Ramanisblog

Tag: Religion

  • Sexual Perversions Human Trafficking In The Bible

    You are an elite and one among the intelligentsia  if you can attack Hinduism.

    You are a scholar if you state that Hinduism promotes Incest and Lord Krishna is promiscuous.

    But the answer to these questions are available and I have posted a couple of articles on this.

    Now what about the Sexual Perversions. Human Trafficking in The Bible?

    Read from The Bible.

    Bible and perversions
    Sexual Perversions Human Trafficking in The Bible

    ”

    1. Let’s take Solomon, who maintained 300 concubines or sex slaves. 1 Kings 11:3: “He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray.” Led him astray! That’s all the Bible minded about this situation? Abducting 300 people and keeping them immured for sex? And the objection is only that they had a lot of diverse religions and interested Solomon in them? (By the way, this is proof that he wasn’t Jewish but just a legendary Canaanite polytheist). Mitt, I think a settled gay marriage is rather healthier than imprisoning 300 people in your house to have sex with at your whim.

    2. Not only does the Bible authorize slavery and human trafficking, but it urges slaves to “submit themselves” to their masters. It should be remembered that masters had sexual rights over their property assuming the slave-woman was not betrothed to another, and so this advice is intended for concubines as well as other slaves. And, the Bible even suggests that slaves quietly accept sadism and cruelty from their masters: 1 Peter 2:18: “Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the cruel.” So a nice gay marriage between two legal equals with no acts of cruelty would be much better than this biblical nightmare.

    3. Then there is Abraham, who made a sex slave of his wife’s slave, the Egyptian girl Hagar, and then abandoned her to cruel treatment.

    Genesis 16:1-6:

    Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; 2 so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.” Abram agreed to what Sarai said. 3 So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. 4 He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the Lord judge between you and me.” 6 “Your slave is in your hands,” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.

    So let’s get this straight. Abraham isn’t said to have married Hagar. Apparently he and Sarah had separate property, because Hagar remains her slave. So he slept with someone else’s slave and got her pregnant. And then when that caused trouble between his wife and her slave, he washed his hands of his property-lover and let his wife mistreat her. As we know from 1 Peter, Hagar was supposed graciously to put up with this, but she was made of fiercer stuff than that, and you really have to root for her in this rather sick family situation.

    A nice gay marriage, now that is positively normal compared to this obviously unhealthy set of relationships.

    4. According Mark 12:19, guys, if your brother kicks the bucket, you have to marry your sister-in-law and knock her up. Since the Bible approved of multiple wives, you have to do this even if you’re already married. If you think in-laws are hard to get along with now, try being married to them. A simple gay household would be have much less drama, Mitt.

    Source:

    http://www.alternet.org/belief/5-scandalous-marriages-bible?page=0%2C1&akid=11533.151769.UBliMS&rd=1&src=newsletter961541&t=10

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  • Why Humans Suffer In The World Hinduism

    There was a question in Quora as to ‘Why There is Injustice in the world,

    Human suffering
    Every day, almost 25,000 people starve to death—and only after long, horrible agony. This is not limited to physical pain, but includes psychological and mental anguish of parents often having their children die in their arms. Starvation is so awful death can be longed for.

    “Hindu Philosophy: How does Hindu philosophy try to explain the suffering in the world? [no oneliners please]“

    • Why is there suffering in the world in general?
    • Why do people have to suffer birth defects?

    If possible, I’d prefer if you don’t resort to rebirth theory, some alternative explanation will be appreciated.

    News has just come in that the accused in the Rajiv Gandhi case,Santhan,Perarivalan and other’s Death sentence has been overturned by the Supreme Court.

    For them it is justice, and to the most who believe that they deserve the sentence the Death Sentence.

    The other side says that Rajiv deserved to be killed for sending the IPKF to Sri Lanka.

    He sent them because LTTE was killing People.

    LTTE became a killing machine because of ill-treatment of Tamils,

    Tamils were ill-treated because, from the Sinhalese point of view, were usurping Sinhalese’s Rights and Lands.

    Tamils counter that Sri Lanka was Tamils’ and it was developed by them!

    The list is endless.

    The point I am trying to make is that Justice or Injustice are relative terms and have no absolute term of reference.

    It depends on the ever-changing circumstances and the individuals’ perceptions of them.

    So is suffering.

    For the poor absence of Money is the cause of suffering.

    For the Rich the presence of it , is  the cause of suffering.

    At the individual level what caused me suffering  once ,no longer causes  it .

    As also Pleasure.

    So these judgments a are variable and are not themselves the cause of Suffering.

    As such things by themselves do not cause any suffering.

    It is our reaction to and our capacity to handle them is the cause of sufferings.

    Sufferings are,

    1.Mental

    2.Emotional and

    3 .Physical.

    Mental sufferings are those that occur in our mind because of our inability to cope up with things that happen which are beyond our scope.

    Emotional sufferings are because of our inability to control our desires and attachments,

    We take things to be permanent and yearns for them.

    Like Love, Relationships.

    All things come to an end in death ,if not earlier.

    So sufferings per se are not real and are our making.

    People may ask,

    Take for example ,the Genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka or the Holocaust inflicted by Hitler upon the Jews.

    As said earlier the reason lies in the perspective of the people.

    At the Universal Level there is no such thing as Good or Evil.

    They are all Illusions pertaining to this Temporal World.

    They do not affect the Self, the Atman.

    It is beyond these.

    Look at you self.

    You have suffered.

    Have you been suffering all through your Life?

    People think only of sufferings and never recollect their Happier times.

    Worse still is that they do not realize they are Happy when they are Happy.

    So Happiness or suffering is the attitude of the Mind.

    Some years back I had an occasion to ask of a Mason, whose job was over in one of the construction sites I was handling.

    He just a job.

    He whistling and I knew  he had no money.

    I asked him as to how he can be happy under the circumstances.

    He replied,

    ‘Sir, I am 40, I do not bother about these things.I am happy now. I know my job.I know some body will give me a job to-morrow the day after.Why should I suffer now thinking about it?’

    What an attitude!

    Now as to the physical suffering part, there is no concrete answer apart from the faith in Fate and Karma Theory.

    No other Theory can explain these other than the Karma Theory.

    It is the best explanation not only for suffering but also the Evolution of world.

    Quantum is veering round to this view.

    Please read my posts filed under Astrophysics, Science.Indian Philosophy and Hinduism.

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    Meaning:
    4.1: Neither am I bound by Merits nor Sins, neither by Worldly Joys nor by Sorrows,
    4.2: Neither am I bound by Sacred Hymns nor by Sacred Places, neither by Sacred Scriptures nor by Sacrifies,
    4.3: I am Neither Enjoyment (Experience), nor an object to be Enjoyed (Experienced), nor the Enjoyer (Experiencer),
    4.4: I am the Ever Pure Blissful Consciousness; I am Shiva, I am Shiva,
    The Ever Pure Blissful Consciousness.

    http://ramanisblog.in/2013/05/12/nothing-is-sacredsinful-adi-sankaracharya/

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  • World’s Largest Congregation Of Women Festival Attukal

    The largest congregation of Women in a single place at one time was witnessed in Attukallu Bhagavathy Amman Temple, Kerala,India.

    Attukkal Bhagvathy
    Attukkal Bhagavathy Temple, Attukkal

    The Legend.

    A few centuries ago, the head of Mulluveettil family was met with a young girl who asked him to help her cross the Killi river in which he was performing his ritualistic prayers. The Karanavar (family head) knew it was no ordinary girl, because of her charm and charisma. He bowed before her and willingly took her to the other side of the river. He invited her to his home nearby and the whole family was preparing to receive this girl. However, they couldn’t find her as she had disappeared by the time Mulluveettil family was ready to receive her.

    The Karanavar and his family were a little puzzled. The Karanavar saw the girl once again in his dream, in the same day as he saw the little girl. The girl appeared as an icon and told him to give her an abode in the nearby Kavu (a grove where shrubs and wild animals including snakes are left undisturbed). She told him that he would see three lines at a specific point in the kavu and she wanted her abode erected there.

    With joy, the old man reached the Kavu and to his surprise, he found three lines marked on the ground. He knew it was a sacred spot and he wasted no time erecting a temple. The temple became the abode of the goddess, who later came to be known as Attukal Devi (Attukal Amma). Local devotees offered their prayers in this temple and soon the fame of this temple spread far and wide.

    The people also offered to renovate the temple and a bigger temple with a new icon was installed. The goddess was represented as a woman with four arms, each bearing a spear, sword, skull and shield. The then high priest of Badarinath Temple led the consecration ceremony.

    The girl that appeared before the Karanavar of Mulluveettil family is known to be Kannagi (Kannaki). Kannagi is the famous heroine of Chipathikaram, a Tamil epic written by Elenkovadikal. She is the incarnation of Sree Parvathy, the consort of Lord Siva

    Story:

    The capital of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, is enveloped in smoke, as a sea of women devotees make their offerings. They are celebrating Attukal Pongala.

    Attukal Pongala (Attukal Ponkala) is the most reputed festival of this temple, which attracts devotees from all parts of India. Tens of hundreds of women devotees throng together on the day of Pongala with their offerings to the Goddess and to seek blessings. The festival commences on Karthika day of Malayalam month Makaram-Kumbham (February-March).

    Attukal Pongala Kerala
    Attukal Pongala

    Pongala festival is a ten-day long festival and on the 9th day of the festival is the famous Pongala. On that day, tens of hundreds of women throng to the temple to offer pongala in earthen pots. Pongala is a rice porridge, which boils over. The rush of women is so intense that the Pongala ground spreads outside the temple premises and into the public roads, and the courtyards of houses, government offices, bus and train station, etc…

    Women offer pongala in a radius of about 7 Km, essentially turning the whole of Thiruvananthapuram City into the holy grounds for the women to offer Pongala. All the transport buses plying from the city are reserved for women on Pongala day. No number of words can do justice to frenzy of the day’s festivities, which wholly belongs to women devotees.

    The Attukal Pongala festival also reached Guinness Book of World Records of largest annual gathering of women, when 1.5 million (15 Lakhs) women offered pongala in February 23, 1997 and its achieved by 2.5 million (25 Lakhs) women offered pongala on March 10, 2009. It is estimated that about 3.7 million (37 Lakhs) women offered pongala in February 26, 2013. The number of women devotees reaching this place increases every year.

    How to Reach.

    Attukal Bhagavathy Temple is just 2 Km from the main city of Trivandrum (Thiruvananthapuram) and is located at a rural-looking area, although the surroundings are highly urbanized.

    By Road : Trivandrum Central Bus Station located at Thampanoor is about 2 Km from the shrine and the City Bus Station located at EastFort is about 1.5 Km form the shrine.

    By Rail : The nearest Railway station is Trivandrum Central Railway station located at Thampanoor is about 2 Km from the shrine.

    By Air : The nearest airport is Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, located at Valiyathura is about 7 Km from the shrine. Many international air carriers operate daily international flights to Middle East, Male and Sri Lanka from Thiruvananthapuram.

    Considered the biggest congregation of women in the world, Attukal Pongala is popularly referred to as the Sabrimala of women. While the Attukal temple is overflowing with devotees, women across the city can also be found with their makeshift brick stoves and earthen pots, cooking their offerings. A sweet dish called “payasam” with rice, jaggery and banana are part of the offerings.

    Temple Address

    Attukal Bhagavathy Temple
    P.B.No. 5805, Manacaud P.O.,
    Thiruvananthapuram – 695 009,
    Kerala, India.
    Phone: +91 471 246 3130
    Fax: +91 471 245 6457
    Email: attukal@vsnl.com
    Website: www.attukal.org

    Source:

    http://www.attukaldevi.com/index.htm

    http://www.ndtv.com/article/south/attukal-pongala-kerala-s-capital-celebrates-the-largest-congregation-of-women-484089

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  • Petra Jordan Ancient Shiva Temple?

    Petra , an ancient city , which belonged to the Greeks earlier,excavated in Jordan is considered as one of the wonders of the world.

    English: Facade of Al Khazneh, Petra, Jordan Français : Façade de El Khazneh (la Trésorerie) à Pétra en Jordanie
    Al Khazneh,Petra Image source Wikimedia Commons.

    This city had the imprint of Constantine as well.

    ‘In a recently conducted Internet poll, Petra was voted by internet users as one of the ‘seven wonders of the modern world’. In this abandoned city, which lies hidden behind impenetrable mountains and gorges, magnificent rock-cut temples and palaces have been carved into towering cliffs of red and orange sandstone. The most famous of these structures is the ‘Al Khasneh’ (or the ‘Treasury’), which was made famous in an Indiana Jones film.

    Sometime during the 3rd century BC, the Nabataeans began to decorate their capital city with splendid rock-cut temples and buildings. [Right: The Khasneh or “Treasury”] Their economic prosperity and architectural achievements continued unabated even after they came under the control of the Roman Empire in 106 CE. The neglect and decline of Petra started soon after Emperor Constantine declared Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire in 324 CE. A series of earthquakes crippled the region in the 7th – 8th centuries and Petra disappeared from the map of the known world, only to be rediscovered centuries later in 1812, by a Swiss explorer named Johann Burckhardt…

    Deity Petra
    A baetyl physically marked a deity’s presence. It could be a square [Above, left] or rounded like a dome [Above, right]. Some baetyls’ were depicted with a lunar crescent on the top. The Nabataeans also appear to be snake worshippers. One of the most prominent structures in Petra is the snake monument, which shows a gigantic coiled-up snake on a block of stone. [Below]
    Within the temple of Al Deir, the largest and most imposing rock-cut temple in Petra, is present an unworked, black, block of stone, like an obelisk, representing the most important deity of the Nabataeans — Dushara.

    The term Dushara means ‘Lord of the Shara’, which refers to the Shara mountains to the north of Petra. The symbolic animal of Dushara was a bull. All over Petra, Dushara was represented symbolically by stone blocks.

    At the entrance of Petra there are three massive standing blocks of stone, known as Djin blocks, which were sacred to the inhabitants. There are nearly 40 such Djin blocks present throughout Petra. In addition, at religious sites throughout the city, the Nabataeans carved a standing stone block called a baetyl, literally meaning ‘house of god’…

    Remains Petra
    Petra remains

    This unusual array of symbolic elements associated with the chief god of the Nabataeans, Dushara, may have confounded historians, but to anyone familiar with the symbolism of the Vedic deity Shiva, the similarities between Dushara and Shiva will be palpable.

    Shiva is still worshipped all over India in the form of a black block of stone known as a Shiva Linga. A Shiva Linga, which is essentially a ‘mark’ or ‘symbol’ of Shiva, sometimes appears as an unworked block of stone, much like the idol of Dushara in the temple of Al Deir; but typically it is represented by a smooth, rounded stone which resembles some of the rounded, dome-shaped, baetyls that we find in Petra.

    Temple Petra
    [Above, left: Idol of Al-Uzza, found in the Temple of the Winged Lions Middle: One of the two reliefs of lion of the Lion Triclinium in Petra, Jordan Right: Durga on a Lion, slaying Mahisarura who has taken the form of a bull. Aihole temple complex, Karnataka, dating from the 6th century CE.]
    Shiva is also associated with the mountains; his residence is supposed to be in the Kailash Mountain in the Himalayas, to the north of India, where he spends most of his time engaged in rigorous asceticism. His symbolic animal is a bull, named Nandi, which is commonly depicted kneeling in front of the Shiva Linga. Pictorial depictions of Shiva always show a crescent-shaped moon in his matted locks, much like the lunar crescent that appears on top of certain baetyls in Petra; and on top of the Shiva Linga is present a coiled-up serpent, bearing a strong resemblance to the serpent monument of Petra. It is evident that Shiva and Dushara are symbolically identical, leaving little scope for doubt that Dushara must indeed be a representation of the Vedic deity Shiva.

    At Petra, an elaborate processional way leads from the center of the city to the temple of Al Deir. In front of the temple there is a massive, flat, courtyard, capable of accommodating thousands of people. This has led historians to suggest that the Al Deir temple may have been the site of large-scale ceremonies. It is possible that this was a celebration of Dussehra, since Al-Uzza was the ‘goddess of the people’ and Dussehra is the celebration of the victory of the goddess over the forces of evil.

    It is not unlikely that the presiding god of the Nabataeans, Dushara, may have obtained his name from the festival Dussehra. The cult of Shiva-Shakti represented the sacred masculine and feminine principles, and the worship of Shiva has always been inextricably linked with the celebrations of the divine feminine. Even now in rural Bengal in India, the final day of celebration of Dussehra (Basanti Puja) is followed by an exuberant worship of Shiva. For these people, it remains the most important festival of their annual religious calendar.

    It is unclear to historians whether all the representations of the female goddess found in Petra refer to Al-Uzza or to the Nabataean goddess triad of Al-Uzza, Al-lat and Manat. Although it is has been supposed that the consort of Dushara may be Al-Uzza, the depictions of Al-Uzza in other places of Arabia do not support such an association.

    Al-Uzza (the ‘Strong One’) was the goddess of the morning and evening star. Isaac of Antioch referred to her as Kaukabta, ‘the Star’. She was sometimes depicted riding a ‘dolphin’ and showing the way to sea-farers. She is, thus, the counterpart of the Indo-European goddess of dawn, Ostara, and the Vedic ‘Usas’.

    In the Rig Veda, there are around 20 hymns dedicated to the Usas, the goddess of dawn, who appears in the east every morning, resplendent in her golden light, riding a chariot drawn by glorious horses, dispelling the darkness, awakening men to action, and bestowing her bounty and riches on all and sundry.

    Source: including Images other than the top most from

    http://www.viewzone.com/petra.html

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  • Vatican Shiva Temple?

    I have posted articles that the Kaaba was a Shiva Temple and a Linga is still in there with authentic links.

    Vatican a Shiva Temple.
    This is the Hindu deity Shiva. This piece is at present on view in the Etruscan Museum at the Vatican in Rome. Encyclopedia Britannica mentions under the headings “Etruria” and “Etruscan” that between the 2nd and 7th centuries BC, northern Italy was known as Etruria

    Sanatan Dhrma spread from the south of the Vindhyas twards the west of India,.

    When Satyavata Manu , ancestor of Lord Rama left for Ayodhya ( in the north of the Vindhya,from the South (his son Ikshvaku fiunded a Kingdom ,Dynasty by the same name),Shiva and Ganesha left  the Dravida Desa ( south)  and traveled through the west, the first stop being what is nowknown as the Arbian Peninsula, which consists of Oman, Dubai and the other Emirates,Saudi Arabia, Iraq,Jordan,Lebanon,Turkey,Greece ,Italy before finally arriving in the Arctic.

    They had the Rig Veda composed in the Arctic and returrned to India through Russia.

    Please read my posts oon each of these places where the footprints of either Shiva/Ganesha are found

    I came across some credible information worth postin g whaich states that the Vatican was built on

    1.Pagan Tempe.

    2.Shiva Temple.

    Story:

    Originally Posted by believenothing

    St. Peter’s Basilica is built on a large pre-Roman and pagan cemetery which included an old temple with red walls. Very little is known about this excavation because it was done by the Catholic Church themselves. It was used to claim that Simon Peter’s bones are actually buried there.Actually, pretty much all of Christdom’s oldest churches are either retro-fitted temples, extensions of temples, or built on the foundation of old temples…

    ” During excavations many such “meteoric stones mounted on carved pedestals” are discovered in Italy. Obviously, therefore, this one was dug up from the Vatican itself. Many more must be lying buried in the Vatican’s massive walls and numerous cellars. Vatican is itself the Sanskrit word “Vatica” applied to Hindu cultural-cum-religious centers as in “Ashrama-Vatica” or “Dharma-Vatica” or “Ananda-Vatica.” Therefore, the Vatican was obviously a Hindu religious seat before its incumbent was forced to accept Christianity.

    “The ancient Vedic custom of applying ash or sandalwood paste to the body is still retained by Christianity in the observance of Ash Wednesday. The so-called “All Soul’s Day” is an exact translation of the Vedic observance of Sarva Pitri Amavasya, the day fixed by tradition for the worship of all deceased ancestors

    .Another Christian tradition derived from Vedic origins is that of having and ringing bells in the churches, especially before or during worship. In Vedic temples it is often seen where bells are rung during worship and when pilgrims enter the temple, announcing their entrance. Christian churches also ring bells to announce the beginning of worship.

    The word “bell” comes from the Sanskrit bal which means strength. This is in reference to the idea that ringing a bell adds force to the voice of prayer in invoking divinity.

    When the Christians say “Amen” at the end of their hymns or to emphasize something, what they are saying is a corrupted form of “Aum” or “Om,” which is a standard form of Vedic meditation and name of the Supreme Being.

    While we are on the topic of words used in Christianity that are derived from Sanskrit, the Catholic term “Madonna,” another name for Mother Mary, comes from the Sanskrit Mata Nah, meaning “Our Mother.” This is also derived from the great Vedic Mother Goddess. Thus, Mother Mary was a reference not only to the mother of Jesus alone, but a reference to the Goddess, mother of all humanity. Furthermore, the European term of “Madam” is a soft pronunciation of the Hindu term mata or mataji, which also means “Mother.”

    The term “vestry” in referring to the room in churches in which holy clothes are kept comes from the Sanskrit word vestra, meaning clothes. Even the word “psalm” with a silent “P” comes from the Sanskrit word sam or sama which means holy and serious sacred songs, hymns or chants, as found in the Sama-veda.

    Other Christian links with Sanskrit words can be found in the name Bethlehem, which is the English mispronunciation of the Sanskrit Vatsaldham, which means “the home (town) of the darling child.” The Sanskrit term Nandarath is linguistically connected with Nazareth. Nandarath means Nanda’s chariot, and King Nanda was the guardian at whose village he nurtured Lord Krishna (sometimes pronounced as Chrisn, and later Christ in some regions).

    The Christian term “Satan” and the Islamic term “Shaitan” both are derived from the Sanskrit term Sat-na, which means non-truth, falsehood, or fraudulence.

    The Christians who explain the term “Devil” as a fallen angel should realize that the word is derived from the Sanskrit terminology which signifies a fallen Deva.”

    More  Research/proof is needed
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