Silence by Narayanan

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　


Some thoughts on Silence

by Narayanan Raghunathan
November, 2005

The Infinite Cosmoses Of Infinite Silences

We have seen that Aum The Primal Resonant Mantram Of ParaBrahman Sadaashiva Created All The cosmoses. Pranava with its accompanying inter-woven silences pervades all the universes. You may call it Brahman or Tao or Rtam as you please.

Actually the Mowna Mandalas [The Mandalas of Elucidatory Silences and Spanda Grahas[ Pre- Word Silence Seamless-Vibrations] Exist even pre–primordially, reached in innumerable Pathways! [Shiva Spanda Kaarika has some great aphorisms which may show a path to such Revelations]. Please read the following two parables to get a deeper perspective of this.

I] RUDRA MAHAAKAALI SPANDA RAHASYA ~ A Parable.

II] MAHA MOWNA MANDALAS ~ Another Parable [ Contd ]


There are three fundamental aspects of Silence that can be discerened by the Great Rishis [Seers]. They are Nishabdham [State of No Sound], Mookam [ Non-responsive silence of divine isolation], and Mownam [ Silence as a divine language of elucidations ] in Sanskrit. These are deep revelations and not the act of adapting silence as a noisy pretentious ritual.

The Vast Indian Mythological worlds have taken to Silences as the final elucidation.

Nishabdha Desha Nivaasini [One who resides in “The Land of No Sound”
This is one of the special names of Devi Mahaa Maayaa Mahaa-Shakthi Kundalini.]

Mookaambika [Mookambika had killed　a demon Kamsasura who was made mooka before [wordless, dumb] and hence this name. But there are also Mooka cosmoses where the Devi the Cosmic Mother is inaccessible because she is in Tapas [ Meditation and austerities] and in Mooka[ Non participatory non responsive silence] Dhyaanam.

Shankaraachaarya composed his Soundrarya Lahiri [ Bliss Of Infinite Grace Beauty] While he had a darshan of the Devi MahaaMaaya Mookaambika.

Mookaambika is Alll the three Devis Paarvathi [ Durga spouse Of Rudra Shiva ] Maha-Lakshmi [Spouse Of Maha Vishnu ] and Saraswathi [Spouse of Brahma ]unite to become the Cosmic Mother of All, Mookaambika.

Sahasranaamam {thousand divine names] of Lalitha, Lakshmi, Kaali, Mookambika etc. are recited every day in India by people as part of prayer and worship.

For more details about Mookambika’s legend and the temple in Kollur in Karnataka, India, visited by pilgrims from all over India see the links below.

http://www.mangalore.com/documents/kollur.html
http://www.templenet.com/Karnataka/kollur.html
http://www.templenet.com/Karnataka/mookkoll.html
http://www.ourkarnataka.com/temples/kollurtemple.htm

..............................

Dakshinaamoorthy [The Lord who faces south]

"chitram vatatharor-mule vriddha shishya gurur yuvaa
gurosthu mownam vyaakhyaanam shishyasthu chinna samshaya. "
[ Aadi Shankaraachaarya ~ Dakshinaamoorthy Stothram ]

"Strange the spectacle under the sacred banyan,
aged the disciples, youthful the Guru,
the Guru’s discourse in silence thus
dispels all the doubts of the disciples~ "
[Translated by Narayanan Raghunathan]

Dakshnaamoorthy is Shiva as a Cosmic Teacher Discoursing in Silence. He generally sits under a banyan tree discoursing in sacred silences. Each disciple gets a different meaning to the silences depending upon their Natural Inclination.

Many Indian Shiva Temples also have an idol of Dakshinamoorthy facing the south.

..........................

Indian Music and Silences

Indian music and Silences is a vast field.

In its pure renderings a Raag[am] is also characterized by appropriate specific universal Silences
Every artist’s style is specially created by the deep silences that his breath invokes.
Some artists especially the Dhrupadias [Dhrupad Singers] resonate the silences to create Raaga’s subtleties.

Different artists may be said to invoke different types of Silences.

For a listed example of some musical silences

The mantra silences Of Dhrupadia’s [Dhrupad Exponents]

Sedate silences of Aamir Khan

The tapering vanishing silences of Kumar Gandharva

The dense geometric silences of MD Ramanathan

The musical nasal silences of Semnaangudi Srinivaasa Iyer

The disturbing silences of TR Mahalingam [Flautist]

The folk silences of Pannalaal Ghosh. [Flautist]

The root breath silences of Madurai Mani Iyer

The invisible silences of Dr. S Ramanathan

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ad infinitum

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

A personal story

I was listening the legendary Indian percussionist Palghat Mani Iyer [whom a Newyork critic described as the greatest living Percussionist on this planet], with my friend Bala-gopal. I told him “Balu, Listen to the silences he plays” ~ [ 1975~ Thiruvananthapuram ] . Years later, I read one of Mani Iyer’s talented disciple Thyagarajan telling an inteviewer that his Guru had asked him to play the silences of the Thaal[am] [Rhythm] .

The great Zen koan joke is also related to Silences !

What is the sound of the one hand clapping ?

You must ask The Maitreya Buddha

The Maitreya Buddha will surely become manifest when Dakshnammorthy manifests and give us elucidations in silences when some will perceive him as the Apocalyptic Messiaha / Mehdi / Isiha / Kalki etc. That is a sincere hope among many religious people.

In the beginning the Vast Word, Finally the seamless silences.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I] RUDRA MAHAAKAALI SPANDA RAHASYA ~ A Parable.

PLEASE KEEP AN OPEN EYE AND MIND AND READ THIS ONE ~
___________________________________

All this Happens Before All ~
We May Tentatively Metaphorize In Word That Which Is All Words And All Silences And Infinitely Beyond All For All Eternities ~

samuktham pavitram ekamavyayam parabrahmam aghandaadi madyaantha viheenam sarvam shivam sthaanum ~ adbutham shaashvatham sthiram nityam satchidaanandam naaraayanam purusham poornam-aksharam kaivalyam ~

Absolute in cosmic unity eternally sanctified and sacred One alone eternally undefinable unknowable parabrahmam that is all and all that which is not and infinitely more eternally unbreakable in infinity without infinite beginnings middles and ends all in all eternally auspicious absolutely steadfast purely wonderfull for ever present everywhere pure being of all times delighting in the consciousness of luminous perfections the Lord of All Naaraayana the eternal man always whole beyond all dissolutions bestower of all bliss.

aahad allahadi waahad waajihadi avaahad al-mehfooz al allaha mehfooz

Alllaha in absolute oneness in sacred self-glory undeinably great author of All and the last scriptures of light.


Let Me Clarify

Then there was nither sound nor silence
Neither light nor darkness
Neither being nor non- being
Neither space nor time existed not even eternity
Neither one nor many nor infinity ~

Neither creations nor destructions
Neither heavens nor hells
Neither earth nor the vast galaxies and infinite cosmoses existed ~
Neither births deaths nor immortalities ~~
Why even the word God was yet to be!

In self-evident oneness pulsated the ultimate one of infinite names and infinite glories
All alone in absolute non-duality.

[These words are inspired by the “Hymn Of Creation” ~ The Rig Veda]

I request my Christian friends to read these Words as an absolute state in which the Father the Holy Ghost and the Son [The trinity] are absolutely united
~ A pre-primordial state ~

Now You May Wonder How We Can Think About That Which Is Beyond Words And Silences And Mind And Matter through Our Consciousness ~ We Can Only Vaguely Feel The Vastness ~ But We Can Still Attempt ~ To Make It Easier We Will Cast The Infinite One As A Luminous Being With A Divinely Human Countenance Sitting In The Middle Of His Infinite Luminous Empires Of Absolute Spandas [Pre-Sound Pre-Silence Spontaneous Self-Effulgent-Rhythm-Light-Effusions] ~

An Image Of Christ Would Be An Ideal Choice ~ But Nobody Knows What Christ Looked Like ~ Those Familiar With The Vast Eastern Iconic Representations Of The Infinite Lord May Of Course Choose An Image Of Rudra-Shiva Or Krishna Or Buddha As They May Prefer ~

For Convenience I Will Address This Infinite One As Rudra [Divinely Wrathfull One] From Now On In This Parable ~

Now RUDRA
In His Absolute Being Beheld HimSelf For Infinite Timeless Times Splendidly Glorious In His Vast Spanda Grhas [Cosmic Temples Of Spandas] ~ Spandas Of Eternal Splendours Beyond Infinite Imaginations Of Infinite Beings ~ Then Arose In RUDRA The Primal Seed Desire ~ He Desired To Be Beheld In His Great Splendour ~ As RUDRA Desired The Infinite Spanda Grhas Splendoured In Absolute Delight As The Primal Mother Of All Kaalikaambika Or MahaKaali Made Her Great Appearance ~ Uma Amba Raadha Taara Shweta Padma Maria All Are Her Own Divine Names ~

When RUDRA Becomes Two As RUDRA and MAHA-KAALI There Arose Pre-Primordial Divine-Communication For Infinite Eternities And Beyond Between The Two In Divine Luminous Spanda_Mandalas [Eternally Luminous Perfect Power Temples Of Delight] ~ They Are TheGreat Spanda-Rahasyas [Divine Spanda Secrets] ~ These Are Clearly Beyond All Words And Silences And The Imaginations Of Infinitudes Of Beings We May Asseverate Metaphysically In Mystic Intonations ~
Our Parable Tentatively Ends Here ~ How The Infinite Universes Of Silences Arose From The Spanda Mandalas
Would Be The Subject Of The Next Parable ~
“MAHAA-MOWNA-MANDALAS”[The Luminous Temples Of Infinite Divine Silences]


AUM MAR VALAH YAHWA ISHIHA TAWHID ALLAHA ~
______________________________

Note ~ The Two Aphorisms In Sanskrit And Primordial Arabic [Tawhidi] Are Not From Any Holy Book But Strictly Conjured Tentatively For This Parable ~

II] MAHA MOWNA MANDALAS ~ Another Parable [ Contd ]

Notes

Maha Mowna Mandalas ~ The Great Temples Of Infinite Silences ~

Spanda ~ Infinite Pre-Primordial Spasm Delight Absolutes Before All Words Silences And All Projective Universes Pasts Presents Futures Or Otherwise

Rudra ~ All Effulgent Wrathfull One ~ Sada Shiva ~ Eternally Auspicious One

Kaalikaambika ~ The Great Lotus Mother In The Pre-Primal Waters

Ambika ~ One Ever Present In The Pre-primal Waters

Mahalakshmi ~ Sacred Luminous Mother On Divine Lotus


In The Parable “ RUDRA ~MAHA KAALI ~ SPANDA RAHASYA” We Dealt With Pre-Primordial Times Before All Words And Silences And Universal Projections Of Infinite Beings Came To Be!! ~
We Saw There That MAHA RUDRA KAALA-BHAIRAVA SADA-SHIVA [KRISHNA VISHNU ISHIHA YAHWA ALLAHA BUDDHA TOO ARE HIS SACRED NAMES] ~ All His Infinite Names Are Inscribed In All The Possible Or Impossible Cosmoses ~ In His Infinite Effulgent Beingless-Being Encompassing All And Beyond All Felt The Anaadi Spanda-Moha [Beginingless Spanda Desire] To Be Beheld, To Be Re-Cognized In His Vast Infinitely Meta-Cosmic Oneness And This Divine Desire Created His Eternal Spouse And Shakthi MAHAKAALIKAAMBIKA [Ferociously Luminous One Of Infinite Light-Waters ] ~

Now We Begin This Parable Of MAHA MOWNA MANDALAS ~

RUDRA And MAHA KAALI Lived In The Spanda-Grahas For Eternities Beyond All Conceptions Resplendent In Perfect United Grandeur ~ Then In Some Meta-Spanda-Moment DURGA [That Is MAHA KAALI’S Dear Name] Told In Spandas To RUDRA-SADAA-SHIVA “MAHA STHANU I HAVE KNOWN YOU FOR ALL TIMES STILL I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT YOU ~ MAY I KNOW YOU MORE” ~

As This Divine Desire Came To Be MAHA KAALI Instantly [!] Becomes Infinitudes Of Resplendent Forms And Each Of Her Innumerable Mystic-Forms Of Ultimate Splendours And Perfections Indefinitely Become Infinitudes More ~ This Never-Ending Process Continued Beyond All Words And Silences In The Miracle Spanda Grahas For Ever And For Ever We May Say Metaphorically ~

Again Another Great Spanda Moment ~ MAHA KAALI Recognizes That Still She Is Yet To Know Anything of The Great STHANU-RUDRA Sitting Alone At The Divine Mystic Centre Of It All ~ She Makes HerSelf “One” Again All At Once, Bows Down In Utter Supplication To RUDRA –SHIVA STILL ALONE AND REMOTE FROM ALL ~

She Mutters In Spanda Rahasya Mantras “My Lord Sthaanu_Datta-Rudra_Sadaa-Shiva I have become utter infinitudes and known you. Still, I know nothing at all about your great mystery, of your absolute onenes. More I know you, the more unkowable you become. May I know you more and more and your eternal glory my lord. I humbly beseech thee."

The Remote STHANU-RUDRA Creates Mooka Universes [Mute-Silence Universes] ~ Then KAALIKAAMBIKA Enters Those Terrible Muteness And Goes Into Terrible Tapas [Fierce Austerities And Meditations] Still Seeking RUDRA-SHIVA ~ Thus KAALIKAAMBIKA gains The Great Name MOOKAAMBIKA [The Mute Empress From Infinite Pre-Primal Light-Waters] ~

After Eternitys Again In Mooka Cosmoses MOOKAAMBIKA, Comes Back To RUDRA-SADAA-SHIVA And He Begins His Elucidations And Creations of Infinitudes of MOWNA MANDALA GRAHAS [The Great Infinite Temples Of Perfect Elucidatory Silences] The Glory Of These Golden-Mandalas Is Indescribable In Words Naturally ~ It Has No Equivalents To Human Physicality Because The Word And These Great Residual Worlds We Centre Are Yet To Be

AMBIKA As We Will Call The Primal Mother, Now Desires And Projects Her Companion Shakthi PADMA [MAHA-LAKSHMI] ~ The two Shakthis are referred to as "Hri" and "Shri" in the Vedas, and as Ida and Pingala or Dakini and Shakini in Yoga Tantra Mahayana Buddhism.

These Two Companions Invoke RUDRA-NAARAAYANA As We May Call Him ~

They Project Infinitudes of Absolute Delight Universes [MOWNA SATCHIDAANANDA MANDALAS] Dwell In Utter Delight And Infinite Bliss With Their Infinite Projections Of Themselves And Their Lord ~

We May Roughly Identify This State As RAADHA-KRISHNA MANDALA
Where the eternal dances of delight eternally go on pure sublime in absolute oneness before All Beginnings Middles Ends and Words too!!

My Christian Friends may imagine these wonder worlds as the state of the eternal bridegroom Christ and brides of sacred delight before All.

Please Note That All This Happens Before Matter And Even Minds And Even Word ~
It Is Eternally Before “The Great Fall” ~

I Tentatively Close This Parable
In The Great Silences Beyond All ~

Narayanan Raghunathan

*****************************

SILENCE and HAIKU
by Narayanan Raghunathan

breeze shadows green
leaves calligraph silences on
the luminous wall ~


timeless clock
measures the magic silences
of the great moment ~


great splendour of
ageless dream dialects in
silent thunder ~ Haiku ~


in midnight silences
flames, shadows, objects
dream Buddha Light ~


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Wonder Chants Of Silences

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

trees sprout on walls ~
the sky peeps through windows to
watch solemn silence
( Jan. 28, 2002)



veiled in mist
abstracted landscape in
sweet silence ~
(Jan. 29, 2002)



organic snow extends
seamless into the infinite ~
sacred white silence ~
( Jan. 31, 2002)



ice-dreams merge
with blue-sky-dreams
in rapture silence ~
( Feb. 01, 2002)



black leaves in breeze ~
vast starless horizon blazes
crescent lunar silence
( Feb. 01, 2002)



fierce clouds resonant
in primal word invite the
final thunder silence ~
( Feb. 01, 2002)



sacred desolate space
not a butterfly not a soul
not even a silence ~
( Feb. 01, 2002)



the desolate home ~
sky-light dance silence
awaits my arrival ~
( Feb. 01, 2002)



a great dawn erupts
again in white silence all
for a tree and me ~
( Feb. 01, 2002)



solid water crown
wonder light-silence on
PadmaPaani's head
( Feb. 02, 2002)



numbers measure time
exhaust in infinite delight
for pure silence
( Feb. 02, 2002)



golden Bodhisattva
awaits the perfect dawn of
Amitaabha's Silence ~
( Feb. 02, 2002)



spectral landscape
in radiant silence awaits
new spectral Beings
( Feb. 06, 2002)



in mid-night silence
flames shadows objects
dream Buddha-Light
( Feb. 06, 2002)



exquisite morning-glory
chants in radiant silence
the morning's glory ~
( Feb. 07, 2002)



wonder-blue sky
wonder snow-light
silence ~ No Sun!
( Feb. 10, 2002)



luminous yellow space
primal seeds cadent in silence
infinite unborn springs ~
( Feb. 15, 2002)



we sip tea
in spring silence ~
a distant bird call
( Jul. 26, 2003)



endless silence
snow-paths weave
seamless labyrinths ~
[Dedicated to Amanda]
( Nov. 26, 2003)



calligraphy in
light on snowscape ~
midnight silence
( Dec. 20, 2003)


spectral dreams weave
ether parables in flames ~
silence shuffles silence ~
( Nov. 30, 2004)



Heirinji ~
Pathless Path of Light
in autumn silence
( Jul. 21, 2005)

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Ants To Virat
[ Dedicated to Amanda, Anand and Shyam ]
~~~~~~~~~~~

near the lamp
the ants walk along
flame-silences ~

these silences
are rainbow coloured, if you
have the eyes to see

No last silence ~
fearsome terrains of infinite
seamless silences ~

truly, all these
vast silences too are
the pranava Aum ~

at the end of
the worlds of silences
the solitary Virat, still
in Perfect Silence ~


Note ~
Virat is The Supreme Lord of The Universes, Infinite Seamless, Holding it All, on His Infinite Body.

.................................................................................



. Aum Infinite Cosmoses :
The Infinite Cosmoses Of Infinite Silences ~ 　


. Wonder Haiku Worlds 　

. Aum Infinite Cosmoses 　


by Narayanan Raghunathan



*****************************
Related words

***** Silence (maun)


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::