Life - A Spiritual Odyssey

2006-04-13T23:38:00.000-04:00

Auspicious Beginnings......

Happy Tamil New Year &
Happy Vishu
to all those celebrating new beginnings....

For the musically inclined, I have set up a seperate audioblog at Singing Spirit. Guess, this is my new beginning...

Invoking Lord Ganesha on this auspicious day, here is a new recording of Sri Ganesha Pancharatnam. Please read thro the shlokam and the translation before and while listening...

GANESHA PANCHARATNAM

Mudakaraatha Modakam Sada Vimukti Saadhakam
Kalaadharaavatamsakam Vilasiloka Rakshakam
Anaaya Kaika Naayakam Vinasitebha Daityakam
Nataasubhasu Naashakam Namaami Tham Vinaayakam.

Meaning: I prostrate before Lord Vinaayaka who joyously holds modaka in His hand, who bestows salvation, who wears the moon as a crown in His head, who is the sole leader of those who lose themselves in the world. The leader of the leaderless who destroyed the elephant demon called Gajaasura and who quickly destroys the sins of those who bow down to Him, I worship such a Lord Ganesh.

Natetaraati Bheekaram Navoditaarka Bhaasvaram
Namat Suraari Nirjanam Nataadhi Kaapa Duddharam
Suresvaram Nidheesvaram Gajesvaram Ganeshvaram
Mahesvaram Samaasraye Paraatparam Nirantaram.

Meaning: I meditate eternally on Him, the Lord of the Ganas, who is frightening to those not devoted, who shines like the morning sun, to whom all the Gods and demons bow, who removes the great distress of His devotees and who is the best among the best.

Samasta Loka Samkaram Nirasta Daitya Kunjaram
Daredarodaram Varam Vare Bhavaktra Maksharam
Krupaakaram Kshamaakaram Mudaakaram Yasaskaram
Manaskaram Namaskrutaam Namaskaromi Bhaasvaram.

Meaning: I bow down with my whole mind to the shining Ganapati who brings happiness to all the worlds, who destroyed the demon Gajasura, who has a big belly, beautiful elephant face, who is immortal, who gives mercy, forgiveness and happiness to those who bow to Him and who bestows fame and a well disposed mind.

Akimchanaarti Marjanam Chirantanokti Bhaajanam
Puraari Poorva Nandanam Suraari Garva Charvanam
Prapancha Naasha Bheeshanam Dhananjayaadi Bhushanam
Kapola Daana Vaaranam Bhajaey Puraana Vaaranam.

Meaning: I worship the ancient elephant God who destroys the pains of the poor, who is the abode of Aum, who is the first son of Lord Shiva (Shiva who is the destroyer of triple cities), who destroys the pride of the enemies of the Gods, who is frightening to look at during the time of world's destruction, who is fierce like an elephant in rut and who wears Dhananjaya and other serpents as his ornaments.

Nitaantikaanta Dantakaanti Mantakaanta Kaatmajam
Achintya Rupa Mantaheena Mantaraaya Krintanam
Hrudantarey Nirantaram Vasantameva Yoginam
Tameka Danta Meva Tam Vichintayaami Santatam.

Meaning: I constantly reflect upon that single tusked God only, whose lustrous tusk is very beautiful, who is the son of Lord Shiva, (Shiva, the God of destruction), whose form is immortal and unknowable, who tears asunder all obstacles, and who dwells forever in the hearts of the Yogis.

Mahaaganesa Pancharatnam Aadarena Yonvaham
Prajapati Prabhaatake Hrudi Smaran Ganesvaram
Arogatham Adoshataam Susaahitim Suputrataam
Samaahitaayu Rastabhootim Abhyupaiti Sochiraat.

Meaning: He who recites this every morning with devotion, these five gems about Lord Ganapati and who remembers in his heart the great Ganesha, will soon be endowed with a healthy life free of blemishes, will attain learning, noble sons, a long life that is calm and pleasant and will be endowed with spiritual and material prosperity.

Sri Ganesha Pancharatnam (originally sung by KS Chitra, currently sung by me)

Powered by Castpost

.

2006-04-12T11:49:00.000-04:00

Musically yours,
I am back from the much needed break and the self imposed exercise in detachment from blogging. Thanks to all who popped in and checked in on me. It was a pleasure to go back to being the "silent reader" that I was before. There were and still are, too many things that demand my attention. However, I have also come to realize that blogging does provide a lot of welcome relief from the mundane monotony of life and its thousand routines. So, I am back but, with a difference.
My musical self wants to awaken from its long hibernation... So, here is a song dedicated to all the wonderful bhakthas of Sri Krishna, out there in this wide world, including myself...This was originally sung by the one and only Lata Mangeshkar and is one of my absolute favourite ones...

Powered by Castpost

2006-02-07T12:53:00.000-05:00

Goodbye.....for now...

My world demands more of my attention now. So, I am not sure if I can blog as actively as before. I will still remain a regular reader of all the blogs that I visit .......
So, keep your spirits up and most importantly, keep your balance at the center of your being where all your Gurus and Gods reside....

Thanks for the company...

Radhika

2006-02-03T13:14:00.000-05:00

The story of a sinner.....

I would like to share one of many pearls of wisdom from Bhagavan's life, in my own words....

Once, a distraught man arrived at Ramanashramam and broke down at the feet of Bhagavan. "I have sinned, Bhagavan, I am a sinner, there is no hope for me, What shall I do?".
In his usual style, Bhagavan replied "Its the thought that "I have sinned" that has a powerful hold on you. Ask for whom the thought arises and you will be fine ".
The man was not satisfied with Bhagavan's answer and said "No, that does not work, Please help me, somehow"
At which, Bhagavan replied "Ok, Have you done anything good in this life, ?".
The man replied in the affirmative and Bhagavan said " Then, surrender all your good deeds to me"
Man : "They are all yours, Bhagavan"
Then, Bhagavan replied "Now, give me all your sins". The man was aghast and said "Bhagavan , you have no idea what you are asking. I dont want to burden you with my sins. They are too many. "
Bhagavan : "Surrender both or else you can go your own way"
The man agreed and let go ..
A strange peace descended on his grief stricken face and he went away, never to be seen or heard from again....

2006-01-30T13:40:00.001-05:00

Guru Ramana- Divine Life within....

Silence engulfs my mind
When i think of Him....
excluding all else....
I am going to embark on the challenging task of putting into words my own unique relationship with The Guru I have never met in my whole life. Yet, He was instrumental in changing my whole life and how I perceived it till then. I am not going into the personal details of how I was led to that "moment of surrender", when I was ready to let go everything to Let God in.. On hindsight, it was a partial surrender as my ego was still actively ruling my life even after that. I believe partial leads to complete surrender eventually and I wait eagerly for the day when His grace shall descend fully upon me...
I had read about Bhagavan Ramana Maharishi in my teenage years in one of the Amar Chitra comic books. Two things stayed in my mind from that read, The Death Experience which established Him firmly in The Self and the bright comet which blazed a path across the sky when he attained Mahasamadhi. The rest all faded away with the passage of time and I never gave a second thought to Him afterwards. After marraige, my mother brought His photo during one of her visits and still there was no impact, whatsoever. Finally, when life " of my own making" pushed me into a corner and the moment of "letting go" arrived, I did and a whole new sense of being awakened within me. All that I took seriously before, became absolutely trivial and I had a completely new outlook on life. I have always been an extremely sensitive individual, and that part of my personality started dropping away and still is, although I still have a long way to go before I attain "samadrushti"...
I remember very clearly, that day, it was raining outside my balcony door and I just stood facing the rain and praying and surrendering it all... Immediately, the wind carried a few drops of falling rain and showered it on me at the exact same moment and I strangely felt purified and light inside my heart. My burdens had dropped for those few incredible moments... I sensed that a new chapter was beginning in my life and it was proved right....
A new interest in reading about the lives of saints and sages awoke in me and I strongly pursued it as it was filling me with a strange peace of mind which I had never experienced before..I read about all the great souls who walked this Earth and about Ramana Maharishi, but did not stick to anyone or even to Him. I did this for a long period of time and just enjoyed the divine experience that reading was giving me. Here were great examples of how life should be lived which deeply impacted me. After going around in a full circle, I came back to Ramana Maharishi and kept His photo in my puja corner. Something led me to read about His life in more detail and I started in full swing. Every aspect of Him and His earthly life appealed to me in the most profound way and I got deeper and deeper into His teachings. I started buying His books by the dozens and it strangely filled my own unique thirst of knowlege. I felt that He was the Perfect One for me...
I was going thro the reading and digesting of all the information phase as I was not yet ready to get into the "sadhana" aspect of it. Thereafter, I had an incredibly "real" dream which affected me profondly. The inner change started taking place. I started digging into my own "personality " to find out why exactly I was so unhappy inspite of having all and I found the answer. I was led to the answer in the form of my own 'Ego" which was causing all this confusion. I started practising towards negating it and still am..
All my life, I was afraid of being "my human self". I had my share of weaknesses and strengths, but I was subduing the good in me and encouraging the bad, just so that I could survive in a tough world. Anger was swallowing everything else. I started rediscovering my "humanness" first by accepting myself for who I am and most of all forgiving myself for who I was.. I didnt want to live in the past anymore. Only when self forgiving happened, did I start forgiving all around me. Only with self- acceptance was I was able to accept everyone else, no matter how different they are from me. I understood what exactly makes us unique from each other and what is the "constant" among us all. My little self started reaching out for The Ultimate Self behind all. It was incredibly freeing to be able to forgive and forget myself and everyone...It felt nice to be selflessly nice to people without wondering if they would have me for dinner because of my "niceness"..After all, all my puny efforts counted for something with Ramana, if not for the world....
As for his actual teaching of discovering "Who am I", I am starting to practise that. It comes about automatically during meditation, with no effort on my part.. Initally it was not so and I could not relate to the teaching all that much. But now I am gaining a better understanding of what He was trying to show us. As for my personality, I am becoming a better person in respecting the life given to me and to others to reach this state of oneness. The negative aspects still raise their heads, but they dont have absolute control anymore. I can get over them sooner and in the end forgive myself for indulging in them, apologize to those who were affected and move on with Life...However, I made sure never to repeat them again...

I still am discovering a lot about myself, the world that I inhabit and what my ultimate purpose is. He is helping me at every step, by giving me wings and letting me fly without holding me back to His way. After all, he never initiated anyone to be His disciple. His own Guru was the Holy Hill Arunachala which is believed to the actual manifestation of Lord Shiva. He would speak and advise everyone based on their own levels and needs and would never force others to Be like Him. He stood for "absolute and real freedom" in life. He treated all beings, be they man, animal, birds or beasts in the same way and encouraged others to do so too. He lived the most natural life in human form possible and the most humble. There is no rigorous "outer" sadhana required, no organization to join, no philosophies to get attached to, no people to get attached to,no "running away" from the world ,nothing.. Ramana constantly encouraged his followers to be detached from Him and seek Him within their own self or "inner guru". When they grieved over his sickness he said "why do you grieve? Where am I going? I am right here" .
Just like he said, everything happens within my self while normal life and its varied responsiblities go on as it always has.....Noone has been affected in any way from all of this except my own little self.... I have always experienced the fact that my own inner peace on any day translates to a peaceful existence for all around me.

My life's little miracle has been that my son was born under the same star and month as Bhagavan Ramana Maharishi. Punarvasu nakshtra in the month of Margazhi. I found Him two years after my own son was born. I had no idea about it until my mother realized it was so. So we celebrate both bdays together. I dont know what to think of it... so I don't think...

I am happy that I was able to find my own way to Guru Ramana just like how He found His in Arunachala.......

Sarvam Sri RamanArpaNamastu

2006-01-29T16:58:00.000-05:00

Of Ants, Humans and God

On a totally spontaneously crazy moment, I shall go "down to earth" to crawl like an ant, walk like a human and try to Be God, all at the same time.. I think it is called "Pratipaksha bhavana" in Sanskrit. I am going on the premise that all 3 are real and hope they dont take offense....

Ant:

Does not call itself an ant.
Has strong instincts about survival and the role it has to play in its short life.
Mother Nature's own and fully under Her control.
Does not feel the need to control any other being beyond eating for survival. Goes along with the plan of Mother Nature perfectly.
Does not care about a world bigger than its own anthill or the nooks and cranies of our homes.
Possesses some degree of intelligence which is perfect for its own survival.
Does not care much whether there is a God or not. On second thoughts, maybe God does manifest in ant form to teach them a thing or two about ant life....
Killed by the hundreds in a mere instant by bigger life forms and Mother Nature herself.
Just lives it life by surviving the best it can and dies.....
A perfect example of how to work and live harmoniously with its own kind and with its God, Mother Nature.

This should suffice as I am no expert on ants and I dont remember being one, either.

Now for the fun part..

Human :

Calls himself a man/woman/child and obsessed with naming everything he sees before him, including ants, giving them not one, but many colourful sounding ones...
Is possessed of higher intelligence in the form of a mind and prides himself over it....possessed of an equally powerful Ego as well..
Has to define, analyse and dissect every other life form on this earth and find out what makes them tick...
Digs into the past and has to find out how everything started and where everything is heading..Is he going to end up like the dinosaurs, someday maybe?
Considers himself the guardian of this world and plans and executes on how the world should serve him at any point in time.
Also considers himself representative of Mother Nature and tries to lord over Her and all her other creations, in the name of helping them to survive....
Is trying to reach out to the rest of the cosmos as well to find out what makes the universe tick and whether the chicken or the egg came first or both....
Does/does not believe in a Higher form of intelligence or God or His Hand in the creation of the cosmos.
However, willing to believe that they might be aliens somewhere in the outer realms of the galaxy and still waiting for one to visit or send a message(SETI).
Willing to go to the basic sub atomic level to find out the mytery of creation, but sometimes ignores what makes up his own mind and what lies within its fascinating depths. Even while attempting it, does not go beyond the physical brain and its workings..
Not much unity of thought or action. Has to prove uniqueness/individuality to his own kind. Calls it his survival instinct....
Has to prove himself at every stage in the name of ambition, progress etc etc.
Trying very hard to create "The perfect life" for himself on Earth. Claims to do so for other life forms too. Creates zoos for his entertainment...
Gets very upset when Mother Nature/ God interferes with his best laid plans...fumes, curses and destroys, makes a royal mess and then tries to mop it up with no help from God, thank you....
Wages wars in the name of a God he doesn't know or care to know.
Has a herd mentality sometimes when it comes to fighting for the survival of some self proclaimed cause(religion/country).
Knows himself to be the highest life form on Earth and the fact that he is the perfect instrument for reaching the state of God.
There are some of his kind who have discovered the mystery of all life, be they ants, humans or God...problem is not many of their own kind believe them...Anyway, it all sounds like a complicated form of Greek and latin ... In the end, who cares??
Needs proof for everything and trusts only what he sees, hears, talks,feels and smells even if the instruments that aid him in these are quite faulty themselves. Heck, they are not even as good as that of an ant.
Last but not the least, some of his kind, like "yours truly" write all these down for, "God knows what" reason....maybe for the same reasons that are cited above....

Wow!!! That felt good. Anyway, now comes the difficult part...Here goes nothing...

God (in all His forms that He has made Himself known to humans or ants):

Started creation just for the heck of it and One became Many and everything came into being.
Has representatives to manage creation, maintainence and destruction, among many others. These representatives are his active manifestations while He remains the Passive Witness.
Does not see any difference between a human or an ant as HE is the same oneness principle underlying them both..
Destroys both in the same manner and watches while humans fume and fret and ants accept...
Ants accept and evolve into higher life forms
Human fret and run around in circles before finally getting ready for the next step..
Has made Himself known repeatedly only to humans( as far as we know) and waits with a mysterious smile for divine sense to prevail on them someday....
Even if it doesn't, it does not matter as everything will be fine in the end and they will all merge back into Him.
The human obsession/ fear over death has no effect on Him, whatsoever. As far as He is concerned there is no such thing as Death .
Reveals the Truth about Life to a few that are willing or ready to listen and realize....Grants them Liberation from human life when their work of trying to share with the rest of their kind is done. Not that its ever done, anyway. The dog's tail of this human world swings right back up again...
Works at every level, from the tiniest to the largest, but not many notice...Some are too busy waiting for aliens to land and declare themselves to be our long lost ancestors...Hopefully they dont blow us up first...Ants still dont care, either way...
Loves all his creations equally and is present as The Witness within all, human, ant and all in between.

My dear "small circle of readers", after all this extrapolation, hopefully you may have learnt to appreciate the ant better even if you don't believe in God. After all, they are as real as the bite marks they leave on our poor unsuspecting forms, sometimes. That "Ouch" sting really shows us how "alive" we are and that We Exist, anyway.....

Yes, I am definitely going someplace serious with all of this. It doesn't take rocket science to know that most humans seem to be the most dissatisifed lot, among all life forms on the face of this Earth. We just cannot create something without destroying something else. No matter how much progress we have made in trying to perfect our life on this Earth, we still have not found a way to live like the ants do, in perfect harmony within themselves and with Mother Nature. We can still be humans and aspire for God's perfection in life, while living like humble ants, can't we?.....Who says that's not possible?

Its said in the Holy Bible.....(replace meek with any other so called lower life forms, ants, for eg or humble human beings)

"Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the Earth......."

2006-01-26T09:51:00.000-05:00

Prakriti

I am Mother Nature

And you are my child.

I helped in creating you and

everything that you see before you...

I control all but I share with you.

My children , there are many,

Birds, animals, trees, mountains....

I love them all,

But you, You are special.

Why?

You have a mind,

A mind that has the power to

create, nurture and destroy.

Not all at one time, but

each at its own time.

I trust you because

He is most powerful in you,

The one who starts the cycle,

maintains and destroys it all

in the end.

Yes, you have a mind

which can connect to The Source of All

You have the power of The Source of All

Alas, what you have you done with it,

this mind and its power?

You create, nurture and destroy

Me and my other helpless children,

all at once...

Your creations suffocate ME, destroy ME

ME, The mother that gave you life and

A beautiful mind.

Which is the worst of it all,

filled with thoughts that are so powerful,

they make me

shudder, quake and weep

And when I do ,

you say I am wrathful, avengeful and

filled with fury.

I am tired,

tired of it all,

I am tired of you and your

beautiful mind,

I want to gather you

in my arms

and sleep in Him

For ever....

2006-01-25T11:00:00.000-05:00

Why did God create Evil?

Asato maa Sat gamaya

tamaso maa jyothir gamaya

mrthyor maa amrutham gamaya

Om shanti shanti shantihi

Oh Lord, Lead me from Ignorance to knowledge

from Darkness to Light

from Death to Immortality

Om, Peace Peace Peace

It all began when....

Son :"Who created Ravana and all the rakshashas?

Me: "God did".

Son : "Why did God create evil people when he knew that they were going to do bad things to good people"

Me : (after being stumped for a while and thinking very hard) "Ravana was not evil when God created him. He just did not know.So, he chose bad and started doing bad things to others. But, Ravana loved Lord Shiva who lived in his heart. Lord Shiva loved and forgave him , but still wanted Ravana to learn his lessons on his own. So he waited and watched"

"As Ravana kept doing bad things, his heart where Lord Shiva lived, became covered by darkness. That heart which was shining like a thousand suns, was getting blocked by thick stormy clouds. Sometimes when he would pray or meditate, the clouds would part to help the "Sun of Shiva" to shine again. But, Ravana would forget and continue with his actions. While he was doing them, he was not listening to the "Voice of Shiva" inside him telling him to stop. He just kept doing what the rakshashas in his own head told him to."

"That's how he slowly turned evil and felt like kidnapping Sita and fighting Rama who was God Himself. Lord Shiva tried to show him sometimes, but Ravana wasn't listening or seeing".

My son loved this answer and was actually satisfied with it for a brief while. I felt relieved.....

Then he went and told someone, "If you dont pray to God or listen to Him, you will become evil "

Checkmate!!! again....

2006-01-23T09:54:00.000-05:00

One moment, please........

So many beautiful souls....
there are...
in this wonderful world....
that I am discovering.....
The world needs us too....
no matter, if it is illusory
or otherwise.......

As long as this body and mind remains...
Let it be of some use to You...
and your beautiful
but sometimes, terrible,
Creation......

Thank you, my sweet Lord,
for reminding me of this.....
for showing them to me...
Is it so that,
We can serve and love....
Everything that is
You.....
Together.......

"Sarvam Omkar Eva"

(Thank you, Parvati)

2006-01-21T04:09:00.000-05:00

Innocence....

I think.....

Yashoda is the innocent one here...

My son : Amma, Where is Hanuman and where are all the rakshashas? I want to see Hanuman...in front of me....

Me : (thinking to myself) Thank God, atleast I have some idea where He is.. But how do I tell him?

The way to answer deluded me for quite a while. But I wanted to answer, I felt I had to.....Then, I got my chance.

My son was going thro a particularly difficult "short" phase of "tantrums and tempers". He was quite unable to control both and I was distressed at how distressed he felt when he was in such a "phase". He was too young to handle it and old enough to understand it...

During one particular event, I couldnt take it anymore. I suddenly sat him down and told him ...: "Kanna, you want to know why you are getting so angry?" That distracted him from his emotion for a split second and I grabbed on to it. "Its because there are naughty little rakshashas "dancing in your head" and making you forget that "Hanuman is in your heart". They like it when you get angry because it gives them power and they can use that power to defeat Hanuman".

That's it.. How could Hanuman be defeated? He just cannot and should not be defeated...That thought, calmed him down some more and I explained some more.....

"The best way that Hanuman can defeat these naughty little monsters is if you remember Him or think of Him when you are angry. Immediately, He will get the "strongest mace in the world" and beat up all these rakshashas. Every time the rakshashas wake up, when you get angry.. Then, remember to say "Rama Rama" because only then, Hanuman will get the power to fight these rakshashas....He will not do it if you dont remember Him......"

That has worked like "magic" everytime.. He still got angry and I let him.. He just was more aware of it and learnt to handle it better.....One more thing, though....

It was all fine until he started telling everyone he met, that there were "rakshashas in their head" and that they had to defeat them?!?!?!?!

I just let him......Its ok....

yatra yatra raghunaatha kiirtanam

tatra tatra kritamastak aanjalim

bhaaspavaari parIpurNalocanam

maarutim namata raakshasaantakam

(Praveen reminded me of this beautiful slogam.. Thanks)

2006-01-19T09:40:00.000-05:00

Singing Spirit....

A long time ago, She was....
Happy, true, carefree, loving...
connected to The One
who gave Her Life..
Loving Him and feeling loved...

She sang for Him and
His children.........
She was happy just Being....
She wanted nothing.....

Then She found a new friend,
who was called Ego...
Ego whispered sweet nothings into Her ear,
told Her She was meant for great things..

She liked what she was hearing....
She wanted all that and more...
She wanted......
All along He watched and waited
The One whom She loved...
and Who loved Her...

She became one with Ego
She became she.....
She was lost.....
she forgot... who She was....

Ego liked that....
Ego was in control now...
Ego took her this way and that...both good and bad
On a long and lonely journey ....and got lost...
Utterly and completely......lost...

One day, something stirred.....
Deep in the recesses of things unknown.....
She wanted out......
she was tired...

she remembered Him
she called out for Him,
Her one and True Love.....
He was still watching and waiting......
He came....

He came, took one look at Ego,
Ego was tired, hurt and weak,
Ego was dying.....
Ego wanted to die....

It was easy for Him....
To bring Her out,
To give Her Life,
To Heal Her..

She sang again........
For Him and His little children.....
She was His, again
She was Happy....truly Happy knowing,
She wouldn't forget...
who She Was.....

2006-01-17T12:48:00.000-05:00

Hanuman - Jai Bajrang Bali....

nadhiya jaisi chanchaltha

Gagan ke jaisi akhandatha

chandra prakash ki sheethaltha

parbat jaisi nischalatha

narm dhoop si komaltha

tere gunon ki kya seema

( a song from the movie Hanuman)

My son's Hero. Mine too.. It started with the first animated movie of 'Ramayana" made with Japanese collaboration. My son was attracted to the Sheer Power of Hanuman, became fascinated with His ability to grow in size and to fly like the wind...He was hooked... It was Ramayana, day in and day out and umpteen questions would spring from his mind as to Why this and Why that?
Then came the new animation movie which features "little Hanuman". Adorable, it was.. My son loved The Naughty Child . He also loved the Bigger Hanuman because of His Calm Face, as he put it.. I got my chance to teach him about Meditation....

I nurtured his blossomming faith with regular doses of Amar Chitra Katha comic books. It was the beginning of a new adventure for both of us which still goes on and on......I read to him all things Hanuman and then some..

Finally one day, I asked him,

"Why do you love Hanuman so much"

He replied after a lot of thought " Because..... I love Him"

Love for the sake of Love.... Isn't that what Hanuman is all about? Perfect!!!

2006-01-15T22:53:00.000-05:00

Durga - The Shakti in Us....

Jaya Jaya Devi Jaya Jaya Devi

Durga Devi Sharanam.........

Thus goes the beautiful song that I learnt in my childhood from the collection of songs sung by the evergreen P Susheela... I was 6 or 7 years old, full of carefree abandon with not much ego to care if others appreciated my songs or not. They just had to say "Paaa...." intending to say "paadu ma" in Tamil and I would set off in a singing spree until it was time to stop... I was, of course, helped along by the fact that God had blessed me with the Gift of Song that I could enthrall my audience with my childish brilliance to copy every note in the original song....It all started changing when the unwelcome Ego crept in slowly to take over my life......Spontaneity was tossed out the window...I cant, for the life of me, get it back......

Well, that's not the point... The reason I learnt those songs was my fascination with Devi.....I loved watching all those old Tamil Devi movies and that's where it all started... She became my Fearless Herione.... I wanted desperately to be like her. I would stand in front of the mirrror, look at my reflection, close my eyes and imagine myself as Her in my mind's eye, the crown, the shoolam, et al....Am I insane, yes.... insanely honest....After watching one of those movies, I would adopt that Smiling, Serene look on my own face and walk around much to the amusement of my parents....I loved the way she destroyed all the bad asuras and rakshashas with a smile on her face...... I fell in love with Her courage which defied fear...My Idol she was and still is.....

Later, I realized why I love Her so much.....I found out that she represents the dormant Shakthi in all of us... She represents Real Fearlessness, not the "in your face" kind that you see these days...She is the Kind Mother who lets us make our mistakes and pulls us back when we go too far, in spite of our protests.....Hers is the Serene face that we need to take on to face and tame life in all its beautiful and terrible glory... Serenely destroying the Evil in us.....

I feel the lion in the background represents the motherlode of challenges we face to be a good child of Mother Earth. Once they are overcome, the "lion" they represent, becomes our slave, which can then be ridden on to face Life bravely...

Look, Look deeply into Her Form and at the fierce lion tamely licking her hand....

Feel Her power, Feel Her Courage....

Arouse the Shakti in you, be ye man or woman.....

Let It Rise and Conquer the Dark Forces in us....

2006-01-14T22:44:00.000-05:00

The final plunge....into blogging.....

Here I am, finally.. Thanks to persistent Parvati who pulled me in when she found me hovering "near the threshold". Her encouragement was absolutely potent....

A year ago, when I discovered the world of blogging, I was shocked!!! Here were people actually "opening up" to each other in a way they never would in person. I was fascinated and sceptical all at the same time. But I was "hooked" into reading what everyone had to say.. I kept bloghopping until i discovered something I had been earnestly seeking for quite a while..."A spiritual satsang"... So many beautiful people sharing thoughts about life in general and spirituality in particular... I was elated and hung on, reading, but never commenting...I wasn't ready to dive in...yet

Until, one fine day , I was ready to be pulled in.. I am not sure if I have anything new to offer, just the ideas and thoughts that are "mine" to share..Let me be honest... I love all and anything that has to do with God... So most of my posts will be concerning Him... My other love is children. Not sure if there is any difference between children and God, though. I am having a glorious time raising my 5 year old son. I have had the most interesting conversations with him about Gods, rakshashas and where they all are right now.. I have to repeatedly bring alive "the child" in me to answer some of his questions and I absolutely enjoy doing that.... I will share some of those moments...

There are a lot of thoughts floating around in my mind waiting to "take shape" and I have to to catch a "little one" every once in a while and give it life.... So, allow me to take a "Deep Breath" and .... post this.....

2006-01-14T17:27:00.000-05:00

Samarpanam....

Om Tat Sat