Friday, November 6, 2020

Obituary

 Series of black and white photographs take us back into the lives of the inmates of the ashram at their times. The Nahars, beginning witth Prithvi Singh Nahar, a very resourceful person, who came to Pondicherry to settle in the Ashram linking Shantiniketan and Pondicherry; Sri Aurobindo Ashram and Visvabharati, were very old inmates, had blessings of the master sometimes. The Yogi’s touch blessed Suprabha-di too and it is reported that at ninety when she breathed her last she was the last person among the inmates who had received such tactile blessing from him . I knew her and her brothers and sisters. Of them the one who most attracted me was Abhay Singh Nahar. I regret their passing away. I would be benefited rejoicing his company more had he lived up to this day! And Suprabha-di, really she was so nice!

 A Lowman’s Foundation tainted by Whims and Choices cannot keep it.  

 

Sunday, June 21, 2020

Twentyfirst June International Day for Yoga Asana and Music



Today it is declared International Yoga Day, showing Asanas or physical postures /figures in different TV channels. Huge publicity has been given behind this observation. For many years I find that physical postures are shown as Yoga in the Western World and now in India. True that these exercises keep the body fit differently than doing other exercises like gymnastics, swimming, playing different outdoor games including exercises with instruments, wrestling and many others in the sense that breathing is specially controlled and directed towards better functioning of the body, specially the vital part of it, Prana.  There are hundreds of different Asana, some are very difficult to do or perform. Different Asana have different actions in the body and they are done to cure different diseases or defects in the body.
     But here I wish to bring out the difference between Yoga and Asana. While many do Asana, most do not do Yoga through or by it. While this Asana is part of Rishi Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra which is divided in eight parts; Ashtanga Yoga, this alone does not help or mean doing Yoga. Yoga simply means union with the God or Divine. For union with the Divine this Asana is not essential. Many great Yogis never practised Asana. There is another system of yoga which is about the physical and vital part of the body called Hatha Yoga. In India, Haṭha yoga is associated in popular tradition with the Yogis of the Natha Sampradaya through its traditional founder Matsyendranath. This was a part of Tibetan Buddhist Tantrik system also. The ancient Patanjali and his system were forgotten for hundreds of years. It is said that Swami Vivekananda and Theosophical Society and others revived it.  

While the Day is declared as the International Yoga Day it is also declared as the International Music Day which is almost forgotten in the din of our doing Yoga. About this Day it is said that the World Music Day is celebrated every year on June 21 in over 120 countries including its country of origin, France, where it is known as 'Fête de la Musique' meaning “festival of music” to honour both amateur and professional musicians. On this day, it is said that musicians of the World perform for free in public places. The value of music in healthy aesthetic life of man is no less than most other things of life. To celebrate the day I herewith add my recent poem on the subject for the enthusiasts. Let us celebrate music too.

Music of Life

Sublime, monotonous and romantic
Riotous, sensuous, joyous and erotic
Harmonic or discordant, the world is full of music;
A song once sung moves round the earth
Sky is full of music in its vast ether
Music galore in the womb of time cries for birth
Music Unheard waits for its true hearer;
Music of varied taste and rhythm attracts or repels us
Those who do not like any music are to be considered ignominious
Music of varied times changes but eternity has its tune lasting; 
Our lives are tuned to the music we cling
Life depends on the music we choose to sing.
© Aju Mukhopadhyay,2019

 

Thursday, June 4, 2020

My Hearty Wishes on Earth Day 2020






































It is proved that neither the Asura nor the Satan nor the Devil is man’s so staunch an enemy as man himself. Man has devastated Nature; destroyed animals, destroyed fellow humans. He has polluted not only Earth but Air and Water to such a great extent that man’s doom is near if it continues little longer. Not only Earth but man has spoilt space and other planets to the extent possible by him knowing full well that other planets would eventually drive him out, in other words, he cannot evolve or grow there; he would eventually die. He would have nowhere to live than Earth which he has spoilt by misusing Science and Technology. All these some men have done not all, for their self-aggrandizement and profit. Let such men be marked as the true devils to mankind; the real enemies. Countries and institutions whoever have taken part in such activities be marked as such. On the event or Earth Day 2020 I have written two poems relevant and I dedicate them for the cause. I also give an image of our rooftop garden where in spite of all such impediments colourfully dressed Spring visited and invited the Summer to join. Blooming  flowery smiles have defied such enemies but we all are afraid that it may ruin the future of mankind if such enemies are not immediately prevented to carry on their activities or aren’t  banished from the earth.

The Civilized


After first birth on the pristine earth some of the human tribes globally spread
It hasn’t been fixed if it was from Africa, Andaman or any other country yet
But it is known that civilized men on earth later occupied the other countries
Slaved, killed or drove out the first primitive tribes; first symptom of the civilized.
Guided by greed they came to swallow up all the wealth of the universe
Denuding mother earth of her forests, trees, creatures and the rivers.
Powered by greed all looters are the same everywhere as in our country.
Billions years old geologically historic Aravallis, store of precious stones,
Protecting huge area from severe climatic hazards, conserved the rivers and valleys
Was plundered by ungrateful kings for making forts, temples and mansions;
Even today it’s cratons are dug, spoilt, uplifted, landscape gouged and ravaged.
Himalayas is daily broken to bleed, pulverized and its resources plundered
With melting glaciers it gives signals dangerous
Rivers are deprived of billions cubic metres of the flowing water.
Illegal or by force legal mining is ruining the forests, mountains, rivers and valleys
What have been accumulated in millions years
Are being depleted in few hundred years; what about the future?
Tribals are ousted, all their rights are crippled, rights to knowledge of all are curtailed
Wildlife is daily reduced; tiger population increased but dwindled in mining districts.
How beautiful are the peacocks, how nice are the gneisses and quartzite!
These aren’t there solely for the economic progress of the country
But are objects crushed to help amass wealth by a few veiled by sophistry.
The rich countries venture into space beyond the earth and solar system
Pollute the planets, spaces and other bodies with satellites, rockets
Millions of broken objects, nuclear venoms and innumerable junks
Crowd the space clashing with each other and are eventually crushed;
It’s a ruinous adventure by a few countries and their billionaires to seek
To fulfill their demoniac greed by mining in the unknown planets and the arctic
Polluting whatever comes on their ways to reach the civilized manhood.
Unless you rob their rights to stay in wood
Rights to know and possess, rights to a treat humane
how can you get the free mood
To get everything for your type of livelihood!

Fire rages in forests, wild animals flee to the hills
Polluted air is not breathable, polluted water undrinkable;
Plastic demons choke the earth and water; oceans, rivers and their denizens.
Civilizations and future of man are challenged by man
A product of Nature, how can he survive by attacking her?
© Aju Mukhopadhyay, 2019


Corona is Fighting the Last Battle Men are Rising Up



Washing hands over and over again with alcohol based sanitizer
soon became viral exposing human superstition
not out of ignorance but by over use of hackneyed knowledge;
it is like carrying fire in hands risking death by burn
who said that soap washing is not better or won’t serve the purpose!
do viruses love hands more than breath or a slight touch elsewhere?
A disease which affects human health and kills them wantonly
is an enemy to man but men are divided variously
among themselves drowned in controversies;
groups of men and countries become enemy to each other
sometimes heterogeneous groups come together.
 While Governments make all announcements;
Quarantine, lockdown, curfew or promulgate
section 144 of the criminal Procedure Code
leaders show themselves as the best friends of the people;
poor people suffer immensely walking unfed through the nights
bundles of family baggage overhead
dying in exhaustion, run over by trains, drowned in rivers.
Leaders of the richest countries blame each other for the catastrophe
blaming and threatening the world body formed to protect people’s health
people continue to suffer atrocious afflictions by the heinous viruses.
While the tiniest thing like a virus shows severe discipline in action
man the greatest creation upon earth fails in defensive fabrication
though doctors and health workers have shown exemplary dedication
locked down man has tested how beneficial is the force of free Nature.

In spite of all debacles man on earth has an undaunted, indomitable spirit;
he has got up refusing to be confined within the four walls
he is ready to walk up to the end over the mountains
to the unfathomable depth of the sea;
he is rising up over the corona fever
to be engaged in business and commerce, in import and export,
in making the most difficult transactions of life;
while corona like many other diseases would remain on earth
it’ll depend on man if he allows the enemies of man
to gain windfall profit over the body of the diseased
or try by all means to banish the profiteers and the disease
like the cancer nexus which may be finished at ease;
it’ll depend on man if he relies on Nature
to live a wholesome or a truncated life without her
deprived of all the wealth of natural life.  

Spring appeared in colourful dress
When the Corona was in progress
And left a message for the Summer
Summer in bloom gave a fragrant answer;
Nature frowns at the human frailty
Smiles with flowers at his novelty. 
© Aju Mukhopadhyay, 2020