I am Margazhi among months!

When I was young, I was taught that the Tamil month of Margazhi (Dhanur Maas, Margashira) in mid-December was inauspicious. That was why weddings were not held in Margazhi but in the month preceding, Kaarthikai and the month following, Thai. In fact, the adage 'தை பிறந்தால் வழி பிறக்கும்' (ways open up when the month Thai is born), convinced us that good things only happen in Thai - Thaipusam and Thai Ponggal. Thaipusam celebrations are to venerate Lord Murugan for defeating the demon king, Padmasooran. Ponggal is a harvest festival to appreciate Nature's interplay that sustains us.

Then I heard a Kannadasan song composition classic from the movie 'Paava Manippu' (பாவமன்னிப்பு) named 'Kaalangil Aval Vasantham' (காலங்களில் அவள் வசந்தம்). In that song, the hero describes all his beau's excellent traits. If she were a flower, she would be jasmine; if she were a bird, she would be a dove and so on. He goes on to say if she were the month in the calendar, she would be Margazhi. Then it struck me. Perhaps Margazhi was a cold month, perfect to describe the lover, but it was inconvenient to come to attend relatives' weddings. I was happy with that explanation. For the same reason, delivery in August was not preferable as it was the height of summer. With the heat and all, puerperal sepsis must have been a real problem.

Now, I am hearing new things, which gives a big jolt to my contentment thus far.

Krishna declared Margazhi a special month. In fact, he described himself as Margazhi among months (Masanam Margasirso hum). So, it was not a figment of the Great Poet Kannadasan's imagination. It is in Margazhi that the Sun begins to move northward. When one looks at the direction of the Sun, one is looking at the direction of the Galaxy's centre. It is a special time for prayers. Early mornings in this month are ideal for spiritual practices. Shaivites and Vaishvanites have recitals of their scriptures. On the 11th day of the growing moon, Vaikunda Ekathasi is celebrated. It is believed that one of the doors to Vishnu's abode, Vaikundam, is open for serious Vishnu worshippers.

With so much going on in this auspicious month, waking up early to uplift mind and knowledge, there is no time for worldly duties like officiating weddings.

Milky Way Galaxy with our Sun in the Orion Arm – the Local Arm

https://bharathgyanblog.wordpress.com/2024/12/08/why-does-sri-krishna-refer-to-himself-as-margashira-month/

Kaalangalil Aval Vasantham

(the part about Margazhi is Bhagavad Gita derived,

not Kannadasan's imagination)

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The journey towards Satchitananda...

The Bhagavad Gita (25th Anniversary Edition, 2009)
Translated by: Winthrop Sargeant

Bhagavad Gita, a part of the Indian epic Mahabharata, has been translated many times over the years. Every translation asserts that it gives the most accurate account of the text, which was written in Sanskrit. It was initially told in oral traditions only to be written in the 2nd century CE. Translations are no easy feat in any language, what more an ancient language. Take, for example, the word dharma. It can be translated as duty, law, righteousness, virtue, and honour depending on the context. For that same reason, only the Holy Quran in the Arabic script is acceptable as the authentic one.

Most people spent a lifetime trying to understand what is written in the Gita. It is said to give, in a narrative way, the meaning of life. It comprises stories of interwoven nature. Each subplot carries its own weight and is able to impart wisdom and answer moral dilemmas. 

The chapter on the setting of the Bhagavad Gita gives an excellent overview of the mythological beginning of time, the primordial darkness to the creation of things all through to Manu, the ancient Kings / Gods and finally to Hastinapura, Pandavas and Kaurava. This chapter also gives the backstory to the genesis of the Kurushetra War. It clears many of the uncertainties to the ignoramus new readers of the Gita; like how Karna, who is fighting on the Kaurava's side has the same mother as the Pandavas and the bond that links many characters in Mahabharata and Ramayana.

The eternal all-pervading consciousness is eternal, indestructible and the ultimate reality. We see this in man's extraordinary creativity, courage, endurance and boundless compassion. Why, we also see this in animals' acts of kindness.

There must surely be many ways to achieve spiritual realisation. People with different temperaments attain this in their own separate paths - by being active, reflective, affective and experimentative (karma, jnana, bhakti and raja yogas respectively). These paths unite the practitioner with Sat-Chit-Ananda (Truth, Consciousness and Bliss), the higher Intellect of the Universe, the single Unity.

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The game that can't be won, only played.

The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000)
Director: Robert Redford

At first glance, one can see that there is Hindu philosophy written all over it. Even the title Bagger Vance had an uncanny ring to the word 'Bhagavan', which means God in Sanskrit. It must be no coincidence that the storyline mirrors that of Mahabharata. If in the Battle of Kurukshetra,  a nervous Arjuna had the jitters on the eve of the great battle, here a talented golfer, Rannulph Junuh (Matt Damon), who had seen better times before going to World War 1, has to fight his inner demons to regain composure to win a golf tournament and re-live his life as he was supposed to. Just like how Krishna, the Bhagavan's avatar, appears to put Arjuna on the right track, here 'Bagger Vance' (Will Smith) manifests from nowhere to put Junuh's life in order.

The gist of the story goes like this. Junuh was an up and coming golfer in the era before the Great War. The war made him a wreck, and he soon went to oblivion immersed in alcohol and petty gambling. Adele (Charlize Theron), the daughter of a wealthy owner of a golf course, tried to revive the greens as it was about to be repossessed. A golf tournament with significant prize money was organised. Junuh, as the local hero, was cajoled in taking part. A somewhat reluctant Junuh finally gave in. A mysterious man arrived at the scene to offer his caddie services. The rest of the story is not your typical sports drama but one of which infused with pearls of wisdom and symbolism of life. Even though Bagger Vance talked about golf swings, grip on the golf club and individual's authentic swing, the audience has no doubt that he was indeed talking about facts of life.

When Bagger preached about being in harmony with the swing of things, we are sure that he talked about attuning to the right frequency to sync with what we are doing. Like Ramanujam, who managed to receive so much knowledge about things that were not even thought of during his time by harmonising to the frequency that helped him secure mathematical formulas from his deity, Goddess Namagiri. A century later, scientists are still trying to understand his calculations as slowly, one by one, they are making sense. Imagine, Ramanujam had formulas for black holes even before scientists were talking about them.

Many Hindus would agree that the many representations of Gods and Goddesses as seen in India and wherever the Indian diaspora had migrated are mere conduits for its practitioners to invoke particular vibrations that resonate with specific intentions. For example, Goddess Saraswathi is revered when education is the frontline in worshippers. Nataraja, the Master ecstatic cosmic dancer, is naturally summoned to guide budding classical dancers. But, to the uninitiated, these murtis are mere figurines. They fail to recognise the wisdom behind the physicality. They cannot see the woods for the trees. 

Bagger Vance describes golf as a game that cannot be won, only played. Is it not the same for life too? We think we have overcome fate. We have it all for stacked it all for infinity, for self, descendants and beyond. We accumulate material gains and power that last a lifetime many times over. We are sure we have won only to be smacked on the head to realisation. We do not win the game of life. We are just players on the stage set by the puppet master to be hoodwinked into falling prey to the illusionary nature of the time that we live in.

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Truth, as we see it!

My Gita (2015)

Devdutt Pattanaik

The author drew a lot of flak from the so-called Sanskrit scholars and Hindutva protectorates for his inaccuracies in its translation, factual 'errors' and understanding of the scriptures. The purist, the defenders of the Hindu inscriptions assert that he is not a qualified person to give his interpretation of the revered holy book. Bhagavad Gita, the poem of the God, is sacred scripture. They assert that one has to be a Brahmin or ordained to do the mammoth task of interpreting the Gita. In short, not every Tom, Dick and Harry can tell his views. I thought it reeked a lot like many of the fundamentalists and religious zealots amongst us who insist that there is one way to the Truth and it is their way. There is no compromise in religion.
Pandits (not pundits) like Rajiv Malhotra and Nityanand Misra also take offence to classifying Bhagadvita as a myth. Most intellectuals today accept happenings in Gita as historical occurrences, not a story.

That is the exact thing the writer is to dispel. The Gita is a discourse that happened between a charioteer who happened to be Krishna himself and a warrior of the Pandava clan, Arjuna, who had cold feet on the eve of a decisive battle. This conversation was apparently telepathically intercepted by the enemy medium, Sanjaya, who informed the blind Kaurava King, Dhritarashtra. So what is written in the Gita is essentially the interpretation of Sanjaya as he told the King. What Krishna meant to say may not seem to have been what Arjuna understood. What Sanjaya inferred from his tapping from his understanding may be hampered by the jargons. What Dhritarashtra, the father of his sons who were to go war, would like to hear would have been about the safety of his sons. The take-home message is that a narration may appear different to different individuals. It is all one's viewpoint. Hence, Pattanaik feels justified to give his take on the text. No one has exclusive rights to God's poems. 

Our way of thinking is thematic. Over the years, over generations, our priorities vary. For this reason, our perception of the Truth, the solution to problems in life and our outlook on life changes with time. There is no single right or wrong answer to any question. There are no right or wrong actions. Everything is perspective. Arjuna's slaying of his cousins, uncles and nephews may appear unjust, but it may be a necessary evil to the continuity of the kingdom. On the other hand, the whole war is just a familial dispute over worldly things like property and pride. Unfortunately, sometimes painful events have to happen. It is the order of Nature.

Although the answers to all these dilemmas are not given on a platter, it provides us with a platform to discuss, argue and justify our moves. The scriptures are not dogmatic on what is the correct action but give different perspectives on things - all roads lead to Rome or nine ways to skin a cat.

The message put forward in the Gita is one for the householder, one who does not lead a hermetic life but one who embraces relationships within a family unit. At the time of writing, the flavour of the time was incorporating family life in seeking the Truth. The times were changing from one of a recluse and celibate, as advocated by Buddhists' scholars to one inclusive of conjugal relationships and the by-products. From one of wanting to reach eternal bliss (moksha), the society must have morphed to one that emphasises good governance and order (?dharma). War is not for vengeance or ambitions but is about equilibrium.

With a social order, the law will help the helpless and provide justice; without it, the law is just a tool for control, oppression and sabotage.

The author goes on to talk about the importance of exchange in the Hindu rituals. The rituals done here are a mean of exchange. The practitioner of act offers his offerings to Nature and receives what is given back; not with the intention to demand.  

In my opinion, our obsessive journey to seek the Truth will surely meet a dead-end. It is what we make of it. It may come in slices. We need to use our behaviours, emotions and intellect to find a solution.

© chandrugidwani

The symbolism of life. The chariot, the reins, the horses, 

the charioteer, the wheels etc.

 https://asok22.wixsite.com/real-lesson 

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The Book of Books!

Decoding the Gita, India’s book of answers 

Roopa Pai | TEDxNMIMSBangalore.