Guest guest Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 Hi, Seems like there are few or very obscure, perhaps no sects of Brahma existing in India today. Why and when this is occurred? Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 Namaste, Here is a little info on the subject. I've read several different stories of how Brahma was cursed. 4 and 5 are the most prevalent that I have heard. Pranams, Surya >From Wikipedia and other sources: Although Brahma is prayed to in almost all Hindu religious rites, there are only three temples dedicated to him in India, the more prominent of which is at Pushkar, close to Ajmer. Once a year, on the full moon night of the Hindu lunar month of Kartika (October - November), a religious festival is held in Brahma's honour, but some say Brahma has no honor for he tried to kill Shiva and Vishnu. Thousands of pilgrims come to bathe in the holy lake adjacent to the temple. There is also a famous murti of Brahma at Mangalwedha, 52 km from Solapur district in Maharashtra and the biggest is in Agkor Vat in Kambodia. There is one more temple for Brahma in the temple town of Kumbakonam, (Thanjavur District) Tamil Nadu. Regular pujas are held for Brahma and during Navrathris, this temple comes to life with colourful festivities. There is also a shrine for Brahma within the Bramhapureeshwarar temple in Thirupattur, near Trichy. 1. According to the "Padam Puran",The Hindu religious text Pushkar means a pond created by flower, was formed when Brahma dropped a lotus flower on the earth to determine a place for his yagna, a holy sacrifice. The story goes that Brahma wanted to perform the yagna at the most auspicious time but his consort Savitri whose presence at the yagna was vital for its performance kept him waiting. Irritated by this Brahma married Gayatri, a milkmaid and installed her instead. Savitri on seeing someone else in her place was infuriated and cursed Brahma that he would be forgotten by people on earth and never worshiped. She relented on pleas from other Gods that he could only be worshiped in Pushkar, hence there are no Brahma Temples elsewhere 2. According to legend, Lord Brahma originally had five heads to represent the five elements of Nature and Lord Siva also had five. This led to confusion and once Goddess Parvathi, mistaking Brahma for Siva, offered "Paadha Pooja" to the former. Angered by this Siva removed one of the heads of Brahma, which however, due to a curse by Brahma, got stuck to Siva's palm. Siva lost His lustre and charm due to "Brahmahathi Dosham" and went from one holy place to another to get rid of he sin. When He visited Karambanur Lord Purushothama asked Goddess Poorva Devi to offer Bhiksha to Siva and when She did it, Siva was partially relieved of the curse as the "Brahma Kapalam" (Brahma's skull) on His palm, got filled up, but it did not fall down. Lord Purushothama then asked Him to go to Thirukandiyur and take bath in the water source there to get cured of the curse. He did so and worshipped the Lord there and was completely relieved of the curse. The water source that was till then known as Kamala Pushkarani, after the incident came to be known as Kapaala Theertham. 3. According to another legend, it was Goddess Mahalakshmi, who requested Siva to remove one of the heads of Brahma as Brahma looked so charming with five heads and She feared that the Lord would shower all His affection on His son, ignoring Her. Apart from Lord Siva, King Mahabali and Bhrigu Maharishi also got rid of their sins by worshipping the Lord here, according to legend. According to another legend, Sage Bhrigu, who visited the three Lords in their abodes to test their superiority and kicked Lord Narayana on His chest, wanted to atone for the sin by visiting all holy places. He got peace when he visited the Kamala Kshetram. The Moon, who committed the sin of seducing his preceptor's wife and lost his charm and shape, was restored of them partially when he took bath in the holy water source and worshipped the Lord here. 4. Even though Brahma is typically shown as having four heads looking in the four directions, legend holds it that at one time he had five heads, the fifth looking upwards. However originally he is said to have possessed just one head. At that time the cosmos did not exist and Brahma was self-contained and self-content. However he eventually started longing for company. At this time, he split himself to form a female form, called Satarupa (the one with a hundred beautiful forms). As he laid his gaze upon Satarupa, Brahma immediately felt attracted towards her. To avoid Brahma's gaze, Satarupa tried to slip off in various directions but was unsuccessful as Brahma developed a head in each direction. Finding no other way, Satarupa start ascending upwards but then too, Brahma developed a head that looked upwards. Shiva noticed all that was happening. Since Satarupa originated out of Brahma, Shiva felt Satarupa was a daughter of Brahma and hence it was improper of Brahma to be obsessed with her. Shiva therefore cut off the head of Brahma that looked upwards so she could escape him. As an additional punishment for this unholy behavior of Brahma, Shiva cast a curse on him and directed that there be no proper worship of Brahma. Ever since, only Vishnu and Shiva out of the three Gods comprising the Trinity are worshipped while Brahma is almost totally ignored. It is also said that since then Brahma has been trying to redeem himself of his sins by continuously reciting the four Vedas. According to Shiva Purana, the incestuous union of Brahma and Satarupa resulted in the birth of Swyambhu Manu, who eventually turned out to be the progenitor of Man. 5. There exists another version of the cutting off of Brahma's fifth head. According to the Puranas, Brahma and Vishnu once had an argument over who was the Supreme God. The Vedas however declared Shiva as the Supreme Being. Having discovered this, Brahma started speaking insultingly about Shiva. To teach Brahma a lesson, Shiva cut off the head which had spoken, and therefore Brahma was left with four heads. In spite of being one among the three gods forming the Trinity, worshipping of Brahma worship is not as widespread as worshipping of Shiva or Vishnu. In India, there are only two temples dedicated to Brahma, as against thousands dedicated to Shiva and Vishnu. One of these two temples is at Pushkar near Ajmer in Rajasthan. The other is at Khedabrahma in Kerala. It is believed that once Lord Shiva stood in the form of a great linga with no end under the ground or in the sky. Brahma and Vishnu threw each other a challenge of superiority in which one of the ends had to be reached. Brahma took the form of a swan and flew upwards while Vishnu turned into a boar and started digging into the ground. However, even after a lot of efforts, neither of the two found the end of the linga. However to exert his superiority, Brahma came back and lied to Vishnu about having found the top of the linga. Shiva flew into a rage as soon as Brahma uttered the lie and took his own form from the linga and cast a curse on Brahma and declared that he would never be worshipped. Further, since the Ketaki flower stood witness to Brahma's blatant lie, Shiva cursed the flower as well and since then the Ketaki flower is not used in religious rituals. - andrewngmm Friday, January 19, 2007 3:21 AM Brahma Sects Hi, Seems like there are few or very obscure, perhaps no sects of Brahma existing in India today. Why and when this is occurred? Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 20, 2007 Report Share Posted January 20, 2007 Hi have you met or heard about Ayya - Siddha Guru who have been meditating in thiruvannamalai ... if u have met - any stories to share simone Mahamuni Das <mahamuni (AT) cox (DOT) net> wrote: Namaste, Here is a little info on the subject. I've read several different stories of how Brahma was cursed. 4 and 5 are the most prevalent that I have heard. Pranams, Surya >From Wikipedia and other sources: Although Brahma is prayed to in almost all Hindu religious rites, there are only three temples dedicated to him in India, the more prominent of which is at Pushkar, close to Ajmer. Once a year, on the full moon night of the Hindu lunar month of Kartika (October - November), a religious festival is held in Brahma's honour, but some say Brahma has no honor for he tried to kill Shiva and Vishnu. Thousands of pilgrims come to bathe in the holy lake adjacent to the temple. There is also a famous murti of Brahma at Mangalwedha, 52 km from Solapur district in Maharashtra and the biggest is in Agkor Vat in Kambodia. There is one more temple for Brahma in the temple town of Kumbakonam, (Thanjavur District) Tamil Nadu. Regular pujas are held for Brahma and during Navrathris, this temple comes to life with colourful festivities. There is also a shrine for Brahma within the Bramhapureeshwarar temple in Thirupattur, near Trichy. 1. According to the "Padam Puran",The Hindu religious text Pushkar means a pond created by flower, was formed when Brahma dropped a lotus flower on the earth to determine a place for his yagna, a holy sacrifice. The story goes that Brahma wanted to perform the yagna at the most auspicious time but his consort Savitri whose presence at the yagna was vital for its performance kept him waiting. Irritated by this Brahma married Gayatri, a milkmaid and installed her instead. Savitri on seeing someone else in her place was infuriated and cursed Brahma that he would be forgotten by people on earth and never worshiped. She relented on pleas from other Gods that he could only be worshiped in Pushkar, hence there are no Brahma Temples elsewhere 2. According to legend, Lord Brahma originally had five heads to represent the five elements of Nature and Lord Siva also had five. This led to confusion and once Goddess Parvathi, mistaking Brahma for Siva, offered "Paadha Pooja" to the former. Angered by this Siva removed one of the heads of Brahma, which however, due to a curse by Brahma, got stuck to Siva's palm. Siva lost His lustre and charm due to "Brahmahathi Dosham" and went from one holy place to another to get rid of he sin. When He visited Karambanur Lord Purushothama asked Goddess Poorva Devi to offer Bhiksha to Siva and when She did it, Siva was partially relieved of the curse as the "Brahma Kapalam" (Brahma's skull) on His palm, got filled up, but it did not fall down. Lord Purushothama then asked Him to go to Thirukandiyur and take bath in the water source there to get cured of the curse. He did so and worshipped the Lord there and was completely relieved of the curse. The water source that was till then known as Kamala Pushkarani, after the incident came to be known as Kapaala Theertham. 3. According to another legend, it was Goddess Mahalakshmi, who requested Siva to remove one of the heads of Brahma as Brahma looked so charming with five heads and She feared that the Lord would shower all His affection on His son, ignoring Her. Apart from Lord Siva, King Mahabali and Bhrigu Maharishi also got rid of their sins by worshipping the Lord here, according to legend. According to another legend, Sage Bhrigu, who visited the three Lords in their abodes to test their superiority and kicked Lord Narayana on His chest, wanted to atone for the sin by visiting all holy places. He got peace when he visited the Kamala Kshetram. The Moon, who committed the sin of seducing his preceptor's wife and lost his charm and shape, was restored of them partially when he took bath in the holy water source and worshipped the Lord here. 4. Even though Brahma is typically shown as having four heads looking in the four directions, legend holds it that at one time he had five heads, the fifth looking upwards. However originally he is said to have possessed just one head. At that time the cosmos did not exist and Brahma was self-contained and self-content. However he eventually started longing for company. At this time, he split himself to form a female form, called Satarupa (the one with a hundred beautiful forms). As he laid his gaze upon Satarupa, Brahma immediately felt attracted towards her. To avoid Brahma's gaze, Satarupa tried to slip off in various directions but was unsuccessful as Brahma developed a head in each direction. Finding no other way, Satarupa start ascending upwards but then too, Brahma developed a head that looked upwards. Shiva noticed all that was happening. Since Satarupa originated out of Brahma, Shiva felt Satarupa was a daughter of Brahma and hence it was improper of Brahma to be obsessed with her. Shiva therefore cut off the head of Brahma that looked upwards so she could escape him. As an additional punishment for this unholy behavior of Brahma, Shiva cast a curse on him and directed that there be no proper worship of Brahma. Ever since, only Vishnu and Shiva out of the three Gods comprising the Trinity are worshipped while Brahma is almost totally ignored. It is also said that since then Brahma has been trying to redeem himself of his sins by continuously reciting the four Vedas. According to Shiva Purana, the incestuous union of Brahma and Satarupa resulted in the birth of Swyambhu Manu, who eventually turned out to be the progenitor of Man. 5. There exists another version of the cutting off of Brahma's fifth head. According to the Puranas, Brahma and Vishnu once had an argument over who was the Supreme God. The Vedas however declared Shiva as the Supreme Being. Having discovered this, Brahma started speaking insultingly about Shiva. To teach Brahma a lesson, Shiva cut off the head which had spoken, and therefore Brahma was left with four heads. In spite of being one among the three gods forming the Trinity, worshipping of Brahma worship is not as widespread as worshipping of Shiva or Vishnu. In India, there are only two temples dedicated to Brahma, as against thousands dedicated to Shiva and Vishnu. One of these two temples is at Pushkar near Ajmer in Rajasthan. The other is at Khedabrahma in Kerala. It is believed that once Lord Shiva stood in the form of a great linga with no end under the ground or in the sky. Brahma and Vishnu threw each other a challenge of superiority in which one of the ends had to be reached. Brahma took the form of a swan and flew upwards while Vishnu turned into a boar and started digging into the ground. However, even after a lot of efforts, neither of the two found the end of the linga. However to exert his superiority, Brahma came back and lied to Vishnu about having found the top of the linga. Shiva flew into a rage as soon as Brahma uttered the lie and took his own form from the linga and cast a curse on Brahma and declared that he would never be worshipped. Further, since the Ketaki flower stood witness to Brahma's blatant lie, Shiva cursed the flower as well and since then the Ketaki flower is not used in religious rituals. - andrewngmm Friday, January 19, 2007 3:21 AM Brahma Sects Hi, Seems like there are few or very obscure, perhaps no sects of Brahma existing in India today. Why and when this is occurred? Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 22, 2007 Report Share Posted January 22, 2007 Thanks for the info. Andrew --- Mahamuni Das <mahamuni (AT) cox (DOT) net> wrote: > Namaste, > > Here is a little info on the subject. I've read > several different stories of how Brahma was cursed. > 4 and 5 are the most prevalent that I have heard. > > Pranams, > > Surya > > > From Wikipedia and other sources: > > Although Brahma is prayed to in almost all Hindu > religious rites, there are only three temples > dedicated to him in India, the more prominent of > which is at Pushkar, close to Ajmer. Once a year, on > the full moon night of the Hindu lunar month of > Kartika (October - November), a religious festival > is held in Brahma's honour, but some say Brahma has > no honor for he tried to kill Shiva and Vishnu. > Thousands of pilgrims come to bathe in the holy lake > adjacent to the temple. There is also a famous murti > of Brahma at Mangalwedha, 52 km from Solapur > district in Maharashtra and the biggest is in Agkor > Vat in Kambodia. There is one more temple for Brahma > in the temple town of Kumbakonam, (Thanjavur > District) Tamil Nadu. Regular pujas are held for > Brahma and during Navrathris, this temple comes to > life with colourful festivities. There is also a > shrine for Brahma within the Bramhapureeshwarar > temple in Thirupattur, near Trichy. > > 1. According to the "Padam Puran",The Hindu > religious text > > Pushkar means a pond created by flower, was formed > when Brahma dropped a lotus flower on the earth to > determine a place for his yagna, a holy sacrifice. > > The story goes that Brahma wanted to perform the > yagna at the most auspicious time but his consort > Savitri whose presence at the yagna was vital for > its performance kept him waiting. Irritated by this > Brahma married Gayatri, a milkmaid and installed her > instead. Savitri on seeing someone else in her place > was infuriated and cursed Brahma that he would be > forgotten by people on earth and never worshiped. > She relented on pleas from other Gods that he could > only be worshiped in Pushkar, hence there are no > Brahma Temples elsewhere > > 2. According to legend, Lord Brahma originally had > five heads to represent the five elements of Nature > and Lord Siva also had five. This led to confusion > and once Goddess Parvathi, mistaking Brahma for > Siva, offered "Paadha Pooja" to the former. > > Angered by this Siva removed one of the heads of > Brahma, which however, due to a curse by Brahma, got > stuck to Siva's palm. Siva lost His lustre and charm > due to "Brahmahathi Dosham" and went from one holy > place to another to get rid of he sin. When He > visited Karambanur Lord Purushothama asked Goddess > Poorva Devi to offer Bhiksha to Siva and when She > did it, Siva was partially relieved of the curse as > the "Brahma Kapalam" (Brahma's skull) on His palm, > got filled up, but it did not fall down. Lord > Purushothama then asked Him to go to Thirukandiyur > and take bath in the water source there to get cured > of the curse. He did so and worshipped the Lord > there and was completely relieved of the curse. The > water source that was till then known as Kamala > Pushkarani, after the incident came to be known as > Kapaala Theertham. > > 3. According to another legend, it was Goddess > Mahalakshmi, who requested Siva to remove one of the > heads of Brahma as Brahma looked so charming with > five heads and She feared that the Lord would shower > all His affection on His son, ignoring Her. Apart > from Lord Siva, King Mahabali and Bhrigu Maharishi > also got rid of their sins by worshipping the Lord > here, according to legend. According to another > legend, Sage Bhrigu, who visited the three Lords in > their abodes to test their superiority and kicked > Lord Narayana on His chest, wanted to atone for the > sin by visiting all holy places. He got peace when > he visited the Kamala Kshetram. The Moon, who > committed the sin of seducing his preceptor's wife > and lost his charm and shape, was restored of them > partially when he took bath in the holy water source > and worshipped the Lord here. > > 4. Even though Brahma is typically shown as having > four heads looking in the four directions, legend > holds it that at one time he had five heads, the > fifth looking upwards. However originally he is said > to have possessed just one head. At that time the > cosmos did not exist and Brahma was self-contained > and self-content. However he eventually started > longing for company. At this time, he split himself > to form a female form, called Satarupa (the one with > a hundred beautiful forms). As he laid his gaze upon > Satarupa, Brahma immediately felt attracted towards > her. To avoid Brahma's gaze, Satarupa tried to slip > off in various directions but was unsuccessful as > Brahma developed a head in each direction. Finding > no other way, Satarupa start ascending upwards but > then too, Brahma developed a head that looked > upwards. Shiva noticed all that was happening. Since > Satarupa originated out of Brahma, Shiva felt > Satarupa was a daughter of Brahma and hence it was > improper of Brahma to be obsessed with her. Shiva > therefore cut off the head of Brahma that looked > upwards so she could escape him. As an additional > punishment for this unholy behavior of Brahma, Shiva > cast a curse on him and directed that there be no > proper worship of Brahma. Ever since, only Vishnu > and Shiva out of the three Gods comprising the > Trinity are worshipped while Brahma is almost > totally ignored. It is also said that since then > Brahma has been trying to redeem himself of his sins > by continuously reciting the four Vedas. According > to Shiva Purana, the incestuous union of Brahma and > Satarupa resulted in the birth of Swyambhu Manu, who > eventually turned out to be the progenitor of Man. > > 5. There exists another version of the cutting off > of Brahma's fifth head. According to the Puranas, > Brahma and Vishnu once had an argument over who was > the Supreme God. The Vedas however declared Shiva as > the Supreme Being. Having discovered this, Brahma > started speaking insultingly about Shiva. To teach > Brahma a lesson, Shiva cut off the head which had > spoken, and therefore Brahma was left with four > heads. > > In spite of being one among the three gods forming > the Trinity, worshipping of Brahma worship is not as > widespread as worshipping of Shiva or Vishnu. In > India, there are only two temples dedicated to > Brahma, as against thousands dedicated to Shiva and > Vishnu. One of these two temples is at Pushkar near > Ajmer in Rajasthan. The other is at Khedabrahma in > Kerala. It is believed that once Lord Shiva stood in > the form of a great linga with no end under the > ground or in the sky. Brahma and Vishnu threw each > other a challenge of superiority in which one of the > ends had to be reached. Brahma took the form of a > swan and flew upwards while Vishnu turned into a > boar and started digging into the ground. However, > even after a lot of efforts, neither of the two > found the end of the linga. However to exert his > superiority, Brahma came back and lied to Vishnu > about having found the top of the linga. Shiva flew > into a rage as soon as Brahma uttered the lie and > took his own form from the linga and cast a curse on > Brahma and declared that he would never be > worshipped. Further, since the Ketaki flower stood > witness to Brahma's blatant lie, Shiva cursed the > flower as well and since then the Ketaki flower is > not used in religious rituals. > > > > > > - > andrewngmm > > Friday, January 19, 2007 3:21 AM > Brahma Sects > > > Hi, > > Seems like there are few or very obscure, perhaps > no sects of Brahma > existing in India today. Why and when this is > occurred? > > Andrew > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been > removed] > > Never Miss an Email Stay connected with Mail on your mobile. Get started! http://mobile./services?promote=mail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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