KANYAKUMARI....
Where is river Ganga ? Where is the yamuna ? The ocean does not know the difference . It is all water .
(Photo Autar Mota ..What you see close to Vivekananda Rock memorial is tall
stone sculpture of the Tamil poet and philosopher Tiruvalluvar, author of the
Thirukkural. It is about 133 feet in height.
To this photo i am adding a brief story titled " SOHAM , SUFI POETS OF KASHMIR
AND THE SAGE OF BELUR "
SOHAM , SUFIS AND THE SAGE OF BELUR
I
am fortunate enough to have seen and heard Shri Ranganathananda ( 1908-2005 ) . He was
an authority on Vedas and Upanishads , Scholar
extraordinary , Philosopher and Head
Monk of Belur Mutt or swami Vivekananda’s Rama Krishna Mission in India . Swami ji
as he was fondly known never talked about narrow religious issues. His
discourses touched issues facing humanity at large , cutting across all
barriers of color , race or religion. In
fact Belur Mutt or Temple is notable for its architecture that fuses
Hindu, Christian and Islamic motifs as a symbol of unity of all religions.
Mohammed
Ali Jinnah once listened to
Ranganathananda's lecture on Islam and Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) and had remarked:
“Now I know how a true Muslim
should be.”
Swami
ji declined the Padma Vibhushan as it
was conferred on him in his individual capacity and not for the Mission. swami ji would
often say ;-
“ The
endeavors and conclusions of the sense-bound intellect can not be the last word
in man’s search for truth. An intellectual approach to truth will end only in
agnosticism; and often in cynicism. But the whole being of man seeks to
experience truth, to realize it. … This rising above rationalism to direct
experience and realization, this growth of man from the sensate to the
super-sensual dimension, is the special message of Indian spiritual tradition ”
Once
Swami ji explained the importance of
word SOHAM . I had heard the word in Hindu Bhakti as well as in Muslim Sufi poetry of kashmir. SOHAM- Soo or SOHAM is reflected in the Shrukhs of Nund Reshi
as also in the poetry of Wahab
Khaar , Soachh Kraal , Shamas Faqir,Ahad zargar ,Nyaam sahib , Ahmed Batwaari ,
Rehman Dar ,Rahim Sahib ,Shah Qalandhar
and many more sufi poets of
Kashmir. This concept emerged in sufi poetry due to a unique blending of Mahayana Budhism ,Vedanta and Islamic Tassavuf in kashmiri thought . I quote some other poets who used this concept :-
(1)
Yot yithh zanamuss kenh chhunaa Laarun
Daarnaai daarun Soham Soo
Brahma Vishnu Maheshwar
Gaarun
Daarnaai daarun Soham Soo.
( shah Gafoor )
After being born ,What is here to gain ;
So hold SOHAM kriya for existence .
Create
Brahma , Vishnu and Maheshwara
And own SOHAM kriya for existence .
(2)
Raahe badh Nishi kar Traahi
Bhagwaan
Puniyee Paap Traavithh kar Yaksaan.
Voan samad Miran Shastra heyoo
Paru OM Soo Om
SOHAM Soo
( Samad Mir )
Be away from the misleading path
Think not of evil or Good but be unvarying ,
Samad Mir speaks the message of shastras
And recite OM and SOHAM
soo .
(3)
Tosas Om ki Punn Khaaer Massaai
Baa Rasaa rasaai Kornuss Tayaar
SOHAM Soo Yaar Vuchha Novanussaai
Baa Rasaa rasaai Kornuss
Tayaar
( Assad Parray )
I spun Omkar in shahtoos and
offered it to the lord
And he completed
me slowly and steadily .
He made me to befriend SOHAM soo
And he completed
me slowly and steadily .
(4)
Mar Zinda par SOHAM soo
Hamas Damas Saeit
zaan
( Ahmed Raah )
Die while existing and recite
SOHAM soo
Know linkage of breath control
with HAMAS..
WHAT IS SOHAM
As per swami
Ranghanathananda SOHAM originated from VEDAS .Soham is Paramount when a person tries to identify
himself with the universe or ultimate reality .Swami ji explained that when a
child is born the first cry that the universe
hears from his Mouth is
“ Koham ? Koham ? ”
“ Who am I ? Who Am I ? ’
The universe in turn
responds with words
“ SOHAM ! SOHAM ! ”
“ Your are what I am ! You are
What I am !”
Added swami ji that the word is also a MANTRA in Tantrism
that comes from Ajapa Japa or a meditation that is done without uttering
a word. Swami ji explained that SOHAM
consists of two words . Soooooo….
And Hummm. While sooo means the tender sound of inhalation and Humm implies the
exhalation.
SOHAM IN KASHMIR’S TRIKA
PHILOSOPHY
The Pranayaama Kriya
(Breathing Technique for the vital Pranaa or life. Prana enters the body through the breath and
is sent to every cell through the circulatory system. Prana creates life by
allowing the heart to beat ) that
was performed extensively in kashmiri pandit households was nothing
but Ajapa japa or SOHAM ( sooo plus hummm… ). It is a Kriya Yoga and also an essential
ingredient of Kashmir’s luminous Shaiva
thought which is primarily aimed at
realization of existing identity with
universal consciousness .
SOHAM when
reversed becomes HAMSA OR HAMSO which means
‘I AM THAT ’ . HAMSA OR
HAMSO also refers to SWAN . kashmiri poets have used word RAAZHANS
for the word HAMSA or
HAMSO . And in kashmir’s shaivism
HAMSO or HAMSO is nothing but Atman .
kashmir’s shaivism
refers to the Phenomenal world as real
and calls it shakti while the Advaita sidhanta holds it as Maya or
illusion. In this way kashmir’s shaivism
is a contrast to Adi Shankara’s Advaita .Another aspect peculiar to TRIKA DARSHANA
or kashmir’s
shaivism is that it accepts no restrictions between caste , race or sex. TRIKA
never accepted the supremacy of
VEDIC CASTE SYSTEM.
(Autar Mota )
Tuesday 15th January 2013..... Time 11.45 PM ... Good Night .
CHINAR SHADE by
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