Manthras and Mind power

Imagine that you are standing on the bank of a river and you hear the current as it flows. If you follow 

the river upstream, you will come to its origin. There, you will find that there is no sound. In the same way, a mantra leads the mind to the silence within. That state is called “soundless sound.” Each mantra will make a different form. You have to go to the source within, from which that sound comes.


Manthras and the mind are closely related. Many Manthras mould the mind in its subtle form. The sound vibrations the Manthras generate mould the subtle aspects of the Mind. Many forms of God are mind forms too. No wonder the originator of a manthra the sage is called Manthra Drishta. The seer of the Manthra. So he is not the hearer of the Manthra but the seer. This explains a lot. Even Prophet Mohammad is said to have seen the visual descent of the Quran.


Sanathana Dharma had known this truth for ages and has utilised it effectively to condition mankind towards perfection. In Hinduism many forms of worship can be substituted by mental worship. Snanam( Ritual Bath), poojanam ( Worship by flowers etc) , Vandhanam ( Bowing) etc can take mental forms. So in Hinduism there is no excuse to skip a worship or prayer even if water or flowers are not physically available. Remembrance is most important.


For instance, take Ganga Snanam during Deepavali. Ganga is verily said to penetrate into all waterbodies on Deepavali , so all believers do take a Ganges dip! Plus, there is a sloka which verily has the power to bring all the holy waters verily into your shower! Beat That!


" Gange ca Yamune devi

Godavari Sarasvathi

Narmadhe Sindhu Kaveri

Jalesmin Sannidhim Kuru"


Just reciting this before Bath verily makes your physical Bath a Divine one. What a way to infuse Desh Bakthi also. Constant remembrance of your countries holy water bodies does increase your love for your mother land.





Even taking the Ganapathi pooja which is verily the shub Arambh ( Auspicious beginning ) of all rituals. Ganapathy , the auspicious divine form is the most easy to draw or Sculpt. Priests do not wait for a moorthy ( Image ) of a Ganesha. He just Rolls a some Turmeric paste in his palm and makes an image of Ganesha, which normally is only a clump or pyramidical in shape and recites the following Manthra:


" Asmin Bhimbe Maha Ganapathim Avahayami"


By this he is infusing energy into the pyramid or invoking Ganesha in it. Such a simple Prana Prathishta!








So let us take a little time to educate our youngsters on these powerful tools of positivity. The current youngsters are enamoured by Power of positive thinking books available in the market. Little do they know that these are available at their doorsteps, only needs little effort to know the treasure they are missing out on.




Krishnamachari Santhanam

Desire

Desire is like the shadow caused by the morning sun; it gets longer when you run to catch; it makes you a fool.

Desire is the worst enemy; it ruins many a human life. Desire when fulfilled breeds further desire.

Desire leads to ultimate ruin; It can never be destroyed by fulfilment; Dispel desire; Develop true love.

SAI.

Experience is the best teacher.

One day, Brighu, the son of Varuna approached his father and asked him: "Father! Will you enlighten me about Brahman?" Sage Varuna replied endearingly: "Son, none can enlighten anyone on Brahman. One has to experience through meditation. Go and do meditation and carry on self-enquiry. I bless you."

Brighu went into a forest and sat for meditation. He used to carry on self-enquiry too. He used to contemplate on several questions related to the spiritual world. One day, he thought: 'What is the most essential thing that is necessary for the existence of all living beings in general and man in particular? It must be food', he decided. Man lives, grows and works only because of food, the most essential thing for life is food, so food is Brahman." He ran to his father and said: "Father, I know what is Brahman. Food is Brahman." Varuna replied with a smile: "No, my son, food is not Brahman. Go and meditate."
Brighu went to the forest and continued his tapas for some more time. One day he thought, 'food may be essential, but unless there is energy, how can the food be digested? What is that energy? It must be prana (vital air) so prana is Brahman.' So, he went to his father and said: "Father, I know what is Brahman, Prana is Brahman." Varuna replied: "No, my son, go and meditate for some more days."
Brighu obeyed his father's command. He continued his meditation. One day he thought, 'Food is essential, prana is essential, but what is more essential? Unless one has desire to live and to eat, of what avail is food and prana? The seat of desire is mind. So Manas is Brahman' he decided. Brighu reported about his discovery and said: "Father, Manas is Brahman." Varuna smiled and said: "Son, no, Manas is not Brahman. Go and do tapas for some more days."

Brighu continued his meditation. One day he thought 'Food is essential, prana is essential, manas is also essential, but what is still more essential? Unless one is able to distinguish and discriminate between good and evil, of what use is this life? What is the seat of this discriminating faculty? It is intellect, vijnan.' So vijnan is Brahman", he decided. Brighu went and told his father: "Father, vijnan is Brahman". Varuna once again said: "Son, no, vijnan is not Brahman. Go and do tapas for some more days."

Brighu once again continued to do tapas. One day he thought, 'Food gives strength, parna energises, manas causes desires, and vijnan endows man with discrimination (viveka). But, I must find out what is the ultimate goal of man's life. I have to experience it'. Having thus resolved, he went into deep meditation again.

One day, he experienced an ineffable joy and he sat utterly unconscious of the outside world. That day, Varuna came to the forest in search of his son. He was happy to see his son in samadhi. From the effulgence which shone on Brighu's face, he knew that his son had realised that 'Bliss is Brahman'.

In the upanishadic age, parents and preceptors used to encourage their pupils to ask questions, yet they would not give them immediate answers. They would advise them to carry on self enquiry and find out the answers for themselves.

Experience is the best teacher.

Oneness

The best religion is To Be Good, See Good and Do Good. The rest are all superficial.

Religious bigotry has been the cause for most of the wars in history. This Oneness has great spiritual truth. It is the oneness which runs through animate and inanimate beings. Some call it chith, some consciousness,some awareness,some mindfulness,some Christ consciousness,some Krishna prema. Labels are many and confusing but the underlying oneness is one.

Chith is shakthi or energy. Now science says E=MC2. Ancient Vedanta said it thousands of years ago. Energy is converted to matter and similarly matter can be converted to energy. Ancient alchemists who had realised their state of oneness did this conversion as a normal process which became a miracle for others!

Chith or Prana is the innate consciousness which pervades all beings. So in a realised state one sees all as blobs of energy which is of the same nature of its source. That is Chith.

That is the oneness which IS.

IS Chith the life force for all?
I follow no organised religion. In this search I explored Christianity,Islam,Tao,Hinduism,Vedanta and found that all of them recognise the oneness some directly, some in an oblique way. In some organised religions, the religious bodies cover this oneness for their benefit.

I strongly believe that Chith is the life force. If as scientist say oxygen is the life force , then if they pump oxygen to a dead body it should function with consciousness. is it not? So it should be something beyond that, which we call as chith or Tao might call it chi.

Krishnamachari Santhanam

Humility

Saint Narada is most known for creating mischief and quarrels between people (although the quarrels always lead to good things and makes everyone happy). Apart from his mischief making, however, Narada is also well known for his supreme musical talents - according to Hindu mythology, he introduced people to the gift of music. Narada always appears with a Veena in his hands and constantly chants the name of Lord Narayana. Even today, In India, when a religious discourse or a Yakshagana (a type of dance-drama or an opera) is held, the programs begin after invoking the name of Narada.

Saint Narada, wasn't without flaws, however. He was proud of his musical skills, but looked down on others who were less skilled than he was. Once he went to the kingdom of Lord Krishna. Krishna knew of Narada's arrogance and wanted to teach him a lesson on modesty and respect for others. Krishna asked Narada to play his Veena before an assembled audience in his court. Narada played the Veena brilliantly and delighted the audience with his music. At the end of his performance, Narada turned to Krishna and waited for the God to express his appreciation of Narada's music. Krishna, instead, turned to Hanuman, the monkey God, who was sitting in the audience, and asked him what he thought of Narada's music. Narada, unaware of Hanuman's divine status, was very unhappy that Krishna, instead of expressing his appreciation, sought the opinion of a mere monkey. "What does a monkey know about music?" Narada thought.


Krishna reading the mind of Narada said, "Oh Narada, I understand your concern, but first, let us find out if this monkey really knows anything about music. Give him your Veena and let him play it." Narada became even angrier because musicians consider their musical instruments sacred. Narada didn't want to share his Veena with anyone, especially not a monkey. He couldn't refuse Krishna's request however, and reluctantly handed the Veena to Hanuman. Hanuman began to play the Veena and sang beautiful hymns in praise of Lord Rama. The Monkey God's singing and playing was so sincere and so devoted that the entire audience was mesmerized. Even the great musical genius Narada was compelled to appreciate Hanuman's music. Being a person of enormous wisdom, Narada began to realize the lesson that Krishna was teaching him. Narada asked Krishna's forgiveness for not respecting the greatness of Hanuman and for underestimating Hanuman because he was a monkey.

Dosa Meditation

A young boy of 7 years old came to Ramana and asked him, "Can you explain to me what is meditation?Whenever I ask my parents they tell me that I need not bother about it now."I will come to know when I grow up." Ramana said," I shall tell you,but you sit quietly by my side."

A little later someone brought a carrier full of Dosa ( a preparation of rice and lentils-something like a pancake) and placed it before Ramana who would not eat anything unless equal quantities are distributed to all the people present. Ramana took a small piece himself, gave one full Dosa to the boy by his side in a leaf and ordered the rest to be distributed to the devotees present.

He told the boy," Look here,till i raise my finger and say "Hoon" you will go on eating and you should not finish it before I give the signal. The moment I give the signal hoon no portion of the Dosa should reamin and you should stop eating.

The boy was looking with concentration on Ramana for the signal and was eating in big pieces first and later in small bits.Suddenly the expected signal came. The boy put the entire balance Dosa in the mouth and atopped eating. Ramana then said,"what you now did is the process of meditation.You were looking at me all the time but were eating the Dosa. Similarly keep your mind onepointed on God but continue with your normal duties."

Let your normal activities like walking,eating,talking etc., go on but your mind should be concentrated on God all the time. That is Meditation.

Krishnamachari Santhanam

Microcosm-Face Book

I once had a friend who just came in,tagged all my photos and disappeared.

I was thanking my guru in showing the macrocosm in the microcosm. FB is the virtual image of the real world. You have dancers and songsters and pranksters and jokers conmen and money sappers true seekers and friends!

You have Advaithists,Dvaithists,agnosts,Aethists,Relegious nuts and spiritual fruits,atmas covered in the deep dense sheath of annamaya kosa and prasing their own red..you know what.

Oh I forgot to add the self professed Sages..anyhow that is the world-Maya,Prakurthi shining in all its glory.

The solution is to be in the Fb and not of it! Modern vedantha-Eh! Just be in it and spread and share what you have and leave the rest to what shall i say-God?atma?providence?Nature?Oneness?Jesus?Shiva?allah?Guru?

Will Leave that to you.

Krishnamachari Santhanam

Just Be

To know the self through intellect or the mind is impossible. This self-knowledge is pure awareness,does not come with the reading. Reading and punditry may in fact boost the ego and become an impediment. Just Be and that being will swell and rise to be the ocean. Be one with it.

Even rituals that we do will at best be cleansers which can lead to chitha suthi. Can not give deliverance.
The mantras we chant, until we have the bhava we are chanting can at best give an ambiance and vibration which leads us God ward but can not give vision of the Divine. Unless of course the Japa becomes Ajapa Japa and gets into the core of our being and we unknowingly chant it day in and day out, sleep with it and arise with it then the mantra becomes us and the devatha verily will reside in us.

My Guru's analogy of the pole vaulter always stays imprinted in my mind. Mantras and rituals are the pole which the pole vaulter uses to reach his destination.But once the destiny presents itself unless he lets go of the pole which he used for crossing over he will fall short of the target. Most of us are like the vaulters who refuse to let go.

The understanding has to be clear that Bondage is a Bondage even if the chain is made of Gold. All the physical attractions we develop are iron chains and the rituals and external applications are the golden chains.

So better to be just be, this just being is not an advocacy of idleness! Our body can be involved in any number of activities but mind and awareness has to be steeped in the Atma. A being thus soulfully engaged in any activity in facts excels at it. There will be no mediocrity.

Just Be and Be Joyful.

Krishnamachari Santhanam

Life

My daughter asked me How long does a butterfly live? I heard it is only a week? It made me think. Looked up at WIKI. It said depends on the species,might range from a week to a year perhaps. That set me thinking. How long does it stay at the caterpillar and larvae level? Such a bane our mind is,It started questioning the wisdom in spending so much time at a incubatory level to have a short span of life.

This set me thinking. My widom told me never question the creator's wisdom. The conditioning of academics made me do it anyway. My spiritual conditioning made me say Look at Adi Sankara and Swami Vivekananda,what they achieved in 30 plus years we could not even assimilate their wisdom in twice the number of years!

When there is an earnest quest, God sends his angels to aid.

I got this status from a dear friend on FB.

"What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset." - Crowfoot, Blackfoot warrior and orator...

This made me think again. Flash.. and the angel started doin its work, did not stop with just giving me the status message. Another angel friend commented yes,true perhaps at physical level.

Bingo- the bulb flashed and wisdom dawned.At a spiritual level Life flows on meandering through crevices and gorges and hills and dales ceaselessly and the water takes countless shapes. Why does this Maya evelop us in a jiffy and we tend to think lifetime as a span of time in human terms. Amazing idocy! Anyhow good to be an idiot with a thirst for truth than a self-professed sage steeped in Idiocy.

Krishnamachari Santhanam

I Want Peace

Not to worry We all twist and turn
Roll and groan
Pick and choose
About to lose
The ultimate treasure of true self
Once you kill the alterego
Only to find
there is no pain and no gain.

Cross the I and cut the Want
Peace is what remain.

Krishnamachari Santhanam.

Hands that serve are holier than the lips that pray

I do not care if there is one God or many Gods, I only care if you feed a person when he is hungry and you belch when he feels full.

I do not care if you count the rosary 108 times or 1008 times, I do care how many tears you have wiped with your two little hands.

I do not care if you found my presence in the church or the temple, I do care if you found my anguish in the twisted lips of the beggar down the street.

I do not care if you decorated my temple with Gold,I do care if you bothered to cover the naked shivering man with the shawl decorating your body.

I do not care if you have read all the scriptures, I do care if you even follow one verse from those myraid scriptures.

I do not care to know how man languages you know, I do care if you have attempted to master the language of the heart.

I do not care for the millions you have saved, I do care for the few notes you had given away.

I do not care for the tons of flowers you had worshipped me with, but I do care for the barren trees you had planted for the wayfarer.

If ony you know what I really care about, the world would be a better place to live in.
Never too late,Live in the presence, start today.

Krishnamachari Santhanam.

Divinity is Love

The highest type of Love sees the Divine shining in all and never wanes. It does not see men as belonging to different faiths or nations or classes or castes; it sees all as embodiments of Divinity.
Cultivate Love; sow the seeds of Love in all hearts, shower Love on the desert sands; let the green shoots, the lovely flowers, the luscious fruits, the sweet harvest of nectar be earned by mankind.
Love and you will be loved in return. Promote love, look upon all with Love and hate will never be your lot. If you want to attain the Lord, cultivate Love. This is the one lesson I teach always and that is My secret too.
Love lives by giving and forgetting. Self lives by getting and forgetting.
The highest type of Love sees the Divine shining in all and never wanes. It does not see men as belonging to different faiths or nations or classes or castes; it sees all as embodiments of Divinity.
Cultivate Love; sow the seeds of Love in all hearts, shower Love on the desert sands; let the green shoots, the lovely flowers, the luscious fruits, the sweet harvest of nectar be earned by mankind.
God is Love – Live in love.
Start the day with love
Fill the day with love
End the day with love
That is the way to God.
There is only one caste and that is the caste of humanity. There is only one religion and that is the religion of Love. There is only one God and that is the religion of Love. There is only one God and that is the Omnipresent God. There is only one language and that is the language of he heart. Hence Love is God.
Without cultivating Love for others, you can never cultivate Love for yourself.
Prema or Love is the awakening of the Soul and the blossoming and expansion of the heart and spontaneous outpouring of Love towards all. It springs from intuitive awareness and perception of the Divine as abiding in all.
Love is sweet like ice-cream
Love is joy like ice-cream
Love is cool like ice-cream
And love is pure like white ice-cream
Once you fill your heart with Prema, it really does not matter what path you adopt. It will become possible for you to reach the destination.
My message is this: Be embodiments of Prema: Do not hate anyone or fear anyone. Develop Love towards all; understand the grief and the joy of all; be happy when others are happy; don’t exult when others are in misery
Love is to become patent as selflessness; self, if it is thrust forward become patent as lovelessness.
Without cultivating Love for others; you can never cultivate Love for yourself.
Love is like sugar, you can mix it with any material. But the essence of sweetness in sugar consists of divinity only. Without this value of love, we cannot develop other values.
Love should not be rationed on the basis of caste, creed or economic status or the intellectual attainment of the recipient. It should flow full and free, regardless of consequence, for it is one’s nature of Love; one cannot but pour out Love, one cannot but seek out the dry, dreary wastes in order to water them with the spring of Love and make them yield a harvest of Love.
A farmer ploughs his land and irrigates it to grow the crop of his choice. The bhakta is the cultivator for the field of his heart. He must irrigate the field of his heart with the water of Prema, manure it with Sadhana, sow the seeds of the Divine name, fence it with spiritual discipline.
Performing your daily work sincerely, filling your hearts with Love, and feeling the presence of divinity amounts to true surrender.
You are Messiahs. You are all children of God. Live in Love. Be God. Be Love…..and freedom will be there waiting for you.
The transforming power of Love is boundless. St. Paul, who was originally an inveterate critic of Jesus, was transformed by Christ’s Love into the greatest apostle of Jesus.
Love is God. Live in Love.
Divinity is embodied in all creatures and this fundamental truth should be exemplified in practice by man. He must extend the field of his Love until it encompasses the entire creation. It is only then that he will deserve to be a worthy recipient of God’s Love.
The religion of the people of this country and the endeavor of its people has always been to sow the seeds of Prema, to promote Prema and love between the fellow human being. This indeed has been the aim and objective of the culture of this country.
Unless you have Love, you cannot claim kinship with the votaries of God; mere ritualistic exactitude or pompous adoration, or loud acclamation will not entitle you to enter the portals of Go-loka. They are as tin and trash before the treasure – chest of love. Love is the bridge which helps passage from birth to deathlessness, from death to birthlessness.
When you rise from the Jiva-sense to the Deva-sense, human-ness to God-ness, then there is no more birth or death. Liberation happens when you Love every being so intensely that you are aware of only ONE. Soak your heart in Love, soak your acts in righteousness, soak your emotions in compassion; then you attain God soonest.
God as Love dwells in your heart and therefore the kingdom of Heaven is within you. When you know that God who is Love, dwells within you, when you realize this truth in the freshness and beauty of the immortal spirit then your life will sing the music of Love.
Without love you live in death. Love is life. All are one; be alike to every one. Inquiry is of great importance. Who am I? No reply No. ‘I’ am ‘I’
Duty without Love is deplorable. Duty with Love is desirable.
The end of wisdom is freedom; the end of education is character; the end of culture is perfection; the end of knowledge is Love. Self-confidence is the basis of faith in God also.
Cultivate love; sow the seeds of love in all hearts; shower Love on the desert sands; let the green shoots, the lovely flowers, the luscious fruits, the sweet harvest of nectar be earned by mankind.
Love is the path. Start the day with love. Spend the day with Love. Fill he day with Love. End the day with Love. This is the way to God. Expansion is Love, not contraction and selfishness, not ‘my’. Such practices as meditation, Japa, mantra, Bhajan are like soap. Without water soap is not used. The water is likened to love. It is the water that is important.
You should fill your hearts with Prema. That is the only way in which you can reach the eternal truth of God. You should work with a determination to fill your hearts with Prema and reach this goal.
Where there is Faith, there is Love; where there is love, there is peace; where there is peace, there is God, and where there is God, there is Bliss.
Love liquidates the blows of fate. Love is Truth, Truth is Love, for it is only when you Love that you have no Fear. And fear is the Mother of falsehood. If you have no fear, you will adhere to Truth.
Prema makes you humble; it makes you bend and bow when you see greatness and glory.
Love all; revere all; help all to the best of your ability. The words that you utter will be as holy as the scriptures. His Sadhana will lead you to realization.
Prema can be truly called Prema only when it recognizes the Divinity and only when it realizes that we should love the divine. That kind of Prema alone can deserve to be described as true Prema.
Best Sadhana is Love all serve all.
Do not walk in front of Me; I may not follow you. Don’t walk behind Me; I may not lead you. Walk beside Me and be My friend." If you attempt to walk in front of Me, you may be taking the
wrong path. If you walk behind Me, you may possibly desert Me. Walk abreast of Me. Then there is no chance of your going astray or away from Me, because I am with you.
SAI.

Do Not Despair

Subject: Learn From Bamboo- THE LESSON OF 'DO NOT DESPAIR'


One day I decided to quit...I quit my job, my relationship, my
spirituality... I wanted to quit my life. I went to
the woods to have one
last talk with God. "God", I said. "Can you give me
one good reason not to quit?" His answer surprised me...

"Look around", He said. "Do you see the fern and the bamboo?"
"Yes", I replied.

"When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I
took very good care of
them. I gave them light. I gave them water. The
fern quickly grew from the
earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor. Yet
nothing came from the
bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo. In
the second year the Fern
grew more vibrant and plentiful. And again, nothing
came from the bamboo
seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo." He said.

"In year three there was still nothing from the
bamboo seed. But I would
not quit. In year four, again, there was nothing
from the bamboo seed. I would not quit." He said.

"Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from
the earth. Compared to
the fern it was seemingly small and
insignificant...But just 6 months later
the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall. It had spent
the five years growing
roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what
it needed to survive. I would not give any of my creations a challenge it
could not handle." He said to me.

"Did you know, my child, that all this time you
have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots?"

"I would not quit on the bamboo. I will never quit on you."
"Don't compare yourself to others." He said. "The
bamboo had a different
purpose than the fern. Yet they both make the forest beautiful."
"Your time will come", God said to me. "You will rise high"

"How high should I rise?" I asked.
"How high will the bamboo rise?" He asked in return.
"As high as it can?" I questioned
"Yes." He said, "Give me glory by rising as high as you can."
I left the forest and bring back this story. I hope these words can help you
see that God will never give up on you. He will never give up on you.
--
Never regret a day in your life.
Good days give you happiness; bad days give you
experiences; both are
essential to life

Arunachala Pancharathna

The fifth hymn, ‘Five Stanzas to Sri Arunachala’ (Arunachala Pancharatna), is of a different nature to the first four. The great Sanksrit poet and devotee Ganapati Sastri, who was a follower of Bhagavan, begged him to write a poem in Sanksrit. Bhagavan replied, laughing, that he scarcely knew any Sanksrit and no Sanksrit metres. Sastri, however explained a metre to him and repeated his request. When he returned the same evening this hymn had been written in perfect, flawless Sanskrit.

Devotee: I have been reading the Five Hymns. I find that the hymns are addressed to Arunachala by you. You are an advaitin. How do you then address God as a separate Being?

Maharshi: The devotee, God and the Hymns are all the Self.

Devotee: But you are addressing God. You are specifying this Arunachala Hill as God.

Maharshi: You can identify the Self with the body. Should not the devotee identify the Self with Arunachala?

Devotee: If Arunachala be the Self why should it be specially picked out among so many other hills? God is everywhere. Why do you specify Him as Arunachala?

Maharshi: What has attracted you here to this place? What has attracted all these people around?

Devotee: Sri Bhagavan.

Maharshi: How was I attracted here? By Arunachala. The Power cannot be denied. Again Arunachala is within and not without. The Self is Arunachala.

We worship female Godesses but do not want female children?

As John-Thor Dahlburg points out, "in rural India, the centuries-old practice of female infanticide can still be considered a wise course of action." (Dahlburg, "Where killing baby girls 'is no big sin'," The Los Angeles Times [in The Toronto Star, February 28, 1994.]) According to census statistics, "From 972 females for every 1,000 males in 1901 ... the gender imbalance has tilted to 929 females per 1,000 males. ... In the nearly 300 poor hamlets of the Usilampatti area of Tamil Nadu [state], as many as 196 girls died under suspicious circumstances [in 1993] ... Some were fed dry, unhulled rice that punctured their windpipes, or were made to swallow poisonous powdered fertilizer. Others were smothered with a wet towel, strangled or allowed to starve to death." Dahlburg profiles one disturbing case from Tamil Nadu:


Lakshmi already had one daughter, so when she gave birth to a second girl, she killed her. For the three days of her second child's short life, Lakshmi admits, she refused to nurse her. To silence the infant's famished cries, the impoverished village woman squeezed the milky sap from an oleander shrub, mixed it with castor oil, and forced the poisonous potion down the newborn's throat. The baby bled from the nose, then died soon afterward. Female neighbors buried her in a small hole near Lakshmi's square thatched hut of sunbaked mud. They sympathized with Lakshmi, and in the same circumstances, some would probably have done what she did. For despite the risk of execution by hanging and about 16 months of a much-ballyhooed government scheme to assist families with daughters, in some hamlets of ... Tamil Nadu, murdering girls is still sometimes believed to be a wiser course than raising them. "A daughter is always liabilities. How can I bring up a second?" Lakshmi, 28, answered firmly when asked by a visitor how she could have taken her own child's life eight years ago. "Instead of her suffering the way I do, I thought it was better to get rid of her." (All quotes from Dahlburg, "Where killing baby girls 'is no big sin'.")
A study of Tamil Nadu by the Community Service Guild of Madras similarly found that "female infanticide is rampant" in the state, . "Of the 1,250 families covered by the study, 740 had only one girl child and 249 agreed directly that they had done away with the unwanted girl child. More than 213 of the families had more than one male child whereas half the respondents had only one daughter." (Malavika Karlekar, "The girl child in India: does she have any rights?," Canadian Woman Studies, March 1995.)

The bias against females in India is related to the fact that "Sons are called upon to provide the income; they are the ones who do most of the work in the fields. In this way sons are looked to as a type of insurance. With this perspective, it becomes clearer that the high value given to males decreases the value given to females." (Marina Porras, "Female Infanticide and Foeticide".) The problem is also intimately tied to the institution of dowry, in which the family of a prospective bride must pay enormous sums of money to the family in which the woman will live after marriage. Though formally outlawed, the institution is still pervasive. "The combination of dowry and wedding expenses usually add up to more than a million rupees ([US] $35,000). In India the average civil servant earns about 100,000 rupees ($3,500) a year. Given these figures combined with the low status of women, it seems not so illogical that the poorer Indian families would want only male children." (Porras, "Female Infanticide and Foeticide".) Murders of women whose families are deemed to have paid insufficient dowry have become increasingly common, and receive separate case-study treatment on this site.

India is also the heartland of sex-selective abortion. Amniocentesis was introduced in 1974 "to ascertain birth defects in a sample population," but "was quickly appropriated by medical entrepreneurs. A spate of sex-selective abortions followed." (Karlekar, "The girl child in India.") Karlekar points out that "those women who undergo sex determination tests and abort on knowing that the foetus is female are actively taking a decision against equality and the right to life for girls. In many cases, of course, the women are not independent agents but merely victims of a dominant family ideology based on preference for male children."

Dahlburg notes that "In Jaipur, capital of the western state of Rajasthan, prenatal sex determination tests result in an estimated 3,500 abortions of female fetuses annually," according to a medical-college study. (Dahlburg, "Where killing baby girls 'is no big sin'.") Most strikingly, according to UNICEF, "A report from Bombay in 1984 on abortions after prenatal sex determination stated that 7,999 out of 8,000 of the aborted fetuses were females. Sex determination has become a lucrative business." (Zeng Yi et al., "Causes and Implications of the Recent Increase in the Reported Sex Ratio at Birth in China," Population and Development Review, 19: 2 [June 1993], p. 297.)

Deficits in nutrition and health-care also overwhelmingly target female children. Karlekar cites research


indicat[ing] a definite bias in feeding boys milk and milk products and eggs ... In Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh [states], it is usual for girls and women to eat less than men and boys and to have their meal after the men and boys had finished eating. Greater mobility outside the home provides boys with the opportunity to eat sweets and fruit from saved-up pocket money or from money given to buy articles for food consumption. In case of illness, it is usually boys who have preference in health care. ... More is spent on clothing for boys than for girls[,] which also affects morbidity. (Karlekar, "The girl child in India.")

Krishnamachari Santhanam