excerpts from BPHS( Robert Koch)

[Guest guest]

Dear Robert,

 

I am pasting some portion of Purport of BPHS:

 

9-12. Lord Vishnu, who is the Lord (of all matters), who has undefiled

spirit, who is endowed with the three Gunas, although he transcends the

grip of Gunas (Gunatita), who is the Author of this Universe, who is glorious,

who is the Cause and who is endowed with valour, has no beginning. He authored

the Universe and administers it with a quarter of his power. The other

three quarters of Him, filled with nectar, are knowable only to the philosophers

(of maturity). The Principal Evolver, who is both perceptible and imperceptible

in Vasudeva. The Imperceptible part of the Lord is endowed with dual powers,

while the Perceptible with triple powers.

21-24. The Lord is in all beings and the entire Universe is in Him.

All beings contain both Jivatma and Paramatm???as. Some have predominance

of the former, while yet some have the latter in predominance. Paramatman

is predominant in the Grahas, viz. S?rya etc. and Brahma, Shiva and others.

Their powers, or consorts too have predominance of Paramatman. Others have

more of Jivatman.

8-13. The beings with more Jivatman are (mortal) beings. The high degree

of Paramatman from the Grahas, viz. Surya etc. did incarnate, as Ram, Krishn

etc. After completing the mission, the Paramatman as (of the respective)

Grahas again merge (in the respective) Grahas. The Jivatma portions from

the Grahas take births, as human beings and live their lives according

to their Karmas and again merge in the Grahas. And at the time of Great

Destruction the Grahas as well merge in Lord Vishnu. The one, who knows

of all these, will become versed in the knowledge of the past, present

and future. Without a knowledge of Jyotish these cannot be known. Hence,

everyone should have a knowledge of Jyotish, particularly the Brahmin.

The one, who, devoid of knowledge of Jyotish, blames this Vedic Science

will go to the hell called ‘Raurava’ and will be reborn blind.

---------

I see that this list Vedic Astrology has taken birth to withold the

highest virtues of Shri Parashara Shastra, yet when it comes to the first

few sentences of Shri Parashara's magnum opus, where He speaks of the Lord

of the Universe, people look the other way....It surprises me endlessly

-----------

I am equally astonished at people quoting heavily from Tamasik shastras

like Lord Shiva showing the vishwa rupa to the Lord, inspite of the

fact that the writer Sri Vedavyasa himself says that his intention in writing

these shastras is only for " Asura Mohana". The effect of this can

be seen in many Rakshashas, filled with Arishadvargas, doing penances only

on Lord Shiva and Devi.

As I have said before the veda shloka is sufficient to give the meaning

" Eko Narayanastvasit Pralaaye Ramaya saha" which Shri Parashara talks

of as the great Destruction..

Veda also clearly proclaims the Hierarchy starting from Lord Vishnu,

Lakshmi, Brahma, Mukhkya Praana( Vaayu) etc

The oft quoted Rama worshipping Shiva in Ramayana is another quote from

a distorted shastra. One may please go through the original Valmiki Ramayana

to understand that Shiva, who had a brahmahatya dosha?? on him, sought

Shri Hari's refugee , to which He was told that during Lord Hari's incarnation

as Rama, he would establish him to see the " Sethu Bandhana" through which

the Brahmahatya dosha would be removed. It was the other way round when

Lord Shiva worshipped Rama then for his magnanimity. The shlokas are crystal

Clear in this. I would try and get them as I dont have them very much with

me now..

The Brahma sutra Bhashyas , as given by the Greats like Madhwa, Shankara

also proclaim the above.

When people speak of Shivasahasranama as given by Vishnu, it is again

brought out through the Tamasik puranaas and one need to understand it

in confirmity the intentions of the Purana rachaita. Even Shiva purana

has stories of Bhasmasura trying to put his hand on Lord Shiva, and Lord

Shiva sought refugee in Lord Hari.. If he were to be Avinashi, then there

was no need to run....

The great Parashara Muni wouldnt be calling Lord Vishnu as Paramatman

and would mean others like Lord Shiva also as Paratman,as then there is

no meaning in the word Paramatman, which means unique and the highest (

Param).

 

Having said that, if one were to say that Vaishnavites donot visit Lord

Shiva temples, then it would be unbecoming of their knowledge as Lord Shiva

is among the Parama Vaishnavas along with Lord Vayu, Lord Yama and the

likes...And to top it all Lord Shiva is the deity who helps Focus our mind

on Shri Hari as he is the great Manoniyamaka , what with the Moon residing

in his matted locks..By Gods grace, I worship Lord Shiva diligently as

I have realised that He alone can show Lord Vasudeva. to the devotees in

this restless yuga.

 

I pray to the Lord Shambho Shankara to help focus devotees mind on Lord

Shri Hari as He alone can do it..

Namaskaars..

sriram nayak

 

"Robert A. Koch" wrote:

Om Vishnave Namah

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Narasimha,

Sahasra Namaskara -

At 03:35 PM 4/26/03 -0400, you wrote:

Pranaams Robert,

It is always a pleasure to discuss

Jyotish and spirituality with you.

Likewise, Narasimha - it is my pleasure too.

 

> " The religious

practice for the Age of Kali is to broadcast the glories of

> the holy name of Krsna. Only for

this purpose has the Lord, in a yellow

> color, descended as Lord Sri Caitanya

Mahabrabhu." -- Sri Caitanya

> Charitamrta Adi-lila, 3.40

If the purpose of all your quotes was

to establish the validity of one path, I understand and completely

agree. If one chose to surrender to Krishna for moksha, one chose an excellent

spiritual path! But, if your purpose was to question the validity of other

paths

(e.g. overcoming all the sins and getting moksha by surrendering to Shiva),

I disagree with you.

No, lets just say that all these discussions enable me to enter

into the remembrance of Sri Krsna all the more. That, in fact, was

the main reason for my quoting scriptures and Vedas on this forum and so

many times in our private discussions as well. It is not meant to

belittle Lord Shiva, or other personalities of unfathomable greatness.

My quotations of verses is to resound the glorification of Krsna that is

everywhere in the Vedas, including the Puranas, Itihasas, Upanishads, as

well as Mahabharata. Glorification of One, does not belittle another,

unless it is taken that way in the mind of the reader. I have no

control over the reader's emotion and disposition when such discussions

go on.

 

There are references

that establish various paths as the paths suitable for Kali Yuga. Different

schools of Hinduism accept different references and build from there. I

will never question your path, unless you claim that your path is the only

path and other paths are wrong.

Paths are one thing, although exclusive surrender and devotion are

entirely another. When Krsna says in the Gita, "Mam ekam saranam

vraja", He requires exclusive, unalloyed surrender. Similarly, in

the Bhagavatam, it is said "bhaktir bhavati naistiki", meaning the same

things. So, people can take these verses in whichever way they

want, but their true import persists nevertheless. If I say,

quoting the Gita, that "ekam" means only one, exclusive surrender, and

someone takes that to mean that I am diminishing the worship of Shiva,

then that is their interpretation. One has to remove emotion, from

the scholarly subject of the debate. This is all I'm asking for here.

 

For example,

Koorma Purana says that Shiva is the deity to be worshipped in Kali yuga.

It says in the 18th chapter:

Brahma krita yuge devastretayam bhagavan

Ravih

Dwapare devata Vishnuh Kalau devo

Maheswarah

This means that Vishnu was the god

to be worshipped in Dwapara yuga and Shiva is the god for Kali yuga.

I am not too familiar with the Kurma Purana, but if that is what

it says, and that is your sraddha, or faith, then that is very good for

you. I do not say that you are wrong, or that I am right. My

devotion, however, leads me to ask that if that is true, then why

is it that the Srimad Bhagavatam, Brhad Naradiya Purana, as well as various

Upanishads, establish that The Supreme Personality of Godhead descends

in this Kali-yuga, in the golden form (Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu),

and promotes the Yuga-dharma, i.e. the recitation of the Holy Names of

Hari (Vishnu/Krsna)? Someone also posted a protest, I forget

who, and said that no one path can be exclusively "the only way", likening

Vedic scriptural injunctions to fundamentalism of some sort.

Looking at all of this objectively, a not so learned outsider would think

Hindus are a confused bunch, as one scripture says one thing, and another

Hindu scripture says the opposite thing. Looking closer, there

are specific directives as whom to worship, when, and in which manner.

I am not here to debate those directives, because thus far people are reacting

too emotionally and subjectively. Thus, for me, simply to broadcast

the transcendental sound vibrations of the maha mantra and scriptural quotations,

benefits me and everybody else who may hear them. When argument can

be an objective matter, then specifics can be ferreted out through analysis,

and understood.

 

Nevertheless

I will not claim that only Shiva should be worshipped in Kali yuga. My

only point is that scriptures contain many contradictory references. Each

spiritual path followed in Hinduism has the scriptural sanction. Even as

we follow one religious path, we can be respectful to other paths.

That

is all I am asking of those who keep quoting verses on Vishnu's superiority

and Shiva's inferiority.

I never once quoted a verse purporting to state the Lord Shiva was

inferior. I did quote a verse (in a private discussion with you)

from the Bhagavatam in which it is stated that Lord Shiva is the greatest

Vaishnava (Vaishnavanam yatha shambhu), but that does not make him inferior.

Again, it is a matter of the emotional response upon which these statements

are received.

There are many distinctions between different Deities, as well as paths,

given in the Gita and other Vedic scriptures. Differentiation is

just a fact, and cannot be denied. Not to speak of different Devata,

there are even distinctions between that which is obtained by the recitation

of certain Holy Names. For example, Lord Shiva Himself says the following

to his wife Parvati:

Rama rameti rameti

rame raame manorame

sahasra-namabhis tulyam

rama-nama varanane -- Padma Purana, Uttara-khanda, 72.335

‘O Varanana (Parvati), ‘I chant the holy name of Rama, Rama, Rama and thus

enjoy this beautiful sound. This holy name of Ramachandra is equal to one

thousand holy names of Lord Vishnu.'

Then, a further categorization of the Holy Name of Krsna is made, even

though He and Lord Rama are identical:

sahasra-namnam punyanam

trir-avrttya tu yat phalam

ekavrttya tu krsnasya

namaikam tat prayacchati -- Brahmanda Purana

"‘The pious results derived from chanting the thousand holy names of Vishnu

three times can be attained by only one utterance of the holy name of Krsna.'

Doing the math, this equates the punya derived from chanting one Name

of Krsna, to that derived from chanting 3 names of Rama.

Further, when in the Bhagavad-gita, Sri Krsna refers to the worship

of various devata as "avipascitah", "alpa-medhasam", and "Hrta-jnana",

i.e. all essentially meaning "less intelligent, bereft of sense, etc.,

He is indeed making differentiations. What we have to understand

from all of this, in the final analysis, is that any kind of worship which

is meant for material gain alone, without a concept of Moksa, i.e. deliverance

from the cycles of births and deaths, is the sport of fools who are bereft

of knowledge. So, certainly if someone worships Lord Shiva with the

intent of attaining spiritual perfection, certainly he or she will attain

that goal. There is no doubt about it.

So, rather than taking offense, and responding emotionally to debate

of a scholarly and transcendent nature, one should purify his or her reason

fro approaching a particular Deity, and then assure that the worship that

follows is for the attainment of Divine consciousness. Regarding

the material requirements of life, these come automatically anyway, according

to one's karma and destiny, and so one does not have to concern himself

with the worship of a Deity for material needs, no more than a squirrel

has to go to the temple to ask God for his daily nuts and seeds.

 

The religious

path one follows is very personal. When it comes to the question of the

ultimate mantra/path for Kali yuga, there are multiple answers in scriptures.

Why don't we be more tolerant and respectful of other paths?

I have no disrespect in the slightest for someone who follows a

different path than I. I will quote Krsna Himself ad infinitum

in which He establishes Himself to Arjuna as the Supreme Personality, even

up to the point of showing the entire universe within His form as the Virata

Purusa. All the devatas up to Lord Shiva, were and continue to be

enshrined within the womb of that universal form, and all those existing

in the past, present, and future as well. To establish that

the numerous Devata and Krsna are one, or in other words "Abhedam", or

the non-dualistic philosophies of the Mayavada school, is always going

to invoke a passionate response from Vaishnava devotees of Vishnu who believe

in the transcendental form of Godhead.

To wit, you made the statement to me, that "Krsna may not be a real

person." Putting it quite politely, this is an aparadha, or offense,

especially in consideration of the statements of Arjuna who said "purusam

shasvatam divyam", meaning "eternal, transcendental personality", and

"Adi-devam ajam vibhum", meaning that he existed before all other devatas,

is unborn and primeval, and "param brahma", meaning that not only is He

the source of various Devata, but He is also the source of Brahman, or

Brahmajyoti itself. To imply thus that He is "not really a person"

is not only ludicrous, but walking a fine line between scholarly debate

and aparadha. Finally, to insist, as someone else did on this list

quoting Caitanya Charitamrta, that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu came to preach

Mayavada philosophy, is the height of folly, especially in consideration

of the words of Sri Caitanya Himself who said "mayavadi bhasya sunile haya

sarva nasa", i.e. "even if one hears Mayavada philosophy, his understanding

is forever doomed."

Anyway, so offense can be taken on either side. Yes, I can understand

why Shiva bhaktas may feel anger or dismay if their Deity is not seen in

the same light as they. Then again, the response may not be commensurate

to the intent of the original statement, and thus all I can say is, that

one needs to humbly continue with their devotions, pray to Lord Shiva for

guidance, and remember the words of Sri Krsna in the Gita, "Tams titiksasva

bharata", i.e. try to tolerate without being disturbed (Bg 2.14).

To me, personally, there is nothing

more enlightening and satisfying than the worship of Satya Narayana.

BTW,

everybody living close to Boston is most welcome to visit my house and

be a guest for the worship.

If I lived in the Boston area, I would indeed love to visit and

partake of the Satya-Narayana vrata with you, Narasimha.

 

Anyway, getting

back to the main discussion, my only point is that we have to be more tolerant

of other spiritual paths. Vedas, Upanishats and Puranas are broad enough

to accommodate a multitude of spiritual paths. His Highness Chandrashekhara

Saraswati Swamiji once said,""You don't see the Lotus feet of the Lord.

Why are you fighting over what his face looks like?". Let us not argue

over whether Vishnu is superior or Shiva. Let us instead surrender to Him

and place ourselves at His feet. What difference does it make if we call

him Vishnu or Shiva or Allah? Surrendering at his feet is the main thing!

Very good then, and I am in agreement. Hare Krsna!

With best regards,

Om Tat Sat

Robert

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Robert A. Koch, Vedic AstrologerFaculty

Member, SJC and ACVAvisit <http://www.robertkoch.com>

and,http://www.jyotishdiscovery.com

orPh: 541.318.0248

 

 

 

 

 

|| Om Tat Sat || Sarvam Sri

Krishnaarpanamastu ||

 

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