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Tag: Vishnu

  • What Is Vibhuti,The Holy Sacred Ash

    Hindus wear their sect’s religious symbol on their foreheads.

    The symbol is of two types.

    One is ‘Vibhuti, also called ‘Thiruneeru’ and another is’ Nama’ (Thiruman).

    Vibhuti is applied to the forehead by those who worship Shiva and Nama or Thiruman by the worshipers of Vishnu, .

    The Smritis insist on one wearing either of these; failure will result in spiritual non development.

    Vedic scriptures say,

    “Lalaata Shoonyam Smashaana Tulyam”,which means that “an empty forehead is comparable to a cemetery.

    The great saint Thiru Gyaana Sambandar did many wonders with Vibhuthi and he expounds the greatness of Vibhuti in one of his Pathigams called “Thiruneetru Pathigam” as follows,

    Mandhira maavadhu neeru| Vaanavar meeladhu neeru ||

    Sundhara maavadhu neeru |Thudhikkap paduvadhu neeru ||

    Thandhira maavadhu neeru| Chamayaththil ullaadhu neeru ||

    Senthuvar vaayumai pangan|Thiruaalavaayaan Thiruneerae ||

    Vibhuti.

    The term Vibhuti means , in general, greatness, and here it means the Sacred Ash as well.

    The Bhagavad Gita has a Chapter called The Vibhuti Yoga(Chapter 10) where Lord Krishna speaks of His various manifestations, including His Universal Form, Virat Roopa’

    Therefore the Chapter is called the Vibhuti Yoga.

    How come this Sacred Ash is  reckoned to be Great?

    In Life, Hinduism asserts, that one should be humble and remember his status, that is of his Mortality.

    Accepting Mortality wholeheartedly calls for great effort, and once you accept this, you would not behave in such a way that hurts others.

    Because the Vibhuti represents the Ashes one’s Body is turned into after death, the applying of Vibhuti reminds one constantly of his mortality.

    The acceptance of this fact and consequent sober behavior speaks of greatness.

    Hence Vibhuti is called as such.

    In Sanskrit, Bhoothi means Aishwaryam, meaning wealth, treasure, precious. Vi-bhoothi with an Upasarga (preposition “vi”) means very or more valuable. The synonyms of Vibhuhti in Sanskrit as said in the Amara-kosha is “Vibhuthi: bhoothi: Aishwaryam”.Vibhuhti can also be called as Bhoothi,Aishwaryam,Basma.

    Legends and Purana have it that Lord Rudra( as distinct from Lord Shiva) Resides in the Smasana, where the bodies are cremated.

    The Hindu custom is that once one dies, the body must be kept at Home for a period of ,minimum 3 nazhikais or approximately one and a half hours before the Death ceremonies begin(One Nazhikai-24 minutes, Two and a Half Nazhikais, one hour).

    The ceremonies at Home shall take about an hour and a half.

    Travel to burning Ghat an hour,ceremony at the Ghat an hour, that makes about five hours from the time of Death to lighting the Pyre.

    The chances of the Death not being final is guaranteed during this period , as the body is not to be set afire before this period.

    Rudra is the Deity of Destruction, destroys only to enable for its reappearance -Thirodhana (Concealment), an Attribute of Lord Shiva, the others being,Srusti as Brahma, Stithi as Vishnu,Samhara, as Rudra,Thirodhana and Anugraha as Shiva.(Concealment and Grace).

    As Rudra is the ruling Deity of Death,Vibhuti is applied.

    Thiruman or Nama is used by the Srivaishnavas, for Lord Govinda, a Name of Lord Krishna, is the ruling Deity after Death.

    Blog on Nama, Thiruman, follows.

    There are eleven Rudras, the Rudra we have for Death is the Chief among them.

    The Eleven Rudras, Ekadasa Rudras and Their Consorts,

    The 11 Rudras are as follows:

    1. Mahadeva, 2. Shiva , 3. Maha Rudra, 4. Shankara, 5. Neelalohita, 6. Eshana Rudra, 7. Vijaya Rudra, 8. Bheema Rudra, 9. Devadeva, 10. Bhavodbhava and 11. Adityatmaka Srirudra.

    Their 11 consorts of these 11 Rudras are:- 1. Dhee devi, 2. Dhritti devi, 3. Ushna (Rasala) devi, 4. Uma devi, 5. Neeyut devi, 5. Sarpi devi, 7. Eela devi, 8. Ambika devi, 9. Ieravati devi, 10. Sudha devi and 11. Deeksha devi respectively.

    Vibhuti is applied in Eleven places in the body.

    1.Forehead.

    2.Chest Two , one over the Center  of the Chest, the other just above the Navel.

    3.Right Arm Three, starting from right below the shoulder-blade up to the point where the wrist joins the Palm.( one just below the shoulder-blade, one just above the elbow joint and the other one at the wrist)

    4.Left Arm;Same as the Right Arm.

    5.Shoulder Blades, one each on each  shoulder Blade.

    There  is also a school . especially the Saiva, following Saiva Siddhanta, to wear more,.

    How to wear Vibhuti.

    Vibhuti is to be worn in a paste from only if one takes bath;other wise it has to be worn in its dry form only.

    It is a practice to wear Bhasma,Dry,in the evenings.

    Bhasma should not have lines, it has to be smeared.

    No Karma is to be performed without Vibhuti.

    Wearing Vibhuti , while performing Srardha, till a particular point is not allowed, so id the case during Tharpanam.

    However it is allowed for Tharpana, depending on Family Traditions, I wear Vibhuti for Tharpana, as it is my Family practice.

    Greatness of Vibuti.

    Vibhuti may refer to glorious attributes of the divine, and in this context is translated as ‘all pervading’, ‘superhuman power’, ‘wealth’ and so on.

    The ash of any burnt object is not regarded as holy ash.Vibhuti (AKA Bhasma,Thiruneeru,the holy ash) is the ash from the Homa (consecrated fire) where wood is used to perform the ritual. Or the deity is worshipped by pouring ash as abhisheka and is then distributed as Prassad to devotees. Bhasma is generally applied on the forehead,neck,chest,arms,stomach elbow,wrists etc.,. Some apply it on other parts of the body, like the knees,toes,scalp etc.,.It is considered very auspicious for the hindus especially shaiva sect of people to smear vibhuthi all over the body.

    Sri Adi Shankaracharya praises the greatness of Vibhuthi Of Lord Murugan in his “Sri Subramnaya Bhujanga Stotra” as follows ,

    ApasmAra kushta kshayArsha prameha|

    JvaronmAdha gulmAdhi rogA mahAntha||

    PishAchAshcha sarve bhavatpatra bhoothim|

    Vilokya kshanAth tArakAre dravanthe|| (Shloka no.25)

    Meaning:
    Oh Conqueror of Taraka! Severe epilepsy, leprosy, consumption, lung diseases, venereal diseases, fevers, mental diseases of all types, they run away the moment they see Thy Vibhuti contained in a leaf.

    This information is based on the Smriti and Vaidyanatha Dikshiteeyam.

    Variation, for example is here below.

     

     

     

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  • Death Chant Of Hinduism Karna Mantra

    This post is meant for people who believe in God , not for those who believe in Love, though not have seen it,yet deny God.

    We in our normal lives, imagine we have no time to think of God,( yet we do have time for TV and Politics); it is much more difficult to think of God when we lie dying when your senses are leaving you and you are in pain.

    Bhagavad Gita Sloka.
    Bhagavad Gita Sloka.

    Hindu Sastras declare that one becomes what one thinks of at the time of Death.

    So the Sastras enjoin one to name their children in the name of God.

    By calling out to them,though you do not mean it,you call out God and He remembers, for Fire will singe you whether you are aware of it or not.

    What name is to call out as Death stalks.

    The One who guides you at and after Death is Lord Vishnu, the protector.

    He is the Ultimate Ruler of Death in His Name Govinda.

    Govinda is the name which is very dear to Lord Krishna, an Avatar of Vishnu.

    The name is to be called out.

    When and if you can not call this Name. those around you are required to recite the Vishnu Sahasranama or Om NamaSivaya.

    Yet there is an important ceremony to be performed by the eldest son at the time of Death of his parents.

    He is to keep the head of the parent at the time of dying on his left thigh and chant this mantra.

    sarva-dharman parityajya
    mam ekam saranam vraja
    aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
    moksayisyami ma sucah

    SYNONYMS

    sarva-dharman–all varieties of Dharma; parityajya–abandoning;mam–unto Me; ekam–only; saranam–surrender; vraja–go; aham–I;tvam–you; sarva–all; papebhyah–from sinful reactions; moksayisyami–deliver; ma–not; sucah–worry.

    Abandon all varieties of Religion, Dharma and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction and grant you Salvation. Do not fear.

    Here Lord Krishna uses the rarely used form of address to speak to Arjuna.

    That is ‘Ma Sucha’

    This is a term of endearment by a Father to his son.

    Krishna does not use this term anywhere to address Arjuna , in the Mahabharata, not did he use this term to anybody in the Puranas, including His children.

    What are the different Dharmas?

    At one point Krishna declares in the Bhagavad Gita that it is very difficult to understand the term Dharma or its implications , under different circumstances.

    Dharma may be loosely translated as  Righteousness; it is much more than this, please read The Gita.

    The Different types of Dharma.

    Varna Dharma. Duties prescribed  for your natural disposition.

    Asrama Dharma, Duties applicable to your station in life, as a Bachelor, Married Man, semi retired from family and totally renounced.

    Duties are also prescribed for special circumstances.

    And there are exceptions too!

    When Krishna says leave all Karmas, He means that one should mentally  renounce the fruits of actions, better still even the performance of Action

    This is the Karna Mantra.

    Of all the senses, at the time of Natural death, the ears give out first.

    So at the early signs of death’s approach, this mantra is to recited.

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  • Knowledge No Help In Salvation Bhaja Govindam Sankaracharya

    Adi Sankaracharya,as Rajaji puts it in his introduction to MS rendering of The Bhaja Govindam,who drank the nectar of Knowledge as one wold a sip of water from one’s palm, extols the virtues of Bhakti in his famous song/sloka  Bhaja Govinda,(Repeat ‘Govinda’, a Name of Lord Vishnu)

    Adi Shankaracharya,t he proponent of Advaita, Non  Dualism, is one who seems to advocate Gnana Yoga, The Path Of Knowledge.

    Bhaja Govindam
    Bhaja Govindam

    He assigns a great importance to the understanding of The Reality, Gnana Yoga.

    But Sankaracharaya, who is such an ardent protagonist of the Path of Knowledge, reverts to Bhakti in his Bhaja Govindam.

    It is, as decreed in the scriptures,, rare to be born a Human being, where limited Freedom Of Choice is offered to realize Godhood.

    Depending on one’s mental attitude and dispositions. various paths for realizing Godhood are proposed in Hinduism.

    They are,

    Gnana Yoga, The Path of Knowledge,

    Karma Yoga , The Path of Action,

    Raja Yoga, The Path of Physical and Mental Disciple, and

    Bhakti Yoga, The path of Surrender to God.

    Vedic texts maintain that one requires God’s Blessings to think of God.

    One needs His Anugraha to think of Him, unlike  in Purva Mimamsa.

    ‘அவன் அருளாலே அவன் தாள் வணங்கி ‘ Siva Puanam.

    ‘भजगोविन्दं भजगोविन्दं गोविन्दं भजमूढमते . संप्राप्ते सन्निहिते काले नहि नहि रक्षति डुकृञ्करणे .. १..

    1 Seek Govinda, Seek Govinda,
    Seek Govinda, O Fool!
    When the appointed times comes (death),
    grammar rules surely will not save you.”

    One may be well versed in Philosophy.

    This, at best, can only satisfy the Intellectual curiosity.

    May be in some, reinforce Faith.

    But  a faith that needs reinforcement, is no faith at all.

    And mind and Logic ‘ being what they are can change and argue both ways.

    So one can never know or understand Reality or God.

    One, can feel Him, Experience Him.

    All the knowledge one possesses would be of no use to one as one lies Dying.

    It is said that one’s Life flashes before him at that point of time and nothing more.

    It is very rare that one remembers God when one is acute Physical agony.

    Scriptures say one is reborn based one’s last thoughts.

    In tune with this, it is better to remember God as frequently as possible with the hope that we would remember His Name as we lie dying, at least by force of Habit.

    In  Tamil there is a Line,

    -அப்போதைக்கிப்போதே சொல்லி வைத்தேன்,,

    என்னை ஆண்டருள்வாய்  ‘நாராயணா ‘

    ‘I have called out your name in advance,

    Please save me Narayana’

    It is very significant to note that Adi Shankaracharya uses the name ‘Govinda’

    Not any other name of Vishnu or Krishna.

    Govinda is one of the Names of Vishnu.

    Lord Krishna was anointed as the King by  Indra, as King of Cattle.

    This, Vishnu Purana says, is the name which is very dear to lord Naranyana, , the other name being ‘

    Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasu Devaya’ The Dwadasa Nama of Vishnu(12 Letters).

    One may note that in the Apara Karma, including Sraradha, Govinda is used, even if  one is a worshiper of Lord Siva: those who worship Vishnu use Narayan for auspicious occasions only.

    The reason is Lord Govinda is the One who is responsible for Life after death.

    Sankara uses the term ‘Samprapthe’, the  good remnants of impressions of Life.

    One’s death  is not in one’s hands,

    No body knows how or where one will die.

    The impressions of the good deeds determine the manner and the time of one’s death.

    Under these circumstances, one’knowledge is useless.

    Only Govinda’s name alone will help.

    (Literal translation is ,

    ‘Worship Govinda, worship Govinda, worship Govinda, Oh fool ! Rules of grammar will not save you at the time of your death.

     

    In Vedanga all Sciences are taught, including Linguistics, Logic(Tharka)Chandas(Meters) Niruktha(How words are combined)

    Even such analysis will not help at the time of death)

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  • Concept Of God In India Vedas Other Systems

    All In One, Virat Rupa

    Hinduism and in India The concept of God is wide and varied.

    Broadly speaking Indian Thought is classified into two groups.

    The Astika and The Nastika.

    Astika (means who is devoted) Systems are those which believe in the authenticity of the Vedas and take them as the founding facts, Axioms, they are not questioned,

    Under these categories come  The Vedas, containing Brahmnanas,Arnayakas Uoanishads, The Bhagavd Gita , Brahma Sutra.

    Of these the Vedas, The Bhagavad Gita and the Brahma Sutra are called The Three Jewels, Ratna Traya.

    These are unwavering in their adherence to The Vedas.

    Puranas , signifying very old, are only supplementary to these.

    If there are any conflicts between the Vedas and the Puranas, Views of the Vedas shall prevail.

    The Vedas are called Sruthis,learnt by being heard, not written.

    The others are called Smritis,learnt by memory, indicating historical events recorded and recollected..

    Under these Astika System the Concept of God is not uniform.

    While the Vedas and the others believe in the existence of God,Theistic the other Astika systems like Nyaya, Vaishesika  Samkhya and Purva Mimamsa are Atheistic, though all of  them accept the Vedas as the Authority.

    So we have these  systems in the Astika group.

    Nyaya,

    Vaishesika,

    Samkhya,

    Mimasa(Purva Mimasa) and

    Uttara Mimasa, The Upanishads.

    On the other hand we have the Nastika Sytems,( means denial of God) are those which do not believe in the authority of The Vedas.

    Under this we have,

    The Carvakas,

    Buddhism and

    Jainism.

    While Buddhism and Jainism do not accept the authorit of The Vedas, they follow the Theory of Karma of the Vedas in a great detail.

    While the Carvakas reject out right the Concept of God, Buddhism and Jainism are not as vehement in their  denial of  God.

    The name and attributes of the God  are changed.

    While decrying worship of idols(in fact this was one of their main grouse against Hinduism of The Vedas,) they ended up worshiping their Founders, The Buddha and Mahavira.

    In the case of Mahavira, The Jainism go back to the previous births of Samkhya Muni and worship the Adi Mahavir.

    Now lets us see what the Vedas and Upanishads say on the concept of God.

    The Vedas.

    The Vedas contain the concepts of God as Non Dulaism, Qualified Non Dualism, Dualism_Advaita, Visistsadvaita, and Dvaita.

    Apart from this, we have,

    Polytheism,(worship of many deities).

    Monotheis(worship of One God)

    Henotheism where on God is praised at the cost of another.

    Under Polyheism/Henotheism, we have Varuna, Agni,Vayu,Aditya Maruts Indra Yama,Kubera, Vaiswanara,Prithv,i Brahma , Vishnu, Rudra, Ganapathy Skanda, Saraswarthy, Lakshmi as Sri.

    Of we these, we find Brahma , Vishnu and Rudra being elevated as the Three Supreme Gods.

    Siva and Narayana, on the other hand are considered the direct manifestation of the Reality, Brahman, along with Uma.

    To simplify the method of worship and to avoid confusion Sankaracharya  groupe six as Shanmathas(Six Systems)

    They are ,

    Ganapathyam (Ganapathy)

    Saumaram (Surya, The Sun)

    Kaumaram (Skanda, Subramanya)

    Saivam, Sakthi (Parvati,Uma) and

    Vaishnavam(Vishnu).

    The other deities may be worshiped on individual fancies, but these remain the Main Deities.

    As society developed ther have been additions and continuation of tribal worship as well.

    Under this, we have Village deities, which are responsible for the welfare of the Village,(Sastha, Mariamman worship come under this)

    Boundary Deities(Ellaichamy)-Karuppannasamy worship comes under this.

    We also have Forest Deities, Vana Durga.

    Mountain deities, Muruga, an avatra of Skanda

    In addition we have family deities which a family worships by custom.

    All these myriad of deities come under the the three main Deities along with Uma, Parvati.

    However the Supreme priciple of the Vedas is that Reality Brahman has no attribute, nameless, Formless.

    This is called Nirguna, with out attributes.

    People can find, in important Stothras, Nirgana Aaradhana and Saguna Aradhana.

    We have the Narayana Suktham is a Nirguna Aradhana, Vishnu Sooktham is Saguna Aradhana.

    In Sri Lalitha Sahasranama, one finds Nirguna and Saguna Stuthis.

    And in Attribute-less worship one can find Non dualism,Qualified Non dualism and Dualism.

    It is astonishing to find that all individual views are taken into consideration and are synthesized in the concept of Reality.

    Even Atheism is taken into consideration and the Atheists were not ostracized or ignored.

    This is the greatness of the Indian Thought, that none can arrogate only  themselves to knowledge.

     

     

     

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  • Six Systems Of Vedic Worship Sankaracharya

    Hinduism is like a Doctor, prescribes , but it leaves it to the individual to choose. as Hinduism is highly individualistic.

    There are thoughts from the Vedic Times which include Atheism of Charvaka,Materialism.

    Shanmatha
    Shanatha Of Sankaracharya

    One is left to choose what suits him the best.

    Even the Vedas have Karma Kanda(Details of Duties),Gnana Kanda(Path Of Knowledge)

    There is no recommendation of Idol Worship in The Vedas.

    This was a later development.

    All this had such an effect that people were following innumerable Gods and Goddesses,Minor Deities.

    There were no system of worship.

    To add to this muddle was the influence of Mimaamsa Philosophy which spoke of only Karma Kanda , with no reference to God.

    Then there was Buddhism and Jainism advocating Godlessness, Nireswaravada.

    Sankaracharya  came and reorganized the systems of worship.

    As indicated in my earlier post, they are six in number,

    Ganapathyam, The Worship of Loed Ganapathy,Ganesh.

    Ganapathy is referred to in the Vedas and we have Ganoponishad

    This has been given priority by Sankaracharya.

    Next is Soumaaram, Worship of Lord Suryanarayan, the Sun God.

    Surya is called’ ‘Prathyaksha Brahma’ ‘The Visible God’

    One tidbit on this.

    The concluding portion of Sandhyavandan , which is performed daily, was not found in the original text.

    ‘Nama Savitre Jagadeka Chakshushe…Kesavam Prathi gachchathi”

    This was included by Lord Krishna, when he performed the Grahana Tharpan, when it was not due and was taught to Yudhishtir>

    Kaumaaram, Worship of Lord Subramanya,

    Lord Subramanya is not mentioned in the Vedas.

    But Skanda is mentioned, this later became Subramanya.

    The meaning of the word Subramanya is The Best Brahmin , Brahmin being the one who realized The Reality,Brahman, for it was Lord Subramanya who explained Pranava , Om,to Lord Siva.

    Saivam,Woship of Lord Siva.

    Lord Siva is not mentioned directly n the Vedas, but Rudra is.

    In the Rudra Prasna the moola Mantra of Lord Siva is kept secretly in the Namakam in the middle of the eleven Anuvaakas, that too in the middle of the sloka

    ‘Nama Sivaya Ca, Sivadhrayaca,’

    Saktam, Worship of Goddess Uma ‘Parvati’

    Shakti is worship is mentioned elaborately in the Vedas by referring in the Durga Suktham,Sri Suktam,Neela Suktham.

    One important reason that Sakthi worship is considered superior is the fact that the word UMA contains all the letters of the Pranava, OM

    ‘Akaaram, Ukaaram and Makaaram”

    Vaishnavism, Worship of Lord Vishnu.

    Lord Vishnu is mentioned in the Vedas.

    The term Vishnu means ‘ one who supports’, from the word ‘Jishnu’, supporting.

    Vishnu is considered to be an Amsa  a part of Naranayana,

    Narayana means one sets example for Men as to How to Live ‘Nara Ayana’for Men How to Live(path)

    Another meaning is ‘ one who Lies in Water”

    The we have Purusha Suktham, which many people take it to refer Lord Vishnu.

    It is not.

    Purusha Suktham refers to and explains Universal Evolution and Cosmic Principles.

    Thus we have Purusha Suktam,Narayan Suktham and Vishnu Suktham, each denoting a different, yet One Entity.

    Thus the Six Systems of Hindu Worship was organised by Shankaracharya.

    However there are  more Deities and they fall under the Category of Minor Deities,  Town”Village Deities .

    I shall post about this later.

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    http://ramanisblog.in/2013/06/16/six-gods-to-worship-sankaracharya/