Ravi S. Iyer: Spiritual

Given below are two of my comments (slightly edited) on Facebook post, https://www.facebook.com/notes/vr-ganti/madhusudhan-rao-naidu-and-others-arrested-in-nigeria/10207164303170587 : The silence from Madhusudan Rao Naidu on this matter so far is not good. Let him say what happened and what he said to the Nigerian police. I hope he is not being prevented from saying it publicly by others. This is a big matter related to Sathya Sai movement. Madhusudan Rao Naidu should focus on Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba and not be afraid of anybody, and say the truth about what he said to the Nigerian police, publicly, perhaps on Facebook as that is quite convenient. ---- I can say with personal experience I have had with Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba in physical form, during my free service as honorary staff/honorary faculty/visiting faculty at Prasanthi Nilayam campus, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning (Sai university) from Jan. 2003 to Mar. 2012, that Bhagavan valued and respecte...

Last updated on 11th February 2017 Update on 11th Feb. 2017: My blog post, http://ravisiyer.blogspot.com/2017/02/my-congratulations-to-muddenahalli.html , has my congratulations to Muddenahalli group leaders for 10 Jan 2017 Nigerian police report clearing them of any criminal or other offence charges. However this Nigerian police report DOES NOT WITHDRAW or REFUTE point 4 of Nigerian police report dated 23rd Nov. 2016 which states "During interrogation, the 4th suspect (D. Madhusudan Rao Naidu) said he is not "light body" and does not receive any message from the late founder, Sri Sathya Sai Baba". end-update I had received a document today (30th July 2016) morning reportedly authored by Sathya Sai International Organisation, Nigeria, titled "MUDDENAHALLI FRAUD EXPOSED IN NIGERIA" which can be viewed here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B3Pcd4RD_n8LUWdyWVc1QjJlVDA . Update on 1st August 2016: A signed version of this document can be seen on my ...

This is from today's Deccan Chronicle, Tantric websites lure youngsters, http://epaper.deccanchronicle.com/articledetailpage.aspx?id=5967609 . It is from page 2 of the issue dated 28th July 2016 whose epaper is available here (you may have to choose Andhra Pradesh, Anantapur edition, and the date as 28th July 2016): http://epaper.deccanchronicle.com/epaper_main.aspx#page1128010 . It is a pic of an article (I could not locate the text article on the Internet). It talks of tantric websites in India that lure youngsters with prescribed mantras/techniques to acquire Karna pisachi and Vasheekaran powers. Karna pisachi apparently means some spirit which will whisper answers to all kinds of questions in the ear of the person who has that power. And Vasheekaran supposedly attracts a targeted person towards the person practising it. I guess this would be like what in the Western world would be referred to as casting a spell on somebody to attract that person. As this article appeared in...

Here's a claimed paranormal seeing by a blindfolded USA based Indian origin kid who underwent some training to acquire that skill, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtLkzg8bFgA , 12 min. 37 secs, published Jul. 30th 2015. https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/1765570946992808 has a shared Facebook video dated July 12th 2016, where some paranormal seeing when blindfolded is demonstrated by some youngsters trained in such paranormal skills, to Rajiv Malhotra. The video is around 23 minutes. My view is that it is fascinating, if true. I put up this comment on the original Facebook post, https://www.facebook.com/RajivMalhotra.Official/videos/660957954057545/ : Wow! Very interesting! The parapsychologists getting involved, which you said you plan to initiate, will be crucial for scientists to consider it seriously, I guess. They would want to test under controlled conditions. Thanks for sharing this. --- end FB comment--- Ravi: The crux is scientists investigating this ...

Turkey's Erdogan shuts schools, charities in first state of emergency decree, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-security-emergency-idUSKCN1030BC , dated Jul. 23rd 2016 Ravi: The reports are that educational institutions which are either connected with or suspected to have connections with a Turkish Islamic preacher, now living in the USA, Fethullah Gulen, are being closed. The number of these educational institutions which have been closed or face closure, is in thousands, the reports say!!! If the reports are true, this is quite extraordinary! Gulen is a former ally of current Turkish president Erdogan, which turned into enmity in or after 2013. It seems that the current Turkish leaders feel threatened by Gulen's movement in Turkey which seems to have many followers/connections in various branches of govt., educational institutions etc. I think religious and spiritual movements need to take a neutral to political parties stance in proper/secular democracies as ot...

From discourse of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume10/sss10-15.pdf , which seems to have been delivered on a GuruPurnina day, 18th July 1970: GURU POURNAMI is sacred for many reasons: this day, the seeker who suffers from identification with the false objective world is initiated into the reality of the 'unseen motivator' within him; this day; those who have no urge to tread the spiritual path are inspired to seek the bliss which that path will confer; this day, aspirants are helped to achieve the consciousness of the One, which is known by many Names and through many Forms, in various languages and lands. ... The contemplation of death is the very foundation of spiritual discipline. Without it, man is certain to fall into falsehood, pursuing the objects of sense-pleasure, and trying to accumulate material, worldly riches. Death is no ominous calamity; it is a step into the auspicious brightness beyond. It is inescapable; it cannot be ...

A Five Year Inner Journey Puttaparthi November 2007 [Note-2016. This is a letter I wrote to my elder sister, elder brother & family in Nov. 2007. I had moved to Puttaparthi in Oct. 2002. I have snipped some very personal stuff in the letter, and added clarifications within [Ravi-2016 ... end-Ravi-2016] markers. But I have not changed any of the sentences that are retained below, to ensure that I do not alter the Nov. 2007 view that I had. I decided to share this then personal letter publicly as something appropriate (it may be of help to some readers) to add to my kind-of autobiographical account; please see my post, An Indian Software Techie's (My) Material and Spiritual Journey So Far (till Sept. 2002); Ravi S. Iyer Autobiography, http://ravisiyer.blogspot.com/2016/06/an-indian-software-techies-my-material.html for more on it. end-Note-2016] Dear Vishalam, Mani, Rajamani & Meera, It is a little over 5 years ago, in October 2002, when I ‘retired’ and moved ...

First, some info. about the World Youth Festival at Prasanthi Nilayam, Puttaparthi. Here's the associated website, http://youthfest.sathyasai.org/ . It is being held from 12th to 14th July 2016. The theme of the festival is, "LOVE IS THE SOURCE, LOVE IS THE PATH, LOVE IS THE GOAL". Photographs of the inaugral day function held on 12th July 2016, can be seen here, https://www.facebook.com/radiosai/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1115934968495640 . The Hon'ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, providing his best wishes for the function through a tweet, https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/752843324936126464 , "My best wishes to all my young friends gathered for the Sathya Sai World Youth Festival at Prashanthi Nilayam. @ssssoindia" I (Ravi) sent a tweet response: "@narendramodi Thank you Hon'ble PM for your support - From a Sai devotee. Jai Sairam!" Union minister of state, Shri Piyush Goyal, was the chief guest for the inaugu...

This post is composed mainly from mail exchanges I had with my sister and brother, and another correspondent, in Aug. 2013 and is slightly edited. It also draws from another mail exchange I had with an uncle in Nov. 2010. The post shares some information and some speculation about my family history and how we moved away from traditional South Indian Brahmin occupations like Hindu priest or Hindu scripture teacher or other Hindu knowledge teacher/worker, to other occupations related to English language based British/Western systems as they got established in India, over generations. Note that I have used the term other Hindu knowledge teacher/worker - that is a loose non-scholar and amateur student term that I came up with to cover worldly knowledge areas like record keeping for matters like revenue collection and ownership of land. I am quite sure that these areas would have been dominated by Brahmins in South Indian Hindu kingdoms (perhaps all Hindu kingdoms) of the past centuries....