Shiva Consciousness – 5

Hu Shih (1891-1962) was China’s Ambassador in America in a period prior to the Communist Regime in China. In one of his quotes he has paid handsome tributes to India. “India dominated China culturally for 2000 years successively, without sending a single soldier across the border....it was India from whom the Chinese learnt about religion (धर्म) that led to bold theory of the origin of the universe.”

The mention of the theory of the origin of the universe immediately puts forth the year 3000 B.C. – the birth year of Acharya Kapil who invented the theory. Obviously then, the two thousand years suggested in Hu Shih’s statement are from 3000 B.C. to 1000 B.C. – the period of India’s cultural dominance over China. These very years were the years of India’s ancient Ganatantra System, which had a Dharma that promoted innovation and wealth creation. That Dharma was in fact the result of the two topmost human values – Propriety (a product of left side of the human brain); and Beauty (a product of the right side of the brain). Their joint balanced control over human mind was Dharma.

What Hu Shih quoted was in fact a concise summing up of India’s Creative Heritage-Tradition and Accomplishments in terms of symbols like Ghata-Shiva-Parvati and Ganapati. But Shiva Consciousness didn’t end up at Ganapati. It continued to produce other symbols that perfected the Ganatantra of 3000 B.C. to 1000 B.C.

It is necessary to remember that the Shiva Consciousness wasn’t one of those philosophies that the world saw emerging and collapsing like the forts built from sand. It was one of the phenomena fundamental to human life; which, if ignored, would lead to lot of miseries. And that is why, other symbols in the Ghata-Shiva-Parvati groove were developed after Ganapati. They all were new icons of Adishakti – India’s basic ability to transform vacuum into space. India’s basic power to transform secular happiness into spiritual satisfaction that could be measured only from man’s inner mental space to the highest level in the outer space above (ब्रह्मावकाश).

Shiva Consciousness – 4

In the post-Independence era, Indian policy makers and thinkers relied rather heavily on intellectual and scientific rationalism; and so to say, totally ignored creative innovation. Thus India spent too many years without achievements of creative breakthroughs. Naturally, ‘progress through imitation’ as it were became India’s motto. This sad state of affairs was the result of India’s failure in reviving Shiva Consciousness in general; and in particular the symbolism behind the Ganapati’s image. Thus, in the previous blog post I discussed about the symbolism behind the elephant head of Ganapati. Today, I would like to write about the symbolism represented by the Ganapati’s four arms.

Ganapati’s right arm – particularly the palm, indicates blessings with an appeal to the viewers to understand the benefits of design worship. The image’s raised right hand holds a weapon – a combination of an axe (परशु) and a trident (त्रिशूल). This weapon represents the chief Ganapati’s responsibility to acquire and maintain creative defence preparedness. While the lotus in Ganapati’s left raised hand symbolises freshness of the Ganatantra’s image that is free from the chaotic conditions of lotus roots under the water. The lotus also stands for purity and morality. Ganapati’s left palm holds a sweet called a ‘modak.’ This symbolizes sweetness of Ganatantra as a system. Ganapati’s image has a golden crown and is adorned with many ornaments studded with precious stones, which vouches for the strong economy of the Ganatantra. We also find a sacred thread around the neck and torso of the image. This thread suggests that creation and innovation must not exceed the limits of the welfare of the people.

Then we invariably see a rat (मूषक) as a vehicle of the Ganapati. It suggests an ability to achieve a breakthrough – a matter so much important for any creative person. A rat is considered an expert in finding its way out of an impasse.

A Ganapati image cannot be completed without the two accompanying images of Riddhi and Siddhi (रिध्दी-सिध्दी). Together they suggest that the economic plenty cannot be achieved without wealth-creating achievements.

A perfect symbol for the wellbeing of a Ganatantra, Ganapati’s image kept guiding Indians continually for 2000 years of Ganatantra’s existence between 3000 B.C. to 1000 B.C.

More about this period in my next blog.

Shiva Consciousness – 3

As the Ganatantric (Republican) considerations gathered momentum in prehistoric India, creation of a symbol to represent the concept of Ganapati became imperative. However the task of developing the imagery of this symbol was indeed a highly creative challenge. On the one hand it needed the groove created by Shiva-Parvati symbolism, while on the other; it was expected to register an important breakthrough in the Shiva-Parvati groove.

Eventually, the creative people in the past arrived at an elephant herd that had an organised structure like the one envisaged for a mammoth organisation of a Ganatantra (गणतंत्र). Just as the strongest and valorous elephant in the herd was its natural chief, the most virtuous among the (सुखकर्ता) designers, (दुखःहर्ता) order creators and the (विघ्नहर्ता) system makers was to be the chief Ganapati. Just as the herd’s other elephants are found protecting the younger ones, Ganapatis working under their chief were expected to protect and ensure the progress of the virtuous and not so virtuous among the common public.

An elephant’s long trunk and massive ears suggested a strong sensory system that supported the elephant’s brain which maintained the balance of its huge body. This quality was found important for a chief of a Ganatantra. This explains the mystery behind the elephant head of the Ganapati as an icon’s symbolism. I hope this will nullify the theory that an elephant head was transplanted on the human body with some kind of surgery.

Here the fact that the image of Ganapati was an important breakthrough in icon making; was of utmost significance. It throws sufficient light on the creative faculties of pre-historic Indians who believed in preserving a lion-like quality of looking back from time to time, while maintaining an onward march.
This was the very manner of the white men of the 14th century Europe. They ‘looked back’ beyond the Dark Age in Europe and picked up the classicism from the zenith of the Roman Empire. Thus they became a super power between 1900 and 2000 A.D.

More about symbolism of the Ganapati concept in my next post.

Shiva Consciousness – 2 

The internet provides us some important clues to the unrecorded history of India. Forget the history; these clues fully establish the continuance of a creative link between our Heritage, Tradition and Accomplishments. We learn from the internet that Indians gave up a gregarious life in the jungles around 29,000 B.C.; and began a social life in groups dwelling in the caves. This was a qualitative change – an important breakthrough that led to family and social considerations.

Indians’ travel from cave life to cave painting, or rather the transition to pictorial language happened in or around 15,000 B.C., was the second clue. These two clues are good enough to say that the Indians invented a Ghata (घट), achieved mastery over drawing, Form Creation, Paint Creation; and finally the pictorial language development. Needless to say, these accomplishments must have ‘led’ to corresponding growth in Intellectual, Social and Family spheres that necessitated some retrospection that triggered the Reassessment of the Ghata as the cause of SPACE STUDY or SPACE WORSHIP, or as it is called in modern parlance, DESIGN.

The internet tells us that agriculture started in India around 8000 B.C. this clue helps us proximate to around 13000 B.C. when we reassessed Ghata as Adishakti (आदिशक्ती) or a symbol of Design-based Creativity. The consciousness of man’s inner creative and welfare-causing light, SHIVA was a sequel of Adishakti, which in turn gave rise to the concept of PARVATI (पार्वती). Parvati meant man’s desire, capacity and high taste to reach a mountain-like height of creativity. It was the union of Shiva-Parvati concepts that led to the idea of GANAPATI (गणपती) – the Designer, Order Creator and the System Maker (सुखकर्ता, दुखःहर्ता आणि विघ्नहर्ता). Thus Ganapati meant the most superior one among the virtuous men. The virtuous men meant people that were qualified to support a meritocracy. These qualified men were called Ganas (गण) from the society (जनता). The creative Path of Shiva Consciousness was indeed becoming interesting.

Shiva Consciousness – 1

To possess a lion-like attitude which we possessed in the ancient times, ensuring that no danger is following us from behind our backs; and proceeding on a confident and onward march with necessary course corrections, is a virtue – or more appropriately, a national virtue. This virtue was credited to Indians when the discovery of the earthen pot – The Ghata (घट) or Kalash (कलश) – was reassessed after Bhimbetka Cave Paintings dating from 15,000 BC were found. The reassessment of the Ghata reacquainted Indians about the difference between a vacuum and man created SPACE or discovered SPACE. The Ghata also signified the true man-made creation, and the study of our creativity in turn led Indians to man’s inner creative and welfare-causing light – that is SHIVA.

While the Ghata stood for India’s Creative Heritage, Shiva stood for India’s Creative Tradition. Both, the Creative Heritage and Tradition together established the fact that true Knowledge always comes after creative innovations and is the product of balanced functioning of the left and the right sides of the human brain.
 
The SHIVA icon has many aspects that are represented by some curious symbols; the prominent one among them is the Trishul or the Trident. It indicates that the functions of the left and the right sides of the human brain, under joint control of the tallest values of Propriety and Beauty, give us an instrument of potent Self-Defence Strategy.
 
On the social and the Nation-Building level, the Trishul represents the balanced union of the values of Propriety and Beauty resulting in Dharma (धर्म) – the very basis of our family, social and Ganatantrik (गणतांत्रिक) life some 3000 years ago.
 
Today, when India as a nation is happy with its left side brain functions, our innovative right side of the brain carries layers of rust accumulated in the last 2000 years at least. It is, in a broad sense, the sad result of losing our Shiva Consciousness. 

India's Sordid State.....Why?

“Design Creates Culture
Culture Shapes Values
Values Determine Future”
-    Robert L. Peters

The Indian leaders, at the turn of the 19th century, were stalwarts in their own right. They were high intellectuals and rationalists par excellence. However, they had no clue whatsoever about the universal truth in the about mentioned statement. The statement had its roots in European Renaissance. Victims as they were of the British Educational system that was essentially designed to keep Indians away from ‘Art-innovation-knowledge-wealth’ link.

India’s intellectuals since 1900 knew India’s History.  They had full knowledge of VEDAS, SHASTRAS, UPANISHADS and VEDANT. But they didn’t know the creative link between HERITAGE-TRADITION-ACCOMPLISHMENTS prior to VEDAS. The link had a long unwritten history of relentless growth in the form of repeating cycles from generation to generation, dating back to Pre-History. It was a WEALTH-CREATING LINK.

Unaware of this Wealth-Creating Link and its importance, the intellectual stalwarts between1900-1920 got divided between MODERATE and RADICAL groups that wished India’s freedom from the British. This intellectual division created a vacuum in our country where no Design Strategy could evolve, no DESIGN-BASED CULTURE could emerge, no DESIGN-BASED VALUES could be shaped; and quite naturally, the FUTURE OF A GLORIOUS FREE INDIA went for a toss.

Today, in 2016, we have a charismatic Prime Minister with lots of progressive ideas. But he has no party aware of India’s WEALTH-CREATING CULTURAL LINK. We have a capable looking Home Minister, but without the support of a public that has no qualifications to live in a Democracy. We have a good administrator as a Defense Minister with valorous Armed Forces, but no superior military hardware innovated by Indians that will deter China and Pakistan. We have an experienced and charming Foreign Minister, but she has no equally charming image of India to project.

Why this sordid state of affairs in India, after some 70 years of independence? The answer is found laid in SHIVA CONSCIOUSNESS.
    

I will talk more elaborately about the Shiva Consciousness in my next post!!!