10.04.2008

Sri Chakra-from yantra to temple ground plans

The garbha griha of the Kamakshi Amman temple is the seat of love and life giving energy. What appears to the naked eye is a flower decked Goddess center stage, with lamps around her as the Arti lights up her glowing face in sandal wood on stone.

What is not visible to the eye is the energy that is resplendent around her. What makes up this beauty, this aura that shines around this idol? At the foot of the goddess, the idol of which is a representation of her supreme force, is the peetha that contains the Sri chakra. This chakra surrounded by the eight devis who reside within their small niches, are present there because they belong to this realm. Without their presence the Sri Chakra is quite incomplete.

The peetha itself brings alive the presence of Shiva, the Sri chakra being the foundation on which he resides. Within the Sri Chakra, four entrance gateways lead to the center of this chakra, all meeting at the central circle with 8 and 16 petals each is housing a goddess attendant from the Devi’s pantheon. 24 Goddesses reside here, each with a potent beeja mantra as they take their seats directionally around the center of this mandala. Having worshipped and pleased the 32 devis on the outside and given them offerings divine, the heart proceeds inside into a network of triangles. Devi Kosha, the seat of her presence, the potency of her being, the energy of her nature as the Goddess of love who married Lord Shiva, is intertwined within these triangles.

This is not a geometrical representation as much as it is a definition of intercourse, meeting of two energies, two pranas into a union. This union that is so pure, so beautiful, so intense and energizing, it is the seat of all creation. This union, that we give a moralistic garment to and restrict our own minds into a confused state of self control and a sense of disrespect, is actually beyond these equations altogether.

In the oil lamp light, in the mystic interior of this chamber dressed in vermillion, this peetha draws us back into its center, the core at which reside on the seat of all creation Lord Shiva and Shakti in the form of Somaskanda. The peetha inside which the Sri Chakra yantra is installed is a metaphorical representation of a Shiva linga peetha within the Garbha Griha of Kamakshi Amman, the loving consort of Lord Shiva. Such a divine couple, such potency to their presence, the Sri Chakra is representation of the Shiva Linga in a different way. It is not depicted in the traditional form of being divided into its various parts (Rudra bhaga, Vishnu Bhaga and Shiva Bhaga) but it represents the union of the divine parent.

Bindu, the core energy center brings alive this new world where Lord Shiva and Devi reside at its seat surrounded by devis blooming into lotus petals dancing around the divine couple, each invoked by the recitation of their respective beeja mantras. They reside there in Lalitasana, Padmasana or in Tribhanga, bringing to the mind a remote but definite similarity with the Chaunsat Yogini shrines far away at Ranipur Jharial, Hirapur and Bheraghat. These temples belong to remote villages in Orissa and Madhya Pradesh, but what stands out most is the very same ground plan as within the peetha of Kamakshi Amman shrine. These are roofless open temples (hypaethral temple) with 64 goddesses called Yoginis, who are lesser representations of the 32 goddess residing within the various petals of the Sri Chakra yantra. They transform the yogini shrines of Orissa and Madhya Pradesh into living Sri Chakra ground plans on whose blue print these tribal temples have been built.

In parallel, the beauty of these Goddesses comes alive at Ranipur, where even Kamakshi is represented as one of the leading goddesses dancing in the presence of Ajaikapada Bhairava and Swachchanda Bhairava, both representations of the fierce aspect of Shiva in amorous pleasure. This depiction is clearly brought out by the depiction of both in Urdhvalinga – erect phallic state. Kamakshi dances with a parrot at her feet, the parrot being the vahana (vehicle) of Kama, the Lord of love. This is brought out by the Kaula system of tantric tradition, where Shakti is Kula and Shiva is Akula , the union of both being Kaula – a sacred set of traditional rituals invoking Shiva and Shakti into one’s sadhana.


Related links:
Potency of Sri Chakra Yantra
Chaunsat yogini temple, Bheraghat Jabalpur
Lajja Gauri and the Tree of Life
Jagannath Puri Rath Yatra, Bhubhaneshwar
64 Yoginis dance with Bhairava

39 comments:

JC said...

First of all, let it be known that as per ‘wise Hindus’ we are in Kaliyuga, the ‘Dark Age’ that believably existed in the beginning of evolution of the apparently infinite universe - that is, an infinite dark (Krishna/ kala/ kali) void that is filled with heavenly bodies or physical forms of stars, planets, planetoids etc contained within innumerable disc shaped galaxies – starting from a point source of infinite energy (called ‘Shakti’ in Sanskrit)…That is the original energy was apparently converted into matter by the Creator, called Nadbindu…

And, within this dark void or space, our galaxy - that contains our solar system, which in turn contains our planet earth that interests humans, (believed as models of the universe, and also called instruments of God), the most and our galaxy believably exists for the last billions of years, and holds the solar system for around over 4 billion years…

And, thus in view of the above, the main problem with us humans is our negligible life-span that doesn’t permit us long-term studies of ‘Nature’. And hence, unfortunately for the majority, on account of vastness of even one subject, the human race is obliged to take recourse also to subjects that apparently aren’t as precise as ‘science’...and thus the divide continues to exist even between individuals dealing with ‘arts’ and ‘science’ subjects…whereas ‘Nature’ is realised as Yoga of both…

And, human form is believed since time immemorial to be a result of essences of members of the solar system, subject dealt by ‘scientists’, who are unable to incorporate in their studies the abstract items – viz. the beauty of, say, a rose flower which grows ‘naturally’ and isn’t definitely man-made, at least that’s what it appears to be, going by what knowledge or capability one appears to have today! However, there are stories related to advanced Yogis, which indicate that humans in the ‘past’ perhaps were much more advanced in Technology, for example, one had acquired such powers that one could disappear from a particular location and reappear in a remote location instantaneously! Or walk over water!

Time was thus believed to be the nodal point that governs the related events...

JC said...

Time however is funny! For example, we reckon one day on earth as the time taken for planet earth to make one rotation around its own axis. And a year is equal to the numbers of rotations it makes during the period it makes one revolution around its parent body, the Sun, which is observed equal to a little over 365, and thus we mark time in terms of these 365 days shown divided into 12 months (the word derived from earth’s lone satellite, Moon, which takes a little under 30 days for going around its parent body earth)…
And, on similar considerations for say some life form on planet Mercury, based on observations by ‘scientists’, one learns that the planet revolves around its parent body the Sun during a period that is equal to 88 days, that is, its year is around 1/4th of the year on earth. However, its time for rotating around its own axis, due to its being too close to Sun and thus ‘skin friction’, it takes 160 days (?), that is, its day is bigger than its year – almost twice!

Although - perhaps because of Kaliyuga's effect - it is beyond comprehension of the 'present day' humans, the 'wise ancients', based on in-depth studies believed to have realized human structure to be formed out of permutations and combinations of the essences of selected planets (indicated as ranging from Sun to Saturn (Suryaputra Shani!)…

It is perhaps because of apparent vriety in 'Nature', such as cited above as a small instance, that ‘good’ days appear to fly away while ‘bad’ days appear to drag on! And, the 'wise ancient Hindus' appear 'foolish' to the 'modern man'!

JC said...

A ‘modern man’ is generally identified today with the help of the electronic gadgets and their numbers one uses, say, even while sitting side-by-side to a colleague - within small cubicles - and exchanging thoughts, mostly spam mails through e-mails on PCs!
Of course, there are justifications for all acts – the positive point here being not disturbing other colleagues who too utilize the rest of the space in that particular room/ hall…necessity felt because of geometrical increase in numbers with passage of time - from one person only (Shiva the immortal - as the image of Nadbindu needing to be accommodated at the end of Satyuga) to innumerable beings (His own images) at the beginning of Kaliyuga…

The phenomenon can be imagined with the help of a pyramid, a huge edifice in Egypt, built by the ancients for preserving the dead body of a pharaoh, their king, along with a few other bodies of his slaves - from its apex, a point or ‘bindu’, down to its huge base...Common man in ‘India’ (an island called Jambudweep) since time immemorial, or since the time Himalayas emerged out of the sea-bed on its North, used Mount Kailash, symbolically, or erect phallus of Shiva, represented by Shivlinga, as a sign of potency of the omnipotent!

JC said...

Although ‘I’ had earlier also indicated it, ‘I’ would like to point out once again how ‘Hindus’ have indicted Kaliyuga as the period of lowest human efficiency (range 0 to 25% of the 100 % potential at the end of Satyuga)…
And, that each Yuga Satyuga, Tretayuga, Dwaperyuga, and also Kaliyuga repeat 1,080 times during one day in the life of the unending Formless Creator, which determined from the point of view of relative motions of earth and sun (called ‘Brahma’, as one of the three aspects attributed to the Trimurty Shiva the Mahesha, related mainly with creation), believably works out to over 4 billion years, for one Kalpa or Mahayuga is believed to have a duration of 4.32 million years…
And the fact that the present day scientists estimate the age of our solar system to be around 4.6 billion years, we are thus towards the fag-end of Brahma’s day…and thus we are believably heading towards Kalratri that is Brahma’s night - according to ‘wise’ thoughts reached through realization by reaching a thoughtless state…

Now, for the sake of ‘pastime’, there is a conclusion, which expresses the ‘truth’ realized by the ‘west’ also based on observation of human intelligence/ knowledge vis-à-vis ‘Nature’ in the present - that ‘man is a square peg in a round hole’…which perhaps gets reflected in the square base of the pyramid also (and not a cone, for it is virtually impossible to construct one to the required dimensions), and ‘Hindus’ describing Brahma to have four faces and He isn’t considered individually as ‘imperfect’ (and the hole filled by eight hands of Ma Gouri/ or four hands of Shiva, plus four hands of Vishnu, who is also indicated as Nadbindu, a point only to start with and is indicated as the centre of our earth, that is Shiva who has Kali residing in His heart or centre!)…Ancient astronomers indicated earth as the centre of the universe...

The Apsmara Purush within each born Hindu tody comes to realise the truth, part of the untruth' in the words of the 'wise' ancients, only when some character in the 'west' points it out through the electronic media...

JC said...

Continuing with 'pastime', Every mature literate today is perhaps aware that there are stars in our universe that are millions of light-year (ly) away from earth (a ly is equal to the distance the light from a star travels during one Julian year (that is, it is considered to have 365.25 days) with a speed of around 186,000 miles per second, or 300,000 Km per second. Thus one can get a rough idea of the extent of the universal void, that was called the ‘virat’ or infinite form’ of Vishnu (represented by numeral ‘8’ - written horizontally), whereas His ‘sukshama’ or reduced form is believed to be zero, that is Nadbindu who is related with time and space both as zero, represented by numeral ‘0’! The physical universe thus is indirectly indicated to have been created as well as destroyed instantaneoiusly! And, it is however indicated to be seen because of ‘Maya’ that is ‘illusion’ created by the one and only Supreme Being, during apparent time…created with the help of the solar system…that every astrologer/ palmist seems to refer to…And we also have learnt that it takes just 8 minutes for sunlight to reach our planet earth, besides other members of the solar system too (represented by numerals 1 to 9), and act as the main source of vision and also the source of direct and indirect energy…

Thus the reel life appears to be represented numerically or graphically, in pictorial form too...such that destructive energy is recognised in the form of a dark bodied female with her tongue painted red, and so on...and is called 'Ma Kali' by 'Hindus'...

JC said...

Although Shiva has many names, He is also known as Bhootnath, the Lord of the ghosts, and also as Mahakal, the Controller of Time, perhaps thus also conveying Bhootnath to, in reality be engaged in review of His ‘bhootas’ that is ‘Ghosts’, or His own Past, that is History or His own stories of the past successes and failures during His journey from zero to infinity or ‘perfection’…reflected through various different ‘bhootas’…
As far as viewing of ghosts reported by some characters from time to time, believably on account of differing capabilities and ESPs in human life is concerned, it is clear that humans continue to see at least ghosts of stars, maybe without realizing it, as indicated by ‘astronomers’ that certain distant stars when those are believed to exist in space (for they are visible on earth at a given point in time) mightn’t in reality be existing at that particular instant, for they might have ceased to exist for quite some time, but the observer on earth might in reality be fooled, or illusioned, because of the light reaching the concerned too late – like receiving in human life a letter reporting someone’s death at some remote corner of the earth, that might also be cut off from the mainstream due to some factor(s) reportedly beyond human control, say, due to ‘vagaries of Nature’…

JC said...

Although Shiva has many names, He is also known as Bhootnath, the Lord of the ghosts, and also as Mahakal, the Controller of Time, perhaps thus also conveying Bhootnath to, in reality be engaged in review of His ‘bhootas’ that is ‘Ghosts’, or His own Past, that is History or His own stories of the past successes and failures during His journey from zero to infinity or ‘perfection’…reflected through various different ‘bhootas’…
As far as viewing of ghosts reported by some characters from time to time, believably on account of differing capabilities and ESPs in human life is concerned, it is clear that humans continue to see at least ghosts of stars, maybe without realizing it, as indicated by ‘astronomers’ that certain distant stars when those are believed to exist in space (for they are visible on earth at a given point in time) mightn’t in reality be existing at that particular instant, for they might have ceased to exist for quite some time, but the observer on earth might in reality be fooled, or illusioned, because of the light reaching the concerned too late – like receiving in human life a letter reporting someone’s death at some remote corner of the earth, that might also be cut off from the mainstream due to some factor(s) reportedly beyond human control, say, due to ‘vagaries of Nature’…

JC said...

Jai Gurudev,

You have requested in the space for messages: can you Post something about saiva siddhantam and about Gita whats the difference both the teachings id entirely different altho it belongs to Hindus...

Let Kavitha also give her version.
However, in my opinion, in simple words, ‘I’ would say that Bholenath Shiva that is original Earth (containing originally the solar system within itself and, therefore, believed a ‘fire-ball’ originally) is the original ‘Ardhanarishwar’, or the ‘true image’ of God, that is, the apparent physical form of the Formless Creator…

Energy is undying, as ‘I’ read in my school days, expressed by ‘scientists’ that 'energy can neither be created nor destroyed by any known means' (although it can be converted into other forms, viz. Heat, Light, Electricity, Sound, and Magnetism)…Similarly the ‘Hindus’ believed unborn and undying Vishnu, as Nadbindu, a point source of infinite sound energy, as responsible for creation of the physical universe…which indicates earth, as it appears in the present form, as Shiva the Gangadghar (that holds Ganga), Chandrashekhara (that has Moon on His forehead to keep cool on account of poison that is pollution, held in its throat, that is in Venus with solar system considered as Mahashiva, and so on) etc. etc…thousands of names given to the one and only Creator…

In the Gita, however, Yogiraja Krishna - (meaning ‘black’, reflected in the present day knowledge that our galaxy houses a ‘black hole’ in its centre, and thus believably representing the centre of our earth, which believably as per the mythology is the house of Kali or black) - as the representative of Vishnu the universal void is shown responsible for the creation of different life forms on earth...

He says that all reside within him, but on account of ‘maya’ or illusion everyone sees him within the self…He thus says he is present within all physical forms…as the soul that changes forms from time to time just as man, a model of the universe, adopts new garments in place of the worn out...

JC said...

Parvati that is ‘Indu’ the Moon, as Jagdamba the mother of earth, appears to have been given the highest pedestal by Krishna, as indicated in the mythological stories through his love and affection towards Yashoda, although apparently his foster-mother in human form…

In physical form, Moon (or Parvati/ Durga/ Shailputri the daughter of rocky Himalaya) is indicated as the ‘Mother of mothers’, who all in human forms are indicated as different images of the one and only Formless, duly reflected by essence of Moon in the head of each form, and supported by all other members of the solar system through permutations and combinations of their essences - that jointly reflect a different appearing as well as different acting individual…as per the script written by Krishna for the human life drama being reviewed by different souls at different times as the Creator’s eyes!
Thus Krishna originally created ‘Hindus’ – children of Indu - only, and with the passage of times ignorant ‘Hindus’ because of ‘maya’ or lack of knowledge got divided into different caste, creed and so on as they moved from one place to another thanks to the panchabhootas: earth, air water, fire and sky, and of course a grand design by the Supreme Being, or Supreme soul the Paramatma!

Kavitha Kalyan said...

Hi Joshi Uncle

I already have. Fortunately or unfortunately, Hinduism addresses a vast kind of audience unlike Christianity or Islam which seems to bank on single pointed path.

We have a standing example of Charvaka philosophy where a man is taught to indulge so much that he gives up the desire altogether, after realizing the futility in it.

While Advaita teaches one to not even fall for the desire in the first place as it is anyway futile.

Both paths teach the same thing in different ways.

The same thing with shaivism and Gita.

While Lord Shiva says surrender and offer every action of yours to HIM with detachment towards the result of the action, Krishna says the same thing also adding, action anyway has to be performed since you are born and you cant shun it away. Only those actions which are not done with desire to achieve and for self benefit are non karmic actions and do not get accumulated as karma through various rebirths.

Both Shaivism and Gita teach the same principle, its upon you to see the similarity which is NOT apparent.

Regards
Kavitha

JC said...

Hi Kavitha, Nice explanation if you believe human beings capable of independent thoughts and actions...

For example, why a healthy 16-year-old today is heard saying he doesn’t believe in God?!

No amount of lectures on Buddha, Krishna, Rama, Shiva, and so on could perhaps move him, apparently because like a ‘blinkered horse’ his eyes are directed towards ‘west’ and their apparent queer ways...

However, one cannot rule out his getting reformed at a later date if he happens to come across some ‘turning point’, like Mohandas getting ejected from a First Class coach in South Africa…thus indicating the hand of ‘Time’ that is Mahakal Shiva…

JC said...

‘Foreigners’ who come to ‘India’ find the variety in ‘Indian lifestyle’ fascinating - in all its aspects…particularly interesting because everyone finds something that they can relate common with the lifestyle in their own country preserved in some pocket here, which can perhaps be attributed to the tolerance (or maybe helplessness) of our ancients…that resulted in ‘foreign rule’ in limited pockets or even all over the country as in the case of the British, and thus giving them a sense of superiority over the ‘natives’…History thus helps humans retain the thoughts related with past of a globe in mind…

Unfortunately, or as part of the grand design by Mahakal, (it believably being the fag-end of Kaliyuga), the ‘present day’ inhabitants who till recent times apparently lived life in ‘India’ unconcerned of what the people in neighboring state did, have started recognizing the apparent disparity in terms of material possessions…because of the thought of equality, fraternity and liberty generated by ‘democracy’, which can only be seen exhibited in the immortals only, i.e., the solar system say, thanks to Moon the Durga ruling the head and her eight hands acting in unison for a purpose known only to the Creator (as indicated by Hindu Mythology)!

JC said...

On 'ashtami', perhaps coincidentally, ‘I’ can thus see the use of different numbers of ‘petals’/ ‘yoginis’/ ‘devi’ etc in multiples of ‘8’ related with eight types, or intensities, of energy levels associated with different planets whose essences are believably used in different proportions in each human form too, which is believed as a model of the universe…Thus human form is a wonderful design that wasn’t understood in the past at the beginning of ‘churning’…and more importance was perhaps given to physical properties or characteristics of natural stones, particularly the precious and semi-precious gemstones, that continue to adorn the temple buildings/ idols, forgetting that those also are supplied by unique earth – perhaps realized by the ‘wise Hindus’ as an image of the unique all-knowing Supreme Being!

JC said...

Yogis reportedly sought the ‘self’ in the isolation of Himalayan forest, which came to be described as Shiva’s hair-locks, that is ‘jata-joot’, in code words, which being a model they too received naturally, (far from the hustle-bustle of city life that apparently keeps the majority away from the ‘Truth’). For, they came to realize that the immortal Creator was formless (energy) because It was related with time and space zero. And therefore, they realized possibility of communication with the ‘self’ through achievement of a thoughtless, or at least nearly thoughtless state, just as one needs to tune one’s radio to a particular frequency, or station, to receive communication from a particular channel or source of transmission one is interested in!
In the human form, the existence of ‘8 chakras’, or centres of energy, were realized, with the top most ‘chakra’ believed as the governor that held only limited energy/ information related with the Yuga concerned. The major portion of energy/ information - believably being held up in the lower ‘chakras’ - needed to be lifted up to the ‘governor’ for realization of the ‘Truth’, or ‘Absolute Truth’ that is the complete information held by the Supreme Bing alone…

'Tantra', or 'mantra', or yantra were prescribed by the Yogis for the benefit of the common man who found it difficult to reach a thoughtless stage due to vagaries of teh day-to-day life...

JC said...

In the ‘present’, apparently most of the ‘original research work’ is being carried out in the ‘west’ - particularly in the USA/ Canada, although earlier Britain acted as the main stage, and now playing a secondary role. And, for the majority, ‘coincidentally’ North America is a continent that is naturally sculpted in the shape of an Eagle, which seen through the eyes of the ‘wise ancient Hindus’ to the ‘born Hindus’ even might remind of Vishnu’s vehicle, Garuda – a bird that by natural design is considered the King of birds that keeps an eye on the ‘animal world’ from a distance!

If one could change one’s attitude, one could perhaps similarly, like our ancients – believing the Eagle as a model – could visualize Moon, the ‘heavenly body’ or a natural satellite that keeps an eye on Earth, as part of a grand design for multi purposes including communication just as humans apparently in ‘recent times’ have learnt the use of ‘artificial satellites’, built on similar principles, for reconnaissance/ communication purposes!

JC said...

It’s thus a matter of breaking of ‘mental barriers’ – considered by ancients as merely ‘lifting of a veil’ to see the person’s face behind it – to come to accept ‘essence of moon’ believably housed in the head at the ‘sahasrara chakra’, that is, a point source of ‘1,000 water channels’, indicating what came to be understood as ‘enlightenment’ on receipt of total knowledge of the infinite universe…and perhaps similarly understand that the cause of under-performance in the majority of humans in ‘Kaliyuga’ is on account of information/ energy locked up in the lower body and the throat…that require much more effort on the part of individuals…

JC said...

In ‘Nature’, apparently as per a grand design, if only one is prepared to change one’s attitude one would find that there are innumerable signs - conveyed through ancient/ modern writings or otherwise – that could eventually lead to the ‘Truth’ as apparently understood by the ‘wise ancients’…However, one finds there are many nuts that are hard to crack, or open because natural rusting and therefore require use of technology, and maybe thus more time and energy!

Maybe some wise modern one in the east or west could try explaining why ‘Australia’ appears to have been sculpted (believably by ‘panchbhootas’) in the form of the head of a BULL, and whether it could be the reported ‘vehicle of Shiva’ (by ancient Hindus in their mythological stories in code words)?

JC said...

Maybe, eventually what one would like to know is the source(s) of animal thoughts…Could it have its origin in external bodies, say called heavenly bodies…’Modern scientists’ have apparently come to learn that sound waves emanate from both our Sun and planet Saturn and enter earth’s atmosphere besides the seven colours observed in the visible part of the spectrum…and ancient Hindus, perhaps in code words, or symbolic language, spoke of Sarawati Veena a string instrument used in India (more popular in ‘south India’ the direction south being indicated as being ruled by our sun), where Saraswati is considered by ‘ancient Hindus’ as the consort of Brahma (that points to our Sun, as one of the aspects of the three-in-one God)…
However, the ancient Hindus apparently gave more stress on its origin to lie within the ‘eight centres of energy’ or ‘ashta chakras’…

And, planet Saturn or Shani was called son of Sun that is 'surya-putra'...The soiund that apparently emanates from it is found a mixture of chirping of birds, beating of drums, and tinkle of birds (and bells and drums are parts of Indian Temples since time immemorial in 'India')!

JC said...

A thought on the final day, that is, the ninth day of ‘Navratri’ reflected also in the use of ‘Navagraha’ that is nine planets (ranging from Sun to Saturn): Yogis realized essences of these nine planets governing human life through Mahayugas eternally - with ‘commercial-break-like’ gaps of Kalratri in the drama, just as its reflection human being is allowed an 8-hr break for rest/ sleep…

However, the Formlees Creator governs the maximum achievement possible during each Yuga...25% only believably possible in Kaliyuga...thus the apparent helplesness seen today as we approach the 0% stage, that is the beginning of the'churning' by 'Krishna', with a view to reachng perfection as Shiva as His enlarged formed...

JC said...

The ‘Hindus’ believed Earth as Mahesha, the detached one, able to remain thus thanks to the democratic rule headed by Moon, that is, Parvati, His better-half, and ‘her eight hands’, (like those of the spider acting as a model), the other members of the solar system…

Thus ‘I’ have posted the following comment (in very brief) in Ms Olivia Judson’s blog that ‘I’ had indicated in one of the comments earlier.

“We have learnt about a grand variety of life forms in the universe from bacteria to man on earth - since the time of Pasteur, say.
Can you believe that earth itself could be a ‘life form’, and perhaps the most intelligent one?!"

JC said...

In the Gita, man is indicated as an inverted tree. That is to say that his roots are indicated to lie in the ‘sky’, one of the ‘panchbhootas’ – unlike a tree that is rooted to earth, although it is also made from the same ’panchbhootas’, which reportedly go into the formation of all physical bodies – ‘animal’ or ‘heavenly’…We have already earlier also discussed in details how the roots of trees remain unseen, and how the roots of banyan are not only different from other trees, the original root is difficult to identified from the secondary ones, which also applies to human race and its evolution…The Hindu belief indicates origin of human race in Shiva-Parvati, who had their abode at Kashi/ Kailash, both perhaps originally located in ‘India’, but in the ever-changing earth, Mount Kailash is now in Tibet (claimed by Chinese government in hte 'present' and thus Dalai Lama was forced to live in exile - at Darjeeling, 'India')…and Buddhism is rooted more in Japan and other countries of 'far east'...

JC said...

And believably, the ‘present day intelligent race’ or the Homo sapiens are believed to have their roots in the ‘Dark Continent’, Africa, as per the present day anthropologists, that is, crudely speaking, ‘scientists’, who too like the ancient Hindus, or ‘Yogis’, who appear to have advance much more, are keen to reach the origin of the universe…but appear to have still much more ground to cover, in darkness…and hence the need of ‘light’ that can perhaps only come from the direction ‘east’ ruled by Kali (reflected by Red colour as one of the essences)…

Kavitha Kalyan said...

Sorry Joshi Uncle,

I am yet to go through your comments... please give me some time...

regards
Kavitha

JC said...

Kavitha, Everyone (because of ‘Maya’ and, therefore, ‘man’ realized as an image of ‘God’ the formless Creator) tends to forget that ‘real’ time (and space too) is zero, called the ‘Absolute Truth’!

And, therefore, in view of the realization of the ‘wise ancients’ one needs to pause and remind oneself from time to time of the ’Absolute Truth’, the ‘Paramatma’ or Supreme soul…that whatever is apparently happening in the ‘present’ is in fact the ‘truth(s)’ of the ‘past’ – and that too in the life of the ‘All knowing’ (during His journey from zero to infinity in the then unknown ‘material field’, when He first thought of the 'churning' in the long lost past)…His true image represented by earth at the end of Satyuga the stage of ‘perfection’…

The essence is also reflected even in 'cheap' (due to kaliyuga, or drama pertaining to the lowest human efficiency) soap operas on TV such as ‘Kyunki Saas bhi kabhi bahu thi’, that is, ‘Mother-in-law was also a bride once upon a time’…

JC said...

The Hindu Mythology explains illusion that is ‘Maya’, say in the essential saying carried forth since time immemorial, “Prabhu ki kaisi ye maya hai/ Kahin dhoop kahin per chhaya hai”. In essence, the apparent opposites in all aspects of the drama are reflected through the forms (that appear because of sunlight, and are formed of energy converted into matter, and white sunlight contains all colours and many forms of energies too) and their shadows (dark patches the physical forms apparently project on the ground due to acting as obstacles in the path of the light)…
In view of the above, our Sun, an average star, is the main cause of ‘Maya’ – being understood as th4 direct and indirect for of energy for sustenance of the grand variety of life forms and also help in vision of the forms…

There is another saying too, “Prabhu ki leela/ kahin sookha to kahin guila”, that is, upon our planet earth, as observed in ‘India’ particularly, there are certain regions where it rains heavily over a limited duration during monsoon season (and consequently there are floods, and are called ‘flood prone’) while certain other regions remain dry (that is those are identified as ‘drought prone’)…However, there are certain other regions where it rains uniformly throughout the year…
In the above too, the culprit is once again our Sun, being the cause of water cycle on earth because of the ‘fire’ or energy we receive from it – of course, duly helped by ‘air’ (that is the space or atmosphere that holds the air and also clouds, or water vapours, that is, water in gaseous form. And water is originally made from Hydrogen, that is, the gas naturally found in all stars, and Oxygen that is naturally found in ‘air’)…

JC said...

And, man was understood as a model, a superior one though, for it’s the model of the universe, and therefore unlike inferior models we humans in the present are used to making those ourselves (or are made by the Creator through human agency, in reality, thanks to Time being Kaliyuga)…These models could apparently make use of different materials provided by earth itself, or might even be ‘mathematical models’ thanks to ‘advancement in technology’ and use of human brain besides electronic computers that use ‘printed circuits’…

Kavitha, similarly, perhaps we can understand Sri Yantra, a product of Adi Shankaracharya’s brain, a natural super computer (‘elevated soul’), for control of the believable ‘destructive energy’ (reflected by Red colour)…The phenomenon could perhaps be understood as tapping of knowledge available recorded in lower charkas in human forms - by Yogis…while the average man remains an ‘Apsmara Purush’ of the mythology, that is one who isn’t able to recall memory, due to effect of time in terms of Yugas…

Kavitha Kalyan said...

Hi Joshi Uncle,

I have come to learn that the world of the yantras is one of intrigue and secrecy as much as it is open for anyone to understand its potency.

I have just started to study them as a concept, not about how to construct, not about how to use (i believe they can be used for good/bad deeds) but to just first figure out what are they as they are so so so so close to Lord Shiva and Parvati.

Its a phenomenon, sitting right in the middle of us, unnoticed. Its not a small phenomenon, its enormous, the value of which i am still trying to unravel.

I am just glad to be blessed am on this path!

Regards
Kavitha

JC said...

Hi Kavitha, hinking aloud, 'Yantra' that is 'instrument', or 'kal' (as different from 'kaal' that is time)is obviously supposed to be the best for Kaliyuga - that the 'present time' is also realised to be, by wise ancients, and which believably repeats 1,080 times in just one day in the unending life of 'Brahma'...And Brahma believably is only one third aspect of the Formless Creator...

Vimana itself, as part of a temple, is realised as an instrument for energising the soul to a higher than the original level as it gets released from the human form, and even inferior animal body - as some tourists to some pyramid in Egypt reportedly found some stray dead dogs also appearing fresh inside some pyramid...atributed to the building acting like a present day fridge, say for example. Small scale models of pyramid with sides kept facing north, south, east and west directions, irrespective of the property of the material used, is believed to have indicated similar effects on, say, fish and meat kept inside a chamber at its Centre of Gravity...

And even human form is believed to be an instrument of God, and therefore it is believed that its efficiency can be increased in thousands of ways, through drugs or chemicls, balanced diet, gemstones, and so on - the realisation of the efficacy of any system believably is bliss!

I am glad you are in the process of study of some literature on one such method of improving efficiency...I wish you Good luck!

Happy Dussehra!

JC said...

‘I’ think, the most wonderful and intriguing part of human life is appearance of dreams – believably even in ‘inferior animals’ too!
Everyone is perhaps aware of what is believed to be the ‘make believe world of cinema’ where a reel of edited photos is moved at a certain speed in front of a fixed source of light, and lo and behold it apparently generates a sensation of action on a ‘silver screen’! And, this projection is seen in properly prepared films capable of keeping a hall-full of spectators captivated and glued to their seats for a few hours - and also move them to the extent of shedding real tears even (not crocodile’s)! Or, generate a variety of emotions (called ‘navrasas’ or nine moods – according to ‘Hindus’, who appear to be obsessed with numeral ‘9’ that is related with Shani or planet Saturn, just as in ‘navaratri’ or ‘nine nights’ associated with the phases of rising phase of moon, or ‘navagraha’ that is ‘nine planets’ (including our Sun and certain other members of the solar system) whose essences are believed to go into the making of an instrument called ‘MAN!)…And, in this instrument, the drama of life is believed to be projected at he third eye level to create ‘Maya’ that is illusion!

Who am I? leads to the answer that I am Shiva at some stage in His past during the journey of the formless achieving the perfect form of earth - called Gangadhar Shiva, and His return to the original formless stage for rest!

JC said...

Kavitha, As ‘I’ said earlier also many times, the ‘Hindu belief’ indicates the Supreme Being, being perfect, capable of reviewing His Past stories eternally…for purpose not made known to humans at any time…

What does He seek? That’s the question that apparently remains eternally unanswered by humans, or His ‘best’ or 'superior most’ creation, which apparently utilizes essences of immortal members of the solar system - perhaps reflected by colours, and also energies, viz. ultraviolet and infrared, stored in certain components of earth itself…

As a student of ‘civil engineering’, one comes across an advice regarding ‘land surveys’ (to avoid ‘closing error’): Start from the whole to parts/ And not from parts to the whole!

The above also applies to earth that is the globe as a unique heavenly body as one of the parts of our solar system, which the ‘wise ancients’ indicated as the essence of the universe, while also indicating earth as well as human form itself also as models of the one and only universe…called 'virat' or enlarged form of theCreator...

JC said...

As discussed elsewhere earlier also, it is perhaps beyond average human’s imagination to accept the whole physical universe as one individual, the basic component of which is a disc-shaped heavenly body called a galaxy, a grand variety of which apparently fill the infinite dark void/ space. Our galaxy is believed to be a mature one, as it is thick at the centre and thinner towards the outer periphery. Each galaxy itself is relatively infinite and contains innumerable stars and planets and planetoids etc. that revolve around the galaxies centre…The Hindus called the heavenly body that believably lies at its centre as Krishna (meaning ‘black’) the representative of Vishnu (literally a poisonous atom) that is Nadbindu (meaning a point source of infinite energy) and, therefore, it would perhaps be considered a mere coincidence - by the ‘non-believers’ - that ‘scientists’ today call it ‘Black Hole’, a super gravity but almost a formless body

JC said...

Also earlier ‘I’ had how it is known in the ‘present’ also that human brain is a super computer that gets reflected in, although much inferior, man-made electronic computers also, say in the use of ‘alphanumeric symbols’ and graphical representations for communication of thoughts from one location to another utilising artificial or man-made satellites in the recent past, which in a way can be said to poor copies of earth’s lone satellite called Moon, a minute part of the solar system/ our galaxy/ our universe…
Hindus, in ‘India’, (and maybe copied elsewhere on the globe also since long time so that like the banyan’s original root as the typical format might be difficult to exactly pin- point the original source), have indicated in recent times also how through fables serious subject like ‘Political administration’ – as in the popular stories in a publication titled ‘Panchtantra’ – could be conveyed for the benefit of the ‘common man’…And, in the Gita also Krishna is indicated to convey that anyone, irrespective of one’s cast, creed, sex, and so on could reach Him the ‘Supreme Knowledge’…

And, Krishna is indicated as Yogiraj, that is, king of the Yogis or Siddhas the all-rounder, in crude language ‘generalists’! And, therefore, the Gita advises one to ‘surrender in Krishna’ that is first of all accept that He is the Supreme Knowledge and your knowledge is like candle-light compared to His sunlight…And, then try to acquire essence of all subjects, conveyed also though the statement, “Satyam Shivam Sunderam”…

The above essential statement, read ‘between the lines’, conveys the essence of material, that is, formless energy as immortal or unending…

(Satya literally means ‘Truth’ and is, therefore, interpreted in the ‘present’ generally as ‘speaking the truth’, whereas it is actually derived from ‘satva’ that is essence. And ‘Shiva’ is reflects that which is opposite of ‘Visha’ the ‘poison’ - which indicates all physical forms as mortals or temporary only)…

JC said...

For academic interest perhaps, the Hindu concept of human being as model of the universe, which is also indicated as illusory (and the concept of ‘maya’ that is illusion created by the Supreme Being), read together with the Christian concept expressed in the statement, “God created man in His Own image”, as also another ‘Hindu concept’ of ‘creator’s thought power’ being responsible for the physical world, while time movd backwards from Satyuga to Kaliyuga in repeated cycles, all read together convey the universe as projection of thoughts in His Mind’s Eye, or ‘Third Eye’, repeatedly in cycles (as also on the imperfect eyes of ‘animals’ that have man as their leader) for some purpose not made known to humans…

JC said...

Hindu Mythological stories convey in essence the need for belief/ knowledge by every individual, irrespective of what all education he/ she has received depending on time and space where one finds oneself, that one is merely an instrument - as Krishna is shown telling the ‘expert archer’ Arjuna (who can be realized as a model of our sun the heavenly body from which white sunrays emanate like arrows from a bow) in the battlefield of Kurukshetra in Dwaperyuga.

The stage was believably reached after successfully crossing the first poisonous stage of Kaliyuga (literally the ‘Dark Age’) when lucky devtas (angels, or selfless people) and rakshashas (demons, or selfish persons) both were allowed a cleaner environment thanks to Shiva holding poison in His throat (that consequently turned blue) with His consort, Parvati, providing ‘amrit’ to Him in the form of ‘somrus’ that is Moonlight. Thus the superior most couple, in terms of Heavenly Bodies, is indicated as Earth-Moon…Or/ rather earth itself as moon appears to have evolved from earth itself…

One finds oneself born in a particular family and thereafter brought up, maybe at different locations and thus exposed to various beliefs and traditions related with those locations, and thereby due to various apparent reasons and circumstances carries certain predetermined ideas and beliefs in his head…and thus each individual can be considered as a mobile library…some getting updated regularly while some others stop entry of 'new ideas'...

And, today being in Kaliyuga (literally the Dark Age of the past) that is also called Kalyuga (Machine Age), one finds/ can observe how we humans are becoming slaves to ‘inferior’ man-made instruments or machines (and we know how any new man-made instrument even needs some manual to be supplied by the concerned manufacturer - to tell us how to operate it to receive maximum efficiency out of it, and also the Dos and Donts to be followed…and so on)…

Although, as stated earlier, we ourselves also believably are instruments – maybe crude, but apparently, as a consolation, are believably created by the unique all knowing Supreme Being, who unfortunately for us didn’t tell us how to operate this instrument and the dos and donts for it!

And, therefore, everyone has to move ahead through trials and errors, step by step…taking assistance from the human race at large…

Thus one finds - thanks to historical records - that there are innumerable ways suggested by different people through time immemorial. Maybe thus leading even to confusion what advice to adopt/ reject.

And, unfortunately it is applicable in all aspects of life that are innumerable…Thus everyone apparently adopts something from here and something else from there, depending on one’s own ‘liking’ and 'ability' - after considering various pros and cons and limitations related with time and location that govern his/ her line of action…and might thus lead to bitter or sweet outcomes, depending on the individual concerned…

”One man’s meat is another man’s poison,” thus leading to difficulty in generalization that human race, due to lack of proper knowledge, anyway tends to do... The physician thus orders ‘three capsules every three hours’, e.g., to ‘all adults’ and maybe complicates the case further in certain cases!

JC said...

Kavitha, you indicated in one of your comments above, “I have come to learn that the world of the yantras is one of intrigue and secrecy… Its a phenomenon, sitting right in the middle of us, unnoticed. Its not a small phenomenon, its enormous…”

In this connection, ‘I’ would like to point out that ‘ecologists’ today also find the earth’s environment as part of a great network, for they convey that even if a butterfly flutters its wings at some place, its effect could be felt at some other location on the globe…

Human body itself to behave as an instrument can also be seen from the fact that, in cold places, exposure of human body to sunlight does the job of recharging it, which gets expressed in the form of pleasure/ satisfaction/ relief and so on…

Also, nearness of a likeable object or personality (or departure of some other!) itself might give one a sense of security or pleasure/ happiness - just as a ‘scientist’ would report a hot pot kept in the close vicinity of a cold pot to result in loss of energy in one, and gain in the other!

JC said...

‘I’ - being a ‘scientist’ by training in the 'western style', and a Hindu by thought - have been engaged in research for quite some time. ‘I’ had read it reported how the sages, who lived in the Himalayan forests, because of their relatively ‘superior soul’ used to treat patients even from great distances – through ‘tele-therapy’, using sound energy or ‘mantras’.

Reportedly, they chanted certain ‘mantras’ in front of the image of the concerned. It is believed that sound energy gets reflected from the image, and thanks to the ‘natural’ network, the reflected energy identifies the concerned, wherever one might be located, and brings about benefic effects (or even malefic, as was reportdly done by some 'tantrics') on the concerned…

To be sufficiently effective the range of the sage, however, depended on the 'elevation' of the soul…

With this in mind, ‘I’ thought of using gemstone(s) on my own photo (and also some others who were willing to participate in the experiment) and found there apparently was some effect on the concerned, irrespective of the location…

The research to get the right combination of gemstones, based on the individual’s birth particulars, and placed on suitable locations of the photograph are continued…at ‘my’ personal level…like fine tuning of a musical instrument…

However, funnily, while discussing use of gemstones with a Bengali couple, ‘I’ was informed that their servant stole some expensive gemstones, prescribed by some astrologer that they had placed on their son’s photograph. Thus, ‘I’ was amused to learn that what ‘I’ believed as my original idea was, in fact, already in vogue elsewhere, in ‘India’ itself, perhaps since time immemorial!!!

'I' constantly try to remind myself that this is perhaps what 'I' had done in the 'past', in Kaliyuga (as one of the inferior images of Shiva, who alone attained 'perfection')!

JC said...

On the one hand, ‘I’ find ‘Nature’, that is, earth supported by the other ‘bhootas’ or elements, ‘Sky’ (atmosphere), ‘fire’ (energy) , ‘air’, and ‘water’ to apparently jointly act perfectly for sustenance of earth, for over 4 billion years as estimated by ‘scientists’ today, on the other hand the human race, although apparently intending to achieve immortality doesn’t appear to be successful in its efforts…
The maximum life span attainable in the present is under 150 years, or so, despite tall claims made by the ‘medical world’ - of ‘advancement’ in 'recent times'…and thus perhaps a false sense of superiority over the ‘ancient wise’…

And, one can also realize how, with passage of time, new problems or diseases keep popping up when man has apparently achieved a particular goal set up by him at any particular given time, despite ‘advancement in technology’, the root cause of which many a time is observed to lie in space travel, that is, escape from the gravity of earth! And the ancients also indicated attachment with earth as the main cause of human problems, and advised man to detach from it for some time at least and look within the ‘self’. And seek the ‘Absolute Truth’ within, for according to their realistion, a component of the Formless Creator is ‘imprisoned’ within each physical form – but for a limited duration, after which it escapes, leaving the material component back with its owner – the earth, or ‘mrityulok’ where death of animals is inevitable!

The above might perhaps help realise the concept of projection of Shiva's imperfect past...

JC said...

Thinking aloud the concept of dream within dream, in ‘India’, before independence, our dream apparently was to get liberated from the shackles of foreigners continued since long, and presently then under the British rule. And, we apparently succeeded in it – thanks to freedom struggle in which virtually the entire nation participated, lastly under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi who came to be known as ‘father of the nation’!

After attaining ‘independence’, now the next dream to be fulfilled was apparently that of our leader, Jawahar lal, of making unfortunately ‘truncated India’ a self dependent country by trying to catch up asap with the ‘west’ that had relatively advanced much more in ‘technology’, that is, use of ‘instruments’/ machinery apparently because they had started much before us. And, due to slavery of the ‘west’, we therefore hadn’t had opportunity to make progress due to exploitation by foreign rulers for long…However, China, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and also other small neighbouring countries apparently didn’t allow ‘freedom’ to us that we had desired originally…

And after that we have seen many leaders and many more modified ‘dreams’ - due to various circumstances/ hurdles popping up in our path - remaining to be fulfilled yet. And funnily those have become innumerable and apparently beyond technology (for example ‘global heating’) to be tackled even by all humans put together…

Krishna was called ‘natkhat Nandlal’ that is mischievous son of Nand, the once upon a time king of Mathura, the land of ‘happy’ milk-maids and cowboys. Only glimpses/ reflections of the particular time can still be seen being captured by otherwise ‘unhappy’ ‘modern characters’ – being performed on stages, or on ‘Silver’ or TV screens as part of a ‘spiritual break’ in human life!

Unknown said...

How this will help my daily life