MADNESS FROM MOTHER'S MILK STAGE !

No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness 

(Aristotle)

It's an elderly saying in telugu that "verri vepa ginja antayina vuntundi" ! That means as a matter of fact everybody on this earth has atleast a neem seed (margosa) size of madness, born out of innocence of course, in their childhood. The veracity of this statement need not be disputed once we recollect our child hood adventurism. Any doubt? Once I observed my grandson tying a thin thread (fit to be inserted in a needle) to iron rod in the front balcony of second floor and letting it loose downwards. I curiously inquired about his intention. He smartly replied in case all the members of watchman family in the ground floor are to be saved from any accident, they can climb up this thread and escape from danger. His thought of 'saving' clearly surpassed all the knowledge about physical proportions of the tools required.

Of course I too am no exception to this state of being mad which is not of recent origin but persisting congenitally right from  my mother's breast feeding. It even took control of  me in all facets of my living. It doesn't leave me on it's own accord. Nor is there any one to come to my help to drive away this madness from  me.

Now let us grapple with what sort of 'madness' we, the earthly human beings, are all suffering from, in common ! It is the egoistic attitude dominating in this Name and Form, "Dehatma Bhavana", belittling the existence of Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient Almighty who is our real Protector and Savior ! It is in this madness only we regard our achievements as our own abilities without any intervention of Supreme Head ! 

Annamacharya deals with this congenital madness and its remedy in his sankeeertana, "Verri Manupa Revvaru, Veduru Na Yanta Viduvadu". This sankeertana is one of very few highly emotionally charged, in singing with own tune.

'No body is there to help in driving away the madness in me; nor does it leave from me on it's own accord. This madness is with me right from my mother's breast feeding days. It overwhelmingly possessed of me.

'When there is the Almighty who is determined to take care of his creation of all worlds, I belittled and ignored his uncountable might and in all stupidity,  embarked on looking after my family's welfare and became laughing stock in the eyes of the fellow beings. What shall I say about this madness.

'Almighty is there residing within me looking after ever pleasure and pain of mine. On the other hand, I ascribed all these happenings to the actions of my own fellow human beings and pursued after them. Thus going about them I got more and more entangled in the all sorts of Karmas- Prarabdha , Sanchita, Vaidika. What shall I say about this madness.

'Even though the Lord himself is right before me granting all my wishes, being blind to realize  his presence, I foolishly ran after other human beings begging for favours. How ever now that my mentor has apprised me  of the Almighty, I have discovered the path of enlightenment. It is being exposed now to me that all my earlier part of this life as well as my earlier births were fraught with madness only - 'madness' of ignorance about Almighty's presence!

This sankeertana is a pointer common to all the human being on this earth. In clear terms it regards our ignorance about the omnipresent Almighty as 'madness' that is subsisting with us right from mother's breast feeding days. Let us come out of this 'madness'  of 'blissful ignorance' with awakening of our consciousness  about the Almighty!

"Verri Manupa Revvaru, Veduru Na Yanta Viduvadu" (own tune)

Murru Balu (Mother's Milk) !

Om Shanti !

WHAT COMES ALONG ; WHAT LEFT BEHIND !

"Vodi Gattu Kone Dedi, Volla Nane Dedi"! 

(What's carried along, what's left behind)

Divine knowledge par excellence ! How much thankful shall we be for being blessed with the wealth of information imparted by our great predecessors in the form of rishis, yogis, poet savants, guiding us towards realization of the Almighty, The Eternal Truth! "Brahma Satyam Jagat Mithya" ! These Mithya Jagats are but the Almighty's own making. Once the  illusory nature of all the creation, the multiverses, the beings that inhabit both animate, inanimate, is comprehended, our perspective  in this world becomes clear and unambiguous !

In his sankeertana, "Ainattayi Gaka Hari Kalpitamu Livi", the poet savant Annamacharya depicts the initial dilemma of what to do and what not to do, what to follow what not to follow, what to possess what not to possess; and gradually leads us to the ultimate reality of Illusion of this worldly farce, as there is nothing to carry or to leave behind!

'When all the happenings in this Creation are but the Illusory play of the Almighty, and happen as ordained by the Almighty, then what is there to judge what is to be followed and what not to be followed.

'Among the beings, one does not have thoughts like those of another person. The opinions among the beings are with vast divergence. Oh, the root is one but the branches, creepers are diverse. Whereto come closer and where to abstain!

'One's deeds are not lauded by his neighbour. And the actions of the beings are diverse and multi dimensional in nature. Food one relishes might be the same yet  appetites differ from person to person. Which actions are to be supported and which are not!

'The words of the poor and down trodden are not pleasant to the wealthy one. The relations among the beings take diverse forms. Almighty is One but his created worlds are diverse. In realization of this, what is that  to be carried along with and what is that to be left behind here in this (illusory) world !'

Such sankeertanas like these are a clear eye opener for us in understanding the illusory nature of all our deeds in this mundane existence which are ordained by the Almighty! In this context, we may recollect the message, Alexander The Great, had passed down to the posterity, " See my Empty Hands. In spite of vast empire with riches  I possessed, I am not taking anything from this world"! It's a way leading towards enlightenment about our identity not with the 'form and name'  in this world but with the Eternal !

"Ainattayi Gaka Hari Kalpitamu Livi"

"Leaving This World Empty Handed"!

(Alexander The Great)

Om Shanti !

TRANSCENDING DUALITY

Day and night; big and small; thick and thin; good and bad; happiness and sorrow; so on so forth, all the duality of contrasts are the perceptions of the mind interacting with this creation. Divine knowledge is that one which when awakened sees through these contrasts, one common source, a well thought out  executed pattern of 'Maya' (illusory play) cast by the Almighty. Total surrender with devotion to the Almighty elevates the seeker to a level of silent spectator, an unbiased witness to all happenings in this mortal existence on earth as identification of Self  with the Eternal is realized!

Transcending the contrasting duality in this Creation  is deftly dealt with by Annamacharya in his sankeertana  "Melu Ledu Tilu Ledu Minchi Nide Hari Maya".....

'There is no good and there is no bad, no salubrious and no harmful, but for they being the part of the grand play of Illusion - Hari Maya; Realized now here itself, in this very birth, about the liberated  Self!

'All the 'devatas' - deities, gods are the beings of this creation; and in the same manner, all the 'danavas' - demons too are the beings of the creation only. The difference between them being that of  their characteristic attributes. The devatas' abode ordained to be 'heaven' and the abode of 'danavas' ordained to be 'hell' on account of their respective Papa Punyas - karmic deeds of piety and sin.

'All women are the beings of this creation and in the same way all men too are beings of this creation; the difference among them mainly  being consciousness of feelings.  The masculine robustness giving sense of freedom in one and feminine tenderness giving feeling of dependence in the other. Accordingly one enjoys supremacy and the other submissiveness.

'All kings are beings of this creation only and all the myriads of  servants too are beings of this creation verily. The difference is possession of might, wealth, power in the former and dearth of it in the latter.
The way out to overcome all this duality of contrasts is taking refuge in the Almighty which frees one from all  Karmas that are responsible for 'bondage' as well as  'liberation' !'

Thus the seeker's attainment of this state of 'witness' makes him to accept things and happenings as they are, with the stance of "It's Alright", as he is awakened to the reality of illusory duality and permanence of the Eternal Self!

"Melu Ledu Tilu Ledu Minchi Nide Hari Maya" (own tune)

 The King and the Servants

Om Shanti !