Lord Brahma resides
On his lotus throne
Creating the world
Creating live
He breathes in life
Lets loose the pearls
Of knowledge and wisdom
Embedded in the Vedas
The essence ready to unfold
As the worlds come alive
The Vedas gone
Stolen by the demons,
Madhu and Kaitabha...
The demons Madhu and Kaitabha are associated with Lord Vishnu and Brahma in many ways. They are known to have infamously stolen the Vedas while the worlds were being created. The vedas, the root of all knowledge, carrying the essence of living had to be retreaved from the Asuras(demons). Fearing greater loss, the Devas went to Devi who directed them towards Vishnu to retreave the Vedas. In pure whiteness, dressed in blue, Lord Vishnu descended onto the earth in the form of Hayagriva, human by nature but horse headed in form, to fight the demons and destroy them...
In Sakta tradition, Hayagriva is also the name of a demon who was the son of Kashyapa Prajapati. He did severe penance and won the favor of Goddess Durga, and asked for a boon that he should be killed only by another Hayagriva. This almost made him invincible and he began to harass the Devas. The Devas turned to Vishnu for aid, who despite a long struggle was unable to kill him. Vishnu returned to Vaikuntham and started severe penance in padmasana with his head supported by his bow. The Devas went back to request him again but were unable to shake him out of his meditation. They tried to break his deep conentration with the help of termites gnawing at the string of the bow, but the snapping of the bow resulted in the string lashing out with such force that Vishnu's head was severed from his body. It was now that Devi revealed the boon of the demon Hayagriva to the devas and told them to have Vishnu's head replaced with that of a pure white horse, making him another Hayagriva, in order to kill the demon...
Hayagriva is represented 4 armed, carrying Shanka and chakra in two hands, a rosary(aksha-mala) in the third and his fourth is in the vyakhya mudra. He is also found holding the vedas in some occasions. Hayagriva is associated with the purity of knowledge and is represented in the same way as Saraswati. White is a symbolism of purity that is depicted in the "white horse" face he adorns. In Vaishnavite tradition, Vedanta Desika (born in 1317 A.D. in Thoopul near Kanchipuram) is considered to be the incarnation of the ghanta(bell) of the Lord of Thirupati. He was a child prodigee who had risen to the status of "Acharya" at the age of 27. On initiation into the realm of the Garuda mantra, Desikan went to Thiruvahindrapuram and began chanting. Pleased with his devotion, Garuda initiated him into the Hayagriva Mantra, encompassing all knowledge. Lord Hayagriva appeared to Desika and presented him an idol of Himself, hence all temples dedicated to Desika have an idol of Hayagriva installed near him. Thiruvahindrapuram has one of the most ancient temples dedicated to Hayagriva.
Hayagriva shrine in Hayagriva Madhab Temple, Manikuta ParvatIn another legend the Vaishnavite tradition in Orissa is brought to light. King Indradyumna of Orissa had a dream, where the Lord instructed him that a big tree would come floating in the sea and he would have to cut it into 7 pieces. 2 of these pieces have been brought to Kamarupa (the others were carved into Krishna Jagannatha, Balarama and Subhadra at the Jagannath Mandir Puri), one of which has been fashioned into the form of Hayagriva and the other as Madhava(Matsya). It is also believed that the Hayagriva avatar of Vishnu might have preceeded the Matsya avatar.
Last but not the least, Hayariva holds the same importance as Saraswati when it comes to imparting knowledge. Garuda had initiated Vedanta Desika into the Hayagriva Mantra as previously mentioned. It is a tradition even today for children to recite this mantra before they begin they daily studies.
Hayagriva Shlokam goes as follows:
Gyaananandamayam Devam | Nirmala Spadikakruthim ||
Aadaram Sarva Vidyanaam | Hayagreevam Upasmahe ||
Vidyaarambam begins with a prayer to Sri Hayagriva praising him as the presiding deity for all knowledge. May he grant us the power to imbibe this knowledge we seek with the recitation of this mantra.
Photo courtesy: Hayagreevar - Copyright © trsiyengar.com 2004-2005
51 comments:
Hi Kavitha, Glad to have you back in action!
As we have seen earlier also, the ‘wise’ ancients wrote mythological stories in code words, utilizing animals/ human characters to describe the apparently complicated design and creation of the universe, by apparently a Supreme Being, for the benefit of the ‘common man’ as well as the learned ones, who had the inherent capacity to decode the stories, which were made interesting for sustaining the interest of the average human being - the illiterates through hearing and the literates getting also to read those and thereafter go to greater depths, if interested…
In the ‘present’ also, the ‘scientists’ are also apparently getting to know the ‘truth’ of creation in steps, gradually…
In general, perhaps the knowledge being gradually acquired in the ‘present’ could help a ‘born Hindu’ also to interpret the Hindu mythological stories and thereby realize the original intent of the ‘wise ancients’ in other parts of the globe also…
The Gita, for example, could help one realize asuras/ rakshashas or demons as selfish persons, while suras/ devtas indicated selfless persons, as instruments or mediums utilized by the Formless Creator for achieving perfection, that is balance beween the ‘spiritual’ and the ‘material’ – represented by Ganesha the son of Parvati the consort of Shiva…
The basic concept of Creation, by Nadbindu the Formless energy, utilizing sound energy that is symbolically represented by ‘OM’ or ‘3’, the alphanumeric symbols, and the story of ‘churning of the milky ocean’ in four stages under the supervision of Sage Brihaspati, or the planet Jupiter the source of basic element Hydrogen in liquid form, to achieve ‘amrit’, that is, immortality describe the creation of the Solar system, with our Sun (Brahma) that has Hydrogen gas in its core as the leader of the near permanent system, as a true representation of the Formless Creator in physical forms, each also having gravitational force concentrated at their centres as the formless component, as part of the Formless Being…and man was realized by Yogis as a model represented by essences of eight numbers selected members of the solar system in different proportions to reflect different characteristic behaviours...
In the story popular in north India, Brahma is depicted as the author of the Vedas the books that believably contain the record of information related with creation of the physical universe, which is kept secret and not revealed fully to everyone.
However, in order to maintain continuity over eternity in the day-to-day functioning of Brahma, a character believably becomes necessary to act like a tape recorder to hold the information when Brahma goes to sleep during his night. The character named ‘Hayagriva’ is depicted as that person…
It was apparently realized by the ‘highly elevated souls’ or Yogis that being a model of the universay the total information is recorded even within each human form, although it is temporary. However, it is distributed within the eight ‘chakras’ in different quantums from one person to another (to reflect the apparent hierarchy), from ‘Mooladhar’ to ‘Sahasrara chakras’.
Thus, everyone received only that much information that reached ‘sahasrara chakra’ in the head or brain at any given time, from Satyuga to Kaliyuga.
For a person to know the Absolute Truth or complete information the seeker at any given point in time needs to activate the ‘kundalini’ and manage to lift the distributed energy/ information from eight chakras to just one point in the head to realize the Absolute Truth…
In the job of not permitting total energy easily reach the brain, the ‘Vishuddhi chakra’ located in the throat believably plays a very important role of generally acting as a barrier, or a defence mechanism…
It was also found by them that it is the essence of ‘Shukra’, or planet Venus is housed in the throat, where Guru Shukracharya is believed to be the advisor of the ‘rakshashas’, the word conveying people related with ‘raksha’ or defence…
Yogiraja Krishna in the Gita says that he has created only two types of men: The devtas (selfless) and rakshashas (the selfish)…And to make the story interesting the characters related with Shukra were depicted as asuras or demons by the ‘wise ancients’…and in Sanskrit, ‘haya’ means horse, while ‘griva’ means neck. Thus ‘Hayagriva’ literally symbolically conveys a long-necked person, (like that of a horse), in order to hold the believably infinite knowledge during Brahma’s night till a new Brahma or sun took over from him at the beginning of a fresh day…as conveyed by the stories related with ‘Suryavanshi kings’ that is models of our Sun…
Hi Kavitha, the legend you have cited is based on the Shakti cult, for example, as it is indicated in the extracted line, “…Fearing greater loss, the Devas went to Devi who directed them towards Vishnu to retrieve the Vedas. In pure whiteness, dressed in blue, Lord Vishnu descended onto the earth in the form of Hayagriva, human by nature but horse headed in form, to fight the demons and destroy them...”
The above depicts Vishnu being represented by ‘Neelamber Krishna’ (in blue garment) as part of white sunrays that are generally associated with Saraswati the Goddess of knowledge (consort of Brahma), and also contains within it, besides blue colour, the other 6 well known colours as part of the visible spectrum…and blue colour is associated with the apparently non-playing-captain-like planet Saturn (double colour, both red and blue, ringed planet, considered a friend of Venus, whose essence is believed housed in the throat of human form. And also the mythological stories indicate blue colour associated with poison that had emerged in the beginning when churning had just been started in Kaliyuga the ‘dark age’…which only Shiva (earth the ‘blue planet’) could consume and hold it in His throat thanks to His consort Parvati (associated with yellow colour and moon), and then called Neelkantha that is ‘blue throated’!
In the human form, as model of the universe/ formless Shiva or Vishnu (for Shiva is Vishnu and Vishnu is Shiva), essence is believed represented through our solar system and eight selected members are believed to represent Mahashiva, in which Venus represents His throat…
Saturn, the ringed planet was believed to represent the physical form of Vishnu, literally ‘poisonous atom’, which onaccount of blue colour rendered to human form when poison is consumed, leading to death even, perhaps came to be associated with Satan, a misnomer, via the ‘west’, which Neelamber Krishna or blue colour is believed to rule…
Kavitha,What is vyakhya mudra?
According to my knowledge the meaning of the word "Madhav" is God of spring.
Hi Dr Anilji, 'I' give below 'my' interpretation to read teh mind of the 'ancients'.
Kavitha has mentioned, “Hayagriva is represented 4 armed, carrying Shanka and chakra in two hands, a rosary (akshaya-mala) in the third and his fourth is in the vyakhya mudra...”
Like Natraj Shiva, Vishnu is also generally symbolically depicted as having four arms. And, He believably holds conch-shell in one hand: indicating creation of physical forms, by transformation of sound energy into material forms apparent in the infinite universe – the sound energy symbolically represented by ‘OM’ or ‘3’…His second hand is shown to have ‘Chakra’, also called ‘sudershan-chakra’ the ‘beautiful discus or toothed-wheel, as His weapon with which He cut His enemy’s head from a distance, such that the weapon then returned back to Him, like a boomerang…
The above-cited aspects appear to be the same between Hayagriva and Vishnu…
Coming to the other two hands, these in the form of Hayagriva, (Neelamber Krishna, who eventually evolved as Peetamber Krishna that is Parvati, represented by Moon’s essence in human head – being given the highest pedestal to Ma Sati/ Kali/ Rudra who resides at the heart of Shiva or core of earth), appears to symbolically represent Natraj Shiva: The rosary of 108 rudraksha beads, generally represents the believable over 1000 (1080) cycles of review by Bhootnath Shiva of His past during over 4 billion years in cycles of four yugas or Mahayugas, relates the third hand with Shiva, while His fourth hand is generally believed to depict ‘Abhaya Mudra’ that is convey fearlessness to His Own Images. However, ‘vyakhya mudra’ (‘vyakhya’, generally meaning expression in simple words) perhaps refers to simple mudras or signs made by a Bharat Natyam dancer with the fingers to express various emotions or nine rasas, related with Navgraha or nine planets, which are apparently generally experienced by human beings in their day-to-day life…
Kavitha might like to throw more or different light…
The word ‘madhava’, generally associated with Vishnu/ Krishna, has been derived from ‘madhu’, which when used as an adjective means ‘sweet’ and also ‘tasty’, such as in Hayagriva Madhava...
As per the mythological stories, the two ‘asuras’ or ‘rakshasha‘, that is, demons that apparently evolved from two ears of Vishnu are called Madhu and Kaitabha, who scared Brahma seated on the lotus flower that had evolved from Vishnu’s navel…These could be decodified to represent our solar system, where Sun is called Brahma, and helpful planet is called sweet or Madhu and harmful planet is called Kaitabha, the word evolved from ‘Katu’ or bitter!
Although earlier also elsewhere discussed, as conveyed by the name ‘Dashashvamedha Ghat’ at Kashi, or Varanasi, on the banks of the Holy River Ganga, which is associated with Gangadhar Shiva, it is interesting also to learn that the ‘suryavanshi kings’, viz. Lord Rama (model of Sun, as an ‘expert archer’) etc are shown using a white horse to perform the religious ceremony called ‘Ashvamedha yagya’, where a white horse was let loose to march forward beyond the territory of the king concerned, followed by king’s powerful army so that if any other king, in another territory, didn't accept his supremacy then he was supposed to stop the horse and decide based on victory or loss in the fight that woiuld ensue between the two armies…
Dashashvmedha Ghat thus conveys the believable location from where Lord Rama expanded his empire over the entire globe after ten such religious ceremonies. And, as man believably is model of the universe, the phenomenon indicates similar expansion of the influence range of Sun, and also the apparent expansion of the universe by Nadbindu, but incessantly as He is unending…
Another interesting feature of the Hindu mythological stories is the use of the term, ‘bow’, as we saw earlier also apparently used to describe the influence range of earth, as ‘Shiva’s bow’ given to him by Vishnu, which in simple words related it with earth and its gravitational force’s influence range, which helps it to retain its satellite, moon, within it. This ‘astronomical phenomenon’, including penetration of sunrays into earth’s atmosphere to reach earth’s surface despite the Ozone layer (Shiva’s generally closed Third Eye) was seen to be conveyed through the marriage of Arjuna/ Rama (representing our Sun) & Draupadi/ Sita (representing our Moon, the believable source of life-giving water on earth, which although in reality relatively smaller in size appears to have the same size as that of our Sun and helps reflect sunrays to illuminate the earth’s surface during the night, such that moonrays are believed to be helpful for growth of ‘life’ on earth, and Shiva is also called Chandrashekhara the one who receives moonrays!)…
Saturn was depicted as responsible for cutting away the head of Parvati’s new-born second son Ganesha (which was later replaced by Shiva by an elephant head!), designed by her to save herself from Shiva the ‘Destroyer’ and eventually for her to act as the provider of ‘Amrit’ or immortality to Mahesha, the solar system, by holding the deadly poison that had evolved in the first stage of churning of the milky ocean (Milky Way Galaxy) in Shiva’s throat! The planet Venus is observed even in the ‘present’ to hold poisonous gases in its atmosphere that the myths depicted through bitter, and certain ‘harmful’ human characters, generally called demons, but apparently performing some useful task in the birth/ growth/ sustenance of life on earth as per a grand design…
The Hindu Mythological stories in general indicate the entire physical universe as representation in material form of ‘ananta’, or an unending spiritual being, basically represented by the dark void these stars - as sources of white light (and also planets or heavenly bodies that are sustained by energy emanated by these) - apparently fill up, and which is apparently continuing to grow bigger and bigger, like an expanding balloon…as model of the infinite void as the influence range of a Formless Being at its centre…
A galaxy, like our Milky Way Galaxy that houses our planet earth as apparent representation of the superior most formless one in physical form, is considered as the basic heavenly body, innumerable varieties and numbers of which apparently fill up the dark space of the infinite universe…
Our galaxy is believed by the ‘present day scientists’ also to house a ‘Black Hole’, a super gravity heavenly body (component of Vishnu, as per Hindu mythology?) having nearly zero volume…expressed as ‘Krishna’ the representative of Formless Crator, that is, Vishnu the Nadbindu the source of ‘Brahmanad’ or ‘Bing Bang’…
Thus with the knowledge received about our own galaxy and the solar system, perhaps one can try to visualize the story related with Vishnu’s bow, and demon Hayagriva as the son of Kashyap Prajapati, which perhaps relates with the Tortoise form of Vishnu, the second incarnation, or an intermediate stage in the evolutionary process, that believably supported the earth at its base, the South Pole, in which Kashyap Prajapati refers to the molten magma in the core of earth that apparently acted as the raw material for various heavenly bodies, gases for stars and solids as planets etc to appear in the ‘sky’…till eventually Moon (Mohini roop of Vishnu that gave ‘amrit’ to devtas) evolved from the earth, as described in the mythology through the story of marriage of Shiva with parvati the daughter of the Himalayas!
Shri Anon, Kavitha…As Shri Anon had earlier indicated connections in the brain, ’I’, ‘coincidentally’ received an email from my daughter about an email, on the subject Who are We, and have just seen the video recommended by her...
Maybe, one would llike to see what Hindus, Yogis, also once perhaps realized…The brief write up is given below and the address of the site.
“Jill Bolte Taylor: My stroke of insight
Neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor had an opportunity few brain
scientists would wish for: One morning, she realized she was having a massive
stroke.
As it happened -- as she felt her brain functions slip away one by one, speech, movement, understanding -- she studied and remembered every moment.
This is a powerful story about how our brains define us and connect us
to the world and to one another.”
http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/229
‘I’ am informed April is ‘Autism awareness month’ and, of course, it’s well known that the 1st day of the month is considered as ‘All Fools Day’…and ‘I’ also happened to see Bollywood’s popular actor Aamir Khan’s film ‘Tare zamin per’, literally ‘stars on earth’, which is based on a story about a ‘dyslexic child’…and how he wasn’t able to function like a ‘normal child’…
The problem perhaps lies with us, 'average humans' found in majority, who get guided by our apparently distorted concept of ‘normal behaviour’…whereas, ‘ancient Hindus’ considered, based on realization by reaching a thoughtless or ‘zero’ stage, all forms illusory images of the one and only Supreme Formless Being, as part of a grand design appearing different from one another because of apparent hierarchy, incorporated through inefficient apparatuses (physical senses) that connect us with the apparent ‘external world’ while the real world remains unseen because of the dormant ‘inner eye’ – that needs to be activated for the subject instrument to realize the ‘Absolute Truth’ - of existence of the said Formless Being within each form! The ancients thus reached the conclusion of man as a model of the universe/ image of God!
At the beginning of the millennium, the ‘famous scientist’ Stephen Hawking when asked whether he believed in God or not replied that he would like to enter the mind of God!
With the above-cited as the background in mind, one might find the Hindu mythological stories help us - the different souls, each of which is believably associated with some human form that appears different from other forms with reference to various aspects of behaviour and belief etc - enter the minds of the ‘wise ancients’ with the singular statement that human being is as a model of the universe, or image of God…
The problem however is that of division of the human society naturally dividing into apparently three broad categories even in apparently smallest of the small issues: For, against and indifferent, which apparently mysteriously, like a model reflect the three sides of a coin, that is, ‘head’, ‘tail’ and the ‘blank side’, which happen to appear comparable to the animal form!
In the human form, however apparently, the 'tail' is represented by the tail-bone, and most of the major organs occupy the 'blank side' - and the 'head' acts as the governor or controller, which the ancients indicated by indicating the location of the 'Ajna Chakra' in the forehead, which needs to be activated for acquiring knowledge!
Another ‘malfunction’ of human brain is apparently seen in ‘Schizophrenics’. The onset of the behavioural malfunction, however, apparently believably occurs at different ages in males and females (between ages 23 and 35 in women versus 18 to 25 for men)…However, in a case that came to my personal knowledge, the onset was observed at the age of around 14 years. The teachers in the school concerned complained to the parents about his quarrelsome nature and relative poorer performance in studies. Admission in another school agggravated the problem and at the age of about 15 years the subject had to undergo electric shocks even…which didn’t help though…The subject somehow managed to pass Class X from the Open University and is apparently a liability to the only surviving aging mother - for over two decades now since the onset of the problem! His father at a certain stage, when he was alive, even told me that had he been a pet, and not his own son, he would have shot it!
Such an instance, and similar innumerable instances as cited above, have forced man to consider even euthenasia…and to normal seeker to wonder the intent of the Creator in the apparent suffering inflicted on humans on earth, which perhaps conform to the ancients’ concept of hell!
Only a hard hearted person can perhaps explain the sufferings as the opposite side of the coin, a helplessness experienced by His Own Images in His past during different stages of evolution, in stages when He was imperfect and which are being reviewed by the Supreme Soul, the Lord of the Ghosts or Bhootnath in the present in His Third Eye as mere projections like in the make believe world of cinema!
The ‘wise Hindus’ believed it is the sols who continue to fill the univesal void with a view to enjoying the past, to lighten up the atmosphere, here is a ‘different’ view-point received on the internet about ‘normal behaviour’.
During a visit to the mental asylum, a visitor asked the Director how they determined whether or not a patient should be institutionalized.
'Well,' said the Director, 'we fill up a bathtub, and then we offer a teaspoon, a teacup and a bucket to the patient and ask him or her to empty the bathtub.'
'Oh, I understand,' said the visitor.
'A normal person would use the bucket because it's bigger than the spoon or the teacup.'
'No' said the Director, 'A normal person would pull the plug.
Do you want a bed near the window?'
Joshi Uncle.kavitha,Happy new year to you all!!The Jill Bolte Taylor presentation is simply stunning!I realised how little I know of the vast expanse that is called as "Human Brain"I also realised how indifferent we doctors are to the emotional needs of our patients.It is touching to read Autism & Dyslexia being discussed by you all.
Hi Dr. Anilji,
Happy New Year to you and to all others too!!
Hindu Yogis have perhaps experienced the vastness of human brain sitting inside the Himalayan caves - after withdrawing themselves from the 'external world'! And, in the 'present', such a person woiuld be termed as 'eccentric' or unsocial!
Like ‘elephant-headed-Ganesha’ is believed by 'Hindus' to be the link between man and God the Trimurty Shiva, ‘Hayagriva’ the white-horse-headed demon could perhaps be visualized as a being lower in hierarchy that represents Brahma only, that is one of the three aspects of Trimurty Shiva…and therefore 33% knowledge only...and hence the stress on overall knowledge or 'Siddhi'...by Krishna the mischievous one!
The believable range of human efficiency to lie between 25% maximum & 0% during Kaliyuga the 'dark age', (as the 'present' is also believed to be), it is perhaps an indication of the 'wisdom' of the ancients - thanks to time, or its controller, Mahakal Shiva!
‘I’ thought ‘I’ should have again pointed out that the ancient Astrologers related the ringed and double colour planet Saturn with metal iron/ steel and also nervous system in human form that connect all ‘chakras’ too; and also with blue colour as the colour of its beautiful rings, while planet ‘Shukra’ related with ‘demons’, that is, planet Venus’s essence also is believably related with it and which is believably housed in the human ‘griva’ that is throat/ neck…Saturn also is called ‘son of Sun’, and it has been observed by the ‘present day scientists’ to have lustrous red colour body in the middle...and the ancients associated red colour with Sun (that has all colours from ‘R’ for Red to V’ for Violet (and Vishnu the Yogeshwar too!) seen in the rainbow/ visible part of the spectrum, symbols remembered by school students: ROYGBIV), and Saturn was decided as the cut-off planet, a non playing Captain , an all rounder or ‘Siddha’…
Hi Kavitha, In the message box the following message was found on the first day of Navratri, when ‘Shailputri’ (model of Moon that evolved from eath-moon), literally the daughter of ‘Shailraja’, that is, Himalaya, is believably worshipped by ‘born Hindus’ ritually, relating Mother ('Shakti' the energy or 'Sati') with hard rock that gives physical strength to soil or dust, which emerged from under the bed of the sea in the north of Jambudweep, once upon a long lost time ('Ahalya' was believably transformed into a rock and waited in Treta yuga for receiving touch by Lord Rama’s feet (indicating it as 'life giving' sunrays when a new day of Brahma started) to revive her!
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6 Apr 08, 17:31
sarada: Hi Kavitha ! Stumbling upon yr. page was serendipitous! I too am nearly obsessed with temple iconography and 'love photographing stone sculptures'. Best wishes serendipitous!
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Do you relate it with coincidence, accident (serependity) or design?
‘I’ am sorry, Kavitha! On review ‘I’ am surprised to find ‘I’ have misspelt ‘serendipity’ (meaning the faculty of making happy or interesting discoveries unexpectedly or by accident): Maybe the ‘present day doctors’ would relate it with the month (April), and ancient souls with Bal Krishna’s mischievousness - in my second childhood!
After reading the Gita and expressing ‘my’ willingness to ‘surrender in Krishna’ as indicated therein, or in ‘Hayagriva Madhava’, (the white-horse-headed one, that is, ‘our Sun’ as it appears during the day, and who wore ‘blue garments’, like ‘Neelamber Krishna’, that is the blue sky), as Kavitha has indicated in this post, and who is believably prayed for imparting knowledge…), with a view to reaching the ‘Truth’, ‘I’ have apparently been made to consult various sources…And, ‘I’ also apparently ‘accidentally’ came across Kavitha’s blog, and thought of commenting in order to disseminate whatever information ‘I’ had gathered during my journey through the ‘illusory market’…for the benefit of the ‘youth’ in particular…to enjoy...
As ‘I’ have earlier also elsewhere indicated in detail, the Palmists appear to have associated human palms, like in man-made vehicles, as instrument panels that represent the two hemispheres of the earth/ universe, where each finger is related with some member of the solar system, which as a whole is believed to represent, through finite essence, the infinite universe...
The fingers apparently represent the planets that are considered as representing the ‘governor vessel’ (components of the ‘unborn’), and the gaps between them represent some other planets that represent the ‘conception vessels’ (wombs)… ‘I’ had suggested four such sets to represent four stages of evolution, or four Yugas…
Of course, 'Maya' is so powerful that even 'strong hearted souls' apparently get discouraged at times...as some stories indicate...
‘Wise Hindus’ believed ‘Neelamber Krishna’ in human form in the Dwaper Yuga (reflecting only 50%- 25% range of human efficiency as compared to 100%-75% range during Satya Yuga achieved by ‘Peetamber Krishna’ or Yellow colour as the essence) as ‘imperfect’ and blue coloured representative of Vishnu, that is, in physical form planet Saturn/ Venus to control the direction ‘west’, whereas the relatively still inferior in hierarchy, Red colour, reflected through Asteroids, controlled the ‘east’, while the mother of all colours, White, ruled the direction ‘south’…and Yellow ruled the North, where Himalayas are located and, particularly for ‘India’, Shiva-Parvati are believed to have their abode on Mount Kailash, which together with the Mansarovar Lake provide since time immemorial life-giving water through sacred rivers to the ‘Hindus’; Yamuna, Ganga, and Brahmaputra (that once upon a time is believed to have formed the ‘Third One’ of the ‘Triveni’ of the Young Girl, that is, the ‘three plaits of the kunwari kanya’ or the unmarried girl, who reflected Her physical strength through ‘Mighty’ River Brahmaputra in due course of time, but now ‘eccentric’ in Her old age, and joining the River Ganga in the northeast in Bangla Desh, before it ‘surrenders’ into the Bay of Bengal – as Krishna also advises humans also to similarly surrender in the Almighty, at least towards the ‘fag end’ of one’s life in human form!
It’s now well known that human brain, where the essence of Moon is believed to be housed, acts like a super analogous computer, but is made a slave by mischievous Bal Krishna/ 'Modak-priya' and 'Lamboder' (sweet-loving and big-bellied) Ganesha through alphanumeric symbols on account of ‘Time’ or Mahakal or Trimurty Shiva, or Bhootnath the controller of the Past!
Hi
A very happy new year to all!!
Joshi uncle, I have been going through all your comments, I had a thought. Why are Gods, demi gods associated with color?
The navagraha, Hayagriva in blue, Shiva dakshinamurthy in yellow etc. i have not been able to understand this.
Anilji,
Mudras are not just associated with Bharatnatyam, though its surely a more flamboyant depiction of the same, but Mudras go into ritual as well.
There is an entire language using mudra alone to communicate with the divine. It seems to be a combination of energy centers( both negative and positive) associated with each finger and their placement that results in "energy display/transfer/evolution". Some of this is depicted in sculpture and dance and given a meaning in words, though the actual logic is way beyond the language of words.
I still have to read a lot more in that, but at a cursory glance, this is the outlook am beginning to understand.
Regds
kavitha
Hi kavitha,
The Hindu Philosophy indicates man as model of the universe, such that the apparently infinite external word (symbolically represented by blue ‘sky’ during the day when white Sun or ‘fire’ rules over it, while it is the golden yellow Moon as the ruler where the sky is seen as dark or black), in all directions at a given location as one of the five basic elements in which ‘life-giving’ ‘air’ and ‘water’ are colourless and represent the Formless) is also believably present within each human form, as combinations of nine essences or ‘rasas’…Hence external colour of the human skin, besides other peculiar features, like a garment worn by a person, acts as a medium to identify a person, or a soul…
Today, perhaps the same phenomenon is expressed, in different words, for it is said to the effect that both the macrocosm and the microcosm in the ‘Nature’ are functioning similarly.
And, it’s well known that the ‘present day’ knowledge is being passed on from the ‘west’ (through Neelamber Krishna/ Hayagriva), even to the ‘east’, particularly ‘India’ the believable birth place of Shiva, where ‘born Hindus’ apparently act as ‘Apsmara Purush’, that is the forgettable man, who is depicted dormant under Natraja Shiva’s right foot. For the average majority of men believably is unable to realize the ‘Absolute Truth’ because of the characteristic property of Time, that is ‘present’ as well as the ‘future both understood by the ‘wise ancients’ to also be the past of the Formless Creator Bhootnath Shiva/ Vishnu the Nadbindu the believable Lord of the Past, who alone remains ever in a superconscious state of zero time and space.
It was thus expressed by the ‘wise ancients’ or the ‘realized souls’ that each individual soul, within some external form that appeared in some hierarchy depending on the given time and location, should merge itself with the one and only Supreme Soul or ‘Paramatma’ to reach the ‘Absolute Truth’.
This phenomenon perhaps, with reference to a non-living object and a soul within human form, is akin to a paper-kite and its flier, where both are apparently attached to each other through strings; or God, as Bhairavnath (Master) attached to His dog (servant) with a leash…
Regarding 'mudra', perhaps one coiuld call it 'sign language'...
Kavitha, in north India, among Hindus, the Gita is generally considered as the refernce book that apparently lays down guidelines to follow by the majority.
The wise ancients at some point in time have realized and thus expressed ‘Black’ or ‘Krishna’ as the representative of the dark space or void of the universe, which is apparently filled with temporary physical forms created out of the heat or ‘fire’ as one of the components contained in the white coloured sunrays, with Sun as its origin.
The Sun itself is created from Hydrogen gas that is undergoing a chain reaction within its core believably for the last over 4 billion years, and the inert Helium gas produced as a result of fusion of Hydrogen gas keeps on collecting in its outer shell, just as man covers his/ her body with a garment…It is also found that the planet ‘Brihaspati’ that is ringed planet Jupiter also contains Hydrogen gas in liquid state at a very high atmospheric pressure…and Hindu mythology perhaps relates it with Krishna and fresher and bigger ringed planet Saturn with Vishnu indicating both as ‘sudershan-chakra-dhari’ the holders of beautiful wheels as their weapon…also our Milky Way Galaxy apparently has a super gravity ‘Black Hole’ at its centre, and it obviously is connected with our solar system also through their invisible gravity components of each member…Mahabharat indicates Krishna as a close friend of Arjuna, an expert archer’ of his time (Dwaper Yuga) perhaps indicating him as a typical model of our Sun…which is believed to control the direction ‘south’. Thus Dakshinamurty Shiva was perhaps understood to represent north direction, whose controller is believed to be the Moon/ Golden Yellow colour, or Peetamber Krishna…
To visualize the globe or physical form of ‘Shiva’ that apparently exists for over 4 billion years and still appears young and ticking, with the ‘Hindu’ background, ‘I’ imagine a pyramid that is oriented in such a manner that each of its 4 triangle sides faces one of the directions represented by the symbols N-E-W-S, that is, North (imagined painted Yellow), East (painted Red), West (painted Blue) and South (painted White).
If during my limited life span, ‘I’ remain all the time at one location only, rooted to earth like a tree somewhere near the base, which could bear one of the above-mentioned colors, ‘I’ would perhaps believe that the pyramid has just that single colour, which ‘I’ see all the time around ‘me’…and consider that only as the ‘Truth’…
‘I’ might come to see the ‘Truth’ of different ‘colours’, and all of those only if ‘I’ travel all over the globe, (in real terms reflected by the faces/ garments/ behaviours etc of the residents of this globe at different locations)…Or relatively speaking, also if ‘I’ meet people belonging to different regions of the globe while remaining at one place. However, in that case ‘I’ wouldn’t come to know all aspects of their life, mainly due to language barrier, which to a certain extent gets reduced when one is obliged to face it when one personally visits that region for some appreciable length of time…
Perhaps after ‘my’ global journey ‘I’ would be in a better position to see all the four colours at the same time only when ‘I’ see the pyramid from above its apex in my mind’s eye at a later date…as the real picture of Shiva, the all rounder, or Yogeshwar the God of Yogis...
As Shri Anon had also alluded to the four forms and four formless in Thirumantiram, in a pyramid, with the four-colour scheme as indicated in the earlier comment based on reading Hindu mythological stories between lines, the line, that is in fact a combination of various points or nirkar that is formless, representing direction northeast could perhaps be imagined to be controlled by Orange colour representing the formless, the transition between red and yellow colours. Similarly, the line representing northwest direction, could be visualized to have the transition between blue and yellow colours that is Green colour as its controller…The transition between white and red, and white and blue similarly could be imagined as the controllers of the directions southeast and southwest respectively, represented by infrared and ultraviolet the energies that penetrate the ozone layer to a limited extent, depending on the thickness of ozone layer in earth’s atmosphere, which varies depending on the condition of earth…And, in recent times some holes have been observed over the Antarctica region, resulting in panic in certain quarters only…which according to some experts is the cause of skin cancer, and so on, many other problems too…
Wow! Pranams all ~
Was wonderful to read through everyone's comments, like a beautiful, loving class/ darshan/ discourse at a temple or monastery!
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Another way of looking at the concept of colors is they are part and parcel of the human aura.
The aura indicates states of mind or consciousness. As the yogi/ini advances in subtle perceptions, once can "read" one's own aura.
And there are exercises one can use to "flood" one's own aura with different color(s), to effect a change in outlook/ consciousness/ gross versus subtle perceptions.
Satguru Shivaya Subramuniya has written alot about this phenomenon. Joshi Uncle once mentioned to his daughter, "When you close your eyes, you see some light". Is the same concept: in a darkened room, before you go to sleep let's say: close your eyes, you will see light and also various subtle colors.
If you read a book on human aura or look at color chart of human aura it has a translation what each color means. And also if watch the internal colors for a while, can observe how they change with your thoughts and emotions.
The Himalayan Academy giftshop sells these aura cards, is laminated and you can keep by where you meditate or take rest and monitor your aura. Available at www dot gurudeva dot org.
So all these colors refer to states of consciousness, states of mind, and the activities of mind.
And as Joshi Uncle has shared, the nature of these mental activities/ states of consciousnes are ruled by various predominating deities of different planets, and governed by the chakras or energy centers of the spine within us.
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Also, here is something new I just learned about: DMT is a chemical produced by the pineal gland in the brain. It is also called "the spirit molecule" because excessive DMT production is involved in naturally occuring "psychedelic" states: birth, death, near death. psychosis, and mystical experiences.
Rick Strassman, MD has written a book about this called DMT: The Spirit Molecule. He has website www dot rickstrassman dot com. He was educated at Stanford, then got his MD. He did quite a bit of research, administering DMT to human subjects and then noting their reaction. DMT is also found in some psychedelic plants of the indigenous peoples of the world.
When a person does advanced yoga, then seems that this DMT is really activated. Also some people seem to have more of this DMT in their brains. For example in Chinese Astrology, certain signs of the zodiac the individual more likely to be a mystic. Perhaps due to more DMT production?
Sivaya Subrahmuniya also discuss that the higher states of consciousness, the mystical realms, are a realm within us:
an inner universe inside of us! DMT is like a naturally occuring gateway drug our own human body produces, so we can catch glimpse of this internal universe, or by meditation we can access it also
more readily and frequently.
From the glossary of "Merging With Shiva: Hinduism's Contemporary Mataphysics" p. 1199
"...PINEAL GLAND [where DMT is produced] - A small gland located at the roof of the thalmic region of the brain...Of considerable importance esoterically as the reception point for external psychic contacts, consciousness expansion, as AS THE TERMINAL OF THE AWAKENED KUNDALINI FLAME..."
***
Joshi Uncle your bathtub joke was very funny!
I greatly enjoyed everyone's sharing; this thread is just like a beautiful class.Thanks, everyone!
Best wishes to all for health, wealth, happiness, and longevity: the four traditional New Year's wishes in Chinese culture.
Also in Chinese culture we have just entered Ching Ming, or the period of time when offerings are made to the ancestors, we remember them with prayers, in homa yagna with paper offerings put into the flame, also by incense and food at an altar for their continued happiness in the other world.
Aum Namah Shivaya
Aum Saravanabhava Aum
Hi Shri Anon, Kavitha, Dr Aniljji, in the Eighties while in the northeast region, to be able to concentrate in my day-to-day work as my wife’s health deteriorated, ‘I’ tried concentrating on a point in the wall for some time without moving my head but moving only the eyes from centre to left, back to centre; again from centre to right and back to centre, for some time.
During performance of this generally recommended exercise for the eyes, once a funny thought popped into ‘my’ head: ‘I’ asked my school-going daughter to make two concentric circles and with her water colours to paint the middle one and the outer ring in two different colour combinations that came to ‘my’ mind then. ‘I’ stuck these on the wall in front of me one by one and stared at these...
Now, ‘I’ forget what colours ‘I’ saw then with what combination, but ‘I’ can say that ‘I’ observed beautiful colours reappear as perceptions, much more beautiful than the man-made colours that were painted on the paper. And these were seen through open eyes…and perhaps indicated that much more beautiful colours are naturally recorded in ‘my’ brain and in all other brains too!
Of course, even if one were to momentarily look at the sun/ electric bulb, say, and close the eyes in the dark, one would see a ball in different colours over some period of time…
Yogis believably looked at the candle flame and then closed their eyes as part of an exercise and believably enjoyed the perceptions…this practice was believably a part of an exercise to enable them to see the souls…
‘India’ has many practices being performed since ages ritually even today in different pockets…’I’ also happened to ‘coincidentlly’ come across some that ‘I’ wasn’t aware of before my visit to the northeast, including ‘our forced stay’ in that region for almost over 4 years out of a total stay of a little over 9 years…perhaps to complete the course as part of ‘natural education’ prescribed by an apparently ‘eccentric’ Creator, attaching with whom, as advised by the ‘wise’, the subject instrument is also likely to appear ‘eccentric’ or abnormal!
Dear shri.Anonymous,Would like to know the full form of DMT.It seems soon an injection for "Nirvanna" would be discovered!!As Regards the chinese culture it's mention brings forth the images of Dalai Lama & the protests that are on in Tibet.
Hi Dr Anilji, As far as ‘I’ know, the Buddha’s basic thoughts are about ‘good’ and 'bad’, that is, each one of us should accept only ‘good’ from anyone and everyone while not losing one’s own inherent ‘good qualities’. And, not to accept ‘bad’ from anyone while trying to eject one’s own ‘bad qualities’…so that in the end all are completely ‘good’ and there is peace and love between all - conforming to 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' or teh world as one family of earth!
Easier said then done though!
Buddha achieving ‘nirvana’ is his personal realization, which words, in any human language, fail to describe…but, as indicated by ancient Lamas also, also like ‘wise ancient Hindus’, birds appear to have knowledge that is superior! And, today, birds are believed to be next to humans in intelligence!
‘I’ don’t know if the ‘present day Chinese’ are aware of Mount Kailash that lies in ‘Tibet’ as the abode of Shiva-Parvati, the two divine persons, or the single two-in-one personality Adi Shiva/ Formless Creator…Maybe, the present day events reflect their helplessness on account of their own existing administrative requirement to manage the increasing population with ‘time’ and the apparent hierarchy, as a result of their historical background…
With the advent of ‘artificial satellites’ and ‘satellite imagery’, we have forgotten the words used earlier, ‘from bird’s eye-view’, to express an overall picture, like that seen from the ‘sky’ by the ‘birds of prey’, viz. Vultures, Kites, Condors, Ospreys, Eagles, Hawks, and so on, who are well known for their ‘remarkably acute eye-sight, muscular legs, and sharp bill and talons…as well as their aerial ability and sophisticated hunting techniques’ – all perhaps covered by ‘wise ancient Hindus’ under ‘Garuda’ the believable vehicle of Vishnu…and ‘Garuda Purana’, related with ‘departed souls’, is often referred by Kavitha too…
‘I’ should perhaps have posed a question: Is it a coincidence, or an accident, or part of a grand design by ‘Panchabhootas’ that the figure of ‘North America’ appears as if sculpted in the form of an Eagle (which is also adopted as USA’s National Bird)?
As per ‘ancient Hindu belief’, Vishnu the Nadbindu is symbolically represented by a four-handed divine person who holds conch-shell in one of His hands as the believable source of ‘universal hum’ (recorded even today in the background), while the observed sound emanating from ringed-planet Saturn includes ‘chirping of birds’ too, besides ‘tinkle of bells’ and ‘beating of drums’). And the bird Garuda is believed to be Vishnu’s vehicle!
Hi Kavitha,
Wonderful blog. I am glad you are doing this great work to showcase Indian temples and iconography. Do visit my blog Discover the world and leave your comments.
Hi Sahasi, ‘I’ tried it ‘uninvited’! And, ‘I’ might try it again, for the site in the first attempt couldn’t be reached!
Kavitha, Shri Anon, Dr Anilji, returning to colours and pyramids, the ‘Hindu belief’ in the evolutionary process (development over four stages of ‘Churning of Milky Ocean’) also suggests a pyramid, with the same four formless colours or energies represented at different corners of the base, but having different colours at the peak during different Yugas, representing the concerned ruling colour as the head or the apex: Red associated with Kali Yuga (associated with #1 Ma Kali/ Sati the consort of Adi Shiva who resides in His heart or core of earth, and also with ‘Kalikavatar’ who believably ‘uses a white horse as His vehicle’, perhaps alluding to a ‘fair complexion’!); # 2 Blue with Dwaper Yuga, # 3 White with Treta Yuga, and # 4 Yellow with Satya (truth) or Sat (essence) Yuga (associated with Dakshinamurty Shiva/ Parvati the second consort of Shiva after Sati’s death in the ‘sacred fire’, which perhaps alludes to the gases, ashes and molten magma that reach earth’s surface/ sky during eruption of an ‘active volcano’)…
Assam, the name itself indicates a hilly terrain, a land that is ‘asam’, meaning an uneven land.
Perhaps why it also came to be popularly associated with Hayagriva Madhava, or horse-neck shaped avatar of Vishnu in this region, can also be noticed from a look at the map of the northeast states of ‘India’ in the World Atlas…One might notice the River Brahmaputra running through it and shown in blue colour as per the accepted practice of cartography. Observing closely, one would notice that it runs more or less east to west and then suddenly turns southwards, like representing the central nervous system that follows the apaprently level spine and vertically down the backside of a horse, the form of the said animal, which the topography of the land also exhibits from Arunachal Pradesh (appearing like the head of the horse) down to Mizoram (that appears as the animal’s right front leg)…
It was Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who went from West Bengal and spread Vaishnavism in the northeast region…although ‘black art’ was apparently prevalent before it…
One would notice the Formless Creator worshipped in ‘India’ in many ways in the ‘present’. Formless Shiva/ Ardhanarishwar Shiva the androgynous God is generally represented in the form of Shivlingam in Parvati’s Yoni peeth (genitals).
In Kamakhya Temple, atop Nilachal Hill, as per the Hindu belief, ‘Sati’s genitals apparently fell when Narayana had cut away her dead body, carried by Shiva on His shoulders, into many pieces’. There is no idol of Kamakhya in the garbha-griha the sanctum sanctorum. One notices only some fissure in the rock from which water appears incessantly. Near it there is installed a shivlingam where the priest or ‘panda’ generally breaks the coconut offered by the devotee, who in the meanwhile bends down to reach and touch the water that appears over the surface of rock, and receives the ‘prasad’ as part of the offering of sweets and coconut etc from the panda.
In Navagraha Temple on Chitrachal Hill, however, there are only nine shivalaingams installed: One bigger one in the middle and eight others equal in size, but smaller than the middle one, are placed in eight different directions each.
And, although there are Temples dedicated to the various deities also as in other parts of the country, because of the influence of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, one also finds ‘Namghars’ or places where people can sit down on floor and chant the name, “Hare Krishna, Hare Ram,” that is the direct worship through sound energy ‘OM’ that was believably used in the creation of the physical universe and still exists in the background as the universal hum, which the Yogis believed exists also within each animal form and can be heard in a silent place (with right ear closed with the palm)…and when the external and internal sound have the same or synchronous frequency, one is supposed to hear a loud sound!
The Hindu mythology indicates ‘rakshashas’, or characters relatively lower in heirarchy than the evolved most, responsible for ‘Maya’.
And we have already seen how Shukracharya or Venus is believed to be their Guru or Teacher. Thus ‘Neelamber Krishna’/ Kartikeya the first son of Shiva/ ‘Hayagriva Madhava’, as now indicated by Kavitha, and so on, is believably responsible for the ‘maya’ or illusion, as Krishna claims in the Gita also…However, it is ‘Peetamber Krishna’, or Parvati, or Moon (as part of earth or Shiva, whose essences are believably housed in the head and third eye respectively in human form) that alone can help over come illusion and lead to Nirvana/ Moksha/ Absolute Truth…
It is well known that cetain characters in human form have believably attained ‘moksha’ or ‘nirvana’, but it’s also clear that although words, (through innumerable eyes even in case of certin characters such as Buddha, being relatively happened in the ‘recent past’), might attempt explaining their life experiences etc, one cannot hope to experience what all those ‘enlightened souls’ believably did by ‘following in their footsteps’. For example, if someone won a lottery with a certain number, it would be foolish to believe that the same number will also help you win another lottery! For ‘Life is like that’!
In short, as explained by the ‘wise ancients’ also, one has to just have firm faith in some (thing or person or belief) and hope to attain a ‘higher spiritual level’, maybe not the higher ‘material level’, during one’s life that is like ‘a flash in the pan’ compared to the relatively infinite life-span of the planet earth…and the ‘wise ancients’, who apparently understood life better, came to realize life as a drama, for enjoyment, just as we the human forms with components of the same Supreme Soul within each one of us, enjoy Bollywood/ Hollywood films!
The ‘Truth of life’ apparently is different for different groups of people (man being 'social animal').
Realization of ‘Truth’ is, however, believed to be a matter of every individual’s personal attitude, or ‘inclination of mind’, which is apparently dependent on time, for there are examples where even ‘dacoits’ have apparently turned into ‘sages’ in a jiffy!
These trnasformations in ‘personalities’ are atrributed to certain happening(s) in their lives, and are termed as ‘turning points’…such as in the life of Gautam the Buddha made well known by historians…or in the life of Mahatma Gandhi as the latest example, where he was ejected from the train in South Africa (in the ‘dark continent’, dc, (and not the present day DC) and the believable ‘root’ of the present day intelligent human race all over the world, the Homo sapiens!
Perhaps the ‘recent disturbance’ in Tibet, (the believable abode of Shiva-Parvati as per ‘wise ancient Hindus) and the resultant agitation elsewhere on the globe also brewing, leading to IOC considering scrapping of torch run (symbolic of rule of Sun, or Brahma) might also prove to be a ‘turning point’ in the life of Shiva the globe! Only Time (Mahakal Shiva) can tell it!
There is apparently an inherent characteristic property among humans, that is, curiosity to know the likely events in ‘future’ in the life of an individual or a nation even!
The naturally available instrument, that is, human brain, apparently is a wonderful tool that can at one instant make you say something, with apparent confidence after due consideration of all apparent facts, but the next moment the actual happenings might prove you wrong!
That’s what happens with the astrologers/ palmists etc also. They read the horoscope/ lines etc based on years of experience and make predictions of events likely to occur in the life of a person or a nation in ‘future’, which sometimes might turn out right, but most of the time these appear to go wrong!
Perhaps the only ‘truth’ in life that is well known to everyone is eventual ‘death’ of all life forms after functioning healthily, or even a ‘vegetable-like-life’ for a certain unknown duration, and maybe ‘purposeless wanderings’ from one place to another in some cases…all leading to either ‘happiness’, or ‘unhappiness’ (which no one wants even for a second)…thus the concept of the Formless, and detached, Supreme Being believably existing in a state of ‘eternal bliss’ and, therefore, the need for every single soul to overcome illusion, and realizing itself as a component of the ‘Paramatma’ get attached to IT to experience ‘bliss’!
As it is ‘natural’ for the human society to get divided into three categories on all issues big or small, there is another group of people who are apparently desirous to know the ‘truth’ of the apparently billions-of-year-old universe, starting from scratch only a few centuries ago based on ‘material findings’, a job virtually impossible in view of the ever changing ‘Nature’, which thus allows one to know nearly truly for a period about a few thousand years in the ‘past’, and rest all other data is based initially on wide assumptions…however, even then perhaps because time (Mahakal Shiva for ‘wise ancient Hindus’) is mischievous, they can also hope to reach the ‘truth’, perhaps in the same manner as the ancient wise also did!
Whether the knowledge thus acquired would prove useful to the human society in ‘future’, it is anyhow very well observed by the ‘present generation’ that any material advancement is like a double edged sword – if it results in convenience in certain tasks, it also generates immediate inconvenience in some other fields, maybe to a larger percentage of the populace who happen to be the ‘have-nots’, and also to the minority of ‘haves’, maybe in the longer run!
The mythological stories however indicate the ‘truth’ to be victorious over the ‘untruth’ eventually (read the ‘Hindu belief’ of Shiva alone ultimately attaining perfection at the end of Satya Yuga)! In north India, the existing stories indicate Hayagriva as a demon (symbol of imperfection) who stole the Vedas from Brahma when he felt sleepy, and Vishnu had therefore to appear in the form of a fish to kill him and retrieve the Vedas from him, to be passed on to the Brahma (new sun, for 'Brahmalok' is believed likely to dissovle) at the beginning of a fresh day…
As ‘I’ have earlier also indicated, based on the stories etc, the ‘wise’ Yogis have conveyed time, reflected by associated events related with humans as models of the universe, to move backwards with reference to apparent time from the stage of perfection to apparent imperfection – from Satyuga to the end of Kaliyuga, which, in fact, is believably the starting point of ‘churning of milky ocean the kshirsagar’ - or advancement in material development till balance in material and spiritual was attained - from purely ‘spiritual stage’ or pure energy, say heat, as represented by infrared energy that is exchanged between galaxies…and also finds partial entry into earth’s atmosphere, besides ultraviolet rays, both of which are referred as Gurus (say, Vashistha and Vishwamitra in Treta, the Gurus of ‘Suryavanshi kings’ belonging to the family of King Raghu, as models of white light)…
However, as per Hindu belief, time and space related with the Formless Creator is zero, such that the apparent universe was believably created in no time, and was also therefore likely to have disappered instantaneously! But, as it believably helps to reflect the unending Creator, the solar system is believed to be ‘amrit’ or immortal, rendered through recovery of lost energy in actions, through rest which is reflected through alternate thawing and freezing on earth…
And in terms of energy and information at the time of perfection attained by the end of Satya Yuga and recorded in Moon to get transferred to planet Mars by the end of Kaliyuga, and earth at the beginning of the new cycle then to perform ‘shirshan’ (like standing on head by a Yogi) and change of poles of earth, and the energy and information in Mars to flow to Moon again…thus earth acting like a ‘dumroo’ the believable percussion instrument of Shiva!
Perhaps once someone could convince oneself that ‘ancients’ were ‘wiser’, say, with the background knowledge of use of words, viz. ‘panchtatva’, ‘panchbhootas’, ‘five Pandavas’ as characters in human form also, and so on in the mythological stories, and in ‘recent times’ realization of use of fables all over the world for conveying some essence of day-to-day life, such as ‘Panchtantra’ written by ‘Pandit’ Vishnu Sharma to interestingly convey the apparently ‘boring art’ of ‘Public Administration’ to foolish princes at a particular time, could help one realize how human brain functions as an analogous computer. And, because it is being used as a digital computer n the ‘present’ or ‘remote past’, the involved processes being time taking, merely because of the need to translate to and from alphanumeric symbols, its efficiency apparently reduces greatly…and one also learns how innumerable life forms on earth are apparently exchanging thoughts in different lanaguages, as reflected also by innumerable human languages in vogue upon the globe…
Hi, really impressive blog.. I happen to visit this all of sudden and found this pretty good. I also run a website which is dedicated to temples in Uttarakhand, India. www.badrikedar.com and trying to write a blog on temples http://templesofuttarakhand.blogspot.com
Please guide how to make it better.
Kamal
With the above backgroiund in mind, ‘I’ have sent ‘my reaction’ to an article to ‘my newspaper’ on the ‘present day burning issue’…
This refers to Carry a torch for your conscience and country (SECOND OPINION) by Mr. Jug Suraiya (April 9).
In so far as ‘my’ reaction is concerned, as a terrestrial, or a small and temporary insignificant part of earth, insignificant compared even to the permanent dust, there are two virtually permanent torches in ‘Nature’ that attract my attention: Sun & Moon. All torches carried by ‘we the people’, or the terrestrials, are like showing torch-light to the Sun during the day and to the Moon during the night to guide them to guide the earth along its orbit!
Maybe, if we were to have appropriate hearing capacity, we could perhaps hear God saying to us egoistic humans, “April Fool!” Or, perhaps 'Always Fool', and we hear it as 'OM'!
As 'I' had earlier also elsewhere indicated, a ‘tantric’ ‘I’ happened to come across in the northeast informed ‘me’ that he had controlled a soul through an elaborate training received in a crematorium. He added that the soul passes on information about any person who met him with the purpose of knowing his/ her ‘future’. However as souls apparently speak very fast, therefore, a ‘tantric’ has to train himself to understand what exactly it says…Maybe similarly, the soul that is believably entrapped within each form is passing on information to each one of us which is duly picked up by individual brains depending upon their individual capacities that reflects the apparent hierarchy…
Maybe it doesn’t help in convincing others, however, ‘I’ might mention how on the fourth day of Navratri, that is apparently dedicated to ‘Kooshmanda’ form of Ma, meaning ‘pumpkin’, when ‘I’ was on my way to the vegetable market in the evening, ‘I’ happened to have a good look at the Moon, and with the background thought in mind, ‘I’ could imagine the illuminated portion as a small part of the full moon, whose profile also is seen like a ‘silver lining’…A French perhaps would see it reflected in the pastry called croissant (crescent of moon)…and in the Mahabharat, its reflection in the episode related with Arjuna piercing the eye of a fish swimming inside a bowl by getting to see its reflection only to win in marriage the hand of Draupadi (thus conveying Arjuna in human form a model of the sun, and Draupadi a model of moon, both still evolving as the story pertains to Dwaper Yuga of maximum 50% efficiency!)…
‘I’ then decided ‘I’ would buy some ripe pumpkin also, for it is yellowish in colour…However, in the market ‘I’ completely forgot about buying it (“out of sight, out of mind”) and remembered it only when ‘I’ was already mid-way on my way back home! ‘I’ thought it wasn’t willed by Ma! However, close to my home, ‘I’ noticed a lady buying pumpkin from a road-side vegetable seller with a cart on four-wheels and who happened to be there at that time!!
Kavitha, it could it be a coincidence, or an accident, but for ‘me’ it was part of a grand design – by ‘mischievous Krishna’!!
Hi Shri Kamal, ‘I’ visited your blog, although 'I' had missed your comment initially.
Kavitha might have some suggestions to improve the get-up of your blog, for ‘I’, apparently just like you, happened to come across Kavitha’s blog over three years ago and somehow thought of playing the role of a commentator - indicating only what ‘I’ apparently had found or realized as the interpretatins of various 'truth' - reading between lines the Hindu mythological stories etc with ‘my background of education’ in the field of ‘applied science’...
‘I’ am sorry that although ‘I’ was born in the ‘present day’ Himachal Pradesh (then Punjab) from ‘Kurmachali’ parents (that related us with ‘kurmavatar’ the Tortoise form, or the the second reincarnation, of Lord Vishnu!), or now ‘Uttarakhandi’ parents, ‘I’ had a different ‘tilt’ or inclination of mind (like that of earth’s axis): ‘I’ didn’t have personal desire to visit temples, maybe because ‘I’ came to believe human form itself as a temple within which resides the Formless God!
‘I’ have not yet visited the temples in ‘Uttarakhand’, perhaps with the exception of that of Gola Devta in Ghorakhal and Chitai, although ‘I’ have visited some temples elsewhere - all because of parents or relatives…but still 'I' like to have at least a detached view through different sources...
Pranams all!
Dr. Anil Joshi ~ Namaskaram!
Just do a google search of "DMT" it will tell you the scientific info. One entry talks about "Yogis who meditate on the third eye may be increasing their DMT levels"
In regards Chinese culture, Ching Ming is celebrated by diaspora Chinese around the world, outside of China, where it is easier to follow past religious precedents of antiquity and to educate the youth with the customs of old.
Sunday April 6th was also "Spring Festival" in Shinto religion, the pre-Buddhist indigenous religion of Japan.
Both the Chinese and Japanese indigenous religions have much in common with Indian religions. The Chinese burning of paper offerings in a fire for the happiness of ancestors is one significant similarity. And the Shinto concept of "kami" or everything is alive and has a spirit, even rocks, water is another. "Unity in Diversity" can be another way of explaining it.
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Joshi Uncle,
I would like to say that I really appreciate your insight that the deity of Hayagriva demonstrates the principle that the throat chakra is akin to a guardian of the gateway to the higher chakras.
Also in regards Buddha avatar, there is a song Shri Dasavatara-Stotram by Jayadeva:
nindasi yajna vidher ahaha sruti-jatam
sadaya-hrdaya! darsita-pasu-ghatam
kesava! dhrta-buddha-sarira!
jaya jagadisa hare
"O Kesava! O You who assume the form of Buddha!...All glories to You because Your heart is so full of compassion. Therefore you advoacte non-violence as the supreme religious principle...Aho! You decry the srutis which prescribe the performance of sacrifices that inflict pain on animals"
Seems like that song was a bit ahead of its time, because more and more I am reading articles that say adopting a vegetarian diet does more to stop global warming than any other activity!
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Kavitha didi,
I appreciate your sharing of this unique deity. Recently I saw that one Varaha deity was installed in a Matha and I was not aware of any previous stylistic conventions for such an incarnation in a standing pose. I was only aware of a Varaha deity relief sculpture.
But when I saw the picture you posted of Hayagriva deity, now I see that they are almost identical the deity's bodily appearance, garments, and proportions.
So it appears that the silpins did try to conform to the previously established criteria of half man half animal. The main difference is that the Hayagriva deity's consort, seen here, is more petite in size. That is the basic stylistic difference that I see.
I thank you, as always, for continually expanding my awareness.
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Best wishes everyone! Tamil New Year coming up soon...
Aum Namah Shivaya
Aum Saravanabhava Aum
Hi Shri Anon, Being an ‘applied scientist’, ‘I’ am apparently exposed at some stage to observe the process of sieving crushed rocks to obtain different grades of sand in a ‘Sieve Shaker’, where different sized sieves are placed at different levels and the machine is made to shake in all dirctions (that helped me imagine the locations and function of the ‘chakras’ wihin human form at eight different levels visualized by Yogis). In the machine, the highest one has the biggest size of openings that stop only the unwanted pieces bigger than a certain predetermined size and at the bottom is a pan that being at the the lowest level holds all the fines that have passed through the intermediate sieves also that gradually decrease in their sieve size…Of course a housewife also has the opportunity of observing this phenomenon while sieving wheat/ rice flour through a proper size sieve that helps separate undesirable and unwanted big sized elements etc., which is otherwise likely to spoil the end product…A similar process was used at one time for cleaning water for drinking purposes by making raw water pass throiugh pitchers at different levels and containing charcoal pieces in one, sand in the next one below it such that filtered water was finally collected at the btom most, which alone didn’t have a hole at its bottom… For handling large quantities of raw water, pressure filters of graded sand is used these days…the principle however remains the same, and as per Hindu belief, that only was considered as the ‘truth’ that didn’t change with time…
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