srOtaswini

Man se rAvaN jo nikAle, rAm uske man mein hain!

2007-09-25T15:09:00.000-06:00

rAm, just uttering His name is equivalent to chanting thousand names of vishNu. He is our ideal hero, an ideal king, husband, son, brother. Above all, he is the epitome of our vedAnta. His story shows us how our Vedas perfectly unify religion, morals and societal values. Everything boils down to good vs. evil allowing one to categorize both materialistic and spiritual gains. In doing so, you pave a path to reach those higher goals.

Shuddha brahma parAtpara rAm – he is the pure brahmAn. Anyone who becomes in to pure brahmAn becomes rAm. Such purity and kindness can only flourish with selflessness. He is the selfless thought. He is the benevolent act of charity. He is that infinitesimal moment of time when the mind does not wander. He is the blue that the eyes see in the colorless sky. He is the unborn cry that is ever waiting to express for the mind. He is the blazing fire that takes us in when one life journey begets another.

He is so close to us, within us. Every gRhiNi is sItA and every husband is rAm…yet they ask for proof. The eyes are always wandering to see outside hence he is not visible when the mind eye is clouded with arishaDvargAs (mada matsarya kama krodha lobha moha). Let rAm nAm be the sole mantra, reminding all senses the code of conduct that he has set for us.

Astraphobia

2007-06-01T10:38:00.001-06:00

Astraphobia is fear of thunder and lightning. On set of summer brings thunderstorms. Where I live, thunderstorms occur almost everyday and of course, every night. Nights are dreadful with anticipation of hearing the next clap of the thunder while trying to sleep. I don’t think I am scared of it like small children are. Kids usually hide under the beds to avoid hearing and seeing the thunder and lightning. In my case, I think I am just startled, but to a high extent. The sound is just too loud for me.

Pardon my scientific ignorance, but I always thought that thunder occurs when two clouds collide. Apparently, the theories have changed over the centuries. We are now supposed to believe that when hot air gushes to fill the void caused by preceding lightning, a bang like sound is produced.

Ligyrophobia is fear of loud sounds, specifically unexpected ones. But in the case of thunder, I see the lightning first and the atmosphere gives an unmistakable hint as well. Yet, I am startled every time. Wikipedia says one way of curing this loud sound phobia (in my case only thunders) is to undergo hypnosis. I would rather stuff my ears with cotton than put my senses in someone else’s hands!

SkyFlower

2007-05-06T22:14:00.000-06:00

vikasita tarupankti
vasantakAle ambArupushpa
kuntalet dhAryAmi
------------
budding trees
spring flower in the sky
wear it on my hair

bhaNe narsaiyyo tenu darshan karta

2007-05-04T20:37:00.000-06:00

vaishNav jan to tene kahiye je
pID parAyi jANe re
par-dukhkhe upkAr kare toye
man abhimAn na ANe re

sakaL lok mA sahune vande
nindA na kare keni re
vAch kAch man nishchaL rAkhe
dhan-dhan janani teni re

sam-dRshTi ne trishNa tyAgi
parastrI jene mAt re
jihva thakI asatya na bole
par-dhan nav jhAle hAth re

moh-mAya vyApe nahi jene
dRDh vairAgya jena man mAne
rAm nAm shUn tALi re lAgi
sakaL tirath tena tan mA re

vaN-lobhi ne kapaT-rahit chhe
kAm-krodh nIvAya re
bhaNe narsaiyyo tenu darshan karta
kuL ekoter tArya re

This Gujarati bhajan needs no introduction. Any bhajan is sung to reconfirm our understanding and our love for the divinity. I always took the meaning of Vaishnav here to mean a person of God. Translation -

One who is a VaishNav
Knows the pain of others
Does good to others, esp. to those ones who are in misery
Does not let pride enter his mind

A VaishNav, Tolerates and praises the entire world
Does not say bad things about anyone
Keeps his/her words, actions and thoughts pure
O VaishNav, your mother is blessed (dhanya-dhanya)

A VaishNav sees everything equally, rejects greed and avarice
Considers some one else's wife/daughter as his mother
The tongue may get tired, but will never speak lies
Does not even touch someone else's property

A VaishNav does not succumb to worldly attachments
Who has devoted himself to staunch detachment to worldly pleasures
Who has been addicted to the elixir coming by the name of Ram
For whom all the religious places are in the mind

Who has no greed and deceit
Who has renounced lust of all types and anger
The poet Narsi will like to see such a person
By who's virtue, the entire family gets salvation

Tender and Wilder

2006-12-15T11:43:00.000-06:00

SrIpadyAh saurabheNa

rAtrijaladharA

mAyUravarNabhAvuka

With Jasmine's fragrance

Bearing the dew

Turns violet

This photo was beautifully clicked by my friend Sriram. You can see more of his photos at koolpix.blogspot.com

Notice the first aksharAs of each phrase in my haiku...

Food for Thought

2006-12-13T14:08:00.001-06:00

Some thoughts are desirous in nature. My appetite for chocolates is more than just an occasional desire. The overdose of sweets this holiday season has delightfully satiated my taste buds. The constant nitpicking about my pickiness of food made me wonder about what is it that differentiates I like versus I don’t like.

Superficially, it is just a matter of a few pre set priorities of my mind about what tastes I like. It is similar to relationships. I like a few people and don’t like others. This is because I establish a connection or develop attachment (of varying intensities) with them. So my love of chocolates is a sweet attachment!

While I still haven’t figured out the above, I stumbled upon the nature of thoughts as such. Thoughts are infinite in number. Mind is like an assembly line dispensing myriad superimposed reflections. It seems daunting to control both number and nature of these thoughts.

Here are a few examples of nature of thoughts:
kAma - desire
sankalpa - willing
vikalpa - doubtful
nishchaya - decisive
sandeha - doubtful
shraddha - belief
ashraddha - disbelief
dhRti - fortitude
adhRti - lack of patience
hRi - modest
dhI - understanding
bhI - fearful

All these different kinds can occur with different intensities. These thought fluctuations is the mind.

saMkalpa vikalpa Atmika vRttih manah
Thoughts in a state of doubt are the mind

nishchay Atmika vRttih budhdhih
The thought of decision is the intellect

samaraN Atmika vRttih chitah
The faculty of memory is chitta

Silver Lining

2006-12-06T10:00:00.000-06:00

AkASastha jaladhara

bhAnuNA spardhita

rajatAbhAya

Clouds in the sky

Competing together with light

For the silver lining

It feels easier to write on natural things that I see around myself. Even though natural beauty does not top my list, I guess its easier to write about. I should deviate from nature now :)

mAnassarovar

2006-11-20T15:50:00.000-06:00

SItala himAdri
tasya vyatta jaTA sprushati
saritAH pravahanti

Cold Ice capped mountain
His open matted hair brushes
Streams flow

Its beautiful to imagine how everything links to Siva and Sakti!

Do You Haiku?

2006-11-16T20:15:00.000-06:00

This is my first Haiku in samskRtam. I have a few insignificant ones in English.

pUrNachandrika
swapna manDalam
chittaja rAgamAlika

The fullmoon light
In the fantasy world
A heart-born ode

I like this one very much for its inherent musical touch. purNachandrika is a karNAtik rAga. The famous tyAgaraja kIrtana "telisi rAma chintana" is in this rAga. rAgamAlika is usually a composition with each stanza in a different rAga.

SiSira Rtu
chAtakAyAh nirIkshaNa
kArtIka dIpam

Cold dark season
The bird's longing
For winter lamps

The next one is just a fluke. I was trying to maintain the 5-7-5 syllable rule. Dont think too hard about it. I failed to include a good hidden meaning into it. Very seasonal in nature. Please ask if you cannot decipher the language.
Hope to post more haikus in samskRtam soon.

This Afternoon

2006-11-15T16:30:00.000-06:00

I did absolutely nothing today but attend a few phone calls. Lethargy takes up man or woman beyond belief. Yea, the ever hyper active person like me can be a victim too.

Sometimes when I listen to my music class recordings, I feel I did not put in that extra effort just because I was lethargic. When I sing it again, it seems perfect. I am similar with signal coordination. So, what goes wrong the first time? Just that the thought process is not complementing the voluntary action being performed at that moment of time. Focus - is the word. The emission of thoughts is so random and seems involuntary.

I have practiced prioritization of actions at any given moment. How do you prioritize thoughts ??

janasammohini

2006-11-06T10:27:00.000-06:00

I was listening to this santoor jugalbandi while wading my way back home through the peak hour traffic. The rAga stands to its name. My ears and mind were very pleased. There was this usual hustle-bustle in the traffic, but I was not there! I later realized I was the risky driver among the lot. The rAga lacks the note 'ma' and hence not a sampUrNa rAga. This does not prohibit the completeness of my heart's content.

Where I am and what I perceive is only a function of the thought. External characteristics hardly matter to where the mind takes me using the thought. Usually, I attach this kind of satisfaction to the serenity of mAnassarovar. Although I have never been there, my mind has tried to experience the beatitude several times. Beauty is personified when it brings immense peace.

The following verse is one of the many that describe beauty from saundarya lahari:

tvadIyaM saundarya tuhinagirikanye tulayitu
kavIndrAH kalpante kathamapi virinchiprabhRtayaH;
yadAlokautsukyAdamaralalanA yAnti manasA
tapobhirduShprApAmapi giriSasAyujyapadavIm .

Oh, daughter of ice mountain, even the creator who leads an array of great poets fails to describe your sublime beauty. The pretty heavenly maidens with a wish to see your pristine loveliness, try to see you through the eyes of your Lord, the great Siva. And do penance to him and reach him through their mind.

nishkAmya karma in Day to Day Life

2006-10-26T10:25:00.000-06:00

vihAya kAmAn yah sarvAn pumAmScharati nisspruhah
nirmamO nirahankArah sa Santim adhigachchati

"That man attains peace who, after rejecting all desires, moves about free from hankering, without the idea of ('me' and) 'mine', and devoid of pride."

Yes, I read this Sloka several times from sAmkhya yoga chapter of the gIta. I wish Sankara, if not Sri kRshNa explained in detail how to be effective to us, the super-cool-know-all generation. I guess practising disattachment cannot be preached.

Let's see what I can infer from this one Sloka. Santim adhigachchati - attaing peace is the ultimate goal irrespective of the magnitude of karma performed. Several kinds of emotions that are caused to a human mind hamper this peace. One such emotion is stress. Stress links back to desires. Desire to perform, achieve, succeed. Stress can be controlled by realizing that such materialistic achievements lead to more desires and more stress. Human mind's inhibition to entertain such belief is its lack of enthusiasm for 'no gain'.

Voluntarily or involuntarily, we are always learning from and adapting to our surroundings. We take on simple challenges and adapt but restrain from trying bigger ones. If we brood long enough on nature (prakRti), our false notions to expect a reward for our efforts will vanish. Comparing one kind of action to other is also encouraging. For example, compare our acts out of compassion. We never expect anything in return. But we do expect bountiful results for those acts performed out of love or anger.

The significance of the word 'charati' should always be remembered. To move along and not be static is the key. All the attachments will make one's mind static, hindering its progress towards liberty, mOksha.

Symbolizing All Good Things

2006-10-23T10:17:00.000-06:00

Even to the uneducated, the word lakshmi symbolizes all the good things in material life. For the rich, lakshmi brings more comforts. She brings fame and recognition to them in the society. For the deprived and hungry, lakshmi is a dream, the ideal goddess. Younger people crave for beauty. Lakshmi offers them supreme beauty and charm. The word lakshmi means one who has all the auspicious marks (sakala lakshaNa sampanna).

SlokA 11 and 12 from SrI sUktam:

kardamEna prajA-bhUtA mayi sambhava kardama
Sriyam vAsaya me kule mAtaram padma-mAlinIm (11)

Apah srijantu snigdhAni chiklIta vasa me gruhe
nicha devIm mAtaram Sriyam vAsaya me kule (12)

Lakshmi! You have progeny in kardama. (Hence) O kardama, may you reside in me. Make mother SrI with garlands of lotuses to have Her abode in my (ancestral) line. May the (holy) waters create friendship (they being of adhesive nature). O chikIIta (progeny of SrI)! Reside at my home; and arrange to make Divine mother SrI stay in my lineage!

The idea of SrI is profound because while satisfying our material desires, it directs our attention to the supreme power that gives us all that we need.