Into My Mystery Land

It had been a month, since I blogged. Not sure why. But lots of thoughts I was into. ALso was busy at work :-) ... Wanted to put my recent poem atleast to be in touch here ... Read it, if you feel like!

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Into My Mystery Land

In this big world full of cause and effect
Living this life with so many defects
My mind started to sail like a boat,
In a big ocean of fictitious thought!

Wanting to find a piece of land,
Where I can see peace, ease at hand,
Live only with people and things I like
And, nothing else bothering my psyche!

I wanted to walk into the lonely dark
With no light but the lighting's spark
Intent to find a beautiful calm place
That is still to my mind, mystic and Haze!

I wanted to sleep gazing the azure sight,
The clouds shielding me from rain and sunlight,
Sing my rhymes to anything and everything,
Enjoying a life, taken away from human being!

To each and every subtle signs of nature,
I should enjoy living there on my posture,
Even for a small sound of the birds chirk,
My heart should dance giving its jerks!

The sky should allow me to decorate her,
To move the stars and clouds here and there,
Turn the moon and sun, as her focus lights,
That will give people of earth, a beautiful sight!

To drink the rain drops before it lands,
To alter the shape of mountains with my hands,
The nature should allow me to water wash and paint,
I shall be privileged to make it clean, remove its taint!

I wanted to play my own life like a good game,
Not do anything in my land, for money or fame,
The moment something strikes me, it is done,
None to answer, nothing to bother and Only Fun!

The fact that none can go against nature,
Understand fully, I succumb a poor creature,
Let Nature powerfully take over myself,
Considering me an ever bonded slave for itself!

A ray of light should strike powerful on me
And show this beautiful place only for me,
It should be a place where only peace exist,
To run there my body and soul shouldn't resist!

Not knowing why this find, its purpose,
Me and My thoughts, let loose in disperse,
Will I hold my sole part of water and sand,
Which is still to me, a mystery land!



By,
_Mani

The Sanctum Santorum - Garbha Griha

Information from Wikipedia gives the definition as follows
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Garbhagriha or garbha griha is a Sanskrit word meaning the interior of the sanctum sanctorum, the innermost sanctum of a Hindu temple where resides the murti (idol or icon) of primary deity of the temple. Literally the word means "womb chamber" from Sanskrit word garbha for womb and griha for house. Only priests are allowed to enter. Often associated with Hindu temples, it is also found in Jain and Buddhist temples.

The Architectural Science behind this place states that the main idol of the temple is kept exactly under the "Spire" of the temple. The spire can be a conical shape [or] pyramid-like shape [as in Brahadeeshwara Temple, Tanjore]. The spire in line with the garbhagriha chamber is said to form the main "Vertical Axis" of the temple. Garbhagriha is also said to be also on the main horizontal axis. If there is a cross-axis, then it is at the intersection of these axes.
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What I feel, thought and gathered about Sanctum Santorum is here...

The main powers of the temple area get focused at the intersection of these axis and thus all powers streamline to focus this chamber, where the main idol of the temple is kept. To streamline the power the temple structure is kept in a conical or pyramid-like shape, which has the tendency to attract positive vibes and disperse into the garbha-griha. This place is thus more pious and pure in the whole of temple, where only the priest enters to perform their religious offerings to God.

The Sanctum Santorum is usually dark. With today's technology, we see lot of lights inside the Sanctum Santorum, which I feel should not be done. People say that there was no electricity in olden days which is why the maim chamber was dark and now that we have electricity, it is good to have it bright. This could be a fallible vision.

Lot of temples in Kerala, had provisions for oil-wick lamps to lit the exterior walls of their temples with good light. When they had this option, why didn't they light the garbha-griha to make it look bright? This has an insight definitely!

The word 'garbha' in Sanskrit means 'Mother's Womb'. The place where life begins is Godliness and this place [the Womb] is dark indeed. So Garbha-Griha by its appearance is a powerful place that is dark as well. For example, when we see lightning and close our eyes, do you still perceive the image of it, inside your mind for sometime atleast? When something appears to us in a black background, the subconscious mind gets a clear image of it. I can compare the ‘mind’ and ‘image’ to the 'Photo' and 'Negative', where a black negative when developed across a 'white photo paper', gives the image's reflection. Subconscious mind exhibits the same effect.

Thus the garbha griha with the idol is purposefully kept dark. When the priest lights the camphor and shows light on the idol, our subconscious mind can easily register the image against the dark background. It is thus even said not to close our eyes and pray when the priest shows camphor in front of God. We should actually admire God in that camphor-light and register his image on our minds.

I hope you see a difference when you stand in front of The Sanctum Santorum, the next time!

Yours Spiritually,
_Mani

Fire - The Element

I was sitting in front of God, to offer my prayer this weekend. It is my usual practice to switch off the lights and sit to meditate in silence, with just the oil-wick lamp lit in front of God. The view of God looks so pleasant and powerful in that light.

I was observing the light when offering my prayers and my thoughts started to digress [but towards the good]. I saw the wick in the lamp was a bit bend but the light [or fire] was still upright. It’s a well known unique property of fire that fire is always upright. We can’t see fire flaming downwards. It’s always high in esteem. I started thinking more about fire then...

Fire, one among the FIVE ELEMENTS of nature, is more pious and is used in all religious ceremonies. Without a fire and offerings to fire, a prayer is not complete in Hindu Mythology. I have heard that Shiridi Baba also was doing offerings for Fire in his prayers and that too inside the mosque. Even after His demise, people keep the same fire going till date. It is also ’Nithya Karma' for a bachelor [Brhamacharya] in Brahmin community to offer his prayers to Fire and take its blessings. I have also done it few days [though it is a daily duty] to see how powerful it is. A lot greater about fire, we can add upon. But what makes it special?

I felt it to be pure. The air, water, land, space can all be polluted by humans or by evolution. But Fire is pure and there is nothing like 'Impure Fire' that exists. It either goes off [or] flames up. Till the time it flames up, it converts all that is put into it, into Fire again. We can't pollute fire. So is that given more importance? My mind was thinking...

Might be yes! Though the oil wick faces downwards, the light [or fire] faces only upwards always. Is a woman expected to keep the reputation of the family always high, no matter how irregular/erratic/downwards the family is? Is that the reason why a bride who enters her husband's house made to lit a lamp in front of the God, first?

Marriages are done in front of Fire, keeping it as the witness for the marriage. Does that symbolize “No matter what impurities/obstacles/issues happen in life, the married life [like the fire], should keep going”? I am not sure again!

But these questions came to my mind ... Possibly I thought right about 'Fire'. To the next generation kids, we can give this as a convincing explanation? I am not sure! They might have more questions :-)

Yours Inquisitively,
_Mani

Motherliness and Spirituality

There is a strong eternal binding that I see between Motherliness and Spirtuality. I believe a 'Mother' is respected like a God because of the sanctity observed in motherliness. Anywhere Sanctity is observed, its Godliness. Am I Right?

It is true that there is only one purest state of human that exist! That is a privileged stature observed only in a woman. It is her stature as a 'Mother'. A woman can go wrong in her traits but not a 'Mother'. A girl, a wife, a grandmother or any other stage a woman goes by, has some or the other flaw. Before marriage a woman selects a person whom she likes as her husband. There could be many criterias like looks, salary, profession et al. When she was a small girl she does only what she likes. Even as a grandmother a lot of expectations gets piled up in her. But as a mother no flaw happens.

Motherliness is an untainted form of a woman. No matter how bad, how mischievious, how mean, how rude the child is, mother's love on the child never changes. As a woman one can be faulty but as a mother the woman is impeccable. How many times we would have scolded our mother for silly/reasonable stuffs. Do you see any ego in her after you scold. She is the same. They even say that a man's love multiple for his wife, when his wife becomes a mother. But a woman's love starts to divide soon after she becomes a mother.

Now to the Godliness. I have heard and read that the very popular symbol of worship "The Shiva Linga" is a structure that demonstrates the hormonal balance of life. The "Linga" in sanskrit is the male genital and is placed on a pedestal kind of structure which is called Yoni [The female genital in sanskrit]. This doesn't mean anything obscene but shows the cause behind "Start of Life". I can also say that the place/state where life originates is what we worship as God. Dont you think a Woman bears this unique feature in her when she brings a life into this world?

Its sure Motherliness is Spirituality!

Mani

ThalaCauvery in Coorg - My Lingering Moments ...

I had been to many trips in the year 2006 around Karnataka. It had all been memorable experience for me. One place I keep thinking again and again is about my trip to Coorg. We went to Coorg in the month of Nov '06, the right season when one should be there!

Full of mist and fog, the place looked so serene and calm. For a person like me who likes to be within myself and leave my thoughts go around the world, it is really a heaven on earth. Quite a few places we saw in coorg but, the one that lingers in my memory is the ThalaCauvery.

I never thought it to be a great place until I saw it. I thought water will be gushing out from a mountain top and we will be seeing it at a distance, is what I imagined about this place. The moment I stepped near this wonderful place, I saw peace outside and within. Being winter, the day was very cold and not more than 10 people were there next to me. I somehow really felt that Mother Nature is caressing me with her gentle breeze.

I saw the origin of Cauvery River as some 'clear water' in a place that is just some 2 square-foot in area. Next to this place was a pool with lucid water where people took dip in! I never imagined the water to be so clear. I saw a priest doing his reverence to this water worshiping it as the God. I was not able to believe that this water which originates in this small place is going through different states and dams in South India.

I and friend were imagining to go to this place in midnight to see what happens there. Something supernatural might be observed at that time, is what I still believe in. I always had the feeling that any source of nature is where God resides. This being the source of a natural resource, I felt God should be there in this place. I somehow felt that I am standing next to God or lying directly in Her lap being in that place.

There were some 300 odd steps that I had to climb and see the top view of coorg. It is a view point which most people don't climb to see the beauty. We climbed to see this as well. I could see nothing but just the mist. It rained for 30 seconds as we climbed up the steps, which was nothing more than the melted mist most probably. Felt really refreshed. My mind can still feel cold and calm thinking of that place. Some snaps for you ...

Thala Cauvery - Coorg

Thinking Ahead of Time

I was thinking the other day about 'Thinking ahead of time'. It was my feeling all these days that if one thinks ahead of time, he will be abused by people as 'Insane' as they cannot perceive his/her thought. It becomes hard to survive by thinking ahead of time. Don't you think this has some sense?

But I also feel, just because others will abuse should one stop thinking ahead? If everyone starts to think this way and try to stick on to the thinking of society then how will radical changes happen in this world? There have been lot of people who have been considered eccentric at first and got well accepted later. Few examples could be Swami Vivekananda, Einstein, Netwton et al.

Not many can think ahead. Its a gift; You can't ask for it but can be happy if yoy have it! Mind is locked to think new and Keeping our senses open is the key to open up! Keep hearing to all thoughts. Every minute sound has its cause and effect. More than hearing, you should listen. Every touch, Every argument and Every Sight has its own relevance. We never know when will the synergy be created from the information we have gathered. These external sources gives only information. The synergy should be created in ones mind/soul!

Vivekananda said "You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul. The goal of mankind is knowledge! Now this knowledge is inherent in man. No knowledge comes from outside: it is all inside. What we say a man "knows," should, in strict psychological language, be what he "discovers" or "unveils"; what man "learns" is really what he discovers by taking the cover off his own soul, which is a mine of infinite knowledge."

To end up ... To any right idea/thought there is first an opposition, then an apposition and then an acceptance! Keep thinking and inculcate on the yound minds, how to think out-of-the-box! Its really required. Who knows? You can bring a big difference in this world!

Love,

_Mani

I drew my so-called portrait!

It was actually in the year 2005, I went to sydney through IBM. I went there to migrate one J2EE application from IBM-Australia to IBM-India and take ownership of the same. I had heavy work one day till 9 p.m. and wanted to relax for sometime in home. Being alone in my apartment I was not knowing what to do. I usually hear lot of music and cook something to kill time. That day all my usual divertions put me to boredom. To change my mind, I suddenly thought why not to draw something. I didn't have a pencil or eraser but started roughly with a Ball Point Pen. I started to draw myself seeing one of my photos!

Before you look at the photo, I would like to say few things about it:

• Believe it or not, I drew this seeing my photo only [Whether the portrait looks like me or not] :-)


• It was drawn using a BLACK BALL-POINT pen and there is no way I can erase and correct the mistakes. So it is drawn in one shot.


• I took just above an hour to draw this. From 10:05p till 11:10p
  

Here is the photo!

Cheers!

_Mani