Guest guest Posted April 3, 2006 Report Share Posted April 3, 2006 The Story of Saint Poosalar: Conquest of “kaama” --------------- through Sublimation of Desire -- “bhakti yOga” ----------- It is quite true that a man who has utterly surrendered to the sway of uncontrollable feelings of "kaama" aroused by love for his house can quite easily self-destruct in very much the same way as when he is carried away by "kaamic" feelings for a woman. Earlier postings (#18 to #21) in this series described how when a fleeting maelstrom in the form of "kaama" struck the saint Tondar-adi-podi AzhwAr, he became possessed by unworthy love for a low woman, and it reduced him to a near-ruinous state of existence. If our awareness of the world is keen enough we would easily observe that it abounds in equally dramatic examples wherein "kaama" for a house -- for pieces of valuable real-estate -- can similarly destroy too the happiness of individuals, families and generations. Looking around us within our own family or coummunity circles, many of us will most certainly be able to recall someone or other who came to financial ruin on account of crippling indebtedness. Reason? Because he or she borrowed heavily for the sake of acquiring a "dream" house. Personally, I have myself witnessed how harmony and affection within some families instantly turned to mutual hatred and jealousy all because feuding broke out suddenly between brother and brother, sister and sister, or mother and children over issues of inheritance and possession of a grand old ancestral home bequeathed to them by a father or grand-father. Where once only laughter and good cheer echoed through the walls and rooms of such a happy house, later, after the bitter family feuding erupted, only a dark and brooding sullenness seemed to haunt and pervade the entire air inside. Similarly, in the homes of some close friends I have known for many years, I thought I sometimes sensed a certain silent but deep, simmering discord between husband and wife over such trifling yet rancorous domestic disagreements as, for example, over the way the home interiors ought to have been decorated, or over the exact shade of colour of the wall-paint or over how the nagging problem of a perennially leaking kitchen-roof needed fixing. Husband and wife in such a house not seeing eye-to-eye at all, seemed to me to be ever locked and engaged in a sort of "shadow cold- war" --- a "war" of slow attrition that seemed to continually interfere with and impair what otherwise must have surely been a warm and loving relationship. Just as the extreme of covetous attachment and possessiveness for a woman lands man in all manner of strange predicaments (example, Vipranarayana of the earlier postings) so too, surely, do feelings of misplaced "kaama" for one's home, its surroundings and all its paraphernalia bring all manner of unpredictable and unsavory tensions, yearnings and anxieties into the life of men and women. That the "mating" and "homing" instincts of Man are deeply entwined and embedded together deep within his psyche can be easily understood if we, as Indians, recall and truly understood the history of the Taj Mahal, that marvellous palace the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan built for his queen Mumtaz with whose famed beauty he was utterly besotted. The queen pre-deceased him and left the king wallowing in sadness and desolation for the rest of his life. The bereaved emperor thereafter lived the life of a total recluse within the Taj Mahal -- a 'home' that became his only solace in life and which he came to increasingly adore. It became his haven and life-breath, reminding him as it constantly did, of the love that once had burned in his heart for Mumtaz and which he sought to keep aflame until the end of his own days on earth. The Taj Mahal, though undoubtedly a true Wonder of the World in terms of sheer architectural beauty, nonetheless remains, and shall remain always, something of a morbid monument to the unfulfilled love (a form of cancerous "kaama") that one man, a king, had borne for a woman and which he sought to keep consummating through the grand 'Home' he erected in her memory. The ancient Egyptians built their great pyramids intending them to be "Home" for their Pharoah-kings in the after-life. Shah Jahan did the same for his queen and built the Taj Mahal. If one stands today as a tall symbol of the defiance of Man's temporal Power against Death, the other stands as beautiful symbol of the defiance of Man's Love, "kaama", against Death. **************** If there are any insightful lessons of human psychology to be learnt from all the above examples, they are probably this: The conquest of "kaamic" feelings associated with Man's "homing-instinct" is indeed as important and essential to Man's well-being in life as is the conquest of "kaama" associated with his "mating instinct" or urge. The conquest of "kaama", in its passionate manifestations of both 'Sexuality' and 'Domesticity', represents two facets of Man's struggle to overcome one and the same fundamental problem of life. ************** (to be continued) Regards, dAsan, Sudarshan ________ India Matrimony: Find your partner now. Go to http://.shaadi.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 3, 2006 Report Share Posted April 3, 2006 Dear Bhagavathas I would like to bring a point here even though it is not related to the topic of discussion. Kindly excuse me. I have my reservations about bringing in some controversial names such as Shajahan and Tajmahal, which is being contended hot as a erstwhile palace temple of Raja Manshigh, and many photographic evidences have been given in various websites. All the palaces forts from Pakistan to Utterpradesh follows similar Rajasthani architectures whether it was built by Hindus kings or Muslims kings. That opens up can of worms. I would say every emotions and every examples are available in our ancient scriptures which the common public is aware of. My request would be to not to go after a King who married innumerable wifes and to whom the left historians attributed true love etc. This is my humble request. I know the person who writes this applies the principle of God allpervading and antaryami to every one. But any truth needed to be discussed with an example of truth and not false information (at the least controversial). That might probably deviate the purpose of the very beautiful writings the author is intended to present. Please excuse me if I have said some thing not right here. Dasan Suresh --- sudarshan madabushi <mksudarshan2002 wrote: > The Story of Saint Poosalar: Conquest of “kaama” > --------------- > through Sublimation of Desire -- > > “bhakti yOga” > ----------- > > It is quite true that a man who has utterly > surrendered to the sway of uncontrollable feelings > of > "kaama" aroused by love for his house can quite > easily > self-destruct in very much the same way as when he > is > carried away by "kaamic" feelings for a woman. > > Earlier postings (#18 to #21) in this series > described > how when a fleeting maelstrom in the form of "kaama" > struck the saint Tondar-adi-podi AzhwAr, he became > possessed by unworthy love for a low woman, and it > reduced him to a near-ruinous state of existence. If > our awareness of the world is keen enough we would > easily observe that it abounds in equally dramatic > examples wherein "kaama" for a house -- for pieces > of > valuable real-estate -- can similarly destroy too > the > happiness of individuals, families and generations. > > Looking around us within our own family or > coummunity > circles, many of us will most certainly be able to > recall someone or other who came to financial ruin > on > account of crippling indebtedness. Reason? Because > he > or she borrowed heavily for the sake of acquiring a > "dream" house. > > Personally, I have myself witnessed how harmony and > affection within some families instantly turned to > mutual hatred and jealousy all because feuding broke > out suddenly between brother and brother, sister and > sister, or mother and children over issues of > inheritance and possession of a grand old ancestral > home bequeathed to them by a father or grand-father. > Where once only laughter and good cheer echoed > through > the walls and rooms of such a happy house, later, > after the bitter family feuding erupted, only a dark > and brooding sullenness seemed to haunt and pervade > the entire air inside. > > Similarly, in the homes of some close friends I have > known for many years, I thought I sometimes sensed a > certain silent but deep, simmering discord between > husband and wife over such trifling yet rancorous > domestic disagreements as, for example, over the way > the home interiors ought to have been decorated, or > over the exact shade of colour of the wall-paint or > over how the nagging problem of a perennially > leaking > kitchen-roof needed fixing. Husband and wife in such > a > house not seeing eye-to-eye at all, seemed to me to > be > ever locked and engaged in a sort of "shadow cold- > war" --- a "war" of slow attrition that seemed to > continually interfere with and impair what otherwise > must have surely been a warm and loving > relationship. > > > Just as the extreme of covetous attachment and > possessiveness for a woman lands man in all manner > of > strange predicaments (example, Vipranarayana of the > earlier postings) so too, surely, do feelings of > misplaced "kaama" for one's home, its surroundings > and > all its paraphernalia bring all manner of > unpredictable and unsavory tensions, yearnings and > anxieties into the life of men and women. > > That the "mating" and "homing" instincts of Man are > deeply entwined and embedded together deep within > his > psyche can be easily understood if we, as Indians, > recall and truly understood the history of the Taj > Mahal, that marvellous palace the Mughal emperor, > Shah > Jahan built for his queen Mumtaz with whose famed > beauty he was utterly besotted. The queen > pre-deceased > him and left the king wallowing in sadness and > desolation for the rest of his life. The bereaved > emperor thereafter lived the life of a total recluse > within the Taj Mahal -- a 'home' that became his > only > solace in life and which he came to increasingly > adore. It became his haven and life-breath, > reminding > him as it constantly did, of the love that once had > burned in his heart for Mumtaz and which he sought > to > keep aflame until the end of his own days on earth. > > The Taj Mahal, though undoubtedly a true Wonder of > the > World in terms of sheer architectural beauty, > nonetheless remains, and shall remain always, > something of a morbid monument to the unfulfilled > love > (a form of cancerous "kaama") that one man, a king, > had borne for a woman and which he sought to keep > consummating through the grand 'Home' he erected in > her memory. > > The ancient Egyptians built their great pyramids > intending them to be "Home" for their Pharoah-kings > in the after-life. Shah Jahan did the same for his > queen and built the Taj Mahal. If one stands today > as > a tall symbol of the defiance of Man's temporal > Power > against Death, the other stands as beautiful symbol > of > the defiance of Man's Love, "kaama", against Death. > > **************** > > If there are any insightful lessons of human > psychology to be learnt from all the above examples, > they are probably this: > > The conquest of "kaamic" feelings associated with > Man's "homing-instinct" is indeed as important and > essential to Man's well-being in life as is the > conquest of "kaama" associated with his "mating > instinct" or urge. The conquest of "kaama", in its > passionate manifestations of both 'Sexuality' and > 'Domesticity', represents two facets of Man's > struggle > to overcome one and the same fundamental problem of > life. > > ************** > (to be continued) > Regards, > dAsan, > Sudarshan > > > > > > ________ > > India Matrimony: Find your partner now. Go to > http://.shaadi.com > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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