In Hinduism, Shraddh is the rituals performed by relatives for the departed souls of ancestors, parents and relatives. It is a way of telling them that they are still an important part of the family and they still reside in our memories. Period of Shraddh is also known as Pitru Paksha. Pitru Dosha arises if one does not perform the rituals of Tarpan in Shraddh.

When to Perform a Paksha Shraaddha?

As we approach towards middle of Bhaadrapada Masam as per Hindu Lunar Calendar, it is time to worship the departed souls (forefathers). This worship is held for a period of 15 days during the waning period (dark period) of Moon in the second fortnight called as Krishna (Bahula) Paksha of Bhaadrapada Masam that generally occurs during the months of September–October every year. The period of 15 days starting from Bhaadrapada Bahula  Prathama to Bhaadrapada Bahula Amaavaasya is called Pithru Paksha or Apara Paksha or Paksha Masam when Sun will be transiting Kanya (Virgo) raasi in the zodiac. This period is totally dedicated and earmarked for worshiping the departed souls (forefathers).

Pitru Paksha 2015 Dates

According to the Hindu Calendar, the important days of Shraaddh in 2015 during Pitru Paksha are from September 28 to October 12, 2015.
28 September 2015 – Purnima Shradh, Pratipada Shraddh
29 September 2015 – Dwitiya Shraddh
30 September 2015 – Maha Bharani, Tritiya Shraddh
01 October 2015 – Chaturthi Shraddh
02 October 2015 – Panchami Shraddh
03 October 2015 – Shasti Shraddh
04 October 2015 – Saptami Shraddh
05 October 2015 – Ashtami Shraddh
06 October 2015 – Navami Shraddh
07 October 2015 – Dasami Shraddh
08 October 2015 – Ekadasi Shraddh
09 October 2015 – Magha Shradh, Dwadasi Shraddh
10 October 2015 – Trayodasi Shraddh
11 October 2015 – Chaturdasi Shraddh
12 October 2015 – Sarva Pitru Amavasya Shraddh Amavasi

The last day of Pitru Paksha is also known as Mahalaya Amavasya Shraddh because on this day one can perform the Shraddha of anyone.

Why Should one Perform Pithru Shraddha ?

Maathru Devo Bhava; Pithru Devo Bhava; Aachaarya Devo Bhava; Athithi Devo Bhava; Worshipping these four is given highest significance and importance in Hindu Dharma. Among the four, Mathru (Mother) and Pithru (Father) Aachaarya (Guru) have attained greater prominence since they are the people who are responsible for our birth, culture (samskaara) and existence. They are the one who have contributed for our welfare and  growth; they are our friends; philosophers and guides; they are our mentors and our role models. Maata-Pithru seva (serving parents) when they are alive and performing Pithru Yagna after their departure has been prescribed as the best way to get discharged from Pithru Runa.

Why only During this Period ?

Actually oblation to Pithrus is prescribed to be performed on a daily basis through Brahma Yagna; through Shannavathi (96 specific days during a year); during Parva kaala like Uttaraayana; Dakshinaayana; Eclipse etc; during Pithru Paksha (Bhaadrapada maasam); through annual ceremony; theertha/kshethra sraaddha etc. Out of which the one during Pithru Paksha is given greater prominence. Mahaalaya Pithru Paksha occurs during Dakshinaayana; also known as Pithraayana Dakshinaayana represents Pithrus. It is believed that Pithrus descend on Earth during the period of Dakshinaayana in anticipation of their progeny perform sacred rites enabling them to attain better placement in other worlds. Hence, lot of significance is given.

During this period for performing Pithru related activities. Pithru Paksha also coincides with Chaaturmaasam the most sacred period for worshiping both Deities as well as Pithrus. It is the most auspicious time to pay our obeisance and salutations to forefathers. Hence, it is specifically referred to as Pithru Paksha.

It is also called Mahaalaya. Maha means great or big or large. Laya means destruction. Mahaalaya means great destruction. It is said that during one of the occasions of Deva-Asura Sangrama (war between Deities and Demons) large number of Devathas and Rishis had died at the hands of Raakshasas starting from Bhaadrapada Bahula Prathama (Paadyami) to Amaavaasya. This Mahaalaya is also called as Sasthrahatha Mahaalaya. These Deities and Rishis are like our forefathers and it is befitting to worship the departed souls during this fortnight that coincides with Mahaalaya. Hence, this period of 15 days has become very sacred and celestial for performing sacred rites to forefathers.

As per Hindu time element one month for human beings is equivalent to one day for Pithru Devathas out of which Sukla Paksha (waxing moon days) 15 days is the day time and Krishna Paksha (waning moon days) 15 days is the night time for Pithrus. It is believed and said that sacred rites like Thila Tharpana and Pinda Pradhana (offering of rice balls) performed during Pithru Paksha acts as food for the departed souls that will be adequate for them throughout the year. Hence, Paksha Shraaddha is required to be performed during dark fortnight (Krishna Paksha) of Bhaadrapada maasam.

What are the Specified Days for Paksha Shraaddha?

Paksha shraddha is actually prescribed to be performed on all the 15 days except on Ekaadasi day. Since it is not practically possible to perform on all the days; it should at least be performed for one day preferably on the day corresponding to the Father’s Thithi (death day). Rest of the days at least, Thila Tharpana should be given to Sarva Pithru or at least to Dwaadasa Pithru (three generations on paternal side and three  generations on maternal side). On the day of Mahaalaya Amaavaasya Thila Tharpana should be given to all the eligible forefathers. In case a person due to some reason misses to perform the rituals on the said date; or doesn’t know the Father’s death thithi; it can be performed on any one of the other specified days viz.

Ashtami; Dwaadasi; on the day coinciding with Bharani star; On the day of Vyatheepaatha Yoga; Mahaalaya Amaavaasya.
During Krishna Paksha there will be no Pournami thithi. Hence, for those Pithrus whose thithi (lunar day of death) happens to be Pournami (full moon day), rites should be performed on any of the other specified days mentioned above. If one misses to perform even on any one of the specified days; still one can perform on any day before Aaswayuja Sukla Panchami. Even then if it is not possible; still one can perform Paksha shraddha on any of the specified days mentioned above during Thula Masam when Sun is in Thula Raasi (Libra) before He transits into Scorpio (Vrischika Raasi). Those performing daily Thila tharpanam or Paksha shraddha during Paksha maasam should perform on all days except Ekaadasi; including Yati Mahaalaya and Ghaatha Chaturdasi.

Where to Perform the Paksha Ceremonies ?

As per sacred texts it is suggested to perform Paksha ceremonies on the banks of sacred rivers or in sacred and celestial places like Gaya, Kaasi, Prayaaga, Kurukshetra, Naimisharanya, Rameswaram etc. If it is not possible they should be performed at least in one’s house. But in view of several practical difficulties and intricacies involved, they are being performed at various temples and religious mutts specifically meant for that  purpose.For example; all branches of Sri Raghavendra Swamy Mutt; Sri Uttaradi Mutt; Udupi Mutt and other dhaarmic institutions across the country provide such facilities to the Karthas.

Who Can Perform These Ceremonies ?

One who is a Dwija (undergone the process of Upanayana) should start performing these ceremonies, only after the death of his father. In such a case it should be performed by the son and not by the daughter. When more sons are available it should be performed by all collectively in case they are staying together; otherwise individually at their respective places. In case a person doesn’t have sons, widow of the deceased by making a proper sankalpa can get it performed through a Brahmin.

What are the Items Required For These Ceremonies ?

Dharbha (Kusa Grass); Cooked Rice; Black Sesame (Thila seeds); Water; Thulasi leaves; Ghee; Honey; Pavithra (made with Dharbha); Vishnu Paadam (foot print impression of Lord Vishnu); Kalasha; Panchapaatre; Uddharne; Copper plate; Poorcha; Areca nuts; Coins; Betel leaves; Plantains (Bananas); Gopichandana, Yagnopaveetha etc.

How to perform? (Brief about the Ritual & Significance)

“Sraddhaaya charitam shraddha”; literally shraddha means the one that need to be conducted with utmost sincerity, attention, care and devotion. While essence remains same; procedure, customs and rituals may differ from region to region; according to sampradaya; based on Varnaasrama dharma. shraddha should be performed wearing a ring made with Dharbha called Pavithra.

Strictly speaking shraddha has to be performed in the direct presence (Pratyaksha) of two Brahmins. In view of practical difficulties it is performed generally with their symbolic presence by using Dharbha called Dharbha Braahmana;

one representing Pithru Devathas called Pithru Braahmana;

the other representing Visvedevathas called Daiva Brahmana.

Agni Kaarya will be performed first and then Pithru Kaarya. In view of intricacies involved in the process; it is better performed under the guidance and supervision of a learned Purohit who is specially trained for the purpose. Pindaas are made with cooked rice and mixed with Thila (sesame seeds); During Pinda Pradhaana; rice balls (Pindaas) are arranged in a specific order on Vishnu Paada (foot print of Lord Vishnu) kept on Dharbha (Kusa grass). Left over Anna (cooked rice) after making Pindaas will be treated as Pithru Prasaada (Pithrusesha). Specification for the size of Pindaas is “Sameepathra Pramaanena” that means it should be of the size of a Samee tree leaf.

Significance of Dharbha; Anna (cooked rice); Thila

Dharbha; Thila (black sesame seeds); cooked rice are the three major items widely used during the rituals. They are highly sacred and celestial. Dharbha from hair; Thila from the sweat have surfaced from the body of Lord Vishnu. Dharbha is used for sanctity. Anna (cooked rice) is so sacred and celestial that it is called ParaBrahma Swaroopa; personification of the supreme Lord SrimanNaaraayana the primordial person.
“Annam ParaBrahma Swaroopam” It is not only used during Pithru Kaarya; but also during Agni Kaarya while performing several sacrifices viz. Homa; Yajna etc. Pindaas made with Anna are symbolic representation of forefathers.

Why & How does Pithrus get satisfied with (Pinda Pradhaana & Thila Tharpana)

It is believed that Pinda Pradhana (offering of rice balls) and Thila tharpana act as food for the departed souls. After the death; the soul (praani) will dwell in different Lokas (worlds) according to its Karma phala. Since we do not know where and in which Loka forefathers are dwelling; it is prescribed to perform Pithru Yagna in seven forms (Saptaanna) the ritual being called Chataka shraddha.

What should be done when shraddha could not be performed?

As far as possible don’t avoid performing sacred rites on the scheduled date or at least on one of the specified days. In a given situation where, it is not possible to perform shraddha due to circumstances beyond one’s control, one can adopt one of the following.

Perform Pithru Thila Tharpana;

Observe fasting on that day;

Saaka-Paaka Dana to a Brahmin along with Dakshina;

Feed a Cow with grass; plantains;

When nothing is possible; pray & offer a sincere Namaskara.
On these days perform these rituals, without fail, without counting upon the benefits one has derived from fore-fathers. If not started earlier, start doing it at least now. Better be late than never. Today’s alive are tomorrow’s forefathers.

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In Hinduism, Sun is called the soul of our world. We cannot imagine even a single day without it. In a society replete with customs and beliefs, is this just faith-based or was there a more scientific meaning behind the sun worship rituals ?

Sun worship commenced with the rising of the sun when the ancestors would offer water in a ‘Lota’ (a round copper utensil with wide edge). The pouring of water would create a flowing film, creating the seven colours of the spectrum through refraction by which the sun would be gazed at indirectly. Hindus believe this is helpful to eyes, vitalizes the body & purifies the mind.

The body is made up of the five elements: Earth( Prithvi) , water (jal), Fire (energy), air (vaayu), ether (aakash). It is believed proper balance of these five elements helps keep the body healthy, the sun being one of them. The solar rays consists of seven colours of the visible spectrum which are equally vital to the seven chakras of the body.

Rigveda states the sun is an energy source for all living beings. The Gayatri Mantra is chanted to Surya deva to remove ignorance & strengthen the mind. The sun is symbol of self god. As the self god illuminates the mind, the intellect & the body, the sun illuminates the world.

Vedas also state that water offered to the sun in the evening converts the drops of water to the stones that cause death to the demons. For humans, demons are like typhoid TB, pneumonia etc. When a devotee takes a water in his hands while standing in front of or facing the sun & drops water on the ground.

The Sun’s rays fall from the head to the feet of the devotee in a uniform flow. This way water heated by sun’s rays & it’s colour permeates every part of the body.

Modern science now has validated the importance of the solar rays on the human body. Many people living in the cold climatic countries suffer from SAD (Seasonal affective disorder) during winter. some even going for solar therapies to alleviate moodiness & depression. Solar therapy mainly from an alternative source, is also used to treat palliation of disease, usually from dermatological disorders.

It also improves the blood circulation, balances metabolism & restores the function of many body systems. Exposure to the sun also promotes the development of the pineal gland hormone – melatonin, the amount of which is influenced by the aging process. Therefore it seems there is more to sun worship than meets the eyes.

It is a proven scientific fact that the early morning sun rays are good for the human being, after all human body is also a bundle of energy. The human body is made up of five things, air (vayu), water (jal), earth (prithvi), fire (energy) and space (aakash) and the cure of all the ailments of the body is amongst these five things only and the rays of the rising sun are one of these things.

Many diseases can be cured by the use of sun rays e.g. ailments of the heart, eyes, jaundice, leprosy and weak mind. Rigveda says, it is sun that wakes one up from sleep. It is due to thesun that all can work and are active. All living beings of the creation depend on the sun.

The sun removes physical, mental and spiritual weaknesses and makes one healthy and long lived. The seven colours of the sun are very good and important for the health. If early morning one has a bath and after offering prayers to the Lord one has sun bath and allows the sun rays to fall on one’s body then one could free the body of all ailments and increase one’s intelligence.

Source: www.savehinduism.in

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Peacock feathers, or mor pankh, are regarded as an auspicious symbol in Hindu mythology because of their association with the peacock, a beautiful bird which is also the national bird of India. You may have noticed that many people keep peacock feathers in their homes. It is believed that keeping peacock feathers at home brings good luck and prosperity into the house.

The Secret of its Survival

The peacock remains the oldest ornamental bird in the world. Have you ever wondered what could be the secret of its survival? You will be surprised to learn the myths surrounding the peacock’s survival. Here are some stories from Hindu mythology which substantiate the symbolism of the peacock and its feathers.

Origin of the Peacock

It is believed that the mayura, or the peacock, was created from one of the feathers of Garuda (a mythical bird in Hindu mythology and a carrier of Lord Vishnu). It is depicted as a mythical bird which is killing a snake. According to a number of Hindu scriptures, it is a symbol of the cycle of time.

The Beautiful Mor-Pankh

Believe it or not, peacocks once had dull tail feathers. In a battle between Ravana and Lord Indra, the bird spread its feathers wide open, to allow Indra to hide behind them and thus wage a war. Indeed, it was able to save Indra, in return for which, the god made the peacock feathers iridescent. Incidentally, Indra is often depicted seated on a peacock throne.

The Peacock Feather & Goddess Lakshmi

The peacock is also identified with Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. That is why people keep peacock feathers at home, believing that they will bring wealth and prosperity into the house. It is also believed that peacock feathers keep the house free from flies and other insects.

Peacock Feathers in Hinduism

The peacock feather is of great importance in Hinduism. Lord Krishna wears a peacock feather on his crown. Lord Karthikeya uses the peacock as his mode of conveyance.

Peacock Feathers for Protection

The peacock is considered to be a bird of protection and safe guarding. This bird is also valued as a protection for the psychic self. Thus, the peacock feather within a home is said to safeguard the energy in the environment.

Peacock for Harmony

The peacock brings harmony and joy to our mind. The peacock bird is majestic and proud, with much dramatic expression – the male bird dances for the sake of the female during courting, reminding us of the celebration in life.

Cultural Motifs

In Hinduism, when god Indra transforms himself into an animal, he becomes a peacock. In India, the peacock is believed to have a thousand eyes in its feathers. In Java, the peacock is associated with the Devil. In Mosul, northern Iraq, a sect of Yezidis hold that the Devil is not evil, and call him by the name Peacock Angel.

Mystic Animal

The myth is that the peacock has angels’ feathers, a devil’s voice, and the walk of a thief. But Hindus believe it is not only the mount of Kartikeya, but also of Sarasvati, the goddess of wisdom and learning. It is also the vehicle of Lakshmi and Brahma. When mounted by kama, the god of love, it represents desire. Hindu gurus are fond of using peacock feathers during their discourses, so as to pass on their aura to their followers.

Peacocks and Rain

Finally, one of the most common symbolism lies between a peacock and rain. The peacock is said to be able to foretell rain, by dancing before it pours. And, if a peacock cries more than usual, it is said to foretell the death of someone in the family.

Source: www.speakingtree.in

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Indian culture is the most complex and colorful culture on the planet. You will see, the way people look, their language and food, their way of dressing, music and dance, everything is different every 50 or 100 kilometers in the country. One place where you can really see the complexity of this culture is the Kumbha Mela.

During the Maha Kumbha Mela in 2001, 60 million people gathered in Allahabad. I have never had a longing to go to such places, but there was so much talk happening, so, to see a grand event of unimaginable scale, I decided to drive there from Coimbatore.

It is one the most incredible sights in the world. I went there at around 2AM and all kinds of people from different parts of the country were there sitting around. They had no place to sleep, so they had little fires going with their own song and dance, culture and language.

The worst and the best of humanity landed up there – every kind of crook who wants to try his hand, but also many yogis of great accomplishment. People have been meeting like this for thousands of years. It is a tradition and a culture that you cannot kill, and it has a certain social relevance. But it also has a certain spiritual strength.

The earth and moon journey in cycles. Everybody is subject to these cycles, but these cycles can remain cycles of bondage, or they can become a means of transcendence – from one cycle of life to another. One who is longing for liberation is constantly seeking how to become free from the cycles one has created.

There are various kinds of cycles, the longest being 144 years; once in 144 years, distinctive occurrences happen in the solar system for which we have a Maha Kumbha Mela, which last happened in 2001.

The Kumbha Melas are held at specific spots in the country around which a whole energy system was created. Because the planet is spinning, it creates a centrifugal force. From 0 to 33 degrees latitude, this force is largely working in a vertical manner in your system, and particularly at 11 degrees, the energies are shooting straight up. So, the ancients calculated and marked out points on the planet where there is a supportive influence on people. Many points happen to be confluences of rivers and there is a benefit to bathing in those areas.

If one is at that spot on a particular day, rare possibilities become available, so people moved there to make use of these situations. Many of these people are peasants and illiterate people who travel long distances with meagre resources, just wanting to be there, longing for mukti. Nowhere else on the planet does an entire population long for liberation with such intensity.

Most Indians are unaware of the depth of mysticism and spiritual process that has happened and continues to happen in India. This land has always been known as the spiritual capital of the world, simply because no other culture has looked at the inner sciences with as much understanding. Here, liberation or mukti has been the highest goal, and even God is considered just a stepping stone towards that.

Unfortunately, the spiritual culture we see today has in many ways been broken by invasions, and distorted by long spells of poverty. Still, the basic ethos of the spiritual process is not destroyed, nor can it be destroyed. It is time that we reap the benefits of this profound tradition in its full glory.

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Yoga Shakti is the transformative power of consciousness, love and delight pulsating behind the forces of Nature and the very source of life. The key to physical, psychological and spiritual well-being consists of awakening this Shakti within our own minds and hearts and allowing it to flow like a river.

The Flow of the Yoga Shakti

permeating our daily experiences of pleasure and pain, happiness and sorrow, or just the necessary activities of sustaining our lives. When Shakti lights up our outer existence, all that we do moves with a certain grace, distilling a higher wisdom and delight to impel us forward on our spiritual quest.

The path that the Yogini follows moves like the flow of a river, its continuity carrying the forces of divinity and leading her into inner experiences through Nature’s universal harmonies. Her sacred journey emulates the Divine feminine play at every level of consciousness. As a dedicated Tantrika or mystic adept, she perceives and embodies the finer nuances of Nature’s grandeur, innate wisdom and gentle nurturing.

The river’s course is a meditative study of life, rushing forth from the melting waters of Mother Earth’s womb at birth, cascading down great heights of waterfalls in childhood mirth and meandering through youthful streams. In maturing, the river’s steady calm currents find their eventual repose in the deep recesses of the ocean waters. The river weathers the peace and fury of Nature’s moods, muddying its pristine waters from rainy storms and collecting the debris of for its embankments to nurture the land. Yet at its culmination, the river mirrors the clarity and beatitude of the ocean’s vastness in its sedate finality.

The Inner Tantric vision perceives the entire universe as a pyramidal configuration of energetics encompassing diverse worlds through varying vibratory levels; each level expressing a certain quality in relation to its inherent aspect of consciousness. At the summit of this powerful pyramid of energy rests the abode of the supreme cosmic power or divine Shakti. The consciousness-power of Shakti, the Goddess in her exuberant expression, enhances the play of every cosmic field, through her creation and maintenance of all existence.

The Yogini connects to the primal Shakti as Mother Earth, Nature, cosmic space, sacred waters, divine Grace and affluence through her dance with divinity, enfolding love, forgiveness, kindheartedness, open-mindedness and devotion. She cherishes every aspect of life, legitimizing both the passion and pain that script one’s existence. The Yogini encompasses life’s experiential threshold through a circumspect drawing from the joyous celebrations of earthly existence.

In the Kaula Shakta tradition, bhoga, the experience of pleasure and delight, finds its expression in yoga, in which all negativities take on the attributes of pure perception. The Goddess is called Bhogini, ‘the supreme enjoyer’, the Devi who genuinely enjoys every aspect of experience, mirroring every myriad facet of a universal life. She holds the rasa, the rejuvenative power inherent in the Tanmatras, the subtle essences of sight, sound, taste, touch and smell, the sensory influences that color the flow of grace and grant beauty and fulfillment to our lives.

Revering our own inner sacredness deepens our awareness of the Self, tapping the aura of divinity through observing, healing, rejuvenating, restoring and celebrating our core existence. Desires, wishes and expectations abound in our everyday life enhancing our worldly attributes and yet slowly dragging us down in a whirlpool of entropy and externality. The key to physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual well-being rests in modulating our outer needs to harmonize with our inner needs, harnessing the powers of the mind and heart. It requires that we let go of worldly pessimism and hostility out of both compassion to ourselves and respect for the dignity and independence of others.

Recognizing the enduring light of love behind the smoke of every transient desire, one creates an awareness of eternal joy, supreme bliss and boundless beauty. The Yogini does not negate disturbed outer manifestations, but accepts them with grace, allowing them to dissolve of their own accord. She wields her inner wisdom to move through this entangling web of illusory veils. All gratification and delight is experienced as energized by the inner power of awareness that is ever content in itself.

The Goddess is the supreme ecstasy of Self-realisation, in which the personal self fades away like the husk from around a seed. As the expression of ultimate joyousness, she draws us by the inner allure of the light of awareness, delivering us from the shackles of bondage into the folds of liberation. She brings out the rasa, the inner luminosity and grace, in every expression of life; be it a great personal achievement or a great cataclysm.

The Yogini learns to ride the waves of life as a master surfer, as it were, the waves becoming a part of the great waters of the ocean, whether tempestuous or serene in movement. The waves are the ocean’s reality, not a separate entity. Normally we see the waves and miss the sea. But the waves are the sea. The spiraling movement of life consists of ever returning into the eternal presence beyond birth and death, a movement encompassed by a greater stillness that it cannot diminish. Tantra in the real sense requires searching out the Absolute in every object, and every person who realizes the inner truth of existence becomes one with the universal Self and accepts the flow of life as a display of one’s true nature.

As a Yogini, one learned to worship all that is poignant, passionate and transformative within and to embrace their outer reflections as well. Opening the heart through devotion, faith and silence born of Nature, we create a temple space for the universal mysticism to unfold its paradoxical drama. The luminosity of our inner light radiates the true wishes of our hearts, not merely the murky desires of the egoistic self. One’s pure nature is the expression of a supreme pleasure or ‘preetih’, the joyousness of love personified.
The Cosmic Waters of Ma Ganga

The forces of Mother Nature unravel life’s divine secrets through the great five elements. When we learn to train our inner eye to understand and approach our existence with an inner vision, we reach out to the core of our reality, which is our spiritual yogic perception. Yet of the five elements, it is water alone that is the element of life which allows consciousness to be reflected and feeling to be sustained. The cosmic waters are not simply the material element but the underlying bliss or Ananda from which everything arises and to which everything returns. All existence is a flow of the cosmic waters either as a material manifestation or as a spiritual reality. In the coolness of that flow through the mind and heart, we find beauty, peace, calm and joy.

It is these cosmic waters, with emerald sapphire hues, cool and transformative that we find in the flow of the Ganga above Rishikesh, before it reaches the plains of our worldly existence. My experience of Ma Ganga brought home the eloquence of waters’ mystic and rejuvenative powers. Ma Ganga as she is affectionately referred unfolds the poetic script of every sadhak’s heartfelt wishes, once one enters into her waters and surrenders to their movement.

The Yogini’s heart searches out divinity not only in the waters of the earth but through the heavenly waters as well. The yogic perception regards all mediums of expression as waves of deeper awareness, be it the rush of a river, the sweeping waves of the ocean’s turbulences, the still waters of pristine mountain lakes or the waters of our inevitable life force and the rasa or divine sap of rejuvenation. We exist within and are surrounded by manifold currents of the cosmic waters. Our spiritual life is an ingress into these mystic streams, in which our minds and hearts merge into their depths, letting going of the outer waves of differentiation.

Life’s sacred reality unfurled through my silent participation with Ma Ganga’s tumultuous flow, witnessing my entire existence through its myriad facets. At times the emerald waters spoke to me of my soul’s deeper indwelling power. Ma Ganga’s comforting voice stilled the outer din of my life with gentle reassurances. The night time rush of melting snows flooded my thoughts with calm aspirations, deepening a yogic awareness of a higher unity through the dissolving world.

Meditating on a river’s flow is a natural form of sadhana, a ‘spiritual endeavor’ that draws one into whirlpools of heavenly waters, maneuvering beyond the waves of life’s illusory course. The hypnotic effect of Ganga’s mystic vapors ceases all worldly expressions, luring one into a trance of natural serenity and dynamic stillness. Its meditative silence releases the purity of Mother Nature’s nurturing calm, churning the mind’s chaos into realms of contemplative bliss.
The Flowering of the Waters

The essence of a Yogini’s flowering unfolds through her sacred space. The Goddess power is the extraordinariness epitomizing the soul of every flower, opening us up to the flower of atmospheric space that delights in the heavenly waters from which comes the rain of bliss. The Yogini manifests the Devi or Goddess like a flowing force, as the spontaneous self-originated flower of spatial waters that arises out of receptivity, openness and repose.

The divine feminine force showers one with blessings of flowers, both within and around us. All creativity consists of flowers in the waters of space. The universe, the celestial heavens, the planets, Sun and Moon are all cosmic flowers of light, scripting their movement in space, vortexes of Shakti, the innate energy which creates flower-like patterns, mystic designs and celestial vistas. The blooms of spiritual essences manifest as sacred flowers through all the worlds. Even the clouds gather the waters of the flowers of energy in the atmosphere, raining their essence on earth.

Ma Ganga carries with it Nature’s bounty of medicinal properties melting from pure glaciers, rushing through mountain canyons and fertile plains, ultimately offering her abundance into the vast ocean expanses. The ocean itself, in its waves and tides, is an overflowing of the flora of the waters in the essence of Soma, the ‘divine nectar’. The higher self, our atman is the ultimate flowering of divinity. In its sublimity, it gives rise to the fullness of the lotuses of our subtle body. Shakti is the grace within the lotus that generates and opens the power of the Self as the cosmic prana suffusing our spiritual flowering with her life force.

The Yogini’s very existence searches out the wonders of the Goddess’s flowering flow through a seeking, desiring and nurturing of life’s bounty and beatitude. The lure of my mind’s eye ripened over years of spiritual grooming allowed me to taste the innate wisdom and sweet bliss of meditative repose. My existence through its subtle nuances of all life’s energies came vibrantly alive allowing its cascading vibration to draw me into its magnetic vortexes.

During potent sadhanas by the banks of the flowing grace of the Ganga, I would diligently lure the Goddess with flowers, mantra invocations and fire rituals to entice her into my surroundings. The deluge of incense, flowers and chants created a sea of beatitude, allowing my emotions to express themselves in torrents of fervent Bhakti, uniting with the river’s mesmeric roar.

Bhakti Yoga isn’t a mere expression of emotion. Bhakti Yoga rests upon a deep philosophy, graciousness and a dynamic movement of honoring divinity as an inner and outer aspect of spirituality. Bhakti unfolds the art of devotion, creating and sustaining the beauty of a poetic flourish through music, dance and prose. Bhakti strains gently lure the heart to a sweet surrender with the spirit of freedom, imbuing our ordinary existence with sacred intent, poise and pride. Bhakti is the flow of the waters of inspiration back to their source within the heart.

Surrendering to the flow of Ma Ganga elevated my soul into her protective confines of peace and happiness. The expression of my surrender sought itself through sacred offerings and intuitive rituals relating to universal elements. Flowers given in rituals hold a poignant meaning and power far beyond mere ceremonial flourishes. In a deeper sense, we are always offering the Goddess or Great Nature our own life’s flowering, be it the flowers of devotion or the flowerings of moha and maya (delusion and illusion). Sadhana or divine observances grant us a perceptive and profound understanding of life’s journey. Through multi-layered mystical encounters arose an inner awareness as in a deeper flowering. The waters of my inner being sustained various enfoldments, if one could but let the true essence come forth.
Sadhana by the Ganga

The Ganga’s eclectic flow yields the Yoga Shakti, reveling in the spell of her water’s intimacy. Her energies awaken the soul stirrings, guiding one to meander towards the ultimate source. Mother Ganga’s rushing currents spin the aspirant into the centre of her creation when she perceives our readiness for the higher realms of celestial ecstasy.

I have learned to share this experience of Ma Ganga in all her grandeur and grace, which is what she in fact exhorts us to do. Our beautiful Inner Tantric Yoga retreat by the waters of Ma Ganga every March brings sadhaks from all over the world to return to their spiritual home in the river’s flow. Every sadhak learns to tap their divinity through healing, rejuvenating and celebrating life in sync with Nature’s benevolence.

We move through the gentle rigors of Bhuta Shuddhi, the Vedic ritual of purifying the mind, prana and senses in the aura of the river. We honor Ganga’s celestial nature with arati, hymns in praise of the cosmic powers accompanied with the effulgence of light. Our arati plates are decorated with flowers surrounding the lamp lit with camphor and pure ghee (oil). The offering of arati serenades the divinity in both the sacred flow of the river as well as the rivers of our being, invoking the blessings of the great Divine powers.

Calming the senses creates a foundation for stilling the being from an outer restlessness and letting go of the stagnant energies of the outer world, so that we can effortlessly flow within. Stillness is the calm which rejuvenates and energizes our intrinsic holistic nature. Stillness restores, holds and enhances our life prana or force. Spiritual stillness evolved through contemplative sadhana is the calm after the storm. Only when we learn to weather the storm with grace will we appreciate the serenity of being still in quiet repose.

We steer every sadhak to become immersed in body and soul with the purity and healing force of the sacred river. Nature unveils its own graciousness when we learn to sanctify the five elements within and around us. Worshipping the elements grounds our personality allowing the Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Ether to imbue us with their cosmic energetics, but in this process water is the connective link and the transformative flow.

A full Moon night in quiet meditation by the banks of Ganga tunes the heart to resonate with the sound of the river’s rush, contemplating the Moon’s reflection in the waters, absorbing the mystic vapors while feeling the wisp of night breeze and the sand beneath one’s feet. Nature has a surreal effect on our sensitivities, once we let go of our minds, forget the world and remember our eternal Mother.

Our retreat draws out every sadhak’s higher energy through sacred rituals, Vedic fire offerings, meditation, mindful asana practice, mantra chanting and mudra initiation into the whirlpool dance of Shakti’s ecstasy. The footwork of Mother Earth’s dance leaves one touched with energy, compassion and a passionate fervor for divinity. Embracing the still waters of life is not about exhaustive competitiveness with our inner and outer worlds. It is about harnessing the grace of divinity through gentle contemplative sadhana with the universal elements.

Sacred rivers are part of our universal spiritual heritage. Civilization itself grew up on great rivers which allowed agriculture and cities to arise. The ancients worshipped their rivers, which sustained their traditions, wealth and aspirations. In honoring Mother Nature through her great rivers, we sustain our link to both the earthly and the cosmic waters, and with the plants, animals, plains, mountains, glaciers, clouds and sky that they connect us to.

We must learn to let our inner rivers, the channels, currents and nadis of the soul flow again with all their vibrancy. Unless our inner rivers are flowing, our outer lives will remain dry and empty, dependent upon an external world of want to sustain a mirage of happiness. Let the pure grace of Ma Ganga flow within and all that is impure or sorrowful will quickly be washed away into a current of eternal delight. Let us join together in creating a harmonious, conscious and spiritually evolved existence through awakening the higher Self, empowering the divine grace within, and embracing the Inner World of Shakti!

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Astra is a general term that refers to celestial weapons in Hinduism. The astras are transcendental, supernatural weapons created by the Lord, and presided over by a specific Deity. In order to summon or use an astra, one must have the required knowledge, i.e., the specific mantra that will arm, direct, and disarm the astra.

The presiding deity, once properly invoked, endows the weapon, making it essentially impossible for foes to counter its potency through regular means. As described in sastra, specific conditions existed involving the usage of various astras, and the violation of proper protocol could be fatal. Because of the power involved, the knowledge involving use of an astra was passed from guru to disciple by word of mouth alone, and only the most qualified students were made privy to the information. Certain astras had to be handed down directly from the presiding deity himself, as having knowledge of the mantras alone was insufficient.

The importance of astras is described in particular detail in the Ramayana and Mahabharata, which describes their use in epic battles. Various pastimes describe the use of astras by archers such as Rama, Arjuna, and Bhisma. They generally invoked the astras into arrows, although they could potentially be used with anything. For example, Ashwatthama invoked an astra using a blade of grass as his weapon.

Following are the primary astras mentioned in Ramayana and Mahabharata:

Aindra Astra:

Presiding Deity: Indra, the god of weather
Weapon’s Effect: Would bring about a shower of arrows from the sky.
Counter Weapon: Antardhana Astra – illusion weapon with several functions. This weapon affected the mind of the opponent and caused things to disappear from his field of vision. It also dispelled illusions caused by other astras.

Agneya Astra:

Presiding Deity: Agni, the god of fire
Weapon’s Effect: The weapon discharged would emit flames inextinguishable through normal means.
Counter Weapon: Varuna Astra

Varuna Astra:

Presiding Deity: Varuna, the god of water
Weapon’s Effect: The weapon discharged would release torrential volumes of water. This weapon is commonly mentioned as used to counter the Agneyastra.

Naga Astra:

Presiding Deity: The Nagas
Weapon’s Effect: The weapon would have an un-erring aim and take on the form of a snake, proving deadly upon impact.
Counter Weapon: Garuda Astra – as the natural enemy of the Naga, Garuda astra was designed to break Naga astra in flight.

Naga Paasha:

Presiding Deity: The Nagas
Weapon’s Effect: Upon impact, this weapon would bind the target in coils of living venomous snakes. In the Ramayana, it was used against Lord Rama and Lakshmana by Indrajit.

Vayu Astra:

Presiding Deity: Vayu, the god of wind
Weapon’s Effect: Bring about a gale capable of lifting armies off the ground.

Vajra Astra:

Presiding Deity: Indra
Weapon’s Effect: Target would be struck with bolts of lightning (vajra referring to Indra’s thunderbolt).

Mohini Astra:

Presiding Deity: Mohini, Vishnu avatar
Weapon’s Effect: Dispel any form of maya or sorcery in the vicinity.

Surya Astra: 

Presiding Deity: Surya, the sun god
Weapon’s Effect: Create a dazzling light that would dispel any darkness about.

Twashtar Astra:

Presiding Deity: Twashtri, the heavenly builder
Weapon’s Effect: When used against a group of opponents (such as an army), would cause them to mistake each other for enemies and fight each other.

Sammohana / Pramohana Astra:

Weapon’s Effect: Would cause entire hosts/armies to collapse in a trance. It is described as a weapon that can deprive warriors of their senses.
Counter Weapon: Prajna Astra – weapon that revitalized the mind and restored senses. In Mahabharata it is sometimes mentioned as Pragna Astra.

Parvata Astra:

Weapon’s Effect: Would cause a Parvata/mountain to fall on the target from the skies.

Brahma Astra:

Presiding Deity: Brahma, the Creator
Weapon’s Effect: Would destroy entire hosts at once. Could also counter most other astras.
Considered the most deadliest weapon of all, there was no anecdote for Brahma Astra.

Brahmasirsha Astra:

Presiding Deity: Brahma, the Creator
Weapon’s Effect: Capable of killing devas. It was used by Ashwatthama on Parikshit.

Narayana Astra:

Presiding Deity: Vishnu, the Preserver
Weapon’s Effect: Would create showers of arrows and discs. The astra’s power would increase with the resistance offered to it. This weapon had to be obtained from Vishnu directly, and could be used only once. If it was invoked twice in the same battle, the astra was said to shower arrows on the invoker’s own army.

Vaishnava Astra:

Presiding Deity: Visnu, the Preserver
Weapon’s Effect: Would destroy target completely, irrespective of target’s nature. Infallible. This weapon had to be obtained from Vishnu directly.

Pashupata Astra:

Presiding Deity: Shiva, the Destroyer
Weapon’s Effect: One of the most famous and infallible astra, it would destroy the target completely, irrespective of target’s nature. This weapon had to be obtained from Shiva directly.

Brahma Astra:

Brahma Astra is one of the most powerful celestial weapons in Hindu mythology. It is typically associated with Lord Brahma the Creator, but there is no textual evidence that he actually used the weapon and he rarely takes destructive actions in Hindu mythology. It is more likely that “Brahma” in this context refers to “to expand, grow, swell, or enlarge” and therefore Brahma Astra refers to an expanding celestial weapon of immense destruction.

Brahma Astra can be obtained only through intense meditation and accumulation of ascetic merit. A worthy individual receives a mantra to invoke the weapon, and the Brahma Astra can only be used once in a lifetime unless the wielder knows a separate mantra to withdraw it. Discharging the weapon requires intense mental discipline and concentration and must be used against a worthy individual or army. Improper use of the weapon, either against a weak individual or without specific intent could cause the destruction of the entire universe. When used properly, the Brahma Astra is a counter to most other astras while at the same time there is no defense or counter to it; the target of this weapon will be completely annihilated.

Anecdotal evidence also indicates that the Brahma Astra causes environmental damage on a massive scale. The land on which the weapon is used becomes barren and cracked, all life withers and dies in the surrounding area and not even rain will fall, causing drought-like conditions. It is also said that men and women near the vicinity of the blast become infertile. In modern times the Brahma Astra has been compared to a nuclear device but based on the description, it is far more powerful. While the entire stockpile of nuclear weapons could at best destroy the world, the Brahma Astra is capable of destroying the entire universe (again, only when used improperly).

The Brahma Astra has been invoked several times in literature. In the Ramayana, Rama uses the Brahma Astra to deal the final blow against the rakshasa Ravana during their battle on the island of Lanka. Bharata tried to use the Brahma Astra against Lava and Kusa, but they both fired their Brahma Astras first, killing him and most of his army. In the Mahabharata, Pradyumna used the Brahma Astra on Salwa, but he survived.

As described in the sastra, a Brahmastra is an astra, or celestial weapon created by Lord Brahma. It is sometimes known as the Brahma Astra (astra referring to ‘missile weapon’). As described in a number of the Puranas, Brahmastra is considered to be the very deadliest of weapons. When a Brahmastra is discharged, neither a counterattack nor a defense of any kind can stop it.

The Brahmastra never misses its mark and must be used with very specific intent against an enemy, whether an individual or army, as the target will face complete annihilation. Brahmastra is said to be obtained by meditating on Lord Brahma, and can be used only once in a lifetime. The user would have to display immense amounts of mental concentration in order to get sanction to arm and use the weapon. Since Brahma is the Creator in Sanatana Dharma, it is understood that Brahmastra was created by him for the purpose of upholding Dharma and Satya.
According to sastra, the Brahmastra is invoked by a key mantra that is bestowed upon the user when he is given the weapon. By properly chanting the mantra, the user can call upon the weapon and deploy it with annhiliative force against his adversary.

The Brahmastra also causes severe environmental damage. The land where the weapon is used becomes barren for eons, and all life in and around that area ceases to exist. Women and men become infertile. There is severe decrease in rainfall and the land develops cracks, like in a drought.

List of Astras :

. Agni Astra
. Aindra Astra
. Antardhana Astra
. Bhauma Astra
. Brahma Astra
. Brahmasirsha Astra
. Garuda Astra
. Mohini Astra
. Naga Astra
. Narayana Astra
. Parjanya Astra
. Parvata Astra
. Pashupata Astra
. Prajna Astra
. Shakti Astra
. Sammohana Astra
. Surya Astra
. Vaishnava Astra
. Vajra Astra
. Varuna Astra
. Vayu Astra
. Visoshana Astra

Of these Astras, the Following Were Considered the Most Deadliest:

. Pashupata Astra
. Brahma Astra
. Bramasirsha Astra
. Vajra Astra
. Agneya Astra
. Naga Astra, and
. Shakti Astra

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Why is Krishna blue? Why not red or yellow or any other color? Why is it that the Absolute Truth has a bluish complexion? It would be best to get some sastric (scriptural) references.

since it is one of these questions that somehow reappears, specifically requesting scriptural references, here are a few. The first was expressed already in the above-cited Answers. Note also that in the final reference cited below, in a lecture of 1975 Srila Prabhupada offers the exact same explanation as you will find in the previous answers (cited above) to explain the word ‘blackish’, or ‘krishna’.

As for the reason behind Krishna’s having a bluish complexion, here is a very beautiful explanation given in Krishna Bhakti Ratna Prakasa by Raghava Gosvami wherein it is said:

atha kaiscid uktam. yadi sva-prakaso lila-rasa-mayah paramatma-svarupas tasmin katham syama-varnatvam sarvatra prasiddham. yatha srutau rupam na vedyam na ca bindunadah ity adi. tad aha

syamabhatvam vidhatte yat
sarva-varno ‘tra liyate
nityam ca prabhavaty eva
kalo ‘smin naiva vidyate

Translation: At this point some may ask: “Why is it that the form of the Personality of Godhead, which He manifests only by His own wish, and which is made of the sweetness of transcendental pastimes, is famous everywhere for its dark complexion?”

Part of the answer to this question may be found in the statement of the Sruti-sastra: “No one can understand even a drop of the Lord’s transcendental form.” Aside from this it is also said: “He eternally manifests the color shyama, within which all colors rest. His complexion is not the material color black.”

Thus from the last verse we see it says “sarva-varnah” which means that the colour shyama is a special color, which is like a composite of all colours. And we notice that if we combine all colours we get a colour which is blackish, but not black.

Srimad Bhagvatam 3.28.13

prasanna-vadanāmbhojaṁ
padma-garbhāruṇekṣaṇam
nīlotpala-dala-śyāmaṁ
śaṅkha-cakra-gadā-dharam

The color of the Personality of Godhead, Krishna, is described here as nilotpala-dala, meaning that it is like that of a lotus flower with petals tinted blue and white. People always ask why Krishna is blue. The color of the Lord has not been imagined by an artist. It is described in authoritative scripture. In the Brahma-samhita also, the color of Krishna’s body is compared to that of a bluish cloud.

The color of the Lord is not poetical imagination. There are authoritative descriptions in the Brahma-samhita, Srimad-Bhagavatam, Bhagavad-gita and many of the puranas of the Lord’s body, His weapons and all other paraphernalia. The Lord’s appearance is described here as padma-garbharuneksanam. His eyes resemble the inside of a lotus flower, and in His four hands He holds the four symbols: conchshell, discus, mace and lotus.

Srimad Bhagvatam 10.8.13

asan varnas trayo hy asya
grhnato ‘nuyugam tanuh
suklo raktas tatha pita
idanim krishnatam gatah

Your son Krishna appears as an incarnation in every millennium. In the past, He assumed three different colors-white, red and yellow-and now He has appeared in a blackish color. [In another Dvapara-yuga, He appeared (as Lord Ramacandra) in the color of suka, a parrot.] All such incarnations have now assembled in Krishna.

Srimad Bhagvatam 11.5.32

krsna-varnam tvisakrsnam
sangopangastra-parsadam
yajnaih sankirtana-prayair
yajanti hi su-medhasah

In the age of Kali, intelligent persons perform congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead who constantly sings the names of Krishna. Although His complexion is not blackish, He is Krishna Himself. He is accompanied by His associates, servants, weapons and confidential companions.

Bhagavd Gita Lecture of Srila Prabhupada in London 1975

Srila Jiva Gosvami, the most authoritative acarya of our sampradaya, he has explained like this. Krishna-varnam means always chanting Hare Krishna. Krishnam varnayati, describing Krishna, “Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna.” This is description of Krishna, addressing Krishna. So therefore krishna-varnam, or varnam means category.

Just like brahmana-varna, ksatriya-varna. So in that way krishna-varna means He is Krishna, in the category of Krishna. Either you take this meaning or that meaning, krishna-varnam. But Krishna is black, and He is tvisa, by the complexion, akrishna. Akrishna means not Krishna. Now, there are so many colors. So everything is akrishna. That color, all the colors are mixed together, it becomes black.

Otherwise there are many different colors. So akrishna means different color, “not krishna,” not black. So what is the actual? That we have to refer to sastra again, that Krishna, in how many categories of color He appears? That is stated in the Bhagavatam. When Krishna was born, then Gargamuni was calculating about His horoscope, and he said to Nanda Maharaja that “This, your child…” Idanim krishnatam gatah. Suklo raktas tatha pita idanim krishnatam gatah.

“Your child had formerly white color.” White color… Sometimes some critics criticize us that “Krishna everywhere He is black. Why in your temple white?” But it is said that sukla, suklo raktas tatha pita idanim krishnatam gatah: “Your son had other colors also, white and red and yellow, and now He has assumed blackish color.”

Source: askromapadaswami.com

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In the Lalitpur district of Uttar Pradesh is the ancient village of Dudhai, which is home to an astounding murti of Lord Nrsimhadeva. Cut into the rock face of a hillside way off the beaten track, relatively few pilgrims search out this hidden treasure. Although it is listed as a sacred site by the Archaeological Survey of India, little documentation is available about the sculpture.

hataka kiritavara hara vanamala
tararashana makara kundala manindraih
bhushitam-ashesha-nilayam tava vapurme
chotasi chakasta narasimha narasimha

O Lord Nrisimha, O Lord Nrisimha, Your transcendental body, which is the ultimate shelter of everything. Is decorated with a beautiful golden crown, a forest garland, shark-like earrings, various excellent jewels and an out projecting wide tongue. (Sri Nrisimhashtakam)

The rock-cut Nrsimhadeva of Dudhai stands over thirty feet tall, and is masterfully sculpted to take advantage of the natural striations in the rock formation, which add to the design of the murti. The demon Hiranyakasipu is stretched across the Lord’s lap, being composed of natural stone that is silhouetted by the bas relief rock-cut design.

Lord Nrsimhadeva’s lips are pulled back in a snarl, revealing his fearsome teeth and tongue. The lines of rock have been used advantageously, bringing certain elements of the design to a fine point. The Lord’s clothing and ornaments, for example, are very distinct in some places, while in some places the lines of the sculpture have been blurred by water and weather.

A split column is beautifully executed in the murti, and the sculptor took full advantage of the natural colors in the rock face, which emphasize certain aspects of the murti design. Overall, this massive image is so camouflaged by its natural surroundings as to be almost invisible, until one gets relatively close, and views it from the right angle.

Based on other cave excavations in the area, this rock-cut murti of Sri Nrsimha is thought to have been created in the Gupta period, when Vaisnava worship was predominant in Uttar Pradesh. The nearby Dasavatar temple in Deogarh, and a huge sculpture of Lord Varaha at the nearby Udaygiri caves in Madhya Pradesh are classic examples of the iconography found here in the Nrsimhadeva murti.

There is a complex of Hindu and Jain temples in the area of Dudhai, and quarrying is now going on all around the area. We can only hope that the ASI will enforce strict protections for this exceptional Lord Nrsimhadeva sculpture.

Dudhai village is located about 50 kilometers from the center of Lalitpur district, which is about 100 kilometers south of Jhansi. To get here, drive down NH 26 from Lalitpur, turn off the highway at Bagaria (about 30 kms from Lalitpur) and drive to Dudhai via the village of Pali.

Dudhai village is 28 kilometers from the highway turn-off. Although part of the road to the hill site is a forest road built during the British era, much of the road is more like a cattle track, and is best driven in a vehicle suited to off-road travel. If any of our Sun readers are fortunate enough to visit Lord Nrsimhadeva in this place, we hope they will share pictures with all the readers. Meanwhile, the following video gives us a brief glimpse of the environment.

madhava mukunda madhusudana murare
vamana nrisimha sharanam bhava natanam
kamada ghrinin nikhila karana nayeyam
kalam amaresha narasimha narasimha

O Lord Nrisimha, O Mukunda, Madhusudana, Murari, Vamana, You are the shelter of the surrendered souls. O Lord of the demigods, cause of all causes, please do not neglect me. Kindly fulfill my desire of passing my whole life chanting Your holy names. (Sri Nrisimhashtakam)

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Hindus believe that the knowledge of medicinal plants is older than history itself, that it was gifted hundreds of thousands of years ago to the Vedic Hindus by Lord Brahma, the divine creator.

Thus when the Rishis of the Ayurveda sought to heal human suffering, they were able to draw on knowledge that had already been evolving for millennia in the forests of India. One tree about which they had a very deep knowledge was the Bilva tree. The science of Ayurveda values the Bilva highly for the medicinal properties contained in its root, fruit and leaves. According to Swami Sivananda, it is a healing tree which cures all diseases caused by vata (wind) and gives strength to the body.

More commonly known as the Bel Tree in India as well as other warm countries, this is a sacred tree having sacrificial importance and the first thing we can notice about the leaves is that they are generally trifoliate. This trifoliate leaf is symbolic of Trikaal or the Hindu Trinity of Devas known as Brahma Vishnu and Mahesh. The other names of this tree are Wood apple and its botanical name is Aegle marmilos.

The Bilva leaf or Patra as it is known, represents the Trinetra or three eyes of Lord Shiva, the main aspects like Trishakti (volition, action and knowledge), the three Shiva lingams and the three syllables of AUM or Omkar and are most favourite of Lord Shiva.

There are also five formed Bilva leaves known as PanchaDal patra found on some Bilva trees and these too are held as sacred for the worship of Lord Shiva. Bilva tree grows to a height of 8 meters with thorns. The leaves are alternate, ovate, trifoliate and aromatic. The tender leaves and shoots are consumed as salad greens. The flowers bloom in the month of May and will have a sweet fragrance.

It appears from all the Hindu texts and scriptures that the Bilva tree itself has been held very sacred and auspicious and is considered very holy since time immemorial thats its significance is mentioned in Mahapuranas in various forms of mantras. The Shiva Purana mentions a particular narration of how the usage of Bilva due to its scientific as well as medicinal properties is of great adavantage to Mankind.

The 22nd Chapter of maha ShivaPurana narrates ” The trifoliate Bilva Patra is so sacred to Lord Shiva & is therefore a symbol of the Lord. Adored by all the Gods, its importance is difficult for anyone to comprehend. The sacred tree can only be known to a limited extent. Sacred sites of this Earth can only find their place at the root of this auspicious tree. Those who meditate upon Lord Mahadeva in His form of linga at the root of Bilva obtain Moksha & become purified souls by attaining Shiva. Such are the marvels of this sacred Bilva.”

The famous Shri Bilvashtakam (v. 6–7) Mentions :

Lakshmyaascha stana utpannam Mahaadeva sadaa priyam,
Bilva vriksham prayachchhaami eka bilvam Shivaarpanam.
Darshanam bilva vrikshasya sparshanam paapanaashanam,
Aghorapaapasamhaaram eka bilvam shivarpanam.

Translation :

Born from the heart of Goddess Lakshmi, the Bilva tree is ever dear to Mahadeva. So I ask this tree to offer one Bilva leaf to Lord Shiva. Even if (one) has darshan ( view) of the Bilva tree, and touches it, surely frees one from sin. The most terrible karma is destroyed when a Bilva leaf is offered to Lord Shiva.

It is also believed that Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth, also lives in the bel tree. Those who perform the puja of Shiva and Parvati devoutly, using the leaves, will be endowed with spiritual powers.

Scientific Advantages

According to Hindu scriptures, the Bilva is Triguna which is connected to the three Gunas or components of natural characteristics of the tree. In Hindu philosophy, the three Gunas are Sattva, Rajas & Tamas with Sattva being the pure most while Tamas normally is to do with darkness & ignorance.

The Sattvic component is believed to be more centred within the bilva patra and therefore the high capacity to absorb and emit Sattvic frequencies. This has various effects on the environment as well as on anyone merelt touching the leaf. One of them is the reduction of Rajasic-Tamasic atoms present in the atmosphere & more importantly within the human body.

A Sattvic leaf like bilva patra when brought in proximity of a person suffering from negative energies such as distress and anxiety is believed to medically reduce these energies within the human body. People with negative outlook towards life and their environment normally do not realise they have negative energies building up within their body and are at a risk of subconsciously harpering destructive thoughts also.

Whenever such people come into contact with a Sattvic atmosphere, what they fail to realise is their negative energies try to fight the positivity of a Sattva predominant environment. This struggle can build up at various levels and can vary from the human mind thinking negatively and can result sudden bursts of anger to destruction of things around them.

Medicinal uses

The roots, skin, fruits and the leaves of the Bilva tree are used for medicinal purpose. Bilva has astringent, edema lessening, anti-diarrhea, laxative and appetizer properties hence, can be used to cure both internal and external diseases.

The sacred tree has many medicinal usages and is advantageous in curing many human ailments such as :

. bleeding gums.

. Bel fruit clears diarrhea, dysentry, phlegm, high blood pressure, morning sickness in pregnancy, stress.

. Asthma can be controlled when a mixture of dry bel leaf powder & honey is consumed daily

. Jaundice can be cured by consuming the extracted juice of the bilva leaves

. Anaemia can be cured by drinking the powder of the bel fruit mixed with milk

. Bel fruit keeps the skin rejuvenated when pasted into a facepack; also cures joint aches

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In India, colours play a very important role in religion and cultures, showing a very deep significance that transcends purely decorative values. Artists use color on the deities and their dresses signifying their qualities.

Proper use of colors creates an environment, which should keep a person cheerful. Some of the main colors used in religious ceremonies are red, yellow (turmeric), green from leaves, white from wheat flour. etc. The main color that most Eastern religions and cultures use is Saffron.

Hinduism

If there is any colour that symbolizes all aspects of Hinduism, it is Saffron – the colour of Agni or fire. Fire burns away the darkness and brings light and it is symbolic of knowledge burning ignorance. Fire also shows the spirit of Yagna (Ritual of the sacred fire) which is important to Self knowledge. As such, the fire altar is regarded as a distinct symbol of ancient Vedic rites.

A colour of purity, it represents religious abstinence, purging and resultant purity. It is the colour of saints and ascetics, those who have renounced the world. Wearing saffron colour symbolizes the quest for Knowledge of Godhead.

In symbolism, Saffron comprises of the colours of Sun, Mars and Jupiter that relates to:
Driving the Desire (Mars) for Truth or Moksha, liberation (Sun) with the help of knowledge and one who dispels it (Jupiter).

When sages moved from one ashram to another, it was customary to carry fire along. The inconvenience to carry a burning substance over long distances may have given rise to the symbol of a saffron flag. Triangular and often forked saffron flags are seen fluttering atop most Sikh and Hindu temples.

It is the color of holy men and ascetics who have renounced the world. Wearing the color symbolizes the quest for light. It is the battle color of the Rajputs, the warrior caste.

Buddhism

In Buddhism, Saffron is the color of illumination, the highest state of perfection. The saffron colors of robes to be worn by monks were defined by the Buddha himself and his followers in the 5th century B.C. The robe and its color is a sign of renunciation of the outside world and commitment to the order. The candidate monk, with his master, first appears before the monks of the monastery in his own clothes, with his new robe under his arm and asks to enter the order. He then takes his vows, puts on the robes, and with his begging bowl, goes out to the world. Thereafter, he spends his mornings begging and his afternoons in contemplation and study, either in a forest, garden, or in the monastery.

Sikhism

In Sikhism, orange or saffron appears in the form of Nishan Sahibs (the Sikh flag), the cholas (warrior attire) worn by Panj Pyaray and Sikh turbans. This is the colour of deep joy and bliss. It absorbs shocks, nasty experiences and trauma. It’s about letting go of what holds us back or what is not helpful. Orange is the colour of connection, a sense of community, belonging and social aspects of being.

Saffron is also one of the three colours in the Indian flag, signifying courage and selflessness. India has a history of brave and loyal freedom fighters. Saffron indicates the strength of this nation and its will to give away all for the benefit of its people.

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Achamana begins with praising God as the Illuminator of All. In this, we thank Him not only for the wonderful gift of light which makes it possible for us to see the objects of this manifold universe.

but also for the even more wondrous gift of intelligence, the ‘light of the soul’, by means of which we comprehend our existence. Without this light, our lives would be bereft of meaning. We therefore thank God for this most wonderful gift by acknowledging His Infinite Beneficence in bestowing it upon us.

The proper end of man is the realization of the four Purusharthas, namely:

. Righteousness (Dharma)
. Wealth (Artha)
. Pleasure (Kaama)
. Salvation (Moksha)

The attainment of these four virtues constitutes the purpose of our existence on this earth. Yet, these virtues can only be had through the knowledge of God’s Omnipresence. This is the prerequisite for true virtue, and once we have thoroughly integrated this knowledge into our personality, virtue will flow to us unhindered.

Therefore, when we pray that God may grace us with the fulfillment of our proper end, we are ultimately praying for a more perfect knowledge of His Omnipresence. And, in fact, this is the true purpose of the entire process of Sandhya leading up to Upaasanaa: to make one acutely aware the all-pervading and ubiquitous presence of God.

ओं शन्नो देवीरभिष्टये
आपो भवन्तु पीतये
शंयोरभि स्रवन्तु नः

OM shanno deviirabhistaye
aapo bhavantu piitaye
shañyorabhi sravantu naha

O God! O Illuminator of All! Grace us with the fulfillment of our proper end. May we drink the life-giving waters. May they always flow to us in peace.

After reciting the Achamana mantra, the devotee sips water from his right hand three times. Sipping water serves three primary functions in the performance of Achamana.

The first is to cool the throat and clear it of any physical impurities such as dust or phlegm. This helps prepare the vocal mechanism for the work of reciting the Sandhya mantras clearly.

The second function is to awaken the vital powers of the human organism, driving away lethargy and drowsiness. This is important as the mantras must be recited with vitality to ensure that the vibratory energy they represent is properly manifested.

The third function is to remind us of our dependence upon the Grace of God for our survival. Without water, which is His Gift to us, we would surely perish and thus be unable to attain our proper end in life. We are here reminded of this fact, and this helps to put us in the proper state of mind conducive to successful meditation.

Therefore, the act of sipping water serves to initiate the preparatory work of uniting and harmonizing the physical, vital and mental aspects of man as undertaken through Sandhya, preparing him for the supremely spiritual experience of Upaasanaa.

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In the Shiva Purana, at the beginning of time in the Cosmos, Vishnu and Brahmā approached a huge Shiva Lingam and set out to find where Shiva began and where he ended.

Vishnu was appointed to seek the end and Brahma the beginning. Taking the form of Vishnu’s 3rd avatar; the boar Varaha, Vishnu began digging downwards into the earth, while Brahma took the form of a swan and began flying upwards. However, neither could find the end or begining to Shiva. He was infinite.

The Hindu God Vishnu, satisfied, came up to Shiva and bowed down to him as a swarupa of Brahman. Brahmā did not give up so easily. As He was going up, he saw a ketaki (Sanskrit – Kaetakee) flower, dear to Shiva.

His ego forced him to ask the flower to bear false witness about Brahmā’s discovery of Shiva’s beginning. When Brahmā told his tale, Shiva, the all-knowing, was angered by the Brahma’s ego. Shiva cursed Brahma that no being in the three worlds will worship him.

Another story in connection with Brahma’s lack of worship is when Brahma was creating the universe, he made a female deity known as Shatarupa (one with a hundred beautiful forms).

Brahma became immediately infatuated with his creation. Shatarupa moved in various directions to avoid the gaze of Brahma. But wherever she went, Brahma developed a head. Thus, Brahma developed five heads, one on each side and one above the others.

In order to control Brahma, Shiva cut off the top head. Also, Shiva felt that Shatarupa was Brahma’s daughter, being created by him. Therefore, Shiva determined, it was wrong for Brahma to become obsessed with her. He directed that there be no proper worship in India for the “unholy” Brahma.

Thus, only Vishnu and Shiva continue to be worshiped with temples all over the world while Brahma only has two temples dedicated to him. Ever since the incident, Brahma has been reciting the four Vedas in his attempt at repentance.

Ancient Temples:

Brahma Temple at Khokhan, in Kullu District, Himachal Pradesh
Brahma Temple at Asotra, District Barmer, Rajasthan
Brahma Temple at Oachira in Kollam district, Kerala
Brahma temple at village aleo shrishty narayan, in Kullu, Himachal Pradesh
Brahma temple at Annamputhur village srinidheeswarar in Tindivanam
Brahma Temple at Pushkar , Rajasthan
Thirunavaya, Thiruvallam , Kerala
Brahma Temple at Royakotta road in Hosur , Tamil Nadu

Uttamar Kovil in Srirangam, Tamil Nadu
Kumbakonam, Thanjavur District, Tamil Nadu
Khedbrahma, Gujarat
The Brahma Temple near Panajiin the village of Brahma-Carambolim in the Satari taluka, Goa
Brahma (accompanied by Ganesh) Temple, near the Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple, Thiruvananthapuram , Kerala
Bramhapureeswarar temple in Tirupattur, near Trichy, Tamil Nadu
BrahmaKuti Temple at Brahmaavart (Bithoor), Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh)

Recently Built temples:

Chaturmukha Brahma temple in Chebrolu, Andhra Pradesh
Chaturmukha (Four Faces) Brahma temple at Bengaluru, Karnataka,
Brahma Kapaalam

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The Govardhan hill, more widely known as Giriraj ji in Vraja mandala, is considered as the topmost pilgrimage among the Krishna Bhaktas.

As he is a form of Shri Krishna himself, his mighty and beautiful cliffs symbolising the Shaligrama Shila are adored by every habitant and pilgrim of Vraja. The holy mountains of Givardhan have been praised in numerous scriptures as he has housed most of the pastimes of Krishna along with his friends.

From the ancient vedas to the recent literatures like the Bhaktama,l the glories of Govardhana have been vividly described. He has been a centre of attraction within the vicinities of devotional poetry and music. The saints of the Vallabh sampradaya have vastly sung of Govardhana since he is the ultimate resort of worship in sakhya rasa. He resides in Vraja bhumi to give pleasure to the devotees of Shri Hari, and is highly admired as his worship was initiated by the young Balagopala himself when he terminated the Indra Yagya.

During the very first worship of Govardhana in vraja, circumambulation of the divine hills was completed as a necessary ritual. Along with Shri Krishna, all the residents of vraja completed these rituals. Till today, all devotees continue to circumumbulate Giriraj ji. According to sthala puranas, this ritual never stops.

There are always a number of people offering worship to Govardhan ji every minute, be it day or night. Shri Govardhan ji encompasses abundant sacred spots on his pathway. All of them are directly related to the pastimes of Shri Krishna.

This article focuses on the various pilgrimage places that are situated alongside the circumambulation pathway of Shri Giriraj. In every practical sense, it is not possible to numerate and describe all these places in detail. Therefore, we shall emphasise on the major spots and highlight them in order. A landscape figure of the hills with the alongside pathway can be shown as follows:

The parikrama starts at Dana Ghati.

Dana Ghati

The enthusiastic and energetic parikrama begins at this point. According to the saints and sthala puranas, in ancient times, there was a compact passage in between the rocks of Shri Govardhan, which allowed only one person to pass at a time. The gopikas used to pass through this route while they went to sell their curds, buttermilk and butter.

The mischievous troupe of Krishna and Balarama used to block this extremely narrow channel and ask the gopikas for a tax amount before they could pass. Tax was demanded in the form of the delicacies that the young damsels carried with them. In memory of this leela, this place came to be known as dana (tax) ghati.

Manasi Ganga

Manasi Ganga is a pond lies right in between the mountains and is just next to Dana Ghati. When the dwellers of vraja went for the very first offerings to Shri Govardhan, they began their prayers with the ceremonial abhisheka which involved bathing the deity with holy waters. The river Yamuna was considerably far away from the location of worship and Giriraj is significantly large in size.

With both these coincidences, the vrajavasis eventually tired off trying to bathe Govardhan. With lost stamina, they requested Krishna to help them. Heeding to their request, the Lord lovingly summoned Ganga devi and invited her to appear on Shri Govardhana. She manifested herself in the form of a lake which came to be known as Manasi (emerging from mind) Ganga because she appeared on the call of Shri Krishna from his mind.

Govind Kund

Govind Kund is a pond located on the outskirts of the Anyor village. After the worship of Govardhan hill, an angered Indra ordered his fierce clouds to flood the entire territory of vraja and destroy it. When the rains became out of control, Krishna held up Giri Govardhan on the little finger of his left hand which served as an umbrella and protected the people. This continued for the next seven days and after this, Indra recognised his mistake and came to ask for forgiveness from the Lord.

The divine cow Surabhi also joined his prayers and together they named Shri Krishna Govind meaning the Lord of cows. Indra’s majestic elephant Airavata, brought the waters of the heavenly rivers in his trunk and offered it to the Lord at this place as he was christened Govind. Hence this lake is known as Govind Kund.

Poochhari

The residents of vraja say that Giri Govardhan is in the shape of a peacock and the final point of his tail is poochhari (as the name itself suggests). Legend has it that one of the friends of Krishna became extremely emotional when he left for Mathura. The Lord promised him that he will return back and meet him at poochhari. Adhering to these words, the loving Sakha came and waited patiently at poochhari.

Many devotees come to offer their respects at this place which is famous as poochhari ka lauthha which literally means ‘the returning at poochhari’. The well-known Apsara Kund is located in the Poochhari village. It is mentioned in the scriptures that the heavenly damsels, apsaras, came and offered worship to the Shri Radha Krishna at this lake.

Jatipura

This village was initially named jeetpura meaning the city of victory, in memory of the Lord’s swift victory over Indra. As time passed, colloquial language caused the name to be reformed to jatipura. A prominent deity of Giriraj ji is worshipped here and is known as mukharvind. Some devotees say that Krishna lifted up the hill from this point.

Offering of milk is a regular and common practice at this place. The parikrama is divided into two parts. After crossing the jatipura village, the first part is completed. The second part begins here.

Uddhava Kund

When Lord Krishna was residing out of Vrindavana, he often wandered back to the groves, gardens, lanes and villages of his cherished abode through his thoughts. He would sometimes lament as he dearly missed all the love that he got from the vraja vasis. At one such occasion, Krishna shared his grief with Udhhava, a cousin to the Lord who was a bit elder in age and had a relationship of a friend with him.

Upon the request of Krishna, Udhhava travelled to vraja. Conversing with the relatives and dear ones at Vrindavana, slowly Udhhava himself became indulged in the love of Krishna. Overwhelmed with this love, he rambled in the orchards of vraja bhumi, requesting the Lord to give him residence in the land of vraja. He prayed to him saying that he cherished to become a plantation in vraja, so that the dust of the holy feet of those who loved Krishna would always reach him. Shri Udhhava is still present at udhhava kund in the form of creepers and plants.

It is said that when Lord Krishna departed to his divine abode, his wives heard of his pastimes from Shri Udhhava in the form of Shrimad Bhagavatam at Udhhava Kund.

Radha Kund and Shyam Kund

These two lakes are considered to be the eyes of Shri Giriraj when he is described to be in the shape of a peacock. Once, a demon named Arishtasura came in the form of bull to Vrindavana and was killed by Lord Krishna. Mockingly the gopis taunted him saying that he has committed an abominable sin by killing a male cow.

Such a sin can only be resolved by bathing in all the holy rivers. Abiding to their words, the Lord dug out a large hole in the earth and invoked the presence of all the holy rivers like Ganga, Yamuna, Kaveri, Godavari, Narmada, Saraswati, Bheema and Krishnaa. All the rivers poured in their sanctified waters and formed a pond which was entitled Shyama Kund. Observing this deed, all the Gopis lead by Shri Radha also dug out a large hole with the help of their jewellery and filled it in with the waters of shyama kund.

This lake was named Radha Kund. Both these ponds are very dear to the divine couple and they spent a lot of their loving pastimes inside and on the banks of these lakes.

Kusum Sarovara

This is one of the final landmarks in the parikrama. A pond of serene beauty and peace, Kusum Sarovara is simple an enchanting scene. It has housed the pastimes of Shri Radha Krishna when they enjoyed with flowers. And hence its name kusum (flower) sarovara (lake).

From Kusum Sarovara, the pilgrims move back to Dana ghati in completion of the circumambulation. Shri Giriraj is full of holy spots and sacred points. Each and every smallest stone on him is a witness to the Lord’s most intimate pastime. He is himself non-different from the Lord.

Even the citizens of the heavenly planets thrive to come and stay under his shelter. He is the protector of vraja, the worshipable deity of our own Gopala and the abode of ultimate love of the supreme.

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The extraordinary thing about Sanskrit is that it offers direct accessibility to anyone to that elevated plane where the two —mathematics and music, brain and heart, analytical and intuitive, scientific and spiritual become one. – Vyasa Houston M. A.

Panini, in roughly 500 BC, standardized Sanskrit as a language through his extensive book titled ‘Ashtadhyayi’. An ambiguous version of the language existed for almost a millennium before Panini. The semantics of the language has been scientifically derived by logic & the grammar has been worked out using proper mathematics & algebraic algorithms. The language has also been claimed by NASA scientists to be the most suitable language to communicate with AI.

However, my claim here about the language is the following beautiful & powerful set of words which pay great respect to higher states of consciousness. With no English equivalents, the sad part here is that these words fail to find a commonplace of acceptance in our modern-day culture.

Atman:

The spiritual life principle of the universe, especially when regarded as immanent in the individual’s real self (talks about the unconscious part of ‘me’ as if it belongs to the Cosmos or somehow is connected to the Universe around by a string)

Akasha:

A supposed all-pervading field in the ether in which a record of past events is imprinted (not just a word, this phrase looks like a principle of Science in itself. We started relating to this only after Einstein’s theory of relativity)

Dharma:

One’s personal path in life, the fulfillment of which leads to a higher state of consciousness. (This is as close as religion has been defined in the language)

Dhyana:

The focusing of attention on a particular spiritual idea in continuous meditation.

Ishwara:

Personal manifestation of the supreme; the cosmic self; cosmic consciousness. (We are all cosmic citizens, aren’t we?)

Maya:

The illusions the physical world generates to ensnare our consciousness. (Yeah, we see the capitalistic world spearheading one such illusion)

Moksha:

The attainment of liberation from the worldly life.

Nirvana:

The transcendental state that is beyond the possibility of full comprehension or expression by the ordinary being enmeshed in the concept of selfhood.

Samadhi:

State of enlightenment of superconsciousness. The union of the individual consciousness with cosmic consciousness.

Soma:

A plant, probably with psychedelic properties, that was prepared and used in ritual fashion to enable men to communicate with the gods.

We very well see the reason why the exploration of consciousness has been developed to an incredible degree in the Indian culture. It is a Science and more than that it is a beautiful way of life to be one with the consciousness of the Cosmos.

The post Exploring Consciousness With 10 Sanskrit Words in Ways That English Can’t appeared first on IndiaDivine.org.

Some five years ago there was a small news item in a national paper. At that time Jairam Ramesh was the minister of state for environment and forests and he had stated, ”India is losing at least 2000 patents every year on traditional formulations as the knowledge on these has never been documented.”

I wondered whether the politicians, administrators and academics actually knew where their ancient tradition is documented and what it contains. There is a big gap between the English speaking academics and the Vedic pandits. The former tend to think that they are superior and represent India’s intelligentsia.

However there is great, often untapped knowledge in the other camp of Sanskrit pandits. Their knowledge might even be more crucial for a harmonious society. Sadly, both groups don’t meet because they don’t understand each other. If they would meet and exchange, India in all likelihood would be a frontrunner in scientific innovation, as well as in philosophy and consciousness research.

For example, the statement of the Vedas that Parabrahman desired to transform itself into many, and that Brahman is awareness, could have let to the discovery that matter is basically energy (or rather awareness), long before Einstein.

Unfortunately the study of India’s tradition was gravely neglected in independent India. It was even demeaned by so called intellectuals whose intellect was obviously challenged or rather brainwashed by British education. With the new government, this pitiable situation might change, and the signals that come from the HRD ministry are encouraging.

Many of the leftist ‘intellectuals’, however, can be expected to shout “saffronisation”. And they usually shout loudly. Sure, everybody has the right to freely express his opinion, but the right to be heard all over the world is reserved for few individuals, and so far, those intellectuals enjoyed this privilege.

The Vedic pandits on the other hand, who preserve the traditional knowledge, have been sidelined and even unfairly charged with being the main cause for the backwardness of India.

The bias against the Indian tradition is difficult to understand, except for a lack in self-confidence, because the knowledge that the Rishis uncovered is truly amazing. It is the heritage of all Indians.

If any other country had such long history and such great achievements to show, they would stress it on every occasion. Yet in India, this knowledge has been ignored. Instead, academics were ever ready to take up any hypothesis provided it came from the west.

For example, Darwin’s evolutionary theory. Indians don’t realize that westerners have only Darwin or the Church to choose from, and Darwin looks more probable, though not really convincing. Indians have other options: they could consider the possibility that there are cycles from Satya Yuga to Kali Yuga. There is plenty of evidence in Indian scriptures that in ancient times, India was spiritually and technologically highly developed.

Over the years, a few attempts were made to dig out India’s treasure. For example, in some universities, a course on Indian psychology is now on offer that has been sourced from ancient scriptures and Sri Aurobindo’s deliberations on the topic. This happened only after westerners had added a new stream to western psychology that is based on Vedic insights. Yet the Indian origin of ‘transpersonal psychology’ is not acknowledged.

In regard to psychology and philosophy, ancient India was far ahead of the modern west. Still, even today, Indian psychology students learn the simplistic theories of Pawlov and Skinner, whereas in the west, “consciousness studies” have taken off in many universities and institutes.

Ayurveda is finally appreciated in India again, mainly thanks to the efforts of Swami Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna. Yet here, too, it had made already an impact in the west. The Charaka Samhita, a comprehensive treatise about what constitutes health, how to remain healthy and how to regain health, is about 2500 years old.

Shushruta Samhita is another treatise from that time. Many formulations in those treatises have not yet been tested in modern times. Some formulations have been tested and several greatly valued drugs were the result of taking ancient scriptures seriously.

Yet Ayurveda, psychology and of course Yoga are only some aspects of India’s ancient knowledge. There is much more, and so far it was left mainly to foreigners to exploit it for their own benefit.

Important concepts that are uniquely found in the Vedas have meanwhile been proven correct by science. Some other concepts still need to be scrutinized, but never has any concept been proven wrong. Yet most educated Indians are ignorant about their great ancestors and don’t give them the respect they deserve.

For example the credit for the discovery of the earth going around the sun should be given to the Vedic Rishis and not to Copernicus, who lived only a few hundred years ago. Or the credit for the discovery of the solar spectrum of colours and the cosmic rays should be given to them and not to Newton and Hess respectively. Here are a few samples of what a Vedic pandit had translated and written down for me:

Earth goes around the sun – Rg Veda 10. 22. 14. and Yajur Veda 3. 6.

Sun neither rises nor sets – Atraya Brahman 3’44 and Gopatha Brahman 2’4’10.

Sun and whole universe are round – Yajur Veda 20. 23

Moon is enlightened by the sun – Yajur Veda 18, 20.

There are many suns – Rg Veda 9. 114. 3.

Seven colours in the sun – Atharva Veda 7. 107. 1.

Electromagnetic field, conversion of mass and energy – Rg 10. 72.

As the ancient Rishis were on target on these issues, their other statements may well also be correct or at least worthy of being taken seriously.

China is not hesitating to extract what it can from its ancient knowledge, and why not? A major part of the money that is worldwide generated through Feng Shui and Acupuncture flows back to China. In contrast, India is getting a measly 2 percent of the money from the huge yoga market in the west, a report stated.

Is it not time that Indians wake up to the treasure hidden in their scriptures which are much older than what western scholars estimated? Those scholars were influenced by the Christian belief that the world was created only some 6000 years back.

The Rishis had always thought big and their estimate of the age of (this) universe is collaborated by astronomy. Further, their claim “the world is maya” was ridiculed, but nowadays nobody ridicules it unless he wants to make a fool of himself.

The greatest treasure of India’s wisdom, however, lies in the knowledge of what the human being truly is: he is not a separate person, the Vedas claim. He is one with Brahman. His essence is pure, infinite consciousness.

And it is possible to realize this truth by living a dharmic life and doing sadhana. When the mind is stilled by dropping thoughts, the divine dimension of one’s being is accessed. True inspiration and intuition come from this level, and true happiness as well.

And how to drop thoughts? In the Vijnanabhairava, one of the texts of Kashmir Shaivism, 112 methods are described. Maybe they are already patented in the west and come to India in the form of seminars held by foreigners charging hefty fees? The participants from the wealthy elite would not notice.

However, in spite of the lack of traditional knowledge in the English educated classes, Indian tradition is fortunately still alive among many who don’t speak English. They make India still positively stand out among other countries, in spite of the vigorous attempts by media to blacken her image.

These Indians were not brainwashed by the British education against everything “Hindu”. For them, saffron is an auspicious colour signifying that desires and attachment have been burnt in the fire of renunciation. They take the advice of Swamis and Saddhus to live a sattvic life to heart.

They don’t need psychological workshops. They still have reverence for their ancestors, though they may not know what their legacy consists of in detail, yet they know the basics like: ‘Ishwar or Brahman is everywhere’ and ‘harming others will harm them in turn’.

Many are grateful that especially Brahmins have taken great pains over the millennia and still take pains to preserve the Vedas for posterity by learning an incredibly huge number of shlokas by heart.

If the Indian establishment, too, honours the ancient Vedic rishis and the modern Sanskrit pandits by discovering and spreading their insights, it would not only help character building in a big way, but also would instill pride in Indians to be the offspring of such great ancestors. The Vedic knowledge could again flow out all over, as it has done in earlier times and humanity as a whole would benefit.

Source: mariawirthblog.wordpress.com

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Dwarka was the kingdom of Lord Sri Krishna. Krishna built this opulent city in order to protect the residents of Mathura while He fought with Jarasandha and Kalayavana. Dwarka is one among the char dhams in India. It is also one among 108 Divya Deshams glorified in the Divya Prabhandas of Alwars.

Why Krishna constructed Dwarka City?

King Kamsa had two queens Asti and Prapti. They were the daughters of Jarasandha, the king of Magadha Province (Currently Bihar). After the death of Kamsa, his two wives became widows and they returned to the shelter of their father since Kamsa had no grown-up sons.

Request for Help for Chennai Flood Relief

The queens explained the death of Kamsa and their awkward positions to Jarasandha. The king was ashamed to hear the pitiable condition of his daughters and decided to kill all the members of Yadu Dynasty.

He began to make extensive arrangements to attack Mathura with his innumerable military strength. Jarasandha prepared thirteen military phalanxes to revenge the death of Kamsa. Each military phalanx consisted of thousands of chariots, elephants, horses and infantry soldiers. With all this strength, he encircled Mathura, the capital of Yadu Dynasty.

Krishna saw the immense strength of Jarasandha and perceived that the residents of Mathura were overwhelmed with fear. Krishna had descended on this earth to diminish the overpopulation of demons; therefore He took this as an opportunity to fight and kill them. With a small army, Krishna and Balarama came out of the city of Mathura, blowing Their respective conch shells.

Curiously, although the other party was equipped with greater military strength, their hearts were shattered on hearing the vibration of Krishna’s conch shell. To fight with Krishna, Jarasandha surrounded Him from all sides with great military strength. As the sun appears covered by cloudy air and dust, Krishna, the supreme sun was covered by the military strength of Jarasandha. His small army of soldiers was being harassed.

Krishna immediately took up His bow named Sharanga, took the arrows and one after another shot them toward the enemy. They were so accurate that the elephants, horses and infantry soldiers of Jarasandha were quickly killed. Almost all the infantry soldiers fell on the field of battle, their heads, hands and legs cut off.

Lord Balarama began to fight with His club in such a heroic way that the river of blood created by Krishna overflooded. Although Jarasandha was equipped with a vast ocean of military strength, the fighting of Lord Krishna and Balarama converted the whole situation into a ghastly scene far beyond ordinary fighting.

When all the soldiers of Jarasandha had been killed and he was the only one left alive, certainly he was very much depressed. Lord Baralama immediately arrested him with great strength. But while Lord Balarama was binding Jarasandha, Lord Krishna, with a greater plan in mind for the future, asked Lord Balarama not to arrest him. Krishna then released Jarasandha.
Having lost all his strength, having been insulted by his arrest and subsequent release, Jarasandha could do nothing but return to his kingdom. Thus Mathura City was saved from the danger of imminent attack. Jarasandha besieged the city of Mathura not only once but seventeen times in the same way, equipped with the same number of military phalanxes. Each and every time, he was defeated and all his soldiers were killed by Krishna, and each time he had to return home disappointed. Each time, the princely order of the Yadu dynasty arrested Jarasandha in the same way and again released him in an insulting manner, and each time Jarasandha shamelessly returned home.

While Jarasandha was attempting his eighteenth attack, a Yavana king somewhere to the south of Mathura became attracted by the opulence of the Yadu dynasty and also attacked the city. It is said that the King of the Yavanas, known as Kalayavana, was induced to attack by Narada.

This story is narrated in the Vishnu Purana. Once, Garga Muni, the priest of the Yadu dynasty, was taunted by his brother-in-law. When the kings of the Yadu dynasty heard the taunt they laughed at him, and Garga Muni became angry at the Yadu kings. He decided that he would produce someone who would be very fearful to the Yadu dynasty, so he pleased Lord Shiva and received from him the benediction of a son. He begot Kalayavana, in the wife of a Yavana king.

This Kalayavana inquired from Narada, “Who are the most powerful kings in the world?” Narada informed him that the Yadus were the most powerful. Thus informed, Kalayavana attacked the city of Mathura at the same time that Jarasandha tried to attack it for the eighteenth time. Kalayavana was very eager to declare war on a king of the world who would be a suitable combatant for him, but he had not found any. However, being informed about Mathura by Narada, he thought it wise to attack this city with thirty million Yavana soldiers.

When Mathura was thus surrounded, Lord Sri Krishna began to consider, in consultation with Balarama, how much the Yadu dynasty was in distress, being threatened by the attacks of two formidable enemies, Jarasandha and Kalayavana.

Time was growing short. Kalayavana was already besieging Mathura from all sides, and it was expected that the day after next, Jarasandha would also come, equipped with the same number of divisions of soldiers as in his previous seventeen attempts. Krishna was certain that Jarasandha would take advantage of the opportunity to capture Mathura when it was also being besieged by Kalayavana.

He therefore thought it wise to take precautionary measures for defending against an attack upon Mathura from two strategic points. If both Krishna and Balarama were engaged in fighting with Kalayavana at one place, Jarasandha might come at another to attack the whole Yadu family and take his revenge. Jarasandha was very powerful, and having been defeated seventeen times, he might vengefully kill the members of the Yadu family or arrest them and take them to his kingdom. Krishna therefore decided to construct a formidable fort where no two-legged animal, either man or demon, could enter.

He decided to keep His relatives there so that He would then be free to fight the enemy. It appears that formerly Dwarka was also part of the kingdom of Mathura. In Srimad-Bhagavatam it is stated that Krishna constructed Dwarka fort in the midst of the sea. Remnants of the Dwarka fort Krishna constructed still exist in the Bay of Dwarka.

When the new Dwarka city was fully constructed according to plan, Krishna transferred all the inhabitants of Mathura and established Lord Balarama as the protector of Dwarka city. After this He fought with Jarasandha and Kalayavana and killed both of them. Thus, the Supreme Lord Krishna is known as Sri Dwarkadhish, the Lord of Dwarka.

After concluding His pastimes on this planet and the annihilation of the Yadu dynasty, Lord Krishna pushed Dwarka in the sea and the whole city was submerged and unknown to devotees until it was discovered few years back in the Arabian Sea.

Source: www.tirthayatra.org

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A 6th-century manuscript of Ramayana, which focuses on the separation of Rama and Sita and portrays them more as humans, has been found tucked inside a Purana at a Sanskrit library here. It is markedly different from the more accepted 4 BC Valmiki Ramayana. The 12th-century rendition by Tamil poet Kamba is generally considered the second oldest among the more popular versions. However, now that may change.

The 6th-century manuscript was discovered purely by chance. Scholars working on the 6th-century Vanhi (fire) Purana at the Asiatic Society library were puzzled to find that the manuscript seemed incomplete. They began looking through the Catalogus Catalogorum – a global repository of Sanskrit manuscripts compiled by German scholar Aufrecht – and realized two more identical manuscripts existed.One was preserved at the India Office Library, London; the second at the Kolkata-based Samskrita Sahitya Parishad, a 100-year-old research institution.

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The scholars scoured the archives and found the complete version of the Vanhi Purana manuscript. When they were analyzing it, they stumbled upon the Dasa Griba Rakshash Charitram Vadha, which did not have any bearing with the Vanhi Purana. For some time they could not understand why the slokas of the Purana suddenly started telling another story – albeit a familiar one, as the main characters were Rama, Sita and Ravana. Before long, they realized it was a 6th-century version with many interpolations.

“Interestingly in this version, there are just five kandas (sections) instead of the accepted seven. There is no Balakanda – the part that deals with Rama’s childhood – or Uttarkanda. This Ramayana ends with the return of Rama and Sita from exile and his ascension to the Ayodhya throne,” said Anasuya Bhowmick, lead scholar of the Asiatic Society, who is working with the manuscript. This Ramayana does not begin with the curse that drove Dasarath to send his son to exile.

Instead, it begins with a curse that befell goddess Lakshmi when Shukracharya got angry with Narayan for killing Shukracharya’s wife.

The other curse falls on both Lakshmi and Narayan when Dharitri cannot bear the pain of the constant battle between gods and demons. In both cases, Laxmi and Narayan are told they will have to bear the pain of separation.

“Ram here is more human than God, with follies like anger and failure. Some interesting details – like the ages of Sita and Rama at the time of marriage and the date when Sita was abducted by Ravana -are in this version,” said scholar Manabendu Bandyopadhyay.

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It’s one of those rare discoveries that send ripples across time and space zones. A sixth century manuscript of Ramayana – that focuses on the separation of Rama and Sita and portrays them more as humans – has been found tucked inside a Purana at a little known Sanskrit library in Kolkata.

The eureka moment came purely by chance. Scholars working on the Sixth Century Vanhi Purana at the Asiatic Society library were puzzled to find that the manuscript seemed incomplete.They started looking through the Catalogus Catalogorum -a global repository of Sanskrit manuscripts compiled by German scholar Aufrecht -and realized two more identical manuscripts existed. One was preserved at the India Office Library at London and the second at the Kolkata-based Samskrita Sahitya Parishad, a 100-year-old research institution partly funded by the HRD ministry.

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Their curiosity whetted, the scholars scoured the archives and found the complete version of the Vanhi Purana manuscript. When they were analyzing it, they stumbled upon the Dasa Griba Rakshash Charitram Vadha, which did not have any bearing with the Vanhi (fire) Purana.

For some time they could not understand why the slokas of the purana suddenly started telling another story. But they did feel that the story was extremely familiar because the predominant characters were Rama, Sita and Ravana. Before long, the scholars realized that they were reading a Sixth Century version of the Ramayana with many interpolations. It is markedly different from the more accepted 4 BC Valmiki Ramayana.

“Interestingly in this version, there are just five kandas (sections) instead of the accepted seven. There is no Balkanda – the part that deals with Rama’s childhood – or Uttarkanda. This Ramayana ends with the return of Rama and Sita from exile and his ascension to the Ayodhya throne,” said Anasuya Bhowmick, lead scholar of the Asiatic Society for the project, who is working with the manuscript.

This Ramayana does not begin with the curse that drove Dasarath to send his son to exile. Instead, it begins with a curse that befell goddess Lakshmi when rakshash guru Shukracharya got angry with Lord Narayan for killing Shukracharya’s wife, who would bring dead rakshashas to life in a war between Gods and demons.

The other curse falls on both Lakshmi and Narayan when Dharitri cannot bear the pain of the constant battle between Gods and demons. In both cases, Laxmi and Narayan are told that they will have to bear the pain of separation.

“This version of the Ramayana focuses more on the separation of the husband and wife rather than that of father and son. Again, Ram here is more human than God, with follies like anger and failure. Some interesting details -like the ages of Sita and Rama at the time of marriage and the date when Sita was abducted by Ravana are in this version,” said Sanskrit scholar Manabendu Bandyopadhyay, president of the parishad and general secretary of Asiatic Society. “We will take about a year to complete the reading and interpretation of this version of the Ramayana and it will be published as a book by Asiatic Society,” Bhowmick said.

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An archaeological research team has made a series of groundbreaking discoveries about the historical site of Angkor, including evidence of a more evenly spaced population, defensive reinforcements around Angkor Wat, and a huge spiraled structure that “defies explanation.”

Archaeologist Roland Fletcher, who headed the team of experts from the University of Sydney, the French School of the Far East and the Apsara Authority, said the findings challenged previous assumptions about the size of the Angkor Wat temple complex, and the significance of other temples in the area.

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The findings, published online in the Cambridge University journal Antiquity this week, are predominantly the result of research conducted over the past five years using a combination of excavation, ground-penetrating radar and Lidar—a system in which distance is measured by analyzing the light that reflects off targets illuminated with lasers beamed from above.

“The old assumption about the nature of Angkor was that [it] was a series of little…cities,” Mr. Fletcher said in an interview on Wednesday. “So each major temple was viewed as the capital.”

“What the project shows was that Angkor Wat is not a lot of little separate successive towns—it’s one huge city,” he said, explaining that the extensive and highly organized grid of roads and homes extended beyond walled temple compounds and filled the space between them.

“[The temples] are all embedded in this big grid; the grid is continuous,” he said.

This discovery had major implications for the researchers’ understanding of population density.

“The occupation pattern [population distribution] was not dense. This is a relatively open, widely spaced landscape,” Mr. Fletcher said.

At Ta Prohm temple, for example, inscriptions show that the temple had a staff of 12,640. However, it was determined over the course of the research that just 2,000 people lived inside its walls.

Population density was determined based on the knowledge that within the grid system, each block contained a pond and “house mounds” where up to three families lived.

“A tiny fraction of all the people who worked for Angkor Wat would have lived inside that enclosure and there are hundreds of thousands of people living all around it,” Mr. Fletcher said.

“The whole complex of Angkor Wat is much bigger than we thought it was,” he added, explaining that the team uncovered two residential blocks on either side of the site’s eastern road and another mysterious structure to the south.

The team also found that Angkor Wat was fortified long after its initial construction.

“There were big gaps through the [outer] walls of Angkor Wat. Those big gaps are blocked up with masonry that is later than Angkor Wat,” Mr. Fletcher said, adding that the additions were made about 100 years on.

“Somebody intended to defend Angkor Wat,” he said, adding that there was currently no archaeological evidence to suggest a major military attack occurred there.

But one new discovery brought more questions than answers.

The purpose of a massive structure discovered to the south of Angkor Wat, covering an area of 1500 meters by 600 meters, remains unknown.

“The huge, unique and problematic structure of the ‘rectilinear spirals,’ has never previously been recognised or even predicted, or supposed, and it still defies explanation,” says an introduction to the study.

“The structure…has, as yet, no known equivalent in the Angkorian world.”

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Located in the outskirts of Agra city, Moin-ul-Islam madrassa is the only Islamic educational institution in the country, where girls and boys of both Hindu and Muslim community are taught Sanskrit and Arabic languages.

Nearly nine kilometers away from heart of city in Deoretha-I area, the madrassa which promotes co-education system, has more than 400 students, of which nearly 150 are Hindus, who are fluent in reading and writing Arabic, Urdu, Hindi, English and Sanskrit. The madrassa has classes from I to VIII, in which students are also taught computer, mathematics, science and social studies.

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Speaking to TOI, principal of the madrassa Maulana Uzair Alam said, “We introduced the subject Sanskrit last month after consulting to religious scholars and others. The idea behind the initiative, was to embed wholesome knowledge, ethics and tolerant approach in life.”

“This madrassa which was opened in 1926, started admitting Hindu children since 2005. Over here, our students not only learn Arabic and Sanskrit to understand the two religion, but also to outsmart the students in terms of knowledge. After VIII these students who mostly belong to underprivileged class take admission in other private and government schools for further studies,” he said.

At present the subject Sanskrit is being taught by three teachers including one retired school principal belonging from Hindu community.

Talking to TOI, Mustak Hashmi, who teaches Sanskrit to junior level students of VI to VIII said, “In a week we take two- three classes of Sanskrit and teach them basics. In our endeavor to unity society through knowledge of Sanskrit and Arabic, we are being assisted by Bhupinder Singh Parihar, former principal of Shiv Prasad inter college.”

During Q&A with students, Usha a junior grade student said, “I feel mathematics more difficult to understand rather than Arabic, Sanskrit or English.

As per school records, more than 60% of students are Hindus studying in classes VI to VIII, while nearly 40% are in primary class.

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