An Amazing verse from Bhagavad Gita

ausram.blogspot.com.au /2014/01/an-amazing-verse-from-bhagavad-gita.html

It is said that the greatest spirit of renunciation, detachment and futility of our life is felt by persons at two
places.They are called, Prasuthi Vairagya and Smashana Vairagya.Prasuti vairagya is felt by a mother, when
she is giving birth to a baby. She is in so much pain that she thinks and says to herself that she will never go
through this in this Life time. Similarly, when one is in a smashana - Cremation or burial ground, people are so
much grief stricken and reach a state of neutrality of being a observer and lot of self-introspection, that they think
things like, why all this trouble, struggle. Someday, everyone has to die so, why not lead a sober or humble life. It
is said that in both instances, as soon as the scene changes i,e the time passes within hours or days, people get
back to their normal routine and totally forget what they thought about.

Similarly we see in Mahabharata - Questions by Yaksha"And what is the greatest wonder? The answer given
was "Each day death strikes, and we live as though we were immortal. This is the greatest wonder."

Also, there is a noteworthy Quote from Dalai Lama

Man surprised me most about humanity. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he
sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the
present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die,
and then dies having never really lived.

Here is the Amazing verse from Bhagavad-gt As It Is 2.29 (Translation and purport by Srila Prabhupad)

carya-vat payati kacid enam

carya-vad vadati tathaiva cnya
carya-vac cainam anya oti
rutvpy ena veda na caiva kacit
TRANSLATION
Some look on the soul as amazing, some describe him as amazing, and some hear of him as amazing, while
others, even after hearing about him, cannot understand him at all.

PURPORT
Since Gitopanisadis largely based on the principles of the Upanisads, it is not surprising to also nd this passage
in the Katha Upanishad (1.2.7):

1/2

ravanaypi bahubhir yo na labhyah

rnvanto pi bahavo yam na vidyuh
caryo vakt kualo sya labdh
caryo sya jt kualnuistah
The fact that the atomic soul is within the body of a gigantic animal, in the body of a gigantic banyan tree, and
also in the microbic germs, millions and billions of which occupy only an inch of space, is certainly very amazing.
Men with a poor fund of knowledge and men who are not austere cannot understand the wonders of the
individual atomic spark of spirit, even though it is explained by the greatest authority of knowledge, who imparted
lessons even to Brahm, the first living being in the universe. Owing to a gross material conception of things,
most men in this age cannot imagine how such a small particle can become both so great and so small. So men
look at the soul proper as wonderful either by constitution or by description. Illusioned by the material energy,
people are so engrossed in subject matters for sense gratification that they have very little time to understand the
question of self-understanding, even though it is a fact that without this self-understanding all activities result in
ultimate defeat in the struggle for existence. Perhaps they have no idea that one must think of the soul, and thus
make a solution to the material miseries.
Some people who are inclined to hear about the soul may be attending lectures, in good association, but
sometimes, owing to ignorance, they are misguided by acceptance of the Supersoul and the atomic soul as one
without distinction of magnitude. It is very difficult to find a man who perfectly understands the position of the
Supersoul, the atomic soul, their respective functions and relationships and all other major and minor details.
And it is still more difficult to find a man who has actually derived full benefit from knowledge of the soul, and who
is able to describe the position of the soul in different aspects. But if, somehow or other, one is able to
understand the subject matter of the soul, and then ones life is successful.

The easiest process for understanding the subject matter of self, however, is to accept the statements of the
Bhagavad-gt spoken by the greatest authority, Lord Krsna, without being deviated by other theories. But it also
requires a great deal of penance and sacrifice, either in this life or in the previous ones, before one is able to
accept Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Krsna can, however, be known as such by the causeless
mercy of the pure devotee and by no other way.

2/2

An Hour in the Day of Brahma

ausram.blogspot.com.au /2013/11/an-hour-in-day-of-brahma.html
Do you know, a day on the Moon lasts 29.5
of our Earth days? In other words, if you
were standing on the surface of the Moon, it
would take 29.5 days for the Sun to move
entirely through the sky and return to its
original position. Really, then what would be
the day on Jupiter, Venus, Saturn and on the
Stars and far beyond the stars?
One day, a King called Kakudmi, taking his
daughter Revati went to Lord Brahma to
inquire about a suitable husband for her.At
that time, Lord Brahma was busy and
engaged in hearing of musical performance
by the celestial beings.The king waitied for
about an hour i, e till the performance is
over and submitted his desire and
requested the Lord to make a suitable
match.
Hearing this, the Lord laughed loudly and said to King "O King, all those whom you may have decided within the
core of your heart to accept as your son-in-law have passed away in the course of time.Twenty-seven caturyugas have already passed. Those upon whom you may have decided are now gone, and so are their sons,
grandsons and other descendants. You cannot even hear about their names."(During Lord Brahm's day,
fourteen Manus or one thousand maha-yugas pass away. Brahma informed King Kakudm that twenty-seven
maha- yugas, each consisting of the four periods Satya, Treta, Dvpara and Kali, had already passed. All the
kings and other great personalities born in those yugas had now departed from memory into obscurity. This is
the way of time as it moves through past,present and future.)
In Bhagavad-gita 8.17, Lord Krishna Says :
sahasra-yuga-paryantam
ahar yad brahmano viduh
ratrim yuga-sahasrantam
te 'ho-ratra-vido janah
Translation & Purport by His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupad,
By human calculation, a thousand ages taken together form the duration of Brahma's one day. And such also is
the duration of his night.
The duration of the material universe is limited. It is manifested in cycles of kalpas. A kalpa is a day of Brahma,
and one day of Brahma consists of a thousand cycles of four yugas, or ages: Satya, Treta, Dvapara and Kali.
The cycle of Satya is characterized by virtue, wisdom and religion, there being practically no ignorance and vice,
and the yuga lasts 1,728,000 years. In the Treta-yuga vice is introduced, and this yuga lasts 1,296,000 years. In
the Dvapara-yuga there is an even greater decline in virtue and religion, vice increasing, and this yuga lasts
864,000 years. And finally in Kali-yuga (the yuga we have now been experiencing over the past 5,000 years)
there is an abundance of strife, ignorance, irreligion and vice, true virtue being practically nonexistent, and this
yuga lasts 432,000 years. In Kali-yuga vice increases to such a point that at the termination of the yuga the
Supreme Lord Himself appears as the Kalki avatara, vanquishes the demons, saves His devotees, and

1/2

commences another Satya-yuga. Then the process is set rolling again. These four yugas, rotating a thousand
times, comprise one day of Brahma, and the same number comprise one night. Brahma lives one hundred of
such "years" and then dies. These "hundred years" by earth calculations total to 311 trillion and 40 billion earth
years. By these calculations the life of Brahma seems fantastic and interminable, but from the viewpoint of
eternity it is as brief as a lightning flash. In the Causal Ocean there are innumerable Brahmas rising and
disappearing like bubbles in the Atlantic. Brahma and his creation are all part of the material universe, and
therefore they are in constant flux.
In the material universe not even Brahma is free from the process of birth, old age, disease and death. Brahma,
however, is directly engaged in the service of the Supreme Lord in the management of this universe -- therefore
he at once attains liberation. Elevated sannyasis are promoted to Brahma's particular planet, Brahmaloka, which
is the highest planet in the material universe and which survives all the heavenly planets in the upper strata of
the planetary system, but in due course Brahma and all the inhabitants of Brahmaloka are subject to death,
according to the law of material nature."
Sounds, a little bit complicated. Isn't It.?(By the way, I had a quick look on Google about the age of the universe
as per today's scientists and it is 13.82 billion years old.)

This is the calculation for one universe, and there are innumerable universes.
The manvantara incarnation chastises all
the miscreant rulers of different planets and
disseminates the transcendental glories of
the Lord. Manu creates scriptural
regulations for the salvation of the
conditioned souls, who come to the material
world for material enjoyment. The Lord is so
kind that any soul who wants to enjoy in this
material world is given full facility for
enjoyment, and at the same time he is
shown the path of salvation. The Manus
compiled the Manu-samhita. The word
samhita means Vedic knowledge, and manu
indicates that this knowledge is given by
Manu.
(To lighten-up things a bit, I have inserted
few pictures from my last trip to
Queensland.)

2/2

Can we keep Geeta Upadesh Photo at Home and Geeta

Saar
ausram.blogspot.com.au /2015/08/can-we-keep-geeta-upadesh-photo-at-home.html

Geethopadesha Painting

indirectly heard of people saying irrational things about having a picture of Lord Krishna Instructing Arjunafamously called as Geethopadesha.All these comments are based on ignorance or lack of spiritual knowledge
and misunderstanding of the Scriptures like Bhagavad Gita or Mahabharata. These comments are baseless and
absurd. One person said that the health of the person got affected immediately after putting one of these picture
at home, someone said there is lot of quarrel and fighting within the family. But, millions of these Pictures exist in
temples and homes in India and all over the world.
Recently I heard these type of question from someone close to me, I thought I will write an article that will dispel
the people's doubts, wrong notions and myths. The question was, Is it OK to keep a photo of Geetopadesh at
home.? Someone told us that, keeping the picture creates rivalry and fight amongst brothers.
This is what I have advised ....
Firstly, all these kind of advices and comments should be completely ignored. Because, it is clear that they do not
know, what they are talking about. People try to apply their mundane logic and reasoning to the spiritual matters.
Geethopadesha or Srimad Bhagavad Gita, is the divine discussion between Supreme Lord Sri Krishna and
Arjuna.Bhagavad Gita contains 18 Chapters and 700 verses. Bhagavad Gita is really a book for the whole
mankind because, it contains the explanations to the mysteries directly related to a human being and the world
around them. It explains the 5 main topics which deal with the knowledge of Isvara - Supreme Lord who is the

1/4

supreme controller, The jiva or the living entity which is controlled, the relationship of a living entity to the
Supreme, Prakriti or the material nature, Kala the eternal time factor and the Karma the action and reaction
experienced by the living entities.
Bhagavad Gita, actually enlightens a human being to actually to fight an internal battle that everyone has to go
through, every day and every moment of life. Reading it assures ones victory over the greatest internal enemies
called Arishadvarga, the six passions of mind or desire, which are kama (lust), krodha (anger), lobha (greed),
moha (attachment), mada or ahankar (pride).
Bhagavad Gita, not only tells a person how to become, tolerant, humble and see everything and everyone in
relation to the Supreme God but, it also makes one realised that we are all Spirit souls, who are separate from
this material body. The body changes but, the Soul remains the same.Thus, the actions we perform in one body
and their reactions are carried forward to our next body.And, also our actions and behaviour in this body
determines our next body.
So, please do not have any doubts or negative thoughts that this picture will cause trouble or friction among the
family members. Hang the painting in a prominent place in your house like a living room or anywhere you can
constantly able to see it. And each time you see the picture, may Lord Krishna inspire you to become righteous,
uphold dharma, be truthful and believe in god.
Remember this verse 18.65 of Bhagavad Gita,
man-mana bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yaji mam namaskuru
mam evaisyasi satyam te
pratijane priyo 'si me
TRANSLATION : Always think of Me and become My devotee. Worship Me and offer your homage unto Me.
Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend.
Yes, in this life things doesn't always go as per our plan and more shockingly it looks as though, the more good
we do, more bad things are happening to us. And, then we start grieving, why is this happening to me.? I have
been just and good for as far as I remember. But, remember life doesn't start and end with this body we have
today. We have numerous lives and numerous bodies before and who can tell what good or bad things we have
done in our past lives.?
Excuse my brevity but, I will tell a brief incident from Mahabharata that illustrates the powerful law and effects of
Karma.
After the Kurukshetra war, Dhritarashtra questioned Lord Krishna this way. Krishna, I know and also people say
that you are the Supreme Lord in a human form. Thus, I want to ask you this.How unfortunate is that, I was born
blind, even though had 100 sons, today not even one remains.? What kind of justice is this.?. To this Lord
Krishna replied, my dear King- hundred lifetimes ago, you were a hunter.One day to climbed the top of a tree and
when about kill the small birdlings, the mother bird attacked you.You then, pierced a arround into its eyes and
killed all the baby birds. Then, Dhritarashtra asked but Krishna, why hundred lives.? and Krishna replied Because, to beget 100 sons, you need a lot of piety and it took you 100 lives to get that good credits.
For further details of Karma, how it works - please refer to my article,
http://ausram.blogspot.com.au/2014/08/fare-evasion-karma-instant-and-delayed.html

Again, dont get mental about what wrong things, you have done in your past lives, consult astrologer and spend
money on some pooja or ceremonies.

2/4

Remember this verse from Bhagavad Gita 18.66,

sarva-dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
mokshayishyami ma sucah
TRANSLATION : Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful
reactions. Do not fear.
Finally, I would like to share this beautiful message famously called as Geeta Saar written by Bal Gangadhar
Tilak

'Whatever happened, happened for the good.

Whatever will happen, will also happen for the good.
What did you lose that you are lamenting about?
What did you bring with you that you have lost?
What did you produce that got destroyed?
Whatever you have, you received it from here.
Whatever you gave, you gave it back here.
What belongs to you today, belonged to someone else yesterday
and will belong to someone else tomorrow.'

So go-ahead and keep this picture where ever you want and I will guarantee that you will get immense spiritual
and material benefits just by having this in house. Look at the picture, think of the love and mercy Krishna has for
his devotees. He did all the best he could do to avoid the war. He took up the menial job of a driver (Charioteer)
because of his compassion and love for his friend,devotee Arjuna. He gave wealth equal to him, simply by
accepting some chipped rice from Sudama, his childhood friend. He eat Banana peels offered to him with love
and devotion by Vidura and his wife.Rejected opulent preparations made by Duryodhana because there is no
love.
A god who is bound by his devotees love, mother Yashoda tied him to a grinding stone.What to speak of his
devotees, he awarded liberation to Putana a demoness who came to kill him when he was merely a baby. And,
also all the demons who got killed by him got liberation.

And of course, the final concluding verse of Bhagavad Gita says,

yatra yogesvarah krsno
yatra partho dhanur-dharah
tatra srir vijayo bhutir...

Wherever there is Krsna, the master of all mystics, and wherever there is Arjuna, the supreme archer, there will

3/4

also certainly be opulence, victory, extraordinary power, and morality...

So why not have all these in your home ?

4/4

Fate and Destiny - Say No to a Fatalistic Approach to Life

ausram.blogspot.com.au /2014/03/fate-and-destiny-say-no-to-fatalistic.html
So many times people get confused about life and about wrong things happening to them or to their dear
ones.Some people blame god by saying words like "In any event, destiny is supreme.Whatever has been
ordained by the supreme power will come to pass.What can our efforts do to avert it?."Also, sometimes people
new to eastern philosophy or Hinduism which advocates in Karma, reincarnation etc. think that the philosophy is
fatalistic. Even the people, who are actually following this path are sometimes confused and declare it so.We see
this actually adopted by some people, who refuse to take a action when confounded by a difficult situation.
But, the Holy scriptures of India declare this- Fate is surely all-powerful, but we nevertheless receive the results
of our own acts. We have free will. The supreme power simply reciprocates with our desires. It is the
consequences of our acts which are inevitable, not the acts themselves. You have a choice of making and
taking a decision in life, for example in this photo, I was trying to cross a muddy and slippery patch of road,
using my LML Vespa scooter, way back in an Indian village. I was lucky and was able to cross without slipping
and falling into the muddy waters. Otherwise, my scooter tyres would have skidded, myself including the scooter
would have been struck in mud and so on. So, basically here I had a choice in acting in certain way but, the
result was not in my hand.
(I thank my childhood friend Kiran for taking this photo.)
In Chapter 5 of Srimad Bhagavad Gita, this point is further clearly explained. The living being desires a certain
way and acts accordingly as per his will, the material nature provides a medium for the actions to be carried out
and the Lord, as a Supersoul allows and sanctions the desire to be fulfilled. But, the Supreme Lord becoming
completely neutral is never responsible for the actions and reactions of a particular situation that are desired by
the Soul.The Supersoul being Omnipotent fulfills the desires of a Soul based on what one deserves. Just like the
saying, 'Man proposes and God disposes. God does not interfere with the desires of minute living entity either
good or bad.
So, there is karma, fate, the Circumstances, the Star or Horoscope etc. But, it is not all black and white or
completely fixed in particular way. Of course, there are things like Birth, death, disease and old age that no one
can escape but, a person's fate, destiny is not static but, dynamic, ever changing basing on the actions and
decisions we take in life.

As promised, I have updated the photograph below.

1/2

2/2

If you spit into the Sky, it falls into your Eye

ausram.blogspot.com.au /2016/04/if-you-spit-into-sky-it-falls-into-your.html

This is a old saying from Jamaica and surely, there are similar saying in all the languages. For every action there
is equal and opposite reaction aka Karma.Nothing happens by chance.Whatever you experience or happening
in this life are the consequences of your actions from your past life which includes this life and countless
previous lives.
You dont need to get angry at God or try to threaten God that I will not pray to you or why are you doing this to
me, what have I done to deserve this etc. If you spit into the sky, the sky is not affected but, it is the person who
spat gets it back.
In the Canto 7 of Srimad Bhagavatam, we see that Prahlad a small boy of 5 years is harassed by his demoniac
father in numerous ways. The reason was that he was worshiping Lord Narayana who Hiranyakashipu
considered as his enemy. So he tried everything, to harm, kill the little boy by throwing him into a fire, a room full
of snakes, boiling oil, throwing him from a cliff, walking elephants over him. And, what did Prahlad do?. He did
not say Oh God, why are you doing this to me.I am afterall your devotee ? I will stop praying you. He was
totally undisturbed and brave, not resisting in any of the acts his father did on him. The Lord took personally care
of him by saving him from all the inconveniences and dangers posed by his Hiranyakashipu.
Similarly, in life we face bad things rather than questioning God, we need to question ourselves why this is
happening. Treat others like the way you want to be treated. Definitely, it is not due to your Wife, Boss, friends
back biting you. And generally, the tendency is that once you get used to this Habit of blaming others, sometimes
those people can't or won't find anyone else to blame and then they turn to the unseen God.

1/2

So who is to be blamed ?. The answer to this can be found in Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 11, Chapter 23 The
Song of the Avanti Brahmana which comes as a part of Lord Krishnas Instructions to Uddhava called as
Uddhava Gita. The brahmana who lost all his wealth, betrayed by family members, homeless and roaming as a
beggar makes these famous statement Neither mortal persons, the demigods, the soul, the ruling planets, the
reactions of work nor time are the causes of ones happiness and distress. Rather, the mind alone is their cause,
because it is the mind that makes the spirit soul wander in the cycle of material life. The real purpose of all
charity, religiosity and so forth is to bring the mind under control. A person who has already composed his mind
in meditation has no need for these other processes, and for a person who is incapable of fixing his mind they
are of no practical use. Thus, the Avanti Brahmana became sober by developing a spirit of detachment and
became a mendicant and spent his life roaming the world chanting the glories of God.

2/2

Mind Control - Stop worrying and start living

ausram.blogspot.com.au /2014/12/mind-control-stop-worrying-and-start.html
I recently saw a video, where the
speaker talks about how our mind is
always rambling. Psychologists say that
the three main functions of the mind is
thinking, feeling and wanting. Thus, there
is an intimate, dynamic relation between
these three, where each is continually
influencing the other two. For example,
when we dont want to go to work , the
mind will start telling us, how painful and
disgusting our job is. Thus we want to
avoid going to work but, because we
need that money for our living, we are
compelled to go to work. Then, we are no
longer interested in the work that we do
or become grumpy and demotivated. The
mind is always worrying about the past
Me @ Currumbin Wildlife sanctuary Gold coast
incidents and anxious about the future.
The first quality of the mind is, it rambles.
Day by day, it is becoming increasingly difficult to focus our attention on anything. With the advent of the
Television with numerous channels - one would never watch a single program continuously. One watches
something for 3 to 4 minutes and then, he wants to know what is coming in the other channel and the other and
the other. Similarly the internet and our smart phones. Firstly, mobile phones themselves are such a problem,
not giving one any time or privacy to do anything in life. Once, I in the office I was in a toilet and someone
received a call when is busy. And, the person actually answered it. You cant escape it.? Then, even though no
one calls you, you have this smart phone with all the social networking apps, facebook, twitter, whatsup etc. You
are continuously reading or looking at what others are doing instead of what you should be doing. In fact, you
decide what you want to do by looking at what others are doing. Even though you have intelligence, as Lord
Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita, your intelligence becomes covered and you are lost in this desiring, hankering,
hate,love etc.
Bhagavad-gita As It Is 7.27(By Srila Prabhupad)
iccha-dvesha-samutthena
dvandva-mohena bharata
sarva-bhutani sammoham
sarge yanti parantapa
Translation: O scion of Bharata, O conqueror of the foe, all living entities are born into delusion, bewildered by
dualities arisen from desire and hate.
So, they are done a survey all over the world of number of organisations and the survey was about, how much
time one spends actually on the work they are supposed to be doing. And, it came out that people spend only, 30
to 40% of the time working on the task they are supposed to be doing. Rest of the time? They are either thing worrying about the past or anxious about the future. This is a great loss and have serious ramifications and
consequences of the productivity of the workforce. What this means is that, what should take one 3 to 4 hrs. Will
actually take 9 to 10 hrs. And, people are working overtime, stressed and tired.
Think about this - Ones daily routine is, have breakfast, go to work in a AC car or AC tram, get down at

1/2

workplace, walk 10 steps and get into a AC office, start your computer, watch news and stuff in internet and
attend few meetings, do some work and come back home. And, you are tired.? for doing nothing.? And, then as
soon as you come home and open the door, your son comes jumping and shouting. He has been doing that for
the whole day and he is not tired. And, he says, Daddy.. Park. And, you say..Ooh.. I am tired., leave me alone I
want peace and some rest.
So, what is happening here? Please understand this. You dont have intelligence to keep your mind focused and
enjoying the present moment. It is your inabilities to keep you mind in the present that is giving you all the
distress.
As petitioned by Arjuna,"Bhagavad Gita As It Is 6.34,(Translation and Purport by Srila Prabhupad)
cancalam hi manah krsna
pramathi balavad drdham
tasyaham nigraham manye
vayor iva su-duskaram
For the mind is restless, turbulent, obstinate and very strong, O Krsna, and to subdue it is, it seems to me, more
difficult than controlling the wind." and what was Lord Krishna's reply. ? "The Blessed Lord said: O mighty-armed
son of Kunti, it is undoubtedly very difficult to curb the restless mind, but it is possible by constant practice and
by detachment.

Purport: The difficulty of controlling the obstinate mind, as expressed by Arjuna, is accepted by the Personality of
Godhead. But at the same time He suggests that by practice and detachment it is possible. What is that
practice? In the present age no one can observe strict rules and regulations, such as placing oneself in a sacred
place, focusing the mind on the Supersoul, restraining the senses and mind, observing celibacy, remaining
alone, etc. By the practice of Krsna consciousness, however, one engages in nine types of devotional service to
the Lord. The first and foremost of such devotional engagements is hearing about Krsna. This is a very powerful
transcendental method for purging the mind of all misgivings. The more one hears about Krsna, the more one
becomes enlightened and detached from everything that draws the mind away from Krsna. By detaching the
mind from activities not devoted to the Lord, one can very easily learn vairagya. Vairagya means detachment
from matter and engagement of the mind in spirit. Impersonal spiritual detachment is more difficult than attaching
the mind to the activities of Krsna. This is practical because by hearing about Krsna one becomes automatically
attached to the Supreme Spirit. This attachment is called paresanubhuti, spiritual satisfaction. It is just like the
feeling of satisfaction a hungry man has for every morsel of food he eats. Similarly, by discharge of devotional
service one feels transcendental satisfaction as the mind becomes detached from material objectives. It is
something like curing a disease by expert treatment and appropriate diet. Hearing of the transcendental
activities of Lord Krsna is therefore expert treatment for the mad mind, and eating the foodstuff offered to Krsna
is the appropriate diet for the suffering patient. This treatment is the process of Krsna consciousness."

2/2

Road Trip - Melbourne to Sydney

ausram.blogspot.com.au /2014/05/road-trip-melbourne-to-sydney.html
It was a long trip with massive planning by so many of my friends. There was total of 4 Mini buses - 12 seaters
and a car travelling to and back from Sydney. A total of 53 people including children. So much planning and hard
work that was needed to be done.

For, starters I have never driven a 12 seater and thinking about driving made me feel nervous. But, what gave
me confidence was that one with a full Car licence was permitted to drive it. Which means, it should be
manageable? It hardly took me 2 to 3 mins to get used to the Big Vehicle and within 5 minutes, I was cruising on
the highway and fully enjoying the drive. Thankfully, the driving was shared by two of my friends. We took turns
in driving with a gap of 3 to 4 hrs.

1/5

2/5

3/5

Driving to Sydney, we have decided that Hume Freeway/Hwy is the best and the shortest option. It was a Drive
872 km drive, and took us nearly 12 hrs with number of stops for petrol, recreation, breakfast and lunch breaks.
The speed limit on the freeway is 110 kph; on non freeway sections it is mostly 100 kph except for towns and
road works. The road is called the Hume Freeway in Victoria, the Hume Motorway between Prestons and
Berrima, New South Wales. It is part of the Auslink National Network and is a vital link for road freight to
transport goods to and from the two cities as well as serving Albury-Wodonga and Canberra.
We started about 7:30AM in the morning and by the time we reached our destination, it was 7:45 PM.
considering all the breaks we had, it was not bad.

A special caution about Speed Cameras - Especially after You cross the border between Victoria and NSW at the
River Murray between Wodonga and Albury, watch out for speed cameras at very regular intervals especially for
the first 30 or 40 km.I was also told that there are also time over distance cameras as far as Broadford and on the
NSW sections of the Highway, that do not just measure your speed at the cameras but also time your vehicle
from camera to camera to determine average speed of the vehicle. Which means, slowing down just near the
cameras won't work if you speed too much in between.

On the trip from Melbourne to Sydney there are mostly no towns as the Freeway/ Highway bypasses all of them.
There are number of rest stops with toilet facilities and quite a few roadside service centres where food is
available.

The road is mostly good and if you have right company of friends,it a pleasure to drive.

We got on to Hume Freeway from Cooper St, Epping and followed Hume Freeway to Lincoln Causeway in
Wodonga. Took the exit toward C315/Albury from Hume Freeway.We entered New South Wales by Merging
onto Lincoln Causeway.Before you get to Albury, there are service centres with food outlets and a petrol station
on both sides of the freeway at Glenrowan.

We took at break by Turning left onto the Hume Highway/A31 ramp to Gundagai and following Hume Hwy to
Sheridan St in Gundagai. Took the exit toward Gundagai/Junee from Hume Hwy.

4/5

We had our lunch break (lunch break) at Gundagai Anzac Park approximately 2hrs journey from
Albury.Gundagai is a beautiful, sleepy little town and on the board at the entrance it was displayed that the
population of the place is 3000 people. Gundagai it seems - means the quite one. The park was nice and kids
had some fun playing cricket and football.Our next break was at Goulburn approximately 2hrs journey from
Gundagai.

After the break we continued towards Goulburn and to Sydney.

From the Hume Highway a number of Wind turbines are visible which are part of the Gunning Wind Farm
project. This is a wind farm development in the Cullerin Range, north-east of Gunning, in New South Wales.The
wind farm is capable of producing 46.5MW of clean, renewable energy a year. Each of the 1.5MW turbines at the
Gunning Wind Farm can provide sufficient renewable energy to power approximately 750 homes and save more
than 5,250 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions a year. The 31 turbines can power 23,250 homes and save
more than 162,750 tonnes of greenhouse gases a year.(This is one side of the story) The other side is that it
causes too much noise, effects can be felt for residents living away 2Kms etc.

The final sections of the freeway into Sydney consisted of Tollways and miraculously from the Google maps
navigation on the Samsung mobile, we got a freeway without tolls to our destination.Maybe, because we did not
get into Sydney at all.

We have returned exactly the same way we went except, for lunch break we stopped at Holbrook which is a
small town in Southern New South Wales. It is on the Hume Highway, 356 km North-East of Melbourne and 491
km south-west of Sydney between Tarcutta and Albury.The landmark and attraction of the town is the HMAS
Otway submarine.The Holbrook council acquired a portion of the hull of HMAS Otway, an Oberon class
submarine, after it was decommissioned by the Royal Australian Navy in 1995. The Navy gifted the fin from the
submarine to the town.This part of the Otway is now displayed in Germanton Park in the heart of Holbrook.

Finally, it was a enjoyable and amazing road trip.Everything went well and had a positive experience at all the
places we stopped and visited. The people were friendly and travelling with family and kids, I felt safe and no
concerns. And, as one of my Colleagues at work told me "Once you actually drive from here to Sydney, I am sure
that you will appreciate how big Australia is", and that was indeed true.

5/5