The last few days of the year!(excerpt from a msg!)

Radha was given in marriage to Krishna in the presence of Brahma, the priest for the occasion, with decorum befitting the wedding, and 'seeru' and 'sirappu' (gifts and pomp): this was the finale to the Bhajanotsava of four days in the (Brahmana) Samooham Hall this forenoon. It was good to hear of the BrahmaVyvarthaPurana, perhaps,the only Hindu text that talks in some detail of Radha, and describes the wedding in elaborate passages. A version of ancient tales might speak of Krishna (and Radha) as Yadava's, of, perhaps, a Kshatriya clan, in some context, but the wedding was certainly a Brahmana proceeding, with KanyaDanam, MangalyaDharanam and SapthaPadi, and the gothra (lineage) of bride and bridegroom were announced repeatedly, in compliance with procedural requirements: Radha of HaritheGothra descent and Krishna, VasishtaGothra. Elaborate Bhajanotsavam item, the wedding: interesting, fascinating! (Bhajans following 'sampradaya' patterns, are fast becoming major cultural programmes, with fast tempo music in chorus,mesmerising devotee crowds into loud and frencied participation in another form of spiritual development, a kind of BhakthiMovement). Ananya&Agastya are arriving tomorrow: the Bhajan, over today, would have been a novel item for the children! Maybe, they will find a novel entertainment item in the (Jumbo) Circus on show in the city this week! And the elephants and the fireworks (much noisier than July 4 in the US) in two temples nearby later in the week! We (the residents' association)have a new year eve 'party' on Dec 31 evening, as well. Hope you are all doing well. Once again, Season's Greeting from all of us! (and, thank you for the good wishes in the messages received from all of you!) -- lovingly, rj.

Sree Rama and Kerala

There are a few authors, as famous as, or, more famous than their creations (books and characters created by them!), in the history of literature in every language -- unlike Sherlock Homes of Arthur C,doyle and Harry Potter of JKR and such others: among them, are Valmiki (Ramayana) and Thunjath Ezhuthachchan (AddhyaatmaRamayana, in Malayalam literature, re-telling Rama's story on a spiritual plane (addhyatmika consideration -- a shade above the intellectual)). Ezhuthacchan's Ramayana is a holy book to many 'malayalees', and is widely read to a prayer routine in many homes in kerala, particularly in the month of 'Karkataka', the 'difficult' month (Aadi for Tamils: july 15 to aug. 15). SreeRama is a popular deity and puranic hero, and Hanuman is a much worshipped 'God', too, in kerala. There are a few largish Rama temples in kerala, Thriprayar fairly famous among them (on the Guruvayur route from Paravur/Kodungallur). The typical kerala-brahmins, Namboodiri's and Thirumulpadu's, have Devi in various forms and 'moods', and Vishnu and some of His more 'popular' avataars (Rama& Krishna, mainly) for their preferred deities; among the settlers in this God's own land, Iyers are 'shaivaites' technically because their home-pooja is Siva-pooja, and, their major routine chanting is 'rudra'&'chamaka', and, Lord Vinayaka's father is worshipped by Iyers to improve chances of an easy passage to the heavenly abode, when the time comes! (Parameswara has Yama in his control) However, the 'kuladaivam' of many Iyers, is Perumaal, MahaVishnu; and, Rama&Krishna are certainly favourites with the Iyer clan, as well. Quite a few of the Rama temples in kerala 'belong' to the Konganies (Prabhu's, Shenoy's, Naik's et al) who settled in after migrating from the Kongan region of Karnataka, bringing along with them, more Vishnu culture, and some Narasimha cult, too, apart from some rules to worship Vamana God! The cocktail resulting from this bit of "Brahmanical Hinduism" in kerala, is really unique, interesting: apart from the Hinduism from the other Hindu clans native to kerala, with their own concept of Durga (kaali, parvathy, lakshmi, saraswathy etc.) and Muruga and Ayyappa and Hanuman, and the related pooja practices, with Lord Ganapathy, the elephant God providing the common thread, and, perhaps, promoting the love of elephants among malayalees! The number of temple festivals right through the year in most parts of the State, and the money and energy spent on them, might be unparallelled; i, for one, sometimes wonder if the people in this region think all the time so much about the festivals and rituals, that God is forgotten in the midst of all this flambuoyance and festivity! Art forms have been receiving tremendous encouragement from this culture: painting, sculpture and various forms of music and dance the chief beneficiaries! SreeRama's popularity is evident from the attention given to SreeRama by the artist(e)s, the popularity probably due to the simplicity and social appeal in the story of Rama&Seetha.

Thought for the day..1st day of Dec

At the center of our being is a point of nothingness which is untouched by sin and by illusion, a point of pure truth, a point or spark which belongs entirely to God, which is never at our disposal, from which God disposes of our lives, which is inaccessible to the fantasies of our own mind or the brutalities of our own will. – Thomas Merton
The impetus to gain mastery over one’s mind and senses does not come from a distant deity. It doesn’t come from any monastic rule, or even from one’s spiritual teacher. It comes from deep within yourself. You have had a fleeting glimpse of the shining presence within, and in its bright remembered light, all your flaws and blemishes are thrown into sharp relief. You can’t wait to start removing them. To have the desire to travel deep into consciousness is a sure mark of divine grace. To be no longer content to pick up what is floating on the surface of life, and to want only the pearls at the bottom of the sea, this is grace, welling up from deep inside.
(Compiled from Thoughts by Eknath Easwaran)