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Perhaps the Yogis have already found the answers, I thought. The Karma Yogis work and are yet detached. Those who practise Hatha Yoga keep their gross body in good health to facilitate a more efficient attainment of the Lord * * * My spirit watched my thoughts take shape and slipped away. When it came back, it came back not with one spectre but several. An ensemble, in fact. I saw the Golden Temple in Amritsar in the fog of the early morning in December. Indifferent to the bitter cold, a group of ragis, musical priests, sang shabads beautifully in the open courtyard. Dressed in pure white, with deep blue turbans, with flowing beards and eyes closed, they sang the praises of their Gurus and spoke of their teachings. They did not address me and, in fact, I could not hear anything distinctly except the essence of the raag. The tabla kept pace gravely without embellishment. The oldest ragi, sang with the feeling of one who completely understood the deepest essence of the raag after years of singing. Ramkali. Oh, what a lovely raag! Rare, fragile and strong, the perfect vehicle to lose oneself in the Lord. And so a calm voice said: "I too have come from Bhairav. I know that everything will end, but the gift of life must be respected. Your experience must be clean, sinless and pure. What are these men saying? Their message is to ask you to step away from attachment while being rooted to the world. Watch your parents age, watch your children go, watch wealth appear and disappear. Never feel sad about these things but participate nevertheless because to be detached from those who too must exist for no fault of theirs is to be a coward. Through me, you will achieve Ram, the Lord of the Worlds. He will reside in your hearts and guide you through this existence. The harsh word evaporates even before it forms in your mind. Violence transforms to gentleness and love. Lies disappear and humility reigns. Hate will have no meaning and revenge will seem pointless. You will see the Lord in the poor and the sick and will serve them without any expectation of reward or recognition. This is the beautiful purity of me, ancient Ramkali. * * * Teevra madhyam, used sparingly, pushes pancham and then komal dhaivat to seek the feet of komal nishad before returning to pancham through komal dhaivat. This magical sequence shows the way. The white purity of this raag softens the heart of the most wicked and guides him to the nearest gurdwara where he seeks atonement falling at the altar of the Guru Granth Sahib. The Guru blesses him and wipes away his sins that he may escape the cycle of death and birth. Teevra madhyam is the only loving admonition to the straying devotee. For the one who covets the temporal and the gross, I only ask that you listen to me in the middle Octave as I ascend as in Bhairav and deviate from it in the descent with the necklace of musical pearls, teevra madhyam, pancham, komal dhaivat and komal nishad. But the path resumes again and I do not linger at komal nishad, returning to shadaj through pancham, shuddha madhyam, shuddha gandhar and komal rishab. Do you understand now the secret within me? Do you understand now why the Yogis spend all their time seeking me out? I have the simple answers for their ultimate release from the bondage of birth and death. Like a bud about to bloom in the early morning, I too offer the path to salvation, to the lotus feet of Ram. Lust, avarice, and attachment — all diminish and finally vanish by singing me. Yes, the Lord has wished me to help those who want to learn how to live a clean and honourable life, in anonymity and service, with chaste deeds and total humility. That is I, Ramkali." (Excerpted from What the Raags told me by Vasudev Murthy. Rupa) |
AFTER my daughter’s teasing through the dazzling Raag
Chandrakauns, and then the incredibly moving Charukesi, I recovered my
sense of balance for a while. But I lost myself in thought again. The
reality of existence has been forced on me, I thought. It was senseless
to simply withdraw from this gift of life. If I did not choose to enjoy
the illusionary pleasures of life, should I not find another way to
tolerate it?