T H E S C O R P I O N

Children, do not get scared at the title or the image of a Scorpion.

This is a story of two little children Ram and Shyam and a Scoprion that

helped in teaching them some life lessons.

In those days in the past, there were Gurukuls – schools, where children

would live with their teacher – the Guru who would teach them all

subjects from Maths to Science to Languages to Archery and many more.

One Guru and many skills to be learnt by a few students.

Ram and Shyam were two such students, best friends

and very good students learning all the lessons and

eager to apply the learnings in their daily life.

Guru would teach them moral values. One day he said

“ we should be helpful to all whether they are big or

small, human or animals, to all creatures in their time of

need. If you see a person in danger, you should see

how you can be of help and very importantly, it should

be done without expecting any reward or anything in

return.” The guru explained this with some short stories.

The next day, Guru was talking about safety and said

“what ever you do, you should first keep your safety in

mind and then only act. Don’t be foolish to get yourself

in trouble by throwing Safety to the Winds.”

Ram and Shyam listened attentively.

The next day Guru was telling the students about

“Revenge”. He said Revenge is bad sign of reaction

and is to be always avoided. A person acting in

revenge does not think but acts in haste. You may have

to regret later for acting without much thought.

A few days later Ram and Shyam went to the riverside

to gather flowers for Pooja for the Guru. After

gathering the flowers, they were sitting on the riverbank

recollecting the Guru’s teachings about how to lead a

good life. The river was full and flowing swiftly.

As they watched the water flow, they saw something

floating, it was a scorpion which had slipped and was

being carried away by the current.

Shyam noticed the scorpion is in distress and with an

intention to save it, he grabbed it by hand and got

stung hard. He yelled in pain and let go the insect into

the water.

At the same time Ram had looked around for a twig

and found one, to save the scorpion. He lowered the

twig in the river in the scorpion’s path, it managed to

cling to the branch and Ram gently laid it on the banks.

The scorpion thus saved, was moving towards a crack in

the ground for shelter. Here, Shyam who was still in

pain because of the sting, got angry at the insect and

picked up a stone to smash it saying that it was an

ungrateful creature. I tried saving its life and it stung

me!! Let me kill it in revenge.

Ram swiftly prevented Shyam from throwing the stone

and in that moment the scorpion crawled to safety

between the rocks. Ram attended to Shyam’s scorpion

bite and the pain subsided.

The two dear friends sat back to think about the events

that had happened swiftly.

Shyam said all this happened because I tried to follow

Guru’s teachings, I tried to help a creature in need.

Ram said, No Shyam, you did not understand Guru’s

teachings properly. You put your hand instantly into water

to save the insect and if had been any ordinary worm you

would have saved its life, but here, it was a scorpion which

stings by instinct when anyone touches it. Guruji had also

taught us that we should first think of our own safety

before any action. That was the mistake you did. You then

got angry because it bit you and wanted to take revenge

without even thinking for a moment. Had you killed the

scorpion, you would have committed another mistake.

Therefore children,

Think before you act.

Even a good advice could give a bad result if it not

properly understood and well thought of before acting.

GURU BRAMHA GURU VISHNU GURU DEVO

MAHESHWARA, GURU SAAKSHAAT PARABRAMHA TASMAI

SRI GURUVE NAMAHA 

HAPPYMANTATA

Badarayana Sambhandam

  

 Badarayana Sambhanda.

One day I was on my morning walk, trotting with the stick that I had bought on-line recently, I was enjoying a classical music on my mobile phone, when somebody accosted me, patting on my back and said -  “ Hi Brother, Good Morning.” I turned around to find a total stranger. He had a walking stick similar to the one I had, but of different color. With some annoyance I said “Good Morning, but I do not know your ‘Kula’ or Gotra, yet, you addressed me as ‘Brother’. You might be mistaking me for somebody else. He said ‘No. In fact, we have ‘Badarayan Sambhanda’ “ and quoted a Sanskrit Saying

“Asmaakam Badari Chakram,

Yushmakam to Badari taruhu,

Baadarayana Sambhandat

Yuyam yuyam, vayam vayam!”

He continued,

The walking sticks of both of us look alike, I bought mine on-line from Amazon during my U.S.visit. I was curious to know if it is available in India also. That is why I struck conversation with you though we do not know each other.

Seeing my blank face, he explained with a story as below;

Badari is a tree grown in Indian forest. It is also known as Ber, or Jijubi in Hindi and Raaya Boray in Kannada . Ber fruit, is very tasty. During Sankranti festival, toddlers are seated on a plank, Elders in the family pour Ber fruits with ellu or sesame seeds on their heads to ward off evil.          The Ber wood was being used to make wheels of Bullock Cart

Baadarayana is a very ancient sage.(about 500 BC) who wrote Brahma Sutra, a  treatise on Vedas. I cannot say if ‘Badarayana’ has any connection with ‘Badari’ tree, except phonetic resemblance. 

Now, coming to the story connected to the proverb:-

Long ago, a newly married couple was living in a small house on the outskirts of a town. There was a Ber tree in front of the house.

The young couple had quarreled on some silly matter and had not talked to each other for 3 days. Both now they had reached a stage when they wanted to come together, without hurting their ego. The husband had gone to nearby village and was to return that morning. The wife was putting ‘Kolam’ at the main door when she saw a bullock cart stopping at their house. A stranger got down and walked wearily towards her. She could not recollect having known him. She assumed, he must be a relative of her husband’s side. As a dutiful wife, in the absence of her husband, she felt it her duty to welcome the stranger who might be a relative of her husband, and attend to the needs of the guest. ‘Atithi devo bhava- Treat a guest as god’ This would please her husband also.  She told the stranger that her husband would   return shortly, offered water to freshen up, and gave coffee, and told he may take rest, till lunch  with her husband. There was no much conversation other than ‘Thank You, Enough please’… She thought he may be too shy to engage in conversation with a lady when her husband was not there. She thought, she would come to know who he was when her husband arrives. She got busy with her cooking.

It was noon by the time the husband returned. When he saw the ‘guest’ whom he could not recognize, he assumed he may be a relative of his wife. There was so much of a crowd during marriage, and he might have missed to recognize him. But since both were tired and hungry, he thought he would inquire about it with the stranger after food.

The wife announced, “Lunch served”. The stranger went out, fed the bullocks with some hay and water and came in to sit with the husband for lunch   

The wife who had quarreled with her husband, was now eager to patch up. She had prepared a delicious and grand feast to please him. An elaborate and nice Lunch was served. Both had their meals in silence

The husband was all smiles. He broke his silence, thanked the wife, and said, Because of your relative, I got such a nice lunch. This surprised the wife. She said “As he was not known to me, I assumed he was from your side. I did not inquire how he was related to you. You better inquire from him how he was related to us”.

The ‘Man-of-the house’ and the Guest moved to the lounge to enjoy the ‘pan’. It was then that he broached the subject of the identity of the guest and his relation to them. Apologetically he asked the guest, “Sir, excuse me. How-ever much I tried, I have not been able to place you and figure out about our relation.” It was then that the ‘guest’ replied in a Sanskrit, poem:

“Asmaakam Badari Chakram,

Yushmakam to Badari taruhu,

Baadarayana Sambhanda

  Yuyam yuyam, vayam vayam!”

He explained; I am a traveler. I had travelled all night and was very much tired. I needed rest and food. You people looked kind and obliging. So, I did this ruse. I am grateful to you both for your hospitality. God Bless You.

The couplet means:

 “The wheel of my cart is made of Ber wood, there is a Ber tree in front of your house.  So I can claim a relationship with you, may be, we both can trace our origin to that great Sage Badarayana of yore ,and claim to be cousins .However,  You are Yourself and I am Myself.!!.  Now, I thank you and leave, I have a long journey ahead.”

The couple smiled and waved their ‘Distant Relative’. They went in smiling, ’Thanks to the new Relative, we could forget our silly quarrel and in addition, we did a good act of feeding an Uninvited Guest.

*******

Drawing Teacher
It was in 1938. I was 9 years when I left the village and my parents and moved to
Mysore to stay with my Grand-Parents, to pursue my studies. I was proud to join
Marimallappa’s Middle School, an imposing stone building with a large compound
with trees and a play-ground.
My Grandfather took me to the head-master, seeking my admission to class- 1
equivalent to present-day 5th standard. Though admissions for the year had
closed, my grandpa persuaded the Headmaster, and I was taken in as a special
case. Grandpa then took me to the class-room and introduced me to the classteacher. He was telling in Kannada “This boy, ‘Seenu’ is new to the city life but he
is good at studies. He is  ’sadhu’ ( meaning, a docile boy.) … I was a bit
embarrassed to see a few boys giggling at that expression! The teacher asked me
to sit in the first row so that he may help me to catch up with ‘portions ‘. That
evening, when we were rushing out of the class, Jaggu, the bully of the class in the
last row, came to me and tapping on my back, announced to the class
,mockingly,” This Seena is sadhu, I have 5 cows at home , all sadhu like him !’,
and all the boys laughed. My complexion did not reveal how much I blushed!
Soon I got used to the teasing, and gained friendship of a few intelligent boys. The
teachers were good and considerate. I was enjoying the classes. But at the back of
my mind, my being considered ‘meek’ was bothering me.
We had regular teachers for main subjects like English Kannada History.
But, our PT instructor and Drawing teacher were not of ‘Teachers’ cadre. They
could not speak or write English, and as such, were looked down by regular
teachers. The boys also were less respectful to them.
Our Drawing teacher was a tall man , always in his dhoti and coat and ,be it sun
or rain , always with his umbrella folded and carried on his shoulder like a gun
carried by a soldier .He was allergic to civilities like ‘Good Morning ,sir’
‘Namaskaara sar ’,perhaps due to inferiority complex. His response would be, to
chase the boy away with “Do you make fun of me? I will teach you a lesson” The
boys would run away giggling!
It was a Friday afternoon. I was playing in the grounds with my friend. Soon we
saw our Drawing Teacher passing by. On the spur of moment, I went to him and
said” Namaskaara ,Saar’. He moved on ignoring it. This time,   I shouted a bit
loudly in a sing-song way, ‘Good- morning- Sir’, He turned round, casually asked
my name and class. I told. Then his mood changed He moved towards me with his
umbrella lifted, snarling ‘you make fun of me? I will take care of you!’... I ran
away, feeling proud of myself, for my boldness.
Next day was a Saturday, a half day for school. Before my leaving for school, my
Grandpa told me ‘ ‘Sheenu, you have class only up to 1 PM. Today is my father’s
annual ceremony. We are to go to my brother’s house for meals by 1.PM. so I
give a letter to your headmaster, requesting him to permit you to skip the last
period. You come early so that we may go to my brother’s house in time. Do not
come late or waste time, but be early. We are fasting and so, I do not like to keep
others waiting and hungry for our sake.’
‘Annual ceremony’ or Tithi as colloquially called, is a day of remembrance of a
departed person. All near and dear ones assemble, elders perform some rituals. It
is followed by a sumptuous meal with a number of sweets. We Youngsters look
forward to that mouth-watering meal, called ‘Tithi Oota’
I was happy that the last period from 12 noon to 1 PM was the dreaded Drawing
Class and I would be permitted to skip! I was looking forward to a grand ‘ Tithi
oota’.with sweets!
The classes from 9 to 12 noon were uneventful. As the bell rang, I rushed to
Headmaster’s chamber with my grandfather’s ‘leave-letter’. I had to wait for
some time for the Head-master, to return from a class. He read the note, wrote
“permitted’ and signed and gave it to me telling ‘Show it to your teacher and then
go’.
Ten minutes had passed, drawing teacher was already in the class. He was
drawing some sketch on the black- board using his yard-stick. I went to him with
the ‘leave-letter’. He turned round and when he saw it was I, in all civility he said,
‘O, it was you who wished me Good Morning, yesterday! I am greeting you today,
a very good morning’! And the yard-stick landed on me. I yelled in pain. He said
‘Go back to your seat and stand up on the bench till the class is over’. I put forth
the leave letter and said, ‘Sir, HM has permitted me to go home’ He retorted ‘,I
tell you, go and standup. Where had your senses gone when you pulled my leg?’
I had to keep standing in the hot sun till the bell rang. At last, I left the school,
and wearily dragged my feet to reach home. I was hungry, thirsty and tired and
could hardly stand. I was shocked to find  the house locked and a note stuck
telling that key was with our neighbor and I should manage with some bread in
the cupboard, and they would be back by3 PM with a tiffin carrier for me.
You can  imagine my plight, being denied of Tithi oota, and the scolding I would
be having from grandpa on hearing all the happenings. He categorically said I
would be packed off to my parents if anything like this occurred again.
Net result of all this was, the bully became a little bit considerate, and I did not
hear any boy calling me Saadhu  !!
Figure 1Marimallappa's school Mysore-1890

NOBODY CAN ESCAPE AFFLICTIONS FROM SHANI.

Thirukkachi Nambi is a famous Vaishnava saint of Tamilnadu, who lived about a thousand years ago. He devoted his life to the service of God, Lord  Varadaraaja perumaal of Kanchi. It is said he would converse with God  during his Service. Even he was not spared by Shani Kaatam or affliction by  planet Saturn

First let us learn a little about Shani kaatam. Our Hindu Astrology believes that the position of the 9 planets in Solar System, at the time of birth of a person, and their subsequent movement during the course of his life influence his life, causing happiness or misery, success or failure. The nine planets are: Sun,(Ravi)  Moon (Chandra),Mercury,(Shukra) Venus(Budha) Mars,(Kuja) Jupiter (Guru) ,Saturn (Shani) and 2 imaginary planets, Raahu and Ketu. The position of each planet with reference to Earth at the time birth of a person is marked in a chart called Janma Kundali or Horoscope having ‘12 Houses ‘The position of Moon in the chart is reckoned as House No. 1
Movement of the planets from house to house roughly correspond to 1/12 the orbital period of the planet ,i.e a planet moves through all 12 houses in one orbital period. For any particular age of the person , the position of the various planets in the kundali is decided by computing the movement of the planets in the houses of kundali .Astonishingly it is observed that the sages who developed the system knew about the orbital period of all the planets.
Orbital period of Saturn or Shani is roughly 30 years so he takes 2 ½ years to transit one house. It is believed that, in a person’s life, the period  Shani takes to transit the 3 houses, the house of Moon and those on either side ,is the crucial period for the person when unexpected hardships may come. So this period of    7 ½ years is dreaded as Shani Dasha or Shani kaata (Kaata in Kannada means, pestering). It is believed that Shani deva, is permitted by God Almighty to pester anybody when the period comes in that person’s life
Now, coming back to the story, Tirukkachi Nambi was a very pious person devoting his time in the service of Varadaraaja  Perumaal at Kanchi. The period of Shani kaat came in his life also! Shani was hesitant to directly attack such a devote of Perumaal as Nambi. So , Shanideva went to Varadaraaja and asked “Lord, The wheel of Time (Kaala Chakra) has turned, and it is time for me to pester Nambi .As ordained by You, nobody can    go against Kaala.  So I have come to take your permission” The Lord said,” what you said is generally true. But in Nambi’s case, I cannot forego his services So ,you better go and ask Nambi when it is convenient.”
Shani deva went to Nambi and said, Sir I know you are a great person and are devoted in Perumaal’s service. Yet, you cannot escape me. I have taken permission of the Lord and he asked me to approach you to get the time suitable for you. You cannot be totally exempted.”
  As a true Vaishnava, Nambi had surrendered himself to God, this is called ‘sharanaagathi. He thought for a while and said, “Alright; God’s will. Tonight after my offering Paryankaasana to the Lord and putting Him to sleep, I go home. Then you may have your possession of me”
Hardly had Nambi reached home, he saw  the Police chief and temple authorities. The Police Chief said “Respected Sir, We have come to arrest you on a charge of stealing Temple Property. A golden vessel in the Lord’s Sannidhi is missing, and you were the last to leave the Sanctum. So we have no alternative but to arrest you now and present you before the King in the morning.” Nambi had to spend the night in the Lock-up with other criminals!
Next day morning ,he was to be taken to the king. At that time , a Temple Employee came running with the Gold vessel telling, “Sir we found this vessel under a heap of dresses of Lord Varadaraaja, when the attendant opened the temple doors and took the clothes for cleaning”
 The Police Chief apologized to Nambi.” Now that the vessel is found, there is no need to go to the King. You are freed.
Nambi looked back. He had been in the lockup for seven and a half hours    So, this was Shani’s pestering. Normally it would have been for 7 ½ years, instead, it had been over in 7 ½ hours only! That was God’s will!
  Nambi smiled, “ Shani had his pestering and Lord did not miss my services”! He hurried to bathe and go to temple as usual!

Though you cannot avoid Shani Kaatam,if you are in good looks of God, He can mitigate it. You surrender to Him and do what pleases Him. 

      

Reminisences-4       A   CIVILITY  EVOKES  PUNISHMENT  !

It was in 1938,I had left the village and my parents and moved to Mysore to stay with my Grand-Parents ,to pursue my studies . I was proud to join Marimallappa’s Middle School, an imposing stone building with a large compound with trees and a play-ground.It was started in 1890 

    It was middle of term ., My Grandfather took me to the head-master,  seeking my admission to class- 1 Kannada medium, equivalent to present-day 5th standard. Though admissions had closed, my grandpa persuaded the Headmaster, and I was admitted. Grandpa then took me to the class-room and introduced me  to the class-teacher. He was telling in kannada “This ‘Seena’ is new to the city life but he is good at studies .He is a ’saadhu’ boy.( meaning, a docile boy.) …  I was a bit embarrassed to see a few boys smiling at that expression! The teacher asked me to sit in the first row so that he may help me to catch up with ‘portions ‘. That evening, when we were rushing out of the class, Jaggu, the bully of the class in the last row, came to me and tapping on my back, told loudly,’Seena is  sadhu,  I have 5 cows at home , all sadhu like him ‘ and all the boys laughed. My complexion did not show how much I blushed!

Soon I got used to the teasing, and gained friendship of a few intelligent boys. The teachers were good and considerate. I was enjoying the classes. But at the back of my mind, my being considered ‘meek’ bothered me.

We had regular teachers for main subjects like English Kannada History Geography Maths.

But, our PT instructor and Drawing teacher were not of ‘Teachers’ cadre. They  could not speak or write English,and as such, were looked down by regular teachers. The boys also were less respectful to them.

Our Drawing teacher was a tall man , always in his  dhoti and  coat and ,be it sun or rain , always with his umbrella folded and carried on his shoulder like a gun carried by a soldier .He was allergic to civilities like  ‘Good Morning ,sir’ ‘Namaskaara sar’. His response to it was to chase the boy with“Do you make fun of me? I will teach you a lesson’ The boys would run away laughing,

      It was a Friday afternoon. I was playing in the grounds with my friend. Soon we saw our Drawing Teacher passing by. On the spur of moment, I went to him and said”Namaskaara ,Saar’. He moved on ignoring it. This time, I  shouted a bit loudly. ‘Good morning Sir’,  He turned round, casually asked my name and class. I told. Then, suddenly, his mood changed He moved towards me with his umbrella lifted, snarling ‘you make fun of me?, I will take care of you!... I ran away, feeling proud of myself, for my boldness.

Next day was a Saturday,a half day for school. Before my leaving for school, my Grandpa told me ‘ ‘Sheenu, you have class only upto 1 PM. Today is my father’s annual ceremony.  We are to go to my brother’s house for meals by 1.PM. so I give a letter to your headmaster , requesting him to permit you to skip the last period.You come early so that we may go to my brother’s house in time. Do not come late or waste time, but be early.we are fasting and so,I do not like keeping others waiting and hungry for our sake.’

 I was happy that the last period from 12 noon to 1 PM was the dreaded Drawing Class and I would be permitted to skip! I was looking forward to a grand ‘ Tithi  oota’.with sweets!

The classes from 9 to 12 noon were uneventful. As the bell rang, I rushed to Headmaster’s chamber with my grandfather’s ‘leave-letter’.I had to wait for some time for him to return from a class. He read the note, wrote “permitted’ and signed and gave it to me telling ‘Show it to your teacher and then go’.

Ten minutes had passed ,Drawing teacher was already in the class, he was drawing some sketch on the black- board using his yard-stick.. I went to him with the ‘leave-letter’. He turned round and when he saw it was I, in all civility he said, ‘O, it was you who wished me Good Morning?! I am greeting you today, a very good morning’! And the yard-stick landed on me.  I yelled in pain .He said ‘Go back to your seat and stand up on the bench till the class is over. I put forth the leave letter and said,’Sir, HM has permitted me to go home’ He retorted ‘,I tell you go and standup. Where had your sense gone when you pulled my leg?’

I had to keep standing in the hot sun  till the bell rang.  At last, I left school, I wearily dragged my feet to reach home.I was hungry, thirsty and tired  and could hardly stand. I found the house locked and a note stuck telling that key was with our neighbor and I should manage with some bread in the cupboard, and they would be back by3 PM with a tiffin carrier for me.

 I leave it to you to imagine my plight.and the scolding I had from grandpa on hearing all the happenings. He categorically said I would be packed off to my parents if anything like this occurred again.

Net result of all this was, the bully was a little bit considerate, and I did not hear myself being called Saadhu by anybody  !!

Sub. Story writing competition

Dear Children, Here is Happymantata greeting you for Merry Xmas and Happy New Year 2016.

He desires to stimulate the skill of Story Telling in YOU, and thinks of holding a Story Writing Competition, during coming holidays .The theme of the story is given below. You may give your own title for the story and illustrate with pictures if you wish. As far as I know, there is no story relating to this in any Scriptures/Puranas. So you can use your imagination and even give a modern-day solution!

You may take help of any body, friends, elders. The story could be in less than1000 words. Send it to me by e-mail to reach before Jan.31^st 2016. A panel of 3 will scrutinize and evaluate. Give your name ,Age, Class of study, City, You may send more than one entry, Your friend could also participate.  Those selected as best three could be put on Happymantata Blogspot with their name and age.They may also be mailed to those on my mailing list

 Any suggestion of yours is welcome

   Background:  You are familiar with the story of birth of Ganesha,It is briefly as below.

Stop

      Shiva and Parvati are Gods residing on Himalayas.They have not yet had any children. One day Parvati wants to go for bath and wants privacy. She takes out the turmeric powder she has applied to her body and out of that, prepare a doll and breaths life to it. This is Parvati’s cute son.She commands to him to guard the entrance and see that nobody should be allowed in till she comes out of the bath.After a while, Shiva walks in and tries to enter. The boy stops Shiva and does not allow Shiva to go into his own house! Shiva, in a fit of anger at this impudence, severs the boy’s head with his trident (thrishoola).The boy’s head flies off and is lost in the forest.

 Parvati comes out to find her dear son beheaded by Shiva and is very much grieved. She wants her son to be revived. Shiva realizes his mistake and wants to pacify Parvati.His servants cannot find the severed head. They find a baby- elephant, cut its head and bring it, which is fixed on to the boy’s body. And Shiva revives it. Thus Ganesha or Gajaanana , a boy with elephant head, comes to being and all are happy .

Now you build a story of what happened to the severed head of the boy created by Parvati. It is too precious to be left to waste. And so is the baby-elephant with out a head!

 A possible lead -

Now, the mother of the baby elephant who has lost its head, is grieved .That elephant is a devotee of Lord Vishnu , whom she approaches. Vishnu uses his Sudarshana Chakra to locate the severed head of the boy created by Parvati.This could be fixed on to the body of baby-elephant to revive it. But, the problem is, with all the intelligence in the celestial head, how could it feed and sustain the elephant body,without the elephant-trunk? Like Narasimha, Hayagreeva  This  Human with elephant body could be called by Gajamaanava or similar name.

Also, include a situation where Gajamanava meets his cousin Gajanana!!

Now Start Thinking and weaving a nice interesting Story!!   GOOD LUCK.

    MERRY XMAS  -  HAPPY NEW YEAR    GOD BLESS YOU

                                                                                                           HAPPYMANTATA