MONDAY MUSINGS SEASON 2 - EPISODE 346
29th December 2025
New Year Special
Serenity of thought, gentleness, silence, self-control, and purity of purpose—all these are declared as austerity of the mind. ॥ Bhagavad Gita 17.16॥
WISHING THE READERS A VERY HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR 2026
Look back at 2025 with gratitude for all the positive aspects of the year, satisfaction, reflect with focus, take a pledge to practice self-control in 2026, and welcome 2026 with sincerity and full of positive thoughts. That is what Bhagavad Gita 17.16 wants us to practice as a New Year's resolution, cleanse the mind.
Here is an interesting story to welcome the new year with a cleaner mind:
Serene & Sympathetic Sita
This incident is described in Valmiki Ramayan, sarga 113 of Yudha Kanda.
The war was over, Rama’s vanara sena prevailed over Ravana’s army, and Ravana was killed.
Rama instructed Lakshmana to arrange for the installation of Vibhishana on the throne of Lanka. Lakshmana installed Vibhishana as the King of Lanka, in the presence of the demons there.
The happy news of the victory had to be conveyed to Sita. Rama was looking for a messenger to deliver the news. Remember, there was no telephone network at that time. Efficient messengers were the reliable option to communicate messages. Who else could be an effective messenger in that scenario? Hanuman knew the terrain well, fast, efficient, loyal and committed.
Directed by Rama, Hanuman the son of wind-god, marched to Ashoka Vana. Unlike the earlier occasion, the demons received him with respect.
Hanuman saw Seetha at the foot of a tree, bereft of freshness, looking dull like a frightened cow. Hanuman approached her and offered a salutation by bending his head.
Seetha became happy after seeing Hanuman. Enthused by her happy face, Hanuman narrated Rama’s message. He narrated Rama’s valour and the victory over Ravana and comforted Sita to come out of her grief. Seetha felt happy and got comforted hearing the news.
Sita Mata, ever with a cleaner mind, expressed her happiness and gratitude to Hanuman for bringing the happy news. She expressed that she would not find anything worthy enough to gift to Hanuman in return for his yeoman service.
Having completed the task assigned to him, Hanuman turned his attention to the frightful lady daemons around and said to Sita, "If you permit me, I wish to kill all these notorious daemons who threatened and tortured you". Hanuman was getting ready to punch but was surprised by Sita’s reply.
Ever compassionate Sita refused to entertain such negative thoughts and advised Hanuman against the idea and gave two justifications against the hatred expressed by Hanuman. The first was that the daemons were not at fault, as they were executing their king’s order and it was their duty to execute their master’s instructions.
Sita continued, “I had to undergo these misfortunes because of my bad fortune or in consequence of a misdeed committed by me in the past. They threatened me on the instructions of Ravana, and they will not threaten me now since Ravana is already dead". Sita then uttered a supreme positive thought.
"A superior person does not take into account the sin of others; virtuous persons account good conduct as an ornament on them." "Kindness is to be shown by a noble person towards a sinner or to a virtuous person or even to a person who deserves death, for there is none who never commits a wrong." “I too committed wrong in the past, and if everyone starts avenging for the committed misdeeds, nobody would probably be spared. Best would be to forget and forgive”
Hanuman could not believe that Sita could have ever made a mistake, to which Sita replied that she could not control her desire for the magical deer and used harsh words against Lakshmana when he refused to believe that the distress call was actually from Lord Ram (Believed to be part of this story but this part is not there in Valmiki Ramayan)
Sita Mata concluded “Evil is not an answer to evil” and quoted a story of a ‘Bear, Tiger and the Hunter’ to elucidate her advice.
What is this ‘story within the story’? Please wait for a week to hear the story of the ‘Righteous Bear’.
Until then, I will finish this closing episode of 2025 with the thought: “Being grateful, forgetting and forgiving others’ evil deeds are traits to practice to follow Sita Mata’s footsteps.”
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#PositiveNewsPage
Nighileswaran, son of a retired IRS officer S. Nagalingam, was known for his brilliance, humility and his heart to connect with people. An engineering student with unquenched curiosity, he devoured books, adored quizzing, and believed deeply in serving society. On October 27, 2007, a tragic road accident ended the young life. For Nagalingam and his family, time came to a standstill. Yet, grief has a way of planting seeds even in the dark. Nagalingam remembers the turning point clearly. “After several days of crying, something struck me. Nikil believed in uplifting others, especially underprivileged students. How could I leave that dream die?”
He remembered Nikil’s words — “Appa, government school kids are brilliant. They just need a chance.” That line, spoken by a teenager who saw potential where others saw limitations, became the heartbeat of everything Nagalingam did next.
With newfound strength driven by his son’s dreams, he established the Nikil Foundation in 2007. He approached the school education department with a proposal to offer free skill training to students in government and government-aided schools. Instead of bureaucratic resistance, he received overwhelming support. Schools across Tamil Nadu were encouraged to welcome his programmes. Soon, even Puducherry followed.
Today, over three lakh children have benefited from the training programmes, supported by 861 trainers scattered across TN and Puducherry. Many of these trainers are teachers, social workers, graduates, and professionals, who were themselves trained under the foundation.
The training is transformative. Students learn to understand their strengths, set clear goals, manage time, build healthy relationships, and sharpen their memory. “These are not lessons taken from textbooks, but skills shaping lives.
Nagalingam’s wife, R Malarkodi, was also a pillar of support from the start. Together, they spent weekends and holidays travelling to schools, often carrying their own materials and notebooks. In 2019, she passed away, yet Nagalingam feels her presence every time he addresses a classroom.
As years passed, Nagalingam noticed new challenges like substance abuse creeping into the lives of youth, and many teenagers were falling prey to peer pressure. To counter this, the foundation launched ‘Pudai Manal’, an awareness programme explaining the devastating consequences of drug abuse.
Further, determined to reduce children’s screen addiction and revive reading habit among students, he partnered with the Rotary Club to launch ‘Vasipai Suvasippom’, a project that encourages children to pick up books again. The pilot programme in Virudhunagar received immense appreciation, and plans are under way to expand it state-wide.
“I lost Nikil. But through every child who discovers their talent, he lives again. This is not just a foundation. It is a rebirth, his rebirth,” Nagalingam said.
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Conceived, Compiled and posted as a weekly motivational newsletter #MondayMusings every monday consistently for the past 346 mondays by Jaganathan T (www.authorjaganathan.com)
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