2013: Balancing the extremes

If you are reading this post then we have already called the "Mayan's doomsday bluff" and we are at the threshold of a New Year (2013 and Makara Shankaranti, as the case may be).  

Let me quickly wish you and your family a very happy, prosperous, healthy, fun-filled and peaceful New Year. I am sure some of you have been planning for the next year and I was wondering how the next year is going to be. 

As I looked around, I could only notice many of the nations and companies are either  looking down the economic abyss or staring into the eyes of other nations with an intention to fight for what ever reasons. I have been reading astrological forecasts for the oncoming months which predicts very high degree of civil unrest among citizens, warring nations, loss of peace and harmony, political instability, revolutions forcing government's fall and you can add other unpleasant things to this list. In fact it predicts difficult times from 15-Dec-2012 to till about 1st week of October 2013, with the worst period till 3rd week of Jan 2013.

Well, I had conflicting thoughts and those are very succinctly captured with some famous quotes below: 

Lets start with  Lao Tzu, who said, "Those who have knowledge, don't predict. Those who predict, don't have knowledge. Well its quite easy to reject the forecasts but what we see around us seems to confirm the prediction. In fact i would even ask as to what is so great about astrological forecasts as things are very evident. I fear, the protests in Delhi for the last few days seems to be early signs of what we may witness for much of 2013.

Consider Voltaire who quipped, "It is said that the present is pregnant with the future". As we see the present is pregnant with the seeds of conflict, poor governance, war mongering nations, economic meltdown, arrogant government, angry people, impatient minds and intolerant hearts. Then what 2013 would deliver is not a matter of rocket science / astrological forecast. Isn't? 

In any society conflicts are inherent, congenial, omnipresent and needs tolerance / acceptance and the ability to put up with extreme views. As HH Dalai Lama said, "In the practice of tolerance, one's enemy is the best teacher". I believe the ability to balance the extreme positions is a key leadership trait be it in an organization, government or life and it is probably more important in 2013. 

As a wise man said, "Good living is in balancing the extremes" and every change starts with the individual. So, what are an individual's extremes that one needs to balance? If you answer its his head and feet, you are wrong. An individual's extremes are his head and heart. So specifically for 2013, let me wish every one a cool head, a warm heart and an attitude to balance the extremes in life for a good living!.

Here are few lines from a Sanskrit poem called Mangala Prarthana: (meaning given below)

Swasthi prajabhya paripalayantham,

Nyayena margena maheem maheesa,

Gobrahmanebhyo shubhamasthu nithyam,
Loka samastha Sukhino bhavantu.

Kale varshathu parjanya,
Prauthwee sasya shalini,
Deso yam kshobha rahitha,
SAjjana santhu nirbhaya.

Aputhra puthrina santhu,
Puthrina santhu pouthrina,
Adhana sadhana Santhu

Jeevanthu sarada satham.

Sarvathra sukhina santhu,
Sarve santhu niramaya,
Sarve bhadrani pasyanthu,
Ma kaschid dukha bhag bhaveth.

Seasons greetings, Merry Christmas and a very Happy New year!

Happy reading!

Meaning:

Let all people live happily,
Let kings rule with justice,
Let cows and Brahmins live happily,
And let all the people of this earth live happily for ever.

Let the monsoon be timely and plentiful,
Let earth be covered with vegetation,
Let the country live without problems,
And let good people never have fear.

Let sonless people have son,
Let people with son have grand sons,
And let people who are poor or rich,
Live and see one hundred autumns.

Let people live with pleasure everywhere,
Let all people live without diseases,
Let every one feel themselves secure,
And let none have at anytime sorrow

Ten rules for being Human

• You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it's yours to keep for the entire period.

• You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called, "life."

• There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial, error, and experimentation. The "failed" experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that ultimately "work."

• Lessons are repeated until they are learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson.

• Learning lessons does not end. There's no part of life that doesn't contain its lessons. If you're alive, that means there are still lessons to be learned.

• "There" is no better a place than "here." When your "there" has become a "here", you will simply obtain another "there" that will again look better than "here."

• Other people are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or hate about yourself.

• What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.

• Your answers lie within you. The answers to life's questions lie within you. All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.

• Does not matter how many times you read this, "You will forget all this".

PS:

ho Letto - mi è piaciuto - i distribuire

Secret of Happiness!

It was 5.30am today morning when my alarm clock was nagging like a girl friend (Shrill, non-stop, not bothered in what state i was in) sort of complaining against me not to cuddle between the sheets, probably thinking that the bed was my another girlfriend and wanted me to separate from her then and there. There are many gadgets which are more intelligent than average humans but was surprised that there has not been any innovation in the alarm clocks over these years.

Why can't intelligence be built into alarm clocks that understands what did i do last night, why did i sleep so late, check the current state of my bliss and finally realize there is no point in screaming now?  Least it can be designed to be kind. Is some one hearing?

Nevertheless i had a flight to catch and any of the above innovation would have certainly screwed my day. I was quickly ready and was reading a book where i came across this beautiful poem on the "Secret of Happiness" which i thought i would share:

THE SECRET OF HAPPINESS..... by Burleigh


I followed happiness to make her mine,
Past towering oak and swinging ivy vine.
She fled, I chased, over slanting hill and dale,
Over fields and meadows, in the purpling vale
Pursing rapidly over dashing stream,
I scaled the dizzy cliffs where eagles scream;
I traversed swiftly every land and sea,
But always happiness eluded me.
Exhausted, fainting, I pursued no more,
But sank to rest upon the barren shore.
One came and asked for food, and one for alms;
I placed the bread and gold in bony palms;
One came for sympathy, and one for rest;
I shared with every needy one my best;
When, lo! Sweet Happiness, with form divine,
Stood by me, whispering softly, “I am thine.”

Some how i felt so good reading this, I was tempted to translate it in Tamil and here is the scribbling below, which was completed in about an hours time during the flight. The concept i have taken is Giving (Sharing) and Love are the mother and father of happiness, correlating that if you have unconditional love and exhibit the same by dedicating your life to others then happiness is a natural offspring. You MAY like it if you can read தமிழ் :) ...

இன்பமென்ற இனியவளை 

காதல் கொள்ள எண்ணினேன்!

காசு பணம் பெருக்கினேன்

காடு மலைகள் ஏறினேன்

கடல் கடந்து தேடினேன்

நாடு நகரம் மாறினேன்

நதியில் நன்று நீந்தினேன்

கணினி ஊர்தி வாங்கினேன்

புதிய மனைகள் புகுந்திட்டேன்  

நாடினேன் ஓடினேன்

தேடினேன் வாடினேன் 
காதலியை காணவில்லை !
காதல் செய்ய யாருமில்லை !!

உச்சி மலையில் நின்றாலும்

ஊடகத்தே சென்றாலும்

வணிகத்திலே வென்றாலும்

வகை வகையாய் தின்றாலும்

உறவுகள் பல கொண்டாலும்

மஞ்சத்திலே வென்றாலும் 

கோவில் குளம் நடந்தாலும்

நதியில் சென்று மூழ்கினாலும்

மனைவியுடன் இன்பத்திலே

பிள்ளைகள் பல பெற்றாலும் 

காதலியை காணவில்லை !

காதல் செய்ய யாருமில்லை !!

நாட்கள் பல ஓடின

நாற்பதை நான் தாண்டினேன்

தேக பலம் தொலைதிட்டேன்

காதலியின் ஆசையிலே கனவை 
மட்டும் தொலைக்கவில்லை !!

ஓட ஓட ஒழியவும்

நாட நாட நழுவவும் 

உண்டென்று கொள்ளவும்

இல்லையென்று தள்ளவும்

இன்பம் ஓர் கானல் நீர்

என்பதை நான் உணர்ந்திட்டேன்! 

ஆடி அடங்கும் வாழ்கையின் 

தத்துவம்  அறிந்திட்டேன்! 

களைப்புடன் உளைச்சலும் நாற்பதின் நண்பராய் 
கசப்புடன் நினைவுகள் அழையா விருந்தாளியாய்
என்னை ஆட்கொள்ளவே ஆசையாய் அணைக்கவே 
ஓட்டமில்லா ஓசையில்லா ஓரிடத்தில் ஒற்றையில்
மாற்றமில்லா மறுப்புமில்லா மனதுடன் இருக்கையில் 
வாட்டமுடன் வறுமையுடன் விழியிலே வலியுடன் 
கையை ஏந்தும் சிறுவனுக்கு நாலு காசு தந்திட்டேன் 
விழியிலே வலியுடன் வாழ்வின் வழியும் மிளிரவே 
ஈய நானும் தளர கண்டேன் எந்தன் மனதின் பாரமே!
உடலில் ஊனம் உடையரும், கருணை வேண்டும் உயிர்களும்
மனதில் ஊனம் உடையரும், அன்புக்கேங்கும் மனிதரும்
சிலரின் கவலை குறையவே வாழ்க்கையை வாழ்ந்திட்டேன் !!
இளமையில் வறுமையும், ஆற்றுணா கொடு நோயும் 

இல்லா உலகம் இயக்கவே இயன்றதை செய்திட்டேன் !!

கல்வி என்ற வித்திட்டு

விநயமென்ற உரம் சேர்த்து 

ஈதல் என்ற நீர் நிரப்பி 

பகுத்தறிவு மரம் வளர்த்து

தவமென்ற இலை தழைக்க 

அன்பென்ற மொட்டரும்ப 

தரும மலர் பூத்திட்டு 
அமைதியென்ற கனி பழுக்க 

வாழ்க்கை என்ற போக வனம்

பற்றின்றி வளர்த்திட்டேன்!   

அவ்வனத்தில் ஓர்நாளில் 
இன்பமென்னும் இளமங்கை
சரணடைந்தேன் நின்னையே 
நின் நீங்கா நிழலாவேன் ! 
உனை அகலா வினையாவேன்
ஏற்றுக்கொள் எனை என்றாள் !!


இன்பமென்னும் இனியவளை நாடினேன் தேடினேன் 
அந்நங்கை என் வலையில் என்றுமே சிக்கவில்லை!
அன்பென்ற மொட்டரும்ப போக வனம் தன்னிலே
அழையாமல் வருந்தி வந்து எனை விட்டு அகலவில்லை!

நல்வாழ்வின் முதற் பாடம் அன்று தானே புரிந்தது
என்வாழ்வின் பயனதுவே என்றுணர்ந்து இனித்தது ! 
அன்பு என்ற தத்துவத்தின் அடிமை தானே இன்பமே !
ஈதல், காதல் அம்மையப்பன் பிள்ளை தானே இன்பமே !

அன்பு என்ற தத்துவத்தின் அடிமை தானே இன்பமே !

ஈதல், காதல் அம்மையப்பன் பிள்ளை தானே இன்பமே ! 


Happy reading!

Musings: The law of Least effort – Part 1/2

 

Disclaimer 1: I am naturally lazy. I am proud to be so.

Disclaimer 2: If you don’t agree with D1, then you need to talk to people who know me well. They can help you with adjectives like Congenially, Incorrigibly, hopelessly etc.. to describe my laziness.

Disclaimer 3: You have 2 options after reading this blog.

• Option 1: Agree with the opinions expressed in this blog partially or fully … NOW or
• Option 2: Agree with the opinions at a later point in life as you evolve. :)

Disclaimer 4: Deciding to stick to my natural self and dumping my artificial humility, I claim to write this blog from a position of authority that i have conferred upon myself…. :)

Disclaimer 5: Understanding the contents of this blog, you may exhibit symptoms of  radical change in thinking, behavioral patterns that are different from normal, recognition and kindness to your body especially knees, altered perception to life and at times you may sound little eccentric among the general public. The author can be held responsible for these +ve changes.

**************************************

This article is triggered by few good friends of mine who happen to be marathon runners and they are very passionate about it. Though there are some weak moments that you get psyched or over whelmed by such friends, disclaimer 1 has always been cheering me up during such weak moments and my single pack abdomen would vouch for the continued reluctance that i have been developing for running.

As a wise man said, “A lazy body with a rational mind is a very dangerous mix.” I believe that most of us are part of the “dangerous” club only varying in the depth of laziness and width of the rationality.

While I have been pretty obedient to the calls of my body to bask in laziness and agree to instant gratification without postponing (aka laziness), my rational mind has been working for the last few years to justify this natural tendency and has come up with this concept of Law of least effort and with a conclusion that human beings are not born to run and the more we run the more we are running away from our nature.

I can hear the sound of disapproval in all frequencies. But you have to hold on and read this fully and then decide on the option you would take on Disclaimer 3. :). I am going to take some popular arguments on benefits of running and argue against it and finally would place my side of the argument as Prativada (counter argument).

Argument 1: Scientifically its proved that running is good

As a wise man said “Life is a progressive discovery of our ignorance”. When we are ignorant we shall have myths like “Running is good for health”. Modern day science has been pretty consistent in jumping from one myth to another before it finally lands on the truth. This is because it follows a principle of moving from “Particularity” to “Generality” which is the reverse of what the sages and wise men do. I have not found a more supportive alibi to my argument than modern day science.

If sages and mystics were dismissive of everything that its “Mithya / Myth” and emphasized on the ever changing, impermanent nature of life, modern day science has proved to be a living example of that concept. While we have managed many significant discoveries / inventions most of them in accidental manner the newer concepts we discover / invent challenges our older thinking / assumptions / laws / concepts. It is agreed that as we evolve it is natural to discover higher levels of truth and hence we need to accept that what is put forth by science today as “good for health” can be altered tomorrow. There are many living examples about usage of antibiotics, pain killers, concept about space-time, concepts in the field of genetics, nuclear science, the impact of cellular frequencies on our health and the list can go on.

For every argument that science has that “running is good” there is equally vehement argument about hazards of running. If you have not heard about Runner's knee, patellofemoral pain syndrome, Shin splint, Plantar fasciitis, anterior cruciate ligament tear, Iliotibial band syndrome, risks of myocardial infraction or hormonal imbalance in women and its associated issues when the testosterone levels increase are pretty well documented. Before you jump on me, i also agree that most of the issues are due to abuse or over use and the high testosterone levels in women have other reasons other than running and gymming.

If you are still adamant, check this out.

http://www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,652007320001_2028032,00.html

While i agree that there are certainly “some” benefits in running, i want to highlight that we are not naturally designed for it and there are better ways to be fit, which is explained below.

Argument 2: I am very unique, i listened to my body and i feel good after running.

Everyone and every organism in our nature is unique. Uniqueness is so common, that every one can claim it. Nature does not produce carbon copies. I respect the fact that you are listening to your body and you feel good after running. My argument is just that your listening need to be deeper and you need to be exposed to be higher aspects in fitness and the truth about the nature of your body. I am trying hard to give a glimpse of them to you in this blog. Be patient and read on. :).

Argument 3: We have been running for ages and we are designed to run.

I beg to disagree. We just have to look around and see as to how nature has endowed qualities and physical form. We seemed to have missed this correlation between physical form and qualities, not just to human beings but to all the species in this world. As one wise man had put it, “Plants defy gravity and carry water from roots to the flowers without any effort, fishes swim without any effort, birds fly without any effort, grass grows, flower blossoms without any effort, a flower attracts bees with its color and fragrance without any effort. Nature has endowed each and every being with uniqueness”. What if “We just ask a pig to blossom like a flower or a flower to prick like a thorn”. We agree that is not natural.

When we run our center of gravity tends to fall in front of us (outside our physical circumference) and to enable running nature has endowed species with 4 legs so that the gravity always is within the physical circumference. The most important part of our evolution is our ability to grow from a 4 legged species to a 2 legged species which enabled vertical growth and hence the brain. Running is naturally endowed to a 4 legged being and its not an natural endowment to a 2 legged being, unless the biped wants to retrofit itself with the qualities of a quadruped :).

Running is one more animal quality (among other qualities) which we are not willing to leave behind post our transformation to human being. You may want to agree that this is the residue / hangover from our past life.

Ok. What do you call an elephant or tiger walking in 2 legs?

Circus…. You can extend the same analogy to all activities where we unnaturally struggle to balance ourselves with the gravity.

My take is “Running is all about gravity management. Its the management of our mass against the ever present downward force and making the mass move laterally… in a bouncy manner.” All for the sake of fitness!

Metaphorically here “A bicycle is trying to be a car for the sake of fitness and behaves like a Poclain excavator machine”.

Think about this argument and be kind to your knees. As Baz Luhrmann puts it, “You may miss them when they are gone….” :). If you still disagree with me, why don’t you listen to one of my favorite numbers and then continue…

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

Argument 4: Run-asana is better than all other asanas. (Running is better than Yoga)

I have been student of Yoga for more 10 years now but i have not heard any one teaching me “Run-asana” yet. :).

If the primordial texts of Yoga and Ayurveda did not prescribe, even remotely, running as a way to develop fitness, vitality and “Run-asana” did not figure as one among the 84000 asanas, then why are we obsessed with running.

Sages who designed Yoga techniques not only knew about “gravity” (they did not need an apple to  bump off their head to understand gravity), but also knew how to utilize it our benefits. Otherwise how will you define the benefits of postures like “Sirasasana” which reverses the movement of blood from the lower limbs to heads using just gravity.

How does Yoga prescribe for vitality and increased physical strength? It suggests that for physical vitality do “Surya Namaskar” at twice the speed and for spiritual development, do it slowly.

I shall continue my counter argument in Part 2….

 

Happy reading!

Musings on fear: Lets stop stringing and start playing !

While we call claim to be unique and special in our own ways, we are all the same in our pursuit for happiness. One key factor that always stands between us and our "Happiness" is fear. 

Fear!....a primordial and congenial emotion that can be associated with a whole lot of adjectives like Omnipresent, Omnipresence, Contagious, difficult, parasitic, stressful etc... This is the most important factor which virtually exists between the worlds of possibilities and probabilities, keeps us alive and shapes the individual and society. The fear of uncertainty, change, future, death, failure etc... it comes in 1000s of flavors, hues and tints, despite being absolutely virtual, and non-existent our entire life and the world operates and is centered around the this factor. 

I came across couple of super duper articles on the same and i thought i would share it here! .. 

First this beautiful Shloka probably from Bhagavatham, which explains how EVERYTHING in life is laden with fear.

" bhoge roga-bhayaṁ, 

kule cyuti-bhayaṁ, 

vitte nṛpālāt bhayaṁ, 

māne dainyabhayaṁ,

bale ripu-bhayaṁ, 

rūpe jarāyā bhayam, 

śāstre vādi-bhayaṁ, 

guṇe khala-bhayaṁ, 

kāye kṛtāntāt bhayam. 

nṛṇāṁ bhuvi sarvaṁ 

vastu bhayānvitam.

vairāgyaṁ eva abhayam."

The meaning of this Shloka is as follows:

"In enjoyment, there is fear of disease; in family reputation, there is fear of falling; 

in wealth there is fear of kings (of getting taxed); in prestige/pride there is fear of losing; 

in power, there is fear of enemy or adversary; in beauty, there is fear of old age; 

in scriptural erudition, there is fear of learned opponents; (of defeat)

in virtue, there is fear of wicked vilifying person; in body, there is fear of death. 

For human beings, everything in this world is coupled/associated with fear. 

Vairāgya (dispassion towards worldly enjoyments) alone bestows fearlessness." 

To my understanding, as per Vedic scriptures, the concept of fear is rooted in 2 things, Attachment and Ignorance. As one wise man said "Fear is the lengthened shadow of Ignorance".

Almost all the scriptures talks about Jnana Yoga (which is path of knowledge) to dispel ignorance and Karma Yoga to be involved in worldly activities and still perform it without any attachment. It is also called as "Nishkamya Karma", do your duty without worrying about the fruits.

Now there is a beautiful Thirukural which highlights that there is no pain from anything from which a man is detached.  The beauty of this Kural is that when you read it, your lips shall not touch each other. A poet highlighting detachment ensures that even our lips don't touch each other.

"யாதனின் யாதனின் நீங்கியான் நோதல் அதனின் அதனின் இலன்"

"yAthanin yAthanin nIngiyAn nOthal athanin athanin ilan" (Transliteration)

(Meaning) From what from what a man is free (of attachment), from that, his pains flee.

At one level Bhakti Yoga which asks you to dedicate everything to the supreme being and be attached to him, changes its tack (at the philosophical level) that the attachment to god also has to be snapped.  Very aptly highlighted in the following Thirukural which highlights that the love we have for a personal god is also an attachment but this is only to get detached from the worldly material life.

"பற்றுக பற்றற்றான் பற்றினை; அப்பற்றைப் பற்றுக பற்று விடற்கு."
"Pattruga patratraan pattrinai; appatrai pattruga pattru vidarkku." (Transliteration)

(Meaning) Attach yourself to Him who has conquered all attachments, bind yourself firmly to Him so that your bonds may be broken.

Now the beauty in the above Kural which talks about attachment is, the lips touch each other for every word. This is literary masterpiece and can be appreciated by people who know Tamil.

The important point i want to highlight is that in one way of interpretation, in Hinduism the highest point is actually knowledge (truth / Satyam)  and desire-less state of detachment is a path / catalyst to it instead of a personal god with a carrot and stick.

The other article I liked about fear is here...

"A woman who took her debauched son to meet Buddha. On seeing the youth, Buddha told him that he had just one more day to live. The youngster was shocked, but knew there was little that he could do about Buddha’s prediction. Having realized that time was so short, he clung to his mother’s sari, and broke down. He wanted to meet all his family members, friends and neighbors before the end came. With six hours left for his death, he found himself lying on a cot, distraught and disillusioned.

When just three hours were left, Buddha paid him a visit. The youth did not wish to speak to Buddha, but the latter smiled at him and inquired if in the last 24 hours he had lied or cheated. The youth replied in the negative. Buddha then asked him if he had stolen from or hurt anybody. The youth got irritated and replied that how could he possibly think of doing such things when all he was thinking of was death.

Buddha gently patted his head and said: “Son, I don’t know who has to die and who has to live, but understanding the ultimate truth can be very enlightening. While you became aware of death only in the last 24 hours, I have been aware of it for the last 24 years.”

Fear of death stems from our fear of seeing it all end, losing our possessions and being catapulted into endless darkness. Most people find it difficult to come to terms with their mortality; they prefer to believe that there is life even after death. But those who are in constant touch with their inner spirit seldom fear the inevitable. They believe in neither heaven nor hell; they also don’t believe in the theory of incarnation.

Our stipulated lifespan is a mere ‘blip’ in this ostensibly vast eternity spanning billions of years. We must therefore learn to value each day of our life and savor it, moment by moment."

All those who believe in hoarding their energy and resources for the future to mitigate one fear or the other could take a cue from the insatiable musician who eventually rued: “I spent so much time in stringing my instruments that there was no time left for me to perform...”

Being firmly rooted in the adobe of fearfulness, we are all stringing the instruments without playing it. I don't know how but may we be less possessive and rise up to the realm of fearlessness and freedom.

Lets stop stringing and start playing!...

Yours fearfully,

Happy reading!...

When error is a sign of maturity…

 

Few days back you would have come across some news clips that Khap Panchayats were actually barring people marrying within the same Gotras. This went to the extent of encouraging honor killings, some politicians supporting it and most of the media and “rationalist” variety opposing it.

Curious to understand the origin of Gotra and the reason behind it I was reading some articles and came upon very interesting pieces which i thought would share here. Now the disclaimer would be that these are part of the Hindu scriptures and we always have a choice to discard them as mythology or read them with an open mind. I decided to stick to the later.

Lets start with few questions:

1. Are you aware that there was a stage when fire did not burn anything and everything like it does now and it started doing it after it was cursed?

2. Are you aware of an instance that a male sage was pregnant (by mistake) and delivered successfully through C Section millions of years ago?

3. Are you aware of the origin and history of ayurvedic vitalizer Chyavanprash? You would have heard as Dabur Chyavanprash or other brands as Chyavanprakasam etc?

4. Are you aware of a pregnancy that lasted 100 years + and also instead of it being in the uterus the fetus was preserved and nurtured in the thigh for about 100 years?

5. Do you know who generated Fire /Agni from water first?

If you are interested in any of them then read on.

Seven great sages:

I am sure you would have heard about Saptharishi or the 7 great sages in Hinduism. The  constellation with 7 stars (Ursa Major aka Big Dipper) represents 7 great sages not only in Hinduism but also in many of the other far eastern texts like Chinese & Japanese. You can Google for further information. Even if you have not read about this, i am sure you would have seen this constellation in a clear night sky.

Here is a quick link of Wiki.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saptarshi

Gotra to my understanding signifies ones family / lineage and they are innumerable depending on which lineage you belong to. Everyone is assigned a Gotra whether we know it or not and the belief is that all these Gotra evolved from 7 sages Bhrigu, Angiras, Atri, Vishwamitra, Kashyapar, Vashishtar, Agasthiyar. Now the objection of the Khap leaders is essentially saying that you can’t marry from the same lineage for what ever reason. But side stepping this topic and coming to our questions some of the interesting aspects i read are as follows:

1. Sage Bhrigu, who is son of Lord Brahma (born from Brahma’s Skin) is a very renowned and revered sage. Interestingly he is attributed with generation of fire from water. The scripture notes that the fire can produced from items like stones, leaves, space etc, but Sage Bhrigu is attributed with the generation of fire from water. Presence of Oxygen in water which is the basis of fire proves this theory today, but this was documented many years ago.
2. It was believed that Agni / fire consumes only items which were offered to it after a Yagna. That means it was not burning anything other than that. This state changed when Sage Bhrigu cursed Agni that you shall consume anything and everything. The term he used is “Sarvapakshakan”. So why did the sage curse Agni?
3. It is told that Sage Bhrigu instructed Agni to protect his wife Puloma from a demon during his absence and Agni neglected his duty and allowed the demon to carry Puloma. This invited the curse from Sage Bhrigu. Hence fire started to consume anything and everything from that day… so goes the story.
4. Sage Bhrigu’s son is Sage Shyavanar again with great qualities and very respected. It seems that in those days invitation to a Yagna and receiving the produce of Yagna is a very exclusive thing. Sage Shyavanar once invited Ashwini devas for a Yagna and as per the protocol these Ashwini Devas were not supposed to attend. Yet the sage invited them for some reason and honored them with the produce of Yagna despite stiff opposition from his peers. Ashwini Devas are the doctors / ayurvedic experts for the gods and they pleased with the Sage gave him a potion to regain his youth and vitality. This medicine which Ashwini devas gave to Sage  Shyavanar is called as “Shyavana pracha valeham”. Leham means Lehyam which is a medicine in thick gel form and the original ‘Shyavana Pracham” is what is currently branded, labeled and sold as vitality medicine.
5. After Sage Shyavanar in the same family his successors started marrying from “Kshyatrias”/ warrior clan. If you read the scriptures then its clear that the Brahmins actually married from different caste without any problems and I am not sure why this is being made such an issue now. Some of the great sages had quick over night stands too. (You may be interested in this http://ragsgopalan.blogspot.com/2010/01/yours-weakly-part-22.html ). Some difference in opinion grew so strong that the Brahmins and Kshatriyas started fighting each other and no marks for guessing that all the Brahmins especially the kids / pregnant woman were killed to eliminate Brahmin clan altogether.
6. Sage Shyavanar’s wife was pregnant and to escape being killed by the enemies she moved her fetus from Uterus to thighs and sustained / nurtured it there for about 100 years. The kid who was born after 100 years of pregnancy was called Sage Auravar”. Aurava signifies thigh.
7. If you have heard of Sage Jamadagni, Lord Parasuram (Vishnu’s avatar) and Sage Vishwamitra – all of them are from the same Sage Bhrigu’s clan. This may also give you some idea as to why Lord Parasuram (grandson of Auravar) was against the Kshatriyas and eliminated 21 generations of them.
8. But lets focus on another Sage called Angiras. Sage Angiras is again a son of Lord Brahma and you may be interested to know that Lord Rama (Raghu vamsa), Guru Dronacharya (of Mahabharata fame) are part of Sage Angiras clan.
9. Sage Yuvanas (son of Sage Angiras) did a Yagna to beget a good son. The holy water which was to be given to Mrs.Yuvanas the next day was kept in the house. Sage Yuvanas by mistake drank that water in the night without knowing that this is the holy water that is capable of producing an offspring.
10. Since the water was powerful there was no way the effect can be reversed. Ashwini Devas (the medical team) came to the rescue. This became the first male pregnancy in the history of mankind, successfully delivered to give birth through “C-Section” and Sage Mamdatha was born.

Rising above some of these interesting tit bits and studying the articles with a deeper contemplation reveals that:

• So called Hinduism has always stressed the importance of Intuition subordinating the Intellect, Experience subordinating Inflexible dogma, Inner realization taking precedence to outer expression and more importantly Conduct subordinating Creed / belief.
• Even the so called perfected souls / sages have faltered in their conduct not in our eyes with contemporary values but per the standards they had set for themselves. The so called “best of periods” did have brutality that is spine chilling.
• The effort has never been and never should be to create a common creed but align ourselves for a common quest.

Instead of using a brutal force imposing an opinion to develop blind faith in an inflexible creed, the society and more so the leaders need to inspire the community to aspire for experiential living and self realization.

Lets realize that the great ones have faltered and yet recognized the mistake and evolved out of it. Then the society and environment was open enough to allow these mistakes and corrective enough to put them back into the right path.

I think we need to be open enough to encourage the sinners to condemn the sin instead of condemning the sinners.

“There never was
There never will be
There is no now
A man for whom there is
All blame or all praise!”

As one wise man said “The muddy roots justify themselves with the gorgeous flowers…”

Lets long for a society where errors are seen as a sign of maturity and relive our lives When errors are seen as a sign of maturity…

 

Yours Erroneously…

Happy Reading!

Our Civility is in "Indifference"

Yes, its been some time since i blogged. I should thank a host of news reports over the last few days both "light" and "heavy" which prompted me to come back.

1. Fatal bum lift: A 38-year-old former Miss Argentina has died from complications after undergoing cosmetic surgery on her buttocks. Solange Magnano, a mother of twins who won the crown in 1994, died of a pulmonary embolism Sunday after three days in critical condition following a gluteoplasty in Buenos Aires.

When i read this i did not know whether to cry to laugh. She just managed to lose her life just for a "firmer back". With all due respects to the departed soul, lets pray that god would implant brain at the right place in her next life.

2. Toilet paper shortage in house of commons: "KGB" led disaster in the house of commons left the Lords of the Westminster red faced & (dry a***ed), raiding ladies toilet too in search of toilet papers. Kevan, Gena and Brown (KGB) the company managing supplies of toilet papers has accepted the shortage and agreed to "look into the issue".

I was rolling in splits thinking about the "lords" running around the house of commons after the "act". Can it get any funnier? I fear the commission of inquiry and its transcripts from victims shall be the "most stinking" report ever produced in the history of human race.

3. Tiger population in US is set to increase overtaking India's: Now you would be surprised at this news story from the "The news that wasn't". The super fine golf champ had agreed that he "Tee"-d off outside his marriage and stuck to the "holing the ball" game on and off his course. While the entire story is still unfolding about the crashed car rear windows, a sullied and angry spouse blah blah... i think knowing the champ's mastery in the 18 hole games, this "secret" fling against agreed social norms if its productive then certainly promises to increase the "Tiger" population in US. :).

4. Men on the brink of extinction: We all know that a male is a male because of the "Y chromosome". Per prof. Jennifer Gravis, this "Y" chromosome is dying and "men" shall be wiped out of the earth in the next 5 million years. It is estimated that the "Y chromosome" had 1400 genes on it 300 millions years ago and now it has reduced to a mere 42. Over this period of time there is a consistent deterioration.

But, but, before some of my esteemed "fem lib" readers give a huge sigh of relief, let me break the bad news for them. There are few species in the rodent and fauna family which had lost this "Y chromosome" yet their male species managed to thrive without them. Reason: Some other gene has adapted to the function. :))

Coming to more serious issues within our great country, one of the topics which was occupying quite an amount of prime time is Liberhan report over the demolition. I was surprised at the following:

1. The whole country and almost all of the media houses were aware of the report but not the parliament. The report looks like a closely kept secret just for our MPs.

2. I don't understand the cries that this leak lowered the dignity of the house. "In the 15th Lok Sabha there are 150 newly elected MPs who have criminal cases pending against them as compared to 128 MPs in 2004,". If close to 1/3rd of the members have serious criminals records, with the highest from BJP with 42 and then from congress with 41, i am not sure what dignity the house holds. Remember they have charges and not proved yet they found it fine to represent us.

But the last news item which had prompted me get back to blogging is the 25th anniversary of the Bhopal tragedy and the state of affairs as of now.

• Methyl Isocyanate leak led to 25000 deaths (3500 as claimed by Govt) and millions affected by it.
• Complaints of the $470m compensation paid by DOW chemicals, not reaching the right pockets. This is no news in India.
• There is not even one soul who is brought to justice for this criminal act and successive Indian governments have clearly ignored the issues.

The reasons as i can think of ignoring such a huge crime are:

1. No one can play politics out of this tragedy. Had any of the political parties had been behind this disaster we could see our leaders vying for attention atleast for the sake of browny points.
2. The affected people are the poorest of the poor you can find on this country and hence no powerful organizations or leaders want to associate with them for justice delivery.
3. The affected people have not resorted to violence or taken up arms just like the Maoists or naxals have resorted to. I think in a country where the criminal justice system is paralyzed and defunct it takes money or power or force to make people deliver justice.
4. Finally the most important issue as i see is the "Indifference in our attitude to the social issues that does not affect us". I think as a society we have become very indifferent and symbolic in our responses. Light a candle, switch off the lights for one hour in a year, form human chain... i don't understand why we want to waste our time in all such stupid symbolic responses.

While i don't have any better ideas than being angry at the helpless situation we are in, i am certainly ashamed to be part of a society where "Victims are begging for justice even after 25 years".

Without any effort on research, I think i can add more to Prof. Jennifer Gravis findings that both men and women in this society have lost all the important genes and the ones which we are left with are all about being Lazy, selfish, fearful, symbolic and indifferent".

Alas!!! The Indus valley civilization is today reduced to an "Indifferent Civilization" !!.

I wish i am born again after 5 million years to understand the quality of men in this society without the "Y chromosomes" to see if that would be any better. Till then,

Yours Indifferently!

Happy reading!