Tag: hinduism

Posted in Political

Justice for Suchir Balaji

Posted on by veeskitchen

Hopefully the bereaved parents get justice for their son. Why does India care. Many of us have our children in the US, our families in the US. What happens there affects us back in India. Indian lives matter/Hindu lives matter. Especially after the careless way a kid was mowed down within varsity campus in Seattle last year by a police car, we realize what it means to be Indian in America and how precarious the condition of our kids may be.

Meanwhile watched this video on spurt in anti-India anti-Hindu sentiment in America, not because the community poses terror threat but because the Indian community is highly successful and is giving Americans a stiff competition in every field. India is lived in for 10000 years and we are not bothered whether the scientists in American universities can come up with carbon dating to establish facts. Well, let them tell us who founded Hindu Dharma, in which date. That is the antiquity of the faith that came from Shiva, the universal father, straight. Which is why we don’t have prophets or sons of God. WE HAVE THE GOD. Any civilization lived in for such a long period and invaded for centuries is bound to have traces of the trauma like India does. Its a miracle we still survive. And our ISRO scientists to medicos today have not run to America for some extra millions of greenbacks. They stay put right in India and do good with what they have. Little girls in India still are not keen to lose their virginity by 10-12 years like American girls and get laid by half a dozen boys by 20th year. Divorces are happening only in this generation in India. Almost zero percentage in my parents’ generation. Indian women are not getting into relationships by 50, 70, even 80 years with boyfriends. We live like ascetics and think of renunciation once our children grow up. We don’t wait for our children to leave home by 18. We spend our life savings on their education and future. We don’t start our day with beer instead of coffee. We are not okay with out children becoming KFC or McDonald waiters (no offence). Our kids succeed because of the monumental personal sacrifice on part of the parents. A three bedroom apartment in Chennai or Mumbai or Delhi may be more expensive than an independent villa in most cities in the US. Right mix of culture, heritage, modernity, conservativism, knowledge and more than that ancient wisdom – this is what makes us tick. I would underline the Hindu spirituality as the sole reason for our success. I was watching or perhaps reading this bit on ancient civilizations. The Egyptian, the Mesopotamia, the Greek, the Roman everything crashed because none of them produced the great Mahaans or saints like Hindu Dharma did. That strong sense of spirituality in Hindus is what keeps us going to this day.

So, throwing this open challenge to world researchers: WHO IS THE FOUNDER OF HINDU DHARMA. WHAT IS THE FOUNDING DATE. Why cannot you establish this simple fact when you can do carbon dating for millions & zillions of years old fossils of dinosaurs? You cannot because, Hindu Dharma was not founded by any human. Dharma existed in another plane of time which is what is continuing today. Its not easy to make outsiders understand anything about India or Hindu Dharma. They see the poverty and the crowds and the heat and the dust. But this land was the land of gold and diamonds over 3000 years back with established universities and dams and reservoirs and courts and poets whether Europeans were swinging from tree to tree.

A tourist guide in an Islamic country was saying this about Algebra. Of how Al Jabber was the name behind it. Its because even when calculus and trigonometry were invented by Hindus over 2000 years back, nothing was patented or claimed as our own. Whoever claimed anything first because the inventor/discoverer! Aryabhatta and Bhaskara were our earliest known astronomers who ISRO named our first satellites after.

Googled this:

Aryabhata’s major discoveries in the works not lost were the value of pi, that is 3.14, the heliocentrism of the solar system wherein he estimated the axial rotation of planets around the sun.

What was invented by Bhaskara?

Among the first discoveries made in his works was the computation of sines of angles of 18 and 36 degrees. Bhaskara-II is credited with discovering spherical trigonometry, a branch of spherical geometry used in astronomy, geodesy, and navigation calculations.

They were probably the world’s firsts to talk about space. Distance between the sun and earth was mentioned in Sanskrit scripture. However Hindus claimed nothing as their own as one by one everything got patented in Europeans’ names. Read this account on vaccination history: a British officer visiting an Indian village hit by small pox witnessed how blood was drawn from one afflicted with pox and anointed into another unaffected person slashing his skin, by village people. Quarantine was self imposed in the village which stopped the spread of the pox. Soon the small pox vaccination was announced in matter of months in Britain as their finding. India lost many of her discoveries/inventions over centuries to Europeans. From Jaundice medication to most ailments treated by Ayurveda, most are patented by the west as their own.

After centuries of subjugation, finally the Hindu has woken up. Broken for 1500 years almost by the moslems and the British.

A normal/regular temple in south India:

The richness of some nations cannot be measured in terms of currency or even bullion. India is one such a unique nation. Its also the responsibility of Indian govt to change the image of India prevalent in the west. The same Americans who cannot afford to wait for months and years for cardio bypass, knee/hip replacement are also traveling to India for medical tourism! Chennai, my hometown, is a big draw with US citizens.

The way they discuss H1B really tears our heart apart. Its not worth it. Why are our kids flocking to this ungrateful America. What is in it for the soul there? NOTHING, A BIG ZERO. There is nothing holistic about America. Its too materialistic and fake. I can enjoy my holidays there but cannot even think of making a life there. Why can’t our children work for the mother country. It takes not just investment on part of the parents/mother country in economic terms, it also takes temperament, patience, atmosphere, nourishing environment of family values, strong sense of spirituality, inclination towards arts, crafts, classical music, dance everything, harmony that comes with contented living – to create a sweet great kid. This is the package India is sending abroad to the US, NOT JUNK LIKE I have seen in America. Look at their obesity! Half of them go for shopping to Walmart in buggies/carts because of overweight, living on disability pension.

I have never imagined myself poor, never thought of myself as poor but always have believed that I live in one of world’s richest countries with the best food, best family values, spirituality, art, classical music/dance, crafts, ancient temples over 2000 years old spread over acres the sculptures of which cannot fit into any museums, best clothes in natural cotton and silk fibres with ethnic vegetable dyes/prints/motifs rather than machine printed, – you name it, we have it. Bestest of jewelry. Its irritating when these Americans assume you are poor just because they live in a vast continent where space is abundant so that its cheaper for them to afford big villas. We in India have one of the best standards of living. Many tourists realize this soon.

Love your mother country: our children must realize this. Why do you want to work for these foreigners/foreign countries where you can never become the first grade citizen. Its okay to live in cramped homes and crowded cities and work for the progress of your mother country. The Indian community in the US is suffering for their own Karma of greed and selfishness of not giving back anything to the mother country that made them what they are today. They are stamping on your dignity, self respect and they air so much of open hatred for you – for being good and successful that is – and you want to work for America? For what? For having an empty 6 bedroom house? To die in hospice with nobody around you in your old age? To destroy your soul with no spirituality consumed by mindless materialism? Is this what our children are going to America for?

Posted in Political History

Sometimes history can belie.

Posted on by veeskitchen

The history of Delhi could be heartwrenching. Invasion after Islamic invasion for centuries beginning with 7th century CE from Sindh left the city in ruins. May be the city was cursed. Indhraprastha as Delhi was called in Mahabharat times, was throne of contention for which the Mahabharat battle was fought. One of the worst and bloodiest invasions of Delhi was that of Timur from Samarkand, today’s Uzbekistan. Its said that after the ransacking of Delhi, jackals and vultures filled the city streets and skies for years. It took almost a whole century for one of the oldest capital cities of the world to limp back to normalcy. Its not just Delhi. Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and other states of India too bore the brunt of brutal attacks of invasions lasting many centuries before the British took over. Hindu temples held tonnes of gold and diamond jewelry that became reason for attacks. Hindu society was also already civilized that rendered the community weaker compared to the untamed barbarity of the invaders. Mohammad of Ghazni attacked Somnath for a record 17 times and succeeded only on the last, plundering the temple wealth and leaving a trail of destruction in his wake. For centuries Bharat/India was the richest country in the world. Columbus set out to discover India, not America which is why the natives even today are referred to as Indians, who he thought they were.

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I have done a copy & paste job here from Google.This is on Ghazni Mohammad who ransacked Somnath. This is to show what invasions meant for nations through the times we have lived through. Indian history especially could be very traumatic. I would prefer the word, HINDU HISTORY.

“So to plunder the wealth of India he made very first attack in 1001. He attacked India 17 times on India. He made his 16th attack on the Somnath temple in 1025 just to plunder the gold. Mahmud Ghaznavi was the king of Ghazni who ruled from 971 to 1030 AD.

Forgotten Chandela Rajput King Vidhyadhara and the story of how he stopped Ghazni’s advance in India. When we talk about the expeditions of Mahmud Ghazni ,we seem to only give importance to the fact that he invaded India 17 times and plundered the temples, their huge wealth and took slaves through these barbaric raids. “

https://organiser.org/2023/01/08/103793/bharat/when-mahmud-ghaznavi-attacked-somnath-temple-on-this-day-here-is-what-happened/

The same Somnath temple today:

https://www.gujarattourism.com/saurashtra/gir-somnath/somnath-temple.html

ruins of Somnath 70 years back
Restored Somnath

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Its funny when they talk about Timur attacking the Delhi Sultanate, the Tuglaqs are presented as benevolent rulers of Delhi. In truth, all of them were invaders in whose times Hindu blood flowed like river with their wealth stolen, and their women taken over. Timur was most extreme of all.

Delhi Devastated: How Timur Crushed India’s Capital

So it was not with an open mind at all that I toured Uzbek. Coming face to face with Amir Timur’s tomb was not easy for me. In the complex is a small circular stone tank which Timur reportedly filled with pomegranate juice. His soldiers were asked to drink from it to get used to the colour of blood. On return from his battles, he once again filled the tub with the juice and asked his soldiers to drink the juice again. The difference in levels of juice told him how much was casualty on his side.

Finally this man too lay in his grave which was also supposedly desecrated by Nadir Shah of Iran, who for some reason decided to return the remains to the original site. This country Uzbek is full of mausoleums. Turkey was full of galleries with instruments of torture. I have already blogged about how I found the Sambaji (of Shivaji fame) museum in Tanjore. The Marathas spread upto the Kaveri/Cauvery Delta. The museum of the Hindu emperor was in contrast holding exhibits of small machines used in granaries/fields in the 16th century, copper and brass utensils of those times, measuring units, barn storages, jewels and gems, art, creativity – in general anything and everything relating to a rich peasant life – the way India was.

So imagine a leading Bollywood actor naming his son ‘Timur.’ You have to be a sadist to do that, a psycho. But given his faith, its no wonder. This place Tashkent is a hit with Indian tourists ironically today. Its been so for a while. In the 60s, Raj Kapoor made India famous in Uzbek with his ‘Avaaraa.’ I had the pleasure of applause of Uzbek locals, singing ‘mera juta hai japani’ in a local train from Tashkent to Samarkand recently. Centuries later what we have here may be two friendly nations whose populations love and respect each other. There is an enormous goodwill for India in present times in Uzbek. I forgave Timur for Uzbeks of today who cannot and must not be held responsible for his bloody deeds over nearly a 1000 years back. Someone walked upto me in the street asking if I was an Indian. I said ‘yes.’ Selfie followed with a big smile. I can see the impact of India on this new nation of 35 years, that was born after the Soviet revolution of 1989. It retains memories from the Russian days. We dined at a restaurant named after Raj Kapoor whose popularity was equally shared by Mithun Chakraborty. Locals today seem to have no connection with the barbarity of Timur’s army. In fact the converse is true: Modern day Uzbeks come across as most non-controversial and peace loving people.

Indian economy despite centuries of having nurtured a broken back, is resurgent and buoyant today. Hindu Dharma is seeing a revival as well. Hindus/India lived a nightmare from 7th century CE to 1947 until we won our independence from the British. You are looking at a nation whose Hindu genocide shall never make it to the history text books of the world. What a comeback for India/Bharat. Kudos to fellow Hindus. Even the Indian christians and muslims are Hindu by culture.

As for Timur, one can imagine what a wasteland his country must have been in those bygone eras. Plunder and looting meant survival and self-defence, especially given the powerful Mongols next door. Timur’s great great great grandson was Babur who established the Mughal empire in India which was equally ruthless and bloody even if some Mughals patronized art and literature. Ayodhya recently witnessed the resurrection of Ram Janam Bhoomi mandir that was desecrated and razed by Babur. Aurangzeb killed at least two Sikh Gurus burning one alive at stake. Today the irony is that the Sikhs in Canada are collaborating with Pakistanis against India. India today enjoys good diplomatic relations with most of our past conquerers including the Afghans and Uzbeks. Its the converted Pakistan that was largely Hindu that is pain in the neck for India. India is also quietly prosperous and more progressive and advanced today than the nations that conquered us. It looks like none of the looted wealth from India has helped them anyway.

I want to round off this post with a mention about our second prime minister Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri. Its an open secret that his death in 1965 just before the Tashkent agreement with Pakistan in the capital was not natural. Soviet Union was the peace maker in the aftermath of the Indo-Pak war of 1965. I would like to borrow someone’s words here: who stood to benefit from Shastri’s death. That can give us a clue for the motive. Took a picture with Shastri’s bust in Tashkent. The capital has a street named after him. Somehow its very difficult for me to associate today’s Uzbek with Amir Timur of Samarkand. I wish this peaceful nation Uzbekistan all prosperity despite Timur! They are proud of him naturally for his conquests. It was not easy for me to hide my pain listening to his exploits. Uzbek today is 80% muslim but they are moderate or what we may call modern muslims.

A local told me that his sister had a major open heart surgery at Vedanta, Gurgaon (from the same Delhi devastated by Timur) some 15 years back and is doing well. That is the gift Bharat/India has given back Timur centuries after what he did to Delhi. I am sure Timur then turned in his grave.

Posted in Political, Welcome to my blog!

Russia Vs Ukraine.

Posted on by veeskitchen

Bhagavad Gita is misquoted in Oppenheimer. Well I haven’t yet watched the picture. But in an English fiction (by Ken Follet?) I recall reading about the developments leading to the atom bomb that stopped the World War II.Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan were bombed and until this date, there has been no other parallel act of violence and bloody mass murder to this scale in written history. The award goes to America always and the Caucasians to be specific. No other race in the world is capable of this kind of mindless destruction. In fact this was the reason I stopped reading Ken Follet. He kind of justified whatever Americans did and never elaborated the Japanese point of view. The word ‘terrorism’ wasn’t yet invented, lucky for Americans. Lucky for the Germans too is it not? Lucky for South Africans. For neither the holocaust nor apartheid got labeled as terrorism! Lucky for colonists from Europe as well even if they wiped out to extinction numerous aboriginal races in Australia, Latin America, Northern American and Africa. Look who is preaching.

If you read Arthashastra from 3rd century BCE penned by Chanakya which is a standard textbook across the globe and reference book until now on politics, administration, governance and diplomacy, you will learn that Hindus follow(ed) a four fold method when it came to waging war. First of all wars needed to be avoided at all costs. We followed the ‘Sama, Dhana, Bedha, Dhanda’ the four steps that helped in preventing wars between nations. First method was Sama which meant coming to truce with dialogues and understanding. Negotiations may be made to resolve issues. Trade pacts and treaties may be signed. Even marriage alliances may be forged to have peace at any cost, to bring hostilities between two warring nations to an end. This was a widely adopted practice throughout world history including in India. This was why the very religious and pious Hindu Rajput kings from Rajasthan entered into marriage alliances with the Mugals. Jodha Akbar precisely.

When the first method failed, we went to the next step. This was Dhana – and this meant gifting or giving up something to appease your adversary which meant a sacrifice on your part. You would have to sometimes cough up a big price. You do it anyway to maintain peace. It may mean among other things, giving up territory. The smaller princely states may agree to become vassals paying taxes and excise duties to a larger kingdom with dominant king or emperor. This may they do, unwilling to take on powerful adversaries. Indian princely states of Mysore, Trivandram etc., became vassals to the British raj paying a handsome sums to the British periodically. When first two ways failed, the third one came to rescue. Bedha means to differentiate or give differential or even preferential treatment to different parties and tactfully secure peace. Bedha is therefore NO level playing field. This is nothing but the knack of diplomacy. For instance, the ‘divide and rule’ method practised by the British during the British Raj days by having different sets of rules or laws for the Hindus and Muslims to maintain stability can be said to be the effective ‘Bedha’ diplomacy that helped them deal with two volatile and sensitive communities. In some cases, the Bedha can be stretched to playing up two parties against each other for the benefit and peace of the mediator. This is how traditionally hostile nations or arch rivals/adversaries are created in colonies: by pitting friendly communities living together in harmony for centuries, against each other. Erstwhile neighbours become deadly enemies overnight.

The fourth and the last resort would be Dhanda or the punishment of taking up the wand (or arms) to strike a blow: which meant waging war on your adversary. Only when all other channels of diplomacy failed and the demands of the adversaries were unjust, the fourth method was resorted to. So that is how ancient India treated adversaries and waged wars. Which was why Hindu kings lost to the Islamists and the British who were never bred on the kind of ethics or codes of conduct when it came to war, like our far advanced,literate, civilized and progressive societies of those times.

India never annexed foreign territory. Hindu kings were also pioneer ship builders and seafarers. The Hindu Chola Kings reached upto Indonesia (Bali is still Hindu) and even China, with the world’s largest Hindu temple being Angkorwat in Cambodia (which was later converted to Buddhist) but spread Hindu Dharam by peaceful means not by bribe (as Christians do) or by sword (as Islamists do). King Vikramaditya reached upto today’s Saudi. Merchants from south (Tamil Nadu) sailed upto Rome even before the birth of Christ trading goods and merchandise.

In Mahabharatha war that cannot be dated (anywhere from 6000 to 10000 years ago BCE), the Kauravs refuse to give Pandavs even five houses, leave alone five villages or provinces. When all means of negotiations fail, the Mahabharatha war, the greatest war of all times, ensues. Interestingly, an array of supersonic missiles find a mention in the Mahabharatha. Very casual reference to surface to surface, surface to air, air to air missiles with descriptions on speed and distance and accuracy! They are called Astras in Sanskrit. Astrology and Astronomy could have had sanskrit root words for names.

The Pandavs are unable to overcome hesitation because, who they are taking on war for territory, were their own blood, their first cousins. It is at that time Lord Krishna who is the charioteer for Arjuna explains that sometimes, ADHARMA HAS TO BE TAKEN DOWN WITH EQUAL ADHARMA. :Like how a thorn must be pulled out with a thorn. Dharma is the way forward but sometimes, Adharma also must be practised for the sake of establishing Dharma. It is in this context Krishna says that, He himself is death. After Krishna’s ‘upadesh’ Arjun is ready to fight the Mahabharat war and takes up arms to wage war against his cousins. The Pandavs go on to win the Mahabharat war killing all their cousins. But in the process none of the children of the Pandav survive either. So this is the bitter end of a war.

By deliberate misinterpretation of our sacred texts and by out of context quoting, some forces and especially world media want to create a wrong impression on Bhagavad Gita, which is much older than the Bible or Koran. Its exact date of writing is unknown. We believe it to be over 6000 years old – as ancient HINDU DHARMA THAT HAS NO FOUNDER, NO VATICAN OR MECCA, NO BIBLE OR KORAN AND NO FOUNDING DATE but that which continues to be the one and only continuous and unbroken civilization on planet Earth until now.

Are we staring at a third world war? Irresponsible on part of any nation that abets wars. The costs are too high and the collateral damage will have to be borne by the rest of the whole world. Russia has a moral highground in the matter no doubt. Its none of the business either for America or Europe. War mongering is no more small mischief. It can be a big, big irreversible mistake.

Swastika is Hindu symbol. The set of inverted triangles too is a Hindu symbol. All that is now associated with wrong parties.

Posted in Food For Soul

Shani Shingnapur

Posted on by veeskitchen

Shani Shingnapur near Nashik, Maharashtra was very much in news for the controversy surrounding women being debarred from performing the Abhishek ritual to Lord Shani (Saturn). The Shani murthy (idol) here is swayambu (erupted out of earth on its own). Tripti Desai led the march from the forefront to win rights for women to conduct/perform rituals for Lord Shani with their own hands on par with men. I had an opportunity to visit the shrine in the month of April. Saturn phase is on for me right now. To spell it out in Thamizh, ‘ezharai nattu sani’ going on for me. Its tenure is for 7.5 years. This is second time in my lifeline that saturn rules the house in my horoscope. This is on for over an year now. Shani period is supposed to be physically and mentally and even financial exhausting to most. A very testy period in one’s life where we may be facing health woes. We may get ourselves entangled in unnecessary troubles. So I exercised the privilege of anointing Lord Shani with sesame oil with my own hands and perform the abhishegam to Him during my visit to His temple. My two friends still disapproved of my move. There were about a hundred devotees. While most men performed the abhishegam, there was a general reluctance among the women to come forward for the ritual. Only a handful of us dared. The men (husbands) restrained their wives and daughters and stood in queue to partake in the ritual. But nobody frowned when some of us women stepped forward for the ritual. The fee for the ritual is 500 bucks. The oil price was 80 or 90 bucks. The ticket issuing clerk had a disapproving smirk pasted on his face as he handed out the token to me. I hoped to please Lord Shani asking Him to soften His blows or at least give me the physical mental strength to bear shocks and upsets if it comes to that. To anyone who questions change of age old customs, I would like to remind that once upon a time, women were not even allowed to attend schools, not divorce, not remarry. Women did not get a share of family estate/inheritance. There was even the heinous practice of Sati in India. Its not you and I who decide what should happen when. As a total believer, I trust that it was perhaps Lord Shani Himself who decided that the time was ripe for women to perform rituals for Him with their own hands. அவனன்றி ஓர் அணுவும் அசையாது. Whether it is Shani or Lord Aiyappa, the move or decision to grant women entry is decided by the deity not by humans. As an unshakable believer in and follower of Hindu Dharma, this is where I differ from my friends’ view point. My Kerala friends cannot agree with the reforms naturally. By change in norms, I do not state that any disrespect has to be shown to the deity. In Sabarimala, the court case was interestingly filed by a Kerala muslim for entry of women into the hill shrine while no muslim woman can ever share the mosque space with the men. Not a single petition is filed in Indian courts to win the muslim women their equal rights. The women who first broke barriers in Sabarimala were also non Hindus – with a muslim/christian woman throwing a used/soiled sanitary napkin on Lord Aiyappa when with police escort she became the first fertile woman to set her foot in the holy shrine of Lord Aiyappa. Can you imagine a non muslim desecrating an islamic place of worship and getting alive with it. This is my Hindu India. This is the level of our tolerance. We Hindus give police protection to muslim/christians to go in and desecrate our places of worship in the name of democracy and secularism. It broke every Hindu heart when the kind of desecration the woman subjected our supreme deity to, came to light. We left the offenders to their Karma. While I am for equality of sexes and women’s rights, this is a clear case of mischief no doubt. Its good that a film like Kerala Story happened. An eye opener. After the Sabarimala sacrilege, the very next year the entire Kerala state was flooded and crores and crores of property were lost. Washed out. When Lord Aiyappa is ready to receive women devotees in His abode, trust Him to move the earths and the skies not just the courts to make it happen. Lord Aiyappa is viewed as Naishtika Brahmachari by Hindus.

abhishek for Lord Shani at Shani Shingnapur shrine with my own hands…

Let me make it clear that, there was nothing rebellious about my Shani access or worship. I am a practing Hindu and I considered it a blessing to get nearer to Shani Bhagwan. I was full of reverence and faith.

Posted in Food For Soul

Decoding Dharma 4: – Jeev Samadhi when fully awake

Posted on by veeskitchen

Hindu by default. Vegetarian by default.

But why do I always be wanna be reborn a Hindu. This is merely my simple ingestion of the essence of Dharma. I may or may not be right. (I think I have a long long way to go through many multiple janams before hoping for an elimination from the birth cycle). Practising Hindus must be aware how we seek liberation (Mukthi) from this vicious circle of birth and death (which is the illusion or Maya) in our Prarthana before blending with the One Collective Consciousness.

……https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHqRJRV-0Ds…..

I have tried not to attach the You tube link in this post considering the sensitivity of the topic. Please copy and paste or search You tube for ‘buddhist monk or thai monk attaining jeev samadhi or leaving body.’

Just watched a video of a Buddhist monk in Thailand attain Jeev Samadhi when fully awake. I have blogged on this earlier. This kind of taking leave is possible only for Hindu/Buddhist/Jain monks of the Dharmic nature.

Where others fail and why is Hindu Dharma scientific. Because, only we speak of a higher consciousness that we regard as the nether. If we do not evolve as humans to this state of consciousness, we may get propelled into the birth cycle again and again. We may take a thousand janams and still be not rid of the birth and rebirth cycles. For Hindus, this emancipation is entirely a mind factor. This is the ultimate state of Nirvana or Moksha whatever name you may call it by. What we see in temples is for those at the base of the pyramid who have limited thought process to imagine anything beyond. As we may reach the upper echelons of our consciousness, we may start leaving rituals entirely behind. Some of my friends do follow parallel paths in search of this elusive truth or wisdom.

(You may ask about those folds where rituals are non-existent or minimal. Absence of rituals is no guarantee to enlightenment. Contrary to the belief of many, ritual processes enable us and prepare us for the next stages of consciousness. Yoga and Meditation may be effective tools for attaining the discipline for both mind and body control. Which is why the Christian Yoga that dispenses with Om Mantra may not serve purpose. Synchronization of the body and the mind can be achieved with focus with Om chanting)

I have spoken of the ‘ant and the boot’ story pretty often. To the minute ant at the edge of the boot, the imposing man can never be comprehensible. It is beyond the tiny brain of the little ant to break out of its intelligence level to understand the looming man in his entirety. This is all Hindu Dharma is about. That overwhelming knowledge is our God-Goddess. We simpletons may relate to this supreme consciousness as Shiva or Raam or Shakthi as per our comfort level.

Decoding Dharma – 1: Jeev Samadhis – A Brief Glance

I am sharing links to my earlier blog posts on this fascinating subject of mine. I have always regarded myself as kind of spiritual(!) over religious!!! That inspite of me having limited spiritual knowledge. Still this is the one single realization that the Abrahamic folds completely missed out on. This may be because, Hinduism has no founder. That we are not an organized religion like others, helps. Dharma is not an ‘ism’ at all. The Sanathana Dharma is way of life that if you follow with conscience can open doors to achieve supreme levels of higher conscience when you can belong in the other world without your physical/mortal body even as an earthling. Otherwise this is possible only when we shed our physicality (on death). This is where transcendental meditation comes in. Hindus are eternal seekers. We seek, don’t pray. We seek the supreme knowledge to attain the level of higher consciousness in our own time which is possible only for Mahans like Swami Vivekanand.

Decoding Dharma – 2: The Madras Theosophical Society

I am writing this up after watching the video of a Thai Buddhist monk take leave of his physical/mortal body when fully awake. I am not the owner of the video. This is a very recent recording. Generally this kind of Jeev Samadhi is not possible to witness at all. Rarest to happen. What a highest level of super consciousness the Buddhist monk must have attained. Technology has gifted us this wonderful opportunity to understand or decode the one true path which is Dharmic (Buddhism and Jainism and even Sikkism are offshoots of Hindu Dharma).

Decoding Dharma – 3: Why Dharma.

Pranaams to the noble Atma. Blessed. What a way to take leave. In a world wracked by violence and bombs and bloodshed, what a dharmic way some live by. Om Shanthi!

(On my friends’ suggestion I am adding this on India. Bharatha is Yoga Bhoomi while the Abrahamic nations in Middle East and the West are bhogis. In short, materialistic. Our paths can only be divergent).

Posted in Food For Soul

Decoding Dharma – 3: Why Dharma.

Posted on by veeskitchen

Why Sanathana Dharma (Hindu Dharma).

Because none other seeks the light of knowledge for salvation, awakening of higher consciousness and liberation of the soul from the birth-death-rebirth cycle as Dharma does. No Abrahamic way is anywhere close to the truth. There is no heaven or hell. Only this. You attain supreme conscience or opt to be reborn up until you are ready to merge with the creation and become part of it all on attaining the state of  ‘Mukthi’ or ‘Moksha’ (‘Nirvana’ – enlightenment). How easily said than done. Ant and the boot story as I have mentioned many a time in my blog posts. I can never reach up to higher level than this. I am stranded. I am all admiration for those Maha Avatars who have managed to transcend through time and space into the Infinity, with immense mind control. This is after all the land of Gautama Buddha and Mahavira and Vivekananda and Ramana Maharishi. Of great Sadhus (sages), Rishis and Yogis. Just listening to their life stories suffices for me. I may take a 1000 janams (births) or probably much, much more to reach there, but who cares. I am aware of my own limitations. Unable to rise above this ground level of the pyramid of spirituality. Materialistic aspirations have dulled not just me. The damaging impact is all across the world and the purpose is lost. The one Adi Yogi who always resides in my heart is Lord Shiva.

Other folds have fielded their self-proclaimed prophets and saints and supposed sons of Gods as if we are running a race – and how wrongfully they succeed in weaning away masses from the one right path. It is not even apt to talk about them here when I think of the Maha Yogis who have walked the length and breadth of not just my country India, but the universe. India has had many of them, India is ancient. Cradle of civilizations. Only Hindus believe we are re-evolving after we devolved. It is next to impossible to make an Abrahamic understand this ingrained belief in every Hindu. This is why Dharma has to survive. The one true path. The one visible only to the seeker. Seeker of higher intelligence and truth. The only way you can bust your physical body to enter the realm of supreme existence. Other than on embracing death that is. Our Karma decides where we belong. Whether we must be recycled.

The way I look at our timeless temples, our Gurus, our ancestors, our Gods, our saints and even our mountains …. all this has changed vastly in recent years. I am now a staunch advocate for Hindu Dharma for this reason. I may never unravel the truth in my limited capacity and confinement, but let the seekers who have it in them go after the truth…

Sometimes this moves me to tears. The inability to go beyond my level. Sheer greed I know. The physical, mental limitations. The insignificance of my being. The pointlessness of material life.

The significance of our brain size proportionate to our body mass – i never paid more attention to this like I do now.

My prayer these days is : I can never reach up to you Oh My Mother and Father, but you can reach down to me. Elevate me a little.

Meditation is not easy. But a wise path to tread. Focus sharpens for the starters. Long winding road ahead… Yoga and meditation are good tools to work with in this direction.

The more you become aware of the bonding chains, of your level of intelligence that really matters, the less is the pain of suffering. More acceptance. More Peace. Om Shanthi!

At the end of the day, I am still the materialistic average human. Self-serving and taking refuge in small pleasures. The whole life becomes a summary of such trivialities. But how to get rid of mortal attachments. If I have to wait a lifetime every time, I shall. In this assignment that i have willingly taken in (I believe), let me score my best.

In this birth, in this defined role of mortal life wherein familial duties get duly prioritized, here and whenever possible I gaze at Thee in wonder. Who I cannot reach in a zillion ages. But I am happy to SEE, Thou are incomprehensible. My brains may burst to dust defining Thy dimensions. Thy Immensity. I am fulfilled right now. No aspirations. Ground level view is good and satisfying. Self realization can be at multi-level. I am at the entry stage. To realize that I can’t realize ever is my greatest achievement in this janam!

Pranaams to the greatest Mahans of Bharat! I cannot feel their presence, but I believe they are all around us. The vibes I sense on setting foot in our temples are a proof that I do not expect others to understand. Why great souls are not born these days. Materialistic vision clouds mind. Rituals drown or dissolve the essence. Meaningless pursuits lead us astray from the one goal: Mukthi. Liberation.

Posted in Food For Soul

Decoding Dharma – 2: The Madras Theosophical Society

Posted on by veeskitchen

 

The Theosophical Society is right in Chennai. It’s famous banyan tree is still a well known landmark. In fact when Chennai was still good old Madras, my aunt’s school used to take their high school girls for picnic to the tree that sprawled over a huge area leaving a cool shade. My aunt’s school is in Adyar bank even today. I can’t believe that once upon a time, the school used to open with a snake charmer leading them from the front. The classrooms used to be riddled with snakes from Adyar river. It was only in the 1970s and  1980s. Gradually things changed as India changed and soon there was no more work for snake charmer in the school premises.

So that is how the Theosophical society became familiar to me at a young age. Because of my aunt for whom, the banyan tree was like an icon as she daily commuted by city bus to her school which was close to the society.

In history text books, like anyone else, I have read about Annie Besant and Madam Blavatsky. More about Annie Besant who supposedly spearheaded the Home Rule Movement in India. She apparently moved on to other things, drawn by India. More so, the Hindu spirituality. Actually I had no idea. Many Chennaiites have been infatuated with the Theosophical society founded by her and J Krishnamurthy. However I have always remained immune to J Krishnamurthi. In fact, I did not even attempt to comprehend what they were trying to tell us. I didn’t know much about Annie Besant after whom Besant Nagar, the Chennai suburb is named. JK Foundation schools are popular for their style of syllabus and free thinking philosophies. More than that, I have never tried to find out honestly anything about this curious trio. Rukmini Arundale, the founder of Kalakshetra school of the classical dance form Bharat Natyam similarly was a close acquaintance to the spiritual thinkers. There was one more: Henry Olcott.

It is interesting to learn from Sadhguru, why they came to India exactly over a hundred years before, what drew them to India, and ultimately of the great Indian/Hindu spirituality and of Shiva. It is tragic that in a nation that beholds so much truth and wisdom about creation, there is today hectic foreign-sponsored activity to pull us Hindus away from native faith which is the only standing truth in the universe. That which truly transcends logic and theories and prophesies to lead you to the ‘true conscience.’ Or what you may call, the state of ‘Nirvana.’

The way I look at Sanathana dharma and at India has since undergone a massive change. I understand my belief system better now. I don’t care what others may want to think or how others may judge. It doesn’t matter.

I have heard of JK, Annie Besant etc over years but as I said I hardly paid attention to their interests or philosophies or experiments. The banyan tree that was once the center of many Tamil film romances (‘Aadi velli’ song for one, starring Kamal Hasan and Sri Devi from Moondru Mudichu in the black & white era of late 1970s), and the Theosophical society hardly attract visitors these days. Now strangely I know better. I understand the relevance finally. Aurobindo also was a freedom figher who later on became a spiritual guru who founded ‘Auroville’ in Pondicherry near Chennai that draws global citizens who make it their home. Pondicherry (now Puduchery) Mother from France, similarly is like a guru to many Tamils. I see Mother’s picture in many friends’ puja.

India is a spiritual enigma. I do not even attempt to explain these things to a non Hindu. Firstly you will be ridiculed. Secondly, they are followers of self-professed prophets who claimed to be sons of gods. Whereas we are from the land of Shiva who never had biological father or mother, who never had to be born to die… Is Shiva an alien. Are we His creations the way we humans today may mutate species in science labs. I will explain this. A Hindu child grows up hearing about ‘Yuga.’ ‘You cannot understand Yuga’ my granny used to say, ‘a Yuga is like millions of years for you but only one minute or one hour for Shiva.’

To an ant or a snail or a centipede or grasshopper, a walking human being is a living God no doubt. The ‘ant and the boot’ story. How many lifetimes of the ant is our single day. Shiva is the walking giant. We are the ant, millipede, grasshopper, snail. To realize Him is impossible for us for the way it is for the ant to picturize the human being. I try to realize Shiva. I can’t. They say Yoga is a tool that can elevate you to a higher level of conscience. So this is where Yoga and meditation come in. They help in focusing, nothing more. Neither am I good at Yoga nor is my intelligence that evolving. I can’t go beyond a level. In fact I cannot climb over my layman level. I don’t even try because I know my limits. My limitations are not only physical but also intellectual.

To those few who can raise themselves without the help of opium to a higher level of consciousness, I bow my head in respect and awe.

None of us can become a Gautam Buddha or Satya Sai Baba or Ramana Maharishi or Swami Vivekanand or even Osho. Living in their lifetimes is enough for me. Mahans are born every century.

I have not had a darshan of Puttabharthi Sai Baba when His phyical body was here. But I believe in His noble soul. I can understand what message Sadhguru is trying to convey. I am grateful I have a chance to listen to Him. No I am not a fan of Him and He is not my guru yet.

But Sadhguru helps me a lot in decoding Shiva. I am obsessed with Shiva and Shakthi. I just can sense that none of Hindu history is fanciful imagination or work of fiction.  In some other plane of time, I believe like any other Hindu, we have had this past. A lie cannot be carried on for 15,000 years to near perfection, only through word of mouth except for last 50-60 years.

Hindus say, in death we blend with the ‘jyothi’ – we become the collective consciousness, we add to the collective conscience- provided we are freed or liberated from the cycle of birth and rebirth (Nirvana). Our Karma decides that. (One step further: we may get to choose our rebirth to correct our previous Karma. Like a project assigned.) A Hindu heaven is this liberation or higher intelligence or conscience. Our prayers always ask, seek this supreme knowledge. There is no way you can compare Hindu Dharma with Christianity or Islam for this reason. The Abrahamics just lost it before they even began. period. Please leave us alone and don’t try to convert Hindus. Hindus are on right path even if most remain unaware.

SHIVA IN CERN, SWITZERLAND This is a mere ‘copy and paste’ job: Shiva and the God Particle.

உலகின் மிகப்பெரிய அணு ஆராய்ச்சி நிறுவனமான CERN நிறுவனத்தின் முன்பு 6 அடி உயரமுள்ள நடராஜர் சிலை வைக்கப்பட்ட தினம் இன்று (2004)

CERN – ஸ்விட்சர்லாந்த் நாட்டில் அமைந்துள்ளது உலகின் மிகப்பெரிய இயற்பியல் ஆராய்ச்சி நிறுவனம். 27கிமீ பரப்பளவில் 100 அடி ஆழத்தில் அமைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது . அணுத்துகள்களை ஒன்றையொன்று மோதவிட்டு ஆராய்ச்சி நடத்தப்படுகிறது .கடவுள் துகள்களை (GODS PARTICLES) பற்றின ஆராய்ச்சியும் நடத்தப்பட்டு வருகிறது. அதுமட்டும் இன்றி பல்வேறுவிதமான இயற்பியல் சம்பந்தப்பட்ட ஆய்வுகளும் இங்கே நடைபெறுகின்றன

கிறித்தவர்கள் அதிகம் வாழும் ஒரு நாட்டில் ஏன் இந்து மத கடவுளின் சிலை வைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது என்று தெரியுமா? அதற்கான காரணத்தையும் அவர்களே கூறி உள்ளார்கள்.

“காலத்தால் பதில் சொல்ல முடியாத பல கேள்விகளுக்கான பதில் இந்த சிலையில் அமைந்துள்ளது என்று ” குறிப்பிட்டுள்ளார்கள்

அதாவது அண்டத்தில் உள்ளதே பிண்டத்திலும் உள்ளது என்பதை சொல்லாமல் சொல்கிறார் நடராஜர் .

அவருடைய வலது கையிலிருந்து இடதுகால் வரை உள்ள அமைப்பு Milky way என்று அழைக்கப்பட கூடிய பால்வழி மண்டலத்தை குறிக்கிறது . நடராஜரின் இதயம் அமைந்துள்ள இடத்தில் சூரிய குடும்பமான சோலார் சிஸ்டம் அமைந்துள்ளது .அவரின் இடுப்பை சுற்றி நிற்காமல் ஓடிகொண்டிருக்கும் பாம்பு நேரத்தை குறிக்கிறது. அதுமட்டும் இல்லாமல் அவரை சுற்றியுள்ள நெருப்பு வட்டம் பிரபஞ்சத்தை குறிக்கிறது

அருவமாகவும், உருவமாகவும் ஆகாயமாகவும் காட்சி தர கூடிய ஒரே கடவுள் நடராஜர் தான். சிதம்பரம் நடராஜர் ஆடிக்கொண்டிருக்கும் ஆனந்த தாண்டவம் என்ற கோலம் “cosmic dance” என்று பல வெளிநாட்டு அறிஞர்களால் அழைக்கபடுகின்றது.

அணுவின் அசைவும் நடராஜரின் நடனமும் ஒன்றாக கருதபடுகிறது.

அதனாலேயே “அவனின்றி ஓர் அணுவும் அசையாது” என்று திருமூலர் கூறியுள்ளார்.

1972-ஆம் ஆண்டு, ப்ரிட்ஜாப் காப்ரா என்கிற பிரபல அமெரிக்க அணு விஞ்ஞானி ‘The Dance of Shiva: The Hindu view of matter in the light of Modern Physics’ (சிவனின் நடனம் : நவீன பௌதிகத்தின் பார்வையில் வஸ்துக்களை பற்றிய ஹிந்துக்களின் நோக்கு) என்கிற தலைப்பில் Main currents in Modern Thought என்ற விஞ்ஞான சம்பந்தப்பட்ட பத்திரிகையில், சிவனின் நடனத்துக்கும், உப அணுக்களின் நடனத்துக்கும் உள்ள இணக்கத்தைப் பற்றி முதலில் விவரமாக எழுதினார்.

1975-ஆம் ஆண்டு இந்தக் கட்டுரையை விரிவுபடுத்தி ’The Tao of Physics’ என்ற தலைப்பில் ஒரு புத்தகமாகவும் அவர் எழுதி அது உலகிலேயே அதிகம் விற்ற புத்தங்களில் ஒன்றாக பிரபலமாகியது.

அதில்,. ”எப்படி இந்தியச் சித்தர்கள் படைப்பைப் பிரிக்க முடியாத, எப்போதுமே செயல்பட்டுக் கொண்டிருக்கும் ஒரு நடப்பாகப் பார்த்தார்களோ, அப்படியே தான் நவீன பௌதிக விஞ்ஞானமும் பிரபஞ்சத்தைக் காண்கிறது”

”பிறப்பும், இறப்பும் நிற்பதே இல்லை.

அதுபோல், பிரபஞ்சம் என்கிற தத்துவத்தின் அடிப்படையில் அணுக்களின் நடனம், அணுக்களின் பிறப்பினாலும் இறப்பினாலும் நிற்காமல் தொடர்கிறது.

கோடானுகோடி அணுக்கள் வினாடிக்கு வினாடி உருவாகி, மறைவதுதான் பிரபஞ்சத்தின் நடனம் (cosmic dance). அதுவே தான் நடராஜரின் நடனம்” என்கிறார் காப்ரா.

சிதம்பர நடராஜர் கோவிலுக்கு மேலே பறக்கும் செயற்கை கோள்கள் செயலிலந்துவிடுமாம் காரணம் புவியீர்ப்பு மையத்தின் செண்டர் பாயிண்டில் சிதம்பரம் நடராஜர் கோவில் அமைந்துள்ளதாம். அதுமட்டும் அல்லாமல் இந்தியாவில் உள்ள ஐந்து சிவஸ்தலங்களும் ஒரே நேர்கோட்டில் அமைந்துள்ளதாம் எந்தவிதமான அறிவியல் ஆய்வுகளுமற்ற காலகட்டத்தில் எப்படி இது சாத்தியமானது என்பது இன்று வரை புரியாத புதிராக உள்ளது

ஒட்மொத்த அண்டத்தின் குறியீடாக நடராஜர் அமைந்துள்ளார் என்பதை குறிப்பிடவே சுவிட்சர்லாந்தின் ஐரோப்பிய ஆராய்ச்சி கூடத்தில் நடராஜர் சிலை வைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

”பரமகுருவாய், அணுவில் அசைவாய்” என்று அருணகிரிநாதர் பாடிய திருப்புகழை நினைத்துப் பாருங்கள்.

தென்னாடுடைய சிவனே போற்றி..!

எந்நாட்டவர்க்கும் இறைவா போற்றி..!