A tribue to Shiva - Shakti --------- The Dual Principle

Shiva and Shakti, the inseparable Duo, an example of perfect Unity and an epitome of unconditional Love.
One incomplete without the other, together, they are All.
On the occasion of Shiva Ratri, let us pay a sincere tribute, full of devotion to the Mother of the worlds and the Master of all existence.

 

The Dance of India

Classical Indian dance is unique for its own style. As everything else in India, dance also follows the rule of unity in diversity, with its multitudinous forms originating from a single root. 

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chola_art

All dance provides entertainment and refreshes our tired senses. 

Indian classical dance has an additional, more subtle and a deeper quality. That is, the spiritual essence imbibed in every movement, every step and every rhythm. 

In order to clearly observe this special quality, one must certainly have a knowledge of what the various intricate gestures symbolise and also a thorough awareness of the many mythological tales that are depicted in the dance. This is because the basis of Indian classical dance is devotion and to be one with the deity being depicted. And the easiest way to do so is not by placing the deity high above in the heavens, but by making the deity one amongst us. 

That is where mythology comes in place. Many of the modern day rationalists might vehemently argue over the credibility of such tales. But it is through these seemingly simple and irrational tales that the godhead paves his way into the heart of the devotee. It is by assigning human qualities and all the limitations that we share, to the deity and depicting that the deity has surpassed all difficulties and obstacles as a human and not as some god with super powers, that we feel much closer and can identify with the deity and try to take him as an example to move forward. If devotion and sincerity were added to this feeling of identification, that would result in a profound spiritual experience.

To be conscious of the spiritual essence itself demands one to be out of all prejudice and observe the dance with the mind as a blank page and the knowledge of the dance and its details in the background.

If that can be achieved, one no longer observes the dancer on the stage portraying various characters, but the characters expressing themselves through the dancer. And as this observation deepens, an atmosphere is built in the mind of the spectator, with his imagination as a key contributor and the whole scene comes to life and a connection is formed  between the deity being portrayed and the spectator.

This also depends upon the skill of the dancer to identify himself with what he portrays and the ease of his movements. A dancer too conscious of his own movements often fails to create the atmosphere that supports the identification.

The spiritual aspect of the dance though its most profound quality, is not the only one. There is also beauty of the form, grace in the movements, accuracy in the rhythm, and specificity in the expression.

source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/85189122@N00/5906219366/

All of this coupled with vibrant costumes, enthralling music, song, the stringed, percussion and wind instruments combined, will surely be a magnificent experience for the one who knows how to savour the nectar of the Indian classical dance.

source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/anniedalbera/4047304337/

source: http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manipuri_dance

 source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerala

                                               source :  https://farm7.staticflickr.com/6034/6297480706_e54828fa57_m.jpg

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohiniyattam

Do give your feedback in the comments section below.

The root of hatred - A personal analysis

Hatred.......Wikipedia defines this as " a deep and emotional extreme dislike that can be directed against individuals, entities, objects, or ideas"
and Freud describes it as " an ego state that wishes to destroy the source of its unhappiness."

But why this 'extreme dislike' and why the ' wish to destroy the source of unhappiness' ?

I think this base and extremely negative feeling stems up from an inability to rise above the source of unhappiness and a feeling of helplessness in making the situation better.
Considering the above two factors, inability and helplessness, as contributing to the feeling of hate, it is clearly a profound weakness that can be converted into a great strength if the contributing factors can be reversed.

The first step in achieving the conversion of hatred, in my view, is to introspect.
To look within ourselves and observe ourselves with a keen and impartial eye so as to see the situation or whatever it is causing hatred in us with an objective view.
In order to achieve this the most important thing to is to detach ourselves from this negative feeling.
And to do this, the best and the most popular way is to take a deep breath and count to 10!!
If we can succeed in having an objective view of the source of hatred, it immediately ceases to be personal and that diminishes its strength by half.
This may take a lot of practice and I would suggest you not to lose a single opportunity to introspect and have the tail of this unwanted emotion in your tight grip.

Now that we have been able to detach ourselves and notice the cause of hatred, not personally but objectively, the next step is to observe, if whatever hatred we have is helping make things better.
99% (let us leave the 1% as an imposed negation) of the time the answer is no.
All hatred does is to cloud our consciousness with a strong dislike that prevents us to think with a clear and a rational mind.
And surely, anything done without being clear headed and rational is done to make everything worse.

Now then, how do we solve the problem as we are not allowed to 'destroy the thing that causes unhappiness'?
It is by rising above the problem that the solution appears. By looking at the problem from above, not by drowning in it.

We have learned how to be objective and we have learned how to detach ourselves. After having learned the above two, we automatically put ourselves above the problem. That is when we can be sure of thinking with a clear mind and tackling the situation rationally. And when we are able to tackle any situation rationally, we no longer feel helpless.

The feeling of helplessness is converted into the mastery of handling any situation and the inability becomes the power of standing above all that troubles us. And the result, is hatred conquered.


If you have other methods to beat hatred, please share them in the comments below.
And kindly give your valuable feedback.

Vote for.......WHO???

With the Indian general elections coming closer, it is time for us, the responsible citizens of the world's largest democracy, to buckle up and make ourselves prepared to vote for the party which we find to be the best after thoroughly scrutinizing with a rational mind as opposed to the communal method which seems to be fairly popular.

It is of a great importance, specially for the youth of the nation to think wisely before acting as it decides the future of the country for the next 5 years.

Let us use the power to vote for its true purpose, to choose the one who is truly capable of guiding the nation towards a better future, to the best of our capability and discernment.

WORDS FROM AN INDIAN HEART

When I was told about how the influence of other religions has been detrimental to my own, there was a revolt inside me, something in me wanted to stop all of this and put everyone in place. To stop the oppression of my own religion.

 But, what is religion? In my view, it is just a path amongst many that suits our personality. It is when we stop acknowledging the true purpose of religion that we turn our faces away from the light it gives.And the purpose of religion, according to me, is to show us a Light that helps us grow beyond ourselves and attain a perfection that is difficult if we were to try it all by ourselves. But it is when we try to confine religion to a few set rules and just see what we like to instead of what it actually is, that we make it dogmatic and there begins the conflict of "religions" trying to prove themselves as the truth.

The Spirit of India has not taught us to be violent and judgmental or to fight to preserve what is just an outer shell of the vast, all-inclusive ocean that embraces all controversies and all that appears to destroy it. It does its work silently, without provocation, without using men as puppets. It quietly penetrates all without exclusion of name, form or belief. Its effect, too subtle for people to perceive unless  they consciously try setting aside all prejudice and pre-conceived ideas about what ought to be right.

Spirituality has always been the strong pillar that supports India or in a vaster sense even the world. But this has been more evident  in the lands of the East, particularly India and She has always looked upwards even  in the midst of the darkest crisis and has grown stronger and more powerful.

As common as it is, if one observes with a keen eye, the strongest always face the most difficult times, and this also stands true for Nations. India in particular has faced formidable difficulties in the past and has emerged successful and triumphant, conquering the difficulties and not submitting to them. And so will be the case in the present and the future as well. The difficulties - financial, political, religious, physical and spiritual, that She is facing today will only prove Her strength and will confirm once again Her place as the Leader and the Light giver.

In the present scenario, things may apparently seem to be the opposite but the future will surely prove it otherwise.