Wednesday, October 02, 2013

Rudram

As you already know, I hail from Malleswaram in Bangalore.  It's the area with the maximum TamBrahm population.  The Kanchi Kamakoti Mutt is very close to my house, and I was always filled with fascination when I entered the temple premises.  The Veda Pathashaala kids have a unique charm about themselves and it's quite interesting how they carry on with their daily lives with a sense of discipline and devotion.

As a kid, even as I went to college and work, I had the habit of going to the Mutt at least once a week.  My mother was much more regular than me.  The priest conducting the daily prayers and rituals was an epitome of perfect Vedic intonations.  There is something striking when somebody can recite the hymns with grace and authority.  The rendering, with the constant ebbs and flows, is easy to leave anyone in a state of trance.  It's pure bliss.

After a few visits, I knew pretty much everyone in the temple.  I approached the person in charge of the Mutt.

"Sir, I would like to learn Vedas", I said meekly.  I barely did Sandhyavandanam correctly and so I was not a subject matter expert when it came to these things.

"What do you want to learn exactly?",  he asked.

This is a hard question.  I knew Vedas encompass everything, and there was no way that I could have handed out a list.  The list is endless.  On the contrary, I didn't even know what it comprised of.  So, if I had to fill the list, it would have contained maybe two bullet points.  I was in a predicament.  I wanted to give him a decent enough response that did not make me look like as if I did not know anything.

I used to go to the Asthika Samaj (again, located close to my apartment in Malleswaram) for the Pradosham.  There, I used to be fascinated by the folks reciting Rudram.  I always dreamt that I should be able to recite like them one day.

So, the first thing that came to my head was Rudram.

"R-U-D-R-A-M", I said.

"That's what I want to learn."

He looked calmly at me.

"Okay, good.  At least, you know what you want to learn.  Come tomorrow at 4."

That was a Sunday evening.  Monday at 4 sounded vague.  I was working at that time.  There was no way in the world I could get home by 4.

"Sir, I will be at work tomorrow.  4 is too early", I said.

"Exactly! Who goes to work so early in the morning?", he asked.

That's when I realized that he was referring to AM and not PM.

"That works perfectly", I said.

I mean that doesn't work in any way.  But, I did not want to lose the chance of learning Vedas from an experienced practitioner.

"Okay, I will see you tomorrow", he said and walked off.

I came home and told my mother about the plans.  My father who was listening to all this from the adjacent room immediately gave a premonition.

"There is no chance that this guy is going to get up that early.  Don't keep the alarm and waste all our sleep."

I immediately opposed.  One of the primary things that a son always does is to oppose his father before towing the line like a good boy.  Ultimately, it's the father who always wins.

"No father.  I am going to get up early in the morning.  I am destined to learn the Vedas.  This is a great opportunity.  Who lives so close to the Shankar Mutt and gets a chance to learn Rudram.  Why don't you also join?"

It felt like a perfect pitch.

"Do whatever you want but don't wake the household."

I went to bed early that night.  When I got up the next day, it was 7 in the morning.  Immediately, I sprang from the bed.  I asked my mother, "Why didn't you wake me up?"

"Even the Lord himself can't wake you up, when you are asleep", my mother said.  I knew what that meant.  I did not make any further attempt to break the shackles and ask for early morning Vedic learning.  It just was not feasible.

Similarly, two years ago, I was in the Shiva temple in the Bay Area on one of the Pradosham days.  There, there was this gentleman, who was reciting Rudram in the most vibrant way.  It was enchanting.  I also approached him and told him I like to learn from him.

He told me, "You are most welcome.  I chant every morning at 5.  You can come for the chanting, and once that is done, I can teach you at 6."

I took his address and phone number.  Unfortunately, the same fate as of almost ten years ago prevailed.  I still had a hard time getting up from the comfort of the bed in the wee hours of the morning.

Then, subsequently, at the beginning of the year, he told me that he plans to conduct weekly lessons at 5 in the evening every Saturday.  That definitely felt like a perfect proposition.  It was as though the Gods were finally at peace with me.  I felt that this was the "perfectly perfect" opportunity.

I went every week eagerly.  I just wanted to learn Rudram.  Only after talking to him did I realize that Rudram had two parts - Namakam and Chamakam.  I made a sincere attempt.  I can say with some amount of conviction that I am in the right direction to recite the Namakam and Chamakam.  Of course, I can never say with confidence that I am chanting it right.  It comes with many hours of practice and I have just got started.  But, the feeling of looking at the Namakam page of Mantra Pushpam and reciting the verse is a fantastic feeling.

Bay Area has been awesome and there have been a lot of benefits in the move from Kansas to California.  But, even if all the other benefits are nullified, the very fact that I got a chance to learn Rudram far outweighs everything else.

Being close to the Shankar Mutt in Bangalore, I always felt that I was "this" close to learning Rudram and other Vedic chants.  But, it took me a period of another ten years and a distance of ten thousand miles to finally fulfill my wishes of getting a chance to learn the Vedic Chants.

26 comments:

  1. I have a doubt. Do they teach Rudram to one and all? or only for brahmins?

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    1. My Guru tells me that anybody can learn Rudram, irrespective of caste or gender. In our class, everyone is allowed.

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    2. I am in bay area, san ramon. I wanted to learn and I need a guru. Will your guru accept new disciple? If yes, please email me at nrcmouli@hotmail.com

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    3. Tejaswi - All you need to look at the facts and not get swayed by popular opinions. Not all of our Rishi's and seers were Brahmins. Valmiki was a hunter, Atri was a non brahmin, Lord Krishna was a Yadav, Vishwamitra was a Kshatriya - Can give many more examples. Remember the vedic defn. of Brahmana is one who has brahma jigyasa (quest to know the Brahman) Brahma jagyanam prathamam purastaat. Shubham.

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    4. Thank you Shailendra Mishra for responding to my doubt. Best Regards - Tejaswi

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  2. Hi. After the Google Reader ended, I lost track of all my feeds and with it the blogs I follow. I found some RSS reader yesterday and am catching up. Wonderful to learn that you are learning the Rudram ! I totally love the Rudram. How is it progressing ? Have you completed the Namakkam by now ? I never got a chance to learn from someone guru :( I taught myself listening to it countless times. Rudram chant generally starts with Laghunyasa / Rudraprashna. Learn that also if you have not already. Good luck ! :)

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    1. I can chant Rudram only by looking at the Devanagiri Script. I haven't memorized it yet. I think perfecting it requires a lot of practice. Luckily, my Guru is an awesome teacher :-)

      Rudraprashna is Namakam + Chamakam right?

      Last week, for Navarathri, we learned Durga Suktham and Medha Suktham. Both are short and sweet.

      Thanks for visiting. In fact, I wanted to send you the link of this post knowing that you are a big devotee of Lord Shiva, but somehow, totally forgot.

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    2. AFAIK it is not just namakkam + chamakkam. Please see for Rudraprashna / Laghunyasa - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdR1K0-85kw I generally say Sankalpam (@4.38 min) and then namakkam and chamakkam when I chant. Also, they generally touching different parts of the body similar to how you do in Sandyavandana, while saying the sankalpam - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ar01E-pbSKs (not proper diction). It mentions the primary God of the chant, the meter, the expounding rishi, etc

      Durga Suktham was the first suktham I learnt ! It is short and sweet. I want to learn Saraswathi Suktham now so that I can say sukthams on the Trinity Goddess :)

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    3. Interesting. I just know to chant Namakam and Chamakam.

      Durga Suktham, Medha Suktham and? Durga, Saraswathi and ? Is it Lakshmi? Are you refering to Devi Suktham

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    4. Sri Suktham for Lakshmi. Durga and Saraswathi Suktham - the trinity :)

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    5. Oh I see :-)
      Maybe he'll teach us Devi Suktham soon

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    6. Hi Praveen/Sivaram
      I saw your post on the subject recently.
      I am more interested to learn Rudhram. I had recently purchased a book. I am bit confused with the starting point because i see there are things like Namakam, Chamakam, Laghunyasa, Rudraprashna. Can you guide me from where to start. Thanks

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    7. Hi Prabhu,
      Sorry for the late response
      The best book is MantraPushpam. The order goes like this
      -Lagunyasam
      -Namakam
      -Chamakam

      The three of them above is what is Rudraprashna. You can always go to Youtube to learn the intonations with the help of a book. A Guru is ideal though.

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  3. Wow! Its really wonderful post. thanks for sharing beautiful post. website design in Bangalore

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  4. interesting blog. It would be great if you can provide more details about it. Thanks you



    Pure Veg Restaurants in Chennai

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  5. Hi Praveen, Can you let me know if the Rudrum class are happening now? Am intrested to learn..

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    Replies
    1. Yes, the classes are happening even now

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    2. Can i get more info? how can i contact u? can u mail to sarathycse@gmail.com

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  6. listening to audio and also reading with book (doing both simultaneous) will help to memorize rudram...¿¿

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  7. Hi praveen,
    I''m staying in malleshwaram, Bangalore.Please can you tell me is there any Veda teaching centers near to my locality?

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    1. Hi Karthik, You can learn from the Kanchi Shankar Mutt in Malleswaram 4th main

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  8. Could you please provide more information on the Bay area location of the Rudram class!

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    1. Hi Roopa,
      Rudram is being taught at the Santa Clara Mahakaleshwar temple on Saturdays. http://srimahakalmandir.org/

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