Kalki- Do you know him?

Who is the 10th incarnation of Lord Vishnu? – was the 1st question of the quiz? I didn’t know the answer but expected it to be someone familiar after all, I have grown listening to mythological fables and have been enchanted by them too. “Kalki” was the answer…at first I thought it is “Kali” but on second glance I found that it was indeed “Kalki”. I have never heard of him – I said to myself and thus began my quest to find more about him.

It was an interesting quest as it reminded me of all the incarnations of Lord Vishnu and the one that is yet to come. Yes, the tenth incarnation of Vishnu, Kalki, is suppose to arrive when the world will be at a brink of complete chaos. He will rise from the sea on a white horse and destroy all evil, probably at the end of Kalyug.

I also came to know about the interesting dispute about the 9th incarnation of Vishnu. Some people believe that Balram (Lord Krishna’s brother in Mahabharta) was the 9th incarnation whereas others believe the Budha was the 9th incarnation. Here too, there are two different beliefs for the purpose of this incarnation. According to one belief Vishnu incarnated as Buddha to preach non-violence and against animal sacrificing in religious ceremony. According to other belief, Vishnu incarnated as Buddha to start a new religion with a specific intention to convince some demons to give up worshipping Lord Shiva. For, Lord Shiva protected his worshippers and these demons used this protection to do whatever they wanted. Buddha convinced them with his new religion and they stopped worshipping Lord Shiva, which in turn allowed Shiva to punish them.

The incarnations of Lord Vishnu are mentioned in order below:

• Matsya (The fish incarnation)
• Kurma (The turtle)
• Varaha (The boar)
• Narsimha (Half man and half animal)
• Vamana (The dwarf )
• Parsuram (The Priest)
• Rama (as in Ramayana)
• Krishna (as in Mahabharta)
• Balram or Budha
• Kalki (yet to appear)

I got the information from the following sites and will recommend visiting them to get more information on the incarnations of Lord Vishnu and more:

http://adaniel.tripod.com/incarnations.htm
http://www.sanatansociety.org/hindu_gods_and_goddesses/vishnu.htm

Gandhigiri makes a dude cool?

I saw “Munnabhai Lage Raho” today and I loved watching the movie but the fact that we, the people of India, have forgotten Bapu and his ideals made me sad. I wondered if this movie could make Gandhigiri cool? Most importantly, I wondered if it would stay or pass by as another cool wave….on the birth anniversary of Gandhijee, this was the best thing to ponder upon…

Gandhigiri, as we err… Munnabhai says it, is not to stay for long. So, am I dismissing it as a mere facet of entertainment? Would the impressions of Gandhigiri made by a movie would be forgotten once it is out of theatres and people’s mind?

Unfortunately, yes! There have been movies on numerable issues like dowry, killing of girl child at birth, the plight of widows and above all on corruption. Only if we had persisted with our feeling of the evils, which these practises unleash on our socieities, our country would have been a utopian society.

“I love Gandhigiri in the movie”, my friend said “and I am going to watch it again”. He added that “I loved the movie so much that I have bought the tickets in black!” My nephew told me that “it is an ultimate movie, we missed school to see it again”. Now wait, it’s not what Gandhigiri is or am I missing the point?

Like many, I am also influenced by Gandhiji’s principles and I believe that movie has done a lot good to the country. Even if most of the people will remember only the movie and not Gandhiji’s ideals, there would be a small percentage of people whose faith in Gandhigiri would strengthen. These are those people who believed in Gandhiji and were ridiculed by others who thought it’s not cool. They needed support and an opportunity to ascertain themselves that their faith is not misled. This movie provided the opportunity and saved many “Gandhians” to lost in the “cool” wave of unethical opportunitism.

These people, handful they might be, and their resolve to change will definitely affect others and would leave a lasting impression, unlike the movie.