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The Essence of Atharvaveda The fourth veda is the Atharvaveda. The meaning of the word Atharveda (A+tharva) is a devoid of movement or concentration. The word Tharva means fickleness or movement and accordingly the word "Atharva" means that which is unwavering, concentrated or unchanging. That is why it is said THARVA GATI KARMA NA THARVA ETI ATHARVA | The philosophy of Yoga speaks that- YOGASH CHITTA VRITTI NIRODHAHA | which means controlling the different impulses of the mind and senses in yoga. The Gita re-iterates that when the mind is free from impulses and flaws, the mind becomes stable and the person becomes neutral when the impulses of the mind and the other senses are in control, then only the mind is freed from instability and purterbances. The word "Atharva" therefore refers to neutrality of personality. The Atharvaveda speaks more about Yoga, the human physiology, different ailments, social structure, spirituality, appreciation of natural beauty, national religion etc. This knowledge is practical and is worth bringing in use. The Atharvaveda is a fusion of prose and poetry together. A number of facts related to Ayurveda are seen here, that is why Ayurveda is considered to be the Upaveda (Sub-Veda) of this Veda. The Brahmanas come next after Vedas. There are 3 categories of Brahmanas texts i.e. Brahmana, Aranyaka and Upanishads. The one and only Brahmana text of Atharvaveda is Gopinath, which is famous. There are 2 parts (1) Purvardha {first half} (2) Uttarardha {second half}. The Purvardha comprises of a number of lectures while the Uttarardha comprises of critical appreciation of rituals, etc. We come across no Aranyaka text of the Atharvaveda but there are a number of Upanishads. The prominent ones are Mundak, Mandukya, Prashna and Mrusinghapini. The Muktikopanishad speak and mentions 93 Upanishads of Atharvaveda. Chapter 1: (1) VACHASPATIRNI YACHCHUTAI -------------(1/3, Atharvaveda) May the scholar become disciplined. The people who live disciplined lives accomplish all their duties, without obstacles and easily. By doing so one can achieve a lot of success scholars should guide all to lead disciplined lives. (2) SAM SHRUTENA GAMEMAHIMA SHRUTENA VI RADHISHI | -------------(1/4, Atharvaveda) May all become knowledgeable and may never detest from knowledge. One can attain all the knowledge from a Guru. That Guru who teaches and imparts knowledge properly to his disciple is a good guru. He who acquires theoretical and practical knowledge and utilizes it in day to day life, in the real sense becomes knowledgeable. Knowledge helps us materially and spiritually. Therefore we should try to acquire as much knowledge as possible and should abstain from wrong or false knowledge. By doing so we can break away from the chains of ignorance and misery. (3) APSVANTARMRITMAPSU BHESHAJAM | -------------(4/4 Atharvaveda) Water is,the elixir of life, water has medicinal value. Water is the primary necessity of the human body. Water is alike the elixir of life because of which the body is purified and we become energetic. Water also possesses medicinal value. It frees the body from different doshas (ailments) and is known as Bheshagya. It gives us good health, happiness and Contentment. (4) SHAM MEM CHATURBHYA ANGEBHYAHA SHAMASTU TANVE MAM -------------(12/4 Atharvaveda) May my four organs be free from ailments. May my entire body be healthy and strong. The body should be sound and healthy. A healthy body consists of a healthy mind. If the body is unhealthy then it cannot enjoy any happiness. Therefore one should strive to maintain good health by taking balanced diet, exercise and by reading good literature. (5) ADARASRID BHAVATU | -------------(20/1, Atharvaveda) May there be no one to create a rift between us. The cause of war is mental or satisfaction of ones ego. Because of the effort to dominate over each other, it leads to rifts and animosity. Where there is discord, that place shall always be devoid of stability and peace. But where there is concord, even the enemy will fear attacking such a place. Unity and oneness leads to success and prosperity, concordance does not entertain bad actions, hostility and failure at any cost. (6) BRAHMANASPATE ABHI RASHTRAYA VARDHYA | -------------(29/1, Atharvaveda) O Scholar! Work for the benefit of the nation To keep the nation to grow and succeed it is imperative that we become strong, healthy capable and mentally, morally strong. When social and other forces shall be enhanced, they shall unequivocally result in national prosperity. People should engage only in those actions, which are in the nations favour and facilitate development and progress. Every person should dedicate himself for the betterment and advancement of the country. (7) YA ASHANAMASHAPALASHCHATVARA STHAN DEVAH | TE NO NIRRITYAHA PASHEBHYO MUCHATANHASO ANHASAHA | -------------(31/3, Atharvaveda) O God! You are the protector of the four directions. Free us from sin, failure and misery. Alike the four directions North, South, East and West the body also possess four openings or entrances. The East entrance (Mouth), West entrance (Rectum), North entrance (Head), South entrance (Penis). It is important that the body performs all its functions properly and perfectly. The "Life" enters the body via the north entrance and also is liberated from the bonds of the body because of concerted effort. The southern entrance is the penis, which consists of semen. One who keeps this balanced and restrained becomes noble but he who is devoid of restraint ends up in misery. The Eastern and the Western entrances are related to intake of food and excretion of waste matter respectively. Human body should try to abstain from the demerits of the personality. (8) VACHA VADMI MADHUMADA BHUYASAM MADHU SANDRISHAMA | -------------(34/3, Atharvaveda) I speak sweetly and softly so that I emerge as an epitome of sweetness. This sukta of Atharvaveda speak of MadhuVidya or the knowledge of sweetness. According to this we should perceive the world alike nectar which is sweet and pleasant. In this way everyone should be devoid of hatred, harshness and filth. We should strain our feelings incessantly by constantly contemplating upon oneself. Every person should become amicable so that he befriends one and all. The sweetness and pleasantness of personality should be evident in all our actions and thoughts. In this way we shall be successful in establishing global peace and happiness and help in ushering the feeling of brotherhood. Chapter 2: (9) KSHTRENAGNE SWENA SAM RABHASVA MITRENAGNE MITRADHA YATASVA | SAJATANAM MADHYAMESHTHA RAJAMAGNE VIHAVYO DIDIHEEHA | -------------(2/4,Atharvaveda) O Agni! May you become enthusiastic on basis of your own capabilities, may I act like a friend with the friends, may I hold a respectable position in my community, may I be honored by scholars and become enlightened. We derive inspiration from here to become successful on basis of assuidity and capabilities. We should always be ready to work diligently. By maintaining friendship with friends, it helps us to improve upon our capabilities. We should assume that aptitude and ability so that we are respected in our community and honored in the company of scholars. The person who does so is blessed with success and prosperity. (10) VISHWA HYAGNE DURITA TAR | -------------(6/5, Atharvaveda) O! Agni! Surmount all the evils and sins. We should abstain from violence, debauchary, evil deeds, sensual attachment, hatred, anger and ego. We should strive to become pure and chaste. By renouncing these evils and sins, one becomes prosperous and successful. (11) SHAPTARAMETU SHADATHO YAHA SUHARTA TENA NAHA SAHA | -------------(7/5, Atharvaveda) May the curse go back to the person who curses. May we befriend them who are kind and polite. If the person, who is cursed, is mentally strong then the curse shall backfire and recoil and go back to the person who has given the curse. The person who curses shall definitely suffer if the curse backfires. Those whose minds are stable, pure and chaste are mentally and morally strong. Therefore one should only befriend those people who are kind-hearted, polite and engaged in good actions. (12) YASHCHAKAR SA NISHKARAT | -------------(9/5,Atharvaveda) He who constantly engages in action attains perfection. Those people who work assiduously with interest, become conversant and expert in their respective fields. He who engages in practice and actions becomes noble and utilizes this discipline in all spheres of life. (13) PASHE SA BADDHO DURITE NI YUJYATAMA YO ASMAKAM MANA IDAM HINASTI | -------------(12/2, Atharvaveda). All that, which pollutes the mind, falls prey to evil and sin.All this should be kept in total control. Bad thought pollute our minds that's why need to discipline our mind. The sinner should be punished severely, considering the gravity of the crime committed. (14) AYA YAMASYA SADADAMAGNIDUTO ARANKRUTAHA | -------------(12/7,Atharvaveda) Become messenger of Agni, become powerful and then embrace death. The person who is fearless and embraces death fearlessly is great and noble. People fear death because of ignorance. When the flame of knowledge is enkindled in the mind the fear of death ceases to exist. He, who controls his senses, gains control all over the vital forces of life. He who sacrifices himself in the fire of knowledge does not have the slightest of trepidation and fear. Those who desire material and sensual pleasure and approach death with fear they fall prey to the wrath of death. Therefore one sees that there is a differences in the death of the ignorant and the knowledgeable. (15) PARIDAMVASO ADHITHAHA SWASTAYE ABHURG RISHTINAMABHI SHASTIPA U | SHATAM CHA JEEVA SHARADAHA PURUCHI KAYASCHA ROSHMUPASAMVYAYASVA | -------------(13/3, Atharvaveda) Wear this attire for your welfare, you are the one who protects human from destruction. In this way live for a hundred years and become healthy (nourished) and wealthy. Weave the cloth of life with the help of good health and wealth. By wearing such attire you shall be blessed with a long life and save all from destruction. The people who wear the cloth that is intricately woven with threads of comfort, health and wealth are devoid of destruction, illness and misery. Such people are always blessed with a long life and a healthy body. (16) YATHABHUTAM CHA BHAVYAM CHA NA VIBHITO NA RISHYATAHA AEVA MEM PRANA MA VIBHEHE | -------------(15/6, Atharvaveda) The past and present are fearless that is why they are indestructible. Alike them O Life! Don't fear anything. All human fear, the present not the past and the future. The past exhibits everything, which is truthful. People seldom fear the past and the things probable and improbable i.e. the future. He, who takes lessons from his past and improves on himself, does not fear the future. Truth is eternally vicious, that is why humans should fearlessly, accomplish all the duties properly. Fearlessness leads to immorality. (17) YATHA JEEVA ADITERUPASTHE PRANA APANABHYAM GUPITAHA SHATAM HIMAHA | -------------(28/4,Atharvaveda

The Essence of SamVeda It is said in the Chandogya Upanishad that YA RIK TATSAMA || ------------------------ (1/3/4) A compilation of richas(shlokas ) is known as Sama. RICHI ADHYOODHA SAMA ------------------------ (1/6/1) Sama is dependent on the Richas. VACHAHA RIERASAHA RICHAHA SAMARASAHA | SAMNA UDVITHO RASAHA || The beauty of speech lies in the Richas, The beauty of richas lie in the sama and the beauty of the sama lies in the style of pronunciation and singing. Therefore it is now clear that the knowledge of Sama, itself is Samaveda. The singing of the sama can make the mind stable and can give peace to the vagrant mind. The singing of the Sama begins initially on the high pitch and gradually the pitch is lowered. These sound waves of the sama are capable of giving peace to the mind. Yogeshwar SriKrishna has stated the importance of Samaveda in the following manner-VEDANAMA SAMAVEDO ASMI meaning " I am samaveda myself, amongst the Vedas."(GEETA 10/22) There are 2 parts of the Samaveda (i) Purvarchik (2) Uttararchik In between both of them is 'Mahanamnayarchik which comprises of 10 incantations There are 4 parts of Purvarchika _ Aagneya, Aendra,Paavmaan and Aasanya. The number of mantras in each skanda (Part ) are as follows - NAME NO.OF MANTRAS AAGNEYA 114 AENDRA 352 PAAVMAAN 119 AARANYA 55 MAHANAMNYARCHIK 10 TOTAL 650 There are 21 chapters in the Uttararchik which contain 1225 mantras. Cumulatively, there are 1875 mantras in the Samaveda. On the basis of the style of singing and pronunciation there were once upon a time a thousand branches, but gradually became extinct. Now also we do not come across many that recite the Samagana. Many of them are found in Southern India, especially Mysore. The 3 branches now known as Ranayani,Kauthumi and Jaiminiya. Many people believe that besides a few mantras, most of the Samaveda mantras are extracted from the Rigveda . It is important to know that the method of pronunciation of Samaveda and Rigveda is evidently different and in this language one alphabet can change the meaning and context of mantra altogether. After the Vedas come the Brahmanas. Amongst the Samvedic Brahmana texts, Tandava and samavidhana are more famous. Because the Tandava Brahmana consists of 25 chapters it is known as Panchvisha Brahmana. There are many a miraculous stories in this Brahmana, therefore it is also referred to as Adhbhut Brahmana. The other Brahmanas of Samaveda are Arsheya, Vansha and Samhitopnishad Brahmana etc. The Aranyaka texts consist of extracts from upanishads. The Aranyaka of Samveda comes under the Samasamhita. The Samvedi Brahmans sing the metrical mantras, therefore the name of this Aranyaka text is Chandogya Upanishad. Amongst the Samvedic upanishads, the Chandogya and Kenopinshad are the most famous. The scholars state that Brahmana , Aranyaka and upanishads represent 3 states of life,Grihastha( householders),Vanprastha(going to the forest) and Sanyasa(Total renunciation) All the mantras of the Samaveda are sung. Those mantras only are recited to invoke the Gods for whom the religious sacrifice is being offered to. The recitation of the Samaveda includes 7 notes. One can therefore aptly find the roots of music embedded here. With respect to the evolution and development of Indian music, the samveda holds special significance. The sama-gana is capable of giving the listener, divine peace. PART ONE : PURVARCHIK "AAGNEYA" (1) AGNIRVRITRANI JANGHANAD | ------------------------(4, Samveda) Agni(fire) destroys the enemies (vritras). Agni destroys darkness by creating light. We have five fundamental enemies - pleasure instincts, anger, greed, attachment and ego. The fire of knowledge is capable of destroying these enemies. Ignorance (darkness) can be destroyed by knowledge of self. (2) AGNE ! NAHA DRISHE DEVAHA HI ASI | ------------------------(10, SAMAVEDA) Agni is the God,which leads and guides us. Agni destroys darkness and makes it easier for us to tread on the path towards knowledge. Therefore Agni creates light and leads us towards our goal. (3) NAHA RAYIM VANSATE | ------------------------(22, SAMVEDA) Agni blesses us with wealth. Agni gives us heat and energy so that we can fulfill all our duties. In return it yields good results i.e. wealth. Therefore it is a truth that Agni is the giver of wealth. (4) HEY AGNEY ! MRID, MAHAN ASI I ------------------------(23, SAMAVEDA) O Agni, you are great and are giver of happiness. Agni is useful to us in many a ways. As a result we get happiness. In this way Agni is giver of happiness and therefore is considered noble. (5) AGNEY ! VISHPATIHI RAKSHASAHA TAPANAHA | ------------------------(39, Samaveda) Agni is the protector of the people, is the destroyer of demons. Agni is useful in constructive activities. Agni is not only the protector but is also the destroyer. . The righteous usage of Agni can lead to good fruits but the abuse of Agni shall lead to sheer destruction and ruin. (6) HEY AGNEY| SAVITA DEVAHA NA URDHVAHA VAJASYA SANITA | ------------------------(57 Samaveda) O Agni ! May you become alike the sun and bless us with food grains. O Agni ! Nourish us and help us in all our constructive activities. Protect us and nourish us by creating the necessary food grains. (7) AGNIHI SUVIRAYASYA SAUBHAGASYA ISHE | ------------------------(60, SAMAVEDA) Agni is the master of noble valiance and fortune Agni is the one, which bestows all material happiness, destroys all darkness and is the ultimate source of energy. It is used in human welfare and allied constructive activities. It increases courage and bestows wealth, health and comfort. (8) HAVISHA A JUHOT, MARJAYADHWAM | ------------------------(63, Samveda) Perform the Religious sacrifice with the right means, may it purify everything. During the yagya, ghee, aromatic herbs, shrubs are offered to the fire. As a result the entire atmosphere becomes clean and pollution free. Fire can help in making the atmosphere devoid of pollution. Therefore we should use the right things to purify the atmosphere, during the yagya. AENDRA KANDA (9) BRAHMADWISHAHA AVAJAHI | ------(194 SAMAVEDA) Destroy hatred by knowledge. Light is the symbol of knowledge. When a person is filled with enmity and animosity he lacks judgement and fails to do good to others. With the emergence of knowledge all the hatred ceases and the person engages incessantly in good deeds. (10) UGRAM VACHAHA APAVADHIHI || ------(353, SAMAVEDA) Do not speak harsh words. We should always be soft spoken because people always like people who are soft spoken. No body ever likes a person who speaks harsh words and hurts other. Our words should exhibit our good thoughts. (11) AHAHA AHAHA SHUNDHYUHU PARIPADAM | ------(396, Samveda) Cleanliness can keep one away from ailments and diseases. The people who keep themselves and their surroundings clean seldom fall sick. We should never forget cleanliness is next to Godliness. For proper growth and development, a clean mind and body are of utmost importance (12) AVRATAHA NAHA HINOTI | ------(441,Samaveda) A person who does not fulfill the vows cannot accomplish anything. The person who does not have a firm conviction to accomplish the resolution is definitely a failure. A person who does not strive with mind, heart and body does not ever achieve anything. That is why one should become a karma yogi and work constantly although he may or may not get the benefits. Eventually, hard work undoubtedly gets paid off. PAAVMANA KANDA (13) VICHARSHANIHI VISHWAHA MRUDAHA ABHYAKRAMIT | ------(488,Samaveda) The scholar is successful in vanquishing all his enemies. The scholar has a solution for every problem and crisis, may it be disease or an external enemy. Because he is endowed with wit and grit he surmounts all his problems successfully. He controls the fickleness of the mind by reciting mantras and eventually stabilizes the mind. He gives the right advice at the right time to the right people. In this way we should all strive to acquire as much knowledge possible because on attainment of total knowledge we shall be able to find a solution to all our problems. (14) SUKRITYA MAHANA ABHYAVARDHAYAHA | ------(507 ,SAMAVEDA) You become noble because of your good deeds. By engaging in good deeds he or she becomes famous and gets honour and respect in society. If the good deeds result in the welfare of society then such a person is honoured and is respected, undoubtedly. (15) VICHARSHANIHI HITAHA SA CHATETI | ------(508 ,SAMAVEDA) A scholar becomes a benefactor and gives knowledge. When a scholar is donating knowledge the ultimate aim of his knowledge is welfare of one and all. Because of knowledge, the darkness of ignorance ceases and we tread on the path of progress. We should imbibe all the knowledge and the merits from the scholars and should engage in activities that result in the welfare one and all. (16) RATNADHAHA VARYANI DAYATE | ------(528, Samaveda) A person who wears gems or precious stones becomes wealthy. People who wear precious stones and gems acquire a lot of wealth. During times of crisis, wealth is of utmost importance., Precious stones and gems are worn to improve ones health. We should, therefore always save for contingencies, otherwise we shall have to beg from others. (17) MA TE RASASYA MATSAT DWAYAWINAHA | ------(561, Samaveda) Those people do not dwell in happiness whose deeds and thoughts are not similar. A person who is a hypocrite never lives in happiness. Therefore we should be beware of hypocrisy and try to bridge the gap between thoughts and action i.e. we should perform deeds according to our thoughts. (18) ATAPTATTURNA TADAMO ASHNUTE | ------(565, Samaveda) No one can over achieve anything without perseverance. When a human being engages in action and hard work until he does not achieve his goal, he undergoes metamorphosis and positive change. In this manner he makes himself all the more disciplined, patient and diligent. As a result of his diligence he gets good benefits such as total peace, happiness and Contention. ARANYAKA KANDA (19) YAHA MAM DADATI SA VATA | The giver of food protects one and all. Donation of food leads to protection of others. That is why it is referred to as the noblest form of donation. By donating food one is blessed with limitless virtues. Similarly scholars who donate and impart knowledge, do so for the welfare of all. By knowledge, one become judicious and engages in earning a livelihood for him. Donation of knowledge enhances knowledge and this is a noble form of donation.. (20) ANNAM ADANTAM AHAM ANNAM ADMI | ------(594,Samaveda) He who does not donate food, I (God) destroy his food. We should never store food more than what is required. If we do so the gods consider us selfish and destroy all the food. That is why we should always donate food whenever possible. Similarly if a scholar does not impart education and knowledge, the knowledge automatically stagnates and ceases. Therefore the scholars should donate knowledge time to time. By doing so their ego ceases to exist. (21) MAYAVINO MAMIRE ASYA MAYAYA | ------(596,Samaveda) By imbibing knowledge the greatest of the ignorant can become noble and knowledgeable. By acquiring knowledge the darkness of ignorance is destroyed. As a result the wicked also become compassionate renounce their wickedness, their attachment and become noble. The flame of knowledge leads a person to the path of progress. (22) AMRITAYA APYAYAMANAHA DIVI UTTAMANI SHRAVANSI DHISHWA | ------(603,Samaveda) Attain success and tread on the path of progress to attain liberation. Humans are incessantly engaged in work so that they can liberate themselves from the bondages of material life. All the spiritual knowledge given by the great scholars help us in our endeavors to liberate ourselves. We tread on the path of progress by utilizing the means to attain liberation. This as a result gives us happiness and joy.

The Essence of Yajurveda Humans are inspired to translate good thoughts into actions. Yajurveda inspire humans to walk on the path of Karma (deeds) . That is why it is also referred to as Karma-Veda. The essence of the Yajurveda lies in those mantras (incantations) that inspire people to initiate action. The first incantation of Yajurveda commands us to perform action DEVO VAHA SAVITA PRAPRAYATU SHRESHTAMAYA KARMANE | Meaning : O Creator of the universe ! inspire us to perform great deeds. Similarly the second mantra of the fortyth chapter of the Yajurveda commands us to perform deeds - KURVANNEVEHA KARMANI JIJIVISHECHCHAT SAMAHA| Meaning : Desire to live for a 100 years performing ones deeds. Alike other Vedas there are many branches of Yajurveda . But 2 branches namely Krishna and Shukla Yajurveda have gained relatively more prominence. There is a beautiful story associated with this Veda. Rishi Yagyavalkya acquired all knowledge related to Yajurveda from his uncle Vaishampayan. Because of some reason the Guru was angry on his student and told him to return to him the knowledge. The student vomited and returned to him all the knowledge acquired and on the orders of the Guru, the other disciples ate all the knowledge assuming the form of fowls. After this Yajurveda was named as Taitareya Samhita. After this Yagyavalkya worshipped Lord Sun ardently and in return he got the Yajurveda, named Shukla Yajurveda. Because of the impurity of the mind the Mantras (Yajus) became black and thereafter this Yajurveda was named as Krishna Yajurveda. Alike Rigveda, Shukla Yajurveda is composed in a mantra and is poetic. The words like Yoju or Yajuhu have from - " Yaja deva Puja Sangatikarna daneshu" The Yajurveda includes mantras related to, worship of god, vedic rituals related to worship and religious sacrifices. The Yajurveda is classified into 40 parts /chapters consisting of 1975 mantras The Brahmana textcome next to Vedas. The ultimate aim of these text was to throw light on the methods of conducting Yagya and its related ritual. The Brahmana texts are divided into 3 actions - (1)Brahmana (2) Aranyaka (3) Upanishads The Shatpath Brahmana of the Shukla Yajurveda is very famous. It is divided into a 100 chapters and these depict the vedic religious scenario very authentically. The Aranyaka texts comprise of many a parts extracted from the Upanishads. The 14th "chapter of Shatpath Brahmana is referred to as Aranyaka . The 40th Chapter of the Shukla Yajurveda is referred to as 'Ishavasyopnishada'. The Brihadavanyaka upanished is the Upanishad of Shukla Yajurveda, while Kathopnishad , Taitariya, Shwetashweta Upanishad, Maitrayani. Upanishad and Kaivalyopnishad are th upanishads of Krishna Yajurveda. 1. (1) DEVOM VAHA SAVITA PRARPAYATU SHRESHTAMAYA KARMANA -------------( 1/1 Yajurveda) O Lord, the creator of all, inspire us to perform good deeds. Here we are inspired to indulge in good actions because then only is progress possible. Every person should strive to do such type of deeds so that they are respected and honored for the same. By doing one can attain physical development, mental development, personal development and enhance communal development. One should eat wholesome food and should abstain from the wrong path. (2) MA HVARMA TE YAGYAPATIRHVARSHEETA | -------------(1/2,a, Yajurveda) Do not become wicked ,may your Yagya Pati (One who performed the religious sacrifice) also not become wicked. It is important to be good and humble to tread on the path of good action. A wicked person is unworthy of every thing he does. Here it is prayed at neither the person who performs the yagya and nor the means used should be wicked and evil respectively. Good work done with bad intentions is always a failure. That is why one should refrain from manipulative tendencies. In the same way the leader should abstain from such evil tendencies because this leads to harm more than good. One and all should therefore practice simple and good living . They should never seek recourse to manipulative tendencies. (3) SA VISHWAYUHU SA VISWAKARMA SA VISHWA DHAYAHA || -------------(1/4 Yajurveda) The 3 Kamdhenus' (things that fulfil all wishes desired) are the life span , the energy to do action and the energy to sustain everything. Every person who is blessed with long life performs all his duties meticulously and attains all the attainments (Purushastha) In this way he sustains throughout life. Only by striving with perseverance and focus can one accomplish all his desired goals. With these 3 Kamdhenus humans can progress in all ways. One should not forget that without the energy to sustain no one can perform action and without both these factors one cannot have a long life. One should , therefore utilise these energy's constantly and according to situations. (4) EDAMAHAMNRUTAT SATYAMUDAIMI | I am renouncing untruth and embracing truth. One should accept truth, and should sacrifice their life to protect truth. This is known as the Satyapal vrata. O Lord ! I take an oath that I shall always protect truth and may I be successful in observing and accomplishing this vow. Unless we do not renounce our greed we cannot protect truth. Untruth inhibits self-development and physical, mental and spiritual growth. Therefore we should all adhere by truth. (5) MA BHERMA SAMVIKTHA -------------(1/23 Yajurveda) One should not deter, because of fear from the path of ones duties. One should perform all his duties without fear. The doors of progress are always closed for a person who fears. Only a fearless person can initiate self development and can also help in social and political progress. Therefore one should fearlessly perform all his duties. 2. (6) SAM JYOTISHA JYOTIHI | -------------(2/9, Yajurveda) May all knowledge come together and become radiant. A teacher gives knowledge to his student and enlightens him. Thereafter students give knowledge to someone else. In this way, one enlightens the other and knowledge increases . Increasing knowledge by knowledge is know as the Jnana Yagya. The ultimate aim of a Yagya is to increase the glory of knowledge. (7) VEDO ASI YENA TVAM DEV VEDA DEVEBHYO VEDO BHAVASTENA MAHYAM VEDOHO BHOYAHA | -------------(2/21 , Yajurveda) The Vedas consists of all knowledge . Just in the way you became the giver of knowledge for the Gods in the same way you bless me with knowledge. Vedas are an ocean of knowledge. The Gods acquired knowledge through the Vedas and even Human got knowledge from the same source. It is in the best interest of human to study the Vedas to acquire total knowledge. (8) DEVA GATUVIDO GATUM VITVA GATUMIT | -------------(2/21,8/21 Yajurveda) O Gods ! know the path of truth and tread on the path of truth. Only by acquiring knowledge from the Vedas can one know the path of truth and righteousness, on acquiring knowledge human should tread on the path of truth, so that can do the good of one and all . Truth is unconcealable, that is why we should tread on the righteous path. (9) ASTHURI NAO GARHAPATYANI SANTU SHATAM HIMAHA | -------------(2/27 Yajurveda) May we both perform the duties of the family for a 100 years. Family life can, only then be peaceful and happy if both the husband and wife performs their respective duties consistently for a 100 years without obstacles . A cart having only one buffalo is known as Sthuri and a cart pulled by 2 buffaloes is known as Asthuri, because 2 (husband - wife) pull them. It thus, becomes clear that one can perform their duties better when they are assisted by each other. (10) TANUPA AGNE ASI TANVAM ME PAHYAYYURDA AGNE AYAYU ME DEHI VARCHODA AGNE ASI VARCHO MEM DEHI | -------------(3/17 Yajurveda) O Agni ! You are the protector of the body, so protect my body. You are the giver of long life, so give us long life. You are the giver of radiance, so bless us with radiance. It is said that fire resides in the body, until the fire is there in the body it enkindles the life, when this fire ceases the body does not exist. When the, health is sound one shall have along life . It is because of fire that one grows with radiance. So one should maintain purity of the body , by regularly exercising and purify the mind by worship and self study. As results of this one is blessed with long life and becomes radiant. Therefore we should do all those things that protect the body, life and radiance. (11) AKRAN KARMA KARMA KRITAHA SAHA VACHA MAYOBHUVA I -------------(3/47, Yajurveda) The person who is always working and active is always soft spoken all the time. People who are striving for the attainments always speak softly and sweetly. When we speak in a good way it gives happiness to one and all and they are encouraged to do good to others. When we speak with hatred and anger it leads to unhappiness pain and misery. So one should always be soft spoken and all karma yogis should tread on the path of righteousness so that one can do good to one and all. (12) NA AETU MANAHA PUNAHA KRATVE DAKSHAYA JEEVAME JYOK CHA SURYADRISHE -------------(3,54 Yajurveda) May our mind, actions and strength be inspired all the time to seek the blessings of the sun for a long time. Humans should always tread on the righteous path so that one can enhance one's strength, can remain healthy and can constantly for a longer duration. One should always seek blessings of the sun so that our vision remains unimpaired for long time. One should also do so that we may get inspired incessantly, just to do good work. One can after all attain perfection only after doing the same work repetitively. Therefore to enhance ones capabilities you should always seek the blessings of the sun god. (13) TRYAMBAKAM YAJAMAHE SUGANDHIM PUSHTIVARDHANAM URVARUKAMIVA BANDHANAN MRITYOR MUKSHEEYA MA MRITAT -------------(3/60 Yajurveda) We pray to lord Mahadev who is fragrant, has 3 eyes and is the nourisher, may he liberate us from death. May our attachments cease alike that of Urvaaru (a specie of cucumber) which ripens and falls of the tree i.e liberates itself from the material objects. The person who recites this incantation regularly is freed from ailments, fear, and death. Tryimbak means the one with 3 eyes i.e Adhyatma, Adhiboot and Adhidaivik. We should meticulously pray to lord Shiva so that all our attachments cease alike the fruit of urvaru and we are liberated from this vicious cycle of life and death. (14) PARMA AGNE DUSHCHARITA DAKSHASVA BHA SUCHARITE BHAJA -------------(4/28, Yajurveda) O Agni! Liberate us from the wrong doings and actions and inspire us to do good actions. Please discourage us from doing wrong and encourage us to do good, O Agni! The result of good deeds are always good but the results of bad deeds are very bad. That is why help us to yearn and strive for the good of all so that it may yield good results. (15) PRATI PANTHAMPADMAHI SWASTISAMANEHASAM -------------(4/29, Yajurveda) One should always tread of that path which gives us happiness ad where there is no fear of destruction and unhappiness. We should always walk on that path, which is devoid of obstacles and hurdles. On which we can accomplish our duties properly and easily, and on which we progress. We seldom go and do those things which we are not knowledge about and even if we have to do it, we take the opinion of experts in the respected fields, so that we may accomplish our duty perfectly, and punctually. Therefore we should follow that path, that leads to happiness and where there is no fear of going astray. (16) BHAVATAM NAHA SAMNASO SACHET SAVARE PASO MA YAGYAM HIMSISHTAM MA YAGYAPATIM JATVEDASO SHIVO DHAVATMADYA NAHA -------------(5/3 Yajurveda) O Agni! Make our mind stable, egalitarian an may you destroy the illusion. Do not destroy the Yagya and may you not destroy the Yagyapati. We pray to Agni so that he may give us similarity in thought, there is no doubt and illusion. May he not destroy the religious sacrifice offered and also the performer of the religious sacrifice. (17) YUNJATE MANA UTA YUNJATE DHIYO VIPRA VIPRASYA BRIHATO VIDASHCHITAHA -------------(5/14, Yajurveda) The scholars make their mind stable and engage in all religious activities with mind/intellect and Yoga by following the great soul who have contemplated acquired a lot of knowledge and have become important. The commoners can only then become knowledge after they follow the saying and teachings of the scholars. After doing so, only can they engage in good actions and yoga (path) by applying intellect.

First Mandala (1) MAHO ARNAHA SARASWATI PRA CHETAYATI KETUNA | DHIYO VISHWA VI RAJATI || -------------(3/12, Rigveda) Only education can help us to understand the knowledge of the universe, which is alike, an ocean. It enlightens everyone's minds. It is because of education that one can absorb knowledge. The best method to imbibe maximum knowledge is reading and self study and as a result of knowledge, the mind becomes enlightened. We should regularly study books having a lot of knowledge because it is through study only that the mind is filled with good thoughts, that inspire us to seek good company which is equally beneficial in acquiring knowledge. This is the sure way for growth of the mind and also to acquire eternal happiness and peace. (2) ASMANTSU TATRA CHODYENDRA RAYE RABHSTHAVAHA TU VIDYUMNA YASHSTHAVAHA || ---------------(9/6Rigveda) O radiant! Inspire the diligent and the successful only to yearn for wealth. Those who are industrious and successful only, earn wealth. Those who try, definitely acquire wealth. One who is having, their aims fixed are the ones who are prosperous, wealthy and successful. They should realise that efforts never go in vain. (3) ELA SARASWATI MAHI TISRO DEVIRMAYO BHUVAHA BARHIHI SEEDANTVA STRIDHAHA || -------------(13/9, Rigveda) The 3 goddesses Earth, Saraswati and Vani are the givers of happiness who never become less. They are seated on their seats. One should regularly worship your motherland, the basic culture and the mother tongue because they are givers of happiness. That person who has a humanistic approach towards his land, civilization and Vani realises the greatness and he acquires all the happiness. He should indulge in those types of deeds that make the motherland, the culture and language proud. (4) GARHAPATYEN SANTYA RITUNA YAGYANIRASI || ---------(15/12, Rigveda) The householders who can do good work only if he remains like seasons. If a person (householder) moulds himself alike a season and indulges in the Karma of householder then only shall he acquire happiness. One should understand the meaning of seasons and should love his family. As a result he shall benefit monetarily and materially. A householder who practices restraint in taking care of his family only shall acquire family happiness and achieve higher social status. (5) DEVAN DEVYATE YAGYA ---------(15/12, Rigveda) A person who desires godliness should worship gods. A person who desires godliness should respect scholars. By doing so they can attain some knowledge and can be inspired to do good Karma. By attaining godliness one shall be blessed with happiness and growth. (6) YUVAKU HI SHACHINAM, YUVAKU SUMATINAM BHUYAM VAJADANNAMA || (14/4, Rigveda) May all our energies become one and may all the good thoughts come together and may we become the greatest amongst the mighty. Scholars who are intelligent, valiant who are brave, and businessman who donate food, if come together and have no difference of opinion then the nation shall grow. The intelligent on the basis of their knowledge shall become mighty and great as a result of the fusion of food and energy. (7) YASMADRUTE NA SIDDHYATI YAGYO VIPASHRIT SHRANA SA DHINAM YOGAMINVATI || (18/7, Rigveda) May that divine knowledgeable person inspire us without whose inspiration the knowledgeable does not attain complete knowledge. Without the blessings of the knowledgeable even the knowledgeable shall cease to attain complete knowledge. It is knowledge only that enlightens our mind. It is well known that, the president of the league of scholars himself is very knowledgeable and it is this authenticity which proves that the knowledgeable has attained total knowledge. Only scholars can decide whether the knowledgeable has imbibed complete knowledge or no. (8) DATA RADHANSI SHUMBHATI | ---------(22/8, Rigveda) The sun, the giver of all Siddhis (powers) is rising. The rising sun is the giver of Energy, heat and is the giver of all powers. In the same way you also alike the rising sun (Sun God) give all equal knowledge and inspiration by which we benefit. Alike the energy and heat of the sun which beneficial, you also can realise the importance and be blessed by happiness and prosperity. (9) SADYO DASHUSHE KSHARASI ------------(27/6, Rigveda) You bless the donor instantly with wealth. One who donates definitely gets something or the other in return. By imparting knowledge there is a rise in knowledge. So one definitely benefits by donation. Only after giving does the feeling of gaining something come to the mind, By performing Karma we do Shram Dan meaning donation of hard work. The benefits or returns of hard work are relative to the good or bad deeds performed, which one shall definitely gain sooner or later. (10) TVAMAGNA URUSHANSAAYA VAGHATE SPARHA YAD REKNAHA PARAMAM VANOSHITAT || ----(31/14, Rigveda) You give good and anticipated wealth to those who worship, praise you with devotion. When a person chooses a deed and performs it with devotion, he as a result of that benefits accordingly. He who yearns with mind and soul for his aim or goal, attains totality and attains his objective. In true worship a good objective is priorly determined and accordingly good Karma is performed to result in its fruits.

-- Of the several Vedic texts, the Rig Veda is most fundamental to Indian thought, the others dealing with more particular matters such as the sacrificial formulas, melodies, and magic. Composed over a long period of time and coming into their present form between 1500 and 1000 b.c.e., the Vedic hymns were eventually attributed to the divine breath or to a vision of the seers. -- Creation Hymn A time is envisioned when the world was not, only a watery chaos (the dark, "indistinguishable sea") and a warm cosmic breath, which could give an impetus of life. Notice how thought gives rise to desire (when something is thought of it can then be desired) and desire links non-being to being (we desire what is not but then try to bring it about that it is). Yet the whole process is shrouded in mystery. Where do the gods fit in this creation scheme? The non-existent was not; the existent was not at that time. The atmosphere was not nor the heavens which are beyond. What was concealed? Where? In whose protection? Was it water? An unfathomable abyss? There was neither death nor immortality then. There was not distinction of day or night. That alone breathed windless by its own power. Other than that there was not anything else. Darkness was hidden by darkness in the beginning. All this was an indistinguishable sea. That which becomes, that which was enveloped by the void, that alone was born through the power of heat. Upon that desire arose in the beginning. This was the first discharge of thought. Sages discovered this link of the existent to the nonexistent, having searched in the heart with wisdom. Their line [of vision] was extended across; what was below, what was above? There were impregnators, there were powers: inherent power below, impulses above. Who knows truly? Who here will declare whence it arose, whence this creation? The gods are subsequent to the creation of this. Who, then, knows whence it has come into being? Whence this creation has come into being; whether it was made or not; he in the highest heaven is its surveyor. Surely he knows, or perhaps he knows not. -- To Agni (Fire) Agni, the god of fire, whose name is the common word for fire, is a terrestrial deity, only loosely anthropomorphic. He is most often compared to animals, with wood for his food and melted butter for his drink. He is the mouth by which the gods consume those items during the sacrifice. He is born from wood (as two sticks are rubbed together), but then devours his parents. As "Lord of the House," he is a guest in human dwellings in the form of the domestic fire. How is Agni supposed to "bring the gods here"? -- I call upon Agni, the one placed in front, the divine priest of the sacrifice, the invoker, the best bestower of gifts. Agni is worthy of being called upon by seers past and present: may he bring the gods here! Through Agni may one obtain wealth and prosperity day by day, splendid and abounding in heroic sons. O Agni, the sacrifice and work of the sacrifice, which you encompass on all sides--that alone goes to the gods. May Agni, the invoker who has the powers of a sage, true and most brilliant in glory, come here, a god with the gods! Whatsoever favor you wish to do for a worshipper, Agni, that favor of yours surely comes true, O Angiras [member of a priestly family]. O Agni, you who gleam in the darkness, to you we come day by day, with devotion and bearing homage; to you, ruler of the sacrifices, keeper of the Rta [cosmic law], brightly shining, growing in your abode. So, be of easy access to us, Agni, as a father to his son. Abide with us for our well-being. -- To Indra Indra is a sky god and a war god who holds the earth and the heavens apart, on occasion making the earth tremble. As the counterpart of Zeus for the Greeks or Jupiter for the Romans, he is the god of the thunderstorm, who vanquishes drought and darkness. He is the most frequently mentioned god in the Veda, the most nationalistic, and the most anthropomorphic. The serpent which he slew was a demon of drought, who had bottled up the streams; but Indra shattered the mountain, releasing the streams like pent up cows. "The lowly Dasa color" whom he has "put in hiding" presumably refers to the indigenous peoples of northern India who had been overcome by the Aryan invaders and either moved into the forests or migrated southward. What is Indra supposed to do for the weary, the weak, the needy priest (a Brahman, of course) and the singer? -- The one who is first and possessed of wisdom when born; the god who strove to protect the gods with strength; the one before whose force the two worlds were afraid because of the greatness of his virility: he, O people, is Indra. The one who made firm the quaking earth; the one who made fast the shaken mountains; the one who measured out wide the atmosphere; the one who propped up heaven: he, O people, is Indra. The one who, having killed the serpent, released the seven rivers; the one who drove out the cows by undoing Vala, (1) the one who generates fire between two rocks, victor in battles: he, O people, is Indra. The one by whom all things here were made moving; the one who put in hiding the lowly Dasa color; the one who, like a gambler who has won the stake, has taken the enemy's possessions: he, O people, is Indra. The one who is the terrible one, about whom they ask "Where is he?" and they say of him, "He is not!" He diminished the enemy's possessions like stakes [at a game]. Put your faith in him: he, O people, is Indra. The one who is the impeller of the weary, of the weak, of the Brahman seeking aid, the singer; the one with goodly mustaches who is the helper of him who works the stones, who has pressed the Soma (2): he, O people, is Indra. The one in whose control are horses, cows, villages, all chariots; the one who has caused to be born the sun, the dawn; the one who is the waters' leader: he, O people, is Indra. The one whom the two lines of battle, coming together, call upon separately, the nearer and the farther, both foes; even the two who have mounted the same chariot call upon him individually: he, O people, is Indra. The one without whom people do not conquer; the one to whom, when fighting, they call for help; the one who is a match for everyone; the one who shakes the unshakable: he, O people, is Indra. -- Purusa, the Cosmic Person This is one of the latest compositions in the Rig Veda, as it suggests a sort of pantheistic philosophy. Purusa is a cosmic giant, of whom the gods and the cosmos itself are composed; yet he is also the object of the sacrifice to the gods. From him then are derived the gods in the heaven and, from the remainder, all the rest of what is, both the living and the non-living. The top four castes are supposed to have been derived from Purusa: the Brahmans, the Rajanya (or Ksatriya), the Vaisya, and the Sudra. Which body parts are associated with each group, and what seems to be the significance of those parts? -- Thousand-headed is Purusa, thousand-eyed, thousand-footed. Having covered the earth on all sides, he stood above it the width of ten fingers. Only Purusa is all this, that which has been and that which is to be. He is the lord of the immortals, who grow by means of [ritual] food. Such is his greatness, yet more than this is Purusa. One-quarter of him is all beings; three- quarters of him is the immortal in heaven. Three-quarters of Purusa went upward, one-quarter of him remained here. From this [one-quarter] he spread in all directions into what eats and what does not eat. From him the shining one was born, from the shining one was born Purusa. When born he extended beyond the earth, behind as well as in front. When the gods performed a sacrifice with the offering Purusa, spring was its clarified butter, summer the kindling, autumn the oblation. It was Purusa, born in the beginning, which they sprinkled on the sacred grass as a sacrifice. With him the gods sacrificed, the demi-gods, and the seers. From that sacrifice completely offered, the clotted butter was brought together. It made the beasts of the air, the forest and the village. From that sacrifice completely offered, the mantras [Rig Veda] and the songs [samaveda] were born. The meters were born from it. The sacrificial formulae [Yajurveda] were born from it. From it the horses were born and all that have cutting teeth in both jaws. The cows were born from it, also. From it were born goats and sheep. When they divided Purusa, how many ways did they apportion him? What was his mouth? What were his arms? What were his thighs, his feet declared to be? His mouth was the Brahman [caste], his arms were the Rajanaya [Ksatriya caste], his thighs the Vaisya [caste]; from his feet the Sudra [caste] was born. The moon was born from his mind; from his eye the sun was born; from his mouth both Indra and Agni [fire]; from his breath Vayu [wind] was born. From his navel arose the air; from his head the heaven evolved; from his feet the earth; the [four] directions from his ear. Thus, they fashioned the worlds. Seven were his altar sticks, three times seven were the kindling bundles, when the gods, performing the sacrifice, bound the beast Purusa. The gods sacrificed with the sacrifice to the sacrifice. These were the first rites. These powers reached the firmament, where the ancient demi-gods and the gods are. Translated by Michael Myers

Demise of Aryan Invasion/Race Theory Source: Prof. Dinesh Agrawal[Penn State University, USA] Real Meaning of the Word 'ARYA' In 1853, Max Muller introduced the word 'Arya' into the English and European usage as applying to a racial and linguistic group when propounding the Aryan Racial theory. However, in 1888, he himself refuted his own theory (Biographies of Words and the Home of the Aryas, 1888, pg 120) and he wrote: I have declared again and again that if I say Aryas, I mean neither blood nor bones, nor hair, nor skull; I mean simply those who speak an Aryan language...to me an ethnologist who speaks of Aryan race, Aryan blood, Aryan eyes and hair, is as great a sinner as a linguist who speaks of a dolichocephalic dictionary or a brachycephalic grammar. In Vedic Literature, the word Arya is nowhere defined in connection with either race or language. Instead it refers to: gentleman, good-natured, righteous person, noble-man, and is often used like 'Sir' or 'Shree' before the name of a person like Aryaputra, Aryakanya, etc. In Ramayan (Valmiki), Rama is described as an Arya in the following words: a;yR: sv;R-smWcewv: sdwv ip[y;dxRn (Aryah sarvasamashchaivah sadaiv priyadarshan ) :Arya - who cared for the equality to all and was dear to everyone. Etymologically, according to Max Muller, the word Arya was derived from ar- (ar-), "plough, to cultivate". Therefore, Arya means - "cultivator" agriculturer (civilized sedentary, as opposed to nomads and hunter-gatherers), landlord; V.S. Apte's Sanskrit-English dictionary relates the word Arya to the root r- (r-) to which a prefix a (a) has been appended to give a negating meaning. And therefore the meaning of Arya is given as "excellent, best", followed by "respectable" and as a noun, "master, lord, worthy, honorable, excellent", upholder of Arya values, and further: teacher, employer, master, father-in-law, friend, Buddha. References in Rigveda The voluminous references to various wars and conflicts in Rigveda are frequently cited as the proof of an invasion and wars between invading 'white-skinned' Aryans and 'dark-skinned' indigenous people. Well, the so-called conflicts and wars mentioned in the Rigveda can be categorized mainly in the following three types: Conflicts between the forces of nature: Indra, the Thunder-God of the Rig Veda, occupies a central position in the naturalistic aspects of the Rigvedic religion, since it is he who forces the clouds to part with their all-important wealth, the rain. In this task he is pitted against all sorts of demons and spirits whose main activity is the prevention of rainfall and sunshine. Rain, being the highest wealth, is depicted in terms of more terrestrial forms of wealth, such as cows or soma. The clouds are depicted in terms of their physical appearance: as mountains, as the black abodes of the demons who retain the celestial waters of the heavens (i.e. the rains), or as the black demons themselves. This is in no way be construed as the war between white Aryans and black Dravidians. This is a perverted interpretation from those who have not understood the meaning and purport of the Vedic culture and philosophy. An example of such distorted interpretation is made of the following verse: The body lay in the midst of waters that are neither still nor flowing. The waters press against the secret opening of the Vrtra (the coverer) who lay in deep darkness whose enemy is Indra. Mastered by the enemy, the waters held back like cattle restrained by a trader. Indra crushed the vrtra and broke open the withholding outlet of the river. (Rig Veda, I.32.10-11) This verse is a beautiful poetic and metamorphical description of snow-clad dark mountains where the life-sustaining water to feed the rivers flowing in the Aryavarta is held by the hardened ice caps (vrtra demon), and Indra, the rain god by allowing the sun to light its rays on the mountains makes the ice caps break and hence release the water. The invasionists interpret this verse literally on human plane, as the slaying of vrtra, the leader of dark skinned Dravidian people of Indus valley by invading white-skinned Aryan king Indra. This is an absurd and ludicrous interpretation of an obvious conflict between the natural forces. Conflict between Vedic and Iranian people: Another category of conflicts in the Rigveda represents the genuine conflict between the Vedic people and the Iranians. At one time Iranians and Vedic people formed one society and were living harmoniously in the northern part of India practising Vedic culture, but at some point in the history for some serious philosophical dispute, the society got divided and one section moved to further north-west, now known as Iran. However, the conflict and controversy were continued between the two groups often resulting into even physical fights. The Iranians not only called their God Ahura (Vedic Asura) and their demons Daevas (Vedic Devas), but they also called themselves Dahas and Dahyus (Vedic Dasas, and Dasyus). The oldest Iranian texts, moreover depict the conflicts between the daeva-worshippers and the Dahyus on behalf of the Dahyus, as the Vedic texts depict them on behalf of the Deva-worshippers. Indra, the dominant God of the Rigveda, is represented in the Iranian texts by a demon Indra. What this all indicate that wars or conflicts of this second category are not between Aryans and non-Aryans, but between two estranged groups of the same parent society which got divided by some philosophical dichotomy. Vedas even mention the gods of Dasyus as Arya also. A well-known global phenomenon to share the natural resources like, water, cattle, vegetation and land, and expand the geographical boundaries of the existing kingdoms. This conflict between various indigenous tribal groups in no way suggests any war or invasion by outsiders on the indigenous people. Excavations at Harappa and Mohenjo-daro It is argued that in the excavations at Harappa and Mohenjo-daro the human skeletons found do prove that a large scale massacre had taken place at these townships by invading armies of Aryan nomads. Prof. G. F. Dales (Former head of department of South Asean Archaeology and Anthropology, Berkeley University, USA) in his "The Mythical Massacre at Mohenjo-daro, Expedition Vol VI,3: 1964 states the following about this evidence: What of these skeletal remains that have taken on such undeserved importance? Nine years of extensive excavations at Mohenjo-daro (1922-31) - a city of three miles in circuit - yielded the total of some 37 skeletons, or parts thereof, that can be attributed with some certainty to the period of the Indus civilizations. Some of these were found in contorted positions and groupings that suggest anything but orderly burials. Many are either disarticulated or incomplete. They were all found in the area of the Lower Town - probably the residential district. Not a single body was found within the area of the fortified citadel where one could reasonably expect the final defence of this thriving capital city to have been made. He further questions: Where are the burned fortresses, the arrow heads, weapons, pieces of armour, the smashed chariots and bodies of in the invaders and defenders? Despite the extensive excavations at the largest Harappan sites, there is not a single bit of evidence that can be brought forth as unconditional proof of an armed conquest and the destruction on the supposed scale of the Aryan invasion. Colin Renfrew, Prof. of Archeology at Cambridge, in his famous work, "Archeology and Language : The Puzzle of Indo-European Origins",Cambridge Univ. Press, 1988, makes the following comments about the real meaning and interpretation of Rig Vedic hymns: "Many scholars have pointed out that an enemy quite frequently smitten in these hymns is the Dasyu. The Dasyus have been thought by some commentators to represent the original, non-Vedic-speaking population of the area, expelled by the incursion of the warlike Aryas in their war-chariots. As far as I can see there is nothing in the Hymns of the Rigveda which demonstrates that the Vedic-speaking population were intrusive to the area: this comes rather from a historical assumption about the 'coming' of the Indo-Europeans. It is certainly true that the gods invoked do aid the Aryas by over-throwing forts, but this does not in itself establish that the Aryas had no forts themselves. Nor does the fleetness in battle, provided by horses (who were clearly used primarily for pulling chariots), in itself suggest that the writers of these hymns were nomads. Indeed the chariot is not a vehicle especially associated with nomads. This was clearly a heroic society, glorifying in battle. Some of these hymns, though repetitive, are very beautiful pieces of poetry, and they are not by any means all warlike.” To thee the Mighty One I bring this mighty Hymn,for thy desire hath been gratified by my praise In Indra, yea in him victorious through his strength, the Gods have joyed at feast, and when the Soma flowed. The Seven Rivers bear his glory far and wide, and heaven and sky and earth display his comely form. The Sun and Moon in change alternate run their course that we, 0 Indra, may behold and may have faith . . . The Rigveda gives no grounds for believing that the Aryas themselves lacked for forts, strongholds and citadels. Recent work on the decline of the Indus Valley civilization shows that it did not have a single, simple cause: certainly there are no grounds for blaming its demise upon invading hordes. This seems instead to have been a system collapse, and local movements of people may have followed it." M.S. Elphinstone (1841):(first governor of Bombay Presidency, 1819-27) in his magnum opus, History of India, writes: "It is opposed to their (Hindus) foreign origin, that neither in the Code (of Manu) nor, I believe, in the Vedas, nor in any book that is certainly older than the code, is there any allusion to a prior residence or to a knowledge of more than the name of any country out of India. Even mythology goes no further than the Himalayan chain, in which is fixed the habitation of the gods... ...To say that it spread from a central point is an unwarranted assumption, and even to analogy; for, emigration and civilization have not spread in a circle, but from east to west. Where, also, could the central point be, from which a language could spread over India, Greece, and Italy and yet leave Chaldea, Syria and Arabia untouched? There is no reason whatever for thinking that the Hindus ever inhabitated any country but their present one, and as little for denying that they may have done so before the earliest trace of their records or tradition. So what these eminent scholars have concluded based on the archaeological and literary evidence that there was no invasion by the so-called Aryans, there was no massacre at Harappan and Mohanjo-dara sites, Aryans were indigenous people, and the decline of the Indus valley civilization is due to some natural calamity. Presence of Horse at Indus-Saraswati sites It is argued that the Aryans were horse riding, used chariots for transport, and since no signs of horse was found at the sites of Harappa and Mohanjo-daro, the habitants of Indus valley cannot be Aryans. Well, this was the case in the 1930 - 40 when the excavation of many sites were not completed. Now numerous excavated sites along Indus valley and along the dried Saraswati river have produced bones of domesticated horses. Dr. S. R. Rao, the world renowned scholar of archeology, informs us that horse bones have been found both from the 'Mature Harappan' and 'Late Harappan' levels. Many other scholars since then have also unearthed numerous bones of horses: both domesticated and combat types. This simply debunks the non-Aryan nature of the habitants of the Indus valley and also identifies the Vedic culture with the Indus valley civilization. Origin of Siva-worship The advocates of AIT argue that the inhabitants of Indus valley were Siva worshippers and since Siva cult is more prevalent among the South Indian Dravidians, therefore the habitants of Indus valley were Dravidians. But Shiva worship is not alien to Vedic culture, and not confined to South India only. The words Siva and Shambhu are not derived from the Tamil words civa (to redden, to become angry) and cembu (copper, the red metal), but from the Sanskrit roots si (therefore meaning "auspicious, gracious, benevolent, helpful kind") and sam (therefore meaning "being or existing for happiness or welfare, granting or causing happiness, benevolent, helpful, kind"), and the words are used in this sense only, right from their very first occurrence. (Sanskrit-English Dictionary by Sir M. Monier-Williams). Moreover, most important symbols of Shaivites are located in North India: Kashi is the most revered and auspicious seat of Shaivism which is in the north, the traditional holy abode of Shiva is Kailash mountain which is in the far-north, there are passages in Rigvada which mention Siva and Rudra and consider him an important deity. Indra himself is called Shiva several times in Rig Veda (2:20:3, 6:45:17, 8:93:3). So Siva is not a Dravidian god only, and by no means a non-Vedic god. The proponents of AIT also present terra-cotta lumps found in the fire-alters at the Harappan and other sites as an evidence of Shiva linga, implying the Shiva cult was prevalent among the Indus valley people. But these terra-cotta lumps have been proved to be the measures for weighing the commodities by the shopkeepers and merchants. Their weights have been found in perfect integral ratios, in the manner like 1 gm, 2 gms, 5 gms, 10 gms etc. They were not used as the Shiva lingas for worship, but as the weight measurements. Discovery of the Submerged city of Krishna's Dwaraka The discovery of this city is very significant and a kind of clinching evidence in discarding the Aryan invasion as well as its proposed date of 1500 BC. Its discovery not only establishes the authenticity of Mahabharat war and the main events described in the epic, but clinches the traditional antiquity of Mahabharat and Ramayana periods. So far the AIT advocates used to either dismiss the Mahabharat epic as a fictional work of a highly talented poet or if not fictional would place it around 1000 BC. But the remains of this submerged city along the coast of Gujarat were dated 3000BC to 1500BC. In Mahabharat's Musal Parva, the Dwarka is mentioned as being gradually swallowed by the ocean. Krishna had forewarned the residents of Dwaraka to vacate the city before the sea submerged it. The Sabha Parva gives a detailed account of Krishna's flight from Mathura with his followers to Dwaraka to escape continuous attacks of Jarasandh's on Mathura and save the lives of its subjects. For this reason, Krishna is also known as ranchhor (one who runs away from the battle-field). Dr. S. R. Rao and his team in 1984 - 88 (Marine Archaeology Unit) undertook an extensive search of this city along the coast of Gujarat where the Dwarikadeesh temple stands now, and finally they succeeded in unearthing the ruins of this submerged city off the Gujarat coast. Saraswati River Discovered It is well known that in the Rig Veda, the honor of the greatest and the holiest of rivers was not bestowed upon the Ganga, but upon Saraswati, now a dry river, but once a mighty flowing river all the way from the Himalayas to the ocean across the Rajasthan desert. The Ganga is mentioned only once while the Saraswati is mentioned at least 60 times. Extensive research by the late Dr. Wakankar has shown that the Saraswati changed her course several times, going completely dry around 1900 BC. The latest satellite data combined with field archaeological studies have shown that the Rig Vedic Saraswati had stopped being a perennial river long before 3000 BC. As Paul-Henri Francfort of CNRS, Paris recently observed, "...we now know, thanks to the field work of the Indo-French expedition that when the proto-historic people settled in this area, no large river had flowed there for a long time." The proto-historic people he refers to are the early Harappans of 3000 BC. But satellite 'photos show that a great prehistoric river that was over 7 kilometers wide did indeed flow through the area at one time. This was the Saraswati described in the Rig Veda. Numerous archaeological sites have also been located along the course of this great prehistoric river thereby confirming Vedic accounts. The great Saraswati that flowed "from the mountain to the sea" is now seen to belong to a date long anterior to 3000 BC. This means that the Rig Veda describes the geography of North India long before 3000 BC. All this shows that the Rig Veda must have been in existence no later than 3500 BC. Aryan Invasion of India: The Myth and the Truth By N.S. Rajaram. A lot of hyms in the Vedas indicate that the composers of the Vedic literature were quite familiar with the Saraswati river, and were inspired by its beauty and its vasteness that they composed several hymns in her praise and glorification. This also inidates that the Vedas are much older than Mahabharat period, which mentions Saraswati as a dying river. New Archaeological findings Since the first discovery of buried townships of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro on the Ravi and Sindhu rivers in 1922, respectively, numerous other settlements, now number over 2500 stretching from Baluchistan to the Ganga and beyond and down to Tapti valley, covering nearly a million and half square kilometers, have been unearthed by various archaeologists. And, the fact which was not known 70 years ago, but archaeologists now know, is that about 75% of these settlements are concentrated not along the Sindhu or even the Ganga, but along the now dried up Saraswati river. This calamity - the drying up of the Saraswati - and not any invasion was what led to the disruption and abandonment of the settlements along Saraswati river by the people who lived a Vedic life. The drying up of the Saraswati river was a catastrophe of the vast magnitude, which led to a massive outflow of people, especially the elite, went into Iran, Mesopotamia and other neighboring regions. Around the same time (2000-1900 BC), there were constant floods or/and prolonged draughts along the Sindhu river and its tributaries which forced the inhabitants of the Indus valley to move to other safer and greener locations, and hence a slow but continuous migration of these highly civilized and prosperous Vedic people took place. Some of them moved to south east, and some to north west, and even towards European regions. For the next thousand years and more, dynasties and rulers with Indian names appear and disappear all over the West Asia confirming the migration of people from East towards West. There was no destruction of an existing civilization or invasion by any racial nomads of any kind to cause the destruction or abandonment of these settlements. So, how can all these obvious anomalies and serious flaws be reconciled? By accepting the truth that the so-called Aryans were the original habitants of the townships along the Indus, Ravi, Saraswati and other rivers of the vast northern region of the Indian subcontinent. And no invasion by nomadic hordes from outside India ever occurred and the civilization was not destroyed but the population simply moved to other areas, and developed a new syncretic civilization and culture by mutual interaction and exchange of ideas.

As I have posted earlier "Hinduism" is not a religion but a system provided by sages or rishis who received the Vedas directly from God and it has been followed for over 5000 years. It can also be called Sanathna Dharma and has many branches. It is your choice to which branch you wish to follow and there is no compelling. Any branch that you find easy to comprehend you follow that. Krishna is only an incarnation but it would be better to worship Maha Vishnu directly as it is God himself in person. Instead of seeing the IGP in office why not see the IGP in a fatherly figure at his home where he will be more syampathethic and loving towards you. We can stick to Sanathana Dharma but to outsiders our religion is know as Hinduism and that cannot be changed. Hara and Hari is Shiva and Vishnu one and the same. To make matters easy for you why don't you just follow Vallalar Sri Ramalingam who said God is light[Jothi] the arrull perum jothy who is formless as he sees it. But yet it is still part of Hinduism. But you can just focus your mind in a burning candle or any form of flame. And that was what Moses saw in mount senai "The burning bush" where God spoke to him and delievered the ten commandments. No one is compelling you to follow a particular method the choice is yours but do not say yours is the only right way because many a saint have seen in many ways and that is Hinduism. In Hinduism there is idol and non idol worship. Chose which ever you are comfortable with. The Vedas will explain why and how. There is no single path to godhead and if there was, than God would not have sent so many prophets over the centuries to different nations with different ideologies at diffrent time and period which God decided for transmitting the message through them. Adhi Shankara appeared when Buddhism was a threat to the verdic belief and so did Chaitanya Mahaprabu appeared when Islam was a threat. Do not feel disgusted just because you do not understand. A true follower will explore and undestand its ture meaning. If you truely believe in Krishna by all means be a true follower and as far as incarnation is concerned I think you should look upon Sri Satya Sai Baba who many think is the incarnation of Sree Krishna because in Gita Krishna has said "Whenever religion declines I will come forth to educate mankind" and so that is what Sai Baba is doing now with his seva and propogation of all major religions.

Mr Govindaram, Are you married and do you have children? If you are married and have children I am sure you must be working for someone or a company. Well, what part do you play in you family and work place? Do you wife and children call you by name[Govindaram] and what does you nice and nephews call you. also by your name? Please I would like to know beczue it puzzles me. Don't you play the part of a son to your parents, brother to your sibilings, husband to your wife, father to your children, uncle to your nieces and nephews and an employee to your company? Or are just being addressed as plain Govindaram to all? May be you are neither male nor female. Tell me Sir, I would like to know your status as a human being who has been created in his image.

Causes" or "karanas" are divided into two categories: "nimitta" and "upadana". You need earth or clay as a material to make a pot. So earth is the upadana for the pot. But how does it become a pot? Does it become a pot by itself? It has to be shaped by a potter. So the potter is the cause- he is the nimitta. (The "nimitta" we spoke about in jyotisa is different. ) Nyaya and Vaisesika believe that Isvara created the universe with the ultimate particles called "anu-s". Here Isvara is the nimitta-karana and the "anu-s" are the upadana-karana. To shape the clay into a pot a potter is needed. Without him there is no earthen pot, or in other words, the pot without the potter is non-existent. So when he shapes it out of clay he is the cause and the pot the effect. This is called "arambha-vada" or "asat-karya-vada". "Sat" means that which exists (the real) and "asat" that which does not. There is no pot in mere clay. The non-existent pot is produced from the clay. It is in similar fashion that Isvara created the universe with the "anu-s" - what he created did not exist in the particles. This is the doctrine of Nyaya. Adherents of Sankhya, as we know, do not believe in an Isvara. According to them Prakrti itself exfoliated into the universe. Such a belief is not to be mistaken for the contemporary athestic view. I say so because Sankhya also postulates a Purusa who is jnana, similar to the Nirguna-Brahman. According to it the inert Prakrti can function in such an orderly fashion only in the presence of Purusa. The presence of Purusa is the cause but he is not directly involved in creation. Crops grow on their own in the sunshine. Water dries up, clothes become dry and it is all because of the sun. Does the sun worry about which crop is to be grown or which pond is to be dried up? Your hand becomes numb when you hold a lump of ice in it. Is it right to reason that it is the intention of ice to benumb your hand? Similar is the case with Purusa for he is not attached to creation. But with the power received from him, Prakrti creates the world out of itself. There is no Isvara as a nimitta-karana. According to Sankhya, Prakrti has transformed itself as the created world. This is called "parinama-vada". While asat-karya-vada is the principle on which the naiyayikas base their view of creation, supporters of Sankhya base their theory on sat-karya-vada. Adherents of the former believe that the clay is the upadana(material cause) for the making of the non-existent pot while the potter is the nimitta or efficient cause. The sat-karya-vadins belonging to Sankhya argue thus: "The pot was there in the clay in the beggining itself. The oil-monger presses the sesame seeds to extract the oil that is already present in them. Similarly, the pot concealed in the clay emerged as a result of the work of the potter. It is only by using the clay that you can make the pot. You cannot make a pot with sesame seeds nor do you get oil by pressing the clay. The pots are all anu-s of the clay; they came into existence by the anu-s being shaped. " Our acarya says: "There is neither arambha-vada nor parinama-vada here. It is the Brahman, with its power of Maya, that appears in the disguise of creation. For the potter who is the Paramatman there is no other entity other than himself called clay. So the arambha-vada is not right. To say that Paramatman transformed himself into the cosmos is like saying that the milk turns into curd. The curd is not the same as the milk. Would it not be wrong to state that the Paramatman became non-existent after becoming the cosmos? So the parinama-vada is also not valid. On the one hand, the Paramatman remains pure jnana, as nothing but awareness, and, on the other, he shows himself through the power of his Maya as all this universe with its living-beings and its inert objects. It is all the appearence of the same Reality, the Reality in various disguises. If a man dons a disguise he does not become another man. Similar is the case with all these disguises, all this jugglary of the universe. with all the apparent diversity, the one Reality remains unchanged. " This argument is known as "vivarta-vada". There is vivarta in the phenomenon of a rope appearing to be a snake. The upadana-karana(material cause) that is the rope does not change into a snake by nimitta-karana(efficient cause). So the arambha-vada does not apply here. The rope does not transform itself into a snake; but on account of our nescience (avidya) it seems to us to be a snake. Similarly, on account of our ajnana or avidya the Brahman too seems to us as this world and such a vast plurality of entities. Nyaya lays the steps by which we may go further to realise the truth on which our Acarya has shed light. Nyaya and Vaisesika teach us how we may become aware of padarthas (categories) through reasoning and become detatched from them to realise "apavarga" in which there is neither sorrow nor joy. But they do not take us to a higher realm. Dualism also has it's limitations thus. To grasp the One Reality that is non-dual and realise inwardly that we too are that Reality is to experience absolute liberation. It must be said as one of the distinctive features of Nyaya that it inspires us to go in quest of apavarga by creating discontent in in our worldly existence. Another of its distinguishing features is that it employs all its resources of reasoning to contend against the doctrines of the Buddhists, the Sankhyas and Carvakas to establish the principle of Isvara as Karta(Creator).

Master and Disciple According to Hindu tradition, the disciple must obey the Guru without question. However, the influence of Western thinking did not allow Narendra to accept this; he was determined to test for himself everything that Ramakrishna taught him. He felt it was wrong for someone to surrender freedom of judgement to another. After their third meeting, Narendra felt the Master’s superhuman spiritual power, but he was still somewhat sceptical. His scepticism made him one of the most reliable of all witnesses to Ramakrishna’s greatness. Later he said to a Western disciple: "Let none regret that they were difficult to convince. I fought my Master for six long years, with the result that I know every inch of the way." The meeting of Narendra and Ramakrishna was an important event in the lives of both. It was like a meeting between the occident and the orient, the modern and the ancient. Ramakrishna tamed the rebellious Narendra with his infinite patience, love, and vigilance. The Master was fully convinced of Narendra’s divine nature and mission to the world. He could not bear the slightest criticism of Narendra and told devotees: "Let no one judge him hastily. People will never understand him fully." Ramakrishna did not hesitate to praise Narendra’s greatness in the presence of one and all, which sometimes embarrassed Narendra. One day Keshab Sen and Vijaykrishna Goswami, who were leaders of the Brahmo Samaj, visited Dakshineshwar with a number of Brahmo devotees. Narendra was also present. The Master remarked: "If Keshab possesses one virtue which has made him world famous, Naren is endowed with eighteen such virtues. I have seen in Keshab and Vijay the divine light burning like a candle flame, but in Naren it shines with the radiance of the sun." Narendra later vehemently protested to the Master: "Sir, people will think you are mad if you talk like that. Keshab is famous all over the world. Vijay is a saint. And I am an insignificant student. How can you speak of us in the same breath? Please, I beg you, never say such things again." "I cannot help it," replied the Master. "Do you think these are my words? The Divine Mother showed me certain things about you, which I repeated. And she reveals to me nothing but the truth." "How do you know it was Mother who told you?" Narendra objected. "All this may be fiction of your own brain. Science and philosophy prove that our senses often deceive us, especially when there is a desire in our minds to believe something. You are fond of me and you wish to see me great – that may be why you have these visions." The Master was perplexed. He appealed to the Divine Mother for guidance, and was told: " Why do you care what he says? In a short time he will accept every word of yours as true." Ramakrishna’s affection for Narendra astonished everyone. If Narendra could not come to Dakshineshwar for a long time, the Master cried for him or he went to see him in Calcutta. Ramakrishna knew that he would not live long in this world, so he was eager to train his foremost disciple as early as possible. One Sunday the Master went to visit him at the Brahmo Samaj Temple, where Narendra sang devotional songs during the evening service. When he arrived in the middle of the service, there was a commotion among the congregation to see the saint of Dakshineshwar. The preacher was annoyed and abruptly ended his sermon, and the ushers turned out all the gaslights in order to make people leave the building – a move which resulted in a chaotic stampede to the doors in the darkness. Narendra was greatly pained by the Master’s humiliation. He managed to elbow his way to Ramakrishna’s side, then he led him out through a back door, got him into a carriage and rode with him to Dakshineshwar. Narendra reprimanded the Master, but Ramakrishna didn’t care a bit about the scolding or his humiliating experience with the Brahmos. Then Narendra told him severely: "It is written in the Puranas that King Bharata thought so much about his favourite deer that he himself became a deer after his death. If that’s true, you should beware of thinking about me!" The Master was simple, much like a little boy. He took these words very seriously, because Narendra was a man of truth. Ramakrishna went to the temple and returned shortly, beaming with delight and exclaimed: "You rascal, I won’t listen to you anymore. Mother said that I love you because I see the Lord in you. The day I shall not see Him in you, I shall not be able to bear even the sight of you." As a member of the Brahmo Samaj, Narendra was committed to the belief in a formless God with attributes, and he despised all image worship. His friend Rakhal (later, Swami Brahmananda) also became a member of the Brahmo Samaj, even though he was devotional by nature. Later, under Ramakrishna’s influence, Rakhal returned to the worship of God with form. When Narendra saw Rakhal bowing down before the images, he scolded his friend for breaking the Brahmo pledge. Rakhal was too soft natured to argue, but he was hurt and began to avoid Narendra. The Master intervened, saying to Narendra: "Please do not intimidate Rakhal. He is afraid of you. He now believes in God with form. How are you going to change him? Everyone cannot realise the formless aspect of God at the very beginning." That was enough: Narendra never interfered with Rakhal’s practice again. Ramakrishna knew that Narendra’s mind was naturally inclined to the path of knowledge, so he initiated him into the teachings of nondualistic Vedanta. Sometimes he asked Narendra to read aloud passages from the Ashtavakra Samhita and other Vedanta treatises so that he could grasp the meaning of the Vedanta philosophy which teaches that Brahman is the ultimate Reality, existence- consciousness- bliss absolute. The individual soul is Brahman and nothing else. The world is shown to be nothing but name and form, all of which is apparent, not real, having only a relative existence. In the beginning it was hard for Narendra to accept the non-dualistic view that "everything is really Brahman," because he was then a staunch follower of the Brahmo Samaj, which taught a theistic philosophy. He said to the Master: "It is blasphemous, for there is no difference between such philosophy and atheism. There is no greater sin in the world than to think of oneself as identical with the Creator. I am God, you are God, these created things are God – what can be more absurd! The sages who wrote such things must have been insane." The Master didn’t mind Narendra’s outspokenness at all. He smiled and said: You may not accept the views of these seers. But how can you abuse them or limit God’s infinitude? Go on praying to the God of Truth and believe in any aspect of His that He reveals to you." One day while chanting with Hazra at Dakshineshwar, Narendra ridiculed the Vedantic experience of oneness: "How can this be? This jug is God, this cup is God, and we too are God! Nothing can be more preposterous!" When the Master heard Narendra’s comment from his room, he came out and enquired: "Hello! What are you talking about?" Ramakrishna touched Narendra and went into samadhi. Later Narendra graphically described the effect of that touch: "The magic touch of the Master that day immediately brought a wonderful change over my mind. I was stupefied to find that there was really nothing in the universe but God! I saw it quite clearly but kept silent, to see if the idea would last. But the impression did not abate in the course of the day. I returned home, but there too, everything I saw appeared to be Brahman. I sat down to take my meal, but found that everything – the food, the place, the person who served, and even myself – was nothing but That. I ate a morsel or two and sat still. I was startled by my mother’s words: ‘Why do you sit still? Finish your meal,’ and began to eat again. But all the while, whether eating or lying down, or going to college, I had the same experience and felt myself always in a sort of comatose state. While walking in the streets, I noticed cabs plying, but I did not feel inclined to move out of the way. I felt that the cabs and myself were of one stuff. There was no sensation in my limbs, which, I thought, were getting paralyzed. I did not relish eating, and felt as if somebody else were eating. Sometimes I lay down during a meal, after a few minutes, got up and again began to eat. The result would be that on some days I would take too much, but it did not harm. My mother became alarmed and said that there must be something wrong with me. She was afraid that I might not live long. When the above state altered a little, the world began to appear to me as a dream. While walking in Cornwallis (now Azadhind Bag; gardens), I would strike my head against the iron railings to see if they were real or only a dream. This state of things continued for some days. When I became normal again, I realized that I must have had a glimpse of the Advaita (nondual) state. Then it struck me that the words of the scriptures were not false. Thenceforth I could not deny the conclusions of the Advaita philosophy." One-day Ramakrishna’s whole attitude to Narendra suddenly seemed to change. The Master looked at him without the least sign of pleasure and remained silent. Narendra thought that the Master was in a spiritual mood. He waited for a while, and then went to the Veranda and began talking to Hazra. In the evening Narendra bowed down to the Master and left for Calcutta. On his next several visits, the Master’s mood towards Narendra did not change. He received him with the same apparent indifference. Ignored by the Master, he spent the days with Hazra and other disciples and returned home as usual. Finally, after more than a month, the Master asked Narendra, "Why do you come here, when I don’t speak a single word to you?" Narendra answered: "Do you think I come here just to have you speak to me? I love you. I want to see you. That’s why I come." The Master was delighted. "I was testing you to see if you would stop coming when you didn’t get love and attention. Only a spiritual aspirant of your quality could put up with so much neglect and indifference. Anyone else would have left me long ago." Narendra was very bold and frank. He did not speak about people behind their backs. He took delight in criticizing the Master’s spiritual experiences as evidence of a lack of self-control. He would even make fun of his worship of Kali. "Why do you come here?" the Master once asked him, "if you do not accept Kali, my Mother?" "Bah! Must I accept her," Narendra retorted, "simply because I come to see you? I come to you because I love you." "All right," said the Master, "before long you will not only accept my blessed Mother, but weep while repeating her name." As Ramakrishna tested Narendra in various ways before accepting him as a disciple, so did Narendra test Ramakrishna before he accepted him as a guru. Narendra heard that the Master’s renunciation was so absolute that he could not bear the touch of money. One day Narendra arrived at Dakshineshwar and found that the Master had gone to Calcutta. Suddenly he felt a desire to test the Master. He hid a Rupee under the Master’s mattress and waited for him. The Master returned, but no sooner had he touched the bed than he drew back in pain, as if stung by a scorpion. The Master called a temple attendant to examine the bed, and the Rupee was discovered. Narendra admitted that he had put the money there. The Master was not displeased at all. He said to Narendra: "You must test me as the money changers test their coins. You mustn’t accept me until you’ve tested me thoroughly." On another occasion, the Master put Narendra to a difficult test. He said to him: "As a result of the austerities I have practised, I have possessed all the supernatural powers for a long time. I am thinking of asking the Mother to transfer them all to you. She has told me that you will be able to use them when necessary. What do you say?" Narendra asked: "Will they help me to realize God?" "No," said the Master, "they won’t help you to do that. But they might be very useful after you have realized God and when you start doing His work." Narendra said: "Then let me realize God first. After that, it will be time enough to decide if I need them or not. If I accept them now, I may forget God, make selfish use of them, and thus come to grief." The Master was greatly pleased to see Narendra’s single minded devotion. Ramakrishna emphasized the practice of chastity to his young disciples, whom he considered to be future monks. He told Narendra that if a man maintains absolute chastity for twelve years, his mind becomes purified and open to the knowledge of God. When the Master heard that Narendra’s parents were arranging his marriage, he wept, holding the feet of the image of Kali. With tears in his eyes he prayed to the Divine Mother: "O Mother, please upset the whole thing! Don’t let Narendra be drowned." However, Narendra’s unwillingness forced his parents to cancel the marriage. Continued below TOP <To top of this page Continued (Part 3) The Training of Narendra Only a good student can be a good teacher. The Katha Upanishad says: "Wonderful is the expounder (of the Atman or Soul) and rare the hearer; rarer indeed is the experiencer of Atman taught by an able preceptor." (1.2.7). Ramakrishna was an avatar, an incarnation of God who came to the world to establish the eternal religion; he made Narendra a vehicle to carry out his mission. In the parable of the four blind men and the elephant, Ramakrishna recounted how each man touched a different part of the elephant, declared his partial understanding, and then they began to quarrel among themselves. But one with clear vision sees the whole elephant and does not quarrel. People with only partial realization form sects but those who have full realization cannot form sects. Ramakrishna therefore trained Narendra to have full realization and carry his message of the harmony of religions to the modern world. On 5th March 1882, the Master asked Narendra: "How do you feel about it? Worldly people say all kinds of things about the spiritually minded. But look here! When an elephant moves along the street any number of curs and other small animals may bark and cry after it; but the elephant doesn’t even look back at them. If people speak ill of you, what will you think of them?" Narendra replied: "I shall think that dogs are barking at me." The Master smiled and said: "Oh no! You must not go that far, my child! God dwells in all beings. But you may be intimate only with good people; you must keep away from the evil-minded. God is even in the tiger, but you cannot embrace the tiger on that account. You may say, ‘Why run away from a tiger, which is also a manifestation of God? The answer to that is: Those who tell you to run away are also manifestations of God – and why shouldn’t you listen to them?" On 19th August 1883, Ramakrishna went to the Veranda and saw Narendra talking to Hazra, who often indulged in dry philosophical discussions. Hazra would say that the world is unreal, like a dream: worship, food offerings to the Deity, and so forth, are only hellucinations of the mind. He would repeat: "I am He." When the Master asked Narendra what they were talking about, Narendra replied with a smile: "Oh, we are discussing a great many things. They are rather too deep for others." Ramakrishna replied: "But pure love and pure knowledge are one and the same thing. Both lead the aspirants to the same goal. The path of love is much easier." On 25th June 1884, Ramakrishna advised his disciples to dive deep in God-consciousness and then sang a song: "Dive deep, O mind, dive deep in the Ocean of God’s beauty. If you descend to the uttermost depths, there you will find the gem of love." Then he continued: "One does not die if one sinks in this Ocean. This is the Ocean of immortality." Once he said to Narendra: "God is the Ocean of Bliss. Tell me if you want to plunge into It. Just imagine there is some syrup in a cup and that you have become a fly. Now tell me where you will sit to sip the syrup?" Narendra answered: "I will sit on the edge of the cup and stretch out my neck to drink, because I am sure to die if I go far into the cup." Then Ramakruishna said to him: "But my child, this is the Ocean of Satchidananda. There is no fear of death in it. This is the Ocean of Immortality." On 11th March 1885 M. recorded in the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna: Many of his devotees were in (Ramakrishna’s) room. Narendra did not believe that God could incarnate Himself in a human body. But Girish (a devotee) differed with him; he had the burning faith that from time to time the Almighty Lord, through His inscrutable Power, assumes a human body and descends to earth to serve a divine purpose. The Master said to Girish: "I should like to hear you and Narendra argue in English." The discussion began; but they talked in Bengali. Narendra: "God is Infinity. How is it possible for us to comprehend Him? He dwells in every human being. It is not the case that he manifests Himself through one person only." Master (tenderly): "I quite agree with Narendra. God is everywhere. But then you must remember that there are different manifestations of His Power in different beings. At some places there is a manifestation of His Avidya-shakti (God’s power manifesting as ignorance), at others manifestation of His Vidya-shakti (God’s power manifesting as knowledge). Through different instruments God’s Power is manifest in different degrees, greater or smaller. Therefore all men are not equal." Ram: "What is the use of these futile arguments?" Master (sharply): "No! No! There is a meaning in all this." Girish (to Narendra): "How do you know that God does not assume a human body?" Narendra: "God is ‘beyond words or thought.’" Master: "No, that is not true. He can be known by pure Buddhi (intellect), which is the same as the Pure Self. The seers of old directly perceived the Pure Self through their pure buddhi." Girish (to Narendra): "Unless God Himself teaches men through His human Incarnation, who else will teach them spiritual mysteries?" Narendra: "Why, God dwells in our own heart; He will certainly teach us from within the heart." Master (tenderly): "Yes, yes. He will teach us as our Inner Guide…I clearly see that God is everything; He Himself has become all….I cannot utter a word unless I come down at least two steps from the plane of samadhi. Shankara’s non-dualistic explanation of Vedanta is true, and so is the qualified non-dualistic interpretation of Ramanuja." Narendra: "What is non-qualified non-dualism?" Master: "It is the theory of Ramanuja. According to this theory, Brahman, or the Absolute, is qualified by the universe and its living beings. These three – Brahman, the world, and living beings – together constitute One." Narendra was sitting beside the Master. He touched Narendra’s body and said: As long as a man argues about God, he has not realized Him. The nearer you approach to God, the less you reason and argue. When you attain Him, then all sounds – all reasoning and disputing – come to an end. Then you go into Samadhi – into communion with God in silence."

Yes, it was said so in the Gita but who were they fighting against, their own kins men. Today in India we see corrupted politicians and non believers ruling the state governments. These are the asuras of the modern world and and enemy of Hinduism, we must fight to save India from their clutches than we can face the world against any others who come against Hinduism. Having enemies in your own home and trying to look else where is wrong. If you can destroy these enemies first than the others will have no choice but to surrender. We are our own enemy and we must win over ourselves first in order to fight against alien religions because ours is not a religion but the way of life. We live by it everyday not a chosen day like other faiths.

Every child born on this planet is a Hindu until he or she is christined or circumcised into other religion which requires conversion. As long as you believe in Saiva Sithantha Sanathan Dharma you are a Hindu. All you need is to learn the scriptures and follow the path laid by the Dharma Sastras. May Peace Be With You.

Defination for Aryan in the Vedas is people of intelligent calibre, which means they must be people of divine beings but not from outside India. May be they were the chosen people like the saptha rishis. I have forgotten in which part od the vedas but it is mention as such. They were the reason that we have the vedas today. Our religion was direct from God and we ae be the gifted people to have in possession of such great divine scriptures which no other race have and I am proud of it.

The terms Siva or Sankara mean Auspicious. Sam means Chitaananda (Blissful Awareness). Kara means the one who causes it. Sankara means the One who causes blissful awareness. Sankara is the One who confers Chitaananda on those who take refuge in Him or adore Him. The secret of Creation is evident from the description of the form of Siva. The crescent moon on Sivas head symbolizes the consciousness in human beings, the Ganga symbolizes the Life Force and the snakes on Sivas body represent the myriad of living beings. He resides on a silver mountain. His dearest friend is Kubera, the Lord of Wealth. Despite being endowed with all these, why was He obliged to carry the begging bowl? To demonstrate to the world that every kind of wealth is a hindrance to spiritual advancement, Siva renounced everything. It is through renunciation Siva became the eternal embodiment of supreme bliss. Iswara is also symbolized in the Linga Form, Lings is derived from the Sanskrit root, Li, means Leeyathe, 'merges'; it is the form in which all forms merge. Siva is the goal who blesses beings with the most desirable gift of meaning in the universe. That is the end, the death, which one should strive for, the end which Siva can vouch-safe. Siva means, graciousness; auspiciousness; Mangalam. He is all graciousness, ever auspicious, Sarva Mangalam. That is the reason why the epithet, Sri, which indicates these qualities, is not added to the name Siva, Sankara, lsvara etc. It is added to the number of Avatars, for they have taken on perishable bodies for a specific purpose. They have to be distinguished from other humans, by the epithet, Siva is eternally gracious, auspicious, mangala and so the epithet is superfluous. Siva is adored as the teacher of teachers, Dakshinamurti. The form of Siva is itself a great lesson in tolerance and forbearance. The Lord has another name. It is only when the love principle underlying this name is rightly understood, the real form of the Cosmos can be recognized. That name is Saambasiva. Saa means divinity. Amba refers to the cosmos. Siva means the Supreme person (Purusha). Easwara has yet another name: Yogasikha. The sky is His blue form. The directions (Dik) are His garment. Hence He is known as Digambara. He is also known as Panchaanana - the Five-headed One. The five are: Earth, water, fire and aakaasa (space). His five heads represent the five basic elements (panchabhuthas). Siva is also described as Bhuthanaatha - the Lord of all created beings. Bhutha refers to creation. Easwara is the Lord of every creature in the universe. Hence, the entire cosmos is reflected as an image in the Lord. Siva is known as Subhankara- the one who is ever good (Subham). The three eyes of Siva represent the three worlds (lokas). Siva's trident is symbolic of the Past, the Present, and the Future, the three aspects of Time. The three gunas (Satwa, Rajas, Thamas) are images of the Trinity - Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva. The three worlds, the triune aspect of Time, the three gunas (qualities) are the manifestations of the Easwara Principle. It is for the well-being of the world that Siva swallowed the Halahala poison. Again, it is for the sake of the worlds good that Siva contained the Ganga in His matted locks. Siva bears the moon on His head to confer peace of mind on mankind. When man moulds himself on the pattern of Easwara, he will get rid of all his evil tendencies and offer to the world what is good in him. That is the meaning of the worship of Siva. It is only when man gives up utterly his bad thoughts, evil desires and wicked deeds, he will be able to transform himself into divinity. -Bhagavan Baba

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF GANAPATI AND `MAKKHAN-CHOR' GOPALNANDA In Sanskrit language, there are more than one meaning attached to a word. For example, the word GO means cow as well as sense organs. Gopal means cowherd. Gopal also means a yogi whose sense organs are completely under his control. This dual meaning enables poets to bring out their best on the physical plane as well as on the spiritual plane. We have Krishna the cowherd boy in Vraj and Vrindavan, and we have Gopalnanda Krishna, the yogeshwar, milking the Upanishads, and the milk is the great nectar of the Bhagavad Gita.(Gita Dhyanam, verse 4, usually found at the beginning of Bhagavad Gita books). The maakhan (cream) or the gist or essence of the Upanishads is presented in the Bhagavad Gita. This is what the `makkhan chor' took from the Upanishads and distributed for the benefit of mankind. Similarly, a common Sanskrit word to denote elephant is GAJA. Here Gajanan means elephant faced - a name for Ganapati. But the word Gaja has a much deeper connotation. GA indicates gati, the final goal towards which the entire creation is moving, whether knowingly or unknowingly. JA stands for janma, birth or origin. Hence GAJA signifies GOD from whom worlds have come out and towards whom they are progressing, to be ultimately dissolved in Him. The elephant head is thus purely symbolical. We observe creation in its two fold manifestation as the microcosm (sukshmanda) and the macrocosm (brahmanda). Each is a replica of the other. They are one in two and two in one. The elephant head stands for the macrocosm (representing vastness or bigness), and the human body for the microcosm. The two form one unit. Since the macrocosm is the goal of the microcosm, the elephant part has been given greater prominence by making it a head. The Chandogya Upanishad has pronounced a philisophical truth as TAT-TVAM-ASI, THAT- THOU -ART. It simply means "You, the apparently limited individual, are in essence, the cosmic Truth, the Absolute". The elephant-human form of Ganapati is the iconographical representation of this great Vedantic dictum. the elephant stands for the cosmic whereas the human stands for the individual. The single image reflects their identity. Vedanta is the synthesis of the `within' and the `without'; the macrocosm and the microcosm. The study of this `within' of nature through an inquiry into the `within' of man, who is the unique product of nature`s evolution, is religion according to Indian thought. The synthesis of the knowledge of the `without' , which the physical sciences give, and the `within' which religion gives, is what India achieved in her Vedanta. This she calls BRAHMA - VIDYA or philosophy; God or Brahman(`BRAHMAN' is the Upanishdic term for the Supreme Reality, God) standing for the totality of reality, physical and non-physical. Brahma - vidya is Sarva - vidya- pratishtha (philosophy is the basis and support of all knowledge) says the Mundaka Upanishad (i.i.i.). The Ganapati Upanishad identifies Lord Ganesh with the Supreme Self. Lord Ganesh represents the Pranava (AUM) which is the symbol of the Supreme Self. Taitiriya Upanishad (1.8.1.) states: "AUM ITI BRAHMAN -AUM is Brahman (GOD). AUM is all this . Nothing can be done without uttering it. This explains the practice of invokong Lord Ganesh before beginning any rite or undertaking any project. Lord Ganesh removes all obstacles on the path of the spiritual aspirant, and bestows upon him worldly as well as spiritual success. So he is called VIGNA VINAYAKA or VIGHNESHWAR. _

VEDA ~ VEDAS Aryan society was divided between Kshatra (the nobility, of horse-riding warriors) and Vish (the common tribesmen). Hereditary priests (Brahmana) served the Kshatriya in the sacrificial worship of their pantheon. The learned Brahmana employed Sanskrit to record their Wisdom, which is thought to have been directly revealed to the Rishis (Seers), whose Mantras are generally considered as the linguistic embodiment of the eternal Satyam (Truth) and Ritam (Law) underlying the universe. The earliest Samhita (collection of Mantras) appears in the Rig-Veda (Praise Revelation), whose prime concern is sacrificial ritual. (Compilation began c.1500 BC). The Aryans imported their ancient Sky-God Varuna [cf. Greek Ouranos], whose power and wisdom is revealed in the light of the Sun (‘the eye of Mitra and Varuna’). He knows the cosmic secrets in the upper regions, and all deeds done or not done, and he sees the truth and falsehood of men. He has many eyes, especially in the night sky, and employs spies in the trees (presumably fireflies), who watch to see if men walk the righteous path. The Natural Law (Rita) of the universe was established by Varuna – and the word Arya refers to one who conforms to this Law. He separated the primordial Dyausprithivi, to reveal Dyaus (Sky – cf. Zeus) and Prithivi (Earth). The Aryans, however, praised most highly the demon-slaying warrior-god Indra, who became their ‘King of Gods’. The Rig-Veda Samhita includes numerous prayers addressed to Indra, imploring his help in vanquishing the enemy, capturing their cattle, and acquiring their wealth. His preferred oblation is Soma, a plant said to grow on Mujavat Mountain and which was prepared as an inebriating drink. This is presumably Ephædra intermedia Schrenk. & Meyer 1846, which grows in the western Himalayas, western Tibet, and across Afghanistan, where the plant is known as Huma. It's distribution extends into Iran (cf. Arya), and it is recognized by Zoroastrians as the Haoma plant of their Zend Avesta. Ephædra intermedia is restricted to alpine habitats (2,500 - 4,800 m); and it contains alkaloids (chiefly pseudo-ephedrine) with strong tonic and stimulant properties. Other Ephædra species may have been used: e.g. the more widely distributed E. gerardiana Wall. 1828, which contains principally ephedrine. There is clear connexion between the four chief Adityas (solar gods) of the early Rig-Veda (Varuna, Mitra, Aryaman, and Bhaga) and the Avestan Ahura Mazda, Mithra, Airiyaman, and Baga. The early Vedic Asura Varuna is equivalent with Avestan Ahura Mazda, the Lord of High Knowledge, who is manifest as Varana (the Sky) and is the keeper of Asa or Arta (the fundamental ethical principal of Zoroastrianism). Varuna was gradually eclipsed by the developing solar pantheon and became a God of the vast Waters, where serpents (Nagas) dwell, and a guardian (Dikpala) of the sunset realm in the West. After death, Yama led the soul into the next world, to be judged according to the life lived. The blessed live on in bliss with Yama in the celestial ‘World of the Fathers’ whereas the damned are punished with torment in the ‘House of Clay’. This reward and punishment was seen as final – the bulk of the Rig-Veda knows nothing of successive lives. Yama is Dikpala of the South, where he entertains the departed Fathers (Pitra); Soma (identified with the Moon) and the Rudras (the other nocturnal ‘spies’) dwell in the North; while the light of Indra and the Adityas arises in the East. Despite the proliferation of deities requiring worship, the early Rig-Veda notes that, what is but one, the wise call by manifold names: Ekam Sat, Vipra Bahudha Vadanti. Until about 1000 BC, Aryans had not penetrated further east than the Jamuna River, but they eventually spread into the Ganges Valley, and reached as far as the western frontiers of Bengal by 800 BC. Concurrently, the 10th Mandala additions to the Rig-Veda (1000-900 BC) revealed Prajapati (Lord of Creation) as the ‘God who has ever been the One King of all that breathes’. Sacrifice (Yajna) was elevated to supreme importance, as the very process by which the universe came into being, and the ritual actions of Yajna became invested with magical power. Sacrifice performed in the phenomenal world has an effect more vast than the act itself, and the supernatural power that produces this disproportionate effect is Brih (‘Vast’, as the boundless sky) – the power of Varuna, now considered inherent within, and wielded by, Brahman. In the Vedas, the neuter Brahman (nom. Brahma) refers to sacred utterance or Mantra, and the power contained in it; and the noble gods of the early Rig-Veda were said to possess Brahman. The Lord of this ‘Logos-Brahman’, however, was Brahmanaspati or Brihaspati. As the Brahmana's priest-craft was elaborated, three priests (Purohita) became necessary for correct Yajna. The chief Hotar followed the Rig-Veda, whose Mantras were rearranged as Gayatri in the Sama (Song) Veda for a second priest (Udgatar) to intone. And a third Revelation was compiled, the Yajur (Sacrificial) Veda, which provides supplementary ritual formulae for the Adhvaryu, who was responsible for the manual elements of Yajna. Vedic cosmogony, however, remained rather nebulous: Then was not non-existent nor existent: there was no realm of air, no sky beyond it. What covered in, and where? And what gave shelter? Was water there, of unfathomed depth? Death was not then, nor was there immortality: no sign was there, the divider of day and night. That One Thing, breathless, breathed by its own nature: apart from it was nothing whatsoever. Darkness there was: at first concealed in darkness, this All was indiscriminated chaos. All that existed then was void and formless: by the great power of Warmth was born that Singularity. Thereafter rose Desire in the beginning, Desire the primal seed and germ of Spirit. Sages, who searched with their hearts, discovered the existent’s kinship in the non-existent. Transversely was their severing line extended: what was above it then, and what below it? There were begetters, there were mighty forces, free action here and energy up yonder. Who verily knows and who can declare it, when was it born and whence comes this creation? The gods are later than this world’s production. Who knows then when it first came into being? He, the first origin of this creation, whether he formed it all or did not form it, Whose eye controls this world in highest heaven, he verily knows it, or perhaps he knows it not. [from late Rig-Veda Samhita – Transl. R.T.H. Griffith] After 800 BC, with the Samhitas in their final redaction, prose directives and exegesis, known as Brahmanas, were added to each of the Vedas. In their cosmogony, unmanifest Brahman became Vishvakarman (Maker of All – also known as Daksha-Prajapati), emerging from Asat (Not-being) to create Cosmos out of Chaos. Prajapati (as Brihaspati, the cosmic Purohita) created life by offering himself as an oblation, in the form of Purusha (Primal Man – vital spirit, the latent creative power of metaphysical Brahman) – thus becoming not only the energy behind the creative act, but the material ingredient of the universe. Brahman (n.) is said to have created Brahman (m.) through self-sacrifice at Pushkara, in the Pushkaranya (Purusha-ka-Aranya – Forest of Purusha). Brahman (n.) was inspired but unmoved until this Purusha-Yajna. Now manifest, through the power of Brih, Brahman is referred to in masculine form (nom. Brahma), indicating the pesonalized Creator Brahman. Thus personalized, any man conversant with Brahma was known as Brahma (Brahmin), a type of the Brahmana caste. The Trayi-Vidya (Threefold Wisdom) was revealed in three Brahma-Vedas, for three Soma priests, reflecting the triple formula of creation, which also determined three Aryan castes, and three stages of life (Ashrama) – Brahmacharya (Student), Garhasthya (Householder), and Vanaprastha (Forest Recluse) – in the three-dimensional realm of physical reality. Sarvam khulu idam Brahma (All this is verily Brahma) The expansion of Aryan influence required Brahminic recognition of some new realities. The Brahmanas established that four castes of humanity exist as part of the ordained structure of the universe, resulting from Prajapati’s ‘Sacrifice of Primeval Cosmic Man’ (Purusha-Yajna), who was divided into four parts: Brahmana was his mouth, the arms were made Kshatriya, his thighs Vaishya, and from his feet was born Sudra (Serf – a fourth category of man, required for conquered indigenous peoples). The advance of Brahmanism, however, faced vigorous opposition from the Yati (Hermits, cf. Yeti), a pre-Aryan brotherhood of hermit shamans who supported the regional kings against Aryan culture, and paid with their lives. The Brahmanas mention that ‘Indra gave the Yati to the wolf-hounds’. Only three survived, to whom Indra gave boons – the surviving Yati were finally accepted into the Aryan community. The Yati ‘priests’ were known as Vratya or Yatuvidah (those skilled in Yatu – Sorcery), and their wisdom found expression in the Atharva-Veda, which incorporates popular and indigenous chants and charms, and provides the earliest literary source (albeit Sanskritic) for the religion of pre-Aryan India. This fourth Veda is actually known as Atharvangirasah, having both Atharvan and Angiras components, the former characterized as Shantam (Holy) and the latter as Ghoram (Terrible). Atharvan includes auspicious and remedial charms (Bheshagam), while Angiras ritual has aggressive intent and was distinguished as Abhikarikam (unholy Sorcery). The Yatuvidah were Agni (Fire – cf. Latin: Igneus) priests, whose ritual had primarily domestic concern. Their sorcery involved the magical and medicinal use of indigenous flora, which remained largely mysterious to the Aryan immigrants. The Atharva-Veda provides a manual of pre-Aryan medical lore, although the identity of most herbs is no longer clear. Orthodox priests did not accept the Atharvan as a true Brahma-Veda, and counselled Brahmana to avoid the practice of medicine – a woman with knowledge of the correct use of roots was especially to be feared. The Atharva-Veda emphasized the underlying transcendent principle that was always implied in the Trayi-Vidya, but only truly appreciated in profound contemplation. In Aryan cosmogony, the inceptive power of creation was originally held in Mantra (as Brih), and was gradually transferred to the sacrificial process of Yajna (as Purusha or Soma); but, for the Yati, Yogi, and Jnani, the process is involutional, with Tapas as the efficient cause. Self-generated creative heat and illumination indicate the solar nature of this pure metaphysical Brahman, who is essentially related to the fourth dimension of time. The Atharva-Veda established, in addition to the Hotar, Udgatar, and Adhvaryu, an essential function for the Atharvan Purohita, who adopted the supreme title of Brahman. The Brahman in Atharvan Yajna undertakes a less active, supervisory role, accounting for faults and inadequacies in the ritual performance with Bheshagam, and protecting against malefic influences with Abhikarikam. A fourth Ashrama, known as Yati (Hermit), completed the Atharvan (3+1) vision, which was prefigured in the ancient Aryan Adityas: The unfathomed darkness of Varuna supporting the all illuminating Mitra who, with Bhaga (Womb, or Prosperity), begot the brilliant Aryaman and the entire solar race. Brahman has four heads, and at Dula Deo Mandir at Kajuraho his four arms are represented holding a sacrificial ladle (his essence as Purusha or Prajapati), a book (he is approached through wisdom), a Mala or rosary (he is to be contemplated and meditated upon), and a Kamandalu or alms-pot (symbolic of a mendicant’s life). Along with their Bheshagam and Abhikarikam, the Revelations of the contemplative Atharvan Brahmana (Yati) provide more cosmogonic and theosophic speculation than appears in the Trayi-Vidya, and their sentiment is beautifully expressed in the following Atharvan hymns [Transl. M. Bloomfield] to Kala (Time) and Prithivi (Earth). The Earth-Goddess is here praised independently of Dyaus, and the extent of this hymn also reflects the ancient matrifocal inclinations of the indigenous population.

God The teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi Edited by David Godman [Note: By David Godman: The original texts from which these conversations are taken are characterised by a luxuriant profusion of capital letters. I have eliminated most of them, leaving only three terms, Guru, Self and Heart, consistently capitalised.] Preamble by David Godman Preamble At first sight Sri Ramana Maharshi’s statements on God appear to be riddled with contradictions: on one occasion he might say that God never does anything, on another that nothing happens except by God’s will. Sometimes he would say that God is just an idea in the mind, while at other times he would say that God is the only existing reality. The contradictory statements are largely a reflection of the differing levels of understanding he encountered in his questioners. Those who worshipped personal Gods would often be given anthropomorphic explanations. They would be told that God created the world, that he sustains it by his divine power, that he looks after the needs of all its inhabitants and that nothing happens that is contrary to God’s will. On the other hand, those who were not attracted to such a theory would be told that all such ideas about God and his power were mental creations, which only obscured the real experience of God, which is inherent in everyone. At the highest level of his teachings the term ‘God’ and ‘Self’ are synonyms for the immanent reality which is discovered by Self-realisation. Thus realisation of the Self is realisation of God; it is not an experience of God, rather it is an understanding that one is God. Speaking from this ultimate level, Sri Ramana’s statements on God can be summarised in the following way: God is immanent and formless; God is pure being and pure consciousness. Manifestation appears in God and through God’s power, but God is not its creator. God never acts, God just is. God has neither will nor desire. Individuality is the illusion that we are not identical with God; when the illusion is dispelled, what remains is God. On a lower level Sri Ramana Maharshi spoke about Iswara, the Hindu name for the supreme personal God. He said that Iswara exists as a real entity only so long as one imagines that one is an individual person. When individuality persists there is a God who survives the activities of the universe; in the absence of individuality Iswara is non-existent. Beside Iswara, Hinduism has many deities which resemble the gods and demons of Norse and Greek mythology. Such deities are a central feature of popular Hinduism and their reality is still widely accepted. Sri Ramana surprised many people by saying that such beings were as real as the people who believed in them. He admitted that after realisation they shared the same fate as Iswara, but prior to that, he seemed to regard them as senior officials in a cosmological hierarchy which looked after the affairs of the world. _ Question: God is described as manifest and unmanifest. As the former he is said to include the world as a part of his being. If that is so, we as part of that world should have easily known him in the manifest form. Sri Ramana Maharshi: Know your self before you seek to decide about the nature of God and the world. Question: Does knowing myself imply knowing God? Sri Ramana Maharshi: Yes, God is within you. Question: Then, what stands in the way of my knowing myself or God? Sri Ramana Maharshi: Your wandering mind and perverted ways. Question: Is God personal? Sri Ramana Maharshi: Yes, he is always the first person, the I, ever standing before you. Because you give precedence to worldly things, God appears to have receded to the background. If you give up all else and seek him alone, he alone will remain as the ‘I’, the Self. Question: Is God apart from the Self? Sri Ramana Maharshi: The Self is God. ‘I am’ is God. This question arises because you are holding on to the ego self. It will not arise if you hold on to the true Self. For the real Self will not and cannot ask anything. If God be apart from the Self he must be a self-less God, which is absurd. God, who seems to be non-existent, alone truly exists. Whereas the individual, who seems to be existing, is ever non-existent. Sages say that the state in which one thus knows one’s own non-existence (sunya) alone is the glorious supreme knowledge. You now think that you are an individual, that there is the universe and that God is beyond the cosmos. So there is the idea of separateness. This idea must go. For God is not separate from you or the cosmos. The Gita also says: The Self am I, O Lord of sleep, In every creature’s heart enshrined. The rise and noon of every form, I am its final doom as well. -Bhagavad Gita, Ch.10, Verse 20. Thus God is not only in the heart of all, he is the prop of all, he is the source of all, their abiding place and their end. All proceed from him, have their stay in him, and finally resolve into him. Therefore, he is not separate. Question: How are we to understand this passage in the Gita: ‘This whole cosmos forms a particle of me’? Sri Ramana Maharshi: It does not mean that a small particle of God separates from him and forms the universe. His sakti (power) is acting. As a result of one phase of such activity the cosmos has become manifest. Similarly, the statement in Purusha Sukta, ‘All the beings form his one foot’, does not mean that Brahman is in several parts. Questioner: I understand that. Brahman is certainly not divisible. Sri Ramana Maharshi: So the fact is that Brahman is all and remains indivisible. It is ever realised but man is not aware of this. He must come to know this. Knowledge means the overcoming of obstacles, which obstruct the revelation of the eternal truth that the Self is the same as Brahman. The obstacles taken together form your idea of separateness as an individual. Question: Is God the same as Self? Sri Ramana Maharshi: The Self is known to everyone, but not clearly. You always exist. The be-ing is the Self. ‘I am’ is the name of God. Of all the definitions of God, none is indeed so well put as the Biblical statement ‘I am that I am’ in Exodus 3. There are other statements, such as Brahmaivaham (Brahman am I), Aham Brahmasmi (I am Brahman) and Soham (I am he). But none is so direct as the name Jehovah which means ‘I am’. The absolute being is what is. It is the Self. It is God. Knowing the Self, God is known. In fact God is none other than the Self. Question: God seems to be known by many different names. Are any of them justified? Sri Ramana Maharshi: Among the many thousands of names of God, no name suits God, who abides in the Heart, devoid of thought, so truly, aptly, and beautifully as the name ‘I’ or ‘I am’. Of all the known names of God, the name of God ‘I’ – ‘I’ alone will resound triumphantly when the ego is destroyed, rising as the silent supreme word (mouna-para-vak) in the Heart-space of those whose attention is Selfward-facing. Even if one unceasingly meditates upon that name ‘I-I’ with one’s attention on the feeling ‘I’, it will take one and plunge one into the source from which thought rises, destroying the ego, the embryo, which is joined to the body. Question: What is the relationship between God and the world? Is he the creator or sustainer of it? Sri Ramana Maharshi: Sentient and insentient beings of all kinds are performing actions only by the mere presence of the sun, which rises in the sky without any volition. Similarly all actions are done by the Lord without any volition or desire on his part. In the mere presence of the sun, the magnifying lens emits fire, the lotus-bud blossoms, the water-lily closes and all the countless creatures perform actions and rest. The order of the great multitude of worlds is maintained by the mere presence of God in the same manner as the needle moves in front of a magnet, and as the moonstone emits water, the water-lily blossoms and the lotus closes in front of the moon. In the mere presence of God, who does not have even the least volition, the living beings, who are engaged in innumerable activities, are embarking upon many paths to which they are drawn according to the course determined by their own Karmas, finally realise the futility of action, turn back to Self and attain liberation. The actions of living beings certainly do not go and affect God, who transcends the mind, in the same manner as the activities of the world do not affect that sun and as the qualities of the conspicuous four elements (earth, water, fire and air) do not affect the limitless space. Question: Why is samsara- creation and manifestation as finitised- so full of sorrow and evil? Sri Ramana Maharshi: God’s will! Question: Why does God will it so? Sri Ramana Maharshi: It is inscrutable. No motive can be attributed to that power –no desire, no end to achieve can be asserted of that one infinite, all-wise and all-powerful being. God is untouched by activities, which take place in his presence. Compare the sun and the world activities. There is no meaning in attributing responsibility and motive to the one before it becomes many. Question: Does everything happen by the will of God? Sri Ramana Maharshi: It is not possible for anyone to do anything opposed to the ordinance of God, who has the ability to do everything. Therefore to remain silent at the feet of God, having given up all the anxieties of the wicked, defective mind, is best. Question: Is there a separate being Iswara (personal God) who is the rewarder of virtue and punisher of sins? Is there a God? Sri Ramana Maharshi: Yes. Question: What is he like? Sri Ramana Maharshi: Iswara has individuality in mind and body, which are perishable, but at the same time he has also the transcendental consciousness and liberation inwardly. Iswara, the personal God, the supreme creator of the universe really does exist. But this is true only from the relative standpoint of those who have not realised the truth, those people who believe in the reality of individual souls. From the absolute standpoint the sage cannot accept any other existence than the impersonal Self, one and formless. Iswara has a physical body, a form and a name, but it is not so gross as this material body. It can be seen in visions in the form created by the devotee. The forms and names of God are many and various and differ with each religion. His essence is the same as ours, the real Self being only one and without form. Hence forms he assumes are only creations or appearances. Iswara is immanent in every person and every object throughout the universe. The totality of all things and beings constitutes God. There is a power out of which a small fraction has become all this universe, and the remainder is in reserve. Both this reserve power plus the manifested power as material world together constitute Iswara. Question: So ultimately Iswara is not real? Sri Ramana Maharshi: Existence of Iswara follows from our conception of Iswara. Let us first know whose concept he is. The concept will be only according to the one who conceives. Find out who you are and the other problems will solve themselves. Iswara, God, the creator, the personal God, is the last of the unreal forms to go. Only the absolute being is real. Hence, not only the world, not only the ego, but also the personal God are of unreality. We must find the absolute – nothing else. Question: You say that even the highest God is still only an idea. Does that mean that there is no God? Sri Ramana Maharshi: No, there is an Iswara. Question: Does he exist in any particular place or form? Sri Ramana Maharshi: If the individual is a form, even Self, the source, who is the Lord, will also appear to be form. If one is not a form, since there then cannot be knowledge of other things, will that statement that God has a form be correct? God assumes any form imagined by the devotees through repeated thinking in prolonged meditation. Though he thus assumes endless names, the real formless consciousness alone is God. With regard to his location, God does not reside in any place other than the Heart. It is due to illusion, caused by the ego, the ‘I am the body’ idea, that the kingdom of God is conceived to be elsewhere. Be sure that the Heart is the kingdom of God. Know that you are perfect, shining light, which not only makes the existence of God’s kingdom possible, but also allows it to be seen as some wonderful heaven. To know this is alone jnana. Therefore, the kingdom of God is within you. The unlimited space of Turiyatita (beyond the four states, i.e. the Self), which shines suddenly, in all its fullness, within the Heart of a highly mature aspirant during the state of complete absorption of mind, as if a fresh and previously unknown experience, is the rarely attained and true Siva-loka (the kingdom of God), which shines by the light of Self. Question: They say that the jiva (individual soul) is subject to the evil effects of illusion such as limited vision and knowledge, whereas Iswara has all-pervading vision and knowledge. It is also said that Jiva and Iswara become identical if the individual discards his limited vision and knowledge. Should not Iswara also discard his particular characteristics such as all-pervading vision and knowledge? They too are illusions, aren’t they? Sri Ramana Maharshi: Is that your doubt? First discard your own limited vision and then there will be time enough to think of Iswara’s all-pervading vision and knowledge. First get rid of your own limited knowledge. Why do you worry about Iswara? He will look after himself. Has he not got as much capacity as we have? Why should we worry about whether he possesses all-pervading vision and knowledge or not? It is indeed a great thing if we can take care of ourselves. Question: But does God know everything? Sri Ramana Maharshi: The Vedas declare God to be omniscient only to those who ignorantly think themselves to be people of little knowledge. But if one attains and knows him as he really is, it will be found that God does not know anything, because his nature is the ever-real whole, other than which nothing exists to be known. Question: Why do religions speak of Gods, heaven, hell, etc.? Sri Ramana Maharshi: Only to make the people realise that they are on a par with this world and that the Self alone is real. The religions are according to the view-point of the seeker. Question: Do Vishnu, Siva, etc., exist? Sri Ramana Maharshi: Individual human souls are not the only beings known. Question: And their sacred regions Kailasa or Vaikuntha, are they real? Sri Ramana Maharshi: As real as you are in this body. Question: Do they possess a phenomenal existence, like my body? Or are they fictions like the horn of a hare? Sri Ramana Maharshi: They do exist. Question: If so, they must be somewhere. Where are they? Sri Ramana Maharshi: Persons who have seen them say that they exist somewhere. So we must accept their statement. Question: Where do they exist? Sri Ramana Maharshi: In you. Question: Then it is only an idea, which I can create and control? Sri Ramana Maharshi: Everything is like that. Question: But I can create pure fictions, for example, a hare’s horn, or only part truths, for example a mirage, while there are also facts irrespective of my imagination. Do the Gods Iswara or Vishnu exist like that? Sri Ramana Maharshi: Yes. Question: Is God subject to Pralaya (cosmic dissolution)? Sri Ramana Maharshi: Why? Man becoming aware of the Self transcends cosmic dissolution and becomes liberated. Why not Iswara who is infinitely wiser and abler? Question: Do devas (angels) and pisachas (devils) exist similarly? Sri Ramana Maharshi: Yes. Question: These deities, what is their status relative to the Self? Sri Ramana Maharshi: Siva, Ganapati and other deities like Brahma, exist from a human standpoint; that is to say, if you consider your personal self as real, then they also exist. Just a government has its high executive officers to carry on the government, so has the creator. But from the standpoint of the Self all these gods are illusory and must themselves merge into the one reality. Questioner: Whenever I worship God with name and form, I feel tempted to think whether I am not wrong in doing so, as that would be limiting the limitless, giving form to the formless. At the same time I feel I am not constant in my adherence to worship God without form. Sri Ramana Maharshi: As long as you respond to a name, what objection could there be to your worshipping a God with name or form? Worship God with or without form till you know who you are. Question: I find it difficult to believe in a personal God. In fact I find it impossible. But I can believe in an impersonal God, a divine force which rules and guides the world, and it would be a great help to me, even in my work of healing, if this faith were increased. May I know how to increase this faith? Sri Ramana Maharshi: Faith is in things unknown, but the Self is self-evident. Even the greatest egotist cannot deny his own existence, that is to say, cannot deny the Self. You can call the ultimate reality by whatever name you like and say that you have faith in it or love for it, but who is there who will not have faith in his own existence or love for himself? That is because faith and love are our real nature. Question: Should I not have any idea about God? Sri Ramana Maharshi: Only so long as there are other thoughts in the Heart can there be a thought of God conceived by one’s mind. The destruction of even that thought of God due to the destruction of all other thoughts alone is the unthought thought, which is the true thought of God.

Readings from the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa said: "The feeling of 'Thee and Thine' is the outcome of Knowledge. 'I and mine' comes from ignorance. Knowledge makes one feel : 'O God! Thou art the Doer and I am Thy instrument. O God! To Thee belongs all - body, mind, house, family, living beings, and the universe. All these are Thine. Nothing belongs to me.' An ignorant person says, 'God is there - very far off.' The man of Knowledge knows that God is right here, very near, in the heart; that He has assumed all forms and dwells in all hearts as their Inner Controller." _ Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa Said: "There are different levels among the devotees of God: superior, mediocre and inferior. All this has been described in the Gita. The inferior devotee says, 'God exists, but He is very far off, up there in heaven.' The mediocre devotee says, 'God exists in all beings as life and consciousness.' The superior devotee says: 'It is God Himself who has become everything; whatever I see is only a form of God. It is He alone who has become Maya, the universe, and all living beings. Nothing exists but God.' " _ From Other Scriptures Sri Rama asked Hanuman: "Hanuman, what attitude do you cherish towards Me?" Hanuman answered : "O Rama! When I think I am the body, You are the Master and I am Your servant, when I think I am the jivatman (embodied individual soul), You are the whole and I am a part ; but when I have the Knowledge of Reality, I see that you are I and I am You." _ TOP <To top of this page Sri Ramacharitamanas The Ramayana of Goswami Tulasidasa Extracts from Uttara-kanda- 126 to 129 Shambhu (Shiva) spoke to Uma: "I have thus repeated the most sacred narrative (The Ramayana), by hearing which one is freed from the bonds of worldly existence and comes to have devotion to the lotus feet of the All-merciful Sri Ram (The Lord), who is a wish yielding tree to the suppliant. Again they who listen to this narrative attentively are absolved of sins committed with the mind, speech or body. Devotion to Sri Hari (the Lord) can be easily attained by men who constantly listen to this story with faith. This story should not be repeated to a perverse knave, who does not listen attentively t the story of Sri Hari; nor should it be recited to a greedy , irascible or lustful man who worships not the Lord of all animate and inanimate creation. It should never be repeated to a Brahman-hater. They alone are qualified to hear Sri Ram's narrative, who are extremely fond of communion with holy men. They alone are fit to hear it, who are devoted to the feet of their preceptor, and are lovers of propriety and votaries of the Brahmans. The story of Sri Ram wipes out the sins of the Kali age and removes the impurities of the mind." _ Sri Ramacharitamanasa The Ramayana of Goswami Tulasidas Uttar-Kanda - 37-40 THE DISTINGUISHING TRAITS OF THE GOOD AND THE WICKED The conduct of saints and the wicked is analogous to that of sandal-wood and the axe. The axe cuts down a sandal-tree, while the sandal-tree in its turn perfumes the axe by imparting its virtue (fragrance) to the axe. For this reason, sandal-wood (in the form of paste) finds its way to the head of gods (as tilak on the images of gods), and is loved by the world so much; while the axe has its metal edge heated in the fire and beaten with a hammer as punishment. Saints as a rule have no hankering for the pleasures of the senses and are the very mines of amiability and other virtues. They grieve to see others in distress and rejoice at the sight of others' joy. They are even-minded and look upon none as their enemy. Free from vanity and passion, they are conquerers of greed, anger, joy and fear. Tender of heart and compasssionate to the distressed , they cherish guileless devotion to the Lord in thought, word and deed...... They never swerve from the control of their mind and senses, religious observances and correct behaviour and never utter a harsh word. Now hear the characteristics of the impious, association with whom should be scrupulously avoided; for their company ever brings woe, even as a wicked cow ruins by her company a cow of noble breed. The heart of the wicked suffers terrible agony; for they ever burn at the sight of others' prosperity. Wherever they hear others reviled, they feel delighted as though they had stumbled upon a treasure lying on the road. Devoted to sensuality, anger, arrogance and greed, they are merciless, deceitful, crooked and impure. They bear enmity towards all without rhyme or reason; they behave inimically even with those who are actively kind to them. They are false in their dealings (lying is their stock-in-trade). They speak honeyed words just like the peacock that has a stony heart and devours the most venomous snake. Malevolent by nature, they enjoy other's wives and other's wealth and take delight in slandering others. Such vile and sinful men are demons in human garb.... Devoted to their own selfish interests, they antagonise their kinsfolk, are given up to sensuality and greed and are most irascible. They recognise neither mother nor father nor preceptor nor the Brahmans; utterly ruined themselves, they bring ruin upon others. Overcome by infatuation they bear malice to others and have no love for communion with saints nor for the stories relating to Sri Hari. Oceans of vice, dull-witted, and lascivious, they revile the Vedas and usurp others' wealth. Though bearing malice to all, they are enemies of the Brahmans in particular; and full of hypocrisy and deceit at heart, they outwardly wear a saintly appearance. Such vile and wicked men are absent in the Satya and Treta Yugas; a sprinkling of them will appear in the Dwapara, while multitude of them will crop forth in the Kali age.

EDUCATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE SHANTI PAATH OF THE UPANISADS The `Peace chant ' reads: Om, Sahanavavatu; sah nau bhunaktu; saha viryam karavavahai; Tejaswinavadhitamastu; ma vidvisavahai. Om shantih, shantih, shantih. `Om. May Brahman (the one divine Self in all) protect us both (student and teacher); may Brahman nourish us both; may we both acquire energy (by this education); may we not hate each other. Om. Peace, Peace, Peace.' This peace invocation contains many beautiful sentiments which have inspired Indian education - secular and religious- for a few thousand years. TEACHER AND STUDENT ENGAGED IN THE PURSUIT OF KNOWLEDGE AND EXCELLENCE OF CHARACTER IS EDUCATION. The invocation expresses the idea of education as the achievement of knowledge and excellence of character in the context of a harmonious relationship between teacher and student. The giving and receiving of knowledge, leading to the making of man, depends on the stimulus of such teacher-student relationship. The teacher gives and the student receives, not only ideas and information, but inspiration as well. In all the true education, teacher and student are not mere individuals, but personalities. Education, according to the Indian sages, is the lighting of one lamp from another lamp. `MAY WE ACQUIRE ENERGY' says the verse. Every step in education helps man to reach out to newer and newer energy resources within him. All energy is within man, says Vedanta. But they lie in deeper and deeper layers. 'Atmana vindate viryam'- `By the knowledge of the Atman, man gets infinite energy,' says the Kena Upanisad. Education helps man to secure access to the greater and greater energy resources within him. An uneducated rustic youth, timid and helpless, changes, through a few years in school, into a youth with a measure of fearlessness and self-confidence. His education continued further, helps that youth to develop a sense of his own individual identity. It is this RISING TO THE STATUS OF THE INDIVIDUALITY FROM THE STATE OF THE PRE-INDIVIDUAL MASS MAN that gives man the capacity to take independent decisions, the courage to stand by them and take the consequences, and the ability to deal with the world, and his position in it, as a mature human being. THIS PSYCHIC MATURITY IS ONE OF THE IMPORTANT CRITERIA OF EDUCATION; and it comes only from an education THAT TRAINS THE MIND AND NOT MERELY STUFFS THE BRAIN. The mental immaturity of a large number of people world-wide is a big problem. It is here that the failure of many education systems is writ large. It does not impart that psychological maturity to many.Swami Vivekananda referred to all such as MOUSTACHED BABIES! They are physically very mature, but mentally they are like babies- dependent, weak, demanding, and bereft of the sense of personal dignity and responsibility. . They have not developed that human energy resource that can identify human problems and rise above them themselves and take their society also with them. Behind these immature traits in all such people lies the lack of that luminosity or enlightenment which the Upanisads present as the second fruit of true education as mentioned in the peace chant.: TEJASVINAU ADHITAM ASTU- `may we be enlightened by this study, by this education'. This is the significance of knowledge being compared to light. The logo or the emblem of our society depicts books plus JNANA-DIPA, the light of knowledge. The Upanisads describe the Atman, the Self, as JNANA-SVARUPA or CHIT-SVARUP, of the very nature of knowledge, of the very nature of consciousness. All awakening to knowledge, to consciousness, is, therefore, the manifestation of the Atman, in varying degrees. This spiritual growth into personality is what twentieth-century biology calls the psycho-social evolution of man. It is man rising above organic evolution, to the spiritual and cultural levels. This is what Swami Vivekananda calls MAN-MAKING EDUCATION

I will look into into it sometime later.

Legend Once there was a dispute between Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu as to who was superior. This created untold suffering among all living things as their respective duties of creation and protection were being left unattended. Lord Shiva in order to put an end to this dispute appeared before them as fire in the shape of a glowing mountain.. The two who were quarrelling did not realise who or what this 'mountain of fire' was. So they decided to search for the 'Aathi' (beginning) and the 'Antham' (end) of this 'Jothi' and whoever succeeded first would be declared the superior god. Lord Brahma took the form of a swan and flew upwards in search of the beginning and Lord Vishnu took the form of a 'Varaha' (wild boar) and went burrowing in the earth in order to find the end. Each after flying high and borrowing low failed in his attempt to find the beginning or the end. Brahma did not want to concede defeat. While coming down he saw a petal of 'Thalampoo' floating in the air. He asked the flower to be his witness that he had seen the beginning. The flower agreed to his request. They arrived together and found Lord Vishnu and told Him that Brahma had seen the top and this flower 'Thalampoo' was the witness. At this juncture the 'Jothi' transformed itself as Lord Shiva and admonished Brahma for telling lies and the 'Thalampoo' for bearing false witness. He also decreed that no temples would be dedicated for Lord Brahma and that 'Thalampoo' should never be offered in worship. Brahma and Vishnu realising their mistake prayed to Lord Shiva to remain there as a 'Jothi lingam'. Thus every year during the Tamil month of 'Karthigai' (November/December) on the 'Karthigai' day a blazing fire is lighted on the top of the hill to celebrate the appearance of Lord Shiva as 'Jothi'. This occasion is an important day in the calendar of Thiruvannamalai. There is also another legend that says that Goddess Parvathy once playfully closed the eyes of Lord Paramasivan. This caused the entire universe to become dark and all activities to cease. This made Lord Shiva angry and in order to chastise Parvathy, she was banished to the earth. She came upon this earth and arrived at Kancheepuram. Here she fashioned a Sivalingam in sand and prayed to Lord Shiva to forgive her and take her back. Lord Shiva was pleased with her devotion and prayer and asked her to go to Thiruvannamalai and pray to Arunachaleswarar. Goddess Parvathy arrived at Thiruvannamalai and was finally united with the Lord by taking half his body on the left. This transformation of half Parvathy and half Shiva is called 'Arthanareeswarar'. Though this temple is famous as a Shiva temple, there is a shrine dedicated to Lord Subramanya in the outer 'veethy' The deity is called 'Kambaththu Ilayanar'. This is where Lord Subramanya appeared on a pillar. The legend is as follows. Arunagirinathar, the saint poet and an ardent devotee of Lord Subramanya, lived in Thiruvannamalai. He had squandered his wealth by his youthful waywardness and had contracted an incurable disease as a result. Finally he got fed up with his lot and climbed a temple tower and jumped from there in an attempt to kill himself. Lord Subramanya stopped him falling in mid-air and blessed him with wisdom and set him in a path of piety and devotion. From that day he brought forth his devotion and piety in the form of devotional verses called 'Thiruppugal'. This brought fame and respect to Arunagirinathar. A court member of the king of Thiruvannamalai named Sambathanthan got jealous of Arunagirinathar. He was a devotee of Goddess Sakthi. He challenged Arunagirinathar for a contest. He said that he would make Goddess Sakthi appear before him and challenged Arunagirinathar to do the same with his Lord. Arunagirinathar accepted the challenge. When Sambathandan prayed to Goddess, She appeared in front of him but only he could see her. When Arunagirinathar prayed to Lord Subramanya His figure appeared on a stone pillar for everybody to see. It is this pillar with the image of Lord Subramanya which is installed in the sanctum of Kambathu Ilayanar temple.

Sacrifice as a Duty Sacrifice has been laid down as a duty of the three other orders (Brahmana, Kshatriya and Vaisya). A Sudra, however, is not competent to utter Swaha and Swadha or any other Vedic Mantras. For this reason, the Sudra, without observing the vows laid down in the Vedas, should worship the gods in minor sacrifices called Paka-Yajnas. The gift called Purna-Patra is declared to be the Dakshina (gift) of such sacrifices. [Note: A Paka-Yajna is a minor sacrifice, such as the propitiation of a planet foreboding evil, or worship offered to the inferior deities called Viswadevas. A Purnapatra is literally a large dish or basket full of rice. It should consist of 256 handfuls. Beyond a Purnapatra, the Sudra should not give any other Dakshina in any sacrifice of his.] It has been heard by us that in days of old a Sudra of the name of Paijavana gave a Dakshina (in one of his sacrifices) consisting of a hundred thousand Purnapatras, according to the ordinance called Aindragni. [Note: This ordinance lays down that the Dakshina should be a hundred thousand animals such as cows or horses. In the case of this particular Sudra, that ordinance (without its Mantras) was followed, and a hundred thousand Purnapatras were substituted for cows or horses of that number.] Sacrifice (as has been already said), is as much laid down for the Sudras as for the three other classes. Of all sacrifices, devotion has been laid down to be the foremost. [Note: Hence the Sudra, by devotion to the members of the three other classes, may earn the merit of sacrifices though he is not competent to utter Mantras.] Devotion is a high deity. It cleanses all sacrificers. Then again Brahmanas are the foremost of gods unto their respective Sudra attendants. They worship the gods in sacrifices, for obtaining the fruition of various wishes. The members of the three other classes have all sprung from the Brahmanas. [Note: For this reason the Sudra earns the merit of the sacrifices performed by their Brahmana masters and progenitors]. The Brahmanas are the gods of the very gods. Whatever they would say would be for thy great good. Therefore, all kinds of sacrifices naturally appertain to all the four orders. The obligation is not one whose discharge is optional. The Brahmana, who is conversant with Richs, Yajuses, and Samans, should always be worshipped as a god. The Sudra who is without Riks and Yajuses and Samans, has Prajapati for his god. Mental sacrifices are laid down for all the orders Mental sacrifices, O sire, are laid down for all the orders, O Bharata! It is not true that the gods and other (superior) persons do not manifest a desire to share the offerings in such sacrifices of even the Sudra. [Note: Sacrifices are performed by the body, by words, and by the mind. The Brahmana can perform sacrifices by all the three. The Kshatriya and the Vaisya cannot perform sacrifices by means of their bodies. They must employ Brahmanas in their sacrifices. These two orders, however, can utter Mantras and perform mental sacrifices. The Sudra alone cannot employ his body or utter Mantras in sacrifices. The holy sacrifice in his case is the mental sacrifice. A mental sacrifice is a resolve to give away in honour of the gods or unto the gods without the aid of the Vedic ritual. The resolve must be followed by actual gifts.] For this reason, the sacrifice that consists in devotion is laid down for all the classes (i.e., for the Sudras also). The Brahmana is the foremost of gods. It is not true that they that belong to that order, do not perform the sacrifices of the other orders. The fire called Vitana, though procured from Vaisyas and inspired with Mantras, is still inferior. [Note: All sacrificial fires, as a rule, are procured from the houses of Vaisyas. The sacrificial fire of the Sudra is called Vitana.] The Brahmana is the performer of the sacrifices of the three other orders. For this reason all the four orders are holy. All the orders bear towards one another to relation of consanguinity, through the intermediate classes. They have all sprung from Brahmanas. In ascertaining (the priority or subsequence of men in respect of their creation) it will appear that amongst all the orders the Brahmana was created first. Originally Saman was one; Yajus was one, and Rich was one. [Note: Though originally one, the Vedas have become diverse. Similarly, from the Brahmana, who was created first, all the rest have sprung.] In this connection, persons conversant with ancient histories cite a verse, O king, sung in praise of sacrifice by the Vaikhanas Munis on the occasion of performing a sacrifice of theirs. Before or after sunrise a person of subdued senses, with heart filed with devotion, pours libations on the sacrificial fire according to the ordinance. Devotion is a mighty agent. With regard to Homas (sacred fire ceremonies) again, that variety which is called Skanna is the initial one, while that which is called Askanna is the last (but foremost in point of merit). Sacrifices are multifarious. Their rites and fruits again are multifarious. The Brahmana possessed of devotion who, endued with scriptural learning, who is acquainted with them all, is competent to perform sacrifices. That person who desires to perform a sacrifice is regarded as righteous even if he happens to be a thief, a sinner, or the worst of sinners. The Rishis applaud such a man. Without doubt they are right. This then is the conclusion that all the orders should always and by every means in their power perform sacrifices. There is nothing in the three worlds equal to sacrifice. Therefore, it has been said that every one, with heart free from malice, should perform sacrifices, aided by devotion which is sacred, to the best of his power and according as he pleases. Mr, Maadhav, Sudras too are human beimngs created by God but why such laws? May be it was necessary at that period but they too have feelings and the need to learn but keeping the secret text away from them is depriving their right as huma being. And because of this laws even today they are considered the untouchables. I think they have been exploited for the past few thousand years by people calling themself masters of the scriptures and so did the Kastrias andd Vaisyas. All because they need servants to serve them. What a selfish human they are...We talk about God and love for all living creatures but how much love do you have for these unfortunate souls? That is why I say as long as people exploit religion for selfish reason there will be reformist and avathars to change the mindset of this unfortunate souls and when people like you see crowds gathering there you say he is hoax and brand him with all names. What a shame?

Well, if that is what your hear says let it be. But I do not see anything ugly in any posting here. I see views and interpretations and that is healthy to my mind and so are to others but if you feel that speaking out our mind is ugly than you should not reply to my posting. Why are you hostile? I am no here to speak evil of your Guru or your belief merely pointing out where you amy have thought wrong. Anyway, have a pleasant day.

PACIFICATION & CONTROL OF THE SENSUAL DESIRES BY THE MEANS OF DEVOTION AND WORSHIP In the present scientific of the world, where the man is accustomed to quick results, putting a question mark on the utility and importance of spiritual activities like worship & devotion is, but natural. Not only does devotion & worship demand a continuous and contact effort, but also faith and belief, which are the two pillars upon which the construction of Devotion stands. When a person listen's to the qualitities, sing devotional songs in the praise of the supreme Lord, and remember him, with complete faith and devotion, he acquires such firmness of character, which help's him to control and pacify his sensual desires like lust, anger etc. This happens because of the environment which is created as a result of these activities. This environment affects the surroundings in the some way as the fragrance of the flower is carried to all around it, by the air. Therefore it is beneficial for each man to engage himself in devotion and worship, to have full control over the sensual desires. Even being in the company of a worshipper helps in that objective. THE NECESSITY FOR THE WORSHIP OF THE FIVE DEITIES The methods of worship practised in the Sanatan Dharma is completely scientific, because the rituals which are performed to worship the five dieties (PANCH MAHABHUTA), The matter constitutes of these PANCHA TATVA or PANCH MAHABHUTA and each of the PANCH DEVA are considered to be PANCH MAHABHUTA - EARTH, WATER, FIRE ETHER (Sky), AIR as the Lord of the each of the element These five basic elements exists because of the three qualities of the nature i.e. SATVA (PURE), RAJA (INFERIOR TO SATVA) & TAMA (DARK) Out of the five basic elements of which every matter is made ETHER or Sky is considered to be constituted of Pure quality (SATVA GUNA), where as the AIR is considered to be a mixture of SATVA & RAJA quality, the FIRE is RAJO GUNA, the EARTH constitutes of DARK QUALITY (TAMO GUNA), where as the WATER constitutes of a mixture of RAJA & TAMA GUNAS All the living beings which exist in this world, have the five basic elements as the constitutes of the body, from which their bodies are made. Goswami Tulidas has written in the Ramcharitmanas KSHITI JALA PAAVAKA GAGAN SAMEERA, PANCHA RACHITA YAHA ADHAMA SAREERA THE FIVE DEITIES (PANCHA-DEVA) The following shloko describes about the five deities as the Lord of each of the five basic elements. Meaning : (The Lord of 'ether' is Vishnu, the Lordess of 'Fire' is Durga, Sun is the Lord of 'Air', Shiva is the Lord of 'Earth' and Ganesha is the Lord of 'Water'. A person who has one of these element as dominant, prefers to worship that deity, who is the master of that excessive element which dominated his body. And this is the reason we see so many sects, methods of worship etc. DIVISION OF SECTS Those who worship 'Ganapati' are called 'GAANAPATYA' (worshipper of Ganesh) Those who worship 'Shakti' are called 'SHAAKTA' Those who worship 'Lord Shiva' are 'SHAIVA' Those who worship 'Lord Vishnu' are called 'VAISHNAVA' The worship of the five deities actually is the worship of the basic elements from which the body of a human being is made. As a result of this body becomes healthy & strong. Therefore it is a must for every human being. THE IMPORTANCE OF ADORATION IN WORSHIP All of the three duties or actions (KARMA) come under the act of adoration or reverence. The three duties being 1. Daily Duties (Nitya Karma), 2. Duties performed with an aspiration for a specific purpose (Naimittika Karma), 3. Spiritual Duties (Aadhyatmika Karma) DAILY DUTIES (NITYA-KARMA) Those duties or actions are considered to be the daily duties, by the performance of which one attains no virtues, but by the non-performance of which, one certainly commits sin for example taking bath, doing worship during the dusktime (SANDHYA)sprinkling water in reverence to the deceased ancestors (Tarpana) and worshipping the deities etc. DUTIES PERFORMED WITH AN ASPIRATION FOR A SPECIFIC PURPOSE (NAIMITTIKA-KARMA) Those duties which are performed with an aspiration for a specific purpose are called NAIMITTIKA KARMA, and his desires are certainly fulfilled because of those actions. But on the other hand if those duties or actions are not performed then he does not get those results. For example if a sonless father does duties according to the methods described in the sacred books, to have a son, then his desires will certinly be fulfilled. SPIRITUALS DUTIES OR ACTIONS (AADHYATMIKA KARMA) Those duties which are performed without having any desires, are called spiritual duties or actions. Even if they are not performed they do not give inauspicious results. Apart from these three types of duties by which a man can worship, there are also other methods by which he can worship, like the yogis do in the state of deep meditation (SAMAADHEE) by having full control over there respiration. Our revered sages have classified the religious duties into three categories - 1. Duties or Actions (Karma) 2. Devotion or Worship (Upaasana) 3. Knowledge (Gyaana)

What is your point? Are you inciting everyone here to fight against Muslims and Christians? This is a Hindu discussion forum and here we exchange views to have a better understanding of Hindu religion. It is not that we are unaware of the ongoings but it is better to master your own religion than to confront your enemy without inner knowledge of it. <Too many Hindus are asleep or don't even want to accept that there are predatory religions that have an agenda and are trying their best to wipe Hinduism out by various means...and that includes ALL your sects such as Vaishnavas, Shivites, Shaktas, Vedantists, etc but inspite of this Hindus prefer to argue with each other! > What you said above is unacceptable coz all the above sect combined is called Hinduism and one without the other is a house without foundation and Islam and Christianity fears that coz they do not have that foundation.