wouldl tell the truth.”Look at this man’s honesty.

Even to sell a machine which would yield a profitofsomelakhsofrupees,theJapanesearenotpreparedtolieand cheatthebuyers.Comparethemwiththepeopleinourcountrywho do not hesitate to lie even for very insignificant things. Perhaps this will tell us why God gives prosperity to theJapanese,whilegivinghunger,diseaseandpovertytotheIndians.

HEMELATHAMEMORIALTRUST

ItistheaimoftheTrusttorenderservicetothepoorpeoplesilently,withoutpublicity,withoutanydesireforpersonalgloryorgoodname.Wehaveapolicynottogiveinterviewsto magazinesornewspapersortogivetoanybodythedetailsof theservicesrenderedbyus.Isitrightonmyparttobreachour policy,and to write about them in this book?After much deliberation,Ihavedecidedtocomeoutwiththedetailsofour services in this book.

IfeelthatIamnotwritingaboutourservices,forseekingpublicity or personal glory.If the readers know about these activitiesitwillhelpthemalottogoinagoodpathandtoleadabetterlifetherebybenefittinginnumerablepoorandsufferingpeople.Moreoverthereaderswouldtrustmyadviceandthe contents of this book, if they come to know that I do not only preach but also practise what I preach, it would give addedstrengthtomywords.Itwillinducethemtothinkandtoimprove.Thesearethereasonsforgivingdetailsaboutmyselfandthe services rendered by our Trust in this book.

HemelathaMemorialTrustwasstartedinthenameof my daughter Hemalatha who was born in 1972.She was adivinechildwithsterlingqualitiesandshebelievedinsimplicityandinhumblelife.Shegrewupwithanativedesireforservice tothepoorandsheleftthismoney-mindedcorruptworldafterundergoingmanycheatings,andendedherlifeintheyear1995.

“HemelathaMemorialTrust”wasstartedinmemoryofher and is purely a service organization.

My daughter’s soul was highly enlightened andhere are a few facts that show how much she has influenced my thoughts and the course of my life.

A few days after her death, I decided to lead mylifewiththefollowingresolutionsandguidelines.{Infactsheinducedme}

1. Toallot50%ofmyincometoalleviatethesufferingsofthepoor, and the needy

2. Nottoacceptanypublicposts(Ihaveresignedfromalltheposts I was holding)

3. Nottositonthestageinanyfunction.

4. Nottoacceptanycertificates,commendations,felicitations,awards etc.

5. Nottoparticipateinpublicfunctionsandcelebrationsas far as possible.

6. Nottogiveinterviewtoanynewspaperandnottopublicisethe services done.

Ihavebeensteadfastlyfollowingtheaboveresolutionsso far;thoughtherehadbeenmanytemptations.Ihavedeclined

thefelicitationsofferedbytheLionsclub,theRotaryClubandotherbusinessassociations.IhavealsodeclinedtheAwardof“BestTaxPayer”inthedistrictsofSalem,Dharmapuriand Namakkalconferred on me by the Salem Income Tax CommissionerasperthedirectionsofUnionFinanceMinistryandtobegiventomebytheFinanceMinisteroftheGovernmentofIndia.

IhavebeenabletofollowtheseprinciplesonlywiththedivinehelpofmydaughterHemalathaandwithhercontinued help,Iwillbeabletofollowthemsteadfastlyinfuturealsountil the last moment of my life.

ThisTrustdoesnotacceptdonationsfromanyone.It does not contribute any money or service to the temples.Itspendsitsresourcesonlyontheneedypoorandsufferingpeopleand on those who lead a miserable life.

In all my endeavours, I am guided by my daughter Hemalatha’sdivinesoul.Iamjustatoolinherhands.Allthegloryarisingoutofmyservicesshouldgotoher;andIamtobeheld responsible only for the mistakes and shortcomings in executing them.There are a few honest, sincere and hard working assistants with me and it is a fact that without their help,IwouldnothavebeenabletodowhatIhavedone.They have enabled me to render my services in the best possible way and hence I am bound to thank them.

SERVICESDONEIN2005

TheHemelathaMemorialTrusthasdonethefollowingserviceprojects:

1. AsumofnearlyRs.9.5lakhswasgivenasScholarshipto200collegestudentswhobelongtoDharmapuridistrict, who have scored high marks and who are financiallybackward.Eachstudentwasgrantedanaverageamountof Rs. 5000/- and we have been giving this kind ofScholarshiphelpforthepast7years.Onlyafterapersonalinspectionofthehouseofeachapplicant,toascertainthe realfinancialconditionofthestudent,andafterapersonal interview,weselectthedeservingstudentsanddistributethescholarships.

2. Nearly3500mothers,whohavegivenbirthtobabiesin theDharmapuriTownDistrictGovt.Hospitalandinother Govt.hospitalssituatedwithin30kilometresofthetown,wereprovideda“BabyKit”free.Thekitconsistingofitemssuch as baby bedsoaptowelgown and Multivitamin drops for the baby, and the medicines like iron tablets,calciumtabletsandhealthdrinkofHorlicksforthemother.

3. 4200studentswhoarestudyingin67 and8 standards inthegovernmentschoolsinthevillagesandwhohave losttheirfathers,weregivenschooluniforms,setofnote

books,geometryboxetc.eachsetcostingaroundRs.200/

-.

4. FinancialhelpwasgrantedtothepoorpeoplewhounderwentsurgeryintheprivatehospitalsinDharmapuri.PatientswhoneededbettercarewereidentifiedandsenttobiggerandbetterequippedSt.John’sMedicalcollegeHospitalinBangalore.Theywerealsoprovidedwithfinancialhelptoa maximum of Rs. 5000/ per patient.

5. Cashassistancewasgiventowidowsandtotheelderlypeople.

6. 3,75,000 copies of this book in Tamil were distributed freelyalloverTamilNadualongwiththeTamilweeklyAnandaVikatan, and 3,00,000 copies of Telugu version of this bookweredistributedalongwiththeTeluguweeklymagazine SwathialloverAndhraPradesh.AsumofRs.16lakhs was paid to Ananda Vikatan for this service and in thecaseofSwati,asumofRs.13lakhswaspaid.Intheyear2004anEnglishversionofthisbookwasdistributedfreely to5.22lakhreaderswithIndianExpressforwhichwehavepaid Rs.34 lakhs to Indian Express.

7. EverymonthanEyeCampwasorganisedinDharmapuri inassociationwith theSankaraEyeHospitalofCoimbatore.

8. Moreimportantthanalltheabove,ourmissionistoguide

the people on the right path of life and to change their ways of thinking and moulding their character in a goodmanner.IamrunningamatchindustryintheSmallScaleIndustriescategoryandIemploynearly450fulltimeworkersand300parttimeworkers.Ofcoursethereisnotevena single child worker in our factory.

Everymorningat11.A.M.alltheworkersinthefactory stop their work and their machines and takethe pledge (the pledge is printed elsewhere in this book) All the areas of the factoryareprovidedwithapublicaddresssystem.PrayingtotheirfavouriteGods,theyrepeatthepledge,readovertheloud-speakers.ThispracticehasbeengoingonfromDecember2001.Initiallyeventhoughalltheworkerstookthepledge;only10%ofthemtookitwithinterest,butincourseoftime,thepercentage has steadily increased.Now all the workers, 100% ofthem,close their eyes, pray to their favourite Gods and take the pledgesincerely and whole heartedly.

Thishasdefinitelybroughtbigchangesintheirthinkingandtheiractivitieshavealsochangedalot.Previouslythere used to be at least ten petty quarrels, disputes,heated arguments, abuse of each other etc.It has slowly reduced andnowthereisrarelyanyincidentofthiskind.Mostofthem have learnt how to adjust with each other; and there are no pettythefts.Sometimeslostarticleslikeahundredrupee

note, gold earrings etc are found by the workers and handed over to the section supervisors.

Aworker,whohadearlierrefusedtodonateevenRs.5/

-forcharity,hasnowdonated100rupeestoanorphanage.AchariryfundisorganisedbytheworkersandalltheworkersarecontributingeverymonthtothatCharityfundwhichisutilised only for the poor suffering people living in remote areas of Dharmapuri district.One Sunday our workers visited an orphanage in Eriyur and distributed articles worth aboutRs.5000/-Inanotherprojecttheywenttoaremote,backwardvillagecalledSellamudinearPennagaram,anddonatedarticlesworthRs.700/-toeachofthe10widows.Theyhavechosennotto hurt others anymore.

Seeingtheremarkablechangethispledge-takinghasbroughtaboutinthemindsoftheworkers,IhaveintroducedittotheparttimeworkersofourfactoryandalsotothestaffsandstudentsoftheMatriculationhighersecondaryschoolundermycontrol.For them also it has produced very good results.Ibelieve that if this system is introduced in all the offices, factories,schoolsandcolleges,itwouldusherinasilentrevolutioninthecountry.ThiswouldhelpustotakeIndiaonthepathofrapidprogress.Nearly60%ofmyfactoryworkersareilliterate.Ifthisdailypledgetakinghaschangedthemindsofevenilliterates, howmuchmorechangeitcanlbringaboutinthemindsofthe educatedpersons.

This year we have made all the students whohave received scholarship from our Trust to give an undertaking. Everyone of them has promised, and stated in writing“ I willtakethe14pointpledgedaily,andwhenIcompletemycollegestudiesandgetemployment,Iwillspend2%ofmyincometohelp the poor and suffering either for their education, or to relievetheir sickness or in any form of relieving their sufferings ”.

PLEDGE

PRAYINGTOGOD,ITAKETHISPLEDGE

1. Iwillnotspeakliesunnecessarilyandforpettythings.I may lie only when it is absolutely necessary.

2. Iwillnotcheatanybody.

3. Iwillnothurtanybody.

4. Iwillnottellorshowbadtoanybody.

5. Iwillnotbejealousofpeoplewhoarewelloff

6. Iwillnotspeakmockinglyofothersorindulgeingossips or seek to make much of the mistakes of others.

7. Iwillnothaveanydesireforthemoneycomingthrough wrongmeans.

8. Iwillnotgoinwrongwaysinanymanner.

9. Iwilldomydutyperfectly.

10. Iwilldomydutyhonestly.

11. IwillnotspeakoftenunnecessarilywhileIamdoingmywork.

12. Iwillshowduerespecttomyparents.

13. Iwillshowduerespecttotheelders.

14. TodayIwilldoatleastasmallhelptoothers

After taking this Pledge in the name of God If I don’t follow, it would be like cheating God.I know I will receivepunishmentforthisinfuture.HenceIwillnotallowmyselftobepunished by God.I will act as per the pledge.

Takingthispledgedaily,beforethephotoofGodinyourhouse, would do good to you.

MYGREEDYWISHES

1. Lettherebenopoorpeopleinmymothercountry.

2. Untilpovertyisabolished,lettherebeatleastfourpeopleeach competing to help every poor man.

3. EveryIndianshallexcelinhumanitarianism.

4. Let all the courts and police stations becomeworkless and unnecessary.There shall be no man committingcrimes.

5. Indiashouldbecomeacountry,wherethereisplentyof milkandhoneyflowingandacountryofprosperous,rich and wise people.

6. Letcasteandcommunalclashesdisappearfromourland.LettherebereligiousharmonyamongalltheIndians.Thebeliefin“OneGod,OneRace”shouldreflectintheirhearts,thoughts and actions.

7. MymotherIndiashouldoccupythefirstplaceintheworld.

8. Foreigners should exclaim “what a change India has undergone!Unbelievable”attheprogressofthecountry.

9. EveryIndianshouldgetacopyofthisbook.

10. These wishes should find a place in the hearts ofeveryIndian.

11. I should get a big and permanent place in the Heart ofGod.

CONCLUSION

ForthepastfewyearswhileIwaswatchingthewaythepeoplebehaveandthesocietygoes,somanyquestionscameupinmymind.Whyarethesepeoplegoinginthewrongpath?WhyaretheyunderestimatingthepowersandwisdomofGod?Why are theydigging their own graves ? Wouldn’t anybody guide themproperly ?Why should not the religiousleadersshowthemtherightpathtofollow?Wheredoesthesolutionlie fortheproblemsofourpeopleandsociety?Whycan’tIwriteabook expressing my thoughts ?

BeforeStartingtowritethisbook,Ihadmanydoubts. DoIhavethenecessaryqualificationortalenttowriteabook? Why should I write this now ?Why should not I gain more experienceandmaturity,andthenwriteitafterafewyears?I asked myself the above questions .

Thisismymaidenventure.FinallyImadeupmymind towrite,inthehopethatthisbookmightguideafewpeopleintherightpath.Ifatleastfourpeoplearereformedandbroughtto therightpath,thosefourpeoplewouldguideanothersetoffoureach;andthiswouldbecome16andthat16attherateoffour each would guide another64 and this would multiply in this way.“Dotherightthinganddoitrightnow”isaTamilsaying. Myfriendssuggestedthatmyviews,iftheyarebroughtoutintheformofabook,wouldbehelpfultomany.FinallyIpersuadedmyself to plunge in this big task.

AlltheviewsIhaveexpressedinthisbookareonlythethoughts and views of great Maharishis and Mahatmasand what I have understood from their sayings.

Shiv Khera has said in his famous book “YOUCANWIN”Successfulpeopledonotdodifferentthings.They do things differently.

SimilarlyIhaveexpressedtheviewsIhaveunderstoodin a different but in an honest manner.

Thisisthecountryofprosperityandwealth.

Thisisthecountrywheremilkandhoneyflowedfreely.

Thisisthecountry,whereallthecitizenslivedahappyand prosperous life as there was justice and truth in every body’sminds, thoughts and actions. .

This is the country where people were unselfishgenerousandtheyneverwantedtoearnmoneythroughwrongmeans.This is the country, where in Lord Dharma’s (MahabharathDharma) court,the buyer and the seller of apieceoflandpresentedthecaseforjudgement;quarrellingovertheownersehipofthetreasurediscoveredintheland.Thebuyerarguedthatthetreasurediscoveredintheland,belongedtotheseller,ashehaspurchasedonlythetoplandandthetreasure was found deep inside the land; while the seller arguedthat whenhesoldtheland,hehadgivenallrightstothebuyerand

sothetreasurebelongedtothebuyer.Bothofthemdeclinedtoaccept the treasure.What a strange case !!

ThisisthecountrywheretheEmperorSibigaveawaya portion of his own flesh, in order to protect a dove that had taken refuge with him.

Thisisthecountry,whereaTamilkingManuNeedhiCholanranhisChariotoverhisownsonandkilledhimbecausehis son had done the same thing to a calf and killed it.

This is the country where a Tamil King, Pandian Nedunchezianfellofffromhisthroneanddiedinstantlywhenherealizedthathehaddeliveredawrongjudgmentwhichresultedin the death of an innocent man.

ThisisthecountrywhereBuddhaandGandhiwerebornand practised their faiths.

Thisisthecountrywhichhasshowntherightpathto thewholeworld.

Thisisthecountryofhundredsofgreatrishisand

saints.

Isitnotyourdutytoatleasttrytorestorethiscountry toitspastgreatness?Donotask.“IfIlivehonestly,sincerely doingmydutyproperlywithouthurtingothersandhelpingthe sufferingpoor;isitsufficient?Whatcanonemando”?Donot asklikethis.Ifyouresolveandtakeapaththinkingwhoever

livesinwhatevermannerhelikesIwillliveonlylikethisandstartworkingtowardsmysetgoalswillnotGodgiveyouthebenefitsforthat?Ifthenumberofpeoplethinkingandactinglikethis increases manifoldcan’t we change our country ?

OhHarshadMehtas–swindlingcroresofrupeesandspoilingthelivesofthousandsofpeopleinsharemarketscam;OhAbdulKareemTelgis-involvinginstamppaperscam,cheatingthe government of crores of rupees ; Oh Dawood Ibrahims –sittingcomfortablyinKarachiandindulginginbombexpolsionsinBombaycitykillinginnocentpeople.Godiswatchingallofyou.Withthevirtuesyouhaveaccumulatedbyyourgooddeeds inearlierbirths,youpeoplearethrivinginspiteofyouratrocities.Butonedaytheeffectofthosegooddeedswillcometoanend.Thenwillbeginyourgreatfall.Youcanescapefromtheclutches oflaworfromthegovernmentorfromthepeople;butyoucannotescapefromthepunishmentfromGod.Itisnotonlyforyoubutalso for your next seven generations and for the next sevenrebirths,allofyouwillreaptheconsequencesofyourbaddeeds.“Adharmahasneverwon,Dharmahasneverbeendefeated”inthehistoryofthepast,inthepresentandalsointhefuture.

Oh,thepoliticians,likeachameleonyouchangeyourpoliciesandexplanationstosuiteveryoccasion,hoodwinkthepeopleandearnmillionsineasydeals,andenjoytheprestige ofpoweranduseitnottohelpthepeoplebuttoamasswealth.

Oh,theboot-leggersandliquormerchants,inthislandofMahatmaGandhi;youmaketheliquorflowlikeariverinallthevillages,townsandcitiesandamasswealth,destroyingthelives of thousands of ordinary people.

Oh,themucheducatedgovernmentofficials,inthislandofpoverty,inspiteofacomfortablelifebytheassuredgoodjob,and a regular salary until the age of 60 and the pensionafter retirement,andalsothepensionforyourwifeafteryourdeath, you harass the people with your corrupt practices.

Oh,youpeoplewhothink“whetherothersliveordie.I Iamnotbotheredintheleast.IamhappyifIandmyfamilyare comfortably placed “ and you go on cheating others.

Oh,youdirtypeoplewhothink,“ItisallrightevenifI losebothmyeyes,butmyneighbourshouldloseatleastone eye ”.

Youpeoplearespoilingyourfuture;butwhatrightyouhave, to spoil the future of your children and their seven generations by your evil deeds?

Ifyoupeoplethinkandactproperlyitwillnottakemuchtime to change our country into a prosperous and aleading countryoftheworld.Ourcountryisnotapoorcountry;butacountryofpoorpeople. Ifnotforthegoodofthecountry,atleastforthegoodofyourselfandyourchildren,youshouldchange.

Oh you intellectuals you sit back in the sofas inyour drawing halls, read the tearful stories of poverty and disease strickenpeopleandexpectthegovernmenttogototheirhelp and feel that you have no role to play.

OhtheFortunate,youspendthousandrupeestoeat onemealinafivestarhotelmanytimesinyourlife.Don’tyou realiseoutofsomanytimes,evenifyouchoosetoskiponce, thatmoneywillbesufficienttofeedanentirepoorfamilyfora month!

Oh the wealthy madam, – you have many sareesin yourwardrobe–thatifonesareeiswornforonedaythenext turnforthatsareewillcomeonlyafterayear.Don’tyourealise the pathetic situation of your poor sister in a tiny village, whodoesn’thaveanextrasareetochangeandhencecompelledtowearsecondhalfofthesaree,whilewashinganddryingthe firsthalf,thenwearthefirsthalf,whilewashinganddryingthe second half in the village pond.

Oh,thewealthy,Don’tyourealisethatGodhadplacedyouinsuchacomfortablepositionthatyouneednotsacrifice anyofyourcomforts,tohelpyoursufferingpoorbrethrenand fellow citizens of this country.

Oh.youintellectualswhoearneddegreeafterdegree in universities,don’t you realise that you can utilise, yourintelligencetorealiseGodandtoknowtherealArtoflivingand

liveanexamplarylife,andalsotoshowthepropergoodpathtoothers?

Don’tyouallhavemercyinyourhearts.Definitelyyou have.Wake up that mercy which is lying dormant.

Helpthatpoorintelligentboywhoaftersomanytimes of starvation, and after a lot of struggles finishes3 years of studyina4yearscourseandnotabletofindmoneytopaythe fees for the 4th and final year exam.

Help that poor fellow who is struggling topurchase medicines for his wife, who is in death bed.

Helpthatpoorinfantcryingformilk

Helpthatpoorfellowwhoisstarvingwithoutfoodfor

days.

Whatareyougoingtodowiththemoneywhichisnotutilisedtoalleviatethesufferingsoftheabove?Ifonlyapartofyourmoneyisutilisedtohelpthesufferingsoftheabove;you can be prosperous and your seven rebirths and your seven generations can be prosperous – Please think.

Ifthepeoplementionedaboverealiseandchange;itisgood.Eveniftheydon’tchange,donotmindaboutthat.Heavenisnotgoingtofallonearth.Oh.theordinarycitizenswhoare strugglingtomanagethemonthlybudgetwithinyourincome–youshouldchangeIamnotaskingyoutochangeasaBuddha

orJesusorMahatma.Iknowitisimpossible.

Bring about small, changes in your mind andinthe society around in your day to day life.

Reducethenumberofliesyouspeakinaday

Don’taspireforthemoneythatyoucangetbycheating

others

Don’t be lazy.Workatleastten hours aday.Unemployed–youworkforthesakeofothersatleasttwohoursin a day.

Don’thurtothersunlessitiscaused,whileperformingyourduty.

Helpthesufferingpoorinwhatevermanneryoucan and in however small a way it is.

Don’taccuseothers.Don’ttrytoreformthecriminals and question the atrocities taking place.

“KeepawayfromEvil”–actaccrdingtothissaying.

Doyourdutyinacalm,humblemannerwithoutanyego.

Donotminglewithbadpeople

Trytochangeatleastafewofyourfriendsandrelativeswho listen to your words.

Takethe14pointpledgeeverydaymorningandalso before going to bed.This will change your life a lotquickly.

Toaccomplishallthiswe donotneedamovment,organizationorpartywithanoffice,branches,officebearers,volunteers.Weneednotconductconferences,meetings,rallies,agitationsetc.Thisisacampaignof each and everyindividual.

Whenindividualsmultiply,whentheyrealisethebenefitsofbeinggoodandselfless,thenumberswouldswellinyears and it would become a mass movemet on its own and bring good to the individuals and to the society as a whole.God wouldblessoneandall.Whenhundredsofpeoplebecome thousandswhobecomelakhsinthecourseofyearsGodwill bless us all and our beloved country step by step slowly butsurely.

WhenmydaughterHemaLathaexpiredin1995,Iwas completelybroken.Aftersometime,Imanagedanddeterminedtoleadanexemplarylifewithfiveimportantvirtuesmentioned inthisbook.WhohasraisedmefromthepositionofprovidinghelptothesocietyonlytotheextentofRs3lakhsinthefirstyear;tothepresentposiitionofprovidinghelpmanytimeslikethat?Whohasgivenmethevariouspointsmentionedinthis book? Who has given me the talent to write this book?

Whohascreatedthesituationofdistributingthisbookto 12 Lakh readersfree of cost ?

Whohaselevatedmetosuchagoodposition-apersonwhowasborninapoorfamilyandwhostruggledalotateach

andeverystepandateachandeverysituation,tocomeupto this level ?

EverythinghappensbytheblessingsofGod.Why hasHeelevatedmetosuchaheight?OnlybecauseIhaveimplementedatleast90%ofthemostimportant5goodqualitiesmentioned in this book.If you also implement these in your life,Godwilldefinitelyblessyouwithsimilarelevationoreven much more elevation than this.

Thousandsofpeoplehavejoinedme,inmyefforttorestoremysoil,myBharathmycountrytoitsageoldgloryandprosperity.AnordinaryfactoryworkerfromPudukkottaiearningjustRs3000/-permonth,whoisnotmarriedbutwhohasbroughtaboutthemarriagesofhisbrothersandsisters,haspurchased50copiesofAnandhaVikatanwiththefreesupplementsand distributedthemtothelibrariesinhisarea.Likehimhundreds of people had purchased 10, 20, 50 and 100 books and distributed them to their friends and relatives to spread the thoughts and messages.

A person impressed by reading this book inTirupur called me over the phone and expressed to me that he was spendingaroundRs300/-aweekonliquorandthathehaddecidednotonlytoabstainfromliquorbuttospendthemoneyfor the poor and suffering people.

ApapermillownerhasappreciatedthebookverymuchandtoldmethathehasassuredtodonateRs3Lakhsfora

temple,andsubsequentlydecidedagainstthesame,however onsecondthoughtshereversedhisplanandtoldme“Letmegivethepromisedamounttothetemplenow,andhereafterI willnotgivedonationstothetempleandwillutilisethemoney for the upliftment of the poor ”.

Likethishundredsofpeoplehadtakenaresolveand the message is quietly but surely reaching good natured individuals across the country.These people willbring thousandsofpeopletothisbigmovement.Icouldforeseein distant future of a bright and prosperous India

Whoaregoingtobebenefitedbythis?Yourself

ThepeoplewhoreceiveshelpfromyouYour next seven rebirths

YoursevengenerationsOur society

Ourgreatcountry

Itisonlymystrongdesiretosharesomeofmysocietyrelated thoughts with all good people ,my desire that our resources - mental as well as material - should more meaningfully spent on the poor people suffering aroundus pathetically,ratherthanbeingwasted.Andaboveallmy

burning desire that our great and ancient country ofBharathshouldberestoredtoitsageoldglory,toitsonceenjoyedhighestplaceintheworldthathascompelledmetotaketothewriting ofthissmallbook.Iwillbeverymuchpleasedifthisbookcan helpbringinginasmall,howeversmallitmaybe,beginningin the right direction towards bringing the society where good -GOODALONE--WILLREIGNSUPREME.Thissmallbookhas beenwrittenwiththebestofsuchintentions.Imaykindlybe forgivenfor the mistakes if any .

Thankyou..

Table of Contents

J.P.BALASUBRAMANIAM

GOD

manneryouworshipHim,yourprayerswillalwaysreachHim ”.

“Thetearsofthepoorpeopleislikeasharpsword”-

ASWAMEDHAYAGAM

“TherewardsandthepunishmentsGodgivesusare so meticulously calculated; they will not be more orless even by a needle’s point; and they will not come even asecondlateorearly.God’srewardsorpunishmentscomeexactly at the right time, in the right measure and in the right manner ”.

VIRTUE

“YogisarefarbetterthanRishis”“ They are better than Gnanis,

“Whenyouhelpapoorperson,Godisindebtedtoyou”

“Ifirmlytellyouthatwhenyouhelponeofmypoorbrothers, you are exactlyhelpingMe ” (God)

HUMANITARIANISM

“ServicetothepeopleisservicetoGod”

“Theman,whoseesGodintheidolsofatemple,isatthebottomlevelofdevotiontoGod.Themanwhowipesthetearsofawidow,themanwhofeedsastarvingmanandalleviateshishunger,themanwhoseesGodinrelieving thepainofothers,isatthetoplevelofdevotiontoGod”.

Gitasaaram      Myexplanation

“ Even an atom cannot move in this world without theapproval of God ”.“ God is the cause for all thingsand happenings”.

“Thosewhothinktocheat,getcheated”

“GoodandBadarenotgivenbyothers”

COMPARISON

“Atomscanneitherbecreatednordestroyed”

Iappealtotheatheiststonotethefollowingpoints.

CONFESSION

TheProphetMohammedsays,“Therearesomewhowillprayregularly,whowillobservealltheceremoniesandwhowillundertaketheholypilgrimagetoMecca;butthey will utter lies very casuallythey will cheat, and depriveothersoftheirpropertyandtheywillfollowevilways.Theyare hypocrites ”.

“Desiretodogoodthings”“Neverstophelpingothers”

SHORT-CUTS

RITUALS&CEREMONIES

“Letusthrowoutthereligion

“EvenifGodcouldfailyou,yourefforts

DOWRYMENACE

REALELEVATION

LOVEMARRIAGES

“Thereisnoholiertemplethanyourmother

TEMPLES

ARROGANCE

LYING

HEMELATHAMEMORIALTRUST

SERVICESDONEIN2005

PLEDGE

MYGREEDYWISHES

CONCLUSION