"Karma"!!! This word has gained a lot of popularity in recent days. Of course, many of Sanatan Dharma theories have influenced people throughout the world, especially the west. Can we say that the karma theory also just among the one?? If we take a moment and think, No!! is the answer, While the other theories talk about a certain path or a certain way of practice or a certain measure of control to keep your life in peace, "karma" is part and parcel of life. Breathing is a karma. Whether you wish or not, you breathe!! Every living thing in the universe is bound to do karma, whether they wish or not!! You cry, you laugh, you love, you hate, you think, you sit idle, you talk, you read, you walk, you stand, you sleep!! everything is karma!! every single thing!! In simple terms, "karma" is nothing but action.
But what makes karma really special is, there is a result for every single karma!! Remember the third law of Newton, "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction"! Newton restricted his law only to this material universe. The law of karma is not like that. For an action, you do here, you might get the result at some other world, some other place, some other birth and so on. This is the underlying beauty of karma.
This might seem funny to some people, especially atheists. They don't believe in God, reincarnation or afterlife. They believe only what they see with their mortal eyes and supported by scientific proofs. This article is not intended to make those people believe in karma!! But even such atheists can't stop doing karma (action). Hence, let us proceed with a theist point of view!!
"What goes around, comes around" is a famous saying. Be it a word you uttered, a deed you did or even your simple silence towards someone. It will return with the same intensity!! Every karma (action) you perform creates imprints on your soul. These imprints are carried forward to many many lives (rebirths) until you finally reap the results of that karma.
Once a foreigner asked the following question to the great sage of Kanchi. "Dear Sage!! Can you show me one convincing proof that rebirth exists?" He smiled and told the foreigner to take a visit to the nearest maternity hospital. After he returned, the following conversation took place between the two :
Sage : What did you see in the hospital?
Foreigner : I saw a poor baby and a rich baby ; I saw a normal baby and a physically challenged baby ; I saw a beautiful baby and a deformed baby".
Sage : Do you agree that God is full of love?
Foreigner : Yes!
Sage : If God is full of love, then why should he be so biased and cruel towards these babies! Why should he give one baby wealth and the other one poverty? Why should he give beautiful face to one baby and not to the other one? Why should one baby be healthy and not the other one?
(The foreigner was stunned!! He could not give any convincing answer for the above question)
Swami replied "It is certain that God is full of love. Beings create their own fate by their actions. These actions decide the future births of beings and what you saw in hospital is a perfect example of that. Do you need more convincing answer for rebirth?"
The foreigner got fully convinced and left happily.
The above story is a clear example that we live over and over again and our karma decides who we are going to be, in the future!!
Just close your eyes for a minute and think. You would find many examples from your own life for karma!! Have you ignored someone in your life? You would have noted that you were ignored by another person. Cheated someone?? Ill treated anyone?? Spoken harsh words towards a person?? you would have experienced the same pain by someone else at some other time. It holds good for noble deeds as well. There is a famous saying in tamil "தர்மம் தலை காக்கும்", which means you will always be protected by the good deeds you did!! But the secret is, no one can clearly say, when will you reap the effects. That is the underlying mystery of karma. It could be immediate or somewhere far in the future, even in the next lifetimes.
People might ask ; "If karma is so powerful which decides your destiny, then what is the use in praying?" Yes, karma is powerful but at the same time, bad effects of karma can be minimized through prayer. Remember, it cannot be completely eradicated, but only minimized. If you really repent for your mistakes and feel sorry for what you have done and pray your heart out, such prayer will never go unanswered. It doesn't mean that you can do sins continuously and repent for it to minimize the effects. That is not the point. When you repent it from your inner heart, you should never commit that sin again and make every effort to consciously avoid doing that.
It goes without saying that, until you have balance in your karma account, either positive or negative, you will be taking births again and again to reap the results. So when will you exit from this cycle completely?
This is where Bhagavad Gita comes into picture. It outlines a very simple fact to nullify karma completely. Though it sounds simple. it is one of the most hardest practice to incorporate in our everyday life. Here is the famous quote from Gita!!
Doing work for the sake of work itself and not attached to results, is the only way to get out of the cycle of karma and it is not so simple to practice.
Here is a classic example given by Ramakrishna Paramahamsa :
"Once a king ordered one of his servants to go to a distant place and bring a scholar to the king's court. The servant traveled for several days but heard that the scholar was no more in that city and no one had clues of his whereabouts. He traveled back and told the king about it and then performed his regular works as usual. He was never bothered about his efforts which went in vain. The reason was because, he undertook the task for his master and not for himself. If this had been his own task, he would have been really disappointed. As long as you live in this world, you should also do your works as assigned to you by your master (God). This is the only way to keep disappointments away!!"
This clearly shows that we get happy/sad just because of the fact that we are attached to the results of our work. Even before we start doing something, we have some expectations within ourselves and that is the cause of all our problems.
But how do we get rid of this???
Only by attempting to follow the above quote. Little by little, in our everyday activities, we need to consciously think that whatever we do, is an offering to God. This comes slowly when you sacrifice the "I" - "Ego" that you are doing the deeds. When you replace this thought by thinking that "You are only a medium" and the ultimate power is the one which is performing everything, then all your miseries/sorrows will come to an end. Let us take the little step today towards this humongous task and let "Shri Krishna" guide us through this process. AUM Shanthi!!!
The credit for today's topic goes to one of my friends, Sangeetha who insisted me to gather more information behind the Sanatan Dharma ritual, offering food to the crow, especially during the Shraadha time. In many households, food is offered to crows on everyday basis, but Shraadha day has its own unique importance. Most Hindus believe that their ancestors for whom they are performing the Shraadha, visit them to enjoy the food in the form of crows. As such, they feel very happy when the crow immediately comes and pounces on the food. This might seem very silly to some people, but those who believe such traditions take it as a blessing of their ancestors. Again, belief or non-belief is one's own individual perspective and no one else can do anything about that.
But even for believers, some questions might come in mind. Why crows particularly? Why not any other animals or birds? Could there be any specific reason for this? This is a very general article which tries to explore the answers for such questions.
Before proceeding further, let me provide some information about Ravens. They are species which are similar to crows (though they have many differences). Interestingly, many ancient mythologies (Greek, Roman, Norse, Celtic etc.) have given some spiritual importance to ravens. Take a look...
In Indian mythology, crows and pitras are connected for varied reasons. We will see two of them here.
The "KHA" Sound :
The sound produced by a crow is "kha". This is considered a very significant word in sanskrit. Basically, "kha" is the first consonant of Sanskrit. It has different meanings like sun, empty space, sky,ether,air, heaven, happiness, celestial sphere, Brahma etc. Refer the following link for the full list of meanings :
"Kha" is also a question word which literally means "why". Every human being has a duty to find out the purpose of his/her life. The very basic intention of a human birth is to find out the answer for three questions ; "Who am I" ? ; "Where did I come from" ? ; and "Where am I going to go after death" ? But we spend the whole life in external pleasures and attractions and fail to adhere to the basic idea of life. On the other hand, our ancestors, wants us to constantly stick to our own soul doing self enquiry. Hence, on "pitru-paksha", we remember our ancestors through crows. While offering food to crows, we hear the sound "kha" which reminds us to do some self-enquiry. When crows are not present, we also shout "kha" "kha" and invite crows. But again, we forget the inner meaning, but give importance to the external ritual. That is why, certain strange things happen as mentioned in the following article :
According to ancient Egyptian mythology, the soul was considered to be having three parts, the "ka" ; the "ba" and the "akh". The "ka" was essentially a person's double. It was the life force, and a person is said to be dead once "ka" departs the body. The Egyptians also buried things such as bread, beer, oxen etc... to feed the "ka" in afterlife. They also performed extensive preparation for the body (like we have death rituals in sanatan dharma) since they believed that those rituals will find a peaceful home for the "ka" in afterlife.
Refer the following links for an extensive reading on Egyptian "Ka"
There is a story from the Uttara Kanda, Ramayana which reads as follows :
Once a king named Marutta performed Maheshwara Yagna. All the Devas including Indra attended the yagna. Ravana, who was an enemy to the Devas also came to that yagna. On seeing him, the Devas got frightened and took the forms of different animals to escape from Ravana. Indra took the form of a peacock, Kuber took the form of a chameleon, Varuna became the swan and Yama took the form of a crow and so on. Thus all of them escaped from the mighty Ravana. Once he left, all the Devas returned back to their original form. They also gave boons to the respective animals for saving their lives. Since yama took the form of the crow, he gave the following boon to the crows....
ये च मद्विषयस्थास तु मानवाः कषुधयार्दिताः
तवयि भुक्ते तु तृप्तास ते भविष्यन्ति सबान्धवाः
ye ca madvisayasthas tu manavaḥ kṣudhayarditah
tvayi bhukte tu trptas te bhavisyanti sabandhavah
'When human beings suffering from hunger, if you are fed / eating, those people become happy as if they have (met and fed) all his relatives (past and present).
Hence, by offering food to the crows, we are satisfying the needs of pitras who are invisible to our eyes.
Today a strange thought struck me. I have always wondered about the Mahabarath and the various hi-tech aspects found in that great epic. I have written about a few in my blog too. Nuclear weapons, test tube baby concept, teleporting are some to name just a few. In that context, I wish to present a new idea about the great "Indraprastha Palace" built by "Mayaasura". He was a great architect of the netherworld. Those who know the epic can very well understand that the stunning architecture of the palace was the cause for Duryodhana's jealousy and it was the root cause of the gambling game and the vigorous war that followed later.
By r Ramanarayanadatta astri (http://archive.org/details/mahabharata01ramauoft)
[Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Indraprastha palace was built with lots of inbuilt illusions. One important illusion was, places which had pools did not look like that and places which had no water resembled vast watery structure. Okay... this may sound crazy for people.... It may also sound like nothing to people who believe that this great epic is nothing but fiction. But for those who believe that this epic is a real history which happened long before, this idea will really bring out a different dimension. Was there a hi-tech architecture technology used?? Let us explore....
Here are few modern day restroom designs built with the help of 3D technology. Now that we see these designs, we come to know that it is a possibility. But imagine..... 10-20 years ago, if someone had said this, what would have happened??? we would have laughed... isn't it? Look at this youtube clip.
After seeing these, can we find a connection between this 3D architecture and the Illusion-embedded Indraprastha Palace?? Recollect the story... why can't the make believe pools be built with such advanced technology? If nuclear weapons and test tube concepts existed during Mahabarath time, why can't advanced technology in architecture??? As told before, for non-believers, this is just a crazy thought. But for believers, I am sure that this will provide better insight. Thank you all for reading.
This is festival season. Janmashtami is already over but many more to follow in coming days. For each festival, we perform some kind of Puja. Each Puja is different, but there are few steps which are common for every Puja. In this article, we are going to know about "Shodasa Upachara" which is also called as 16 step worship. All of us perform these steps during Puja but obviously most of us do not know its meaning or what does it talk about. Let us explore more.....
By Saravana Raja R (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
The puja process is very similar to inviting a guest to our house. When we want a guest to come home, we formally invite them first. Then, when they visit, we allow them to refresh, then offer beverages and food. In olden days, these methods were even more elaborate. Similarly, during Puja, in these 16 steps, we invoke the deity and offer him various Upacharas. Take a look....
I am not including any mantras here because, for each puja, there will be variations in mantras even though these steps are common.
1. Dhyanam :
This is the first step. Each Puja has a different deity. By telling the respective sloka, we meditate upon the deity with its full form.
2. Aawaahanam :
In this step, we formally invite the deity for the puja, by chanting the respective verse. If the deity is a male God, then we say "Devesa" ; for a female Goddess, we say "Devesi".
2.a. Praana Prathishta :
We all have idols for puja. In this step, we are giving life to that idol enrgizing). We can say that we are merging the formless God in the physical idol.
3. Aasanam :
The invited guest is here. So what do we do first ? We given them a seat right? That's what we do here. By chanting the mantras, we offer a seat (Aasana) to the deity.
4. Paadhyam :
In our tradition, we always say "Aditi Devo Bhava", which means we treat guests as God. Hence, in olden days, we used to wash the guest's feet with water. Similarly, here, by chanting the sloka, we wash the feet of deity with water.
5. Arghyam :
In this step, by chanting the respective sloka, we offer water to the deity for washing hands.
5.a. Aachamaneeyam :
We always offer water for guests to drink. Likewise, after giving water for washing feet and hands, now we offer water for the deity to drink.
6. Snaanam :
We give the deity a bath by chanting the corresponding mantra. This is a kind of Abisheka and we do it with many things (according to the availability of supplies) like, milk, curd, honey, panchamritha , water, etc.
7. Vasthra :
After a bath, we give the deity clothes (vasthra) to wear. We also offer various ornaments (as per convenience and availability)
8. Yagnopaveetham :
This is when we offer the sacred thread (Poonal) to the deity by chanting the respective sloka.
9. Gandham :
This step involves applying chandan paste to the idol.
10. Pushpam :
We offer various flowers and garlands to the deity. All these are done for decorating the deity.
11. Dhoopam :
We light the incense sticks and show the same to the deity
12. Deepam :
Usually, God resides in Garbhagraha, a dark place in temples. Hence to make the deity visible to the devotees, deeparathana is done. Similarly, here, after giving the deity a bath, clothes, ornaments, flowers and fragrances to wear and decorate, we highlight the deity by showing deepa to the idol.
13. Naivedhyam :
By chanting mantras, we offer various prasatha that are made specifically for the puja. Typically, we are offering food for the deity (guest) to eat.
14. Thamboolam :
After food, we always offer betel leaves and nuts to guests. This is generally referred as thamboolam. Though it has a lot of spiritual significance, the basic idea is to aid in better digestion. Similarly, after feeding the deity, we offer thamboolam by chanting slokas.
15. Neeraajanam :
This is nothing but Aarthi. We light camphor and show it to the deity with utmost devotion and thereby get the blessings. After this, we do Pradakshina and Namaskar, just to imply that we are surrendering ourselves to the deity.
16. Mantra Pushpam :
Fianlly, we say this famous Vedic chanting called "Mantra pushpam". For the detailed meaning and text, click the following link. To get a quick idea, watch this youtube clip.
All our five senses are actively engaged during a Puja. Hearing is activated by mantras, slokas and by ringing the puja bell. Smell is activated by incense sticks, flowers, sandal etc. Touch is activated by applying various substances to the idol. Sight is activated by deeparaathana and aarthi.Taste is activated by the food we prepared as prashad. All our five senses are blended together towards one concentrated point. Imagine how fantastic and peaceful, the puja experience will be, if we perform it with full realization of what we are doing... Have a great Puja year ahead.
Number "Seven"...... It has its own significance in many world traditions and religions. In this article, let us explore the importance of this number in Sanathan Dharma tradition. "Sapta" is the sanskrit name for this number.
In Indian astrology, Navagrahas play an important role. For each Graha, a number is assigned. (see the below chart for the list). Among the Navagrahas, the number seven is assigned to "Ketu".
Symbolically, the number seven represents the Earthly plane. There are 14 worlds according to Sanatan dharma scriptures and they are categorized as 7 higher and 7 lower worlds. The 7 higher words are (in descending order), Satya, Tapa, Jana, Mahara, Svarga, Bhuvar, Bhu respectively. Bhu loka is nothing but the planet Earth. If you take all 14 worlds together, there are six worlds above Earth and seven below Earth.
To know about the fourteen worlds in details, please click this link :
According to Puranas, there are seven islands, namely Jambudvipa, Plaksadvipa, Salmalidvipa, Kusadvipa, Krauncadvipa, Saakadvipa and Pushkaradvipa.
SAPTA SAMUDRA (SEVEN OCEANS) :
For each of the above dvipas, there are corresponding oceans too. Please refer the following table :
SAPTA RISHI (SEVEN SAGES) :
This refers to the famous seven sages. For each Manvantara, there is a separate set of seven sages. Hence, the Saptarishis for our current Manvantara (which is ruled by Vaivasvata Manu) are Kashyapa, Atri, Vashishta, Viswamitra, Gautama, Jamadagni and Bharadwaja.
SAPTA SWARA (SEVEN MUSICAL NOTES) :
In Sanatan Dharma, music and dance are also believed to be divine and celestial. The Veda that deals with these kinds of arts is known as "Gandharva Veda". Among the Gods, Nataraja and Saraswati are associated with dance and music. Among the demigods and other celestial beings, there are Nandi, Narada, Tumburu, Gandharvas and Apsaras. Swara is a musical note. Since music itself is considered to be divine, no wonder that number 7 finds its significance in this divine art too.. The seven musical notes are, Sa, Ri, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha and Ni.
SAPTA PADI (SEVEN SACRED STEPS) :
This is an important ritual in Hindu marriage ceremony. As soon as the mangalsutra is tied, the newly married couple take seven steps around the holy fire. Each step has a detailed meaning.
First step - To earn and provide livelihood for the family
Second step - Build physical, mental and spiritual powers
Third step - Earn and increase the wealth by righteous means
Fourth step - Acquire knowledge, happiness and harmony by mutual love and respect
Fifth step - To have cattle and children
Sixth step - For self control and longevity
Seventh step - To be true and loyal to each other and remain life long companions.
SAPTA CHIRANJEEVI (SEVEN IMMORTALS) :
The Puranas and the two Epics Ramayana and Mahabaratha give an account of the seven immortals, viz.. Ashwathaama, Mahabali, Vyasa, Hanuman, Vibhishana, Kripa and Parasurama. Look at the following shloka :
"Ashwathaama Balir Vyaso Hanumanash cha Vibhishana Kripacharya cha Parashuramam saptaita chiranjeevanam"
SAPTA GIRI (SEVEN HILLS) :
The popular holy shrine Thirumala, is known as saptagiri, as it is covered by seven hills. They are Vrushabhadri, Anjanadri, Neeladri, Garudadri, Seshadri, Narayanadri and Venkatadri.
Watch this video clip to know about the gods associated with each hill :
SAPTA KANNI (SEVEN VIRGIN ANGELS) :
In Hindu scriptures, especially in Devi Mahatmiyam, Sapta kannikas are mentioned as parivara devathas of Aadhiparasakthi. They are generally termed as "Saptamatrikas" (seven mothers) who are always depicted together. They have supreme significance in Tantrism and Shakthism (different sects of hinduism).
Shiva (Leftmost) with the Matrikas
By Daderot (I took this photograph.) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
SAPTA PURI (SEVEN HOLY CITIES) :
These are the seven holy pilgrimage cities. These are where important avatars and spiritual masters are born. The pilgrimage centres are Ayodya, Mathura, Dwaraka, Ujjain, Kasi, Kanchi and Haridwar.
SAPTA NADHI (SEVEN HOLY RIVERS) :
These are the seven holy rivers namely, Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, Saraswati, Narmada, Sindhu and Kaveri.
SAPTA CHAKRA (SEVEN ENERGY POINTS) :
There are subtle energy points in our body. They are classified as seven upper chakras and seven lower chakras. The upper seven chakras are the major energy points and hence termed as "sapta chakra". They are (in descending order), Sahasrara, Ajna, Vishuddha, Anahata, Manipura, Svadhishthana and Muladhara.
By Siddhasana.jpg: http://www.yogaartandscience.com/about/about.
html derivative work: Mirzolot2 (Siddhasana.jpg) [CC BY-SA 3.0
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Apart from the above, we also have the following attributes for the number seven......
Total number of days in a week = 7
Total number of horses on Surya's (Sun God) chariot = 7
Total number of classical planets = 7
Saptamukhi Rudraksh (Rudraksh having 7 faces) is considered to give prosperity, contentment, peace of mind to one who wears and also believed that it removes bad luck and miseries.
Ratha saptami, is a festival which is observed on the 7th day of the bright fortnight (sukla paksha) in the month Maghaa. It is symbolically represented that the sun god surya, turns his ratha (chariot) pulled by seven horses, towards the northern hemisphere.
We all know that Vedas are four in total. We also know that they were oral treasure for many thousand years and were not meant to be preserved in written form, though they are documented now. It is important, and indeed interesting to know, how these were passed orally, from person to person, over many generations, without even slightest change in pronunciation. Sound and vibration are the key factors in chanting the Veda mantras and just because of this main reason, they were taught in oral form. In order to preserve the Vedic pitch accent and to aid in perfect memorization, Eleven methods were widely practiced in olden days while reciting Veda mantras. In this article, we will briefly learn about these methods.
Watch this amazing chanting by the European Veda Union Group - (you will get goosebumps) :
The Eleven Methods :
The names of these methods are already mentioned in the introductory slide. Hence let us proceed with the specific details now. This order is ascending, which means, these methods are from simple to complex.
SAMHITA :
The simplest form of recitation. Also known as "Vaakya". Memorizing as it is. Continuous recitation.
PADA :
This is word by word recitation, in which compounds (sandhi) are dissolved. In every sentence, Padhas will be segregated and memorized. A "Pathin" is a scholar who has mastered the pada method of recitation.
KRAMA :
In this method, the first letter of a mantra will be joined with second letter, second with the third, third with the fourth and so on, till the mantra ends. Typically the pattern will be ab, bc, cd, de and so on. A person who mastered this method of recitation is called a "kramavit".
JATA :
In this method, every two adjacent words in the text are first recited in original order, then repeated in the reverse order and then repeated again in the original order. The pattern will be ab ba ab ; bc cb bc ; cd dc cd ; and so on. "Jata Vallaba" is the title given to those scholars who have mastered this method of recitation.
Sikha :
This is somewhat similar to JATA method. But three adjacent words in the text are taken (while in JATA method, two adjacent words are taken). Except for this, the method is exactly same as that of JATA method.
Dhwaja :
This is literally called as "flat recitation". A sequence of "N" words were memorized by pairing the first two and last two words. The pattern goes somewhat like this :
This is the most complex form of recitation. Literally, it is known as "dense recitation". Sankaracharya says that there are four different types in this "Ghana" method of recitation. Typically, this is a permutation combination method of recitation. He says that this method is so difficult to even explain. Just take a look at the pattern (source - wikipedia) :
We do not have much information about recitation under the methods, "Malaa" ; "Rekha" ; "Danda" and "Rathaa". I searched many sources for writing this article and I could not find the exact recitation methods under these formats. I really felt bad about this. It is our divine tradition but we are slowly losing the roots. I would really appreciate if any one of you, reading this article, can share some information about these formats. I am pretty sure that details about these four formats are available somewhere.
Let me conclude this post by quoting Sankaracharya's (source - kamakoti.org) words :
"All these different methods of chanting are meant to ensure the tonal and verbal purity of the Vedas did not undergo the slightest change. It is futile for modern researchers to try and establish the date of our scriptures by finding out how the sounds of its words have changed."
This topic has been nagging my mind for some time. Though it is not very relevant to the topics that I cover in this blog, I thought of sharing this. Every single day we read/see news in media about the increased crimes and the involvement of children, particularly school aged children in those crimes. It is indeed very sad to see such things but are we correct in blaming only our kids for this matter? Or is there something that we need to blame ourselves? I am not writing anything new here, but thought of stressing the point which everyone know already, "Moral Education",
Once, it was taught in schools as a specific subject (15-20 years ago) in India, but not anymore. Again, it is not the sole responsibility of schools to inculcate good habits in kids. We, as parents, have the main responsibility here. A practical solution is to teach morals to kids by adapting the age old technique of story telling. You might say that you are already doing that. But the kinds of stories you choose and the method of communication is more important here.
Remember, personal touch is the key. Apps, you tube videos, DVDs and Blue ray discs can indeed be an easy way of teaching kids about morals with awesome graphics, but without physical interaction, we cannot know if it had made the correct impact in the minds of kids. A story personally told by a parent or grandparent even for ten minutes can give fantastic joy to kids which they will cherish, rather than watching the videos alone. This involvement is crucial for them to understand the story and the moral it teaches. Make it an everyday practice and you can feel the great benefits it brings.
Making this "quality time" in spite of our busy schedule might sound tough initially, but it is certainly possible if we have the strong will. One of my friends named "Sabari" is a working woman, mom of two and she also enjoys doing intense workouts each day. Despite her busy schedule, she has the practice of singing "Barathiyar songs" to her kids whenever she has time. It is possible for anybody, all that is needed is little time management.
Okay, now we have the will and we have also made time, where can we go for stories? Nowhere much, other than your own religion and your own language. There are plenty of morals and values in them. Resort to "Stories from the Bible" if you follow Christianity, "Stories from the Quran" if you follow Islam or "Stories from the Vedas, Puranas and Ithihasas" if you follow Hinduism. Look out for morals in "Thirukkural" "Kondraivendhan" etc. if your mother tongue is Tamil.
I tried to compile resources from all over the net to provide some good links for stories to tell kids and here you go.....
Sanathan Dharma often faces this question over and over again. "Why do you have million Gods?" Yes... We all know that unlike other religions, Sanathan Dharma has no single holy scripture and no single God. We do not have one common rule to follow but instead, many many options and ways to choose. We also agree that the "Supreme Brahmam" is formless, changeless and ever blissful and in every holy scripture (of particular God), that God is declared as this "Supreme Brahmam". This is somewhat complex for people to understand and hence Sanathan Dharma (Hinduism) is considered as the most mysterious, difficult to comprehend and composite religion. We, the followers of Sanathan Dharma, too have the same question in our inner minds for which we are trying to get convincing answers. The explanations of Spiritual masters, who have declared that "God is one", are also complex to understand, the reason being our own limitation in perceiving such concepts. Spiritual masters have always stressed that enlightenment cannot be explained but rather to be felt. Due to this reason, they might have not revealed everything point blank. In this article, I have tried to bring out some simple convincing answers for our "multiple god" system and the possible reasons behind such idea. I have tried to analyse this from both believers' and non-believers' point of view. This is definitely an extensive article as I need to touch base about various facets of Sanathan Dharma before beginning the analysis. I request you all to read it completely to understand the essence. I have also included the views from scriptures as well as from scholars throughout this post to enable proper reasoning.
QUICK VIEW :
Key concept
Attempt to explain why many Gods and many Paths in Sanathan Dharma
Answers For
Believers'
One God manifested as many, For Universe to be in order, each force should be in order, Gods as celestial beings who live in different abodes with different powers, the step by step approach in reaching the ultimate truth (infinite).
Answers For Non Believers'
We are not alone in this Universe ; Powerful Gods could be celestial aliens ; Mantras are like codes to unlock the cosmic powers and to invoke a particular deity (super powered alien being)
General Details About Sanathan Dharma
The basic ideology, Six philosophies, Holy scriptures, Paths to salvation, The deities including Rig vedic deities.
The Basic Ideology :
"God - The Supreme Brahmam" is one. Sanathan Dharma agrees to this completely and there is no doubt that this is the basic idelogy. But, who is that supreme one and how to reach him? Here comes many variations. Shaivaites call that "Shiva" and Vaishnavites call that "Vishnu". The followers of Devi, call that "Shakthi" and so does the followers of other Gods. Advaits call that "Atman - self. The paths that lead to "The Supreme Brahmam" also have many variations like Karma, Dharma, Yoga, Bakthi, Gnana, Sanyasa and so on. Before going in depth about these concepts, let us take a look on what Spiritual Masters have told about "The Supreme Brahmam".
Adi Sankaracharya : "Brahma satyam jagan mithya jiva brahmaiva naaparah" - Brahman, the absolute alone is real. The world is unreal (Maya). The jiva or the individual soul is not different from Brahman.
Madvacharya : "Sriman Narayana is the lord of the universe, and the creation, destruction, sustenance, control etc are according to his wish. He is the one called Brahmam in the vedas and he is full of knowledge, bliss and power.
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa - More are the names of God and infinite are the forms through which he may be approached. In whatever name and form you worship him, through them you will realize him.
The Different Philosophies :
Sanathan dharma allows you to reason and choose a path of your choice, rather than sticking on to one principle and asking everyone to follow that. Where ever you stand in terms of knowledge and wisdom and which ever path you choose, you can attain worldly pleasures, peace, spiritual progress and finally salvation. This is its unique specialty. In this context, let us first see the six different schools of philosophy. They are :
Sankya : Emphasizes duality that the consciousness (Purusha) is different from that of matter (Prakriti). It believes that "due to ignorance that the Purusha identifies himself with Prakriti and absolute freedom arises with the realization that Purusha is different from that of Prakriti.
Yoga : This is Patanjali's school of thought. The eight limbed Ashtanga yoga, which deals with the discipline of body and mind and the psychic powers of mind. Here, the realization of self happens with intense control of senses, breath control called pranayama and constant meditation.
Nyaya : This school of thought is based on logic and reasoning. According to this philosophy, there are four sources of knowledge viz. perception, inference, comparison and testimony. The main ideology here is "the only way to get released from suffering is to obtain the true knowledge.
Vaisheshika : It is based on the concept of "atomic theory". It emphasizes that all objects in physical universe are the aggregation of atoms and Brahmam is the fundamental force that causes consciousness in these atoms and that "individual souls are eternal and pervade material body for a time period". According to Vaisheshika, there are nine classes of realities viz, Earth, water, light, air, space, time, direction, infinity of souls and mind and seven categories of experience viz, substance, quality, activity, generality, particularity, inherence and non-existence.
Purva Mimamsa : It is a system of vedic interpretation. It emphasizes unquestionable faith in vedas, especially to that of rituals mentioned in vedas (Brahmanas), like yajnas and sacrifices. This system believes that the power of mantras and yajnas are enough to sustain all the activities of this universe. As such, performance of vedic rituals are considered as primary dharma to attain salvation.
Vedanta : It concentrates on the philosophical teachings of the Upanishads, rather than the ritualistic injunctions of the Brahmanas. The term "Vedanta" means "the end of vedas" which can be literally said as the "essence of vedas". The ideology of "Vedanta" is that "Self-consciousness is continuous with and indistinguishable from consciousness of Brahmam". Later, Vedanta separated into six categories viz, Advaita, Vishishtadvaita, Dvaita, Dvaitadvaita, Shuddhadvaita and Acintya Bheda Abheda.
For detailed description about the six schools of philosophy, click the following links :
Mahatma Gandhi - When doubts haunt me, when disappointments stare me in the face, and I see not one ray of hope on the horizon, I turn to Bhagavad Gita and find a verse to comfort me : and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming sorrow. My life has been full of external tragedies and if they have not left any visible or invisible effect on me, I owe it to the teaching of the Bhagavad Gita".
Unlike other religions, there is no single holy book in Hinduism, but rather many. Each main classification has many many sub classifications, making an extensive list of holy scriptures. Although there are many scriptures, the well known among them are the Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, Ithihasa and the Bhagavad Gita. The scriptures are basically classified into two main categories viz. Sruti - That which has to be heard , and Smriti - That which has to be remembered. I have compiled a chart (after referring to many sources) of these scriptures which is given below. I seek your apology in case if there are any errors or omissions.
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Refer these links for detailed descriptions of various scriptures....
Though Hindu Philosophy has been divided into six classifications, when it comes to "path to salvation", there are four prominent ways, which are widely known. Bhagavad Gita gives clear accounts for all these four paths namely "Karma yoga", "Raja yoga", "Gnana yoga" and "Bakthi yoga", and emphasizes that, "Men can choose which ever path, and by following it correctly, can attain salvation". Detailed explanation of these four paths are not given here considering the length of this article but have provided links for those who are interested.
Karma Yoga - Salvation through right action
Raja Yoga - Salvation through "Ashtanga Yoga" (yoga and meditation)
Gnana Yoga - Salvation through philosophical research and wisdom
Bakthi Yoga - Salvation through pure devotion
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa - "God can be realized through all paths. All religions are true. The important thing is to reach the roof. You can reach it by stone stairs or by wooden stairs or by bamboo steps or by a rope. You can also climb up by a bamboo pole."
Here comes the most important part, the deities. After looking into the different concepts, different texts and ways to be followed for salvation, we should understand about the deities to know "who is the subject matter" of all these concepts and scriptures. Before proceeding, please take a look into what scholars have told about the multiple God system.
Max Muller - "When these individual gods are invoked, they are not conceived as limited by the power of others, as superior or inferior in rank. Each god, to the mind of the supplicants, is as good as all the gods. He is felt at the time as a real divinity, as supreme and absolute, in spite of the limitations which, to our mind, a plurality of gods must entail on every single god. All the rest disappear for a moment from the vision of the poet, and he only who is to fulfill their desires, stands in full light before the eyes of the worshippers.....................It would be easy to find, in the numerous hymns of the Rig Veda, passages in which almost every single god is represented as supreme and absolute."
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa - "You are son to your father, husband to your wife, father to your son, master to your servant and brother to your sibling. If, a normal man like you, can have these many forms to different people, then why not God, the creator of all?
Rig Vedic Deities :
Rig veda, the oldest among the Hindu scriptures, gives account to as many as 33 Gods (Devas), which are classified as follows :
When you look at the above chart, you can spot the names called "Dyaus" Prithvi". They are the Sky god and Earth god respectively. Please note that the term "Dyaus" is similar to that of "Zeus", sky god according to "Greek Mythology".
Zeus - Sky God of Greek Mythology
Trimurti :
Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva - The Trimurtis also called as "Hindu Trinity", are responsible for creation, preservation and destruction respectively. Brahma is often referred as "Prajapati". Vishnu's incarnations are well knows as Dasavathara. Both Vishnu and Shiva, have many many names and many many forms.
Tridevi :
The consorts of Trimurti, viz. Saraswati, Lakshmi and Parvati are collectively called as Tridevi. Saraswati is considered the God of education and arts, Lakshmi, for wealth and prosperity and Parvati for Power. These Gods too have many many names and forms.
Vinayaka and Muruga :
The sons of Lord Shiva, Vinayaka and Muruga, are popular deities too. Ganesha, the elephant faced God, is prayed to, before beginning any task as he is considered as the destroyer of all obstacles. Lord Muruga, also called as Kartikeya, is considered as God for "Tamil" language. There are innumerable names for these gods as well.
Rama and Krishna :
The most popular incarnations of Vishnu. Rama and Krishna, both are worshiped individually as supreme Gods. Rama is famously knows as "Eka pathni vratha" and Krishna as "Geethacharya", as he revealed Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna.
Apart from the above, we do have many many more including Hanuman, Dhanvantri, Ayyappa, Dakshinamurthy etc. We also have Devas (Demi gods). Though we do not know the exact number of Devas, there is generally a popular saying in Sanathan Dharma, that Devas are 33 million in total. (முப்பத்து முக்கோடி தேவர்கள்)
The analysis starts at this point. Thank you for reading this extensive post so far. In this analysis I have tried to provide convincing answers (logically) for both believers and non believers,as to why we worship many Gods and follow many paths. The ideas expressed here are purely my views and I am not a great spiritual master. Hence I do not claim that they are 100% correct. But I encourage you to consider the points, make your own analysis and decide whether to take it or leave it, according to your own judgement. The main criteria, which I have taken to substantiate my case (for both the cases), is "The Universe".
Convincing answer for believers :
Believers actually do not need the answers for why we are worshiping many Gods. They simply trust and offer their prayers to all Gods. But I thought of providing this answer for one reason, that there is no inferiority or superiority among Gods. Before proceeding, I encourage you to read the following articles.
When we see Sanathan Dharma Gods, everyone of them have separate tasks. Devas have their own assigned tasks and the Trimurtis have creation, preservation and destruction. If you closely observe the tasks of Gods, you will come to know that they are deities to preserve one force each in the Universe. Let me give more examples... Please take a look at the following images :
Surya - The Sun God
Agni - The Fire God
Soma - The Moon God
Varuna - The God of Water
Yama - The God of Death
Likewise, we have, Vayu - wind , Gandharvas - celestial musicians, Bhudevi - Earth, Saniswara - Saturn, Bhuda - Mercury, Dhanvantri and Ashwini Devas - celestial physicians and so on. Each and every deity has a nature force to control, be it celestial objects (planets, galaxies and space) or earthly elements (fire, water, wind, etc) or the various things needed (like wealth, prosperity, education, power) to lead human life happily.
Sanathan Dharma is famous for its massive time calculations (yuga, manvantara and kalpa) and million and trillion year old gods and different time periods for different worlds. It has mentioned different worlds (abode) for different deities, which are obviously, the celestial planets and has even given the distance between (in terms of yojanas) the different worlds. The image of Mount Kailash is given below. It is an Earthly manifestation of a celestial abode. We have many such manifestations and can understand them if we study scriptures deeply.
Now we have two approaches to answer "Why many gods?". The first one is what almost all the spiritual masters have told. "One God is what is manifested in many forms. God is in you and in me. He is smallest of smallest and biggest of biggest. Whoever you worship and whichever form you worship, you still worship the supreme lord, provided you do it whole-hearted".
Bhagavad Gita - "When he sees me in all and sees all in me, then I never leave him and he never leaves me. And he who in this oneness of love, loves me in whatever he sees, wherever this man may live, in truth, he lives in me."
The second approach is to closely observe the Universe. Just imagine Earth alone... If Earth has air and water but no fire, has water and fire but no air, how will it be? What will happen if one tiny system changes in the Solar system? Universe, in order to function in an orderly manner, need all forces to be in order. Scientists, even now, are puzzled that how this universe is made in perfectly measured manner. Sanathan Dharma Gods are universal forces who have taken responsibility in proper functioning of that particular force (celestial bodies, elements or basic needs of humans). Which force is superior and which is inferior? All are equally important, isn't it?
When we say, surya is the sun god, we should be clear about one thing. There are millions of sun in the Universe, but what we know with our limited knowledge is only, our sun, which is in the solar system. Surya could be the deity of this Sun or the deity of all suns in the universe... who knows? When we see Rig vedic hymns, it is said that there are 12 Adithyas. Same applies to every thing like, moon, planets, fire, water and so on.
Hence, all deities are equally important, though we understand that the supreme brahmam is formless, shapeless and changeless (The Infinite). Similarly, all mantras have equal importance and they specifically invoke a particular force (deity). None is superior or inferior and the Multi-God system in Sanathan Dharma is logically justifiable.
Please understand this saying from the "Isha Upanishad" :
"Purnam adah purnam idam purnatpurnam udachyate
purnasya purnam adaya purnam evavashishyate"
"What is here is infinite. What is there is also infinite. From infinite, infinite comes out. Taking infinite from infinite, what remains is also infinite."
But to understand the above, we should have enough wisdom. Sanathan dharma has provided step by step approach to get that wisdom. If the above saying is a "college lesson" then we need to finish primary school, middle school and high school before reading that. Isn't it? If we trust and pray in any God, through him we will get the wisdom to understand the infinite. Wise people, one among millions, understand this without studying preliminary lessons. But for the other average million people, we should understand that this (worshiping many gods) system gradually takes them to the ultimate goal.
Convincing answer for non-believers :
This section is for the Athiests. Hence the analysis is done having "Universe" and "Aliens" as the base. The word "Aliens" is used here as just a scientific term to understand the phenomena. It doesn't mean to hurt anyone in any way. Please watch the following video to understand how "Sanathan Dharma Gods as Aliens" are classically explained...
Athiests do not believe in God at all. Even that is perfectly okay with Sanathan Dharma, as it never compels any one. But they do accept "Aliens" as it is logical. Almost everyone of us believe that, in this vast universe (or multi-verse), there are more possibilities for life to exist somewhere (or in many places) apart from our own Earth. The term for such beings in modern science are "Aliens" and the vehicles they use for transportation are called the "UFO". Here, I am trying to establish here, with clear details of course, that the powerful Gods of Sanathan Dharma, are celestial beings (Whom we might be calling as aliens these days).
We live, here, in this milky way galaxy :
And these are the Sombrero and Andromeda galaxies :
There are millions and millions of galaxies in this universe. Watch this short video for knowing about the concept of multi-verse.
Now back to Sanathan Dharma, it has some very clear details for celestial beings. It has mentioned many worlds, (in this material universe alone), viz. 7 higher worlds and 7 lower worlds. The distance, people (deities) who are living there all are very clearly given. Unfortunately these are called mythologies. Take a look about the various worlds, along with their distances,given in our scriptures....
Celestial beings live a life which are somewhat similar to that of human beings. They have families, children, musicians and dancers for entertainment and even doctors and physicians for curing ailments. All these are told as beautiful stories in Sanathan Dharma. Here, we have Gods (or universal force) for everything...
"The Asvins are regarded as the physicians of the gods and are declared to be able to restore to health the blind, the sick, the lame and the emaciated among mortals. The leg of Vispala, that was cut off in the battle they replaced by an iron one".
Next, we need to look at the sanskrit veda chantings. Those mantras are always chanted in a specific modulation and that is why they have been passed on orally for many generations (to preserve the modulation of chanting... may be). These sanskrit mantras invoke the deities., Each mantra invokes a specific deity. Even modern scientists now agree (after various researches) that sound of mantra produces specific vibration in the universal force. When Gayatri mantra is chanted, for instance, it may produce vibrations in the sun which may trigger the positive energy. Likewise we have mantras for all deities (universal forces). Why can't Sanskrit mantras be codes to invoke/trigger a particular force? When we write software program, we do not use the same codes for all platforms right? When we say about celestial beings, these mantras are like codes to invoke them and to get a specific energy from them for the benefit of human society. Take a look at the following links to know the vibrations of mantras.....
Considering the above, the multi god system of sanathan dharma, is again, logically justified, even from the point of view of athiests. These beings, in our mythology, have their own abode, their own vehicles (UFO) and unique powers which are unimaginable for humans in Earth. It is even said that, "Devas, do not blink, nor their feet touch the ground and their bodies are beyond the five elements". These may be the beyond our dimension, but perfectly possible, if they live in another planet, in which another dimension exists. Their time span is also different. One human year is one day for the Devas, for instance. When we analyze planets and galaxies from the perspective of modern science, we very well know that the orbit time of each planet is different. This is nicely explained in the movie "Interstellar". Hence, if Sanathan Dharma Gods are Aliens, it is perfectly possible to have millions of them. Isn't it???
Conclusion :
For getting material pleasures in life viz.... education, career, marriage, finance planning etc, we take much effort to analyse various options and choose finally which is best for us. If we are ready to take so much pains for material stuff, why do we need single path when it comes to GOD? Why are we not ready to take up the challenge of analyzing the various options and chose one which is best for us and stick to it? We need immediate results. We worship today and expect good fortune tomorrow.. and if we do not get it, we say something is wrong with God.... This is not the required attitude to understand "GOD". Sanathan Dharma perfectly understands that, every person is different and hence there are many paths to choose according to the person's wisdom, understanding and maturity. I hope that I conveyed the points correctly in this article. Again, all the views expressed here are my own views and I welcome feedback... Let me conclude this lengthy article with the beautiful verses of Bhagavad Gita....
