"Akshara - Word - Language" - Its nature, science and few basics

Disclaimer:
It is an articulation of what i have understood and sharing it as a blog. Any
suggestions / comments welcome.




Everything in this world vibrates. Whatever vibrates produces a sound.
Every vibration has sound, meaning, form, colour and light. While all of us may
agree on the sound being part of vibration some of us would not agree that it
always has a meaning, colour and light. 




Sounds are of 2 types:




1. That which is part of an human language. Here word is constructed from
letters and each word has its meaning and the language being compiled using the
grammar.




2. Sounds that are not part of human language and hence does not make sense
to us. Hence we may perceive that it does not have any meaning. Here too there
are sounds which have meaning like Beeja Aksharas or animal sounds which
certainly has meaning. But lets ignore the second type in this blog and focus
on the first.




In the first type the aggregation of vibration as sound can be represented
with a Akshara (Alphabet / letter) which also has a meaning. If you need more
details you can refer to this site which http://www.sanskrit-sanscrito.com.ar/en/learning-sanskrit-first-steps-1-1/406 offers
more details on Sanskrit alphabets.




So, this alphabet is called Akshara - which is formed by the
merging of sound, meaning, form, color and light. This is the origin
or Moolam in Tamil. This akshara cannot be broken down further which means
sound and its attribute (meaning), light and its attributes (form, color) all
coexist and cannot exist independently. In tamil and Sanskrit this
combination of light and sound is called Bindu and Nadham.




Let’s look at the attributes of light which is the form of the letter.
There are 4 fundamental shapes that gives rise to form. Dot, Line,
Curve (Cresent) and circle also known as Bindu, kodu, pirai,
vattam in Tamil. All forms in this universe are based on the
combination of the above 4 fundamental shapes. 




Everything starts with bindu (dot), at a very small
time-distance dimension everything is a straight line (Kodu), at a medium
spacio-temporal dimension everything is a pirai or curve / cresent, because
everything is rotating. At a very large time-distance dimensio everything is a
circle in 2 dimension and a helical spiral leading to a sphere in 3D.
Alternatively what can be said is a bindu (dot) over Spacio temporal journey
becomes a line, cresent, a circle / sphere and ends as a dot. "What
starts with a bindu ends in a bindu after this journey".




Now, lets look at the fundamentally attributes of
an akshara. Each letter apart from having meaning, sound, light, form, color as
5 attributes has further attributes as:




1. State of its existence:  As either matter, energy (life-
vowels), Consonants - Energy+Matter, a living word. Only when they combine
a letter itself is formed. Body + life is a living organism and hence an
Akshara. 

2. Gender: Each Akshara can also be classified as a male, or
female or neuter gender. These articles below can explain this paragraph
better.

http://ragsgopalan.blogspot.in/2012/01/time-space-series-part-2-sound-merges.html

http://ragsgopalan.blogspot.in/2012/01/time-space-series-part-3-vaak-artha.html

http://ragsgopalan.blogspot.in/2012/01/time-space-series-part-5-energy-matter.html




So an akshara has the following 7 attributes -
sound, meaning, form, color, light, gender, state of existence. When Aksharas combine with each other and
with time a word is produced. Each Akshara has a small time duration called
Matra. When Aksharas combine then so many matras get added and a word is
formed.




Or alternatively time (Kaalam) creates word from a
combination of aksharas. When the combination of sound, light, meaning, form
and color is aligned with the vibration then it is called as word. When
everything is aligned in the above fashion the word has a natural rhythm. This
is called Seelam in Tamil.




Combination of words form a language. A language so
created from the moolam (primordial vibration) by the kaalam (time) with seelam
(natural rhythm aligned with primordial vibration) that retains a natural
meaning for that vibration is a classical language. This means 7 attributes of each alphabet is
aligned well that the word's attributes are in line with the sum of the
attributes of the letter. The quick measure for this are:




1. Can you break a word to its roots, ie.
individual letters?

2. Does each letter carry a meaning?

3. More importantly when these letters are combined
is the individual meanings of the letter retained in the word?

4. Does each letter sound uniquely?

5. Does that letter retain that sound in a word?
Alternatively when you add the sounds of the letter can you pronounce the word?




These words also take a gender in a classical
language. So a word has 2 more attributes than the alphabet. They are time
(kaalam) and ability to combine / fusion (sandhi) as per the grammar. Here
grammar is an expression of seelam (natural rhythm).




When you speak in classical languages like Sanskrit
and Tamil, there is no difference between how the word is pronounced and how
the letters in that combination is pronounced. There are no silent words and
the pronunciation will not change with different words.




For Ex. In Psychology (P) is silent. This can be
written as Sykhology, cykhology and everything can be right.




So an Akshara has 7 attributes as mentioned above
and words have 2 more attributes and these attributes fundamentally define a
language. I am stopping this article now and based on queries raised for this
blog, i shall write the next article on this topic.




Happy reading!

The illogical argument for Dry HOLI...

There is nothing worse than giving a "Symbolic response to a serious problem". If global warming is the issue then "Earth Hour" is the symbolic response. The substantive action involves "Reduce - Shrink - Reuse - Recycle". 

Ask yourself if you can buy a smaller car or use public transport or reduce the usage of plastics? The answer from a majority of us is a firm NO for the above questions. If that's the case then let’s not pretend concern and sensitivity to ecology with symbolic responses. Without reducing the carbon footprint, without shrinking our actual requirements if we believe switching off lights once a year would solve our problems then even the gods can't save us.

If there is a terrorist attack having a candle light march is one of the symbolic responses we have mastered. There has been a campaign to encourage DRY HOLI without any wastage of water in certain media houses. I have been part of some of the discussion groups in Twitter and blogs on this topic. In some of the groups it takes a communal angle but I want to focus on some facts which many of us are not aware of.

Do you know?"

1. It takes 2487 gallons of water (one gallon is 3.75L approx.) to produce a 40g chocolate.

2. It takes about 1800 gallons of water to make a jeans pant.

3. It takes about 7 litres of water make one litre of beer.

4. It takes about 10 litres of water to make one litre of petrol.

More interesting facts on high water consumption is seen in this link:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/22/world-water-day-2011-cost-footprint_n_839189.html#s256633&title=Cup_Of_Coffee

It is very important to be ecologically prudent and conserve water, but we should not give a symbolic response for a serious problem. There can be nothing worse than that. 

Let us see few more examples:

1. It takes about 40000 litres of water to manufacture one car. If you fill 50 litres of Petrol every month then we use 500 litres / month and 6000 litres / annum of water. Have we stopped buying cars?

2. It takes about 45.4 litres to manufacture a computer chip. If you work for a telecom company or bank with 1000 employees, the data center equipment and personal computing requirements would consume upwards of 500000 computer chips. That's about 22.7 million litres. This is just to create and not sustain it. If we assume it’s the same amount of water Consumption is required to sustain it for 3 years then we are taking about 45 million litres being used for every 3 years. Should we stop all the data centers and personal computing usages?

Responses to water conservation and ecological protection have to be individual, community and government levels. I can suggest the following ways to conserve water at an individual and community levels which are substantive actions instead of symbolic responses.

1. How about foregoing washing our cars for 1 day a week periodically?

2. How about closing the swimming pool for few days this summer to conserve water?

3. How about a free maintenance on all the leaky pipes in your apartment complex?

4. How about installing water levelers with auto switch off in all the pipe outlets.

5. Well, how about cutting consumption of chocolates, wine, hamburgers, meat etc...

6. How about buying less cars, jeans etc...

And the list can go on.

At a macro level we have seen governments like Delhi drained INR 1700+ Cr for cleaning rivers yet have achieved nothing. Subsequent governments in Maharastra has systematically looted to the extent of INR 70000 Cr on irrigation projects and delivered nothing. In the same measure governments like Gujarat, Tamil Nadu have successfully improved water management and increased the ground water levels in the last decade.

"Pluralistic uniqueness is nature's own manifestation..." Nature manifests itself in innumerable ways - colors, shades and hues. Each one of us is the product of this manifestation. If nature did not wanted us to be so, it would not have created and sustained us.

Each of us is inalienable and inseparable part of the cosmic whole, linked to the unmanifested interconnections. We should just don't talk of tolerance and acceptance, but move beyond and celebrate the pluralistic uniqueness.

For me, HOLI is a very colorful festival that highlights the pluralistic manifestation of nature that every color and hue we see essentially asks a child to celebrate that plurality. It cuts across age, gender, caste and creed and one of the socially inclusive festivals that we can ever see across the world. Look at the joy on every child’s face celebrating this festival.

Let’s celebrate the plurality in the individuality and do that when you see the colors of different hues and shade on a HOLI day. Let’s celebrate HOLI with full JOSH.

Happy HOLI to all my friends and relativesJ ...

Happy reading!

Planet Saturn aka Sanischara - the slow mover

Planet Saturn is known in many names across the globe - Kronos in greek, Kevan / Kaivan in Persia and "Sanischara" in India. In some cultures Planet Saturn was considered as one of the chief deities and in India it has been one of the devata in Navagraha!.

The actual Indian name for Saturn is Sanischara which became Saniswara and in short Sani / Shani. Char means move / movement, Chara means mover and Sani means slow and is named based on the definition Śanayē Kramati Saḥ (शनये क्रमति सः), the one who moves slowly. The slowest mover among the 9 Grahas is Saturn as per vedic astrologer and hence this name was given. 

As you are aware Vedic astrology does not consider Pluto, Uranus and Neptune as planets affecting our lives. I shall write the reason behind this later but would like to highlight that the vedic astrologers were very well aware of these planets but did not take it into consideration for ASTROLOGY since they are too weak and far away to affect our lives through their radiation. 

The table above gives approximate distance from Sun, the circumference of the orbit and the speed of travel for 6 major planets. Saturn takes 30 years to complete one revolution at an approximate speed of 9.95 Kms / second. Jupiter takes 12 years to complete one revolution at a speed of 13.27 Kms/second. All readings are approximate.

Since saturn takes 30 years for one full round the sun, so in each house it stays for 2.5 years. So for 12 zodiacs 30 years. Sade Saath / 7.5 years of Sani / ஏழரை நாட்டு சனி refers to transit of Sani in your Rasi (where the moon is at the time of your birth) the previous and next rasi. In short if your Rasi (moon sign and not sun sign) is Virgo then Sani in Leo, Virgo and Libra is the Saade Saath period for you.

You may note that the duration of one day decreases suggesting the planets rotate around their axis faster as they move away from sun and Venus is the only planet whose day is longer than the year. So, you get 12 months in a day in Venus, Yeah 12 salaries in a day for the salaried class and monthly, quarterly, Half yearly and annual sales reviews all in a day :)

You also note that Mars is the closest to Earth in terms of duration of a day and hence this may be one of the reasons as to why NASA is looking for possibility of life support in Mars.

But the point i wanted to highlight is the Indian / Vedic nomenclature contains the very reason as to why something is named so.

Bhoogol means study earth / geography, Bhoo means earth and "Gol" means round / circle suggests that Indians knew that the earth was round ages back.

Brahmaanda means universe, Brahm - Very big and Anda means Egg. So universe is a huge egg suggesting it is elliptical in shape.

Let me conclude that many languages and ancient civilizations are rich and have named things based on a reason or meaning lets be inquisitive to understand the roots / meaning behind a name. 

Happy reading!

Dinosaurs could have been our pets just 2 millions years back...

Thanks to Steven Spielberg and Micheal Crichton for the Jurassic park in 1993, Dinosaurs which were the subjects only for Paleontologists and historians caught the attention of the larger public for the last 20 years.

When we talk about Dinosaurs, its sheer size and the projected ferocity comes and taunts everyone irrespective of your age. I wanted to pick two of the widely agreed facts and establish that these animals were nothing more than our pets at their times and that too just 2 million years ago. As a disclaimer let me state that I am neither a  paleontologist nor a historian nor an archaeologist. I am just connecting few dots and you can agree to disagree.

1. It is believed that Dinosaurs became extinct 65 million years ago and they probably existed between 200 million years to 65 million years ago. This is very widely accepted.

2. The height of the dinosaurs is pegged between 15 feet to 45 feet. While there are reports that there could have been 100ft+ tall dinosaurs but they are based some fragmented fossils and not very widely accepted. So I shall stick the 15 to 45 feet range for their height.

Now, lets look at whether we have data or theories on:

1. Whether there was Homo sapiens as a species during the above mentioned period?
2. If yes, what was the height of the human beings?

To my knowledge, Sanatana Dharma or today's Hinduism is the only philosophy which answers both the queries conclusively. Unless you believe in Hindu scriptures, it is difficult to accept these details but for the next 5 minutes, please read through the blog and you can ignore if that does not appeal to you.

You may know that as per Hindu scriptures the Yugas are divided as:

1. Satya Yuga - 17,28,000 years

2. Treta Yuga - 12,96,000 years

3. Dwapara Yuga - 8,64,000 years

4. Kali Yuga - 4,32,000 years

At the risk of repetition, let me quickly explain them. These 4 Yugas make 1 Maha yuga which is 4.32 million years. Scriptures say that the universe is a ever recurring cycle of this Maha yuga. The linear age of the universe is 155+ trillion years, which is composed of mulitple Maha Yugas. 1000 Maha Yugas (4.32 billion years) make half a day for Brahma and per vedas Brahma is 51 years old.

Interestingly it is said that based on the Yuga many things like endowed age of the individual, quality and abilities of all the species are fixed, that also includes the endowed height of a human being for the respective yugas.

Now lets get what is meant by endowed age and endowed height of a human being. Universe it is said follows a rhythm which is bound by a mathematical code and frankly the effort of sages for ages has been to uncover this code. But we do have few information like a flash in the pan without the basis of those being revealed. This is like, we don't know the mathematical equation but the answer to the equation is known. Much of the wisdom is lost and we are scratching what is left behind and losing that too very fast.

The other point i need to highlight is the endowed age for a human being is 120 years in Kali Yuga (1 year = 360 days) but it is also told that towards the end of Kali yuga (Kali is 432000 years and we have just completed 5114 years as of 2012), the age of the human being would reduce to 20 years. But we will focus on the general recommendation which is 120 years.

Like wise for each and every yuga the endowed height of the human beings is also stated. Lets see what those are:

1. Kali Yuga - 3.5 cubits - Just about 7 feet

2. Dwapara Yuga - 7 Cubits = 14 feet

3. Treta Yuga - 14 cubits = 28 feet

4. Krita Yuga - 21 cubits = 42 feet.

Please note a cubit is an ancient measurement and is widely seen in Christianity, Hinduism and also in Egyptian scriptures and it varies as follows:

1. As per Bible, each cubit is about 18 inches

2. As per Egyptian metrics it is about 20 inches.

3. As per Hindu scriptures we have 2 measures - Hasta as cubit which is 24 inches and the other is Muzham which is 24 angulas ie. 33 inches. I settled for 24 inches for the above values expressed in feet, which is lot closer to the Biblical and Egyptian values.

Now if you don't believe me you can see some discoveries of huge fossils including that of humans and also references in Bible which indicates such possibilities. http://www.6000years.org/frame.php?page=giants 

So now, let me address both the questions:

1. If Dinosaurs were between between 15 feet to 45 feet and if human beings in Krita Yuga were 42 feet, then SIZE DID NOT MATTER. 

If we go by the relative height of human beings to Dinosaurs we may have to refine our understanding that Dinosaurs were not outliers in terms of their height and size but were just as proportionate as our dogs, cats and horses today. Even if this truth is known to the Paleontologists, this cannot be stated openly since Hollywood could not have excited us and made money. Also as human beings we need our dose of fascination and imagination to make our life interesting, Isn't?

2. Latest Krita Yuga was between 2.2 million years to 3.9 million years before.

Also the cyclical nature of Yugas is highlighted very often and we can draw a parallel to the cyclical nature of seasons in a year or day and night for a day.

I propose here the following:

• Dinosaurs could have existed during Krita Yugas not as gigantic outliers but part of the overall ecosystem.
• If this is so, then they existed just 2 million years before and not extinct 65 million years back. Also the scientists need not invent any meteor strikes that wiped this species to extinction but could agree that they underwent one of the many natural process of extinction.
• Among Dinosaurs, experts say that there were quite a number of sub-species who were believed to be Vegetarians and not the ferocious man-eater types. Well, then these could have been our pets.

Any discovery of huge fossils which is dated 2-4 million years ago would probably prove this but till then I want to conclude this blog with 2 quotes of Edward De Bono..

"Everyone has the right to doubt everything as often as he pleases and the duty to do it at least once. No way of looking at things is too sacred to be reconsidered."

and 

“If you never change your mind, why have one?” 

Happy Reading!

Breathing rhythm of King Dasarath, Lord Rama & Ravana.. An analysis

Currently we follow the Gregorian calender and divided our day into hours, minutes and seconds. I was impressed with the ancient time system we had in India and been voraciously reading multiple books and articles on them. I was always fascinated by the inter connectivity of various disciplines in ancient India. 

This article would highlight some of my understanding on the linkages of Time, Space and even Prana movements. I am deducing the breathing rhythm of King Dasarath, Lord Rama and Ravana based on these principles and also proposing as to what  should be God's design in every Yuga - especially from a breathing rhythm and endowed life perspective. This may sound wacky to you. But i did not promise anything less in my blog spot. :)

Please note this analysis and deduction is from my kitchen and i have not read this anywhere yet. If you have any objections to this, I am open to receive your counter logic.

Lets get the basics first.

• Nazhigai (நாழிகை) in Tamil also known as Ghati in north India is actually 24 minutes.
• Vinaadi (விநாடி) is actually 1/60th of Nazhigai and hence it is 24 seconds.
• Nodi (நொடி) which is often mistaken as second is actually 1/60th of Vinaadi and hence it is 0.4 seconds.

So,

60 Nodi = 1 Vinaadi

60 Vinaadi = 1 Nazhigai

60 Nazhigai / Ghati = 1 day

Why is Nazhigai / Ghati the most important measurement in ancient India? Before we address this lets quickly look at some other interesting cross connections.

As per Indian scriptures, each individual is blessed with total number of breaths as his life period. This is approximately a billion breath package (10 power 9). You can read more about it here http://ragsgopalan.blogspot.in/2008/11/life-is-billion-breath-package.html

By design, we all have a budget of 21600 breaths a day. It is told that using your horoscope assuming the input details are right with respect time and day, the experienced astrologers can calculate your Pranic movement and its stoppage aka death using some formula. This aspect is not relevant for this article, yet it is highlighted here.

Now lets calculate how many Nazhigai is there in one year. Remember each year is 360 days and not 365.2425 days. I shall explain the reason later in a different blog as to why this is so.

1 day = 60 Ghati / Nazhigai

1 Year = 21600 Nazhigai.

Each year the earth revolves around the sun and one revolution makes 360 degrees. The same phenomenon is applicable in a day where the earth rotates around its axis.

Lets look at the day phenomenon first. Each day for one rotation covers 360 degrees in 24 hours. If we consider each breath as 1 degree, which is movement of Prana then 360 degrees is equal to 360 breaths. We complete 360 breaths in 24 minutes (24 hrs/60 and 21600/60) which is 1 Nazhigai. This means we can complete a full rotation of microcosm in about 24 minutes using our prana movement. Hence any japa or meditation done for a minimum 24 minutes if complete in itself. So, Nazhigai becomes the basic period / a fundamental building block for a complete microcosmic cycle.

Now lets look at how Breath, Space and time are integrated. 360 degrees which is a space measure is covered in 24 hours in a day and 360 days in a year.

360 Degrees = 24 hours

30 degrees = 2 hours (this is the duration of each Rasi / Zodiac in a day and covers 12 rasis in a day).

6 degrees = 1 Ghati / Nazhigai = 24 minutes.

1 degree = 4 minutes = 60 breaths.

And we have seen, 6 degrees = 1 Ghati = 360 breaths.

If you have got the depth of inter-connectivity between metrics you would be amazed. Let me try to emphasize this again. If i divide 1 day (24 hrs) by 60 it is 1 Nazhigai. If i divide 1 day (360 degrees) by 60 then it is 6 degrees and is 1 Nazhigai. So Nazhigai is a fundamental unit between time measurement in minutes / seconds / hours and space measurement in degrees.

On a yearly note:

360 degrees = 360 days

30 degrees = 30 days. This is duration of each rasi / zodiac and hence 12 zodiacs in a year of duration 30 days.

This also means Sun moves 1 day / day and covers 30 degrees per month and sun moves from one zodiac to another every month.

You may know that the Yugas are divided as:

1. Satya Yuga - 17,28,000 years

2. Treta Yuga - 12,96,000 years

3. Dwapara Yuga - 8,64,000 years

4. Kali Yuga - 4,32,000 years

All the four Yugas put together is 43,20,000 years which is a Maha yuga (this is 10 times the Kali Yuga).

Lets see the relation between Yuga and the number 21600. Keep it in mind that 21600 is the factor for number of breaths in a day and also number of Nazhigais / Ghatis in a year. The formula for linkages between Yuga and 21600 is as follows:

Satya Yuga = 21600 * 80

Treta Yuga = 21600*60

Dwapara Yuga = 21600*40

Kali Yuga = 21600*20

Maha Yuga = 21600*200

It is a well known fact through our Yogic scriptures that sages used to suspend their breathe during deep meditative stages. This means that it isn't a big deal to live for 43,200 years if we regulate our breath to 60 breaths a day. This means one breath per Ghati / Nazhigai (24 minutes). This can be quickly dismissed as mythological but lets look at some aspects of it.

Now lets work back and analyze the breathing patterns of historical characters.

It is told in Raghuvamsa by the great poet Kalidasa that 42 kings of Surya dynasty in which King Dasarath and Lord Rama came ruled for approximately 3 million years. This is Satya and Treta yuga put together - 3024000 years to be precise.

It is told that King Dasaratha (Lord Rama's father)  lived for 60000 years and this means his breathing rhythm was just 1.8 breaths per hour / as against our 900. Alternatively we take 4 seconds for a breath and King Dasarath did it one in 33.33 minutes.

It is told, Lord Rama lived for 11000 years and this means his breathing rhythm was averaging approximately 10 an hour. I am sure the rhythm shot up during the 14 years in forest. :). Alternatively we take 4 seconds for a breath and Lord Rama did it one in 6.11 minutes.

I want to pause for a minute and highlight some "very intelligent" Hindu species in the net who date Lord Rama's date of birth in somewhere around 5000 BC. They have done it using some stupid astrological software which itself is as half baked as the researchers. Lord Rama lived in Treta Yuga which is 8,80,000 years (864000 years of Dwapara Yuga and ~5000 years of Kali yuga which is past and Rama has lived for 11000 years hence it should be 880000 years) before for sure. I shall write about this later in a different blog, but it is probably sufficient to say I trash all such nonsense, which does not pass through scriptural validation.

Coming back, you can deduce that the rest of the 40 solar dynasty kings including Manu lived for 73825 years on an average. And they averaged one breath every 41 minutes. This is across Satya and Treta Yuga.

It is told that Demon King Ravana got a boon to live for 30 million days. This means he lived for 83333.33 years. Hence his boon enabled a breathing rhythm with an average of just 1.3 breaths per hour or one breath in every 46.3 minutes.

Now I am proposing my analysis as to how God's design is for the breathing rhythm and default / endowed age based on every Yuga. Again there is no basis or book where i read or heard this. Just take this for what it is worth. This rhythm is the ideal design for determining the age of the individual during that Yuga and is an average.

I want you to recollect that our breathing rhythm by design in Kali yuga is 4 seconds for 1 breath and hence we should live an endowed life of 120 years. (Each year of 360 days). You can convert it into current Gregorian calender of 365.2425 days/ year if you want. Below is my analysis for every Yuga.

Kali Yuga - 4 Seconds / Breath, 360 breaths / nazhigai and endowed life is 120 years.

Dwapara Yuga - 40 Seconds / Breath, 36 breaths / nazhigai and endowed life is 1200 years.

Treta Yuga - 400 seconds / breath, 3.6 breath / nazhigai and an endowed life of 12000 years.

Satya Yuga - 4000 seconds / breath, 0.36 breath / nazhigai and an endowed life of 120000 years.

Per Vedic scriptures, Jiva - our life is linked to Prana and some say that Prana is Jiva. But the correct interpretation as per my understanding is Jiva is the witness to the movements of Prana. Movement of Prana is called our worldly life and this leads to identification of ourselves to the gross body. 

If the movement of Prana is controlled through suitable techniques (Pranayama - btw, this is not the one that is taught in posh yoga studios now a days) then it is told that the Prana snaps its pseudo-identification with gross body, material world and realizes Jiva and its inseparability with Brahman. 

Irrespective of what our mental state is, the supreme order in the universe is well tied into mathematical formula and this universal rhythm is called as Seelam (சீலம்) in Tamil. Einstein argued for the same and very famously quipped that "God does not place dice".

In the next blog let me present the integrated time and space calculations we mastered since time immemorial. Anyone can reject these as mythological but can some one LOGICALLY refute the science of breath management proposed by Sage Patanjali and that is present in our Vedas?

If you find it difficult to assimilate the math in this article, then ignore it and hit your bed with the thought that our ancestors were smarter than us than we have been told in all our text books.

So, whats your breathing rhythm?

Happy reading!

Female hormonal issues & Indian tradition - Part 2

Part 1 here : http://ragsgopalan.blogspot.in/2012/03/female-hormonal-issues-indian-tradition.html

In Ayurveda and Siddha medicinal system the endocrine system is controlled by moon (Lord Chandra). It is interesting to note that the word "menstruation" is etymologically related to "moon". The terms "menstruation" and "menses" are derived from the Latin mensis (month), which in turn relates to the Greek mene(moon) and to the roots of the English words month and moon. So is the word “Lunatic”.

The allopathic medicine is dismissive of the view that the women’s menstrual cycle is related to moon or the lunar cycle. In India there is a specific horoscope system called Ruthu Jathagam. Ruthu is the act of a female attaining puberty called as menarche. Depending on the time, phase of moon and star at the time of Ruthu, a girl’s horoscope is drawn and the predictions of her married life, children etc are made.

The lunar cycle of 28 is typically split into phases of the moon – this is the most common knowledge about lunar cycle. But these 27 days are represented by 27 stars which are considered to be the wife of Lord Chandra. (28^th day is the beginning of the next cycle). This is not well known even in the western astrological circles. The menstrual cycle if it is regular without any hormonal abnormalities then the girl’s monthly cycle shall start every 28^th day and shall fall on day of the same star every month.

Since astrology is considered as a superstition by many of us we tend to ignore the relation between nature and human system. The above prediction system was working absolutely fine till few decades back and still there are people whose cycle is not affected and they naturally adhere to this simple rule.

But since the last few decades there are more instances of irregular cycles due to multiple reasons and it looks now we have entered an era where this irregularity is the norm and any studies typically conducted now would say that it could be a 20 to 35 day cycle - since the samples fall under this category or they may say that there is no linkage between lunar cycle and menstrual cycle based on some half baked studies.

One of the interesting predictions during the Kali Yuga is that the moon many leave the earth’s orbit and escape into the solar system in the future affecting the natural reproductive cycle in females. This is again highlighted to emphasis the relation between lunar and menstrual cycle.

Before we look at the simple tradition that Indian women had to nourish the endocrine system, let us look at the importance of the forehead region – the spot between the eyebrows - in the traditional Indian science.

·         In the Chakral system the point between the eyebrows is called as the Ajna Chakra. Ajna in Sanskrit and also in Tamil means Order. This spot not only controls all the glands but controls the entire human being from a physical, mental and spiritual plane. The forehead is the third eye which refers to the Pineal gland. Lord Shiva is depicted with 3 eyes and the third one lies in the forehead. Ajna chakra and the third eye not only form the doorway or passage to the entire psychological / mental body of the human being but it is also believed that they form the doorway to universal spiritual knowledge as per traditional wisdom.

·         In the Varma School of martial arts under the Siddha system this post is called as Thilartha Varmam. As per this system are 108 important points in the body which when hit would lead to death or severely incapacitate a person. Of this 108, 12 are called Padu Varmam, which when attacked would lead to death. Of this 12, Thilartha Varmam is the first and foremost Varmam. Thila means Til grain and here it refers to the size of the Til / raw rice / wheat grain. To locate this point, one goes one Til grain level below the meeting of the eyebrows – this is at the meeting point of the bridge of the nose and the eyebrows. The basics to all the modern martial arts schools come from this Siddha system only.

o   Sage Bhogar in his book Varma Sutram, states that this point is the most dangerous of all and a person if not treated within 90 minutes after being hit would die. He also explains how to resuscitate him which his irrelevant here. You may ask how this is related to endocrine system. For anything to move, presence of air / wind is very important else things don’t move. The endocrine glands are ductless glands within our system which means they don’t have any specific channels through which they move. Varma type of martial arts understands the important points which when attacked stops the movement of air within our body around that point. If this air knot is not released within specific time death may result.

·         Under the same school there is a separate branch called Nokku Varmam where in the opponent is either subdued or controlled by taking charge of his mind without touching him and by releasing energy just through our eyes. The primary spot through which one takes control of another person’s mind is through this Ajna Chakra and is extensively used in black magic and hypnotism. This is the basis of current day hypnotization and other mind control techniques.

·         The Tibetian lamas see through a person using this point and they also see the aura of others through this point. In the Vedantic spiritual system the Ajna Chakra spot is also called as Rudra Granthi – the knot of Rudra which when opened would enable you to access universal spiritual energy. I have given few of the above points to highlight the importance of the specific area in our forehead.

The simple tradition which women followed is the application of Vermillion / Kumkum / Bindi on the forehead which ensured hormonal balance in the body. This may sound bizarre but let us understand the benefits and the reason behind the benefits:

·         First it is important to understand how this vermillion or Kumkum is first made?

o   It is a mixture of turmeric and slaked lime / calcium hydroxide (Lime when mixed with water) in equal parts. Water or oil is added to increase the stickiness of the powder. The yellow color turmeric changes to brilliant red color on addition of slaked lime. You can imagine chewing green color beetle leaves with lime which becomes red in color as an anlaogy.

o   Sometimes instead of turmeric, saffron is used. In tamil it is always referred as “Manjal Kumkum” indicating that it is made of turmeric. They are not two different things.

o   The current day chemical preparation of Kumkum which lead to allergic reactions and many times high lead content are some of the key reasons why this practice is probably  discontinued and ladies opted for the sticker bindi.

·         Calcium Hydroxide & Turmeric:

o   Calcium Hydroxide contains Calcium 54.09%, Oxygen – 43.19%, Hydrogen is 2.72%.

o   When heated it loses water and becomes Calcium oxide. This is soluble in water. It also reacts with the surrounding air and absorbs carbon-di-oxide and forms calcium carbonate.

o   It is told by western researchers that water becomes calcified in the Pineal gland over time and this introduces ageing process and various diseases. Also those abnormal secretion levels of Melatonin are noticed in all the patients with psychological disabilities. Melatonin is the key hormone secreted by Pineal gland.

o   Since calcium hydroxide ensures an alkaline base and also its high reactivity with water, it is my theory that Calcium hydroxide keeps the Pineal gland decalcified and keeps it healthy. I have not come across in any studies yet.

Antibacterial, antiseptic benefits of turmeric are very well known. Recent researches show that Turmeric is effective in treating Alzheimer's disease, depression, multiple sclerosis etc. 

Essentially very small quantities of this turmeric and calcium hydroxide are absorbed by the human body for the effective functioning of the glands and hence for the regulation of the hormones. 

·         Why red color?

I strongly recommend a study of any natural healing course like Pranic or naturopathy which would highlight the importance of color therapy to our body to understand this section.

o   The Mooladhara chakra is associated with good health, prosperity, will power and physical power and the chakra is energized using red color. Mooladhara Chakra is connected to the Ajna Chakra and hence always red color is applied to the forehead as a daily tradition. When people go to war or for a long trip or when they come home as a welcome ceremony every time they apply a red thilak on your forehead. This adds significant energy and health to your body.

o   Some ladies apply black color bindi in their forehead which is suicidal if not anything. Black color is tamasic and when applied on the forehead its ill effects are shown on the overall health and wealth of an individual.

o   The sticker Bindi brings in plastic and artificial glue in contact with the Ajna Chakra. I leave it to the reader’s imagination as to what it brings to the wearer.

o   Also Mesha Rashi or the House of Aries is on the forehead as per Hindu Astrology and this is the first house in the zodiac. The Lord of Mesha is Mars and his color is red.

·         Thumb, Ring finger and principle of 5 elements:

o   According to the 5 elements principle the Ether controls the reproductive system in a human being. The position of ether in the body is the area between foreheads. Based on the Control Cycle (Vinaya Chakra) and the Support cycle (Alamba Chakra) of the 5 elements the relation between Earth and Ether is controlling type and that of between the Ether and Fire is of supporting type. Hence thumb which represents Fire or Earth which is represented by ring finger are the ones which should be used to apply tilak or Bindi on the forehead.

·         Social aspects of Vermillion:

o   Vermillion on the forehead and at the top of the forehead indicates that the female is married and it used to be an indicator for appropriate behavior.

o   I don’t want to talk about the benefits or demerits of it since there could be people who may question as to why a widow should be disallowed to wear Bindi. Or why the males did not have an equivalent custom to show that they are married? Both are valid questions and either a traditionalist or a social reformer would be better off to engage you in a debate. I am neither and hence would duck this.

To sum up it is agreed that the sum total of a female hormonal system which anchors the health and mood in a female is controlled by the glands in the forehead area. The traditional Indian wisdom highlights that nurturing this point with vermillion bestows many benefits which includes, good health, hormonal balance, spiritual growth, and defense against psychic attacks. I should also highlight the significant radiance, feminine beauty this adds to the female face.

A consequence of ignoring this tradition leads to poor hormonal balance, foul mood and certainly infertility issues since the cycle is erratic. I can refer you to some Siddha doctors and sites which have conclusively proved that the hormonal imbalance is rectified using vermillion with medical records. One such site here available in Tamil and I would recommend you to read all the 3 parts of the article.

http://www.machamuni.com/?p=175#comments

I agree that these results should be more empirical with data to substantiate the claims. The western medicine is slowly turning itself to the subtler aspects of body, nature and medicine and I am very sure that they would come back in the near future and substantiate this. Then the males will start wearing thongs - as a modified version of Indian Langkot as medical prescriptions and females would wear an expensive beauty paste or a designer patch in their forehead as a beauty tip and a fashion statement. I believe, this shall happen after the global corporations patent and commercialize our very graceful and scientific vermillion tradition.

Till then I don’t see any other option but to put up with the monthly foul mood cycle of our spouses and girl friends. J

Happy Reading!