Category Archives: ART & POETRY

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In His Grace

. Advaita and Yoga, ART & POETRY, INSPIRATIONAL . ,

721guruvayurappan

Pahi Pahi Gopa Baala

ragam: anandabhairavi    thaalam: Aadi
Composer:  Shri  Sundara Narayana

Pahi Pahi gopa baala vaasudevaa Krishnaa
Krishnaa protect me protect me, cowherd boy son of Vasudeva

Dehi maam Kaarunyam Guruvayoorappa
Guruvayoorappa, Give me your blessing and be kind to me.

ahivara shayana viswapaala devaa Krishnaa
Krishna, who sleeps on the great snake,( Anantha )
and who takes care of the whole world,

vihara mama hrudi wisvaroopa Devaa
Reside in my heart oh Deva, the lord of the world.

mahithabaahu phalguna saarathi devaa Krishnaa
Krishna who is the charioteer of the great Arjuna,

vihasitha saarasamukha Deva devaa
Lord of Devas,who is always smiling and has a beautiful face like a lotus

suhsitha sundaraanana vaasudevaa krishnaa
Smiling baeutiful faced son of Vasudeva Krishnaa

mohansareera pahi neeradanga
Please protect me, Krishnaa who is smiling and beautiful
and who has blue coloured body like the cloud.

Paahi divya vaarijaksha vaasudevaa krishnaaa
Protect me, holy one, lotus eyed son of Vasudeva, Krishnaa

Dehi sharanam nityam bandhuraanga
Oh one who has a shining body,please give me protection always.

aadyantha rahitha sarva jeeva paala Krishnaa
Oh , Krishna, one who has no beginning or end,who is the protector of all lives,

Veda swaroopa paahi tham namaami
One who is the embodiment of Vedas, protect me. I bow to you.

Vaathagehey viraajitha vaasudevaa thava
Son of Vasudeva, who resides in Guruvayoor

paadamooley dehi mama anthimaalayam
Please give me my final abode under your feet.

Sa Ri Ga Ma Pa Da Ni Sa
“Pahi Pahi Gopa Baala,” our teacher sang. We followed the words as we learned the bhajan, “Pahi Pahi Gopa Baala”…  “Vasudeva Krishna”…. “Vasudeva  Krishna.”   She continues leading us as the class progresses and she sings all of the two verses which are on the page of this new bhajan in my new class, carnatic singing class.  We will go through the bhajan phrase by phrase, kind of like kirtan.  At the end of class, she always graciously sings it through  so I can record it, as much for the pronunciation as for the melody and rhythm. Ever since I began attending temple at the Chinamaya Mission, I have always been drawn to the music.  Music has always been in my heart and I studied classical  piano and violin for most  of my youth and young adulthood.  I even spent a good portion of my college years majoring in music education until I did a turnabout in my senior year, and switched to psychology. How I ended up in law school is another story.  But music never left me, bound together as we were. (In my adulthood, I also played electronic keyboards in a rock band playing music written by my ex-husband, a far cry from where I am now, but a learning experience in playing without the music written note by note for me! )   So, I was thrilled to be starting this new class, where I could learn devotional singing.

I look around me…there is one catch. I am the only adult in the class, surrounded by young girls and boys just beginning their study as well. Sa Ri Ga Ma Pa Da Ni Sa,  the syllabic equivalent to the western scale, Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do.   But this will not be the first or the last time I am the child with children, so I might as well get used to it.  After a bit, I stop feeling uncomfortable and the class becomes more comfortable with me.  After all, I do stand out a bit to them with my blond hair and blue eyes.  But the Lord knows no limits on His love and the Self  has no form, so here I am,  just where He wants me. And as we move on and the groups merge, there are a few adults in the new batch.

When I stopped taking classes to focus on kirtan I slowly began to pull out some of the bhajans I had learned in class.  I did not want to lose all of what I had studied so hard to learn and I decided that now since I did not have to study new bhajans, I would pull out the old ones I had learned and also learn to accompany myself on the harmonium. I could also slow down and really study them one by one, learning the raga and memorizing the words more fully.  Pahi Pahi was always one of my favorites. But something was missing…I had the words (sahityam) and the melody to the song (swara) , but no translation.  I have this thing about translation of the words I sing…I like to know what I am singing. I had looked online and elsewhere, seeking a translation of the words I had and had come up with a rough idea of the first two verses which I had, but did not get much further and wanted to be sure it was correct.

So, when I was invited to join a Krishna bhakta  devotee group early this year, specifically a group dedicated to Guruvayurappa, I decided to ask to see if anyone had any idea who wrote the bhajan, since it referenced Guruvayurappa, one of the manifestations of Lord Krishna.  That was all I knew about Him in this form.  Swamiji at the Mission had told me that the man who wrote Pahi Pahi was from South India, and had written many bhajans, and had suffered a stroke and was paralyzed.  So, I wrote to the list looking for both the name of the  composer and help with the translation to the words which I posted.  I don’t ask for much, do I?

In His Grace
Well,  The Lord does have His way of granting wishes, or does He have His way of implementing His wishes?   He wanted me to be in that group,  and my wish was granted, even more so than I could have imagined when I made my request…I have reproduced below a small excerpt from what I wrote to the list looking for the words and the composer…this was on January 6th…

“It is really a beautiful bhajan and I would like to have the translation. First and foremost, for myself, so I know what I am singing to Him:-), and for anyone who happens to be there, so they can read along and know what I am singing to Him. I understand that it was written by a gentlemen in South India who also wrote a number of other bhajans and then succumbed to a stroke which paralyzed him. If this is so, considering the beauty of the song, I can only believe that in his paralysis, he is in His Grace. If anyone knows his name, I would like to add it to the lyrics…and if anyone can help me translate some more of the words, I would be so very GRATEFUL… Jai Shri Krishna!!!

The very next day, January 7, not only did I get the name of the composer, I got the composer himself!  As it happened, his wife, Dr. Sreedeviji Menon, is a member of the group and read my email, and wrote to me on the list that it was her husband who had written the bhajan. She also shared that he suffered a stroke in 2003, as well as a major heart attack in 2006 and had to undergo triple bypass heart surgery in 2007. Says Shrideviji…

“At one point he was very critical for one week, ironically because of the indecision of the doctors on what to do. But he prayed to Guruvayurappan that he will write more songs in praise of HIM and then the doctors gave the right medicine and he improved!!  He is almost back to his usual self now and he wrote about 15songs since then. We completely surrender to HIM for whatever it is in store for us.  Though he was initially completely paralysed, with God’s Grace he is able to walk with a cane and is selfsufficient and able to travel with little help. “

And furthermore, there were more verses, which they were kind enough to later sent me along with a translation of all of the verses (the bhajan is in Sanskrit).  It is common to sing only parts of a bhajan and you will see this online in youtube videos quite frequently in carnatic and other devotional music.  I must say I was really touched by this wonderful synchronicity and I am 100% certain was a gift from the Lord so that this  music could be heard by more people, beautiful as it is. I must admit I cried quite a bit that day in gratitude.

The story of Shri Menon is another wonderful example of His Grace and how He operates in unexpected ways,  in this case through Shri Menon for all of us who are graced to hear His music as expressed through the blessed composer through whom He speaks… another excerpt from his Sreedeviji Menon is below…

My husband, Narayanankutty Menon had no knowledge of classical carnatic music,no special education in malayaam, and only high school education in sanskrit. He had never written a poem till the age of 60. He never used to go for any classical concert.  As everybody else from our native place he used to go to Guruvayur whenever possible. We used to hear carnatic songs while travelling in the car. He had a very good sense of thaalam [rhythm or time signature] which he found out when our daughter was learning bharatnatyam.  A few days after he was 60 years old, one night, he had a dream that he was singing classical music in the kizhakke nada [Eastern entrance]  of Guruvayur temple.  He told me about it the next day..I told him that is just a dream because I knew he could not sing one line even in sruthi!!  The next day, the dream repeated. He said that Guruvayurappan told him to write classical carnatic music about HIM in simple language so that ordinary people can understand. HE wanted these songs to be propagated among the devotees. The dream repeated a few times. So he asked our friend, a music teacher. She said jestingly to write Hari OM Narayana and let us see. He did it and in a few days, he was listening to a song, in raga, reethigowla, when he suddenly got one song in his mind and he wrote it down immediately. He asked the musician who is our friend to look into it. One line in anupallavi [a section of the bhajan form]  did not come out right , she said.  Anyway, he wrote 6 songs within two weeks. He wanted to get guidance from the Lord whether he should continue writing.  So he submitted this to melsanthi of Guruvayur temple through one of our friends in Guruvayur. The priest gave the papers back with prasadam inside. To his dismay, the line which was thought to be wrong had disappeared from the paper because of the prasadam!!  Suddenly he was able to correct it and our friend approved of it!

Hearing his story, Dr. Omanakutty, a great devotee of Guruvayurappan kindly consented to sing these songs in Melpattur auditorium and make CDs. Now he has written more than 200 songs and a dance drama Manjulacharitham, which was performed in Melpattur auditorium by Noopura dance school in Calicut. Many of the listeners of these songs tell us they get mental peace and joy ,which gives us gratification. He still wonders if he is writing these songs!!  Guruvayurappan’s leelas are unfathomable !”

This is Sri Sundaranaraya’s website…he goes by this name, partly taken from his childhood nickname, Sundaran    www.gananjali.net

Go to this website and click on Krishna Bhajans section on the navigation bar on the left hand side for a traditional carnatic rendering of the bhajan with all of the lyrics above.   http://www.guruvayoor.com

You can also watch a video of my rendition of the first two verses during live kirtan.  Special thanks to Nancy on drums and Veo singing response vocals.

Click on the link  to watch the video…  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhphgUKxLlY

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OM NAMO NARAYANAYA!!!

In His Grace by Joyce Sweinberg

 

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ULLADU NAARPADU (Reality in forty Verses), Verse #8

. Advaita and Yoga, ART & POETRY . , , , , , ,

ULLADU NAARPADU
(Reality in Forty Verses)

The famous Vedantic poem in Tamil by Bhagavan Ramana Maharishi
(consisting of two preliminary verses called Mangalam, 40 verses which form the main text , and another 40 verses called the Appendix)

Detailed Commentary in Tamil by Lakshmana Sharma,
adapted into English by Profvk

(Continued from ULLADU NAARPADU – Verse No.7
See Post #48160
Of Harsha Satsangh)

Introduction to Verse No.8

That existent Reality does not have names and forms. However, allotting names and forms to That Absolute, taking it to be God and worshipping it will pave the way for Self-Realisation. In spite of all these it is the actual experience that shows it truthfully. There is no alternate means of realising it. This is the content of this eighth verse of Bhagavan.

Verse No.8

Eppeyar iTTu, evvuruvil Ettinum,
Ar, pEr, uru, il apporuLaikkAN vazhi adu. Ayinum,
am-meypporuLin uNmaiyil tan uNmaiyinai Orndu oDungi
onDrudalE uNmaiyil kANal, uNar.

Translation (Lakshmana Sharma)

Even though to worship Him in any form and by any name is a means towards the right vision of Him, who (really) is without name and form, true vision of Him consists in being at one with Him, by merging in Him the Transcendental Being, through the realisation of the identity of the Real Self with His real essence.

Translation (Prof. K. Swaminathan)

Under whatever name or form we worship It, It leads us on to knowledge of the nameless, formless Absolute. Yet, to see one’s true Self in the Absolute, to subside into It and be one with It, this is the true Knowledge of the Truth.

Translation (Osborne)

Under whatever name and form one may worship the Absolute Reality, it is only a means for realizing It without name and form. That alone is true realization, wherein one knows oneself in relation to that Reality, attains peace and realizes one’s identity with it.

Word by Word

eppeyar-iTTu : Whatever name you assign
evvuru-vil: (and) in whatever form
Ettinum : (you) propitiate it
adu. : that is
kANvazhi : the means of realizing
Ar apporuLai: that full and complete Reality
il : (which is) without
pEr: name
uru: (and) form.
Ayinum: However,
kANal: the Vision
uNmaiyil : in truth (is)
onDrudalE: only in becoming one
oDungi : (after) subsiding, sublating (oneself)
Orndu: (and) cognizing
tan uNmaiyinai: one’s own reality
uNmaiyil: in the Truth
ammeyp-poruLin : of that Reality.
uNar: Know (this)

Commentary (Lakshmana Sharma)

The JIva, Ishvara and the Universe are all mental constructs. In sleep where there is no mind, they don’t exist; the only Reality therefore is the Atman which is sat-cit-svarUpa. But man, trapped in the mAyA of the mind, thinks, out of Ignorance, he is a separate JIva and thus revolves in the vortex of samsAra; as such he cannot but think of a God as the maker of all Jivas and Universes. So long as he thinks of his Jivahood as real, God also has to be real for him. That God is in fact the unique sat-cit- svarUpa Reality. Because of Ignorance, the Atman which is the ever-existent Reality becomes foreign to him and is termed by him as God or Ishvara. That Reality is assigned names and forms by the ignorant devotee and he thinks of Him as distinct from him, as the Overlord of the Universe and as the Most Compassionate One. We already said that this is but natural. Our Bhagavan says this Bhakti type of worship will lead to a purification of the mind and a discriminating intellect and finally will take him to Self-Realisation. The second line of the present verse means exactly this. To get out of the bondage caused by names and forms, one can thus adopt the means of worshipping the Absolute Reality as God by assigning it names and forms.

The first line of the verse says that Brahman can be given any name and form associated with Shiva or Vishnu and one can worship it according to one’s taste. It is quite fitting to say that, since the Brahman that is worshipped as God is nameless and formless, whatever names and forms are imagined by a devotee those names and forms are accepted by God. This is Equanimity. It is only nonsense to fight with one another using notions of ‘My God’ and ‘Your God’.

The form for worship may be just a construct by the mind; or one might take any form in the outside world and worship the Absolute to be in that form. Thus the Sun, the Firmament, Fire, Mountain, River – any such natural form might be imagined as the form of the Absolute and worshipped. The highest among all such forms is that of the Guru who is an Atma-JnAni (One who has realised the Self). For, a JnAni does not think of himself as something different from the Absolute, nor as a body. That is why Krishna says in the Gita (VII: 18): ‘JnAni is Myself’. The Guru who is himself a JnAni, whatever way he thinks of himself, in the same way we should consider him. It is wrong to think of him as something different from Brahman. That seeker who thinks like that and works for Self-Realisation will not attain it.

The devotee who worships in this manner, without understanding that Self-Realisation is the ultimate objective, would want God to present before him in the form which he has imagined for Him. By the strength of his devotion he may even get a vision of that kind. But the vision that appears would not be a permanent one. It will be mentioned later that since in actuality God is not distinct from the Atman, the vision that shows up to him is again a mental construct, not real.

Though the devotee may not want Self-Realisation, he will ultimately attain it. It has to be said that is only due to God’s Grace. And that Grace is nothing but Brahman, that is God, being the Atman in the heart.

It is this Self-Realisation that gives permanent satisfaction. The latter half of the present verse indicates only this Self-Realisation. The last few verses of this chapter give the same meaning.

Bhagavan used to say that the above truth is also the lesson that we learn from the story of Prahlada occurring in JnAna-VashishhTam (different froim the one that occurs in the Bhagavatam and other Puranas). Prahlada’s father Hiranya-Kashipu conquered the three worlds and was comfortable in the thought of his being matchless. So his son Prahlada was living without any fear. But the father was vanquished and killed by Lord Vishnu. Prahlada thought that the same Vishnu could kill him also and this generated the fear of death in him. In order to overcome this fear, he surrendered to Vishnu Himself. To obtain His Grace, he observed devotion to Him by means of pUja, japa and dhyAna. Vishnu appeared before him in person and said: “For you to obtain immortality, this vision of mine is not enough. You have to realise the Vishnu in your Atman inside.”. And he was also taught what to practise. Accordingly Prahlada attained Self-Realisation and Immortality with the attendant Fearlessness.

Thus it is confirmed in this verse that the existent Reality, Brahman, is nothing but the Atman.

[To be continued in Verse #9].

PraNAms to all seekers of Truth.
PraNAms to Bhagavan Ramana Maharishi.
profvk

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Radhe’s Tears

. Advaita and Yoga, ART & POETRY, INSPIRATIONAL . , ,

hindu_deity_qd15_l1

Hear this! I Am the One
You will dance with in the end.
Isn’t that what you told me?
Come…join with me, Anand

Come…join with me
Fill me until I burst with Thee
Shower me with your nectar,
So sweet, my sweet Beloved

Come…join with me
Whisper beauty into my mind
Only you, nothing else will do,
So soft, my soft Beloved

Come…join with me
Sacred the initiation
Sacred the revelation

Come…join with me
Dance the dance
which has no End
Eternally, my sweet Anand

Come…join with me
Replace my tears of longing
With tears of joy again
Now it is my turn to say…

Come…join with me
Please…let me love You
Lord of my Heart
Hold me in your sweet Embrace

Come…join with me
Drown me in your ocean
Lost in your Holy Grace

Come…join with me
Please…let me love You
Nothing else I want to do

Just Dance the Eternal Dance
With You…One…Never Two

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Today is a very special day for us. I will come to you in a way I have not come to you before, and you will be transformed. Radhe listened to these words with a mixture of anticipation and apprehension. While she longed for a return of the union with Him as she had known it before, that had not yet happened. There were reasons for this, and she knew she had to accept it and surrender to whatever He had in mind for her. So her feelings of anticipation stemmed from her hope that she would again know His love permeating her entire being, her entire physical body and soul and even beyond it, enveloping even the space around her physical presence.  Since He said He would come to her in a way that He had not come to her before, this prompted some apprehension that she, the nothing that she knew herself to be, would somehow fall short in His glorious presence. He assured her this would not be so.

And so, the day passed with little preparations, including a trip to the flower store where she bought her flowers. Get whatever you want today…this is a special day. So she wandered around the flower display several times, picking out bouquets to put together into vases, more than she would usually buy. There was a lovely and unusual bouquet of one dozen roses, which she passed up because the price was a little high compared to the others she had chosen. Radhe chatted with a woman who was also looking at the flowers, and took her to the bouquet, saying, “Isn’t this beautiful? But I am not going to buy it!” The other woman agreed that it was beautiful and they both continued their search.

Once Radhe had all the flowers she wanted, she carried her bouquets over to the produce section to look for the Italian bread with a nice and thick crust they had fresh everyday and which she loved.  As she stood in line, she saw the woman with whom she had been chatting and to whom she had shown the lovely roses, standing in line. She was looking inhto her wallet and declaring to Radhe that she had forgotten to bring enough money with her. Radhe had been in the same situation, having forgotten cash, or worse, not having any money to spend on such things as flowers. This place was cash and carry, so she offered to give her a few dollars to buy what she wanted from the flower section. The woman politely refused her offer.

Radhe came to the front of the line. One last loaf, and she grabbed it! As she walked away with it, He told her to get the roses which she had passed up.  So she went over and picked them up.  As she did so, she also realized that she had more flowers than she needed now and there was a reason for it. She looked into her bunch of bouquets and spotted a pretty bouquet of spray roses which were close in the crimson color to the roses she had just picked up, but not the lovely mix streaked with yellow that her large roses had. She went to the flower counter and bought all of her flowers.

She pulled the bouquet of crimson spray roses out from her collection, and ran over to the woman who was still standing in the line. First, she showed her the dozen roses she had just bought, all crimson with yellow streaks in them. “I lied” she laughed, as she and the other woman smiled at each other at her giving in and buying them anyway. Then she held out the crimson spray roses to the other woman and said, “These are for you.”  The other woman did not decline them, as a big smile crept across her face, and she exclaimed as she hugged her gift, “Thank you so much. Today is my birthday.” Radhe could not have felt better, having given this woman an unexpected gift, and on her birthday, from Him. “Happy Birthday!” she exclaimed and ran out the door with her purchases.

Later that day, she had scheduled a much needed massage for her achy muscles, which had been bothering even more recently. Even though there were things going on at the Temple that night, she had planned this massage because in her mind, she had a date with Him tonight, as He had already indicated to her earlier in the week that this was a day for them. Before the massage began, the woman who was about to massage her, named Tricia whom she had known for years, asked her what her intentions were for the massage that evening. Radhe hesitated a moment, and said., “Ask me when you come back in.” Her thought had been that she just wanted to be pampered and feel loved. He interrupted that thought to ask her to surrender to His request that her intention would be to allow Him to express His love for her through Tricia’s hands. So she made that her intention and the massage was especially beautiful, as she lost herself in the love that she envisioned coming her way from Him, a prelude to the evening ahead. After the massage, she said to Tricia, “You never asked me my intention.” Tricia looked surprised for a moment, and then said, “I forgot to ask you.” Radhe told her, “You do not have to ever ask me again as my intention will always be the same.” She then told her that her intention would always be to allow God to express His love through her (Tricia’s) hands.

She went home feeling content, but now the uncertainty resurfaced again, as the evening became night and now it was nearing the time. She took a bath, and placed the three yellow carnations He chose into the bath with her. When her bath was done, she took the carnations and placed them at her pujya to Him, offerings in anticipation.

When it was time to go to bed, He instructed her to just lay quietly, one of the yellow carnations in her hand, and wait for Him to come to her. Then He told her to place the carnation on the pillow next to hers. She waited, and she waited. Then He came to her, but not in any way near to what she might have hoped for.  How was this any different from what it had been since He returned?  Oh, yes, He talked to her in her head, but nothing happened as He witheld Himself from her in much the same way it had been since His return to her life only recently after years of realtive absence. Only now, there was even an element as if He were playing with her emotions, as He said, “Enjoy my divine yoga,” but nothing happened to her, not the overwhelming presence which had enveloped her entire being before, so long ago now it seemed. She lay there, tears now streaming down her face as she realized that this was just going to be another night of broken promises to come to her, something which had been happening since His return to her. She clutched the yellow carnation into her hand, and fell asleep.

The next morning she woke up to the realization of what had not happened, and began to cry again. As the tears flowed, so too did the anger which rose from her pain. “I do not ever want to see Him again,” she said to herself, knowing she did not mean it but needing to say it anyway. The pain of his betrayal of his promise is even worse than the pain of her longing for Him. “Why does He do this?”  He is supposed to be the keeper of his promises, yet he does not always keep His promise to come to her. She was not even asking for that in the first place.

All she wants is to love him. So as her tears flow, she cries to him, “I do not understand why you do this to me. It is MERCILESS! You are not merciless, so why do you act this way? This behavior of yours goes completely against everything I believe you to be. You are supposed to be karuna sagara…this is not karuna sagara… this is callous to my feelings and my tears.”  Stomping her foot to the ground in anger, she continues, “I am not asking for these things so why do you promise them to me in a way that makes me anticipate them because you promised it…then you do not keep your promise? Why do you make the promise in the first place? What purpose could it possibly serve when all is does is hurt me and make me cry? And if you do not keep this promise, how can I know you won’t also break your other promises to me? I so want to trust you and now I am afraid to trust you and let you hurt me again.” Her tears continue to flow as her heart is breaking from the pain she feels for Him, combined with her longing to not be angry with Him, and her feelings of abandonment, her whole world of devotion to Him falling apart. She runs downstairs without looking back.

And so He calls to her to come to Him, acting as if nothing is wrong and all should be forgotten. Well, she is not forgetting and turns away in her anger and pain. He calls to her to come to Him again, as she had been doing, to her pujya to Him, all she has of Him. But she refuses. He relents, giving her time to calm down. She busies herself in the kitchen and thinks about the evening which has just passed. She cannot stand the pain she feels and cries bitter tears of betrayal and feeling more separate from Him, when all she wants to do is to love Him. Conflicted by her feelings, she is even more distraught as she stands her ground in her refusal to go to Him as He waits quietly. But as always, her love for Him, grounded in the love He gave so freely to her in what seems now like an eternity ago, wins over her anger, and she thinks to herself that she has to eventually go back up to her pujya and to Him.

Then He jokes to her, “Well, maybe now I don’t want you to come to me since you do not want to.” In spite of herself, she has to laugh at his gentle humor and all her anger vanishes. In an effort to soothe her and make it all go away, He says, “ I would like to explain it to you, dear Radhe, if you will just listen.” So she goes upstairs and kneels before Him, tears streaming down her face yet again.

“It is not about my promises which are not kept. This is about teaching you so you understand and can explain to others by your own example, the forgiveness you show me is the same forgiveness I show the devotee, who claims to be mine in words, but in action never comes to me as promised. And sometimes, this happens again and again with the same devotee, making the promise, pledging life and love to me, and then returning to the material world, forgetting about me completely. The pain you feel matches the pain I feel when this happens. I do not want to hurt you and all the tears you cry pierce my heart like a knife and I cry with you for the pain I have caused you. But it is your dharma in service to me to be the eternal example of unselfish love and devotion to me. In that devotion, you indeed become me, now able to teach by your example, the devotion and love I feel for my devotees. That no matter how many times they tell me they are mine, yet walk away from the promise so many times, the pain I feel in that betrayal of the promise of devotion is like yours now.  But like you I cannot be angry with them and I will wait for them to keep the promise they make. After all, I have eternity to wait. Do you understand now?”

Radhe is silenced by His words to her, her anger completely drained. She never thought of Him this way before. She is almost dumfounded by what He had just said to her and needs to absorb it. He had indeed come to her in a way He had never done before. She had been transformed, but not in the way she had expected.

gita-102

Oh! Arjuna!
There is a way easier than all these paths that have been spoken by ME.
And that is surrendering unto ME!”
‘Surrender unto ME, totally!’
If you would only surrender unto ME totally
there is no need for dhyãna, karma, bhakti or Jnãna.’

http://www.madhuramurali.org/swamigal/essay/ji_sharanagati.html

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Author’s comments…Special thanks to Shri Vinodji for finding the image in this post, one which I had found and misplaced.  At my request, he went online and searched for me, finding this image and sending it to me.  More special thanks to him for posting the following article, one which helps explain the eternal RadhaKrishna.     http://www.stephen-knapp.com/radharani.htm

Dandavat pranams to you, Vinodji!

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna,
Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare,
Hare Rama, Hare Rama,
Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

 

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Lotus Land: By Madathil Rajendran Nair

. ART & POETRY, INSPIRATIONAL . ,

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India is a lotus land,
In full bloom, all white and red.
We begin our days
Saluting the Lord of the Day,
Who rises holding a white lotus
On a chariot of seven horses.

Our Goddesses of Word and Wealth
Are seated on lotuses,
One white and the other red
Oh, ours is land of lotuses.

We beat our chest
And say “I, I, I am the best”,
Our Sage says:
“That “I” is not you,
Look underneath
What you beat,
There is a lotus,
Lotus of the heart,*
Your sacred retreat,
The divine habitat.”.

India is a lotus land,
In full bloom, all white and red.
I was a boy in teens
In my native Kerala,
A land full of ponds,Who once swam a silver pool
In the early morning sun
To pluck a lotus
For his blushful girlfriend.

His feet got caught
In the mesh underneath,
In the netty knottiness
Of intricate roots.
He struggled hard to extricate
Himself in anguish and panic.

For the first time in life
Fear of death he tasted.
Lotuses all around
Looked and smiled,
They gave him hope
And enthused him to fight.

When at last the Lord
Helped him back to land
To hand the flower to the anxious lass,
He saw bees in her lashes
Hovering over red lotuses –
Her blushful cheeks,
And forgot all about
The struggle just bygone

Swinging to and fro,Between pain and smile,
He grew up to learn
About the six circles
Of the Kundalini.
Each one was a lotus again
Of different number of petals,
The last one on the crown
In full bloom with thousand leaves

Where his Ma resides
As his resplendent Self.
And when he slept
He knew he was a pond
Of countless lotuses,
In full bloom, all white and red –
A body of shining water

With blossoms smiling all over.
Oh India is a lotus land,
In full bloom, all white and red,
Listening to the lullaby of the stars.

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brahmany adhaya karmani
sangam tyaktva karoti yah
lipyate na sa papena
padma-patram ivambhasa

One who performs his duty without attachment,
surrendering the results unto the Supreme Lord,
is unaffected by sinful action, as the lotus leaf is untouched by water.

Bhagavad Gita, 5.10

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*Sometime in December of 2008, I had posted a request to the Advaitin elist, seeking clarification of the meaning of the phrase “lotus of my heart” as translated from the sanskrit text of Adi Shankaracharya’s Nirguna Manasa Puja quoted below. Nairji was inspired to produce the poem Lotus Land in response to my request. Smt. Vinathaji Kumar was kind enough to send me the quote from the Bhagavad Gita above. The photographs of Alan Larus lay in waiting for yet another chance to grace our senses with their inimitable beauty. Special thanks to all of you for your contributions to this post.
In His Service, Radhe

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Aaradhayami mani sannibham athma lingam,
Maayapuri hrudaya pankaja sannivishtam,
Sradha nadhi vimala chitha jalabishegai,
Nithyam samadhi kusmaira punarbhavai.

I worship that Linga,
Which is in me as my soul,
Residing in the illusory lotus of my heart,
Getting bathed by the clear water,
Of the river of my devotion,
And worshipped daily by the Lotus,
Of my meditation for avoiding another birth.
(From Nirguna Manasa Puja by Sankaracharya)
Translated by P. R. Ramachander

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The link below is to a “home video” of the Manasa Puja with the verse from Nirguna Manasa Puja as its invocation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xt_Rhnl1J08

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Lotus Land: By Madathil Rajendran Nair

. ART & POETRY . , ,

LOTUS LAND

India is a lotus land,
In full bloom, all white and red.
We begin our days
Saluting the Lord of the Day,
Who rises holding a white lotus
On a chariot of seven horses.

Our Goddesses of Word and Wealth
Are seated on lotuses,
One white and the other red
Oh, ours is land of lotuses.

We beat our chest
And say “I, I, I am the best”,
Our Sage says:
“That “I” is not you,
Look underneath
What you beat,
There is a lotus,
Lotus of the heart,
Your sacred retreat,
The divine habitat.”.

India is a lotus land,
In full bloom, all white and red.
I was a boy in teens
In my native Kerala,
A land full of ponds,
Who once swam a silver pool
In the early morning sun
To pluck a lotus
For his blushful girlfriend.

His feet got caught
In the mesh underneath,
In the netty knottiness
Of intricate roots.
He struggled hard to extricate
Himself in anguish and panic.

For the first time in life
Fear of death he tasted.
Lotuses all around
Looked and smiled,
They gave him hope
And enthused him to fight.

When at last the Lord
Helped him back to land
To hand the flower to the anxious lass,
He saw bees in her lashes
Hovering over red lotuses –
Her blushful cheeks,
And forgot all about
The struggle just bygone

Swinging to and fro,
Between pain and smile,
He grew up to learn
About the six circles
Of the Kundalini.
Each one was a lotus again
Of different number of petals,
The last one on the crown
In full bloom with thousand leaves
Where his Ma resides
As his resplendent Self.

And when he slept
He knew he was a pond
Of countless lotuses,
In full bloom, all white and red –
A body of shining water
With blossoms smiling all over.

Oh India is a lotus land,
In full bloom, all white and red,
Listening to the lullaby of the stars.

Madathil Rajendran Nair

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Mumbai In My Tears: By Madathil Rajendran Nair

. ART & POETRY . , ,

Impotent we stand and witness
The gruesome terror senseless,
As Mumbai weeps
Her sons and daughters fall in acts of bravery
Sanguine buds in a sacrificial pit
In the darkness of November nights.

Mumbai lies bleeding again.
She has seen her children die
In riots, blasts and fire,
Mowed down again
In a nightmare
By wickedness unparalleled,
Devilish and devious.

Her lap was home
For all those who came
From distant lands
Indian and abroad.
She was home for the persecuted
From all over the globe,
A cultured madam to the sailors,
Who set foot on her shores,
In their quest for gold and scents,
Gems, wisdom and condiments.

In you were blended, dear Mumbai,
Passion, culture, spice of life,
Hidden beneath your wealth and posh
Was always an unseen bond
That tied us rich and poor
All alike like gleaming gems
In a necklace of Indian-ness.

We walked your streets
Like in a dream
As do romantic leads
In fairy-tales feathery light
Played on our silver-screens.
Our goals were sure,
Our eyes azure,
We never had time for care,
Your embrace was so secure.

Temples, churches, and mosques we built
Together in one-nation spirit.
For something sacred from our past
Told us we were never apart.

We cackled like Diwali crackers
As we feasted Ramadan nights,
We smiled like Christmas morning
We were always one and one.

Misguided religion, death and terror,
Our enemies have them without any measure.
They are indeed a vilely lot,
Who place bombs in market hearts,
Desecrate all our holy hearths,
Shoot and kill us sans any thought.

A nation cries aloud to heavens
To send her savior daughters and sons,
Alas! in the pitch darkness around
Will she ever find those dear ones?
Will her prayers ever be heard?

Will he come half-clad,
With a disarming smile, bespectacled,
Holding a walking stick, of concrete will,
Speaking a language of peace?
Or will she be seen serving the poorest of the poor
With a message to set us free
In Love’s Universal Consciousness?

OM SHANTIH, SHANTIH,  SHANTIHI

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Song of Ribhu, Chapter 14 – Inquiring Into the Undivided Nature: By Richard Clarke

. Advaita and Yoga, ART & POETRY . ,

Siva Nataraj

1

Listen, in this exposition,

To the gist of the secret of all the settled conclusions.

There is not duality or nonduality, which are talked about.

Only the peaceful Brahman is ever existent.

Brahman, which is the One that exists

Without defect, always, everywhere, is you and I.

All are of the nature of that Supreme Brahman.

Hence, you should start inquiring into this.

2

I am ever of the nature of the Supreme Brahman.

I am ever of the nature of the Supreme Siva.

I am ever of the nature of the Supreme Self.

I am ever of the nature that is higher than the highest.

I am ever of the nature that is pure.

I am ever of the nature that is perfectly full.

I am ever of the nature of the undivided Supreme.

Inquire steadfastly into this every day.

3

I am ever the imperishable Existence.

I am ever the shining Consciousness.

I am ever the peerless Bless.

I am ever the one undivided essence.

I am ever the all pervasive.

I am ever the One that is all.

I am ever the undivided Supreme Brahman.

Inquire steadfastly into this every day.

4

I am ever the Supreme denoted by the word “That.”

I am ever the Supreme denoted by the word “you.”

I am ever the Supreme denoted by the word “are.”

I am ever the one undivided essence.

I am ever the innermost of all.

I am ever the exterior of all.

I am ever the undivided Supreme Brahman.

Inquire steadfastly into this every day.

5

I am ever of the nature of the eternal.

I am ever of the nature of the attributeless.

I am ever of the nature of the taintless.

I am ever of the nature of the sheathless.

I am ever of the nature of the partless.

I am ever of the nature of the unafflicted.

I am ever of the nature of the all-pervasive Supreme.

Inquire steadfastly into this every day.

6

I am ever of the nature of the infinite.

I am ever of the nature of the undecaying.

I am ever of the nature of the imperishable.

I am ever of the nature of the blissful.

I am ever of the nature of liberation.

I am ever of the nature of the liberator.

I am ever of the nature of the undivided Supreme.

Inquire steadfastly into this every day.

7

I am of the nature of the cause of all.

I am of the nature that is completely full.

I am of the nature of all the individuals and the Supreme.

I am of the nature that is not even an atom.

I am of the nature of the ever peaceful.

I am ever of the nature of the One.

I am of the nature of the undivided Supreme.

Inquire steadfastly into this every day.

8

I am of the nature of all activity.

I am of the nature of the doer of all.

I am of the nature of the protector of all.

I am of the nature of the destroyer of all.

I am ever of the nature that is not anything.

I am of the nature that is established as myself.

I am ever of the nature of the undivided Absolute.

Inquire steadfastly into this every day.

9.

I am of the nature of all the elements.

I am of the nature of the composites of all elements.

I am of the nature of the witness of all.

I am of the nature of the evidence of all.

I am of the nature that has nothing ever apart from it.

I am ever of the nature of nonduality.

I am of the nature of the undivided Absolute.

Inquire steadfastly into this every day.

10

I am ever of the nature of “you.”

I am ever of the nature of “I.”

I am ever of the nature of others.

I am ever of the nature of the Self of all.

I am ever of the nature of the motionless.

I am ever of the nature of the connectionless Supreme.

I am ever of the nature of the undivided Absolute.

Inquire steadfastly into this every day.

11

I am ever of the nature of full of Consciousness.

I am ever of the nature of a mass of Consciousness.

I am ever of the nature of Consciousness alone.

I am ever of the nature clothed in Consciousness.

I am ever of the nature of the space of Consciousness.

I am ever of the nature of Consciousness.

I am ever of the nature of Consciousness-Brahman.

Inquire steadfastly into this every day.

12

I am of the nature of the substratum of all.

I am of the nature of the form of all.

I am of the nature that has not an atom apart from it.

I am of the nature that is only myself.

I am ever of the nature of the bodiless.

I am of the nature of the pure space.

I am of the nature of the pure Supreme Brahman.

Inquire steadfastly into this every day.

13

I am of the nature of the Guru of all.

I am also of the nature of all the disciples.

I am of the nature of all the means.

I am also of the nature of all the ends.

I am of the nature of all the Vedanta.

I am of the nature of what is to be comprehended through them.

I am of the nature of the pure Supreme Brahman.

Inquire steadfastly into this every day.

14

I am ever of the nature of the ancient.

I am ever of the nature of the complete.

I am ever of the nature of the imperishable.

I am ever of the nature of the indestructible.

I am ever of the nature of That which alone is.

I am ever of the nature of the sorrowless.

I am ever of the nature of the Supreme Brahman.

Inquire steadfastly into this every day.

15

I am ever of the nature of the undivided, Supreme God.

I am ever of the nature of the blemishless Supreme Knowledge.

I am ever of the nature of the Supreme Existence.

I am ever of the nature of the Supreme Bliss.

I am ever of the nature of the Supreme Light.

I am ever of the nature of the Supreme Abode.

I am ever of the nature of the Supreme Brahman.

Inquire steadfastly into this every day.

16

I am of the nature of the innermost of all.

I am ever of the nature of the Self of all.

I am of the nature of the all-auspicious.

I am of the nature that has not an atom of impurity.

I am of the nature of the supreme fourth state.

I am of the supreme nature transcending the fourth state.

I am ever of the nature of the Supreme Brahman.

Inquire steadfastly into this every day.

17

I transcend all time.

I transcend all space.

I transcend all objects.

I ever transcend everything.

I am of the nature that has not an atom of conceit.

I am of the nature that has not an atom of attachment.

I am of the nature of the immaculate Supreme Brahman.

Inquire steadfastly into this every day.

18

I am ever of the nature of Existence alone.

I am ever of the nature of Consciousness alone.

I am ever of the nature of only the good.

I am ever of the nature of the middle path.

I am ever of the nature of the nondual.

I am of the nature of the Self of all.

I am ever of the nature of the Supreme Brahman.

Inquire steadfastly into this every day.

19

I am ever the unfading Bliss.

I am all pervasive and motionless.

I am ever volitionless.

I am the Supreme and cannot be comprehended by anything.

I am ever without intellect and such.

I am ever the abode that transcends the intellect.

I am ever the Supreme Brahman.

Inquire steadfastly into this every day.

20

I am of the nature that is without an atom of delusion.

I am of the nature that has no attributes of illusion.

I am of the nature that is that is without mind or such.

I am of the nature that is without desire or such.

I am of the nature that is without form or such.

I am of the nature that is without any modifications of these.

I am of the nature of the immaculate Supreme Brahman.

Inquire steadfastly into this every day.

21

I am of the nature without any waker and others.

I am of the nature without waking and such.

I am of the nature of the Knowledge of the fourth state.

I am of the nature of the Supreme Siva.

I am of the nature that is defectless.

I am of the nature of Consciousness, devoid of worldly misery.

I am ever of the nature of the Supreme Brahman.

Inquire steadfastly into this every day.

22

I am ever of the nature of the Lord.

I am ever of the nature of Supreme Knowledge.

I am ever of the nature of the all pervasive.

I am ever of the nature of empirical knowledge.

I am ever of the nature of being all.

I am of the nature of Existence-Consciousness-Bliss.

I am ever of the nature of the Supreme Brahman.

Inquire steadfastly into this every day.

23

I am ever Brahman, the taintless.

I am ever Brahman, the partless.

I am ever Brahman, the afflictionless.

I am ever Brahman, the pure.

I am ever Brahman, the attributeless.

I am ever Brahman, the peerless.

I am ever the pure Supreme.

Inquire steadfastly into this every day.

24

I am the world with all names and forms.

I am of the nature of the substratum of all.

I am the front, the back, the sides, the top, and the bottom.

I am of the nature of the undivided Knowledge.

I am of the nature of the Bliss that is myself

Without an atom apart from it.

I am ever of the nature of the undivided Supreme.

Inquire steadfastly into this every day.

25

I am of the rare nature unattainable by the ignorant,

Who have no Knowledge of the Self.

I am of the nature of the Supreme, easily attainable

By those with Knowledge of the Self.

I am of the nature of the Supreme,

The all pervasive, undivided Space of Consciousness.

I am of the nature of the pure Supreme Brahman.

Inquire steadfastly into this every day.

26

I am ever of the nature of the undivided Absolute,

Without the sextet of modifications. (birth, growth, death, etc.)

I am ever of the nature of the undivided Absolute,

Without bondage and ever free.

I am ever of the nature of the complete Bliss,

Remaining undisturbed.

I am ever of the nature of the Supreme Brahman.

Inquire steadfastly into this every day.

27

I am ever of the nature of the peaceful Brahman,

Without a trace of sankalpa (fixed idea, concept, volition) or delusion.

I am ever of the nature of the Supreme Brahman,

The undivided Light without day or night.

I am ever of the nature of the undivided Supreme Bliss,

With an atom of an ego or such.

I am ever of the nature of the Supreme Brahman.

Inquire steadfastly into this every day.

28

I am ever of the nature of the Supreme Brahman,

The undivided Knowledge without an ego.

It is the ego that is ever the misery of worldly existence.

The great Truth is that there is no ego

And that these is not an atom apart from me.

I am the undivided, complete, and full.

I am ever the Supreme Brahman.

Inquire steadfastly into this every day.

29

You are “I”; I am “I”; all else that is, is “I.”

There is no doubt about this.

Without any duality, be continuously immersed in the meditation

That the pure “I” is the Supreme Brahman.

There is no delusion, no consequences of delusion,

And no difference of any kind whatever-nothing at all.

I am the Supreme Brahman.

Inquire steadfastly into this every day.

30

Without me, there is nothing that is the meaning for the term “That.”

Without me, there is nothing that is the meaning for the term “you.”

Without me, there is nothing that is the meaning for the term “are.”

Without me, there is nothing undivided.

Without me, there is no reality or unreality.

Without me, there is no intelligence or insentience.

Without me, there is not a thing, ever.

Be ever immersed in the meditation that I am Brahman.

31

Without me, there is no difference as “this man.”

Without me, there is no difference as “this woman.”

Without me, there is no difference as “this thing.”

Without me, there is no difference as “that thing.”

Without me, there is no difference such as “is here.”

Without me, there is no difference such as “is not here.”

Without me, there is not an atom of difference.

Be ever immersed in the meditation that I am Brahman.

32

What is seen as “this” is Brahman only.

What is seen as myself is Brahman only.

What is seen as “that” is Brahman only.

What is seen as manifold is Brahman only.

What is seen as stable is Brahman only.

What is seen as unstable is Brahman only.

Whatever is looked at as “What is this?” is Brahman alone.

Be ever immersed in the meditation that I am That.

33

The primal ignorance is Brahman alone.

The emerging thought is Brahman alone.

The body with a form is Brahman alone.

The individual senses are Brahman alone.

Time and space Brahman alone.

All things that are seen are Brahman alone.

All is only Brahman, the abode, and that is myself.

Be ever immersed in the meditation that I am That.

34

Space and other elements are Brahman alone.

All that pertains to nature is Brahman alone.

What is thought of as “I,” “I” is Brahman alone.

What is thought of as “not I” is Brahman alone.

What are thought of as “you” and “I” are Brahman alone.

All thoughts are Brahman alone.

The originless Brahman alone is real, that That is myself.

Be steadfastly immersed in this inquiry.

35

There is no such things as the words or the sentences they constitute.

There is not Gita or other treatises or their authors.

There is none of the unreal world or jiva-s.

There is no Iswara who bestows desired things.

The Supreme Brahman, which is drossless, attributeless,

Timeless, blemishless, intersticeless, all pervasive, and motionless, is all.

I am that Brahman.

Be steadfastly immersed in this inquiry.

36

I am Brahman; I am Brahman; I, indeed am all.

I am Brahman; I am all.

Daily and continuously be immersed in this inquiry

Until this mode of “I am Brahman” becomes stabilized.

After this “I am Brahman” bhava (conviction) is stabilized,

Cast this off, too, and, becoming Brahman,

Be established changeless

In the undivided, blissful Experience.

37

Those who sincerely practice (the Knowledge)

That I am the Supreme Brahman—

Of the nature of the eternal, partless, delusionless, taintless,

Afflictionless, blemishless, motionless, ancient mass of Bless,

The Reality, the utterly peaceful Consciousness—

Will have the awareness of Nonduality

And thereby become the undivided Supreme.

There is no doubt of this.

38

Hence, until all differentiation disappears, one should always remain

In this beneficent bhava (conviction)

That all is Brahman

And I am, indeed, that Supreme Brahman—

With love, with ardor, and without differences

Until all uncertainty and confusion disappear totally—

And, unmindful of anything else,

Be in repose in Bliss.

39

In this exposition thus given to me by the Supreme Siva,

The4re is not an atom of doubt.

It is the Truth, the Truth. There is no doubt about it.

Whoever listens to this, and understand this—even once—

Will be liberated and become

The one Supreme Brahman.

I have graciously told you this true meaning,

Which is extremely rare to find anywhere.

40

Son! Only those who

Smeared with holy ashes,

Decked with rudraksha, and devoted to Siva,

Are ever in meditation upon the Supreme Siva

Will be rid of the sorrowful bondage of worldly existence

And become of the nature of that one Supreme Siva.

This the great sage Ribhu explained to Nidagha

The mediation of Oneness.

41

It is the perfectly full form of our Lord in a state of joyous dance that tells

Of the meditation that the wonderful beings that appear, the mysterious world that appears as if dual, and the ancient Lord (Isvara) who is eulogized

Are all the perfectly full Absolute and nothing apart,

And I am ever that Absolute; I am all.

______________________________________________________________

For more on the Ribhu Gita, go to

Copyright: SAT 2000 – www.satramana.org

Published by SAT – http://store.satramana.org/

Also Published by Ramanasramam and available in the bookstore.

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Underdog and Sweet Polly Purebred: By Dr. Harsh K. Luthar

. ART & POETRY, INSPIRATIONAL, LIFESTYLE, PERSONAL . , , , , ,

(Pictures in this article come from www.toontracker.com/totaltv/underdog.htm)

Underdog and Sweet Polly Purebred

Do you remember that cartoon show “Underdog”? You might have watched it as a kid in the 1960s and early 1970s. Underdog was a “humble and lovable Shoeshine Boy” who had a secret identity.

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Whenever there was a serious world crisis or threat to the city, Underdog would turn into a superhero after taking a special vitamin pill from the secret compartment in his watch.

Underdog had a girlfriend named Sweet Polly Purebred. Sweet Polly was sweet on Underdog. Sweet Polly was a reporter, who seemed to get into trouble with the bad guys in every show. When in crisis mode, she would yell, help, help, help, Underdog, help. Sometimes Sweet Polly would actually sing despondently when Underdog was late in arriving. “Oh where, oh where has my Underdog gone?”

Underdog was probably the best boyfriend Sweet Polly Purebred ever had. No matter how far away and how deeply engrossed in shining shoes of his customers, Underdog could always hear Sweet Polly calling out his name. The “humble and lovable Shoeshine Boy” would slip into a phone booth and emerge as the champion of justice and protector of Sweet Polly. Underdog had super sensitive hearing, at least when it came to Sweet Polly. No doubt this would have resulted in a happy marriage if they had ever tied the knot. Underdog would often say, “When Polly’s in trouble I am not slow, it’s Hip, Hip, Hip and away I go !”

image

Underdog always came to Sweet Polly’s rescue, yelling, “Never fear, Underdog is here!” Sometimes Underdog took his time and Sweet Polly had to yell help for a long time. This was not easy on our ears as kids. But we hung on. We strongly suspected that Underdog would indeed arrive at some point.

When Underdog finally came, it was a great consolation. We did not really want Sweet Polly to get roughed up by the bad guys. Unfortunately, Underdog was no muscle dog. He had a small chest and a big belly. He was a heart attack waiting to happen according to modern medical standards on waist to chest ratio (which were probably not well known when the show started in the 1960s). In fact, Underdog often became exhausted within a few minutes in his fight with the bad guys and looked for his vitamin pill to get his vitality back. Not being able to locate the magical nutrition pill in time posed a serious problem to Underdog’s health.

It was awful to watch and we were full of tears as Sweet Polly looked for Underdog’s backup energy pill in her purse while Underdog was beaten to a pulp by the bad guys. Sweet Polly always found the needed vitality tablet for Underdog at the last minute, but not before giving everyone the distinct impression that she was very disorganized.

The magic pill, once found, was a life giving elixir. As soon as Underdog put it in his mouth, the effect was immediate. The vitality pill always seemed to bypass Underdog’s digestive system and go straight into his muscles. Typically Underdog swallowed the pill in one gulp and regained his energy the next instant. Then he would beat the surprised bad guys quickly before the show ended. Underdog always saved the day including, of course, Sweet Polly.

image

I was recently thinking that in real life, some people are like Underdog (who don’t have a Sweet Polly), and some are like Sweet Polly (but without their own personal Underdog).

Sometimes we want to act as saviors to people who do not wish to be saved. Other times, we need desperately to be saved but no one except mom seems interested in the job. That perfect match of being the savior and being saved that Underdog and Sweet Polly had is seldom achieved for most people. Underdog and Sweet Polly were made for each other.

We certainly lack that magic vitamin pill that Underdog had in the secret compartment of his watch. But even for Underdog, the effect of the magic vitamin pill was only temporary. He had to keep taking those pills to maintain superhero status.

One wonders where Underdog got his supply and the money to pay for those pills. After all, he could not have made much as a shoeshine boy. Perhaps he got big tips from his customers. Maybe Underdog had really good health insurance and there was low co-pay for those very strong vitality pills.

I wish that there had been some closure to the Underdog show. Underdog could have proposed to Sweet Polly Purebred in the final season of the show. If Underdog was too shy to do it, maybe Sweet Polly could have proposed to Underdog. Given the number of times Underdog saved her, that’s the least Sweet Polly could do.

It would have been nice to have a big wedding for Underdog and Sweet Polly Purebred at the end of the final season. I can just see Sweet Polly saying to Underdog before they went off on their honeymoon, “Underdog darling, make sure to pack some extra energy pills for the next two weeks.”

Maybe there will be an Underdog movie which will show that Underdog and Sweet Polly Purebred got married and lived happily ever after. If they did it right, the Underdog movie would be blockbuster!

Underdog and related characters are © 1997 GBPC, a subsidiary of Golden Books Family Entertainment.

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Lovers Love Completely: The Goddess Mystery. By Dr. Harsh K. Luthar

. ART & POETRY, INSPIRATIONAL, LIFESTYLE . , , , , , , , , , , ,

image

Picture of Arunachala by Gabriele Ebert

Song to the Goddess

Either let me be intoxicated
in your love completely
or put on my robes of joy
and rob me absolutely.
Judge me guilty
in the court of love
or absolve me absolutely;
find me flawed if you like
but never hold me weakly.
No middle ground is possible
for lovers who love completely! 

Love, Consciousness, and Bliss

The great sage of Arunachala, Sri Ramana Maharshi, used to say that all deep thinking people are fascinated by the nature of consciousness. The outer world of time and space is known only through ones’ own mind. Therefore, the mystery of mind and consciousness has been a magnet of attraction for philosopher, yogis, sages, and scientists. Upanishads say that one should know “That” by which all else is known.

What is “That”, which makes all else visible and known? The ancient philosophy outlined in the Upanishads, the sacred Hindu scriptures, refers to “That” as Sat-Chit-Ananda, the core of one’s being which is Absolute Bliss, Absolute Existence, Absolute Consciousness, and we can also say that it is the same as Absolute Love which makes all human love possible. Sri Ramana used to say that “Love is the actual form of God.”

For one irresistibly pulled by the hunger of Self-Knowledge that manifests in one’s own heart, the turning within to “That” Absolute Love and Bliss happens at some point. When consciousness spontaneously starts the process of scanning its own formless form, this churning results in the beauty and self-delight of awareness which underlies all manifestations of energy (Shakti).

Appearance of the Supreme Goddess

In many of the mystical traditions of Hinduism, the manifestations of this energy, resulting from consciousness becoming focused on its own nature, take the forms of Devi. Devi is the Supreme Goddess, who appears in visions and dreams of devotees according to their mental and spiritual condition to nurture, protect, bless, and guide them.

The Goddess is depicted in Hindu art in hundreds if not thousands of ways. This art is part of the Indian history, culture, and Hindu traditions. It comes from the inspired imagination of the artists and is based on the ancient stories about the Goddess and Her powers.

However, no artwork can really capture the form of the Goddess who appears in the mystic eye of the aspirant. She appears to each devotee in a unique way according to what best suits the nature and personality of the person at that time. As the yogi evolves in the spiritual path, the visionary forms of the Goddess can change along with that.

So a relationship develops between the devotee and the Goddess or the Divine Beloved. Like human relationships between lovers, it is not always easy.

Sometimes, the devotee cannot bear the separation and wants immediate union and consummation. He may even blame and question the Goddess as to why She has left him in the middle of the path after taking his hand.

Song of Despair to the Goddess

Play hide and seek
not too much longer
and risk this longing
get even stronger;
when people ask unashamedly
why your love flees from me
what honest answer can I make
and can you also say for sure
that in choosing me as your lover
you have made some grave mistake.

But the Goddess realizes that it is not time and waits for the moment to be ripe for the final liberation. Many of the love poems of mystics to the Goddess have come from this intermediate level of spiritual experiences where the Supreme Beloved appears to plays hide and seek with them.

Sri Ramana and Marital Garland of Letters

In the classic Tamil poem, “The Marital Garland of Letters” the Sage of Arunachala, Sri Ramana Maharshi, chides the Divine Beloved in some of the verses and apologizes for having done so in other verses. He begs Arunachala to fully embrace him (as the devotee) and utterly consume him in love; Because only then he will have peace.

Ramana writes:

Verse 23. “Sweet fruit within my hands, let me be mad with ecstasy, drunk with the bliss of Thy essence, Oh Arunachala!”

Verse 34. “Unless Thou embrace me, I shall melt away in tears of anguish, Oh Arunachala!”

Verse 60. “In my unloving self Thou didst create a passion for Thee; therefore forsake me not, Oh Arunachala!”

Hindu Mystical Bhakti Poetry

The love pattern of alternating between despair and ecstasy (Does She/He love me or love me not), joy and sadness (When will the Goddess/Divine Beloved visit again) is common in the poetry of many Hindu saints and mystics. Even the seeming confusion about the relationship itself, which makes the devotee beg sometimes for love and other times actually blame, chide, and command the Goddess/Divine Beloved, can be seen in some of the poems including the Marital Garland of Letters.

Although the Marital Garland of Letters by Sri Ramana is embedded in the Indian spiritual, historical, and cultural context, the symbolism of a lover who is in complete despair because of an incomplete consummation with her/his beloved is universally understood.

Summary

People who are in love with and fascinated by the mystery of consciousness have felt that mysterious pull of the Heart from within themselves. Who can really explain ways of the Divine and the different forms She/He manifests in.

What is the first step on this path of love? No one can say for sure. Was it the smile and look of a Sage, the grace of the Divine Mother, the kiss of the Goddess, or the kindness of a teacher or a friend? There must be many possibilities that make us aware of the Heart within, whose nature is Sat-Chit-Ananda, that which is the source of the ultimate bliss.

This memory once awakened brings upon the experience of pure being, and attracts the devotee to the truth of her/his own nature. This gentle pull within makes itself felt. It does not let go until the Truth of one’s own Heart is recognized, and there is nothing left to let go.

Some say that it is the Goddess Herself, who takes the devotee into the Heart and then reveals Herself as the Universal Heart. The complete identity between the devotee, the Goddess, and the Heart thus established, everything disappears. There is only that Heart of Love and Fullness, eternal consciousness completely at rest in its own nature.

Knowing That is Self-Knowledge. That is the final consummation.

“I came to feed on Thee, but Thou hast fed on me; now there is peace, Oh Arunachala!” Verse 28. Marital Garland of Letters.

NOTE: Some of the verses on the Goddess in this article are from a longer poem on the Goddess by Dr. Harsh K. Luthar.

kurta

 

 

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Let This Feeling Never Part! By Dr. Harsh K. Luthar

. ART & POETRY, INSPIRATIONAL . , , , , , , , ,

In the 1960s, my Gurudev, Sri Chitrabhanu- Ji, wrote a poem called “Matiri Bhavanu” on friendship and universal love in his native tongue (Gujrati) that became famous in India. It was eventually recorded as a song by a well known Indian singer named Mukesh and was set to music by an eminent Indian composer. The poem was translated into English by Gurudev Chitrabhanu- Ji and that is the version of the poem that I was most familiar with. However, at the meditation center where Gurudev taught and lectured in the 1970s, we sometimes sang the poem Maitri Bhavanu in Gujrati with great feeling.

The scene shifts now to almost 30 years later to 1994. In 1994, the thought came to me that I should read the original Gujrati version of the poem by my teacher. Gujrati is not my native tongue and, in fact, I do not understand it at all. I cannot speak in Gujrati and cannot read it. However, the Gujrati alphabets are similar to Hindi which I do know. So somehow the feeling came over me and I started to try to read and understand my teacher’s poem. It was hard but I was staring at the Gujrati words as if through will power alone I could decipher them. After some difficulty, I switched to the English description of the Gujrati sounds that you can see on the Jain Meditation Center website.

http://www.jainmeditation.org/pages/song.html

After many attempts, I actually started to understand the first stanza, and then the second, and then the third, and then the fourth. It was so beautiful and full of the universal feeling that I went into ecstasy. The result was the following poem, “Let this feeling never part!” In a very real sense this poem is the spiritual offspring of that original poem written by my teacher in his youth as a Jain monk. Recently, I came across the poem again on my old computer files and had to smile. I was just a “kid” when I wrote it. Of course, it cannot reach the same level of poetic artistry as my teacher’s poem in original Gujrati which is a true masterpiece. But I tried because something came over me. Perhaps what I lacked in talent, I was trying to make up in enthusiasm and feeling. I dedicate this poem to my Gurudev, Sri Chitrabhanu-Ji, who taught me the meaning of Ahimsa, the philosophy of nonviolence.

Let This Feeling Never Part!

The sacred stream of love divine
sweeter than the sweetest wine
flowing into this vast sunshine
springs eternal from my heart.

I pray no one should be left out
from life’s blessings in their glory
and give way to tortured doubt
with unhappy endings to their story.

Never should they be turned away
suffering from the blows of life
the poor, the wretched of this world
caught helplessly in endless strife.

If ever anyone should be in need
of comfort or help in getting up
let me not run away from them
but plant kindness as my living seed.

Let me give hope where there is despair
and mend hearts considered beyond repair
like the gentle ocean breeze that
heals all wounds and gives a fresh start
Let this feeling never part!

I should always find delight
in the warmth of universal light
but if my heart must bleed at all
let it be so in the dark of night.

No one should see the tears that come
when the wicked and cruel come in my sight
let this hand forever be raised in peace
and the violence around us come to cease.

Always this thought should be kept alive
every sinner is a future saint
there should be a place for everyone
to swim in the pouring love divine
that flows eternal from my heart
Let this feeling never part!

Unaware, if someone is unkind
let forgiveness be on my mind
until no trace is left behind
of ill will, anger, or hostility.

If I should ever slip and fall
and no one to catch me is around
let me come down gently like a leaf
so other life is unhurt on the ground.

If I have to lay for some time
contented should be my smile
composing songs of love and friendship
and resting all the while.

I will be picked up by love divine
which springs eternal in my heart
for all the beings everywhere
Let this feeling never part!

Sages have sung the song of friendship
walking with them and in their shoes
the same melody plays on my lips
the feeling of reverence for life continues.

Involuntary poets, there have been many
who felt the thrill and saw the sign
whose hearts sang out in ecstasy
as their fountain bubbled with love divine.

The blessings of nature are bestowed
on those who are firm in their belief
who are harmless to others and easily bow
before anyone, seeing only divinity.

If I should be granted just one thing
let it be the vision of love
always rising from the spring
sacred and eternal in my heart
Let this feeling never part!

**********************
NAMASTE

I bow to the light in you
which is the same light in me.

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