Saturday, May 16, 2015

PITRA and rituals for Praetha-Atma




As per our religious literature after death of a person, the body is destroyed. But the pattern of the thinking mind and the intellect that is imprinted in the Awareness does not die, This Energy-Awareness without a manifesting body is called as "Praetha-Atma” and is energized by our “Energy thoughts” through the ritual of offering rice and sesame seeds on all new moon days of the month. The "Praetha-Atma" is in a different energy level and so the time scale is different from the human time scale. 30 days of human time is equal to one day of Pretha-Atma. So every new moon is the morning of the Pretha-Atma. Like we break our night fast and energize the body with food, the Preta-Atma also need to be Energized to get into the next human body. The Pretha-Atma will have emotional bonding for human time scale of 365 days (12 months) or their 12 days. Only if their emotional bonding is shredded they get into a energy level called "Pitru". This is why for one year "Thithi" ritual is done by the family of the diseased person. After 365 days, there is no more emotional connection to the family. After one year of transforming to Pitru, they will accept offering from any human in the world. After attaining the Pitru state, the energy vibration becomes fit to be identified with a new human body.one can do rituals for the pitra according to the panth (as told by particular sect, astrologer or brahmin )
The main aim is to give tribute and seek blessings of the ancestors.Rishi Bhrigu did a lot of penance for the ancestors.
Honoring  every  month  Ancestors  on  new  moon  day is  one  of  the  5  duties  of  every  Human  being.  This is done in all ancient cultures  around the world in different ritualistic mode. If due to  physical ailment some one cannot do the 12 months, then they can do on the most important day called  Ammavasi,

Take Bath and visit temples. Give alms to poor, food to needed.

Ref:
literature availble 

SHASTRAS


Friday, May 15, 2015

THE SIVA LINGA


THE SAMKHYA PHILOSOPHY OF CREATION

#indiaagainstmutilatedyoga #yogaforneurosciences #spiritualtraverllers


#yog  #yognidra #shwasnidra  #Himalayas #yogini #nath  #shakti  #energy #peace  #solitude #karma #shimla  #hiking  #sadhna #shiva #GORAKH #nath #spiritulaism #kundalini #indiaagainstmutilatedyoga #yogaforneurosciences #spiritualtraverllers #love #lust
ADESH ADESH!!!

MAA BHADRA KALI (bhadrakali ekadashi 14th-15th may)



As per  Devi-Sukta Devi  Shakti  represents herself through various ways through  deaming  and knowledge in the form of Saraswati, through wealth in the form of Laxmi, through general benevolence in the form of Durga or through violence in the form of Kali.
The five gods of Hindu tradition such as Ganesh, Vishnu, Bhaskar (Sun), Siva and Durga are also enshrined in all over INDIA as shaktipeeths, devstans or different temples. The mythological description of the Deity MAA BHADRA KALI  shows :
Srikali Bhadrakali danavadalini kesari Prusthasamstha,Srikrushnaka  Santarupa nikhila
Vayahara niradava trinetra Bakhoyordhe khadga bamecha Kharparadhara Anaya  bhaktavatsala
Vaishnavi Vishnu maya bhabatu varada patu mam Bhadrakali
Mother Bhadrakali is a quite ancient  mythological deity. The entire Indian tantra literature is full of prayers and hymns for mother. The Gadaparva of Mahabharata Padma Puraha, Markandeya, Purana, Chandi Purana,  Vishnu  Purana,  Srimad  Bhagabata, Tantraprasanga of Sri Krishna etc. make nice references to goddess Bhadrakali as all pervasive and eternal incarnation of Parambrahma.
The eleventh chapter of Saptasati Chandi makes references accordingly.
Jwala Karala Mrutyugra Mahisasura Sadanam
Trisula Patunobhite Bhadrakali namostute.
According to Durga Astottara Satanama stotra :
Agnijwala, Roudramukhi karalivi stapaswini,
Narayani Bhadrakali Vishnumaya Jalodari
Thus she is the Emancipator of human soul. For the general welfare of the universe she has appeared in a metaphysical form.
The ritual of Kali-worship is the provision in India for animal sacrifice. There is no idea whatever of making compensation for sins but the whole intention is to offer meat food first to the Mother, for blessing. No meat is eaten by the orthodox Hindu without being consecrated in this way, whether he be otherwise a Kali-worshipper or not as a blessing of the "Divine Mother."

Thursday, May 14, 2015

MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT HINDUISM

Being an ancient religion, Hinduism now is plagued with many wrong and false ideas about it. These probably arose over time because people did not always adhere to the proper sources of knowledge.


As Hinduism expands in the West, the emerging forms of this ancient tradition are naturally being reflected through the medium of Western languages, most prominent of which, is English. But as we have pointed out, the meanings of words are not easily moved from one language to the next. The more distant two languages are separated by geography, latitude and climate, etc. the more the meanings of words shift and ultimately the more the worldview shifts. While this is a natural thing, it does present the danger that the emerging Hindu religious culture in the West may drift too far afield. The differences between the Indian regional languages and Sanskrit are minuscule when compared to the differences between a Western language such as English and Sanskrit.
Most books available on Hinduism in bookshops in the West today are written by non-Hindu Westerners. Most of them are very scholarly and recount the doctrines in a clinical manner, sometimes without any insight. Many of these scholars are in fact hostile to the very subject matter that they purport to recount in an impartial manner.
With this problem in mind, the great difficultly in understanding Hinduism in the West, whether from the perspective of conversion or from a second generation of Hindus, is that it is all too easy to approach Hinduism with foreign concepts of religion in mind. It is natural to unknowingly approach Hinduism with Christian, Jewish and Islamic notions of God, soul, heaven, hell and sin in mind. We translate brahman as God, atman as soul, papaas sin, dharma as religion. But brahman is not the same as God; atman is not equivalent to the soul, papa is not sin and dharma is much more than mere religion. To obtain a true understanding of sacred writings, such as the Upanishads or the Bhagavad Gita, one must read them on their own terms and not from the perspective of another religious tradition. Because the Hinduism now developing in the West is being reflected through the lens of Christianity, Judaism and Islam, the theological uniqueness of Hinduism is being compromised or completely lost.
The most obvious misconception about Hinduism is that we tend to see it as a religious faith. To be precise, Hinduism is a way of life, a dharma. Dharma does not mean religion. It is the law that governs all action. Thus, contrary to popular perception, Hinduism is not a religion. Out of this misinterpretation, has come most of the misconceptions about Hinduism.


AMARNATH YATRA


The Lord Siva


YOGI's METHOD OF SEARCH FOR THE ABSOLUTE TRUTH

The Yogi's method of search for the Absolute Truth is based on the idea that though the Absolute Truth may not be object of intellectual comprehension and logical reasoning , it unveils itself to the human consciousness. When this consciousness is adequately purified ,refined and concentrated and thus becomes perfectly free from the impediments in the way of the Self - Revelation of the Truth to it.

A Yogi , therefor instead of making futile attempts to form a perfect logical conception of the nature of the Absolute Truth in the lower empirical planes of his consciousness , directs his attention and energy to the progressive purification , refinement and concentration of his empirical consciousness and its elevation to higher and higher spiritual planes untill the Supreme Transcendent plane is reached ,in which the veil between the Ultimate Truth and the consciousness vanishes altogether and the consciousness is absolutely united with the Truth.


Wednesday, May 13, 2015

THE GOD- WOOD AT CHAOURASI TEMPLE ( CHAMBA )

Deodar – The God-wood at Chaurasi temple
The Chaurasi is partly shaded by huge Cedrus tree, which is visible from tremendous distance away. It grows near the Manimahesh temple. It is regarded as sacred & no branch of it may be cut down. A Cedrus tree looked upon as sacred & is called deodar, the god-wood, if it grows near the Shiva temple. The name, Deodar, goes all the way back to the Indo-Aryan language of Sanksrit where the word devadaru comes from combining deva (god) & daru (wood).There are many stories associated with association of deodar & Lord Shiva. It is believed that this tree is dear to Shiva because he planted his linga on earth in the vicinity of deodar forest on first instance.  Another reference in that Hindu mythology mentions that the formidable Lord Shiva was meditating under a deodar tree, when Kamadeva, the god of love disturbed him. Angered, Shiva opened his third eye & burnt Kamadeva to cinders. Through this legend, the deodar has remained closely connected with the worship of Shiva in Himalayas. Often a tree is built near or around a special tree which is regarded as his embodiment. The Linga Puranamoreover mentions the visit of Shiva in Bhikshatana form to Deodar Forest to entice the wives of sages, who had taken up habits detrimental to the perpetuation of a healthy social order If a Cedrus tree is found in the close proximity of the Devi temple then it is called devidaar. There are many instances of huge cedrus trees growing near Shiva & Devi temple. The temple of Manimahesh Shiva is located near Deodar  at  centre of Chaurasi temple.


KELANG OR KARTIKEYA TEMPLE


On the right side of the entrance to Lakshana devi stands a small platform covered with a roof peculiar to small village shrine. In it is kept an upright stone symbolizing Kelang, the Kartikeya, the god of war.  There is moreover a small piece of wood in this shrine which is carved with a figure representing Kelang. It appears this piece was offered by some devotee. This god is moreover called Kelang wazeer or Kelanga – swami or devta by local peasantry. This shrine moreover contains a six inches high metal idol with two arms holding a danda (staff) & ring, representing the god Kelang. He is moreover revered as Kartik-swami by locals who have tremendous faith in his miraculous powers. His disciples or chelas wear a sort of red cap as a mark. They are in tremendous demand for performing divine or ritual dance. A marble image of Kartikeya kelang, has moreover been placed recently along with other votive projects.

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

MANIMAHESH SHIVA TEMPLE


Manimahesh temple which stands in the centre of Chaurasi temple, is main temple, enshrining a huge Shiva linga. The Shiva linga is nothing yet a symbol of characteristic mark of lord Shiva & is worshiped in a symbol. In reality it is identical with the lord almighty which has been described as creator, protector & destroyer of entire universe. While creating this universe he assumes the form of Brahma, while protecting it assumes form of Vishnu & while destroying the form of Rudra.
The temple enshrining Shiva linga resting on the huge square plinth was rebuilt by Raja Sahila Varman during first half of tenth century AD. This monumental temple with high beehive shikhara bearing no sculptures on the outer surface is of middle Pratihara type. It is similar to the early temples of Chamba town & like them has been built on a model of sahila’s lakhshami narayana temple, Chamba town. The repairs of the temples were carried out by Raja Udai Singh (1690-1720 AD


KUBERA SHIVA LINGAM



Lord Kubera is an ancient deity mentioned in Rig Veda as lord of wealth, health and material happiness. Mahalakshmi is the creator and embodiment of health, wealth and happiness. Kubera is given the status of custodian, maintainer and the distributor of this wealth to the souls of the universe. In reality our Divine Mother Parashakthi, who is the source of supreme eternal consciousness and creative energy, transcends to the level of various Gods and becomes the “creative aspects” of all of them in their transcendence from the highest to the lowest levels of creation.


 

Lord Kubera is an ancient deity mentioned in Rig Veda as lord of wealth, health and material happiness. Mahalakshmi is the creator and embodiment of health, wealth and happiness. Kubera is given the status of custodian, maintainer and the distributor of this wealth to the souls of the universe. In reality our Divine Mother Parashakthi, who is the source of supreme eternal consciousness and creative energy, transcends to the level of various Gods and becomes the “creative aspects” of all of them in their transcendence from the highest to the lowest levels of creation. Our Divine Mother has instructed us to install this aspect of “Her” as Kuberalingam at our temple, which is a very unique combination and Sivalinga “aspect” of her. The following facts will make us understand the Kuberalingam aspect of our Divine Mother, so that we can perceive this very important “Divine energy” and receive the boons and blessings, which will be granted to us by the Divine Mother through Kuberalingam


THE CHOURASI SIDHHA TEMPLES ( BHARMOUR , HIMACHAL )

 Temple is located in the center of Bharmour town & it holds immense religious importance because of temples built around 1400 years ago. Life of people in Bharmour centres around the temple complex-Chaurasi, named so because of 84 shrines built in the periphery of Chaurasi Temple. Chaurasi is hindi word for number eighty four. The attractive shikhara style temple of Manimahesh occupies the center of the complex. It is believed that when 84 Siddhas, who had come from kurukshetra, were passing through Bharmour to visit Manimahesh, they fell in love with the calmness of Bharmour & reconciled to meditate here. Chaurasi Temple Complex was built approximately in 7th century, although repairs of many temples have been carried out in after period.
There is another legend associated with Chaurasi temple complex. It is believed that shortly after Sahil Varman’s accession of Brahampura (ancient name of Bharmour), 84 yogis visited this place. They were greatly pleased with the King’s hospitality. As King had no heir, Yogis promised him ten sons. They were requested by the King to stay back in #Brahampura till the prediction of Yogis was fulfilled. In due course of time the king was blessed with ten sons & a daughter. Daughter was named Champavati & because of liking of Champavati new capital #Chamba was established. It is believed that Chaurasi temple complex in Bharmour was built to honour these 84 Yogis & named Chaurasi after them. There are 84 huge & small temples in Chaurasi temple complex. #Chaurasi is a spacious level ground in center of Bharmour where the galaxy of temples mostly in the form of Shivlingas exists. The Chaurasi Temple Complex offers a delightful, clean & a scenic view. #indiaagainstmutilatedyoga #yogaforneurosciences #spiritualtraverllers
  
#yog  #yognidra #shwasnidra  #Himalayas #yogini #nath  #shakti  #energy #peace  #solitude #karma #shimla  #hiking  #sadhna #shiva #GORAKH #nath #spiritulaism #kundalini #indiaagainstmutilatedyoga #yogaforneurosciences #spiritualtraverllers #love #lust
ADESH ADESH!!!

YOGA AND AASANA

Yoga today is often identified with the practice of a broad range of bodily postures called asanas. This identification has been traced to the twentieth century, when new technologies of reproduction circulated both yoga systems and asana imagery across the globe.However, the earliest known treatise to systematically illustrate yoga postures, the Bahr al-hayat (Ocean of Life), dates to the turn of the seventeenth century.

This essay examines the specific conditions for the production of this unprecedented treatise and considers its twenty-one asanas, which are almost all seated postures for meditation on various unconditioned forms of the absolute, within a broader historical trajectory of the development of asanas.

The Sanskrit word asana (“aa-suhnuh”) is a noun meaning “seat” or “the act of sitting down” derived from the verbal root ās, which means “to sit” or  “to remain as one is.” Until the end of the first millennium CE, when used in the context of yoga, asana referred to simple seated postures to be adopted for meditation. This is true for all formulations of yoga, including those of the classical tradition rooted in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras (circa 325–425 CE)4 and those of the Tantric tradition, whose earliest extant asana teachings date to the sixth century.

THE HATH YOGA

It is in the hatha method of yoga, which was codified in texts from the eleventh century onward, that the more complex, non-seated asanas that have become synonymous with yoga practice gain prominence. Two thirteenth-century texts, the earliest to teach asana as part of hatha techniques, proclaim that there are eighty-four lakh (8,400,000) asanas, but describe only two, both of which are seated postures.

The fifteenth-century Light on Hatha (Hathapradipika), the best known Sanskrit text on hatha yoga and the first to be devoted solely to the subject, describes fifteen asanas, of which seven are non-seated positionsfor meditation. Some of its verses teach non-seated asanas found in earlier works. The peacock posture, mayurasana, has the oldest heritage. Its description in the Light on Hatha is taken from a thirteenth- or fourteenth-century yoga manual composed in a Vaishnava milieu, i.e., among followers of the Hindu god Vishnu,but can be traced back through other Vaishnava texts to one from approximately the ninth century.


THE SIDHHA SIDHANTA


SHREE NATH SAMPRADAYA


Monday, May 11, 2015

MEDITATION : MAHARISHI PATANJALI

Meditation as a means to transcend the suffering of existence seems to have emerged in northern India around the fifth century BCE. In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (second to fourth century CE), it is key to stilling the fluctuations of the mind, which obscure pure consciousness and higher awareness. Patanjali identifies three phases of meditation: the concerted fixing of the mind (dharana); effortlessly centered concentration (dhyana); and  the transformative realization that the seer and the seen are one (samadhi). With variations, such as focusing the mind on a deity as revealed by Krishna  in the Bhagavad Gita, meditation became a pillar of most later yoga traditions.

South Asian artists often represented great sages, enlightened beings, and deities in the act of meditation to convey their spiritual attainment. The most ubiquitous signifiers of meditation, visible in sculptures and paintings throughout this catalogue, are the symmetrical, motionless postures of sitting in padmasana or standing with upright spine and arms extended downward.


THE JYOTIRLINGAS


Sunday, May 10, 2015

BIJLI MAHADEV. ,Kullu ( Himachal )


SRI KHAND MAHADEV ( HIMACHAL PRADESH )


THE GUPT GANGA

Gupt Ganga Temple is located in Kangra Town in Himachal Pradesh( India ). The temple is dedicated to Shiva and Goddess Ganga. Gupt Ganga Temple is located around 5 km from Kangra Fort and 1km from Hateswari Temple.

It is a small temple. There is a small pond in the temple premises. A huge Shivling atop a small temple is also found here.

The popular belief is that Ganga had hid here. The water in the pond is believed to be that of Ganga River.

The temple is also known as Gupt Ganga Dham and Gupt Ganga Kshetra.


THE DOCTRINE OF NATH SAMPRADAYA

The first earthly guru of the Nāths, Matsyendra, is said to have brought the Kaula tantric doctrine (→ Tantra) to the world (Sanderson, 1988, 681). An important early (c. 10th-cent.) text attributed to him, the Kaulajñānanirnaya, teaches Kaula doctrines. The Matsyendrasamhitā, a 13th-century compendium of teachings on yoga and ritual attributed to him, describes its doctrine as śāmbhava. This South Indian variant of Śaivism derives from the eastern and western Kaula streams, but it also marks a moment in the history of yoga when yoga started to detach itself from sectarian moorings (Kiss, 2009, 97).

This necessitated the elimination of sect markers such as deities, mantras, and metaphysics. Subsequent Nāth works on yoga continue this trend of antisectarianism, and it is not until the approximately 18th-century Siddhasiddhāntapaddhati, which itself marks a moment when the Nāth Sampradāya was seeking to establish a solid sectarian identity, that a specifically Nāth metaphysics is expounded. The Siddhasiddhāntapaddhati teaches the creation of the world from → brahman, through → śakti and the elements (→ mahābhūtas), to the beginnings of human life. It includes descriptions of the components of the subtle body and how they can be used in yogic practice, together with microcosmic and macrocosmic parallels between the body and the universe.

RAMESHWARAM JYOTIRLINGA

Mythological History 
According to the Hindu mythology i.e. the story of Ramayana Lord Rama performed thanksgiving rituals to Lord Rama after the battle at Sri Lanka and his triumph over the demon king Ravana. Owing to this Rameshwaram attracts Vaishnavites (worshippers of Lord Vishnu) and Saivites (worshippers of Lord Shiva) alike.Sri Lanka is at a distance of 24 kilometers from Rameshwaram. In fact the entire area of Rameshwaram is associated with various incidents from the Ramayana. Rameshwaram happens to one of the most visited pilgrim sites in India. 

Rameshwaram Jyotirlinga
Rameshwaram Jyotirlinga of Lord Shiva is situated on the peninsular tip Rameshwaram. It was Lord Rama who installed this Linga there, when he was on his way to attack Ravana he reached this place where he made a linga of sand and worshipped it. It was also believed that when Lord Rama was drinking water on the seashore there was a celestial proclamation - 'You are drinking water without worshipping me'. 

THE POWERS OF THE MIND

All over the world there has been the belief in the supernatural throughout the ages. All of us have heard of extraordinary happenings, and many of us have had some personal experience of them. I would rather introduce the subject by telling you certain facts which have come within my own experience. I once heard of a man who, if any one went to him with questions in his mind, would answer them immediately; and I was also informed that he foretold events. I was curious and went to see him with a few friends. We each had something in our minds to ask, and, to avoid mistakes, we wrote down our questions and put them in our pockets. As soon as the man saw one of us, he repeated our questions and gave the answers to them. Then he wrote something on paper, which he folded up, asked me to sign on the back, and said, "Don't look at it; put it in your pocket and keep it there till I ask for it again." And so on to each one of us. He next told us about some events that would happen to us in the future. Then he said, "Now, think of a word or a sentence, from any language you like." I thought of a long sentence from Sanskrit, a language of which he was entirely ignorant. "Now, take out the paper from your pocket," he said. The Sanskrit sentence was written there! He had written it an hour before with the remark, "In confirmation of what I have written, this man will think of this sentence." It was correct. Another of us who had been given a similar paper which he had signed and placed in his pocket, was also asked to think of a sentence. He thought of a sentence in Arabic, which it was still less possible for the man to know; it was some passage from the Koran. And my friend found this written down on the paper.
Another of us was a physician. He thought of a sentence from a German medical book. It was written on his paper.
Several days later I went to this man again, thinking possibly I had been deluded somehow before. I took other friends, and on this occasion also he came out wonderfully triumphant.
Another time I was in the city of Hyderabad in India, and I was told of a Brâhmin there who could produce numbers of things from where, nobody knew. This man was in business there; he was a respectable gentleman. And I asked him to show me his tricks. It so happened that this man had a fever, and in India there is a general belief that if a holy man puts his hand on a sick man he would be well. This Brahmin came to me and said, "Sir, put your hand on my head, so that my fever may be cured." I said, "Very good; but you show me your tricks." He promised. I put my hand on his head as desired, and later he came to fulfil his promise. He had only a strip of cloth about his loins, we took off everything else from him. I had a blanket which I gave him to wrap round himself, because it was cold, and made him sit in a corner. Twenty-five pairs of eyes were looking at him. And he said, "Now, look, write down anything you want." We all wrote down names of fruits that never grew in that country, bunches of grapes, oranges, and so on. And we gave him those bits of paper. And there came from under his blanket, bushels of grapes, oranges, and so forth, so much that if all that fruit was weighed, it would have been twice as heavy as the man. He asked us to eat the fruit. Some of us objected, thinking it was hypnotism; but the man began eating himself — so we all ate. It was all right.
He ended by producing a mass of roses. Each flower was perfect, with dew-drops on the petals, not one crushed, not one injured. And masses of them! When I asked the man for an explanation, he said, "It is all sleight of hand."
Whatever it was, it seemed to be impossible that it could be sleight of hand merely. From whence could he have got such large quantities of things?
Well, I saw many things like that. Going about India you find hundreds of similar things in different places. These are in every country. Even in this country you will find some such wonderful things. Of course there is a great deal of fraud, no doubt; but then, whenever you see fraud, you have also to say that fraud is an imitation. There must be some truth somewhere, that is being imitated; you cannot imitate nothing. Imitation must be of something substantially true.
In very remote times in India, thousands of years ago, these facts used to happen even more than they do today. It seems to me that when a country becomes very thickly populated, psychical power deteriorates. Given a vast country thinly inhabited, there will, perhaps, be more of psychical power there. These facts, the Hindus, being analytically minded. took up and investigated. And they came to certain remarkable conclusions; that is, they made a science of it. They found out that all these, though extraordinary, are also natural; there is nothing supernatural. They are under laws just the same as any other physical phenomenon. It is not a freak of nature that a man is born with such powers. They can be systematically studied, practiced, and acquired. This science they call the science of Râja-Yoga. There are thousands of people who cultivate the study of this science, and for the whole nation it has become a part of daily worship.
The conclusion they have reached is that all these extraordinary powers are in the mind of man. This mind is a part of the universal mind. Each mind is connected with every other mind. And each mind, wherever it is located, is in actual communication with the whole world.
Have you ever noticed the phenomenon that is called thought-transference? A man here is thinking something, and that thought is manifested in somebody else, in some other place. With preparations — not by chance — a man wants to send a thought to another mind at a distance, and this other mind knows that a thought is coming, and he receives it exactly as it is sent out. Distance makes no difference. The thought goes and reaches the other man, and he understands it. If your mind were an isolated something here, and my mind were an isolated something there, and there were no connection between the two, how would it be possible for my thought to reach you? In the ordinary cases, it is not my thought that is reaching you direct; but my thought has got to be dissolved into ethereal vibrations and those ethereal vibrations go into your brain, and they have to be resolved again into your own thoughts. Here is a dissolution of thought, and there is a resolution of thought. It is a roundabout process. But in telepathy, there is no such thing; it is direct.
This shows that there is a continuity of mind, as the Yogis call it. The mind is universal. Your mind, my mind, all these little minds, are fragments of that universal mind, little waves in the ocean; and on account of this continuity, we can convey our thoughts directly to one another.
You see what is happening all around us. The world is one of influence. Part of our energy is used up in the preservation of our own bodies. Beyond that, every particle of our energy is day and night being used in influencing others. Our bodies, our virtues, our intellect, and our spirituality, all these are continuously influencing others; and so, conversely, we are being influenced by them. This is going on all around us. Now, to take aconcrete example. A man comes; you know he is very learned, his language is beautiful, and he speaks to you by the hour; but he does not make any impression. Another man comes, and he speaks a few words, not well arranged, ungrammatical perhaps; all the same, he makes an immense impression. Many of you have seen that. So it is evident that words alone cannot always produce an impression. Words, even thoughts contribute only one-third of the influence in making an impression, the man, two-thirds. What you call the personal magnetism of the man — that is what goes out and impresses you.
In our families there are the heads; some of them are successful, others are not. Why? We complain of others in our failures. The moment I am unsuccessful, I say, so-and-so is the cause of the failure. In failure, one does not like to confess one's own faults and weaknesses. Each person tries to hold himself faultless and lay the blame upon somebody or something else, or even on bad luck. When heads of families fail, they should ask themselves, why it is that some persons manage a family so well and others do not. Then you will find that the difference is owing to the man — his presence, his personality.
Coming to great leaders of mankind, we always find that it was the personality of the man that counted. Now, take all the great authors of the past, the great thinkers. Really speaking, how many thoughts have they thought? Take all the writings that have been left to us by the past leaders of mankind; take each one of their books and appraise them. The real thoughts, new and genuine, that have been thought in this world up to this time, amount to only a handful. Read in their books the thoughts they have left to us. The authors do not appear to be giants to us, and yet we know that they were great giants in their days. What made them so? Not simply the thoughts they thought, neither the books they wrote, nor the speeches they made, it was something else that is now gone, that is their personality. As I have already remarked, the personality of the man is two-thirds, and his intellect, his words, are but one-third. It is the real man, the personality of the man, that runs through us. Our actions are but effects. Actions must come when the man is there; the effect is bound to follow the cause.
The ideal of all education, all training, should be this man-making. But, instead of that, we are always trying to polish up the outside. What use in polishing up the outside when there is no inside? The end and aim of all training is to make the man grow. The man who influences, who throws his magic, as it were, upon his fellow-beings, is a dynamo of power, and when that man is ready, he can do anything and everything he likes; that personality put upon anything will make it work.
Now, we see that though this is a fact, no physical laws that we know of will explain this. How can we explain it by chemical and physical knowledge? How much of oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, how many molecules in different positions, and how many cells, etc., etc. can explain this mysterious personality? And we still see, it is a fact, and not only that, it is the real man; and it is that man that lives and moves and works, it is that man that influences, moves his fellow-beings, and passes out, and his intellect and books and works are but traces left behind. Think of this. Compare the great teachers of religion with the great philosophers. The philosophers scarcely influenced anybody's inner man, and yet they wrote most marvellous books. The religious teachers, on the other hand, moved countries in their lifetime. The difference was made by personality. In the philosopher it is a faint personality that influences; in the great prophets it is tremendous. In the former we touch the intellect, in the latter we touch life. In the one case, it is simply a chemical process, putting certain chemical ingredients together which may gradually combine and under proper circumstances bring out a flash of light or may fail. In the other, it is like a torch that goes round quickly, lighting others.
The science of Yoga claims that it has discovered the laws which develop this personality, and by proper attention to those laws and methods, each one can grow and strengthen his personality. This is one of the great practical things, and this is the secret of all education. This has a universal application. In the life of the householder, in the life of the poor, the rich, the man of business, the spiritual man, in every one's life, it is a great thing, the strengthening of this personality. There are laws, very fine, which are behind the physical laws, as we know. That is to say, there are no such realities as a physical world, a mental world, a spiritual world. Whatever is, is one. Let us say, it is a sort of tapering existence; the thickest part is here, it tapers and becomes finer and finer. The finest is what we call spirit; the grossest, the body. And just as it is here in microcosm, it is exactly the same in the macrocosm. The universe of ours is exactly like that; it is the gross external thickness, and it tapers into something finer and finer until it becomes God.
We also know that the greatest power is lodged in the fine, not in the coarse. We see a man take up a huge weight, we see his muscles swell, and all over his body we see signs of exertion, and we think the muscles are powerful things. But it is the thin thread-like things, the nerves, which bring power to the muscles; the moment one of these threads is cut off from reaching the muscles, they are not able to work at all. These tiny nerves bring the power from something still finer, and that again in its turn brings it from something finer still — thought, and so on. So, it is the fine that is really the seat of power. Of course we can see the movements in the gross; but when finemovements take place, we cannot see them. When a gross thing moves, we catch it, and thus we naturally identify movement with things which are gross. But all the power is really in the fine. We do not see any movement in the fine, perhaps, because the movement is so intense that we cannot perceive it. But if by any science, any investigation, we are helped to get hold of these finer forces which are the cause of the expression, the expression itself will be under control. There is a little bubble coming from the bottom of a lake; we do not see it coming all the time, we see it only when it bursts on the surface; so, we can perceive thoughts only after they develop a great deal, or after they become actions. We constantly complain that we have no control over our actions, over our thoughts. But how can we have it? If we can get control over the fine movements, if we can get hold of thought at the root, before it has become thought, before it has become action, then it would be possible for us to control the whole. Now, if there is a method by which we can analyse, investigate, understand, and finally grapple with those finer powers, the finer causes, then alone is it possible to have control over ourselves, and the man who has control over his own mind assuredly will have control over every other mind. That is why purity and morality have been always the object of religion; a pure, moral man has control of himself. And all minds are the same, different parts of one Mind. He who knows one lump of clay has known all the clay in the universe. He who knows and controls his own mind knows the secret of every mind and has power over every mind
Now, a good deal of our physical evil we can get rid of, if we have control over the fine parts; a good many worries we can throw off, if we have control over the fine movements; a good many failures can be averted, if we have control over these fine powers. So far, is utility. Yet beyond, there is something higher.
Now, I shall tell you a theory, which I will not argue now, but simply place before you the conclusion. Each man in his childhood runs through the stages through which his race has come up; only the race took thousands of years to do it, while the child takes a few years. The child is first the old savage man — and he crushes a butterfly under his feet. The child is at first like the primitive ancestors of his race. As he grows, he passes through different stages until he reaches the development of his race. Only he does it swiftly and quickly. Now, take the whole of humanity as a race, or take the whole of the animal creation, man and the lower animals, as one whole. There is an end towards which the whole is moving. Let us call it perfection. Some men and women are born who anticipate the whole progress of mankind. Instead of waiting and being reborn over and over again for ages until the whole human race has attained to that perfection, they, as it were, rush through them in a few short years of their life. And we know that we can hasten these processes, if we be true to ourselves. If a number of men, without any culture, be left to live upon an island, and are given barely enough food, clothing, and shelter, they will gradually go on and on, evolving higher and higher stages of civilization. We know also, that this growth can be hastened by additional means. We help the growth of trees, do we not? Left to nature they would have grown, only they would have taken a longer time; we help them to grow in a shorter time than they would otherwise have taken. We are doing all the time the same thing, hastening the growth of things by artificial means. Why cannot we hasten the growth of man? We can do that as a race Why are teachers sent to other countries? Because by these means we can hasten the growth of races. Now, can we not hasten the growth of individuals? We can. Can we put a limit to the hastening? We cannot say how much a man can grow in one life. You have no reason to say that this much a man can do and no more. Circumstances can hasten him wonderfully. Can there be any limit then, till you come to perfection? So, what comes of it? — That a perfect man, that is to say, the type that is to come of this race, perhaps millions of years hence, that man can come today. And this is what the Yogis say, that all great incarnations and prophets are such men; that they reached perfection in this one life. We have had such men at all periods of the world's history and at all times. Quite recently, there was such a man who lived the life of the whole human race and reached the end — even in this life. Even this hastening of the growth must be under laws. Suppose we can investigate these laws and understand their secrets and apply them to our own needs; it follows that we grow. We hasten our growth, we hasten our development, and we become perfect, even in this life. This is the higher part of our life, and the science of the study of mind and its powers has this perfection as its real end. Helping others with money and other material things and teaching them how to go on smoothly in their daily life are mere details.
The utility of this science is to bring out the perfect man, and not let him wait and wait for ages, just a plaything in the hands of the physical world, like a log of drift-wood carried from wave to wave and tossing about in the ocean. This science wants you to be strong, to take the work in your own hand, instead of leaving it in the hands of nature, and get beyond this little life. That is the great idea.
Man is growing in knowledge, in power, in happiness. Continuously, we are growing as a race. We see that is true, perfectly true. Is it true of individuals? To a certain extent, yes. But yet, again comes the question: Where do you fix the limit? I can see only at a distance of so many feet. But I have seen a man close his eyes and see what is happening in another room. If you say you do not believe it, perhaps in three weeks that man can make you do the same. It can be taught to anybody. Some persons, in five minutes even, can be made to read what is happening in another man's mind. These facts can be demonstrated.
Now, if these things are true, where can we put a limit? If a man can read what is happening in another's mind in the corner of this room, why not in the next room? Why not anywhere? We cannot say, why not. We dare not say that it is not possible. We can only say, we do not know how it happens. Material scientists have no right to say that things like this are not possible; they can only say, "We do not know." Science has to collect facts, generalise upon them, deduce principles, and state the truth — that is all. But if we begin by denying the facts, how can a science be?
There is no end to the power a man can obtain. This is the peculiarity of the Indian mind, that when anything interests it, it gets absorbed in it and other things are neglected. You know how many sciences had their origin in India. Mathematics began there. You are even today counting 1, 2, 3, etc. to zero, after Sanskrit figures, and you all know that algebra also originated in India, and that gravitation was known to the Indians thousands of years before Newton was born.
You see the peculiarity. At a certain period of Indian history, this one subject of man and his mind absorbed all their interest. And it was so enticing, because it seemed the easiest way to achieve their ends. Now, the Indian mind became so thoroughly persuaded that the mind could do anything and everything according to law, that its powers became the great object of study. Charms, magic, and other powers, and all that were nothing extraordinary, but a regularly taught science, just as the physical sciences they had taught before that. Such a conviction in these things came upon the race that physical sciences nearlydied out. It was the one thing that came before them. Different sects of Yogis began to make all sorts of experiments. Some made experiments with light, trying to find out how lights of different colours produced changes in the body. They wore a certain coloured cloth, lived under a certain colour, and ate certain coloured foods. All sorts of experiments were made in this way. Others made experiments in sound by stopping and unstopping their ears. And still others experimented in the sense of smell, and so on.
The whole idea was to get at the basis, to reach the fine parts of the thing. And some of them really showed most marvellous powers. Many of them were trying to float in the air or pass through it. I shall tell you a story which I heard from a great scholar in the West. It was told him by a Governor of Ceylon who saw the performance. A girl was brought forward and seated cross-legged upon a stool made of sticks crossed. After she had been seated for a time, the show-man began to take out, one after another, these cross-bars; and when all were taken out, the girl was left floating in the air. The Governor thought there was some trick, so he drew his sword and violently passed it under the girl; nothing was there. Now, what was this? It was not magic or something extraordinary. That is the peculiarity. No one in India would tell you that things like this do not exist. To the Hindu it is a matter of course. You know what the Hindus would often say when they have to fight their enemies — "Oh, one of our Yogis will come and drive the whole lot out!" It is the extreme belief of the race. What power is there in the hand or the sword? The power is all in the spirit.
If this is true, it is temptation enough for the mind to exert its highest. But as with every other science it is very difficult to make any great achievement, so also with this, nay much more. Yet most people think that these powers can be easily gained. How many are the years you take to make a fortune? Think of that! First, how many years do you take to learn electrical science or engineering? And then you have to work all the rest of your life.
Again, most of the other sciences deal with things that do not move, that are fixed. You can analyse the chair, the chair does not fly from you. But this science deals with the mind, which moves all the time; the moment you want to study it, it slips. Now the mind is in one mood, the next moment, perhaps, it is different, changing, changing all the time. In the midst of all this change it has to be studied, understood, grasped, and controlled. How much more difficult, then, is this science! It requires rigorous training. People ask me why I do not give them practical lessons. Why, it is no joke. I stand upon this platform talking to you and you go home and find no benefit; nor do I. Then you say, "It is all bosh." It is because you wanted to make a bosh of it. I know very little of this science, but the little that I gained I worked for thirty years of my life, and for six years I have been telling people the little that I know. It took me thirty years to learn it; thirty years of hard struggle. Sometimes I worked at it twenty hours during the twenty-four; sometimes I slept only one hour in the night; sometimes I worked whole nights; sometimes I lived in places where there was hardly a sound, hardly a breath; sometimes I had to live in caves. Think of that. And yet I know little or nothing; I have barely touched the hem of the garment of this science. But I can understand that it is true and vast and wonderful.
Now, if there is any one amongst you who really wants to study this science, he will have to start with that sort of determination, the same as, nay even more than, that which he puts into any business of life.
And what an amount of attention does business require, and what a rigorous taskmaster it is! Even if the father, the mother, the wife, or the child dies, business cannot stop! Even if the heart is breaking, we still have to go to our place of business, when every hour of work is a pang. That is business, and we think that it is just, that it is right.
This science calls for more application than any business can ever require. Many men can succeed in business; very few in this. Because so much depends upon the particular constitution of the person studying it. As in business all may not make a fortune, but everyone can make something, so in the study of this science each one can get a glimpse which will convince him of its truth and of the fact that there have been men who realised it fully.
This is the outline of the science. It stands upon its own feet and in its own light, and challenges comparison with any other science. There have been charlatans, there have been magicians, there have been cheats, and more here than in any other field. Why? For the same reason, that the more profitable the business, the greater the number of charlatans and cheats. But that is no reason why the business should not be good. And one thing more; it may be good intellectual gymnastics to listen to all the arguments and an intellectual satisfaction to hear of wonderful things. But, if any one of you really wants to learn something beyond that, merely attending lectures will not do. That cannot be taught in lectures, for it is life; and life can only convey life. If there are any amongst you who are really determined to learn it, I shall be very glad to help them.

Swami Vivekananda

SAGE VED VYAS AND ROLE IN HINDU LITERATURE


Vyasa (Sanskrit: व्यास, vyāsa, literally “Compiler”) is a central and revered figure in most Hindu traditions. He is also sometimes called Veda Vyāsa (the one who classified the Vedas") He is the author of the Mahabharata, as well as a character in it. He is considered to be the scribe of both the Vedas and Puranas. According to Hindu beliefs, Vyasa is an avatar of the god Vishnu. Vyasa is also considered to be one of the seven Chiranjivins (long lived, or immortals), who are still in existence according to Hindu belief.
Vyasa lived around the 3rd millennium BCE. The festival of Guru Purnima is dedicated to him. It is also known as Vyasa Purnima, for it is the day believed to be both his birthday and the day he divided the Vedas.Hindus traditionally hold that Vyasa categorised the primordial single Veda into three canonical collections, and that the fourth one, known as Atharvaveda, was recognized as Veda only very much later. Hence he was called Veda Vyasa, or "Splitter of the Vedas," the splitting being a feat that allowed people to understand the divine knowledge of the Veda. The word vyasa means split, differentiate, or describe.Vyasa is traditionally known as author of this epic and likewise features as an important character in it. His mother Satyavati later married King Shantanu of Hastinapura and had two sons, Chitrāngada and Vichitravirya. Chittrangada died unmarried and Vichitravirya died without issue, and hence their mother asked Vyasa to father the child through the "Niyoga" method which specifies rules for appointing a father to bear a child in case the husband is incapacitated or unable to do so.
Vyasa fathers the princes Dhritarashtra and Pandu by Ambika and Ambalika
Vyasa narrated the entire Mahābhārata and all the Upanishads and the 18 Puranas, while Lord Ganesha wrote.Vyasa is supposed to have meditated and authored the epic by the foothills of the river Beas (Vipasa) in the Punjab region.Vyasa is also credited with the writing of the eighteen major Purāṇas. His son Shuka is the narrator of the major Purāṇa Bhagavat-Purāṇa. The Yoga Bhashya, a commentary on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, is attributed to Vyasa.


Ref: Wikipedia and literature available

SANATANA DHARMA



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