tora man darpan kehalaye.

Prani apne prabhu se poochhe
Kis vidhi paaun tohe
Prabhu kahe tu man ko pa le
Pa jaayega mohe
Tora man darpan kehlaye
Tora man darpan kehlaye
Bhale bure saare karmon ko
Dekhe aur dikhaaye
Tora man darpan kehlaye
Tora man darpan kehlaye

Man hi devta, man hi ishvar
Man se bada na koye
Man hi devta, man hi ishvar
Man se bada na koye
Man ujiyara jab jab faile
Jag ujiyara hoye
Is ujale darpan par praani
Is ujale darpan par praani
Dhool na jamne paye

Tora man darpan kehlaye
Tora man darpan kehlaye
Bhale bure saare karmon ko
Dekhe aur dikhaaye
Tora man darpan kehlaye
Tora man darpan kehlaye

Sukh ki kaliyan, dukh ke kaante
Man sabka adhar
Sukh ki kaliyan, dukh ke kaante
Man sabka adhar
Man se koi baat chhupe na
Man ke nain hazar
Jag se chaahe bhaag le koi
Jag se chaahe bhaag le koi
Man se bhaag na paye

Tora man darpan kehlaye
Tora man darpan kehlaye
Bhale bure saare karmon ko
Dekhe aur dikhaaye
Tora man darpan kehlaye
Tora man darpan kehlaye

Tan ki daulat dhalti chhaya
Man ka dhan anmol
Tan ki daulat dhalti chhaya
Man ka dhan anmol
Tan ke kaaran man ke dhan ko
Mat maati mein raund
Man ki kadar bhulane wala
Man ki kadar bhulane wala
Heera janam ganwaye

Tora man darpan kehlaye
Tora man darpan kehlaye
Bhale bure saare karmon ko
Dekhe aur dikhaaye
Tora man darpan kehlaye
Tora man darpan kehlaye

Mani Muktha nadhi theertham

Originally this was a river. The river dried up and only a tank exists today. Once Garuda was carrying Vairamudi from Thiruparkadal to ThirunarayanaPuram, Melkote to adorn the lord. A few precious stones and pearls fell here.
Also when other rivers approached the lord Brahma requesting help to cleanse themselves of the abundant pavams they had collected the were asked to go and mingle with this MMN. Even today during Margazhi month suklapaksham the mingling happens.
Even the sun god came down to this MMN in the month of chitirai on dwadasi day to regain his hand after praying to Lord Narayana and Srinivasa of Thiru Narayou granted his wish and he regained his hands. (Nachiyar Koil.)

Rabindranath Tagore on freedom.

Rabidranath Tagore treated  freedom not merely as political liberation but the intermixing of the individual with the world through his song : My freedom is in the air, in the sky in the light of the universe. It was the condition and attitude of life which creates the environment to develop his best. Influenced by the Upanishadic dogma he felt freedom of the individual was the underlying principle for the prosperity of human civilization and rapid growth.
For him the rising sun, the chirping of birds and the whistling of wind through the trees is nature revealing herself in its true colour. In the vastness of nature we are not unknown strangers but we are her children her kith and kin. It satisfies our personality with manifestations that make our life rich and stimulates our imagination in the harmony of forms colours sounds and movement. Communion as a higher mode of relationship between man and nature is characterized by inwardness and depth. The depth has an educational purpose.

Physical and Moral Education. Sri Aurobindo.

A healthy body is a necessary condition for intellectual or spiritual attainment. Physical fitness does not mean the proper functioning of the various organs of the body but also the development of strength, balance and a sense of beauty. Beauty is the ideal which the physical life has to realise.
The education of the intellect divorced from the perfection of the moral and emotional nature is injurious to human progress. He distinguishes the heart from the mind and says to instruct the mind is not to instruct the heart. He senses the danger in the use of moral text books for this purpose in schools and colleges. he feels they make the thinking of high things mechanical and artificial. for he feels he heart is not the mind and to instruct the mind does not necessarily improve the heart. 
every child must be given practical opportunity as well as intellectual encouragement to develop all that is best in his nature. If a child has bad qualities bad habbit and bad samskara be it of mind or body. he should not be treated harshly or delinquent, but must be encouraged to get rid of them by practicing rajayogic method of samayama (self control)  rejection and substitution.
Instead of discouraging such people they should be taught to think that these are traits of or symptoms of a curable disease which are alterable by a steady and sustained effort of the will. False hood being rejected and being replaced by truth. fear by courage, selfishness by sacrifice and renunciation, malice by love. the unformed virtues must also not be treated as faults.

to be continued.

Again Lotus flower and Pundarika Rishi

Pundarika Rishi was a sishya of Narada Maharishi, he was in the habbit of plucking Lotus flowers when ever he came across any tank filled with Lotus flowers and offered them to Narayana, he thus came to be known as Pundarika. After worshipping Bhuvaraha Perumal in Srimushnam he went to Thillai Thiruchitrakutam where he plucked 100 lotus flowers but he could not find Lord Narayana any where near the Theertham. he was worried that the flowers may wither with the passage of time and so he prayed to the Lord to rush to his rescue as he had  helped Gajendra. Lo behold the Lord did appear before him with four hands in a lying down pose on Adhisesha  in what is called Bhoga sayana pose and he was adorning the garland of the 100 lotus flowers. Pundarika Rishi was overjoyed and prayed to Lord to continue to stay there and bless all the people who come to this holy place thence forth came to be known as Pundarika puram, tayar would be known as Pundarika valli and the Pushkarini full of lotus flowers would be pundarika puskarini.  

How Garuda alwar holds Shankha and Chakra.

Two stories for the hero of the first is the cause for the second.

Mayanan our hero is an asura architect wanted to outshine Visvakarma the divine architect who built Parama Pada. He aproached Brahma and wanted to know how this could be achieved. He was advised rightly by Brahma that he should pray to Perumal himself and seek the blessing. Mayan on look out for a suitable place went to the banks of Kaveri and came to Bhaskara kshetram where he saw Markandeya Rishi in deep meditation amidst the beautiful groves where plenty of flowers grew the place was very beautiful. He started his penance there. God was pleased and appeared before him. Mayan felt the place was just as he had imagined Chitra koota and asked the Lord to give him darshan as he had been in Chitra koota. the Lord conseded and we find the beautiful figure of the Lord as Young Rama, he is known as Kola vil Raman. Mayanan built a beautiful temple for the Lord and also the beautiful Pushkalavarthaga vimana. the Utsavar perumal is known as Srungara Sundarar representing the beautiful young king Rama who was banished from the kingdom to the forest.
Now for the second story:
The Garudalwar here is seen holding shanka and chakra. Perumal was rushing in response to the sincere prayers of Mayanan with his entire entourage of the divine consorts, Garuda and other devas. tosatisfy Mayanans request to give him darshan as Ramar as he was at Chitrakoota, the Lord is said to have given his shanka and chakra to Garudar to hold for a while so that he could be seen by Mayanan as Kola Vil Raman.
One would wonder why the Lord rushed to see Mayanan?
Was not Mayanan's wish to be able to outshine Visvakarma so that he too could build some thing as beautiful as parama pada for the Lord on earth, he wanted to make the place beautiful not a selfish need at all. so we see god also likes his devotees who are selfless in their wish wanting to beautify gods own land.
Even today it is believed that the visit to this one temple is equal to visiting all the other divya desams on earth.
Periya Thirumozhi 4-10-9 Thirumangai alwar has said:
Even as Brahma, Siva, Indra and other devas assembled in this place are singing the praise of the Lord and his qualities (visibaly high lighted here as he appeared to Mayanan )are Parathwam {exalted nature} Sowlabhyam {easy approchability} Sowseelyam {friendly nature}Vatsalyam {Love and affection quality}
the beautiful place he describes among the sugar cane and paddy crops lotus grows in full bloom. the sweet scent in the air the luscious sugar cane and paddy sheaves bend in the gentle breeze as if fanning the Lord and his consort who he sees as two loving swans among the crops. the Lord comes forth here as an enigma of mystery? How come he appeared to Mayanan? why did he rush to satisfy quickly the wish of Mayanan? What quality does the Lord look for in his devotees. Whar are his own qualities displayed here? How come the devotee gets so much importance that the Lord in his rush to satisfy the need of his devout candidate makes concessions? Qualities one should ponder on is the only answer.

brown paper packages tied up with strings.

To commemorate her birthday, actress/vocalist, Julie Andrews made a special appearance at Manhattan's Radio City Music Hall for the benefit of the AARP.  One of the musical numbers she performed was 'My Favorite Things' from the legendary movie 'Sound Of Music'.  Here are the lyrics she used: 

Botox and nose drops and needles for knitting, 

Walkers and handrails and new dental fittings, 

Bundles of magazines tied up in string, 

  These are a few of my favorite things. 

Cadillacs and cataracts, hearing aids and glasses, 

Polident and Fixodent and false teeth in glasses, 

Pacemakers, golf carts and porches with swings, 

  These are a few of my favorite things. 

When the pipes leak, When the bones creak, 

When the knees go bad, 

I simply remember my favorite things, 

     And then I don't feel so bad. 

Hot tea and crumpets and corn pads for bunions, 

No spicy hot food or food cooked with onions, 

Bathrobes and heating pads and hot meals they bring, 

    These are a few of my favorite things.

Back pain, confused brains and no need for sinnin', 

Thin bones and fractures and hair that is thinnin',   

And we won't mention our short shrunken frames, 

  When we remember our favorite things. 

When the joints ache, When the hips break, 

     When the eyes grow dim, 

Then I remember the great life I've had, 

      And then I don't feel so bad.