Ishwara and Advaita

I have found interpretations of Bhagavadgita shlokas by Advaitin scholars Who display a distinct aversion to the assertion of Bhagavan Krishna as Himself being the Purushottama and His extolling Arjuna to surrender to Him. 

I have posted here a scan of the Mandukya Upanishad translation by Swami Prabhavananda of RK Mission.

The sense I get is that Mandukya Upanishad, the go-to book for Advaitins, clearly states what the three states are - of  Waking (Vaishvanara), Dream (Taijasa) and Dreamless sleep (Prajna) wherein they equate the dreamless sleep as a state of ignorance with what they call Ishwara. This Ishwara is neither here nor there as the Mandukya scholars hold OM as Brahman beyond Maya whereas their Ishwara is admixed with Maya.

The Mandukya neither explains nor reconciles the experience of many in creation except as an erroneous experience . 

It appears that Mandukya neither needs a God nor explains creation. Just move on to OM and be done with it.

Bhagavadgita on the other hand clearly deals with Purushottama=Ishwara, Jiva or Akshara who transmigrates with experiences of doership and enjoyership, and the path to liberation from this relative experiential existence through Sadhana. 

I quote below from Dr. S. Radhakrishnan's The Principal Upanishads. While writing about Mandukya he interestingly invokes Adi Shankara's commentary on the Bhagavadgita. He states as below:

I have always had the same understanding as stated here. There is Narayana (Adi Shankara's own expression) or the Supreme Godhead. He has an absolute aspect we call Brahman which is neither active nor emotive, but is pure consciousness. Then there is Ishwara we can loosely call God to mean the universal dynamic creative intelligence that we can relate to. When I merge into Godhead, I become one with Narayana. I cannot become Ishwara. I can say I have become Brahman but I do not have any active component anymore. 

Sri Ishwar Puri-ji calls the ultimate Home or Totality of Consciousness as Sachkhand. It is both one and many, and EVERYTHING is present in it. 

Silent, within

Beloved Master, this morning bloomed in anticipation of our meeting. 

You're no more outside. 

For me, what's left? 

Going within. Silently. 

When beauty meets strength

The first of the two pieces presented in this video so well is in the raaga Begada, one of my two most favourite raagas. 

The song is in praise of the Guru.

The Guru tattva is intrinsic to our Sanatana Dharma. It is the Guru who gives us the right vision to see the beauty of creation. And awakens the strength in us to rise to our fullness of being. 

The song in raaga Begada made a deep impact on me. Because Begada also combines infinite beauty with infinite strength. I have always imagined the sea shore with the energetic and beautiful waves rising and coming again and again to strike the strong rock on which I am standing. As I hear Begada the waves are making beautiful surf and splash and sprinkle, receding only to come back again. I am on the solid rock witnessing this exquisite beautiful moment.

Begada is not sung so often because it makes demands on the singer. The two - strength and beauty are the warp and woof of this raaga. Especially, I have found lady singers stay away from Begada. But not Kruthi Bhat here. She has such amazing grace in her voice and presentation. Her manodharma and little filigreed touches enhance Begada impeccably. She is singing with obvious devotion to the Swamiji and the sentiment of Gurubhakti. The deft violin touches by Vittal and the deep mridangam strokes of Sumesh add great joy to the experience. Thank the lockdown for making them go the extra length to create such a lovely offering. 

All in all a class act. God bless these musicians. Kruthi Bhat is making rapid progress!

PS: The second piece is by Kruthi's guru and the famous Vittal Ramamurthy a worthy disciple of Lalgudi Jayaraman. The violins, mridangam and voice meld very sweetly. 

Yajnavalkya on the sanctity of veena and classical music

There is a shloka you hear during academic discussions of the sanctity attached to classical music by sages in Sanatana Dharma. 

This shloka is stated by Sage Yajnavalkya in his Smriti, a seminal work covering almost all aspects of the circle of human life. Important ceremonies like Upnayanam, wedding and last rites that we conduct follow the edicts of Yajnavalkya. He is the most famous rishi of Upanishads as the central  preceptor of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. He also features in the all-important Taittariya Upanishad. 

What does Yajnavalkya say about music and veena in particular? The commentator refers to Bharatamuni's Natya Shastra and states what Yajnavalkya proclaims as his own insight:

vīṇāvādana-tattvajñaḥ śruti-jāti-viśāradaḥ ।

tālajñaśca aprayāsena mokṣa-mārgaṃ niyacchati॥

(Shloka 115, 4. Yatidharmaprakaranam, 3. Prayaschittaadhyaayah). 

Translation:

The one adept in the art of playing the veena, who knows the musical notes/microtones (Shruti), raagas (Jaati) and taalas (rhythmic cycle) masters the path to spiritual liberation without much toil. 

No wonder we see veena associated with Shiva, Sarasvati, Narada, Tumburu, even Ravana, and we have developed our classical musical structures by working with the veena. 

Veena is an ancient stringed instrument and takes many forms. The western violin is traced to Ravanastra, a type of veena. Indian variations like sitar, sarod, sarangi, rudra veena, chitra veena, vichitra veena and sarasvati veena are all variants. 

The current form of the south Indian veena (often called Sarasvati Veena) is called Raghunatha Veena. It was developed by Sri. Govinda Dikshita in the Tanjore court of king Raghunatha Nayaka. Govinda Dikshita hailed from the Mysore region and had migrated to Tanjore for better prospects. 

He, his son Venkatamakhi (72 Mela Raga system) and future descendant who later became the Kanchi Paramacharya, spoke Kannada at home. 

Kitchen Wisdom

 

Maybe I am getting a lot of gyan these days from all sides, because this morning something flashed to me. Almost all spiritual wisdom may be there just in front of our eyes in our kitchen and we don't notice it!

So here goes.

1. There may be gas in the cylinder, just like there is a lot of ready insights available around at your finger tips. But unless you have the spark of interest, the fire of knowledge won't light up.
2. Whatever you cook in the kitchen can only be containing all the groceries you have brought in, just like your path is dictated by your collective karma and samskaras.
3. The maturing of wisdom is like cooking in a pressure cooker. It takes time and happens inside, you can't hurry it. The inner transformation causes surely heat and pressure, but you can't release it in a hurry if you want the cooking done. It is an inner experience.
4. Have you ever thought of it? Nobody made a glass pressure cooker. Similarly your spiritual journey is private and not for showing off.
5. All claims of how great the cooking is can be tested by just one bite. That is true for a man's wisdom too... he doesn't have to produce certificates.
6. Cooking from a recipe book is never going to be successful, because you haven't internalised the process.
7. What is the role of the master? The one who taught you the basics of good cooking may not be around to correct you at every step. But you can feel their presence and hear their words if you are sincere inside your head.
8. Kitchen knives should be sharp. Be decisive in all your actions. 
9. You can't put cooking on autopilot except for some basics. Your attention is primary. Same with meditation.
10. Today's induction stoves cook without fire. They work because the vessel is humble - made of basic iron and not fancy. Similarly masters can work silently and without display if I am humble.
11. Spices and salt are only the dressing. It is not the cooking. Wisdom dressed up in different messages can all look different but the inside truth is what matters.
12. Never serve a dish unless you have tasted it. Never dish out wisdom until and unless you have tested it in your own actual experience and life.

Want more?

Govindashtakam

 

from Sringeri.net

गोविन्दाष्टकम्

govindāṣṭakam

सत्यं ज्ञानमनन्तं नित्यमनाकाशं परमाकाशं

गोष्ठप्राङ्गणरिङ्खणलोलमनायासं परमायासम् ।

मायाकल्पितनानाकारमनाकारं भुवनाकारं

क्ष्मामानाथमनाथं प्रणमत गोविन्दं परमानन्दम् ॥ १ ॥

satyaṃ jñānamanantaṃ nityamanākāśaṃ paramākāśaṃ

goṣṭhaprāṅgaṇariṅkhaṇalolamanāyāsaṃ paramāyāsam ;

māyākalpitanānākāramanākāraṃ bhuvanākāraṃ

kṣmāmānāthamanāthaṃ praṇamata govindaṃ paramānandam . 1 .

मृत्स्नामत्सीहेति यशोदाताडनशैशवसन्त्रासं

व्यादितवक्त्रालोकितलोकालोकचतुर्दशलोकालिम् ।

लोकत्रयपुरमूलस्तम्भं लोकालोकमनालोकं

लोकेशं परमेशं प्रणमत गोविन्दं परमानन्दम् ॥ २ ॥

mṛtsnāmatsīheti yaśodātāḍanaśaiśavasantrāsaṃ

vyāditavaktrālokitalokālokacaturdaśalokālim ;

lokatrayapuramūlastambhaṃ lokālokamanālokaṃ

lokeśaṃ parameśaṃ praṇamata govindaṃ paramānandam . 2 .

त्रैविष्टपरिपुवीरघ्नं क्षितिभारघ्नं भवरोगघ्नं

कैवल्यं नवनीताहारमनाहारं भुवनाहारम् ।

वैमल्यस्फुटचेतोवृत्तिविशेषाभासमनाभासं

शैवं केवलशान्तं प्रणमत गोविन्दं परमानन्दम् ॥ ३ ॥

traiviṣṭaparipuvīraghnaṃ kṣitibhāraghnaṃ bhavarogaghnaṃ

kaivalyaṃ navanītāhāramanāhāraṃ bhuvanāhāram ;

vaimalyasphuṭacetovṛttiviśeṣābhāsamanābhāsaṃ

śaivaṃ kevalaśāntaṃ praṇamata govindaṃ paramānandam . 3 .

गोपालं भूलीलाविग्रहगोपालं कुलगोपालं

गोपीखेलनगोवर्धनधृतिलीलालालितगोपालम् ।

गोभिर्निगदितगोविन्दस्फुटनामानं बहुनामानं

गोधीगोचरदूरं प्रणमत गोविन्दं परमानन्दम् ॥ ४ ॥

gopālaṃ bhūlīlāvigrahagopālaṃ kulagopālaṃ

gopīkhelanagovardhanadhṛtilīlālālitagopālam ;

gobhirnigaditagovindasphuṭanāmānaṃ bahunāmānaṃ

godhīgocaradūraṃ praṇamata govindaṃ paramānandam . 4 .

गोपीमण्डलगोष्टीभेदं भेदावस्थमभेदाभं

शश्वद्गोखुरनिर्धूतोद्गतधूलीधूसरसौभाग्यम् ।

श्रद्धाभक्तिगृहीतानन्दमचिन्त्यं चिन्तितसद्भावं

चिन्तामणिमहिमानं प्रणमत गोविन्दं परमानन्दम् ॥ ५ ॥

gopīmaṇḍalagoṣṭībhedaṃ bhedāvasthamabhedābhaṃ

śaśvadgokhuranirdhūtodgatadhūlīdhūsarasaubhāgyam ;

śraddhābhaktigṛhītānandamacintyaṃ cintitasadbhāvaṃ

cintāmaṇimahimānaṃ praṇamata govindaṃ paramānandam . 5 .

स्नानव्याकुलयोषिद्वस्त्रमुपादायागमुपारूढं

व्यादित्सन्तीरथ दिग्वस्त्रा दातुमुपाकर्षन्तं ताः ।

निर्धूतद्वयशोकविमोहं बुद्धं बुद्धेरन्तःस्थं

सत्तामात्रशरीरं प्रणमत गोविन्दं परमानन्दम् ॥ ६ ॥

snānavyākulayoṣidvastramupādāyāgamupārūḍhaṃ

vyāditsantīratha digvastrā dātumupākarṣantaṃ tāḥ ;

nirdhūtadvayaśokavimohaṃ buddhaṃ buddherantaḥsthaṃ

sattāmātraśarīraṃ praṇamata govindaṃ paramānandam . 6 .

कान्तं कारणकारणमादिमनादिं कालघनाभासं

कालिन्दीगतकालियशिरसि सुनृत्यन्तं मुहुरत्यन्तम् ।

कालं कालकलातीतं कलिताशेषं कलिदोषघ्नं

कालत्रयगतिहेतुं प्रणमत गोविन्दं परमानन्दम् ॥ ७ ॥

kāntaṃ kāraṇakāraṇamādimanādiṃ kālaghanābhāsaṃ

kālindīgatakāliyaśirasi sunṛtyantaṃ muhuratyantam ;

kālaṃ kālakalātītaṃ kalitāśeṣaṃ kalidoṣaghnaṃ

kālatrayagatihetuṃ praṇamata govindaṃ paramānandam . 7 .

बृन्दावनभुवि बृन्दारकगणबृन्दाराधितवन्द्यायां

कुन्दाभामलमन्दस्मेरसुधानन्दं सुमहानन्दम् ।

वन्द्याशेषमहामुनिमानसवन्द्यानन्दपदद्वन्द्वं

नन्द्याशेषगुणाब्धिं प्रणमत गोविन्दं परमानन्दम् ॥ ८ ॥

bṛndāvanabhuvi bṛndārakagaṇabṛndārādhitavandyāyāṃ

kundābhāmalamandasmerasudhānandaṃ sumahānandam ;

vandyāśeṣamahāmunimānasavandyānandapadadvandvaṃ

nandyāśeṣaguṇābdhiṃ praṇamata govindaṃ paramānandam . 8 .

गोविन्दाष्टकमेतदधीते गोविन्दार्पितचेता यो

गोविन्दाच्युत माधव विष्णो गोकुलनायक कृष्णेति ।

गोविन्दाङ्घ्रिसरोजध्यानसुधाजलधौतसमस्ताघो

गोविन्दं परमानन्दामृतमन्तस्स्थं स तमभ्येति ॥ ९ ॥

govindāṣṭakametadadhīte govindārpitacetā yo

govindācyuta mādhava viṣṇo gokulanāyaka kṛṣṇeti ;

govindāṅghrisarojadhyānasudhājaladhautasamastāgho

govindaṃ paramānandāmṛtamantassthaṃ sa tamabhyeti . 9 .

॥ गोविन्दाष्टकं सम्पूर्णम् ॥

. govindāṣṭakaṃ sampūrṇam

Sakhi Prana

A superb rendition by Vid. N. J. Nandini and Vid. Vishnudev Namboodari has prompted this post:

Sakhi Prana - one of the MOST famous javalis in Carnatic music is composed by Dharmapuri Subbaraaya Aiyyar - a 19th century composer. 

Listen to Sakhi Prana here:

https://www.facebook.com/NJNandiniofficial/videos/1049722148872829/

N J Nandini is the grand daughter of Sri. Vechoor  Harihara Sharma of Trivandrum. I know her to be  a gutsy and good singer.

Vishnudev Namboodari is a very good singer and a student of P S Narayanaswamy. Both of them therefore belong to SSI school. But this type of collaboration is not only difficult but also singers often resort to gimmicks and electronics to hide the inadequacies of singing. This lady has done a fabulous job here. The bold moves in her voice are difficult indeed to pull off.

Meaning:

Pallavi:
sakhi prANA sakhuDiTu jEsenE

Oh friend! look what my soul mate has done

C1: idigO vaccedanani hitavugA mATalADi aladAni niDa cErenE

he sweetly told me that he would just come back and then took the other lady's shelter

2: nana vilutuni pOrulaku pilacitE vADu anarAni mATalADanE
he abused me when I invited him for the manmatha's games

3: munu nannu kalasi marmamulerigina dharmapuri vAsuDu maracenE
the dharmapuri vAsa, who was with me earlier and knows all my secrets, has forgotten me.

Dharmapuri Subbarayar hailed from Dharmapuri, Tamilnadu, and composed in Telugu. He is the most notable composer of the Jaavali form, of which he is the universally acclaimed master. Most of the music he composed, therefore, dealt with sringaara rasa, or romantic and even erotic love, and all were of the jaavali form. Many of his compositions were composed in the home of Veena Dhanam, whose music he admired, and who learned around 60 javalis from him. It is said that he may have composed the poignant javali ``Sakhiprana'' at her home, grief-stricken at his inability to save her from bankruptcy. 

The story goes that once Dharmapuri Subbarayar had to go away to his native place to settle certain personal things. He promised Dhanammal that he would be back soon. But it was more than six months before he returned. Meanwhile Dhanammal had to vacate her house because of debts. Subbarayar was saddened by this and in remorse he composed 'sakhi prANa'. In it he says that he had promised to return soon but had not kept his promise. This is the background of this javali.

Smara sundaranguni (paras) was also written out of respect for her. This close contact with Veena Dhanam as well as T. Balasaraswati influenced dance as much as music, especially abhinaya. Subbarayar was also employed by the Yenadi Sisters. T Shankaran, in one of his articles, writes that he kept a notebook at his bedside near the pillow to write down the javalis that came to mind, but his wife is said to have fervently prayed to the diety at Tiruchengodu that her children should not take after their father!

Javalis like Parulanna mata (Kapi), Sakhiprana (Jhunjooti), vaaNi pondu (kaanaDaa), , caarumati (kaanaDaa), Muttavadura Mohananga (saavEri), Ethanaichonalum (saavEri), ni Pondu Chalu (kaanaDaa), Narimani (Khamas), praana sakutitu (chenchurutti), Idi niku (bEgaDa) and Emandune muddu (Saindhavi) are among his compositions.

Sources: various, from the Internet. 

My Gadget Obsession

As long back as I canremember, I have had this Gadget Obsession Syndrome. 

Since 1976 I am buying stuff. Starting with the Olympus half-frame 35  camera (a clever design that took two pics in one 24x36mm frame). That was in Nairobi. In 1978 I bought a Telefunken cassette recorder in London. Wait, my sister bought in Madras in 1969, when I was a student there, a Bush cassette recorder. I remember our going to the shop in Mount Road. 

I think my mother was also into gadgets. She bought a radio and camera in 50s. She showed me the features of her new pendulum clock when she was 80.

I think my fascination with electronics from childhood was all because of my Gadget syndrome! I studied electronics in IIT. I chose to be in techno-marketing. All Gadget obsessions for sure. 

In 80s I started buying loud music systems with LP players. 

Then came the 14 inch BW TV of Philips in Royapettah, Madras. 

Then the Panasonic 3 in 1. 

Cameras - when I went to Germany in 1987 I traded the Olympus half-frame for the Pentax DLR. 

In 90s colour TVs - one after another. The latest is a lovely 4K LG LED 42 incher that fills our eyes with candy. 

I bought a Bose 35-III system after much research during a Singapore stopover enroute Sydney in 2007.

A series of cameras since 1976 the latest being Lumix and  Canon 5D Mk II and a Sony RX III. 

Computers - a Compaq, an assembled disaster, a Mac desktop, a 27 incher HD touchscreen HP All in One with Blue Ray player, a few iPads, a Macbook Pro and the latest being Macbook Pro M1 13 incher within a few days of its global launch. 

Among MP3 players I had the Creative Jukebox, a few more different brands, iPods, and so on. 

Among phones my first one was a Motorola. Then Ericsson. Then Sony Ericsson 900 ( a cult touchscreen multifeatured one, the inspiration for iPhone). 

I got one of the earliest iPhone within weeks of its launch. I ran through a few iPhones over 5 years. Then a series of Androids. HTC, Sony, Samsung, Oneplus, the latest being 7T.

Bose headphones and portable speakers. Bluetooth headsets. 

So I fill my eyes and ears and hands and brain with gadgetry. 

I see a pattern. 

I read about something fancy. (There are print and TV and Youtube media specialists who target freaks like me). Then starts a small opening building up in my mind. There is even a seasonality - spring and autumn almost every year, a craving for some new gadget. The media marketing blitz feeds it. 

Once any Gadget seed is planted it grows up like a bean stalk and I start researching the stuff like crazy. I normally spend several hours reading and drooling. 

I spot shops. And bargains. And get friendly and on first name terms with the sales persons. (I had befriended the lady sales assistant in Bose Store Singapore 4 weeks before I flew from Bangalore to pick it up during the stopover enroute to Sydney). 

I then put up a purchase list. Negotiate. Choose the best payment option. Go for the kill. Get the gadget. And read every word in the manual. Study and preserve the box. Try all accessories. Keep them safe. In other words take as much care of the gadget as one would of a new pet. 

I wander around in the technology malls. I have walked through such malls many times in London, German cities, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, even Nova Scotia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Beijing, Sydney, Melbourne, Bangalore, Bombay, Delhi, Chennai...

I have found in long history of buying tgat the best brands are Canon. Sony. Bose. Apple. 

Apple puts soul into each piece of technology. Their online support is as incredible as their gadgets' build and design. Both Apple and Bose sell on excellence, not price. Sony and Canon are subject experts and create lasting value. Especially in sound and video, Sony is really good but has lost out to cheap Chinese makes. Koreans are copiers. Canon is in an elite space. I like the sound of the shutter in a Canon DSLR.

 

Apple=Self Confidence + Excellence. A whole ecosystem built to last. 

I also trade in and get rid of the old. I have also lost cameras and phones to theft. 

All gadgets I don't trade in die sooner or later. They become reminders to me of the entire fly-try-buy story of each of those gadgets and how I later moved on. I think this is what Bhagavadgita tells us: Vasaamsi JeerNaani...

 

The human body is the ultimate gadget. Can't be upgraded or traded in. We get a new one. For better or worse?