Monday, May 18, 2020

Opium Eater and the Divine Boatman - "Ancient Wisdom. Modern Times." Weekly session with Shashi

Ahibhuk Kaivarta Nyāya - Opium Eater and the Divine Boatman

Ahibhuk was a constant consumer of opium.
ahi means a poisonous snake, and phena is the froth.
Ahi-phena is the oozing juice from a poppy flower, like the one shown below.
From ahi-phena comes opium. It is an alkaloid, gives a great high, and is poisonous in larger quantities.



Ahibhuk was always high on opium. And one day he boarded a ferry to cross a river.

What happened then? See the video below.

A profound Sanskrit maxim (nyāya) about our true nature and the difficulty in realizing it. Part of the 2nd May 2020 online session. This is part of Session 1 (2 May 2020) of the weekly online series - "Ancient Wisdom. Modern Times."

Join the live sessions every Saturday.

Registration required.

If you are in India or Australia, Japan etc the 10 am India time session may suit you better.

Or you can join the 10 am New York time session, which is also 730 pm India time.

IMPORTANT: When you register, you will get a confirmation email. The email has your link to join. Please have this link handy, you will need this to join the session.




(c) Shashikant Joshi । शशिकांत जोशी । ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः ।
Practical Sanskrit. All rights reserved. Check us on Facebook.

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

(Closed) Register for Ancient Wisdom, Modern Times - Weekly Online sessions

[Registration is closed]

"The time of the wise passes in entertainment through arts and sciences, and that of the foolish in sleep, squabbles or troubles." - Hitopadesh, 11th century Sanskrit book of Niti (practical wisdom)


Good food vs junk food.

We are aware of the need to take care of our body.
Eat food.
Eat good food.
Eat enough food.
(And good and enough sleep and exercise)

Most of us do take care of the body.
We know the difference between these two.


   vs  


What about our mind and soul?

Are we getting good food for them as well?
Entertainment, streaming content is the sugar of the brain.
It helps pass the time, cope with boredom, but adds no true value to our life.
Are we consciously taking some time to nourish our mind and soul with good, positive, useful thoughts that grow us as people?

The Sanskrit works of India are powerhouses of food for the mind and soul that grows us as individuals, and collectively as society. And there is a wide variety of topics, right from the practical to the spiritual.

Ever wondered to take a dip in the perennial river of ancient Indian wisdom? Then, wonder no more.


Sanskrit in the time of Corona (and beyond)!

Many readers here and on Facebook have requested for online sessions to nourish the mind and soul with the wit and wisdom of Sanskrit  Given the current lifestyle changes worldwide, there is no better time to start than now. Kind of - Sanskrit in the time of Corona !

So, I am starting a weekly online sessions.


About the online live sessions.

An hour a week.

No knowledge of Sanskrit is needed.
This is not a Sanskrit grammar class.
However, there will be enough touch of original Sanskrit to feel specially blessed.

There will be variety of topics, verses, stories from various sources.

As always, the defining characteristics of Practical Sanskrit will be Simple Sanskrit, Great Ideas and Ancient Wisdom, Modern Times.

Here are a few recordings from previous sessions:.
1. What is more important - health of the people or health of the economy?

 


2. How does the divine help us? 




IMPORTANT:

  • There is a limit to the maximum participants in one session.
  • It is on First Come First Served basis.
  • You can join from laptop, tablet or phone. It is recommended to use a laptop, for easier viewing. I will be sharing my screen, and large screen maybe better to watch.
  • Please download the Zoom application for computer (or app for mobile) before hand.
  • Due to recent security updates in Zoom, and for better managing the updates to the session, it is important that you register for the meeting via the zoom link itself. Please see the registration link below. After registration, you will get a unique link just for you to join. You may also want to add this to your calendar, so you get reminded in time. Don't forget to set a reminder at least 15 mins early.
  • Join 10 or 15 mins earlier, at least for the first time, so that if there is any technical problem in connecting it can be sorted out.
  • There are TWO slots for the sessions, one convenient for US timezone, other for India timezone. If you are in India, and can join the morning session, please sign up for India session, else choose the one that is suitable for you.
  • You can attend the meeting via Zoom application, mobile app or even the browser. If you are concerned about Zoom security, download the latest version of the app or application, and change your password. Most of the issues were related to open Zoom meetings. In our case, the meetings need password, they are not stored on cloud. Actually, participants don't even need to turn on their video!


Closed - REGISTER TO JOIN. Please register for only one session.


VERY, VERY IMPORTANT NOTE:
  • After registration, you will get a confirmation email from Zoom. SAVE IT. It has the link to join, towards the end of the email.
  • INSTALL ZOOM on laptop/computer. Mobile experience is NOT good.
  • During meeting, use headphones. Increase volume on your end if needed.
  • Join 5-10 minutes before start time.
  • THIS IS NOT GRAMMAR CLASS, BUT WISDOM SESSION.

1. ANCIENT WISDOM. MODERN TIMES (India/Asia/Australia friendly time)
Every Saturday 10:00 am (1 hour) INDIA TIME (GMT+5:30)
As per https://www.thetimezoneconverter.com this is:
02:30 pm SYDNEY
12:30 pm SINGAPORE
09:30 pm SAN FRANCISCO (-1 day, Friday 930 pm)
Please ensure correct local time for yourself. India time doesn't change for DayLight Savings etc.



-------------------- OR --------------------

2. ANCIENT WISDOM. MODERN TIMES (US/Europe/India friendly time)
Every Saturday 7:30 PM (1 hour) INDIA TIME (GMT+5:30)
As per https://www.thetimezoneconverter.com this is:
07:00 am SAN FRANCISCO
10:00 am NEW YORK
03:00 pm LONDON
04:00 pm BERLIN
Please ensure correct local time for yourself. India time doesn't change for DayLight Savings etc.




If you are on Telegram app, you may also consider joining the Telegram channel - https://t.me/PracticalSanskritChannel
VERY, VERY IMPORTANT NOTE:
  • After registration, you will get a confirmation email from Zoom. SAVE IT. It has the link to join, towards the end of the email.
  • INSTALL ZOOM on laptop/computer. Mobile experience is NOT good.
  • During meeting, use headphones. Increase volume on your end if needed.
  • Join 5-10 minutes before start time.
  • THIS IS NOT GRAMMAR CLASS, BUT WISDOM SESSION.


You will receive a confirmation soon.
Stay safe and sane and at home!

[Post updated: 4th May 2020]


(c) Shashikant Joshi । शशिकांत जोशी । ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः ।
Practical Sanskrit. All rights reserved. Check us on Facebook.