Your Friend, Philosopher & Guide!

July 05, 2005

Will I be able to bring rains through music?

My sister’s comp conked yesterday, and I had to rush to the nearest Reliance WebWorld to send my predictions for online clients. Incidentally I saw someone browsing my blog site – and honestly it was an ego boasting experience. I approached him to ask how he reached my site, and he was taken aback completely and could not recognise me. May be I don’t look the same as in the pic that is showcased on the site (I have much longer hair & bigger beard now). I told him, I am Kennedi, and he was more than happy to meet me – he said he knew me from the days I handled Sify Astrology. I wonder how small the world is. And I also could configure the possible reason why my sister’s computer conked. Now on to my today’s blog…..

My newest passion is music, and I am learning keyboard from one of the music teachers in Adyar. No, I am not focussing on Western music, but I am concentrating more on Indian classical, which is considered to have divine powers.

I know very little about music as of now, but then have heard a lot about few ‘ragas’ Indians had invented that could possibly change external events. For instance, Indian music has special ragas to bring rains, cure people, generating money, changing moods, initiating evil spirits, keeping them away et al.

The modern crowd refuses to accept the divine powers of music. Music in movies & pop star albums are the only ones to get the largest number of acclaim, rest we usually ignore. The maximum we do to understand music is - we either blast them in our car stereos or dance like crazy in a discotheque.

Today very few people use music for the betterment of human beings - Ganapathy Sachitanand, a Godman from Andhra, uses music to cure people. I know doctors would hate to know that or believe that.

I also came to know about an interesting incident where in the famous violinist Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan used his troop to play the ‘rain’ raga and could bring rains in Bangalore. There of course are debates – may be he got a weather report from the meteorological department beforehand, and fixed a date based on it. And there is another debate - what is the big deal in bringing rains in Bangalore, why not in Chennai?

That exactly is the discussion I had with my friend a couple of weeks back. And the bet is I will try to bring rain in Chennai in the month of May 2007, on a date when the meteorological department completely says ‘NO’ to rain.

BTW I prayed for rains yesterday, and it rained! Of course I don’t have documented proof for the same – but it did rain! But what is the big deal in praying for rain in the month of July – it anyways will rain in Chennai :P.

Posted by Kenni at 08:02 AM | Comments (0)

June 25, 2005

I am off to my BIL’s marriage. Destiny worked yet another time!

I saw a cool looking hype guy riding on his Yezdi (bike) today. He with no effort could overtake everyone – including me. I usually don’t go beyond 40 km/hr – not that I am afraid of death, but I hate speed. I met him in the next signal. Once the signal was open, he would rip again, and again I would meet him in the next signal. This is true with life too. How much ever you worry, how much ever you try hard, how much ever you put effort & struggle – you still will reach only where destiny wants to take you. You cannot even lift a stone with your effort - if the time isn’t ripe. And my brother in law’s (BIL) marriage is quite an example!

My in law’s belong to a Christian family. Usually Christians & Muslims don’t show special interest in astrology. I am told that Jesus & Mohammed were against people knowing their future. May be - they both thought people knowing their future could block them from surrendering totally to the divine.

It was the month of April 2005, when out of curiosity my mother in law approached me with her son’s horoscope. She asked me to predict about his marriage. Technically the chart showed that my BIL was ending his Venus antara by June 2005 – and ideally he should get married before June 2005. Till April 2005, they haven’t even met a single marriage broker nor had any girl on their mind.

With in 15 days after consulting me, they happened to get 2 probable alliances. One didn’t work out, and another indeed worked out. Events flew at great pace. My BIL got engaged in the month of May 2005, and both the parties decided to conduct the marriage in the month of September 2005 – which honestly was far beyond the month I had predicted. People surely were happy with my prediction, for the reason that at least engagement took place before June 2005.

Now there was a new twist to the whole story. Another BIL of mine got an offer to fly off to Belgium on a job assignment, and he might not come back for 2 years. He will have to go by July 2005, and he didn’t want to miss his brother’s marriage. Hence all the people involved in the marriage decided to prepone the event, and the date was changed to June 27, 2005.

I said, “Cool. The planet Venus (planet) indeed helped in speeding up the event.” Also it helped my prediction to come true.

I am off to Tiruppur, where the marriage is to take place. I will be back by 29th morning. You can keep in touch via mail, and if there is an emergency always call me at 98412 83292

Posted by Kenni at 10:51 AM | Comments (2)

June 23, 2005

Finally I shifted my house – thanks to Saturn!

I was analyzing my own chart a year back, and was wondering what will Saturn Transit 2004-2005 have in store for me. I told my wife that, “Saturn transit clubbed with a new dasha (period) of Mercury would ideally change my career, and also by May/June 2005 we should be changing our house. We will be moving to a new place of residence.” I won’t take credit for the former prediction coming true, because may be I influenced the event. I quit Sify, and started on my own. But I cannot restrain myself from saluting this wonderful science/art of astrology to have made my 2nd prediction come true!

My wife wasn’t happy with our present house because of few unlucky omens & incidents that occurred. She was searching for a new house since February 2005, but could not find one. Either the place was too expensive or it was too far. She used to get irritated with her effort, but I never bothered and kept my cool – ‘cause by God’s grace I knew what was coming.

Not that I never visited a single house with her. I did. I had to keep my wife happy doing so. I sometimes need to impress my wife by looking worried or being unhappy. It gives her chance to advice me. It makes her feel better. You cannot keep behaving like Bruce Almighty always!

Nothing materialized till June 8th. My wife had lost all her hope of finding another house, and she had stopped putting effort - which I did from the very beginning.

My house owner landed on June 8th, asking us to vacate our house by June end, as she had to build another floor! I said, “Wow! Our time has come.” My wife could not understand what I was trying to say. She was more worried now – one because we had very little time, and another she could not find a decent house with her effort.

It was my turn to find a house now. I spoke to my sister, she called her friend who lives in Alacrity, we got a broker, a double bed room house was vacant, we inquired about the advance & rent and it suited us the best, we went to see the house – it was perfect but not painted, we asked the owner to paint it, and she did it immediately, we thought of shifting our furniture on 23rd June, and we already have done that! And my wife is indeed happy with the new house.

So what’s the moral of the story? When the time is right astrologically you need not struggle at all. A slight effort could bring the desired result. This is how astrology works, and this is how astrology helps!

By the way, my new address is posted here.

Posted by Kenni at 07:30 AM | Comments (0)

June 10, 2005

If not an astrologer, I would have been a gangster – part 3 - LAST!

I spent a sleepless night. The flashes of the disgusting incident kept me furious the whole evening. I didn’t know what was destined the next morning – whether I will get more slaps & punches or will it be a giving back time – in any case I was sure that I am going to the venue no matter what may come. I had complete trust on my friends ‘cause I have been always blessed with good friends. But the irony was they were always too good - they never smoked, they never drank, they never went behind girls, and they never had any nexus with the underworld.

We were just 5 – Sandeep Prabhu – whose only aim was to become an Engineer & he did become one, Jatin Parmar – who had a dream like that of QSQT’s Aamir Khan, I think he still is in search of Ms Right, Sagar Prasade – who very badly wanted to be a BE but finally ended up taking a job in shipping, & Manoj Wankhede – nope he didn’t have any share in Mumbai’s Wankhede stadium, he was the most innocent & most puny among all us. (I am mentioning their full names because if they happen to search their names on Google they should be able to contact me).

I told all my friends to bring whoever they know, so that we don’t take the beating again. None turned up the next morning – except my 4 friends. Manoj kept telling me that he has asked few of his friends to come exactly at 10 am. The drama was ought to begin at 10 am as it was school’s interval time. I kept ignoring him. Butterflies started flying in our stomachs as it already was 9.55 am. And they should be some 50 guys, and we were just 5 studious people who never even knew to fist our knuckles.

Manoj suddenly started jumping saying his friends are coming. I wasn’t excited till I turned to look at them. Oops – each one was at least 6 feet in height, at least 80 kgs, hair till shoulder, they surely had a look of major gangsters - and they were 10 in numbers! The butterflies still were flying – but this time for different reasons. I started having fears about what will happen to the guy who slapped me the other day!

Manoj introduced all of them to us, and my friends had a ray of confidence in them. Each one I am sure thought - Thank God! We need not take the punches for Kennedi’s sake now.

The bells rang and it was recess time now – the judgment day has come. We started moving towards the school gate. I was in the front, my 4 friends just 1 foot behind me, and those 10 guys 1 foot behind them. It was an awesome feeling, and I felt like a God. I can now understand what power can give you – TOTAL CONFIDENCE. Except for the background score everything was happening just like Ram Gopal Varma’s stunt sequence.

We stood their unperturbed, and that bugger came with another friend of his – who was known for his underworld contacts. The other 50 guys kept themselves at a safe distance. I can see them hiding their faces, and behaving as if they didn’t have any hands in this particular incident. I was face to face with this bugger, and asked him to call the girl for whom we were fighting. I can see fear running across his face & body, and the feeling of repentance about why he even tried to get into this mess.

In fraction of seconds, our guys pounced on him, and before I could blink my eyes some 15-20 punches were showered on him and he already had started bleeding. None came to his rescue. One of my guys lifted his shirt, and said should I remove it out? I didn’t get what exactly he meant by that. It was later I came to know they were carrying swords too!!!

Another guy asked me slap him right away and to take the revenge then & there. It was so awkward for me, and I said forget it. Let’s move. And it was all over.

I happen to see the same bugger a couple of times later too, and he still puts his head down whenever he notices me. He runs an electronic shop now, and is happily settled.

Sometimes I wonder if I should have used the same technique to prove my power in the Corporate scenario. I am sure most bosses need this kind of treatment for all the bloody politics they play in screwing people’s happiness. But then people bleed only through one hole if we take the revenge, but if the honour of taking revenge is let to God the wrong doer will bleed from most of the holes!

Posted by Kenni at 12:11 PM | Comments (0)

June 07, 2005

If not an astrologer, I would have been a gangster – part 2!

I wore the same dress for sentiment sake. I reached the venue at the same time, but she didn’t turn up. I was a bit dejected. And suddenly my friend spotted her taking another route. She was avoiding us?!! We were on a bicycle, and she had her bicycle too. We started chasing her, as if it was some kind of rape sequence happening in some old Hindi movie.

She was ripping, so were we. We were just few feet away from her, and she vanished. We could not spot her. But we could notice a cloud of dust emerging in front of us. My friend burst into laughter, I asked what happened? And he said, ‘she fell down’!

There she was lying on the road and her bicycle lying somewhere across the road. Thankfully she was wearing a salwar kameez and not her usual skirt & blouse. In that case it could have been a visual treat for the onlookers. Before I could get down and assist her she got up, dusted herself, and got into her school. We waited outside to know what exactly she had on her mind. A stud came out to pass her message. He said she is not interested as of now. I told him that is fine. But tell her that she could have told her right on my face, why play this chase drama?

One month had elapsed, and I had already started looking at another girl in my college. On our way to college via school, the same stud called us once again. We didn’t know what he was going to tell us. We went into the school, and there were some 50 guys who surrounded us.

This bugger caught me by my collar and said, “I told you right she wasn’t interested. Then why did you propose to her again?” I replied I never proposed to her at all. He didn’t believe me, and gave me one tight slap!! It was so humiliating. We were only 2, and we in no way could give them back. We wanted to confirm with her whether I really disturbed her again, but she had not come to school that day. I said it is fine, we will come back tomorrow, and we will confirm the same with her that is better.

I could not digest this incident at all & also the slap. Even if I had proposed to her again, who the f**k was this bugger who wanted an explanation? Later I came to know that he was her ‘rakhee’ brother. And as my friend mentioned we never saw any sticker on her butt which said she was his rakhee sister! I had 4 friends with me & 24 hours in my hand to take the revenge.

To be continued…..

Posted by Kenni at 04:39 AM | Comments (0)

June 06, 2005

If not an astrologer, I would have been a gangster – part 1!

Her name was Chandarani. Nope, she wasn’t someone dancing in one of Rekha’s khotas. She was my school mate, 2 years junior to me on whom I had a serious crush. I was doing my 10th and she was in her 8th standard. I saw her first when was playing ‘luppa chuppi’ (hide & seek) with her mates. She was fair, she was fat, she had a bob cut, and an enchanting smile.

I didn’t have enough guts to tell her about my FEELINGS at that tender age. But then I did things that surely could make her understand that I liked her. I kept staring at her, I would stand near her house for hours together, and would follow her to most places she went with her younger brother. Thankfully she was my friend’s sister’s classmate, from whom I confirmed that finally she came to know that I liked her.

I moved to my junior college & still was nursing a soft corner for her. Once by God’s grace I got an opportunity to meet her alone. She was standing across the road waiting for her friend, and I was with my friend. I crossed the road some 10 times, would go near her, bite my nails and come back. But for the confidence given to me by my friend, I would have never approached her at all

Finally I came close to her, and said I would like to speak to you. She said about what? I told her that I like her a lot, and love her too, and would love to spend rest of my life with her. I was 16. I was a bit taken aback from her reply. She said I recently had to operate on my tonsils!!

I was wondering what my proposal to her could have to do with her tonsils. She had a clarification. She said that she has to concentrate on her studies, and she doesn’t have much time for romance. I said fine, but you can meet me at least once a week, right?. She was kinda ok with the idea. I handed over a 5-star chocolate to her with a promise from her that she will meet me next week, same place, same time with a final answer – whether she is ready to hold my hand or would prefer to reject me completely.

Posted by Kenni at 12:04 PM | Comments (0)

May 25, 2005

The dream innings I never played!

I loved to play cricket since childhood - more so because unlike other team games there was no need to run much, jump, snatch, pull, push or fall. May be that was the reason why cricket was termed as the Gentleman’s game. I was the super star in my apartment. There were only 10 boys of different age groups who met in the evening to play. No match would take place in my absence. It was indeed ego boosting, but it was much later I realised that they wouldn’t start because I was the only guy to have got a good bat, stumps & also a ball!

At school the scenario was completely different. Guys were much more strong, heftier & athletic. To match their stamina was an altogether different ball game for me. But still, I don’t know for what reason, they would always select me in their team of 14. And I would be the 14th player.

Match would happen between 2 divisions after each test or exams got over. More than the match, my tension would be about asking permission from my mom to reach home late that day.

My prayers would start from early morning of my last exam. I would keep praying that only 11 people of our team should turn up for the match, and I should have a place in the team. Thankfully God never disappointed me, though I could sense a disappointment on my team mates’ face. I would console myself that it isn’t because they had to take me but it is because better players didn’t turn up.

There were enough batsmen to bat, and enough bowlers to deliver in our team. And I was a bad fielder. Winning the toss was important. Fielding first could at least give me some hope that I could bat in the second innings. But batting first could be miserable, because you will have to field under the scorching heat even if you didn’t get a chance to bat.

When our team fielded – I would keep looking at my captain if he considers me for at least one important over that could change the match completely. The captain always ignored me. I was always asked to field at a place where ball rarely would come. Once in 3 years the batsman would make a folly of giving me a catch, and I would generously drop it! End result – I would be asked to change my position. This time to a place where catch would come every 5 years!

When our team batted – The moment our guys started batting, my prayers would start. All my team mates would be celebrating each run. I will be praying that all the 9 guys should get out in the first 5 overs itself, and that I should pad up to bat an inning that which Kapil Dev played against Zimbabwe in 1982 World Cup (175 not out!). God never answered me.

I would go home completely drained & tanned. My sisters would ask me so how was the match, who won? I proudly would say, ‘we won.’ The next question would be so how many runs did you make, and how many wickets did you take, and I would reply cricket is a team game, individual performances should not be considered.

My urge for playing a dream inning started at the age of 13, and I am 31 now, and am still looking for an opportunity. So is there any team who needs a captain? I am game!

Posted by Kenni at 05:01 PM | Comments (0)

May 18, 2005

The lessons I learnt!

I was always blessed with enough money hence I had this feeling that that money was never important for survival. And I still think the same. But now I need to accept one fact that except for happiness, money can buy you everything else. All your desires can be brought into reality using money, and also many relationships are based on the amount of cash you carry!

When I decided to learn astrology in the year 2002, I always thought that I would practise astrology as a service – meaning I wouldn’t be charging my clients. It went on fine for few months till I started attracting too many freeloaders, who seek out astrological advice just for the heck of it, or should I say for entertainment purpose. I even started getting phone calls from one of my friends (a gym owner) asking if the day was good to visit a brothel!! And another person took a 15 years housing loan, and messaged me asking, ‘can you predict when I will be finishing off my home loan?!’ You don’t need an astrologer to answer those questions, even a roadside layman can answer if he has some common sense. Hence I decided that I need to stop being available for free - at least to filter off people who aren’t serious about this divine science.

I decided that I would start charging, but thought that the fees can be decided by the client himself. It went on for few months before I realised that even this was a bad idea. Given a choice any person takes out the least amount possible. And this I found with majority of the people. I used to spend hours together with clients to clear off their confusion & in giving them an insight into their future. They thanked & admired me, and end of the day paid me peanuts which affected my morale to a very large extent!

There is a notion well absorbed among the people that sciences like astrology & other divine sciences should not be practised for money alone. Yes, this held good when in olden days astrologers & people associated with divinity were paid really well by the Kings and the rulers, and their life was taken care well by the people surrounding them. Today, the scenario is different. Majority of the ignorant people prefer to put down the science which were valued greatly in the past.

So I thought enough is enough and that I am not free. Anyone who wants to consult me should pay me on the basis of time they spend with me. This worked. Giving a time frame didn’t allow them to argue about the science, which otherwise they did with utmost interest, and paying me first made them serious about what I was telling them.

Of course I haven’t compromised on my principles – if my predictions doesn’t come true, and if the client wants his money back I surely will return it, and people who are real seekers but could not afford me can always knock my doors for free predictions!

This blog isn’t for very few friends of mine for whom I prefer to do the reading for free ALWAYS!

Posted by Kenni at 09:23 AM | Comments (6)

May 14, 2005

My new life & my new approach!

It is almost 7 months that I quit my 9.15 to 5.45 job (Sify.com). After 30 years of existence, for the first time I feel that I am living my life for myself. I lived my childhood for my parents, I did my Post Graduation for being accepted by the society and I worked for 7 ½ years thinking that is what was needed to have a good family life.

Life hasn’t been the same after my meeting with my astrology & spiritual teacher K.Gopalakrishnan in the year 2002. I always envied him for his life style, and today I am happy that by God’s grace my life has turned out to be similar to his. I have a small office in my home where I meet clients, a sexy laptop on which I complete my daily astro orders, a Sony music system right behind my back & a small library which has some 150-200 books.

I noticed that after going on my own, my social life has reduced a lot. I interact with not more than 5-6 people in day – that includes my wife, 2 kids & sister. Most of the people who want to consult me either call me or chat with me on the net.

Unlike before there are very few people who provoke me, hence you will find my blogs a bit sober these days. I don’t meet up with an unfocussed VP sitting in a transparent cabin doing nothing, I don’t have a spineless boss to whom I have to send my daily reports, I don’t have a MBA chooth stealing my ideas, & I don’t have to massage the technical teams’ ego for getting a simple HTML page done.

Hence I thought from now I would start writing less about people & more about my insights, my experiences with my clients, of course sex, and my future plans about ‘Atmosphere – your weekend meditation resort’ – a multi-crore project that already has got Rs 5 crore sanction - from whom??? That I will keep a secret for now!!

Posted by Kenni at 01:42 PM | Comments (5)

December 16, 2004

Left for the day?

My father was always keen on giving us decent basic education. For him there was no difference between an Ooty convent & a Corporation school. He always believed that end of the day it depended on the student what he learns & what he ignores. I realized this truth very late in my life, till then I always saw students of Don Bosco schools with aweeee!

I studied in an average school (S H Johndhale Vidya Mandir, Dombivli, suburbs of Mumbai), which had 3 mediums of instruction – English, Marathi & Gujrathi. Thankfully I studied in the English medium.

None in the classroom till we completed our 10th standard ever spoke in English. They either spoke in Mumbaiya Hindi or Marathi. And honestly none had any problems relating to each other. We hardly could frame a single sentence when it came to spoken English. Yes, No, I don’t know where few things we can converse to our teachers, who took home salaries just by reading out text books in classroom. I am not blaming them for it. I had learnt that they were paid Rs 500 as monthly salary, and were asked to sign for Rs 1000!

My English was bad, and I still think it is. I completed my degree & post graduation in Coimbatore (PSG Arts College) where I picked up the language to some extent. I need to thank two important people – Nandita & Chandru – to have helped me in improving my English. Nandita was a gold medalist in English Literature from Calicut University (1995), and Chandru was my college mate. Thankfully Nandita understood Hindi but could not talk back. I kept speaking to her in Hindi as she could not understand Tamil, and she used to reply in English while her mother tongue was Malayalam, and I could not understand Malayalam!

We were a group – Nandita would speak in English to Chandru & me, I would speak in Tamil to Chandru, Chandru will speak to Nandita in English, and I would speak in Hindi to Nandita. The irony was all of us understood what each one was telling, and we spent 2 years together.
(Chandru is with ‘Headlines Today’ as a journalist in Delhi, you might see his name as S Chandrasekhar being flashed)

It was when I was hunting for a job in Mumbai. In the morning I met Behram Contractor (editor of Afternoon – courier & dispatch – a tabloid of Mumbai) and gave him my resume. He was kind enough to accept it and asked me to come back in evening around 4 pm with 2 news stories. I said fine. I bought few fullscapes, and a pen, and under the scorching sun I sat in Marine Drive (above the parapet) and was thinking about what to write. The sea waves were wild, spraying me with water droplets once in a while. I completed writing the piece, had my lunch and it was already 4 pm.

I reached the Afternoon building on time, and told the security guy that I wanted to meet Behram Contracter. He said, “he has left for the day.” I told him that he had called me at 4. He reiterated that he has left for the day. I asked him, “will he be back in the evening?” He got a bit furious and said left for the day means he will come back only tomorrow morning. Till then I never knew what ‘left for the day’ meant!

I am leaving for the day now till then Happy Blogging!

Posted by Kenni at 07:07 AM | Comments (9)

November 25, 2004

Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa – part 5 ‘The meaning of 18 steps!’

I am reminded of a story where an old man was repairing a bridge after crossing the bridge himself. A young man, out of curiosity, asked him, “why do you want to waste your time & energy repairing a bridge, when you yourself have crossed it?” And the old man replied, “so that the future generation need not find it difficult to cross the bridge, as I found it to be.” Most people, am sure, don’t find my blogs on Lord Ayyappa interesting, but I am writing it for the lost seeker who will find it useful someday in their lives.

Here comes my last blog on this series, and if you any doubt mail me on kennedig@yahoo.com, if I am aware I surely will help you out.

After the 48 days abstinence, Ayyappa bhaktas start their travel towards Sabarimala, which is 2 days long walk from Erimalai (foot hills).

They carry a bag on their head called (irumudi), which has rice, coconut filled with ghee, and few other ingredients, which in initial days were used to make food in the thick jungle. The coconut has to be broken on one of the 18 steps at the shrine (nowadays people are not allowed to break the coconut on the steps). The step is chosen based on the number of times you have been to Sabarimala. For instance, if it is your first year, you are supposed to break the coconut in the first step, and if second then in the second step so on and so forth…

The 18 steps signify control over - 5 senses, 8 ashtagrahas, 3 gunas and 2 steps, which totals to 18!

5 senses include

1) Visual - relating to the sense of sight - hence bhaktas are not supposed to watch movies
2) Auditory - relating to hearing - hence bhaktas are allowed to hear only bhajans
3) Olfactory - contributing to the sense of smell – vibhuti, chandan, agarbathis gives a holy feeling
4) Gustatory - relating to the sense of taste – hence control over food (especially non-veg)
5) Tactile - perceptible to the sense of touch – hence no sex or intimate relationship

8 Ashtaraghas

Ashtaraghas are human feelings & emotions.

1) Kama -Desire
2) Krodha - Anger
3) Lobha - Greed
4) Moha - Love
5) Madha - Lust
6) Sringara kautikam - Make up
7) Asooya – Duality
8) Nidra - Sleep

3 Gunas

1) Satv – Satvik characteristic – when you are in tune with nature like when observing a sunset
2) Tamas - Tamasik characteristic - when you are a bit aggressive, like waiting to board a crowded bus
3) Rajas – Rajasik characteristic – when you become violent enough to hit someone.

2 steps

1) Vidya - Knowledge, what you know
2) Avidya – Ignorance, what you cannot know

Ideally each year a person is expected to have complete control over one of the above mentioned aspects. And in the 18th year he should have controlled all the 18 aspects, which will finally give him the glimpse of divinity, and makes you a Guruswami. This is what the shrine implies too – that after you cross the 18 steps, you can see & become Lord Ayyappa yourself.

Posted by Kenni at 09:36 AM | Comments (2)

November 23, 2004

Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa – Part 4

My trip to Tiruvannamalai was a divine bliss. We met up with doctor for my kid, visited two churches, went to the Annamalai temple, meditated in Ramana ashram, and the highlight of my trip was the ‘old-age’ home, which I visited for the first time in life! I have lots to write but then thought let me finish those, which are pending.

Meanwhile I need to thank astroyogi.com to have given me an opportunity to prove my potential as an astrologer. I am getting good number of orders from them, and to my surprise I am busier than my days at Sify! I also need to forward my sincere thanks to my astro-spiritual teacher & also the almighty to have blessed me with so much.

Here goes the answer for few whys about the abstinence for Lord Ayyappa….

Why avoid public functions, when on abstinence?

When you control your senses and start meditating a lot your energy level in your body is bound to increase and you start moving towards a higher level of consciousness. In a public place, you are destined to meet up with people with varied energy levels - few happy (high) & few depressed (low). The energy flows from higher realm to the lower realm hence you would have noticed that after a stage performance - after giving a speech or a dance performance, you feel utterly tired. This is because the energy has moved from you to others. While on abstinence, you are supposed to have this energy you generate in your body for the Kundalini to get activated. Hence people are advised not to attend public functions during abstinence. This is one of the reasons why most saints avoid meeting people.

Why pray 2 times a day?

When you get up in the morning you pray to tune your energy for the day. You program it so that you don’t get angry or upset over events, and remember that everything happens according to the will of God.

Muslims are the best people when it comes to prayers. They pray 5 times a day, which keeps them conscious about God through out the day.

You collect a lot of psychological garbage in a day, which pollutes your mind. Any thought which disturbs your focus on God is considered garbage and is bound to keep your mind busy. Prayers before going to bed helps you to retune your energy, and get rid of all that garbage your collected.

Why stick to 48 days vrath?

The 48-days abstinence is called one mandala. You can inculcate a new habit or get rid of a bad habit in this period. Mind tends to get conditioned to new set of things in 48 days. Hence, even if you want to start going to a gym everyday first stick to this 48 days schedule and you surely will become regular at gyms. Note – if you miss a single day in between the next day becomes the first day!

Why avoid all that is man made?

List out the problems you have in your life, and most of them would be man made. You get upset because your computer conked, you get irritated because your mobile fell down, you feel yuck when your mail box is spammed, you aren’t happy with your car because new cars roll out everyday, and finally you aren’t happy with your job because you aren’t paid enough MONEY!

Abstinence expects you to avoid all material things and become as natural as possible. That is what Osho kept saying that, people are born enlightened but then we are conditioned to not remain that way.

In my knowledge Mahavira was the purest of saints, who never wore anything, and also who didn’t use scissors to cut his hair. He used to pull it out!

Article to follow –

The meaning of 18 steps of Sabarimalai!

Posted by Kenni at 01:02 PM | Comments (5)

November 20, 2004

Rahu Kalam?!

Recently there was a lot of hue and cry about why Kanchi Jayendra Saraswathi asked the court not to pass the verdict during Rahu Kalam. The media as usual found it funny, and the Indian skeptics found it funnier. So, what does Rahu Kalam mean? And what does it really imply? I am sure very few educated nuts took an attempt to understand what exactly it meant. It is easier to make fun at things you really don’t understand. It is similar to a situation where you are trying to make South African tribes to believe that you can communicate with a person in the US using a plastic device in your hand. Gods really must be crazy!

It has become a fashion to put down everything that are ancient or at least sounds to be ancient. I myself have few clients who refuse to give me testimonials about the right predictions I made for them. The only reason being they don’t want their names in the list of believers – they feel it very humiliating. It so happened that I met one of my sister’s friends once, who was kind of making fun about astrology. I told him to give me his chart (horoscope) and I will let him know with how many women he had affairs with and during which period. He was a bit taken aback and changed the topic of discussion. To get the real taste of astrology the only thing you can do is take your birth details to a good astrologer see for yourself if it really works. And you will find that it definitely works!

So coming back to Rahu Kalam….according to Indian astrology there are 9 planets - Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Rahu & Ketu. Scientifically Sun & Moon are not planets, but still are considered to be one. Rahu & Ketu are umbra & penumbra regions of the cosmos.

Different planets rule a day at different time. Majorly a day is split into three different periods – Rahu Kalam, Yema Gandam & Kulika Kalam. Rahu Kalam & Yema Gandam are considered bad, while Kulika is considered ok. This period fall on different time on different days, and any event carried out in that period is considered to be inauspicious. So what is the scientific reasoning behind it? I would simply say that science has not yet developed enough to prove this divine things Indians have discovered few centuries back just by gazing at the open sky!

Every individual has a right to post his views, and that exactly is what the seer has done. When a CM, who cannot bring the slightest change in an individual’s life, can refuse to come to the court saying she is busy at the office, why shouldn’t a religious leader, who is responsible for bringing drastic changes in human lives, say that let his judgement not be passed during the time, which he finds inauspicious? (The CM I am talking about is J Jayalalithaa, who herself changed her name based on numerology, demolished the age-old statue of Kannagi on Marina Beach on astrologer’s advice, and also donated an elephant to a Kerala temple, keeping her enemy (M Karunanidhi) behind bars – also on astrologer’s advice!)

M Karunanidhi, DMK chief, feels he has given the best of statements– ‘people go to the Ganges to get purified what if the Ganges itself gets corrupt’. Look who is talking about purification - a person who has 3 wives living in 3 different houses, and who continues to live with them on different days of a week.

I think Indians are the only genre in the world to get sadistic pleasure by putting their own treasures down. We spend more money in investing in dangerously low jeans than donating few bucks for temples & religious services. We indeed need to grow up and start accepting what our ancestors have left behind for us. And remember life doesn’t stop at IT!

Posted by Kenni at 11:36 AM | Comments (12)

November 18, 2004

Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa part 3 – Few more insights….

I have always noticed that whenever I have gone on abstinence for Lord Ayyappa, my astrological skills have increased. It feels great when people call up to say that my predictions have come true in their cases. It so happened that one of my clients, for whom I had given a prediction some 3 months back about a lift in his job in the month of November 2004, started behaving funny. He kept calling me every 2 days to tell me that my predictions have not come true so far, as if it was me who had written his fate. Moreover he didn’t have the patience to wait till November end. The only thing I can do was to cut him off by returning the fees he had given me. That way I was assured that I haven’t fooled him in any sense.

He was a bit taken aback when I gave his money back, but then that was the only option left for me. I told him to keep the money. If my prediction comes true, then come back in November, and if not then find some other astrologer. There were no calls from him for 1 month, and just today morning he called me up to say that he has been given a promotion and also a decent salary hike – and it is still November 18. He wants to meet me in person now. Thank god my prediction came true.

Here is the continuation of my previous blog about why we follow certain disciplines before going to the holy shrine of Lord Ayyappa…

Why sleep on the floor?

To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. In the process of losing weight, people have started jogging on metal roads, and cement roads without knowing its ill effects. The velocity with which the force bounces back while running on tar roads is much higher than the velocity that is thrown back when running on mud ground or a lawn. This leads to knee pain, and spinal chord pain during old age. The same force is good if you aren’t applying any effort from your end, hence sitting or sleeping on floor makes your body relaxed and gives you good sleep, and also absorbs body pain.

No wonder, if you notice the people who sleep in the pavement - they tend to have a more fulfilling sleep than one who invests a fortune in a bed and takes sleeping pills for getting rest.

Why be barefooted?

Reflexology is a modern natural healing art based on principle that there are reflexes in the feet and hands, which correspond to every part of the body. Massaging the corresponding points in the feet can cure most of our health problems – both related external and internal organs.

Being barefoot during abstinence helps these points to get subjected to stones, which in turn triggers the nerve endings of various body organs helping us to cleanse our body from diseases. Also being barefoot helps in getting your feet accustomed to the pain, which will be part of the 2-day walk through the forest of Sabarimala.

Why apply vibhuti and chandan?

Tremendous amount of heat is generated inside the body when an attempt is taken to control human senses. Moreover, controlling sex can increase the energy level and vitality of body organs. To keep this heat under control, the holy ash – ‘vibhuti’ mixed with water is applied at important nodes of the body from where heat is released. Forehead happens to be most important node. That is one of the reasons that when a person is suffering from fever, his forehead is the first to get heated up.

Chandan – when energy starts moving upwards, the 3rd eye gets activated. (Third eye is an energy point just in the center of your eyebrows). Sudden increase in energy, and its movement upwards can make a person go insane, hence chandan – a cooling agent is applied on the 3rd eye to balance the energy.

Articles to follow -

Why avoid public functions?

Why pray 2 times a day?

Why stick to 48 days vrath?

Why avoid all that is man made?

Posted by Kenni at 11:34 AM | Comments (6)

November 17, 2004

Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa 2 – External Changes & Scientific Implications

The modern man has changed with time. In the process to cope with the fast changing world – he has changed his outlook, his eating habits, his values, and also his preferences and priorities about life. The only thing he has not changed is the way he still portrays the almighty. Even in this IT ruled era he worships the same good old Indian Gods and Goddesses. Thankfully he hasn’t made Lord Shiva wear a Raymond suit and a Rebok shoes, and also hasn’t made Goddess Lakshmi dress like Urmila Mathonkar.

There is of course a change in the way people compromise on the rules mentioned in scriptures just to suit their own whims and fancies. We always have a logical reason behind why we had to compromise – it could be the kind of job we do, the kind of people we meet, and the circumstances we are subjected to in our everyday life. Today, you hardly can see a person who sticks honestly to all the rules mentioned for being on abstinence for Lord Ayyappa.

They wear Color Plus trowsers, Van Heusan’s shirt, Nike shoes, and hide the mala under their collar. If asked, if that is ok, they say that inner honesty is more important than outer drama - as if the saints who formulated those guidelines were fools.

The whole process of visiting Sabarimala has become a yearly comedy, and I have even come across incidences of people boozing during the abstinence. The truth is that there is no hard and fast rule that you should visit the holy shrine. But if you are interested TRY sticking to MOST of the disciplines, because there are reasons we hardly could come to know.

Why should a disciple stick to black attire?

This is for uniformity. Most enlightened people have stretched on the point that there is ONLY one God and that everyone is equal in his eyes (then why women are not allowed into the shrine, will answer that later). Uniformity also brings in integrity and respect for fellow human being. It is ultimately love and harmony among human beings, which will lead to a peaceful world.

Why tie waisty?

Waisty is a piece of cloth tied under the naval, which doesn’t need any button or zipper for support. The pants we normally wear come till our naval or above that. Supporting pants at that position changes our breathing pattern. Most modern man breaths through his lungs while he ideally is expected to breath through his stomach. Notice any new born baby, you can very well see its stomach coming out and going in, and not its chest region. Wearing waisty helps us breath in the right way.

Why have a towel/napkin?

Apart from waisty, Ayyappan bhakta always carry a towel with him. This towel is tied under his naval while visiting temples or while doing prayers. The towel is tied tightly so that it triggers the sex chakra and allows the energy to flow upwards.

Why chant Swamiyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Saranam Ayyappa?

I am not sure how many of you have seen Saranams being chanted. There is a unique way it is done. While saying the first word there is a long pitch that is taken followed by ‘saranam ayyappa.’ This long pitch is taken till the stomach and lungs become empty of air, and saranam ayyapa is chanted when there is no air in the body. This technique is similar to the catharsis meditation technique formulated by Osho Rajneesh. It hits directly on the sex center and allows the energy to move upwards. Moving of energy from Muladhara (sex center) to Sahasrar (head) is the final achievement in any mediation, yoga or religious procedures.

Check out for more tomorrow -

Why sleep on floor?
Why be barefooted?
Why apply vibhuti and chandan?
Why avoid public functions?
Why pray 2 times a day?
Why stick to 48 days vrath?
Why avoid all that is man made?

Posted by Kenni at 10:58 AM | Comments (6)

November 16, 2004

Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa – Part 1!

By God’s grace this is the 3rd time I have been blessed with an opportunity to be on abstinence for Lord Ayyappa, who resides in the holy mountains of Sabarimala, Kerala. With my meager knowledge about religion and my amateur insight into spirituality, I take this opportunity to let you guys know what exactly I came to know about the whole process, and why this abstinence is needed at the first place.

Both Ayyappa and non-Ayyappa bhaktas (who are interested in visiting the shrine) meet up with a Guruswami (Guruswami is one who has been to Sabarimala at least 18 times taking the long route) on 1st of Kartik (Karthik is Hindu month, which falls somewhere in mid-November every year), and start their abstinence by wearing malas made of Tulsi, Rudrakshas or Crystals. The 48 days period of fasting is called one mandala, and it is a temporary sanyasa a person takes up.

The strict disciplines that have to be followed during this period are –

1) Men of all age groups can start their abstinence, but not all women. Only young girls and old women – who don’t have their menstrual cycle are allowed to visit the shrine.
2) The attire during the abstinence period should be black, saffron or blue in colour. Only a waisty (cloth tied around the waist), and a towel are allowed during the period. And also the disciple is allowed to have only 2 pairs of cloth.
3) The disciple is supposed to sleep on the floor without any bed, bed sheets or pillows.
4) He should eat only at one place till he leaves for the pilgrimage. Eating at home should be avoided if someone at home is running her monthly periods.
5) Non-vegetarian food, smoke, booze, pan masalas and betel leaves have to be avoided completely.
6) Skipping either breakfast or lunch or dinner is advisable.
7) The disciple is not supposed to wear any footwear during the fasting period.
8) Sex, movies, TV, and any kind of entertainment related things should be avoided completely.
9) Social events like – birthday parties, marriages, and other functions should not be attended.
10) Also a disciple is not supposed to attend any funerals. If he does, his abstinence comes to an end.
11) Ideally a disciple is not supposed to get angry or yell at people and if he does, he immediately is supposed to take bath.

Daily Schedule

1) The disciple has to get up during Brahma Muhurta (the period between 4 am and 7 am), take bath in cold water, apply vibhuti (ash) and sandal paste on this forehead and chant 108 names of Lord Ayyappa.
2) The same has to be followed in the evening too. Food has to be taken only after the puja is completed.
3) The disciple should also go to a temple everyday to light the camphor for the God.

Articles to follow –

The external changes and their scientific implications
The real meaning of 18 steps of Sabarimala

Posted by Kenni at 10:28 AM | Comments (9)

November 06, 2004

Should astrologers get into soothe saying?

Agreed that most people approach an astrologer in their bad times or when they are undergoing a tough patch. It is acceptable that they always expect to hear some positive news and get some hope about a better tomorrow from the astrologer, but then Indian astrology is not just about soothe saying – it is about predicting FUTURE events. For instance if a doctor is completely sure that the patient is going to die, it becomes his duty to tell the patient or his/her relative about the same. Giving false hopes when he knows the final result isn’t accepted in any profession.

I 100 percent agree that destiny can be changed and that is what the divine science astrology also says, but it cannot be changed by human efforts. It depends upon how much blessing God has to shower on you. And most of the time we don’t understand what is God’s blessing, and what is not.

A millionaire thinks God didn’t bless him with children, a happily married person thinks God has not blessed him with a good job, a healthy person thinks he has not been blessed with a beautiful wife, and a old man thinks God refused to bless him with good health. We usually take things for granted or I should say God for granted. We never thank Him once for whatever we have been provided with rather we go on aspiring for more and more everyday…

I read this story somewhere, would love to share it with you guys….

A 1 ½-year-old kid saw a scorpion on the TV. The child found the reptile very interesting and started praying to God that it wants it to play with. After 7 days of prayers, God could not resist giving His blessing to the kid, hence sent a live scorpion into the house. God has created everyone with special characteristics, which never change – and stinging is scorpions character. Seeing the scorpion moving towards the kid, the mother of the kid at once smashed it to death. The kid started hating the mom just because she restricted the stuff it wanted to play with.

Just like in the story, MOST of the times we don’t understand what we are praying for until we look back at own lives. Life seems so perfectly fit, good and bad are just human perceptions, and that God always wanted to bless us with the best He can afford.

In my experience as an astrologer, I have met few people who have started hating me for telling the truth about their future. They usually get into debates, and take it as a challenge that THEY WILL WIN OVER DESTINY. But then there is no point in challenging an astrologer – what an astrologer knows is only a technique and what he does is a plain reporting job. Rest everything is governed by who else but the Almighty!

Posted by Kenni at 04:39 AM | Comments (0)

October 14, 2004

My meeting with saintly people – part 1!

I always had a fascination for saintly people who have huge following of rich disciples. I am amazed at the palatial ashrams they live in, the top-class educational institutions they run, and all the free medical help they render through their hospitals. No wonder, I fell prey to this spiritual romanticism and aim at constructing a similar ashram in the near future. Somehow I am blessed to meet these Babas through the right people, and I succeed in meeting them in person even if there are thousands of people waiting for the darshan. Yesterday, I happen to meet Melmaruvathur Adi Parashakti Amma , and by divine help I was one of the only 10 people out of the crowd of 35,000 to have touched his lotus feet on the 1st days of Navrathri – considered to be very auspicious by all means.

If I had born in the Hare Rama Hare Krishna era or Osho Rajneesh I am sure I would have joined their cult. And that is one escapism trick I try to convince myself that I am not behind material success, which otherwise I am - though I don’t openly agree.

My journey about meeting holy saints started after I met my spiritual teacher 2 years back. I was busy at my office, and I got a call from him asking me if I was ready to meet one of the saints he was close to. I was indecisive for a while, and he told me NEVER think twice when it comes to indulging in spiritual pursuits. I at once said I am coming. He was Shantananda, and as soon as we entered he said, if you find women distracting you from taking up your spiritual journey seriously – start praying goddesses like Andal, Mahalaksmi or Saraswathi. And that exactly was the question I wanted to ask him, and he answered it even before I sat at his feet.

I was contemplating of putting mala for Lord Ayyappa for my pilgrimage to Sabarimala for 6 years, and I never got in touch with the right people till 2002. One fine morning when I was meditating, I happened to hear to one of Lord Ayyapa’s bhajan, which was playing somewhere close to the residence. I don’t know what exactly the bhajan did to me, but I thought that surely was a divine call. I didn’t have a team, and I didn’t know of any of Guru swamis with whom I can go. You ideally are supposed to go with a guruswami especially if it is the first time. We, my brother in law and me, went to the temple and asked the pujari to put us the mala, and we started looking out for a Guruswami.

Krish is one of my closest friends, and we share similar interests as far as spirituality is concerned. He took me to Shiv Shankar Baba in Chennai , and said we can see some hope of getting a good guruswami there. Shiv Shankar Baba is one of the kindest spiritual teachers I have ever met so far in life, and he introduced me to a person who took me to a guruswami. And I have been part of the same team and going to Sabarimalai with the same Guruswami since the last 2 years. All in the DIVINE plan I should say.

Articles to follow…

*My meeting with saintly people part 2 – with Kalki Bhagwan, Ganapathy Sachitananda & Mata Amritanandamayi
*Why is it useless to meet saintly people?

Posted by Kenni at 06:30 AM | Comments (0)

October 07, 2004

I am off to Tiruppur!

I am off to Tiruppur - the banian city, to meet my parents for a couple of days and will be back on Sunday morning. Do mail me your queries to my mail ID kennedig@yahoo.com

Posted by Kenni at 12:18 PM | Comments (0)

October 05, 2004

Use Hinduism to become a Christian to reach Islam!

There is a general perception that all other religion except Hinduism are individual perceptions preached by Messengers of God, and that Hinduism is not a religion but is ‘a way of life’. It can be considered true to some extent but then even Hinduism was formulated by a set of people - just that the number of people involved were more compared to Christianity or Islam. Hinduism never had ONE supreme preacher, and people whoever spread the religion spoke about things that were always part of the Hindu scriptures.

Groupism is an intrinsic part of all the religions created by people midway who thought everything needed a change based on people’s requirement – for any religion or religious practice should ultimately make the follower comfortable. Christianity was grouped into – Roman Catholic, Protestants, Penta Coastal and many more, while Islam was grouped into – Sunni and Shite, and Hinduism was grouped into Shivaites and Vaishnavites majorly.

Hinduism is about worshipping imaginary idols, Christianity is about following set commandments of one single person, while Islam is about going beyond forms. This am sure is elementary information for anyone who knows what religion is. Here is how you can use all the three system to reach god or become attain enlightenment or attain moksha – whatever you name it.

Human mind can only think in the form of images, and anything formless is beyond its understanding. Like for instance – if I say Amitabh Bachchan, you can immediately find his image on your mind, if I say Sanjay your mind will search your database of people you know and find one if you had met anyone by that name or it will create a form which doesn’t have a clear face, and if I say chikalaboo – your mind goes confused. It cannot relate to anything with that word.

When kids, our minds aren’t formed fully hence we need dolls to keep ourselves busy. And when we are grown we start playing with our minds, as we are able to think in images and sequences. We easily are able to take our mind to the past and also to project it in the future. Likewise when your spiritual level is low, or probably if you are a fresher into religion you surely need an image so that it makes the process easier. Hence Hindus introduced images and idols for humans to make the procedure easy.

Christianity preaches about BEING good to all, and that isn’t an easy thing to do. You simply cannot bless the boss who f**** your happiness all through, and you cannot bless your superior who plays a diplomatic double game behind your back. Of course it comes through immense training of mind that can be attained by prayers to the Gods who have forms. So following Hinduism honestly will convert you into a person like Jesus Christ himself. (There is an interesting book written about Jesus, which says ‘Jesus lived in India’. There is an argument that Jesus came to India to learn all the meditation techniques, and got his siddhis from India. He tried preaching in India, but found Indians far ahead of him hence he went back to Jerusalem to bring his own people out of their ignorance. This is also the reason why Jesus is missing from the Bible between the age of 7 and 30)

Once a person is adept at connecting to God directly and has become a Christ himself using Hinduism, he can start to concentrate on the formless God – which incidentally is Islam. Directly jumping into the formless God is like trying to pass out 12th std without passing out your 10th. Not that you will not succeed, just that chances of failures are very high. Now it is time to break all those images you formed in your mind to keep yourself busy. As we grow up we throw all our dolls and start being content with ourselves. Same way, once your spiritual level is high enough, you can break the forms and try going beyond…..

Posted by Kenni at 06:21 AM | Comments (3)

October 01, 2004

People who inspired me to be jobless & happy!

I don’t remember a day in my life when my future seemed so adventurous and exciting. Right from the age of 2 ½ when I was put in my Jr KG Class, I hardly remember a day when my ‘tomorrow’ was unplanned. I had homework in schools, assignment in colleges, and unrealistic deadlines in offices. I always wanted to do things that which is in sync with the divine plan. Efforts become struggle if you try doing something that is against your purpose of life. And the people who have known their purposes in their lives have always lived a content life. Happiness never depends on the amount of money you have says Forbes , so I need not talk about it much.

Here is a list of few incidents that inspired me to surrender to the supreme lord and, do only those things God wants you to do.

There was a disciple who stayed with his master for a couple of decades. He was 54 now, and he thought he would spend rest of his life with his master and die a peaceful life. One fine morning his master told him that you have a bigger purpose in life. Go to the US and spread the message of Krishna. He landed in the US, and he had only 1 dollar in his pocket. He started from there and moved on to build ISKCON – International Society of Krshna Consciousness – one of world’s biggest prayer places. And the disciple was none but A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

Jiddu Krishnamoorthy was never interested in material success. His brother left him bankrupt at the age of 60 and from there he went on to build the most famous brand – the Krishnamurthy Foundation.

Osho Rajneesh wanted to take sanyas from life, not because he wanted to be called as a failure in his life but because he wanted to take it out of choice. He was a professor of philosophy in one of the colleges in Kolkatta, and quit his job one fine morning to set up his own meditation center in a Mumbai flat – from then there was no looking back. He had some 10 million disciples across the globe when he died in the year 1990, and even today his books are one of the largest selling works.

That list was a too much of a comparison for me. Not that I will become so big someday, but just that success is just not about making money, it is about doing something that you love to do.

Posted by Kenni at 07:06 AM | Comments (2)

September 23, 2004

Answer to the most sought after question!

There is an interesting argument that is thrown to an astrologer many a times by both the believers and the non-believers. Even I have asked the same question to few astrologers thinking I was smart enough to put the astrologer down. Not many could give a convincing reply, until I myself learnt astrology and tried finding the answer to it. “Will 2 different people have the same future, if they are born on the same day, at the same time and in the same place?”

Before answering to that question, let me put some light on two important aspects –

1) interconnected of life
2) and that even astrologers’ have their own horoscope

Interconnected of life

Your present life is completely based on your past karma. If you don’t believe this, then you better don’t believe in astrology. Astrology was completely formulated on the basis of how past life influences our present life.

You come in contact with only those people in this life, with whom you have had a past connection. This set of people could either be your friends or your enemies - you will still continue to have a bonding. Hence we like to love few, and love to hate many without any particular reasons. There is a small possibility of escaping this cycle of karmic relationships, if you start becoming non-reacting like few those spineless Corporate bosses, who never respond.

People also tend to carry few karmic habits from the past, which can give instant results in the present life. What you sow though shall you reap, said Jesus Christ, and it is absolute truth.

Here is an interesting example – it is said that sound sleep is a blessing for people. But there are people who woke up at the slightest of disturbances. It so happened that one of my friends was complaining about how his friend wakes him up in the morning. He slaps, or kicks or pours water on the face. I immediately told him, your friend should be having problems in sleeping. And he said YES. I had seen the same pattern with my elder sister. I hated the way she woke me up, and even she had the same problem, which my friend’s friend had.

Astrologers’ Horoscope

An astrologer is also born with few unique planetary combinations, which attracts only those people to him with whom he has a karmic connection. India’s number astrologer Bejan Daruwalla would always get clients from the premium segment. And I really doubt if he has done an astrological reading for an auto-rickshaw driver. The same thing is true with Enlightened Souls too – Osho Rajneesh had an amazing combination to pull the billionaires as his disciples, while Ramakrishna Paramahansa could only attract people with average fortune.

Predictions for people born on the same day, same time and same place

Astrologers prediction for individuals are NOT just based on the planetary combination, it also depends on the level at which the client is at present. The planetary combination for buying a new house is invariably similar in all the horoscopes. If the client is a poor vegetable vendor, we won’t be predicting that he will buy a house in Mumbai’s Hiranandani Gardens. He probably will buy a house in a chawl. And if the same combination for house is visible for a person working for a MNC, the prediction is made accordingly.

For instance, if 2 people are born on the same day, time and place, but one in a Govt hospital and another in a private one…am sure you understand how their life pattern will change based on their present level. Both of them will study, just that one will study in a govt school and another in a Christian convent, both of them will do business, just that one will have a small roadside hotel and another a restaurant, both of them will have their own vehicles, just that one will have a TVS 50 and another will have a Ford Ikon, both will meet up with astrologers, just that one will consult the roadside palmist and another will come to ME :D.

Posted by Kenni at 06:52 AM | Comments (5)

September 10, 2004

Why people call me Kennedi!

Kennedi? Was your father a JFK fan? That invariably is the first question people ask me in any interview. I know this isn’t going to bother anybody in the world why people call me Kennedi, I still thought I would throw some fascinating fact about why I was named one. I was born to a Christian mom and Hindu father, and always contemplated of marrying a Muslim woman so that whenever there is a communal clash, the rioters go confused.

I was born in a small town called Tiruppur, also known as the knitting city of India, close to Coimbatore, in a tiny Government hospital. And thankfully, when I was 8 years old, I had an opportunity to meet the nurse who attended to my mom during delivery. It was an exciting feeling to meet someone who saw you the first – even before your mom.

My dad was away in Bombay working for MTNL, when I was born. An astrologer himself, he always felt that people who had their names that starts or ends with letters ‘R’ or ‘I’ make it BIG in their lives – and he supported his views with examples of – Indira Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi, Ronald Reagen, Rajiv Gandhi to name few.

Those were the days of ‘Trunk Calls’, and you had to yell on the phone to convey your message. My mom called my dad to say she has delivered a baby boy, and to ask about what should she name the child. My dad asked her to choose a name, which ends with the letter ‘I’. My mom isn’t English literate nor my grandma is. They sat and discussed. My grandfather always had few photos of great leaders hanging in his house, and John F Kennedy was one of them. My grandma looked at JFK’s photo and suggested my mom to name me Kennedy, which AT LEAST sounded like having an ‘I’ at the end.

My mom liked the name, and wanted to stick to it. She realized the spelling error only when she came back to Bombay to live with my father after 3 months. It was too late to change the name now. My dad came out of with an idea, let us change ‘Y’ to ‘I’. And they registered my name as G. Kennedi in the birth certificate.

In fact my dad had to get few legal affidavit from the court to prove to the school, during admission that I belonged to a Hindu family, even while my name sounded very Christian.

I wouldn’t say there was perfect harmony at home about which religion our family should follow. We had two prayer rooms – one with Lord Ganesha, Saraswathi & Narayana, and the other with Jesus, Mary and St Antony. We, my 2 elder sisters and me, never bothered about these forms until it was exam times. We took blessing from both the gods so that we don’t forget the essential while writing exams.

My mom wanted us all to follow Christianity hence she baptized us. I was baptized as John G Kennedi, which my father isn’t aware till date. And I am not sure if he bumps into my blog someday!

For now I use G. Kennedi – G stands for Gopalan - my father’s name. And incidentally I came to know that Kennedy wasn’t a name at all, it is a family name – like Indians use surnames like Iyer, Iyangar, Rao!

Posted by Kenni at 04:25 AM | Comments (7)

August 29, 2004

All in the divine plan!

One fine morning I had two questions on my mind – do I have a dream? And am I moving towards it? I got negative answers to both the questions. I had to pull my socks, and convince myself to take the decision. The final decision of breaking free from the job I was currently doing. At least I need to come out of the comfort zone of posh office, clean bathrooms, centralized a/cs and 24 hours of net connectivity!

For my blog readers who don’t know what my job was - I have been working for Sify Astrology, since its inception and have put my heart and soul to make it one of the premium brands of Sify properties. And now I have decided to bid a final adieu just at the time when the field is ready for harvesting – and I have no regrets.

Astrologically the reason of me leaving my job is Shani Transit 2004. I had been telling my friends that the present Shani transit would surely decide whether I will be a full time astrologer, and the signs are already visible. I have to surrender to the divine completely and should move ahead to chase my dream and passion, for we live only once and I have only 20 years more to achieve what I want in life!

The big, small and funny things I want to do in my life…

I want to complete reading the Bible, Koran, Ramayana and Mahabharata.
I want to meditate for long hours, and guide people astrologically
I want to travel to MOST of the Indian pilgrimages
I want to set up a weekend meditation resort for people to spend their weekends
I want to write books on religion, spirituality & sex
I want to build a non-religious temple
I want to get into making TV programs
I want to set up my own Internet portal
I want to write for movies and make a movie of my own, someday.

And for all these things I have just 20 years!

What I need from you are – your prayers, wishes and blessings…and I hope with your support I will be able to make it BIG in my life. All in the divine plan!

Posted by Kenni at 06:26 AM | Comments (1)

August 24, 2004

How to differentiate between intuition and illusion?

Every seed has the potential to become a tree provided it gets the right environment to grow. The same way every human being is blessed with the power of intuition, and it depends upon the individual about how he/she goes about sharpening his/her power.

You would have thought about a person, and you will be zapped to receive a call from him. You would have imagined your girl friend in a particular dress, and you will see her walking wearing the same. And you would have thought about eating something, and your friend will treat you with the same. Intuition is a power of seeing things before it happens, and it should not be confused with illusion!

Human mind keeps functioning even when you are asleep. And it keeps flashing images, scenes and sequences out of which few could be intuition, and few could be illusions. It is a tricky task to differentiate between these two, and here is how it is to be done…

*Whenever you feel a particular thing is going to happen, don’t discuss it with anybody. You can write it down if you want.
*Look for more signs that support the intuition you had.
*Become a spectator don’t interfere, and don’t force things to happen.

I will give you a simple example…

I was meditating one day, and I got an intuition that one of the guys (named Nikhil) is going to leave our office. I kept it to myself, but didn’t write it down either. I messaged one of my friends saying HE SURELY WILL LEAVE, but keep it to yourself. She agreed.

I was in no mood to tell him that he is going to leave the job. I became a spectator, and was waiting for more signs that would support my intuition. I noticed something vague. He kept hovering around my table at least 4-5 times to meet someone, which he never did for the last 4 years. Then suddenly someone called me to his desk, and I could see Nikhil standing there too. I could not resist myself now. I walked over to him and said you will quit the job within 3 months. And he did. He quit the job in a week, and flew to Australia for further studies.

Of course I have failed a lot of times trusting my intuition, because I never used to wait for signs to support my intuition. Once I did, I could differentiate between intuition and illusion.

Posted by Kenni at 04:59 AM | Comments (3)

August 17, 2004

Mantras that work – part 1

I need to thank the divine and my spiritual teacher to have bestowed upon me this wonderful science of mantra shastra. The topic I am going to blog isn't new. It was always been there - but the one who knew never shared the knowledge, and kept it as a community affair. Hope my blog helps and guides people who are in search of the ultimate truth - God!

There are many websites that talks about various mantras, and that explains what it does to your mind scientifically. Let me not get into the esoteric aspects about mantras. I am a user, I have experimented with mantras, and my work is to give it you in the most ready-to-use format.

People are bound to have desires, and these desires change with time and age. What made you happy yesterday need not make you happy today, and what makes you happy today need not make any sense in future. For instance – if you give a 4-year-old kid a choice to select from a 100- rupee bundle and a dairy milk chocolate, it will surely select the dairy milk and the not the money. The result will be vice versa if you gave the same choice to the kid when it is 24 years old.

Indian saints have formulated various mantras to make life processes easier. Of course there is an argument about why should anyone try to change his/her destiny, why can’t he/she take life as it comes? The answer is - even chanting mantras to get desires manifested is part of individual’s destiny. Not all who know mantras are able to chant them, and not all who chant them get good results.

Mantras are chanted for basic purposes – 1) to get enlightened and 2) to manifest material gains.

Enlightenment is a vague concept, and even Swami Parathasarthy could not answer my question in simple language. Let me get into manifestation of material desires first.

HOW TO GO ABOUT DOING MANTRAS

*Get a clear perspective about what exactly you want to acquire by doing mantra, and try using it for achieve BIGGER things. Don’t waste your mantras or prayers to get first day first show movie tickets of Munnabhai MBBS or Mein Hoon Na.

*Every individual has a favourite movie star likewise every individual has his own favourite God. Try finding him- and make him your deity. Find out his mul mantra and keep it ready – like for Lord Shiva it is Om Namo Shivaya, for Vishnu it is Om Namo Narayana..it goes on.

*Get a picture of your favourite God, and all puja materials, and set up a small prayer room in your house. Write your desire in a small piece of paper and keep it behind the foto.

*Take a 48-days vow, and stop all those things you are addicted to like…

Smoking
Drinking
Watching TV
Lies
Cheating
Politics
Backbiting
Talking ill
Foul languages
Non-veg
Porn
Sex

*Freeze on the number of time you are going to chant the mantra on an everyday basis. It could be 108 times or 1008 times or 10008 times.

*Fix a time at which you are going to chant your mantra. It should be between 4 am and 7 am, which according to Hindu scriptures is called Brahma Muhurta – the best time for prayers and meditation.

*Stick to one time frame. If it is 4-5 am the first let it remain the same for all the 48 days.

*Remember if you miss one day the next day becomes the first day again. Hence, try to plan it perfectly..so that you don’t have any ceremony to attend like a marriage or a birthday party.

Check out more about Mantra Shastra in my next blog soon!

Posted by Kenni at 08:14 AM | Comments (9)

August 13, 2004

When I became a believer!

I always found life useless. In fact I feel there is no need a person should be alive. The lift pattern is more or less the same for all. People are born, few get formal education few don’t, few study well few don’t, few get a good job few don’t, few get married few don’t, few become rich few don’t. There are few things that remain common for all – all need food to survive, everyone has only 5 taste buds, the ratio of time a person stays happy and sad are similar for both - a beggar in Varanasi and the Microsoft head Bill Gates. What is different? Nothing. The chunks of people who feel that life is beyond these material successes become sanyasis – but what next? Even they are incapable of escaping the cycle of birth, rebirths and death!

When in college, I belonged to the latter group and I had no interest in material things – not even girls! Looking back I wonder how could I have missed those lovely creations of God! I was too much into Osho, Swami Vivekananda, and other religious Gurus. My mom was worried a bit about me. Anybody would be – seeing a young guy with long beard, long hair, with no passion for life. I always had the thought of becoming a sanyasi - that worried most of the people who know me.

My dad was always cool – because he knew what was coming. He is a staunch believer of astrology, and he had checked our natal charts with most good astrologers to know our future. One fine morning, he asked me to dress up. He took my horoscope, and we went to meet an astrologer. He wasn’t curious about my life, because he already knew, but he wanted to make me understand. I was a skeptic then. Now I realize skepticism is the easiest weapon used by the ignorant.

We didn’t ask the astrologer anything. He checked my chart, and said this person will get married before his 24th age, will do his PG, and will get jobs immediately after studies. He also said that there could be some problem with the father relating to the person he is going to get married. I said IMPOSSIBLE – not to the astrologer but to myself. And also how can my father have problems in my marriage, when he has given all the freedom to select my partner.

I completed my degree, and got admitted for my PG without much hassle. I got a job my first job in the first 2 months after I completed my PG in one of India’s esteemed organizations – The Indian Express, Mumbai, and I got married in 1998 when I was just 22-23 just before 24!

And what was the problem I had with my dad? Incidentally I married my brother in law’s sister, and my dad hated my brother in law to the core. This lead to 3 years of ZERO communication between my dad and me!

For skeptics these incidents could be easy guesses by the astrologer or probably mere coincidences...but for me they were miracles…miracles that changed me FOREVER!

Posted by Kenni at 06:44 AM | Comments (10)

August 11, 2004

What I understood about Osho Rajneesh!

I got introduced to Osho Rajneesh’s work in my 1st MA by one of my close classmates. I found his work very interesting, and his arguments fabulous. Osho somehow seemed to clear all the doubts I had about sanyas, religion and spirituality in the most lucid language. I was addicted to him and read no other books than his. And it took me 5 years for me to realize how dumb I was!

Who was Osho?
Osho was born Rajneesh in Madhya Pradesh in 1932 in a Jain family, and grew at his grandparents’ place. He was a rebel by birth, and had the guts to question everything and anything around him since childhood. He never wanted to get into his family business and live life like yet another businessman. He wanted to be successful in his life before he CHOSE to be a wanderer. He completed his formal education – a MA in philosophy, worked as a college professor till 30, and later quit his job to start a meditation centre in Mumbai – rest is history.

Osho’s meditation techniques
Osho Rajneesh formulated few fantastic meditational techniques to help people to go to a transcendental stage where MIND becomes still and reaches ZERO. Dynamic meditation was one of the famous techniques introduced by him followed by Natabrahma, Whirling & Kundalini meditation. Few years back Osho’s meditation methods were prescribed to the Indian cricket team to enhance their performance.

Osho’s Uniqueness
Osho Rajneesh was the first enlightened soul to explain that spirituality is not reserved for those who practice celibacy, leave their family and go on an exile to meditate. You could reach God even by living in the present fast paced society – that remained his argument.

*He was the one of first to use modern music to help transcendental meditation.
*He was the first to sell meditation in packages.
*He was the first to activate his commune in Oregon and also in Pune.

Osho Rajneesh had an amazing Vaak Sidhi (blessing for good speech) and he could mesmerize 1000s with his words and logic.

Also he was the first spiritual guru to bring humour in his discourses and even sex jokes.

Any guru born after Osho – like Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, or Isha Yoga Juggi Vasudev are just carbon copies.

The Controversy
No spiritual person ever spoke about sex so openly as Osho did..that too in the time when India was unaware about movies like Fire, Julie and Murder. He even argued that there was nothing wrong if parents stayed nude in front of their children.

Osho started to be known a as sex Guru, and also people started believing that people moved around nude in his ashram. This wasn’t true.

Osho believed that to meditate with a still mind you should get over with things, which blocks you from the process. If the blockade is due to sex, then go ahead, have as much you can and come back. Minds are cunning – people started having enough sex and never came back to meditate. This in fact put Osho into one of the controversies.

Sex Therapy was one of the meditations that Osho used to help people who were sexually active. It wasn’t anything new. He just tried selling old wine in the new bottle - Tantrik Sex Indians was part of Indian civilization.

Osho also got into controversy because of his elite lifestyle. Oregon was a community completely created, and managed by his rich disciples. It included a five star hotel, huge recreational centers, and also an aerodrome. Osho had some 99 Rolls Royce and an aircraft of his own. Once a BBC reported asked him, why do you cater only to the riches? And Osho replied you have your Christian missionary to help the poor and the deprived. The rich need me more, and hence I am with them.

He also got into controversy by calling Pope a homosexual, Jesus an unfertilized egg. Gandhi a desperado..and also managed to release a book in America that said ‘Dedicated to all human beings except Ronald Reagen’ - when Reagen was the American President!

What Osho did & what people understood
Osho’s discourses were tailor made. His argument was applicable only to those who had those questions in their mind. Hence you could find him negating himself in many incidences. In one book he is all ga ga about Jesus’s love, and in another he would be abusing him to the core. But people thought whatever he spoke were his philosophies and that it is for everyone.

Secondly, he was against creation of all kinds of identities. He was called Rajneesh, then Bhagwan Rajneesh, then Osho Rajneesh, and finally just Osho – that was because he wanted to lose his own identity. Hence he would change names of all those people who wanted to take sanyas under him. Men were prefixed with Swami and women were prefixed with Ma – just to make them lose their identity first. Why do you need to lose your identity - it is again debatable.

He tried is level best to help people to get over things, and start meditating. But then people stopped meditation and started following him, enacting him and imitating him.

Like any other enlightened souls Osho Rajneesh also has failed miserably in his experiment - to change people.

God bless all!

Posted by Kenni at 09:34 AM | Comments (5)

August 05, 2004

Coorg – a walk in the clouds! Part 2

Rekha, one of my friends, has started her own blog which talks about movie gossips. Try visiting and don’t forget to leave a comment – it will make her feel better. Today I have discovered that writing a travelogue is more tiring than the travel itself. Check out Part 2 of my trip to Coorg!

Coorg – walk in the clouds! Part 2
We got a decent off-season discount on rooms, which most people don’t ask for. The room was just Rs 400 per day…and the only thing we could see outside the window was thick fog.

We had a decent lunch with HOT rasam as a welcome drink. After food, we started driving towards Abby’s falls, which is one of the places to be seen in Madikeri (Coorg). I have been to Courtalam (kutralam) before, and was expecting the same kinda falls here. I was carrying MAN’s best invention so far - a Sony Handycam - and wanted to record all that nature had to offer.

The falls was not visible - all we could notice was a small narrow passage. The air started filling up with the sound of the waterfall, and as we moved forward the sound started increasing. And there it was - a wild waterfall hidden in the midst of the thick forest. It was indeed a visual treat, and makes one wonder if these kinda places are still accessible in India! The best part was the absence of people, and I would pray to God that let these places remain untouched by Coke & Pepsi bottles, Haldiram’s packets, and polythene carry bags.

There was no way that we could reach the falls - it was damn rough. All you could do is stand on the wire bridge near it and feel the water droplets brushing your presence – a multiple orgasm I should say.

The weather was pleasant, and the whole of Coorg was filled with misty clouds. It wasn’t raining but we could see water molecules settling on the glasses. We stopped at a small hill – just to explore how beautiful the world could be without people, and without modern gadgets and inventions, and we agreed it would be a much better place to live in.

Silence filled the air, and we felt as if our lungs were getting a real cleaning. We inhaled as much as possible so that the freshness could last for at least a year.

From here we had to go to the natural golf course. We approached a pretty girl to guide us with the direction. She was very friendly, and she helped us out. Thank God she didn’t have the slightest idea about what kinda of animals we were from inside. To be honest she was gorgeous!

I don’t know the basics of Golfing, but then looking at the Golf court I decided to learn it someday. The court ran into acres, and all you could see is greenery. There were no signs of people, houses, and settlement for miles together. The breeze was heavy, and clouds touched every cell of our body. It was a bit ghostly too. You could become invisible in the mist if you walk for 100 metres, and there were lot of chances of getting lost in the clouds. Suraj had been to UK and US and one thing he agreed about this place was– he has never seen a place like this before – jannath hai jannath – (it is heaven, it is heaven) was what he had to say!

Thank God neither Suraj nor I were gays. Or else am sure we would have ended up making love in the cozy room. Suraj had Bacardi, and the best part was the way he asked the room boy – if we can get a Coorgi babe for an one night stay! The room boy panicked, and said you need to go to Bangalore for that. Thankfully nothing of that sort materialized.

It was only Sunday morning, and we had enough time and enough petrol in our car. Hence we thought we would also visit Bellur, Hallibed and Saravana Bellogola on the way. It was time for a spiritual trip now, which started from the Omkareshwar temple of Coorg.

Bellur is some 18 kms from Hallibed, and Hallibed is about 180 kms from Coorg. It was a long drive, and we had not seen the sun for a couple of days.

Bellur temple was built in the 13th Century and it seems it took 103 years to complete building it. We engaged a guide for Rs 75 to take us through beautiful carvings of the temple. He was OK with his explanations, but then quite boring at times. It was a Lord Narayana’s temple and the best part about the management was they didn’t charge us anything for carrying the handycam. In fact we could take the cam even to shoot the deity.

Hallibed is similar to the Bellur temple, just that the main deity here is Lord Shiva. Both of us prayed for a better tomorrow. Suraj left a message of a quick abroad trip and I asked Nandi to use me as a divine tool for the betterment of the people around me.

To be continued…..

Coorg – walk in the clouds! Part 1
One thing I have never tried my hands at is writing a travelogue. I somehow hate it. It is one thing where the writer bores his readers with all the great experiences he had during his trip. It probably is like watching James Bond having sex with Hollywood star Halle Berry in 007 movies, which in no way could provide any pleasure to the watcher – unless he goes home and helps himself fantasizing about the black beauty.

Few things in the world can only be experienced and not explained. Philosophers have failed miserably explaining about nirvana or enlightenment. You simply cannot make the person understand about love, beauty and the experience of feeling one with the nature – and the trip to Coorg was one among them.

Suraj was a bit vexed with his mundane life as any other software developer is, and I as usual had differences with everyone around me. Corporate offices, and its politics could drain you so much so that you wouldn’t mind going to the wildest jungle and start living like an ape again. We didn’t plan much, and decided to take a break and visit a place that is far from the maddening crowd, and Coorg - the Scotland of India, seemed to be the best option.

I reached Bangalore by train on July 2nd, and as usual I never had a single girl traveling in my compartment. I wonder why no girls travel with me ever. That is one of the first thing I look in the reservation chart and all I find is – Ramamurthy 47 M, Singaravelan 52 m…why don’t these buggers stay home and ask their daughters to travel for a change. Well when naseed hai g….to kya karega pandu!

I stayed in B’lore, and we planned to leave to Coorg (some 250 kms) on Saturday morning. Thankfully Manoj (of Sify.com) advised us about the places that are a must see in Coorg, he suggested Khushalnagar and Nisargadhama.

Two people in a new Ford Ikon traveling at a speed of 120 Kms/hour, the weather outside being cloudy, no vehicle or people seen for kilometers together, clean roads surrounded by greenery till landscape meets the horizon, and the songs of Hindi singer Kishor Kumar on the background. What more can a person expect? The drive was great, and thanks to the 100s of people we inquired about the directions – elli, ekkada, rightU, leftU, hogi, gottila, maadi were few Kannada words we managed with.

Khushalnagar comes some 37 kms before Madikeri (Coorg), and I didn’t believe when Manoj explained about the place. It is a small Tibetan settlement, which has some interesting pagodas, and huge prayer/meditation room. You can watch the cheerful Tibetan monks clad in maroon robes moving around with contentment hoping to reach Buddhahood someday. It indeed is a out of the world experience..

We started moving towards Madikeri, and on the way we stopped at Nisargadhama. It was drizzling a bit now, and the air was filled with the noise of some water body nearby. We got our tickets, and got in. There was a huge wire bridge, which shook when someone crossed it - and a wild river flowing below the bridge. It was a thick jungle, and you can find cottages on top of the trees! I should say it is the best place for a newly married couple to have some great fun in the wilderness of the nature.

From here Madikeri was quite close, and we started driving. Our car moved into the misty clouds and it started raining, or should I say the clouds started condensing on our car. There were no people for miles together, and the road was surrounded by thick jungle. Suraj was enjoying the drive till he saw a board that said – Beware of wild elephants! We didn’t even have a matchbox to scare away the elephants if they walked across.

There were no curves, and no hairpin bends. We finally reached Madieri – a small town known for its beauty, coffee estates and pretty girls! (Incidentally someone told me that Miss World Aishwarya Rai is from Coorg!) I dunno about her, but we of course found few really great looking girls with sexy figures and piercing eyes. I am sure even a saint could have problem controlling his adrenaline such beautiful girls around, in such a sexy weather.

We booked a room, and thought would do some sight seeing before we took rest…

I am sure I didn’t bore you till now….

Abby’s falls, Natural Golf Club, Bellur, & Hallibed…to be continued in the next blog….

Posted by Kenni at 04:48 AM | Comments (0)

July 22, 2004

People change with time!

I had already met him 2 years back, and the experience wasn’t good. He was under tremendous stress, portrayed a villain like look, didn’t look into my eyes while negotiating and seemed very cunning. The business tie up broke, and we parted ways with bitter memories. I never wanted to meet him this time, but I had to. My colleague wanted me to have a word with him, because we were tying up with him again. I crossed my table with hell lot of reservations, but what I saw was inexplicable.

The person was the same, but he had changed – changed for the better. He was far more open now. He looked very content and had transformed into a receptive and nice person. The incident hit me hard, and made me ponder on few important questions like - what changed with time? Was it him? Was it me? Was it my judgement? Or both had changed with time?

I had read in one of Osho’s books that life changes so fast that you couldn’t even step in the same river twice. Everything changes around us with time, the latest mobile you possess today would be an antique piece tomorrow, the 800 watts Sony Music System you got in 1999 would be outdated in 2004 and the girl’s beauty that made you go against your parents’ wish would fade away one day. People change, their perception change, and life change…sometimes it is easy to accept it and sometimes it is not.

1995-1997

I had a friend, who was a millionaire from Madurai. His lifestyle was a bit different compared to ours. The maximum money we used to spend in a month living in a hostel was Rs 150, and that happened to be his minimal daily expense. We used to watch those x-rated movies sitting in a claustrophobic movie hall paying Rs 3, and he used to get a new babe every fortnight who charged Rs 2000 per night. That was when he gave me some good gyaan about how to select the best among prostitutes. He used to hate my beard, and my philosophies, and I had to change my room because our energy never matched.

2002

I had been to Shiv Shankar Baba’s ashram to take his blessings for my pilgrimage to Sabarimala. And I met this person there - after a gap of 5 years. The last place I could imagine meeting him was a Godman’s ashram. He had put on weight, and I sensed a change. I asked how come you are here? And he said, his life has changed. He has a silk emporium in Delhi, and he has become a devotee of Baba. What about the millions? He said her parents have closed all their business and now live in Baba’s ashram as devotees. And what about the women? He said no more booze, and no more women – I need to live a clean life!

1995-1997

The telephonic conversation lasted at least for 45 mns, there was enough time to whisper sweet nothings, it was a pleasure to surprise the partner with a crackle (chocolate) and few greeting cards, matinee shows seemed more important than the journalism classes, and the note ‘Memories that I will cherish forever’ written on one of the pics taken together carried immense meaning.

2002

Yahoo Mail gives me an alert. The mail is from my ex-girl friend. The first mail, which I received as a reply to my mail sent after 5 years. The mail explains everything - she is married, she is carrying, and she thinks about me once in a while. Not to forget the important note left at the end…bygones are bygones!!!

People indeed change with time!

Posted by Kenni at 07:09 AM | Comments (3)

July 14, 2004

Pilgrimages, consciousness, five fingers & human rat race!

Most holy places in India are situated on mountaintops. And I could not find any person who could give me an apt answer for this trend? Is it because God doesn’t want to see you? Or is it because he wants to test your patience? It took a lot of time for me to interpret about why is it so difficult to visit a pilgrimage of your choice even when you have enough money and power!

The basic reasons

1) So that you don’t carry your materialistic possessions and burdens when you have to climb the hilly terrains
2) So that you focus only on God, and in times of difficulties you remember Him and only Him
3) And when you are aware of your destination or aim, you are least bothered about the path you take and the trivial difficulties you face to achieve your goal

When you apply the same philosophy to survive in the material world, life becomes very easy. That is one of the reasons why human beings are always asked to have an ambition in his/her life. Without having a dream to achieve, life could become a bit boring and petty things could seem like huge problems.

When you open up to the universal consciousness, the whole world acts as a teacher and you tend to get messages, information, and guidance from anywhere and everywhere. It so happened that I was watching a Tamizh serial on Sun TV (Vishu’s Aratai Arangam), and I found a guy giving meanings to the five fingers a man possesses.

He said…

The small finger signifies power
The ring finger signifies wealth
The middle finger signifies sex
The index finger signifies U, I, ME, EGO
The thumb signifies the Almighty, God

A man in any particular time of subsistence is behind one of these things. And the whole rat race of human existence is based on these important factors.

He added that while meditating, we keep our index and thumb fingers together, and the other 3 fingers stretched out to imply that we don’t want power, wealth and sex, but want to dissolve I, ME, EGO in the Divine Almighty.

Hence, it can undoubtedly be said that even saints aren’t peaceful with themselves. Like any other human beings, they also have worries, stress and deadlines to meet - just that they don’t aspire for power, wealth or sex but all they allure is to reach God.

Posted by Kenni at 05:01 AM | Comments (11)

June 17, 2004

Life so far - The real side of me!

I never was interested in my curriculum. I studied only because my parents wanted me to. Honestly my father was (is) a terror, and I remember I used pee in my pants when he yelled at me. Looking back there are no regrets about how life has happened to me. I should sincerely thank the co-education concept and all those girls and women in schools & colleges who kept motivating me all through my life. Even their silence meant a lot to me.

Movies were my passion I think it is for most of the people around. I always wanted to get into making movies. I would dream about wearing a hat (similar to Subhash Ghai’s), be at the set and say lights on, camera rolling ..ACTION! And you know life doesn’t treat you the way you want it.

Few other professions I wanted to take up –

A pilot - I dropped the idea when my dad said you at least need 2400 hours of flying experience and the money for that would run into lakhs. Also as there are only few Airline companies in India and you will never get a job.

A cricketer – I dropped the idea when my dad said sports wouldn’t feed you in India. Also you have to compete for 1 place in the 11-member team for which few millions are already aspiring.

A doctor – I never liked the idea of being a doctor. Probably I would have loved to be a scientist but then I dropped the idea after watching Pankaj Kapur in Ek Doctor ki Mauth!

An Engineer – My dad was an engineer, and he knew I wasn’t strong at maths and physics. He honestly accepted that his son couldn’t be an engineer. Or should I say he had checked my horoscope, and saw some other profession awaiting me

An IAS officer – Most parents live their lives through their children. They want their children to do all those things they themselves have failed doing. My dad failed in the IAS prelims thrice, and hence he wanted me to complete his task. I don’t like power, and also those white colour ambassadors hence didn’t waste my time mugging up those huge books these Brilliant Tutorials send.

A veterinary doctor – I love animals, and wanted to work at zoos looking after animals. But then someone told me the competition for Vets are more than for BDS, hence dropped the idea. I never want to compete for anything in life. If it belonged to me it would come to me – that remained my only philosophy in life!

I joined Bsc chemistry, as I was damn interested in science. I was asked to leave the lab the very first day, as I forgot to take a pen with me. I hated the new place, new people and the arrogant professor. That was the day when I decided that I would never take PG in science, if these people continue to be my professors.

I was selected for Msc, MA masscom and MA social work. My dad was insistent on me to take M.Sc. And I was a bit confused about what to select. I walked across one of the guys in our hostel and asked him in which department do you find more girls – he said MA Mass Comm. He said the ratio is 5:1 (5 girls: 1 guy), I at once made my mind that I will join MA Mass Comm and nothing else. And that was how journalism happened to me.

My girl friend left to Muscat, and I knew the relationship was all over. Accepting facts aren’t easy sometimes. My head knew, but my heart wouldn’t listen. I still was in the hope that she will return someday to India, and we will get married. She left on May 6, 1996 and that was the last day I saw her. Today I am married to another person, have a kid, and expecting one this September.

My GF had promised me that she will come back in a month and would stay in Mumbai for a day. I told my parents that I am going to find a job in Mumbai and left my native. I went to Mumbai just in the hope that I will be able to spend that one-day with her. This was how Indian Express happened to me. I worked for the Internet version of Indian Express for 3 years, and she never returned.

Being part of another Internet company, I learnt astrology, tarot reading and vaastu shastra from K Gopalakrishnan on weekends. In the coming days I will be taking up astrology as a full time profession.

As of today my plans for the future are –

I will be making my own movie soon.
I will be setting up a meditation resort and it will be called ‘Atmosphere’.
And I will be taking up sanyas when the time is ripe.

Let me wait and see how life treats me.

Posted by Kenni at 08:24 AM | Comments (8)

June 10, 2004

When I was bribed

I am no one to judge. Neither I am against corruption nor I am for it. I believe in the law of karma, but sometimes I have failed to see the law manifesting instantly. If Karma means 'as u sow, so shall u reap' then why did the father of ahimsa Mahatma Gandhi got shot dead while Cambodian dictator Pol Pot died a peaceful and natural death even after killing 2 million people?

It happened once upon a time when I was part of a BIG company.

I was kept under the dark about the real deal we had with one of our partners. Huge amount of money was dispersed on a monthly basis, and none knew the exact deliverables the partner had to provide. The agreement came to the fore, and I found the partner was not even providing 10 per cent of what was promised.

I am addicted to honesty, God knows why – probably because I watch too many Hindi movies. The partner was a good friend of mine, but I found the whole episode adharmic. I never wanted the company to splurge money on what was not given. I scrutinized the deal, and made it mandatory that the partner should provide what was in writing.

The partner who was used to easy money got into a defensive mode. He didn’t wanted things to change, nor he wanted to provide the deliverables. I got a call from him. He asked me to visit his home. I knew what was coming, and I was ready with my answer.

The deal was – “take 30 per cent of the money I get from your company, and let things stay as it is.” 30 per cent indeed was a huge deal, and of course a mouthwatering offer. I had made up my mind, but then open wallet tempts even a saint. I could see what all things I could buy with that amount, I could see how my lifestyle could change, I could see how my simple problems could get solved. I was wondering if it was God’s blessing in disguise. All said and done…I said NO! And the deal was scrapped along with the contract.

I was glad to know that money could not buy me, or was it because I am costlier? Looking back I have no regrets. But sometimes I think what if I had said OK to the deal…the money I would have made would surely have been more than what I am making today.

Posted by Kenni at 04:02 AM | Comments (0)

June 08, 2004

Conversation between my alter ego & me: Bless your enemies!

Alter Ego – Hey, what’s wrong?

Myself – I really don’t know. May be male menses or I should say things aren’t moving at the pace I want them to.

Alter Ego – Buddy that happens to all. You cannot do a thing in this world. You can only witness events happening around you.

Myself – Yeah I know that, and have myself advised many about that fact. But then still….

Alter Ego – Probably you are bugged with your job. You might need a change…

Myself – Yeah that is true. Bugged for the last 6 months, but what difference would change bring? Same people, same hierarchy, same politics and the same system. You cannot fight the system you see. There are only three options in life - change others, change yourself or quit. I have lost all my hopes on the 1st option, and I hate the 2nd option. Nothing can be changed. I wonder how these police officers fight the corrupt system.

Alter Ego – They have gun in their hands.

Myself – True. I would stick to Dharma and Ahimsa for now. Incidentally I stumbled upon a beautiful concept to put an end to your enemies.

Alter Ego - And what is that?

Myself – Bless them, and don’t react or retaliate.

Alter Ego – But that isn’t anything new, even Jesus said the same thing.

Myself – You are right. It has immense meaning. Nature automatically keeps a balance of good and bad using the law of Karma. If you try punishing the wrong doers, the pain you inflict is very less. Let the divine take its course.

Alter Ego – What do you mean?

Myself – Yeah, none can punish better than God himself. I feel He is biggest sadist! So next time if someone hurts you, give a smile and walk off…and let God do his job!

Alter Ego - I dunno about God, but for me you sound to be a bigger sadist!

Myself - Huh!

Posted by Kenni at 11:08 AM | Comments (0)

May 27, 2004

My interview with Yahoo!

My college hostel, where I lived for 5 years, was very close to the Coimbatore Aerodrome. Every Sunday after our lunch we friends used to go the airport to see the kind of people who used to come down. If luck favoured us we used to get blessed by the holy darshan of few celebrities. We happened to see the shooting of Ishq & Raja Hindustani fortunately. Not that I had not gone by plane before that; my father had taken us a couple of times - thanks to MTNL & their copper wires.

I had this dream of being sponsored by someone or some company for my flight trip. And it came true. I had quit Expressindia in 2000 and had moved to Chennai on a new assignment, and I got a mail from Yahoo.co.in if I would like to join them. It was only 3 months that I had joined my new company, and it wasn’t a good idea to quit even before the induction was over. But then nothing stopped me from attending the interview when they said they would be sponsoring my air tickets!!

I landed in Mumbai by Jet Airways after 1 hour of fantasy-filled thoughts, which starred those pretty airhostesses inside the flight.

The interview was at the Oberoi’s lounge, and I was there on time. I never knew an American would interview me. I always found their accent beyond my understanding, and I was not sure where a face-to-face conversation would lead me. That is one of the reasons I don’t watch English movies, which doesn’t have subtitles.

He called me and I handed over my resume and also the copies of magazine, which my sister and me had published for Spencer Plaza, number 1 shopping complex in Chennai.

He started off the interview with the same question I hate to answer – tell me something about yourself! That question makes my mind blank, and I always fail to understand where to start from - my schooling days or my PREKG days or my college days or my present job or my sexual fantasies or the girls I loved or my aim of setting up an ashram or my thoughts about uselessness of life!

To save the time I started off with my schooling days. I found the interviewer looking at few sexy babes who were wandering around while I was putting my complete effort on making him understand about my past, present and future. I was kind of pissed off. I stopped mid-way. He looked at me again, and said continue. I told him I cannot talk if you don’t look into EYES! He was taken aback and he apologized.

From then the conversation went on smoothly. He asked me to write a piece/article about the future of Internet in India, when I reach Chennai and send it across. I did the same. It is 4 years now, and I am still expecting a reply from him. Sometimes I feel I should not have bothered to disturb him when he was engrossed in an interesting bird watching episode!

Please Note – It is ok if you spend few 100s more, but try traveling by Jet Airways and not Indian Airlines. Indian Airlines is known for its largeness - the flight, the seats, and even the airhostesses?!!! Hope you got what I am trying to imply. I came back by Indian Airlines! :(

Posted by Kenni at 04:08 AM | Comments (3)

May 26, 2004

Yaa Katchi?

I wanted to blog about my interview at yahoo, but then something else that was more interesting came up. I was getting ready for the office today, and my 1½-year daughter Tejeswini was having her dosa (breakfast). She is a matured kid for her age and has learnt a lot of things herself. She has inherited few mannerisms from me too; one of them is touching the nose using the tongue.
I dug into the rack where my wife keeps my washed kerchiefs and found one. This is one of the blessings of married life, you get to use washed clothes always!

As I was folding the kerchief, Teju started shouting ‘yaa katchi?’ ‘yaa katchi?’. I was in a hurry, and kinda ignored what she was saying. Later I realized the colour of the kerchief was somewhat new. I asked my wife, who was the kitchen, whose kerchief is this and my daughter replied ‘Tata’! I was amazed at what Teju was referring to. She at once knew that the kerchief I took was not mine and it was my Father In Law’s. Yaa Katchi – Yaar Kerchief (whose kerchief is it).

Kids make amazing companions, and I am falling in love with them already. I was not the same always. Thanks to my US chat friend Susan who made me understand about the values of children, and the amount of fun they can bring into your life. In fact, they make your life worth living.

I know few couples who decide NOT to go for kids as they find their career more important. I honestly pity them for their dumb decision. Even a roadside beggar can manage an organization well if proper training is given to him. And I find being a good parent is more challenging than running a whole setup.

Try to invest your hard earned money in children than those sick money-back or jeevan-rekha policies of LIC and ICICI! Life is nothing but a set of good memories, and try to accumulate as much good memories as possible. Bonuses, maturity of policies and fixed deposits will never equal what a kid brings to your life.

Posted by Kenni at 03:46 AM | Comments (3)

May 20, 2004

Conversation between my alter ego & me – Is killing someone right?

Totally inspired by my friends Chota Bacchan (Abhishek) & Chota Rajan, I thought I should write my blog about an unusual conversation that usually takes place between my alter ego and myself…
Myself – Hey, is killing someone right?

Yesterday was a great day for me. A send off party for a colleague for whom I had predicted a job change, and an invitation from an ex-colleague for whom I had predicted a marriage this mid-year. It is of course an orgasmic feeling when my predictions come true. Also I try to condition myself for taking brickbats with stride when prediction goes for a toss, as always criticisms travel faster than acknowledgements.

Totally inspired by my friends Chota Bacchan (Abhishek) & Chota Rajan, I thought I should write my blog about an unusual conversation that usually takes place between my alter ego and myself…

Myself – Hey, is killing someone right?

Alter Ego – Huh! You out of your mind? Of course it is. Remember you could be jailed for life, and also it is a biggest sin as far as religions are concerned.

Myself – Then why are people conferred with Param Veer Chakra for killing Pakistanis?

Alter Ego – Yuck. That is a silly argument. That is because they are our enemies.

Myself – What if you killed Pakistanis before 1947? You still would have got Param Veer Chakra?

Alter Ego – NO! You would have been put behind bars.

Myself – So does that mean, your actions lead to different repercussions based on the year you commit a murder?

Alter Ego – Wait. See it is like this. They were our friends once upon a time. But now they are not. They are our enemies since 1947 after we got separated from them. So there is nothing wrong in killing Pakistanis at the border who try to infiltrate India.

Myself – So what if we reunite? Will the killing stop? And will the Param Veer Chakra substituted by imprisonment?

Alter Ego –May be. They are all govt set patterns. If they say Pakistan is our enemy, just aim and shoot them. If tomorrow they ask you to aim at your neighboring state - do the same. All the fights /wars in the world are for pieces of land – that belongs to none other than God.

Myself – You mean to say anyone who comes to capture my piece of land becomes my enemy? In that case I think I should aim at my relatives who barge in without notice. Sometimes of course to capture!

Alter Ego –Don’t joke. So, am sure your confusion is solved right?

Myself – Yeah..to some extent. I understood that it all depends on the circumstances and not the real action. Anything can be justified and anything can be proven wrong at any particular time. BTW I got another doubt!

Alter Ego - Oops! No, not again….ok go ahead. Let this be your last doubt for today.

Myself – OK. About the sin part you were talking about. Imagine a situation – for instance a stage play is happening, and it is a scene where Brutus has to stab Julius Caesar to death. Now tell me is that a sin?

Alter Ego – I hate you when you ask such childish questions. How can this be a sin? They are just characters enacting their roles, and am sure Brutus is using a dummy knife.

Myself – Yeah right, but then what if the knife was a REAL one?

Alter Ego – Then of course the sin goes to the character who is playing Brutus.

Myself – What if the dummy knife was deliberately exchanged with a real one by another guy before the show, and that Brutus completely unaware about the same?

Alter Ego – Then the sin goes to the person who exchanged the knife and not Brutus.

Myself – OK. What if,