Time : What It Is?? - Excerpts From The Bhagavadha!!

The "Tidbits" section of my blog is specifically for sharing good and thought provoking information from various Sanathan Dharma scriptures and lectures by scholars/gurus. These are not my works. I am presenting the information as it is by mentioning from which source it is taken. The information which I thought of sharing today is taken from "Bhagavadha Purana" (Skandha III - Chapter 29 - Verses 36-45) and it is all about "Time". Let us read :

"He who is called Bhagavan, Brahman and Paramatman has an aspect called providence (Daiva) which, though connected with his aspects as Purusha and Prakriti, is distinct from them. It is what sets in motion the cycle of the Jiva's involvement in repeated births and deaths".

"It is the unique power of the Lord, causing the transformation of Kala (Time). It gives rise to the fear of death in beings who identify themselves with the evolutes of Prakriti and see a clear-cut difference between themselves and others".

"Supporting all and permeating all, it causes the destruction of one combination of elements by another combination. It is none other than Vishnu, the all-pervading being, the master of all worship and the one who draws everything into himself".

"He is impartial to all, there being none dear, inimical or related to him. The unceasing movement of Time consumes all beings who are heedless of the process and are engrossed in their enjoyments and activities".

"Out of fear of him, the wind blows ; the sun emits heat and light ; the stars shine ; clouds rain ; trees, plants and creepers yield flowers and fruits in proper season ; rivers flow downstream ; the oceans maintain their level ; fire burns ; the earth with its mountains remains firm ; the sky provides space for life-giving breath to breath".

"Prakrithi evolves the worlds with seven layers constituting the universal body, and the Trimurti (Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva in charge of creation, preservation and destruction), performs its cosmic function".

"Thus "Time" is limitless. Though itself without beginning or end, it provides a beginning and an end for all entities. It gives origin to all creatures through their parents and determines also their end, including the end of Antaka (King of Death) himself".

Why Crows Are Given Importance During Pitru-Paksha?

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 :

http://spokensanskrit.de/index.php?tinput=kha&direction=SE&script=HK&link=yes

"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 :

http://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/why-is-this-9-yr-old-ragpicker-in-demand-during-pitru-paksha/story-64c3Dt7AUcGTVe5AByxMlM.html

"Ka" in Egyptian Mythology :

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"

http://myweb.usf.edu/~liottan/theegyptiansoul.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egyptian_concept_of_the_soul
http://www.britannica.com/topic/ka-Egyptian-religion

The Story From Ramayana :

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.

http://hinduism.stackexchange.com/questions/614/why-are-crows-considered-to-be-a-link-to-our-pitris-spirits-of-ancestors
https://www.scribd.com/doc/28062501/Uttar-kand-valmiki

How does breath function in the body? Questions & Answers from Prashna Upanishad

The "Tidbits" section of my blog is specifically for sharing good and thought provoking information from various Sanathan Dharma scriptures and lectures by scholars/gurus. These are not my works. I am presenting the information as it is by mentioning from which source it is taken. The information which I thought of sharing today is taken from "Prashna Upanishad". It contains six chapters, each one containing a question and answers to that question. What we are going to see today is the third chapter of this Upanishad, which involves questions and answers about "Life and Life Breath"

PRASHNA UPANISHAD

The Third Question

Kousalya : "O Sage" How is life born? How does it enter the body? How does this breath of life divide itself and reside in the body? How does it control external objects and how does it control the senses of the body?

Pippalada : "It is because you know about the Brahman that you are asking these questions. I will therefore tell you the answers".

"The breath of life is created from the Brahman. Just as the body has a shadow, the breath of life is the shadow of the Brahman. It is like a shadow that the breath of life resides in the body in order to perform acts that are desired".

"An emperor appoints officials to rule over villages. Like that, the breath of life appoints the other senses to rule over various parts of the body. Within the body, the breath of life divides itself into various parts. In the lower regions, it is known as Apana. In the upper regions of the nose, the eyes and the ears, it is known as Prana. It is there in the stomach and the digestive system as Samana. Samana is like a seven-tongued flame that digests the food".

"The soul resides in the heart. From the heart, there lead out one hundred and one main veins (mula nadi), Each of these is divided into one hundred branches (shakha nadi). Each of the branches is divided into seventy-two thousand sub branches (prashaka nadi). Vyana moves along these.".

(Vyana is that part of the breath of life which flows in the heart and the surrounding regions. There are 101 main veins. 101*100 = 10100 branches and 10100 * 72000 = 727200000 sub branches. This adds up to a total of 727210201  veins. (101+10100+727200000)

"There is a vein known as Sushumna. This leads up to the crown of the head and along this flows that part of the breath of life known as Udana. It is along this vein that the performers of righteous deeds go to righteous lands and the performers of evil deeds go to evil lands. Those who perform both good and evil are born in the land of men" (Death comes when udana penetrates the crown of the head).

"Living beings have different types of desires. It is these desires that pervade the breath of life at the time of death. The udana and the atman take the being to the abode beyond death".

"He who worships the breath of life, is never separated from his sons and grandsons. He unites with the breath of life and becomes immortal. The following shloka is about the breath of life".

"Know of the origin, arrival and existence of the breath of life. Know of its lordship over the five elements. these are the spiritual and natural manifestations of the breath of life. Worship the breath of life and become immortal".