Krishna Kiran's

( Reproduced here from my FB post dated 9th December 2015) Teacher :- What do you know about roads in India? Student  :- Roads in India are primarily the playgrounds for two types of people known as Diggers and Layers. They constantly play the game of digging and laying. It doesn't matter to the Diggers whether the road is kacchha or pucca, all that they know is digging and digging alone. The Layers are not bothered about the future requirements of Diggers and they keep laying the road again and again. In this process the road rarely belongs to the users and the taxpayer's money literally goes down the drains adjacent to the roads and into the open manholes on them. None of the road users have any hint on why the roads are dug or laid so repeatedly and so the status of any road remains always unpredictable.

( Reproduced here from my FB post dated 6th December 2015) I was standing at Murugan Temple, Chheda Nagar in Mumbai involved in Krishna's service and come across this scene which unfortunately has become common these days. A young couple in their late twenties are walking alongside each other. Trailing them is an old lady in her sixties. She was carrying, with great difficulty, on her waist a small health y boy aged may be two years. This kid is the son of the young couple. While the parents are walking happily hands free, the kid was noticing them from behind.  If the young parents are making an elderly housemaid to carry their kid, how can they expect him to relate or respect them as he grows up, as these are impressions which the kid forms in his mind? What did they learn in their life? What are they teaching the kid? Don't they realize that it is they who should carry their kid and give him the pleasure of their touch? How could they make such an elderly lady carry

( Reproduced here from my FB post dated 4th December 2015) Whether one's car was a Merc or an old Maruti 800, they went under water? Whether one had a cycle or a motorcycle, both went under water. They had no way to run. The least damage was to the ones whose possessions are least valued.   Whether one had an independent house or a flat or lived on the road side, water entered inside the homes and affected all. It didn't distinguish. The best of the sofas, the   costly beds, the latest TVs and everything else that was accumulated after great efforts and time got immersed in water. No body could sleep or sit.   The best kitchens were not available for cooking. The mobile phones whether they were cheap China-make or the best and costly Apple phones didn't work because the batteries couldn't be charged as there was no power. The best of the bathrooms for which man spends lakhs to beautify were to no avail as there was no way to use them or flush. People had mo

But for Anushka Shetty in the lead, I would not have dared to venture into the hall screening this movie and she did not disappoint is what I would say. Most of us tend to remember people who are either too lanky or too plump, be they kids or grown-ups. They also become objects of comedy be it at the school, college or elsewhere. This 131 minutes movie is about giving a morale boost to all such people especially the ones who are obese with a also a message for others that beauty lies not sizes and shapes but at the core of the heart. Produced by Potluri V Prasad ( who happens to be my junior by one year at school) and directed by Prakash Kovelamudi is worth watching if you fall in the obese category and also a fan of Anushka. The first half of the movie deals with how Anushka as Sweety alias Soundarya grows up constantly checking her weight at the flashy weighing machines that we normally find in railway and bus stations not necessarily for the purpose of weight but for the m

This 130 minutes movie which is a debut for Akkineni Akhil has neither a head nor a tail. This movie has proved that it is not enough if you have a successful hero as dad, looks and money to become a hero. The biggest drawback for the movie is the story line.The background score and music by Anup Rubens and Thaman is too boisterous to say the least.  It is not expected from a director like V.V.Vinayak that launching a hero means to start with a meaningless fight immediately followed by a song. Just when you thought that the movie is not going anywhere for almost 30 minutes, there comes a little relief in the form of Jayaprakash Reddy. The moods of the audience gets lightened as soon as he entered the frame.  The comedy scenes involving Mahesh Manjrekar as heroine Sayesha Saigal's father and Rajendra Prasad's family provided much needed relief. Saptagiri as Pothe Baburao played his role hilariously supported by a Savitri, the African actor who was gigantic in size.  Akhil

Once upon a time, on the banks of a river, a herd of rabbits lived happily ‘forever’ until one fine day they were made to believe that there was something bigger in store for them. The rabbits have performed good deeds in the past and were blessed by the good Lord with abundant food and water. There was no scarcity whatsoever and their colony always looked green with several varieties of food to toast-on throughout the three seasons of the year. God has blessed them to the extent that nobody could snatch away their colony unless the rabbit herd themselves allowed an intruder. As the rabbits were busy in leading their lives in a peaceful and happy state, there came unexpectedly a herd of elephants, a pride of lions and a streak of tigers along with a pack of wolves as they liked the colony and intended to create an artificial ‘heaven’ by destroying the natural one. The rabbits were rattled with the sudden entry of all the big sized and powerful groups. They only heard that there w

If If you are a mega family fan, it is not difficult for you to understand that this film BruceLee( with tag line The Fighter) has shades of yesteryear's Chiranjeevi's successful movie Vijetha. The 155 minutes movie doesn't bore the audience except in one or two scenes.  Story, screenplay and direction by Srinu Vaitla is above his own benchmark. The screenplay runs in an unpredictable manner which is the highlight of the film. As usual the Director is too fascinated with police and 'undercover' operations. After a long time, we have a song with rich literature in Telugu films especially the first one "run, life ante raceura,run".  Hero Ram Charan Tej as Karthik alias Bruce Lee is extraordinary in his dances and fights. It would not be an exaggeration if we said that in some fight sequences, he was almost resembling the legendary BruceLee especially with the hairdo and movements. He is definitely a tough competition to Allu Arjun in dances. The popular v

Based on Chapter 1, Volume 3 Om Sri Gurubhyo namaha Let us assume that an individual has performed some good deeds. If that person hears someone praising him or he praises himself for those good deeds, the value of those deeds would diminish. For the same reason if we want to appreciate someone, we should do it in their absence. We keep praying that we should not have any enemies but there is no enemy greater than one's own anger. If there is grace of God, desire, envy, fear and enemies would vanish and man becomes stable. Such person never desires anything, does not angered and never fears anything. If the bad elements in our character are to be removed, the only way is to constantly take the name of the Lord. Devotion is the only tool for achieving  victory over Desire and overcoming the obstacles in life.  "Kaalavakkam prasannanaam kaala kim karishyati?" Some people may say that "We have the knowledge and power, can't we control the senses with our ow

Based on Volume 2, Chapter 12 Om Sri Gurubhyo namaha!!! Of all the Vedanta treatises,   Bhagavadgita   is the most important. It is translated not only in Indian languages but several other international  languages too. The instruction given by  Lord Krishna  to  Arjuna  on the battle field holds good even in these days and is a great source of inspiration for the readers. Arjuna  played the lead role in Bhagavadgita while  Lord Krishna  played his charioteer. Initially,Arjuna asks Krishna to take him to center of the battlefield, sees the armies and decides not to fight but later seeks his guidance and pleads with Him to show the right path. The battle field was not at all suitable for either for preaching or listening to the teacher’s lessons. One doesn’t know whether his head will remain or axed in the next minute.   For instance , let us assume that there is an assembly of people at a music program in an open ground. The moment it starts to rain, people will run helter-

The Essence of Chapter 11 Volume 2 Om Sri Gurubhyo namaha!!! How much ever effort we put to remove the wicked things from our lives, the same efforts will bounce back and make us to succumb to those ills. Holy people keep on doing good deeds so that they do not have a minute to think of anything foul. A  sanyasi  was asked how he was able to overcome desires, he answered that “whenever a Desire came knocking my door, I was busy in some devotional service and the Desire got fed up and left from the entrance itself”. An idle mind is prone to wasteful conversations and casting aspersions on others. Desires raise their ugly heads and when good deeds are not performed, bad thoughts spring up in the mind.  Satsang ( union with truth or company of good) is the only remedy for the disease of  dussang ( bad company). Constant performance of good deeds is important for the wickedness to be erased along with the roots from one’s heart. Scope should not be given for bad thoughts to e

The Essence of Volume 2 Chapter 6 Om Sri Gurubhyo namaha!!! How should we pray to God?   Why should we pray?   What should we ask him?  If there is anyone who can answer these questions, it is only the self-realized and great spiritual masters. We go to a hospital for treatment, to a rich man for monetary help, to a court for settlement of legal disputes. In the same way, we should take the shelter of great and realized men for  spiritual enlightenment . There is no assurance that all we seek from other humans will be fully attained or resolved. So we should firstly present our trammels and disputes to God and seek his help. There are some who say that “why should we ask God to resolve our worldly problems, we should seek his help only for spiritual gains”. But there are plenty of responsibilities and dependents for a householder, he cannot leave those dependent on him and look for self-interests like salvation until the responsibilities are fulfilled. There are three l

The Essence of Chapter 20, Volume 1 Om Sri Gurubhyo namaha!!! The governments are expected to provide facilities for people to live peacefully but it looks like  deprivation  is progressing day by day. People are jubilant that there is great economic development but where is that growth? One who was having coffee twice earlier has it four times now, one who was living in hut is now living in concrete building, one who had two pairs of clothes has 20 pairs today. It is not proper to think that these are the symbols of economic growth.  If we keep increasing our wants in this manner, we will always be laboring harder . Whatever is required for the basic living should always be in the reach of all. There should be proper laws for that. Everybody should try and lead lives in the same way as much as possible. That is the true meaning of aparigraham. One who wants to attain spiritual heights in life should never accumulate more than required. If some people who are rich live in

The Essence of Volume 1 Chapter 20 Om Sri Gurubhyo namaha!!! Our government can facilitate to develop good qualities like devotion in people. In a scenario filled with devotion, there would be no need for society to say that morality is dead no necessity to use brutal force on public and to waste money on unnecessary law enforcement activities.  We seem to have got freedom even before we realized the real meaning of what freedom is all about . It is the same as holding the tail first, the last part, leaving all other parts. As long as we think that an elected government should not involve in propagation of devotion and delink Constitution from devotion, the governments will continue to face difficulties and also make wasteful expenditure on governance. Why do we say devotion to God is important?  So that every person strives to realize the Reality and become free from rebirth.  Yama  is the first principle in such an effort and  Aparigraha  is the most important aspect whic

The Essence of Volume 1 Chapter 16 Om Sri Gurubhyo namaha!!! Most humans have a feeling of deficiency or lack. All feelings of happiness or beauty or desires are all generated from within. Whatever is inside is what reflects outside. There is nothing outside. Everything is inside. All that is there outside has to merge with what is inside. Lord Krishna said in Bhagavadgita: apuryamanam acala-pratistham   samudram apah pravisanti yadvat   tadvat kama yam pravisanti sarve   sa santim apnoti na kama-kami                                  Chapter 2 Verse 70 (A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires--that enter like rivers into the ocean which is ever being filled but is always still--can alone achieve peace and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires) A desire (Kama) is nothing but a longing or attraction for outside objects. We try to derive happiness from such desires.  How can a person always deriving happiness from outside be at peace? Th

The Essence of Volume 1, Chapter 20  Om Sri Gurubhyo namaha!!! The greatest realizable fruit of human birth is to know the ultimate Reality or Truth. If we observe closely, we can understand that the Truth is nothing but God. The moment realization dawns, usage of words like  I  and  Me  will no longer linger in our minds.  The rivers lose their identity after they merge with the sea.  In the same way, once  Jivatma  merges with  Paramatma , it loses its identity. So,as long as the Jivatma is dwelling in this body, we should aim to realize Paramatma and that is the real meaning of human life. To achieve realization and to understand that philosophy there are certain activities to be compulsorily followed as prescribed in   Ashtangayoga  which consists of eight limbs namely   Yama ( moral codes ),   Niyama ( self-purification and study ),   Asana (   posture ),   Pranayama (  breath control ),   Pratyahara  ( withdrawing of the mind from the senses ),   Dharana  ( concentr

The essence from Volume 1 Chapter 10 Om Sri Gurubhyo Namaha !!! That state which when attained creates a feeling in us that there is nothing greater,that is what is attainable. To attain that state, one needs to have clean mind and concentration.  Desire, anger and lust  are the dirt that is attached to the mind. Once these are removed we can understand the  Reality .  The sign of having achieved  that Reality is when one is  unmoved  and  unfazed  at times of  difficulties  and  miseries . Another sign of highest achievement of yoga is when one is always in  blissful state (ananda).  Understanding the s at  and then rooting one’s  chit  in that  sat  will always lead to  ananda ( bliss). Disciplined  and  regulated  way of life alone will remove the instabilities of the mind and lead to concentration. This state can be attained by  constant practice .  Yoga means Viyog from miseries .  If a dog has to save us from thieves, first the dog has to be taken care of by us

The essence from Volume 1 Chapter 10 Om Sri Gurubhyo Namaha !!! What are Vedas? What is the objective of Vedas? How and why did they come into being? These are some of the doubts that most people have. The Upanishads suggest that all Vedas point towards only one which is the  Supreme Reality( Sat) . We come to know of an subject/object through various sources. That which is realized ultimately through  yoga ,  meditation, tapas, yagna  and  karma  is the core Reality of Vedas. Everything else may change but the core Reality remains forever. To experience that Reality, we need to follow certain rules in life. Every activity has to be performed with the objective of  mind purification  and reaching that Reality  (Sat). We are normally disturbed by even the smallest of a problem. If we have to remain stable in spite of problems we need to follow a disciplined life.  A   body builder   does a lot of hard work and follows a strict regimen of time, diet, etc., to build a muscular b

The essence from Volume 1, Chapter 3 OM Sri Gurubhyo Namaha!! We have to dedicate all our actions to God (Eswar) to receive His divine Grace. It is but natural that we are always doing some activity or the other and can never be free even for a second. There are activities of the body and activities of the mind in the form of thoughts. The very purpose of visiting temples and offering prayers is to offer oneself completely in thought and action to God. Lord Krishna declared in Bhagavadgita:             yat karoshi yad asnaasi yaj juhoshi dadasi yat           yat tapasyasi kaunteya tat kurushva mad-arpanam          Ch 9, V 27 ( whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer or give away, and whatever austerities you perform – do that, O son of Kunti, as an offering to me) God has given us body. We take food when we feel hungry. We need shelter to protect ourselves from rain, heat and cold. Unlike other animals, we need clothing to cover our bodies.  Food, clot

His Holiness. Sri.ChandraSekharendra Saraswathi OM Sri Gurubhyo Namaha!!! Gururbrahma  Gururvishnu  GuruDevoMaheshvaraha !! GuruSaakshaat ParamBrahma Tasmai Sri Gurave Namaha !! Pranams to Sri Jagadguru Sri Adi Sankaraachaarya and His Holiness Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi. The teachings of His Holiness Sri Adi Sankarachaarya are timeless jewels. They are the floodlights that show path to a Saadhaka( one who strives). They are a medicine for the soul (Atma) that is suffering from the cycle of birth and death. When this medicine is taken in the right way, the Atma is bound to merge with Paramaatma and escape from the cycle of Samsaara. Understanding these teachings helps in leading a peaceful, fruitful and spiritual life. The teachings were propagated by His Holiness Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi on several occasions during his lifetime which were brought out in Telugu in 10 volumes as   Jagadguru Bodhalu   by   Sadhana Grantha Mandali , Tenali, Andhra Prad

This is one film in which the entire screen time and space is completely occupied by the hero with not much scope for any other actor. The movie should have been named as ‘Fightman’tudu rather than Srimanthudu. The story as lot of people know by now is about how a young man Harshavardhan( Mahesh Babu ), son of a self-made billionaire adopts his father’s ( Ravikanth played by Jagapathi Babu ) village to create facilities for the people living there. Jagapathi Babu’s action was so-so and Sukanya , who played the role of Hero’s mother was more ornamental than anything else. She failed to get into the skin of a mother. The conversations between Mahesh and Jagapathi Babu were not really like between a father and son. Except for the point of adopting the village and a few touchy scenes, the movie is a bit slow and doesn’t meet the usual Mahesh’s movies which cause adrenaline-rush for the viewers. The fights are overdone and don’t match with the title of the movie. They remind one of Pr