"Sabbatical" Literature

In 1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne was employed at the Salem Custom House. At that time, even jobs like these were political appointments. So after elections, he lost his job. His wife Sophia told him this was the time to complete his dream book. She had some savings & she sold hand painted lamp shades & fire screens to pay house hold bills. She also offered him emotional support & later defended his literary legacy. The resulting book was "The Scarlet Letter", which many consider the most perfectly constructed novel. Interestingly, the prelude chapter on the Custom House runs to 50 pages whereas the main novel is less than 250 pages! 

Harper Lee was working as an airline ticket agent. Her friends, noticing her literary talent, gave her a Christmas gift in 1956, equal to her one year salary, to take time off & write whatever she wanted. The result was "To Kill A Mockingbird", a classic, also made into a famous film with Gregory Peck. The uniqueness of this book is the circumstances & central event are charged with racial & sexual overtones, but seen through the eyes of & narrated by Scout, a little girl who grows up from 6 to 9 years old during the events.

VEDANTA IN SHAKESPEARE'S PLAYS

(The references are to the Act, Scene & Line number.)

ALL IS WELL THAT ENDS WELL

Our remedies oft in ourselves do lie

Which we ascribe to heaven.(I,i,235)

A young man married

Is a man that is marred. (II,iii,315)

AS YOU LIKE IT.

O, how full of briers is this working day world! (I,iii,12).

Sweet are the uses of adversity. (II,I,12).

All the world is a stage. (II,vii,139)

Most friendship is feigning,

Most loving mere folly. (II,vii,181)

HAMLET

There are more things in heaven & earth, Horatio

Than are dreamt of in your philosophy. (I,v,166).

I say, we will have no more marriages. (III,I,156)

Give me that man, that is not passion's slave,

And I will wear him in my heart's core. (III,ii,76)

Ophelia: 'Tis brief, my lord.

Hamlet: As woman's love. (III,ii,165)

There's a divinity that shapes our ends

Rough-hew them, how we will. (V,ii,10).

HENRY VIII

Cardinal Wolsey:

Had I but served my God with half the zeal 

I served my king, He would not in mine age, 

Have left me naked to mine enemies.

(III,ii,456)

KING LEAR

How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is

To have a thankless child! (I,iv,312)

MACBETH

Life is a tale told by an idiot,

Full of sound & fury,

Signifying nothing. (V,v,17).

MEASURE FOR MEASURE

But man, proud man,

Drest in a little brief authority,

Plays such fantastic tricks before high heavens

As make the angels weep. (II,ii,117)

THE MERCHANT OF VENICE

The quality of mercy is not strained,

It is an attribute of God himself. (IV, i,184)

How far that little candle throws his beams!

So shines a good deed in a naughty world. (V,i,90)

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

Friendship is constant in all other things,

Save in the office & affairs of love.

(II,i,184)

OTHELLO

Fathers, from hence trust not your daughter's minds

By what you see them act. (I,i,171)

THE TAMING OF THE SHREW

A woman moved, is like a fountain troubled,

Muddy, ill-seeming, thick, bereft of beauty. (V,ii,143)

Who is a "Well-Read" Person?

The first & most important requirement is a love of reading & knowledge for its own sake, i.e., for pure pleasure. This rules out at once those who read to get degrees for recognition & then employment. Even persons having a string of degrees after their name (including doctorates) can by no means be considered "well read".

One of the distinguishing marks is complete absence of dogmatism in their opinions, especially in regard to religion or politics. This is because they will have read too many different valid viewpoints, freeing them from "tunnel vision." So they will be blessed with an open mind.

Another "give away" of being well read, especially with regards to literature, is usage of idiomatic language rather than just the correct one. Each language has its own unique idiom, which brings it to life. Also use of appropriate references to support & bolster one's statements. (Also proof of being really well read!)

Even people who are not well read, now have an itch to appear so & publish their writings. Instead of writing  on a subject which they love & have abundant knowledge, they start with zero knowledge or love of the subject, but start writing anyway, gathering material on the way. This type of "writing to order" just to get recognition, turns out insipid for obvious reasons, & would be recognised at once for what it is by well read persons.

Is Hinducentric view the only antidote to Eurocentric view?

Upto the middle of the twentieth century, it was common to take a world view through the prism of Eurocentricity. Here it is to be remembered that even in pre-Christian days, people like Socrates pioneered rational thinking. However, he was ahead of his time & was poisoned. Dante, in his "The Divine Comedy", placed him in the first circle of hell because he was not a baptised Christian. 

The Stoics, the most famous of whom was the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (author of "Meditations"), also propounded ideas similar to the later Buddhism. Hypatia, a Pagan philosopher, was torn to pieces by a Christian mob. However, Charles Kingsley, a Christian clergyman (& author of "The Water Babies") wrote an adulatory biography of her life & times.

Buddhism, with its ten perfections, belief in reincarnation & defining "Nibbana" (Nirvana) as the goal of life, offered an alternative to Hinduism. Jainism, with its 24 Thirthankaras (enlightened souls), also offers an alternative path, with emphasis on self-mortification.

So instead of polarising between Eurocentrism & Hindu centrism, it may be prudent for the well-read, who are aware of the preceding movements, to take a multi-centric view to arrive at a holistic approach towards understanding this world.

Worshippers & Lovers of God

It may be paradoxical but there is a world of difference between the two. The worshippers do so because they expect worldly benefits like health, wealth, power, status or progeny as a reward. Their true goal in life is to obtain the above by lawful (or even unlawful!) means & when they fail, worship God as an additional last resort. The quintessential examples are the politicians doing the "Temple Run" during critical phases of their careers.

As repeatedly noted in the Upanishads, Christ's teachings, & even in one instance in the Quran, humans cannot get "the peace beyond understanding" by the above. In fact they have to be abjured to get real peace. "Thou shall not serve both God & Mammon" admonishes the Bible.

The real lovers of God are those who give up everything, repeat EVERYTHING for God. The Hindu, Jain, Buddhist & Christian monastics (both monks & nuns) & the odd sufis like Rabia of Basra exemplify this truth. The sine qua non is to give up the most desired things & embrace voluntary poverty & celibacy & true love of God will follow.

Coconut & Areca nut trees: A Metaphor

To pluck coconuts, one has to climb the tree, pluck the nuts, slither down to the ground & repeat the process on the next tree. 

However, though the areca nuts are also located near the top of equally high trees, highly experienced climbers need not get down after plucking. 

Because of the relative slimness of the tree, their flexibility & closer planting to the next tree, after climbing up the first areca nut tree, reaching & plucking all areca nuts within reach, the climber need not clamber down.

He can sway the tree with his weight, bend & grasp the next tree near its top, get on to it & pluck its nuts. This process can continue with the next tree within reach, until the climber feels tired, when he can slither down that tree & reach the ground. By this means, the climber can avoid climbing down & clambering up each tree.

But human achievements in any field are like climbing a coconut tree. To achieve knowledge, one has to start from ground level & painstakingly work his/her way to the top. To master another discipline, one again has to start from ground zero. Eminence  in one field cannot be transformed to excellence in another, like jumping across the top of an areca nut tree.

One may master Law enough to become CJI & even enjoy music. But one cannot speak with the authority of a Pandit Ravi Shankar. A Scientific Advisor may enjoy watching cricket but cannot talk as if he is Sachin Tendulkar.

Entropy, Chaos & Yugadharma

Entropy is defined as the disorder or chaos within a physical system. It means that energy is not available to do useful work. Left to itself, the entropy of a system cannot decrease. It can only remain the same or increase. To decrease entropy, one has to import energy or do work.

Chaos also denotes a state of disorder.

In Hindu Cosmology, there are four yugas, Satya,Treta, Dwapara & Kali, where Dharma or righteousness is believed to gradually decrease. Adharma or unrighteousness may increase naturally if left unchecked, like entropy mentioned above.

In Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna says (Chapter 4, Verse 8) 

To protect the virtuous and 

To annihilate the wicked and

To re-establish Dharma,

I incarnate from age to age.

In Satya Yuga, 4 incarnations appeared, namely, Matsya, Kurma, Varaha & Narasimha. In Treta Yuga, Rama was the principal incarnation & in Dwapara Yuga, Lord Krishna. 

These can be interpreted as the external energy or work agents intervening to reduce entropy (or chaos) to save the world from extinction.

Work/Life Balance: An Alternative View

The first thing to be noticed is they are NOT interconnected. Life can exist without work (as we understand it) being performed whereas work cannot be done unless life is present. The whole of non-human life has gone on & will go on without the human race & their much vaunted "Work."

Also the term "Work" cannot strictly be ascribed to activity undertaken at others behest for monetary or social benefits, which can more accurately be called "servile work" or more brutally "slavery." Only activity taken up by self-motivation for creative or altruistic purposes can be truly defined as (Creative) "Work."

The second thing to be noticed is that the (only?) goal of human life (in civilisation) has been to reduce the work involved in any activity. This has been especially evident during the Industrial Revolution, when steam 

power & later use of fossil fuels & electrical power has been to reduce human work or to put it more bluntly, drudgery. The classic example being the mass manufacture of pins quoted in Adam Smith's "The Wealth of Nations." Such being the case, elevating "hard work" to an almost divine virtue, is ridiculous.

If this has happened to a great extent in manual & even skilled labour (eg: robotics), AI (Artificial Intelligence) promises to take it even further into activity involving "human?" Intelligence. This leaves only truly "Creative" activity in human hands (minds?). This may include artistic activity & thinking up new fields like calculus, fractals, quantum theory & the like, which were so thought of in the first place.

Musical Interpretations of "Romeo & Juliet"

Hector Berlioz's "Dramatic Symphony" called "Romeo et Juliette" Op.17, (H 79) received its first performance on 24 November 1839. It has seven movements & lasts 90 minutes. Many movements were predominantly vocal so generally only the instrumental sections are played on their own.

Charles Gounod's opera "Romeo et Juliette"  (with a French libretto) was first produced on 27th April 1867. It was an instant success, giving 89 performances & well received by critics. It has four duets for the star-crossed couple.

Tchaikovsky's work on "Romeo & Juliet" was called a "Fantasy Overture" which had its premiere on 16th March 1870. It plays for about 20 minutes & purely instrumental. It is actually a symphonic poem in Sonata form with an introduction & an epilogue. The main love theme was used in many movies & TV serials.

Prokofiev's Ballet on "Romeo & Juliet" was composed in 1935 & premiered in 1938. It is more than two hours long & has 52 sections. It has 11 pages dedicated to its story & analysis in the giant exhaustive work "The Classical Music Lover's Companion to Orchestral Music" by Robert Philip.

Wise Philosopher - Poets defining Wisdom

Thiruvalluvar, the celebrated Tamil poet & philosopher, lived around the beginning of the Christian Era. He composed his "Kural" which comprises 1330 couplets divided into three sections, namely Virtue, Wealth & Love, corresponding roughly to the first three "Purusharthas" (Hindu goals of human life.) A typical couplet on uxoriousness reads: 

"The unmanly doings of an uxorious man are a public scandal."

Sarvagna, the Kannada poet of the 16th century, composed about 2000 "tripadis" or three lined poems on almost all subjects. Even though a nomad, he also has celebrated worldly life, as in the following tripadi:

"If one has a cosy home, enough money,

 And an understanding wife.

 Who needs the pleasures of heaven?"

Bhartrihari, the philosopher-poet of the 5th Century, composed the "Shataka Trayam", comprising 100 verses each of "Niti Shatakam", (Virtue), "Shringara Shatakam" (Love) & "Vairagya Shatakam." (Renunciation). That he was not entirely successful in the last, is evinced in this verse:

"The face is covered with wrinkles, 

  the head has gone all grey,

  the limbs are slack and feeble,

  only cravings youthful stay."

Shaikh Saadi, the 12th Century Persian Sufi mystic, composed "Gulistan" (Rose Garden), divided into 7 chapters comprising 178 stories & the eighth chapter containing 112 maxims. He wrote the following story:

A King asked his minister to distribute money among the dervishes (ascetics). The minister came back with the money, saying, "Those who are dervishes will not accept the money & those who accept the money are not dervishes!"

Two Famous Persian Sufi Texts

The first is "The Rubiyat of Omar Khayyam." Omar Khayyam (1048-1131) was a polymath known as an astronmer, mathematician, philosopher & poet. But he is famous for his "Rubiyat" which meaning "Quartrains" (,four lined poems) contains 101 of them in the most accessible English translation by Edward Fitzgerald published in 1859. Though outwardly advocating a hedonist lifestyle, these are believed to carry a hidden meaning preaching Sufi philosphy. This may be because main stream Islam frowned upon many Sufi ideas. It is interesting to note that Paramahamsa Yogananda has published his own interpretation of the Rubiyat.

The second is "Gulistan" (Rose Garden) by Shaikh Saadi (1210-91). This is a collection of stories, verses & maxims. This is composed of eight chapters.

1. Character of Kings. (42 stories)
2. Moral Qualities of Dervishes (47 stories)
3. Excellence of Contentment (28 stories)
4. Advantages of Silence (14 stories)
5. Love & Youth (20 stories)
6. Feebleness & Old Age (8 stories)
7. Effect of Education (19 stories)
8. Duties of Society (112 maxims)

As can be seen from the chapter headings, it encapsulates the wisdom of that country at that time.

Two Great Flower Painters

Flowers are arguably the most beautiful creations in nature. Two painters, one European & one English have dedicated their entire life in painting them, bringing out their ephemeral charm.

Pierre Joseph Redoute (1759-1840) was from the Austrian Nederlands. He was the official court artist of Marie Antoinette. (The one who suggested that poor people eat cake & was guillotined!). He lived for 80 years & worked closely with botanists. He produced over 2000 works of 1800 species of flowers & was reckoned the greatest flower painter of all time, earning the nickname of "The Raphael of Flowers." He always painted fresh flowers & not those in a herbarium.

Barbara Nicholson, an English painter in the mid twentieth century, started her career as a medical illustrator, but later switched over to painting flowers. Her work was always preceded by field studies & she invariably painted from fresh materials. Her pictures were botanically accurate & artistically beautiful. Her work is published in "The Illustrated Book of Garden Flowers" & "The Illustrated Book of Wild Flowers" among other publications.

Ghantakarna - Religious Fanaticism

Ghantakarna was a Shaivite & a hater of Vishnu. He used to hang bells from his ears so that their jingling could drown the name of Vishnu if ever uttered by anyone in his hearing.

This type of fanaticism has been always present in spite of saints like Shirdi Sai Baba, Sri Ramakrishna & Sri Satya Sai Baba, to name a few, having spoken against it.

Swami Vivekananda, a disciple of Sri Ramakrishna has pointed out the irrationality of such thought & even went so far as to say that "if one religion is true, all must be true." He also advocated the application of the scientific mode of analysis to religions.

Unfortunately, in the twenty-first century, the prolification of social media, instead of alleviating this Ghantakarna Syndrome, has aggravated this & contributed to further polarisation. If Ghantakarna was content to just shut out other deities, now the fringe elements are indulging in hate speeches leading to inciting  of violence towards all religions except one's own.

Other ways of perpetuating this polarised way of viewing things is by way of family influence. Also one tends to make one's political leaders' views their own, which may not be advisable as the leader may have his own agenda instead of the nation's good.

It is a paradox that the Internet, providing information of all creeds, instead of drawing people closer, has driven wedges between them.

Encyclopedia of Ragas

"Raga Nidhi" by B. Subba Rao was first published by The Music Academy, Madras (now "Chennai") in 1956 in four volumes. It contains descriptions of all ragas, both Hindustani & Karnatic, in alphabetical order. Each raga is given its aroha (ascending notes), avaroha (descending notes), chalan, pakad & one of two vocal compositions, all in a page or two. Additional information, if available, is also appended. Though published by The Music Academy, Madras, the home of Karnatic Music, the Hindustani ragas are dealt with first & then the Karnatic ones!

In addition to the information about the ragas themselves, five technical articles are appended at the beginning.

1.⁠ ⁠Ragas in Bharatiya Sangit.

2.⁠ ⁠Srutis in Bharatiya Sangit.

3.⁠ ⁠Nomenclature of Svaras or Notes.

4.⁠ ⁠Classification of Ragas.

5.⁠ ⁠Chart indicating how twelve Svaras of Hindustani became sixteen in Karnatic.

A revised second edition was published in 2015, in two volumes, the first two volumes of the original edition being contained in the new first volume and the third & fourth volumes of the original being contained in the new second volume. The complete work, running to over a thousand pages, contains nearly a thousand ragas. It is the only work of its kind & is a "go to" resource book for all students of music, either Hindustani or Karnatic.

Imperativeness of Learning Classical Music

In the "good old days" as it used to be called , the sound of music being practiced by children, was wafted along the streets of all cultivated homes, both east & west. Who can forget that music was one of the mandatory accomplishments of a lady or gentleman, in Regency England, as shown in Jane Austen's "Sense & Sensibility."? Especially in south India, learning music was "de rigeur" for marriageable young girls.

The coming of the radio, was in a way, the beginning of the end of music being performed in the home. The radio & later TV made learning music redundant by piping music into the home. The final nail in the coffin was driven by the so-called female education, which pushed girls into schools & colleges, not to get educated, but alas, eventually convert them into economically productive units. "Lakshmi" was the adored female deity not "Saraswati"!

William Congreve, in his 1697 play "The Mourning Bride", wrote "Music hath charms to sooth the savage breast." Now these lines assume ominous overtones as the fringe elements professing a religion, which is said to be against music, especially instrumental, as it is supposed to be "haram" (forbidden), are indulging in violent acts which exhibit their "savage breast". It is another matter that many internationally celebrated Indian instrumentalists, following the same religion, have brought renown to the nation, one even going as far as to say "Swar hi Ishwar hai." (Music is God).

Even China, which during their ill-advised "cultural revolution" destroyed musical instruments, have come to their senses & producing world-class virtuosi now.

Pioneering Children's Novels

"The Legend of Lucy Whipple" (1849) is written by Karen Cushman. In this, the mother, after losing her husband, moves to the west, to make her living by providing a boarding house to the miners, with her children. But her eldest, Lucy is reluctant & is fond of books & reading. But she reluctantly goes along & helps her mother. When her mother decides to remarry an itinerant preacher & missionary & decides to move to Sandwich Islands, Lucy decides to stay back & start a library to educate the miners' children, continuing the work of Benjamin Franklin who started circulating libraries in USA in 1731.

"The Little House in the Woods" by Laura Ingalls Wilder (1932). In this novel, set in the 1870's in Wisconsin, Laura & her family, consisting of her parents & two sisters,  settled in the wilderness, where they had to be completely self-sufficient. Bears & wolves were always prowling around & Laura learned to handle guns while still very young. They lived by hunting & limited agriculture. The arrival of a hired mechanical horse-operated thresher was an event. How the family cheerfully thrived under these harsh conditions is described in detail in the book. It was followed by numerous sequels.

The Seven Stages of Spiritual Progress according to Sri Ramakrishna & St.Teresa of Avila

In "The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna", it is stated that on October 28, 1882, Sri Ramakrishna said that the Vedas speak of seven planes where the mind dwells. When the mind is immersed in  worldliness, it dwells in the three lower planes, the navel, the organ of generation & the organ of evacuation. The fourth plane is the heart. Here one has the first glimpse of spiritual consciousness. One sees light all around. The fifth plane is at the throat. The person only likes to hear & talk about God. The sixth plane is at the forehead. The aspirant sees the form of God day & night. The seventh plane is at the top of the head. When the mind rises there, the person goes into Samadhi (spiritual trance) & directly perceives God.

St.Teresa of Avila, the 16th Century Spanish mystic wrote "The Interior Castle" which comprises of seven "mansions". Each representing a stage of spiritual progress.

The first "mansion's" door is accessed through prayer. Only souls in a state of grace (who can free themselves from sin) can access it. The second mansion is attained by souls, who although they may fall into sin, are closer to God & can hear his call better. The third mansion is attained by souls, who do not retreat & are seperated from the world in all humility. The fourth mansion is inhabited by those who pray of stillness & love much. The fifth mansion's is occupied by souls incipient in union with God. The sixth mansion deepens the union but with very hard labours. The seventh (last) mansion celebrates the spiritual marriage with God & the soul becomes one with God.

Pandit Ravi Shankar's Legacy - A New Look

There is a tendency to regard Panditji's music as only a reflection of his music guru, Ustad Allauddin Khan's influence. Actually Panditji was a performing musician much before he met his guru. There is a Vinyl LP originally recorded during his visit (as part of a dance troupe led by his eldest brother, the legendary dancer & choreographer Uday Shankar) to the USA in 1937 called "Indian Music Ragas & Dances". In this record Panditji plays Esraj (a Sarangi-like instrument.)

As Ravi Shankar was also a dancer, there is more emphasis on the tala element even in his mature work as a Sitarist, compared to his "gurubhais" in the same gharana Ali Akbar Khan & Nikhil Banerjee. His pioneering efforts to present Carnatic ragas in Hindustani garb also stemmed from the above mentioned record, where ragas Simhendra Madhyamam & Hamsadhwani are presented.

Panditji's pioneering missionary zeal to popularize Hindustani music world wide may also have been inspired by his brother Uday Shankar's similar zeal to universalise Indian dance abroad. So both his brother & guru helped turn him into the global icon he became later.

Positivity of Pangloss & Pollyanna

In Voltaire's satire "Candide", he satirises the Leibnizian philosophy of "All things happen for the best in this best of all possible worlds", using Dr. Pangloss, the tutor of Candide, as the mouthpiece. Even after all possible misfortunes happen to them, Pangloss stubbornly repeats his dictum, but Candide adds pragmatically, "But let us cultivate our garden."

In Eleanor Porter's "Pollyanna", the eponymous character, is a little orphan girl who comes to live with her aunt. Her late pastor father, beset with poverty, found about 800 "Rejoicing texts" in the Bible, & taught his daughter to look for the silver lining of every cloud. Pollyanna goes about teaching this "Glad Game" to all in the town. But when she herself is nearly paralysed after an accident, she nearly loses faith but is saved by a medical breakthrough, restoring her belief in her "Glad Game."

Music Appreciation

Aaron Copland, the American Composer, in his book "What to listen for in music" divides music appreciation into three planes. 

1.⁠ ⁠The Sensuous plane. Here one listens to the sheer pleasure of the sound itself. A kind of brainless but attractive state of mind is engendered by the mere sound of the music.

2.⁠ ⁠The Expressive plane. All music has an expressive power which, unfortunately (in the case of instrumental music) cannot be put into words. For example each of the 48  fugue themes in Bach's "The Well Tempered Clavichord" mirrors a different world of feeling.

3.⁠ ⁠The Musical plane. Here, in addition to the above two, music exists in terms of its own notes & their manipulation. The musically aware listener should hear the melodies, rhythms, harmonies & the tone colours. He should be aware of musical forms & be able to follow the lines of the composer's thought.

If this is the case of Western Classical Music, Carnatic music, being based largely on Kritis, offer a convenient verbal peg to hang one's appreciation, even in the case of instrumental renditions.

Hindustani, especially instrumental music, has attained an universal appeal, because of its pure, abstract form. But here also, ability to recognise the ragas is a prime requisite in appreciating it.

Many "connoisseurs" have never got beyond the first "Sensuous Plane" mentioned above as evinced by nodding their heads & exclaiming "Wah, wah!" Ustad Vilayat Khan, once asked why he didn't announce the name of the raga he would play, scathingly replied "If they can't recognise the raga,  they are not fit to attend my concert!"