Blog Migration Notice to Readers…

Dear Readers,

 

As of Dec 5, 2010, this blog has been

migrated to

 

http://srividya-rajesh.com/dharma

 

See you there!

Yours sincerely,

Srividya KR

The mystic poet Ramprasad Sen

Some poets live, compose poems and then when they die, sadly their poetry dies with them. There are very few poets whose poems and songs remain fresh long after they are gone. Ramprasad Sen was one such mystic Bengali poet whose devotional songs on Mother Kali, called Ramprasadi, are sung to this day at Durga puja, centuries after he died. His songs to Kali were filled with so much pathos that it they have continued to touch people’s hearts even today.

Ramprasad Sen’s father was an Ayurvedic vaidya (physician) and a Sanskrit scholar in the town of Halisahar, in Bengal, where Ramprasad was born. As a youth, Ramprasad showed promise in poetry and learning new languages. He learnt Persian, Sanskrit and Hindi. However, he seemed very detached from worldly pursuits and his father realized that Ramprasad was not inclined to train in the family profession. Moreover, Ramprasad was always immersed in longing to see his real cosmic mother Kali. This was a cause of immense anxiety to his parents and they soon concluded that marriage would wake up Ramprasad to the real world and therefore, he was married.

The Last Kashmiri Savant?

Today the name Kashmir invokes images of violence and terror in our minds. It brings back memories of the horrific genocide perpetrated on Kashmiri pandits, reminding us, sadly, of brutal extremists in its midst. Even though Kashmir today epitomizes chaos, this is not what the real Kashmir –the land of sage Kashyapa – originally stood for.

Kashmir ranks amongst the most beautiful and pristine lands in all of India, reverberating with the sacred sounds from the Himalayas. The real Kashmir is the residence of Ma Sharada Devi – (recall the verse “namaste Sharada devi kAshmirapuravAsini”. Sri Adi Sankara after his visit to Kashmir, set up the Sharada Peeth here). Kashmir is the also land of the accomplished Kashmiri pandits – who Monier Willams described as being the ‘finest representatives of the Aryan race’ – and it is also the land which gave us the supreme philosophy of Kashmiri Shaivism.

The lion among poets – Sri Vedanta Desika

The sandals (paduka) which adorn the Lord, which help in the attainment of all that is good and auspicious, which give knowledge, which cause the desire (of having the Lord as one’s own), which remove all that is hostile, which have attained the Lord, which are used for going and coming from one place to another, by which all places of the world can be reached, these sandals are for Lord Vishnu.

This incredible verse which uses just one vowel (a) and one consonant (ya)- infused with imagery, love, devotion and poetic sense- is taken from the Paduka Sahasram, an epic poem of 1008 verses praising the footwear of Lord Ranganatha of Srirangam. Verses like the above are created only with beautiful Sanskrit as a powerful tool, with a thorough knowledge and understanding of the real truth, and with a poetic mind that is also devoted to the supreme. And, definitely, despite being an expert in Sanskrit, only incarnations of the divine are capable of producing such striking work of word-play. Of course, the paduka sahasram was written by the unparalleled mulitilingual poet and VisisthAdvaita philosopher – Sri Vedanta Desika.

Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamare dil mein hai

There were some key phrases, poems and slogans that made up an important instrument in invoking a deep feeling of patriotism and love in the minds of those fighting for India’s freedom from the British. One such beautiful poem was “Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna”, written by Ram Prasad Bismil – an exceptionally passionate and brave freedom fighter. While merely reading this poem can summon such passion in the minds of the reader, it is rather difficult to imagine what transpired in the heart of the poet Ram Prasad Bismil during the composition of this beautiful poem.

सरफ़रोशी की तमन्ना अब हमारे दिल में है
देखना है ज़ोर कितना बाज़ुए कातिल में है

The Mandana Misra vs. Adi Sankara debate

Six primary orthodox schools of philosophy exist in India. They are – nyaya, vaisheshika, mimamsa, vedanta, sankhya and yoga. At different periods in time, India has produced exceptional scholars who were unconditional masters in these respective schools of thought. It has often been the custom among learned men to debate the merits and demerits of these various systems of philosophy. When one scholar won, typically the other would renounce his philosophy to serve the winner as a disciple. Of course, the disciple’s disciples also became new disciples. One such famous debate took place between the two very renowned scholars – Adi Sankara and Mandana Misra in the latter’s residence in present day Bihar.

Upagupta

Upagupta, the disciple of Buddha, lay sleep in
the dust by the city wall of Mathura.
Lamps were all out, doors were all shut, and
stars were all hidden by the murky sky of August.
Whose feet were those tinkling with anklets,
touching his breast of a sudden?
He woke up startled, and a light from a woman’s
lamp fell on his forgiving eyes.
It was dancing girl, starred with jewels,
Wearing a pale blue mantle, drunk with the wine
of her youth.
She lowered her lamp and saw young face
austerely beautiful.
“Forgive me, young ascetic,” said the woman,
“Graciously come to my house. The dusty earth
is not fit bed for you.”
The young ascetic answered, “Woman,
go on your way;
When the time is ripe I will come to you.”
Suddenly the black night showed its teeth
in a flash of lightening.
The storm growled from the corner of the sky, and
The woman trembled in fear of some unknown danger.

* . *
A year has not yet passed.
It was evening of a day in April,
in spring season.
The branches of the way side trees were full of blossom.
Gay notes of a flute came floating in the
warm spring air from a far.
The citizens had gone to the woods for the
festival of flowers.
From the mid sky gazed the full moon on the
shadows of the silent town.
The young ascetic was walking along the lonely street,
While overhead the love-sick koels uttered from the
mango branches their sleepless plaint.
Upagupta passed through the city gates, and
stood at the base of the rampart.
Was that a woman lying at his feet in the
shadow of the mango grove?
Stuck with black prestilence, her body
spotted with sores of small-pox,
She had been hurriedly removed from the town
To avoid her poisonous contagion.
The ascetic sat by her side, took her head
on his knees,
And moistened her lips with water, and
smeared her body with sandal balm.
“Who are you, merciful one?” asked the woman.
“The time, at last, has come to visit you, and
I am here,” replied the young ascetic.

-Rabindranath Tagore

Osho answers “What is India?”

I recently read an excellent book and would like to post an extract from it –  “India My Love, Fragments of a Golden Past”, written by Osho, a very popular mystic spiritual teacher who had and still has an international following. This book is so touching that it brings tears to the eyes of every single person who understands the real meaning of India.

“India is not just geography or history. It is not only a nation, a country, a mere piece of land. It is something more: it is a metaphor, poetry, something invisible but very tangible. It is vibrating with certain energy fields which no other country can claim.

The inevitability of death, explained with mustard seeds

The Buddha visited village after village giving discourses on Dhamma (Dharma in Sanskrit), the righteous ways of living.  He was always very well received everywhere he went. Years of penance and pursuit of truth had strengthened his aura so much that people were able to sense him approaching even when he was still miles away from a village. And, on each one his trips, thousands of people were shown the path of the truth and they all benefited from the Buddha’s teachings by being liberated from their worries and grief. In this story, the Buddha delivers a lady from her grief by explaining death to her using mustard seeds.

Dattatreya – the guru who had 24 other gurus

Dattatreya was India’s first Guru in the tradition of the Nath Sampradaya to which other famous gurus like Gorakhnath and Matsyendranath also belonged. Dattatreya was the first among these Naths and undoubtedly the greatest too. The story of the birth of Dattatreya is well known in Indian culture. Dattatreya is worshipped all over India and also in Tibet and Nepal.

Dattatreya was born to Sage Atri and his wife Anasuya. Anasuya was the ideal of perfect wifehood. Her pati-vrata (devotion to her husband) was envied by Sarasvati, Lakshmi and Parvati, the consorts of Brahma, Vishnu and Siva. They envied Anasuya because everyone in the world considered Anasuya to be the most dutiful wife, while each of these three ladies considered themselves to be the most dutiful of all wives. Filled with jealousy, they coaxed their husbands to be participants in a ploy to set Anasuya up in a situation where she would be forced to choose between being unfaithful to her husband or be the cause for Atri and herself to be subject to a terrible curse.

Goswami Tulsidas

I would like to start this post with a wonderful rendition of  one of Swami Tulsidas’ popular bhajans – “Shri Ramchandra Kripalu Bhajaman”

Saint Tulsidas was among the several others who reinforced the Bhakti Movement (devotion to God) in medieval India when the people’s faith in the divine was being intensely tested by the plundering foreign invaders. Tulsidas was born to a Brahmin family in Rajpur, in Uttar Pradesh in 1532 CE. When he was a child the first word he ever uttered was “Ram” and hence he was called RamBola (literally translated to “he said Ram”) by all the villagers.

The army general who fought a battle even when he was ill – Lachit Borphukan

Assam, at the plains of the Brahmaptura river, with its plentiful bounty and beautiful mountains  was a coveted territorry for the Mughals during their invasion in the 17th century. The Mughals made repeated attempts to capture Assam. During a period of internal dissension, the Mughals had taken advantage of these conflicts and captured Guwahati and never stopped trying to go annex more territory in Assam. However, they were badly defeated in the Battle of Saraighat in 1671, and following that, Assam remained under the Ahom rulers until the end of their rule. The battle of Saraighat was fought on the banks of the Brahmaputra in the Guwahati region.

Neem Karoli Baba – Manifesting Oranges out of Thin Air

Our sacred India time and again produces great mystics who travel, teach and deeply touch the lives of all the people they meet. There is never a dearth of these great souls, who out of immense compassion for mankind incarnate again and again in order to uplift mankind from the meaningless drudgery of life into a life with clarity of purpose filled with bliss. One such great saint was Neem Karoli Baba, who lived until 1973 in Uttar Pradesh, and touched the lives of countless men through his life and preaching.

The Trinity of Karnataka Sangeetam

Music is an integral part of an Indian’s life. Classical music indeed brings peace and harmony to the soul. Musical renditions have the power to lift man from depression into ecstasy, especially when sung with a devotional note. In an earlier post on Hindustani music, we had seen the contribution of the legendary Pandit Bhatkhande in helping to sustain the survival of Hindustani classical music. Hindustani music is to northern India what Karnataka Sangeetam (Carnatic Music) is to South India. Like the former, Carnatic music is also highly systematized. In fact, classical Carnatic music is one of the world’s oldest and richest musical traditions. In the modern era, three musicians had seminal influence on the evolution and popularization of Carnatic music – Saint Tyagaraja, Muthuswamy Dikshitar and Shyama Shastri. They were the Trinity of Carnatic music. They were each prolific composers with unique styles and were contemporaries who lived during the period between 1760 and 1850 in the Kaveri delta of Tamil Nadu. Even today songs written by them constitute an integral part of Carnatic music concerts. This post will narrate short anecdotes from each of this trinity’s life.

Chanakya

Man has the tendency to interpret and understand history by looking at events through a narrow snapshot in time. At every snapshot, there always invariably is a point where India seems to be riddled with societal, cultural and religious dissensions that cause the nation to crumble from within. And always in these most difficult times, one man is born who has the capacity to transform the society and reinvigorate societal and cultural ethos and re-instate dharma to its rightful place. During the period of Alexander’s invasion in India, not only were the small kingdoms divided, but also the social fabric had disintegrated, meaningless and misinterpreted rituals were rampant and selfishness was dominant. At this critical juncture, one man, single-handedly, vowed to unite the vast country and establish a new dharmic social order and revive India to her rightful position as beacon of knowledge to the entire world. This extraordinarily talented man was none other than Chanakya.

मीराबाई (Mirabai) – the princess who married Krishna!

Mirabai’s devotional songs about Krishna are very popular across all parts of India. Mira is to the Hindi speaking world, what Andal and Lalleshwari are to the Tamil and Kashmiri worlds respectively. This post traces Mira’s journey from being born as a Rajput princess in Rajasthan to being transformed into a  mystical poetess saint, and a gopi (female devotee) of Lord Krishna in Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh.

Mirabai - front page of the Amar Chitra Katha book

Mira was born to the Rajput Raja Ratan Singh of Rajasthan. When Mira was about 3 years old, Sant Ravidas gifted Ratan Singh with a beautiful statue of Lord Krishna, with his flute. Ever since Mira set eyes on the statue, she was extremely attracted to Lord Krishna, and she played with the statue all the time. Slowly, with her mother’s teachings, Mira learnt about the greatness of Lord Krishna and became devoted to him.

Hindustani music makes a comeback!

Between 1200 – 1900, various aspects of socio-cutural life in India were on a progressive decline. One manifestation of this decline was the fall in standards of music in northern India. From being the vehicle for realizing divinity, hindustani classical music (hindustani being the classical music of northern India with the carnatic music being its southern counterpart) had deteriorated to being associated with prostitutes (the term naachne gaane vali in the Hindi language!). The survival of classical music was at the highest levels of threat. By the 1900s, people had completely forgotten that music can be used as a tool to realize the divine nature of the universe. Instead, they not only looked down upon musicians, but also prevented their community from listening to it. Additionally, scholars who learned music despite the prevalent societal apathy towards music, exhibited a deep sense of rivalry towards other contemporary schools of music. They tended to protect their songs and compositions within the four walls of their respective schools (gharanas). The lack of interaction between scholars further degenerated the standards of the art, because every gharana followed a different way of rendering the same raga (tune). These various classification schemes often tended to contradict one another, futher encouraging musicians of a gharana to keep their compositions secret, in order to avoid argument or challenge from a competing gharana. It was a vicious cycle that could potentially extinguish music completely from the society, destroying all the audience it had in the past.

The principal architect of the Jana Sangh – Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya

Even a very tiny spark is capable of growing into a ferocious forest fire, if that tiny spark has the strength. That small spark could potentially destroy all impurities by burning them all to ashes. In the same way, a ferociously strong personality, with deeply imbibed virtues, has the capability to cleanse society of evils and moral depredations, by setting a righteous dharmic example to human kind. This post is about one such person, who sacrificed his life to nation building, renouncing all wealth, name and fame. He was a true karma yogi, he did not care for glory, but he made a deep impact on the foundations of society and politics. He spent all his life traveling to every nook and corner of the Indian country, serving the people and motivating them to stick to the path of dharma. It is unfortunate that many youngsters of today do not even know the name of the person who was the philosophical backbone of one of the political parties of India – The Jana Sangh, which now has grown into the Bharatiya Janatha Party.

The second Buddha – Nagarjuna

Before the Buddha left his mortal body on the earth, he made a prediction that another soul would be born to uphold the teachings of Buddha in the land of Bharath. True to that prediction, 400 years after Buddha, the second Buddha had arrived.

In the Nalgonda district in Andhra Pradesh, a married couple were really upset because the town oracle had predicted that their newly born baby boy was going to live only for seven years. The couple was devastated to hear this. When the boy turned five, they were very sad and were not ready to see him die, so they sent him away on a pilgrimage with several other Buddhist monks who were visiting the town. This little boy sincerely followed the monks around and learnt all the mantras and yogic practices. The monks taught the boy a special mantra called the Amitabha mantra. Amitabha means eternal light and health. The boy sincerely repeated this mantra day and night, and lo! He turned seven, and was still alive! The Amitabha mantra had given him an extended life. This is the first of the many miracles that happened in this boy’s life.

Ashtavakra – the sage with eight deformities

In this post, we will learn about a famous rishi (sage) called Ashtavakra who was the spiritual advisor to King Janaka who ruled over the Videha empire, in the present day Bihar region. Ashtavakra was a child prodigy, well versed in the Vedas and the scriptures even as a child. He was the son of the famous sage Kahoda, who lived and preached in Bihar. When Kahoda’s wife was pregnant, she would sit in on all lectured given by Kahoda, so that her baby was charged with positive vibrations from the lectures. The young foetus in his mother’s womb would sincerely listen to all the lectures and absorb all the teachings. One day Kahoda made a mistake when pronouncing some verses from the Vedas, and the foetus kicked from within his mother’s womb as a sign of noticing the mistake. When Kahoda’s wife mentioned this to her husband, Kahoda, instead of feeling proud about his son’s learning, took offense at the foetus’ impudence and cursed that the boy be born with eight deformities in his body. This is why the child was named Ashtavakra (meaning, eight deformities).

Who taught our yoga gurus yoga?

Yoga is the traditional Indian set of disciplines that keep the mind, body and the soul healthy. The various principles of yoga are being practiced by millions of people around the world because of the efforts of some very influential teachers like B.K.S. Iyengar, Indra Devi (Eugenie Peterson), T.K.V. Desikachar and Pattabhi Jois. Has one ever wondered who these influential and popular masters of yoga would have learnt from? Each of the above famous yoga gurus had the same guru and he was the great Tirumalai Krishnamacharya.

The Pundit who was mistaken for a Coolie

From time to time, in the sacred land of Bharath, are born the kind of people who make such a large impact on society within a very short period of time in their lives. One perfect example of such a great man was Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar who was the pillar of the Bengal Renaissance and a very active social reformer who strived to remove the crippling ills that were prevalent in the Hindu society during his time.

The unfinished Jagannath idol at Puri

Among the most exalted of all Vishnu temples is the one at Puri, in Orissa, where the deity is called Jagannath – the Lord of the Universe. Jagannath is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu himself and he is worshipped throughout India. Since time immemorial, millions and millions of people have offered worship to Lord Vishnu in Puri. Even the Brahma Purana (one of the 18 major Puranas, the ancient sacred texts that were composed prior to 1500 BCE) mentions Puri as a pilgrimage center for Vishnu devotees. The temple itself is built with typical Orissa style architecture and it has been rebuilt quite a few times in the past, and historians date the current temple back to about 1100 CE. Here, Jagannath is the principal deity; his brother Balarama and sister Subhadra are the ancillary ones. And, the most interesting thing about these deities is that they are made of wood, instead of the traditional stone and they have been unfinished for centuries. There is a story behind why they are always left unfinished even though they are re-carved from time to time.

Wat Phu on Laos’ Lingaparvata

Little do Indians know how glorious the emperors and sages of India were before the Mughal era. It appears today that India’s history seems to start only from the Mughal era forward, but to believe that would be grossly incomplete. If Buddha was born in India, how come there are Buddhists as far as Japan? How come there is an Angkor Wat in Cambodia many thousands of miles away? How did Balinese people learn about Ramayana and why do they still have annual Ramayana performances, to this day? How come Indonesia’s Navy slogan is “Jalasyeva Jayamahe” (Sanskrit)? How come there is a mountain called Lingaparvata in Laos, on which there is a Shiva temple called Wat Phu? India’s glory and Sanatana Dharma is spread far and wide by many great souls that are born time and again for the mere reason of spreading dharma to the world.

Whenever there is a decline in righteousness and a predominance of unrighteousness in this world, I manifest myself, O descendent of Bharata!

Kannappa Naayanar – he donated his eyes to the Lord!

Just like how the most special among the worshippers of Lord Vishnu are called alvars, the saints who worshipped Lord Shiva are called the nayanmars. There were 63 nayanmars in total and one of them was the hunter called Kannappan. Kannappan and his hunter friends and family lived around the area that is now called Kalahasti, on the banks of the Swarnamukhi river in Andhra Pradesh.

During his hunting rituals in the forest, one day he was drawn in a particularly distant direction by an animal he was determined to shoot. There, he found a beautiful Shiva lingam that he instantly felt attracted to. A small temple was constructed by his hunter friends for the Shiva lingam that Kannappan had found. Kannappan had not learnt any rituals of worship, but he was imbued with a deep sense of devotion to this deity. He loved the Shiva lingam so much, that he wanted to worship it everyday.

Milarepa – The student who forged his teacher’s signature

In this blog, until now we have seen stories of valiant kshatriyas, learned brahmanas, devoted bhaktas and ardent patriots, from various parts of India. This post is about a Buddhist monk from Tibet which also a part of the Akhanda Bharath. Sanatana dharma instills righteousness in all facets of life, irrespective of whether a person’s predilections are towards karma yoga, jnana yoga, bhakti yoga or any other path. Every person is allowed to follow a path most suited to him and he can still reach the ultimate destination. Some people know their propensity right from a very young age. For example, Khudiram Bose knew he had to fight for the freedom of India since he was 3 years old and that was the way he fulfilled his karma. Meerabai knew that Krishna was her beloved husband since the tender age of 5 and she spent the rest of her life serving him and singing his glories. Some other people try out several things before they ultimately discover their true propensities. Sometimes people need to fulfil the actions of their past karma, before the destination begins to reveal itself. For one such person called Milarepa, he had to switch through 3 different gurus, before he could attain his Nirvana. Despite the fact that he made mistakes in his life and got carried away by Maya, one cannot deny the fact that he was a great yogi and tantric in the Mahayana Buddhist tradition.

Aandaal

Millenia ago, a succession of devotee-poets took birth in the Tamizh country. They celebrated the glories of the Lord through mellifluous poetry. The Vaishnava poets amongst them are called alvaars, literally meaning those who are immersed in God. There were twelve Aalvaars in total, and today we recount the story of Aadaal – the only female mystic finding place in this list.

Guru Gobind Singh – the lion of medieval India

“Vedahun vidit dharma pracharyun, Gohat kalamka vishva nivaryun.

Sakal jagat mein Khalsa Panth gaajey, Jagey dharm Hindu sakal bhand Bhajey”

Guru Gobind Singh

(May I preach the Vedas to the whole mankind / May I remove the blot of cow-slaughter from the whole world / May the Khalsa Panth reign supreme / Long live Hinduism and falsehood perish)

The 17th century was not a pleasant time for India, plagued as it was by foreign aggression and internal dissensions. The aggressors neither spoke the same tongue, nor had the same notions of religion and dharma. Not only were they different from the natives, but also they were extremely intolerant to the native faith. The aggressors had already embarked on the mission of wiping out native culture from India. Furthermore, Indians themselves remained divided. While a section of society believed in the escapist philosophies of illusion, another section completely adhered to extreme forms of ritualism, without a clear grasp of the underlying concepts of dharma. People remained divided not only on the lines of caste, but they also disputed doctrinal differences. This was the time not of philosophical discussion, but of action, because the bigger enemy was the foreign aggressor. At this crucial stage, was it possible for dharma to be re-interpreted, for the Hindus had to rise to a heightened level of consciousness to give up the internal differences for the sake of the honor of their motherland? Guru Gobind Singh was the person who made this possible with a truly secular point of view. His philosophy was very simple – a dharmic Indian shunned differences on basis of religion and protected the honor of his nation.

Singhaasan Battisi

In a village in the kingdom of Bhoja Raja, lived a rather dumb shepherd who took care of his family cows. His shepherd friends always teased him for being very stupid and hardly paid any attention to his words. One day, while passing through a green meadow following his herd of cows, he was tired and sat on a mould of grass. Immediately, he seemed to have gained knowledge and could even extemporaneously comment on the political matters of the kingdom. His friends were surprised at how this stupid boy suddenly began talking sense. They sat down and listened to him sincerely. When the sun was going down, they decided to gather their cows and go home. When he descended the mould, the shepherd was back to his dumb nature. The same thing happened several times in the next few weeks. Every time this dumb shepherd sat on that mould, his friends noticed that he was giving lectures on profound topics like poetry, military campaigns, the scriptures etc. As soon as he climbed down, he became dumb again. The news of these weird incidents reached the king – Bhoja Raja.

Sri Adi Sankara caught by the crocodile

Sri Adi Sankara

Sri Adi Sankara Bhagavadpada was a legendary Acharya, unrivalled in the India of the past and present, in terms of the impact he exercised on this theory and practice of Sanatana Dharma. He was born in Veliyanad, near Kaladi, Kerala, but traveled across India several times preaching his philosophy of Advaita Vedanta, and was immensely influential within the short span of 32 years that he spent on earth.

Baahubali – Man with the strong arms

Many of us have heard of the Gomateshwara statue at Shravanabelagola, Karnataka. The person in the statue is the Jain saint – Baahubali. The story of Baahubali illustrates the highest order of virtues like love, brotherhood and compassion.

Who are the Gurkhas named after?

There a single common great man connecting the following – the Uttar Pradesh district that hosts the famous Gita Press’s headquarters; the only mountain in Sindh, Pakistan that receives snowfall every winter; the people of the Gurkha clan in Nepal and he also appears in the tragic Punjabi love story of Heer and Ranjha. Any guesses? – He is the famous Guru Gorakhnath (Gorakshanath in Sanskrit).

Are there horses braver than Rajputs?

The protagonist of this post is not a human being, but an animal, which epitomized loyalty and attained immortality through the songs of several poets – Chetak. When the word Chetak is heard, the only objects that come to many minds are the Bajaj Chetak scooter, or for more well read people, the Chetak Helicopter built by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. But the name Chetak was given to the above because it stood for the epitome of loyalty: the unforgettable horse Chetak.

What do they speak in Manipur anyway? – Bishnupriya

(as distinct from the name of my cousin – Vishnupriya 🙂 )

During the period of the Pandavas’ exile in Manipur, Arjuna married Chitrangada, and begot the son Babhruvana through her. Babhruvahana ruled over Manipur after he was adopted as the heir of his maternal grandfather, who was the king.

Lalleshwari – The Kashmiri mystic saint (1320 – 1392)

Foremost among Kashmiri saints was the poetess mystic and Shaivite yogi saint called Lalleshwari. Even centuries after her existence, Kashmiris still revere her and remember her teachings and use her quotes on appropriate occasions.

Lal Vakh in Kashmiri

yi yi karu’m suy artsun
yi rasini vichoarum thi mantar
yihay lagamo dhahas partsun
suy Parasivun tanthar -138

Translation in English

Whatever work I did became worship of the Lord;
Whatever word I uttered became a mantra;
Whatever this body of mine experienced became
the sadhana-s of Saiva Tantra

illumining my path to Parmasiva. -138

Sant Jnaneshwar’s buffalo recites the Vedas

Jnaneshwar was a great saint born in Alandi, near Pune, in Maharashtra in 1271. He was actually a realized soul even while he was a boy. The story of his life is described here briefly.

Jnaneshwar’s father Vithalpant was a grihasta Brahmin who was inclined towards adopting Sanyasa. One day, driven by the passionate urge to discover the Brahman, he went to his guru and took Sanyasa. However, the guru was unaware of the fact that Vithalpant had not taken permission from his wife before adopting Sanyasa – it is considered unacceptable for a man to take Sanyasa without first obtaining permission from his wife. A grihasta is expected to produce children and later on, if he were inclined to Sanyasa, he must leave his wife in the care of his son. It is a great sin for a man to leave his wife uncared for and take on the Sanyasa path. When the guru discovered that Jnaneshwar’s father had not obtained permission, he was reprimanded badly and sent back to his home to live with his wife. They lived together happily and produced four children, one of them being Jnaneshwar. All the four children went on to become great spiritual leaders, being born out of a realized father. But his community ostracized him for the grave sin of adopting family life after adopting Sanyasa. After a lot of struggle in raising the children, both the husband and the wife were so disgusted with being insulted that they left their mortal bodies.

Old lady teaches Shivaji how to eat khichdi

We all have heard the valiant conquests of the great ruler of the Maratha Kingdom – Chatrapathi Shivaji. Sivaji’s father Shahaji was a very weak ruler who lost most of his forts to Mughal invaders who proceeded South from the Delhi Sultanate. At a very young age, he began ruling a small kingdom in Pune. Being a very intelligent boy and a prodigious strategic thinker, he quickly learnt from all the mistakes his father made. His mother taught him values and contributed greatly to his highly respectable character. Shivaji had exceptional military capabilities, combined with a deep knowledge of Sanskrit. He was a patron of arts, culture and music. He respected women. Most importantly, he was a truly secular leader, because he tolerated and respected all other religions, including Islam.

Narsinh Mehta – The Adi Kavi of Gujarat

(In Gujarati Script)

વૈષ્ણવ જન તો તેને કિહયે, જે પીડ પરાયી જાણે રે
પર દુખ્ખે ઉપકાર કરે તોયે, મન અિભમાન ના આણે રે

(In Devanagari Script)

वैष्णव जन तो तेने किहये, जे पीड परायी जाणे रे
पर दुख्खे उपकार करे तोये, मन अिभमान ना आणे रे

(meaning in English)

He is a vaishnava, who feels and senses the pain of another.

Who is ready to serve the unfortunate, without vanity.

Every Indian has heard this Gujarati song, that was largely popularized by Mahatma Gandhi. Some of us even think Mahatma Gandhi composed it. This famous song was actually composed by a great Krishna Bhakth called Narsinh Mehta, 600 years ago. Narsinh Mehta is called the Adi Kavi (first among poets) of Gujarat. He lived in the early 15th century India.

The Rani of Jhansi

Almost all Indians, without exception, have studied Subhadra Kumari Chauhan’s famous poem titled Jhansi Ki Rani in their Hindi classes. The first stanza goes:

सिंहासन हिल उठे राजवंशों ने भृकुटी तानी थी,
बूढ़े भारत में आई फिर से नयी जवानी थी,
गुमी हुई आज़ादी की कीमत सबने पहचानी थी,
दूर फिरंगी को करने की सबने मन में ठानी थी।
चमक उठी सन सत्तावन में, वह तलवार पुरानी थी,
बुंदेले हरबोलों के मुँह हमने सुनी कहानी थी,
खूब लड़ी मर्दानी वह तो झाँसी वाली रानी थी।।

Karna’s Dharma

This will be the story of Karna – one of the most respected characters of the Mahabharata,

Karna was an epitome of giving. His dharma was to give anything that anyone asked. He was abandoned by his mother Kunti after birth, and was brought up by Dhritarashtra’s charioteer. Karna symbolized dharma very effectively in many incidents in the Mahabharata. Karna remained a true son to his foster parents, and remained a true and loyal friend to Duryodhana, by siding him in the war. As a true friend, he repeatedly pressed Duryodhana to defeat the Pandavas through the Dharmic ways of battle, but when Duryodhana chose the deceitful way, Karna still remained loyal to him. Karna promised Kunti that she will continue to have 5 sons after the battle was over, and he kept his promise. Since Karna and Arjuna had sworn to live only after killing the other, one of them must die. Despite defeating each of the other 4 Pandava brothers in battle, he never killed anyone because of his promise to Kunti.

Empty your cup

This is a small anecdote from the life of Sri Aurobindo. At a younger age, when Aurobindo was still on the path to realization, he was a little frustrated about not getting results despite intense meditation and practice. He was sitting on the rocks overlooking the sea on the Pondicherry shore and sharing his anxiety with colleagues and friends. They were drinking tea, and Aurobindo’s filled teacup was placed on a rock in front of him.

Vande MAtaram

Vande MAtaram, the national song of India, was composed by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, in a mixture of Bengali and Sanskrit. It was first sung in the 1896 session of the Indian National Congress. Most of us are familiar with the first paragraph of the song, but there is more. Those of us who neither know the whole song nor its meaning, it is shameful.

KalidAsa

This is an anectode about the most important incident in KALidAsa’s life that gave him his name. Wikipedia says KAlidAsa’s place in SAnskrit literature is tantamount to that of Shakespeare in modern English.

KAlidAsa was born as a stammering and brainless Brahmin boy. One of the most commonly quoted stories about KAlidAsa is an incident where he sits on the branch of the tree that is trying to cut. While many people laugh at him, one passerby takes pity on him and warns him that he is going to fall down if he continues cutting that branch. And true, KAlidAsa fell. After falling, he quickly ran to that passerby and praised him for being such a great astrologer. Was that sheer intelligence?

Jhulelal

Today’s story is about one of the principal deities of Sindh – Jhulelal, who was born to liberate the Sindhi people from the tyrannical rule of an Islamic fanatic ruler called Mirkshah.

The abundance of water from these perenial rivers often brought foreign invaders to Sindh. One such ruler was Mirkshah. Mirkshah gave the people of Sindh forty days to embrace Islam or die. The people prayed to Lord Varuna – the god of the river – to deliver them from their miseries. On the fortieth day, their prayers were answered and Lord Varuna spoke through a voice from heaven, “Fear not, I shall save you from the wicked Mirkshah. I shall come down as a mortal and take birth in the womb of Mata Devki in the house of Ratanchand Lohano of Nasarpur.” The oppressed Hindus now eagerly awaited the birth of their deliverer.

SillapadhigAram

Most of us who have learnt Tamil/speak Tamil have heard of SilappadhigAram. If that does not ring a bell, then surely seeing Kannagi’s statue on the Marina Beach would. The story of Kannagi continues our grand narrative of dharma as it is interpreted across centuries of different lands of BhArat varSha. Its outward manifestations might change – The PanTHa(s) (path, sect) might be different, the language employed may be varied – but the inner core symbolizing eternal dharma remains constant.

Khudiram Bose (3 December 1889 – 19 August 1908)

This story is about a very fierce and patriotic freedom fighter called Khudiram Bose, who died at the gallows, for throwing the first bomb at an Englishman, at the tender age of 19. He died with the Bhagavad Gita in his hands, love for his country in his heart, and a beautiful smile on his face. His life has been immortalized by the great Bengali poet, Kazi Nazrul Islam. Khudiram Bose epitomized the revolutionary patriotic spirit that was to sweep Bengal in the first half of the 20th century.

“Sapo Aham”

I start this blog with a very sweet story from the life of the great sage Patanjali.

There was a sage who went to the banks of a river everyday to perform his daily prayers. One day, as usual this sage was praying in the river, and he took some water in his cupped hands and then closed his eyes. After the prayer, when he opened his eyes, the sage was terrified by the sight of a snake in the water in his palms. He trembled and fearfully asked “Kor BhavAn ?” (He would have said “Ko Bhavaan” – meaning Who are you?)