The everyday Sugriva

So, whenever we talk about Lord Rama, one of the contentious issues is Lord Rama's killing of Vaali, while being hidden. Though that is separate topic to be studied in detail, I was more fascinated with Lord Rama's initial interactions with Sugriva, that seems to reflect in my behavior.

The scene shifts to where Lord Rama and Lakshmana are introduced to Sugriva and the Lord offers to retrieve Sugriva's kingdom from Vaali. Now, Sugriva is hardly convinced in the prowess of the Lord. Most likely will be the case, if Lord Rama, in his most merciful mood, offers darshan to a person like me. Lack of real Bhakti would certainly not make me accept that this is the Lord that I hear and pray on a daily basis. So, as I would do, do did Sugiva. He decided to TEST the Lord. He asks Lord Rama to lift the skeletal remains of Dundhubi, the demon killed by Vaali. Lord Rama, the karuna moorthi, accepts to being tested by a monkey king in exile :) He nudges the huge remains of the demon and that is sent like a missile across several yojanas :) So, what would I do in such a situation. I would say, Oh, that was not the real test, it was only the screening test ! And lo and behold, so says Sugriva, well. "that was the dead remains, and so, doing is a necessary and not sufficient condition to prove that you can protect me". Just like in today's world, pseudo-devotees like me, would consider all the miracles that the Lord does for me as a "necessary, but not sufficient condition" to accept him as the form of sat-chit-ananda. So, the next test is for the Lord to piece a mighty tree with an arrow. The lord's arrow pierced through 7 mighty trees, with the same ease as he removes the hurdles in our lives. Well, is that enough? In this case Sugriva accepts Lord Rama, atleast in his outer demeanour. Very similar to how I accept the superiority of the merciful Lord when I pray, its more outward than inward !

Now, moving to the crux. Lord Rama asks Sugiva to invite Vaali for a fight and promises to kill Vali from his hiding place. In the first round, Vaali beats Sugriva to pulp and makes him run to Rshya mookam mountain. Now, this is the important question. Is it really true that Lord Rama could not differentiate between Vaali and Sugiva? For starters, Rama was watching Sugriva calling Vaali. So, he could have killed him after he came out. After all, Sugriva was the one calling Vaali? Well, if we argue that it was unfair to kill Vaali before giving him a chance at peace, Lord Rama could have discharged the arrow when Sugiva was being chased to Rshya mookam moutain or on the way back, the Lord could have easily identified Vaali. So, its a trifle baffling as to why the Lord let Sugiva get beaten up in the first place before giving him abhayapradanam. After all, that is his vratam.

Now, there is an interesting interpretation, I heard the other day. Like many of us, when good things in life come easy, we attribute it to our superior intellectual and physical skills. In all good things and profit making ventures, the Lord is a minority shareholder :) Sugriva had still not done complete sharanaagati to lord Rama. So, if the Lord had killed Vaali before Sugiva got beaten up, he would have behaved like me. "Well, I would have killed Vaali anyways, after all I had practiced fighting all this while in the Rshya Mookam mountain. Lord Rama was just incidental, Vaali's time was anyway over", would have been the likely words of Sugriva. Now, beaten, bruised and ego grounded, shaaranagati comes easier. Something similar to my college experience. Sometimes, its good to get beaten to bring down one's ego make learning possible.

Finally, when that hurdle is surmounted, the Lord's infinite mercy shines like the glorious sun from behind the clouds :) What a nice way our rishis use to describe the Lord, being of the hue as the water laden rain clouds. Once the rain of mercy shower, the bright sunshine of Sat-chit-ananda will shine through. All we need to do, is to plant the seeds of Bhakti and nurture it with good thoughts and deeds. The karuna-bearing blessings of the Lord will automatically shower bliss and reveal the joy and glory of Sat-chit-ananda. But, till the day that the bhatki tree grows strong enough to attract the merciful Lord's attention, the everyday Sugiva lives on !!!

Go for the bronze @ Government Museum - Egmore, Chennai

So, mission accomplished. Government Museum Chennai- Egmore. Value for money @ Rs. 15. And all that money goes to the bronze gallery (one of the 6 galleries), though I must say there are 2 more that I need to visit. For starters, the bronze gallery is air conditioned, so it certainly has a head start, but there are some interesting parts of the bronze gallery that deserve credit.

Now, the bronze gallery was very well lit. Glass enclosures, with neat mirrors and focus lighting helped appreciate the intricate art work. The link to the gallery - (http://www.chennaimuseum.org/draft/gallery/b3.htm).


It was good to start with the first gallery, which has stone sculptures. The notes there are crisp and small. So, without really bogging the visitor, it tells how to differentiate among Pallava, Chozha and Vijayanagar art forms. For people like me who have lost touch with all this, it is pretty informative. Just a look at the sacred thread (number of strands, where the sacred knot in the thread is) worn by the Lord/ Divine mother can help identify the period of the sculpture. The stone sculpture gallery is just 2 floors.


The bronze gallery starts with wonderful sculptures of Lord Tripurantaka (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tripurantaka). Lord Shiva is seen wielding a bow (and a smile) before he embarks on the destruction of Taarakaaksha, Kamalaaksha and Vidyunmaali (and the ego of the gods, who think its because of them that the Lord will be able to defeat these invincible demons).

Now, Vishapaharana is one form of Lord Shiva that I had not known before. Here, the Lord is in a seated position with a snake in his palm. The snake is facing the Lord. Looks like the Lord will ensnare the poisonous snake of Maya for devotees who seek refuge in him.

There is a nice sculpture of Kannapa Nayanar. The details of his sword and Sandal show the intricacy of the art work.

There are a couple of sculptures of Goddess Durga, just as it in Patteswaram (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patteeswaram), complete with the shankam, chakram and the parrot on her palm. The details are striking.


The second floor of the bronze gallery is entirely dedicated to Lord Nataraja. Here is an idol, with the Lord standing on his right foot, just as in madurai, just that here there are only 4 arms. The sculptures differentiate Natesa and Nataraja. Natesa, i think, refers to the Lord of Dance (as an art form) while Nataraja refers to the Lord of Cosmic Dance. Nataraja is generally depicted with the encircling arc of divine fire, while Natesa shows dance mudras and is devoid of the encircling divine fire arc.

There is an entire section dedicated to Maha Vishnu. There is a wonderful sculpture of the Lord with four arms, shankam, charam and gadha. Wonderful to see such an image at close quarters.

There is Maha Vishnu in seated form, quite unlike that I have seen before. Here, the Lord is seen with 2 arms, with the shankham in the left palm and charam in the right palm. You have to strain your eyes to see both these, but is very pleasing to the eye.













The best was reserved for the last. There are 2 wonderful sculptures of Lord Hanuman. Firstly, he is seen with Lord Rama, Lakshamana and Sita. Here, he is seen in the pose of a disciple, with hand covering his mouth. Another idol is a shiny valiant form with hands folded.




You need a good 2 hour window to spend in the bronze gallery, but one occasion where bronze is better than gold :)

How to remember aspects of noun/pronoun and verbs in Samskritam

What makes samskrit crisp and succinct is the way its grammar is structured. As most students, I too struggled with the grammar. Introduction of Bhakti (quite literally) can go a long way in learning Samskritam.

Ok, apart from the Gyan, we know that the nouns have 3 aspects i.e. लिंगम- Gender, Cases - विभक्ति- that relates how the action relates to the noun/pronoun, वचनं - number that denotes the number of nouns, which is Singular, Dual and Plural (interesting aside is our philosophical systems are also advaita, vishistadvaita and other pluralistic forms of worship). So, I found out it easy to remember this as -"Devotional words for Lord Shiva Lingam" - (वि) भक्ति वचनं लिंगम - (Lingam - Shiva; Bhakti - Devotion, Vachanam - words).

Similarly, verbs have 3 aspects to them - कालः - time - past, present and future; पुरुषः- person, वचनं- denoting the number of nouns related to the verb. So, its easy to remember this " The words of KalaPurusha" as कालः पुरुषः वचनं- (Kala Purusha as Shodasha Kala Purusha indicated in the Taittirya Upanishad - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taittiriya_Upanishad ).

Link on grammar - http://www.ibiblio.org/sanskrit/start/nouns/

Tyaagaraja - Lost and Found feeling :)

One the most fascinating aspects of Chennai is its vibrant classical music season or maarghazi utsavam. There was an interesting joke of Facebook sometime back. Musicians sing "Entha ROW mahaanubhavalu", as if to they were asking, which ROW were the rich and famous rasikas sitting :) Quite a take on the pompous displays in the kutcheris these days :)

That apart, listening to this wonderful composition during Tyagaraja aaradhanai in tiruvaiyaru is quite a moving experience. So, it seems the saint sang this song when he was invited to sing in the house of his Guru, Sonti Venkataramanayya (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyagaraja). What an experience it would have been to have heard this composition from the master himself !

One of the highlights of my visit to Tiruvaiyaru, was the darshan of the wonderful idol of Lord Rama in the temple. Its a small idol with Lord Rama, Lakshamana and maa sita in standing position. I distinctly remember that maa Sita was on the left of the Lord and that I thought was not quite usual. I did not dig further. The sight of the Lord Rama was quite moving. It was quite an emotional experience to see that wonderful idol of Rama that was the source of life long inspiration for the Saint. Well, it seems that the idol there is only one of the many idols that the Lord that Saint Tyagaraaja had. Now, as I travel back in time, my curiosity increases to know where the idol, that the Saint felt so emotionally attached (that his brother had to throw it into the river) was? So, it turns out that the shining idol that Lord Rama blessed Tyaagaraja is in simple home in Varagappaiyer Street, Thanjavur. The group of idols has Rama and Sita in a seated pose with Bharata holding the umbrella, Shatrughna the ‘chamaram' and Lakshmana standing on the right side of Rama. All musicians come to this place during the Tyaaraja aaradhanai to get blessings. Now, that goes right up there in places to visit :) (http://www.thehindu.com/arts/history-and-culture/article1271764.ece).

While on that topic, there is a small story on why Lord Rama played this "leela" and forced Jalpeshan to throw the idols into the river. As Embar VijayaRaghavachar puts it, Lord Rama wanted to find out, that if Saint Tyagaraaja sangs such beautiful songs in his (Lord Rama's) presence, how much more sweeter and intense would be the songs if he separated himself from devotee. So, the Lord plants this idea in the mind of Jalpeshan. Saint Tyaaraja melts unable to bear the separation from his beloved Lord Rama and sang "Endu daagi naado" , where has he gone? How much pain would he have endured for the 3 months when he was separated from the Lord, almost like a mother cow separated from its, unable to express the pain. And who can even imagine the joy of the Saint, when re-united with his beloved Lord Rama.

Another great aspect of the Saint Tyaaraja as I see it, he had great affection of Lord Shiva as well. Just like Ramakrishna paramahamsa, his love for Lord Rama also inspired him to look at this same aspects in Lord Shiva (http://www.shaivam.org/ste_tyagaraja.htm#shiva_shiva). Great saints are beyond Nama, roopa bheda. It give me a high when I think that we tread the same earth as this wonderful saint. What else can I say..... " Endaro Mahaanubhavulu" ...

Yoga Vasishta - Lord Rama as a student

Ramayana has always been a source of inspiration. For any student, Lord Sri Rama is an ideal role model. Rama is described as a eka santha grahi (one who can grasp any knowledge at the first attempt). Such was the power of concentration, interest and love for knowledge :)

I was always interested in understanding the relationship between the Lord and his Guru. Yoga Vasishta is the apt text to understand this subtle relationship and revel in the role of Sri Rama as the ideal student. Here, it would be pertinent to bring out the subtle comparison with the Bhagavad Gita, where the Lord is the teacher and Arjuna is the student. Sri Rama's questioning seems crisp, and precise and that of a student determined to seek the truth while Arjuna's approachis that of a confused student.

The setting of Yoga Vasishta is right after the gurukala vasam of Lord Sri Rama and before Vishwamitra's arrival. Sri Rama, just like, Siddhartha wants to understand the reason behind the pursuit of pleasure and subsequent pain, the impermanent nature of life and the pursuit of truth. Sri Rama refuses to go with Vishwamitra unless he gets clarity on the above topics. So, the stage is set for the delivery of Yoga Vashishta.

I can relate to how happy, Vashista would have felt on having such a worthy student :) Vasishta mentions in the first chapter that this text is meant for aspirants who feel "bound in this world" and aspire to be liberated, meant for aspirants who are neither totally ignorant nor spiritually illumined. Again, this seems to be like the specifications are designed for Lord Rama ... quite Bhagavad Gita, where the Lord prepares his student, Arjuna, for the message that he is going to deliver :)

What is stunning is the way the first chapter concludes. Lord Rama says that he knows that he does not have the answers to the questions related to supreme truth (quite unlike the fountainhead of spiritual bliss), but is ready to face any physical hardships to attain this knowledge. Lord Rama goes on to say that he will abandon all desires and remain in complete silence (like a picture/sculpture) till he receives the knowledge by the blessings of his Guru :) Makes me wonder if the Lord is still standing in his silent glowing benevolent form all over our country, reminding us about the day he took this vratam in the pursuit of spiritual knowledge and peace:)


NOTE : points referred from Yoga Vasishta Sara Sangraha - Swami Tejomayananda - Chinmaya Mission Trust