Gita : Essence

I have not blogged a piece in the Jignyaasaa blog for about an year now. Once wisdom dawns, the wise say, that there is only silence. Was I, or am I  "there", then? Well, far from it, going by this urge again to share and blog, with this interim of an year mostly occupied with the passionate desire to see a printed version of it.!!!!!

This unedifying desire was troubling me, till on an off-chance, while channel surfing in TV, I got to see a scene from a Hollywood film. There is a dialog between two guys and this goes like this: (Uncannily similar to my persona !!!!!!!)

First person : What do you do? 

Second one : I am a writer........

FP : what do you write on?  

Second : Oh I usually blog my pieces. 

FP : Oh I see, Blogging is nothing but some graffiti with punctuation!!   

Regardless of the sarcasm (rebuke?) I couldn't help appreciate the import of this observation.    

Perhaps there is this sub-conscious feeling all along, that a book would make me to get to the grade as a writer(!!) & which is manifesting itself as a desire to get the blog into a book form....... How sad...... especially since this is spiritual Jignyaasaa by the way......

And in deference to the profoundness of this Film's dialog, I am tempted to start this blog with a few Vichisms.... (Vichu's profound graffiti expressed as aphorisms with punctuation )  

Here I go:   

1.God's blessing seems like a an Oxymoron: It comes without my knowing and as per my desire.... ( Thannai Ariyaamal, yathechhaya in Tamil) ......

2.Love is blind (is only a belief ) and so gives pain when there is no reciprocity.

3.Bhakthi however is complete surrender, in a fully conscious state, without any expectation of reciprocity & in absolute trust in Him, that He will deliver.... 

This blog was about Gita so where is the connection one may ask.  Patience my lord, here they are....    

I will quote from two verses and express them as aphorisms : 

First is a Verse from the second Chapter (the beginning of Gita Upadesa...) and is very profound ......  

Karmanyeva adhikaarasthe.....(Your rights are solely confined to performing your duties, karmaas....)

The other is in the final 18th Chapter, which while appearing simple on the face of it, to me seems most profound.........

Maam Ekam Sharanam ......(Surrender unto Me alone.....) 

There is this essay Titled "On Doing Nothing",  by one J.B. Priestly which was part of my English class in the 10th Standard. Wish I had been wise enough in those days to tell my English teacher who used to feel mesmerized by this essay, that this is an oxymoron at the best. 

Our texts are very clear that there can be no moment in the lives of us mortals which can be without "doing"..... A saying by Vyaasaa goes further with some profound import

"all our karmaas are prescribed and are to be performed in order to rid ourselves of doing karma without expectations of fruits ..... " (Much more profound & meaningful?)  I am digressing, and so let me get back to the Verses.  

You first start off with believing in God, do His ordained karmaa, expecting Him to give you all kinds of boons as if it is a kind of barter, and feel disappointed, angry, frustrated, and start blaspheming when He apparently gives you a feeling that He isn't listening.... ..... The Verse is clearly implying "thou shalt just do his/her duty" period.... doing thus will act as a cleanser, & lead you to that stage of Nishkaama karma (doing one's duty without expectation of a result) .... In other words, getting to that stage of "Doing one's karmaa for the sake of karma alone  without either a trace of self consciousness & ego, or any kind of attachment to the fruits of such action..... 

The Verse in the final Chapter then tells you about transcending thence to the ultimate stage, where you, i, he or karma, etc all Cease to exist, and what remains is I the non-dual ONE.  

Rest of the interim verses are more about Arjun's jignyaasaa driven Qs and the Lord's step by step Ans; a la Guru & Shishyaa samvaad about the "Hows"  to reach that stage of merger unto Him in "ONE"  .... the only purpose of this life.....as a human being..... 

It's for one to take a choice; either follow the two aphorisms & merge ultimately or 
be so fascinated with the "hows", that you are trapped enjoying its beauty in perpetuity..... Rishi Bharadwaj was so fascinated with mastering the Vedas that he had to be told by Narad Muni to chuck it, & go on meditation to realize himself.....

Contrary to what may appear to be a bit of cowardice to leave everything to Him in total trust, this requires one to be brave enough to remain steadfast in the face of all privations He may choose to visit you.

Fortune favors the brave is a saying, others eternally wait for fortune to favor them  
Choice therefore is clear......  

Ekalavya alias Vichu

Reflections : Why Do I write & Blog

A few days back as I was chatting with my cousin, a query regarding the cause which impels one to write/blog/share etc, came up suddenly. In the context of my obsession to pen my thoughts regularly in a blog, this I thought, was a very relevant question. But then having a no- clear answer, it left me pondering it over & over again. The undercurrents of the query are quite profound (a) to whom is it addressed, (b) should I assume my competence to contribute even if the target audience is identified (c) or is it mere “kaala Kshepam” meaning a time pass? 

After mulling over the last few days, I think I have something akin to a reasonable “samaadhaanam” to this query. And here I am back to my obsession to blog/share, with that immediate response namely that this urge to write is (a) addressed to no one but myself (b) I assume no competence & (c) this definitely is no time-pass.      

Let me begin with a slightly flippant argument before going over to something more serious later. I have this great fascination for good music. I admire a very few artists with whom I experience a kind of “oneness” ….After I hear them, it is impossible not to try & hum a few beautiful portions of their rendering, and in the process experience something ranging from mere satisfaction to a kind of bliss, depending on the beauty of the particular briga/pidippu The immediate urge then is to share; if the audience is empathetic it adds to the pleasure, but there is no dilution of my satisfaction even when I find the other not responding or worse not relating to it at all, because the bliss lies in that “pidippu/bhriga” and is (a) subjective (b) only individually experience-able 

So to my thought process; I read a piece in “geetha”, and the thought process is rapidly “on”. Gradually I am fascinated to the extent that I want to think aloud, share, without a care whether the others would relate to it. If they do, I have to admit that it adds to my joy. But “no response” is yet to curb my enthusiasm to share/blog.

“Having been blessed with a human birth, wake up from the slumber of ignorance and without wasting a single moment, seek refuge of a seer to gain wisdom about your existence, as the path to realization without their help and guidance is akin to walking over a razor’s edge” 

The above quote is from “Kathopanishad” – a tough Upanishad – borrowed by Swami Vivekananda, & is more famously known as his quote “Awake, arise, etc……” We are in Kalyug, Seers are rare, and if there is one amidst us, I wonder if I will have the wherewithal to recognize him. Worse, even if I do, will I be accepted by him to be a shishya? The answer for the latter is unfortunately “no”. 

Remember that great character by name “Ekalavya” in our Epics? Guru Drona is in no mood to accept him as his shishya. So what does Ekalavya do? He practices alone and with utmost diligence becomes such an expert, that Guru Drona comes calling and asks for a dakshinaa. Contrary to the general folklore that he started practicing with his left hand etc – which to my mind is bull – it is my belief that realization had dawned on Ekalvya….. He had no longer any need or desire to prove himself. He – to my mind-just let all others including Arjun just “be”. The evolved seers also just let “creation” be. 

I have no notions about my ability to find a “guru” nor do I believe a Guru is keen to spot & take me there. Like that Ekalvya, I have to arise, awake, etc, but have to go alone. My practice sessions are my “thinking aloud” pieces in Jignyaasaa. And I do hope that one day a guru will come calling and ask for a dakshinaa namely “to stop” and be silent…..

Till then jignyaasaa will continue….. (Pardon the pun)   

Love

Ekalvya alias Vichu

Mohanlaal's disillusionment & Transcendence - A Short Story

Vichiisms : My usual idiosyncrasy before a short story. 

There are two categories of poor; one whose poverty is universally acknowledged with many willing to help & the othe; who has a double whammy, namely not only is he poor but no one is  willing to accept this fact.

Therefore either to become a cynic, or get disillusioned with the illusory secular establishment & transcend, is a choice dependent on His Grace. .  


Mohanlal's disillusionment & Transcendence. - A Short Story  

Mohan Lal & Johar -in spite of contrasting views on almost everything --- were friends since their childhood days. The former - brought up by a family with high moral values - believed in just being good. The latter growing up in a family which was more  practical, believed in the motto that one has to be known to be good. 

Then there was this girl named Prabha, in their neighborhood; intelligent, very beautiful & cultured. Her family's value system was in sync with that of Johar's family. Prabha however was different. She had a soft corner for ML, but yet not quite able to find any fault with the practical Johars.  

It so happened that when they were all of marriage-able age, Prabha's family was quite keen to have Johar as their son-in law. Prabha was however not too sure as she somehow felt ML would be a better partner in tune with her psyche. 

ML meanwhile had similar feelings for Prabha, but since he knew that her parents were more keen on his friend Johar, & being an innately good guy, thought he would help his friend to get Prabha, as Johar's infatuation with Prabha was palpably visible. He also felt that his own social welfare oriented career would offer something substantially less than what Johar's cushy job would offer her. He therefore decided to tell her as to how by marrying Johar, not only would she be happy but she would make her parents happy too.. 

Johar as expected rose in his career fast & soon Prabha started wondering if she was wrong after all to have believed that Mohan would have been a better groom. Gone was any sense of  gratitude for ML who was the key player in making up her mind in the first place. A son Akshay came along and her cup of joy was full. Riches & a terrific life style made her easily get into her husbands habit of even poking fun sometime at his friend ML's. 

ML in the meanwhile who was more into social activities, had an excellent wife who empathized with her husband in every way, and they had a daughter named Anasuya who was not only divinely beautiful but remarkably intelligent and shared values of her parents in full measure. Life was therefore very fulfilling, though admittedly theirs was not a rich lifestyle as that of Johars.   

Providence will not be Providence if it allowed things to play out so blissfully. Johar turned out to be quite a Casanova, who was immensely popular with the female of the species. He also loved their company. A bit of gallivanting style was more the norm which made Prabha more & more uncomfortable. Her boy Akshay was more a replica of the father which made her worry more.  

ML's wife passed away suddenly, and his daughter took the role of his wife, in tending both to household needs plus looking after their social commitments plus excelling in her studies. Life in general was tough. In all these midst, being young & vulnerable after all, she had developed a great liking for a boy in her college,named Dhruv, who empathized with her outlook about life in general. His parents with limited education who  had amassed a fortune over the years were however different. They frowned at Dhruv's fascination for this girl.  To further muddy this complicated affair, was the fact that Akshay in his typical rude style was harassing her first, but later was  so besotted with her persona  that he would ceaselessly chase her with offers of marriage.  

ML's health was slowly deteriorating & on that particular  day when the mood in their little household was particularly somber, Prabha arrived most unexpectedly. ML imagined a disaster; He hated Akshay, & so was worried that Prabha citing their once-upon-a-time mutual respect & love, may actually seek Anasuya's hand in marriage to her son. Anasuya was equally worried; her father -being a good samaritan thru his life- may just see some positives & seriously dwell on such a proposal & it would be impossible for her to voice any objections- so much was her love for ML.  It was all something of an enigma; how could such a great human being like ML could be so disillusioned as to dread his once beloved Prabha's very presence?   

Prabha probably sensed the mood at ML's place. She completely disarmed every one with her opening remarks that she is there purely to enquire about ML's health, and added that her son Akshay is not going be a part of the conversation she wanted to have with both ML & Anasuya. ML- being a good man - could immediately spot the innate goodness of that little girl Prabha whom he had once admired & even loved. Anasuya was still hesitant. She excused herself saying that she would make some tea for Auntie & closeted herself in the kitchen to leave the oldies alone. 

By the time she came in with the tray of tea & some snacks, she found both of them in high spirits to her great surprise. She also soon found herself joining their discussions without any reservation & started enjoying the conversation thoroughly. The topic veered round a variety of subjects, and suddenly she found Prabha wondering as to what really constitutes positive & negative thinking. Was her decision to marry Johar looking to a nice comfortable life was positive, or ML's philosophy of doing good always was. Horror of horrors, Anasuya found her father answering that perhaps Johar's lifestyle made more sense. Doing good appeared as if it had done nothing great to him; probably his daughter's future weighed heavily on his mind when he sounded so disillusioned. 

More to release the obvious unease in the room, Anasuya said jokingly that going by the scriptures that the gross secular material world was just illusory, to be disillusioned with that is the only thing which is positive and any attachment to it is perhaps negative. Whether this was ponder-able or not, it eased the tension & all of them had a hearty laugh and the next few minutes were spent on discussing politics/business in a true gup-shup style. 

ML however reverted to what her daughter said a few minutes ago. He wondered aloud as to whether there is anything at all which can be truly called "negative"? The life's mission - if we trusted the scripts- was to get back & everything that happened /would happen is a means designed by Him to take one there. So how can anything be "negative" at all? Everything will & continue to just "be" as per His design & every one of it has got to be only "positive" & any other interpretation would simply be "false". 

The reaction of both Prabha & Anasuya was spontaneous. Both told ML to enjoy the present rare moment of bonhomie without dwelling into anything remotely profound. With merriment restored, ML wanted a couple of favors from Prabha. He mentioned about Dhruv, and wanted Prabha -who was very close to the family- to intervene & see if she could make the alliance possible. The second ; he had compiled a book of Stories, based on his life's experience & wanted this to be published in Prabha's name for two reasons. One the experiences could easily be passed of as general without reference to being ML's and (b) if it was ML's book, chances of its being accepted would be almost nil, but coming from Prabha the people would lap it up. 

There was a pause. Prabha spoke after a few moments. She said she was aware of Dhruv & Anasuya's  feelings for each other, & was in fact keen on the alliance herself, & was one of the reasons for her coming today. And as to the other request, she said the book would be from Anasuya's stable and she would personally see to it that it got the due publicity which would make her a much more eligible bride for Dhruv in the latter's family. As to whether Dhruv should be privy to this secret, it was Anasuya's call. She added to the complete bewilderment of both father & daughter, that Akshay will no longer harass the kid. 

Just then as if to further enforce the positive vs negative debate, came the news from the little boy next door, that after getting eight wickets for less than 100 odd runs, India let the Aussies pile up a further 200 odd runs for the last two wickets & are now in danger of losing the test!!!!!!  One man's positive was another man's negative. 

Epilogue: 

Anasuya's book sold a million copies. Dhruv & Anasuya were happily married thanks to Prabha's efforts. ML passed away in absolute peace with the entire family in attendance. Both Johar & Akshay were conspicuous by their absence., but Prabha who had taken a huge liking for Anasuya was there to support the girl in her moment of crisis. Though very pious & devoted, "gita's" immortally profound piece about "self" being immortal etc floating around, did not find that elevating and hair-raising awe in either Prabha & Anasuya, as it apparently did on those others in the funeral gathering. The only thing that would remain immortal would be these positive/negative, self /universal self etc etc., kind of endless   "debates" and so lets continue to just do what we ought to do, without undue worry about what's happening to the world etc., was the message that flashed in their minds. 

They were in PEACE thereafter...... 


Ekalavya alias Vichu

Reflections : Origins of Fear

The label "reflections" in the blog has not seen many fresh entries. Very surprising; as this must be the most relevant to "jignyaasaa". May be I should re-visit my mails of the past, and blog those which are post-able.

I recall in one of my mails of the past, I had queried about the apparent absence of direct reference to Lord saying "do not fear" kind of shubha vachanam. Even in that ultimate Gita vakhyam, the Lord only comes close with  "maa shucha" meaning    "do not worry"  

Suddenly out of the blue, I came across an Upanishadic vakhyam from Brihadaaranyaka Upanishad - literally meaning a  "Upanishad of a mammoth forest", and thought I would share.

The vakhyam reads thus :

   
द्वितीयाद्वै भयं भवति II  (Dvithiyadhvai bhayam bhavati) 

"So long as there is duality there is fear" is my understanding of this vakhyam. So "fear" which the modern day psychologists say is the primary emotion, is born the moment He Creates & will vanish the moment we re- merge. 

So when the Lord says "Maa Shucha" or "don't worry" He is implying that merger is the only goal, & do not worry, it will happen, when you surrender unto me. 

"Maa shucha" has another profound meaning; When one surrenders completely, where is the cause for worry? In other words so long as you worry, there is no real surrender.

Your surrender to Him for succor as He is omniscient etc etc. This surrender is probably therefore not unto Him but to His omniscience. The real surrender will be when one has the following "bhaav".......

" whether You are ugly or beautiful whether You love me or hate me, whether You keep me in your heart with immense love or crush me- who has surrendered at your feet- with your legs, whether deem it fit to give me darshan or prefer to be invisible, Oh That ultimate of Freedom Lord Krishna , the choice is Yours only, & for me forever, You are my most beloved & there is none  other"

This my dear is that ultimate sharanaagathy ......to even attempt to know the meaning of this word with our own intellect is fraught with the danger of assuming that we can, without His blessings & Grace. 

Abstruse? I am loving it......  

Love

Ekalavya alias Vichu          



   
    

Maithri's Awakening

With my new found enthusiasm for Vichiisms, let me begin this short story with a few of them.   

Truth is " Eternal, Beyond Mind & Words, The Providence". All our perceived / empirical truths have an expiry date. 

"The Empirical" is a Creation of opposites to perceive that there is that "pure, blissful, state of absolute ONENESS" which is the goal & negating everything of this empirical world as we go along, is the only way.......

This so called "only way" is not for all & sundry; Till you are able to overcome "mohum"(obsessively passionate attachment) in every sense of the word & surrender unto Him, every debate about this is a mere " "kaala Kshepam" or Time - pass. 

Now to the Story :    

Maitreyi was born into a rich, famous, and truly well read & intellectual family of those times when girls were married off at very young ages of less than 15 or so. She was married off to a fiercely independent young man not very rich but determined to make it good by his sheer dint of application and hard work- the reason the family chose him as the groom; while his independent views excited their supreme intellectual confidence, his being not-so rich, they felt, would make him amenable to accept their  eminence.  

Maithreyi, though precociously intelligent, her being a girl prevented her from hogging any great credit either at her parent's home or at her in-laws place. While it was quite obvious in her own home, in her in laws' place since all of them innately disliked the supercilious mien of their sambandhis, it could only get rubbed off on Maithreyi. Thus from merely being ignored in her own parental home, in her In-law's place she had to bear their taunts & sarcasm as well. Her husband's ego did not help either; it made it almost impossible for him to acknowledge any one's, least of all  his own wife's acumen. Many times it therefore manifested itself with severe "snubs". The intensity increased whenever he perceived her logic to be better in any argument!!.         

Being a none-too-rare scene in many households of those yester years, Maithreyi took it all in her stride; her innate  intelligence coming to her succor. But she was human after all. So there were times when she would crave for some acknowledgement of "her"; be it in an opinion, or a nice recipe she would dish out which was often, she being an excellent cook. Her opinion would mostly be ignored as irrelevant, or cleverly the topic would be derailed to a totally different one leaving her just wondering. Her excellent preparation of say a sweet, would be countered with something inane such as how a distant relation made lovely paranthaas!!

Life went on however. She had a son and a daughter. The daughter was married off & settled abroad. The son was in a senior position in a big firm with her daughter-in law also working. Being an excellent story teller, she was able to enthrall her grand children with some extra ordinary stories from our epics in spite of the lure of the modern day entertainment gadgets. Very slowly some appreciation came her way albeit rarely & grudgingly mostly prompted by kids.  

Since she had to keep herself occupied, she started maintaining a note book, where she penned her stories which nobody cared to read. This did not bother her much as the more she penned, the more she loved what she was doing and increasingly she found herself analyzing & realizing that once you enjoyed what you were doing, outcomes cease to have any great impact. Yet she was unable to reconcile, the fact that neither in her own "maika" nor her in laws place was there any one who was ever keen to just pause & see any merit in anything she had done over 8 odd decades of her life. What was it that she lacked that no one would take any serious note ? 

In one of those pensive moods, it suddenly occurred to her that perhaps she had it all wrong. All her family were quite possibly  reluctant to accept her not because she was either in the wrong or had been poor in execution, but very probably because she had mostly been right and their ego came in the way in acknowledging it. The idea was fascinating, & for quite a while since then, she reveled in her own satisfyingly pleasant self appraisal, and slowly even started enjoying every critique, as she was able to anticipate them precisely, & when they came she had that smug satisfaction. She was however  too humble to give herself such an exalted & lofty status for long; and soon felt embarrassed that she could entertain such thoughts for so long. She felt happy though, as there was some "samaadhaan" in her mind. She had now found a way to be content if not happy, if she could learn to ignore all negative responses as it was more of a waste of time to try & make the world - with illusions of one's own superiority-  to change & take notice of her. She would rather let every one just "be".    

Providence is alas one which comes calling to possibly test such great insights, as if to see how one reacts to some test. One morning, the daughter-in-law already late for office, while leaving in a hurry, asked her to keep the hot milk-- kept in the dining table-- in the  fridge after it came down to room temperature, and added in good measure that she should not forget as lately she was seen to forget often. Off the lady went to her office. About an hour later finding the milk getting cool enough, Maitreyi was about to put it in fridge as she was told, when the maid stopped her to say that "mem sahib " had phoned in, to say that the milk was to be given to their neighbor. 

The mem sahib came late in the evening that day and purely out of habit opened the fridge & missed the milk vessel there. Well, without a thought, she confronted Maithri with "how could you" kind of accusation. Maithri was intrigued when she found no need to respond with the fact that the latter had left clear instructions to give it to the neighbor. She murmured something about being a "bullakkad" and walked away infuriating the mem sahib no end.       .                   

As she went to bed, Maithri found herself battling with her own contradictions; should she have retorted & cleared the air or she did the right thing by not responding at all. She suddenly remembered her mother referring repeatedly to that oft repeated verse in Gita which says that one should do one's duty without expectation of results. Was she doing her duty by not responding or responding itself would have amounted to an expectation of a "result"? And so was she perhaps right in not responding at all? She seemed to be somehow comfortable with this latter view, and went off to a good sleep. 

In the morning as was her wont, she flipped a page out of the book on Gita, which read " When some one boards say a train he is bound by the path the train takes. The moment he/she gets down he/she is no longer bound. As one who is bound by his/her ego, boards this "ego train", the Lord will take him/her thru all those routes which are the outcomes of his own doing in all his/her previous avatars. The moment however one gets down from this "Ego train" and leaves it to the Lord, without abandoning any of his duties, He will take you to His abode".  

Was it coincidence or Providential design? Her letting things just "be"the previous night, was quite close to this. It also  struck her that while the Lord repeatedly tells you to leave the outcomes to Him, and "just do what is to be done", the entire gross material world is stuck with outcomes perpetually. Scientists/ Research guys have to validate outcomes endlessly & their theories etc being valid only till one stray failure. 

Surely without outcomes being in focus, the world would just collapse. The texts have also spoken of four stages of evolution, and one of the stages is one where outcomes are a focus ...... "artha" literally  translated as "meaning", besides various others such as "worldly acquisitions". But when does one transcend ? One will, when the  time comes which would be determined by Him, if only one had faith. She knew that she will get her answers as she had immense faith. Till then she will do what she can & let every one else "be" 

Her 4 year old grand daughter woke her up from her reverie. She was insisting that she play Snakes & Ladders game with her, making her wonder if this was another way of the Lord telling her about the "meanings" of life..........& happily joined the kid for the game. 



Ekalavya alias Vichu        

      

Shashti Abda poorthi & Shatha Abhishekam.

Starting my essays etc, with some vichiism gives me a high!! Here is one: 

Silence is "golden" is a saying. Then when do you speak?  Don't. start writing. 

Jignyaasaa is over 5 year old...... Long live the blog, and more writing preferably from others too. 

The recent exchange of mails on the significance of traditional samskaaraas (Purificationary rites or just ceremonies) - which are not so new by the way -- has prompted me to dwell a bit more on both Shasti Abda Poorthi, & Shatha Abhishekam  which found mention during my SAP, & my Mother-in-law's SA, & which are attractive enough for me to re-visit them & blog a modified version for posterity!!! Hope it will not be considered impudent if I were to add that the recent exchanges do not satisfy me greatly & so this attempt.  

First the SAP: 

In astrological terms, the sum total of periods allotted to planets having influence on one's life cycle (termed Dasas) comes to 120 years. In effect possibly the wise R'shis of yore opined that life cycle just repeats itself every 120 years. 

It was later found that at the exact mid point of this cycle namely 60 years, the planets tend to take a similar position as at the birth. Well almost -- the major slow planets,namely the Saturn & Jupiter, at least, are found to occupy the same places in the astrological chart in  the sixtieth year as they were at birth & with Sun & moon automatically being there, one had a quorum !!!  

120 being a long period, and having regard to our scriptures laying a huge emphasis on transcending to higher levels of evolution to get back to where we originated from, R'shis gave importance to this 60 and it came about that one needs to re-look ones outlook, as a kind of second innings to try & devote more to an inward-looking regime, slowly detaching from the temporal world's affairs to be able to get to that krithakrithya stage ( to have done what you were born to do)

"Oh Lord Rudra posited in my heart at that meeting point - the knot - of Jivatma & paramaathma, to Him, I offer the "anna" as aahuthi to protect me from this birth-death-re birth cycle" is a poignant cry to Him, which comes at the end of an eulogy to Lord Rudra. A kalasham (a Vessel filled with water) is sanctified by the invocation of this eulogy repeated 108 times. The one who has crossed the sixty years is then bathed in this holy water , symbolizing a beginning of a new chapter of getting to do things that one was brought forth to do and become a Krithakrithya.  

Very clearly, this is a purificationary ritual to prepare one for higher levels of spiritual evolution. But anything so profound being beyond the psyche of a huge mass of mankind, there is also this appealingly romantic significance which is attached to the ritual.  

Children - who cannot obviously witness their own parent's wedding, do so by re-enacting those rituals on this day,  So after the profoundly spiritual resolve, the magnetic pull of the temporal takes over & there is this all round  rejoicing !!!! There is of course no gainsaying that if this appealing alternative is not part of the narrative, the sole purificationary one, simply loses out ; There will be no takers. And alas it's also valid only when both the parents are alive.  

So depending on who doles out what & which one of these observations, one is either over or under whelmed. (My little girl's baba black sheep invariably appeals more than my neighbor child's brilliant  rendering of Vande mataram for instance) We owe it to our elders who have ingeniously ensured that the custom prevails after all by satisfying everyone. .  


Now to Shathaabhishekam. : The common observations. 

The term shatham can be interpreted as a "thousand" and this is performed when one has witnessed a thousand Full moons. 

There are 12 FMs in a year. Every 4 years there is one additional full moon. So in 80 years one would have seen 960+ 20 FMs. in another 20 months one sees the final 20 to make it 81 years & 8 months by when, one sees a thousand FMs.  

It's said that Lord Krishna comes and blesses those who have seen a thousand full moons. 

Now to my observations. The word Abhishekam is one which is more often used for a kind of Coronation Ceremony. This is not therefore a purificationary ritual. That leaves the Shatham part which really means "hundred". 

Even God perhaps understands that reaching "hundred" milestone is a very  rare distinction. So He introduced a 1000 full moon criteria which is more appealing and comparatively easier to reach. The "shatham" can be explained in two ways. 

1. There is this practice of treating a fortnight (called Paksham) as a full month. Take the case of Chatur maasya vratham.It is not 4 months but 4 pakshams or two months. 

2. Applying this logic, eighty viz 20 years after 60, will actually be 40 years after 60 making it a 100 years.(shatham) (I will just ignore the next obvious & trivial query as to why the first  sixty is not treated similarly!!)  

3. The other explanation is that the shatham probably refers to 100 rudrams, meaning that one is Coronated with a 100 rudra abhishekam, when he/she sees a thousand full moons. Even the Lord is pleased & so comes & witnesses the event.  

To the argument that this is done even during SAP, the answer is simple. In SAP it is a purificationary ritual to get to the next stage. And after going this path, when you have seen a thousand FMs, in SA you are Coronated with the same 100 Abhisheks of Rudram ( Perhaps you are now really ONE with HIM) . 

That's the bhaav. If you have not reached that stage, it will remain a ritual with tantalizing explanations of significance etc, becoming merely debating points. And very possibly enjoyable kaala kshepam (time pass).  

May God bless us all.

Love

Ekalavya alias Vichu

Response to Poem Cry in Wilderness

The comments column has limitations in terms of "mumber of Chracters" etc, & so this response from Narasimhan, is posted as a new blog, & with label "poetry" as to give it a continuity.

 When very small babies cry we imagine they are unhappy. They in fact do not know that they are unhappy and that hence they are crying. In the warm embrace of the Source where from they came they are immersed in the bliss of total innocence instinctively doing what they do.   Alas this bliss is very short lived and very soon the nagging voice of "enquiry" rushes in and occupies the child's innocent mind space. 

The child quickly detaches itself from its Source,from its peace within to the turbulence outside, in order to return one day to the bliss it was born into but now with complete knowledge of its eternal blissful nature. This is its life purpose of which it is initially unaware. It starts to search for happiness outside, inspired by its instinctive belief in an "eternal law" that holds a solemn promise of reward for effort put in.

It sets upon realizing this promise starting from as little effort as grabbing a toy from another child who is weaker, to acquiring empires, progressively "taking control" of the means to happiness in this world to which it gets inextricably addicted. For most this hunt for an elusive happiness stretches over entire lives or even several life times, so complete is the addiction.  A few of us evolve to a stage in our life time where we begin to see that giving away to others is more fulfilling than possessing. Moving beyond sharing with the family and friends we realize the joy of sharing with the whole world. We experience the fulfillment only selflessness can bring. 

Yet even at this "elevated" stage of our evolution the philanthropist in us starts to sense a gnawing inadequacy in what external engagement has been able to deliver to us. Fewer still, out of the few that turned away from amassing to dispersing, finally begin to seek. 

These fortunate few seek the spirit that has all along been lying silent within waiting for the search outside to end and the seeking within to begin. Being fully convinced deep within that connecting back to the spirit is the only means to lasting joy the seeker discards as futile even the highest of his achievements and embarks on his spiritual quest. 

He discovers to his dismay however that the familiar "do this and get that" formulae that largely stood by him in good stead in all his worldly pursuits are of little help in this final quest for God or Truth. The wise say that seeking of God is a game of hide and seek between God and the individual soul. It is only after several lives pursuing everything except God that the seeker is ready to even start the game. Leave alone previous lives, since when can we say that we started the game seriously in this present life itself? 

If we started early enough, since when are we playing it abandoning any other thought, to the exclusion of any other activity (Anayaashchintayantyomaam)?Yet we feel justified enough to stridently cry out when the game has just started that "He is playing hard to get, He is no Karunakaran but a Raakshasan, He is abandoning His devotees taking them for granted and then questioning if He was heartless and brainless (Oh my God!!) and if He mattered anymore and should we choose to revolt and become terrorists?" 

Forget blasphemy, such a judgement does not exist in God's Creation, but do we care for dignity in expression or dignified communication too is a vain value in your understanding? Crying out is a natural emotional expression when done without judgement or in protest. The sentiment in that is one of sorrow and bewilderment not indignation which you describe as 'angst'. Am I missing your sorrow or is your strident temper obscuring it?

I cannot join issue with you on most of what you have said. I will not attempt to be God's messenger either, the game He plays is ever so exhausting. But the ferocity of your poem prompts me to share my reflections as I finish reading it yet once again even as I am finishing this long essay. Thoughts tossed over in the mind often and then expressed in words with force get endorsed by the universe and could trigger action one day in a manner and at a time that we cannot link with what and how we said something, sometime.  

We believe spirits floating around us say to what we say forcefully,"So be it". Your thought if you would or should become a terrorist expressed more than once in the recent past may spill out of the screen where you are giving it voice. 

Let us pray to God to give us a level of acceptance from where we see that since everything moves under His command all movements must be perfect and thus may we be at peace with any happening even if our mind refuses to accept it. And to give us the courage and power to act to change a circumstance which does not align with our highest conception of God.  

May God bless us all.

Gulpa