Impressions and expressions

Few weeks back our car was rear-ended - a teenage driver crashed into our car at 45 mph while my wife was waiting at the red signal, on her way to pickup our 6 year old daughter from school. Luckily, no one was hurt, though our car had moderate damage and his car was totaled. We were quite glad that the accident did not happen after my wife picked up my daughter. This teenager, who got his driving license only a week back, did not apply brakes at all. It was as if he never noticed the red light or the car before him. He claimed that his brakes failed but we know the real reason for his accident - he was distracted by his mobile phone. A day after the accident, a friend forwarded a video on Whatsapp which showed a heart rending news item of an entire family (mom & 3 children) being wiped out by a distracted truck driver.   The camera inside the truck captured the driver changing music on his smart phone and he did not notice the traffic halted on the freeway. It all happe...

“The day you take up the policy of giving love instead of demanding it - that day you will have rewritten your entire future destiny - Swami Chinmayananda” Today (May 8th) is Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda Saraswati 's 100th birth anniversary. This beautiful doodle created by Chinmaya Mission as a mark of devotion towards him has the words "Chinmaya Sadgurave Namaha" - Chinmayananda, widely hailed as the second Vivekananda, has done a tremendous contribution to spread the real essence of Sanatana Dharma among Hindus. He used English as the main language to communicate his message to the English speaking educated class who were increasingly becoming averse to Hinduism due to their misconceptions. He wrote excellent commentaries on several Hindu scriptures including Bhagavadgita and Upanishads. His vision of making the "family" as a member of the mission and not just the individual, is perhaps his master-stroke. Chinmaya Mission is unique in having t...

I still vividly remember that day. I casually picked-up a book from my grandmother’s library when I was visiting her during my summer holidays. I might be around 14 years of age and was more attracted to fun books than any serious reads but I somehow picked up this seriously titled book “ Why I am a Socialist? ”. I realized it a compilation of speeches by someone called “ Swami Vivekananda ” of whom I knew very little at that time. As I started to read the book in the small open area in the house, I was truly touched by this man and his compassion for the needy. It was my first introduction to the Indian society - the poverty and ignorance of the masses, the reasons for it and the actions to be taken. When Vivekananda declared in the book, “ Even if a dog in my country is hungry, my first duty is to feed it ”, I almost had tears in my eyes. After I finished the book, I remember that I was lost in thoughts for a long time. The book had such a deep impact on me that I decided to study V...