Shiva . Mahadeva. Shankara. The greatest of all Gods. The God who is beyond Space and Time. The God other Gods worship and venerate. Those who dont’ understand call him the Destroyer. But, he isn’t. He ends the Universe at the end of time so that life can start again. While he may not be the Creator of the Universe, he is most likely the Divine Father, who along with the Divine Mother, Shakti, creates the God/s who create and nurture the Universe. Atleast, that is what the Shiva Mahapurana tells you.

When I visited Indonesia recently, one of the places i visited was the Prambanan Temple.

i was aware that the Ramayan was very popular in Java. But, i did not expect to discover a full fledged Shaivite Temple complex in Indonesia.

But, it shouldn’t have surprised me – the  Cholas- great Shiva worshippers and a seafaring empire – had come as far as Sumatra – and it is not suprising that they left their cultural footprints in this beautiful place. The Prambanan temple complex reminds me a lot of the temples at Mahaballipuram – which are from the Pallava Era.

The Javanese word for temple is Candi – and Candi Parambanan – or th Parambanan temple (pronounce bramanan temple) is one of the two major temple complexes you will find in Yogyakarta – the other being Borabadur – which is Buddhist temple complex.

The temple is also called the Ramayan temple, because of the number of scenes from the epic that are carved in stone – on the outer walls.

The Shiva Temple is at the centre and flanked on either side by the Vishnu and the Brahma temples. There are temples to the vahana or divine vehicles as well . the Nandi Temple is the first temple that you see when you enter the complex.

The Nandi Temple – is just ahead of the Shiva temple – as is customary. The structure is imposing – to say the least. The Shiva temple is supposed to have two smaller chambers – one devoted to Ganesha – his son; and the other to the great Rishi Agastya . I say supposed to, becasue the temple was cordoned off.

The temples to the Trinity were damaged during the earthquake of 2006. They are currently being restored, stone by stone. ANd, it is a painstaking effort

I am going back to Yogyakarta (i really love that name ) and to visit Prambanan Temple . The next time, hopefully, it won’t be part of a larger shoot and i will have time to absorb the majesty of that place.

Dr.Ambedkar in Annihilation of Caste:

It is a pity that [tag]Caste[/tag] even today has its defenders. The defences are many. It is defended on the ground that the [tag]Caste System[/tag] is but another name for division of labour and if division of labour is a necessary feature of every civilized society then it is argued that there is nothing wrong in the Caste System. Now the first thing is to be urged against this view is that Caste System is not merely [tag]division of labour[/tag]. It is also a division of labourers.

Civilized society undoubtedly needs division of labour. But in no civilized society is division of labour accompanied by this unnatural division of labourers into watertight compartments. Caste System is not merely a division of labourers which is quite different from division of labour—it is an hierarchy in which the divisions of labourers are graded one above the other. In no other country is the division of labour accompanied by this gradation of labourers. There is also a third point of criticism against this view of the Caste System. This division of labour is not spontaneous; it is not based on natural aptitudes. Social and individual efficiency requires us to develop the capacity of an individual to the point of competency to choose and to make his own career. This principle is violated in the Caste System in so far as it involves an attempt to appoint tasks to individuals in advance, selected not on the basis of trained original capacities, but on that of the social status of the parents. Looked at from another point of view this stratification of occupations which is the result of the Caste System is positively pernicious. Industry is never static. It undergoes rapid and abrupt changes. With such changes an individual must be free to change his occupation. Without such freedom to adjust himself to changing circumstances it would be impossible for him to gain his livelihood

 i wonder if the division of laborers, over the centuries is what led to so many conquests…. i also wonder whether it was this division of labour that led to a dark ages where there was no social, scientific or technical progress. 

I often wondered how 3% of the population was able to the bulk of the population subjugated for so long. Why was there never a revolution. The answer was quite simple, they didn't have to do too much. The zillion odd castes kept each other in check and ensured that the system thrived at the expense of everything else.

Today is [tag]Basant Panchami[/tag] – the day traditionally marked as the first day of spring. It is that period of time when the world is so very beautiful, that love blooms…..

The [tag]Siva Mahapuran[/tag] describes the first day of spring as the time when the God of Love [tag]Kamdev[/tag] shoots his passion filled darts at Shankara – the Great God of the Universe – to get him to break his meditation and notice Parvati, for legend had it – even the Gods had legends – that if the Lord of the Universe does not meet Devi – the mother of the Universe … there can be no life at all……Never mind that the God of the Universe opened his third eye and burnt Kamdev to embers….the process began. Shiva and Parvati are soon united, and Kamdev himself is revived, so that the universe can thrive..

In the North of India this is also the time when Saraswati is venerated and children are taught to read and write for the first time. NS tells me that in Assam – everyone is clad in yellow – including little girls wearing the yellow mekla…. celebrating the spring festival. In Mumbai too, the local temple was adorned with yellow and orange flowers … making one’s heart bloom

This morning I have been listening to Raga Basant… sung by [tag]Veena Sahasrabudhe[/tag] and it is a trip… I hope that spring means that the cold wave that we have been facing goes away… soon.

Update : Check out [tag]Pandit Jasraj[/tag] singing raga Basant … Aur Raag Bane Baarati… Dulha Raag Basant…

[youtube]h4tdn0DlIYo[/youtube]For all the readers of this blog, a happy spring festival… and may there be peace and love in your lives….

[tag]James Watson[/tag] seems to have been infected with the Prince Phillip Syndrome – this is a syndrome when otherwise intelligent men open their mouth in public and plunge head long into it…..

It is also sad to see once brilliant men, instead of evolving with society and new thoughts — remaining fossilzed in the past especially in areas of society and culture. These sort of views on matters of society are the social sciences equivalent of those who think that the universe was created over one week…

Sure we are all racially different – and we have different core abilities based on geography, history, culture, etal….. But, i would think that it would be more a function of ‘social & locational’ factors than genes.For example – a kid growing up at 18000 ft, who sprints 10 km to school everyday is probably going to have a great chance of being a marathon runner, but take that same child and put him in Mumbai and send him to school 10 minutes away walking — it is highly likely that he will be an asthmatic wreck in 10 years. But the same asthmatic kid in Mumbai may learn to speak four languages simultaneously while the kid in the village at 18,000 feet may just be comfortable in one language. …As with linguistic abilities or physical abilities, the same with intellectual abilities — if i am living to survive, then my survival skills will be honed, if survival and comfort is assured, then i will develop other skills… including academic etal…

Maybe, james watson and his ilk will be better of figuring whether it is race that makes the powerful nations & corporations interfere in the affairs of African countries, perpetuating civil war across the board….. or is it pure selfishness….And maybe, just maybe, if this question is answered and peace comes to the continent as a whole… and children can grow up without drought, civil war, rape, hunger, poverty, destruction and a constant battle to survive…. then maybe, we can figure whether it is nature, nurture or third thing…..At this point of time you cannot compare someone living in peace with basic physical & emotional security taken care of…..with someone who isn’t….. It is basic bad science… be it social science or physical science.

Also read: wired — The Science & Assumptions behind Watson’s views on Blacks

Scientific American — on Won a Nobel, Go Nuts and on James Watson’s Greatest Hits..

….asked SR yesterday …… theoretically, he added rapidly. And given that he keeps accusing me of being theoretical (and I suppose that i am) – i was surprised.

Lots’ of things, i said. Theoretically of course.

• At the core there is my family culture – whatever is my family’s padati (traditions) and customs.

• Then comes that defined by my caste. I may not ascribe to the caste system, but does it stop defining me? I dislike lthe idea of being defined by caste … especially given that the caste i was born into has traditionally had appalling behavior towards women. But there are so many cultural practices that are different for different castes — that many of us don’t even think about it while practicing it. Food, for one. Festivals that are celebrated, Gods that are worshiped, traditions followed at birth and death…. We don’t think about these… we practise them as matter of course… but just because we don’t think about them doesn’t mean that they don’t exist as a part of our cultural make up.
• Then there is language. My mother tongue is Tamil (or as we joke- my mother’s tongue is Tamil). And language is a key component of culture. I was born and brought up in Mumbai and am more comfortable with English than any other language … That too defines my culture.

• Then there is Geography. And, in an Indian context it is more than the part of the country that you come from. Geography itself has history, ethnicity, cuisine,legends, myths, Gods, clothing…. i am someone who has been brought up in Mumbai – with parents from AP & TN. Or to be more precise -from this district called North Arcot that straddles the border of TN & AP. Just like people from Palgat are unique and neither Tamil nor Malyalee, or people from Belgaum are unique – neither Maharashtrian nor Kannada, so too people from North Arcot…… neither from one nor the other ….
• Then there is this my broad religious identity – ‘hinduism‘ which makes me different in terms of my cultural make up from some one who is not a Hindu. If you want further precision – my family’s religious tradition is Shaivite - which is distinctly different from being a Vaishnavite or a Smartha or a Nastika tradition. It many not be apparent – like caste – to most of us, but it is stuff that we have grown up with, and again it defines us.
• And, then there is nationality – my being an Indian. Which makes me different from someone with my exact background but whose nationality is American.

So which of these is the most important in defining cultural identity in an Indian context? My own guess is geography. Not religion, not caste, not even nationality. But geography. With Geography is linked history, ethnicity, language, heroes, traditions, clothing, cuisine … the works..and it is probably a far more valid parameter of ‘culture’ than more organized social institutions like religion or caste, or even modern political definitions like the nation.
Now, is this how I define myself. No. I define myself as an individual, female, liberal, contrarian ….. But, all those things listed above … all the stuff that that i spent a fair bit of my life running away from … have they helped define me.. I would be deluded to say no…
No wonder SR says i am theoretical