IN OUR TEMPLES AND HOME WHOM DO WE WORSHIP AND WHY & WHAT DO WE ACHIEVE

IN OUR TEMPLES AND HOME WHOM DO WE WORSHIP AND WHY  &  WHAT DO WE ACHIEVE

(Compilation from Various E-Mails sent to Participants, March 2020)

Hinduism is known for its complex and confusing units of time. Because of the extensive span of Hinduism and Hindu mythology, time can become increasingly complex and enigmatic. Just as there are multiple systems of measuring time today, there are multiple Hindu systems as well. Here is the   most comprehensive one. Let us start with the smallest unit of time and move forward: This would also help in understanding Historic Global Rama and Invincible Ayodhya, Lifespan of Lord Krishna and to understand -Puranic times we come across often. 

The Smallest Units of Time

The smallest unit of time in Hindu mythology is known as Alpakala. If two leaves are placed on top of each other and they are pierced by a needle, the time required for the needle to pass from the first leaf to the second leaf is known as Alpakala. The next units of time are pretty simple:

1. Truti: Thirty Alpakalas make up one Truti
2. Kala: Thirty Trutis make up one Kala
3. Kastha: Thirty Kalas make up one Kastha, which is also known as a Nimisha, Noti, or Matra
4. Ganita: Four Kasthas make up one Ganita
5. Netuvirppu: Ten Ganitas make up one Netuvirppu
6. Vinazhika: Six Netuvirppus make up one Vinazhika
7. Ghatika: Sixty Vinazhikas make up one Ghatika

Now, this is where it became confusing for me, especially with the obscure wording of the Bhagavata Purana. Sixty Ghatikas comprise one Ahoratra, which is one 24-hour day for regular human beings. Fifteen days (ahoratras) constitute one Paksha and two Pakshas constitute a Chandra masa, which is a 30-day lunar month. Twelve Chandra masas (lunar months) make up one year for human beings.

Human Years vs. Deva Years

We are now going to move away from the human scale and transitioning to the godly scale. One year for human beings (twelve Chandra-masas) is equivalent to one ahoratra (ne day and night) for the  devas! 360 deva-ahoratras form one year for the devas. A deva-year is known as a Deva-Vatsara, also known as a Divya-Vatsara.

The Yuga Scheme

This post might not have been very interesting so far. But this is when it gets really fascinating. 12,000 Deva-Vatsaras make up one Chaturyuga, also known as a Divya-yuga or Mahayuga. A Chaturyuga consists of 4 Yugas: Kritayuga (Satyayuga), Tretayuga, Dwaparayuga, and Kaliyuga. Kritayuga is 4,800 Deva-Vatsaras, Tretayuga spans 3,600 Deva-Vatsaras, Dwaparayuga is 2,400 Deva-Vatsaras long, and Kaliyuga is 1,200 Deva-Vatsaras long.

Thus, if the calculations are performed, Kritayuga lasts approximately for 1,728,000 human years. Tretayuga lasts for 1,296,000 human years. Dwaparayuga lasts for 864,000 human years. And Kaliyuga lasts for 432,000 human years. Those are enormous numbers! Thus, a Chaturyuga lasts for 4,320,000 human years.

Kritayuga is known as the Golden Age as it is the best Yuga. During Kritayuga, there is no crime and everybody is righteous. All men resemble religious saints. The weather is always pleasant during Kritayuga, there is no mining or agriculture because the Earth produces its own resources, and there is an absence of disease. Everybody is gigantic and big-built, but also virtuous and honest. Everybody lives on for thousands of years.

Treta Yuga is next Yuga. During Treta Yuga, humans become slightly less virtuous and righteous. Violent kings are born and cause bloody wars. The weather starts becoming extreme and humans start mining and farming.

The third Yuga is Dwapara Yuga. During this time period, humans, in general, become less strong and able. Diseases become common and humans start fighting each other for power. The average life span is reduced to a couple centuries.

Kali Yuga is the final age. “Kali” means “dark”, so it an age of darkness and ignorance. It is the opposite of Kritayuga. Humans become dishonest sinners and commit unbelievable sins. Knowledge is disregarded as useless and the scriptures fade into the past. The wealth and strength of humans are lesser than the previous Yugas. By the end of Kali Yuga, humans have ruined the environment and their average lifespan is merely 20 years.

Manvantaras and the Time Scale of Brahma

Now, there are 71 Chaturyugas in a Manvantara. Thus, a Manvantara lasts for 852,000 Deva-Vatsaras, or 306,720,000 human years. Every Manvantara has a new Indra, a new group of gods, and a new Manu. This is when we must understand that the terms “Indra” and “Manu” are just positions, not names of specific people. Every Manvantara, the Manu is the one who is the progenitor of the human race and is the first man on Earth. Each Manvantara also has a new group of Saptarishis (seven great sages).

There are 14 Manvantaras in a Kalpa, which is one day-time of the creator god, Brahma. Before the first Manvantara, after the last Manvantara, and between all the Manvantaras, there are periods called Sandhikalas. A Sandhikala is essentially a transitional period during which the Earth is submerged in the Garbodhaka Ocean. There are 15 Sandhikalas and each Sandhikala has the same duration as a Kritayuga (4,800 Deva-Vatsaras, or 1,728,000 human years). If we add up all of the Sandhikalas and all of the Manvantaras, we get 4,320,000,000 human years, or 11,935,200 Deva-Vatsaras.

Thus, one day-time of Lord Brahma lasts for 4,320,000,000 human years (11,935,200 Deva-Vatsaras). Obviously, after every Kalpa (day-time of Lord Brahma), there is a night-time of Lord Brahma, which is known as a Brahma-Ratra. The Brahma-Ratra is the same length as a Kalpa. Thus, one full day of Lord Brahma consists of a Kalpa and a Brahma-Ratra and is 8,640,000,000 human years (23,870,400 Deva-Vatsaras). Just think about that for a second!

 

The Creation and Destruction Cycle

At the beginning of every Kalpa (day-time of Lord Brahma), the entire universe is created by Lord Brahma. He creates the aspects of nature, immovable objects, qualities of beings, rishis, devas, etc. Throughout the Kalpa, life exists in the universe. In every Manvantara of the Kalpa, a new Indra and group of gods, a new Manu, and new Saptarishis are born. At the end of the Kalpa, the lower ten realms of the universe are destroyed. Spiritual beings transcend to higher realms or to the spiritual Vaikuntha planets which are outside the material universe. Others who aren’t free from the bonds of materialism perish and are reborn in the next Kalpa. Then, during the Brahma-Ratra, the universe is dark and nothing exists. During the Brahma-Ratra, Lord Vishnu sleeps on Ananta-Sesha in the Garbodhaka Ocean. Soon enough, the Brahma-Ratra is over and the Kalpa cycle starts again.

Thirty days (Kalpa + Brahma-Ratra) of Brahma make on month and 12 months make one year. Thus one year of Brahma is 360 days of Brahma, or 3.1104 trillion human years (8,593,344,000 Deva-Vatsaras). A year of Brahma is known as a Brahmavarsha. Brahma lives for 100 years. Thus, the lifespan of Brahma, known as the Mahakalpa consists of one hundred Brahmavarshas. A Mahakalpa is 311.04 trillion years (859,334,400,000 Deva-Vatsaras)! At the beginning of the Mahakalpa, Brahma is born and at the end, Brahma passes away.

These numbers just make us realize how insignificant we are in the grand scheme of things. A mayfly’s lifespan of just 24-hours is minuscule compared to our lifespan. Similarly, our lifespan is insignificant when compared to the lifespan of thedevas. But their lifespan is atomic when compared to the lifespan of Lord Brahma.

Where are we?

You are probably wondering: Where are we in this endless expanse of time?

Our Brahma is currently 51 years old. We are living during the first day (Kalpa) of his 51st year. The previous Kalpa was known as the Padma-Kalpa. The current day of Brahma (Kalpa) is known as the Shveta-Varaha Kalpa. Within this Kalpa, six Manvantaras have already passed and we are living during the seventh Manvantara, known as the Shraddhadeva Manvantara, also known as Vaivasvata Manvantara. The name of our Manu is Vaivasvata Manu, the son of Surya and Sanjana. The name of our Indra is Purandar. Our Saptarishis are Kashyapa, Atri, Vasistha, Vishwamitra, Gautama, Jamadagni and Bharadvaja.\

Within this Manvantara, we are currently in the Kali Yuga of the 28th Chaturyuga. This Kali Yuga is said to have begun at midnight of 18th February, 3102 B.C.E. in the Julian calendar. Thus, 5,121 years of this Kali Yuga have passed and 426,879 years are left till the end of this Kali Yuga.

As stated above, there are 14 Manavantaras in the Kalpa. The Manavantaras of our Kalpa are:

1. Swayambhava Manvantara
2. Swarochisa Manvantara
3. Uttama Manvantara
4. Tamasa/Tapasa Manvantara
5. Raivata Manvantara
6. Chakshusa Manvantara
7. Vaivasvata/Shraddhadeva Manvantara (current)
8. Savarni Manvantara
9. Daksha Savarni Manvantara
10. Brahma Savarni Manvantara
11. Dharma Savarni Manvantara
12. Rudra Savarni Manvantara
13. Rauchya/Deva Savarni Manvantara
14. Indra Savarni Manvantara

You now know about all 14 Manvantaras of our current Kalpa. Below is a chronological timeline of notable events that have taken place in our Kalpa:

• Beginning of Swayambhava Manavantara: Brahma creates the Universe, Vishnu takes Matsya Avatar and kills the demon Hayagriva, Vishnu takes Varaha Avatar and rescues the Earth
• Swayambhava Manavantara: Story of Dhruva
• Tamas Manavantara: Lord Vishnu saves Gajendra
• End of Chakshusha Manvantara: Matsya Avatar saves King Satyavrata
• 4th Treta Yuga of Vaivasvata Manvantara: Narasimha kills Hiranyakashipu
• 7th Treta Yuga of Vaivasvata Manvantara: Vamana seizes the land of the asura king Bali
• 10th Treta Yuga of Vaivasvata Manvantara: Birth of Dattatreya
• 15th Treta Yuga of Vaivasvata Manvantara: Reign of King Mandhata
• 19th Treta Yuga of Vaivasvata Manvantara: Parshuram annihilates Kartavirya Arjuna and other Kshatiyas
• 24th Treta Yuga of Vaivasvata Manvantara: The Ramayana
• End of 28th Dwapara Yuga of Vaivasvata Manvantara: The Mahabharata
• End of 28th Kali Yuga of Vaivasvata Manvantara

Vedas proclaim repeatedly Devo Ekah and Viswedevatas are many! The controlling  gods (devatas) possess a life span that is equal to one day of Brahma (1,000 divya-yugas, or 4,320,000,000 earthly years). This devata category includes most of the elemental controllers as well as, many devatas we worship as deities and  are actually posts that are occupied by a particular living entity for one day among most of the gods within the court of Indra. Various  gods such as Ganesha, Karttikeya Brahma. At the end of the day of Brahma, when the dissolution waters fill the universe, they leave their respective posts and allow other living entities to fill them. For example, it is described in the Puranas that in the present day of Brahma, the post of Kartikeya (Skanda) is being occupied by Sri Sanat-Kumara, the great liberated son of Lord Brahma.

Those who have a very limited vision think the immediate cause to be Supreme, and thus they create a cult of devotion around a particular deity and proclaim them to be the supreme absolute truth. Bhagawan describes such people in the Bhagavad Gita as follows:

Everyone within this material world (including the devatas), up to the topmost planet of Brahmaloka must ultimately face death. In the Gita this is described as follows:

antavat tu phalam tesam tad bhavaty alpa-medhasam  | deva(t)n deva(t)-yajo yanti mad-bhakta yanti mam api ||

“Men of small intelligence worship the devatas, for their fruits are limited and temporary. Those who worship the devatas go to the planets of the devatas, but  My devotees ultimately reach My supreme abode.”

Why these people are described as alpa-medhasam (of small intelligence) is because the fruits they attain are temporary. The devatas whom they are worshiping are themselves temporary, what to speak of their benedictions and blessings.

Why they take to this worship is also explained by Lord Krishna:

kamais tais tair hrita-jnanah prapadyante ‘nya-devatah

“Because their intelligence has been stolen by material desires they surrender unto various devatas.”

One can test this statement of  Bhagawan. Go to a temple, any temple, and ask the visitors why they have come to worship. You will receive an assortment of answers, but they will all revolve around one principle – expectation. Someone wants a seat in a college, someone has taken an IAS exam, someone wants a nice wife, someone wants money, some-one else wants his difficulties removed. Everyone is approaching “GOD” simply to gratify their senses. We are so foolish that we offer 5 paisa worth of incense to Ganesha and expect him to make us win the lottery! Such blind ritual benefits no one. We are enjoying and suffering according to our karma built up over many lives, yet we believe by offering a stick of incense, all of the reactions we have built up will simply be brushed aside and we will be given a special area within the material nature for unlimited enjoyment. The fact is Ganesha has no interest whether we become an IAS officer or not. And the “devotees” actually do not believe there is a personality named Ganesha. They will say it is only an image imagined to focus our concentration. Then why ask it for blessings? Will an imagined entity who does not factually exist be able to help us?

The truth is these personalities are as real as you and I. Ganesha is living in his abode of Kailasha just as a monk living in his ashram. The Vedas describe 64 dimensional planes of existence, of which we can experience only three. On the higher realms of existence, higher entities live, less limited by the matter – but still limited. The scriptures describe 400,000 species of human life, both higher and lower than our own. Species such as, the Vaanaras, Gandharva, Apsara, Kimpurusha, Kinnara, Yaksha, Rakshasa, etc., up to the topmost material species of Brahma – whose species contains only one entity.

On the higher planes of existence these entities live. Sometimes species from the fourth or fifth dimension will interact with our third dimension. Thus all of the cultures of the world have stories of unknown beings such as ghosts, goblins, and alien life. These are nothing more than Yakshas, Pishachas, Bhutas, and even lower entities. Just as they exist, so too do the higher devatas.  But such powerful exalted personalities have little interest to interact with the degraded people of this age.

Through meditation one can perceive these higher entities – the gandharvas, apsaras, yakshas, and devatas. By purifying our consciousness we can enter these higher dimensional planes through our sukshma-sarira (subtle body composed of mind, intelligence, and identification) and see these beings face to face, just as I can see you if you are standing before me. Ultimately such experiences serve no spiritual purpose. We have simply raised our consciousness to a higher material plane.  Bhagawan says in the Bhagavad Gita: yanti dev(t)a-vratan deva(t)a--“Those who worship the devatas attain   the abode of their object of worship.” This worship is not the common worship we see in temples, where a person simply tells, “Give me this, give me that.” Deva(t)a vrata must be with full surrender to the particular devata. If one surrenders unto Lord Shiva or Ganesha, one will attain to the abode of Kailasa in the next life. In that abode the enjoyment and opulence are thousands of times greater than on this earthly plane that Upanishad says.  But from there one will again return to this earthly planet by the destructive influence of eternal time. Thus one would have simply succeeded in wasting his valuable time, while neglecting the actual goal of human life – self-realization or he might not have been mature for Self-realization focused mostly on material gains!

True religion or spirituality must be selfless and without material motive. We must actually dedicate our Self to GOD (Atmarpanam), and not to external rituals to devatas (gods). In the Gita Bhagawan   says:

“manushyanam sahasreshu kascid yatati siddhaye--Out of many thousands of men, hardly one will endeavor for perfection.”

We must elevate ourselves while working within this world. Only we must cultivate the spiritual knowledge of Bhagavad Gita and get fixed in the understanding of the tattvas.

When we worship devatas, our mind should be trained to think and churn forth thousands of questions about reality. Through internal meditation and self-study the Paramatma will reveal answers within our heart and we will advance on the spiritual path.

śāntyā chittaṁ chittena smritiḥ smrityā smāraɱ smaarena
 vijñānaṁ vijñānenātmānaṁ  vedayai… vijñānādānando brahma yoniḥ --MNU 

 Conclusive experience of Truth follows calmness (śānti). Santi means exclusion of all thoughts from the mind other than what is at the focus of attention, or firmly fixing the mind on the object of concentration. By conclusive experience of Truth remembrance of It is engendered. Remembrance produces continuous remembrance. From continuous remembrance results unbroken direct realization of Truth. By such realization a person knows the Ātman.  Thus having attained bliss one becomes the Supreme which is the source of the universe.

Vedas say   teach   "One Truth (GOD) and Only One Way" 

 Recently Swami Chidananda in a series of lectures enlightened us on ātmārpana-stuti (A Hymn by which One Surrenders Completely to the Lord) a composition that excels in its spirit of leaving everything to GOD.  This might be still be green in your memory with my added explanation.  In Verse 10 Appayya Dikshitar  says:  “tvat-pādābja-prapadanam-rite naiva pashyāmy-upāyam”- - I do not see any other way out except surrendering to your lotus feet!

This    spontaneous outburst by the great Advaita scholar to me seems to be   inspired by the Veda mantra naanyah pantha ayanaya vidyate-- No other way is known for eternal life.  I chant this from Purushasukta during my daily worship that I also hear during Abhishekam in Temples to any Vishnu deity. I do not know why it is restricted to Vishnu deities only like Rudram for Siva family deities! That is our training in Agama Sastras!

Purusha sukta introduces Universal Person thus:

“DhAtA purastAdhyamudAjahAra | shakra: pravidvAn pradishashcatasra”

In the beginning, Bramha addressed the Universal Person thus: "You are who was before me.  You are my guide in this, naming him the cause of himself, and all. Indra learnt of the glory of the Parama purusha from Vamadeva, and from the four directions. Then it says:

“Vedaaahmetam Purusham  mahantam…..; nanya pantha vidyate ayanaya”

"I know the mighty Purusha of Truth (enlightenment) beyond darkness. Only in knowing him does one pass over death. There is no other path leading to eternal life".  

This mantra is for, to visualize him for meditation, and thus to know him. Compare this to what Vishvamitra says in the Ramayana "aham vedmi mahAtmAnam rAmam satya-parAkramam / vasiSHto api mahAtejo ye ceme tapasi sthitA:" - I know the great souled Rama, of deeds beyond measure, powerful in truth, more brilliant than Vasishta, who protected my yajnya well". Or, Mandodari's praise of Rama as Mahavishnu in the same, " tamasa: paramo dhAtA shankacakra gadhAdara" - O Creator, who bears the Conch, the Disk, and the Mace as weapons, who is Supreme above all darkness. The image of the sun here is especially effective, as the tamas referred to here is the darkness of the soul, ignorance and inactivity.

Vedas do declare that there is only one Truth, referred to as Purusha, and only one path to Him. One must understand that Truth here refers to the Supreme Spirit (GOD Himself), and not to the accuracy of an idea. This Truth (GOD) may be known by many names which include Jesus, Christ, Messiah, Purusha Prajapati (Vedas), Kalimatullah (Qur'an), etc., but each character in this list must meet the acid test of the attributes of GOD: supreme love, supreme sacrifice, supreme demonstrable power, supreme purity, etc.

Only one way is taught whether it is Vedas and Upanishads, Holy Bible, or the Qur'an.  Jesus said:   "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”  in the Bible as  the whole revelation of  GOD concerning salvation where G means  one who generates, O means one who operates in the  Universe and D means one who dissolves takes back everything to Himself that is ISA of Isa-vasya Upanishad.   Isa for the Supreme has been adopted by Abrahamic religions later. Eleven times the Qur’an refers to Jesus as ‘Isa al-Masih, that is, “Jesus the Messiah.” So, the Qur’an itself calls Jesus the Messiah.  In the Jewish and Christian context, Messiah simply means “Anointed One.” What Muslim neighbors need help understanding is the purpose for which Jesus was anointed, which opens a clear window to the gospel. Roughly messiah means avatar.

The Svetasvataropanishad 3:8 repeats this mantra (Veda-aham-etam-purusham) as well as Mahanarayana Upanishad, thus univocally all of them say "I know the (one) Supreme Purusha or  Prajapati (Man who is also Lord of Creation)... Only in knowing Him does one pass over death. There is no other path leading to eternal life". Yajurveda 31:18 concludes the same. This way is also referred to as the "para-gati" (one supreme way) to salvation.

 

Who is that person whom we invoke?

MNU says:

vidhartaaram havaamahe  vasoh kuvidva naati nah | savitaaram nrichakshasam ||

We invoke the Creator of the Universe who sustains the creation in many ways and who witnesses the thoughts and deeds of men. May He grant us plenty of excellent health!

This and the above are the prayers of the aspirant who wishes Supreme Illumination. Vasu   means the riches of divine knowledge and vidhartartri is the grantor of it. Savita impels our intellect towards that knowledge. The health we are seeking for is Spiritual Health. 

Please recall the Veda mantra we always chant at the conclusion of worship in temples and homes--oṁ tad viṣṇoḥ paramaṁ padaṁ sadā paśyanti sūrayaḥ divīva caksurātatam: "Just as the sun's rays in the sky are extended to the mundane vision, so in the same way the supreme abode of Lord Vishnu can always be seen by the wise and learned devotees. Because those highly praiseworthy and spiritually awake brāhmaṇas are able to see the spiritual world, they are also able to reveal that supreme abode of Lord Vishnu."

What are referred to as four paths to salvation in Hinduism are really four necessary aspects of the one path: that is, of one's relationship with the Purusha Prajapati. According to the Vedas, these are:

1. Accepting the work (Karma Maarga) of transferring one's sins to the Supreme Sacrifice

2. Knowing (Jnaana Maarga ) personally the Purusha who is the supreme knowledge (paravidya) which liberates;

3. Meditating (Yoga Maarga) upon the written Word of God which teaches us about the Supreme God; and

4. Devoting (Bhakti Maarga) one's life to the Purusha in gratitude for his sacrificial substitution

Charging Action (Karma) with Knowledge (Jnaana)  Meditate (Yoga) with Steadfastness (Bhakti) is the one and only path for salvation. There is no other Way!