If an answer could be found, it would be absolute freedom

On rare occasions while thinking of God something within snaps.

The eyes well up and shed tears.

The mind fills up and tries to explode with love happiness and so many untold lovely feelings.

Is it the chemical reaction happening in the deluded mind?

Or is there someone inside doing the backseat driving ?

If an answer could be found, it would be absolute freedom

Krishna when will you grant me that?

who is Krishna? who is not Krishna?

Was all these Krishnas one and the same?

Difficult to conceive. Even a complete recluse who refused even to wear clothes, Sadasiva Brahmendra sings,

"मदशिखिपिञ्चालङ्करुत चिकुरे महनीयकपोल विजित मुकुरे श्रीरमणीकुचदुर्गविहारे सेवकजनमन्दिर मन्दारे मानस सञ्चर रे।ब्रह्मणि मानस सञ्चर रे।

madaśikhipiñcālaṅkṛta cikure mahanīyakapola vijita mukure śrīramaṇīkucadurgavihāre sevakajanamandira mandāre mānasa sañcara re|brahmaṇi mānasa sañcara re| "

"My mind you travel in the realms of Brahmam which has His hair adorned with the feathers of a peacock hen in her rut, whose cheeks compete with a fresh sprouting redleaf in colour, Who dwells in desire at the breast of SriiRamani the Lakshmi..". the greatest recluse is enchanted by the earthly beauty and the amorous beauty of that dark urchin of Brindaban,

The beauty of Krishna and Radha drives Jayadeva into raptures of devotionपश्यति दिशि दिशि रहसि भवन्तं त्वदधरमधुरमधूनिपिभन्तं।

नाथ हरे! सीदति राधा वासगृहे॥१

त्वदभिसरणरभसेन वलन्ती पतति पदानि कियन्ति चलन्ती।

नाथ हरे! सीदति राधा वासगृहे॥२॥

विहितविशदविसकिसलयवलया जीवति परमिह तवरतिकलया।

नाथ हरे! सीदति राधा वासगृहे॥३॥

मुहुरवलोकनमण्डनलीला मधुरिपुरहमिति भावनशीला।

नाथ हरे! सीदति राधा वासगृहे॥४॥

त्वरितमुपैति न कथमभिसारं हरिरितिवदति सखीमनुवारं।

नाथ हरे! सीदति राधा वासगृहे॥५॥

श्लिष्यति चुंबति जलधरकल्पं हरिरुपगत इति तिमिरमनल्पं।

नाथ हरे! सीदति राधा वासगृहे॥६॥

भवति विळम्बिनि विगळितलज्जा विलपति रोदिति वासकलज्जा।

नाथ हरे! सीदति राधा वासगृहे॥७॥

श्रीजयदेवकवेरिदमुदितं रसिकजनं तनुतामतिमुदितम्।

नाथ हरे! सीदति राधा वासगृहे॥८॥

इति श्रीजयदेवकविराजविरचिते गीतगोविन्दे अष्टपदी १२

paśyati diśi diśi rahasi bhavantaṁ tvadadharamadhuramadhūnipibhantaṁ|

nātha hare sīdati rādhā vāsagṛhe||1

tvadabhisaraṇarabhasena valantī patati padāni kiyanti calantī|

nātha hare sīdati rādhā vāsagṛhe||2||

vihitaviśadavisakisalayavalayā jīvati paramiha tavaratikalayā|

nātha hare sīdati rādhā vāsagṛhe||3||

muhuravalokanamaṇḍanalīlā madhuripurahamiti bhāvanaśīlā|

nātha hare sīdati rādhā vāsagṛhe||4||

tvaritamupaiti na kathamabhisāraṁ hariritivadati sakhīmanuvāraṁ|

nātha hare sīdati rādhā vāsagṛhe||5||

śliṣyati cuṁbati jaladharakalpaṁ harirupagata iti timiramanalpaṁ|

nātha hare sīdati rādhā vāsagṛhe||6||

bhavati viḻambini vigaḻitalajjā vialpati roditi vāsakalajjā|

nātha hare sīdati rādhā vāsagṛhe||7||

śrījayadevakaveridamuditaṁ rasikajanaṁ tanutāmatimuditam|

nātha hare sīdati rādhā vāsagṛhe||8||

iti śrījayadevakavirājaviracite gītagovinde aṣṭapadī 12

This is a very beautiful song of separation from Jayadevas Giitagovinda.. Here Radha is under the pangs of separation from Krishna at at the same time in desperation and anger mixed with love for Krishna because she had been informed by her friends that the dobonair lover is having a nice time with other girls. Radha is never pleased with such activities of Krishna but then her love for Him is eternal..So she is in a condition as if she is smouldered by the fire of separtion from Krishna.

The condition of Radha is explained to Madhava in detail by a friend and emissary who has approached the lover who has gone away in mock estrangement.

1. You Hari the master, Radha is visualizing that you are engaged in kissing and loving other girls in secret places and they are drinking the nectar of your lips. So she is sitting in her bower in utter sorrow with a broken heart.

2. You Hari the master, Radha made a brave attempt to come in search of you, but out of sorrow and tiredness she has fallen down in her place even while she was taking a few steps towards your rendezvous. Therefore she is sitting in her bower in utter sorrow with a broken heart

3.You Hari the master, Radha is being burnt by the fire of love but she is just remaining alive in her place covering herself with cooling aids like covering her body with the stalks of the lotus, just keeping alive in the desperated hope that you will come back to her and love her to hear hearts content. Therefore she is sitting in her bower in utter sorrow with a broken heart

4. You Hari the master, she has adorned herself in exquisite clothes and jewellery in the expectation that she will be receiving you in her place, and she is hallucinating that the jewellery and other adornments represent you and so she is herself Madhava..Therefore she is sitting in her bower in utter sorrow with a broken heart

5.You Hari the master, as if in a stupour she is repeatedly asking the friends why you are not coming to her and give her love.Therefore she is sitting in her bower in utter sorrow with a broken heart

6. You Hari, the master, Radha, in her hallucination is seeing you in the darkness of her abode which is resembling the blackest cloud, you the personification of the beauty of blackness and is making moke embraces and giving kisse to that darkness. Therefore she is sitting in her bower in utter sorrow with a broken heart

7. You Hari, the master, she has kept her abode clean, and has adorned herself to the greatest beauty in the expectation that she will be receiving you immediately, but now desperate that you have not yet visited her, she is shedding tears. Therefore she is sitting in her bower in utter sorrow with a broken heart

8. May this beautiful song of Jayadeva describing the vipralamba state of Radha, please the hearts of all the readers and shower on them the blessings of Hari.

(Gita Govindam)

..All mothers see in Krishna their eldest son and expects Him to take care of their lives and lives of their other children

His little elder brother

In a village there lived an indigent widow with a child of five years. The man of the house had left for God's abode when the child was just one year and what he left behind was only a thatched house, a little land and a few cattle. The lady was, through her dint of hard work, tilling the soil, rearing the cattle and eking out an income to keep the child and herself away from hunger. She would have preferred t have forty eight hours for a day to do all her chores. The child Ram was now ready to go to a gurukul to learn his first letters. The boy was enthusiastic but the gurukul was some seven miles away with a stretch of thick forest spanning three miles intervening. The boy could not travel the distance, especially the forest track for fear of the obvious dangers. The mother had no time to accompany the child lest they would starve.

So she told little Ram, " My child you can go to school from tomorrow.. Remember that you have a little elder brother who lives in the forest, rearing his own cows and happily singing on his flute. When you reach the forest area, you just call your elder brother, and he will look after you. But mind you he is a very shy boy. If you ask anything about him he will simply leave you and go away. So simply obey him and follow him."

The child had absolute faith in what his mother said. He set out to school the next morning. When he reached the precincts of the forest the child was terrified. He did not know how to proceed. He called out, "My Anna, I do not know how to go ahead, come and take me through the fores"

True to the mother's words, there appeared a dark little boy slightly older than Ram. He was surrounded by some cows and calves and he had a rustic flute which he had tucked to his hip-garment. " Young brother, I knew you will come. Now walk along with me. I will lead you through the forest path." The elder brother entertained the younger one with music, snacks and nice stories, and the child did not know the tiredness of walking so long a distance. While leaving him, the Anna said, " when you are coming back, you just call out to me, and we can happily walk back."

This happy routine continued for days. The mother was happy. Ram was a bright boy and the guru was also pleased. The class consisted of many princes and other rich students but the Guru was always kind to our little Ram.

One day it was announced that the Guru's daughter was getting married. The students were all invited for the happy function. It was the duty of the disciples to offer presents to the Guru's daughter on such occasion. Ram asked his mother what he could do. She has nothing to give. She said, "Ask your Anna"

That morning Ram unburdened his woes to his Anna. The elder brother was cheerful. " Do not worry. I shall arrange for a present."

He just filled a coconut shell with the milk from a cow he was rearing and told the young boy to give this shell with milk as the present.

The innocent Ram was happy. He carried the small coconut shell with little milk in it with great gusto and offered it as present to the marital couple. The affluent classmates around him were laughing at him. The Guru's servant openly quipped "what is to be done with this little milk in a dirty coconut shell?" The guru was kind. He instructed the servant to pour the milk into a cistern. But when the milk was poured , the flow never stopped. The cistern, and all other utensils in the house were filled with milk, but still milk was flowing.. that milk of divine aroma and taste.. The teacher was wonder-stuck. " From where did you get this cup of milk?" He asked.

The innocent boy that Ram was recounted all his story about his daily travel with his Anna, and how the elder brother had secured the present for the young child.

"What is the name of your elder brother?" Asked the Guru. The child replied that his mother had instructed him not to ask any personal questions to the Anna and so he did not know.

But the Guru knew. " That Anna of your is none other than Govinda himself. Come to the forest, let us all have a darshan of Him" The guru, his family and his sishyas all made a beeline to the forest, with Ram in the lead. As usual, Ram called out his Anna. There was no response. He repeated the address a few more times and when there was no result, Ram started crying.

Then a voice came from the forest, " My younger brother Ram , you are innocent and you did not know who I was. So I was visible to you and I played and sang with you. But now you know who I am, and all these people also know that. I cannot appear before you in person any more. But I love you so much.. Whenever you call me with love I will fulfill your wants.. But you cannot see me again."

Yes, Krishna is a wonder... He Gave us Gita, He assured us that He will appear before us whenever righteousness wanes and evil forces try to gain ascendency..

यथा यथा हि धर्मस्य घ्लानिर्भवति भारत अभ्युत्थनमधर्मस् तदात्मानं सृजाम्यहं॥

yathā yathā hi dharmasya ghlānirbhavati bhārata abhyutthanamadharmasya tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmyahaṁ|| ( bagavat gita)

He assured I am sitting in the heart of all, I am the controller of the memory, knowledge, and the loss of such faculties, I am the one who is known by all Vedaas, I am the author and executor of Vedaanta, and I am the one who knows the Vedas completely..

सर्वस्य चाहं हृदि सन्निविष्टः मत्तः स्मृतिज्ञानमपोहनम् च वेदैश्च सर्वैरहमेव वेद्यः वेदान्तक्रित् वेदविदेवचाहं।

sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭaḥ mattaḥ smṛtijñānamapohanam ca vedaiśca sarvairahameva vedyaḥ vedāntakrit vedavidevacāhaṁ| (bagavat gita)

So who is Krishna? So who is not Krishna?

roadblocks to knowledge and learning

 

स्वछन्दत्वं धनार्थित्वं प्रेमभावोऽथ भोगिता।

अविनीतत्वमालस्यं विद्याविघ्नकराणि षट्॥

सुभाषितरत्नमाला ४१

svachandatvaṁ dhanārthitvaṁ premabhāvo'tha bhogitā|

avinītatvamālasyaṁ vidyāvighnakarāṇi ṣaṭ||

subhāṣitaratnamālā 41

The six factors which can prove to be great roadblocks or impediments in education and training are

1. Waywardness, lack of planned progress, lack of orientation

2. Excessive expectation of profits or income from the process of education

3. Show of unwanted, misplaced affection or leniency

4. Tendency to enjoy and celebrate

5. Lack of humility, especially lack of reverence towards the teacher

6. Laziness

स्वछन्दत्वं waywardness, lack of self control, lack of self orientation धनार्थित्वं greed for profit, avariciousness for money प्रेमभावः show of unwanted, misplaced affection भोगिता tendency to enhoy, celebrate अविनीतत्वं lack of humility, lack of reverence आलस्यं laziness एतानि these षट् six factor विद्या educatin विघ्न impediment कराणि causes भवन्ति become

സ്വഛന്ദത്വം ധനാര്‍ഥിത്വം പ്രേമഭാവോഽഥ ഭോഗിതാ।

അവിനീതത്വമാലസ്യം വിദ്യാവിഘ്നകരാണി ഷട്॥

സുഭാഷിതരത്നമാലാ ൪൧

ശരിയായ, നല്ല നിലവാരം ഉള്ള വിദ്യാഭ്യാസത്തിനു വിലങ്ങു തടി ആവുന്ന ആറു കാര്യങ്ങള്‍

൧. ദിശാബോധം ഇല്ലാതാവുക തന്നിഷ്ടം കാണിക്കാനുള്ള പ്രവണത

൨. വരുമാനത്തോടും ലാഭാത്തോടും ഉള്ള അമിതമായാ ആക്രാന്തം

൩ പഠനസമയത്ത് ആവശ്യമില്ലാത്ത അടുപ്പവും സ്നേഹവും പ്രേമവും എല്ലാം പ്രകടിപ്പിക്കുക

൪. വിദ്യ നേടല്‍ അല്ലാതെ ഏറെ ആഘോഷിക്കാനും സുഖം തേടാനുമുള്ള വ്യഗ്രത

൫. വിനയത്തിന്റെ കുറവ്.. ആചാര്യനോടുള്ള ബഹുമാനം ഇല്ലായ്മ

൬. മടി, കുഴിമടി

Gods mentioned in the Vedas alone are worth mention

Kalidasa was a poet.. and a very sharp intellectual..

He was not bound by any scriptures..

He could draw inspiration from any texts or other lore available, and could draw from his own rich and fertile poetic imagination..

Basically, I do not subscribe to the view that Gods mentioned in the Vedas alone are worth mention..

I think Lord Pasupathy and Mother Goddess were worsipped even in Harpaan civilization, which is supposed to have preceded the Vedas..

The tantric literature played an equally important role as Vedas especially in the evolution of Shakthi cult..

Many of of the major mantras in Vidya traditions cannot be related or even remotely traced to even Atharva Veda, not to speak of Rk, Yajus and Saman..

Shakti traditions were even influenced by Budhistic and Jain texts and agamas ( Jain agamas are different from what we see in Hinduism)..

I do not say such belief is either right or wrong, but the uncertainty persists

 

God is a term we can identify by a definition.

The term and entity has attributes or quqlities only to the extent we include those qualities in the definition.

True, some people reach a stage where, at least for themselves, they feel that they have attined unity with the Supreme One and that they can choose to call that Supreme being as God..

The carryover of Karma or attachments from previous lives, again is based on some religious concepts..a matter that we cannot validate outside the framework of religious faith.

I do not say such belief is either right or wrong, but the uncertainty persists..

Nevertheless as far as love and friendship.. or even negative emotions are concerned, we are perceiving them through our sense organs and their control room.. the mind..

Friendship can exist even among atheists or agnostics or between a believer and a non believer too.

It reveals the arrogance of human race

 

The dirt and muck generated by human body 

( and also human mind) is always much more that what nature can clean up. 

The situation is not that bad with reference to other living beings which undergo a waste disposal cycle in sync with elements of nature.. 

MGR sang...உலகம் பிறந்தது எனக்காக. 

Some religions believe that all living and inanimate things on this earth are created for he consumption and enjoyment of the human beings.. 

Is that claim correct? 

It reveals  the arrogance of human race.. 

But our faith, does it subscribe to this idea?

Bhakti and Vibhakti are two separate things

 

In Vedas, the language used is Sanskrit.. There is no doubt.

However many expressions and usages may not be in sync with the definitions of later experts like Panini and Pathanjali..and so on..

There was Prakrita before Sanskrit some say and others think that Prakrita and Samskrutam went hand in hand..

With utmost reverence, I have to state that in the study of a language including Sanskrit I would follow the great academic traditions alone.

Bhakti and Vibhakti are two separate things.

Even today we learn of ten verbal forms in Sanskrit.

लट् वर्तमाने लेट् वेदे* भूते लङ् लुङ् लिटस्तथा ।

विध्याशिषोस्तु लिङ्लोटौ लृङ्लृटौ लृट् च भविष्यति ।।

There was a Lakaram or verbal form Let लेट् which was used in Vedas alone and nowhere else ..

I would prefer not to mix bhakti with rules of grammar and lexicology. lat is the present tense. let is in vedas, lang lung and lit for past tense..ling, vidhi ling and asheerling for directions and teaching, lot for benediction, lrung and lrut for future tense.. लट्, लिट्, लुट्, लृट्, लेट्, लोट्, लङ्, लिङ् (विधिलिङ्, आशीर्लिङ्), लुङ्, लृङ् च ..

I knew I was right, but I LOST THE FRIEND

I faced a funny situation.. 

I had quoted  from Mahabharathm, and quoted the Parvam, adhyayam and number of slokam. 

I have translated the slokam in my own words, giving full meaning and giving my own interpretation, however good or bad it is.. 

The person was asking for the book from which I had extracted the commentary. 

The tone was challenging .

In such situations what can a person do.? 

There is no rule that one should not do anything original.. 

I am of the view that  the process of forming views and opinions  should be that  the author  should think and form his views and opinions according to his own thoughts and convictions and then present them in a cogent fashion.

Then, and then alone, he can go for references, references in  favour of his views as also references  that opposed  his views. If he finds and quotes any  such references he can acknowledge them and quote with citation.

In the situation I faced  where I was trying to form an independent  view  on the basis of a raw couplet I asked my friend whether there is any rule that I should not write something myself. 

I knew I was right, but I LOST THE FRIEND.

Ignorance is bliss.. trained capacity to ignore is greater than that

Our eyes, ears, nose, skin, and tongue.. 

and of course the mind too.. 

are 

created primarily to embrace everythig.. 

be it good or bad

Actually they do not have any idea as to what is good or bad..

But if we have to survive, we should know more about what not to embrace.. than what to embrce..

Ignorance is bliss..

but the trained capacity to ignore is greater than that.

Status of the Guru..

 

Status of the Guru..

Age is not essentially a yardstick for guru-shishya relationship..

Just think of the the young guru sitting under the peepul tree in silence and the aged disciples sitting in front of him.. 

The silence of the Guru gets communicated to the disciples as explanation for everything and the disciples are relieved from all doubts.

chitram vata tarormooley vridha shishyaaH gurur yuvaa, guroshtu mounam vyakyaanam shisyaastu chchinna samasayaaH..

चित्रं वततरोर्मूले वृद्ध शिष्याः गुरुर्युवा गुरोस्तु मौनं व्याख्यानं शिष्यास्तु च्छिन्न संशयाः

this would tell everything..

In fact such a situation is said to have arisen in the life of Kalidasa.. 

 He married the princess before whom  he was presented by deceit  through the nasty tricks of some failed lovers of hers who ensured that the princess got married to the doubly distilled idiot. 

 When she came to know of the trick and the misfortune that had befallen her because of that, she advised the unlettered cowherd that was her husband to approach Mother Kali, and when the Divine mother, in Her infinite mercy, gave him enlightenment, the first thing he remembered was that his wife had assumed  the role of his guru who guided him to divinity.. 

He could not treat her as a wife anymore..

To avoid such situations, in our tradition, all factors including age, relationship etc., were considered  very seriously before accepting the guru-shishya relationship..

Getting a very bad and undeserving guru can be considered only as the result of sins we would have incurred in this life and earlier lives.. Mahaapaapashakthi.. 

What to do?

But once we have chosen the  the guru, we cannot brand the reverse learning process as taboo or impossible and cannot  treat the guru irreverently. Anyhow  our old social norms over the years  viewed such reversals in age or education  as odd. 

In the long history of a society like ours the rules sometimes tend to get biased, sometimes straitjacketed even, and grain and chaff get mixed up. 

 We have to use our good sense, and avoid the chaff.

Moreover, any action taken in good faith should not be considered  as sinful..

 The principle shaastraaya cha sukhaaya cha (शास्त्राय च सुखाय च ) always worked. Whoever or whatever is the guru, he has to be accorded great respect .

Learning under a pratiloma ( lesser in age, status etc ) Guru was not envisaged in our Varna based rigid system. I can cite an example. You might have heard of Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri, the scholar and author of Narayaneeyam.. He was a man of loose morals up to a particular stage in his life and good sense was driven home on him by one Achyutha Pisharodi, a great astrologer and scholar. Melpathur wanted to study vedas too but insisted that he should get the training  from Achyutha pisharodi, who was ineligible to learn or teach vedas.. 

However  on Bhattathiris insistence one scholar rendered Vedas to Pisharody and Pisharody in turn taught Bhattathiri.. 

Consequently sin overtook Pisharody and he was afflicted with Vataroga.. 

Bhattathiri is said to have taken over the disease and by worshipping Guruvayurappan through Narayaneeyam got relief for himself form Vatarogam. 

Here apart from the Bhakti line, the lesson is that an ineligible person teaching someone does not deprive the former of his status as a guru, but only deposits durithams to his own account. 

 By the same logic, Vidya, whether spiritual or temporal is accepted by us from someone, we have to accept him as our guru.. 

Definitely Einstein and Newton are our gurus just as Vyasa and Shankara.. 

I believe so.. 

Views and opinions can vary..

Lalithasahasranamam 2

Lalithasahasranamam 2

There is some substantial ground to be covered before discussing the sacred names of the Mother. But the first name “Sreematha” fascinates me.

A few reasons that comes to the mind

1. Everywhere in this earth where human beings live, whatever religion, region, or language is followed, a child born, the living human being’s first introduction to this earth, first feels its connection with the human being from whose body it got separated. At the same moment it feels the pang of separation from that body too. So the child celebrates its birth and at the same moment laments its severance from the umbilical connection, sharing both jubilation and the pangs of separation with its mother. The first word that voluntarily erupts out of the Childs’s vocal chords and forms by the simple joining of the upper lip with the lower one is “Ma” and we find to our surprise that in almost all languages, that “Ma” is the basic component of the word denoting mother.. maatha, mother, mater, amma, amba, ammai, maa, mam, mammy, mom, mommy, mamen, everything is mother..

Sure it is the first word that erupted first from the lips of every human being that took birth on this earth..

2 There was a stage in the growth of human beings, where there was no religion, language, no idea of human relations, no idea about God. The man of that age looked at everything around him with fear, with awe, with uncertainty and even with suspicion. He was baffled by the unpredictability of all things that happened around him. Nothing could be said for sure. If he had met an animal which he could expect to kill next day for food and somehow marked its location, and went back to the same spot next day and could not find the prey any more, he did not know whether he should feel sorry, or whether he should cry in desperation. He did not know what to do. But his first lesson in life was that the behavior of nature around him was beyond his control. Clouds gathered, lightning struck the earth, rains poured in torrents, all beyond his control. He saw the sun rise and set. He saw the moon wax and wane. He did not have any say in the behavior of the cloud or rain or the sun or the moon. He saw plants grow, flower, bear fruits, and die or got burnt in wildfire as summer season came. He saw plants grow again with rains. He saw his own fellow beings die without any predictability, and he also saw his own images emerging from the womb of his womenfolk. All these happening made him believe that there was some power completely beyond his knowledge and control which regulated the rhythm of nature and also caused the birth and creation of all things animate and inanimate and also the destruction of living things. ..

He did not have any knowledge even about the process as to how he was born. He was not perhaps aware that human foetus formed in the womb of a woman through the male-female interaction. He saw that the abdomen of the females of his group started swelling, and was afraid that it was a disease. But when after some time, the womb expanded and a little living being in the same shape but in miniature form as the human being was thrown out and that small one started breathing and suckling by itself he was filled with awe and a lot of respect for the apparent source of the little being..

The human being in his innocence connected a great power in nature with the growth of trees and animals and other living beings. He saw the same creation process replicated from the belly of a female. So the natural inference for him was that the female being represented the supreme power which represented the creation, maintenance, and destruction.. srushti, sthithi and samhaaram of all that is present in the universe.

So he identified the Divine being with the females. The women, all the women in this world. That alone can be the first interpretation for calling the Supreme being as Maatha.. The mother.. This definition is proved without any reference to any creed or scripture. It is simply the product of innocent reasoning.. And therefore it is truth, and absolute truth.

Someone called me a self-proclaimed scholar.. Am I?

 

Someone called me a self-proclaimed scholar.. Am I?

I have never proclaimed myself as a scholar of any eminence..

but in academic parlance -anyone who goes to school.. even a primary school student is a scholar..

the word has evolved only from school..

I am still a student, a schoolboy. no doubt..

Regarding culinary skill, I have to confess that I have cooked rice for the pleasure of Mahaganapathy( in our temple) whom I have served as a priest or archaka even as a very small boy..

I have made even Payasam..

Of course, at home I have helped my mother and later my wife too, by giving expert comments on the lack of taste in the food they prepare..

I learnt from my father that his granfather was a Seenu Pattar (official Name is Narayana I know from tarpanam) and that he was a busy cook..

My periyappa who was a bachelor, went to Colombo as a butler.. in effect a Cook..

And I have some friends from all ages, who are great cooks..

I remember an elderly mama, who is as good as a blood relation to me was an excellent Charakku master and prepared nice Jaangris all the day..

The body changes, the physical strength wanes, but the mind of a mother remains the same

 

True, Nature takes extra care to sustain females even without any special medical attention as long as they are in their childbearing stage..

It is the selfishness of nature..

However the same nature plays very funny tricks and all health problems cascade upon the ladies after that stage..

That happns too quickly and can pose challenges..

The body changes, the physical strength wanes, but the mind of a mother remains the same..

We have to understand the danger signals...

The departure of a lady is more traumatic to her male relations..

A man losing his wife just lives on, but a major part of him is already dead.

Many hind heads of bald people resemble the moon too,, moon never waning but growing in concentric circles of greater radii.

When life becomes empty we just leave... it is as simple as that.

 

When life becomes empty we just leave... it is as simple as that.

All..you and me included.. will leave sooner or later.

Yes. .life is just happening whether we plan it or not.

We face tension only when we plan.

If you are a believer you can leave the planning to god.

If not just let future unfurl itself in its own way.

crocodile population in social media must be outnumbering the real life count of living reptiles of that species..

So many torrential rivers of tears are flowing..without interruption..

The immigrant Iyers settling in Kerala

The immigrant Iyers settling in Kerala were obsessively clannish.. 

We observed distinctions of Vadamas, Mankudy, Brihacharanam, Astasahasram Vadhyama etc., Each sect claimed number one place in respectability and marriage inter se  was unthinkale at that time .. 

They say Vadamas had the greatest efficiency in increasing their own populaton in Kerala.. അവരയ് ഒരു കൊടി വടമന്‍ ഒരു കുടി 

avarai oru koti vataman oru kuti... 

if there is one tendril of Avarakkai plant, it will spread over the whole garden and if there is one family of Vadama it will grow into a clan very soon.

I have said what all I think should be said on this issue

 

You can compare parts of the Vedas as cow, udders, milk receptacle etc..

However when we chant Vedas no cow or vessel or mik will come..

Upama and utprekhsha are tool to understand some core issue in depth and it should not be taken as the compared object per se .

If someone remarks that “He is as black as a rosewood tree" ,, this should not be construed tomean He is the rosewood tree.."

You are intelligent, far too intelligent.

Even though I may not match you there, years and reading are likely to help me better..

I have said what all I think should be said on this issue.

I do not think any seer or guru expected that an Upama or Utpreksha cited by him should bring in some new and confusing object or connotation..

Vedic Sanskrit and s Classical Sanskrit

I have had occasion to go through even some research articles on the issue of Vedic and Literary Sanskrit.. Some experts  go to the extent of stating the language used in Vedas is Vedic Sanskrit and that used in Kavyas etc as Classical Sanskrit.

Some think that the two types of Sanskrit Co-existed and the Classical Sanskrit had some relations with Prakritam as an uncle or aunt or a cousin, and some view it as a brotherly relation.

In Upanyasams and speechers, chaatuvaakyams  or exaggerations can be used.. 

That is because the target audience are not  all scholars and even the stray scholars available are more spiritual..

I have no dissent towards  Perivayava or about what he said, and in a religious or spiritual matter, I completely surrender to him.

However we have to draw certain boundary lines.

Sanskrit is not a property of a religion alone.

 Even Vedas are not the property of any sect.

the content of the Shastras and not the chronology, is of any value

 

What I was trying to convey was that the content of the Shastras and not the chronology, is of any value..

The principles remain the same whether Krishna was present in Threta Yuga or Dwaapara Yuga..

In fact, by Krishna or Rama we mean only the Supreme Being..

And except perhaps the first Manvantharam of Swaayambhuva Manu, after the Pralaya the cyle of Krita Threta, Dwapara and Kali.. would have at least been over once and therefore in the later Manvantarams the history of the past Manvantrarm is already there..

Now we are in the Seventh manvantharam of Vaivasvata manu..

I think in some mtters there is a caste system.. In the impossible way.. What is said is not important to some people..Who says that onlycounts.. People just exercise their right to be biased..

rotting of the mind due to ego and prejudices is dangerous

 

I warn you all.. Physical ageing is a natural process.. it cannot be helped.. 

God is in control.. 

But rotting of the mind due to ego and prejudices is dangerous.. 

Everyone has the right to punish himself.

 But polluting the environment and the peace of mind with the foul smell of such rotten minds and their products require extreme punishments.. 

Be warned.

I felt rotten on reading the discussion in my post on old age..

 I cannot hide my displeasure.. 

It is upto all concerned to maintain minimum decorum.. 

I think I am also catching up gangrene in my psyche.. 

I have to go for amputation and cauterization to save myself.

Sri Lalithasahasranamam

 

Sri Lalithasahasranamam

We revere Sri Lalithasahasranamam and SriVishnunsahasranamam as the most sacred of the threads of thousand names attributed to our beloved deities..

Amba Tripurasundari is the beloved of many devotees of all the ages and there are many Sahasranamas written in Her honour..

But the Lalitha Sahasranamam coming as the concluding part of the Brahmandapuranam where the Last forty chapters of the Uthara Khandam shine like a garland named as the celebrated Sri Lalithopakhyanam.

Towards the end of Lalithopakhyaanam, three chapters give the immortal gem of Lalitha Sahasranamam as if forming a shining pendant to the garland that is Lalithopakhyaanam..

Primarily the Sahasranamam describes the thousand most glorious names of Rajarajesvari,the Mahatripurasundari..

However, the Vishnupuranam and Srimad Bhagavatham itself state that, the last of the Mahapuranas that Vyasa wrote was the Brahmandapuranam and the episode of Matha Lalitha covers the final 43 chapters of this Puranam.

Therefore, scholars are of the view that all the wisdom and philosophy that all the eighteen Mahapuranas contain are seen to have been presented as a highly concentrated capsule of Amrutham in Lalithasahasranamam.

Therefore a devotee who studies this hymn on Lalithadevi, and contemplates on the content of each name, each letter and syllable with deep introspection and reverence, in addition to being blessed with the mother with all that is good and required for him in this world and in the eternal life, would become an adept in the nuances of the philosophy and content of what we now see as Hinduism.

Mother Lalithambika is Avyaajakarunaamoorthy.. the embodiment of mercy without any reservations or hold-back..

People capable of making gifts do so with a lot of strings attached and without concealing their arrogance and without failing to rub in their superiority..

However this Lady Lalitha, is our Mother, and no mother would feel arrogant and boastful when they tend their children.

She is our mother and we can ask for anything from her without hesitation..

And she cannot help granting us our desires, if she can manage, and there is hardly anything that she cannot manage..

Therefore in our relation to the Mother, we are always in a win-win situation.

True, she will provide for us with all our needs even without asking.

Nevertheless, she is a mother with innumerable children, all of us.

We know how a mother with even a single naughty toddler struggles so much..

Therefore why don’t we help her by just asking what we want and only what really want..?

This is my introspection after falling in utter surrender at the feet of the Lord of Lords Krishna, and my dear Mother Lalithambika.. Mahatripurasundari.. Rajarjeswari..

The great Vidyopaasaka Bhaskararaya has written a great commentary on this Mahamantram.

Do not meddle with one’s own intense faiths and beliefs

 

If you appreciate the background for this discussion you will understand what I said.

I am not insisting that Jathakams should be compared or marriages stopped on that basis..

I am basically not against even different sects of brahmins joining together in marriage.. And for that matter I do not consider even inte-racial or inter-caste marriages as wrong.

My remark was made in a discussion where they were saying that Rama and Sita or Vishnu and Lakshmi or Uma and Shankara or Ganga and Shiva did not compare horoscopes and married.. So we should not.. They were just ridiculing the idea of astrology totally.

If the parents and those who are close agree that there is no need to compare horoscope, there is no issue.

Horoscope comparison does not arise from our Vedic of smartha traditions.. 

That I have made very clear.

But if the persons closely connected and whose lives are at stake feel that there should be such match... others have no right to ridicule such idea. That is all

Ultimately in marriages, if there is some haggling over horoscope match and marriage happens in spite of that, and something unwanted happens, the parties who believed in horoscope would snatch this opportunity of harass the hapless victims.. Especially the parents or siblings on both sides can be the culprits.. And life can become a prolonged misery..

I just said. Do not meddle with one’s own intense faiths and beliefs..

That is not any invitation to become superstitious.

And just because the vedic jyothisham has nothing to do with marriage match we cannot say that the treatises by later authors and sages (many of them are revered like gods themselves) regarding marriage match are all not valid. There are solid texts especially in the Kerala Jyothisha tradition which prescribe the marriage criteria.. That may not be found in the Vedic period

But then even many prayers and stotram like Vishnu Sahasranama or Lalitha Sahasranamam are not parts of Vedas.. Vishnu sahasranama is at least a part of itihasa.. but lalitha sahasranamam and many other prayers and stotras are part of not so important puranams.. That does not belittle the importance of such stotrams.. Agamas are not parts of Vedas.. Tantras too are not part of Vedas.. Our pooja rituals and many other activities are governed not only by Vedas but many other derivative texts.. At best the only condition would be that the ideas contained in the later rituals should not be opposed to the ideas of Vedas. It was simply that such practices were not there in Vedic times. They came into vogue just four or five centuries ago..

Hinduism and Brahminism are wide-spectrum treatises.. There can be diametrically opposite views at the far ends of the spectrum. And no one can say for sure what the right way is. Or right path..

The best way for the Individual is to follow the path which appears for him safe.. If he has solid company in that path, he is safer.

 

The magic is created when mind, and matter moves in unison.

A veena is sitting in the corner of the hall.

The fingers of the player are not in motion.

The mind too has not decided on the note..

Nothing happens

The mind thinks,

the finger moves,

the strings vibrate |

and the song is born..

That is magic.

The magic is created when mind, and matter moves in unison.