Shiva Shiva Shankar Adi Deva

Even though fabric of Indian music in the northern part of Indian got hued with Persian colours, owing to Islamic invasion, a style of rendition called Dhrupad survived this onslaught. Rooted in Samveda , Dhrupad uses minimum letters and its probably the most difficult style to sing and appreciate. Orthodox in its nature, there are few experiments allowed in dhrupad unlike its popular counterpart khayal.

A rendition by gundecha brothers


and while we enjoy Dhrupad another gem from Indian orthodoxy, a Thillana by BMK the mahanubhav ! the champion !

tere naina talaash karein jise

चुनरी में कोई दाग नहीं
चुनरी भी नहीं
कोई घर भी नहीं
कहीं जाना भी नहीं
अब क्या ? फिर क्या ?

Hansadhwani -Laagi Lagan

This is my fav raga. I was told, it was inducted into Hindustani style by Ustad Amir Khan(?). This is a very popular raga in carnatic style.

here is an excellent rendition by Ustad Ghulam mustafa khan saab

Another good rendition of this compostion is by Ajoy Chakravarthy.

Those who know carnatic would like to compare it with Vatapi Ganaptim, best sung IMHO by Maharapuram Santhanam.

Table

Element	Sense	Chakra	Colour	Direction	Planet
Prithvi	Smell	Mooladhara	Red		Mercury
Jal	Taste	Swadhisthana	Orange	West	Moon,Venus
Agni	Vision	Manipoora	Yellow	South West	Sun, Mars
Vayu	Touch	Anahata	Green	North West	Saturn
Akasha	Hearing	Vishuddha	Blue	North East	Jupiter

Love and its usage

Love is just a label that you attach to a human reaction.
In reality you respond uniquely to every moment.This response is dependent on your state of consciousness, means your awareness -- your intelligence, your accumulated past impressions, your worries your tensions your frustrations and your expectations from this moment.

As long as u understand this and realize its just a label, a utility that u call love, its fine.

Its for purpose of pointing to a unique feeling.

You dont love your wife ! or mother or brother or father. In reality you undergo all emotions , love, hate, detachment, sympathy with the same person at different instances of time.

While verbalizing, You just stitch these responses together and give it this name, Love. All of this is socially conditioned.

dohe

मन मे रखूं तो मोरा मन जले
कहूँ तो मुख जल जाए
जैसे गूंगे को सपना भयो
समझ समझ पछताए

पीतम हम तुम एक हैं
कहन सुनन में दो
मन को मन से तोलिए
दो मन कभी न होय

Wounds

Some wounds are nursed
not to be healed
but to suffer

For sometimes
with the end of suffering
the sufferer also ends

And those times mark
the beginning of an ending

Ramana Speaks-2

Absence of thoughts does not mean a blank. There must be one to know the blank.
Knowledge and ignorance are of the mind. They are born of duality. But the Self is beyond knowledge and ignorance. It is light itself. There is no necessity to see the Self with another Self.

Bhaja Govindam

---------------This post will be updated soon ----------------

There are two version of Bhaja Govindam that i have read, one is the south indian one rendered by MSS, the other is available in the gita press works, as Charpat Panjakrika strotam. Both are similar with minor differences.

here are my fav verses from the chant


नलिनी दलगत जल मति तरलम
तद वज्जीवितम अतिशय चपलम
विद्धि व्याध्य अभिमाना ग्रसतम
लोकं शोकहतम च समस्तं

काते कांता कस्ते पुत्रः
संसारो यमतीव विचित्र:
कस्य त्वं क: कुत आयातः
तत्त्वं चिन्तया तदिह भ्रातः

सत्संगत्वे निस्संगत्वं
निस्संगत्वे निर्मोहत्वं,
निर्मोहत्वे निश्चलतत्वं
निश्चलतत्वे जीवनमुक्तिः

वयासिगते कः काम विकारः
शुष्के नीरे क: कासारः
क्षीणे वित्ते क: परिवार:
ज्ञाते तत्त्वे कः संसार

भजगोविन्दम भजगोविन्दम
गोविन्दम भजमूढ़मते
संप्राप्ते सन्निहिते काले
नही नही रक्षति डुंक्रुजकरणे

QnA-4

Q:What is moksha?

It is freedom.

Q: Freedom what kind of freedom, freedom from this endless cycle lives?

I cant say about that. In my own way we live many lives in this one life itself. Think about this. Every life situation which occupies you emotionally is a new life in that sense, and you go on entering them, hunting for pleasure, trying to eradicate pain and all this business goes on and on. In the process you accumulate, memories of struggle-pain-joy etc. All these are our multiple lives in this one life.

Freedom then is nothing but freedom from this. Freedom from creating these multiple lives. This realization, that life is not a life situation is Moksha. Your life is not a victim of circumstances. Your life is not a victim of an outer scenario, job, wealth, prestige, relationship, adventure, excitement and all what you think is important. Unfortunately one doesn’t understand this early.

One has his own logic of life and is governed by these life situations, trying to improve on them or running away from them, unless Life (note personification) itself shakes his body and says, Enough ! Your falling hair, your wrinkles, your debilitating health with age, is life’s own way of telling you, Enough! Enough of trying to change life situations. Life situation is not life. But who understands this?

Q: I Do, in a way I do, I realize that there is something beyond all this madness of survival, accumulation, ego and all. But then again I don’t understand some things, I am sure life is not this, then what is Life ?
A: Aah!!, the answer has the question, holding on with your reason and using this method not this, not this not this, has the answer. Just like when u strike out all whats not real, what will remain is real. This is the famed neti neti neti technique.

Now

Now that you are here
Now that we are near
Why cant I see you ?

Will this strife
End with my life ?

Birth

what should I do?
To finish this
and be through

Let me die a death
before I turn dead

So that i wake into life
while i am alive

and be born anew
a new birth

UG speaks

All the questions are born out of the answers you already have.
If you dont have any answers, there are no questions. As I very often emphasize, over emphasize this,You are not interested in answers at all. I am not giving any answers at all. No body is giving any answers.

What you are interested in is to get an answer to maintain the continuity of the answers you already have. Other wise there wont be any question answer.

Actually if there is any answer, the answer, puts an end to the questions you are asking. The fact that you are asking questions again and again means that, that is not the answer.

The questioner and question are one and the same. There is no questioner who is asking the questions. So if the question comes to an end, the questioner automatically comes to an end. The questioner is the answer. All the questions are variation of the same question. If one question come to an end the questioner comes to an end. You want to keep the questioner going.
-UG

QnA-3

Whats new about new year?

The new and old are both, dimensions of change(time). Since change is movement, hence both are relative, the new is here to become old, the old was once new.

Between the new and the old lies the present and the present is defined by presence. This presence is consciousness. This presence brings in observer. This presence is alive. This presence is the zone where everything happens. This is the only thing which has existential value. Your new year has a social value; it’s a new calendar a new financial milestone, may be, but it has no existential value.

Our awareness unfortunately is never here(present), our awareness is never in sensing , our awareness is mostly in our minds, in thought patterns which are either remembrance(mostly guilt) or future (fear and expectation). That’s how we are missing life. This is a problem and also an opportunity, to see that unchanging self which is the spectator of this new-old drama.

What then you mean is, there is no reason to celebrate New? No reason to party?

Its your choice entirely. To react the way you want. Party or not party. Think why do you want to party? Perhaps we want to escape our emptiness and deep under we are craving for some completeness which we think we can find by putting parts together. That’s party for you, adding human beings together thinking that parts will make full. This search for full, is the search for fulfillment. But it never happens, party’s happen, parts come together but we never feel fulfilled. This is because parts themselves are empty, how can they form a full? Can many zeros be added to get a one?

Nanak says Ek Omkar Satnam. Means just add that one. That one is full. Any incompleteness added to that full is still complete. This is the key to fulfillment. This is the novelty.

While the world celebrates change, I wish you stillness, For Truth is stillness (Sat Sri Akaal-- Truth is time less)

Eternal Thirst

tears roll down the cheeks
onto the parched lips

a thirst of million years
can it be quenched by drinking tears ?

i am near the ocean
Resounding waves tell me

Should i drink or drown ?

Jhoom Le Hans Bol Le Pyaari Agar hai Jindagi

झूम ले हंस बोल ले प्यारी अगर है ज़िंदगी
साँस के बस एक झोंके का सफर है ज़िंदगी

देर ही बनते बिगड़ते कुछ इसे लगती नही
फूल की दीवार पर शबनम का घर है ज़िंदगी

साँस के बस एक झोंके का सफर है ज़िंदगी

अजनबी हालात से भी हँसके मिलना चाहिए
हर कदम पर मुड़ने वाली रह गुज़र है ज़िंदगी

ज़िंदगी में जो भी करना चाहता है कर गुज़र
क्या ख़बर बरसों की है या लम्हा भर है ज़िंदगी

साँस के बस एक झोंके का सफर है ज़िंदगी

Shri Raam Naamam

Few composers have touched my heart in the way Bhadrachal Ramdas has.
I was blessed to have colleague who introduced me to Ramadasu indirectly by reciting the famed stuti Ramachadra Mangalam. This stuti was soon then translated on stutimandal and very soon i discovered this. Enchanting music , endearing voice (BMK who else !)
and lovely words( Telegu).



The love affair with Rama and his name never ends. To bhaktaas he is the sweetest name to sing,to the inquiry minded he is the "Truth", to the vedantis he is "Tat", to yogis he is the zone where you lose yourselves (रमन्ते योगिना यस्मिन सा राम). No wonder Shiva himself said to Parvati राम राम रामेति रमे रामे मनोरमे . सहस्रनाम तत्तुल्यं रामनाम वरानने !

If you are hungry for more, enjoy this rendition too by Prince Rama Verma (another great singer)

come to the orchard

Come to the orchard in spring
There is light and wine
And sweethearts
In the pomegranate flowers
If you do not come
These do not matter
If you do come
These do not matter
-Rumi

gaze

these dreams keep me awake
they need my open eyes

between the seeing and the not seeing
I see you.

Between the concealed and the expressed
I gaze at you.

Tulasi das in puri

What happens read here :)