Monday, January 31, 2011

moksha through devotion----mukunda mala--by- saintly king kulashekara

saintly king kulashekara was one of the twelve alwars, who ruled his state Travancore. he was a great devotee of lord krishna. wrote a famous work called mukunda mala(mukthim dadathi eethi mukunda). mala means garland. thus the apt caption moksha through utterances of lord's name and his remembrance always in our conscious mind.kulashekara was king of Travancore  belonging  to chera  dynasty.his work mukunda mala  is  so beautiful that even today(more than thousand years), speaks to us with fresh voice of eternal truth.it gives you  a search unto you and the lord.. he says the best treatment for your disease of birth and death is  devotion to lord krishna. when  you drink this medicine , it bestows complete and final liberation. the first verse starts like this.---------------------------------shree vallbhethi  varadethi dayaparethi,bhaktha priyethi bhavaluntana kovidhethi.---nathethi nagashaynethi,jagannivasa, aalapinam prathidinam kurumam  mukunda.----meaning-----oh! mukunda! my lord, let me become  a regular chanter of your name forever.you are known as sri vallabha(very dear to lakshmi),varada(the bestower of various boons),dayapara(who is always merciful),bhakthpriya (dear to devotees) bhavaluntana kovidha(who is skillful in  looting the  samsara of birth and death(all dualities), natha--the supreme lord. jagannivasaa( basis of entire universe),nagashayana--(one who sleeps on the serprnt bed). saintly kulashekara thus calls for realisation through  utterances of  lord's name whenever you get time.

saintly king kulashekara----[one of the twelve alwars of tamil nadu]

king kulashekara  lived more than thousand years in south india. his famous work mukunda mala talks about  the absolute truth which is supreme lord krishna. he talks about eternal truth, and how to seek lord. he talks about the relationship between lord and us. he says it's only the leelas of krishna and his keertans, which will  release us  from the disease of birth and death. even yogis has recommend  his name for the disease of samsara.  yajnavalkya  says the best medicine for understanding boundless eternal light  when drunk with devotion bestows complete and final liberation. just drink it  and enjoy. kulashekara starts with a prayer to lord.  oh! mukunda my lord  please let me become a constant reciter  of your name people address you as srivallabha(one who is dear to lakshmi) ,the bestow er of boons(vara), one who is merciful always, one  who is bhakta priya (dear to his devotees), and lastly,one who is plundering our repeated karma of birth and death.   he is natha (supreme lord), the lord who is sleeping on the serpent bed(naga shayana) ,jagnnivasa( the whole universe  is based on him). what is mukunda? in sanskrit not a word exist without meaning. it"s mukthim dadathi ethi mukunda ie  one who liberates us from the worries of birth /death.

Sunday, January 30, 2011

graha yajna and navaraha

i am giving the image of the  things that are used in the navagrahayajna. this can be useful for your record

Saturday, January 29, 2011

self consciousness---an overview

your own existence is the most convincing proof of consciousness. can you deny your own existence? no because even your denial is a proof  that you exist.isn't it? suppose somebody asks"hey are you there? your reply" no i am not .here  even the negative answer becomes clear evidence that you are very much there. you don't need to ascertain it.just reject it and it is proved. so the Atman(self) cannot even be doubted. hence Vedas say "atma vare shrotavya,mantavya. to  know about self one must listen to sastras and meditate upon.listening again depends upon certain amount of faith. if i want to learn maths, i go to a maths teacher, and he says 1plus one is two. first instance i have to have faith. if i question him and asks why not 1 plus 1 is four, it is definite that i cannot learn maths. so i should have  faith in my teacher also. then it works. hence the importance of good teacher who reveals the between lines of mantras. then having known the meanings  it is to be owned up.therefore mantavya.teacher pointing towards the moon tells me it is sun. here i doubt him. i give it a thought and say no it is moon only. now teacher is really happy since it is not the blind belief that i have.  now i can do a vichara. within the framework of satra.       that's how teacher builds up the confidence of his students. hence sastras definitely works  for those who believe, but it is not blind belief also. such is the power of sastras.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

importance of education--verse-11---chanakya neeti-chapter-2

those parents are enemies of their children,who do not teach them letters and educate them.an uneducated person is spurned in the assembly of the learned. he is total misfit as a crane in the flock of stately swans. chanakya says education is the correct way of cultivating wisdom in young mind. an educated person knows about the world around him better and can conduct his life in a clever manner.He can deal with others smoothly  and it's not easy for others to trick a man of education. in gatherings an uneducated person is quickly spotted by his silly talk. such persons curse their parents all their lives.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

eight types of wedding as per sastras---source--MADHUVE-MADHURA BANDHANA-

scriptures talk about  eight types of weddings.[1-]-Brahma---most purest form of wedding,wherein the bride was given by her father to a man of character,learning, whom he invites voluntarily and receives him respectfully, and in turn groom will  not take anything in return[.2-]-arsa- in this brides father recieves a pair of cattle from bridegroom for certain use as ordained in sastras for some sacrifices.however it was not a price for the bride.[ 3-]--daiva---the bride was given as a sacrificial dues to a priest.-[-4]- prajapathya---in this form of wedding, the rights of bride and groom were secured. the groom approached the bride's father, who agrees to the marriage after fixing certain conditions. [5-]--asura--the groom's family gave money to the bride's family in return for the bride.[-6--]-raksasa---here the bride was captured by force and her relatives were killed or injured  also  this wedding was also perfomed without rituals.  [7-]-gandharva---this is a wedding between man and a woman with mutual consent and witout religious rituals.[--8-]-paisacha---a wedding performed while bride was asleep,unconscious,drugged, or mentally unstable and without religious rituals. this was the lowest form of marriage.. according to manusmriti, the first four kinds are appropriate in society. and often gave most fruitful results. the children born from such weddings were blessed with good looks,character,health, and satisfaction.-

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

three basic texts----prasthana thrayee

prasthana means basic texts. three basic texts of vedanta are upanishads,bhagavat geeta and brahmasutra. together they are called prasthana thraya. of these,[1]-- upanishads constitutes shruti prasthana(reavealed texts)Sruti means that which is to be heard, that which is revealed.vedanta is the name given to them. because they are the end(aim as well as concluding parts) of the veda.(vedanta)[-2-]-the second text is bhagavat geeta.it is given a status which is almost equal to that of upanishads.it occupies a unique place of vedanta tradition.. in fact a popular verse compares the upanishads  as cows,bhagavatgeeta as milk, lord krisna as milkman,arjuna as calf  and the wise people to the partakers of milk. adi shankara describes bhagavatgeeta  as the essence of the teachings of entire veda.(samastha vedartha sarasangraha bhutam). as this text forms a part of mahabaratha, which is a smrithi(to be remembered), it is called smrithi prasthana.-[-3-]--brahmasutra is a nyaya(logical) prasthana, because it gives teachings of vedanta in a logical order.this work is also called vedanta sutra,bhikshu sutra, since who are most competent to study it are the sanyasins. it is also known as uttaramimamsa sutra, since it is an inquiry into final sections of vedas. the author of brahmasutra is vedavyasa, who codified the vedas.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

sleep benefits

 scientists have long debated precisely how sleep improves the brain performance, at the cellular level.one camp argues that sleep reduces the unimportant connections between neurons preventing brain overload. another camp maintains that sleep consolidates memories from previous day..sleep is  an active process that reduces the activity in the brain. it allows the brain to recover from past experiences.during sleep the brain would not have the ability to continuously  take in and store new information.it is this ability that  helps us to forget the unwanted experiences and storing the pleasant ones.sleep relaxes our nerves, that are over worked during awakening state. it relaxes  our mind and body in a natural way.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

pongal greetings

dear friends, i am wishing you all a happy pongal. let this new year bring you good luck and prosperities both mentally and physically.. i pray to lord to shower his choicest blessings to you.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

value of youthness-----artha sastra of chanakya-chapter-17-verse-18

athaha pashyasi kim vruddhe, patitham thava kim bhuvi. re re murkha na janasi gatham tharunya maukthikam.----------an extremely  old woman who walked  with bend  back appearing to be looking down for something, was asked by a youth sarcastically."ancient lady what for you look down? lost something or dropped something down there? the old woman replied."fool, don't you know that  the pearl of my youth years is lost?. well i look for the same. only old people know the value of youthfulness. it is the most precious  stage of  one's life. the full realization of it's value dawns only when it's gone.  the best time for gaining any knowledge is during  youthfulness, when the mind and body is strong. the old age brings in various discomforts which will hinder learning process and therefore make use of  the youthfulness in  a nice way.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

dialouges between Rahuguna and jadabaratha---from bagavatham

soldiers of Rahuguna got a peculiar yogi, who was sturdy  and they thought he was without any job. they wanted him to carry the yadu king on the palanquin as the fourth man. he did not object. his mind was always in the supreme reality. there were many twists and turns, and the king was very uncomfortable.he commented in a mocking way to baratha"you are so thin, and walks so fast,it seems u have not eaten for a long time." jadabaratha understood  the arrogance of power.. he replied you insulted a  avadhuta  like me who is not bothered about wealth or power. i am not taking your insult. since i am not the body or mind i  am alpervading atman. but i would like to  remove this differences of raja and bruthya bava. do you think that those who are carrying  you really love you. they love your wealth. do not be carried away by their external behavior. if they really love you , even in sleep and dream state they should respect you. you know well that in  sleep  and dream state there is no difference between a king and a beggar. because of kama and artha they obey you in prajnya avastha(awkening state). but this is only one state.  you intended that i am not walking fast. let it be known that  my body is not walking. my legs are walking the way they want. iam not really walking , since my atma is always not connected with the body or mind.  i am the all pervading atman.there is no raja brithya bava  in other two states of dream and sleep. only in awakening state you see the differences. therefore i am not  your servant.  i am a master unto myself.. the king was astonished from the truth given by jadabaratha. he came down from palanquin and fell down at yogi"s feet.supreme reality does not differentiate servant or emperor.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

pain of death

people in the age of kali keep their eyes closed to the truth. one has to do little vichara on the phenomenon called death.the word janma means birth as well as death. ja stands for janma or birth.ma stands for marana or death.so its clear that once you are born death is sure, whether i like it or not.also any created entity has death, since it is within the realms of time and space.if you analyze death its  a matter that cannot be avoided. let me give a few examples in our own life. i was a child when born, i became a youth when i passed eighteen.which means my childhood died. i became a grihastha when i was a youth. i enjoyed my  family life for quite some time and i became old , again a death for my youthfulness. grihasthaashrama ended when i was old. no way i can avoid death. it follows me like my shadow whether i like or not. can i avoid this? yes i can if i leave my attachment to my mind and body.why then  so much fear about death?pl think.if i have attachment i am not ready to loose. if i detach from my thinking processes i am ready to let go.if one can be a witness of both attachments and detachments, then my fear disappears. a detached attitude makes death entirely different experience..meaningless dreams,desires and attachments in the old age will make the last days of such people  miserable and make it worse than hell. that is the reason why one should be contemplative and meditative in life.it will give us a capacity to go deeper into various experiences of life and makes it easier. avoid painful death by transcending attachments and detachments. be a witness of both likes and dislikes like a yogi. one can then avoid painful death or  engage yourself in bhakthi or devotion towards your ishtadevata or favorite lord.cross the world of birth and death through jnayana or bhakthi. adishankara says  bhaja govidham, bhaja govindham, govindham baja mootamathe, samprapthe sannihithe kale, na hi na hi rakshati dukrut karane. pray unto govinda, you fool, grammar will not help you in your last days. only govinda can help you from this smsara of birth and death.

Friday, January 7, 2011

hinduism

hinduism or sanathana dharma is so old that it started even before Aryans settled on the banks of river indus. roughly at least 2500-1500 b.c. Aryans spread their wings from Georgia(Russia) to present India. Aryan means noble. they refered  to aranyakas or forest books they were also ritualists.they refered brahmana portions.these are ritual manuals. the upanishads are meditative,philosophycal texts. vedas were known as shrutis, that which  has to be heard, or listened,these were divinely revealed texts. smritis are our puranas like  ramayana, mahabhratha, bhagavatam, etc. bagavat geetha incidentally is a smrithi, since it appears in mahabaratha which has to be remembered. our law books were dharma shastras Aryans later on settled in madyadesh.(madyapradesh). its to be noted that gita press which started in 1923 to popularize Hinduism has printed 300 million copies of literature, but will not publish vedas on grounds that these divinely revealed texts may not be tampered with by human beings.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

caste system( manusmriti)

manu  the  great  king from whom people descended, incidently was  a sage too, formulated the caste system in earlier days with four main categories, differentiating people according to.their characteristics the shudras-those serving society, the vaishyas-those with skills and abilities that enabled them to be engaged in trade,commerce.and business. the kshatriyas-those who administrate and execute projects to protect the community at large, and the brahmins- those who are contemplative,philosophical,impart knowledge and perform religious rites.. its to be noted that a person could rise from lower group to a higher group and through criminal and antisocial behavior, descend groups.. manu said "neither birth nor sacraments study nor ancestry can decide whether a person is a brahmin or not. character and conduct alone can decide.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

wealth that cannot be stolen

na chora haryam, na cha rajaharyam, na brathru bhajyam, na cha bharakari. vyaye kruthe  vardhatha,eva nithyam, vidhya dhanam sarva dana pradhanam.   wealth exists in the  form of knowledge . this wealth cannot be stolen by a thief. cannot be divided amongst brothers, and cannot become  burdensome the more one uses this wealth(teaches it) the more it multiplies. therefore wealth in the form of knowledge, is the greatest of all riches.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

coming of gopis for rasa lila-canto-65-narayaneeyam

the gopis of vraja looked upon krishna, not as parabrahman, but as their paramour, and yet they attained so soon to that state of liberation, which is the goal of the pramahamsas,through absorption of the mind in the lord. krishna,the embodiment of sat-chit-aananda,through any feeling or attitude(be it sex-love,anger,fear,friendliness, affection,servitude,or adoration) the seven types of bhakthi .here the relationship with paramour is explained.it embodies the  strongest form of affection overlooking all ethical norms in which considerations  of prestige,returns,security and even self-preservation is given up by a woman who goes away with her lover out of genuine and overpowering love,love of god and surrender under unto him should attain to this kind of uninhibited intense love and renunciation of self centeredness giving away everything to him and asking for nothing from him. and that's  the bhakthi of vraja gopikas