My Pet Tiger

I was gifted a Tiger on my last birthday.
It's the stuff real things are made of.... scares the piss out of children.

I'd dreamed of owning a life-size Tiger model for the longest time. And this one looks so real that anyone peeping into my house from the entrance retracts his nutcase immediately. Allows us inmates to sleep in peace - ghode bech ke!. Like Lord Shiva does, meditating peacefully on his tiger hyde in frozen Kailasa.

I was searching for more references on tigers in Indian Mythology. There's one indication in Sant Dnyaneshwar's story. Read on.....

Dnyaneshwar was a child saint born to parents Vitthal and Rukmini. This was around 13th century AD. Indian social laws required each person to undergo four stages in life : Brahmacharyashram (Celibacy & Learning Phase), Gruhasthashram (Householder Phase), Vanaprasthashram (Exile Phase) and Sanyaasashram (Renunciation). One needed to completely fulfill their responsibilities of one phase before graduating to the next. Only someone who had vowed eternal celibacy would be allowed Sanyaasashram without undergoing the intermediate stages.

Vitthal lied about his marital status to his Guru while accepting sanyaas (exile). When his Guru found out the truth, Vitthal was ostracized from the Brahmin community as punishment. Thereon, four children were born to the couple who ultimately committed suicide hoping that their children would be accepted back into the community after their death. However that did not happen. The children had to fight a bitter battle with the erstwhile custodians of social conscience. They had to resort to begging for survival. Amidst all this struggle, the eldest son Nivrutti got inducted into the Nath tradition of Yogic studies. Nivrutti tutored his younger brother Dnyaneshwar in the science of Kundalini Yoga. With this, all four siblings followed the yogic path of life

Tales of these miracle children spread far and wide and ultimately reached Changdev, an accomplished yogi of those times. To test the caliber of the young ones, Changdev sent them a blank chit of paper as message. The children laughed at the blank message and replied with 65 verses summarizing Vedanta scribbled on the same piece of paper. Changdev's ego was challenged as he couldn't comprehend the verses. In vengeance, he set off to meet the children to intimidate them with his yogic prowess. For his visit, he chose to ride a tiger and used a poisonous cobra as his whip. As he entered the village, Changdev was followed by a huge procession raising his ego even further.

On the other hand, when Dnyaneshwar and his siblings were informed of Changdev's arrival, the kids were enjoying their daytime play. Dnyaneshwar gently patted the wall they were seated on and the wall began flying like an aeroplane. With their spiritual energy, the children had made an immobile wall take flight and serve as their vehicle. Changdev's pride crashed at the sight of such unparalleled power. He became their disciple thereon....

This makes me think of all the aircraft technologies mentioned in mythology.... 

We'll talk about that............. in the next post.

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Arjun - The Warrior Prince

Recently I saw a much-awaited animation of recent times :  Arjun - The Warrior Prince.

Exceptional Movie! And if it makes a purist like me say this, it surely must have been an epic for the average masses who don't delve much into the details of Mythology. The movie was strong in all its departments - Script, Direction, Editing, Animation, Sound Effects, Music Score, Dialogue Delivery, Song Rendition, Art Direction, Costume Design - and all that remains. Perhaps Bollywood movies that boast of budgets 500 times that of Arjun could take a leaf or two from its success. The film was running until its fourth week - a rare precedent for an indigenous animated film.

Arjun used 3D simulation for its background whereas all characters in the movie remained 2-dimensional. And they used their scissors wisely... clipping off gross episodes from the Mahabharata that're not suitable for sensitive audience. Except connoisseurs of Animation, this film was most likely to be watched by young children. The scene where Yudhisthir stakes his wife to gamble, the Draupadi vastra-haran episode.... or the point where Kunti asks her sons to 'share' Draupadi.... these trivia have been totally eliminated, projecting Panchali as Arjuna's wife alone all along.

However it's the narration that takes the cake. The thrills and suspense come unexpected.

Then again, they've taken cinematic liberty to alter major segments of the original Mahabharata. Here, Krishna supposedly instructs Arjuna of Bhagavad Gita much prior to the war. Shakuni is portrayed like a caricature as ever. And Panchal King's challenge for his daughter's Swayamwar is tailored too. But no one's complaining. Because this gives the film an opportunity to explore events of the Mahabharata from an artist's viewpoint. Once Arjun takes his dive into the bubbled turquoise waters, he not only hits the fishes' eye with his valour, he leaves the audience equally breathless!

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Conch Shaped Wash Basin

I received the image as an internet forward, and I simply LOVE this contemporary design. It looks just out of the burials of some ancient civilization, yet has that air of modern sophistication to it. This piece seems to be a hand-crafted piece - or at least meant to look so.


The form of a conch has been very frequently used to denote Shuddhi (Spiritual Purification) in ancient Indian practices. There are evidences of use of such spiral forms in the plumbing systems of lost olden-day civilizations. Living practices in India are often based on guidance of spiritual scriptures. That it should be used in the form of a wash basin or a kitchen sink, is marvellous...


Regardless of its smoothness, the relief provided at the surface of this conch, however is likely to invite grease accumulation, so common to Indian kitchens, requiring daily upkeep to maintain its aesthetic. The product could have been designed for European markets.


OVERALL VERDICT :  

I give this contemporary wash basin a thumbs-up for its mysterious design - suited perfectly to the luxuries of an affluent household.


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Mysteries of Egyptian Pyramids

 

image courtesy : www.niceworldtour.com

Pyramids of Egypt have been an endless curiosity, especially due to my interest in mythology and spirituality. These huge structures built by ancient Egyptians are a feat seemingly unthinkable to human capacity. Perhaps that is why there are theories suspecting an advent of extra terrestrials leading to the construction of these monumental bodies.

As is the common notion, these pyramids are not tombs built for burial. Archeological surveys suggest that these structures seem more inclined to be centers of meditation for the ancient royalty of Egypt. They are a solid mass constructed from natural stone bricks, multiples taller than the average human figure. Each brick weighs as much as three family cars combined. It is therefore a mystery how such heavy bricks could have been transported to an incredible height of 584 feet - vertical dimensions of the largest pyramid, in the midst of an endless desert region.

Every pyramid has a burrowed spiral pathway within, leading from the entrance at its base to the uppermost tip. These pathways are intercepted by chambers at long intervals. In olden days, these chambers housed royal assemblies.

The surprises do not end here. The architecture of the King's chamber is worth studying. The length of the chamber is 20 royal cubits, and its width is 10 royal cubits in measurement. It is a perfect 2:1 rectangle in plan, constructed by exactly 100 bricks. Also, the height of this rectangular chamber is precisely half of its diagonals, creating a so-called Pythagorean Triangle. The only difference is that this trigonometric wonder was built several millenia before Pythagoras could have been born, asserting the mathematical brilliance of ancient architecture.

Mysteries of the Egyptian pyramids are endless.... These structures are not only a challenge of Architecture and Engineering, they are exemplary classics of  the purpose they were built for : Astrology, Astronomy and Spiritual Evolution. These pyramids rest inclined at exactly 30 degrees to the equator. The long chimney from the Pharaoh's Chamber vents itself to point at a certain constellation of stars. These alignments, when dated back in history indicate a date around 13000 B.C. wherein the patterns of heavenly bodies in the skies matched congruently to the plan of the pyramids on earth. In the same phase of time, Leo remained the ruling star-sign matching its counterpart on earth - the Sphinx.

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