Visit to Shirdi and other temples-Part 2

Original photo of Shridi Saibaba

In my post titled Visit to 'Shirdi and other temples-Part 1' I covered the details of our visit to Shirdi on the first day of our visit. 
I give below the link :
http://svsaibaba.blogspot.in/2014/08/visit-to-shirdi-and-other-temples-part-1.html

This article covers the details of the places visited by us on the second day.

Renuka Devi's Temple: 

On the second day of our visit on 23.8.14  after taking breakfast in HOTEL KUBER INN in Shirdi, we proceeded to  the temple of Renuka Devi. Renuka Devi is mother of Parshuram, an incarnation of Vishnu. On the way to the temple, we saw Sugarcane fields on both sides of the road and there were many Sugar cane juice stalls. The bus stopped in front of a stall and we had fresh sugar cane juice.

Entrance of the temple

Renuka Devi

This temple is about 15 minutes away from Shani Shingnapur, and was built by a local saint. The main temple has an image of Renuka Mata, with walls and pillars made of glass. Hence this temple is also locally known as the Glass temple. 

Glass Temple

Under this temple is the sanctum  approachable by steps, where the original image of the goddess worshiped by the saint is placed. The temple is currently being renovated, and we were unable to see some other idols in the temple. There is also a Samadhi of the saint.

Shani Shingnapur:

Our next stop  Shani Shingnapur was 35 kms away from Ahmednagar city and the village is known for its popular temple of Shani, the Hindu god of the planet (graha) Saturn. Shingnapur is also famous for the fact that no house in the village has doors, only door frames. Despite this, no theft was reported in the village.Lord Shanishwara can be seen even today, in the open yard without any roof above.

Entrance to the temple

Lord Shanishwara's  idol (photo from Wikipedia)

Devotees returning from the temple 

We worshiped Shanishwara as per the rituals followed in the place. There was huge crowd in the temple, but we could manage to have the darshan of the deity peacefully. 

Dattatreya Temple,Devgad:

From Shingnapur we proceeded to Devgad  (70 kms from Ahmed Nagar) to visit  the temple of Dattatreya   Dattatreya is a Hindu deity encompassing the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. The temple is located in a huge complex encompassing temples of other deities.

Entrance of the temple

Idol of Dattatreya (Photo from Wikipedia)

It was very hot climate when we visited the temple and when we walked on the stones without chapels it was unbearably hot. Our coordinator told us to walk on the white  path(probably coated with special paint to absorb the heat) alongside the stones. 

Surprisingly it was not hot when we walked on the white path. A lot of development works are taking place around the temple.

Lunch in Ahmednagar:

Then we proceeded to Ahmednagar for taking lunch.  We reached  hotel YASH GRAND in Ahmed Nagar around 3 pm. 

We had very good buffet lunch in the hotel.We took photograph of the group in front of the hotel.

Mahaganapathy temple in RANJANGAON:

After taking lunch, we proceeded to Ranjangaon. The coordinator asked the group members to share their experiences,miracles etc with reference to Shirdi Sai baba. Some of the group members also sang prayers songs of Baba. Later some of the members also participated in games and singing songs. All of us enjoyed the proceedings.

As per original programme of the tour  Mahaganapathy temple was the first place to be visited. But due to lack of time due to the delay in reaching Pune and the rush to Shirdi to have special darshan of Baba , the visit was postponed to second day.We reached Mahaganapathy temple in Ranjangaon village which is 50 kms from Pune .

Ranjangaon Ganpati is one among the Ashtavinayaks, celebrating eight instances of legends related to Ganesha.Shiva is believed to have worshiped Ganesha before fighting the demon Tripurasura here. Constructed so that the rays of the Sun fall directly on the idol (during the southward movement of the sun).Temple facing east has huge & beautiful entrance gate. Idols of two door keepers namely Jay & vijay are present near the gateway.

The idol of Lord Ganesha is self created i.e. “Swayambhu”. The Ganesha Idol facing east is in a crossed legged sitting position with broad forehead & the trunk turned towards the left. Riddhi & Siddhi are on the both the sides of Mahaganapathy. There are big paintings  on the walls inside the temples about the legendary story of Mahaganapathy which was explained by our coordinator.

After leaving Ranjangaon, we reached Pune. We were informed that the Spicejet flight to Chennai was postponed to 10.30 pm. We checked in the Airport in time and reached Chennai around 12.30.

I take this opportunity to thank Mr.S.Ananthaseshan, Proprietor of Akshayam Travels and Coordinator of the tour who has organised the tour very well and the way in which he explained about the importance of every place visited by us and his motivational/inspiring  speech on better way of living.

CONTACT DETAILS OF AKSHAYAM TRAVELS:

Mobile:   09840306678

                   09944531961

                   044-43537361

Email:       akshayamtravels@gmail.com

Website:  http://www.akshayamtravels.com/

Visit to Shirdi and other temples-Part 1

My wife and myself went on a two days Air package tour (22.8.14 and 23.8.14) organized by Akshayam Travels to Shirdi and other temples nearby. I am sharing my experience of the tour in two parts. Part 1 of this article covers the visit to Shirdi on 22.8.14 and Part 2 covers other places.

(Note: Since I could not take the mobile phone inside the mandhir, I could not take any photos in and outside  the mandhir. All the pictures in the article are taken from Google images.)

Delay in reaching Pune:

The tour group consisted of 23 persons including the coordinator Mr.S.Anantasehan who is also the proprietor of Akshayam Travels . All of us assembled in Chennai airport at 3.15 am on 21.8.14. As per the tour programme, we started from Chennai to Pune by Spicejet flight which departed at 5.15 am and supposed to reach Pune at  6.45 am. But due to heavy rains and poor visibility the plane could not land at Pune and it was diverted to Mumbai airport. 

After reaching Mumbai airport it was announced that the plane will take off after 8 am.Since the rains continued to lash Pune, the take off was repeatedly postponed and all the passengers were not allowed to get out of the plane. The cabin crew  in the plane were busy in selling the food items for breakfast of the passengers. Even at 10.30 am we were not told about exact time of departure. There was an announcement that those who wanted to get off at Mumbai could get down from the plane and some passengers left the plane.

At this stage many passenger got restless and asked the air hostesses to arrange for breakfast. After some delay all the passengers were provided cup of noodles as breakfast by the air hostesses. 

After the improving of weather condition at Pune, the flight left Mumbai airport at 11 pm and reached Pune airport at 12 pm. 

Bus travel to Shirdi :

After collecting our luggage, we got into an air conditioned  bus waiting at Pune Airport. The coordinator of the tour expressed regret for the delay in the flight which has upset the tour programme.

After getting our feedbacks,he also announced that instead of taking lunch, we could go straight to Saibaba temple in Shridi since darshan for the group was fixed at 4.30 pm. All of us were provided with bananas, biscuits and drinking water in the place of lunch.

The bus route from Pune to Shridi is in  the worst condition with so many ups and downs. The driver drove the bus very fast and we had hopes that the bus would reach Shridi by 4.30 pm positively.

The coordinator of the tour(who is also Proprietor of the Travel company) who is an ardent devotee of Shirdi Saibaba,  engaged all of us by singing prayer songs in praise of Baba and describing about the importance of various places of worship in Shirdi like Samadhi Mandhir,Chavadi,Dwarakamai etc.

There was heavy traffic jam in a place  just 20 kms from Shirdi and the bus started moving inch by inch with other vehicles. After nearly 40 minutes,the bus could start from the place and reach Shirdi at 5.30 pm instead of the target of 4.30 pm. Meanwhile the coordinator talked to many persons in Shirdi to allow the group special darshan at 5.30 pm.  He  advised us to leave the cameras,mobiles,chappels inside the bus to avoid waiting time in the temple. 

Peaceful darshan of Shirdi Saibaba and other deities:

The bus stopped just in front of the gate of the Samadhi Mandhir  for special darshan and all of us were allowed inside. 

Without wasting any time, we were straight away taken in a special queue and we were in front of the Saibaba Samadhi and idol within 5 minutes. It was really like a miracle that we had a nice and peaceful darshan inspite of all the difficulties and the delay undergone by us  in the journey.

After worshiping Baba, we left Samadhi Mandhir  and took tiffin with coffee/tea etc in a nearby restaurant and proceeded to see the other important places associated with Baba. 

Baba's Chavadi:

Baba used to sleep here every alternate day.  The Chavadi is divided into two parts.  One part of the Chavadi has a large portrait  of Baba along with a wooden bed and a  white chair belonging to him.Every Thursday the Palakhi from DwarkaMai arrives here.Baba's Photograph, his Paduka (slippers), and Satka are kept in the Palakhi. The chair, on which Baba used to rest, and the bed, on which Baba had his  last bath, are also kept in this temple.

There were separate queues for the gents and ladies to enter the chavadi to worship the portrait of Baba.

While coming out of the Chavadi, we could hear the bhajan during  the Aarthi for Baba which was telecast live. We were surprised to see a dog sitting in front of the Chavadi closing its eyes and in full attention as if listening to the bhajan. 

Dwarakamai :

Dwarkamai is situated on the right of the entrance of Samadhi Mandhir. Baba stayed at Dwarkamai till the very end of his life.

The first level of Dwarkamai has a portrait of Baba and a big stone on which Baba used to sit. This level has two rooms. One contains the chariot and the second a palkhi. Just in front of the room where the chariot is kept is a small temple. A saffron flag flies over it. The second level of Dwarkamai has a square stool made of stone, which Baba used for taking a bath. 

The main attraction of this place is the oil painting of Shri Sai Baba sitting in a carved wooden shrine. This level also has the grinding stone and the wooden vessel called  in which Baba used to keep the Bhiksha brought from the village.

(http://shirdisaitemple.com/shirdi-article/id/86/dwarkamai-shirdi) 

The dhuni ,located in Dwarakamai is the sacred, perpetually burning fire that Baba built and which has been maintained ever since, though today the fire is much bigger and is enclosed behind a wire cage. The sacred ash(udi) produced in the Dhuni is distributed to the devotees.

Laksmibai's house:

The next place visited by us is the house of Laksmibai who was a great devotee of Baba.In the house, there is a portrait of Laksmibai and the frame containing  the nine coins given to her by Baba before he attained samadhi. There is also the pillar on which Baba used to recline whenever he visited Laksmibai's house to take the food prepared by Laksmibai.

Hanuman (Maruti) Mandir :

We also worshiped Hanuman in the Hanuman Mandhir which is located in  the lane that runs between Dwarkamai and Chavadi.

Three temples and other important places seen by us inside Samadhi Mandhir:

We went again inside Samadhi Mandhir and worshiped the deities in three small temples. They are dedicated to Ganesh,Shani (i.e. Saturn) and Mahadev (i.e. Shiva).

The we saw the Neem tree under which Baba used to sit from the time he appeared in Shridi for the first time and the Garden which was maintained by Baba and the perpetually-burning lamp which was lit by Baba.

After completing our visit to the Mandhir, we reached the Hotel Kuber Inn where rooms were booked for us. 

We took our dinner in the hotel and spent the night.

Thus the first day of the tour ended and the details of our second day of the tour is  posted by me in 'Visit to Shirdi and other temples-Part 2' with the following link:

http://svsaibaba.blogspot.in/2014/08/visit-to-shirdi-and-other-temples-part-2.html

CONTACT DETAILS OF AKSHAYAM TRAVELS:

Mobile:   09840306678

             09944531961

             044-43537361

Email:       akshayamtravels@gmail.com

Website:  http://www.akshayamtravels.com/

.

How to Simplify Your Life?

Let's face it, life has become way too complicated. Between spending huge parts of our time at work, paying our taxes, making sure everything in the house is in order, fixing our cars, making sure our kids are ok, working for their future and dealing with the ever increasing demands of technology from us, sometimes we just feel like screaming: "Enough! Leave me alone!".  But life doesn't uncomplicate itself, we have to do that, and so, with the goal in mind of having a simpler life, you can have it without moving to some remote countryside and milking cows.Here's how:

1. Get up 20 minutes earlier: If you find your morning tight on time, try to go to bed a littler earlier and get up 20-30 minutes before your usual time. You'll be surprised how this little addition of time can start your whole day better. 2. Be 10 minutes early for meetings: It's hard to be late when you're planning to get there early, and it'll some of the pressure off. You'll also have time to smooth out your thoughts and think about what you'd like to say. 3. One thing at a time: Don't be fooled by those around you who brag they can do it all. Everyone has a problem concentrating on several tasks at once, or even pay attention to one while you're thinking of another one. Try to put your entire focus on the most urgent issue. Finish it and then move on to the next. You'll be surprised how much faster and more efficient you are at problem solving when you're solving one problem at a time. 4. Ask yourselves some questions: Stop yourselves from time to time and ask: "Am I making things more complicated?" and "how can I simplify the problem?". Sometimes we miss simple solutions because we don't stop to look around us. 5. Ask yourselves: "Will this still matter in five years?", most of the time, it won't even matter in 5 months or 5 weeks. If you find yourselves facing a mountain, maybe check it's not a mole hill. 6. Write down everything: There is no memory that doesn't 'leak' from time to time. The few minutes you spend writing things down will be worth having those things out of your head and memory, resulting in less pressure. 7.Remember that there is something greater than yourselves: We don't know everything, nor are we always right. There are always going to be causes bigger than ourselves. 8. Enjoy the simple things: Sometimes we need to stop, shut our eyes tightly, and then open them again and truly FEEL the moment we're in, the way it looks, the way it sounds, feels, smells and tastes. This is the meaning of living in the moment, and enjoying things that are so basic we hardly really pay them attention anymore. 9. Drink a glass of water: Water is the essence of life, and sometimes we might be better off drinking than binging on junk food that will just increase our anxious feelings. 10. Kindness is a blessing returned: Be kind to others. One day you may be old, sick and in need of kindness yourselves, knowing that you were kind to others and that they want what's best for you is a load off, and will reduce the fear you feel about the future. 11. Simplify your life by simplifying your home: A cluttered house is a cluttered mind, some say. Try and keep a place for everything in your house, keep it clean and tidy. It may seem unrelated, but a clean house makes us feel good about ourselves and helps us concentrate on what's important. 12. Stop and find the roses: Instead of speeding from thing to thing, try taking some extra time with certain tasks, relationships, work and personal projects. That extra time will give you confidence and help you discover things you may miss when you're rushing about. 13. Spend some time with simpler folk: Spending time with those that lead a simple life will help you simplify your own. Their slower pace and calm will leak into your own life, and you'll learn some of their tricks for simpler living.  14. Ask advice from those who have been there: When you encounter a problem, remember that most of them are not new, they have been challenging others as well. Turn to those who have been there, and ask for their advice. Sometimes it takes a village to get through life. 15. Forget about perfection: Don't try to do everything perfectly, you'll probably not succeed. Let go of the illusion of perfection and focus on what you have that is good and true. 16. Take a breath of fresh air a few times a day: Like a smoker on smoke breaks, take breaks to go out and get some fresh air. You'll be surprised how quickly those anxious thoughts can die down while you take a minute to disconnect from anxiety and reconnect with the world around you. 17. Take 30 minutes on the weekend to plan your week:Weekends are a great time to relax and take a little time to plan out what  you are going to do this week. Make a list, it'll help you remember and you'll feel more calm dealing with the coming week's challenges. 18. Ask people around you more questions: Sometimes, the things that make us anxious could be solved with a simple question. Don't be afraid to get answers you may not want to hear - in the long run, it'll help to know. 19. Take some time to be lazy: If you can simplify your lives a bit, you may find out you have some spare time. Take some of it to relax, you deserve a little laziness. 20. Remember life is longer than you think: You may change your mind a couple of times throughout, you may grow as a person and want different things, love different people. Accept this fact and you'll see how things so bothering you as much.

Planning your retirement

Retirement is not something that just happens to other people – all of us will experience it at some point in time. However, not all of us can confidently say that we are well prepared for it. And, unless you work for the government, as a private sector employee you will have to support yourself during retirement because the government will not help you.

There is a high possibility that many of us might be under-funded to finance our own retirements. Even if you are young and retirement could be 30 years away for you, now is the best time to start thinking about your retirement.I hope that this article is very useful for those who are above 40 years.

What does retirement mean?

At a most basic level, retirement means that you will no longer be actively working or earning any salary income. As a result, you need to live off the savings that you would have made during the peak of your income earning years. During the peak of your economic life, you accumulate assets through your savings. During your retired years, you decumulate this pool of capital.

With improvements in the medical sciences, our generation is expected to live longer. If we assume that the average person retires around 55 - 60 years of age, they could still have another 20 – 25 years to live. This means that their savings have to last them for approximately 2 decades or more, when they do not have the capacity to work or are unemployable.

When is the best time to start planning for retirement?

Start early is the mantra that all financial advisors chant when it comes to retirement planning. The reason for this is that one ought to use one’s earning capacity today to accumulate savings that we can then consume during our retired years. If we don’t start early, funding one’s life for 20 – 25 years during one’s retired years can be very challenging. Our earnings capacity will deplete as we age. So, it’s best to take advantage of our earnings capacity today to protect our future when we are not actively earning.

Additionally, recognize that around the time that you plan to retire might also be the time that you have other additional needs to fund major goals such as paying for your child’s education abroad, or their marriage or taking care of your parents’ healthcare needs. So, be prepared to have enough capital to be able to simultaneously finance these different goals.

How can inflation ruin my retirement?

Inflation is like a silent tax that all of us pay. Rising prices raise the cost of living and over time reduce our standard living if our incomes do not rise commensurately. During retirement, as we have no salary income, all our passive sources of income such as retiral funds, investment or rental income, must earn us a higher rate of return than the long term rate of inflation.

Over a 20-year period during one’s retirement, the cost of living can easily double as a result of inflation. So, whenever we plan retirement, one must keep in mind having investments that can help offset the negative impact of inflation on one’s retirement savings.

What instruments should I invest in towards my retirement?

If you are young, the best instruments to invest in towards your retirement are one’s where you can expect long-term capital appreciation that will help offset the risk of inflation. You can afford to take more risk with your investments, because retirement is a long while away. If you are middle-aged and closer to retirement, you might want to reduce your exposure to risk and be invested in instruments that can earn you a more secure return because retirement is just around the corner.

The following are some instruments that are relevant for retirement planning:

- Retiral accounts at work – PF and EPF

- Equities – either through direct stock holdings or through mutual funds

- Pension plans – either pure pension plans or insurance cum pension plans

- Annuities – through which you invest today so that you can get a recurring payback after you enter retirement till the time of your death

- Investment property – that can earn you rent during your retired years

How should I think about healthcare needs during retirement?

Just like an aging car increasingly needs constant servicing and attention to protect against regular wear and tear, we will also need constant attention towards our health as we age. Look around, and you will see aging relatives who are getting health procedures done such as heart operations, joint replacements, removal of organs and so on. These are natural side effects of aging. However, the cost of healthcare is rising at a double-digit percentage, and chances are that by the time we enter retirement, common medical procedures might cost double of what they do today.

One must be prepared with enough funds to take care of one’s health during retirement. Additionally, one must ensure that one has a basic amount of health insurance coverage on an ongoing basis. Getting health insurance gets more expensive and tougher as one ages, especially after the age of 65.

How much money do I need to retire?

This is a very personal question and relates to the kind of lifestyle that you want to lead during your retired years. At a minimum, most people need 60% - 100% of their pre-retirement income each year to finance their retirement. For example, if at retirement you are spending say Rs 50,000 per month (or Rs 6 lakhs per year) towards your lifestyle, then you would need anywhere between Rs 30,000 to Rs 50,000 per month (60% - 100% of your pre-retirement income) during your retirement.

So, in the above example, assuming you retire at between age 55 – 60 years, you will need a lump sum that can create Rs 30,000 to Rs 50,000 of monthly income, keeping in mind that inflation will push this number higher every year, for the next 20 years or up to the time that you live. You must ensure that you do not outlive your savings, otherwise you will not have money to support your lifestyle and might have to rely on others to support your daily lifestyle.

If you want to retire early, say in your 40s, then recognize that you will need to ensure that your retirement savings last you that much longer as you are expected to live till 80.

Three point action plan to prepare for your retirement

1. Estimate your lifestyle costs: Ask yourself what kind of a lifestyle are you interested in during your retirement and how much you will need to support that keeping in mind that inflation will increase the cost of lifestyle between now and your retirement. Recognize that if you want to maintain something close to this, you will need adequate funds support this for at least 20 – 25 years during retirement.

2. Start saving now: Starting early is the best activity for your retirement planning because it allows you to benefit from compounding of capital. Even if you can put away small amounts of money, every little bit helps. As a matter of discipline, set aside 10% of your income towards your retirement if you are young, and up to 40% if you are middle-aged. You need to create a pool of capital that can get you a lump sum when you start your retirement that will constantly create income during your retired years.

3. Create passive sources of income: In retirement your earning capacity through active work goes down. So use your earnings today to create passive sources of income that can help you meet your income needs during retirement. For example, you can invest in property that can earn you rental income. Or, you can buy investment instruments that can give you dividends or interest income over time.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you fail to plan, then you are planning for failure.

So,better to plan for your retirement as given above and enjoy the last part

of your life happily and peacefully.