The New York Times version of what happened on that day.
Gandhi Lives!
Read the rest of this entry >>
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Two Geniuses
In A Genius Finds Inspiration in the Music of Another, Arthur Miller says
Read the whole thing. Read the rest of this entry >>
Einstein once said that while Beethoven created his music, Mozart's "was so pure that it seemed to have been ever-present in the universe, waiting to be discovered by the master." Einstein believed much the same of physics, that beyond observations and theory lay the music of the spheres — which, he wrote, revealed a "pre-established harmony" exhibiting stunning symmetries. The laws of nature, such as those of relativity theory, were waiting to be plucked out of the cosmos by someone with a sympathetic ear.
Read the whole thing. Read the rest of this entry >>
Explaining what is real to an EE-student
Was talking to an EE student, who is taking the course for which I am a TA. [Context: We are using a simulator of hardware instead of following the actual method of previous years when things were "actually taken to the board". I was explaining to the student that, by using a simulator, they can think at a higher level of abstraction and thereby do more powerful things.]
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Student: (interrputing me when I was explaining something about the simulator) But it is still a simulator right. It is not actual hardware.
Me: (getting a little irritated): Yes, but what the hardware is doing, is but a simulation of some computation. Right?
Student: (most probably not getting the gist of it): um.. right.
Me: (trying to make a bigger point and forgetting it is a class): What do you think is real?
Student: (reasonably confused, and most probably thinking I am being aggressive) Well. I think I get your point.
Me: (understanding that this is a CS course and not one on reality and trying to get back to the point): You understand that the simulator is powerful right?
(I walk away)
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
James Burke at Smithsonian
A refreshing talk by James Burke on "The Knowledge Web" at Smithsonian Institution. Link, thanks to Atanu. I fully agree with Atanu when he says:
Listen to it if you can. Also, Atanu says
The thoughts that Atanu expressed, and the ones SJ did, are but echoes of each other. Read the rest of this entry >>
A journalist and historian of science, Burke is in a class all by himself. If you have an hour to spare for some delightful insights into the nature of innovation and the histroy of technology, listen to the man. And the miracle of it all is that you can do it from the comfort of your own home and at a time of your choosing, if you have an internet connection.
Listen to it if you can. Also, Atanu says
At the risk of being branded a Luddite, I maintain that the world wide web is the single most distracting thing ever invented by humans. The internet is immensely useful for practical matters of course but aside from its utilitarian functions, it is also capable of providing a device for pure play. It can be, in the hands of an appropriately interested and educated human, a virtually (sic) inexhaustible source of joy, the intellectual equivalent of Kubla Khan’s “miracle of rare device, a sunny pleasure dome with caves of ice.”
The thoughts that Atanu expressed, and the ones SJ did, are but echoes of each other. Read the rest of this entry >>
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Adi Shankaracharya the movie, by G.V.Iyer
Adi Shankaracharya the movie, by G.V.Iyer
Original review: Saturday, January 21, 2006
Many corrections added later.
Watched the movie Adi Shankaracharya (Amazon link) by G. V. Iyer. It was a wonderful experience to watch a movie made in Sanskrit, the language, that was enriched by Sri Shankara, who was not just an exegete, philosopher and reformer, but also a great poet and enriched the beauty of the language with his memorable works.
Background: The film begins at the time when religion in general and sanAtana dharma (Hinduism) in particular was in a state of turmoil. Buddhism had started losing its forte and Hinduism was going in the wrong direction. The big battle Shankara had to fight, was not --as this author assumed to be-- with Buddhists, but with the blind practitioners of Vedic rites (mainly the followers of pUrva-mimAMsA). For example, animal sacrifices were stopped, but sacrifices were made of animals made of dough. The Upanishadic realization of the true purport of karma-kaaNDa (in the context of parama puruShArtha) was lost. No one was concerned about the fundamental aspects of reality and truth. The holy city Varanasi, the city where Annapurna and Vishveshwara reside, the city on the holy banks of the holy Ganges, was echoing with DukRRi~n karaNe [a grammar rule], rather than shivo.aham [I am Shiva], the chant of the unity of individual self with the supreme spirit.
Shankara and his "companions/friends"
The life story in the movie begins with a narration of how Shiva Guru, Shankara's father, asks him to treat mRRityu [death] as a friend. mRRityu approaches Shankara as a boy and both become friends. At the time of Shankara's (upanayana) initiation, he meets another boy, praj~nAna [wisdom] and makes him his other friend. These two friends, "praj~nAna Sharma" and "mRRityu" grow up with Shankara and stay with him (except for brief times). Whenever the friends are together, they sing the shlokas ".... vishvam bhUta bhavya-bhavat prabhum" [He who has inner vision is the Lord of the past, present, future] by praj~nAna Sharma. mRRityu chants “AkAshAt-patitam-toyam” [every drop of water from the sky merges with the sea]. The movements of the friends are very carefully orchestrated ones.
In another scene, Shankara's friend praj~nAna Sharma moves away from Shankara when the latter says to a shUdra in Kashi, as is customary for a saMnyAsi, to move away. When Shankara realizes the truth, praj~nAna comes back to him again. The encounter of praj~nAna with Mandana Mishra's parrot, is enlightening. So is his deserting of Shankara's disciples when they become envious of Sureshwara.
[In another scene involving Shankara's friend mRRityu]
Shankara first meets mRRityu at the time of death of his father Siva Guru. mRRityu was already there when Shankara reaches home from Sringeri to meet his mother. Many times, mRRityu is angry at Shankara, as he (Shankara) laughs in a mocking fashion at mRRityu. When Shankara is ill, Shankara laughs again, observing the paradox of mRRityu taking care of his body, when actually he (mRRityu) should be destroying it.
Final embrace of Shankara and his friends: In the Himalayas, Shankara has a debate with his friend praj~nAna. When they embrace, praj~nAna merges into Shankara. mRRityu who was angry because, Shankara (always laughs at him mockingly) is also asked by Shankara to embrace him. He does after Shankara's persuasion "in spite of the fact that I laugh at you, you still have been with me. So you are my friend. So embrace me." He embraces Shankara and that is the last when we see of (mortal) Shankara.
Disciples of Shankara
Other than his friends, Shankara is always accompanied by his disciples.
Vishnu, the boy who accompanies Shankara at Narmada, and is assumed to be dead by him by drowning, meets him again at Kashi and is taken as a disciple. Vishnu is named Padmapada by Shankara.
Totaka, becomes the disciple in Kashi. He is so named because he composed a beautiful verse on Shankara in the toTaka metre ending with the lines sha~Nkara deshika me sharaNam.
In another scene, Shankara observes a boy, who is thought to be a lunatic by his parents. It is clear that Shankara knows the truth about the boy being an Atma-j~nAnI. Shankara asks the boy "Who are you? Where are you coming from?". The boy replies "All pervading, yet unpolluted I am Atman," and is taken as disciple by Shankara and named as Hastamalaka (hasta = hand; Amalaka = myrobalan fruit) [He can perceive the eternal truth of Self, without effort.].
Shankara is redirected by Kumarila to Mandana Mishra, a great scholar in pUrva-mimAMsA which puts emphasis on rituals, rather than renunciation leading to knowledge of Reality and Truth. Shankara defeats Mandana Mishra in a debate, takes him as disciple, and names him Sureshwara.
Ubhaya Bharathi, who acts as the judge during the debate, and declares Shankara as the winner accompanies them wherever they go. Shankara sees in her, his mother and even Sarada devi herself. When Shankara assigns the disciples places to go to establish schools, and assigns to himself bhuvana trayam (the three worlds), he asks her to be with him always.
A (brief) Transcript of the movie
[Copyright holders of this film, please see note at end of post.]
Pranava. Gayatri. Titles. The sacred words of other faiths of India: Shaivites, Jains, Buddhists. Father Shiva Guru chanting Gayatri. Aryamba, Shankara's mother watering Tulsi plant. Shankara's father Shiva Guru completing oblations.
Initial Learning: Shiva Guru knows that his time (to depart from this life) has come. Takes it with poise. Remembers the words from Bhagavad Geetha (meditate on Me at the time of death). Calls baala Shankara near him. Tells him "idam sharIram ashAshvatam, aham gamiShyAmi shAshvata padam" (This body is mortal. I am going to the eternal abode). Asks him to treat mRRityu as a friend. Asks Shankara to recite the shloka he taught him. Shankara recites:
aakaashaat patitaM toyaM yathaa gachchhati saagaram |
sarvadevanamaskaaraH keshavaM prati gachchhati ||
[A traditional prayer or a subhAshita]
Shankara meets mRRityu, the boy who asks himself to be treated as a friend. Shiva Guru breathes his last. (Traditional Brahminic) Initiation of Shankara. Shankara meets praj~nAna and makes him his friend. Introduces his friends to his teacher. Asks alms from a lady, who is too poor to offer anything but an Amalaka fruit. Recites kanaka-dhAra stotram beginning with a~NgaM hareH pulakabhuushhaNamaashrayantii to bless her with wealth. The Lady explains her husband does not hoard, even a morsel. So all she can give is AmalakAs. Shankara sees that the neighbour of the lady is hoarding. Refuses alms from him. Neighbour repents and asks his people to distribute all his wealth.
Learns from his teacher that sannyaasa is the way to equanimity. Teacher explains to him the greatness of sannyaasa, brahmacharya and the greatness of Govinda Bhagavadpaada. Shankara wants to renounce. Mother disapproves.
Shankara observes a brAhmin whom he knows, punish a coconut-thief by giving him something to eat and gifting him some coconuts. The brAhmin also makes the thief promise never to steal. When asked, the brAhmin explains to Shankara dehasya-daNDanam kShaNikam; mano daNDanam chirasthayi (Physical punishment is temporary. A teaching would go a long way in correcting a person.) The proof is in sanAtana dharma lifestyle. Teacher further explains that renunciation as explained in Upanishads is the key to understanding truth.
Is attracted to wearing the saffron cloth as an emblem of renunciation. Swims far to retrieve the white cloth he was wearing, while a crocodile catches hold of his foot. praj~nAna gets mother Aryamba to the river and she agrees for him to be a sannyAsi to be saved from death in the crocodile’s grasp. Watches the play of Nachiketa-Yama done in Kathakali style. Takes the permission of mother and leaves home. Promises to come back for her last rites.
Search for Guru: Sees how powerful death is and how people are not understanding it the right way. Sees caste prejudice. Faints. Is taken care of by tribals. Reaches Gokarna in Northern Karnataka, and meets his friend Vishnu. Vishnu follows him. They travel through Madhya Pradesh. Explains to Vishnu, who asks if Shankara is breaking the four-fold stages of life ordained by Vedas, that anyone qualified can choose to become a sannyasin after Brahmacharya. Reaches Narmada banks. Narmada takes away Vishnu. Prays and quells the power of Narmada. Reaches the cave dwelling of Govindapada.
[At the cave of Govindapada]: Meets Govindapada. Convinces Govindapada and other people at the aashram that he is a competent student. Composes the dasha-shloki – with the refrain tadeko.avashiShTaH shivaH kevalo.aham and his understanding of knowledge of Self. When Govindapada asks "With this mortal body, how can you cross the ocean of existence?" Shankara replies "body is subject to birth and death; but not Atman [dashashlokii]. The unreal has no existence; the real never ceases to be" [Gita]. Govindapada blesses Shankara: paramahaMso bhaviShyasi (may you become a paramahamsa) and takes Shankara as disciple. Shankara sees that Badarayana-Vyasa's vedanta-granthas are getting neglected as writes bhaashya for these. Using the story of Satyakama-Jabali and statements like mrittikA eva satyam, convinces other disciples that sarvaM khalvidaM brahma (from Chandogya) is the truth. Other disciples offer prostrations at his feet.
Kashi: Sees that people are reciting and analyzing rules of Panini grammar on the banks of the holy Ganges. Takes Vishnu as disciple and names him as Padmapada. People respect Shankara in Kashi. Takes Totaka as disciple. Recites Bhaja Govinda shloka to the scholar who was reciting grammar rules. The words bhajagovindaM bhajagovindaM govindaM bhajamuuDhamate reverberate in Kashi. Is paid respects by the King of Kashi. Meets his friends praj~nAna and mRRityu again at Kashi.
Chandala incident. Shloka 2 of maneesha panchakam which goes as
brahmaivaahamidaM jagachcha sakalaM chinmaatravistaaritaM
sarvaM chaitadavidyayaa triguNayaa.asheshhaM mayaa kalpitam.h |
itthaM yasya dR^iDhaa matiH sukhatare nitye pare nirmale
chaaNDaalo.astu sa tu dvijo.astu gururityeshhaa maniishhaa mama || 2||
I am quite convinced that he is the great Master, be he a Brahmin or an outcaste, who, dwelling on the pure and infinite Brahman thinks of himself as that very Brahman, of whose manifestation the whole Universe is,though apparently the Universe is assumed to consist of different things, due to ignorance and the three Gunas (Satva, Rajas and Tamas).
Praises Kashi that dispelled his ignorance.
kaashyaa.n hi kaashyate kaashii kaashii sarvaprakaashikaa .
saa kaashii viditaa yena tena praaptaa hi kaashikaa .. 4..
[kAshi pa~nchakam]
Takes Hastamalaka as disciple. Meets an old scholar (said to be Badarayana-Vyasa himself) and they both discuss Brahmasutras Meets Kumarila who is immolating himself as a penance for 'deceiving' the Buddhist monastics to learn their philosophy. Kumarila cannot comment on Shankara's work. Story of how Kumarila defeats Buddhists and why he has to perform immolation. Kumarila however, sees the work of Shankara, approves it, and asks Shankara to go to Mahishmati (on the banks of Narmada) to meet Kumarila's disciple Mandana Mishra.
Mahishmati, on the banks of Narmada: Reaches Mandana Mishra's place. Begs for a debate. Debate begins. praj~nAna observes that the parrot of Mandana Mishra is bound in a cage and eats only pepper. Offers sweet grapes to the parrot and frees it. Shankara defeats Mandana Mishra and takes him as a disciple. Sees his mother Aryamba Ubhaya Bharathi, the wife of Mandana Mishra, and says "experience is more important than knowledge". Camps at Sringeri with disciples.
Sringeri: When Sureshwara questions about the futility of ritual Vedic rites, Shankara sees he is mature and assigns him the task of writing commentary on his work on Brahmasutras. Other disciples get envious and Wisdom walks away from them. The others feel that the task should be given to either Padmapada or, Hastamalaka the brightest one. Shankara laments, if he cannot keep unity among his devotees, how can he do the same over Bharatavarsha? Shankara explains that he made the decision based on "experience is better than seniority or scholarliness". Disciples still show reluctance. Bharathi devi laments. Sureshwara gives back the Bhashya Granthas. Shankara asks Padmapada to write commentary and Padmapada realises his mistake and asks Shankara to make Sureshwara do it. Shankara instead says Padmapada should do it.
As Ubhaya Bharathi is serving them food, Shankara and his disciples recite Annapurna Astakam.
nityaanandakarI varaabhayakarI saundaryaratnaakarI
nirdhuutaakhiladoShapaavanakarI pratyakShamaaheshvarI .
praaleyaachalava.nshapaavanakarI kaashIpuraadhIshvarI
bhikShaaM dehi kR^ipaavalambanakarI maataa.annapuurNeshvarI .. 1..
Oh! Mother Annapurna! renderer of the support of compassion, the bestower of eternal happiness, the donor of gifts and protection, the ocean of beauty, the destroyer of all sins and purifier, the great goddess, the purifier of the family of Himavan, and the great deity of Kasi, (thou) grant us alms.
Shankara wants his four disciples to start schools (pITham) at Dwaraka, Badri, Puri and Sringeri. He assigns himself the three worlds (bhuvana trayam).
Back to home: praj~nAna wants to see mother Aryamba. Shankara agrees and both immediately leave. mRRityu was already there when both reach their home. Aryamba dies. Shankara asks to do final rites. Brahmins around object to that and expel him. He realizes the illusory nature of everything. Sees he still has his friends with him. Remembers the brahmin-(who-punished-the-thief) and Govindapada who were lamenting on the lack of Dharma in the Veda BhUmi.
Conquest: Reaches Kanyakumari. Prays to Goddess Kanyakumari. His disciples start to chant the prayer, and everywhere there is the echo, of the beautiful call (nay thunder) from Mahanarayana Upanishad about Renunciation being the lone means of obtaining Knowledge.
na karmaNaa na prajayaa dhanena tyaagenaike amR^itatvamaanashuH .
pareNa naaka.n nihita.n guhaayaaM bibhraajate yadyatayo vishanti ..
vedaantavij~naanavinishchitaarthaaH sa.nnyaasayogaadyatayaH shuddhasattvaaH
te brahmaloke tu paraantakaale paraamR^itaaH parimuchyanti sarve
dahra.n vipaapa.n varaveshmabhuuta yat puNDariikaM
puramadhyasa{\m+}stham.h
tatraapi dahre gagana.n vishoka.n tasmin yadantastadupaasitavyam.h
yo vedaadau svaraH prokto vedaante cha pratishhThitaH .
tasya prakR^itiliinasya yaH paraH sa maheshvaraH
[14-17]
Reaches Kanchipuram. Makes more people his disciples. Story of Raikva (of the Upanishads). Feels how great each of his four disciples are. Ugra Bhairava comes and asks Shankara to become a sacrifice to Kali for the purpose of nirvana of kaapalika. Shankara follows. A Lion (the vaahana of the devi) kills Kaapalika. Shankara prays to Goddess. Reaches Somnath, Marble rocks of Narmada river, Prayag, Benares, Devaprayag (Himalayas). Has conquered India.
Himalayas: Disciples observe that Shankara is ill. Prays to Himalayas Shiva and Ganges (lalATaM lAvaNya-dyuti-vimalaM AbhAti tava yat dvitIyaM tan-manye makuTa-ghaTitaM candra-shakalaM / Saundaryalahari #46)
Prays to Ganges. Shankara encourages his disciples. All walk towards Himalayas.
[The voice over and Shankara.]
[The Supreme Truth is one, which is the all-pervading Self, True knowledge of Self leads to liberation. He who know the Self controls the gross, living, mental, rational and supra-rational being.
Shankara is the Sun of the spiritual sky
Before the rays of knowledge, the ordinary Sun is pale as moon
I bow to the sun of knowledge, in thought, word and deed.]
As Shankara is walking to the top of a mountain top, the other faiths --represented by Jainas, Buddhists, (possibly) Shaivites, (possibly) Kaapalikas-- fall behind.
Final Debate: Shankara alone reaches the top of the mountain. Wisdom asks him if there is anything more to be achieved. Shankara and praj~nAna debate on how can the humans torn by sorrow and ignorance be liberated. praj~nAna feels that the theory that Shankara proposes is subtle and complicated. praj~nAna feels that Ishwara anugraha mixed with devotion alone leads to Advaita in humans and asks him to not lament about the realization of humans. Shankara says that he is not lamenting and is sure everyone will be liberated. In the meanwhile, mRRityu comes and says time is up. Shankara declares to mRRityu that he is Brahman. mRRityu gets angry and leaves him. Shankara explains to praj~nAna the oneness of reality. praj~nAna accepts the reasoning. After the debate, Shankara embraces praj~nAna. praj~nAna merges into Shankara. After some persuasion by Shankara, mRRityu also embraces Shankara. Disciples lament and then console themselves that Shankara Acharya will always be in their intellect.
Praise be unto Him who conquered other philosophies: Sankhya, Yoga, Naiyayika, Vaiseshika, Purva Mimamsa and became the master of Uttara-Mimamsa. He is the King of Spiritual world.
Voice of Shankara: I accept every faith. he who has no attachments is verily the Self, the Universal Self.
I bow down to the Self which is pure knowledge.
Who with pure intellect and fortitude controls this sensual body.
And shuns sensation will be free from attachment
He whose mind is unattached, subdued in thought, desire-free,
and free from action, through renunciation, attains perfection
Ego-free, free of false conviction of Bravery, free of thoughts of anger and lust humble and pure, then he is worthy of becoming Brahman. Madhuram, Manoraharam, Anandam. [Charming, Pleasant, Blissful] Come along all of you.
(aakashaat patitaM toyaM saagaraM prati gachchhati |)
puurNamadaH puurNamidaM puurNaat puurNamudachyate |
puurNasya puurNamaadaaya puurNamevaavashiShyate ||
OM shaantiH shaantiH shaantiH ||
I bow down to Shankara, the master of Advaita!
Memorable moments:
Explicit References from the Upanishads: The movie is full of upanishadic allegories, and every dialogue questions the fundamental aspects of perception and reality. Explicitly, it shows the following references from Upanishads: Two birds from Mundaka, Nachiketa from Katha, Satyakama-Jabali and Raikva. Chanting in the background from Isha Upanishad and of course, the Gita.
Possible anachrony: The teacher of Shankara and is making them recite vAgarthAviva sampR^iktau shloka, which is the first shloka from Raghuvamsham, written by Kalidasa. I thought that Kalidasa was preceeded by Shankara, not otherwise.
Postscript correction (Not an anachrony): A couple of searches reveals that Kalidasa is a 5th-6thcentury poet. Since Shankara is generally ascribed to the time 7-8th century, the use of the shloka may not be an anachrony.
General comments about the movie:
Miracles: Traditionally Shankara's story is associated with many miracles, like the experience with the Amla devi, Padmapada's lotus, the fading of garlands when he is debating with Sureshwara, he taking another form to argue kaamashAstra with the wife of Mandana mishra etc. The movie does not have any of these. Maybe G.V.Iyer felt that the dramatization that comes with showing miracles may alter the way the teachings of Shankara are shown.
Acting: Sarvadaman Banerjee was very good as Shankara. He also acted later, as Sri Krishna in the T.V. serial by Ramanand Sagar and also as Sri Krishna in G.V.Iyer's Bhagavad Geetha. Bharat Bhushan as his father and the friends praj~nAna and mRRityu, the four disciples and Ubhaya Bharati act well. G.V.Iyer himself acts as Veda Vyasa.
Music: The direction of music for the movie was by Manganampalli Balamurali himself, who even sang some songs with his melodious heavenly voice. There are names of other doyens, like Nookala chinna Satyanaraya among others in the initial credits list. The first raaga of the movie, of course, had to be Sankara Bharanam [Adornment of Sankara]. Shankara and his disciples singing Annapoorna astakam was memorable. The background score is by B.V.Karanth, who does a good job.
Dialogues: The dialogues for this Sanskrit movie were penned by a noted Madhwa scholar Dr.Bannanje Govindacharya from Karnataka. He won the 2009 Government award Padma Shri. (Thanks to Shri Subbu-ji for the reference in the comment!).
Awards: This film was made in 1983. and won the national awards for "Best Feature Film", "Best Screenplay", "Best Cinematography" and "Best Audiography". The script, screen play, production and direction of the movie was by G.V.Iyer himself (the producer of the film was G.V.Iyer himself, rather than Subbarami Reddy, as advertised on the DVD. Subbarami Reddy, to his credit, did produce G.V.Iyer's later movies.). The awards were enriched by the movie, thanks to the committee.
DVD details: There are some minor errors in continuity. The movie is around 2:40 hours, rather than 2:00 hours as written on the cover of the DVD. The dialogue is available in Sanskrit as well as Hindi (which I did not opt for). The subtitles are in English (as well as French, which I did not opt for) which is good, with minor errors. The great part of the subtitles is that they go into narrative mode when mantras are recited, instead of transcribing mode, which could be thought of as disrespecting the tradition.
Later works by G.V.Iyer: Ganapathi Venkaramana Iyer (born 1917), from Karnataka. It seems in 1992, G.V.Iyer made a film on "Bhagavad Geetha", that was again appreciated by critics. To watch that movie. Also, a brief look at the filmography of G.V. Iyer reveals that G.V. Iyer's 1983 move was no flash in the pan. He followed it with films like: Madhavacharya (1986), Ramanujacharya (1989), Bhagwat Geeta (1993), and Vivekananda (1994).
To watch them!
==
Note to the copyright holders of the film: I have really loved this movie and thanks (more than a trillion times) for making it. I have put up the transcript for the (educational) benefit of myself, and for my friends, who may not have access to the movie. If you have any objections to me making the transcription available on the web, please let me know and I will remove it from the web.
Note to the readers: I sincerely appreciate the help of Shri Sunder-ji who helped me in making numerous corrections to this. The remaining faults in the review, of course lie with me. I also appreciate the readers who made pointers to this review and appreciated it and wanted it to be corrected. It was my fault that it was not done in time!
Shri Ramaraju Bhaskar is writing the review in Telugu. Parts of it are vailable at the following link.
sarvaM sha~NkaraarpaNamastu |
sarvaM keshavaarpaNamastu |
parabrahmaarpaNamastu |
shriichakrapuranivaasinii raajaaraajeshvarii lalitaa parameshvarii devyai arpaNamastu |
shrii raamaarpaNamastu |
shriikRRiShNa parabrahmaarpaNamastu | Read the rest of this entry >>
Original review: Saturday, January 21, 2006
Many corrections added later.
Watched the movie Adi Shankaracharya (Amazon link) by G. V. Iyer. It was a wonderful experience to watch a movie made in Sanskrit, the language, that was enriched by Sri Shankara, who was not just an exegete, philosopher and reformer, but also a great poet and enriched the beauty of the language with his memorable works.
Background: The film begins at the time when religion in general and sanAtana dharma (Hinduism) in particular was in a state of turmoil. Buddhism had started losing its forte and Hinduism was going in the wrong direction. The big battle Shankara had to fight, was not --as this author assumed to be-- with Buddhists, but with the blind practitioners of Vedic rites (mainly the followers of pUrva-mimAMsA). For example, animal sacrifices were stopped, but sacrifices were made of animals made of dough. The Upanishadic realization of the true purport of karma-kaaNDa (in the context of parama puruShArtha) was lost. No one was concerned about the fundamental aspects of reality and truth. The holy city Varanasi, the city where Annapurna and Vishveshwara reside, the city on the holy banks of the holy Ganges, was echoing with DukRRi~n karaNe [a grammar rule], rather than shivo.aham [I am Shiva], the chant of the unity of individual self with the supreme spirit.
Shankara and his "companions/friends"
The life story in the movie begins with a narration of how Shiva Guru, Shankara's father, asks him to treat mRRityu [death] as a friend. mRRityu approaches Shankara as a boy and both become friends. At the time of Shankara's (upanayana) initiation, he meets another boy, praj~nAna [wisdom] and makes him his other friend. These two friends, "praj~nAna Sharma" and "mRRityu" grow up with Shankara and stay with him (except for brief times). Whenever the friends are together, they sing the shlokas ".... vishvam bhUta bhavya-bhavat prabhum" [He who has inner vision is the Lord of the past, present, future] by praj~nAna Sharma. mRRityu chants “AkAshAt-patitam-toyam” [every drop of water from the sky merges with the sea]. The movements of the friends are very carefully orchestrated ones.
In another scene, Shankara's friend praj~nAna Sharma moves away from Shankara when the latter says to a shUdra in Kashi, as is customary for a saMnyAsi, to move away. When Shankara realizes the truth, praj~nAna comes back to him again. The encounter of praj~nAna with Mandana Mishra's parrot, is enlightening. So is his deserting of Shankara's disciples when they become envious of Sureshwara.
[In another scene involving Shankara's friend mRRityu]
Shankara first meets mRRityu at the time of death of his father Siva Guru. mRRityu was already there when Shankara reaches home from Sringeri to meet his mother. Many times, mRRityu is angry at Shankara, as he (Shankara) laughs in a mocking fashion at mRRityu. When Shankara is ill, Shankara laughs again, observing the paradox of mRRityu taking care of his body, when actually he (mRRityu) should be destroying it.
Final embrace of Shankara and his friends: In the Himalayas, Shankara has a debate with his friend praj~nAna. When they embrace, praj~nAna merges into Shankara. mRRityu who was angry because, Shankara (always laughs at him mockingly) is also asked by Shankara to embrace him. He does after Shankara's persuasion "in spite of the fact that I laugh at you, you still have been with me. So you are my friend. So embrace me." He embraces Shankara and that is the last when we see of (mortal) Shankara.
Disciples of Shankara
Other than his friends, Shankara is always accompanied by his disciples.
Vishnu, the boy who accompanies Shankara at Narmada, and is assumed to be dead by him by drowning, meets him again at Kashi and is taken as a disciple. Vishnu is named Padmapada by Shankara.
Totaka, becomes the disciple in Kashi. He is so named because he composed a beautiful verse on Shankara in the toTaka metre ending with the lines sha~Nkara deshika me sharaNam.
In another scene, Shankara observes a boy, who is thought to be a lunatic by his parents. It is clear that Shankara knows the truth about the boy being an Atma-j~nAnI. Shankara asks the boy "Who are you? Where are you coming from?". The boy replies "All pervading, yet unpolluted I am Atman," and is taken as disciple by Shankara and named as Hastamalaka (hasta = hand; Amalaka = myrobalan fruit) [He can perceive the eternal truth of Self, without effort.].
Shankara is redirected by Kumarila to Mandana Mishra, a great scholar in pUrva-mimAMsA which puts emphasis on rituals, rather than renunciation leading to knowledge of Reality and Truth. Shankara defeats Mandana Mishra in a debate, takes him as disciple, and names him Sureshwara.
Ubhaya Bharathi, who acts as the judge during the debate, and declares Shankara as the winner accompanies them wherever they go. Shankara sees in her, his mother and even Sarada devi herself. When Shankara assigns the disciples places to go to establish schools, and assigns to himself bhuvana trayam (the three worlds), he asks her to be with him always.
A (brief) Transcript of the movie
[Copyright holders of this film, please see note at end of post.]
Pranava. Gayatri. Titles. The sacred words of other faiths of India: Shaivites, Jains, Buddhists. Father Shiva Guru chanting Gayatri. Aryamba, Shankara's mother watering Tulsi plant. Shankara's father Shiva Guru completing oblations.
Initial Learning: Shiva Guru knows that his time (to depart from this life) has come. Takes it with poise. Remembers the words from Bhagavad Geetha (meditate on Me at the time of death). Calls baala Shankara near him. Tells him "idam sharIram ashAshvatam, aham gamiShyAmi shAshvata padam" (This body is mortal. I am going to the eternal abode). Asks him to treat mRRityu as a friend. Asks Shankara to recite the shloka he taught him. Shankara recites:
aakaashaat patitaM toyaM yathaa gachchhati saagaram |
sarvadevanamaskaaraH keshavaM prati gachchhati ||
[A traditional prayer or a subhAshita]
Shankara meets mRRityu, the boy who asks himself to be treated as a friend. Shiva Guru breathes his last. (Traditional Brahminic) Initiation of Shankara. Shankara meets praj~nAna and makes him his friend. Introduces his friends to his teacher. Asks alms from a lady, who is too poor to offer anything but an Amalaka fruit. Recites kanaka-dhAra stotram beginning with a~NgaM hareH pulakabhuushhaNamaashrayantii to bless her with wealth. The Lady explains her husband does not hoard, even a morsel. So all she can give is AmalakAs. Shankara sees that the neighbour of the lady is hoarding. Refuses alms from him. Neighbour repents and asks his people to distribute all his wealth.
Learns from his teacher that sannyaasa is the way to equanimity. Teacher explains to him the greatness of sannyaasa, brahmacharya and the greatness of Govinda Bhagavadpaada. Shankara wants to renounce. Mother disapproves.
Shankara observes a brAhmin whom he knows, punish a coconut-thief by giving him something to eat and gifting him some coconuts. The brAhmin also makes the thief promise never to steal. When asked, the brAhmin explains to Shankara dehasya-daNDanam kShaNikam; mano daNDanam chirasthayi (Physical punishment is temporary. A teaching would go a long way in correcting a person.) The proof is in sanAtana dharma lifestyle. Teacher further explains that renunciation as explained in Upanishads is the key to understanding truth.
Is attracted to wearing the saffron cloth as an emblem of renunciation. Swims far to retrieve the white cloth he was wearing, while a crocodile catches hold of his foot. praj~nAna gets mother Aryamba to the river and she agrees for him to be a sannyAsi to be saved from death in the crocodile’s grasp. Watches the play of Nachiketa-Yama done in Kathakali style. Takes the permission of mother and leaves home. Promises to come back for her last rites.
Search for Guru: Sees how powerful death is and how people are not understanding it the right way. Sees caste prejudice. Faints. Is taken care of by tribals. Reaches Gokarna in Northern Karnataka, and meets his friend Vishnu. Vishnu follows him. They travel through Madhya Pradesh. Explains to Vishnu, who asks if Shankara is breaking the four-fold stages of life ordained by Vedas, that anyone qualified can choose to become a sannyasin after Brahmacharya. Reaches Narmada banks. Narmada takes away Vishnu. Prays and quells the power of Narmada. Reaches the cave dwelling of Govindapada.
[At the cave of Govindapada]: Meets Govindapada. Convinces Govindapada and other people at the aashram that he is a competent student. Composes the dasha-shloki – with the refrain tadeko.avashiShTaH shivaH kevalo.aham and his understanding of knowledge of Self. When Govindapada asks "With this mortal body, how can you cross the ocean of existence?" Shankara replies "body is subject to birth and death; but not Atman [dashashlokii]. The unreal has no existence; the real never ceases to be" [Gita]. Govindapada blesses Shankara: paramahaMso bhaviShyasi (may you become a paramahamsa) and takes Shankara as disciple. Shankara sees that Badarayana-Vyasa's vedanta-granthas are getting neglected as writes bhaashya for these. Using the story of Satyakama-Jabali and statements like mrittikA eva satyam, convinces other disciples that sarvaM khalvidaM brahma (from Chandogya) is the truth. Other disciples offer prostrations at his feet.
Kashi: Sees that people are reciting and analyzing rules of Panini grammar on the banks of the holy Ganges. Takes Vishnu as disciple and names him as Padmapada. People respect Shankara in Kashi. Takes Totaka as disciple. Recites Bhaja Govinda shloka to the scholar who was reciting grammar rules. The words bhajagovindaM bhajagovindaM govindaM bhajamuuDhamate reverberate in Kashi. Is paid respects by the King of Kashi. Meets his friends praj~nAna and mRRityu again at Kashi.
Chandala incident. Shloka 2 of maneesha panchakam which goes as
brahmaivaahamidaM jagachcha sakalaM chinmaatravistaaritaM
sarvaM chaitadavidyayaa triguNayaa.asheshhaM mayaa kalpitam.h |
itthaM yasya dR^iDhaa matiH sukhatare nitye pare nirmale
chaaNDaalo.astu sa tu dvijo.astu gururityeshhaa maniishhaa mama || 2||
I am quite convinced that he is the great Master, be he a Brahmin or an outcaste, who, dwelling on the pure and infinite Brahman thinks of himself as that very Brahman, of whose manifestation the whole Universe is,though apparently the Universe is assumed to consist of different things, due to ignorance and the three Gunas (Satva, Rajas and Tamas).
Praises Kashi that dispelled his ignorance.
kaashyaa.n hi kaashyate kaashii kaashii sarvaprakaashikaa .
saa kaashii viditaa yena tena praaptaa hi kaashikaa .. 4..
[kAshi pa~nchakam]
Takes Hastamalaka as disciple. Meets an old scholar (said to be Badarayana-Vyasa himself) and they both discuss Brahmasutras Meets Kumarila who is immolating himself as a penance for 'deceiving' the Buddhist monastics to learn their philosophy. Kumarila cannot comment on Shankara's work. Story of how Kumarila defeats Buddhists and why he has to perform immolation. Kumarila however, sees the work of Shankara, approves it, and asks Shankara to go to Mahishmati (on the banks of Narmada) to meet Kumarila's disciple Mandana Mishra.
Mahishmati, on the banks of Narmada: Reaches Mandana Mishra's place. Begs for a debate. Debate begins. praj~nAna observes that the parrot of Mandana Mishra is bound in a cage and eats only pepper. Offers sweet grapes to the parrot and frees it. Shankara defeats Mandana Mishra and takes him as a disciple. Sees his mother Aryamba Ubhaya Bharathi, the wife of Mandana Mishra, and says "experience is more important than knowledge". Camps at Sringeri with disciples.
Sringeri: When Sureshwara questions about the futility of ritual Vedic rites, Shankara sees he is mature and assigns him the task of writing commentary on his work on Brahmasutras. Other disciples get envious and Wisdom walks away from them. The others feel that the task should be given to either Padmapada or, Hastamalaka the brightest one. Shankara laments, if he cannot keep unity among his devotees, how can he do the same over Bharatavarsha? Shankara explains that he made the decision based on "experience is better than seniority or scholarliness". Disciples still show reluctance. Bharathi devi laments. Sureshwara gives back the Bhashya Granthas. Shankara asks Padmapada to write commentary and Padmapada realises his mistake and asks Shankara to make Sureshwara do it. Shankara instead says Padmapada should do it.
As Ubhaya Bharathi is serving them food, Shankara and his disciples recite Annapurna Astakam.
nityaanandakarI varaabhayakarI saundaryaratnaakarI
nirdhuutaakhiladoShapaavanakarI pratyakShamaaheshvarI .
praaleyaachalava.nshapaavanakarI kaashIpuraadhIshvarI
bhikShaaM dehi kR^ipaavalambanakarI maataa.annapuurNeshvarI .. 1..
Oh! Mother Annapurna! renderer of the support of compassion, the bestower of eternal happiness, the donor of gifts and protection, the ocean of beauty, the destroyer of all sins and purifier, the great goddess, the purifier of the family of Himavan, and the great deity of Kasi, (thou) grant us alms.
Shankara wants his four disciples to start schools (pITham) at Dwaraka, Badri, Puri and Sringeri. He assigns himself the three worlds (bhuvana trayam).
Back to home: praj~nAna wants to see mother Aryamba. Shankara agrees and both immediately leave. mRRityu was already there when both reach their home. Aryamba dies. Shankara asks to do final rites. Brahmins around object to that and expel him. He realizes the illusory nature of everything. Sees he still has his friends with him. Remembers the brahmin-(who-punished-the-thief) and Govindapada who were lamenting on the lack of Dharma in the Veda BhUmi.
Conquest: Reaches Kanyakumari. Prays to Goddess Kanyakumari. His disciples start to chant the prayer, and everywhere there is the echo, of the beautiful call (nay thunder) from Mahanarayana Upanishad about Renunciation being the lone means of obtaining Knowledge.
na karmaNaa na prajayaa dhanena tyaagenaike amR^itatvamaanashuH .
pareNa naaka.n nihita.n guhaayaaM bibhraajate yadyatayo vishanti ..
vedaantavij~naanavinishchitaarthaaH sa.nnyaasayogaadyatayaH shuddhasattvaaH
te brahmaloke tu paraantakaale paraamR^itaaH parimuchyanti sarve
dahra.n vipaapa.n varaveshmabhuuta yat puNDariikaM
puramadhyasa{\m+}stham.h
tatraapi dahre gagana.n vishoka.n tasmin yadantastadupaasitavyam.h
yo vedaadau svaraH prokto vedaante cha pratishhThitaH .
tasya prakR^itiliinasya yaH paraH sa maheshvaraH
[14-17]
Reaches Kanchipuram. Makes more people his disciples. Story of Raikva (of the Upanishads). Feels how great each of his four disciples are. Ugra Bhairava comes and asks Shankara to become a sacrifice to Kali for the purpose of nirvana of kaapalika. Shankara follows. A Lion (the vaahana of the devi) kills Kaapalika. Shankara prays to Goddess. Reaches Somnath, Marble rocks of Narmada river, Prayag, Benares, Devaprayag (Himalayas). Has conquered India.
Himalayas: Disciples observe that Shankara is ill. Prays to Himalayas Shiva and Ganges (lalATaM lAvaNya-dyuti-vimalaM AbhAti tava yat dvitIyaM tan-manye makuTa-ghaTitaM candra-shakalaM / Saundaryalahari #46)
Prays to Ganges. Shankara encourages his disciples. All walk towards Himalayas.
[The voice over and Shankara.]
[The Supreme Truth is one, which is the all-pervading Self, True knowledge of Self leads to liberation. He who know the Self controls the gross, living, mental, rational and supra-rational being.
Shankara is the Sun of the spiritual sky
Before the rays of knowledge, the ordinary Sun is pale as moon
I bow to the sun of knowledge, in thought, word and deed.]
As Shankara is walking to the top of a mountain top, the other faiths --represented by Jainas, Buddhists, (possibly) Shaivites, (possibly) Kaapalikas-- fall behind.
Final Debate: Shankara alone reaches the top of the mountain. Wisdom asks him if there is anything more to be achieved. Shankara and praj~nAna debate on how can the humans torn by sorrow and ignorance be liberated. praj~nAna feels that the theory that Shankara proposes is subtle and complicated. praj~nAna feels that Ishwara anugraha mixed with devotion alone leads to Advaita in humans and asks him to not lament about the realization of humans. Shankara says that he is not lamenting and is sure everyone will be liberated. In the meanwhile, mRRityu comes and says time is up. Shankara declares to mRRityu that he is Brahman. mRRityu gets angry and leaves him. Shankara explains to praj~nAna the oneness of reality. praj~nAna accepts the reasoning. After the debate, Shankara embraces praj~nAna. praj~nAna merges into Shankara. After some persuasion by Shankara, mRRityu also embraces Shankara. Disciples lament and then console themselves that Shankara Acharya will always be in their intellect.
Praise be unto Him who conquered other philosophies: Sankhya, Yoga, Naiyayika, Vaiseshika, Purva Mimamsa and became the master of Uttara-Mimamsa. He is the King of Spiritual world.
Voice of Shankara: I accept every faith. he who has no attachments is verily the Self, the Universal Self.
I bow down to the Self which is pure knowledge.
Who with pure intellect and fortitude controls this sensual body.
And shuns sensation will be free from attachment
He whose mind is unattached, subdued in thought, desire-free,
and free from action, through renunciation, attains perfection
Ego-free, free of false conviction of Bravery, free of thoughts of anger and lust humble and pure, then he is worthy of becoming Brahman. Madhuram, Manoraharam, Anandam. [Charming, Pleasant, Blissful] Come along all of you.
(aakashaat patitaM toyaM saagaraM prati gachchhati |)
puurNamadaH puurNamidaM puurNaat puurNamudachyate |
puurNasya puurNamaadaaya puurNamevaavashiShyate ||
OM shaantiH shaantiH shaantiH ||
I bow down to Shankara, the master of Advaita!
Memorable moments:
- The identification shlokas of the friends of Shankara are played everytime they are in action.
- The Nachiketa play done in Kathakali, the traditional dance form of Kerala.
- Punishment" of the thief by the Brahmin.
- Kumarila: Story of Kumarila, a great scholar of Kashi, who wanted to learn the secrets of Buddhists so that he can defeat them. He achieved his objective of defeating Buddhists. Kumarila laments to Shankara that when the Buddhists pushed him off an abyss, he should have said "Let the eternal Vedas save me" instead of saying, as he said, "If Vedas are eternal, let me be saved". This resulted in him being saved, but he got blinded in an eye. By the time Shankara meets him, Kumarila had defeated his Buddhist master, and is immolating himself because he broke the Buddhist tradition of not respecting the master.
- Hastamalaka: The entire episode of Hastamalaka is very moving. Shankara sees a young boy who acts like a mad person. It is Shankara's keenness which makes him observe that the boy is laughing at the fish that are living in the water and dying when they land on the bank. The boy is clearly amused at the futileness of the whole existence in this dualistic world. If he is laughing at the highest fear, namely death, he should be staring at the greatest truth. This is what is shown when he is playing and stares at the Sun (a representative of the Brahman) directly. The interplay introduces his parents who are worried about him and explain him his situation. The funny part is, they are explaining their own ignorance is mis-apprehending the boy's illumination. Shankara asks the boy "who he is". The boy replies "he is the eternal Atman". Shankara asks the parents to give the boy to him and gives him the ochre robe.
- The release of Mandana Mishra's parrot: In Maahismathi, Shankara meets Mandana Mishra of the pUrva-mimamsa fame. Mandana Mishra has a parrot that recites that Vedic rites are the final authority. The parrot, of course is a symbolism for Mandana Mishra himself. While Shankara and Mandana Mishra are debating, praj~nAna finds out that the parrot eats only pepper and chooses to remain in a cage. While Shankara and Mandana Mishra are debating, praj~nAna offers the parrot sweet grapes. The parrot says that it likes the sweet grapes. At the same time, Shankara is gives the winning argument. praj~nAna offers the parrot why he wants to remain in a cage, rather than being free. praj~nAna says that ants will take many life times to climb a mountain, while a parrot with wings can fly over to the top immediately. Shankara at the same time, asks Mandana Mishra why he chooses to take the slow path of Karma, when renunciation will make him free immediately. praj~nAna frees the parrot and at the same time, Mandana Mishra accepts defeat. Shankara takes Mandana Mishra as disciple and names him Sureshwara.
- Kerala Style Vedic recitation, as well as many Upanishadic passages rendered beautifully.
- Shankara and his disciples reciting annapoorna ashtakam is very moving.
Explicit References from the Upanishads: The movie is full of upanishadic allegories, and every dialogue questions the fundamental aspects of perception and reality. Explicitly, it shows the following references from Upanishads: Two birds from Mundaka, Nachiketa from Katha, Satyakama-Jabali and Raikva. Chanting in the background from Isha Upanishad and of course, the Gita.
Possible anachrony: The teacher of Shankara and is making them recite vAgarthAviva sampR^iktau shloka, which is the first shloka from Raghuvamsham, written by Kalidasa. I thought that Kalidasa was preceeded by Shankara, not otherwise.
Postscript correction (Not an anachrony): A couple of searches reveals that Kalidasa is a 5th-6thcentury poet. Since Shankara is generally ascribed to the time 7-8th century, the use of the shloka may not be an anachrony.
General comments about the movie:
Miracles: Traditionally Shankara's story is associated with many miracles, like the experience with the Amla devi, Padmapada's lotus, the fading of garlands when he is debating with Sureshwara, he taking another form to argue kaamashAstra with the wife of Mandana mishra etc. The movie does not have any of these. Maybe G.V.Iyer felt that the dramatization that comes with showing miracles may alter the way the teachings of Shankara are shown.
Acting: Sarvadaman Banerjee was very good as Shankara. He also acted later, as Sri Krishna in the T.V. serial by Ramanand Sagar and also as Sri Krishna in G.V.Iyer's Bhagavad Geetha. Bharat Bhushan as his father and the friends praj~nAna and mRRityu, the four disciples and Ubhaya Bharati act well. G.V.Iyer himself acts as Veda Vyasa.
Music: The direction of music for the movie was by Manganampalli Balamurali himself, who even sang some songs with his melodious heavenly voice. There are names of other doyens, like Nookala chinna Satyanaraya among others in the initial credits list. The first raaga of the movie, of course, had to be Sankara Bharanam [Adornment of Sankara]. Shankara and his disciples singing Annapoorna astakam was memorable. The background score is by B.V.Karanth, who does a good job.
Dialogues: The dialogues for this Sanskrit movie were penned by a noted Madhwa scholar Dr.Bannanje Govindacharya from Karnataka. He won the 2009 Government award Padma Shri. (Thanks to Shri Subbu-ji for the reference in the comment!).
Awards: This film was made in 1983. and won the national awards for "Best Feature Film", "Best Screenplay", "Best Cinematography" and "Best Audiography". The script, screen play, production and direction of the movie was by G.V.Iyer himself (the producer of the film was G.V.Iyer himself, rather than Subbarami Reddy, as advertised on the DVD. Subbarami Reddy, to his credit, did produce G.V.Iyer's later movies.). The awards were enriched by the movie, thanks to the committee.
DVD details: There are some minor errors in continuity. The movie is around 2:40 hours, rather than 2:00 hours as written on the cover of the DVD. The dialogue is available in Sanskrit as well as Hindi (which I did not opt for). The subtitles are in English (as well as French, which I did not opt for) which is good, with minor errors. The great part of the subtitles is that they go into narrative mode when mantras are recited, instead of transcribing mode, which could be thought of as disrespecting the tradition.
Later works by G.V.Iyer: Ganapathi Venkaramana Iyer (born 1917), from Karnataka. It seems in 1992, G.V.Iyer made a film on "Bhagavad Geetha", that was again appreciated by critics. To watch that movie. Also, a brief look at the filmography of G.V. Iyer reveals that G.V. Iyer's 1983 move was no flash in the pan. He followed it with films like: Madhavacharya (1986), Ramanujacharya (1989), Bhagwat Geeta (1993), and Vivekananda (1994).
To watch them!
==
Note to the copyright holders of the film: I have really loved this movie and thanks (more than a trillion times) for making it. I have put up the transcript for the (educational) benefit of myself, and for my friends, who may not have access to the movie. If you have any objections to me making the transcription available on the web, please let me know and I will remove it from the web.
Note to the readers: I sincerely appreciate the help of Shri Sunder-ji who helped me in making numerous corrections to this. The remaining faults in the review, of course lie with me. I also appreciate the readers who made pointers to this review and appreciated it and wanted it to be corrected. It was my fault that it was not done in time!
Shri Ramaraju Bhaskar is writing the review in Telugu. Parts of it are vailable at the following link.
sarvaM sha~NkaraarpaNamastu |
sarvaM keshavaarpaNamastu |
parabrahmaarpaNamastu |
shriichakrapuranivaasinii raajaaraajeshvarii lalitaa parameshvarii devyai arpaNamastu |
shrii raamaarpaNamastu |
shriikRRiShNa parabrahmaarpaNamastu | Read the rest of this entry >>
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Everywhere Vs. Nowhere
It is said that, when HiranyaKasipu asked his son Prahlada, "Where is Hari?" Prahlada saw Hari everywhere. At the same time, HiranyaKasipu saw Hari nowhere.
It is obvious that this can be interpreted in a theistic way.
In an Advaitic way, this can be thought of as a competetion between the Advaitists (who see Brahman everwhere) and the ShunyaVadis, who are incapable of the feeling of fullness/infinite-perfectness. Read the rest of this entry >>
It is obvious that this can be interpreted in a theistic way.
In an Advaitic way, this can be thought of as a competetion between the Advaitists (who see Brahman everwhere) and the ShunyaVadis, who are incapable of the feeling of fullness/infinite-perfectness. Read the rest of this entry >>
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
About Advaita from Philisophy Foundation
Found the following about Advaita from Philosophy Foundation (actually went to the following link of one Advaiti, which was forwarded by a M).
Read the rest of this entry >>
The essence of every human being is what Emerson called the Oversoul, which is our true Self — universal, all-encompassing, and blissful, the source of all knowledge and of cosmic consciousness.
The person who is in touch with this essence is confident without arrogance and tolerant without weakness; is efficient and economical in actions and immediate and deep in understanding; is undismayed in all circumstances and at home everywhere.
These possibilities lie within everyone, obscured by assumed limitations of body, senses, mind, and heart. This concept of the unity of all is Advaita Vedanta, the non-dual philosophy of self.
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Question on Kailash Nath and its reply (from advaitin mailing list)
In Advaitin mailing list at yahoo groups, Question regarding Kailash Nath, Krishna Prasad asks,
In the reply, "Purusha" gives an answer:
As a response to this post, Chittaranjan Naik says:
I could not have said it better. Read the rest of this entry >>
Dear Scholars,
We all know Kailash Mountain is the only GOD's abode we can go with this physical body and comeback, they say in the shores of Manasarovar there are wish fulfilling trees etc. If the ancient people can see Lord Shiva and Parvathi in Kailash, why can't we see now. and they say Ravana have danced with Kailas mountain. and he want to carry it to Sri Lanaka, is it only stories or is it really happened? Please clarify. Symbolism and other things we can explain but in this mayaic world is it true??
In the reply, "Purusha"
A seemingly simple question with profound implications. I am not a scholar but a simple spiritual pilgrim but I am taking the liberty of answering your wonderful questions.
You write :
(Kailash Mountain is the only GOD's abode we can go with this physical body and comeback, they say in the shores of Manasarovar there are wish fulfilling trees etc.)
This is true. Kailash is situated in Manasarovar, Himalayas and many pilgrims go on Tirthayatra to this holy place. That is the ouTwatd pilgrimage that everyone is aware of.
However, there is an inner pilgrimage- The human body itself is a sacred holy place where the soul's journey starts from the Muladhara chakra and reaches the Sahasarachakra, upon which the YOGIS reach the goal of Self Realization is realized. . In this Sahasara chakra of Thousand petalled Lotus , Devi (shakti) herself sports with her eternal consort (shiva) in cosmic union. This is the celestial abode of the yogis - this is the 'Kailas' of all self realized yogis. Devi herself is the Wish fulfilling tree ( kalpavriksha) who resides as Kundalini Shakti ( Devatma Shakti - Divine Power) in the Muladhara chakra.
This is the great Kundalini Sadhana practiced in Tantric circles. Shankara talks about this type of Sadhana in his Saundarya Lahari.
Many self realized souls after successfully completing Inner pilgrimage undertake outer pilgrimage like Adi Shankara for Loka Sangraham or Loka kalyanam. The parivrajaka sanyasis do the same. So did Swami Vivekananda.
Also, Parvati is Prakriti and Parameshwera is Purusha. Purusha is Soul. Prakriti is Cosmos. They are not opposite principles , conscious and unconscious . They are here recognized as identical in the highest spiritual experience.
VERSE 51 in Avadhuta Gita says thus: As water, when water has been poured into water, has no distinctions, so purusa and prakrti appear nondifferent to me. (http://www.starwon.com.au/~soham/avadhuta/chap01.htm)
Shivaa and Shiva are 'One' - duality is only in the mind.
Narada Bhakti sutra says: Athato Bhaktim Vyakhasamah ... [meaning: Now we shall explain the path of devotion. Meditate on the great cosmic couple and Reach Kailash with your mind, body and soul.] Athato.....
Best regards
As a response to this post, Chittaranjan Naik says:
I don't know why i say this, but you are no ordinary being. I see Shiva in you. Thank you for the lead.
I could not have said it better. Read the rest of this entry >>
How conscious can we be (and ought to be)?
SJ has just returned from a Laser show where he observes a braid of lasers with DSOM and WOZ. Naturally, he links the show back to his favorite topic of consciousness and asks some questions.
Now if you move to an orthogonal view you get only a point losing a huge chunk of data, the line. Isn't that because you tried to simplify your view as you went down the dimensions? Isn't it important to tag the cube as a cube even while moving down the dimensions?
Possibly, one way to do it is to classify everything as Brahman. You see oneness in evrything and feel Advaita. I believe that trying to do this is very important and a huge step towards realization.
Consciously, I looked forward for the emerging patterns, even though, all the while, I knew this was all an illusion. So was I really conscious?
Assuming you were conscious that it was an illusion, there is a related question: Were you conscious that you were conscious? Yes, because you asked the question 'was I conscious?' Were you conscious that you were conscious that you were conscious? I donot know. Were you conscious that you were conscious that you were conscious that you were conscious? I have no clue. Were you ..... [extend the questionare further.]
We can either
extend the idea further and ask, what is the transitive closure of the consciousness chains? or,
try to break away from such incomputable thoughts.
I call them as incomputable thoughts, as such questioning leads to a possible infinite length path in the thought chain. If we have an infinile length path, a temporal mapping of the thoughts -- given that we have finite resources -- can finish only after infinite time. This means that the though chain is an incomputable computation.
==
What does the Judeo-Christian-Islamic-God or Indic-Ishwara do?
He knows everything. So, he can do infinite computation.
What does Buddha do?
Given that Tathagata [The Buddha referred to himself as the Tathagatha, the 'thus gone one'- the one who has reached enlightenment.] is said to have broken the cycle of births and deaths and hence has effectively stopped time, He has ofcourse broken the thought chain.
What does Taoism say about what we should do (and hence Lao Tzu) say we should do?
'When I am thinking, I am just thinking. When I am eating, I am just eating'. This means that the thought chain has been broken. (length of thought chain = 0)
What does Guru Datta do?
He said 'I am free and donot think about either past or future and hence remain as a child, effectively free'. He also has effectively broken the thought chain. (length of thought chain = 0)
Which brings us to the theorem of today: an incomputable thought can be terminated and stillness of mind acheived by humans, as it has been by others before. This is because, the state of all the above "humans", Buddha, Tao, Guru Datta, are attainable by other human beings.
==
But, I have to ask, is consciousness asking the question 'was I conscious'? or just using the senses as they are(just seeing? just hearing etc.)?
==
When Mr. SJ asks:
I just like to say, if it is real, it is permanent. Never goes away. Read the rest of this entry >>
Now if you move to an orthogonal view you get only a point losing a huge chunk of data, the line. Isn't that because you tried to simplify your view as you went down the dimensions? Isn't it important to tag the cube as a cube even while moving down the dimensions?
Possibly, one way to do it is to classify everything as Brahman. You see oneness in evrything and feel Advaita. I believe that trying to do this is very important and a huge step towards realization.
Consciously, I looked forward for the emerging patterns, even though, all the while, I knew this was all an illusion. So was I really conscious?
Assuming you were conscious that it was an illusion, there is a related question: Were you conscious that you were conscious? Yes, because you asked the question 'was I conscious?' Were you conscious that you were conscious that you were conscious? I donot know. Were you conscious that you were conscious that you were conscious that you were conscious? I have no clue. Were you ..... [extend the questionare further.]
We can either
I call them as incomputable thoughts, as such questioning leads to a possible infinite length path in the thought chain. If we have an infinile length path, a temporal mapping of the thoughts -- given that we have finite resources -- can finish only after infinite time. This means that the though chain is an incomputable computation.
==
What does the Judeo-Christian-Islamic-God or Indic-Ishwara do?
He knows everything. So, he can do infinite computation.
What does Buddha do?
Given that Tathagata [The Buddha referred to himself as the Tathagatha, the 'thus gone one'- the one who has reached enlightenment.] is said to have broken the cycle of births and deaths and hence has effectively stopped time, He has ofcourse broken the thought chain.
What does Taoism say about what we should do (and hence Lao Tzu) say we should do?
'When I am thinking, I am just thinking. When I am eating, I am just eating'. This means that the thought chain has been broken. (length of thought chain = 0)
What does Guru Datta do?
He said 'I am free and donot think about either past or future and hence remain as a child, effectively free'. He also has effectively broken the thought chain. (length of thought chain = 0)
Which brings us to the theorem of today: an incomputable thought can be terminated and stillness of mind acheived by humans, as it has been by others before. This is because, the state of all the above "humans", Buddha, Tao, Guru Datta, are attainable by other human beings.
==
But, I have to ask, is consciousness asking the question 'was I conscious'? or just using the senses as they are(just seeing? just hearing etc.)?
==
When Mr. SJ asks:
...
So are the lasers clearing the maze for us; then what was it that we saw earlier, wasn't the laser creating an illusion for us. What is real, what was illusion?
I just like to say, if it is real, it is permanent. Never goes away. Read the rest of this entry >>
Friday, January 13, 2006
The Ananta Yoga Learning center
The Ananta Yoga Learning center has lots of online books, including Ashtavakra Gita, Avadhuta Gita, The Gaudapada Gita(?).
I think the moderator bindu also maintains vivekananda mailing list.
More info later. Read the rest of this entry >>
I think the moderator bindu also maintains vivekananda mailing list.
More info later. Read the rest of this entry >>
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Watch list: Sri Adi Shankaracharya Movie
To buy/watch the movie: Adi Shankaracharya. More info:
PS: more info: Music director, M. Balamurali Krishna (link via advaitin mailing list of yahoo groups). Read the rest of this entry >>
Adi Shankaracharya - $ 22.99
Brand - Cinebella
ValueIndia proudly brings to you Adi Shankaracharya - a film by G.V. Iyer. Award winning feature film about the founder of the Advita Philosophy. In Sanskrit with English/French subtitles.
Information - National Award for Best Feature Film, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Audiography.
More Details - Based on the life of one of the greatest thinkers the Indian sub-continent has ever known, Adi Shankaracharya is a stunning achievement in the annals of world cinema. It is also the ONLY film ever made in the classical Sanskrit language. By the 8th century, Hinduism had become a slave to Brahmin cults rather than as the all-embracing philosophy of mankind that it was originally conceived as and was theologically challenged by other belief systems including Buddhism. It was into this scenario that Shankaracharya was born. In a quest to broaden his knowlegde, he renowned the world and set out on a life and mind-affirming journey with death and wisdom as his twin companions. On the way he wrote several commentaries that have changed the way mankind looks at religion and theism and the eternal quest for inner truth. Today there are several centres across the world devoted to the propagation of Shankaracharya's teachings.
PS: more info: Music director, M. Balamurali Krishna (link via advaitin mailing list of yahoo groups). Read the rest of this entry >>
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Hindu Gurus and more links
Francois Gautier (one of my favorite columnists in rediff) writes in In defence of Hindu gurus, about why Communists hate Hindusim. As summarized by sj in the teachings of Hindusim(and elsewhere), It seems that the disunity of Hindusim seems to be its greatest strength. If you attacking the pope, people may harm Christianity. How do you attack a religion wih so many Gurus? Though, I donot agree to this suggestion of Mr. Gautier at the end:
==
In Atanu's blog, a comment by someone named you know who gives reference to an article from WSJ titled: It's the Demography, Stupid . Mr. "You know who" summarizes the article very succintly as the following:
(I am not sure what ACL cartel means. Also, I am still reading the WSJ article. I like the summary though. It is a very good characterization.) Read the rest of this entry >>
Again, in all humility and conscious of the limitation of mind compared to some of these great gurus whom I have met, I propose that a Supreme Spiritual Council, composed of at least seven of the most popular Hindu leaders of India, be constituted, maybe under the leadership of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the most travelled of all these, the one who has disciples and teachers of all religions, both from India and the West.
==
In Atanu's blog, a comment by someone named you know who gives reference to an article from WSJ titled: It's the Demography, Stupid . Mr. "You know who" summarizes the article very succintly as the following:
Basically, the article says this –
1. Socialism+Atheism = Bad idea = Europe,Canada,USA democrats.
2. Socialism+Theism = Sustainable = India, parts of Asia, Japan
3. Capitalism+Theism = Good idea = USA republicans
4. Capitalism+Atheism = Confused souls = The ACL cartel
Dr.Atanu is trying to take #2 & make it #3 wrt India.
The cartel is trying to take #2 & make it #4 wrt India.
(I am not sure what ACL cartel means. Also, I am still reading the WSJ article. I like the summary though. It is a very good characterization.) Read the rest of this entry >>
Sunday, January 08, 2006
An Year of Incompleteness
A belated update on a post on Lance's weblog: An year of incompleteness.
Read the rest of this entry >>
Sunday, January 01, 2006
Happy New Year!
We begin with the wonderful Creation Hymn from: Hymns from Rig Veda (link thro' Chandahas's blog):
Happy New Year to all! May we all realize Truth-Consciousness-Bliss (and beyond these) in everything we do! Read the rest of this entry >>
A time is envisioned when the world was not, only a watery chaos (the dark, "indistinguishable sea") and a warm cosmic breath, which could give an impetus of life. Notice how thought gives rise to desire (when something is thought of it can then be desired) and desire links non-being to being (we desire what is not but then try to bring it about that it is). Yet the whole process is shrouded in mystery.
Where do the gods fit in this creation scheme?
The non-existent was not; the existent was not at that time. The atmosphere was not nor the heavens which are beyond. What was concealed? Where? In whose protection? Was it water? An unfathomable abyss?
There was neither death nor immortality then. There was not distinction of day or night. That alone breathed windless by its own power. Other than that there was not anything else.
Darkness was hidden by darkness in the beginning. All this was an indistinguishable sea. That which becomes, that which was enveloped by the void, that alone was born through the power of heat.
Upon that desire arose in the beginning. This was the first discharge of thought. Sages discovered this link of the existent to the nonexistent, having searched in the heart with wisdom.
Their line [of vision] was extended across; what was below, what was above? There were impregnators, there were powers: inherent power below, impulses above.
Who knows truly? Who here will declare whence it arose, whence this creation? The gods are subsequent to the creation of this. Who, then, knows whence it has come into being?
Whence this creation has come into being; whether it was made or not; he in the highest heaven is its surveyor. Surely he knows, or perhaps he knows not.
Happy New Year to all! May we all realize Truth-Consciousness-Bliss (and beyond these) in everything we do! Read the rest of this entry >>
The teaching of Hinduism
Link via Kavitha: Hindu American Foundation counsel Suhag A Shukla I am not for rewriting Hinduism vs. Harvard Professor Michael Witzel I am not a Hindu hater.
The two interviews pose some very nice questions on what Hinduism means and how can it be taught. I always felt, someone has to be born in India to understand the Sanatana Dharma. In that way, an ambuity gets ingrained in your thinking, which is not possible in the Judeo-Christian-Islamic tradition. This ambuity makes the "Hindus" more tolerant than others and the "religion" of these "believers" among the greatest religions of the world.
An example of the fundamental question: "how many Gods?": The unique Brahman? The Trinity? The six of the classic theistic schools? The ten avatars of Vishnu? The twenty-four of Vishnu as in the Srimad-Bhagavata? The three crore as it is said in proverbs? The innumerable ones that are the presiding dieties of each village or individual families?
As some reader pointed in the discussions after Ms. Shukla's interview, Hinduism is the only one which gives a choice to be a disbeliever! Read the rest of this entry >>
The two interviews pose some very nice questions on what Hinduism means and how can it be taught. I always felt, someone has to be born in India to understand the Sanatana Dharma. In that way, an ambuity gets ingrained in your thinking, which is not possible in the Judeo-Christian-Islamic tradition. This ambuity makes the "Hindus" more tolerant than others and the "religion" of these "believers" among the greatest religions of the world.
An example of the fundamental question: "how many Gods?": The unique Brahman? The Trinity? The six of the classic theistic schools? The ten avatars of Vishnu? The twenty-four of Vishnu as in the Srimad-Bhagavata? The three crore as it is said in proverbs? The innumerable ones that are the presiding dieties of each village or individual families?
As some reader pointed in the discussions after Ms. Shukla's interview, Hinduism is the only one which gives a choice to be a disbeliever! Read the rest of this entry >>
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