SREE NARAYANA GURU ON ENVIRONMENT

On Environment

Once a householder- disciple asked Sree Narayana Guru,

“Swami, cremation or burial; which is better? Kindly enlighten me.”

None! One should squeeze it in a press and use the outcome as a manure”!

“Ayyayyo, Swami…”

“Why? You think the body would get hurt?”

This answer is a bit harsh; I admit. However, it reflects Guru’s bias over rituals to environment. Kindly observe his opinions on Environment. They are coming true verbatim!

People should be sensitized about outcome of greed and self-centeredness. The two-legged animal is the worst-affected. All other animals are far better.  They don’t have never-ending desires.

Andria Maben, school kid from Mangalore

Man can’t care less these days. If the after-effects of man-made disasters were limited to human-kind, it would have been justifiable. Unfortunately, the birds and animals too suffer from the fall-outs. They are being denied their share of tranquillity. If human-kind were to perish in the petty rat-race, it would have been a boon to other species. Then only they can experience ‘shanti’ which is their birth-right.

wild fire done by Saanvi Varma -school kid

Human-beings are on a destructive run. Trees are being felled. The greenery is mutilated day by day. Dirty, smoke-filled towns are coming up all over. The Earth is ravaged mercilessly and its cohesiveness is lost. Just look around, you can see coal and iron everywhere.  Man seems to have lost all self-restraint.

It’s difficult to manage two things, sludge and waste.  The air is all stench. The human-habitat is more of a dumping ground. Is there a way-out? Even animals harbour a better sense. But humans are truly grotesque.

 

A country, said to be interested in the well-being of its citizens will stop a leper from committing suicide. Poor fellow is already fed up with the sufferings and decides to put an end. The authorities spring up on its feet and the leper is whisked away to prevent the act.  He is put in jail! All in the name of humanity. Oddly enough, the same decision-makers will resolve in favour of annihilating people for the sake of religion or social justice.

 

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THE WIT AND WISDOM OF SREE NARAYANA GURU

 

On Education

 

The Vaikkom Satyagraha was going on. An English officer, Mr. Cotton was rushing to the site with his deputy who was an Ezhava. In fact, the public roads were out of bounds for the lower casts. However, nobody objected. Guru came to know about this and remarked,

“If leather is present as footwear, it is banned from the temple premises. If the same thing is a part of “chenda” (main percussion instrument in Kerala temples), everyone welcomes it! How does it happen?

People have no discerning ability. One acquires it only through education.

Education is the stairway to Freedom.

A stepping stone on which one takes a giant leap to knowing. A tool for drilling through ignorance. Knowledge is the ultimate. Sree Narayana Guru doesn't use the word in the conventional sense. Knowledge is not the kind of stuff which can be imparted through teachers and classrooms. Neither is it transferable from a container to empty smaller vessels. Knowledge is about knowing oneself. Is it the same for all, the fundamentals of human character that make people happy? Is there a common denominator for deriving happiness? If you could find that through education, you’re brilliant! You realize that the difference between people does not really exist. You’re the same as the other. You start seeing everyone as your own reflection. You become bold. Fear has already been vanished.

 Unfortunately, nobody is worried about the higher purpose of education and it has been reduced to a mere certification for bread-winning. One is uploaded with chunks of outdated knowledge to become job-worthy It gets you an address and nothing more! Peace and happiness are still out of bounds! If this is the case, where is the difference between educated and uneducated? Faced with a crisis, both are jittery. The information mugged up for exams doesn’t come for one’s rescue. One becomes desperate end up as an alcoholic or put a full-stop in suicide.

  When one uses education for attaining freedom, one starts processing knowledge on one’s own. The knowledge acquired from various sources – science, history, music, literature, visual arts, travel etc. – are processed to sift the chaff from the kernel. One gets a pretty good idea of what’s real and what’s not.

 

Such a person will have a smooth sail through life. Just no one can take his/her freedom away!

The ungraspable phantom of life has been tamed.

 

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WIT AND WISDOM OF SREE NARAYANA GURU – 4

 

The Right Attitude

 

Once a gentleman who considered himself knowledgeable approached

Sree Narayana Guru. The ‘savant’ wanted to make fun of Guru and asked the comic question,

“Swami, we’re drinking the milk of goat as well as cow. So, what is wrong in eating their meat?”

Narayana Guru paused a little.

(See, Swami is floored, the man thought!)

Guru gently asked him, “Is your mother alive?”

“No, she is no more.”

“Did you bury or eat her?”

 

 

You’re polite. You’re soft-spoken. You have an “I’m OK you’re OK” mind-set. You’re happy with the copper you're earning. Power doesn’t make you arrogant. The success that follows doesn’t go to your head either. You’re thankful to your household god for all those blessings showered.

Is this the Right Attitude?

No. The Right Attitude is ‘letting it go’. Whenever you’re in doubt whether to keep it or leave it, always let it go.

Become a loser, happily.

 

Sree Narayana Guru - Birthplace @ Chempazhanti

 Sree Narayana Guru says

ത്യാഗം എല്ലാ മനുഷ്യർക്കും ആവശ്യമാണ് . വിദ്യാലയങ്ങളിൽ കുട്ടികളെക്കൂടി ത്യാഗം പഠിപ്പിക്കണം

(Practice selflessness. Even the kids need be sensitized about it. Let it be taught in schools.)

This doesn’t mean one has to shy away from comforts and lead the life of an ascetic.

You can earn money; richness is no sin. However, affluence is to be acquired

only through dharmic ways. Business is to be driven by ethics.

How can this be achieved?

 

 Narayana Guru says,

" ത്യാഗബുദ്ധിയോടുകൂടി കർമം ചെയ്യണം . പണം സമ്പാദിക്കാനും വിരോധമില്ല . എല്ലാം ചെയ്യാം . പക്ഷേ ത്യാഗബുദ്ധിയോടുകൂടി ചെയ്യണം ."

"അപ്പോൾ കർമവും ശരിയാവും .ധൈര്യം ഉണ്ടാവും . മരിക്കുവാൻ കൂടി ഭയമുണ്ടാവില്ല  ."

(Nobody is against making wealth. However, it should be done with a selfless bent of mind. Never be driven by greed. The selfless seal should prevail in all your activities. And you become bold.

Fear withers away.  Death no longer scares you.)

 നരനും നരനും തമ്മിൽ സാഹോദര്യമുദിക്കണം .അതിനു വി ഘ്നമായിട്ടുള്ളതെല്ലാം ഇല്ലാതെയാകണം

(One’s sincerity does matter  for the changes to happen. Brotherhood between Man and Man is of paramount importance. Everything obstructing it should be done away with.)

 അറിവുള്ളവർ ഉപദ്രവിക്കാനോ ദുഷിക്കാനോ ഒരുങ്ങുകയില്ല . അറിവില്ലാത്തവരോട് നാം അനുകമ്പ യോടുകൂടി പെരുമാറണം .നാം പകരം ദ്വേഷിക്കരുതു

(There will be resistance to your actions. Wise ones will never put spokes on your wheel but the less knowledgeable ones do. You should never retaliate in the same coin. Hate them never. Have some love & understanding instead.)

 ക്രിസ്തുവിനെപ്പോലെ ക്ഷമിക്കണം എതിരുകാരുടെ അറിവുകേടിനു മാപ്പ് നല്കുവാൻ ഒരിക്കലും മടി കാണിക്കരുത്

(People who are against you may not be in the know of things. They are ignorant. Like Jesus Christ, forgive them.)

 

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WIT AND WISDOM OF SREE NARAYANA GURU - 3

 

Ezhava Sivan

Sree Narayana Guru consecrated several idols, mostly mirrors, which was later developed into big temples. The first of the series was at Aruvippuram in T’puram district. He jumped into the flowing river, raised a stone and installed it nearby. A few Vedic scholars didn’t like the idea. They accosted the Guru and asked to show the relevant portions which gives the authority to an Ezhava to sanctify the stone as Lord Siva.

Narayana guru was cool. He observed,

“Mine is Ezhava Sivan”.  

 

The hierarchical divisions of the society had its origins in Kerala by the end of the eighth century. Some people were made slaves and untouchables. Even a chance sighting of these unfortunate human beings vitiated the persona of the elite. Temples had a pivotal role in establishing this social order. The system had a pretty long run 1100 AD to 1950 AD. The temples were fabulously rich on account of enormous land holdings, inventory of gold and silver, contributions in precious stones, cash etc. Devaswam and Brahmaswam as they call it. The upper crest who was at the helm of affairs by virtue of their knowledge about rituals got the reigns of control and the ownership changed hands. Art and literature which also centered around temples were not meant for the common folk. The usurpers took it all and kept it under their strict custody.  Freedom and innovations were unthinkable.

 

With power on their side, they dictated terms and the underdogs were banned   from walking through public thoroughfares bordering the temples.

Since temples were used as the device for wielding power, Guru decided that the same device should be used to seize power from the elite.

Cleanliness is godliness. Uphold personal hygiene, he stressed. It is the best antidote against untouchability. Who can say ‘No’ to a person, afresh after bath, walking gracefully in clean clothes? Even if someone does, nobody would take it seriously. At the same time make sure that the body should neither be pampered nor tortured. The sensory organs are for optimum usage, i.e., no idle run for them.  The person gets additional confidence if his/her words are clean. Qualities like straight-forwardness, compassion, Love, flexibility, courage, shyness, stable temperament etc. clean the mind. Prior to that, the place where he/she resides should also be clean. The house must be energised by direct sun-light. It should be clean and airy. Care should be taken that no waste material is thrown in and around the house. These “sudhdhis” (austerities) add up to five, i.e., related to body, speech, mind, food and environment.

Guru never envisaged temples as mere places of worship. Cultural and moral advancement   should be made possible simultaneously. High edifices, arches etc. which invariably make the visitors too tiny and insignificant are unnecessary.  On the contrary, temples need spacious, airy halls where satsangs can be held.

 

Sivagiri Hill premises

Trees should be grown around. Gardens, a must. A library too. Books on all religions should be made available. Nobody should be allowed to use the space for tarnishing other religions.

 In short, temple should be a rendezvous where people can come any time of the day and unwind.

Narayana Guru doesn't stop at this point. He is attaching a school and a skill-training centre to the temple complex.

Everybody irrespective of cast, creed, colour or religion is to be welcomed.

 

samadhi

 He had clear-cut ideas about the utilisation of money. The income of a temple should be employed first for its upkeep and the surplus is meant for greater common good, especially for the education of bright students who are finding it difficult. He imagined a kind of public charitable trust (സഭ) for asset management.

 

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WIT & WISDOM OF SREE NARAYANA GURU – 2

Sree Narayana Guru series -2

Once Sree Narayana Guru (1856 - 1928) was travelling through a public space. During those times, the backward caste people as well as Dalits didn’t have the freedom to travel. They could do it on the sly. If they happened to be in the immediate vicinity of the path of the higher castes, they have had done an unpardonable sin! To add insult to injury, they were banished from the thoroughfare near to all major temples. The distance from other public roads in order to escape from the eye-sight of the elites varied as per the hierarchy! Ezhavas with minimum distance followed by Dalits and for those outside the Varna system (“Chandals”), it was unspeakable.

A Namboodiri (Kerala brahmin) didn’t like the audacity of the Guru refusing to take deviation. He asked,

“Hey, what’s your caste?”

Without batting an eye-lid, Guru retorted,

“If you don’t make out by seeing (me), how are you going to realise by hearing (me)?”

Of course, this is a highly philosophical answer. The guru aims at “Pragnana”, i.e., Consciousness!

In another occasion, after he was known widely, he was invited to a Devi temple. He went there though he didn’t believe much in rituals. The “Velichappad” (main priest) didn’t like Guru’s demeanor. He went into a trance and approached Guru as if possessed by the Goddess!

“Do you know what can I do to you”, the old man blurted out in a fit of rage.

Sree Narayana Guru was unruffled.

“If you’re so powerful, let me see at least some teeth in your mouth”

Guru had definite ideas on Religion, Caste and Spirituality.

Let’s probe his ideas on Religion and Spirituality first.

 

One gets his/her first brush with spirituality through one’s religion. The experience is supposed to be a pleasant one, rigidity has no bearing there. Religion should ideally give you an internal discipline. To keep your indulgences, particularly those in connection with food and sex, under check. Nobody is asking you to abstain.

 

Sree Narayana Guru believed that the focus should be always on making the human-being better. Otherwise, he/she is likely to slide downhill. As we all know, everybody is seeking Ananda (Bliss) irrespective of religion. Forget Bliss, even Happiness is difficult to come by, as we have to work upon our Mind with the only tool available with us; i.e., Mind itself! Not an easy task by any reckoning! Naturally one goes for the cheap substitute, pleasure.

 Guru wrote

“അഖിലരുമാത്മസുഖത്തിനായ് പ്രയത്നം

സകലവുമിന്നു സദാപി ചെയ്തീടുന്നു.

ജഗതിയിലിമ്മതമേകം "

Religion is a special-purpose vehicle to launch you for the long and arduous journey for everlasting happiness.  All religions have the same long-term objective. Arrive at the end-point where peace and happiness are at steady-state.  Religions equip you with the accessories and travel-guide so that you can and go dig it yourself!

Sree Narayana Guru (1856 - 1928)

Narayana Guru says

“ജീവാത്മാക്കൾക്ക് ഊർധ്വമുഖത്വം ഉണ്ടാക്കുവാനുള്ള അധികാരമേ മതങ്ങൾക്കുള്ളൂ. അതുണ്ടായിക്കഴിഞ്ഞാൽ സൂക്ഷ്മം അവർ താനേ അന്വേഷിച്ചു കണ്ടെത്തിക്കൊള്ളും. സൂക്ഷ്മം അറിഞ്ഞവന് മതം പ്രമാണമല്ല .മതത്തിന് അവൻ പ്രമാണമാണ്.”

 Religion is authorized to give a forward thrust to jeevatmas so that they can start searching for the subtle. One who knows the subtle no longer comes under the purview of religion. In fact, religion should take cues from such a person. She/he is beyond religion.

                                                                                             (to be continued)

 

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WIT & WISDOM OF SREE NARAYANA GURU

 

Sree Narayana Guru Series - 1

In last US Presidential election, a twelve paged book, circulated in all prominent states had an unusual title – “The Wit & Wisdom of Donald Trump”. Well, if you open the tiny book-like brochure, it had only blank pages inside! Absolutely blank, that is!

The poll managers of Joe Biden could have thought of some less expensive ideas to get across the fact. They should have filled in the blank pages with quotes of great men like Abraham Lincoln to promote responsible governance.

I’m compiling some gems here from Sree Narayana Guru which you can devour one by one and contemplate over it for a life-time. Prior to that let us get the basics right.

Sree Narayana Guru gave us the roadmap to bring Vedanta home. He demystified it from the intellectual plane and brought it down to ground zero. Spiritually and materiality cannot be separated, he said.  Both are interwoven in such a way that one cannot differentiate between them. In fact, he deviates from Adi Sankara on this count. Jagat Guru leaned on his brain mainly to formulate the ‘Adwaita’ philosophy whereas Narayana Guru employed his heart too.  According to Sankara, ‘Jnana’ is the only escape-route and the person who practices it shuns ‘karma’. In contrast Narayana Guru upholds karma.

 

The senior Guru, Adi Sankara discounts the physical world. He sees it as a manifestation of Maya which is unreal. One should not give any importance to the illusionary. However, Narayana Guru who came more than a millennium later urges us not to run away from the realities of daily life.

അല്ലെങ്കിലന്ത്യം വരെയും

കർമം ചെയ്തിങ്ങസ്സംഗനായ്

ഇരിക്കുകയല്ലാതി

ല്ലൊന്നും നരനു ചെയ്തീടാൻ

Go ahead and do your “pravirthi” (karma) without any “aaru” (fastener). Till the end.

 

He further says one should be free while doing karma. The obstacle to freedom is fear. It originates from “the other”, the entity which is separate from you. One becomes two. The root-cause of fear stems from duality. If one cuts across this double vision everything becomes one. Fear gets dissolved.

Now, the ground is cleared for doing karma.  Guru gives an important guide line here.

അവനവനാത്മ സുഖത്തിന്നാചരിക്കു -

ന്നവയപരന്നു സുഖത്തിനായ് വരേണം

This is the secret of happiness. Anything sought for private enjoyment should ultimately lead to enjoyment for others. That which makes me happy should make others happy as well.

It should be a win-win situation always.

 

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DAY ONE & AFTER

 

         

            More than fifty students crammed into a classroom. Twelve of them were girls. Dressed mostly in long skirts and matching blouses which reached upto their navels, they sat on the benches taking care to seem unassuming always. Some of them draped quarter of a saree over the skirt-blouse combination, while the ubiquitous dhoti with shirt was the accepted dress code for boys. Everybody was tense. Suddenly a tall gentleman wearing pants mounted on the platform. We all stood up. He asked us to introduce ourselves in English. As we were fumbling, the real lecturer stormed into the room menacingly eyeing on the impersonator. In a second, the impostor vanished without trace. He was just a senior student. Mr.Panikker, the English lecturer started giving a talk on the short stories of W.W.Jacobs, which went over our heads. He had second thoughts after a short while and we were asked to write a resume on the first day in college. He collected our works and kept it in his left hand like a bunch of currency notes. Then he started counting them. In fact, he was browsing through our feedback.

“None of you can write even one sentence correctly.”

We had a sigh of relief.

Sanjay Ashtaputre - 

The boys were like unquiet sea, agitated for no apparent reason. They desperately wanted to talk to the girls and make friendship with them. There was a secret longing to feel the soft company of girls and to touch them. This was not quite possible as several barriers imposed by the society existed between the sexes. As a result, the boys were relentlessly trying to catch the attention of the girls, inside the classroom as well as outside. More often than not, these efforts turned into damp-squibs. Mayhem was a regular affair at the open-air wash during lunch break. Only one of the pipes worked and others were perennially out of order. It was a free-for-all for a few minutes. 

Sanjay Ashtaputre -

A classmate of mine enjoyed sleeping on the girls’ benches during lunch break. He ventured to open their lunch boxes one day and deposited his comments scribbled on paper.  The girls refused to eat.  Another guy inflated a ‘rubber’ and tossed it in the air like a balloon. Generally, girls ignored the mischief. At the same time, they were not inclined to register their protest in a prominent way and preferred to suffer in private. 

Sanjay Ashtaputre

The classroom was a dehumanizing place. The walls were filled with obscene graffiti as well as sketches of naked women. Erected male genitalia were aplenty, named after female lecturers and college beauties. Vulgar comments and howls filled the air. Still, no one complained.

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IGNORANCE IS NOT BLISS - (Final)

 

We have seen that for fulfilling the higher purpose of existence, absence of worries is not enough. You’ve got to remain in steady-state where any kind of sorrow is out of bounds permanently. And you must experience “Ananda” which is the ultimate in purity!  Attaining this phase involves a lot of hard work and one-pointed efforts. There is no such person called the ‘spiritual coach-potato’!  Imbibe knowledge from all sources. Reading and attending “Satsangs” are the time-tested methods to start with. Satsangs are esoteric gatherings where you can listen and interact to people who know the higher planes from direct experience. Since you’re living in this world with a family, profession and social-life, you can’t turn a blind eye to the happenings of the world. Get the spiritual batteries charged and expend the energy for the betterment of you as well as others.

Shiva - Parvati

If you’re heavily inclined towards knowing the Self, bidding ‘adieu’ is permitted, however! Leave for the woods or do something similar!

This much for the recap.

Now, let’s trace the root-cause of sorrow. You may find it funny, but it can be said logically that your birth on this planet is primarily responsible for your grief! Had there been no birth, there would have been no anguish, whatsoever!

According to Vedanta, karma is singularly responsible for the sorry state of affairs.

Ardha Nareeswara

In a nutshell, Karma is nothing but the causation result of one’s action. The result of karma can be satisfaction for good karma and misery for the opposite type. You can earn the bonus as punya which is credited to your account!

Punya is a virtuous, human and humane attitude towards everything, moving or non-moving, animate or inanimate.

Bad karma causes paap which has a retrogressive bearing on one’s evolution.           

Attitude is vital in karma.

Even death depends on your attitude!

You may die in sleep but you can’t escape the clutches of “paap”!

Death is a door and your transition depends entirely on the mental frame during the twilight hours. The mental-frame of “cheerful humility” when Death knocks at your door cannot be put in place overnight.

In short, karma is responsible for punya or paap which in turn depends on raga (craving) or dwesha (aversion).

In a nut-shell, you do want to enjoy (sukhescha) or you need to establish yourself (loka pratishta).

Without proper attitude, you try to get it through unethical behaviour. And the problem lies exactly here.

Gajendra Moksham

So, the reason for raga or dwesha is Incorrect Attitude.

You and I know that Incorrect Attitude stems from IGNORANCE.

The only way out is KNOWLEDGE.

Knowledge through various sadhanas (modus operandi) via Karma, Bhakti and Yoga. (Kindly refer to the earlier post in case you need elaboration).

 

I owe you more explanations in this regard, perhaps.

Anyway, get going my dear friends.

Better late than never.

                                                                                                                        (concluded)

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IGNORANCE IS NOT BLISS - 2

Ignorance is not Bliss – 2

 

As we’ve seen earlier, we don’t want a transient escape from our sorrows.

The absence of those causes which puts us in a desperate situation is not enough. In reality, we’re all desert-travelers without a drop of drinking water. What we want is a permanent, everlasting solution to all our troubles. Even if you’re a person with no worries whatsoever, unless you have the additional edge, “Ananda” on your side, you’re a nowhere man/woman.

Ananda is pure Happiness. i.e.,

Cessation of sorrows + attainment of ‘Ananda’ = Bliss (“Moksha” in Sanskrit)

Moksha is overwhelming Contentment; nothing less!

Reina Cottier-"Taking every moment as it evolves

There’s a hitch, however. One has to pre-qualify for ‘Moksha’. One must get through a couple of sine qua non failing which one doesn’t get a ticket to the journey.

1.    Longing

This is the essential prime-mover in the traveler's passage. Without longing, the journey becomes a dreary exercise, a duty you feel you ought to do rather than an exciting adventure of the heart. Without longing, you’re like a locomotive without steam!

 

2.    Reading

One has to burn the midnight oil. Read and get the basics right. Get at least a cursory idea of tatwabodha first. The real knowledge of the Self, that is.

Concurrently, one has to do practise something called “Sadhana Chatushtaya”.

‘Sadhana’ means the groundwork required. It’s simply hard work.  One pointedness. If you’re an Indian Classical Artist, you’ll immediately get it.

In Urdu, the equivalent words are ‘riyas’, talim etc.

The four-fold ‘Sadhana’ consists of

i)             ‘Vivekam’ (or power of discrimination to remove the kernel from the chaff.

ii)            ‘Vairagyam’ (or dispassion)

iii)           ‘Samadhi Shatkam’  

Control of mind, control of senses and withdrawal of the same (if you like the idea and if you’re emerging as a topper in (i) & (ii).

iv)           Shraddha (or faith in the words of Guru and in the text of ‘Adwaita’ philosophy.

We shall talk about this in the next post. Too much of high-funda will cause indigestion.

 

Michael Drust - "Spiritual Awakening"

3.    Keeping an ear to the ground…

Reading a lot of spiritual stuff or a couple of listening to lectures of a popular Guru does not give you a license to get away from the world. Couch potatoes of any kind is not permitted.  If at all you want to do it, go to the woods and meditate while managing on your own. Alternatively, you can go to the snow-capped mountains like the Himalayas and be at ease! You don’t have to worry about food and shelter there.

If you’re a millionaire in US $, you can even buy a virgin island in the Pacific Ocean and settle there for the rest of the life. You are alone and you can do whatever you feel like. If that’s not Freedom, what else is?

 

If you’re a pro, technician, police-man, or even a politician, you have to get the pulse of the world right. See what’s happening around you. The wars, the persecutions, the deprivations, the scant regard to environment, the mega-scams etc.

You may not be able to do anything about it. Don’t worry, you can always make a change with a mere wish to that effect!

 

Anyway, one has to imbibe directions which give you clear instructions from the young age itself. One has to embark on the ‘sadhanas’ when one’s is young and one’s body is in perfect health. Start it when you’re “Swastam”!

 

                                                                                                    (Contd.)

 

 

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