The Way Dharma Works!!

“Yada yada hi dharmasya
gyanir bhavati bharata
abhyutthanam adharmasya
tadatmanam sri jamyaham”

Meaning - Whenever there are discrepancies in the discharge of natural laws of God, then God incarnates.

The above meaning sometimes hardly portrays the present world’s realities. Many a time, I have wondered as to why all the bad things happen to good people, people who think no ill-will of others. Surprisingly lots of people whom I have spoken to share similar feelings.

Then one of my friends’ presented me with a book “The Difficulty of Being Good – On the Subtle Art of Dharma” by Gurucharan Das. It’s perhaps the best philosophical book I have read till now.

The book dwells into mystic world of Dharma, cites current examples like the Satyam scandal and questions the moral values of people in this world. It then takes us deep into the great Indian Epic –Mahabharat and tries to understand the mind of Yudhishtir, the eldest of Pandavas, ‘the protector of dharma’.

Yudhishtir had grown up as a crown prince, but had detested from lying at any stage of his life and tried to uphold dharma whenever possible. He was greatly respected for that priced possession. However, his stance towards upholding dharma did not protect him from his wicked cousins and led him to see his wife disrobed in front of King’s assembly. Still Yudhishtir does not cross swords with principles of dharma.

Years of struggle follow the Pandavas in their forest life after the dice game. One fine day, Draupadi and Bhima get obsessed with Yudhishtir and his principles, and incite him to wage a war against the Kauravas. However, Yudhishtir, even though moved by Draupadi’s plight, refuses to oblige and explains the rules of Dharma and how God will help them eventually.

But the thirteen long years in the forest followed by the cruel 14th year of disguise, hardens Yudhishtir and he slowly soften his hard stances on his principles of Dharma. Strangely enough, it is the same Yudhishtir, who is the first person to declare war on the Kauravas when he knows that Lord Krishna’s mediation had failed. Yudhishtir later tricks Dronacharya to believe that his son is dead and finally turns into an ordinary mortal warrior as his chariot which till then floated a few inches above earth for his dharma values, lands on the war field soil.

By the end of war, we see that Yudhishtir has modified his principles of dharma. He had understood that version 1.0 of dharma may not work properly and upgraded to the next version, wherein he protects dharma but also makes sure that he does not suffer from upholding it.

After reading the book, I had felt that I had gained a little knowledge about the way Dharma works and would strongly encourage everybody to read this absolutely great book.

Comments are highly appreciated :)

Ponniyin Selvan

“Had this book been written and published in US, it would have been on the New York’s best seller list for a quarter century.”


This was one of the comments that I saw in one of the many forums when I was searching for an online version of one of the greatest Tamil fictional books, Ponniyin Selvan. The book was published in a series of small stories in the Tamil weekly article ‘Kalki’ about 60 years back by Shri. Kalki Krishnamurthy. The book became so popular that the government of TamilNadu nationalized the book and it’s now available as an open source for anyone to publish.

Ponniyin Selvan is a historic fiction which is based on historically real characters. The book revolves around the life of the greatest king of South India, Raja Raja Choza (who was also called Ponniyin Selvan meaning the son of the river Cauvery) and his early days. The story is set around 968-970 AD, when Raja Raja Choza's (also known as Arulmozhi Varman) father Sundara Choza is on his deathbed and questions about the empire’s successor ruled foremost in the minds of all the people.

Sundara Choza had taken over the throne after the death of his elder brother. So many chieftains believed that the elder brother’s son, Maduranthaka should be crowned as the next king. Another contender to the throne was Arulmozhi’s elder brother, Aditya Karikalan who had already been declared the crown prince. Conspirators from Choza’s dynasty’s biggest enemy, the Pandya Dynasty, who had been completed routed by the Choza army, also play a venomous part in trying to kill all the heirs of the Choza Dynasty and thereby destroy the kingdom.

The story is taken forward by a very brave youth, Vandiyathevan Vallavarayan, who acts as a messenger between his general Aditya Karikalan, his sister, Kundavi Pirati and the younger brother, Arulmozhi. Will the Pandya conspirators kill Sundara Choza and his sons or would the chieftains be able to install a king of their choice or will Arulmozhi and his brother overcome all the treacherous situations and conspiracies and save the kingdom forms the rest of this beautiful racy story.

The descriptive words detailing the beauty of the Choza Empire and its towns and also the beautiful description of all the gorgeous princesses would make us feel a little bad for not being born in the times of the Choza Empire. What makes this story more interesting is the fact that the events that take place at this crucial juncture determined the rule of Choza Empire, which survived for nearly 300 years after this event. It’s a must read for all fiction lovers and for people who would love to know how our great country was ruled once upon a time by great kings.

I have just completed two of the five books and have been completely blown away by it. I have specified the link for the english online version of the books below.

http://www.wattpad.com/121249-ponniyin-selvan-english-part-1

My Little Princess

I lifted my little princess and stared deeply into her beautiful large eyes. She gently smiled, winked and scratched my nose with her tender hands. I just stood rooted admiring her beauty and the fact of how much she resembled the baby Krishna in the popular serial. Perhaps, I didn’t know at that time how much I would miss my sis 25 years later.


Janani has been the best sister that anybody would ever have: caring, affectionate, considerate and an all-in-one super intelligent girl. Whether it was the ad-hoc awesome Mayajaal trip to see her thala movie or the numerous trips to Satyam and pizza corner, the moments spent with her were an absolute bliss.

I just hope that our conversations are always showered with love and affection apart from the great mokkai jokes that we always share. I just wish her the absolute best of all things in her life and hope that she remains eternally healthy and happy.

P:S – Congratulations Jan on your Swagat title.. Thunderous Applause!!!

The Cricket Connection

Right from the fantastic night when Sachin blasted an awesome century in the Sharjah Cup final to our team’s glorious performance yesterday, when we won the best test match in recent memory, cricket has been etched in the minds of all the supporters of our cricket team.

For me, every great victory like yesterdays’ somehow changes the complexion of the entire day. What follows an Indian victory over their might rivals are a spring in steps, an excitement in conversation and a belief that today will be the best day of this week.

I just hope that our cricket team keeps winning and perhaps I would get more days of joy and happiness. :)

ETERNAL HAPPyNESS

About 15 years ago, five of my cousins, including me and two of my neighboring akkas gathered in a empty house beside my ancestral home in Tirunelveli and played the game of cards for 3-4 weeks continuously from dusk to dawn breaking away only for lunch. Fifteen years later, in a life so troubled with many different things, I fondly recall those absolutely sweet memories of Eternal Happiness.

I have never had a glowing ambition in life like other kids. All I wanted was to be happy and cheerful always. As I used to walk on the streets, I used to wonder why people would never smile or be happy. Perhaps the last few years of my life has provided me the answer for that. I have been privileged to meet certain people possessing wonderful qualities to make any cheerful bubbly person into a second half Kareena Kapoor in the movie Jab We Met.

But the true fact is, as AR Rahman puts it, our life is just an environment we create around us. I just hope that I enjoy the eternal happiness and goodness that surrounds each one of us and pray that all of us are happy each and every day of our life with the ever lasting grace of GOD!!