Friday, March 10, 2023

Passing of Nadipuram Srinivasan

We are saddened to announce the passing of Nadipuram Srinivasan on Feb 19, 2023 to his heavenly abode. He was surrounded by loving family at the time of passing. He lived a productive and blessed life and left behind a great many people he has touched in one way or another. His painstaking work on this blog will leave a lasting legacy. On his behalf, we his family, thank you for your support and prayers.

Obituary: https://www.westharpethfh.com/obituary/Nadipuram-Srinivasan

 - Mrs. Jaya Srinivasan, Ram & Rekha Kaushik, Dr. Ravi and Mallika Srinivasan, and grandchildren

Saturday, October 1, 2022

THOUGHT FOR SEPT AND OCTOBER --2022

 

 

THOUGHTS OF THE WEEK - SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2022

 ADIUE

We have been working together for more than a decade, but due to my seizures disability I can’t continue. I will be glad to receive messages from you, read and benefit from them.  

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GIST OF WEBINAR#230

In an earlier webinar (#227), we dwelt on ‘Shakti’ which is about enrichment of our personality with desirable qualities of head and heart. Shānti, profound peace, in contrast, is possible when we transcend our personality.

The main teachings of the Upanishads, and of Geetā, are about shānti. From a jnāna-yoga’s point of view, the cessation of all conflicts and agitations happens when we see the falsity of the self (the separate self, the ego) in us. As the self, we perceive plurality in this world. The Pure Self becomes evident when the ‘self’ subsides. This Pure Self is one in all living beings. Self-realization is the ultimate goal of spirituality.

This webinar will discuss the sādhanās – exercises or practices – directed towards the attainment of shānti. The totally different way of seeing things and the different kind of living that follows such a new perception will be highlighted.

‘Those attain lasting peace who see the imperishable amidst the perishable and the one among the many in their own within. Others do not.’

‘nityo anityānām, ..eko bahunām.. tam-ātmastham ye anupashyanti.. teshām shāntih shāshwati, netareshām’

Kathopanishad 2.2.13                     

                                                        -- Pūjya Swāmi Chidānandaji

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Vijayadashami

Harih Om. Wish you Happy Vijayadashami!

Continuing the format of a little abridged e-newsletter, which we began in the last issue, we present here stuff that you will surely enjoy, taking less time to read.

The complexity of human psyche was depicted in a dramatic way by R L Stevenson in his novella Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; my editorial tries to connect Self-knowledge to the issue and suggests that it has the capacity to resolve this problem, which is at the level of the mind.

We continue brief summaries of Upanishads, and this issue has a second article on Brihadāranyaka Upanishad.

                                                   --- Swami Chidananda (and team AUPA)

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Why does only Hinduism mention the universe and no other?

It is to understand why only Hinduism mentions the universe. The reason is that only Hinduism knows about the vast dimensions and the huge timeframes of the universe of which our earth is just a speck. Ancient cultures like Maya, Inka, Sameria, and others may also have reached out to the stars, but they were all destroyed either by Christianity or by Islam, and Bible or Quran were enforced as “the truth”.

Only Hindus have still reserved this knowledge which in all likelihood originated in India itself. There are still millions of valuable ancient texts in India, even though millions of others were burnt by invaders on the premise that only one book is needed. In Greece in contrast, there are estimated to be only some 20,000 texts. 

Surya Siddhanta is a major text with incredible knowledge about the universe dated – hold your breath – at least 10,000 years ago. The ancient Indians knew that the earth is round or rather elliptical, that it goes around the sun, they knew the distance to the sun and moon; they knew that the distance is 108 times the respective diameter – the reason why sun and moon appear of

The Puranas (purana means old and according to tradition were composed by Veda Vyasa around 5000 years ago), which are often dismissed as mere myths, are also a treasure trove of knowledge. They talk among other things about the creation of the universe (the ‘Big Bang’ and ‘expanding universe’ the same size from the earth. Their knowledge was truly inspired or ‘God-given theory was in all likelihood inspired by them) and about the periodic withdrawal after billions of years, about the original and unmanifested One Source and the gods in charge of creation, sustenance and dissolution, who evolved from the One Source. Clearly, the ancient Indians were at home in the universe. 

The Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana even claims that there are ‘myriads of universes’, a view which may now be taken more seriously by science after certain experiments in Antarctica had strange results. The timescales which the ancient Indians proposed are incredibly huge. 

Now compare this with the Abrahamic religions. Judaism, the parent religion, as it were, of Christianity and Islam, claims that the earth is some 6000 years old. Christianity and Islam didn’t challenge this view. Both did not look beyond this earth and actually hold very primitive ideas about it. Christianity taught that that earth is flat and static and that the sun moves over it until 400 years ago. Giordano Bruno, an Italian philosopher, was burnt to death in 1600 CE because he refused to disown the theory that the earth goes around the sun. Imagine – he was brutally killed for stating the truth and only 400 years ago.

Islam too considers the earth as flat and mountains were placed to stabilize it (Q19.15). Like Christianity, Islam also says that not the earth, but the sun moves, and runs to its resting place at night. There was clearly no idea about the vastness of the universe, as Quran 67.5. says “We have decorated the heaven of this world with lamps and we made them as missiles for pelting the shaitans and thus prepared for them the scourge of flames.”

So naturally, these religions don’t mention the universe, because they had no clue about it. They destroyed the natural urge to discover the truth about us and the universe. Only since Christianity lost its power to punish views which are not in tune with the teaching of the Church, science took off in the West. 

There is no doubt that the sudden tremendous progress of science in the recent few centuries was greatly inspired by Indian knowledge. Some western scientists themselves acknowledged this. Einstein said, “We owe a lot to the Indians.” Famous scientists like Heisenberg, Schrodinger, Oppenheimer or Tesla studied India’s ancient wisdom. And Mark Twain opined: “Our most valuable and most constructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only." Even in the 1970s and 80s, India’s wisdom had a rather good image, after the Beatles were inspired by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s Transcendental Meditation. The contribution of India for example to Transpersonal Psychology was also acknowledged at that time, yet was meanwhile erased at least from Wikipedia.

However, in our modern times, this has changed. Hindu Dharma and Hindus, especially Brahmins, who preserved the knowledge system over many millennia, are unfairly vilified and ridiculed by the mainstream religions. They are accused of ‘oppressing minorities’, of ‘rape culture’ and even of terrorism. It happens rarely that anything positive is said about the Hindu tradition, when it actually produces the most humane mindset, as it is based on Dharma, which means to do what is right under the given circumstances.

Are the institutionalized religions afraid that they lose their followers, if they come to know about the knowledge still stored up in India? 

Are not Universe knowledge come from Hinduism and inspired Sciences Discoveries? 

-- October 2, 2022

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QUIT INDIA M0VEMENT 

In August 1942, while Mahatma Gandhi was calling for the Quit India movement, a tiny village in Shikaripur Taluk of Shivamogga district of Karnataka had already decided to break free from colonial rule, thus becoming the first village in India to declare itself independent. 

This bold decision by the farmers of Issuru reverberated across the nation and brought bloody consequences for those who participated in this act of defiance.  

Despite engaging in violence, what stood out was the defiance of village farmers who dared to take on an empire.

The resolution of the Quit India movement was passed on 8 August 1942 at the Mumbai session of the AICC. The Bharat Chhodo Andolan, popularly known as the Quit India movement, had begun on 8 August 1942. The All India Congress Committee under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi had come to a decision to launch the movement at the Bombay session.

It was during this time that Mahatma Gandhi came up with the famous slogan ‘Do or die’. Although the movement was suppressed by 1944, it played an important role in uniting the common people across the country against British rule.

-- October 1, 2022

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Shardiya Navratri 2022: Navratri Significance, History & Navratri Devi

Durga, Shardiya Navratri are going to start on 26 September 2022 (Monday) and last till 5 October 2022 (Wednesday). It is believed that during these nine days whoever worships Goddess Durga with true heart and devotion, will find peace, happiness and prosperity since the goddess takes away all their troubles.

During Navratri, for the nine days, nine different forms of Goddess Durga are worshipped. Shardiya Navratri is the most auspicious and important festivals among Hindus. 

According to the Hindu calendar, this festival starts in autumn from the Pratipada of Ashwin ukla Paksha and is celebrated with great enthusiasm across the country, especially in Maharashtra, Bengal and Gujarat. 

On the first day, the Kalash is established which is also called Ghatasthapana. And Durga Utsav is celebrated in West Bengal for the last four days of Navratri i.e. from Shashti (Dedicated to Maa Katyayani who rides a lion and has four Durga'shands) to Navami. Garba dance during the nine-day festival is Nvery famous in Gujarat.

Why is Navratri celebrated? - 9 forms of Navratri Devi

1. Goddess Shailputri

Navratri begins with the worship of Goddess Shailputri who is also known as the Daughter of Mountain because in Sanskrit daughter means 'putri' and mountains means 'shail' (Shail+Putri = Shailputri). She rides on a white bull called Nandi and holds a Trishul in one hand and a lotus in the other. On this day devotees offer pure desi ghee or food made of it to Goddes Shailputri so that they get her blessing for a healthy life. Her favourite colour is white.

2. Goddess Brahmacharini

On the second day of Navratri, devotees worship Goddess Brahmacharini--also known as the mother of devotion and penance--by offering her foods made of sugar to get her blessings. This form symbolises Goddess Parvati when she was engaged in deep meditation for many years to please Lord Shiv. She is adorned with white clothes with a chanting rosary (rudraksha mala) in her right hand and a kamandalu in her left hand. Her favourite colour is red.

3. Goddess Chandraghanta

On the third day, devotees worship Goddess Chandraghanta also known as the destroyer of demons. She has 10 hands and nine of them hold a trident, mace, bow, arrow, lotus, sword, bell, and a waterpot and one hand remains in Abhay Mudra that blesses her devotees. She has a crescent moon on her forehead, which this why she is called Chandraghanta. She rides on a tiger and her favourite colour is royal blue. It is believed that if devotees offer her kheer, she takes away all their pain.

4. Goddess Kushmanda

On the fourth day, devotees worship Goddess Kushmanda also known as Goddess of The Cosmic Egg. She is claimed to have created the world with her divine and radiant smile. She has eight hands and she rides on a lion. During this time, devotees offer her malpua which is considered to be her favourite food. Her favourite colour is yellow.

5. Goddess Skandamata

Also known as Panchami or the Goddess of motherhood and children, Goddess Skandmata is worshipped by her devotees on the fifth day of Navratri. She has four arms two of them hold a lotus, and the other two held sacred kamandalu and a bell. She has three eyes and a bright complexion. Goddess carries Lord Kartikeya or Skanda on her lap that is why she is called Skandmata. Her favourite colour is green and her favourite food itemis bananas.

6. Goddess Katyayani

On the sixth day of Navratri, devotees worship one of Goddess Shakti's forms 'Katyayani' or the warrior goddess. She has four hands that carry a sword, shield, lotus, and trident. She rides on a lion. Her favourite colour is grey. Devotees worship the goddess by offering her honey as prasad.

7. Goddess Kalaratri

The seventh day of Navratri is dedicated to one of the most ferocious forms of Goddess Parvati, called Kalaratri, also known as Kali who sacrificed her skin colour and embraced a dark complexion to kill demons Shumbha and Nishumbha. She rides on a donkey. She has four hands and carries a sword, a trident and a noose, and the fourth one is on Abhaya and Varada Mudra to bless devotees. Her favourite colour is orange and devotees offer jaggery as prasad get her blessings.

8. Goddess Mahagauri

Asthami or the eighth day of Navratri is dedicated to the four-armed deity Devi Mahagauri who rides on a bull or a white elephant and carries a Trishul and a damru in her hands. Her favourite colour is peacock green. Devotees offer coconut to maa Mahagauri. 

9. Goddess Siddhidatri

Goddess Siddhidhatri is the last form of Goddess Durga who sits on a lotus. She has four hands and holds a mace, discus, book and lotus in her hands. Her favourite colour is pink. The ferocious goddess is pleased with sesame seeds for safety and security from unnatural events.

10 points on Navratri that you should know about

1. Navratri is the most important and auspicious festival of India which is celebrated by Hindus around the world that dedicated to the nine forms of Goddess Durga.

2. The word Navratri comes from the Sanskrit language - Nav' means ' Nine ' and ' Ratri ' means ' Night

3. Navratri comes four times a year - Magh Navratri, Chaitra or Vasanta Navratri, Ashadha Navratri, and Sharadiya Navratri out of them two - Chaitra and Sharadiya Navratri festivals are celebrated with great pomp.

4. Navratri is a nine-day long occasion that is dedicated to the worship of the nine avatars of Goddess Durga.

5. Ghatasthapana also known as Kalash establishment is one of the significant rituals during Navratri that marks the beginning of nine days of festivities.

6. Sharad Navratri begins on the first day of the lunar month Ashwin which fall on the 26th of September this year and ends on the tenth day of the lunar month Ashwin which is on the 5th of October. 

7. Durga puja begins on the 6th day of Navratri till the tenth day. During the nine-day festival, devotees pray, take part in the Dandiya Raas and Garba, and offer prasad to please Goddess Durga. 

8. The nine-day festival is dedicated to nine forms of Goddess Durga - Shailaputri /Pratipada, Brahmacharini/ Dwitya, Chandraghanta/ Tritya, Kushmanda/ Chaturthi, Skandamata/ Panchami, Katyayini/ Shashti, Kalaratri/ Saptami, Mahagauri/ Ashtami, Siddhidaatri/ Navami, Vijayadashami (Dussehra)

9. Devotees fast for nine days and avoid grains, onions, meat, and alcohol.

10. In many places, devotees do Kanya Poojan or Kanjak Poojan on Ashtami

(Eighth day of Navratri) while some do it on Navami.

Comments:

“Many thanks for giving details for Navaratri. May Goddess keep you in Good Health for a long time!! Warm regards.”

A.   N. Sapthagireesan

Every year we celebrate the Navaratri as our main event for our hip  the Devi, in retreat his year our wish is for greater peace for humanity in this new time of troubles. Ma Durga can bring a new light of Consciousness into the world (Chitjyoti). May her light transform your life!

Ma Durga arises from the fire of Tapas, the Yogagni, the flame of Yoga and the Kundalini Shakti. She is first lauded in the ancient Vedic Durga Sukta with Rigveda verses to Agni. Agni is Tapas and Chidagni, the fire of Consciousness. Durga is the power of Agni, Chitshakti. May Ma Durga transform your awareness! Her Tapas is the essence of all Yoga Sadhana.

-- David Frawley

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What is Mimamsa    

Mīmāsā, a word meaning "investigation", is the name of an astika school of Indian philosophy whose primary enquiry is into the nature of dharma based on close hermeneutics of the Vedas. The nature of dharma is not accessible to reason or observation, and must be inferred from the authority of the revelation contained in the Vedas, which are considered eternal, authorless (apaurueyatva), and infallible. The school of Mimamsa consists of both atheistic and theistic doctrines and is not deeply interested in the existence of God, but rather in the character of dharma. Mīmā is strongly concerned with textual exegesis, and consequently gave rise to the study of philology and the philosophy of language. Its notion of "speech" (Skt. śabda) as indivisible unity of sound and meaning (signifier and signified) is due to Bharthari (ca. 5th century CE).

Mīmāna has attracted relatively less scholarly study, although its theories and particularly its questions on exegesis and theology have been highly influential on all classical Indian philosophies. 

Ancient Mīmānsā's central concern was epistemology (pramana)-- that is what is the reliable means to knowledge. It is debated not only "how does man ever learn or know, whatever he knows", but also whether the nature of all knowledge is inherently circular, whether those such as ‘foundationalists’ who critique the validity of any "justified beliefs" and knowledge system make flawed presumptions of the very premises they critique, and how to correctly interpret and avoid incorrectly interpreting dharma texts such as the Vedas.  It asked questions such as "what is devata (god)?", "are rituals dedicated to devatas efficacious?", "what makes anything efficacious?", and "can it be proved that the Vedas, or any canonical text in any system of thought, fallible or infallible (svatah pramanya, intrinsically valid), ''Is so, how?" and others.  

To Mīmāmsā scholars, the nature of non-empirical knowledge and human means to it are such that one can never demonstrate certainty, one can only falsify knowledge claims, in some cases. According to Francis Clooney, a professor at Harvard Divinity School of special of Hinduism of Mīmāmsā school is "one of the most distinctively Hindu forms of thinking; it is without real parallel elsewhere in the world", along with the historically influential commentaries on this sutra by Sabara and by Kumarila Bhatta. Together, these texts develop and apply the rules of language analysis (such as the rules of contradiction), asserting that one must not only examine injunctive propositions in any scripture, but also examine the alternate related or reverse propositions for better understanding. They suggested that to reach correct and valid knowledge it is not only sufficient to demand proof of a proposition, it is important to give proof of a proposition's negative as well as declare and prove one's own preferred propositions. Further, they asserted that whenever perception is not the means of direct proof and knowledge, one cannot prove such non-empirical propositions to be "true or not true", rather one can only prove a non-empirical proposition is "false, not false, or uncertain" 

 For example, Mīmānsākas welcome not only the demand for proof of an injunctive proposition such as "agnihotra ritual leads one to heaven", but suggest that one must examine and prove alternate propositions such as "ritual does not lead one to heaven", "something else leads one to heaven", "there is heaven"

, "there is no heaven" and so on. Mīmāmsā literature states that if satisfactory, verifiable proof for all of such propositions cannot be found by its proponents and its opponents, then the proposition needs to be accepted as a part of a "belief’’. Beliefs, such as those in the scriptures (Vedas), must be accepted to be true unless its opponents can demonstrate the proof of validity of their own texts or teacher(s) these opponents presume to be prima facie justified, and until these opponents can demonstrate that, the scriptures, they challenge are false. If they do not try to do so, it is hypocrisy; if they try to do so, it can only lead to infinite regress, according to Mīmānsa. Any historic scripture with widespread social acceptance, according to Mīmānsāmam, is an activity of communication (vyavaharapravrtti) and is accepted as authoritative because it is socially validated practice, unless perceptually verifiable evidence emerges that proves parts or all of it as false or harmful.  

Mīmānsākas were predominantly concerned with the central motivation of human beings, the highest good, and actions that make this possible.  They stated that human beings seek niratisaya priti (unending ecstatic pleasure, joy, happiness) in this life and the next. They argued that this highest good is the result of one's own ethical actions (dharma), that such actions are what the Vedic sentences contain and communicate, and therefore it important to properly interpret and understand Vedic sentences, words and meaning. Mīmānsā scholarship was centrally concerned with the philosophy of language, how human beings learn and communicate with each other and across generations with language in order to act in a manner that enables them to achieve that which motivates them.  The Mīmānsā school focused on dharma, deriving ethics and activity from the karma-kanda (rituals) part of the Vedas, with the argument that ethics for this life and efficacious action for svarga (heaven) cannot be derived from sense-perception, and can only be derived from experience, reflection and understanding of past teachings. 

In every human activity, the motivating force to perform an action is his innate longing for priti (pleasure, happiness) whether at the lowest level or the highest level. At the highest level, it is nothing but an unsurpassed state of Priti, which is ensured only by performing ethical actions.– Sabara, 2nd century Mīmānsā scholar.  

According to Daniel Arnold, Mīmānsā scholarship has "striking affinities" with that of William Alston, the 20th century Western philosopher, along with some notable differences.  The Mīmānsākas subjected to a radical critique, more than two thousand years ago, states Francis Clooney, the notions such as "God," the "sacred text," the "author" and the "anthropocentric ordering of reality".

 

 September 24, 2022

Comments:

I had always wanted to know what mimamsa was all about you have given a very good overview.

-- Aparna Arcot

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Ganesha stories

Unable to lay his hands on anything else, Ganesha broke off his left tusk and flung it at the moon. He picked up the snake, which had scared his mount, and used it as a belt to tie up his stomach. The other story is more serious. When Sage Vyasa began composing the Mahabharat, he asked Ganesh to be his scribe. There seems to be multiple stories on why his tusk is broken:

STORY # 1: BATTLE WEEN PARASHURAMA AND GANESH:

According to the Padma Purana, once Lord Shiva’s ardent devotee, Parashuram went to meet Him in Kailash. Since, Lord Shiva was busy meditating, Lord Ganesha prevented Parashuram from entering the abode. Parshuram is known for his anger in Hindu mythology. So, when Lord Ganesha stopped him at the gate, Parashuram became furious and attacked the Lord with his axe. Seeing the axe, Lord Ganesha recognised it as his father’s axe since it was gifted to Parashuram by Lord Shiva so, Ganesh ji refrained from blocking the attack of the axe and allowed it to chop off one of his tusks. Thus, Ganesha came to be known as Ekdanta. Later Parashuram realised his fault and asked for forgiveness from Lord Shiva, Goddess Parvati and Lord Ganesha.

 STORY # 2:  VYASA NARRATING MAHABHARATA TO GANESHA

There is another story about his one tusk. A different legend narrates that when Ganesh Ji was asked to write down the epic of Mahabhaarat, dictated to him by its author, sage Vyaas, taking into note the enormity and significance of the task, he realized the inadequacy of any ordinary ‘pen’ to undertake the task. So he broke one no sacrifice is big enough in the pursuit of knowledge.

In the same reference, it is also said that as he was writing Mahaabhaarat, his pen broke, and he broke his one tusk to continue writing.

STORY # 3 GANESH VS MOOSHIKASOORA

As per ancient legend, there was a demon called mooshikasoora, He was granted a boon that he can’t killed by a being which has taken birth. Ganesha was created by godess parvathi and life was poured into it in Shiva absence. After Shiva’s return to kailash, he was stopped by this boy at entrance. In anger, shiva beheaded the boys head and burnt it to ashes with his third eye. After hearing the truth from parvathi abt their son, he asked his followers to get the head of any livng being whose head is placed towards north direction. (This is the reason, hindu ppl don’t prefer sleeping with their heads in north direction.) The followers got the head of an elephant ( ghajsoora) and shiva got the head fixed to his son. As it is a elephant’s head he is called ganapathi or gajanna. Mooshikasoora’s evl were increasing day by day. Lord ganesh was sent for killing moshikasoora as he was the appropriate man for the same. Mooshikasoora’s wife was a great follower of goddess parvathi. She had asked parvathi devi to protect her husband’s life. To kill mooshikasoora lord ganesh used one of his tooth as weapon. As parvathi devi was proteting mooshikasoora’s life his tooth could not kill him. Later mooshikasoora learnt from his mistake and asked Lord Ganesha to make him his vahana. That is the mouse. As once the weapon release cannot be taken back, Lord Ganesha only had single tooth. Hence he is called Ekadanta

 STORY # 4: LORD GANESH AND THE MOON

Indra, the god of the skies, invited Ganesha to a feast. Taking his vehicle (his mouse), Ganesha began his journey to Indra’s palace. Because the mouse could not carry all his weight, he lost his balance and fell. The moon, shining in the night sky, laughed at him. Angered by this in Ganesha broke off his left tusk and threw it to the moon. And that’s why he is called Ekadanta (means “with one tooth”).   

What are some of the wishes you can send to your family and friends?
Wishing a beautiful, colorful and cheerful Ganesh Chaturthi to everyone. May this festive occasion bring along many more smiles and many more celebrations for you. A new sunrise, a new start. Oh Lord Ganesha, keep loving me in your heart. Happy Ganesh Chaturthi. Modak for energy and taste, Boondi Laddoo to drown your sorrows, and Peda to relish worldly offerings. Ganapati Bappa Moraiya!When we have Bappa in our hearts, there is nothing to worry about. Happy Ganesh ChaturthiAlways pray for sharp ears like Ganesha to hear everything clear. Warm wishes on Ganesh Chaturthi Modak for energy and taste, Boondi Laddoo to drown your sorrows, and Peda to relish worldly offerings. Ganapati Bappa Moraiya! Today was the day Lord Ganesh came to earth and destroyed evil with love. Happy Ganesh Chaturthi! May Lord Ganesha bestow you with power, destroy your sorrows, and enhance happiness in your life. Happy Ganesh Chaturthi! May the blessings of Shree Ganesha be with you and your family forever! May Lord Ganesha destroy all your worries, sorrows, and tension! Happy Ganesh Chaturthi! May Lord Ganesh descend on this Earth and put an end to all the miseries, struggles, sufferings, and problems we have faced during this COVID-19 pandemic. May his arrival to each of our homes mark a new beginning in our lives, filling!

Universal knowledge comes from his scribes in Hinduism that inspired Sciences g us with joy, hope, confidence, and courage to march forward successfully!

 

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TAKING CONTROL OF YOUR LIFE

The first principle Vedic counseling teaches us is we must take karmic responsibility for our own lives, recognizing that our lives are a product of our own actions or karma in this and previous incarnations. Otherwise we are not a spiritually mature or Self-aware individuals, but define ourselves in the shadows of others.

Who we are and what we experience, both individually and collectively, is the results of forces we have set in motion by our own actions, intentions, expressions and associations, which we are ultimately responsible for. We are responsible for our individual nature and propensities, who we are, what we are doing in life and what we aspire to.

FROM BLAMING OTHERS TO SELF-AWARENESS

We cannot blame others for who we are or for what happens to us in life. This blame game only disempowers us from our own responsibility and inhibits our capacity to shape our lives and characters, including to recognize our karma and move beyond it.

The realm of karma remains a work in progress with changes happening at every moment, yet its trends are enduring. We must remain vigilantly aware of its constant development and direct it towards the highest good. We cannot claim ignorance of what we are doing as an excuse for wrong outcomes in life.

Recognizing that our lives are a creation of our own karma means that we must take responsibility for who we are and learn to act in a way that insures we achieve the highest good that we really seeking. We cannot place the responsibility for who we are on anyone else, though we all have \a mutual responsibility for what occurs in the world around us.

BREAKING THROUGH THE WEB OF KARMA

We as individuals are the focus of our own karmic web, which our minds are weaving and in which our inner Self-awareness gets trapped into.

Once we accept our karmic responsibility in life we have the ability to follow a sadhana to develop our inner capacity.

In your true nature as the Self of all you are the Master of the Universe. It is beneath your Divine dignity to portray yourself as a victim!

 

--September 10, 2022

 

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 Main 5 Topics of Bhagavad Gita      

The essence of Bhagavad Gita can be well understood by knowing its five main topics – Isvara (God), Jiva (living e-ntity), Prakriti (Material Nature), Kala (time) and Karma (Action).

1. Ishvara (God)-Our Supreme Father-

All of us are controlled by someone or the other in our lives. A child is controlled by the teacher at the school and by the parents at home. A man or woman is controlled by the boss at the office. Even the head of the state is also controlled by many factors. Ultimately, everyone is under the strict control of Nature and its laws. At the most, one can perceive the unfailing control of Nature over everyone. But even in nature, we see perfect orderliness – seasons come on time; Sun and moon appear and disappear at definite times of the day. Thus, one can further ask, “Who is the ultimate controller of everything?”

In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna declares that He is the ultimate proprietor, controller and enjoyer of everything. He explains that the material nature is functioning under His guidance. He declares that the entire cosmic manifestation is created, maintained and annihilated repeatedly under His will. He is the source of all spiritual and material worlds. All material manifestations emanate from Him and enter into Him at the time of annihilation.

Everything that is animate or inanimate is a manifestation of one of His energies – material or spiritual. In “His Un-manifested form” He pervades everything and all beings are in Him.  He explains that He is the Super-soul, sitting in the heart of all living entities – giving them the power to remember, understand and forget. He declares that He is the supreme object of meditation and the supreme goal to be attained. He declares that the supreme attainable destination for anyone is His personal abode – Goloka Vrindavana. He explains that one can reach this abode only by rendering unalloyed devotional service unto Him.

The Bhagavad Gita is very clear that God is neither abstract nor impersonal. It declares God to be Krishna, the Supreme Person. He is not judgmental or envious but a loving and lovable person.  The sweetest aspect of Bhagavad Gita is that it glorifies the relationship between Krishna and His devotees – how they serve “Him unconditional and how He reciprocates with them affectionately. 

2. Living entity (Jiva) – Who we are?

Almost all of us identify ourselves with the body that we inhabit. We consider ourselves to be either male or female; Punjabi or Gujarati; Indian or American; Hindu or Muslim. But these are just the identities that our bodies assume. Sometimes we say, “My body is aching today”. At other times, we say, “My mind is disturbed today”. ‘Whose’ body or mind are we referring to here? Have we ever wondered who this real “I” is? Similarly, when someone dies, it is common to say, “He has passed away”. Why do we say this if the body is lying right in front of us? Actually, it is the soul that has passed away. In Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna explains that we are spirit souls and not these material bodies. Our bodies are composed of matter and will be destroyed in no time. However, the spirit soul, the inhabitant or the occupant of the body is indestructible.  

It is the soul that energizes the body and makes it work. When the soul leaves the body, it exhibits no symptoms of consciousness. The soul cannot be seen or heard; it cannot be felt or perceived; Just for an estimate, it is said that the soul is very tiny in size – as small as one-thousandth the tip of a strand of hair. The presence of soul can be understood only by the symptom of consciousness that it produces in a material body. It is this soul that moves or migrates from one body to the other. This process of migration of the soul from one body to the other is called ‘reincarnation’. When the soul migrates from one body to the other, it carries along with it different impressions from the current body. This concept of reincarnation alone can explain for the differences we see around us.

In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna further explains that every living entity (jiva or the soul) is His eternal part and parcel. Krishna is the Supreme Whole and we are His eternal parts and parcels. All our present suffering is due to our disdainful ignorance of this aspect in our life. For example, a key that opens a lock has no separate existence of its own. If we lose it somewhere, no one can use it for any purpose.

3. Nature (Prakriti)- Like our Mother

Material nature and God can be compared to the mother and father of all living entities. In this world, we can see that the father impregnates the mother with the child. Similarly, Lord Krishna declares in the Bhagavad Gita that he is the seed-giving father of all living entities. He impregnates the material nature with all living entities. Just like the mother nourishes the child by providing all eatables, Mother Nature nourishes all living beings with everything necessary for their sustenance. Food for all is amply provided by nature. Any scarcity is to be understood as artificial or man-made.

Everyone can more or less relate to the fact that Nature is like the mother. However, most ill-informed people are tricked to think that material nature acts independently without any controlling authority. Lord Krishna, in the Bhagavad Gita, however, declares that the material nature is working under His direction. This is easy to understand. We can judge by our day-to-day experience how a material object cannot move on its own.

For example, a car transports us from one place to the other. However, it does not move on its own – it is driven by a living force – a person. Similarly, matter cannot act on its own; it has to be driven by a living force. Sometimes, out of foolishness, man thinks that he can control nature. He might control nature to a very small extent. But he is completely controlled by nature. A heavy downpour of rain for few hours could drown even the most sophisticated cities of the world! Furthermore, nature controls every living being through the three modes – goodness, passion and ignorance.

4. Kala (Time)- The Invincible Power

Time, as a feature of Lord Krishna, destroys everything. In our day-to-day experience, we can see how everything deteriorates with time. Everything and everyone are subject to the cruel laws of time. Time and tide wait for none! Bhagavad Gita further explains that time is relative and cyclical – A set of four Yugas namely Satya, Treta, Dwapara and Kali repeat themselves in a cyclic fashion. One day of Brahma constitutes 1000 such cycles and the same number makes his one night.

For these creatures, our lifetime of 70 or 80 years might also seem too long!

5. Karma (Action)- What is Yoga?

Karma is the most discussed The lifetime of a universe is 100 years of Brahma’s lifetime. After this, the universe is destroyed and created again. That Brahma lives for 311 trillion and 40 billion earth years might seem wonderful to many and even silly to some. However, this is not difficult to understand. There are many flies and worms that take birth, grow, reproduce and die in a matter of few hours of our time. topic of the Bhagavad Gita. Karma means the form of duty that liberates us from the influence of ignorance. In our current situation, we are suffering due to forgetting our relationship with God. This lost relationship can be re-established by the process of ‘Yoga’. There are different methods of Yoga described in the Bhagavad Gita – Karma Yoga (path of action where one works only for the Supreme), Jnana Yoga (path of knowledge about the Supreme), Dhyana Yoga (path of meditation on the Supreme) and Bhakti Yoga (path of loving devotional service unto the Supreme). Of all these paths, Bhakti Yoga is the direct, easiest and quickest path to attain the Supreme Lord – Sri Krishna.

Conclusion

The most important message of Bhagavad Gita is that one should perfect one’s life and purify one’s existence by connecting to God – Krishna, by the process of rendering devotional service unto Him. By doing so, one becomes happy and satisfied under all circumstances. One is not disturbed by any testing situation.

A sincere reader of the Gita keeps depression at a distance. Failures do not affect such a person. He moves ahead in life with faith and confidence in the Supreme. By regular reading of the Bhagavad Gita one becomes cool and clear in his thought process. One becomes very efficient in everything one does. One can take quick and correct decisions.  By sincere reading of the Bhagavad Gita and application of the same in one’s life, one becomes simple and humble in one’s dealings in this world. Everyone is attracted to such a person. He becomes successful in all his relationships. He is happy and contended in this world thereafter.

-

(Introduced and discussed by Swami Chidanada)

 --September 10, 2022

 

 

Universal Healing Message of the Bhagavad-Gita

   

vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhā man-mayā mām upāśhritā / bahavo  jñāa-tapasā pūtā mad-bhāvam āgatā 

In the previous verse, Lord Krishna explained that those who truly know the divine nature of his birth and pastimes attain him. He now confirms that legions of human beings in all ages became God-realized by this means. They achieved this goal by purifying their minds through devotion. Shree Aurobindo put it very nicely: “You must keep the temple of the heart clean, if you wish to install therein the living presence.” The Bible states: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5.8) [v11] 

Now, how does the mind get purified? By giving up attachment, fear, and anger, and absorbing the mind in God. Actually, attachment is the cause of both fear and anger. Fear arises out of apprehension that the object of our attachment will be snatched away from us. And anger arises when there is an obstruction in attaining the object of our attachment. Attachment is thus the root cause of the mind getting dirty. 

This world of Maya consists of the three modes of material nature—sattva, rajas, and tamas (goodness, passion, and ignorance). All objects and personalities in the world come within the realm of these three modes. When we attach our mind to a material object or person, our mind too becomes affected by the three modes. Instead, when we absorb the same mind in God, who is beyond the three modes of material nature, such devotion purifies the mind. Thus, the sovereign recipe to cleanse the mind from the defects of lust, anger, greed, envy, and illusion, is to detach it from the world and attach it to the Supreme Lord. Hence, the Ramayan states: 

prema bhagati jala binu raghurāī, abhiantara mala kabahuñ na jāī 

“Without devotion to God, the dirt of the mind will not be washed away.” Even the ardent propagator of jñāna yog, Shankaracharya, stated: 

śhuddhayati hi nāntarātmā kihapadāmbhoja bhaktimite (Prabodh Sudhākar)[v13] 

“Without engaging in devotion to the lotus feet of Lord Krishna, the mind will not be clean’’ 

--Swami Vimalananda 

 On reading the previous verse in Gita, a question may arise whether Lord Krishna is partial in bestowing his grace upon those who absorb their minds in him versus the worldly-minded souls. The Supreme Lord addresses this in the next verse. 

The search for higher things will be emphasized again and again in the case of human beings. That is the line of human evolution; otherwise, it will be absolute stagnation at the physical level. This human being, with an extraordinary instrument called the cerebral system, has become stagnant at the sensory level, at the level of 'samsar' (संसार worldliness); what a tragedy! That is what Vedanta says. Such a person is called a 'samsari' (संसारी worldly person), a man or a woman getting stagnant at the sensory level. Living in the world does not make one a 'samsari' (संसारी worldly person); but getting stagnant at the sensory level makes one so; a whole

 "Are you growing spiritually? Can you love others? Can you feel oneness with others? Have your peace within yourself? and do you radiate it around you? That is called spiritual growth, which is stimulated by meditation inwardly, and by work done in a spirit of service outwardly. "  - Swami Ranganathananda

Meditation is not something we do, but understanding who we are and the benefacts we get from the practical guide Gita! That is the message of Gita! Effects of meditation: 1. Decrease anxiety and depression; 2. Increase pain tolerance; 3. Increase memory, self-awareness and goal setting; 4. Increase empathy; 5. Reduce negative feeling, sadness and anger; 6. Changes the shape of the brain; 7. Slow down the heart rate 8. Increase telomere length

 

“Examine the eight limbs of Yoga and its different branches of Knowledge (Jnana), Devotion (Bhakti), Action (Karma), Hatha Yoga, Raja Yoga, Vedic Yoga and Tantric Yoga and more from an Ayurvedic perspective, extending to Mantra and Meditation with our online course  -David Frawley"

 

BHAGAVAD GEETA AND AYURVEDA

Having philosophical background, Ayurveda is very close to Shrimad Bhagavad Gita Philosophy, presents fundamentals of the principles whereas the science presents the applied aspects of these fundamental principles. The ultimate goal of life is to get rid from all the miseries i.e. from the cycle of birth and death. To attain the salvation, the true knowledge of self and the universe is essential. Tri Gunas i.e., Sattva, Raja and Tamo Guna plays an important role regarding the true knowledge. Rajas and Tamas are the prime causes of the diseases, whereas the Sattva Guna leads towards health. Karma (good and bad deeds) is such a factor which leads an individual to happy or unhappy life respectively. Ayurveda explains in a very well manner the Dos and Don'ts as a preventive measure. Beyond the medical science Ayurveda explains the life style which leads the human being towards the ultimate goal. Shrimad Bhagvat Geeta also narrates the same guideline for the human being to get Param Pada (salvation). In the present era of very fast and stressful life there are so many patsies for the treatment of the diseases. Among these Ayurveda gives a spiritual touch to the treatment and it is the science of using health as the basis of one's journey toward the supreme power (God)--(Vaidya Narayana Harih). Ayurveda as well as Shrimad Bhagavad Geeta both the scriptures explain the basic concepts such as Srushti Aavir Bhaav (evolution process), Karma, Triguna, Pancha Mahabharata, Atma Tatva, Punar Janma (rebirth), Moksha (salvation), etc. for the sake of human being. 

 

Comments:

Thank you mama for elaborating the benefits of meditation. 

-Aparna Arcot 

How have you been doing? So happy to see that you are continuing to share your wisdom and knowledge with us via your messages.                                                                                                                                          --Dr. Santosh