nirvANa sundarI

The Transcendent or anuttara (‘a’), by means of visarga (upto ‘h’ or prANa), reveals itself as shakti (‘ha’) and then returns to itself and abides in the indivisible prakAsha, which is its own eternal Self, called shiva-bindu (‘m’)-a-h-am. This is how in the universal consciousness, which is no better than bare awareness, there arises a sense of “I”. its relation to the not-self, e.g. body, etc. is an event in time which is psychologically explicable. The Ego-sense in pure consciousness reveals it as one’s own Self (svAtman). The unity of shiva and shakti follows logically from the integrality or oneness of this sense which covers both. This is the secret of the fullness of Ego or pUrNAhamtA to which reference has already been made.

The unity of prakAsha and vimarsha is the bindu called kAma or ravi (Sun). The emergence of two bindus out of this primordial one is the state of visarga. The two bindus are agni (fire) and soma (moon), conceived as chit-kalA. It is not a state of dualism, but one of union between two inseparable elements of a single whole. The two aspects combined, namely, bindu and visarga, are represented as a significant symbol of divine unity, though it is true that in the ultimate state even these elements lose their own lustre. The interaction of the bindus causes nectar or creative fluid to flow out. This is the so-called hArdha kalA, the essence of Ananda. The interaction is like the heat of fire acting on butter and causing it to melt and flow. The one is sat, the two is sat as aware of Itself, i.e. chit (chit-kalA) and the hArdha-kalA flowing from between the two is the result of self-awareness felt as Ananda. The entire science of kAmakalA is thus the science of sacchidAnanda and brahma-vidyA as indicating an eternal creative act. The substance of delight which flows constitutes the essence of all creative principles.

Though prakAsha and vimarsha are identical, it is to be remembered that prakAsha is always partless and continuous, while vimarsha is partless and as well as divisible into parts. Whenever therefore prakAsha is referred to as discrete it is to be understood only in a secondary sense. The three bindus working together towards a common end form as it were a single triangle.

prakAsha within vimarsha is of the form of a white bindu; and vimarsha within prakAsha is of the form of a red bindu called nAda. The two bindus in union constitute the original bindu called kAma of which these are kalAs. The unity of the three is the substance called kAma-kalA from which the entire creation consisting of words and the thing singnified by them originates.

bhAskara rAya in his varivasyA-rahasya while speaking of kAmakalA refers to the three bindus as well as the hArdha kalA the nature of which is held to be very secret. The white and red bindus represent in his opinion, male and female energies.

amR^itAnanda says that hArdha-kalA flows from between the two bindus and is the wave (laharI) of vimarsha and sphurattA. prakAsha is like fire and vimarsha is like butter which melts under it. The flow is the so-called hArdha-kalA noted above. The baindava chakra, made of three mAtR^ikAs, is the out-flow of kAmakalA along with hArdha-kalA, and it is out of this that the thirty-six creative principles emanate.

contd...

namo vedAntavedye te namo brahmasvarUpiNi |
samAyayA sarvajagadvidhAtryai te namo namaH ||
bhaktakalpadrume devi bhaktArthaM dehadhAriNi |
nityatR^ipte nirupame bhuvaneshvari te namaH ||
asmacChAntyarthamatulaM lochanAnAM sahasrakam |
tvayA yathA dhR^itaM devi shatAkShItvaM tato bhava ||
kShudhayA pIDitA mAtaH stotuM shaktirna chAsti naH |
kR^ipAM kuru maheshAni vedAnapyAharAmbike ||

vyAsa uvAcha
iti teShAM vachaH shrutvA shAkAn svakarasaMsthitAn |
svAdUni phalamUlAni bhakShaNArthaM dadau shivA ||
nAnA vidhAni chAnnAni pashubhojyAni yAni cha |
kAmyAnantarasairyuktAnyAnavInodbhavaM dadau ||
shAkambharIiti nAmA.api taddinAtsamabhUnnR^ipa |
tataH kolAhale jAte dUtavAkyena bodhitaH ||
sasainyaH sAyudo yoddhuM durgamAkhyo.asuro yayau |
sahasrAkShauhiNIyuktaH sharAn mu~nchaMstvarAnvitaH ||
rurodha devasainyaM tadyaddevyagre sthitaM purA |
tathA vipragaNaM chaiva rodhayAmAsa sarvataH ||
tataH kilakilAshabdaH samabhUddevamaNDale |
trAhi trAhIti vAkyAni prochuH sarve dvijAmarAH ||
tatastejomayaM chakraM devAnAM paritaM shivA |
chakAra rakShaNArthAya svayaM tasmAdbahiH sthitA ||
tataH samabhavadyuddhaM devyA daityasya chobhayoH |
sharavarShasamAcChannasUryamaNDalamadbhutam ||
tato devIsharIrAttu nirgatAstIvrashaktayaH |
kAlikA tAriNI bAlA tripurA bhairavI ramA ||
bagalA chaiva mAta~NgI tathA tripurasundarI |
kAmAkShI tulajAdevI jambhinI mohinI tathA |
ChinnamastA guhyakAlI dashasAhasrabAhukA ||

[devIbhAgavata mahApurANa]

According to tantra shAstra, scriptures or shAstras are eternal and exist as unmanifest thought of the divine in the form of parA vAk. With the progressing cycle of the manifestation or srShTi, parA vAk transforms to pashyantI which is of the form of an undifferentiated, grand vision. The next transformation leads to the emergence of madhyamA, where the seeds of differentiation are planted – giving rise to the sense of differentiation as in ‘this’ and ‘that’. The culmination is in the appearance of fully expressed thought i.e. vakharI or spoken word. Thus, all shAstras can more or less be considered as madhyamA vAk, which emanates as vaikharI from the five faces of paramashiva or kAmeshvara bhaTTAraka. The tantras name these five faces thus: IshAna, tatpuruSha, sadyojAta, aghora and vAmadeva – which respectively represent the five-fold characteristics of the Supreme: chit, Ananda, icChA, jnAna and kriyA. From these five faces emanated the stream of sixty-four Agamas or Tantras which, based on the content and intended audience, is grouped into three categories:

a. bheda or dualistic
b. bhadAbheda or a mixture of dualistic and non-dualistic
c. abheda or non-dualistic

Some other sources list this number as ninety-two, classified into ten shiva tantras (bheda), eighteen rudra tantras (bhedAbheda) and sixty-four bhairava tantras (abheda).

Though these shAstras, as parA vAk, are ever-existent, they were lost in their lower forms in Kali Yuga and their reappearance is described by mahAmAheshvara shrI abhinavaguptapAdAchArya in his magnum opus tantrAloka. It is said that Lord paramashiva bhaTTAraka, with the intention of protecting the souls from the state of perpetual ignorance, appeared on kailAsa in the form of a Guru named shrIkaNTha and instructed R^iShi durvAsas to re-introduce the light of shaiva shAstra to the world. It should be noted here that there was no explicit instruction from the Lord to krodha-bhaTTAraka on account of their oneness. The great Sage created three mAnasa putras named tryambaka, Amardaka and shrInAtha, imparted the knowledge of shaiva shAstra to them and instructed them to teach the world respectively, abheda, bheda and bhedAbheda shAstras. The abheda shAstra taught by tryambaka is popularly known as trika shAstra or Kashmiri Shaivism today. Amardaka is recognized as the founder (or more accurately the organizer) of the siddhAnta school and his student purandara founded the mattamayUra school of the saiddhAntikas, both schools known for their political influence and missionary zeal.

The TIkA on tantrAloka describes the prAshastya of trika or traiyambaka mata over the other two thus:

vedAcChaivaM tato vAmaM tato dakShaM tataH kulam |
tato mataM tatashchApi trikaM sarvottamaM param ||

Thus, even among the various srotas of shaiva tantra, trika, belonging to the Urdhva-srotas is described as the highest. From this, one should also note that while abhinavagupta clearly distinguishes between trika from krama and kula, he also describes trika as the culmination of the entire course of shaivAgama and hence encompassing it all. Thus, his version of trika is a synthesis of various shAkta and shaiva schools cast in the mould of paramAdvayavAda taught in mAlinIvijayottara tantra.

The gamut of trika literature broadly gets classified into three groups as below. We should reserve comments on kula and krama for later as our interest today is the doctrinal aspect of Kashmiri Shaivism and not the ritualism, the latter being characteristic of dualistic schools such as siddhAnta.

a. Agama
b. spanda
c. pratyabhijnA

According to abhinavagupta, the Agamas had existed even before the explicit revelation of trika-proper and this list, amongst others, includes: mAlinIvijayottara, svacChanda, vijnAnabhairava, ucChuShma bhairava, Ananda bhairava, mR^igendra, mata~Nga, netra, naiShvAsa, svAyambhuva and rudrayAmaLa. These scriptures, according to authorities of Kashmiri Shaivism, taught mostly dualistic concepts or, as shrI Lakshman Joo puts it, were interpreted in an incorrect, dualistic way. Such an attempt at reconciliation can also been seen in commentaries on some of these Agamas by Kashmiri Shaivaite authors – like in the case of svacChanda, netra, matanga and vijnAnabhairava, where explicit dualistic teachings are cleverly interpreted to reflect the commentator’s school of thought.

To dispel the veil of duality cast by these imperfect teachings, it is said that shiva appeared to vasugupta in the eighth century and revealed the shiva sUtras. On account of its revelatory origin, shiva sUtra is included in the category of Agamas. In shivasUtra vimarshinI, one is told of a dream in which vasugupta has a vision of paramashiva and he is told of a rock on which the shiva sUtras are inscribed. rAjAnaka, bhAskara and others describe the origin differently. According to them, vasugupta was taught the sUtras originally composed by paramashiva himself, by a certain siddha.

Shiva sUtra today is the most popular work on Kashmiri Shaivism and has a host of commentaries such as:

- A vArtika by bhAskara
- vimarshinI by kShemarAja
- vArtika by varadarAja etc.

The spanda sUtras form the core of the spanda category of Shaivaite literature and are more elaborate than the shiva sUtras. These sUtras are also commonly referred to as spanda kArikA-s. These sUtras are fifty-two in number and form a sort of commentary on the shiva sUtras. Though the authorship of spanda kArikAs is attributed to vasugupta, the man behind the shiva sUtras, it is now thought of as a work of kallaTa, a disciple of vasugupta. kallaTa, it should be noted, is also the author of spanda sarvasva, a vrtti on the spanda kArikA. There are various other commentaries on the kArikA such as vivrti by rAmakaNTha (a disciple of utpala and the author of pratyabhijnA-kArikA), pradIpikA by utpala (utpala vaiShNava to be precise), spanda sandoha and spanda nirNaya by kShemarAja.

Though some tend to categorize spanda as a sub-school of pratyabhijnA, rAjAnaka rAma, abhinavagupta, kShemarAja and others hold it as a darshana. On a side note, it is not difficult to note the influence of the seemingly older school of krama on spanda, in some ways if not many. Both streams of spanda, headed by kShemarAja and utpala, recognize the undercurrent of krama clearly within spanda. However, clearing all lines of distinction between the two schools would be akin to erroneously identifying tripurasundarI of shrIvidyA with kAlasamkarShiNI of krama. It is of interest to note that shivAnanda, the first of the krama lineage, is known to have received the teachings at kAmarUpa and not kAshmIra.

pratyabhijnA constitutes for most the philosophical portion of trika. As this is the core philosophical or darshana aspect of trika, shrI mAdhavAchArya calls the entire school pratyabhijnA darshana in his famous sarvadarshana samgraha. In terms of popular generalizations, it has been often observed that Kashmiri Shaivism or trika to be specific, derives its aspects of ritual and religion from kula and krama whereas philosophy is derived from spanda to an extent and pratyabhijnA for the most. That the practical aspects exclusive to trika is lost today is a baseless conclusion for this very reason. Such a view held by the likes of Sanderson has been refuted by their own kin. somAnanda, disciple of vasugupta, is considered as the founder of this school as also the originator of logical reasoning in the field of Kashmiri Shaivism – tarkasya kartA. His shiva-drShTi forms the basis of this school on which he has himself composed a vrtti. His student utpala is the author of pratyabhijnA sUtra or Ishvara pratyabhijnA, the next important work of this school. While somAnanda concentrates on refuting other Astika darshanas that disagree with his school, utpaladeva effectively uses his doctrine of pratyabhijnA to counter the anatta or anAtmavAda of the Buddhists.

Thus, Agama, shiva sUtra, spanda sUtra, shiva drShTi and Ishvara pratyabhijnA, along with tantrAloka constitute the core texts of trika or Doctrinal Kashmiri Shaivism.

Excluding the Agamas, Kashmiri Advaya Shaivism starts with Vasugupta and is then passed over to his illustrious disciple kallaTa bhaTTa. He further expounded the sUtras through his spanda sUtras and a work named tattvArtha chintAmaNi. Tradition also ascribes another work named spandAmR^ita to vasugupta, which at times is thought of as the original form of spanda sUtra. A commentary on bhagavad gItA named vAsavI TIkA is also attributed to vasugupta. kallaTa also wrote a commentary on the spanda sUtras named spanda sarvasva. tattvArtha chintAmaNi and madhuvAhinI are his commentaries or portions of shiva sUtra.

contd ...

Those who seek refuge in the lotus feet of bhagavAn vAsudeva alone shall attain true nityAnanda. Other Pashandins shall face the wrath of Lord Kalki and his mighty sword.

itthaM kalau gataprAye janeShu kharadharmiShu |
dharmatrANAya sattvena bhagavAnavatariShyati||

charAcharagurorviShNorIshvarasyAkhilAtmanaH |
dharmatrANAya sAdhUnAM janmakarmApanuttaye ||

shambhalagrAmamukhyasya brAhmaNasya mahAtmanaH |
bhavane viShNuyashasaH kalkiH prAdurbhaviShyati ||

ashvamAshugamAruhya devadattaM jagatpatiH |
asinAsAdhudamanamaShTaishvaryaguNAnvitaH ||

vicharannAshunA kShauNyAM hayenApratimadyutiH |
nR^ipali~NgachChado dasyUnkoTisho nihaniShyati ||

atha teShAM bhaviShyanti manAMsi vishadAni vai |
vAsudevA~NgarAgAti puNyagandhAnilaspR^ishAm ||

paurajAnapadAnAM vai hateShvakhiladasyuShu |
teShAM prajAvisargashcha sthaviShThaH sambhaviShyati ||

vAsudeve bhagavati sattvamUrtau hR^idi sthite |
yadAvatIrNo bhagavAnkalkirdharmapatirhariH ||

kR^itaM bhaviShyati tadA prajAsUtishcha sAttvikI |
yadA chandrashcha sUryashcha tathA tiShyabR^ihaspatI |
ekarAshau sameShyanti bhaviShyati tadA kR^itam ||

Today, after we concluded the navAvaraNa pUjA on the occasion of the siddhi-divasa of one the deshikas in our lineage, we recited the mahimnaH stavarAja of mahAtripurasundarI as usual. Right after this, a suvAsinI rendered beautifully the Dikshitar Krti in kalyANI, bhaja re re chitta. This Krti seemed to be the musical interpretation of some verses revealed by krodha bhaTTAraka in the stavarAja and that realization greatly heightened the enjoyment of nAda rasa.

bhaja re re re chitta bAlAmbikAm |
bhakta kalpalatikAM tAm ||

nijarUpa-dAna-dakSha-charaNAm |
aruNAM nityAkalyANIM sharvANIm ||

shrIvAgbhava-kUTa-jAta chaturvedasvarUpiNIm |
shR^i~NgAra-kAmarAjodbhava sakala-vishva-vyApinIm ||
devIM shaktibIjodbhava-mAtR^ikArNa-sharIriNIm |
devanuta bhavarogahara-vaidyapati-hR^idaya-vihAriNIm ||

bhAva-rAga-tALa-modinIM
bhaktAbhIShTa pradAyinIm |
sevak-jana-pAlana guruguha-rUpa muttukumAra jananIM ||

Even after several years of relishing this kR^iti, every time the mudrA is followed by the word muttukumAra-jananI, we continue to dive into pools of ecstasy. And every passing day makes us further appreciate the genius of shrI Dikshitar.

subrahmaNya OM

mudrAH syustrividhA devi rachanAmantratattvataH |
sthUla-sUkShma-parAkhyAtA stattraividhyaM shR^iNu priye ||
rachanAmantrayorUpaM kathitaM tava sAMpratam |
tattvarUpANya~Ngulayo bhUtAnya~NguShThataH kramAt ||
tattadvyatyAsarachanA darshanena tu kathyate |
tava mAyAbahirbhUtastvatprasAdAdhantviti ||
mudaM rAtIti mudrAsyAtnyenaikA(?) muShTireva tu |
svalpabhedAt kopaharShau prANinAM janayatyataH ||
tenaiva sarvadevAnAM mudrA harShapradA matA |
pUjAkAle darshanIyA mudrAstAH sarvadA shive ||

cha~nchattaDinmihirakoTikarAM vichelAM
udyatkabandharudhirAM dvibhujAM trinetrAm |
vAme vikIrNakachashIrShakare pare tAM
Ide parAM paramakartrikayA sametAm ||

One of our long time friends had a sudden doubt today. His doubt was a practical one: What really is the correct format for the mantras used to propitiate the deities of the nine AvaraNas of lalitA parAbhaTTArikA? Some use sarvasaMkShobhiNI shakti shrIpAdkAM pUjayAmi namaH, others use sarvasaMkShobhiNI mudrA-shakti shrIpAdukAM pUjayAmi namaH. Some others use sarvasaMkshobhiNI mudrAmbA shrIpAdukAM etc.

This may seem trivial to some who will say - use whatever you like. But a sincere upAsaka whose upAsanA is based on a scientific approach to tantra will investigate to find answers and assume nothing based on hearsay. A few years ago, we had a conversation with one of the New Age Gurus who had funny interpretations of anything and everything including the Bijas within Gurupaduka. He however also insisted on identifying himself as belonging to a long lineage of Ativarnashrami-s and claimed to follow the Kalpasutra to the core. When questioned regarding his gross misinterpretation of the Kalpasutra in terms of both mantra and pUjA samketa, he evaded the question stating that he followed the interpretation of Rameshvara Suri and not Umanandanatha, hoping that we had never heard of either, like most of his disciples. When we responded right away lisiting Rameshvara Suri's opinions, he changed his story and attributed his interpretation to divine revelation from a dozen deities. It was hard not to remember nIlakaNTha dIkShita at that moment:

vAchyatAM samayo.atItaH spaShTamagre bhaviShyati |
iti pAThayatAM granthe kAThinyaM kutra vartate ||

Coming back to the original question, the answer is simple: there is no one correct way here. It is easier to simply say: follow your own guru sampradAya. But as our Guru always taught us to carefully examine shAstra pramANa and not rely upon sampradAya blindly, a quick look at that would be appropriate here.

Most upAsakas today seem to follow parashurAma kalpasUtra, more for the sake of simplicity than anything else and it hence makes sense to start with an examination of the sUtras.

kalpasUtra provides a general guideline in this regard:

sarvatra devatAnAmasu shrIpUrvaM pAdukAM pUjayAmItyaShTAkSharaM yojayet |

Add ‘shrI’ before the specific name of the deity and “pAdukAM pUjayAmi” after the name of the deity.

umAnandanAtha uses the following prayoga:

tritArI + specific mantra + devatA nAma + some additives + pUjayAmi tarpayAmi namaH |

E.g. 1: tritArI + shiro mantra + shirashshakti shrIpAdukAM pUjayAmi tarpayAmi namaH |
E.g. 2: tritArI + mantra + kAmeshvarI + nityA + shrIpAdukAM pUjayAmi tarpayAmi namaH |

Rameshvara Suri disagrees with the above format as well as others such as:

tritArI + mantra + kAmeshvarI nityA shrIpAdukAM pUjayAmi kAmeshvarI nityA shrIpAdukAM tarpayAmi etc.

He interprets the word pUjA to mean the samudAya prakShepa (combined offering) of visheShArghya bindu and puShpAkShata. So, according to him, the correct format would be:

tritArI + mantra + kAmeshvarI nityA shrIpAdukAM pUjayAmi - this possibly being the closest to the intent of the sUtrakAra. Interestingly, most shrIkula tantras recommend saptAkSharI or aShTAkSharI in this context.

As for the additives we talked of, some are explicitly specified in the kalpasUtra such as:

a. sarvatra nityAshrIpAduketi yojyam - in the case of tithi nityA deities.
b. ShoDashapatre kAmAkarShiNI nityAkaleti nityAkalA.antAH etc.

In some other places, both umAnandanAtha and Rameshvara Suri follow their own sweet formats:

U & R: aNimA-siddhi shrIpAdukAM etc.

U: sarvasaMkShobhiNI mudrA-shakti shrIpAdukAM etc.
R: sarvasaMkShobhiNI shakti shrIpAdukAM etc.

umAnandanAtha uses various additives unspecified by the sUtrakAra which one only can hope is based on some sampradAya or tantrAntara:

a. kAmAkarShiNI nityAkalA devI shrIpAdukAM etc.
b. ana~NgakusumA devI shrIpAdukAM etc.

It might be useful to examine what the great bhAskararAya states in ratnAloka and tripurasundarI varivasyA prayoga but we shall reserve that for later.

Apart from kalpasUtra, various other tantras such as tantrarAja, parA, vAmakeshvara, rudrayAmaLa, baDabAnala, paramAnanda, tripurArNava, garbhakulArNava, UrdhvAmnAya, nityA, ShoDashI tantras, dakShiNAmUrti saMhitA, charyA-khaNDa of tripurA rahasya, mahAlakShmI ratnakosha, saubhAgyalakShmI kalpa, agastya saMhitA, durvAsa saMhitA, dattAtreya saMhitA etc. describe their own peculiar prayogas. There are other prayogas brought in by manuals such as saubhAgya ratnAkara, shrIkalpataru, shrItattvachintAmaNi, tripurAsArasarvasva etc. As an example, here is one such set based on tantrarAja and parA tantras held as pramANa by bhagavatI bimbAmbikA:

bIjadvayAdyAH siddhyantAH saptAksharyA cha saMyutAH |

- hrIM shrIM aNimA-siddhi pAdukAM pUjayAmi |

etAshchAShTau taddvayAdyAH saptAkSharyantagAH kramAt |

- hrIM shrIM brAhmI pAdukAM pUjayAmi |

bIjadvayasvarAdyAshcha AkarShiNyantakAH kramAt |
nityAkaleti cha tataH saptAkSharyA.archayet kramAt ||

- hrIM shrIM aM kAmAkarShiNI nityA kalA pAdukAM pUjayAmi |

dvayAna~NgAdikAH sarvAH saptAkSharyantagA api |

- hrIM shrIM ana~NgakusumA pAdukAM pUjayAmi |

dvayasarvAdikAH sarvA shaktisaptAkSharIyutAH |

- hrIM shrIM sarvasaMkShobhiNI shakti pAdukAM pUjayAmi |

antardashArayugme tu devI saptAkSharAtmikAH |

- hrIM shrIM sarvasiddhipradA devI pAdukAM pUjayAmi |

vashinyAdIn yajet prAgvat saptAkSharyA namaH pade |

The instruction here is to simply use the same format as the vAgdevatA nyAsa, having replaced namaH with saptAkSharI i.e. hrIM shrIM aM AM - - aH + vashinI-bIja + vashinI vAgdevatA pAdukAM pUjayAmi ||

dakShiNe kAmajidyasyAH chUDAyAM kAmavallabhaH |
vAsaH kAmAyudhasyAdhaH kAmAShIM tAM namAmyaham ||

MS Amma and her celestial music continues to live. After a long hiatus of 15 years, Smt. Radha Vishwanathan performs again with her granddaughter Chi Aishwarya. May Parameshvara grant health and long life to Radha Mami.

And here is, IMHO, the best Krti of Sri Shyama Shastrigal ...

hare krShNa

Our buddy Sandeep does it again. For those who seek some laughs to beat the mid-week blues, here is his take on the new Mile Sur video.

Pune is just the name of another city where the blasts occurred. A welcome gift on the eve of Valentines Day to reassure our hearts pining for terror-love that we were so used to during UPA Ver 1.0. And the difference between Shivraj Patil and Chidambaram is probably nothing more than name, education, and taste in fashion.

Pune is just the name of another city because we’ve had a history of one attack in every six weeks: does it really matter where it happened and where it’ll happen next?

Needless, the usual charade followed this time as well: thundering media noise, outraged bloggers, shocked stars, a whimpering BJP, and the rest. It’s quite amusing actually. When 26/11 happened, India was under attack! and Mumbai (was) besieged! complete with the media copywriters’ semen stains on the headlines. But poor Pune has been robbed of such glamour. What the ugly assortment of politicians, penpushers, kingmakers, and the crown prince don’t realize–or don’t want us to know is the fact that India has been under attack for more than 1000 years. More on that after asking a rapid-fire round of questions:

Dear Shahrukh Khan, this attack was done by your good neighbours. No. we’re not questioning your patriotism. We need honest answers. Your “good neighbour” remark might’ve been in the context of your IPL tomfoolery but Pakistan’s cricket team is NOT Pakistan. It’d do good for you to read this letter addressed to you. And next time, please don’t take Shakespeare’s “all the world’s a stage” too literally.

Dear media, I know you’re already overworked with 24/7 spinning. And one of your Gin-sipping sisters has already speculated something about Sanathan Sanstha. Do us a service. Just STFU. We know operate largely in the space of cerebral vacuum but for once, don’t go overboard trying to prove it again and again. We know you won’t show the same spine you displayed in hammering the recent Shiv Sena hooliganism. Also do not spin the following:

- Terror has no religion
- Muslims are victims
- This happened in because Hindu fanatics are very strong here.
- The spirit of will keep us going!
- Shiv Sena and Taliban/JeM/LeT are the same
- Secularism is under threat
- Any and/or all of the above

Dear fence-sitters and liberals, do not wax eloquent on the need for a “responsive” and “preventive” security apparatus, latest technology, advance warning signals, effective policing/Home ministry, international pressure, and similar nonsense.

Dear Rahul Gandhi: where are you? The country needs you now! You can take a break from giving sleepless nights to those pretty university lasses.

What was limited to just Kashmir has merrily spread across the land in a space of just 6 years. A phenomenon familiar to anybody who has read Indian history–not the Romila Thapar version. To them, we’re a land of Kaffirs. Our eminent op-ed writers who try to explain this away are actually insulting the unblemished religious fervor of the perpetrators. These guys also harbour the illusion that Pakistan is really a democratic country–witness their several calls to “restore demoratic processes/norms/machinery” in Pakistan. Pakistan remains an Islamic theocracy. It’s even “purer” than Saudi Arabia in that it routinely vacuum-cleans non-Sunni Muslims (Ahammadiyas for example).

And because it is an Islamic theocracy, it is faithful to the Koran. Those who use the fancy military-jihadi complex need to consider this. What is the raison d’être for this military-jihadi complex? What propels and sustains it? The answer is uncomfortable but so is the truth. Military-jihadi is actually using the same word twice. If you are a pure Islamic country, your military exists not just to defend but to launch Jihad when the time is opportune. Also, Jihad essentially implies that you need to use military might to cleanse the world of infidels. There’s a reason why the likes of Kasab are given hardcore military training. To them, they are soldiers of Allah, sevants of the Prophet (PBUH). It’s therefore irrelevant if they are army regulars or freelancers. As history shows us, there’s no such thing as permanent peace in nations firmly under the sway of Islam. A current state of peace is simply preparations for the next Jihad. Which is why it is very important to use terms with full knowledge of their exact meaning. “Islamic terror” simply means Jihad. You cannot separate Islamic terror from its teachings. And it is the teachings that provide the justification for what’s known as the military-jihadi complex. People who call for a dismantling of this complex need to read the Quran and the Hadis first.

In the end, India has to take care of India’s interests. A friend might lend a supporting shoulder but you need to shed your blood and tears; he can’t do it on your behalf. Every country has its own methods to teach its enemies a lesson in a way they think is fit. Appealing to the US to mount pressure, etc won’t work. Pakistan’s relentless attacks against India is India’s problem. Talking international diplomacy and strategy is an optional next step. The first step is to grow a spine. (Vetoed! said Sonia).

Which city wants to go next?

vedAnuddharate jaganti vahate bhUgolamudbibhrate
daityaM dArayate baliM Chalayate kShatrakShayaM kurvate |
paulastyaM jayate halaM kalayate kAruNyamAtanvate
mlecChAn mUrcChayate dashAkR^itikR^ite kR^iShNAya tubhyaM namaH ||