Meena Mangalathil:

Today, I had the opportunity to speak to an Italian pilot who is now retired and now is a skipper of a boat. So I asked him, how come, he took a totally different job from what he was used to. Did he had to study again in order to become a skipper of a boat? He said, "If you have a sense of direction and the techniques of navigation, whether you are at sea or land or air, you can take any vehicles. So whenever I see people, who are connected to ships or boats, I think of Titanic, which got crashed on its maiden voyage. So I asked him, are you a very spiritual person? Do you pray, while you are taking your plane or the boat because, there are people, whose safety lies in your hands. He replied,"I don't know because I do not know there is God. But there are many times, when I am in a very difficult situation, that I join my hands and say, whoever there is on top, please help me from this situation and the miracle happens. But when I see hunger and poverty of my ...

I had an Eagle friend. I do not know, whether it was a he or a she because I am not a person who messes with the animal kingdom. We used to meet everyday at 6 am at church. He on the nearby fire station building would wait for me and when I arrive it would give a loud cry, just to say, he is there and I would acknowledge by raising my hand and run to the church because, my bus arrives at the nick of time and this Eagle used to wait till the mass finishes and when I come off he again says bye in his language and flies off. So after sometime, I had to leave the place and didn't return back. After several years and I went to the church, in the same bus and lo behold!!! I heard my eagle cry and looked up to find my friend there on the fire station building. I couldn't contain my tears. And when I came out after mass, it came down to the ground. That was the first time, I saw an Eagle at close quarters. It came near me, looked at me for sometime. I felt it cried. Anyway I think, ...

Today, thunder and lightning arrived immediately after I reached home after work. The funny situation was, in the morning, it was strike in the whole area, where it was a political storm was taking place. But the problem was, it is not a very easy situation who has to face both the nature’s and political storm is not worth living. You might ask, why do I say that. I remember, one of my friend’s family all died in a lightning strike. You know, lightning s very powerful and nobody would survive after its struck. Likewise, when you are in the middle of a political strike, no one has any normal senses, they all are blind to the cause, they have only destruction in mind. So on one side the strikers and the other side the police and the result, a big clash, where our body parts would be battered, stamped and tattered. So what do you think? Are we fit to live? Fury is one thing which cannot be contained, if it is burst from the line of control. So try not to bring out other’s fury and ou...

Today I saw a man waiting to snare a tourist into his net.The place where I stay is a very touristic place and my job too is the same. But I have an added bonus, I can write, what I feel. So I would like to weave a story of snaring - a good snaring, where both the parties get to benefit. Tourism business is one thing, where we have lots of competition. So people go to any extremes to get business. Jeff and Martha arrived at the airport for a week long visit of South India. Since they had referred to the lonely planet as their tour guide, they made sure, they kept their guide handy and took a pre-paid taxi from the airport. They were relieved to know, that they were not cheated or bargained. A very smiling driver came and introduced himself to the guests. "Hello sir, madam, I am Joy, your driver to take you to Fort Kochi." They smiled and shook hands and moved towards his taxi. "How long will it take to reach Fort Kochi from here Joy?" "Sir it takes tw...

I am planning to write a story about a child who had everything. This came to mind, when one of my colleagues spoke about working hard to earn money. Once upon a time there lived a boy named Ben. He was very very rich. He got whatever he asked for. So there was no cause for complaint. One day, he and his friends decided to go for a picnic in a jungle many miles away. It was all well planned and charted in advance. They decided the food, the servants, the route, the vehicle and the timings too. So a very big group of friends, servants and Ben set out for this trip. They started very early and they travelled for sometime. Then they found a large clearing near the river side.It was the first stop they had planned. So they stopped for breakfast. The servants set the plates for Ben and his friends and served breakfast of bread toast, marmalade, eggs and fruit juice. They had their fill and rested for sometime. The servants cleaned the clearing and waited for Ben and his friends. At that m...

My Favourite activity is to overcome my sleep. In a cool climate its soooooo angelic to be sleeping covered cozily in a blanket. And when morning comes, a clash with the warmth of the blanket and the morning frost can be felt so strongly that I just move into the cocoon of my blanket. This laziness really got to me. I started to become tired, sleepy and bulky, then I knew I had crossed the boundary. I knew I was nose deep in danger. So I took the first step to break the shackles of laziness. Break my daily routine and risk taking the path of ancient sages (According to the Indian culture, one should rise with the sun, take bath and do yoga, prayer or meditation and start your daily chores.)except for the morning bath part. I really fared well. Maybe I might try the bath part after sometime.If this idea had been told one month before, I would have just gone insensible. But now I know the perks of getting up early which I would never forfeit for any other thing in the world, the pea...

I know, its not fair to say, but today I had the most incredible speech, which I rendered to my mother. It was the continuation of a dialogue, which I had told, to my friends, which my mother misinterpreted. I had a very pampered life, no work, only study, play, eat, sleep, pray. My hands and feet were always clean. I got to wear neat and wrinkle free dresses, rich toys, etc...etc... Because I was in the boarding. So whenever I have something to say, it would naturally be connected to my boarding life, which my mother feels, that I am criticizing her. So today, the same happened and I do not know, how I was able to get those words, correctly, but I did it, which made her happy. You might be impatient to know, what I said, right? "Meena, I really felt hurt, when you said that about me." "Mom, I would never criticize you for putting me in the boarding. You did me a great service. You made me a spiritual person and thank you so much. That life purified me a lot. Even i...

Today, there was a christening, you know, the christians give their initiation to christianity through christening. The child is unaware of any such process, just the discomfort of having to be petted "Oh!!! Jooji Booji", Oh!!!! Nnnnnnuuu Nnnnnuuu", etc..etc.. by the whole lot of friends and relatives. But for the parents, it doesn't matter, because its a tradition passed on from generation. And the people who started, our forefathers, they knew one thing. If they hadn't take the initiative, then we would not be, what we are. People think and criticize, regarding initiating babies into a religion. They should be given the freedom to choose, what religion to take and all the reasons of not to initiate. I do not know, what would be your mentality. But I am on my ancestors side. Initiate immediately after birth. Can I ask a question? Why do our parents save money? Why do they build houses? Why do they give education, from when we are toddlers? Why do we tak...

Yesterday, while I was in the boat, I had a talk about being spiritual. When we say that word, the first thing that comes to mind is prayer or going to a place of worship regularly. Frankly speaking, are you sure, that these people are the people who are spiritual? I would say a big "No" . I have my reasons. The people who are regular pray people, who go to church and temple are a nightmare to deal with. They are inhuman, they are inconsiderate. They feel they are always right because, they have the added bonus of going to church daily and praying from dawn to dusk. But a normal person, who doesn't have nothing to hold on or no set of rules, have only . They bring out what is in them, their innate behaviour - humanity. You know, its the synonym of love. It comes from the very heart and the heart doesn't need any rules. The best of everything comes from the heart and the people who feel that they are right are always a calculating machines, which we could gu...

There are many things I learned from my friend. One thing is, we have no control of our life. Yes, we can make choices, but the outcome is not in our hands. In the case of my friend, she had no money, no certificates, no family and still found a great job, a very good and safe place to live. She was accepted into that life within no time. In a human calculation, this situation is usually concluded as a losing game. Its a lost cause situation. But look at the outcome. This I said it because, don't ever think of losing hope. It is that hope and that faith in some power, which I call God can really give you a successful outcome. Believe me, that is the only planning that is the only necessity, we need in life, faith and hope. I will conclude this with the Bible verse: Look at the birds of the air, they do not sow, or reap or store away in barns, yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? See you tomorrow. Until then take care, Bye...

I do not know whether you would believe, I was thinking, I would be in my own coffin today. But when I woke up, I totally forgot about my death part and went for my ritual visiting my creator,to His place. Usually, when I am there, I am very talkative to Him, saying something rubbish in your standard, but not in my standard eh? Mark it, O.K So it was at that time, that I remembered I was supposed to be a soul. Oh you want to know, why specifically. I was not keeping well in the morning, I was feeling dizzy and I was having a splitting headache and I thought my pressure was getting low or something. So I started eating chocolates, big , small, hard, soft, but still I was not keeping well. Then I thought,my end is coming closer, good, because we all have this call at one time or the other, but my only request was, I want it to happen, when I am at home, than in a public place, where the people get confused, of what to do with my corpse and me in the mortuary, wasting my precious time...

The third factor that touched me in the movie, Kungfu Panda is the people, who is helping the Panda, when he barely knows to fight. A praying mantiz, a snake, a monkey and a tigress. And they fight the opponent and receive the wrath and fury of the enemy before Panda gets to fight. Here, I was thinking of my friends. You know, lucky are the people who have at least one friend as the above set. I was lucky to have many such friends, even now, they call me and say Hi and if I really am in a fix, they try to help me out in ways, which I would not have imagined. We cannot select friends, they come to us. They are the iron filings and we, the magnets and the best part is this magnet only attracts selective type of iron filings. Do you know why God has given friends for us, to help us when we are in need, to shield us from harsh realities. But lucky you should be to have good friends, they are the route map to reach Self Realization. See you tommorrow. Until then take care, Bye Me...

Yesterday, I happened to watch the movie Kungfu Panda. There are three things that touched me. The first one, which really awed me was the selection of the dragon warrior. And the person selected was a Panda who had no knowledge of the basics of kungfu whose main focus was eating. But still he was selected, why? Is it really possible? The answer is always an emphatic Yes. That is what we should know. In the real world, we all are born with lots of drawbacks, that is natural, but there is a gem within us, which has been camouflaged by our flaws. We always are focusing on our flaws, which makes us the imperfect beings. But we get to unwrap the gem through circumstances which we face on a daily basis. Years back, if someone had told me, Meena, you would have your own blog and you would write several books. I would reply, without an iota of doubt, "In another life, not this one." Really I did not like to write because, I was not good at writing. but circumstances, made me to ...

There is a flaw for me, I believe that all human beings are good, even if they hurt me, then too I do not place any blame them. So naturally my friends has classified me as a half crack. Anyway, that is no big deal. But if a pain in the ass person comes face to face and deals with me, then, how do you think I would deal? It happened years back, I was seven years old. I am rarely at home at that time. So unknowingly during one of my holidays, circumstance necessitated me to go to my neighbour's house. I met a man, very smart and good looking, I spoke to him for sometime and returned. That night, I heard shouting and yelling in the middle of the night. It was from this man's house. So I asked my cousin, why so much commotion in that house and her reply just froze me to death. She whispered, even in your dreams Meena, don't you dare go near that house. The man hasn't an iota of sanity. He sometimes get so violent that he attacks, anyone and everyone, who he doesn...

I am really awed by the silence of my readers, when I spoke about breaking he narriers of religion. There is one thing to reiterate all religions have a core ideal and that is love. It is to this we have to reach. That is what our goal is eternal bliss and the means to reach it is through sacrifice. When I write this, the chances of physically sacrificing is what you might think. But it is a big No. I will give an apt example. Usually, the epitome of sacrifice is mother. When she cooks, she looks into all the likes and dislikes of her husband, her children, grand children, etc. So its a happy home. Here she gives away her likes and dislikes for the happiness of her family, that is what I mean sacrifice. Likewise, we too have to saxrifice by returning to our birth state. Do you remember the day you were born? I know you don't, even I too don't but my mother told, I had just the cry and my breath, that's all. We will have to return to that state, with all our being and ...

Now, imagine we have thrown away anger, we are without anger, no one can make you angry, Hurrah!!!!!! Hip.. hip.. Hurrah! !!! It's cool, isn't it? Hmmmm.,... it is, but we have a long long way to go. We should break the barrier of religion. You might ask why? I am not saying, you should unfollow any religion. I am requesting you to take the good of all religion. Look at the world around, do you eat only traditional food? Have you ever tasted food other than your countries? The Chinese, the Indian, the french, Italian, American, the whole world habe different traditiomal meal, do you think, by eating other country's food, it would be treason. If so, then it's no use reading this blog. Look at the plants, we graft, we bud, we do genetic engineering to the seeds, why? Because we feel, the original seed cannot produce the desired result, so we take the good qualities from other seeds and merge into the one we have, do you know what that means, our seed is good, b...

Before I begin today's session, I would like to ask two question  1. Do you believe in death?  2. Do you believe in eternal life? If both the answer is yes, then you can proceed to read or else, just skip today's blog. I have always been at awe with the working of the plants, its importance, the power it wields in the life of all living beings. Just imagine, what will happen if there were no plants? Though its a living being, it doesn't have an ego like us. Now, I'll pass a secret, I am really afraid of elephant, that doesn't mean that I'm not afraid of other animals, I really am, but the elephant is more in our culture and tradition, that we happen to get to meet him without ticket. One sneeze from its trunk is enough to send me to my grave. Look at its size, phew, its scaring. But I don't understand, how can an elephant be tamed easily? Anyway one of the elders helped me on that, the elephant is not aware of it's size, that's why ...

For days, I have been talking about the half man and half woman policy in the basic construction of human being. But is it localised only in human being? I don't think so. I have always been at awe when "Like Poles Repel." Yes, you guessed it right, the magnets. The first time, when my teacher, gave me magnets to try and make like poles attract, the strength of the magnet to say no was, simply awesome. I am talking about a metal, which has no attitude or life. This proves, that non living things do have two facets in it, or we can say two opposite characters and the best part is, turn one magnet and it attracts, so strongly, that it takes real strength to break it apart. Now, if we look into plants, especially, the hibiscus, it is through self pollination, it procreates, that means, it creates new hibiscus plants, with one single flower. In short, both male and female are in the same plant. Now, hibiscus is like a transgender in human language. Since we have al...

Long time back, there was an advertisement of master card. The theme song was regarding the reaching out the whole world with our hands. Now there is a Lenovo tab advertisement, that roo about hands. Though man has several body parts, hands has a big role in it. In real life, hands has a very big role in making our life an absolute stunner, the musician needs hands, for the perfection of his art form, so does an artist, that doesn't mean the others can   live without. Normal people use their hands for working and earning their livelihood, to pet their chikdren and thelike, these moments would always become an heartrending experience, but the best part of it all is, you gave your hand to make history by extending it to anither human being. Thus begins a life journey of a small baby. If a doctor or a nurse, denies her hand, there could never be a new life.  So is the hands of a mother, who nourishes life. Now I hope you understood, its not the body part, that makes our life spe...