Ravi S. Iyer: Spiritual

Last updated on 18th February 2015   Non-Indian readers may please note that the term secularism in India is commonly understood to mean equal treatment of all religions by the state. For more please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secularism_in_India . At the National Celebration of the Elevation to Sainthood of Kuriakose Elias Chavara, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuriakose_Elias_Chavara , and Mother Euphrasia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphrasia_Eluvathingal , today (17th Feb. 2015) in New Delhi, Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, and a couple of other ministers in his govt. spoke. PM Modi's speech in particular, according to the Vote of Thanks speaker, Monseigneur Sebastian Vadakumpadan, a Syrian Christian faith leader, culminated in "expelling all the doubts we had in recent times about the pursuit of the secular India" . The faith leader also said, based on the PM's speech, "Everybody will have freedom to profess and propagate his faith. An

Last updated on 15th Feb. 2015 I enjoyed watching this light-hearted short video (1 min 58 secs) of Obama which has gone viral and was even talked about in Indian national TV news channels, https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1631492713658271 . Towards the end of the light-hearted video which shows the US president doing goofy "Things Everyone Does But Doesn't Talk About" (quoted words are the title of the Buzzfeed video), a co-actor in the video acts as if he is shocked at Obama acting as if he is taking a basketball shot in a room which seems to be a room in the White House. Obama then acts a little sheepish and then says, "Can I  live?" He follows that by saying "YOLO, man" with a broad smile. From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YOLO_%28motto%29 , 'YOLO is an acronym for "you only live once"'. Perhaps the most important political message in the short video is about the USA new health insurance system (Obamacare). I loved the

A Sai devotee told me that Swami, i.e. Sathya Sai Baba, made Jesus real for him. He had read parts of the New Testament earlier but it was not with faith that Jesus was a real person. It was after he came to Swami that Jesus (of the New Testament) became real for him. I think it is similar for me. In my youth I had doubted the reality of divine powers attributed to Rama and Krishna. Reading about Swami and becoming part of the Sathya Sai fraternity gave me some degree of faith in the reality of not only Jesus, but also Rama and Krishna. Later, as a teacher in his university at PrashantiNilayam, I had direct experiences of Swami's divine/paranormal powers, which has convinced me that Jesus, Rama and Krishna were real figures with divine/paranormal powers. So Swami has made Jesus, Rama and Krishna real for me. I am now reading leading historian of ancient India, Romila Thapar's book, "The Past Before Us. Historical Traditions of Early North India", http://www.hup.h

From  http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=115368 dated 12th February 2015: PM appalled at the news of temple being built in his name The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, has said that he is appalled at the news of a Temple being built in his name.  "Have seen the news about a Temple being built in my name. I was appalled. This is shocking and against India's great traditions. Building such Temples is not what our culture teaches us. Personally, it made me very sad. Would urge those doing it not to do it. If you have time and resources, please devote the same towards fulfilling our dream of a Clean India," the Prime Minister said.  --- end PIB text --- This is picked up from the following three tweets of PM Narendra Modi: https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/565711345547747330 https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/565711528167751684 https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/565711752273608704 More on the temple is provided in this

Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba was famous for his insistence on worshipful service to fellow man/woman (Manava Seva is Madhava Seva) as the main spiritual sadhana (practise/discipline) to be followed for all those who came to him. Yes, Namasmarna (devotional chanting/ remembrance of the name of the Lord) and Bhajan (devotional songs/singing), were important too, but his advice was that most of one's time must be spent in service activities, singing bhajans while doing the work, if feasible, or even silently chanting the name of the Lord, if feasible. For Kali Yuga, this was the best spiritual practise according to Swami, the Kali Yuga Avatar. Today's thought for the day in Prashanti Nilayam ashram throws some further light on why Swami insisted on service for all who came to Prashanti Nilayam (Puttaparthi): You have worked very hard in your life discharging worldly duties and come to Prasanthi Nilayam, seeking rest for the body and peace for the mind. That being so, it migh

Extracts from and comments on, Remarks by the (USA) President at National Prayer Breakfast, dated February 5th 2015,  http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/02/05/remarks-president-national-prayer-breakfast . [The video is available here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/video/2015/02/05/president-obama-speaks-national-prayer-breakfast , 24 min 08 secs.] Many times as President, I’ve been reminded of a line of prayer that Eleanor Roosevelt was fond of. She said, “Keep us at tasks too hard for us that we may be driven to Thee for strength.”  Keep us at tasks too hard for us that we may be driven to Thee for strength.  I’ve wondered at times if maybe God was answering that prayer a little too literally.  But no matter the challenge, He has been there for all of us.  He’s certainly strengthened me “with the power through his Spirit,” as I’ve sought His guidance not just in my own life but in the life of our nation. [Ravi: Fascinating and actually, quite inspiring f