Not just pastime, it's knowledge!

Every living day is a new learning experience. Thanks to Hollywood and the various sci-fi movies they produced, Joe Public is cognisant of time travel, the concept of time, and the expansionary nature of the Universe. Still, we have a long way to go to be well-versed in these areas.

It is mind-boggling how some ancient Indian scriptures, which some quickly label as unbelievable mythological tales, carry some of the most fantastic astronomical knowledge with them. Forget about their authenticity; the wisdom embedded in them warrants a second look. Perhaps these tall tales are mere side dishes to the main course that they serve. Let us not be swayed by unbelievable events that defy logic. Let us have the know-how to differentiate the trees from the forest.

Two recent concepts that piqued my interest come from two stories mentioned in the Mahabharata, Srimad Bhagavatam and Vishnu Purana. They discuss time dilation and the cyclical nature of time.

Legend had it that King Kakudmi had a multi-talented daughter named Revathi. She was a prodigy and excelled in many areas, and the father thought no one was quite appropriate to marry her. Kakudmi made an interstellar trip to Sathyaloka, the abode of Lord Brahma, the creator of the Universe. After waiting for a musical performance to be over, he was given an audience.

Upon hearing Kakudmi's predicament, the Lord burst into laughter. Aeons had passed during Kakudmi's absence from Earth. His grandsons had died, and all of Revathy's suitors had passed on. By the time they returned to Earth, it would be another yuga* (epoch). Brahma had an idea coincidentally. Vishnu was performing one of his avatars as Krishna's brother, Balarama. She could marry him.

The story introduces the concept the movie Interstellar tries to convey. The youthful protagonist trapped in another realm can only see his loved one grow old and wither away.

I remember this from Einstein's theory of relativity; essentially, the faster you move, the slower time seems to go for you relative to someone at rest.

The next concept that turned my head was the story of Hanuman retrieving Lord Rama's ring in the netherworld.

It was time for Lord Rama to leave his mortal body. Unfortunately, as Hanuman was forever beside him, guarding him, Lord Yama could not take his life. Understanding this, Rama sent Hanuman on a mission. He dropped his ring into the crack of Earth and summoned Hanuman to look for it. Using his special powers, Hanuman made a dash for it only to meet the Serpent Queen, Vasuki, and a mountain of similar rings that Rama had dropped.

Vasuki explained the cyclical nature of time when life is lived repeatedly. The mountain of rings denotes the number of times Rama had thrown his ring for Haniman to retrieve. Perhaps, like the film ‘Sliding Doors', our lives follow different trajectories but ultimately lead to the same end. Unlike Western philosophers' understanding of time, from creation to the end of entropy, Hindu thinkers posit that everything repeats itself cyclically. Various yugas portray different human behaviours that ultimately lead to their self-destruction just to jump-start all over again.

All these so-called ‘myths’ need to be re-examined. They are not mere mumbo jumbos. There is much knowledge to scoop, told in poems and tall stories spiced up with the Gods' extracurricular activities to spur the interests of their listeners.

*Time is divided into four unequal parts (yuga) in multiples of 432,000 years. After a complete cycle, time repeats itself. 

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Approaching the Inevitable Destruction?

Oppenheimer (2023)

Director: Chrsitopher Nolan

A few times in the Bhagavadgita, Krishna is said to have shown His true self, Vishvaroopam. He is said to have uttered the now-famous quote, “Now I become Death, the destroyer of worlds”.

J. Robert Oppenheimer, himself a Sanskriti scholar, upon witnessing the detonation of a successful nuclear explosion and seeing the highly explosive nature of his experimentation, is credited to have mentioned the same line.

Now that Oppenheimer’s experience is immortalised on the silver screen with Hollywood’s latest offering, this quote has been scrutinised extensively. One Hindu scholar even mentioned that he had never read such a line in the epic. Something close to the text in the scripture about the destruction of the worlds in Chapter 12, verse 11, is about Time. Time as being the destroyer of physical things. In other words, the scholar Devdutt Pattnaik says Oppenheimer had misinterpreted the text.

The movie apparently was released in two versions. One specific for the Indian and Middle Eastern audiences was released with a U certification, and another with an R rating for the rest of the world so as not to hurt the Hindu sentiments. Still, many are up in arms. The above-mentioned sacred quote is uttered during an intimate sex scene. As the scene had scant relevance to the flow of the story and the availability of two versions, naysayers feel it is a deliberate attempt at mischief.

The movie is a gripping one, depicting a time when the Western world was developing its physical sciences by leaps and bounds. A time when quantum sciences was in its infancy and molecular science was beyond atoms, protons and electrons. We are discussing when Heisenberg, Bohr and Einstein could fit into the same narrative. With the development of science, the trust in the entity of God to take care of His subject diminished. Increasingly, people believed that aristocracy, theocracy and capitalism would not save mankind. Human malady had to be held by its horns, and the socialist and communist rule would spread wealth and justice justly. Leftist ideology was spreading worldwide, especially after witnessing the 1928 stock market crash and the two world wars that ensued.

Father of Atomic Bomb

As it is now, academics have always been leftist in their mindset. Added to Oppenheimer’s liaisons and the era of McCarthyism, Robert Oppenheimer became a scapegoat for allegations of leftist activities. In a gist, this set the storyline. As the enquiry goes on, we get the backstory of his early life, his affair, his wife, his appointment to head the Los Alamos project, the successful Manhattan project, his subsequent regret of unleashing the nuclear beast and his animosity with his working colleagues.

Back in 1980, BBC released a 7-part miniseries on Oppenheimer, starring a young Sam Waterston. Oppenheimer’s predicaments were expressed in a more unrushed manner covering his story in depth as if it was a miniseries.

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Dharma is doing what is necessary

Aaranya Kaandam (ஆரண்ய காண்டம், Tamil, Jungle Chapter; 2011)
Story and Direction: Thyagarajan Kumaraja

The Jungle Chapter refers to the third chapter in the epic Ramayana where Raavana deceptively uses a deer into tricking and kidnapping Sita. Here, the storyteller uses characters with animal names to symbolically represent our animal-like behaviours in a world that has jungle rules. 

It starts with a purported dialogue between Chanakya, the Mauryan master strategist, a kind of ancient Machiavelli, and a student in 400 BC.

Student: "What is dharma?"
Chanakya: "Dharma is doing what is necessary."

With that one line, I was hooked. The film is a gangster fare, but not the usual gory senseless machete-branding South Indian style. It is the characterisation and storytelling that kills. It is labelled as the first neo-noir Tamil film.

In life, we are faced with many obstacles. What is the determinant that decides the right course of action? Do we use society-determined code of conduct as the yardstick? Is it about survival and self-interest? As it is a noir movie where poetic justice takes a backseat, the story is quite revolutionary, and the ending is entirely unexpected.

People follow the rules not because it is a noble thing to do. They do it because of the shame of being caught. Given a choice, people want to be left to their own devices. Jungle law will take over. The mighty, the brave, the cunning and the heartless would prevail. This must be the hidden message behind the movie -the jungle as the title and how the character names resemble that of animals. (Singaperumal-lion, Pasupathy-cow, Gajendran-elephant, Subbu-fox, Sappai-rat, Kasturi-deer). Guilt is momentary and forgotten when they experience pleasure. The end-results justify the means.

The Lion and the Rat

The plot revolves around an insecure ageing don, Singaperumal (Jackie Shroff), whose erectile dysfunction is an open secret. His lieutenant, Pasupathy, is itching for a lucrative but dangerous cocaine deal despite the boss' disapproval. Don tries to trap him and kidnap his wife. In an error of chaos, the cocaine gets into the hand of a destitute and his precocious son. He tries to blackmail Don for the return of stash.

Don's abused young mistress has an affair with Don's helper boy whom everyone thinks is an idiot. In reality, he is bedding the mistress and plans to elope with her.

Things get really complicated with everybody killing everybody either through brute violence and through wit. There is no right or wrong. The correct thing to do seem to be one that benefits oneself at the point of reference. One cannot shed off the idea the director must be a Tarantino fan. Nobody else uses a piece of merry Spanish music as background score as two rivals rush towards each other brandishing machetes. Again in a pure noir finishing the characters engage in soliloquy and a femme fatale rides into the sunset as the final victor. In this film, Subbu turns up as the winner. She utters, "the best thing about being a woman is that it is a man's world." She had outwitted the dumb helper, killed him and was the final benefactor of the loot. The Don was shot dead by Sappai. In her last dialogue, she said, "Sappai was, after all, a man, and all men are Sapppai."

Sappai also could mean limp/impotent. Hence, denoting that Men, despite the machoism that they seem to portray, are actually weak and can be manipulated by the fairer sex with wit and their sexuality.

The film had to undergo 52 cuts for profanity and unPC jokes about Kamal Haasan and Rajnikanth.

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Decision, decisions

When I was young, either by ignorance or defiance, I tended to look down at the wisdom laid down by the Eastern sages but looked up at what, at that time appeared avant-garde, pop culture. With age, hopefully, wiser, I am exposed to the much wisdom that the Eastern philosophers had to offer. And I was just thinking of something I heard the other day.

Amongst the numerous moral dilemmas highlighted in the Mahabaratha, there is one which involved a priest. He was just sitting minding his business doing his priestly work. Along came a group of desperate men apparently running from something or someone. The desperate people were running from a band of thieves who were out to rob and probably kill them. They did not want the priest to tell them the direction of their route.

Sure enough, moments later, a group of menacing looking robbers appear.  The priest was put in a spot when asked about the whereabouts of the earlier men. His understanding of life is that one should be telling the truth, and nothing else would do. If he were to show them the right direction, which is the right thing to do, the innocents would be killed and robbed. If he were to deny any knowledge, the dacoits would surely beat the truth out of him. To lie and show them the opposite direction would be deceit, which was a no-no! Hence, the dilemma! He did what he thought was the best thing to do, to tell the truth. Apparently, the Gods were not happy when he died. He was sent to Hell.

Another moral conundrum evidenced in the Mahabaratha, as from many, is the process of assailing of Drona. The teacher who changed allegiance, after being humiliated by the Pandavas, had the knowledge of a secret weapon. The only way to defeat him was to catch him off-guard. Krishna, sometimes referred to as the inner conscious, suggested that the Pandavas tell a white lie. He was to be told that Ashwatthama, his son, was dead.

The truth of the matter is that Ashwatthama was not dead, it was all a facade. The question was that whether it was alright to lie. Krishna asserted that winning for an honourable reason was noble. When an enemy could not be defeated in the usual the straight-forward manner, victory by deceit is acceptable. For Yudhishtra, the eldest of the Gaurava's sons, who could tell no lie, could not proceed such a line of a devious plan. He was made to be convinced that indeed there was an elephant named Ashwartthama which was killed. Hence, technically he was not lying! For other brothers, Arjuna and Bheema, it did not really matter. They felt that they, of the warrior stock, just wanted to win.

The point here is that it is not easy to make the right decision that would satisfy all quarters. Nobody actually knows whether an act is a noble one at that juncture. Prevailing circumstances and the societal set of moralities determine its appropriateness. The wisdom of a particular action could be a judgement in retrospect. We are mere mortals, how are we to know?

N.B. These are just part of a tale of intertwiningly epic proportions. Every action in Mahabharata is justified in sometimes contradictory fashions. What is good for the Kings may not be appropriate for the peasant. Like Schopenhauer said, we glorify the past and the points that suit our agenda. Not everything in the past is bad, and not everyone in the past was noble.

Come what may!

The Greeks say that a true Stoic sage would not crack under pressure. He would take all the curve balls that life hurls at him at the same stride as he embraces joy. He would find happiness in the simplest of things in life and would not gloat of others’ misgivings or be envious of others’ successes. He knows that everyday accomplishment has its weak points and every underachievement its merit!

King Rama must have slipped into this role, a true Stoic sage, quite well. Imagine the tragedies that bemoaned upon him. He, however, continued performing his various duties, as a ruler, a son, a crowd pleaser without losing focus. Perhaps, the priorities of being an exemplary husband or a doting father did not fall into his dictionary.

After waiting so many years in line for the realm, just when the ascent to the throne is imminent, he had to take a back seat and retreat into the jungle for 14 years. That too, because of some nonsensical promise made by his father.  Imagine an exile into the unforgiving woods, with a new bride hardly accustomed to the hardship of life. Life in the wild was no walk in the park either. Keeping intruders away was a challenge. If that was not enough,  his young wife had to be kidnapped because of some old flame issues.

Recruiting an army in a far away land down south was no easy feat. For which, he could not thank his Tamil friends enough. Rama carried the guilt of killing a just and learned king who was revered by his subjects. What about his dear friends that gave up their lives in the meaningless battle? Rama carried all that guilt.

Just when he thought all were over with the burning city and death of the ‘evil’ monarch and that he could rule Ayodhya in peace, political turmoil dictated that his wife is exiled again. If that was not enough, his wife had been pregnant when he sent her off! If not for the sage, Valmiki, she would not have survived the ordeal. What more, she had a pair of twin boys without his knowledge for years!

If fate were indeed cruel, it did rear its ugly head in Rama’s case. The sacrificial horse had to wander into their territory and his kids, Luv and Kush, had to defend it. Even before meeting his dear wife, she succumbed to her old age. Imagine, a father who not only misses his fatherly duties but almost killing them in the line of duty!

In spite of all these obstacles in life, Rama continued his worldly obligations, allegedly without flinching, surrendering, faithful to natural justice, staying steadfast to his Dharma. That must have been the reason for his elevation to God-like status comparable to the Protector of the world!

Not just a tale...

Karnan (Tamil; 1964)


I vividly remember my history teacher and her inappropriate remark when we covered Indian Civilisation in Form 1. She was explaining Mahabharata, an epic story of a war between two families, Pandavas and Kauravas where Krishna was on the side of the Pandavas. She remarked, “Can you imagine a war where God takes sides?”

Well, the truth is far from that. Well, the truth has so many layers to it that the truth may not appear like the Truth, the real Truth and the only Truth. It may seem wrong or cruel. This is the essence of the lesson all the ancient scriptures are trying to tell us. Everything that happens in life is not all white or black. The Pandavas are not the good guys. Neither are Kauravas epitome of evil. Is it determinism that made a son fight his brothers? Is it the free will of the people around us that decide on daily occurrences? Does one good deed deserves another, is it like a token that we can use as ‘get out of jail’ free card? These are some of the uncertainties of life that are depicted in this movie from the perspective of Karnan, yet another character of many from Mahabharata. It is an extremely philosophical film that may excite those who have reached a certain stature in life and wonder what the heck the journey of life is all about.

With the doyens of South Indian cinemas, Sivaji Ganesan, NT Ramarao, SA Asokan, Muthuraman, in the limelight, this is no short of melodrama. As in any ancient scriptures, the female characters took the backstage. Nevertheless, Savithri, Devika and MV Rajamah made their presence felt.

The story of Mahabharata can go on for eons. Hence, this film only looks at certain events in the life of Karnan. It is also interesting to note there are many overlaps in their stories narrated in these ancient scriptures.

Kundi, a virgin, from the Pandava clan, is impregnated by Lord Surya (Sun God) after a worship. She, a maiden, delivers a Godchild with a celestial armour and congenital earrings of power. To avert subsequent embarrassment, she abandons the child in a vessel by the river, donned in royal regalia and colours. Hold behold, it sounds of a clip from the Bible, of God impregnating virgin, abandonment of baby floating in the river.

The child, who grows up to be Karnan, is brought up by a charioteer, a supposedly a degrading job. Karnan later discovers that his adoptive status and being in the lower strung of society bars him from exhibiting his prowess in arching and combative skills. Even, asking for a hand in marriage to Subarangi is a stumbling block. The only person who gives him credence and respect is his friend, Duryodhana. He makes him a warrior and a ruler. But then, even Duryodhana, the eldest of the Kauravas' son has ulterior motives. He sees Karnan's skills as an asset to win over the Pandavas.

Interestingly, the Lord of the Skies (Indra) who favours the Pandavas hoodwinks Karnan, who can never say no to charity, and cheats him of his celestial armour and congenital ear-rings of power.

As you know, the war between the two cousins started from a dice game. The eldest of the 5 Pandava is an avid gambler loses his kingdom and everything he owned, including his brothers and wife, Draupadi, not once but twice. After returning from an exile of 13 years, the two factions return to the negotiating table. Failing to reach an agreement, war it was.

By then, Kundi already knows the identity of Karnan. Caught in a catch-22 situation, fear of losing her sons on either side, (her five children on Pandava and Karnan on Kauravas), she, with the conniving plan of Krishna (an avatar of Lord Vishnu), make a complex deal with Karnan. That Karnan could not kill any of the five brothers and Karnan could only shoot his magic arrow once at Arjuna.

As the twist of fate had it, Karnan is cheated of his victory. His chariot wheel gets caught in a pot-hole, and his charioteer with attitude abandons ship. Karnan is shot and is mortally wounded. Even at that juncture, Karnan still manages to give alms to a begging Brahmin.

At the end of the movie, during his dying moments, as all family members wail and moan Karnan’s loss, Krishna explains that Arjuna cannot claim personal victory or blame for killing Karnan. The Gods cannot be blamed either for making him kill his brother. It is all an interplay of many activities that decide an occurrence. Arjuna defeated Karnan because Lord Indra took his armour, Kundi got a boon not to fire a second arrow, the chariot should hit a hole (curse by Bhoomadevi), the charioteer should abscond, and Karnan gave away his good deeds. Good deeds (dharma) protect one from harm, as Karnan’s charity almost gave him invincibility.

N.B. There are no good people and bad people. Even the worst of people do the best of things sometimes. And the apparently virtuous of us do have skeletons in our closets. An interesting point, King Dhritarashtra, the blind king of the Kauravas, sired 100 sons and a daughter. His wife, Queen Gandhari sits beside him on the royal throne blindfolded to feel the predicament of a blind person personally.

There was a time...

Saw two snippets this week about the greatness of ancestors of two lands of which, in the present world need to show a lot to prove themselves. One giant had just awoken from a long slumber after yoke of colonialism and another which was prophesying philosophy to the world at a time when the world was inhabited by savages.

Firstly, I found out about the engineering marvels of India in 1500 BCE when they could build a 35km bridge, Ram Sethu, between the southernmost peak of India and tip of Ceylon. In that age and time, they built a bridge with trees and flat stones that stood the test of time. The rise in sea-levels and priorities in other things in life made it a relic of the past. Now all that marvel is lost in the annals of time and its subjects live at the mercy of the international world for survival. Of course, there are tonnes of know-how too unevenly distributed around the country for comfort.

Epicurus

Next, turn to Greece. Now they seem the pariah who seems to be depending on hand-outs and write-offs from its neighbouring countries who are simply fed up with their lack of austerity. It seems to be to be a far cry from the times they used to be. At a time when their neighbours were in the wilderness trying to make sense of living and survival, the Greeks already had a cradle of civilisation so advanced that they were discussing metaphysical aspects of life. Epicureanism and Stoicism were concerned about the divine attitude towards human and philosophy of life. This advanced civilisation reached their pinnacle and now they are at the mercy of others, who were at one time, just plain savages! So what happened?

Time and tide waits for no man. Nothing lasts forever. It is the circle of life. There is a time for the dog and a time for the elephant. Big indestructible powers and gone. It is just the flavour of times....

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