The universe is described in Indian thought as an energy that has manifested into a grand theater of the mesmerizing cosmos, shining with the brilliance of countless suns and moons casting their luminescence upon this world. Witnessing this grand illusory play and striving to move from the unreal to the real is the heart of yogic philosophy. The Śrī Rudram is one of the most ancient and unremitting chants in Sanskrit from the Vedic age, still recited all over India and passed on from generation to generation stretching back almost 3,600 years. It is a lyrical composition rich in elaborate rhythmic cadences and melodious intonations. The verses vibrate with a musical quality that cloaks the listener’s experience with a meditative and uplifting aura as a profoundly inspiring work of art. Each verse is crafted to evoke the presence of an ageless, menacing and terrifying force of fire at the earth’s core that has transformed itself into a compassionate and resplendent energy spreading across the planet’s surface as a life-giving force invigorating true nature. It is awe inspiring how congruent this ancient depiction is with modern geology. The verses paint a vivid imagery of this magnificent energy, its various forms and attributes. Descriptions of this great energy as a cosmic dance, with adornments, and its manifestations in nature are designed as if to engage the mind’s innermost eye in order to foster a deeper connection with the divine. The Śrī Rudram is revered across India as an instructive guide to moksha, or emancipation, where the chanter internalizes and moves towards self-realization and the ultimate truth, transcending the material concern and transient emotions. It is as if every syllable is an incantation that was aesthetically devised to firmly and in a reverberating manner construct the unity of all existence and a sense of interconnectedness and oneness with the entire cosmos.
Like most Indian children, I grew up listening to the Sri Rudram almost every morning at sunrise. Even to this day, it revives vivid and pictographic memories of my grandparents, who lived their lives as nobly and perfectly as humanly possible. I was reading the Deccan Herald newspaper while the chant was playing in the background recently and was stunned to learn that the Indian Insitute of World Culture had organized an art exhibition in memory of my grandfather’s contribution to medicine in India.
Shadaksharappa Kambi Siddaramaiah is my late paternal grandfather and a profoundly inspiring human being to me and countless individuals across Bangalore and the country. Born in 1913, he was one of six children and the only one from his family to pursue education. By the time he turned 30, he was already a doctor with three degrees, becoming one of India’s and Karnataka’s first cardiologists. He was a cardiologist who, in that day and age, was also trained as an endocrinologist. He served in the Indian armed forces as a physician and was posted in the Middle East during the Second World War. He often recounted stories of how he helped all communities fleeing persecution. He was someone to whom the transgressive darkness of religious hatred was anathema to his Vedic roots. At the same time, when he was serving in the Middle East, India was also experiencing another manufactured famine at the hands of the British. In the early 1940s, despite bountiful monsoons and an average yield of crops, Winston Churchill and his odious henchman serving in India diverted wheat and rice from India to the Mediterranean, creating abject food shortages and mind-boggling inflation across the subcontinent, which plunged into the grips of a devastating famine of unimaginable proportions. When he returned to India, he discovered that some of his friends had not survived the famine. An estimated 3 million people across India perished during the war. They did not pass away in gas chambers but starved to death. I think the scale of suffering and poverty that my grandfather returned to made a profound impact on how he designed the rest of his life.
He went on to train further in the United States in cardiology and endocrinology as a prolific researcher who collaborated and published numerous case studies and trials. When he returned to India, he became the founder of several prestigious medical institutions, including the Indian College of Cardiology, the Association of Physicians of India, the Cardiological Society of India, and the Medical Education and Research Trust of India. He also served as Dean across at least three medical universities in Karnataka and trained many physicians, many of whom are still widely recognized nationwide in cardiology. He was also an avid tennis player who won many tournaments. He received so many prizes and honors in medicine and tennis that there was an entire room in the home to house all the trophies and plaques. But perhaps his most enduring karmic contribution is the founding of the Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology in Bangalore, which is solely funded by the state government and is by far one of the world’s largest cardiac super specialty hospitals performing more PCI procedures and cardio-thoracic surgeries every day than most prominent cities in North America would in an entire week. An average of 30,000 PCI procedures at 3000 open heart surgeries happen here every year. What is very moving is that almost all of the treatment at Jayadeva is free of cost and draws many patients from other countries.
It is not just his achievements that defy description from the most erudite scholar but also the way he organized his life and conduct. My grandfather led a very austere lifestyle. He was a lifelong vegetarian and teetotaler, eating only two simple meals a day and who never failed to meditate at sunrise. The name Shadaksharappa in Sanskrit means he in whom resides (appa) the six (shad) syllable (akshara) chant of oṃ namaḥ śivāya, invoking an epithet directly derived from the Śrī Rudram.
| Syllable | Meaning | Symbolism | Inference |
|---|
| Oṃ | The Primal Sound (ಓಂ) | Represents the universal sound, the beginning of everything, and the essence of the universe. It symbolizes the omnipresence of the divine. | Embrace the interconnectedness of all things and start each day with a sense of unity and purpose. |
| Na | Earth (Pṛthvī – ಪೃಥ್ವೀ) | Symbolizes stability, grounding, and the physical aspect of existence. It is associated with the element earth (ಪೃಥ್ವೀ). | Stay grounded and practical, focusing on stability and the physical well-being of oneself and others. |
| Ma | Water (Jala – ಜಲ) | Represents purity, fluidity, and the emotional and nurturing aspect. It is associated with the element water. | Cultivate purity, adaptability, and emotional balance. Nurture relationships and flow with life’s changes. |
| Śi | Fire (Agni – ಅಗ್ನಿ) | Signifies transformation, energy, and the spiritual aspect. It is associated with the element fire (ಅಗ್ನಿ). | Harness inner energy for transformation and growth. Embrace challenges as opportunities for spiritual development. |
| Va | Air (Vāyu – ವಾಯು) | Denotes freedom, movement, and the intellectual aspect. It is associated with the element air. | Maintain intellectual curiosity and openness. Value freedom and the movement of ideas. Communicate effectively. |
| Ya | Ether (Ākāśa – ಆಕಾಶ) | Symbolizes expansiveness, space, and the infinite. It is associated with the element ether (ಆಕಾಶ). | Seek expansiveness in thoughts and actions. Embrace the infinite possibilities and foster a connection with the divine. |
One cannot but help think of a Bayesian analogy to describe this extraordinary soul’s karmic journey. The Indian Buffet Process (IBP) in Bayesian nonparametrics might be an elegant and appropriate metaphor for the karmic tapestry woven through one’s many lives. In statistical parlance, the Indian Buffet Process permits the modeling of infinite number of latent features within a dataset. Here each feature’s presence or absence in an observation is determined by a probabilistic process. This is analogous to the countless and often unbounded array of choices and actions in life. Every choice and action is of karmic consequence, contributing to a unique experience and outcome. Our actions introduce new threads into the tapestry of karma just as the buffet process accounts for new features dynamically. These threads across many lives continually shape and reshape our destinies. Each choice we make is akin to sampling a dish from a buffet of infinite dishes. Each dish sampled adds a unique flavor to our karmic journey, and future consequences and experiences are conditioned on what is sampled.
One might say that the principle of karma is the underlying probabilistic mechanism and that karma governs the presence or absence of features. One could also postulate that the posterior here is a joint distribution of the actions and their consequences. The likelihood of each feature being included in a given observation reflects the unpredictability and complexity of life’s karmic outcomes. Each action, whether intentional or incidental, has the potential to manifest consequences that ripple through our lives and beyond, similar to how the inclusion of a feature in the Indian Buffet Process can impact subsequent observations. This interconnectedness and dependency highlights the intricate and incontrovertible nature of karma, where every action influences and is influenced by the collective tapestry (the joint distribution of action and consequences).
Karmic Feature Probability: 
where 
indicates the presence of a karmic feature 
in the life of individual 
, and 
is the number of individuals (excluding the -th) who have exhibited feature .
New Karmic Features for Individual : 
where 
is a parameter representing the propensity to acquire new karmic attributes.
Likelihood of Karmic Feature Matrix: 
where 
is the number of distinct karmic features present in the matrix 
, and 
is the count of individuals exhibiting feature 
.
Integral Representation of Karmic Journey: 
where 
represents the karmic journey of individual .
My grandfather ‘s life journey exemplifies a lived enactment of the karmic principles interspersed in the heart of the Śrī Rudram. His austere lifestyle, commitment to education, and dedication to serving others reflect the core values of the chant. His contributions to medicine and his efforts to alleviate suffering during times of crisis highlight the impact of living a life aligned with values and principles. His ability to transcend personal desires and focus on the well-being of others is the soul of resplendent energy focused on selflessness and unity. Yes, he created a lasting legacy in the field of cardiology. But he did it in a way that demonstrated the transformative power of a life guided by the wisdom of the Śrī Rudram.
