Ramanisblog

Tag: Religion & Spirituality

  • Why Cremate The Dead

    Hindus , majority of them, Cremate the Dead, especially The Brahmins as it is the only procedure laid down in disposing of the Dead.

     

    Elaborate rituals are performed before lighting the Funeral  Pyre.

     

    The Sastras define five different types of Fire and ordains the Use of one type of Fire, which is generated by a specific method.

     

    The body should be disposed of after one and a Half hour of Death and not before.

     

    The Body should be shorn of every thing a nd one has to Meet the Maker as He came into this World.

     

    I will be posting a post on this.

     

    In the meanwhile the West is adapting to Cremation , purely on practical grounds.

     

    1.Cost.

     

    2.Space.

     

    3.Environment.

     

    All these and the Health of the living are taken care of in Hindu system of Cremation.

     

    Story:

    Traditional Hindu Cremation.
    Traditional Hindu Cremation.

    Today, roughly four of every 10 deaths in America involve cremation, which represents a significant increase in the past few decades. There are many reasons contributing to why a growing number of people choose cremation versus the more traditional casketed ground burial, including greater religious acceptance, less adherence to family traditions, and an increasingly mobile society.

    Modern Cremation
    Modern Cremation

    Lower Cost
    Cremation is generally less expensive than a “traditional funeral” — i.e., the casketed interment below ground of a deceased human following a visitation/wake and/or a religious or secular ceremony. According to the National Funeral Directors Association, the national average cost of a funeral is $6,560, which includes a metal casket but not the cemetery plot, grave marker (headstone), or miscellaneous other costs, such as for flowers or obituaries. According to the Cremation Association of North America, the national average cost of cremation is $1,650, which includes “limited memorialization services and a basic urn.”

    When considering the costs, it is important to understand that cremation is neither an alternative to nor a rejection of a traditional funeral. Instead,cremation is merely one form of bodily disposition from which you can choose. In other words, if you select cremation for yourself or someone you love, you can still hold a wake/visitation and/or a religious or secular ceremony beforehand if you wish. This means that the amount of money you spend can be greater or less than the above averages depending upon the goods and services you select. For example, a “direct cremation” — in which a body is cremated without any type of funeral service or loved ones present — generally costs less than $1,000. Conversely, it is possible to spend four or five times that amount just to purchase a unique urn handcrafted by an artist.

    Flexible Service Options
    Because the human body begins a process immediately after death that eventually results in its decomposition unless it is professionally embalmed (which temporarily slows decay), a funeral or memorial service with the body present, as well as burial, occur relatively soon after death. Since the immediate family usually needs to arrange the funeral and committal services, and to provide out-of-town loved ones and friends time to travel, services generally occur within four to 10 days after the death. (Religious tradition, the family’s wishes, and many other factors can impact the timing, however.)

    On the other hand, after a body is cremated, there is no urgency to do anything permanent with the cremated remains (“ashes”). It is common for the immediate family, for example, to hold a private viewing of the deceased and/or to witness the start of the cremation processitself and then conduct a larger memorial or scattering service weeks, months or even years later. This enables loved ones to focus on the immediacy of their grief without dealing with the myriad details needed to rapidly create a funeral and committal service.

    Better for the Environment
    Determining how “green” something is these days rests in the eye of the beholder. After all, a household that merely recycles aluminum cans might still consider itself green versus another household that uses solar power. While not considered as eco-friendly as green burial or natural burial, or evenalkaline hydrolysis, cremation has long been considered better for the environment since a traditional funeral usually involves the use of a formaldehyde-based embalming fluid, as well as the obvious need for land use when burying a casket or coffin.

    According to the Greensprings Natural Cemetery Preserve in Newfield, New York, traditional ground interment in a United States cemetery results in the burial of 827,060 gallons of embalming fluid every year. Unless you choose to hold a funeral or memorial service before cremating the deceased, you might not need the services of a professional embalmer. (And even if you do, refrigeration is a viable alternative.)

    And many options concerning the cremated remains do not require any land use at all, such as keeping them in an urn in your home or scattering them in a meaningful location. Even if you decide to bury the urn or place it in a columbarium, the amount of land required is still less than that needed to bury a casket or coffin.

    http://dying.about.com/od/Funeral_Memorial_Planning/a/Why-Choose-Cremation.htm?nl=1

  • Voice Of God ,Deivathin Kural Periyava On Dowry Video

    Kanchi Periyava, Maha Periyava  discoursed on various subjects ranging from Vinayagar, Vedas,Vedangas, Advaita Linguistics,Literature,Guru to current and controversial topics like Dowry.

     

    These have been complied by Ra.Ganapathy in his Book ‘தெய்வத்தின் குரல் ‘

     

    I have posted this.(text)

     

    Now audio version with rare photos and Videos of Kanchi Periyavar have come out.

     

    Kanchi Periyavar
    Kanchi Periyavar

     

    In this post I am  reproducing some videos where Periyava speaks on .Dowry’ the evil practice of accepting money from the Bride’s parents.

     

    According to Sastras, in the earlier days, the  bridegrooms paid money .

     

    ‘Vara Dakshinai’ in Sanskrit, which originally meant ‘that which is paid by the Vara(bride groom’ was later misinterpreted as ‘ the one paid by the  Girl’!

     

    Periyava explains this concept and condemns this practice with authority in his inimitable earthy style devoid of jargons.

     

    Watch.

     

     

    On the Deivathin Kural CD Launch.

    Periyava kural – Jan 8th 2013

     

    Excerpts from Deivathin Kural by Kanchi Periyavar( compiled  by Ra.Ganapathy is being published here with the permission of The Kanchi Mutt.

    ‘விநாயக மூர்த்தியிலுள்ள ஒவ்வொரு சின்ன சமாசாரத்தைக் கவனித்தாலும் அதில் நிறையத் தத்துவங்கள் இருக்கின்றன. பிள்ளையாருக்குத் தேங்காய் உடைப்பது எதற்காக? விக்நேசுவரர், தம் அப்பாவான ஈசுவரனைப் பார்த்து “உன் சிரசையே எனக்குப் பலி கொடு” என்று கேட்டு விட்டாராம். எல்லாவற்றையும் காட்டிலும் உயர்ந்தது எதுவோ அதைத் தியாகம் பண்ணினால்தான் மகா கணபதிக்குப் ப்ரியம் ஏற்படுகிறது. அவ்வளவு பெரிய தியாகம் பண்ணுவதற்குத் தயார் என்ற அறிகுறியாகத்தான், ஈசுவரனைப்போலவே மூன்று கண்கள் உடைய தேங்காயைச் சிருஷ்டித்து அந்தக் காயை அவருக்கு நாம் அர்ப்பணம் பண்ணும்படியாக ஈசுவரன் அநுக்கிரகித்திருக்கிறார்.

    http://ramanisblog.in/tag/%E0%AE%A4%E0%AF%86%E0%AE%AF%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%B5%E0%AE%A4%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%A4%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%A9%E0%AF%8D-%E0%AE%95%E0%AF%81%E0%AE%B0%E0%AE%B2%E0%AF%8D/

     

  • The Prophet And His Wife,Nine Year Old

    For information of this sensitivity there are  ‘No Comments’

    Child Marriage.
    Child Marriage.

     

    “According to traditional sources, Aisha was six or seven years old when she was betrothed to Muhammad and nine when the marriage was consummated.[13][13][15][16][17][18][19] However, al-Tabari records that she was ten.[15] The sources do not offer much more information about Aisha’s childhood years.[20][21]

    The issue of Aisha’s age at the time she was married to Muhammad has been of interest since the earliest days of Islam, and references to her age by early historians are frequent. American historian Denise Spellberg states that “these specific references to the bride’s age reinforce Aisha’s pre-menarcheal status and, implicitly, her virginity.”[15] Early Muslims regarded Aisha’s youth as demonstrating her virginity and therefore her suitability as a bride of Muhammad. This issue of her virginity was of great importance to those who supported Aisha’s position in the debate of the succession to Muhammad. These supporters considered that as Muhammad’s only virgin wife, Aisha was divinely intended for him, and therefore the most credible regarding the debate.[22]

    ..

    In many Muslim traditions, Aisha is described as Muhammad’s most beloved or favored wife after his first wife, Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, who died before the migration to Madinah took place.[5][23][23][24][25] There are several hadith, or stories or sayings of Muhammad, that support this belief. One relates that when a companion asked Muhammad, “who is the person you love most in the world?” he responded, “Aisha.”[26] Others relate that Muhammad built Aisha’s apartment so that her door opened directly into the mosque,[26][27] and that she was the only woman with whom Muhammad received revelations.[23][27]They bathed in the same water and he prayed while she lay stretched out in front of him.[28]

    There are also various traditions that reveal the mutual affection between Muhammad and Aisha. He would often just sit and watch her and her friends play with dolls, and on occasion he would even join them.[27][29][30] Additionally, they were close enough that each was able to discern the mood of the other, as many stories relate.[27][29] It is also important to note that there exists evidence that Muhammad did not view himself as entirely superior to Aisha, at least not enough to prevent Aisha from speaking her mind, even at the risk of angering Muhammad. On one such instance, Muhammad’s “announcement of a revelation permitting him to enter into marriages disallowed other men drew from her [Aisha] the retort, ‘It seems to me your Lord hastens to satisfy your desire!’”[5] Furthermore, Muhammad and Aisha had a strong intellectual relationship.[26] Muhammad valued her keen memory and intelligence and so instructed his companions to draw some of their religious practices from her.[26]

    Accusation of adultery

    The story of accusation of adultery levied against Aisha can be traced to chapter 24 in the book al-Nur in the Quran. As the story goes, Aisha was left behind by mistake at a caravan stop while searching for a missing necklace. Aisha left her howdah in order to search for the missing necklace and her slaves mounted the howdah and prepared it for travel without noticing any difference in weight without Aisha’s presence.[31] Aisha remained at the camp until the next morning when Safwan bin al-Muattal, a nomad and member of Muhammad’s army, found her and brought her back to Muhammad in Medina. The accusations of adultery came from Zainab, who levied the charges against Aisha and Safwan while at the same time Abdullah bin Ubai and Hamna bint Jahsh (Zainab’s sister) spread the rumors started about the infidelity.[31] Usama bin Zayd, son of Zayd ibn Harithah, defended Aisha’s reputation and Muhammad came to speak directly with Aisha about the rumors. Shortly after this, Muhammad announced that he had received a revelation from God confirming Aisha’s innocence. Known as the Surah an-Nur, God had revealed to Muhammad the laws and punishment regarding adultery. Aisha’s accusers faced punishments of up to 80 lashes. Though Aisha’s innocence was confirmed in the eyes of God, the way in which the revelations were told to Muhammad are most important to Quranic commentaries on the book.[31]

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aisha#Age_at_marriage

     

    ‘This is the original story told by the ONLY valid biographers of Muhammad and Islam, Ibn Ishaq and Tabari, and the hadiths of Bukhari and Muslim. Refer also to the works of the Qur’an commentators Ibn Kathir and Ibn Qayyim. (Ibn Kathir, The Life of the Prophet Muhammad (Al-Sira al-Nabawiyya), Volume II, translated by professor Trevor Le Gassick, Garnet Publishing Limited, UK. The Center for Muslim Contribution to Civilization, 2000. pp. 93-94).

    (Ibn Qayyim Al-Juaziyyah, Zad-ul Ma’ad fi Hadyi Khairi-l ‘Ibad (Provisions for the Hereafter, From the Guidance of Allah’s Best Worshipper) translated by Jalal Abualrub, [Madinah Publishers & Distributors, December 2000] Volume I, pp. 157-158)

    » Muhammad said that he had dreamed of Aisha before demanding her from her father, and his own brother in Islam, Abu Bakr, claiming special ‘prophets rights’ when Abu Bakr was reluctant to give her to him.

    » Bukhari, Volume 5, Book 58, Number 235: Narrated ‘Aisha: That the Prophet said to her, “You have been shown to me twice in my dreams. I saw you pictured on a piece of silk and someone said to me, ‘This is your wife.’ When I uncovered the picture, I saw that it was yours. I said, ‘If this is from Allah, it will be done.”

    » Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 62, Number 18: Narrated ‘Ursa: The Prophet asked Abu Bakr for ‘Aisha’s hand in marriage. Abu Bakr said “But I am your brother!”

    » The Prophet said, “You are my brother in Allah’s religion and His Book, but she (Aisha) is lawful for me to marry.”

    » Marriage to a female already offered to another was illegal in Arab law. Abu Bakr had already arranged for Aisha to marry Djubayr Mutim.

    » Muhammad married ‘A’isha in Mecca when she was a child of six and lived with her in Medina when she was nine or ten. She was the only virgin that he married. Her father, Abu Bakr, married her to him and the apostle gave her four hundred dirhams. (Ibn Ishaq, Sirat Rasulullah (The Life of Muhammad) translated by Alfred Guillaume [Oxford University Press, p. 792)

    » Tabari VII:7 “The Prophet married Aisha in Mecca three years before the Hijrah, after the death of Khadija. At the time she was six.”

    » Tabari IX:128 “When the Prophet married Aisha, she was very young and not yet ready for consummation.” [The History of Al-Tabari: The Foundation of the Community] translated by M.V. McDonald annotated by W. Montgomery Watt [State University of New York Press, Albany 1987], Volume VII, pp. 6-7) (The History of Al-Tabari: The Last Years of the Prophet, translated and annotated by Ismail K. Poonawala [State University of New York Press, Albany 1990], Volume IX, pp. 129-130)

    » Bukhari, Volume 5, Book 58, Number 236: Narrated Hisham’s father: Khadija died three years before the Prophet departed to Medina. He stayed there for two years or so and then he married ‘Aisha when she was a girl of six years of age, and he consummated that marriage when she was nine years old. – Yahoo Answers

    Source.

    Wik.

     http://bharatabharati.wordpress.com/2011/10/11/fatwa-number-41409-thighing-muslim-scholars/

     

    Related articles

  • Islam and Women ‘Thighing’ And Some Sayings of Khomeini

    ‘Thighing ‘is a practice in Islamic Countries, which is practiced even today.

    I have referred some sources and this is what I found.

    As to my comments.  NA- (Not Applicable).

    Sayings of Khomeini
    Sayings of Khomeini

    Story:

    What does thighing mean, and does Islam allow it?
    I am a Muslim and I didnt know about this until about a few weeks ago. If any muslims or anybody can help me that will be great.
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      salam alikum
      false accusations from anti-Islam sites
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      “A man can quench his sexual lusts with a child as young as a baby. However, he should not penetrate. Sodomizing the baby is halal (allowed by sharia). If the man penetrates and damages the child, then he should be responsible for her subsistence all her life. This girl, however, does not count as one of his four permanent wives. The man will not be eligible to marry the girl’s sister. It is better for a girl to marry when her menstruation starts, and at her husband’s house rather than her father’s home. Any father marrying his daughter so young will have a permanent place in heaven.”.

      ‘Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, The Supreme Leader of Iran, the Shia Grand Ayatollah, 1979-89 said in his official statements recorded in The Little Green Book(“Tahrirolvasyleh”, fourth edition, Qom, Iran, 1990):

      » A man can have sexual pleasure from a child as young as a baby.  However, he should not penetrate vaginally, but sodomising the child is acceptable.  If a man does penetrate and damage the child then, he should be responsible for her subsistence all her life.  This girl will not count as one of his four permanent wives and the man will not be eligible to marry the girl’s sister…  It is better for a girl to marry at such a time when she would begin menstruation at her husband’s house, rather than her father’s home.  Any father marrying his daughter so young will have a permanent place in heaven.

      » A man can have sex with animals such as sheep, cows, camels and so on. However, he should kill the animal after he has his orgasm. He should not sell the meat to the people in his own village, but selling the meat to a neighbouring village is reasonable.

      » If one commits the act of sodomy with a cow, a ewe, or a camel, their urine and their excrement become impure and even their milk may no longer be consumed. The animal must then be killed as quickly as possible and burned.

      » Wine and all intoxicating beverages are impure, but opium and hashish are not.

      » If a man sodomises the son, brother, or father of his wife after their marriage, the marriage remains valid.

      » During sexual intercourse, if the penis enters a woman’s vagina or a man’s anus, fully or only as far as the circumcision ring, both partners become impure, even if they have not reached puberty; they must consequently perform ablutions…

      A woman who has contracted a continuing marriage does not have the right to go out of the house without her husband’s permission; she must remain at his disposal for the fulfilment of any one of his desires, and may not refuse herself to him except for a religiously valid reason. If she is totally submissive to him, the husband must provide her with her food, clothing, and lodging, whether or not he has the means to do so. A woman who refuses herself to her husband is guilty, and may not demand from him food, clothing, lodging, or any later sexual relations; however, she retains the right to be paid damages if she is repudiated.

      » If a father (or paternal grandfather) marries off his daughter (or granddaughter) in her absence without knowing for a certainty that she is alive, the marriage becomes null and void as soon as it is established that she was dead at the time of the marriage.

      » It is not illegal for an adult male to ‘thigh’ or enjoy a young girl who is still in the age of weaning; meaning to place his penis between her thighs, and to kiss her.

      » If a man commits adultery with an unmarried woman, and subsequently marries her, the child born of that marriage will be a bastard unless the parents can be sure it was conceived after they were married. A child born of an adulterous father is legitimate.

      » Ali [son in law of Mohammed], having cut off the hands of two thieves, treated their wounds and offered them his hospitality, and this affected them so much that they became utterly devoted to him; or again when he heard that the marauding army of Muawiyah had abused a woman of one of the tribes, he was so upset and moved to pity he declared: “If a man died after such an occurrence, no one could blame him.” And yet, despite a nature as sensitive as that, Ali bared his sword and hacked the perpetrators to pieces. This is the meaning of justice.

      • From The Sayings of Ayatollah Khomeini, Political, Philosophical, Social and Religious, Bantam Books, New York/London, 1985, ISBN 0-553-14032-9. Download the English version of The Little Green Book here.

      Sources:

      http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20130325194934AA0FL00

    Related articles.

    http://ramanisblog.in/2013/03/19/planning-to-leave-islambe-prepared-to-be-killed/

  • Islam Sex Prostituion And women

    This is in continuation of my post ‘Islam Women and Sharia Quotes”

    Woman Whipped in Public.
    Woman Whipped in Public.

    Here we will look at some more Sharia Laws and Videos.

    http://ramanisblog.in/2013/03/21/islam-and-women-sharia-quotes/

    ‘[6] A man has the right to have up to 4 wives. Polygamy is not just a right, but loyalty to one wife is discouraged. Mohammed said: “The best Muslims had the largest number of wives,” Bukhari 7.62.7. A Muslim man does not vow loyalty to his bride in the marriage ceremony and the bride must not expect it. In the Muslim marriage contract itself, the husband is asked to give name and address of wife number 1, 2 and 3 if any. (See a copy of the Muslim marriage contract in my book, chapter 2 of Cruel and Usual Punishment.)

    [7] Mutaa or pleasure marriage gives the right to a man to marry a woman for a fixed amount of time, from a few hours to several years. That takes away any holiness in the concept of marriage. The only condition is that the man must pay the woman money (dowry) in exchange for sexual rights over her body. This is simply legalized prostitution, exploiting needy and poor women. This form of marriage is not registered or regulated by the State.

    Urfi marriage is another form of marriage that is usually kept as a secret. Sharia has not forgotten the traveling man and gave him “Misyar” marriage allowing him “wives” in different cities. Sharia satisfies men’s urges at the expense of women’s dignity and humanity with total disregard to limitations and wholesome standards for men to live by for the benefit of a healthy family life.

    [8] The Qur’an often uses the word “nikah,” which literally means sexual intercourse, to mean marriage. The dowry is called “ugur” in the Qur’an, meaning wage. It is payment for owning a woman’s private parts to be used by the husband as he wishes. “The dowry is given in exchange for the woman’s sexual organs.” (Ibn Kathir)

    [9] A man is allowed to have sex with slave women and women captured in battle, and if they are married their marriage is annulled. Qur’an 4:24: “All married women (are forbidden unto you) save those (captives) whom your right hands possess.” Sharia never abolished slavery and highly regulates it, that is, makes it “regular.” Saudi Arabia officially abolished slavery only as late as 1962 after pressure from the “infidel” Western Judeo-Christian culture. To this day, the Muslim leadership in Egypt and Saudi Arabia refuses to annul slave sexual rights for men in Sharia books.

    [10] The testimony of a woman in court is half the value of a man, law o24.7. You can guess who usually wins if a man and woman face each other in court.

    [11] Revered Muslim theologian Imam Ghazali (1058-1111) defined marriage for generations of Muslims without apology as: “Marriage is a form of slavery. The woman is man’s slave and her duty therefore is absolute obedience to the husband in all that he asks of her person.”

    [12] For a Muslim woman to prove rape, she must have 4 male witnesses. “Proof of adultery and rape will be either confession of accused or eye-witness of four male adult Muslims.” Hudood ordinance #7 of 1989 amended by #8B of 20 of 1990.

    [13] A rapist may only be required to pay the bride-money (dowry) without marrying.” law m.8.10, page 535. This law tells the man that all he has to do to rectify a rape is to pay a dowry to the rape victim. Rape is almost always blamed on the girl who must come up with 4 male witnesses, especially if she was not covered up the Islamic way. A Muslim preacher in Australia blamed rape by Muslim men on Australian women whom he described as “uncovered meat.”

    [14] The Prophet said, “I looked at Hell and saw that the majority of its inhabitants were women.” Bukhari 4:464. There is a book sold in British mosques entitled: “Women Who Deserve to Go to Hell” by Mansoor Abul Hakim.

    [15] A Muslim woman must cover every inch of her body since Islam regards every part of a woman’s body as “Awrah,” a sexual organ. Some sects of Islam demand the covering of the face and others don’t. This kind of extreme cover of even the face deepens the feeling of isolation, gender segregation and becomes the symbol of Islamic submission and presence in the West.

    [16] Muslim scriptures describe women as deficient in intellect and faith, toys, crooked, half devils, harmful and detrimental to men. Also the prophet stated: “After me I have not left any affliction more harmful to men than women.” Bukhari V 7, B 62/33. “A woman’s jihad is to please her husband” is taught by some Muslim women websites such as Takva.com, posted on 11-2-2008.

    http://www.inquiryintoislam.com/2010/06/islam-and-womens-rights.htmlhttp://dttj.blogspot.in/2010/07/islamic-sharia-law-women.html

    http://dttj.blogspot.in/2010/07/islamic-sharia-law-women.html

    https://sites.google.com/site/charlesrcblog/home

    “As you realize, Islam has a very serious moral code. It does not approve of any sexual practices, outside marriage. Islamic legislation includes very severe punishments for adultery. To go to a prostitute earns the man the same severe punishment. When we want to know the answer Islam provides to a social problem, and prostitution is one, we have to consider Islamic society as a whole. In a Muslim society, no woman needs to work in order to earn her living. Many prostitutes are first drawn into this horrid practice by their poverty. Some girls find themselves having to earn the living of other people in their families, such as a sickly mother or young children. They are unable to find
    any proper work. Some of them may fall in the trap of a person who runs a brothel and they are dragged into a vice net. In a Muslim society, such a girl need only go to the authorities and explain her position. She will either be given a job or provided with an income to look after herself or her family. I realize that this is not the case in many Muslim countries, simply because many of them have abandoned Islamic values and principles, and they do not implement
    Islam as a whole. Once they move towards Islam, such problems will start to be solved in the easiest of manners. I will give you the example of Sudan when, a few years ago, the former president Numeiri decided to put the country on a course that would regain its Islamic character. One of the problems addressed was that of prostitution. Women who
    were engaged in this practice were dealt with on individual basis. The circumstances of each one of them were considered separately. If it was possible to find any one of them a husband, she got married. If not, she was helped to find a proper job. Some were helped by the state to run a small shop. Moreover, they were put under supervision. They were clearly informed that if they reverted back to prostitution, they would be locked up. Most of them were very happy with the new arrangement because it saved them of a practice which they abhorred. I suppose that if any Muslim country decided today to implement Islam in full, it will deal with this problem on the same lines.

    http://www.paklinks.com/gs/religion-and-scripture/38951-prostitution-in-islam.html

    Prostitution and Islam.

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