By way of introduction... a Travelogue

Some notes on the Vedas - their importance to life and love in South India


Tiruchendur, 20 February '06

After three weeks at the foothills of the Western Ghat mountains that separate Tamil Nadu from Kerala, I have moved to a new ashram by the sea at Tiruchendur. I am in a small village well outside the city and 5 minutes from the beach. Kulashekaram Pattinam, the village, is named after the renowned king of Travancore (modern day Trivandrum the capital of Kerala) and is set in a natural harbor. From this harbor Indian navigators sailed to Lanka and further to the Far East to trade their spices such as cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and pepper as well as jaggery (natural brown sugar), dried coconut, cashews and almonds. This was around 3000 BC (yes, that's five thousand years ago). Modern anthropologists, followers of Darwin's theory, do not accept that there was civilized life on this planet at that time, but Vedic written and, most important, oral and cultural tradition, speaks of spiritually evolved society going back millions of years.

Indian books of knowledge are called Vedas and include the Rig, Sama, Yajur and Atharva vedas which deal mainly with the mantras (chants) and methodology of performing sacrificial rites usually aimed at the demigods like Surya (sun), Candra (moon), Indra (rain), Siva, Durga and so on with the aim of assuring material prosperity. This primary driving force for religious rites is called artha, or material development aimed at kama, or satisfaction of the senses. The supply of light and heat, rain and so on is out of our hands so why not worship the powers that supply these necessities? Something like, if you don't pay your electricity and water bills the supply will be cut off. The majority of people are happy with this. Let our necessities be given and let us enjoy in unobstructed ignorance of our spiritual identity. They forget that cruel death is waiting in the wings to end their part in this illusory stage play. We will be kicked out and it seems madness to me to arrive at that point without having made a concentrated effort to discover who am I really? What am I doing here? Where will I go? Can my action determine the outcome? The convention is to tag these questions as imponderables, but the Vedas very much beg to differ. Therefore there is another, deeper, section of the Vedas comprising of the Vedanta, Upanishads, Puranas and Itihasas (Ramayana and Mahabharata). This section deals with our spiritual identity and how to revive our lost, loving relationship with our creator. The Vedic version is clear: the only absolute reality is the soul, atma, and its relationship with the supreme soul, paramatma. Everything else is but a passing show -- life after life.

But lets get back to the king. Maharaja Kulashekhara was born into the Sera dynasty of the royal family of Travancore, the southern half of the modern state of Kerala, in southwest India. The rulers of the land did not claim to own the kingdom but considered themselves vassals and ministers to Ananta Padmanabha Swami, the Deity of Visnu, whom they regarded as the actual owner of the land. Ananta Padmanabha, situated at Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), was, and still is, the worshipable Deity of the people of that area. The kings of Travancore would come daily before the Lord to offer obeisances and report on the administration of the country. (The tradition of the Maharaja of Travancore’s visiting Lord Ananta Padmanabha Swami goes on to the present day, even though the king has no real political power.) Such was the pious and saintly quality of the ancient line of Vedic kings among whom Maharaja Kulashekhara appeared. Kulashekhara was a ksatriya (ruler and military man) of great prowess and became king not only of the Sera lands but also of the neighboring lands of the Pandya and Chola dynasties. His flawless administration stood for peace, virtue, justice, and happiness. He nourished the people, and he personified magnanimity.

Sometime in the middle of his rule, he had a spiritual vision and renounced the throne, moved to the holy place of Sri Rangam and dedicated his life to spiritual cultivation. He is famous throughout India for writing the Mukunda Mala Stotram, a garland of verses to Krishna, the giver of liberation. A sampler:

“I have no attraction for performing religious rituals or holding any earthly kingdom. I do not care for sense enjoyments; let them appear and disappear in accordance with my previous deeds. My only desire is to be fixed in devotional service to the lotus feet of the Lord, even though I may continue to take birth here life after life.”

“My Lord, I do not worship You to be liberated from this material entanglement, nor do I wish to save myself from the hellish condition of material existence, nor do I pray for a beautiful wife to enjoy in a nice garden. I wish only that I may always be in full ecstasy with the pleasure of serving Your Lordship.”

"The desert of material existence has exhausted me. But today I will cast aside all troubles by diving into the lake of Lord Hari (Krishna) and drinking freely of the abundant waters of His splendor. The lotuses in that lake are His hands and feet, and the fish are His brilliant shining eyes. That lake's water relieves all fatigue and is agitated by the waves His arms create. Its current flows deep beyond fathoming."

With affection,


Ananda
(Carlo)