moon of Betelgeuse

The Government of Siam supports the ten day Margasira fest.
A man is decked up as Shiva.
And is welcomed into the festive premises from the north-eastern or Ishaanya corner.

- In east facing south Indian temples, the Nataraja shrine is sited at the Ishaanya sector. -

Seated with raised left and lowered right feet, 'Shiva'  swings up and down.
And takes care, his feet never touches the ground.
Many niymas are followed, before and during this festival.
Both commoners and royalty participate.

- Shri Chandrashekarendra Saraswati, Kanchi (1959)

Jove on land

Three vedas, the rational Sankhya, Eightfold yoga, worship of Shiva or Vishnu are all various rivulets, that ferry people to the same blue waters, says Pushpadanta in 'Shiva Mahimna Stotra'.

In similar spirit is the saying,
 'Jehovah, Jove on land'.
Jehovah  is a Hebrew, Semitic divinity.
Jove or Jupiter was worshipped by Hellenic people.

Variously addressed as Lord, Ishwara, is the self same entity.

- Shri Chandrashekarendra Saraswwathi, Kanchi.

the autumn moon

akeli math jaiyo
Radhe Jamuna ke theer

-Film song, Baiju Bawra, Hindi

O Radha!
Venture not alone
to the Yamuna waterfront!

  

Maatru Pitru

3300 years ago in Egypt,
The Treaty of Rameses II with the Hittites, cites Mitra and Varuna as witnesses.

Right through the vedas, the sun is referred to as 'Mitra'.

Even in distant lands, the word 'Mitra' indicates the Sun.

Sun worship was prevalent in some form, all over the world.

Three weeks after Spring equinox, when Keralites of India celebrate 'Vishu', some Peruvian tribes conduct rituals to worship the sun.

'Inan' refers to the Sun.
The Indian prince Rama, of the solar dynasty is referred to as Ina-Kula-Tilaka.
And the Peruvian tribes are refered to as 'Incas'.

And the Mexican 'Aztecs', resonate with the Sanskrit root 'Aastiks'.

- Shri Chandrashekarendra Saraswati, Kanchi.

nine summer nights

A bird sits on her eggs and hatches them by body warmth.

A fish swims around her nest; and hatches her eggs by looking at them.

A turtle paddles far away in the waters.
And suddenly remembers her nest at the beach.
Memory cracks shells; and hatch-lings clamber out.

Visalakshi of Varanasi gives Sparsh Diksha - Initiation by touch.
Meenakshi of Madurai gives Nayana Diksha - Initiation by vision.
Kamakshi of Kanchi is known to give Kamata Diksha - Initiation by thought.

- Shri Chandrashekarendra Saraswati, Kanchi

Pollux Crescent

Fearlessness,
purity of heart,
steadfastness of knowledge, .
datta,
daamyata,
sacrifices,
scriptural study,
austere and
upright human qualities
are indexes of Divine destines.


Greater is their difficulty who seek the unmanifest- a difficult journey it is.

- Battlefield Counsel - Ch. 16,  Verse 1 &  Ch.12, V.5

flower moon

Kaari, Paari, Ori and the seven last givers are still celebrated in memories of the Tamizh people.

Adiyaman giving away the gooseberry of lasting youth to Avvai seems intelligent. For, Avvai roamed the lands to awaken people's consciousness, with her words and deeds.

But Paari and Peykan?

King Paari giving away his chariot to a jasmine that trailed the bare ground and walking home.

Peykan spontaneously shrouding a shivering, wayside peacock, with his royal shawl.

These actions may seem unintelligent.
But they spring from their love, for another life.

-Shri Chandrashekarendra Saraswati

Maundy Thursday

Haa wu Haa wu Haa wu
Aham annam aham annam aham annam
Aham annadho aham annadho aham annada ha
Aham Sloka krt aham sloka krt aham sloka krt


How awesome!  how awesome!  how awesome!
I am food   I am food   I am food
I the eater   I the eater   I the eater
I the discerner    I the discerner    I the discerner

Aham asmi pratamaja rt asya
Poorvan Devebhyo amrtasya na ba ee hi
Yo ma dadaati sa idewa ma vaa haa
Aham annam annamadantamaadmi

I am the first born of this sense of order
prior to all gods and eternal
who ever gives me not in this sense
I devour.

- Vine of Bhrgu, Partridge Upanishad, of the black Yajus

Dewi Damanam

Food, wine, merry making -  the Gods partied, reveled

A tenuous war with the demons had just been won.

And the gods seemed unaware of alien presence, that had aided them in battle.

Uma looked concerned.
And accosted the king of gods.
She lead them to the edge of woods, where they sighted the alien.

The yaksha threw at them a challenge - a dried blade of grass.

Wind could move it not, nor water wash it away.
Untouched by fire and the rumbling thunderbolt, the humble hay stood its ground.

Emptied Indra asked, 'Who the hell are you?'

The alien vanished.
Uma became a column of light.
The Gods transcended.

Chronicled in the Kena Upanishad, this ninth day of spring is listed in almanacs as 'Dewi Damanam'.

-Shri Chandrashekarendra Saraswati, Kanchi.

lenten mandala

Without the perfume of  true religion, life has very little meaning.

One must work furiously to find out what is truly religious.

It may be that we have come to the very edge - the precipice of everything we have known.

The cessation of all endeavor -  and the mind is no longer seeking anything. That is all the conscious mind can do.
To see this truth may be all that it can do.

-Vasantha Vihar
Newsletter Nov 2013 - Feb 2014

Yuletide

The Lord lives in the core of all beings, O Arjuna, 

And by His Maya causes them to revolve as though mounted on a machine.

- Battlefield Counsel, 18.61

Na Kamaye aham Gathim Ishwarath Paraam
Ashtaarthi Yuktam apunarbhavaam waa
Aarthim Prapatye Akila deha Bhaajaam
Aptastitho yena Palavantyadukha ha,

- Raanti Deva, Bhaagavatam

Amara's Thesaurus

Amara Simha, the jain chronicler seems to have been prejudiced about Buddhism.

He does not mention the names, "Tathagatha" and "Sakhyamuni", when he addresses Gautam Buddha.

Even Sugatha, who was known as a personal attendant of the Buddha, is listed in the thesaurus as another  name for Jina Mahavira.

Yet, about Hindu pantheon, he goes berserk. 
For instance, the word 'Shambhu' evokes this response.

Shambhu hu - Isha ha -  Pashupati hi -Shiva ha - Shuli Maheshwara ha -  Ishwara ha - Sharva - Ishana ha - Sancara ha - Chandrashekara ha - Butesa ha - Kanta parasu hu - Gireesho Girisho Mruda ha -  Mrtyunjaya ha - Krttivasaa ha - Pinaakee -  Pramadadipa  ha

- Shri Chandrashekarendra Saraswati, Kanchi

Bee's Buzz

Avinayam apanaya Vishno
Damaya manaha
Samaya vishaya mrga trishnam  
Bhuta dayaam Vistaraaya  
Daaraya Samsara sagarataha

 Bee Sonnet,  Adi Sancara


Weed out arrogance, O Vishnu
Subdue mind
that pursues varied experiences, as deer pursue desert mirages

Sprawl out my compassion for all life
Ferry me across currents of life and death

Vessel on waters

A vessel on waters gets carried away by gale winds.

An undiscriminating mind surfing the currents of life gets carried away by unsubdued senses.

- Battlefield Counsel, Ch. II, V..67

Dipawali Darkness

For transcendence of the subdued
to subdue the unsubdued
to usher in a sense of purity
I happen from time to time

says the Battlefield Counsel

In the darkening whirls after summer solstice, Dewi takes on dark, Taamasic  forms -  like Chandi and Chamundi to address inheritors of demonic wealth.

In the brightening whirls after winter solstice, as Uma,  Hymavati, she addresses Divine wealth inheritances.

-Shri Chandrashekarendra Saraswati, Kanchi

9 autumn nights

Twam Brahma Puccha Vividha Mayuri

Brahma Pratishtasi Upadishta Gita


You a peacock with plume of Brahman 

Brahman established in the Battleground Counsel

-  Durga Pancharatnam,   Shri Chandrashekarendra Saraswati

autumn whirls

dhira sameere
yamuna thire
vasati vaney vanamali

- Gita Govinda

a gopi hastens Radha,

'Don't delay
he waits at the water front'