Gurukkal Blogs

  Agasthyar sidhar Agasthyar sidhar In Ramayana Gurukkal Dr. S Mahesh N amaste           In Ramayana, we find the meeting of Agasthya and Rama at two points. The portion which I recited now is from Aranyakandam. It is the section of the epic in which Sri Rama, Sita Devi and Lakshmana are travelling through the forest. They visit Agasthya’s ashram. This episode illustrates Agasthya seeing Rama for the first time and the joy it brings him.            Agasthya appears later at a totally different location in the epic. Where? There Agasthya teaches Rama the Aditya Hridaya Mantra which praises the Sun God. In part that I recited, Rama, Sita and Lakshmana are in the forest with Sutheeshna and they reach Agasthya’s ashram. We can see Agasthya appears in Ramayana, Mahabharata, the Vedas and the Upanishads.As we are now celebrating Ramayana month of Karkidaka in Kerala,             it is auspicious to reflect on Agasthya’s important presence in the Ramayana.           Agasthya has

  Importance of Guru in Life Gurukkal Dr. S Mahesh   N amaskaram everyone! From the moment of birth, man possesses a compelling desire. Do you know why? In reality, the desire pertains to survival. In order to ensure survival, he will strive to acquire knowledge. When a baby is born, it inhales, and widens eyes to survey the surroundings. During that moment, his mind assess and comprehend what he has observed in his surroundings Sometimes, it's the sense of vision. Sometimes it’s the sound. Thus, upon hearing a sound, the ear becomes attentive, eyes widen to see, and the tongue extends to explore taste. Gurukkal Dr. S Mahesh   All of these actions intend to assimilate information. We say ‘each life starts with a refresher course!’ Every birth begins with a quest for knowledge. While we often assume that the pursuit of knowledge starts only after birth. Scientific evidence suggests that this quest actually begins within the womb itself. The stress a

  Conscious Mind Gurukkal Dr. S Mahesh   N amaskaram everyone!             The conscious mind, mostly, is either in our past or our future.That’s in fact a limitation of our conscious mind. Either we worry about our future, which mostly culminates into a form of stress, anxiety or unhappiness or we think of our past through our memories.           We could have had several unpleasant events or even sometimes some good memories. So, what I am trying to say is that our conscious mind has two capacities. One is memorising and second is imagination.   Gurukkal Dr. S Mahesh               The conscious mind can be described as relatively small in size.If we were to measure the extent of the mind, we could compare the conscious mind to merely the tip of an iceberg. Beneath that, there is vast space of the unconscious mind. Martial arts train the subconscious mind. Let us look at the fight-flight responses. In any situation, a martial artist's imme

  Kalaripayattu Gurukkal Dr. S Mahesh           A fter three decades of training, I have come to realize that Kalaripayattu goes beyond physical exercise—it is a training of the mind. There is a popular saying in Kalaripayattu that "the body becomes eyes." This means that regardless of the direction of an attack, practitioners possess the ability to defend themselves. However, Kalaripayattu offers more than just defensive skills. It cultivates a sense of calmness, confidence, and inner peace, which becomes a defining characteristic of a Kalaripayattu practitioner.             When we examine the fundamental philosophy of practicing yoga, such as the eight limbs of Ashtanga Yoga, including yama, niyama, asana, and so on, we understand that these practices aim to compose and prepare the mind. Martial arts, similarly, have an immeasurable impact on human behavior, culture, and personal development. One of the notable aspects is the development of res

  Koothambai Sidhar Koothambai Sidhar Gurukkal Dr. S Mahesh " Andathukappal akanta sudarine Pindathul parppayadi Kuthambai pindathul parpayadi. "           T he divine light that fills this universe is also within you. Just as we cannot see nothingness or vacuum, we are unable to sense the Brahmam within us. It is because of our ignorance. These lines are by Koothambai Siddhar, who is prominent among the 18 Siddhars. The depth of the lyrics are as impressive as the beauty of their composition. Siddhar tradition is the continuous exploration of the separation and the unity of Parabrahmam and the body or Andam and pindam.           The pursuit to understand the Siddhar tradition is futile without a spiritual angle. Koothambai Sidhar songs are pearls of pure wisdom. The name Koothambai itself is different. Koothambai is an ornament that women wear on their ears. In those times, his mother made him wear them and called him lovingly after the ornament. At the age of 16, Koothamba