Happy Life Harmony for Greater Success: 2010

Happy News!!
We have launched our TV channel titled, 'Mentor TV' to give relevant videos on the six vital aspects of life (referred as Vital Six which are Personal Finance, Self Development, Healthy Body, Healthy Mind / Spirit, Healthy Relationship & Happiness). The video will be simple, action oriented and enjoyable.

Enjoy the grandeur- Personal Finance

Yesterday, I wrote on our response when we come across grandeur around us. There seems to be a Universal Rule on enjoying the grandeur.

Hypoglycemia

Recently my colleague's mother suffered from Hypoglycemia, which is a great challenge for any diabetic under medication. My heart always goes for such people. In Grandma’s Home Remedy, we discussed a few simple remedies for this, of course subject to getting this cleared with your doctor. Thanks to Grandma!!

Health is vital for Life Harmony

Everyday I am reminded of this. As my mentor puts it so beautifully, "If you truly love your family, please take care of your health."

Immunity

All of us need to work on improving our immunity to fight against several bacteria and viruses that are around us. I have given a few simple food that can help us in this regards and give us a more Healthy Body.

Financial Mentor

I firmly believe having a Financial Mentor and doing a monthly review with him/ her will make a huge difference to ones prosperity.

Sense of humour

Sense of humour is a great advantage. Even if you don't have it, you can learn appreciate humour. This will improve your energy level and prosperity. No Finance minister can tax your humour and resultant happiness. Over a period of time, you will develop Unconditional Happiness.

Grandma’s joyful Recipe - Episode 3 (Seven Cups Cake)

What people like about Seven Cups Cake?

Very delicious.
Easy to prepare.
Lifts your mood to one of celebration.

Ingredients:

Milk- 200 ml
Gram Dhal powder- 200 grams
Ghee- 200 ml
Coconut- 1 (medium size)
Sugar- 600 grams
Cardamom- 5 pieces

Preparation:

Boil 200 ml of milk and allow it cool.
Grate the coconut and grind this in a mixer grinder so that it becomes a smooth paste.
Now mix gram dhal powder, milk and coconut paste in a vessel without any lumps.
Place a frying pan (preferably with a thick base) and switch on the stove.
Add 50 ml of water in this pan and add sugar to the water.
Once the sugar gets dissolved add the mixture in the vessel to this sugar solution.
Powder the cardamom pieces and add to the boiling mixture.
Keep stirring this mixture in low heat.
Now place another pan in the adjacent stove and pour the ghee into this pan.
Once the ghee gets hot, pour the ghee to the mixture in four parts with a gap of 5 minutes between each part.
As the mixture is boiling, take a tray of one inch thickness and grease the entire tray using 2 teaspoons of ghee and keep it ready.
At one stage the mixture will become thick and roll like a ball without sticking to the pan.
Now pour this mixture on the greased tray.
Allow it cool for 5 minutes and cut it into pieces of desired shape using a clean knife. Now the delightful Seven Cups Cake is ready for eating.

Happy Life Harmony for Greater Success

Grandma’s joyful Recipe - Episode 2 (Chakkarai Pongal)

What people like about Chakkarai Pongal?

The very thought of it is mouth-watering.
Lifts your mood to one of celebration.
Harbinger of good events and festivals.

Ingredients:

Jaggery - 500 grams
Raw rice - 200 grams
Moong Dhal - 4 teaspoons
Ghee - 50 ml
Milk - 150 ml
Sugar - 1 teaspoon
Cardamom - 5 pieces
Nutmeg - a pinch (powder)
Cashew - 12 pieces
Kesari colour - a pinch
Pachai Karpooram - a pinch
Raisins - 10 pieces

Preparation:

Take raw rice and moong dhal in a big vessel and wash well.
Add 600 ml of water and 150 ml of milk to this mixture and place the vessel in a pressure cooker.
Switch off the pressure cooker after you hear 4-5 whistles.
Take the mixture and smash it well and allow it to cool.
Place a frying pan on the stove and add 150 ml of water and jaggery.
Heat the pan till the jaggery gets dissolved.
Filter the liquid to remove impurities.
Again boil the liquid till the liquid reduces half its quantity.
Add the rice mixture to the jaggery in the frying pan and add sugar to this. Stir this mixture well till the rice and jaggery gets mixed well.
Take another frying pan and heat the abovementioned ghee. Cut cashews into pieces. Roast the cashew pieces, raisins and nutmeg powder in this ghee.
Add this ghee containing roasted cashews and others in the boiling pan containing rice and jaggery.
Powder the cardamom pieces and add to the above along with a pinch of Pachaikarpooram. (Please note that the cardamom and pachaikarpooram should not be fried).
Now add Kesari powder with a small quantity of water.
Mix well and heat the mixture for 5 minutes and switch off the stove.
After 10 minutes, the delightful Chakkarai pongal is ready to be enjoyed.

Happy Life Harmony for Greater Success

Grandma’s joyful Recipe-Episode 1(Akkara Vadisil)

What people like about Akkara Vadisil?

Delightful aroma, colour and taste.
Lifts your mood to one of celebration.

Ingredients:

Jaggery - 400 grams
Raw rice - 200 grams
Gram Dhal - 1 teaspoon
Ghee - 50 ml
Milk - 200 ml
Sugar - 1 teaspoon
Cardamom - 4 pieces
Nutmeg - small piece
Cashew - 10 pieces
Kesari colour - a pinch

Preparation:

Heat 2-3 spoons of ghee in a frying pan.
Fry raw rice and gram dhall in this ghee till the mixture becomes slightly brown in colour.
Put this in a vessel and place it in a pressure cooker and add milk and water (100 ml).
Switch off the pressure cooker till you hear 4-5 whistles.
Take the mixture and smash it well and allow it to cool.
Take 100 ml water in a frying pan and add jaggery .
Heat the pan till the jaggery gets dissolved.
Filter the liquid to remove impurities.
Again boil the liquid till it becomes slightly thick.
Add the rice mixture to the jaggeryin the frying pan.
Powder the cardamom pieces and add to the above.
Add 1 teaspoon of sugar to the above and boil for 5-10 minutes.
Break cashews into small pieces and add nutmeg and roast this in a pan and add to the mixture as per step 12.
Now add Kesari powder with a small quantity of water.
Now the delightful Akkara Vadisl is ready to eat.

Happy Life Harmony for Greater Success

Kannadasan, an Immense Joy-Episode3

I feel delighted to highlight one more masterpiece from our beloved Kannadasan. This song is from a Tamil movie called ‘Vazhkai Padagu’ and beautifully sung by the legendary PBS. Let us read the lyric first:

Netru varai nee yaro nan yaro, indru mudhal nee vero nan vero
Kanum varai nee engae nan engae, kandavudan nee ingae nan ingae

unnai nan parkumpodhu, mannai nee parkinrayae
Vinnai nan parkumpodhu, ennai nee parkinrayae
Nerilae parthal enna ? Nilavenna theindha pogum
Punnagai punrinthal enna ? Poomugam sivandha pogum

Pavai un mugathai kanden, thamarai malarai kanden
Kovai pol idhazhai kanden, kunguma chimizhai kanden
Vanthadhae kanavo endru, vadinen thaniyae nindru
Vandu pol vanthai indru, mayanginen unnai kandu

What is great about this song?

My enjoyment is beyond words. What a great imagination and flow? Why don’t you come back once more, my dear Kannadasan?
The lovely comparisons with the moon, lotus etc.
The lovely melodious voices of PBS.
The lovely music by MSV.
The lingering effect of this evergreen song.

Happy Life Harmony for Greater Success

Kannadasan, an Immense Joy-Episode2

Let us enjoy one more masterpiece from our beloved Kannadasan. This song is from a Tamil movie called ‘Veera Abhimanyu’ and beautifully sung by the legendary PBS and P. Suseela. Let us read the lyric first:

Paarthen sirithen pakkathil azhaithen
Anru unaithen ena naan ninaithen
Andha malaithen idhuvena malaithen.

Paarthen sirithen pakkam vara thudithen
Anru unaithen ena naan ninaithen
Andha malaithen ivarena malaithen.

Kodithen iniengal kudithen
Ena oru padi then paarvaiyil kudithen
Thuli then sindhamal kalithen
Oru thuli then sindhamal kalithen
Kaigalil anaithen azhaginai rasithen

Malarthen pol naanum malarnthen
Unakkena valarnthen paruvathil mananthen
Eduthen koduthen suvai then
Inithen illadhapadi kadhai mudithen

What is great about this song?

The lovely repetition of ‘then’ (then in Tamil means honey) . Tamil is happy to be played in the words of Kannadasan?
The lovely melodious voices of both the great singers.
The touching effect of ‘Sahana’ Raga.
The great music by KV Mahadevan, another genius from Tamilnadu, India.
The lingering effect of this evergreen song.

Happy Life Harmony for Greater Success

Kannadasan, an Immense Joy-Episode1

In this episode we are going to see the beauty of a masterpiece from our beloved Kannadasan. This song is from a Tamil movie called ‘Pava Mannippu’ and beautifully sung by P. Suseela, a great singer. Let us read the lyric first:

Athan en athan, avar ennai than, eppadi solvenadi
avar kaiyai than, kondu mellathan , vanthu kannai than, eppadi solvenadi

Aen athan ennai paar athaan, kel athan endru solli thaan
sendra pennai thaan kandu thudithan, azhaithaan pidithaan anaithaan, eppadi solvenadi

Avar kaiyai thaan kondu mellathan, vanthu kannai than, eppadi solvenadi

Mottu thaan kanni chittu than, muttu than, udal pattu thaan
endru thottu than, kaiyil inaithan, valaithaan pidithaan anaithaan, eppadi solvendi

What is great about this song?

The lovely repetition of ‘than’. What an incomparable genius is Kannadasan?
The style used by Kannadasan as if the heroine is communicating her joy to her companion.
The melodious voice of P. Suseela.
The great music by MSV, another great master.
The lingering effect of this evergreen song.

Happy Life Harmony for Greater Success

Religion vs. Spirituality

This is a very interesting topic. Why many talk about spirituality than religion? Could it be due to the following reasons?

1. Spirituality is broader than religion and can be understood by many.
2. Religion is a means to spirituality.
3. Spirituality has no dogmas.
4. Spirituality gets us closer to the all pervading Intelligence.
5. The field of Quantum Physics takes us closer to spirituality.

There can be many more reasons. I will be delighted to have your views on this.

Happy Life Harmony for Greater Success

Discipline is Freedom

Some of us seem to think that discipline is a kind of slavery which can be practiced only by sacrificing ones comforts. I feel discipline is freedom over a period of time for the following reasons:

Discipline seems to give us a sense of direction and hence achieving our goals becomes a lot simpler.
Discipline makes us more consistent. People, who don't believe in discipline, are not consistent.
Others are able to understand us and predict our response, when we are disciplined. Our relationship improves for this reason.
In fact, discipline gives us clarity in our own thinking and response to situations.
I have personally seen people with discipline are more peaceful than the others.
Over a period of time, we will enjoy the process of discipline and that will lead to happiness.
Last but not the least, when we get the rewards of discipline, many a time, the difference is too staggering and a few sacrifices that we have made, will pale into insignificance. For example, if we could achieve better prosperity with discipline, we will simply rejoice and will not even have the time to think about the sacrifices.

The last Para may require more elaboration. In the workshop, Path to Prosperity held on November 22 at Chennai, we discussed the following example:

'A' (with discipline) starts investing Rs 50,000 per year at the age of 25. 'B' (reluctantly) starts investing the same amount every year at the age of 30.
When they attained the age of 55, A's corpus is Rs 61 lakhs while B's corpus is Rs 40 lakhs @ 8% return pa.
The difference of Rs 2.50 lakhs in amount invested made a difference of Rs 20 lakhs to their corpus.

Am I right in saying that discipline is freedom and lack of discipline leads to slavery and certainly not the other way around?

Please do share your experiences on discipline.

Provide for Entertainment

It is my considered opinion that we should allocate a portion of our earnings for periodical entertainment. All of us will appreciate the proverb, 'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy'.

The periodicity of entertainment, the quantum of funds allocation and the exact mode of entertainment will vary from Person to Person. It may be a good idea to have a family decision on these so that everyone is kept happy to the optimum maximum possible level.

In the meanwhile, one should not miss out on enjoying the costless luxuries that are available to us. You may also refer the last Para in our seventh E-Newsletter dated December 1, 2009.

Ability to enjoy vs. Knowledge of music

I was in a concert a few days back and it struck me that a few people miss out on enjoying the beginning of a song in their effort to identify the RAGA (tune). This is one of the situations where knowledge of the people seems to interfere with their enjoyment.

Of course certain amount of knowledge helps one to enjoy music. So, the right formula seems to be basic knowledge + ability to enjoy is better than too much knowledge without enjoying the music. For a lay person like me, soothing music helps me to connect to my silence.

Please do share your thoughts.

Unconditional Love as a tool for Happy Life Harmony

I got one of the best definitions of Unconditional Love from my mentor: Unconditional Love exists between you and another person, only when what the other person does or does not, does not alter your love for the other person.

Of course, you decide the persons (e.g. spouse, children) with whom you want to have unconditional love. Once you choose the person, how do you develop Unconditional Love? In my opinion, the following action plan will help:

1.Go beyond Logic

Everything is not logical in life and more so in relationship. Going beyond logic helps in not only giving you peace of mind but also in building a solid foundation for Unconditional Love.

2.Manage your Energy Level

One of the reasons for one to slip in unconditional love is through misunderstanding that can arise, when the person’s energy level is low. Techniques like Prana Mudra, deep breathing and semi-squatting can help the person to improve the energy level.

3.Spend Quality Time

The bondage with your kith and kin can improve, if you spend quality time with your family. Simple things like communicating good things that happened during the day and genuine appreciation can improve the bondage and love with family members.

4.Take Responsibility

When you take total responsibility for the love without worrying who is right or wrong, you are in the path to Unconditional Love.

5.Realize the duality of nature

Duality is an inseparable part of the existence. So there is bound to be good and not-so-good aspect in each person. Accept it gracefully.

6.Thank the Universe always

You need to thank the Universe for seeing not only good aspects in people but also not-so-good aspects in people because soon you are going to find good aspects. The more you thank the Universe, the more the Universe will give you things to be thankful for.

7.Ask, “Is the Universe teaching any lesson through this person?”

This is a beautiful question to ask if you come across something not acceptable in the other person. Most of the time, the answer will be,”Yes”. Thank the Universe and the person for the lesson.

8.Avoid Sarcasm

Even for a joke, avoid sarcasm, since it is one of the greatest killers of love.

9.Ask questions instead of sermon or advice

This is a very healthy habit to be cultivated. Understand that most people don’t like advice or the advisor.

10.Understanding vs. Agreement

For relationship to flourish, you need to understand rather than agree. Understanding makes you accept disagreement gracefully.

11.Be always a student

Keep learning forever. Accept a few successes and many failures. Be willing to laugh at yourself.
When you practice the above, you will not only develop Unconditional Love but also Unconditional Happiness. This will lead to Happy Life Harmony.

Health is vital for Life Harmony

I am trying to understand why many of us are not consistent doers of yoga, exercise, deep breathing, meditation etc. I am sure most of us are not lacking in knowledge but perhaps may be lacking in will power. I want to keep this topic open for your valuable views and suggestions. Together ‘Let us make a difference to this planet’.

Happy Life Harmony for Greater Success

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