SrI:
SrimatE Raamaanujaaya Namaha //
SrimatE Nigamaanta Mahaa Desikaaya Namaha //
SrIman! SrI Ranga Sriyam anupadravam anudhinam Samvardhaya/
SrIman! SrI Ranga Sriyam anupadravam anudhinam Samvardhaya//
KAvEri VardhathAm kAlE, kAlE varshathu vAsava: /
SrI RanganAthO jayathu Sri Ranga Sri cha VardhathAm//
=========================================================
SRI RANGA SRI VOL.08 / ISSUE # 08 dated 26th November 2006
==========================================================
EDITORIAL
Dear Bhagavatas:
As Sri Anbil Ramaswamy Swami is in Cleveland, I am sending this on
his behalf.. Swami is available at:
25807 Iris Court, Westlake, OH-44145
Phone # (440) 716- 0771 Cell # (770) 876- 9188
You may contact him at Ramanbil@xxxxxxxxxxx
Regards
Namo narayana
dAsan Madhava Kannan
==========================================================
INTHIS ISSUE:
1. "THE MIGHTY AND THE ALMIGHTY ? A CLASH OF WILLS?? Part-6"
BY SRI ANBIL RAMASWAMY
(This is from his talk at Sri Hayagrivar Temple , Pondicherry on
31st May 2006)
2. "DRAMIDOPANISHAD TATPARYA RATNAVALI" ? PART- 8":
BY SRI N. KRISHNAMACHARIAR SWAMI OF CHICAGO
3. "MAGIC OF MUSIC
BY SRI ANBIL RAMASWAMY
=========================================================
ISSUES RELEASED
With this issue, about 233 Regular issues of SRS have been released
so far, apart from numerous "Special Issues" as indicated below:
27 Issues of Vol. 1
15 Issues of Vol. 2
42 Issues of Vol. 3
35 Issues of Vol. 4
28 Issues of Vol. 5
30 Issues of Vol. 6
50 Issues of Vol. 7 and
07 Issues of Vol. 8
---------------------------------------------------------------------
-
These issues have been archived for public view at -
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/srirangasri
By Sri Diwakar Kannan
You may also view the archives at http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia
maintained By Sri Srinivasan Sriram (ajiva_rts@xxxx)
We strongly urge you to kindly peruse the "Regular Issues" archived
in the Files Section and view the Contents at srsindex.html (Not the
individual postings allowed for encouraging "Reader participation").
We are sure that you will be convinced of the quality of the
contents.
IF you are satisfied with the quality and contents of
"Sri Ranga Sri" -
Tell your friends to join by sending an email to
Srirangasri-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
IF NOT:
Tell us, as to how we may improve.
Ever at your service
Moderator
"Sri Ranga Sri"
==========================================================
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxx
==========================================================
1. "THE MIGHTY AND THE ALMIGHTY ? A CLASH OF WILLS? ? Part-6"
PUNARJANMA (REINCARNATION)
BY ANBIL RAMASWAMY
(This is from his talk at Sri Hayagrivar Temple , Pondicherry on
31st May 2006)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
(Excerpts from Chapter 11of"Hinduism Rediscovered")
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The concept of Punarjanma (Reincarnation) has been spelled out with
telling effect by none other than Lord KrishNa when he said: "Just
like a person discards an old worn out dress and dons fresh ones,
the soul casts off the present body and takes another body"
Vaasaamsi jeerNaani yathaa vihaaya navaani grihNaati narO aparaaNi/
Tathaa sareeraaNI vihaaya jerNaani anyani samyaati navaani dEhee//
(BG 2/22)
We saw that 'Prarabda' karma is only a fragmentary fraction of the
Himalayan load of 'Sanchitha Karma', to experience the effects of
which - the soul inherits at the commencement of the current life.
The balance of Sanchita karma is so formidable that it could take
innumerable lives for the soul to pay off the karmic price for all
the actions by experiencing the cosmic requital of karma. This is
based on the assumption that the soul does not accumulate any
further 'Agami Karma' in the current and subsequent lives.
This takes us to the 'Reincarnation theory' which is inextricably
interlinked with the 'Karma theory' "The Reincarnationist, grounded
as he is in the karmic principle, is only extending the scene,
knowing as he does that man has a much longer history than the date
on his birth - certificate; He has also a longer future than the
date that is to be on his death certificate A future which be can
make or mar"
(Mc Gregger, Geddes in "The Christening of Karma"(p.9)
"The process by which a soul passes through a sequence of bodies is
known as 'Reincarnation' or transmigration of the soul. In
Sanskrit, 'Samsara' - a word which means 'flow through', the word is
derived from the roots 'Sam' - Together and 'Sru' to flow. It is the
perpetual bondage to the universal flow - a continuum of all Karman.
It is said that a man's life is like a bead on a necklace whose
other beads represent past and future life spans.
(Gard. P.113)
A lifetime is one 'en-via' (i.e.) a passage. We can neither seek nor
do we need to be afraid of its end. The immortal soul will don an
appropriate body. SAMSARA is then a 'half way house', `a home away
from home', a ' transit camp' from one station to another in the
journey of life" (Smith, H p.68)
The Upanishads declare that those who are of holy conduct here will
enter a holy womb either of a Brahmin, Kshatriya or Vaisya. But,
those who have a despicable conduct here will enter a despicable
womb say of a dog or a pig.
"A person's 'karma' is the principal factor in determining his
happiness or unhappiness in life. A man reaps at that age, whether
in infancy, youth, or old age at which he had sowed it in his
previous birth"-
(Gaer, p.22)
Some are precocious or born geniuses. Why?
It is the carry over of the 'Vasanas' and unfinished 'Sadhanas'
(accomplishments) in their previous lives.
For example: If Mandolin Srinivas and Ravi kiran on Vichitrveena are
found adepts in their respective fields right from their childhood,
guess how they could have acquired such skills in this birth. We can
explain it only by concluding that they might have practiced their
skills in their previous birth, the proficiency of which they are
carrying over to their present birth.
"The psychiatrist traces the reaction of psychological inputs within
a single life. Karma theory probes deeper, in fact all of the
previous lives and the unbroken chain reaction of Karma"
(Haught pp.174-175)
Desires trigger the will, Will prompts the deeds Deeds lead to
habits, Habits mold the character. Character decides the Destiny.
The extent of each individual's life, his happiness or otherwise in
this life will be measured exactly by what he has wanted in the
past; similarly, his present aspirations and behaviors would
determine his future state. Every act of his has its equal and
opposite reaction on himself.
"Each thought and deed delivers an unseen chisel blow toward the
sculpturing of his destiny" (Haught (2) pp.174-175)
Together these theories constitute an explanation of the
inexplicable. Without these, many of us would have shared the same
lack of peace of mind which the people of developed countries are
experiencing. They have every thing except peace of mind. As they
try to rationalize the anomalies of life, they ultimately turn to
India to find valid explanations which they condemned earlier as
senseless superstition.
These theories of Karma and Punarjanma provided Hindus with a reason
for human differences or mental abilities, that it must be a result
of their deeds in this life or a past life. Karma and Samsara also
encourage Hindus to act ethically because if they do not, they only
will suffer for their poor actions.
Why are some born great or rich, why some become great or rich and
why for some others greatness and riches are thrust on them? Why
some are born meek, weak or poor and continue to languish?
A lady went to a maternity ward to observe the births of children
and found different babies born differently. If God is merciful all
babies would have been born alike in health and comforts. This
itself shows that they had several lives before and they were born
so differently now because of the differences in the past-karma of
each one of them.
To blame 'karma' is like blaming science and technology for the
violence and terrorism that rock the world today. If we do not
understand the Karma theory, it is because only when the outcome of
our choice is happy do we claim credit for the causative actions;
when the consequences are otherwise, we tend to deny any association
with the causative factors and seek 'alibi' for escaping
responsibility for the wrong action.
We have heard people saying that if they had the opportunities like
their model personality, they would have become as great as that
model personality. But, this is not true. The greatness of the said
model personality must have grown by his repeatedly doing through
innumerable lives the things he has been specializing. The 'talents'
or 'gifts' come from one's having so specialized over so many lives
that in due course of time he starts reaping the fruits of such
specialized talents Cases of birth- marks corresponding to death
wounds in previous lives and very often, cases of phobias and
philias are carry over from previous lives.
It is questioned whether it is not immoral to be held accountable
for sins one had perhaps committed in previous life and had long
been forgotten. Is it not true that if you want to discipline a
child, the admonition should swiftly follow the wrong doing so that
the child might remember for what it is punished and learns to avoid
recurrence of the fault? Will it not render the disciplining act
irrelevant and ineffective, if meted out long after the mistake had
been forgotten? And, is not the punishment rightly resented? How can
one develop a disposition of penitence for one's misdeeds, if one
cannot even remember them?
Quite true. Quite true also when applied to the parental practice
for training kids. But, life situations are totally different.
Modern psychoanalysts have discovered that it is these forgotten
misdeeds lying buried in our subconscious layers that trouble us the
most. We do have to pay the price for past misdeeds which we have
long forgotten and this is where our likes and dislikes fail to have
any effect.
It is easy to insult or injure a person and then forget about it.
The greater the offense, the more ready I am to forget it (i.e.) '
to push it down the memory lane' into the unconscious. It is the
person at the receiving end who will remember it for long - not the
one who perpetrates. Justice demands that the act cannot go without
being avenged, sooner or later, irrespective of whether I remember
it or not.
You don't remember what you ate yesterday - something that does not
agree with your system. Your system may not react immediately. In
fact, it tries to generate antibodies to fight the toxic effects of
what you ate. But, if the toxicity of what you ingested is quite
potent, it will show up if not immediately - may be long after you
have forgotten your consuming the 'forbidden fruit'. You cannot
dictate to your system that it cannot revolt because you don't
remember.
If you don't remember what you ate yesterday, how can you remember
what you did in previous life? If what you ate yesterday can give
you an indigestion today what you did in previous life can have an
effect now - whether you remember it or not. Just as 'ignorance is
no excuse in law' in the cosmic law forgetting is no excuse -
whether you forget it willingly or otherwise. So also, the result
cannot be blamed since it only follows the cause as 'a calf follows
the mother cow'.
A non liberated soul is condemned to be reborn and as most human
actions are corrupted by greed, malice and other
undesirable "Vasanas", the risk of being reborn in a lower condition
may be as an animal or even as an insect is more probable than of
being born in an evolved state - unless one has consciously striven
for controlling the evil tendencies and acquired the noble
tendencies over a whole lifetime.
In Hinduism, It is SIN that is condemned - NOT THE SINNER.
In Hinduism, Man is not punished FOR his sins. - But BY his sins.
"It is Nature's kindness that we do not remember past births. What
is the good in knowing in detail the countless births we have gone
through? Life would be an unbearable burden if we carried such a
tremendous load of memories. A wise man deliberately forgets many
things as a lawyer forgets the details handled by him, as soon as
they are disposed of." (Gaer Joseph: "What the great religions
believe", p22)
Maybe some lawyers forget the details even before arguing a case!
The laws of Karma are as relentless and demanding as the laws of
physics. In a sense, we should be happy that it precludes any
fanciful excursions from the routines that are at the basis of all
universal functions.
John F Haught has this to say on the value of vicissitudes of life:
"When one has gone through a difficult life involving joys and
tragedies, agonies and ecstasies, ups and downs of many sorts, it
may seem at any particular point that one's existence has had little
significance. Disappointment, monotony or disorder seems to rule at
various times. It would have been better if some things had gone
along more smoothly. Or, it might have been better if certain other
things had not happened. But in retrospect such twists and turns can
contribute to the richness of life. We often meet elderly people who
in the twilight of their years express the sentiment that they would
not trade such a life for anything. They now value their lives
including the rough spots, the precipices along with the heights
from a seasoned perspective; they cherish their rough but
adventurous journeys more thoroughly than life undergone without all
the contrasts of joy and sorrow. They are happy that they have
weathered the storms because their horizons have been widened, their
vision of the world enlarged and their courage deepened in the
process. They are 'at peace' and often they will say so explicitly".
(Haught John F "What is God?" Paulist press NY 1986-90 pp 174-175)
In fact, it has been held that no one is required to shoulder an
amount of his past Karma any more than one is able to bear. This may
be questioned by some experiencing seemingly endless misery too much
for them to bear. But, somehow, most people do manage to survive the
tribulations of life even though it had not been any easy.
If you look back at your life, you will be amazed how you got over
some of the hurdles, disabilities, financial and mental stresses and
strains that loomed large and insurmountable at the time you passed
through them - circumstances which appeared to be unbearably
uncomforting and uncomfortable. And, every time you seem to derive
strength in some mysterious way and profit by FACING rather than by
FLEEING away from these intriguing situations.
Unfortunately, this resilience does not seem to operate as well when
excessive good fortune favors people. Most of them fail to make the
best use of their opportunities. Few, indeed, seem to be able to
withstand the effects of say excessive wealth or excessive power
without abusing the opportunities - thus creating for themselves
much new karma of an unfortunate kind from the results of which they
can never escape.
It is a redeeming feature that happiness and suffering occur in some
mysterious rotation that they seem to be alternating in some
cyclical manner. Periods of misery are sandwiched between spells of
joy and vice versa. The 'Wheel of Fortune' does not seem to stop
rotating though it does its rounds but slowly. And, so slowly that
spasms of 'agony and ecstasy' (especially the former) at the time of
experience seem to be almost interminable.
No person is subject to an unbroken tenure of torture or an unbroken
spell of absolute felicity. This mixture is well proportioned - may
be to mitigate the boredom of excessive experience of either kind
and perhaps also to bring in bold relief the contrasts between the
two which can be better appreciated only under such a scheme of
alternating experiences.
Nobody need feel despondent about the present state of misery. God
holds the scales even. Even in the present state nobody is
ABSOLUTELY HAPPY OR ABSOLUTELY MISERABLE.
Life is provided with full of compensations. Even among animals,
certain compensating advantages and deficiencies are noticed. An
advantage given to a particular limb is neutralized by a reduction
in another faculty or vice versa. For every excess there is a
corresponding deficiency; for every deficiency there is a
corresponding excess of advantage. For every thing you lost, you
have gained elsewhere and for everything you gained you lose
somewhere an equivalent moiety. Nature does not tolerate monopolies
and exceptions though we are not aware of it.
Like death which is a 'great leveler' life also has leveling
circumstances. The petulant, the strong, the rich, the fortunate are
cut to size almost on the same level with all the rest, may be in
some other measure, in some other aspect which we do not see. This
fact of nature must act to instill certain humility in prosperity
and a certain consolation in adversity.
"Say Not the Struggle not
availeth?
If hopes are dupes, fears may be
liars"
says Clough, Arthur Hugh, Poet.
=====================================================================
====
.
=====================================================================
To Continue
==============================================================
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxx
============================================================
2."DRAMIDOPANISHAD TATPARYA RATNAVALI" ? PART- 7":
BY SRI N. KRISHNAMACHARIAR SWAMI OF CHICAGO
---------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------
SrI:
SrImate SrI ra'nga rAmAnuja mahA deSikAya namaH.
tAtparya ratnAvaLi - Submission 8 - Slokam 6 of avatArikA.
Slokam 6:
prAcye sevAnuguNyAt prabhumiha Satake'mamsta mukter-upAyam
mukta prApyam dvitIye munir-anububudhe bhogyatA vistareNa |
prApyatva upAya bhAvau Subha subhaga tanor-ityavAdIt tRtIye
ananya prApyaS-caturthe samabhavat itarair-ap-yananyAd-yupAyaH ||
In this Slokam, svAmi deSikan proceeds to give the gist of the
message communicated by nammAzhvAr through each of the ten `pattu'-s
or Sataka-s - the group of 100 pASuram-s.
- munih prAcye Satake prabhum sevA AnuguNyAt mukteh upAyam amamstah -
In the first Satakam (hundred pASuram-s), nammAzhvAr tells us that
bhagavAn is the means for moksham because He is One who is fit to be
worshiped. The key words here are `sevAnuguNyAt'
and `prabhum'. `sevAnuguNyAt' - BhagavAn is full of infinite kalyANa
guNa-s including the key guNa-s of sauSIlyam, saulabhyam, vAtsalyam,
etc., that are very essential for the jIva-s to approach Him to seek
liberation. Only such a One with these kalyANa guNa-s can be the
upAyam or means for salvation. His infinite kalyANa guNa-s are of
immense help to the devotees, and so He is the surest means of
liberation. `prabhu' ? `Lord, Master, One who possesses power'.
BhagavAn is the Lord and Master of all without exception. There is
no one equal to Him or above Him in any aspect. It is His Lordship
that comes into play in His svAtantRyam or absolute independence to
do whatever He wishes, including forgiving all the sins of the
devotees who unconditionally surrender to Him, and bestowing
salvation on the qualifying devotees. Thus, both His kalyANa guNa-s
and his prabhuttvam come into play in His being the upAyam.
-dvitIye, bhogyatA vistareNa mukta prApyam anububudhe ? In the
second Satakam, nammAzhvAr explains in detail that bhagavAn is fit
to be enjoyed, and He is one who is enjoyed by those who have
attained moksham or salvation. Thus, He is the Ultimate goal to be
attained, because He is the Supreme Bliss, and performing eternal
kainkaryam to Him is the bliss that the nitya-s and mukta-s are
enjoying in SrIvaikunTham. prApyattvam.
- tRtIye prApyatva upAya bhAvau Subha subhaga tanoh iti avAdIt ? In
the third Satakam, AzhvAr points out that the upAyattvam (the
fitness to be the upAyam for moksham), and the prApayattvam (One who
is fit to be sought and attained) that are mentioned above, are
attributes that can be fitting only to the One Who has the
auspicious tirumEni that can remove the sins of all, and that can
involve the devotees in the non-satiating enjoyment of His tirumEni,
and immerse them in eternal kainkaryam to Him. divya ma'ngala
vigraha viSishTan. Note that the viSisTAdvaita sampradAyam clearly
declares that bhagavAn is endowed with an auspicious tirumEni that
captivates the bhakta and that can remove all the sins of the jIva-s
by the very sight of His tirumEni, and that permanently engages the
mind of a sincere devotee in the desire to render nitya kainkaryam
to Him ? divya ma'ngala vigraha viSishTan.
-caturthe ananya prApyaH ? In the fourth centum, AzhvAr declares
that he has chosen emperumAn with the infinite kalyANa guNa-s and
with the auspicious tirumEni as his only goal; nothing else
whatsoever interests him, including any aiSvaryam, kaivalyam, etc.
This is the mark of a true devotee. In other words, none but this
Lord is worthy of being sought, worshipped, etc. (No other goal
except Him). ? ananya prApyattvam.
- itaraih ananyAd-yupAyah samabhavat ? In the remaining Sataka-s,
AzhvAr reinforces that there is no other means for liberation and no
other purpose in life other than meditating on the kalyANa guNa-s of
emperumAn. These remaining Sataka-s elaborate on the guNa-s of
bhagavAn that were sung in the first Satakam in support of His being
the upAyam, in greater detail. (No other means except Him). ? ananya
upAyattvam.
Thus, tiruvAimozhi reveals to us that bhagavAn is both the means to
attain Him, and the end to be attained also.
Feedback:
I received the following feedback from one of my greatest well-
wishers, and wanted to share it with all of you.
"I find the excerpt below equally or more applicable to the AcAryar,
who is the anupravESa bhagavAn. BhagavAn for nammAzhvAr, but
AcAryar for
us".
The feedback is that the term "prabhu" etc. refer to emperumAn as
sung by nammAzhvAr, but as far as we, the mumukshu-s and prapanna-s
are concerned, our thoughts should always be fixed at the holy feet
of our AcAryan. Our AcAryan is the pratyaksha bhagavAn for us.
SvAmi deSikan lists 14 AcArya lakhshaNa-s in the first Slokam of his
nyAsa vimSati, and in the second Slokam, he points out that these
are the same lakshaNa-s that emperumAn has, and that AcAryan should
be worshipped same as emperumAn (devavat syAt upAsyah). In fact, he
is above emperumAn for us because he is pratyaksha
daivam for us, and available to us with all his sauSIlyam,
saulabhyam, vAtsalyam, etc., unlike bhagavAn who is not available to
us except through meditation. (The nyAsa vimSati Sloka-s referenced
here are elaborated in my write-up available in the bhakti archives).
Obviously, we should resort to our AcAryan through prapatti, and
without AcAryan's anugraham we cannot attain Him.
I bow to my AcAryan for having blessed me with the feedback through
a well-wisher of mine.
?dAsan kRshNamAcharyan
(To continue)
============================================================
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxx
===========================================================
3."MAGIC OF MUSIC ? BY SRIU ANBIL RAMASWAMY SWAMI
Recently, I was invited to attend a music performance by Sri Madurai
Sundar in Cleveland. Sri Sundar is the Son-in-law of my long time
friend, Sri R. Seshadri Swamin (popularly known as TVS Seshadri) who
is doing wonderful works of renovation of temples especially the
Nava Tirupatis. At the conclusion of the performance, the organizers
asked me to say a few words on Music.
The following is an excerpt from the impromptu talk presented, for
your kind information.
Dasoham
Anbil Ramaswamy
===============================================================
Between the wonderful music you just heard and the equally wonderful
dinner that is awaiting you, I do not wish to be guilty of
inflicting a long speech on you. I will try to make it as short as
possible, if not as sweet as the concert. It is now my turn to bring
you "down to earth" from the dizzy heights the performance had taken
you so that you can enjoy the mouth watering smorgasbord tempting
your palate.
We now heard the scintillating, enrapturing, enthralling music by
one of the leading artists of music.
You will agree with me that by his enchanting rendering, we could
palpably feel his virtually transporting us into the realm of the
Almighty "Naada Brahmam" ably assisted by the accomplished Vidwans
who accompanied him on their respective instruments.
It is a happy blend of the "Kriti Vailakshyam" and "Gaayaka
Vailakshyam".
In this foreign country and in these modern times, he has taken care
to maintain a faithful adherence to the hoary Saastraic traditions.
It is these that are responsible for this experience.
Thank you, Sri Sundar and friends.
The acid test of any good exercise whether a song, a movie, or a
novel lies in the fact that it permeates your whole attention and is
jealously exclusive of all diversions and distractions. We had the
proof of this in the absorbing experience to which the artists led
us, as it were, on a "guided tour".
Shakespeare in his "Merchant of Venice" had some devastating comment
on those who had no ear for music and who cannot appreciate music.
"The man that hath no music in himself
Nor is not moved with the concord of sweet sounds
Is fit for treasons, stratagems and spoils;
The motions of his spirit are dull as night
And his affections are dark as Erebus;
Let no such man be trusted"
There is a saying in Sanskrit that "A person who has no taste for
Sangeeta (Music) and Saahitya (Lyrics) is nothing more than an
animal without its tail" "Sangeeta Saahitya kalaa viheena: Saakshaat
pasu vishaana heena:"
On the positive side, the power of music needs no overemphasis.
Do you know the earliest scriptures of humanity? They are the Vedas
that exist from time immemorial. They are 4 in number, Rik, Yajur,
Saama and Atharva. A whole Veda, namely, Saama Veda is totally
dedicated to rendering of mantras set to music. We Indians ought to
be proud that we are the pioneers in integrating Music with Mantras
to guide us on our spiritual journey.
Lord Krishna's enchanting flute is said to have attracted the Gopis
and even the cows and deer so much that they dropped whatever they
were doing or eating and rushed to hear the music flowing from his
mellifluous flute.
If Lord KrishNa mesmerized all living beings, including humans, the
flora and the fauna with his flute, do you know that Lord KrishNa
himself was mesmerized by the music issuing forth from the VeeNa of
his devotee? Look at the picture of the blind Surdas playing his
VeeNa and Lord Krishna sitting just in front of him in rapt
attention relishing the music. You will realize the "Magic of Music"
in this scene!
Andal, the God intoxicated bridal mystic repeatedly emphasizes the
musical aspect of her magnum opus "Tiruppaavai" using the
word "PaaDu, "PaaDI" etc in most of the 30 stanzas in her work.
Lava and Kusa are known to have sung the Srimad Ramayanam so
melodiously that the entire audience was enthralled and Sri Rama
himself leaving his throne moved to mix with the audience entranced
by the sweetness of their musical rendering without his being aware
of his doing so!
Kulasekara Azhwar in his Perumal Tirumozhi has provided us an
effective tool in "Mannu pugazh Kousalai thun" that is being sung to
this day by mothers all over the Tamil speaking world to put their
children to sleep.
It is common experience that even a `Cry baby" is calmed and lulled
into silence on hearing the melody of music and becomes transformed
into a "Calm baby"
There is a saying in Sanskrit that the "Sound of music" is
appreciated even by babies and animals: "Sisur vEthi, pasur vEthi
gaana rasam phaNi"
Sri Nathamunigal received in a trance from Swami Namaazhwar the 4000
holy collects known as "Naalaayira Divya Prabandams" and promptly
chronicled them, setting them to music and initiated his disciples
to spread the message through the medium of music.
Mahaakavi Subrahmanya Bharatiyaar who had a prognosis of
Independence of the nation from foreign yoke long before it became a
reality gave a song that kindled intense patriotic feelings in us
and gave an unprecedented fillip and motivation to the freedom
struggle:
"AaaDuvOME paLLUP paaDuvOmE
Aananda suthantiram aDaindu viTTOm enru"
(Note the Past Perfect tense used!)
The devotional "Abhangs" and "Dandia Ras" of the North and the
gala "Gummi" and "kOLaaTTam" of the South provide a rich fare of
soul stirring music for generations
Each country has its own "National Anthem" (e.g.) "VandE Maataram"
and "Jana Gana Mana adhi naayaka jayahE" in India and "Star Spangled
Banner" in America. The power behind the music in these national
songs is found to rouse patriotic feelings in the minds of the
listeners.
Music is a force that unites humanity. Different cultures find it a
meeting place of mature minds. It is a harmonizing factor in
comforting in times of stress and tension.
Music helps in transmission of spiritual energy. "Listen to music
with your heart and not in your intellect" says Sri Sachidaannda
Ganapati of "Duttapeetam" who specializes in "Cure through Music"
(vide www.Duttapeetam.org for further details)
It has been proved scientifically that animals and plants respond
positively to music (not the harsh and degenerating variety
of "rock") miscalled as music" (which is known to have a
degenerating effect on the psyche of the listeners)
Cows are known to give more milk when listening to music; Horses and
camels move in a more disciplined manner; plants give better yields
both qualitatively and quantitatively.
Thus, music is in our blood; it is in our breath from time
immemorial and touches and moulds every aspect of our lives.
Music for health: The "Vibro-acoustics" that is better known in
India as "Naada Chikitsa" has been used as therapeutic tool to
modulate the rate of metabolism and for correcting various physical
disorders and emotional disturbances.
Michigan State University has instituted from 1944 a course
in "Music therapy" which when employed is the safest method of
treatment that not only cures many known diseases but also gives
satisfaction.
American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) has a branch in University
Hospitals in Cleveland that provides "Music as medicine" for
physiological and psychological aspects of an illness or disability
(Vide http://www.musictherapy.org for further details)
Once again, thank you Sri Sundar and friends accompanying him for
giving us not only a rich auditory treat but also one that elevates
the spirit and ennobles the soul
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SriRangaSri/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SriRangaSri/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:SriRangaSri-digest@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
mailto:SriRangaSri-fullfeatured@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
SriRangaSri-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
|
Home Page
http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia |
srirangasri-subscribe@yahoogroups.com To subscribe to the list |