Meaning Behind The Madhu Kaitabha Story

[Guest guest]

Namaste learned friends,

 

Someone queried a while back on the meaning behind the story of Madhu Kaitabha. Here is a quick reply based on my limited understanding.

 

* * *

 

Madhu means honey. "Madhu keeta" means an insect of honey, i.e. honey bee. Madhu kaita means belonging to honey bees. It can be the qualities or nature of honey bees. One of the meanings of "bha" is "having a similarity to". Thus, in my judgment, "Madhu Kaitabha" means "having a semblance to the nature of honey bees".

 

 

* * *

 

Like I keep saying, Sanskrit is a fantastic language. Sanskrit names selected by Rishis for expressing various concepts and stories are very thoughtful. Depending on how deep one goes, there are many meanings of the same word. Thus, Rishis expressed concepts that may have one meaning to a layman and a different meaning to one who is ready to understand the deeper meaning! I salute to the wisdom of our Rishis!

 

I was saying the same thing at Arsha Vidya Gurukulam last weekend. When somebody said at an open discussion that the idea is important and not the name, as there are many names of the same thing in many languages, I made a quick point about the value of Sanskrit names. I said that Sanskrit names have not one meaning, but layers of meanings that can be understood based on the capability of the reader. Rishis used this to hide some special meanings and to keep some higher knowledge as secret, even though it is very much out there! The example I gave was of bhava and pada. Parasara described bhavas (houses) and how to find their respective padas (arudha padas of houses) and said that a bhava and its pada should be judged to see the matters of a house. Though he did not explain the difference between a bhava and its pada further and did not elucidate when to use which one, I said that the very choice of names is a huge clue! Bhava, which is usually translated as a house, also means "a thought/concept/feeling" and pada means "a symbol/word" used to express a thought/concept. Thus, houses are to their arudha padas what thoughts (bhavas) are to the words (padas) that attempt to express them. For example, if the 4th house shows one's happiness, the pada of 4th house shows the tangible articles that attempt to throw light on one's happiness (e.g. vehicle owned by one, TV owned by one etc). Houses (bhavas) show intangible/internal aspects of a matter (just like thoughts inside one's head), while their arudha padas show tangible/external aspects of a matter (just like the external words spoken that attempt to express the thoughts in the head). If you use the English words to translate Parasara, this hidden meaning may be lost! So, I argued that Sanskrit names used by Rishis are not like words in any language.

 

* * *

 

Anyway, let us come back to the Madhu Kaitabha story. As I said, Madhu Kaitabha means "having a semblance to the quality of honeybees". What is the quality of honey bees? Well, they keep working hard to accumulate the sweet honey! They are not intelligent enough to think about any higher things in life. Thus, Madhu Kaitabha are an allegory to the quality within us which makes us work hard, like honeybees, with a single-minded focus on accumulating material comforts. Like honeybees accumulate honey, we accumulate material objects and spend whole life working hard doing just that.

 

Vishnu is a personification of the sattwa guna of the Parama Purusha (Universal/Absolute Being). Within us, Vishnu is an allegory to the sattwa guna within us. Madhu Kaitabha were born from Vishnu's earwax when He was alseep. The ability to work hard like a bee is not really a terrible thing. This ability is essentially born from the sattwa guna within us, when it is in deep slumber (i.e. sattwa guna covered by taamasi shakti, i.e. sattwa guna that "manifests" in a taamasik way).

 

There are so many good people in this world, who just spend their entire lives in honest labor like the honeybees and accumulate things for themselves and others around them. Their sattwa is in deep sleep and Madhu Kaitabha born from that asleep sattva are very much active.

 

The problem with this focus on hard work and accumulation of material objects is that it keeps us away from supreme bliss. Madhu Kaitabha's attack on Brahma and Vedas is symbolic of that. Vedas symbolize the supreme and liberating knowledge of self and Brahma, the carrier of Vedas, symbolizes the sadhana to achieve the supreme knowledge. The focus on working like honeybees and accumulating material objects tries to kills one's ability to do sadhana and obtain supreme knowledge of self.

 

Vishnu battles Madhu Kaitabha for 5,000 years. Devi Bhagavatam even describes that Vishnu wondered in the middle how to defeat Madhu Kaitabha, as He finds them quite formidable! Even when the sattva in us awakens, it is difficult for it to overcome the formidable instinct to lead the life of a honeybee and to accumulate the material objects for oneself and others.

 

When Madhu Kaitabha finally agree to be slain by Vishnu, they ask Him to kill them in a place where there is no water. They see that there is water all around and think that there is no place where there is no water. The Mooladhara, Swadhishthana, Manipoora, Anahata and Visuddhi chakras are the seats of earthy, watery, fiery, airy and ethery elements respectively. Swadhishthana chakra is supposed to control desires and hence water symbolizes desire. As long as there is desire, it is tough to overcome the instinct of just working for material objects!

 

When they want a place that has no water, Vishnu shows his thighs. There is no water there and only earthy element. This suggests that Parama Purusha's Mooladhara chakra is in the thighs of Vishu. (Note: If Chandra Hari is reading this, he will probably realize that this point supports his view on Mooladhara! But I will not say anything more on it for now, as it is a totally different topic. But I do want to acknowledge that this supports his view.)

 

According to Parasara, thighs are seen from the 9th house of dharma. The earthy element symbolizes the commitment and stability. The fact that earthy element came from the thighs of Vishnu shows that it is the dharma of sattwa guna sustaining this universe that ensures that there is commitment and stability in this creation.

 

Moreover, it is apt that someone born in the ears (3rd house) of Vishnu found end in the thighs (9th house, i.e. 7th house of death from the 3rd house) of Vishnu! Similarly, Brahma, who is born from the navel (6th house) of Vishnu should naturally find His end in the 12th house of Vishnu (feet), which is the 7th house of death from the 6th house! That may be why Vishnu goes to sleep, when there is a change of Brahma.

 

Thus, the instinct within us to keep accumulating material objects like honey bees accumulate honey finds its end in the dharma of the sattwa guna, i.e. when the sattwa guna within us follows its dharma. Then we are fully awake spiritually. Naturally, the path to self-knowledge becomes open then and Brahma becomes elated.

 

Thus, the story of Madhu-Kaitabha refers, allegorically, to the instinct most of us have towards leading a "regular" life, working hard like honeybees and accumulating objects for self and others and how that instinct needs to be defeated by waking up the sattwa guna and allowing to perform its dharma.

 

* * *

 

Lest I am misunderstood, I need to clarify one thing. I am not saying that these stories are not real. These stories ARE very much real. In fact, when a Yogi is able to transport consciousness to a particular plane, He/She can vividly see these stories actually happening. The stories are as real as our own existence as beings made of flesh and blood is, in the normal plane of consciousness.

 

What I am saying is that there is an allegorical link between various planes of consciousness. What is real in one plane of consciousness is an allegory in another plane of consciousness. If one is atleast capable of understanding a story as an allegory, that will serve a valuable purpose!

 

If you did not understand my last point, please feel free to ignore it. It is not that important.

 

* * *

 

The Shata Chandi Homam we did in Chennai during March 1-7 was for a specific goal - relief for a spiritual master of south India from unfortunate legal troubles. Interestingly, after exactly 64 days passed since the poornaahuti of that homam, some political events happened in Chennai, which MAY bring some relief. We'll see.

 

We intend to do more Shata Chandi homas, this time without any specific goal but just for universal well-being, in the coming years. If She is willing, we may perhaps do the next Shata Chandi homam in the Pune area in 2007 or 2008. If any of you practice reading Durga Saptashati, you can volunteer and help us the next time. In a Shata Chandi homam, Durga Saptashati is to be recited 100 times. If you can read it well, you can come there and contribute towards the count of 100. If interested, please start practicing the recital of Durga Saptashati.

 

I heard Durga saptashati for the time in this life in October 2005 and read it for the first time on the morning of March 3, 2006. Still I ended up contributing 15 or so readings to the Shata Chandi homam. If some of you practice from now, you should easily be able to read a few times at the next Shata Chandi homam! If there are enough reciters, who knows, we may even be able to do a Sahasra Chandi Homam soon!

 

Please spread Durga Saptashati reading among people you know.

 

 

May the light of Brahman shine within,

Narasimha

-------------------------------

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

-------------------------------

 

[Guest guest]

Dear Guru Narasimha,

Pranam.

You are as brilliant as ever. Only this time you discussed a topic

very dear to my heart as I come from the league of Devi Upasana.

I would like to re-iterate from your writings -

 

> There are so many good people in this world, who just spend their

entire lives in honest labor like the honeybees and accumulate

things for themselves and others around them. Their sattwa is in

deep sleep and Madhu Kaitabha born from that asleep sattva are very

much active.

 

and the following -

 

> What I am saying is that there is an allegorical link between

various planes of consciousness. What is real in one plane of

consciousness is an allegory in another plane of consciousness. If

one is atleast capable of understanding a story as an allegory, that

will serve a valuable purpose!

 

Here I would like to add only that every truth is universal and it

is only the time-space duality that affects perception of a common

man. Yogis beyond this duality are capable of visualising the

allegory and its true significance. Maybe 8th house indicates

somewhat about this capability too!

 

Kind Regards,

Om Shri Krishnarpanamastu.

Himanshu Mohan

 

 

 

 

sohamsa , " Narasimha P.V.R. Rao " <pvr

wrote:

>

> Namaste learned friends,

>

> Someone queried a while back on the meaning behind the story of

Madhu Kaitabha. Here is a quick reply based on my limited

understanding.

>

> * * *

>

> Madhu means honey. " Madhu keeta " means an insect of honey, i.e.

honey bee. Madhu kaita means belonging to honey bees. It can be the

qualities or nature of honey bees. One of the meanings of " bha "

is " having a similarity to " . Thus, in my judgment, " Madhu Kaitabha "

means " having a semblance to the nature of honey bees " .

>

> * * *

>

> Like I keep saying, Sanskrit is a fantastic language. Sanskrit

names selected by Rishis for expressing various concepts and stories

are very thoughtful. Depending on how deep one goes, there are many

meanings of the same word. Thus, Rishis expressed concepts that may

have one meaning to a layman and a different meaning to one who is

ready to understand the deeper meaning! I salute to the wisdom of

our Rishis!

>

> I was saying the same thing at Arsha Vidya Gurukulam last weekend.

When somebody said at an open discussion that the idea is important

and not the name, as there are many names of the same thing in many

languages, I made a quick point about the value of Sanskrit names. I

said that Sanskrit names have not one meaning, but layers of

meanings that can be understood based on the capability of the

reader. Rishis used this to hide some special meanings and to keep

some higher knowledge as secret, even though it is very much out

there! The example I gave was of bhava and pada. Parasara described

bhavas (houses) and how to find their respective padas (arudha padas

of houses) and said that a bhava and its pada should be judged to

see the matters of a house. Though he did not explain the difference

between a bhava and its pada further and did not elucidate when to

use which one, I said that the very choice of names is a huge clue!

Bhava, which is usually translated as a house, also means " a

thought/concept/feeling " and pada means " a symbol/word " used to

express a thought/concept. Thus, houses are to their arudha padas

what thoughts (bhavas) are to the words (padas) that attempt to

express them. For example, if the 4th house shows one's happiness,

the pada of 4th house shows the tangible articles that attempt to

throw light on one's happiness (e.g. vehicle owned by one, TV owned

by one etc). Houses (bhavas) show intangible/internal aspects of a

matter (just like thoughts inside one's head), while their arudha

padas show tangible/external aspects of a matter (just like the

external words spoken that attempt to express the thoughts in the

head). If you use the English words to translate Parasara, this

hidden meaning may be lost! So, I argued that Sanskrit names used by

Rishis are not like words in any language.

>

> * * *

>

> Anyway, let us come back to the Madhu Kaitabha story. As I said,

Madhu Kaitabha means " having a semblance to the quality of

honeybees " . What is the quality of honey bees? Well, they keep

working hard to accumulate the sweet honey! They are not intelligent

enough to think about any higher things in life. Thus, Madhu

Kaitabha are an allegory to the quality within us which makes us

work hard, like honeybees, with a single-minded focus on

accumulating material comforts. Like honeybees accumulate honey, we

accumulate material objects and spend whole life working hard doing

just that.

>

> Vishnu is a personification of the sattwa guna of the Parama

Purusha (Universal/Absolute Being). Within us, Vishnu is an allegory

to the sattwa guna within us. Madhu Kaitabha were born from Vishnu's

earwax when He was alseep. The ability to work hard like a bee is

not really a terrible thing. This ability is essentially born from

the sattwa guna within us, when it is in deep slumber (i.e. sattwa

guna covered by taamasi shakti, i.e. sattwa guna that " manifests " in

a taamasik way).

>

> There are so many good people in this world, who just spend their

entire lives in honest labor like the honeybees and accumulate

things for themselves and others around them. Their sattwa is in

deep sleep and Madhu Kaitabha born from that asleep sattva are very

much active.

>

> The problem with this focus on hard work and accumulation of

material objects is that it keeps us away from supreme bliss. Madhu

Kaitabha's attack on Brahma and Vedas is symbolic of that. Vedas

symbolize the supreme and liberating knowledge of self and Brahma,

the carrier of Vedas, symbolizes the sadhana to achieve the supreme

knowledge. The focus on working like honeybees and accumulating

material objects tries to kills one's ability to do sadhana and

obtain supreme knowledge of self.

>

> Vishnu battles Madhu Kaitabha for 5,000 years. Devi Bhagavatam

even describes that Vishnu wondered in the middle how to defeat

Madhu Kaitabha, as He finds them quite formidable! Even when the

sattva in us awakens, it is difficult for it to overcome the

formidable instinct to lead the life of a honeybee and to accumulate

the material objects for oneself and others.

>

> When Madhu Kaitabha finally agree to be slain by Vishnu, they ask

Him to kill them in a place where there is no water. They see that

there is water all around and think that there is no place where

there is no water. The Mooladhara, Swadhishthana, Manipoora, Anahata

and Visuddhi chakras are the seats of earthy, watery, fiery, airy

and ethery elements respectively. Swadhishthana chakra is supposed

to control desires and hence water symbolizes desire. As long as

there is desire, it is tough to overcome the instinct of just

working for material objects!

>

> When they want a place that has no water, Vishnu shows his thighs.

There is no water there and only earthy element. This suggests that

Parama Purusha's Mooladhara chakra is in the thighs of Vishu. (Note:

If Chandra Hari is reading this, he will probably realize that this

point supports his view on Mooladhara! But I will not say anything

more on it for now, as it is a totally different topic. But I do

want to acknowledge that this supports his view.)

>

> According to Parasara, thighs are seen from the 9th house of

dharma. The earthy element symbolizes the commitment and stability.

The fact that earthy element came from the thighs of Vishnu shows

that it is the dharma of sattwa guna sustaining this universe that

ensures that there is commitment and stability in this creation.

>

> Moreover, it is apt that someone born in the ears (3rd house) of

Vishnu found end in the thighs (9th house, i.e. 7th house of death

from the 3rd house) of Vishnu! Similarly, Brahma, who is born from

the navel (6th house) of Vishnu should naturally find His end in the

12th house of Vishnu (feet), which is the 7th house of death from

the 6th house! That may be why Vishnu goes to sleep, when there is a

change of Brahma.

>

> Thus, the instinct within us to keep accumulating material objects

like honey bees accumulate honey finds its end in the dharma of the

sattwa guna, i.e. when the sattwa guna within us follows its dharma.

Then we are fully awake spiritually. Naturally, the path to self-

knowledge becomes open then and Brahma becomes elated.

>

> Thus, the story of Madhu-Kaitabha refers, allegorically, to the

instinct most of us have towards leading a " regular " life, working

hard like honeybees and accumulating objects for self and others and

how that instinct needs to be defeated by waking up the sattwa guna

and allowing to perform its dharma.

>

> * * *

>

> Lest I am misunderstood, I need to clarify one thing. I am not

saying that these stories are not real. These stories ARE very much

real. In fact, when a Yogi is able to transport consciousness to a

particular plane, He/She can vividly see these stories actually

happening. The stories are as real as our own existence as beings

made of flesh and blood is, in the normal plane of consciousness.

>

> What I am saying is that there is an allegorical link between

various planes of consciousness. What is real in one plane of

consciousness is an allegory in another plane of consciousness. If

one is atleast capable of understanding a story as an allegory, that

will serve a valuable purpose!

>

> If you did not understand my last point, please feel free to

ignore it. It is not that important.

>

> * * *

>

> The Shata Chandi Homam we did in Chennai during March 1-7 was for

a specific goal - relief for a spiritual master of south India from

unfortunate legal troubles. Interestingly, after exactly 64 days

passed since the poornaahuti of that homam, some political events

happened in Chennai, which MAY bring some relief. We'll see.

>

> We intend to do more Shata Chandi homas, this time without any

specific goal but just for universal well-being, in the coming

years. If She is willing, we may perhaps do the next Shata Chandi

homam in the Pune area in 2007 or 2008. If any of you practice

reading Durga Saptashati, you can volunteer and help us the next

time. In a Shata Chandi homam, Durga Saptashati is to be recited 100

times. If you can read it well, you can come there and contribute

towards the count of 100. If interested, please start practicing the

recital of Durga Saptashati.

>

> I heard Durga saptashati for the time in this life in October 2005

and read it for the first time on the morning of March 3, 2006.

Still I ended up contributing 15 or so readings to the Shata Chandi

homam. If some of you practice from now, you should easily be able

to read a few times at the next Shata Chandi homam! If there are

enough reciters, who knows, we may even be able to do a Sahasra

Chandi Homam soon!

>

> Please spread Durga Saptashati reading among people you know.

>

> May the light of Brahman shine within,

> Narasimha

> -------------------------------

> 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

> -------------------------------

>

[Guest guest]

Namaste friends,

 

Thanks to Sri Kishore for sharing his view. Thanks to Mohan Ram for sharing the info about his Guru. Thanks to Bharat for forwarding the mail to other groups. Now, regarding Vinita ji's question:

 

> U will have to pardon my ignorance if i ask what is Durga > Saptashati, how can it be obtained and understood?

 

For a quick intro, you may want to read

 

vedic astrology/message/75415

 

You can download the shlokas at:

 

http://sanskrit.gde.to/all_pdf/durga700.pdf

 

You can download the meanings at:

 

http://sanskrit.gde.to/all_pdf/durga700_meaning.pdf

 

Of course, the hidden meanings may not be covered here.

 

May the light of Brahman shine within,

Narasimha

-------------------------------

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

-------------------------------

> Dear Narsimhaji,> > Pranam!> > That was truly a very beautiful and inspiring story. Shall be > grateful if u could continue to tell us such stories. > > U will have to pardon my ignorance if i ask what is Durga > Saptashati, how can it be obtained and understood?> > Many thanks!> > Vinita

[Guest guest]

Sri Raghavendraaya Gurave Namah

 

Dear brother PVR ji,

 

It is amazing you could dwelve that deep into the spiritual

significance of that story. Maybe you could write a book that explains

the spiritual significance of anecdotes from various puranas like that

since not too many people attach much importance to the depth of

knowlege they can convey (IMHO).

 

Best regards,

 

Jayashree

 

 

sohamsa , " Narasimha P.V.R. Rao " <pvr wrote:

>

> Namaste learned friends,

>

> Someone queried a while back on the meaning behind the story of

Madhu Kaitabha. Here is a quick reply based on my limited understanding.

>

> * * *

>

> Madhu means honey. " Madhu keeta " means an insect of honey, i.e.

honey bee. Madhu kaita means belonging to honey bees. It can be the

qualities or nature of honey bees. One of the meanings of " bha " is

" having a similarity to " . Thus, in my judgment, " Madhu Kaitabha " means

" having a semblance to the nature of honey bees " .

>

> * * *

>

> Like I keep saying, Sanskrit is a fantastic language. Sanskrit names

selected by Rishis for expressing various concepts and stories are

very thoughtful. Depending on how deep one goes, there are many

meanings of the same word. Thus, Rishis expressed concepts that may

have one meaning to a layman and a different meaning to one who is

ready to understand the deeper meaning! I salute to the wisdom of our

Rishis!

>

> I was saying the same thing at Arsha Vidya Gurukulam last weekend.

When somebody said at an open discussion that the idea is important

and not the name, as there are many names of the same thing in many

languages, I made a quick point about the value of Sanskrit names. I

said that Sanskrit names have not one meaning, but layers of meanings

that can be understood based on the capability of the reader. Rishis

used this to hide some special meanings and to keep some higher

knowledge as secret, even though it is very much out there! The

example I gave was of bhava and pada. Parasara described bhavas

(houses) and how to find their respective padas (arudha padas of

houses) and said that a bhava and its pada should be judged to see the

matters of a house. Though he did not explain the difference between a

bhava and its pada further and did not elucidate when to use which

one, I said that the very choice of names is a huge clue! Bhava, which

is usually translated as a house, also means " a

thought/concept/feeling " and pada means " a symbol/word " used to

express a thought/concept. Thus, houses are to their arudha padas what

thoughts (bhavas) are to the words (padas) that attempt to express

them. For example, if the 4th house shows one's happiness, the pada of

4th house shows the tangible articles that attempt to throw light on

one's happiness (e.g. vehicle owned by one, TV owned by one etc).

Houses (bhavas) show intangible/internal aspects of a matter (just

like thoughts inside one's head), while their arudha padas show

tangible/external aspects of a matter (just like the external words

spoken that attempt to express the thoughts in the head). If you use

the English words to translate Parasara, this hidden meaning may be

lost! So, I argued that Sanskrit names used by Rishis are not like

words in any language.

>

> * * *

>

> Anyway, let us come back to the Madhu Kaitabha story. As I said,

Madhu Kaitabha means " having a semblance to the quality of honeybees " .

What is the quality of honey bees? Well, they keep working hard to

accumulate the sweet honey! They are not intelligent enough to think

about any higher things in life. Thus, Madhu Kaitabha are an allegory

to the quality within us which makes us work hard, like honeybees,

with a single-minded focus on accumulating material comforts. Like

honeybees accumulate honey, we accumulate material objects and spend

whole life working hard doing just that.

>

> Vishnu is a personification of the sattwa guna of the Parama Purusha

(Universal/Absolute Being). Within us, Vishnu is an allegory to the

sattwa guna within us. Madhu Kaitabha were born from Vishnu's earwax

when He was alseep. The ability to work hard like a bee is not really

a terrible thing. This ability is essentially born from the sattwa

guna within us, when it is in deep slumber (i.e. sattwa guna covered

by taamasi shakti, i.e. sattwa guna that " manifests " in a taamasik way).

>

> There are so many good people in this world, who just spend their

entire lives in honest labor like the honeybees and accumulate things

for themselves and others around them. Their sattwa is in deep sleep

and Madhu Kaitabha born from that asleep sattva are very much active.

>

> The problem with this focus on hard work and accumulation of

material objects is that it keeps us away from supreme bliss. Madhu

Kaitabha's attack on Brahma and Vedas is symbolic of that. Vedas

symbolize the supreme and liberating knowledge of self and Brahma, the

carrier of Vedas, symbolizes the sadhana to achieve the supreme

knowledge. The focus on working like honeybees and accumulating

material objects tries to kills one's ability to do sadhana and obtain

supreme knowledge of self.

>

> Vishnu battles Madhu Kaitabha for 5,000 years. Devi Bhagavatam even

describes that Vishnu wondered in the middle how to defeat Madhu

Kaitabha, as He finds them quite formidable! Even when the sattva in

us awakens, it is difficult for it to overcome the formidable instinct

to lead the life of a honeybee and to accumulate the material objects

for oneself and others.

>

> When Madhu Kaitabha finally agree to be slain by Vishnu, they ask

Him to kill them in a place where there is no water. They see that

there is water all around and think that there is no place where there

is no water. The Mooladhara, Swadhishthana, Manipoora, Anahata and

Visuddhi chakras are the seats of earthy, watery, fiery, airy and

ethery elements respectively. Swadhishthana chakra is supposed to

control desires and hence water symbolizes desire. As long as there is

desire, it is tough to overcome the instinct of just working for

material objects!

>

> When they want a place that has no water, Vishnu shows his thighs.

There is no water there and only earthy element. This suggests that

Parama Purusha's Mooladhara chakra is in the thighs of Vishu. (Note:

If Chandra Hari is reading this, he will probably realize that this

point supports his view on Mooladhara! But I will not say anything

more on it for now, as it is a totally different topic. But I do want

to acknowledge that this supports his view.)

>

> According to Parasara, thighs are seen from the 9th house of dharma.

The earthy element symbolizes the commitment and stability. The fact

that earthy element came from the thighs of Vishnu shows that it is

the dharma of sattwa guna sustaining this universe that ensures that

there is commitment and stability in this creation.

>

> Moreover, it is apt that someone born in the ears (3rd house) of

Vishnu found end in the thighs (9th house, i.e. 7th house of death

from the 3rd house) of Vishnu! Similarly, Brahma, who is born from the

navel (6th house) of Vishnu should naturally find His end in the 12th

house of Vishnu (feet), which is the 7th house of death from the 6th

house! That may be why Vishnu goes to sleep, when there is a change of

Brahma.

>

> Thus, the instinct within us to keep accumulating material objects

like honey bees accumulate honey finds its end in the dharma of the

sattwa guna, i.e. when the sattwa guna within us follows its dharma.

Then we are fully awake spiritually. Naturally, the path to

self-knowledge becomes open then and Brahma becomes elated.

>

> Thus, the story of Madhu-Kaitabha refers, allegorically, to the

instinct most of us have towards leading a " regular " life, working

hard like honeybees and accumulating objects for self and others and

how that instinct needs to be defeated by waking up the sattwa guna

and allowing to perform its dharma.

>

> * * *

>

> Lest I am misunderstood, I need to clarify one thing. I am not

saying that these stories are not real. These stories ARE very much

real. In fact, when a Yogi is able to transport consciousness to a

particular plane, He/She can vividly see these stories actually

happening. The stories are as real as our own existence as beings made

of flesh and blood is, in the normal plane of consciousness.

>

> What I am saying is that there is an allegorical link between

various planes of consciousness. What is real in one plane of

consciousness is an allegory in another plane of consciousness. If one

is atleast capable of understanding a story as an allegory, that will

serve a valuable purpose!

>

> If you did not understand my last point, please feel free to ignore

it. It is not that important.

>

> * * *

>

> The Shata Chandi Homam we did in Chennai during March 1-7 was for a

specific goal - relief for a spiritual master of south India from

unfortunate legal troubles. Interestingly, after exactly 64 days

passed since the poornaahuti of that homam, some political events

happened in Chennai, which MAY bring some relief. We'll see.

>

> We intend to do more Shata Chandi homas, this time without any

specific goal but just for universal well-being, in the coming years.

If She is willing, we may perhaps do the next Shata Chandi homam in

the Pune area in 2007 or 2008. If any of you practice reading Durga

Saptashati, you can volunteer and help us the next time. In a Shata

Chandi homam, Durga Saptashati is to be recited 100 times. If you can

read it well, you can come there and contribute towards the count of

100. If interested, please start practicing the recital of Durga

Saptashati.

>

> I heard Durga saptashati for the time in this life in October 2005

and read it for the first time on the morning of March 3, 2006. Still

I ended up contributing 15 or so readings to the Shata Chandi homam.

If some of you practice from now, you should easily be able to read a

few times at the next Shata Chandi homam! If there are enough

reciters, who knows, we may even be able to do a Sahasra Chandi Homam

soon!

>

> Please spread Durga Saptashati reading among people you know.

>

> May the light of Brahman shine within,

> Narasimha

> -------------------------------

> 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

> -------------------------------

>