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Naari – The Woman of India
Where women are respected, honored and venerated – gods will dance in ecstasy! Where women are subjugated, insulted and ill treated – gods will vacate that place, nothing will prosper there – only misery and sorrow will prevail – that place will never have peace or happiness! This is the extract from Manusmruthi – the ancient Indian ethical & moral code book of culture.
How true it is even today! – if only if we open our eyes and take an unbiased look! The present and recent past generations of humanity may have taken objection to many tenets of Manusmruthi and argued about their irrelevance to the needs of the time – but no one can deny the fact that there are eternal principles in the order of creation and nature that continue to prevail timelessly. These principles remain “changeless laws” in the midst of all changes! Out dependence on gravity to stay on earth did not change – our dependence on Sun for energy did not change – our dependence on rains for food did not change … and these will never change – no matter how wildly different the Sci-Fi projections about the future of human survival and behaviour.
Despite all the impressive and concurrent technological progress in diverse fields of science & technology – ethical & moral degeneration of mankind witnessed in the modern times has not allowed the benefits of that material progress to contribute to life and provide happiness & peace to the mankind. The starvation for peace & happiness continues and is more rapidly & widely growing than the material prosperity. Why? Read the rest of this entry
All about Music..
Important : Do not miss the end part of this post 🙂
General Definition of Music: The art of arranging sounds in time so as to produce a continuous, unified, and evocative composition, as through melody, harmony, rhythm, and timbre.
Western Definition: Art concerned with combining vocal or instrumental sounds for beauty of form or emotional expression, usually according to cultural standards of rhythm, melody, and, in most western music, harmony. Music most often implies sounds with distinct pitches that are arranged into melodies and organized into patterns of rhythm and metre. The melody will usually be in a certain key or mode, and in western music it will often suggest harmony that may be made explicit as accompanying chords or counterpoint. Music is an art that, in one guise or another, permeates every human society. It is used for such varied social purposes as ritual, worship, coordination of movement, communication, and entertainment.
Philosophical questions surrounding music include that of understanding the source of the pleasure music gives, and understanding its expressive, dramatic, and emotional power. Our aesthetic response to music is more than the passive reception of pleasure, since it involves elements of understanding and anticipation: does this imply that it is appropriate to talk of the meaning of a piece of music, or of a musical language?
The origins of Indian classical music can be found in the oldest of scriptures, part of the Hindu tradition, the Vedas. It has also been significantly influenced by Indian folk music, and Hindustani music has been influenced by Persian music. The Samaveda, one of the four Vedas, describes music at length. The Samaveda was created out of Rigveda so that its hymns could be sung as Samagana; this style evolved into jatis and eventually into ragas. Indian classical music has its origins as a meditation tool for attaining self realization. Bharat’s Natyashastra was the first treatise laying down fundamental principles of dance, music and drama. Read the rest of this entry
Dharma – Everything that is there to know about!
If there is one word in “Sanskrit” that pervades the entire physical & material universe on one side – and also the universe of Life & Spirit on the other side – it is “Dharma”. It is used very colloquially on one side by all and sundry – as much as with extreme poignancy and significance by the very learned to explain the esoteric truths of God’s creations.
Let us look at the Indian mythological connection to this word and I quote ….
Dharma: An ancient “Hindu Sage” – a Rishi, who married thirteen of Daksha‘s daughters. According to the Mahabharata, Daksha sprang from the right thumb of Brahma, and his wife from that god’s left thumb. Their numerous progeny, transparently personifications of virtues and religious rites, were married to – “Dharma” (meaning moral duty in Sanskrit); to Kashyapa – another ancient sage and the grandfather of Manu, the progenitor of mankind; and to Soma – the king of the Brahmins and the guardians of sacrifices. Dharma in Hindu religion is the doctrine of the duties and rights of each caste in the ideal society, and as such the mirror of all moral action.
Now we look at the religious interpretations and I quote ….
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