Yegan

<table border="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr> <td valign="top" width="100%"> Scholars from across the world came together, for the first time, in an attempt to establish the 'Date of Kurukshetra War based on astronomical data.' Undoubtedly, it was an amazing collation of information presented in a colloquium, held on January 5 and 6, 2003 at the Mythic Society, Bangalore. The colloquium was jointly organized by The Mythic Society, Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts - Southern Regional Centre and Sir Babasaheb (Umakanth Keshav) Apte Smarak Samithi Trust.

</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="100%"> Inaugurating the two day session, Dr. Raja Ramanna, Member of Parliament and eminent nuclear scientist, emphasized that the 'best clock for dating was the sky itself and the position of stars.' He added that 'research and scientific theory should be questioned although he found that many homes and libraries hampered the progress of research by keeping ancient manuscripts to themselves.'

 

 

</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="100%"> Dr. Kalyan Raman clarified the purpose of the colloquium in his introductory remarks. Well-known historian, Dr. Suryanath Kamath, in his Presidential address explained the objective as an ' exploration of the authenticity of dates using planetary software and textual evidences containing over 150 references.' He felt that 'chronology was most important for the history of any society since history without chronology is like a body without a skeleton.' He also gave a detailed explanation of the development of the Mythic library and the collections.

The other dignitaries present on the dais were Dr. M.K.L.N. Sastry - Hon. Secretary, Mythic Society, Prof. P.V. Krishna Bhat - Hon. Coordinator, IGNCA-SRC and Shri K. Narahari - Managing Trustee, Apte Trust. The opening session set the tone for the mind stirring sessions with various interpolations found in the Mahabharata. Several scholars put forth their perception and calculated derivations. Dr. S. Balakrishna (NASA, USA) proved the occurrence of 'two eclipses in (a span of) 13 days prior to Mahabharata'. Analysing the astronomical possibility of Vyasa's statement in Bhishma Parva "Amavasya occured on the 13th day. Two eclipses in a month, on the thirteenth day." he presented the data of eclipses during the period 3300 BCJ (Before the Calendar of Julian Ceaser) to 700 BCJ visible at Kuruxethra, using Lodestar Pro software. He stated the possibility of 672 eclipse pairs, ten 'thirteen day lunar first' eclipse pairs and concluded that 2559 BC eclipse pair was nearest to the text of Mahabharata.

Prof. R.N. Iyengar (I.I.Sc., Bangalore) systematically dealt with "Internal consistency of eclipses and planetary positions in Mahabharata". Verifying all double eclipses of 501-3000 B.C. and when Satur + Jupiter were near Vishaka, he concluded that 1478 B.C. was the most likely year of the war.

Dr. B.N. Narahari Achar (Dept. of Physics, University of Memphis, U.S.A.) gave a brief description of various available planetary software, a review of the works of astrophysicists Kochhar, Siddharth and astronomers, Sengupta and Srinivasa Raghavan and other astronomical references in the epic. He critically examined the limitations and the reliability of simulations and concluded that the astronomical events in the Mahabharata pointed to 3000 B.C.E. (Before Common Era)* and simulation of events to 3067 B.C.E., identical to the one given by Raghavan.

Speaking on 'The date of Mahabharata War with reference to Bhishmashtami', Dr. Kalyan Rama (Chennai) validated the ground truth of River Saraswati of Vedic times that established the historicity of the Mahabharata.

Dr. Shambhu Shastry (Franklin, USA) and Dr. Venkateswara Reddy dealt with 'Natural cycles in the Solar System and Chaturyuga Cycles.' Dr. Kalyan Raman (Chennai) validated the ground truth of River Saraswati of Vedic times that established the historicity of the Mahabharata.

Dr. Shambu Shastry (Franklin, USA) and Dr. Venkateswara Reddy dealt with 'Natural cycles in the Solar System and Chaturyuga Cycles.' Dr. Shambhu Shastry showed that the chatuyuga and manavantara schemes of Hindu chronology are directly from natural astronomical cycles and based on this, he stated, that the human race is about five million years old. He concluded that this helped demythologize the Mahabharata and Ramayana and placed them in the last descending Chaturyuga segment over a time span of not more than 6000 years.

Shri P.V. Holey (Nagpur) was of the opinion that the war began on the 13th day of November 3143 B.C. He sourced this to crucial events with planetary positions after a comparative study of astronomical dates based on nakshatra, the Julian and Gregorian systems.

On the second day, Dr. Mohan Gupta (Ujjain) dealt with Puranic and Astronomical evidences. Based on genealogical and astronomical calculations he concluded that 17th October 1952 B.C. Thursday, Marga Krsna Amavasya kali 1157 or shakapurva 2029, Julian year 2762 as the date when the Mahabharata war began. Dr. S.R. Rao based his derivation on archaeological evidence obtained from onshore and offshore excavations conducted in Dwaraka, Bet Dwarka and in the Kurukshetra region and found 1900-1700 B.C. as acceptable.

Dr. N.S. Rajaram (Bangalore) expressed a need to exercise caution while interpreting astronomicla statements and that it should take into account both the literary evolution and interpolated passages. He felt 3100m B.C. had the best astronomical support. Shri K.V. Ramakrishna Rao (Thiruvananthapuram), felt that due to periodical corrections in Indian astronomical works, changes had crept it and without the significance of the two ears - kali and saka - dates cannot be determined, Dr. M.V. Subba Rao (Secundrabad) gave astrological references of Sri Krishna and felt that the dates could be calcutated from the day of Ktrishna's birth. Shri M.V. Narasimhan (Mysore) spoke of a research methodology using the shastric and the scientific inputs. Referring to Pulakesin's inscription and comet at Nagercoil he concluded 3100 B.C. as the year of the war.

Despite the inspiring deliberations, it was observed that further resource data from varied fields was required to calibrate supportive evidence. Thus the concluding session unanimously drew a plan of action. Dr. S. Nagaraju reviewed the colloquium with regard to the two objectives set at the beginning - to establish internal consistency with respect to dates and chronology mentioned in the Mahabharata and whether it could be proved using planetary software and secondly, if a correct date of the Mahabharata could be derived from the 150 astronomical references and have a sheet anchor of chronology of pre-Buddhist India? He said that at least four papers dealt with the problem directly and clarified a non-discrepancy with respect to the dates given. This is he felt was the most important contribution of the colloquium. But a problem he sighted was, out of the one-lakh odd sholkas, to distinguish what was added at what time. In this context he suggested that more interactions might be had with people who had knowledge of geography and other related areas of study. Secondly, he felt that the dating of the Mahabharata war could not be done merely on the basis of astronomy alone. Since there are a number of texts one should find out the correct text and establish a critical edition giving all details.

Dr. R. Subramaniam in his observations also agreed that there was a need to develop a critical editions of the verses with interpretations in consensus with astronomy, history, archaeology, Sanskrit astrology and mathematics. He suggested that verifications should take into account occurrence of double eclipse, Saturn in Rohini and the use of all available software and data. Another valid point he raised was the absence of direct reference to winter solstice in the Mahabharata. Once that is available it was felt that 'everything could be nailed.'

'Where do we go from here?' Answering the self-query Dr. Kalyan Raman voiced the common desire to 'trash Western Indological work done with motivation and instead rewrite Indian history.' The fundamental task would bring to light traditional works which can be achieved in a series of colloquiums. Truth, he felt, should be perceived in terms of our national heritage and his colloquium had established the reliability of this tool.

The Chairperson, Prof. K.I. Vasu addressed the various issues discussed and surmized that the Mahabharata could be 'considered a historical document'.

- Report from Southern Regional Centre

* (B.C.E. - Before Common Era (indicates dates before the Chiristian era, used especially by non-Christians; B.C.J. - indicated the Julian Calendar. The Julian Calendar is names after Julius Caesar who ordered its adoption in 45 B.C.E. upon the advice of Greek astronomer Sosigenes and decided to use a purely solar calendar. The Julian Calendar also established the order of the month and the days of the week as they exist in present day calendars. Caesar's Calendar consisted of 11 months of 30 or 31 days and a 28 day February with no leap year. In 1582 Pope Gregory XIII ordered another reform of the calendar, which came to be known as the Gregorian calendar. The Gregorian calendar is still in official use and was adopted throughout Europe. It is used today throughout most of the Western world and in parts of Asia.)

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can followers of non-vedic religions obtain moksha in this lifetime, or will they have to be reborn into a tradition that stresses some form of yoga practice?

I think this is a very difficult question. Each one believe that their religion/faith is the one which gives liberation/Moksha. I personally would not say that only our religion is the one which can give moksha and not others.

However I do think that if we are SINCERE and have faith in GOD, whatever our faith are (as long as we use common sense and do not harm our neighbours for the sake of religion), then GOD in his infinite compassion would surely HELP us in attaining whatever the real goal of Moksha is. Whichever form the help might take (could be rebirth, purgatory,in his infinite wisdom he knows how to give the help ), the aim would be to reach that Moksha.

Personally I do not believe in eternal hell. I cant understand why a compasionate Father(GOD) would send his children burning in hell for eternity.I find the idea of reincarnation more of a common sense. As I said , I strongly believe that GOD would surely help us in attaining whatever the goal of mosksha may be, independant of our religion. (My opinion)

How can vegetarian food be sinful, when we would die without eating? isn't it a sin to starve to death?

NO, there is absolutely NO starving at all.

We can eat vegetarian food till our stomach cant hold any more without incuring any bad karma PROVIDED the vegetarian food is first offered to the Lord. This has been explicitely said in the Gita.

Eating vegetarian food without offering to GOD first is eating sin because the plants have consciousness (conciousness is an indication of the presence of soul) and as such suffer pain when being killed/harmed. The Lord would take up these sins unto him only if the vegetarian food is first offered to him.

Vegetarian foods when offered to the lord become purified, clean our conciousness and are karma free. In short food for life!

I believe I know what verse you are referencing, but most people around the world have never read that verse. Most people in America have never read the Bhagavad Gita and know next to nothing about Krishna. Some of these same people who have never read the Bhagavad Gita and have never heard about Krishna may even be vegetarian. So are these non-Vaisnava vegetarians committing sin by eating vegetarian? Even though they are doing their best to be compassionate to animal life?

These are indeed compassionate souls. The law of karma (action and reaction) applies to everyone, independent of race, sex, religion, time and place. These souls would need to pay off that little bit of bad karma they acquired in causing pain/suffering while killing plants.

Lets suppose for one moment some of these people die and didnt attain liberation specifically because of killing plants for survival (Just for argument sake). Im very sure that GOD in his infinite compassion, would ENSURE that these souls not only would be vegetarian in their next life but also would have complete knowledge that plants have souls and thus the vegetarian food must be offered to him (GOD) first before consumption. No one would burn eternally in hell.

I did not know it was a sin to cut weeds. No one has ever told me this before. Where I live we have a homeowners association, and if we have weeds growing in our frontyard, we will be fined or worse. How am I accruing bad karma by plucking the weeds in my front yard? My neighbors do not want to live nextdoor to a house with unsightly weeds. It causes the value of their home to go down and its an eyesore to see a yard overgrown with weeds.

Somethings must be killed in this world? like bugs and weeds and plants for food?

Anything which is living (having consciousness thus soul) suffer pain. In killing them we do incur sin, be it weeds or animals. However killing plants results in much lesser bad karma than killing a cow for example.

I am also facing this problem. I would need to weed out my backyard or else my landlord would kick me out.

Certain of our action inevitably violates the law of ahimsa (law of non violence) and thus we commit sins. Removing weeds from our yard is an excellent exmple.

In the Gita it is mentioned that if actions are in connection to GOD then those actions are in the transcedental platform and thus karma free (sinless). As jndas states in one post, if the action of weeding out the backyard is to principally make the backyard looks nice and beautiful so that GOD can enjoy it, then weeding the backyard becomes karma free even if killing is involved. If we weed out the yard for our own sake or that of our neighbour then the same action result in sin.

If we can SINCRELY weed out the yard for God to enjoy, then that action is sinless.

Am I adding up bad karma if I have termite problem and call someone to come out and kill the termites? or should I let my house be destroyed by termites?

Ok, lets have a little story here.

Lets say that a new species has evolved on earth which is much much bigger, smarter and technologically much more advanced than human beings. Lets refer this new creature as Giant. However the problem with Giant is that they donot understand the human language despite of their great technological advancement.

One day, one of these Giants happens to be interested with your neighbouring environment. So he went to the Giant government and legally purchased the land where you have build your house.

Now after some times, the Giant decides to build his own house on his land. The thing now is he has to get rid of all the bugs, (you , your family along with your house) on his land. So he starts to clear his land (destroy you, your family along with your house) in order to build his beautiful house. How would you feel? Would you not ask under which authority he has done such sinful activities?

Now think, that the Giant is us(human beings) and you as the termites.

Before you bought "your land", there might have been lots of termites' nests and other living creatures already living in there. So under which authority can you destroy/kill them to build your house at the first place?

Unless the place you are constructing in meant to "house" the Lord then that activity is sinful.

Concerning the termites, I think there could be other ways to get rid of them (i.e spray them so that they vacate our place but not killing them). This is still sinful but at least we are not killing them.

And what if I spray the ants in my backyard, so the little ones don't get bit by ants. Am I going to get bad karma?

Few bites wont kill our kids. We should not be too selfish and think of our kids only. What about the thousands of kids we are killing(in the form of ants) to just save our kids from minor suffering.

However if there is a poisonous snake or a poisonous scorpion in my house, I wont feed them. Some people do feed the cobra in their house with milk. Im not spiritual enough to do that. If in case you are like me, I would suggest that you ask for experts to catch them and leave them in the wild far from human beings(This is only my opinion)

It seems killing bugs and plants cannot be avoided.

No we cannot avoid activities and hence some killing is inevitable. However if our activities are in connection to GOD, then those activities even if they involved killing are karma free.

From : http://www.hinduism.co.za/oldest.htm

NASA Images Discover Ancient Bridge

Between India & Sri Lanka

Space images taken by NASA reveal a mysterious ancient bridge in the Palk Strait between India and Sri Lanka. The recently discovered bridge currently named as Adam's Bridge is made of chain of shoals, c.18 mi (30 km) long.

The bridge's unique curvature and composition by age reveals that it is man made. The legends as well as Archeological studies reveal that the first signs of human inhabitants in Sri Lanka date back to the a primitive age, about 1,750,000 years ago and the bridge's age is also almost equivalent.

This information is a crucial aspect for an insight into the ancient epic RAMAYANA, which was supposed to have taken place in treta yuga (more than 1,700,000 years ago)......

For more images visit

http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/sseop/photo.pl?mission=STS033&roll=78&frame=73

Very beautiful

The tears that we might shed during chanting, those tears are salty. Those tears would usually go away afterwards.

Tears from devotees having attained love for GOD have tears which are sweet in taste.

My question to the devoties is , if we chant the holy mantra, are our sins washed away right away, or do we have to chant a certain amount?

Hare krishna

Saying the name of Ramma and krishna ONLY ONCE (but with sincerity)is enough to wash away all of our sins accumulated through ages. However saying the names with sincerity is usually not possible when one just start chanting. Sincerity comes after some times of repetely chanting the names Ramma and Krishna.

Dear Yegan,

Yes you made good points. I thought of how someone could make that same argument with animals. And saw the error in the argument.

 

Plants are a little different than animals though, in that we must kill plants to eat and survive. And plants also must be killed sometimes for maitenance reasons, such as unsightly weeds and such in our yard. Also, of course to get paper from trees and wood supplies we must kill trees. So killing plants can't be 100% avoided.

 

I was just thinking how long souls with large trees must be incarnate; far longer than any man or animal. Assuming there is only one soul associated with each tree for its entire lifetime - it would seem like quite a relief to be finally released from the incarnation.

 

Didn't Krsna release a couple souls from trees who were being punished with their incarnation in that form?

Dear guest,

Im currently in the dilema of whether uprooting the weeds in my backyard . I eventually must do it. As such I would have to account later on for the bad karma I would be doing in killing the plants. I would cause suffering and hence break the law of ahimsa.

I think there is no difference between plants and animals except for the level of conciousness. As jndas has said cutting the trees WOULD NOT liberate them but instead force them back into the plant species again. By cutting down trees, we are violating the law of ahimsa and as such not only we are forcing the soul back into plant species but also accumulating bad karma due to suffering caused on the trees.

Souls get into plant species because of their karma. And they must live in that form of life for certain amount of time. If we cut them down, then these souls still have to take the plant form again to finish off the remaining karma.

The scriptures do say that killing plants is sinful. In Gita, Krsna mentioned that vegetarian food (plants) is sinful unless offered to him first.

I do not think that if killing plants were an act of liberation krishna would have said such activities are sinful.

I also have never heard that killing of plants is an act of liberation as far as scriptures are concerned (Such verses might exist, but never heard of them)

As for Krsna liberating couple of souls from trees, yes agree. He is GOD. We are not.

Thats a very nice dream. You are lucky to dream about Krishna. I dream about the forefathers most of the time and never of krishna .

The world would go worst as kali gets deeper.

Yet if it is stated that kalki would come at the end of kali yuga, then it means mother earth would still be there and people would be still living on it after 430 000 yrs from now. The 4 yuga have been repeating themselves for ages. The earth has seen many kali yuga before and yet it is still here and many different creatures are still living on its surface.

Therefore when there would be unbalance, then the lord would come to reestablish dharma. The Lord knows everything so he knows that unbalance there would be and that would be in some 430 000yrs from now( as per the scriptures). I presume that the wars we are witnessing now and in the near futur ones would not be of any unbalancing factor. Just normal daily kali yuga scenes.

Lord Ramma comes on earth every treta yuga, Lord Krishna comes every dwarpa yuga, similarly Lord kalki comes at every end of kali yuga(at the end of its 430 000 yrs,). I may not be right but from my understanding the scriptures does not change, they are set in stone.

Kalki avatar is meant to come at the end of this kali yuga. His role would be to exterminate the demons and thus bring in the golden age.

End of kalki yuga is expected to be in some 430 000 years from now.

Be conscious off all the living entities in the garden and apologize to them for the discomfort. Do everything as an offering to God.

Dear jndas,

Uprooting the weeds, as an act of offering is very fine, but deep inside my mind however I know that im uprooting these plants simply because I dont want them growing in my backyard and ill be in trouble with my landlord if I dont do so.

Im not to the stage of being able to uproot or trim them and say its for Krishna. My mouth can say its for krishna but deep inside I know its just a pretext to get away from my landlord and at the same time to have a nice backyard for myself. Nevertheless i'll try to think its for Krishna.

It would have been nice if karna could have been King, for he is the eldest son and thus the true heir.

Actually the weeds and small wild plants, grow in between the gaps of the floor bricks. So I guess trimming wouldnt be effective in here.

Dear Guest,

Krishna took birth with black complexion and he never grow old since his body is not materialistic.

I appreciate your response Ratheesh, and yes it is really something difficult.

Just wondering, do ISKCON have gardens? If yes, then how do they handle the weeds and other wild plants?

Dear Guest,

I dont think that killing a living thing help in the progression to a higher birth. Im not too sure about this point, but I think the soul has to retake birth in the same species again. Moreover, in previous yuga, we did have animal sacrifices and during which, the soul would indeed get into a higher level if not liberated.However such sacrifices were conducted by highly learned brahmins (and the proper way of conducting these sacrifices in this kali age is no longer possible, hence sacrifices are prohibited). So, yes there is higher birth, but such process of releasing the soul has to be conducted by authorised brahmins with specific mantras.

In the same line, I could argue that why not mass extermination of animals and allow them to take higher birth? Or may be kill our mum,dad and thus give them the opportunity to take an even "higher" birth and later on let us commit suicide for the sake of higher birth. I dont think these sound logic.

Hari Bol everyone,

Im finding myself sort of trapped as far as the law of ahimsa is concerned. Well, I got a small backyard or should I say a little bush. Im planning to tidy up things but in the process I would need to uproot the grasses and other small wild plants.The house is a rented one and the backyard is meant to be kept clean(no wild grasses or plants).

If I clean my backyard, that would involve killing of plants. So what to do? Can anyone plz shed some light on this issue... Thank you

Hi

 

I know this is the Krishna forum but couldn't find a forum for a question about the Mahabharat so decided this might as well be it. The question:

 

In the Mahabharat does it tell about how Ashwathama became immortal?

 

Thanking you.

Try this link. It is in this forum itself in the Hinduism section.

I have heard about lord hanuman comming onto devotees while they pray is that true? Why does these things happen?

 

Thank you

Absolutely true! How do I Know? Lets say I do had the opportunity to witness that "phenomenon" various time.

Why it happens? Im unable to tell you. May be due to past karma or extreme devotion.

So when is Nirjala Ekadasi this year?

From the tv serials of Mahabharat, Ramayana and from other scriptures, I strongly believe, that curves do exist.

About anyone can curse, but for the curse to be effective, I think the person who is cursing should have attained some level of spiritual advancement.

I dont think that in kali yuga, cursing is that effective as in previous ages unless you are being cursed by someone saintly may be.

What about Varuthini Ekadasi? Kamalasana Das in one of this threads mentioned the followings, any idea? If it is that important, when is it going to be?

Varuthini Ekadasi

Yudhisthira Maharaja said, "O Vasudeva, I offer my most humble obeisances unto You. Please now describe the Ekadasi of the dark fortnight of the month of Vaisakha [April-May], including its specific merits and influence."

Lord Sri Krsna replied, "O king, in this world and the next, the most auspicious and magnanimous Ekadasi is Varuthini Ekadasi, which occurs during the dark fortnight of the month of Vaisakha. Whoever observes a complete fast on this sacred day has his sins completely removed, obtains continuous happiness, and achieves all good fortune. Fasting on Varuthini Ekadasi makes even an unfortunate woman fortunate. Upon anyone who observes it, this Ekadasi bestows material enjoyment in this life and liberation after death. It destroys the sins of all and saves people from the miseries of rebirth.

"By observing this Ekadasi properly, King Mandhata was liberated. Many other kings also benefited from observing it-kings such as Maharaja Dhundhumara, in the Iksvaku dynasty, who became free from leprosy resulting from a curse Lord Siva had imposed as a punishment. Whatever merit one obtains by performing austerities and penances for ten thousand years is achieved by a person who observes Varuthini Ekadasi. The merit one achieves by donating a great amount of gold during a solar eclipse at Kuruksetra is gained by one who observes this Ekadasi fast. Indeed, he who observes this one Ekadasi with love and devotion certainly attains his goals in this life and the next. In short, this Ekadasi is pure and very enlivening and a destroyer of all sins.

"Better than giving horses in charity is giving elephants, and better than giving elephants is giving land. But better than giving land is giving sesame seeds, and better than that is giving gold. Still better than giving gold is giving food grains, for all the forefathers, demigods, and human beings become satisfied by eating grains. Thus there is no better charity than this in the past, present, or future.' Yet learned scholars have declared that giving away a young maiden in marriage to a worthy person is equal to giving food grains. Moreover, Sri Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, has said that giving cows in charity is equal even to giving food grains. Still better than all these charities is teaching spiritual knowledge to the ignorant. Yet all the merits one can attain by performing all these acts of charity are attained by one who fasts on Varuthini Ekadasi.

"One who lives off the wealth of his daughters suffers a hellish condition until the inundation of the entire universe, 0 Bharata. Therefore one should be especially careful not to use the wealth of his daughter. 0 best of kings, any householder who takes his daughter's wealth out of greed, who tries to sell his daughter, or who takes money from the man to whom he has given his daughter in marriage-such a householder becomes a lowly cat in his next life. Therefore it is said that whoever, as a sacred act of charity, gives in marriage a maiden decorated with various ornaments, and who also gives a dowry with her, obtains merit that cannot be described even by Citragupta, the chief secretary of Yamaraja in the heavenly planets. That very same merit, however, can easily be achieved by one who fasts on Varuthini Ekadasi.

"The following things should be given up on Dasami, the day before Ekadasi. eating on bell-metal plates, eating any kind of urad ddl, eating red lentils, eating chick-peas, eating kondo, eating spinach, eating honey, eating in another person's home, eating more than once, and sex. On Ekadasi itself one should give up the following: gambling, sports, sleeping during the daytime, betel nut and its leaf, brushing one's teeth, spreading rumors, faultfinding, talking to the spiritually fallen, anger, and lying. On Dvadasi, the day after Ekadasi, one should give up the following: eating on bell-metal plates, eating urad dal, red lentils, or honey, lying, strenuous exercise or labor, eating more than once, sex, shaving, smearing oil on one's body, and eating in another's home." Lord Sri Krsna continued, "Whoever observes Varuthini Ekadasi in this way becomes free from all sinful reactions and returns to the eternal, spiritual abode. One who worships Lord Janardana on this Ekadasi by staying awake throughout the night also becomes free from all his sins and attains to the spiritual abode. Therefore, 0 king, he who is frightened of his sins and their attendant reactions, and thus of death itself, must observe Varuthini Ekadasi by fasting very strictly. Finally, 0 noble Yudhisthira, he who hears or reads this glorification of the sacred Varuthini Ekadasi obtains the merit earned by donating one thousand cows in charity, and at last he returns home, to the abode of Lord Visnu."

Again this is about perspective.

 

The christian will not accept that his religion is man made. Every word of the T according to them is divinely empowered and thus is the word of God.

 

Similar claims are found both in Islam and Hinduism. Mohammad received divine instructions which forms the Quran; it is not something he made up himself. Yajnavalkya received the Shukla Yajur Veda from Surya; he did not make it up himself, although he is the prominent personality behind this Veda.

 

So when all religions are divinely empowered and yet are in conflict over certain issues - as for instance, the question raised on this thread - where do people of other religions go after death? They did believe 100% in their religion of choice and follow it whole mindedly. Yet they are to be subject to the rules of *another* religion which condemns practises which were not banned in their own religion. This is the problem I am talking about.

 

Cheers

This is the position of the critics. Christianity does not endorse this story of reincarnation banned by a pope. As far as christianity is concerned, there is no reincarnation now and there was no reincarnation before the time of that alleged pope.

 

To me, it does not make sense to say people of all religions will be subject to the rules (karma, reincarnation, vegetarianism) laid down by *my* religion thus overriding rules of the other religions, although they never even heard of my religion.

 

But clearly, that is how people think. I follow religion Rx, so all people in the world of all religions are subject to the rules of Rx.

Cheers

Dear Shiv,

I think you have raised a very interesting issue here in the sense that almost every individual strongly believe that it is their religion which is divinely empowered and is the ultimate truth, thereof at the times of death everyone will be judged according to that universal law.

(For example I think in Christianity if one does not follow the path of Jesus, eternal burning Hell is waiting for him at death and that is their universal law which everyone would be judged against. The Hindu universal law is based on karma).

Obviously not all three(Hinduism, Christianity and Islam) religions can be true simultaneously, unless GOD really works in a complex fashion that all three are true and as mere mortals we cannot comprehend let alone realize that fact. For argument sake, lets say only one is true and in this connection I have a story to narrate.

It was last year, I was walking down the street to buy some food. On my way, I was stopped by two guys. They were Christians missionaries and we immediately got into sort of discussion as far as religion is concerned. They told me that Jesus is the only way to heaven and even show me a scripture in the bible which states so.( I wish i had a Gita with me to show them ,hey we got the same thing as well:P)

The discussions went on, and at one point one of them told me just suppose that I(the hindu) is right and that he(the christian) is wrong, then what would happen to him(the christian) when he dies. Well I start to throw at him the law of karma, reincarnation , conciousness at the time of death (I told him if he has Jesus in his mind at the time of death well, he will go to Jesus{Just telling him what Gita says} )and so forth.

Then he said to reverse role, and now suppose that I(the Hindu) is wrong and he(the Christian) is right, then what would happen to me at death. He said that I would be burn in eternity in hell as per the scriptures.

Now his argument is simple. In both scenarios, it is preferable to be Christian. Simply because if Christianity is wrong, even then christians would be judged according to karma and would come back to earth again. On the other hand, if Christianity is right then he would be in heaven with GOD.

Whereas for the Hindu, well we are playing with fire, because if we are wrong, hell awaits us. So his argument is Christianity is better because there is no risk at all (Cunning isnt it?).

Well, I told him that in case Hindus are wrong, then before being sent to burn for eternity in hell, we, Hindus would say something to GOD just before. We would tell GOD to think twice before He labelled himself as compassionate in the scriptures.

They both smiled at invited me to join them for dinner. We were since then good friends. Whenever we meet now, we would rather discuss about whats going on around the world instead of religions.

Anyway the bottom line I think is to use our common sense. I respect my fellow christian friends a lot, but I strongly disagree when a man like Mahatma Gandhi being send to eternal flames of hell just because he has not been following the path of Christ. Whose parents would send their own children to roast in oven just because they are on the "wrong" path and yet lived an almost perfect life? Doesnt make sense(at least not to me)

So what really happens when we died, no one will know for sure until death comes. However as far as I am concerned, I think that GOD the almight, the compassionate, will give us the opportunity to atone for our sins, to learn from our sins, and be given the opportunity to purify our heart from hate to love and finally come to him. In which ways GOD will give us these opportunities to come to him even though we have been a sinner, well each of us may have our own views. From my perspective,I think this is compassion, this is love of the Father giving seed and this is common sense (at least to me).

It would be good if you can relate the problem to your local temple swami first. He might be able to help you, if not he could direct you to someone dealing specifically with this sort of issue.