Vajramushti (Martial Arts of India)
Sample Chapter
The
fundamental particles make nuclei, the nuclei joins in atoms, the
atoms joins in molecules, the molecules joins in bases, the bases
direct the assembly of amino acids, the amino acids joins in
proteins, and proteins are the building blocks of life.
Stones
make a wall, walls makes a house, house makes a street, streets
makes a city, a city is stone, and a city is people, but it is not a
heap of stones, and it is not just a jostle of people. In the step
from the village to the city, a new community or organization is
built, based on the division of labour and a chain of commands.
We human
beings are joined in families, the families are joined in kinship
group, the kinship groups in clan, the clans in tribe, the tribes in
nation, and that sense of hierarch of a pyramid in which layer is
imposed on layer, runs through all the way we look at nature.
The weapons of
the first soldiers were of course the weapons with which men had
hunted wild beasts for thousands of years. In the process of hunting
wild beasts, for food, safety or sport, men learnt to co-operate
in-groups, and these groups, became the first armies. Weapons
changed slowly, arrows tipped with flakes of flint; as used by
cavemen of the earlier past against wolves and deer, were still
employed by native that formed part of these army. The prehistoric
man in India produced hand-axes, choppers, and arrowheads, made of
stone, to protect him from the external dangers. Metals owing to
their durability and malleable quality, gradually replaced the
stone. The excavations at Harappa and Mohenjo daro have shown that
the arms and utensils of stone continued to be used side by side
with those of copper or bronze. The metallic blades of swords and
daggers excavated from the Indus Valley sites are dated to the 3rd
millennium BC.
The armies of
the past must have consisted mainly of light troops, they were not
drilled or ordered, they fought like mobs or herds and they fought
mainly with projectiles. If they came to hand to hand the normal
weapons would probably be stone axes or wooden clubs, for in those
days men did not knew how to handle metals, and therefore could not
make any effective stabbing instrument. Huntsmen and soldiers, of
the past, were always looking for the best sort of rock, by which he
could tip their arrows and throwing spears. We will never know who
first discovered how to pound up metal bearing rock, and heat it in
the fire till the metal melted, and could be shaped. But we do know
that, the first metals with which men worked and made weapons, tools
and ornaments, were the softer metals – gold, silver, copper, etc.
Of these, gold and silver were too soft for anything except for
ornaments and coin (though royal troops in some Asiatic monarchies
had decorative spears tipped with silver or gold), but from bronze
they made fairly sharp points for arrows and spears, and cutting
blades for short swords. The blades had to be rather thick;
otherwise they blunt and bend easily, it was impossible to make a
full-length sword from bronze.
The history of
a country and its geographical position sometimes makes some of the
war aims of that country essential to its life and growth. If the
war aims fully penetrate the people of that country, and are deeply
felt by them. Then the soldiers who represent that country in the
battlefield will be different from those soldiers who knew nothing
about, for what they are fighting, and they will have no national
interest in the outcome of the struggle. In this and other ways the
politics or class structure of a society affects the morale of its
soldiers and their war tactics.
Weapons have
no meaning if separated from war tactics, they become heavy and
knobby things for tired men to carry or drag. It is impossible to
learn the right use of weapons without learning its war tactics.
Hitting power and projectiles have complicated the war tactics, with
alternating shock and projectiles cycles. The connection between
armour protection and hitting power (projectile) is a little more
complicated. Earlier there was a time when men knew little of
metalworking, and few men had armour. The pendulum swings between
armour and projectile, i.e. between the development of shock weapons
for close quarter fighting, and of projectile weapons for long range
fighting. Shock weapons are normally more important than missile or
projectile weapons. Armoured men can get too close to their
opponents, and the fact that fighting is done with projectile weapon
does not obliterate this tendency. Though there is a swing in the
pendulum between shock weapons and projectile weapons, it is usual
for one of these forms of weapons to supplement the other. E.g.
Group of schoolboys fighting, they begin with stones, shot from
catapults, snowballs or any things they can throw. If the sides are
evenly matched, and if it is a real fight then, some of them leave
off throwing things, and come to close quarters fighting with
sticks, fists, perhaps with feet. When one side is beaten and
scattered, throwing begin again, mopping up and pursuit may continue
by shock actions, but rear guard actions are fought mainly with
projectiles. Throwing things, the use of projectiles which is a form
of warfare is a useful accessory but not usually a decisive one.
Hitting, or fighting from very close quarter as schoolboys, was
similar among soldiers, and it was the most
Combative posture
at Modhera
Sun Temple,
Gujarat
Tracing the origin,
practices and evolutionary development of any ancient martial arts
through centuries with reference to its cultural, social, religious,
and political context through literature will throw valuable light
on the background and its rich heritage. In order to trace the
origin of Indian martial arts and detail of its development, one has
to see the influence of royalty, zamindars, patils, chieftains, and
interested folks of different castes living in towns, villages, and
hamlets of India. One needs to be also familiar with the economic,
social, martial, recreational, traditional, linguistic, religious
and political spectrum of the history of natives Indian as well as
the history of the early invaders and settlers who entered India
through the Khyber Pass in the north and many foreign rulers who
invaded India through the sea routes. But a complete research
venture is not feasible at the present juncture, the reasons being
financial inadequacy, and lack of time to travel to remote interiors
of India and visit many of the forts, oriental manuscript libraries
and archaeological museums in India and abroad. Facing the above
hurdles I have tried a sincere attempt to collect as many as primary
and secondary sources as possible from many existing masters of
various arts, by visiting the libraries, forts, museums, and many
historical places in remote India.
The roots of Indian civilization stretch back in
time to pre-recorded history. The earliest human activity in the
Indian sub-continent can be traced back to the Early, Middle and
Late Stone Ages (400,000-200,000 BC). Implements from all three
periods have been found from Rajasthan, Gujarat, Bihar, parts of
what are now Pakistan and the southernmost tip of the Indian
Peninsula. These Paleolithic people were semi-nomadic hunters and
food gatherers for many millennia. There were five main races of
people, which were in existence, when the move to an agricultural
lifestyle took place, in the middle of the 9th millennium
BC. These were:
Ø
the Negrito race,
Ø
the
Proto-Australoid,
Ø
the Mediterranean
race,
Ø
the Mongoloid and
Ø
the Alpine people.
The first evidence of agricultural settlements on
the western plains of the Indus is roughly contemporaneous. This
settlement gradually grew and the inhabitants started to use copper
and bronze, domesticated animals, made pottery and began trade
activities. Though India cannot boast of the archaeological findings
of Babylonian and Egypt (except those of Mohenjo-daro, Harappa, and
Chanhu-daro), yet the Vedas, the earliest literary records – though
mostly liturgical, are the only faint glimmering lights. Sanskrit
has preserved without much corruption almost all the Vedic words and
Brahminism the Vedic rules and rites, were in tact. The early Vedic
literature throws some lights on the arms and armour of the Indus
valley civilization, there are numerous references in the Rigveda to
asi, which was a powerful weapon for sacrificing the bulls (Rigveda
X, 79,6). It must have therefore been a ritualistic sword to be used
in animal sacrifice. Similarly the term suadhiti denotes to be an
iron axe used for the clearance of forests, thus the suadhiti must
have been a very strong sword or axe to produce hard strokes in
cutting the trees and animals, and the blade of these weapons were
made of iron. Another weapon pavi was hard like the vajra and sharp
like kshura (razor), it was the favourite weapon of Lord Indra.
There are references in the Rigveda to parashu (battle-axe), bana
(arrow), dhanusa (bow), khadga (straight sword), etc. Puranas, which
might have existed in their embryonic form at a fairly early date,
must but have attained their present form between the 2nd
and 6th centuries AD., they do merit the title of
history.
The content of
the Puranas are wide and varied, extending over smrti, philosophy,
grammar, geography, architecture, stories and myths of a sectarian
character. The Pauranikas are more concerned with the hereafter than
the world we live in and lead their readers from the terra firma of
solid facts to an imaginary celestial world of eternal bliss. In the
Puranas fiction is confounded with fact, myths and legends with
human experiences and supernatural events with historical phenomena.
The feeble voice of a historian is forcefully drowned by the
dogmatic dicta of a religious guru. The term Puranas has two
meanings:
Ø
that which has
lived from ancient times and
Ø
a work containing
records of past events.
Various
suggestions have been advanced by scholars to explain why the
ancient Hindus did not produce history properly.
Ø
Words were just not
enough to describe the grandeur and pomp of the culture, hence
poetic version were used,
Ø
Lack of curiosity
about secular affairs,
Ø
The preponderant
influence of fatalist doctrines,
Ø
Lack of, a sense of
homogeneity,
Ø
Poverty in
scientific outlook and
Ø
Some other factors
are said to account for, the absence of historical texts in ancient
India.
The absence of
a real historical text in ancient India might have been the lack of
interest of the Brahmin intelligentsia to engage in the tedious task
of composing history in which politics plays a significant role.
Politics was the prerogative of the Kshatriya caste and was
forbidden to the Brahmanas. Evidence exists of Brahmanas wielding
political power in ancient India. It is conceivable that to a
creative Brahmanical mind, history where accuracy predominates over
imagination and fantasy, and diligence over talent, proved to be
less attractive than philosophy and literature, which provides ample
scope for the display of creativity and merit. (The plain,
unpalatable and unassailable truth is that the Hindus of ancient
India did not produce a genuine historical text in any sense
resembling the concept of history, reflected in contemporary Greece,
Rome and China). The Puranas describe in some sections, are the
history of the various royal families, which are believed to have
ruled over different parts of India from time immemorial.
Chronologically, the dynasties, which find mentions in the Puranic
texts, may be arranged in three groups — early, intermediate and
later.
Ø
The early group
comprises the ruling houses, which flourished up to the date of the
battle of Bharata.
Ø
The intermediate
dynasties which flourished and disappeared between the dates of this
battle and the foundation of the Maurya Empire by Chandragupta, and
Ø
The third, the
later royal families up to the early 4th century AD.
Somewhere in between the annals of
ancient Indian history, the ancient Indian mind must have device a
way or a pattern to defend themselves, protect their properties, and
safeguard their health, through various physical regimens. One
danger is inherent in all physically manifestable training is that
certain training can evoke powerful emotional responses, which can
create an inner clarity and perspective of the mind! Many find the
nature of the mind as a strange and alien place that one rarely
examines it. In reality there are no mysteries, except those of an
unclear mind. Hence the ancient Indian mind knew very well that the
body and the mind are linked together and that activities of one
continually affect the other. If one uses the body in a destructive
manner, the mind likewise disintegrates itself. Conversely the
practice of mental purification cannot take place without a similar
activity occurring within the body.
In the early Indian religion the
central deities Indra and Agni represent, among other things, the
principle of power, and their warriors the Kshatriya — considered
themselves 'sons' of both deities and the principles they
symbolized. Not simply concerned with developing physical prowess or
a mindless violence, the Kshatriya undertook the study of
literature, history, religion, esoteric, and philosophy in all their
forms. These studies were termed 'light' (vidya) and the Chandyoga
Upanishad speaks of the Kshatriya vidya. Although the high ethical
code of the Kshatriya which forbid anyone but another Kshatriya from
attacking him, doubtless such morals were not always observed, and
when faced with an unscrupulous opponent, the Kshatriya needed to be
able to defend himself, and develop a very effective form of
hand-to-hand combat that combined techniques of wrestling, throws,
and hand strikes. Since fighting on foot for a Kshatriya was
necessary in case he was unseated from his chariot or horse and
found himself without weapons. Tactics of movement and evasion were
formulated that were later passed on to successive generations. This
skill was called Vajramushti, a name meaning, 'thunderbolt closed-or
clasped hands'. This title Vajramushti, used both by the Brahmins
and the early Kshatriya to describe their art, has several origins.
In Sanskrit the term Vajramushti means,
Ø
the hand that holds
the powerful weapon Vajra and
Ø
the other meaning
was the usage of hands in a manner as powerful as the Vajra maces of
traditional warfare.
Alternatively, the
word Vajra actually referred to the weapon of Lord Indra and
indicates speed, power, and divine like origin. In Buddhism
Vajramushti was called Vajramukti and the Kshatriya’s practiced
these arts during peacetime, by regular means of physical training
which utilized these sequences of attack
and defence, which were technically termed in Sanskrit as nata. As
the Kshatriya practiced both armed and unarmed combat, the Gurus or
the acharyas (masters) was the guiding pillar to train them in armed
and unarmed form of nata (a chain of many static position put into a
kinetic sequence). Over a long period of time, most of the possible
and useful combinations of attack/defence
must
have been recognized, preserved, and included into their nata
trainings.
Also the fact that
those engaged in battle, often (whether willingly or not) experience
a heightened awareness of the transitory nature of life and death
that prompted some teachers of Buddhism to include conflict as one
of the potential areas for spiritual development and progression.
Hence implications of martial arts training have been the
prerogative condition, for the monks to heighten their spiritual
awareness. From its earliest inception within India, the Bodhisattva
Vajramukti was regarded as a powerful and potentially dangerous
cathartic physical practice, because it dealt directly with the
liberation and channeling of primitive energies and instincts. A
teacher powerful in both body and mind was necessary to convey its
principles and guide its students. These cautions were carried over
into China and the resultant Chinese martial arts (Chuan Fa or
Kempo) were likewise taught only to monks or devout Buddhists of a
suitable disposition. Such cautions as existed both in India and
China were often justified.
Vajramushti the classical Kshatriya
Lion's skill was the famous martial arts of the Indus valley
civilization. When the river Saraswati changed its course many of
the Indus valley people may have shift deeper in Central or Southern
part of India. With them, many masters, style techniques of
Kshatriya martial arts, may also have shifted to the deeper
recessive of India, hence one finds a common link in most of the
stick fighting, sword fighting, spear fighting, wrestling techniques
of the central sector, the southern sector and as well as to some
extent the north eastern sector of India.
The northeastern sector of India belongs
to the Indo-Mongoloid group and their language Manipuri or Meitei
belongs to the Tibeto-Burman group of languages. Manipur was an
independent ancient Asiatic country before the British conquered it
in 1891 AD. and later merged it with the Indian Union in 1949 AD.
Living on the edge with hostile circumstances was a natural tendency
for these warring people, they were forced by the various
circumstances to maintained and be able-bodied to face any struggle,
war or natural calamity. Thang ta was their art and this art
involves the play of 'Sword and Spear'; it is the traditional
martial art of Manipur in Northeast India. It integrates various
external weapons like, sword, spear, dagger, etc., and the internal
development is by practicing various physical control exercises
through soft movements coordinated with the rhythmic breathing.
Another name to it is Huyen Lallong, (Huyen means war and Lallong
means knowledge of arts). However, over the years, the martial arts
were separated into two schools for training, one for actual combat
and the other as ritual dances that served to reinforce Manipuri
cultural identity and played an important role in the physical and
spiritual growth of the students who studied it.
The central sector art was Gatka, practiced mostly within the Sikh
community, and the Maratha warriors practiced Yudhkaushalya che
Talim. The art of Gatka involves a series of integral combat
training systems that include several systems of duels armed and
unarmed. It aims at the coordination of mind and body through the
meditation of spiritual verses of Gurbani. A holistic system by
which the character and moral attitude of a practitioner is shaped.
Actually Gatka is the name of a stick used to practice sword
fighting. The word Gatka is a slang expression coined in the
nineteen hundreds to describe a number of stick, staff and sword
styles, made use in public demonstration by the Sikhs. Much of the
Gatka forms practiced today are Europeanized versions of segments of
what was the original martial art of India known as the Vajramushti,
the classical Kshatriya Lion's skill.
The great Marathe
warrior Baji Prabhu on the last lap of his life.
The southern sector art comprises of Silambam,
Kalaripayatu, and Marma adi. The origin of Silambam fencing, an
ancient art of attack and self-defence was immensely popular since
the dawn of human civilization. Silapathiharam, which was written by
Ilangovadigal, is a great historical and dramatic literature. It is
a Tamil literature, dating back to 2nd century AD., it
mentions the dexterous use of the long and short Silambam sticks
used in mock fighting as well as serious fighting. It was developed
into a highly sophisticated and organized sport or self defence
maneouver in Tamil Nadu as early as the 1st or the 2nd
century AD. It also refers to the sale of Silamabam staff, swords,
pearls and armour to foreign traders of Romans, Greeks, and
Egyptians origin who thronged the ancient trading centre at Madurai
city. The Silambam staff was one of the martial art weapons that
were in great demand with the visitors. The use of the long staff
for self defence or mock fighting was a highly organized game in the
state as early as the 1st and the 2nd
centuries AD.
Kalaripayatu is the only form of Vajramushti (the classical
Kshatriya Lion's skill) in its most ancient traditional systems, of
physical culture, self-defense and martial techniques still in
existence. This art is believed to have its origin in Kerala,
legends believed, that the land of Kerala was retrieved from the sea
by the epic hero, 'Lord Parasuram' who combined in him the qualities
of warrior and a sage. The warrior outside Kerala used defensive
armour like steel plates to guard the chest, forearms, etc., helmets
for covering the head and large shields while fighting, but in
Kerala the warriors generally did not wield any armour, but fought
bare-chest. They use lighter weapons and depended on alertness,
speed, and dexterity in the use of limbs and the breath taking
agility, achieved by their training in Kalaripayatu for their
self-defence as well as for vanquishing the enemy. For speed and
surprise maneouver they use short weapons like dagger. Another
aspect, which is unique in this system, is a particular type of
massage given to the trainees. For this special kind of massage
medicated oil is used. The Guru who employs his feet on the back and
legs of the trainees does this massage, and on the face and other
softer parts of the body the massages are done with the hands. This
type of massaging is special to Kalaris and it enables the trainees
to attain suppleness of body and ease of movements required for the
training. A person skill in Kalari is also taught to use medicinal
herbs and plants for curing minor diseases and to set bone
fractures. This method helps the trainees to have thorough knowledge
of the human anatomy. The knowledge of medicinal herb is very
essential in curing many type of diseases.
According to the ancient Indian traditions, the human body was
animated by vital energy or life force Jivasantanikratkarsa. This
energy like the blood circulated around the body. Such a force
corresponded to what in India is called as jivat, prana, or rasa and
Chi or Qi in Chinese or Ki in Japanese or Pneuma in Greek. The
pathway and patterns this energy works when it circulated within the
body were termed in Sanskrit as nadi and its strongest flow was
within the pith or bone marrow. From here it radiated out, or
directly flowed into specific parts of the body. In this case, where
it did so was its most vulnerable point, and it was to such places
that therapist and warriors directed their attentions. The entrance
and exit point in the body at which jivat or rasa was accessible to
external influences were known as marma, meaning vulnerable or vital
points. The marma could be manipulated, in various manners, to alter
the rate of flow, or direction of the jivat or flow of prana within
the nadi. In ancient India, marma points and other vital points had
been discovered by battle surgeons, after noticing that warriors,
who had been slightly injured by enemy arrows or daggers, often
experienced miraculous cures to ailments they had previously
suffered from. The marma could also be used to halt or expel jivat
completely and this art of arresting the jivat seems to have formed
the base of the 'Tiger Striking Method - derivative of Vajramushti
also known as the classical Kshatriya Lion's skill'. Building on
their rapidly developing knowledge, the ancient doctors developed
charts of the marma points and included them in the various massage
(udvartana) techniques common to ancient Indian medicine. It is
difficult to say when the Chinese did develop their ideas about
acupuncture points directly from India; it does seem an obvious
extension of the Vajramushti teachings or the Kshatriya Lion's
skill. Since the art of Dim Muck or Delay Death Touch is very much
similar to the Indian art of Marma adi.
Daily practice
of Vajramushti or the Kshatriya Lion's skill leads to extraordinary
physical control, and mental control. It eventually led the student
inward, the exercises eventually become 'that which is internal'
(andarikamayatu). The exercises and weapons forms were repeated
until the student had sufficiently embodied the 'inner life' (bhava)
of the sequence, i.e., until the correct form gets 'inside' the
student's body. Once the exercise becomes 'effortless,' as one
performs the exercise he should naturally begin to experience the
'inner action' behind the external movement. Almost all practice one
sees is partial, it is not complete. Even with advanced students
practicing, their form may be good and correct in external form, but
it is still lacking something. It is lacking in spark or life
(jivan), which makes the form real with bubbling practice. They do
not yet have the soul of the form. The external form remains empty,
'lifeless,' and a mere shell, if there is no proper circulation of
the internal wind or energy, the form is lifeless. What eventually
results from practicing is the discovery of the interior subtle body
(suksmasarira) traditionally associated with yoga and meditation,
and assumed to be encased within the physical body. Following the
yogic ideal of self-control to its logical extreme, the ultimate
mastery of 'mental powers' applied in martial practice is the
development of the esoteric, seemingly 'magical' power to attack the
body's vital spots (marmam) by simply looking or pointing at it.
The Mind is
like a pond of water, even a gentle waft of wind can disturb the
surface layer, and constant thought waves creates tensions, which
can aggravate the process of ageing, or turn the ebb of life in a
short time. Ceaseless activity in the turmoil of life takes its own
toll, anxieties, frustrations, are all various sorts of exhaustion
of mind and body, all these accelerate the ageing process. Man is
not a mere bottle of blood, or a mass of flesh and a bundle of
bones. He has his basket full of likes and dislikes, ideals, faith
and feelings. From the cradle to the grave one goes on filling one's
basket of life with agreeable experiences. The mind thus becomes
very much a lumber-room of sensations, perceptions, and conceptions.
All these overpower his divine nature or the soul. Had these
experiences been of one lifetime only, then it would have been very
easy to wipe out, but man is reborn to work out for the actions of
past lives. He comes with a rich store of anadi vasana
(beginningless instincts), which may be called the impression, and
experiences of many lives. All these blocks his supreme awareness
and it is this task in the new life given to him, to wipe them out.
Life is a struggle, which is to be won by strengthening the mind as
well as the body.
Likewise, the
agency and power of the martial artist in Indian antiquity must be
understood as a complex set of interactions between humanly acquired
techniques of virtuosity (the human microcosm, with body mind and
spirit) and the divine (space around one individual) macrocosm. The
study of movement patterns involved in the Vajramushti or the
Kshatriya Lion's skill was mastered by learning the spiritually
oriented pratima and nata. These movements or patterns balanced and
stabilized both bodily metabolism and muscular coordination, with
the result that the physical being became healthy and energized. All
these physical practices were subjected to subsequent meditational
observation in which students would examine what had arisen within
their minds during the practices and their responses to such
stimuli. Progressively there are different types of meditations,
which are concerned, with the development of a balanced, quiescent
and ultimately realistic experience of mind called smriti, they are
concerning the body, feelings, mind, and mental objects. Through
such practices as mindfulness, practitioners were brought face to
face with a greater experience of the nature and motivations they
carried within their bodies and minds.
All martial
arts exercise as well as therapies are related primarily to the
circulation and condition of the wind/breath or wind humor
(vayu-vata). Ayurvedic explains the importance of the wind humor,
without vata there is no movement within the channels of the body.
Only when vata acts, can phlegm (kapha) and fire (pitta) act. Every
function of the body is dependent on the condition of the vata. If
vata is put in order, all else can come to order. Whatever the
disease, when it gets to a pathological state, it is vata that must
first be brought under control. Vata is always provoked by weakness
in the tissues, exhaustion, problems with the system internal
channels (nadi), or when its movement is broken and denied its
normal action. Vata may be kept in balance by the positive massage
therapies and seasonal exercise or through other forms of
psychophysical exercise such as yoga. Massage and exercise keep the
vata coursing freely through the subtle body's channels (nadi).
Conversely, vata complaints and pathological conditions are treated
by manipulations and applications, which unblock restricted
channels.
The programme of Physical Education and
Recreation in any country reflects the evolution of those
activities, which have naturally met the various needs of the people
in that period. The basic requirement and the social set-up for the
development of strength, for executing multifarious human endeavours
in various jobs, for meeting enemy attacks and challenges at the
crises of battle or wars, for participation with skill in
ritualistic dances and for the utilization of leisure, into forms
which are systematized with techniques of learning and rules of
conduct are the reflection of civilization of that particular
period. For instance the leisure time activity of kicking the
bladder of the cow and the human skull in the 12th
century has led to the modern game of soccer in England. The martial
preparation of valiant knights in medieval Europe has given shape to
sword fencing. In India, the wrestler need for a dummy wrestler to
wrestle with, has given birth to the unique and ingenious activity
called Malkhamb. Physical education has to be viewed as an integral
part of human resource development along with the mental, moral and
spiritual education. Swami Vivekananda remarked, “One would be
nearer to God by playing football than reading the Gita,” in his
great wisdom he was laying bare a vital deficiency of the prevalent
educational system, that is the lack of a nexus between physical
education that promotes a healthy body which in its turn develops a
healthy mind. It is only a healthy mind that can develop qualities
like patience, fearlessness, calmness, fortitude, forbearance, all
of which are necessary to respond to the doctrines and tenets
enshrined in the Gita. Post-Independence the government of India
made special efforts to preserve and nurture the awesome cultural
heritage, by setting up a number of new incentives, and by
heightening media exposure at the national level, to propagate and
popularize the indigenous games. There are some of these games still
existing today, they are grouped together and are popularly called
Martial Games of Ancient India.
There is a
belief from ancient times that certain currents generated by
repeated rhythmic movements of the body created moods and atmosphere
that wrought powerful results affecting man and nature alike. Thus
were evolved seasonal dances, festival dances, ritual dance, war
dance, etc. Man believed he can change what his mind and emotion
cannot do, but his physical self (muscles) will do. Every movement
thus became enormously important because it meant something. As man
evolved with-in himself, even as with-out, dance came to be more a
spiritual experience, a medium of worship, an experience of the
upliftment of the soul. There exists within the body a life giving
element, by which one is alive. It is known as lustre, energy, and
vitality. The Prana-Chakra was more responsible for dealing with the
energy field and so it was termed as something divine and mystics.
Man was always on the lookout from where, which source, how well and
what best method is available to enhance this energy. Man must have
understood this philosophy by learning and training himself in the
art of war, but his better half could not be left behind in the
process of evolution, hence the study of dance could be one option
for the female counter part to develop her energy quotient, as
compared to her male counterpart, who must have build his energy
quotient through martial arts. Therefore at this juncture the study
of movement was vital to hone one's growth, develop robust health,
and build vitality for superior lifestyle. Man must have mastered
the art of movement by learning the various martial moves, and he
must have realized the various mood states it develops. There may
have been other patterns or movements which may have given him a
total different mood state, and this state he may have love to relax
and enjoy, this gentle flowing movements could be termed as dancing.
This particular movement of dance was practiced to such a state of
perfection that by balancing it and stabilizing it, both bodily and
muscular coordination, the result was that the physical being became
supple, healthy and energized. All these dance practices were
subjected to subsequent observation in one's mind. Men of the
ancient would examine what had arisen within their minds during
their practices and their responses to such stimuli. This is true
even of the early folk dances. All the songs that form the clue to
the dances are intensely imbued by the same spirit. Indian dance
demonstrates the deeply philosophical and the highly religious moods
of the Indian people.
In today's
world the use of projectiles became the main course of fighting, and
the weapons by which men used to hack or slice or disembowel each
other from a distance of a few feet has become obsolete. These
weapons have become relics of the past. The sword, still worn by
officers in peacetime and by cavalry, is a decoration, and of rather
less value on the modern battlefield than the bow and arrow. The
spear in the ancient world broke empires, and in the Middle Ages was
the main weapon of the armoured knight. In Queen Victoria's time the
lance, carried by some cavalry regiments more for the sake of the
pretty pennon that fluttered from it than for its use in action. The
War Office Order of 1928 finally abolished the last important charge
by lancers, as a weapon of the British Army. The Indian martial arts
declined with the coming of the British. The British also recruited
Indians from martial arts group, de-emphasized individuality and
made regiments out of them such as Gorkha Regiment, Maratha Light
Infantry, Rajputana Rifles, etc., and transferred their skills to
the use of modern arms except for the Gorkhas, and their
individualistic use of the Kukhri which is still use in Nepal and
parts of Eastern India and is known as, 'bhojali'.
Lord Rama
shooting an arrow through seven trees.
Whatever is the answer, one thing is for sure, 25
kms. from Mehasana in Gujarat, there is a sun temple at Modhera,
which is well known for its artistic grandeur. This temple was
looted and plundered by Mahmud Ghazni in one of his adventurous trip
to India. He was not satisfied just by looting and plundering this
temple, he wanted to destroy its grandeur, so in a fit of anger he
tried to cut one of the pillars of this temple with his sword. Till
today the mark of the sword on the stone pillar is quite prominent,
an amazing achievement to cut a stone, just by a swish of sword with
six inches deep cervix formed by the cut is something phenomenal for
a common man's mind. Such devastating power and skill were very much
alive in the Asian continent in the 15th and 16th
century AD. Where did the Indians faltered, where is this
all-powerful art and how can we all achieve this state, these are
some of the many questions that haunted me. A detail research on
this subject was started from 1991 till May 2004 and the outcome is
in the form of this book.
Character,
fitness and sheer courage, these are the demands of Vajramushti the
classical Kshatriya Lion's skill, which has about it a distinct
spiritual and mythical aura. To succeed in this martial art, one
needs plenty of fire in the belly, energy, drive and fierce
commitment. In modern world, often the subliminal and important
aspects of martial arts are lost in their transmission to the
individual. They are invariably adapted to suit the individual
temperament rather than the philosophy of the art being accepted by
the students. Apart from self-defense many take up martial arts to
improve their, 'macho' image, if the ego is fed and a belligerent,
dogmatic attitude developed then this will invariably lead to
unnecessary aggression and many such exponents of martial arts will
look to test their skills on untrained members of the public with
whom they pick an argument. But many serious exponents of the
martial arts find no need to prove themselves in any ways. They are
always quiet, modest, and thoughtful. Their interest ranges the
whole spectrum of arts and literature. In the true sense, martial
art training is that, “the ego is the enemy from within; its growth
destroys all the finer points, which brings mere fighting to an art
form”.
Hence today's
human life is struggling hard to reach across the ebbing and the
swelling hardships. The whole world seems to be undergoing a kind of
tension and stresses that even a small child is unable to surpass.
Net result, mankind is shaken by the emotional complex and psychic
anxiety; fear and frustration have taken the place of his optimism
and self-confidence. Hope, cheer and joy have become rare
commodities in his life and he fills this growing void with cheap
entertainment & filthy literature. Looking at social life there is
hardly any country in the world today, which is free from the crime,
violence, and exploitation of the weak, dishonesty and corruption.
The whole atmosphere is charged with these negative attitudes and a
mere feeling of insecurity towards each other than warmth and
friendship. Will this ever lead one to achieve the higher aim of
life — discovering the Truth! We all need to shift and concentrate
our attention towards morality and rectify the 'inner being', which
is being shattered down by the sporadic materialism.
Christopher Fernandes
Vajramushti – The Martial Art of India
In the mid 1970’s Martial Arts became
sensationalized through movies and TV shows.
It is widely believed that these ‘arts’ came from the Orient,
but did they?
Christopher Fernandes spent a great deal of his life researching the
history of Martial Arts and where they originated from.
In Vajramushti
the reader will not only learn of this ancient form of martial arts,
but they will learn the balance of mind, body and soul through the
practice of Vajramushti.
This book is a thought provoking, well laid out journey into
the depth and understanding of Vajramushti.
Schedule Release 2011