Wonders of Universe

I finished watching this four part series presented by Brian Cox in BBC 2 (Sundays at 21:00). Who are we? Where do we come from? For thousands of years humanity has turned to religion and myth for answers to these enduring questions. But in this series, Brian presents a different set of answers - answers provided by science.

This was one of the finest science programmes I have watched on the relationship between 'time-space-matter-light-nature'.

1. Destiny

In this episode, Brian Cox considers the nature of time. He explores the cycles of time that define the lives of humans on the earth, and compares them to the cycles of time on a cosmic scale. Cox also discusses the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics (Entropy- eg: many ways of reaaranging the sand grains with out changing the structure) and its effect on time, and the Heat Death theory concerning the end of the Universe.

Brian seeks to understand the nature of time and its role in creating both the universe and ourselves. From an extraordinary calendar built into the landscape of Peru (The 2,500-year-old solar calendar in Chankillo was built by a civilization of which very little is known), he travels through the beaches of Costa Rica where Sea tutles come and lay eggs at night in the beach- something that has been happening for the last 100 million years. He explores the cycles of time which define our experience of life on Earth. But even the most epic cycles of life can't begin to compare to the vast expanse of cosmic time. For instance, just as the Earth orbits the Sun, the solar system orbits the entire Milky Way galaxy. This orbit takes a staggering 250 million years to complete. We have probably travelled 1% of that time (humans I mean!)

Arrow of time; as each moment passes, things change and these are irreversible. Is this an illusion?

Ultimately, Brian discovers that time is not characterised by repetition but by irreversible change. From the relentless march of a glacier, to the decay of an old mining town, the ravaging effects of time are all around us. The vast universe is subject to these same laws of change.

As we look out to the cosmos, we can see the story of its evolution unfold, from the death of the first stars to the birth of the youngest. How giant stars explodes rather implodes and death/ birth of stars. ie the explosive death of one of the first stars in the universe.This journey from birth to death will ultimately lead to the destruction not just of our planet, but also the entire universe, and with it the end of time itself.

Yet without this inevitable destruction, the universe would be without what is perhaps the greatest wonder of all; the brief moment in time in which life can exist.

2.Stardust

In this episode, Brian discusses the elements of which all living things, including humans, are made. He explains how these elements are related to the life cycles of the stars and the recycling of matter in the Universe.

In the second stop in his exploration of the wonders of the universe, Professor Brian Cox goes in search of humanity's very essence to answer the biggest questions of all: what are we? And where do we come from? This film is the story of matter - the stuff of which we are all made.

Brian reveals how our origins are entwined with the life cycle of the stars. But he begins his journey here on Earth. In Nepal, he observes a Hindu cremation. Hindu philosophy is based on an eternal cycle of creation and destruction, where the physical elements of the body are recycled on to the next stage. Brian draws a parallel with the life cycle of the stars that led to our own creation.

Next, he explains how the Earth's resources have been recycled through the ages. How every atom that makes up everything we see, was at some time a part of something else. Our world is made up of just 92 elements, and these same 92 elements are found throughout the entire universe. We are part of the universe because we are made of the same stuff as the universe.

3. Falling

This episode documents how gravity has an effect across the Universe, and how the relatively weak force creates an orbit. We also see how a neutron star's gravity works. Finally, there is a look back at how research on gravity has enabled us to better understand the cosmos.

Gravity seems so familiar, and yet it is one of the strangest and most surprising forces in the universe. Starting with a zero gravity flight, Brian experiences the feeling of total weightlessness, and considers how much of an effect gravity has had on the world around us.

But gravity also acts over much greater distances. It is the great orchestrator of the cosmos. It dictates our orbit around the sun, our relationship with the other planets in our solar system, and even the way in which our solar system orbits our galaxy.

Yet the paradox of gravity is that it is actually a relatively weak force. Brian takes a face distorting trip in a centrifuge to explain how it is that gravity achieves its great power, before looking at the role it plays in one of the most extraordinary phenomena in the universe - a neutron star. Although it is just a few kilometres across, it is so dense that its gravity is 100, 000 million times as strong as on Earth.

Over the centuries our quest to understand gravity has allowed us to understand some of the true wonders of the universe, and Brian reveals that it is scientists' continuing search for answers that inspires his own sense of wonder

4. Messengers

The final episode shows how the unique properties of light provide an insight into the origins and development of mankind and the Universe. We also see how the speed of light is both a measure of time and distance. This leads on to pinpoint one of the early events in the evolution of life.He travels from the fossils of the Burgess Shale to the sands of the oldest desert in the world to show how light holds the key to our understanding of the whole universe, including our own deepest origins.

To understand how light holds the key to the story of the universe, we first have to understand its peculiar properties. Brian considers how the properties of light that lend colour to desert sands and the spectrum of a rainbow can lead to profound insights into the history and evolution of our universe. Finally, with some of the world's most fascinating fossils in hand, Brian considers how but for an apparently obscure moment in the early evolutionary history of life, all the secrets of light may have remained hidden. Because although the universe is bathed in light that carries extraordinary amounts of information about where we come from, it would have remained invisible without a crucial evolutionary development that allowed us to see. Only because of that development, i.e. the observation that Light travels with a finite speed through space at a rate of 299 792 458 metre/second or 10 million million km in one year or 1 light year; So a light year is not just a measure of distance but also a measure of time! Because of this we can we now observe, capture and contemplate the incredible wonders of the universe that we inhabit.

I seemed to understand some of the meaning of Universe and birth of it when I was watching the programme, but now it feels to have gone out of my mind with a big bang!

I think it is interesting to note the similarities and differences in this programme and the views expressed in Indian Philosophy. The Hindu cosmology and time lines in a way is the closest to modern scientific time lines and even more, which might indicate that the big bang is not the beginning of everything but just the start of the present cycle preceded by an infinite number of universes and to be followed by another infinite number of universes. The Rig Veda questions the origin of the cosmos in:

Neither being (sat) nor non-being was as yet. What was concealed? And where? And in whose protection?…Who really knows? Who can declare it? Whence was it born, and whence came this creation? The devas were born later than this world's creation, so who knows from where it came into existence? None can know from where creation has arisen, and whether he has or has not produced it. He who surveys it in the highest heavens, he alone knows-or perhaps does not know. (Rig Veda 10. 129)

The later puranic view asserts that the universe is created, destroyed, and re-created in an eternally repetitive series of cycles. In Hindu cosmology, a universe endures for about 4,320,000,000 years (one day of Brahma, the creator or kalpa) and is then destroyed by fire or water elements. At this point, Brahma rests for one night, just as long as the day. This process, named pralaya (Cataclysm), repeats for 100 Brahma years (311 trillion, 40 billion human years) that represents Brahma's lifespan.

According to Bhagavad Gita "sahasra-yuga paryantam ahar-yad brahmano viduh", meaning, a day of brahma is of 1000 mahayugas. Thus a day of Brahma, kalpa, is of duration: 4.32 billion solar years.

1000 Mahayugas = 1 kalpa = 1 day (day only) of Brahma
(Two kalpas constitute a day and night of Brahma)
30 days of Brahma = 1 month of Brahma (259.2 billion human years)
12 months of Brahma = 1 year of Brahma (3.1104 trillion human years)
50 years of Brahma = 1 Pararddha
2 parardhas = 100 years of Brahma = 1 Para = 1 Mahakalpa (the lifespan of Brahma)(311.04 trillion human years)
One day of Brahma is divided into 10,000 parts called charanas. The charanas are divided as follows:
The Four Yugas
4 charanas (1,728,000 solar years) Satya Yuga
3 charanas (1,296,000 solar years) Treta Yuga
2 charanas (864,000 solar years) Dwapar Yuga
1 charanas (432,000 solar years) Kali Yuga

The current Kali Yuga began at midnight 17 February / 18 February in 3102 BC (Julian calendar)

According to Carl Sagan and Fritjof Capra, similarities between what they consider the latest scientific understanding of the age of the universe, and the Hindu concept of a "day and night of Brahma", is much closer to the current assumed age of the universe than other creation myths (when taken literally). The days and nights of Brahma postulate a view of the universe that is divinely created, and is not strictly evolutionary, but an ongoing cycle of birth, death, and rebirth of the universe.

According to Sagan: Hinduism is the only one of the world's great faiths dedicated to the idea that the Cosmos itself undergoes an immense, indeed an infinite, number of deaths and rebirths. It is the only religion in which time scales correspond, no doubt by accident, to those of modern scientific cosmology. Its cycles run from our ordinary day and night to a day and night of Brahma, 8.64 billion years long, longer than the age of the Earth or the Sun and about half the time since the Big Bang. And there are much longer time scale still.

Some believe that with the "AUM" sound, known as "pranava manthra", the Universe was started, similar to the big bang theory. "Omkara", the sound of 'Ohm', is very important in Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism.

Capra, in his popular book, The Tao of Physics, wrote that: This idea of a periodically expanding and contracting universe, which involves a scale of time and space of vast proportions, has arisen not only in modern cosmology, but also in ancient Indian mythology. Experiencing the universe as an organic and rhythmically moving cosmos, the Hindus were able to develop evolutionary cosmologies which come very close to our modern scientific models. One of these cosmologies is based on the Hindu myth of lila—the divine play—in which Brahman transforms himself into the world.

I like the statement made by Swami Vivekananda who interpreted the Adhvaitha Vedantic understanding of evolution to be in harmony with Darwinian theory. In his commentary on Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, he writes:

"There seems to be a great difference between modern science and all religions at this point. Every religion has the idea that the universe comes out of intelligence. The theory of God, taking it in its psychological significance, apart from all ideas of personality, is that intelligence is first in the order of creation, and that out of intelligence comes what we call gross matter. Modern philosophers say that intelligence is the last to come. They say that unintelligent things slowly evolve into animals, and from animals into men. They claim that instead of everything coming out of intelligence, intelligence itself is the last to come. Both the religious and the scientific statements, though seeming directly opposed to each other are true. Take an infinite series, A—B—A—B —A—B. etc. The question is — which is first, A or B? If you take the series as A—B. you will say that A is first, but if you take it as B—A, you will say that B is first. It depends upon the way we look at it. Intelligence undergoes modification and becomes the gross matter, this again merges into intelligence, and thus the process goes on. The Sankhyas, and other religionists, put intelligence first, and the series becomes intelligence, then matter. The scientific man puts his finger on matter, and says matter, then intelligence. They both indicate the same chain. Indian philosophy, however, goes beyond both intelligence and matter, and finds a Purusha, or Self, which is beyond intelligence, of which intelligence is but the borrowed light."

Raavanayanam

The new Mani Ratnam movie Raavanan (Tamil version) or Raavan (Hindi version) has brought the major epic 'Ramayana' again as a hot debate topic.This epic as told by Valmiki is the story of the 'perfect man' Rama and his accomplishments. But shouldn't it be called 'Raaavanayanam' as this epic is as much the story of Raavana as is it of Rama based on the perspective, how we look at it? Perhaps if there was another 'Valmiki' and if he had made Raavana as the central character, the whole aspect of this struggle between good and evil and moral and immoral would be viewed completely differently.

Ravana's characterization is open to interpretations.The name Ravana is from 'ra' meaning the sun and 'vana' signifying generation. He is the great grandson of Lord Brahma. A metaphorical interpretation of Ravana's 10 heads is that the heads are a symbolic way to show the world about his knowledge of the six Shastras as well as four Vedas, ten Holy Scriptures in all.

Even though Ravana is portrayed as the villain in Ramayana, this view is open to question due to lack of any overt instances, and is so questioned by a considerable number of believers. It can be argued, for example, that Ravana’s abduction of Sita was not driven by lust for her, but instead it was done to punish Ram for attacking his sister Shurpanakha. What Lakshmana did to her ie cutting of her nose for proposing to him after Rama rejected her was a reaction out of proportion to what Shurpanakha did. It may be that Lakshmana did this for fear of Sita's safety. The extreme nature of the act upon his unarmed sister enraged Ravana (as a brother) and he abducted Sita to avenge the insult- if Ravana would not avenge his own sister - then no one would look up to him as a protector of his subjects/ dependents. Nevertheless Ravana never ever touched Sita while she was being held as his hostage. He visited her regularly and asked her consent to marry him. Every time Sita declined, but there is not a single instance when Ravana misbehaved with Sita. He plays the role of a gentleman to the core, (though this could have been due to a curse from Kubera's son that he would lose all his 10 heads if he forced himself on any woman).

Ravana also authored Ravana Sanhita, a powerful book on the Hindu astrology. Ravana possessed a thorough knowledge of Ayurveda and political science. He is said to have possessed the nectar of immortality, which was stored under his navel, thanks to a celestial boon by Brahma. Pleased with his resilience and devotion, Shiva gave to him the divine sword 'Chandrahasa'. Ravana was a lifelong devotee of Lord Shiva and is said to have composed the hymn known as Shiva Tandava Stotra.

Mani Ratnam's movie, Raavan (Hindi) and Raavanan(Tamil), clearly inspired by this epic was a movie I had been waiting for some time since I heard of it a couple of years ago.

I went to watch the Tamil version first and had to go all the way to Birmingham to watch it. But the trip was worth it as the movie was simply wonderful. It was stimulating and entertaining...a great treat- the photography, music, script, location, direction and above all the performances of Vikram (as Raavanan), Prithviraj(as Rama) and Aishwariya (as sita).

Vikram was amazing and I felt he brought out the various expressions and emotions of the tribal leader Veera to all its glory.He acted as though he had 'ten heads' with varying facial expressions. Prithviraj as Dev (the police officer) and Aishwarya (as his wife) also had a chemistry together and did well. Aishwarya's transformational change of feelings towards both men were enacted superbly. This would probably stand out as one of her best performances possibly after her debut movie 'Iruvar'.

I then watched the Hindi version (in Leicester) and I must say that it was disappointing! Though the back ground artists were all the same, the central character Beera (Raavana) by Abhishek Bachchan was at the best average, especially if we compare it with the performance of Vikram in the Tamil version. I will not be surprised, if in the future Raavanan (Tamil) would be considered a huge hit among Mani Ratnam's movies and Raavan(Hindi) as an average film.

I was also impressed by the interviews given by the artists at the London Premiere of the movie. These interviews in the 'you tube' are also a good hit! Prithviraj was quite eloquent and articulate in his comments. Vikram and Suhasini(who wrote the script) were also quite impressive. But both Mr and Mrs Junior Bachchans were depressing in their words especially if you see that the crowds were cheering almost just for them. They could have been a bit more prepared to face the interviews at such a landmark venue.

After reading Ramayana, two questions, every firm believer of Lord Rama would love to avoid are
1.How could the divine person hide behind the trees and murder Bali/ Vali (brother of Sugreeva) behind his back?
2.Why did he suspect Sita and later ditched her?

In this film these two aspects are brought up in a sublime manner. Dev, the inspector is hiding in crowd of women and shoots Veera from behind when he is actively taking part in his sisters marriage ceremony. Also later to accomplish his mission of destroying Veera, Dev starts questioning his wife about her chastity and asks why she could not take a lie-detector test!

I have never found any convincing answers for these actions of Lord Rama. It might be that he wanted to give an impression that even the 'perfect human being' can never be perfect and will have some negative connotations left to ones own interpretation.

Tail piece: I hope in the future some one will make a movie on Mahabharata with Karna (my favourite person in the epic) as the central character.

I came I saw I conquered....

The Kannur I Saw

For a person born and brought up in Trivandrum, as a kid, Cannanore (anglicised version of Kannur) was always a place very very far away.

My childhood memories of Kannur are filled with communist movements and comrades. I remember achan saying about AKG (the legendary communist leader, who is one of his favourite idols and mine too), EK Nayanar etc. Later it was all the comrades or their families who comes for various reasons to Trivandrum (ie visiting secretatriat or PSC or Medical college hospital/RCC/ Sreechitra MC). They would come to our house, usually stay at our place, mummy cooks food for them, especially if anyone is undergoing specialist treatment at the hospital.

Though Kannur has a lot of history and is the land of Theyyams, in recent times it is infamous for all the wrong reasons like political killings, bombs, police firings, 'the kannur lobby' of party etc...

In 2007 we met Chinthu and Manoj and through them many other friends in Kannur. I visited Kannur in 2008 for the first time and stayed for a day with Chinthu's parents.

The people of Kannur, I felt generally were open and simple. The landscape is very green with many rivers, mountains, temples, virgin-beaches etc. I felt it was a mixture of laid back village folks, the colourful Theyyams, traditional temples, red-forts of communism with a bit of modernism in and around Kannur city. No wonder Kannur is said to be one of best ten cities in India to reside! Kannur international airport is coming up at mattanur,once operational Kannur international airport will be the largest airport in Kerala. Kannur is also the place of the only muslim royal family in Kerala (Arackkal)

Chinthu's home is situated near thrichambaram temple. It stands on the top of a small hill with good views of greenery around. It was the peak of south-west monsoon. The rain, calm atmosphere, lush green trees, serene surroundings creates a nostalgic aura.....sort of a romantic nature or indeed the nature felt to be romantic....An ideal place for a writer for some innovative creation.

According to one of my close friends "the homes around 'thrichambaram temple' appear brighter and had some sort of divine blessing; however, houses in the vicinity of 'rajarajeshwara temple' always felt a bit dull and dark"!

So my temple journey during this visit to Kerala started here. The first was Madayyilppara and then by next 14 days I had done a 'spiritual marathon' of 53 temples!! (http://adhvaitha.blogspot.com/2008/12/53-temples-in-2-weeks.html)

1. Madayilppara Bhagavathi temple
Madayilppara is a hilly area (infact there are lots of hills around Kannur including Ezhimala where the Naval academy is situated) located at Pazhayanangadi. The government has a project plan to transform the area into a cultural village.

This temple is supposed to be the most popular Bhagavathi temple of North Malabar (the main Diety is Shiva- East facing): On the Southern side of Shiva's 'srikovil' is Bhadrakali (West facing), the diety with most importance and prominence. The priests are 'Piradanmar' who does Shaktheya puja. Devi is supposed to be in fearsome and fiery mood here who is present in the state after killing demon Darikan. It seems one of the main offerings here is cooked meat.

2. Vadakunnu Shiva temple

The next stop was the famous Vadukunnu Shiva temple on hillock of the Madayippara. This is an old structure and is currently under renovation. There is a beautiful lake nearby. Mythology says that Devi, after killing the demon Darikan, took a dip in this lake. It is said that this lake, situated on the top of a hill, never dries; even in the hottest summer.

3. Cheruthazhom Raghavapuram Hanuman temple:

Though the main diety is Sriraman here, the temple is known for Hanuman swamy. There is a large pond in front of the temple. It was 'ramayana month' (Karkidakam) and so could hear ramayanam being recited..nostalgic....The prasadam ('aval') from here was arranged by uncle previously...

4. Parasshinikadavu Muthappan temple: Arguably the most famous and prominent temple in Kannur. This temple is revered by most religious people of Kannur and Kasarkode. A temple where alcohol is an offering and is not banned in the temple premises!

We parked our car here and walked to the temple. On the way saw a toddy shop and further down a Communist party office...It may be a coincidence (or may be not) that a communist party office, toddy shop and a temple are all in a short distance which was like a snap-shot of Kannur!

Theyyam: I should write a few words on THEYYAM. This is an art form that has religious, cultural and social dimensions. It is a highly ritualistic folk-dance, well preserved with its rare and gorgeous make-up and costume, lively foot work with lot of verbal and non-verbal expressions. Theyyam is unique to Kannur and Kasargode ('Kolathunadu') and I think represents the glorious past and culture of Kannur.

Though I have seen Theyyam in Tele, this was the first time I was watching it. The belief is, that gods and goddesses come in to our midst through the medium of the possessed dancers and converse with us. The performers usually belong to Vannan, Malayan and Velan communities.
We went to Parashinnnikadavu temple the next morning to catch a glimpse of it. 'Lord Muthappan' probably represents the dual divinity of Shiva and Vishnu. Therefore there are two Theyyams- 'Thiruvappana' and 'Vellatom' (Shiva- cresent shaped crown and Vishnu- fish shaped crown). They come as a long procession with lots of music, singing and performance. The songs were very traditional with folk rhythms.

Thiruvappana theyyam looked and felt more powerful. Aunty said that we could go and speak to the theyyam and even ask questions. After the initial rituals and performance that went for about 30 minutes I slowly headed towards them. The Vellatom theyyam held my hands....looked into my eyes and said that I was coming from very long distance...and also that everything is and will be fine in the future :-). It was really powerful.....
I think if some one wish to learn about the ancient past of North malabar, they should learn about Theyyams. It is so rich in art, culture, heritage, language, rituals and music. Later we went and had prasadam- ie Tea, boiled gram (peas) with coconut slices.

Some distinct features ot temple

1. Dogs are allowed and found inside temple premises

2. Alcohol/ dry fish/ meat are offerings

3. Free food given in temple

Behind the temple is Valappattanam river. It was monsoon at its best and appeared really beautiful

Also went to the famous snake park established by none other than Comrade MVR..Never realised that the park had such a rich variety of reptiles and other animals. Will write on this separately.

That evening went to the famous trinity temples of Kanjirangad, Rajarajeshwara and Thrichambaram.

On the way to Kanjirangad...

5. Kanjirangad Vaidyanatha temple: This ancient temple is situated in Pariyaram Panchayat (6km fom Taliparambu and it seems Kooveri is only about 5 km from this place. Should try to visit there this year) ...The main diety is Shiva (believed to be svayambu or self-originated) in 'physician' form. According to Manoj's dad Shiva here is 'doctor's doctor'. Main festival is on Sivarathri but Thiruvathira in the malayalam month of Dhanu is also very important.

If 6th day of the Malayalam month is Sunday then the devotees will call it 'Six Sunday' ('aarum njayyar')and is considered important. It is believed the same day was the temple installed. Another legend is that as brahmin ladies were prohibited from entering Rajarajeshwara temple(see below) the Kolathiri raja (Shathasoman) constructed this temple.

6. Rajarajeshwara temple:
This was the second temple we visited that evening. Felt very strong vibes at this temple.. Taliparamba is regarded as one of the ancient Shakti Peethams. Legend has it that the head of Sati fell here after Shiva's tandavam following Sati's self-immolation. The main festival celebrations are Shivarathri and Vishu. In olden days there were 64days festival during the interval between Shivarathri and Vishu.

The temple is considered as one of the 108 ancient Shiva temples of Kerala by most experts. It has a prominent place amongst the numerous Shiva temples in south India. If any problem is encountered in temples of South India, the final solution is said to be sorted here by 'prashnamvaippu'

Some unique characteristics:

1.The temple has no kodi maram as opposed to most other temples in Kerala
2.Men are allowed to enter the shrine at any time, but women are allowed only after 8 PM (the belief is that shiva would have gone to Cherukuunu Annapoorneshwari temple by then)
3.It may be that the main diety could be in Shankaranarayanan form or rajaguru Brihaspathy as Rajarajeshwara sankalpam (acceptable to both Shaivites and Vaishnavites). However, it is generally and widely accepted that Shiva is the main diety, though 'Koovalam' flowers that are dearest to Shiva are not used here for pujas
4. Only 'Neyyvilakku' (ghee) is allowed inside the 'chuttamblam' and oil is not permitted
5."Moonnedhathu thozheekuka"- A custom whereby pregant women (except brahmins) visit and pray at three prominent temples in Taliparamba. Apart from Rajarajeshwara temple, the other two temples are Sri Krishna temple at Trichambaram and Vaidyanatha (Shiva) at Kanjiragad. It is believed that Shiva at Rajarajeshwara temple assures the child a high status, Sri Krishna of Trichambaram bestows it with good nature and mental qualities and Shiva at Kanjiragad temple gives the child long life. (Brahmin ladies, instead of this temple goes to Thrichambaram, Mazhoor and Kanjirangad)
6.This temple is also considered as most sacred for performing Koodiyattam and Chakyar Koothu Whenever a new Koodiyattam is being directed, it is first performed at this temple. The title "Vidūshakaratnam" and "Veerashringhala", a Golden Bracelet are given from this temple for acheivements in these performing arts
7.It is also believed that Sri Raman during his victorious return from Lanka, stopped here to offer worship to Lord Shiva. In honor of his presence, devotees are not allowed into the 'namaskara mandapam' even today

History:

The Shiva linga here is believed to be thousands of years old. Legend has it that Siva gave three sacred Siva lingas to Parvati for worship.

1. A sage called Maandhata prayed Shiva and it seems lord Shiva gave one of the Siva lingas to him and said to install only at a place where there was no cremation ground. The sage, after searching all over, found Taliparamba the most sacred spot where he installed the Shivalinga. After his death, the linga however disappeared into the earth.
2. Maandhats's son Muchukunda offered similar prayers to Siva and got a second linga, which too disappeared in course of time.
3. After many centuries the third Shivalinga was handed down to King Shathasoman. He then installed it in the present temple built by him

7. Thrichambaram Sreekrishna temple
This temple is considered the 'grama-temple' of Thaliparambu. The temple is believed to have got the name from Thiru Shambara or the holy shambara in reverence to Maharishi Shambara. Trichambaram Temple has three ponds attached to it, with the temple for Durga(Jaladurga). There is also a belief that as Srikrishna is in 'roudra bhavam' (Fiery mood) praying here early in the morning may not be 'utthamam'

The annual temple festival is for a fortnight-from Kumbham 22 (usually March 6) every year to Meenam 6 (which generally falls on March 20). Elephants are not permitted for the festival celebrations.

On Kumbham 22 'Balaraman' comes from Mazhoor temple . Till meenam 2nd there is 'thitambu-nritham' at pookottunada. On Meenam third there is no major ritual. On the 4th there is 'nadu valamvaikkal'. On the 5th it is 'Chirayil aarrattu'. On the 6th its brothers parting (Koodipiriyyal). This is said to be very emotional.

It was raining heavily when we were doing the pradashinam. It was pitch dark when we came to sree-ayyappan's kovil. But somehow lights came on when we started praying. It was amazing! The lights went off as soon as we left!! The puja for Jala-durga was also amazing. A lot of strong vibes in the vicinity.....

8. Perillasherry Sri Subrahmanya temple
This temple is located at Perillasherry near koothuparambu. I was excited to hear that this is AKG's place; but the journey along the Kannur – Koothuparambu road was Horrible with abundant holes, bumps and 'small rainwater pools'. Literally the roads to Perillasherry were in Perils.

According to Manoj's dad, the temple is said to be consecrated by Sriraman. As Hanuman was late bringing the idol, Sriraman took his bangle ('peruvala') and made the idol...so it is called 'peru-vala-cherri' that later became perillasherry.

There is a huge pool in front of the temple. It had well laiden bricks and steps... After Perillashery went to see Parameshwaran Namboodiri and then it was good bye to Kannur.

On my way to Thrissur now......a short but sweet visit . A kind of Déjà vu......May be I should be saying I came I saw and I got conquered by the beauty and fragrance of north malabar.....

100 moments of solitude

Most people are afraid of solitude...Not having a friend or a partner or family with you all the time is something many people cannot imagine. But doesn't solitude have a beauty of its own? In fact if you consider this is in a philosophical way we come to the world on our own (unless we are one of the twins/triplets!), go from this world on our own and when we sleep (ie more than one third of our life time), we are on our own (not sure until we wake up)...

Solitude, I meant is not complete isolation or loneliness or complete lack of social contact. Infact on the contrary I meant it as living on our own at the same time having a great social life...It is important to make a distinction between 'Loneliness' and 'Solitude'.

Loneliness is a negative state, marked by a sense of isolation. One feels that something is missing. You can be in a big party and can feel completely lost or you could be with people you know and still feel lonely (I remember a movie written by MT Vasudevan Nair-'aalkoottathil thaniyae'..this concept is beautifully expressed!).

Solitude is the state of being alone without being lonely. It is a positive feeling and constructive state of engagement with oneself. In solitude you yourself are your best companion! Solitude would be an ideal opportunity to reflect on ones own life...A person will have all the time in the world and it is no longer time that controls you, but you control time. You are not adjusting your life for someone else but your life gets adjusted for you. There is no hidden agenda, no sacrifices, no disturbances...you are like a free bird. Solitude in this manner can be refreshing, rejuvenating, replenising and revitalizing ones own inner state of richness.

The duration and degree of solitude and its effects also depends on ones personality: For some its alright attitude and feel very comfortable on their own, some cannot remain on their own even for a few minutes and gets terribly disturbed and dissatisfied, for others like monks solitude is a way to spiritual awakening (specifically long-term solitude).

In scientific terms human nature is to form social/ personal relationships especially from a evolutionary point of view. Though long term total isolation can be disturbing and might have untoward effects on human physiology; solitude can be a bliss; where you are what you are, how you are and be 'yourself'.

I conclude by a popular quote: Loneliness is the poverty of self and solitude is the richness of self.

Raja Yoga- 4

Session 7 (24.02.2009) and Session 8 (26.02.2009)

These were the last 2 sessions of the course. The main thrust and core discussion again was on God and the Time- cycle. These sessions were more or less a continuation of the last 2 sessions (http://adhvaitha.blogspot.com/2009/02/raja-yoga-3.html).

A lot of questions were asked by the participants to get more clarity on the different ages of time-cycle, re-birth, capacity and purity of soul. It was a quite complex discussion, but I felt Paramjit tried his best to make us all understand the concept of birth and re-birth of each soul and the different ages. In the end we all did a role-play of the 'time cycle and souls'.

The points I think that were clarified included:

• There is a continuous stream of souls coming to the physical world.
  
• All the souls are pure, but differ in capacity
• Souls come to the physical world pure and goes back into soul world (at confluence age) pure
• Souls who have a higher capacity and/ or purest of the pure come early ie they come in the Golden age/ Silver age
• A soul in the Golden age will have born, many times more than ones in the silver age and this process is continuing into Copper and Iron age (present)
• The less purer souls (not impure) with a lesser capacity may experience only few/ even a single birth in the Iron age
• The Purity of the souls is inversely proportional to the population of the physical world.

Paramjit also introduced the concept of 'Tree of humanity'.

• The seed of humanity, of the human family, is the Supreme Soul(God)
• The trunk of the tree symbolises the era of Golden and Silver age
• The closeness of the trunk to the seed/ root symbolizes how souls at that time embody God’s qualities. Such souls are revered as ‘gods’ and ‘goddesses’ ('Divine' beings)
• As a tree grows, its trunk expands in size and many branches and leaves are formed. New leaves signifies new souls and the population increases.
• In the copper age and later Iron age, prophet souls like Abraham, Sri-Buddha, Jesus Christ, Muhammad, Shankaracharya, Guru Nanak and so on starts appearing as people became more body conscious . New branches and sub branches signifies new religions (in Copper age) and later sects/ cults (in Iron age) respectively.
• Each Religion creates their own branch and brings with them their own followers from the Infinite Light, until they too decline and splits into many branches and sub-branches. Each branch thinks that they are the real tree...

We have three teachers in life

1. Knowledge (application of this knowledge is Wisdom)- Best way
2. Learning from experiences/ mistakes- Second best way
3. Time- It might be too late as we may reached the point of no-return.

For a Soul to come to this world- needs a physical body; so the supreme soul also needs a physical body to come to earth. The supreme soul comes to the earth in the physical being who has the most pure and highest capacity soul. This would happen (according to Paramjit, already happened)in the most spiritual place on Earth ie Bharat (India). Paramjit tells that this person is called 'Shivababa' through whom God speaks the knowledge (the easiest way to be awakened and become 'soul conscious')


Summary:

It has been a wonderful journey for me so far. Did I learn anything knew? Yes, Of course a lot of things. I think this course has helped me in understanding more about our 'true self'. The concept of 'Mind- Intellect- Sanskara' is an effective way of having control over your thoughts and subsequently your actions with the 'intellect' acting as a 'filter'.

The understanding that 80% of your thoughts are those where you do not have any control over ( ie waste thoughts) is indeed an efficient way to express positive feelings and improve concentration. It also helps when we imagine that everyone including ourselves are playing a role, when we are interacting with people in different situations.

This form of Meditation is helpful in imagining that we are 'a point of light' (soul) and could be practiced at any time, anywhere and in any position that you feel comfortable. It doesn't require any formal way of preparation other than becoming soul conscious and practicing it regularly.

I have re-discovered that I could just close my eyes and go into a 'state of meditation' when ever, I want to. Even when Iam traveling in a busy train or at a crowded place or when going to bed or waking up from sleep or just even when Iam engaged in something I could take a minute or few minutes out, imagine the positive thoughts and feel the positive energy.

The first four sessions ie being a self sovereign, awareness of body and soul, the three levels of consciousness and Karma were quite a reiteration of many aspects that we already knew or are aware through one source or other. I would say that this was the best part of the course, that were simple to understand and comprehend.

The second half ie sessions on God, Time cycle and Tree of humanity were more complex, challenging and at times difficult to grasp. The concept of space, time, infinity etc is always going to be difficult to explain and understand in such a short period of time. But I felt Paramjit has done and doing a great service by taking such sessions and explaining this version of 'Raja-Yoga' in a simple, clear and most importantly, a practical manner. Om Shanthi......

Raja Yoga- 3

First and Second Session: http://adhvaitha.blogspot.com/2009/02/raja-yoga.html
Third and Fourth Session:http://adhvaitha.blogspot.com/2009/02/raja-yoga-2.html

Fifth Session 17.02.2009

Today Paramjit introduced the concept of God, which is the third way to settle ones Karma ie Remembrance and constant awareness of God

He first asked "who are your parents?" . If the question is asked to Sheep, it would say 'sheep'; an elephant will say 'elephant' etc similarly a human being (in 'body consciousness') would say its a Human or a 'Soul Conscious Being' would say its a soul and its the 'Supreme soul' (or Paramatma)

He/ she is known by different names like Prabhu, Ishwar, Jehovah, Allah, Bhagawan, Shiva, Jesus etc
His / her qualities include Oceans of love, purity, peace, happiness, mercy, bliss etc....
His /her roles include father, mother, friend, companion, brother, satguru, teacher etc
His/ her home is the 'Land of peace' or the 'incorporeal world' (Nirakar)
We communicate with God through our thoughts(ie Raja Yoga)

He gave the example of the first name JOHN who is known differently, but is all the same name

e.g: John (Leicester)
Sean (Ireland)
Juan(Spain)
Jean (France)
Johan (Holland)
Johann(Sweden)
Ian (Scotland)

(BTW in Malayalam he is known as Yohanaan)...

Similarly, Saint Nicholas (UK) is known as Santa Claus(US) or Father Christmas...Likewise God is known by many names like Prabhu, Ishwar, Jehovah, Allah, Bhagawan, Shiva, Jesus etc

A 'Guru' is a person who leads us from Darkness ('gu') to enlightenment('ru'); Satguru is a true guru.

I note that there is no equivalent word or term for Guru in English (like a lot of Sanskrit words). I am always wonder-struck by this divine language. The more I learn Sanskrit the more I feel the power in each word, each sentence, each hymn. I also felt the positive vibes with each pronunciation and one needs a proper Guru to understand this better. I should write on Sanskrit language (and Samskrita Bharati) soon in a separate blog.

God has infinite love, unlimited, ocean of love,peace, bliss. He/ she is beyond defamation, beyond praise. He/ she is the creator, sustainer and the destroyer. One point here I was not in complete agreement with Paramjit was when he said 'God is not Omnipresent'. Paramjit says God is present only in the incorporeal world. ie a non-physical world. God cannot be a human being because human beings have to go through the cycle of life and death where as god doesn't. Paramjit says this is one of the differences between a soul and a supreme soul.

Like an insulated electric wire,the 'insulation' of body conscious has to be removed to become soul conscious. Switching of TV doesn't stop transmission...so when we become soul-conscious we are able to recognise the overflowing love and bliss transmitted continuously by god. God never give sorrow, but always pass on happiness. When you remember god, you come to have 'god like qualities'. Its always a 2 way communication..experiencing all his love.

Paramjit then mentions the story of a person who believes that God would protect him all the time ie having cent percent or more faith. Once there was severe flood. This person believed that god would come for his help and so did not accept any other help. The water levels were rising. A pedestrian passing by said, "hey come on..the water is rising". This person replied, No.

As the ground floor flooded he went to first floor. After some time a 'boat' came and offered help. he denied it. Later he went to the roof and then a helicopter came to his help, but he did not accept help. later he drowned and reached heaven. He asked God why was he not helped during floods and allowed to drown. God replied " What I cannot understand is that I first send the pedestrian, then the boat and later the helicopter, But why didn't you accept any help?"!!

Realising and remembering God is like a spiritual lottery; do not beg....take it from God. We have a right over god ..he is always giving..'am I taking' is the question.....This power from god enables Karma; settles Karma with out suffering

People who are ignorant, disobeys God like Adam and eve, Pandora's Box, Sita crossing the 'Lakshman rekha' etc...No human being can be god...God is beyond the cycle of birth and death
and this seems to be the main difference between from humans.

Sixth Session (19.02.2009)

Today's topic was on TIME.

"Time don't control me, I control time".

In western concept time is linear. however, in the east time is cyclic..like the 'rain cycle'. ie the cycle of clouds-rain-water-streams-river-sea-evaporation-water vapour-clouds-rain etc.

When the water come down to earth as rain drops they are pure and clean. But they take the external dirt while flowing through river, sea etc and later when it become vapour and rain again, it become pure. Like wise every soul is pure, but have different capacity. Similar to electric bulbs(20w, 40w, 60w ore 100w) or a beaker with 1l, 2l, 5l, 100l capacity or a runner who can run a Marathon(26 miles) or a half-marathon, or some one who can run 5milesor 1mile, each soul has a capacity.

From the 'soul world' there is a constant drop of souls to earth( which enter a human body) like rain drops. Each quarter in this time cycle are called

Golden age
Silver age
Copper age
Iron age

There is a small gap between the iron age and next Golden age called the 'Confluence age'. The Golden age(like 'heaven') and Silver age (like 'semi-heaven') are ages when people were 'Soul Conscious'. In this half, ones actions are neutral.

In Copper age and Iron age (like 'hell') humans are 'Body Conscious'. During this second half (ie during the start of Copper age) 'religions' came (like Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity , Islam etc). Life span starts getting shorter and shorter as time progresses through the ages , population increases. The purity of souls decreases. In Iron age as Iron gets rusted quickly (unlike gold) people are also rusted with impure thoughts and actions.

God intervenes in the confluence age and takes them back to the soul world. Paramjit stopped this session by asking to think about four questions, which he would discuss in the last two sessions:

1. How does God intervene?
2. Who would know this is God?
3. Where
4. When this will happen?

A few questions were asked by the participants. There were a couple of people who joined at this session. They asked questions on God/ Time etc.

Summary so far: The concept of God and Time were introduced in the last 2 sessions. Interesting topics, explained with a lot of examples. I very much enjoyed the initial four sessions on being a self-sovereign, being soul conscious and Karma. However, I felt that the concept of Time and to some extent God, were a little more complex and a bit confusing.May be with time, the concept of time could be understood better.

Raja Yoga- 2

First and Second session: http://adhvaitha.blogspot.com/2009/02/raja-yoga.html

Third Session (10.2.09)

Soul is a point of light which has three different levels of energy/ consciousness

1. Mind (Conscious)
2. Intellect (Conscience)
3. Sanskaras( Sub-conscious)

Mind creates a thought and then experiences the thought; The intellect acts like a filter, it analyses the experiences and thoughts and finally the action is made. This creates an imprint on our soul and this is called Sanskaras (or sub-conscious mind), that determine our personal traits.

Paramjit explained this by an example of smoking addiction. How we first generate the thought of smoking due to various reasons (trail or peer pressure or other reasons), then we act and later we act with out intellect and thus it becomes a habit/ addiction. Its a vicious cycle. In order to break this habit or stop the addiction we need to use our intellect to filter out the urge to act sub-consciously. Therefore the key to stop or quit an addiction or habit is to awaken your intellect.

When one is 'body conscious' ones intellect is sleeping and when one is 'soul conscious' our intellect is awake. Remember the most important aspect of Raja Yoga meditation is to consistently making our intellect stronger and thereby strengthening our conscience.

Paramjit also emphasised on speaking less and listening more that is a key communication skill. So speak less, speak softly and speak sweetly.

Fourth Session (12.02.2009)

Today's session was on Law of Karma.

Paramjit explained to us Karma ie 'the law of cause and effect'. As Laws in physics state there is an equal and opposite reaction to every action; in Spiritual terms this is "To what ever I give, I get back an equal amount".

The types of Action:

1. Positive
2. Negative
3. Neutral

A positive action would be to help others, to serve, to smile etc. A negative action is hatred, be angry, to hit etc and a neutral action is like "Iam going to write an article"...Now what you write can be a positive action or a negative action depending on the content.

There are 2 important aspects in Action

• Actions are determined by intentions
• Intentions are based on Awareness

What determines the action is not the 'act' itself, its the intention behind the action.. Both the Murderer and a Surgeon have a knife in hand to 'rip' open the body......but ones intention is to take life and others is to save life...

Similarly Paramjit gave the scenario of a recent charity dinner where one person comes forward and when every one looks on writes a hefty sum on a cheque and hand it over to the lord mayor. He gets a great applause. Another person meanwhile walks quietly along the side of the auditorium, writes a similar amount and drops it anonymously. No body notices this action. Both the persons were giving the same amount...so the action is the same, but the intention is different. Both had opened a 'karmic account'. The first one had settled it then and there itself, when he gets the applause, instant popularity and probably a television interview. For the second person he has now got a 'credit' in his/ her 'karmic account'.

In the cycle of "Past- Present- Future", the vital part is present. The present is 'the gift'. Make good use of present. Do positive action with good intention, unconditionally. Your past(or past karmas) cannot be changed and future (according to the law of karma) is based on present and past actions. So do good action altruistically in the present.

There are 3 ways to settle karma
1. Suffering
2. Good action
3. Is possibly the easiest way(?), which Paramjit promised to explore in the next session

A few more quotes from today

"Be simple and be a sample"
"Never give sorrow, never take sorrow"

We are half way through the course. It has been a fascinating journey so far and re-discovering ourselves. I must conclude that Paramjit is doing a great service to the society. om shanthi............

Raja Yoga- 1

Tonight we went for the second session of Raja Yoga at Peepul centre. This is the 8 session (4 week course ie twice per week; Tuesday and Thursday) meditation course organised by Brahma Kumaris of Leicester. The course is free and helps people look 'into' themselves, to attain peace and happiness what ever the situation is. I first went for this course in 2006 (though I did not finish the course at that time); this time I hope I would be able to complete all the eight sessions.

Meditation is the process of re-discovering, remembering and using the positive qualities already dormant with in our selves. From dormant to dominant...

Paramjit (who delivers the course) said that Raja-yoga has 'no single magical solution' to everyone's problems; It gives us the tool to work out our problems and find solutions or happiness. He reminded to constantly say "Iam a peaceful being" ie Om Shanthi....

First session (Tuesday- 03.02.09)

The aim of the course is to become self-sovereign ie become a master of yourself, your mind. Yoga means Connection/ Link/ Union ie a link between you and your mind.

The most important message from last session is about MIND. Mind is a non physical organ- A subtle energy.

In the mind, we first generate a thought, then we visualise these thoughts, analyse these thoughts, process them, remember other similar thoughts, imagine thoughts and take a decision.We are the creator of thoughts and we experience the thought. Every thought is energy. Thoughts determine how we feel.

There are four types of thoughts:

• Positive
• Negative
• Waste
• Planning

The positive thoughts are peace, happiness, hope, smile, wisdom, truth, freedom, self-respect, co-operation, love unity etc. Positive thoughts are constructive and makes you and people around you better. You have a positive aura or a connotation around you. Your face shows that and other people can feel the positive energy radiating from you; (every thought is 'energy') therefore positive thoughts generate positive energy. Keep on smiling with positive thoughts..Remember, Face is the index of mind..

Negative thoughts are anger, jealousy, frustration, sadness, hatred, lies etc. These are destructive and creates a negative connotation for you and people around you. Mind is like a rubbish bin. If we fill it with anger/ things of past it will generate more stress and bad odour. Remember, Anger is one letter ('D') short of DANGER

Waste thoughts are thoughts that often revolve around the past which we cannot change and do not have any control over. The vast majority (more than 80%) of our thoughts are 'waste' thoughts.

Planning thoughts are Neutral thoughts. Planning thoughts are acted upon creation eg washing face, putting on shirt etc, but do not emotionally affect us ie they do not have a positive or negative connotation associated.

There is no guarantee or certainty what will happen tomorrow or even next second. When you go to bed there is no guarantee that we will wake up tomorrow and every day we wake up, be happy and feel that we have a great day ahead of us, filled with all optimism and happiness. This also doesn't mean that we shouldn't plan anything; there should be a general planning, but not probably the finer aspects..that's all in the hands of someone/something else and this is not in our control.Yesterday is History; Tomorrow is mystery; and Today is ' the present' ie what you have. so enjoy it, be happy.

What we say, what we do and what we feel all have their origin in mind. The energy of the human mind is thought.The first and foremost step in Rajayoga is to recognise your thoughts. Try to have positive thoughts ie you are challenging yourself the way you think; between you and your mind. When one fully understand and harness it, one is able to master ones life and produce thoughts which give the most happiness and peace.

Second Session (Thursday 05.02.09)

The aim of todays session is to realise the true identity of self.

Who are you? Paramjit asked

One said 'Iam David'
Another said 'Iam a Human being'
Some one else said 'Iam a divine light inside'
Another person said 'Iam a Personality' (interesting to note that 'Persona' means Mask)
Another opinion was " Iam playing a role" ie a wife/ mother/ daughter etc

So is that a difficult question? Simple question but difficult to answer.
Who Am I? What is my true identity
The answer is Iam not 'this body', but Iam the soul/ spirit

The whole idea of this session is to change from " Body Consciousness" to "Soul Consciousness". when we are in the 'body conscious state' like majority of us are we are attached to conditions ie everything is based on the role we have. The whole happiness is on being the role/ external things..... like attachment to a person ie role of a father/ mother/ sister/ brother or Identifying ourselves with the qualification/ creation/ your new car etc.

When some one is in "Soul Consciousness" everything will be unconditional.. so it will be GIVING and not TAKING as in 'Body conscious' state......

Everything in the world will change. Our body/ cells are replaced regularly and we are not 'our body' a few years ago. Cells are constantly being removed and replenished. The only thing that doesn't change is CHANGE itself. According to laws in physics, Energy cannot be created nor destroyed and so Soul is eternal (but body will change)

Paramjit said about the example of a Surgeon at the hospital. A Surgeon when he operates on some one asks to bring in 'the patient' and if unfortunately the patient dies asks to take out 'the body' illustrating the point of soul and body. Understanding that you are soul being and not body being can be relatively easy, but to realise or experience that 'truth' may take time.

Jesus through Hindu eyes

Last night went to the talk "Jesus through Hindu eyes" by Shaunaka Rishi Das. There was a good crowd considering the time of the year. Shaunaka is from Wexford, Ireland and is the director of Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies (http://www.ochs.org.uk/)

It was a very interesting session and Shaunaka in his characteristic style talked about Jesus, teachings and bible and how this could be seen/ interpreted from a 'Sanathana Dharma' point of view. He definitely has great knowledge of both faiths as he was brought up as a Catholic before. He talked about Jesus as a 'Bhaktha yogi'. Jesus is the face of god and asks us to face god similar to Lord Krishna. This was very much like the 'Dvaitha' form of Hindu teaching.

A lively discussion followed. There were lot of Young people asking questions and getting involved in the debate. The questions included the act of atonement, resurrection, final judgment, concept of heaven and hell, trinity etc... The explanations I thought were very good and to the point while giving a holistic view to the faiths.