Valmiki Ramayana April 21

 I received a circular from Samskrita Bharati that they are starting a "Read Valmiki Ramayana" movement for one year from today, Sri Ramanavami. I decided to enroll! And at that same time Prasada came from Melkote after the recent festivities. What a good omen! Here is a report of today's reading! हरिः ॐ तत् सत्

***

कुरु रामकथां पुण्यां श्लोकबद्धां मनोरमाम्।

यावत् स्थास्यन्ति गिरयः सरितश्च महीतले ॥

तावद्रामायणकथा लोकेषु प्रचरिष्यति।

यावद्रामायणकथा त्वत्कृता प्रचरिष्यति ॥

तावदूर्ध्वमधश्च त्वं मल्लोकेषु निवत्स्यसि। 

इत्युक्त्वा भगवान्ब्रह्मा तत्रैवान्तरधीयत ॥

Valmiki the sage is visited By Narada Maharshi. Valmiki asks if ever there was a perfect man on earth. Narada tells him about Rama as that ideal man and narrates his life. Valmiki is thrilled to hear the story. 

Valmiki soon after is at the river for his bath when sees a hunter cruelly and senselessly kill a bird  engaged in mating with its female companion. 

The Rishi utters a curse on the hunter for his heinous act. His words tumble out in verse form! Shoka= Sadness is expressed as a poem=Shloka. This is the first Shloka or verse in Sanskrit. 

The sage is bewildered by all these events when Brahma comes and assures him that Goddess Sarswati has given Valmiki the power of poetic expression for the express purpose of setting out Ramayana as an epic poem. Brahma says that as long as mountains and rivers exist, Valmiki's poem Ramayana will be popular. And the sage will dwell in Brahma Loka=highest heaven. 

***

श्रीरामजयम्

Awareness

Our ADY teacher has been emphasizing increasingly that we should cultivate awareness in everything we do every moment. I just became aware of how important it is to be aware moment to moment:

1. Being aware we enjoy every moment.

2. Being aware we are sensitive=kind every moment.

3. Being aware we are efficient every moment. 

4. Being aware we are beautiful every moment. 

5. Bring aware we are responsive every moment. 

6. Being aware we are objective every moment. 

7. Being aware we are safe every moment. 

8. Being aware we are alive every moment. 

9. Being aware we are rooted every moment. 

10. Being aware we can grow every moment. 

Sankalp = Be aware every moment!

Begone Corona Virus!

Inspired by my Sanskrit teachers:

लोकाः सर्वे पीडिता व्याधिग्रस्ताः

मर्त्यास्त्रस्ताः सर्वथा भीतभीताः। 

त्वं जाड्यश्चीनदेशात् प्रवृत्तः

शीघ्रं नितरां  कोरनाख्यो  विगच्छ॥

What makes me who I am

 

अदाता वंशदोषेण कर्मदोषात् दरिद्रता । 

उन्मादो मातृदोषेण पितृदोषेण मूर्खता॥

If I am a miser, it is due to my family background of miserliness.

If I am poor, it is due to my past deeds and actions (inefficient, deficient, untrustworthy and so on).

If I am given to intemperance, bad habits and sloth, it is due to the way my mother did not correct me and instil good habits when I was young.

If I am not worldly wise and a bit of a duffer, it is due to my father.

The quality of Kshamaa

Kshamaa is a great virtue to be cultivated by a Yoga Sadhaka.

Interestingly, Kshamaa in Sanskrit can be translated as forgiveness as well as forbearance. 

The insistence on Kshamaa comes from the fact that in the absence of Kshamaa we continue to hurt inside, project negative feelings around, and relate to people and situations with anger, vengeance and a sense of victimhood.

My own life and its lessons have taught me that to feel hurt and angry is a perfectly normal feeling for everyone of us. This comes mainly from disappointments and unhappy experiences that went against our own expectations and what we felt was fair to us and what we thought was our entitlement.

In Bhgavadgita, Sri Krishna defines Jnana or wisdom as becoming aware (Anudarshanam) that this life-cycle is fraught with Doshas=defects such as Janma= birth, Mrityu= Death, Jara= Old age, Vyadhi=Disease, Duhkha=Sorrow (BG13.9). Bhagavan also says that contact with this world causes heat and cold, sorrow and pleasure, but all these pass off soon and so we should forbear these experiences (BG 2.14).

So is an essential helpless tolerance of Life's difficulties and pains the only way to truth? What is our truth? What is our true nature? When we pursue the path of Atma Darshan = Awareness of our true eternal nature, we come to realise that our essential nature is an Inner bliss and contentment that cannot be shaken or broken by any external situation or interaction. 

Atman is of the nature of eternal bliss. But we are unaware of that. Therefore we identify ourselves with pain and hurt, we identify ourselves with the body and mind and become vulnerable to external experiences with people, things and situations. This bondage should be broken if we want truly to cultivate Kshama. 

My favourite source of wisdom and Motivation is the Srimad Bhagavadgita. Sri Krishna defines Yoga as Duhkha-Samyoga-Viyoga (BG6.23)

yasmin sthito na duḥkhena

guruṇāpi vicālyate

taṁ vidyād duḥkha-saṁyoga-

viyogaṁ yoga-saṁjñitam (BG 6.23)

Being situated in such a position, which is defined as Yoga, one is never shaken, even in the midst of greatest difficulty. This indeed is actual freedom from all miseries arising from material contact.

So breaking free of hurt and victimhood by stopping my dependence on external sources of pleasure and joy is the path to Yoga. 

As long as I do not have this mindset, I will be hurt and unhappy. I will have expectations which beget disappointments. And the cycle will be eternal. 

I cannot use forgiveness as a bargaining tactic in relationships. I have to forgive everyone everything every time because I can see the external cover of body and mind reacting with their own tendencies but I am established in my eternal nature of bliss. 

Atma Darshan is the key to forgiveness. Those who hurt others are unaware. Those who feel hurt are also unaware of their own inner joy. We are all sailing in the same boat of worldly existence. We need to break free within ourselves and find that inner joy and peace.

Then and then alone will we be able to forgive like the Buddha. 

Levels of Awareness

http://www.atmadarshan.net

I feel blessed to begin my day with a session of Yoga online with Atma Darshan Yoga class. Our teachers Sri. Devanand and Smt. Devashri are exemplary in their dedication, mastery of the subject, and their way of communication. Even a class of 50 connects to them easily at a one-on-one level. 

A key Fundamental of Satyam Yoga as taught is Pawanmuktasan or PM series.

The PM1 series deals with all our joints. Toes, ankle, knee, hip, fingers, wrist, elbow, shoulder and neck. We move each with levels of awareness and breath synchronization.

I have found this to be remarkable for the way it keeps me like a well-oiled pendulum clock. 

I was wondering if there is an analogy to explain how this works. It surely works at many levels, and as I unravel it, the imagery of a master of a factory or farm and a worker come to mind. 

FIRST

At the most basic level, the master is aware of the worker - that he exists. He doesn't give much attention as there are many workers in his farm or factory. He observes what work the worker does. That's it. 

SECOND 

At the next level, he makes the worker's acquaintance, what his background is and how he goes about his job. He observes his level of efficiency and gives him some feedback, positive if his work is good, advice if not so good. He will perhaps send him for some training. 

THIRD 

At the next level, he will take on himself the role of a coach for the worker. He will advise the worker how he can stand out and shine. The master wants the worker to relate to other workers and establish a synergy of efficiency. 

FOURTH

At the next level, the worker may be motivated enough to see the grand vision of the master and join in the celebration of the totality of the establishment. He really excels at this level and becomes more than just a worker but a valued part of a grand whole. 

The PM1 levels are of 1) awareness of movement, 2) infusion of breath/Prana, 3) awareness of vitality and strength of the joint, and finally 4)perfection of movement.... 

These in PM1 series roughly correspond to the levels I have listed in my story. 

Does it make sense? 

हरिः ॐ तत् सत् 

Bhagavan Sri Ramakrishna

Five Mahavakyas of Sri. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa:

1. Constant and undivided Kirtan (Chanting and prayer) of the Lord.

2. Active and frequent Satsang with devoted fellow-travellers on the spiritual path.

3. Reclusive life of meditation in quiet and isolated settings.

4. Continuous discriminative contemplation of the eternal true Reality and the fleeting nature and undependability of all worldly experiences.

5. Engagement in all worldly duties, performing all interactions with my people and being at my best for all occasions, but with the clear insight that all this is a passing drama and my inner reality is God. 

हरिः ॐ तत् सत् 

Five Point Summary of the Path

All souls are on the path to liberation. 

The human condition and the path are summarised below (Ishwar-ji's message as I understand it.) 

1. This creation and our life is only an experience and impermanent. The Atma is the experiencer and permanent. God is the totality of consciousness and every Atma is a part as well as the whole of it. 

2. This life is a many-layered experience the Atma undergoes through the trap of time-space-mind in an eternal cycle of intentions, acts and results - called Karma. 

3. Liberation comes to the Atma when the Atma detaches the self from the mind and attaches to the Totality through love and devotion. This then completely alters every experience. 

4. The Guru comes as another human being to guide us when our seeking reaches a critical point. Thereafter we are never lost. 

5. Surrender to the Guru=Totality transforms all our actions from Karma to Dharma and fills this life with love, bliss, aesthetic joy and intuitive understanding. We witness and even enjoy all experiences thereafter as a passing game. 

  हरिः ॐ तत् सत्

Postscript: This is totally in alignment with my reading of the Srimad Bhagavadgita.

Dharma is performing all of one's actions as an offering to the Totality of existence. Karma is all our actions and thoughts with the I-mine-unto myself attitude.

Karma and Dharma are therefore totally predicated on our mindset and not the actual actions and roles. 

Karma - good and bad

There is an uncanny resemblance to what Ishwar-ji teaches us and what Bhagavan Krishna says in the Bhagavadgita!

What follows is from Bhagavadgita As It Is by Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada (ISKCON). 

na — never; ādatte — accepts; kasyacit — anyone’s; pāpam — sin; na — nor; ca — also; eva — certainly; su-kṛtam — pious activities; vibhuḥ — the Supreme Lord; ajñānena — by ignorance; āvṛtam — covered; jñānam — knowledge; tena — by that; muhyanti — are bewildered; jantavaḥ — the living entities.

The Sanskrit word vibhu means the Supreme Lord who is full of unlimited knowledge, riches, strength, fame, beauty and renunciation. He is always satisfied in Himself, undisturbed by sinful or pious activities. He does not create a particular situation for any living entity, but the living entity, bewildered by ignorance, desires to be put into certain conditions of life, and thereby his chain of action and reaction begins. A living entity is, by superior nature, full of knowledge. Nevertheless, he is prone to be influenced by ignorance due to his limited power. The Lord is omnipotent, but the living entity is not. The Lord is vibhu, or omniscient, but the living entity is aṇu, or atomic. Because he is a living soul, he has the capacity to desire by his free will. Such desire is fulfilled only by the omnipotent Lord. And so, when the living entity is bewildered in his desires, the Lord allows him to fulfill those desires, but the Lord is never responsible for the actions and reactions of the particular situation which may be desired. Being in a bewildered condition, therefore, the embodied soul identifies himself with the circumstantial material body and becomes subjected to the temporary misery and happiness of life. The Lord is the constant companion of the living entity as Paramātmā, or the Supersoul, and therefore He can understand the desires of the individual soul, as one can smell the flavor of a flower by being near it. Desire is a subtle form of conditioning for the living entity. The Lord fulfills his desire as he deserves: Man proposes and God disposes. The individual is not, therefore, omnipotent in fulfilling his desires. The Lord, however, can fulfill all desires, and the Lord, being neutral to everyone, does not interfere with the desires of the minute independent living entities. However, when one desires Kṛṣṇa, the Lord takes special care and encourages one to desire in such a way that one can attain to Him and be eternally happy. 

Swathi Thirunal Dashavatara Ragamalika Kriti

Meaning:

1. Oh one with lotus-like face! The one who vanquished the demon Hayagriva who stole the Vedas, Divine fish incarnate, Save me, oh kind one!
2. One holding the mountain Mandara! Divine tortoise-incarnate! The one who entertained as Mohini the gods who had partaken of Amrutha!
3. One who killed the fearsome Hiranyaksha!With the form of a boar! The support of Mother Earth! Support of this world!
4. One who took the form of Nara-Simha to protect Prahlada! One who gives cheer to the good ones! One who killed the demon Hiranyakashipu!
5. One who took the form of Vamana! Who broke down the snare of arrogance trapping Mahabali! The protector of the good-natured!
6. One whose arm sports the sharp-edged axe! One who learnt the limitless knowledge of scriptures from Shiva! Terrible to your enemies! Rama of Bhrigu clan!
7. The adornment of the human race! The terrible storm that destroyed the deceitful ten-headed Ravana! Raghuvira! Brave in battle!
8. Holder of the plough that attracted the respect of Hastinapura (ruled by Kauravas)! The one who killed the terrible Pralambhasura! Baladeva! Valiant one!
9. The one like Manmatha who sported in the most enjoyable Brindavan! The young cowherd Krishna!
10. The one who took the form of Kalki to spell the end of Kaliyuga! Your form shines like a rain-laden cloud! Oh Padmanabha! Save me, oh kind one!

Ancient Indian Knowledge Systems

Experience Krishna!

Life is but a chore and a bore and nothing more

Until you experience music, ethereal 

And feel God in everything around you. 

We call this pull of godliness as Krishna. 

🙏🙏🙏कर्षतीति कृष्णः 🙏🙏🙏

May I find Krishna within myself and tap the eternal fount of bliss! 

Violin Legend T Chowdiah

I heard Vidwan Chowdiah first in late 1950s and early 1960s in Bangalore when I wasn't even ten years of age. His fame ensured that there was in every concert a large crowd and that everyone thoroughly enjoyed the show. I am talking of his solos; and ensembles where he would lead with his favourite pieces and accompanists (violin and sometimes veena and flute) would follow faithfully. There would be good mridangam and ghatam accompaniment, too. Sri. Chowdiah appeared to me (a very young listener) to be supremely confident and given to a lot of tricks to hold the audiences. In fact the modern instrumentalist stars all seem to me to be following a format he had created. Please listen to this:

rsachi · raghu_vamsa_sudhAmbudhi-kadanakutUhalam.mp3

This was broadcast today on AIR 100.1FM with the announcement that today is Sri. Chowdiah's anniversary. In a flash, whatever I have heard from Sri. K. Srikantiah, he and his father having been major patrons and friends of Sri. Chowdiah, and whatever I have heard from stalwarts like Vid. KVN and Sri. S. Krishnamurthy, passed through my mind. From being the son of a farmer to a devoted disciple of Vid. Bidaram Krishnappa to becoming the supreme violin accompanist to all the superstars to being a great organiser, teacher, innovator of the seven stringed violin and finally to being the brand ambassador of Carnatic music in a true sense - all this makes him the first Carnatic super-hero for me. Listen to his Kadanakuthuhalam. It is full of melody, manodharma, instrumental virtuosity, and captivating presentation. A true legend we should remember and celebrate always. Did you notice how his Kadanakuthuhalam had many flavours of Maand also in the beginning? Two very sparkling cameo raagas in CM!

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? 

Kshemam Kuru Gopaala - Raagamaalika

This morning over the radio, I heard this wonderful rendition of the song, "Kshemam Kuru Gopala", played by Flute Shashank. It is such an evocative song. I have heard it so many times sung by the one and only "Mahavidwan KVN". 

I was almost certain this song, with saahityam composed by Sri.Narayana Tirtha, would have been tuned by Sri.KVN himself. I later verified it with Sri. K. N. Vishwanathan, Sri.KVN's son that my surmise was correct. 

The raagamaalika in Mohanam, Kaapi, Behag and Sindu Bhairavi has so many signature phrases and jells so well with the saahityam. I give below the audio as well as the saahityam, copied from Sangeethasudha.org

rsachi · Kshemam Kuru Gopala

Savouring Sangeetam

Recently, we had a few sessions on Carnatic music via Zoom in the IITM 1973 group. I was asked to introduce our music. I made a few slides and talked throrugh them, using playists of music I had created from the public domain. I would like to share the pitches and the playlists here: Whereas the first part spoke of some basics of the history, format and naunces of our music, the second part went into the subject of how to develop a taste for "quality" in Carnatic music. I also shared the results of a survey I had done in 2013: https://bit.ly/2013CarnaticSurvey The Playlist is here> Zoom was not very cooperative and people listened to the music in peace only after the call.

Raaga Rendezvous

We had 3 sessions via Zoom among IITM1973 batchmates about Carnatic music recently. This is the pitch I made in the second session. The session was intended to explain what is a Raaga in Carnatic music, with all its nuances. To keep it simple, I used only one raaga, Mohanam. Arguably the most popular and natural tune all over the world! Here is the playlist we used:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLT5COFfoKkzV45CJh15sQJXzjld0EbaQR

Colours of Todi

You have arrived at a magical, rain-forest home, a temple of Nature tended by man. You're welcomed by fragrant creepers, colourful flowers, fruit-laden trees, the cool breeze and and nature's continual song. 

This is the world of the raaga Todi (soft t, hard d). Some spell it as Thodi. It is the heart of Carnatic music. When you listen to Todi, you surrender to it. It takes you in unknown trails, and stops at quiet resting spots. All immersing you in a deep sense of bliss. It is raw and yet majestic. It is graceful and yet solid. You simply have to tune in. Neither singer nor listener bothers about flat notes or equivalent scales while listening to Todi. It all seems childish and not germane to this continuum of a rich dialogue with the Eternal. The best way to experience Todi is to yield to its heavy southern spell. 

Todi is an old raaga. In Karnataka Sangeeta Vishwakosha (by Sampathkumaracharya) they have listed about 110 songs in Todi. I saw another list with 910 songs. I have heard the mridangam maestro Vid. Umayalpuram Sivaraman introduce in an Odakattur Mutt concert the vocalist Vid. T. N. Seshagopalan as someone who knows 300 songs in Todi. In fact TNS even acted in a movie called "Thodi Ragam". 

Here is a scan of the Oxford Encyclopaedia entry on Todi:

Todi is a melakarta raaga (no. 8). It is called Sarvaswara-gamaka-varika rakti raaga. This means that it is a full-fledged and magnificent raaga. That is how it can be elaborated in so many dimensions. Todi  in fact defines many melodic ideas that typify Carnatic music. 

Let me quote Vocalist Vid. K. V. Narayanaswamy, whom I regard as a past master of CM. KVN was the prime disciple of Ariyakudi Ramanuja Aiyengar, who has been accepted as the "Karanataka Sangeeta Shikhamani". KVN once told me that the touchstone of Carnatic music is Todi. A musician who sings Todi well has graduated into this art form. 

I heard as a child the famous Ariyakudi rendition of a Devaranama in Todi. That was my introduction to this raaga. I also learnt the Todi varnam as a teenager. It has got under my skin. 

 Note: The following embedded links work within this post in most browsers. You can also right-click and open in a separate window. 

Let me sing to you some phrases. 

rsachi · Colours Of Todi Intro

It is said that some 220 years ago,  one Vid.Todi Seetarama Aiyar sang Todi for eight days at a stretch. That is still is a record. 

Vid. MLV says she heard Vid. Rajaratnam Pillai once play Todi through the night in a Bombay concert for some 6 hours. And in a quirk of our times, the same nagaswara chakravarthy was asked by M/s. HMV to condense his mastery into a few minutes for a plate. Let's listen to it now! 

There are two good lec-dems on Todi, one by Vid. MLV and one by the young star Ramakrishnan Murthy. The URLs are listed at the end. 

Todi is a multi-contoured raaga. You can do a lot with it, as you gathered from the Nagaswaram plate. Its heavy contours are demonstrated well by Vid. Sriram Parasuram here:

The Alattur Brothers had a trademark on the song Dachukovalena of Saint Tyagaraja in Todi. Recently Vid. Abhishek Raghuram rendered it at the Madras Music Academy and got rave reviews. Here it is. You get to hear the raaga aalaapana, the song, some superb niraval and swaras. Followed some tani aavartanam By the star Vid. Anantha.

Veena is the instrument that can showcase every gamaka of Todi. Here is a wonderful rendition by Vid. Emani Shankara Shastry (guru of Vid. Chitti Babu) accompanied by Vid. Umayalpuram Sivaraman. The soundscape is rich and lasts long in our mind. The tani avartanam actually plays out Todi. No wonder UKS is a Padma Vibhushan.

Here is now a beautiful Kalakshetra dance presentation of the Todi varnam in Telugu composed by Muthuswami Dikshitar. We know that his prime disciples, the Tanjore Quartet, laid down the foundations of what we call Bharatanatyam today.

And finally let me share one of the finest compositions in Todi, rendered by Bharata Ratna M. S. Subbulakshmi. Composed by Sri. Papanasam Sivan, it does full justice to the deity Karttikeya as well as the Raaga Todi. As was Sivan's penchant, the charanams (last few stanzas of the song) render Todi in new moods and colours.             

As you heard in the lec-dem of Vid. Sriram, the Hindustani Todi, a major Thaat in its own right, has no resemblance to Carnatic Todi. 

I do not want to say much more on Todi. Todi brings to me the rich cornucopia of the tastes and colours of Carnatic music. Let us enjoy Todi! 

Other Links: 

1. Ramakrishnan Murthy Todi lec-dem 

2. M.L.Vasanthakumari Todi lec-dem

3. Detailed Playlist

Sanskrit Auto-Translator SAT

The idea of SAT - Sanskrit Auto-Translator has been brewing in my mind ever since our teacher Dr. Sowmya conducted an event to launch the Asthadhyayi Mobile app developed by Sri. Neelesh Bodas and the Vyoma Labs team.

The idea is to develop an app called SAT that instantly translates any English sentence of 12 or fewer words into grammatically correct and idiomatically elegant and easy-to-pronounce Sanskrit.

The second phase will have text-to-speech output in culturally inspiring voices. 

The third phase would have voice recognition so one need not even type the English sentence input as long as one pronounces it correctly 😃

Now how to go about it? I think it involves like any large-scale Sanskrit project:

1. Enlisting a panel of Sanskrit experts who will give authentic inputs. They will be paid for their contribution. 

2. Raising funds. I think we should raise about ₹ 1 crore in 2 phases through crowd-funding. 

3. Enrolling volunteers who will give about 2 hours per week for 12 weeks to input the English sentences for AI engine creation.

4. Setting up a software team for development. This team will own the IP. 

5. Utilising available software development tools. 

6. Attracting project funding from donors who see merit in furthering the knowledge systems in Sanskrit in an English-controlled world order.

How to map the app development? 

My simplistic idea is to collect 108,000 English sentences from about a thousand volunteers. The sentences would reflect our common usage at a personal, professional and social media level. It will also leverage automatic crawler-news-media analysers to acquire English sentences that would be relevant for a typical SAT app user.

This will be then organised into a taxonomy for language analysis and vocabulary data-base. 

The Sanskrit expert panel will translate these 108, 000 sentences into Sanskrit. 

The input for software development will be this English sentence data-base, English vocabulary, mapped Sanskrit sentence data-base, and Sanskrit vocabulary. 

The first version of the SAT app will have a continuous-learning architecture by means of which it learn s new sentences and build its vocabulary and translation algorithm as it is deployed and used. 

Do you think all this makes sense? 

Please let me know. If I get any encouragement, I will make more efforts and start a survey to gather responses. 

I am sufficiently motivated by my Sanskrit gurus to devote a good portion of my time and resources for this project. 

हरिः ॐ तत् सत्!