Ravi S. Iyer: Spiritual

This aspect had not struck me earlier. As I was reading and viewing up on Deccan Plateau, I realized that both Shirdi and Puttaparthi are on the Deccan Plateau.  From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deccan_Plateau : "The large Deccan Plateau in southern India is located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the Narmada river. To the north, it is bounded by the Satpura and Vindhya Ranges." https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/Map_of_the_Cities_and_Towns_in_the_Deccan_Plateau%2C_India.png is a great map of cities and towns in the Deccan Plateau. A slightly modified version of it is shown below where I have marked Shirdi with a pink left arrow and I have marked roughly the area where Puttaparthi should be (as it is not labelled in the map) with a pink right arrow. I have also used jpg format to reduce the file size. [On PC desktop, to open pic in larger resolution (if ...

Last updated on 27th July 2022 I decided to publish this post on this spiritual blog as I think it may be useful to readers interested in spirituality who are considering to publish or have published their own books. Note that for the same reason, in the past I have published posts related to self-publication of my books on this blog. As an example see: Using a size template in GIMP for paperback cover creation,  https://ravisiyer.blogspot.com/2019/06/using-size-template-in-gimp-for.html , 16th June 2019. I also decided to provide sufficient background as I felt it may help the above mentioned type of readers. Somewhat recently one of the two self-publishing platforms I use - Pothi.com - raised minimum price of printed books on their platform. This resulted in three of my four print(ed) books on Pothi.com not becoming available publicly (book sale page is not shown to users other than me) as their new minimum price was higher than the previously set price of these books. So I...

Given below is a set of somewhat recent posts of mine on another blog, about Emperor Ashoka and ethical/spiritual values, and Buddha: 1) Instructions to love parents and elders, be kind and speak the truth, in rock edicts of Emperor Ashoka (3rd century BCE) which are earliest deciphered inscriptions found in India; Jonnagiri, AP rock edicts, https://ravisiyermisc.blogspot.com/2022/07/instructions-to-love-parents-and-elders.html 2) Emperor Ashoka's Major Rock Edict XIII about Kalinga war and conquest (ended 261 BC), and great human suffering involved claiming to transform Ashoka to peace-loving Buddhist and promoter of Buddhism, https://ravisiyermisc.blogspot.com/2022/07/emperor-ashokas-major-rock-edict-xiii.html 3) Sanchi Great Stupa having relics of the Buddha was originally commissioned by Emperor Ashoka in 3rd century BCE and is one of oldest stone structures in India, https://ravisiyermisc.blogspot.com/2022/07/sanchi-great-stupa-having-relics-of.html 4) Lion Capital pillar of E...

Today I was informed that my post: How Arthur Osborne got directed by Ramana Maharshi in dream to write the book, The Incredible Sai Baba (on Shirdi Sai); Free pdf link for the book, https://ravisiyer.blogspot.com/2019/12/how-arthur-osborne-got-directed-by.html , was included in this article in Ashrams of India website: At Ramana Maharshi’s ashram; Series: Westerners in India., https://ashramsofindia.com/at-ramana-maharshis-ashram/ . I was happy to know this. I decided to check on Google Search for the term: arthur osborne shirdi sai baba I was pleasantly surprised to see my above post listed as the 6th result (in incognito Chrome browser). See below pic. [On PC desktop, to open pic in larger resolution (if available), right-click on pic followed by open link (NOT image) in new tab/window. In new tab/window you may have to click on pic to zoom in.] I also checked out view stats in my blog for the past year for the above post. It showed 653 views over the past 12 months. See below pic...

As I continue my reading of ancient Indian history, I was utterly fascinated to know about the oldest inscriptions referring to Hindu deities. I came across mention of two such inscriptions on the Internet, which are given below: 1) Given below are extracts from Hathibada Ghosundi Inscriptions, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hathibada_Ghosundi_Inscriptions : The Hathibada Ghosundi Inscriptions, sometimes referred simply as the Ghosundi Inscription or the Hathibada Inscription, are among the oldest known Sanskrit inscriptions in the Brahmi script, and dated to the 2nd-1st-century BCE. The Hathibada inscription were found near Nagari village, about 8 miles (13 km) north of Chittorgarh, Rajasthan, India, while the Ghosundi inscription was found in the village of Ghosundi, about 3 miles (4.8 km) southwest of Chittorgarh. ... The inscription is significant not only for its antiquity but as a source of information about ancient Indian scripts, the society, its history and its religious belie...

I am almost close to finishing re-reading the Bhagavad Gita by Dr. Shakuntala Rao Sastri. An interesting aspect of this book is that the author is a lady who was proficient in Sanskrit and English and had academic degrees from India and UK to back that, and who authored the book way back in the 1950s. This book copy was printed in 1982. I think I must have bought the book from an old books seller. I bought it in 2000 when I was based in Dombivli/Mumbai. It is fascinating to know of this lady Sanskrit scholar who seems to have written at least two books related to Sanskrit scripture. She passed away in 1961 a year before I was born. I think this is the only lady (Indian or foreign) Sanskrit scholar of the 1950s and earlier part of 1900s authored book I have read. It would have been quite challenging for an Indian lady to have acquired strong academic qualifications from India and UK in the 1940s and 1950s (which is when I presume she did the main part of her English and Sanskrit academi...

Given below are the relevant three successive verses in the Bhagavad Gita (English translation of verses below are slightly edited by me): Chapter 13 verse 32,  https://shlokam.org/bhagavad-gita/13-32 : अनादित्वान्निर्गुणत्वात्परमात्मायमव्ययः । शरीरस्थोऽपि कौन्तेय न करोति न लिप्यते ॥ १३-३२॥ anāditvānnirguṇatvātparamātmāyamavyayaḥ śarīrastho’pi kaunteya na karoti na lipyate Being without beginning, and being devoid of qualities, the Supreme Self, the Imperishable, though dwelling in the body, O Kaunteya, neither acts, nor is tainted [Ravi: entangled/affected] . [Ravi: https://sanskritdictionary.org/lipyate translates lipyate as affected / entangled / attached / involved, and in the above verse context, translates it as entangled.] Chapter 13 verse 33,  https://shlokam.org/bhagavad-gita/13-33 : यथा सर्वगतं सौक्ष्म्यादाकाशं नोपलिप्यते । सर्वत्रावस्थितो देहे तथात्मा नोपलिप्यते ॥ १३-३३॥ yathā sarvagataṃ saukṣmyādākāśaṃ nopalipyate sarvatrāvasthito dehe tathātmā nopalipyate As th...