Kumari Kandam - The sunken land mass from the Indian continent

Kumari Kandam or Kumarikkaṇṭam is the name of a legendary sunken landmass said to have been located to the south of present-day Kanyakumari District at the southern tip of India in the Indian Ocean. The legend assigns the continent and its final submergence an antiquity ranging in tens of thousands of years.

Compare the photo above with the present map below to see how it is suppose to fit in. Proponents say that the land mass is "Lemuria", a different name for the same continent. The supposed sunken land seems to be covering most part of the Indian Ocean. On the East side of the land lays Sumatera & Malaysia. In 26th December, 2004, in the very same region, the world witnessed a devastating effect of mother nature when Tsunami took place. The tsunami is was the result of the shift in tectonic plate in the sea bed that recorded a tremor as largely as 8.6 in richter scale. Could it be that a Giant Tsunami, multiple times greater than what we witnessed 4 yrs & 1 month before, strucked this part of the continent?

Ancient texts has made some reference of this said sunken land.

There are scattered references in Sangam literature, such as Kalittokai 104, to how the sea took the land of the Pandiyan kings, upon which they conquered new lands to replace those they had lost.

There are also references to the rivers Pahruli and Kumari, that are said to have flowed in a now-submerged land. The Silappadhikaram, a 5th century epic, stating that the "cruel sea" took the Pandiyan land that lay between the rivers Pahruli and the many-mountained banks of the Kumari, to replace which the Pandiyan king conquered lands belonging to the Chola and Chera kings (Maturaikkandam, verses 17-22).

Adiyarkkunallar, a 12th century commentator on the epic, explains this reference by saying that there was once a land to the south of the present-day Kanyakumari , which stretched from the Pahruli river in the north to the Kumari river in the south. This land was divided into 49 territories, which he names as 7 coconut territories (elutenga natu), 7 Madurai territories (elumaturai natu), 7 old sandy territories (elumunpalai natu), 7 new sandy territories (elupinpalai natu), 7 mountain territories (elukunra natu), 7 eastern coastal territories (elukunakarai natu) and 7 dwarf-palm territories (elukurumpanai natu). All these lands, he says, together with the many-mountained land that began with KumariKollam, with forests and habitations, were submerged by the sea. Two of these territories were supposedly parts of present-day Kollam and Kanyakumari districts.

R. Mathivanan, then Chief Editor of the Tamil Etymological Dictionary Project of the Government of Tamilnadu, in 1991 claimed to have deciphered the Indus script as Tamil, following the methodology recommended by his teacher Devaneya Pavanar, presenting the following timeline.
ca. 200,000 to 50,000 BC: evolution of "the Tamilian or Homo Dravida",
ca. 200,000 to 100,000 BC: beginnings of the Tamil language
50,000 BC: Kumari Kandam civilisation
20,000 BC: A lost Tamil culture of the Easter Island which had an advanced civilisation
16,000 BC: Lemuria submerged
6087 BC: Second Tamil Sangam established by a Pandya king
3031 BC: A Chera prince in his wanderings in the Solomon Island saw wild sugarcane and started cultivation in Kumari Kandam.
1780 BC: The Third Tamil Sangam established by a Pandya king
7th century BC: Tolkappiyam (the earliest extant Tamil grammar)

BBC reports the following further evidence which suggests volcanic eruptions may have some effect to this said land.

Scientists have discovered the remains of a "lost continent" beneath the waves of the Indian Ocean.
Drilling by the Joides Resolution research vessel, which traverses the seas extracting samples from beneath the sea floor, suggests that the continent, about a third the size of present day Australia, sank from sight only 20 million years ago.
A recovered sample of the 'lost continent'. It lies beneath the southern Indian Ocean. Called the Kerguelen Plateau, it is one of the most remote places on Earth.
The Joides Resolution, the world's largest research vessel, bored a series of holes through the undersea plateau, which is about two kilometres below the ocean surface.
Spores and pollen
It brought to the surface many types of rocks associated with explosive volcanism, as well as sedimentary rocks similar to those found in India and Australia.
Sending the drill bit down to the sea floor. "We found abundant evidence that much of the Kerguelen Plateau formed above sea level," said Dr Mike Coffin of the University of Texas.
"Wood fragments, a seed, spores and pollen recovered in 90 million year-old sediment from the central Kerguelen Plateau indicates that it was above sea level."
Scientists believe that it rose out of the ocean about 110 million years ago, following a series of huge volcanic eruptions.
Small dinosaurs
50 million years ago, it may have been covered in lush ferns, moist with tropical humidity.
The 'core store' on the Joides Resolution Small dinosaurs would have hidden in the undergrowth stalking their prey.
20 million years ago, it started to sink beneath the waves of what is now the Indian Ocean.
Scientists hope that studying the region will help them understand the break-up of Australia, India and Antarctica.

..................End of BBC report.....................

The recent Mumbai attack & terrorism almost caused a war between Pakistan & India. While Pakistan maintained that it wanted peace but it was the first to deploy it's soldiers to the borders of Pakistan-India. Perhaps, if the particles of the drill by the Joides Resolution in the BBC report above uncovered some gold coins from the supposedly "Pandiyan Land" from Kumari Kandam, maybe that would have prompted a lot of media attention & sparked interests from various quarters from all over the world. Maybe then, it would have been worth investing $$ which is better than investing in war.

HH Sri Ganapathi Sachchidananda Swamiji & Kriya Yoga -3

Kriya Yoga - helps aspirants to learn to activate and control their senses and to control their thought processes.Kriya Yoga involves learning breath control (Pranayama) to effectively channel the flow of prana (life force) which traverses the 72,000 nadis or astral nerves in the human body. By doing so the aspirant learns to direct mental power to open the three ganthis, (important knots in the nervous system) which obstruct the rhythmic flow of prana. By undoing these knots a kriya yogi opens the path for Kundalini energy to flow. According to Markandeya Purana, Kriya Yoga was revealed by Lord Dattatreya to great saints and yogis of ancient India. Sri Swamiji has made it part of His mission to revive this ancient knowledge and bring it to the West.


Pranayama - What is this?
"Inhaling and Exhaling. It sounds very easy but as you begin to practice, it is not as easy as it sounds. The practice of Kriya Yoga is good for Health, Knowledge and Meditation. Kriya Yoga helps us ease our tension on our day to day living." Swamiji further says that those who are equipped with this knowledge who puts it to practice are really gifted as this is a very rare and unique science of ancient yogic practice. He further reiterates that the word Hatha Yoga, Raja Yoga, Kriya Yoga are common names that many people would have already heard of before. Some people have now found it as a tool to make money and to commercialise this ancient art, as though it is a very cheap commodity. There are people who are now giving lectures, producing beautiful books and teaching. But, sadly many are only touching the surface and not going beyond that. There are so many theories & lectures on radio, television and various seminars. "They are talking, talking and talking. That's all they do, but not much knowledge imparted. That is not all there is to know. We can advance further, only if we practice daily. Life is short. So, don't waste it by not inculcating this practice daily.


Kriya Yoga is not religion.
Do not think of Kriya Yoga as a form of religion. It may sound funny as so many mantras are chanted during the pranayama. These are actually the names of Indian Gods. This is so because each deity, god or angel is a master of a particular pranayama. That is why certain pranayama has a certain names to chant. In actual, we are merely praising the masters of the pranayamas and not worshipping the Hindu deities. Shivaya is Hindu and therefore one might regard it as a Hindu religion matter. However, a Muslim saint is also a master of a pranayama. Christ is also a master of one kriya pranayama. Because Christ is doing miracles, there is one pranayama that he knows. Lord Buddha also practiced one pranayama and a master of it. As you can see, Christ, Buddha, Christianity, Buddhism, Islam or Hindu can all equip with this knowledge, practice it and become a master in it. It is not a matter like a religion in a very narrow context.


We can't escape by not doing prana...
"Prana" (vital energy) is very important in Yoga. Prana is our soul. Prana is already within us as we are breathing. When one goes into a coma, he is still doing pranayama (breathing). You may be in any state, whether out-of-body, conscious, unconscious, hypnotised, chanting Omkara or So hum but your breathing never stops no matter what your activity is so long as you are alive.


Short Breaths and Long Breaths - Which is better?
Some people breathe short. That's why they have such a short life. When pain afflicts your body, try taking long, slow breaths. Inhale long and exhale long (slowly). Those masters of this art of breathing (Yogis) have lived 120 yrs, 200 yrs or 300 yrs. When Yogis control their intake of food, control their breath, control the senses & controls all sorts of actions they exceed normal human lifespan.


Our Attitude and Our Actions.
Our attitude and our actions have to be monitored closely. If someone says something to upset your feelings, you might feel upset, angry, disappointed, afraid, or hungry. One can sometimes be so uptight that one may not sleep, eat, talk & feel so sad and miserable. When we give in to these negative feelings, our energy is automatically used. The result is that you might just get disappointed with life itself. The energy lost can be likened to one year of life wasted. Whenever we get angry, our energy is lost again. Three or four days worth of energy is lost when we fail to control our emotions. One moment of tension when we might say,"Arrrghh!! The tension! I want to Kill!! (Tension moments) is equal to 3 or 4 days of our life is wasted. Our nervous system is working so hard and pumping our system, our heart is rapidly pounding and that results in our nervous system becoming weak. That is why we must learn to take things calmly. Be calm.


When our nervous system becomes weak, we begin to lose interest in everything. Such people might find food tasteless and unable to sleep. That's why some people are after some yogis, healing classes and so forth. Kriya Yoga may be able to alleviate you from all this mundane problems.


(Adapted from Swamiji's speech delivered during a Kriya Yoga class in 1986 that took place in "The Centre of the Light, Massachusetts, USA)

My 10 New Year Wishlist for 2009.

At the strike of 12 midnight, just 2 hours ago sounds of fireworks blasted on the air. The midnight sky was suddenly transformed into brilliant colours. There was a stall of the vehicles at the highway leading to the port. This is a common feature that occurs on yearly basis on the eve of new year. Perhaps they were also admiring the combination display of fireworks contributed by the local goverment and shots of flare from sea-ships that could be seen above the sea not far from my house.

1. Though this time, I noticed that the usual volume of vehicles were minimal compared to the past few years. Is this an indication that people are generally not all too excited over the advent of this New Year? Is it due to economic uncertainty? However, come what may I wish that together, we shall all gracefully brace through it.

2. I wish that All the nations on the face of earth will put an end to war for good and learn to live in peace and toleration. Say NO to WAR! Lets hope that the Muslim communities put some sense in the minds of the terrorist to stop the bombings and attacks. Lets hope they can come with a Fatwah that declares people who take part in terrorism and die for this cause WILL NOT GO TO HEAVEN and this is not martyrdom in the context of Islam!!

3. I wish that the Rich with millions and billions of dollars for disposal would not forget the downtrodden, the poor people and poor countries.

4. I wish that science will find a cure for the dreaded sickness that starts with the letter "C" called Cancer. I hope that not only will science discover the cure, but also find the root cause for the ever increasing occurences. These sickness which during the times of our grandfather/grandmothers was almost rare. Is it coming from the adulterated food that we eat? For example, chickens are fed with growth hormones and antibiotics which hastens their growth within 45 days and this is consumed by humans.

5. I wish that there will be inter-faith harmony. Let not the different faith divide us for who we are - HUMANS! That's the similiarity in all of us despite the differences in our colours, native, geographical background. Let's learn to live in harmony.

6. I wish that people will begin to place some emphasis maintaining good health by regular exercises, breaking up stress by performing Yoga, Qigong, meditation, and the likes & also give up destructive habits. Let's enjoy the good health for as long as we live.

7. I wish that the corrupted politicians all over the world will cease to find opportunities to pocket public money. Let the public money be put to good use.

8. I wish that people will take up reading habit for those not in the practice. Let the wisdom prevail.

9. I wish that whatever economic meltdown occurs, it will end quick. Let this teach people to be humble and thrifty especially in good times so that they may be prepared the next time recession takes place. There is one in every decade.

10. I wish that All the working class people in the private sector who are going to be retrenched or laid off will be able to find jobs quickly. For I know how tough it is to lose job. I was jobless for 6 months and whatever little that I have saved have all been depleted. Come this 2nd January I will finally be starting over with a new job again. I wish that others wont have to endure such a long time to get a new job.

I Wish You All a Pleasant Year ahead with a lot of sweet memories to add. 'Happy New Year 2009'.