Yegan

Also do not forget that people in Mahabharata made mistakes, that's why the entire war happened. If everyone was perfect then there wouldn't have been any conflict.

Dear jndas,

From your statement above should I presume that Dronacarya has made a mistake in refusing to teach Karna because he is a "sudra" ?

Hari bol

You seem to forget also that Karna was PROMOTED to kshatriya by Dhuryodana who gave him land so he could become kshatriya. Also Dronacharya wanted to gain land and become a kshatriya as well, and he warred with Kripacharya about this, which is very unbrahmin-like.

 

Perhaps Drona couldn't teach Karna because Karna didn't have the STATUS of kshatriya, until Dhuryodana promoted him. His nature may have been kshatriya but he didn't have the status of kshatriya so Drona couldn't teach him.

 

It's sort of like if a farmer displayed tendencies of being a scientist, yet he had no training, no education for such a field. Most scientists would never consider the farmer's theories with much weight, because the farmer did not have the status of being a scientist.

Dear guest,

Thxs for responding, but your explanation doesnt seem convincing to me.

If birth dictates your caste, then Karna is a kshatriya by birth, for his father is none but the sun god. Whether Dhuryodana, gave him lands or not, doesnt matter at all for Karna is born as kshatriya. As a matter of fact, he is the true heirs of all the lands and the only one eligible to be crowned king (Since he is the eldest pandavas).

Considering the STATUS issue, well I dont agree with you because:

1. Anyone born in a poor family, will never be able to become a kshatriya because obviously STATUS would be absent as you have clearly mentioned. (Usually someone poor doesnt have proper education or training hence NO REQUIRED STATUS to become a kshatriya according to you. I obviously disagree with that.)

2. If STATUS is one of the attributes that makes someone to be kshatriya or may be Brahmin then to me I find that very unfair. So many people are born poor but with blatant characteristics of a kshatriya, but due to their so called "unproper status" they are deprived to become kshatriya.

Anyway I have never come across a verse which says that your caste is STATUS dependent. Point me to a verse which says so.

3. If someone needs lands or woteva STATUS to be accredited as kshatriya, then there would be no soldiers fighting in Mahabharat because obviously their so called status is same if not lower than Karna and thus unfit to fight.

It's sort of like if a farmer displayed tendencies of being a scientist, yet he had no training, no education for such a field. Most scientists would never consider the farmer's theories with much weight, because the farmer did not have the status of being a scientist.

The proclaimed scientist at some point of his life had no training nor proper education ,same like the farmers. It took someone to give him the chance to learn and acquire knowledge ,independent of his so called status before becoming a scientist.

The farmer may not have the knowledge of the scientist at present but it might well be that the farmer's nature is more scientific than the scientist. Given the chance to explore his nature, (i.e learning and training) he can become a scientist as well.

Same thing applies with Karna. His nature is blatantly that of a kshatriya, and if everyone were like Dronacarya(Take disciple based on status, according to you), then Karna would have never been given the chance to fight which would have been very unfair for someone with kshatriya nature.

Hari Bol,

I have been reading some of the threads on this forum and have come across one which has shed some confusion in my mind.

As per his holiness Srila Prabhupada, caste is nature dependent and NOT birth dependent. So someone who is born in a sudra family for example can later do preaching and thus is a brahmin, independent of his family background.

Now what I cannot understand is if this is so, then why Dronocarya refuses to accept Karna as his disciple. To my knowledge Dronacarya refuses to accept Karna as hisciple because the latter was from "sudra" family.

Karna blatantly has the nature of a warrior and as such Dronacarya should have accepted him as disciple, since caste is nature dependent.

Can anyone plz enlighten me on this issue. I am not well versed in Mahabaharat, my appologies if I made a wrong statement.

Jai Radhe

I had thought it was either Indra or Rudra who was the god of war in Hinduism. To be honest, I have never heard of Karttikeya before.

There are 18 puranas, among them there is one named Skanda and it contains lots of information on Lord Murugan. If you have heard about Skanda before, than he is the very same Lord Murugan /karttikeya.

Same like Krishna is known as Govinda or Kessava. In south India many people would refer to skanda as Muruga or Karttikeya.

I am trying everyday. I shall do it.

'Vegatarianism' is the the best diet (my own belief, many wont agree with me).

Eating meat is not recommended, eating cow is definitely the worst among the worst if you are after spiritual quest. I presume one can get away by eating say chicken, but definetely NOT by eating cow.

To my knowledge I dont know any branch in hinduism which allows cow eating.

So Karttikeya is the son of Shiva and is also called Lord Murugan?

Is Karttikeya also Kali as well?

Lord Karttikeya also commonly known as Murugan(In Tamil Nadu) is the son of Shiva, born through his thrid eyes, independent of his wife Parvati. Whereas Lord Ganesha is born from mother Parvati, independant of her husband, lord Shiva.

No, Lord Muruga is not Kali.

The most important festival for Lord shiva is Maha shivaratree which falls on the darkest night of the month Feb/March. We do have shivaratrees every month but the major one is on Feb/March hence the name "Maha".

Jai bolenath

The Skanda Purana deals with the Avatara and Lilas of Lord Skanda, the spiritual son of Lord Siva. Two Skanda Puranas are available one divided into Khandas, and the other divided into Samhitas. The former gives only a brief account of Lord Skanda’s Avatara and the destruction of Tarakasura at His hands. The latter, however, contains a detailed account of the divine advent and the glorious deeds of Lord Skanda the need for the Lord’s advent, His auspicious Avatara, His Bala Lilas, the commanding of the Deva army against the Asuras and their destruction, His marriage with Valli and Deivayanai, etc. There is a work called Kanda Puranam in Tamil, composed by Saint Kachiyappa Sivachariar, in verses, based on the Samhita-divided Skanda Purana and under the orders of Lord Shanmukha Who also gave the first line for the work.

The advent of the Lord was for the purpose of punishing the wicked and protecting the good. The great Asura Surapadma was tyrannising the Devas. He was defeated in battle by the Lord and the Devas were released from his control. This happened on the eve of the sixth day after Dipavali, which is the day of Skanda Shashthi. This day is celebrated in a grand manner in all temples of Lord Skanda. To devotees and spiritual seekers, the period of six days of Skanda Shashthi is an occasion for observance of strict Vratas, performance of grand worships and communion with the Lord in the Self within. Glory to Lord Skanda, the bestower of Divine Wisdom.

In order to save the good [Devas] from wicked [Asuras], LORD MURUGAN was originated from the Holy Sparks of Lord Siva's third eye. The story goes that the sparks which flashed forth from the third eye of Siva rushed through space, which Vayu and Agni carried and dropped into the river Ganga. By the grace of the Lord, the sparks were carried by holy Ganga to Saravanappoihai. On arriving at the tank, the sparks assumed the form of six children of unparalleled beauty. Each baby was lying on a lotus and was being lulled to sleep by the Devis of the Karttikai (the 3rd constellation of the 27 Stars). To witness this Avatara of the Saviour, all the Devas hastened to the tank along with Lord Siva and Parvati. Parvati, out of the extreme fondness of a mother, took up the babes together and called them Skanda. Instead of them remaining as six separate individual babes, there arose the form of one Deity with six faces and twelve hands. Hence he was known as Lord Arumugaswamy or Shanmukha, the Lord with six faces. As he was nursed by the six Devis of the Karttikai Star, he was known also as Karttik Swami, or Karttikeyan. Thus, to the great joy of the persecuted Devas, the Lord Himself appeared in the form of Shanmukha to protect the good and to punish the wicked. As the form of Lord Shanmukha originated in a tank of shrubs, he was known as Saravanabhava.

There is thus a combination of the ether, air, fire, water and earth principles in the depositing of the Tejas or energy of Siva in the world. The cumulative force which combined the forms of the five elements impregnated with the divine power of Siva (Divya-Tejas) manifested itself as a sixfold divinity with six faces (Shanmukha), including both the unmanifest and manifest elements in a single being. This is the child of Siva, of mysterious birth, mysterious bringing up, under mysterious circumstances, for a mysterious purpose which the Gods alone knew. The third eye represents the principle of intelligence and Skanda, thus, as a revelation through the third eye of Siva, is said to stand for an incarnation of Divine Knowledge.

Information was from http://www.nallur.org/Murugan.html

The Tamils have named Shanmukha as Murugan. Just as the God of Winds is Vayu, the God of Waters Varuna, the Tamil term for the Lord of Nature is Murugan. The term Murugan, in Tamil, denotes the Deity possessed of undecaying beauty, everlasting youth and Godliness. Any Deity who is endowed with the above attributes is truly Murugan. Hence the worship of Skanda or Murugan does not pertain to any sect or creed. Perhaps it is the outcome of an inherent desire of man to express his gratitude for an unknown and hidden Power, which bestows upon him every good and removes all his sufferings. Worship of Lord Murugan is tantamount to the worship of Nature. As Nature abounds with soul-stirring and inspiring landscapes and is the source and support of all living beings on earth, the ancients have thought it right to glorify Nature.

To lead a natural life is to live with Nature. This is the life in consonance with the Divine Will. Control of the senses, anger and lust is the way to achieve the higher life. And the most important form of worship that a human being can offer unto the Lord is by not hurting others either by thought or word or deed. Only then life in nature becomes smooth and happy. It is this kind of worship and life that the Skanda Purana teaches us through the worship of the Saguna form of Lord Skanda. Indeed it is the counsel of Christ: “Treat thy neighbour as thy own Self” and “Do unto others as thou wishest to be done by.” And the Essence of all religions is only to abstain from inflicting injury on anyone,—Ahimsa Paramodharmah.

Hence, whenever we worship Lord Murugan, we should have the Bhava ‘I pray unto Him, who is the All-Pervading Beautiful One, the Indweller of all, in the Form of Lord Subrahmanya or Murugan.’ This Saguna form of the Lord is only to give a hold and grasp for the mind to understand the Immortal, the Omnipotent and the Omniscient attributes of the Almighty, who is at once Infinite and the Indweller of every heart.

As in the worship of other Deities, in the Saguna worship of Lord Skanda also, there are some Vratas, or observances. There was once a king, Muchukunda by name. He was a staunch Saivite. He approached Sage Vasishtha to advise him on the importance and methods of observing some Vrata by which he could gain personal success, peace and prosperity. Vasishtha indicated the Vratas of Lord Skanda and detailed their significances.

One of them is the Vrata observed on every Friday. By observing this Vrata of Friday for 3 years, Bhagiratha overcame his enemy Gora. On Friday, after a clean bath, one should do Puja and Archana for the Lord with extreme devotion. He who does this is bound to achieve success in all his undertakings.

Another Vrata is the Karttikai Vrata. On every Karttikai (3rd constellation of the 27 stars) day, this Vrata is to be observed with faith and devotion, and with external purification by a bath, before the Puja, etc. This Vrata was observed by Narada Rishi as per the advice of Lord Ganesa. After a period of 12 years, Narada gained his ambition, viz., the supreme position among the great Sapta Rishis.

The most important of all the Vratas of Lord Shanmukha is the Skanda Shashthi Vrata. It is to be commenced on the Prathama Tithi (the day immediately following Dipavali) of the Sukla Paksha (bright fortnight) in the month of Aippasi (October-November). A complete fast should be observed and the devotee should engage himself solely in the Puja of the Lord, in reading and learning of the glories of Lord Skanda, Bhajan, meditation, etc. If fasting for six days continuously is likely to prove too much of a strain, he may have one meal per day and fast completely on the last day, i.e. the Shashthi Day. This is the day to commemorate the victory of Lord Shanmukha over the Asura king, Surapadman. Persons who observe this Vrata achieve success in all their undertakings and in the end attain Liberation.

Some information on Lord Murugan,

Kali Yuga, the age indicating the period of darkness and degeneration commenced about 3100 BC. Many Hindus believe that the presiding deity of this yugam [period] is LORD MURUGAN [Kali Yuga Varathan], whose VEL that symbolises the spear of victory, will eventually restore peace and harmony, destroying arrogance, violence and injustice. The worship of LORD MURUGAN goes back to the pre-Christian era, and forms an important facet in the religious life of Hindus.

LORD MURUGAN, although regarded as the second son of Siva, and the younger brother of Ganesha, is infact an Avatara of Lord Siva. All incarnations are manifestations of the One Supreme Lord. Lord Subrahmanya and Lord Krishna are one. Lord Krishna says in the Gita, "Senaninam Aharn Skandah,Of the Generals, I am Skanda". The Lord manifests Himself from time to time in various names and forms for establishing Dharma and punishing the wicked. Lord Subrahmanya is a ray born of the Chaitanya of Lord Siva. He is the energy of Lord Siva. Valli and Deivayani are His two Divine consorts. They represent the Iccha Shakti and the Kriya Shakti of the Lord. He is a Pratyaksha Devata in this Kali Yuga, like Hanuman. He bestows on His devotees material and spiritual prosperity and success in all their undertakings, even at the slightest devotion shown to Him. He is worshipped much in South India and Sri Lanka. Guha, Muruga, Kumaresa, Karttikeya, Shanmukha (he who has six faces), Subrahmanya, Skanda, Velayudha (he who wears the Spear), Saravanabhava are synonymous terms.

In the above picture, Lord-Subrahmanya holds the Vel or Spear in His hand, just as Lord Siva holds the Trident or Trisula. The Vel is an emblem of Power, and indicates that He is the ruler of this Universe. Devotees of Lord Subrahmanya do obeisance to the Vel. His vehicle or Vahana is the peacock: this is by way of representation that he has entirely conquered pride, egoism, vanity. There is a cobra under His Feet: this is to indicate that He is absolutely fearless, immortal and wise. Valli is on His one side, Deivayanai is on the other. Sometimes He stands alone with the Vel. He is then called by the name of Dandapani. This represents His Nirguna aspect which is free from Maya.

The six heads represent the six rays or the six attributes viz. Jnana (wisdom), Vairagya (dispassion), Bala (strength), Kirti (fame), Sree (wealth) and Aishvarya (divine powers). They indicate that He is the source for the four Vedas, Vedangas and the six schools of philosophy; that He has controlled the five Jnana Indriyas and the mind. They denote that He is the Virat Purusha with countless heads. They signify that His head is turned everywhere (Visvatomukha): He is all-pervading. They indicate that He is omnipotent and that He can multiply and assume forms at His will.

Veltrivel Muruga Haro Hara

Then it is most logical to assume that when a cow dies a natural death, the best thing to do is to eat that cow.

I can follow your line of thinking, and your question has a logical approach.

But as Jndas has mentioned, you CANNOT consume the fresh of cow even after the latter has met a natural death. Cow is considered as your very own mother in Sanatan Dharma. And as such if you are a hindu you should NEVER EVER consume cow's fresh even if you are forced to so or if the cow met with a natural death.

Think about it, would you eat your own mother after she died? That would be considered cannibalism and complete disrespect if u do, in the same approach, eating cow is considered cannibalism and complete disrespect.

More importantly, krishna loves cows, and he said they are worshipable. Govinda is the protector of cows. One cannot pray to Govinda and at the same time eat cow, that is hypocrite.

So eating cow is abominable in whichever form or state.

Jai Govinda

For others who are interested, generally when a cow dies a natural death it is put in the ganga or burried (if the ganga is not nearby). For the purpose of Bhagavan's seva the skin is sometimes taken from some cows to make mridangas to be used in nama sankirtana. I would not advise anyone to utilize anything from the dead body of a cow for personal use (as medicine). Cows should be worshipped and respected as they are our mother and the mother of the devas. When our mother's die we don't utilize their body for medicine, as that would be disrepectful to the individual.

What if we can have an altenative? What i mean is instead of using the skin of a cow to make mridangas, can there be another material for substitution? If there is a substitution to the cow skin, should we use it or should we stick to the cow skin?

BY using the cow's skin in mridangas, I presume in a way the cow is rendering service to the lord, but then would you have used the skin of your own mother in service of the lord(assuming human skin can be used as leather)?

Personally if I had a choice I would not use the skin of cow even in mridangas, but instead would use an alternative material. However if in the scriptures it is mentioned that we can safely use the skin of cow for service to the lord, then yes.

Apologies if I have offended anyone on this issue. Cow is extremely sacred and is a very sensitive issue to discuss.

Jai Govinda

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Cambrian Explosion, Creation of Mitochondria and Quantum Consciousness (all which can be found on the Net) is accepted by Science already described in Hindusm (Kurma Purana) - FACT.

The Evolutional Stages of Life and Man as stated by Darwin and accepted by Science - described in Hindusm by the 9 Avatars - FACT.

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Please give a reference to the parts of the puranaas where these theories are explained. I know you wont, but please....at least one....

 

 

 

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Mendel's Experiments with Genetics as stated by Parasurama Avatar - FACT.

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What scientific facts did Parasurama teach? please explain.

 

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That wuld be kool if sephiroth can show, where in the scritures we can find these connections with Modern Science. We would definitely learn more.

Jai Govinda

Fix the form or Narayana in your mind, mentally recite His mantra, and sit in meditation each day at the sandhyas.

I did try once to fix my mind, and I got an instant realisation that very same day. I came to realise that the mind is mega hard to be kept fixed. The same thing happens when I do chant the nama hare krishna mantra. My mind would just drift away.

Its amazing you know, I have Govinda in front of me, and yet my mind would travel repeatedly, thinking of stuffs that happened 10years back, thinking about the future plans, thinking what shall I cooked, thinking how unlucky I am not having my mum here to cook for me.

My mind would be fixed, yes on everything else ,apart from Govinda who is just standing in front of me and on whom i was supposed to have the mind fixed. I know its an offence, but I just dont have any control over my mind.

I have read the gita which states how unsteady is the mind but I now got the realisation of it. Anyone having some advice of how to control the mind, that would be kool.

Haribol

With this phylosophical approach in mind, the universe at some point would stop accelerating and then instead starts to collapse (Lord Vishnu starts to inhale). And the cycle would repeat itself. So in sanatan dharma the concept of an ever expanding universe is not accepted. Instead we belive in repeated cycles(expanding and collapsing). All this happens in one breath of Maha Vishnu.

 

 

...............dear friend..........

u siad that science gives theory of ever expanding universe.......... but reality is that it is just another theory of science which is by the way most popular.. if u look at the most popular theories (u may find it on net) ....... u would find a theory which speculates about repetitive nature of the universe......(which acc. to that theory is expanding now).....

 

And by the way, i dont believe that inhalation and exhalation means expanding and contracting.. it may just means that universe is contained in lord vishnu........ and universe has been symbolised in his breadth because of the fact that if vishnu is there as lord . then he will have to have universe also otherwise he himself may not exist [as breadth is the most important part of living , thn comes the water only (hey......arguing with me with FOOD as argument? well, ........ everybody can live without food .only requirement being tht u will have to observe the sun while rising and while sunsetting (realy, a man in gujrat has been on fast for last 68 yrs)] ....... so i think i m right when i think about the inhalation and exhalation of LORD vishnu.....

Dear guest, indeed you are right, heaps of theories. I have just mentioned the one(ever expanding universe) which is mostly accepted in the scientifical community. Any of these theories can be proved wrong at any time. So we need to rely on other source of information to get the absolute truth.

Personally I have faith in the repetitive nature of the universe.

Concerning your point of view on the inhalation and exhalation, matter of fact we dont share the same point of view.

I presume that the explanation of a spiritual guru might he helpful here for us to have some understanding of Lord Vishnu's inhalation and exhalation in connection to the universe.

otherwise he himself may not exist

If he himself cannot exit due to something (i.e that "something" might be breath or wotever it may be), then he is not fit to be called GOD.

GOD exits by himself and doesnt need anything or anyone to be sustained.I think there are nice verses in the Gita on this account. Again a guru would be helpful here as well for clarification

Actually, it's only one of many theories out there. Modern science doesn't "believe" one way or the other, there are just a LOT of theories out there, some paralleling Hindu cosomological ideas, others contradicting it, and no solid proof of either.

Yes you are right dear guest, but the ever expanding universe has the majority of adepts among the scientists. There is also the repeating universe which indeed parallel the cosmological hindu philosophy, but then it is not widely accepted in the scientist community as the ever expanding universe.

Sephiroth,

I am just wandering if you follow the preaching of srila prabhupada (ISKCON)? If the question bothers you or is inappropriate, my appologies, dont reply. Thxs

Jai Radhe

Creation and Expansion of the Universe as accepted by Modern Science already described in Hindusm - FACT.

 

Modern Science believes in an ever expanding universe(which is believed to be even accelerating). According to modern science there is not enough matter (Dark matter hasnt been taken in the analysis to my knowledge) to reverse this process and hence sooner(billions and billions of years from now) the universe would be dead.

In sanatan dharma we believe that on one exhalation lord vishnu the whole universe is being created and on his inhalation all the universes enter him. This somehow contradicts the "Ever expanding universe as suggested by modern science".

With this phylosophical approach in mind, the universe at some point would stop accelerating and then instead starts to collapse (Lord Vishnu starts to inhale). And the cycle would repeat itself. So in sanatan dharma the concept of an ever expanding universe is not accepted. Instead we belive in repeated cycles(expanding and collapsing). All this happens in one breath of Maha Vishnu.

If Naga ashtra is from electricity, what about the thunderbold of indra?

Hi friends,

If we want to propagate Hinduism/ sanatan dharma, I think we should start head on by preventing the mass conversion of our "own people" to other religions. Hindus converting to other religions, first and foremost is because they do not know the beauty of their own religion.

The tactics that one Christian missionary used on me in trying to convert me was that in Hinduism we have many GODS, and we pray to stones and idols and as a consequence makes no sense at all. Well, believe it or not many Hindus get brainwashed with these sort of tactics.

The solution is simple, start to explain the LOGIC/MEANING behind some of our traditions, starting with our kids. we can no longer tell our kids to follow traditions unless we can show them the logical meaning behind these traditions. Example:

1/ why do we bow before elders? (Christians and muslims can argue that we should only bow before almighty and not before elders)

2/ why we pray to stones, idols? (we should be able to explain to our kids that the so called "stones" and "idols" are infact deities and we should be able to explain to them the differences)

3/ why so many GODS in hinduism whereas in other religions there is only one GOD?

4/ why apparently only cows are given much importance and why we worship an animal i.e cow? (This one is one of their favorite brainwashed tactics)

The list goes on.... To give you an idea how these tactics are used in trying to shake our faith, see the link below. These tactics are being used here itself on audarya forums!

ww.audarya-fellowship.com/forums/hinduism/24135-why-do-hindus-name-themselves-after-gods-why-do-they-worship-each-others.html

These are the few questions that all hindus should be able to answer. In this way our kids will be able to have a strong foundation and our faith will withstand outside influences because it wont be a blind faith but a faith with "meaning".

So by teaching our kids the meaning behind our traditions, they will get to see the beauty of sanatan dharma and develop a strong foundation. Strong foundation gives rise to unshakable faith.

The more we know of our religion, the less likely are we liable to convert to other religions. so why not make the preaching of Gita for example compulsory in all primary and secondary schools?

First start with a little bit of logical approach (by explaining the why's and how's) then bhakthi will follow.

Jai Radhe

Hi friend,

Hinduism has many unique things which are punishable by death under other religions.They are as follows

 

1)Hindus naming themselves after god.People carry name of Ram,Krishna,shiva,Uma and so on.Muslims dont name themselves as allah.Christians dont name themselves as jesus.Only Hindus do so.

I guess hindus is unique, so we do things in unique way .

 

Anyway to answer your question, naming someone after the names of GOD Almighty is something very beneficial because of the special sound vibration that are produced when you say the names of GOD, i.e Krishna, Ram, Jesus Allah.. The special sound vibration has the potency to deliver the soul from the material existence.

 

Let say for example you are calling your son(i.e: Krishna, my boy come to papa ) you have just purified yourself by simply saying the word Krishna (doest matter if you were refering to your son). Not only you have purified yourself but your son also has been purified just by hearing the name Krishna.

 

A little story to backup the whole idea:

There was once a brahmana by the name of Jamila. However he has been degraded due to his attraction to a prostitute. Anyway to cut the story short, Jamila got a son from this prostitute and called him Narayan (name of Vishnu). Jamila was very attracted to his son. At the time of his death, he was calling "Narayan , Narayan , Narayan my son ". Once he died, the angels of Maha Vishnu quickly came in to take him to the spiritual world even though he has been a very sinful person.

Jamila asked why you are taking me to the spiritual planet, im a sinful man. Then the angels told him that just prior to his death, he has been calling the name of Narayan(even though he was thinking only about his son) and that is enough for Maha Vishnu to have mercy and compassion for you.

 

In conclusion, GOD is very compassionate and merciful to anyone who can only say his name(whether it be Krishna, Ram ...) regardless whether you are actually refering to GOD himself or your son.

 

Im planning to call my son Krishna, that would be nice. I can be saved just by calling his name. Who says that having kids are troublesome???

 

3)He falls at the feet of elders.THis is unheard in any other religion.

 

Yes, so? What is your point? I just told you that hindus is unique and we do things in a unique fashion. This is our tradition to fall at the feet of elders.

 

Whether in islam or christianity and as a matter of fact any other religion, we do have unique traditions that are characteristics only to that particular religion. That does not mean because these traditions are unique to one religion and other religions do not have similar tradition that you cannot perform your tradition.

 

A little example here is when muslims refer to prophet Mohammad(PBUH) they would always say Peace be Upon Him (PBUH), after his name. Thats a sign of total respect and is unique to muslims. It cannot be found in other religion. That doesnot mean that muslims should stop saying so because other religion donot have any similar saying. Christian crossed themselves at church, and is unique to christianity. That doesnot mean christians should stop crossing themselves because other religion do not cross themselves.

Similarly hindus touch the feet of elders as a sign of respect and is unique. In every religion there is a unique way of showing respect .I hope you get what im trying to tell you.

 

Ok, a little background of the signification of touching the feet of elders:

 

Touching the feet in general means: I pay my respectful obediance unto you

 

Touching the feet of your mother means : Oh mother I pay my obediances unto you, for having brought me up. To have cherished me with your motherly love all the time. I will do my very best oh mother to honour you.

 

Touching the feet of your Guru/Teacher means: Oh Learned one, please accept my obediances unto you. You are imparting knowledge unto me so that I can also be a wise. This knowledge that you are imparting to me would make me better spiritually. This is the best thing that could happen to someone miserable like me.I am ever grateful for this.

 

Touching the feet of the Almighty GOD: Oh my Lord, accept my respectful obediances unto you. You are the cause of all causes. Noone is greater than you. I am your humble servitor, Please have mercy unto my miserable soul. Let me serve your lotus feet. Allow me to take refuge unto you. Give me the opportunity to worship your lotus feet. I surrender completely to you my Lord.

In short touching the feet is a way of communication , a silent way of saying things, which is much more powerful and evoke lots of emotions , humility and respect than verbal communication.

 

2)When a Hindu meets another he does "namasthe".This is similiar to what he does in temples.he does namasthe to god.he does it to anyone he sees on road.

 

Namaster is Pretty similar to the touching of feet. Refer to above.

 

Namaster before GOD is showing our absolute obediances , respect and surrender to almighty.

 

Namaster to people is just a way of greeting and showing respect to that person. If someone greet you with namaster means he/she is showing you respect and automatically you would also want to convert the same message to him/she that you also respect him/she. So you mirror his/she namaster in return.

 

If both person show that they respect each other through the Namaster greeting then there is a peaceful environment which is immediately established between these two persons.

 

As you can see, Namaster can have different meanings, depends whether you are doing it in front of Almighty or people.

4)Hinduism says that for a married woman "Husbnad is god,more powerful than any god.A woman need not worship any god except her husband.She need not do any vradhas or prayer to god.Its enough if she worships her husband."

 

in thirukural there is a kural "Dheivam tholal,khzolunan thaan thouluval,peiyana paiyum maghzai" meaning

 

"She who doesnt worship god,but only worships her husband,if she says "pour" rain will pour immediatly.

 

Why is this unique in Hinduism only?

 

If a muslim woman says "My husband is god to me" she will be stoned to death by her husband himself.

 

If a christian calls himslef jesus,he will be laughed by the whole christian world(Except in some south american countries)

 

So now the question arises.

 

1)To a married woman who is parabhrammam?Husband or Lord Hari?

 

Well it is sad that I dont know much about the thirukural because my seed is from south india. However I do know a little bit about hare krishna. I can tell you that the women in Hare krishna do everything for the sake of GOD. They cook for GOD, and they offer prayer to GOD only. Usually a devotee in the Hre krishna do not ask GOD any material things such as give me this and that. Until now I dont know anyone in hare krishna who worship her husband and not GOD.

 

Coming back to the thirukural, I dont see any problem if GOD says to worship your husband. If GOD say so, then so be it. These are sacred scriptures and if GOD says worships your husband then what is the problem?

As long as we are conforming to the words of GOD (provided we are not harming our fellow brothers and sisters of other faith, by terrorist attacks for example) then worshiping the husband shouldnt be a problem since it is in the scriptures and coming from GOD.

The supersoul is Lord hari.

2)If a son carries name Hari and his father abuses him as "hey you fool hari.." isnt that an insult to lord Hari?

Refer to answer number 1 please.

 

GOD is intelligent enough to know that you are scolding your son not him, dont you think so?

 

Anyway I got another short story for you .

 

It is a crude one by it fits perfectly here.

There once was a man. He was passing stool in the forest. There was a boar nearby which got attracted to smell of the stool. Very soon the boar localised the man and start chassing him. So the guy was still passing stool while being chased by a boar. There was a deep pit nearby and while being chased by the boar, the man just fall into the pit. At that moment he cried Harram.

Now the word "Harram" is regarded as a vulgar word in sanscrit. I think " Harram" means something inauspicious something like that. Anyway its not something that you would normally say when you die.

 

Cutting the story short, he fell into the pit and died. Now there was a Sage meditating nearby and through his yogic vision he could see that immediatedly after the man die, he was taken to the spiritual planet. The sage became very confused and said whats going on here, there is this man who died while passing stool, he is very unclean, and on top he said harram when he died, and now he is being taken to spiritual planet. The sage then immediately stop the angels taking the man to the spiritual planel and asked for explanation.

 

The angels told him that the man just before he died said the word Harram and lord Ram has ordered them to rescue the man. The sage got even more confused and said what harram has got to do with ram. Harram is very inauspicious. Then the angels told him that Lord Ram only hears the word Ram not the HA in the word "harram" and that is why the man is being taken to spiritual planet.

 

See GOD is very compassionate. So even if you are telling your son "hey you fool hari come here", well GOD will only hear "hari", not the word fool or anything bad you might have said. GOD is very compassionate. This is why hindus named their loved ones after GOD names.

 

I hope that your questions have been answered my dear friend.

Peace and Love

 

Glory to GOD Almighty however you may called HIM.

 

What is the asnwer to all this?

 

ADVAITHA.

 

Hinduism wanted people to subtly remember that they are gods.So it became a norm to name people by god.So whenever anyone call you as shiva or hari you remember that you are hari.

 

Whenever you worship anyone by falling at his feet,he remembers that he is shivam.The worshipper also sends his worships to the nirguna bhramman.

 

You dont abuse hari by calling your son fool,since a fool is also hari.

 

Similiar is the case with married women.Husband too is a part of nirguna bhramman.Just like how the prayers told to the idol reach god,since the idol too is a part of god and is god by itself,husband himslef is part of god.

 

So it indicates that advaitha was the founding base of Hindu tradition.

Haribol friend,

well, our futur is "sort of pre destined" according to our previous karma. So if he/she(astrologue) says you gonna die at say 40yrs old means your previous action(karma) wasnt that "good", you might have committed something in your previous life which have for consequence of you dying at 40yrs old in this present life.

Now bear in mind another important fact, in this age of kali yug, there is very few people who can actually really forsee the futur. In previous yuga, yes you should have taken this astrologue very seriously.

The solution:

Now assume that in the very unlikely event that this astrologue can really forsee the futur in this age of kali, then you might wonder how to actually "cheat the system" and live longer.

Lets see, as I said above, futur is karma related. So if you can somehow clear that karma in your previous life which has resulted in you dying at the age of 40yrs old in this life, then it means you would then live much longer. Now the question is how to clear that karma? Well, from what i have read so far, all your sins(however bad they might be) are all cleared if you can sincerely say the name of Hari or krishna. Thats all! So chanting this mantra "HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE HARE RAMMA HARE RAMMA RAMMA RAMMA HARE HARE" is said to be extremely powerful that when chanting with pure heart all accumulated sins are destroyed.

There are many gods or demigods if you prefer that can grant you any wish if you do penance, but to my knowledge none can change your karma. Only krishna can.

So, chant the above mantra and clear any bad karma you might have accumulated in your previous life. I have heard that usually you dont ask krishna to grant you this and that(no material benefits), but nevertheless it is actually much better to ask krishna(even material things) rather than asking the demigods.

In conclusion, if you wanna live longer, simple, chant the hare krishna maha mantra and ask krishna that you wanna live longer (In case that astrologue might be right). Bear in mind that krishna never refuse a pure devotee's desire. So my dear friend if you can become a pure devotee, well you can have anything. But then, being a pure devotee you would only want krishna nothing else .

Jai Radhe

Good question ng dasa

That would be nice to know about the passing away of Lord Balaram as well, so any information are welcomed.