Off-Board Query: Vimala's Earring?

[Guest guest]

Hi Everyone:

 

I received this query offboard, and am not sure of the answer. If

any of you would can enlighten, or care to speculate, I encourage

your comments!

 

DB

 

*****

 

Hey DB,

 

This question has been nagging me for a couple of

weeks now on Vimala photo on the splash page:

 

http://shaktisadhana.org/Newhomepage/Frames/gallery/Khadgamala/Khadga

malaimages/7th8th9thenclosuredevis/90vimila.jpg

 

Why only one earring?

 

Good weekend and Happy 4th of July.

 

*****

[Guest guest]

The missing ear(ring) i guess must be a physical defect of the

murti, maybe it is broken or it is defective since the time it was

cast because the mold didn´t fill in completly.

 

The rahasya Yoginis all look alike, and no one misses an ear or an

earring, what is new to me is that they can be depicted carrying a

Vina in the lower right hand, according to all dhyanas i know they

are clad in red robes their right lower hand is supposed to be in

the gesture of giving (here they carry the vina with the gesture of

removing fear), the upper carries an arrow (or five arrows) the left

upper the bow and the left lower a book.

 

I am not an expert in sri Vidya but considering the symbolism of the

vina and the vagdevatas and 8/16 vowels, in Yoga and other tantric

teachings maybe their carrying a vina points to their identification

with the deities of speech the Vagdevatas, the vina and the string

being symbolic of the Nadis in the subtle body, the patways of the

the subtle energy ofprana-wind-speech para (shodashi) subtle sound

passing through the traditional three stages, para i.e transcendent

sound (devi in muladhara) pasyanti (devi in the navel) madhyama (devi

as anahata-nada in the heart) and vaikhari (devi as uttered mantra

i.e speech), via the vocal cords to the level of gross uttered

speech the same nadiis used when the amrit is moved by the Yogi

down through that nadi from the brain center, while the body and

stem of the vina symbolise the womb , the place of the origin of

prana shakti and the spine.

 

That is maybe the reason why the rahasya yoginis are connected with

the space travel mudra (khecari), in sri vidya which may symbolise

the jiva ascending, mounted on the prana, causing the (inner) vina

strings (Nadis) to produce (inner) sounds while the Jiva is moving up

the sushummna(vina stem). But as i said being an ignoramus in

srividya i ask the learned amongst us to correct me.

 

In this symbolic interpretation saraswati another lady whose symbol

is the vina (our subtle body and nadi system) also is a symbolic

depiction of the inner Pranashakti everybodys life depends on.

 

Being one of the Vasinis deities of speech and carrying a musical

instruments Modini definitly needs two ears.

 

Excuse my stupid rambling thoughts in future i will try my best to

abstain from silly postings about stuff i know nothing about.

Maharadanatha

 

 

, "Devi Bhakta"

<devi_bhakta wrote:

>

> Hi Everyone:

>

> I received this query offboard, and am not sure of the answer. If

> any of you would can enlighten, or care to speculate, I encourage

> your comments!

>

> DB

>

> *****

>

> Hey DB,

>

> This question has been nagging me for a couple of

> weeks now on Vimala photo on the splash page:

>

>

http://shaktisadhana.org/Newhomepage/Frames/gallery/Khadgamala/Khadga

> malaimages/7th8th9thenclosuredevis/90vimila.jpg

>

> Why only one earring?

>

> Good weekend and Happy 4th of July.

>

> *****

>

[Guest guest]

> Being one of the Vasinis deities of speech and carrying a musical

> instruments Modini definitly needs two ears.

 

not only Modini excuse my mistake, of course i meant vimala, not a

big mistake because they all (should) look alike..... *g*

[Guest guest]

My mistake too.

 

I updated the splash page a week or so back, in a hurry as I was

rushing off on holiday. So I changed the Khadgamala photo,

description and number but -- for whatever reason -- failed to

change the name. Therefore, for most of Her tenure, Vimala remained

labeled as Modini. :-(

 

For those of you keeping track, the correct sequence is:

 

89. MODINI

90. VIMALA

91. ARUNA

 

Sorry for any confusion caused!

 

DB

 

, "mahahradanatha"

<mahahradanatha wrote:

>

> > Being one of the Vasinis deities of speech and carrying a

musical

> > instruments Modini definitly needs two ears.

>

> not only Modini excuse my mistake, of course i meant vimala,

not a

> big mistake because they all (should) look alike..... *g*

>

[Guest guest]

, "Devi Bhakta"

<devi_bhakta wrote:

>

> My mistake too.

>

> I updated the splash page a week or so back, in a hurry as I was

> rushing off on holiday. So I changed the Khadgamala photo,

> description and number but -- for whatever reason -- failed to

> change the name. Therefore, for most of Her tenure, Vimala remained

> labeled as Modini. :-(

>

> For those of you keeping track, the correct sequence is:

>

> 89. MODINI

> 90. VIMALA

> 91. ARUNA

>

> Sorry for any confusion caused!

>

> DB

>

> , "mahahradanatha"

> <mahahradanatha@> wrote:

> >

> > > Being one of the Vasinis deities of speech and carrying a

> musical

> > > instruments Modini definitly needs two ears.

> >

> > not only Modini excuse my mistake, of course i meant vimala,

> not a

> > big mistake because they all (should) look alike..... *g*

> >

>

 

No Problem it is all because of Kali Yuga, you see what happens if

westerners meddle with the sruti. Everything gets mixed up and turned

topsy turvy and interpreted according to our own silly ideas:(

 

I remembered that i have a transcript from a talk about the vina

from an original desi not a silly mleccha like me ,and looked through

my archive and decided to post some relevant excerpts covering the

connection between Yoga, the Human Body and the Vina, I hope it is of

interest to all, Desis and Mlecchas on this list:

 

"A sloka in the Sama Veda says:

 

Daaruvee gaatra vina satve vina ga na jaatishu |

Saamikee gaatra vina tu srutyai lakshanam ||

 

Meaning, the body known as Gatra vina and vina made of tree known as

Daru vina are meant for divine music.

 

There are innumerable references in our scriptures to show that the

human body and the vina are similarly patterned. Since the vina

resembles the Brahmadi Danu responsible for Vishnu Gana, the Manushya

vina and Deiva vina are equal or analogous to each other. The deiva

or gatra vina which is the human body, is permeated with nada

(musical resonance). Deiva vina contains dhwani and nada. Like the

head of the body, vina also has a siras or head (kudam in Tamil).

Like man's udara, vina also has a udara. Like the human fingers, vina

has `strings. Sa-Pa and Sa-Ma swaras permeate both the human body and

the vina. If you closely examine the human body and the vina, you

will come to know this.

The Vina has a tonal range convering three and a half octaves. Three

secondary strings, also made of steel, are fitted on the side. This

serves the function of keeping the time cycles (tala) of a song, to

articulate phrases, and to provide the basic note (drone). Similarly,

the human body has a head above its spinal cord. The man's head is

analogous to the kudam of the vina. The human being attains poornatva

or mukti with the help of seven dhatu-s namely skin, bone, brain,

flesh, blood, semen and shonita of the female. Similarly the distance

between the bridge and the beginning of the eyebrows to the nucleus

and mooladhara of a man is 48 inches. Like the human vertebrae in the

ascending order become narrow and narrower, the swarasthanas from the

fret to the bridge of the vina get reduced in geometric progression.

As the space between the frets gets narrowed down from the first fret

towards the bridge, the nada get progressively enchanced. The music

gushes forth in the merusthan (bridge) and consequently, the prana

floating and touching the mooladhara lingers at a particular distance

and only from this the music originates. This phenomenon of music

originating from prana is described in Silappadikaram.

 

The centre of the human body is prescribed as the place two inches

above the mooladhara. The vina resembles the human body both in the

sthoola form and in the subtle nada form. The prana in human body

flows in the upper six and lower six, that is in 12 sthana-s

(regions) and explains breath. Similarly, nada in vina flows in the

upper six and the lower six sthana-s and produces Raga moorchana-s.

The human body is divided into moolasthana-s, swargam, martyam and

patalam. Similarly in vina there are three sthayis (ranges or

octaves) - Mandra, Madhya and Tara. All these similarities created by

God are striking evidences that vina is a divine instrument to be

used by human being for the liberetion of soul and to detach himself

from the unending cycle of births and deaths.

 

Vina playing as the highest form of yoga brings about the merging of

jeevatma and paramatma only when the vina player handles the vina

through the sheer force and power of his prana or kundalini sakti,

arising from the mooladhara and not merely by moving his fingers

across the frets and strings. The nada of the vina and the kundalini

prana of the vina player enter together like passionate lovers

seeking union to become one. As they unite, they take the shape of

the finest thread and make contact with the fingertips of the vina

player that are already moving across the frets and strings of the

vina. Now the vina player is a full-fledged yogi, rendering divine

music on the veena and in kumbhakam (neither inhaling not exhaling -

in other words, retention of breath) without effort or consciousness.

If the artiste is able to develop and improvise along these lines, at

some point it will become possible for him to have the vision of God

and to merge with him.

 

Yagnavalkya said.

 

Vina Vadana tatvagnyana, Sruti Jaati Visaradaha |

Talagnyanascha aprayatneva moksha marga niyacchati ||

 

The artiste who knows the science behind vina playing, who can play

vina by tuning the instrument and maintaining it perfectly, and has

superb rhythmic control without any effort can attain salvation or

mukti.

 

The movement of prana in the human body and the flow of sound, nada,

in the vina is similarly patterned. According to Maitrayaniya

Upanishad, prana circulates in the human body on a single day and

night for 21,600 breaths. According to our ancestors, the Sun

revolves around the Mahameru 21,600 times in a single day. A day in

the life of a man is known as one revolution of the earth and one

breath of sun. 21,600 days constitute 60 years in a man's life time

which is known as parivriti. Two parivriti-s constitute a kalacharam.

This is also known as Purush Ayushu consisting of 120 years in

astrology. This constitutes two days in the life of Sun. A drop of

blood as it circulates within a human body takes along with it one

breath of the human being. This drop of blood along with one breath

of the human being takes nearly 7 nimisha to circulate within the

human body. Similarly, when the vina string is plucked once, the nada

wave emanating from it takes nearly 7 nimisha to travel back and

forth between the bridges of the vina to the beginning frets of the

vina.

 

A man who reciets Gayatri mantra 100 times is absolutely elevated. He

reduces 21,600 breaths to 108 breaths per day through pranayama.

Hence he enhances one year of life span to 200 years of life span.

The vina yogi, by meditating on the Tara sthayi Shadja within the

lotus of his heart is able to reduce the 21,600 breaths. He reduces

the same to 1,080 breaths by meditating on Madhya sthayi Shadja and

to 540 breaths by meditating on the Adhara Shadja. Therefore the

yogic power of the longevity of man to make good use of life towards

realizing God. Incidentally the hridayakamalam, the lotus of the

heart, has 12 petals bearing beejakshara-

s `ka', `kha', `ga' `gha' `nga' `cha' `chcha' `ja' `jha' `gnya' `ta'

and `tha'.

 

The first, eighth and eleventh petals, `ka', `ja' and `ta' are

beejakshara-s to be meditated upon to unravel the secrets and

mysteries of all fine arts towards cosmic truth. Muthuswami

Dikshitar's kritis `Kanja Dalayatakshi' in Kamalamanohari has been

composed in the beginning of the kritis itself. It is also

interesting to note that Tyagaraja composed `Sobhillu Saptaswara'

with the seven aksharas of the Taraka Mantra, `Sri Rama Rama' in mind

and not Sa ri ga ma pa da ni as misunderstood by many. Tyagaraja,

overjoyed by the vision of Lord Rama sang in praise of the Taraka

Mantara that granted him the vision.

 

The yogis who practiced Vasi yoga played the yazh or vina when heat

was generated due to yoga sadhana. Jatis are rendered in seven swaras

with Arohana and Kumbhakam (retention of breath) is made possible

beyond the proportions of nature. Conversely speaking the right kind

of raga on vina can create the sattvic and noble rasa and bhava in

human beings. The human being needs to be elevated from the mundane,

materialistic and ignoble thoughts and feelings of his material life

to noble and satvic feelings and consciousness. The nada of vina is

much more perfect than the human voice itself, capable of creating a

satvic peace in the human heart and elevate him to superhuman or

divine plane of consciousness. This infact is the avowed purpose of

Indian music. The rajas and tamas are sought to be subdued and satva

guna aroused. Music in general, related to other cultures, seeks only

to entertain the man or to whip up the animal instincts in him. Vina

playing through the yogic method is meant to subdue these passions.

 

It is no wonder that this vina is held in the hands of Lord

Dakshinamurti, the God who confers pure gnana or knowledge to release

the soul from its bondage. In Pallava and Chola temples of the South,

Lord Dakshinamurti is worshiped with a vina in his hands. Lord Siva

was known as Vina Gana Priya, i.e. as one who enjoyed vina music. In

Tiruvilayadal Puranam, Lord Siva takes the form of woodcutter and

playes yazh for the sake of his disciple, Panipatiran. The Lord

stated that yazh or vina is an instrument bubbling with life because

kuril and nedil i.e., consonants and gamaka-s can be played in it

without interruption.

 

Even Tyagaraja in his kriti `Mokshamu galada' in raga Saramati says:

 

Vina Vadana Loludou Sivamano Vidhamerugaru

 

Liberation is difficult for people who do not understand the mind of

Lord Siva, who enjoys playing his vina in tune to the universal nada.

Attuning oneself to the divine mind of Siva is moksha itself.

Dakshinamurti therefore conveys such ultimate gnana through vina. The

great sage, Narada did Nadopasana by tuning his consciousness to the

vina. The saint of recent times Raghavendra Swami of Mantralaya was

engaged in the contemplation of his soul while playing divine music

on his vina. Paramacharya Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati of Kanchi

Kamakoti Peetam has started in his Deivattin Kural that japam,

dhyanam, pooja and other rituals are not necessary for a real vina

artiste to achieve divine glory.

 

Not only Goddess Saraswati, but Goddess Parasakti also has a vina in

her hand. This is told by Kalidasa in the Navaratnamala stotra. He

says that the Goddess Parasakti plays vina with her finger-tips and

glows in the musical splendour created by the chaturya of Saptaswaras.

 

Sarigamapadani rathaan tam Vina Sankraata Kanta Hastaan taam ||

 

Goddess Rajamatangi is the most important deity for vina. She has to

be worshipped fervently to understand the divine nuances of vina.

 

Vina is the only instrument prescribed by divine scriptures as an

instrument containing many universal code secrets to help reveal the

ultimate truth to human being. That is why vina has been given an

exalted status in Carnatic music."

 

Excerpt from "VINA: ITS EXALTED STATUS IN CARNATIC MUSIC By E

Gaayathri