Talk about fashion

Talk about fashion
Originally uploaded by shreya zazu

One of my favorite pictures ...this when Lakshmi was posing for me ;-) o and she's wearing beautiful silver golisu's (anklets) ..Lakshmi is the elephant at the Manakula Vinayakar temple at Pondicherry.

UNDERSTANDING DEVI

We see Devi in all kinds of ways today, we see her in a wooden shrine, in a brass image. See her as hilltop in gwahati , see her in Kolkatta’s kalighat in her fierce form, in Tibet as the bizarre figure riding a wild ass, in Nepal as a beautiful living child dressed in red…all of them address Devi as maa…the mother who protects them from everything!

There would be more than a thousand names for Devi because each of her temples go by a different names and many times her name is what that village or that city gets called by like Roma for Rome, Athena for Athens, Mumbai for Mumba Devi, Calcutta for Kali ka katta(seat of kali).
When it comes to worshiping her, it happens from just painting a rock to doing elaborate orthodox rituals. In Nepal they belive that the goddess resides in the kumari’s(virgins), and the royal kumari’s bless the king every year. The very form Devi is given is to receive darshan….as the act of seeing is a transfer of grace. The Vishnu samhita talkes about imagery and how important it is to have an image to help your mind concentrate on it.

Lawrence babb’s study is very interesting as he studies the fact that he says that the Devi is soo beautiful the demons don’t want to fight her but she on the other hand tells them that she will marry only the one that fights her in battle. She is the virgin, destructive and she is always victorious. He says that acts of destructions is ok as long as they bring order afterwards.

One must also understand that mother goddess are there for nurturing their devotes rather than child bearing. Non of the goddess such as Lakshmi or Saraswathy ever bore children. Parvathi had Skanda and Ganesh but never bore them in her womb.

DEVI DOWN THE AGES

A large number or crudely fashioned female clay figures were found from the Indus civilization which was at its peak from 2600-1900 B.C. The dominance of such terra-cotta figures among the material remains from these cultures and the absence of male deities suggests the importance of the feminine goddess during that time. Although when the Aryans dominated north India, they introduced the Vedas which is a very male dominated scripture and that is how society changed to becomes overwhelmingly masculine. Post Veda literature such as the Upanishads still continues to support and propagate the made oriented tradition, although the worship of mother goddess was still present it lay low.
It is only the start of the current era that witnessed the rise of the worship of the mother goddesses. They were seen as dayini (wish granters).terra-cotta plaques of different kinds began to be made. Lakshmi the goddess of wealth was first goddess to be portrayed she is also called as Shri. She is describes as being as radiant as gold and she sits on a lotus adorned with jewellery and flowers.

During the Gupta dynasty, 320 A.D mother goddess were engraved on coins, on one coin Shri Lakshmi sits on a lion holding a cornucopia in one hand. It is during this dynasty that the worship of mother goddess strengthened a lot. In the next few centuries mother goddess began to be carved in stone mostly of the goddess killing Mahisha the bore. Dating to the 5th and 6th century we have well preserved images of the goddess, wither with a toddles or with a new born at hand, but it is the Devi Mahatmiyam that conceptualized the goddess worship. There was no turning back for the mother goddess after this!

In philosophy there are two theories that explain the worship of mother goddess. The first is maya and the second is the Brahman. The whole world is brought about by maya a creative potency with in the Brahman. Shankara used the term shakthi to describe shiva’s consort in the Saundaryalahiri, in which she is superior to Shiva. In the Devi Mahatmiyam Shakthi, Maya and Prakriti all come together, she is seen to pervade and sustain creation.
The 12th century text the Devi- Bhagavata Purana which took the tree famous stories of devi and announced that Devi as Mahakali, Mahalakshmi and Mahasarasvathi.

One of the earliest temples surviving Devi temples is the Ambika-Mata temple at Jagat, Rajasthan that dates back to 960 A.D. there are varied images of the goddess with Mahisha in different posed all around the temple, though the main image is missing.
In the south, the Vijayanagara empire worshiped goddess Durga before embarking on the war-related activities, just like it was done in the Mahabharat when Krishna asked Arjuna to pray to goddess Durga before he goes to fight and in the Ramayana when Rama prays for victory to goddess Durga before he goes to battle with Ravana.

Through out history even when the worship of mother goddesses did not gain primacy her many forms as a wish bestower, especially as
Lakshmi the goddess of wealth and Saraswathi the goddess of learning are always worshiped. Also the worship of Draupadi and Radha are worshiped in selected parts of India. Temples for Draupadi are found only in south India where as Radha worship is found only in the north. There are a number of village deities around India, in tribal areas there isn’t always a fixed iconography, like for example Vaseli who is worshiped in the coastal Orissa is simply represented by a rock coated with paint. While other deities like Kamakshi and Meenakshi are worshiped in a more orthodox way.

We also have temples like at Guwahati, where they worship Devi Kamakhya where she is celebrated in a sheet of rock with a cleft filled with water. Here worship is very different, she is offered animal sacrifice like for example anything ranging from a goat to a buffalo. The animal is brought to the temple is beheaded and the head alone is taken to the alter as an offering, the meat is then distributed among the devotees. A few times a year the water turns red indicating that the menstruation of the goddess very similar to the Chengannur Bhagavathi temple in Kerala., here again a few times a year, the goddess’s white petticoat gets stained after which the temple is closed for 3 days. The petticoat on the other hand is bought by the wealthy. Menstruation here is hailed as auspicious and a reiteration of the fertility and sexuality of the goddess.
New forms of Devi keep coming up some generalized like mother India and some localized like Vaishno Devi in the Himalayas or Vindhyavasini from the Vindhyachal.also deities like Santoshi Maa, unknown 25years ago! Santoshi ma became popular due to the popular medium such as cinema.

DEVI AND TODAYS’S WOMAN

Although the great goddess have been studies and worshiped in great depth it some how does not affect the status of women in today’s society. Today’s generation might reinterpret Devi as she is and try to provide them with a degree of freedom and power. It would indeed be gratifying to see women in India draw from the tradition of the mother goddess to redefine their status in today’s world.

References:

At the Feet of the Goddess: The Divine Feminine in Local Hindu Religion, Lynn Foulston.

Encountering Devi, Vidya Dehejia.

Devī: Goddesses of India, John Stratton Hawley and Donna Marie Wulff.

Encountering the Goddess: A Translation of the Devī-māhātmya and a Study of Its Interpretation, Thomas B. Coburn.

Elina

My aunt nor i had met her before. but she opened the door and gave us the biggest smile and said...hhhiiiiiiiiiii auunttyyy!!( to my aunt of course!!). as we went in, she only gave us only 100% of her attention. she was soo cheerful and happy and running about here and there. I wouldn't have imagined that she had lost her father only about 6 months ago. her name ELINA...

elina(to me): can you please help me with this bouquet of flowers I'm trying to make for my mother?
me: yeah sure, why not!
elina: thank you soo much akka, so what do you do? are you in collage?
me: yeah I study in Dakshinachitra(I started helping her draw on her sheet)
elina: O really, i have been there. Akka you know some thing you draw soo well( with a big smile)
me: really , you think so??(proudly continue to draw badly) anyway what are your hobbies elina? do go for singing classes?
elina: yeah but i like dance better, you know all i want to do is go around the world and give performances ...just like my dad.
me: yeah im sure you will..you like dancing better than singing!??
elina: I don't think i could sing as well as my dad ...
me: you have to try!! you cant say that after learning for just a year!!...anyway dancing is good too..i learn dance too!!
elina: really akka!!thats wonderful!!
me: so why are you making this bouquet?? school project?
elina: nooo...in fact i have my exams going on, i have English tomorrow...this is for my mother!...
me: O, for your mother!!
elina: yeah...these days she hardly even smiles...after my dad died she feels very.....alone...!
me: (shocked that such a young girl is able to talk about stuff like this, i continue to draw and nod my head)
elina: yeah she keeps crying , i feel very bad...when i tell her not to cry she doesn't listen to me..so after i come home every day i make some thing for her so she doesn't feel bad.
me: that's really very nice ....(still a little shocked)
elina: yeah yesterday i made her a drawing of a cake, then few days ago i made bird with color paper, today i thought ill give her flowers, see i have these are extra straws ....can you help me cut it??
me: sure!! give it to me...
eline: thank you so much akka...i don't know how i would have done it if you weren't there...
me: so what do you do when you come back from school?
elina: i come back at 2 o clock...and eat some thing that my mother has prepared then i sit think about what i can make for her that day or what to do when she comes back so that i can make her happy!...do that till she comes n show it to her...then do my home work ...n that's all i go to sleep...
me: o don't you have friends in your flat with whom you can play with?
elina: no...theres no body...
me: O so your all alone at home until your mother is back?
elina: yeahhh...(with this very casual expression)...O i also practice my dance and singing...because i want to become really good when i grow up. i want to be just like my father when i grow up. i want to go to america, and london and all...have you been there??
me: america..yes!!...
elina: realllyyyyyyyyyyyy !!!!your soo lucky akka...(i just give her a smile)
me: here this is almost done!...what color shall i put on top?
elina: red..that's my mothers favorite colour.!!shes going to be soo happy...(she gets all excited )
you know Christmas is coming and she wants to go away to this camp because she doesn't what stay here alone..
me: un huh...do you want to go too??
elina:i will go where ever my mother goes...i never leave her..

then she said some thing..that moved me a lot!!

elina: you knowww....since my father died ..shes been so unhappy..i jussssttt don't know what to do ( in this mallu accent)....all i want to do is make her happy!..with these flowers shell be happy for just a little time..then she becomes sad again!!...( she puts her hand on her chin and is deep thought, as if trying to solve a math problem)..what do you think i should do..??
me: well, maybe she'll be okay in some time...
elina: but akka its already been sooo long!!...
me: ok well then keep trying!!..am sure things will change...
elina: (not convinced) okay okay ill think of some thing...o the flowers are done!!...o akka ...they look so pretty!!...come come...lets go give them to my mother!!

she runs to the living room with the flowers hidden behind her back, and asks her mother to close her eyes. her mother does as shes told, then she sits in front of her with her biggest smile with the flowers in front and says ..."okaay opeeennn"...

her mother looks at them and smiles...mean while elina is all over her tell her and showing her what i drew and what i cut and all..her mother smiles and says yeahh its really pretty...looks at my and gives me a smile.Elina mean while has the biggest smile and this sparkle in her eyes when she sees her mother smiling.

i still dont understand how an 8 year old can be so mature, be so strong. mind you that 30 mins i spent with her, not once did she sound sad or depressed. she was so in control of herself, her goals set, her aims clear and she was prepared to do anything to make her mother happy. THAT is a quality many people lack, some times even me.

The eternal sunshine of the unchaging mind

How happy is the blameless vestal's lot!
The world forgetting, by the world forgot.
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!
Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd.
-Alexander Pope

Everything in life is going to be gone one day, what do we do about it!?....Like she says in the movie
"ENJ0Y IT"......That's the thing about us, all we want to do is to keep everything that shines.Its like we when the sun rises in the morning we never never think its going to set.We always just think its here to stay!

Nothing in life stays...And its not like we haven't learn that lesson. When we do, its like its engraved in stone in our blood. But when the sunrises again we think, that unlike like yesterday, it'll never set! Yeah it set yesterday, but no ..It wont happen this time, it wont happen today!..

How can we be like this!!????? how can we think that the same thing wont happen again! are we all that foolish!?? why is it that we don't get the big picture. Why is it that we cant understand that its just a whole big long movie....

Its like each time we die..Erase! then we come back and fall into the same trap.The same trap of life.

The world forgetting, by the world forgot.

What happens after you say...Enough is enough!!

When I run into problems with some one very close to me...( when I say problems I mean real problems)..I can only handle it in one way, cut them off right from the roots!!...Just give them the furniture treatment!! When I think about it today, I have made that move on one too many people...Only because...They have caused me a lot of hardship or hurt and lets face it..Its not worth keeping up such relationships...But today as I was randomly surfing the net I ran into a very very old friend's profile...She was probably the first friend I had after I came to Madras...Yeah she made life tough for me but well, we grew up together...And today if there's anyone I can link my past to, as in my school days..Its only her..!! For whatever misunderstands we had between us, I cut her off and mind you it was a 10yr old relationship!!!

When I end up meeting these so called ex best friends of mine...I don't know why but I just freeze up!...And its like allll those emotions come back in just a few seconds and get stuck in my throat!!I just can not for the life of me understand why??!!...Like for example when I came across this girl's profile, I don't know why... But I actually for like 5 mins sat back and thought about all the crazy times we have had, you know how it is when your in school and your growing up!! The Hindi classes, the wood cutter games , I remember I even slapped her(real hard) when I was in my 3ed std and in return my Hindi teacher got hold of me and slapped me!!haha we both ended up crying for the rest of the day and of course we made up in the process and went back home as if nothing had happened!! Actually that's a lie her cheek was swollen and all red!!lol...OK its funny now but I was wondering...Yeah we cut off people like that, just because you cant take them anymore but at what cost!!?? people change too...I mean we all do!!don't we??should we give them another chance!?

When such emotions come back to me...I feel a bit real!! Lately I've become numb to relationships...As much as I care...I couldn't care less!! The only joy I experience is when I relate to some one else's joy or my course or dance!! Your past makes you feel ( for like a split second) like the person you were then! I can just close my eyes and take myself back to that precise moment when a bunch of my friends and I used to sit under the dum-dum tree eating lunch and they all use to take about Pepsi Uma's program, while I used to sit there lost lol. These are all dead memories in my head....Which come to life, once in a blue moon but when they do, I always think of that friend of mine....

Cutting off people who are not good for you is the right thing to do...But in the long run I'm the loser!!...Because in the process I lose all those memories. There's a difference when you relive some thing with a friend or a relative and when you think about it alone...When you do it alone, its as good as a fragment of yesterdays dream!
But I have after I have grown up (I think I have at least ;-)) found out that cutting off makes it easier to break relationships but the wound almost never heals...With time one tends to forget or replace but along with that, all these memories gain a tinge of sorrow and that is some thing that can never be changed...I really don't know how else to deal with people so I'm sure I will continue to cut off people when, I cant take it any more....But I guess that's where I'm immature and will probably go on to become a pathetic psychologist!...

But renewing ties (In these cases atleast) is some thing I think I will never do ....Every thing comes with a price! If my price is to lose a part of my past...So be it!

Understanding Goddess Kali

The following is an objective report on goddess Kali, studying her has made me realize what life and the world today is all about...

KALI’S FORM:

She is described as the mistress of death. She is portrayed as being dark, wearing dark cloths, with her tongue poised as if to lick. She has fearful teeth, sunken eyes and is smiling. She wears a necklace of snakes has a large belly, rides on a large ghost and wears children’s corpse as earrings. It is not just her form that makes her terrifying but it also the fact that her anger can destroy the world. She is supposed to live in the cemetery.

Kali, coveys the image of death, destruction, fear and terror,: all aspects of reality.Kali was and is still associated as a tribal goddess in some places. She was initially worshiped by thieves and tribal groups living on the periphery of Indian society. Kali at some point ceases to be an indigenous tribal goddess and gets associated as a part of the pantheon, and hence over the years becomes a “Mother Goddess”.

“Kali’s origins can not adequately explain her subsequent history. She eventually transcends her origins”-David Kinsley.

KALI’S PRE-HISTORY:

The word “Kali” is used to describe one of the seven tongues of Agni in the Mundaka Upanishad. Agni’s tongues are to be taken as representatives of actual beings. No further mention is made of ‘Kali’ in the Upanishad. There is another mention of a goddess called ‘Nirrti’ very similar to Kali’s description. She is not referred to once the term ‘Kali’ is mentioned. However, Nirrti was not a famous goddess. Kali is supposed to have first emerged from Durga, during the battle with Rakthabija. As Durga is unable to fight Rakthabija, she creates Kali who comes in her vicious form and drinks the blood of Rakthabija and kills him in the process. In the Agni and Garuda Purana, she is summoned in the mantras for success in wars. Her description in the mantras as spine chilling. The Bhagavata purana mentions Kali as the patron goddess of a band of thieves.

Kali is worshiped in great extent in Tamil Nadu and is mentioned in the Silappadigaram and the Manimekalai. The practice of the offering of navakondar, the nine parts of the body was practiced in south India. Bengal is another state in India where Kali worship was and still is very popular. The Ananda Mangal Kavya clearly describes Kali and is dated roughly to the 8^th century. Tantrasana of Krishnananda Agamavagisa and Syamarahasya of Purnanand also talk about Kali extensively.

Apart from Bengal and Tamil Nadu, Kali worship was prevalent in Orissa, Assam and Rajasthan. In Rajasthan, Kali is not associated to Durga.It is very interesting to know that that during the medieval period just when the worship of Kali in Bengal began, it disappeared in Rajasthan. David Kinsley stresses that the goddess was considered as inauspicious goddess until the Devi Mahatmiyam. Even after that it took some time before people accepted Kali as a mother goddess. Her acceptance was gradual and occurred reluctantly.

Tracing Kali’s growth in popularity, she became well known and popular in the Hindu tradition only after she was associated with Shiva. In the Vamana Purana during Shiva and Parvathi’s wedding, Kali is mentioned, but not in her ferocious form. In the Vamana Purana Kali and Parvathi’s names are used interchangeably. In the Devi Mahatmiyam it is suggested that Kali was born out of Kausiki (Parvathi) to kill Canda and Munda. The Vamana Purana, describes Kali as being born out of Durga to kill Rakthabija.

In the Shiva Purana, Kali is described as being created from the locks of Shiva’s hair. According to the Linga purana, all the gods came pleading to Shiva kill Daruka, the demon. Shiva asks Parvathy who in turn creates Kali. After the battle Shiva manifests himself as a crying child in the battle field and Kali seeing the child nurses him. When the child does not stop crying she dances, watching this, Shiva gets pleased. In another different tale the manifestation of Kali is seen when Shiva would not allow Sati to go to her Fathers’ house.

ATTAINING KALI:

GODDESS OF TANTRA:

In the Tantric texts, Kali is seen and worshiped as the supreme goddess. In the Tantra’s, she maintains her fierce aspect but is confronted by the hero(the worshipper), who thus identifies with her, controls her and wins her boons. In the Karpura stotra, she is associated to the five elements and is seen as the supreme mistress of the universe.

MAA KALI:

Some authors have noted that Ramprasad never gets put off by Kali’s image and habits, but only craves more for her. The same goes for Ramakrishna Paramahansa, as both the saints looked at Kali as the divine mother, and despite her weird behavior and strange image, they revel in her a loving maternal presence. They saw her image as a mask and approached her as a child, and they succeeded in making her take off her mask. Kali’s appearance changes and softens, as she becomes the central deity in Tantrism and Bengal devotionalism.

KALI AS MAYA:

One of the authors who have done extensive work on Kali is, David Kinsley and he extorts his readers to look beyond Kali, beyond the chaotic dancing and her out of control behavior, and seek what lies beneath the external appearance. There is permanence and when one looks at the world today it is the same. There fore she manifests herself as the eternal being and hence her believers see her as the world is today.

What an A/C bus can't give you...

Some times our lives can be so jam packed that we hardly have time to feel good about it.Yes, feel good about life being jam packed..We are all so involved in our own words that we don't realise that life is actually so much fun.It might not be fun for every body but right now I certainly am having a ball.This course for one is eating me alive, but it some how feels so good to be so filled up, actually just a few days ago ...My crazy life started getting to me, my dance was suffering and I wasn't able to keep up with everything.

I worked till 4 a few nights back, finishing some corelDRAW work I had to submit the next day.I woke up the next morning and switched on my computer and it wouldn't boot.I tried a million times and then decided to chuck it, but I was damn pissed.I had, had a horrible fight with a friend(which was bugging me, I donno why because we fight all the time anyway).I was suppose to take money from Amma but I forgot,because I woke up late.So I had to walk it to the bus stand and I had 5.rs with me.That's it.I had lost my wallet the earlier day and all my cards, I was'nt too happy about that either.I had enough money to go but not on the deluxe bus, I had just enough money to by the sada bus.So I waited and......waited!!!And mind you I was already 30mins late for class.It was just a horrible beginning to the day and I was really ready to yell at some one.Which I don't endup doing but I just feel like that.Which is weird because when I'm in a bad mood and some one pisses me off, I'm so consciously under control I never yell or fight.Anyway so I'm in one of my moods and waiting at the bus stop.Its just been my luck that I travel by the same route that has the A/C buses and I have not yet gone on one of them.And I travel on the same route every day!!!And that day, this A/C bus come and stands right in front of me, literally in front of my face, and the door opens and I look at my wallet again and at the 5.rs coin and I just stay like that, I don't even bother looking up until the bus has left and the dust from its tires is falling into my eyes.Then my sada, slow, rundown bus comes, jam packed...now I don't have a choice do I, late for class no money for the A/C bus or deluxe bus, I get in,and make my way through, hugging my cellphone and wallet so that no one steals it in the mad rush.It was horrible till Mandavali and at Mandavali, half the bus gets down.Feeling slightly better I go sit at the edge of a broken seat and as usual, am deep in my thoughts (thinking about myself!!pffftt)looking at the floor of the bus, when some one taps my shoulder.I turn to find the conductor standing, giving me the biggest smile!Which I don't know how but made me feel sooo much more better instantly.He seamed to be in his late 50's wearing a sky blue shirt and dark blue pants.He pulls out his ticket machine, gives me another smile and says "yenga ma pohanum?" in this very polite caring tone.I smile at him feeling like I have just got into the bus for a joy ride and nothing else.I reach to get my purse, and took out the only thing that was in it and said "thiruvanmayur".He could very well see that I had only that in my purse, gave am another very warm smile and handed my a 4.rs ticket and change.
That's it.He walked away, and I went back to looking at the floor.But I couldn't have been happier.I sat up, and couldn't stop smiling at myself.Suddenly,every thing was okay, suddenly the day became beautiful.I enjoyed the bus ride, enjoyed my class, enjoyed my lunch with no salt.Suddenly it was all fun!!I still don't understand what happened but its funny how the mind changes course..But you know what made the difference, the little care from a stranger.Am sure all of you must have experienced it, its some thing so warm and genuine and pleasant. Little do they know that's its going to change some one's life drastically.