Sunday, February 7, 2010

Decoding Cosmos!




"Enthamaathramuna Evvaru Thalachina Antha Maathramu Nuvvu", the opening lines of the famous Annamacharya Krithi is translated as:- "O Lord, You assume whatever form that is attributed to You by Thy devotee!"
Fantasy plays a big part in our lives. We fantasize about material and emotional fulfillment in our day to day life. Fantasy, is a powerful form of meditation as the mind is focused on the desired object/relationship. Over a period of time many of us attain our desires as a result of the intensity of our thoughts and wishes. Even God is realized through fervent thought-practice and staunch conviction that He is in and around us. As the famous saying goes, "God is in faith"! To fantasize about God, the practitioner needs to have a chosen deity. Since God responds only to emotional appeal, it is mandatory to choose a specific relationship with Him/Her (in case of a Goddess). A clinical approach to God does not work. Love and faith gradually train mind and eye to become vigilant for identifying messages from the cosmos.

I started this practice many years ago, I vividly remember the time when I used to take my daughters for their swimming classes in Savera. I used to sit by the pool and imagine God, Lord Venkateswara, in all His finery streched out as Lord Ranganatha on the other side of the pool. I alternate between Lord Venkateswara and Goddess Durga whenever I spin yarn out of my fanciful thoughts about God's presence in my day to day life.

Then comes observation, this part is absolutely blissful and exciting! It may take a while for the trained eye to figure out messages from God. When curious messages, occurrences and coincidences (hinting at the presence of God )are recognized by the psychic core of our minds (call it premonition or intuition!) we can be convinced that we are finally THERE! The messages could come in the subtlest of forms or manner, it depends upon the ability of the practitioner to interpret the message from God. The understanding manifests itself into Truth or God! For a practitioner who is not convinced by cosmic messages, God remains in His Nowhere Land and would not budge! For the non-believer God remains as inaccessible as ever!
To invoke God, the best thing would be to develop feelings of love and kinship towards Him.
A clinical approach to God is a big no-no! God responds ONLY to emotional appeal! Love and belief gradually train the mind and eye to be vigilant and alert for grasping messages from God.

I couldn't help but notice a few coincidences of late. I found that whenever I checked my mobile for missed calls or messages, the time would read as 12:12, 10:10, 03:03, etc.,always showing even hours and minutes on my mobile. My instinct would nag me that God was making His presence felt ("KAALOSMI"- "I AM TIME" as Lord Krishna stated in Bhagavad Gita)! After convincing myself that it was indeed God Himself who was revealing His divine presence through the even hour/minutes that showed on my mobile, I started treating my mobile reverentially. My observation has further led me to believe that when the time showed as 10:37, 12:48, 09:36, 06:24 etc. (the minutes adding up exactly to the sum of the hour), even that implied God! At times when the time (during my random check for missed calls or messages) showed one or two minutes lesser than 10:10 or 07:34 etc., I would wait for the one or two minutes to pass to feast my eyes on God!
During instances like travel by car, flight or train or while stationed in some place, my gaze would casually encounter messages like "Sri Kamakshi Thunai", "Do not fear, I am here" etc. on lorries, buses or cars. When I look at pictures of fierce looking lions (representing Goddess Durga), elephants (for Lord Vighneswara), monkeys (for Lord Anjaneya) etc., I recognize them as my guardians .
Way back in 1994, I had a terrifying experience while flying from Coimbatore to Chennai (returning from a holiday in Ooty). The air turbulence was so intense that I thought I would not survive the flight! It took me a very long time to get over my phobia for flights. In the midst of my fear of flying, I had to take up a journey to London for a veena concert. I prayed fervently to Lord Ranganatha to make my journey pleasant without air pockets and turbulence. Despite all my prayers, during the flight my knees were shaking and my palms wet and sweaty due to fear. After sometime I heard the captain of the flight announce that we were flying across Madurai (close to Trichy, Srirangam) and I got goosebumps listening to the announcement. I recognized it as God's way of declaring that He was protecting me! I was simply thrilled! As though the assurance was not enough, another miracle took place just then!
Sensing somebody occupying the empty seat next to me. I turned to notice that he was an elderly Indian. It was obvious that he sat next to me to strike a conversation. He asked me curiously, "Are you Veena Gayathri?"
Small talk was the last thing I needed, at the same time I was glad to have company to be able to keep my mind off the flight! I replied with a tired smile, "Yes".
He introduced himself,"I am Rangarajan"! His name made me jerk my head towards him, my eyes growing wide in awe and wonder!
All through the journey, the gentleman discussed music and the temple rituals in Lord Ranganatha's temple in Srirangam (he told me that one of his relatives worked as a priest in the temple!). Time flew and I hardly noticed the flight. In London Heathrow Airport, Mr.Rangarajan refused to leave my side till the organisers came to meet me. Walking along with the organisers I turned to look behind. Mr.Rangarajan was still there, waving goodbye to me with a smile!
On my return to India I knew it would be too much to ask God for a repeat performance, but somehow I couldn't shake off the premonition that He would once again escort me back to India. While I was pondering about the curious ways of the Divine, I heard a voice from behind, "Gayathri! Neeyaa!!". I turned back to find ghatam vidwan, Sri. T.H.Subashchandran looking at me in surprise and delight. I had known Sri.Subash from my childhood as he had accompanied me on mridangam as well as ghatam for many of my concerts.
"Subash Anna! How nice to see you!" Being in the company of any member of Sri. T.H.Vinayakram's family feels like being in a religious discourse about Maha Periyava. The members of the entire family are staunch devotees of Maha Periyava of Kanchi Mutt. I was simply thrilled to know that my premonition had come true and that God would be with me on my way back to India too.
On the way to London if the conversation between Sri.Rangarajan and myself was all about Srirangam temple and Lord Ranganatha, on the way back to India the conversation between me and Subash Anna was all about Maha Periyava and the miracles He performed in the lives of His devotees!

God is within our grasp, it is simply an art of decoding cosmic signals!

27 comments:

Unknown said...

Dear Gayathri garu,
Very nice to read your blissful experiences that show His(/Her) presence in day to day activities. It is all in how much faith we have. I feel very happy to connect with you through your blog.
Best wishes,
Music Lover

Veenaagayathri said...

Dear Music Lover,
Thank you and I agree with you that 'faith' is the key word to feel God in our routine lives. I am very happy to connect with you through my blog.
Regards,
Gayathri

Anonymous said...

I wish you the very best in your pursuit of God and the signals that He gives. I wish you all the happiness , bliss , prosperity and contentment of all sorts. You will always be special.

Veenaagayathri said...

Thank you so much, all with your best wishes!

malathi said...

dear mam,
your spiritual experience is a rich one mam...
u r right that v have to tune ourself to the god/goddess frequency to observe our surrondings..
with love
mala

ShyamalaSajnani said...

I loved the article, especially for the simplicity with which you revealed your most precious thoughts and understanding.

I am sure that it is no coincidence that the date the article was posted was 7-2-2010 adding up to 7+2+2+0+1+0=12 and the time posted was 8+0+4= 12

Now to check further 1+2 is 3 and three stands for Jupiter or Guru.

Also on a lighter side 12 is me tooo :-)))

Carnatakam said...

Hello,Good to read all your wonderful writings.

I am torn between belief and non-belief primarily un able to comprehend this:If all that happens to us is because of our karma ,then what's God's role in our lives?

Please enlighten.

Veenaagayathri said...

Dear Mrs. Mala, Thank you!With love,Gayathri

Veenaagayathri said...

Dearest Sham,What a lovely observation! Yeah, it works that way too and the best coincidence is your birthdate!Thank you for your appreciation!Lots of love,
Gijju

Veenaagayathri said...

Dear Carnatakam,
Thank you very much! Karma can be greatly reduced or the native is mentally detached from Karma with the grace and protection of God.Daily prayers and constant contemplation of God invokes God's grace thereby gradually reducing the influence of karma, while the native strives towards the state of self-realization.Regards!

Kalyaani said...

Dear Madam,
Nice to read another enlightening post from you. Faith and devotion are the only way to experience God's blessings in our daily happenings, as you say. But these are the most difficult things to realise by the mortals, probably. So, God though omni-present, remains invisible to most of us

Mom15 said...

Awesome article. Love it love it love it! I am fundamentally a god fearing person. However in the daily grind of this busy life I tend to deviate from the religious path. Articles like these help me get back on track...which is a big help. I just cannot describe how much I have taken home from this article. Please keep them coming.

Veenaagayathri said...

Dear Ms. Kalyaani,
Thank you so much, you are right!

Veenaagayathri said...

Dear Mom15,
I quite understand what you mean, same is the case with me. Yet, I am indefatigable in not letting go of Him,gradually tables turn and He will not let go of the devotee!
I am extremely happy that my article has been useful to you.Thank you very much!

Unknown said...

Dear Gayathri garu,
I was not able to be very artriculate in my earlier post. Thought I should elaborate more here. Your post, especially about having the company of Sri Rangarajan is so touching and inspiring as to how easily and readily you could feel God's presence if you have such an intense yearning and faith. Reminded me of what my grandma used to describe. She was an ardent devotee of Lord Venkateswara and had tons of experiences. She was once travelling alone and needed an escort. Someone by the name 'Venkata Rao' showed up and talked to her for a while and later disappeared in the crowd.
A similar experience is what Tyagaraja describes in his kriti 'Bhavanuta na hridayamuna ramimpumu'. Rama, Sita and Lakshmana came to his house in the form of an elderly couple with a helper, talked to him, ate with him and then bade goodbye and disappeared. You would already know this, but I feel happy mentioning it. This song touches my heart for the beautiful experience Tyagaraja had.
You posts are beautiful. They strengthen my faith in Him and in music.
With best wishes,
Music Lover

Unknown said...

Oops....just realised that I made a mistake in the 'Bhavanutha' story in my last post. It is Rama, Sita and Hanuman (not Lakshmana as I typed earlier).
Music Lover

Veenaagayathri said...

Dear Music lover,
Thank you once again for your kind appreciation!I am overwhelmed by the examples quoted by you. In nowadays contaminated world of Kaliyugam filled with small and weak human beings like us, it is still possible to establish contact with God through love and faith, that is what I tried to convey in my own words and experiences.That God is merciful even to undeserving people like me is what I tried to convey.
I have noted the correction in your second mail.Thank you once again!

Ganesan.S said...

Wanted to share what I read on a similar topic from Prof.Laitman:

http://www.laitman.com

"It is written, “Reveal the Creator in fear.” But what is fear? Fear refers to inner changes, similar to the vibrations of a musical instrument such as a violin, a harp or a guitar. These inner vibrations enable the instrument to make sounds or to reveal the sound from within.

In order to reveal the Creator, we have to understand that “Every day His call comes from Mount Horev.” We have to be ready to perceive the call like a musical instrument that vibrates together with His sound in unison. This is the meaning of revealing the Creator in fear. Then we will hear Him.

We have to approach The Book of Zohar with the right preparation: with the sensation of an insistent need to reveal Him, and at the same time, the sensation of complete helplessness and inability to do this. These two impressions will force us to vibrate in unison with the Creator’s call, which is concealed in The Book of Zohar, and we will then reveal its sound.

A person will gradually feel that he is becoming the Creator’s instrument and the entire universe passes through him as enormous streams of energy, waves and revelation. However, he is not simply a numb piece of wood, the material the instrument is made of. Rather, being in unison with the Creator and producing the same vibrations, he becomes equal to Him. He is ready to nullify himself completely in order to participate in the same motions and changes as the Creator, who gives the person His knowledge and qualities.

Therefore, when we read The Book of Zohar, we have to nullify ourselves like an embryo and try to absorb the sounds of this book."

You may want to subscribe to Prof.Laitman's lessons.

Regards
S.Ganesan

3rd Perspective said...

Revered Smt.Veena Gayathri,
Greetings!
I've been following your blogs for quite some time now and the thoughts dand spiritual experiences you have share are really wonderful. The language is simple and the thoughts are at elevated level of spirituality. Especially this article has stuck chord with lot of my experiences which were similar, sometimes I used to think it was crazy for me to interpret some meaning for a random observation, but reading your article reaffirms the faith and trust on those coded messages from the COSMOS from Lord and Gurunadha, who shower their blessings and assurance
Thanks for excellent music & articles.

Seeking your blessings,
Prabhu Chandrasekaran

Veenaagayathri said...

Dear Mr.S.Ganesan,
Thank you very much for such valuable and interesting information. I will check out Laitman's website for sure. I am very interested to know about the Book of Zohar.
It is very kind of you to give me the details.
Kind regards,
Gayathri

Veenaagayathri said...

Dear Sri.Prabhu Chandrasekharan,
First and foremost, I am humbled by decoration attached to my name,goes without saying that I don't deserve it. I thank you for the faith you have placed in me, I really am touched!
It is absolutely ture that we can feel God in and around us in our routine life. The messages are evident only to those who seek them!
I thank you for your appreciation of my music and writings.
May God bless you and be with you!
Gayathri

Janani said...

Dear Gayatriji,
The way you write is awesome!
Finding God in small things and daily occurences is indeed a matter of belief!
May you always find Gthe Almighty in all that you do!
Janani

Veenaagayathri said...

Dear Ms. Kalpagam,
Thank you so much! Truth lies in belief, wish you the same!
Gayathri

Anonymous said...

This is too good and reasuuring post. I am driving from my home in Chennai to office almost 25 Kms one way. Me(Krishna) and friend Hari Rngarajan used to discuss about Krishna and Mahapriyavaal during our journeys to office and back. All the days at least one car preceding us will have Matha Sri Alarmelmanga Thayaar Samedah Sri Prasanna Venkatachalapathy's photos ardoned in them. Not even a day without this, we use to wonder and say causlly Venky (Kanna en nanban as Mahakavi Bharathi sings) is leading us. After reading this post of yours I feel so happy that GOD choose to reveal his guidance to even very simple person like me.

Vina Venkatesam Nanatho Nanatha
Sada Venkatesam Smarami Smarami.
Hare Venkatesah Prasida Prasida Priyam Venkatesah, Prayacha Prayacha

Best Regards
Krishna

Veenaagayathri said...

Dear Sri.Krishna,
I am so happy that my article could bring to light a vital happening, which we tend to overlook in our routine and day to day life.
I feel immensely pleased and thank you very much for promptly letting me know about the incident.
Without any doubt it is God leading you!
Best regards,
Gayathri

Anonymous said...

Dear Madam,

I really feel blessed to have a reply from you and also on the reassurance of GOD's blessings towards everyone.

I had listened to your divine concerts few times in Nanganallur Anjaneyar temple and Mylapore Sabhas. Though I do not know the nuances and Galaxy of attributes attached to Carnatic Music, every time I listen to vocal or instrumental carnatic music there is a good feeling and peace that set in.

All your posts in intent,content, presentation and flow meticulously complement each other and it is a great learning for all we readers.

Kindly continue the great service.

Best Regards
Krishna

Veenaagayathri said...

Dear Sri.Krishna,
Thank you very much! Very nice to know you have heard me in Nanganallur Anjaneya temple.
I am very happy that my postings are so well understood, received and appreciated by genuine music lovers like you (there is no need to understand science behind music, fact that it touches you shows your deep understanding of the sublime quality of music).
Best Regards,
Gayathri

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