Lessons from the Satyanarayana Katha

I believe most Brahmin households (in fact, I could probably also say - most Hindu households) would have convened/organized a Satyanarayana Katha at some or the other point in their house. Our family/house too, has been fortunate enough to have been part of this experience.
I just felt like sharing/posting some of my observations from whatever I have tried to gather from the Katha.

Let me begin by first thinking aloud about a query that always strikes me, whenever I listen in to the Katha:
In the Katha, we all get to know about anecdotes on what happened to whoever did or did not perform this puja/Katha.
That's generally what the Katha is about - a compilation of four stories/accounts of four different people/families, all preceded by how and why Maharishi Sooth ji recounted these anecdotes, and followed in the end by all the good things that happened to the people who conducted those Kathas - not only in that life of theirs, but also how they became pious/renowned people in their afterlife too, eventually attaining Moksha.

All very well, I say, but amidst all this, I could somehow never find any mention about what exactly was the Puja/Katha of Bhagwan Shri Satyanarayana that was said to have been done (or not done, at certain times) in any of the stories that make this Katha!
Till the last time, that is..

Lesson # 1 - What the Katha is About:
..Thanks to a Panditji's input in the last Katha that I attended, I have now come to know that the actual Satyanarayana Katha/puja that forms the crux, the basis for all these 4 stories, is that it's just a humble renunciation of the Almighty Lord (Bhagwan Shri Satyanarayana) and remembering that He is Infinite, Supreme, Eternal, and Always Our Well-Wisher. And of course, we must also always remember to sincerely, genuinely and most humbly, bow to His Grace, Love, and Constant Care.

Right, so let me now enumerate what I have learned from the actual 3 stories/anecdotes that make the Katha:

Lesson # 2 - From Stories 1 & 2:
The first story is about a poor Brahmin, who barely manages to eke out a living. Lord Vishnu (aka Bhagwan Satyanarayana), in the guise of another fellow, poor Brahmin, tells him about conducting the Katha, in order to lead a better life.
This shows the Lord's selfless love towards His children, whereupon once He is filled with mercy and compassion towards us, He voluntarily comes and helps us.
No wonder then, that the Brahmin, on having resolved to seriously conduct the Puja, gets to lead a better life, thanks to His blessings.
The next story is about the woodcutter, who gets to know of the Katha through the not-anymore-poor Brahmin. He too, genuinely decides to organize the Puja, and reaps quadruple rewards from his daily wage on the day, enabling him to easily translate his intent into action and results.

This shows that the Lord surely rewards any and every one who has genuine will and puts sincere efforts for a pious, noble and good cause with all the success it deserves.

Lesson # 3 - From Story # 3:
If the first two stories were about people with genuine intent, this next story is about a childless man, who vows to perform the Puja alright, but puts in a condition of doing so only after his wish of having a child is fulfilled. When God fulfills his wish, he is happy to enjoy the same, but conveniently forgets his part of the promise.
Even on being reminded of his vow by his wife, he keeps deferring the Puja repeatedly, and again puts in another wish + condition to the Lord - of conducting a Puja when his daughter would get married.
Even after all this, Bhagwan Vishnu/Satyanarayana remains merciful, giving chances upon chance to him. By His blessings, the girl becomes a lady in due course of time and gets married too.
However, the man still fails to perform the the Puja.
At this point, the Lord does decide to make him understand the hard way, and circumstances ensue in such a way that he and his son-in-law gets falsely implicated for stealing and are imprisoned.
Even then, the Lord makes his wife realize their folly by having her daughter narrate about a Satyanarayana Puja that she witnessed.
This shows that the Lord, even when we think is being harsh on us, is still concerned and caring towards us. Even when He is ostensibly (and rightly) angry with us, He still keeps giving us one chance after another, in order to rectify our mistakes.

As better sense dwells, the Lord Himself ensures that everything turns right once again and the imprisoned duo is set free along with lots of wealth and valuables. While returning back, the Lord again puts them to test, by asking them about the contents of the containers where they had kept all their wealth. When they lied to the Lord, they were truly left with only the Lies they had spoken.
Through this, I think we could probably learn that we must never lie to the Lord and also be ready to share a part of our wealth with others/the needy and those who are less fortunate than us. 
Later, when news that the father-in-law and son-in-law duo are about to come, reaches the mother and daughter who are conducting the Puja at their place, the mother hurriedly leaves the Puja right there, giving preference to meeting them instead of expressing her gratitude and obeisance to the One who had ensured their arrival in the first place. She tells her daughter to complete the Puja and come back after having the prasad, but she too, in her excitement, fails to take the prasad.
All these events only show how we, in our lives, are prone towards temptation and easily led by enjoying fruitful results, instead of first properly thanking the Lord who has ensured all this.
When the Lord displays His disapproval of such incorrect preferences by drowning both the men just before their arrival.
However, another thing to learn and remember is that as stated earlier, even in his anger, the Lord is still caring enough towards us, and the anger too must be the result of our misdeeds only.
Even when angry, the Lord makes an Aakashvaani, guiding everyone about why this happened and what must be done to correct that.
Can we ever come even remotely close to understanding just how much we are Loved by the Almighty, even if/when He gets angry at our misdemeanors?!
Needless to say, on taking the prasad and conducting the puja with genuine devotion and sincerity, the Lord blesses everyone and of course, if the Lord gives His blessings, it's again needless to say, that everything is set right again!

Lesson # 4 - From Story # 4:
The previous story referenced an incident about having forgotten to conduct the Puja and even on conducting it the first time, having ignored the prasad's value completely. This one teaches about not ignoring the prasad at all, from any where.
This is about a very renowned, fair, and wealthy king who though being an ardent bhakt of Bhagwan Satyanarayana, having conducted many Pujas at his place, succumbed to his ego and did not find enough merit in accepting prasad from a puja conducted by some cowherds. As a result, he suddenly found hacing lost all his kingdom, family, and wealth. His rejecting the prasad led to the Lord ensuring he understood the message behind the mayhem.
Did you see - though angry at the king's gesture of rejecting his prasad, the Lord was still kind enough to instill and bless the king with good sense again. Having understood his mistake, the King immediately apologised profusely to the Lord and went back to cowherds, had the Prasad, and voila, everything had to be fine again!

Jai Bhagwan Satyanarayana!!
Again, it's ONLY thanks to His Grace, that I have been able to write whatever He allowed me to, and whatever I could understand about the Katha, thanks to His blessings. 

Five Reasons Why Our World Cup Victory Is All The More Cherishable & Sweet

Here are 5 of my reasons why I believe our World Cup victory is all the more momentous and laudable:

# 1: First time ever that a century in the first innings of a World Cup Final, has ended up in a losing cause - that too, without even having any century from the chasing team. #TotalTeamEffort

# 2: First time ever that a team has won a World Cup (final) on home soil, that too, while chasing a never-before-achieved total in a World Cup final.

# 3: In WC 2011, India was the only team to have lost only one match in the entire tournament, after having played the maximum number of matches. Every other team that played, lost atleast 2 matches or more.

# 4: Whenever we have beaten a World Cup, we have always beaten every team that has ever won a World Cup, in that tournament. That's how World Champions should be!

# 5: West Indies, Australia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka - In our last 4 matches, we won the World Cup by beating every team that has ever won a World Cup (in chronological order of every team that won the WC). Truly World Champion stuff.

Congrats Team India, keep up the great work!!

Jai Ho (Gayi)!!

2.5 m of the UDRS and the Judiciary

It's Women's Day today, and I guess there could possibly be no better day than today to write about Aruna Shanbaug. I believe all of us are aware of the Aruna Shanbaug case. We all know how it is a real-life instance of Guzaarish-esque euthanasia.
Even after knowing the above, I came across a hard-hitting, disturbing and unfortunately, true and factual article.

Now, I do understand the risks with euthanasia being a risky precedent for the not-so-rarest-of-the-rare cases, but here's precisely my point:
How does one identify what falls under rarest-of-the-rare?

As a related example, allow me to mention the case of ICC's 2.5 m rule under the UDRS, that gained prominence when Ian Bell was not given out lbw. Despite all indicators and parameters used in the review clearly being fit enough cases for a dismissal, the batsman was let off due to a theoretical technicality.

In theory, the hawk-eye technology could accurately predict the ball's trajectory only upto 2.5 meters from the stumps, and not any closer.
Hence, despite all actual considerations fulfilling an LBW criteria, the batsman was given not out, because he was struck well forward, 2.5 m from the stumps, thus activating the theoretical possibility, besides the technology's inadequacy.
However, it is important to note that better sense has since prevailed and rightly so.

Surely, Aruna Shanbaug has already suffered a terrible lot, and the vegetative state that she has been in, she has long been a victim of extreme pain, injustice and bestiality.
Can't we display practical activism as used in the UDRS and ensure Aruna gets a dignified end to her travails and incessant suffering?

Even more importantly, while all the news and noise has been about her, why don't we decide to punish beasts like Sohanlal Bhartha Walmiki, who committed such a heinous crime and are a menace to society, in the gravest possible manner?

We could be scared of this being a precedent that might trigger euthanasia petitions piling up after this alright. But what stops us from making a precedent out of punishing such criminals PROMPTLY and MOST SEVERELY, so that no pervert ever dares to even think on such lines?

It's time practical and common sense solutions win over theoretical, draconian and obsolete word-of-the-book.
It's time the 2.5 meters are bridged.

World Cup Prognosis

Yes, lots has been going on in the country and outside - in world news highlights, Egypt has courageously 
overthrown a monarch. On the home front, India is grappling with one scam after another. As if CWG, Adarsh, and 2G were not enough, presenting the new, improved - ISRO scam too!

Amidst all this, we have a more pleasant reason to look up the news - the ICC Cricket World Cup is here, and it's no wonder that we Indians love forgetting all the dreadful, avoidable news by immersing ourselves into the one sport that binds all of us. The one sport that gives India a credible chance at being World Champions - Yes, the cricket world cup is here. 

Thanks to 1983, we are always inundated with reruns of the Indian team's 1983 World Cup matches and the interviews of all our stars from that team. This time, the original showpiece event of cricket - the quadrennial Cricket World Cup, is here in the subcontinent after 14 years. So before the event gets underway, I thought of sticking my neck out with what I feel are each team's chances going into this World Cup.

Would be fun to watch how things pan out, come April 2.

And unless you are someone for whom all that cricket means, is only the name of an insect, you might well know that we have 14 teams playing this World Cup, divided into two groups, each comprising 7 teams. Anyway, here's the complete list of all the fixtures for WC 2011.

That having said, let's now get down to gazing through my crystal ball, and predicting the prospects for the World Cup (click the image below, to enlarge the sheet for a better view):

 

First-round eliminations:

Yes, I somehow fancy Bangladesh more than the West Indies to make it to the Quarters. The one big reason is that the Bangla boys are always a force to reckon with, when playing at home. Then, the fact that apart from playing all their matches in front of a rooting crowd at home, they are also blessed with quite a few players who are more suited to their playing conditions, as against the Windies' team. Also, unlike the West Indians, I actually believe that Bangladesh could still beat one of the 3 more fancied teams of its group (in India, SA, and England - apart from ofcourse, looking capable enough to beat the current West Indies team on home ground).

The rest of the teams - Zimbabwe, Netherlands, Ireland, Kenya, and Canada - could play a good match here and there, but it would be a big shock to see any of them progressing beyond the first round.

New Zealand - A4

Good team, but certainly not better than SL, Aus, and Pakistan from their group mates in Group A. Expect them to be A4.

Pakistan - A3

Not better than a rejuvenated Aussie side and cannot be better than a formidable SL team playing all its matches at home. A3.

Australia - A2

Better than all sides except a formidable SL team playing all its matches at home. A2.

Sri Lanka - A1

A formidable SL team playing almost all its matches at home (except against NZ - at Mumbai). Should top their group. A1.

Bangladesh - B4

Already spoken about. Can seriously edge out the Windies, esp since they are playing almost all their matches at home. Unlike Windies, could beat a top 3 team from its group. B4.

England - B3

Not better than SA and India (though not worse than any others in their Group) - cannot see them beating both SA and India. B3.

South Africa - B2

Better than England, Bangladesh (gut-feel and heart say India can only be beaten on an off-day on home soil) - can beat both. B2.

India - B1

Better than all sides except an off day at home. Should (and must) top their group. B1.

Why India must top their Group

If you look at the Quarter Final (QF) lineup, it is stacked against all teams who could easily beat India (or any team) on their day. Among them, the weakest link is the Kiwi line-up. Topping the group would mean we get to play the easiest team in the QF setup, that too, in pretty-much home conditions, in Sri Lanka (somehow, I feel outside of Indian pitches, India would prefer to play in Colombo than in Dhaka, in front of a difficult Bangla crowd, on a pitch that could be ultra-slow even by Indian sub-continental standards). 

QF1: SL Vs Bangladesh

Easy - Despite Bangla's home adv, SL won't take it lightly. The Lankans should be comfortable winners.

QF2: Australia Vs England

Australia - thanks to their mauling of England and superior form. England seems only a better Test-playing nation, not still the ODI champs. Aus also play better in Indian than England do.

QF3: Pakistan Vs South Africa

Hmm - tight. But still, SA have their noses in front. Could be anybody's game.

QF4: India Vs New Zealand

Unless they mess it or someone plays a blinder, the game should be India's - in subcontinental conditions.

Semi Final 1: Sri Lanka Vs South Africa (Colombo, Sri Lanka)

Though SL are a tough side especially at home, SA are the better side - greater batting depth and better bowling.

Semi Final 2: India Vs Australia (Mohali, India)
Hmm - could be tight, but still expect India to make it through. WILL BE TIGHT.

FINAL: India Vs South Africa (Mumbai, India) 

Well, Home Conditions + FINAL + Choking SA =  India! That’s all the heart hopes for!! Amen.
For all we know, it could also be India Vs Pakistan (if Pakistan beat SA) in the FINAL! And yes, who knows what all can happen then!! Would nevertheless be great to see a 2007 T20 WC Final encore - India beating Pakistan in a thriller!! 
Amen!! :)