SHIVA, KRISHNA, Ramanuja & Ramanujan

Dr. T. Rama Prasad

•   SHIVA   

You may see hereunder my  painting of an abstract image of SHIVA,  a statuette of SHIVA and also a photo of the sculpture of ADIYOGI --  T. Rama Prasad

          "SHIVA !  The Mahadev.  God of Gods.  Destroyer of Evil.  Passionate lover.  Fierce warrior.  Consummate dancer.  Charismatic leader.  All-powerful, yet incorruptible.  Quick wit,  accompanied by an equally quick and fearful temper."

          That is how Shiva was described by Amish, the famous author of the popular books of "Shiva Triology."  It is also written that: "Today, He is a God.  4000 years ago, he was just a man."

          Many abstract interpretations of stories and legends surround this prominent figure of Indian spiritual tradition.  Lord Shiva is described as Adyantahinam (one without a beginning or end), and also as Virupaksha (formless, yet sees all).  The five elements -- water, air, earth, fire and space -- are said to represent the five faces of Shiva -- Panchamukha,  Panchtattva.    

"Who is god Shiva ?

Shiva is known as The Destroyer within the Trimurthi, the Hindu Trinity which also includes Brahma and Vishnu.  In the Shaivaite tradition, Shiva is the Supreme Lord who creates, protects and transforms the Universe."

  Is  he a God ?  Or a myth constructed from Hindu culture's collective imagination ?  Or is there a deeper meaning to Shiva,  revealed only to those who seek ?   


          These questions were making rounds when 'Sadhguru' made spiritual comments on this subject on the occasion of the grand unveiling of the 112 feet  high statue by the Prime Minister of India at Isha Foundation, Coimbaore, Taml Nadu on February 24, 2017.  It is dedicated to "Adiyogi,"  a form of Shiva who in the Hindu tradition is considered the first of yogis. 

          It is stated that this is the largest sculpture of a face on the planet, recognizing the first yogi’s unparalleled contribution to humanity,  and that this iconic face symbolizes liberation, representing the 112 ways in which one can attain to one’s ultimate through the science of yoga.

ADIYOGI ... Nov 15, 2017

          SHIVA, the Adiyogi ... no, it is not religion, not god ... that took me today (Nov 15, 2017) to this sculpture which is a statement of grandeur and splendour ... it is the masterly craftsmanship that prompted me to visit this place.   You may read my 'scribbling' under the title 'God, Religion & Universe' on this Blog / Website.

MAHA SHIVRATRI ... Mar 4, 2019

          Maha Shivratri is considered as the day when Adiyogi  (the first guru) awakened his consciousness at the material level of existence.  Maha Shivratri  (The Great Night of Lord Shiva) is celebrated as a wakeup call to move away from conflicts and move towards peace, and to overcome darkness and ignorance.  It has come timely today (Mar 4, 2019) in the sense that we are having a dangerous conflict (Kashmir issue) with our neighbour (one aircraft of India and one aircraft of Pakistan were shot down last week).  In Kashmir Shaivism, the festival is called Herath and Shiva as Nirapeksha (the Absolute Being).  Let's hope that wisdom would prevail to pave the way for a peaceful settlement.  Om Namoh Shivaya.

COSMIC  DANCE  OF  SHIVA

         Nataraja (the Lord of Dance) is a depiction of god Shiva as the cosmic ecstatic dancer.  His dance is called Tandavam or Nadanta.

March 4, 2019, Indian Express
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  In the  ‘PAY WHAT YOU CAN’  Clinic

                                                                                                                                                                               

                                                Yes, I do things in a different way.  I had been caring for the plants in this photograph  for a long time.  I christened the tall cactus, Ferrocactus ferrerae,  as “Sivalinga spiralis  /  God cactus”  as it looks like ‘Sivalingam’ and has spirally oriented ribs,  and gave it a divine look by adding ‘pooja’ items like bell, ‘deepam’, incense sticks, etc.  You may read more about it under the heading “My lost (last) paradise” on this ‘home page’.  --  T. Rama Prasad

   "Winners don’t do different things,   they do things differently.”

                                                      ---  Shiv Khera

Dr. T. Rama Prasad,

https://drtramaprasad.blogspot.com ,  'PAY  WHAT  YOU  CAN’ Clinic,  Perundurai,  Erode Dt., TN,  India., Former Medical Superintendent (Special), RTS & IRT Perundurai Medical College and Research Centre.
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KRISHNA

         It was mentioned above:   "Today, SHIVA is a God.  4000 years ago, he was just a man."

         Historicity is interesting.   Similarly, views on KRISHNA are a bundle of contradictions.  Krishna of 'GITA' is ponderous, serious and grave, giving the most profound statements as mentioned in 'Gita',  while Krishna of 'BHAGAVATAM' is a non-serious one, playing pranks with the girls of his village, running away with their cloths when they were bathing in the river, and realising toll from 'Gopis'.  It seems to be beyond our intellect to harmonise the two Krishnas.  Are they two different Krishnas of two different periods of time ?  Or the same person with inconsistent or contradictory elements as in schizophrenia as some Freudians put it ?  And, in temples across India, among the many attires of Krishna is one called 'STRIVESHA' which is a depiction of Krishna dressed as a woman.  Whatever Krishna is, today people worship him as a god.

RAMANUJA

July 2018

World's second tallest statue of a seated figure  --  near Hyderabad

          July 2018 ... the project is almost completed ... perhaps, as was the case with the 'Adiyogi' sculpture,  the Prime Minister may be requested to unveil this.  This is a mega project started 4 years ago in 2014.  

          The 11th century Vaishnavite Saint, Bhagavad RAMANUJA was an icon who treated everyone as equal before God and was the first to allow the oppressed and downtrodden to enter temples, spreading the message of equality about 10 centuries ago.  Hence, the bronze statue of this saint is befittingly named as "STATUE  OF. EQUALITY."   It is just kept in its place (July 2018) at Muchintal, HYDERABAD, Telangana to be unveiled to commemorate the 1,000th year since the birth of this saint .  

          It is a refreshing activity in the present strife-torn world full of inequality and religious animosity.  This is the world's second tallest statue of a seated figure (216 feet),  the first one being the Great Buddha of Thailand (302 feet).  Hitherto, the Guanyin figure on Mount Xiqiao in China has been the second tallest (203 feet).

          This is a Rs. 1,000 crore project funded mostly by donations.

---   650 tons statue

---   135 feet long flagstaff

---   54 feet high base building with a 120 kg gold statue of the

       saint in the meditation hall

---   108 Divyadesams (Model Temples) around the statue

---   34 acres site near Shamshabad airport near Hyderabad.
       Seen from the landing aircrafts as an amazing landmark.

---   Constructed by a Chinese company -- work started in 2014

---   www.statueofequality.org

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RAMANUJAN

          When it comes to mathematics, it is India the entire world zeroes in on and the focus rivets on the globally renowned mathematician Srinivasa RAMANUJAN whose birthday is celebrated as 'NATIONAL  MATHEMATICS  DAY' on December 22.   Researchers in mathematics abroad know where this mathematics genius was born, but most of the people in Erode (Tamil Nadu) don't know that he was born in Erode,  and they may not even know who Srinivasa Ramanujan is.  Sadly, such a genius who attained that scholarly status before the age of 30 couldn't lend his phenomenally brilliant brain to the mathematical world beyond his age of 32.  Born on December 22, 1887,  he died on April 26, 1920 due to tuberculosis or hepatic amoebiasis at the age of 32.  He was attacked by tuberculosis (TB) in 1917.   Perhaps, the parents of Ramanujan christened him after the name of Saint Ramanuja.   A huge statue of Ramanujan should be installed in Erode to commemorate the iconic scholarly stature of this magic mathematician.  Curiously,  Hollywood produced the movie The Man Who Knew Infinity,  the biographical narration on the life of the mathematics giant Srinivasa Ramanujan in based on the 1991 book by Robert Kanigel.  The lead role of Ramanujan was played by Dev Patel of 'Slumdog' fame.  

          The magic number 1729 is called "Hardy - Ramanujan Number" -- the smallest number that could be expressed by sum of two cubes in two different ways.

           Though he was never formally educated in pure mathematics, he made substantial contribution to the analytical theory of numbers and worked on elliptic fractions, continued fractions, and infinite series.