thanks Rick
love you
...and cherish your posting
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Rick Archer" <rick@...> wrote:
>
> From: Jerry Katz umbada@...
> Date: Wed, Dec 12, 2012 at 3:53 AM
> Subject: [NDhighlights] #4784 - Wednesday, December 12, 2012 -
>
>
>
>
>
> #4784 - Wednesday, December 12, 2012 - Editor: Jerry Katz
>
>
>
> The Nonduality Highlights
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NDhighlights/>
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NDhighlights/
>
>
>
>
>
> _____
>
>
>
>
>
> Ravi Shankar died Tuesday, December 11, 2012, at age 92. You'll come
across
> many obituaries and articles, but I don't know how many of them will
strike
> the chord of nonduality. I tried to approach that in this August 23,
2005
> issue of the Highlights:
>
>
>
> http://www.nonduality.com/hl2239.htm
>
>
>
> It is reprinted here, but you might want to click on the link above
and read
> the more colorful original version with photos.
>
>
>
> ~ ~ ~
>
> This issue features a selection from Raga Mala: The Autobiography of
Ravi
> Shankar. The material was typed from the book and appears nowhere
else.
>
> The following Amazon review says what I would have said about the
beauty of
> the book's design. The book overflows with photographs and is
highlighted
> with gold: gold endpages, gold lettering for chapter headings, and
several
> gold pages within the book.
>
> "Raga Mala is the autobiography of pandit Ravi Shankar, told in story,
> profusely illustrated [some in color], beautifully bound [with
luxurious
> endpapers], on high quality, beautiful papers. It tells his story
> [introduced by George Harrison] from his early childhood, stage [as a
dancer
> in his brothers famous troupe] to his study of sitar and Hindustani
music
> with a master[Khan], to his gradual emergence in the west. I had no
idea,
> that he had performed at Carnegie hall in the 1930's, that John
Coltrane's
> son Ravi was named after him, or that he was well known BEFORE the
Monterey
> pop or woodstock concerts [he called woodstock "terrifying']. This is
a
> wonderful book, it tells the ENTIRE ARC of the life of pandit Ravi
Shankar
> [including his apparent heir and pupil, his daughter Anoushka], and
does so
> with such a well put together volume. The papers, the binding, the
> photographic reproductions are exquisite. The publisher has done a
> remarkable job. A classic book, both in form and content."
>
> You may order the book at
> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1566492173/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8
>
<http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1566492173/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&cam\
p=17
>
89&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1566492173&linkCode=as2&tag=nondualitysa\
l-20
> >
>
&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1566492173&linkCode=as2&tag=nond\
uali
> tysal-20
>
>
>
> _____
>
> <http://www.nonduality.com/22391.jpg>
>
> Our tradition teaches us that sound is God - Nada Brahma. That is,
musical
> sound and the musical experience are steps to the realization of the
self.
> We view music as a kind of spiritual discipline that raises one's
inner
> being to divine peacefulness and bliss. We are taught that one of the
> fundamental goals a Hindu works toward in his lifetime is a knowledge
of the
> true meaning of the universe - its unchanging, eternal essence - and
this is
> realized first by a complete knowledge of one's self and one's own
nature.
> The highest aim of our music is to reveal the essence of the universe
it
> reflects, and the ragas are among the means by which this essence can
be
> apprehended. Thus, through music, one can reach God.
> -Ravi Shankar
>
>
>
> Being a Brahmin, I learnt some mantras from gurus as a child, and
still
> repeat them in my mind as often as I can today. I do firmly believe
that
> they have tremendous power. For a few years in the late Fifties and
early
> Sixties, I regularly practiced hatha yoga, but gradually the pace of
my life
> made it impossible to continue with it (although I still maintain my
regular
> morning meditations, plus one before giving a recital). Many times in
my
> life I have been attracted with great surges of love and bhakti
(reverence
> or devotion) to some godly persons I have known, such as Tat Baba, Ma
> Anandamayi, Satya Sai Baba and the late Shankaracharya of Kanchi. Some
I
> never saw have also exerted a strong pull on me, such as Ramakrishna
> Paramahansa, Lahiri Mahasai, Trailange Swami, Babaji and Swami
Vivekananda.
> But in one's daily life and existence it is hard to attain cosmic
> consciousness. Most of the time the only self-realisation states one
is
> aware of are physical and mundane ones. I am sure many of you have
felt this
> too.
>
>
>
> But MUSIC - that is the thing for me! Mostly it has been when deeply
> immersed in my music that I have felt that surge of joy, merging into
the
> indefinable 'drunken with beauty' moment. Especially when I become
attuned
> to my sitar, that is the route for me to touch the heart and the God
within
> myself, and within my millions of listeners over the years.
>
>
>
> The spiritual element in Indian music is absolutely essential. From
the very
> beginning our music was handed down by the yogis, and musicians were
> invariably great saintly people, leading a very religious life. Many
of the
> old songs were philosophical and devotional in nature, written in
praise of
> our gods like Shiva, Vishnu, Ganesha and Saraswati, and the most
popular
> character in the songs, Krishna, who is treated more like a human
being,
> going through all the different phases of life. He is loved not only
for his
> miraculous feats but for his childhood pranks, his adventures with his
> friends as he is growing up, his flirting and erotically-charged
encounters
> with the gopis (milkmaids), and then his great teachings to Arjuna on
the
> battlefield of Kurukshetra which constitutes the Bhagavad Gita. Our
songs
> and poetry beautifully convey his charm and eroticism, and tell of his
> pranks and special love for Radha. Having in my childhood all this
> background and the whole atmosphere of priestly living (as a Brahmin),
I
> could grasp and feel the spirituality in music much more quickly than
most.
>
>
>
> Sometimes I feel blindfolded, completely susceptible to spiritual
atmosphere
> and prepared to believe whatever I am told, like a simple village
person.
> Whenever I visit Balaji, the temple to Lord Venkateshwar in the South
Indian
> state of Andhra Pradesh, my heart is thrown completely open to the
power of
> the spiritual forces that seem to be present. I feel the same innocent
> openness when I think of Saraswati, Krishna, Buddha or Jesus Christ,
or when
> I go to church, synagogue or House of God of any other religion. That
blind
> faith is part of my tradition. It is in my heart and mind. I know I am
> someone who likes and often needs to depend on someone or something.
>
>
>
> But then at times I ask myself why I should depend on anyone. God is
in me,
> not in these figures. These are supports which are there for when we
need
> them; true religious experience is to be found in one's own heart.
This
> comes back to the age-old philosophical questions: Who am I? Where did
I
> come from? Where am I going? I believe I am both the atman (soul) and
the
> paramatman (supersoul). Within me there is both the seeker and the one
I
> seek.
>
>
>
> Meeting George Harrison
>
>
>
> I met George Harrison for the first time in June 1966, one evening in
a
> friend's house in London. At that time, although I had heard of The
Beatles,
> I knew only that they were an extremely popular group. Something
clicked
> from the very beginning with George. The other three I met on
different
> occasions through the years, and Ringo especially was very warm and
> friendly, but I never really had anything much to do with any of them.
>
>
>
> From the moment we met George was asking questions, and I felt he was
> genuinely interested in Indian music and religion. He appeared to be a
> sweet, straightforward young man. I said I had been told he used the
sitar,
> although I had not heard the song "Norwegian Wood." He seemed quite
> embarrassed, and it transpired that he had only had a few sittings
with an
> Indian chap who was in London (a student of the late Motiram, my
disciple in
> Delhi) to see how the instrument should be held and to learn the
basics of
> playing. "Norwegian Wood" was supposedly causing so much brouhaha, but
when
> I eventually heard the song I thought it was a strange sound that had
been
> produced on the sitar! As a result, though, young fans of The Beatles
> everywhere had become fascinated by the instrument.
>
>
>
> Then George expressed his desire to learn the sitar from me. I told
him that
> to play sitar is like learning Western classical music on the violin
or
> cello. It is not merely a matter of learning how to hold the
instrument and
> play a few strokes and chords, after which (with sufficient talent)
you can
> prosper on your own, as is common with the guitar in Western pop
music. I
> told him this nicely, getting him to understand the seriousness of
Indian
> music.
>
>
>
> I said, "I have given so many years of my life to sitar, and by God's
grace
> I have become very well known - but still I know in my heart of hearts
that
> I have a long way to go. There's no end to it. It is not only the
technical
> mastery of the sitar - you have to learn the whole complex system of
music
> properly and get deeply into it. Moreover it's not just fixed pieces
that
> you play - there is improvisation. And those improvisations are not
just
> letting yourself go, as in jazz - you have to adhere to the discipline
of
> the ragas and the talas without any notation in front of you. Being an
oral
> tradition, it takes many more years.
>
>
>
> "And there is more to it than exciting the senses of the listeners
with
> virtuosity and loud crash-bang effects. My goal has always been to
take the
> audience along with me deep inside, as in meditation, to feel the
sweet pain
> of trying to reach out for the supreme, to bring tears to the eyes,
and to
> feel totally peaceful and cleansed."
>
>
>
> Then I asked him if he could give time and total energy to work hard
on it.
> He said he would do his best, and we arranged a date then and there.
It was
> not practical for him to come to my hotel, so he invited me to visit
his
> house in Esher soon afterwards. I went twice within a week or so.
Initially
> I gave him some basic instruction - how to hold the sitar properly,
the
> correct fingering for both hands, and some exercises. I also wrote
down the
> names of all the notes in the sargam (the Indian solfeggio) to make
him
> familiar with them. That was all. We fixed it that he would come to
India
> for a couple of months to learn in more depth.
>
>
>
> I felt strongly that there was a beautiful soul in him, and recognized
one
> quality which I always have valued enormously and which is considered
the
> principal one in our culture - humility. Considering that he was so
famous -
> part of the most popular group in the world ever! - he was
nevertheless
> quite humble, with a childlike quality which he has retained to this
day.
>
>
>
> George Harrison writes: Ravi was very friendly and easy to communicate
with.
> By this time The Beatles had met so many people - prime ministers,
> celebrities, royalty - but I got to a point where I thought, "I'd like
to
> meet somebody who could really impress me." And that was when I met
Ravi. He
> was the first person who impressed me in a way that was beyond just
being a
> famous celebrity. Ravi was my link into the Vedic world. Ravi plugged
me
> into the whole of Reality. I mean, I met Elvis - Elvis impressed me
when I
> was a kid, and impressed me when I met him because of the buzz of
meeting
> Elvis - but you couldn't later on go round to him and say, "Elvis,
what's
> happening in the universe?"
>
>
>
> Ravi came to my house in Esher, and then he had arranged that we
should sit
> in the afternoon for an hour or two, and he showed me how to get
started on
> the sitar. After that he'd arranged for Alla Rakha to come, and they
were
> going to give a little concert, so John and Ringo came, and they
played for
> us for an hour and a half. It was really nice.
>
>
>
> The moment we started, the feelings I got were of his patience,
compassion
> and humility. The fact that he could do one of his five-hour concerts,
but
> at the same time he could sit down and teach somebody from scratch the
very
> basics: how to hold the sitar, how to sit in the correct position, how
to
> wear the pick on your finger, how to begin playing. We did that and he
> started me going on the scales. And he enjoyed it - he wasn't grudging
at
> all, and he wasn't flash about it either.
>
>
>
> One thing he said was, "Do you read music?" I said, "No," and my heart
sank
> - I thought, "I probably don't even deserve to waste his time." But
he
> said, "Good - it will only confuse you anyway."
> ...
> Ravi also gave me the book "Autobiography of a Yogi." The moment I
looked at
> that picture of Yogananda on the front of the book, his eyes went
right
> through me and zapped me, and to this day I have been under the spell
of
> Yogananda. It's a fantastic great truth.
>
>
>
> When we were on the houseboat in Kashmir, owned by a little old guy
with a
> white beard called Mr. Butt, it was really cold in the night because
it was
> on a lake right up in the Himalayas. Mr. Butt would wake us up early
in the
> morning and give us tea and biscuits and I'd sit in bed with my scarf
and
> pullover on, listening to Ravi, who would be in the next little room
doing
> his sitar practice - that was such a privileged position to be in.
>
>
>
> What I'm getting at is that pure essence of India. You could easily be
> diverted in India by the smell or the dirt or the poverty, but I was
> fortunate to have Ravi as my friend. The Indians I saw were the ones
who got
> up early in the morning, had a bath and put their clean doti on, did
their
> prayers, and then practiced their music for a couple of hours before
they
> had their breakfast. The ones who had all the respect for the past.
The
> temples and the incense and the music, the whole thing - it was like I
got
> the privileged tour. All the people I met were the best musicians, and
I
> didn't have to go through the rubbish to find the gems. That in itself
was
> worth a few years of saved time. And that's what a guru is, anyway -
the
> word "guru" means "dispeller of darkness."
>
