I have just completed reading Hermann Hesse’s magnum opus, Das Glasperlenspiel, his last and most consummate work. It revolves around the life and ascension of Joseph Knecht, Magister Ludi and Master of the Glass Bead Game and his subsequent quest to achieve self-actualization above and beyond the self-imposed confines of the hierarchy he belongs to. The thought process and the ideas make for superb reading and I have paused to reflect many a time during the course of my discovery of the several pieces of literary treasure that the book contains. Among the many messages, the one that struck a chord within me was the discussion between Knecht and his one-time schoolmate, Plinio Designori on cheerful serenity.
"Well," Joseph Knecht said, laughing, “if we can make a person happier and more serene, we should do it in any case, whether or not he asks us to. And how could you not want that and not be seeking it? That’s why you are here, that’s why we are once again sitting face to face, that’s why you returned to us, after all. You hate Castalia, you despise it, you’re far too proud of your worldliness and your sadness to wish to find relief through the use of reason and meditation. And yet a secret, unquenchable longing for us and our serenity remained with you all through these years, luring you to return, to try us once more. And I must tell you that you have come at the right moment, when I too have been longing intensely for a call from your world, for an opening door. But we’ll talk about that next time. You’ve confided a great deal to me, friend, and I thank you for it. You will see that I too have some things to confess to you. It is late, you’re leaving tomorrow, and another day of official routines awaits me. We must go to bed. But please give me another fifteen minutes.”
He stood up, went to the window, and looked up at the starry, crystalline night sky overlaid by the scudding clouds. Since he did not return to his chair at once, his guest also stood up and came over to the window beside him. The Magister stood there, drinking in the cool, thin air of the autumnal night with rhythmic inhalations. He pointed towards the sky.
“Look,” he said. “This landscape of clouds and sky. At first glance you might think that the depths are there where it is darkest; but then you realise that the darkness and softness are only the clouds and that the depths of the universe begin at the fringes and fjords of this mountain range of clouds – solemn and supreme symbols of clarity and orderliness. The depths and mysteries of the universe lie not where the clouds and blackness are; the depths are to be found in places of clarity and serenity. Please, just before going to sleep look up for a while at these bays and straits again, with all their stars, and don’t reject the ideas or dreams that come to you from them.”
A strange quiver went through Plinio’s heart – he could not tell whether it was of grief or happiness. An unimaginably long time ago, he recalled, in the lovely, serene beginnings of his life as a Waldzell student, he had been summoned in similar words to his first meditation exercises.
“And let me say one word more,” the Glass Bead Game Master resumed, again in his low voice. “I would like to say something more to you about cheerful serenity, the serenity of the stars and of the mind, and about our Castalian kind of serenity also. You are averse to serenity, presumably because you have had to walk the ways of sadness, and now all brightness and good cheer, especially our Castalian kind, strikes you as shallow and childish, and cowardly to boot, a flight from the terrors and abysses of reality into a clear, well-ordered world of mere forms and formulas, mere abstractions and refinements. But, my dear devotee of sadness, even though for some this may well be a flight, though there may be no lack of cowardly, timorous Castalians playing with mere formulas, even if the majority among us were in fact of this sort – all this would not lessen the value and splendour of genuine serenity, the serenity of the sky and the mind. Granted there are those among us who are too easily satisfied, who enjoy sham serenity; but in contrast to them we also have men and generations of men whose serenity is not playful shallowness, but earnest depth. I knew one such man – I mean our former Music Master, whom you used to see in Waldzell now and then. In the last years of his life this man possessed the virtue of serenity to such a degree that it radiated from him like the light from a star; so much that it was transmitted to all in the form of benevolence, enjoyment of life, good humour, trust and confidence. It continued to radiate outward from all who received it, all who had absorbed its brightness. His light shone upon me also; he transmitted to me a little of his radiance, a little of the brightness in his heart, and to our friend Ferromonte as well, and a good many others. To achieve this cheerful serenity is to me, and to many others, the finest and highest of goals. You will also find it among some of the patriarchs of the directorate of the Order. Such cheerfulness is neither frivolity nor complacency; it is supreme insight and love, affirmation of all reality, alertness on the brink of all depths and abysses; it is a virtue of saints and of knights; it is indestructible and only increases with age and nearness to death. It is the secret of beauty and the real substance of all art. The poet who praises the splendours and terrors of life in the dance-measures of his verse, the musician who sounds them in a pure, eternal present – these are bringers of light, increasers of joy and brightness on earth, even if they lead us first through tears and stress. Perhaps the poet whose verses gladden us was a sad solitary, and the musician a melancholic dreamer; but even so their work shares in the cheerful serenity of the gods and the stars. What they give us is no longer their darkness, their suffering or fears, but a drop of pure light, eternal cheerfulness.”
“Even though whole peoples and languages have attempted to fathom the depths of the universe in myths, cosmogonies, and religions, their supreme, their ultimate attainment has been this cheerfulness. You recall the ancient Hindus – our teacher in Waldzell once spoke so beautifully about them. A people of suffering, of brooding, of penance and asceticism; but the great ultimate achievements of their thought were bright and cheerful; the smiles of the ascetics and the Buddhas are cheerful; the figures in their profound, enigmatic mythologies are cheerful. The world these myths represent begins divinely, blissfully, radiantly, with a springtime loveliness: the golden age. Then it sickens and degenerates more and more; it grows coarse and subsides into misery; and at the end of four ages, each lower than the others, it is ripe for annihilation. Therefore it is trampled underfoot by a laughing, dancing Siva – but it does not end with that. It begins anew with the smile of dreaming Vishnu whose hands playfully fashion a young, new, beautiful, shining world. It is wonderful – how these Indians, with an insight and capacity for suffering scarcely equaled by any other people, looked with horror and shame upon the cruel game of world history, the eternally revolving wheel of avidity and suffering; they saw and understood the fragility of created being, the avidity and diabolism of man, and at the same time his deep yearning for purity and harmony; and they devised these glorious parables for the beauty and tragedy of the creation: mighty Siva who dances the completed world into ruins, and smiling Vishnu who lies slumbering and playfully makes a new world arise out of his golden dreams of gods.”
Brilliant.
Peace
S
Friday, December 21, 2007
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
The Four Kings, Part 2
Continuing from where I had left of earlier. . .
The second King, complementary to varuna is mitra, the harmonizer. It is he who effects the right unity of which varuna is the substance. An opening verse of the rg veda seeks their combined assistance for attaining a rich and bright intellect. In mitra and varuna, we find a vast harmony, by them we increase in ourselves purity without defect and a love that is faultless in its wisdom.
To paraphrase Sri Aurobindo, “. . . mitra’s psychological function is one of love and compassion, a divine friend and a kindly helper of mankind, . . .whose assistance is founded on harmony. . . He brings within our reach the divine enjoyment and leads us to the perfect happiness. . . It is said of him that all perfected souls are firmly fixed “to the bliss of this Beloved in whom there is no hurt.” He fashions in gods and men impulsions whose actions spontaneously fulfil all the soul’s seekings. . .”
Again, his vigilance and perfect ordinances create in us sumatiṁ, meaning “a happy rightness of mind and feeling accompanied by a gladness in our soul” a state of grace, we might almost say. This summarily is his law of working – the well-accorded happiness of the Truth. It is upon Truth and divine Knowledge that harmony and perfect temperament are founded – they are formed, secured and guarded by . . . mitra and varuna.
As the vedic phrase goes, “mitrasya dharmabhiḥ mitrasya dhāmabhiḥ”, mitra’s dharma is the law that holds things together and to which we hold; dhāma, the staus is the placing of the law in a founded harmony, one that creates for us our plane of living and the character of our consciousness, action and thought.
Among the several such in the rg veda to these two kings, I found the hymns of the atri ṛṣis among the more eloquent.
At 5.62.6, the ṛṣi śrutāvit ātreyaḥ exhorts both varuna and mitra thus:
अक्रविहस्ता सुकृते परस्पा यं त्रासाथे वरुणेळास्वन्तः ।
राजाना क्षत्रमहृणीयमाना सहस्रस्थूणं बिभृथः सह द्वौ ॥
akravihastā sukṛte paraspā yaṁ trāsāthe varuṇeḻāsvantaḥ
rājānā kṣatramahṛṇīyamānā sahasrasthūṇaṁ bibhṛthaḥ saha dvau
You protect the beyond for the doer of perfect works, without sparing any effort
You deliver him and he dwells within the wide revealing of knowledge
Kings of hero-force free from passion, together you uphold a thousand-pillared strength
Again at 5.64.6, the ṛṣi ārcanāna ātreyaḥ prays to these two Kings for the formation of a wide world within.
युवं नो येषु वरुन क्षत्रं बृहच्च बिभृथः।
उरु णो वाजसातये कृतं राये स्वस्तये ।।
yuvaṁ no yeṣu varuna kṣatraṁ bṛhacca bibhṛthaḥ
uru ṇo vājasātaye kṛtaṁ rāye svastaye
With the might and the vastness which is brought by you two, O Varuna
Form in us the wide world for the conquest of our plenitudes
For bliss (and) for our soul’s happiness
In 5.65.1-.6, the ṛṣi rātahavya ātreyaḥ invokes these two increasers of truth in our being to lead us to the plenitude and vastness of our true existence.
यश्चिकेत स सुक्रतुर्देवत्रा स ब्रवीतु नः ।
वरुणो यस्य दर्शतो मित्रो वा वनते गिरः ॥
ता हि श्रेष्टवर्चसा राजाना दीर्घश्रुत्तमा ।
ता सत्पति ऋतावृध ऋतावाना जनेजने॥
ता वामियानोऽवसे पूर्वा उप ब्रुवे सच ।
स्वश्वासः चेतुना वाजाँ अभि प्र दावने ॥
मित्रो अंहोश्चिदादुरु क्षयाय गातुं वनते ।
मित्रस्य हि प्रतूर्वतः सुमतिरस्ति विधतः ॥
वयं मित्रस्यावसि स्याम सप्रथस्तमे ।
अनेहसस्त्वोतयः सत्रा वरुणशेषसः ॥
युवं मित्रेमं जनं यतथः सं च नयथः ।
मा मघोनः परि ख़्यतं मो अस्माकमृषीणां गोपीथे न उरुष्यतम् ॥
yaściketa sa sukraturdevatrā sa bravītu naḥ
varuṇo yasya darśato mitro vā vanate giraḥ
tā hi śreṣṭavarcasā rājānā dīrghaśruttamā
tā satpati ṛtāvṛdha ṛtāvānā janejane
tā vāmiyāno'vase pūrvā upa bruve saca
svaśvāsaḥ cetunā vājām abhi pra dāvane
mitro aṁhościdāduru kṣayāya gātuṁ vanate
mitrasya hi pratūrvataḥ sumatirasti vidhataḥ
vayaṁ mitrasyāvasi syāma saprathastame
anehasastvotayaḥ satrā varuṇaśeṣasaḥ
yuvaṁ mitremaṁ janaṁ yatathaḥ saṁ ca nayathaḥ
mā maghonaḥ pari khyataṁ mo asmākamṛṣīṇāṁ gopīthe na uruṣyatam
Sri Aurobindo has translated this entire verse and I merely reproduce it here.
"He who has awakened to the knowledge, becomes perfect in will
Let him speak for us among the gods
Varuna of the vision and Mitra take delight in his words
They are the kings most glorious in light and most far in their hearing
They are the masters of being in all creatures
They are the increasers of the Truth in us for the truth is theirs.
Travelling on the path, I call to them, the two together, the ancient and first
As we travel with perfect steeds, we call to them, the perfect in knowledge
For the giving of the plenitudes
Even out of our narrow existence, Mitra conquers for us the vastness
He conquers the path to our home
For the perfect mind is of Mitra when he hastens forward through to the goal and harmonises all
May we abide in the increasing of Mitra which gives us our perfect breadth
Then we are free from hurt and sin
Fostered by thee, children of Varuna
You two, O Mitra, set this [human] travelling on your path and wholly you lead him
Set not your hedge around our lords of plenitude and our seers of the truth
Guard us in our drinking of the light"
Thus are we exhorted to labour and travel for this bright and beautiful lord, who comes into us with luminous force and bears in his wideness all the gods – Mitra, the blissful one, the possessor of purified understanding, who sets and leads all mortal creatures upon the path and the Second King.
Peace
S
PS: Sri Aurobindo's writing quoted above (c) Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust 1999
The second King, complementary to varuna is mitra, the harmonizer. It is he who effects the right unity of which varuna is the substance. An opening verse of the rg veda seeks their combined assistance for attaining a rich and bright intellect. In mitra and varuna, we find a vast harmony, by them we increase in ourselves purity without defect and a love that is faultless in its wisdom.
To paraphrase Sri Aurobindo, “. . . mitra’s psychological function is one of love and compassion, a divine friend and a kindly helper of mankind, . . .whose assistance is founded on harmony. . . He brings within our reach the divine enjoyment and leads us to the perfect happiness. . . It is said of him that all perfected souls are firmly fixed “to the bliss of this Beloved in whom there is no hurt.” He fashions in gods and men impulsions whose actions spontaneously fulfil all the soul’s seekings. . .”
Again, his vigilance and perfect ordinances create in us sumatiṁ, meaning “a happy rightness of mind and feeling accompanied by a gladness in our soul” a state of grace, we might almost say. This summarily is his law of working – the well-accorded happiness of the Truth. It is upon Truth and divine Knowledge that harmony and perfect temperament are founded – they are formed, secured and guarded by . . . mitra and varuna.
As the vedic phrase goes, “mitrasya dharmabhiḥ mitrasya dhāmabhiḥ”, mitra’s dharma is the law that holds things together and to which we hold; dhāma, the staus is the placing of the law in a founded harmony, one that creates for us our plane of living and the character of our consciousness, action and thought.
Among the several such in the rg veda to these two kings, I found the hymns of the atri ṛṣis among the more eloquent.
At 5.62.6, the ṛṣi śrutāvit ātreyaḥ exhorts both varuna and mitra thus:
अक्रविहस्ता सुकृते परस्पा यं त्रासाथे वरुणेळास्वन्तः ।
राजाना क्षत्रमहृणीयमाना सहस्रस्थूणं बिभृथः सह द्वौ ॥
akravihastā sukṛte paraspā yaṁ trāsāthe varuṇeḻāsvantaḥ
rājānā kṣatramahṛṇīyamānā sahasrasthūṇaṁ bibhṛthaḥ saha dvau
You protect the beyond for the doer of perfect works, without sparing any effort
You deliver him and he dwells within the wide revealing of knowledge
Kings of hero-force free from passion, together you uphold a thousand-pillared strength
Again at 5.64.6, the ṛṣi ārcanāna ātreyaḥ prays to these two Kings for the formation of a wide world within.
युवं नो येषु वरुन क्षत्रं बृहच्च बिभृथः।
उरु णो वाजसातये कृतं राये स्वस्तये ।।
yuvaṁ no yeṣu varuna kṣatraṁ bṛhacca bibhṛthaḥ
uru ṇo vājasātaye kṛtaṁ rāye svastaye
With the might and the vastness which is brought by you two, O Varuna
Form in us the wide world for the conquest of our plenitudes
For bliss (and) for our soul’s happiness
In 5.65.1-.6, the ṛṣi rātahavya ātreyaḥ invokes these two increasers of truth in our being to lead us to the plenitude and vastness of our true existence.
यश्चिकेत स सुक्रतुर्देवत्रा स ब्रवीतु नः ।
वरुणो यस्य दर्शतो मित्रो वा वनते गिरः ॥
ता हि श्रेष्टवर्चसा राजाना दीर्घश्रुत्तमा ।
ता सत्पति ऋतावृध ऋतावाना जनेजने॥
ता वामियानोऽवसे पूर्वा उप ब्रुवे सच ।
स्वश्वासः चेतुना वाजाँ अभि प्र दावने ॥
मित्रो अंहोश्चिदादुरु क्षयाय गातुं वनते ।
मित्रस्य हि प्रतूर्वतः सुमतिरस्ति विधतः ॥
वयं मित्रस्यावसि स्याम सप्रथस्तमे ।
अनेहसस्त्वोतयः सत्रा वरुणशेषसः ॥
युवं मित्रेमं जनं यतथः सं च नयथः ।
मा मघोनः परि ख़्यतं मो अस्माकमृषीणां गोपीथे न उरुष्यतम् ॥
yaściketa sa sukraturdevatrā sa bravītu naḥ
varuṇo yasya darśato mitro vā vanate giraḥ
tā hi śreṣṭavarcasā rājānā dīrghaśruttamā
tā satpati ṛtāvṛdha ṛtāvānā janejane
tā vāmiyāno'vase pūrvā upa bruve saca
svaśvāsaḥ cetunā vājām abhi pra dāvane
mitro aṁhościdāduru kṣayāya gātuṁ vanate
mitrasya hi pratūrvataḥ sumatirasti vidhataḥ
vayaṁ mitrasyāvasi syāma saprathastame
anehasastvotayaḥ satrā varuṇaśeṣasaḥ
yuvaṁ mitremaṁ janaṁ yatathaḥ saṁ ca nayathaḥ
mā maghonaḥ pari khyataṁ mo asmākamṛṣīṇāṁ gopīthe na uruṣyatam
Sri Aurobindo has translated this entire verse and I merely reproduce it here.
"He who has awakened to the knowledge, becomes perfect in will
Let him speak for us among the gods
Varuna of the vision and Mitra take delight in his words
They are the kings most glorious in light and most far in their hearing
They are the masters of being in all creatures
They are the increasers of the Truth in us for the truth is theirs.
Travelling on the path, I call to them, the two together, the ancient and first
As we travel with perfect steeds, we call to them, the perfect in knowledge
For the giving of the plenitudes
Even out of our narrow existence, Mitra conquers for us the vastness
He conquers the path to our home
For the perfect mind is of Mitra when he hastens forward through to the goal and harmonises all
May we abide in the increasing of Mitra which gives us our perfect breadth
Then we are free from hurt and sin
Fostered by thee, children of Varuna
You two, O Mitra, set this [human] travelling on your path and wholly you lead him
Set not your hedge around our lords of plenitude and our seers of the truth
Guard us in our drinking of the light"
Thus are we exhorted to labour and travel for this bright and beautiful lord, who comes into us with luminous force and bears in his wideness all the gods – Mitra, the blissful one, the possessor of purified understanding, who sets and leads all mortal creatures upon the path and the Second King.
Peace
S
PS: Sri Aurobindo's writing quoted above (c) Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust 1999
Monday, October 01, 2007
On 2 October 2007
2 October 2007 marks the 139th birth anniversary of Mr. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, one of the architects of India’s freedom struggle. Come the morrow and we will witness a series of tributes to the “Father of the Nation” – prayer meetings and floral tributes, token fasts, music concerts for peace and non-violence, addresses by several khadi-clad people including prominent personae from walks of public life, dramas featuring sections of Gandhi’s life re-enacted by children in schools, screening of Richard Attenborough’s “Gandhi” in several (dubbed) Indian languages, October 2 specials on news channels on the life and times of Gandhi, probably an odd screening or two on entertainment channel of Lage Raho Munnabhai to provide comic relief for the masses – in short, one day of lip service and celebrations “honouring” a man who orchestrated and participated in our freedom struggle and won for us freedom from colonial rule.
Personally, I value Gandhi’s contribution to our freedom struggle as much as I do the several others and my heartfelt thanks go to their "collective" efforts, efforts as a result of which I am able to proudly say I was born in a free India. However, is the India we live in today really representative of the freedom that Gandhi and his compatriots in the freedom struggle had in mind? I sometimes wonder, were he alive today, would he feel proud of what he sees around him?
Our cities are fast turning into vast cesspools where all of India’s dishonesty, greed, hatred, intolerance and lust drain into and are left to fester unhindered. Daily I see and read about instances like an Alastair Pereira walking free in Mumbai after killing seven people in an instance of rash driving, people killed in New Delhi for questioning simple but inequitable acts like breaking traffic rules in acts of brutal road-rage, vigilante justice in Bihar in defiance of the law, sexual favours for promotions/recuitments in the police force in Uttar Pradesh, non-implementation of the Justice Srikrishna Commission Report in Maharashtra, terrorist bombings in Hyderabad in the name of religion, bomb blasts in Assam by ULFA separatists, strikes in Tamil Nadu sponsored by the ruling DMK protesting against a court order in the Setu Samudram project, a school child stripped and humiliated in a New Delhi school for not completing her homework, political volte-face in Karnataka, the list is endless. I see and hear these all around me and I feel sick in my gut at Mera Bharat Mahan and what it was becoming.
I see hunger, poverty, illiteracy, pestilence, abuse of authority, disrespect for law and order, mis-governance, corruption, abuse of women and children, among several other ills – sadly, all the “Gandhian” ideals exist only on paper today or in some forgotten library shelf.
It is a shame that we do not properly appreciate the meaning of freedom and the responsibilities that it carries with it. To me, these responsibilities are quite simple and articulated in Article 51A of our Constitution, thus:
“It shall be the duty of every citizen of India–
(a) to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem;
(b) to cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom;
(c) to uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India;
(d) to defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so;
(e) to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities; to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women;
(f) to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture;
(g) to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life, and to have compassion for living creatures;
(h) to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform;
(i) to safeguard public property and to abjure violence;
(j) to strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavour and achievement;
(k) who is a parent or guardian to provide opportunities for education to his child or, as the case may be, ward between the age of six and fourteen years.
On 2 October 2007, rather than engage in mere lip service to Gandhi, we’d do better to refresh our individual and collective memories about our fundamental duties as Indian citizens and actually work towards upholding those duties. I see that as a more fitting tribute for this man and the ideals he stood for.
Cheers
S
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Of Madhurashtakam in Odissi and Freestyle Gotipua
I have been traveling to remote parts of India this last week, interspersing these journeys with brief stopovers in several cities. A few days ago, we were in Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Orissa. While I was there, I had the opportunity to witness an odissi dance performance by students of Guru Gangadhar Pradhan, the founder director of the Orissa Dance Academy.
The odissi performance comprised both free style and themed dances with the incredible footwork and facial/bodily expressions of the dancers themselves telling the stories in rhythmic form. I was happy to watch the ardhanārīśvara performance executed flawlessly by a dancer.
What however captured me through the rest of the evening was the rendition of madhurāṣṭakam. I simply adore this devotional song, having first heard it rendered by that doyen of carnatic music, M S Subbulakshmi, several years ago. The melody and her voice are still in my memory. The song itself was composed by Sri Vallabhacharya in the 16th century. It is dedicated to Krishna – and speaks about the “honey-sweetness” of his persona and all his actions – in eight verses, hence the term, madhurāṣṭakam. It runs as follows:
अधरं मधुरं वदनं मधुरं नयनं मधुरं हसितं मधुरम्।
हृदयं मधुरं गमनं मधुरं मधुराधिपतेरखिलं मधुरम् ॥ १
वचनं मधुरं चरितं मधुरं वसनं मधुरं वलितं मधुरम्।
चलितं मधुरं भ्रमितं मधुरं मधुराधिपतेरखिलं मधुरम्॥ २
वेणुर्मधुरो रेणुर्मधुरः पाणिर्मधुरः पादौ मधुरौ।
नृत्यं मधुरं सख्यं मधुरं मधुराधिपतेरखिलं मधुरम् ॥ ३
गीतं मधुरं पीतं मधुरं भुक्तं मधुरं सुप्तं मधुरम्।
रूपं मधुरं तिलकं मधुरं मधुराधिपतेरखिलं मधुरम् ॥ ४
करणं मधुरं तरणं मधुरं हरणं मधुरं रमणं मधुरम्।
वमितं मधुरं शमितं मधुरं मधुराधिपतेरखिलं मधुरम् ॥ ५
गुञ्जा मधुरा बाला मधुरा यमुना मधुरा वीची मधुरा।
सलिलं मधुरं कमलं मधुरं मधुराधिपतेरखिलं मधुरम् ॥ ६
गोपी मधुरा लीला मधुरा युक्तं मधुरं मुक्तं मधुरम्।
दृष्टं मधुरं शिष्टं मधुरं मधुराधिपतेरखिलं मधुरम् ॥ ७
गोपा मधुरा गावो मधुरा यष्टिर्मधुरा सृष्टिर्मधुरा।
दलितं मधुरं फलितं मधुरं मधुराधिपतेरखिलं मधुरम् ॥ ८
adharaṁ madhuraṁ vadanaṁ madhuraṁ nayanaṁ madhuraṁ hasitaṁ madhuram
hṛdayaṁ madhuraṁ gamanaṁ madhuraṁ madhurādhipaterakhilaṁ madhuram
vacanaṁ madhuraṁ caritaṁ madhuraṁ vasanaṁ madhuraṁ valitaṁ madhuram
calitaṁ madhuraṁ bhramitaṁ madhuraṁ madhurādhipaterakhilaṁ madhuram
veṇurmadhuro reṇurmadhuraḥ pāṇirmadhuraḥ pādau madhurau
nṛtyaṁ madhuraṁ sakhyaṁ madhuraṁ madhurādhipaterakhilaṁ madhuram
gītaṁ madhuraṁ pītaṁ madhuraṁ bhuktaṁ madhuraṁ suptaṁ madhuram
rūpaṁ madhuraṁ tilakaṁ madhuraṁ madhurādhipaterakhilaṁ madhuram
karaṇaṁ madhuraṁ taraṇaṁ madhuraṁ haraṇaṁ madhuraṁ ramaṇaṁ madhuram
vamitaṁ madhuraṁ śamitaṁ madhuraṁ madhurādhipaterakhilaṁ madhuram
guñjā madhurā bālā madhurā yamunā madhurā vīcī madhurā
salilaṁ madhuraṁ kamalaṁ madhuraṁ madhurādhipaterakhilaṁ madhuram
gopī madhurā līlā madhurā yuktaṁ madhuraṁ muktaṁ madhuram
dṛṣṭaṁ madhuraṁ śiṣṭaṁ madhuraṁ madhurādhipaterakhilaṁ madhuram
gopā madhurā gāvo madhurā yaṣṭirmadhurā sṛṣṭirmadhurā
dalitaṁ madhuraṁ phalitaṁ madhuraṁ madhurādhipaterakhilaṁ madhuram
I’ve added a few pictures of the performance below.
The odissi performance was followed by the gotipua performance. Gotipua, I was reliably informed, is the precursor to odissi and is performed by boys dressed in female garbs and costumes. The word literally means goti – one, pua – boy in Oriya. The gotipuas lead a life of rigorous training and exercise under the supervision of their teachers. These young dancers are able to execute several acrobatic postures, a hallmark of gotipua, flawlessly. We watched four young lads, all under 10-years of age, perform dances like thayee nata, pallavi, abhinaya and bandha nrutya, leaving us spellbound in time.
All told, an evening well spent experiencing one of India’s ancient dance forms.
Peace
S
The odissi performance comprised both free style and themed dances with the incredible footwork and facial/bodily expressions of the dancers themselves telling the stories in rhythmic form. I was happy to watch the ardhanārīśvara performance executed flawlessly by a dancer.
What however captured me through the rest of the evening was the rendition of madhurāṣṭakam. I simply adore this devotional song, having first heard it rendered by that doyen of carnatic music, M S Subbulakshmi, several years ago. The melody and her voice are still in my memory. The song itself was composed by Sri Vallabhacharya in the 16th century. It is dedicated to Krishna – and speaks about the “honey-sweetness” of his persona and all his actions – in eight verses, hence the term, madhurāṣṭakam. It runs as follows:
अधरं मधुरं वदनं मधुरं नयनं मधुरं हसितं मधुरम्।
हृदयं मधुरं गमनं मधुरं मधुराधिपतेरखिलं मधुरम् ॥ १
वचनं मधुरं चरितं मधुरं वसनं मधुरं वलितं मधुरम्।
चलितं मधुरं भ्रमितं मधुरं मधुराधिपतेरखिलं मधुरम्॥ २
वेणुर्मधुरो रेणुर्मधुरः पाणिर्मधुरः पादौ मधुरौ।
नृत्यं मधुरं सख्यं मधुरं मधुराधिपतेरखिलं मधुरम् ॥ ३
गीतं मधुरं पीतं मधुरं भुक्तं मधुरं सुप्तं मधुरम्।
रूपं मधुरं तिलकं मधुरं मधुराधिपतेरखिलं मधुरम् ॥ ४
करणं मधुरं तरणं मधुरं हरणं मधुरं रमणं मधुरम्।
वमितं मधुरं शमितं मधुरं मधुराधिपतेरखिलं मधुरम् ॥ ५
गुञ्जा मधुरा बाला मधुरा यमुना मधुरा वीची मधुरा।
सलिलं मधुरं कमलं मधुरं मधुराधिपतेरखिलं मधुरम् ॥ ६
गोपी मधुरा लीला मधुरा युक्तं मधुरं मुक्तं मधुरम्।
दृष्टं मधुरं शिष्टं मधुरं मधुराधिपतेरखिलं मधुरम् ॥ ७
गोपा मधुरा गावो मधुरा यष्टिर्मधुरा सृष्टिर्मधुरा।
दलितं मधुरं फलितं मधुरं मधुराधिपतेरखिलं मधुरम् ॥ ८
adharaṁ madhuraṁ vadanaṁ madhuraṁ nayanaṁ madhuraṁ hasitaṁ madhuram
hṛdayaṁ madhuraṁ gamanaṁ madhuraṁ madhurādhipaterakhilaṁ madhuram
vacanaṁ madhuraṁ caritaṁ madhuraṁ vasanaṁ madhuraṁ valitaṁ madhuram
calitaṁ madhuraṁ bhramitaṁ madhuraṁ madhurādhipaterakhilaṁ madhuram
veṇurmadhuro reṇurmadhuraḥ pāṇirmadhuraḥ pādau madhurau
nṛtyaṁ madhuraṁ sakhyaṁ madhuraṁ madhurādhipaterakhilaṁ madhuram
gītaṁ madhuraṁ pītaṁ madhuraṁ bhuktaṁ madhuraṁ suptaṁ madhuram
rūpaṁ madhuraṁ tilakaṁ madhuraṁ madhurādhipaterakhilaṁ madhuram
karaṇaṁ madhuraṁ taraṇaṁ madhuraṁ haraṇaṁ madhuraṁ ramaṇaṁ madhuram
vamitaṁ madhuraṁ śamitaṁ madhuraṁ madhurādhipaterakhilaṁ madhuram
guñjā madhurā bālā madhurā yamunā madhurā vīcī madhurā
salilaṁ madhuraṁ kamalaṁ madhuraṁ madhurādhipaterakhilaṁ madhuram
gopī madhurā līlā madhurā yuktaṁ madhuraṁ muktaṁ madhuram
dṛṣṭaṁ madhuraṁ śiṣṭaṁ madhuraṁ madhurādhipaterakhilaṁ madhuram
gopā madhurā gāvo madhurā yaṣṭirmadhurā sṛṣṭirmadhurā
dalitaṁ madhuraṁ phalitaṁ madhuraṁ madhurādhipaterakhilaṁ madhuram
I’ve added a few pictures of the performance below.
The odissi performance was followed by the gotipua performance. Gotipua, I was reliably informed, is the precursor to odissi and is performed by boys dressed in female garbs and costumes. The word literally means goti – one, pua – boy in Oriya. The gotipuas lead a life of rigorous training and exercise under the supervision of their teachers. These young dancers are able to execute several acrobatic postures, a hallmark of gotipua, flawlessly. We watched four young lads, all under 10-years of age, perform dances like thayee nata, pallavi, abhinaya and bandha nrutya, leaving us spellbound in time.
All told, an evening well spent experiencing one of India’s ancient dance forms.
Peace
S
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Conduct Me By The Right Path
हयो न विद्वाँ अयुजि स्वयं धुरि
तां वहामि प्रतरणीमवस्युवम् ।
नास्या वश्मि विमुचं नावृतं पुनर्विद्वान्
पथः पुर एत ऋजु नेषति ॥ ५.४६.१
hayo na vidvān ayuji svayaṁ dhuri
tāṁ vahāmi prataraṇīmavasyuvam
nāsyā vaśmi vimucaṁ
nāvṛtaṁ punar
vidvān pathaḥ pura eta ṛju neṣati [5.46.1]
The one who knows attaches himself to his task, like a horse to a chariot.
I also bear that task whose goal is farther beyond and leads to safety.
I seek no release, neither see a way of turning back therefrom.
May he, who knows the way, conduct me by the right path.
Onward and upwards. . .
Peace
S
तां वहामि प्रतरणीमवस्युवम् ।
नास्या वश्मि विमुचं नावृतं पुनर्विद्वान्
पथः पुर एत ऋजु नेषति ॥ ५.४६.१
hayo na vidvān ayuji svayaṁ dhuri
tāṁ vahāmi prataraṇīmavasyuvam
nāsyā vaśmi vimucaṁ
nāvṛtaṁ punar
vidvān pathaḥ pura eta ṛju neṣati [5.46.1]
The one who knows attaches himself to his task, like a horse to a chariot.
I also bear that task whose goal is farther beyond and leads to safety.
I seek no release, neither see a way of turning back therefrom.
May he, who knows the way, conduct me by the right path.
Onward and upwards. . .
Peace
S
Monday, September 17, 2007
The Four Kings, Part 1
“Drifting to the Light fantastic, [I] lose a step but never give up. . .”
The rig veda comprises two main [ and intertwined] parables – the Angiras legend and the Vritra myth – the first dealing with the recovery of the lost sun by our human forefathers, the Angiras ṛṣis, and the second dealing with the forces of Ignorance that constantly seek to withhold this sun from us. These twin parables occur and re-occur throughout the veda and around them the rest of the vedic symbolism is interwoven.
The Angiras ṛṣis themselves are the divine seers who assist in the cosmic and human workings of the gods and their earthly representatives, the ancient fathers who first found the wisdom of which the vedic hymns are a chant and a memory, literally a renewal of experiences, long forgotten.
What then is this lost sun that is spoken of constantly through the veda? Symbolically, it is the Sun of Truth, the herds of which are the illuminations we seek, revealing to us night-hidden world after night-hidden world all the way up to the highest beautitude. In the imagery of the vedic seer, Surya, the Sun, is the master of that supreme Truth – Truth of being, Truth of knowledge and Truth of action.
The goal of the Rig Veda is to enable the sun of Truth to mount high in the heaven of our mentality – the establishment of a Godhead in man. It is this conception that Surya embodies, he is the light of Truth rising on the human consciousness. Surya means “the illumined or luminous, as also the illumined thinker is called ‘sūri’; but the root means. . . to create or, more literally, to loose, release, speed forth – for in the Indian idea, creation is a loosing forth of what is held back, a manifestation of what is hidden in the infinite Existence.”
Surya, a primary deity in the vedic pantheon, has other deities associated with him who fulfil functions that arise out of his own. As Sri Aurobindo writes, “For if the truth of Surya is to be established firmly in our mortal nature, there are previous conditions that are indispensable — a vast purity and clear wideness destructive of all sin and crooked falsehood,— and this is Varuna; a luminous power of love and comprehension leading and forming into harmony all our thoughts, acts and impulses,— this is Mitra; an immortal puissance of clear-discerning aspiration and endeavour,— this is Aryaman; a happy spontaneity of the right enjoyment of all things dispelling the evil dream of sin and error and suffering,— this is Bhaga. These four are powers of the Truth of Surya.”
Viewed superficially, Varuna is the master of the oceans and the sky, the maintainer of laws on earth, in the heavens and the middle regions and a punisher of transgressors. On a more esoteric level, Varuna is the divine power that creates pathways for the Sun in our being, so that the Sun may pour his knowledge into all the dark corners of our being. Varuna is उरु शंस or “uru shamsa”, meaning “wide expression”. Indeed he grants us a broader vision, removes the narrowness of our outlook, so that we may express our aspirations for the attainment of infinity.
The crude conception of sin, as a consequence of evil acts, did not have a place in the thoughts of the vedic thinkers. What they perceived however, was a force of Ignorance – an absence of correct perception of the Right and the Truth in the mind or non-seizing of it in the will or an inability of action to follow after it or the sheer inefficiency of our physical being to rise to the greatness of the Divine Law. To the vedic seer, sin was a violation of the divine Right and Truth. Varuna, the punisher of transgressors delivers us from this sin. Accordingly, their prayer to Varuna was with the underlying sense of a chain and bondage, “Cleave away sin from me like a cord.”
At 1.24.6, the ṛṣi śunaḥśepaḥ ājīgartiḥ prays to Varuna, of matchless strength, to release him from the triple bonds of limited mind, inefficient life and obscure physical animality. When Varuna comes and sunders this triple restraint, he is freed towards riches and immortality, towards a life in the infinitude.
नहि ते क्षत्रं न सहो न मन्युं वयश्चनामी पतयन्त आपुः ।
नेमा आपो अनिमिषं चरन्तीर्न ॥
nahi te kṣatraṁ na saho na manyuṁ vayaścanāmī patayanta āpuḥ
nemā āpo animiṣaṁ carantīrna
Your might, your strength of endurance or your fury cannot be attained by the soaring birds.
Neither the incessantly flowing rivers nor the wind can affect your strength.
śunaḥśepaḥ then continues at 1.24.8 as follows, praising Varuna as the repeller of afflictions:
उरुं हि राजा वरुनश्चकर सूर्याय पन्थामन्वेतवा उ ।
अपदे पादा प्रतिधातवेऽकर् उतापवक्ता हृदयाविदश्चित् ॥
uruṁ hi rājā varunaścakara sūryāya panthāmanvetavā u
apade pādā pratidhātave'kar utāpavaktā hṛdayāvidaścit
The regal Varuna prepares the wide pathway for the Divine Sun to follow
In the unlit parts [of the human] he prepares for the treads of his feet
He is the repeller of whatever afflicts the heart
And again at 1.24.13-15,
शुनःशेपो ह्यह्वद् गृभितस त्रिष्वादित्यं द्रुपदेषु बद्धः ।
अवैनं राजा वरुनः ससृज्याद्विद्वाँ अदब्धो विमुमोक्तु पाशान् ॥
अव ते हेळो वरुन नमोभिरव यज्ञेभिरीमहे हविर्भिः ।
क्षयन्नस्मभ्यमसुर प्रचेता राजन्नेनांसि शिश्रथः कृतानि ॥
उदुत्तमं वरुन पाशामस्मद् अवाधमं वि मध्यमं श्रथाय ।
अथा वयमादित्य व्रते तवानागसो अदितये स्याम ॥
śunaḥśepo hyahvad gṛbhitasa triṣvādityaṁ drupadeṣu baddhaḥ
avainaṁ rājā varunaḥ sasṛjyādvidvān adabdho vimumoktu pāśān
ava te heḻo varuna namobhirava yajñebhirīmahe havirbhiḥ
kṣayannasmabhyamasura pracetā rājannenāṁsi śiśrathaḥ kṛtāni
uduttamaṁ varuna pāśāmasmad avādhamaṁ vi madhyamaṁ śrathāya
athā vayamāditya vrate tavānāgaso aditaye syāma
śunaḥśepaḥ, who was held captive and bound to the tree in three places invoked the Son of Aditi
May he, the king Varuna who knows, deliver him
May the unassailable Varuna release him from the bonds
O Varuna, we avert your disregard by surrender, by yajña and by offerings
O Supreme Knower and Mighty One, dwelling in us
Loosen for us the bonds of our sins
O Varuna, loosen for us the bond above, the bond below and the one in the middle
O Son of Aditi, in your law may we live faultless, for the sake of Aditi
Ignorance or falsehood in our existential being is the cause of wrong and suffering – so states the Veda in symbolic form. Knowledge or Truth is the liberating agent. This liberation is the purport of the parable of śunaḥśepaḥ and his two great hymns to Varuna - the cleaver of sins and releaser from the cords - the first King and the master of an all-embracing Infinity.
More later
Peace
S
PS: Sri Aurobindo's writing quoted above (c) Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust 1999.
The rig veda comprises two main [ and intertwined] parables – the Angiras legend and the Vritra myth – the first dealing with the recovery of the lost sun by our human forefathers, the Angiras ṛṣis, and the second dealing with the forces of Ignorance that constantly seek to withhold this sun from us. These twin parables occur and re-occur throughout the veda and around them the rest of the vedic symbolism is interwoven.
The Angiras ṛṣis themselves are the divine seers who assist in the cosmic and human workings of the gods and their earthly representatives, the ancient fathers who first found the wisdom of which the vedic hymns are a chant and a memory, literally a renewal of experiences, long forgotten.
What then is this lost sun that is spoken of constantly through the veda? Symbolically, it is the Sun of Truth, the herds of which are the illuminations we seek, revealing to us night-hidden world after night-hidden world all the way up to the highest beautitude. In the imagery of the vedic seer, Surya, the Sun, is the master of that supreme Truth – Truth of being, Truth of knowledge and Truth of action.
The goal of the Rig Veda is to enable the sun of Truth to mount high in the heaven of our mentality – the establishment of a Godhead in man. It is this conception that Surya embodies, he is the light of Truth rising on the human consciousness. Surya means “the illumined or luminous, as also the illumined thinker is called ‘sūri’; but the root means. . . to create or, more literally, to loose, release, speed forth – for in the Indian idea, creation is a loosing forth of what is held back, a manifestation of what is hidden in the infinite Existence.”
Surya, a primary deity in the vedic pantheon, has other deities associated with him who fulfil functions that arise out of his own. As Sri Aurobindo writes, “For if the truth of Surya is to be established firmly in our mortal nature, there are previous conditions that are indispensable — a vast purity and clear wideness destructive of all sin and crooked falsehood,— and this is Varuna; a luminous power of love and comprehension leading and forming into harmony all our thoughts, acts and impulses,— this is Mitra; an immortal puissance of clear-discerning aspiration and endeavour,— this is Aryaman; a happy spontaneity of the right enjoyment of all things dispelling the evil dream of sin and error and suffering,— this is Bhaga. These four are powers of the Truth of Surya.”
Viewed superficially, Varuna is the master of the oceans and the sky, the maintainer of laws on earth, in the heavens and the middle regions and a punisher of transgressors. On a more esoteric level, Varuna is the divine power that creates pathways for the Sun in our being, so that the Sun may pour his knowledge into all the dark corners of our being. Varuna is उरु शंस or “uru shamsa”, meaning “wide expression”. Indeed he grants us a broader vision, removes the narrowness of our outlook, so that we may express our aspirations for the attainment of infinity.
The crude conception of sin, as a consequence of evil acts, did not have a place in the thoughts of the vedic thinkers. What they perceived however, was a force of Ignorance – an absence of correct perception of the Right and the Truth in the mind or non-seizing of it in the will or an inability of action to follow after it or the sheer inefficiency of our physical being to rise to the greatness of the Divine Law. To the vedic seer, sin was a violation of the divine Right and Truth. Varuna, the punisher of transgressors delivers us from this sin. Accordingly, their prayer to Varuna was with the underlying sense of a chain and bondage, “Cleave away sin from me like a cord.”
At 1.24.6, the ṛṣi śunaḥśepaḥ ājīgartiḥ prays to Varuna, of matchless strength, to release him from the triple bonds of limited mind, inefficient life and obscure physical animality. When Varuna comes and sunders this triple restraint, he is freed towards riches and immortality, towards a life in the infinitude.
नहि ते क्षत्रं न सहो न मन्युं वयश्चनामी पतयन्त आपुः ।
नेमा आपो अनिमिषं चरन्तीर्न ॥
nahi te kṣatraṁ na saho na manyuṁ vayaścanāmī patayanta āpuḥ
nemā āpo animiṣaṁ carantīrna
Your might, your strength of endurance or your fury cannot be attained by the soaring birds.
Neither the incessantly flowing rivers nor the wind can affect your strength.
śunaḥśepaḥ then continues at 1.24.8 as follows, praising Varuna as the repeller of afflictions:
उरुं हि राजा वरुनश्चकर सूर्याय पन्थामन्वेतवा उ ।
अपदे पादा प्रतिधातवेऽकर् उतापवक्ता हृदयाविदश्चित् ॥
uruṁ hi rājā varunaścakara sūryāya panthāmanvetavā u
apade pādā pratidhātave'kar utāpavaktā hṛdayāvidaścit
The regal Varuna prepares the wide pathway for the Divine Sun to follow
In the unlit parts [of the human] he prepares for the treads of his feet
He is the repeller of whatever afflicts the heart
And again at 1.24.13-15,
शुनःशेपो ह्यह्वद् गृभितस त्रिष्वादित्यं द्रुपदेषु बद्धः ।
अवैनं राजा वरुनः ससृज्याद्विद्वाँ अदब्धो विमुमोक्तु पाशान् ॥
अव ते हेळो वरुन नमोभिरव यज्ञेभिरीमहे हविर्भिः ।
क्षयन्नस्मभ्यमसुर प्रचेता राजन्नेनांसि शिश्रथः कृतानि ॥
उदुत्तमं वरुन पाशामस्मद् अवाधमं वि मध्यमं श्रथाय ।
अथा वयमादित्य व्रते तवानागसो अदितये स्याम ॥
śunaḥśepo hyahvad gṛbhitasa triṣvādityaṁ drupadeṣu baddhaḥ
avainaṁ rājā varunaḥ sasṛjyādvidvān adabdho vimumoktu pāśān
ava te heḻo varuna namobhirava yajñebhirīmahe havirbhiḥ
kṣayannasmabhyamasura pracetā rājannenāṁsi śiśrathaḥ kṛtāni
uduttamaṁ varuna pāśāmasmad avādhamaṁ vi madhyamaṁ śrathāya
athā vayamāditya vrate tavānāgaso aditaye syāma
śunaḥśepaḥ, who was held captive and bound to the tree in three places invoked the Son of Aditi
May he, the king Varuna who knows, deliver him
May the unassailable Varuna release him from the bonds
O Varuna, we avert your disregard by surrender, by yajña and by offerings
O Supreme Knower and Mighty One, dwelling in us
Loosen for us the bonds of our sins
O Varuna, loosen for us the bond above, the bond below and the one in the middle
O Son of Aditi, in your law may we live faultless, for the sake of Aditi
Ignorance or falsehood in our existential being is the cause of wrong and suffering – so states the Veda in symbolic form. Knowledge or Truth is the liberating agent. This liberation is the purport of the parable of śunaḥśepaḥ and his two great hymns to Varuna - the cleaver of sins and releaser from the cords - the first King and the master of an all-embracing Infinity.
More later
Peace
S
PS: Sri Aurobindo's writing quoted above (c) Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust 1999.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Stargazer. . .
High noon
Oh I'd sell my soul for water
Nine years' worth
Of breakin' my back
There's no sun in the shadow of the wizard
See how he glides
Why he's lighter than air
Oh I see his face
Where is your star
Is it far, Is it far, is it far
When do we leave
I believe, yes, I believe
In the heat and the rain
With whips and chains
Just to see him fly
So many die
We built a tower of stone
With our flesh and bone
Just to see him fly
Don't know why
Now where do we go
Hot wind moving fast across the desert
We feel that our time has arrived
The world spins while we put his wing together
A tower of stone to take him straight to the sky
Oh I see his face
Where is your star
It is far, is it far, is it far
When do we leave, yeah
I believe, I believe
In the heat and the rain
With whips and chains
Just to see him fly
So many die
All eyes see the figure of the wizard
As he climbs to the top of the world
No sound as he falls instead of rising
Time standing still
Then there's blood on the sand
Oh I see his face
Where was your star
Was it far, was it far
When did we leave
We believe, we believe, we believe
In the heat and rain
With whips and chains
To see him fly
So many die
We built a tower of stone
With out flesh and bone
To see him fly
But why, it don't rain
With all our chains,
Did so many die
Just to see him fly
Look at my flesh and bone
Now look, look, look, look
Look at this tower of stone
I see a rainbow rising
Look there on the horizon
And I'm coming home
Coming home, I'm coming home
Time is standing still
He gave me back my will
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Going home
I'm going home
My eyes are bleeding
And my heart is weeping
We still hope, we still hope, oh
Take me back
He gave me back my will
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Going home
I'm going home
My eyes are bleeding
And my heart is weeping
We still hope, we still hope, oh
Take me back, take me back
Back to my home, oh, oh...
© 1976, Rainbow and Polydor Music
Oh I'd sell my soul for water
Nine years' worth
Of breakin' my back
There's no sun in the shadow of the wizard
See how he glides
Why he's lighter than air
Oh I see his face
Where is your star
Is it far, Is it far, is it far
When do we leave
I believe, yes, I believe
In the heat and the rain
With whips and chains
Just to see him fly
So many die
We built a tower of stone
With our flesh and bone
Just to see him fly
Don't know why
Now where do we go
Hot wind moving fast across the desert
We feel that our time has arrived
The world spins while we put his wing together
A tower of stone to take him straight to the sky
Oh I see his face
Where is your star
It is far, is it far, is it far
When do we leave, yeah
I believe, I believe
In the heat and the rain
With whips and chains
Just to see him fly
So many die
All eyes see the figure of the wizard
As he climbs to the top of the world
No sound as he falls instead of rising
Time standing still
Then there's blood on the sand
Oh I see his face
Where was your star
Was it far, was it far
When did we leave
We believe, we believe, we believe
In the heat and rain
With whips and chains
To see him fly
So many die
We built a tower of stone
With out flesh and bone
To see him fly
But why, it don't rain
With all our chains,
Did so many die
Just to see him fly
Look at my flesh and bone
Now look, look, look, look
Look at this tower of stone
I see a rainbow rising
Look there on the horizon
And I'm coming home
Coming home, I'm coming home
Time is standing still
He gave me back my will
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Going home
I'm going home
My eyes are bleeding
And my heart is weeping
We still hope, we still hope, oh
Take me back
He gave me back my will
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Going home
I'm going home
My eyes are bleeding
And my heart is weeping
We still hope, we still hope, oh
Take me back, take me back
Back to my home, oh, oh...
© 1976, Rainbow and Polydor Music
Saturday, September 01, 2007
Thoughts on Sacrifice and Surrender
I remember a lesson that one of my teachers at Infosys once taught me, “Before you desire, you must deserve.” I realise that he was probably echoing what the veda already contains, albeit in a slightly different form. While instructing us in the preparation of our bodily and mental conditions to accept and realise the Truth, a subtle message runs through its course, “the greater surrender confers on us the greater right.”
In a spiritual sense, every oblation or offering (havya) signifies an intertwined and underlying sacrifice or action – either physical or mental. Every such action in turn contemplates the giving of some part of ourselves into the cosmic being. The effectiveness of the offering, the “right”-ness of the sacrifice, is determined by the high priest of the sacrifice, agni. Again, this effectiveness is in direct correlation to the degree of our surrender. Our ego is taught and therefore learns to subjugate itself in every act to the Absolute, to the Gods, to the Truth, to the One, whatever name we may choose to ascribe to that Divinity.
It is only when we perform even the simplest of acts with this understanding and acceptance and attitude of surrender that the Divinity takes form in us i.e. becomes conscient and enlightens us with right knowledge. The vedic sanskrit word for this is ā kṛṇudhvam, the “ā” signifying a drawing upon an external agency or force and having internalized it, shaping it within our [currently narrow] streams of consciousness.
We are organised units of existence reflecting the constitution of the universe, containing in ourselves subjectively all the worlds in which we are objectively contained. The imagery of the vedic sacrifice becomes easy to understand once we possess this key. The Gods are not mere personifications of abstract ideas or of physical or psychological functions of nature. They are living powers – the vicissitude of the human soul represents a cosmic struggle not merely of principles of tendencies but of the cosmic powers that support and embody them. These are the Gods and the Demons. On the world stage and in our individual soul, the same real drama with the same personages is enacted.
The sacrifice itself takes the form of a journey – for it is our ascension towards a goal. And it is no peaceful travel, involving as it does the discovery and travel on the arduous yet fulfilling road of the Truth. The vedic tapestry is grand and describes, symbolically as it does, the āryan man’s [our] labour and battles, our constant uphill war against the enemies that seek to bind us in ignorance, the several censurers, confiners, covetors, dividers, dualists, hurters, miser-traffickers, plunderers, stealers and tearers among others – vṛtra, śuśna, namuci, vala and other pani by whatever name ascribed – the impious host within us, that we must constantly seek to fight and overcome.
At one instance, ṛṣi madhuccandaḥ vaiśvāmitraḥ says:
यत्सानोः सानुमारुहद् भुर्यस्पष्ट कर्त्वम्
तदिन्द्रो अर्थं चेतति यूथेन वृष्णिरेजति
yatsānoḥ sānumāruhad bhuryaspaṣṭa kartvam
tadindro arthaṁ cetati yūthena vṛṣṇirejati
translating as “when the worshipper [devotee] climbs from peak to peak, he realises the progress that is yet to be achieved; then indra awakens in him the purpose of the journey and comes to aid [the devotee in his journey]”
In another instance, rātahavya ātreyaḥ invokes the twin solar powers – mitra and varuna – to lead us in our journey to the vastness of our true existence.
ता वामियानोऽवसे पूर्वा उप ब्रुवे सचा
स्वश्वासः चेतुना वाजाँ अभि प्र दावने
tā vāmiyāno'vase pūrvā upa bruve sacā
svaśvāsaḥ cetunā vājāḥ abhi pra dāvane
meaning, “travelling on the path, I call to them, the two together, the ancient and first, as we travel with perfect steeds, we call to them, the perfect in knowledge, for the giving of the plenitudes”.
The seers recognized that man is not aware of the entire journey and possesses the limited knowledge to progress in a measured manner. At the appropriate instance, the divine powers manifest themselves and guide us in our journey. It is with such vivid and physical images that the vedic poets sing to us of our own spiritual ascension and the assistance that the gods deliver to us at each step.
Peace
S
In a spiritual sense, every oblation or offering (havya) signifies an intertwined and underlying sacrifice or action – either physical or mental. Every such action in turn contemplates the giving of some part of ourselves into the cosmic being. The effectiveness of the offering, the “right”-ness of the sacrifice, is determined by the high priest of the sacrifice, agni. Again, this effectiveness is in direct correlation to the degree of our surrender. Our ego is taught and therefore learns to subjugate itself in every act to the Absolute, to the Gods, to the Truth, to the One, whatever name we may choose to ascribe to that Divinity.
It is only when we perform even the simplest of acts with this understanding and acceptance and attitude of surrender that the Divinity takes form in us i.e. becomes conscient and enlightens us with right knowledge. The vedic sanskrit word for this is ā kṛṇudhvam, the “ā” signifying a drawing upon an external agency or force and having internalized it, shaping it within our [currently narrow] streams of consciousness.
We are organised units of existence reflecting the constitution of the universe, containing in ourselves subjectively all the worlds in which we are objectively contained. The imagery of the vedic sacrifice becomes easy to understand once we possess this key. The Gods are not mere personifications of abstract ideas or of physical or psychological functions of nature. They are living powers – the vicissitude of the human soul represents a cosmic struggle not merely of principles of tendencies but of the cosmic powers that support and embody them. These are the Gods and the Demons. On the world stage and in our individual soul, the same real drama with the same personages is enacted.
The sacrifice itself takes the form of a journey – for it is our ascension towards a goal. And it is no peaceful travel, involving as it does the discovery and travel on the arduous yet fulfilling road of the Truth. The vedic tapestry is grand and describes, symbolically as it does, the āryan man’s [our] labour and battles, our constant uphill war against the enemies that seek to bind us in ignorance, the several censurers, confiners, covetors, dividers, dualists, hurters, miser-traffickers, plunderers, stealers and tearers among others – vṛtra, śuśna, namuci, vala and other pani by whatever name ascribed – the impious host within us, that we must constantly seek to fight and overcome.
At one instance, ṛṣi madhuccandaḥ vaiśvāmitraḥ says:
यत्सानोः सानुमारुहद् भुर्यस्पष्ट कर्त्वम्
तदिन्द्रो अर्थं चेतति यूथेन वृष्णिरेजति
yatsānoḥ sānumāruhad bhuryaspaṣṭa kartvam
tadindro arthaṁ cetati yūthena vṛṣṇirejati
translating as “when the worshipper [devotee] climbs from peak to peak, he realises the progress that is yet to be achieved; then indra awakens in him the purpose of the journey and comes to aid [the devotee in his journey]”
In another instance, rātahavya ātreyaḥ invokes the twin solar powers – mitra and varuna – to lead us in our journey to the vastness of our true existence.
ता वामियानोऽवसे पूर्वा उप ब्रुवे सचा
स्वश्वासः चेतुना वाजाँ अभि प्र दावने
tā vāmiyāno'vase pūrvā upa bruve sacā
svaśvāsaḥ cetunā vājāḥ abhi pra dāvane
meaning, “travelling on the path, I call to them, the two together, the ancient and first, as we travel with perfect steeds, we call to them, the perfect in knowledge, for the giving of the plenitudes”.
The seers recognized that man is not aware of the entire journey and possesses the limited knowledge to progress in a measured manner. At the appropriate instance, the divine powers manifest themselves and guide us in our journey. It is with such vivid and physical images that the vedic poets sing to us of our own spiritual ascension and the assistance that the gods deliver to us at each step.
Peace
S
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Agni
Recently, I was in a brief online discussion with a friend about agni. agni is a cosmic force, beyond the physical fire that we are familiar with, the greatest of all the cosmic powers that manifest themselves in humankind. Vedic tradition speaks of this great impersonal power present in all of us, on several occasions in the ṛg veda. What I am writing about today is the opening hymn from the first mandala of that veda, composed by the ṛṣi madhuccandaḥ vaiśvāmitraḥ and comprising nine stanzas.
Before I proceed further about agni, let me attempt to explain what it represents. agni is the cosmic power of will united with wisdom. It is this cosmic power that works in all of us, to summon the other divine powers - mind, action, life energies, bliss, and revelation and so on - also manifest in us. Hence the application of the epithet hotāraṁ or summoner to agni.
The vedic seers had a methodical approach in their entire yajña or spiritual journey - an approach that seeks to awaken each aspect of the cosmic power that is dormant in us, in an orderly sequence, what I would term as a sort of building-blocks approach in realising sat cit ānanda, the divinity in all of us.
In the words of Sri Aurobindo:
". . . [these cosmic powers] represent each some essential puissance of the Divine Being. . . they recognise in the soul of man their brother and ally and desire to help and increase him by themselves increasing in him so as to possess his world with their light, strength and beauty."
In invoking these powers, the question then arises to whom shall we first offer our sacrifice?
It is to agni first, for without his presence the sacrificial flame cannot burn on the altar of our soul. Full of intellect and purified in discernment, he is the perfect friend born of heaven and earth who establishes the bliss, the pure and sublime mediator between heaven and earth. It is agni who is present in the course of our adhvara, the journey, right from its commencement through its entire course, before he finally leads us to his own home of Beatitude.
The opening nine verses of the ṛg veda hold the key to approaching this deity.
अग्निमीळे पुरोहितं यज्ञस्य देवमृत्विजम्।
होतारं रत्नधातमम् ॥
अग्निः पूर्वेभिरृषिभिर् ईङ्यो नूतनैरूत।
स देवाँ एह वक्षति ॥
अग्निना रयिमश्नवत् पोषमेव दिवेदिवे।
यशसं वीरवत्तमम् ॥
अग्ने यं यज्ञमध्वरं विश्वतः परिभुरसि।
स इद्देवेषु गच्चति ॥
अग्निर्होता कविक्रतुः सत्यश्चित्रश्रवस्तमः।
देवो देवेभिरागमत् ॥
यदङ्ग दशुषे त्वं अग्ने भद्रं करिष्यसि।
तवेत्तत्सत्यमाङ्गिरः ॥
उप त्वाग्ने दिवेदिवे दोषावस्तर्धिया वयम्।
नमो भरन्त एमसि ॥
राजन्तमध्वराणां गोपामृतस्य दीदिविम्।
वर्धमानं स्वे दमे ॥
स नः पितेव सूनवे अग्ने सूपायनो भव।
सचस्वा नः स्वस्तये ॥
agnimīḻe purohitaṁ yajñasya devamṛtvijam
hotāraṁ ratnadhātamam
agniḥ pūrvebhirṛṣibhir īṅyo nūtanairūta
sa devām eha vakṣati
agninā rayimaśnavat poṣameva divedive
yaśasaṁ vīravattamam
agne yaṁ yajñamadhvaraṁ viśvataḥ paribhurasi
sa iddeveṣu gaccati
agnirhotā kavikratuḥ satyaścitraśravastamaḥ
devo devebhirāgamat
yadaṅga daśuṣe tvaṁ agne bhadraṁ kariṣyasi
tavettatsatyamāṅgiraḥ
upa tvāgne divedive doṣāvastardhiyā vayam
namo bharanta emasi
rājantamadhvarāṇāṁ gopāmṛtasya dīdivim
vardhamānaṁ sve dame
sa naḥ piteva sūnave agne sūpāyano bhava
sacasvā naḥ svastaye
In the first, the ṛṣi aspires adoringly for agni, described variously as purohitaṁ, the one who goes in front, the lord of the yajña and ṛtvik. The word "ṛtvik" has a special connotation. The word ṛtu in the veda means the Order of the Truth and its arranged law, time and circumstance. The ṛtvik is one who performs a sacrifice in accordance with the natural law and season. agni is also hotāraṁ, the summoner capable of bringing the gods to our sacrifice. He is also ratnadhātamam, the person who establishes excellent felicities in us, the human aspirants.
madhuccandaḥ then describes agni in the second verse as "the one adored by ancient (pūrvebhiḥ) and new (nutanaiḥ) seers too, [who] brings the gods here [to the sacrifice]. "Here" is a place within us, in a deep sense both physical and metaphysical. As I read this verse again, I realise that to call agni a mere physical flame is to ascribe to this force a pedestrian meaning and acknowledge the poverty of my own expression.
It is through agni that one enjoys (aśnavat) an inner plenitude, an inner felicity of being (rayim). This inner felicity increases (pośameva) day by day (dive-dive) and the force that it is endowed with enables us to overcome obstacles that prevent the enjoyment of bliss. This force is therefore aptly described as glorious (yaśasaṁ) and full of heroic power (vīravattamam).
The veda views the entire concept of sacrifice as adhvara or journey. The word adhvara is derived from adhva or path and ra meaning to move. This journey is the gradual transformation of the material body culminating in all sided perfection. It is agni who charts for us the path of ascent in our yajña-pilgrimage. The ṛṣi acknowledges that the yajña-pilgrimage that is surrounded on all sides by agni is the only one that reaches the gods.
The fifth mantra of the first sūkta describes an additional faculty that agni possesses - kavikratuḥ i.e. seer-will. kavya is seer-wisdom, revealed by supraphysical experience and kratuḥ is the will associated with wisdom together with the force that makes its execution possible. agni is kavikratuḥ, who possesses the power to grant us a true (satyaḥ) audition (śravas) that is of infinite variety (citra) and excellent (tamaḥ). A god (devo), he comes with the gods (devebhiḥ āgamat). This mantra again serves to reinforce my belief that this force is not physical in nature.
madhuccandaḥ lauds agni in the sixth. agni, or aṅgiraḥ - one possessed with a glowing quality of preeminence , alone creates a truth (satyaṁ) for the giver (dāśuṣe), [which Truth] is bhadraṁ or an auspicious happiness. agni is a creator of happiness that is combined with spiritual good.
I believe that the veda veils its message in a subtle manner. The seventh mantra translates as follows: "To you O Agni, day by day (dive-dive), in the night and in the light (dośāvastaḥ), we approach (emasi) carrying (bharanta) our obeisance (namo) by our thought (dhiyā)". The means to seek this cosmic force within us is through a meditation that is continuous. Continuity of meditation is not measured by the time spent on the act itself. It is measured by the quality of the attitude that we bring to this act, a quality that continues under all circumstances, of illumination and otherwise as well. That is the true purport of this verse.
agni, the master or overlord of the pilgrim-yajña (rājantamadhvarāṇāṁ), is the luminous (dīdivim) guardian (gopaṁ) of the Truth. His power of manifestation increases (vardhamānaṁ) in his own home (sve dame). agni's home is described elsewhere in the ṛg veda as satyam ṛtam bṛhat. satyam, the Absolute Truth is also ṛtam, the Truth in action in consonance with the natural law and therefore it is not bounded by any limitations, physical or psychological, hence it is bṛhat or vast. agni, is the guardian of manifested Truth.
Finally, we pray for agni to be of [ever] easy access to us, like a father is to his son, to cling to us so that we may maintain our happy state. With divine will constantly in us, false consciousness which is a basis of misery, is eliminated.
Disinterested, sleepless and invincible, the divine will force agni works in the world as a universal soul of power housed in all beings. agni vaiśvānara, the greatest, most powerful, most brilliant and most impersonal of all cosmic deities - he claims no primacy, he seeks no separate end, merely content to be a worker for man, indeed he is man’s greatest helper, our most beloved friend. To him, we offer our oblations first.
Peace
S
PS: Lest I forget, this friend of mine, Anu Iyer is also a great teacher in her own right and she indirectly spurred me into writing this piece. Call it homework from a summoner of a different sort!!!
Before I proceed further about agni, let me attempt to explain what it represents. agni is the cosmic power of will united with wisdom. It is this cosmic power that works in all of us, to summon the other divine powers - mind, action, life energies, bliss, and revelation and so on - also manifest in us. Hence the application of the epithet hotāraṁ or summoner to agni.
The vedic seers had a methodical approach in their entire yajña or spiritual journey - an approach that seeks to awaken each aspect of the cosmic power that is dormant in us, in an orderly sequence, what I would term as a sort of building-blocks approach in realising sat cit ānanda, the divinity in all of us.
In the words of Sri Aurobindo:
". . . [these cosmic powers] represent each some essential puissance of the Divine Being. . . they recognise in the soul of man their brother and ally and desire to help and increase him by themselves increasing in him so as to possess his world with their light, strength and beauty."
In invoking these powers, the question then arises to whom shall we first offer our sacrifice?
It is to agni first, for without his presence the sacrificial flame cannot burn on the altar of our soul. Full of intellect and purified in discernment, he is the perfect friend born of heaven and earth who establishes the bliss, the pure and sublime mediator between heaven and earth. It is agni who is present in the course of our adhvara, the journey, right from its commencement through its entire course, before he finally leads us to his own home of Beatitude.
The opening nine verses of the ṛg veda hold the key to approaching this deity.
अग्निमीळे पुरोहितं यज्ञस्य देवमृत्विजम्।
होतारं रत्नधातमम् ॥
अग्निः पूर्वेभिरृषिभिर् ईङ्यो नूतनैरूत।
स देवाँ एह वक्षति ॥
अग्निना रयिमश्नवत् पोषमेव दिवेदिवे।
यशसं वीरवत्तमम् ॥
अग्ने यं यज्ञमध्वरं विश्वतः परिभुरसि।
स इद्देवेषु गच्चति ॥
अग्निर्होता कविक्रतुः सत्यश्चित्रश्रवस्तमः।
देवो देवेभिरागमत् ॥
यदङ्ग दशुषे त्वं अग्ने भद्रं करिष्यसि।
तवेत्तत्सत्यमाङ्गिरः ॥
उप त्वाग्ने दिवेदिवे दोषावस्तर्धिया वयम्।
नमो भरन्त एमसि ॥
राजन्तमध्वराणां गोपामृतस्य दीदिविम्।
वर्धमानं स्वे दमे ॥
स नः पितेव सूनवे अग्ने सूपायनो भव।
सचस्वा नः स्वस्तये ॥
agnimīḻe purohitaṁ yajñasya devamṛtvijam
hotāraṁ ratnadhātamam
agniḥ pūrvebhirṛṣibhir īṅyo nūtanairūta
sa devām eha vakṣati
agninā rayimaśnavat poṣameva divedive
yaśasaṁ vīravattamam
agne yaṁ yajñamadhvaraṁ viśvataḥ paribhurasi
sa iddeveṣu gaccati
agnirhotā kavikratuḥ satyaścitraśravastamaḥ
devo devebhirāgamat
yadaṅga daśuṣe tvaṁ agne bhadraṁ kariṣyasi
tavettatsatyamāṅgiraḥ
upa tvāgne divedive doṣāvastardhiyā vayam
namo bharanta emasi
rājantamadhvarāṇāṁ gopāmṛtasya dīdivim
vardhamānaṁ sve dame
sa naḥ piteva sūnave agne sūpāyano bhava
sacasvā naḥ svastaye
In the first, the ṛṣi aspires adoringly for agni, described variously as purohitaṁ, the one who goes in front, the lord of the yajña and ṛtvik. The word "ṛtvik" has a special connotation. The word ṛtu in the veda means the Order of the Truth and its arranged law, time and circumstance. The ṛtvik is one who performs a sacrifice in accordance with the natural law and season. agni is also hotāraṁ, the summoner capable of bringing the gods to our sacrifice. He is also ratnadhātamam, the person who establishes excellent felicities in us, the human aspirants.
madhuccandaḥ then describes agni in the second verse as "the one adored by ancient (pūrvebhiḥ) and new (nutanaiḥ) seers too, [who] brings the gods here [to the sacrifice]. "Here" is a place within us, in a deep sense both physical and metaphysical. As I read this verse again, I realise that to call agni a mere physical flame is to ascribe to this force a pedestrian meaning and acknowledge the poverty of my own expression.
It is through agni that one enjoys (aśnavat) an inner plenitude, an inner felicity of being (rayim). This inner felicity increases (pośameva) day by day (dive-dive) and the force that it is endowed with enables us to overcome obstacles that prevent the enjoyment of bliss. This force is therefore aptly described as glorious (yaśasaṁ) and full of heroic power (vīravattamam).
The veda views the entire concept of sacrifice as adhvara or journey. The word adhvara is derived from adhva or path and ra meaning to move. This journey is the gradual transformation of the material body culminating in all sided perfection. It is agni who charts for us the path of ascent in our yajña-pilgrimage. The ṛṣi acknowledges that the yajña-pilgrimage that is surrounded on all sides by agni is the only one that reaches the gods.
The fifth mantra of the first sūkta describes an additional faculty that agni possesses - kavikratuḥ i.e. seer-will. kavya is seer-wisdom, revealed by supraphysical experience and kratuḥ is the will associated with wisdom together with the force that makes its execution possible. agni is kavikratuḥ, who possesses the power to grant us a true (satyaḥ) audition (śravas) that is of infinite variety (citra) and excellent (tamaḥ). A god (devo), he comes with the gods (devebhiḥ āgamat). This mantra again serves to reinforce my belief that this force is not physical in nature.
madhuccandaḥ lauds agni in the sixth. agni, or aṅgiraḥ - one possessed with a glowing quality of preeminence , alone creates a truth (satyaṁ) for the giver (dāśuṣe), [which Truth] is bhadraṁ or an auspicious happiness. agni is a creator of happiness that is combined with spiritual good.
I believe that the veda veils its message in a subtle manner. The seventh mantra translates as follows: "To you O Agni, day by day (dive-dive), in the night and in the light (dośāvastaḥ), we approach (emasi) carrying (bharanta) our obeisance (namo) by our thought (dhiyā)". The means to seek this cosmic force within us is through a meditation that is continuous. Continuity of meditation is not measured by the time spent on the act itself. It is measured by the quality of the attitude that we bring to this act, a quality that continues under all circumstances, of illumination and otherwise as well. That is the true purport of this verse.
agni, the master or overlord of the pilgrim-yajña (rājantamadhvarāṇāṁ), is the luminous (dīdivim) guardian (gopaṁ) of the Truth. His power of manifestation increases (vardhamānaṁ) in his own home (sve dame). agni's home is described elsewhere in the ṛg veda as satyam ṛtam bṛhat. satyam, the Absolute Truth is also ṛtam, the Truth in action in consonance with the natural law and therefore it is not bounded by any limitations, physical or psychological, hence it is bṛhat or vast. agni, is the guardian of manifested Truth.
Finally, we pray for agni to be of [ever] easy access to us, like a father is to his son, to cling to us so that we may maintain our happy state. With divine will constantly in us, false consciousness which is a basis of misery, is eliminated.
Disinterested, sleepless and invincible, the divine will force agni works in the world as a universal soul of power housed in all beings. agni vaiśvānara, the greatest, most powerful, most brilliant and most impersonal of all cosmic deities - he claims no primacy, he seeks no separate end, merely content to be a worker for man, indeed he is man’s greatest helper, our most beloved friend. To him, we offer our oblations first.
Peace
S
PS: Lest I forget, this friend of mine, Anu Iyer is also a great teacher in her own right and she indirectly spurred me into writing this piece. Call it homework from a summoner of a different sort!!!
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
I became Manu. . . behold me
अहं मनुः अभवं सूर्यः च अहम् कक्षिवान् ऋषिः अस्मि विप्रः
अहं कुत्समार्जुनेयं नि ऋञ्जे अहं कविः उशना पश्यता मा
अहं भूमिम् अददाम् आर्याय अहं वृष्टिं दाशुषे मर्त्याय
अहम् अपो अनयं वावशाना मम देवासो अनु केतम् आयन्
अहं पुरो मन्दसानो वि एरं नव साकं नवतीः शम्बरस्य
शततमं वेश्यं सर्वताता दिवोदासं अतिथिग्वं यत् आवं
ahaṁ manuḥ abhavaṁ sūryaḥ ca aham kakṣivān ṛṣiḥ asmi vipraḥ
ahaṁ kutsamārjuneyaṁ ni ṛñje ahaṁ kaviḥ uśanā paśyatā mā
ahaṁ bhūmim adadām āryāya ahaṁ vṛṣṭiṁ dāśuṣe martyāya
aham apo anayaṁ vāvaśānā mama devāso anu ketam āyan
ahaṁ puro mandasāno vi eraṁ nava sākaṁ navatīḥ śambarasya
śatatamaṁ veśyaṁ sarvatātā divodāsaṁ atithigvaṁ yat āvaṁ
Peace
S
अहं कुत्समार्जुनेयं नि ऋञ्जे अहं कविः उशना पश्यता मा
अहं भूमिम् अददाम् आर्याय अहं वृष्टिं दाशुषे मर्त्याय
अहम् अपो अनयं वावशाना मम देवासो अनु केतम् आयन्
अहं पुरो मन्दसानो वि एरं नव साकं नवतीः शम्बरस्य
शततमं वेश्यं सर्वताता दिवोदासं अतिथिग्वं यत् आवं
ahaṁ manuḥ abhavaṁ sūryaḥ ca aham kakṣivān ṛṣiḥ asmi vipraḥ
ahaṁ kutsamārjuneyaṁ ni ṛñje ahaṁ kaviḥ uśanā paśyatā mā
ahaṁ bhūmim adadām āryāya ahaṁ vṛṣṭiṁ dāśuṣe martyāya
aham apo anayaṁ vāvaśānā mama devāso anu ketam āyan
ahaṁ puro mandasāno vi eraṁ nava sākaṁ navatīḥ śambarasya
śatatamaṁ veśyaṁ sarvatātā divodāsaṁ atithigvaṁ yat āvaṁ
Peace
S
Saturday, August 18, 2007
A Quick Comment on The Impending Indo-US Nuclear Deal
The last few days have seen emotional outbursts from both sides of the government on the pros and cons of the nuclear deal ranging from impassioned rhetoric for support from the UPA to cries of betrayal of national interest by the Left parties and the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The Economist in its print issue dated 2-8 December 2006 called the deal damaging to a global anti nuclear regime and opposed it on more [logical] grounds that it violated the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and could open the doors to further proliferation fallout from North Korea's bomb test and Iran's continuing nuclear defiance.
More recently Dr. Ivan Oelrich of the Federation of American Scientists wrote last week on his blog here that India got what it wanted without any safeguards although I beg to differ with his primarily onesided analysis. I personally believe this deal is good for India because:
1. We will achieve a nuclear fuelled power capacity of 20,000 MW (10% of total power requirement) by 2020, a self professed goal of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India.
2. We generate power that is clean and not environment polluting like the fossil fuelled power plants.
3. We get fuel supplies internationally and we have the right to reprocess the spent uranium.
4. We have not opened up our sites for inspections.
5. We have access to high technology in several areas including defence and space, and
6. We get to keep our weapons (although I am personally opposed to the notion of a (nuclear) arms bearing state as I am completely and unashamedly pacifist in my outlook).
- among the several other doors it opens for us, since our ostracization from the West post the 1974 tests that India conducted.
My simplistic six-point view aside, let's take a look at why is this deal really important to us and why we, as right minded citizens, should oppose any attempts to scuttle this. I am borrowing from Nandan Desai's comments here summarily as follows:
"Currently, the average Indian consumes 0.9 barrels of oil, 31.5 cubic meters of natural gas, and 610 kilowatt hours of electricity every year – and these numbers are going up by 4.5% - 5% annually. Add to that 1% annual population growth, and our total energy needs will increase by about 5.5% - 6% a year. This year, we will produce about 90% of our natural gas and 30% of our petroleum domestically, and import the rest. Capacity addition over the last few years has been quite rapid, but not nearly fast enough to keep up with the growth of demand. Judging by current rates of capacity addition, and borrowing some projections from the Energy Information Administration, by 2020 we will have to import 20% of our natural gas, and 80% of our oil; by 2030 those numbers will be around 30% and 90%, respectively."
Staggering, when you sit back and think about it. Nandan has done excellent groundwork for his article and while I have no wish to parrot it entirely again, I find myself agreeing to the three principal arguments that he has advocated - (a) energy security for now and energy independence in the longer term, (b) a good road to creating power infrastructure to build India and lift it out of its current morass, and (c) last but not least, increases our influence in the global scheme of things coupled with the imposition of greater responsibilities and transparency requirements on us.
One aspect of this deal is a rider, subtle or otherwise, that we work with the United States to contain Iran's nuclear program. Opponents of this deal claim that it harms India's sovereign interests. Whilst it bothers me a little that our foreign policy is now being subtly guided by US interests, I see it as a quid-pro-quo and a good one at that. A deal of this propensity requires a fair bit of give-and-take and if the ultimate goal is to work in cooperation to avoid a second nuclear showdown, I believe it to be ok.
And lest I forget, I find the arguments of both the Left parties and the BJP to be completely specious, the former looking out for the interests of their idealogical masters and the latter opposing this deal purely on grounds of jealousy that they did not get to ink the dotted line when they were in power. If we recall, the BJP did try to negotiate a similar deal when they were in power last.
Cheers
S
The Economist in its print issue dated 2-8 December 2006 called the deal damaging to a global anti nuclear regime and opposed it on more [logical] grounds that it violated the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and could open the doors to further proliferation fallout from North Korea's bomb test and Iran's continuing nuclear defiance.
More recently Dr. Ivan Oelrich of the Federation of American Scientists wrote last week on his blog here that India got what it wanted without any safeguards although I beg to differ with his primarily onesided analysis. I personally believe this deal is good for India because:
1. We will achieve a nuclear fuelled power capacity of 20,000 MW (10% of total power requirement) by 2020, a self professed goal of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India.
2. We generate power that is clean and not environment polluting like the fossil fuelled power plants.
3. We get fuel supplies internationally and we have the right to reprocess the spent uranium.
4. We have not opened up our sites for inspections.
5. We have access to high technology in several areas including defence and space, and
6. We get to keep our weapons (although I am personally opposed to the notion of a (nuclear) arms bearing state as I am completely and unashamedly pacifist in my outlook).
- among the several other doors it opens for us, since our ostracization from the West post the 1974 tests that India conducted.
My simplistic six-point view aside, let's take a look at why is this deal really important to us and why we, as right minded citizens, should oppose any attempts to scuttle this. I am borrowing from Nandan Desai's comments here summarily as follows:
"Currently, the average Indian consumes 0.9 barrels of oil, 31.5 cubic meters of natural gas, and 610 kilowatt hours of electricity every year – and these numbers are going up by 4.5% - 5% annually. Add to that 1% annual population growth, and our total energy needs will increase by about 5.5% - 6% a year. This year, we will produce about 90% of our natural gas and 30% of our petroleum domestically, and import the rest. Capacity addition over the last few years has been quite rapid, but not nearly fast enough to keep up with the growth of demand. Judging by current rates of capacity addition, and borrowing some projections from the Energy Information Administration, by 2020 we will have to import 20% of our natural gas, and 80% of our oil; by 2030 those numbers will be around 30% and 90%, respectively."
Staggering, when you sit back and think about it. Nandan has done excellent groundwork for his article and while I have no wish to parrot it entirely again, I find myself agreeing to the three principal arguments that he has advocated - (a) energy security for now and energy independence in the longer term, (b) a good road to creating power infrastructure to build India and lift it out of its current morass, and (c) last but not least, increases our influence in the global scheme of things coupled with the imposition of greater responsibilities and transparency requirements on us.
One aspect of this deal is a rider, subtle or otherwise, that we work with the United States to contain Iran's nuclear program. Opponents of this deal claim that it harms India's sovereign interests. Whilst it bothers me a little that our foreign policy is now being subtly guided by US interests, I see it as a quid-pro-quo and a good one at that. A deal of this propensity requires a fair bit of give-and-take and if the ultimate goal is to work in cooperation to avoid a second nuclear showdown, I believe it to be ok.
And lest I forget, I find the arguments of both the Left parties and the BJP to be completely specious, the former looking out for the interests of their idealogical masters and the latter opposing this deal purely on grounds of jealousy that they did not get to ink the dotted line when they were in power. If we recall, the BJP did try to negotiate a similar deal when they were in power last.
Cheers
S
Thursday, August 16, 2007
A Farewell To Kings
When they turn the pages of history
When these days have passed long ago
Will they read of us with sadness
For the seeds that we let grow?
And again. . .
To seek the sacred river Alph
To walk the caves of ice
To break my fast on honey dew
And drink the milk of Paradise
And then. . .
And the men who hold high places
Must be the ones who start
To mold a new reality
Closer to the heart
A Farewell To Kings remains among my top three Rush albums of all time – reason: the lasting impression it left in my mind of the train of thought that ran right through the album, the musical arrangement and the degree of lyrical prowess demonstrated by the Professor in weaving such a powerful emotional tapestry.
Take this, the first track, A Farewell to Kings – which is about a “person” contemplating the current state of affairs and an almost resigned tone of despair and sorrow at what he sees around him. This then segues into Track 2, Xanadu – which is what our interlocutor in the song wishes for – a tale about a fabled land of milk and honey. I personally thought this was a good adaptation of Samuel Coleridge’s poem Kubla Khan; and then onwards to track 3, Closer To The Heart, a ballad about the need to build a new world (order?).
Tracks 4 and 5, Cinderalla Man and Madrigal lent enough ballast to the first three tracks without appearing out of place. For me personally, the two greatest songs were Xanadu and track 6, Cygnus X-1, the last a meandering tale about a black hole in the Cygnus constellation. I adored the quaint reference to Quixote’s steed, Rocinante, a curious name to give a vessel but then again, our voyager in Cygnus X-1, like the Don himself was traveling in mysterious depths of space in his trustworthy space ship.
As for Xanadu, it was musically enriching to listen to the song’s slow start explode into sound, with Lee’s voice and bass, Lifeson’s rapidly shape shifting riffs and Peart’s percussion, each demonstrating individual talent before coming together for a song finale. I was left breathless. Incredible melodies, powerful lyrics borrowing on fantasy and literary themes and a wondrous arrangement that bring them both together made this album a total must have in my collection.
Summary: Just buy it. A must have album for any music lover, all the more so if you like Rush.
Lyrical content: 8/10
Arrangement: 8.5/10
S
When these days have passed long ago
Will they read of us with sadness
For the seeds that we let grow?
And again. . .
To seek the sacred river Alph
To walk the caves of ice
To break my fast on honey dew
And drink the milk of Paradise
And then. . .
And the men who hold high places
Must be the ones who start
To mold a new reality
Closer to the heart
A Farewell To Kings remains among my top three Rush albums of all time – reason: the lasting impression it left in my mind of the train of thought that ran right through the album, the musical arrangement and the degree of lyrical prowess demonstrated by the Professor in weaving such a powerful emotional tapestry.
Take this, the first track, A Farewell to Kings – which is about a “person” contemplating the current state of affairs and an almost resigned tone of despair and sorrow at what he sees around him. This then segues into Track 2, Xanadu – which is what our interlocutor in the song wishes for – a tale about a fabled land of milk and honey. I personally thought this was a good adaptation of Samuel Coleridge’s poem Kubla Khan; and then onwards to track 3, Closer To The Heart, a ballad about the need to build a new world (order?).
Tracks 4 and 5, Cinderalla Man and Madrigal lent enough ballast to the first three tracks without appearing out of place. For me personally, the two greatest songs were Xanadu and track 6, Cygnus X-1, the last a meandering tale about a black hole in the Cygnus constellation. I adored the quaint reference to Quixote’s steed, Rocinante, a curious name to give a vessel but then again, our voyager in Cygnus X-1, like the Don himself was traveling in mysterious depths of space in his trustworthy space ship.
As for Xanadu, it was musically enriching to listen to the song’s slow start explode into sound, with Lee’s voice and bass, Lifeson’s rapidly shape shifting riffs and Peart’s percussion, each demonstrating individual talent before coming together for a song finale. I was left breathless. Incredible melodies, powerful lyrics borrowing on fantasy and literary themes and a wondrous arrangement that bring them both together made this album a total must have in my collection.
Summary: Just buy it. A must have album for any music lover, all the more so if you like Rush.
Lyrical content: 8/10
Arrangement: 8.5/10
S
Sunday, August 12, 2007
The Night of the Coiffeur a.k.a A Tress Story
Last evening, Nandita and I were invited by some friends of ours to attend a re-launch party of an old spa downtown Mumbai to promote their hairstyling services (yes, that is true - hairstyling). It was a while since we had partied townside, so we took off and reached the Taj hotel in Colaba in good time.
Opening the event, we had the Honourable Minister for Women and Children Development, Mrs. Renuka Chaudhry. Her five minutes were priceless - starting off with India's growth rate of 9% plus - trying to make the golden connection between that statistic and a Page 3 do, but failing miserably - exhorting the audience and the spa to protect the girl child in Punjab and Madhya Pradesh (the party political bit, as I call it, though why those two states were singled out, I have no clue) - ending up congratulating the spa for the wonderful new initiative they were embarking upon - had the entire audience tittering maliciously. I almost expected her to ask the spa to donate Rs. 10 or so out of each haircut and style job to a dedicated women and children's charity, but alas, but alas...
The other joke of the evening was a corporate video by Bisleri - its just water right? Ok, I grant you its mineral water. Unbelievable but true. The video talked about the disadvantages of using the best of hair care products from the L'Oreals and Bath and Body Works of the world with "plain" tap water in the shower and why this is the best and only strongest reason for making an investment case for piping Bisleri through your home plumbing system. One of these days, people I tell you, one of these days... But that is a topic for another rant.
The evening also saw more than its fair share of women with a high bovine disposition coefficient and overweighed by their baubles to boot, elbowing one another to be part of the camera eye. Not to be outdone, some of the men came dressed in bright and bizzare costumes - faux leopard skin jackets, lots of neck bling et al - I was running for my shades. The media had a field day, from what I could see.
The events themselves, overseen by an overenthusiastic compere who was just a tad short of fellating the microphone, comprised a fashion show featuring some of our more anorexic beauties and some beefcake specimens showcasing some pieces of cloth (sorry, I know they certainly cost more than I make in a year but still...) as well as a jewellery show. The models included our familiar faces - Carol Gracias, Nina Manuel, Vidisha Pavate and Jesse Randhawa, among others - doing their "I'm a model, you know what I mean, I do my little turn on the catwalk" routine
The two segues that I quite liked were the brief showcases of salsa and cha-cha performed by Sandeep Soparkar's ensemble (?). Sandeep, together with Kitu Gidwani, himself also enthralled us with a sequence from Ravel's Bolero and the lady was simply gorgeous.
The highpoint of the evening however was - a showcase of coiffeur, modelled and shown off by the members of the spa, most of whom were ancient. Of the last, I just admired the panache of an old Parsee lady who was dressed in the style of a 1920s flapper or Garconne, ramp walking to the tune of Ma Baker - oh, such zest and verve, I simply adored her flamboyance on the catwalk!!! Other styles modelled included colored hair, streaked hair, hair made up like an unfurled peacock, spiky hair, grecian curls, a pre-Star Trek Persis Khambatta, Chaka Khan-esque and so on and so forth - some of which were positively ghastly to watch.
I also bumped into a couple of banker friends of mine and couldn't resist joking ask them if they were funding any of this. We shared a laugh, though one of them looked sheepish, hahahaha. We left after the show and turned in for a quiet dinner at the Ali Baba Clay Oven, nearby, before heading home. All told, an opportunity to observe the swish set up close and personal and coming away unimpressed.
Cheers
S
PS: It is at times like these that I prefer the cynical cut and thrust of Zappa's albums. I am playing Have I Offended Someone while I write this up.
Opening the event, we had the Honourable Minister for Women and Children Development, Mrs. Renuka Chaudhry. Her five minutes were priceless - starting off with India's growth rate of 9% plus - trying to make the golden connection between that statistic and a Page 3 do, but failing miserably - exhorting the audience and the spa to protect the girl child in Punjab and Madhya Pradesh (the party political bit, as I call it, though why those two states were singled out, I have no clue) - ending up congratulating the spa for the wonderful new initiative they were embarking upon - had the entire audience tittering maliciously. I almost expected her to ask the spa to donate Rs. 10 or so out of each haircut and style job to a dedicated women and children's charity, but alas, but alas...
The other joke of the evening was a corporate video by Bisleri - its just water right? Ok, I grant you its mineral water. Unbelievable but true. The video talked about the disadvantages of using the best of hair care products from the L'Oreals and Bath and Body Works of the world with "plain" tap water in the shower and why this is the best and only strongest reason for making an investment case for piping Bisleri through your home plumbing system. One of these days, people I tell you, one of these days... But that is a topic for another rant.
The evening also saw more than its fair share of women with a high bovine disposition coefficient and overweighed by their baubles to boot, elbowing one another to be part of the camera eye. Not to be outdone, some of the men came dressed in bright and bizzare costumes - faux leopard skin jackets, lots of neck bling et al - I was running for my shades. The media had a field day, from what I could see.
The events themselves, overseen by an overenthusiastic compere who was just a tad short of fellating the microphone, comprised a fashion show featuring some of our more anorexic beauties and some beefcake specimens showcasing some pieces of cloth (sorry, I know they certainly cost more than I make in a year but still...) as well as a jewellery show. The models included our familiar faces - Carol Gracias, Nina Manuel, Vidisha Pavate and Jesse Randhawa, among others - doing their "I'm a model, you know what I mean, I do my little turn on the catwalk" routine
The two segues that I quite liked were the brief showcases of salsa and cha-cha performed by Sandeep Soparkar's ensemble (?). Sandeep, together with Kitu Gidwani, himself also enthralled us with a sequence from Ravel's Bolero and the lady was simply gorgeous.
The highpoint of the evening however was - a showcase of coiffeur, modelled and shown off by the members of the spa, most of whom were ancient. Of the last, I just admired the panache of an old Parsee lady who was dressed in the style of a 1920s flapper or Garconne, ramp walking to the tune of Ma Baker - oh, such zest and verve, I simply adored her flamboyance on the catwalk!!! Other styles modelled included colored hair, streaked hair, hair made up like an unfurled peacock, spiky hair, grecian curls, a pre-Star Trek Persis Khambatta, Chaka Khan-esque and so on and so forth - some of which were positively ghastly to watch.
I also bumped into a couple of banker friends of mine and couldn't resist joking ask them if they were funding any of this. We shared a laugh, though one of them looked sheepish, hahahaha. We left after the show and turned in for a quiet dinner at the Ali Baba Clay Oven, nearby, before heading home. All told, an opportunity to observe the swish set up close and personal and coming away unimpressed.
Cheers
S
PS: It is at times like these that I prefer the cynical cut and thrust of Zappa's albums. I am playing Have I Offended Someone while I write this up.
Thursday, August 09, 2007
On Teachers
पाकः पृच्छामि मनसाविजानन् देवानामेन निहिता पदानि।
pākaḥ pṛcchāmi manasāvijānan devānāmena nihitā padāni
अचिकित्वाञ्चिकितुषश्चिदत्र कवीन् पृच्छामि विद्मने न विद्वान्।
वि यस्तस्तम्भ षळिमा रजांस्यजस्य रूपे किमपि स्विदेकम्॥
acikitvāñcikituṣaścidatra kavīn pṛcchāmi vidmane na vidvān
vi yastastambha ṣaḻimā rajāṁsyajasya rūpe kimapi svidekam
अवर्त्या शुन आन्त्राणि पेचे न देवेषु विविदे मर्डितारम्।
अपश्यं जायाममहीयमानामधा मे श्येनो मध्वा जभार॥
avartyā śuna āntrāṇi pece na deveṣu vivide marḍitāram
apaśyaṁ jāyāmamahīyamānāmadhā me śyeno madhvā jabhāra
The first descriptive that comes to my mind whenever I think of a teacher is “a dispeller of ignorance”. Teachers share with us their experiences and shows us the path to right knowledge. They are our friend, philosopher and guide on our eternal journey. Some of them accompany us throughout the journey with us, some of them join us for brief periods during the journey, yet others receive us when we reach our destination. Visible and invisible, they give us that push or lend us a helping hand – one that enables us to make those quantum leaps and progress faster than we could on our own individual effort.
Relative to my inner journey, who then are these teachers? Where do I find them? How do I make them impart their knowledge for my benefit?
They are forces of cosmic consciousness, each with a specific outward characteristic and a more subtle inner power. They are the Gods that lie dormant in us waiting for us to call them by the Word. And the deeper I go, I realise that these are forces that we can enter into fulfilling and strong relationships with throughout the tenure of our journey. Each of them has a purposeful and subtle but powerful function they perform. They awaken various latent powers in us – what our outwardly vision mistakenly perceives as external to us.
The rşhi dīrghatamā aucathyaḥ first calls to them in supplication, “I am immature in mind, I want to know the hidden steps (to the Supreme) which even the Gods themselves may not know.”
And he then continues, “Being ignorant I approach the seers who know – Not knowing, I ask them for obtaining the knowledge – I want to know about the sole One, the unborn, who in his form, upholds the six worlds.”
The rşhi vāmadeva gautamaḥ further elucidates later in the Veda, “When I was immersed in the intricacies (entrails) of a miser, I did not receive any comfort from the Gods. My spouse was in despair. Then the soul brought the delight of existence.”
The first lesson I learn from the Veda is that the Gods do not manifest themselves to those who are greedy or who also labour under any of the five other psychological foes – lust, anger, delusion, arrogance and jealousy.
Enough of the theory, it is time to practice and imbibe the first lesson.
Peace
S
pākaḥ pṛcchāmi manasāvijānan devānāmena nihitā padāni
अचिकित्वाञ्चिकितुषश्चिदत्र कवीन् पृच्छामि विद्मने न विद्वान्।
वि यस्तस्तम्भ षळिमा रजांस्यजस्य रूपे किमपि स्विदेकम्॥
acikitvāñcikituṣaścidatra kavīn pṛcchāmi vidmane na vidvān
vi yastastambha ṣaḻimā rajāṁsyajasya rūpe kimapi svidekam
अवर्त्या शुन आन्त्राणि पेचे न देवेषु विविदे मर्डितारम्।
अपश्यं जायाममहीयमानामधा मे श्येनो मध्वा जभार॥
avartyā śuna āntrāṇi pece na deveṣu vivide marḍitāram
apaśyaṁ jāyāmamahīyamānāmadhā me śyeno madhvā jabhāra
The first descriptive that comes to my mind whenever I think of a teacher is “a dispeller of ignorance”. Teachers share with us their experiences and shows us the path to right knowledge. They are our friend, philosopher and guide on our eternal journey. Some of them accompany us throughout the journey with us, some of them join us for brief periods during the journey, yet others receive us when we reach our destination. Visible and invisible, they give us that push or lend us a helping hand – one that enables us to make those quantum leaps and progress faster than we could on our own individual effort.
Relative to my inner journey, who then are these teachers? Where do I find them? How do I make them impart their knowledge for my benefit?
They are forces of cosmic consciousness, each with a specific outward characteristic and a more subtle inner power. They are the Gods that lie dormant in us waiting for us to call them by the Word. And the deeper I go, I realise that these are forces that we can enter into fulfilling and strong relationships with throughout the tenure of our journey. Each of them has a purposeful and subtle but powerful function they perform. They awaken various latent powers in us – what our outwardly vision mistakenly perceives as external to us.
The rşhi dīrghatamā aucathyaḥ first calls to them in supplication, “I am immature in mind, I want to know the hidden steps (to the Supreme) which even the Gods themselves may not know.”
And he then continues, “Being ignorant I approach the seers who know – Not knowing, I ask them for obtaining the knowledge – I want to know about the sole One, the unborn, who in his form, upholds the six worlds.”
The rşhi vāmadeva gautamaḥ further elucidates later in the Veda, “When I was immersed in the intricacies (entrails) of a miser, I did not receive any comfort from the Gods. My spouse was in despair. Then the soul brought the delight of existence.”
The first lesson I learn from the Veda is that the Gods do not manifest themselves to those who are greedy or who also labour under any of the five other psychological foes – lust, anger, delusion, arrogance and jealousy.
Enough of the theory, it is time to practice and imbibe the first lesson.
Peace
S
Sunday, August 05, 2007
An English Hymn from G K Chesterton
A great writer whose work I chanced to remember this morning. The first verse from Hymn, which I find very relevant to this day and age:
O God of earth and altar bow down and hear our cry
Our earthly rulers falter, our people drift and die
The walls of gold entomb us, the swords of scorn divide
Take not thy thunder from us but take away our pride
An Introduction to Vedic Religion Part 2
I set out below a beautiful and lucid piece that Sri Aurobindo wrote about the Veda. It is the underlying basis for all my readings in this great corpus and fills me with great determination and inspiration in my own spiritual pursuits. It is lengthy but needs mention in its entirety if one were to understand the foundations of human spiritual thought – human, since this extends to all of mankind, regardless of their origins and any other affiliations they acquire in their lives.
“The symbolism of the Veda depends upon the image of the life of man as a sacrifice, a journey and a battle. The Ancient Mystics took for their theme the spiritual life of man, but in order both to make it more concrete to themselves and to veil its secrets from the unfit, they expressed it in poetical images drawn from the outward life of their age. That life was largely an existence of herdsmen and tillers of the soil for the mass of the people varied by the wars and migrations of the clans under their kings, and in all this activity the worship of the gods had become the most solemn and magnificent element, the knot of all the rest.
For by the sacrifice were won the rain which fertilised the soil, the herds of cattle and horses necessary for their existence in peace and war, the wealth of gold, land (kshetra), retainers, fighting-men which constituted greatness and lordship, the victory in battle, safety in the journey by land and water which was so difficult and dangerous in those times of poor means of communication and loosely organised inter-tribal existence.
All the principal features of that outward life which they saw around them the mystic poets took and turned into significant images of the inner life. The life of man is represented as a sacrifice to the gods, a journey sometimes figured as a crossing of dangerous waters, sometimes as an ascent from level to level of the hill of being, and thirdly a battle against hostile nations. But these three images are not kept separate. The sacrifice is also a journey; indeed the sacrifice is itself described as traveling, as journeying to a divine goal; and the journey and the sacrifice are continually spoken of as a battle against dark powers.”
If we were to keep this thought in our mind, we appreciate that the Vedic Rşhis encouraged the practice of external worship through the Veda “to veil its secrets from the unfit” while cloaking its secret wisdom in the form of images and symbols “to make it more concrete to themselves”. An arrangement which simultaneously provided a spiritual experience to the higher aspirant and a physical experience to the lay-person.
I would like to make a general observation here – commentaries on the Rg Veda by Sayana Acharya, and later by several Western scholars including Griffith and others who based most of their interpretation of the Vedas on Sayana’s writings, focused primarily on the external physical aspects of the Veda. While doing so, they tended to stitch new fabric on an existing elaborate and orderly tapestry rather than merely ironing out the existing creases. The result leaves us with a seemingly barbarous collection of hymns that are both lofty and rich in their expression in places while appearing poorly constructed in other parts. This gap in understanding, sadly, is of our own creation.
When we understand that the Veda operates on a dual layer, we appreciate that seeming inconsistencies in this ancient corpus are rationally explained and resolved. They exist merely in form because their real meaning is to be found in the inner and veiled sense. We also appreciate that this ancient and great text is not the sole literary remnant of a primitive civilization. The Veda then becomes a chant to the powers of Light and their ascent by the force and vision of the Truth to its source and seat where it is free from the attack of the falsehood.
It is up to us to unlock this veiled secret in the several stages of our own journey. Assisting us throughout this (inner and) spiritual journey are several cosmic and other powers that progressively manifest themselves to us – they make themselves known to us in stages and when we are ready to receive them.
आ नो भद्राः क्रत्तवो यन्तु विश्वतः
Peace
S
PS: Sri Aurobindo's writing quoted above (c) Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust 1999.
“The symbolism of the Veda depends upon the image of the life of man as a sacrifice, a journey and a battle. The Ancient Mystics took for their theme the spiritual life of man, but in order both to make it more concrete to themselves and to veil its secrets from the unfit, they expressed it in poetical images drawn from the outward life of their age. That life was largely an existence of herdsmen and tillers of the soil for the mass of the people varied by the wars and migrations of the clans under their kings, and in all this activity the worship of the gods had become the most solemn and magnificent element, the knot of all the rest.
For by the sacrifice were won the rain which fertilised the soil, the herds of cattle and horses necessary for their existence in peace and war, the wealth of gold, land (kshetra), retainers, fighting-men which constituted greatness and lordship, the victory in battle, safety in the journey by land and water which was so difficult and dangerous in those times of poor means of communication and loosely organised inter-tribal existence.
All the principal features of that outward life which they saw around them the mystic poets took and turned into significant images of the inner life. The life of man is represented as a sacrifice to the gods, a journey sometimes figured as a crossing of dangerous waters, sometimes as an ascent from level to level of the hill of being, and thirdly a battle against hostile nations. But these three images are not kept separate. The sacrifice is also a journey; indeed the sacrifice is itself described as traveling, as journeying to a divine goal; and the journey and the sacrifice are continually spoken of as a battle against dark powers.”
If we were to keep this thought in our mind, we appreciate that the Vedic Rşhis encouraged the practice of external worship through the Veda “to veil its secrets from the unfit” while cloaking its secret wisdom in the form of images and symbols “to make it more concrete to themselves”. An arrangement which simultaneously provided a spiritual experience to the higher aspirant and a physical experience to the lay-person.
I would like to make a general observation here – commentaries on the Rg Veda by Sayana Acharya, and later by several Western scholars including Griffith and others who based most of their interpretation of the Vedas on Sayana’s writings, focused primarily on the external physical aspects of the Veda. While doing so, they tended to stitch new fabric on an existing elaborate and orderly tapestry rather than merely ironing out the existing creases. The result leaves us with a seemingly barbarous collection of hymns that are both lofty and rich in their expression in places while appearing poorly constructed in other parts. This gap in understanding, sadly, is of our own creation.
When we understand that the Veda operates on a dual layer, we appreciate that seeming inconsistencies in this ancient corpus are rationally explained and resolved. They exist merely in form because their real meaning is to be found in the inner and veiled sense. We also appreciate that this ancient and great text is not the sole literary remnant of a primitive civilization. The Veda then becomes a chant to the powers of Light and their ascent by the force and vision of the Truth to its source and seat where it is free from the attack of the falsehood.
It is up to us to unlock this veiled secret in the several stages of our own journey. Assisting us throughout this (inner and) spiritual journey are several cosmic and other powers that progressively manifest themselves to us – they make themselves known to us in stages and when we are ready to receive them.
आ नो भद्राः क्रत्तवो यन्तु विश्वतः
Peace
S
PS: Sri Aurobindo's writing quoted above (c) Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust 1999.
Friday, August 03, 2007
An Introduction to Vedic Religion Part 1
The Vedic corpus and literature interests me tremendously especially that of the Rg Veda. Having read the principal Upanishads earlier, I focused my attention to Vedic religion and the underlying thought; more so because several fundamental tenets of Hindu philosophy have their source in one of the four Vedas. The word “Veda” itself derives from the Sanskrit root, “vid” which simply means “to know” or “to understand”.
The great Rşhi Dirghatamas Auchetya speaks about the home of the Vedas in the Rg Veda at 1.164.39 as follows:
“ऋचो अक्षरे परमे व्योमन् यस्मिन् देवा अधि विश्वे निषेधुः”
“The riks abide in an immutable supreme ether (“parame vyoman”) where are seated all the Gods”.
The Rşhi or Rşhikā received the revelation of wisdom from this plane (“parame vyoman”) when he/she was in a superconscient state. They simply transcribed it into verses or mantrās with appropriate words and metres.
I believe that the Vedas are the only surviving records of the experiences of our forefathers in their spiritual journey – a record which also contains several detailed “clues”, for want of a more appropriate word, about the nature of the path to be followed so that each and every one of us may aspire to and ultimately achieve a state of all-rounded perfection and super-conscience.
This is the goal of the Veda – the all round perfection and state of consciousness – progressing upward from experience to experience finally culminating in the the Supreme Sat Chit Ananda, the triple divine worlds, the highest of which is "satya lokam" – the source of lasting peace.
Vedic thought then centrally concerns itself with the attainment of this state of immortal good and felicity and the underlying journey. This journey that we undertake towards this Vast Righteous Truth is the Vedic sacrifice – a climb from one spiritual mountain to the next, a long and arduous toil to finally arrive at the great waters of light and infinite beatitude.
I will write more about the central concepts of Vedic thought gradually.
आ नो भद्राः क्रत्तवो यन्तु विश्वतः
Peace
S
The great Rşhi Dirghatamas Auchetya speaks about the home of the Vedas in the Rg Veda at 1.164.39 as follows:
“ऋचो अक्षरे परमे व्योमन् यस्मिन् देवा अधि विश्वे निषेधुः”
“The riks abide in an immutable supreme ether (“parame vyoman”) where are seated all the Gods”.
The Rşhi or Rşhikā received the revelation of wisdom from this plane (“parame vyoman”) when he/she was in a superconscient state. They simply transcribed it into verses or mantrās with appropriate words and metres.
I believe that the Vedas are the only surviving records of the experiences of our forefathers in their spiritual journey – a record which also contains several detailed “clues”, for want of a more appropriate word, about the nature of the path to be followed so that each and every one of us may aspire to and ultimately achieve a state of all-rounded perfection and super-conscience.
This is the goal of the Veda – the all round perfection and state of consciousness – progressing upward from experience to experience finally culminating in the the Supreme Sat Chit Ananda, the triple divine worlds, the highest of which is "satya lokam" – the source of lasting peace.
Vedic thought then centrally concerns itself with the attainment of this state of immortal good and felicity and the underlying journey. This journey that we undertake towards this Vast Righteous Truth is the Vedic sacrifice – a climb from one spiritual mountain to the next, a long and arduous toil to finally arrive at the great waters of light and infinite beatitude.
I will write more about the central concepts of Vedic thought gradually.
आ नो भद्राः क्रत्तवो यन्तु विश्वतः
Peace
S
Sunday, July 29, 2007
While I Was Away
The last two weeks have been quite restful. Nandita and I were on vacation, holidaying in Malaysia. We based ourselves in Kuala Lumpur and went on day trips to nearby Genting and Cameron Highlands. Which leads me to reflect on the manner in which this little country has aggresively promoted itself as a tourist destination and has built the infrastructure to boot. This is not a rant about our lack of ability but one cannot but help wistfully wonder when India will be in a position to similarly offer its sights and sounds to the rest of the world.
While I was away, India's first woman president was sworn in to office: A great step ahead for our nation, only I wish the candidate was someone worthy enough to fill Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam's shoes. Instead, we are saddled with Pratibha Patel - someone I believe is a puppet's puppet. I am interestedly watching the events in Goa - re: the touted collapse of the Congress Government and BJP's claim to power - unfold and see how she deals with it.
Oscar Wilde rightly said, "To exercise power costs effort and demands courage. That is why so many fail to assert rights to which they are perfectly entitled - because a right is a kind of power but they are too lazy or too cowardly to exercise it. The virtues which cloak these faults are called patience and forbearance." It is thanks to our sense of misplaced "patience" and "forbearance" that has lead to the election of a set of intermediaries who have today compromised the post of our First Citizen.
In other news, I managed to catch one of Dr. Kalam's last public appearances - at the Ramnath Goenka Memorial Debate where the topic being discussed was "Is Excellent Journalism Bad Business?" He made a few observations about the role of the media in nation building - the articles that media should carry in print that will inspire our youth to emulate as well as the importance of a value system in building a nation. V. V. true. I believe this is a responsibility that starts and ends within each home and family - if we deplore the state of affairs in our country today, it is because we have all had an invisible tangible role to play in its getting there.
I will miss this gentleman - for the dignity, humanity and outreach that he brought to this highest office - and the wonderful way in which he served for us. God bless him.
And while I am in a quotable quotes mood, here's one from Bruno Jasienski, "Do not fear your enemies. The worst they can do is kill you. Do not fear friends. At worst, they may betray you. Fear those who do not care; they neither kill nor betray, but betrayal and murder exists because of their silent consent."
We have today become a nation of people who do not care. Shame on us!!!
While I was away, India's first woman president was sworn in to office: A great step ahead for our nation, only I wish the candidate was someone worthy enough to fill Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam's shoes. Instead, we are saddled with Pratibha Patel - someone I believe is a puppet's puppet. I am interestedly watching the events in Goa - re: the touted collapse of the Congress Government and BJP's claim to power - unfold and see how she deals with it.
Oscar Wilde rightly said, "To exercise power costs effort and demands courage. That is why so many fail to assert rights to which they are perfectly entitled - because a right is a kind of power but they are too lazy or too cowardly to exercise it. The virtues which cloak these faults are called patience and forbearance." It is thanks to our sense of misplaced "patience" and "forbearance" that has lead to the election of a set of intermediaries who have today compromised the post of our First Citizen.
In other news, I managed to catch one of Dr. Kalam's last public appearances - at the Ramnath Goenka Memorial Debate where the topic being discussed was "Is Excellent Journalism Bad Business?" He made a few observations about the role of the media in nation building - the articles that media should carry in print that will inspire our youth to emulate as well as the importance of a value system in building a nation. V. V. true. I believe this is a responsibility that starts and ends within each home and family - if we deplore the state of affairs in our country today, it is because we have all had an invisible tangible role to play in its getting there.
I will miss this gentleman - for the dignity, humanity and outreach that he brought to this highest office - and the wonderful way in which he served for us. God bless him.
And while I am in a quotable quotes mood, here's one from Bruno Jasienski, "Do not fear your enemies. The worst they can do is kill you. Do not fear friends. At worst, they may betray you. Fear those who do not care; they neither kill nor betray, but betrayal and murder exists because of their silent consent."
We have today become a nation of people who do not care. Shame on us!!!
Saturday, July 07, 2007
Celebrity Worship...
On another forum, a question was raised thus:
"Be it a cine actor or a sportsman or anyone else, most of those who are hero-worshipped seem caught up in some issue or the other. In a negative vein. If one were to look at the most celebrated personalities in India, they are right there - with tax evasion allegations, dabbling with dirty politicians, land grabbing at the expense of lesser folks who are displaced and have their normal lives disrupted, underworld connections, betting racket connections, relationship controversies etc.
Are these mortals really role models? Why then is there such a huge fan following for them as individuals? Sure, we can appreciate and acknowledge and put our hands together for their performances in their chosen field.
Can't it stop there?The emotionally charged arguments and discussions that crop up when the person in question is discussed makes me wonder!
Do we need these heroes? Can't we do without such hero-worship? Can't we have some ordinary folks in our lives whom we interact and come across as heroes instead?"
My response to that first takes off from the Watchmen, that classic graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons:
"As I see it, part of the art of being a hero is knowing when you don't need to be one anymore, realizing that the game has changed and that the stakes are different and that there isn't necessarily a place for you in this strange new pantheon of extraordinary people. The world has moved on, and I'm content to watch it from my armchair with a beer by my side and the smell of fresh oil still on my fingers."
I too think the world moves on and with them the heroes of an earlier time, giving place to newer heroes. In this vein, a few actors and actresses from yesteryear Indian cinema who have gracefully exited when this realization dawned. However, most of them continue to wear their game-face in a manner by which the persona takes over the person. And in that process, they believe themselves infallible and expect to be treated so.
Take the case of Sushmita Sen, who is still arguing with the customs authorities over her illegal import of an four-wheeler by abusing the Transfer of Residency Rules and subsequent evasion of customs duties. Last I heard, she pleaded that she is a good and respectable citizen of India and this is her first misdemeanour so she should be let off. I lost respect for her when I read about that. Taking cover under the cloak of Indian citizenship on the one hand while not adhering to the fundamental duties in our constitution... Shameful!!!
Also, human nature being what it is, its like watching a car crash and perversely wishing we were a part of it if only to get our two-minute share of the limelight... And when we do not succeed, we lavish that pent up energy on the ones that managed to win the lottery at the genetic bank...
And lastly, we are so caught up with the "Will the doctor with a cure for cancer sit the fuck down, what's Madonna wearing to the club this Saturday evening" syndrome that we fail to recognise ordinary heroes, let alone appreciate them.
Cheers
S
"Be it a cine actor or a sportsman or anyone else, most of those who are hero-worshipped seem caught up in some issue or the other. In a negative vein. If one were to look at the most celebrated personalities in India, they are right there - with tax evasion allegations, dabbling with dirty politicians, land grabbing at the expense of lesser folks who are displaced and have their normal lives disrupted, underworld connections, betting racket connections, relationship controversies etc.
Are these mortals really role models? Why then is there such a huge fan following for them as individuals? Sure, we can appreciate and acknowledge and put our hands together for their performances in their chosen field.
Can't it stop there?The emotionally charged arguments and discussions that crop up when the person in question is discussed makes me wonder!
Do we need these heroes? Can't we do without such hero-worship? Can't we have some ordinary folks in our lives whom we interact and come across as heroes instead?"
My response to that first takes off from the Watchmen, that classic graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons:
"As I see it, part of the art of being a hero is knowing when you don't need to be one anymore, realizing that the game has changed and that the stakes are different and that there isn't necessarily a place for you in this strange new pantheon of extraordinary people. The world has moved on, and I'm content to watch it from my armchair with a beer by my side and the smell of fresh oil still on my fingers."
I too think the world moves on and with them the heroes of an earlier time, giving place to newer heroes. In this vein, a few actors and actresses from yesteryear Indian cinema who have gracefully exited when this realization dawned. However, most of them continue to wear their game-face in a manner by which the persona takes over the person. And in that process, they believe themselves infallible and expect to be treated so.
Take the case of Sushmita Sen, who is still arguing with the customs authorities over her illegal import of an four-wheeler by abusing the Transfer of Residency Rules and subsequent evasion of customs duties. Last I heard, she pleaded that she is a good and respectable citizen of India and this is her first misdemeanour so she should be let off. I lost respect for her when I read about that. Taking cover under the cloak of Indian citizenship on the one hand while not adhering to the fundamental duties in our constitution... Shameful!!!
Also, human nature being what it is, its like watching a car crash and perversely wishing we were a part of it if only to get our two-minute share of the limelight... And when we do not succeed, we lavish that pent up energy on the ones that managed to win the lottery at the genetic bank...
And lastly, we are so caught up with the "Will the doctor with a cure for cancer sit the fuck down, what's Madonna wearing to the club this Saturday evening" syndrome that we fail to recognise ordinary heroes, let alone appreciate them.
Cheers
S
Hard Rock Cafe Mumbai
Some office colleagues and I had visited Hard Rock Cafe's Mumbai franchise yesterday. I enjoyed the ambience, very lively and quite full of buzz by 9-9.30 PM... The place was quite large and open with the right kind of lighting as well. Not too bright and neither was it too dim. Walls decorated with the usual HRC artefacts - guitars, dresses, drumkits and so forth...
My colleagues were drinking some colorful stuff in shades of red, blue, silver/grey and what not... I stuck to good old Glen Morangie.
The food was quite good, I personally liked the vegetarian mezzo platter and the santa fe (?) spring rolls... I was told that the chicken tenders were quite tasty as well... They also have a good selection of salads that I was pecking from...
Sound quality - very good given the high ceilings and the way speakers were mounted but too loud compared to the other HRCs I've partied at... At times, it was difficult to hear ourselves...
The DJ, some chappie originally christened David Masilamani, who goes by the nom-de-guere of Black Jack was spinning the wheels... Quite snooty though, I could almost see his brains through his nostrils each time I went to his counter... Notwithstanding, I will say he played very very good music...
BJ the DJ was also conducting a music quiz and guess what, prizes were a booklet of poems written by him, a CD of music compiled/sung by him and some other sundry trinkets that I would not even give away as second hand gifts... We participated and won these prizes in the first 5-6 times and then decided not to, once we realised the prizes were not worth taxing our by-then drunken intellects for...
Very courteous and friendly staff always at your elbow and ready to be of assistance.
Overall rating: 7/10
I'd probably visit again, if I feel like driving halfway downtown Mumbai looking for nightspots!!!
My colleagues were drinking some colorful stuff in shades of red, blue, silver/grey and what not... I stuck to good old Glen Morangie.
The food was quite good, I personally liked the vegetarian mezzo platter and the santa fe (?) spring rolls... I was told that the chicken tenders were quite tasty as well... They also have a good selection of salads that I was pecking from...
Sound quality - very good given the high ceilings and the way speakers were mounted but too loud compared to the other HRCs I've partied at... At times, it was difficult to hear ourselves...
The DJ, some chappie originally christened David Masilamani, who goes by the nom-de-guere of Black Jack was spinning the wheels... Quite snooty though, I could almost see his brains through his nostrils each time I went to his counter... Notwithstanding, I will say he played very very good music...
BJ the DJ was also conducting a music quiz and guess what, prizes were a booklet of poems written by him, a CD of music compiled/sung by him and some other sundry trinkets that I would not even give away as second hand gifts... We participated and won these prizes in the first 5-6 times and then decided not to, once we realised the prizes were not worth taxing our by-then drunken intellects for...
Very courteous and friendly staff always at your elbow and ready to be of assistance.
Overall rating: 7/10
I'd probably visit again, if I feel like driving halfway downtown Mumbai looking for nightspots!!!
Friday, June 29, 2007
The Pre-Weekend Rant a.k.a Why I Pay More For My Daily Dal-Roti
The BBC yesterday reported news of World Bank (“WB”) assistance to India in the form of a $600MM loan package aimed at improving [?] access to financial services by India’s poorest farmers. This was part of the WB’s “Strengthening Rural Credit Cooperatives Project” that supports our Government’s program to reform and revitalize India’s rural Credit Cooperative Banks (“CCB”).
Quoting extracts from the official bank release, “Since the early 1990s, India has introduced impressive financial sector reforms that have resulted in increased competition, diversification, openness, and depth. Yet, India’s rural population still has limited access to finance from formal sources, relying instead on extortionate money lenders. The problem is particularly severe for small and marginal farmers, who are among the poorest of India’s rural dwellers farming, respectively, less than one acre and between one and four acres of land. World Bank estimates suggest that some 87 percent of marginal farmers and 70 percent of small farmers have no access to credit from a formal financial institution.”
While at one level, I am extremely happy – after all $600MM translates into a little over Rs. 2,400 crores and at an average loan outstanding of (say) Rs. 500,000 per farmer (a gross overestimate by my account and I am happy to err on the side of caution here), that is like saving or at least improving the lives of nearly 48,000 farmers, not to mention cascading benefits that include not having to watch the likes of a Barkha Dutt wannabe mouthing uninformed platitudes off a teleprompter, reporting live from Kurnool or Mandya to boot.
However, this is not what this rant is about. Just this morning, I read about India planning to import an additional 1 million tones of wheat through our State Trading Corporation (“STC”). The STC has already tendered overseas for the import of 5.5 million tones of wheat – shameful is it not, considering we were once a net exporter of this grain. We have just taken a huge begging bowl for our collective national stomach!!!
On the other hand, we have food inflation, currently running at circa 20% according to recent Morgan Stanley research estimates, with food grain inflation at 10.1% compared with 1% in FY2004. Shocking is it not, a 10x rise in grain inflation in three years – and this was caused by structural demand and supply side problems including a clear deceleration in supply side growth.
Playing to the gallery, and I will give credit to the UPA government nonetheless, relief packages totaling over Rs. 16,000 crores have been announced by the government together with an increase in the budgetary allocation for agriculture and an additional Rs. 24,000 crore plan for the farm sector. However, I agree with a view that this pressure is likely to persist in the near-medium term.
The MS report also said food grain output has actually decreased by 0.1% y-o-y for the last 5-years compared with a 1.3% growth in the 5-years ended March 2002. Average growth in grain production has not kept with population growth. Vegetables and fruit growth has declined to 2.5% in FY2001-06 compared with 5.5% in the 1990s and milk production has declined to 3% from 4.3% in the same comparative periods. Food imports in calendar year 2006 have risen 32% Y-o-Y, a majority of it caused by wheat imports.
What has caused this? Firstly, complete apathy resulting in low spending for agriculture related infrastructure. In a country where 2/3 of the population subsists on a sector that contributes to 20% of GDP, this is criminal. The infrastructure I am speaking about are of course warehouses, distribution networks, etc – the lack of which lead to losses on account of wastage, pilferage, perishing, rodents, theft and a myriad other factors.
Next up is inadequate spending on irrigation – statistically, ~40% of India’s farm land is irrigated with average growth in land under irrigation declining to 1.5% in the 1990s and through 2004 compared with 2.4% in the 1980s and 2.7% in the 1970s.
Thirdly, agricultural land holdings are highly fragmented. About 60% of the farm land area is with marginal, small and semi-medium farmers (about 107 million land holdings). The average land size per farmer is only 0.005 square miles (1.4 hectares). As pointed out in the Fifth Report of the National Commission on Farmers, these resource poor farmers are unable to benefit from the power of scale at either the production or post-harvest phases of farming. These farmers are also more vulnerable to adverse weather conditions and high levels of indebtedness. Hence, they are unable to increase investments to improve productivity and growth.
Lastly, the government’s fertilizer policy has distorted the trend in fertilizer consumption and therefore the mix of soil nutrients. While the government subsidizes nitrogenous (N) fertilizer and has decontrolled phosphatic (P) fertilizer and potassic (K) fertilizers, the prices of decontrolled fertilizers are relatively higher than urea (controlled fertilizer). Farmers therefore use more urea, which has a higher nitrogen content. The result is that the NPK ratio in India has deteriorated resulting in low productivity. According to the Planning Commission of India, this is one of the proven and well documented reasons for stagnation in the productivity and production growth rate since the early 1990s. Hence, it is imperative that the imbalance be corrected. Although, the private sector players are trying to educate farmers, the government also needs to adjust the fertilizer pricing policy to encourage farmers for making this shift in fertilizer use mix.
Small wonder then – my taxes have pretty much been used up in domestic oil subsidy and the farming subsidy as well as paying interest on the government’s external borrowings that there is no money left for development expenditure including agriculture. Interestingly, the Government’s policy towards agriculture has proven to be ineffectual so common sense dictates that more private participation be encouraged. However, that also does not seem to be forthcoming.
And lest I forget, someone ought to remind the WB that access to credit was never the burning issue. Our farmers are unable to do anything productive with the credit that they availed and could not repay their loans. Probably rectifying the structural issues might help. Of course that’s just my opinion. . .
In the meantime, I will plan for a 5-10% Y-O-Y hike in my household’s annual grain and pulses budget.
Cheers
S
PS: In other news, defunct pop group Spice Girls announced their re-union tour. Fabulous, since in the absence of enough food, we could all get by singing 'Oxygen' (dubbed in 20 vernacular languages, of course)!!!
Quoting extracts from the official bank release, “Since the early 1990s, India has introduced impressive financial sector reforms that have resulted in increased competition, diversification, openness, and depth. Yet, India’s rural population still has limited access to finance from formal sources, relying instead on extortionate money lenders. The problem is particularly severe for small and marginal farmers, who are among the poorest of India’s rural dwellers farming, respectively, less than one acre and between one and four acres of land. World Bank estimates suggest that some 87 percent of marginal farmers and 70 percent of small farmers have no access to credit from a formal financial institution.”
While at one level, I am extremely happy – after all $600MM translates into a little over Rs. 2,400 crores and at an average loan outstanding of (say) Rs. 500,000 per farmer (a gross overestimate by my account and I am happy to err on the side of caution here), that is like saving or at least improving the lives of nearly 48,000 farmers, not to mention cascading benefits that include not having to watch the likes of a Barkha Dutt wannabe mouthing uninformed platitudes off a teleprompter, reporting live from Kurnool or Mandya to boot.
However, this is not what this rant is about. Just this morning, I read about India planning to import an additional 1 million tones of wheat through our State Trading Corporation (“STC”). The STC has already tendered overseas for the import of 5.5 million tones of wheat – shameful is it not, considering we were once a net exporter of this grain. We have just taken a huge begging bowl for our collective national stomach!!!
On the other hand, we have food inflation, currently running at circa 20% according to recent Morgan Stanley research estimates, with food grain inflation at 10.1% compared with 1% in FY2004. Shocking is it not, a 10x rise in grain inflation in three years – and this was caused by structural demand and supply side problems including a clear deceleration in supply side growth.
Playing to the gallery, and I will give credit to the UPA government nonetheless, relief packages totaling over Rs. 16,000 crores have been announced by the government together with an increase in the budgetary allocation for agriculture and an additional Rs. 24,000 crore plan for the farm sector. However, I agree with a view that this pressure is likely to persist in the near-medium term.
The MS report also said food grain output has actually decreased by 0.1% y-o-y for the last 5-years compared with a 1.3% growth in the 5-years ended March 2002. Average growth in grain production has not kept with population growth. Vegetables and fruit growth has declined to 2.5% in FY2001-06 compared with 5.5% in the 1990s and milk production has declined to 3% from 4.3% in the same comparative periods. Food imports in calendar year 2006 have risen 32% Y-o-Y, a majority of it caused by wheat imports.
What has caused this? Firstly, complete apathy resulting in low spending for agriculture related infrastructure. In a country where 2/3 of the population subsists on a sector that contributes to 20% of GDP, this is criminal. The infrastructure I am speaking about are of course warehouses, distribution networks, etc – the lack of which lead to losses on account of wastage, pilferage, perishing, rodents, theft and a myriad other factors.
Next up is inadequate spending on irrigation – statistically, ~40% of India’s farm land is irrigated with average growth in land under irrigation declining to 1.5% in the 1990s and through 2004 compared with 2.4% in the 1980s and 2.7% in the 1970s.
Thirdly, agricultural land holdings are highly fragmented. About 60% of the farm land area is with marginal, small and semi-medium farmers (about 107 million land holdings). The average land size per farmer is only 0.005 square miles (1.4 hectares). As pointed out in the Fifth Report of the National Commission on Farmers, these resource poor farmers are unable to benefit from the power of scale at either the production or post-harvest phases of farming. These farmers are also more vulnerable to adverse weather conditions and high levels of indebtedness. Hence, they are unable to increase investments to improve productivity and growth.
Lastly, the government’s fertilizer policy has distorted the trend in fertilizer consumption and therefore the mix of soil nutrients. While the government subsidizes nitrogenous (N) fertilizer and has decontrolled phosphatic (P) fertilizer and potassic (K) fertilizers, the prices of decontrolled fertilizers are relatively higher than urea (controlled fertilizer). Farmers therefore use more urea, which has a higher nitrogen content. The result is that the NPK ratio in India has deteriorated resulting in low productivity. According to the Planning Commission of India, this is one of the proven and well documented reasons for stagnation in the productivity and production growth rate since the early 1990s. Hence, it is imperative that the imbalance be corrected. Although, the private sector players are trying to educate farmers, the government also needs to adjust the fertilizer pricing policy to encourage farmers for making this shift in fertilizer use mix.
Small wonder then – my taxes have pretty much been used up in domestic oil subsidy and the farming subsidy as well as paying interest on the government’s external borrowings that there is no money left for development expenditure including agriculture. Interestingly, the Government’s policy towards agriculture has proven to be ineffectual so common sense dictates that more private participation be encouraged. However, that also does not seem to be forthcoming.
And lest I forget, someone ought to remind the WB that access to credit was never the burning issue. Our farmers are unable to do anything productive with the credit that they availed and could not repay their loans. Probably rectifying the structural issues might help. Of course that’s just my opinion. . .
In the meantime, I will plan for a 5-10% Y-O-Y hike in my household’s annual grain and pulses budget.
Cheers
S
PS: In other news, defunct pop group Spice Girls announced their re-union tour. Fabulous, since in the absence of enough food, we could all get by singing 'Oxygen' (dubbed in 20 vernacular languages, of course)!!!
Friday, June 22, 2007
After The Hiatus
I've been quite lazy and simply bored to put down my experiences for the last three four months (not that I was a regular earlier as well) but in a cheap attempt to garner publicity and prevent the blog from being put on IV feed to keep it from dying, I just thought I'd post more frequently...
This last fortnight's highlights have been my trips across the UK, the continent and the US - five countries in 10 days on business meetings with a weekend each spent in London and New York, culminating in an NYSE listing of one of our companies.
On the way, I managed to eat and drink in several fantastic restaurants in Frankfurt (Gusto at the Villa Kennedy), London (Gastro cuisine at The Ebury Pub - classic Italian at La Strada - Indian at Chor Bizarre and Benaras - single malt cocktails at The Salt Bar - Chinese at Royal China - British pub food at Wetherspoons), Chicago (classy Italian at Il Mulino), New York (single malts at DBA and The Bitter End), Indian at The Katti Roll Company, general lunch at the Fanelli Cafe and The Olive Garden and fusion food at Breeze), apart from packed sandwiches and sodas that we consumed on the flights between cities we travelled.
The highlight of this trip were two culinary finds - Il Mulino in Chicago - the food was simply incredible and rich - I had the Grilled Zucchini Starters and the Risotto Primavera together with bread soaked in olive oil and washed down with red wine - passed on the dessert although I did managed to drink some of the cranberry grapa that ensured a sound night's sleep.
The next find were single malt cocktails that I sampled a weekend earlier in London at the Salt Bar. Whilst I was first shocked at the idea, the liberal side in me sort of took over and I can attest the experience was worth it. Both the cocktails usually use a Jack Daniels base, in our case we tried two single malts. The first cocktail was The Honey Old Fashioned, which replaced the traditional bourbon with a Bowmore 15-year that was then stirred with honey, ginger and orange zest. The second was a Smoky Manhattan, which replaced the JD with a measure of the Laphroaig Quarter cask and orange bitters instead of angostura.
Also clicked several pictures in London and NYC, two cities that I love to visit and simply walk around - the weather was quite benign and I pretty much walked 4-5 hours each day - my new acquisition, the Canon IXUS 800 IS, which I think is a pretty cool camera and quite useful for a someone like me, whose hands cannot stop shaking while shooting a picture - great zoom, great functionality and quite mobile.
Pictures coming soon, watch this space!!!
Cheers
S
This last fortnight's highlights have been my trips across the UK, the continent and the US - five countries in 10 days on business meetings with a weekend each spent in London and New York, culminating in an NYSE listing of one of our companies.
On the way, I managed to eat and drink in several fantastic restaurants in Frankfurt (Gusto at the Villa Kennedy), London (Gastro cuisine at The Ebury Pub - classic Italian at La Strada - Indian at Chor Bizarre and Benaras - single malt cocktails at The Salt Bar - Chinese at Royal China - British pub food at Wetherspoons), Chicago (classy Italian at Il Mulino), New York (single malts at DBA and The Bitter End), Indian at The Katti Roll Company, general lunch at the Fanelli Cafe and The Olive Garden and fusion food at Breeze), apart from packed sandwiches and sodas that we consumed on the flights between cities we travelled.
The highlight of this trip were two culinary finds - Il Mulino in Chicago - the food was simply incredible and rich - I had the Grilled Zucchini Starters and the Risotto Primavera together with bread soaked in olive oil and washed down with red wine - passed on the dessert although I did managed to drink some of the cranberry grapa that ensured a sound night's sleep.
The next find were single malt cocktails that I sampled a weekend earlier in London at the Salt Bar. Whilst I was first shocked at the idea, the liberal side in me sort of took over and I can attest the experience was worth it. Both the cocktails usually use a Jack Daniels base, in our case we tried two single malts. The first cocktail was The Honey Old Fashioned, which replaced the traditional bourbon with a Bowmore 15-year that was then stirred with honey, ginger and orange zest. The second was a Smoky Manhattan, which replaced the JD with a measure of the Laphroaig Quarter cask and orange bitters instead of angostura.
Also clicked several pictures in London and NYC, two cities that I love to visit and simply walk around - the weather was quite benign and I pretty much walked 4-5 hours each day - my new acquisition, the Canon IXUS 800 IS, which I think is a pretty cool camera and quite useful for a someone like me, whose hands cannot stop shaking while shooting a picture - great zoom, great functionality and quite mobile.
Pictures coming soon, watch this space!!!
Cheers
S
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Ustad Zakir Hussain and Ustad Sultan Khan
My list of musical experiences keeps getting better. Tuesday evening was at the NCPA, Mumbai watching a performance by Ustad Zakir Hussain and Ustad Sultan Khan, both of whom need no introduction in the world of hindustani classical music. The occasion was Naad, an event organised by the I Hear Foundation (www.ihearfoundation.org), an NGO that works with children who are aurally challenged and their families. Nandita and I managed to get passes and we went together with a friend of ours.
To say the concert was electrifying would be an injustice. This was the first time in several years that I was watching Ustad Hussain perform and the view was very up close and personal. Without attempting to make it too technical, he explained the evolution and progression of certain tunes and notes and proceeded to weave these into the evening's composition.
Ustad Khan, accompanied by his son, played the Sarangi to perfection. I sat spell bound in time listening to the haunting melodies that were punctuated by Ustad Hussain's tabla. This was the first time I have listened to him and I came away at peace.
Shhhhh. . . Sat Chit Ananda . . . Nothing more to say.
S
To say the concert was electrifying would be an injustice. This was the first time in several years that I was watching Ustad Hussain perform and the view was very up close and personal. Without attempting to make it too technical, he explained the evolution and progression of certain tunes and notes and proceeded to weave these into the evening's composition.
Ustad Khan, accompanied by his son, played the Sarangi to perfection. I sat spell bound in time listening to the haunting melodies that were punctuated by Ustad Hussain's tabla. This was the first time I have listened to him and I came away at peace.
Shhhhh. . . Sat Chit Ananda . . . Nothing more to say.
S
Sunday, February 04, 2007
The One Tree Music Festival: Part 2
Last evening was wonderfully spent at the OneTree Music Festival. The performance for the evening was Walter Trout and the Radicals. As usual, Nandita and I reached the venue about 10 minutes ahead of show time. We met with Arun and Nappinai there and for the first time got promoted to the mosh pit area.
I do not claim to know Mr. Trout's abilities as I was hearing and watching him for the first time ever but what I did see simply enthralled me. This was an evening of excellent blues and worth every paise paid for the performance. For those who have not heard of Mr. Trout, he is supposedly a legendary blues guitarist who has played deeply with the likes of John Mayall (spent five years in JM's band), Jeff Healey and Canned Heat among several other notables.
Most of the tunes played last night were from their new CD, Full Circle and yes, I liked, I liked!! Special guests included Bernard Allison, (son of legendary bluesman Luther Allison) and Guitar Shorty. I quite liked the bassist too, Rick Knapp, a very morose and imposing figure on stage who rarely smiled, he just went about his business, no-fuss-no-muss and Sammy Avila on keyboards, quite reminiscent of Jon Lord at times, the way he kept running his fingers over the keys. Sound was fantastic and the performance was excellently tempered right from the rusty blues vocals through the offtake and the blues-rock jams on the guitars. And I could not but help notice the classic Mayall effect in some of the opening bars.
One little, no make that big, quibble - Guitar Shorty was simply astounding with his onscreen antics (somersaults, et al) and fret work, I mean he was like "WOW" but I did not hold with two things that he did onstage - wiping his arse with his guitar and making some crude noises and trying to play it with his boots - to me, both mannerisms smacked of complete disrespect to the guitar, and on a broader scale to music itself. Whilst this may have garnered several cheap whistles and catcalls from the crowd, I personally found it demeaning and depressing. Lopping two points off the concert performance.
All told, a searingly explosive performance that left me numb at its end. The show ended at 10 pm thereabouts and we trudged home tired but happy. I intend to sample listen to Full Circle shortly and buy it if I like it.
I would give this a 7 out of 10.
Cheers
S
I do not claim to know Mr. Trout's abilities as I was hearing and watching him for the first time ever but what I did see simply enthralled me. This was an evening of excellent blues and worth every paise paid for the performance. For those who have not heard of Mr. Trout, he is supposedly a legendary blues guitarist who has played deeply with the likes of John Mayall (spent five years in JM's band), Jeff Healey and Canned Heat among several other notables.
Most of the tunes played last night were from their new CD, Full Circle and yes, I liked, I liked!! Special guests included Bernard Allison, (son of legendary bluesman Luther Allison) and Guitar Shorty. I quite liked the bassist too, Rick Knapp, a very morose and imposing figure on stage who rarely smiled, he just went about his business, no-fuss-no-muss and Sammy Avila on keyboards, quite reminiscent of Jon Lord at times, the way he kept running his fingers over the keys. Sound was fantastic and the performance was excellently tempered right from the rusty blues vocals through the offtake and the blues-rock jams on the guitars. And I could not but help notice the classic Mayall effect in some of the opening bars.
One little, no make that big, quibble - Guitar Shorty was simply astounding with his onscreen antics (somersaults, et al) and fret work, I mean he was like "WOW" but I did not hold with two things that he did onstage - wiping his arse with his guitar and making some crude noises and trying to play it with his boots - to me, both mannerisms smacked of complete disrespect to the guitar, and on a broader scale to music itself. Whilst this may have garnered several cheap whistles and catcalls from the crowd, I personally found it demeaning and depressing. Lopping two points off the concert performance.
All told, a searingly explosive performance that left me numb at its end. The show ended at 10 pm thereabouts and we trudged home tired but happy. I intend to sample listen to Full Circle shortly and buy it if I like it.
I would give this a 7 out of 10.
Cheers
S
Saturday, February 03, 2007
A Date with Mr. Parsons
Nandita and I went to the One Tree Music Festival at the MMRDA grounds, Bandra last evening to watch an old favorite band of mine, the Alan Parsons Project or APP as we love to call them.
The last I had heard them was their new album, A Valid Path, which did sound a bit different and more electronic than the usual Parsons fare. Also, whilst earlier Parson Project albums were woven around a theme, say Gaudi based on the life of Antoni Gaudi or Turn of a Friendly Card based on the casino/gambler theme or Freudiana based on Sigmund Freud or Tales of Mystery and Imagination based on E A Poe (see album review below), A Valid Path had no discernable theme (or I probably missed it) and also contained a couple of old Parson tunes remixed. Left me a tad unsatisfied.
This did not however stop me from going there anyways and I was not disappointed. I loved every bit of the music they played and it was truly soul-gratifying to sing along to the more sentimental ballads with a tear in my eye. I had a fair bit of throat and chest congestion but that did not stop me from crooning to the tunes and lyrics, which I knew every single one of. Ah, well, the power of music and an intriguing idea.
The Alan Parsons Live Project opened with the haunting instrumental I Robot before moving onto more vocal tracks including old favourites - Don't Answer Me, Prime Time, Old and Wise, Psychobabble, I Wouldn't Wanna Be Like You, Don't Let It Show, La Sagrada Familia, The Raven, Time, Damned If I Do and Eye in the Sky, interspersed with the familiar instrumental pieces - MammaGamma, Sirius and a couple of others I cannot seem to recall. On the lead vocals, by himself - P J Olsen - was certainly very good and did hit the high notes but throughout the concert performance, I could not help compare him with those two geniuses who lent their voices to APP - Eric Woolfson and Lenny Zapatek.
Bass and backing vocals - John Montana and lead guitarist - Godfrey Townsend were fantastic to hear as well as the drummer, ** Murphy (did not quite catch his first name).
The man himself was, ummm, "good" almost bordering on an OK. Now do not get me wrong here. I loved what they played, very bit of it but you see, unlike most live concerts that I have been to - Uriah Heep last year same venue or Buddy Guy at the NCPA or the several that I have attended overseas, there was simply no crowd connect. It was like a "Hi, we're glad to be in Mumbai" accompanied by the mandatory wolf whistles and show of hands from the crowd and another jewel, "My wife and I were in ummm Karela, err Cochin" Poor man, he meant Kerala. But that was it. No audience reach out at all!!!
And the other brickbats. The only aspect that I sorely missed in the live performance was the famous saxaphone melody that is usually interspersed with and is an essential part of most of APP's instrumental works. This was poorly substituted by the use of synthesiser music I thought.
I also absolutely disliked the pedantic sales outfit that Parsons briefly donned in the midst of his performance. I mean, extolling the virtues of the remastered albums with "bonus" "never heard before" tracks and reminding us that A Valid Path is available by mail order on the parsons website or oh-so gently telling us that the new double disc, The Essential Alan Parsons" is an absolute must have - pathetic, totally pathetic. Mr. Parsons, I love listening to you and your music, which is why I own all your albums. But, if I may politely remind you, as someone from the Grateful Dead, I think it was Bob Weir, remarked, "We don't care. Fans listen to our music and if they like it, they'll go out and buy us anyways". Full marks to GD. I cannot blame Parsons fully as well. He must have been mouthing that script off something the record label producers wrote up. Poor bloke.
All in all, a performance ranking 6/10 in my score card. Anyways, one more concert notched up on the rack.
Cheers
S
PS: The list of concerts I've attended in my livetime soon to be posted on the blog
The last I had heard them was their new album, A Valid Path, which did sound a bit different and more electronic than the usual Parsons fare. Also, whilst earlier Parson Project albums were woven around a theme, say Gaudi based on the life of Antoni Gaudi or Turn of a Friendly Card based on the casino/gambler theme or Freudiana based on Sigmund Freud or Tales of Mystery and Imagination based on E A Poe (see album review below), A Valid Path had no discernable theme (or I probably missed it) and also contained a couple of old Parson tunes remixed. Left me a tad unsatisfied.
This did not however stop me from going there anyways and I was not disappointed. I loved every bit of the music they played and it was truly soul-gratifying to sing along to the more sentimental ballads with a tear in my eye. I had a fair bit of throat and chest congestion but that did not stop me from crooning to the tunes and lyrics, which I knew every single one of. Ah, well, the power of music and an intriguing idea.
The Alan Parsons Live Project opened with the haunting instrumental I Robot before moving onto more vocal tracks including old favourites - Don't Answer Me, Prime Time, Old and Wise, Psychobabble, I Wouldn't Wanna Be Like You, Don't Let It Show, La Sagrada Familia, The Raven, Time, Damned If I Do and Eye in the Sky, interspersed with the familiar instrumental pieces - MammaGamma, Sirius and a couple of others I cannot seem to recall. On the lead vocals, by himself - P J Olsen - was certainly very good and did hit the high notes but throughout the concert performance, I could not help compare him with those two geniuses who lent their voices to APP - Eric Woolfson and Lenny Zapatek.
Bass and backing vocals - John Montana and lead guitarist - Godfrey Townsend were fantastic to hear as well as the drummer, ** Murphy (did not quite catch his first name).
The man himself was, ummm, "good" almost bordering on an OK. Now do not get me wrong here. I loved what they played, very bit of it but you see, unlike most live concerts that I have been to - Uriah Heep last year same venue or Buddy Guy at the NCPA or the several that I have attended overseas, there was simply no crowd connect. It was like a "Hi, we're glad to be in Mumbai" accompanied by the mandatory wolf whistles and show of hands from the crowd and another jewel, "My wife and I were in ummm Karela, err Cochin" Poor man, he meant Kerala. But that was it. No audience reach out at all!!!
And the other brickbats. The only aspect that I sorely missed in the live performance was the famous saxaphone melody that is usually interspersed with and is an essential part of most of APP's instrumental works. This was poorly substituted by the use of synthesiser music I thought.
I also absolutely disliked the pedantic sales outfit that Parsons briefly donned in the midst of his performance. I mean, extolling the virtues of the remastered albums with "bonus" "never heard before" tracks and reminding us that A Valid Path is available by mail order on the parsons website or oh-so gently telling us that the new double disc, The Essential Alan Parsons" is an absolute must have - pathetic, totally pathetic. Mr. Parsons, I love listening to you and your music, which is why I own all your albums. But, if I may politely remind you, as someone from the Grateful Dead, I think it was Bob Weir, remarked, "We don't care. Fans listen to our music and if they like it, they'll go out and buy us anyways". Full marks to GD. I cannot blame Parsons fully as well. He must have been mouthing that script off something the record label producers wrote up. Poor bloke.
All in all, a performance ranking 6/10 in my score card. Anyways, one more concert notched up on the rack.
Cheers
S
PS: The list of concerts I've attended in my livetime soon to be posted on the blog
Thursday, January 25, 2007
A Hymn to Mitra and Varuna
I was reading a section of a hymn from the Rg Veda yesterday and an accompanying insight that I found truly joyful and inspiring. I felt like shouting it from the rooftops. Given the paucity of a suitable rooftop in my vicinity, I chose the next best alternative... So, here we go...
मि॒त्रं हु॑वे पू॒तद॑क्षं॒ वरु॑णं च रि॒शाद॑सम् ।
धियं॑ घृ॒ताचीं॒ साध॑न्ता ॥ (RV 1.2.7-.9)
mitraM huve pūtadakSaM varuNaM ca riśādasam
dhiyaM ghrtācīM sādhantā
which is translated to mean. . .
I call Mitra, of purified understanding and
Varuna, who destroys our hurters,
Together effecting a clear and luminous intelligence
“dhiyaM ghrtācīM” means an intellect full of rich and bright mental activity. Varuna and Mitra, who accomplish or perfect this state of intellect, are distinguished by two several epithets. Mitra is “pūtadakSa”, possessed of a purified judgment; Varuna is “riśādas”, he destroys all hurters or enemies.
In the Veda, there are no merely ornamental epithets. Every word is meant to tell, to add something to the sense and bear a strict relation to the thought of the sentence in which it occurs.
There are two obstacles which prevent an intellect from being a perfect and luminous mirror of the Truth-Consciousness. The first is impurity of discernment or discriminative faculty, which leads to confusion of the Truth and the second, the many causes or influences which interfere which the growth of the Truth by limiting its full application or by breaking up the connections and harmony of the thoughts that express it and which bring thus about poverty andfalsification of its contents.
Just as the Gods in the Vedas represent universal powers descended from the Truth-Consciousness which build up the harmony of the worlds and in man his progressive perfection, so the influences that work against these objects are represented by hostile agencies, Dasyus and Vritras, who seek to break up, to limit, to withhold and deny.
Varuna in the Veda is always characterised as a power of wideness and purity; when, therefore, he is present in man as a conscious force of the Truth, all that limits and hurst the nature by introducing into it fault, sin and evil is destroyed by contact with him. He is “riśādas”, destroyer of the enemy, of all that seek to injure the growth.
Mitra, a power like Varuna of Light and Truth, especially represents Love, Joy and harmony, the foundations of Mayas, the Vedic beautitude. Working with the purity of Varuna and imparting that purity to the discernment, he enables it to get rid of all the discords and confusions and establish the right working of the strong and luminous intellect.
Truly enlightened were our ancients. . .
Peace
S
मि॒त्रं हु॑वे पू॒तद॑क्षं॒ वरु॑णं च रि॒शाद॑सम् ।
धियं॑ घृ॒ताचीं॒ साध॑न्ता ॥ (RV 1.2.7-.9)
mitraM huve pūtadakSaM varuNaM ca riśādasam
dhiyaM ghrtācīM sādhantā
which is translated to mean. . .
I call Mitra, of purified understanding and
Varuna, who destroys our hurters,
Together effecting a clear and luminous intelligence
“dhiyaM ghrtācīM” means an intellect full of rich and bright mental activity. Varuna and Mitra, who accomplish or perfect this state of intellect, are distinguished by two several epithets. Mitra is “pūtadakSa”, possessed of a purified judgment; Varuna is “riśādas”, he destroys all hurters or enemies.
In the Veda, there are no merely ornamental epithets. Every word is meant to tell, to add something to the sense and bear a strict relation to the thought of the sentence in which it occurs.
There are two obstacles which prevent an intellect from being a perfect and luminous mirror of the Truth-Consciousness. The first is impurity of discernment or discriminative faculty, which leads to confusion of the Truth and the second, the many causes or influences which interfere which the growth of the Truth by limiting its full application or by breaking up the connections and harmony of the thoughts that express it and which bring thus about poverty andfalsification of its contents.
Just as the Gods in the Vedas represent universal powers descended from the Truth-Consciousness which build up the harmony of the worlds and in man his progressive perfection, so the influences that work against these objects are represented by hostile agencies, Dasyus and Vritras, who seek to break up, to limit, to withhold and deny.
Varuna in the Veda is always characterised as a power of wideness and purity; when, therefore, he is present in man as a conscious force of the Truth, all that limits and hurst the nature by introducing into it fault, sin and evil is destroyed by contact with him. He is “riśādas”, destroyer of the enemy, of all that seek to injure the growth.
Mitra, a power like Varuna of Light and Truth, especially represents Love, Joy and harmony, the foundations of Mayas, the Vedic beautitude. Working with the purity of Varuna and imparting that purity to the discernment, he enables it to get rid of all the discords and confusions and establish the right working of the strong and luminous intellect.
Truly enlightened were our ancients. . .
Peace
S
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