There are twelve Avatars of Vishnu which is in vogue.
There is also a list of the 28 Avatars of Vishnu, about which I have blogged.
The Vishnu Purana states that the Jainism and Buddhism were a created deliberately by Lord Vishnu as a curse to ensure that the Asuras do not follow the Vedas, as the strict adherence to the Vedas by the Asuras were making them stronger and more powerful than the Devas.
The narration is like this.
Mahavira,Jainism-The last Thirthankara.
During one of the innumerable wars between the Devas ans the Asuras, the Asuras were gaining the upper hand and the Devas entreated Lord Vishnu to save them.
Lord Vishnu created Maya Mohan,One who appears to be Real but illusory, that is the Preaching would be deceptively similar to the Vedas but against the Authority of the Vedas.
Maya Mohan taught the new system to the Asuras and as they were listening attentively, he ,Lord Vishnu, kept repeating ‘Arhatha, Arhata’,’Be Deserved for this’
This body of Teaching later came to be known as ‘Arhatha’ which term became corrupted later and was known as Jainism.
So the Asuras started following the new Religion.
The word Jainism is derived from a Sanskrit verb Jin which means to conquer. It refers to a battle with the passions and bodily pleasures that the jainaascetics undertake. Those who win this battle are termed as Jina (conqueror). The term Jaina is thus used to refer to laymen and ascetics of this tradition alike.
It could also indicate thet Lord Vishnu conquered the Asuras or the Devas conquered them.
The Jaina meta Physics closely resembles, in fact most of them are from, Hinduism.
”
Jainametaphysics is based on seven or nine fundamentals which are known as tattva, constituting an attempt to explain the nature of the human predicament and to provide solutions to it:[34]
Jīva: The essence of living entities is called jiva, a substance which is different from the body that houses it. Consciousness, knowledge and perception are its fundamental attributes.
Ajīva: Non-living entities that consist of matter, space and time fall into the category of ajiva.
Asrava: The interaction between jīva and ajīva causes the influx of a karma (a particular form of ajiva) into the soul, to which it then adheres.
Bandha: The karma masks the jiva and restricts it from having its true potential of perfect knowledge and perception.
Saṃvara: Through right conduct, it is possible to stop the influx of additional karma.
Nirjarā: By performing asceticism, it is possible to shred or burn up the existing karma.
Mokṣa: The jiva which has removed its karma is said to be liberated and to have its pure, intrinsic quality of perfect knowledge in its true form.
Some authors add two additional categories: the meritorious and demeritorious acts related to karma. These are called puṇya and pāpa respectively. These fundamentals acts as the basis for the Jain metaphysics..
Jainism Karma Theory is the strict interpretation of Hindu Karma Theory.
Buddhism.
As some of the Asuras did not follow these teachings, Lord Vishnu taught another body of thought saying ‘Buddhyatvam, Buddhyatha’.
The One who propounded this Theory was called the Buddha.
This body of thoughts became known as Buddhism.
Buddhism also closely follows Hinduism excepting the denial of God.
It may be appreciated that Adi Sankaracharya was called a ‘Pseudo Buddhist for his interpretations of the Mahavaayas, while arriving at Advaita.
Buddhism is Nihilist while Advaita defines Reality as Not Two.
This may be the reason for the fact that Jainism contains most of the Teachings of the Vedas, especially the Rules to follow in Life.
The essential difference between the Avatars of Lord Vishnu and Shiva is that while Lord Vishnu is born from the womb as in Ramavatar,Krishnshnavatar,Parashururamavatar and the like, as far as I know Lord Shiva is not recorded of having been born of a womb.
Sixty Four Divine Plays of Lord Shiva.
The explanation given is that Lord Shiva is ‘Ayonija’, one who does not stay in the womb.
However there are Avatars of Lord Shiva,Sixty Four in Number are narrated in the Tamil Texts of yore, ‘Thiruvilayadal Puranam’
I have not come across anything other than this in Texts.
In all these instances, Lord Shiva is not born to any one;He appears, attends to the job on hand and disappears.
I have found a list of Avatars of Lord Shiva in Koorma Purana.
The Twenty eight Avatars of Lord Shiva are,
1.Swetha.
2.Sudhara.
3.Madanan.
4.Suhendran.
5.Kanganan.
6.Lokaakshi.
7. Jai Kishhavyan.
8.Daadhi Vaahan.
9.Rishaban.
10.Bhrigu.
11.Ugran.
12.Athri.
13.Bali.
14.Gauthaman.
15. Vedashreeshan.
16.Gokarnan.
17.Kshishikandakan.
18.Jatamaali.
19.Attahasan.
20.Thaarukan.
21.Langaali.
22.Mahayaaman.
23.Muni.
24.Shooli.
25.Pindamuneeswaran.
26.Sahishnu.
27.Soma Sharma.
28.Nakuleeswaran.
I do not fond any reference to these Names in the Vedas.
Some of the names mentioned here Pinda Muneeswaran,Muni are the names of the Grama Devatas or Gods protecting the Towns, who are generally described as belonging to lower Pantheon of Gods in Tamil Nadu.
Source: Koorma Purana.
There is again a mention of Lord Shiva’s Amsa, a reflection of Him in…as,
Normally the Vedas describe Lord Rudra as an Amsa of lord Shiva and here it is the other way!
Again most of the references here are more in the nature of explaining the essentials of the Nature of the elements where Shiva is described to be residing in.
And to top it all, Lord Rudra is described as the Son of Lord Brahma.
There is an article by Chetan Bhagat in The Times of India, on Islam and Hinduism, lamenting that these Religions are to introspect about Liberalism ans have to change.
True. there is no doubt.
But the choicest derision is reserved for Hinduism while Islam is handled with kid gloves.
He says ‘we had no opportunity to learn more about Hinduism…there are Hindus piercing ears with javelin..”
Mr.Bhagat, your ignorance is not Hinduism’s responsibility,
If you do not know about a Religion ‘ better keep your mouth shut,;make people wonder if you are an idiot than to open your mouth and confirm that you are one.
Have you heard of Swami Vivekananda, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa,Sathya Sai Baba to cite a few among the latest?
Or have you heard of what Muslims do during Muharram, beating their chests,cutting their skins with knives?
Do you have enough guts to talk of Prophet’s marrying a widow or his marrying a child of 9?
Or do you know what the Vedas are?
If you do not know , please try to understand and do not sling mud without knowing the subject.
If you want to know what Hinduism is, read Swami Vivekananda’s works,(16 volumes) ,provided you can read some thing brainy.
Turkey is liberal?
Check your current knowledge of world affairs.
Mr. Bhagat, Hinduism is not pulp fiction.
Better stick to what you think you know,even there you are a writer for the prurient.
Leave it at that.
*For your information , I am providing a letter from the Muslims, India on yoiur article.
Imagine their reactions if you had included the points I have mentiuoned.!
Story:Muslim Indian, Hindu India
Let us begin with Hinduism. There is a section of Hindus who believe in mutilating themselves to please the Gods. They poke their cheeks with javelins. They pull chariots with metal hooks dug into their back. Hindu sadhus live the life of ascetics….
So let’s pose a question — what is a Hindu supposed to be? Is the cheek-poking devotee a benchmark? Is a sadhu the ideal Hindu? Or is a regular middle-class person, working in a bank, consuming chicken, drinking beer and occasionally visiting a temple also a good Hindu?…
For instance, take Saudi Arabia where Muslims are 97% of the population. Saudi legal system does not work on a separate constitution, but involves a strict, conservative interpretation of sharia law. Examples of Saudi laws include the need for women to cover up in public, a woman’s testimony being invalid (or carrying much less weightage than that of a man’s), and punishments such as beheadings, lashing and stoning for a variety of crimes.
The laws are imposed strictly. In a fire at a Saudi school, firemen allegedly did not let girls leave the burning building because they were not covered enough. The girls died. Many criticise the Saudi system, while others praise it for leading to low crime.
Let us take one more example of Turkey. Vying for EU membership, Turkey grants large amounts of personal freedom to its citizens. Religion and politics are separate. A secular constitution governs the legal system. Astonishingly, despite a 99% Muslim population, wearing the hijab is banned in universities and public or government buildings (although this has been recently relaxed) as some view it as a symbol of religion, which needs to be separated from state institutions.
Other Muslim-majority countries are somewhere in the middle. Malaysia is somewhat liberal, Iran isn’t, Pakistan is in the middle, etc. Which brings us back to the same question. Who is more or less Muslim in the above examples?
”
We are sorry, Mr. Bhagat, but the ‘’democratic republic’’ you talk of is not so democratic. If it were so, Afzal Guru wouldn’t have been executed to ‘’satisfy the collective conscience of the nation’’. Muslim youth would not have fallen prey to minority witch-hunting, and their killers not decorated with gallantry awards. Adivasis in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa would not have been ripped of their fundamental rights to live with dignity. Dalit poets would not have been falsely charged under sedition laws.
Loving one’s nation is well and good, but being blinded by patriotism is not. Why do Indian Muslims always have to prove their allegiance to India? Why can’t they also be critical of their country?
The party whose path you are treading has had Indian Muslims pass through too many Sita-like ordeals of fire, Agni Pariksha. You may have the privilege to turn a blind eye to the post-Babri Masjid Demolition violence, the Gujarat pogrom, but many others don’t. How then do you think a leader who doesn’t even have the integrity to apologize for his complicity in the Gujarat pogrom represent Muslim youth’s aspirations for ‘’scientific way of thinking, entrepreneurship, empowerment, progress’’ and above all, ‘’personal freedoms’’? And just by the way, have you heard of the word, ‘Justice’?
It does not say that Hindus alone should follow these rules.
Nor does it sat that only those who follow these Rules are Hindus.
These are suggested ways o Life as found by wise men.
We have these sets of Rules, not classified as rules as such in the Vedas, Puarana, Epics Like the Mahabharata and other literature .
So it becomes difficult to codify all these under one head.
But efforts have been made earlier with various Smritis, like Manu Smriti,Sukra Neethi,Vashista Needhi,Vidhura Needhi.
Even these texts are too long and at times difficult to understand.
Sree VatsaSomadeva Sarma,under the guidance of Kanchi Maha Periyavar, published a book in Tamil,’Vaidika Samvardini’,containing the essentials of behavior according to Hinduism.
These rules, contrary to popular misconception, is to be followed by all, not meant for only Brahmins.
One wil notice that these rules have a scientific bearing and are conducive to good Health , both mental and Physical.
The Rules:
Do not look at the Sun, during,
Sun Rise,,
Sunset,
At Noon,
as a Reflection in Water,
and during Eclipses.
2.Always perambulate in a Clockwise direction, Brahmins,Temples,Idols of God,Cow, Married woman, and Pipal tree (AswathaTree)
* King Dileepa did beget children because he perambulated these anti clock wise.
3. What not to do with Fire.
Blowing out by Mouth,
Jumping over,
Touching,
Keeping on the ground(keep on a non combustible) container,
Douse it with Water,
Warm the feet,
Drop unclean things and
add more fire to the existing Fire.
4.How to approach a Holy Rivers.
Do not keep your feet first.
Sprinkle water on the head first(Prokshana),
Then wash feet.
Do not take bath without clothes , have a cloth for private parts’
Do not spit or gargle .
If you need to, take water in a vessel and gargle.
Do not urinate or pass motion.
Do not Drop stones.
5.Never do the following for only for one self.
Cooking.
Prepare Garlands.
Prepare Snacks.
These are to be offered to God and Guests first.
6.How to Sleep.
Sleep only after washing and drying the feet.
Pray God.
Do not sleep. keeping the head in the North.
Do not sleep in a dilapidated building.
Do not Sleep in a Cot that is disrepair.
Never wake up one who is sleeping.
Never wake up the elders.
7.Do not do the following with a woman in Menstruation.
Do not go near them for the fist three days.
Do not talk with them nor hear them while eating.
Do not eat what is left after they eat.
You can approach them only after the fifth day.
8.How to treat a Cow.
perambulate in a Clock wise direction.
Scratching it.
Provide food .Never beat it in any form,
Never inform owner if the Cow grazes on the field.
8.Do not use the following which others have used,
Dress,
Footwear,Seats,Vessels used for drinking water, partaking Food,bed ,Japa Mala and Garlands.
10.Never,
Inhale the smoke from the Corpse,
expose yourself to Early morning Sun,
Shadows of Men,
Shadows of the morally deviant.
To be Continued.
Aswatha Stotra:
Among the trees Aswatha is the most religious for all Hindus. In most of the places, an idol of God is consecrated below the tree. In Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the family which plants the tree, does sacred thread ceremony to the tree and then conducts its marriage with the neem tree. Most of the serpent temples in Kerala and Ganesa temples in Tamil Nadu are below this tree. Women who are not able to beget children are asked to go round the tree daily. The great shade of the tree is used as the meeting place of senior citizens in every village.)
One of the most controversial topics is whether the Aryans invaded India and later settled here and if so from where did they come from?
I have already posted a blog .The Myth called Aryan Invasion’
The scientific research proves that there is no Aryan Invasion at all.
I will be adding some more points to disprove this Myth and before that there are some questions to be answered ,the questions arising out of Ramayana.
Rama and the others ; hailing from the Northerner part of India and if the Ramayana is a fact,which it is( I have posts on this under Hinduism),Lord Rama and others should have been fair-skinned,
But the description of Rama is Blue Black.
This is based on the conception of Lord Vishnu as Black in color.while Lakshmi is Golden (Hiranya varnaam(Sri Suktham), Lord Shiva of Reddish Hue,Parvati of greenish hue, as per the Purana.
But based on geographical origin and the present people living in North India Rama should have been fair-skinned.
We have two options.
1.Ramayana was a fiction.
This is incorrect as the Astronomical data provided in the Ramayana and other Purana stand the test of Science.
Ramayana is a fact.
So we are left with the other option that there have been other skinned people in India before Ramayana and there has been an a mix of various groups having different racial characteristics.
Lord Rama could have been an exception as far as color is concerned.
Others in the Ramayana were not of the same hue as Rama.
Sita was fair-skinned.
Against this Ravana was not described as dark-skinned and he is the brother of Kubera who is fair-skinned and Ravana is a Brahmin though he is described as a Dravidian!
Therefore logic forces one to conclude that there were more races in India than one homogeneous Race in India which included Sri Lanka.
Again if one refers to any of the Eighteen Purana, one would find descriptions of people both black and fair-skinned.
And not all Brahmins were fair-skinned.
For example, Aurava and you can find Brahmins of Dark hue in South India.
The Indian Society expanded outwards, not from outwards.
This is why one finds remnants of Hindu Thoughts in all the continents more specifically Egypt, central America , Australia and the Middle East.
The early Indian Society was based on disposition, Varna, Brahmanas, Kshatriya , Vaishya and Sudras.
Therefore the Brahmins did not come from any where to India and were a part of India Society.
There is a school of thought which establishes that the Dravidian were living South of the Vindhya range and later they mixed with the people from the South.
Sage Viswamitra banished his sons to the South and they intermingled with the Dravidians.
Sage Apasthamba came from this mixed race and he composed the Apasthamba Sutra of the Vedas and it is being followed by the Brahmins of South India even today.
Some more objections to Aryan Invasion of India.
“
1) If the ‘light skinned and mostly blonde haired and blue eyed’ Aryans had really invaded India and settled here thereafter, then why are such people with pure Caucasian features rarely found in India now? If it is because of centuries of racial intermixing, then how come one can still find some quite dark skinned people in India but not central Asian/ European type ‘white’ skinned people in India? Even the light brown skinned people found in the far north of India in places like Kashmir aren’t as fair as the ‘Aryans’ are considered to be.
2) The Aryans divided themselves into 3 classes. The fourth class was the lowly ‘Shudra’ class, explained by the European historians as the Aryan conquered Dravidians’ class. By this logic, all the high castes, esp. the Brahmins had to be white/ light brown skinned and the people belonging to the ‘Shudra’ class had to be dark brown skinned. And yet, many dark skinned Brahmins and light skinned ‘Shudras‘ can easily be found in India – both in north as well as south. And upon that, inter-caste marriages, esp. high and low caste ones, are still uncommon in almost all parts of India. Another point regarding castes is that – Valmiki, the writer of the great Indian epic ‘Ramayana’, was born a Shudra, but ultimately, by attaining the Brahminical aspect of knowledge earning, spiritual understanding and noble mannerisms, became a Brahmin. ‘Ramayana’ is the story (does not matter if it was factual or myth) of a Kshtriya (Aryan) prince of North India – Lord Rama, who at the climax of the story defeats and kills the demonic king of Sri Lanka (south of India) – Ravana. Now, even though Ravana was a Brahmin (Aryan) by caste, he is considered, in the Indian spiritual folklore, as an UnArya or a non-Aryan, on account of his demonic deeds. This all suggests that caste system, originally, was not rigid, and that, ‘Aryan’ was an open, attainable socio-spiritual status.
3) How come almost all the light brown skinned people in India (considered to be the descedants of the original Aryans) belong to the cold climate locations of India like Kashmir and Himachal and the dark brown skinned (considered to be the Dravidians themselves) belong to the warm climate locations? This suggests that skin colour in India has more do do with the climate and atmosphere of a particular region in India.
4) If the Aryans were outsiders in India, then why do their spiritual-cultural-social compilation ‘The Vedas’ do not mention any outside cities, rivers and mountains? Why do they only mention the places that are found in India, as their sacred most? Why not some place in Caucasus or Iran? Why don’t the Vedas, which contain references to many battles, contain no reference to an ‘invasion’ of the land of Indus-Saraswati (India)? How come the modern descendants of Aryans in India have no recollection of their foreign origins? How come the descendants of Shudras (so called Dasas or Dasyus or Dravidians or indigenous race of India) have no recollection of an Aryan invasion of their land and their subsequent subjugation because of a defeat at the hands of the Aryans?
5) If the Dravidians’ Indus valley civilization met its end at the hands of the invading Aryans, then how come no horse remains, broken chariots and burned buildings were discovered in and around the valley.
You must be logged in to post a comment.