25th AUGUST.

When we lose something, our feeling for the loss is considerable. What would be the severity of the feeling if we lose our first child? It will be heart-wrenching. We lost our first child and we suffered the loss for more than a year. 

We got consolation only when the second child was in the offing. This time, we took the maximum precaution to avoid any eventuality. 

I decided to be with my wife at the time of delivery and to take her to the doctor well in time without leaving her under the care of a midwife. 

On the early morning of 24th Aug 1976, she developed labor pains. We took her to the hospital. As the doctor said the delivery would be only by the next morning we brought her home.  During the night, the contractions were frequent. We took her again to the hospital at 4 AM on the next day. 

25th Aug is a special day for me. In the early hours of 25th Aug 1976, my father and myself were anxiously awaiting near the window of the labor room of a small maternity clinic in Srirangam, Tiruchy, praying to Lord Ranganathar to bless my wife for safe delivery.

We prayed that no untoward incident should take place. My father and myself were looking at our watches for the delivery to take place at an auspicious time. I am unable to express in words the tension, anxiety, and agony, I experienced at that time. 

Finally, the cry of the baby came through the windows of the hospital as if Lord Krishna was blowing his conch Panchajanya. The nurse came out and informed us that it was a baby girl. The star was Magam which is a good one. God is great. 

The delivery was normal. I am now a proud father of a cute little girl. I have to thank her for making me a father because only the child makes the parent. That little girl is now 49 and she has two wonderful sons and she is leading a great life in the US.

Every 25th Aug, all the people wish her happy birthday, but I thank her for making me a father. Long live my dear daughter with good health, success, happiness and prosperity.

FOXES AND WOLVES.

Foxes and wolves, both members of the dog family (Canidae), differ significantly in size, social behavior, and hunting strategies. 

Wolves are much larger and live in packs, hunting large prey, while foxes are smaller, generally solitary, and hunt smaller animals. 

Here's a more detailed comparison: 

Size and Appearance: 

Wolves:
Significantly larger, with males weighing up to 180 lbs and standing up to 2.8 ft at the shoulder. They have a broad snout, less pointed ears, and a more muscular build. 

Foxes:
Considerably smaller, with red foxes weighing up to 31 lbs and standing about 1.3 ft at the shoulder. They have a pointed snout, upright, triangular ears, and a long, bushy tail, often with a white tip. 

Social Behavior: 

Wolves:
Social animals that live and hunt in packs, typically consisting of 6-10 individuals.

Foxes:
Generally solitary, although they may gather in small groups of 2 or 3.

Hunting and Diet:

Wolves:
True carnivores, they hunt large prey like deer, elk, and moose, often in packs.

Foxes:
Primarily hunt smaller prey like rodents, birds, and insects, but also eat fruits and berries.

Other Differences: 

Communication:
Wolves communicate through howls, while foxes use barks, growls, yelps, and whines.

Habitat:
Wolves prefer colder regions and open plains, while foxes are more adaptable and can be found in various habitats, including urban areas.

Random thoughts 3111 to 3125.

3111. Previously the youngsters used to talk with elders. Nowadays it is not so. Who is going to be at a loss is the point to ponder.

3112. You cannot touch the same water twice in a river. This is due of the flow of water. Similarly, you cannot be at the same time twice.

3113. Happiness is the real rich. Inner peace is the real success. Health is the real wealth. Kindness is the real feeling.

3114. Don’t be worried about starting again. You are not starting afresh. You are starting with some experience.

3115. When you are alone, you must have control over your thoughts. When you are with people, you must have control over your words.

3116. The parents assume that their children will take care of them. Whereas the children should assure that they will take care of them.

3117. Heart and earth have the same letters excepting one letter placed at the beginning and at the end. Have a heart when on earth.

3118. Be honest in trouble, be simple in wealth, be humble in power, be calm in anger. This is how you master your life.

3119. When you are up in life, your friends get to know who you are. When you are down in life you get to know who your friends are.

3120. Life is a cycle of goodness, sadness, good times and hard times. If you face any one of them, the other will surely come.

3121. When you read a book, you turn the page forward. You don’t turn the page backwards. Life is similar to reading a book.

3122. In your life, you have lived, you have loved, you have hurt, you have missed, you have lost, you have trusted and you have LEARNED.

3123. Good days give happiness. Bad days give experience. Worst days give lessons. Best days give memories. Never regret a day.

3124. No one minds your appearance, education, status, income, position, or possessions. They only mind how you treat them.

3125. Detachment comes when you are fed up with things and people. You get it as you grow older. When young, you have attachment or MAYA.

CONCEPT OF GOD !!!

In a mother’s womb were two babies. One asked the other: “Do you believe in life after delivery?”

The other replied, “Why, of course. There has to be something after delivery. Maybe we are here to prepare ourselves for what we will be later.”

“Nonsense,” said the first. “There is no life after delivery. What kind of life would that be?”

The second said, “I don’t know, but there will be more light than here. Maybe we will walk with our legs and eat from our mouths. Maybe we will have other senses that we can’t understand now.”

The first replied, “That is absurd. Walking is impossible. And eating with our mouths? Ridiculous! The umbilical cord supplies nutrition and everything we need. But the umbilical cord is so short. Life after delivery is to be logically excluded.”

The second insisted, “Well I think there is something and maybe it’s different than it is here. Maybe we won’t need this physical cord anymore.”

The first replied, “Nonsense. And moreover, if there is life, then why has no one ever come back from there? Delivery is the end of life, and in the after-delivery, there is nothing but darkness and silence and oblivion. It takes us nowhere.”

“Well, I don’t know,” said the second, “but certainly we will meet Mother and she will take care of us.”

The first replied “Mother? You actually believe in Mother? That’s laughable. If Mother exists then where is She now?”

The second said, “She is all around us. We are surrounded by her. We are of Her. It is in Her that we live. Without Her, this world would not and could not exist.”

Said the first: “Well I don’t see Her, so it is only logical that She doesn’t exist.”

To which the second replied, “Sometimes, when you’re in silence and you focus and listen, you can perceive Her presence, and you can hear Her loving voice, calling down from above.”

Maybe this was one of the best explanations of the concept of GOD.

– This beautiful parable is from,

" Your Sacred Self ",  by Dr.  Wayne Dyer.

Random thoughts 3096 to 3110.

3096. The word "none" can be singular or plural. "None" often takes a plural verb when referring to a group of things or people.

3097. 84 minus your age plus 40 is your year of birth. Am I correct?

3098. Many people are under the wrong impression that people who are living in foreign countries are rich people.

3099. When a tree falls everyone hears a sound. But when the tree grows no one hears a sound.- Persian proverb.

3100. In love, depth of the love today and the depth of the wound tomorrow is almost the same. So be careful in loving a person deeply.

3101. If you aren't happy single, you won't be happy in a relationship. True happiness comes from within, not from someone else.

3102. We work hard for a better tomorrow. When tomorrow comes, we work harder for a better tomorrow. We don’t work for better today.

3103. Trying again and again after a disappointment is one of the rarest kinds of strength. Choosing not to quit is winning.

3104. When you have more years behind you, your thinking about your life will be different when compared to lesser life behind you.

3105. It is not someone who makes you happy. You create happiness on your own. Be with someone who adds to it.

3106. In life what really matters is that your children are well, you have done the best and you are thankful to God for what you have.

3107. Control Ego when you are winning. Control thoughts when you're losing. If you can do that, you can do anything.

3108. When the couples argue over a matter, they should remember that the argument is just over the topic and not between them.

3109. Apologising doesn’t always mean that you are wrong and the other person is correct. It means you shed your ego for the relationship.

3110. Someone said that the Universe is made up of not only protons, neutrons and electrons, but also made up of morons.

Random thoughts 3081 to 3095.

3081. In any job that you are working, you must learn and earn. If it is both, it is the best. If it is either, it is fine. If it is neither, quit.

3082. Those who do not socialise much are not anti social. They just don’t have tolerance for drama, stupidity and fake people.

3083. When the light bulb burns out, we buy a new bulb and not a new house. The relationship must be like that of a house.

3084. The compass always points towards the north. But it is you who decides the direction in which you want to go in the journey.

3085. A river does not stop if it is not able to proceed further. It takes a diversion and proceeds. Bend it like Beckham.

3086. If your foot slips you can regain the balance. If your tongue slips it is difficult to rebuild the relationship. Silence is wisdom.

3087. It is simple. When you change the way you look at things, it will surely change the things when you look at them.

3088. Your mind is your slave and it will always understand and accept whatever you say. So tell the mind to hope, truth, respect and love.

3089. Generally, the man likes a beautiful wife but not a smarter one. But the woman likes a smarter husband and not a handsome one.

3090. Everyone has a very clear idea about how others should lead their lives. But none of them know how to lead their own life.

3091. One may love the soft idly that his mother is serving but he may not realise his father’s dhoti boiling under the idly. Happy father’s day.

3092. No one knows what the older generation wants. They don’t need money, food, dress etc. They just want you to hear them.

3093. There is one key for every lock. The key that opens many locks is valuable. But the lock that opens for any key is useless.

3094. The difference between the humans and animals is that the animals would never allow the dumbest of the herd to lead them.

3095. India is the only country where someone borrows money from you and you need to explain to them why you need your money back.

UNITY AMONG THE HINDUS.

Why is there no unity among Hindus unlike people of Islam or Christianity?

The fundamental Hindu principle is one of Unity. Behind diversity, there is unity. Behind individual souls, there is the SELF, ATMAN, the Divine.

Hinduism advocates five elements that bring people together in a community: doctrine, practice, society, Puranas, and devotion.

In Holy Quran, Muslims have been instructed to be united. i.e.: "keep hold on to the rope of Allah altogether and do not be divided into sects." (Āl ʿImrān, 103). But there is no such instruction in Hinduism.

In other religions, there is only one God. But Hinduism has multiple Gods, multiple ways to approach God, offers freedom of worship, freedom of choice, freedom of expression, freedom of dissent and so on. 

Naturally, it gives people freedom to compartmentalize themselves, disagree with other sects, argue with them, demean them etc. Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa says even atheism is a stepping stone to reach God in Hinduism!

Hinduism paved the way for Hindus generously accepting other religions to flourish in India. Whereas Hinduism does not flourish in other countries. 

It can be safely said that the absence of unity in Hinduism is similar to the feuds within brothers and sisters in a family! 

They may not see eye to eye with each other, have different tastes and agendas in life, may even split from the family and live alone. But the underlying blood connection never goes. 

When some calamities strike the family, we can see that all family members bury their difference of opinions and come together! 

In a similar way, there are occasions when Hindus join together burying their differences of opinions in case of natural disasters like earthquakes etc.

Hindus as a society do face problems and differences on account of caste system; but again, history shows that our religion is not rigid, but flexible enough to acknowledge and take corrective actions.

Lack of unity is mostly fueled and nurtured by petty politicians and social reformers who have no deeper knowledge about Hinduism; their pseudo-secularism keep dividing Hindu people for their selfish gains.

However, it is an undeniable fact that caste discrimination and the absence of any single strict authority (like the Pope in Christianity) have paved the way for Hindus getting wooed by other religions.

On top of it all, please consider this:

Historically, how much of bloodshed have you seen amidst Hindus fighting within themselves based on their religious differences? Extremely little.

Compare this with the history of other religions: Shiites versus Sunnis; Protestants versus Catholics. Then the reality will be far clearer to you.