Falling trap 2 the divine spell

Dear Friends Since its been a long time since i posted an audion blog, I thot i shuld give u some shock treatment...:) Anyways, The following is a Carnatic Krithi composed in the very beautiful raga, Kedaram , by Saint Tyagarja. The krithi is called "Rama Neepai". Before getting to listen, let me express my comments on the beauty of the song.. In this song , Tyagayya expresses how ecstatic he feels about being with SitaRama...he says "Tanaku, Prema Podhu " , which means my love for you will never go.. In the Anupallavi , he mentions that the "lotus-petal eyed " one has casted a spell on him.. What we can infer from this is , we should try to fall trap to the divine spell and not to the unreal maaya..:) The charnam is even more beautiful. By saying that even though he enjoys worldy pleasure, his mind is always merged with Rama, he is able to enjoy his transcendental bliss. Shouldn't we be more like him??? Having said all that , one can now actually enjoy the song even more...So , without any further delay , I invite you guys to FIRST check out my rendition and then hear the melodic voices of Alathur Brothers..I'm sure that u'll like it..i mean..alathurs..:) Lyrics and Notation: http://www.ecse.rpi.edu/Homepages/shivkuma/personal/music/ramanipai2.htm My Rendition: Alathur Brothers Rendition: (Very Sweet with alapana) Alathur-Rama Neepai Hare Krishna Hare Rama Krishnaarpanam Shri Krishna Paadha Samarpanam

Jenmaashtami Treat :)

Dear friends and well-wishers, While this auspicious day is coming to an end , I'd like to share my Krishna Jeyanthi experiences with you folks , which eventually turned out to be awesome, only with the grace of Sri Krishna. Yesterday evening , I and four of my friends were all set to go south ( New Orleans ) to taste some divine nectar... (Coincidentally or not , we later found that fourof us had "krishna" in our names). We were heading for the "ISKCON " temple in NO . What better place could we have been ??? We reached the temple around 8 pm. There were some cultural programmes like bharatnatyam and bhajans for some time. After that , just like any other ISKCON temple, a couple of Hare Krishna's started singing the maha mantra . That was around 9 pm .Folks who have been there would know how blissful it is to sing the mahamantra. This continued till 1 am in the morning. Check out the pictures below. For people who have been to ISKCON , the images might look hackneyed but I hope ur eyes aren't that dumb to lose another enthralling picture of Radhe Krishna? I also took a picture of a wonder painting (please bear with the poor quality) of the Narasimha Avatara of Sri Vishnu . One can actually feel the "Ugraha Narasimhar" (angry narasimha) along with the nonchalant young prahlada. Later next morning after a short nights sleep, we left for another beautiful ISKCON temple located in the Missisipi State . It is called as the new "Talavana" ( if u remember srimad bhagavatham , u might be already be knowing that "Talavana" or the coconut forests as oneof the favorite places of Shri Krishna , his Gopis and his cows). Very true to its name , it was one amazing place right in the middle of nowhere for a temple of the Lord to be located. I also took a picture of one of the beautiful paintings hung up in the walls. Did you find the effulgent and attractive face of the young born Shri Krishna in the middle of the Lotus flower?:) Having seen the wonderful krishna being born in 2 different places ..:), we were back to lafayette early this evening. Finally ,Let me have the final prayers for this Jenmaashtami with you folks. Hey PankajaLochana, please give our eyes the ability that will let us to fixate on your picture that is ever beautiful . Let our eyes see nothing else when they see you. Hey Muraari, please give our ears the ability to enjoy and appreciate the sound of your names and qualities . Hey DayaNidhi, please give us that compassion that won't let us make a selfish person of us by always thinking about your attractive qualities and ignoring others. Let our minds always treat everyone with equal respect seeing the good qualities of you in him and ignoring the bad qualites watever be they. Hey Maadhava, let our lives always be directed towards reaching you. HARE KRISHNA SHRI RAADHAKRISHNA KI , JAI SHRI KRISHNA PAADHA SAMARPANAM

Who is that MaraPrabhu? :)

Dear blog-pals, I wanted to post on this stuff for a long time , but I guess I would have to wait for probably one more year to get such an appropritate time.. On this auspicious eve of Jenmaashtami ( acc to American Time) , I'd like to bring to the attention of the reader about one of the sincere krishna bhakthas. He is the one who said "While little Krishna is dancing in our hearts, why do we need little ones of our own?." on the accidental loss of his only child... The superiority of his bhakthi is often compared with one of his contemporaries that often used to laugh at his poor sanskrit. Once he was laughed at when he wrongly recited "Padmanaabho Maraprabhu" . Maraprabhu means "Lord of trees" in malayalam. His contemporary laughed at him and said it is supposed to be "Ammaraprabhu" (lord of immortals) and not Maraprabhu. Immediately there sounded a celestial voice that said that "I am also Maraprabhu".. ok, time to break the suspense .The subject of this post is "Shri poonthanam namboodhiri" , a staunch devotee of "guruvaayurappan" and the contemporary is the well versed Sanskrit scholar ,"Shri Melapathur Bhattadhiri" and the famed composer of Naraayaneeyam. I want to write a bit about his great pieces of work .He has the following works to his credit 1. Karnamritham 2. Kumaraharanam 3. Santhanagopalam Pana 4. JnanaPana (Pot of knowledge) Jana Pana is popularly known as "Malayala Gita" among keralites. It is known for its simplicity in the explanation of things that are difficult to comprehend. Here are a few verses translated from his jnana pana (courtesy ,http://www.prd.kerala.gov.in/prd2/mala/lit14.htm) "Is there scarcity of the Lord's name? Or has fear of hell declined? Is there life without use of tongues? Have we escaped from mortality? Alas, alas, without reflection We roast and eat out life in vain. After how many lifetimes of labour We happened to be born here by luck! How many lifetimes spent in water, How many lifetimes lived like trees, How many lifetimes as beasts, as cattle Ere we could be born as men? After so much hard labour We fell into our mother's womb, Ten months have been spent in the womb, Ten or twelve years spent as a child too And the rest of the time not knowing ourselves We spend in self-centred vain glory." I have left untold lots of other things about this krishna bhaktha , expecting the interested reader to dig with the help of google. :) I would also like to salute all the gifted true Krishna bhathas on this beautiful Jenmaashtami eve.. B4 i quit , I 'd like to invite the reader to check out the new blog on Smt M.S.S amma Hare Krishna P.S : I thank my friend Unni Chandran who informed me about this great Krishna bhaktha

Weird Math

Can somebody explain the math used here?? ..:)

Yaar andha Mahaa Moodan? ( Who is that dumb fool?)

Dear Friends, Note : Please check out the update Digressing from my usual musico/philo stuff for a difference , Here am gonna give a shot at some mundane Tamil poetry 2 express my views on something that got me 2 feel bad...Also, be pre-warned that u can expect some out of the world stuff..;) u know wat i mean , rite?? Note : Please bear my Tamizh..:) Tஹுன்பம், ஆவனுக்கு பிடிக்கத வார்தை Vஎருதான் அன்ட்ரு, அவனை துன்புருதிய னன்பனை Vஅளர்ன்தான், அவன் தன்னை முதிர்சி அடைன்தவன் என்ட்ரு பெருமையுடன் கூரினான் ஆதர்கெர்ப, நன்பன் Tஹுன்புட்ர பொளுது , அவனுடய உதவும் கரன்களாஇ கொடுதான் Sஅட்டம் பயின்ட்ரு Vஅக்Kஈல் ஆனான், Kஒலை Sஎஇத Mஊடனுக்கு தன்டனை Vஅழன்கினான் ஆனால் ஆவனொ ஆயிரம் Kஒலைகளுக்கு உடன்தை ஈன்த Mஅஹா Mஊடனை Y ஆர் Dஹன்டிபாது??? ENGLISH TRANSLITERATION Thunbam, Avanukku pidikkadha vaarthai Veruthaan andru, avanai thunburuthiya nanbanai VaLarndhaan, avan thannai mudhirchi adaindhavan endru perumaiyudan koorinaan Adharkerpa, Nanban Thunbutra poLudhu , avanudaya udhavum karangaLAi koduthaan Sattam payindru VakKeel Aanaan, Kolai Seidha Moodanukku dhandanai Vazhanginaan Anaal Avano Aayiram KolaigaLukku udanthai Indha Mahaa Moodanai Yaar Dhandipaadhu??? ROUGH ENGLISH TRANSLATION: Distress, He hates the most He was a young kid, he hated his troubling friend He grew, He claimed him as a mature dude Accoringly , He helped his friend in distress He studied Law and became a lawer He punished the murderer But he was actually helping one thousand murders Who is gonna punish this greatest dumb fool??? Guess u arent wondering who is that greatest fool : ) Anyways, Let me seriously ask all those meat eaters . How do u feel when u lose someone u like/respect ??? U know that all animals have lives and they also communicate in their own ways, share emotions etc If u are aware of this and still continue to eat meat , arent u the worst of the criminals? Also , I am sadenned by the increasing no of meat eating folks (in particular, lots of Brahmins) in the US and other videsi countries , without even giving a slightest bit of rational thinking , . The following are some of the common resposes that I get when i ask some one about this eating habit 1 Veggie is 4 the guy who has no taste buds ( dude, then u are the guy that has no brainz) 2. I don't get anything veggie 2 eat ( as if he is living in antartica) 3. I wanna look like Arnold Schwarzenegger/ Brad Pitt/ Tom Cruise or watever and veggie's not gonna get me any closer 2 this life ambition. ( I appreciate ur ambition but wud u kill a fellow human just because his life is gonna bring u fortune/fame..If so, abscond,. Am gonna buzz the cops) Like this , I get all kinds of totally subhuman answers from guys that do M.S/PhD ? Wat use do u think their erudition will be if they can't simply be HUMAN ?? UPDATE : Further Recommended Read: http://www.stephen-knapp.com/vegetarianism_recommended_in_Vedic_scripture.htm by Stephen Knapp

Divine Music 4 Mundane Love : How Pathetic?

Hi folks.. After a pretty long respite , it feels good to be blogging back again..Hope and wish u guys feel similarly..:) I have been thinking lately about the usage of Carnatic Music on movies (Tamil)..B4 me spewing out my thots, please do give a thot or two Ok, Let me try and voice out my thougts with an example from the movie "Anniyan" ..The song "Aiyangaaru Veetu Azhage" will be the song under focus.. The song is very classical in nature , starting with a few lines from one of the beautiful Pancharatna Krithis..Here is a rough translation of the first few lines The creator of happiness throughout the world ! The beloved of Sita ! Victory be yours ! anupallavi : The inheritor of Suryavamsa ! King of Kings ! You are worshipped by the Devas ! You bestow good things ! Now, the krithi was composed in the auspicious Naata Raga by Sri Tyagaraja to praise Lord Rama, the posseser of all the noble qualities. The Raga Lakshana was effectively used by Sri Tyagarjha . Now, does it really makes much of a sense to use such an auspicious raga to praise the mundane earthly love that happens between a man and a woman , that too with lyrics like "vaan mazhayil nanainthal payirgal uruvaagum aan mazhayil nanainthal uyirgal uruvaagum" By the way, "jagadhanandha karaka" is way too far beautiful when compared to this song. Anyways, Is the usage of the divinely ragas in films for such purposes justifiable? The saptha swaras are said to be of divine origin and Carnatic music is best used for the same purpose.I also am saddened by the increasing no of artists (don't want to mention their names as if no one knows:) that have great voices using their skills in the film industry just for the sake of money and for establishing names. Is this what the great singers and composers of the elder days did?? In fact, one of the Trimurthys' of Carnatic Music, Shri Muthuswami Dikshithar , never wanted to sing in praise of the kings. The same is the case with Shri Tyagarajha. I feel that when one has the saptha swaras dancing in his/her tongue (thru saraswathi Kataaksham) , he has got one of the greatest gifts in this kali yuga to reach the abode of god. Let him sing in praise of the infinitely noble qualities of the lord with devotion and refrain to make use of that talent for other purposes that are merely likened by the listener as pleasure simulators. Let it simulate Bhakthi both in the singer and the listener..If a young child gets to hear a Purandaradasa Krithi or a Tyagaraja krithi, would he/she ever like other forms of music??? I doubt. Also , when the singer attempts to sing the song , he gets to know its meaning and it will definitely leave a negative impression in his/ her mind adding more to the effects caused by maaya. This will definitely have at least a slightest bit of impact on the singer when he actually renders a carnatic krithi and that's exaclty why I find most of the young carnatic musicians lacking the Shradha and the Bhaava that is required barrring a very few. Thats' the enchilada.. Hoping 2 get at least a few opposing comments..:) Note : Please dont miss to check out the songs that I post on the "Get tuned to Divine music" section

Unity in Diversity

Hello blog-pals, Note : If u are a returning visitor , please check out Update -2 and comment back.. Listed below are a few names by which people refer god (depending upon the religion or time) Krishna Rama Narayana Shiva Govinda Allah Yeshua (the actual name of Jesus of Nazareth) Buddha Mahavira Venkateshwara Ra (Sun God, King of Gods for the Egyptians). Now, Do u find any thing common to all the names??? Yes, all the names end with a syllable that sounds like "aa". Similarly, one can only hope that people get 2 realize and attain the abode of the universal vedantic God, watever be their religious background and refrain from all the pointless debates. UPDATE1: I was pondering quite a bit on these striking similarities...Thot , I can share my accruing thots so that they can accrue even more from ur comments..:) Another thing to be noticed is the names of most of the female gods end with the syllable that sounds like "ii"..Just to name a few .. Shakthi Parwathi Lakshmi Saraswathi Akhilaandeshwari Kamakshi.... It seems like "ii" always follows the "aa"..For example..in tamil, hindi and sanskrit (may be more) , the alphabets start with the A,AA and then immediately followed by ee,eee...:).. UPDATE2: This kind of similarity could also be noticed in the Saptha Swaras of Carnatic Music (Sa, ri , ga , ma , pa ,dha, ni ,sa) . This signifies that all the other sounds originate from the root sounds of "a" or "i". Also , please take a look at the following names of the avathars of the Lords and their consorts. 1. Rama ( Masculine) 2. Sita (Feminine) 3. Krishna (Masculine) 4. Radha ( Feminine) Here, the names of "Sita" and "Krishna" are composed of similar syllables of "ii" followed by "aa"..And if you take "Rama" and "Radha" , they have the syllables of "aa" followed by another "aa"..This essentially hints that both the male and female aspects of creation are basically the same despite the differing qualities..I guess u folks are able to see the similarity amidst variousness, which arises out of the application of our finite minds..Hence,we are all none but the universal God..:) manifested in different forms.. Now..time for some good news..No more updates..:) krishnaarpanam

HAPPY FRIENDSHIP DAY en nanban anbaney..:)

Hi friends... Today's August 7th ..deemed to be friendship day..a day 2 remember the friendship between friends.. So , what does it take 2 be friends.?? well...instead of cooking up with my own stuff after several minutes of head-scratching and writing up , I think i can do something wiser and easier...:) Am gonna copy and paste a neat stuff that a dude has written about F'ship in this blog ..the ABC's of friendship.. Ganesh, hope u wudn't bother my blog-a-basing..:) (A)ccepts you as you are (B)elieves in "you" (C)alls you just to say "HI" (D)oesn't give up on you (E)nvisions the whole of you (even the unfinished parts) (F)orgives your mistakes (G)ives unconditionally (H)elps you (I)nvites you over (J)ust "be" with you (K)eeps you close at heart (L)oves you for who you are (M)akes a difference in your life (N)ever Judges (O)ffers support (P)icks you up (Q)uiets your fears (R)aises your spirits (S)ays nice things about you (T)ells you the truth when you need to hear it (U)nderstands you (V)alues you (W)alks beside you (X)-plain things you don't understand (Y)ells when you won't listen and (Z)aps you back to reality Now..time 2 cuk sumthin frm my lil' kitchen.. Would u agree with me if i say that very very few ppl have very very few friends that posses all of the ABC qualites?? Am gonna introduce a friend of mine that has most of the ABC qualites..But the poor fellow can't really call me up or speak 2 me coz he seems to have his vocal chords dysfunctioning ...but he always seems to hear my words , watch my actions and always hint me wat wud be the next big thing for me to do.. but dumb me..:(...sometimes i don't really understand him..he seems to be a bit too intelligent 4 me....nonetheless. I always like his company..Having said that, I'd like to wish the gud old friend of mine..HAPPY FRIENDSHIP DAY. hmm,,seems like i have missed something out here........oh yeah..i culd see wats missing....i never told u guys whoz this wonderful friend of mine..so..here comes the time ..Guys....am glad 2 introduce Sir Sri Krishna. or in abstract terminology most of u guys might be knowing him as the god..( u shuld be knowing y i have not capitalized the word...don't u??...might be one of my dumb attempts to protect the identity of my friend before u actually read 2 this point..:)... Now.. i am sure that most of u guys might have forgotten 2 wish this awesome friend of ours ...y wait????? wish him ur heartful (don't worry about the delay).. am sure he wud hear u tho he might not actually wish u back..:)..Trust me ..he WILL listen u.. sari ..sari...naan kazhandukaren..b4 some of u guys might feel like throwing a stone at me..:) .. Anyways...HAPPY FRIENDSHIP day to .my other human friends that are influenced by maaya just like me...:) may he let us catch the mail 2 dwaaraka (or heaven) ..:) Krishnaarpanam

Naama Sankeerthanam

Hello friends, Continuing my previous post on "Constance Remembrance" of the Lord, I am gonna further my thots over the means to THAT divine and most wanted state , where everything else in this world would seem superfluous. For all these times I have been talking about just one thing . TRUE BHAKTHI ( The only means to get liberated ) Srimad Bhagawatham talks about nine forms of Bhakthi as mentioned below: sravaNam keerthanam VishNO : smaraNam paadha sevanam archanam vandanam daasyam sakhyam aathma nivedanam These are hearing, touching the feet, singing , remembering, worshipping, serving, friendship and offering the self. According to Kali-SantharaNa Upanishad, singing or naama sankeerthanam is said to be the easiest ways to reach the Lord especially in this Kali yuga : Hare Raama HarE Raama , Raama Raama HarE HarE Hare Krishna HarE Krishna , Krishna Krishna HarE HarE ithi shiodasakam naamAm kali-kalmasha nAsana naata : paratarEpyeya : Sarva VedEshu drisyathE TRANSLATION: The sixteen holy names of the Lord in unison are particularly potent to counteract the contaminations (dhoshams) of Kali Yuga . All the vEdas consistently declare that the chanting of the sacred names of the Lord is the only path to cross the ocean of nescience . There is no other alternative to reach parama padham Nama sankeerthanam is one of the easiest ways to get rid of egoism. How else can we combat the ever accruing ego ? Our thoughts always have the tendency to revolve around us..or things that are related to us . These thoughts can never fetch us eternal happiness coz these thots are centered in the sense plane and we experience both pain and pleasure thru the senses. ..So, the less we think about ourselves , the less egoism we'll have and we'll show more respect to fellow beings. We'll become kind. U know how effortlessly we can get onto a fight when we get offended . Dont u??:) . The easiest way to get ourselves not 2 think about ourselves is by invoking thougts about the creator of all of us thru chanting and singing about his divine qualities. Thus, Nama Sankeethanam is a short route 2 become the highest of three types of devotees of the Lord ,BhagavatOtthamA ,who sees the glory of the BahgavAn reflected in all beings , high and low , and also perceives all beings as dwelling in Him I encourage the interested reader to come up with questions on any of the thoughts presented above if he/she thinks that doing so will be of help . Krishnaarpanam... B4 Quitting, sing along with me ..:) Hare Raama HarE Raama , Raama Raama HarE HarE Hare Krishna HarE Krishna , Krishna Krishna HarE HarE Credits to http://sadagopan.org 4 providing excerpts and translations of sanskrit verses.