An Interconnected World

[Guest guest]

Here is a column permeated with the spirit and philosophy of

Shaktism, taken from last Sunday's New India Express. It's written

by a young music student recounting her joyous realization

that "Everything is interconnected. The world that surrounds us is a

vast complex circuit board where every single thing is connected to

every other thing. And why not, because all existence draws from the

same Divine source, the same Power House ..."

 

The train of thoughts that she follows from this realization is

personal and idiosyncratic, but quite beautiful. Please read it if

you have the time and inclination. As usual, the link to the

original is given below:

 

AN INTERCONNECTED WORLD

By Ratna Rajaiah

 

We begin every session of yoga practice with chanting. The first

part is the chanting of 'Om' in a particular sequence starting with

what my yogacharya calls low pitch or mandara, then medium pitch or

madhayama, finally high pitch or uttaraka. Then back to medium pitch

and finally low, the last step. Five Om's.

 

In the musical scale, only two of the notes are `pure' or achal

swaras, in that they have no sharp or flat. Sa (shadaja) and Pa

(Panchama). Therefore, every Carnatic music class begins with the

singing of these two notes. Low Sa, at the beginning of the scale.

Pa, in the middle of the scale. Finally high Sa, at the end of the

scale. And then back to — Pa, and finally, Sa. Just like we do at

the beginning of each yoga session.

 

Five notes. Five Oms. A realisation that came to me a few weeks ago

and blew my mind away in joy ... Everything is interconnected. The

world that surrounds us is a vast complex circuit board where every

single thing is connected to every other thing. And why not, because

all existence draws from the same Divine source, the same Power

House.

 

We are all connected in millions of ways, some of which we know and

understand. And for every connection we make, there are a thousand

more that we don't know about and perhaps will never know in this

lifetime. But the knowledge itself should make us tiptoe through the

world every single day. First in awe at the exquisite, precise,

perfection of this vast, divine Integrated Circuit Board. Then in

humility that there is not a single creature, however weird or

unnecessary to our eyes, the most useless rock that does nothing but

be a rock, the most seemingly incomprehensible movement of wind or

water, are all there for a reason.

 

So what has the lumpy, unprepossessing jackfruit have to do with

that Destroyer of all Obstacles, Ganesha? And what does Buddha's

enlightenment have to do with the veena, and what is the connection

between Tibet, a thunderbolt and a Japanese goddess called Benten?

Let's find out and when we do, let us, in wonderment, learn to walk

on tiptoes...

 

UNIVERSAL GODDESS

 

'Saraswati' means 'the one that flows,' and the beautiful, peaceful

radiance of this great Goddess flows through many religions and many

lands. In Buddhism, Saraswati is the bestower of knowledge,

intelligence and memory, the goddess of poetry and music. She is

depicted as having three eyes, a book, and a white lotus, and has

the moon in her crown. She appears in many avatars including Vajrana-

Sarasvati, Vajra-Sarada and Mahasarasvati and Vajra Vina.

 

In Tibet, she is known as Vajra Sarasvati and is often shown

wielding a thunderbolt or vajra. In Japan, the goddess Benten is

seen as a manifestation of Saraswati. Her full name in Japanese is

Dai-Ben-Zai-Ten or The Great Divinity of Reasoning Faculty. Depicted

as a beautiful woman dressed in the robes of a Chinese aristocrat,

playing a biwa (a kind of lute) and wearing a jewelled crown, she is

perhaps the most well known Japanese Deity. She is the Goddess of

music, cultured learning and fine arts, and also of rivers and water

because of which most of Benten's temples and shrines are near or on

water. Benten is revered as the Goddess of all forms of creation —

she blesses the land with bountiful harvests, people with happiness

and good fortune. She is also known as Myoonten (fine music deity),

Bionten (beautiful music deity) and Gigeiten (fine arts deity).

 

SYMBOLISM OF THE VEENA

 

The veena, one of the oldest instruments in the world, symbolises

both the divine and the primordial. Its physical form is said to

represent the human spinal cord and the sound that it creates is

said to be closest to the human voice. Said to have been invented by

Narada, the celestial musician and son of Brahma, many deities in

the Hindu divine pantheon played this instrument including Lakshmi,

Parvati, Anjaneya and Shiva.

 

There are several references to the veena in the Puranas, the

Mahabharata and the Ramayana. As the story goes, Valmiki, after

completing the Ramayana, said that when it is recited/sung, the

instrument most suitable to accompany it was the veena. Ravana

played this instrument, apparently with such expertise that he could

please any divine power with his music!

 

But it is the association of the veena with the Goddess Saraswati

that remains the most enduring and profound. Presiding deity as she

is, not just of knowledge and wisdom and the arts, but of all sound,

musical and spoken, it is but natural that the veena should be such

an integral part of her divinity. In her hands, it symbolises more

than just music. It symbolises harmony, not just musical harmony,

but harmonious existence of all living things; it symbolises the

music of the universe, the eternal sea of sound in which rest all of

creation, all of knowledge and all of healing.

 

In Sangitha Ratnakara, considered one of the most authoritative

works on Indian music, Sarangadeva says this of the veena: The

wooden danda or stem is Siva, the string is Devi Uma, the shoulder

is Vishnu, the bridge is Lakshmi, the gourd is Brahma, the navel is

Saraswati, the connecting wires are Vasuki, the jiva is the moon and

the pegs are the sun. And so, the veena is capable of bestowing all

kinds of divine blessings.

 

NINETEEN VEENAS, ONE MUSIC

 

Across the splendid expanse of its ancient history and in consonance

with its image as the musical instrument of the gods, the veena has

had as many avatars as the divinities that played it. Among the 25

or more known avatars of the veena, here are some of the more

interesting ones.

 

* Veena Parivadini: Said to possess strings made out of gold and was

performed by the Pallava king, Mahendravarman

 

* Mahati: 20-stringed veena said to have been played by sage Narada

l Pinaki: Played with a bow. Lord Shiva is also called "Pinakapani"

or He who holds the Bow.

 

* Rudra: Shiva's instrument, named after him and is the veena

currently played in North India.

 

* Brahma veena: Has only one string

 

* Satatantri: The 100-stringed veena which existed over 2000 years

ago and said to be the ancestor of the santoor.

 

* Kinnari: Widely seen and mentioned in Sanskrit literature,

paintings and sculptures.

 

* Vipanchi: The 9-stringed veena which is mentioned in Adi

Sankaracharya's `Soundarya Lahari'

 

* Ravanahatta: The veena supposed to have been invented by Ravana

and named after him. It is still popular in Rajasthan

 

* Audumbari: The veena played during Vedic times by the wives of the

sages when they recited the Vedas during sacrifices.

 

* Saraswati: The current day veena most popular in Carnatic music

 

HOW IT'S MADE

 

The modern day veena is made from the wood of the jackfruit tree,

chosen because the wood is considered light enough. The main body of

the veena is fashioned from a single piece of that wood, to which

the rest of the parts are added. This is called the Egantha or

Ekandi veena. However, the veena played during vedic times was

called Audumbari which could be referring to the Audumbara tree, the

ancient name for the pipal tree. So the wood of the papal tree may

have been used.

 

DIVINE JACKFRUIT

 

Who would think that a fruit that looks like a cross between a lumpy

green hippo and a porcupine would have such divine associations?

 

One of the 32 avatars of Lord Ganesh is that of Bala Ganapati. In

each of his four hands he holds four things, all representing the

earth's abundance and fertility — a banana, a mango, a stick of

sugarcane and a jakfruit. The wood of the jackfuit tree is used to

make the modern day veena.

 

This often underrated fruit which when ripe, makes its presence felt

in no uncertain terms to our noses, is considered to have, along

with the avocado and the olive, the healthiest mix of nutrients for

human dietary needs, having almost the exact nutritional equivalents

of mother's milk. Rich in vitamins A, B and C, potassium, calcium,

iron, proteins, the high levels of carbohydrates in it makes the

jackfruit a cheap, easily available supplement for other staple

foods like rice, especially amongst the poor or in times of

scarcity.

 

In Chinese medicine, almost every part of the jackfruit tree is seen

to have medicinal properties. The pulp and seeds are considered as a

cooling and nutritious tonic. The leaves are used to heal ulcers.

The starch from the seeds is given to relieve biliousness and

roasted seeds are regarded as aphrodisiac. The latex from the tree

is mixed with vinegar to heal abscesses, snakebite and glandular

swellings. The wood has sedative properties and the root is used to

treat skin diseases, asthma and diarrhoea.

 

Source: http://www.newindpress.com/sunday/sundayitems.asp?

id=SEL20030803023608&eTitle=Living&rLink=0