Scandal of the month - Swami Nityananda

Well from a CEO monk to a SEX Monk - This is one hell of a transition.

For people who does not know what a monk in Hinduism means ...
The crux of a "swami (monk)" is Brahmachariam. A Brahmachari lives his life in conformance to the creative aspects of the ONE, shuns all the existing worldly pleasures to secure a place close to the divinity - The GOD himself.  To attain this ultimate bliss a monk should hold continence towards pleasures from sex, longing for material profits etcetera.

However the new age monks not only distant themselves from sexual continence but also seem to crave for more material profits on the name of Ashrams and Preachings. The new valuable addition to this list is Swami Nityananda. The young swami who brags about his life as a selfless monk and enlightens souls through his preachings in his official website http://www.dhyanapeetam.org/web/default.aspx , also very recently amused millions of viewers, with his latest sex scandal.

Sadly, this swami who in his early 30s, attained sky heights in popularity before this downfall. There is nothing wrong about an young lad craving for a normal life. To me, being "Swami" is/was Nityananda's job profile. And that job gave him an honorable identity, huge respect, immense wealth at a very young age. Lets get real here; who does not fancy a job with such an outcome? So whats Nityananda's mistake here? Nothing. If a well-read eloquent guy with some backing and affluence, cliams to be a monk, then let him be. Its his designated lifestyle.  

Do not make him a demi-GOD and cultivate huge devotion and expectation, for what he chose to be, at one point of time in his life. Remember ! Its his life and he has every right to modify his lifestyle the way he wants, anytime.  We should never ever have problem with that.

Its time for us to wake up, not Nityananda !

Copyright © Sivi 05-Mar-2010

A French Toast in Chennai

Christian R. Fabre aka Swami Pranavananda Brahmendra Avadhuta, is one of a kind business man. A documentary about this monk CEO, in Travel and Living channel, narrating his rags to riches tale, blew me away. Fabre (or should we pronounce Swamiji) residing in Chennai India, who sans FASHION from his personal life, runs a multimillion dollar fashion empire “Fashions International” in Ekaduthangal, Chennai.

The irony here is, me, having brought up in Chennai for 26 years, I very recently came to know about this European born – Chennai settled icon, through a TV channel in England. Born in haven of new trends - France, Fabre moved to Chennai in 1971 with his family to pursue an assignment in leather factory. It was said that he suffered an unfortunate decade by loosing his job in Chennai and support from this family. With no heart to quit India, he joined a clothing company for a mediocre salary, to push his day to day living; and that’s where he met his current business partner.

During this time, to control his frustration and anxiety from his personal and professional front he took solace in spirituality. Drawn by Hinduism and YOGA, he gradually went on to become a monk shedding worldly pleasures. Despite being in clothing industry with international tie-ups, Swamiji always clad saffron robe around, even while meeting his high profile global clients. Living in a modest apartment in Chennai and drawing a minimal salary (worth $200 per month) to lead his simple life, he enjoys being one of the highest tax paying business men in the city.

Fashions international is now nearing 25 successful years with her very recently launched brand called DUDE, in city. Living a content lifestyle, Swamiji is said to work only 10 days in a month from office. This devoted disciple of Lord Shiva, spends majority of his time in an ashram near Kolli Hills (kollimalai), from where he depend on internet technology to connect to his business colleagues and clients around the world.

Here is an excerpt of Swamiji’s addressing to a gathering in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

A CEO and a Monk

One of the agendas in my next call to Chennai is to visit the ashram in Kolli Hills, or the least as a minimal means to show my respect to this great soul, I would surely purchase a product from their fashion house – DUDE in Besant Nagar.

Copyright © Sivi 02-Mar-2010

Holy Matrimony - The Two Extremes

A chirpy discussion in orkut community among young generation hijacked my thoughts through those holy years of my matrimonial hunt. Hailing from the southern part of India, I serve witness to our conservative background and the pulse of those parents who still believes that a woman’s life is undoubtedly destined to enjoy the Marital Bliss and produce off-spring. The process of bundling a girl to her in-laws starts from the moment a baby girl is born in a family. Relatives, kin who visit the new born start scaring the proud parents with frightening quotes of wisdom; “You guys should start acting responsible. It’s a baby girl”! “Start investing smart and devout in gold. It will be handy while sending her off to a good family”. The infant would give an innocent coo, never knowing that her plight is being planned right next to her baby-cot by everyone else but her.

The paradigm of "hubby hunting" involves a series of procedural steps. Once the girl finishes her education, giving no consideration to her consent, her horoscope will be circulated through agencies and contacts. The crux of an arranged marriage is astrology; whether people are compatible or not, horoscopes MUST be compatible. If otherwise, the parents would not even consider speaking to the boy’s family, no matter how good he is. However the actual fun starts once the horoscope matches. THE RENDEZVOUS - Boy’s family visit the girl’s family. This will include episodes – “BOY meets the GIRL”, “An informal interview - conducted by the elders with habitual questions like – Can the girl cook traditional food? Can she sing? Will she be working after marriage? Etcetera”, “Customary dinner - served to the visitors”, “Embarrassing moments (There will be at least one in each of these meetings)” and “The Outcome”. If both the families are happy then the big day is decided, again by elders – The Engagement Day followed by Grandeur Wedding ceremony. This is pretty much how weddings happen in Eastern part of the world, till the last decade. A Girl gets to know the guy with whom she is to spend the rest of her life, only after marriage. However, things did take a turn in the last decade or so. A class of parents have become more considerate in accepting the choices of their children, after some minimal screening process though. I extend my beatific acceptance to this transformation.

Having settled in western part of the world, the cultural divergence in matrimonial significance definitely evokes chortle in me; or should i say its knocking my socks off! Here there is independence to choose your own partner; there are cute ways of proposing a girl with rock-diamond and make the Engagement Day a special memory to cherish all long life and there is less intervention from elders on how and where the wedding has to happen. Everything any young girl and guy would wish in terms of self-governing their life is available here, except the longevity in reliationship. Forthrightly being, I have travelled from one extreme conservative society to the other extreme liberated society. Independence Distorted is the appropriate way to describe the lifestyle. Here the following episodes may take place in jumbled fashion - “BOY meets GIRL”, “They DATE”, “They LIVE TOGETHER – They scream on top of the world about their relationship”, “HAVE kids”, “The PROPOSAL”, “WEDDING”, “BREAK-UP” , “BOY meets the next GIRL”. Every person in this side of the globe gravely denies the existence of monogamy. 

The irony is, despite all the flaws in so-called arranged marriages, they last long. Beyond reasons, very less break-ups or divorces, and happy family livings sighted in the age-old system of matrimony when compared to the liberal ones. Is this the lack of resilience and understanding here or immense de trop tolerance levels there? Can there be a balance between the matrimony systems from both the worlds? 

Copyright © Sivi 04-Feb-2010

New Year 2010 - Begins in Bruxelles (Brussels)

Despite of me wanting to visit either Athens or Disney Land Paris, my hubby booked tickets to Brussels promising a good travel and an enjoyable new years eve. Well, with all havoc in Eurostar lines due to extreme weather conditions we were almost in the verge of cancelling the trip. However the train services resumed normal and helped us reach Brussels on 31^st night.

This is my first ever journey in Eutostar, maiden visit to Brussels and first stay in Sheraton group of hotels. “Sheraton Screams Luxury” is an understatement. Be it a spacious room in seventh floor with city views, swimming pool and gym in 30^thfloor or a stylish bar in ground floor; Sheraton vouches for extravagance and elegance.

Our new year began with a bang showcasing spectacular fireworks in Grand Place. The square gradually fills people from 11 o’clock and by midnight you find self amidst mammoth gathering of cute families, dancing middle aged folks and drunken youngsters whose primary mission was to burst firecrackers in the middle of enormous crowd (Surely this act dropped some jaws and popped quite a few eyes out). Speaking about fireworks, this was the second best I have ever witnessed. London new year fireworks still occupies the numero uno slot in my book.

For me the audacity of Brussels lies in its layout and architectural bravura. Some of the highlight attractions are:

St Michael St Gudula Cathedral: This Roman Catholic cathedral was the first architectural extravaganza we visited in Brussels. My hubby and I were awed by the impeccable designs in stained glass interior windows. We were also surprised to witness renovations happening within this historical site. We did pay respect to GOD by lighting candles on the first day of the year.

Hotel de Ville: The hotel with ornate carvings occupies prominent space in the square surrounded by shops. By night the laser light show with refreshing music entertains the dancing tourists in the square.

Restaurants on the Rue des Bouchers (by Grand Place): For people who love sea food, this is the Mecca. Circa 20-30 restaurants in one street, in one row evoking phenomenal competition amongst the eat-outs, forces them to have sales personnel outside each restaurant to sell their product to the tourists. My hubby and I were lured into one restaurant with a free drink promise. 

Besides above Mannekin Pis, Mini Europa and Royal Palace are worth a stop.

It would be unfair if I do not point out some disappointments here.

Atomium: Huge disappointment. 335feet tall nine sphere shape iron crystal, is arguably the magnificent structure from outside. Having said that, visiting the only open 5 spheres inside, after paying 9 Euros per head, is a waste of time and money. The potential of using space in each sphere is undoubtedly ruined and the interior maintenance is awkwardly done. The only worth sphere to enter is the topmost one, which provides vision feast with aerial view of Brussels.

Language Barrier: Again if one loiters inside Brussels, with no travel agency group, exploring city on own gets tough without being either French or Flemish. English did not help us much inside city. 

Our return journey in Eurostar luxury class drove all our 3 days exhaustion away. The food and hospitality was remarkable. On the whole, it was a cheerful start for New Year 2010 and my hubby did keep up his promise on making this voyage a delightful one.

On the whole, my verdict – visit Brussels and travel in Eurostar. Because, we are worth it ;-)

Copyright © Sivi 05-Jan-2010 

When Two most successful business men come together...

Warren Buffet and Bill Gates in Keeping America Great

CNBC Interview

I will be posting my detailed views on this rendezvous, in near future. But, how gifted are these students from Columbia university to meet the most brilliant philanthropic modern capitalist legends, eye to eye, mind to mind, and post questions on investments and economy?