Politics and religion

God..
That was a word which was a part of my life every day, an average of at least ten times each day, in some form or the other. And coming from a family that would rather miss breakfast than a Sunday service, I ended up being deeply involved in my church and its associations. At times too deeply that before I even got to pass my SSLC, I got to see the grey shades of a church its members swore by. And despite its colours I found myself more endeared towards it. After all the blood that coursed my veins(and arteries) was heavily mixed the suriani christiani spirit. Ohh, ur a catholic? "No!!!". A protestant. "Oh please no!". Then? What else is there? "I'm an eastern orthodox". A what?
I come from a sect based out of Kerala perched on the western edge of India where every religion has multiple divisions. That is how religions survive in this country, by subdividing and re-dividing based on the cultural differences governing each state, each region. Each sect traces back their roots to the dinosaurs.. at least they try to; and when that fails at least to the dark ages or bright sages!
Mine doesn't do all that. We accept that we are quite recent, after Christ(anno domini), and that our ancestors were actually brahmins(so there, we are Hindu descendants, but hey brahmin ok!), and we aren't really interested in expansion(we are struggling to keep our remaining folk with ourselves so where's the talk about expansion). But then, can any good come from Nazareth? So, of course, our claim is that we were directly baptised by St. Thomas himself, so u see, we are called the St. Thomas Christians. Or in more official terms, I am a member of the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church. With a history that is as rich, colourful and diverse as our name itself. So there, in a short and sweet way, is the basic history lesson that I have got used to parroting every time someone goes "Ohh ur a catholic?". Please, not again!
Long back a friend asked me whether I was religious and I told him I was more spiritual. Recently another asked me the same question and I was confused. Not because I was not spiritual, that had only increased, but because I was also religious but in a different way. I was politically religious. I'm not even sure if that term is a fabrication of my own, but its a term that can be associated with a lot of people of my church. We are all politically religious. We are more involved in the politics of the church rather than its spiritual aspect. We love to revel in the posts and associations set up around the church more to show our leadership skills rather than for the growth of the church. And like all hard core keralites we love power. We love to be in control, not under control. But what we forget is that, to be in control we eventually have to be under control of someone. Unless we own the whole thing. Which being a religious institution we can't. God owns it. Even saying that sounds funny. But well ya, like it was shown in a not-so-recent Bollywood movie, God owns all of it. Oh My God!

Always there for me.

As I cried my heart out last night I wondered why that Messiah whom I always used to call out to suddenly left me alone. He was not there to console me as He always did, to hold me tight and tell me it would be alright, to quietly put me to sleep, to tell me He loved me more than anyone else ever could. I felt lonely, I felt lost. And taking up that cellphone I dialed the only person I could think of to pull me out this sorrow.

And he picked up the call. At 1 am in the morning when the whole world was deep in their dreams, in spite of all his weariness, he picked up my call. It was a just a hello that was needed, the feeling that my call was answered, that someone had made sure his ears were open for me, no matter what the hour is. That simple assurance was enough. He has not always been there for me, not when I wanted to tell him I got a job, when I wanted to throw a tantrum, when I simply wanted to say Hi. But he was there when I was hurt and had nowhere to turn to. And that's what I needed the most. He was older, wiser and knew relationship traumas and feelings more. He was able to sense my pain though I didn't know the words to express it in, he could feel my tears though I wasn't there before him. He knew exactly how I felt, what I thought. And with each word he said, I felt my sadness being blown away, just in a matter of some time.

Maybe I was wrong all along. My Messiah was there by my side. He told me whom to call when I needed it most. He knew what was best for me. And He led me to the green pastures, by the cool waters to soothe my mind as He always did.

The Holy Mysteries - Luminous

The next set of mysteries that constitute the Luminous is the portion in which Jesus lived on this and preached to the people. It includes his miracles and important teachings that are to be remembered forever. These are also five in number and as follows:

The Baptism: John the Baptist baptizes Jesus.

The Wedding Of Cana: The first miracle performed by Jesus at the mariage when requestd by his Mother.

The Proclamation Of The Kingdom: Jesus proclaims of his coming again and the doomsday.

The Transfiguration: The appearance of Moses and Elias when Jesus goes to pray with his disciples Peter James and John.

The Institution Of The Eucharist: The Last Supper as known to many. This is when Jesus places the Holy Eucharist before the disciples to be given to all who follow in his path.

The Holy Mysteries - Joyful

Let us start with the Joyful Mysteries. This signifies the time from the appearance of Gabriel to Mother Mary right till the event of Jesus being found in the temple. It is divided as follows into five heads:

The Annunciation: The angel Gabriel announces to Mother Mary the good news of the birth of Jesus in her womb.

The Visitation: Mother Mary pays a visit to her cousin Elizabeth who was also expecting. This child was then known as the forerunner of Jesus Christ, John the Baptist.

The Nativity: The birth of Jesus in a manger in Bethlehem.

The Presentation: The first entry of Jesus in the temple as a baby.

The Finding of Jesus: Jesus gets lost in the temple when he goes there with his parents for a feast. They then find Him there in the company of the priests and other elders of the temple.

The Prayers of the Rosary

These are the prayers that constitute the Rosary while we go on about the prayers. The main prayer which needs to be repeated at each of the small bead(which constitutes over forty three) is the "Hail Mary" which is as follows:

Hail Mary, full of grace. Our Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, our Lord Jesus Christ. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at all times and at the hour of our death. Amen.

At each of the large beads(which constitute over four) is the "Our Father" which was taught by our Lord Jesus Christ.

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and glory forever and ever. Amen.

At the crucifix which is the first point where the prayer starts, we start with the Nicene Creed(the shorter version) which comes as follows:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ His only Son, Our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into Hell; the third day He arose again from the dead; He ascended into Heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

In addition there are two prayers to be said before and after we start praying on the rosary.

Prayer Before The Rosary: Queen of the Holy Rosary, you have designed to come to Fatima and Medjugorje, to reveal to the three shepherd children and six visionaries, the treasures of grace hidden in the Rosary. Inspire my heart with a sincere love of this devotion, in order that by meditating on the Mysteries of our Redemption which are recalled in it, I may obtain peace for the world, the conversion of sinners, and the favor which I ask of you in this Rosary (Mention your request). I ask it for the greater glory of God, for your own honor, and for the good of souls, especially for my own. Amen.

Prayer After The Rosary: O God, whose only-begotten Son, by His life, death and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal life; grant, we beseech Thee, that, meditating upon these mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

In addition after the first three Hail Mary on the small beads and after every decade we say "Glory be to the Father". Here is this prayer.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Praying on the Rosary

A very spiritual thing for all Christians, the Catholics especially is the Rosary. Praying on these beads is a very important thing for all in th clan. But how many know about this chain filled with beads and a picture of the cross hanging at the end? So here it is, a small gist on what it signifies.

The rosary consists of beads which are grouped in tens and there are total of five such groups. Each is called as a decade and each decade represents an event or mystery in the life of Jesus. So there are four sets of Mysteries that the Rosary represents under the head of Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, and Glorious. These mysteries are then said on their specific days. The Apostle's Creed is said on the Crucifix; the Our Father is said on each of the Large Beads; the Hail Mary is said on each of the Small Beads; the Glory Be after the three Hail Mary's at the beginning of the Rosary, and after each decade of Small Beads.

The Lord's Prayer - With a difference

This is a simple story that might not be true but nevertheless needs to be read by all. It tells of the futility of many of us saying our prayers daily without meaning a word of it and explains what God actually needs. In the story below a boy decides to end the day with the very famous prayer which our Lord taught us "Our Father". He does it in the normal way as he always does at night before going to sleep and thinks nothing of what he says. But today is no ordinary day. The Lord has come to listen to it and this is what ensues. The bold text are replies by God to what the boy prays(which is shown in normal text).

Our Father Who Art In Heaven.

Yes?

Don't interrupt me. I'm praying.

But -- you called ME!

Called you? No, I didn't call you. I'm praying. Our Father who art in Heaven.

There -- you did it again!

Did what?

Called ME. You said, 'Our Father who art in Heaven'. Well, here I am. What's on your mind?

But I didn't mean anything by it. I was, you know, just saying my prayers for the day. I always say the Lord's Prayer. It makes me feel good, kind of like fulfilling a duty.

Well, all right. Go on.

Okay, Hallowed be thy name.

Hold it right there. What do you mean by that?

By what?

By 'Hallowed be thy name'?

It means, it means . . good grief, I don't know what it means. How in the world should I know? It's just a part of the prayer....By the way, what does it mean?

It means honoured, holy, wonderful.

Hey, that makes sense. I never thought about what 'hallowed' meant before. Thanks.

Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.

Do you really mean that?

Sure, why not?

What are you doing about it?

Doing? Why, nothing, I guess. I just think it would be kind of neat if you got control, of everything down here like you have up there. We're kinda in a mess down here you know.

Yes, I know; but, have I got control of you?

Well, I go to church.

That isn't what I asked you. What about your bad temper? You've really got a problem there, you know. And then there's the way you spend your money -- all on yourself. And what about the kind of books you read?

Now hold on just a minute! Stop picking on me! I'm just as good as some of the rest of those people at church!

Excuse ME. I thought you were praying for my will to be done. If that is to happen,
it will have to start with the ones who are praying for it. Like you -- for example.

Oh, all right. I guess I do have some hang-ups. Now that you mention it, I could probably name some others.

So could I.

I haven't thought about it very much until now, but I really would like to cut out some of those things. I would like to, you know, be really free.

Good. Now we're getting somewhere.We'll work together -- You and ME. I'm proud of You.

Look, Lord, if you don't mind, I need to finish up here. This is taking a lot longer than it usually does. Give us this day, our daily bread.

You need to cut out the bread. You're overweight as it is.

Hey, wait a minute! What is this? Here I was doing my religious duty, and all of a sudden you break in and remind me of all my hang-ups.

Praying is a dangerous thing. You just might get what you ask for. Remember, you called ME -- and here I am. It's too late to stop now. Keep praying.....Well, go on.

I'm scared to.

Scared? Of what?

I know what you'll say.

Try ME.

Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.

What about ... ?

See? I knew it! I knew you would bring her up! Why, Lord, she's told lies about me, spread stories. She never paid back the money she owes me. I've sworn to get even with her!

But -- your prayer --What about your prayer?

I didn't -- mean it.

Well, at least you're honest. But, it's quite a load carrying around all that bitterness and resentment isn't it?

Yes, but I'll feel better as soon as I get even with her. Boy, have I got some plans for her. She'll wish she had never been born.

No, you won't feel any better. You'll feel worse. Revenge isn't sweet. You know how unhappy you are -- Well, I can change that.

You can? How?

Forgive...Then, I'll forgive you; And the hate and the sin, will be Ann's problem -- not yours. You will have settled the problem as far as you are concerned.

Oh, you know, you're right. You always are. And more than I want revenge, I want to be right with You . . (sigh). All right, all right. I forgive her.

There now! Wonderful! How do you feel?

Hmmmm. Well, not bad. Not bad at all! In fact, I feel pretty great! You know, I don't think I'll go to bed uptight tonight. I haven't been getting much rest, you know.

Yeah, I know. But, you're not through with your prayer are you? Go on.

Oh, all right. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Good! Good! I'll do that. Just don't put yourself in a place where you can be tempted.

What do you mean by that?

You know what I mean.

Yeah. I know.

Okay. Go ahead. Finish your prayer.

For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

Do you know what would bring me glory -- What would really make me happy?

No, but I'd like to know. I want to please you now. I've really made a mess of things. I want to truly follow you. I can see now how great that would be.
So, tell me . . .How do I make you happy?

YOU just did.

:):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

God Still Loves the World

Every tiny star that twinkles in the night sky,
Every drop of golden rain.
Every rainbow in the sky,
Every single butterfly,
Tells the fascinating news to those who dare to hope.
And the message is
God still loves the world.

A lyric that caught me the minute I heard it. It's quite simple. Talks about every single gift that nature shows us and ends saying that all this is a sign. A sign that God Loves Us. Man has always been His greatest and most precious creation. He
created Man in His own likeness. When Man erred God was so hurt but He didn't destroy man. Instead God only punished him and sent him out of God's home. But God didn't forsake Man. Nor did He stop His love for Man. He so much loved the world that he
sent His only Son to save us from our death. To give us the new life. He gave us a second chance to help us live anew. How much can we thank Him? No words are enough to sing of His graces. No words enough for His love. No words there are to thank Him.
The only little thing that ewe could do. We better do it well. We have to love the Lord God in the same way with a unblemished heart. He resides in the Holy place. let us make our hearts holy enough for Him.

WHY GOD ALLOWS PAIN........

This is one of the best explanations of why God allows pain and suffering that I have seen...
A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation. They talked about so many things and various subjects. When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: "I don't believe that God exists."
"Why do you say that?" asked the customer.
"Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn't exist. Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can't imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things."
The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument. The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop. Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and unkempt. The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber: "You know what? Barbers do not exist."
"How can you say that?" asked the surprised barber. "I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!"
"No!" the customer exclaimed. "Barbers don't exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside."
"Ah, but barbers DO exist! That's what happens when people do not come to me."
"Exactly!" affirmed the customer. "That's the point! God, too, DOES exist! That's what happens when people do not go to Him and don't look to Him for help. That's why there's so much pain and suffering in the world."

BE BLESSED & BE A BLESSING TO OTHERS !!!!!!!

Bear your Cross

Whatever your cross, whatever your pain,
there will always be sunshine, after the rain ....
Perhaps you may stumble, perhaps even fall,
But God's always ready,To answer your call ...
He knows every heartache, sees every tear,
A word from His lips, can calm every fear ...
Your sorrows may linger, throughout the night,
But suddenly vanish, in dawn's early light ...
The Savior is waiting, somewhere above,
To give you His grace,and send you His love...
Whatever your cross,whatever your pain,
"God always sends rainbows .... after the rain ... "

To get out of difficulty, one must usually go through it !

Pisces

Being a piscean has its own charm. Hey that wasnt said by me. Many have the same view and so I wud like to put down few points on this wonderful sun sign. The characters et al. So here goes: Very few pisceans can stand being confined for long in one place. Creative, artistic, leisurel and estoric (hmmm) wid very little worldly ambition and even less attraction to wealth. They just want to live wid no care on wat tmrw holds for them adn wont strugle their way upstream. They instead swim with the current (Boring is it?). But here comes the best part. One will be impressed by the piscean charm (I told u) of manner and lazy good nature. They will rarely be aroused to violent reactions. But once they are they can be bitingly sarcastic. However they find themselves coiling back to the calm waters soon after. They know the reality but prefer to stay in their own sweet, gentle world. And here comes the important part, the one i see everywer: Most of them have possibilities of wasting time day-dreaming or going thru stuff wich is entirely useless and an unreasonable waste of time. They are quite intuitive and hav unusual talents that may surface even to their surprise. Pisces represents death or eternity of the soul. It is a composite of all that has gone before and hence u can see charcteristics of all the signs influencing them. It mite not be possible to fix one character as that belongin to these diverse ppl who may change wid every passing time to the character best suited to them. Leave them in their home ground and see the lovely pisceans coming up and exhibiting the characters all so spl to them.

The final day

As all last days even this seemed to end too soon. I dint get up early…again. But then we had breakfast (thankfully). They had kept some aside for ones who were ill or had some difficulty in that front. We joined in. Why waste breakfast wen it was available..! We entered the main hall in time for the session getting over and headed straight for the help desk. Key chains were sold there at the next table by Mary n co. Of course was full time there. A few incidents that happened there…
That Malaysian uncle asking us, “Do u always converse with each other in tamil only? We make sure we only talk in Malayalam in our churches.”
The Saudi uncle making a fuss over the t-shirts.
The Bombay girls making a scene on the same front.
Anuachacha and gang doing a scene abt the key chains. Of course they did buy 2 later.
And ya…How can I forget this competition. The MGOCSM charity challenge. This was worth one lakh and only 3 teams participated in it. And who won? Tiruchi church who were the underdogs till then. I myself heard so many giving comments on them. But they left with the grand prize proving we shud never put down anyone. So there were all of us shouting and screaming our throats out for the team that had our support. Wat a fitting finale for such a grand event.
MGOCSM had done it again. No matter the odds, they triumphed…proving that it was not jus in krla that the students movement survived. To all those ppl who talk abt good old krla and the wonderful minds there here as the spoiler, the kickback. Chennai had set the standard for how conference shud be conducted. Now everywer any conference wud be compared to this standard, this level…everyone shud live up and maintain it. This is something rite..!! it is…[:)].
Packing our bags and leaving the place made us all feel like we were leaving something spl behind. So many frnds, so many new relations, many numbers exchanged, mail ids and orkut groups formed…Felt like things wud never be the same after this. It was the first conference of such a large scale that I attended and it was the best…[:)]. Always to be cherished. Days that will never come again.

The third day

Sleeping at 12 in the nite I cant expect myself to get up early next morn. I dint and so I got up oly at 7.30 in time to get ready and hav breakfast jus to find out that some God’s child had accepted to donate all our breakfast for the next 2 days in lieu of lent..!! Not eating non-veg itself is something. Where did not having breakfast come..!? Well wat to do…We headed towards the main hall, jus sat down for session-the third part of the main theme (Celebrating and rediscovering Christ through Orthodoxy in our Service) wen Blessy chechi called me to help out for the workshops. There were supposed to be 2 and we had to arrange 19 rooms for that (I dint do 19 but then…). So we had to help out in that. Well till now ive not mentioned any one person who were there in the MGOCSM na…so here are the names…the ppl I met through as of today (the third day).
Denny- I knew this guy already. He lives close to my place but I hav no idea wer his house is. And ya he’s my route mate (means we both traverse the same route to reach our coll bus [:)])
Shaino- obv…i knew this guy since so long. Every event in his life. One frnd I’ll ever forget for one act of his, one help that he did…of course there are times I get on his nerves, never callin him for weeks or even months tog…but that’s one relationship I like n enjoy… the one I share with Shaino. [:)]
Shaji achcha/uncle- met him at the conference. He’s from avadi aussi. And all I no abt him is he’s always wid his camera mob taking pics n videos of all and sundry.
Sherrin- though I did no her before the conference knew her so close only after this conf. So here we get tog again.
Alex achacha- Conference again. He was in charge of the food committee with Jeson. Came to no dem cos blessychechi n susanchechi (who wer also der in FC) called me over at times.
Jeson- He tricked me by taking my mob and msgin that he was a girl. Nearly believed him till he flawed one step.
Nithin- Conference. He’s Denny’s room mate.
Hmmm…So coming back to the workshops. It was taken care of by Jugnu aunty. And after getting everything ready they cancelled off one session of the workshop (there was supposed to be 2). Anyhow I ended up helping for flower arrangement and wat did I get…? 2 sets of bouquets (3 actually). Such beautiful flowers arranged wonderfully. It is truly an art of its own.
Well after the workshops we broke for tea and I headed to the main hall to take care of the t-shirt counter and that’s wer I got to know Jobin. Now wat do I say abt this guy. One non-stop chatter box, full of energy, always bringing a smile on the face...even wen he’s angry !!...Im still in touch…No that sentence is wrong…He’s still in touch…calling up everyday to enquire abt me…why…?? Whatever it is he’s different as so many others. Hmmm…so this was a place wer I met so many ppl (guys to be precise). Sets of them comin over, askin for t-shirts, arguing over the ones we give, checking it for ‘manufacturing defects’, giving orders et al. this is wen I knew how dangerous handling money was. One small mistake and I’ll hav to shell out 150 for naught. I’ll stop with the t-shirt thing here. Let me talk abt dinner. Dinner with alex, shaji, blessy, susan, jobin and nithin. We missed Tom Alter’s play but I was able to view another play I never wud hav otherwise. ‘The salt and hot water’ play that hapnd that morn at 5 in the morn. I mite elucidate it later but no space here. Anyways it was a dinner to remember.
Shud I go on to the ideal unit competition? Nope, I’ll jus give the pics. One can understand how much was there from that itself. But Bangalore team was too good. That concept was very different, creative idea to show a nice concept. It went on til 2.30 in the morn.

And very few of us (jus me n Lini along with AMMA ppl) were up till then shouting and encouraging. That AMMA gang…I think I shud give a separate page for them itself. They came from so far off and I cant believe Chennai had such a strong MGOCSM group. But it did. A group of smart, talented, sophisticated young people. It shows how active the Chennai church was once upon a time. It does make me feel sad that group is missing now. I don’t mean the ones now are not good. Otherwise how wud they hav done such a gr8 event, taken it forward so far, planned it all so well, made it such a success. But still that gang was even better. There was a josh in there, a sort of oneness, even after so many yrs we cud see a bonding among them all that was lacking in us. Sadly yes…they were tog in words and action, we were together only in words. Made me wish I was born then. At least just to hav seen this wonderful set grow up.

The second day

Centum Glorios started on a holy note the next morn. We had the English Holy Communion celebrated by HG Dr Yacoub Mar Iraneous and accompanied by the Broadway Cathedral Choir.

After that was we headed to the cafeteria to have our breakfast and a lil bit of freshening up.

This was followed by the sessions for that day. Oxygen started of with the praise and song worship for the day. And den we had Dr. P.C. Alexander giving a gist of the moments he relished being with the MGOCSM. The next session which was a the second portion of the main theme (Celebrating and rediscovering Christ through Orthodoxy in our Study) was given by Rev. Fr. Philip Thomas. We then broke for lunch.

Do ask me whether I listened to any of the above discourses..? Well no..i tried to catch up on those ppl with whom I knew I wud never get a chance to be wid after this conference. So there I was at the help desk, at the reception, all around the place, enjoying this beauty never seen in the city and also enjoyin it with the ppl I like most...[J] After lunch we were supposed to be back for the T20 talk by Valson Thampu…Lik I did..!! Hey but I dint go cos v had to dress up…u see the public meeting was starting at 4…many senior members of our church from Chennai were gonna come for it…and as part of the celebs we were singing the MGOCSM centenary anthem. It was to be sung by a 100 member choir as shown…count it..!!

And I was in a sari that day…and as usual it was tied bad..!! Thankfully Vineeta was there…as always the now ‘kochamma’ helped out. Cha..!! a kid one yr younger than me did it for me…that’s wen I decided I’m gonna learn to tie it on my own…hmmm back to the past…so sari tied, practice over and we all stepped into the main hall. That’s wen they called us over to sing the welcome song for the thirumenis (Thobashalom). The hall was empty with few of us in there. We took our places. The first ones to enter were the laymen, then the tirumenis entered and we started our song. The rest all I remember is clicks, clicks n clicks (Camera yaar !!). But I dint expect so much. Everyone who had a camera was der taking snaps. Imagine 20+ of them clicking away, focusing their cameras on u as us sing…mite be normal for many but not for me…I was taken aback…dint no weder to laugh, stare or act normal (that I cudnt !!). Of course I faced this once again wen we sang as a 100 member choir but then it dint seem as much as it did now…!! But felt spl for that second [;)]. Small things u can turn back n smile at in life…Ok. I said so much abt this dint talk abt the public meeting. Well guess wat to bring the tirumenis and priests to the main hall we had a procession of ‘chenda mellam’ (characteristic of krla) called from there [:)] and of the band playing…but then ya…the chenda mellam took all the attention.

There were speeches as usual. In the middle of one speech all of us walked out (act v wanted to change) but it was so obvious wid 60+ of us walkin out and that dignitary was like “They think they know it all and so don’t want to listen”…Hmmmm.!! So lets get over with the public meeting and get on with the fireworks…how lovely u no…too good, amazing ones…esp the one which went like worms on the sky…so colourful and ending with the MGOCSM one…

Then we had the extempore ‘Talk Your Way To Jerusalem’. There were 5 finalists, good topics, few spoke well in that. But ya extempore is difficult. I shudnt speak abt it. I cant even do my presentations properly. Anyhow the winner decided we went to the next prog the rock show..!! The one wich had so many controversies and caused ppl to make such big issues in krla..!! Well wat r progs without any controversies. It just shows how much famous this conference was. [J] Anyways so coming to the show there were 4 churches participating and we were supporting Chennai. We have to..!! but still Bombay was amazing. I have to admit it…they’re song selection and the way they sang…in parts…jus four voices but strong ones…too good it was…and of course so it was easy to decide the winner. And to end the day in a spl way we had a live show by Swapna Abraham- a famous gospel singer. Oh her voice..!! the most amazing one among all that ive heard…gave me goosebumps…felt there was nothing else worth doing than listening to her day and nite. But then all good things come to an end and this day too did. At 12 midnite all of us said good nite (shud hav been Gud Morning) and went off to sleep…so here ends the second day.

Centum Glorios-12th Jan 2008

Seems jus lik yday…ok ok…I no…all memoirs start this way. But its true. Spl days will always be fresh in mind. And so abt the 12^th of Jan.

I rem waking up at 5.30 all on my own (somethin ive never done in my 4 yrs of coll life), getting ready and all set asking my dad to drop me at the chetput church(“fast pappa, the bus will be der at 6.15 sharp”), and as most eager fathers do mine too dropped me rite on time der. Den started de wait (wid reji, frenchi and a no of others from my church). Waitin til 8..!!.it did come finally and guess wich bus…my coll bus.!!. Act they had booked my coll buses only for the first 2 days. I entered the bus and the driver was lik “Amma, dis bus is not going to coll”...!! Lik I dint no. Did he think I was crazy to attend coll on holidays…esp pongal holidays.

Anyways the initial trouble notwithstanding v continued our journey. Thru teynampet, cenotaph road, kotturpuram, crossing Madhya kailash and Tidal Park and den on thru ECR…on n on n on. Past VGP, Mayajaal, MGM, past my coll, a glance over the start of mahabs…still goin on n on…until v wer sure thy wer planning to take us to Pondicherry..!! But then jus a small distance before the UT cud be reached the bus slowed down, took a slight turn and entered a gate wid an overhanging board saying “Welcome to Transworld Dhyana Nilayam”….hmmm…

And der v got down like the good children v are, picked up r bags and on towards the registration area to collect r stuff, id cards and directions for our dorms. But before proceeding to the rooms v did the first thing most of us do…rush to the cafeteria for r food. It was a nice breakfast(at 10.30)..!!..more like brunch. And den after a wash n some freshening up v went to the main hall for the inaugural.

In addition to the addresses by the various heads of the organization v had the rendition of the 100^th Year Anthem by the MGOCSM members of the Chennai church.

This was followed by the flag hosting ceremony outside wid the various delegates posing with der team. And den each wer given a balloon asked to wish for something spl and send it to heaven…Direct to God :)

V broke for lunch to be back for the ice-breaker session conducted by our church very own, very dear Mohan Daniel uncle. He always has such wonderful ideas ready to make us interact with each other, to get us into the mood of the conference. No idea from wer he gets all the ideas, but he gets the best. Or maybe the way he presents them makes even mundane things seem enjoyable.

Well after that v had the sing song by the Oxygen group of our church. A bunch of young guys n girls who enjoy singing and use music as a tool to get u closer to the Lord. They had some amazing songs and dey treated us to those songs everyday for half hour.

After so much of fun, well, there had to be some serious work too. Some work for r mind and soul. So here v go on to the main address of the day:
Celebrate n rediscover Christ thru orthodoxy in our worship---Rev Fr Dr John Mathews
And the T20 talks by Philip Kurivilla achen and Kuruvilla George

Well I cant say much abt the above 3 since I cant spin such big stories. I’ll confess. I wasn’t der for any of the talks rite from D1 to the last…Im not proud abt this fact and I wont say I was so busy. I act made sure I somehow got myself busy by doing something jus to avoid them. I was never an avid listener of speeches and it really takes too much of effort to make me one so I dint take the chance. Hey but I heard tht few talks wer really good…told by my mom who dint attend the conference..!! Well she used to read these talks wich wer published in the Manorama.

Im skipping the next talk too, one by Rev Fr Thomas Ninan (the reason is obvious-hey nothing against the achens…trust me), but I want to talk abt the Gregorian worship tht we had. It was awesome(to say in one word). I cant describe the feeling I had there…sitting wid no lights on, jus the candles burning giving tht calm, sometimes eerie atmosphere, wer u cud feel ur own breath, every small twitch tht ur body makes. It made us feel like v wer in a different place, far far away from earth, wer u cud feel the presence of the Unseen, the perfect place wer anyone will fall down on their feet n pray. And to add to all this wer the pictures. Those images wer so lovely, never seen many of tht type. I think they are Gregorian style ones, but ones in wich each character was given so deep features making them all so real, drawing u to them.

That was it for the first day. It broke early for the first day na?..Yes it did. V wer al in r beds by 12. Too early but then tht was cos it was the first day. And of course v had mass the next morn. At 7. And so all had to be in bed early to wake up early. So g’nite for now.

And here are the pics:

MGOCSM Centenary Anthem: Centum Glorios

Unaroo yuve hridayangalae…

Bharatham uyarnnu varumbol unarnoo varoo…

Ningal munnil varoo…

Aaradhana…vigyaanam…sevanam

Nammude lakshyam…daivaniyogam….. (unaroo)

** Snaehamrithamaay ozhugivarunorru

Daivakripayil…Thomasleehayaal

Sthapitham aayoru Malankara orthodox

Sabhayuda…arumma santhanamae…

Parumala thirumeniyae…kochu thirumeniyae…

Maha…parishudhanae (unaroo)

**Angayude namathil kondadum…

Shathabdi aagoshikkum vidyarthi prasthanathae

Than karangalal thaangi nadathum pon thirumeniyae

Daiva mahathwam vazhthattae…

Nin thirunaamam vazhthattae…vazhthattae… (unaroo)

**Samooha nanmakk aadharamayoru

Swabhava shudhi samskkaram aadarshangal…evide uyarthattae….

Lokam aagae unarthattae…nammude vidyarthi prasthanam…

Aayiram aayiram hadha bhagyaraam

Paavangal kkanugrahamai theerattae…. (unaroo)

Centum Glorious: 100 yrs of MGOCSM

MGOCSM stands for Mar Gregorios Orthodox Christian Student Movement

MGOCSM is the students wing of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, It was formed to bring together Orthodox students at colleges and high schools levels and to create in them fellowship among them. Initially the movement was started in 1907 by a group of Students and Senior leaders in Madras under the name 'Syrian Student Conference' and its first Annual meeting was held at Thiruvalla on January 1, 1908.The "Syrian Student Conference" assumed its present name "MGOCSM" with the motto "Worship, Study, Service" in the year 1960. It is the oldest Christian Organization in India.

So this year being the 100th yr since its inception MGOCSM had their annual conference in Chennai wich was held from the 12-15th of Jan. at the Transworld Radio’s Dhyana Nilayam East Coast Road, Near Mahabalipuram, Chennai with the theme
"Celebrating and Rediscovering Christ through Orthodoxy in our Worship, Study and Service"

One month has passed by and I stil am not able to get out of the hold tht it captured me into…maybe cos it was the first conference I attended, I knew many ppl there…but whatever I know it was excellent…cos it was organized by the best minds in our church, in our diocese…selfless ppl who spent so much of their precious time jus to make this a success…the MGOCSM of the Chennai diocese-past and present.

The turnout was amazing which shows the amt of publicity given to it…a record 850 registrations (maximum in any MGOCSM conference history), the crowd from Bombay, Delhi, all the way from Malaysia and the gulf, it was a treat to hear different languages in each part of the campus.

I want to put a few words abt how the conference was but im not able to start..want to say abt everything, so many things…wer and how…? I think I’ll start wid the place…

Transworld Dhyana Nilayam: On the ECR even further from Mahabalipuram is this centre built for the sole purpose of wich its name signifies...retreat, dhyanam...and wat a place...When the buses entered the place on 12th morn the first sight was a shamiana beside the reception hall put up to serve for registraions..this place had dorms(4 in all) the biggest i had ever seen wid bunker beds(pillows bedsheets and towels provided)...there wer spl cottages for guests each a petite one room comfortable for the short stay, away from the crowd and still not distant....there was a mansion type for the thirumenis..sadly i dint get to see it full...there was a cafeteria wich cud fit the entire lot of us and in-house cooks to serve breakfast, lunch n dinner..the food was real good all 4 days esp wen u see the crowd they had tp provide for..and of course the conference hall..tht was at the end of the site and beyond it was the beach...the Bay of Bengal in all its beauty...and all this was not crammed up...so much of free area jus for us to run around and enjoy...never making us feel claustrophobic....the place was the first push tht made us move further inside and feel at home so much away from the same....
More abt those 4 days in later posts....till then hav fun and take care...
Celebrate and Rediscover Christianity in every act u do....

Y do v need to pray ?

This was a topic i started in r community in orkut...and i got so many replies from such a large no of wonderful ppl...some of them even researched jus to get the answers wid link and all....wat can i say than jus put down all tht i learned from them.....in short...a a summary...

Prayer is not just a petition of our needs and wants in this world but constant conversation with God cos, we understand Him as the one who loves us the most, as the One who lives in us....V need Him just like all humans need air, water, food, family and friends to survive. Faith is a way of life for us wich keeps us sane in today's mad, world....Prayer is where we establish our relationship with God...Christ sustains us, and He is a part of our lives....But in order to open up our hearts to Christ,we need to establish a relationship with Him in prayer...Prayer makes God more accessible to the believer...Prayer is a way of training the will to desire the good, as well as of turning our wills towards the highest concentration of all good, namely God...God wants us to have a part in the task of shaping this world through prayer and knowledge and work
By prayer we do change reality. God has given us that power...But this power is not available to us until we become more godlike...
In prayer the first focus is God. The second focus is other people. Only in the third place should we ask things for ourselves.....

And the following are my additions...wat i felt abt prayer..how i had seen it....

Prayer is one way how v learn to move closer to God, in wich v approach the goodness of God...it helps us to renew our relationship wid the person who created us...jus lik a daily conversation wid our mom or dad brings us close together...this is one way wer v can talk to r heavenly father...but y talk to Him wen v hav our parents..? cos He's the reason v hav our parents....He's left a part of Himself widin me jus lik my dad's left a part of himself in me...i look to my dad to und hw i can be more lik him...similarly i pray to God to find out how i can be more like Him....Will he answer me wen i ask somethin...??...thts somethin i hav to find out on my own...Prayer makes me understand my vulnerability...is it good...??...it makes me feel that there is somethin above me much stronger wich has control over my life....It makes me feel human....Prayer makes me believe in miracles....
So do u pray...?..if not ur missing something....ur missing a part of urself u ill never no otherwise...try them out....

"nanniyoda njaan sthuthi paadeedum yente yeshu naadha
yennikkaay nee cheythoru nannmaykkay ennum nanni chollidum njaan"