That is whole; this is whole; From that whole this whole came; From that whole, this whole removed, What still remains is whole.

Tough Adi Shankarachrya wrote the annotations on Vishnu Sahasranamam first; in fact he wanted to write annotations on Lalita Sahasranamam (Goddess Shakti) before Vishnu Sahasranamam. There is an interesting story behind it.

Shankarachrya one day decided to write interpretations/annotations on Lalita Sahasranamam. He asked one of his disciples to bring palm-leaf manuscripts of Lalita Sahasranamam. The disciple went to the room where it was kept and returned with the manuscript. When Shankarachrya opened the manuscript, he found that it was Vishnu Sahasranamam. He again asked the disciple to go back and bring Lalita Sahasranamam. When the disciple returned, Shankarachrya found that it was again Vishnu Sahasranamam. The third time, again Sankaracharya instructed the disciple to bring Lalita Sahasranamam only; and even the third time the disciple returned with Vishnu Sahasranamam.

A little annoyed, Shankaracharya asked the disciple “Didn’t you understand properly, I told you to bring Lalita Sahasranamam.” The disciple replied “Revered Sir, all the three times I went to bring Lalita Sahasranamam only but there is a cute little girl in there who told me to take Vishnu Sahasranamam every time and I followed her instructions she is divine.” Shankarachrya at that time understood that Goddess Shakti (Amba) wanted him to write commentaries on Vishnu Sahasranamam and he completed the divine task; as Lord Vishnu is seen as the preserver of all that is – the Universe. He is described as the omnipresent, essence of all beings, the master of past, present, and beyond future.

Instantaneously, Adi Shankarachrya wrote “Om Poornamadah;” madah means completeness, totality and also Infinity. It is an abstract concept of Universe and the ultimate truth, “Brahman” means God, Almighty is a complete entity. This mantra has a superb meaning – you can take as much as you want from the Universe, you can even take infinity from it, even if you do that nothing can diminish it, it remains unlimited and immensurable!! It means we (each one of us) are connected to the Almighty. Each of us is element of the infinite constituting the infinity. When the eternity is so full, so complete how can one feel incomplete? The fullness here symbolizes accomplishment, realization, integrality, wholeness of our being. These words express the deep aspirations of the human heart, aspirations which cannot be long suppressed. Every bit of our existence, every heart beat, every pulse, each breath of ours is towards life’s fulfillment. Whoever you are, or whatever is it that you do, when you really want something, your desire is originated in the soul of the universe. Therefore, when you want something from the bottom of your heart, the entire universe conspires in helping you to achieve it. So don’t feel you are unaccompanied or unaided in your effort; have a keen/urging desire while continue your hard work to achieve it and see the change. There is no sorrow once we realize we are ever full, we are Bliss.

It can also be construed as – if you give, you will never fall short of things in life. We, the human are so scared to give/impart thinking that we will fall short after giving. In fact the more we give the more we receive, because the infinite wants us to be inclusive with completeness. The energy you put out will always re-circulate and find its perfect way back to you. Have Trust in Life. The essence of this Shanti (serenity) mantra is indeed profound. OM SHANTI, SHANTI, SHANTI!!!

The film stars get large fan following; fans always surround their favourite stars wherever they see them. The fans feel like touching the stars, take selfies with them, take their autograph etc. Now there is no logic in this why should people follow the film starts, singers and models but the obsession sometimes crosses the boundaries. Some fans become too excited and they go to any extent and end up injuring the celebs they claim to love.

Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif was attacked by a mob of fans on her way back from promoting her movie Tees Maar Khan.The crazy fans trying to touch her and number increased to an extent when there was no control of the security personnel. But her co-star macho man Akshay Kumar came to damsel’s rescue and made a shield around Katrina with his arms, and saved her from further harassment. In another incident On her way back from the unveiling of the Diwali special edition of a magazine, Deepika was mobbed by fans who tried to touch her inappropriately and refused to let her go. Thankfully, with the help of her security, Deepika fled the scene.

While good looks can give some advantages in some walks of life, they also come with drawbacks. While there are of course some definite perks, it turns out that the bubble of beauty can make certain aspects of life much more difficult. Beautiful girls and also boys get chased by the wrong people. Some men, who fall for a beautiful woman and get dejected by her go to extent of murdering her, rape her or even attack her with acid and what not. Young school going teenage girls get chased by elderly men.

R.J.Malishka

Seeking attention habitually, to be desperate to gain notice is an obsessive behaviour. It is a psychological disorder. Most affluent people have similar traits of behaviour such as buying styles or life style choices. They spend tons of money on buying luxury cars, sports cars, private planes and golf resorts. They would also be keen on spending tons of money on engagements wedding, partying, exotic travels etc. They simply like to show off. Wealthy people like to indulge in some conspicuous behavior to seek attention from others. If you show off, it may make you famous or infamous, depending upon your intention, situation, circumstances and background.

Rich people face threats and worst consequence; their children become lazy, incompetent, non-self-reliant adults, they are worried about kids getting kidnapped, we see many high profile kidnapping cases. They are susceptible to lawsuits; where there is money, there are lawsuits. Strangers, family members and friends ask for money.   Slowly, they don’t trust people around them.

So if you are successful, you will find many enemies. You will find envious, bitter, jealous, suspicious, distrustful people around you.  Unwanted attention costs peace of mind.

At times when we need genuine attention, we don’t get it. Therefore it is called slippery. A crisis is a situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, environment, property, career, bank balance, an important relation etc. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening of the situation, although in some situations, mitigation may not be possible. Situations like these – when you rush your near and dear one to hospital, and you need attention from the hospitals staff and doctor; when you need to catch a flight, you are late, the staff at the airport does not pay attention to you; when you need to go to reach your destination at the earliest and the roads are crowded; when you try to tell your teacher/professor that you have not committed a mistake he/she does not pay attention to you; when you need to urgently withdraw cash from bank and the queue is big nobody is ready to pay attention; you are giving a presentation and people are not giving enough attention, these and in many other crisis situations  when you need attention most, you don’t get it.

The fact is we are living in a world where human attention as a scarce commodity. The phrase ‘to pay attention’ has a connotation of giving something of yourself to another. Typically, paying is normally associated with money, so we don’t need to specify anything when money is paid. But to pay attention is still giving your time, your concentration, your mind to another person.  And ultimately attention is the key to everything related to our lives.