AIPAN- Kumaoni Folk Art

Aipan is the technique of floor painting using rice paste solution to etch out different geometrical and art patterns on the background of ‘geru’(red oxide). Instead of brush fingers are used to make these fascinating forms. These age old traditions are considered essential on every auspicious occasion. It is solely confined to women folk and usually mother passes it to daughter. Thus this art passed down from generation to generation. For the Kumaonis, each deity in the Hindu pantheon has a special symbol and every occasion demands an aipan of a different kind.

SCIENCE OF SOUND

Before understanding mantras and their relevance, we must understand the nature of sound and its effects.

How does the sound affect us? Try this…

Close your eyes and position yourself in the midst of main market place. Imagine screeching cars, blaring horns, shouting hawkers and screaming sound system relaying advertisement--- your pulse quickens and heart beat races.

Now gently change the scene-

Imagine the sound of gently flowing stream, chirping birds or distant bells of temple- At once the calm and serene feeling takes over.

This is the magic of sound of sound.

Sound is the vehicle for emotions- sing with joy, shout in anger, cry in sorrow or groan in pain. Intensified emotions usually demand stronger sound.

Some movements of sound always go on inside us. Like the rhythm of music, it determines the rhythm of our consciousness.

Mantras are sonic vehicles that encapsulate mystical energy and direct it towards specific aim.

NANDA RAJ JAT

In Himalayas, the nature, the people and the festivals are so interwoven that they exhibit a mystical aura and divine feel.

Nanda Devi Raj Jat or Nanda Devi Royal Procession which is held once every twelve years can be christened as the Kumbh of the mountains.

Nanda Devi, the incarnation of Goddess Parvati is considered as the beloved daughter by the devotees who gather at Nauti village near Karnaprayag to perform the ceremonial rites of escorting the goddess with her dowry to her in-laws place i.e. to Shiva’s abode.

In an arduous 280 km. trek stretching about ten days, hundreds of devotees make their way past the Bedni bugyal and Roopkund to the plains of Shila Samundra. Then they pass over to Kwari Pass to the final destination of Homkund lake, which is flanked by Trishul peak on one side and Kamet on the other.

The colourful and beautifully decorated doli of the Goddess along with a four-horned ram moves majestically with the procession. After worship, people bid emotional farewell and return.

Next Raj Jat Yatra will be in 2012.

NEED FOR EXPLORING NEW AREAS OF TOURISM

Tourism is claimed as the prime industry in Uttarakhand and lot is being talked about at every forum. Till date major revenue earners are the religious shrines which came into existence centuries ago or famous hill stations and retreats created or developed in the colonial era.

Today in the name of tourism, the policy makers are coming up with ideas that only creates pressure on existing destinations which in no way contribute in the growth of this sector. This is really a short cut! When people around the world are looking for new locations and want to experiment something unique, and above all ready to pay for that, why are we sitting back?

In Uttarakhand, Tehri Dam is the latest mega addition having a large reservoir, perhaps more than thirty kms long. It meanders through village after village, its surroundings, topography and the beauty is worth watching. Its emerald green- blue water and Ganga effect makes it a premium. If ferrying, house boats or luxury cruise liners type facilities and water sports are introduced in it, embankments of reservoir are beautified with forestation, parks and retreats, I am sure that it will make a mark on the world tourist map. Because all around the globe water bodies are the biggest attraction be it Kerala, Venice, Bali or Mauritius.

Once the government expresses its intention, the business giants from across the country will flock to grab the opportunity. If such a thing ever happens, it will enhance the state revenue, generate local employment and add one of its kinds, attraction to Uttarakhand.

Hope the voice would reach the authorities!

THINK POSITIVE

We need to focus on something positive- however slight, about a person. This diffuses the tension between the individuals. Though, it may take effort and time to communicate.

We must continue to stick to our admiration of just one aspect of the other person.

Eventually or immediately the other person will also stop reacting to us. Try this for yourself- IT ALWAYS WORKS.

If you are waiting at a place, watch your mind and you will find how it moves from individual to individual, all strangers; always forming opinion. It is the nature of mind to act in this fashion. So don’t be wary.

While doing this try to locate something nice in a person instead of negative facets. By doing this we would have done ourselves a great service!

Even this can be a form of meditation.

How can thinking well about someone we dislike be of any service to us?

Hate fosters a sense of duality. Ultimately this sense of duality means a sense of US against THEM feeling which is the root of all the sufferings.

The highest Yoga is the one of equipoise and equipoise never exists in the midst of duality.

NATURAL MEDITATION

Nature is a great teacher for any student of the Self Realization. Sages and Yogis explained that the secret of enlightenment is ‘Simply to BE’, to live in harmony with our true nature.

This is the lesson that Mother Nature incessantly trying to teach us. Unlike us, the elements of nature do not have ego. They go about whatever their Dharma is without making up a whole drama about it – the bird sings, the wind blows, the sun rises and the leaf leaves the tree, JUST LIKE THAT.

An elephant is probably not walking around wondering how it should be or wishing that its body were a different shape. The waterfall does not have to choose to be beautiful- IT JUST IS.

Whereas the problem of human being is to look different or to look better, comparison is one other problem. These are the root cause of his misery. Beautiful or ugly is perhaps the problem of human being not the bird, sun, wind, leaf or the elephant.

DEVA (ANGEL) AND ASUR (DEMON) CONCEPT

Ravana, Kansa, Chanda and Munda are the names of some demons who are said to have created havoc among mankind, brought miseries to the holy souls and performed all kinds of nasty acts to disturb the peace and harmony. It is also said that when their atrocities became intolerable, the Devi Shakti (angelic force) manifested itself in the form of Ram, Krishna, Durga or Chamunda and killed these evil forces and restored peace and happiness among the people.
This drama is continuously being enacted in the cosmos by one name or the other and we all are affected by it directly or indirectly. Since time immemorial mankind carried a strong desire to secure itself, hence it worshipped the protective forces (God) and did all kind of rituals and prayers to ward of the damaging forces ie. Devil. Every religion till date holds this concept.
On the subtle plain we ourselves are the battleground of these forces. Our karma decide which force is going to dominate us, hence we have to be careful and watchful. Anger, greed, violence and lust are some of the asuri (devil) forces whereas justice, peace, love, courage and compassion are some of the devi (forces). The percentage of these positive and negative traits within the society reflects its state of affairs. Any civilised and democratic society having the rule of law is therefore a Devloka and the opposites are Asurloka.

MEDITATION

Generally we waste our lives distracted from our true selves in endless activities. Our lives are full of aggression, competition, possessiveness, forever buredening ourselves with extraneous activities. We are already perfectly trained by this world to get jealous, to be anxious, sad, desperate and greedy, trained to react aggresively whenever provoked. We are trained to such extent that negative emotions rise spontaneously without even trying to generate. It is just a question of training and power of habits.
And MEDITATION is reversing this training process. With Time, Patience and Discipline our mind will begin to UNKNOT. MEDITATION is bringing the mind back home and its achieved through the practice of MINDFULLNESS which means be a witness to your thoughts which are at war, once this happens they will settle and dissolve and become friends. This is TURNING MIND INWARD.
There are many tested and trusted methods of meditation but remember - a method is only the means not the meditation. Meditation is something that HAS TO HAPPEN.

THE LEGENDRY HIMALAYAS

The great Himalayas are the highest mountain range on the earth, they are also the youngest and still in developing stage. Scientists' finding says that they are approximately increasing by 1cm per year.
Trans Himalayan in north and Karakoram in north-west extends upto eastern limits at Mishmi-Naga and Burmese chain totaling 3000 kilometres. Dotted with numerous snow peaks with Mount Everest the highest peak on the earth, a dream for every climber to scale and Mount Kailash peak as the ultimate destination for spiritual seekers.
Himalayas on the whole are considered to be the abode of Shiva and Shakti, the seat of austerities, yogic activities and tapa. It is the refuge of hermits, saints and renunciants who wrote treaties, scriptures and epics which are till date guiding the mankind. One can safely say that all the ancient religions originated in India have their roots in Himalayas. Numerous tribes and ethinic groups spread their own colours of cultural diversity in this holy land.
Himalayas have seen the great movement of Hindu revivalism under the auspices Adi Sankaracharya, the great saint from southern India. He established many magnificent temples and maths (Kedarnath, Badrinath, Joshimnath etc.) chiefly in Uttarakhand region.
Buddhist monastries are spread from one end to the other of entire Himalayan range. Tribes related to Alexander are settled in Himachal Pradesh.
Jews who migrated and travelled through central Asia found their home in north eastern Himalayas.
The socio-political disturbances made a significant impact on Himalayan social fabric. Many martial races and royal lineage of plains extending from Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh took refuge in these mountain ranges to avoid the excesses of invaders.
Himalayas are condsidered to be the protector and provider for the inhabitants of India, they are the biggest watershed, the rivers originating from it are the lifeline.
Lord Krishna in Bhagvad Gita declared "among the immovables I am Himalaya".
(Vibhuti Yog 10:25)

DASAVATAR

Modern minds and so called rationalists spare no time in calling the stories of scriptures as fancy ideas but in fact they are the strongest method of instilling moral values and wisdom in coming generations. They have subtle lessons hidden in them and if we are unable to decode it's our problem. Since our ego doesn't accept the fact that "we know lesser than our ancestors" we instantly label them as mythical or wild imaginations.
The ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu popularly known as Dasavatar is the first recorded explanation of human evolution given thousands of years before the birth of Darwin. The order of advent of Lord Vishnu is explaned as under :
1. Matsya Avatar (Fish) - Life first began in water
2. Kurma Avatar (Tortoise) - From water it came to earth, became amphibian.
3. Varaha Avatar (Boar) - The land animal
4. Narsingh Avatar - Half animal and half beast
5. Vamana Avatar - The under developed human being, proto human
6. Parashuram Avatar - Human being with small brain
7. Ram Avatar - Fully developed human being but with 14 kalas (for a complete being 16 attributes ie. kalas are requiered on gross and subtle level)
8. Balram Avatar - Developed human being with lot of physical energy
9. Krishna Avatar - Complete human being with all 16 kalas
10. Kalki Avatar - Kal means machine or something mechanical. This future incarnation is yet to arrive who will not only be complete human being but also be blended with latest chip, sensors and other electronic features (just like a superman/superhero kind of imagination which we see in Hollywood films)

This is one example from scriptures. If you have any doubt approach me I will give you more such stories.

MAKAR SANKRANTI

Makar Sankranti is a very auspicious day("tithi"). It falls on 14th of jan every year. I was in Uttarkashi which is one of the very sacred place in Uttarakhand and the ruling deity of this place is Lord Vishwanath. Ganga is flowing southward and wherever it meandered northward that place got the name of Kashi, there are three Kashi on entire route of Ganga from Gomukh to Gangasagar. First is Guptakashi, the second is Uttarkashi and the third is Varanasi-Kashi.
In Uttarkashi Makar Sankranti was the day of festivity, people in flocks coming from far and wide assembled there for Lord Vishwanath's darshan and the most fascinating part of whole festival was the grand assembly of "the Dolas of Devatas" in all there glories from the nearby villages. People danced in ecstacy and the entire atmosphere became divine. It was really a memorable experience.

FOLKLORES

Every civilization and every culture has its own treasure of folklores because they were the most potent and practical means of passing wisdom and moral lessons in form of interesting stories. Elders used to teach the young ones the right and wrong of life through them.
Since time immemorial the Himalayas have been a store house of numerous interesting folklores and they are still very popular in the villages and the countryside.
Many of them came to my notice during my sojourn in the villages of Himalayas. Some of them which I remember will be shared with you in the days to come.

TALE (1)
A man died at the age of seventy-five and was brought before Dharmaraj (the custodian of all the records in heaven).
There he started cribbing, "You called me all of a sudden and I had to leave many of my assignments halfway, this is not fair on your part."
After he finished, Dharmaraj smiled and commented, "I gave you so many reminders but you always ignored."
"First I changed the colour of your hair - you dyed them."
"Then I took away some of your teeth - you arranged a denture."
"Then I created wrinkles - and you went to a plastic surgeon."
"Finally the time came and I had to summon you here, its not my fault at all ..."
Lesson -
Except the reality that the body is decaying with every passing day and death is imminent.

POWER OF MANTRA IN HEALING

Good health is a combination of a fit body and a balanced mind. Even if one is not having any known disease categorised by any medical system of this planet, one may be a dangerously sick person. Health is a very comprehensive term.
Any living or non-living thing is a bundle of energy, balanced in certain order, to give it a specific form. Whenever there is an imbalance in that energy diagram, that particular form faces a decay or disorder.
If we concentrate on human body we will find that it is comprised of physically and spiritually balanced energy system of Seven Chakras(Energy Plexus) of which the highest one, Sahastrar(Crown Chakra) is the receiver of energy from Cosmos and remainig six (Agya, Vishuddha, Anahat, Manipur, Swadhisthan and Mooladhar) are the distributor inside the body.
In my life's journey which is intertwined with spiritual quest, this body fitness angle also arose. So apart from Yogic practices I greatly depended upon the power of Mantra - the rythm of sonic conciousness in keeping the Energy centres, the Chakras in order
The greatest one is Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra-
" Om Triambakam Yajamahe Sugandhim Pushti Vardhnam
Urva Rukmiv Bandhnat,
Mrityor Mukshiya Mamritat. "
The sacred vibrations of this mantra of Lord Shiva - the God of destruction, takes care of any destructive activity Inside and Outside.
According to the scriptures and through my own experience, I can say that the energy dispersed by continuous and sincere repetetion of this Mantra helped me in greatdeal to keep the gross as well as subtle body in order. Every Chakra receives its share of cosmic energy released by the Mantra which they distribute to the specific parts of the body, thus keeping the balance in order.
In 1997 during my meditation hours, tearing pain starts occuring on the back side of left knee was extremely unbearable. It continued for three months, there was no relief by any painkiller or gel or exercise. Then one day I stopped all and invoked Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra for the first time with the intention to get relief and to my amazement when I reached a certain count (which was my vow) the pain disappeared.
Since then, it is my Being as a protector and it never failed me up till now.

TANTRA - YANTRA - MANTRA

As this blog is dedicated to highlight and bring forth the Himalayan Heritage and this heritage is greatly dominated by spiritual treasure, ancient temples, mystic saints and their philosophies, so it is obligatory for me to explain these in a simple but authentic way. In this series I am starting with the explanation of Tantra - Yantra - Mantra.
'Tantra' cannot be understood alone, it has to be studied along with 'Yantra' and 'Mantra'. If we look it through common terminology - Yantra means instrument, Mantra means code or command and Tantra means system. Tantra can only work when it is associated with the other two.
For example : Human body is yantra. All the vital systems circulatory system, skeletal system, nervous system, digestive system and so on are tantra and Prana or life force is mantra. In order to make the body yantra function and that too properly Prana mantra is required to activate all circulatory, nervous, skeletal, digestive tantra.
In second example, computer hardware is Yantra, software is Tantra and commands are Mantra. All these three are essential. Absence of any one will have make it a junk. Hence it is proved that anything in this cosmos and even the cosmos itself functions with this trio. So tantra is not anything foreign to us. It is in fact the part of every gross, subtle and spiritual aspect.
Mantra or scientific spiritual commands work only if it is repeated with divine feelings (divya bhava). It creates an energy field, which is the cause of all manifestations and changes in the cosmos.
Mental power which when becomes a resolution(sankalpa) culminate into the forms and creations of this world. Forms are in reality the 'resolutions solidified'.
Here forms are yantra, resolutions are mantra and the specific scientific process of every happening is tantra.
If one wants to crystallise the resolutions in any form, the incessant practice of thoughts is required. The energy produced from the stability of thoughts attract the nature from all the directions. The very mother nature converts the vow (sankalpa) into grosser form.
This principle very well explains how the Yogis and Tantric are said to produce gross objects from so called void.
Just like Satva(pure and pious), Rajas(worldly actions), Tamas(dark forces and animal like actions), the tantra also has been practiced on three plains - welfare, self benefits and detrimental to others respectively.
It is explored by ancient rishis and seers of East, in Indian subcontinent and Tibet ie. in the nearer orbits around Mount Kailash. These sages initially experienced, then narated and then recorded this great spiritual science. Which later on developed as Shakti Upasana(worship). This worship of Goddess became synonym to Tantra Upasana.
The common belief that Tantra is some kind of magic or fanatsy or myth is far from truth .It is a well researched and proven way to enter the secret world of nature and to invoke Divine Mother(Shakti) who produces, rears and finally merges the entire creation at her will.

RELIGION AND SPIRITUALITY - THROUGH MY EYES

As we are growing from educational, scientific and material point of view so are we showing the sign of lesser a human being. It seems our understanding of human nature is decreasing very fast and the degree of adjustment and wisdom level is also depleting rapidly. The last couple of decades confirm this belief.
What is the reason behind -
If we go back in history we find that when human being left the nomadic way of life and settled down, he explored and needed to create an order. With the passage of time that order transformed into the religion. We can very well say that religion was some kind of code of right and wrong required for specific geographical area and time.All the secret of life and beyond were a mystery hence a supernatural power was naturally accepted as the guiding and controlling force which later on was named as God, Iswara, Allah and so on.
Gradually the human being went deeper and deeper to understand the mystery of life, the nature and the cosmos. To his astonishment what reveiled to him was, that his own innerself (spirit) contained all the answers he was seeking outside, even the bigger truth unfolded was that his spirit and that of others are identical and that was considered as spirituality. This oneness and commonness extended from atom to the tiniest creature to the cosmos.
As the time passed religion multiplied into religions, the competetion of greatness, supremacy and dominance increased, killing the very spirit of religion (a - the understanding of right and wrong. b - what I don't like I must not do it to others.) thus distorting the whole equlibrium and vitiating world's atmosphere.
Let me give you an example - If we take a beautiful flower, a typical religious person will start examining or comparing it with other flowers whereas a spiritual person will enjoy its beauty and fragrance. I wish we should all start enjoying the fragrance of commonness because enough analysis has been done.
The conclusion is that now it is a high time to explore our spiritual strength rather than our typical religious attitude because that can only bring the much needed harmony on this PLANET EARTH.