DR. Einstein and his smart Driver    

Albert Einstein, the famous Scientist, used to visit Universities to deliver lectures on his new found ‘Theory of relativity’. Once he was traveling in his car, to deliver a lecture at a university. His car driver who used to accompany him during such lectures, remarked,”Dr. Einstein, I have heard your lecture on this subject so many times that I know it by memory and can deliver it myself ! 

“ Well, I’ll give you a chance “said Einstein, “In this university we are going to, I do not have any acquaintance. So, you can introduce yourself as Einstein and give the lecture.   I will put on your cap and sit in the back row.”  

The driver got out of the car , was greeted and led to the  lecture hall, and delivered the lecture without a fault. There was a loud applause and the fake Dr. was beaming, and walking back. At that moment , a professor walked up to him with a paper and requested , “Doctor, please help me solve this complex problem.” Our ‘Dr.Einstein’ was un-nerved for a moment, but soon, composed himself and said, “Oh, this? It is so simple. Do not bother me. I will call my driver with the cap, sitting in the back row.He will  give you the answer.! “

 

_{Source:BRG. Authenticity not known.}

                Ravana propagates Rama Naama in all of Srilanka!

Here is a plausible incident in Ramayana heard from my cousin BRG.

Ravana, the demon king of Lanka, considers Sri Rama as his enemy because he had destroyed the Rakshasas in Janasthanam on the mainland India and disfigured his sister, Shurpanakhi. He plans to take revenge by abducting Seetha.

Ravana has abducted Seetha and brought her to Sri Lanka. There, he keeps her as a prisoner in Ashoka Vanam, and engages 200 Rakshasis (female demons) as guards. He appoints Trijata, daughter of his brother, Vibhishana, as the Chief of Guards. 

Vibhishana, youngest brother of Ravana, though a Rakshasa, is a pious person. He has reverence to Sri Rama being an avatar (incarnation) of Vishnu. Yet, he loves his brother, Ravana, and wishes him well. Ravana also loves his brother though he is not like other Rakshasas.

Ravana gets an intelligence report that Vibhishana is worshiping Rama daily. He is peeved that his brother is worshiping his enemy. He decides to verify it personally, and walks into Vibhishana’s house, and enters his pooja room. Vibhishana is not at home and Trijata, comes to meet him.

 Ravana finds “RA   MA” written in big letters on the wall and evidence of pooja done. He is furious and demands how his brother is worshiping his enemy!

Trijata replies, Dear Uncle, my father loves and respects you and Aunty.  Every day he worships you both, but, instead of writing “Ravana and Mandodari” he has written the short form- first letters of both names: Ra  Ma..

  

Ravana is immensely pleased. He orders that all houses in Lanka should have RA MA painted and worshiped!

That is why Lanka city was saved from being destroyed in the war-‘Rama Nama Mahimay.’!

KAALIDAASA  AND OTHER STORIES

An anecdote on Kaalidaasa.

Kaalidaasa was a famous poet in King Bhoja’s court. Since he was appreciated and liked by the king, other courtiers were jealous and waited to find an opportunity to pull him down in the eyes of the king.

 One day they see Kaalidaasa coming out of a fish-monger’s shop with something   tucked in his arm! They rush to the king to report that Kalidaasa, whom the king believed to be a pious man, is seen coming out of the fish-market carrying a fish! King summons Kalidaasa to court immediately .Kaalidaasa comes to the court directly, carrying a small bundle under his arm, covered in the shawl he is wearing.  A conversation ensues in Sanskrit, the court language.

King:                Kim kakshay?                             What have you under your arm pit?

Kaalidaasa:     Mama pustakam.                         My book.

King:                Kim udakam?                             What about the water (that is dripping)

Kaalidaasa:     Kaavya-artha saara udakam.      It is the juice of essence of the Epic!

King:                Gandhah kim.?                             What is that nasty smell?

Kaalidaasa:     Raghuraama Raavana              The stink is caused (by the dead-bodies) in  

          mahaa  sangraama rangodbhavam       the great war between King Rama and

                                                                         the demon Raavana

                                                                                                                                                  

King:                Kim puchcham?       .                         What is it protruding like a fin?

Kaalidaasa:     Nava taala patra likhitam.          It is a new addition written on a papyrus leaf.

The King is still not convinced that it is anything other than a fish, and wonders how Kaalidasa is bluffing him so blatantly!

King:                Kim pustakam hay Kavay?                   Which is that book? O poet?

Kaalidaasa:     Raajan, Bhoomisurotamaadrusham     O King, it is the world-famous

                         Idam Raamayanam Pushtakam         Epic RAMAYANA                                                                                                                                                                                            .                                                            

So saying, Kaalidaasa opens out his arm and Lo! The Epic Raamaayana (or Raghuvamsha which was being written by him) falls to the ground!!!

You can imagine the faces of those jealous courtiers who had carried tales to the king about Kalidasa, thinking they had caught Kaalidasa red-handed.!The king admonished them instead!

Incidentally you may also notice that the conversation in Sanskrit, forms a nice poem, with a chandas.

In fact, Kaalidaasa had gone to the fishmonger’s shop to inquire regarding the type of big fish that he could describe in SHAAKUNTALAA drama he was writing wherein a big fish swallows the ring that King Dushyanta had given to Shakuntala.  The stink was carried from the fish market. And all the while he had his Raghu vamsha manuscript tucked in his shoulder under the shawl!

(2)        It is said that when Kalidasa started his poetic career some scholars did not appreciate his style as it was different from that of his predecessors. Then he writes;

Puraanam iti eva  na saadhu  sarvam,

Na chaapi kaavyam navam iti avadhyam!

“All that is old is not necessarily good

And a poetic work need not be condemned only because it is new or modern.”

Even in the present day world, we see a number of occasions where this holds good!

(3)        I remember a stanza from his Raghuvamsha wherein he describes Raghu going on his conquest, defeating other kings

Prataapo-agray tataha shabdaha paraagaha tad-anantaram!

Yayau paschaat rathaad-it chatuskandeti saa chamooh!

Usually Army would consist of four elements: Ratha chariot Hasti Elephant Turaga Cavalry Padaati soldiers. But in the case of this king, when he went to conquer, the four wings of his army were: First  Prataapa or the king’s fame, Then came  shabdaha   the  rumbling sound of the army ,Then comes Paraaga Dust raised by the army movement.

Much before the army of Raghu reached the enemy, his heart would have shaken by the fame of Raghu -the conquerer, then he would hear the rumbling sound of army’s movement, then he sees the dust raised by the approaching army, . Each one of these would have shaken the enemy’s morale. So, when the fourth element; the real army consisting of chariots cavalry etc .appeared on the scene, they would have very little work to do.!

{This brings to my mind a saying attributed to Hitler- Hitler flew to Austrian capital to demand surrender of Austria. He told the king that his army-four columns were on the move to attack and his Fifth column (spies) had already infiltrated in Austria and turned the locals to support Hitler. Austrian king had no choice other than to surrender!}

At another place Kalidasa writes; When the King’s army went to Vanga Desha (Bengal) to conquer, they adopted the trait of the Rice crop they were familiar with viz. yield when the flood comes, and once it passed, to stand erect again, similarly they also yielded to the army when it came (because they were not strong enough to stand up and oppose,) and once the conqueror’s army moved out,, again stood up defiant.

(4)  Sharad-dhanam no-rdaty chaatakopy: This line occurs in Raghu-vamsha of Kaalidaasa, the great poet. The context is as below:

In  olden days, students lived in Gurukulas and studied under the teacher or Guru. After completing his studies the student would give Guru-Dakshina to the Guru before bidding him good-bye. In one such incident….

After finishing his studies under a Guru a diligent but poor student insists his teacher should indicate the Guru-dakshina he would like to have .Guru says he is satisfied and pleased with the service the student had rendered during his stay in gurukula and looking to his diligence in studies,he does not expect any separate Guru Dakshina from him, The student still insists. The Guru gets annoyed and says: IF you are so keen on giving, give me a million gold coins’! The student has to keep up his word, so,he comes to Raghu, King of Ayodhya for help. The king has concluded a Yagnya. The king’s treasury is empty as he has given away all his riches in alms (‘Daana) to poor and needy and the king is himself so poor that he is using clay utensils instead of gold utensils! Observing this ,the student says;

“How can I expect help from you in this condition, Even a Chaataka bird does not expect a drop of rain from a spring cloud (which does not contain moisture) to quench its thirst (It is believed that the bird chaataka, does not drink water from pool or pond but wait with open mouth till a drop of rain falls into its mouth to quench its thirst)

The story goes on..   The king Raghu calls his treasurer who reports that the treasury is empty. The king can not send back the youth who has come seeking his help for a good cause. He shoots an arrow with a message to Kubera the Lord of Wealth in heaven, to send him a million gold coins immediately or face consequence of a war! There is a downpour of gold coins, filling the Royal Treasury.! The king fulfills his promise and sends the young student with a million gold coins to pay the Guru Dakshina.

Riches are there, not for one’s personal comfort, but to provide for the needy.

Strive to keep up your word –There will be a way out.

Another anecdote on Kalidasa

Bhoja raja  of Ujjain was a lover of Arts and himself a poet. He was known for welcoming and honoring poets who came to him. There were a number of poets in his patronage, Kalidasa being the most honored and loved of them.

     Agyata Sharma was a poor but learned person. He thought of seeking honors from the king. He set out to Ujjain for trying his luck. On the  way,he was sitting below a Jambu tree on the bank of a lake,and thinking how to please the king and win a favor. There was a shower of Jambu fruits around him. He looked up and found a number of monkeys jumping from branch to branch. An idea flashed to him. He was very glad that he could impress the king with it.

 Next day ,he went to the king’s court and announced that he was Agyata Sharma, a famous poet and he wanted to show his skill. He said he would give the concluding line of a Sanskrit poem and challenged if any of the poets in his court could construct the full poem. The concluding line was-

                    Gulu gug gulu gug guhuhu.

King Bhoja looked up to the poets of his court. But none came up with an answer.The king was crestfallen He looked around for his favorite poet Kalidasa, but he had not yet come.  Agyata sharma was beaming with pride and hoping for a big reward.

At that moment, Kalidasa came in . The king told him of the challenge . Kalidasa smiled and said: ‘Here is the full poem:

Jamboo phalaani pakwaani

Patanti vimalay jalay

 Kapi kampita shaakhyebhyo

Gulu gug gulu gug guhuhu..

When the king heard this ,he was very pleased that the honor of his court was saved by the clever poet Kalidasa

Kalidasa explained: While coming to Ujjain,this Agyata sharma must have passed by the lake.There is a Jamboo tree on its bank and the branches of the tree are hanging over the lake.He must have seen the monkeys shaking the branches and when the ripe jamboo fruits fall into the lake, they plop into the water of the lake making the sound Gulu gug gulu gug guhuhu.

 Agyata sharma's chalange had failed. Yet,the generous King  honored Agyata Sharma with a pouch of gold coins, Sharma was happy to receive the gift even after defeat.

  Eat Jilebi from Chana!

 In olden days, boys had their learning in ‘Gurukulas’. They stayed in the house of the Guru or Teacher and had their education. They also learnt how to live a good life.

 One day, after their lunch, the guru gave a packet of chana(huri-kadalay,in Kannada or fried Bengal-gram in English) to each boy and told,”Eat Jilebi from this”.As you know, Jilebi is a delicious sweets . So the boys were excited. But how to make Jilebi out of chana?. Some boys rushed to “Mother”, the lady of the house, with the chana packet and asked her to make jilebi out of it. She said, making Jilebi is a lengthy process and, she does not know how to make jilebi from chana. The boys sadly returned to their rooms and started eating the chana as it was; there was nothing special like Jilebi.

In the evening , the boys were playing games. The guru called the boys and asked if they had eaten

 Jilebi ? Only one boy came forward and said “Sir, here is the packet of chana. After the games, I will feel hungry. Then I will eat it and then,chana will taste as sweet as Jilebi!

You will enjoy a thing most, when you are in real need of it.

MADHYAMA-THE MIDDLE-ONE! STORY OF SUNASHEPA AND BHEEMA

Present-day couple generally limits their off springs to one or two, so that they could provide them, good education and comfort in life. But in olden days this awareness had not come. It was common to have a family of 3 to 4 children. Whenever there were three sons, generally the eldest was liked by the father as he was considered essential for the salvation of the parents; (by performing funeral rights to parents on their demise so that they could attain salvation) The youngest was generally the darling of the mother! But neither father nor mother stood by for the Middle-one and he had to fend for himself!

Let us see two stories of such Middle-ones.  “Madhyama” in Sanskrit.

A.  Sunashepa;

A holy man had predicted that a kingdom was going to be struck by volcanic eruption and ‘tsunami’ (tidal waves). The king wanted to save his subjects from this calamity. He was advised to perform a Yaaga to please the God of Fire and God of Sea and thus save the country from the calamity.

When he is half way through the Yaaga, the king finds that the animal meant for sacrifice had been stolen. The priests suggest that the only way to conclude the Yaaga was, that a human being could be substitute for the sacrificial animal, provided he willingly accepts to be sacrificed. As the king cannot leave the yaagashaala in the middle of the Yaaga, the prince goes in search of a substitute.

The prince meets a poor man with his wife and three sons, and asks if he could part with one of his sons; He offers one thousand cows in return. The poor man says he cannot part with the eldest because he likes him much. When he dies, he will not get salvation unless the eldest one performs the funeral rights. The mother says she cannot live without the youngest. Thus it is the middle-one who could be spared. Sunashepa is the name of this middle-one or Madhyama (in Sanskrit). He thinks; I am disowned by both my father and mother. If, by my agreeing to be sacrificed, they could get a thousand cows and live a comfortable life, I feel I have done my duty as a son. Thus, Sunashepa follows the prince and they are heading towards the place of Yaaga. On the way, they stop to take rest near a hermitage. While the prince is fast asleep, Sunashepa does not get sleep. He is worried.

Sunashepa wants to live and learn all the Vedas and become a scholar, if he could. .He wanders into the hermitage .He sees the saint in meditation. Sunashepa goes and falls at the feet of the saint and tells his predicament and his eagerness to learn. The saint is impressed by the boy’s good nature and his eagerness to learn. He calls his hundred sons and asks if any one is ready to replace Sunashepa, but none comes forward. He scolds them for their selfishness and tells Sunashepa “Do not worry, I will teach you two spells (Mantras). You should repeat these correctly, just when you are to be sacrificed on the stake.” Sunashepa learns the mantras and returns to the prince. Prince has just woken up and is glad that Sunashepa has not run away but is ready to proceed on their journey.

Soon they reach the place of yaaga. King is very happy that a willing person is found as substitute for sacrifice. Sunashepa is tied to the stake and a sacrificial fire is blazing. The king is praying that God of Fire and God of Ocean may be pleased with the yaaga and the sacrifice and save his country from the calamity. The final act of offering the sacrifice had commenced. Sunashepa is bold and calm. At that moment he recites the mantra taught by the saint. And Lo! The Gods of Fire and Ocean appear in person! They tell, they are pleased by the mantras of Sunashepa and so he need not be sacrificed on the fire. Further, they are fully satisfied by the Yaaga and they will protect the country from the calamity. King is greatly surprised and happy .He honors Sunashepa for his truthfulness, selfless and bold nature and his keenness to learn.   Sunashepa returns to the ashram and becomes an ideal student. and a great scholar.

 B   Now, story of Bheema, another Madhyama or Middle-one

Kauravas plan to grab the throne by eliminating Kunti and Pandavas by housing them in a Laakshaagriha or ‘wax-house’ and setting fire to it, Luckily, Pandavas escape, but Kauravas believe Kunti and Pandavas have perished.

 Kunthi and her sons are living incognito in a small village in a forest, after escaping from the’wax-house’.Dharmaraja, Bheema and Arjuna are the three sons of Kunti and thus Bheema is also called ‘Madhyama’ or  ‘the middle-one’.

 The forest belongs to a’ demon ‘called Hidambaa.Unlike her brother Hidamba and other demons, she is not evil. She has been doing a penance and has completed a fasting. She is to break her fast and needs food. Being a demon, she likes human flesh. She asks her son, Ghatod-gaja, to get her a breakfast. He wanders in the forest, looking for a nice human. He meets a family of a father, mother and three sons, and demands one of them to be the pray. The father and mother are old and so, do not interest him. He demands one of the boys to be given. As expected, it is the middle-one or Madhyama whom they spare. Whatever be his name, he is called Madhyama.The young demon is taking the boy for his mother’s breakfast.

On the way, it is noon and Madhyama says it is time for him to do Sandhya-vandanam, or prayers to Sun god.Ghatodgaja allow him to go to the lake and come early. Even after a time, there is no sign of Madhyama.So Ghatodgaja goes in search of him shouting “Madhyama Come.” Bheema who hears this call wonders who is calling him. He goes to find out, and soon meets Ghatodgaja.Either does not know who the other is. When Bheema, a very well-built man, comes and says “I am Madhyama”, Ghatodgaja is surprised and pleased to find a hefty man in place of the rickety one he was taking to his mother’s breakfast.

When Bheema learns that he is to go as a food for a demon called Hidambaa, he is amused as he realizes that Ghatodgaja is his own son, because Bheema had married Hidambaa some 15 years back but they had not met each other after their marriage.

He wants to tease his son, Gatodgaja, a little. So he says’ I will come, but you should catch and tie me up and carry me to your mother.’ Though Ghatodgaja is big and strong for his age, being a demon, he is no match to Bheema the strongest. However much Ghatodgaja tries, he can not subdue and tie up Bheema.Gatodgaja gets frustrated and worried that it is getting late and his mother is hungry. After some mock-fight with his own son, Bheema allows himself to be tied and led into the presence of Hidambaa.

Gatodgaja proudly announces to his mother, ’See what I have brought for your breakfast! A nice hefty human to satisfy your hunger!’  Hidambaa comes out to find that her ‘pray’ is none other than her dear husband! She is immensely happy to meet her husband, but shy that her own son had brought him tied up. Ghatodgaja, who is watching his mother, can not understand the hesitation of his mother to go with her breakfast. Instead, Hidambaa scolds her son ‘What a foolish act you have done! First, untie him and fall at his feet. Do you know? , He is your dear father!

All the while Bheema is enjoying the drama and when the perplexed and shy Gatodgaja falls at his feet, gathers him smiling and hugs the dear boy and his mother. It is a happy reunion of the family after a long interval.

This story is based on a play “Madhyama-vyaayoga” written by a famous poet Bhaasa more than 2000 yea