Holi Festival

There was a time when people enjoyed small things during the Holi period, but now in this age of digital technology, people are busy reading endless mobile things or watching TV. A lot many of them get boozed up, tear their clothes off, have a barbaric dance and make a mess around everywhere. Very few show respect and reverence towards their elders, very few go to temples. Fashionable English schools and modern education system have spoiled our age old sophistication and sense of amiable social life. People seldom visit and see each other. Very few sprinkle each other with colours when most are quick to take offence at being sprayed a little. However, our Holi festival still breathes grace and charm as ever. I wish you all a very very Happy Holi !!

Happy Holi

Stupidity has its fair share but it should be gentle. In my childhood, children sprayed people with colour weeks in advance of Holi and nobody felt upset. We would gather logs and firewood at the bank of our village pond a few days before and Pandit ji would light Holika early hours of Holi morning. Children, women, the young and elderly all would come and stand grouped around the fire, throwing cow dung cakes and plants of wheat and barley in it. Words cannot express how happy we were to play colours through noon till a group of our Kakas and Dadas went door to door, singing Dhamal. There would gather a big crowd where ever they went and the family playing host would offer tasty Gujhia and Betel to everyone there. Sadly, deshi Tharra has spoiled all charms of Holi today! Anyway, Happy Holi, everyone!

Prahlad

One day the gate keepers of Lord Vishnu, Jaya and Vijaya, annoyed Sanak, Sanandan, Sanat Kumar and, as a result, the kumars cursed them, saying they be demons. In Satyuga, the gate keepers had to be born on the earth as Hiranyakashipu and Hiranyaksha to sage Kashyapa and Diti, daughter of Daksha Prajapati. When the Varah avatar of Lord Vishnu killed Hiranyaksha, his elder brother Hiranyakashipu decided to take revenge on Vishnu. He worshiped Brahma with a view to gaining super powers. He underwent years of hard austerity and penance. At last, Brahma emerged and offered him anything that he wanted. He asked for the immortality but he was refused. Brahma, however, agreed to oblige him with alternative boons. He then requested that he not be killed by any living or nonliving entity, by god or demon and asked to grant him that he not die within or outside any house, nor on the ground or in the sky, not during the daytime or at night, that no weapon, nor man or any animal could kill him and that he be the sole ruler of the earth and the sky without any rival. He also asked for the powers that are not available to the supernatural beings.

In the meantime, taking the advantage of his absence, Indra along with other gods attacked his home. Sage Narada was watching what Indra was doing. He rushed to rescue Kayadhu, the wife of Hiranyakashipu, who was pregnant and whom he considered sinless. He took Kayadhu in his care. While she was living with the sage, she gave birth to their son, Prahlad. Since the son grew up under the guidance of the sage, he developed to be a great devotee of his father’s arch enemy, Lord Vishnu.

With his being almost immortal, Hiranyakashipu turned tyrant. He silenced anyone who spoke out against him and forced the people to worship him instead of God. He indulged his passion for wealth and sex as his name implies and started to treat people not like a man is treated but like a thing. Just his name could send a shudder of fear through every direction. People almost forgot that they were living their own life because they could not use anything, even those things which they produced, until permitted. In short, the whole world was shaking with terror.

Hiranyakashipu was not happy with the way his son was worshiping Vishnu. He tried to teach him that it was not Vishnu but he himself was the supreme lord of the universe but he refused to acknowledge it rather he claimed that Lord Vishnu was omnipotent and omnipresent. Eventually, he became so upset at Prahlad that he decided to kill him. He threw Prahlad down the mountain in a fit of rage but before he fell on the rock, God Vishnu seized him with his tender hands. He tried different means to kill him but every time he failed.

Hiranyakashipu had a sister named Holika, who was gifted with a magical power that could prevent any type of fire from burning her. One day it occurred to the demon king that he could burn his rebellious son to death with the help of his sister. He asked his sister to sit on a burning pyre with Prahlad. When Holika did that, she was soon reduced to ashes whereas Prahlad came out of the fire safe, chanting the name of Lord Vishnu.

At last, Hiranyakashipu drew his own sword to slay his son. “Prahlad,” he said, “where’s he who you call all-pervading and the controller of all?” “He is in your sword, in the pillar and everywhere around here,” replied Prahlad. The king roared in anger and smashed the pillar. When someone inhuman grows too powerful for any opponent, their end comes from an unexpected direction. The same thing soon happened. Lord Vishnu appeared from the cracks of the pillar in the form of Narsingha after a loud thunder. He took the demon to the threshold where he put him on his thighs and with his sharp nails ripped him up at twilight. Thus He did not go against the words of Brahma.

Narsingha was still distorted with fury. Brahma, Shiva and all the three goddesses emerged there but no one dared to calm Him down. Finally, the prayers of Prahlad brought him to compose His features.

By being excited with their first victory over a long-term tyranny, people strewed flowers and sprayed fragrance on each other, danced, sang devotional songs, and then hugged each other. Later, the anniversaries of the end of Holika and her tyrant brother Hiranyakashipu and the rise of freedom were celebrated as Holi festival by the people who restored faith by being inspired by Prahlad, their young leader.

Holi Toys

 

Read the following short-short story and if it touches you deeply, enjoy more of them in Snippets of Life Music.

When I woke up, I saw my little one standing before me. I knelt down with hands on her tiny tender shoulders. Then I looked into her eyes. They were shining with excitement. “Shopping this afternoon?” I enquired. She started jumping up and down. “Pa, get me Holi toys, new suits, won’t you?” she insisted on. “OK, we’ll!” I smiled. Right then my eyes really opened and the horrid morning with worries of going to work even on a Holi holiday.

Experience is the Best Teacher

Read the following short-short story and if it makes a good impression on you, enjoy more of them in Snippets of Life Music. 

“Tatu, Tatu!” I cried. “Mind, you don’t walk there! You’ll get stuck in the mud.” She did not listen to me and stepped in the mud. Since the ground was very slippery, she fell down. She tried to stand up but as she attempted to get to her feet, she fell over again. I stood laughing without extending my hand to help her. Finally, when she succeeded getting away from the mud, she was plastered from head to foot with it. She walked bawling. After taking a few steps on the dry ground, she halted crying louder because there was a patch of wet ground as the ground had been sprayed with water.

The India Toy Fair 2021

The Modi government focuses on small and medium entrepreneurs. He inaugurated The India Toy Fair 2021 on 27 February 2021 in an effort to encourage toy manufacturers and to attract new talents to join this industry. He is keen to make India self-reliant which is the need of day and in the best interests of the countrymen. All other countries are battling for supremacy in the world economic markets, so our survival is not possible if we keep on going conventionally. The opposition is making false, misleading and deceptive statements about PM Modi’s reform policies in order to achieve power and they are least concerned about the public good. Read the Rise of NaMo and New India and realize who really cares for you and who wants to cheat you out of your means of livelihood.

राम के देश में राम मंदिर बनने में 500 वर्ष क्यों लगे यह हमारे आत्मचिंतन का विषय हैं । महाराणा प्रताप के बजाय हममें से बहुत लोगों ने उनके दुश्मन का साथ दिया । जब पृथ्वीराज चौहान को बंदी बना कर ले जाया जा रहा था तब हमारी भीड़ तमासा देख रही थी । शिवा जी को हमने ही धोखा दिया था । हमारी स्वार्थपरता हमारे स्वाभिमान पर सदैव प्रभावी रही है । मोदी और योगी राज में हमें निर्भय व् स्वाभिमान से जीने का अवसर प्राप्त हुआ है । हममें से कुछ लोगों को उनसे अत्यंत घृणा है । दुनिया में सबसे असुरक्षित व्यक्ति स्वार्थी होता है क्योंकि उसकी सहायता कोई नहीं करना चाहता । इसके विपरीत जो अपने धर्म में आस्था रखते हैं उनके मददगार करोड़ो होते हैं, धर्मो रक्षति रक्षितः । एक समाज विशेष का लेखक अपने पूर्वजों का इतिहास लिखता है वह पुस्तक रातों रात लाखों में विक जाती है क्योंकि उस समाज के लोगों में अपने पूर्वज के प्रति श्रद्धा है । मैं प्रधान मंत्री मोदी जी पर एक किताब लिखता हूँ और कहता हूँ कि यह किताब यह सिद्ध करती है कि उन्होंने आपके ही देश में आपको वास्तविक नागरिकता दी है तो यह उतनी नहीं पढ़ी जाती क्योंकि हमें अपनों की निंदा अच्छी लगती है । भाइयो, ‘द राइज आफ नमो एण्ड न्यू इंडिया’ आपके आध्यात्मिक गुरु स्वामी परमानन्द जी महाराज की वंदना करती हुयी आपके प्रधान मंत्री मोदी जी के राजनीतिक जीवन, उनकी नीतियों व् उपलब्धियों पर आधारित एक विशेष पुस्तक है । इसमें मुख्य मंत्री योगी जी की जन कल्याणकारी योजनाओं का भी जिक्र है, राम मंदिर निर्माण हेतु तपस्वी छावनी के परमहंसाचार्य के आत्मदाह और फिर जेल यात्रा जैसी बहुत सी घटनाओं को उल्लेखित करती है, कुछ महापुरुषों जैसे सरदार वल्लभ भाई पटेल, बाबा साहेब अम्बेडकर, अटल बिहारी बाजपाई एवं एपीजे अब्दुल कलाम को याद करती है, सरसंघ चालाक मोहन भागवत का सन्देश देती है । पुस्तक आपकी बात करती, आपकी संपत्ति है - इसे पढ़ो, यह आपका भ्रम दूर कर देगी ।

The Modi and the Yogi Governments

 

Why was India ruled by foreign invaders for hundreds of years? Why did the people of India forget to live with self-esteem? Why did it take 500 years to build Ram temple in Ram’s own country? These questions are a matter of introspection to us. Just think a good many people of us preferred to support Maharana Pratap’s arch-enemy. A huge crowd of Indians stood watching like spectators when Prithviraj Chauhan was led away in handcuffs. Most of us were against Shivaji and a few of them betrayed him. Their selfishness overpowered their self-esteem. The Modi and the Yogi governments have created a socially secure atmosphere for us to live in and have done to build our self-esteem. A group of educated people is restive about them; faction and self-interest are their norms. A selfish person is the most insecure creature on the earth because they are always alone, as they cannot think to help anybody and nobody, in turn, likes to help them. On the contrary those who are true to their religion have millions of brothers to support them. We often sideline our religion out of selfish interest. An author announces that he has written a book that depicts the real history of his forefathers. His book sells thousands of copies within weeks because they love their brothers, sisters and fathers. I am also a writer. I have written The Rise of NaMo and New India that aims to help you gain a sense of your own worth in your own country. This book is read but not by that many people because we love to condemn our brothers and fathers. Brothers, The Rise of NaMo and New India talks of your interests; it is yours, it is your property – read it!

E-rickshaw

Here you read one of my short-short stories and see if it compels you to muse:

An e-rickshaw stopped near the centre of the street, leaving a little space for others to go past. A man with a black beard pulled his motorbike off the street and got annoyed with the rickshaw driver but as he looked at him, he calmed down because the driver too had the same type of beard. He somehow managed to ride past on his motorcycle. In the mean time, another man with a tilak on his forehead came in the opposite direction. Since he had to pull over his motorcycle, he got terribly angry with the driver. But as soon as he saw an old man with similar tilak getting into the rickshaw, he too cooled down and managed to ride by.    

महाशिवरात्री

 

दुनिया में काल कभी रुकता नहीं है,

भोले को काल छू सकता नहीं है ।

दुनिया में अन्त भोले बाबा अनन्त,

कोई ज्ञानी उन्हे जान सकता नहीं है ।



राजा हो चाहे कोई साधू महन्त,

यहाँ सबकी दुकान नहीं कोई है सन्त ।

ये मिथ्या अहं में बौराए हुए हैं,

साथ भोले को छोड़ कोई देता नहीं है ।



भोले भजो रे मन भोले भजो रे,

उनकी कृपा के सहारे ही रहो रे ।

खुशियों के अवसर गवाना नहीं है,

गुज़रा जमाना फिर लौटा नहीं है ।