Petals!

Ever heard of Thirumoolar, a great Siddha Yogi? I am almost certain you haven't! S tories about Rishis, Siddha Yogis and spiritual masters have so much to teach us. In one of Swami's divine discourses, I read the story of a highly revered Siddha Yogi from Tamil Nadu known as Thirumoolar.  This is the story of Thirumoolar.                                               [Source: Facebook]    Thirumoolar's story Once upon a time, there was a Pandyan King, who wanted to develop his kingdom by breeding horses. A young minister in his court, known for his exemplary character, was entrusted with the task of buying horses by the King himself. On the way, he met a holy man, a 'Shiva Yogi', and became his disciple. The young Minister lost interest in the task of buying horses and gave away the King's money to build a temple for Lord Shiva and he immersed himself in pray...

If you were to ask me about actor Jayaram, I would say he's a fine artist who is blessed to speak in Prem Nazir's voice and style! In the 80s, Malayalam cinema witnessed a new refreshing burst of talent from the world of mimicry. Everyone loved the charm with which he speaks like Malayalam cinema's 'Prem Nazir'.                                                               [Source: Jayaram Facebook page] Jayaram's first movie in Malayalam With a brilliant debut in Padmarajan's 'Aparan', Jayaram was unstoppable! At a time when mimicry was looked down in the world of entertainment, Jayaram's style of presenting mimicry won the admiration of Malayalis across the globe.  Overnight, video libraries were tackling a challenge of sourcing more copies of his mimicry performance video tape. Simply put, people flocked to watch this re...

Is Padmavati a real story? This is a question that I have heard a lot after the controversial movie 'Padmavat' hit the limelight a few years ago. It didn't really catch my attention then. But when I picked up Sutapa Basu's book, I found myself enthralled by her well-written, fictional account of 'Padmavati'. [READ: What is Tantra?] Who was this beautiful Princess who became the legendary Queen of Chittoor?   What was Padmavati like in the days when she was newly married and came to her husband's royal household? The more I delved into Sutapa's novel, I felt drawn in by her style of writing, where she deftly blends in a hint of suspense as well through the gaze of another character in conversation with a curious and slightly impatient journalist. As the story moves further, I found myself admiring Princess Padmavati.  Her intelligence, courage and conviction make her a legendary personality though I recall nothing about her in my history textbooks, just t...

Curious to understand what is a mantra and what are the benefits of mantra chanting? There is a lot of literature available on the subject. For those who enjoy reading books related to spirituality, Justin O Brien's "Walking with a Himalayan Master - Swami Rama' is a masterful autobiography of an American yogi and scholar, trained by none other than Swami Rama.  [READ: Amazing Tale of Pedda Bottu  & Dark night of the soul]                             [Image by Samuel Silitonga on Pexels.com] Meaning of Mantra  What is a Mantra? In Justin O'Brien's book, there is an entire Chapter that is devoted to explaining mantra chanting and its benefits. In his words, a mantra is that 'which removes the disturbances of the mind'.  The author links it with the Biblical words, "In the beginning was the Word." He also emphasizes that genuine mantras are NEVER made up. They were revealed to sages, who not...

Hello July 2020!  Who would have believed that the entire world would be grappling with Coronavirus for so many months?  [READ: How to treat your ego with love and What is Dark Night of the Soul? ]                                     Source: Ray Hennessy on Unsplash Think about this. We have been socially distancing ourselves, staying safely at home for months altogether, watching kids grow up with digital classes and finding ways to wear face masks creatively! A tough phase for you too! My world, as I knew it, is no more.  While the old order of the external world has collapsed,  we awaken within to a  new world with baby steps. When this is hitting us so hard, how about looking at some heartwarming moments too? On Twitter, a heartwarming tweet by Joe Howard on his father's birthday read like this, "This is my dad. With my mum, he adopted four children. Instrume...