Kidambi Narayanan

Why Japan?

A few days back i got a mail from a stranger who was impressed looking at my blogs that he wanted to ask me the following question. Well, the content of the question made me write to him back and never cared his whereabouts.

What makes (and always has made) Japan and it's people, culture, food, history, geography, etc., so unique and compelling to you, compared to other countries ? Or if you've traveled to Japan before, what made (and still makes) Japan, it's geography, people and culture, so beautiful, unique and compelling to you ?

This was my reply to the stranger...

Japan has been an un-explored nation by the world nations and even today it is not well understood. Though you may find books and articles from different people mentioning their experience and their inferences. I am sure reading every thing will feed you with contradicting ideas about Japan and Japanese culture and people.

I have known Japan and its people for the last 5 years.I have known other developed nations and I certainly feel Japan is a unique place that I am very much impressed staying in this nation.

Let me brief you its uniqueness from my viewpoint on various factors before going on to the fact as why it is so compelling to me.

The various traits that you find about Japan and its people:

1.Japan is geographically located where the country has a pleasant atmosphere all through the year. The country has rich rains and sun. The country also experiences cold and heat that's tolerable and enjoyable.

2.Japanese love nature. This love for nature has come as they worship nature in their culture and religion. When greenery is worshiped, nature is preserved. So nature original beauty is preserved.

3.Japan has a culture of their own and they are proud of their culture even in today's modern world that even today's generation who has a modern vision try to imbibe their culture.

4.Japanese mainly speak their own language and they are not still comfortable with English. Japanese language is always spoken with respect and this has affected their thinking.When a Japanese has to express a strong criticism, they appear mild and humble in expressing strong view points in their language, but their facial expressions and their speech tones convey rest of the feelings. Certainly this becomes a deceiving factor for the foreigners as they miss-understand a Japanese view point.

5.In Japanese shintoism, they worship their ancestors, so respecting elders is a in-born behavior of any Japanese. This in-born behavior has developed a Japanese mindset as being kind and very patient.

6.Japanese language has Kanji, a pictorial representation of words. So Japanese has a in-built characteristic where they form opinions about peoples on their behavior and appearances.

7.Japanese has a traditional food culture. Japan has a food culture of eating rice and sea foods and this binds every Japanese to their country.

8. From the age of Samurai's Japanese cannot accept embarrassment in their society or in any form.

The above said traits has made the nation and its people in the following way.

1. Japanese love to live in a community as they are comfortable in their own lifestyles and practices. So they look conservative to some but their very nature to avoid embarrassment make them very kind to other people.
2. The culture of worshiping nature has got them the characteristic of keeping their country clean.
3. Japan subways,metros or any remote place is safe all through day and night. You will not find any tampered dispensers in the country. This is their characteristics to avoid embarrassment and the crime rate in Japan is very very low compared to other developed nations.They try to live in harmony though they carry huge differences amongst them.So naturally they have the maturity to control their temperments.
4.Cartoon and toy industry is famous here as their imaginary traits of such pictures and shapes into real world has let Japan leader in these industries.
5. As the unique community live in these small pieces of Island, they have not migrated much even though Japanese colonized many countries in the 19th century. The community has learnt to live in small pockets hence miniaturization of things was a necessity more than invention in Japan. It is the result that you see many miniaturized products of various kinds.
6. 80% of the population are middle class and salaried persons so the society has always lives in harmony without much society status differences.
7. Japanese business men's are similar to any other businessman that you can find in the world except for that fact that Japanese business behaviors is a culmination of all the traits described above that their business decision are confined and restricted on certain aspects that becomes highly misleading to foreigners.
8. I am sure that no developed nation in the world can boast of a terrorist free nation except Japan.
9. As the country has a homogeneous race, culture and language throughout, the possibility of differences among different among doesn't exist as it is observed in other countries.
10.The culmination of their characteristics makes Japanese to treat foreigners of even third world and under developed with dignity that makes such gaijins enjoy their living in Japan.
11. Well, it is certainly obvious that this conservative society cannot treat a gaijin as one among them but they certainly don't provoke them on such alienations.

Now I will explain you why it is compelling that I Stay here.

When you live in a society that is not provoking you in any way, you have no reason to hate them.
When you live in a society that enjoys peace and harmony, you will like them.
When you live in a society that respects you, you will feel proud to stay amongst them.
When you live in a country that leads the worlds economy you are bound to enjoy its by-factors.
When you live in a country that is terror free, I feel it is the safe place in today's world.
When you live in a country that makes world latest products in every industry you will certainly feel proud to be a part of them.

Saying all this I feel I have answered his question in culmination.

posted by Unknown @ 6:27 PM

kaAma->krOdha->mOha->lObha->maDha->mAtsarya->bhAya

The Vedantic theory behind the psychology of “kaama” is a very simple and elegant one. But it is also a mordant and accurate commentary on the universal human condition.Bhagavat Gita has given immense insight into this Philosophy.

“kaAma”

The root of “kaAma”, says the Gita, lies not in a person’s mind. It lies in the myriad objects of delight and pleasure that abound in the world. They generate or arouse a variety of tantalizing sensations and titillating impressions by invading a person's senses. The invasion then takes complete possession of the Mind.

Once the Mind is overpowered “kaama” gradually paralyzes the Will. Once the human Will goes into coma, “kAma” manifests itself as deep, raging and uncontrollable appetite for promiscuous self-gratification. This selfish appetite must be whetted no matter what. It is a compulsion. And the only way to do so is indulgence, at any cost. This is precisely the way that man’s state of attachment (or enchantment, beguilement, inebriation, enamor etc.) is ushered in. In plain and simple language, “kaama” is abject human bondage to the Pleasure-Principle of life.

It is precisely such indulgence in “kaama” that modern Consumerism, the Faith that today rules the entire world, lustily cheers and promotes. “Have a good time”, “Feel good”, “Just do it!”, “Life is for enjoyment! Have fun!”, “Chill out! It’s Saturday night out!” etc. are just a few of the oft-broadcasted messages constantly dinned into our collective sub-conscious by the “high-priests of Consumerism” viz.: the advertising and mass-communication media. Through alluring market-place promotions and seductive slogans, refined and perfected as creative art-form over several decades of the last century, these
“high-priests of marketing” have achieved truly fantastic success throughout the world in their mission to apotheosize commonplace commercial jingles,glorifying the “Feel good factor” or the “’Have-fun’ habit” in life, into sacred mantras of abiding faith for peoples of the world.

“krOdha”
Not all sensual appetites can be whetted at all times. Many of our desires cannot be satisfied so easily. Un-fulfilled “kaama” inevitably leads to “krOdha” i.e. frustrated Desire or longing that is accompanied by feelings of anger, resentment, impatience, deprivation and disenfranchisement in life.

If there is so much anger and hatred around the world today, it is chiefly because people are unable to satisfy many of their deepest desires in life, big and small. While the Consumerist faith does indeed inspire everyone with the dazzling promise of “Fun-in-life” Ideal, it cannot, however, provide everyone with the necessary means to attain it. And it is precisely that
yawning gap between inspiration and realization, between desire and fulfillment that is the source of all anger, resentment, frustration and self-loathing amongst people in the world.

“mOha”
When desires (“kaama”) in life are not satisfied, disappointment builds up. When the steam of disappointment swells, the engine of Anger (“krOdha”) cranks up. Pent-up anger in a person invariably leads to “mOha”, an unhinged mental state where he/she gets increasingly out-of-touch with reality. When one loses touch with reality, one begins to suffer rapid loss of capacity for right-thinking and right-resolution. (In modern clinical psychology this state of mind is usually associated with the condition called “severe manic depression” which, in most cases, is traced to mental disorders caused by deep-seated, pent-up anger and disappointment with oneself for not being able to fulfill desires). Perverse attitudes then quickly begin to seep into one’s personality, deeply warping and corroding one’s sense of life-values.

“lObha”
A mind so deeply afflicted with “mOha”,Vedanta tells us, is soon overtaken by yet another feeling that comes rolling along quickly on the syndromic cycle of “kaama”. This one is called “lObha” –- greed, unbridled lust, avarice.

Lust within Man’s heart represents the final triumph of human Desire over human Will. It is the critical state of mind a person reaches when he or she becomes utterly insensitive to moral imperatives in life. The eternal ethical question in Life, whether the “End justifies the Means”, becomes utterly irrelevant to him/her. The End as represented in the object/objects
of personal desire, by whatever means realized,becomes supreme goal in life. It is the moment when the person begins to believe with all the conviction at his command that Pleasure -- “kaama” – indeed is absolute ideal in itself, justifying and overriding any Means.

“maDha”
Whenever “lObha”, lust, is satisfied, feelings of extreme exultation follow. When Desire’s triumph over Will is completed, it cannot help indulging in a bit of gloating, a bit of self-congratulation and vainglory. A person then usually turns arrogant,
haughty and conceited. This new transformation of personality is what is called “madha”. When “kaama” preens its feathers one may easily recognize its colors to be the signs of “madha”.

“mAtsarya”
Those who are vainglorious i.e. they that are in the grip of “madha”, often slip into envy, “mAtsarya”.The vainglorious are always jealous of those they perceive to be their superiors. They simply cannot rest content with their lot but constantly covet the power and prestige of those more exalted than themselves. This is another form of extreme “kaama”, and what in the modern day is often recognized as “overweening ambition” in a person. The ancient Greeks had another special name for it –- they called it “hubris”. It is, in fact, a very advanced form of the rabid human affliction called “keeping-up-with-the-Joneses” syndrome. This sort of ambition is an extremely pathological form of “kaama” --- the sort that does not let a person rest content with satisfying one’s own desires but urges him/her on to adopt the desires of others too as one’s very own,and makes them slaves of those too!

“bhAya”
By the time a man has traversed the cycle of the full spectrum of feelings of “kaama” --- beginning with attachment, “kaama”, “krOdha”,“mOha”, “lObha”, “madha” and “mAtsarya” --- it is certain his whole personality has been severely ravaged. The mind is ripe and ready then to be possessed now by Fear, “bhaya”.

“Bhaya” manifests itself in personal behavior characterized by deep insecurities, restiveness, a nagging but nameless sense of loss etc. When a man is afflicted with such “bhaya” he fears that his deepest desires may not get fulfilled before
the curtains drop on his lifetime. His greatest fear --- dark fear hidden deep within the cavern of the human sub-conscious –-- is he may simply pass away from this world before having experienced all of its alluring delights and seductive pleasures. To him hell itself is nothing but untimely death befalling him before the burning thirst for Pleasure has been fully slaked.

It is precisely this sort of “kaama” that is known to often afflict some persons in the twilight of their lives when, knowing that their time on earth is nearing its end, they suddenly turn berserk and go all out to enjoy to the very hilt, in a sort of mad binge,all the sensual pleasures they had probably denied themselves earlier, and all with a vengeance or gusto quite unbecoming of their age.

It is in that fateful moment that "bhaya" and "kaama" come together in a tight coital embrace, and when the cycle of “kaama” too gets a fresh lease of momentum,and signalling, as it were, the birth of another desire inside the human heart....

And so, indeed, revolves the great inexorable cycle of life called “kaama”, where man's desires endlessly mutate and multiply, all in an endless stream of cosmic continuum... And wherein Man is but mere hapless, enmeshed cog.

Courtesy: srirangasri yahoo groups

posted by Unknown @ 3:26 PM

What is Pongal?

Pongal is the only festival of Hindu that follows a solar calendar and is celebrated on the fourteenth of January every year. Pongal has astronomical significance: it marks the beginning of Uttarayana, the Sun's movement northward for a six-month period. In Hinduism, Uttarayana is considered auspicious, as opposed to Dakshinaayana, or the southern movement of the sun. All-important events are scheduled during this period. Makara Sankranthi refers to the event of the Sun entering the zodiac sign of Makara or Capricorn.

In Hindu temples bells, drums, clarinets and conch shells herald the joyous occasion of Pongal. To symbolize a bountiful harvest, rice is cooked in new pots until they boil over. Some of the rituals performed in the temple include the preparation of rice, the chanting of prayers and the offering of vegetables, sugar cane and spices to the gods. Devotees then consume the offerings to exonerate themselves of past sins.

Thai Pongal is an occasion for family re-unions and get-together. Old enmities, personal animosities and rivalries are forgotten. Estrangements are healed and reconciliation effected. Indeed, Thai Pongal is a festival of freedom, peace,
Unity and compassion crystallized in the last hymn on unity in the Indian spiritual text the Rig Veda. Thus, love and peace are the central theme of Thai Pongal.

Pongal signals the end of the traditional farming season, giving farmers a break from their monotonous routine. Farmers also perform puja to some crops, signaling the end of the traditional farming season. It also sets the pace for a series of festivals to follow in a Calendar year. In fact, four festivals are celebrated in Tamil Nadu for four consecutive
Days in that week. 'Bogi' is celebrated on January 13, 'Pongal' on Jan 14, 'Maattuppongal' on Jan 15, and 'Thiruvalluvar Day' on Jan 16. The festival is celebrated for four days. On, the first day, Bhogi, the old clothes and materials are thrown away and fired, marking the beginning of a new life. The second day, the Pongal day, is celebrated by boiling fresh milk early in the morning and allowing it to boil over the vessel - a tradition that is the literal translation for Pongal. People also prepare savories and sweets, visit each other's homes, and exchange greetings. The third day, Mattu Pongal, is meant to offer thanks to the cows and buffaloes, as they are used to plough the lands. On the last day, Kanum Pongal, people go out to picnic.

A festival called Jalli katthu is held in Madurai, Tiruchirapalli and Tanjavur, all in TamilNadu, on this day. Bundles of money are tied to the horns of Pongal ferocious bulls, which the villagers try to retrieve. Everyone joins in the community meal, at which the food is made of the freshly harvested grain. This day is named and celebrated as Tamilar Thirunal in a fitting manner through out Tamil Nadu. Thus, the harvest festival of Pongal symbolizes the veneration of the first fruit. The crop is harvested only after a certain time of the year, and cutting the crop before that time is Strictly prohibited. Even though Pongal was originally a festival for the farming community, today it is celebrated by all. In south India, all three days of Pongal are considered important. However, those south Indians who have settled in the north usually celebrate only the second day. Coinciding with Makara Sankranti and Lohri of the north, it is also called Pongal Sankranti.

Pongal Festival

Pongal is a four day long harvest festival celebrated in Tamil Nadu, a southern state of India. For as long as people have been planting and gathering food, there has been some form of Harvest Festival. Pongal, one of the most important popular Hindu festivals of the year. This four-day festival of thanksgiving to nature takes its name from the Tamil word meaning "to boil" and is held in the month of Thai (January-February) during the season when rice and other cereals, sugar-cane, and turmeric (an essential ingredient in Tamil cooking) are harvested.

Mid-January is an important time in the Tamil calendar. The harvest festival, Pongal, falls typically on the 14th or the 15th of January and is the quintessential `Tamil Festival'. Pongal is a harvest festival, a traditional occasion for giving thanks to nature, for Celebrating the life cycles that give us grain. Tamilians say `Thai pirandhaal vazhi pirakkum', and believe that knotty family problems will be solved with the advent of the Tamil month Thai that begins on Pongal day. This is traditionally the month of weddings. This is not a surprise in a largely agricultural community -- the riches gained from a good harvest form the economic basis for expensive family occasions like weddings.

The First Day

This first day is celebrated as Bhogi festival in honor of Lord Indra, the supreme ruler of clouds that give rains. Homage is paid to Lord Indra for the abundance of harvest, thereby bringing plenty and prosperity to the land. Another ritual observed on this day is Bhogi Mantalu, when useless household articles are thrown into a fire made of wood and cow-dung cakes. Girls dance around the bonfire, singing songs in praise of the gods, the spring and the harvest. The significance of the bonfire, in which is burnt the agricultural wastes and firewood is to keep warm during the last lap of winter.

The Second Day

On the second day of Pongal, the puja or act of ceremonial worship is performed when rice is boiled in milk outdoors in an earthenware pot and is then symbolically offered to the sun god along with other oblations. All people wear traditional dress and markings, and their is an interesting ritual where husband and wife dispose off elegant ritual utensils specially used for the puja. In the village, the Pongal Ceremony is carried out more simply but with the same devotion. In accordance with the appointed ritual a turmeric plant is tied around the pot in which the rice will be boiled. The offerings include the two sticks of sugar-cane in background and coconut and bananas in the dish. A common feature of the puja, in addition to the offerings, is the kolam, the auspicious design that is traditionally traced in white lime powder before the house in the early morning after bathing.

The Third Day

The third day is known as Mattu Pongal, the day of Pongal for cows. Multi-colored beads, tinkling bells, sheaves of corn and flower garlands are tied around the neck of the cattle and then are worshiped. They are fed with Pongal and taken to the village centers. The resounding of their bells attract the villagers as the young men race each other's cattle. The entire atmosphere becomes festive and full of fun and revelry. Arati is performed on them, so as to ward off the evil eye. According to a legend, once Shiva asked his bull, Basava, to go to the earth and ask the mortals to have an oil massage and bath every day and to eat once a month. Inadvertently, Basava announced that everyone should eat daily and have an oil bath once a onth. This mistake enraged Shiva who then cursed Basava, banishing him to live on the earth forever. He would have to plough the fields and help people produce more food. Thus this day is associated with cattle.

The Fourth Day

The Fourth day is known as Knau or Kannum Pongal day. On this day, a turmeric leaf is washed and is then placed on the ground. On this leaf are placed, the left overs of sweet Pongal and Venn Pongal, ordinary rice as well as rice colored red and yellow, betel leaves, betel nuts, two pieces of sugarcane, turmeric leaves, and plantains. In Tamil Nadu women perform this ritual before bathing in the morning. All the women, young and old, of the house assemble in the courtyard. The rice is placed in the center of the leaf, while the women ask that the house and family of their brothers should prosper. Arati is performed for the brothers with turmeric water, limestone and rice, and this water is sprinkled on the kolam in front of the house.

Traditions & Customs

Inspite of immense urbanization, the traditions and customs attached to the harvest festival of Pongal has not diminished. Though the nature of these tradition and customs has changed, the glitter of this festival has not dimmed. The fast changing times notwithstanding, certain things do not change. The way we celebrate the festivals, for instance. The festival of Pongal captures the quintessence of south Indian culture in all its entirety and traditional practices and customs continue to hold their own even today.

The spirit is alive and Pongal is still treated as a time to discard the old and welcome the new. The new crop that is harvested is cooked and offered to the Almighty. Celebrated for four days, the various traditions and customs of this harvest festival are:

Bhogi Pongal

The first day of Pongal known as 'Bhogi Pongal' is a day for family gathering and is dedicated to Lord Indra, the king of the deities and God of the Clouds and Rains. Offerings are made to him to please him so that he blesses us for the plentiful harvest. It is also the beginning of the New Year according to the Malayalam calendar and before sunrise, a huge bonfire of useless things in home is lit that is kept burning throughout the night. All the time, boys beat little buffalo-hide drums known as 'Bhogi Kottus'. The houses are then cleaned till they shine and are decorated with Kolams painted using rice four. There are yellow pumpkins flowers are set in cow-dung balls in the middle of these designs.

Surya Pongal

The second day of Pongal known as 'Surya Pongal' is dedicated to the Sun God. The granaries are kept full on this day and Sun God with his rays is painted on a plank as he is worshiped with the birth of the new auspicious month of Thai. Since the word 'Ponga' means 'to boil' representing plentiful and excess yield, a special dish is cooked on this day in a new mud-pot that comes in innovative shapes and have artistic designs on them called 'Pongapani'. The special dish is called 'SarkkaraiPongal' and is offered to Sun God with sugarcane sticks. It is said that Lord Sundareshwar performed a miracle on this day in the Madurai temple and breathed life into a stone elephant who ate sugarcanes. One can see the depiction of the event in the Meenakshi temple.

Mattu Pongal

The third day known as 'Mattu Pongal' is dedicated to the cattle as cowherds and shepherds pay thanks to their cows and bulls, paint their horns and cover them with shining metal caps. They are fed 'Pongal' and tinkling bells are tied around their neck. Cattle races are conducted and in the game called 'Manji Virattu' groups of young men chase running bulls. Bull fights called 'Jallikattu' are also arranged at some places where young men have to take the money bags tied to the horns of ferocious bulls single-handedly and without the use of arms. Lord Ganesha and Goddess Parvati are also worshiped on this day. At some other places, this day is celebrated as Kanu Pongal when girls feed colored balls of cooked rice to the birds and crows and pray for their brothers' happiness and that they always remember them.

Kaanum Pongal

The fourth day is termed as Kaanum Pongal. On this day, people travel to see other family members. On this day, the younger members of the family pay homage to the elders, and the elders thank them by giving token money. Another thing many do is leave food out on banana leaves for birds to take. Many South Indian people will take the first bit of rice cooked in any given day and set it outside for the crows to take,So this is not necessarily a habit only for Pongal.

posted by Unknown @ 5:32 PM