My Trip for Anantha Padhmanabha Swamy Vratham....

Almost all of you might know Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple located in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. The same Temple where 5 out of 6 underground vaults (Kallaras) / secret chambers were opened recently.

This revelation has solidified the status of the Padmanabhaswamy temple as one of the wealthiest temples in India and with the final estimate of the wealth, it might overtake the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple—hitherto thought to be the wealthiest temple—having some 320 billion (US$7.14 billion) in gold, coins and other assets. It is estimated that the value of the monumental items is close to 1.2 trillion (US$26.76 billion), making it the richest temple in the world. If the antique value is taken into account, these assets could be worth ten times the current market price.

The 6th vault is yet to be opened....

All this information came only because the secret chambers were opened.

Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple gave its name to Kerala’s state capital Thiruvananthapuram. ‘Thiru’ ‘Anantha’ ‘Puram’ means Sacred Abode of Lord Anantha Padmanabha. This city is also known as Ananda Puram and Syanandura Puram meaning City of Bliss.

I belong to Smarta Velanadu (Telugu) Brahmin Community and it gives me immense happiness for being so.

Smarta Sampradaya is a liberal or nonsectarian denomination of the Vedic Hindu religion which accepts all the major Hindu deities as forms of the one Brahman, in contrast to Vaishnavism, Shaivism, and Shaktism, the other three major Hindu sections, which revere Vishnu, Shiva, and Shakti, respectively, as supreme. The term Smarta refers to adherents who follow the Vedas and Shastras. Today I would like to tell you about the Ananta Padmanabha swamy vratha which we are doing every year almost since more than 7 to 10 years.

I like lord Shiva (Lingam, who is the creator and symbol of Man & Women) and worship all lords since we believe all Hindu deities as forms of the one Brahman.

Anantha Vratam (Anant Padmanabha swamy vratha), is a Pooja to Lord Vishnu observed on Anant Chaturdashi.

In 2011, Anant Vrata or Anant Chaturdasi was on September 11. Anant Vrata is performed on the fourteenth day in Shukla Paksha of Bhadrapad month. In some places if people were not able to perform this vratha on fourteenth day in Shukla Paksha of Bhadrapad month due to any issues, they would perform it on the day of dussehra.

The vratham was on Sunday and we started from Chennai (My current work location since June 2011) to Hyderabad (My home town and where my Parents - my only younger brother family are there).

Previous year we went to Pooja from Bangalore (where I used to work before June 2011).

Ananta Vratam is dedicated to Lord Ananta Padmanabha Swamy, who is Lord Vishnu appears in Anant Sayana form, reclines on Ananta (Aadi Seshu – Snake Anant). Anant vrata is performed by married couple for marital bliss.

Ananta Vratam has to be observed for 14 consecutive years by married couple for their long and everlasting bond of love and affection.

Devotees of Lord Vishnu believe that worship of Lord Vishnu in the form of Ananta Padmanabha, will remove their sorrows. The word ‘Ananta itself gives the meaning - endless. Endless joy and happiness is provided by performing Anantha Vratham.

Legend:

The legend of the Anant Vrata Katha is mentioned in several Puranas. According to some legends, Lord Krishna suggested King Yudhishtira to observe Anant Vrata for 14 continuous years to get rid of his sorrows and to bring back his wealth and kingdom that he lost in gambling game of Kauravas.

Anantha Daaram – Sacred thread of Anantha Vrata:

The important ritual of Anant Vrata is tying the Sacred Thread, Anant Daara, to hand. The performers of Anant Vrata place the Anant Daaram along with the idol of Anant Padmanabha to sanctify the thread. Anant Daara is worshipped along with the Lord by showering kumkum, turmeric powder, flowers and akshatas and all other Pooja things. Ananta Daara is made of 14 strands which indicate the 14 years of the observance of Anantha Vratha. In some places people prepare it of 14 knots.

After performing Ananta Vratham, women tie Anantha Daaram on their left hand or wear it on their neck, men on to their right hand.

In some regions, devotees prepare an idol of Lord Anantha Padmanabha swami with Durva (Garika or Darbha) grass blades and worship the Lord with placing it in a bamboo basket.

After Pooja, there is some 3 pages story of the lord, after which Naivedyam (varieties of food items) is offered to the lord, songs are sung, after taking the teertha/prasadam we have our lunch.

Once the Pooja was completed we started back to Chennai since need to join back to office as well my kids had 1st term exams (UKG anyways).

It was really Happy time at home we have done our Pooja with family members and prayed for peace, Harmony and prosperity in our lives.

Jai Sri Anantha Padhmanabha Swamy!!

A picture of my Dad and Son on Pooja Day!!

Fascination with gold hampering India's growth story...Is it True??

NEW DELHI: The glitter of gold is taking the shine off India's growth story. According to World Gold Council, India's gold imports rose 60% in April-June 2011 from a year ago, as people snapped up the timetested hedge against inflation. India has always been a huge gold consumer, but the yellow metal is now our second-biggest import, behind crude, up from fifth place in 2007-08.

But, this fascination with gold could be a reason why growth seems to be flagging. Money locked up in the yellow metal effectively disappears from the economy to become jewellery or sits idle in bank lockers. "Money spent on gold is mostly wasted because it's only hoarded and simultaneously excluded from the financial inter-mediation system," said Abheek Barua, chief economist, HDFC Bank.

As money has flowed into gold, India's household savings have moved away from productive financial assets, falling to 9.7% of GDP during 2010-11 compared with 12.1% in the previous year. This shift away from financial savings can dent growth, but it's hard to say by exactly how much.

"To the extent there is a shift from household savings in financial assets towards gold, which we know has been happening, it would lead to some loss in the GDP growth," said Indranil Pan, chief economist, Kotak Bank, "although it's hard to gauge the magnitude of the loss." Gold imports are up nearly half a percentage point of the GDP in the last three years, implying that much more of savings is getting locked up in an unproductive asset.

That much of the gold is imported also worsens the current account deficit. The hunger for gold seems to have been triggered by increased risk aversion after the global financial crisis. Surprisingly, the soaring prices of gold, now at three-decade highs haven't driven buyers away.

Of course, national accounts do not consider gold as physical saving - gold imports are considered as consumption - but, as far as buyers are concerned, gold buying has a high savings consideration. "Gold is the preferred form of savings for people and there's nothing one can do about it.

It is, therefore, important to make financial savings more attractive," said C Rangarajan, chairman, Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council. The fact that India doesn't produce much gold but imports most of the stuff increases leakages from the economy.

"If instead, the same money was spent on other assets like homes, the money would have circulated in the economy," said Sunil Sinha, senior economist with Crisil, a ratings agency. Pronab Sen, member, Planning Commission, agrees with the argument that high gold imports are not good for the economy, but he doesn't feel it is material in the current economic environment. "Since investments aren't really taking off at the moment, to talk about this in terms of inadequate savings isn't necessarily true," Sen said. "This shift to gold could become a problem over time as household savings in productive assets fall, but not right away."

Source: Timesofindia

The article is really true but India's growth is not hampered by GOLD but mostly by CORRUPTION I feel...

What you say friends??

Jai Hind!!

Very Inspiring

Hi Friends,

Very Inspiring story...

A chemistry professor decided to teach his students a different lesson one day. Holding a glass of water in his hand, he asked the students, "How much do you think this glass of water weighs?" "500 grams!" came a voice from the back. "600," said another student. "I don't really know!" said the professor, holding the glass up to make sure everyone could see it. "And unless we weigh it, we won't know." With the glass still in his outstretched hand, the professor continued, "What will happen if I hold it like this for a few minutes?"

"Nothing!" came the reply. "Right, and if I hold it for an hour like this, what might happen?" "Your hand will begin to hurt," said a student. "Indeed. And what would happen if I held the glass in my hand like this for 24 hours?"

"You would be in tremendous pain," said one student. "Your hand will probably go numb," said another. "Your arm will be paralysed and we'll need to rush you to the hospital!" said a student on the last bench.

"True," said the professor. "But notice that through all this, the weight of the glass did not change. What then causes the pain?"

The class went quiet. The students seemed puzzled."What should I do to avoid the pain?" asked the professor. "Put the glass down!" said a student.

"Well said!" exclaimed the professor. "And that's a lesson I want you to remember. The problems and worries in life are like that glass of water. Think about them for a while and nothing happens. But think about it a bit longer and they begin to hurt. And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paralysed – incapable of doing anything. It's important to remember to let go of your problems. Remember to put the glass down!"

We may not have been in that classroom that day, but it's a lesson we would all do well to remember. Put the glass down! Always. It's not just problems and worries. Sometimes, we feel hurt and betrayed by a friend. And we carry that grudge through our lives. It grows and causes us anguish and pain. Learning to forgive – and forget – is not just good for the other people, it's great for you. Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in jail and when he was finally freed, you can understand how angry and vengeful he must have felt. But guess what? When he became President, he invited his jailers to be present at the inauguration – in the VIP seats! If he could forgive after 27 years of suffering, surely we can too.

It is the same with our fears too. A failure or an incident in early childhood becomes a deeply entrenched fear over time. Fear of public speaking, fear of Maths, fear of rejection. You name it, and chances are, we have it. Someone gave us that glass to hold when we were little kids – 'you are clumsy, you are no good, you can't do it' - and we have faithfully held on to it all our lives. 'I can't' - becomes a thought that stays in our mind and grows – leading us to complete paralysis. Time to put the glass down!

The story goes that there was a hardworking man who lived a contented life with his wife and children. Every evening when he returned from work, he'd follow a ritual. Outside the door to his house were three nails. On the first one, he'd put his hat. On the second he'd hang his coat. And on the third nail, he'd unwrap an imaginary turban from his head and 'put' it there. A friend happened to see this and enquired what he was putting on the third nail every day.

"Those are my problems, my worries and my anger," said the man. "I have lots of that at work, but when I come home, I remember to take it off – and leave them outside. I don't take them home with me." Maybe you should learn to do that too. Starting today. Put the glass down. And see the difference!

Source: Prakash Iyer is MD, Kimberly-Clark Lever and Executive Coach. For more inspiring life lessons, read Mr Iyer's new book The Habit of Winning.

Best Regards,

Ravinder Puranam

"If u can't be a pencil to write anyone's happiness, try atleast to be a nice rubber to erase everyone's sorrows…………"

http://earninglinkspuranam.blogspot.com/

http://mycountryshining.blogspot.com/

Good news for the Hyderabadi Traffic Violators.....

Hi All,

Hyderabadis have some good news...

If you break the traffic rules....log in to the below site and check your violations by just keying your vehicle registration no.

http://www.htp.gov.in/

http://www.htp.gov.in/Redirect-eChallan.htm

Happy Riding...

You take care and keep in touch!!!

Best Regards,
Ravinder Puranam

"If u can't be a pencil to write anyone's happiness, try atleast to be a nice rubber to erase everyone's sorrows…………"

http://earninglinkspuranam.blogspot.com/

http://mycountryshining.blogspot.com/

Think green - keep it on the screen. Save Trees, do not print until very required...

"Only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realize we cannot eat money". Let's join hands to save earth!!

Ganesh Pooja Book - English

Ganesh Pooja Book - English