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Kashmiri Shaivism

9/30/2012

 
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|| Kashmiri Saivism ||

Kashmiri Saivism originated in the trans Himalayan region around 4th century AD. As the name implies, it grew into prominence in the area presently known as Jammu and Kasmhir. Kashmiri Saivism derives its beliefs and practices mostly from the concept of monism or non-dualism (advaita), but differs from the latter in some fundamental ways. Historians usually credit Adi Shakaracharya as the chief protagonist of the Advaita schoolof thought who made it popular and contributed to its success. If we look at the historical development of Kashmiri Saivism, we cannot overlook its contribution in the development of Advaita as an important school of Hindu philosophy.
 
:: Historical Development ::

According to tradition, Triambakaditya, a student of sage Durvasa, is regarded as the first teacher of Kashmiri Saivism. His descendents continued the tradition for the next several centuries. Around 8th century AD, One of them named Sangamaditya migrated to the region presently known as Jammu and Kashmir and introduced the
tradition there.

Vasugupta's Sivasutras is believed to be the original inspiration for the emergence of Kashmiri Saivism as a separate school. Kashmiri Saivism also goes by other names such as Trika Saivism, Spanda Saivism andPratyabhigna Saivism. These three represent three distinct approaches or perspectives within Kashmiri Saivism without disagreeing on the fundamental concepts such as the unity of the soul and Siva. Trika Saivism emphasizes the three main principles of, pati, pasu and pasa or Siva, Shakti and anu, as one reality. Spanda Saivism refers to the dynamic power (Shakti) of Siva, or the first impulse (spanda), which is responsible for the manifestation of the pluralistic worlds. Pratyabhigna Saivism refers to the realization by an individual soul of its true identity with Lord Siva.
 
:: Literary Sources ::

Kashmiri Saivism produced many great siddhas and men ofwisdom and scholarship. According to tradition, the knowledge of Kashmiri Saivism was passed on to Vasugupta directly by Lord Siva himself in the form of
Siva-sutras. Vasugupta lived near Mahadeva mountains in the region of present day Srinagar sometime during the 8th - 9th Century AD. He passed on the knowledge to his disciples. Notable among them was Kallata who is credited with the authorship of Spanda-karika or Spanda-sarvasya.

Other important works that emerged out of this school of Saivism include:

Sivadristi by Somananda who was believed to be a disciple of Vasugupta

Pratyabhigna-sutra by Utpaladeva who was believed to be a disciple of Somananda
 
Paramartha-sara, Pratyabhigna-vimarsini and Tantraloka by Abhinavagupta who was also credited with 40 other works.
 
Vartika by Bhaskara
 
Sivasutra-vimarsini and Spanda-sandoha by Kshemaraja (10th-11th Century A.D.)
 The above mentioned works and the works of Sri Sankaracharya on advaita (monism) in the context ofthe Agamas constitute the basic literature of Kashmiri Saivism. Among them, Trika Saivism draws its inspiration from Vasugupta's Siva-sutras and Bhaskara's Vartika; Spanda Saivism from Kallata's Spanda-karika or Spanda-sarvasya; and of Pratyabhigna Saivism from the works of Utpala and Abhinavagupta.

:: Contact With Islam ::

Kashmiri Saivism suffered a reversal during the Muslim rule of Kashmir beginning from the 14th centuryAD. It continued for the next 500 years, during which successive Muslim rulers of Kashmir indulged in want on destruction of Hindu temples, cruel suppression of Hinduism and massacre of Hindus. During this period of aggressive Islamic intolerance, the growing influence of Sufism was the only ray of hope for the Hindus.

Notable among the devotees of Lord Siva who lived during this period and contributed to the growth of Saivism in Kashmir was Lallesvari or Lalla. She lived in the 14th Century AD. Like Mirabai who excelled in her devotion to Lord Vishnu, Lallesvari represented the highest form of devotion to Lord Siva. She composed several devotional poems of high standard on L0rd Siva in Kashmiri language and contributed to the popularity of Saivism among the masses. According to Subhash Kak, her poetry formed "the basis of much of the Kashmiri worldview that emerged later " and shifted the emphasis "to the devotional aspect of Kashmiri Saivism"and the notion of recognizing one's true self as the basis of spiritual wisdom. Her poetry drew the attention of some followers of Sufism also like Nunda Rishi who was a contemporary of Lalla. He regarded Siva as the ultimate reality and composed several verses on Him reflecting the spirit of Pratyabhigna school and his belief that Siva could be realized by any one in one's own self through love and devotion.
 
:: Kashmiri Saivism and Mahayana Buddhism ::
 
Kashmiri Saivism has some parallels with Mahayana Buddhism, which was popular in the adjacent Himalayan kingdoms and with which it came into contact during the medieval period. According to B.N. Lalla, Kashmiri Saivism contributed to the integration of diverse cultures in Central Asia and interacted with Mahayana Buddhism positively, despite some fundamental differences. In his words:
 
"Kashmir Saivism, like Mahayana Buddhism, has played a key role in the assimilation of different cultures in Central Asia, while adopting the logic of the Buddhist Acharyas; it refuted the fundamental concept of Shunyavad and looked upon the creation of the absolute as real and as the manifestation of the light of intelligence or universal consciousness. It took the cardinal principles of social equality, individual liberty, absence of dogma and rituals from Buddhism. Like Mahatma Buddha being considered the saviour of mankind, the Saivas regarded the absolute Parma Siva as the creator, preserver and absorber. In his different aspects, he mainfests his shakti and withdraws it when His free will (Swatantrya) demands it. The individual is a mini shiva, who, when he recognizes his true self, becomes one with the universal consiousness. Somananda, the father of Pratyabhijna' philosophy, hailed from Tibet and naturally influenced the thought and ideology of those who lived in Central Asia."

:: Philosophy - Main Concepts ::

:: Lord Siva::

 
According to Kashmiri Saivism, Siva is the one, indivisible, eternal, ultimate, absolute self, the highest reality, infinite consciousness and a state of unfettered freedom. He is the self of all animate and inanimate beings, whois both immanent and transcendent. He is also the changeless, subjective reality underlying the universe from which everything ensues and into which everything dissolves. He is the absolute, supreme lord, beyond which there is nothing else. Kashmiri Saivism does not emphasize the need for devotional worship of Siva as a personal god for self-realization. The relationship between Siva and the individual soul is not that of a servant and master but of equality and essential identity. Devotional worship may be suitable for certain types of personalities but is comparatively inferior to the devotional approach of surrender and trust prescribed for the most promising and advanced seekers.
 
:: Shakti ::

Shakti is the dynamic aspect or energy of Siva. She has an infinity of aspects such as chit-Shakti (the power of intelligence), ananda-Shakti (the power of freedom), iccha-Shakti (the power of will), gnana-Shakti (the power of knowledge) and Kriya-Shakti (the power of creative action). The objective world or universe that we perceive as ours, with all its constituent and disparate objects, is an expansion of Shakti. Since Siva is the ultimate reality, Shakti should not be mistaken as something different from him.here is no difference between Siva and Shakti. Shakti is an indistinguishable aspect of Siva performing a specific set of tasks with no distinction of her own. Whatever distinction we perceive exists, because we cannot understand Siva otherwise. The duality is an illusion created by our ignorance and limitations.
In the highest absolute self all is one without a second and without any
movement.

:: The Objective World ::

Kashmiri Saivism differs from Sankara's Advaiata in that it does not consider the manifest world as unreal. The world in which we live and with which we interact is a projection of Siva's dynamism and as real as Siva himself. If God is real, everything that emanates from him must be as real. By his free will Siva manifests the objectivereality within himself using himself as the qualities of nature, the source (tattvas) and substratum. Siva and his creation are as inseparable as the reflection of objects in a mirror and the mirror itself. The reflection of the objects and the mirror which reflect them exist within the mirror and they are inseparable. Similarly the manifested worlds of Siva and their constituent parts do not exist outside of Siva but only as reflections within him without any independent existence of their own. Thus according to Kashmiri Saivism, Siva and his creation are both real and inseparable.

:: The Purpose of Creation ::

 Siva creates the worlds through his dynamic Shakti for the pure joy (ananda) of rediscovering himself through his individual selves. He creates this game of creation and plays it within himself, repeatedly from one creative cycle to another, using himself as the resource and playground, the subject as well as the object, the goal as well as the means for his own joy. Using his free will, he hides himself or conceals his God consciousness in his limited selves, in order to rediscover himself or find himself and realize through his limited selves that what he was looking for was already there and never lost.
 
:: The Individual Soul ::

 
According to Kashmiri Saivism, there is no difference between Siva and the jivas. They are one and the same. The soul is of the nature of Siva. It is pure Siva consciousness. However because of the concealing power of Siva, the individual jivas become ignorant of their original nature and fail to experience their true consciousness which remains hidden with in them. Through his dynamic shakti he creates temporary ignorance in the jivasand subjects them to the three impurities of anava, karma and maya, because of which they believe themselves to be finite and separate and subject themselves to the laws of karma. The purpose of each Jiva is therefore to recognize its true nature and experiences its original Siva consciousness.

:: The Means of Liberation ::
 
Recognition (pratyabighna) of ones true consciousness is the door to freedom. This is achieved either by the direct intervention of an enlightened Guru or by self effort or by a combination of both. Available scriptures of this sect suggest three principal means of rediscovering Siva Consciousness, namely a superior sambavopaya, a not so superior saktopaya and an inferior anavopaya. These practices are not sequential because an aspirant is not expected to proceed sequentially from the first to the third. The reason why the help and guidance of a guru is emphasized in all sects of Saivism is because he alone will have the knowledge and experience to
decide which method will be appropriate for each aspirant depending upon the latter's propensity and previous effort.

:: Sambavopaya ::
 
According to the Tantraloka of Abhinavagupta, sambavopaya is the best and most effective means of gaining liberation. Sambavopaya means liberation through the grace of Siva or Sambasiva. In this method an aspirant has to give up all manners of personal and egoistic effort and place himself or herself at the feet of Lord Siva with complete faith and trust. It means one should give up all manner of mental and physical effort including the practice of any discipline or technique such as meditation, yoga, japa or devotional singing. Instead oneshould surrender oneself completely to Lord Siva or to the guru who embodies him consciously and wait for his grace to awaken the latent purifying energies and make possible the experience of Sambhu (Siva) or supreme consciousness.
 
:: Saktopaya ::
 
Saktopaya means liberation through the means of shakti or energy. Most of the methods used to awaken the latent energies or sublimate them to achieve higher states of consciousness are usually kept secret from thegeneral public. The practice of Kundalini yoga may be part of this method. In saktopaya one well known technique is called madhyam dhatva or centering. It is practiced by focusing ones attention on the space or junction or the silence between the end of one thought and beginning of another or the end of one mentalactivity such as perception and the beginning of another. When an aspirant learns to focus constantly on such intermittent spots, at some point during the practice, he would transcend his impurities and experience his trueconsciousness that has been hiding from him all along. The experience would be similar in some respects to the experience of sudden awakening achieved by the practitioners of Zen Buddhism using some cryptic expressions. No recitation of mantras or prayers or yogic practices are prescribed in this method either. What is important is to become aware of the gap in our mental activity and stay with it as often as possible so that someday the door will open and Siva consciousness will dawn with full brilliance.

:: Anavopaya ::

 Anavopaya means liberation through anava (ego) or individual or personal effort. It is considered to be the inferior and most tedious of the three and involves the refinement and advancement of individual soul (anu) through many mental and physical practices. Some of the most commonly used practices are breathingexercises, concentration, meditation and the recitation of mantras and prayers. Breathing exercises may help an aspirant to cleanse the body and mind of impure energies. The practice of concentration may help the aspirant to discipline the mind and quieten the thoughts. The practice of meditation, contemplation and recitation of mantras and prayers may help an aspirant to stay on the path and remain in a particular spiritual state of mind for longer periods of time so that one can sow the seeds for a better and spiritually conducive future life.

:: Anupaya and Moksha ::

Anupaya means a state where no further effort or technique is needed. It is the state of highest freedom inwhich there is no scope for further advancement or no need for any gain or no desire for any fulfillment. It is a state of complete fulfillment, complete liberation and situated within itself and by itself. It is also the state of theJiva that has been lost sight of. When we realize that a Jiva has always been free and what appears as bondage for so long has only been an illusion, one realizes the difficulties in expression the process and path of liberation.
 
According to Kashmiri Saivism Siva and the individual soul are one and the same reality. So when a Jiva is created or liberated, we cannot say that it has lost or gained its true consciousness, for it has never lost or gained its true consciousness, even for a second. The Siva consciousness has always been there in each Jiva and was never lost or transformed. Therefore the use of any of the words that imply gain or loss of Siva consciousness is an anathema in Kashmir Saivism. It denotes duality between Siva and jiva which is not acceptable inKashmiri Saivism. Even such expressions as process or journey or path to denote the progress of the jiva on the spiritual path would imply the movement of the soul from one point to another in space and time which means duality and separation in space and time between Siva and the individual soul. From this philosophical perspective the state of liberation is best described as becoming filled with wonder to know suddenly what one has always been and all along. In liberation nothing has been truly gained or nothing has been truly lost butsimply one realizes what one has always been. As in the words of Abhinavagupta it is only a change in the point of view or in the words of Gaudapada, "a change in vision"

:: Being and Becoming ::

What happens when an individual soul realizes this state while still upon earth? Is there anything
for it to do? Will it be able to maintain its absolute state of consciousness all the time or only during the meditative and contemplative states? Will it alternative between the two realities or remain always in the highest state? And what happens when it leaves the body? We have accounts of the lives of peoplelike Utpala who experienced ecstatic states after regaining the state of Siva and continued to live in the awakened state. From such examples we understand that once an individual is in the highest state of Siva, his or her mind and the body may continue to perform their natural functions but the consciousness remains firmly fixed in Siva. This is the state of anupaya or no other means. The soul has regained its true consciousness and complete independence. There is nothing else to be done or nothing else to be realized. Finally when it leaves the human body, it becomes the mirror, Siva Himself.

 by Jayaram V

 
 

Kashmir Shaiva Masters.

9/29/2012

 
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||Kashmir Shaiva Masters ||

Lord Shiva always wishes to illuminate the universe, and so He reappeared in this world on Mount Kailash in the form of Shrikanthanath. In this form He again taught the theory of the Bhairava Tantras to Durvasa Rishi. After telling Durvasa Rishi to expand the thought of Bhairava Tantras in all the universe without restriction of caste, creed, color, or gender, Shrikanthanath disappeared into the ether.

After meditating completely to acquire a r...eal and fit disciple Durvasa Rishi became disappointed. He could not find anyone in this world fit to be initiated, so out of his mental power he created one mind-born son whom he called Tryambakanatha. Durvasa initiated him completely in the way of monistic Bhairava Tantras. Afterwards, he created two more mind-born sons, Amardakanatha and Shrinatha whom he initiated into the dualistic Shiva Tantras and the mono-dualistic Rudra Tantras respectively. All of this was done by Durvasa Rishi for the upliftment of humankind.

Durvasa Rishi created one mind-born daughter, whom he initiated completely in the monistic way. Known as the Ardhatryambaka school of the Bhairava Tantras, this teaching manifests itself secretly from one woman to
another. Kashmir Shaivism does not recognize women as inferior. In fact, Swami Lakshmanjoo tells us, "if a woman remains one-pointed in her spiritual practice, she can achieve in twelve days what would normally take one year". There is no history of this school in kali-yuga.

Durvasa Rishi's mind born son Tryambakanatha, also created his own mind-born son and named him Tryambakaditya, which means "the expansion of Tryambakanatha". Tryambakaditya created his own mind-born son, and after initiating him he disappeared into the ether.


In this manner fifteen generations of Siddha's were created by mind. When, however, the fifteenth Siddha attempted to create a mind-born son, he was not successful. It is said he was not fully introverted, as he was also given to worldly pleasures. However, after sitting in long meditation, he found in this world a girl with good qualities, and went to her father and made arrangements to marry.

They had one son named Sangamaditya who came to the valley of Kashmir. Like his father, Sangamaditya married and produced a son named Varshaditya, whom he initiated completely in the thought of the monisticBhairava Tantras. Varshaditya married and produced a son named Arunaditya, whom he initiated fully. Arunaditya also married and created a son named Ananda, whom he initiated and who was also completely informed in all practical aspects of Shaivism. This sage Ananda was the father of Somananda, the originator of the Pratyabhijna School of Shaivism and author of the 'Shiva Dristi'.

Up to this time (800 C.E.), initiation into the monistic thought of the Bhairava Tantras took place from father to son only. After Somananda this initiation took place from Master to disciple. Somananda was the master of Utpaladeva. Utpaladeva was the master of Lakshmanagupta. And Lakshmanagupta was a master of the great Abhinavagupta, (950-1025 C.E.).

Abhinavagupta had many masters of whom he considered Shambunatha, his master in Kula System, to be the
most illustrious, Abhinavagupta was a complete authority on Kashmir Shaivism and although he had many disciples, both men and women, his chief disciple was Kshemaraja and the chief disciple of Kshemaraja was Yogaraja.

Since its beginning the sacred lineage of Kashmir Shaiva Masters has remained unbroken, yet due to the rise and fall of Kashmir over the past 700 years, it has been practically hidden from view. 
 

- from the desk of Shardool Jha



From Veda Vijnan Rishikulam of FB..

9/29/2012

 
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||In defense of Sanskrit ||

- By Prathibha Nandakumar


In 1835, Lord Macaulay was the President of the General Committee of Public Institution. Under the Macaulay system of education English became the court language. Printing of English ...books was made free and they were available at  relatively low prices. There was curtailment in the fund for ‘oriental’ learning, while English education got more fund. The Macaulayian system was an attempt to focus on educating the upper strata of society through English.


A quote from Lord Macaulay's speech in the British Parliament on 2nd February 1835 is very popular for the obvious reasons:  "I have travelled across the length and breadth of India and I have not seen one person who is a beggar, who is a thief. Such wealth I have seen in this country, such high moral values, people of such calibre, that I do not think we would ever conquer this country, unless we break the very backbone of this nation, which is her spiritual and cultural heritage, and, therefore, I propose that we replace her old and ancienteducation system, her culture, for if the Indians think that all that is foreign and English is good and greater than their own, they will lose their self-esteem, their native self-culture and they will become what we want them, a truly dominated nation."

That Macaulay accomplished his mission is history. Whatever the for -and -against arguments to his system of education, for there are many who do agree with him, the outcome has had very deep impact on one thing – losing out on our traditional method of teaching. Take for instance Sanskrit learning. The way it declined and the way we the “progressive thinkers” marginalized not only Sanskrit studies but also learning the scriptures is something beyond any anthropologist’s analysis. We did not just lose it but willingly gave it all up by our sheer ignorance and nothing else. An entire branch of knowledge we threw to the wind and have no clue how to retrieve it.

:: The relevance of Sanskrit ::

Just when I was thinking on these lines I chanced upon a series of write ups in Kannada in a popular web journal about the relevance of learning Sanskrit and what are the chances of making a livelihood out of it. Also linked to this thought was highlighting the problems of a purohita, (priest sounds so out of place here!), taking up jobs as poojaris in temples. It was written by a young Sanskrit student from Sringeri Naveen Bhat Gangotri, who discussed some vital issues in this regard.

Naveen Bhat is a short story writer and a poet. His short story got the first prize in AKKA, (US), competition and it deals with two childhood friends who part ways and meet after a long time. One is a poojari in the village temple and the other has come from far away place as a ‘successful’ guy, who has just got married and has brought his bride to the temple. The story narrates the mental agony of the poojari while offering pooja, aarati and prasada to his eminent friend and bride. He can’t but notice his friend’s expensive ring clad fingers,the green currency note he puts in the aarati plate and the car that drives them away. He feels a deep sense of failure as he looks at the bride and remembers his mother’s futile attempts to get a bride for him, the anguish in the family as nobody wants to marry a poojari.

An excerpt from his essay says “it is true that the Vedic studies have escaped the tragedy of Macaulayian system of education. Though it is not good to deny the necessities of the contemporary world to a Veda student it is good that some attempts are being made to fulfill such lacking, the ‘play and learn’ method of lighter ways of teaching is forever out of the limits for Vedic learning. Here no one takes special classes to teach social behavior. The student (in a conscious state!) of this field learns it all as a natural process as it is imbibed in all learning.

“An imbalanced mix of Indianness and alien learning systems is bothering the education system,as it does in other fields as well. No need to point out the consequences of
it.

“At a time when mankind is forgetting the regality of any language,the study of the languages is as desirable as study of any technology. How many students, writers, littérateurs are acquainted with the exact pronunciation of the Kannada phonemes?  What we will lose eventually if we do not make efforts to contain the language is considerably valuable. It is like how we never realized the way residual Urea is present in the milk we consume today.”

So I spoke to Naveen Bhat Gangotri and at 25 he comes up with more concrete ideas to save our linguistic heritage than all those ‘elderly’ who are criticizing him on
the net.

“The other day in a Kannada newspaper I read a letter to the
editor by a senior writer stating that Sanskrit is an unscientific language.Even if I forgive his ignorance how can an editor publish such ‘childish’letter? He openly admits he does not know Sanskrit and in such a case how can he call it, or for instance any language, unscientific? Nobody is imposingSanskrit. But why attempt to give a complex to those who are interested in
studying Sanskrit. Today we see modern students with laptops at JNU Delhi,discussing Panini.

A Sanskrit student need not necessarily be a fundamentalist or fanatic. Branding is a curse of the current time. I had an opportunity to teach a group of foreign students at Mysore. I was surprised by the response from many petty minded neighbors. Here each small step is also gigantic. For those who live in big cities where people have time to bother about others it works differently. But in rural life one is still bound by the dictums of the society and when they equate learning Sanskrit to being a priest and limit it to that one wonders what is wrong with our thought process.

“You know, till recently traditional Sanskrit studying was not recognized by the education department. After Pathashale, and after completing Vidwath which is equivalent to MA, which would take 8 years after SSLC, the student would get a certificate from the SSLC Board and he would be qualified as an SSLC holder! So no university in the country would consider him eligible to join a degree course. It is a different matter that compared to any student who has completed post graduate studies in any field a Sanskrit Vidwath is more proficient academically!  We have National Eligibility Test (NET), Junior Research Fund (JRF) and Ph D but the complications with regard to eligibility was too confusing and many a student lost out in the bargain. Only after the Karnataka Sanskrit University was established two years ago that our certification problems were sorted out.

“When they ask me what future for a Sanskrit student I ask back what future for an engineer or a doctor.
The odds are the same, in a way.”

Definitely Naveen Bhat doesn’t have to worry about future.
 

- Published in Bangalore Mirror, Dated 29.9.2012 in
her column Shining Spotlight on Kannada Culturescape. 

Karaikaal Ammaiyar

9/29/2012

 
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KARAIKKAAL AMMAIYAR: 
Devotion to a personal god intensified with the increase in Mother Goddess, Puranic, and Tantric writings. The personal god was the ultimate reality to whom the devotee directed a passionate and unswerving devotion and...service. Inevitably there arose bhaktas whose piety stood out above the rest. Eventually some of these sages were recognized as acharyas while others achieved near deitification and became saints. They were the Vaishnavite Alwars and Shaivite Nayanmaars.  The Alwars and Nayanmaars stood shoulder to shoulder in the bhakti path with only one common goal of god
realization. 
 

Ammaiyaar is one of the 63 Shaivite saints of Tamil Nadu. 

It was a time in the holy land of India, when women broke their traditional
housewife-mother role to abandon home to wander the land seeking alms and made
their mark as women saints. Women were accepted as yoginis, as Mother Goddess
Devi manifested as woman saints, born on earth but endowed with deep
spirituality and other-worldly powers.

As Punithavathi, the young and beautiful woman beseeched Lord Shiva to divest her burden of her flesh. She
asked that she only watches and enjoys his Thandava. She prayed for days on end
without casting eyes on anything else. Miraculously what was witnessed was
Punithavathi taking shape as an emanciated skinny old woman with a smiling face
expressing her inner peace. She held with her her cymbals to sing Shiva’s glory
and was henceforth known as Mother Karaikkaal Ammaiyar. 


PUNITHAVATHIYAAR:  Kaaraikkal was an international trading city port in east
coast of the now Tamil Naadu. At present this is in the district of Pondicherry.
Thanathaththan, a successful trader and equally a man of austerities has a boon
in the name of Punithavathy. He took her for Goddess of Wealth visiting his home
as the beautiful child was serving the Lord even as she learnt to walk. In her
‘mazhaimozhi’ or child talk she expressed the Lord’s Thandava. She grew to be a
pretty women and marriage age reached her.

A proposal came for Nidhipathi, a trader from Nagapattinam for his son Paramadhaththan to be married
to Punithavathi. An auspicious day was fixed for a ritualistic wedding. However,
Thanathaththan could not bear the thoughts of his daughter going away. So, with
the consent of Nidhipathi, he sets up a house in Kaaraikkal. The couple were
blessed with part of his wealth. The son in law multiplied wealth as
Punithavathi went on serving the husband as a devoted and loving wife. Her
family duties did not hinder her devotion to Lord Shiva.

Once Paramadhaththan was gifted with two mango fruits and he duly sent them to
Punithavathi. She kept them to be tasted with the husband later. Then there was
a call and Punithavathi was for alms by an ascetic  ‘wearing a serpent around
his neck.’ He was served and to compensate the side dish she sliced one of the
mangos. Punithavathi considered serving as a boon and the satiated ascetic
thanked her and left. Towards the evening Paramadhathathan came home for his
dinner. She served him the remaining mango along with food. Its exotic taste
prompted him to ask for the mango as well.

She could not refuse the husband. She removed herself in the pretext of getting the other mango, and
going behind she pleaded to Lord Shiva. ‘I only served you as your servant’ she
cried. Miraculously a mango appeared in her hands, which was duly served to the
husband. In her heart she kept thanking Lord Shiva. Now this fruit was more
delicious than nectar and the husband had his doubts with the varying tasted of
the two. At his persistence, Punithavathi could not deny the truth, so she
revealed everything that had transpired. The husband would not believe her and
insisted that she prove. She prayed to Almighty Shiva and yet again a fruit
miraculously appeared right in front of her husband. He tried to accept it from
Punithavathi’s hands but no sooner it touched, it simply disappeared.


Now, Paramadhaththan stated live in confusion and respects for Punithavathi
mixed with emotions. He would not touch her for her proven sacredness. Over time
loneliness bites him and he left Punithavathi, giving trade explorations as an
excuse. He settled in Pandiya kingdom, where indeed he becomes successful. He
married the daughter of the local merchant and sets up a new home with her.
Punithavathi spends her time by chanting the Lord’s name and living in his
glory. She served Shiva devotees in all ways she could. She did worry about the
delinquent husband who on the other hand considered her as a worshippable
goddess. His daughter by the second marriage was named as Punithavathi also.


One fine day, Punithavathi learns of the husband’s whereabouts and his
financial success. She goes to Pandiya kingdom with the help of relatives and
reaching the town gives advance notice. When she reached the house,
Paramadhaththan, his wife and children rushed forward to prostrate at her feet.
He tell her that the life he was living was her blessing and of his daughter
sharing her name.

While the relatives were petrified at his words, the
beautiful young lady of excellent love prayed to the God who got a blue throat
saving the universe from the poison that this being his decision, let thy grace
give me the form of the ghost that praises you always changing my beauty of
flesh. Punithavathi realized that her beautiful body of no more use to her. She
understood his mental condition, and prayed to the Lord, "In that case, Oh Lord,
deprive me of the present physical charm and let me have a demoniacal form." Her
prayer was immediately granted, with the mercy of mrityunjaya, she at once lost
her pretty body. It was transformed to a skeletal body; one worshipped by the
heavens. The crowd dispersed after everyone prostrated to her in her new form of
Kaaraikkaal Ammaiyar. 

SPIRITUAL LIFE AND LITERATURE: Ammaiyar stood
tall but without any ego. Her new form was a spring of knowledge; a soul that
was unified with the Lord. He had sent her to enrich the Tamil world of His
glory. She then composed ‘Arpudha Thiruvandathi’ and by that singing became one
of the Shiva ganas praising the lotus feet of Shiva. She later sang a hundred
hymns in ‘Irattai Mani Malai Andhadhi. This work is also called
‘Thiruvirattaimanimaalai.’ She then proceeded to Kailasha with much enthusiasm.
Along the way people desisted the body of a skinny and frail woman and ran
away. Ammaiyar only thought of the Lord’s and moved on unperturbed. Finally
reaching Kailasha, she refused to touch it with her feet. It is said that she
crawled on her knees while some writings state that she climbed the hill on her
head.

Mother Shakti witnessed all this and was surprised of such
devotional deed “What a love it is, of that skeletal body that climbs the holy
hill with its head!!" and asked who Ammaiyar was. Lord Shiva replied “She who
comes is like the mother in taking care of Me. She worshipped and got this form
of fame." The Lord then gave darshan and referred to her as ‘Ammaiyee’ meaning
mother. It was now the world to get blessed. Ammaiyar then fell at the Lord’s
feet and cried “O Lord, my Father.” Shiva asked of a boon she wanted and she
asked for immortal blissful love for Him. “liberate me from taking birth again,
or if there is a birth, bless me with never forgetting You” and she was given
the boon.

Ammaiyar was asked to stay in the bliss by singing his glory
when He danced in Thiruvalannkadu. She crawled there, and seeing Him in
Thandava, she sang in bliss the ‘Muththa Naarpadhikam.’ The Thandava with his
matted hair sent her eternal happiness to revere His lotus feet. Ammaiyar then
sang another thirupadikham, the ‘Etti Ilavammlkai.’ She composed her hymns at
the sacred banyan forest of Thiruvalannkaadu, and in them, she created stunning
imagery of the destruction of the human body meshing with the cosmic forces.


Of Ammaiyar, others were to describe ‘sagging breasts and swollen veins,
protruding eyes, bare white teeth, skeletal legs and knobbly knees had this
female ‘pey’ (ghost). She lingers, weeps and wails, and wanders aimless in the
forest; there, holding fire but cool of limbs, Siva dances his cosmic dance –
this forest, this sacred Alankattu, is the home of our Supreme Lord.’


Thereafter she settled in Kailash. Kaaraikkal Ammaiyar lived before the times of
Thirunyanasambandar. Ammaiyar was the first to sing in the padhikham construct
of hymns. Thus Ammaiyar’s padhikam is referred to as ‘Muuththa Thiruppadhikam’
meaning the elder of the padhikams.

BHAKTI: 

Bhakti or true devotion is more than a state of mind. It transcends existence.
There are nine types of bhakti:

1. Shravan bhakti - listening to the discourses of the Lord 

2. Kirtan
bhakti - singing the praises of god 

3. Smaran bhakti - reminiscing about the Lord

4. Padsevan bhakti - physically serving the Lord
 
5. Archan bhakti - performing devotional ceremonies, e.g. aarti, applying chandan to the Lord’s
forehead, mahapooja 

6. Vandan bhakti - bowing and prostrating before the Lord
 
7. Dasya bhakti - always remaining the Lord’s devout servant 

8. Sakhya bhakti - having a rapport with the Lord so that there remains a total faith in His
commands and His wishes are implicitly obeyed 

9. Samarpan bhakti - offering all, wealth, body and soul to the Lord.
However, However, very few attain a state a state of total surrender to the supreme, where you stop seeking divine support to survive, to heal, to cure or just material richness or well being but instead
submit in soul, spirit and beyond to become one with the supreme.


Karaikkaal Ammaiyar had such a state of mind. It is not possible to describe her
bhakti - sheer bliss as you commune with the omnipotent, in words. It can be
comprehended from her own words from the 12th Thirumurai which condences the
essence of her bhakti: “I wish for the immortality of my love of you, for I do
not wish for rebirth, however, if i were reborn, I want to be born again as your
devotee, never forgetting you, and above all those wishes i pray for this wish -
i want to see you dance to my joyful singing and that i want to witness seated
at your beloved feet”

Om Nama Shivaya.
Yogi Ananda Saraswathi


Krishna is always immersed in Radharani's consciousness

9/28/2012

 
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The divine love of Radha and Krishna is understood only at a spiritual level. One having lustful thoughts hardly sees that; they might as well reserve their opinions rather than expose their ignorance. Divine beings are not materially revie...wed. At a micro-level, we are produce of our parent’s union; hardly would anyone have lustful thoughts of this.

The broader picture at the macro level comes with a comprehension that Sri Krishna is always immersed in Radharani consciousness, which is His very soul. She is His body, mind and soul. Radha-Krishna is the embodiment of love, passion and devotion. Radha's passion for Krishna symbolizes the soul's intense longing and willingness for the ultimate unification with God. Sri Krishna is the soul of Radha and Radha is Sri Krishna’s soul.

Thus Srimati Radha is the undivided form of Shri Krishna. She is worshipper as well as his deity to beworshipped. So she is the presiding Goddess of Sri Krishnaand the Paramatma is subservient to her. In her absence Sri Krishna does not exist. For most parts, their divine love is to be a mystery unless one has the wisdom to know Radha and Krisna for their inexpressible divine elements. 

Om Namo Narayana.
Yogi Ananda Saraswathi


SAMBHAVAMY ATMA-MAYAYA

9/26/2012

 
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SAMBHAVAMY ATMA-MAYAYA:
 Lord Krishna’s being is very peculiar; being one who is unborn, yet as though he comes into being. Sri Krishna describes himself as ‘avyayatma’ meaning of imperishable nature. One who is never born is not subject to ...death either. Neither is there a state of delusion or ignorance. As the karma-phala-data, the giver of the fruits of
action, He is the one supremely above karma apparently assuming it.


Prakriti or nature is maya-shakti. It has a part to play both with Jivatman and with the incarnation of Iswara, But these functions with the two entities are on diametrically opposite bases. Praktiti enslaves jivatman; it is enslaved by Iswara. The Lord is unborn; He has neither birth nor death. But the Lord manipulates maya-shakti for the unborn Lord to put on the appearance of being born and of growing. Iswara is the cause for the entire creation, of both the suksma prapancha or subtle world and the sthula prapancha or physical world. The maya becomes prakriti and in wielding His maya, He comes into being.


The Lord does not stand in need of making experiments with the various factors of life. His advent simply explains the sublime plan and purpose of human life. ‘Sambhavamy atmamayaya’ means ‘come into being by My own maya.’ In the Kruskhetra battle field, Sri Krishna stands as Iswara on the one side of maya, while Arjuna was on the other side. He is ‘avyayatma’ meaning ‘of imperishable nature.’ As ‘bhutanam isvaro’ He is the Supreme Lord of all those who are born. He was the benign model to be followed by others but Arjuna could not see Him as He was. In Gita 4:6 Sri Krishna states “Though I am unborn, imperishable and the Lord of beings, yet subjugating My Prakriti, I come into being of My own Maya.”
Hari Om

YOGI ANANDA SARASWATHI

Shiva and his Trishula

9/26/2012

 
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Lord Shiva beckons sweetly and that is felt according to our own individual perception. One cannot borrow the belief and perception of another. The Lord is to be seen in your own eyes, even if your way appears to be idiosyncratic. What is sense to you may be nonsense to another but the Lord would be the adjudicator, not humans. So there is no need to fake your belief to please someone else. The Lord is not taken to cosmetics so just be. It is ideal to know basic rituals and mantra but let that not be an impediment. But it would not be too difficult to chant Om Namah Sivaya. When He is felt and known in one’s heart, the Lord inspires awe.

The Trishula is symbolic of the foremost of Ascetics. In a general sense, the Trishula represents aspects of Creator, Preserver, and Destroyer including the three principles of Pasa - Lordship, the divinity of Shiva, Pasu - man’s base animal nature and Pasa -bondage, including illusion and karmic debt central to Shaivite doctrine. The three also represent the three Shaktis or powers; will, action, and wisdom, and the three main Nadis or energy channels; ida, pingala, and shushumna, which allows kundalini energy to travel through the chakras.

The Trishula is the symbol of His love, the One who is the greatest of all lovers as He is Himself the embodiment of Shakti’s love also. The Lingga is the Lord’s perfect symbol but the Trishula stands to be mobile from the heights of Kailas to the golden sands of Rameshawaram and millions of places on earth where bhaktas stand
in devotion to shower their love in their own way. Hara Hara Mahadeva.

By Yogi Ananda Saraswathi



Hanumaji

9/26/2012

 
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LORD HANUMAN:

 is the symbol of devotion and dedication in the Hindu pantheon. His name is traced to the proto-dravidian word for male monkey, ‘ana-madi’ and took a linguistic variation to become Anuman in Tamil. By and large he is a Southern...er. According to the Bhagavata Purana, Skanda Purana and Brhaddharma Purana, Hanuman is considered to be an incarnation of Lord Shiva or Rudran. Hanuman is an ishta devata of both Vaishnaivites andShaivites. There are writings to the extent that Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva combined to take Hanuman form. Hanuman is said to be protected against Shani.

DEPICTION:
His image is found in many forms, often with one head, two arms and a long tail looped over his head. He normally has a monkey’s face on a very well built and strong human body. There are several other forms also including one with ten arms and five heads. Apart from his own, He manifests as Panchamukha to represent the five most important avataras of Vishnu.

BIRTH:

He belonged to the vanara clan. Hanuman was born in the Treta Yuga, to Anjana, a female vanara and Kesari, a strong vanara  who fought in Rama’s army. They prayed to Lord Shiva for a male child. This birth wasplanned by the Supreme lord with a perfect idea in the mind. Another interpretation is Hanuman being Shiva’s incarnation emerging from Anjana’s womb. The combination of Vanara and the celestial gave Hanuman strength, divinity and quick wits - his main characteristics. Being Anjana's son, Hanuman is also called Anjaneya, which plainly means ‘arising from Anjana’.

BHAVARTHARAMAYANA:

The Bhavartha Ramayana holds that Anjana was worshipping Shiva when Dasharatha was performing putrakarma yagna and venerating Shiva. The sacred payasam was to be shared by the 3 prospective mothers of Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata and Shatrughana. A kite snatches a portion and drops it over a forest.
Vayu, the Wind God delivers it to the outstretched hand of Anjana. She consumed it and Hanuman was born as a result. So Vayu chips in to claim parentage.  Kambar in his version would hold, as both Anjana and Dhasaratha were praying to Siva, than that was to be a Shiva blessing. The messenger does not become a
father.

VISHNU PURANA:

The Vishnu Purana and Naradeya Purana have their version. The sage Narada, is infatuated with a maiden. So he goes to Vishnu prior to the swayamvara and asks for ‘hari-mukh’ meaning face likeVishnu. But Vishnu, probably he was given to humour, gave him the face of a vanara. When Narada appeared in the kings’s court, the maiden laughed at his ape face. Narada was angered and cursed Vishnu that one day, either he or his avatars would be humiliated by depending on a vanara. Vishnu then told Narada that ‘hari’ has a dual meaning of vanara. Narada repents cursing only to be told that the curse was a boon as Hanuman would be born as an avatar of Shiva to help a Vishnu avatar to kill the demon Ravana.

BRAMACHARYAM: 

He is a provider of courage, hope, knowledge, intellect and devotion. His iconography is symbolic of his celibacy, one favoured by wrestlers and those given to physical sports. He is usually pictured as a strong monkey holding a gada or mace which is a sign of bravery and having a picture of Lord Rama on his chest which is asign of his devotion to Lord Rama.Hanuman remained a Brahmachaari throughout his life, an unmarried, celibate god. He is especially popular with body-builders, who believe that like him, one need to be celibate in order to have a strong body. Hanuman always treated women in the form of Mother and Sister. There are many incidences in the great epic Ramayana where this fact is proved.

BHAKTI: 

The Rama katha made Hanuman a symbol of devotion and dedication. He is portrayed as an ideal disciple of Sri Rama. Indeed every hair follicle on his body is said to chant Rama nama. Hanuman has intense love for his Lord Rama which can be considered from this instance. Once Hanuman was asked
by Sri Rama, "How do you consider me?". Hanuman said: "Oh Lord, while I identify myself with my body, I am Thy servant. When I consider myself an individualsoul, I am Thy part. But when I look upon myself as the spirit, I am one withThee. This is my firm conviction."

BOONS:

Brahma: The power to induce enemies, protect him from the irrevocable Brahma’s curse, change his form at will, Shiva: boons of longevity and scriptural wisdom; crossing oceans; Indra:
blessed with Vajra weapon will not affect him; Varuna: always be protected from water; Agni: Immunity to burning by fire; Surya: to transform into the smallest or biggest form (laghima or garima); Yama: free from danda, healthy life;Kubera: to remain happy and contended; Vayu: speed in travelling.

RAMAYANA:

Hanuman is an important character in the Ramayana which depicts him as
the epitome of devoted service and loyalty. Sugriva ascends the throne after the
fall of his brother Vali. Soon enough he was given to the pleasures of the
palace. He forgets his promise to Rama by whose prowess he got sits on the
throne. The ever faithful Hanuman reminds him that “the realm has been won, thy
(Sugriva’s) name has been enhanced’ and that foremost care should be given to
the friends who succoured him. But he shows his monkey attitude and takes
Hanuman’s reminder insufficient. It was much later that Lord Rama sends a strong
message through Lakshmana that Sugriva was to alive to his promises. At all
times Hanuman reminds himself of the search for Sita.

Thus he moved to collect a mighty army for Sugriva consisting of ‘fierce monkey troops and apesof every varied kind, terrific in their form. Sugiva then gave instructions to
each troop leader as to the search area. But news reaches that Ravana has moved
south. That was Hanuman’s district and he takes instructions direct from Rama.
He was entrusted with a ring to show as proof that was Rama’s messenger. The
search parties were getting tired of their fruitless endeavours to discover
Sita. Hanuman was not giving up. The rest were motivated by his encouragement to
persevere. Fortunately Hanuman meets the vulture Sampati, the brother of Jatayu,
whom Ravana slew when the latter prevented the abduction. Thus Sampati too
wanted vengeance against Ravana and rendered all assistance to Hanuman. It is he
that informs Sita presence in Lanka. But, he says “a hundred leagues your course
must be, beyond this margin of the sea, still to the south your way pursue, and
there the giant Ravan view.” 

How was anyone going to cross a hundred leagues of water and who could make such a leap? Again Hanuman comes to the front to declare “swift as a shaft from Rama’s bow, to Ravan’s city, I will go.”

According to this promise, Hanuman makes his marvellous leap to reach Lanka.
There he diminishes his size to that of a cat and passed through the city
unnoticed till he reaches the Ashoka grove were Sita was confined. He was in
time to witness Ravana’s inducement to his lovely captice to abandon Rama and
become his bride. Sita is given two months, failing which (my) cooks shal mince
thy limbs and serve thee for my meaning meal! She was not to give in and when
she was alone Hanuman addresses her. On the sight of being convinced that
Hanuman is the messenger she was delighted. Hanuman offers to carry Sita home on
his shoulders. A difficulty arises here.

Rising to such heights as Hanuman would leap, she says, might make her giddy and feel it necessary to hold of Hanuman; but of her own free will she would on no account whatever so much as touch the body of a living man except Rama’s.  So she refuses Hanuman’s offers,preferring to remain where she is and sends her love and a present to Rama.

Hanuman does not leave Lanka but goes on assault slaying several of Ravana’s

heroes. He is captured and confesses to being a messanger. His tail is set on
fire but escapes and Hanuman manages to burn the city in several places. Rama is
pleased of Hanuman’s return and of the gem gift from Sita. He was also pleased
to hear of Sita’s constancy. Sugriva plans the logistics to construct a bridge
to Lanka and no sooner they cross the sea. Hanuman carries Rama and Lakshmana is
carried by Angkada. Ravana hears the approach. His son Indrajit engages the army
with loss on both sides. Rama and Lakshmana were injured and nursed by Garuda,
the marvellous vahana of Vishnu. In the second attack Hanuman flies to Sejanjivi
hills to collect medicinal divine herbs. Finally Rama and Ravana meet in open
battle.  He makes a single request: to remain as Rama’s faithful servant. It was
granted.

PANCHAMUKA HANUMAN.

This manifestation is traced to a Ramayana
plot. Ravana got assistance from Mahiravanka or Ahiravan, the King of Pathala,
the netherworld. It is said that Hanuman formed a fortress with his tail to
protect Rama and Lakshmana. However the Patahala king overpowered resistance to
take the brothers to Pathala lokha. Hanuman traces and reaches the gates guarded
by Makardhwaja. This chap is part reptile and part vanara. Earlier on we wrote
Hanuman’s tail catching fire. Now, that is dipped into the oceans for the fire
to be put off. Hanuman’s sweat fell into the waters only to become Makardhwaja.
Now it is a father and son story in which the son asks for blessings but fights
to guard the gates. Hanuman captures and ties him up to gain entry.


Hanuman then discovers that to kill Mahiravana, he had to simultaneously
extinguish five lamps burning in five different directions. So he manifests as
Panchamukha or Anjaneya. According to Hanumath Prakaranam in Sri
Vidvarnavatantram, the five faces are Lord Hanuman, of Lord Hayagriva, Lord
Narasimha, Lord Garuda and Lord Varaha. Panchamuka Hanuman extinguished the
lamps and finally kills Mahiravana. Hanuman then instals Makardhwaja as the King
of Patala. He is given strict instructions to be a just and wise king.


FIVE:

Kambar’s Tamil version of Kambaramayana gives an emphasis on the figure
five. Lord Hanuman is a great yogi. He has therefore transcended the pancha
indriyas or five senses.As Pavana Thanaya, he is the son of Wayu, one of the
five elements. Hanuman crossed the ocean, water being one of panchabhutas. He
flies and travels across the sky, that is through one of the five elements. His
mission was to meet and rescue Sita, the daughter of earth. Later he burnt down
Lanka by fire. The fifth canto in the Ramayana is Sundara Kandam which contains
literature on Lord Hanuman’s patriotism towards Lord Rama and his heroic deeds.
Those given to numerology believe in going around Hanuman’s deity 5,14,23 or 32
times as they all add up to five.

It is also said that the five facesdepict five forms of prayers being Naman, Smaran, Keerthanam, Yachanam and Arpanam. Lord Hanuman always used to Naman, Smaran and Keerthanam of Lord SriRama. He totally surrendered, Arpanam to his master Lord Rama. He also begged,yachanam, Sri Rama to bless him the undivided love. In Bhagavat Gita LordKrishna says to Arjun, "He who acts for me, who is engrossed in me, who is my devotee, who is free from attachment, he reaches me" . We find all these 5
qualities enshrined in Hanuman. Each of his face explains the five divine
qualifications. May be an artist thought over about this before making the
Vigraham. The East facing Anjaneya to grant humanity Ishta Siddhi; South facing
Karala Ugraveera Narasimha to grant humanity Abhista Siddhi; West facing
Mahaveera Garuda to grant humanity Sakala Sowbhagya; North facing Lakshmi Varaha to grant humanity Dhana Prapthi and Urdhva Mukha being Hayagriva to grant
humanity Sarva Vidya Jaya Prapthi.

HANUMAN JAYANTI:

The worship ofHanuman, symbolizes the worship of the Supreme Lord, for acquiring knowledge,physical and mental strength, truthfulness, sincerity, self-sacrifice, modesty,
loyalty, and profound devotion to the Lord. Sri Hanuman was blessed by Sri Rama
with immortality or chiranjeevi. Every temple of Sri Rama contains an idol of
Hanuman. Worship of Hanuman is considered mandatory to complete the worship of
Lord Rama.

During Chaitra, in between March-April, Hanuman Jayanti is
celebrated to honor the birth of Hanuman. People visit the temples where the
idol is given a new coat of vermilion mixed with clarified butter and then
richly decorated. Fasting is done and apart from the Hanuman Chalisa,hymns of
Hanuman, the Ramayana also is read. Tales of Hanuman’s love for Rama are read
aloud and a function boosted with spiritualism.

SHANI: 

There is aninteresting story regarding why worshipping Hanuman will help in overcomingShani Dosha but we would consider that in the Navagraha series. In short, In theRamayana war, apparently Hanuman saved Shani from Ravana’s clutches. So Shani returns a favour that Hanuman would not be affected by the graham. According toVedic Astrology, the planet Saturn is called Shanaiswara. The name Shanaiswara means "slow mover". Shani, the son of the Suryadev born to his shadow wife Chaya is the slowest of the Grahas. Shanideva, sort of plays the role of a judge inhuman lives. Bad positioning of Shani results in a difficult period in life.

This Diety in Hinduism who keeps an eye on our deeds and depending on our Karmas we will be rewarded or punished by Shani. It is the most feared of all dieties  because of his power to turn the table abruptly, be one a king. There is a popular belief that worshiping Hindu God Hanuman will help in removing the hardships caused by Shani Bhagavan or Saturn. Shani would not overcome Hanuman,Shiva’s incarnation. People worship Hanuman on Saturdays to remove the malefic influence of Sani in their horoscope.

GAYATRI MANTRA:

Aum AnjaneyayeVidmahe, Vayu Puthraya Dheemahe, Tanno Hanumat Prachodayath - We pray to the sonof Anjani and the son of the Wind,May Lord Hanuman propel us.

On Namo
Narayana. Jai Hanuman
Yogi Ananda Saraswati

Indian Philosophy and Aesthetics

9/25/2012

 
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||भारतीय दर्शन, कला एवं सौंदर्य बोध  ||
|| Indian philosophy and Aesthetics ||
Part – 1


Professor M (Mysooru) Hiriyanna (7th May, 1871- 1950) was one of the greatest Samskrit thinkers and Vedantic scholars of the 19th-20thcenturies. An ...authority on Indian Philosophy (Bhaarateeya Darshanaaha), he was well versed in both the Sanskrit classics and English literature. His distinctive perception and insight into the philosophical spirit, and his concepts and doctrines of Indian Philosophy are recognized the world over.

A contemporary of Dr S RaadhaKrishnan, Prof Hiriyanna was known for his precision, scrupulousness and economy of expression. He was the pioneering philosopher who established the relationship between Philosophy andAesthetics, at a time when  the world believed that " though a nation of Philosophers, The idea of the beautiful in nature did not exist in the Hindu mind!"(The philosophy of the beautiful, by William Knight). With his incisivein sight, he pointed to.

1)

The core concept of the Upanishads, which was as relevant to Philosophy, as to Art & Aesthetics.
 
2)

The central
point of this view was that “whatever is one is manifested most clearly in the inner self of Man, than in the outer world".
 
3)

This brought about a total revolution, as it led directly to the enunciation of THE ABSOLUTE KINSHIP OFNATURE & MAN.

This brings us to a few of his observations on:

1)

His enquiry into the character of beauty in Nature, as well as Art
 
2)

​The advance made by the Indians into one bye-path of Philosophy, viz. AESTHETICS



:: To quote Prof Hiriyanna... ::

"The most noticeable feature of Indian Philosophy is the stress it lays upon the influence which Knowledge ought to have on life...None of the systems that developed in the course of
centuries in India stopped short at the discovery of truth; but each followed it
up by an inquiry, as to how the discovered truth could be best applied to the
practical problems of life.

THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF PHILOSOPHIC QUEST WAS NOT
KNOWLEDGE (TATTVAJNAANA), SO MUCH, AS THE ACHIEVEMENT OF TRUE FREEDOM (MOKSHA).

There is a second aspect of Indian philosophy, to which it is necessary to draw attention before speaking of Indian Art. The earliest Philosophy of India had a supernatural basis. Although the objects of early Aryan worship, were in reality only powers of Nature, there were supposed to be, working behind them, Supernatural beings. With an ideal like this, man naturally looked upon the present life as merely a passage to another and a better one. He lived mainly for the coming world, disregarding, if not altogether discarding,the realities of life. ASCETICISM was the natural outcome of it.

In course of time, this ideal of practical life, also underwent a change, no less important than the change on the speculative side.....and it came to be believed that the highest ideal of Man could be attainable on this side of death, here and now. The full development of this view belongs to the period that followed the composition of the classical UPANISHADS, but it's source can be traced earlier in those UPANISHADIC PASSAGES which refer to JEEVANAMUKTI.... JEEVANAMUKTI, to speak from the purely philosophic standpoint, marks the HIGHEST CONCEPTION OF FREEDOM. It is ONE OF THE POINTS WHERE INDIAN PHILOSOPHY EMERGES CLEARLY FROM INDIAN RELIGION; for, the goal OF EXISTENCE ACCORDING TO THIS
CONCEPTION IS NOT THE ATTAINMENT OF A HYPOTHETICAL BLISS HEREAFTER, but the finding of TRUE FREEDOM ON THIS BANK AND SHOAL OF TIME...

The aim of life was no longer conceived as something to be sought for BEYOND THIS WORLD,but to be REALISED HERE, and if one so WILLED, NOW. The NEW IDEAL was the achievement of A LIFE OF HARMONY, not through the extinguishment of, but by anEXPANSION OF INTERESTS.... Not through repressing NATURAL IMPULSES, but by PURIFYING AND REFINING THEM. It was the mode of living, characterized by PASSIONLESS PURITY AND AN EQUAL LOVE FOR ALL; such for instance is described in glowing terms more than once, in the BHAGAVADGITA.

In these two characteristic features of early Indian Philosophy, it seems to me, we have the main influences which moulded the THEORY OF ART as it is disclosed to us in SANSKRIT WORKS ON POETICS"



- from the desk of Anuradha Udayshankar

- Painting : " Hamsa Damayanti" by Raaja
Ravi Varma

Veda Vijan Rishikulam

Shiva

9/24/2012

 
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Adi Sankaracharyar, in his interpretation of the name Shiva, the 27th and 600th name of Vishnu Sahasranama, interprets Shiva to have multiple meanings:

‘The Pure One’, or the One who is not affected by three Gunas of Prakrti -Sattva, Rajas,..and Tamas or the One who purifies everyone by the very utterance of His name.

This is further elaborated that Shiva means ‘the One who is eternally pure’ or ‘the One who can never have any contamination of the imperfection of Rajas and Tamas’. Shiva is considered as one having Aadi or Anta i.e. no birth-death. The Tamil translation would be no Beginning-End.

Shiva's role as the primary deity of Shaivism is reflected in his epithets Mahadeva meaning "Great God"; maha = Great + deva = God, Maheshvara: "Great Lord"; maha = Great + ishvara = Lord, and Parameshvara: "Supreme Lord". The Shivalinga is symbolic of Shiva’s beginningless, endlessness and formlessness.Sivoham, Sivoham. Om Nama Shivaya.

Yogi Ananda Saraswathi



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    Trishula Das 
    "Teacher, Writer, Speaker, Mystic, Qigong Teacher, Jyotishi (Vedic Astrologer) Mentor, Meditation Teacher, Baul Scholar from Inside the Tradition.
    www.vedicgoddess.weebly.com
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    Various Authors...

    Most of which are by my favorite Swamiji Yogi Ananda Saraswathi.
    Swamji  is from a very ancient Shaiva Siddhanata lineage from South India, he is a Swami in a well known order. Yogi Ananda Saraswathi is posting his work now freely on facebook as he will be publishing his writing very soon into books.., his writings all of which have been written over a long period of time and were stored in files, are here on my web site please be respectful these writings are the manifestation of decades of Sadhana ' 'practice' as a Yogi, they are not all written in days, months or even years but over a lifetime.

    By profession Yogi Ananda Saraswathi was a renowned published Lawyer now a Swamiji a one man show of spiritual wisdom. You can view his writings on FACEBOOK @:
    https://www.facebook.com/yogi.anandasaraswathi   please respect Universal Copyright Laws and please do not publish them in magazines or books.

    This blog includes anything and everything pertaining to Baul Mystical Yoga. Bauls are Oceans everything is within the Baul yet the Baul is not within anything. They are vast in their knowledge of Indian Philosophy and Yoga. They do not like rules and Regulations or orthodox, their way is the way of Peace and Love... they are Guru's, spiritual messengers, they do not collect devotee's or followers... they include the juice or Buddhism and Sufi but this does not mean they are either, they are based on Indian ancient oral teachings of Sanatana Dharma of getting free from the shackles that bind us!

    Preserving an ancient  Oral Living Lineage of Mystical Spiritual Singers and dancers of India  ' The Vaishnava Bauls of Bengal.'

    This is a lineage of Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Shakti Sadhana, Mystical Sadhana.. Bauls do not have temples, they are not beggars, people used to give them money as Dakshina for being the spiritual newspaper, before the newspaper, they are spiritual Bards, Baullywood before Bollywood... Talented, creative big walking hearts..

    "The Body is my Temple, Music is my religion..." This is a Baul saying, Babu has been saying from Birth...he was born into Music, MA in Indian Music Kolkata University, 30 years as a Bollywood Music Director.
     
    Bauls are Poets, Philosophers, Guru's, spiritual messengers, peace keepers... They are ecstatic Rasa Lila Mystics.. Lovers of  Love.. God Intoxicated Mystics.
    Krishna and Radha live in their hearts, they have hair as they believe Krishna had hair....and to shave your head is a punishment..

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    October 2012
    -Babukishan with the Patnaiks from San Diego
    -Amar Monar Manush "My Soul Mate"
    -God the Absolute
    -Lord Sarabeswarar
    -Sir John Woodroffe
    -Chakravaka
    -Ashvin's
    -Lord Sudarshana
    -Agastaya's Curse
    -Pushan
    -Film of Ramakrishna
    -Agori Om Nama Sivaya
    4 types of Karma
    -Narashima
    -Ishvara
    -Ram
    -Tao the Way
    -Kabalam Padam
    -Sri Ramakrishna Says
    -Nectar of Immortality,
    -Sanatan Dharma vs Hindu
    -Pancha Tantra Agamas
    -Prajapati
    -[Scriptures of Sanatan Dharma]
    -Virabhadra
    -Gajendra
    Moksha
    -6 Indian
    Philosophy's
    -Ganapathi Tantra
    -Why Indian Philosphy ?
    -Rudra
    -Pitru Paksha

    Sept 2012
    -About Kashmir Shaivism
    -Kashmir Saivite
    Masers
    -In Defense of Sanskrit
    -Karaikal 
    Ammaiyar
    -Kirhna is immersed in Radharani's
    consciousness
    Sambhavamy
    Atma Mayaya
    -Shiva and his Trishula
    -Lord
    Hanuman
    -Indian Philosophy
    -Shiva the Pure
    One
    -Lord
    Narayana
    -Nandi
    -Calcutta
    Ganesha
    -Kali Puja Calcutta early
    1900
    -Krishna
    Siddivanayak
    Ganesha
    -Ganesha
    -Saraswvati in the Ocean in
    Bali
    -Vivekanananda 1893
    -Mahashakti
    Strotra
    -Lord Chitragupta
    -Devi & Deva
    Vehicles
    -Ganesha
    -Dharma &
    Truth
    -Shiva
    -Hanumanji Rare Panchatytcum
    Image
    -Shiva & his army
    -Lord
    Kubera
    -SadaShiva
    -Lord
    Shiva
    -Lord Nataraja
    -Lord Indra
    ===============
    July 2010
    -Times of India- Babukishan Leader of the Modern
    Bauls
    January 2011
    -Baul 101
    -Baukishan,
    making Baul History
    -Makara Sanskranti, Baul, Joydev
    Mela
    -Bangla Washington Radio interview with Babukishan
    -Baul
    Instruments

    February 2011
    -Mystic Gold
    Baul Song
    -Baul History

    March 2011
    -What is
    Lineage

    April 2011
    -Baul 101 Part 1

    May 2011
    - Baul 101 Part 2

    July 2011
    -The Rasa Lila Mystics
    -Baul is...

    January 2012
    -Story about Bauls
    -Surrender to Ma Durga
    -Why say Jai
    Ma??
    -What is an authentic Teacher?
    -Indigenous
    People
    -Documentary link on the Ganges River by
    BBC
    -What is Sahajaya
    -Bauls are Bird
    people..
    -Babukishan a Ramakrishna Monk for 12
    years..
    -Rabindranath Tagore and Nabani Das Khyeppa Baul
    -I
    have become a Mad women..poem by Trishula
    -Jyotisha
    Musings
    -Ananadamayi Ma
    -Gour Chand
    Hospital
    -Baul Part 1
    ~ Hanuman Chalisa produced music Composed by Babukishan
    -Baul Part 2
    -Babukishan Bowery Poetry
    Club
    -Bauls are not Gypsy's
    -Baul song
    -Gosai
    Das Baul Lineage
    -WHO IS BABUKISHAN AKA KRISHNENDU DAS
    BAUL
    - Begging for Prema
    -Jemon Beni Temni
    Robe
    -Book on Babukishan's Life
    -Baul
    Song
    -Nabani Das Khyeppa Baul
    -Hansaraj 1976
    film
    -Radharani Dasi and her husband Gopal Das
    Baul
    -Statue of Nabani Das Baul
    -Raikamal
    Film
    -Roots of Baul
    -Mirror of the
    Sky
    -Nimai
    -Vaishnava Baul more than a
    Phd...
    -Hridmajhare
    Rkhbo
    -BHAVA
    -Babukishan Author of 3 books on
    Baul
    -O Senseless Heart
    -Nabani Das
    Baul
    -Bengali Kali Ma and Lord Shani Photo
    -My
    Forest Yoga
    -Your Feet
    -Ganesha's
    qualities

    February 2012
    Bauls
    are thousands of years old..
    ancient

    March 2012
    -What is
    Lineage

    April 2012
    -Baul 101 Agora National

    Part 1

    May 2012
    -Ramakrishna Says..
    -Ramakrishna
    Says..
    -Rudrasha's
    -Swami Samath Maharaj

    -Nityananda of Ekkchakra, Nitai was a Vaishnava
    Baul
    -Nabani Das Baul the Mirror of the
    Sky
    -Swami Vivekananda's Mother
    -Ramakrishna
    1887
    -Sarada Maaa
    -Baul Song What is after
    death?
    -Ancient Vimanas Flying Machines
    -Subtle
    picture of fire Puja
    -Fire Puja
    -Kali Kali
    Namaha by Babukishan
    -Saturn Lord Sani in
    India
    -Vivekananda
    -Ramakrishna
    -Nabani
    & Sahajaya
    -Baul Song
    -Chapter 1 Avadhuta
    Gita
    -Why we shout when angry
    -Mandukya
    Upanishad
    -Lord Vishnu
    -Sarasvati
    Ma
    -Nabani & Tagore
    -Concept of Love in the
    Puranas
    -Bhuveaneshavari Maa Devi
    -Baul song by
    Babukishan
    -Babukishan in Haridwar
    -Vimanas
    Ancient Flying machines....cont'd
    -Ananadmayi
    Maa

    June 2012
    -Radha worships Krishna
    as Kali
    -Oral
    Tradition
    -Vishnu
    -Radha/Krishna
    Kali
    -Rabindranath Tagore
    -Babukishan was a monk
    in the Ramakrishna order for 12 years
    -Tagore
    Said..
    -Vedic Space ships..
    -Joydev Gita Govinda
    Kenduli and the Vaishnava Bauls
    -Ananadamayi
    Ma
    -Kali Ma Video
    -Nabani Das Baul & Indira
    Gandhi
    -Shiva Lord of Tantra and
    Yoga
    -Vaishnava Bauls and Shiva/Kali
    -Shri
    Monhananda
    Brahmachari
    -Chanakya

    July 2012
    -Sadhu's
    -Rules for being
    Human
    -Ramakrishna
    -Vishnu the
    preserver
    -Nataraja
    -Hanuman
    -Guduri
    -Nabani
    Das Khyeppa Baul
    -Sacred Ash
    -Vaishnava Baul
    Lineage
    -Brahma
    -Dakinishwar Temple
    Calcutta
    -Hanumanji
    -Ganapathi is modern with
    his computer
    -Vivekananda in America
    -Old
    Dakinishwar Temple
    -Ramakrishna's Bed

    August 2012
    -Photo of Nabani Das Baul taken
    by Rabindranath Tagore
    -Shaiva Tantra
    -A tribute
    to Sitaram Das Omkarnathji
    -Sitaram Das Omkarnath &
    Ananadamayi Ma & Purna Das Baul
    -Ganpathi and
    Kali
    -Kamakhya Ambubadachi Mela
    -What you reject you
    attract
    -Old Cherokee saying.....
    -12
    Jyotirlinga's Shrines in India
    -Ramakrishna
    -Old
    Kamakhya Painting
    -Krishna/Kali
    -Krishna/Kali
    1800's
    -Chandika Old Painting
    -Chaitanya Leela
    1895
    -Yugala Murti
    -Kali Ghat
    1890's
    -Jagannatha 1895
    -Krishna
    1895
    -Krishna & Gopi's 1880
    -Gaura Avritai
    Nitai Sundar Sri Nityananda
    -Sada Bhuja
    Gauranga
    -Vedas
    -Saiva Tantra
    -Maithuna
    Tantra the most misunderstood.
    -Rare picture
    Sept 2012
    -About Kashmir Shaivism
    -Kashmir Saivite
    Masers
    -In Defense of Sanskrit
    -Karaikal 
    Ammaiyar
    -Kirhna is immersed in Radharani's
    consciousness
    Sambhavamy
    Atma Mayaya
    -Shiva and his Trishula
    -Lord
    Hanuman
    -Indian Philosophy
    -Shiva the Pure
    One
    -Lord
    Narayana
    -Nandi
    -Calcutta
    Ganesha
    -Kali Puja Calcutta early
    1900
    -Krishna
    Siddivanayak
    Ganesha
    -Ganesha
    -Saraswvati in the Ocean in
    Bali
    -Vivekanananda 1893
    -Mahashakti
    Strotra
    -Lord Chitragupta
    -Devi & Deva
    Vehicles
    -Ganesha
    -Dharma &
    Truth
    -Shiva
    -Hanumanji Rare Panchatytcum
    Image
    -Shiva & his army
    -Lord
    Kubera
    -SadaShiva
    -Lord
    Shiva
    -Lord Nataraja
    -Lord
    Indra
    October 2012
    -Virabhadra
    -Gajendra
    Moksha
    -6 Indian
    Philosophy's
    -Ganapathi Tantra
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