LS or VS

Strange surprises in life happen.

Today after a lot of time I decided to have some Indian food. The love of sambhar and related stuff suddenly made me take a metro ride. Now in the metro, for no particular reason, I started humming Vishnu Sahasranaam, nothing devotional about it ,just usual humming. I have always had this tussle with bhayyia, on Vishnu and Lalita sahasranaams, bhayyia always maintaining LS is beautiful and me always rooting for VS. I suddenly thought of bhayyia & LS , but kept on with VS.

And lo and behold, the moment I entered the restaurant, they started playing LS! Now which restaurant in this part of world, would want playing LS! Quite a strange thing to start your meal with, "shri mata shri maha..." and end it with, "mooladharaik nilaya brahmagranthi vibhedini".

Ha Ha.

Should translate LS with my comments. Someday perhaps :-)

QnA-6

Q: How does this happen ? Suddenly or gradually ?
A: It does not happen.

Q: Now Now dont disappoint me!
A: Truth is Truth. There is no room here for disappointment or encouragement.

Q: Tell me Tell me
A: See. The idea that it is a journey where you incrementally add experiences which take you to a destination is false. The idea that there is a destination is also false.

Q: This is another word play. What about my *belief*
A: You can believe anything you want.

Q: No! No! No! No! This is an experience, continuous, its not just another belief, please !
A: Ok. YOU CAN BELIEVE ANYTHING ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Q: Hmm.. So ?
A: So, what do u want ?

Q: I am not so clear now. What should I want, you tell me ? I dont want anything now.
A: Live then just live, it will be clear.

Avadhuta Gita

Some snippets from this great text.

----

9. The mind indeed is of the from of space. The mind indeed is omnifaced. The mind is the past. The mind is all. But in reality there is no mind.

23. If it is of the nature of the not-Self, how can there be samadhi (superconscious realization)? If it is of the nature of the Self, how can there be samadhi? If it is both "is" and "is not", how can there be samadhi? If all is one and of the nature of freedom, how can there be samadhi?

26. As the self is filled by the Self, so is all filled continously by you. There is no meditator or meditation. Why does your mind meditate shamelessly?

27. I do not know the Supreme; how shall I speak of Him? I do not know the Supreme; how shall I worship Him? If I am the supreme One, who is the highest Truth, who is homogeneous Being and like unto space, how then shall I speak of Him and worship Him?

58. There is no need of knowledge, reasoning, time, space, instruction from a teacher, or attainment of samadhi. I am naturally the perfect Consciousness, the Real, like the sky, spontaneous and steady.
-----

Sita Kalyana Vaibhogame

Prince Rama varma, of whom I am a big fan, sang an excerpt of this while explaining Shankarabharanam raga. This got me hooked on to this Thyagaraja kritti. Sometimes when you hear these compositions, you feel, that there is no other composer worth listening to(other than thyagayya). I saw all the uploaded versions of this on youtube and liked all :).

Somehow it sounds best when sung in chorus. I am putting two versions here... two chorus versions.

-----
TN bala's version
-----



----
Prince Rama and his students
----

---

there are also good renditions by BMK and Maharajpuram Santhanam on youtube.

Two bhajans

I have a deep relationship with these two bhajans. Few years ago in college these would play, over and over again and give me the kind of inner-ecstasy for which finding words is impossible. The technical part of the composition aside, I think they have been sung from some deep inner space for which 'sacred' is the only term that comes to my mind.

These are not meant for casual listening. You can enjoy them when u listen to them in a relaxed state. Singers are Ashwini Bhide and Kishori Amonkar both renowned artists.

---

Kabir yet again

kabir again

मन मस्त हुआ तब क्यों बोलै।
हीरा पायो गाँठ गँठियायो, बार-बार वाको क्यों खोलै।
हलकी थी तब चढी तराजू, पूरी भई तब क्यों तोलै।
सुरत कलाली भई मतवाली, मधवा पी गई बिन तोले।
हंसा पायो मानसरोवर, ताल तलैया क्यों डोलै।
तेरा साहब है घर माँहीं बाहर नैना क्यों खोलै।
कहै 'कबीर सुनो भई साधो, साहब मिल गए तिल ओलै॥

--------------------

कबिरा प्याला प्रेम का, अंतर लिया लगाय।
रोम रोम में रमि रहा, और अमल क्या खाय॥

गगन गरजि बरसे अमी, बादल गहिर गँभीर।
चहुँ दिसि दमकै दामिनी, भीजै दास कबीर॥

सिर राखे सिर जात है, सिर काटे सिर होय।
जैसे बाती दीप की, कटि उजियारा होय॥

Ustad Tari Khan

Apparently, Ustad tari khan is a tabla player from Pakistan. Might be singing 'shaukia', much like Rais khan, Sultan Khan etc.(I have to put that gazal by Rais Khan someday on this blog). I dont know many artists across the border anyway. I was searching for 'famed' hansadhwani rendition by Ustad Amir khan and landed on this thanks to utube recommendation engine.

The opening is just heavenly, the first 40 seconds are very very sweet but suddenly, it becomes a usual song though still bearable. But the opening is magical!

Baro Krishaiyya

Priya sisters have sung this well, but I am somehow looking for more soul stirring rendition.

Kapi raagam: Saketharaman

Very famous composition by Pappan Sivam. I would say very delicately sung. I think Kapi is one of my fav ragas these days :). Saketharaman is v.good.

---

If the mebdded link doesnt work try here

Dushyant Kumar Poem

One of my fav. poets in Hindi is Dushyant kumar. I recall those days 6-7 years ago, when hindi sites were far and few and more so Hindi poetry sites. I used to ransack the web for poems by Dushyant Kumar. Now of course, there is plenty of stuff all over the web in most Indian languages.

Here is a beautiful short poem by Dushyant Kumar.

---

धर्म - दुष्यंत कुमार

तेज़ी से एक दर्द
मन में जागा
मैंने पी लिया,

छोटी सी एक ख़ुशी
अधरों में आई
मैंने उसको फैला दिया,

मुझको सन्तोष हुआ
और लगा –
हर छोटे को
बड़ा करना धर्म है ।

Muktika Upanishad

In a little hurry now. Will post on this upanishad in detail some other day. To summarize in a few words, it would suffice to say, that this upanishad tells you, how "Rama teaches". We have seen Rama the student in Yoga Vashishta. To know how Rama the teacher is, read Muktika upanishad.

The discourse is given to Haumana, upon his enquiry, soon after Rama has woken up from his Samadhi. I am only copying some bits and pieces.

---

Hanuman: O Rama, you are the supreme being, of the nature of Sat, Chid and Ananda. I desire to know your nature truly for liberation. Please tell me how I can be released from bondage without strain ?

Rama: Well asked. I shall tell you. I am well established in Vedanta.

.... .....

Hanuman asked Ramachandra: What is this Jivanmukti, Videha-mukti ? What is the authority, means of success and purpose ?

Rama said: For a person there is bondage from doer-ship, enjoyer-ship, pleasure, pain etc., -- their prevention is liberation in the body. Videha-mukti (liberation without the body) is from the destruction of Prarabdha (operative) karma, like the space in a pot released from the conditioning (enclosing) pot.

........

The destruction of impressions, cultivation of knowledge and destruction of the mind, when practised together for long will yield fruit. If not practised together, there will be no success even after hundreds of years, like mantras which are scattered. When these three are practised long, the knots of the heart surely are broken , like lotus fibre and the stalk
.....

The wise know that the mind is bound by the impressions, it is liberated when released well from them. So, O Hanuman, practice the destruction of mental impression, quickly. When impressions die out, the mind becomes put out like a lamp. Whoever gives up impressions and concentrates on Me without strain, he becomes Bliss.
.....

The restful state is like the roasted seed, giving up the (sprout of) rebirth. Can the inner light be sought with chewing the cud of many Shastras, uselessly ? One who remains alone giving up perception as well as non-perception is himself the Brahman – A person cannot know Brahman by merely learning the four Vedas and Shastras, as the ladle cannot taste the food.
.....

Bondage is by impressions, Moksha is their destruction – you give them up as well as the desire for Moksha.

---

I have copied this from here.

Sriram Parasuram

An engineer/manager took to music and managed to create fine music with his wife. Kanha re nanda nandan is very well sung, its a famous bandish in Kedar. I think Sriram is more talented and should sing independently.

---

this another good one I cant seem to figure out raga though.

Pt. Ramesh Narayan

It is not often that, when you hail you hail from Kerela, grow up in a family of carnatic musicians, you end up singing haweli style mewati gharana. Whats even more rare is the mastery Pt. Ramesh Naryanji has. The moment he opened with that sloka, I could see touches of Jasraj(I would say Jasraj being bettered).

I think Pt. Jasraj will be known in future as much as by his singing as by the great disciples he has given us, Sanjeev Abhayankar and Pt. Ramesh Narayan. I will upload more of his stuff as and when I like it.

To enjoy this you require attention and video has 3 parts, I am uploading just the first one, find the rest :)

ghunghat ke pat khol - Kabir

घूँघट के पट खोल रे तोहे पिया मिलेंगे
घट-घट में तोरे साईं बसत ह
कठू बचन मत बोल रे, तोहे पिया मिलेंगे
घूँघट के पट खोल रे

धन-जोबन का गर्ब न कीजे, झूठा इनका मोल रे
तोहे पिया मिलेंगे

जा के जतन से रंग-महल मे, पिया पायो अनमोल रे
घूँघट के पट खोल रे

सूने मन्दिर दिया जला के
आसन से मत डोल रे
तोहे पिया मिलेंगे

vasudhaiv kutumbakam

I wasnt aware thats its a complete subhashit. Very beautiful.


I have copied this from this Blog

A conversation on life

I was interacting with my friend Parth, a man of many talents. The conversation after the nicities drifted to modern civilization and its ills. How unsustainable this human civilization is and how we are mindlessly ruining this planet. My nihilist tendencies got the better of me. I told him, all this is the fear of death, and is in turn the fear of life itself. Life exists and survives on threat. The whole pysco response is threat based. All this talk of planet being under threat, is nothing but the personal fear of individual extinction projected on the world. After all if there is LIFE beyond the personal life, it will continue to take newer forms. May be there will be no humans, but cockroaches will create the next heaven here. So the very fear of extinction i.e. the fear of crumbling of human structure is the very life force itself. In reality life grows and survives on death. The more you live the more you die. I said.

To which Parth quipped, "cancer is nothing but a failure to die". Some great thought there.

So! Life is self destructive, cancer(growth) is self destructive. After all form has to dissolve in emptiness some day.Did all zen stories not say that? Reminds me of Richard Bach and his punch line in the famous novel Illusions: The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief in injustice and tragedy. What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly

Sloka

In my childhood one of my fav slokas was,

bhogo na bhukta vayamev bhukta
trishna na jeerna vayamev jeerna

I did not enjoy, I got enjoyed(by age/time)
My thirst(for life) dint die, but I did.

In my childhood, I used it sometimes to admonish elders.Even though I realized what it meant and used this verse to my advantage, little did I realize that some years hence I would connect with this verse like I do today. Coming to terms with desires/expectations/anxiety/restlessness, I always bear this in mind, 'vaymev jeerna'. In the the end there is an end. To me this end is not something I deprecate. On the other hand I feel deeply peaceful that in the end there is an end :).

Much like kabir said,
जा मरने से सब डरें, मेरो मन आनंद
कब मराहिहूँ कब पायिहूँ, पूरण परमानन्द

me not sure abt the last line though :)

----
btw, the verse is from Bhrithari's vairagya shatak. A great book to read much like his other two works, neeti shatak and shringaar shatak. I also recall a nice story from his life but some other time :-)