SRI RANGA SRI JOURNAL VOL.08 / ISSUE # 08 dated 26th November 2006

[Guest guest]

SrI:

SrimatE Raamaanujaaya Namaha //

SrimatE Nigamaanta Mahaa Desikaaya Namaha //

SrIman! SrI Ranga Sriyam anupadravam anudhinam Samvardhaya/

SrIman! SrI Ranga Sriyam anupadravam anudhinam Samvardhaya//

KAvEri VardhathAm kAlE, kAlE varshathu vAsava: /

SrI RanganAthO jayathu Sri Ranga Sri cha VardhathAm//

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SRI RANGA SRI VOL.08 / ISSUE # 08 dated 26th November 2006

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EDITORIAL

Dear Bhagavatas:

 

As Sri Anbil Ramaswamy Swami is in Cleveland, I am sending this on

his behalf.. Swami is available at:

25807 Iris Court, Westlake, OH-44145

Phone # (440) 716- 0771 Cell # (770) 876- 9188

You may contact him at Ramanbil (AT) hotmail (DOT) com

 

Regards

Namo narayana

dAsan Madhava Kannan

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INTHIS ISSUE:

1. "THE MIGHTY AND THE ALMIGHTY – A CLASH OF WILLS?– Part-6"

BY SRI ANBIL RAMASWAMY

(This is from his talk at Sri Hayagrivar Temple , Pondicherry on

31st May 2006)

2. "DRAMIDOPANISHAD TATPARYA RATNAVALI" – PART- 8":

BY SRI N. KRISHNAMACHARIAR SWAMI OF CHICAGO

3. "MAGIC OF MUSIC

BY SRI ANBIL RAMASWAMY

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ISSUES RELEASED

With this issue, about 233 Regular issues of SRS have been released

so far, apart from numerous "Special Issues" as indicated below:

27 Issues of Vol. 1

15 Issues of Vol. 2

42 Issues of Vol. 3

35 Issues of Vol. 4

28 Issues of Vol. 5

30 Issues of Vol. 6

50 Issues of Vol. 7 and

07 Issues of Vol. 8

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1. "THE MIGHTY AND THE ALMIGHTY – A CLASH OF WILLS? – Part-6"

PUNARJANMA (REINCARNATION)

BY ANBIL RAMASWAMY

(This is from his talk at Sri Hayagrivar Temple , Pondicherry on

31st May 2006)

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(Excerpts from Chapter 11of"Hinduism Rediscovered")

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The concept of Punarjanma (Reincarnation) has been spelled out with

telling effect by none other than Lord KrishNa when he said: "Just

like a person discards an old worn out dress and dons fresh ones,

the soul casts off the present body and takes another body"

 

Vaasaamsi jeerNaani yathaa vihaaya navaani grihNaati narO aparaaNi/

Tathaa sareeraaNI vihaaya jerNaani anyani samyaati navaani dEhee//

(BG 2/22)

 

We saw that 'Prarabda' karma is only a fragmentary fraction of the

Himalayan load of 'Sanchitha Karma', to experience the effects of

which - the soul inherits at the commencement of the current life.

The balance of Sanchita karma is so formidable that it could take

innumerable lives for the soul to pay off the karmic price for all

the actions by experiencing the cosmic requital of karma. This is

based on the assumption that the soul does not accumulate any

further 'Agami Karma' in the current and subsequent lives.

 

This takes us to the 'Reincarnation theory' which is inextricably

interlinked with the 'Karma theory' "The Reincarnationist, grounded

as he is in the karmic principle, is only extending the scene,

knowing as he does that man has a much longer history than the date

on his birth - certificate; He has also a longer future than the

date that is to be on his death certificate A future which be can

make or mar"

(Mc Gregger, Geddes in "The Christening of Karma"(p.9)

 

"The process by which a soul passes through a sequence of bodies is

known as 'Reincarnation' or transmigration of the soul. In

Sanskrit, 'Samsara' - a word which means 'flow through', the word is

derived from the roots 'Sam' - Together and 'Sru' to flow. It is the

perpetual bondage to the universal flow - a continuum of all Karman.

 

It is said that a man's life is like a bead on a necklace whose

other beads represent past and future life spans.

(Gard. P.113)

 

A lifetime is one 'en-via' (i.e.) a passage. We can neither seek nor

do we need to be afraid of its end. The immortal soul will don an

appropriate body. SAMSARA is then a 'half way house', `a home away

from home', a ' transit camp' from one station to another in the

journey of life" (Smith, H p.68)

 

The Upanishads declare that those who are of holy conduct here will

enter a holy womb either of a Brahmin, Kshatriya or Vaisya. But,

those who have a despicable conduct here will enter a despicable

womb say of a dog or a pig.

 

"A person's 'karma' is the principal factor in determining his

happiness or unhappiness in life. A man reaps at that age, whether

in infancy, youth, or old age at which he had sowed it in his

previous birth"-

(Gaer, p.22)

 

Some are precocious or born geniuses. Why?

It is the carry over of the 'Vasanas' and unfinished 'Sadhanas'

(accomplishments) in their previous lives.

For example: If Mandolin Srinivas and Ravi kiran on Vichitrveena are

found adepts in their respective fields right from their childhood,

guess how they could have acquired such skills in this birth. We can

explain it only by concluding that they might have practiced their

skills in their previous birth, the proficiency of which they are

carrying over to their present birth.

 

"The psychiatrist traces the reaction of psychological inputs within

a single life. Karma theory probes deeper, in fact all of the

previous lives and the unbroken chain reaction of Karma"

(Haught pp.174-175)

 

Desires trigger the will, Will prompts the deeds Deeds lead to

habits, Habits mold the character. Character decides the Destiny.

 

The extent of each individual's life, his happiness or otherwise in

this life will be measured exactly by what he has wanted in the

past; similarly, his present aspirations and behaviors would

determine his future state. Every act of his has its equal and

opposite reaction on himself.

 

"Each thought and deed delivers an unseen chisel blow toward the

sculpturing of his destiny" (Haught (2) pp.174-175)

 

Together these theories constitute an explanation of the

inexplicable. Without these, many of us would have shared the same

lack of peace of mind which the people of developed countries are

experiencing. They have every thing except peace of mind. As they

try to rationalize the anomalies of life, they ultimately turn to

India to find valid explanations which they condemned earlier as

senseless superstition.

 

These theories of Karma and Punarjanma provided Hindus with a reason

for human differences or mental abilities, that it must be a result

of their deeds in this life or a past life. Karma and Samsara also

encourage Hindus to act ethically because if they do not, they only

will suffer for their poor actions.

 

Why are some born great or rich, why some become great or rich and

why for some others greatness and riches are thrust on them? Why

some are born meek, weak or poor and continue to languish?

 

A lady went to a maternity ward to observe the births of children

and found different babies born differently. If God is merciful all

babies would have been born alike in health and comforts. This

itself shows that they had several lives before and they were born

so differently now because of the differences in the past-karma of

each one of them.

 

To blame 'karma' is like blaming science and technology for the

violence and terrorism that rock the world today. If we do not

understand the Karma theory, it is because only when the outcome of

our choice is happy do we claim credit for the causative actions;

when the consequences are otherwise, we tend to deny any association

with the causative factors and seek 'alibi' for escaping

responsibility for the wrong action.

 

We have heard people saying that if they had the opportunities like

their model personality, they would have become as great as that

model personality. But, this is not true. The greatness of the said

model personality must have grown by his repeatedly doing through

innumerable lives the things he has been specializing. The 'talents'

or 'gifts' come from one's having so specialized over so many lives

that in due course of time he starts reaping the fruits of such

specialized talents Cases of birth- marks corresponding to death

wounds in previous lives and very often, cases of phobias and

philias are carry over from previous lives.

 

It is questioned whether it is not immoral to be held accountable

for sins one had perhaps committed in previous life and had long

been forgotten. Is it not true that if you want to discipline a

child, the admonition should swiftly follow the wrong doing so that

the child might remember for what it is punished and learns to avoid

recurrence of the fault? Will it not render the disciplining act

irrelevant and ineffective, if meted out long after the mistake had

been forgotten? And, is not the punishment rightly resented? How can

one develop a disposition of penitence for one's misdeeds, if one

cannot even remember them?

 

Quite true. Quite true also when applied to the parental practice

for training kids. But, life situations are totally different.

Modern psychoanalysts have discovered that it is these forgotten

misdeeds lying buried in our subconscious layers that trouble us the

most. We do have to pay the price for past misdeeds which we have

long forgotten and this is where our likes and dislikes fail to have

any effect.

 

It is easy to insult or injure a person and then forget about it.

The greater the offense, the more ready I am to forget it (i.e.) '

to push it down the memory lane' into the unconscious. It is the

person at the receiving end who will remember it for long - not the

one who perpetrates. Justice demands that the act cannot go without

being avenged, sooner or later, irrespective of whether I remember

it or not.

 

You don't remember what you ate yesterday - something that does not

agree with your system. Your system may not react immediately. In

fact, it tries to generate antibodies to fight the toxic effects of

what you ate. But, if the toxicity of what you ingested is quite

potent, it will show up if not immediately - may be long after you

have forgotten your consuming the 'forbidden fruit'. You cannot

dictate to your system that it cannot revolt because you don't

remember.

 

If you don't remember what you ate yesterday, how can you remember

what you did in previous life? If what you ate yesterday can give

you an indigestion today what you did in previous life can have an

effect now - whether you remember it or not. Just as 'ignorance is

no excuse in law' in the cosmic law forgetting is no excuse -

whether you forget it willingly or otherwise. So also, the result

cannot be blamed since it only follows the cause as 'a calf follows

the mother cow'.

 

A non liberated soul is condemned to be reborn and as most human

actions are corrupted by greed, malice and other

undesirable "Vasanas", the risk of being reborn in a lower condition

may be as an animal or even as an insect is more probable than of

being born in an evolved state - unless one has consciously striven

for controlling the evil tendencies and acquired the noble

tendencies over a whole lifetime.

 

In Hinduism, It is SIN that is condemned - NOT THE SINNER.

In Hinduism, Man is not punished FOR his sins. - But BY his sins.

 

"It is Nature's kindness that we do not remember past births. What

is the good in knowing in detail the countless births we have gone

through? Life would be an unbearable burden if we carried such a

tremendous load of memories. A wise man deliberately forgets many

things as a lawyer forgets the details handled by him, as soon as

they are disposed of." (Gaer Joseph: "What the great religions

believe", p22)

 

Maybe some lawyers forget the details even before arguing a case!

 

The laws of Karma are as relentless and demanding as the laws of

physics. In a sense, we should be happy that it precludes any

fanciful excursions from the routines that are at the basis of all

universal functions.

 

John F Haught has this to say on the value of vicissitudes of life:

 

"When one has gone through a difficult life involving joys and

tragedies, agonies and ecstasies, ups and downs of many sorts, it

may seem at any particular point that one's existence has had little

significance. Disappointment, monotony or disorder seems to rule at

various times. It would have been better if some things had gone

along more smoothly. Or, it might have been better if certain other

things had not happened. But in retrospect such twists and turns can

contribute to the richness of life. We often meet elderly people who

in the twilight of their years express the sentiment that they would

not trade such a life for anything. They now value their lives

including the rough spots, the precipices along with the heights

from a seasoned perspective; they cherish their rough but

adventurous journeys more thoroughly than life undergone without all

the contrasts of joy and sorrow. They are happy that they have

weathered the storms because their horizons have been widened, their

vision of the world enlarged and their courage deepened in the

process. They are 'at peace' and often they will say so explicitly".

(Haught John F "What is God?" Paulist press NY 1986-90 pp 174-175)

 

In fact, it has been held that no one is required to shoulder an

amount of his past Karma any more than one is able to bear. This may

be questioned by some experiencing seemingly endless misery too much

for them to bear. But, somehow, most people do manage to survive the

tribulations of life even though it had not been any easy.

 

If you look back at your life, you will be amazed how you got over

some of the hurdles, disabilities, financial and mental stresses and

strains that loomed large and insurmountable at the time you passed

through them - circumstances which appeared to be unbearably

uncomforting and uncomfortable. And, every time you seem to derive

strength in some mysterious way and profit by FACING rather than by

FLEEING away from these intriguing situations.

 

Unfortunately, this resilience does not seem to operate as well when

excessive good fortune favors people. Most of them fail to make the

best use of their opportunities. Few, indeed, seem to be able to

withstand the effects of say excessive wealth or excessive power

without abusing the opportunities - thus creating for themselves

much new karma of an unfortunate kind from the results of which they

can never escape.

 

It is a redeeming feature that happiness and suffering occur in some

mysterious rotation that they seem to be alternating in some

cyclical manner. Periods of misery are sandwiched between spells of

joy and vice versa. The 'Wheel of Fortune' does not seem to stop

rotating though it does its rounds but slowly. And, so slowly that

spasms of 'agony and ecstasy' (especially the former) at the time of

experience seem to be almost interminable.

 

No person is subject to an unbroken tenure of torture or an unbroken

spell of absolute felicity. This mixture is well proportioned - may

be to mitigate the boredom of excessive experience of either kind

and perhaps also to bring in bold relief the contrasts between the

two which can be better appreciated only under such a scheme of

alternating experiences.

 

Nobody need feel despondent about the present state of misery. God

holds the scales even. Even in the present state nobody is

ABSOLUTELY HAPPY OR ABSOLUTELY MISERABLE.

Life is provided with full of compensations. Even among animals,

certain compensating advantages and deficiencies are noticed. An

advantage given to a particular limb is neutralized by a reduction

in another faculty or vice versa. For every excess there is a

corresponding deficiency; for every deficiency there is a

corresponding excess of advantage. For every thing you lost, you

have gained elsewhere and for everything you gained you lose

somewhere an equivalent moiety. Nature does not tolerate monopolies

and exceptions though we are not aware of it.

 

Like death which is a 'great leveler' life also has leveling

circumstances. The petulant, the strong, the rich, the fortunate are

cut to size almost on the same level with all the rest, may be in

some other measure, in some other aspect which we do not see. This

fact of nature must act to instill certain humility in prosperity

and a certain consolation in adversity.

"Say Not the Struggle not

availeth…

If hopes are dupes, fears may be

liars"

says Clough, Arthur Hugh, Poet.

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To Continue

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2."DRAMIDOPANISHAD TATPARYA RATNAVALI" – PART- 7":

BY SRI N. KRISHNAMACHARIAR SWAMI OF CHICAGO

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SrI:

SrImate SrI ra'nga rAmAnuja mahA deSikAya namaH.

 

tAtparya ratnAvaLi - Submission 8 - Slokam 6 of avatArikA.

Slokam 6:

 

prAcye sevAnuguNyAt prabhumiha Satake'mamsta mukter-upAyam

mukta prApyam dvitIye munir-anububudhe bhogyatA vistareNa |

prApyatva upAya bhAvau Subha subhaga tanor-ityavAdIt tRtIye

ananya prApyaS-caturthe samabhavat itarair-ap-yananyAd-yupAyaH ||

 

In this Slokam, svAmi deSikan proceeds to give the gist of the

message communicated by nammAzhvAr through each of the ten `pattu'-s

or Sataka-s - the group of 100 pASuram-s.

 

- munih prAcye Satake prabhum sevA AnuguNyAt mukteh upAyam amamstah -

In the first Satakam (hundred pASuram-s), nammAzhvAr tells us that

bhagavAn is the means for moksham because He is One who is fit to be

worshiped. The key words here are `sevAnuguNyAt'

and `prabhum'. `sevAnuguNyAt' - BhagavAn is full of infinite kalyANa

guNa-s including the key guNa-s of sauSIlyam, saulabhyam, vAtsalyam,

etc., that are very essential for the jIva-s to approach Him to seek

liberation. Only such a One with these kalyANa guNa-s can be the

upAyam or means for salvation. His infinite kalyANa guNa-s are of

immense help to the devotees, and so He is the surest means of

liberation. `prabhu' – `Lord, Master, One who possesses power'.

BhagavAn is the Lord and Master of all without exception. There is

no one equal to Him or above Him in any aspect. It is His Lordship

that comes into play in His svAtantRyam or absolute independence to

do whatever He wishes, including forgiving all the sins of the

devotees who unconditionally surrender to Him, and bestowing

salvation on the qualifying devotees. Thus, both His kalyANa guNa-s

and his prabhuttvam come into play in His being the upAyam.

 

-dvitIye, bhogyatA vistareNa mukta prApyam anububudhe – In the

second Satakam, nammAzhvAr explains in detail that bhagavAn is fit

to be enjoyed, and He is one who is enjoyed by those who have

attained moksham or salvation. Thus, He is the Ultimate goal to be

attained, because He is the Supreme Bliss, and performing eternal

kainkaryam to Him is the bliss that the nitya-s and mukta-s are

enjoying in SrIvaikunTham. prApyattvam.

 

- tRtIye prApyatva upAya bhAvau Subha subhaga tanoh iti avAdIt – In

the third Satakam, AzhvAr points out that the upAyattvam (the

fitness to be the upAyam for moksham), and the prApayattvam (One who

is fit to be sought and attained) that are mentioned above, are

attributes that can be fitting only to the One Who has the

auspicious tirumEni that can remove the sins of all, and that can

involve the devotees in the non-satiating enjoyment of His tirumEni,

and immerse them in eternal kainkaryam to Him. divya ma'ngala

vigraha viSishTan. Note that the viSisTAdvaita sampradAyam clearly

declares that bhagavAn is endowed with an auspicious tirumEni that

captivates the bhakta and that can remove all the sins of the jIva-s

by the very sight of His tirumEni, and that permanently engages the

mind of a sincere devotee in the desire to render nitya kainkaryam

to Him – divya ma'ngala vigraha viSishTan.

 

-caturthe ananya prApyaH – In the fourth centum, AzhvAr declares

that he has chosen emperumAn with the infinite kalyANa guNa-s and

with the auspicious tirumEni as his only goal; nothing else

whatsoever interests him, including any aiSvaryam, kaivalyam, etc.

This is the mark of a true devotee. In other words, none but this

Lord is worthy of being sought, worshipped, etc. (No other goal

except Him). – ananya prApyattvam.

 

- itaraih ananyAd-yupAyah samabhavat – In the remaining Sataka-s,

AzhvAr reinforces that there is no other means for liberation and no

other purpose in life other than meditating on the kalyANa guNa-s of

emperumAn. These remaining Sataka-s elaborate on the guNa-s of

bhagavAn that were sung in the first Satakam in support of His being

the upAyam, in greater detail. (No other means except Him). – ananya

upAyattvam.

 

Thus, tiruvAimozhi reveals to us that bhagavAn is both the means to

attain Him, and the end to be attained also.

 

Feedback:

 

I received the following feedback from one of my greatest well-

wishers, and wanted to share it with all of you.

"I find the excerpt below equally or more applicable to the AcAryar,

who is the anupravESa bhagavAn. BhagavAn for nammAzhvAr, but

AcAryar for

us".

 

The feedback is that the term "prabhu" etc. refer to emperumAn as

sung by nammAzhvAr, but as far as we, the mumukshu-s and prapanna-s

are concerned, our thoughts should always be fixed at the holy feet

of our AcAryan. Our AcAryan is the pratyaksha bhagavAn for us.

SvAmi deSikan lists 14 AcArya lakhshaNa-s in the first Slokam of his

nyAsa vimSati, and in the second Slokam, he points out that these

are the same lakshaNa-s that emperumAn has, and that AcAryan should

be worshipped same as emperumAn (devavat syAt upAsyah). In fact, he

is above emperumAn for us because he is pratyaksha

daivam for us, and available to us with all his sauSIlyam,

saulabhyam, vAtsalyam, etc., unlike bhagavAn who is not available to

us except through meditation. (The nyAsa vimSati Sloka-s referenced

here are elaborated in my write-up available in the bhakti archives).

Obviously, we should resort to our AcAryan through prapatti, and

without AcAryan's anugraham we cannot attain Him.

I bow to my AcAryan for having blessed me with the feedback through

a well-wisher of mine.

–dAsan kRshNamAcharyan

(To continue)

 

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3."MAGIC OF MUSIC – BY SRIU ANBIL RAMASWAMY SWAMI

Recently, I was invited to attend a music performance by Sri Madurai

Sundar in Cleveland. Sri Sundar is the Son-in-law of my long time

friend, Sri R. Seshadri Swamin (popularly known as TVS Seshadri) who

is doing wonderful works of renovation of temples especially the

Nava Tirupatis. At the conclusion of the performance, the organizers

asked me to say a few words on Music.

 

The following is an excerpt from the impromptu talk presented, for

your kind information.

Dasoham

Anbil Ramaswamy

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Between the wonderful music you just heard and the equally wonderful

dinner that is awaiting you, I do not wish to be guilty of

inflicting a long speech on you. I will try to make it as short as

possible, if not as sweet as the concert. It is now my turn to bring

you "down to earth" from the dizzy heights the performance had taken

you so that you can enjoy the mouth watering smorgasbord tempting

your palate.

We now heard the scintillating, enrapturing, enthralling music by

one of the leading artists of music.

 

You will agree with me that by his enchanting rendering, we could

palpably feel his virtually transporting us into the realm of the

Almighty "Naada Brahmam" ably assisted by the accomplished Vidwans

who accompanied him on their respective instruments.

It is a happy blend of the "Kriti Vailakshyam" and "Gaayaka

Vailakshyam".

 

In this foreign country and in these modern times, he has taken care

to maintain a faithful adherence to the hoary Saastraic traditions.

It is these that are responsible for this experience.

Thank you, Sri Sundar and friends.

 

The acid test of any good exercise whether a song, a movie, or a

novel lies in the fact that it permeates your whole attention and is

jealously exclusive of all diversions and distractions. We had the

proof of this in the absorbing experience to which the artists led

us, as it were, on a "guided tour".

 

Shakespeare in his "Merchant of Venice" had some devastating comment

on those who had no ear for music and who cannot appreciate music.

 

"The man that hath no music in himself

Nor is not moved with the concord of sweet sounds

Is fit for treasons, stratagems and spoils;

The motions of his spirit are dull as night

And his affections are dark as Erebus;

Let no such man be trusted"

 

There is a saying in Sanskrit that "A person who has no taste for

Sangeeta (Music) and Saahitya (Lyrics) is nothing more than an

animal without its tailSangeeta Saahitya kalaa viheena: Saakshaat

pasu vishaana heena:"

 

On the positive side, the power of music needs no overemphasis.

Do you know the earliest scriptures of humanity? They are the Vedas

that exist from time immemorial. They are 4 in number, Rik, Yajur,

Saama and Atharva. A whole Veda, namely, Saama Veda is totally

dedicated to rendering of mantras set to music. We Indians ought to

be proud that we are the pioneers in integrating Music with Mantras

to guide us on our spiritual journey.

 

Lord Krishna's enchanting flute is said to have attracted the Gopis

and even the cows and deer so much that they dropped whatever they

were doing or eating and rushed to hear the music flowing from his

mellifluous flute.

 

If Lord KrishNa mesmerized all living beings, including humans, the

flora and the fauna with his flute, do you know that Lord KrishNa

himself was mesmerized by the music issuing forth from the VeeNa of

his devotee? Look at the picture of the blind Surdas playing his

VeeNa and Lord Krishna sitting just in front of him in rapt

attention relishing the music. You will realize the "Magic of Music"

in this scene!

 

Andal, the God intoxicated bridal mystic repeatedly emphasizes the

musical aspect of her magnum opus "Tiruppaavai" using the

word "PaaDu, "PaaDI" etc in most of the 30 stanzas in her work.

Lava and Kusa are known to have sung the Srimad Ramayanam so

melodiously that the entire audience was enthralled and Sri Rama

himself leaving his throne moved to mix with the audience entranced

by the sweetness of their musical rendering without his being aware

of his doing so!

 

Kulasekara Azhwar in his Perumal Tirumozhi has provided us an

effective tool in "Mannu pugazh Kousalai thun" that is being sung to

this day by mothers all over the Tamil speaking world to put their

children to sleep.

 

It is common experience that even a `Cry baby" is calmed and lulled

into silence on hearing the melody of music and becomes transformed

into a "Calm baby"

 

There is a saying in Sanskrit that the "Sound of music" is

appreciated even by babies and animals: "Sisur vEthi, pasur vEthi

gaana rasam phaNi"

 

Sri Nathamunigal received in a trance from Swami Namaazhwar the 4000

holy collects known as "Naalaayira Divya Prabandams" and promptly

chronicled them, setting them to music and initiated his disciples

to spread the message through the medium of music.

 

Mahaakavi Subrahmanya Bharatiyaar who had a prognosis of

Independence of the nation from foreign yoke long before it became a

reality gave a song that kindled intense patriotic feelings in us

and gave an unprecedented fillip and motivation to the freedom

struggle:

 

"AaaDuvOME paLLUP paaDuvOmE

Aananda suthantiram aDaindu viTTOm enru"

(Note the Past Perfect tense used!)

The devotional "Abhangs" and "Dandia Ras" of the North and the

gala "Gummi" and "kOLaaTTam" of the South provide a rich fare of

soul stirring music for generations

 

Each country has its own "National Anthem" (e.g.) "VandE Maataram"

and "Jana Gana Mana adhi naayaka jayahE" in India and "Star Spangled

Banner" in America. The power behind the music in these national

songs is found to rouse patriotic feelings in the minds of the

listeners.

 

Music is a force that unites humanity. Different cultures find it a

meeting place of mature minds. It is a harmonizing factor in

comforting in times of stress and tension.

Music helps in transmission of spiritual energy. "Listen to music

with your heart and not in your intellect" says Sri Sachidaannda

Ganapati of "Duttapeetam" who specializes in "Cure through Music"

(vide www.Duttapeetam.org for further details)

 

It has been proved scientifically that animals and plants respond

positively to music (not the harsh and degenerating variety

of "rock") miscalled as music" (which is known to have a

degenerating effect on the psyche of the listeners)

Cows are known to give more milk when listening to music; Horses and

camels move in a more disciplined manner; plants give better yields

both qualitatively and quantitatively.

 

Thus, music is in our blood; it is in our breath from time

immemorial and touches and moulds every aspect of our lives.

Music for health: The "Vibro-acoustics" that is better known in

India as "Naada Chikitsa" has been used as therapeutic tool to

modulate the rate of metabolism and for correcting various physical

disorders and emotional disturbances.

 

Michigan State University has instituted from 1944 a course

in "Music therapy" which when employed is the safest method of

treatment that not only cures many known diseases but also gives

satisfaction.

 

American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) has a branch in University

Hospitals in Cleveland that provides "Music as medicine" for

physiological and psychological aspects of an illness or disability

(Vide http://www.musictherapy.org for further details)

Once again, thank you Sri Sundar and friends accompanying him for

giving us not only a rich auditory treat but also one that elevates

the spirit and ennobles the soul