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

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.

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.

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.-

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.

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.

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.