Courtesy: Siva Subramanian Perinkulam
"A cool breeze is coming, creeping near,
I've realized it's that time of year.
I've realized it's that time of year.
The trees turn a beautiful red, yellow, orange, and brown,
As little leaves fall to the ground.
As little leaves fall to the ground.
I stare at the orange sky,
Watching the pinkish clouds float by.
Watching the pinkish clouds float by.
I feel the ever-changing fall breeze,
And the pumpkin pies that bring me to my knees.
And the pumpkin pies that bring me to my knees.
But, I gaze out my window before I go to bed,
Watching the majestic, fall sunset"
Watching the majestic, fall sunset"
I too love the fall, the season between the summer and the winter, in U.S.A. The green leaves of the maple, pine and other trees,slowly turn to yellow ,red, purple and similar other colours and it is a pleasure to watch them in rows, on both sides of the roads as well as in gardens, forests, lakes and other places.
It looks, as if the Nature is honouring them with garlands of different colours, for the joy and happiness they spread all around and as a departing gesture from the bees, birds and butter flies.
Then, one after the other,the leaves , slowly and steadily fall under it's feet and the mother earth embraces them; they again become a part of her.
The tree, having lost all its children,stands barren and bereaved,with no birds chirping around or bees humming ; the benevolent sky hugs and embraces it with snow and sprinkles chilled water into each and every cell of it, making it fit to receive the life-promoting rays of the sun from a far far heaven. The tree wakes up from the meditation, with a new life, developed in the form of leaves all over it's body. Then it is celebration again, of a new life of vibration, growth and vitality, the wind and birds and insects sharing the joy.
Visualising the above seen in my mind's eye,I was sitting in my garden, fully absorbed of the thought that why we, the human beings are deprived of such a painless casting away of bodies, as the trees do and why she should we die being brutally killed by a bus or a bomb or tortured in the hospital.If one goes by
' vasamsi geernani------', death should be as painless as removing a soiled shirt and wearing a fresh one. But, often it is not so.
Seeing me sitting motionless, Vishnu Namboodiri, who just entered the house, with a prasadam packet in his hand, remarked' Darubhootho Murari", went inside and kept the packet in my pooja room. For me, there is no fixed time for bathing or eating or sleeping and Vishnu knows that I do bath atleast once a day. So,as a matter of routine, while returning from the temple. he brings prasadam everyday and leaves in my pooja room.
I stopped Vishnu while returning and asked him to explain the remarks he made, while entering. He sat on the lawn ,near me, removed his betel leaf casket, as usual, and narrated the following story:
Lost in deep thoughts, the student Murari was not attentive in the class one day, and when he failed to answer a question from his teacher, the other students made fun of him with a remark, ' darubootho Murari"- Murari has become a tree ( as motionless as the trunk of a tree).
Immediately, he got up, composed and spontaneoulsy recited the following sloka:
'Aeka bharya prakrithi- rachala, chanchalcha dwideeya,
Puthro- ananga, thribhuvna jayee, chandrasooryowcha nethram,
Bhoghee sayya, bhavanmudahi, vahanam pannagari,
Smaram,smaram swajnakalham, darubhootho Murari"
" His one wife (Bhoomi), does't move at all, whereas, the other( Lakshmi), is always on the move.;(despite having lost his physical body),the son(Kama) ,conquers the three worlds; sun and moon (with exactly opposite characters ) form His eys;Vahanam is garuda and his opponet (Serpent) is the bed;house is (the noisy and turbulent) sea. Thinking about his family quarell,Murari became a tree."
It looks, as if the Nature is honouring them with garlands of different colours, for the joy and happiness they spread all around and as a departing gesture from the bees, birds and butter flies.
Then, one after the other,the leaves , slowly and steadily fall under it's feet and the mother earth embraces them; they again become a part of her.
The tree, having lost all its children,stands barren and bereaved,with no birds chirping around or bees humming ; the benevolent sky hugs and embraces it with snow and sprinkles chilled water into each and every cell of it, making it fit to receive the life-promoting rays of the sun from a far far heaven. The tree wakes up from the meditation, with a new life, developed in the form of leaves all over it's body. Then it is celebration again, of a new life of vibration, growth and vitality, the wind and birds and insects sharing the joy.
Visualising the above seen in my mind's eye,I was sitting in my garden, fully absorbed of the thought that why we, the human beings are deprived of such a painless casting away of bodies, as the trees do and why she should we die being brutally killed by a bus or a bomb or tortured in the hospital.If one goes by
' vasamsi geernani------', death should be as painless as removing a soiled shirt and wearing a fresh one. But, often it is not so.
Seeing me sitting motionless, Vishnu Namboodiri, who just entered the house, with a prasadam packet in his hand, remarked' Darubhootho Murari", went inside and kept the packet in my pooja room. For me, there is no fixed time for bathing or eating or sleeping and Vishnu knows that I do bath atleast once a day. So,as a matter of routine, while returning from the temple. he brings prasadam everyday and leaves in my pooja room.
I stopped Vishnu while returning and asked him to explain the remarks he made, while entering. He sat on the lawn ,near me, removed his betel leaf casket, as usual, and narrated the following story:
Lost in deep thoughts, the student Murari was not attentive in the class one day, and when he failed to answer a question from his teacher, the other students made fun of him with a remark, ' darubootho Murari"- Murari has become a tree ( as motionless as the trunk of a tree).
Immediately, he got up, composed and spontaneoulsy recited the following sloka:
'Aeka bharya prakrithi- rachala, chanchalcha dwideeya,
Puthro- ananga, thribhuvna jayee, chandrasooryowcha nethram,
Bhoghee sayya, bhavanmudahi, vahanam pannagari,
Smaram,smaram swajnakalham, darubhootho Murari"
" His one wife (Bhoomi), does't move at all, whereas, the other( Lakshmi), is always on the move.;(despite having lost his physical body),the son(Kama) ,conquers the three worlds; sun and moon (with exactly opposite characters ) form His eys;Vahanam is garuda and his opponet (Serpent) is the bed;house is (the noisy and turbulent) sea. Thinking about his family quarell,Murari became a tree."
Later, popularly known as Murarikavi, he became a great poet and his 'Sreekrishna karnamritham' is considered to excel Kalidasa krithies, in sheer poetic beauty.
I have no such problems, as the Lord has, but I have seen or heard about several men and women who had become "darus" or even stones, due to worries.The foremost, among them are Ahalya and Appukuttan, the former, wife of Gowthamamaharshi and the second person my neighbour, who got married recently.
"Why, everyone with some attachment to this country, is becoming 'daru' everyday", said Vishnu," watching the way the politicians are leading it to doom".
"Forget about the politicians and politics. We only talk and not even vote. Come back to today's topic", I continued," Ahalya had become a 'daru' much before her husband cursed her and converted her lovely body into a hard stone.She simply could not believe that the mighty king of devas could stoop to such a low level and steal the honour of a rishi's wife;,It was nothing less than 'chappatharam' in Pattar's language'"
'What I don't understand is he could have ordered the agny to burn her or vayu to lift her up physically or yama simply,"katham karo' , converted her into another Ramba or Urvashi and enjoyed her dancing," said Vishnu,"and I am surprised that our vedarishies, gave a predominant place to Inda, above Vishnu, and worshipped him'
'"There is some gulumal there , Namboori," I said," after all, these stories were not written by a single person, there were several authors spread over several centuries.We don't know which are the original and which the interpolation"
'Like Balivadam?"
"Yes, like Balivadam.I cannot believe Rama prompted the two monkey brothers to fight and killed one of them,hiding behind a tree.He would have said, Seetha or no Seetha but I will never do such a crime .Later, he could have killed the disarmed Ravana, with a single arrow, but he asked his enemy to go back home and come better prepared, the next day.
. "But I can assure you onething: If I get an opportunity to meet that devathipathy, which I am sure is remote, I am not going to spare him, for commiting such a heinous crime."
And you will spare Ahalya's husband?"
'These rishies. who were not in a postion to control their ego and anger, even after performing thapas for several years, are not worth to be called rishies.. You and I are much better than them . But, if the story of Indra's commital of the crime is true, then Ahalya would have, on her own, undertaken the penance in the from of a stone, for self purification. Because, hundred gowthama's would be capable of cursing such a virtuous woman. Afterall, she tops the list of panchakanyas.
"Why, everyone with some attachment to this country, is becoming 'daru' everyday", said Vishnu," watching the way the politicians are leading it to doom".
"Forget about the politicians and politics. We only talk and not even vote. Come back to today's topic", I continued," Ahalya had become a 'daru' much before her husband cursed her and converted her lovely body into a hard stone.She simply could not believe that the mighty king of devas could stoop to such a low level and steal the honour of a rishi's wife;,It was nothing less than 'chappatharam' in Pattar's language'"
'What I don't understand is he could have ordered the agny to burn her or vayu to lift her up physically or yama simply,"katham karo' , converted her into another Ramba or Urvashi and enjoyed her dancing," said Vishnu,"and I am surprised that our vedarishies, gave a predominant place to Inda, above Vishnu, and worshipped him'
'"There is some gulumal there , Namboori," I said," after all, these stories were not written by a single person, there were several authors spread over several centuries.We don't know which are the original and which the interpolation"
'Like Balivadam?"
"Yes, like Balivadam.I cannot believe Rama prompted the two monkey brothers to fight and killed one of them,hiding behind a tree.He would have said, Seetha or no Seetha but I will never do such a crime .Later, he could have killed the disarmed Ravana, with a single arrow, but he asked his enemy to go back home and come better prepared, the next day.
. "But I can assure you onething: If I get an opportunity to meet that devathipathy, which I am sure is remote, I am not going to spare him, for commiting such a heinous crime."
And you will spare Ahalya's husband?"
'These rishies. who were not in a postion to control their ego and anger, even after performing thapas for several years, are not worth to be called rishies.. You and I are much better than them . But, if the story of Indra's commital of the crime is true, then Ahalya would have, on her own, undertaken the penance in the from of a stone, for self purification. Because, hundred gowthama's would be capable of cursing such a virtuous woman. Afterall, she tops the list of panchakanyas.
' If I get an opportunity I myself, would like to become a stone, facing the tortures of the wind and sun and rains, pray for ages and ages and wait for the day when the lotus feet of my Lord will touch my head. What a waiting it was, Vishnu ? Don't you worship Indra just for giving Ahalya that opportunity? otherwise, she would have just passed away, into past, like any other sannyasini"
'And also for giving an opportunity for Thunchathacharya to make that beautiful garland of ' Ahalyasthuthy".
.
"O.k. What about your neighbour Appukuttan?," asked Vishu.
'That is a more interesting story", I said. " though he was after a pig tailed, brown eyed beauty, bowing to the wishes of his parents, Appu married Amala, selected by his parents, at the age of 35. I accompanied him to see the girl along with his parents and two unmarried sisters.Appu's mother Pattumami, praised the beauty of Amla, mentioned that she was distantly related to her and as a kid, had played with her son, who was 12 years elder. She would not take a pie as dowry, though would not reject if her father gives a house or a car or whatever he wants to, for her daughter's comforts and happiness. Amla was no doubt a beautiful girl, but," she would look more beautiful if the line seperating her dark hairs was shifted slightly towards left from it's present middle position", suggested mami. Appukuttan and Amala got married and Amala's father gave much more than what Appu's mother expected as dowry. As suggested by Pattumami, Amla changed her hair style, from 'nermakidu' to konamakidu'., before entering her in-laws' house.
For the first few weeks, Pattumami treated her newly arrived daughter-in-law kindly but when she found that Appu was leaning more towards his wife, she was afraid that she might lose him permanently in which case, her two daughters will remain unmarried. Under no circumstances, would she allow him to go out of her control, mami decided and started finding fault with Amla, starting slowly with minor complaints such as coffee was not tasty, the sugar dabba was displaced to the second shelf of the cupboard from the first, and Amala was not calling her ' mother' etc.
"You want me to lie at her face?", Amala asked Appu, when he questioned her about the last complaint 'She is not my mother. right?"
.
Inspite of the fact that Amla is a working girl and returns from the office late sometime, neither mami nor her daughters would extend a helping hand to her in maitaining the kitchen or other household activities.On the otherhand, she evolved so many methods to impress on her son that his wife was good for nothing and the entire household activites were carried out by mami and her daughters. Following the behaviour of animals in herd- attacking their prey, they moved cautiously and communicating through eyesignals,surrounded Amala and pounced on her at every opportunity.
Amla tolerated all these and in fact ignored her in laws; but when oneday, Pattumami remarked that ' Kona makudu vandhu kudumbham kuttichorachu", Amla told her,' Look, I changed my hair style only on your suggestion and I am not going to change it again to satisfy you. I have however, one solution for this."
. Without waiting for the response, she walked into the beauty parlour next door, got her hair shortened in such a way that there was no scope to turn the hairs one way or the other.
Hearing the shouts and counter shouts from his house, consequent to the above action,
Appu became a 'daru'.
I am sure that you would have come across several such instances and in future, if you happen to see such 'darus' or you, yourself become a daru, remember what Murari did. Immediately after 'daru bhutho murari", he sang 'Santhakaram, bhujagasayanam---", that famous dyanslokam of Bhishmapitamaha.
Inspite of all his family problems, If Vishnu could maintain his "santhakaram" and continue to sleep on the serpent bed, why not we ?
." I am definitely,not capable of doing it ," said Vishu," of course, that is why He is Mahavishnu and I , just, Vishnu"
Namboodiri picked up his silver betal leaf box and moved out.
'And also for giving an opportunity for Thunchathacharya to make that beautiful garland of ' Ahalyasthuthy".
.
"O.k. What about your neighbour Appukuttan?," asked Vishu.
'That is a more interesting story", I said. " though he was after a pig tailed, brown eyed beauty, bowing to the wishes of his parents, Appu married Amala, selected by his parents, at the age of 35. I accompanied him to see the girl along with his parents and two unmarried sisters.Appu's mother Pattumami, praised the beauty of Amla, mentioned that she was distantly related to her and as a kid, had played with her son, who was 12 years elder. She would not take a pie as dowry, though would not reject if her father gives a house or a car or whatever he wants to, for her daughter's comforts and happiness. Amla was no doubt a beautiful girl, but," she would look more beautiful if the line seperating her dark hairs was shifted slightly towards left from it's present middle position", suggested mami. Appukuttan and Amala got married and Amala's father gave much more than what Appu's mother expected as dowry. As suggested by Pattumami, Amla changed her hair style, from 'nermakidu' to konamakidu'., before entering her in-laws' house.
For the first few weeks, Pattumami treated her newly arrived daughter-in-law kindly but when she found that Appu was leaning more towards his wife, she was afraid that she might lose him permanently in which case, her two daughters will remain unmarried. Under no circumstances, would she allow him to go out of her control, mami decided and started finding fault with Amla, starting slowly with minor complaints such as coffee was not tasty, the sugar dabba was displaced to the second shelf of the cupboard from the first, and Amala was not calling her ' mother' etc.
"You want me to lie at her face?", Amala asked Appu, when he questioned her about the last complaint 'She is not my mother. right?"
.
Inspite of the fact that Amla is a working girl and returns from the office late sometime, neither mami nor her daughters would extend a helping hand to her in maitaining the kitchen or other household activities.On the otherhand, she evolved so many methods to impress on her son that his wife was good for nothing and the entire household activites were carried out by mami and her daughters. Following the behaviour of animals in herd- attacking their prey, they moved cautiously and communicating through eyesignals,surrounded Amala and pounced on her at every opportunity.
Amla tolerated all these and in fact ignored her in laws; but when oneday, Pattumami remarked that ' Kona makudu vandhu kudumbham kuttichorachu", Amla told her,' Look, I changed my hair style only on your suggestion and I am not going to change it again to satisfy you. I have however, one solution for this."
. Without waiting for the response, she walked into the beauty parlour next door, got her hair shortened in such a way that there was no scope to turn the hairs one way or the other.
Hearing the shouts and counter shouts from his house, consequent to the above action,
Appu became a 'daru'.
I am sure that you would have come across several such instances and in future, if you happen to see such 'darus' or you, yourself become a daru, remember what Murari did. Immediately after 'daru bhutho murari", he sang 'Santhakaram, bhujagasayanam---", that famous dyanslokam of Bhishmapitamaha.
Inspite of all his family problems, If Vishnu could maintain his "santhakaram" and continue to sleep on the serpent bed, why not we ?
." I am definitely,not capable of doing it ," said Vishu," of course, that is why He is Mahavishnu and I , just, Vishnu"
Namboodiri picked up his silver betal leaf box and moved out.
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