Rule of life

The basic working rule to succeed is that we have to start developing and practicing the factors such as realization of yourself, working towards your goal, etc. A well planned time table should be prepared and the progress that we make should be step by step. We have to understand and ensure that we do not come back to the older steps at any stage. We must see to that we don't step down the ladder because of careless mistakes that we do. You should evaluate your strengths and weaknesses before you start any work. The self assessment is a key factor. So keep that in mind and work towards your goal.

A glance on Indian Music

One of the most spectacular features of India's complex and rich musical tradition is the evolution of a wide range of musical instruments of various kinds- percussion instruments, wind and string instruments- except the keyboard type of instruments. The experiment which must have begun in hoary mists or antiquity, has over the millennium yielded a rich harvest, which is in itself a tribute to the Indian classical music sculptures and paintings on temple walls depicting instruments in use in various periods of history.

Accept the moment

What is Happiness?

Happiness is a state of mind. Then we have to condition the mind to be happy always. I would like to share some of my views to condition the mind.

Accept the moment as it is. Whatever is happening around you, you can't change it and whatever has happened, has already happened, again, you can't change it. Then why to break our head about what has already happened? Look at the issue, not the persons. For any issue, there will be a solution. When the mind is calm, we can think. When the mind is disturbed, we lose the sense of balance and of course, decisions taken at that time, may not be the right one.

I will give an example. When the mother is lighting the "sacred lamp", the child unknowing switched on the fan. The light went off. What the mother has to understand is that the light has already gone off and the fan is "on". She can put off the fan and light the lamp again. She cannot undo of what had already happened. What normally happens is, the mother will shout at the child, sometimes beat also, and then carry on the act with tension in her mind. By this act, what is achieved is "tension" only. By a conscious approach, this can be avoided and the child also will not be upset.

How to be happy (7,8,9 &10)

7.Avoid Gossiping: Talking about others in their absence will not bring any desired result. If we are seriously concerned with the issue, we should talk to the person concerned. Gossiping is accepting garbage. By taking garbage, our mind gets corrupted. We don’t store or accept rotten things in our house. We are very conscious about it; similarly, we should not entertain gossips. Let us accept after asking 3 questions.

Has the person who narrated seen the incident?

1. Is he sure?
2. Is it useful to me?

If all the above are in the affirmative, then it is worth retaining such a message.

8.Cleanliness: Cleanliness is very important. Wearing a dirty shirt, which stinks, will make you mentally sick, then how can you be happy? Even if we cannot keep ourselves physically clean, then how to keep our mind clean. Keeping the environment clean is essential for happiness. We should not wait for someone to start. The initiative shall be from our side.

9.Stop Complaining: When we are not able to accept what is happening around, we start complaining. We have two options. Either we should be in a position to change it or accept the fact that it cannot be changed. By just complaining, nothing is achieved.

10.Don’t thrust your views on others: Everybody is entitled to have their own views on issues. There is nothing like right decision or wrong decision. What is right today may not be right tomorrow. Decisions are based on time, place, situation, knowledge and experience. Everybody is right in his or her own way.

Shed your ego

Shedding EGO. It is very easy to say, but there should be constant endeavor to practice it. What is EGO? It is a state where someone claims that he is superior to others since he has something more than what others have, it can be money,house, experience, knowledge, qualification, designation, beauty, vehicle etc. To shed ego, is not to give up physically, what one has. If one realizes that whatever he possesses is for a particular purpose. The inner feeling that the vehicle is for commuting from one place to another, the house is staying, the qualification and experience is for carrying out work nicely, is strongly registered, the individual may not have the superiority complex. He need not physically disown the things he has, he has to mentally disown the things and feel the purpose of such things.

Part 2-Dar

Part 2. South Indian expatriates numbering over 1000 are working in Dar es Salaam. People from various walks of life are employed in different sectors like Banking, Insurance, Software, Hardware, Softdrink manufacturing units, Car dealers and some are in business.

Tamil Sangam was formed over a decade back by Tamil community and cultural events on different occasions like Diwali, New Year, Pongal, Tamil New year are conducted every year. The elected members headed by the Chairman organizes such events.

Similarly, Tarangini for Telugu community, Cauvery for Kannadikas, Kalamandalam for Malayalees are functioning effectively.

Whenever, Diwali is celebrated, we have to exercise caution in bursting crackers since bursting of crackers is allowed only after obtaining permission from the local authorities.

People from South India can enter the country without any fear or hesitation since the community service is very good and the ex pats will take care as their family members.

Part 1-Dar

Dar- es-Salaam Experience

Part-I:
Tanzania, one of the East African countries is a beautiful and a fertile land. The language spoken is Kiswahili. The Tanzanians are very friendly and very courteous. They respect people. There are various places to be visited in Tanzania. Though the capital of the country is Dodoma, all the activities are centered on Dar- es- Salaam, since there is a natural port in Dar- es- Salaam.

We get fresh cow's milk, no buffaloes are found in Tanzania. The daily consumption of milk is very low; of course people love to drink "Beer". You can't see people lying on the road or making nuisance after drinks. Every roadside corner will have a pub where "drinks" are freely available.

The total population is around 35 million out of which around 50,000 will be of Asian origin, the rest of them follow either Christianity or Islam.

I will continue with more details in due course.

How to be happy (5 &6)

5.Remember Good things: We should always remember and recollect good events that had taken place in our life. The tendency is to forget the good events and remember the sad events in our life. We might have had so many events or situations where we might have been extremely happy, the time what we had spent in our school days, college days, time spent with the family on a trip, or buying a new car etc. If we recollect the days of sad events, we will continue to be sad. By brooding over such events, what are going to achieve? Nothing. We have to remember whether it is worth remembering such events. Definitely not.

6.Don’t carry problems too long. No doubt every one of us will have problems. We have to analyze the problem, find a suitable solution and take steps to reach the solution. If we keep remembering the problems and all the problems will get accumulated. When the mind is with problems, no proper or a logical solution can be found out. When there is no movement in the water, the things at the bottom shall be seen. Like that, when the mind is free from problems, the solutions can be seen easily. Don’t carry problems for a long time. Holding a glass of water for a short duration will not be painful. However, if we are asked to hold for a long time, it will be certainly painful.

Experience

The Tamil Sangam at Dar es Salaam was formed over a decade ago. The main objective of the Tamil Sangam is to take care of the interests of the Tamil Community by ensuring the Culture and Traditions are followed in Dar es Salaam also.

All the festivals like Pongal, Tamil New Year, Republic Day, Children day, Independence Day, Navarathiri, and Deepavali are celebrated in a grand manner. Though we are away, still we don’t miss out any such festival celebration.

Similarly, every year, Sriramanavami is celebrated in a grand manner. It is a 9 days programme. Valmiki Sundarakanda Parayanam is recited and on the last day, Maha Prasadham is distributed. Devotees bring prasadam for distribution.