అంబేద్కర్... ఆ పేరే ఒక ప్రే"రణం"

  అంబేద్కర్… ఈ పేరు వినగానే మీకు ఏం గుర్తుకు వచ్చింది? దళితులు, వారిపై జరిగిన అంటరానితనపు అమానుషం, దానికి వ్యతిరేకంగా జీవిత కాలం పోరాడిన ఒక మహానాయకుడు… ఇంతే కదా? కాని, అంబేద్కర్ అంత మాత్రమే కాదు. అంబేద్కర్ ఓ అద్భుతం! అంబేద్కర్ ఓ పోలికంటూ లేని అనుపమానం!   డాక్టర్ భీమ్ రావ్ రామ్ జీ అంబేద్కర్… ఓ రణం మాత్రమే కాదు… ప్రేరణం కూడా! అదీ కేవలం దళితులకి మాత్రమే కాదు… అన్ని కులాల వారికి! అన్ని వర్గాల వారికి! ఎక్కడున్న వారైనా సరే… అందరికీ! అంతటి విభిన్న కోణాల విశిష్ట వ్యక్తిత్వం మన రాజ్యాంగ నిర్మాతది!   అంబేద్కర్ అంటే దళితవాదం నుంచి బయటకి వచ్చి చూడాలి. అప్పుడే ఆయనెవరో మనకు పూర్తిగా తెలిసేది. మరీ ముఖ్యంగా అంబేద్కర్ మనకు అందించే ప్రేరణ కనిపించేది కూడా అప్పుడే! ఒక అత్యంత పేద కుటుంబం… అందులో పద్నాలుగురు పిల్లల్లో తానొకరు. పైగా అంటరానితనపు దారుణమైన సంకెళ్లు. అయినా అంబేద్కర్ రెక్కల్ని విధి విజృంభింపజేసిన ఈ తుఫానులేవీ … విరిచేయలేకపోయాయి. ఆయన తన గ్రామంలోని దళిత వాడ నుంచి ఏకంగా లండన్ విశ్వవిద్యాలయాల వరకూ దీక్షతో , దక్షతతో ఎగిరాడు. ఎదిగాడు.     ఈనాటికీ అంబేద్కర్ ప్రతీ పేదవాడికి అందించే జీవిత సూత్రం దీక్షా, దక్షతలే! పట్టుదలతో చదివితే జీవితంలో ఉత్తీర్ణులు కావొచ్చు! బతుకు పరీక్షల్లో వందకు వంద మార్కులు తెచ్చుకోవచ్చు! అంబేద్కర్ ను మొత్తం సమాజం ఏకమై అడ్డుకున్నా ఆయన దూసుకుపోయాడు. దానికి కారణం తీక్షణమైన మేధాస్సు, దానితో సాధించిన చదువు. మనం మహానేతలని తలుచుకునే గాంధీ, నెహ్రుల కంటే అంబేద్కర్ ఎన్నో డిగ్రీలు, పీజీలు, పీహెచ్ డీలు ఎక్కువగా చేశారు. ఆయన ఎకనమిక్స్ లో మహాపండితుడు. అయినా కూడా మన వారు ఎందుకనో నెహ్రునే పండిత్ జీ అన్నారు గాని అంబేద్కర్ ని కాదు! నిజానికి బహుశాస్త్ర పండితుడు అంబేద్కర్!   అంబేద్కర్ నుంచి చదువుని అస్త్రంగా, శస్త్రంగా చేసుకుని జీవన రణరంగంలో గెలవటమే కాదు… ఇంకా చాలా నేర్చుకోవచ్చు! ఆయన రాసిన రాజ్యాంగం ఇవాళ్ల నూటా ఇరవై కోట్ల పై చిలుకు భారతీయుల తల రాతల్ని నిర్ధేశిస్తోంది! అదీ విజయం అంటే… ఆయన నుదుటన చిన్నప్పుడు చెడు రాత రాసిన సమాజానికి…తాను చనిపోయేలోగా ఆయన సరికొత్త రాత రాశాడు!    మనం ఏ పాకిస్తాన్ లానో అరాచకంలో కూరుకుపోలేదు. మనకు దేశంపైనా, వ్యవస్థపైనా, ఆ మాటకొస్తే అంబేద్కర్ రాసిన రాజ్యాంగంపైన కూడా అసంతృప్తి వుండవచ్చు. కాని, ఆయన రాసిన ఆధునిక ప్రజాస్వామ్య వేదం ఎంత గొప్పదంటే ఇంత విశాలమైన , విస్తృమైన భారత ఉపఖండం అరవై ఏళ్ల తరువాత కూడా దాని వల్లే భద్రంగా వుంది. ఇది చేసిన రాజ్యాంగ రచయితని ఎలా సామాన్యుడు అనగలం?   రాజ్యాంగం లాంటి చారిత్రక అవసరం తీర్చిన అంబేద్కర్ నుంచి సామాన్యులు కఠోర శ్రమని నేర్చుకోవచ్చు! అంతటి మహత్తర కార్యం అంత గొప్పగా మరొకరెవరూ చేసి వుండేవారు కాదు! అంతే కాదు, అంబేద్కర్ అంకిత భావం స్వాతంత్ర్యానికి ముందు, తరువాత కూడా అడుగడుగునా మనకు కనిపిస్తుంది!   ఇవాళ్ల మన ఇళ్లలో విద్యుత్ వెలుగులు గొప్పగా వెలిగిపోతున్నాయి. వాట్ని రాజేసింది అంబేద్కరే! ఇండియాలో గ్రిడ్ విధానంలో విద్యుత్ సరఫరా జరగటానికి, పవర్ సప్లై వ్యవస్థ ఏర్పడటానికి అంబేద్కర్ కృషి ఎంతో వుంది. ఆయన వల్లే దామోదర్ వ్యాలీ ప్రాజెక్ట్, హీరాకుడ్ ప్రాజెక్ట్ లాంటి ఎన్నో పెద్ద పెద్ద కట్టడాలు సాకారమయ్యాయి.   అంబేద్కర్ వల్లే భారతీయ రిజర్వ్ బ్యాంక్ ఏర్పడింది. ఆయన వల్లే దేశంలోని కోట్లాది కార్మికులు క్షేమంగా వుంటున్నారు. ఆయన రూపొందించిన లేబర్ లాసే నేటీకి మన సమాజాన్ని నిర్ధేశిస్తున్నాయి!   అంబేద్కర్ గురించి చెబుతూ పోతే గ్రంథాలు నిండిపోతాయి… గ్రంథాలయాలు చోటు చాలక ఇరుకైపోతాయి… కాని, ఒక్కటి మాత్రం నిజం! అంబేద్కర్ ఓ ఉద్యమకారుడు కాదు! ఆయనే ఓ మహోద్యమం! ఎన్ని పార్శ్వాల్లో చూస్తే అన్ని విభిన్నత్వాలతో దర్శనమిస్తాడు! అంత ప్రేరణ కూడా ఇస్తాడు!   సూర్యుడు సహజంగా అయితే చెమటలు పట్టిస్తాడు. కాని, భక్తిగా మొక్కే వారికి భగవంతుడిలా కనిపిస్తాడు. తెలివిగా వాడుకునే వారికి సౌర విద్యుత్ లా పనికి వస్తాడు! అంబేద్కర్ అలాంటి ఓ సూర్యుడే! ఆయన దేవుడంటూ మొక్కే వారు చాలా మందే వుండొచ్చు! లేదంటే ఆయన దేవుడని ప్రచారం చేసి ప్రసాదాలు మింగేసే వారూ వుండొచ్చు! వాళ్లని పక్కన పెడదాం… అంబేద్కర్ అనే సూర్యుడి నుంచి ప్రేరణ అనే సౌర విద్యుత్ ధగధగ వెలుగుల్ని మన గుండెల్లో నింపుకుందాం! అంబేద్కర్ కూడా ఓ గాంధీ, ఓ నెహ్రు, ఓ పటేల్, ఓ బోస్ లాంటి ‘అందరివాడని’ నిరూపిద్దాం!    ..Jaisimha Chaturvedi

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చల్లటి చలికాలం. రక్తం కూడా గడ్డకట్టుకుపోయే ఓ మంచు ప్రదేశం. ఆ ప్రదేశం గుండా కొందరు శరణార్ధులు నడుస్తున్నారు. వారందరి మొహాలలో ఉత్సాహం. మరొక్క రెండు కిలోమీటర్లు అలా నడిస్తే చాలు, వాళ్లంతా ఓ కొత్త దేశానికి చేరుకుంటారు. అక్కడ తమ కోసం ఓ కొత్త జీవితం ఎదురుచూస్తోంది. అలా వాళ్లు ఉద్వేగంతో నడుస్తున్నారో లేదో, దారి సన్నబడటం మొదలైంది. ఆ దారిలో ఒక్క అడుగు అటూ ఇటూ వేసినా పక్కనే ఉన్న పాతాళంలోకి జారిపోవడం ఖాయం. అందుకని ఒకరి చేయి ఒకరు పట్టుకుని నిదానంగా అడుగులో అడుగు వేసుకుంటూ నడవడం మొదలుపెట్టారు. కానీ ఎంత జాగ్రత్తగా నడిచనా వారి భయం నిజం కాక తప్పలేదు. గుంపులో ఉన్న ఓ ఇద్దరు హఠాత్తుగా లోయలోకి జారిపోయారు. లోయ మధ్యలో ఉన్న ఓ చిన్న చెట్టుని పట్టుకుని వేళ్లాడటం మొదలుపెట్టారు. వారిద్దరినీ చూడగానే మిగతా గుంపు కంగారుపడిపోయింది. వారిని పైకి లాగుదామంటే దగ్గర్లో ఒక్క తాడు ముక్క కూడా లేదయ్యే! ‘పైకి వచ్చే ప్రయత్నం చేయవద్దు! అలాగే చెట్టుని పట్టుకుని వేళ్లాడుతూ ఉండండి. త్వరలోనే ఏదో ఒక ఉపాయం ఆలోచిద్దాం’ అంటూ గుంపులో జనమంతా అరవడం మొదలుపెట్టారు. వాళ్లకి తెలుసు. కింద ఉన్న ఇద్దరూ ఎక్కువసేపు అలా ఉండలేరని! అయినా వాళ్లు పైకి వచ్చే ప్రయత్నం చేస్తే మరింత త్వరగా ప్రాణాలు పోతాయని అనుకున్నారు. అందుకే ఎవరికి వాళ్లు తాడు కోసం వెతుకుతూనే ‘పైకి వచ్చే ప్రయత్నం చేయవద్దు’ అంటూ అరవడం మొదలుపెట్టారు. నిమిషాలు గడుస్తున్నాయి. కింద చెట్టుని పట్టుకున్న వారిద్దరి వేళ్లూ మొద్దుబారిపోవడం మొదలుపెట్టాయి. ఇంతలో వారిలో ఒకడు నిదానంగా పైకి వచ్చే ప్రయత్నం చేయసాగాడు. రెండో వాడు అలాగే భయంతో చెట్టుని మరింత గట్టిగా పట్టుకుని వేళ్లాడసాగాడు. రెండోవాడిని నిలువరించేందుకు పై నుంచి అరుపులు మరింత తీవ్రం కాసాగాయి. పైకి వచ్చేందుకు ప్రయత్నిస్తే చస్తావంటూ హెచ్చరించడం మొదలుపెట్టారు గుంపులోని గోవిందయ్యలు. అయినా వారి వంక చిరునవ్వులు చిందిస్తూ, ఒకో అడుగే పట్టు చిక్కించుకుంటూ, చేతులని రాతి సందుల్లో ఇరికిస్తూ పైకి రాసాగాడు రెండోవాడు. ఒక్క అరగంట అలా ఒకో అంగుళం పైకి ఎక్కుతూ ఎట్టకేలకు కొండదారిని చేరుకున్నాడు. ఈలోగా కిందనున్న మనిషికి మాత్రం వేళ్లు మొద్దుబారిపోయాయి. పట్టుతప్పి లోయలోకి పడిపోయాడు. రెండోవాడు విజయోత్సాహంతో పైకి రాగానే, అందరూ అతని చుట్టూ గుమికూడారు. ‘మేమంతా నిన్నంతగా నిరుత్సాహపరుస్తుంటే, నువ్వెందుకు వెనక్కి తగ్గలేదు!’ అంటూ రకరకాల ప్రశ్నలను సంధించారు. ఆ ప్రశ్నలన్నింటికీ అతని చిరునవ్వే సమాధానం అయ్యింది. అతని చిరునవ్వు చూసి గుంపులో జనానికి మరింత పిచ్చెత్తిపోయింది. ఇంతలో ఈ విషయాన్నంతా గమనిస్తున్న ఓ పద్దాయన అతని దగ్గరకి వెళ్లాడు. అతణ్ని నిశితంగా పరిశీలించిన తరువాత చాలాసేపు ఏవేవో సైగలు చేశాడు. చివరికి తన గుంపుతో అన్నాడు కదా ‘ఇతనికి పాపం చెవుడు. అస్సలేమీ వినిపించదు. దాంతో మీరు అతణ్ని నిరుత్సాహపరుస్తూ చెప్పిన మాటలు కూడా అతనికి వినిపించలేదు సరికదా... మీ ఉద్వేగాన్ని చూసి మీరంతా అతణ్ని ప్రోత్సహిస్తున్నారని అనుకున్నాడు. ఆ ఉత్సాహంతోనే పైకి చేరుకున్నాడు’ అని చెప్పుకొచ్చాడు. ఆ మాటలు విన్న జనాలకి మతిపోయింది. ఎలాగూ తాము తాడు తెచ్చేదాకా వాళ్లు బతకరని గుంపులో జనానికి తెలుసు. కనీసం వారిని పైకి రమ్మని ప్రోత్సహిస్తే బాగుండేది కదా అనిపించింది. రెండోవాడు చెవిటివాడు కాబట్టి సరిపోయింది. లేకపోతే తమ ప్రవర్తన వల్ల అతని ప్రాణం కూడా పోయి ఉండేది కదా అనిపించింది. నిరుత్సాహాన్ని కలిగించే మాటలు, గెలిచే అవకాశం ఉన్నచోట కూడా పరాజయాన్ని రుచిచూపిస్తాయనీ... ధైర్యాన్ని కలిగించే ప్రోత్సాహం, పరాజయం లోతుల్లోనుంచి మనిషిని గెలిపిస్తాయని తెలిసివచ్చింది. ఆ వివేకం వారికి ముందే ఉండి ఉంటే ఓ నిండుప్రాణం పోయేది కాదు కదా! - నిర్జర

రాశిఫలాలే కాదు...

    ఆదాయం - 2 వ్యయం - 8 రాజపూజ్యం - 1 అవమానం - 7 రాశిఫలాలు ఇలా సాగాయనుకోండి. చదవడానికి ఎవరికి మాత్రం సంతోషంగా ఉంటుంది? ఇక ఈ ఏడు నా జీవితం ఇంతే అనుకుని డీలాపడిపోవాలా! అడుగడుగునా వ్యయం, అనుదినం అవమానం తప్పవనుకుని రాజీకి సిద్ధపడిపోవాలా! గ్రహాలు మన జీవితాలని ప్రభావితం చేయవు అనుకుంటే అది వేరే విషయం. కానీ రాశిఫలాలను ఎంతో కొంత నమ్మేవారి పరిస్థితి ఏంటి. చావు, పుట్టుక లాంటి విషయాలు మనచేతిలో ఎలాగూ ఉండవు. కానీ ఈ మధ్యలో మనం తీసుకునే నిర్ణయాలు తప్పకుండా మన జీవితాలను ప్రభావితం చేస్తాయి. గ్రహాలు అనుకూలంగా లేవు కదా అని శ్రమించడం మానేస్తే, పరాజయాలే మిగులుతాయి. ఏమో 50 శాతం కృషి చేసిన చోట 90 శాతం శ్రమించి ఉంటే, ఫలితం వేరేలా ఉండవచ్చు! ఒకవేళ ఫలితం దక్కకపోయినా అనుభవం మాత్రం జీవితంలో ఎప్పటికీ వృథా పోదు కదా! లక్ష్యాన్ని చేరుకోవడంలో ఎంత తృప్తి ఉంటుందో, దానిని ఛేదించడంలోనూ అంతే తృప్తి ఉంటుందని, ఇప్పటి వ్యక్తిత్వ వికాస నిపుణులే చెబుతున్నారు. కాబట్టి, గ్రహాలు ఏం చెబుతున్నాయో తర్వాతి విషయం. మనం చేయాల్సిన పనిలో మాత్రం లోటు రాకుండా చూసుకుందాం. అందుకే భారతీయ తత్వం మాటిమాటికీ ‘కర్తవ్యాన్ని పాటించు, ఫలితాన్ని ఆశించకు’ అని చెబుతూనే ఉంటుంది.   ఒకే సమయానికి పుట్టిన ఇద్దరు వ్యక్తులను తీసుకుంటే, వారి జాతకాల ప్రకారం ఇద్దరి జీవితాలూ ఒకేలా ఉండాలి కదా! అలా కాకుండా ఉండటానికి ఆస్తికులు వేర్వేరు కారణాలు చెబుతారు. పూర్వజన్మ సుకృతమనో, యోగమనో, కుటుంబ జాతక బలమనో అంటారు. ఈ కారణాలకి మనం కృషి అన్న మాటని కూడా చేర్చేస్తే సరి. అసలు మనిషి బుద్ధి జీవి కాబట్టే కదా, ఈ విషయాలన్నింటి గురించీ తెగ ఆలోచిస్తోంది. కాబట్టి ఆ ఆలోచన ఏదో కాస్తా సానుకూలంగా సాగిస్తే పోలా! ఆదాయం 2, వ్యయం 8 అని ఉంటే... ఏమో ఏ బ్యాంకు రుణమన్నా తీసుకుని చక్కగా ఇల్లు కొనుక్కుంటామేమో! రాజపూజ్యం 1, అవమానం 7 అని ఉంటే పెద్దవాళ్లెవరో మనల్ని ముక్కుచీవాట్లు పెట్టి మంచిదారిలో నడిపిస్తారేమో! ఏట్నాటి శని నడుస్తోందంటే, జీవితంలో మంచి అనుభవాలను నేర్పుతుందేమో!   అయినా మన మీద మనకి నమ్మకం ఉన్నప్పుడు, దైవం మీద భారం వేసినప్పుడు గ్రహాల గురించిన భయం ఎందుకు? నిరంతరం సుఖాలలో తేలిపోవాలనీ, చుట్టూ బాజాభజంత్రీలు మోగాలనీ, పట్టుపరుపుల మీదే ప్రయాణాలు సాగాలని అనుకోవడం అత్యాశ కాదా! అలాంటి జీవితం ఎంత నిస్సారంగా ఉంటుందో. కష్టపడినప్పుడే సుఖం విలువ తెలిసేది. కష్టసుఖాలు సరిసమానంగా ఉంటేనే జీవితం నిండేది. ఆ విషయాన్ని గ్రహించినప్పుడు, కష్టసుఖాలకు అతీతమైన స్థితిని పొందినప్పుడు... జీవితంలో ప్రతి రోజూ ఉగాదే! అప్పుడు ఆదాయం, వ్యయం, రాజపూజ్యం, అవమానం, శని, గురుడు... లాంటి విషయాలన్నింటినీ మించి మానవత్వం,విచక్షణ, శ్రమ, లక్ష్యం మన భవిష్యత్తుని నిర్ణయిస్తాయి. - నిర్జర.  

Career predictions for the new year!

  You would be concentrating on the advancement of your goals, especially where your professional life is concerned. Aries, keep your head down and focus, and new and outstanding projects alike will be brought to completion with relative ease.You will stand out above the crowd in your office for sure. If you have been working on a big project, you will come to completion around this time.What you will find even more encouraging, is that your friends and loved ones will support you as you gain momentum at work. This will allow you to take your career further without jeopardizing your relationships, but this is no excuse to neglect those who you love. Make sure to balance your time.   Your innovation in the workplace will not go unrecognized this year, and you can expect professional growth no matter what area you work in, as long as you work hard to show the people who matter what you are really made of.You may see conflict with friends and family who you previously felt support from, or you may find that plans at work just do not seem to pay off – despite careful planning.Challenges are all part of your character building. If things happened too easily for you, you just might not appreciate them.   Professional obstacles can come around again in August.Your confidence may be at a low too with the presence of the Sun in Capricorn. You will have to use your exceptional imagination and adaptive skills to find your way around this mental mess, or just take some time to relax. However, some of these obstacles can be a blessing in disguise, and you may find that problems eventually give way to promotions or pay increases.   If you are unemployed this might mean finding a job, or if you already working for a certain company you may start to settle into a new role, or find that aspects that you struggle with seem to click into place.You may also decide to start a new business at the time, and if you do you will find that your hard work starts to pay off, and you can do more of what you love for a living.Overall an outstanding year for your career. You will earn more and spend more.Work related travel will run smoothly. Promotions and wage increases are likely, and for anyone starting a new business this year promises to be exciting!   It may be the case that you have to overcome adversaries in the workplace in order to really get where you are going. It could be a jealous colleague, or a superior that has it in for you, but whatever it is you will need to be tactful to navigate the situation.you may feel moody, and like work is taking over your life. You should be very careful not to take your anger out on others at this time, especially not loved ones and family members, or you could cause serious offense.work related travel might be on the cards, and if you choose to take short trips away with work you will probably find them to be a rewarding break from the norm.   Virgo who are involved in their own business ventures or investments can enjoy exceptional prosperity from all directions this year.Exciting times in your work life Virgo! You will impress both your seniors and your colleagues, and will be well recognized as an extremely valuable asset. First you will have to prove yourself, then you will enjoy the affection of others in the office, and then you will have to be diplomatic and communicative in order to earn your stability. You will get there in the end you can be sure!   Hard work will prevail. You will be very much enjoying the company of good friends at the start of the year, and you will have the balance really well set, you will be happy to have less going on at work. There could be tensions in other areas of your life that can affect your business or work. The trick is not to make any major decisions at this time. It's all steady away really. You could make the presentation of a lifetime, secure a new deal, or impress your seniors.   If you have been seeking to go into a new venture then you may find the funds you need to carry out your plan. You may also start feeling indecisive about the venture and your finances could dip.Just make sure you have thought it through enough to know that it will work, because there might be a bump along the way. Rise to the challenge this year Scorpio, and you will receive the recognition that you deserve. Sometimes you just have to prove yourself first, and this can mean taking the odd risk.   It will be hard work that sees you advance this year, along with composure in the face of any conflicts. Keep your cool and keep your head down, and you can expect to move forward in business or work. You may be focused on your social life as well as spending a lot of time with your family, but that doesn't mean you won't be putting in the hard work that is needed for you to get along in life. You might feel that you are not really getting much back for your extra efforts, but if you keep working hard this will soon change. You should be very diplomatic at this time, and sometimes it is better to say nothing at all. Even an innocent suggestion could be taken badly.   You will start the year with a professional energy that is hard to beat. You may already be living the dream in your personal life, but work will pay off too. This is an especially prosperous time for those who work in fashion or interior design.If you keep your efforts up and hit targets, you could find a promotion. All of that hard work is most likely to pay off with an increase in wages, and maybe a new role or responsibility. In any case your new found leadership skills will come in handy. If you have confidence, then you can move up the ladder quite quickly. Anyone taking a professional course will also find success.   Your work life might not always be exhilarating, but by the end of the year you will find your efforts are rewarded, and one way or another you will come to be happy in your career. You will have a great spell of new found enthusiasm for your work, and you may find variety and new opportunities within your existing vocation that make it much easier for you to put in the hours. Business will boom, and whether or not you are in a new job you are sure to shine. Your seniors will appreciate everything that you do for the company, and are very likely to offer you a pay rise or promotion.   This is a great year for your professional development, and you will see many opportunities to grow your business, take on more work, or rise to a more financially comfortable place because of your job. You may switch your job, this could sway towards a role that is more active in society – have a think about your current situation, and see whether a change would make you happier. In any case, professional development is likely, if you focus more energy on it. This year is great time for those who work for themselves, or have a business. Expansion is likely, or you will be able to put your prices up according to demand or increased quality of product. - Divya  

Poor eye vision? What is it you are unwilling to see in your life?

We have all such busy schedules these days, we have no time for simple pleasures that nature offers us in plenty. How long has it been you have gazed at the moon and enjoyed the coolness of moon light? We hardly appreciate what is available to us every day in front of our eyes. But imagine a person not being able to see it even if he just loves the beauty of nature. Just like a healthy body, eyesight is something we take for granted until we start having vision issues.   A client recently shared a similar story. He was living in a desert country and in the middle of summer he was walking on the road enjoying clear sky and moon light. Suddenly he looked up at the sky and surprised to see two layered moon. He was shocked and started worrying if his eye sight had gone bad. His local friends said that it can just be because of mirages in the dessert areas. But this continued for quite some time and he started noticing that his eyesight was getting worse. He went to an eye doctor who told him that he had Nearsightedness and had to wear eye glasses. And by the time this got diagnosed, he ended up with very powerful glasses. He was very unhappy to wear glasses.   He wanted to get back to his natural eye sight. We all know nearsightedness is a situation where the person is not able to see distant objects clearly. But this is literally how our body is translating our inner state of mind, not willing to see or accept a future situation or what we perceive may come up in future in our life.   We started going back to his life history, 2-3 years before he experienced issues with his eye sight. During that time, he was running through a bad patch in life, all his money got exhausted with unexplainable reasons, his career wasn’t going well, challenges with boss and co-workers, issues with almost all the family members, brother, parents and spouse. It seemed to him that nothing in his life was going right. Life for him seemed to be doomed with no hope or ray of light at the end of the tunnel. He thought of killing himself a couple of times, even that didn’t work for him.   He was deep in debts and ended up paying 75% of his salary towards clearing debts and paying interest on them. He could see his life collapsing on him and he wasn’t in a position to help himself. When life was taking him nowhere, he just wanted to withdraw from this environment and opted to go to a country which never interested him including the pay packet. He moved out to that country to ensure that he is away from the whole of his world which is collapsing on him.   From the time he stepped into that country, he wanted to run away but legal formalities never allowed him to do so. He had no other option but to stay put up in that country. He was also afraid he would not get a suitable job back in India even if he manages to come back. He wasn’t sure about his future and found it to be unthinkable. And the body reacted perfectly through eyes. He was seeing a future, which he never liked to see.   I recall another similar instance of eye vision issue. Couple of years back, one of my friends called me from abroad, a courtesy call. We discussed life in general and how happy and how sad we are, about work, family etc. Everything went on well until he disclosed a fact that he is losing his eye vision suddenly and he was feeling very sad about it. Of course, anyone would feel really sad to lose eye vision. I started probing into the case, as when it started and what were his symptoms. When we started discussing a bit more into his issue, it has come to my awareness that he took trauma of losing his mother and never wanted to see a world where his mother's presence is not available. He was very close to his mother, he loved her, adored her, she was his friend, philosopher and guide.   He had immense gratitude towards her, he always felt his mother is the reason for his current standing in this life. He wasn’t ready to accept the fact of losing his mother. For months together he was so very disturbed and depressed and wept for more than 6 months continuously. Body responded to his strong wish and his eye vision started blurring and was getting black out. What you didn’t want to see but you are forced to see, your eye vision will help you not to see it.   I had seen so many cases, where kids in their teens start getting their glasses. Why teens, even kids of 2-3 years age also started wearing glasses. It’s a very disheartening situation. Couple of decades back, we rarely used to encounter some kid wearing glasses. Now this is a very common scenario. We tend to attribute this to poor quality of food, exposure to TV, gadgets like mobile phone, ipads etc. I agree with these reasons. However, there are strong emotional reasons for children to wear glasses.   A small girl child who is in her 5th or 6th standard was brought to my office for eye correction. She has far sightedness, which is not so common in children, we expect to see it in people in their forties. Far sightedness is a situation where distant objects can be seen clearly but objects nearby can’t be seen with proper focus. She was unable to see things nearer to her. This caused difficulty in her studies, she was not able to see the board properly, unable to see or read the text books properly. She was taken to an ophthalmologist and glasses were advised. She found wearing glasses to be uncomfortable and they ended up in my office.   When I started discussing with the child as what’s happening at home. She was a bit hesitant to open up initially. Both her parents work, they go out along with the kids and come back late in the night. In the evening when children come back from their school, their grandparents take care of them. There was always an argument between the children and grandparents. Grandparents wouldn’t like what children are doing and children wouldn’t like the instructions from grandparents. Parents come back late in the night, after hectic work and painful commute. By then, both the parents are tired but  grandparents start complaining about children and children complain about grandparents. The girl didn’t like the whole of the environment she is in. She wanted to see a home, where mother and father would give her attention, pat her and emotionally be available to her. Being a girl child and a growing one,   her requirements would be increasing but mother is always busy with her office work. No one is to blame here, family demands mother's earnings too. She had to forego her time with children to meet the family needs. The first body response in the child is through eye sight, she is not able to accept and see what she is seeing on a day to day basis. Whenever you see something that is happening on a day to day basis and which you wouldn’t want to see, you end up having far sightedness, where you will see only distant objects clearly but not the close ones.   If you wear glasses or have an issue with your eye vision, just look back at the time of your life when this problem started. What is it you did not like to see in your life then? Just go back and see what were those emotions which you didn’t want to experience and suppressed them. Our body is such a wonderful friend which tells us what our emotional issues are that need attention. If we do not like something in our environment or in future situation, it can be addressed by paying attention to how that situation makes us feel. The moment we address the emotions, the body will respond, the eye sight will improve within no time. Correcting Eye Vision may take a little time, in most of the cases, we just need to be a little patient with ourselves. It’s never late to attend to our emotional issues and improve the eye vision.   Disclaimer: Please do consult your doctor or Ophthalmologist whenever you have an issue in your eye vision. The above given information is the experience of the author and doesn’t replace medical assistance. Given information is a very small part of eye vision problems. Please take proper care of your eyes and follow the advice of your Ophthalmologist.   Ramakrishna Maguluri Engaging with life ELAI engagingwithlife@yahoo.com

Predictions for your love life as we step into the new year!

The new year is just around the corner! And here is the crystal gazing of your love life!   This could be the year that a friendship turns into more for Aries. You’ll find yourself attracted to someone who thinks outside of the box and commands their own presence and beliefs. You could gradually learn over the year that someone who has been your partner in crime could develop into something deeper, and possibly, even a long-term relationship.   Taurus will reap the rewards of what they’ve been focusing on in past few years. Since you’ve figured out that you need more stability and grounding, you’ll be attracted to someone who is more practical and can share your same preferences and interests. If you’ve been hoping for a relationship of significance, this just might be the year that you get it.   You’ll be out there quite a lot and likely, not taking anything too serious this year. You are more interested in trying new things, taking short trips and being spontaneous than settling into a committed relationship.You really need communication and a fun-loving, playful person, so keep your eye out for someone who fits the bill.   This is the year of nesting for you. You are at the stage in your life where you’re ready for something more reliable, mature and stable to build a life with. Because your friends and family are very important to you, it’s likely that they’ll introduce you to this person that will instantly fit right in.   You’re about to have a lot of fun this year. You’re kind of open to see where something could go, but you’re not ready for commitment and thinking too far ahead       Things are looking rosy for you Virgo. It’s a good year because you’ll be filled with a renewed optimism and many opportunities to meet that special someone.You’ll meet someone who is independent, energetic and isn’t afraid to go after you.     Argh! this might not be the year of relationships. This year could be challenging because the energy around you is all about being free. You might meet a lot of people, but they won’t want to be in anything serious.     It’s hard for you to let go of control in every aspect of your life, but this will be the year you learn how to surrender. Things always work out how they’re supposed to and now will be the time that you need to practice having more faith.     Time to get focused, organized and truly serious about relationships if you want it to work out well. You have the opportunity for a healthy long-term relationship or even marriage, but it’ll be about making it a priority and sticking up for what you really want instead of wasting time.     It’s likely that you’ve felt like your life has been full of big, big changes over the past years and looks like that’s going to continue in this year too. The more that you can move with the flow and embrace the transformations, the better off you will be. Focus on things and people that will help you remain calm and centered and give you the opportunity to build your life together. It’s important to you take risks and put yourself in typically uncomfortable situations if you want to meet someone special.     You’re not really looking for a relationship this year, but this year will present you with a wide variety of people to really help you understand what matters to you in a future partner. The rest will work itself out.     It could be very powerful for you to manifest the type of person and relationship you want and focus on that positive energy to bring it to you.Chances are you’ll meet someone who is the total opposite of what you usually go for, but the relationship will create unexpected joy in your life. --Divya

Power Cut?? Here are some fun things you could do during a black out!

    This Summer lets turn black out time into family time: With almost everyone getting engaged with the digital world there is a dearth of personal connections. Seize every opportunity and make it count and power cut is one. This would be a perfect chance for you to catch up on everything under the sun with your loved ones. 1) Cook up a Tasty Treat in Candle light: You could make yummylicious dishes as you have all the time on the earth,till the power is back, its fun to search for stuff in your own kitchen. 2) Dark night fun with Kids: Kids would be either bored or scared during power cuts . Give them the much deserve attention. Play around with them. You surely would not know how fast the time flies! 3) Take a nap: If you are working from home, and if your brain needs a break...just take a chill pill and take a nap. And if at office, your boss won’t be able to see you in the dark,but just make sure you don't snore 4) Socialize: The computers may not work but phone lines do. Pick up the phone and call a loved one and while away your time happily. 5) Sit by a window and write a letter: Get back to using the much forgotten pen or paper. Write a love note for your near and dear. They would love it for sure. Make sure you hand them over personally 6) In darkness, your mind works faster..so make a shopping list: Do a stock-check around the house and jot down the list of items needed. Makes your next trip to your nearby grocer easier 7) Finally you can even attend to miscellaneous works like: Attend to the teeny weeny chores you have been postponing to do from a long time. Like doing your own pedicure , arranging your can eve knitchen/cupboard or may be you could even chop vegetables for the next day's cooking. ..Divya

Are you trying to fill up sense of loss with diabetes

  As information and technology started playing a major role in the world economies, suddenly the world had become a small place. Most of Indian students jumped into engineering, specifically IT or computers and it is almost as if at least one person in each household has gone abroad. Just over a decade or so ago, a 5 digit salary per month is treated to be an achievement, but these days a 6 digit salary per month is common in many people's life. How wonderful! What prosperity many of us, urban Indians, enjoy!   Apart form IT or other technologies, Indians also have one other area where we are standing in the forefront. That's in prevalence of Diabetes! I was going through one of the WHO report and was shocked to know that India is in the forefront in the number of diabetic cases recorded. These cases have increased exponentially in the last one decade or so. As all doctors point out, certainly our lifestyles have changed, food habits have changed, no exercise to the body. From getting up late in the morning to sleeping late in the nights, everything has changed. My grandfather left his body at the age of 96 and he never had BP or Cholesterol or Diabetes. Even at that age he used to dip his idly in Ghee and eat. Never had even digestive issues or gastric issues. Not just my grandfather, many of our grand fathers have experienced similar healthy lives. The question is, why not us?   We can contribute our ill health to present day jobs, odd shift timings, quality of food grains, chemicals in food, busy life style, more traffic, more pollution and the list goes on. There is no doubt that our lifestyles are spoilt and WE are alone responsible for that. Let's accept the fact that we eat in odd hours, we don't eat breakfast, we sleep in odd hours, we don't exercise, we smoke, we drink alcohol, we spend more stressful time in traffic than peaceful time with loved ones. All this shows an impact on our liver and we end up having a fatty liver and our fasting glucose goes up and that's the start of a new chapter in our lives. Suddenly the most strongest person becomes so very fragile. Everyone at home starts expressing their sympathy and extend more concern about our health. So many restrictions on food. If we can't eat proper food what will happen to all those 6-7 digit salary figures. Well, it helps us to manage this new found disease in our body.     But if you ask me, is it only life style that gets us to diabetes, then my answer is NO. There is much more to it, rather a lot more to it. I would say the main reason is a Sense of Loss, we can add as many sub categories as possible under this. What usually stares in my face with most of my diabetes clients is, they are trying to fill up the loss of sweetness or joy in life.   One of my client who is a successful and prudential business man invested his money into a venture and unfortunately lost all his money earned over 25 years. Losing and gaining money is part of business and he is used to it. However, this time he lost all his money and literally gone to ground zero, in fact into losses, which he may take long time to recoup. He had to start from scratch. He had to lose his face among his creditors and all those people who extended loans to him. On top of this, his close friend with whom he started this business, had let go of their friendship. It was a double impact for the gentleman. Loss of money, loss of stature and loss of friendship, rather childhood friendship. Within a month of this event, he noticed sugar level fluctuations both in fasting glucose and post prandial. In this case, what may interest you is, my client is used to having a heavy breakfast and was very particular about eating lunch before 1pm in the afternoon and complete dinner by 7pm and had enough exercise.   Not just direct sense of loss but a Sense of losing control can also contribute to sugar level fluctuations. It can be loss of control on self or it can be loss of control on the family or loss of control at work place, may be subordinates or work itself. Feeling of defeat or feeling of losing on life purpose also can result into sugar level fluctuations.   There is another female client of mine, who was in her mid 30's had very high level sugar fluctuations. She was on heavy medication but the sugar level fluctuations never got controlled. Her doctors changed medicines and she changed doctors, but nothing worked for her. When we started checking back at life events, it has come up that she lost both her parents within a span of three months and she was the only daughter. The sense of loss of parents was such a major shock to her that, very soon after this, she ended up having Sugar level fluctuations. She was holding to that trauma so very tightly that the fluctuations never stopped even after using the best of the drugs and adhering to the diet plans and exercises as given by doctors.   Have you ever seen people making friends at smoking zone? I have seen most of the important discussions happening at Smoking Zone. People very quickly make friends here and get surprising help from smoke buddies. They build a wonderful rapport. You quit smoking and your membership gets canceled. You are no more in the group. You miss all the fun :-)   Same way, diabetic people make good friends with other diabetic people. It is like I am diabetic and you are diabetic. That's the common topic, they become friends, they discuss drugs, other linked symptoms, their diet, life styles, or precautions they take. If you are not diabetic, you are not in that group. Diabetic clients develops an affinity towards the group at sub conscious level. It's the attention they miss if they are no more diabetic. We may question why would anyone want to be diabetic, no one would at conscious level but at sub conscious level, they don't want to let go of diabetic issue. Initially diabetes catches a person and later on they catch diabetes. They don't let go. Family members suddenly start expressing their concern about the health and everyone follows up on diet timings, medicines etc. If diabetes is gone, they would miss all the attention they have been receiving from family and friends. Who wouldn't want attention from spouse, kids and friends. In fact, if emotional reasons are not managed well, fear of losing all this acts subconsciously to keep diabetes in place.   If you are diabetic, reflect on this. Do you resonate with a sense of loss or losing control in any aspect of life? If you do, there is a good chance you can let go of your condition. Once sense of loss is accepted, allowed and the experience is completed, diabetes wouldn't be there in the body. It had showed up for a purpose, once the purpose is served, it would go. Of course, one key question is "Are we ready to let go of Diabetes"? If the answer is yes at sub conscious level, and you are ready to let go, then Diabetes would be happy to leave the body and the body helps you to get back to perfect health.   Medical Disclaimer: Diabetes requires immediate medical attention. Ignoring medical attention can impact / failure of other organs of the body and can finally lead to death. The emotions given in this article are only some of the emotions among many that can cause diabetes. The above information doesn't replace medical assistance and are experiences of the author. Please consult your Diabetologist or your general physician in case of sugar level fluctuations/ diabetes. Ramakrishna Maguluri Engaging with life ELAI engagingwithlife@yahoo.com

ఎదుగుదలకు నిత్య సూత్రం...' ఫోకస్'

  మనం ఎంతో ఇష్టం గా ఒక పని చేయటం మొదలు పెడతాం..ఇష్టం గా చేసే పని ఎప్పుడూ మనల్ని ఒక మెట్టు ఎక్కిస్తుంది ..ఆ మెట్టు ఎక్కిన సంబరం లో మనం ఉండగానే , మనల్ని ఆ మెట్టు మీద నుంచి పై మెట్టు మీదకి వెళ్ళకుండా కిందకి లాగటానికి ఒకో సారి ఎన్నో చేతులు ప్రయత్నిస్తుంటాయి. అప్పుడు మనం ఏం చేయాలి ? మనందరి జీవితాలలో ఎప్పుడో ఒకప్పుడు ఇలాంటి అనుభవం ఎదురవుతూ వుంటుంది . అప్పుడు కోపం, ఉక్రోషం వస్తుంటుంది ..ఏం చేస్తే మనం వాళ్ళని ఎదుర్కోగలం ?  అన్న ఆలోచన తినేస్తుంటుంది . దీనికి నిపుణులు చెబుతున్న సలహా ఏంటో తెలుసా ? "మిమ్మల్ని ఎదగ నివ్వ కూడదు అనుకునే చేతులకి అంద నంత ఎత్తుకు ఎదగండి "అదెలా సాధ్యం ? అంటే నిపుణులు చెబుతున్న సూచనలు ఇవిగో మీకోసం ఇక్కడ ఇస్తున్నాం ..చదివేయండి..ఆలోచించండి ..ఆచరించండి ..   మనకి కావలసిన దానిమీద వుండాలి మన ఫోకస్ ఏ చెట్టు ఎదగాలో దానికి నీళ్ళు పోస్తాం  మనం ..అంతే కాని అక్కరలేని పిచ్చి మొక్కకి కాదుగా . అలాగే మన ఆలోచనలు కూడా మనకి కాలసిన వాటి గురించి మాత్రమే వుండాలి కాని , అక్కరలేని వాటి గురించి ఉండకూడదు. మనం దేని మీద శ్రద్ద పెడితే అది మాత్రమే ఎదుగుతుంది." ఫోకస్ "  మీ ఎదుగుదలకి, ఆనందానికి అతి ముఖ్యమయిన అంశం. అందుకే మీ ఫోకస్ ఎప్పుడూ మీరు చేసే పని మీదే పెట్టండి . దానిని మరింత శ్రద్దగా చేయగలుగు తారు . దానితో రిజల్ట్స్ కూడా అలాగే వస్తాయి. సో ...ఎదిగే కొద్ది గుర్తు పెట్టుకోవలసిన ముఖ్య సూత్రం ఇదే.

ఈ రోజు వరల్డ్ బార్బీ డే

  ఆటబొమ్మలంటే చిన్నపిల్లలు ఎవరికైనా ఇష్టమే. అందులోనూ  బార్బీ బొమ్మలని చూడగానే దానిని కొనేంతవరకు పిల్లల మనసు కొట్టుకుపోతూనే ఉంటుంది. ఇంట్లో ఎన్ని బొమ్మలున్నా ఇంకో స్టైల్ లో బార్బీ కనపడితే అది కూడా కోనేయాల్సిందే. ముఖ్యంగా ఆడపిల్లలకి ఈ బొమ్మలంటే ఉన్న మోజు అంతా ఇంతా కాదు. మొట్టమొదటిసారిగా ఈ బార్బీ బొమ్మని 1959లో అమెరికాలో జరిగిన ఇంటర్నేషనల్ టాయ్ ఫెయిర్ లో ప్రదర్శించారు. రూత్ హాండ్లర్ అనే యువతి రూపకల్పన చేసిన ఈ బార్బీ  బొమ్మ అసలు పేరు బార్బరా మిల్లిసెంట్ రాబర్ట్స్. ముద్దుగా బార్బీ అని పిలుచుకుంటున్నాం  మనం. ప్రపంచం మొత్తం మీద ప్రతి సెకండ్ కి 3 బార్బీ బొమ్మలు అమ్మబడుతున్నాయంటే వీటికి ఎంత క్రేజ్ ఉందో అర్ధమవుతుంది.     బార్బీ బాయ్ ఫ్రెండ్ 'కెన్' ని 1961 లో రూపొందించారు. అంతే  కాదు బార్బీ అన్నలు, అక్కలు మొత్తం కలిసి  ఏడుగురు ఉన్నారట. వాళ్ళే skipper, stacie, chelsea, krissy, kelly, tutti, todd. వీళ్ళందరితో కలిసిన బార్బీ సెట్లు కూడా మార్కెట్ లో దొరుకుతాయి. బార్బీ కి పెట్ ఆనిమాల్స్ అంటే ఎంతో ఇష్టం కదా. తన మొదటి పెట్ ఎవరో తెలుసా- హార్స్. ఈ హార్స్ మాత్రమే కాకుండా తనకి ఇంకా 21 డాగ్స్, 6 కాట్స్, ఒక చింపాంజీ, పాండా, పార్రేట్, జిరాఫ్ ఇంకా ఎన్నో పెట్ ఆనిమల్స్ ఉన్నాయట.     అందరి మనసులు దోచే ఈ బార్బీ డాల్ ఇంకా ఎన్నో కొత్త కొత్త రూపాల్లో వచ్చి పిల్లల మనసులు దోచేయ్యలని ఇలాంటి పుట్టినరోజులు మరెన్నో చేసుకోవాలని కోరుకుందామా.   ..కళ్యాణి

Let us celebrate caring and nurturing on this women's day

If you are a male reading this, can you imagine your life without a women's tenderness in your life, as a mother, sister, wife, daughter or just as a loving friend? Of course, you don't have to be a male to appreciate it. Women are amazing source of love and tenderness. On this women's day, let us celebrate women's presence in our world by just saying heartfelt thanks to at least one of the women in our lives, the more the better. We often say, a woman takes the place of divine to make us experience love, compassion and tenderness. In fact, I can let you into a cosmic secret. Divine presence is nothing but an infinite and all encompassing tenderness, definitely a feminine principle.   I have seen many lives disrupted by premature death of one of parents. But what I noticed most is, a mother can take up the role of the provider and still be source of tenderness for her child. But most single fathers find it difficult to play the role of mother even if they try their best, they struggle to fill that gap in love and affection a female can provide for children. I am not downplaying father's love but I just mean to convey how love and nurturing flow naturally from a women, a divine built-in mechanism to nurture this world. Don't you find that true?     Being a source of love and nurturing for others is one thing but loving and nurturing yourself is a completely different ball game. Many, many female clients I see daily fail to do this. Even the best of mothers never take time to attend to their own needs. This women's day, I would like to emphasize again and again how important it is for a women to nurture herself. Unless you feel loved and nurtured, you cannot fully provide that for others. Even if you do, you just drain yourself in the process and end up not being able to be a source of love for others. I often ask my clients, can you fill other glasses from an empty glass? So let us see a few pointers how you can do this!   Know yourself. Many of us feel unloved or uncared for, sometime or other during our lives. If I have to summarise all the cases I have dealt with, the only emotional reason for any illness is lack of love. Whatever else we speak of, it boils down to feeling of not being loved or being rejected in life. But honestly, do you really know what exactly makes you feel loved and cared for? Most of us don't know. I ask you to spend time to reflect, 'what makes me feel loved and cared for?' Trust me, each of us have a different idea about it. Unless you know what makes you feel cared, loved and nurtured, how can you get that from others or even how can you give it to yourself. There is no point feeling bad about it or manifesting illness when you do not even have a clue what your pain is all about. First know what feeling loved means to you, then express it in an honest, open and loving way to your loved ones, then give them a chance to do it for you. It helps to do it yourself for them, it is like setting an example. Sometimes you need to use both words and actions to demonstrate what you expect from others. Or even when they care for you, they will have their own idea of love and care and it may not match with what you look for.  More importantly, you will know how to give yourself that feeling. Why not? Be your own cheerleader, that's the secret of peace and happiness.   Don't ignore your pain. Give yourself time to attend to your hurt. As a mother, a wife or a sister, you often provide crying shoulder for other's pain. Give exactly same amount of support to your own emotional pain. Like a tigress licking her wounds, take time to spend time with your hurt. If you give loving attention to what you feel in any situation, you will not allow it to pile up into a major trauma in life. Spend just a few minutes every night to extend your love and attention to any hurtful situation or event you faced that day. 'How does it make me feel?' It is that simple. It also helps to have a support mechanism, a sister, a friend, mother, or someone who can listen to your pain without judgement of you or other person. You do not have to make yourself or the other person wrong, you just need to acknowledge I feel pained by this situation. More importantly, be your own support mechanism. It is part of nurturing self.     Extend your loyalty to yourself. Women's loyalty amazes me. Honestly, I witness this aspect of females so much in my line of profession. So many women come to me with emotional issues but their loyalty to their loved ones is amazing. I have an extreme example to narrate. We had a maid for cleaning our premises, she was quiet but cheerful lady. One day she asked me if I can help her like I help others in office. She told me she had some issues with her husband, he abused her physically sometimes. I wanted to support her to stand up for herself, so started explaining her how to protect herself. Immediately, she jumped to say he is a good man, just beats her when drunk, which is not that often anyway. Really, I was taken aback at that look of loyalty and affection for her abusive husband. Many would take it as ignorance, for me it’s a woman's forbearance, for good or evil, they are very loyal. I would say, extend same amount of loyalty to yourself. Commit to be with yourself no matter what happens, just the way you play this role for your husband, child or any other. If you notice closer, you make yourself wrong more times than find fault with others. You don't need to, just stand by yourself as your own champion. There is nothing wrong to fix in you, or fill a gap in you or make better about you. You are perfection itself. Once you do this, you will never find fault with others, you will be understanding and compassionate. Try it.   Love yourself. It is easy to say this but what does it mean really? If you are from corporate world, you must have seen 'pat on back' awards. Give a pat on your own back, appreciate yourself. How many things do you appreciate in yourself? Have you ever thought about what you really appreciate in yourself? If not, make a list of them. Not just for one day. Every night or at least weekly once, make a list of things you can appreciate in yourself in that day or week. Make another list, what did you make yourself wrong for, in that day or week. Make it a priority to accept yourself for that without judgement. Give yourself a nice, big hug for each item on each of the lists. Love is nothing but unconditional acceptance and appreciation of who we are.   There are many more things you can do, to care and nurture yourself, but this is a good start, if you really follow sincerely. What I tell my clients is, commit to just one practice and stick to it, you will start enjoying it. Obviously, it is not just for women, but definitely women may find it easier to do these than men.   Because, if you notice, all women do all of the above things for others already. I just ask women to extend it to themselves. I should say caring and nurturing self is honoring the feminine principle in this universe. So on this women's day, let us   honor and celebrate it by committing to self-care and nurturing. Ramakrishna Maguluri Engaging with life ELAI engagingwithlife@yahoo.com

పొడవు వారు.. గట్టివారు..

పొడవుగా వుంటే జీవితంలో అన్నింటా ముందుంటారు.. నిజం నమ్మండి అంటున్నారు ‘ఎకనామిక్స్ అండ్ హ్యూమన్ బయాలజీ’ పరిశోధకులు. దాదాపు నాలుగు లక్షల మందితో వారు చేసిన సర్వేలో ఈ విషయం తేలింది. సుమారు ఐదడుగుల పదంగుళాలకు మించి ఎత్తుండే మగవారు తమ తోటివారితో పోలిస్తే చదువులోనూ, సంపాదనలోనూ, సామాజిక సంబంధాల విషయంలోనూ, ఆనందంలోనూ ముందుంటారట. వారి ఎత్తుతోపాటు వారిలో ఈ లక్షణాలు ఎక్కువగా వుండటం గుర్తించారు ఆ సర్వేలో. ఇక ఆడవారి ఎత్తు 5.4 అడుగులు మించితే ఇంచుమించు వారిలో కూడా ఆత్మవిశ్వాసం, చురుకుదనం, తెలివితేటలు ఎక్కువగా ఉండటం గుర్తించారు. ఇంకా ఈ విషయంలో అధ్యయనం కొనసాగిస్తున్నారు. ఇంకెన్ని విషయాలు మనల్ని ఆశ్చర్యంలో ముంచబోతున్నాయో వేచిచూడాలి. ప్రస్తుతానికైతే పొడవు వాళ్ళు గట్టివాళ్ళు అనుకోవాలి. -రమ

అంతర్జాతీయ నాటక దినోత్సవం

  1.ఈ రోజు ఇంటర్నేషనల్ ధియేటర్ డే. ఇప్పటిలా సినిమాలు , వీడియో లు లేని  రోజుల్లో జనాలని తన ప్రతిభతో ఒక ఊపు ఊపేది ఈ నాటకం. రాజుల కాలక్షేపానికి, వినోదానికి ప్రదర్శించబడ్డ ఈ నాటకాలు కాలక్రమేణా ఎక్కడ జాతరలు జరిగినా లేదా  ఉత్సవాలు జరిగినా అక్కడ ప్రదర్శించబడటం ప్రారంభించారు.   2. మన దేశంలో సుమారు 1800 సంవత్సర కాలంలో ముఖానికి రంగులు వేసుకోవటం అనేది మొదలయ్యింది. 1800 కాలం ముందే ఈ రంగుల (కాస్మెటిక్స్) వాడకం ప్రజల్లోకి వచ్చినా, నాటకాలలో వాడడం మాత్రం ఇంగ్లీషు వారే మొదలు పెట్టారు. ముఖ్యంగా షేక్స్పియర్ నాటకాలతో రంగుల ప్రాభవం మరింత పెరిగింది. వివిధ రకాల పాత్రల్నీ ప్రస్ఫుటంగా స్టేజి మీద కనిపించేలా చేయడానికి ఈ రంగులు చాలా వరకూ దోహదం చేసేవి.   3. కాళిదాసు మహాకవిని నాటక పితామహుడిగా చెప్పుకోవచ్చు. అయితే ఆధునిక నాటక రచన 1860 ప్రాంతాల్లో ఆరంభంకాగా నాటక ప్రదర్శన మాత్రం 1880 లో ప్రారంభమయ్యింది. ఆధునిక కాలంలో వెలువడిన తొలి తెలుగు నాటకం" మంజరి మధుకరీయము" . దీనిని కోరాడ రామచంద్రశాస్త్రి 1860 ప్రాంతాల్లో రచించాడు.     4. ఆధునిక నాటక రచనకు ఆద్యులు ఆయనైతే  ఆధునిక నాటక ప్రదర్శన ఆరంభ దశకు కందుకూరి వీరేశలింగం పంతులు, కొండుభొట్ల సుభ్రమణ్యశాస్త్రి, నాదెళ్ళ పురుషోత్తమకవి వడ్డాది సుబ్బరాయుడుగార్లు రూపకర్తలు. వీరేశలింగం సంభాషణ రూపాన 'బ్రాహ్మ వివాహము' అనే కామిక్ ని తన "హాస్య సంజీవని" అనే  మ్యాగజిన్లో రచించారు.ఆ తరువాత 'వ్యవహార ధర్మబోధిని' అనే నాటకాన్నిప్రచురించారు . ఇది వ్యావహారిక భాషలో రాయబడింది. వ్యావహారిక భాషలో మొత్తం రచన సాగించడం ఆ రోజుల్లో  ఒక సాహసం. పైగా ప్రదర్శన భాగ్యం పొందిన తొలి తెలుగు నాటకం కూడా ఇదే.     5.ఆ తరువాతి కాలంలో అంటే 1880 లో వీరేశలింగం నాటక సమాజాన్ని స్థాపించి 'రత్నావళి', 'చమత్కార రత్నావళి' అనే  రెండు నాటకాలను ప్రదర్శించారు. తెలుగునాట తొలి నాటక సమాజాన్ని స్థాపించిన ఘనత వీరేశలింగం గారిదే.     6.. అలాగే రామకృష్ణమాచార్యులు అనబడే ఆయన 30 నాటకాలు రచించారు. అన్నీ స్వతంత్ర రచనలే. ఈయన తన నాటకాలలో పాటలు ప్రవేశపెట్టారు. అంతేకాకుండా పద్యాలను రాగయుక్తంగా పాడడం కూడా ప్రవేశపెట్టారు. ఈయన చేసిన 'సారంగధర' తెలుగులోని మొదటి స్వతంత్ర విషాద రూపకం. ఈయనకి ముందు తెలుగు నాటక రచనకు సుప్రసిద్ధమైన మార్గం లేదు. అందుకే వీరిని "ఆంధ్ర నాటక పితామహ" అని బిరుదునిచ్చి సత్కరించారు.   7. 1887లోప్రాచుర్యంలోకి వచ్చిన గురజాడ అప్పారావుగారి 'కన్యాశుల్కం' వ్యావహారిక భాషలో రచించబడ్డ అత్యుత్తమైన నాటకం. ఆ తరువాతి కాలంలో సురభి నాటకాల జోరు బాగా పెరిపోయింది. ఎక్కడ సురభి నాటకాలు ప్రదర్శిస్తే అక్కడికి జనాలు బండీలు కట్టించుకుని వచ్చి మరీ చూసేవారు. సినిమాలకి ఏ మాత్రం తీసిపోని విధంగా రకరకాల సెట్టింగ్స్ వేసి ఈ నాటకాలు ప్రదర్శించేవారు. నాటకం ఏంతో మందిని బతికించి కడుపునిండా అన్నం పెట్టింది. అలాగే కొన్ని తరాలని రంజింప చేసింది . ఇప్పటికి దానినే నమ్ముకుని బ్రతికేవారు లేకపోలేదు.   8.అయితే కాలక్రమేణా సినిమాల ఆవిర్భావంతో నాటకాలకి తెరపడటం మొదలయింది. చాలా కాలం వరకు ఒక పక్క సినిమాలు విడుదలవుతున్నా నాటకాలకున్న క్రేజ్ అలానే ఉంటూ ఉండేది. రానురాను నాటకాల కన్నా సినిమా చూడటానికి ప్రజలు ఎక్కువగా ఇష్టపడడంతో  ఇక గెలవలేని నాటక ప్రపంచం చతికిలపడాల్సి వచ్చింది. టివీల జోరు పెరిగాక నాటక ప్రపంచం దాదాపు కనుమరుగు అయిపొయింది. 9. అయితే కొన్ని చోట్ల ధియేటర్ ఆర్ట్స్ పేరుతో ఇప్పటికి కూడా నాటక ప్రదర్సనలు జరుగుతూనే ఉన్నాయి. నాటకాల పట్ల ఆసక్తి ఉన్నవారు వెళ్లి చూస్తూనే ఉన్నారు.  నాటకం ప్రజల జీవితాన్ని ప్రతిబంబిస్తుంది , వారి ఆలోచనలని ప్రస్పుట పరుస్తుంది , వారిని ఉత్తేజ పరుస్తుంది . అందుకే నాటక కళ ని  సజీవం గా ఉంచుకోవలసిన అవసరం ఎంతో వుంది .   ....కళ్యాణి

Speaking up your truth helps in Hypothyroidism

In the last 5-6 years, the face of social networking has changed so much, that it is so very easy and takes just seconds to get in touch with anyone across the world. I used to struggle to use Skype call few years back. Communication was through mail or Google Chat. Now we have so many new apps that can help us keep in touch with our family and friends. Too many, in fact. I doubt if these apps are really helping people to connect better or actually making the situation worse. With so much of communication happening with friends and family, are we really connecting with the other person? Forget about people outside of family, are we able to have a heartfelt connection with our own family? Are we really speaking our heart with the family members or those who make a difference in our lives? Being connected is different from communicating.   Last week one lady client walked into my office with two very adorable cute kids. I stroke a conversation with the little ones and was so impressed with their English. They are hardly 5 years old and were speaking such good English with no grammatical mistakes. I was reflecting back at my own life, my teacher used to punish us for not speaking English in the class at least till I was in standard VIII. Of course, education moved into a different level altogether. I appreciated my client and her kids for their wonderful English, she enjoyed the compliment and started telling me that she wanted her kids to have wonderful communication skills and explained me the pains she takes to ensure her kids speak good English.   When we moved on to discussion about her health challenges, she said her TSH levels were on higher side and she had hypothyroidism from the time she gave birth to her elder kid. The issue first showed up in her regular checkups during her first pregnancy and continued till date. In order to understand emotional issues behind this, we started discussion about her childhood and her life post-marriage.   Her childhood story is not so very different from many of my other female clients. She was princess of her house, even before she could ask for something, it was given. She was the priority for her parents. Any issue or challenge she faced in her life, her parents stood beside her to handle the challenge. But things changed post her marriage, the status which she enjoyed at her mother’s place is no more available to her. She is not anyone’s priority, not even husband's. Circumstances were different, people were different, their understanding of situations and life were different. At times, she even felt ridiculed for her point of view. Because she didn't know how to express her true feelings, she felt her feelings were never taken into consideration at in-laws place. Not too different story from many of the lives we look around us. This frustration has shown up in different ways, she had become a very angry person, shouting and yelling at even a small issue. Aggression has become a major part of her life now. People now recognise or acknowledge her aggression if not her by default. It gives a satisfaction that she is recognized by the family. But the real connection and communication never happened.   A girl who lived 20 plus years as a Princess of her house, when gets into a new family expects a somewhat similar treatment. But if faced with different experiences altogether within her new family, she would obviously experience trauma. Because she wasn’t heard a couple of times, she stopped communicating with others including her husband. She stopped speaking her truth. What do we mean by speaking our truth? Does it mean that we are speaking lies? When we say speaking your truth, it is expressing your true feelings and thoughts or even emotional needs in any situation or simply being authentic. Why is it important to express your truth? We assume how we feel is understood by others because it seems obvious to us. Especially with spouse or intimate relations, we feel, don't you understand even this obvious thing. But for any event there can be many points of view, our feelings depend on which perspective we are experiencing the event. And our emotional needs also differ from person to person. Unless we express effectively, others will not be able to understand. Say we are at a cross roads and we have seen an accident, along with us ten other people also witnessed the event. If we go and speak to all the ten people, we will get ten different truths. Event is one, but ten people having different versions, because for each of them what they have seen is the truth. When you stop speaking or communicating your truth, then your thyroid glands would start to dysfunction.   If we think it’s only females who experience hypothyroidism then we are mistaken, even males experience hypothyroidism. I had a male client who was around 30 years, has come to me with a complaint of hypothyroidism. I wondered how come a male can have this complaint. When we discussed further about his life, he felt suppression during his childhood and also post marriage. Being a single child of the family, his mother controlled his life and never allowed him to do something which he liked but had to follow whatever his mother asked him to do so. And being a shy and sensitive child, he really never expressed what he liked to do but obediently followed her lead. He thought life would change post marriage. In fact, he can’t invite anyone as life partner other than one like his mother. We all choose a partner who is exactly like the parent we had most problems with. His wife, like his mother controlled him. My client couldn’t open up himself in front of his wife too. He never learnt how to express himself. He suppressed his true feelings and thoughts because no one would listen to whatever he says. He was never felt heard in all his 30 years of life, his job is just to follow his mother and wife. In the process, he attracted hypothyroidism.   In this case, my client has become submissive instead of aggressive like the previous client. He always lived in a constant fear that he opens mouth, many more issues would surface and the whole situation would become worse. It’s better to keep mouth shut rather open up and invite challenges in life. So he swallowed all the emotions and kept them for himself.     Going back to the first example of my female client, wanting to impart good communication skills to her two little ones, any mother would love to do so. What we need to understand is, what exactly do we mean by communication skills? Are they just good language(s) or authentically expressing yourself? Having a good language doesn’t necessarily mean that we can communicate well. Communicating well is the ability to express our self, ability to speak up our truth, without fear of rebuke or rejection.   A simple technique to manage this disorder would be, open up with your family members and speak up your truth. Speaking up your truth doesn’t mean you have to fight to prove your point. You can speak up your true emotions and feelings and express your point of view with a little tact, it is family member’s choice if they would want to take it or leave it. It can be a simple and straight forward discussion with mutual good will and openness.   If you still think you can't speak up in front of family members, then take up a paper and pen, choose a place at your home and a suitable time to practice free-form writing for a few weeks. Just allow all your thoughts, feelings to come out and put them all down on paper without judging or thinking about them. Trick of the trade, is to ensure that you follow same time and same place. And also ensure you are alone by yourself in that room while you practice. As you release all suppressed emotions and reactions on to paper, you will notice your verbal communication improves too.   Once all the suppressed emotions are released, automatically your thyroid gland would start working properly. However, you really need to be authentic with yourself while doing the exercise. When we say being authentic with yourself, it means acknowledging to yourself your true feelings and emotions, no window dressing. When you can be authentic with yourself, you will also be able to express your true feelings with others without fear of rejection.   Medical Disclaimer: Ignoring Hypothyroidism can lead to dangerous situations. Not addressing Hypothyroidism can lead to multi organ failure and can lead to death also.  The above discussed are some of the emotional reasons for Hypothyroidism from the author’s experience. This is no replacement to medical attention / assistance. Please consult your doctor for medical help. Ramakrishna Maguluri Engaging with life ELAI engagingwithlife@yahoo.com

Rheumatoid arthritis? Step back and take life easy

  I happened to overhear a teacher and parent lecturing their ward about studies, life and how need to be in control of his life. If I were in the place of the ward, it would have sounded to me like I am an inmate in a jail and rule book is given to me as how to behave and live my life in the jail. I feel for the poor little kid. Are we living our lives like we are in some disciplined organization, where rule books are given telling us as how to be while on premises? Life is not such a serious game. Relax. We are here to experience and enjoy life, just going with the flow. Divine is not a task master but a loving parent and Universe is our best friend. Ignoring this basic truth, we push ourselves and people around us into control mode, criticizing people who are not following the instructions and fighting against the natural flow of life. We end up being stubborn and not heading to anything other than what we think is right. Is it a fair game that we are playing? When we ourselves are going against the natural flow of life, defeating the purpose of our life, is it any wonder our own immune system defeating our life by going against it? When this happens, we may end up having auto immune disorders in our body. One of the most common cases that came to me is that of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), other than Lupus and Psoriasis.     In my experience, RA affects women a lot more than men. All of my clients for this disorder were females. RA is an auto immune disorder, which causes pain and swelling (internal inflammation) in joints. It is such a painful disease that it cripples life style of the individual to a very large extent. The pain would be so very excruciating during winters than in summers. It doesn’t mean RA clients would enjoy summers without pain. The intensity of pain would be a little less during summers than in winters.   In all the cases I have come across so far, I could not help but notice resentment as a common theme. Clients usually strongly hold on to anger that is piled up over a period of time, unwilling to let go of it. Someone hurt me so badly that I cannot forgive him or her. Usually, it is about being controlled or criticized by someone. Most of these clients had a controlling environment while growing up. Mother, father or some authority figure at home were so controlling that these individuals were not allowed to move an inch without being told what or how to do things or without being criticized for doing things wrong way. Either they hold resentment for criticism they faced in their families or they turn into first class criticism experts or control freaks as they grow up. It is a good self defense technique, I criticize or control you before you even think of doing it to me.   Why do people control? I still remember a hitler-like figure I have seen as a small lad,  my next door neighbor. He had such controlling tendency that he literally used to tell his grown up children which dress to wear any day! Wearing a dress to post graduation, everything should be done only his way. Attitude was it’s always my way and My way is the only high way. He constantly used to shout with rage at each and every one of his family for doing things any other way than that was ordered by him. What did he really try to control, his kids & family or his own life? Actually he was trying to control his own insecurities. Observe any individual who has extremes of anger or rage, he or she would be operating from fear and insecurity. Understanding this may help RA sufferers to let go of resentment towards such hitlers.     Most of us find ourselves wanting to control one aspect or other in lives. Some want to control course of life, some want to control other people, some want to control their thoughts, feelings or emotions. Some types of control does not feel like control on the face of it but there is an element of control underneath. For example, unreasonably high expectations from others! Have you observed highly accomplished parents and their kids? Or parents who have very high expectations from their kids, “I cannot bear to see you doing anything less than the best”. The child feels controlled by this spoken or unspoken expectation. I had a RA client who is cleanliness freak, even this is need for control. But let us focus only on obvious control we see around us.   Why do any of us have a need for control? Because we don’t have faith in the flow of life, we feel very insecure when we are in auto control mode and our lives are being operating by Universe. Just imagine you get onto a flight and it is announced that it is pilotless, will be operated by auto pilot. How does it make you feel? We don’t trust even if the best of the software is provided. Say, if pilot is available and the flight is on auto pilot mode, we feel safer. We got used to doing things our way. We believe in ourselves but stopped believing in the Universe, because we were never taught to believe in the Source. Secondly, having no faith or less faith around the people we deal with. It is fear that other people cannot do things right and everything may just end up in a mess. Having no faith in others around us reflects the amount of faith we have in ourselves. In fact, because we don’t have faith in ourselves, we don’t believe in others. Have you heard about Pygmalion theory?   Let’s take an example. Imagine standing at a cross roads and looking to the farthest end. Our vision can help us look at objects which are say 2kms away, not more than that. Say if we take a chopper and go to 10,000 feet high, we may see the entire city. Agreed? What if we are the Universe? Is there something that can miss from our awareness? Nothing. Everything is captured in our awareness. If we reflect, whatever amount of controlling we do, we can see or know only to an extent of 2kms nothing more than that. Universe is an intelligent energy that is full awareness. And Universe is our best friend, ready to help us. When we ask Universe to handle, initially, few things may appear as if they are going wrong, but when we go with the flow and give it enough time, it will turn out for our highest best. I like what Amir Khan says in 'Three Idiots', 'All is Well'. It is a very wise mantra, nothing idiotic about it. So I tell most of my RA clients, step back and just observe what is happening, you don't have to get involved and control.   One of the best traits RA clients have is, they are best of the critics, either about themselves or people around them. Put them through awards for best critic category,   they will take one. What we don't realize is, while we may appear to judge others, we are judging ourselves the harshest. What is it that we are trying to criticize within our own Self? A very strong conditioning of right and wrong from childhood would certainly lead to criticism. Obviously we all want to be only on the right side. But what is so very right and wrong about life? Right for us can be wrong for someone else and vice versa. We have just come here to play this game of life with the divine within us as a witness. Don't take life too serious, go with the flow. Accept the fact that you are good the way you are and there is nothing to change within you or wrong with your life. You will be able to let go of resentment, control, criticism and stubbornness. Allow life to flow through you, any auto immune disorder will be gone within no time.     Medical Disclaimer: This article is speaking only at a high level emotional issues. This deals only with some of the emotional causes and doesn't dwell deep into physical aspects or reasons for RA problems. Please consult your Orthopedic specialist or GP for your issues. This is no replacement to medical assistance. The above discussed are just the experiences and opinions of the author.   -Ramakrishna Maguluri Engaging with life ELAI engagingwithlife@yahoo.com

హ్యాపీ వాలెంటైన్స్ డే..

ప్రేమ..ఈ పదం కంటే తీయనిది మరొకటి లేదేమో.. ప్రేమకు స్పందించని మానవహృదయం ఉండదు. ఆ మాటకొస్తే, జంతువులు, చెట్లు కూడా ప్రేమకు స్పందిస్తాయి. ఇలా ఎన్నో ప్రేమల జీవితాల్లో, మధురమైనది ఇక జంట మధ్యలో ఉండే ప్రేమ. దాన్ని సెలబ్రేట్ చేసుకునేవారికి ప్రత్యేకమైన రోజు వాలంటైన్స్ డే..అసలు వాలంటైన్స్ డే అనేది ఎలా మొదలైందో తెలుసా..? మూడో శతాబ్దంలో రోమ్ సామ్రాజ్యానికి చక్రవర్తి క్లాండియస్ పరిపాలిస్తుండేవాడు. అతనికి వివాహ వ్యవస్థపై అసలు నమ్మకముందేది కాదు. మన్మథుడులో నాగార్జున పాత్ర లాంటివాడన్నమాట. పెళ్లి చేసుకుంటే మగాళ్ల శక్తి, బుద్ధి నశిస్తాయనే అపోహలో ఉండేవాడు క్లాండియస్. దీంతో తన రాజ్యంలోని సైనికులు, అధికారులు వివాహం చేసుకోకూడదని ఆజ్ఞ జారీ చేశాడు. ఈ దెబ్బకు రాజ్యవ్యాప్తంగా ఉన్న పురుషపుంగవులందరూ అల్లాడిపోయారు. వీడు చేస్కోకపోతే పోయాడు. మమ్మల్నందర్నీ పెళ్లి చేసుకోవద్దనడం ఎంత వరకూ న్యాయం అని మూగవేదనతో రోదించారు. అలాంటి టైంలో పుట్టాడు ఆ వ్యక్తి. అతని పేరు వాలంటైన్. చక్రవర్తి క్లాడియస్ చేసిన ఆజ్ఞను వ్యతిరేకించాడు వాలంటైన్. మగాళ్లు పెళ్లి చేసుకున్నా చేసుకోకపోయినా, బుద్ధికి ఏమీ కాదు. శక్తి అలాగే ఉంటుంది అన్న విషయాల్ని చక్రవర్తికి తెలియపర్చాలనుకున్నాడు. దగ్గరుండి సైనికులు, అధికారులకు వివాహం జరిపిస్తానని పిలుపునిచ్చాడు. అప్పటి వరకూ ప్రేమకు ముఖం వాచిపోయి ఉన్న సైనికలు అధికారులందరూ అతని పిలుపుతో ఒక ఇంటివారై, ప్రేమలోని ఆనందాన్ని అనుభవించారు. కానీ తన ఆర్డర్ ను వ్యతిరేకించిన వాలంటైన్ కు శిక్ష వేసేవరకూ నిద్రపోకూడదనుకున్నాడు క్లాండియస్. చివరికి క్రీ.శ. 269 ఫిబ్రవరి 14న సెయింట్ వాలంటైన్ కు ఉరిశిక్షను అమలు చేశాడు. ప్రేమికుల కోసం, ప్రేమ కోసం తన ప్రాణాల్ని అర్పించిన వాలంటైన్ కు గుర్తుగా, అప్పటి నుంచి ప్రేమికులు ప్రతి సంవత్సరం ఫిబ్రవరి 14న సెయింట్ వాలెంటైన్‌కు నివాళి అర్పిస్తూ, తమ ప్రేమను సెలబ్రేట్ చేసుకుంటారు. ఇదండీ వాలంటైన్ కథ. ఇంకా ఏంటి ఆలోచిస్తున్నారు. అర్జెంట్ గా మీ లవర్ కు ఫోన్ చేసి వాలంటైన్స్ డే శుభాకాంక్షలు చెప్పేయండి..!! హ్యాపీ వాలంటైన్స్ డే...!!!

చైనీస్ న్యూ ఇయర్

న్యూ ఇయర్ అన్ని దేశాలు జరుపుకుంటాయి ఇందులో ప్రత్యేకత ఏముంది అనుకుంటున్నారా? ఉందండి. ప్రతి దేశం  కొత్త సంవత్సరాన్ని  ఒక ప్రత్యేక  తేదిలో జరుపుకుంటుంది. కాని చైనా అలా  కాదు. ప్రతి ఏడాది న్యూ ఇయర్ డేట్ మారుతూ ఉంటుంది. ఎందుకంటే వాళ్ళు చాంద్రమాన క్యాలెండరు ప్రకారం కొత్త సంవత్సరాన్ని ప్రారంభిస్తారు కాబట్టి. ప్రతి ఏడాది జనవరి 21 మొదలు ఫిబ్రవరి 20 లోపు ఈ న్యూ ఇయర్ వస్తూ ఉంటుంది. అంతే  కాదు మనకి 12 రాశులతో కూడిన పంచాంగం ఎలాగయితే ఉంటుందో వాళ్ళకి 12 జంతువుల పేర్లతో కూడిన పంచాంగం ఉంటుందిట. అందులో 12 రకాల జంతువులు ఉంటాయి. క్రిందటి సంవత్సరం జంతువూ మేక అయితే ఈ సంవత్సరం జంతువూ కోతి. ఈ ఇయర్ పుట్టిన వాళ్ళు అందరూ ఈ కోతి రాశి  కిందకి వస్తారన్నమాట. చైనీయులు కొత్త ఏడాదికి స్వాగతం  పలకటం కూడా చాలా చక్కగా ఉంటుంది తెలుసా. ఈ రోజున తమ కుటుంబంలోని పెద్దవారి అందరితో కలిసి కూ ర్చుని భోజనం చెయ్యటం వారి సాంప్రదాయం. ఎవరు ఎంత దూరాలలో ఉన్నా ఈ రోజుకి అంతా  ఒకే దగ్గర చేరి సమిష్టి భోజనం చేస్తారు. పెద్దవాళ్ళు తమకన్నా చిన్న వారికి రెడ్ ఎన్వలప్లలో డబ్బులు పెట్టి ఇస్తారు. ఇలా తీసుకున్నవారికి పెద్దల ఆశీర్వాదం దొరుతుందనే నమ్మకం. ఎరుపుని శుభాసూచికంగా భావించే చైనీయులు ఇంటిని మాత్రమే కాదు నగరానంతా  ఎరుపు రంగుతో నింపేస్తారు. మూఢనమ్మకాలకి పుట్టినిల్లు అయిన చైనా వారికి వాళ్ళు న్యూ ఇయర్ రోజు తినే ఆహార విషయంలో కూడా చాలా పట్టింపు ఉంది  సుమా! ఏడాదిలో మొదటి రోజు చేపలతో చేసిన ఆహారం తింటే ఏడాది మొత్తం లెక్కలేనంత డబ్బు వచ్చి పడుతుందని, ఎలాంటి అరిష్టాలు దగ్గరకి రావని కూడా వారు నమ్ముతారు. ఇంతే  అనుకుంటున్నారా ఇంకా ఉందండి. ఈ రోజు మొదటిగా మూడు సార్లు పేలే ఒక బాంబు ని  వెలిగిస్తారు. ఆ మూడు బాంబులు గట్టిగా పేలితే ఇంక వాళ్ళ వ్యాపారానికి ఆ ఏడాది మొత్తం డోకా లేనట్టేనట. ఇంకొందరు సంవత్సరం మొదలైన మూడు రోజుల దాకా తలంటు పోసుకోరట,అలా  తలంటితే వారికొచ్చిన అదృష్టం కొట్టుకుపోతుందని నమ్మకంట. ఇంట్లో ఉండే చిన్నపిల్లలు ఆ రోజు ఏడిస్తే అపశకునంగా భావిస్తారు కాబట్టి పిల్లలు ఏడవకుండా అన్ని కొనిపెట్టి వారిని సంతోషపెట్టి ఏడవకుండా చూసుకుంటారట. వారి నమ్మకాలు ఎలా ఉన్నా మొత్తానికి అందరు  కోరుకునేది ఒక్కటే అందరు ఎలాంటి ఇబ్బందులు లేకుండా సుఖసౌభాగ్యలతో వర్దిల్లాలనే. వారి కోరికలు నెరవేరాలని ఆశిద్దాం. విష్ యు హ్యాపీ న్యూ ఇయర్ చైనా.   కళ్యాణి

True freedom lies within

Republic day may seem like just another holiday for most of us. But who can deny the patriotic spirit that rises in us when we listen or watch an inspiring national sentiment in movies or popular media? In fact, it is a beautiful experience even today to watch live stream of Republic Day celebrations from Rajpath, Delhi. At least on Independence and Republic Day, we thank the generations who staked their lives for the freedom we enjoy today. It’s Love and Peace which won us our freedom from British. It’s liberation from slavery, experiencing right to speech or expression, no coercion. We have to feel truly like free birds to govern ourselves and our actions. But do we really feel that we are free to act as we feel like? Imagine if someone takes control over our house, our loved ones and we all have to operate as per the instructions laid down by them. How does it make us feel? What a dreadful feeling it is, if we are at the mercy of someone! If such a dreadful feeling is created when someone takes over our physical boundaries, what happens if our personal boundaries at mental and emotional space are taken over by someone? Although we are in an independent country, do we experience true freedom? Are we not at the mercy of someone or other all through our lives for our happiness? We may or may not realise but at emotional level, we are all bound, we don’t truly experience freedom. We perform actions because we don’t want to hurt people around us. We do most things in life because we seek love, acceptance, approval and validation from the people who are around us. When we are always dependent on someone else for our happiness, is there any real freedom for us? I still remember those days, where we were told someone else’s happiness is more important than ours. Someone has to approve of what we do or don’t do. Someone else has to love us. So in order to receive this acceptance and approval from others, we don’t mind moulding ourselves to meet their requirements, ignoring our peace and happiness. While doing all this, the whole world may be appreciating us but there is one person who is left to feel sad and that person is within us. Many of us do things not because it makes us happy, but because the other person may make us happy. If we look keenly, the other person for whom we were running that extra mile can also never remain happy with whatever we do for them. In the initial days, it may seem to be a good thing to run that extra mile to keep someone happy. Within few days, you would realize that you are unhappy from the time you started running that extra mile. And an action done in your unhappiness cannot bring the other person true happiness. By seeking something outside of us, we tend to bind ourselves, we let go of our freedom wilfully. It’s like asking invaders to come and take over our place. But do we really need to exchange our freedom for seeking happiness or love? I recently came across our old family album, the old fashioned physical photo album. I was flipping through my oldest snaps, when I was just one year old to five years, ten years old and till the recent picture. I was reflecting, along with my physical body, my own definition of me changed over the years. Not only that, my own definition of me is different from definition of me as others saw me. Over all those years, many people have walked into my life and many walked out of life. When I was a kid, my parents were the center of my life and their approval or validation was very important for me. When I started going to school, my friends and teacher’s approval or validation was important. Over these years, many people have contributed to many experiences, feelings and emotions. But people kept changing, the only one that was constantly there in my whole story was me! I was WITH ME all the time, in all situations. It was me who was feeling the way I am feeling and it was only me who could understand exactly what I am experiencing. But the irony is, I was never really there FOR ME. I was always waiting for someone outside of me to understand me, to approve or validate my actions and feelings and to love me. How many of you resonate with my story? We all want to have a close friend or a partner who can fully understand us and be on our side constantly, a best friend and a cheer leader. Someone whom we can buzz even at middle of the night if we need to.  It’s a wonderful feeling to have such friends all through our lives. Unfortunately, not many of us have that luxury to have someone all through our lives. People come and go out of our lives, change is such a constant thing in our lives. Isn't it lovely to have someone to accept us just the way we are, without any kind of condition? Someone to love us for who we are, without expecting anything in return? Someone in our lives all through to validate and appreciate us that we did a great job? It is definitely just too wonderful. So just to achieve this, we tie up all of our feelings, thoughts and actions with someone or other, to please them or to make them happy so that they can accept us, love and approve us. In the process, we become utterly dependant on that one person, the person may change from time to time in our lives but our shackles remain same. While all along, there is such a wonderful friend already waiting for us. That one is always with us and within us, our own Self! We do not have to crave for someone outside of us to give love, to accept us the way we are and to validate what we do. We just have to be fully available for our own self. Can you be there for you? Can you spend a little time with that one within you, the only one who stood by you, understood you, never let you down at any time, during all those happy and sad times, the one who can never dislike you because of what you did or didn’t do? If you can, you become free - you achieve freedom from expectations, freedom from seeking love, freedom from emotional dependency, freedom to feel and act as you choose. The moment we start spending more time with the one within us, start acknowledging and extending love to this one, it sets us free from all those bindings, from the eternal seeking of approval, love, acceptance, validation from outside. Only then we can say we are truly free and as a bonus, even be a source of love for others. -Ramakrishna Maguluri Engaging with life ELAI engagingwithlife@yahoo.com

PAST IS PAST!!!

“Oh yes, the past can hurt.  But you can either run from it or, learn from it!” –Lion King How often do we dwell upon our past and forget to live in the present moment. How many times have you judged people by their past? Quite often? That is one important mistake we have been committing all this while. As we keep driving towards the future, we keep leaving behind traces of our past. Let them be traces only. Do not follow them back! At the end of the day, everyone is a learner, everyone has something to study, to observe, to learn!! If you know you have made a mistake, learn from it. Try not to make the same mistake again. My dad always said, “it doesn’t bother me when you make a mistake, but it does when you repeat it once again!” Every day is a blessing. Live it! Not everybody gets a chance to live as long to correct their mistakes. Not everybody gets a second chance. Sure everyone deserves one, but not everybody is as lucky as you. Be grateful.   Don’t keep reminding yourself of the past. That’s no good. Once it has brought you down. It’s time for you now to keep your head together, get up, dust yourself off and move on with your life. Again be conscious enough to not get yourself in the same position again. Also don’t think too much about what’s going to happen in the future. Sure have an idea as to where you are heading, but don’t stress yourself on it. What happens , happens for your good. Listen to your heart , try as hard as you can. Leave the rest. When it comes to the other people, we tend to not have the same thinking process while analyzing them. We get too judgmental. Everyone has a different story to tell. Everyone has a unique history. It might be good or bad. What really matters to you is the attitude the person has right now and his present outlook towards life. Do not assume stuff. Just because he chose wrong people over the right doesn’t mean he would do the same again. Give him a chance. May be he did learn from his past mistakes. Give him a chance to understand what it is like to feel right and do right. Help him. You have no idea what it is like to get over your mistakes and start anew. It’s so hard to keep telling yourself and to keep reminding yourself of the fact that a mistake again will cost you even more. There is so much self-doubt that they usually run extremely low on confidence. So if you find people like this, please try not to judge them, but help them gather themselves up and stay with them until they can walk right again. After- all what are friends for. So the past is the past. It’s done and dusted. You cannot do anything about it now. The future is highly unpredictable. What you have is this very moment. Use it wisely. Having said this don’t be afraid to take risks. You are either going to achieve something out of it or you are definitely going to learn something, aint ya! ;);) “The past is an interpretation. The future is an illusion. The world does not move through time as if it were a straight line, proceeding from the past to the future. Instead time moves through and within us in endless spirals”  -  Shams of Tabriz Kunde Sanjana