Messages

12496

General topics / Re: Tevaram - Some select verses.

« on: January 08, 2016, 09:53:24 AM »

Verse 225:


சிவனுறையுந் திருத்துறையூர்
   சென்றணைந்து தீவினையால்
அவநெறியிற் செல்லாமே
   தடுத்தாண்டாய் அடியேற்குத்
தவநெறிதந் தருளென்று
    தம்பிரான் முன்னின்று
பவநெறிக்கு விலக்காகுந்
   திருப்பதிகம் பாடினார்.

He then left for Tiru-th-Turaiyoor where Siva bides,
And arriving at His Presence, hymned thus:
?You did prevent me from treading the evil path;
Deign to grant Your slave the righteous path of tapas.?
Thus he sang the decade divine that annuls
The cycle of birth and death for mankind.   

Arunachala Siva.

12497

General topics / Re: Tevaram - Some select verses.

« on: January 08, 2016, 09:49:57 AM »

Verse 224:


நாவலர்கோன் ஆரூரன்
   தனைவெண்ணெய் நல்லூரின்
மேவுமருட் டுறையமர்ந்த
   வேதியராட் கொண்டதற்பின்
பூவலருந் தடம்பொய்கைத்
   திருநாவ லூர்புகுந்து
தேவர்பிரான் தனைப்பணிந்து
   திருப்பதிகம் பாடினார்.


After his enslavement by the Lord of Vennai Nalloor
Enshrined at Tiru-Arul-Turai, Nambi Aroorar
Came to Tiru Navaloor dight with vast flowery tanks,
And hailed the Lord of gods in psalms and verse.   


Arunachala Siva.

12498

General topics / Re: Tevaram - Some select verses.

« on: January 08, 2016, 09:47:29 AM »

Verse 223:


அயலோர்தவ முயல்வார்பிற
    ரன்றேமணம் அழியும்
செயலால்நிகழ் புத்தூர்வரு
   சிவவேதியன் மகளும்
உயர்நாவலர் தனிநாதனை
    யொழியாதுணர் வழியிற்
பெயராதுயர் சிவலோகமும்
   எளிதாம்வகை பெற்றாள்.



Others would perhaps pursue external paths
Of askesis; the marital life of the daughter
Of the Putthoor Brahmin ended on the very day of her wedding;
Poised in the meditation of her peerless lord for ever,
And thus oned with him, she easily gained
Sempiternal Sivaloka at the end of her life on earth.

Arunachala Siva.   

12499

General topics / Re: Tevaram - Some select verses.

« on: January 08, 2016, 09:45:19 AM »

Verse 222:


சொல்லார்தமி ழிசைபாடிய
   தொண்டன்தனை இன்னும்
பல்லாறுல கினில்நம்புகழ்
   பாடென்றுறு பரிவின்
நல்லார்வெண்ணெய் நல்லூரருட்
   டுறைமேவிய நம்பன்
எல்லாவுல குய்யப்புரம்
   எய்தானருள் செய்தான்.



Listening to the dulcet decade of Tamizh
Melodiously rendered by His devotee, the Lord said:
?May you continue to hymn our manifold praise.?
Thus the Lord, the Smiter of the triple sky high cities,
Enshrined in Tiru-Arul-Turai of Vennai Nalloor
Graciously commanded him in compassion true
That all the worlds might be blessed with His redemptive grace.   


Arunachala Siva.

12500

General topics / Re: Tevaram - Some select verses.

« on: January 08, 2016, 09:26:03 AM »

Verse 221:



முறையால்வரு மருதத்துடன்
   மொழியிந்தள முதலிற்
குறையாநிலை மும்மைப்படி
   கூடுங்கிழ மையினால்
நிறைபாணியி லிசைகோள்புணர்
   நீடும்புகல் வகையால்
இறையான்மகி ழிசைபாடின
    னெல்லாநிக ரில்லான்.



In Maruda of the hoary tradition is Indala;
In its classification of Mudal poised in flawless purity,
Befitting the harmony at the base of its threefold division
And in keeping with the Time and the Grammar of music,
He, the peerless master of music, sang,
And God was pleased.


Arunachala Siva.

12501

General topics / Re: Tiru Em Paavai and Tirup PaLLi Ezhuchi - Dhanur month 2015-2016.

« on: January 08, 2016, 06:56:56 AM »

Verse 3:


கூவின பூங்குயில் கூவின கோழி
    குருகுகள் இயம்பின இயம்பின சங்கம்
ஓவின தாரகை யொளிஒளி உதயத்
    தொருப்படு கின்றது விருப்பொடு நமக்குத்
தேவநற் செறிகழல் தாளிணை காட்டாய்
    திருப்பெருந் துறையுறை சிவபெரு மானே
யாவரும் அறிவரி யாய்எமக் கெளியாய்
    எம்பெரு மான்பள்ளி எழுந்தரு ளாயே. 


Comely kuyils have piped their notes;
the chanticleers Have crowed;
other birds have loud twittered;
Shells have blared;
the light of stars has faded.
Dawn`s radiance spreads.
Deign to make Manifest,
in love,
Your divine and goodly feet Twain,
fastened to anklets.
O God Siva Who abides at sacred Perunturai !
O Lord Hard to know by all others,
but easy of access To us,
be pleased to arise from off Your couch and grace us.


Arunachala Siva.

12502

General Discussion / Re: The Written Word:

« on: January 08, 2016, 06:54:50 AM »

Dear Ravi,

I am able to see your views.  I do not know what to answer.  I shall check up with the Editorial Team
of Mountain Path.

Arunachala Siva.

12503

General Discussion / The Finger Pointing to the Moon:

« on: January 07, 2016, 03:41:18 PM »

(This is an article by D. Samarender Reddy, appearing in the Mountain Path, Jan. -Mar. 2015.)

*

That one which cannot be understood by the mind, but because of which the mind is capable of
understanding something is Brahman.  Understand that alone to be Brahman.  All other things
that are being defined as 'Brahman' and worshipped are not.

- Kena Upanishad.

There is nothing in the intellect that was not first in the senses, (nihil est in intellectu, quod prius non
fuerit in sensu.)

-  Empiricist Axiom.

*

The purpose of this article is to think through in what sense the above verse from Kena Upanishad is
true and meaningful.  We can safely assume for our purposes that the empiricist axiom stated above
is true.  In doing so, we are side stepping the rationalist counter to it that there are certain innate
truths that the mind can 'know' merely by its own reflections, without recourse to any experience originating
from the world, for reasons which will become clear later on this article.

The question now arises, what is 'Brahman" that the Kena Upanishad is referring to. One encounters
references to Brahman (also called the Self) in the Upanishadic lore, which is nothing but the teachings
of various ancient sages who supposedly realized that their own true nature as being Brahman and not
merely the empirical psycho-physical body-mind complex.  Brahman is the truth whose experiential
understanding one has, or the absolute reality or state one awakens to upon Self Realization, as a culmination
of meditative contemplation of one's Being with a silent mind that is not thinking but absorbed in such
meditative contemplation.  To 'know' Brahman is to be Brahman.  It is this realization of Brahman that the
Kena Upanishad is saying cannot be obtained by the mind.  To see why, we need to clarify for ourselves
how the mind 'knows' anything.               

contd.,

Arunachala Siva.

12504

General Discussion / Narasinh Mehta: An Introduction:

« on: January 07, 2016, 03:23:29 PM »

(This is an article by Meena Devi, in Mountain Path,  Jan.-Mar. 2015:)

Narasinh Mehta lived during the 15th century in Junagadh in Saurashtra, the western peninsula of
Gujarat.  He was born into a Nagar Brahmin family , a sub-caste proud of serving society as administrators,
scholars, soldiers and educators.  Orphaned early, he lived with his brother in Talaja.  After being taunted
by his sister in law, for being still unemployed when to become a father for the second time, Mehta left
home and ended up praying in a ruined Siva temple for seven days.

According to the legend, Lord Siva granted him any boon, but Mehta insisted he only wanted what the god
loved best.  In his lyrics, he describes being taken to the court of Krishna to be the dark lord's servant
and seeing divine dancing in Vrindavan.  Mehta eventually returned home as a devotee desiring to sing
songs praising Krishna.

He settled in Junagadh, with Manek as his wife, Shamal his son and Kunwar his daughter.  There he
became popular for his kirtans of Krishna,  describing the joyous life in Vrindavan, especially Radha
and the gopis demonstrating self less love for the god.  His Nagar community found his amorous poetry
too explicit, and also publicly reviled him for singing bhajans to audiences of untouchables. Some life events,
as recorded in his own poems and later re-tellings, describe miracles that rescue him from social embarrassment.

For example, when Dixit, a visiting priest, chose Shamal to be betrothed to Ratan, the daughter of a
minister in the Kingdom of Vadnagar, Mehta suggested faith in Krishna in reply to Manek's concerns
about inequality in their status.  Their rag tag arrival for the marriage turned into a wealth-laden,
grand event at the wedding that overawed Kunwar's expectant mother ceremony was resolved
when he silenced her in laws with everything they asked for, including gold blocks  for the rocks that
her grand mother in law had presumed her father's gift would be.

contd.,

Arunachala Siva.                       

12505

The teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi / Re: Viveka Chudamani - Sri Sankara:

« on: January 07, 2016, 11:20:46 AM »

Verse 43:

The Master Speaks:

O prudent One, do not fear.  For you there is no danger. There is a way to cross the ocean of worldly
life.  I shall reveal to you that very method by which sages have reached the other shore.

Verse 44:

There is a certain potent method of putting an end to the horror of this worldly life.  By it, you
may cross the world ocean and reach the highest bliss.

Verse 45:

Meditation on the meaning of the truth as it is taught in Vedanta leads to the highest illumination.
By this means, the misery of worldly life is altogether destroyed. 

Verse 46:

Faith, devotion, and constant communion with God through prayer, -- these are declared with God
through the prayer -- these are declared by the sacred scriptures to be the seeker's
direct means of liberation.  To him who abides by them comes liberation from that bondage of physical
consciousness which has  been forged by ignorance.

Verse 47:

Because you are associated with ignorance, the supreme Atman within you appears to be in bondage
to the non Atman.  This is the sole cause of the cycle of births and deaths.  The flame of illumination,
which is kindled by discrimination between Atman and non Atman, will burn away the effects of ignorance,
down to their very roots.

contd.,

Arunachala Siva. 

12506

General topics / Re: Sri Achuthanantha Adigal:

« on: January 07, 2016, 11:05:06 AM »

But Dasar had levitated and was slowly coming down,  doing his yogic practice, and hence could not
respond to their calls.  Getting no response after repeated knocking and shouting, his worried in laws
and others broke down the wall near the door.  This commotion unsettled the single pointed mind of
Achutha Dasar who at that moment was still descending to the ground, causing him to fall with a thud
instead of landing smoothly.  Due to this, the breath, which he had held while doing the exercise and which
should have been exhaled, settled in his system and became too heavy for him to bear.   His suffering
was colorfully described by his biographer as lie that of a worm in the hot sun.  In unbearable pain he cried
loudly.

His relatives were at a total loss, not knowing to help Adigal in his predicament. Dasar told them unless
someone rushed to Pottharai and brought his yoga guru Ammaiyar, he would get no relief.  A suitable
person,'who went like the wind', found Ammaiyar and reported the situation.  Ammaiyar immediately
came to Kasthampadi and ordered everyone out of Dasar's room.  She commanded Dasar to re-start
his yogic exercise and to levitate as usual and then come down.  When Dasar did so, all the breath,
which had been locked in a tight knot, got released and he was relieved us of all discomfort.  Dasar
prostrated at Ammaiyar's feet in gratitude.  She advised him, 'Dear son!  May you live long!  Henceforth
be alert and don't let us such distrubance happen again.', and then left for her village immediately.
So the day ended without planned conclusion of the Shanthi muhurtham (nuptial night) ceremony .
On the same day, Dasar completely gave up the yogic levitation practice.

contd.,

Arunachala Siva.                       

12507

General Discussion / Re: The Law of Karma:

« on: January 07, 2016, 10:46:58 AM »

Bhagavan describes it thus:  'As long as there are impressions of objects in mind, so long the inquiry
'Who am I?' is required. As thoughts arise they should be destroyed then and there in the very place
of origin, through inquiry.  If one resorts to contemplation of the Self uninterruptedly, until the Self is
gained, that alone would do.  As long as there are enemies within the fortress, they will continue to sally
forth;  if they are destroyed as they emerge, the fortress will fall into our hands.'

By the law of karma we will repeatedly assailed by the results of our actions.  There will be misgivings,
there will be sufferings, there will be confusion but of this there is no doubt:  Bhagavan's Grace will triumph.

concluded.


Arunachala Siva.         

12508

General Discussion / Re: Shadow and Substance -

« on: January 07, 2016, 10:40:55 AM »

It makes enormous sense to reduce everything seen, unseen, and yet-to-be-seen in all its unimaginable
and indescribable glory to a single entity posited as the source of it all.

This process of regression is facilitated through surrender.  Surrender is simply and elegant notion.
What can be simpler than giving up everything -- everything, that is, including the good and the bad,
the pairs of opposites, and the single greatest trouble maker in life, the ego. If nothing belongs to you,
why hang on to ego?  Granted, it is the last thing to quit on its own, you can easily get rid of it with
simple determination and logical thinking. What does the ego do for you, an intelligent person?

Surrender thus really means expulsion of the ego from your system.  What you are surrendering is your
ego, thus disburdening yourself of an enormous amount of baggage.  Baggage that pulls you down.
Then what remains is you, the uncluttered you, the simple you, the real you, the tvam of tat tvam asi.

The philosophical term vastu refers to the Ultimate Reality, the Self.  This is the word also used in ordinary
language to denote an object or substance   --  an implied acknowledgement that the real
substance in in all existence is the Self, not the shadows thereof that comprise the phenomenal world.

contd.,

Arunachala Siva.         

12509

General Discussion / Re: Channels of Grace - A Tribute:

« on: January 07, 2016, 10:28:48 AM »

Baba must be quite psychic.  This emerges particularly from a dramatic incident in his dive bomber days
in Burma. He had been cleared for take off on a jungle airstrip and was taxing to do so, when something
suddenly told him to veer off the airstrip and into the grassy verge.  Sure enough, the next moment a
returning aircraft landed directly in his path.  If he had not veered off, both pilots would have been instantly
killed in the crash. 

I remember another incident as a child.  Our mother, my sister Rekha and I had planned a trip to Delhi
(from Agra) and Baba kept telling us to postpone it, but Amma paid no heed.  On reaching Delhi, on the
way from the railway station to our house, we had a horrible accident in the thick of the Old Delhi traffic
when our vehicle turned turtle.  Yet we all survived with just minor injuries.

contd.,

Arunachala Siva.       

12510

General Discussion / Re: The Written Word:

« on: January 07, 2016, 10:20:20 AM »

It is a cause of endless wonder that the teachings or sayings of a genuine teacher shine through
regardless of time or translation.  Consider the earthy vernacular Hindi of Kabir, the arbitrarily
recorded Middle German sermons of Meister Eckhart, the concise, pristine Sanskrit slokas of Adi
Sankara, the rich poetic Persian of he Mathnawi by Mawlana Jalal ad-Din Rumi: they are not explanations,
they are experiences.  Even though time, cultural, religious differences let alone language barriers are
apparently insuperable to our comprehension, the ring of truth is there to be seen and savored. For want
of a better description, there is 'presence'.  Likewise Bhagavan's teachings are distinctive and quite
recognizable for those who have the eyes and ears to see and hear.  They are direct,  subtle, and leave
a clean taste of rightness.  We just 'know' that Bhagavan discerns with absolute clarity what He is writing
or taking about from His own direct experience.

These teachings we should trust implicitly and follow with all the dedication, perseverance and intelligence
we can muster.  Let us dawdle at a second hand purveyor of wisdom but go straight to the source.

concluded.

Arunachala Siva.