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TADIPATRI GURUKULA
I have a few questions ?
Given that my understanding is correct that Bramha devaru and Rudradevaru knew Bhrigu Rishi’s upcoming visit and the further things to happen,
1. In which yuga did Bhrigu Rishi curse Bramha and Shiva?
2. Did that happen just prior to Srinivasa Kalyana?
3. If Bramha is not to be worshipped in idol form, why is there Bramha temples in India- pushkar, srirangam and prayag(I have not visited to any. Just heard in a pravachana)
4. When shiva’s curse is followed and worshipped in linga form, how come Bramha’s curse is excused in these 3 places?
5. Before this curse, were Bramha and Rudradevaru worshipped in idol forms?
Please excuse me if the wordings I put are not in the right format, but I mean to understand the story
MT: 1. This present kali yuga it happend.
2. yes, the curse eisode is prior to Srinivasa kalyana.
3. Murthy form of worship is not there for Chaturmukha Brahma at all.
a. Note that all these North Indian temples were renovated after the Muslim invasion.
b. Even if they are genuine, we have no idea as to what exactly that Murthy was.
c. Even assuming that it is Chaturmukha Brahma, there is no issue as the person who built or the king at that time may be a follower of the Supremacy of Chaturmukha Brahma and won't accept Vedanta or simply ignorant about shastra. In the recent past, ppl have built temples even for humans, and after few thousand years, will they become genuine?
d. All the so called sthala purana that are told in these pilgrim centers need to be taken with a truck load of salt if they lack shastric support.
e. Sri Vadirajaru has covered this Pushkara xetra in his tirtha prabandha and he doesnt mention any Brahma temple. Actually, the visheshha there is the 3 sarovara, and the very bhumi. It has an ancient Varaha temple. Same with Srirangam, Sri Vadirajaru doesn't mention it.
4. Ignorant people worship anything and everything that is popular or "my ajji said so" as majority are clueless about the very concept of "murthy puja". We see this in our own community
5. Actually, the very "curse" need to be understood properly. How can even a Rishhi give curse to Vishhnu or Brahma or Shiva? If they did so, isn't it a grave sin? Will they really do it?
Thus, it was actually a reinforcement of the existing mode of worship that got lost. As said in Gita, jnanai-s appear from time to time, to revive a lost truth wrt mode of worship and other such like how the episode of Rayaru accepting "saasuve" during chaturmasya. Here also, Rayaru, didn't make or change any existing shastra, but revived what was lost due to misunderstanding.
What is the significance of crow in pitru karya? Why people say it is a messenger.
MT: This is based on Raamaayana Uttarakhanda where an incident is narrated as how when Ravana visits Marutaraaja's yaaga, all devatas try to hide themselves with Yama choosing the deha of crow. Being pleased with the seva of crow s, he gives them the boon that whatever that is offered will be accepted by his pitrugana and will please Sri Hari and get His blessings.
Even the name "vaayasa", is mentioned in Rigveda, and it refers to Sri Hari who is present in them and it is He who accepts the offerings during such occasions.
I have a question. Ee janma kaLeda mele, not everyone attains moksha. - is this correct understanding aunty?
Garuda puraNa dalli, the first one year since leaving mortal remains, adara bagge vivarisiddare
During that time, ella karya dalli daana dharma maduvaga, pitru gaLanna kareyuttare. So, year on year , karya maduvaga, which atma are we calling? Isn’t that atma already part of another sharireera?
MT: None in this entire prapancha attains moxa after this current janma.
They invite "pitru gana devatas" and the antaryaami Sri Hari, and NOT our departed helpless relatives.
1. The main uddesha of these karmas are to repay one's "pitru runa" that we owe for getting this body. Without this janma/body one cannot do anything useful to wipe out our bad deeds. We invoke and worship the devatas who have the portfolio to take care of the departed souls aka "pitru gana devatas and their controller Sri Hari. Being pleased with our "gratitude", they not only bless us but reward those departed souls who gave us this body/or helped us shape our "dharma buddhi" also.
2. If those departed souls have done any omission etc., then, till they reach yamapuri, as the carriers of their "gene[for lack of better word], the children have the adhikaara to do satkarma on their behalf. Majorly one's own karma takes care of ones future journey as well.
3. Thus "pitru kaarya" is a "devata aaradhana" to Sri Hari. In this the adhistaana/abode Sri Hari takes is the "pitru gana devatas" who are assigned to take care of "departed souls".
4. For a dvija [who lost his own pitru], pitru tarpana is a nitya puja anga -- deva, rishhi, pitru, manushhya, bhuta puja is part and parcel of nitya jivana,. The "methodology" of the "puja" differs.
We are "inviting" the "pitru gana devatas and the antaryaami Sri Janardana". The runa that we have for our "parents/anestors/guru cannot even be repaid in 100 janmas, thus it is an act of showing our gratitude to these deities who instigated our ancestors during their life to give birth, bring us up, guide us etc.,
2. Also note a rebirth as a "human being" doesn't happen after a year! It may take several several years to happen. Till then, they may not even have a "physical stout body" to eat/drink even though they may have "hunger/thirst. Majorly their own karma takes care of it. However, to some extent they get it from our actions too. After all in many cases, they as "parents, guru" would have instilled these dharma-adharma prajna in us, so they reap the fruit thr' us too.
Regarding #2 point - so, in the case of JadaBharatha, he sat idle so as to not accrue any further karma. Is this correct understanding aunty? How did he know that he will attain moksha after the current birth?
Also, while the atma is waiting to attain the next form, what happens to it, as in, does it become pretatma?
Perhaps, getting another form sooner, is also dependent on the sanchita karmas gathered in previous life?
But if hari is deciding what guNa the jeeva will have, and thereby the type of karmas it will accrue, it will be a cyclic pattern alwa? Never being able to break the birth- re birth cycle?
MT: No, it is NOT.
Fist of all, he never sat idle -- his mind was on God, and he was seeing the invisible of hand of God everywhere. All these are "actions" and done with full awareness. This is "nishkaama karma". The phala for these are "moxa ananda" in his case as he is already a realized soul = seen Shri Hari in his hridaya. Thus moxa is guaranteed. He is a Chakravarti jiva belonging to kaxa # 19.
Acharya Madhva says in Gita, that without doing karma, one cannot even live! "the act of sitt-ing" itslef is a karma/action. Very "brea-thing" is a karma.
To your question as to what happens till the departed soul, gets its next janma, -- for the soul, this current deha is like a "temporaray dress" a tool rather to do karmas which it sheds at the end of this janma, and Pramaatma, gives quites a few "temporary dress" till it gets another deha/dress on Earth. Before it gets another janma, these other "dress/dehas" experience various dukha for all bad karmas in its path to yamapuri and then in naraka etc., as these punishments are more than what one experiences with this present deha. If it had done punya, the soul experiences more joy on its way to yamapuri, and then various svarga. With left over punya/paapa, it gets the next janma.
The "pretattva" deha is for the first 10 days . Then, it leaves this bhumi, and gets "antarika" deha --> then yaatana deha ---> divya deha [for svarga bhoga] etc.
As for never ending cycle of birth-death, the way it is broken is when one gets human janma in which "jnana" of the in-dweller is possible and with this jnana, with guru-anugrahita jnana, one can cut off several neecha janmas -- even "devara-naama" while doing karma can burn away many janmas!
Eventually, His darshana in hrut-kamala, completely burns all sanchita karma and future karmas have no binding alone. Just a bag of "prArabdha" stays.
I have a question- who will be reborn as humans in other religions? They say after being born in several lifetimes in several forms that we have been born as Hari Bhaktaru. So, what makes someone to be born in a totally different religion? Who are they?
MT: Fist of all, just because one gets born in a "vaishnava family" doesn't necessarily make one a "Hari Bhakta"! --- Duryodhana was born into the BEST vaishnava kula with devata purushhas, devaguru-s to teach!
Your question # 1,2,3 in short pertains to human being reborn again with religious belief differant from that of "Hinduttva"/Vedanta.
The answer is: Any soul who has accumulated a set of several karmas, both good-bad-ugly over several several janmas, that can ONLY be experienced through "human janma".
"human birth" is independent of "religion". No one is born with a "religion" and "religion" if at all, comes much later in our adulthood when one starts thinking about "who am I". It is true that majority of people don't even think on those lines even though "humans" are equipped with "analytical thinking" which stays dormant till that particular "karma" matures. Till then, they pretty much follow what their parents did, blindly or with fear-reward attached to that!
Thus, it could be me or anyone here too, could be born into differant "faith" based on our prior many janma karmas!!!!
As for the saying "after several several janmas one is born as "hari bhakta" -- here it refers to true Hari bhaktas, and not the casual ones! Even to get a "true" maanava janma takes several several janmas. In shastra "mAnava" doesn't merely refer to mere "human physical body" but refers to the qualities that makes one a "human" -- take a look around in our community be it here or in India, how many people have "human values" really?? Also, observe the local "American common man". It is not impossible to see this "human values" in many of these locals! Surely God gives them a much better "human birth" to evolve mentally on religious path since he has "behaved as a human being" and not as an "animal". On the contrary, if a "vaishnava" doesn't even have "manushha-ttva", what are the chances that he will even get a "manushha janma"?
Note that every religion has two sides:
1. social aspect to get along in the community amicably and peacefully by helping each other with compassion etc.
2. philosophical aspect that promisses pure joy [moxa].
The first aspect is common in all religious schools and the difference is in the second one.
# 1 assures rebirth as human being. Having born, it is the intrinsic nature that brings out # 2
Thus the first stage is getting a"manushhya" janma like how one has to have a clean good vessel first before filling it with milk, same way, one has to live and lead a life as a "human being" which we call "paatra shuddhi" before becoming a "bhakta" ---> then hari bhakta.
So what is the path to moksha?
MT: Path is having "annanya bhakti that He alone is the most dearest abode of our very existence"--> to have such a bhakti, one needs to know who He is aka His gunas ---> For that jnana, one needs guidance from the qualified guru parampara ---> for that one should have earned punya ----> to get punya, one needs satkarma ---> to do satkarma, one should inherantly have it in their very jiva .
Btw, when I said none got moxa in this prapancha, what that means is that till the end of mahaa-pralaya + no one from this prapancha goes to moxa including Chaturmukha Brahma!
Chaturmukha has to turn 100 years, now he is in his 51st year.
100 years of Chaturmukha means 31,104 thousand crore human yeras. After this same duration pralaya state. After this , all the good jivas -- smallest to the biggest, Chaturmukha will take us to moxa along with him.
So is it correct to say the actual religion of the adult is not as important as how humane he or she is. ?
But then, the beliefs of different religions are different…they may/will not even consider any Hindu Gods as Gods. So who is their God according to us? Is that still Vishnu who has made them to be born in a different religion? And if so, why? Is it based on their past karmas?
MT: To your first question:
Yes, indeed. Being born as "human" one should have " basic human values". Without values there is no real religion at all!
As I mentioned, Duryodhana was born in a "vaishnava" kula but lacked very basic "human values"! He even knew and mastered [laukika] "siddhi" of hundreds of Vedic mantras! what use? Krishna says in Gita that He will hurl such ppl in asuric yoni-s birth after birth!
Also, note that the word "religion" has two sub aspects:
1. Bahya dixa
2. antar dixa
1. Bahya dixa is "external" dress code, mode of worship etc.,
2. "antar dixa" is the values, and conviction that "from good only good comes, and bad action begets bad results" -- in short "as you sow, so you reap"! Thus a strong believer in "values" will hesitate to do bad deed to anyone especially the "weak and helpless" in the community.
It is best to have both, however, of the two, the "antar dixa" is superior and must have than merely the external aspect.
Ironically, unable to know # 2 antar dixa in an individual, we hastily conclude a person as "religious" and "so good person" based merely on the external show! The danger here is that when they get exposed in public, many lose the very faith in the "religion".
[4:30 PM, 7/8/2021] Maayi: As for your second question:
As I mentioned when it comes to "human values/humanity", all religion preach similar values only -- "right vs wrong" concepts are pretty much the same.
The differance is only wrt the "concept of God" and the path to reach Him. This is more to do with individual "sadhana" and personal growth. Take our own community, be it here or in India these days, how many people even have proper "concept of God"? That being the case, others not accepting "Hindu Gods", is not at all surprising, isn't it?
Note that, Acharya Madhva says that all faiths existing from beginningless times and will be so in future also. It is "bahu-chitra vichitra jagat" and this is what is "sadhana"!
God is ONLY one and there cannot be multipe Supreme God -- different people understand Him differantly, and call Him differantly, thus the differance is in their understanding of "Supreme God".
We, Vedantic people call Him Vishhnu which itself gives the concept of God -- based on the "dhatu" root, it primarily means one who pervades everywhere and controls everything independantly, and yet very differant from everything. Whoever fits that description is "Supreme God" to us.
Yes, indeed, behind every "effect" -- like birth, behavior, actions, feelings etc., there has to be a "cause". "Cause and Effect" theory is very valid one too. Thus, one's own actions/karma is behind everything.
I have a question, is Durga devi, a form of Lakshmi devi or Parvati devi?
MT: It is BOTH plus VISHHNU!!!!!!! -- a long response, below
Let me explain. Just like how we get name AFTER we are born, so also every devata, right from Chaturmukha Brahma gets when they are "created" by Vishhnu during shrushhti. Like how we give up this name when we leave our body [and next janma, another name and so on...]. so also the devatas lose their name! Note that our "name" was there even before we were born, so also every "devatas" name was there always before they got "created".
So, who is REAL bearer, owner and has the name Durga? It is Vishhnu, who has ALL names. He has no "birth" and "death", and present in ALL with all names. He "lends" His OWN names to all devatas. Since He is all pervading, He is in those devatas with the same name too. Why He is inside them? Vedas declare that without Him being present inside them, they cannot have very existence nor function!
Vishhnu sahsranaama calls Vishhnu as "Durga" -- [durlabho durgamo durgaH"]and gives 12 names associated with "dur" as well!
Along with Vishhnu, Laxmi is also all pervading with all names including Durga naama [even before Paarvati's namakarana as Durga]. Laxmi doesn't have birth nor death unlike other devatas. Vishhnu from beginningless time is staying inside Laxmi with all names, so she also gets to be called as Durga. Without Vishhnu, Laxmi has NO existence nor functioning too!
At the time of shrushhti process of "Paarvati", Vishhnu gave His name Durga to Paarvati, and stayed inside her with His Durga rupa to give her "existence", and control her. As mentioned earlier Laxmi is also there inside "paarvati" with the name Durga.
Thus, whenever, wherever, however you do puje of "Paarvati", you have to think of:
1. First Paarvati with the name Durga
2. Inside her, there is all pervading and controlling her is Laxmidevi with the name Durga.
3. Inside all these two, there is sarva antaryaami Vishhnu with His stri-rupa with the name Durga.
Failing to do step 2 and 3, the devotee will NOT get full anugraha, why so?
Imagine you visit a friends place along with your guru-s, and your friend just attends you and completely ignores your guru-s, will you be happy?
kindly enlighten on this question of mine🙏
In Keshava Nama does ‘heena budhi’ mean bad/dirty/jealous mind? If not could you kindly explain what it means🙏
MT: Although "heena buddhi" indicates all such negative thoughts, here dasaru is referring to mainly the root cause of all the hina buddhi "aham-kaara, mama-kaara" which generates all these and kaarana for this very samsaara dukha and thereby bandhana.
Further to this, I have a question- if so, be it negative thoughts or the root cause itself, we still continue to have such buddhi and the irony is that when we think of our ahamkaara or mamakaara, we might also be reminded of this line of Keshava Naama at that time!! Despite that, the thought of heena buddhi would already have occured before thinking of the request to God. How do we over come this? meaning, avoiding the heena buddhi occurrence and being reminded of only the prayer part. I don’t know if my question made much sense though...kindly excuse me if not
MT: Yes, it is ironical indeed!
1. We all have these "hina buddhi", but if you observe, by chanting these songs, we will notice an improvement -- the graph will NOT be straight up, but the moving average over a period of say an year, would have inched up. For some it may be an year while for others it may be over a decade too!
2. For some, many events in life -- a dip in "money/asset", "position" "health" "relationship changes" will knock some sense of reality -- that's the whole point of reciting "gajendra moxa" showing the helplessness of the mighty "ahankaara-mama-kaara" gaja in us!
3. The biggest blessing in one's life is to have a friendship with a REAL "sajjana" -- I mean a real sajjana doesn't do anything for pleasing people around them, or for name, fame, head count etc., but smart enough to stand by dharma which pleases Paramaatma. They will always be on the side of "dharma". This really helps us put on the right path with courage.
4. Most important is that dasaru-s by praying Paramaatma on our behalf, have put their tapas shakti in these songs to help ppl like us. The 24 names represent 24 Gayathri pratipaadya vishesha rupas. They have enormous power not only to remove our paapa-s, but they are the remedy aka "praayashchitta" for many of our heinous paapas over janmas.
Does it mean something also like how we have to be in this world...I am not able to recollect the whole sentence from one of the pravachana of UM Swamigalu(I think) that I heard, He had mentioned about ..........pakshi kulitante, haari hodante. That is even more hard I feel.
And also, just going by the 2nd point, doesn’t it have to do with our past karmas?
How do we accept it if we are at the receiving end? Because at some point or other we would have faced something like that however small it could be.
MT: "shastra" "dharma" being so vast and complex, and yet should be applicable to all kinds of manushhyas at all times, regions, situation, surely, everyone of us have question -- questioning, challenging is the very fundamental in any healthy philosophy. Actually Sri Krishna tells Arjuna to ask not only to question but uses the word "pari-prashnena" --not only many types of questions but ALL that is connected inter connected with its applicability too. Your approach of "no inhibition" is the first step needed in any branch of knowledge as the purpose is for us to know and if ppl laugh at us, that is also good as we can "mentally avoid" such people. If ppl like it, we know we are with "right" people.
What Sri UM Swamiji said re the song which again is based on Bhagavata is not exactly what I meant in # 2. I will first explain what UM Swamiji said:
Sri UM Swamiji was [probably] referring to the excess "attachment" we have for our own body. Just like how a bird sits on a tree to make nest, eat, sleep etc., and leaves the tree easily when the hunter comes, same way, we [like birds] have to treat our body as temporary like the tree [similar to "airbnb"]. Though, it is very hard, still it does wake us up to the reality -- atleast make us "use" this janma not to do "bad things".
As for # 2, everything is based on our past deeds only. The question is how to handle it and also give up "hina buddhi" -- in this case "our inflated ego".
In general, if one observes, the hidden "ego" in us, is like the "bad seed" sprouting in condusive atmosphere, sprouts and grows when we get "importance/publicity/attention" from those around us due to our "money" "position/influence" "power" "utility value etc., When these condusive elements change, many around us ignore/indifferent/avoid/insult or simply don't need us any more, we wake up to the reality -- that it is NOT me but my "money" "power" etc., that attracted wrong crowd around me. We feel angry, lonely, depressed, and indulge in self-pity! Just the opposite of "ego"!
Actually, it is indeed a blessing in disguise as this can be channelized to :
a. see the REAL colors of all around us and it is a broad spectrum. Recognize, accept reality by keeping a "mental distance" accordingly and going fwd be cautious with people in general with least expectations.
b. When we reduce and minimize the "expectations" from the people around, less pain, less disappointment and almost no depression.
c. Also, it is a "learning experience" as to how we should NOT be like them. It teaches us through our own experience of pain of how it feels.
d Take a deep breath, close your eyes, and know that Paramaatma is inside us with a plan. Have faith in Him, and get attached to Him as He will NOT leave us. If we have His grace, nothing at all to worry about!
e. Things do change, and when we inch out of our "bottom", lets never forget Him, or what we learnt out of all these "pain", and sprout back like a "good useful plant"
1. In laukika day to day life "like minded decent people" aka "laukika friends" who help us.
2. I was referring to those who guide us to do the "right" things that pleases Paramaatma instead of all and sundry people around us. He is the one who gives us both pleasure and pain.
The difference between 1 and 2 are that # 1 is generally our own peers who are in the same boat as we are. At best they will stand by us but really do NOT know how to guide us in the dhaarmika path that gives inner stength.
In both cases, many a times, common sense along with observation goes a long way to know if a person is really a sajjana.
In todays world, we easily fall a victim for "external" appearance, "sweet words", "ati vinaya" "religious activities" etc., and hastily conclude wrong people as "sajjana".
Thus, it is important to directly OBSERVE people for a loooong time under various situations especially # 2. Till such time we should NOT get "mentally close" to them as it impairs jugement. Fortunately, Paramatma will create lot of situations to show us their nature! When time comes, He will put such "sajjanas" in our life, and we don't have to run around searching for them.
A "sajjana" is someone who has a right concept of Paramatma, and will never look down, or be indifferent, arrogant, bossy towards "helpless" "disadvantaged" "poor" "weak" people in particular in the society. They will have a clear picture of "right vs wrong" and never hesitate to stand up for the right dharmika postion that pleases God.
when we are down, they will have compassion and give us hope, encouragement, care and moral courage to overcome the pain and lift our spirit with faith in God.
(if my understanding is correct) in MBTN it is said that because Karna accepted anga desha given by duryodhana, he was obliged to do many things for duryodhana. And the lesson for us is that - that is why we have to think twice before accepting anything(does this also include help...?) from durjanaru. But, how would we know who is a durjana or someone with bad intentions? Also, if we have to explain it to kids, how would they know who among their friends are good and bad?
MT: As always common sense goes a long way with a strong foundation in the values of "right vs wrong" aka "dharma". This dictates everything -- both social, and "religious". Paramaatma is always on the side of dharma. The opposite amounts to opposing Paramaatma, and self destruction in the end.
Taking help, gift, favours or not -- are all secondary.
In the case of Karna, he fully knew Duryodhana and knowingly he took and helped Duryodhana, and met his end.
Thus, the moral is that knowingly that someone is "bad", do NOT take help of any kind -- this is relatively easy!
In this world, it is very difficult to know who is "durjana". Often it is the "durjanas" who pose and disguise as "sajjanas"! Still, Paramatma does create many incidents to expose these people but we often fail to "observe", or "ignore" it.
That said, without knowing or in good faith, it is perfectly ok to take help when in need. This is what happens all the time. However, at a later date, if their "expectation" as "return favor" implies "adharma", one should FIRMLY say "NO". The loyalty is to "dharma" [where Paramatma's anugraha], and NOT to any individual who is on the wrong path.
I re-read this to understand the opposite of durjana. But often, we may not know someone for a long time and will be in a situation to accept something from someone whom we don’t know much. My earlier question, if my understanding is right, is related to this as well
MT: Yes, indeed, and till that time, it is perfectly fine to accept gift as we do "return" the favour in our own small way too -- atleast a "thank you" note with gratitude. Along with this, try to instill in the kid that it is Paramaatma who instigated him to help us and be grateful to Paramaatma always. That will take care of all our obligations!
Gratitude does NOT imply that one is oblideged to do "adharma"!
I want to know about dristi and its implications in babies i have witnessed the power of it but for adults is it true if someone raises fast professionally dristi can have power full effect??
MT: Apparently, it seems that way, however if one observes closely not everyone who advances in their career get affected nor do every baby in the world.
"drishti" is just a "nimitta" only. One's own past "bad" karma, is the main reason. The past bad karma generates "paapa" and when the time is ripe to feel its effect, instigated by Sri Hari-Vaaayu-Devatas, the peeDe giving asura called "baana" staying in the "eyes/drishti" of the onlooker, affects us.
Ofcourse, there is parihaara and its extent varies based on ones' own good karma.
The remedy is not just applying "kaajal" or any such drishti parihaara, arati, salt etc., but along with that invoking Sri Hari as "Charma" ayudha [shield/gurANi], and praying Him as:
"chaxUmsi Charman Shata Chandra chhAdaya dvishhAm agham no hara pApa chaxushham"
Translation: With His immeasurable prakasha [shata chandra Charman] burn away my sins [agham no hara], and cover/blind [chhAdaya] the eyes of the paapa-preraka evil eyes [ dvishhampApa chaxushham chaxum].
Same can be recited in Kannada also, as given by Sri Vadirajaru:
"shata chandra prabhe-ante hoLeva hariyu, namma mati-vantaru vairigaLa kaNNige kaaNa bhaaradu maadi toorisi nimma divya tejagaLa"
Symbolically we do it by circling around as a "shield"[ placing Charma rupa Sri Hari] with arati, salt, or by applying "kaajal" as "raxane" to "shield" us.
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kindly help me understand this🙏- there are many forms of Lord Vishnu, however why do we so puje/idol worship to only certain avataras, on a daily basis or more frequently?
MT: We indeed worship many-many rupas of Vishhnu on a daily basis, always, though majority of us are unaware of it!
The nitya puja itself starts with sahasra shirshha purushhaha.." and end the puje with Vishhnu sahasra naama or simply the Madhva Vijaya shloka:
"paramaatmane satatam ekaruupiNe dasha-ruupiNe shata-sahasra-ruupiNe |
avikaariNe sphuTam-ananta-ruupiNe sukha-chit samasta-tanave namo namaH"
or specifically in Kannada, HKAS 6.34-35:
moola- roopanu -- manado-Liha shrava- |
Naali-yoLagiha -- matsya- koormanu |
kOla-roopanu -- tvagra-sanadoLa -- gippa- narasiM-ha ||
baala-vaTu vaa -- mananu- naasika- |
naaLa-doLu vada -- nadali- bhaargava |
vaali- bhaMjana -- hasta-dali paa -- dadali- shrIkRu-ShNa || 6-34 ||
jina vi-mOhaka -- buddha- paayuga |
danuja- bhaMjana -- kalki- mEDhradi |
initu- dasha roo -- pagaLa- dasha kara -- NaMga-Lali tiLi-du |
anubha-vipa viSha -- yagaLa- kRuShNaar- |
paNave-nalu kai -- koMba- vRujinaar- |
dana va-ra jagan -- naatha-viThThala -- vishva- vyaapaka-nu || 6-35 ||
Also, from a laukika perspective it is easier to tell people to worship the recent avataaras of Krishna Raama as we have "stories" for easily understanding how a divine entity protecs His worshippers.
Can you pls tell me how do we explain the concept of vegetarianism? People’s question will be if animals are living beings, so are plants. If we consider plants also as living beings, do we get paapa as we comsume vegetables/fruits/plants?
MT: "jivo jivasya jivanam" -- according to shastra any living entity has to survive by eating another living thing to "live". This is called "surviving/living" aka food chain. So, vedanta is NOT about "killing" at all! Every second, we breath, walk, talk, clean, cook we kill lot of organism too! It is part and parcel of living so shastra says to survive you kill the ones that have least "life form" and that too by praying with the jnana that to survive I am doing it. We call this process as "vaishvadeva".
The popular saying is that "you are what you eat", keeping this in mind, shastra prohibits certain food that are not condusive for gaining the knowledge of "dharma". We call them sAttvik food.
Every living being has feeling -- this is what separates "living" from "non-living". Sure, this also gets sin as we dislodge life no matter how smallest it is from its abode, but to "live", we don't have a choice, and also the "smaller" the organism wrt to "mental development" the smallest is the sin. To avoid even this "reasonable sin", shastra itself gives the remedy. While cooking, the thought of "agni antargata "haranipati parashuraama", removes even this sin. I tell my students to keep a picture of "parashuraama" above the stove and that way when you turn on the stove, one will see this picture and over time, just like how we know the location of condiments in our shelf without even checking its label, we will, by associative memory will connect turning on the "stove" with "parashuraama", so that we don't accumulate sin.
Thus it is not just a mere "act" of vaishvadeva but the thought behind all these mantra, the feeling, that wipes these sins. If one has facility, surely with the "mental thought" one should observe "vaishvadeva" properly knowing the devatas and the antaryaami.
Similarly, we do "vaastu devata puja" when we dislodge various creatures while building or entering new home, when we buy a car, and if we miss do during navaratri as part of "ayudha puja". Same thing Lord Krishna tells xatriya Arjuna to do his duty of protecting good people by killing 11 ashauhini "lives" with ishvara arpana buddhi -- this becomes "dharma". Likewise, to protect this God given body for sadhaana, eating the right food becomes "dharma" if we think about God atleast while cooking or even "eating" it.
very simple and yet again a "doable" yajna!
Shrotra Achamana QA:
MT: Shastra is so "flexible"-- in the sense it has to hold good for all times, places, and situations. If not it becomes meaningless.
Right ear applies to both men and women. This is based on parashara smruti, maanasa smruti and explained in Shri Harikathamruthasaara # 8.12. The reason is that all the nadi-nada, sarovara, pushkara, abhimaanidevatas are present in the right ear along with samudra raaja Varuna. Not only that shrotra is the one and only indriya through which we get to know about God through upadesha, the path to reach Him etc., That is why shastra is also called as "tirtha" as they purify us leading to mukti by the grace of Trivikrama. For this reason, whenever we need to purify us, both men AND women touch their right ear. This is also called as "Shrotra Achamana" in shastra.
I have heard right ear has gange so touching it will purify you and can be done in some circumstances.. is it true ?
MT: Yes indeed. As mentioned all nadi [rivers]and their abhimaani-s which includes Ganga and its janaka Trivikrama Devaru, Ganga's pati Varuna and all 10 dik abhimaani-s who bring us the "shabda" from all directions -- are present in our right ear.
shastra mandates purification process [aka thought of Bhagavan] in the form of achamana for every karma for making the karmas pure! Having "uddarani-pyaala-water" all the time is not practical in this yuga atleast, hence parashara smruti gives this "shrotra-achamana" = touching the right ear as "purification process" whenever and wherever regular achamana cannot be done/possible.
Hanumad Vrata QA
Q: What is the difference between Hanumadvruta tomorrow and Hanumad jayanthi in April? Can gurugalu some enlightenment and significance of Hanumadvruta. Which is more preferred for Madhvas?
MT: Both are observed for different reasons.
vrata is a dixe , a oath /nishhTe to observe a puja in a prescribed way mentioned in shastra by invoking the bhgavat rupas in the sacred thread, and wearing them and taking a dixe to observe it in the same way every year like Sri Varalaxmi vrata, Suvarna Gowri vrata etc., Instead of "vrata dixe", it can be done without "dora bandhana" as a puja too. The stress here is mainly to worship Sri Raama present as antaryaami in Hanuman and seek their protection. This vrata comes during margashirsha trayodashi.
Sri Hanumad jayanthi is the day Sri Hanumaan appeared . This is during Chaitra Hunnami.
Both are very auspicious, and one can surely do a visheshha namaskaara, atleast on these days recounting all that He does for us.
Always, my personal suggestion wrt these uncommon vrata-s, which one's family ancestors, guru-s have never performed before, is to observe it as puje with 16 upachaara to Sitapati Ramachandra, and offer His prasada to Sri Hanumaan instead of as a "vrata" with kalasha, dora, avahana etc. Any given day, this is preferable and safer than follow a set of instructions fwded from internet groups/youtube containing absurd stories along with puja vidhaana. If a puja vidhaana or any set of instructions comes with absurd stories that puts down uttamadhikaari-s like Arjuna without pramaana-s, how reliable the procedures can be?
KT: The narration also looks very spurious. Arjuna is not of that type and if he really did that with Kali Avesha, then Mahabharata will surely mention and Acharya did not mention such an important event in Mahabharata tAtparya nirNaya? Before posting such narrations, please make some verifications. The BhaviShyapurANa (of which BhaviShyottara purANa forms a part) is highly interpolated (It is in a very bad shape) contains even the episodes of Prophet Mohammad and Jesus Christ. Please be cautious in accepting those versions. It is not there both in Mahabharata and Mahabharata tAtparya nirNaya.
Q: As you are aware,in Katha Bhaga in all such vrata Kathas we find certain incidents or behaviours narrated whether it’s told or not by the concerned Puranik like Soota puranikaru etc eg; in Anantha Vrata kata also Such negligence or ignorance about Dora holy thread by none other than Koundinya Rishi is mentioned. Next as you are kindly aware, from Rudra Devaru downwards, all jeevas will have to some extent Kalyavesha which includes Indra the lower Kasha Devata , who is the Amsha for Arjuna. There is also reference to performance of Hanumadvrata in Parashara Samhita. As you have clearly analysed, the problem is with Kathabhaga consistency with acharyara siddhanatha and reference to Vrata in any madhwa Siddhantha texts. Same may be the case for other vratas also. If we can bring logical conclusion to atleast Vrata acharane and pooja Vidhana with reference to any acceptable authority it will be useful to those who wish to perform in future. I will just share some Internet link text on Parashara Samhita which is in Sanskrit, Which gives reference to this Vrata.
KT: Firstly the Kaundinya Rishi that is mentioned in Ananta vrata is not the gotra pravartaka Kaundinya Rishi. There are man Rishis with the same name. As you know there is Kapila nAmaka Rishi, who is Narayana Himself(son of Devahuti) and also there is another Kapila Rishi. Further, the kaksha of Kaundinya and the kaksha of Indra are very different. If any Kali avesha is there for higher kaksha devatas, that has to be mentioned in the text itself explicitly. There is no such mention here. Further the interpolator is not aware of proper taaratamyajnAna as he mentioned that Vedavyasaru did smaraNe of Prana devaru again and again. Doing vrata with proper taaratamya jnAna is very essential.
As I mentioned, why did Arjuna not mention that when the vrata was being done? Even granting that Arjuna may have had Kali Avesha, why would he tell that he tied Hanumanta to dhvaja-stambha, which never happened? It is quite possible that some other vrata-kathas may have been messed up also and it is unfortunate that we do not have a clean version of many puranas. During Acharya time itself, there is mention that corrupted versions of Bhagavata were there. In Madhva vijaya, it was mentioned that Acharya referred to one version and said that it was the correct version and all others were not right. If that were the case look at our fate.
Gowri pettige:
Gowri pettige is what a mother-in-law gives to her daughter in law. Along with this mother also gives a token item. Thus, the girl upholds both the tradition. It will have small krishna pratima [for krishna shadaxara mantra dhyaana], vishhnu paada, Chakraanike, Annapurna {gauri), small family vigraha if any. Along with this, a small ganga kalasha bearing ganga or yamuna jala. This is basic and carried along with gopi chandana box.
Since, Gang jala or Chakranike has nitya sannidhaana, meaning God is ever present in these in a way to give phala and to bless the girl , she doesn't have to do any aavaahane while doing nitya puje. All the rest are symbolic to remind her of God.
Namaskara Gurugale, Regular round saligrama which we do pooja at home had split in to exact half by itself over a period of time (not by fall or anything) can we continue to do pooja or do we remove them from regular pooja, please clarify?
KT: KhaNDitaa sphuTitaa vaapi Shaalagrama Shilaa Shubhaa.....means - Even if cut or broken, shaalagraama shilaa is auspicious only. So it can surely be worshiped.
what is the significance of submerging Ganesha in water after the puja is done ?
KT: Ganesha Pratima submerging in water :
Shastra perspective:
Ganesha is abhimAni devata for BhUta Akasha. From BhUta Akasha, BhUta VAyu came. From Bhuta Vayu, BhUta Tejas(fire) came. From BhUta Tejas, BhUta Apa (water) came. From BhUta Apa (water), BhUta Prithvi(Earth) came.
In Prithvi, other 4 elements are present in sUkshma rUpa. One can listen to PanchikAraNa concepts, which Meera has explained in one of her lectures.
The ideal thing will be to worship Ganesha in "Bhuta Akasha" itself. But that will be difficult especially for us. So, we make icons from Earth/mud and worship them by doing AvAhana. For making the icons, the mud is mixed with water, heat is given by exposing it to sunlight and Vayu element is given by drying it. The Akasha or space is automatically embedded in it. We invoke BhUta Akasha AbhimAni Ganesha and thru all four tattvas, he comes thru and resides in the Pratima/icon.
After UdvAsane (which is to offer prayer to request the deity to go back from the AvAhita(propitious form) to his own sUkShma form), we have to send back the icons, where we got them from. So, we go back in the same order.
We submerge the Earthly icons in water, which immediately absorbs it and eventually sends back the respective elements to respective media. We have to have the anusandhAna that the respective abhimAni devatas also go back to their sUkshmA forms and not just the jaDa vastus.
Even the common folks sing "Ganapati Bappa mOraya" (Oh fatherly Ganapati, please come again (next year) and bless us always).
Even though we submerge the physical icons, the gods are all present in their sUkshma forms and we should always seek their blessings.
Our shAstras are so perfect that they never compromise on environmental aspects. The process is very conducive to environmental aspect as well.
Environmental perspective:
What are the possibilities?
Give over the icons to Earth. It is a long process and wedo not want the icons to decay.
Submerge the icons in water and it goes thru a safe and smooth process.
Bypass water and offer it to fire or Wind or AkAsha. None of this is practical.
So, it is quite logical to submerge the icons in water.
How does water come from fire ?
KT: From our experience, when we face lot of heat, we sweat.
Scientifically also, if you burn hydrogen, you get water. That is fire making water or water coming from fire.
It is logically , theoretically and shAstric way possible that the following may have happened.
Just imagine how many molecules of water are there on Earth itself! One drop of water itself has several molecules.
So God may have created a huge, huge amount of Hydrogen and huge , huge amount of Oxygen and put them together and just supply one spark, and a huge, huge explosion may have happened creating such an enormous water resource on Earth.
I remember the experiment (a few decades ago) that hydrogen in a jar getting burnt with a tiny explosion (a match stick was lit) and creating a few droplets of water. One has to imagine an infinitely large explosion. That in deed could be a huge amount of fire creating a huge amount of water.
There is oxygen in the atmosphere and also hydrogen and so can there be explosion, when we light a match?
Not really. Why? God is All-perfect. He is everywhere and He wills things to happen the right way and He does it that way. He made Hydrogen very light and so Hydrogen is not there in air at any of our levels(except the controlled manually created amounts thru chemical processes). Just as bubbles keep going up to the surface, all the hydrogen moves up in the atmosphere. We do not have to worry about any explosion at any of our conceivable levels.
Please let us know the significance of Holi hunnime?
KT: Holi, perhaps derived from its phonetic formation that signifies, a shouting with joy. It is celebrated on the Purnima or Full Moon day of Phalguna month. It is like the pre-dawn of Spring season(Vasanta Rutu) and comes a fortnight before Ugadi or the new Year day. It is celebrated with color, festivities and pomp, accompanied by gathering or assemblage of relatives, feast and music, etc.
Some start celebrations with Holika bonfire. I will not concentrate on the social aspects as people are perhaps aware of all those.
There may be quite a few legends behind it. Let us look at the following three.
1. Lord Krishna dancing with Gopikas
2. Hirnaya Kashipu killed by Lord Narasimha to bless Prahlada
3. Manmatha getting burnt to ashes by Shiva
The first two call for celebration and festivities. Why the third calls for celebration and festivities?
That is because that eventually leads to Parvati doing further tapas for Shiva and eventually getting married to him and Manmatha gets back his life. So, as a starting point of all the good, it gets celebrated.
What is KojAgaravratam?
KT: We perform VaralakShmi Puja in ShravanamAsa (as an yearly vrata) as most of us are aware. However there is also tradition to perform Lakshmi Puja(as part of yearly festival) on other days like SharatkAla Ashvina Shukla Chaturdashi/PurNima and SharatkAla Ashvina AmAvAsya (which is Deepavali day). The former one is called Kojagara vrata.
Question about Vishnu Paada
In Bhagavata 3rd skanda, Kapila tells his mother
संचितयेद्भगवतश्चरणारविंदं वज्रांकुशध्वजसरोरुहलांछनाढ्यम । ..
In addition to the legs (paadatalam) of Vishnu and the nails that are red in color, Kapila cites here to think of
Vajra, Ankusha Dhwaja and Lotus in the legs
1. Are these are in paada-tala ?
2. Is this description same as in Vishnu Pada in Gaya (and its numerous replicas with variations - not sure which one is correct as per sampradaya)
3. What is vajra - Is it somehow related to Vajrayudha of Indra?
4. What exactly is the dhwaja of Vishnu?
5. What are the other symbols in Vishnu paada? Any significance or they are just fillers?
KT: In addition to the following 5 questions -
Quote:
1. Are these are in paada-tala ?
2. Is this description same as in Vishnu Pada in Gaya (and its numerous replicas with variations - not sure which one is correct as per sampradaya)
3. What is vajra - Is it somehow related to Vajrayudha of Indra?
4. What exactly is the dhwaja of Vishnu?
5. What are the other symbols in Vishnu paada? Any significance or they are just fillers?
Unquote
some more arise.
Quite a few are aware of 32 lakShaNas that are described as sAmudrika lakSanas and there are commentaries, which describe those. All the Rujus have all these lakShaNas and the Lord also has all these.
6. In terms of these lakShaNas, is there a difference between Rujus and the Lord?
Yes there is. One such is these special lAnchanas, which are there in Vishnu pAda and which are not there for Rujus. Also even those 32 lakShanAs are present in the Lord with much higher clarity.
Now some more questions pop up.
7. Are these lAnchanas prAkRuta or aprAkRuta?
7a. If prAkRuta -
Vishnu is aprAkRuta and so how can these prAkRuta symbols be there on Him?
7b. If aprAkRuta -
How did the impression of his foot come in Vishnu Gaya? How did the impressions of his foot come onto the hoods of KAliya(the snake of Yamuna river)?
Perhaps, the answers need to be in different order than the questions.
Though the Lord is aprAkRuta, he was seen (during His avatAra) by all, including evil people. Similarly, the Lord creates the prAkRuta ones in the place of aprAkRuta to be seen by all (Remember the incident of Lord Krishna having hair-cut in Madhura - He creates the prAkRuta hair then and there).
Similarly the Lord has the aprAkRuta lAnchanas and at His will and as per the yogyata of the perceiver, He creates the prAkRuta impressions. they may not all be the same and may not be visible to all. For ex, in Nanda vraja, AkrUra sees the Lord's foot prints and recognizes them as those of Lord Krishna due to the lAnchanas. Those lAnchanas probably were not seen by the evil asuras that came there with the intention of hurting Sri Krishna.
Also, as they are aprAkRuta, the Lord can make them visible on the top of the feet as well or whatever he wills it. the prAkRuta symbols that are made visible are only replicas of the aprAkRuta symbols.
This will make sense if we understand the incident that Lord Krishna tells Kaliya that GaruDa will not harm him as Sri Krishna left "His foot prints on the hoods of KAliya".
Also, the Lord wills that these symbolic replicas to stay as long as He wills and also be visible as per the yogyata of the Jivas. The uttama devatas will probably see them very clearly and then it will go as per tAratamya.
The above addressed Q7 and Q1.
2A. I heard that the foot print in Gaya is not very clear. Many things are possible. May be many years ago, there was much higher clarity on the stone there and the clarity has come down considerably now. That may be the reason, for variations in making the foot prints.
Even if the clarity is diminished, we have to have the faith that the sannidhAna remained intact and the Lord blesses all the devotees doing darshana and seva of the divine foot print there.
I believe that it is customary that "sheets of VishnupAdas" that are manufactured are placed on VishnupAda and sanctified and given to the devotees. So, we believe that these carry special sannidhAna.
3A. Yes vajra refers to vajrAyudha of Indra. Lord Krishna says "AyudhAnAm aham vajram". The word originates from "ejR*i"(kampane). The Lord in the name of vajra is specially present in Vajrayudha and gives special power to it(making enemies shiver). It does not mean Vajrayudha is the greatest weapon as sudarshana chakra is more than that. But it certainly has special power by the grace of Lord.
4A. GaruDa is dhvaja of Vishnu. It can be GaruDa himself comes as His dhvaja or stays in the dhvaja. The flag or banner represents the glory of the king in the war. So, dhvaja is symbolic of glory and hence the Lord has that symbol.
5A. They are not just fillers. They are very important. But they are not listed exhaustively anywhere. Everywhere different lAnchanas/ symbols are listed. This is to indicate that there are multiple lAnchanas and the Lord makes the appropriate number of them appear with appropriate clarity to appropriate Jivas at appropriate times in an appropriate way as He deems fit. This may seem as a vague answer, but this is what is actually the precise answer as those who have seen (like our Acharya) have not described in precise terms and that is indicative that it is devarahasya.
Whatever is our yogyata, we have gotten that much and we appreciate, adore and worship that and pray the Lord to bless us.
Today is Mrugashira nakshatra. What does this mean? There are uncountable stars in the gallaxies. What is the significance is saying today is [this] nakshatra. How only 27 stars are considered for our lives?
MT: Calculation wise, the moon covers approximately 13.2 degrees per day and thus you end up with approximately 27 in a month.
Yes, there are zillions of stars but only the predominant one has a name by which that day is known as these have influence on us. The lunar month gets its name when the full moon is near or at the particular naxatra.
These 27 are governed by the 27 dharma-patnis of Chandra who are all kaala-maanini-s. They are all daughters of Daxa Prajapati. Being the dharma-patnis of Soma, along with him, they do help us by influencing/building our mind in various kaalas in various ways. By thinking about them and their antaryaami Laxmi Naarayana, who is the real naxatra [the one who doesn't have any protector and who protects all jivas], one can get rid of several paapas which are the root cause of various diseases including the very samsaara itself.
Q:Cat crossing the road, single brahmin coming in the opposite, sneezing while about to start from home, the list keeps going on!!! Are these just superstitious beliefs or do we have pramAnas saying we have to follow these?
KT: If one believes in something, it becomes belief. If one does not, it becomes superstition. The human mind is so vulnerable that the tendency to cave in for something that is beyond our capacity shows up in ending up with some baseless fears. Our belief in God must be greater than our belief in other things. That includes a rational approach where possible.
We have to differentiate between shakunas (omens) and causes (kAraNas). The omens are only indicators like a signal man. If the train is coming, the signal man shows the signal. It is not the case that because the signal man shows the signal, the train comes. People get gripped by fear with several such beliefs that we get more inclined towards inaction than action. Also, one must analyze the sequence of events.
For example, in our friend's case, Srimushnam has taken a wrong ATM card, and after that only a Brahmin came in opposite direction. So, it is not the case that just because the brahmin came, the ATM card became a wrong one. Coming inside again and drinking a cup of water and going would not have made the ATM card right. One may argue that, it may trigger checking the card and taking the right one, but that is a remote thought. If the lesson from that incident is "If you see a brahmin coming in opposite direction, come back and take a glass of water", that is not much of help. If it is "If you see a brahmin coming in opposite direction, check the things you are taking", then it is a misplaced reasoning. Irrespective of a brahmin, you always check the things. If one sees some unwanted omens, taking them as only some indicators and trying to do things a little more cautiously without getting over perturbed is a wise thing.
People can coin any number of things like - If one sneezes once, then it is bad, but sneezing twice(or even times) is fine, etc. There are always Purohits, who happen to go alone. Sneezing is a natural phenomenon. We may not even know many "single men" on the street, whether they are brahmins or not. When one is going out, asking "where are you going or what for" is a natural thing and labeling it as bad omen and getting perturbed is meaningless.
In shaatras, omens are mentioned for bigger things like war, etc., but not routine things. Even there, they are not mentioned as causes, but as omens, which are mere indicators. Kauravas saw bad omens and lost war. Bad omens were not the cause for their losing war. Adharma is the cause. Same with Ravana's case.
If one is going for an interview and a cat comes on the way and the person comes back and leaves after couple of minutes, the person may miss the bus and end up late for the interview and still blame the cat. Instead, if the person proceeds and catches the bus and goes on right time and on the way can pray the Lord "Oh Lord, some indicators showing that some thing is wrong. Please help me in overcoming the obstacles. You are aghaTanA-ghaTanA-samartha, etc", that will be the right thing. Let our faith in God be stronger than our faith in shakunas or omens.
Q: What is the significance of abhisheka for devaru & mangalarathi & its procedures? Why particularly fire is used during arathi ?
KT:Not only in case of Mangalarati or Abisheka, but in any religious act, if we try to enlist any materialistic benefits, like good health, or purification, etc., then they have equal usefulness for those who believe and for those who do not believe. That is not quite right. In many cases, they are not true. Even in cases, where they are true, they are only secondary and much less important. These devotional acts must yield the primary benefits for only those who have faith in them and that too the benefits must be proportionate to the amount of faith and devotion.
Of course in cases, where the icon of the Lord is placed in a rather dark garbha guDi, the Mangalaarati does help the devotees to have darshan of the Lord's icon in that light and that really helps a lot. But still there has to be a lot more significance for that.
Abhisheka: It literally means drenching completely. Why pour shuddhodaka (pure water), gandhodaka (Fragrant water along with kesar, pachcha karura, etc), and then panchamruta (milk, curd, ghee, honey, sugar) and pieces of fruit makingthe icon greasy and then washing the icon after that?
In Madhva Vijaya, it is said -
paramAtmanE satatamEka-rUpiNE dasha-rUpiNE shata-sahasra-rUpiNE |.
avikAriNE sphuTamanaMta-rUpiNE sukha-cit-samasta-tanavE namO-namaH ||8-41||
As we pour shuddhodaka on the Lord's vigrahas, etc., we recite the mantras, whose power makes the shuddhodaka as something that can purify our inner self itself. We have to pray the Lord that as we submerge that icon in pure water, the all pervading Vishnu, who is present in every one and also in the icon and in the water, come to my rescue and submerge my very existence in the thoughts of Vishnu. Also in all abhishekas, water plays a significant role. One of the words in Sanskrit for water is "ApaH". A = samantAta . paH = pAlayati - which means that which protects completely. Without water, we cannot survive and it protects us and so it is called ApaH. But that is only to a limited sense. It is not really the water that saves us, but the karmas that are invisible to us and that are responsible, which can protect us. Water may kill us also as when we may get drowned in water. So , the karmas are more appropriately called ApaH. But how can the jaDa karmas protect us? It is MukjhyaprANa, who gives us life force and keeps track of our karmas and pervades our Jivas protects more than our karmas. So, he is also known as "ApaH". But even he is asvatantra. He does every thing at the command of the Lord, and the Lord is the greatest protector and He is known as "ApaH". The in Ishavasyopanishad, it is said - tasmin apho mAtarishva dhadhAti - In Lord Sri Hari, MukhyaprANa dedicates all the karmas. That is why for abhisheka, we use water. To do Krishnarpana, we use water.
As we offer the water(ApaH), the MukhyaprANa (ApaH) offers all actions (ApaH) - our actions and his actions and the actions of all the Jivas, whom he engages in actions to the Lord (ApaH).
As we pour gandhodaka, we pray Govinda form of the Lord and as He is propounded by vedas (veda-pratipAdya) and so withthese veda mantras, let the Lord bless the devotees by submerging them in the thoughts of Govinda and give bliss.
In Panchamruta, we think of the five forms of the Lord - Aniruddha, Pradyumna, Sankarshana, Vasudeva and Narayana. As we offer the panchaamruta, we invoke Vedic mantras, while poring them on the Lord's icon, and pray the Lord to submerge us in the thoughts of His five forms and remind us the panchagni homas as described in Sri Harikathamruta saara.
When the Veda mantras prescribe those substances, the concept is about the Lord's forms that are specially present in them. Of course every form of the Lord is present every where. But the special significance comes from Lord being most propitious in them.
Mangala Arati also known as NirajanaM : Why use fire? As mentioned, the Purusha sUkta says "chakSho sUryo ajAyata, mukhAdindrashchaagnishcha...". The fire came out of Lord's mouth/face. The burning power to the fire comes from the Agni nAmaka paramaatma present in Agni.
The Kenopanishad has an episode, where the Lord comes in the form of yakSha and Agni could not burn a blade of grass as the Lord temporarily conceals the power of Agni (yaccchandramasi yacchaagnau tattejo viddhi maamakam).
The word Mangala means "auspiciousness". magi gatau - the word manga means - gati, which can mean chalana (life movements) or jnaana (knowledge). laati = bestows. The Lord bestows all the living entities the capacity to perform life actions. Also He bestows the knowledge to every one as per yogyata. Arati - A = samantAt(completely or as needed), rati = sukha. Niraajana - Nira = water - again referring to MukhyapraaNa and his antrayAmi Paramaatma lead us to ajana = birthless state.
One doubt that comes to one's mind is "how can a tiny light bun all our sins?" The Lord, who can make the god of fire itself ineffective, can also make a tiny spark burn heaps of sins from many janmas, provided our faith and devotion raise to a high level. One of the mantras recited for Mangalarati is -
shriyaH patye nityAgaNita guNa maNikya vishada
prabhAjAlollAsopahata sakalAvadya tamase |
jagajjanma sthema pralaya racanAshIlavapuShe
namo.asheShAmnAya smR^iti hR^idaya dIptAya haraye ||
"The Lord is eternal consort of Lakshmi and who is eternally equipped with infinite gems of auspicious qualities and with a clear flame can easily burn all undesirable darkness of darkness and who effortlessly performs all eight functions like creation, maintenance, destruction, control, grant of knowledge and ignorance, bondage and liberation. He shines forth, propounded by all the Vedas, and purANas as their heart and resides in the hearts of all the beings making them glow with life. I bow to such Lord Sri Hari. May He make my ignorance go away as I offer this tiny lamp to Him."
By performing such upachaaras, the great devotees benefit immensely and ordinary ones like us reap benefits that befit our yogyata and the faith and devotion help us in building the anusandhaana shakti. For those who perceive these as futile ritualistic renderings they turn out to be futile only. The unswerving devotion and unshakeable faith lead us in the right direction. It is not mere symbolism, but a means thru which we seek the blessings of the Infinite Lord.
Q: On what basis is male or female janma given to jeeva ... do they continue to take birth in their respective genders in consecutive janmas or will there be changes ... is purusha janma considered to be of a higher order always
KT: AupAdhika means the current physical body gender.
m(A) - born as male
f(A) - born as female
m(S) - male by svarUpa
f(S) - female by svarUpa
m(S) --> can be m(A) or f(A)
f(S) --> can only be f(A)
So, going in reverse
f(A) --> can be m(S) or f(S)
m(A) --> can only be m(S)
In case of devatas, where niyata pati, patnitva is there, the females belong to lower kakSha. One must realize that it is not that females are always lower than males, when one does not look at only patis and patnis. For ex, Sarasvati and Bharati are higher than Garuda, Shesha and Rudra. Their patnis are higher than Indra and Kaama and so on.
If you take ordinary humans, all of them belong to the same kakSha only. Yet there is yogyatA tAratamya. It is not that all the males are higher than females as is very obvious. So, this is not at all true - "purusha janma considered to be of a higher order".
In Gita 9-32, it is said :
"maam hi paarths vyapaashritya ye.api syuH paapayonayah
striyo vaishyaasthathaa shUdraaste.api yaanti paraam gatim" - Gita 9-32
All the commentators prior to Sri Madhvacharya commented saying women, vaishyas and shudraas are sinful births. This will apply to all women. But Acharya clarified saying "those, who got female, vaishya and shuudra births due to sinful acts are paapayonis".
Let us take 100 f(A). Out of these 98 are f(S) and 2 are m(S), who got f(A) due to sins.
Others said all 100 are paapayonis. Acharya said only 2 are paapayonis.
Even these two can go to mokSha, if they take refuge in the Lord. There can be many men, who are inferior to these two, whether these two are muktiyogyas or not.
By kaimutya nyaaya (what to speak of) - Among these 98 f(S), those, who take refuge in the Lord will certainly go to mokSha
Q:Why should a pati be higher than his patni?
KT: Is the question related to devatas or humans?
1. If it is devatas, it is not because they are pati's, they are higher. They are inherently higher and also niyata patis. The devataa patnis have their patis as gurus and they follow vedic restrictions. They very much want their patis to be higher and God maintains that way to benefit them. In case of higher category devatas, it is not just of higher yogyata, but the patis belong to higher kakSha itself. This will enable patnis do a great sAdhana as per their desire.
2. If it is related to humans, then for the question "why should a pati be higher?", the answer is "yes - why should - need not be".
Do all human patnis desire their husbands to be higher than them in every single janma? In humans case, atleast the patis are not of higher kakSha; they belong to the same kakSha. Even if a human patni accepts her husband as guru, there is no guarantee that the husdband has higher yogyata. Niyata pati-patnitva is a very unlikely factor. The question of patis being higher than patnis as a rule is to be ruled out in case of humans. There may even be human patis, who desire that their patnis be higher than them - strange it may sound.
Q: Another question that arises here is will manushyottamas have niyata patis or patnis in mOksha?? if yes then will they be sama even there or will there be tAratamya?
KT: For Manushyottamas, niyata-pati-patnitva is possible and need not be in every case. We have to understand what niyata-pati-patnitva really is. It is sAdhana-related. Except for balavat-prArabdha cases, their sAdhana is connected from janma to janma. They will continue their togetherness in mokSha as well. Although there is no sAdhana in mokSha, the mokSha is the fruit of the sAdhana and so the togetherness continues eternally.
So, how to determine whether niyata-pati-patnitva is there in a particular case. There can only be indicators. Again, we should not be misguided by false indicators.
For ex, if we say "if the pati and patni never fight, then they are niyata pati and patni", that may not be a good indicator. It can be false in both ways. They can be materialistically very compatible and may never fight and still may not be niyata-pati-patnis. There can be some verbal arguments and still, they may be niyata-pati-patnis.
Otoh, suppose they visit a temple, the patni fels that her sAdhana to reach god is very closely tied with her husband's sAdhana and prays the Lord that her sAdhana continue with her husband not for just that janma, but for every janma. Likewise the pati will also pray. They will never try to cross check if the other one also prayed for that or not. It is natural and God-related. It is natural - means such a behavior is not instigated by the instruction from another person. It will start from the day of marriage and continue till end of life. It is more a reaction than a proaction. In other words, it is not just a desire, but a conviction.
With that background, one can imagine that the niyata-pati-patnis will be of same svAbhAvika varNa, as the connection is sAdhana related and a full compatibility is possible, if the svAbhAvika varNa is same.
Q: Dear all- had a question that's constantly on my mind. Wherever you go, any mutt, there is godman worship. I have even seen people drinking water that's used to wash swamiji feet. People fall to swamiji feet given a chance. Swamiji's are also worshiped in place of god. Thulabaara, kanakabhisheka, pushpaabhibeksha etc are all done just the same way one worships god. Is this not blind worship or superstitious? I have seen swamijis being materialistic even. If a minister comes to visit, there is a separate treatment and a different one for a common man. Please pardon my ignorance. I humbly accept your viewpoints...
KT: Let us divide the questions and deal with them:
Q-set-1:
Wherever you go, any mutt, there is godman worship.
People fall to swamiji feet given a chance.
Swamiji's are also worshiped in place of god.
Answer-set-1: These are grouped into one set as they seem to be dealing with similar thought.
Is the objection or question for worship itself or types of worship or amount of worship? And what is meant by worship - it can just mean paying respect. We pay respect to our parents and elders. In that case why not pay respects to Swamijis, who act as gurus. People can fall to the feet of parents and in that case, why not the feet of swamijis?
The statement "Swamiji's are also worshiped in place of god"
probably is implying the kind of worship done to swamijis is same as the kind of worship meted out to the shAlagramas, icons, etc.
However that is not true, since no one does "panchamruta abhisheka" to swamijis afaik.
If the question or objection is - "can one worship swamijis the same way as God?", the answer is no. People have to use their own discretion and swamijis also have to guide them.
Q-2:
I have even seen people drinking water that's used to wash swamiji feet.
A-2:
In the places, I have seen only prokShaNa is done. That is what the swamijis normally recommend. If some people go over board and do on their own, that is their personal choice, but not a norm.
Q-3:
Thulabaara, kanakabhisheka, pushpaabhibeksha etc are all done just the same way one worships god.
A-3:
We also hear of Sri Krishna Devaraya doing Ratnabhisheka to Sri Vyasarajaru. That was done as an act of gratitude, when Sri Vyasarajaru saved the king and the kingdom from Kuhu yoga.
Kanakabhisheka, Ratnabhisheka, etc are done, when one of the following two is observed.
1. The swamiji exhibits some extra-ordinary power.
or
2. There is a special need to raise some funds to achieve a special cause.
In addition to this, both the conductors and swamiji must think that the service is offered to God thru the medium of swamiji. Swamijis are considered as chalapratimas(live moving symbols of God) and the icons, shAlagramas etc are considered as achalapratimas (non-moving and life-less symbols of God). They are not worshiped in the same way. Normally things like Tulasi archane, Pushparchane and Panchamruta abhisheka, etc. are not done to swamijis, but are done to icons and shaalagramas.
Q-4:
Is this not blind worship or superstitious?
A-4:
To claim whether any act be it worship or something else as blind or not blind, one must also make a claim of awareness of the mind of the performer. Do we know the minds of all people? When we are discussing whether some acts can be done or not, why are we bringing in what is the attitude of people?
Superstition is very relative term in one way.
For an atheist, belief in God itself is superstition.
For one who believes in God, but not in any form of worship, the belief in worship itself is superstition.
For one who believes in worship of God, depending on level of belief any act of ritualistic nature may or may not be superstition.
In our way of life, anything that has come thru satsampradaaya and does not go against the normal rationale, it is adopted. While doing these, one must not go overboard and must not end up in cult-like behavior, where pleasing an individual takes higher seat than God Himself!
Q-5:
I have seen swamijis being materialistic even.
A-5:
The questions are wandering all over.
1. Whether some acts are proper or not. Can they be done or not?
Though this is difficult, it is relatively possible to discuss.
2. What is the attitude of people who perform those acts?
This is not possible to discuss since each individual is different.
3. The status, level, behavior and ability of the swamijis.
Again this is a varying factor and each one must use his own brain to judge in his own mind whom he can trust, etc. This is also very subjective and no point in discussing this.
Q-6:
If a minister comes to visit, there is a separate treatment and a different one for a common man.
A-6:
Well, that is not a very desirable thing. The treatment must be as per the ability and devotion.
kAlAntargata kAlaniyamaka kAlAtIta trikAlajna ||
kAlapravartaka kAlanivartaka kAlOtpAdaka kAlamUrti ||
Here what is the difference between kAlapravartaka and kAlOtpadaka?
KT: kAlAntargata kAlaniyamaka kAlAtIta trikAlajna ||
kAlapravartaka kAlanivartaka kAlOtpAdaka kAlamUrti ||
This has several meanings -
kAla can be taken as Time or kAla can be taken as Rudra or kAla can be taken as YamadharmarAja. Or kAla can be taken as kAlAbhimAni Shesha. This is just upalkShaNa. By our Acharya's words, that "All tatva devatas are abhimAnis of all kind of tatva because if father owns, then the son owns in aupachaarika sense. If son owns, then father owns automatically". So Chaturmukha Brahma can also be taken as kAlaabhimani, etc.
In Al these cases, kAlaantargata is pretty much obvious as the Lord is sarvaantargata. Similarly kAlaniyamaka and kAlAtIta can be taken as appropriate - The Lord controls them all and beyond all of them. trikAlajna - knower of three times - past, present and future is quite understandable. If devatas are taken, how to see this? One way is "knower of all the devatas in all three kAlas" or "knower of all devatas, in tatvabhimani form, or sthula deha form or suKshmadeha form".
kAlapravartaka = maintainer of all these entities. If devatas, He is their poshaka and pAlaka and engages them. If time, He makes the time play its role -
A poet describes one of the roles of time -
"nitaanta ramaNiyaani vastuuni karuNojjhitaH
kaalaH samharate nityamabhaavaadiva chakShuShaH|"
(The Time destroys even the most beautiful things without any mercy as if it does not have eyes).
However in philosophical sense, it is the svabhaava of every thing to act particular way and if nothing gets destroyed, then nothing new can come into existence or it will be chaos with no scope for any replacement.
kAlanivartaka = when the role of any thing is to be stopped, it will be done. One may ask that the role of time never stops. But the way it stops is that one role will be replaced by another - like the time of creation is different from the time of destruction or praLaya.
kAlotpAdaka is not maintenance, but creation. If Jivas are nitya, how can they be created? Their creation is twofold -
creation of bodies and creation of their roles. If it is time, that is nitya and it does not have body, how can it be created? The time is nityaanitya. The segments of time get created and then they are gone. The year that is past is past for ever. The year that is going to come will come. Same is the case for every unit of Time.
Then what about kAlamUrti? The Lord is BimbarUpi for all devatas. The Lord also pervades Time in the name of KAla and He is the giver of the name 'kAla' to the Time and He gives the Time the very existence.
"dravyam karma cha kAlashcha svabhAvo jIva eva cha
yadanugrahataH santi na santi yadupekShayA|"
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