The Secret World of the Green Parrot

Have you ever wondered why green parrots were chosen for being pet birds? In mythology, there has been a strong association of the damsel in love to carry a cage with a green parrot in it which has through ages been associated with the flavor of sensual love. In mystic poetry, green parrots hold the secret of her love mate, and have often spilled those beans when someone comes along and lets them free.

Kamadeva (Wikipedia)

In the world of ancient iconography green parrots have been associated with the Lord of Love - Kama, who holds a sugarcane bow with a string of honey bees. The form of Parvati, Kanchi Kameshwari, holds a Green Parrot and a sugarcane bow with a string of honey bees in her hand as she resides on her beloved the Great Lord Shiva, at the Kamakshi Amman temple in Kanchipuram. Green parrots are associated with this potent essence of mortal love that transforms into divine love while sugarcane and honey bees describe the sweetness of such love. Somewhere along the way we lost the main meaning and just blindly followed the rule of pet birds. Maybe that’s a reason why parrots and love birds made it as pet birds in cages…a hope to keep the love energy active within grihasta.

But here is the twist to this beautiful story. While Goddess Kamakshi holds the green parrot in her hand, it is her consort Lord Shiva who slays Kama, the green parrot who hold the 5 potent arrows of love. Is there something for us to look deeper and wake up to? Kama, the cupid, Lord of sensual mortal love, holds 5 potent arrows tipped in 5 sacred flowers that can mesmerize any human to fall prey to the power of mortal sexual love and stay captive within its sweetness. And with one hit there is practically no chance of revival. It is one such deadly mistake that the great Devas made when they approached Kama to strike these arrows into the Great Yogishwara Himself. But little did Kama know of his own fate when he did that.

The great Ravana (yes I admire this asura) has furiously written this sacred verse on the potency of the love of Lord Shiva, who is way beyond the small world of love that Kama promises us.

Karaala bhaala pattikaa dhagad dhagad dhagaj jwala-

Ddhananjayaa hutee kruta prachanda pancha sayakae

Dharaa dharendra nandinee kuchagra chitrapatraka-

Prakalpanaika shilpini, trilochane ratir mama. ||7||

He on whose intense forehead the great fire of enlightenment burns Dhahaga Dhaga

He who burnt the God of Love, the one with five arrows,

He who describes the essence of pure love by drawing beautiful lines

On the tip of the breasts of the daughter of the mountain

He is of deep interest to me

Why did Lord Shiva burn Kama with the great fire of enlightenment? Now this fire of enlightenment is not any old fire, it’s the divine fire of wisdom. Let’s get past mere mythology and dive into the sacred world of Tantra Shastra. The divine fire of wisdom can destroy the mere fire of sensual love and that decided the fate of Lord Kama. That also decides our fate, if we choose to have the lesser fire of carnal desire burn in the divine flame of spiritual wisdom.

Our problem is that we didn’t ever get past the mythology of why Lord Shiva killed Kama. The deeper meaning of this great mythology is the deep wisdom that somewhere in our race to live, we have lost our purpose or never dug hard enough to find it.

What a beautiful verse the Demon Ravana writes:

The intensity of spiritual wisdom is so high in the great Yogishwara, that the arrows of mere mortal love practically had no effect on him. He writes instead of the spiritual essence of Lord Shiva's love, who is a greater spiritual lover, who describes a higher form of love that is not mere sensual excitement. Clearly the great Yogishwara is not a mere mortal, and such minor flames don’t affect him, hence it was Kama who burned in the fire of wisdom. Did he kill him - No, did Kama die - No, but symbolically Kama, the God of lesser love was taught the art of greater consciousness in spiritual love.

What effect does this story have in our world?

We are capable of greater love, in our mere mortal existence to move ahead beyond sexual boundaries. Divine love, bhakti, and a sense of greater adoration brings compassion into our minds towards lesser beings and greater bliss towards divinity. We have just one trump card - abundance of love - we need to channelize it towards greater spiritual bliss and not waste it in lesser mortal pleasures. The mythological story has a deeper secret towards earning spiritual energy and the green parrot is a constant reminder of how far away we are from it.

Picture courtesy: Wikipedia

Divinity in the Aditya Hrudayam

It’s another peaceful morning, bright and airy giving the world a new life; life as we soak in this light, life as we soak in these rays, life that subconsciously controls our emotions, and life that we have so easily taken for granted. The sun, this golden ball of fire, has always risen and always set without fail giving us this precious life, the value of which we still don’t quite know. This very ball of fire has seen many years; it has defined what we call as time.

Centuries ago, in the earlier yugas, a distressed Rama stood on this earth, in a battle field facing the wrath of his opponent Ravana on one such brightly lit morning, just that the mood was entirely different. As Ravana continued to intimidate him, Rama was not very inclined towards war. It was at this very prime moment that Sage Agastya appeared before him and shared with him a few pearls of divine wisdom. The Aditya Hrudayam is a profound set of verses composed by the Great Sage Agastya and rendered by Rama in his search for the answer to his distress on the battle field.

The meaning of Aditya is synonymous with the Sun, the giver of energy that helps us enjoy all the experiences of life with our senses
Hrudayam relates to the one who shines or dwells in the heart. Hence the consciousness that resides in the heart of Aditya, pulsating with energy is the inner unchanging witness to all thought, words and deeds.

It is believed that by reciting the Aditya Hrudayam, one is blessed with pure thought, words and clean deeds carrying no karma forward and is ensured of moksha. The sun is universal, the brightest light of divinity visible to our consciousness and hence we bow to this light as a sacred form of the supreme for without it, there is no life, no consciousness.

The essence of the Aditya Hrudayam brings about all destruction to our fears and human inhibitions and prepares us for any calamity/unforeseen event in our lifetimes. The Aditya Hrudayam is a catalyst that helps control emotions while experiencing these events and bring them to moderation thereby seeking to achieve greater heights in our hunger for moksha.

The Aditya Hrudayam when literally translated describes the in detail the state of anxious Rama on the battle field when Sage Agastya appears before him. He teaches him the secrecy of divine worship of the sun which in our language translates to the Great Sun having warm rays with golden hues, nourishing and energizing the universe that rises and brightens up the horizon. It is an all encompassing bright light that is worshipped by both the Devas and Asuras. This light empowers Chandra and Agni and therefore is equal to worshiping the lord of the world. He is the embodiment of all the Gods, self luminous and the sustainer of life. He is Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Skanda, Prajapati, Indra, Kubera, Kala, Yama, Chandra, Soma and Varuna. He is the embodiment of the 8 vaasus, the Sandhyas, the twin Ashwins, the Maruts, Manu, Vayu, Agni, the maker of the seasons and the store house of divine light. He is the Son of Aditi, the inspirer of the senses, the nourished, the one with golden rays, the ever brilliant, the seed of the universe and the maker of the day. He is the master of 7 green horses, having thousand rays, the destroyer of darkness, the source of happiness, the one who mitigates suffering and the infuser of life into the cosmic egg. He is the store house of riches, like the hiranya garbhah - the one with a golden womb, the illuminator, the bearer of the divine fire, the ever blissful and the destroyer of "cold" [evil minded]. He is the master of the 3 vedas, Rig, Yajur, Sama, he is the sender of dawn, the one who blesses us with rain, the one who crosses the Vindhya range, and the one who sports in the Brahmanadi. He is the giver of heat, adorned with rays and reddish in appearance. He is the Lord of the stars and planets and constellations and the origin of everything in the universe. he is the Lord who appears in 12 forms through out the year [12 months]. Salutations to Him! He is the great lord who is the presiding deity of the eastern mountains and western mountains. He is the giver of victory, he is joy born out of victory, the golden one. He is the one who subdues the senses whose emergence makes the lotus bloom. The Sun is consciousness, that is seated in all those who live, in all created beings and he remains awake when all else sleeps. He is both the sacred fire as well as the fruits of such divine worship. Sage Agastya tells Lord Rama, Raghava, to sing the glories of the divine sun and conquer all the dangers that befall him; the Sun will not leave him. Concentrate on the Sun, recite this hymn 3 times and you will conquer all your fears and enemies.

Gazing at the supreme sun, Raghava recited this divine hymn and experienced the supreme joy of fearlessness and sipping water thrice; he purified himself and prepared for battle. Thus knowing the impending death of Ravana, Surya, and all the other great gods blessed Rama with victory.

The Aditya Hrudayam, in its divine words encapsulates energy into itself that spread divine vibrations around us as we recite these words. Over a period of time, this regular recital leads us to purify and conquer our inner thoughts and conquer our fears by discarding the desires that lead up to them. This profound knowledge is experienced everyday with the waking of the sun into our lives. It may also be described as the tiny drop of light we light for the Gods when we bow in reverence to them during our daily prayer. This fire is but a small speck, an extension of the larger ocean of flames that make up the great Sun.

To the great divine Sun God I pray for another bright day.

Supreme consciousness - The experience of Lord Shiva

Lost in the surrounding din my little mind tried hard to keep the internal silence intact. Words, sounds and all the wasted energy continued to pierce through the walls of my defenses to cut into this silent world I called my own. Moving from event to event, across people of various backgrounds I happened to make interesting conversation with a couple of them.

These people were regular folk who had found their happiness in the little things they did. Yet they caught the essence of Shiva when they described him in what they had read in poetry, in dance, in abhinaya,in music... Listening to them and observing them was a totally overwhelming experience...Why? Their description captured Lord Shiva and my emotions jumped more with every word and action that expressed itself.

In their expression I looked on, to hear the primordial sound echo across the floor as they recited a few verses. In their action I could hear the damaru play aloud echoing the sound of OM, bringing its all encompassing presence into my mind and soul. In their actions lived Shiva in his divine movements as they depicted the deer, the gajasamhara, the taming of the snake, the opening of the third eye, the grand nataraja, the fire bowl of enlightenment furiously burning on, and abhaya, that single message of Fear not.

He was there, present in their thoughts, in their movements, in their actions and in the life that twinkled in their eyes as they described him. This is bhakti, shivahood and the presence of Shiva makes the heart melt when they look into the middle of thin air and shake the imaginary damaru, through the art of Bharata or make the sound through the verses of Manikyavachakar... There is Shiva coming alive in front of him.

It is beautiful to see his character appearing as they paint him through their abhinaya, as they bring forth the awakening third eye, sway around to show the flying jata mukuta, moving in grace to show the beauty of gangadhara shiva, showing the swift aggression in tying the tiger skin around his waist. Isnt this just the beauty of lord Shiva that makes tears well up in my eyes. At this moment, all the world stops, its the perfect getaway from the din.

This is probably a step closer to the experience of feeling Shiva consciousness, when the heart skips a beat and the tears roll out and bliss engulfs us and we identify Shiva in the movements of an unassuming soul who just danced a few steps around to describe him or just recited a few verses as they explain the same bliss that they felt.

Jatatavee gala jjala pravaha pavitha sthale|
Gale avalabhya lambithaam bhujanga thunga malikaam||
Dama ddama dama ddama ninnadava damarvayam|
Chakara chanda thandavam thanothu na shiva shivam||

From the forest of his matted lock, water flows and wets his neck,
On which hangs the greatest of snake like a garland,
And his drum incessantly plays damat, damat, damat, damat,
And Shiva is engaged in the very vigorous manly dance,
To bless and shower, prosperity on all of us.

Jata kataha sambhramabrama nillimpa nirjari|
Vilola veechi vallari viraja mana moordhani||
Dhaga dhaga daga jjwala lalata patta pavake|
Kishora Chandra shekare rathi prathi kshanam mama||

The celestial river agitatedly moving through his matted hair,
Which makes his head shine with those soft waves,
And his forehead shining like a brilliant fire-daga daga,
And the crescent of moon which is an ornament to his head,
Makes my mind love him each and every second.

Shiva echoes all around us, Shiva purifies the thoughts in our minds, Shiva brings us peace and an unnatural blissful excitement that can reduce all other miseries in our lives to nothing. This is the state of constant equilibruim that I hope to achieve some day as life passes me by. This is probably the slow but sure way to the highest realm of Satya Loka.

Courtesy:
Shiva Thandava Stotram
By Ravana
Translated by P. R. Ramachander

Ravan Dahan and Dussehra

Ranchi, 1984 Ravan Dahan

The day came to a close with the rising moon and I shut out the lights for a good night sleep. But sleep, there was none, not even a wink, for the Ramlila next door ran right into the night. Folk music clouded the atmosphere and left little room for anyone to try sleeping. It was a couple of years later that I went with my father to witness one such Ramlila and watched Hanuman running around the stage, performing to an enthralled audience.

Those days were exciting, as we prepared the next day to go to see the Ravan Dahan which was planned to start at Sunset. The puja vacation had been good so far, with Durga Maa pandals dotting the Ranchi landscape, each pandal profusely decorated with new found creativity.

We reached early, and my father made it a point that my sister and I get the best view. Ranchi is a small little town, we just have one big Ravan back there standing in all his finery with Kumbhakaran and Meghnath on either side. All three stood center ground as the crowds began to gather around them. Ravan had his heads dominating the skyline and as I watched him, perched on the roof of one of the apartments, my childish heart sat back watching him loaded effigy wondering why he was so evil - a big bad evil king, loaded with paper and fire crackers, ready to be burnt.

As the sun set, three huge trucks drove into the maidaan(ground) with the great Lord Ram and his vaanar(monkey) army zooming around the effigies of the three evil kings. A much much smaller army and smaller men, displayed their might against these static effigies representing evil. And then it happened, Ram shot the first burning arrow right into the stomach of Kumbhakaran while Lakshman took Meghnath. Two fiery arrows flew into the air from the truck below and lit the anxiety in every one's heart. Will it reach the effigy?

Sure it did, and Kumbhakaran and Meghnath ran into flames, spreading light and color into the air as they burnt down. Then Ram struck again from the truck, and it hit Ravan straight in the heart and the crowds cheered! The most evil king had been hit on this day, and he fell into flames as the rising fire burnt into him sending sparks and crackers into the air. It was just beautiful, living the Ramayan a top a roof as the smoke rose into the air.

And here I sit, looking at the same Ravan, who is also one of the greatest devotees of Lord Shiva. He excelled in playing the veena, such was his devotion that he played the tunes from the veins of his hand. Such was his greatness, that the Ravana Anugrahamurthi describes him to have had the will power and strength enough to shake mount Kailasa, because he wanted to take Kailasa back to Lanka, but Lord Shiva pressed down the mountain with His toe. Its strange Ravan has been unsuccessful in uprooting Kailasa, and in bringing back one of the Jyothir Lingas. Much as Lord Shiva appreciated his worship, He never went to Lanka with Ravan. My question is, was Ravan really all that evil?

View location map of this temple

Courtesy: Glossary of Indian art.

Jyotir Linga Rameswaram, shrine near the sea

Rameshwaram – Temple for a cosmic bath

It was a moment, a moment recorded in faith, not written on a tablet or a wall but in the mind’s of the generations to follow, an event that brought awe and amazement over the truth, that there is a supernatural out there.

In the middle of the vast ocean, a King lay his feet on the sandy beaches of earth and turned the island into a sacred land. It was an island that took the shape of the sacred subtle sound OM. On this island He was advised to worship the Lord by a great sage, who guided him through his worship. It was here that his worship brought into being a huge column of fire that rose out of the ocean and presented itself as a Jyotir Linga among these sacred sands.

A miracle on the golden sands remains embedded in the mind. The vast ocean ahead gives no hint that it ever subdued to a column of fire. Its sunrise again, the calm waters send ripples to the coast, ripples that gentle toss the boats waking the world out of deep slumber. Times have changed, the very idol of the Lord that once was worshipped by the great King in the open, is now covered well within the walls of a huge temple. Three prakaras, need to be crossed to see the Lord deep within his dark chamber. A chamber where the very light of the Jyotir Linga now lies dim, and is visible only to a true sincere aspirant.

They say the great King was Lord Rama who was advised by sage Agastya to perform the worship to Lord Shiva to rid himself off the karma of having killed Ravana, a great Shiva Bhakta. It was Hanuman who went to the banks of Narmada (or Kailasa is debatable) and brought back the Shiva Linga for the worship but didn’t make it in time. Lord Rama made a replica of the Lord in sand and Lord Shiva rose to give it its life. Hanuman was very disappointed that he didn’t make it in time and that the ritual was performed in his absence. He tried to uproot the Linga but was unsuccessful and the marks of it are still visible on the Linga. The Shiva Linga Hanuman brought was also installed, a little to the south, and should be worshipped first before the main Linga is worshipped.

Read more in details: Rameshwaram – Temple for a cosmic bath

It’s a different world there, when one descends into Rameshwaram, with 51 theerthams scattered around this island. 22 of these wells are well within the temple complex. The feeling of purity is very evident when you walk through the corridors, bathing at each well and heading into the temple to finally meet the Lord. The times have changed, the dark torch lit corridors now blaze with electric lights, yet the pillars and the music carries you back into those times, of a different living, perfect living with a slower life and more room for peace and spiritualism and oneness with the Lord.

Jyotir Linga Vaidyanath at Deogarh, Bihar

Click on the photo to enlarge it.

Trithalam trigunadhaaram trinetram chatriyayudham |
Trijanma-papasamharam Yega-vilvam Sivarpanam ||

Though this is a write up on Deogarh Vaidyanath temple, there is a strong possibility the original Jyotir Linga is at Parali, Andhra Pradesh... Quoting the stotram - Paralyam Vaidyanatham

It’s a peaceful evening, as one walks around this quaint temple complex. This complex originally had 12 but now there are 22 temples in all that are dedicated to various Gods, the primary deity being Lord Shiva. Temple bells ring as devotees intimate the Lord that they have come to visit him. A bath in the nearby Shivaganga Lake purifies them before they make their way towards the main sanctum.

This temple complex is simple, with small shrines scattered around within its walls. The interesting aspect about this temple is that even today modern scientists have not been able to open a ventilated door; hence the popular belief of the common folk is that this temple has originally been built by Lord Viswakarma. This temple complex is also famous for being one of the 52 Shakti peethas of Sati. It is believed that when Vishnu used his Sudarshan chakra to destroy her half burnt body as Lord Shiva carried it; her heart fell here at Deogarh.

This temple complex lies on the undulating land of the plateau landscape among small hills, near the Shivaganga. The well-lit courtyard of this complex in ancient days would have had fire torches lighting up the various passages around the temples with oil lamps within shrine chambers, bringing the presence of the luminous Jyotir Linga out for any ardent aspirant to witness.

Talking about devotees, there were none as great as Ravana himself, who is known to be one of the greatest bhaktas of Lord Shiva. It is believed that it was his wish to bring the Jyotir Linga back with him to Sri Lanka. He is known to have attempted to raise the very peak of Mount Kailasa, which has been so beautifully depicted in the Ravana Anugrahamurti. Lord Shiva, pressed him down with his toe and promised to give Ravana a Jyotir Linga to take back home, with a condition that should he ever keep the Linga on the ground, it would take root again.

Having accepted the condition, Ravana started his long trek back to Lanka. On his way back to Lanka, Varuna the Lord of water created a disturbance in his stomach, and Ravana felt the need to relieve himself. Vishnu disguised as a lad offered to hold the Linga, but soon got tired and laid the Linga on the ground. With this the Linga was finally rooted to the ground here at Deogarh. Ravana tried very hard to uproot it, damaging it a little in the process. The Linga still carries the chip. Ravana, disappointed with the event, decided to worship Lord Shiva, and came to cutting off 9 of his heads. It was then that Shiva descended in the disguise of a Vaidhya and joined the various heads of Ravana, back on him. Shiva is therefore known as Shiva Vaidyanatha at Baidhyanath Dham.

At the entrance of this temple is a well called the Chandrakoopa well, the waters of which are considered very holy since the well has been built and consecrated with water from several theerthas by Ravana himself. It is believed that all physical ailments get cured when one visits this temple.

They say that this temple went into ruins and was later discovered by a young man called Baiju. According to folklore he used to religiously worship the Linga and hence this jyotir linga came to be known as Baidhanath.

Photo courtesy: © Kundan Amitabh, Angika.com 2004