A H A M - Blog By Sharanya Chaitanya: May 2010

Monday, May 10, 2010

Patanjali Yoga Sutra II - 32

Five attitudes to Yoga
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Shaucha Santosha Tapas Swadhyaya Ishwara Pranidhanani Niyamaha||

Yama and Niyamas are the foundation of Yoga. Even after taking strides in the other steps of Pranayama, Asana, Dharana or Dhyana, it is important to continue the observation of Yamas or the five personal disciplines and the Niyamas or five attitudes of the mind.
The five Niyamas are Shaucha - Cleanliness of the mind and body, Santosha - Contentment, Tapas - Austerity, Swadhyaya - studying about the self which can specifically refer to the scriptures and the Upanishads. It also means to study directly about the self within - the nature of the thoughts and the essence behind the thoughts. The last Niyama is Ishwara Pranidhana or surrendering to the supreme consciousness that is the essential stuff of this expanding universe. Practice of any or all of these Niyamas constitutes Yoga by itself. - Swahilya Shambhavi.
(Picture: Pilgrims climbing the rocky Chaturagiri near Vaithirappu off Madurai, Tamil Nadu. Undertaking such arduous treks is a form of austerity or Tapasya of the body and mind.)

Monday, May 03, 2010

Patanjali Yoga Sutra - 32

Universal Vows

Jati Desha Kala Samaya Anavacchinna Saarva Bhauma Mahavratam||
The five Yamas of Ahimsa, Satya, Asteya, Brahmacharya and Aparigrahaha - enumerated in the earlier Sutra is a universal penance. It is non-negotiable and has to be followed without any compromise whatsoever, irrespective of the community, country, period, circumstance and situation we find ourselves in. How do these affect the Yamas? Well, if you are born into or are living with a family of hunters, then practice of non-injury becomes difficult. Yet, that is not an excuse.
If the whole society refuses to speak the truth, there is no excuse for the yogi who must practice Satya. If everyone is stealing audios and video CDs, then that does not exonerate the yogi from doing it.
These practices are difficult and are hence called Mahavratam or a great austerity. This is the beginning step of Yoga and these practices purify the mind. At any point of spiritual growth, there is no excuse from swerving from the Yamas.
It is a common happening in society to see someone rise to fame as a master in spirituality, wielding tremendous power in the minds of people. But, however high up on the pedestal they may be, one small action of theirs, walking away from the path of the Yamas is enough to send them hurtling down to the abyss of ignominy and ill repute. - Swahilya Shambhavi

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Aham: Food for the Soul

I think its time I write about one blogsite I love to visit more than any other in recent times. It is Swahilya's blog. Let me try my best to describe her blog site. She writes about anything and everything but with a spiritual bent of mind. I know that I have raised a few eyebrows here by calling a spiritual blog my favorite despite my strong inclination towards science. Every time I visit her blogsite I come out having learned something or the other. Many a times I have personally requested her to write on different topics and she obliged every single time. I will run out of superlatives if I try to describe her writing style...
*****

The Acquaintance

Hello! Is this Miss.Divine?,
Yes it is she said,
I heard the smoothest voice I ever had,
It did not command nor was it submissive,
I was totally mesmerized by the brilliance,
Awestruck by its mysterious charm,
The signals from her brain
perfectly interpreted by her vocal cords,
Poured out the intelligence that lay within,
I listened with the keenest of ears,
Is she human? I thought,
No, she is Miss. Divine,
She is my latest acquaintance,
The teacher that sits under the banyan tree,
Is she Buddha incarnate?
or is she the perfect answer?
The balance between creation and destruction?
Is this the birth of the cosmic intelligence?
She denies perfection,
Humility is her second name,
She worships the indestructible,
She is SWAHILYA.
*****
Thirumandiram CD - (Akshara Foundations)
- A review by R. Suryaprakash, Vocalist
Great epics, works of saints etc., are generally branded as “Immortal” and conveniently allowed to die a slow death as the Western concepts rapidly gain ground in our society. On such almost forgotten treatise is “Tirumandiram” of Tirumoolar. It is to be said that some of the other constituents of “Panniru Thirumurai” of Shaivism are still popular, such as “Thevaram” and “Thiruvachagam”, thanks to the grit of Oduvars who still sing the verses in temples.Tirumandiram has a spiritual charm, bordering on the occult and its beauty has been fully brought to the fore by a young and enterprising team by setting to tune, ten of its verses and rendering them in a CD album which is eminently listenable. This CD has been recently released by these devotees of Akshara Foundations, with the profound blessings of H H Swami Akshara.
The plan of rendition has been excellent, with meditative chanting of a verse by a single member by rotation, followed by group rendering of the same. This is followed by a short raga sketch/interlude in Veena. After that, the verse is rendered by the entire group as a song, set in the same raga as the interlude, along with mridangam accompaniment. This pattern is followed assiduously while rendering all the ten verses. The introductory chants are set in the raga Revathi for all the verses and have been rendered soulfully by each one of the participants. He choice of Revathi raga is apt, because, in the phrases “ ni. sa. ri sa. ri ni. sa. ri…pa. ni. sa ri. sa ni.ri. sa…” the Raga is Veda Mantra itself. The interludes and the rhythmic rendition of the verses are set in ragas which take you through a journey in blissful realms of traditional music. The opening verse “Aiyindu Karaththanai” , technically not a part of the original treatise but conventionally sung as “Vinayagar Thuthi” of Thirumandiram has been rendered in raga Nattai, which is most acceptable as the opening raga in our music tradition. “Aaadi Natta Anta Surati” goes the saying. The tala is Adi.The second one “Thiruvadiye Sivamaavathu…” follows in the raga Suddha Saveri, in Kanda Chapu tala. It is a welcome change in talam.“Anbum Sivamum…” is in Anandabhairavi, “Thunaiyaduvaai Varum…” in Hindolam, “Ullam perunkoyil …” in Shivaranjani (which is literally an archana to the Lord), “Thelivu Guruvin…” in Bageshri, “Yaan petra Inbam…” in Kalyani, “Marathai Mariththathu…” in Sama, “Man Onru Kandeer…” in Hamsanandhi, rounding off with “Naadaththin Andamum…” in Madhyamavathi, the last one very apt raga-wise and set in brisk Khanda Nadai. Others follow the regular eight-beat cycle (Adi talam) which has aesthetic simplicity. The verses are rendered in an order different from the above in keeping with mood/raga contrast. The interludes have been rendered with a sense of proportion and purpose by the Great Veena Vidushi Smt. Kalpakam Swaminathan, an octogenarian and a veteran who has been recently conferred with the birudhu Acharya Choodamani by Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, Chennai. Her rendering of thanam in Kalyani raga as an interlude for the verse “Yaan Petra Inbam….” is one of unbridled “Inbam” (joy) and one wishes that her greatness “Peruguga Iv Vaiyaham” (spreads all over the world)!The individual renderings have simplistic charm as they have been rendered with utmost dedication by participants who, barring a few, are not basically professional practitioners. The open throated rendering by Swahilya, who has a stentorian voice, sruti suddham and bhavam which immediately takes one to the sanctum sanctorum deserves special mention. The charming rendition of the opening verse by little Kavya is also very sweet and gives one the firm impression that she has got a great future. The involvement and competence of the others too, cannot be understated.
In all, this album stands out for its meditative effect, involvement of the participants, and most importantly the rendition in traditional method so as to give the listener, the satisfaction of having undergone a pilgrimage. “Thirumandiram” by Swahilya and her team merits universal listening and appreciation. - Purnima

Monday, May 10, 2010

Patanjali Yoga Sutra II - 32

Monday, May 03, 2010

Patanjali Yoga Sutra - 32

Aham

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