Cauvery like a suicide bomber

The monsoon surprised everyone by arriving 10 days in advance this year. We had just enough to normal rainfall in the past decade and this year the black cloud seems to have stayed over Chennai and Tamilnadu.

The 2nd week of October saw the arrival of North East Monsoon, the only rainy season on the eastern coast of India. It was Mumbai earlier in the year that got badly hit by the South West Monsoon in June and now the epicenter seems to be moving closer to Chennai. A few planetary movements predict Chennai to be hit by 2 cyclones this year. Infact the Almanac (Panchangam) has clearly pronunced the dates for such a happening. Nov 10-15 and Dec 10-15 window will keep Chennai afloat.

We've received approx. 70 cms rainfall in the past 2 week which is 90% of the total rain that Chennai receives during Oct- Dec monsoon cycle. We have another 45 days of monsoon and I am sure we are going to be wet, cold and soggy. Gone are the high and dry days when the dark
cloud cover teases you and skips over Chennai and keep going northward.

The spirit of Diwali hasn't gone down by a bit. Hoards of people still step out of their house when the downpour abates and then T-Nagar the retail capital of India gets hit by the swarm of shopping bees. Iti s definitely a dull season for fireworks with incessant rains.

Some low lying areas are water logged and but we need not worry about trees falling in Chennai. With the advent of software boom in Chennai the ecological cover was damaged long back leaving nothing for the rains and storms.

Tsunami shelters were hit badly in the rains and people have to evacuate shelters. Christmas started last year with Tsunami, then we saw the quake in Iran and Afghanistan, floods in Mumbai, hurricane season in US, and quake in Himalayas and now rains in southern India.

The temple town of Trichy is innundated with cauvery in spate. Karnataka receiving excess rainfall this year and cauvery is filled to the brim. She is dancing from bank to bank threatening to swallow a lot of lives. The life line of Tamilnadu, Cauvery now is moving fast like a suicide bomber. Lord Ranganatha is simulating what it is like to be in PaarKadal (Ocean of Milk) and Lord Jambukeshwar is doing tapasya under water (Pancha Bootha Kshetram - temple for water, one of the five elements in nature).


Mettur, the reservoir on Cauvery is all filled up to the brim and worrying about the inflow and possible breakage of the dam, officials have released the water. While delta regions have been receiving good rainfall. Cauvery is merrily dancing bank to bank like a stripper while rest of the Tamilnadu neither can enjoy nor can cry.

Autos still make a fortune, they charge a premium to wade to the knee deep water and get you to work. GN Chetty Road in T-Nagar had 4 feet high water from the rains. A few pictures here were taken in Mount Road, Chennai's downtown area.

Roads were kind of empty this morning, only buses were plying that too with very less frequency. Autos as always were out there hopping like frog and the little exhaust pumping enough smoke to choke to you death.

Nobody can see your tear when it rains, all you can do it wail and create noise. I am doing that online this morning.......

Do hedges protect anymore??

Hedges are made to protect the house, but what if the hedges start to encroach and take over the house that it is supposed to protect? Well the purpose of having hedges is defeated then.

Well drawing the above parallelism into religion, this will clearly explain what the Catholic Church is faced with today. Religion was created by man to take care of the society, act as a moral police. Religious practices guided the followers to live a rightful and truthful life. For example, a Sunday mass in the church brought the family together and serve the society once a week. Today we are sacred to bring our children for the Sunday mass. We are afraid of our kids being abused and hence feel they are better off staying at home and reading the bible.

Those days we didn’t have a judicial system and hence the religion set boundaries acceptable to the society to ensure smooth running of the engine. There was a time when rulers and kings obeyed religious laws and took care of the society. Then there was the time when science began questioning religious beliefs and practices and it was during the medieval times the State was run by the Church. Anyone who was an atheist or who questioned the Church or its practices was ostracized and thrown out of the society. Well religion was never created to punish or humiliate members of the society. It was created to bring about peace, harmony and help with the seamless functioning of the society.

Well today the same religion has created rifts between countries, individuals and the sole purpose of religion is questionable. The Catholic Church that lives by the bible and preaches against family planning, abortion, is tolerating child abuse and molestation charges against its clergy and priest. Priest who are next to God in any religion are turning into abusers and molesters. They are abusing the religion and exploiting the followers leaving a scar that can never heal in the innocent hearts. Religion, the moral police is failing in is duty but acting amoral.

The Church ignored complains all this while, and was in denial. They’ve also acted aggressively and settled a lot of abuse cases before it reached media and public, but the day has come and the bottled up genies have come out to expose and haunt the Church. Bad karmas catch up to you like the good one, may it be Judaism, Islam, or Hinduism.

Well I am not writing this to slander the Church. My idea is to bring to your notice the role of religion in the society. Well God never created any religion and all religion was created by man for his own well being and the well being of the society. When religion can’t solve the very purpose of its existence well then it needs to be thrown out. Is this a problem with the religion or the so called followers, hijackers of the religion?

Well it is time to think for not for too long to let the hedges eat up the building. The dead end will become a deadly end.

The city worships....

Today is the end of the 9 day doll festival. It is Saraswathi Poojai, Shri Saraswathi is the Goddess of learning, who is divine knowledge personified. The sound of Her celestial veena awakens the notes of the sublime utterances of the sacred monosyllable, "OM". She bestows the knowledge of the supreme, mystic sound, clarity of thought and nobility of ideas as represented by Her pure dazzling white clothes, with the hands holding the veena and books seated on the white lotus. We worship Goddess Saraswathi to gain knowledge, dispassion, devotion and prosperity.

Mother Nature had already cleaned the city yesterday, but she gave another refreshing wash this morning. My sister went around the house putting sandal paste and kumkum (red color) on each of the appliance and tools at home. IT'S ONE of those rare days when you won't yell at your PC when it hangs, or kick your bike in frustration when it dies in the rain. On Ayudha Puja, buses come driving down the road like a newly-wed bride, with six- to eight-foot stalks of plantain roped to their fronts, endless strings of flowers, haldi (tumeric), kumkum (red color), and all. Kids come on their bicycles with small banana leaves symmetrically arranged about their handlebars. Storefronts compete for the best displays and the most expensive sweets are distributed, not to forget generous helpings of kadle puri (peanuts and puffed rice mixed with jaggery). Born from the practice of honouring weapons during the Pandava rule, Ayudha Puja has now morphed into the worship of tools. The tradition still continues……

Pre Monsoon arrives.....

I was still in bed this morning and the ceiling fan was in full blast. I decided to warp myself better in the blanket to keep me cozy. I partially opened my eyes, but it was still dark outside. I could hear the shower from Mother Nature but could not hear the cuckoo birds this morning. They probably had taken the day off and were resting in a dry place. Chennai received its first pre-monsoon shower this morning. Laziness and reluctance made me stay in the bed for a longer time. Well wish I could take the day off like the cuckoo birds.

A rainy day in Chennai is absolutely delightful if you stay home and watch it from the deck. Well school kids draped in raincoats from head to toe were waiting patiently to be picked by their school vans and busses. The pedestrians were hopping like a frog to avoid the puddle splash from the fast moving autos’. Women cringing and hiding under the little shade in the bus stop to avoid the drizzle. People in colorful rainwear, from branded raincoats to ordinary plastic bags wrapped around their head, all of them racing to get under the roof before the next bout of shower. Most of the two wheeler drivers had rolled their trousers till their knee to avoid the splash from the frenzy bus drivers. Some roads were a nightmare to commute, telephone guys had dug up shoulders and there is no “Caution” marked anywhere. Auto drivers drive a little careful on rainy days to avoid water entering the engine; well Chennai roads are not visible during monsoon.


While sitting in the auto this morning, I constantly had to watch out for the puddle and plead with the auto driver to avoid going near the local buses. These buses are ruthless and if they managed to get my trousers I will have to go home and take a fresh shower and come back to work. Traffic had backed up for miles and tempers were running a little high. The best place on a rainy day is your deck and then the cozy drawing room. Sip a cup of hot chocolate and lay on the couch, catch a old movie or pull out the old albums and just reminiscent the halcyon days. Order mom to make some fried potato chips and veggie bajjis (slices of veggies covered with flour and fried)

Well this is just a pre-monsoon shower but let us wait for the real monsoon to come down. Hope the Mayor and other civic officials come down from the Ivory towers to see the city’s preparedness for the upcoming monsoon season.

Eclipse, Beliefs and History.........

• Accurate records of eclipses are known to have been kept since at least 747 BC. Many authorities believe Stonehenge was constructed for the purpose of recording and monitoring eclipses. o Ancient civilisations explained eclipses as evil spirits attacking the Sun or Moon. It was customary to run into the street, shout, scream and make as much noise as possible to frighten the spirits away.

• Some thought a huge black dragon swallowed up the Sun or Moon. The places in the zodiac where eclipses occur are known as 'the Dragon's Head' and 'the Dragon's Tail'.

• History records numerous reports of fearful Roman emperors trying to deflect the personal effects of an eclipse by murdering their top ranking statesmen on the advice of astrologers.

• The prospect of the eclipse on 'Black Monday', 29 March 1652, had the citizens of London so terrified that it was reported: "hardly any would work, none would stir out of their houses.... The rich fled London, the poor prayed for deliverance and a thriving trade was conducted in cordials claiming to allay the effects of the eclipse". To the embarrassment of astrologers, the eclipse passed without any notable disaster.

All about Eclipse - Astrolgy and Astronomy

The first and most potent cause of such events lies in the conjunctions of the Sun and Moon at eclipse and the movements of the stars at the time - Ptolemy

In nativities, eclipses are important when within 1° of a conjunction or opposition to the Sun, Moon or angles. In mundane affairs they affect those nations and cities which have a traditional familiarity with the sign of the eclipse - especially those whose founding chart has the eclipse on the Asc.,MC, Sun or Moon.

Nations can also be affected if the eclipse falls on the natal Asc., MC or luminaries of its ruler.
Although many astrologers claim eclipses are still relevant when beneath the Earth (especially in the 4th house), it is generally accepted that they: "extend their effects most forcibly when above the Earth, weakly and not so vigorously when under the Earth".

Eclipses in the Asc. affect recently initiated projects and young people; in the MC, Kingdoms, rulers and middle aged people; in the Desc., wars, contentions and old people.

The effects of a solar eclipse are greater when the Sun is rising or in the MC than when it is setting. Lunar eclipses are more destructive in the western hemisphere than the east.
Any brilliant fixed star (of 1st or 2nd magnitude) situated on the preceding angle is also considered, followed by any brilliant fixed star on the following angle. (ie., if the eclipse falls in the 12th, 11th or 10th house, consider a fixed star on the MC of prime importance, and a fixed star on the Asc. as a secondary influence.) Generally, it is agreed that such stars need to be low in latitude and near the ecliptic.

The nature of the eclipse is found by its planetary ruler and the prominent fixed stars of the time. The Lord of the eclipse is that planet which has most dignities and relationships by aspect to the degree of the eclipse and the following angle (i.e., the MC if the eclipse falls in the 7th, 8th or 9th house, the Asc. if it falls in the 10th, 11th or 12th).

If one planet dominates the eclipse degree and another the following angle, preference is given to the planet which dominates the eclipse, with the ruler of the angle used as a co-significator.
Saturn ruling the eclipse indicates damage by coldness, long illnesses, poverty, imprisonment, fear, mortality (particularly amongst the aged), malice, envy, and tedious law-suits. It causes cold, misty, freezing and gloomy weather; storm and damage at sea; flooding and pollution of rivers; loss and scarcity of crops, and a general decay of nature.

Jupiter ruling the eclipse indicates peace, prosperity, fertility, happiness and abundance. Bodily and spiritual health is improved, the population is increased, laws are executed with justice, and there is generosity from governments to people. The weather is beneficial for farming with a predominance of temperate, moist winds and gentle showers. In nativities, this eclipse promises fame, prosperity, health and peace of mind.

Mars ruling the eclipse brings damage by dryness, fire, arson, violence, murder, lawlessness, fever, war, and the sudden deaths of those in the prime of life. The climate suffers from lightning, hurricanes, drought and destructive winds. Impetuous storms and violent shipwrecks occur at sea. Crops suffer from excess of heat, damaging winds and fire.

Venus ruling the eclipse has a beneficial influence, similar to Jupiter. In nativities there is the promise of fame, contentment, love, marriage, children, prosperity and health. The climate is clear, settled, temperate and moist -favourable for agriculture. It is a time of elegance and abundance, with friendly relations between governments.

Mercury adapts its influence to the nature of any planet it is strongly associated with. Alone, it produces quick, subtle and industrious actions, and when ruling the eclipse with malefics it brings trickery, theft and unsuccessful travel or trade. It also influences priests, the worship of gods, divinatory practices, and brings changes in customs and laws. The weather is changeable and irregular with a risk of hurricanes, earthquakes, thunder and lightning. Mercury occidental brings a fear of drought; oriental, flood.

The signs of the zodiac which contain the eclipse and its planetary rulers, together with the constellations of its governing stars, reveal the nature of its influence - those pertaining to the sea influence creatures of the sea and shipping, those of human form influence men and political affairs, animal signs influence cattle and beasts, terrestrial signs influence crops and earthquakes, etc..

Generally, eclipses in Fire signs signify the death of eminent people, discords, wars and fires; Earth signs portend agricultural problems; Air signs foreshadow tempestuous winds, famine and disease; Water signs show floods, maritime troubles, expectation of war, and a high mortality among ordinary people.

Eclipses in Aries bring war and controversies in religion. They threaten the lives and liberty of eminent people, and bring plague to 'lesser' cattle such as sheep and goats. (England, France, Germany and Denmark are traditionally linked to this sign.)

Eclipses in Taurus affect business, trade, grand buildings, agriculture, and men such as solicitors and agents who negotiate in others' affairs. They threaten high mortality for oxen, cows and horses. (Russia, Ireland, Switzerland, Cyprus and Persia)

Eclipses in Gemini bring diseases (such as salmonella) which originate from fowl eaten by men. They bring conflict in religion and trade, contempt for law - much prattling with no action - and loss through the death of great persons. (Southern Egypt, London and the Southwest of England. Some say the USA.)

Eclipses in Cancer bring political changes, incite men to violate treaties and take up arms, and cause deceit and cunning among men in high office. Navigation and sea travel is dangerous; rivers dry, and there is an increase of sicknesses affecting the stomach. (Scotland, Holland, Africa, Venice, Amsterdam and York.)

Eclipses in Leo portend death or misfortune for royalty, nobility and 'persons of quality'; the ruination and destruction of ancient buildings, palaces and churches; division amongst the clergy, the besieging of towns, and a scarcity of horses and grain. (Italy, Sicily, Rome and Turkey.)

Eclipses in Virgo bring the pitiful death of great men and general ruin through plague, drought or crop failure. All things are scarce. Writers, poets and mercurial men suffer. (Southern Greece, Crete, Iraq, Paris and South-west France.)

Eclipses in Libra corrupt the air and increase contagious diseases, plagues, etc.. They bring bad weather, high winds, 'incline youth to wantonness', cause religious controversies, and bring division and loss to nobility. (Austria, Portugal and Vienna.)

Eclipses in Scorpio foreshadow underhand, treasonous and murderous acts; indicate military deposition of governors by tyrants, generally increase disease and public disorder, and give an abundance of thunder, lightning and earthquakes. (Norway, Mauritius, Liverpool)

Eclipses in Sagittarius cause affliction to horses, spread religious intolerance and mistrust amongst men, bring disaster to famous people, threaten destruction of flying fowls, and increase theft, rape and piracy at sea. (Spain and Hungary.)

Eclipses in Capricorn declare the untimely death of worthy people, bring an increase in false accusations, slanders and conspiracies; cause political change and the alteration of governments, military invasions into neighbouring states and the loss of many ships. (India, the West Indies and Oxford.)

Eclipses in Aquarius bring floods, affliction to cattle, public sorrow, mourning and discontent. Ancient buildings are destroyed or damaged, thefts and earthquakes increase, and obstinate controversies arise in the Church. (Arabia and Ethiopia)

Eclipses in Pisces bring misfortune to the sea and the fishing industry, corruption of the coastline, loss of fish and the draining of rivers. The death of some illustrious man is foreshadowed, the immoral actions of men connected to the Church or the Law will be revealed, and all lawyers or men of religion will suffer. (Northern Egypt)

This time the solar eclipse occurs in Libra - 10 Deg. You can scroll up to look at the aftermaths.

Doll Festival - Navarathri

Navaratri is a festival that lasts nine days and nine nights. The word "Navaratri" actually means nine (Nava) nights (ratri). This is celebrated in different styles throughout India. Navaratri occurs during the first 9 days of the bright half of the month of Aashwayuja in the Indian calendar.

The most significant part of Navaratri is the setting up an odd number of steps (usually 7, 9, or 11), and the placement of different idols of Gods on them. This setup is called a "Golu". Generally, when people come to a person's house to see their Golu, they are given prasad (the offering given to God that day), kumkum (red powder), and a small bag of gifts usually containing a mirror, a comb, a small box of kumkum, and fruits. These are only given to girls and married women. This is chiefly a woman's festival.

Navaratri is the worship of the three divine goddesses, Saraswati (Goddess of learning and speech), Lakshmi (Goddess of wealth and prosperity), and Durga (Goddess of strength and courage). It is also said to be the battle that occurred between Goddess Chaamundeshwari and the asura (demon), Mahishaasura. The battle lasted 9 days and 9 nights. Finally, on the tenth day, Goddess Chaamundeshwari killed Mahishaasura. This day is known as Vijayadasami. Vijayadasami means the 10th day of victory.
Today, Vijayadasami is supposed to be one of the most auspicious days in the Hindu year. Some schools in India start on this day. Children first starting their education are taught some of the basics by a priest on this day.

Navaratri and Vijayadasami are celebrated with sweets and snack items; one of each are made on each of the ten days. One snack food, chundal, is made on all of the ten days.
Nava-ratri" literally means "nine nights." This festival is observed twice a year, once in the beginning of summer and again at the onset of winter.

What's the Significance of Navratri?
During Navaratri, we invoke the energy aspect of God in the form of the universal mother, commonly referred to as "Durga," which literally means the remover of miseries of life. She is also referred to as "Devi" (goddess) or "Shakti" (energy or power). It is this energy, which helps God to proceed with the work of creation, preservation and destruction. In other words, you can say that God is motionless, absolutely changeless, and the Divine Mother does everything. Truly speaking, our worship of Shakti re-confirms the scientific theory that energy is imperishable. It cannot be created or destroyed. It is always there.

Why Worship the Mother Goddess?
We think this energy is only a form of the Divine Mother, who is the mother of all, and all of us are her children. "Why mother; why not father?", you may ask. Let me just say that we believe that God's glory, his cosmic energy, his greatness and supremacy can best be depicted as the motherhood aspect of God. Just as a child finds all these qualities in his or her mother, similarly, all of us look upon God as mother. In fact, Hinduism is the only religion in the world, which gives so much importance to the mother aspect of God because we believe that mother is the creative aspect of the absolute.

Why Twice a Year?
Every year the beginning of summer and the beginning of winter are two very important junctures of climatic change and solar influence. These two junctions have been chosen as the sacred opportunities for the worship of the divine power because:(1) We believe that it is the divine power that provides energy for the earth to move around the sun, causing the changes in the outer nature and that this divine power must be thanked for maintaining the correct balance of the universe.(2) Due to the changes in the nature, the bodies and minds of people undergo a considerable change, and hence, we worship the divine power to bestow upon all of us enough potent powers to maintain our physical and mental balance.

Why Nine Nights & Days?
Navaratri is divided into sets of three days to adore different aspects of the supreme goddess. On the first three days, the Mother is invoked as powerful force called in order to destroy all our impurities, vices and defects. The next three days, the Mother is adored as a giver of spiritual wealth, who is considered to have the power of bestowing on her devotees the inexhaustible wealth. The final set of three days is spent in worshipping the mother as the goddess of wisdom. In order have all-round success in life, we need the blessings of all three aspects of the divine mother; hence, the worship for nine nights.

Why Do You Need the Power?
Thus, I suggest you join your parents in worshipping "Ma Durga" during the Navaratri. She will bestow on you wealth, auspiciousness, prosperity, knowledge, and other potent powers to cross every hurdle of life. Remember, everyone in this world worships power, i.e., Durga, because there is no one who does not love and long for power in some form or the other.

Occult October

The skies of October has opened with a lot of festivity and frolic. This month is very busy month in the Hindu calender with Solar and Lunar eclipse, festival of dolls, and Jupiter transiting into Libra. There is lot of change happening in the milky way, planets are moving around and so is Sun and Moon. Life is never the same!

The movement of Sun, Moon and Earth around each other creates an atmosphere were either of the three gets sandwiched between earth and one of the other. On October 3rd a partial solar eclipse occurs in India. The eclipse starts at 1.00 pm and the peak eclipse happens at around 4.15pm and ends at 6.15 pm. Here in India we have a set of rules that we follow during eclipse and science has also supported all of the religious claims and fasts observed during this time. We don't go out during the eclipse time, we stay indoors and worship God, chant hymns. During the eclipse we observe fast , this is beacuse certain rays affect affect our mind and body and slows are digestive system and immune system. Carrying mothers, elderly folks and kids are advised to stay indoors during this time. We break the fast once the eclipse is over by showering, offering prayers and then have food.

We have Lunar eclipse happening on the 17th October, not far away. Well in India eclipse is beleived to bring bad luck, trouble in the government, bloodshed, natural disaster, passing away for some important people. This time we have both the eclipse happening back to back and I am a little worried about the aftermath. Well let us pray for a peaceful earth.

Other important aspect is the movement of Jupiter. Jupiter transit into Libra happened earlier last month, while he moves from one zodiac sign to another his rays fall on one of the 12 sacred rivers in India. This makes the river even more sacred and it is considered very auspicious to take a dip in the river.

Pushkaram is a festival in India which occurs in any particular year with respect to one of twelve important rivers; the river for each year's festival is based on which zodiacal sign Jupiter is in at that time. The table to the right shows the association of rivers and signs.

River Sign
Ganges Aries
Reva Taurus
Saraswathi Gemini
Yamuna Cancer
Godavari Leo
Krishna Virgo
Cauvery Libra
Bheemanadhi Scorpio
Radhya Saga Sagittarius
Tungabhadra Capricorn
Indus Aquarius
Pranahitha Pisces

The Pushkaram for each river come once every twelve years and lasts so long as the Jupiter remains in the corresponding Zodiac sign (generally, for one year). The first twelve days of pushkaram are known as Adi Pushkaram, and the last twelve days are called Anthya Pushkaram. It is believed that during the above period of twenty-four days, "Pushkar" the person, who is imbued with the power to make any river holy, will travel with Jupiter as Jupiter moves from one Zodiac house to another.

Thousands throng to take a holy dip in the river in these 12 days. Cauvery is flwoing to the brim this year, thanks to the rain god. I am planning to make a trip for the holy dip in Cauvery next weekend. Come back to have a look at the pictures taken during the festival.

I will continue about the Doll Festival in my next blog..........