Tuesday, December 26, 2017
Wednesday, November 22, 2017
Monday, July 24, 2017
Saturday, July 22, 2017
autobiography
Narada Maharshi and Veda Vyasa exchanged their own experiences about the play of ‘Maha Maya’or
‘Prakriti’(The Great Illusion) in the Hermitage of Vyasa on the banks of River Saraswati. Vyasa
narrated in passing about the incidents relevant to his family as to how his father was enticed with his
mother viz.Parashara Maharshi and Satyavati a fisher woman; how his mother Satyavati insisted to
sleep with his dead younger brother to beget children to uphold the family royalty; how he himself got tempted with an Apsara called Ghritachi and gave birth to Suka Muni; how intensely he loved his son and wanted him to become a house holder; how frustrated was he till Janaka as ‘Videha’(Body-less) was able to become a Grihasti; how elated that he felt when finally his son agreed tobe a Grihasti and finally how distraught his son attained Salvation!
It was then the turn of Narada to narrate his autobiography and how Maha Maya had influnced his
own life. Narada (‘Nara’ stands for knowledge and ‘Da’stands for Giver or Provider) is popular as a
‘Loka Sanchari’or a Universal Tourist. He is also popular as ‘Kalaha Priya’ or as an instigator but his
end-objective would always be for ‘Loka Kalyana’ or for Universal Benefit. Even at the time of
generation as a Manasika Putra or Mind-Born son of Brahma, Narada was engulfed with Maya as
Brahma asked the son to become a house-holder and procreate progeny but Narada refused flatly; he
said : would there be a fool to leave the outstanding nectar of service to Krishna and take to the drink
of poison called Samsara! Brahma was terribly disappointed and visibly angry especially since the
earlier brothers of Narada viz. Sanaka-Sanandana-Sanatana and Sanat Kumaras also politely refused
to become ‘Grihasties’ and Narada’s reaction was more assertive disregard of his consideration to a
father! Brahma then cursed Narada to become a yogi; a quixotic, glibly and dreamy person with
frivolous nature; as an indulger in ‘Shringar’(Romance) and Music; a Veena Player, a talkative
wanderer; as the son of a servant maid, and after repeated births finally he would return to Brahma
and become a Supreme Gyani! Narada was taken aback by such lashing of curses from Brahma and
having requested the father to bless him to be a Jatismara or with memory of previous births and a
staunch devotee of Narayana, gave a return curse to Brahma too that he would not be worshipped in
the entire Universe by way of Srotra, Kavacha, Mantra , Puja, Vrata or Agni Homa for the next three
Kalpas!
Narada was reborn as a Gandharva Prince named Upabarhana -literally meaning as one with
Devotion. He was married to fifty daughters of another Gandharva King and the eldest of his wives
was Malavati an illustrious Pativrata. He however had a flimsy fancy for Rambha and for this
indiscretion Brahma cursed him to terminate his life by the yogic of death; thush he practised Yoga by breaking
‘Prakriti’(The Great Illusion) in the Hermitage of Vyasa on the banks of River Saraswati. Vyasa
narrated in passing about the incidents relevant to his family as to how his father was enticed with his
mother viz.Parashara Maharshi and Satyavati a fisher woman; how his mother Satyavati insisted to
sleep with his dead younger brother to beget children to uphold the family royalty; how he himself got tempted with an Apsara called Ghritachi and gave birth to Suka Muni; how intensely he loved his son and wanted him to become a house holder; how frustrated was he till Janaka as ‘Videha’(Body-less) was able to become a Grihasti; how elated that he felt when finally his son agreed tobe a Grihasti and finally how distraught his son attained Salvation!
It was then the turn of Narada to narrate his autobiography and how Maha Maya had influnced his
own life. Narada (‘Nara’ stands for knowledge and ‘Da’stands for Giver or Provider) is popular as a
‘Loka Sanchari’or a Universal Tourist. He is also popular as ‘Kalaha Priya’ or as an instigator but his
end-objective would always be for ‘Loka Kalyana’ or for Universal Benefit. Even at the time of
generation as a Manasika Putra or Mind-Born son of Brahma, Narada was engulfed with Maya as
Brahma asked the son to become a house-holder and procreate progeny but Narada refused flatly; he
said : would there be a fool to leave the outstanding nectar of service to Krishna and take to the drink
of poison called Samsara! Brahma was terribly disappointed and visibly angry especially since the
earlier brothers of Narada viz. Sanaka-Sanandana-Sanatana and Sanat Kumaras also politely refused
to become ‘Grihasties’ and Narada’s reaction was more assertive disregard of his consideration to a
father! Brahma then cursed Narada to become a yogi; a quixotic, glibly and dreamy person with
frivolous nature; as an indulger in ‘Shringar’(Romance) and Music; a Veena Player, a talkative
wanderer; as the son of a servant maid, and after repeated births finally he would return to Brahma
and become a Supreme Gyani! Narada was taken aback by such lashing of curses from Brahma and
having requested the father to bless him to be a Jatismara or with memory of previous births and a
staunch devotee of Narayana, gave a return curse to Brahma too that he would not be worshipped in
the entire Universe by way of Srotra, Kavacha, Mantra , Puja, Vrata or Agni Homa for the next three
Kalpas!
Narada was reborn as a Gandharva Prince named Upabarhana -literally meaning as one with
Devotion. He was married to fifty daughters of another Gandharva King and the eldest of his wives
was Malavati an illustrious Pativrata. He however had a flimsy fancy for Rambha and for this
indiscretion Brahma cursed him to terminate his life by the yogic of death; thush he practised Yoga by breaking
- Six Chakras (Muladhara, Swadhistana, Manipura, Anahata, Vishuddha and Agjna) and
- Sixteen Nadis (Ida, Sushumna, Medha, Pingala, Praanahaarini, Sarva Jnanaprada, Manah Samyamani,Vishuddha, Niruddha, Vayasancharini, Jnana jrumbharana karini, Sarva Pranahara and Punarjeevanakarini) and died the Yoga way! Malavati got furious that on a flimsy cause of fancying
Murtis that she woul immolate in Homagni. Vishnu realised how powerful a curse of Maha Pativrata
like Malavati could be and assumed the form of a Brahmana Vidyarthi enquring of Malavati whether
the death of her husband was due to physical nature and if so he could be revived by the means of
Ayurved; or else if the death was due to Yoga, then too there would be ways of reviving him the Yoga
way! As the death was due to Yoga, the Brahmana boy prayed to Agni and the jatharagini of the
Gandharva was kindled; Kama Deva gave back to the latter’s desires and aspirations; Vayu gave back
his breathing; Surya restored his eye-sight; Vani his powerof speech; Dharma revived his Gyan and
Brahma and Vishnu revived the Gandhrava Narada finally.
Another episode of Narada’s life related to Daksha Prajapati’s curse to him to become a Grihasti or a
house holder as Narada instructed the Prajapati’s progeny of Haryasvas to avoid Samsara or family
life. Narada and a Devarshi Parvata undertook a journey to Bhuloka once and due to rainy season
halted at King Sanjaya as their valued guest. The King asked his unmarried daughter Damayanti to
supervise the daily needs of the Rishis for their worship. In course of time Narada developed a fancy
for Damayanti since their common interest was music. Parvata Maharshi noticed visible change in
Narada and the Princess and confronted Narada who confirmed his longing for the Princess. Parvata
Maharshi got annoyed, cursed Narada to get a monkey face and left the Kingdom out of disgust.
Meanwhile Damayanti- Narada romance prospered as both were lovers of music. Damayanti argued
that Kinnaras had horse faces too but were music experts par excellence; having convinced her
parents thus she married Narada. After a few years Parvata Maharshi paid a visit to the Kingdom and
finding that Narada- Damayanti couple were happy, withdrew the curse of Narada’s monkey face as
the couple was happy. Such was the impact of Brahma’s curse to Narada that he should be a Grihasti
and no longer a Brahmachari.
Yet another Story of Narada was about his womanhood! Lord Vishnu and Narada were exchanging
views about the impact of Maya and indirectly mentioned that he saved himself from it excepting that
he was cursed by Brahma and Daksha and had problems. Vishnu asked for his vehicle Garuda and
suggested to Narada to go for a drive across the sky. He stopped Garuda at the City of Kannouj and
desired that he and Narada could refresh bathing in a Lake. Narada kept his clothes, Kamandalu, and
Veena on the banks of the Lake and dipped first in the water. The moment he dipped and came out,
Narada turned into a charming and youthful maiden not knowing his memory and identity. Vishnu
quietly slipped out along with Narada’s personal belongings and disappeared. Meanwhile, King of
Kannauj arrived at the Lake for a swim and was overwhelmed with the outstanding beauty of the
woman (Narada) and asked her antecedents; she did not know but the took her to his Capital and
married her as per Vedic tradition and named her Sowbhagya Sundari. The King declared her as the
Principal Queen and their marital life was a total success and gave birth to twelve sons. But as there
was a terrible war all the sons were killed and the Queen and King reached a lake to observe the
obsequies of the sons and the Queen too had a dip in the Sarovara and she emerged from the water as
Narada! Such was the power of Maha Maya that Vishnu taught to Narada who learnt its impact the
hard way! The Basic Laws prescribed by Maha Maya Bhagavati as enforced by the Trinity and their
deputies and the actions are as per the mix of their Actions are performed as per their Gunas in
various proportions as per their ‘Prarabdha’ or fate ! That was the lesson for Narada!
http://www.shivshankar.in/play-of-maya-the-story-of-narada-maharshi/
Mudgala
http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Vana_Parva
The sage tells the story of Mudgala, who after his death, refuses to go to heaven, prefers the path of knowledge instead. The swans carrying Mudgala (below) signify his moksha.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mudgala
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Mudgala
https://www.slideshare.net/search/slideshow?searchfrom=header&q=Mudgala
Friday, July 21, 2017
Sarpa Yagna
Janamejaya’s ‘Sarpa Yagna’ stopped by Sage Asita and Veda Vyasa:: When King Parikshith met his end, his son Janamejaya was hardly a lad of eleven years and was declared as the next King. Guru Kripacharya trained him in the Science of Archery, Administration and Dharmasastra. He was married to Vapustama the daughter of King of Kasi and carried on with pious activities. Meanwhile a Sage Uttanka approached Janamejaya and provoked him to take revenge on his father’s killer Taksha and perform Sarpa Yagna (Sacrifice of Serpents) and command Taksha into the Fire Pit ( Homa Kunda) and Sacrifice all the Serpents in the process. Sage Uttanka told the King that his father could not go to heaven because of snake bite. Convinced thus, the King ordered that theYagna be arranged. Thousands of snakes were burnt off and Taksha was so afraid of his life that he sought refuge from Indra. But, so revengeful were Janamejaya and Sage Uttanka that they were prepared to command not only Taksha but even Indra to Sarpa Yajna and haul them into the Fire Pit! Taksha thus approached Sage Asita to call on the King and to refrain from proceeding further in the Sacrifice as thousands of innocent Snakes were burnt off, for the sake of Taksha. Veda Vyasa explained the Episode of Sage Asita and King Ruru to the King. In the olden days, there was a Sage Jaratkratu who was practising high devotion to Devi Bhagavati in a forest. He had a vision of his dead father and forefathers in a cave who asked him to marry and suggested an eligible woman named Jarat Karu, who was the sister of Vasuki. Meanwhile the co-wives of Sage Kasyapa, viz. Kadru and Vinita had an argument as to what was the colour of the horses of the Sun God’s chariot. Vinita guessed the color as white but Kadru had a bet that the colour was black. It was agreed that whoever lost the bet would have to carry the other on her back always while going to places. Kadru asked her sons to colour the horses black to win the bet. While some of her sons obeyed her but others did not. Kadru cursed those who did not comply be burnt off in a Fire pit and Vinita virtually became Kadru’s slave. Vinita’s son ‘Garuda’ the Carrier of Maha Vishnu, asked for the cause of her sorrow and she narrated as to what happened. Out of his affection for his mother, Garuda approached Kadru to pardon his mother and Kadru agreed provided that Garuda could bring Amrit ( nectar) from the custody of Vaikuntha. Garuda was bent on relieving his mother’s curse and fetched a jug of Nector from Vaikuntha. Kadru was delighted and released Vinita. All the family members and friends of Kadru were invited and asked to clean up themselves before taking spoonfuls of Amrit. But Indra quietly stole away the jug of Amrit. The invitees of Kadru returned from their baths and found that the jug was missing. They were disappointed but tried their best to lick any drops from out of the jar that might have spilt on the grass ( Kusa) and as they licked their tongues were cut and hence were known as ‘dvi-jihvas’ or two tongued ever since. Vasuki and others who were troubled by Kadru approached Lord Brahma and complained against Kadru, the mother of snakes. He blessed them and said that the younger sister of Vasuki, Jarat Karu, should be proposed to wed Sage Jaratkaru. But the Sage was highly short tempered and the bride should be very obedient and trustworthy and the couple would beget a child 50 who would enlighten, control and discipline the whole community of snakes and lighten the burden of their over-haughtiness to the world. That was why, Sage Asita prevailed upon King Janamejaya to stop the unique Sarpa Yagna and Veda Vyasa too approved of Sage Asita’s request. Maharshi Vyasa had suggested that instead of the revenge-oriented Sarpa Yagna, he should rarher build a spacious Temple dedicated to Devi Bhagavati and also perform Devi Maha Yagna and such other Spiritual activities to release the soul of late King Parikshith and relieve the curse of the Brahmana boy.
http://www.shivshankar.in/janamejayas-sarpa-yagna-snake-sacrifice-stopped-by-sage-asita-and-veda-vyasa/
http://www.shivshankar.in/janamejayas-sarpa-yagna-snake-sacrifice-stopped-by-sage-asita-and-veda-vyasa/
Bhagavati
Maha Bhagavati allows vision of the dead at Kurukshetra Battle: Pursuant to the Great Battle, the respected ladies of both Kauravas and Pandavas who lost their husbands, sons, grand sons, grand fathers, fathers, in-laws and nephews collected on the banks of Ganges and prayed toVeda Vyasa to secure a glimpse of the departed, since the ladies could not go to the battle field. Among the ladies were Kunti, Gandhari, Draupadi, Subhadra and Uttara. Dhritarashtra and Pandava Heros were also invited to the expected miracle-spectacle. The Maharshi performed Pranayama and deep yogaoriented meditation to the Unknown and Omniscient Devi Bhagavati. His intense and continued worship for quite sometime and as an indication of the positive response received from Maha Devi, there were indications on a huge sky-long celestial screen and there were quick glimpses of the oneto-one fights and the resultant deaths and reactive celebrations; the screen views of the Linga and Limbless Bodies of the departed souls which were recognised at once by the concerned eyes, but not the converse.
http://www.kamakoti.org/kamakoti/details/devibhagvatpurana17.html
http://www.kamakoti.org/kamakoti/details/devibhagvatpurana17.html
Monday, July 17, 2017
Madhukarnath
Sri M left his home at the age of nineteen to find his master in Himalayas. After getting exhausted by the endless search, he finally met Sri Maheshwarnath Babaji—the same person he had met when he was nine—at the Vyasa Cave, beyond Badrinath.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Madhukarnath
http://www.speakingtree.in/sri-m
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Madhukarnath
http://www.speakingtree.in/sri-m
Monday, June 19, 2017
Friday, June 16, 2017
Thursday, June 8, 2017
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