goldenboy

(Kamadeva and Rati with Cane Bow)
 

India has been a laboratory in terms of experimentations to find out the Truth… the purpose of life, the way to attain happiness…

Long before Shaivism(worship of Shiva as the Supreme God) and Vaishnavism (worship of Vishnu as the supreme God) took over the Indian society, there was the worship of Elements of Nature.. Wind, Fire, Earth… even trees…

And at one moment in history, now long-lost in the womb of time, Desire was worshipped in India, as the Supreme God.

Kama, the God of desire (even lust, passion and sexual attraction), was considered to be the first God who was born when the ‘sacred egg’ desired Creation.

First was Nothingness. And out of nothingness came desire. And out of desire the whole creation.

In that essence, Kama was the Supreme Lord that came into being who proved to be instrumental in the creation of this Universe as we see it now.

It is also Kama, or desire or sexual feeling, that brings forth life. It is Kama, or sex, which affords us a peek into that perfect Bliss at the time of sexual release…

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Now we hardly have any Kama temples left in India. Perhaps there is one in Assam. And in Kerala we still have a very ancient tradition wherein on a particular day of the year, virgin women take a bath together in some pond and then worship Lord kama for the perfect mate.

Kama, the lord of Desire, with his consort Rati, the Goddess of Sex, are for me more nearer to the so-called pagan worship of Fertility.

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The abolition of the worship of Kama, that was once spread widely in India, and had the sanction of religious texts of lore, came about with the rise in theological debates that sought beyond the now and present to find out the Truth about why and where we came from, and what was the ultimate purpose of life. The debate gave rise to the idea that this world which we perceive with our senses was the greatest hurdle in the path of finding out the Truth. The world was disregarded as Samsara, a play of senses that leads to the ultimate bondage and suffering. Sensual pleasures were looked upon with disdain. Spiritual-seeking became a game of escaping this world and its many attractions.

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In a Shaiva story, Lord Kama seeks to save the Universe by aiming his bow on Shiva, the ultimate Ascetic and has to pay the most dearest price for it. Shiva, in wrath, burns Kama’s body down to ashes. Since that day, the shaivate say Kama became known as Anangha, the one without a body…

Imagine the body of the God of Sensuality, sex and Love being burnt into ashes…

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I have long searched the Internet to find out if there are any translations of , or even mention of ancient texts, that belong to the period when Kama was worshipped as the Supreme God…

All I found was a ritual of Worship of Kama and Rati deciphered from an ancient text…

And be it a ritual, it is still a living piece of the due respect that Hindus still need to accord to that one powerful energy that is a sign of life and keeps the cosmos alive- Desire…

On my way home from work at
11 pm now… couldn’t resist the impulse to drop in to the nearest cyber café and write this piece…

I have a black cap lying on the desk in front of me with accenture written on it. That’s a cap as a reward for the two Sales that I made today. I also got an Appreciation call from a customer, he said some very good things about me to my Manager on phone… and I feel I have had a satisfying day…

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Ever since I had been to the Ashram… I feel satisfied about going to work. Earlier I used to find it too much stressful to go to work just for money and saw no satisfaction in it.

However, the Guru’s pravachan (preaching) added a whole new dimension to my relationship with my work.

In one of his preachings he said, “Bhakti, the most precious boon of all, which moves one closer to God, comes by Serving. And how do you serve? By serving others, and offering your Work or Job as an offering to God. When you work, think you are actually serving God. It is Ram seva.”

This whole new definition of work has given me the will and purpose to turn up at work at the right time everyday and do my best at work and not feel dull about it. It has become my means of connecting to God. I like to think that whatever work I am doing is my service to God.

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I have been reading Sir Arnold’s Translation of the Bhagavad Gita, from which I reproduce a piece below

“Work is more excellent than idleness;

The body’s life proceeds not, lacking work.

There is a task of holiness to do,

Unlike world-binding toil, which bindeth not

The faithful soul; such earthly duty do

Free from desire, and thou shalt well perform

Thy heavenly purpose.”

I feel good. I don’t feel I am working for just plain money, I feel I am working not for my managers, I feel I am not just slogging for my family, but serving God through my work and trying to connect to Him by working… that feels really satisfying indeed.

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I always thought that Tulsidas’ Ram Charit Manas is a boring piece which I would never like to read. However after listening to a piece read out from the book by my Guru, I feel that after all these years since I last read from it, I have been able to appreciate the subtle nuances of the spiritual feelings that the poet describes in the book.

So Yes Prashanta, finally I do see why Ramayana is so close to your heart. And I am planning to buy copy of it soon.

As I always say, still learning…

(Carcass by Soutine)