While I was writing a Post, the content recommendation by Zemanta suggested a news story by CNN that Lord Krishna appeared in the Sky.
I am reproducing the excerpt.
My observation is that it is difficult to comment without being present in the spot.
May be an Illusion as well.
“On 15-Feb-2006 at 07-30 hrs I saw snake god Shesha Nag with five heads appearing and moving in the sky. After a few seconds I saw 7 bright stars in a line moving in the sky. Soon all the 7 stars became 7 buds in the sky and they were moving from North West sky to South East sky. On the move all the seven buds were growing and when they reached in front of me all of them stopped in a line. Then the first bud started to become flower and after becoming flower it became a big fish in the sky. It was god Matsya Avatar (fish incarnation of god Vishnu). Then the second bud became flower and soon that flower became god Garuda. Then the third bud became flower and that flower became god Shiva. Then the fifth bud became flower and that flower became god Muthappan. Then the sixth bud became flower and that flower became elephant headed god, Ganesha. Soon the last bud started to become flower and after becoming flower it became a big snake god in the sky. It was snake god Nagadevta. In short one after one all the 7 buds became flowers and all 7 flowers became 7 gods. They were Matsya Avatar, Garud, Shiva, Muthappan, Ganesha, Hanuman and snake god Nagdevta. After 7 minutes all the 7 gods disappeared together in the sky.
There has been a spate of emails to me on this question.
And there was the question in Yahoo answers.
“Between Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, why is Brahma (the creator) worshipped the least ? I am told that it is because Brahma was cursed by somebody. If that is true, this means that our God performed deeds bad enough to be cursed. It also means that there was somebody who also possessed more power that our Creator. Please explain.”
Hence this post.
Who are the parents of the Trimurtis, Brahma Vishnu and Shiva?
Brahma is portrayed as the son of Vishnu in all the Puranas, having come out of Lord Vishnu’s Nabhi(Belly Button)
Vishnu Purana says that Rudra was born of Kashyapa so are the Twelve Adhiyas, including Vishnu.
Vishnu Purana maintains that Vishnu is the Supreme Lord and the othertwo murthis are from Him.
Brahma Purana says that Rudra is the son of Braham(please read y post)
Shiva Purana declares that Vishnu and the other Devatas originated from Shiva.
There is direct reference to Shiva in the Vedas(read my post)
We find that Devi Bhagavatha stating that Devi is the Creator of all the devas including the Trimurthis.
The Bhagavad Gita states that Krishna is the Supreme Deity.
In the same breath it declares that in whatever form one worships,Krishna grants one’s wishes as That Form.
Why such seeming contradictions?
Added to this the core philosophy of the Vedas.
Para Vidya (beyond this world Knowledge) and Apara Vidya (worldly Vidya.
Of Reality without Attributes ,Nirguna Brahman and Relity with Attributes,Saguna Brahman.
There is also the interpretation, that Shiva is the Potential energy, Vishnu the Kinetic energy which moves and Brahma, an aspect of Kinetic energy.
Let us see what all this means.
As ordained by the Vedas, the Para Vidya is Real, that is of realizing the Ultimate Reality.
Vedas are uniform in the assertion that the Brahman , Reality is with out Attributes and can , at bes,t be described by the process of exclusion of Attributes, the neti Nyaya,.
That is ,trying to determine and explain Reality by excluding the attributes known to Man, like Long, Tall, Short,big,small….
That which remains after excluding all these attributes, what does remain?
To our limited mind which is conditioned by the twins of Space and Time,it appears to be Zero.
This is what the Sunyavadins of Buddhism arrive at.
Is that so?
Let us look at this with the help of a simple example.
A Flower has many attributes, properties,
It has colors of various shades, size, shape,smell and more properties which can be perceived by our senses through our mind.
When you remove all these what does remain?
We can not comprehend that all one can say.
There has to be something to hold down integrate all these attributes to present a Flower.
It need not mean that there is nothing because we are not aware of it for my mind tells me that the are many things which I can not KNOW but FEEL.
Like Hunger, Thirst, Sex to cite a few examples.
Knowing is different from feeling.
God can be felt not known.
The mind tries to give a description of feelings but never a definition.
You can describe Hunger but never define it except by various symptoms.
Similarly Reality can be described but never defined for it is beyond us.
Tamil Language has two beautiful words for God.
Kadavul, One who is beyond Mind.
Iraivan, One who permanently resides in the Heart.
Heart feels which can not be deciphered by them Mind.
Reality comes under this category.
So God/Reality can only be felt.
Now have N number of individuals with varying dispositions.
Depending on one’s disposition one realizes , understands, feels Realty or God.
Those who want to see God as a male, Female, a Friend, A child, a Lover …
All can realize through any of these approaches.
Hinduism looks for God in Man.
As such the limitations of Man has to be understood.
With the available tools Man has, one has to realize God,Reality.
This Hinduism does.
So worship of Gods in many forms and many Devatas.
This is a step to understanding realizing the Reality.
So the Gods described, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are the expressions of this.
It is equally essential that, to reinforce Faith in the Mind, to believe that what one follows , is the Best nd Superior to others.
This process is called Henotheism.
So each Purana declares the deity it is named after as the Best and superior to the others.
Hence , Brahman with out attributes is the Reality and the Gods explained in Puranas and their explanations are bit a step to realize Brahman.
The question of the parentage of any of these deities do not arise at the Highest level of Knowledge.
This also has a logical limitation.
The cause for any thing must end at one place,be it Science or Religion.
Please read my post Many Gods in Hinduism, Yes and No.
It is worth noting that Hinduism believes in te Nn Linear theory of Time, tat is the Cyclic Theory, which means that there is nor beginning and no end and that Time is eternal;as such events keep on happening with regularity.For more read my post Time, Non Liner,Cyclic.
There are three type of cataclysms described in the Vishnu Purana, all the Puranas declare the same, with no variations.
This takes place at the end of Lord Brahma‘s Day, One Kalpa.
This happens after one Maha Yuga, that is one Chatur Yugas, each Yuga cycle containing Four Yugas,Kruta,Tretha,Dwapara and Kali.
This is equivalent to 4.32 billion human years.
At the end of this period dissolution starts.
During the last Hundred Years(Human), there will be severe Drought.
Living Beings shall become ver weak.
Lord Vishnu, in the form of Rudra unsettles the Living Beings.
The Seven rays of the Sun become too long(Infrared?)
Water will be sucked out of the earth.
The seven rays are.
Aarohan,
Praajan,
Pataran,
Pathangan,
Swanaran,
Jyothishman and
Vibhaasan.
The world shall be enveloped in fire.
Excepting evolved souls all others shall perish.
Of the evolved souls, Brahma Gnanis shall reach Brahma Loka through Satya and Thapo Loka.
The ruling class of Manu dynasty, shall go first toMahar Loka:finding tat to be too hot, they shall reach Jana Loka along with Mahar Loka residents.
This is naimithika Pralaya.
2.Prakrutha Pralaya.
This takes place at te end of Brahma’s Life cycle.
This is two parathas, equivalent to 10 to te power of Eighteen years(Human)
That is at the end of 200.000,000,000,000,000 Years.
Current estimate of Earth.
The Earth is a little over 4.5 billion years old, its oldest materials being 4.3 billion-year-old zircon crystals. Its earliest times were geologically violent, and it suffered constant bombardment from meteorites. When this ended, the Earth cooled and its surface solidified to a crust – the first solid rocks. There were no continents as yet, just a global ocean peppered with small islands. Erosion, sedimentation and volcanic activity – possibly assisted by more meteor impacts – eventually created small proto-continents which grew until they reached roughly their current size 2.5 billion years ago. The continents have since repeatedly collided and been torn apart, so maps of Earth in the distant past are quite different to today’s.
So there are Four Cataclysmic events involving Water on the Earth and let us see how this is reflected in Tamil and Sanskrit literature.
There is a major differnce between Naimithika Pralaya and Prakrutha Pralaya.
Except of the Poetic License where the writer indulges in hyperbole.
However the basic information about the Topography is correct and verifiable.
Many of the sites mentioned in the Ramayana, Mahabharata,The Vedas have been found now.
Ayodhya, Mathura,Pandyaa Kingdoms, not to speak of the Holy places, Rivers, Mountains and even the Species that thrive in these locations.
At the same time one gets the impression that the areas mentioned are not in The Earth and are located in some other location ,Planet, under the Ocean.
And we have the Lokas, the abode of Beings confusing.
We have , for example, the Surya Loka, Chandra Loka.
While the description of these places make one belive that these are In Heavens, one is floored by the reference to these places in Treatises relating to Astronomy that they are Stars, Planets and their movements are measured, without mentioning the Inhabitants.
These are taken as reference points in studying Astronomy.
Then we have the Philosophical treatises mention these places as indicative of spiritual development.
Chandra is associated(Moon) withe Mind.
In Spiritual development, Chandra loka means an awakening of the mind on its path towards Self realization.
Surya Loka is a heightened state of spiritual development.
While taking about these , the treatises do not talk of these as place of Dwelling, but as a state of Spiritual Development.
There are also references in the Vishnu Purana about the Sun, Moon an`d the Pole Star(Dhruva Mandala)
The distance of these places from the earth are shown and it is stated that they , Sun and Moon are destroyed during the Dissolution by Brahma(Pralaya), but Pole Satr remains!
Here it becomes tougher to know whether these places are locations or indicative of spiritual development.
Lets us keep this point in mind before proceed further.
Descriptions of Svarga or Heaven remain unchanged in all the Puranas and Ithihasas.
When one reads the original texts and finds that some characters have visited these places form the earth, right from Mandhata to Arjuna, Narada keeps commuting from Heaven to earth, one gets an inkling that these places could be on the earth.
Read the following study.
I am inclined to have an open mind on this as this seems to be on course with the tenets of Hinduism, where Svarga or Naraka ,Heaven or Hell is more of the Mind and its manifestations, not withstanding the Garuda Purana where details of Travel to Heaven is described.
These are mostly allegorical.
One may refer to the ascendency to Heaven by the Pandavas, where the descriptions are of the Himalayas and proceeding further North.
And we have the Meru Mountain , whose description bewilders one.
Please read my post on this.
Now the Heavens are Arctic….
“Despite the prevalent opinion that all gods were inhabitants of heaven, their larger part lived on land, in water or underground. According to Indian and Slavonic legends, gods-incomers (Adityas/Devas and Svarozhichi – Svarozhichs) lived in the land (kingdom) of Indra/Svarog –Svarga/Blue Svarga, the capital of which the majestic city of godsAmaravatiwas. In spite of the fact that Old Indian written information sources point (indicate) to a different location of Svarga and Amaravati -from the superior planets (Satjaloka, Maharloka, Svargaloka) to some area between Earth and the Sun, of heaven or of the earth surface, in the Second and Third books of the“Mahabharata” (Sabhaparva and Aranyakaparva) more than convincing arguments are given in favour of that Svarga, including Meru mount (Amaravati was on the top of it), Mandara and adjacent mounts with forests,
gardens, parks and orchards, was on the Earth (on land).
Here is how the land of Indra is described in the “Aranyakaparva” in B.L. Smirnov’s translation from Sanscrit and author’s translation from Russian:
«At last the abode (dwelling place) of Shakra, Amaravati, I have seen.
… the Sun there does not bake, neither heat, nor chill do not exhaust,
… There on trees always flowers and fruits, (always)
Leaves turn green;
[There] various ponds, grown with the blue
Lotuses and lilies white, fragrant;
…There winnows a fragrant breeze – vivifying, cool, pure;
… There is possible to see many air chariots,
Flying by in heaven…»…
The “Rigveda”, “Mahabharata”, “Bhagavata purana”,«Laws of Manu» [1] and other Old Indian texts, and also theOld Iranian “(Zend-)Avesta” place Meru mount [2] and accordingly Svarga in the far North: «On the North side, shining, there is mighty Meru… Great Meru, the chaste (pure), good abode (dwelling place). Here set and again [over the Meru] rise Seven divine rishis led by Vasishtha [3]» (the “Mahabharata”); «On Meru gods see the sun after its one-time rising over a period its path, equal to a half of its circulation round land». «For gods and day and night – a year [human], again divided in two: day – the period of movement of the sun northward, night – the period of movement to the south» («Laws of Manu»). The “Avesta” also give characteristic features of the polar disposition of Hara mount (Meru): «That they consider by day, that is a year. … there stars, moon, the sun can be seen once a year only rising and setting, and year seems only one day». Judging by the fragments cited above, Svarga, “Paradise of Indra” or “Paradise of Svarog” was located near to the North pole and, perhaps,were by a part of the disappeared polar continent – Hyperborea. According to the descriptions given in the “Mahabharata”, it was a mountainous country with mounts to the sky, the main of which was Mandara: «On the North side, shining, stands mighty Meru. The paradise of great god Indra placed on its top. From these mounts the great rivers … fall. At the bottom of Meru – « adobe of gods », Milk ocean is, and before the great mounts Meru sandy sea is stretched out».
Svarga can be compared with Jambudvipa described by Shukadeva Gosvami [4] in the “Bhagavata purana” . If we clean it from poetic embellishments (such, as trees up to heaven, lakes of honey and milk) it come to the following. In Jambudvipa there is Sumeru mount. Sumeru is environed by four other mounts: Mandara, Merumandara, Suparshva and Kumuda. On these four mounts mango trees, pink apples trees, kadamba trees and banyan trees grow. Besides, there are a lot of lakes with pure water. There are also gardens, the names of which are Nandana, Chitraratha, Vaibhradzhaka and Sarvatobhadra. Sumeru is surrounded by twenty mountain chains, including Kuranga, Kurara, Kusumbha, Vaikanka and Trikuta. To the East from Sumeru Dzhathara andDevakuta mounts, to the West from Sumeru – Pavana and Pariyatra, to the South – Kailasa and Karavira, and to the North – Trishringa and Makara. On the top of Sumeru there is Brahmapuri, residence of Lord Brahma. Round Brahmapuri are cities of tsar Indra and seven other demigods. Each of these cities is in four times less than Brahmapuri…
Comparing different descriptions of continent of Svarga (Jambudvipa, Hyperborea) among themselves, somebody pays attention at once to their obvious differences. On the one hand, this country was situated near to the North pole «in the area of gloom and snow», «where stars rotate, the Moon and the Sun». On the other hand, there was never cold on it, evergreen trees and flowers grew, larger part of which could grow only in warm tropical climate.
It can be related as with different time of compiling of legends, so with repeated application in the “Mahabharata”, “Ramayana”, “Bhagavata purana” and other Old Indian texts of additions and adjustments (improvements). And, most likely, that and other together.
In my opinion, the fragments given above describe different time – when Svarga represented the country with warm tropical climat and gods-incomers (Adityas, Svarozhichi -Svarozhichs, etc.) lived in it, and when the country, fertile before, had turned out in the area near the North pole (or to the contrary, the North pole moved to it) and had been locked by ice (has been icebound). Judging by the having data, it had happened rather recently (about 12 thousand years ago), and the most possible reason of it was aglobal catastrophe accompanied by a shift of Earth’s axis. I will tell to you about it in my work “Last days of the Great Northern civilization -the descendants of white gods. What has happened in the Northeastern Asia, Alaska and the shelf of Arctic ocean 12 thousand years ago? The reconstructions on a joint of geology and history“
Vishnu Purana: Chapter 7:- Wherever earthy substance exists, which may be traversed by the feet, that constitutes the sphere of the earth (Bhu Loka), the dimensions of which I have already recounted to you.
Amongst the 14 worlds thus mentioned, the 7th one viz. Bhu-loka is Earth..
‘Bhu’ means ‘Earth’ and ‘loka’ means the surface of planet Earth, where we live.
2.Bhuvar Loka.
Vishnu Purana: Chapter 7:- The region that extends from the earth to the sun, in which the Siddhas and other celestial beings move, is the atmospheric sphere (Bhuvar Loka), which also I have described.
Bhuvar-loka is identified with Earth’s atmosphere and sometimes with the space which is in the immediate neighborhood of Earth.
In other words Bhuvarloka is the near-Earth space including Earth’s atmosphere.
This is the region were all the aircrafts fly and where all the artificial-satellites and space-stations that orbit around the Earth are situated.
This region canbre equated to the Geospace, the space dominated by Earth’s magnetic field.
3.Suvar Loka.
Vishnu Purana: Chapter 7:- The interval between the sun and Dhruva, extending fourteen hundred thousand leagues, is called by those who are acquainted with the system of the universe the heavenly sphere (Suvar Loka)
Suvar-loka (alternatively Swar-loka) is beyond Bhuvarloka.
Some description makes it a planet inhabited by the Devaswith their king Indra.
Vishnu Purana: Chapter 7:- Above Dhruva, at the distance of ton million leagues, lies the sphere of saints, or Mahar-loka, the inhabitants of which dwell in it throughout a Kalpa, or day of Brahmá.
Maharloka is the place of saintly souls (as per Vishnu Purana) and is considered as greater than the Suvarloka .
Some Puarans say that the souls of the Saptarshis (the Seven Sages of Ancient India) reside here with a watchful eye upon the activities of humanity on Earth.
Maharloka can be equated to the region (Stellar Neighborhood) where all the stars visible to us including our Sun (and thus the Suvar Loka or our Solar System) is situated.
Inhabitants of Mahar Loka belongs to an inter stellar civilization.
All of the 27 Nakshatras belongs to Mahar Loka.
5.Jana Loka, The Milky Way Galaxy.
Vishnu Purana: Chapter 7:- At twice that distance is situated Janaloka, where Sanandana and other pure-minded sons of Brahmá, reside.
Jana Loka is described greater than Mahar Loka, contains the Mahar Loka, the world of the stars visible to us.
This can be equated to the Milky_Way Galaxy itself. The word ‘Jana’ means people.
In this case, Jana Loka thus becomes the world of people belonging to the Milky Way Galactic Civilization.
6.Tapo Loka. Galaxies.
Vishnu Purana: Chapter 7:- At four times the distance, between the two last, lies the Tapo-loka (the sphere of penance), inhabited by the deities called Vaibhrájas, who are unconsumable by fire.
Tapo Loka is described as ‘greater than’ or ‘beyond’ or ‘above’ the Jana Loka.
It is the world of the Galaxies visible to us, including the Milky Way Galaxy.
Vishnu Purana: Chapter 7:- At six times the distance (or twelve Crores, a hundred and twenty millions of leagues) is situated Satya-loka, the sphere of truth, the inhabitants of which never again know death.
Satya Loka is a Loka greater than the Tapo Loka.
It is the first among all the 14 Lokas.
It can be equated to the Universe itself containing several Worlds of Galaxies (Tapo Lokas).
Satya Loka is the abode of Brahma, the God of Creation.
Some Puranas describe Brahma as residing in a Cosmic Egg, the Egg of Brahma or Brahmanda. The Universe indeed can be conceived as a Cosmic Egg.
Some Puranas consider a Lotus which sprang from the naval of Vishnu, the primordial being, as the abode of Brahma.
Due to its expansion from aSingularity (a hyper-massive black-hole of infinite mass and infinitesimal size), the Universe indeed looks like a lotus sprang from a navel, except that we need to consider it as a four dimensional (4D) lotus rather than a three dimensional (3D) one.
In this case ‘the navel of Vishnu‘ can be equated to the Singularity from which our Universe has sprung up.
Thus ‘Satya Loka’ is same as ‘the Lotus that sprang from the navel’.
It is same as our ‘Universe’ itself. It is also the ‘Brahmanda’, the ‘Egg of Brahma’ in which Brahma resides.
The etymology of the word ‘Vishnu’ means ‘that which expands (vis:- expand)’. The etymology of the word ‘Brahma’ to means ‘that which is big or that which is expanded (Brh:- expand, grow, large)’.
Both of these words (personified as Brahma and Vishnu) signifies the expansion of the Universe (a property inherent in the Universe).
The inhabitants of this Cosmic World are mentioned as immortals (ie, they exist till the universe exists).
Pat Two containing the Seven worlds beneath us follow.
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