How Became a Guru through the understanding of a Pompom

Kumaran Asan, the great poet, philosopher and disciple of Sri Narayana Guru, wrote in his prayer to Sri Narayana Guru, whoever eliminates darkness through giving the light of knowledge, can be a Guru and became God(Aarayikil andhathwam ozhichadi mahassin neram vazhi kaattum guruvallo paradaivam.(ml)). The statement itself one can be a Guru through acquiring knowledge, I don’t mean that you can be a Sri Narayana Guru; instead you can be a knowledge guru.In this topic we are seeing a different approach for knowledge acquiring through ancient ways.

Today we are going through a small and colorful pompom. I believe that all you heard about pompom well. It is a small cotton ball for ornamental decorations as frills. Prime face no one is bothered about a pompom. But we can see it in different perspective. Sri Narayana Guru teaches through the divine writing ‘Athmopadesa Sathakam’ that how we should see the perspectives of every specific aspect for perfect understanding. I am going through the words of Sri Narayana Guru “One should know the things perfectly and be master in it with perfection”.

There are many ways to communicating and teaching to everyone. In ancient days the teachings has been through the practical aid. Most of the teaching aid has been based on rituals or devotional fellowships. Today we can understand the insight and travel in all branch of science through the travelling of pompom. You know what it is a pompom, is a cotton ball. I am not sure how many are aware about a traditional and ritual musical instrument called ‘’ idakka ‘. This instrument has been established as part of divine offerings in the form of music to the Siva temples. And basically it is associated the mythology of an epic story based on lord Siva.

The name Idakka (itakka, edaykka) itself means hanging in the middle, which do not place anywhere, hourglass-shaped double membrane drum. The shell (idakka kutti) and hoops securing the skins are made from jack wood (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.). The skins (tugal) of calf hide are lapped and glued onto the hoops. They are tensioned with cotton ropes laced between the two heads through holes in the hoops. Beneath the heads are snares made of thin nylon string. They are tightening with four numbers of six inches long, semi-circle ended wooden loges. And as seems like a decoration there are sixty four pompoms hanging it. Why this pompom. We are going through the story of pompom.

You may wonder why should I talk this topic to you all? I am talking about a teaching aid which will give you an idea about the way to achieve knowledge. Sri Narayana Guru explained through the teachings, one should achieve the knowledge in total form, not it is in a glance. In other way the knowledge should be in total. We are seeing the story of Veda, the grate knowledge ever in the history of the living world, wrote by series of eminent monks and scholars since thousands of years. In other words Vedas are the total literature for the science, history of culture and traditions. Learning of the Vedas is big task for the limited literate learners or without ample knowledge in the corresponding topics of Vedic literature. That has been the limits on establishment as a social science across the world. In other words Vedas teaches by the way using inter-related topics like the pearls of an ornamental chain.

But, the ancient masters and Gurus are aware about the limitation of the understanding on the inter-dependability of Vedas, astakaas, aranyakaas, and sixty four arts and its science. Through this teaching aid idakka, we understand the chronology of the ancient science and inter-dependability to the technical secrets of the knowledge base. We know, now a day’s information is in the finger tips. For getting information, simply one can get google it as a search or you can go to wiki. You will get it as per the truant of the modern terminology. But I am sure, there are ample of topics are still unopen to the world. What I am trying to say is, the knowledge is there with everyone and everything. But the way of understanding about it is important. The real knowledge is the secret of the universe, is unknown to the world. This is teaching us the Vedas and epic topics to us, in the modern generation. And especially that is the intention of the annual speech to open a new topic which is hidden in the manuscripts of the old leafs.

After going through the story of the pompom we can judge about the principles of Vedas using as teaching aids for ancient education and its proper presentation.

We are seeing the idakka. It is wonderful musical instruments. You have been watched the image this interesting instrument. I think now you are familiar with this image. As you understand, it is a musical instrument of Hindu tradition and culture.

 You can see the pompoms hanging under the idakka feeling as frills for decorations. How it is? Just I have to say, it is 64 pompoms hanging under this instrument idakka. Why the sixty four pompom? Understanding the logical truth of the pompom used in this instrument as a teaching aid is a wonderful knowledge ever. It will give you the way to being a guru through knowledge.

  We seen for wooden logs with round endings in this idakka, will feel to facilitate for the ornamental decorations? One wooden log is indicating one Veda and similarly each wooden log is a representation of each Veda. All the four wooden logs are the representation of all four Vedas. The round edged endings of the each wooden loge are the representation of astakaas. In Indian mythology and epic science there are eight astakaas. The four wooden logs have eight ends, which represent eight astakaas. The word asta means eight. The phrase meaning is eight numbers of eights, which is sixty four. We are seeing sixty four colourful pompoms in this teaching aid idakka.

The Hindu science teaching us through the sixty four science as well as sixty four arts. The each and every pompom is explaining about the interpretation of the ancient science. In total the Vedas, astakas and related knowledge is the total knowledge of the universe and human being. All the science has a corresponding art and similarly all the art have corresponding science. And every arts and science have four classifications, are perfections and skill level identification of the particular science.

There are sixty four ancient art and science with one to one relation from the beginning to end and vice versa. I don’t know how many of us are aware the science has been developed through the collective information. All the time knowledge has been developed as per the information and true understanding acquiring from the real experience ever. When we are seeing the chronology of the collective information, there can be a hereditary or a tradition of knowledge. Those can be considered as traditional knowledge, sometimes ignoring as non-scientific, but true scientific! All those science are not merely, but truly scientific. The true knowledge of this information are guiding for the subsequent generations as knowledgeable. Because, all this science can be readable, recordable and re-readable, using through appropriate algorithm and parameters. How many of us able to understand about the real in-depth knowledge of the ancient sciences. How many of us able to teach, who know this science to the next generations without vomiting the practical ways of the implementation of these sciences in application level.

Unfortunately I have to say, no one is able to explain about the valuable sciences in ancient past years to the most modern generations other than Sri Narayana Guru. For that I want you all to see the story of pompoms. 

Here I am picking the seventeenth pompom from these sixty four pompoms. When we are seeing this it is beautiful to see and feel.

We can see the pompom through a magnifying glass for detailed analysis. It has been developed from a cotton plant. The story goes to the plant phycology and earthen structure of fertility and the geographical area in definition for forming such a wonderful fibre in plant. Going through the seasons of the climate it was caused to but cotton and mentored as raw form of cotton. From different terminology and process the cotton became thread and be caused for the pompom from it. A pompom is developing from a cotton thread and clothing as part of milling. This science is the 17th science of the Indian classical science. Pompom gives us the story many thing. Pompom is produced from the cotton .Cotton is an agricultural product. It is seeing in many ways. The way to tech total agronomy and science start from soil conservation, quality study of cotton seed, planting, plant disease, irrigation, classing, weed control, insect management, harvesting, cotton storage, ginning, yarn production, fabric manufacturing, dying, printing, and all area of clothing are the first part. And it is giving the way of the history and the politics of the cloth going through. Of course it will give us the philosophy and cultural lay out of the traditions. Yes, it is seventeenth science that I told you. Why I am using the seventeenth science to tell you an explanation or a public presentation. I want you to know there is no story in the modern history of the man without clothing. I aware before starting the history of clothing, there men was used tattoos, and body paintings when man lived in nature ware were no civilisation. Body painting has been an art and a science using protective essence and extracts from the plant and minerals. Going back up to 3000 years BC, we can see the costume technology in many culture and civilization.

I told you pompom is a part of development of clothing and story of fabric. How many around us is able to understand about clothing and fabrics in general or in particular. We know everyone is the users and customers of fabrics. One of us know about fabric is in its colour as a common user. A tailor knows about the width and length. A fashion designer knows about the pattern. A trader knows about the price.

But the true analyses of the history of the fabrics are always connecting with rituals and festivals. Ritually the colours of the fabrics are representing the many situations in human life as well as the nature. Man is social being for a definite reason created by the nature.

There is many wonders which man is not bothered, when we are going through the history of the cloth.

The man is different from other animals in much way. All other beings can be identifying through smells. Every animal around us understand the presents of everything through smells. In priority base seeing the opposite sex and attraction are the important as law of nature. But man is not.

Self-exhibition and creating attraction are the factors in a living time metabolism. The desire of sexual union has expressed with pheromones smell and it is natural phenomena .But the human is getting attracted by seeing alone. The exhibitionism to get attracted is a cause of every emotional intention. The non-civilised caveman used to paint his body instead of clothing, to get him to attract others. It is very clear nudity is vulgar and has no emotions. By using the cloth in different age and style has been badge for understanding the purpose and emotional mental plane to whom is searching for.

The relationship scale connecting with cultural and emotional management has been carried out with confidence with the subject and thought process. As per the words of Sri Narayana Guru, there are only two cast, is male and female. Because of males are seeing as similar and females are seeing similar one to another anatomically. The body and its structure, proposition and ratio of the eight step theory of the geometry of the body, and appearance and many other visual parameters are same with any other body. The relationship emotions are there with each other body is based on the aspect of culture and relationship bonding to mother, sister, daughter, wife and any other can be in the categorisation of female,and similarly in father, brother, son and an outsider is concern with exhibited identity.

Generally it was known and can see as males and females. If we can see the life of a human being similarly other animals around us is funny thing. A blind person cannot get involved in social gathering in large. Seeing around us without emotions it is something different to understand. The rallies of the fare and lovelies are to establish superiority or supremacy in a particular area. Through that get attention by seeing others are direct badges and gender. There are no concerns or relation other than the male female attraction, which is happening with noticeable costume in many forms. The religion and cast are not there with any of the separations other than male and female. Sri Narayana Guru’s teachings are there with particularity in many senses about the meaninglessness of Cast and creed system. It said, if really it is there it should be noticed by seeing! In other view there is question to us why the costume codes in our society? A priest, police officer, a dancer, magician, a bride, marred, unmarred, social, and similarly any area of identity by job, probation, in duality, status, family and anything there is code exhibition for getting attention is the part of cloth and associated frills like pompom. The pompom technology is not limited to any definitions and establishment. The rest part of the 17th science is technical explanation of cloth making and organising the designs to make it apt for getting noticed and attracted in all occasions and purpose . All those part you can understand through the existing books of technology relate with the topic. If you are to understand, you can make it separate the all process terminology through the knowledge. The expertise on clothing will give you the quality and cost assessment with technical expertise in it. Through that, you can buy raw cotton, and give it for thread making. The same third you can sell or you can make clothes through hiring a textile weaving mill for weaving. And you can colour it using the dying centre for your choice of colours. Again for the best process you can bring this for a bleaching centre for final productions.

The four step action like threading, weaving, dying and bleaching process you can manage by yourself for own purpose and for commercial purpose. The knowledge that with you will regulate how much clothe you can produce from 1000 grams of raw cotton. The weaving, dying and bleaching cost will give you the real expanse of a square feet area or running feet of the cloth. The number and thickness, number of spindling while threading and number warp and weft will regulate the weightage and area measures. That regulates the cost and quality factors. In common man concepts after understanding this cloth making technology will teach you a buyer with technical quality and cost. The count of warp and weft, and the number of spins of every third in square inches will regulate the cost and quality. You should know the cost of cotton and the labour charge for all that.

The same can be usable for all class people as a fundamental parameter to define quality cost and colours for manufactures, traders, works, and customers. The information in this topic is giving the total knowledge in the clothing technology and related field. The beauty using the traditional teaching aid like idakkaa and pompoms are wonderful for the all ages. The other all branch of science is also explaining like this using the same parameter and scientific approaches. Knowing the all pompoms, I am sure you can me the guru of knowledge.

 The pompom is not be completed if it is going through the sixty four days long talks and chit chat and knowledge is the complete matter that works for you became guru of knowledge.

The best act of the contest is established my own guru through his words ,that you can be topic oriented and be good with more knowledgeable persons will give you more in depth knowledge , that naturally lead you a guru .

I am happy to be with you the other sixty three pompoms through regular talks. Your feedback is appreciated and may encourage and inspiring the thrust to deliver more talks and topics.

Thank you, thank you all.

Dr.Thattayil Mohandas

(This is a part of the speech on the occasion of the 26th annual speech of the memorial day of the Social reformer Thoppil Sridharan)