Thanks Suresh for the photo and Periyava’s words!
Man is subject to all kinds of hardships and misfortunes. To remind ourselves of this, we eat the bitter flowers of the neem on Tamil New Year’s Day – that is on the very first day of the year we accept the bitterness of life.
During the Pongal ceremony, which is celebrated almost towards the close of the year, we have sugarcane to chew. If we have only sweetness in the beginning we may have to experience bitterness towards the end. We must not have any aversion for the bitter but welcome it as the medicine administered by Mother Nature or by dharma.
If we do so, in due course, we will learn to regard any experience, even if it be unpleasant, as a sweet one.
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“We will learn to regard any experience, even if it be unpleasant, as a sweet one!”
Golden words of Swamigal.
Pongalo Pongal!
