Mananam

போரை நிறுத்துமாறு கண்ணன்‌ விசயனுக்குக்‌ கூறி, வேதியர்‌ வடிவு கொண்டு Kṛṣṇa tells Arjuna to stop the battle and, taking the form of a Brāhmaṇa, approaches Karṇa. கன்னனை அடைதல்‌ எத்‌ தலங்களினும்‌ ஈகையால்‌, ஓகை வாகையால்‌, எதிர்‌ இலா வீரன்‌, மெய்த்தலம்‌ முழுதும்‌ திறந்து உகு குருதி வெயிலவன்‌ கரங்கள்போல்‌ விரிய, கொத்து அலர்‌ அலங்கல்‌ மகுடமும்‌ கவச குண்டலங்களும்‌ உருக்‌ குலைந்தும்‌, கைத்தலம்‌ மறந்தது இல்லை—விற்‌ குனிப்பும்‌, கடுங்‌ கணை தொடுத்திடும்‌ கணக்கும்‌. 236 அத்த வெற்பு இரண்டு விற்கிடை எனப்‌ போய்‌ ஆதவன்‌ சாய்தல்‌ கண்டருளி, முத்தருக்கு எல்லாம்‌ மூலமாய்‌, வேத முதல்‌ கொழுந்து ஆகிய முகுந்தன்‌, சித்திரச்‌ சிலைக்‌ கை விசயனை, “செரு நீ ஓழிக!” எனத்‌ தேர்மிசை நிறுத்தி, மெய்த்‌ தவப்‌ படி.வ வேதியன்‌ ஆகி, வெயிலவன்‌ புதல்வனை அடைந்தான்‌. வேதியன்‌, “இயைந்தது ஒன்று அளி” எனலும்‌, சுன்னன்‌, “தரத்தகு பொருளை நீ சொல்லுக!” என்ன, வேதியன்‌ அவனது புண்ணியத்தை உதவ வேண்டுதலும்‌ “தாண்டிய தரங்கக்‌ கருங்‌ கடல்‌ உடுத்த தரணியில்‌ தளர்ந்தவர்தமக்கு வேண்டிய தருதி நீ எனக்‌ கேட்டேன்‌; மேருவினிடைத்‌ தவம்‌ பூண்டேன்‌; ஈண்டிய வற...

A recent discussion among friends, triggered by contemporary political anxieties and broader civilizational questions, gradually converged on an old yet enduring theme within Hindu thought: How should Vedānta be shared in a modern, open society, and for whom is it most fruitfully taught? At the heart of this reflection stood the Sri Ramakrishna Mission , an institution that has shaped Hindu thought, practice, and public engagement for more than a century. Far from being a narrow theological debate, the discussion touched pedagogy, sociology, and the long arc of India’s civilizational renewal. The Enduring Vision of the Sri Ramakrishna Mission The Sri Ramakrishna Mission draws its spiritual DNA from Sri Ramakrishna himself, whose life embodied two inseparable currents. Many Paths, One Culmination Sri Ramakrishna lived multiple forms of upāsanā, including Śākta, Vaiṣṇava, and Śaiva disciplines, not as parallel or competing systems, but as a progressive spiritual unfolding. These lived ...

  Misplaced Tears and Rightly Placed Grief Recently, a dear friend wrote to me after listening to a pravacana-kartā speak of Kar ṇ a’s nobility at the moment of his death, as portrayed in Villibhāratham   that glorious Tamil re-telling of the Mahābhārata rooted in the genius of Śrī Villiputtur Ā ḻ vār. “His narration brought tears to my eyes,” he said, “aided by the vivid imagery of the movie and Śirkāzhi’s voice in the background.” And honestly, who wouldn’t be moved? Villibhāratham is a testament to the bhakti and genius of Sri Villiputtur Ā ḻ vār. His imagination, while clearly a departure from Vyāsa’s Mahābhārata, is soaked in daivī sampat – divine qualities. Take Kar ṇ a. In Vyāsa’s text, Kar ṇ a is a deeply grey character – dazzling brilliance mixed with grievous and tragic blind spots. In Villibhāratham , those grey shades are deliberately “optimized”: his nobility is amplified, his conflicts softened, all to uplift the target audience and inculcate refi...

  When Matter Looks Polluted but Brahman Stays Pure A conversational reflection on a very real doubt in Advaita Vedānta Recently my friend sent me a beautiful, honest question over WhatsApp: “If the entire universe is just nāma–rūpa (name and form) of Brahman, then matter is also Brahman. Everything is Brahman. Then why does it still appear dual when we say, ‘Existence is not a part or property of matter and is not affected by whatever happens to the material world’? It sounds as if matter and Brahman are separate when we say, ‘Brahman pervades matter but is untouched by it,’ while at the same time we also say matter is only name and form of Brahman alone. And further – if matter is not a second thing, how is it that we seem to pollute matter while Brahman remains untainted?” If you’ve spent time with Upaniṣads, Gītā, Taittirīya, Drg-Drśya Viveka, different teachers and commentaries… this kind of “back and forth confusion” is totally natural. Let’s unpack the doubt in si...

Gītā-śāstra-vicāraḥ, Śrī Ācārya-vākyeṣu darśitaḥ  (A reflection on the Gītā-śāstra as revealed through the words of the Ācārya) 1. What is the ultimate purpose ( prayojana ) of the Gītā-śāstra? tasya asya gītā-śāstrasya sa ṃ kṣepata ḥ prayojana ṃ para ṃ ni ḥ śreyasa ṃ sa-hetukasya sa ṃ sārasya atyantoparama-lakṣa ṇ am. The concise purpose of this Gītā-śāstra is parama-ni ḥ śreyasa -the supreme good, characterized by the total cessation ( atyantoparama ) of sa ṃ sāra along with its cause ( sa-hetuka ) – (i.e. ajñāna)   2. How does the Ācārya describe the Gītā’s position among all scriptural teachings? tad ida ṃ gītā-śāstra ṃ samasta-vedārtha-sāra-sa ṅ graha-bhūta ṃ . This Gītā-śāstra is a condensation ( sa ṅ graha-bhūta ) of the essence ( sāra ) of the entire meaning of the Vedas ( samasta-vedārtha ).   3. Who are the true pa ṇḍ itā ḥ that Śrī K ṛ ṣ ṇ a refers to in the Gītā? nānuśocanti pa ṇḍ itā ḥ ātmajñā ḥ | pa ṇḍ ā ātma-viṣayā buddhir yeṣā ṃ...

  śrīmadātmane gu ṇ aika sindhave nama ḥ śivāya dhāmaleśa dhūta kokabandhave nama ḥ śivāya | nāmaśeṣitā namad bhāvasindhave nama ḥ śivāya pāmaretara pradhāna bandhave nama ḥ śivāya || 1 || Why kokabandhu = “sun” Koka often denotes the cakravāka (ruddy goose). A famous poetic conceit: the male and female cakravākas are separated at night and can reunite only when the sun rises. Because the sunrise ends their grief, the sun is called their bandhu (friend/kinsman). Hence kokabandhu (“friend of the koka bird”) becomes a nāmadhēya for the sun. So in this verse, dhāmaleśa-dhūta-kokabandhu poetically says: “the One by whose tiniest ray the sun (friend of the koka-bird) is outshone and driven away.” nāmaśeṣitā = nāma (name, mere word) + śeṣita (made to remain, left over) → “reduced to a mere name / left as nothing but a word” namad = from namat (bending, bowing, one who prostrates) → “of the devotee who bows; of the bo...