A TALE OF PARALLELS: VIRTUAL BOOK LAUNCH

 Unveiling of A TALE OF PARALLELS by Ms Shweta Rohira, author and an actress, Mr Sudhanshu Mani, the T-18 man and an author, and Mr K L Pandey, former Additional Member, Railway Board, musicologist and an author.  

The event was hosted by Seema Saxena of Jashn Events.

A TALE OF PARALLELS is published by AKS PUBLISHING HOUSE. 

Get your copy on Amazon.com or Amazon.in

In case you missed yesterday's session, you can watch it at:

https://www.facebook.com/Jashnevnt/videos/4633182423387704/

*India's Mission Kabul*

 

*India's Mission Kabul*

 For the last 3-4 days we are seeing that Indian Air Force planes are bringing Indians stranded in Afghanistan from Kabul.  It sounds very easy to see and hear, but we should also know how much hard work and diplomacy of the Indian government behind this.  First of all, we do not have any direct plane route to go to Afghanistan.  For this the most shot cut route is through Pakistan but as always Pakistan is a big hurdle in this.  That's why Indian planes have to take a long route and go through Iran.  For this, the Government of India first obtained approval from Iran for the use of airspace for Indian Air Force aircraft.  Getting this approval was not such an easy task because no country allows the airspace of another country to use its airspace.  But the Indian government was successful in getting this permission from Iran.  Even after obtaining this permission, there was another issue that Indian planes could not land directly in Kabul.  Because India's relations with Taliban have never been good.  Therefore, the Indian government could not rely on the Taliban enough to keep the Air Force plane standing there for a long time.  On the other hand, in view of the chaos and huge crowd at Kabul Airport, it was not possible that the Indian planes could remain there.  To solve this, the Government of India found another way.  For this he resorted to the airport of Kazakhstan.  Once again Indian diplomacy was successful and Indian Air Force plane got permission to use Kazakhstan airport.

 Now the Indian government also had another problem that how to transport Indians to Kabul airport because after the capture of Taliban, Taliban fighters have set up their check posts at different places and they do not only complete search of every person coming to Kabul airport.  Rather, he also puts an egg in it.  On the other hand it was not even possible for Indians to gather together at Kabul airport due to the chaos at Kabul airport.

 Eventually the Indian authorities found a solution for this too.  He arranged a large garage near the Kabul airport where he could house around 150-200 Indians at once.

 Now everyday Indians are first gathered in the garage.  This work of gathering Indians goes on day and night.  For this, the Indian officers themselves take their car and reach the place where the Indians are staying.  Taking them, he takes them to the garage adjacent to the Kabul airport, while beating their heads at the Taliban check posts built all over the place.  When enough Indians have gathered in the garage, the information is passed on to the Indian Air Force officers stationed in Kazakhstan and the US officials stationed at Kabul Airport.  It is noteworthy that the ATS control and security control of Kabul Airport is in the hands of the US Army.  After this, clearance is given by the US Army to land the plane of India.  Then the Indian Air Force plane standing at Kazakhstan Airport flies from there and reaches Kabul, by the time the plane's landing, all the Indians from the garage reach inside the airport in the US Army car.  They are immediately boarded in the Indian Air Force plane standing there and within 15 minutes, this Indian Air Force plane flies towards its country with the Indians.

 ?

 * Now think deeply that if any Pappu of Pappu company had been sitting here, would it have been possible *

'Relocating to Nursing Home (in Western Countries, Retirement Homes are called Nursing Homes):*

 

'Relocating to Nursing Home (in Western Countries, Retirement Homes are called Nursing Homes):*

This is an article on the internet that  has caused many to reflect over their own lives. The author is a retired writer, and she expressed emotion when she was about to go to a nursing home.

I'm going to a nursing home. 

I have to. 

When life gets to where you are no longer able to take care of yourself completely, your children are busy at work and have to take care of their children and have no time to take care of you, this seems to be the only way out.

The nursing home is in good condition, with clean single rooms equipped with simple and practical electrical appliances. All kinds of entertainment facilities are complete, the food is fairly delicious, the service is also very good. The environment is also very beautiful, but the price is not cheap.

My pension is poorly able to  support this. But I have my own house. If I sell it, then money is not a problem. I can spend it on retirement, and the rest will be left as an inheritance for my son. 

The son understands very well: "your money and your property should be enjoyed by you, don't worry about us." 

Now I have to consider preparing to go to a nursing home.

As the saying goes: Breaking a family is worth tens of thousands, which refers to many things. Boxes, bags, cabinets, and drawers are filled with all kinds of daily necessities: clothings for all weathers and beddings for all seasons.

I like to collect. I have collected a lot of stamps. I have also hundreds of purple clay tea pots. There are many small collections, and such small items as pendants of emerald and walnut amber, and two small yellow croakers. 

I am specially fond of books. The bookshelves on the wall are full.

There are also dozens of bottles of good foreign wine. There are full sets of household appliances; various cooking utensils, pots and pans, rice, oil, salt, noodles, floue,spices, various seasonings, in fact the kitchen is also full. There are also dozens and  dozens of photo albums..., looking at the house full of things, I'm worried!

The nursing home has only one room with a cabinet, a table, a bed, a sofa, a refrigerator, a washing machine, a TV, an induction cooker and a microwave oven -- all the things I will really need. 

There is no place to store the wealth that I have accumulated throughout my life.

At this moment, I suddenly feel that my so-called wealth is superfluous, and it doesn't belong to me. I just take a look at it, play with it, use it. It actually belongs to this world. The wealth that come in turns are just passing by. 

Whose palace is the Forbidden City? The Emperor thought it belonged to him, but today it belongs to the people and society.

You look at these, you play with these, you use these but you can't take them with you in death.

I really want to donate the things in my house, but I can’t get it done. To deal with it has now become a problem. Very few children and grandchildren can appreciate what I have collected. I can imagine what it will be like when my children and grandchildren face with these painstakingly accumulated treasures of mine: all the clothes and bedding will be thrown away; dozens of precious photos will be destroyed; books will be sold as scrap. Collections? If you are not interested, you will dispose of them. The mahogany furniture is not practical and will be sold at a low price.

Just like the end of the Red Mansion: only a piece of white left, so clean.

Facing with the mountain of clothes, I only picked a few favourites; I only kept a set of pots and pans for kitchen supplies, a few books that are worth reading; a handful of teapots for tea. 

Bring along my ID card, senior citizen certificate, health insurance card, household register, and of course a bank card. Enough!

It's all my belongings!  I'm gone. I bid farewell to my neighbours, I knelt down at the door and bowed three times and gave this home back to the world.

Yes! In life, you can only sleep in one bed, live in one room. Any more of it is merely for watching and playing!

Having lived a lifetime, people finally understand: we don’t really need much. Don’t be shackled by superfluous things to be happy!

It's ridiculous to compete for fame and fortune. Life is no more than a bed.

*For people over 60 years old, shouldn’t we think carefully about how to take the last journey in life?*

*Let go of fantasies and baggage, and of those things that can't be eaten, worn, used.*

*Be healthy and be happy*

*With Best Wishes

A GOOD POST WORTH READING

“Vladimir Putin”

 

During the Second World War, a soldier obtained leave allowing him to return to his home.

As soon as he reached the street near his house, he saw a parked military truck loaded with corpses and knew that the enemy had bombed his city.

The truck was carrying dozens of dead bodies and was preparing to transport them to a mass grave.

The soldier stood in front of the piled-up corpses to take a last look at them and noticed that a shoe on a woman's foot looked like a shoe he had previously bought for his wife.

He went to his house in a hurry to check on her but didn't find her. He quickly retreated and went back to the truck again to check the body and found his wife.

He was left shocked. He said, "I'll not want my wife buried in a mass grave".

So he asked her body be pulled from the truck in preparation for a proper burial.

During the transfer, it was found that she was still breathing slowly but with difficulty. He carried her to the hospital where the necessary first aid was given to her and she came back to life again.

Years after this incident and at the end of the war, the wife who was almost buried alive became pregnant and gave birth to a boy in the picture above named “Vladimir Putin”

He is the current president of Russia

*🙏Hare Krishna 🙏*

 

 

 

*Hare Krishna *

Our Rakhi Return Gift

Lord Krishna is saying 

But those who always worship Me with exclusive devotion, meditating on My transcendental form  *to them I carry what they lack,*

*and I preserve what they have.*

Have you ever thought what we have or possess that Lord *Promises to Protect & Preserve*

Any guesses ??

So let me tell you 

*Our Human Body* which we got after 84 Lakhs births , just see how precious is our life. 

Next coming to 

What is it that we lack & Lord Krishna is so eager *give us*. He has given us chance to ask for. 

So what should we ask for.  *Again any guesses ???*

So again let me help you all

We should ask Lord Krishna to help us to imbibe all those qualities of a pure devotee, which He has clearly explained in *Bhagavad Geeta*

2)Association of a True Pure Krishna Conscious Devotee

& What we really lack is 

*Unconditional Pure Devotion/ Bhakti* 

So don't forget to ask for this.

3) O almighty Lord, I have no desire to accumulate wealth, nor do I desire beautiful women, nor do I want any number of followers. *I only want your causeless devotional service, birth after birth*

*Hare Krishna Hare Krishna*

*Krishna Krishna Hare Hare*

*Hare Rama Hare Rama*

*Rama Rama Hare Hare*

 

BOOK RELEASE! A TALE OF PARALLELS

 Get your copy now!

My new book of short stories is out! Available on Amazon

https://www.amazon.in/Tale-Parallels-Ravi-Valluri/dp/8195042619/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3PPIJBKQU6UU5&dchild=1&keywords=a+tale+of+parallels&qid=1629600536&sprefix=A+Tale+of+Par%2Caps%2C290&sr=8-1

                                                         

                                                  A TALE OF PARALLELS

Watch out for teasers that will pique your interest!

REIGNITING THE FLAME

A Facebook Account as forwarded

 

 

 

A man named Tom Nicholson posted on his Facebook account,  the sports car that he had just bought and how a man approached and told him that the money used to buy this car could've fed thousands of less fortunate people.

 

His response to this man, made him famous on the internet.

READ his story, as stated on Facebook, below:

 

 A guy looked at my Corvette the other day and said,

 

"I wonder how many people could have been fed for the money that sports car cost?

 

I replied I'm not sure;

it fed a lot of families in Bowling Green, Kentucky who built it,

it fed the people who make the tyres,

it fed the people who made the components that went into it,

it fed the people in the copper mine who mined the copper for the wires,

it fed people in at Caterpillar who make the trucks that haul the copper ore.

It fed the trucking people who hauled it from the plant to the dealer,

and

fed the people working at the dealership and their families.

 

BUT,...

I have to admit, I guess I really don’t know how many people it fed.

*That is the difference between capitalism and the welfare mentality*.

When you buy something, you put money in people’s pockets and give them dignity for their skills.

When you give someone something for nothing, you rob them of their dignity and self-worth.

 

*Capitalism is freely giving your money in exchange for something of value*.

*Socialism is having the government take your money against your will and give it to someone else for doing nothing.*

 

I think this is well written.

 

Afghanisthan and Russia as forwarded

 

Around 32 years ago, Russian general Nikolai Ogarkov advised Leonid Brezhnev’s cabinet not to invade Afghanistan, saying that the country was unconquerable. Today US generals are asking Barack Obama to get the hell out of the place or else the Americans will have to leave the way they left Vietnam – in their underpants.

Are the Afghans really 10 feet tall? Is subduing Afghanistan an impossible task? Ogarkov, the chief of the Soviet Defense Staff, was of course being cautious. He referred to the rout of several British armies in Afghanistan in the 19th century. (On one notable occasion in 1842 the Afghans massacred a British army numbering over 21,000, allowing one soldier, William Brydon, to go back and tell the story).

Ogarkov was more concerned about the political fallout. An invasion would “align the entire Islamic East against us” he warned. In fact, with Pakistan as a fallback option, the Mujahideen (which was being supplied by the US, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and China to name just a few) could operate with impunity. The bear’s failure was its failure to swat Pakistan.

For the Russian generals, the temptation to create a second Vietnam in Afghanistan must be huge. However, despite Washington’s thanklessness for its valuable help in fighting the Afghans, Moscow is not interested in spoiling it for the US. Dmitry Rogozin, Russia's ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, says: “In the event of NATO’s defeat in Afghanistan, fundamentalists who are inspired by this victory will set their eyes on the north. First they will hit Tajikistan, then they will try to break into Uzbekistan. If things turn out badly, in about 10 years our boys will have to fight well-armed and well-organised Islamists somewhere in Kazakhstan.”

India’s battles in Afghanistan

 

Not all the armies that invaded Afghanistan were defeated. Around 180 years ago an Indian ruler Ranjit Singh(1799-1839) and his brilliant commander Hari Singh Nalwa defeated the Afghans and the tribes of the Khyber Pass area, in the process securing India’s northwest border. Had it not been for Ranjit Singh, Peshawar and the northwest frontier provinces of India (now in Pakistan) would have been part of Afghanistan today.

But first a flashback: Afghanistan had always been a part of India; it was called Gandhar (modern Kandahar), a vibrant province that gave us excellent art, architecture, literature and scientific knowledge – a world far removed from today’s Taliban infested badlands. 

It was an Indian province until 1735 when Nadir Shah of Iran, emboldened by the lack of strong central authority in India, ransacked Delhi and everything on the way. This was a highly opportunistic and reckless act because for the past 25 centuries India and Iran had respected each other’s borders, and though always a bit nervous of each other, the two empires never tried to subvert each other. Nadir Shah annexed Afghanistan and asked the Indians to forget about ever getting it back.

However, Ranjit Singh was not prepared to play according to the Persian script. Nadir Shah’s successor, Ahmad Shah Abdali, had been launching repeated raids into Punjab and Delhi. To check this Ranjit Singh decided to build a modern and powerful army with the employment of Frenchmen, Italians, Greeks, Russians, Germans and Austrians. Two of the foreign officers who entered the Maharaja’s service, Ventura and Allard, had served under Napoleon. Says historian Shiv Kumar Gupta: “All these officers were basically engaged by Ranjit Singh for modernisation of his troops. He never put them in supreme command.”

After conquering Multan, Punjab, in 1818 and Kashmir in 1819, Ranjit Singh led his legions across the Indus and took the Afghan strongholds of Dera Ghazi Khan in 1820 and Dera Ismail Khan in 1821. Alarmed, the Afghans called for a jehad under the leadership of Azim Khan Burkazi, the ruler of Kabul. A big Afghan army collected on the banks of the Kabul River but Ranjit Singh won a decisive victory in 1823. Peshawar was subdued in 1834.

The Afghans, especially the Pathans, considered themselves superior to the Hindus. They even looked down upon Indian Muslims and contemptuously referred to them as Hindko. According to historian Kirpal Singh, the reason for this was that the pride of the Afghans and Pathans was pricked for the first time as they had been defeated by people whom they considered infidels.

So how did Ranjit Singh manage to conquer such fierce mountain people? Mainly by using a blend of sustained aggression latter smoothened by Indian magnanimity. His biggest weapon was the scourge of the Afghans – Nalwa, who in one battle defeated 20,000 Hazaras. To defeat the cunning and fierce Hazaras on their treacherous home terrain was no small feat but to do that with only 7000 men was the stuff of legend.

Indeed, Nalwa had become a legend. He realised that to dominate the warlike tribes, the Indians had to give them the same treatment the Afghans had given the Indians in the past. Says Kirpal Singh, “Nalwa set up a very strong administration in the Peshawar valley. Because the Yusafzais were the most violent tribe, he levied a cess on every Yusafzai household. This cess was to be collected in cash or in kind. For its realisation, personal household property could be appropriated. There was scarcely a village that was not burnt. Part of the city of Peshawar was burnt and the residence of the governor near Kabul was razed to the ground. In such awe were his visitations held that Nalwa’s name was used by Afghan mothers as a term of fright to hush their unruly children.”

Though the spell of Afghan supremacy was broken, the region predominantly populated by turbulent Muslim tribes could not be securely held unless a large army was permanently stationed there. A force of 12,000 men was posted with Nalwa to quell any sign of turbulence and to realise the revenue.

Ranjit Singh ensured that the Afghans never again became a threat to India. The wild tribes of Swat and Khyber were also tamed.

The Indian approach vs the Western one

 

Since ancient times, Indians have observed Dharma Yuddha or the code of war fighting – civilians are never harmed (this was observed by Greeks 2500 years ago), places of worship are never damaged, and crops and trees are left untouched. It is this tradition that helped Ranjit Singh win a decisive victory in Afghanistan whereas the West is floundering.

First, terror tactics were followed by a period of liberal and secular Indian rule. In fact, secularism was the defining character of Ranjit Singh’s rule. There was no state religion, and religious tolerance was an article of his faith. He refused to treat Muslims like second class citizens. Compare this with the indiscriminate and regular strafing of wedding parties by US and European forces. Indoctrinated American soldiers are stepping off the plane with bagful of Bibles, trying to convert the locals, and furthering alienating the population.

On the other hand, when his victorious army passed through the streets of Peshawar, the maharajah issued strict instructions to his commanders to observe restraint: women, mosques and crops were not touched.

Two, like the NATO forces in Afghanistan today, Ranjit Singh’s army was a coalition too. The Indian king’s main forces were made up of Sikhs and Hindus, while the artillery was operated mainly by Muslims. Over half a dozen European nations are assisting US troops just as European specialists worked for Ranjit Singh.

However, there is a key difference – Ranjit’s Singh’s forces functioned like clockwork with one aim in mind and that was to secure the empire. Today, the US is reluctant to do all the fighting, the British forces are simply not up to the task of taking on the fierce Afghans and rely on bribes to keep their soldiers from being butchered by the Taliban. Do you expect the Afghans to respect such opponents? A gaggle of nationalities, including the Ukrainians, Poles, Australians, New Zealanders, Czechs and Danes are not in Afghanistan to win the hearts and minds or introduce democracy. All they are interested in is sucking up to America and wrapping up their respective free trade agreements. In the meantime, they use civilians for target practice. At least the Russians fought like real men and earned the respect of the Mujahideen.

Nalwa and Ranjit Singh showed how a mixture of ferocity, valour and compassion could tame Afghanistan. At the end of the day, the Indians just did a much better job of fighting.

All rights reserved by Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

How much do you know?*

 

 

How much do you know?*

I recently read a story on the classical Greek philosopher, Socrates, who was tried and executed in 399 BC. He was tried on two charges – corrupting the youth, and impiety (perceived lack of proper respect for something considered sacred).

Socrates had done no such thing. What he had done was educate the youth, teaching them to challenge arguments from authority and question what they believed to be true.

In the process, he frustrated and embarrassed many powerful people with his constant line of questioning, known today as the *Socratic method.*

Another Greek philosopher Plato wrote an account of the speech Socrates made at his trial, called *The Apology.*

In The Apology, Plato wrote that the oracle at Delphi had pronounced Socrates as the wisest man in Athens. No one was more astonished and disbelieving than Socrates himself. So he immediately set out to disprove the oracle by finding a wiser man.

Here is what Socrates found as he met a few supposedly wise men, "I went to one who had the reputation of wisdom, and observed to him – his name I need not mention; he was a politician whom I selected for examination – and the result was as follows: When I began to talk with him, I could not help thinking that he was not really wise, although he was thought wise by many, and wiser still by himself; 

and I went and tried to explain to him that he thought himself wise, but was not really wise; 

and the consequence was that he hated me, and his enmity was shared by several who were present and heard me."

So I left him, saying to myself, as I went away: 'Well, although I do not suppose that either of us knows anything really beautiful and good, I am better off than he is – *For he knows nothing, and thinks that he knows.*

*I neither know nor think that I know.'*

In this latter particular, then, I seem to have slightly the advantage of him.

Then I went to another, who had still higher philosophical pretensions, and my conclusion was exactly the same. I made another enemy of him, and of many others besides him.

In the end, Socrates discovered he was indeed the wisest man in Athens - *Not because of how much he knew, but because he was the only one who understood how much he did not know.*

Knowing that you don’t know is the dawning of wisdom.

Thinking that you know when it ain't so is alluding to a tendency to believe that what we think is fact when unfortunately it’s just opinion, and as an opinion it may not be correct and we may end up making the wrong conclusion and acting on a wrong premise.

 

*CHAPTER TWELVE* *Devotional Service*

  

*CHAPTER TWELVE*

*Devotional Service*

TEXT 1: Arjuna inquired: Which are considered to be more perfect, those who are always properly engaged in Your devotional service or those who worship the impersonal Brahman, the unmanifested?

TEXT 2: The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Those who fix their minds on My personal form and are always engaged in worshiping Me with great and transcendental faith are considered by Me to be most perfect.

TEXTS 3-4: But those who fully worship the unmanifested, that which lies beyond the perception of the senses, the all-pervading, inconceivable, unchanging, fixed and immovable – the impersonal conception of the Absolute Truth – by controlling the various senses and being equally disposed to everyone, such persons, engaged in the welfare of all, at last achieve Me.

TEXT 5: For those whose minds are attached to the unmanifested, impersonal feature of the Supreme, advancement is very troublesome. To make progress in that discipline is always difficult for those who are embodied.

TEXTS 6-7: But those who worship Me, giving up all their activities unto Me and being devoted to Me without deviation, engaged in devotional service and always meditating upon Me, having fixed their minds upon Me, O son of Pṛthā – for them I am the swift deliverer from the ocean of birth and death.

TEXT 8: Just fix your mind upon Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and engage all your intelligence in Me. Thus you will live in Me always, without a doubt.

TEXT 9: My dear Arjuna, O winner of wealth, if you cannot fix your mind upon Me without deviation, then follow the regulative principles of bhakti-yoga. In this way develop a desire to attain Me.

TEXT 10: If you cannot practice the regulations of bhakti-yoga, then just try to work for Me, because by working for Me you will come to the perfect stage.

TEXT 11: If, however, you are unable to work in this consciousness of Me, then try to act giving up all results of your work and try to be self-situated.

TEXT 12: If you cannot take to this practice, then engage yourself in the cultivation of knowledge. Better than knowledge, however, is meditation, and better than meditation is renunciation of the fruits of action, for by such renunciation one can attain peace of mind.

TEXTS 13-14: One who is not envious but is a kind friend to all living entities, who does not think himself a proprietor and is free from false ego, who is equal in both happiness and distress, who is tolerant, always satisfied, self-controlled, and engaged in devotional service with determination, his mind and intelligence fixed on Me – such a devotee of Mine is very dear to Me.

TEXT 15: He by whom no one is put into difficulty and who is not disturbed by anyone, who is equipoised in happiness and distress, fear and anxiety, is very dear to Me.

TEXT 16: My devotee who is not dependent on the ordinary course of activities, who is pure, expert, without cares, free from all pains, and not striving for some result, is very dear to Me.

TEXT 17: One who neither rejoices nor grieves, who neither laments nor desires, and who renounces both auspicious and inauspicious things – such a devotee is very dear to Me.

TEXTS 18-19: One who is equal to friends and enemies, who is equipoised in honor and dishonor, heat and cold, happiness and distress, fame and infamy, who is always free from contaminating association, always silent and satisfied with anything, who doesn’t care for any residence, who is fixed in knowledge and who is engaged in devotional service – such a person is very dear to Me.

TEXT 20: Those who follow this imperishable path of devotional service and who completely engage themselves with faith, making Me the supreme goal, are very, very dear to Me.