Bhavishya Purana - The Future History (including 21st century and more to come) predicted way back in the past itself

I would like to throw some light on one of our Puranas' today, which is Bhavishya Purana. It is one among the eighteen Puranas. Rishi Vyasa, the narrator of Mahabaratha, is traditionally considered the compiler of the Puranas. Bhavishya means future in Sanskrit and Purana means story.  As the name itself reveals, Bhavishya Purana means story of the future. We have some amazing future histories predicted in this Purana way back in 3000 B.C.(3rd millennium B.C) itself (again it is only the documentation date but all the vedas and puranas have existed in the oral form even before this date) including Jesus Christ, Prophet Mohammed, Mughal rulers, Noah's ark, king Shivaji, Hitler and even the British rule and Queen Victoria just to mention a few. Awesome isn't it?

As usual, I have collected information over many sources in the internet and will provide links here and there for your reference. But for this purana, I could not get the complete book with verses (it is there but in hindi language and I don't know hindi) but managed to get the important details which I am going to produce here. Please go to this wikipedia link to know about this Purana

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhavishya_Purana

Bhavishya Purana is considered to be having five parts but only four parts are clearly known. They are Brahma Parva, Madhyama Parva and Pratisarga Parva and Uttara Parva.

Out of these four parts, it is the Pratisarga Parva which deals with the genealogy of the kings. It consists 4 parts, while the first and second parts deal with the old history, third part with that of medieval time and the fourth part which deals with the new age (modern age).

I am not going to deal with the old period here and anyone who are interested can go to this link to read it.

http://www.kamakoti.org/kamakoti/bhavishya/bookview.php?chapnum=19

Lets proceed directly to medieval period and modern period. Before that we should understand one thing. This purana is written in sanskrit and we cannot expect direct names for every person or every thing mentioned here. Knowing this information is a must as it will clarify one important doubt which I will tell at the end of this article. Before going to the main history, let us see how certain words have changed with the change of time. This is also mentioned in this purana in detail.

It is mentioned that when the Kali Yuga passed 2000 years, there will be many kinds of languages and some among them are vraja-bhasa, Maharastri (hindi, marathi may be), yavani and garundika (english). Yes english language is mentioned as garundika language in this purana. It is also mentioned how some words changed in english language (garundika). Pitra changed into paitar (father), Brathru became bather (brother), Ravivar became sunday, Palguni month became february and shashti as sixty.

Ref: http://hinduonline.co/Scriptures/Puranas/BhavishyaPurana.html

Now let us continue with the predictions of prominent personalities. I am only giving few glimpses. Please go through these links for reading it in full :

http://www.kamakoti.org/kamakoti/bhavishya/bookindex.php
http://www.astrojyoti.com/bhavishyapurana-2.htm


About Christ :  In Pratisarga Parva, Chathuryuga kanda, 19th chapter, text 23 and 26 :

When the king Salivahana asked "who are you sir?" he replied blissfully, "you should know that I am Isha puthra (Jesus) and am born of a virgin."

Hearing the question of Salivahana, Isha putra replied "O king! when the destruction of truth occured, I Masiha, the prophet, came to this county where there are no rules and regulations. Finding that fearful irrelegious conditions, I have taken to propethood".

About Adam and Eve : (pratisarga parva, chapters 4-7)

In the eastern side of a pradan city, there is a god given forest in which lived a man called Adama (Adam) lived under a papa-vriksha (sinful tree) and was eager to see his wife Havyavati (Eve).

About Noah's Ark :

Simon de Myle (fl. 1570) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Lomak's son Nyuha, (Noah) ruled for 500 years. Once Lord appeared in his dream and told him that there will be a devastation on the seventh day. And then Noah built a strong boat which was 300 feet long, 50 feet wide and 30 feet high (It is exactly mentioned as the same in the Bible).

About the Mughal Empire :

See page for author [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Sarush became the king of Dehali (Delhi) Babar was son of Sarush who was peace loving. His son Homaayu (Humayun) took a cruel stand against Hindus. But another king in the neibhorhood called Shekshak (Shershah) defeated Humayun and ruled Delhi for five years. But Humayun defeated Shershah and came to power again, Humayun would be blessed with a great son called Akbar who established a solid kingdom for 50 years. His son soloma (saleem - jahangir) followed Akbar and his son Khurdak (Kusro Shahjahan) ruled for ten years and he built the Taj Mahal. There was a power struggle between his sons and Navarang (Aurangazeb) succeeded the throne.

About Chatrapathi Shivaji :

That time, a king called Sevajaya (Shivaji) subdued several small royalties and created Maharashtra. He also brought Aurangazeb under control and installed his son as the Mughal king.

See page for author [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

About the British rule :

The habitants of the islands developed trade contacts with the Garundis (British people) especially with the Isha puthras. The king of the western dwipa (England) called Vikata and later on by his wife called Vikatavathi (Victoria) ruled over there by "Astha koushala marg" (under the counsel of parliment). The British Raj witnessed high prosperity by executing overseas business generation after generation with democracy (Rule of citizens). The nineth chief representative of Gurunds was Mekal (Lord Macauley) who administed the Raj with honesty for twleve years. This situation continued till the British rulers consolidated their grip over Bharat by divide and rule concept till it became an independent entity. But meanwhile the inhabitants of Bharat belonging to innumerable sects, religions, languages and cultures.

By Jean Baptiste Morret (actif à Paris de 1790 à 1820) ([1]) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

I have not mentioned the full list of kings and dynasties (though they have been mentioned in this Purana) because I wanted to keep this article short. But even then.... it became lengthy.

Now comes the future : Remember, I told in the beginning of this article that there will be one important doubt? Here it is.... This Purana is written in sanskrit. Even though we translate it in english, some names and incidents will be given in sanskrit name only. Like Vikatavati for Victoria and Adama for Adam and Sevajaya for Shivaji and Garundas for British and so on. We can connect the past history (happened till date) dot to dot as it has already happened and we can match the names with that of the incidences. But future is yet to come. Even though the future incidents are mentioned in this purana, when we see it we will first not believe it because of the different names in sanskrit and hence we cannot pinpoint the exact details. May be when it happens in the future, then we might exactly match it. But even then I will give few examples of things which is going to come in the future. I myself is wondering how that would be possible?

1. Daityas then constructed several Jalyanas (sea borne vessels) to Harikhanda (China) where men were very strong as Devas initially but in a course of few years, a Maha Yudha or the cunning or deceitful battles in which Daityas appealed to Mahendra for protection.

2. Indra asked Viswakarma to reinvent a yantra (machine) by using which persons of one kanda (continent - chunk of land) will not be able to travel to another kanda.

3. Over two thousand years, the established regulations made by Lord Brahma would become thinner and thinner and by the second paada of kali, the old vedic values would be obliterated.

4. Those humans who live in that period would be two and a half feet tall and their life span would be forty years maximum

5. This kind of situation devoid of customs and social norms would prevail for one and a quarter lakh years.

6. In the third quarter of kali, the average age span of human beings would be 26 years maximum.

7. A new species called Kaulakalpa-named beings who would not hesitate to eat human beings and would have beastly affairs with mothers, sisters and daughters and with co-males and animals.

8. In the fourth phase of kali yuga, the average life span of humans would not exceed 20 years and live like water beasts and animals.

9. Then comes the avatar of Kalki, who will go in yoga marga for 16 thousand years and would turn the entire shristi into ash-laden devastation.

10. At that time, there would be cloud burst producing the great annihilation of the Universe under alarming and incessant rain called "Pralaya"

After reading this, we might think..... How in a technology prevailed world where travel has become smoother day by day, this (yantra preventing travel from one continent to another) might ever happen? It is not clear at this point, but may be there comes a situation in which the different continents will impose strict rules for travelling in the future. Who knows?????? Since kali yuga is considered to be 4,32,000 years. these incidents might happen very far in the future too.... But we could get more clarity if any sanskrit expert analyses this purana in detail and interprets them.

But since these predictions have accurately happened in the past, there is a hope to believe that it will happen in the future too. Isn't it??

Thank you all for reading. Please share your views and inputs.

Plastic Surgery, Earlobe Reconstruction, Arresting Hemorrhage - We have done it all, in 6th Century B.C. and even before that!

"How reknowned and intellectual were our ancestors! They were able to mark up space and celestial movements, mark up ones' own characteristics (josyam or astrology as we call).  They were also able to provide remedies and did surgeries some of which we are learning out now only".....

As the intro sums it a little, this article is about medicine. I am not good in science, and hence do not know to describe everything in detail, but can share the information what I have with you. It is amazing to note that, after having a glimpse of Atharva Veda, (just saw a little for writing this article), there is a note of almost all diseases. There should be a hidden cure in each verse for the ailment, but I cannot understand it clearly. I could get the English translation in the internet but I cannot interpret it properly. But it is amazing to see that most of the ailments are listed in Vedas (Atharva Veda is a part of our four Vedas) thousands and thousands of years ago. According to Ralphs. T.H.Griffith's translation, here are the list of few ailments listed in that Veda. For a full reference, you can go to these links :

http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/av/

http://www.hinduwebsite.com/sacredscripts/hinduism/athar/


Few ailments listed in Atharva Veda (just a few as this page is not enough if I need to list everything)

Charm against Takman (Fever) and related diseases
Charm against Jaundice and related diseases
Charm against cough and cold
Charm against discharges from the body
Charm against constipation and retention of urine
Charm to strengthen hair and promote its growth
Charm for a wound or bruise
Charm to facilitate child birth
Charm against internal pain (colic)
Charm against dropsy, heart disease

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/
Atharva-Veda_samhita_page_471_illustration.png

Actually, this article is not intended to write about Atharva Veda, but it is related to this post. Let me tell you how...

If you have heard about Sushrutha, then you might get a quick idea of what this article is about. But for those who do not know, he is considered to be the "Father of Surgery". He is believed to have lived in 6th Century B.c. ( Exact date is not known and this is just approximate). He has written a book "Sushrutha Samhitha" which describes 1,120 illnesses, 700 medical plants, 64 preparations from mineral sources and 57 preparations based on animal sources.

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sushruta_Samhita

In "The source book of Plastic Surgery" Frank McDowell described Sushrutha as follows :

"Through all of Sushrutha's flowery language, incantations and irrelevancies, there shines an unmistakable picture of a great surgeon. Undaunted by his failures, unimpressed by his successes, he sought the truth unceasingly and passed it on to those who followed. He attacked disease and deformity definitively, with reasoned and logical methods. When the path did not exist, he made one."

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/The_Susruta-Samhita_
or_Sahottara-Tantra_%28A_Treatise_on_Ayurvedic_Medicine%29_
LACMA_M.87.271a-g_%286_of_8%29.jpg

While we think plastic surgery, cesarean section, earlobe reconstruction, orthopedic procedures, extraction of stones in urinary system, curing fractures, physiotheraphy, preparation for surgery including anesthesia procedure etc, all belong to modern day science, it is amazing to note that he has done all this in 6th century B.C itself. And his book, "Sushrutha Samhitha" is considered to be one of the foundational texts of Ayurveda, while Ayurveda itself is a part which originated from Atharva Veda.

He states that, anyone who wants to gain knowledge about anatomy, must prepare a dead body and carefully observe the parts. His method of study was to submerge the dead body in water thereby allowing it to decompose and study the body in regular intervals during that stage of decomposition.

There is a website which describes the surgical instruments used by Sushrutha. I do not want to produce it here due to copyright issues, that website may have. For those who are interested, please google it as "sushrutha internet scientific publications".

Some Procedures (I am listing only a few) as described in his "Sushrutha Samhita"

1. Plastic Surgery : Sushrutha described various techniques in plastic surgery including reconstruction of nose (often injured or lost in wars and cut off as a form of punishment). His book lays down the basic principles of plastic surgery such as advocating proper physiotheraphy, release of the skin for covering small defects, rotation of the flaps to make up for partial loss, pedicle flaps for complete loss of skin in that area.

2. Arresting of Hemorrhage : He has pointed out that Hemorrhage can be arrested by apposition of the cut edges with stitches, application of styptic decoctions, by cauterisation with chemicals or heat.

3. Bones and their reaction to injuries : He states varieties of dislocation of joints (Sandhimuktha) and fractures on the shaft (Kanda-bhagna). He gives details of 6 types of dislocations and 12 varieties of fractures. He also gives the principle for fracture treatment such as traction, manipulation, appositions and stabilisation. He has mentioned the procedure for entire orthopedic surgery.

4. Diabetes, Obesity and Hyper-tension : Sushrutha recognized diabetes and defined it as Madhumeha. He interconnected it with obesity and sedentary lifestyle, advising exercises to help in curing that. He also explains hyper-tension in the manner as it is explained in modern science. He also related obesity with heart disorder.

5. Other Surgical Procedures : Some other surgical procedures in his book includes, techniques for making incisions and excisions, probing and extraction of foreign bodies, teeth extraction, use of trocars for draining abcesses, hernia surgery, cataract surgery  and surgery for intestinal obstruction.

Please watch this video to know about our ancient plastic surgery :

Once again, I am not good in science, and I am unable to explain all the details in full. I have just shared the information collected over the net. If this article makes even one person think and exclaim about our ancient traditions, I am more happy.

It is really surprising to see these facts and I am certainly proud to note the vision of our ancestors. So far I thought that Atharva Veda is just a sacred book and never imagined that it had such a hidden gem in it.

Varaha Avatar is a myth - Probably No!!

I have heard the story of all the 10 avatars of Vishnu including Varaha Avatar since my childhood. Lucky me, my mom used to tell me lots and lots of stories including stories from Puranas, One among them is Varaha Avatar, The third avatar of Vishnu.

For those who do not know about this avatar and story, let me tell a brief version of it. For reading it in full and with details, you can go to this link :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varaha

Now the brief version according to mythology. A Demon called Hiranyaksha, took Earth in his hand and dumped it in the ocean. Vishnu, taking the avatar of Varaha (Boar - a tusked Eurasian wild pig from which domestic pigs are descended) brought back the Earth from the ocean and placed it in its proper place and finally killed Hiranyaksha.

After reading this story, what idea comes to mind first. Ha Ha! what a great imagination! How can earth be dumped in an ocean, when all the oceans are inside earth. How is that ever possible? Of course, I had the same idea till some time back. After starting to write this blog, I keep reading every day about the various mythological concepts and doing a lot of research in the internet. Luckily, many resources are now available in the internet and you can get them in seconds if you search for it.

Now when they describe ocean here, what ocean it actually is? Is it an ocean which is in earth? No. Then may be an ocean in any other planets (Is there any ocean in other planets?  Huh????) The answer is no even for this. Then what is meant by ocean here? This is a point where we can link this myth to science.

Before proceeding, please take a look into these images which says the composition of universe according to science and composition of universe according to our mythology (image sources - Wiki)

Composition of Universe according to Science - Wiki

Composition of universe according to Mythology - source - Wiki













For info about dark matter in the Universe : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_matter

Lets discuss the ocean concept again now. It is this ocean, called Garbhodaka ocean which takes more than half of the universe (might be the dark matter according to science). The other part of the Universe is a spherical dome where innumerable galaxies, planets and stars exist. Lets see it more logically with a scientific view.

1. Only under certain conditions, planets float as weightless balls in the air. Once those conditions are disturbed, it will cause destruction.

2. Hiranyaksha, as a demon, disturbed the Earth in such a way that it detached from its orbit and fell into the Garbhodaka Ocean (Dark matter).

3. Please note that, when we pollute the air, water, and drill earth a lot for various reasons and such things in modern days, what do we say? "Save the Planet" We say that because, we know in our inner hearts, if we continue doing these things, soon our planet will be destroyed. Isn't it?

4. In this post, we can relate "Hiranyaksha took earth in his hands" mean "because of his acts and not exactly taking in his hands".

This Mythological story somewhat seems to be logical now right? We cannot connect everything directly and ask why Boar? How Hiranyaksha can ever carry Earth in his hand? and such questions. There could be many reasons behind them and if only we believe them first and then try to reason, we will get convincing answers at least for some of them. I am saying this because our scriptures are the oldest of all and there is no date behind them. Yes, they have somewhat dated the documentation date of them (when Vyasa divided the Vedas into four parts), but remember, it is only the documentation date. Even before that date, they existed in the oral form which apparently makes them ancient of the ancient.

We can simply say, that our scriptures are advanced mathematical concepts but we are still in addition subtraction level (modern science). Since we have not learnt anything about those advanced concepts, we can never argue if they are right or wrong. Only when you learn or know something, you will be eligible to express your views upon them. But this quest for learning should never stop. That is the key concept here.

I collected these explanations from various sources in the internet and applying my thoughts of connection here and there and sharing information with you. One such resource is this website which gives a clear translation of various concepts of "Garbhodhaka Ocean" according to various puranas. Please don't miss reading this link, the explanations are beautiful here.

http://vaniquotes.org/wiki/Garbhodaka_Ocean

When writing this post, a strange thought striking my mind about the term "Garbhodaka". When we take birth, it is said that we come out of Mother's "Garbha". Similarly Earth is coming out of "Garbhodaka". And in temples, we say God (deity) is in "Garbhagriha". Will there be any relativity here? Hmmm! Need to search for more information!!

Thank you for reading. I welcome contradictory views. I am very curious about these mythological stuff and I am in the very very early reading stage. Any contradictions and extra details will help me analyze more and get more clarity in this subject, and correct myself, if these concepts (according to my research and searches) are wrong.

End of the World - Dooms Day calculations - Hindu theories vs. Scientific theories

The topic of today is quite challenging. It needs very deep understanding as it includes lot of calculations and analysis of two different theories. It is just an attempt to compare the time calculations as it is mentioned in our Hindu Scriptures and time calculations of the estimated life span of Sun (End of the World) according to modern scientific theories and finding the connection between the two. It will be quite confusing and I will try my best to give the information in small bits and pieces for better understanding :

How advanced were our scriptures and how precise were they!!!  Fascinating..

First, let us proceed with modern scientific information as it is much clearly given in various websites including NASA and Wikipedia. According to those websites, Sun is formed about 4.567 billion years ago. And it is estimated to Last for another 5.4 billion years when it will become a Red Giant and its outer layers already would have consumed mercury and venus.  (In the full period of Sun, it undergoes two stages Nuclear Fission and Nuclear Fusion). But before that itself, in another 3.5 billion years from now, the Sun will by 40% brighter than it is today and the water vapor will be lost to space. You can get all these information in the internet when you google it. We will compare what will happen at this stage with that to our mythological facts at the end of this article as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun

Now let us come to the calculations as per our Scriptures. In Mahabaratha, the Yuga calculations are clearly written. I have attached the pages for your reference.(I took a shot from the Mahabaratha book I have with me)  Please read it clearly and you will be amazed by the accuracy. All my below calculations are based on this text, so a better reading will aid in a clear understanding.

 Now let me split it clearly for everyone to understand better. We have four yugas in one "Chathur Yuga" (a full cycle) and they are "Kritha Yuga" or "Sathya Yuga" , "Thretha Yuga", "Thwapara Yuga" and "Kali Yuga".

The multiplication factor in each set is going to be 360. Why because 360 human years is one year for the Devas and hence we use that number. Henceforth, wherever I mention year, it is Deva year only (which is 360 human years).

Sathya Yuga = 4000 years. Starting period is 400 and ending period is 400
Thretha Yuga = 3000 years. Starting period is 300 and ending period is 300
Thwapara Yuga = 2000 years. Starting period is 200 and ending period is 200
Kali Yuga = 1000 years. Starting period is 100 and ending period is 100

Lets proceed with the calculations now. I am not a math expert but arrived at the calculations with the help of a calculator. Lol...

Sathya Yuga - (4000 + 400 + 400) = 4800 * 360                                                                    = 1728000
Thretha Yuga - (3000 + 300 + 300) = 3600 * 360                                                                   = 1296000
Thwapara Yuga - (2000 + 200 + 200) = 2400 * 360                                                               =    864000
Kali Yuga - (1000 + 100 + 100) = 1200 * 360                                                                         =     432000

Sum Total of all the above (1 Chathuryuga)  :

1728000+1296000+864000+432000 = 4320000               

You can find a pattern in this too. Kali yuga * 2 times is Thwapara yuga. 3 times of Kali yuga is Thretha Yuga and 4 times of Kali Yuga is Sathya Yuga.


One Chathuryuga * 1000 = one day time for Brahma  = 4320000 * 1000 = 4320000000 (4.3 billion)
One Chathuryuga * 1000 = one night time for Brahma= 4320000 * 1000 = 4320000000 (4.3 billion)

Total (Day + night for Brahma = one full day)                                            = 8640000000 (8.6 billion)

Please see the above scientific calculation in the beginning of this article. There it says Sun is formed 4.5 billion years ago. Now please take our day time calculation of Brahma. It is 4.3 billion years. See the connection between the two. Isn't it amazing. The remaining period of Sun is roughly 5 billion years but in another 3.5 billion years itself, life in earth will become extinct because of the sun's heat.

We  can say one thing for clear. Some scientific facts do change from time to time. Theories established once do not stay the same forever. Scientists change it from time to time based on different researches and predictions.  But what is written in our Scriptures are not like that. They do not change. You will come to know about this when you read the scriptures carefully and deeply. There is an interconnection between all the Hindu Scriptures.

                                                                (Art by Kala Balaji)

So my understanding is finally this :

1. Time calculations are very accurate according to our Scriptures. (We do not know, may be scientists will change their calculations in the future which can even match with that of our scriptures).

Art by Kala Balaji

2. At the end of Brahma's day, Pralayam (apocalypse) will come which is the end of the world (according to science this is when life in earth will become extinct, roughly 3.5 billion years from now)




                                                                                                                       

3. May be Nuclear Fission and Nuclear Fusion in sun (according to science) is Day time of Brahma and Night time of Brahma respectively.

Very time consuming calculations. But if we understand it better and clearer, we can easily find the connection. In those olden days, without any modern equipments like telescopes etc, how it would have been possible to predict things with such an accuracy. If even one theory is proved according to science (why because even our people believe in only western theories than relying on our ancient gems like these. It is very sad indeed), all the mysteries can be resolved one by one. I am trying my best to establish this connection in my blog.

Now since you took your precious time in studying this entire (time consuming and somewhat confusing) article , I will now give some light facts according to Mythology and Science regarding end of the world (Dooms Day). You can easily establish some connections by reading and comparing both.

As per Mythology - At the end of Kali Yuga, People will live their lives by telling lies only. Robbery, gambling and all sorts of crimes will be everywhere. Gents will get grey hair (which shows the sign of ageing) by the age of 16 and Ladies will give birth to children at the age of 7. All the oceans and rivers will dry because of extreme heat. Everything will be burning because of the heat. Then it will be followed by non stop rain for many years. That is the time of Pralayam. Wherever you see, you will find water only.

As per Modern Science - In 3.5 billion years from now, it will be so hot that the oceans will boil and water vapor will be lost to space. All the ice caps will melt and snow will be ancient history. Life will not be able to survive anywhere on the surface of earth. Earth will resemble dry hot Venus.

Special thanks to my friend Kala Balaji for providing two excellent art pieces for this post. The Geethopadesam and Aaalilai Krishna which represents Pralayam are both painted by her. Amazing talent Kala Balaji and many thanks once again.

Thank you everyone for reading.

Rituals for our dead ancestors - why should we do that?

When my dad passed away four years ago, I saw various rituals that were performed continuously for some days. Those rituals are there in our Hindu system and are being followed generations after generations. But when it was actually performed for my dad, that's when I had a few questions in my mind. (since I saw everything very closely those days).

Lets touch some base on why we should do these in the said ways immediately after someone passes away. Once a person leaves this world, his/her body is burned according to Hindu traditions. Only the subtle body (soul) exists. Since the gross body has departed, this subtle body is not capable of any enjoyments/sufferings. Those rituals which we perform, gives this subtle body a shape (hands, legs, limbs, head etc - like how a baby in the womb develops day by day) each day. And at the end of  all the rituals, the subtle body gets full shape and goes to pithru lokha. (A different world where our dead ancestors live. Please refer to my other post : Our gods and devas are aliens"?)

Some other day I was seeing the movie "Periyar" (acted by Sathyaraj),  Periyar is an athiest and in one scene he will see somebody performing death rituals for their ancestors by doing Tharpan. By seeing this Periyar will ask "What is he doing?" and he will be told, "He is offering his prayers to his dead father!!" Then Periyar will go to a nearby river and take the water and pour it in the land. People will come to him and ask "What are you doing?". He will say "I am trying to send the water from here to River Ganges!!!" People will laugh and say "Are you crazy! How will that be possible?" For this Periyar will reply, "If this is not possible, how come those offerings given by him will ever reach his dead ancestor. Is that not crazy? You people still believe in these superstitions?"

When I saw that movie for the first time, this question went deeply in my mind. Yes, indeed that is a good question but really those rituals are not superstitions. There should be some reason behind it and I started  to collect some information about that. I then got the beautiful explanation given by Maha Periyava (Sankaracharya). Here is that explanation.....

When we do Tharpan to our ancestors, we do it with sesame seeds, water, raw banana, rice etc. But where do they actually go? It is hard to believe that our ancestors come in person and receives them. And since there is no proof, it is ignored as a superstition. Think it this way..... When we send Indian currency to USA, it will be converted to US dollars before actually sent to USA. Why? Because Indian currency cannot be used in USA. So we go to a "Medium" called Exchange and transfer our INR to USD and then only can send it. Likewise, When we do rituals in a described way, the "Mediums" called "Pithru devathas" will transfer those offerings what we send in a way it can be received by the pithrus. For example, if the ancestor is born as a cow, he will get those offerings in the form of hay."

By Jim Champion (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html),
 CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or CC BY-SA 2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5-2.0-1.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Excellent clarification. Isn't it? Now read the same question raised by Periyar. I think no one can give a great fitting reply than this for that question. That "Medium" or "Exchange" here is the hidden science behind our rituals to our ancestors.

The water from the River will not reach Ganges by simply pouring it from that place, Agreed. But it will surely reach if we store it in a container, travel to Ganges and pour the water in the Holy River... isn't it?  Rituals are like that. They may seem superstitious at the outset, but if you indulge in analyzing the reasons behind them, you will certainly get valid reasons. All that is needed is little patience and true effort to know them, That's it.

For your further reference :


http://www.kamakoti.org/tamil/part1kural51.htm

http://www.kamakoti.org/tamil/part1kural83.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarpana

Nadi Shashthra - The past, present and future!!!!

Have you ever heard of Nadi Josiyam? Personally, I have heard about that but do not have any prior experiences..... I am curious to know about the future but at the same time, little bit scared too. Let's just have a look at this interesting concept.

Nadi Shashthra is believed to have been composed by Saptha Rishis (They change for each Manvanthra), mainly by Agathiyar. He is also a Tamil Sidhar who is believed to have lived for more than 5000 years. The Nadi scrips are written in vattezhuthu (an ancient tamil script) and written in a poetic language. It has to be correctly interpreted to know the exact predictions.

It is written on palm leaves and are mainly interpreted and used in Vaitheeswaran Kovil in Tamilnadu.






Some interesting facts about this are :

1. If only your destiny allows you, you will get access to your Nadi leaf. It is your destiny which creates curiosity inside you to go in search for your leaf.
2. Your thumb impression is used to find the accurate leaf for you. Males Right hand thumb and for females left hand thumb impression is used. (scientific fact is that each thumb impression is unique and there cannot be two identical thumb prints)
3. For each thumb print there are 5 to 6 matching nadis (bundles) each one having 50-100 individual palm leaves.
4. First, your most matching bundle will be selected according to the thumb impression and then by asking simple questions, they will move on leaf by leaf until selecting your leaf (which is most accurate) and then the predictions will start.
5. Nadi scripts are believed to be very ancient and they are sacredly protected by astrologers in Vaitheeswaran Kovil. They are passed from one generation to the next.
6. These scripts were initially stored in the Saraswathi Mahal in Tanjore. Some leaves were auctioned during the British Rule.

Nadi scripts tell the past, present and the future. Some people say it is a myth and some people say it is genuine and accurate. The above points will give you a good intro picture about what it is all about.

When you see and read the various principles of creation, the most accepted and agreed concept is rebirth. Most religions believe in rebirth. Hinduism strongly believes in karma and rebirth. According to this concept, the same set of people are born again and again but in various places and countries and in various forms. Just a simple example as fly as a cow and cow as a human. There is a famous saying in Tamil, "pullagi, poondagi, puzhuvagi, maramagi.........

People could question..... The leaves are very few but human population is in millions. How can they select one leaf and say that is the accurate match? Here comes the closest solution in the form of rebirth. If the same person is born again and again in various forms, one leaf is enough for his past life, present life and future life (in this janma and more janmas to come). Sounds sensible???

In this blog, I am trying to relate and connect to various myths of our religion to science. Just to clarify one more time, everything I write is according to my thoughts and nothing is a proved or researched one. I refer to various websites to collect and gather information related to a particular subject though.....

If you ask me personally, "Do you believe in these Nadi and other astrology?" Well.... My answer is yes, but it depends on the genuinity and integrity of the person who interprets that. I strongly believe that astrology is not false but astrologers may be........

We cannot deny the fact that astrology has become a good business and many fake people have entered that field misguiding the population.  But there is no doubt that astrology is a pure science and as always I am amazed by our ancient sages and their power in calculating and measuring all these complicated things with such an accuracy. Salute to them.

The science behind pranayama

Instincts and Dreams!!!!!!

So....... Its been some time since my last post. This post too is not too elaborate or something that requires detailed analysis or deep thinking.

Some thoughts come in life just like that and go. May be in real life or may be in your dream. Just wondering whether it is natural or some interconnection is there in these things. I bet almost all of you would have come across this at least couple of times in your life.

1. Well, at times, when I am conversing with someone, I had felt that I said the same dialogue sometime somewhere to some person (persons change or no clarity in them but the dialogues are 100% the same).

2. Some thoughts in life come as an instinct. We cant say it as a future predictor as it does not happen every time. But sometimes, we feel 100% sure that something is going to happen particularly and that happens. One example is when I was about to write my M.com Examination and I was travelling in bus to the Exam Hall, I had a thought in my mind that my handbag is going to be pick-pocketed. I was thinking what will I do if that happens or some thoughts like that. Exactly the same day it happened and I realized this once I got down from the bus. Everything including my hall ticket is gone. Is it just a coincidence? or our mind really alerts us? If yes, why it does not happen everytime?

3. Another thing to mention here is dreams. Dreams are part and parcel of our sleep. But sometimes we feel that a particular dream is coming again and again. Some examples are missing a bus/train, falling from a high building or tower, writing your exams even after you settle in your life, tooth falling, seeing people die, or seeing dead people alive. These are the most common dreams for everyone. Why these dreams come? Do they have any specific reason or do they show any signal of what is going to happen in the future?

These are the thoughs I wanted to share with you guys today. Have you also felt the same things some time in your life?  Please do share them.....

Thanks for reading!!!!!

Our Manthras and Slokas

I remember a teacher in my school days who asked,"You are telling many slokas but they have no meaning. Is it not something funny? Of course, her religion is Christianity and their Holy Script, The Bible can easily be understood when you read it. It is also translated in many languages. Even if you do not get in-depth knowledge in it, you can really understand the basics. In Hinduism, we basically cannot identify only one script as our Holy Script. We have many scriptures like Vedas, Puranas, Upanishads and Bagavath Gita. And all of them are in Devanagari (writing Sanskrit). Almost all of the mantras and slokas that we tell now are in Sanskrit and thats why we do not know their meanings now. When you refer to my previous post "A very basic question" I would have talked about Gurukula education where we studied these vedas and puranas only. So obviously people knew its meaning when they recited the mantras. But gradually, with our adaption of western education system, we stopped learning our scriptures and texts and hence we do not know anything now. Coming back to my teacher's question. At that age, I did not have the mind maturity to answer her back saying "Our Slokas and Mantras all have meaning. Only thing is they are in Sanskrit, which is not a popular language now and hence we do not understand their meaning.  Just because we do not understand them, we cannot say that they have no meaning."

Now, everyone of you might have also encountered same question atleast once in your life. Or you could have thought atleast in your mind, We are telling these slokas as a part of our everyday life. But what is the meaning for it? How many of us really know the meaning of "Bhajagovindam" or "Vishnu Sahasranamam" or "Shiva Sthuthi"? 

When we talk about Hindu Spritualism and Science, This is one of the major hurdles which is preventing us from knowing many things from our scriptures. If only we know sanskrit, we can understand the meaning. And if only we know the meaning, we can see its application in everyday life and wonder about the knowledge and wisdom of our ancient people. But that is almost impossible.

Luckily, with the improvement of technology, we can find many details in google with one click now. But is it enough? Can we say that all of our scriptures have been translated and even if they are translated, are they in an understandable mode? The answer is probably no. So, what can we do? All that we can do for the time being is we should attempt to learn the meaning of the basic slokas and mantras that we recite in everyday life (Not talking about the bigger or
complicated lenghthy mantras but atleast the basics).

When we attempt to try this and keep continuing this as an ongoing process, we ourselves will know many things one by one. Yes, our mantras are carefully framed and each one has tons of positive energy and vibration, which is once again a science (Secret key to happiness).

Let us learn the meaning of one basic sloka today :

Gajaananam Bootha Ganaathi Sayvitham 
Kapitha Jambu Phala saara Bakshitham 
Umaa Sutham Shoka Vinaasha Kaaranam 
Namaami Vigneshwara Paadha Pankajam 

Meaning

Gajaananam - I namashkar Gajananam (who has the face of an elephat)
Bootha Ganaathi Sayvitham - Who is served by the Bhoothas (Bhutha Ganangal)
Kapitha Jambu Phala saara Bakshitham - Who eats the core of fruits (kapitha and jambu are kinds of fruits)
Umaa sutham - who is the Son of Uma (Parvathi)
Shoka vinaasha kaaranam - who is the reason for our sorrows to get destroyed
Namaami vigneshwara paadha pankajam - I bow my head to lord Vigneshwara's lotus feet.

Please refer to this website to know the meaning of some other basic slokas. And let us pass on our hidden gems and secrets to our next generation too... of course, with its proper meaning.

http://www.slokakids.com/index.php?renderpage=slokasflash.html&catgid=8&catgname=Ganesh%20&selecteditempath=http://www.slokakids.com/Slokas_swf_files/Gajaananam%20Slokagajaananam.swf

The technique of flying used by our Siddhas and Yogis - Is it myth or science?

How does the title sound? strange..... crazy.... humbug.... Well. Lets have some interesting discussion on this today. Lets discuss this concept assuming that it is a myth and assuming that it is a science.

Why should it be a myth? Because there is no evidence or proof for it. People have added this concept in stories about lives of siddhas and yogis to only create an interest among us to read such stories. There is no written documentation about this technique to serve as a proof. In the current world, amid all technological improvement, we never saw even a single person who can do it.... These are the basic thoughts which come to our mind when we say these things are myth.

Why it could be science? Now it is not easy to discuss this point in this context as there is no evident proof to support our argument. We can only discuss if it could be a possibility or not. Again it is my thought only. Don't know how many of you would have thought about this in this way. Now lets proceed. I request you all to please take some time to think deeply about the following points....

Aircraft - An aircraft can fly with numerous passengers and lots of cargo in it. It only needs the energy and thrust to take off in the air initially and after that it floats just like that without much effort.

Space Travel - People easily go now to space in space crafts. When you read about the spacecrafts in detail, you will know that people only float in space.  Please refer this wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_spaceflight#Life_support. It is because of microgravity, where everything becomes weightless, people, objects and everything else..... So people float effortlessly in space.

This cannot happen in earth as earth has gravity. It pulls everything back. Heavy objects come back to earth fast and light objects a little longer. Like a stone comes fast but a piece of paper takes some time.

Balloons can float - Why does balloons float in air? Here I am talking about helium balloons.  Helium gas is lighter than the air and hence they float.

Now can we put everything together and discuss this point?

1. Our Siddhas and Yogis knew the technique to reduce their body mass/weight (like a helium balloon) to get their body ready to float.

2. They knew how to create the thrust/energy to go beyond the earth's gravitational pull (like how an aircraft or a rocket takes off) to start off.

3. Once the basic steps are done and once they are beyond earth's atmosphere they could have floated/flied in space effortlessly (Like how people in spacecrafts float now).

Why cant this be the scientific reason behind their flying? They kept the techniques and science secret though.... Why they could not have attained this through their yogic knowledge and wisom and vigorous practices?

Once again, It is only my thought. Expecting your views and comments as usual. Thanks for reading.

A very basic question....

Today's topic is just for our better understanding. Going forward, in this blog we will be discussing many interesting topics which will raise one basic doubt in us. This post is just to make us realize the answer for that particular doubt.  Sounds good????

That basic doubt is this..... "If our spiritualism and tradition has lots and lots of principals, techniques and in depth knowledge about almost all fields, then why it did not pass out to generations after generations? Why we do not know anything about them now? Even if we know, we do not believe in them and we just say that they are myths and walk away... Why is this happening?"

There is one convincing answer for this which can be accepted if we think deeply. Before going into that answer, let us discuss one more important point related to our question.

Initially, our education system was different. They had the Gurukulam set up where they learnt many things orally. Mostly no documentation or writing involved. Even our Vedas were learnt orally. There were various methods in teaching and memorizing the Vedas.

Please go through this wikipedia article about vedas and its recitation methods , particularly, vedic schools :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vedas

Now we can understand that when the Gurukulam system started diminishing, this passing of knowledge also stopped. Even till few hundred years before, it was not this bad. Our great grand parents and their parents really knew many things than us. Then slowly with the western education system, we completely stopped reading our lessons and adapted to their way of education. Even now there are Vedic schools but only a handful of people go there. (This point is only to clarify why our tradition is now not passing to generations).

Coming back to our topic..... Everyone knows that science is a double edged sword. For every invention there is a positive and negative factor for it. Take for instance internet. When we gather lots of knowledge from it, there is still another side of cyber crime and privacy issues and such things in it. Now imagine this... Our Rishis and Saints knew many things. They even foresighted the future. They taught us yoga and meditation. But why they did not reveal the secret of life apparently to us. Instead they told us to practice the techniques taught by them and find the answers on our own.. Why?? Its because if only we practice hard we will get mind maturity. Without having mind maturity whatever we learn is dangerous. Like now we know science and we use it for both construction and destruction. If they had passed out the knowledge of  foreseeing the future (just for example) just like that what would have happened?  We would have learnt them as theories and would have applied them in our everyday life (and even trying to change it) and would have caused lots and lots of mishaps. Its all because we did not have the mind maturity, purity, selflessness and devotion.

It applies to all techniques and sciences of our ancient Rishis. That's why they did not document anything. They only passed the knowledge and secrets to someone who is really fit for that and who can use them only for constructive purposes. Not everyone will get this mind maturity. Fit means really fit. That comes only by lots of patience and continuous practice of the techniques. In short we can say one in a million will attain this mind maturity.

Please think and let me know your views.

CAN OUR "DEVAS AND GODS BE ALIENS??

Title is crazy. Isn't it?

Before proceeding, please refer to this wikipedia article : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_units_of_time

It says about various time measurements and difference in time between humans, pithrus and devas. Now coming back to the topic.....

All our devas and gods in our puranas have super powers. When you look at our gods, most of them have many heads, eyes and hands. According to us, they live in the sky. They have their own unique vahanas or they just travel in space just like that. They don't blink their eyes nor their feet touch the land. Their body do not contain any waste like human body. All have their own Lokas (Worlds).

More over, their time is very much different from human time. When you read the article, it says 1 human year (365 days) is 1 day of the devas. 1000 maha yugas are 1 day of Brahma. (Let us discuss this maha yuga concept later as it will be little confusing).

Now, according to us, we have discovered nine planets so far revolving around the sun (Pluto is not considered as planet anymore though.). Please go through this statistical data (rough estimates according to nasa site)

Earth year - 365 days
Mercury    - quarter of earth year (about 87.6 days)
Venus        - 224.7 earth days
Mars          - 687 earth days
Jupiter       - 11.9 earth years (about   4343.5 earth days)
Saturn        - 29.7 earth years (about 10840.5 earth days)
Uranus       - 84.3 earth years (about 30769.5 earth days)
Neptune      - 164.8 earth years ( about 60152 earth days)

But these are only the planets we know. According to our puranas we have millions of suns and millions of planets orbiting around those suns.  Science also agrees that Universe is so vast and only a little of it is known to us. Many people still believe that we are not alone in this Universe.

Now taking into consideration the above time span, does it somehow relate to our Deva time and Brahma time and even our yugas? All planets (known) have different time span and they are not the same as that of Earth. Scientists still believe that life should have existed once upon a time in Mars.

Now why cant our Gods' different Lokas (Worlds) be different planets? Each Planet's composition is different (I mean the mass, gases and substance in them). Why can't this have given them super powers like flying in space, not blinking, feet not touching the land, no waste in the body etc? Here I am not referring to the planets that we know. It could be one among the million other planets which has not been discovered yet too.......

It is again my thought..... but expecting feedback from you guys. Your inputs are important to me.

Introduction

Hello Friends,

Many times in life, I have wondered about the connectivity between spiritualism/divinity (Hinduism - Sanathan Dharma) and science. You would have also noticed, both science and spiritualism explains the same concept in different ways. The intention of this blog is to bridge the gap between science and spiritualism. Anything can be discussed here as long as it is relevant to the subject.

Have you ever thought about our ancient divine sciences like yoga, pranayama, vimana shasthra, sidha, ayurveda, sirpa shasthra etc and their relativity to modern sciences?

We are thinking that aircrafts are modern days' creation whereas in our epics and puranas, they have mentioned vimanas as transport carriers of gods and devas.

When you look at Mahabaratha, especially the Kurukshethra war, you will be amazed by the weapons they have used. Varunashtra, Brahmasthra, Nagasthra, Agniasthra etc.  Do you find the relativity between these and modern day's nuclear weapons?

Look at the birth of Gauravas, For those who do not know, This is how it goes. Gandhari (wife of Dridhurashtra) got jealous when Kunti (wife of Pandu) gave birth to Yudhishtra first. Out of her jealousy she destroys her baby in the womb. Rishi Vyasa comes to rescue and collects that, divides it into 100 + 1 and puts it in pots and covers with some herbs etc. After few days, each baby is born one by one from the pot. This is the birth of 100 Gauravas + 1 girl baby. Is it not the world's first test tube baby concept?

Like the above, if you look at our ancient Puranas and Vedas, you will be amazed by hundreds of thousands of discoveries like this. It will be interesting to discuss these and will also help each one of us to share some good information.

Please let me know your views......