THOUGHT FOR THE DAY--NOVEMBER TO
DECEMBER 2018
Radha on
Lord Hari taken from Brahma Vaivarta Puranam
It is a rare occasion that January 1 is an
Ekadasi day, a holy day for fasting and worshiping Lord Vishnu and his
incarnations. New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the
year on the modern Gregorian calendar and adopted by all Nations of the world
as their official New Year's Day though they celebrate their own religious New
Year's Day separately. The Romans originally dedicated New Year's Day to Janus,
the god of gates, doors, and beginnings for whom the first month of the year
(January) is named. Later, as a date in the Gregorian calendar of Christendom,
New Year's Day liturgically marked the Feast of the Circumcision of Christ, and
is still observed as such in the Anglican Church and Lutheran Church. January 1
date was known as Circumcision Style because this was the date of the Feast of
the Circumcision, considered to be the eighth day of Christ's life, counting
from December 25 on which day his birth is believed to have taken place. This
day was christened as the beginning of the New Year by Pope Gregory as he
designed the Liturgical Calendar. It is hence called Gregorian calendar after
him. I had therefore raised my doubts as to why Hindu American should observe
this day as a Special Religious Event Day (SRED) like many other American
religious Holidays, rush to the temple and make firm resolutions to lead a neat
and clean life throughout the year. I had also circulated to you my detailed
discourse on the topic.
But this year we have all the good reasons to
make this day SRED. This is the Ekadasi coming immediately after Vaikutha
Ekadasi in the holiest month of Margaseersha declared as divine month by none
other than Bhagavan Krishna in Holy Gita--“maasaanaam maargaseershoham. Also
tomorrow is the day when hymn17 “ambarame tanneere” of Tiruppavai of Andal is
sung in all Vishnu temples directed to Lord Krishna. What Radha is to Krishna
to all Hindus is Andal to Krishna for Tamils an incarnation of Mother Earth!
This hymn says the gates of Vaikuntha that were closed after Vaikunth Ekadasi
were exclusively opened to Andal and her accompanying Gopis!
It is so very thoughtful of Muralidhnjaran
Iyengar of Singapore to have sent his New Year Greetings and the exclusive hymn
of Radha with the following message-- “As Ekadashi falls on the Christian Era
New Year 2019 (tomorrow 01-Jan-2019), I am delighted to attach a short sweet
prayer by Radha on Lord Hari taken from Brahma Vaivarta Puranam, Krishna Janma
Khandam, and Chapter 27”. As you know the hymns of Radha and Andal are dearer
and more pleasing to Lord Krishna than his philosophic Song of Celestials. With
these in hand you are sure to join the charming ladies to go through the
Highway to Heaven and reach the abode of Krishna tomorrow. Please check whether
this is exclusive to ladies as males dominated and rushed to Vaikintha during
the previous Vaikuntha Ekadasi! Andal preferred ladies but they were sages
incarnated as Gopis. May be ladies are first in Heaven in Kaliyuga also! Let
males pray to be born as women next! You are sure to get what you want says the
Phalasruti in Radha’s sloka!
Years come and pass but what it makes January
1, 2019 so special-- Ekadasi in month of Magaseersaha and the opening of palace
gates of Nandanavana to get the audience of Lord Krishna and closeness in
Margazhi! We will be there for one another as fellow members of humanity in
finest sense of the world inspired by Andal to spiritually progress!
--December 31, 2018
Comments:
Your
well-researched articles keep us enlightened and updated.
--Raja Arcot
Thank
you very much for the nice write up. Wish you a Very Happy 2019. May God bless
you with long life, good vitality and continuing urge to serve community with
your brilliant exposition on various subjects. I noted with interest reference (in the
acknowledgements) to your auto-biography (From Narayanapura to Nashville). When
was it published? Have you brought it out on the net?
--BRG Iyengar
Best wishes for Excellent Health and Happiness in the New
Year to all
Dr. Sapthagireeshan & Dr. Raja
Subhramanyan
Your Emails are truly informative and inspiring. I am
unable to read every one of them though. May Lord bless
you with very good health and new energy to continue this good work!
--Swami Chidananda
HAPPY
NEW YEAR!--MAKING THAT POSSIBLE IS IN YOUR HANDS
Here is a list of 15 things which, if you
give up on them, will make your life a lot easier and much, much happier.
1. Give up your need to always be right:
There are so many of us who can’t stand the idea of being wrong – wanting to
always be right– even at the risk of ending great relationships or causing a
great deal of stress and pain, for us and for others. It’s just not worth it.
Whenever you feel the ‘urgent’ need to jump into a fight over who is right and
who is wrong, ask yourself this question: “Would I rather be right, or would I
rather be kind?” (Wayne Dyer). What difference will that make? Is your
ego really that big?
2. Give up your need for control: Be
willing to give up your need to always control everything that happens to you
and around you – situations, events, people, etc. Whether they are loved ones,
co-workers, or just strangers you meet on the street – just allow them to be.
Allow everything and everyone to be just as they are and you will see how much
better will that make you feel. “By letting it go it all gets done. The world
is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try--The world is beyond
winning.” (Lao Tzu)
3. Give up on blame: Give up on your
need to blame others for what you have or don’t have, for what you feel or
don’t feel. Stop giving your powers away and start taking responsibility for
your life.
4. Give up your self-defeating
self-talk: Oh
my. How many people are hurting themselves because of their negative, polluted
and repetitive self-defeating mind-set? Don’t believe everything that your
mind is telling you –especially if it’s negative and self-defeating. You are
better than that. “The mind is a superb instrument if used rightly. Used
wrongly, however, it becomes very destructive.” (Eckhart Tolle.)
5. Give up your limiting beliefs: About
what you can or cannot do, about what is possible or impossible. From now on,
you are no longer going to allow your limiting beliefs to keep you stuck in the
wrong place. Spread your wings and fly! “A belief is not an idea held by the
mind, it is an idea that holds the mind” (Ely Roselle.)
6. Give up complaining: Give up your constant need to complain about those
many, many, many things – people, situations, events that make you unhappy, sad
and depressed. Nobody can make you unhappy; no situation can make you sad or
miserable unless you allow it to. It’s not the situation that triggers those
feelings in you, but how you choose to look at it. Never underestimate the
power of positive thinking.
7. Give up the luxury of criticism: Give up your need to criticize things, events or
people that are different than you. We are all different, yet we are all the
same. We all want to be happy, we all want to love and be loved and we all want
to be understood. We all want something, and something is wished by us all.
8. Give up your need to impress others: Stop
trying so hard to be something that you’re not just to make others like you. It
doesn’t work this way. The moment you stop trying so hard to be something that
you’re not, the moment you take off all your masks, the moment you accept and
embrace the real you, you will find people will be drawn to you, effortlessly.
9. Give up your resistance to
change: Change
is good. Change will help you move from A to B. Change will help you make
improvements in your life and also the lives of those around you. Follow your
bliss, embrace change – don’t resist it. “Follow your bliss and the universe
will open doors for you where there were only walls” (Joseph Campbell)
10. Give up labels: Stop labelling
those things, people or events that you don’t understand as being weird or
different and try opening your mind, little by little. Minds only work when
open. “The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don’t
know anything about.” (Wayne Dyer.)
11. Give up on your fears: Fear is
just an illusion, it doesn’t exist – you created it. It’s all in your mind.
Correct the inside and the outside will fall into place. “The only thing we
have to fear is fear itself.” (Franklin D. Roosevelt)
12. Give up your excuses: Send them
packing and tell them they’re fired. You no longer need them. A lot of times we
limit ourselves because of the many excuses we use. Instead of growing and
working on improving ourselves and our lives, we get stuck, lying to ourselves,
using all kind of excuses – excuses that 99.9% of the time are not even real.
13. Give up the past: I know, I
know. It’s hard. Especially when the past looks so much better than the present
and the future looks so frightening, but you have to take into consideration
the fact that the present moment is all you have and all you will ever have.
The past you are now longing for – the past that you are now dreaming about –
was ignored by you when it was present. Stop deluding yourself. Be present in
everything you do and enjoy life. After all life is a journey not a
destination. Have a clear vision for the future, prepare yourself, but always
be present in the now.
14. Give up attachment: This is a concept
that, for most of us is so hard to grasp and I have to tell you that it was for
me too, (it still is) but it’s not something impossible. You get better and
better at with time and practice. The moment you detach yourself from all
things, (and that doesn’t mean you give up your love for them – because love and
attachment have nothing to do with one another, attachment comes from a place
of fear, while love…well, real love is pure, kind, and selfless, where there is
love there can’t be fear, and because of that, attachment and love cannot
coexist) you become so peaceful, so tolerant, so kind, and so serene. You will
get to a place where you will be able to understand all things without even
trying--A state beyond words.
15. Give up living your life to
other people’s expectations: Way too many people are living a life that is not
theirs to live. They live their lives according to what others think is best
for them, they live their lives according to what their parents think is best
for them, to what their friends, their enemies and their teachers, their
government and the media think is best for them. They ignore their inner voice,
that inner calling. They are so busy with pleasing everybody, with living up to
other people’s expectations, that they lose control over their lives. They
forget what makes them happy, what they want, what they need….and eventually
they forget about themselves.
So turn
inwards and tap the love which is your inherent quality and be happy!
Supreme is the very embodiment of Prema (Love). This Love
(Kaama) created the Universe. Man is the spark of the Divine. You may find a
man without anger, without truth or without peace, but you cannot find anyone
in the world devoid of love. Love is present equally in all human beings as the
one effulgent divine quality. This love may be expressed in different ways, but
its nature is the same. Man is thus an aspect of the Cosmic Consciousness.
Unfortunately, however, because man directs his love towards worldly objects,
he is unable to recognize his divinity. His mind gets polluted because of
association with the external world. As a result, even his love gets tainted
and his mind becomes incapable of cherishing the beauteous form of the Lord.
Only when he directs his love towards God will man be able to experience the
Divine within him.
Distance might be keeping us apart but our hearts are together.
Happy New Year! May the New Year bring to you warmth of love, and a light
to guide your path towards a positive destination!
“Happiness is
not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the
present.”
American
motivational speaker Jim Rohn (1930-2009)
December
30, 2018
Comments
Comments
Happy New Year to
you all as well. The below is so good I am sharing with the kids
--Aparna Arcot
Many thanks.
Wishing you good health, physical fitness and prosperity in the coming New Year
2019!
--Dr. AN Sapthagireeshan
Your Emails are truly informative and inspiring. I am
unable to read every one of them though. May Lord bless
you with very good health and new energy to continue this good work!
--Swami Chidananda
MURTI (ICONIC)
WORSHIP PROMOTED BY VEDAS
What
makes us build so many temple and worship deities as Ishta devatas? Please
recall my special remarks in my discourse on Upasana, Moorti Worship and also
how this tradition started in the following discourses:
The
question that arises in the mind of a devout Hindu is whether idol worship has
Vedic sanction. Our Saastras say “Vedokilam dharma moolam” --Vedas
are the final authority. Geeta says, “Tasmaat Saastram pramaanam te”—when
in doubt Scriptures (Srutis and Smritis) are final authority.
Surprisingly, there are number of references to the images of Gods in all
the four Vedas and also Incarnations of Vishnu as well as Personal God Siva
(Rudram of Rigveda)’ The art of sculpturing was current even around 3000 B.C.E.
Bronze images have been unearthed at the Harappa sites of excavation around
3000 B.C.E. Baudhaayana Grihyasootras not only mentions about the images of
Vishnu, Ganesha and Yama but also give the details regarding their
consecration and worship.
There
is a Siva in Kailasa and there is a Siva in Kasi and now in Africa too. The
discovery of a Siva idol in South Africa is the proof that 6000 years ago
Africans used to worship Siva. Archeologists have found 6000 year old
Sivalinga in a cave named Sudwara in South Africa and it is made of hard
granite stone. The archaeologists are amazed that how the Sivalinga
survived there for so long!
Hinduism
is a more recent nomenclature given to a conglomeration of heterogeneous
traditions and plurality of beliefs and worship with a long history of
development from the Vedic (that which has originated from Vedas—the four
ancient texts) which contain the core of Hindu Philosophy and beliefs of
sacrificial religion through the worship of epic and Puranic heroes and
personal deities, cults and sects, as well as philosophical system moving
away from the monolithic tradition or structure based on a single
system of beliefs and worships or single text as scripture. Today it also draws
lot of support from Bhagavad Gita with right
wrong understanding as well as
wrong interpretation, which itself is a compendium of all Upanishads and varied
philosophic thoughts. We started making Icons(Murtis) for worship
of primordial deities for our concentration and focus -- Vyktavyakta form of
Parabrahman in Linga form, Adivinayaka with human form
(Naramukha Vinayaka) and Vishnu who appeared as Asvattha (Vrikshaanaam
asvatthoham-Gita) and later revealed as Adi
Jagannatha (Tiruppullani) to sages initially as primordial deities for worship.
But later promoting myths and beliefs created Murtis like mutilated
angry Ekadanta Ganesha and half-finished and left in frustration by
Viswakarma, Jaganntha that became more appealing than primordial deities
for kindergarten level of worships and rituals instead focus on Parabrahman as devo Ekah in
his non-describable form symbolized as primordial
deities.
“Do
Vedas prescribe idol worship? Yes and Jaganntha was the first idol that was
sculpted from wood. Here is a mantra from Rigveda: “Ado
yaddaru plavate sindhoh pare apoorusham | tadaarabhasva durhano tenagaccha
parastarm”— In yonder shores there comes floating a
wooden log which no man has created; follow that log and meditate upon
it; with its support reach Parmapada or Supreme abode.
Since we come across the advice on Murti Upasana by prayers by
Rama it is reasonable to assume these are divine directives. Rama for the
first time introduced the word “Aradhana” in Ramayana for Jagannatha worship
and “Puja” for focus on Aditya Hridaya. In both he meant
Parabrahaman and not Sun and Graha as many interpret. Now we use these terms
freely in Temple traditions as “Deva Aradhana” (worship directed to Brahman),
Devasthanam and Devalayam--the place where we go to worship Brahman. But in our
chase for Puranic devatas we forget Deva and also forget referring to it as Brahman only as conveyed
in Vedas--“Eko Devah” and “Tadekam”, in spite of the caution sounded by
Bhagawan in Gita that only who worship Brahman come to Brahman".--"yanti devavrataa devaan pitrunyaanti
pitruvrataah |bhootaani yaanti bhootejyaa yaanti madyaajino api maam ||
9-25 |
Padma Bhushan David Frawley his article “The Use of Images and
Murti Puja in Vedas” says “Some scholars say there is no Murti
puja, image worship or what is sometimes called idol worship in the Rigveda. We
beg to differ and explain how the use of images and symbols is an essential
part of Vedic worship, the Vedic language, Vedic mantras and the Vedic Rishi
Vision. Everything we see is a manifestation of this Divine
Vedic wisdom and reflects its secrets’’ says David Frawley in his article. Please go through the whole article available on the
Google.
--December
30, 2018
TEACHING
TRUE HISTORY OF INDIA IN SCHOOLS IS THE NEED OF THE HOUR
As archeological evidence predates Hinduism over
Judaism, the migration is from India to Israel and not the other way around.
Just after Tsunami sunk Dwaraka, a group of Lord Krishna’s Yadav’s Clan
left through the Arabian Sea, wandered and eventually settled in what is now
Israel.
Of the 22 tribes that left the region in quick succession, the team that
preceded North met with disaster and perished. Out of the remaining 12 a few families dropped off and
settled down in regions currently known as Iraq, Syria, Palestine, Egypt Greece
and Russia. That great exodus took place 5,743 years ago. The Passover year
which the Jews commemorate provides a tally of the period elapsed from the time
they left India. … One of their monarchs was Solomon. Aristotle says: “Jews
are descendants of the Indian
philosophers; they are named by the Indians Calami, and by the Syrians Judaei,
and took their name from the country they inhabit, which is called Judea.”
(Book I:22).
The question of ORIGIN of the Jews is a highly
debated topic-- this, in spite of overwhelming evidences in the form of
documentary and literary references that they have originated from the ancient
land of Bharat also called India. The need to discover and search for
unraveling this mystery was started when
it was discovered that more than 100
suspected SHIVALINGAM were found in
mountains of Israel. What is the origin of ABRAHAM ~the patriarch of the Jews?
The
mountains in Eliot was found to have 100 Shiva lingam which they promptly
labeled as 100 ancient ‘sex cult’ sites as usual for those who don’t have known
about Hindu Shiva lingams, about the find in Israel. They described as
mysterious 8,000 year old stone circles filled with phallic carvings discovered
in mountains. Sites in the Eliot Mountains contain phallic stone structures
with contained stone circles with phallic carvings pointing to the center, and
researchers believe 349 more sites may exist in the region. This could be
during or after the reign of Abraham.
Historic
evidences like this falsify Aryan-Dravidian Myth which unfortunately a group of
Tamils calling themselves as Dravidians, propagated based on British History of
India and tried to brain wash all in South India as Dravidians. Though they
captured political power in Tamil Nadu for the past several years the
Aryan-Dravidian Myth did not cut much ice and faded. To stay in power they
brought in Brahmin supremacy theory and spread hatred among communities that
has percolated even lowest level including out-castes. Thus a Mochi is superior
to Chammar today!
“Why can’t
Indians connect India’s traditional ancient literature, the Vedas, with its
archaeology through Harappa and the many Sarasvati River sites? Why
can’t Indians find national pride in their own history both on literary
and archaeological levels? Why should history in India be used
for national shame, rather than National pride? Why should history of
India place Indian civilization out of India? These are questions that
must be answered” says David Frawley. Therefore there is an urgent need to
correct the false History of India and teach True History of India in Schools.
Please go through what David Frawley has to say in this regard who has done lot
of research on the subject: History and Nationalism: Excerpt from
Hinduism and the Clash of Civilization.
In USA 40% among church goers do not believe in
going to church and listening to the sermons. In New Zealand 60% Christians do
not go to church and are also up against Hindus. Situation may not be too
different in other countries that Hindus have migrated. They call themselves as
atheists or SBNR. Strangely very few turn atheists being the pet-word of
Communists. Whether we like it or not almost all Hindu American youths
today choose their life partners from Abrahamic Religions barring Islam. Islam
with its aggressive Al Quid-a policy has become a hate religion and its leaders
have not raised their voices strongly against its hate and killing
policy. So such Hindus with their life partners either turn SBNR or walk
into Church or Synagogue. To start with they love the colorful wedding
that pleases their parents and the priests oblige.
Correcting our wrong history will
open our eyes to get back to our glorious past when all religions
sought after Sanatna Dhrama which Swami Vivekananda projected as Vedanta
Religion for the Future for All smashing all religious walls.
Over-emphasized ritualistic Hinduism as is practiced today will not be
attractive to these mixed religious couples for long unless we correct
the situation. Here our temples have to lead the crowd as our spiritual leaders
say:
“The Mandirs have to play a significant role in the
growth of the Hindu community in terms of its capacity to uphold Hindu Dharma.”
-- SWAMI DAYANANDA SARASWATI (www.arshavidya.org)
“We need to make temples not just a center of
rituals and congregation but lighthouses of philosophy and knowledge, which are
the basis of Hindu Dharma.” -- SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR (www.artofliving.org)
“Creating an environment where the youth
understand, appreciate and love their Hindu culture is a crucial need today, as
is uniting all Hindu temples under one umbrella.” -- SWAMI CHIDANANDA SARASWATI
(www.parmarth.com)
“We’re
becoming a nation of yogis whose orientation towards life and their
orientation towards their spiritual life is very yogic. They may never set foot
on a yoga mat, they may never do an asana in their lives. They have a
meditation practice and turn inwards in their approach to whatever they define
as spiritual –- their relation to the universe and their development of an
inner connection to something bigger than themselves. People united together
with common loyalty to "OM Tad Brahman" are taking charge of
their spiritual lives in a very yogic way.”--says Phil Goldberg author of
American Veda.
In this
context I have circulated seven hot
topics to my participants: 1) The
Antiquity of Vedic Civilization; 2) The Celtic – Vedic Connection; 3) Origin of Jews is Bharath; 4) Pyramid Builder Roman Emperor with
Vaishanava Mark; 5) Civilization At
Least 8,000 Years Old, Not 5,500; 6) Scientists; Saraswati River Sprouts life
after 4,000 Years; 7) Mayan Origins in
Ancient Southern India--for their consideration that give them ample proof, how
Sanatana Dharma was the lodestar of all religions of the world
based on archeological and scriptural evidences once and today it is the most
suited for all, breaking all religious and traditional walls and come together
and spiritually progress.
Driven by a
false sense of secularism and not spirituality India will not revise the false
history taught in schools and continue to misguide migrant Hindus also. Let us
not be misled but raise to the occasion to know the true History of India when
all people lived together, prayed together leading a happy, peaceful and
purposeful life. We can teach that to our children in our Baal Vihaar schools!
Once we set our house in order we will be able to lead others also with our
rich spiritual background.
Please go
through David Frawley's thought-provoking article and draw your own
conclusions!
--December, 29, 2018
be in joy
John Smallman drawn to our
Upanishadic thoughts says that there is a need for all of us to go
within and search for Inner-self and not to look for the
Internet turning outwards to know what is going on now on the major news
channels that continue to encourage people to be fearful and engage with
and pursue anger, seemingly justifiable anger, at the injustice and suffering
that is being reported. We are all created in Love for eternal
happiness, and life is meant to be fun, to be enjoyable, to provide us with
satisfaction, contentment, and peace. Everything seems politically chaotic
wherever you look, but that is as a result of the vast increase in loving
energies flooding the planet to help us take a massive leap forward on
our spiritual evolutionary path. The only way to resolve issues from the
smallest to the largest is with Love. We may most certainly expect the
unexpected in 2019. Wondrous events will occur that will delight and
uplift us, as you come to realize that humanity’s route Home is studded with
events which will spark much new spiritual awareness, events that will affect
everyone on the planet, encouraging all to let go of any sense of personal
unworthiness, and to fully engage creatively with whatever our hearts desire.
Are we ready for such a leap forward in the coming year?
Supreme
is the very embodiment of Prema (Love). This Love (Kaama) created
the Universe. Man is the spark of the Divine. You may find a man without anger,
without truth or without peace, but you cannot find anyone in the world devoid
of love. Love is present equally in all human beings as the one effulgent
divine quality. This love may be expressed in different ways, but its nature is
the same. Man is thus an aspect of the Cosmic Consciousness. Unfortunately,
however, because man directs his love towards worldly objects, he is unable to
recognize his divinity. His mind gets polluted because of association with the
external world. As a result, even his love gets tainted and his mind becomes
incapable of cherishing the beauteous form of the Lord. Only when he directs
his love towards God will man be able to experience the Divine within him.
A
Beautiful World Starts With You - Raising Human Consciousness
Have you noticed that when you are joyful and happy, the world
also becomes a happy place? The way you interact with others and the decisions
that you make also become more inclusive of everyone. When you are happy, you
blossom into a wonderful being. Sadhguru reminds us: "Without raising
human consciousness, whatever we do in the world will only lead to more and
more suffering."
Now
is the time, it all starts with you!
"A world full of love, light and laughter, it's time has
come, let us make it happen!" –Sadhguru
Christmas
also falls in the Holy Month of Margaseersha/Maargazhi
A merry Christmas to all my readers and thinkers who believe in
Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam
This philosophy
is developing in USA with almost every youth caught in the
universal binding force of love and choosing his/her partner from the major
religions of the world not necessarily from Hinduism, whereas the same is
causing conflicts fights and killing, in the context of missionaries being
very active in India taking advantage of over-protective of minority policy of
the Government of India. They can't operate in USA that guarantees religious
freedom and any interference is punishable by law. But are our Hindu Temples
and religious institutions ready to get back to Vedic culture and Sanatana
Dharma, moving away from ritualistic belief based religion, that pleases all--sanghacchdvam
samvadadvam, eko devah, vasudhaibva kutumbakam etc.?
May your holidays sparkle with moments of love, laughter, and good-will! And may the year ahead be full of contentment, adventure, and joy!
--December 25, 2018
angarika chturthi and Christmas where
religions conflate
Angarika Chaturthi is a Sankashti
Chaturthi falling on Tuesday. It is considered highly
auspicious among all Sankashti Chaturthi days. Sankashti Chaturthi
also known as Sankata Hara Chaturthi is an auspicious day dedicated to Lord
Ganesha. This day is celebrated in every Lunar month or Hindu calendar month on
the fourth day of Krishna Paksha (dark lunar phase or the waning phase).
According
to Hindu Puranas Angarak the son of Mother Earth, Bhartadwaj Rishi,
was an accomplished rishi and a great
devotee of Lord Ganesha. He worshipped Lord
Ganesha and sought his blessings. On
Magh Krishna Chaturthi (the day was Tuesday), Lord Ganesha blessed him and
asked him for a wish. Angarak expressed that his only wish was to be associated
with Lord Ganesha’s name for forever. The Lord granted his wish and proclaimed
that whoever worships Lord Ganesha on Angarika Chaturthi will be granted all
that he/ she prays for. From that day onwards, a Chaturthi that falls on a
Tuesday came to be known as Angarak Chaturth and considered as special.
On
this day, the devotees fast from morning till the end of the day. The fast is
broken at night after worshipping Lord Ganesha and sighting the moon. The
literal meaning of Angarika is red or burning coal and hence red colored
clothes are often worn by devotees on Tuesday. They take bath early in the
morning and fast all day.
Since Lord Ganesha removes obstacles, he is the first
recipient of peoples’ prayers. Praying to Lord Ganesha with utmost devotion on
Angarika Chaturthi will help in realizing many dreams and unfulfilled desires.
I
often wonder why a Hindu youth is invariably attracted Christianity to choose his/her
life-partner in USA while India is
crying wolf bogged down by few conversions by proselytization? That did not happen with me though a Jenkin’s
Scripture Prize Award holder and studied in a missionary school. May be parents
focused on their material prosperity neglected to raise their kids with Hindu
values and depended on Sunday Vedic Heritage Classes and Baal Vihar for
bringing up children with Hindu values who did not do a good job!
American Hindus like to spend their holidays along
with their family visiting a temple in the nearby town if they do not have any
other specific plan. In order to help the holiday crowd and make
the day attractive American Hindu Temples keep the temple open for
long hours and conduct special worship called Arjita Seva on such days.
Though reluctant to call Christmas Day, the holiest day for
Christians a Special Religious Event Day they do so to attract
holiday crowd and also attract their children who had chosen their life
partner from Christianity instead of going to a church or stay at home.
This
year it is a strange coincidence that this Tuesday happens to be the holiest
day for Ganesha worshipers as well as Christ, being the day of birth for both.
Perhaps you are aware both Ganesha (Charudeshna) and Sanat Kumara (Pradyumna)
were born to Rukmini and Krishna as their sons and Sanat Kumara is also
believed to be Jesus Son of God descended from planet Venus. Hence this
Christmas day becomes an Interfaith Day making it most significant for both
Hinduism and Christianity and particularly for those Hindus who have chosen
their life partners from Christianity. It is a rare day that takes our thoughts
to the Hindu philosophy of vasudhaiva kutumbakam, Devo ekah, sanghaccahdvam
samvadadvam, sahnaavavatu sahanou bhunaktu, sarvejanah sukhino bhavantu etc.
--December 25, 2018
GUIDED BY ASTROLOGERS WE OFTEN PERFORM RITUALS & FESTIVALS ON
WRONG TIME
Some of the dates associated with Bhishma are of conflicting
nature projected by astrologers. The death anniversary for Bhishma
is performed on an earlier date (Bhishma Ashtami) in some traditions and on the
day of Ekadasi, three days later in some other traditions. But many
astrologers also say Bhisma gave up his ghost on Makara Sankranti Day fixing it
as the first day of Uttarayana Punyakala Day though based on wrong astronomical
calculations. Hindu astrologers have not cared to carry out century corrections
and leap year corrections in their Panchangams as Gregorian calendar experts
have done. The astronomical Winter Solstice Day falls on December 21 in USA
which unfortunately Hindu American Temples do not consider as auspicious day
for Special Religious Event (SRE) guided by religious priests and their blind
belief.
According to North Indian Tradition Bhishma Ashtami is celebrated
as the death anniversary of Bhishma Pitamah. Bhishma Pitamah is among the
foremost outstanding characters of the great Indian epic, the Mahabharata.
Bhishma Ashtami is observed on the eighth day of the Shukla Paksha in the Hindu
month of Magha, therefore, Bhishma Ashtami is also known as Magha Shukla
Ashtami. According to the Mahabharata, Bhishma (also known as Ganga Putra Bhism
or Bhishma Pitamaha) left his soul on this day, they say. This happened
during the auspicious Uttarayana period. In the state of West Bengal, special
Pujas are organized during the day. This day is also celebrated with great
enthusiasm in the Lord Vishnu temples and ISKCON temples all over the country.
The day of Bhishma Ashtami is considered significant for performing all
auspicious activities. They believe Bhishma died during Uttarayana
period and not on the first day of Uttarayana which should have been either 21
December 2018 astronomically or January 14 as per our astrologers
that is Makara Sankranti day. Bhagavad Gita discussion took place just
before starting the war. Hence this should have happened on Vaikuntha Ekadasi day.
Bhishma Ekadasi falls on February 16. That gives a time interval of 60
days. Considering the in-depth of these discussions it is reasonable to
believe that the Mahabharata War started on Marghhaseersha Purnima day on
December 21 on which day Gita discussion ended and war started. That
gives 58 days. It is said in Mahabharata Bhishma lived for 58 days after the
war. Some say he was lying on bed of arrows for 58 days. Anyhow it
is reasonable to believe he chose the sacred day of Ekadasi for
his final departure after delivering Vishnu Sahasranama and not on Ashtami
day. Probably on Asahtami Day he announced his decision to start his
Uttarayana journey and so celebrated as death decision day by the North
Indians.
You can thus see how falsified we are in observing festivals and rituals. Hindu Sastras classify the religious rites (karmas) performed by mankind into four groups: Desire-prompted (kaamya), occasional (naimittika), daily oblations (nitya) and prohibited (nishiddha). While performance of a nishiddhika karma is sinful causing injury to one’s spiritual personality, our sastras enjoin that the other three category of karmas--kaamya, naimittika and nitya--should be performed only at specified place(s) and time(s) in the space-time continuum. If these karmas are performed otherwise, although they may not cause harm they certainly will not be efficacious. Hence the importance of observing correct time and place for performing religious rites is stressed in our religion. Lord Krishna exhorts to mankind through His advice to Arjuna “tasmaat saastram pramaanam te kaaryaakaaryow vyavasathithow”--therefore consider sastra as the authority or final arbiter in determining what action should or should not be performed. Let us all follow the Lord’s advice and benefit there from.
Astronomical winter
solstice day--December 21, 2018
Vaikuntha Ekadasi December
18, 2018
Margaseersha Purnima
December 21, 2018 --Gita Jayanti Day
Makara Sankranti January
14, 2019 (astrological Uttarayana First day)
Bhishma Ashtami February
13, 2019
Bhishma Ekadasi
Februaruy 16, 2019
Bhishma lived for 58 days
on bed of arrow; it was told by Bhishma in Mahabharata book 13, Anusasana Parva
Bhishma
died on the first day of Uttaryana says astrologers!
This is not the lone case. Hanuman Jayanti for South Indians falls
on Amavasya Day, Mula Nakshatra Dhanurmasa but for North Indians that follows
Ram Navami. Why can’t research academies like Kalpataru Research Academy
investigate and fix the real auspicious day and also North American Hindu
Panchangam? Why for Hindus alone Winter
solstice and Summer solstice dates are different!?
--December 24, 2018
ARIDRA DARISANAM
Today is Aridra Darisanam famous in Tamil Nadu particularly
in Chidambaram Nataraja Temple. Please go through my detailed discourse on the
subject:
There is also an important message
from Muralidharan Krisahnan from Singapore:
Greetings
and Namaste. As Ardra Darashanam / Lord Nataraja Abhishekam falls on
23-Dec-2018 (Sunday), I am delighted to share a beautiful prayer by Lord Brahma
to Lord Rudra taken from Kurma Puranam, Chapter 10. In this chapter, Lord
Vishnu's conquest of Madhu and Kaitabha, Lord Brahma's birth from his navel,
Lord Rudra's birth as Lord Brahma's son, the eight forms of Lord Rudra and
consorts, attainment of Gyana by Lord Brahma through Lord Rudra and finally the
message that Lord Rudra himself takes form as trinity (Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva)
are explained in this brief chapter.
brahma
vishnu shivA brahman sarga-sthityanta-hetavaH | vibhajyAtmAnaM aneko.api
svecChaya sha~NkaraH sthitaH || 10-78 ||
Meaning
: Though Lord Shankara is ONE, he takes three forms (Brahma, Vishnu and
Shiva) to facilitate creation, protection and destruction functions.
In
the hymn, Lord Brahma mentions that Lord Rudra Himself is the one who rests on
the serpent and He is the one omnipresent in every being.
We
have seen that this is the message conveyed in every scripture and purana in
countless forms and those who harbor difference among the trinity are deluded
and fall into the hell.
May
we pray to Lord Rudra with this beautiful stuti during Ardra Darshanam!
--December 23, 2018
Many Thanks for sharing Rare Rudrastuti on Aardra Darshanam Day!!
Dr. Sapthagireesan
MUCH SLEEP IS NOT GOOD!
Swamiji’s
wake-up call and advice took my thoughts back to early hymns of Andal in Tiruppavai that had been
sending you recently that runs as follows:
“puLLum silambina kaaN puLLaraiyan kOyilil
veLLai viLi sangin pEraravam kEttilaiyO
piLLaay ezhundhiraay pEy mulai nanchundu
kaLLa(ch) chakatam kalakkazhiya(k) kaalOchchi
veLLaththaravil thuyilamarndha viththinai
uLLaththu(k) kondu munivargaLum yOgigaLum
meLLa ezhundhu ari enRa pEraravam
uLLam pugundhu kuLirndhElOr empaavaai
keesu keesu enRu engum aanai(ch) chaaththaan kalandhu
pEsina pEchcharavam kEttilaiyO pEy(p) peNNE
kaasum piRappum kalakalappa(k) kai pErththu
vaasa naRum kuzhal aaychchiyar maththinaal
Osai paduththa thayiraravam kEttilaiyO
naayaga(p) peN piLLaay naaraayaNan moorththi
kEsavanai(p) paadavum nee kEtta kidaththiyO
dhEsamudaiyaay thiRavElOr empaavaai”
Getting up early, Andal wishes to worship Bhagavan and experience
His glories by going with many of her friends and others. One shall not
go alone and try to attain something most desirable”. She wanted to make sure
that everyone is an equal recipient of Paramatman’s grace. That is
the Vedic spirit: Uttishthata Jaagrata sanghacchadvam sam vadadvam--Arise! Awake! Let us come together
speak together to pray to Lord . And so, Andal wakes up one, who has
not joined their group yet, by saying, “It is already morning. Get up and come
with us. Don’t you hear the chirping sounds of the birds? We are also hearing
the sound of the conch that is blown in the temple during the (awakening of Paramatman.
Is it right to remain asleep yet? Wake up Oh Child! Let’s go and
have a holy dip”.
One of Andal’s friends seems sleepy and does not wake up to join
them. They go to her doorstep and start awakening her. Andal says, “Oh lady,
please get up”. “Of course it is bright day already. Are you
not hearing the chirping (keesu keesu) sounds of the birds (valiyan or
bharadhvaja sparrows)? These sparrows are now flying out of their nest in
search of food after staying in the nest together during the night. They are
making loud chirping noise feeling sad about separating from their friends”
says Andal. “You are making us wait at your doorstep. Oh spellbound girl!
The sound of the curds being churned by our fellow woman folk in Aayarpaadi is
so clearly audible. The sound of jingling of their churning pots and
other jewels during churning of curd to get butter is so
clear”. The Gopis during churning sing the glories of Kannan so
beautifully. They all then think of telling the dangers that had befallen on
Kannan, so as to make her get up in a flash and come along with them. “Oh lady!
Listen. A demon has been killed by baby Krishna” After hearing this, the maid
immediately got up and came out.
Andal also says indirectly that too much sleep is not good
and "Early bird catches the prey". But please be do not get
diverted from the wisdom thoughts of Swamiji by my stray
thoughts and get enlightened:
ARANI SERIES--Spark 50--Friday,
December 21, 2018
MUCH
SLEEP IS NOT GOOD
This danger operates on three levels.
The great hero of Mahābhārata, Arjuna, is referred to as the
‘conqueror of sleep’ – Gudākesha – in the Geetā on four occasions1. He had
earned that name, it seems, during his student days when he practiced archery
day and night. To keep away from the bed and work hard on something is itself
commendable. Are not a lot of people in this world so attached to the comfort
of their beds that duty is very often their second priority? Control over
sleep, when required, is thus a mark of industrious people who are fired by
certain passion for excellence. Being fond of physical gratifications is the
first level of sleep that is indeed dangerous.
Sleep not in para-dharma
On a second level, ‘sleep’ can mean ignorance of swadharma,
expressing itself as being busy with everything else except what we ought to be
doing. There are many frustrated people in this world, who run from dawn
to dusk but remain discontented. They turn a deaf ear to their own conscience,
which keeps whispering to them about their true calling. They are not much
attached to the comfort of their beds, unlike the first category we examined
before. They work hard but in the wrong place. Why don’t they change to the
right place? False pride, wrong attachments and other forms of confusion keep
them postponing getting down to the work that holds the promise of deeper
satisfaction. Even when some friends tell them to give up their wasteful
activities and move to their swadharma, they timidly say, “Well, we are not yet
ready for it.” When will they get ready? When will they wake up?
Apte’s Sanskrit dictionary gives two meanings to the word
‘gudākā’ – sloth and sleep. Both these can be applied to the two levels – gross
and subtle, physical and mental. Excessive attachment to pleasures of the flesh
is indeed sleep, causing sloth too. On the subtle level, our mind can be asleep
even though we are physically up and active.
Life teaches us lessons and we grow inwardly to realize
what we must truly be doing, and what can really bring happiness to us. They
say a buffalo has a very thick skin. When somebody beat a buffalo once with a
stick, the animal thought somebody was beating someone else somewhere! It was
only after sometime that the buffalo realized he was himself being beaten. That
is ‘sleep’ figuratively.
“I throw them again and again (to fields where they get
harder lessons),” says Shri Krishna2, pointing to the “School of Life” where we
have no other option but to learn and grow. The compassionate Lord supplies the
suitable environment and the right messages but the onus is on us to be
receptive and to change for better.
Sleep not in swadharma
too
Overcoming sleep (gudākā) and becoming ‘conquerors of sleep’
(gudākesha) is surely the grand plan of all spirituality. On the third and the
subtlest level, we must rise from the sleep of ‘ignorance of the Self’. This
means that it is not enough if we get up from ‘para-dharma’ (the domain where
we do not really belong) to ‘swadharma’ (the domain where our true calling is).
We must move on and wake up to ‘svaroopa-dharma’ (our true nature, which is
free from doing anything, devoid of all attributes).
In the context of Geetā, Shri Krishna primarily
awakens Arjuna to his true calling. The Lord’s teachings however have the
higher dimension too – of awakening any of us who are ready to our true nature.
Notes:
1 Chapter numbers and shloka numbers: 1.24, 2.9, 10.20 and 11.7
2 kshipāmi ajasram – Geetā 16.19
--Swami Chidananda
--December 22, 2018
THIRUPPAVAI AND THIRUVEMBAVI POPULAR WITH
BUDDHISTS TOO……..
You might have been
wondering how suddenly I am bringing to your attention famous Tamil hymns of Tiruppavai sung by Tamils during the month of Margazhi
that is Margasheersaha which month is celebrated in Gita. The Month of
Margaseersha or Margazhi brings a
natural sense of stability into our system says Sadguru Jaggi Vasudev. If you are in Thailand during this month it
is a memorable experience watching Thai Brahmin Priests reciting the
Thiruppavai and Thiruvempavai in Buddhist temples. It might also surprise you
to learn that the Brahmin Priests recite “Thiruvaasagam” during the coronation
ceremony of the King who is a Buddhist.
Jagadguru Chandrasekharendra
Saraswati had spoken in high regard of this practice of reciting Thiruppavai in
a Buddhist country like Thailand. He
has even commented that “even though we in Tamil Nadu recite Thiruvembhavai, we
do not perform it as a festival but a Buddhist country thousands of miles away
does it”. If a Buddhist country is so
much interested in these sacred compositions in Tamil that they recite during
the entire month evf Margazhi even though they
do not pronounce it properly and have no knowledge of its meaning or significance, I thought I should bring
these two compositions to your knowledge fully explaining in small instalments.
It also gives an idea as to how our culture was spread all over the Far East
and China. You will also be amazed to see how Indonesian Muslim artists play
ballet with Ramayana story and characters!
Andal's divine
composition, known as Thiruppavai, is recited by Vaishnavites all over the
world, during this holy month (Margazhi, in Tamil, Margashirsham, in Sanskrit).
In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna identifies Himself fully with this month -
Maasaanaam Margashirshoham - chapter 10, verse 35. Hence, this month is devoted
to prayers and religious pursuits.
The work of
Manika Vasagar, a Saiva saint (Nayanmar) who was a Kshatriya by caste is called
as Thiruvasagam (Holy script). “Thiru Vasagathukku urugar Evvasagathukkum
Urugar” meaning, who do not melt for Thiruvasagam will never melt for any
other book is a famous Tamil Saying of those times. Thiruvempavai is a part of
Thiruvasagam and was composed in the temple town of Thiruvannamalai during the
month of Margazhi (December-january) when the temple town was celebrating the
Pavai Nolumbu. This is a penance observed by unmarried girls of those times to
get good husbands.
Please also go through the three topics available on the Internet
1)
Thailand, Festival of
Trivambaver-Tribave.
2)
Padma Subrahmanyam brings alive the verses of Andal and Manickavachagar.
3)
Spiritual Significance of the Tamil Month of
Margazhi--Sadguru.
--December 22, 2018
BLIND LEADING THE
BLIND & THE ELEPHANT STORY
FOWAI
FORUM (INDIA) AND STEP (USA)invite you to join the WEBINAR 139 BLIND
LEADING THE BLIND Has the world changed at all?-- To be Presented by:
Pūjya Swāmi Chidānandaji on Sunday, December 23, 2018
Gist of the Presentation:
From time immemorial, spiritual ignorance has
kept the overwhelmingly large number of talented people busy with activities
that are rooted in egoism. The more immature ones among them go after name,
fame, glitter and glamour. The better ones among them engage in programs, which
seem to benefit the world and which appear to be serving noble causes. The
Upanishads, which call a spade a spade, term all these ‘karma’ and
show the sad limitations of such ways of living. The domain of ‘karma’
(ego-prompted action), whether sakāma or nishkāma,
does not address the fundamental issue of human existence – our search for
unalloyed happiness. It is jnāna (insight into the falsity of
doership) that alone can set us free:
andhena eva neeyamānā yathā andhāh ………....like
the blind leading the blind (Mundaka
Upanishad 1.2.8)
Coming from Karnataka, my family worships a pair of elephants
on Vishnu Kartigai and give them a warm send-off on the third day like Ganesha
Visarjan that I had explained in a separate discourse which is popular among my
readers. Questioning my sectarian outlook
I began to think of the strange combination of Light and Elephant worship
together. Ganesha is also worshiped as
Lord of Wisdom because of his elephant Head
symbolically. I believe in
worshiping Adi Vinayaka with
human head as created by Parvati
and worshiped in the lone temple
in Tamil Nadu
in the Muktheeswarar temple at Thilatharpanapuri. Today the most popular Ganesha form worshiped is
Ekadanta with mutilated tusk strongly promoted by the religious pundits, saints
and musicians even drawing reference to the famous sloka of Sankara “mudakaratha modakam” where Sankara meant
EKADAM+ TAM AS ANEKADAM. Nobody will
support me on this but on the other hand the whole Saivite community will rise
against me charging me as Siva hater or atheist. The symbolism of elephant head has created 32
forms of Ganesha clouded by several myths and puranas that strangely ignores Adivinayka with human head. Can this all be “Blind leading the Blind”?
Wisdom is Light and therefore seem to be
logic in this holy combination of light and elephant worship. Elephant festival
is celebrated in various traditions in India at different times the most famous
being one in Rajasthan celebrated on the day of Holy in March. The Elephant
Festival of Jaipur in Rajasthan is an annual event.
Wisdom is represented by the elephant in
the form of the deity Ganesha, one of the most popular gods in the Hindu
religion's pantheon. The elephant is associated with Buddha and the Indian
deity Ganesha and can be used to symbolize power, wisdom, strength, protection
of the home, fertility, and general good luck. Many Feng Shui practitioners
believe that elephants should have their trunks facing upwards to represent
prosperity, good luck, and success. There are some forms of Ganpati with raised
trunk too. So are the two elephants that are seen on the two sides of Lakshmi
deity with pots of Nectar held by the raised trunk.
Rigveda, states "Reality is one,
though wise men speak of it variously--“eko
viprah bahudaa vadanti" According to Paul J. Griffiths, this premise
is the foundation of universal perspective behind the parable of the blind men
and an elephant. The hymn asserts that the same Reality is subject to
interpretations and described in various ways by the wise. Many scholars
refer to it as a Hindu parable though quoted by many religions as their
own. Buddha refers to a story where the
men cannot agree with one another and come to blows over the question of what
it is like and their dispute delights the king. The Buddha ends the story by
comparing the blind men in the elephant story to preachers and scholars who are
blind and ignorant and hold to their own views. The parable or reference appear
in Sankara’s commentary on Chandogya Upanishad 5.18.1 as follows: “etad hasti darshana iva jaatyandhah”--That
is like people blind by birth in/when viewing an elephant.
What does this philosophical argument of
the blind men and an elephant tell us about God?
Four blind men discover an elephant. Since these men have never encountered an elephant, they grope about, seeking to understand and describe this new phenomenon. One grasps the trunk and concludes it is a snake. Another explores one of the elephant's legs and describes it as a tree. A third finds the elephant's tail and announces that it is a rope. And the fourth blind man, after discovering the elephant's side, concludes that it is, after all, a wall. This popular analogy is used to show that all religions are valid ways to describe God. It equalizes all religions, making all religions equally "true" in their description of God. Each in his blindness is describing the same thing: an elephant. Yet each describes the same thing in a radically different way. Many spiritual writers say, this is analogous to the different religions of the world -- they are describing the same thing in radically different ways. Thus one should conclude that no individual religion has a corner on truth, but that all should be viewed as essentially equally valid. Some other spiritual writers say, all four blind men are, in fact, mistaken. It is an elephant and not a wall o a rope or a tree or a snake. Their opinions are not equally true -- they are equally, and actually false. At best, such an analogy of religious pluralism would show that all religions are false, not true.
Four blind men discover an elephant. Since these men have never encountered an elephant, they grope about, seeking to understand and describe this new phenomenon. One grasps the trunk and concludes it is a snake. Another explores one of the elephant's legs and describes it as a tree. A third finds the elephant's tail and announces that it is a rope. And the fourth blind man, after discovering the elephant's side, concludes that it is, after all, a wall. This popular analogy is used to show that all religions are valid ways to describe God. It equalizes all religions, making all religions equally "true" in their description of God. Each in his blindness is describing the same thing: an elephant. Yet each describes the same thing in a radically different way. Many spiritual writers say, this is analogous to the different religions of the world -- they are describing the same thing in radically different ways. Thus one should conclude that no individual religion has a corner on truth, but that all should be viewed as essentially equally valid. Some other spiritual writers say, all four blind men are, in fact, mistaken. It is an elephant and not a wall o a rope or a tree or a snake. Their opinions are not equally true -- they are equally, and actually false. At best, such an analogy of religious pluralism would show that all religions are false, not true.
If God is infinite and we are finite, it
is reasonable to believe that none of us can fully capture His nature. But does
this philosophic analogy demonstrate the truth that all religions lead to God?
Evidently not. That is why Bhagavan said in Gita: “Only those who worship Me
(Deva) come to Me. Others will go to devatas, pitrus or spirits whom they
worship”. To conclude that this story does ignore several points. Nevertheless it is a
powerful and provocative image, and it certainly seems to capture something of
the truth.
To me the large elephant we worship on
this day represents Paramaatman and the small elephant Jivaataman like the two
birds perching on the same tree. Jivaatman follows closely Paramaatman on the
day of send-off. Though the parable pities the blind men for their handicap, I
would think good Lord is more considerate to them than to others who have been
blessed with eye-sight. These blind men were deprived of their eye-sight
because of their past karma and thus were given an opportunity to turn inwards
and realize the inner light and reach the Supreme faster as they had no
attraction for material world in their physical condition, if only focused. We
have here examples of saints like Surdas who made best use of their blindness.
But these blind men who studied elephant depended solely on their extra
powerful hearing power given by him and got attracted to the material world,
thought differently about the Supreme and got exposed to partial truth. Those
who are blessed with physical vision are in no way better disposed. Our worldly
vision is focused only on the illusory and materialistic world that distracts
us from turning inwards and realize the most powerful inner-light. The worship
of light (deepam Jyoti Parabrahman)
and elephant together reminds us to turn inwards, see the light within and get
at the Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing but Truth. Please go through my
discourse on an interesting rare festival.
December 21, 2018
Our Puranic Research Scholar Muralidharan
Iyengar from Singapore draws our attention to the most sacred hymn on Vishnu
composed by none other than Bhakta Dhruva hidden in Skanda Purana. To those
with a pure heart, the gates of Vishnu’s spiritual world are always open. But
on a precious few days, it is said, that passage is open to all, allowing
devotees to more easily reach Vaikunta, the abode of Lord Vishnu, Supreme God
to hundreds of millions of Hindus. This is the essence of Vaikunta Ekadashi, a
festival marked by fasting, devotion and pilgrimage to famous temples, when
devotees draws closer to God in a most personal way.
Who is Lord Vishnu?
In the Vaishnava
sect of Hinduism Vishnu is the Supreme God, venerated as the all-pervading
essence of all beings, the master of time, the One who supports, sustains and
governs the universe and all elements within it.
In the sacred Puranas, Vishnu is described as the color of dark blue clouds, having four arms, holding a lotus, mace, conch and a chakra. Through the ages, He manifests in several forms, or avatars, such as Sri Rama and Sri Krishna, to guide humans on the path of dharma. Vishnu’s constant companion is the Goddess Lakshmi. He represents the potential and She the wealth of potential brought to fruition.
In the sacred Puranas, Vishnu is described as the color of dark blue clouds, having four arms, holding a lotus, mace, conch and a chakra. Through the ages, He manifests in several forms, or avatars, such as Sri Rama and Sri Krishna, to guide humans on the path of dharma. Vishnu’s constant companion is the Goddess Lakshmi. He represents the potential and She the wealth of potential brought to fruition.
What is Vaikunta Ekadashi?
Ekadashi is the eleventh lunar day of every fortnight. Of the two dozen ekadashis in a year, Vaikunta Ekadashi reigns supreme. It is known as Mokshada, “bestowing liberation.” On this day, the doors to Vishnu’s divine abode, called Vaikunta, are open wide to all who seek salvation, moksha.
This occurs in the bright fortnight of December/January, the Hindu month of Margasheersha. According to mythology, devas and demons churned the Ocean of Milk for 1,000 years and, amrita, the nectar of immortality, appeared on this day.
Ekadashi is the eleventh lunar day of every fortnight. Of the two dozen ekadashis in a year, Vaikunta Ekadashi reigns supreme. It is known as Mokshada, “bestowing liberation.” On this day, the doors to Vishnu’s divine abode, called Vaikunta, are open wide to all who seek salvation, moksha.
This occurs in the bright fortnight of December/January, the Hindu month of Margasheersha. According to mythology, devas and demons churned the Ocean of Milk for 1,000 years and, amrita, the nectar of immortality, appeared on this day.
What do Hindus do on Vaikunta
Ekadashi?
Devotees maintain a total or partial fast and observe mauna, silence, while remembering Vishnu in prayer. While many Hindus fast on all ekadashis, Vaikunta Ekadashi is observed with utmost diligence and self-restraint. A common observance is to consume only water or milk.
What are the Temple Observances?
Devotees flock to Vishnu shrines, especially famous ones such as the Venkateshwara temples in Tirupati and Pittsburg, and the Ranganathar temple in Srirangam. In Srirangam the festival spans 21 days divided into morning and night observances.
Lord Vishnu, adorned in diamond-studded armor, is brought to a 1,000-pillared hall through the northern gate, called swarga vaasal, “heaven’s entrance,” which is opened only this one time each year.
Devotees maintain a total or partial fast and observe mauna, silence, while remembering Vishnu in prayer. While many Hindus fast on all ekadashis, Vaikunta Ekadashi is observed with utmost diligence and self-restraint. A common observance is to consume only water or milk.
What are the Temple Observances?
Devotees flock to Vishnu shrines, especially famous ones such as the Venkateshwara temples in Tirupati and Pittsburg, and the Ranganathar temple in Srirangam. In Srirangam the festival spans 21 days divided into morning and night observances.
Lord Vishnu, adorned in diamond-studded armor, is brought to a 1,000-pillared hall through the northern gate, called swarga vaasal, “heaven’s entrance,” which is opened only this one time each year.
What else is celebrated around this
time?
In the northern hemisphere, winter solstice occurs in this month, on 22, heralding longer, warmer days and agrarian prosperity. This transition to the year’s fortuitous half is celebrated with beautiful patterns, called rangoli, drawn with colored rice flour on the floor outside homes.
Hindus believe that at this time the divine celestials are most attentive to the pleas of mankind. Devotees rise early, perform ablutions and, throughout the month, visit temples with prayers in heart and gifts in hand.
In the northern hemisphere, winter solstice occurs in this month, on 22, heralding longer, warmer days and agrarian prosperity. This transition to the year’s fortuitous half is celebrated with beautiful patterns, called rangoli, drawn with colored rice flour on the floor outside homes.
Hindus believe that at this time the divine celestials are most attentive to the pleas of mankind. Devotees rise early, perform ablutions and, throughout the month, visit temples with prayers in heart and gifts in hand.
What is the legend of Ekadashi?
In an ancient story, Ekadashi is a Devi, or angel, born of Vishnu’s mind, a fierce defender of righteousness, a protector of those in need. Strengthened by unfailing devotion to God Vishnu, she was feared by the forces of evil and ignorance. Vishnu offered her the boon of being rich, famous, powerful and beautiful in the world of mortals. But she declined, saying she wanted only to share her blessings with humans who fast and pray to Him on Ekadashi.Vishnu granted her wish, decreeing that anyone worshiping Him by fasting on the eleventh day of the moon would be allowed access through the celestial gates. In the epic Mahabharata, Lord Krishna relates Ekadashi’s story to King Yudhishthira, praising her and recommending fasting as an ancient and effective spiritual practice.
In an ancient story, Ekadashi is a Devi, or angel, born of Vishnu’s mind, a fierce defender of righteousness, a protector of those in need. Strengthened by unfailing devotion to God Vishnu, she was feared by the forces of evil and ignorance. Vishnu offered her the boon of being rich, famous, powerful and beautiful in the world of mortals. But she declined, saying she wanted only to share her blessings with humans who fast and pray to Him on Ekadashi.Vishnu granted her wish, decreeing that anyone worshiping Him by fasting on the eleventh day of the moon would be allowed access through the celestial gates. In the epic Mahabharata, Lord Krishna relates Ekadashi’s story to King Yudhishthira, praising her and recommending fasting as an ancient and effective spiritual practice.
How is the fast broken? The Ekadashi
Fast is normally broken the next lunar day, dvadashi, by partaking of fruit, herbs and milk. The Indian gooseberry, amla, known as a wonder food, is eulogized in the Puranas as the ideal nourishment to jump-start the system after a fast.
Please go through my detailed discourse on the subject:
Fast is normally broken the next lunar day, dvadashi, by partaking of fruit, herbs and milk. The Indian gooseberry, amla, known as a wonder food, is eulogized in the Puranas as the ideal nourishment to jump-start the system after a fast.
Please go through my detailed discourse on the subject:
--December 15, 2018
Namaste, Thank you for the excellent write up on Vaikuntha
Ekadashi.
--Jyotheen Karam
ASTRONOMICAL UTTARAYANA WINTER
SOLSTICE DAY DISREGARDED BY HINDUS
The winter solstice is the day with the
fewest hours of sunlight in the whole year. In the Northern Hemisphere,
it always occurs around December 21 or 22. (In the Southern Hemisphere,
the winter solstice occurs around June 20 or 21.) In 2018, the
winter solstice arrives on Friday, December 21, at 5:23 pm EST. Coincidentally,
December’s full Moon—the Full Cold Moon—will also appear on the night of the
21st, though it will not be at its absolute peak until the next day.
So, keep your eyes peeled for a (near) Winter Solstice Full Moon that
night! (Believe it or not, the next full Moon to actually peak on
the winter solstice won’t be until 2094!)
What is the Winter Solstice?
The
word solstice comes from Latin sol “sun” and sistere
“to stand still.” In the Northern Hemisphere, as summer
advances to winter, the points on the horizon where the Sun rises and sets
advance southward each day; the high point in the Sun’s daily path across the
sky, which occurs at local noon, also moves southward each day. This day
should have been the most auspicious
day for Hindus being the actual
astronomical Uttarayana Punyakala commencement day! Unfortunately Hindu
Astrologers misguide Hindus and say it falls on Makara Sankranti Day in January 2019 and also say
Bhishma died on this Day but celebrate Bhishma
Ekadasi
in February, the day on which Bhishma delivered Vishnu Sahasara Nama and gave up his ghost.
At the winter solstice, the Sun’s path has
reached its southernmost position. The next day, the path will advance
northward. However, a few days before and after the winter solstice, the change
is so slight that the Sun’s path seems to stay the same, or stand still. The
Sun is directly overhead at “high-noon” on Winter Solstice at the latitude
called the Tropic of Capricorn. Perhaps Hindu Astrologers took advantage
of this phenomenon and so postponed Uttarayana Day to Makara Sankranti to make
it exclusive sacred Day and not to mix up with the belief a day to honor
and perhaps spiritually connect with distant ancestors as believed by some in
Western world looking at the historic 5000 years old Stonehenge worshiped by Tribal on Winter
Solstice Day!
Is such a
Day not an ideal Day to spend time in the
Hindu American temples worshiping the Lord
offering Him hot kichadi or Pongal being the month of Marghazhi that is
celebrated as holy month in the South?
Purnima in Shukla Paksha of Margashirsha month is called
Margashirsha Purnima. It is also known as Battisi Purnima as well as Dattatreya
(his bnirthday) Purnima. According to Hindu religion, it is the month for
performing charity, religious activities and worshipping the Gods and
Goddesses. In Shrimad Bhagvad Gita, Lord Krishna himself has said, I am the
auspicious month of Margashirsha among months. It is also believed that Satyuga
Era began from this month.
Religious Importance of Margashirsha
Purnima
As per religious beliefs, by applying the soil (Mitti) of Basil
roots (Tulsi) on your body and then, bathing in a holy river, lake or pond; a
person is blessed by Lord Vishnu. Donation on this day offers result which is
32 times more rewarding than the results of other Purnima. This is the reason
why, it is also called as Battisi Purnima. On this auspicious occasion, worshipping
God Satyanarayan as well as listening to Satyanarayan Katha is also performed
and is highly rewarding. After Katha, donating food and clothing to the needy
offering food to priests on
Margashirsha Purnima that pleases the Lord specially to Krishna (in his role of
Bhagawan or Parabrahman) who says among months I am Margasisrsha. Moon should also be worshipped on
Margashirsha Purnima. This is because it is believed that Moon was covered with
Amrita on this day.
Here is yet another Day where various traditions converge and
worship their Ishtadevatas in Temples in India and would be an ideal day for
Hindu Americans to celebrate it as SRE (Special Religious Event) Day like
Diwali but it is unfortunate that it goes as lame-duck routine worship day directed
by Religious pundits and Sectarian trained priests. Particularly this year is
very significant as the Truly Religious
Uttarayana Day (Winter Solstice Day)
falls on a Purnima day in the holy month of Margashirsha that will occur only
in the year 2094.
SIX
WINTER SOLSTICE CELEBRATION OF HARVEST FESTIVAL & SUN WOPRSHIP
In
India Winter Solstice is the harvest festival and lasts for 3 days. On the
first day, rice boiled with milk is offered to the Rain God. On the second day,
it is offered to the Sun God and on the third day, the family cattle are given
a bath and dressed with flowers, bells and colors, to honor them for their hard
work in the fields. Many resort to bon
fire and Surya Namaskar. For Hindus coming
from the most ancient Vedic culture that venerates Sun as Supreme Being Makara
Sankranti is one of the most important festivals of the Hindu
calendar that celebrates the sun's journey into the northern
hemisphere posthumously, a period which is considered to be highly
auspicious. They have influenced many
cultures on the globe with this tradition. Here are the six traditional
celebrations of Harvest Festival and Sun Worship.
Dong Zhi
The Chinese celebration of the winter
solstice, Dong Zhi (which means “Winter Arrives”) welcomes the return of longer
days and the corresponding increase in positive energy in the year to come.
Occurring only six weeks before the Chinese New Year, the festival has its own
significance for many people, and is believed to be the day when everyone gets
one year older. The celebration may have begun as a harvest festival, when
farmers and fisherman took time off to celebrate with their families.
Shab-e Yalda
On the longest night of the year, Iranians all
over the world celebrate the triumph of
Mithra, the Sun God, over darkness in the ancient festival of Shab-e Yalda
(which translates to “Night of Birth”). According to tradition, people gather
together on the longest night of year to protect each other from evil, burning
fires to light their way through the darkness and performing charitable acts.
Friends and family join in making wishes, feasting on nuts, pomegranates and
other festive foods and reading poetry, especially the work of the 14th-century
Persian poet Hafiz. Some stay awake all night to rejoice in the moment when the
sun rises, banishing evil and announcing the arrival of goodness.
Inti Raymi
In Peru, like the rest of the Southern
Hemisphere, the winter solstice is celebrated in June. The Inti Raymi (Quechua
for “sun festival”), which takes place on the solstice, is dedicated to
honoring Inti, the sun god. Before the Spanish conquest, the Incas fasted for
three days before the solstice. Before dawn on the fourth day, they went to a
ceremonial plaza and waited for the sunrise. When it appeared, they crouched
down before it, offering golden cups of chicha (a sacred beer made from
fermented corn). Animals—including llamas—were sacrificed during the ceremony,
and the Incas used a mirror to focus the sun’s rays and kindle a fire. After
the conquest, the Spaniards banned the Inti Raymi holiday, but it was revived
in the 20th century (with mock sacrifices) and continues today.
Shalako
– Zuni Indians
For the Zuni, one of the Native American
Pueblo peoples in western New Mexico, the winter solstice signifies the
beginning of the year, and is marked with a ceremonial dance called Shalako.
After fasting, prayer and observing the rising and setting of the sun for
several days before the solstice, the Pekwin, or “Sun Priest” traditionally
announces the exact moment of itiwanna, the rebirth of the sun, with a long,
mournful call. With that signal, the rejoicing and dancing begin, as 12 kachina
clowns in elaborate masks dance along with the Shalako themselves—12-foot-high
effigies with bird heads, seen as messengers from the gods. After four days of
dancing, new dancers are chosen for the following year, and the yearly cycle begins
again.
Soyal
Like the Zuni, the Hopi of northern Arizona
are believed to be among the descendants of the mysterious Anasazi people,
ancient Native Americans who flourished beginning in 200 B.C. (As the Anasazi
left no written records, we can only speculate about their winter solstice
rites, but the placement of stones and structures in their ruins, such as New
Mexico’s Chaco Canyon, indicate they certainly took a keen interest in the
sun’s movement.) In the Hopi solstice celebration of Soyal, the Sun Chief takes
on the duties of the Zuni Pekwin, announcing the setting of the sun on the
solstice. An all-night ceremony then begins, including kindling fires, dancing
and sometimes gift-giving. Traditionally, the Hopi sun-watcher was not only
important to the winter solstice tradition, as his observation of the sun also
governed the planting of crops and the observance of Hopi ceremonies and
rituals all year long.
Toji
In Japan, the winter solstice is less a
festival than a traditional practice centered around starting the new year with
health and good luck. It’s a particularly sacred time of the year for farmers,
who welcome the return of a sun that will nurture their crops after the long,
cold winter. People light bonfires to encourage the sun’s return; huge bonfires
burn on Mount Fuji each December 22. A widespread practice during the winter
solstice is to take warm baths scented with yuzu, a citrus fruit, which is said
to ward off colds and foster good health. Many public baths and hot springs
throw yuzu in the water during the winter solstice. Many Japanese people also
eat kabocha squash—known in the United States as Japanese pumpkin—on the
solstice, as it is thought to bring luck.
-- December 16, 2018
EDUCATION FOR WELL-BEING
FOWAI FORUM (INDIA) AND STEP (USA) invite you
to join the WEBINAR 138 Education for well-being to be Presented by: Mr.
Satyesh Bellur on Sunday, December 16, 2018.
Gist of the Presentation: Are we today getting literate or are we being
educated ? What is education for well-being?
Vedas have a prescription for this through
"shodasha samskāra", the 16 steps to human evolution and well-being.
The webinar would focus on introducing these samskāras very briefly...
(Announcement : all the webinar videos are
available on YOUTUBE/fowaiforum)
I have burnt quite a few candles on the subject. I was surprised the topic “Hindu Rites for the Deceased Parents and ancestors (Sept 2011)” leads the rest among top ten discourses out of the 360 discourses popular with my Blog visitors. All the topics on Samskara in section C of my Classified list posted on the blog are also very popular with the readers who have gone through more than 500000 pages of my discourses. Upanayana ceremony was very popular with ladies like is with Brahmin boys today, in Vedic culture but it is fast vanishing as a Samskara in foreign soil among Hindus. Ultimately only Vivaha and Antyeshti may remain as necessary for those who still identify as Hindus in a migrant countries. While Brahmins in India who claim their title as birth -right carried worship in Tirupati temple traditionally, Tirupati Temple has blessed some Harijans and Scheduled castes as priests with holy thread investiture ceremony that has shocked the Hindu community. Of course there are scheduled caste and Sudra caste Azhwars worshiped in Vaishnava temples who are also authors of Tamil Vedas and this new religious priest order enforced by the temple board should not come as a shock if these priests are of that Agama scholar level of Brahmin priests? I wonder why the temple board did not include some women Harijans also among these Neo Brahmins. Ambedkar baptized many Harijans as Neo Buddhists. It would have been wiser for Tirupati to have trained priests from this group entering them to Upanayana Investiture ceremony rather than Harijans who pride in their title to enjoy schedule caste privileges for ever without taking trouble to improve their educational and social standards like butchers of cows, slaughterers or scavengers in Hindu society where much focus is given under Svacchata Renaissance. Yet politics needs them for Votes and will not eliminate caste titles. Many Brahmins will convert themselves to scheduled castes if they can find a Guru or institution like Tirupati Temple to perennially enjoy scheduled caste privileges which Secular Indian Government will never abolish. It has beern there saince Independence for 70 years. Tirupati avoided lady Harijan priests afraid of Sabarimalai controversy. Concept of HRE Board with government member is peculiar to Secular India where Government interferes only with major Religion Hinduism. They are afraid of touching minor religions for their vices. Soon USA Hindu American Temples may not be able to import priests from India and therefore should train their own priests making it lucrative as a high paid job to attract even Western scholars. My father was a priest but being the least lucrative job I did not become a priest in spite of high proficiency in Sanskrit Language.
Thus significance of Samskara is in a melting pot and so FOWAI forum wants to highlight on Samskaras as practiced in Vedic culture and its need for an orderly disciplined Hindu Society. Please go through my various discourses as indicated below. The year and month of posting on the Blog is indicated within Brackets (Hindu Reflections: <nrsrini.blogsapot.com>
I have burnt quite a few candles on the subject. I was surprised the topic “Hindu Rites for the Deceased Parents and ancestors (Sept 2011)” leads the rest among top ten discourses out of the 360 discourses popular with my Blog visitors. All the topics on Samskara in section C of my Classified list posted on the blog are also very popular with the readers who have gone through more than 500000 pages of my discourses. Upanayana ceremony was very popular with ladies like is with Brahmin boys today, in Vedic culture but it is fast vanishing as a Samskara in foreign soil among Hindus. Ultimately only Vivaha and Antyeshti may remain as necessary for those who still identify as Hindus in a migrant countries. While Brahmins in India who claim their title as birth -right carried worship in Tirupati temple traditionally, Tirupati Temple has blessed some Harijans and Scheduled castes as priests with holy thread investiture ceremony that has shocked the Hindu community. Of course there are scheduled caste and Sudra caste Azhwars worshiped in Vaishnava temples who are also authors of Tamil Vedas and this new religious priest order enforced by the temple board should not come as a shock if these priests are of that Agama scholar level of Brahmin priests? I wonder why the temple board did not include some women Harijans also among these Neo Brahmins. Ambedkar baptized many Harijans as Neo Buddhists. It would have been wiser for Tirupati to have trained priests from this group entering them to Upanayana Investiture ceremony rather than Harijans who pride in their title to enjoy schedule caste privileges for ever without taking trouble to improve their educational and social standards like butchers of cows, slaughterers or scavengers in Hindu society where much focus is given under Svacchata Renaissance. Yet politics needs them for Votes and will not eliminate caste titles. Many Brahmins will convert themselves to scheduled castes if they can find a Guru or institution like Tirupati Temple to perennially enjoy scheduled caste privileges which Secular Indian Government will never abolish. It has beern there saince Independence for 70 years. Tirupati avoided lady Harijan priests afraid of Sabarimalai controversy. Concept of HRE Board with government member is peculiar to Secular India where Government interferes only with major Religion Hinduism. They are afraid of touching minor religions for their vices. Soon USA Hindu American Temples may not be able to import priests from India and therefore should train their own priests making it lucrative as a high paid job to attract even Western scholars. My father was a priest but being the least lucrative job I did not become a priest in spite of high proficiency in Sanskrit Language.
Thus significance of Samskara is in a melting pot and so FOWAI forum wants to highlight on Samskaras as practiced in Vedic culture and its need for an orderly disciplined Hindu Society. Please go through my various discourses as indicated below. The year and month of posting on the Blog is indicated within Brackets (Hindu Reflections: <nrsrini.blogsapot.com>
C. HINDU SAMSKAARAS
1. Hindu Samskaaras (Sept 2011); 2. Hindu Baby
Shower (Sept 2011); 3. Upanayana; (Sept. 2011); 4. Hindu Rites for the Deceased
Parents and ancestors (Sept 2011); 5. Namakaranam Ritual--Hindu Naming Ceremony
(March 2014);6. Vivaaham—Hindu Braahma Sacred Matrimony (June 2014); 7. Hindu
views on Conception and Childbirth, and Nisheka Samskara (July 2014);8.
Maangalya Dhaaranam and Sumangali Kriya in Hindu Wedding (September 2014); 9.
What do we learn from the Institution of Marriage in Hindu Ancient Culture?
(September 2014); 10. Hindu Samskaaras performed by Parents on their children
(July 2014); 11. What is Pancha Samskaara? (August 2015)
--December
15, 2018
SANATANA DHARMA THROUGHOUT THE WORLD
IN ANCIENT TIMES
I have been talking to you about the
importance of celebrating Teachers' Day in Hindu temples and as SRE (Special
Religious Events Day) in Hindu American Temples that suits all
traditions in One temple for Many Traditions. Please go through the details of
its celebration in a Buddhist country Thailand that should be an eye
opener to American Hindus too.
Thailand Teachers’ Day Wai Khru Shiva
Vishnu Akshatha on Guru Vaara
Written by ramanan50
That Sanatana Dharma was spread
throughout the world in ancient times.
This can be known if one understands
ancient geography,when the landmass was different from what we see today,the
excavations of Hindi Deities, Symbols from around the world.
From the descriptions of different
parts world,geographical in nature,by Valmiki in Ramayana in detail in the
Sundarakanda, Description of lands during Rama’s Aswamedha Yaaga in Yuddha
Kanda; similar descriptions in eighteen Puranas.
Evidence of Rama in the middle East,
Rama, Dasaratha and Bharatha’s name
in the Kings’List of Sumria,
Shiva Lingam in Mecca,
Hanuman, Makaradwaja in Central
America,
Vatican design as Shiva lingam with
Avudayaar.
Trinetra Dance of Shiva in Australia,
Pharohs with Thiruman,Vishnu Marks,
(Gokulashtami and Gulam Khader)
Rama Sita Festival is conducted. In
Mexico.
The spread of Sanatana Dharma towards
middle East was more ancient and widespread.Korean queen was from
Ayodhya,India The four Vedas are called Chatur Vedas there.The customs of
Hinduism are present in the Far East even today.
Teachers’ Day is conducted every year
in Thailand as Guru Vandana Day. It is called ‘Wai Khru’ .Student representatives present their teachers with offerings
during the wai khru ceremony at Wachirawit School, Chiang Mai.
Despite Buddhism shadowing over Hinduism
there,the Wai Khru Festival refers to Shiva, Narayana and uses Akshatha,puffed
rice on the occasion.
And this festival is celebrated on
Thursday, Guru Vaara, which is the day of Guru,Brihaspathi.
‘
The wai khru ceremony
(Thai: พิธีไหว้ครู, pronounced [wâːj kʰrūː]) is a Thai
ritual in which students pay respects to their teachers in order to express
their gratitude and formalize the student–teacher relationship. It is regularly
held near the beginning of the school year in most schools in Thailand. Wai khru has long been an important rite in the traditional
martial and performing arts, as well as in astrology , Thai Massage and other
traditional arts; students and performers of Muay Thai and Krabi Krabong, as
well as Thai dance and classical music, will usually perform a wai khru ritual at their initiation as well as before
performances to pay respect and homage to both their teachers and the deities
who patronize their Arts.
The ceremony.
The rituals of wai khru are
believed to have derived from ancient animistic beliefs, influenced by the
spread of Brahmanism from India. This is evident in the wai khruceremonies of traditional dance and music,
where specific mention is made to Ishvara in Thai Message, where specific
mention is made to Shivaga Komarpaj and Narayana, along with other Vedic
deities. Wai khru has for most of history existed as a folk
tradition, passed on from generation to generation throughout the years.
The wai khru ceremony in
its modern form, which is held in most schools today, originated at Triam Udom
Suksa School in 1941. The sarabhañña chant was
written by Thanpuying Dussadee Malakul Na Ayutthaya (the wife of ML Pin
Malakul, director of the school at the time)…
The wai khru ceremonies
which take place in most educational institutions in Thailand today generally
follow the same form. The ceremony usually begins with a Buddhist prayer ritual
in institutions where Buddhism is observed as the official religion, followed
by the students’ recitation of the wai khru chant,
which expresses respect for and gratitude to the teachers, and asks for the
teachers’ blessing of their studies. Following this, a select number of
students, usually the representatives of each class, will present the teachers
with offerings of flowers, candles and joss sticks arranged on phan (traditional Thai pedestalled trays). This is
usually followed by a speech by the headteacher offering the students guidance
in their academic career. Many institutions also present student awards and
honors during the ceremony.
The traditional offerings for wai khru represent a symbolism of student qualities,
namely:
·
Ixora (khem, เข็ม)
flowers, which while closed form pointed buds, symbolizing sharp wit,
·
Cynodon dactylon (ya phraek, หญ้าแพรก or Bermuda grass), the rapid growth and resilience of which
symbolize perseverance and the ability to learn,
·
Popped rice (khao tok, ข้าวตอก), which symbolizes discipline, and
·
Eggplant flowers, which bow low when
nearing fruiting, symbolizing respect and humility.
The ceremony is usually
held shortly after the beginning of the first term, on a Thursday, as Thursday
is traditionally the day of Brihaspati, Vedic god of wisdom and teachers.
--December 14, 2018
THE SACRED MONTH OF MARGASEERSHA IN NORTH INDIA AND
MARGAZHI IN TAMIL NADU
Margazhi Masam 2018 –
2019 of Tamils – Importance of Margazhi Month in Tamil Calendar - What To Do in
Margazhi Month?
The Tamil Margalzhi
Masam, or Margazhi Month, is the month of Bhakti and Music. In 2018,
Margazhi month begins on Sunday, December 16, 2018 and ends on Monday, January
14, 2019. The importance of Margali Masam was announced by none other than
Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita when says Maasanaam Margasheershoham -
among the twelve months, I am Margazhi. Rendering of Thiruppavai and
Thiruvempavai, religious discourses and music festivals are the major
highlights during the period.
The month is kept aside for spiritual activities. Therefore
Auspicious events and marriages are not performed in the month. The reason for
avoiding auspicious activities is that the month is the dawn period for Devas
and people do not want to engage in any other auspicious activities other than
worship of Gods.
Thiruppavai of Andal
Chanting of the Tiruppavai of Andal is the most important event of
the month. Tiruppavai consists of 30 verses and a verse is chanted on each day
of Margazhji. Instead of the usual prayer, Tiruppavai is recited as morning
prayer during the month of Margazhi at the
Tirumala Tirupati Temple.
Margazhi Kolam
Another major highlight of the month is the drawing of kolams
(rangoli) daily in front of houses. Many streets are filled with huge kolams of
various sizes and shapes. The designs are breathtaking.
Important Festivals of
Shiva - Vishnu - Hanuman in the month
The most important
festivals in the Margalzhi month are Vaikunta Ekadasi, Hanuman Jayanthi and Arudra Darshan.
The month is also of
great significance in the Srirangam Sri Ranganatha Temple. Apart from the
Vaikunta Ekadasi, the Srirangam temple during the month witnesses the Pagal
pathu and Raapathu – the chanting of Thiruvaimozhi.
Thiruvaimozhi consists
of 4000 verses and extols the glory of Lord Narayana. The first 1000 verses of
Thiruvaimozhi are rendered during the 10 days prior to Vaikunta Ekadasi and
this period is known as ‘Pagal Pathu.’ Beginning from Vaikunta Ekadasi for ten
days, the next three thousand verses of Thiruvaimozhi are recited and this
period is known as raapatthu or Iraappatthu. The month also marks the
end of the Sabarimalai Aiyappa pilgrimage.
Margazhi Masam heralds
the winter solstice when the days are shorter and the nights are
longer.
Margazhi Month is also
considered the dawn period of Devas. Uttarayana Punyakalam begins in mid January – the daytime of Devas
[The real Uttarayana Day that is Winter solstice day also falls on
December 21 in Margazhi, but not for our astrologers who declare
Makara Sankranti as Winter Splstioce Day for Hindus] One year of ours is a day for the
Devas. The night time of Devas begins during Dakshinayana Punyakalam. which is also
celebrated on a wrong astronomical day.
Dates of important festivals and auspicious days in the month are:
- Vaikunta Ekadasi – December 18, 2018
- Arudra Darshan – December 23, 2018
Hanuman Jayanti – January 4, 2019 (North Indians celebrate Hanuman Jayanti
in April along with Rama Navami)
- Bhogi Pongal – January 14, 2019
[Please go through my
detailed discourses on these festivals as well as Makara Sankranti]
- Purnima is on December 22, 2019.
Amavasya in Margazhi month is on January 5, 2019.
\Margazhi Musical and
Dance Festival
The Tamil Margazhi month is famous for numerous Indian traditional
classical music concerts and dance programs especially in Chennai. The entire
month is kept apart for devotional Carnatic Music, Bhajans and spiritual
activities by many people.
Popularly known as Margazhi festival, more than 3,500 concerts take
place during the period in Chennai making it one of the biggest music and dance
festival in the world.
--Rajendra Abhilash
Margashirsha Month of the North
Margashirsha is the
ninth month in the Hindu calendar, which is believed to be
very auspicious month for the Hindus. The scriptures of Hindus herald
this month in words “MaasonaamMargashirshoham” meaning that there is no
other month as auspicious as Margashirsha.This year it began on December 7.
Lord Krishna about Margashirsha Month
Lord Sri Krishna himself
has heralded the significance of the Margashirsha month in one of the verses of
The Bhagavad Gita. ---- “Bruhatsaama thatha saamnaam Gayatri Chandasaamaham
Maasaanaam Margasheershoham Ruthunam Kusumakarha”Meaning:- Lord Krishna
says “In the Sama Veda, I am the Bruhathsama, among the verse forms, I am the
Gayatri and among the months, I am the Margashirsha, and among the seasons, I
am the spring season.
What to do during this month
It is strongly believed
in the Hindu tradition that having a holy dip in the Ganges during the
Margashirsha month can bestow the benefits of Grahan Snaan (sanctifying bath
after the eclipse). This month is an ideal one to engage in the worship of Lord
Vishnu. During this month, Lakshmi Puja is done either on Thursdays or Fridays.
Also during the Margashirsha month, people usually undertake practices like
chanting Vishnu Sahasranama and visiting the temples of Lord Vishnu.
Gita Jayanti
It is said that the
Bhagavad Gita was given to Arjun during Margashirsha month on the day of Shukla
Paksha Ekadasi (eleventh day of the bright half of the lunar month). Therefore,
year after year, this day is celebrated as the Gita Jayanti. On this day, mass
recitals of Bhagavad Gita is performed in addition to special pujas to Lord
Krishna.
Moksha Ekadasi
The Shukla Paksha
Ekadasi (eleventh day of the bright half of the lunar month) of Margashirsha
month is also celebrated as Moksha Ekadasi or Vaikunta Ekadasi. On this day,
people observe a strict fasting accompanied by elaborate pujas to Lord Vishnu.
On the next day of Dwadasi (twelfth day of the bright phase of the lunar
month), the fast is concluded with a holy bath and partaking the Prasad offered
to the Lord.
Datta Jayanti
On the full moon day of
the month of Margashirsha, it is believed that Dattatreya incarnated on this
earth taking birth as the son of Sage Atri and his wife Anusuya. He is
considered as Trimurty Avtar or the incarnation of all the three principal gods
of Hinduism namely Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Dattatreya Jayanti is celebrated
with great religious fervor in the temples of Sri Pada Vallabha Kshetram
(Pithapuram in the Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh) and Sri Kshetra
Dattatreya temple (Ganugapur in Maharashtra)
Mitra Saptami in Margashirsha
Mitra Saptami falls on
the Shukla Paksha Saptami (the seventh day of the bright half of lunar month)
in the month of Margashirsha. This is a festival dedicated to worshipping the
Sun God (Mitra or Surya Bhagvan). Lord Surya is addressed with different names
during the different months of the year and he is praised as Mitra [among the
twelve Adityas] in this month and therefore, the event is called Mitra Saptami.
Worshiping Sun God on this day is said to provide the devotees with good health
and prosperity. People do not apply oil on hair on this day.
Please go through the following discourses connected
with Margaseersha/Margazhi celebrations:
http://nrsrini.blogspot.com/2012/09/dattaatreya-jayanti-discourse-by-n.html
http://nrsrini.blogspot.com/2011/11/aandaal-kodai-incarnation-of-bhoodevi.htmlhttp://nrsrini.blogspot.com/2012/01/aiyappan.html
http://nrsrini.blogspot.com/2011/11/aandaal-kodai-incarnation-of-bhoodevi.htmlhttp://nrsrini.blogspot.com/2012/01/aiyappan.html
--December
11, 2018
Thanks for this informative E-mail
--Sudhakar
Naig
OF THE THREE GREAT RELIGIONS CHRISTIANITY, ISLAM &
HINDUISM WHICH ONE CONVEYS UNIVERSAL TRUTH
Maria Wirth, from Germany is no stranger to Hindu
Americans. She knows India too well having lived there. She has been fascinated
by Sanatana Dharma like many others in the past in her country. As I informed
earlier Germany is more serious than India in learning Sanskrit and studying
Vedanta even at school level. Maria Wirth says: “Now Hinduism is a rather new
term. It was introduced by the British for the ancient traditions in India
based on the Vedic texts. Why was Hinduism introduced? Today’s ‘Indians’ were
called Hindus earlier and even today are called Hindu in China. Hinduism would
be akin to Germanism or Frenchism”. In fact Chinese can’t pronounce ‘h’ and so
call Indians Indu though meaning “Hindu” irrespective of religion they follow.
Doctrined by Chou-ism & Maoism they do not understand the meaning of
religion. Britishers added the suffix -ism to this word Hindu and renamed
Sanatana Dharma as Hinduism. But why? Oxford Dictionary of current English
says; the suffix “”--ism is colloquial and is usually used in derogatory sense.
Why no -ism suffixes for Christianity and Islam? Compare the words--absurdism,
anarchism, atheism, against purity, clarity, serenity, sanctity. So we have the
group of Hinduism, Confucianism, Mysticism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Jainism,
Sikhism all pagan religions and Communism too. Please go through her note that
she attached as comment in FB on somebody's remarks on Hinduism as given below
to which I got attracted that I have also added to her previous text referred
in my article which please go through;
Among these Westerners have struggled hard to
prove Judaism is the oldest and Father of all religions being male
chauvinistic. But see below and convince yourself:
In the eastern side of Pradan city there is a big God-given forest, which is 16 square yojanas in size. The man named Adama was staying there under a Papa-Vriksha or a sinful tree and was eager to see his wife Havyavati. The Kali purusha quickly came there assuming the form of a serpent. He cheated them and they disobeyed Lord Vishnu. The husband ate the forbidden fruit of the sinful tree. They lived by eating air with the leaves called udumbara. Compare this with the story of Adam and Eve in the Old Testament. Adama's duration of life was nine-hundred and thirty years-Bhavishya Purana
Genesis 5, the Book of the Generations of Adam,
lists the descendants of Adam from Seth to Noah with their ages at the birth of
their first sons (except Adam himself, for whom his age at the birth of Seth,
his third son, is given) and their ages at death. Adam lives 930 years.
The rituals of Jewish people it’s very similar to
ancient times of Hindus. They eat only kosher food. They don’t eat food cooked
by anyone else other than Jewish people. They have very similar rituals at the
time of the death of a family member. To the extent that women in their periods
can’t touch any one!!! On close observation it is astonishing that the Jewish
have maximum similarities to the Hindu tradition and religion.
All Obelisks were symbolic representation of
Shivalingam as all the ancestors of Jews were Lingayats [not the present
lingayats of Karnataka but lingam worshipers.
The secret of OBELISKS all over the world started
with the Obelisk Built By Abraham or his descendants which being a Lingayat it
is natural that he would build a Shiva lingam in honor of his Lord Shiva and is
believed which he and his descendants worshipped and still standing there.
Jehovah is The Covenant or proper name of the God
of Israel. It denotes the “Unchangeable One,” “the eternal I Am” --That is just
reflecting Upanishadic thought of “Aham Brahmasmi”
Comments:
You
are an encyclopaedia
--Sree
Maa
CLOUDED BY MYTHS & BELIEFS WE HAVE
NO FOCUS ON PRIMORDIAL DEITIES
Aadi Vinayaka (also known as Nara Mukha Vinayaka-- is a
form of (Vinayaka), which portrays Ganesha with a human head, prior
to being decapitated by Siva but later glorified as “Isvaraputra Gajaanana”.
His temple is located in Muktheeswarar Temple near Thilatharpanapuri, Tamil
Nadu. It is known as Adi Vinayaka temple. Because of the human face, this Adi
Vinayaka’s divine form is also known as ‘Nara Mukha’ Vinayaka. This
place is considered equivalent to Kasi or Rameswaram. Performing tharpanam
(sesame-water oblation) here on Amavasya day is considered special. Lord Rama
visited this temple and performed Shiva pooja for the salvation of the father
Dashrath’a's soul. Sage Agastya regularly worshiped Adi Vinayaka here.
Worshiping mutilated idols is not accepted in
Hindu temple tradition or Silpa sastra. Yet the most popular deity Ganesha is
worshiped as “Ekadanta” with one of its tusk broken and glorified
in its mutilated tusk form supported by several mythological stories.
Also its most important Anga (Head) has been mutilated by “siracchedha”
(beheading) by angered Siva and restored to life by an elephant
head surgery according to mythology. It is strange that Siva cut of the
fifth egoistic head of Brahma and cursed him that he will not be
worshiped in Temples with his mutilated head (Chaturmukha Brahma) as “anga
viheena”-mutilated part of the body at the same time promoting beheaded and
elephant head replaced Ganesha as “Prathama Vandita”.
It is unfortunate
Parvati was not only denied to have her own womb born child and was also denied
worship of Vinayaka (Lord of Obstacles) created as a handsome guard to guard
her secrecy as Prathama Vandita. There was no Scope here for Bala Ganapati or
Taruna Ganapati created by Parvati but later added in 32 forms of
Ganpati! Ever submissive and ever dedicated to her husband Siva, Parvati agreed
to accept the transplanted if not the reborn Ekadanta as her son to
become worshipful as “jagatah pitarau vande Parvati Paramesvarau”.
Male chauvinistic Sangam period tried very hard to make popular Puranic Siva
and his creation Ganesha more popular than Vedic Skanda and also not Uma
the daughter of Himavan hailed in Vedas whom Puranas glorified as Parvati
married to Siva and also fabricated several mythological stories around
Ganesha.
Mudgila Purana has
not included this Adi Naramukha Vinayaka among 32 forms of Ganesha and blessed
Him to become Prathama Vandita. He also talks about an exclusive form
Ekadanta with Dhyana sloka that should only be the popular Ganesha that is
being worshiped today. Logic follows the rest 31 forms should be with two
tusks. But unfortunately iconography sculptors and our religious Pundits
present all these forms with Ekadanta and Sage Mudgila has left us in confusion
without clarifying the same.
Hindu Temples borrowed their
strength from Myths and beliefs to play to the gallery by promoting
celebration of festivals and attractive bhajans based on Mythological stories
from Puranas making it very attractive to even children. Here Ekadanta
Ganesha, Balakrishna and Bala Murugan came handy.
The primordial deities Adi Jagannatha, Adsi Parasakti, Adi Vinayaka as well
as spiritual Skanda, Haimavati Uma, Dakshineswara and Dattatreya
did not become popular like Ganesha. Spiritually guiding Brahma and Sarasvati
as symbols of knowledge and wisdom were avoided from temple worship based on
Puranic mythology.
We can
neither question the creative power of Parvati as Parasakti nor get away from
the worship of Ekadanta Ganesha the most popular deity to-day. You
can however see how 32 mythological deities have been made out of him (
from Parvati creation) competing with Dasavtara so popular today not only by
religious Pundits but also by musicians and saints.
We have
experienced how new deities are created and Veda Mantras are superimposed on
them that divert the concentration of true seekers on Brahman. We have
inherited a tradition of worshiping 330 and odd millions of
them while converting Sanatana Dharma
to Hinduism of walled religion with countless traditions, may be
imposed by external forces to divide and rule, in which we
take pride and often fight. It would be wiser on our part
to take the straight route instead of the long and winding path and
confine our focus on creative, sustenance and dissolution aspect of
Parabrahman, more so on sustenance aspect while on Earth. To begin with
we could only focus on representative symbolic deities of Parabrahman like
Venkateswara or Jagannatha or Skanda as a prerequisite for consolidation if we
still like to live with Temple traditions and Aagama dictates and effectively
employ the Veda mantras of universal appeal and spiritual benefit
in our worship and meditation.
Please
go through the temple description of Adi Vinayaka and photos included and
also my detailed compilation on the subject posted on the Blog Hindu
Reflections:
--December 8, 2018
It is sad that a
baby elephant had to loose its head violently. Elephant family members must
have cried for days. They are sensitive and close nit social animals. Stories
are more fun sometimes than reality.
--Anil pandya
Ekadantam
Ekadam Tam...how words change so many things. ..Interesting. The whole write up alludes your
respect to Adi vinayaka. Ganesha worship in India is mostly done only on
Vinayaka chathurthi and that too I feel is a venting out of internal
hysteria. It is more of a lustful
celebration than devotion...I respect your opinion to have Adi vinayaka form to
be popularized.
--Srikanth
AS PARASAKTI PARVATI INFUSED PANCHABHOOTAS AND
PANCHAPRANAAS TO THE MOLDED ARTIFACT. AFTER ALL HUMAN BODY ALSO CONSISTS OF THE
SAME AND WHEN ONE DIES PANCHA BHOOTAS MERGE WITH THE EARTH AS A DUST. THIS IS
THE ADIVINYAKA OF PARVATIWORHIPED IN THE SOUTH.
--NRS
My humble
observation Sri Shri Kanth
ji your argument is based on Puranic story and Srinivasan
Nadipuram does extensive research by referring to Vedas, Upanishads
and many other important scriptures etc.
My own observation is that nothing he writes is heresay. It is hours and
hours of painstaking research and writing the most comprehensive articles. Blessings to you both Mahatmas. Debating
without prejudice and bias is legit amongst Gyani's so debate but with an
intention to win but learn more.
--Sree Maa
Parvati
as Parasakti felt the need for a guard for protection of honor of woman that we
need today badly. Siva felt the need for Angry Ganapati and provided his own
version. Our wants multiplied. Mudgila
created 32 forms of Ganesha. My only worry is that in his anxiety he missed
Adivinayaka from the list. Sakti is the active part of Parabrahman. Sakti is
feminine in Sanskrit language, This Sakti is deified as Uma in Vedas. Puranas
brought this Sakti and Siva together and also projected Siva as a Yogi and
recluse. So Parvati needed an adult son to guard her privacy as Siva was
otherwise busy. It is nice of her as a mother she wanted us to share him too and ward of our obstacles
that come in our way of spiritual progress that we use only for physical
obstacles and rush to temple. Brahman needed 33 assistants as Vedic deities. To
me Siva who is Vyahriti of Brahman also needs 33 assistants that is 32 forms of
Mudgila and the missing Adibvinayaka. Probably Mudgila dfocused only on even
numbers of Chamakam and not odd
numbers33, that symbolizes for 33 devatas. Probably some modern Saint will make that 48 in due
course. Don’t forget we created 33
Crores and odd deities that are still growing for the one mistake we made. In
Vedic language Koti means kind which we misunderstood as Crore! It is
unfortunate. All this explanation is the result of inspiration by the thought
provoking comments of Srikanth and I am grateful to Sree Maa for the
appreciation of my service to society.
--NRS
Your posts are
truly enlightening!
-- A.S. NaRAYANA
WHAT SHOULD BE THE SANKALPA FOR HINDU AMERICANS
Hindu Saastras classify the religious rites (karmas) performed by
mankind into four groups: Desire-prompted (kaamya), occasional (naimittika),
daily oblations (nitya) and prohibited (nishiddha). While performance of a
nishiddhika karma is sinful causing injury to one’s spiritual personality, our
saastras enjoin that the other three category of karmas--kaamya, naimittika and
nitya--should be performed only at specified place(s) and time(s) in the
space-time continuum. If these karmas are performed otherwise, although they
may not cause harm they certainly will not be efficacious. Hence the importance
of observing correct time and place for performing religious rites is stressed
in our religion. Lord Krishna exhorts to mankind through His advice to Arjuna “tasmaat
saastram pramaanam te kaarya-akaaryow vyavasathithow”--therefore consider
saastra as the authority or final arbiter in determining what action should
or should not be performed. Let us all follow the Lord’s advice and benefit
there from. Hence the importance of sankalpa in performing rituals and
worships. The Sankalpa that every Hindu makes while initiating any
religious practice refers to the exact locale where the rite
is performed with reference to the Hindu Cosmology.
Anbil Ramaswamy in his book
of Hinduism Revised says:
In India, the locale part
of the Sankalpa would be as follows:
mErO: DakshiNE paarsvE On the
southern side of Mount mEru
Jambudveepe
In the isle of the rose apple
Bharata Varshe
In the region called Bharata Varsha
Bharatah Khande
In the continent of Bharata
etc.
Those doing the rites in the U.S.A, adopt the same as follows:
mErO: paschima dig bhaagE; on the western side of Mount
mERu*
Ramanaka Varshe
In the region called Ramanaka Varsha
Aindra Khande
In
the continent called Aindra
Rocky – McKinley
Parvatayor Madhye: Between the mountains of Rockey and McKinley
Misissipi- Missouri Ityaadhi Aneka Shodasa Jeeva Nadeenaam sameepa
stite:
the place that is surrounded by such perennial rivers SA or any other country where Hindu Temples are built.
the place that is surrounded by such perennial rivers SA or any other country where Hindu Temples are built.
Based
on the present day research of geographical knowledge contained in
Vedas and Puranas it will be reasonable to adopt the following for our
Sanklapas in USA:
For
USA : Meroh dakshine
paarsve, Pushkara dveepE, RamaNaka varshE, Aindra kaNDE, AmerikA desE , Rocey
McKinley Parvatayor Madhye: (Between the
mountains of Rockey and McKinley) Misissipi- Missouri Ityaadhi Aneka Shodasa
Jeeva Nadeenaam sameepe sthite: the place that is surrounded by such
perennial rivers like Mississippi, Missouri and 16 other rivers seems to be
logical.
However many of the priests in USA trained in mechanical chanting
of mantra without exposed to their purport and deeper meaning think the Sanklpa
as chanted in Hindu Temples in India is equally applicable to The Sankalpa
that every Hindu American makes while initiating any religious practice
that insists the exact locale where the rite is performed with
reference to the Hindu Cosmology.
But this has to be blessed by our religious and astrological
Pundits for I am neither religious pundit nor an astrological prodigy. If you have any other better
suggestions please do not hesitate to educate me to help the Hindu American
religious interest.
Please
go through my detailed article on the subject as posted in my blog:
--December 3, 2018
HOLY COW AND ITS URINE IN PANCHAGAVYA
RITUAL AND THERAPY
The
last couple of years have seen GOMATA or the Holy Cow has caught the attention
of religious Hindus and the boom in interest amongst the Ayurveda community
about the medicinal properties of cow urine (Gomutra) and ‘PanchaGavya’, a
mixture of five products derived from cow (cow milk, cow milk’s yoghurt, cow
ghee, cow urine and cow dung). Present Indian Government had been funding
research on Cow Urine granting millions to go through ancient texts of
Ayurveda, and conduct research. Please go through the detailed review on the
benefits of Cow Urine by a team of Ayurveda research workers from Ayurveda
College, Raipur, Chattisgarh, India as attached and convince yourself.
Smritiratnakara
says waters got from different sources must be filtered and purified by
Panchagavya as disinfectant. Women are ordained to drink first Panchagavya
treated water after mensuration period is over and after taking bath before
resuming her normal household duties. Orthodox Brahmins observe what is called
“Santapana kricchra” expiation (praayaschitta) ritual by fasting one night
after consuming Panchagavya that I have also added to my attachment. Please see
the following mantra: yattvagasthigatham papam dehe tishtati mamake |
prashannat panchagavyasya dahat-vagnirivendhanam-- --Just as fire burns the
fuel, let the drinking of Panchagavya burn away all my sins even those which
have gone into the skin and bone. I still recall how my mother sanctified the
place on which the banana leaf plate was spread and food served. The place was
cleaned with cow dung noodles rolled over for “sthala suddhi” or purifying the
place. She believed in the sanctity if not the disinfecting property of the cow
dung. Similarly she sprinkled the front portion of the house with cow dung
water wiped it clean before putting Rangoli to welcome Goddess Lakshmi into the
house and take care of us all through the day and night. In fact this was also
intended to disinfect the place.
The
Latin word vaccine was formed from the adjective vaccines meaning "of or
relating to cows." This word, in turn, was based on the noun vacca,
meaning "cow." The cowpox material used for injections was then
called vaccine. The injection itself was called vaccination. Cow’s contribution
to human health is thus known to the whole world
Panchagavya
too, finds utility mostly as an adjunct in Ayurvedic treatises. A notable case
where it is used as a primary ingredient in an Ayurvedic medicine is the
Panchgavya Ghrita, a type of medicated ghee used in treating mental disorders.
The formulation is boiled at over 300 degree Celsius for over 20 minutes along
with several other ingredients while being prepared, removing any possibility
of bacteria or other pathogens remaining alive in it after preparation.
However, one should be careful as unstandardized and uncontrolled raw
Panchagavya is seen administered sometimes to patients in clinical settings
nowadays in the name of “Ayurveda Panchagavya” therapy.
Cow
urine is described in Materia Medico as having a strong “Bhedana/Lekhana”
property (“scrubbing out” action on accumulated waste metabolites and abnormal
tissue), and as a reducer of Kapha (the Water element). So naturally it is used
as an adjunct in the relevant conditions. Not to mention that the ammonium
salts present in mammalian urine are commonly known to have some medicinal
action as mucolytic and otherwise in various respiratory and neurological
conditions, and so, mammalian urines have been used in traditional medicines
around the world since millennia as urine therapy; but it is very pertinent to
note that none of the authentic Ayurvedic applications involve cow urine being
included in formulations without being processed first to minimize its harmful
nitrogenous contents and rid of its inherent bacterial flora. Many
mineral-based Ayurveda preparations make use of cow urine in their recipes for
purifying metal ores, which is largely attributable to its pH, and not direct
medicinal value. Gomutra is also sometimes used as an ingredient in Bastis
(medicated enemas) for its Lekhana property.
What
the Gomutra evangelists are selling now-a-days as elixir is not plain go-mutra,
but what they call as “Gomutra/Gozaran Ark”. Essentially, it is Gomutra
processed with various medicinal herbs to create “flavours” suitable for
various conditions. In effect, this is another way of using Gomutra as carrier
for the actual herbal medicine, but it is not labelled as such, leading to the
confusion in buyers’ minds that Gomutra is what is curing them.
COW
URINE is promoted as an alternative medicine, promoted by a Hindu group in
India as a treatment for numerous diseases, including cancer, diabetes and
tuberculosis. But they say “not any old cow urine will do but only the urine
collected from a female virgin cow organically raised will do, and it's best
when collected before dawn”. "Cow urine offers a cure for around 70 to 80
incurable diseases like diabetes," Om Prakash, of the RSS Cow Protection
Department, told Reuters --“All are curable by cow urine."
In
the spiritually fertile period that produced Jainism and Buddhism, Hindus
stopped eating beef. This was mostly like for practical reasons as well as
spiritual. It was expensive to slaughter an animal for religious rituals or for
a guest, and the cow provided an abundance of important products, including
milk, browned butter for lamps, and fuel from dried dung. Some scholars believe
the tradition came to Hinduism through the influence of strictly vegetarian
Jainism. But the cow continued to be especially revered and protected among the
animals of India. By the early centuries AD, the cow was designated as the
appropriate gift (go-daana) to the Brahmanas (high-caste priests) and it was soon
said that to kill a cow is equal to killing a Brahmana. The importance of the
pastoral element in the Krishna stories, particularly from the 10th century
further reinforced the sanctity of the cow. I wonder why Vedas forgot go-hatyya
while dealing with Brahmana hatya and Bruna hatya in Trisauprna mantras?
Probably they were still concerned about pregnant woman to bless her with
an intelligent son by sacrificing young bull (but not cow)--Brihadaranyaka.
“Ayurveda” clinics have nowadays sprung up around the country, specifying the doctor’s qualifications as “MD in Panchagavya therapy” or “MD in Gomutra Therapy”. The real cliché lies in the fact that many of these “MD Specialists” in Gomutra/Accupuncture/Panchagavya etc. are actually MBBS / BAMS / BHMS generalists to begin with, and hold valid practice registrations on the basis of those degrees. The MD garb is simply taken for the sake of luring ignorant people towards themselves, who doesn’t know a speck about medical education, and simply think that an MD is always better and more preferable than a general practitioner. These are obviously un-authorized medical qualifications flaunted as “Ayurveda” by their holders.
As
a spiritual thinker I believe all animals including the popular fish consumed
by even Bengal and Konkan Brahmins should be avoided. Vedas say “aatmavat
sarvabhooteshu”--the same Self abides in all living beings”
For
Jains, lacto-vegetarianism is mandatory. Food is restricted to that originating
from plants, since plants have only one sense ('ekindriya') and are the least
developed form of life, and dairy products. Food that contains even the
smallest particles of the bodies of dead animals or eggs is unacceptable.
American Jain scholars and activists support veganism, as the modern commercialized
production of dairy products is perceived to involve violence against cows. In
ancient times, dairy animals were well cared for and not killed. According to
Jain texts, a śrāvaka (householder) shouldn't consume the four maha-vigai (the
four perversions) - wine, flesh, butter and honey; and the five udumbara fruits
(the five udumbara trees are Gular, Anjeera, Banyan, Peepal, and Pakar, all
belonging to the fig class). They may not accept Panchagavya Therapy or Urine
Therapy based an American cow.
I
still remember many of my fellow trainees in Germany enjoying the German Wurst
and Frankfurter; when questioned for beef-eating they surprised me with the
answer that only Indian cows are holy hailed as Gomata. So Jains in India may
continue with dairy products in India but not in USA. They can also raise the
cow with Jain Dharma Way in India and enjoy dairy products and continue to
perform Abhishekam to Gomateswara with millions of liters of milk. You also
know Jutka beef is not permissible to Jews and Muslims and only Halal or Kosher
as they do not believe in mercy butchering with stunning techniques. I am happy
to continue as lacto-vegetarian for the rest of my life and may not need
Panchagavya Therapy or Urine Therapy and thank the Holy Cow for its milk and
vaccine. Hindu philosophy is very accommodative (Anukoola Sindhu) indeed and
suits all tastes and all times for it is not dictated but interpreted by wise
Gurus!
--December 2, 2018
FOWAI
FORUM (INDIA) AND STEP (USA) invite you to join the WEBINAR 137
GĀRGI VĀCHAKNAVI (Glimpses of Brihadāranyaka Upanishad – Part 4) by: Pūjya
Swāmi Chidānandaji, on Sunday, December 2, 2018
Gist
of the Presentation:
The
scene is awe-inspiring. There is this assembly of eminent Vedic scholars in the
court of King Janaka. They are deciding on the question of who among them could
be the greatest knower of Brahman. When Yājnavalkya seemingly claims the
coveted position, several erudite members confront him. Among them there is a
lady too, who rises to question the sage. She is Gārgi, the daughter of
Vachaknu, who engages the Rishi in a lofty dialogue. Sections 6 and 8 of
chapter 3 provide details of this unique conversation. The webinar will present
highlights of the discussion.
|
Pitiable is the man, O Gārgi, who departs from here without knowing the
Imperishable Truth--
yo
vā etad-aksharam-aviditvā asmāt lokāt praiti sa kripanah |
Br. Up. 3.8.10
Note: All the webinar videos are
available o YOUTUBE/Fowaiforum)
Vachaknavi Gargi is a woman
Vedic scholar who approaches sage Yajnavalkya with the question in whom is that
un-manifested ether (Akasa) woven, warp and woof (akasah otascha protascha)?
In the assembly of Vedic scholars
Uddalaka was silenced by
Yajnavalkya clarifying Parmaatman is the
inner controller of the Jivaatman also, that is often called by the term
“Vijnaanam” Gargi felt that all Brahmanas gathered in
that august body would be defated the wisae Yajnavalkyae. She therefore
wanted to put him with more difficult second question as above challenging
him.
[Incidentally this also shows f how intellectually advanced
were the people in Vedic Culture in arranging such “Vidvat parishads” Meet of the Learned, to exchange views and fine
tune their knowledge with open debates in their effort to continuously improve the society.
Yajnavalkya replied:
Oh Gargi! He who in
this world, without knowing this Akshara
(Paramaatman), offers oblations, performs sacrifices, practices austerities,
even though for many thousands of years, gains little: his offerings and
practices are perishable. He who departs this life without knowing the
Imperishable (Paramaatman) is pitiable. But He who departs this life knowing
Akshara, is wise.
Without knowing the imperishable, whoever
performs rites and ceremonies and undergoes austerities even for many years,
reaps little benefit, because rites, ceremonies, and austerities are all
perishable. Whoever dies without knowing the Imperishable dies in a pitiable
state; but those who know the Imperishable attain immortality when the body is
shed to death.
The various deeds such as sacrifices (yajnas),
oblations and penances done for long time-- all these will be only means of
non-eternal fruits if they are done without the understanding of this immutable
Parbrahman.
“Yad-ajnaanaat samsaara praaptih
yaj-jnaanaat amritatvam praaptih tadaksharam parabrahma”--Ramanuja. One who is a Brahma-jijnaasui (focused on Brahman) all the time devoid of all ignorance that we accrue in
our worldly life of pains and pleasures (samsara), becomes liberated and communes with Brahman.
Brihadaaranyaka Upanishad sends a powerful
message: The Self is the dearest of all things, and only through the Self is
anything else dear. The Self is the
origin of all finite happiness, but it is itself pure bliss, transcending
definition. It remains unaffected by deeds, good or bad. It is beyond feeling
and beyond knowledge, but it is not beyond the meditation of the sage.
Yo vaa etadaksharam
gaargya-viditvaasmimlloke juhoti yajate tapastapyate bahooni
varsha-sahasraany-anta-devaasya tadbhavati |yo vaa etad-aksharam-gaargy-aviditva-asmaallokaat-praiti sa kripanah atha ya etadaksharam gaargi viditva-asmaallokaat praiti sa braahmanah ||
3-8-9 || (BAU)
Oh Gargi! He who offers in this world oblations (homa) to the
fire, performs sacrifice (yajna) and
undergoes austerity (tapas), even for many thousands of years, without knowing
this immutable principle, the fruits of all such acts becomes perishable. Oh
Gargi! He who departs from this world after knowing this immutable, is a Brahmana or a realizer of Brahman.
[Please note how difficult it is to earn the title of Brahmin
that is being ridiculed and abused by the ignorant today hurting those who are
seekers of Brahman, and also those who parade with the title of Brahmana with
their ego, claiming it as their
birth-right with no effort to earn the title after their investiture--
Upanayana that again is denied to ladies by ignorance and others who are brahmajignasu!]
What is
Etad Aksaham-- the Immutable Imperishable? Please go through the
following scriptural references to understand its meaning--this is alphabet!
Holy bible says “The word was GOD!” Vedas say OM tad Brahma--Om iti Ekaksharam.
Bible visualized it as a word AUM=GOD (A=opening; U=continuity; C=closure.
G=Generation; O=Operation; D=Dissolution)
1. Aksharaanaam akaarosmi dwandah saamaasikasya
cha | (Bhagavadgeetaa)
Of letters I am The first short vowel a
in Sanskrit alphabet and of compound words I am
dwanda-samasa (Dual-words compound) in Sanskrit Grammar.
2. Om ityekaaksharam |
Om tad Brahma || (Mahanaarayana Upanishad or MNU)
The single syllable Om (in Sanskri) is Brahman.
3. Aksharam Brahmasamhitam |--Praatar-aaposana mantra
(MNU)
This appears as a part of praatar-aaposana (sipping
of water in the morning) mantra of Sandhyavnadana (daily
prayer). This mantra refers to letters as Brahman meaning “this one of
the form of Varna or letters is equal to Brahman”
4. aa idam tadakshare parame Vyoman (MNU)
Here parama vyoman refers to Akshara (letter)
Brahman which has no other cause or support. Aa in the mantra
is the vocabulary aah in Vedic mantra which is the Vedic
variant of Aaseet pronounced while offering oblation Swaaha.
Aah is vowel aa accompanied by half-moon-
period as in Om.
5. Ksharah sarvaani bhootaani kootasthah akshara uchyate |
(Gita)
All creatures together constitute the Kshara-purusha or constant
changing entity and the Changeless in all creatures is the A-kshara-purusha,
Changeless Entity or Imperishable or Brahman.
I hope the above will prepare you better to
grasp the wisdom thoughts from HH Chidananda, within the short time at his
disposal to enlighten us to understand the first alphabet in Sanskrit, nay in
any language! If the first letter is Deva as Gita says can other letters all
are Devatas we worship (yanti devavratah
devaan)? Why then go to Devatas leaving Deva?
-- November 30, 2018
Grateful Srinivasan Nadipuram for sharing the truth and being
a proud Dharma Warrior
--Sree Maa
PURUSHASOOKTA--THE FAMOUS HYMN FROM
VEDAS ON UNIVERSAL PERSON
The Rishis of yore recognized the divine
vision of the oneness of the world-of-plurality and a “Hymn of Praise” to the
Mighty Spirit Divine was raised by someone among them. This is
“Purusha-sookta”, the famous hymn in our Vedas. Every Vedic mantra has a Rishi
as the author, a Chandas or meter and a Devata, the deity to whom it is
addressed. This pattern is also found in our Aagamas and Tantras. Each of the
Chandas or meter is believed to be presided over by a deity like Agni, by whose
grace only the metrical composition is possible, and hence the importance given
to Chandas in the mantras.
Purushasookta as it is chanted to-day is based
on the composition from Taittareeya Aaranyakam-Taittareeya Prasna. Sometimes
mantras from “Vishnusookta” another well known hymn, a part of the Rigveda
Samhita are clubbed together by tradition. The first sixteen mantras are in
“Trishtub”meter and the rest in “Anushtub” meter. The first 18 mantras are
designated as Poorvanarayana and the rest as Uttaranarayana. The mantras of
Uttaranarayana and Vishnusookta do not seem to have any coherence with first 16
mantras of the Rigveda Samhita, though by tradition clubbed together. The name
of the original Rishi of this mantra is not known, but indications show that
the Rishi of this mantra is Narayana, probably an assumed pen name.
Purushsookta texts are found in Rigveda
Samhita (10.7.90.1-16), Taittareeya Aaranyaka (3.12, 13), Vaajasaneeya Samhita
(31.1-6), Samaveda Samhita (6.4), Atharvaveda Samhita (19.6), Sat-pata
Brahmana, Taittareeya Brahmana, Bhagavata (2.5.35 to 2.6.1-29), Mahabharata
(Moksha-dharma Parva 351 and 352) and Mudgilopanishad. It is also one of the
most commonly used vedic hymns in almost all religious ceremonies. It is
chanted in the worship of deity at homes and in temples, daily recitation of
religious scriptures, Vedic rites establishing the sacred fire or even in the
cremation ceremonies. A couple desirous of begetting a worthy son is advised to
perform worship and homa with the first 16 mantras. During Shoedasa-Upachaara
Pooja to Lord Vishnu and his incarnations, Purushasookta is chanted.
The Supreme identifying with the total causal
body, is the Lord of the Universe, Easvara; when he expresses as the total sublime
body, He is identified as the “Creator of the Universe”—Hiranyagarbha; and when
He projects forth through the Total Gross Body He comes to play as the Universe
(Viraat). Cosmic form of the Lord (Viraat) is here Purusha. Sookta means that
which is well said, “a true description” . Purushasookta is a hymn that gives
the true description of the Purusha, the Primeval Being or God, the Creator.
The Universe produced from the one undivided Atman by the on-rolling process of
manifestation thus is a unified system, of a mighty organism in which the
inmost nucleus, the pervading spirit of Self is the one abiding Being, the one
Supreme person, “Purusha” in the twin aspect of “Brahman” the Word and
“Easvara” the Lord. Purusha, derived from the root pri (to protect; to fill up)
represents that principle or power which has filled the whole universe and
protecting it. Purusha is thus the God Himself, by which term we address him in
all our prayers. Purusha is the Manifested state of the un-manifested Brahman,
the origin and substratum of the Universe. Aadipurusha (the Primeval Being),
Paramaatma, the Supreme Lord, Naraayana (the refuge of all the human beings)
and Bhagavaan (the being endowed with immense great qualities) are some of the
other names by which He is addressed.
[I came across this article that got deleted
by Sri Ganesha Temple Nashville from its Web-site long back yesterday. I am
glad I came across this accidentally and happy that the hard work put in the
service of community is never lost. Please go through the detailed discourse as
it is the most important of all Sooktas used in our daily worship and rituals]
BRAHMANA
SUPREMACY-- Mantra 15 in Purushasaookta clearly states “padbhyaam bhoomir disaa-h srotraat” --From
the Virat-Purusha’s feet the Earth, and from his ears the quarters (dik-special
directions) manifested. I wonder why this part of the mantra has not caught the
attention of the Western critics who always point out Soodra being born from
the feet of Virat Purusha to highlight the supremacy
of Brahmins as egoistic and based on birth. Of course Brahmana is supreme if
one understands the meaning of the word Brahmana. Brahmana means brahma-jignasu
one who seeks the knowledge of Brahman. Anybody who is born Earth is a Soodra
being the son of the soil and so he is described as emerging from the feet of
Mother Earth that emerged from the feet of Virat Purusha. Even in Puranas
Mother Earth is hailed as consort of Vishnu and bowing to her husband and
worshiping his feet in veneration and love. Therefore Manu said “Janmanaa
jaayte sudrah” all human beings are born as Sudra. By hard mental labor and by
one’s own effort one progressively elevates oneself. That is why we have the
Hindu sacrament Upanayana when one becomes Dwija twice born meaning awakening
to the spiritual world and becomes Brahmana. You should also realize Vedas did
not restrict Upanayana to men alone but also women were admitted to Upanayana
in Vedic culture. Vedas say: “gayatri chaturvimsatyaksaharaa tripadaa
shatkukshih panchaseershe upanayane viniyogah”--Gayatri has 24 syllables, comprised
in three feet, six sheaths or cavities and five heads.it is employed in
Upanayana, or initiation into Vedic studentship. As we all know there were many
women Vedic scholars in Vedic days whom all sought for knowledge.
--NRS
--November
2018
Comments:
I
read purushasooktam regularly. I almost know it by heart. It is very uplifting.
--A.S. Narayana
Thank you for this brilliant exposition
on Purushasooktham
--BRG Iyengar
You give so much energy to write everything down and share on FB and
via emails. For this I offer you reverence and Pranams 🙏🙏🙏
--Sree Maa
SANNYASA YOGA--
QUICK BUT DIFFICULT PATH FOR LIBERATION
Vedanta
vijnaana sunischitaarthaah saanyasayogaat yatayah suddhasatvaah | Tae
brahmaloke tu paraantakaale paraamrityaah parimuchyanti sarve || MNU||
Having
attained the Immortality consisting of identity with the Supreme, all those
aspirants who strive for self-control, who have rigorously arrived at the
conclusion taught by the Vedanta through direct knowledge and who have attained
purity of mind through the practice of the discipline of Yoga and steadfastness
in the knowledge of Brahman preceded by renunciation, get themselves released
into the region of Brahman at the dissolution of their final body.
The
goal of Vedanta is Parmaatmavijnaana or self-realization according to
Sankara. The central theme of the above verse is that this knowledge is
attained through the inner purity gained by taking to Sannyaasa and Yoga.
Sannyaasa implies renouncing worldly and religious work and preferring to
remain forever steadfastly in the consciousness of Brahman. Sannyaasis are of
two kinds--Those that perfect Bhaktiyoga here alone and enter into the Supreme
abode of Paramaatman at the end of that birth; the other class of hermits
attain purity of mind through the practice of the discipline of
Yoga and steadfastness in the knowledge of Brahman preceded by renunciation.
The
second class of Yogis are called Yatis who perpetually strive to keep this
spiritual state. Souls fated to moment of life are called antakala repeatedly
(punarapi maranam punarapi jananam); but the soul of Yati that
is illumined by the wisdom of Vedanta takes its last birth, and consequently it
meets with its parantakala mentioned in the mantra above.
Sankara
in his commentary mentions “brahmalokeshu” instead of “brahmaloke tu” in the
above mantra in the plural distributive from the view-point of different
kinds of liberated souls as propagated by Madhva later as souls going to
final rest in Salokya (in the same region as Brahman saalokya (0n the same world of Brahman),
Sameepyaa (in the neighborhood of Brahman) or Saauyujya (part of Brahaman --mamaivamso
Jeevabhootah). Yatis attain Saaujya only.
Sagadguru
Chandrasekharendra Saraswati says: “We need devotion in divine worships and
rituals; we need dedication (sraddha) in worships and rituals of ancestors
(pitrus). What is done with sraddha is Sraadham (anniversary to
ancestors). When worships and rituals are directed with reverence to the
divines the sacred thread is worn on the left shoulder by the performer
with the tuft of hair well knotted. Yatis do not have these both.
They have renounced all worships and rituals to ancestors with a
sense of detachment and also worships and rituals of various gods (devatas) focusing
on Parabrahman (Supreme Being) only denouncing all worldly transactions
and their needs with a sense of desire-less-ness.” Therefore Yatis neither have
sacred threads nor tuft on their head (completely shaven) nor need to study
Vedas further as their thoughts are focused on Brahman alone. They do not
perform Sraaddhas. Also they have transcended caste system and are
Brahmanas meaning knowers of Brahman.
Why
do we then worship so many deities? As humans we are focused on two kinds
of cravings-The craving for progeny leads to craving for wealth, and the
craving for wealth to the craving of existence in the other worlds. Thus there
are two cravings—craving for a life of enjoyment here and craving for a life of
greater enjoyment hereafter. Craving for greater enjoyment and
worshiping various deities one can reach Svarga described in puranas and
enjoy the company of different gods for a while but after exhausting
fruits of the meritorious deeds (punya-phala) one has to return to this
world become an Yati to get the final salvation and eternal bliss. Gita
therefore says this stage of attaining liberation is not easy and is confined
to rare few.
That
is why Bhagawan said in Gita:
Yanti
devavrataa devaan pitrun yaanti pitruvrataah | bhootaani yaanti bhootejyaa
yaanti madyaajino api maam
|| 9-25 ||
The
worshipers of gods go to the gods, the worshipers of manes reach the manes and
of the evil spirits (Bhuta) go to the evil spirits. Those who worship Me alone
surely come to Me.
--November 24, 2018.
Much gratitude for
such a fantastic blog Srinivasan Nadipuram 🙏
--Sree
Maa
VEDANTA RELIGION, THE BEST OPTION FOR AMERICAN HINDUS, NOT SBNR OR OTHER
ALTERNATIVES
May I
drew your attention to the following recent news column:
“MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, November 11, 2018 (Star Tribune): The men
and women relaxing on yoga mats recently at a Minneapolis meditation center
didn't know it, but most belonged to the fastest-growing religion in America --
none at all. They included a former Lutheran who left the church because
the Bible clashed with science, a former Catholic who became leery of its
teachings, a former Baptist uninspired by Sunday services, a young man raised
with no religion. They reveal a major force behind the empty pews in churches
across Minnesota and the nation. Nearly one in four Americans now declare
themselves unaffiliated with any organized religion. An estimated 56 million
strong, and growing, there are more of them than all mainline Protestants
combined.
The surge has Minnesota religious leaders wrestling with
implications for the future of their churches, the future of Christianity. More
than half of U.S. churches now see fewer than 100 worshipers on weekends, and
they're getting older, reports the Hartford Institute for Religion Research.
Particularly alarming is the plunge in church membership by people in their 20s
and 30s. One in three are now churchless, according to the Pew Research Center.
This disconnect between the core’s Christian teachings and real life was cited
frequently in interviews with more than 30 Minnesotans who have left the
church. The church rituals fell flat, they said. And many reported taking
voyages of spiritual discovery on their own, aided by friends, YouTube and
podcasts. Church leaders find a ray of hope in the trend. Most of the
unaffiliated have not ruled out a higher power or God. Only a fraction,
about 3 percent, are atheists, according to Pew researchers. "Religious
Nones are not all nonbelievers," said Greg Smith, associate research
director at the Pew Research Center. "More than a third say they believe
in God with absolute certainty."
This calls for an audit of our own worship pattern in USA imported
from sectarian-pattern of worship from India.
“The growth
of Hindu Dharma in America critically depends on the extent to which the Hindu
children remain anchored in their timeless traditions. Ensuring this will
require collective thought and action. Educated Hindus need a
de-mythologized and less ritualistic Hindu Dharma to blend modernity with the
vision of the Vedas, Upanishads and other Hindu scriptures. In addition to
normal activities, temples need to raise funds to support various institutions
such as universities, yoga and meditation centers, senior citizen centers, and
hospitals. Such institutions would be the symbol and model of the modern Hindu
Dharma. Additionally, temples need to get actively involved in establishing
harmonious and respectful relations with American public in their local
communities. This could be done by occasionally inviting them to our temple
festivals, helping the local charities and working actively with the Council of
the World Parliament of Religions to improve inter-community relations.
Though Hindus can worship at shrines in the home, a temple also provides a
focal point for the community, and an opportunity to translate their Dharma
into collective practice. One of the important functions of a temple
should be to have a support system to help Service of people and helping each
other in times of hardship is an important aspect of Hindu Dharma, forming one
of the ‘five duties’ enjoined on Hindus which they should perform as a matter
of compassion. If they do not incorporate such functions, it will only serve to
disintegrate and erode the Hindu community” writes Swami
Jyotiormayanada.
I
have talked a lot about the Hinduism we practice in USA moving away from the
core values of Sanatan Dharm and also about Unitarianism Universalism.
Unitarian Christian movement of Hajor Kissom in India is more than
congregations. They are financed by rich Christian Unitarian Universalism. They
value education and run a number of schools. They have even created a small
orphanage that currently provides a home for 21 children. Like us, they
worry about keeping their young people. Unike us, they never have enough funds
to do all they wish to do. We are rich and affluent compared to
them. We have so much to learn from the dedicated workers in the Khasi
Hills and elsewhere in the world which cannot be dismissed simply as
proselytizing. They have much to teach us about how our faith can express
itself in different ways and yet remain true to our core values of human
dignity, compassion, freedom and justice.
This should be an eye opener to Hindu Americans to bring all
traditions together and praying together as our sages did in the past-- Sanghacchdvam
samvadadvam. Such attempts to get back to the past will not only
unite all Hindu traditions but also make Hinduism attractive to the most
popular Christian-Hindu faith married couples to stay more with Hinduism
that has its basic strength in Sanatana Dharma. In the beginning the Vedic
religion was prevalent all over the world. Later, over the centuries, it must
have gone through a process of change and taken different directions and
different religions including Hinduism as is practiced today.
Hindu American Temples are
borrowing their strength from traditional worship from India to get
themselves established as sacred powerful institutions.
Vivekananda spoke on this soil 125 years ago and boldly proclaimed “Vedanta is
the Religion of the Future”. But how long can we say we are primarily
establishing still drawing help from established practices from India and why
can’t we not go by the advice of Vivekananda while raising these monuments
for future generation with unified thinking? No
doubt we have transcended caste system forced by the situation in which we are
placed. Whether we like it or not evolution is taking place as our children are
drawn into the atheism and SBNR mentioned above by choosing their partners
from all traditions and faiths attracted by universal binding force of
Love.
Bogged down by constant fights,
killings and intimidation some spiritually enlightened Christians have
revitalized UUA with an Outreach program focused on bringing together all
Abrahamic Religions that had One God and turning spiritual rather than
ritualistic and faith based. Even though Hindu Americans are pioneers in the
field, Hindus are pessimistic, philosophic and passive in taking
the lead and go by the tradition as quick-fix solution while UUA with its
powerful missionary and financial strength will try continue to take the
lead.
Any such unifying attempt to
bring all traditions together can be done only by Intellectual Hindu Americans
in USA and not Hindus in India bogged down with multitude of problems with
their struggle to maintain secularism.
In turn we may even lead Hindus in India and other lands. That is why
David Frawley is strongly advising Intellectual Hindu Americas
to seriously study Sanskrit and Vedanta and rise to the occasion and not
to miss the golden opportunity. He is not simply preaching, he too
woke up late and started practicing Vedanta and soon became our Guru too!
There are quite a few of them in USA today.
Can we do it as a minority
community of 2 million or so in USA? If one Malala Yousef can
change the entire educational system of Pakistan and change the mind
of Saudi Arabia, one Indian Hajom Kissor Singh can start Unitarian
Universalist Holdeen India Program (UUHIP)
to which all spiritually starved are looking up to and if
Reema Abbasi can come up with her book “Historic Hindu Temples of
Pakistan: A Call to Conscience that is to free hope from the fringes of
the conscience and consciousness; erase malignant apathy; to rescue Islam’s
secular values from Islamism, and to celebrate divinity by pledging
consecration for its prime avatar — Humanity" sitting in Pakistan, certainly a group of Hindu American
Intellectuals can spiritually lead the World and promote Vedanta Religion for a
brighter and better World to live in Peace but not in Pieces--Uttishthata
Jaagrata Charaiveti Charaiveti!
ANNAM
PARABRAHMA SWAROOPAM
Please
recall my E-Mail on Thanksgiving celebrations of share and care and Food
charity. I was surprised to receive the following greetings with
deep thoughts on an American Holiday that I had projected somewhat spiritual
with usual Hindu philosophy. I began to think what was behind the mind of my
knowledgeable reader to send such comments. Of course such comments inspire me
too and my search-engine starts working! Here are his comments and my
reply. If you have additional thoughts please do not hesitate to write to me--sanghacchdvam
samvadadvam
“Happy
Thanksgiving to you. Annam Parabrahma Svaroopam; Yo bhunkte ahameva
bhunkte; Sottrukkullae Chokkanaatha (Lord in the
food).”
Annam (food)
occupies a sacrosanct place in Hindu rituals both in Agni kaarya as well as in
Pithru kaarya. It is so sacred that, divine scripts eulogize Annam as “Annam
ParaBrahma Swaroopam” manifestation of the Supreme Spirit.
Annam (Anna) is one of the several thousand names of Lord Vishnu that we
come across in Sri Vishnu Sahasranaama Stothram (sloka # 105) where Lord Vishnu
is praised as.....
Yajnabhrud yajnyakrud yajnyiee
yajnyabhrug yajnyasadhanah
Yajnyanantakrud yajnyaguhyam annam annaada eva cha
Yajnyanantakrud yajnyaguhyam annam annaada eva cha
Lord Vishnu is the protector and supporter of all Yajnas; He is the one
who is the creator of the sacrifice and the custom of Yajna; He is the very
purpose and objective of every Yajna; He is the protector the one who enjoys
and consumes everything offered in the Yagna; He is contributory factor and the
one to whom Yajkna is the approach; the one who is the fruit of the Yagna; He
is the secret and undercurrent of all Yajna; He is “Annam-Annaada eva
cha”
Annam…
Annam is the vital/basic sustenance and characteristic of mortal life.
All beings are born out of Lord Vishnu who is creator of the Universe. As such
He (Lord Vishnu) becomes the vital life force (Annam). He is the giver (one who
grants) of food and sustaining power for all beings.
Annaadah…
He (Lord Vishnu) is not only the giver of food but also the one who
consumes the food as well as swallows (Vishvabhug) the entire beings (whole
world) at the time of annihilation (Maha Pralaya) as His food. At the time of
creation all the souls originate from him and at the time of annihilation all
souls become one (unite) with Him.
Hence, Lord Vishnu is adored as Annam-Annaada Eva Cha.
In Bhagavad Gita Canto # 3 (sloka # 14) Lord Sri Krishna says “Annaad-bhavanti-Bhootaani…”
that means all creatures are born from food. Annam (food) is the source/medium
through which all beings come into existence.
Ishtaan bhogaan hi vo devadasyante yajna-bhaavitah | tair dattaan
apraadayaibhyo yo bhunkte stena eva sah--Gita
In charge of the various necessities of life, the
demigods, being satisfied by the performance of yajna [sacrifice], supply all
necessities to man. But he who enjoys these gifts, without offering them to the
demigods in return, is certainly a thief.
.
No one can manufacture anything. Everything is
God given (Iswara prasaadm). Take, for example, all the eatables of human
society. These eatables include grains, fruits, vegetables, milk, sugar, etc.,
for the persons in the mode of goodness, and also eatables for the non-vegetarians,
like meats, etc., none of which can be manufactured by men. Then again, take
for example heat, light, water, air, etc., which are also necessities of
life—none of them can be manufactured by the human society. Without the Supreme
Lord, there can be no profuse sunlight, moonlight, rainfall, breeze, etc.,
without which no one can live. Obviously, our life is dependent on supplies
from the Lord. Even for our manufacturing enterprises, we require so many raw
materials like metal, sulfur, mercury, manganese, and so many essentials—all of
which are supplied by the agents of the Lord, with the purpose that we should
make proper use of them to keep ourselves fit and healthy for the purpose of
self-realization, leading to the ultimate goal of life, namely, liberation from
the material struggle for existence. This aim of life is attained by
performance of yajnas. If we forget the purpose of human life and simply take
supplies from the agents of the Lord (plundering nature) we are
punished by the laws of material nature. Therefore Upanishads say
sraddhayaa deyam…….. That I elaborated in my text. Western
thought is Grow More food ! Enjoy! Share and Care! Jesus, Allah
or Jehova in turn will take care of you. So they created a
Specific Day in a year. But this thought should be with us every day and at
every meal!
Annam
Parabrahma Swaroopam:
We must
not waste food, as food is God itself. It is said that, the life span of
a person will be decreased if he wastes food. What is
Parabrahma tatwa?
Our
great Rishis after doing penance found and realized that Parabrahman is
in the food we consume. There was only a big black hole before the
creation was started and AUM was heard from the black hole.
A - akara; U - ukara; M - makara
Trimoorthies
- Brahma, Vishnu , Maheshwara symbolize them respectively from which tri-
gunas have formed. Later all the 5 elements space, air, light (fire),
water, earth were formed. In order to recognize these supreme mind (chitta),
supreme intelligence (Jnaana), supreme pride (Ahankara)
were formed. Using these 8 elements and trigunas’ power, Brahma started
creation.
Due to
the gravitational force on Earth, Hunger has become common to all
creatures created by Brahma. So, different kinds of fruits, vegetables, grains
and beets were made available to all creatures to survive and Maha Vishnu
used His massive power to create them. In turn we must “Grow More Food”.
This campaign by our government with its focus on Dharma is inspired by Vedic
dictum “annam bahu kurveeta”
Food
we consume is formed by the union all the 5 elements called Pancha
Bhoothas. Once the seeds are sown they sprout and give us plenty of grains
without expecting anything in return; And we use our mind to
cook by using water and fire and consume. It is our basic
responsibility to offer this food to God and then consume.
“Annato
praanmam praanato paraakramam” with
food springs life and with life comes strength. ‘If there is no food,
there is no energy to our body. The food that we consume breaks down into different
forms and is sent to different parts of body. This body is gifted with an
ability to give birth to a new life. All creatures are
created by Parabrahman and the food with which they survive is
also created by Parabrahman (GOD). That is the reason our great Rishis realized
and obeyed that, Food is God. Annam Parabrahma Swaroopam.
Many
of us unknowingly leave the food served for us or serve food carelessly in the
plate or while eating food we spill it from the edges of plate --an act of
negligence and disrespect!
We do
not realize that each person is assigned how amount of food he has to
consume in that life...so, if we waste food, the food in our account decreases
and so our life span also decreases. So Vedas say “annam na nindyaat”
abusing foods is a n act of disrespect to GOD.
Not
only this, whenever we consume food consume with love, devotion, satisfaction,
mercy, faith and this will give strength to your body.
“YAD BHAVAM TAD BHAVATI “- YOU BECOME WHAT YOU THINK!
When
everything is realized as Brahman one who consumes food is also Brahman and
that food is also Brahman and hence the statement “yo bhunkte ahameva
bhunkte” This goes with the Mahavakya--aham brahmaasmi. Your way of thinking keeps your body healthy and
strong. This Tattva is also well established in Gita:
Brahmaarpanam brahma havir-brahmaagnou brahmanaa hutam | brahmaiva tena
gantavyam brahmakarma -samaadhinaa || 4-24||
The ladle is Brahman, the oblation is Brahman, it is offered to Brahman
in the fire, which is Brahman; Brahman alone he attains who sees Brahman in
action in everything.
[That is why before eating food we offer food to Jatharaagni
(stomach fire) with this mantra symbolically]
yo yo yam yam tanum
bhaktah sraddhayarcitum icchati tasya tasyacalam sraddham tam eva vidadhamy
aham 7/21
TRANSLATION- I am in
everyone's heart as the Supersoul. As soon as one desires to worship the
demigods, I make his faith steady so that he can devote himself to some
particular deity.
Please go through an enlightening article Annam Parabrahma svaroopm by
V. Jayaraman, a reputed Vedanta scholar.
--November 21, 2018
Excellent
--Prof. G. Nagarajan
SIGNIFICANCE
OF KARTIK MONTH
Tomorrow is Kartik Purnima. The lights that we lit during Diwali
will be doubled tomorrow. Tomorrow is also Thanksgiving Day about which we
talked about, the day which is The Inauguration Day of the
Festival of Lights when Christmas lights will also go up in many
houses of Hindu Americans to show their spirit of honoring the culture of
the Land of their Adoption wishing brighter and better life
for all! In reality Diwali inaugurates Festival of Lights, the day on
which Pragjyotisha Pura, the Eastern City was relieved of all darkness
when Narakasura was killed and 16100 damsels were not only
liberated but joined the 8 other wives of Lord Krishna to
lead a their glorious lives as equal life partners of Lord Krishna.
Kartik Purnima, an auspicious day for Hindu and Jains
is celebrated on the fifteenth lunar day in the month of Kartik. The day has
several names and holds great cultural relevance. It is generally believed that
on this day lord Shiva defeated Tripurasura. Tripurasuras which is a collective
name given to three demons Vidyunmali, Tarakaksha and Viryavana had a firm
control over the world and had created three cities in space known as Tripura.
On Kartik Purnima, lord Shiva killed them by using just one arrow and it
pleased the gods a great deal. Thus this day also marks the Diwali for the
gods, celebrated as Dev Diwali about which I talked about. It is celebrated
with much gusto in several parts of India.
The Significance of the Kartik Month
Sadhguru explains the
importance of the Kartik month and looks at why lighting lamps is so
significant in this month.
Sadhguru: What is the point of lighting a lamp? What is the science behind
it? This is a culture where we did not do
anything that is not scientific and naturally for the enhancement of the human
being, so that they can reach towards their ultimate wellbeing or liberation. In this process, the lighting of the
lamp is significant because in our visual experience, it is light
which makes us see. It plays a significant role in our perception of the world
around us. If there is no light, there is no experience of anything around us.
Light is important in this context. But the significance of this day is not
just about light or about lighting a lamp.
The lamp is indicative of
enlightenment, awareness, consciousness and ultimate liberation. All this is
symbolized with the lamps that we light.
This phase of the year, which is Dakshinayana, is referred to as the
Sadhana pada. The Kartik Masam or Kartik month is very significant because this
is when the year is starting to move into what is called Kaivalya pada. In
terms of sadhana, Dakshinayana is for purification, Uttarayan is for enlightenment. The
Sadhana pada was the time of plowing, seeding and cultivating. Now, the time
for the inner harvest of whatever sadhana you have done has come. This is the
time to take the cream of that sadhana and make it available to yourself. You
would have heard many stories about this.
Everyone is definitely aware of how Pitamaha Bhishma waited on the
bed of arrows because he did not want to die in the sadhana pada. He wanted to
die or leave his body in the Kaivalya pada because that is the time you can
harvest the fruits of life. The inner nature can be harvested very easily in
the Kaivalya pada. Right now, this is the transition from Sadhana to Kaivalya. The lamp is
indicative of enlightenment, awareness, consciousness and ultimate liberation.
All this is symbolized with the lamps that we light.
This is not just about lighting one lamp. Usually, the tradition
said that as the Kartik month comes, you must double the lamps that you light
because one thing is, the day has become shorter so you need a little more
light to do your daily activity. Another thing is to indicate that you are
multiplying the light in your life.
We need 700 crore (7 billion) lamps for every human being on this
planet. You cannot do all that by yourself, but I would say, every day in this
month, you must at least do this much – light one lamp for yourself, one for
somebody who is dear to you and one for somebody whom you do not like.
Please go
through the Kartik Purnima Festivals celebrated by all traditions:
May you be blessed with Happiness, Prosperity and Peace.
Happy Kartik Purnima!
Good Health, Success,
Happiness and Prosperity, Joy, peace, Love and lots of Popularity. These are my
wishes for you on this Kartik Purnima.!
--November
21, 2018
Comments:
Thanks
many sir for explaining to us the significance of lighting the lamps in the
month of Karthik. Our best wishes to you
and all members of your family and friends.
--Sapthagireesan
Excellent explanation by Srinivasan Nadipuram on Kartik Poornima which is today.
Hoping readers can understand the richness and depth of spirituality which is the core essence of Santana Dharma which Hindus around the world till date celebrate ❤️
--Sree
Maa
WOMEN ARE ON LONGWAY TO ATTAIN
COMPLETE EQUALITY ON RELIGIOUS,
SOCIAL AND POLITICAL FRONTS
The ritualistic Vedic culture was indeed
male dominated. Women folk only helped in the preparation of things for the
rituals and fire sacrifices and did not conduct rituals themselves. But
Vedic society had a number of women in key positions and that certain
austerities could not be performed without their wives even in the early
ritualistic period. During this period woman scholars took active part in
spiritual discussions and were also much venerated as seen in Upanishads. Some
of the women scholars were more knowledgeable, dominated the scene and were
highly respected.
The mention of Women sages like
Vaac, Ambhrini, Romasa, Maitreyi and Gargi in Vedic lore confirms this
view. Mythology talks only with high respect about the three consorts of
Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva and countless ladies like Ahalya, Anusuya, Arundhati,
Savitri, Lopamudra, Sakuntala, Damayanti etc. Hinduism had several mystics like
Andal and Avvai of Tamilnadu, Mahadevi of Karnataka, Lalla of Kashmir,
Chellachi of Srilanka, Janabai and Muktabai of Maharashtra and Mirabai of
Rajasthan adding saints like Karunamayi currently.
Women could undergo the Upanayana
samskara (ritual) and pursue Vedic studies. They were known as
"Brahmavadins. Co-education existed in the earlier period. Ladies of
Kshatriya Dharma got training in the use of arms and other martial arts.
The wife known as "grihini" was considered as
"half" of the husband and constituted the real "griha" or
home. She was called "saamraajini", the queen or mistress of the home
and had an equal share in the performance of religious rites. Saastras
prescribed sacraments exclusive to woman to honor the coming of puberty and
motherhood like Pumsavanam, Seemantonnayanam etc. Divorce and remarriage of
woman were allowed under special conditions.
For a fairly long period women dominated
the social scene and were the virtual head of the family while men were busy
with their nomadic life and hunting pursuits. Hinduism believes even
today that a woman who devotes her entire life to the well-being of her husband
is a "Pativrata" and is endowed with numerous powers usually attained
by sages and it is said that even Gods can't match Pativrata power.
In the long run male chauvinistic
religious society wanted the women to confine to the home, prevented them from
study of Vedas and brought certain restrictions even in temple worship. Though
women enjoy today equality in temple worship yet there are few
temples where women are denied entry like Untouchables on certain
days and also not seen in the front to face the saints delivering discourses
and also segregated in temples while worshiping. It is surprising such a
treatment of women is not confined to Hindu Religion alone but also seen in
other Religions and traditions. Hindu Americans have transcended all
these compelled by the society in which they have to go through their religious
pursuits. I have brought some of these prevailing practices to your
knowledge that is by no means exhaustive.
Please also go through two of my
discourses delivered in the past on the subject;
SWAMINARAIN FAITH THAT SUBJUGATES AND RESTRICTS WOMEN
Swaminarayan insisted that
education was the inherent right of all people, including women, despite
considerable criticism from those in his own contemporary society who
"loathed the uplift of lower caste women". At
that time, influential and wealthy individuals educated their girls through
private and personal tuition. Male followers of Swaminarayan made arrangements
to educate their female family members. The literacy rate among females began
to increase during Swaminarayan's time, and they were able to give discourses
on spiritual subjects. Members of the sect consider
Swaminarayan a pioneer of education of females in India.
According to the author
Raymond Brady Williams, "Swaminarayan is an early representative of the
practice of advocacy of women's rights without personal involvement with
women". To counter the practice of sati (self-immolation by a
widow on her husband’s funeral pyre), Swaminarayan argued that, as human life
was given by God it could be taken only by God, and that sati had no
Vedic sanction. He went to the extent to call sati nothing but suicide.
Swaminarayan offered parents help with dowry expenses to discourage
female infanticide, calling infanticide a sin. For calling a
halt to these prevailing practices, Swaminarayan's "contemporaries
naturally saw in him a pioneer of a reformed and purified Hinduism, and
Swaminarayan Hinduism an ‘ingrazi dharma’ or British religion."
Professor David Harman
observed that Swaminarayan "criticized the popular shakta cults and 'gosai' and 'nath' ascetics for the
contemptuous and instrumental way in which they viewed and treated women. These
cults were often responsible for gross sexual abuse of women." Hardiman
added that Swaminarayan's view towards women was not in line with this type of
misogyny and was rooted in his desire to prevent ill treatment of women along
with promoting celibacy for ascetics. Swaminarayan
"forbade all sadhus and sadhvis (that is, male and female ascetics) of his
sect from having any contact whatsoever with members of the opposite sex."
This strict precept was one he likely internalized "after travelling
as an ascetic throughout India [when] he was reported to vomit if approached by
even the shadow of a woman". To help his male ascetic followers
maintain their vow of celibacy, Swaminarayan taught “the woman who attracts
attention is made up of bones, blood vessels, spittle, blood, mucus and feces;
she is simply a collection of these things, and there is nothing to be
attractive.
Members of the faith are defensive
of the fact that some practices seem to restrict women and make gender equality
in leadership impossible. They are only permitted to enter
special sections of the temple reserved for women or have to go to separate
women's temples. As with practices of niddah in Orthodox Judaism,
concepts of pollution associated with the menstrual
cycle lead to the exclusion of women from the temples and daily worship
during the affected time. Swaminarayan also directed
male devotees not to listen to religious discourses given by women.
In case of widows,
Swaminarayan directed those who could not follow the path of chastity to
remarry. For those who could, he lay down strict rules which included them
being under the control of male members of the family. This may seem
regressive, however it gave them "a respected and secure place in the social
order" of the time. Swaminarayan restricted widows
"to live always under the control of male members of their family and
prohibited them from receiving instruction in any science from any man
excepting their nearest relations."
Temples
in India that bar entry of women
1500 women marched into
the Shani temple in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra to fight for gender inequality.
While the temple is visited by millions the whole year-round, entry of women
has been barred in its inner sanctum where the idol is placed. And most
importantly, this is not the only temple, where religion plays a big role on
who may enter and who may not. There are other temples as well that bar women
from entering into its premises following ages-old traditions and rituals.
Today when we demand gender equality in all walks of life then why face
inequality in religious places? Here we bring you a list of temples that are
culprits of not letting women enter:
Shani Shignapur
Well, the top most in the
list has to be the trending one. While the men can go and offer prayers to the
Shani idol located in the temple, women, at no point of time, are allowed to
enter the inner sanctum. The temple trustees are strictly against the idea of
women entering the temple. And they have many times openly expressed their
concern against it.
Sabrimalai
Temple of Lord Ayyappa
This temple situated in
the state of Kerala at the Periyar Tiger Reserve, was very much in the news
last year for the same reason. The temple trustee chief had apparently
announced that the temple will allow women only when a machine is made to check
if the women entering the temple are menstruating or not. Actually,
the temple has a history that the bachelor Lord Ayyappa positioned himself in
the temple after killing a dangerous demoness Mahishi. And since he was a
celibate, no woman in her menstruating years is allowed to enter the temple and
try to lure the lord out of his meditation. This is also true for the millions
of men entering the temple. It is one of the world’s largest annual pilgrimages
and how saddening it is that women cannot be a part of it.
Shree
Padmanabhaswamy Temple
Another one from Kerala,
this temple is built in the Malayinkeezhu village of Thiruvananthapuram. The
irony related to this temple is that it is the temple of Shree Krishna and we
are all well-aware of the Lord Krishna’s nature and his love affairs. However,
this temple has a slightly different story, two Pushpanjali Swamiyars of Sree
Padmanabhaswamy Temple, again bachelors, had to spend six months in this temple
and that is why entry of women is disallowed here. The ban was enforced on the
temple during the rule of a Travancore ruler Sree Moolam Thirunal.
Kamakhya Temple
This temple in Guwahati,
Assam is home to “Goddess” Kamakhya Devi. This is a very interesting
as this temple does not have an idol to worship to. Actually in the name of an
idol, it has the vagina of Goddess Kamakhya to which people offer their
prayers. And bigger striking factor is that women are not allowed in the temple
while menstruating.
Pir
Haji Ali Dargah
This is again a very
famous religious place where each year millions of people of all religion hoard
to offer a chaddar to the tomb of Pir Haji Ali Shah Bukhari. Actually,
it is not long ago when the ban was imposed on the entry of women again in the
inner core of the dargah. The ban was put in between 2011-2012. It is as
if going back into the stone-age as this is not progressive at all. The
trustees of the dargah think that Islam does not allow women in the
vicinity of the grave of a Muslim saint.
Jain
Temple
Rajasthan is the state where you can find this temple. And as
extremely evident from the name itself, the temple is maintained by the people
of Jain dharma. While the temple does allow women ONLY WHEN THEY ARE NOT
MENSTRUATING, the permission does come with its own set of does and don’ts.
While you may enter, you will have to cover a lot of yourself including your
liberal mindset when you visit this temple.
Mangal
Chandi Temple
Another one in the
ironical slot, this temple is the abode of Goddess Chandi. While this temple is
home to a female deity, women are still not allowed to enter the premises. This
200-year old temple from Jharkhand only accepts offerings from men coming to
the temple. Women are not allowed from 50metres distance to the temple. It is
said that if women offer prayers to the goddess in this temple then it might
displease the deity and bring misfortune.
Lord Kartikeya Temple, Pushkar,
India
The
Pushkar temple worships the brahmachari form of Lord Kartikeya and women
are banned entirely from entering the premises.
There
is a myth that the Lord curses women who enter the temple instead of blessing
them - even if their motivation is one that stems from submission and piety.
The supposed aggression of the lord towards women is used to justify this ban.
Women
are not allowed in any temple wherever Lord Kartikeya resides in places like
Haryana, Pushkar, Pehowa and Rajasthan. He is the ultimate celibate God and
apparently he gets very aggressive if a woman enters the temple and tries to
offer prayers. He curses the woman even if the woman has best of intentions.
Places around the World Where Women Are
Banned For No Good Reason
The world we live in today is
one that has evolved from a world riddled in severe patriarchal values. And no
matter how far we think we've come from it, it's painfully often that we come
across remnants of this male-dominated system that mankind has grown from.
These restrictions on women are sometimes absolute, and
selective at some places, but they are unabashedly imposed in places of public
interest. Despite years of passionate protest against such injustice, and
several women having flouted the bans, these rules are still upheld and it is
valid reason for worldwide outrage.
Here are some other places around the world that have rules
against admitting women and they remind us that it isn't such a perfect
world we live in after all.
1. Mount Athos, Greece
This
mountain and peninsula in northern Greece serves as a monastery to about 2,000
monks and have banned the female form - not just women, but animals
too - for more than 1,000 years.
In the past, women have sneaked into the peninsula as a form of
protest, but it's always stirred up an outcry with the resident monks, who
claim that the presence of women alters the social dynamics of the community
and slows their path to spiritual enlightenment.
2.
Mount Omine, Japan
Home
to the Yamabushi monks, Mount Omine banned women from its estate to remove thoughts of
temptation for them as they practiced the strict self-denial of a hermit in the
mountains.
Mount Omine's prohibition is voluntary. The monastery has seen
several breaches by feminists every year, but no trespassing charges are ever
pressed. The ban has been challenged on numerous occasions, but in vain. The
temple and local community stand by their "request" for people to
respect their tradition.
3. Saudi Arabia
No,
the country is not banned to women, but if you're a female solo
traveler, you'd have a better chance of getting to Mars. While women are
allotted visas, all female visitors must be accompanied by a male guardian.
Also, Saudi Arabian cemeteries are entirely closed to all women,
and they're not allowed to drive. I believe this rule has been recently lifted
and women can drive.
It's a man's world still
in many pockets, and from the looks of it, WOMEN are on a very long road to
completely changing it in favor of equality for women.
--November 22, 2018
Comments:
This is very interesting and informative
article. Thank you Srinivasan. HAVE A HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY.
--Dr. Narayan Bhat
THANKS-GIVING MEAL PRAYER
Let us extend our Thanks-Giving Meal Prayer with the Vedic Prayer
in addition to the JAINA prayer for He has given us all that we need and
beyond!
Annam na nindyaat tad
vratam--Do not abuse food. That should be the vow; annam
parichaksheeta tad vratam--Do not discard food; That should be the
vow; annam bahu kurveeta--Make the food plenty. That should be the
vow. Sraddhayaa deyam| Asraddhayaa deyam |Sriyaa deyam | Bhiyaa deyam
|Samvidaa deyam-- Offer with faith; offer without attachment; offer with
cheerful mind; offer with fear; offer with a will!--Taittareeya Upanishad.
Thanksgiving is a
wonderful time to gather with family and friends and reflect on the blessings
of the last year. Many of us experience renewed hope and faith during the
Thanksgiving holiday because we turn our eyes onto what is most important. What
if we spent time each day in giving thanks and prayer? How could God grow out
faith and trust if we lived a life of thanks through all seasons and not just
Thanksgiving time? When your heart is filled with gratitude, there is little
room to worry or complain.
Let us thank HIM for the
food He has given us in plenty and remember the hungry! Let us thank HIM for
the health He has given us and remember the sick! Let us thank HIM for the
friendly atmosphere He has given and help the lonely! Let us thank
HIM for the freedom He has given us and help those that are
enslaved! May these prayers inspire us in Seva (service), and May the peace and
tranquility He has given us be given to all others!
Sangacchadhvam
sam vadadhvam sam vo manaamsi jaanataam/ devaa bhaagam yathaa
purve sanjanaana upaasate // (X-191-20)
Come
together! Speak together! Let our minds be all of one accord like the divines
that sat together in the past in harmony to worship.
The mantra “Sangacchadwam,
samvadadwam samvomanaamsi jaanataam” means “Let us move
together, let us speak together, let us think together” in order
to encourage community spirit, confused by distortion.
Dyauh Saantih antariksham saantih prithvee saantih aapah saantih
oshadhyah saantih vanaspatayah saantih viswedevaah saantih brhma saantih
sarvam saantih saantireva saantih saa maa saantiredhi || (Veda)
There is peace in the heavenly region; there is peace in the
atmosphere; peace reigns on the earth; there is coolness in the water; the
medicinal herbs are healing; the plants give tranquility; there is
harmony in the celestial objects and perfection in eternal knowledge;
everything in the universe is peaceful; peace pervades everywhere; May that
peace come to me!
[Thus good Lord established the Universe with all round peace. In
turn it is our Dharma to preserve that peace all around]
HAPPY
THANKSGIVING TO ALL OF YOU!
Namaste!
NRS
JAINA Thanks-Giving Meal Prayer
Start the Thanks-Giving Meal with the
seven contemplations, or with whatever traditional grace or prayer you
prefer to use to express our gratitude.
Honor
the Food
1. This
food is the gift of the whole universe: the earth, the sky, numerous living
beings and much hard, loving work.
2. May
we
eat with mindfulness and gratitude so as to be worthy to receive it!
3. May
we recognize and transform our unwholesome mental formations, especially our
greed, and learn to eat with moderation!
4. May
we keep our compassion alive by eating in such a way that we reduce the suffering
of living beings, preserve our planet, and reverse the process of global
warming!
5. May
we ask for forgiveness from all living beings that we may have harmed,
intentionally or unintentionally. May peace and compassion grow in
ourselves and extend to all around us!
6. May
we pray that all the people everywhere in the world will avoid inflicting harm
on animals and fellow human beings and practice nonviolence and compassion!
7. We
accept this food so that we may nurture our sisterhood and brotherhood,
strengthen our community, and nourish our ideal of serving all living beings.
--November 20, 2018
Such
a good message mama, thank you for continuing to send these precious e-mails
--Aparna Arcot
Happy
Thanksgiving to you. Annam Parabrahma Soruupam.Yo Punkthae Ahameva Pankthae. Sottrukkulae Chokkanaathar.
Prof. G. Nagarajan
Your comments takes my thought to Gita:
Isataan bhogaan
hi vo devadasyante yajna-bhaavitah | tair dattaan apraadayaibhyo yo bhunkte
stena eva sah--Gita
In
charge of the various necessities of life, the demigods, being satisfied by the
performance of yajna [sacrifice], supply all necessities to man. But he who
enjoys these gifts, without offering them to the demigods in return, is
certainly a thief.
.
No
one can manufacture anything. Everything is God given (iswara prasaadm).
Take, for example, all the eatables of human society. These eatables include
grains, fruits, vegetables, milk, sugar, etc., for the persons in the mode of
goodness, and also eatables for the non-vegetarians, like meats, etc., none of
which can be manufactured by men. Then again, take for example heat, light,
water, air, etc., which are also necessities of life—none of them can be
manufactured by the human society. Without the Supreme Lord, there can be no
profuse sunlight, moonlight, rainfall, breeze, etc., without which no one can
live. Obviously, our life is dependent on supplies from the Lord. Even for our
manufacturing enterprises, we require so many raw materials like metal, sulfur,
mercury, manganese, and so many essentials—all of which are supplied by the
agents of the Lord, with the purpose that we should make proper use of them to
keep ourselves fit and healthy for the purpose of self-realization, leading to
the ultimate goal of life, namely, liberation from the material struggle for
existence. This aim of life is attained by performance of yajnas. If we forget
the purpose of human life and simply take supplies from the agents of
the Lord (plundering nature) we are punished by the laws of material
nature. Therefore Upanishads say sraddhayaa deyam……..
That I elaborated in my text. Western thought is Grow More food !
Enjoy! Share and Care! Jesus, Allah or Jehova in turn will take care of
you. So they created a Specific Day in a year. But this thought
should be with us everyday and at every meal!
Thank you, Sir for explaining from Gita. God bless you.
--Prof.G. Nagarajan
WHY KRISHNA DID NOT MARRY RADHA
Please refer to my
Krishna Karna samvada which was well received. A learned professor asked
me "Why Krishna did not marry Radha?" Here was my answer reproducing Krishna's
answer with my further understanding:
Lord Krishna didn't marry Radha
because
- Lord Krishna wanted her to remain his sacred fire.
- She would never have been able to find her Kanhaiya in Krishna Vasudev.
This has been beautifully
mentioned in Sri K. M.
Munshi's Krishnavatara.
Lord Krishna said-
“Uddhava, both you and my Big Brother Balarama have always upbraided me
for leaving Radha behind in Vrindavan. But I did it because I want her to be
my sacred fire. I would never have loved Radha had I not felt sure that I
was going to be in Vrindavan as a cowherd forever. But when I was called to
Mathura as Vasudeva's son, it would have been wicked to bring her with me. She
was born to be an exquisite flower in the spring and would never have survived
the hot winds of the life I was called upon to face. She would have never found
her "Kahn" in Krishna Vaasudeva. And I, with my mission to
fulfil, could not have played the gay cowherd, who was the very breath of her
life. So I parted from her. She has always remained an altar fire for me and
I have remained the altar fire for her. It was the only way,” said Krishna,
a little sadly.
Once Radha asked Krishna why He loved Radha but married others.
Lord Krishna gave a sweet reply of Radha's question. Lord Krishna said that
marriage is only possible between two persons but not between one soul. We
(Krishna and Radha) are one soul so our love will be eternal and divine but
earthly marriage is not possible. But Krishna made a promise to Radha -
whenever anyone in this world will remember Me, they will always take your name
before Mine (Radhakrishna), and never any of My wives, as a reminder of our
unconditional and immeasurable love. It was Krishna’s wish that all should
remember Radha and their immortal Love constantly and celebrate their wedding
so that we too forget the world and turn inwards and not to think of it as one
time wedding. While divine weddings are generally celebrated on Panguni Uttiram
day Radha Kalyanam is celebrated on any day at any time. That is why we
celebrate Radha Kalyanam as often as we feel to cheer up our spirits and find
ourselves as honored guests in the grand celebrations. Also mostly we have
Radha-Krishna Moorthis installed in temples except in rare Parthasarthy Temples
with Rukmini and rarer still with Satyabhama together from 16108 wives of
Krishna. Rukmini is Sridevi and Sathyabhama is Bhoodevi.
The answer is simple. Krishna and Radha were madly in love with
each other. The main purpose of Krishna to take birth in this earth was
to show people right way and wipe out the evil. If he got married with Radha he
would not able to do so. Because whenever he would be with Radha he forgot the
entire world. He saw his entire world in Radha. To our good he
didn't get married to Radha.
--November 19, 2018
Thank you for the precious E-mail
mama, it has been my wish to perform Radhakalyanam in our house once; hoping it
happens
--Aparna Arcot
Excellent; Like it very much
--Sri Kanth, RV Kausahik, TKP Naig
I am very grateful to you for giving the best reasons why
Lord Krishna did not marry.
Prof. G. Nagarajan
The 'feminist' Ruling
Angering Indian Women and the Lesson
Hindu Americans have to Learn from It
Hindu
Temple worship that we have adopted for Hindu Americans is very diverse and
will not suit emerging American Hindu Society. We
should not leave things in confusion as in India like Sabarimalai and Kamakhya
Temple and wait for an agitation or State to interfere. We should preserve our
religious freedom and free practice for all focused on “sangha-cchadvam samvadadvam" as our
sages did! We should by and large go by the concept of Siva-Vishnu
Temples and adopt one deity that suits all traditions focusing on
important rituals and festivals that are appealing to all traditions on a
grand scale keeping the tradition. Here in USA courts may not interfere
but temples themselves may not attract Hindu American Youths in the
future if not focused on a single standard with spiritual focus and wish
to be not drawn into Unitarian Universalism that does not have a long term
plan for liberation and perennial joy. Fortunately for us
Vivekananda has spoken to Americans 125 years back ”Vedanta is the Religion of the Future for
Humanity” providing us guidelines. We should start promoting the study of
Sanskrit, Vedanta and Yoga and awaken the spiritual thinking and
reflecting it in our temple worship focused on the noble concepts of
Sanatana Dharma-- Krinvanto visvamaaryam, Vasudhaiva kutumbakam, Aatmavat
sarva bhooteshu, Eko devah, Sarvejanaah sukhino bhavantu etc.
We should learn our lesson from the “The 'feminist' ruling angering Indian women” movement and at the same time guided by the great
spiritual thinkers in USA like Velan
Samy, Jaggi Vasudev, David Frawley, Phil Goldberg etc., who are all not
only impressed about Hinduism with its foundation of Sanatan dharm,a but
totally adopted it in their life-styles and propagation. We should also draw
continuously help from monasteries of Ramakrishna Math, Chinmaya Mission, Arsha
Vidya Gurukul etc actively involved in USA and ever ready to help instead
turning to India torn with rifts, quarrels, sectarian fights, caste
feuds, conversion and court fights.
Please go through
the BBC News and David Frawley’s reaction:
Viewpoint: The 'feminist'
ruling angering Indian women
A recent Supreme
Court ruling, which has been hailed as a feminist victory, has instead angered
the Indian women it was meant to empower, says commentator Shyam Krishnakumar.
At the Sabarimala temple
in the southern Indian state of Kerala, a tense stand-off is under way between
women who are determined to use a judicial verdict to enter the temple and
large groups of devotees including women, making a last-ditch effort to
preserve the integrity of their age-old traditions.
The issue began with a
recent Supreme Court verdict allowing the entry of women between the ages of 10
and 50, which was prohibited by the temple's traditions.
Why has a seemingly
feminist verdict caused a groundswell of protest including from the very
subaltern women it was meant to empower?
Sabarimala commands a
massive following cutting across caste, gender and linguistic lines. Every
year, millions of pilgrims including tribal communities, Muslims and
Christians, undertake a rigorous 41-day fast and embark on a barefoot
pilgrimage to the temple which located in the dense forests of the Western
Ghats.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Sabarimala is dedicated
to the deity Ayyappa in the form of an eternal celibate in penance
The temple is dedicated to
the deity Ayappa in the form of an eternal celibate in penance. Therefore,
traditionally only men, very young girls or post-menopausal women enter the
temple.
Two weeks ago, a five judge
bench of India's Supreme Court struck down the restriction on women of
"menstruating ages". The four male judges delivered a majority
verdict on the grounds of gender discrimination and because it wasn't an
"essential practice" of the denomination.
Indu Malhotra, the only
woman judge on the bench, disagreed with the majority verdict.
"Issues of deep
religious sentiments should not be ordinarily interfered by the court...
Notions of rationality cannot be invoked in matters of religion," she said
in her dissenting opinion.
Observing that women's
right to worship Lord Ayappa was not violated as there are a thousand other
Ayappa temples without restrictions on women. Justice Malhotra added the court
must not interfere unless approached by an aggrieved person from the
denomination.
Objections
notwithstanding, the verdict was widely celebrated as a progressive step by an activist
judiciary in ensuring women's "right of worship".
Then, something unexpected
happened.
In town after town in
Kerala, tens of thousands of women hit the streets protesting against the
verdict. This spread across India with marches in Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and
internationally in the UK, US and Canada.
Sensing the pulse, India's
leading Hindu nationalist organisation, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS),
and the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP), who were initially in favour of the
judgement, did a flip-flop and were eager to be seen supporting the protests.
The main opposition
Congress party also joined the bandwagon. Consequently, multiple party-led
protest marches and some incendiary statements followed.
Imposing a liberation
Kerala is not a place
where women are voiceless. It has historically been a matrilineal society where
women have controlled and inherited property for centuries. The state has the
highest literacy rate in India and its social indicators are comparable to
developed countries.
The protesting women feel
that no one cared to understand their worldview. They feel that those with
privilege and a voice are imposing a "liberation" that these women do
not seek.
- Enough is enough: India women fight to enter temples
- The millions of Hindu devotees walking across India
"The authorities
misread the situation by looking at this issue through a colonial prism,"
says Anjali George, who pioneered a social media campaign in favor of the
temple's ban on women.
"This has effectively
contributed to a situation where people are losing faith in the ability of the
system to protect their religious rights and traditions."
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Hinduism comprises a
diverse set of cultural practices and traditions
Hinduism is an umbrella
term for a staggeringly diverse set of cultural practices, traditions and
systems of worship.
While the celibate Lord
Ayappa at Sabarimala does not see women devotees of a certain age, the same
deity is worshipped in a married form in other temples by both women and men.
And it's not only women
who are barred from some temples.
The Kamakhya Temple in the
northeastern state of Assam bars men from entering during the auspicious time
when the goddess menstruates.
Creating artificial
homogeneity
Hardly a dozen among the
few millions of temples in India have gender-based entry restrictions. Equality
cannot become a premise to create an artificial homogeneity, forcing a
conformity that destroys diverse, intergenerational practices which enjoy the support
of all stakeholders including women.
No efforts are taken to
sincerely engage with the practices of the actual stakeholders. What
masquerades under the garb of "reform" is a way to impose modernity
on native practices by judicial writ and state force if necessary.
The judgement has also
raised disturbing questions about the relationship between religion and state
in India.
The government has become
increasingly involved in managing religious institutions and the judiciary in
determining correct religious practice. Noted advocates Fali Nariman and Rajeev
Dhavan offer a scathing indictment of this saying "judges have virtually
assumed the theological authority to determine which tenets of a faith are
'essential'".
The stand-off at
Sabarimala exposes the stark dichotomy between a cosmopolitan elite who
celebrate the "liberation" of women and the visceral grassroots reaction
from millions of women devotees who feel their voices are not being heard in
today's India.
-- BBC NEWS
Hindu temple worship is much more diverse than anything in western
religions. Can it be reduced to a single standard of modern political correctness?
Why do courts and even communist state governments like that of Kerala
interfere in Hindu temple worship, while they leave other religious groups
alone? #Sabarimala has awakened Kerala Hindus to the
new threats against their traditions and way of life.
--David Frawley
November
18, 2018
THAI
BUDDHIST LIBERAL CELEBRATION OF HINDU FESTIVALS--AN EYE OPENER TO HINDU
AMERICANS WHERE RELIGIONS CONFLATE
I visited an interesting Thai Temple in
Bangkok which houses three Hindu deities– Ganesh, Shiva and Vishnu. It is not a
temple patronized by the Hindus like Dev Mandhir and Mariamman Temple. It is a
Thai temple. It is called Devasthan -–(Boat Prahm) and is situated opposite the
Dev Mandir right behind the Giant Swing. The word Boat Prahm means “Sanctuary
of Brahmins”. The Giant Swing itself was the venue of a very big Hindu ritual
of “Oonjalaattam” for Shiva and Vishnu modeled after traditional Dolotsvam that
is being celebrated in Vishnu Hindu Temples in India, Unfortunately this had to
be stopped due to frequent occurrence of accidents.
The worship that is conducted at the Boat
Prahm is very similar to the Shoedasopachara Puja at our Hindu temples with
waving of lamps, blowing of the conch shells and “Neivedhyam” (offering food)
etc. At the end of the pooja they recite the Tamil sacred texts Thiruppavai and
Thiruvbenbavai. These are scripts written in Grantha with parallel Thai script.
As they do not know the meaning of the verses the pronunciation is completely
different. As each song ends with the word “embaavaai” in each song that word
could be understood. The rest of the text is recited with total disregard to
punctuation marks and sounds are different. It is a thrilling experience
watching these Thai Brahmin Priests reciting the Thiruppavai and Thiruvembavai.
The authors of these Tamil hymns belong to an age much later than that of Vedas
and Epics. So it can’t be ascribed to Vedic age and therefore of much recent
origin.
This is the place where the
“Triyampaavai-Trippaavai”festival takes place for 15 days and all the Brahmins
in Thailand come and stay in the temple for 15 days. HH Chandrasekharendra
Saraswati had spoken in high regard of this practice of reciting Thiruppavai
and Thiruvembaavai in a Buddhist country like Thailand. Even today a big
festival is held in Thailand in December-January corresponding to the Tamil
Margazhi, the same month during which Tamil Hindus read the Tiruppaavai and the
Tiruvembaavai with devotion. As a part of the celebrations Dolotsava (sawing
festival) is held. A remarkable feature of this is that, in the ceremony meant
for Vishnu, a man with the make-up of Siva is seated on the swing. This seems
to be in keeping with the fact that the Tiruppaavai and Tiruvembaavai
contribute to the unification of Vaishnavism and Saivism.
The Brahmins who came from India have married
local women and as centuries went by, lost their Indian identity. They speak
Thai and appear like an improved version of their frail looking brothers back
home. They are clothed in white robes in stark contrast to the Buddhist Monks.
They wear the sacred thread too (Poonool).
Earlier when I wrote about a joint Pradosham
worship for all traditions you might have been wondering how that is possible
though our temples are One Temple for All Traditions.Though it is ideal it may
not be practically feasible to bring all together standing before different
deities. To those who are skeptical the above Thai living example of festival
celebration should be eye opener. Someone has to start such a tradition for the
future progeny. Ball is in the court of Hindu Americans if they want to
preserve Hindu Temple Tradition attractive to all as Thais have done inspired
by migrant Hindus.
Let us look back how this was made possible in
a Buddhist country and that too in Buddhist temple. History alone can tell.
Thais while anchoring Buddhism absorbed prevailing Hindu culture based on
Sanatana Dharma into Buddhism thus avoiding conflicting of interests and
promoted progress of both the religions that had Sanatana Dharma as the base.
They also made the migrant Tamils liberal and progressive removing from the
conservatism and sectarian outlook that migrants brought with them.
The present Thailand, Cambodia and Burma was
once ruled by Khemers till 13th century. Historians believe that the Khemers
were either Hindu Pallava Kings or Leaders of local tribes who were made Kings
by Pallavas. The Khemer Kings adopted a concept called “Devaraja Cult” which
means that the King is an incarnation of Vishnu or Shiva. They built temples
for Vishnu and Shiva and consecrated statues representing themselves as Gods
and promoted themselves as the undisputed leaders of their subjects. The Khemer
Kingdom, after 1300 years of glorious rule by the Hindu kings, fell to the
Thais. In 1282 Buddhist Thai Kingdom started. It should have ended Hinduism
practiced by the Khemers. Surprisingly it did not.
The Thais, even though Buddhists, continued
the Devaraja cult for two reasons. Since they took over a land of Khemers, they
did not want to change the practices of the land and be alienated from the
locals. Secondly, the Devaraja cult suited their intentions of assuming
supremacy as it gave them instant recognition among people. So the Thai kings
also continued the Devaraja cult and as a consequence extended patronage to the
Indian Brahmins and projected themselves as Incarnations of Hindu Gods in
addition to practicing Buddhism. (That explains why the Royal family in
Thailand practices Hindu Rituals and practices even during the present times.)
The Brahmins, in the Buddhist Thailand, thus
thrived as priests of the Royal family and performed rituals like Coronation
ceremonies, Upanayanams for the Royal family. They also performed House-warming
ceremonies, Ploughing Ceremony, Upanayanams for the common people and continued
practicing Hindu rituals and ceremonies. One such Brahmin ceremony is reciting
Thiruppavai verses is “Trivambhave , Thripave” which is continued to be recited
even in this 21st century.
This should be an eye opener to Hindu
Americans to bring all traditions together and praying together as our sages
did in the past Sanghacchdvam samvadadvam. You can also imagine what will
happen to Hindu Americans down the line! This will not only unite all Hindu
traditions but also make Hinduism attractive to Inter-faith married couples to
stay more with Hinduism which has its basic strength in Sanatana Dharma. In the
beginning the Vedic religion was prevalent all over the world. Later, over the
centuries, it must have gone through a process of change and taken different
directions. However much a custom or a concept of Hinduism changes with the
passage of time and with its acceptance by people in another land, it will
still retain all elements of Sanatana Dharma in Hinduism pointing to its
original source.
The mantra “Sangacchadvam, samvadadvam sam-vo-manaamsi
jaanataam” means “Let us move together, let us speak together, let us think
together” in order to encourage community spirit, confused by distortion.
--November 18, 2018
There
are quite a few advanced thinkers and philosophers who have lived in America
and have been working towards integrated religions and develop practices that
get away from old rituals and start new traditions that are contemporary and
palatable to their membership. I like the Unitarians and the Unity church the
latter more accommodative of eastern practices. I feel inspired by their work
as much as I feel inspired by your ideas.
Jaggi
Vasudev is introducing new traditions that cross caste and sex barriers in the
abode of Shiva in McMinnville.
Only
founders of Great institutions and revered spiritual leaders can introduce
departure from traditional practices. Our temple is not a leader, and is
borrowing strength from traditional temple worship to get itself established as
sacred powerful institution. Our strength has come from keeping traditions,
rather than the modifications we have made.
Having
said that, I am quietly preparing our priests to be willing to periodically
review our practices and make constructive changes, and introduce new
traditions, with enthusiasm and commitment, if they agree in principle. They
worked hard to modify Jagannatha rituals to fit our temple. If you are willing,
I will call for a meeting, initially with Gurukkal, and subsequently with
others as a group. Please brainstorm how you will convince Gurukkal, and get
his blessing/commitment.
I always feel blessed to have you
around.
--Dr. Ved
1) My E mails go to Gurukkal,
Velathuri , three other Temples’
board members, HMEC , Rajiv Malhotra, Swami Chidanananda
, Phil Goldberg and Maa Shree besides other members of Ganesha Temple
Board. None has withdrawn in spite of my periodic mails as to withdraw if they
are otherwise busy. My message thus has
been widely circulated to reach a cross section. So do not take seriousaly as
applicable to Sri Ganesha temple. We have the opportunity to lead being
progressive in thinking.
2) Last week I talked to Gurukkal and
Chairman together on Panmguni Uttiram and Guru Purnima. They were receptive.
3) Kerala Government has appointed
one Harijan boy as priest
4) Tiruvvaiyaru has removed Navagraha
altars and Puri Jagannath Saibaba idol
5) Court has directed Sabarimalai to
admit all women to temple that earlier prohibited ladies up to 60 years or so.
7) Court has been moved to remove
Govt. interference in temples and also non Hindu Govt. representatives on
temple board
8) Mass conversion to Christianity is
again troubling India
Thus lot of revolutionary thinking
and disturbances are going on. We should get out of sectarian traditions, progressively
educate our public and lead them spiritual gradually through evolution. Having
common platform for united worship will help in the progress as well as sustain
as you have seen in Thailand though their Govt. is led by revolutionary
Buddhist.
You may count on me for any help that
I can render though my age does not support me and I will be history in the
near future.
--NRS
Thanks for the feedback. I will explore some of these in next
priest meeting.
--Dr. Ved
Interesating.
I like it.
--Sree Maa
DO WE NEED SHORT-TERM UNITARIANISM
OR VEDANTA THAT IS UNIVERSAL AND PURNAM?
You might have long forgotten
about the Unity Church I spoke about, a new wave in spiritual
thinking bringing togerther all denominations, all races and colors with an
Outreach in Nashville. While commenting on my recent E-Mail one of the
knowledgeable critics drew my attention to the work of Unity Church
of UUA with the following comments----“I like the Unitarians and
the Unity church the latter more accommodation of eastern practices. I feel
inspired by their work as much as I feel inspired by your ideas”.
While many in India have now started
hate campaign against the escalated Christian Missionary work, his
compliments of Unity Church in Nashville surprised me. I was not
surprised by his appreciation of broad vision of UUA that draws it strength from
Hinduism and its brain wave Buddhism for I know personally its
inspiration from Sanatana Dharma more aptly Hinduism background from
India.
Unitarianism believes Jesus did not
claim to be God and that his teachings did not suggest the existence of a Triune
God. Unitarians believe in the moral authority but not necessarily the
Divinity of Jesus. Their theology is thus opposed to the Trinity theology of
other Christian denominations that are numerous beating sectarian Hinduism and
multitude of gods called Devatas. But Vedas say "Omityekasharam
Brahma" that is GOD. They also write the word GOD with capital
letters (The One who is responsible for Creation, Sustenance and Dissolution
that is Brahman that is Sathyam--sat+thi+yam=Sathya -The One that regulates
mortals and immortals--Chandogya). Bible further says the Word (OM
or AMEN) was GOD.
India’s landscape has
three types of Unitarianism--the Brahmo Samaj, founded in 1828 by Raja Ram
Mohan Roy, the Unitarian Church of the Khasi Hills, founded in 1887 by Hajom
Kissor Singh and the Unitarian Christian Church of Chennai, in
Madras, founded in 1795. The two latter groups are active in the International
Council of Unitarian Universalists (ICUU) and the South Asia Council of the
International Association for Religious Freedom (IARF).
There are quite a few advanced thinkers and
philosophers who have lived in America and have been working towards integrated
religions and develop practices that get away from old rituals and start new
traditions that are contemporary and palatable to their membership. Only
founders of Great institutions and revered spiritual leaders can introduce
departure from traditional practices. Hindu American Temples are
borrowing strength from traditional worship from India to get established
as sacred powerful institutions. They have been establishing for more
than two centuries. Their strength has come from keeping traditions, rather
than the modifications they are trying to make or have made for they have not
focused on their glorious past of Vedanta and Sanatana Dharma about which
Swami Vivekanada threw light in this country 125 years ago boldly
proclaiming “Vedanta is the Religion of the Future For the Globe”. Unfortunately our temple
fathers did not pay attention to the wise advice of Vivekananda but purely
depended on orthodox sectarian Hindus and their trained priests with scanty
knowledge of wisdom of Vedas. However Hindu Americans have
transcended caste system forced by the situation in which they are placed.
Whether they like it or not evolution is taking place as their children are
drawn into the atheism and SBNR by choosing their partners from all traditions
and faiths attracted by universal binding force of Love. If
we do not wake up to the situation our children will be drawn to UUA who are
very active with missionary zeal if not faith based religions from which their
partners come.
In
this context it is worth going through for Hindu Americans, the experience
of Amit Mehta an active Unitarian in USA who has married a Catholic Christian
who is more attracted to Hinduism and also the impressions of Rev. Peter Morale
President of UUA who recently embarked upon two weeks-journey to exchange views
with UUHIP of India as inc lude in my article. He says: “We have so much
to learn from our brothers and sisters in the Khasi Hills of Meghalaya.
They have much to teach us about how our faith can express itself in
different ways and yet remain true to our core values of human dignity,
compassion, freedom and justice”. This is because UUHIP has drawn its
inspiration from Eastern thoughts of Sanatana Dharma and blended it
magnificently with Western UUA thoughts as is evident from the talks of both
Amit Mehta and Rev. Peter Morales.--aano bhadrantu kratavah yuantu visvatah;
Da da da-daya, dama, daana; eko devah; aatmavat sarvabhooteshu etc.
Bogged
down by constant fights, killings and intimidation some spiritually enlightened
Christians have revitalized UUA with an Outreach program focused on bringing
together all Abrahamic Religions that had One God and turning spiritual
rather ritualistic and faith based. Even though Hindus are pioneers in the
spiritual field, Hindu Americans are pessimistic, philosophic and passive in
taking the lead and UUA with its powerful missionary and financial strength
will continue to take the lead. That is how Christianity became No. 1 Religion
in the world. If we do not recognize this and rise to the situation to
lead the world spiritually, after few generations the monumental Hindu American
Temples, about 400 in number will be historic archeological pieces and our
children would then rather go to Unity Church than go to temple for archaic
worship. That is why David Frawley is strongly advising
Intellectual Hindu Americas to seriously study Vedanta and rise to the occasion
and not to miss the golden opportunity. Let us not forget our true Self,
which is the Self-aware universe. This is the spiritual soul of India and
its message of peace, happiness and unity to the world.
If one Malala Yousef can change the
entire educational system of Pakistan and change the mind of Saudi
Arabia, one Hajom Kissor Singh can start Unitarian
Universalist Holdeen India Program (UUHIP) to which all spiritually starved
are looking up to including UUA and one Reema Abbas can
open the minds of one tract minded Islam drawing their attention to
Hinduism and pluralism certainly Intelectuals from a a group
of 2 million Hindus can lead the world spiritually to live in Peace but
not in Pieces--Uttishthata Jaagrata Charaiveti Charaiveti!
Please go through the detailed consolidated write-up that includes wise
advice from David Frawley and Wisdom thoughts from Sadguru Jaggi Vasudev and an
earlier thought on the subject:
--November 17, 2018
Very imformative article
sir. Please let me know if you have written anything on Khasi hills
--Sri Kanth
Religion
is a franchise created by local community leaders to dominate the large
population of illiterate and weak minds. The mindset are heavily brainwashed
over many centuries by oppression and scare tactics that keep them within their
franchise system. It is therefore, mass population will be afraid to cross that
barrier even when they realize the other franchise is better than theirs. So,
what to do? In my opinion, let people of all religion realize the true meaning
of GOD regardless of franchise they follow. Many religions are better than One
religion, that is the core message of Hinduism.
--Tarun
Surti
This thinking leads to Atheism also a religion that USA courts
have declared. No doubt Gita says the wolds needs different reliogfions as you
rightluy say. But that should be guided by Dharma anmd lead one to tyrnquility, happiness and
equanimity and therefore prescribes no rituals. That is why Vibvekananmda said
Vedanta is the Religion of the Future. Encouraged and enraged by politics
religions are multiplying--Periarism, Annaism, Dravidism, Veerasaivism, lingayatism,
Okkaligaism, Bhajranga bali-ism
etc.
Very enlightening
--Sree
Maa
SAMVAADA--A UNIQUE STYLE OF TEACHING
VEDANTA
FOWAI FORUM (India) AND STEP (USA) invite
you to join the WEBINAR- 136 Samvāda- a unique style of teaching
Vedānta to be presented by: Dr.
Thimappa Hegde on Sunday, November
18, 2018. Gist of the discourse is:
Vedānta is unique in many ways. The
teacher is rare, the student rarer still and the teaching is not about any
object (prameya). It is about the real nature of the one who is seeking
(aprameya). So the teaching style
too must be very different.
Samvāda
is the discussion between the teacher and the qualified student as in the
Bhagwad Gitā the Shree Krishna-Arujuna samvāda. A qualified
student and teacher is described in Mundaka Upanishad 1.2.12. parikshya
lokān karma-citān brāhmano…
The
student does not question the teacher but questions his understanding for
clarification.
The
other styles of discussion are called jalpa vāda and vitandā
vāda.
In
this talk I would like to briefly illustrate a few examples of samvāda
in Vedanta.
1. The
discussion between Shaunaka & Sage Angiras where he asks “what is that
knowing which everything becomes known?” The answer illustrates the “sat”
aspect of Brahman.
2. In
Kena Upanishad the student asks,”what is that because of which the mind is
enlivened, because of which I am able to see, I’m able to hear and so on…?” The
answer illustrates the “cit” aspect of Brahman.
3. In
Chāndogya Upanishad, Nārada asks Sanat Kumara, “what is that knowledge which
helps me to go beyond sorrow ?” The answer illustrates the Infinite principle
or anantha which is “ANANDA”.
4. In the
Bhagwad Gitā which is the essence of all Upanishads Arjuna asks Sri Krishna
about “stithapragnya” which illustrates the benefits of brahmavidyā.
The
Upanishads declare that the knower of Brahman becomes one with Brahman.
This is the highest, most fulfilling and trans formative knowledge
which is possible only though samvaada.
We have discussed a lot about these Samvaadas and beyond in our discourses including Krishnaarjuna Samvaada, may be not with the depth and wisdom Dr. Thimmappa Hegde, not being a Vedantin like him who is guided by Guru Chidananda. Nevertheless, I presume, they have helped us as pre-ground for understanding these Intellectuals and their Samvaadas. What perhaps may be surprise to you is Karna-Krishna Samvaada that made Krishna to come up with elaborate Krishna-Arjuna Samvaada in700 hymns and 18 chapters of which 300 carry all the messages contained in the research work of Kalpataru Research Academy, Bengaluru. Please enjoy Karna -Krishna Samvaada and benefit from listening to Dr. Thimmappa Hegd on Vedanta Samvaada. May be samvadadvam is better for us than samvaada with shallow knowledge of Vedanta and also not having a Guru to lead us, as I am not a guru in saffron robes but a co-thinker!
Sanghacchadvam samvadadvam
sam-vo-manaamsi jaanataam= Let us move together, let us speak together, let us think
together (in order to encourage community spirit, confused by
distortion).
DID KRISHNA-KARNA SAMVAADA
LED TO KRISHNAARJUNA SAMVAADA (GITA)
During
the Kurukshetra war, when Krishna meets Karna in private and reveals his true
parentage and requests him to join the Pandavas, Karna’s behavior with Krishna
is very civil, decent and calm. He didn’t talk to Krishna as if he suspected
some foul play on Krishna’s part to try and brainwash him to move over to the
enemy side at the eleventh hour. Karna understood Krishna quite well and I
personally believe that he knew that Krishna was no mere mortal. He was
well-aware of Krishna’s divinity and also knew that if Krishna had indeed
chosen that late time to divulge such a big secret to him, giving him an
identity he craved for all his life, then there must be some reason behind it.
Bottom line…they weren’t
‘friends’ in the truest, they respected each other and that was just about it.
It is quite evident that
Lord Krishna did indeed have a sense of deep respect for Karna. Krishna was
aware of Karna’s actual parentage and also knew that Karna was nothing but a
victim of circumstances. Karna also didn’t have any open resentment for Krishna.
They both mutually respected each other. But Karna held back his open affection
for Krishna because of the fact that Krishna was very close to his arch nemesis
Arjuna. Krishna was unofficially pro-Pandavas and Karna knew that if he
showed any open display of affection towards Krishna, it would most
likely be misconstrued as him having secretly moved over to the other side by
his very insecure mentor. Karna held his allegiance to Duryodhana above
everything else in the world. So he would not do anything that would upset his
friend.
We are all well aware of Krishna’s exhortation to
Arjuna at the battle field before the commencement of war, Gita and its gospel
of devotion to duty, without attachment or desire or rewards. Gita
presents to us a dialogue between agitated Arjuna and his mentor Lord Krishna
that needed 700 verses to convince him to fight Adharma. But very few know
about the brief Krishna-Karna Samvaada--the dialogue between Krishna and Karna
that brought all admiration of Krishna by Karna. Please go through the dialogue
between them in Mahabharata:
Did Krishna-Karna Samvada (dialogue) culminated in Krishnarjuna
Samvada that is Gita? It is for you to judge! Both Kunti and Krisahna surprised
Karna that he was the eldest son of Kunti and the eldest among Pandavas!
In Mahabharata Karna knowing he was the son of Kunti, asked
Krishna: “My mother abandoned me on waters immediately after birth and I was
her illegitimate son in public’s eyes--was that my fault?”
Dronacharya did not accept me as his disciple and teach me telling
me that I was not a Kshatriya--was that my fault?
Parasurama taught me archery. But cursed me to forget all that I
learnt because I wa a Kshatriya--was that my fault?
One cow was accidentally hit by my arrow, its owner cursed me for
my negligence! In the archery contest to win Draupadi I was insulted as
the son of the charioteer. Kunti also at the end came in search of me to save
her five. Thus I was cheated by all that surrounded me. Only through the
love of Duryodhana I got everything. Please let me know why it is wrong to
stand by him” asked Karna
“Dear Karna, you are better off than I! I was born in a prison and
death was awaiting me even before my birth! I was separated from my
parents the same night I was born!
From your young age you enjoyed the sounds of swords, chariots,
horses, bows, arrows etc. But I grew up midst of straw and cow dung in a
manger! Even before I started trotting there were many attempts to kill me!
I had neither good education nor military training but all people
say that I am responsible for all the current problems.
At the age you were praised by your teachers for your excellence, I had no education of any sort. Only at the age of 16 I joined the Gurukula (school) of Sandilya!
You married the girl you liked; but look at me! I could not
marry the girl I loved (Radha) but only the girls who loved me and also the
girls emancipated from cruel hands!
Just to save my community from Jarasandha I had to move my entire
community from the banks of Yamuna to yonder sea shores (Dwarka). Thus I
was run away Timid!
If you fight for Duryodhana and become victorious you will get
plenty of wealth, land, military strength etc.
The blame, "Krishna alone is responsible for this war” shall
remain forever!
Oh dear Karna! Remember one thing! Everyone has to face
challenges in life! Life is not always easy and simple! But our
consciousness should always be focused on Dharma!
How many times we have been deceived, how many times we have been
insulted, and how often we have faced defeat are not important but how we got
out of them and survived is important!
The wrongs that come across our life do not license us to proceed
the wrong way in life! Remember always that life sometimes runs though rugged path!
It is not the footwear that can save the situation but only the steps we take!
Before the commencement of war Lord Krishna then elaborated the
same philosophy more vividly to Arjuna as Gitopadesa.
--November 16, 2018
Excellent Conversation. Why
Lord Krishna Could not marry Radha. What prevented HIM to marry her?
--Dr. G. Nagarajan
PRADOSHA WORSHIP & RITUAL IS
IMPORTANT FOR ALL TRADITIONS AND NOT CONFINED TO TAMIL SAIVITES
SANKARACHARYA & SIVANANDA ON
HEALTH CONSCIOUS PRADOSHA VRATA
Ardent religious and health conscious
followers observe these two Vratas on every Trayodasi (thirteenth day) and
Chaturdasi (fourteenth day) of dark and bright fortnights of all the Hindu
calendar months, constituting 24 pradoshas (trayodasi) and 24 Sivaratris
or Chaturdasis.
Vedas
say Supreme Principle is Time. In Panchabrahma Vedic mantras he is
described as “Kaala” and “Kalavikarana” which Purans have
attributed to Panchanana the five faced Siva--Sadyojata, Vaamadeva,
Aghora, Tatpurusaha and Easaana. Supreme Principle is Cause of Time (Kaala) and
the Cause of Divisions of Moment, Kshana, Muhurta…. Samvatsara etc of time
(Kalavikarana). Even otherwise Supreme Principle is Samvatsara in
Sanskrit as Samvatsara means, all entities exist in this--“samyak vasanti
sarvabhootaani asmin iti”. So we concentrate on an ideal time on these days
as Puranas suggest. Can this be day to start with or night? Undecided we are in
the twilight zone which Purans prescribe as Pradosha Kaalam. Doubtful as
to His arrival, we continue whole night to visualize Him, keeping vigil.
Vedas
direct us invoke Saraswati, Goddess of Knowledge in our evening Sandhyavandana
while directing Gayatri for morning Sandhyavandana and Savitri for mid-day
Sandhyavandana. This evening prayer should be done at twilight zone
or Pradoshakala to get Brahmajnaana or knowledge of Brahman.
In
the Temple at Tiruvaanaikoil in the district of Tirucchirapalli in Tamilnadu in
India there is a rarest type of Siva Lingam, the one of its kind in the whole
of India. This Linga has five faces which differ from each other. Four faces
face the cardinal points of the compass and the fifth is on the top, facing the
sky. The Vedic names of these are Tatpurusha facing the East, Vaamadeva facing
the West, Sadyojaata facing the West, Aghora facing the South and fifth Easaana
on the top, facing the sky. The Vedic mantras for the worship of Panchaanana as
Panchabrahma are found in Mahaa Naaraayana Upanishad. Astonishingly the five
faces in this Linga are depicted quite correctly in keeping with the
descriptions of such in the Panchabrahma Mantras. (Please refer to my discourse
on Vedic Mantras from MNU and their meanings in the discourse posted on the
BLOG: <nrsrini.blogspot.com>)
Puranas hail Mahsivaratri Night as the
birth of Lingodbhava-moorti as column of fire with no beginning or
end. Puranas created a tradition of worship in the form of Linga
in the form known yet unknown-“vyakta-avyakta” form. They had the
material in view but not the shape. What we know is one third and what we don’t
know about the Supreme Principle is two-thirds says Vedanta. So we are exposed
to only a third of Linga. Supreme Principle as creative force and with
its vastness covering the entire universe had a third revelation in the shape
of column of fire rising to unknown heights. It gave scope for more thrilling
Puranic stories. It is possible that the fire Moses saw later in the wilderness
on the mount of Sinai and received the Ten Commandments to carry to people that
were not fortunate like him may have been the above column of fire.
Zoroastrians started worshiping the Supreme Principle as Fire learning
the wisdom from Vedas. When Parsis were persecuted they found religious
freedom in India bringing fire altars with them. Sakta followers
and Tantrics called this fire as Primordial Energy and started Devi
worship. They say Subhadra in Puri-Jagannath is Devi or Parabrahman. Aptly in
Sanskrit language “Sakti” is feminine and therefore Puranas had no
trouble in creating host of Devis. This column was Sadyojaata—instantly
born, from where and how nobody knows! So Puranas narrate another “Sadyojaata”
as blazing fire and ferocious at the same time, as Jwala-Narasimha
emerging out of a lifeless pillar constituting of tiniest elemental atoms and
started worshiping him with Panchabrahma Vedic mantras. But Vaishnavites
called it an Avatar! Puranas also identify Sadyojaata and Easaana with Rama as
found in Nirvanakhanda of Skanda Purana. Somebody pointed out “Eko Viprah
bahuda Vadanti”, the One the wise call many and so they say
Puranas are not wrong in their projection. Even Venkateswara is
addressed as “Nara-sardoola” (uttishtha narasardoola), man
-lion in Suprabhata.
Why do our religious scriptures make
these rituals specific for thirteenth and fourteenth nights of the month in
Phaalguna and also say that the birth of Siva as Lingodhbhava-moorti took place
that night though he is ever born, Sadaasiva (omnipresent) and self-born,
Svayambhu?
Siva-Raja-yoga has an answer to these
figures says Swami Sivananda. The Yogi passes through various stages, all of
which are subdivisions of the four states—waking, sleeping, deep sleep and
super-conscious state. Each one of these states is further sub divided
into four states. The first three states thus comprise of twelve sub-states.
The thirteenth is the fourth-Waking to reach Supreme Principle. Hence, the
thirteenth day prayer is prescribed for Pradosha Vrata.
Sankaracharya says we have to
transcend five Karmendriyas, five Jnaanedriyas and four Anthakaranas to reach
Supreme Principle. Karmendriyas are five organs of perception. Jnaanedriyas are
five sense organs. Anthakaranas are the Mind, Intellect Consciousness and Ego.
They constitute 14. Hindu Religious Scriptures understood these meanings and
made the Pradosha and Sivaratri worship an all-round Pooja in the whole year.
If we keenly observe, we offer
Pradosha worship through Nandi as Siva is busy elsewhere. Probably He is having
his privacy enjoying the company of Parvati! We try to catchj Him in His best
moods. Some even say He is Kamadeva at that time on Trayodasi! But to Narasimha
you directly offer prayers as Prahlada prayed to Narayana or Parabrahman who
came with his ferocious form to destroy the formidable evil on Chaturdasi.
So both Saivites and Vaishnavites need
spiritual awakening however religious they may be as suggested by Sivananda and
Sankaracharya to do worship on Pradosha time all days or at least on
Trayodasi as well as Chaturdasi following the guide lines of our
sages.
Sangacchadhvam sam vadadhvam
sam vo manaamsi jaanataam/devaa bhaagam yathaa purve sanjanaana upaasate //
(Rigveda X-191-20)
Come together! Speak together!
Let our minds be all of one accord like the divine community (debvatas)
that sat together in the past in harmony to
worship.
The mantra “Sangacchadwam,
samvadadwam samvomanaamsi jaanataam” means “Let us move
together, let us speak together, let us think together” in order
to encourage community spirit, confused by distortion.
As per the Shiva Purana,
Pradosha Vrata is considered to be the most beneficial fast in order to attain
health, wealth, and children. The Pradosha Vrata liberates the devotees from
all the past and present sins. By observing Pradosham with full devotion and
dedication, all the demands are fulfilled by Lord Shiva and Mother Parvati. It
is believed that during the Pradosha Kaala Lord Shiva with Devi Parvati
perform a Holy Dance on the Mount Kailasa in a pleasant mood and so, offering
puja during this time gives an opportunity to remove Negative Karma and
fulfillment of all desires.
Here is a strong case to make
Pradoshakala worship on Trayodasi and Chaturdasi suited to all traditions. It is not
necessary to have a Narasimha shrine in Hindu American Temples to observe
this ritual for Narasimha is not strictly an Avatar but direct appearance of
Parabrahman as Narayana or Prahlada Narasimhan demanded by the circumstances.
Pradosha worship is not
exclusive to South Indians or Tamils Saivites. Lord
Jagannath in Puri is Narasimha, Lord Vishnu’s avatar who killed Hiranyakasipu.
Tradition in Puri says that even before the appearance of Jagannatha as wood
log in sea, Narasimha was residing in Nilachala beside Kalpa Bata as Adi
Narasimha. Lord Jagannath is worshiped in the form of Narasimha, on
the eve of Narasimha Chaturdasi. Lord Narasimha appeared from a wooden pillar,
which Hiranyakasipu broke with his mace. In hymn 10.155 of the Rig veda, there
is mention of a Daru (wooden log) floating in the ocean as apurusham.
Indradyumna found the log of wood. He did a yajna from which God Yajna Nrisimha
appeared and instructed that Narayana should be made as fourfold expansion,
i.e. Paramatma as Vasudeva, his Vyuha as Samkarshana, Yogamaya as Subhadra, and
his Vibhava as Sudarsana. Vishwakarma appeared in the form of an artisan and
prepared images of Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra from the tree. This is
mentioned in Mahabharata and Puranas.
It
is necessary to do Somasutra pradidakshina 3 times not crossing gomukhi
(abhishekha outlet) paying obeisance to Nandi and Sivalinga. Normal
pradakshina to a deity like Jagannatha or Venkateswara or Rama invoking
Narasimha with normal pradakshina will be in order on Chturdasi
Tithi pradosha worship to Narasimha.Very religious people perform pradosha
worship everyday! This can be done at home also.
--November 11, 2018
Comments:
Thank you for this
illuminating note
--BRG Iyengar from
India
HINDUISM--OLDEST RELIGION OF UNIVERSAL
APPEAL
Vedic society called their religion Maanava
Dharma or the Religion of Humanity meaning that it was not exclusive religion
of the people who called themselves Aryans or well mannered, but was meant for
the whole mankind guided by their philosophy “krinvanto viswamaaryam”—let us
ennoble the whole world. Another name given to that was Sanatana Dharma—The
Eternal Religion, illustrating their belief that the religion was based on
certain eternal truths, true for all times and all people living on earth. Truth
(Sathya) is the Sanatana Dharma or Eternal Tradition. India’s Motto is also
adapted from this—Satyameva Jayate—Truth alone Triumphs! Like God Bless
America! It does not limit to any specific god for there is no other God than
the Brahman Jehova (that I am) or the Holy Spirit to whom we all have to submit
that is Islam (Islam means submission). Sanatana Dharma tells us that Dharma or
Truth is eternal and universal, the very perennial essence at work in all
beings.
Why is Hinduism being denigrated? There are
many answers: Muslim invaders hated Hindus because of what they considered
Hindu worship; Christian missionaries went all out to denigrate Hindus - and
are still at it; Marxists hate Hindus; the British viewed the Hindus as their
biggest enemies. But ultimately, the biggest culprits are the Hindus, because
they are a majority who have the mentality of a minority and are often either
passive, indifferent, or cowards.
The ancient Indians settled in America are known to the world as Red Indians. Generations of present Kaliyuga migrated from Bharat traveling through frozen sea between 20000 to 30000 years settled in the continent of America and were called Red Indians say the expert historians.
Aadaman and Havyavati narrated in Bhavishya Purana lived for 960 years. Christianity also believe that the first man Adam lived for 960 years. It is for you to judge the fact behind it.
The ancient Indians settled in America are known to the world as Red Indians. Generations of present Kaliyuga migrated from Bharat traveling through frozen sea between 20000 to 30000 years settled in the continent of America and were called Red Indians say the expert historians.
Aadaman and Havyavati narrated in Bhavishya Purana lived for 960 years. Christianity also believe that the first man Adam lived for 960 years. It is for you to judge the fact behind it.
There is a Siva in Kailasa and there is a Siva
in Kasi and now in Africa too. The discovery of a Siva idol in South Africa is
the proof that 6000 years ago Africans used to worship Siva!
Chandogya Upanishad says Skanda is Sanat Kumara and Sant Kumara is Skanda, who is Universal Supreme Being, whom Christians call Holy Spirit, Jews call Jehova and Muslims call Al Kadar and similarly other religions with their own names which can be seen in detail with reference to various scriptures of religions contained in the document Esoteric East-West Sanat Kumara Tradition.
Chandogya Upanishad says Skanda is Sanat Kumara and Sant Kumara is Skanda, who is Universal Supreme Being, whom Christians call Holy Spirit, Jews call Jehova and Muslims call Al Kadar and similarly other religions with their own names which can be seen in detail with reference to various scriptures of religions contained in the document Esoteric East-West Sanat Kumara Tradition.
The Rigveda Mantra “Sangacchadvam, samvadadvam sam-vo-manaamsi jaanataam” means “Let us move together, let us
speak together, let us think together” in order to encourage community
spirit confused by distortion.
Hinduism is Eternal and has withstood the
onslaught of foreign invaders and rulers. Swami Vivekananda spoke before the
International gathering of all leading religions of the World more than 100
years ago “Vedanta promotes spirituality. Vedanta does not teach Universal
Brotherhood but Universal Oneness. Vedanta is the religion of the future”
Einstein once said: "religion without
science is lame and science without religion is blind". To the Hindu sages
both were equally important, one being the quest for the Truth within and the
other, without. They were actually two facets of the same Vidya or science.
That is why they were called Para-Vidya (higher knowledge) and Apara-Vidya
(lower knowledge).
Please go through the detailed article as
posted on the blog with attractive Appendix containing recent detailed
archeological findings.
--November 10, 2018
COMMENTS:
Nice report. Your articles are so
clear and mind bending.
--Shri Kanth
Like
it
--Sree Maa
Your
articles continue to enrich us and fill is with pride of our rich culture.
Forever grateful to almighty for making me bump into your blog one fine day
many years ago. In this article of yours, you have mentioned the pre Harappan
culture dating back to almost 2500 BC. I have recently read that now
Archeological Survey of India has officially established Bhirrana and Harke
Ware Culture, I think dating to 7570 BC as the oldest recorded ruins discovered
from our land. Mehrgarh civilisation that follows Bhirrana is also pre Harappan
discovery. Bhirrana shows very advanced sophisticated pottery in black and red
stones.I just wanted to share this with you for your perspective. Please let me
know if my understanding is correct.Thank you once again for relentlessly
shining the light of Sanatan Dharma on us.
--Lopamudra Roy, chief editor, Mother,
Hrishikesh
MY REPLY:
Glad
to hear you after along lapse of time. I am amazed at your interest to go through
my casual writings from USA while you are very busy as the chief editor of a
reputed Spiritual Magazine MOTHER
in Hrishikesah. Your guess is correct. I missed to highlight the recent
research work of IIT Kharagpur on Harappa though I had talked about it in the
past by way of E-mail. So I have added a new paragraph highlighting the same
and revised the article. As you have rightly pointed out this was is in the
Appendix. It was Ramani’s Blog and its last para was outdated. Anyhow the
subject matter did not get diminished in value missing the above recent
findings. I have said that Hindus existed 70000 years before and some migrated
to USA and were known as Red Indians. Priests in USA often replace
“Bharatakande” with Aindra Kande in Sankalpa. “America, which is at the
antipodes may be taken to be Patala, or the Nether World. Kapilaranya we may
further take it as situated here. “It is likely Kapilaranya changed to
California in the same manner as Madurai sometimes altered to Marudai. Also
noteworthy is the fact that there is Horse islands near California as well as
Ash Islands” writes HH Chandrasekaharendra Saraswati in his book Hindu Dharma.
This reminds us of the story of Sagara, his horse, the curse of sage Kapila who
reduced his sons to ashes. This makes us believe the migration of Red Indians
from India in the ancient past if not the story in Bhavishya Purana.
“In
the beginning the Vedic Religion was prevalent all over the world. Later,
over the centuries, it must have gone through a process of change and taken
different forms. These forms came to be called the original religions of these
various lands which in the subsequent period--during historical times-- came
under Buddhism, Christianity or Islam as the case may be” writes HH
Chandrasekharendra Saraswati in his book Hindu Dharma in Chapter 2, The
Universal Religion.
I
am grateful to you for your valuable suggestion after a close scrutiny. I am
also greatly honored and humbled by your overflowing comments.
Please go through the revised text. You may also be interested in knowing the
details of recent research study on Indus Valley Civilization t6hat I am
sending.
--NRS
I would like to
read more about this before submitting my comments. Great discussion.
--Tarun Surti
Reading
this gave me a sense of pride and joy -that your writing got the recognition
from the right quarters. I shall
continue reading and enjoying your articles.
--BRG Iyengar
SOORA SAMHARA AND
TIRU KALYANAM OF MURUGAN---A TAMIL FESTIVAL
Wherever Tamils are
settled and however minority community they may be, they prevail upon
authorities to install Murugan deity in Hindu Temples. They try to continue
with their tradition and celebrate it with all religious significance, pomp and
show. Among sectarian festivals like Pongal, Kartigai Deepam,
Panguni Uttiram, the weekl-long celebration of Skanda Shashti starting with
Soorasmharama and culminating with Valli-- Devyanai
Kalyanotsvam in the month of Kartik stands in the forefront. Let us
therefore understand this festival for active participation.
The week-long
annual festival of the popular deity Murugan of Tamil
Nadu starts on November 8 and ends on November 14 in many
temples of USA wherever Lord Subhramanya deity is installed,
this year. Vikrama Samvatsara 2075 also starts on November 8 and is
celebrated by many Hindus of North Indian Tradition as New Year.
Skanda is a popular Hindu
deity especially among Tamil Hindus. Lord Skanda is son of God Shiva and
Goddess Parvati. In south India, Skanda is considered as the younger
brother of Lord Ganesha while in north India Skanda is considered as the
elder brother of Lord Ganesha. God Skanda is also known as Murugan, Kartikeyan
and Subramanya.
Sashti Tithi is dedicated to Lord Skanda.
Devotees keep fast during Shukla Paksha Sashti day. For Skanda Sashti Vratam
the day when Sashti Tithi is combined with Panchami Tithi is preferred. Hence
Skanda Sashti Vratam might be observed on Panchami Tithi.
When Panchami Tithi ends or Sashti Tithi starts
between sunrise and sunset then both Panchami and Sashti are conjugated and
this day is chosen for Skanda Sashti Vratam. This rule has been mentioned in Dharmasindhu
and Nirnayasindhu. Many Murugan temples in Tamil Nadu, including famous Sri
Subrahmanya Swami Devasthanam in Tiruchendur, follow the same rule and Soorasamharam day is observed
one day before Sashti Tithi if on previous day Sashti Tithi is combined with
Panchami Tithi.
Although all Sashti(s) are dedicated to Lord
Murugan but Shukla Paksha Sashti during lunar month Kartika (which is
during Solar month Aippasi or Karthikai) is the most significant one.
Devotees observe six days fast which lasts on Soorasamharam day. Next day after
Soorasamharam is known as Tiru Kalyanam.
Next Skanda Sashti after Soorasamharam is known
as Subramanya Sashti which is also
known as Kukke Subramanya Sashti
and falls during lunar month Margashirsha, popular in Karnmataka, India.
It is celebrated as
the last day of the auspicious Skanda Sashti fasting. Skanda Sashti is one of
the most important festivals for Tamil Hindus and this day is dedicated to
worshipping Lord Murugan. Skanda Sashti fasting is done during the ‘Karthika’
masam in the Tamil calendar and devotees begin their fast from the day of the
Karthika lunar month known as ‘Pirathamai’ while the fasting culminated on the
sixth day, popularly known as Soorasamharam day. Soorasamharam is the most
important and final day of this six day festivities.
The day of Soorasamharam celebrates the triumph
of good over evil. According to the legends it is believed that Lord Murugan
defeated the demon named Surapadma with his ‘Vel’ and this godly act is called
as Soorasamharam. Tamil devotees observe this day with dedication and worship
Lord Murugan for restoring Dharma and liberating earth from all evils. The day
after Soorasamharam is celebrated as ‘Thirukalyanam’, which is the day when the
divine marriage ceremony of Lord Murugan and Devasena took place. The festival
of Soorasamharam is celebrated with immense fervor in Lord Murugan temples,
most of them being in South India. Of these the festivities at Tiruchendur
Murgan Temple is the most splendid and remarkable.
Description of
birth of Skanda or Kartikeya are contained in Valmiki Ramayana and Skanda
Purana. For the brief historic details of birth of Skanda and
Soorpadma please refer to my discourses:
http://nrsrini.blogspot.com/2011/12/subrahmanya-kaartikeya-murugan.html
http://nrsrini.blogspot.com/2016/08/v-behaviorurldefaultvmlo.html
Hindu Americans
will be wiser to have only Venkateswara for worship in all Hindu American
Temples. In earlier days Venkateswara was worshiped as Skanda for long
and still many believe so. Chandogya Upanishad says Skanda is
Sanat Kumara. This will help them in consolidating their worship focused on one
deity with significant rituals and festivals concentrating on Supreme
Spirit who is none other than the Holy Spirit of Christianity, Jehova of Jews,
Allah of Islam, Buddha of Buddhists, Vardhamana of Jains, etc. Thus Hindus will
be back to Sanatana Dharma or Vedic religion which proclaims “Eko Viprah
bahudaa vadanti-The One Pundits call by many names”. This would aim at
universal peace and harmony with its lofty ideals sarvejanaah sukhino
bhavantu-May all live happily! Sanatana Dharma
suits all spiritual seekers from all parts of the globe and
worship of Venkateswara who is Skanda for Hindus, Sanatkumara
acclaimed as Universal Lord by all Esoteric Traditions- would
be ideal Supreme Spirit or Universal Person to progress towards
Universal Oneness.
--November
5, 2018
HAPPY DIWALI MESSAGE FROM
HINDU REFLECTIONS 2018
There are some Hindu festivals
that are celebrated by all traditions of Hindus though most of its rituals
and festivals are sectarian based. Among the few what makes Diwali
unique is, it is also celebrated by millions of Buddhists, Sikhs, and
Jains in America, India and around the world. It is no wonder Diwali is the
right choice made by Presidents of USA to celebrate it in the
White House every year, a tradition started very recently by George W Bush
recognizing their extraordinary contributions to art, science, medicine,
business, education, brave service in armed forces, yoga and
meditation as first res-ponders in communities throughout USA. All
traditions as well as the religions that emerged out of Sanatana Dharma coming
together to celebrate Diwali in the white House reminds us of the past glory of
Vedic culture as can be inferred from the following Rigveda mantra;
Sangacchadhvam sam vadadhvam
sam vo manaamsi jaanataam/devaa bhaagam yathaa purve sanjanaana upaasate //
(Rigveda X-191-20)
Come together! Speak together!
Let our minds be all of one accord like thedevas that sat together in
the past in harmony to worship.
The mantra “Samgachadwam,
samvadadwam samvomanaamsi jaanataam” means “Let us move
together, let us speak together, let us think together” in order
to encourage community spirit, confused by distortion.
I am sure Hindu Temple authorities will identify such festivals like Diwali suited to all traditions and popularize them in Hindu American Temples to bring the community to a common platform of worshiping together with an Outreach as in the past. This process has just begun by suitably adopting Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day etc., to make them Special Religious Event Worshipful Days suited to Hindu Philosophy and reverence toward promoting Interfaith and as Convergence of “Two Dominant Cultures” as we are progressively marching to Hindu-Christian Interfaith Group in USA forced by the universal binding force of love by our children. Why not make them more Universal to fit into the philosophy of- Vasudahaiva kutumbakam; Aatmavat sartvbabhooteshu; Krinvanto viswamaaryam and adopt Vedanta Religion that suits all people and our Temple Traditions and bring back the children to Sanatana Dharma if not Hinduism as is practiced today!
In 2018, Diwali commences with Dhanteras on November 5.It concludes on November 9. The main festivities take place on the third day (this year, on November 7). Diwali is celebrated a day early in South India, on November 6.
How is the Festival celebrated?
Each day of the festival has a
different meaning.
- The first day, Dhanteras, marks the start of Diwali. It's dedicated to celebrating wealth. People traditionally buy gold and new kitchen utensils on this day. Homes are cleaned and readied to welcome Goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity, inside. People also get together to play cards and gamble.
- The second day is known as Naraka Chaturdasi in south India or Choti Diwali (Little Diwali) in north India. Rangoli (Hindu folk art) is created in doorways and courtyards of homes, and people start bursting crackers. Lord Krishna and Goddess Kali are believed to have destroyed the demon Narakasura and freed 16,000 captive princesses on this day. Demon effigies are widely burned in Goa in celebration.
- On the third and main day, lots of small clay lamps (called diyas) and candles are lit and placed in houses. Fireworks are also let off everywhere, giving Diwali its name of “Festival of Lights”. Families gather together and perform the Lakshmi Puja, and give each other gifts and sweets. Kali Puja is usually also celebrated on this day in West Bengal, Odisha and Assam (although it sometimes falls a day earlier depending on the cycle of the moon). Goddess Kali, the fearsome Dark Mother, is worshiped for her ability to destroy the ego and illusions that go with it.
- On the fourth day, merchants open fresh accounts for the New Year, and offer prayers. Govardhan Puja is celebrated in north India, to commemorate Lord Krishna's defeat of Indra, the rain god. In Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, the victory of Lord Vishnu over demon king Bali is celebrated as Bali Pratipada or Bali Padyami.
- The fifth and last day, known as Bhai Duj, is dedicated to celebrating sisters. Brothers and sisters get together and share food, to honor the bond between them.
- In Bengal, people offer Puja to Goddess Kali on the occasion of Diwali and the Puja is not complete without bursting crackers. Bengali mythology says that the crackers scare away the evil force. This Puja happens on Amavasya, and people believe that dark forces come down to the earth because it is too dark on that day. The lighting of Diwali crackers stop them and they stay away from attacking the people.
Please go through
my discourses posted on the Blog on the Season of Festival of Lights
beginning with Diwali! Wish you all a Happy Diwali invoking the Blessings
of Goddess Lakshmi!
http://nrsrini.blogspot.com/2011/12/festivals-of-lightsancient-in.html
http://nrsrini.blogspot.com/2013/11/west-meets-east-in-traditions.html
--November 4, 2018
Comments:
May I seize this opportunity to wish you,
your family, kith and kin, friends and all a very Happy and Prosperous
Deepavali. May The Lord, Who is Jytoirupa, illuminate our hearts and intellect
with trueJnana and wisdom and bestow all we rightfully aspire for!
I
have pleasure in sending HR a short and sweet prayer on Lord Krishna by
Akrura taken from Brahma Vaivarta Puranam, Krishna Janma Khanda, and
Chapter 70. The brief Phalashruti claims that one recites this every
day will beget progeny, wealth, land, comfort, etc.
---K. Muralidharan Iyengar (Murali),
Singapore
Many thanks for your kind Deepavali greetings
anmsd rare Krishna Mantra! We heartily reciprocate!!
--Sapthagireesan
TRUTH ABOVE TRUTH- Where everything emerges and merges back
FOWAI
FORUM (INDIA) AND STEP (USA) invite you to join the WEBINAR 135 on “TRUTH
ABOVE TRUTH”--Where everything emerges and merges back, to be
Presented by: Pūjya Swāmi Chidānandaji on Sunday, November 4, 2018
Gist
of the Presentation:
In
this third part of the 4-part series – Glimpses of Brihadāranyaka Upanishad –
we will take a look at the fascinating dialogue between Bālāki Gārgya, a Vedic
scholar, and Ajātashatru, a king who knows better! Rejecting a dozen versions
given by Bālāki with regard to what Brahman is, Ajātashatru takes on the
teacher’s role and shares amazing insights into sushupti (deep
sleep), where Brahman shines with no names, forms or any (apparently) second
thing! The ultimate truth of our existence is then declared as the truth above
all truths (satyasya satyam)!
The
prānas are true; this is the truth above them--prānā vai satyam; teshām esha
satyam |
Br.
Upanishad 2.1.20
Please
note all the webinar videos are available YOUTUBE/fowai forum)
Webinar -135 draws our attention to a
key mantra of BAU that says no doubt Self is Sathyam but Brahman or
Paramaatman is Sathya of Sathyam or Antaryamin or innermost dweller of Self
that is the indweller of all beings.
Sa
yathorna-naabhis-tantunoeccharet yathaagneh kshudraa visphulingaa vyuccharanti evameva-asmad-aatmanah sarve praanaah sarve
lokaah sarve devaah sarvaani bhootaani vyuccharanti | tasyopanisat satyasya
satyamiti | praanaa vai satyam teshaamesha satyam || (2-1-20) ||
As a spider moves out along the threads it
produces and as from a fire tiny sparks fly in all directions, in the same way
from this aatman (Parmaatman who is the resting place for Jeevaatman during
deep sleep) all pranas i.e. individual Jeevaatmans, all lokas (knowledge), all
devas (the sense organs) and all the living beings come out. The secret name of
that Paramaatman is “the True of the True”. It is the truth of
the truth. The pranas (Jeevaatman) are true. And this Parmaatman is the true of
the true. (Sri Ranaga Ramnuja)
[As threads come out of the spider, as little
sparks come out of the fire, so all the Jeevaatmas, all the worlds, all the
gods, yea, all beings, issue forth from
Paramaatman. His secret name is Truth of the Truth while Jeevatman is also
true.]
The spider and the fire example given here is
to illustrate that Jeevaatman came from Paramaatman (mamaivamso jeevbhootah-Gita). As the spider though being one moves
through diffent kinds of threads, similarly Brahman also shows itself in
different forms (Easaavasyamidam sarvam).
By this example the Jeevaatman uniting with
Parabrahman during the state of deep sleep (sushupti) enjoying Bliss,
Ajatasatru suggests that the attainment of Brahman is of the form of supreme
Bliss called Ananada. Paramaatman
is the inner controller of Jeevaatman or Self of all Self-s.
Filled
with Brahman are the things we see; Filled with Brahman are the things we do
not see; From out of Brahman floweth all that is; From Brahman all --yet is he still the
same; Om …Peace --peace--peace !
Praanaas here means Jeevaatmabns. Jeevaatmans
are Satyam because they are not
subjected to mutation or vikara. But they have not unconditioned Satyam
because there is mutation in their Attributive Consciousness. But Paramaatman
is not having any kind of mutation and therefore He is satyasya satyam. Jeevaatman is a part of Paramatman that is its
inner controller too.
The nature of Paramatman is also expounded in
this mantra of Kenopanishad:
Srotrasya srotram manaso
manoe yat vaacho ha vaacham sa vu praanasya praanah | chakshushachkshuh atimuchya
dheeraah pretyaasmaallokaad-amritaa bhavanti||1-2||
Brahman is the ear of the ear, mind of the mind, speech of the
speech. He is also the breath of the breath, and eye of the eye. Having given
up the false identification of the Self with the senses and the mind and
knowing the Self to be Brahman, the wise, on departing life, become immortal.
Please go through my discourse Self
and the Supreme.
Comments:
From this narration it is clear that Davaita is given fact 99% of being live on. Advaita is rare and near impossible. Any thoughts or can u ask the Swamiji to explain.
From this narration it is clear that Davaita is given fact 99% of being live on. Advaita is rare and near impossible. Any thoughts or can u ask the Swamiji to explain.
--Bala
SPECTACULAR
CELEBRATION OF FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS IN MANY LANDS
Festivals
have a way to excite you even when everything around seems to be in chaos. “I
would love a handful of candies” came one voice on Halloween Night, “I want to
decorate a Jack-o’-lantern” came another. One Indian boy sitting in a
corner said, “Diwali, the festival of lights, is also around and I
want to burst some fire-crackers.” “All I want is to hug a teddy bear at night because I get scared when I wake up
in the middle of the night and find myself here.” A little girl from the rear
end revealed. I saw her mother turn around to wipe her eyes and I felt a lump
forming in my throat and I held back my tears.
I
kept listening to them. I
was struck with the similarity between these festivals of the night and came
up with two of my discourses in the past. On Halloween Christians celebrate the night believing that the
dead ancestors rise and visit their homes, which are lit and prepared to
welcome them and their blessings. Diwali is a night when Lord Rama comes back
to His home after His triumph over evil and little lamps are lit on windows and
doors of every household in the villages too to welcome Him on a moonless
light. The still nights celebrated with colorful lights and fireworks thrill
the kids and make them joyous. Soon follows Christmas lights with decorations.
Hindu Americans do not lag behind. In order to make their kids happy they too
put on the lights and invariably install a Christmas Tree with lots of
decorations and lights not necessarily based on religious sentiment
or interfaith. But Hindu kids also believe Santa is universal messenger of
the Supreme and will come to their house also to surprise them with gifts,
though not brought up with Christian faith.
Hindu
Americans claim that the Diwali festival celebrated by Citizens of
Ayodhya on Rama’s return from the exile inspired all other traditions to come
up with their own National Festival of Lights. I therefore draw your attention
to the fourteen “Spectacular
Celebration of Lights” from various lands of the world in the Google.
Though
India is bogged down by its several traditions over its longest
history in the world on Diwali day they all come together, pray together
and enjoy the celebration with friends from all other faiths reminiscent
of Historic past as revealed in the Veda Mantra cited below when the
concept of religion was unknown to the world that was the creation of
egoistic society later :
Sangacchadhvam
sam vadadhvam sam vo manaamsi jaanataam/ devaa bhaagam yathaa purve sanjanaana
upaasate // (X-191-20)
Come together! Speak together! Let our minds be all of one accord
like thedevas that sat together
in the past in harmony to worship.
[All
people should live with one mind without enmity and this can be achieved only
by the divine grace says the mantra]
Wish you all a very happy and prosperous Season of Festival of Lights!
--November
1, 2018
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