[BookReview] "Hindu Dharma : The Universal Way of Life" by Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi MahaSwamiji of Kanchi Kamkoti Peetham

An excellent Book on Sanatana Dharma published by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.
Written by Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi MahaSwamiji of Kanchi Kamkoti Peetham. 

Hinduism/Sanatana Dharma is so vast that like a sprawling Banyan tree it's difficult to grasp its vastness. This extremely difficult task is made to look feasible by the effortless yet authoritative voice of this Seer.

It describes both a Bird's eyeview and a peek into the internal workings of this vast, great and Sanatana Dharma. Describes all the Vedas, Shastras, Ved-angas :

http://www.kamakoti.org/newlayout/template/hindudharma.html

A monumental work by Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi, the (erstwhile) Shankaracharya of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham.

This is like a breath of fresh air from the very source of Hindu culture and spiritualism.

It gives insight into the whys of religious and social practises and how they weave the culture and religion into an indivisible whole.

Great people have the capacity to explain complex and subtle things in the simplest of words.
Words which stand the test of changing times as they connect with the eternal.

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan has done a great service to mankind by publishing these very words.

=====
[My opinion on why we should read this book: Hindu Dharma]

We are constantly being bombarded by opinionated media on Hinduism.
For people getting confusing signals from "secular", "westernized" and opinionated views of Hinduism
This is like a breath of fresh air from the very source of Hindu culture and spiritualism.

Many of the things said in this book may not be exactly "mod" or even sound "counter intuitive" to the Westernized Indian (like myself) of today.

The fact is I've been so out of touch with my own culture that I identify and know more about foreign culture than my own roots.
I feel like a xeroxed American in my own land. This book is an important step in getting back in touch with my own roots.

This is because we're aping the ways of the West esp. now the American ways.
Without seeing the undesirable things that are creeping into our society.
Unfettered freedom leads to degeneration and decadence a la "Roman Orgies".

The western media and its "indian" counterpart has thoroughly brain-washed us into visions of "Progress".
Seeing the state of our US brethren struggling with drugs, teenage sex, crime and bare-faced consumerism doesn't spell much progress as far as I can see.
Big business trying to sell all kinds of things to lonely people (split from their families and easy prey).
This is packaged as "freedom of choice" and "standard of living" instead of a fall in a sense of values.

==========

The kamakoti.org has transcribed the book with help from students of BITS Pilani for online access :http://www.kamakoti.org/newlayout/template/hindudharma.html

http://www.kamakoti.org/tamil/ (the original Tamil version Deivatthin Kural)

1) Origin of the Universe from Omkara : 
Excerpts from the book 'The Vedas' by Sri Chandrashekharendra Saraswati Shankaracharya of Kanchi Kama Koti Peetham :http://www.arunachalavedas.org/pdfs/The_Vedas.pdf

[Book Review] 7 Secrets of Hindu Calendar Art: Insight into the Meaning Behind the Symbols of Hindu Mythology

Devdutt Pattanaik is quite good at explaining the symbols in more concrete ways while still retaining the esoteric meaning.

It has 7 visually engaging chapters on Ganesh, Vishnu, Lakshmi, Shiva/Shankara, Devi, Brahma.
The closest thing I can think of is that at first glance it looks like a "Dummies Guide to Hindu Symbols through Calendar Art". It uses a few illustrative calendars with text "bubbles" to identify each element of the symbolism.
Looks can be deceiving though.
The text then goes on to explain in more detail how the whole tapestry is built out of seemingly simple symbols to convey a very deep meaning.
Though the author steers clear of going in too deep (to avoid losing his audience who may not yet be ready for whole thing) the symbols he's talking about are at the heart of Tantra and much of other branches of Hinduism.

He follows the difficult path of "Being as simple as possible but no simpler" without distorting the implied meaning at the heart of the symbol. It's a bit like explaining General Relativity to a child while trying to retain scientific truth.

We take our myths in our stride in India, esp. I guess the "educated" people. Reading up on the esoteric meaning behind the symbols makes you really think how much our ancients went deep into the human nature and the depths of the Universe.

Lord Vishnu's lies on a serpent called Ananta (the Infinite) with 3 and half coils on KshirSagara ocean of milk. Super explanation of what each of the symbols stand for. After reading this visiting a temple was an eye-opening event.

I never looked at Calendar art as more than a slightly over coloured, slightly garish visualization of gods/goddeses (like our film posters). But that was before reading this book.

Links:
Devdutt Pattanaik's Blog has many interesting articles: http://devdutt.com
Book webpage : http://devdutt.com/7-secrets-from-hindu-calendar-art/
Decoding Lakshmi: http://devdutt.com/decoding-lakshmi/
Lakshmi is symbolised by the over-flowing pot. (TODO)
Garba (Dance of the Pot): http://devdutt.com/the-dance-of-the-pot/
The Song of the Crow (From Finite to Infinite) : http://devdutt.com/the-song-of-the-crow/
Chimera vs Nava-Gunjara (Unity in Diversity) :  http://devdutt.com/the-flawed-gaze/
Nath-Jogis: http://devdutt.com/legends-of-the-nath-jogis/
Hamsa (goose not swan?!) : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamsa_(bird)

Nature Versus Nurture (Some thoughts on RoseBuds, Children and Self Realization)

Got this forward called 'God's Rosebud' which indicates the role of ego .

This is a generic forward originating from some western religious sites. 

Also found it on SpeakingTree : http://www.speakingtree.in/spiritual-blogs/seekers/god-and-i/gods-rosebud

==========

GOD'S ROSEBUD

: A new preacher was walking with an older, more seasoned preacher in the garden one day.
Feeling a bit insecure about what God had for him to do, he was asking the older preacher for some advice.
The older preacher walked up to a rosebush and handed the young preacher a rosebud and told him to open it without tearing off any petals.
The young preacher looked in disbelief at the older preacher and was trying to figure out what a rosebud could possibly have to do with his wanting to know the will of God for his life and ministry.
But because of his great respect for the older preacher, he proceeded to try to unfold the rose, while keeping every petal intact. It wasn't long before he realized how impossible this was to do. Noticing the younger preacher's inability to unfold the rosebud without tearing it,the older preacher began to recite the following poem...

"It is only a tiny rosebud,
A flower of God's design;
But I cannot unfold the petals
With these clumsy hands of mine."
"The secret of unfolding flowers
Is not known to such as I.
GOD opens this flower so easily,
But in my hands they die."

"If I cannot unfold a rosebud,
This flower of God's design,
Then how can I have the wisdom
To unfold this life of mine?"
"So I'll trust in God for leading
Each moment of my day.
I will look to God for guidance
In each step along the way."
"The path that lies before me,Only my Lord and Savior knows.
I'll trust God to unfold the moments,
Just as He unfolds the rose."

=========

Set me thinking as to what, how much and why we should try teaching to our children.

Should we leave to themselves without interfering in their development.
Because sooner or later they will come up against the same wall of uncertainty, limitations and resulting frustrations and questions that people have had for aeons.


As Kabir says :
"Dheeray Dheeray Re Mana, Dheeray Sab Kuchh Hoye
Maali Seenchay So Ghada, Ritu Aaye Phal Hoye"

At most we can tend the rose bush by giving it access to earth, sunlight, air and water.
The gardener however is optional, as God has made each living thing capable of fending for itself and developing itself.

There are many wild Rose bushes which prosper without any gardener.
Children are like that too. They grow irrespective of parents, teachers, society.

Why then do we need schools and other institutions to pass on things? If we do need them How much do we need them?

Too much of these  things will harm the Rose bush and too little will also harm it.

The only role of gardener is to supply the things that the Rose bush requires at appropriate times in appropriate quantities (appropriate to the needs of the bush - NOT the gardener). The gardener will disappear but a tree he planted may live for many centuries. The key words being 'appropriate to the need' I think.

Things are required in different doses at different 'Ritus' of life.
Our ancient 'Rishis' made the different 'Ashrams' for this reason.
The Rishis also realized that not all people are having same goals - Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksha. They also saw that at different times/circumstances people can change their views and goals. This happens as a result of their Samskaras and their life experiences.

The Rishis insight into 'Ritam' the foundation of 'Ritu', showed them how one can co-operate with the inner and outer Nature i.e. atma and param-atma.

Like the sugar pills of Homeopathy, they mixed in different potencies of medicine (Parmatma) through stories, songs, rituals.
The more diluted the potency the more powerful and long-lasting the effect.

Children at young stage want stories of Bala-Krishna (or today's Chotta-Bhim or SuperBoy)
Teens want stories of hero-worship (Krishna's adventures in an Adult world or today's Superman/Batman).
Adults want stories of self fulfillment (Ramayana/MahaBharat - Kings/Queens controlling Nature/Others)
Older people want stories of experience and wisdom (Yoga - controlling Self)

However with the advent of British education all this was discarded.
That system was trying to supply British administration with clerks and staff.
People who follow orders and don't think (too much) for themselves.
Today the same system supplies MNCs with clerks and staff.

Each person comes with his own unique combination of desires, goals, experiences and Samskaras. So each person needs his own unique path to self-realization. This unique path he/she has to walk by oneself. With the help of their own Inner Guru. The Outer Guru can only point the way. The exact specific steps etc have to be taken by the person.
The needs of the person are of prime importance. 

As Rajiv Malhotra describes in his book 'Being Different' - this is the Pull-mode of Santana Dharma i.e. the person takes as per his/her 'Patrata' (in English we can very loosely translate this as a phrase - Requirement-Need-DigestionPower etc).This is quite different from the Push-mode of other religions.

All we can hope to do is to go back to our own Roots of Ritam.
And re-discover the connection with Parmatma.
Whether we succeed or not depends on efforts of parents, teachers and most importantly guidance from realized Gurus.

Abandonment vs. Attachment. The middle path seems like a balanced way.

Rest is between the Rose bush, the Rose and God.

Learning Sanskrit via Vagyoga. Mnemonic fun techniques vs. Rote-Learning

Note: 
Please add comments below this blog I'll reply back when possible (maybe a long gap).
I'm unable to reply to individual queries on private email-ids.

Need to restart my learning as I'm busy with some work right now. 
This time I'll be maintaining a wiki to take down points to remember from each lesson.

I've now reached Varna Padam Lesson7 of 'Vagyoga Sanskrit Mnemonic Technique'

It's absolutely delightful to re-discover old words and see them in a new light.

Need breaks between lessons to assimilate so much information into useful knowledge.

To find links to barely-understood words, phrases and stories.

Just started with Word-based examples in Lesson6 of Varna Padam.

Already the much improved approach of 'sandhi-vichhed' is showing results.

It allows to get at core meaning of words (used blindly or by-habit till now).

'Sanskrit Made Easy' book with clear diagrams and additional examples helps reinforce the core concepts. It also helps makes the meaning stick in one's mind.

How I started on this journey to learn Sanskrit in a totally different way:

My dear late father used to explain many words based on 'dhatu's to us even as children.

Words would be from Konkani, Marathi, Hindi, Telugu or Sanskrit words.

As a child he'd learnt Sanskrit the traditional way.

But as a grown up he relied more on his intuition of dhatu's than on memorized grammatical rules. And that's how he taught us to look at words and languages.

He had a good enough knowledge of Sanskrit having studied for Pandit exam.

He would come up with intuitive hints by just dipping into his experiences.

Lately I've been digging into spiritual meanings of Yoga terms.

Naturally I was missing my father's insight into 'dhatu's of these esoteric words.

A few books would explain some terms in akshara/dhatu forms but the majority of terms remained unexplained. Some other books chose particular English interpretations of terms - sometimes completely out-of-context with the subject matter. Not wanting to rely on someone else's skewed interpretation left me with little options.

With my limited knowledge of Sanskriti I didn't the knowledge-base that my father did.

Understanding Vagyoga technique is made much easier because of the foundation my father laid in my childhood. All this in a very 'sahaj' and natural way.

For a long time I asked myself 'How to learn Sanskrit in this intuitive and delightful way?'.

What I needed was a natural, scientific yet intuitive way to understand Sanskrit - from roots to leaves.

Given the number of masters in any field there had to be someone out there who had already brought this art to full bloom?

Yet, internet searches only yielded small nuggets of information on 'akshara' meanings etc.

What I really admire in Vagish-Shastri-ji's method of teaching Sanskrit:

Thank God that I was lucky enough to find a person who had already done this - Shri Vagish Shastri. Someone who was not only intuitive enough to understand the 'rasa/bhaav' in the 'akshara's and 'shabda's, But he'd also invented and perfected the method over many years.

Someone who could explain the technique to even foreigners in a systematic, step-by-step and scientific way. Even as an Indian I find myself having to re-think or correct some incorrect pronounciation or conceptual understanding of languages.

In many places I'm forced to think why Shri Vagish-ji is stressing on some fine-points in the video.

When I think it over for some time I see why it's required - to understand the language clearly and not to by-heart some rules.  Esp. the part about Chhandas, as it's not stressed at all in teaching Hindi .

Sanskrit being a Mantric language is superbly precise, evocative of various bhaavas and supremely flexible to accomodate any idea.

As a loose analogy - Aksharas are like elements in Periodic Table. When they join together they form Molecules and compounds. Adding pre-fixes and suffixes changes the properties of the root word (dhatu) in predictable way. So if you know the chemistry of the language (Rasa-Shastra) then you can make any combination of 'shabda', 'vakya' and even 'kaavya' exactly as you like.

As Shri Vagish-ji explains so simply and elegantly - what binds them together is 'Natural Law'.

Today I understand what a priviledge and supreme advantage it is to know Indian languages to study Sanskrit. I'll be doing all I can in ensuring that I pass on this knowledge to my son and daughter over time.

There is so much more that I would like to convey but I'll put a running commentary as I do the course on my blog for future reference.
============
The video courses(http://vagyoga.co.in/Sanskrit_at_home.pdf) are available from the contact number at the vagyoga website (http://vagyoga.co.in)http://www.vagyoga.co.in/aboutus.htm 

Video VagYoga Video Mnemonic method to learn sanskrit : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ff4-Ew6Ie6M

Books on learning sanskrit easily : http://www.vagyoga.co.in/publications.htm

Note : Please be sure to mention if you are an Indian as you'll get the videos at special price of Rs. 350 or so. You can download from link sent via email (vagyoga at hotmail.com)

15 videos Varna Padam (book available)
27 videos Pada Padam (no book)
no video Vakya Padam (book available)
Bhagvat Gita (70 audio cassettes in mp3 files

Guruji Vagish Shastri received Honour from President of India for his contribution towards Sanskrit : https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=579289488830632

 

============

See Also : 
0) Amazing insight into "Why Sanskrit is so special" : http://uttishthabharata.wordpress.com/2011/04/20/sanskrit
1) Learning Sanskrit Videos : http://vimeo.com/user4149423/videos
2) Learning Sanskrit without memorizing huge number of rules. Instead stories and principles behind why the rules are so : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ff4-Ew6Ie6M
3) Learning Sanskrit in a new easy to remember Mnemonic method :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zynGfJv_ElY
4) Wikipedia Picture shows evolution of Akshara written form from Brahmi :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Skriptit-plain.svg
5) Some information on evolution of Scripts in Indian Languagages.
For example why is Telugu script so different from Hindi?
http://www.kamakoti.org/hindudharma/part6/chap5.htm

"In Quest of God : A Pilgrimage to Kailash-Manasarovar" by Nitish Bharadwaj & Monisha Bharadwaj

In Quest of God : A Pilgrimage to Kailash-Manasarovar

By Monisha Bharadwaj, Nitish Bharadwaj
Publisher : India Book House

Book info at google books: http://books.google.co.in/books/about/In_Quest_of_God.html?id=oxgWAAAACAAJ

About the Book : - Lake Manasarovar, an expanse of sparkling blue water sprawling over several miles, and the snow clad Mount Kailash are considered by Hindus to be the centre of the universe. The holy lake is believed to be the seat of Brahma the Creator and Mount Kailash the abode of Lord Shiva and his consort, Parvati. The entire area covering many thousands miles is an oasis of peace and serenity.

About the Author : - Monisha Bharadwaj studied Ancient Indian History and graduated from the London School of Journalism. Her unparalleled knowledge of Indian culture imbues her writings with the essence of India. Great Diamonds of India is the culmination of five years of research in India and London.An internationally acknowledged author, her books include The Indian Pantry, The Indian Kitchen, Inside India Quintessential Indian Style, Indian Beauty Secrets, and Stylish Indian in Minutes (IBH). She co-authored In Quest of God: A Pilgrimage to Kailash-Mansarovar (IBH). The Indian Pantry was short listed for the coveted Andre Simon Award (UK) and the UK Guild of Food Writers Award. It received the Literary Award in 2001 from the Academie Gastronomische in Germany.Nitish Bharadwaj has been a student of Sanskrit and the Hindu scriptures since the age of four and has had the opportunity to interact and learn from a great number of spiritual masters. A passionate photographer, he has travelled all over India, capturing the countrys natural heritage and ancient temple architecture. He is also a prolific actor, best known for his unsurpassed performance of Lord Krishna in the epic television series Mahabharata.The authors made their pilgrimage to Kailash-Mansarovar in May-June 2001 with their guru HH Swami Sadyojata Shankarashrama.

http://www.fishpond.in/Books/Quest-of-God-Monisha-Bharadwaj-Nitish-Bharadwaj/9788175083509

http://www.fishpond.in/Books/Journey-to-Land-of-Shiva-Pankaj-K-Singh/9788186880944

[Book Review] Amar Chitra Katha Complete Collection - Best Buy of my Lifetime

The best investment you can make to give your home and kids a imaginative and colourful introduction to Indian Sanskriti, History and Wisdom passed down through the ages. AMAR chitra katha indeed (Immortal illustrated stories). 300 individual comics plus 10 Special Issues.

Opening the package made me jump back to my childhood as we scouted the IBH book-store for unexplored titles with my father and brothers. Sundays spent scouring second-hand book stalls for as yet unread titles (50 paise for no-cover titles and 1 rupee for titles with front cover).  Met many old friends today as I went through all the books and even found some new ones.

Summer holidays filled with mangoes and ice-cream and bike rides and cricket. Hours spent reading and re-reading the timeless classics created by Anant Pai (Uncle Pai) and his creative team.

I'd been meaning to get the whole collection for quite some time now. But kept putting it off as the home is already choc-a-block full of books already. Seeing the superb discount from flipkart it was an easy decision to snap up these timeless INDIAN classics.

Now I'm enjoying reading the stories to my son (and in future to my daughter too) and enjoying. For the first time seeing many titles with the beautiful front-cover artwork. Started reading with 'Ganesha' and 'Sudama' today.

This set included Following titles.

1. Krishna
2. Hanuman
3. The Sons of Rama
4. Rama
5. The Gita
6. Shiva Parvati
7. Nala Damayanti
8. Chanakya
9. Ganesha
10. Buddha
11. Savitri
12. Tales of Vishnu
13. Hanuman To The Rescue
14. Tales of Durga
15. Ganga
16. Krishna And Rukmini
17. Vivekananda
18. Krishna And Jarasandha
19. Elephanta
20. Tales of Narada
21. Angulimala
22. Krishna And Narakasura
23. Raman of Tenali
24. Indra And Shibi
25. Tales of Arjuna
26. Mahiravana
27. Bheema And Hanuman
28. Kumbhakarna
29. Karttikeya
30. Shakuntala
31. Karna
32. Sudama
33. Abhimanyu
34. Bheeshma
35. Mirabai
36. Ashoka
37. Prahlad
38. The Churning of The Ocean
39. Rani of Jhansi
40. The Jackal And The Wardrum
41. The Lord of Lanka
42. Draupadi
43. Monkey Stories
44. Subhas Chandra Bose
45. Birbal The Wise
46. Vali
47. Garuda
48. Rabindranath Tagore
49. Tales of Shiva
50. Sati And Shiva
51. Tulsidas
52. Tansen
53. Jackal Stories
54. Elephant Stories
55. Deer Stories
56. Choice of Friends
57. Birbal The Witty
58. Birbal The Clever
59. Birbal The Just
60. How The Jackal Ate The Elephant
61. Crows And Owls
62. The Brahmin And The Goat
63. Rana Pratap
64. Shivaji
65. Drona
66. Surya
67. Indra And Shachi
68. Vikramaditya
69. Malavika
70. Dasharatha
71. Dhruva And Ashtavakra
72. Ancestors of Rama
73. Jataka Tales : Bird Stories
74. Jataka Tales: The Magic Chant
75. Jataka Tales: The Giant And The Dwarf
76. Jataka Tales: The Mouse Merchant
77. Harischandra
78. Kesari The Flying Thief
79. Madhvacharya
80. Birbal The Inimitable
81. Raman The Matchless Wit
82. Mahabharata
83. Panchatantra : The Greedy Mother-In-Law
84. Gopal And Jester
85. Panchatantra : The Dullard And Other Stories
86. Jataka Tales : Stories of Wisdom
87. Birbal The Genius
88. Guru Gobind Singh
89. Krishna And Shishupala
90. Guru Nanak
91. The Symantaka Gem
92. Ghatotkacha
93. The Pandavas In Hiding
94. Mahavira
95. Sri. Ramakrishna
96. Raja Bhoja
97. Tales of Shivaji
98. Vikramadityas Throne
99. Vishwamitra
100. Kalidasa
101. Tales of Saibaba
102. Akbar
103. Prithviraj Chauhan
104. Padmini
105. Rani Durgavati
106. A Bag of Gold Coins
107. Bhagat Singh
108. Friends And Foes: Animal Tales From The Mahabharata
109. Ravana Humbled
110. Babasaheb Ambedkar
111. Urvashi
112. Soordas
113. Jataka Tales : True Friends
114. Jataka Tales : Stories of Courage
115. Jataka Tales : Tales of Misers
116. Jataka Tales : The Hidden Treasure
117. Birbal To The Rescue
118. Jataka Tales : Nandi Vishala
119. Hitopadesha: How Friends Are Parted
120. Udayana
121. Tiger And The Woodpecker
122. Kabir
123. Dayananda
124. Battle of Wits
125. The Pandava Princes
126. Harsha
127. Ramana Maharshi
128. Uloopi
129. Rana Sanga
130. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
131. Vidyasagar
132. Tales of Maryada Rama
133. Chandragupta Maurya
134. Amrapali
135. Krishnadeva Raya
136. Yayati
137. King Shalivahana
138. Krishna And The False Vaasudeva
139. Paurava And Alexandar
140. Gopal And The Cowherd
141. Shah Jahan
142. Ratnavali
143. Gandhari
144. Lokamanya Tilak
145. Pandit And The Milkmaid And Other Tales Told By Ramakrishna
146. Lal Bahadur Shastri
147. Samudra Gupta
148. Tales From The Upanishads
149. Adventures of Baddu And Chhotu
150. Aruni And Uttanka
151. Jayadratha
152. Tales of Balarama
153. Ananda Math
154. Adi Shankara
155. Vasantasena
156. Jahangir
157. Devi Choudhurani
158. Ajatshatru
159. Kacha And Devayani
160. The Learned Pandit
161. Aniruddha
162. King Kusha
163. The Deadly Feast
164. Kannagi
165. Bikal The Terrible
166. The Acrobat
167. Ashwini Kumars
168. The Golden Mongoose
169. The Cowherd of Alawi
170. The Priceless Gem
171. Ayyappan
172. Vasavadatta
173. Mangal Pande
174. Rana Kumbha
175. Magic Grove
176. Veer Savarkar
177. Fa Hien
178. Amar Singh Rathor
179. Tanaji
180. Bahubali
181. Lachit Barphukan
182. Chand Bibi
183. Chandra Shekhar Azad
184. Panna And Hadirani
185. Bimbisara
186. Tripura
187. The Legend of Lalitaditya
188. Hiuen Tsang
189. Veer Hammir
190. Jayaprakash Narayan
191. Guru Tegh Bahadur
192. Nahusha
193. The Historic City of Delhi
194. Chandrahasa
195. Ram Shastri
196. Jagadis Chandra Bose
197. Jawaharlal Nehru
198. Noor Jahan
199. Nachiketa
200. Tales of Yudhisthira
201. Jallianwala Bagh
202. Bappa Rawal
203. Sakshi Gopal
204. The Tiger Eater
205. Subramania Bharati
206. Jagannatha of Puri
207. The Fearless Boy
208. The Celestial Necklace
209. Andhaka
210. The Fools Disciples
211. The Queens Necklace
212. Ramanuja
213. The Adventures of Agad Datta
214. Baladitya And Yashodharma
215. Basaveshwara
216. Chandralalat
217. Kapala Kundala
218. Rash Behari Bose
219. Megasthenes
220. Jnaneshwar
221. Bagha Jatin
222. Sultana Razia
223. Ranjit Singh
224. Raja Raja Chola
225. Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das
226. Baji Rao I
227. Shrenik
228. Ellora Caves
229. Swami Chinmayananda
230. Ghanshyamdas Birla
231. Banda Bahadur
232. J.r.d Tata
233. Kalpana Chawla
234. Jamsetji Tata
235. Zarathushtra
236. Durgadas
237. Guru Arjan
238. Tipu Sultan
239. Shankar Dev
240. The Prince And The Magician
241. Chokha Mela
242. Tapati
243. Sher Shah
244. Sea Route To India
245. The Rani of Kittur
246. Velu Thampi
247. Rani Abbakka
248. Kunwar Singh
249. Beni Madho And Pir Ali
250. Tachholi Othenan
251. Vidyut Chora
252. Indra And Vritra
253. Roopmati
254. Babur
255. Subhadra
256. Sukanya
257. Pradyumna
258. Prabhavati
259. Pareekshit
260. Agastya
261. Parashurama
262. Hemu
263. Bhanumati
264. The Parijata Tree
265. Purushottam Dev & Padmavati
266. Sambhaji
267. The Pious Cat
268. The Pig And The Dog
269. Ahilyabai Holkar
270. Dhola And Maru
271. Albert Einstein
272. Marie And Pierre Curie
273. Kanwal And Kehar
274. Hothal
275. Chennamma of Keladi
276. Kochuni
277. Hakka & Bukka
278. The Prophecy
279. The Lost Prince
280. The Silent Teacher
281. Mother Teresa
282. Andher Nagari
283. Manduka- The Lucky Astrologer
284. The Miraculous Conch
285. The Golden Sand
286. The Clever Dancer
287. The Green Demon
288. The Mystery of The Missing Gifts
289. The Secret of The Talking Bird
290. Sundari
291. Sharan Kaur
292. Satwant Kaur
293. Sukhu And Dukhu
294. Shantala
295. Prince Jivaka
296. Kumanan
297. The Adventures of Pratapan
298. Manonmani
299. Raj Singh
300. Durgesh Nandini

Special Issues:

1. Mahatma Gandhi
2. Bhagawat - The Krishna Avatar
3. Dasha Avatar
4. Jesus Christ              
5. Mahabharata (Set of 3 Books)
6. The Indus Valley Adventure
7. The Story of the Freedom Struggle
8. Temples of India - Vaishno Devi, Konark, Tirupati
9. Tulsidas' Ram Charit Manas
10. Poet-Saints of India - Tukaram, Tyagaraja, Narsinh Mehta

The following titles are not included in the collection : 
602 The Quick Witted Birbal
679 Swami Pranavananda
769 Valmiki
774 Hari Singh Nalwa
775 Bidhi Chand
779 Jasma of the Odes
782 Sahasramalla
783 The Bridegroom's Ring
784 The Rainbow Prince
785 Thugsen
786 The March to Freedom - 2: A Nation Awakes
787 Balban
788 Dara Shukoh & Aurangzeb
789 Humayun
790 Ekanath
791 Guru Har Gobind
792 Narayana Guru
796 The King in a Parrot's Body
801 (Title Unavailable)
813 Marthanda Varma
814 Kadambari
815 Veer Dhaval
816 The Elusive Kaka 

Thanks to above list by Santosh Shenoy

See Also :
Flipkart site (with reviews) : http://www.flipkart.com/ack-complete-collection-300-single-titles-10-special-issues/p/itmdcwf3sxv8y7yu?pid=9788184829396
ACK Site : http://collections.amarchitrakatha.com

Jaaswandha (Hibiscus) An Ayurvedic way to cure dandruff

Post by Nirogam.com - the Ayurvedic Healthier way of Living.

Superb!! Thanks Nirogam. Every winter dandruff attack was normal. This time thanks to this post tried out applying Brihans 'JasRed' Jaaswandh/Hibiscus gel. 4 applications (morning and night) and the dandruff just vanished as a brown powder. No itching or irritation. No need for immediate wash. Magic!! The normally wiry hair has also become quite soft now.
Giving gap between applications. "Heads and Shoulders" bye-bye!!
BTW: Our cook has picked up quite a bit of Ayurvedic/Native medicine over the years. She said applying a paste of Jaaswandh leaves helped to remove red pimples on neckline for her daughter.