Ramanisblog

Tag: Hindu Texts

  • Where To Look For Ancient Indian Texts US Canada

    Where To Look For Ancient Indian Texts US Canada

    Through Hindu religious scriptures were/ are passed through oral traditions to succeeding generations,some of them especially relating to Tantra and rare stothras, Grammar, Sanskrit literature were later transcribed in the form of manuscripts.They are, in general ,written on Palm leaves.Not only in Sanskrit but literature, philosophical , religious texts in Indian regional languages like Tamil were also written in Palm Leaves.Vedas, the most authentic scriptures of Hinduism was transmitted orally. However, these were also written during later periods and the Manuscripts of the Vedas ,at least some of them are in Pune. I have written on this.

    The complete corpus of Vedic mantras as collected in Bloomfield‘s Vedic Concordance (1907) consists of some 89,000 padas (metrical feet), of which 72,000 occur in the four Samhitas”

    This is only for the Samhitas.

    Brahmanas,Aranyakas,Upanishads remain.

    There seems to be no information on when the Vedas were written in the form of manuscripts.

    The Digitized copies  of The Rigveda Brahmanas: the Aitareya and Kausītaki Brāhmanas of the Rigveda are in American Libraries.

    (Link provided below).https://ramanisblog.in/2014/07/23/where-are-manuscripts-of-vedas/

    Manuscripts form an invaluable part of India’s documentary heritage. They capture our thoughts, achievements, experience and lessons learnt from history; in other words, they constitute our ‘memory.’ The National Mission for Manuscripts has taken the initiative to nominate Indian manuscripts for inclusion in UNESCO’s Memory of the World register. Under this programme, UNESCO provides recognition to the most valuable documentary heritage of the world and facilitates its preservation and universal access to it. Moreover, efforts are made to increase awareness of the significance of these records.

    The Shaiva manuscripts in Pondicherry were awarded the status of UNESCO’s Memory of the World in 2005 in an application jointly submitted by the French Institute of Pondicherry, Centre for Ecole francaise d’Extreme-Oriente (EFEO) and the National Mission for Manuscripts.The Mission had submitted 2 nominations to UNESCO:
    • Collection of Rigveda manuscripts at Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune
    • Gilgit manuscripts at the National Archives of India, New Delhi and the Department of Archaeology, Archives and Museums, Jammu and Kashmir https://www.namami.gov.in/memory-world

    We can also find ancient Indian manuscripts at Library of Congress US and Canada.

    The following is post by Jonathan Loar, South Asian Reference Librarian, Asian Division)

    In 1938, the Library of Congress received a three-year grant from the Carnegie Corporation to establish a project for the development of Indic studies, which was the Library’s first initiative to collect South Asian materials systematically. This grant enabled the project’s director, Horace Poleman, to spend about a year in India between 1939 and 1940. Urgency moved him to collect both rare books and contemporary works on modern affairs, as the outbreak of World War II cast uncertainty on the future of obtaining publications from India and the rest of the region. Poleman’s trip resulted notably in the Library’s acquisition of a large number of Sanskrit manuscripts, such as the Vyavasthasarasangraha (a compendium of Hindu authorities on religious law), Sarasvatistotra (a hymn of praise to the Hindu goddess of learning and music Saraswati), and a copy of Raghunandana Bhattacarya’s Tithitattva (a treatise on Hindu rituals to be performed on specific lunar days) dated to 1628.

    Sanskrit is one of the principal classical languages of ancient India. The word itself means something like “perfected,” “refined,” or “well put together” (sam – together, krta – done, made). Works in Sanskrit are found throughout Buddhist, Jain, and Hindu religious traditions. For many Hindus, it is a sacred medium of expression – the language of ancient scriptures such as the Vedas, Upanishads, and Bhagavad Gita. Many people are familiar with Sanskrit in the Devanagari script – the same script used for Hindi, Nepali and other modern vernaculars – but Sanskrit texts have also been written in other writing systems, (e.g., the Grantha in southern India, the Sharada in Kashmir). To get a sense of what the language sounds like, check out some samples of poetry and prose from contemporary Sanskrit authors in the Library’s South Asian Literary Recordings Project.

    Sanskrit vowels and consonants with a guide to pronunciation, from H.H. Wilson’s “An Introduction to the Grammar of the Sanskrit Language,” 1841, Library of Congress general collections. Also freely available on HathiTrust.

    Poleman was prepared for his acquisition trip to India. In addition to holding a doctorate in Sanskrit from the University of Pennsylvania, he had already authored a comprehensive census of Indic manuscripts in North American libraries. The range of manuscripts in the Library’s collection reflects his deep understanding of Sanskrit literature. The majority deal with religious subjects, like the Anantapuja (worship), Shraddhasankalpa (funerary rites), and Gayatrisahasranamastotra from the Rudrayamala (esoteric religion, or tantra). There are also smaller works from sections of the Padma Purana, Brahmanda Purana, and other puranas, or religious texts that tell the stories of Hindu gods and goddesses. Notable works on other topics are the Vaiyyakaranasiddhantaratnakara (grammar) and Sanketakaumudi (astrology).https://blogs.loc.gov/international-collections/2018/01/sanskrit-manuscripts-in-the-south-asian-rare-books-collection/

    One can find rare manuscripts relating to Philosophy,Science, Astronomy, Astrology, Tantra Sastra, Grammar,..whole spectrum of Knowledge as acquired by Ancient India. These texts cover Hinduism,Jainism, Buddhism,Carvakas and Six systems of Indian Philosophy These texts are in Sanskrit,Pali.

    A census of Indic manuscripts in the United States and Canada,Cite Record.
    https://lccn.loc.gov/39001439
    Poleman, H. I. (Horace Irvin), 1905-1965. A census of Indic manuscripts in the United States and Canada, compiled by H. I. Poleman. New Haven, Conn., American oriental society, 1938.
    xxix, 542 p. 26 cm.
    Z6605.I5 P7. Visit the following Link.https://catalog.loc.gov/vwebv/citeRecord?searchId=612&recPointer=0&recCount=25&searchType=1&bibId=1691194

    Check this link also for rare collection.https://www.hathitrust.org/about

  • South North Siddhas Misinformation.Correct List

    South North Siddhas Misinformation.Correct List

    I would call it criminal to assign Religion,Region, Caste, and language to Siddhas and Yogis.

    This is exactly what has happened in india regarding Siddhars.

    We have Tamil Siddhars,North indian Siddhas,Maha Purusha, Yogins of North India,Yogis of South india,Islamic Siddhars et al.

    Siddas are Realized Souls, who transcend Time and Space.

    They have no religion , caste , creed and do not belong to any one specifically but to Humanity.

    This business of categorising them was stated by the Britishers as a part of dismantling Hinduism.

    I have a few Posts on this issue.

    The Missionaries in their effort to demolish Sanatana Dharam assumed Indian/Hindu Identities beginning with Robert De Nobili in Tamil Nadu.

    They infiltrated into Hinduism under the garb of embracing it,learnt the local languages and Sanskrit , misinterpreted,misinformed, created forgeries of Hindu Literature ,apart from producing Christian literature modled afer Hindu Texts.

    Thus they call the Bible as Vedaagamam. have even Jesus Sahasra nama!

    These interpolations have resulted in the pollution of Indian Texts.

    They have not spared even the Vedas, with Max Mueller leading the pack

    Please check out my Post on Max Muller the Fraud’s quotes.

    As it is Sanatana Dharma Texts do not have a written tradition.

    They are transmitted orally.

    So when some one embraces your Religion, pretend respect for it and prepares a written of these texts, people tend to take it as the Truth.

    This is what happened to Hinduism and specifically to the Treasures of Siddhas.

    Even to-day a Siddha  is considered by many as charlatans!

    How does one correct this?

    By producing the original records from the Oral Tradition.

    I am trying to do this.

    Eightty four Siddhas.jpg Charurasi Siddhas.

    I must admit I have posted a few articles on Tamil Siddhars,North Indian Siddhas List ,guilty of the accusation I am making of these interpolators.

    I have given these titles because people would read and understand only these terms as they have been fed on this.

    Now to the Truth.

    A Siddha is one who has transcended Citta.

    Chitta is higher than Intellect.

    Activity of he Brain in Mind.

    Direction of the Mind is by the Intellect.

    Chitta is on a Higher plane than Intellect, Buddhi.

    Please refer my Posts on Yoga Sutras.

    Patanjali defines Yoga as the cessation of the modifications of Chitta,

    Yogaha, Chitta Vrutti Nirodhah.

    Sidhhars are people who have transcended the Chitta and as such are were caled Chittas.

    Also there are eight special powers come on the way to Self Realization.

    They are Eight in number, called Ashtama Siddhis.

    Please refer my post for more details.

    The Siddhas, having realized the self , have transcended even these Siddhis.

    That is also a reason why they are called Siddas.

    So any realized Soul who meets this criteria is a Siddha.

    How does one identify a Siddha?

    I shall be posting on this shortly.

    Hence there is no caste,creed,for the  Siddhas.

    They are reported to be Timeless .

    They can speak in any language.

    For some reason they choose a particular language, Tamil, Hindi, Sanskrit and others.

    That does not mean they  belong to one group.

    And there is this seed sown by the west.

    Some Siddhas have attained Realization by following Buddhism, especially Mahayana.

    So they are shown as a distinct group.

    This is incorrect.

    A Siddha is a Siddha whether he followed Hinduism or Buddhism.

    Please read my Posts on Siddhas, Siddhas of North India Guru Parampara,Bhogar to get a complete picture of Indian Siddhas

    ‘

    Abhayadatta Sri is an Indian scholar of the 12th century who is attributed with recording the hagiographies of the eighty-four siddha in a text known as The History of the Eighty-four Mahasiddha (Sanskrit: Caturasitisiddha pravrtti; Wylie: grub thob brgyad bcu tsa bzhi’i lo rgyus).

    Dowman holds that the eighty-four Mahasiddha are spiritual archetypes:

    The number eighty-four is a “whole” or “perfect” number. Thus the eighty-four siddhas can be seen as archetypes representing the thousands of exemplars and adepts of the tantric way. The siddhas were remarkable for the diversity of their family backgrounds and the dissimilarity of their social roles. They were found in every reach of the social structure: kings and ministers, priests and yogins, poets and musicians, craftsmen and farmers, housewives and whores.[2]

    Reynolds (2007) states that the mahasiddha tradition “evolved in North India in the early Medieval Period (3–13 cen. CE). Philosophically this movement was based on the insights revealed in the Mahayana Sutras and as systematized in the Madhyamaka and Chittamatrin schools of philosophy, but the methods of meditation and practice were radically different than anything seen in the monasteries.[3] He proffers that the mahasiddha tradition “broke with the conventions of Buddhist monastic life of the time, and abandoning the monastery they practiced in the caves, the forests, and the country villages of Northern India. In complete contrast to the settled monastic establishment of their day, which concentrated the Buddhist intelligenzia [sic.] in a limited number of large monastic universities, they adopted the life-style of itinerant mendicants, much as the wandering Sadhus of modern India.”[3]

    The charnel ground conveys how great mahasiddhas in the Nath and Vajrayana traditions such as Tilopa (988–1069) and Gorakshanath (fl. 11th – 12th century) yoked adversity to till the soil of the path and accomplish the fruit, the “ground” (Sanskrit: āśraya; Wylie: gzhi) of realization:[4]

    The charnel ground is not merely the hermitage; it can also be discovered or revealed in completely terrifying mundane environments where practitioners find themselves desperate and depressed, where conventional worldly aspirations have become devastated by grim reality. This is demonstrated in the sacred biographies of the great siddhas of the Vajrayāna tradition. Tilopa attained realization as a grinder of sesame seeds and a procurer for a prominent prostitute. Sarvabhakṣa was an extremely obese glutton, Gorakṣa was a cowherd in remote climes, Taṅtepa was addicted to gambling, and Kumbharipa was a destitute potter. These circumstances were charnel grounds because they were despised in Indian society and the siddhas were viewed as failures, marginal and defiled.

    …..

    The Caturasiti-siddha-pravrtti (CSP), “The Lives of the Eighty-four Siddhas”, compiled by Abhayadatta Sri, a Northern Indian Sanskrit text dating from the 11th or 12th century, comes from a tradition prevalent in the ancient city-state of Campa in the modern district of Bihar. Only Tibetan translations of this Sanskrit text seem to have survived. This text was translated into Tibetan by sMon grub Shes rab and is known as the Grub thob brgyad cu rtsa bzhi’i lo rgyus or “The Legends of the Eighty-four Siddhas”. It has been suggested that Abhayadatta Sri is identical with the great Indian scholar Mahapandita Abhayakaragupta (late 11th–early 12th century), the compiler of the iconographic compendiums Vajravali, Nispannayogavali, and Jyotirmanjari.

    The other major Tibetan tradition is based on the list contained in the Caturasiti-siddhabhyarthana (CSA) by Ratnakaragupta of Vajrasana, identical with Bodhgaya (Tib.: rDo rje gdan) located in Bihar, Northern India. The Tibetan translation is known as Grub thob brgyad cu rtsa bzhi’i gsol ’debs by rDo rje gdan pa. There exist several Tibetan versions of the list of mahasiddhas based on the Vajrasana text. However, these Tibetan texts differ in many cases with regard to the Tibetan transcriptions of the Indian mahasiddhas names.

    By convention there are eighty-four Mahasiddhas in both Hindu and Tibetan Buddhist traditions, with some overlap between the two lists. The number is congruent with the number of siddhi or occult powers held in the Indian Religions. In Tibetan Buddhist art they are often depicted together as a matched set in works such as thangka paintings where they may be used collectively as border decorations around a central figure.

    Each Mahasiddha has come to be known for certain characteristics and teachings, which facilitates their pedagogical use. One of the most beloved Mahasiddhas is Virupa, who may be taken as the patron saint of the Sakyapa sect and instituted the Lamdré (Tibetan: lam ‘bras) teachings. Virupa (alternate orthographies: Birwapa/Birupa) lived in 9th century India and was known for his great attainments.

    Some of the methods and practices of the Mahasiddha were codified in Buddhist scriptures known as Tantras. Traditionally the ultimate source of these methods and practices is held to be the historical Buddha Shakyamuni, but often it is a transhistorical aspect of the Buddha or deity Vajradhara or Samantabhadra who reveals the Tantra in question directly to the Mahasiddha in a vision or whilst they dream or are in a trance. This form of the deity is known as a sambhogakaya manifestation. The sadhana of Dream Yoga as practiced in Dzogchen traditions such as the Kham, entered the Himalayan tantric tradition from the Mahasiddha, Ngagpa and Bonpo. Dream Yoga or “Milam” (T:rmi-lam; S:svapnadarśana), is one of the Six Yogas of Naropa.[citation needed]

    Four of the eighty-four Mahasiddhas are women.[9] They are:

    • Manibhadra, the Perfect Wife
    • Lakshmincara, The Princess of Crazy wisdom
    • Mekhala, the elder of the 2 Headless Sisters
    • Kanakhala, the younger of the 2 Headless Sisters.

    Citations.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahasiddha#Genealogy_and_historical_dates

    http://yogindr.blogspot.in/2014/03/chaurasi-siddhas.html

    Please read a scholarly article on Siddhas being misinterpreted at the Link given below.

    http://www.hinduwebsite.com/hinduism/essays/siddhas.asp

    Related articles

    https://ramanisblog.in/2014/05/30/sages-of-india-list-a-timeline/

    For more on Siddhas Google Siddhas ramanan50

  • Rama Empire Reply To Critics On Map Sanatana Dharma Dates

    Rama Empire Reply To Critics On Map Sanatana Dharma Dates

    I published an article on Rama’s Empire, showing the territories held by Rama.

    The map was based on the references in the Ramayana of Valmiki,the descriptions of the Geography of Valmiki, the reference to the Kings who attended Sita’s Swayamwara,

    The description Valmiki provides while the Horse  of Lord Rama went around during the Aswamedha Yaga Rama performed after His return to Ayodhya, the directions provided by Sugreeva to his Vanara ,Monkey army when they were searching for Sita , the details found in Raghu Vamsa of Kalidasa and ancient Tamil Literature references to Rama and Ramayana.

    There have been comments about the content in the post.

    Hanuman Chanting Rama's Name.Image.jpg
    Hanuman Chanting Rama’s Name

    That

    1.The landmass shown in the Map, shows  relatively modern locations like the Suez canal.

    My answer is that the reference to the areas won by Rama were cross checked for their modern names , correlated with the descriptions found in Valmiki Ramayana;then the Map was prepared taking the current names for these ancient places.

    This has been done to enable the reader to understand the map.

    Another point is that the ancient landmass was different from what we see to-day .

    Landmass has changed.

    There were super continents like Lemuria,Atlantis,Rodina, Pangaea,…

    Some evidence of their existence has become available.

    Research is on.

    Meanwhile evidence unearthed in Arikkamedu,Tamil Nadu/Pondicherry and the epigraphs of the Thirukoilur TamilNadu speak of Kings from Tamil Nadu having links with Sanatana Dharma.

    Early Tamil Sangam works speak of Rama and Krishna and Silappadikaram mentions that the Yadavas were present in Madurai,Tamil Nadu.

    Krishna and Arjuna visited The Dravida Desa, South India.

    Both of them married Princesses from the south.

    While Krishna had a daughter through the Pandyan Princess , got her married to Pandya Prince, Arjuna had a son Babruvahana.

    Balarama visited south and worshiped Lord Subrahmanya.

    And Lord Krishna attended Tamil Sangam.

    Please Check my posts on each these.

    All these have been cross verified by archaeology, epigraph,Astronomy.

    It would be erroneous to dismiss the mass of evidence because weare yet to recover all the artifacts.

    Remember….

    River Saraswati has been identified,Dwaraka excavated.

    It takes time to unearth by Indian Scholars.

    There is no Dhanushkodi in South Now.

    Only traces remain.

    I have visited the place when I was a child.

    Can I deny Dhanushkodi now?

    Hence the empire of Rama is true, possible and probable, taking into consideration all the facts mentioned above.

    2.Rama lived in Treta Yuga.

    No doubt about this.

    Treta Yuga is thousands of years ago.

    The present date of Ramayana around 5000 BC is not accurate for the following reason.

    Astronomical dating is done by verifying the Planetary position by taking reference to the Horoscope of Rama, Sita and Ravana apart from the eclipses mentioned in the Ramayana.

    The problem is that Astronomical events keep on occurring at regular intervals.

    So a planetary position or an eclipse is not unique.

    What date do we take?

    Now we are taking the latest for reckoning, that’s all.

    Here comes the concept of Circular Time.

    According to Hinduism Time is not Linear, that it is not flowing in one direction.

    It is circular.

    ”

    The Purana state  that Agastya moved towards the South twice .

    Once when Lord Shiva ordered him to move over to South to stabilize the earth, when the North end came down, South rose because of overcrowding by people who came to witness Shiva’s wedding with Uma.


    ( These two events have happened at different periods, not at one instance.    He moved again to South to tame the Vindhya mountain.

    Now let us look the calculation of Time .

    There are Four Yugas and they repeat themselves.

    Brahma, the Creator begins Creation at the beginning of each Yuga which will be dissolved at the end of one Chatur Yuga

    Kali Yuga                                4,32000 Years

    Dwpara Yuga  4,32,000*2= 8,64,000

    Tretha Yuga    4,32,000*3=1296000

    Satya Yuga        4,32,000*4=1728000

    Total                                         4820000 Years One Chatur Yuga

    One Manvantara is 306.72 million Years.

    Life in the universe is created and destroyed once every 4.1 to 8.2 billion years, which is one full day (day and night) for Brahma. The lifetime of a Brahma is believed to be 311 trillion and 40 billion years-Hindu Cosmology.

    ‘Eighty million years ago, India was approximately 6400 km (3968 miles) south of the Eurasian plate. Separating the two was the Tethys Sea. The Indo-Australian tectonic plate – containing the continent of Australia, the Indian subcontinent, and surrounding ocean – was pushed northward by the convection currents generated in the inner mantle. For millions of years, India made its way across the sea toward the Eurasian plate. As India approached Asia, around 40 million years ago, the Tethys Sea began to shrink and its seabed slowly pushed upwards. The Tethys Sea disappeared completely around 20 million years ago and sediments rising from its seabed formed a mountain range. When India and Tibet collided, instead of descending with the plate, the relatively light sedimentary and metamorphic rock that makes up the subcontinent of India pushed against Tibet, forcing it upwards, and created a massive mountain fold. The Himalayas.’

    Proof from the position of Agastya Star,Canopus.

    Canopus is associated with the sageAgastya, one of the ancient rishis (the others are associated with the stars of the Big Dipper). Agastya, the star, is said to be the ‘cleanser of waters’ and its rising coincides with the calming of the waters of the Indian Ocean. It is considered the son of Pulasthya, son of Brahma.

    Canopus is 310 Light Years away from the Earth.

    ‘Agastya, is the author of 25 hymns (nos 166 to 190) of the first ‘mandala’ of the Rigveda.
    2. Canopus, the second brightest star in the night sky, is called Agastya in India.
    3. This star is close to the ecliptic south pole, having an ecliptic latitude of –76°.
    4. As the celestial poles go round the ecliptic poles due to the phenomenon of precession of the earth’s axis of rotation, this star becomes visible from different latitudes on the globe at different times. If we assume that for a star to be visible at a place its altitude at the meridian passage should be at least 5°, then calculations give the visibility curve for Agastya (Canopus) as follows.
    5. Agastya was not visible from any part of India before 10,000 BC.
    6. First it became visible at Kanyakumari around that epoch. Thereafter, as it was brought more and more northwards by precession, it became visible at various places in India.
    7. It became visible in the east coast (in the present Chennai region) in 8500 BC, and in the present day Hyderabad in 7200 BC, in the Vindhya region in 5200 BC, at Delhi in 3100 BC.
    8. At present it is visible from most parts of India for longer or shorter durations. This cycle will repeat after every 25,765 years. It is thus clear that around 5000 BC, the star Agastya was visible from the south of the Vindhyas, but not from the north of it.
    9. If sage Agastya was the first to cross the Vindhyas from the north, he would have been the first northerner to see the star. Hence the star has been named after him, just as the Magellanic clouds in the southern sky are named after the navigator Magellan, who first saw them as he sailed southwards.
    10. This fixes an epoch of 5000 BC for sage Agastya. This date is based on the assumption that for a star to be visible its meridian altitude has to be at least 5°.
    11. If we make 8° meridian altitude as the criterion for visibility, the date of Agastya would be shifted to about 4000 BC. The dates 5000 and 4000 BC should therefore bracket the probable epoch of Agastya crossing the Vindhya mountains.

    Hindu Puranas state that the south pole came up because of over crowding in the Himalayas because people has rushed in to witness the wedding of Lord Shiva with Parvati and to set the earth’s balance aright Shiva ordered Agastya to go to South and he did so.

    Now the tectonic plate movement of the Himalayas confirm this by observing that

    ” The Indo-Australian tectonic plate – containing the continent of Australia, the Indian subcontinent, and surrounding ocean – was pushed northward by the convection currents generated in the inner mantle. For millions of years, India made its way across the sea toward the Eurasian plate. As India approached Asia, around 40 million years ago, the Tethys Sea began to shrink and its seabed slowly pushed upwards. The Tethys Sea disappeared completely around 20 million years ago and sediments rising from its seabed formed a mountain range. When India and Tibet collided, instead of descending with the plate, the relatively light sedimentary and metamorphic rock that makes up the subcontinent of India pushed against Tibet, forcing it upwards, and created a massive mountain fold.”

    Hence Agastya left for the South around 40 Million years ago to balance the earth.

    Please read my Post  Canopus Agastya validates Sanatana Dharma.”

    Above is an except from My Post

     https://ramanisblog.in/2015/03/22/shiva-uma-wedding-agastya-to-south-40-million-years-tectonics-proof/

    So the Treta Yuga period is validated.

    The Astronomical events which we are using to date Ramayana happened in Treta Yuga, as celestial events take place regularly, as well.

    The land mass as I have shown is correct for the reasons mentioned in answering critics in point number 1 .

    And that Rama lived in Treta Yuga and both the observations are correct.

    Kindly read my posts on Agastya Date, Ramayana Date, Mahabharata date,Dating tools and more posts filed under Hinduism.

    Related articles

  • Why Many Gods In Hinduism

    I often encounter questions on Sanatana Dharma, called Hinduism, as to why there are many Gods in it and one is confused by this.

    Also  while the other Religions talk of Only One God, why is it that Hinduism talks of many Gods?

    I have been receiving a lot of queries on this and I am quoting one.

    Vishnu as kaala Purusha.jpg
    Lord Vishnu as Kaala Purusha

    “Usually, we all say God is one but in Hindu Dharma we have Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva for Creation, Preservation and Destroy. Why it is so? Why other religion is praying and naming one God. Can you please explain”

    As to other Religions , Christianity, Islam, they talk of God in an Impersonal way.

    Christianity talks of God as The Father and there are no descriptions or attributes except the generalities like All merciful and one who would condone your sins if you repent your sins through His Agent, Jesus Christ.

    Hinduism does not believe in Agents nor does it absolve you from the results of your actions, simply because you repent.

    One has to face the consequences of his actions, this includes the Avatars of Gods as well.

    Godhood is a Principle, Impersonal and Laws doe not distinguish between people.

    In Islam the same generalities.

    God is One who lays down the Rules,he punishes you if you do not follow Islam!.

    Hinduism is different.

    It knows Religion is an experience and it can not be dictated by Logic alone, even if the Logic is impeccable.

    The Truth, according to Hinduism, is One.

    It is called Brahman, The Reality.( This is different from Brahma , the Creator).

    This Brahman is without Attributes, it is a Principle , just as Gravity is.

    But it is difficult to know it through the Mind.

    Just as we can not know Gravity, we think we know Gravity, but what we really know is because of the feeling of Gravity.

    The scientific explanation is only an expression born out  of the feelings of Gravity.

    Imagine that we do not feel Gravity.

    Would we have tried to form  a Theory on Gravity?

    So even if the Reality is an abstract principle,it has to be made understandable to be of use to us.

    Hence even though the Reality Brahman is the Truth,Hinduism devised ways to reach/realize it.

    The Truth, The Brahman, the Reality is Knowable, to Be Known.

    That is the Truth.

    This knowledge about Brahman is called ‘Apara Vidya'( beyond this world of names and forms)

    The knowledge about Brahman and its attributes are called Apara Vidya.

    The general descriptions of Brahman  are Sat, the State of Being, Chit(Consciousness) and Ananda(Bliss)

    Apart from this, the Upanishads,a part of The Vedas, the scriptures of Hindus, try to explain the qualities of Brahman by excluding the attributes normally known to us stating that the Brahman is Beyond all this and also this.

    For example the Upanishads,describe Brahman as,

    ‘Neither Tall nor Short, nor of medium height,

    Neither Male, Female,nor transgender ,

    Neither the Knower nor the Known,

    Yet It is All of These’

    You would find this is difficult to comprehend even at the intellectual level.

    Knowledge, if it can not be understood or used is useless.

    Therefore Hinduism devised a way.

    If we have to Know, it must be easy for us to follow.

    The instrument to know is the Mind.

    The instrument to feel is the Heart.

    For those who want to have a glimpse , Hinduism provides  Gnana Yoga and Raja Yoga.

    Raja Yoga is the path of Yoga being practiced by many.

    Here one prepares the mind to understand Reality.

    Gnana Yoga prepares one to discern the Reality by developing Vairaagya, the discerning capacity to distinguish between practical knowledge,Para Vidya and the Apara Vidya.

    There are two more methods.

    Bhakti yoga, the path of Loving God.

    The other one is karma Yoga, the Path of Action.

    For loving God, one needs an object to concentrate for the Mind , to enable the Heart to feel it.

    So Gods have been named In Hinduism.

    It is difficult for the Humans to empathize with qualities which are not known to them.

    The emotional connect is strong in the case relationships.

    Father, Mother, Children, Wife, Children and relatives.

    And if one attributes Reality/God with the qualities of Humans , it is easy for the Humans to understand.

    So the Gods of Hinduism are attributed with Human qualities.

    Then why many Gods?

    Some love Mother, some Father, some Lover, some friends, some a master.

    God, in Hinduism, is portrayed with all these qualities.

    This makes it easy for Humans to relate to God than being asked to relate to an Impersonal God.

    Once people start this step, over a period time, they will be able to feel the Impersonal God and the concept of god with Attributes withers away.

    This first step is like LKG, while understanding, feeling Reality is like Phd..

    After reaching Phd, the LKG would seem to be of no use.

    But without that one could not have reached Phd.

    At another level, there are principles that represent the Physical world.

    Thus we have Brahma who represents the Potential energy, Vishnu, the Kinetic energy, and Shiva, the Potentio-Kinetic Energy.

    Similarly all the Gods present the Principles of Nature as well.

    Yet the fact that the Gods Rama ,Krishna, Shiva , Subrahmanya existed, as proved by Historical and astronomical Data, there is an unexplored area.

    In short, Hinduism talks of not only Monotheism but Monism as The Truth but devised a way to understand them by Gods with attributes..

    Kindly read my post Gods Hinduism, with name and form, Yes and No.

    Another point is that even thought Gods with Names and Forms are only a tool to understand Brahman, these Gods, when prayed deliver results, as Lord Krishna explains in the Bhagavad Gita.

    ‘What ever Form you worship, I deliver you the results in the form you worship”

    ( This is not a literal translation)

  • Abhimanyu Would Have Killed Krishna

    Abhimanyu Would Have Killed Krishna

    In my earlier Post on Chakra Vyuha, Formation and Piplu Fort I mentioned that Krishna did not teach Abhimanyu,His Nephew, the art of breaking out of the Chakra/Padma Vyuha, but taught him how to enter it, when Abhimanyu was in his mother Shubadras’ womb.

    And I mentioned that krishna would not left it at that for such a silly reason as having been called by some body while he was teaching his nephew and Krishna had his reason.

    The reason is that has Krishna taught Abhimanyu the art of leaving Chakra Vyuha, he would have survived and a later date would have killed Krishna Himself!

    According to Krishna, Abhimanyu was an incarnation of a very powerful demon named (Kalayvan) who was capable of killing him at a later point. Abhimanyu’s only weakness is his partial knowledge about Chakravyuha. Hence, according to Krishna the Chakravyuha was indeed launched to kill Abhimanyu as this is the only way by which Abhimanyu can attain Moksha. Hence, Krishna never imparts the knowledge of “how to come out of Chakravyuha?” to Abhimanyu inspite of being his guru in Dwaraka. Thus, on the 13th day Lord Krishna does not give any clue to Arjun that the Chakravyuha was launched by Dronacharya inspite of foreseeing it.

    “According to one South Indian tradition, it is a curse from Durvasa that makes Abhimanyu a Rakshasa in his current birth. In a former life he was a gatekeeper at Rama’s palace, and Durvasa cursed him to be born as a Rakshasa in his future life because he refused entry to the sage into Rama’s court. However, the reason for Krishna desiring Abhimanyu’s death was not exactly because he was a Rakshasa, but because Abhimanyu is capable of killing the entire Kaurava clan all alone, and that would make it impossible for the Pandava brothers, who had taken vows of killing the individual Kauravas’ . ( http://www.harekrsna.com/sun/features/09-12/features2590.htm)

    ncarnated as Abhimanyu , he was in his previous birth known as Kalayavan, the King of Magadha, who was an asura or demon and with the help of other Kings such as Jarasandha and Shalva invaded Mathura with an army of thirty million Rakshasa soldiers against Krishna. He was undefeated and unmatched in battle due to the boon given to him by Lord Shiva that no Yadava could kill him in battle, but he was at the same time also merciless and cruel. Coming to know about the protection given by Lord Shiva to Kalayavana, Sri Krishna, somewhat dejected, shifted to Dwarka from Mathura.

    Kalayavan knew that Krishna is the only person who could defeat him in battle and by accepting this challenge he set out to invade Krishna’s kingdom. When the two armies faced each other in battle, Krishna dismounted from his chariot and began to walk away, followed by Kalayavan. After a long time Krishna, followed by Kalayavan entered a dark cave. This cave at the time was inhabited by the Rishi Muchukunda who had been meditating there for generations.

    King Muchukunda, a king of the Solar dynasty and son of Mandhata had on the request of Lord Indra gone to Devaloka [ Heavens] along with his forces and defeated the Asuras (demons). Indra wanted to bless him with an award for the service, which he had rendered. Muchukunda, feeling very tired, wanted to be shown a place, where he could have sound sleep and meditate, because he had not slept for a long time. Indra led him to a cave on earth and told him that anyone who disturbed him in sleep, would be reduced to ashes by his very look.

    http://www.trinetra.org.uk/#/hindu-history-abhimanyu/4539468650)

    Another tale of Abhimanyu’s origin says, Abhimanyu is the reincarnation of Varchas, the son of the Moon god. When the Moon god was asked to let his son incarnate himself on earth by the other devas, he made a pact that his son will only remain on earth for 16 years as he could not bear to be separated from him. Abhimanyu was 16 years old when he died in the war. Hence, on the 13th day Krishna does not intervene while the Chakravyuha was formed by Dronacharya despite knowing that without adequate knowledge, Abhimanyu would get killed in the battle.

    Arjun was never the martial arts instructor for Abhimanyu, rather Krishna was. Now Krishna being the Lord Narayan himself, Arjun must have expected Abhimanyu to be properly trained, and must not have checked about his training at all.

    Furthermore, Lord Krishna knew that Abhimanyu was so powerful a warrior, that he could alone defeat and kill all the Kauravas, which would not let the Pandava vows to be fulfilled of killing the Kauravas on their own, and Krishna did not want Mahabharata’s hero to be anyone else other than Arjun (who was his devotee). Also, Krishna knew that with the knowledge of such treachery from Kauravas to kill his son, Arjun would be furious and would be killing all the Kauravas with less guilt in his conscience..

    Kalayavana.

    “Kalayavana, the King of Magadha and Salva attacked the city of Mathura, but when the city was encircled by their soldiers, the Lord refrained from killing them personally, just to show the power of His own men.

    Purport: After the death of Kamsa, when Mathura was encircled by the soldiers of Kalayavana, Jarasandha and Salva, the Lord seemingly fled from the city, and thus He is known as Ranchor, or one who fled from fighting. Actually, the fact was that the Lord wanted to kill them through the agency of His own men, devotees like Mucukunda and Bhima. Kalayavana and the King of Magadha were killed by Mucukunda and Bhima respectively, who acted as agents of the Lord. By such acts the Lord wanted to exhibit the prowess of His devotees, as if He were personally unable to fight but His devotees could kill them.”

    After the invasion, Krishna departed to build a city of Dwārkā amidst sea, transported all his people and left them there.

    Krishna lured Kalayavan into the cave of the mighty Muchukunda, who upon being disturbed from sleep by his kick, cast a fiery glance and reduced him to ashes.

    This legend appears to indicate an invasion from the Himalayas. According to the Vishnu Purana and Harivamsa, Kalayavan was the son of a Brahmin named Ganga, and a Yavana princess.

    Muchukunda was a Tamil King who established Saptha Vidanga Sthalas for Lord Shiva.

    Please read my post on this.

    Citation.

    http://aroundtheworldin80nights.blogspot.ae/2012/07/chakravyuha-deadliest-of-formations-and.html

    * Various accounts are available for this Legend.Readers may send in their refernces.

    Abhmanyu was taught By Krishna . Source(s):Mahabharata by Kamala Subramaniyam Drona Parva Chapter 7 published by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Mumbai

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