Monday, January 20, 2014

Reflections

Today's thought is partly triggered by Ambu's- my brother- musings on a subject very dear to my heart - Music. Since without "hyperboles"  I tend to feel that the import of my messages get lost ---  I must apologize for being presumptuous in assuming that my messages have some profound impact ----  I hope you will bear with such preamble in this message also ......

I had gone ad nauseum in the past with the theme about Universal soul's desire to manifest itself into many forms in order to "experience" and the coming about of  this "creation" by and from ITSELF, resulting in experiencer-experience kind of duality, more commonly referred to as "HIS LEELA".

Now the "hyperboles". In matters relating to "experiences" the "heart" is the focal agency. It's therefore tempting for me to conclude that the US (Universal Soul stupid!!) decided to posit Himself thereabouts. To the brain and therefore the intellect etc He decided to give it absolute free-will so it can -amongst other things- create anything and everything it liked, similar to the "creation" by ITSELF. The most apt creation of this" Intellect" I can imagine is the computer "chip". which has the human intellect embedded in all its manifestations yet acting on its own free-will as it were, creating simulating, myriad imagery etc etc, almost replicating everything that a human intellect can do.....but without which it has no independent existence. 

This intellectual free-will - to my mind - is one which leads to "scholarship" and today's world is almost totally hooked to this "scholarship" stakes. My inability to fully identify, relate to, this, stems from a variety of factors 

(a)  The scholarship pursuit (to me) has this great handicap: namely that the urge to exhibit, far exceeds the desire "to know", and this becomes an end in itself. 

(b)  With its free-will, this also tends to become more and more insensitive to the need of the "heart" where the Universal Soul resides.     

(c) Finally my own limited intellect which has perhaps a major role in unduly influencing these kind of inferences!!    


The last bit is very strongly re-enforced by the world around me which seems fascinated, mesmerized, by "scholarship" so much that often I keep wondering if original themes are completely lost "conscious of".  For instance when asked about say a scam like a Coalgate or 2G, a listing of  the so called misrule of non-secular BJP is rattled off in a most scholarly fashion!! As if this is not bad enough, there will be many who will start applauding at the depth and finery of these observation/oration.   

On the other hand whenever something touches the heart there is this "Experience of terrific Bliss". My romantic interpretation is that having chosen to reside here, such bliss being "inspired" and is Experienced by Him, and only my ignorance is making me feel that it is "I" who is enjoying. 

In any art form like Music for instance the difference between "scolarship" and "inspiration" can be stark. Scholarship will produce an electronic chip induced Excel-sheet kind of perfect, faultless, breathtaking, and awesome rendition. The overwhelming "experience of bliss" lingering on will however be missing.

Inspired performances however take you to that step; experiencing divinity in your heart. It has no doubt, the drawback of the unpredictable - it can fail sometimes- but when sublime it's impossible to describe the effect, as it is the "divine" which is experiencing. There is then the constant "ache" to get that experience again which gets you into a "prayer" mood.

To make myself more clear; A Bala Murali represents scholarship, A Mahalingam in Flute represents the "Inspired" category. Unfortunately my choice is Mahalingam; unfortunate because he is unpredictable and being close to divinity only when He inspires, we experience, and He prefers that this is "rare".  

A Bala Murali is so full of scholarship, he does not feel the urge for that inspiration from Him. It's scintillating, alluring but does not bring tears in ecstasy, and the heart has limited if not "any" role to play.  

The world seems to love these scholarship guys, and thinks otherwise. I have problems with it, and joining the gang would make me sad.

Love

Vichu               







                

          


1 comment:


  1. Narasimhan's Comments

    That's from your heart and so it touches a deep chord,though your disdain, however apologetically expressed,for those whose perception of wisdom and bliss you consider "clouded" by their scholarship mars the significance of the msg.Indeed it is only in the heart that bliss can be experienced but by no reasoning can scholarship be declared to be naturally inimical to bliss.Scholarship will suffer from the handicap you are speaking about only if "the urge to exhibit far exceeds the desire to know",not because scholarship will inescapably cause that urge as you are concluding.One may be well advised to be alert to this "risk" with scholarship but that can only be a caution sounded.Towering saints down the ages were,most of them,towering scholars too whose scholarship did not become an impediment to their mergence with their heart or soul.

    I can sense your intense discomfort with the kind of "scholarship" to which "today's world is hooked" that impels you to say that "joining the gang would make you sad'.Yet your heart may feel glad if you could summon the will and discipline to match Balamurali's excel perfection taking care to infuse your growing scholarship at every stage with Mahalingam's inspiration.You would then be a Tyaagaraja whose technical perfection in Carnatic music had blended most naturally with his perpetual state of inspiration and bliss.Scholars could miss out on bliss but the blessed need not for that reason shun scholarship.That would be like throwing the baby away with the soap water.

    God bless us all

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