Guest guest Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 Hello All,Narasimha ji often mentions that out of the 5 elements only Agni is unpolluted .Here is the explanation that I found on one of the web page at http://ignca.nic.in/ps_03015.htmHope this is useful to people in understanding why Homam is so important. The question to be asked is what are the diverse components of the disturbance, the ecological imbalances and what are the diverse components of the disturbance, the ecological imbalances and what methodologies and strategies were adopted in the past to sustain these balance. Can we, even at this state, learn any lesson from the past for equipping ourselves to face the human predicaments today? Let us begin by enumerating the principal components of the environment most polluted, species most threatened and how each disturbs the ecological balance. Thereafter, we can return to the worldview of the historical past, the myth, ritual and art of this country or for that matter, practically all cultures, pre-renaissance. The worldview is mercifully sustained by so-called primitive societies, be it in India, Africa, Australia or America. At the philosophic speculative level, the living continuities can be seen only in India. So today, this moment where four-fifths of humanity lives (i.e.., India and Asia), what is threatened? What are we polluting, destroying, thus bringing forebodings of the annihilation of Man on earth? What is the quality of life we can hope for? First and foremost it water, the basic sustaining principle - clean water or to use a traditional phrase 'pure or unpolluted (¿uddha) water' - is becoming scarce. Water systems are increasingly over-exploited and polluted. Any India is familiar with the daily rituals which serve as reminders of the concept of pure and, therefore, holy water. No daily, monthly, annual ceremony is complete without ritual purification with water. At birth, marriage, death, this concept is articulated and yet we have polluted these waters of life Next, the pollution of the earth - Mother Earth, floating free ball beneath the most gleaming membrane of bright blue sky. And what have we done to it? Arid lands have increased, soil which was venerated has been eroded and infertility, sand and salt have taken over. It is estimated that in this part of the world, a million hectares are being desertified each year. Desecration of the bowels of the earth through excessive quarrying is common. Man's power has hollowed the still centre of life. P¤thiv¢, the eternal mother, has been polluted and desecrated. Related to the pollution of water and earth is the massive unprecedented deforestation. The Indian sub-continent has been progressively deforested: the soil's ability to absorb and hold water has diminished. Severe floods have occurred more frequently and deforestation has affected most adversely the eco-system of the Himalayas where our major river systems - the Indus, the Ganges and the Brahmaputra - originate. Each day we learn of the increase in wastelands and the consequent effect upon rural life, be they the forests of Bastar or the hills of the Himalayan range. In the language of Indian myth, this is the rape of the tree and river goddess, the V¤kÀik¡s, and the destruction of the gods of the woods, the Vanadevat¡. No wonder the Chipko Movement and Protect the Silent Valley is a cry of anguish. Most of all, the present destruction is a dangerous play with the mythical centre - Sumeru, the world axis, the Himalayas. The disturbance in water, earth, vegetation, river and mountain ecology systems has naturally threatened all manner of life - aquatic, terrestrial and celestial. Mythically, áeÀan¡ga upholds the earth, the Ga´g¡ rides the crocodile, Yamun¡ the tortoise and each is threatened. Boars and elephants upheld the earth; they too are dying. So who upholds the earth now? The birds of heaven, the Swan, the Garu·a and other who carried the gods are vanishing. So who sustains the moral and cosmic order? There can only be chaos. And worst of all, there is the pollution of the holy space - the air, V¡yu and the sky which permeates and envelopes all life. The tragedy of Bhopal is too close for comment, but equally demonic are the ¡suric chimneys of black t¡masic forces which pollute the 'lungs' of life. Acid rains are common elsewhere and man looks in vain for the purity of the water to flow from the rain-filled clouds. Destruction is writ large on the balmy skies, once azure blue, today smoke grey. Finally, we have polluted holy sound, the primeval Nada, through the chaos of our life. Noise pollution makes Man deaf to the inner voices of his wisdom.And so Man aspires higher and higher, beyond the pollution of his making, to that one source which sustains all and is yet beyond his reach, namely, the Sun - Ëditya - the giver of light in the sky and fire on earth - Agni - the source of energy which appears unpollutable unlike the fuel of his making. This energy, physically and metaphysically, is Man's only ray of hope for the continuance of life.Thank you,Manish Unlimited freedom, unlimited storage. Get it now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 Namaste, I replied to Vijay's mail thinking I was replying to the list. Then I realized Vijay sent it to -owner and said the following. > I wanted to send this in reply, but did not want a controversy. If you > feel the mail is fit for the forum, feel free to quote this and reply > Well, I see not problem with sending his mail and my reply to all. Best regards, Narasimha Do a Short Homam Yourself: http://www.VedicAstrologer.org/homam Do Pitri Tarpanas Yourself: http://www.VedicAstrologer.org/tarpana Spirituality: Free Jyotish lessons (MP3): http://vedicastro.home.comcast.net Free Jyotish software (Windows): http://www.VedicAstrologer.org Sri Jagannath Centre (SJC) website: http://www.SriJagannath.org - " Narasimha P.V.R. Rao " <pvr " Vijaya Kumara Lakshmi Narayana Rao Pingali " <pvklnrao; <-owner > Friday, February 27, 2009 10:19 PM Re: Pollution of panch bhutas > Dear Vijay, > > What we eat, drink and breath does have an impact on us. Just as the gross > matter consumed by us impacts our gross bodies, the subtle nature of the > gross matter consumed by us impacts our subtle nature. > > If food is cooked by someone with negative thoughts, those thoughts do > shape > the subtle nature of that food and impact the subtle nature of the person > eating the food! > > In this age, the food we eat, the water (or other drinks) we drink and > even > the air we breathe are corrupted at the gross level as well the subtle > level. As Kali deepens (we are only 5,000 years into 432,000 years!), this > will only get worse. These heavy impurities accumulating fast in one's > subtle nature need heavy sadhanas to burn them and yet people have no time > for spiritual sadhana. > > Even an idol will carry the subtle vibrations of the thoughts of people > involved in its making - people who dug up the ore, purified it, made it, > transported and sold it etc. People have a fascination for idols, yantras > etc, but they are *relatively* ineffective in this age. > > The element of air, as you said, is badly corrupted and obtaining god > through praanaayaama etc is quite difficult. If one were to follow the > path > of Raja yoga and obtain god through yogic practices of praanaayaama, > mudras, > bandhas etc, it is very very difficult in this age. When one eats pure > food > and breathes pure air, it is still a difficult thing. In this age, it is > thousand fold difficult. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa used to say that Raja > yoga > is not for this age. > > The only elements that cannot be corrupted are space (the vacuum that is > the > basis for other elements and the underlying reality behind all realities) > and fire. Obtaining god through the element of space is essentially the > Vedantic path of contemplation. This is too abstract and difficult for > most > people (just as the element of space itself is!). > > The element left is fire. Fire is ever pure and purifies anything it comes > in contact with. The first verse of Rigveda is a praise of Fire. Fore > worship is an ancient practice found in many religions. > > Best regards, > Narasimha > > Do a Short Homam Yourself: http://www.VedicAstrologer.org/homam > Do Pitri Tarpanas Yourself: http://www.VedicAstrologer.org/tarpana > Spirituality: > Free Jyotish lessons (MP3): http://vedicastro.home.comcast.net > Free Jyotish software (Windows): http://www.VedicAstrologer.org > Sri Jagannath Centre (SJC) website: http://www.SriJagannath.org > > > - > " Vijaya Kumara Lakshmi Narayana Rao Pingali " <pvklnrao > <-owner > > Friday, February 27, 2009 7:50 PM > Re: Pollution of panch bhutas > > > Hi, > > I wanted to send this in reply, but did not want a controversy. If you > feel the mail is fit for the forum, feel free to quote this and reply > > > The five elements are: > earth > ether or sky > air > fire > water > > Sound is not one of five elements! > > I am not sure how sky is polluted. Yes, we are leaving quite a few debris > in > the space, but, not sure if it amounts to polluting. > By definition sky is end less and a little bit of debris can not > pollute sky! > > Also, frankly speaking, I do not understand what is pollution and what > it has to do with spiritual progress. We are trying to imagine and > feel god in some thing (like a murthy which representation of earth > element. > > Feeling Sky is not easy, as sky is actually not physical but our > perception. Invoking god and feeling god in no where is very very > difficult. > > Idols are of earth element in nature. How does pollution of earth > really hamper our sadhana? With an idol, it is easier to pray with > eyes open. With eyes open, there is lesser chance loose our senses. > How ever, keep looking at idol for some time and slowly close your > eyes and keep visualising the idol and start doing the japam. You have > a good chance of loosing sense of remaining world. How ever, it is not > easy to forget about idol itself. > > I can understand the argument of pollution in case of air as benefit > from pranayama and japam with respect. Air is polluted and pranayama > is definitely affected. > > I do not understand how the water can be used for spiritual sadhana. > Perhaps the tarpanas? I am not sure why polluted water hamper our > sadhana. > > Even if fire ritual, we are asking the bad fire to be away > (kravyaadamagnim prahinoemi duuram). So, even Fire is not pure. > > I am convinced fire ritual is perhaps more beneficial. How ever, I can > not understand the logic of pollution (except for pranayama). To me, > it sounds like a far fetched argument in favor of fire ritual. > > I want to rake up a small controversy here: > > In Mahabharata, there is a small story regarding Khandava Dahanam > where the fire God comes seeking help from Krishna and Arjuna as he > ate lot of ghee as people kept doing homams and hences need to eat > khadava forest which is full of herbs. So, are we burdening the fire > God? If the fire God is burdened is he pure any more? > > Best regards, > Vijay > , manish gour <manishgo_in > wrote: >> >> Hello All, >> >> Narasimha ji often mentions that out of the 5 elements only Agni is > unpolluted . >> >> Here is the explanation that I found on one of the web page at > http://ignca..nic.in/ps_03015.htm >> >> Hope this is useful to people in understanding why Homam is so > important. >> >> The question to be asked is what are the diverse components of > the >> disturbance, the ecological imbalances and what are the > diverse components >> of the disturbance, the ecological imbalances and what > methodologies and >> strategies were adopted in the past to sustain these balance. > Can we, even >> at this state, learn any lesson from the past for equipping > ourselves to >> face the human predicaments today? >> >> >> >> Let us begin by enumerating the principal components of the >> environment >> most polluted, species most threatened and how each disturbs > the >> ecological balance. Thereafter, we can return to the worldview > of the >> historical past, the myth, ritual and art of this country or > for that >> matter, practically all cultures, pre-renaissance. The > worldview is >> mercifully sustained by so-called primitive societies, be it > in India, >> Africa, Australia or America. At the philosophic speculative > level, the >> living continuities can be seen only in India. >> >> >> >> So today, this moment where four-fifths of humanity lives > (i.e., >> India and Asia), what is threatened? What are we polluting, > destroying, >> thus bringing forebodings of the annihilation of Man on earth? > What is the >> quality of life we can hope for? >> >> >> >> First and foremost it water, the basic sustaining principle - > clean >> water or to use a traditional phrase 'pure or unpolluted > (¿uddha) >> water' - is becoming scarce. Water systems are increasingly > over-exploited >> and polluted. Any India is familiar with the daily rituals > which serve as >> reminders of the concept of pure and, therefore, holy water. > No daily, >> monthly, annual ceremony is complete without ritual > purification with >> water. At birth, marriage, death, this concept is articulated > and yet we >> have polluted these waters of life >> >> >> >> Next, the pollution of the earth - Mother Earth, floating free > ball >> beneath the most gleaming membrane of bright blue sky. And > what have we >> done to it? Arid lands have increased, soil which was > venerated has been >> eroded and infertility, sand and salt have taken over. It is > estimated >> that in this part of the world, a million hectares are being > desertified >> each year. Desecration of the bowels of the earth through > excessive >> quarrying is common. Man's power has hollowed the still centre > of life. P¤thiv¢, >> the eternal mother, has been polluted and desecrated. >> >> >> >> Related to the pollution of water and earth is the massive >> unprecedented deforestation. The Indian sub-continent has been >> progressively deforested: the soil's ability to absorb and > hold water has >> diminished. Severe floods have occurred more frequently and > deforestation >> has affected most adversely the eco-system of the Himalayas > where our >> major river systems - the Indus, the Ganges and the > Brahmaputra - >> originate. Each day we learn of the increase in wastelands and > the >> consequent effect upon rural life, be they the forests of > Bastar or the >> hills of the Himalayan range. In the language of Indian myth, > this is the >> rape of the tree and river goddess, the V¤kÀik¡s, >> and the destruction of the gods of the woods, the Vanadevat¡. >> No wonder the Chipko Movement and Protect the Silent Valley is > a cry of >> anguish. Most of all, the present destruction is a dangerous > play with the >> mythical centre - Sumeru, the >> world axis, the Himalayas. >> >> >> >> The disturbance in water, earth, vegetation, river and > mountain >> ecology systems has naturally threatened all manner of life - > aquatic, >> terrestrial and celestial. Mythically, áeÀan¡ga >> upholds the earth, the Ga´g¡ rides the crocodile, Yamun¡ the > tortoise >> and each is threatened. Boars and elephants upheld the earth; > they too are >> dying. So who upholds the earth now? The birds of heaven, the > Swan, the >> Garu·a and other who carried the gods are vanishing. So who > sustains the >> moral and cosmic order? There can only be chaos. >> >> >> >> And worst of all, there is the pollution of the holy space - > the >> air, V¡yu and the sky which >> permeates and envelopes all life. The tragedy of Bhopal is too > close for >> comment, but equally demonic are the ¡suric chimneys of black > t¡masic >> forces which pollute the 'lungs' of life. Acid rains are > common elsewhere >> and man looks in vain for the purity of the water to flow from > the >> rain-filled clouds. Destruction is writ large on the balmy > skies, once >> azure blue, today smoke grey. >> >> >> >> Finally, we have polluted holy sound, the primeval Nada, > through >> the chaos of our life. Noise pollution makes Man deaf to the > inner voices >> of his wisdom.And so Man aspires higher >> and higher, beyond the pollution of his making, to that one > source which >> sustains all and is yet beyond his reach, namely, the Sun - > Ëditya - the >> giver of light in the sky and fire on earth - Agni - the > source of energy >> which appears unpollutable unlike the fuel of his making. This > energy, >> physically and metaphysically, is Man's only ray of hope for > the >> continuance of life. >> >> >> Thank you, >> Manish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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