Ravi S. Iyer: Spiritual

SAMARPAN # 12: MARCH 2016: Talk by Shri K. Anil Kumar, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdmRkIQeY0s ,  around 1 hr 20 mins. This video is a wonderful and spiritually insightful video about Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba's ways of loving and guiding Dr. K. Anil Kumar as a young student and later as a faculty member of the Sai university as well as a leader of Veda chanting in Sai Kulwant Hall. The talk is spiritually uplifting as well. Though the video was published in March 2016, I viewed it only today. I came to know of its existence earlier on but had not got around to viewing it. Many thanks to Dr. (Ph.D. Chemistry) K. Anil Kumar for sharing these wonderful experiences with us. I have had quite a few interactions with Dr. K. Anil Kumar during my Seva stint at the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science of the Sai university. I served there from Jan. 2003 to Mar. 2012, with Dr. Anil Kumar serving during some years of my stint. The Chemistry lab. was next to the Compute...

Last updated on 22nd April 2020 22nd April 2020 Update: I had an inner urge to name-snip the names of some person(s) in this post and so have done so. Just saw some live stream feed of Muddenahalli group Mumbai (Navi Mumbai) hospital Bhoomi Puja. My feelings are mixed on this. I am happy about the free medical service to children that this hospital will provide. All the best to Muddenahalli group for that free medical service. But I was disappointed to see Sachin Tendulkar on stage with Madhusudan Naidu. The Maharashtra CM, Devendra Fadnavis, was also on stage. The CM has to support such free medical service projects and he may not have had much exposure to the real physical form Sathya Sai. So I don't have any issues with Maharashtra CM on this. He is just doing his duty as CM. But Sachin Tendulkar has had direct personal experiences with Sathya Sai. That he chose to be on stage with this impersonator of Sathya Sai - Madhusudan Rao Naidu - who is diluting and distortin...

Last updated on 27th Nov. 2017 An extract from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Sinai_attack : On 24 November 2017, in North Sinai Governorate, Egypt, near Bir al-Abed, the al-Rawda mosque, known as the birthplace of the founder of Sufism in the Sinai Peninsula, was attacked by around forty gunmen during Friday prayers. The gun and bomb attack killed more than 305 people and injured more than 120, making it the deadliest terrorist attack in Egyptian history. --- end wiki extract --- An extract from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Sehwan_suicide_bombing : On 16 February 2017, a suicide bombing took place inside the Shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan, Pakistan, where pilgrims were performing a Sufi ritual after the evening prayers. At least 90 people were killed and over 300 injured. --- end wiki extract --- Ravi: I pray to Allah/Almighty God to shower His Grace on all those who lost their lives in the above 2017 attacks on Sufi shrines in Pakistan and Egypt. ...

Above pic is of the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso. Pic courtesy: http://resources.tsemtulku.com/free-downloads/his-holiness-dala-lama.html . [To open pic in higher resolution, right-click on pic followed by open in new tab/window. In new tab/window you may have to click on pic to zoom in.] The article: War unlikely between India and China, says Dalai Lama, http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/war-unlikely-between-india-and-china-says-dalai-lama/article19459137.ece , 9th Aug. 2017, has some interesting quotes of the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, about flourishing religious pluralism (multi-faith environment) in India. The Dalai Lama is quoted as saying in a public event in August 2017, "Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru laid the foundation for the welfare of Tibetans in exile in India. It is only in India that all the major religious traditions exist side by side. Sometimes problem takes place, not unusual as so many varieties of traditions live here. But it is here al...

Shri Rajiv Malhotra's recent Facebook post, https://www.facebook.com/RajivMalhotra.Official/photos/a.137731093046903.31225.137726233047389/954122378074433/ , shares the Archbishop of Gandhinagar diocese in Gujarat letter shown below with Rajiv Malhotra commenting that as the Archbishop is taking sides in the Gujarat state elections, his church should be reclassified as a foreign political institution and not be given special treatment as a religious institution. [To open pic in higher resolution, right-click on pic followed by open in new tab/window. In new tab/window you may have to click on pic to zoom in.] I made the following comment in my Facebook share of the above post: I would not go so far as Rajiv Malhotra. But I think the Archbishop of Gandhinagar, Gujarat should provide details of such incidents of "attack on our churches, church personnel, faithful or institutions" in Gujarat. As the Archbishop he should ideally have played a role in police comp...

Hon'ble Vice-President of India's tweet yesterday linking to his speech in Prashanti Nilayam (Puttaparthi): https://twitter.com/VPSecretariat/status/933359021553152000 , "Press Release: Selfless service to humanity was the essence of devotion: Vice President  http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=173763 ". Above pic courtesy: https://twitter.com/VPSecretariat/status/933290426915635201 [To open pic in higher resolution, right-click on pic followed by open in new tab/window. In new tab/window you may have to click on pic to zoom in.] I have given below the contents of his speech from the link in the above tweet: http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=173763 . [Ravi: It is from:] Press Information Bureau Government of India Vice President's Secretariat 22-November-2017 20:53 IST [Ravi: The actual Vice-President of India speech contents are given below after a short description.] Selfless service to humanity was the essence ...

Given below are some Facebook posts that I shared on Facebook a little while back today on the occasion of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba's birthday today, Nov. 23rd. https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2021018128114754  shares a birthday songs video whose fuller version seems to be available on youtube here: SWAMI BIRTHDAY SONG, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH5WYJwC-Wg , 9 min 51 secs, published by Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisation Maharashtra Goa on 8th Nov. 2013. Here's the comment I (Ravi) put on the above Facebook post: Thoroughly enjoyed it and feel blessed as I am filled with memories of seeing these events live in Sai Kulwant Hall. Thanks for sharing. Jai Sairam! (Around 9 minute video). --- end comment --- Ravi: I think all the video clips in the video are from the period I was blessed to offer free service in Prasanthi Nilayam ashram system from Oct. 2002 till sometime after Mahasamadhi of Bhagavan in April 2011. So I am able to relate to them very w...

Minor grammatical correction made on 17th Oct. 2020 Note: This post is based on my part of a recent social media conversation elsewhere. Readers who prefer not to read about such disturbing matters may please skip reading rest of this post. This is a tough thing to face for us people who write about the wonderful, holy and good things that Baba (Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba) has done for millions of people so far, and, I am sure, will do wonderful, holy and good things for millions of people over centuries and millennia to come. I really mean the latter part of the sentence. I have ZERO DOUBT about that happening. But the reality is that a couple of major Western media channels have disseminated these negative allegations about Baba. And many people who see such material believe those allegations without making significant effort to see whether those allegations are true, and without trying to know about the enormous good that Baba has done, and which continues to be done to this ...

Alandi, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alandi , is the pilgrimage centre famous for the samadhi of the great Maharashtrian Saint Dnyaneshwar. Pics below seem to be of the annual pilgrimage there around this time of the year. Above pics courtesy:  https://www.facebook.com/DeepakBharwani/posts/10214365730798033 A few Maharashtrian friends of mine during my Mumbai and Dombivli days, told me about their love and adoration of Dnyaneshwar, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dnyaneshwar ,13th century (1275-1296) Maharashtrian saint, especially his commentary on the Bhagavad Gita called Dnyaneshwari. I was exposed to Marathi books of Dnyaneshwar, including Dnyaneshwari and Amruta Anubhav (a good friend had given me a copy of Amruta Anubhav). As my Marathi reading and understanding was rather slow, I was able to read only part of these great works and not be able to benefit as well as I wanted to, from these great and sacred works which are treasured by Maharashtrian Hindu devotees, es...