Oppiliappan.

Oppiliappan Srinivasan in a standing posture facing east. The Goddess is Bhoomidevi, also known by the names Vasundara, Dharini devi and Bhoodev or Bhoomi Nachiyar.She is seen ina "Mandi ittu vanangum kolam" semi sitting posture.She is facing North. opposite her is the idol of Markandeya Rishi in a sitting posture facing south. His posture is like that of a Father gifting away his daughter to the would be son in law. popularly known as Kanya Danam Pose. The vimana is known as Vishnu Vimana or even Sudhananda vimana. It is believed that the God here is the brother of the Lord at Tirupati Vekatacham.
The mythological story relating to the place is found in Brahmanda purana. Brahma is said to have narrated the story to Narada and other devas.
Markandeya was performing penance in the tulasi  vanam at the site of the present temple. to the south of this are were running three rivers Dakshina Ganga, Dakshina godavari and dakshina Yamuna. one day he found a small baby girl in the Tulasi vanam. the child was lovely, the rishi took her home and named her Bhoomi devi In course of time she grew up to be a beautiful girl the father Markandeya wished that she should marry Lord Narayana himself. One day in the month of Panguni, on Ekadesi day when the Tiruvona star was in the ascendent an old Brahmin wearing torn clothes, holding a stick in one hand to balance himself while walking, and a kamandalam in the other hand appeared before the rishi. The rishi wanted to feed the poor Brahmin treat him as an honoured guest and let him go his way. The rishi washed the feet of the old brahmin and asked him if he could help him in any way. The old man then said I do not have any son or wife to look after me. I do not have any relatives in this world.I am alone I have therefore desired to get married. I heard that you have a beautiful daughter. I request you to give her in marriage to me so that i could be happy and perform poojas for a place in heaven. I beg you to give me your daughter in marriage.
The rishi was astounded to hear this, he did not wish to hurt the guest, at the same time he could not yield to the request, so he tried to dissuade the old man from entertaining thoughts of marriage. the old brahmin was adamant he caught hold of the rishis legs and said the whole world and the future of everything depended upon his consent. the rishi then tried tricking the beggar by saying his daughter was very small and she was not a good cook too and often forgot to even put salt in the food cooked, and requested the brahmin to look elsewhere for a bride who could give him tasty food. and a fit companion in old age. The Old beggar threatened that he would give up his life then and there if the Rishi did not consent. the agitated rishi closed his eyes and started deep meditation and prayed to Lord Narayana to find a wayout.When he opened his eyes in the place of the old brahmin he saw Lord Narayana Himself, as a young lad wearing shanka and chakra and he was wearing a crown studded with precious stones. He saw his life's dream coming true. One can only imagine the happiness of Markandeya rishi. he always wished that the Lord be his son in law. what wish and what love for his daughter. one of the Lords hand was stretched out in a posture as to receive the hand of his would be bride. The rishi was lost in happiness. He praised the Lord for having fulfilled his one and only desire to have the Lord as his Son in Law. the Lord smiled and told him that he was impressed with his unshakable faith that the Rishi had in him, He also said hence forth even as the rishi had predicted his would be wife need not add salt for any of the preparations that she makes. and he would relish such food at that place.It is said the prasadam eaten inside the temple without salt is very tastyand one does not feel the need for any salt. but if eaten outside the temple you will miss salt in the dish.The Rishi asked God to stay on and bless all the people visiting this punya kshetram also that the place be know by his name and to grant him Moksha. The place came to be known as Thiru Vinnagaram, the marriage took place in the month of oct - nov when the Tiruvonam star was at the ascendent. the temple was built by Visvakarma the divine architect and the place was also known as Aakaasha Nagar.
Two Brahmotsavams are celebrated it this temple.The temple tank is also special and people can have a dip in it even in the evening/ night an interesting story of the descendent of Bhardwaja rishi is connected with this.The Pushkarini is called Agorathra Pushkarini. there is no separate sannidhi for the Thayar in this temple. The Utsavar is always accompanied by the thayar in all his processions outside the sannidhi.
Nammalwar says this lord excels in bringing harmony and unity between things that cannot apparently be united. The Lord appeared before Nammalwar in five forms. The Moolavar is called Thiru Vinnagarappan, the Utsavar is known as Ponnappan, the Bhoga murthy is known as Muthappan. the other two are known as ennappan and Maniappan and they are separate shrines within the temple. Nammalwar felt the lord is very unique and charming unequalled and called him "Than oppar il Appan" now corrupted to Oppiliappan. but that too sounds so melodious to the ear.

School for sympath

Miss Beam's school with a difference does exist. this truly is a school for sympathy. the teaching methods are simple and useful to people. like spelling, adding, subtracting, multiplying, writing. the rest is done by reading to them and giving them interesting talks. there is practically no other thing she confesses. but her system is original. She says her aim is not to teach thought but thoughtfulness, humanity kindness and citizenship. she asks the visitor to go and look through the window and see and relate what is seen. and on doing so and relating that i find they are not all healthy and every one seems to be having some problem.  she laughs and says they are not crippled or so but are acting their roles for the day. which happens in rotation. In order to get the young minds to appreciate and understand misfortune, we make them participate in misfortune too. In the course of the week every child has one blind day, one lame day, one deaf day one maimed day and one dumb day. for example for the blind day, the bandage is put on overnight, they wake up blind so this means they need assistance in everything. the other children help and lead them in everything. this way both learn. by the end of the day the reality of the disability becomes clear even to the least thoughtful. its an honour not to peep on blind days the children say we think the blind days are worst days but the children disagree they say the dumb day is the most frightening one. There is so much one learns. to explain things in the surroundings you start noticing them better and see the difference in things which you most certainly would have missed if all faculties were in order. sure enough you can get out wiser just by imagining the school like this.  i think one has to truly experience this being normal itself is an high achievement.
can i see another's woe.
and not share their sorrow too.  

not philosophy but none the less essential

1.The course of true love:
The adventures of Mark Twain's life are as interesting as any of the stories in his writings. His real name was Samuel Clemens. Mark Twain was his pen name. He was know by the name Sam.
Now Sam was on board ship travelling with a group of tourist who were going to visit a holy land. he had by that time already published lots of articles and had earned a name for himself. A news paper company was sending him on this trip to write an account of the trip. he wrote humorous stories of the holy places which made the readers at home roar with laughter. 
on the boat he met an eighteen year old boy named Charles Langdon. one day Charles took sam to his room where sam saw the family photograph of Charles he explained who his family was and an one girl tidily parted hair with an angelic face most impressed Sam and he felt an attraction for her. she was Charles sister Olivia.
any way back in New York his articles became famous and the talk of the town greatly appreciated so he became even better known.
Sam happened to meet Charles one day and this time the full family was in New York. he thought Olivia to be even more beautiful than in the picture.  Mr. Langdon invited Sam to spend a week with the family at Elmira.
The Langdon's were a cultured family and Sam not even having a formal education and with a wild childhood smoked swore and often not even neatly dressed. Sam asked permission to marry Olivia he was refused three times. Finally Mr. Langdon agreed on a condition that Sam give addresses of three well known persons so that he could get their opinion etc. Letters came back discouraging any association.  Mr. Langdon then took a bold step and agreed. Sam turned out to be one of the most loving husbands and theirs was a life long romance.
Other interesting life stories of very famous people are Sherlock Holmes Nic name of course the original Conan Doyle. mostly known to all i suppose.
Test of true love.
six minutes to six, said the clock above the information desk in New York's Grand Central. The Tall young Army Lieutenant noted the time. His heart was beating so hard it seemed to shake him. In six minutes he would see the woman who had occupied much of his thoughts for the past 13 months. he had never seen her yet what she wrote meant a great deal to him.
Lieutenant Blandford remembered one day in particular. during the worst of the fighting in the war. his plane was surrounded by enemy planes. earlier in one of his letters he had confessed to her that he felt fear, a few days before this battle he had received her reply saying Of course there will be times when you are afraid.... all brave men feel the same way, especially in battle. the next time you have doubts about your self try to imagine you can hear my voice saying to you "yeh though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil." he had remembered it then and it had given him new strength.
Now he was going to hear her real voice. four minutes more.
A girl passed near him, he looked closely, she was wearing a flower but it was the wrong type. he had to recognise his friend by the little red rose she promised would have. also the girl was only 18. 
Hollis Meynell was 30 as per what she had told him. what did it matter he had said he was 32 though 29.
His mind went back to the book he had read in the training camp OF HUMAN BONDAGE. through out the book there were little notes in a woman's hand. Her name was on the inside cover of the book, one of the thousands which came to them through donations made before w w 2. He had searched for the address and written to her and she had answered. they continued to correspond. thats how they were to meet today.
One minute to six he lit another cigarette, and then his heart leaped, a young woman was walking towards him, her figure was tall and slender, in her pale green suit she was like the spring time itself. he started towards her then remembered to notice for the rose. as he moved she gave him a smile and said going my way soldier? she did not have the rose right behind her he saw the woman with the rose. she was a woman past forty rather heavy with flat shoes and an old hat. she had a red rose on her dirty coat.
The girl in the green coat was walking quickly away. his attention was divided. Yet this woman had given him courage and strength, her face was gentle and kind her eyes were warm and friendly.

Lt.Blandford did not hesitate in his hand he held the old copy of the book of human bondage. this would be only a friendship for which he would be ever so grateful. he saluted and held the book towards the woman and said I am Lt. Blandford, and you are Miss Meynell, I am so glad you could meet me. May i take you to dinner?
A smile appeared on the woman's face, I do'nt know who you are young man she answered. that young woman in the green coat asked me to wear the rose on my coat. she said that if you asked me to go with you i must tell you that she is waiting for you in the restaurant across the street. she said it was a test of some kind.
well how would it have ended if the lady with the rose was the real Miss Meynell? such stories in fiction go to teach you a lot of how one ought to behave.
The Land where there were no old men.
interestingly in a country far away all the young people decided that they would do away with people who had reached the age of fifty. the king was young too so orders were issued.
One young kind man however took pity on his father and hid him away in the attic and took care of him.
time passed and a terrible drought came, meadows and plough land dried up famine of the worst kind and sickness plagued the country The father saw the worry on his sons face and asked him what was bothering him on being told the terrible state of affairs where there was no food left in the country every one from bishop to farm hand was in misery. the old man then said dont tell any one any thing for the time being, when the last patches of snow melt in the fields take up your plough and go and plough the lane in front of your house, rake it over and stop worrying. the son followed and what did he see soon out of the ground wheat maize oats barley and corn began to sprout. Every one was amazed at the sight, the king called for the boy and demanded to know how it all came about. the boy confessed to what the old father had said and he had followed.
The king ordered that the Father be bought before him and asked him what gave him the idea, he said just imagine how many seeds drop when people carry the stocks home. the old man was rewarded and the rule of doing away with the old abolished. 
Well are these stories true. what does it matter we have to pick up the essential message and leave the rest.

Kangaroo words.

A Kangaroo word is one which carries within its spelling in normal order a smaller word which is a perfect synonym for itself. eg. 
Hurries,   Hies
Deceased, Dead
Illuminated, Lit
Fabrication, Fiction
Salvage,  Save
Separate,  Part
Catacomb, Tomb
Satisfied, Sated
Exists,  Is
Recline,  lie
Appropriate,  Apt
Rotund, Round
Observe, See
Revolution,  revolt
Market, Mart
Facade,  Face
Deliberate,  Debate
Pantaloons,   Pants
Precipitation,  Rain
Supervisor,  Superior
Hostelry, Hotel

Music's wonder child.(RD)

"Positively the last concert... the boy, not yet seven, will perform on the harpsichord, play a concerto for violin, and accompany symphonies on the clavier, the keyboard being covered with a cloth, as easily as if he could see the keys. He will name all notes sounded at a distance, singly or in chords, and improvise on harpsichord and organ as long as desired. tickets 1/2 taler."

Thus did a notice in a German newspaper in 1763 advertise, as if he were a side show freak, the most universal genius of music the world has ever known, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.  In the audience sat another boy, the fourteen year old Goethe destined too to become immortal. Years later he could still recall the far off bright picture of the merry faced little musician who ran to the bench before the harpsichord in his absurd, exquisite costume of lilac satin, with powdered wig and tiny sword, and flung his heart into the glittering notes.
Born with absolute pitch, infallible rhythm, and natural comprehension of harmony, Master Mozart had come into this world with an inexplicably complete gift. that is how, at the age of four, the child began to learn to play the clavier, and at five picked up the violin and reading at sight, staggered through six trios with his father and a friend. this child read and wrote notes before he could do as much with letters. compositions dating from his sixth year are recognizable from the opening bars as the music of Mozart and nobody else. Graceful and sure, spirited, precise and brave, they are the work of a unique stylist and a great soul. fingers and brain are endowed alike. At ten the boy astounded the Hollanders by playing superbly on the largest, most complicated organ in the world. At fourteen he was taken to hear the Vatican choir sing a long, difficult Miserere which was kept so secret that the singers were forbidden to copy the score on pain of excommunication. The boy drank in every note, walked home and wrote the entire thing out from memory. On the second hearing, he was chagrined to find he had made three mistakes. Instead of excommunicating him, the Pope made him a Knight of the Golden Spur.

The golden wonder of Honey.

No one has ever discovered a purer and sweeter food than honey. its chief ingredient being Levulose or fruit sugar. Every honey has its own individual taste. it would take a lifetime to discover the vintages that bees distil from the thousands of species of nectar bearing plants. the concentration of sugars is so high in honey that bacteria cannot live in it. an egyptian tomb was said to have held a honey for 3300 years. but was still very pure. if diluted with water it ferments. the honey comb product of the bees own gland can be imitated. Thus honey is the most ancient and mysterious food. its a pinnacle of insect evolution. Nature has adapted the forms of flowers to entice bees, and the bodies of bees to fit and pollinate the flowers and to use the pollen and nectar. so many species of flowers would have been extinct but for the bees. bees it is said is loyal to one type of flower at a time so makes one kind of honey at a time. One pound of honey requires a bee to make thirty seven thousand bee trips from flower and back. Bees usually kill themselves with work. it is the destiny of every good worker to die flying, struggling to bring back one last load to the hive. After two to six weeks of peak exertion she dies or drops unnoticed. it takes three hundred pounds of honey to keep one colony alive. to gather the extra that we rob from the hives they have to fly many million miles more. Each drop of honey is an ocean of minerals for it is found to contain traces of iron, copper, manganese, potassium, sodium, phosphorus, proteins and vitamins. even diabetics can tolerate honey while table sugar is harmful. it helps babies to retain calsium and grow stronger. the most famous of honeys is Hymettis honey it is made of the nectar from the little wild flower called thyme.
Honey is a gift from thousands of ardent and dedicated little lives. it is the mystery evident that the bees and flowers live for such mutual good. It is a slow formed perfect drop upon a growing tip of evolution. to take that drop upon our tongue is to partake of a sacrament with nature. 

Emotions colour our thinking.

Emotion is that state of the mind that manifests itself by a perceptible change in the body. Thinking involves the entire body in a series of correlated nerve impulses that center in the brain. To make our attitude and thinking as pleasant as possible we have to make a positive effort lets call it the art of human living.
First and foremost stop thinking of yourself and your feelings. second learn to love what you do. your work. when you concentrate on the job on hand you will enjoy.doing it ask your self how best can i do this and give it your 100%. You will be amazed at how well you have accomplished the task. what ever it may be. polishing shoes, cleaning your draw, sweeping a room, cooking, playing with a child, taking care of the elderly, what ever. third have a hobby. when you feel you are getting tense just think of what you would do next at with your hobby. you will immediately feel relieved. four Learn to like people carrying a grudge or dislike can have disastrous effects in your system. fifth learn to accept the situation when you cant change it. it is just as easy under most conditions to be satisfied as it is to be dissatisfied. you will usually find dissatisfaction arises from assumption. (ass U Me) six learn to accept adversity. not every thing in life can be correct all the time for all the people.How best you face a situation is up to you. It is always best to lie low in high tide. nothing lasts forever. seven always always say the cheerful, humorous things, it will make the other better and make you feel even more better. finally learn to meet any problem you may have with a decision. nothing can be achieved by mulling over the problem. remember emotions colour your thinking so keep your attitude and thinking as pleasant as possible. {red for anger, purple for envy, pink for love, blue for pleasure, green for happiness, yellow jealousy, ha so many mixed shades sometimes.}