Festival of lights

Today is a very auspicious day in the Hindu Calender. It is celeberated as Deepaavali (meaning Festival of lights). This is the day on which Lord Shree Krishna killed Narakaasuraa, a demon. Lord Shree Krishna, Lord Shree Raam, Shree Mahaa Vishnu and His wife Shree Mahaa Lakshmi are offered special worship today. Wick lamps are humbly submitted to Shree Mahaa Vishnu as a token of gratitude for all that He has given to us with humble request to Him to dispel the darkness in us and enlighten us, that just like a lamp dispels darkness.  A ritual of respect to Yama Dharma Raajaa, one of the numerous deities in Shree Mahaa Vishnu's Empire, is also performed on this day.

Yama Dharma Raajaa 

Shree Mahaa Vishnu and Shree Mahaa Lakshmi surrounded by Garuda, Seshaa, Brahmaa, Rudraa, Deva Rishi Naaradaa and other deities in Vaikuntaa

Jai Shree Krishnaa🙏

Divine Discourse

It is good that Aastha TV Channel keeps introducing spiritual speakers. This evening it was joy viewing Shreemad Bhagavath Kathaa by Shree Sanjeev Mishra. He explained the popular Ajaamil Charithram. He also mentioned about the Shree Mahaa Vishnu devotion of Kabirdas.

Jai Shree Krishnaa🙏

South Pacific

It is a well known fact that regions such as West Indies and Pacific Islands are sidelined by Media including TV Channels. Thankfully there are a few TV Channels that do cover these regions as well. One such is ABC Australia TV Channel. This channel telecast an interesting programme this evening. Let me share the programme. Samoa may not be as strong as American Samoa, but this island country is culturally more authentic than it's American counterpart.

CHOGM at Samoa reminds me of the late 1980s when it was once held in Nassau, The Bahamas. My maternal uncle (my mother's brother) was Branch Manager of the Offshore Branch of State Bank of India at that time. The then Prime Minister Shree Rajiv Gandhi and his wife visited the Branch and met with the Indian community , on a good will visit.

 

Ramon Magsaysay Awards

This evening there was an interesting news documentary on this year's Ramon Magsaysay Awards . One of the awardees is a Bhutanese medical doctor. As a school teacher who worked in Bhutan for a few years in the late 1980s, I found thedocumentary very interesting.

Electric cars

Although I stopped my car driving 20 years ago, I continue my interest in what is happening in the world of cars. 

All of us are witnessing an interest in electric vehicles among consumers as well as manufacturers. The latest news that the famous car manufacturer BMW is introducing two versions of it's mini EVs is interesting. I do hope that such cars will help enormously in these times of vehicular pollution.

Although EVs seem to be a very environmentally friendly, I think that their safety aspects due to over charging etc. cannot be ignored. According to news reports, there were a few incidents of  accidental burning of EVs during charging. 

Safety aspects should be thoroughly experimented and analysed with careful follow up before rolling EVs into mass production and distribution. 

Divine Discourse

According to Shaasthraas, Lord Shree Mahaa Vishnu can accept our worship or communication to him in any language.

Although I am not familiar in Gujaraathi language, I do derive immense joy by viewing divine discourses by respected Shree Nitya Swaroopa Daas Jee Maharaj, as telecast daily by Aashthaa Bhajan TV Channel. 

Jai Shree Swaami Naaraayan Jee🙏.

NASA

A few decades ago, climatic conditions in India were as defined in our Hindu Almanac. This included two months of rainy season followed by two months of winter, and so on.

Ever Indian knows that this pattern is changed and the culprit is the greed of human mind. We have meddled with God given Nature too much by destroying our forsets, vehicular and industrial carbon  dioxide emissions etc.

NASA's latest news report that it is sending a mission to Jupiter's moon's to explore possibility of human living conditions there indicates human desire to pollute Jupiter's moon as if human attempted pollution on Earth and meddling with God given Nature is not enough. What NASA does is ethically wrong.

Psychology

There was an interesting phone-in programme involving an expert in psychology on DD Karnatakka Karnataka TV Channel this morning. As I don't know how to read Kannada, I didn't know the expert's name. She was defining the term gratitude. Unfortunately many times we across people whom we have helped a lot but later these rascals behave with no gratitude at all.

Vijaya Dashami

Today is a very auspicious day in the Hindu Calendar. It is celeberated as Vijaya Dashami. This day is also known as Dusseraa. This day is also known as Buddha Jayanthi; Shree Mahaa Vishnu manifested as Buddhaa on this day. This day is also celebrated as Madhwa Jayanthi.

I am well learned neither in Sanskrit nor in Sanaathana Dharmaa Scriptures. From whatever little I know, Dusseraa is known as Dash Haraa in Hindi. I think that it means the victory of good over evil marked by Lord Shree Raam's killing of ten headed Demon King Raavan. 

2024 Nobel Prize for Literature

This year's Nobel Prize for English Literature has been announced according to a News Report. The winner may be a popular writer but her book 'The Vegetarian' is just trash. 

When I read the contents of the award winning book, I find that vegetarianism is shown in very bad light, thereby insulting all vegetarians.  

It is as bad as when Arundathi Roy was given Booker Prize for her book 'God of Small Things' a few years ago.

Nobel Foundation has committed a large blunder backed by undue bias.