Bhagavadgitausa
Mahabharata War (Tanjore painting)
Bhagavadgitausa
Articles, translation and commentary by V.Krishnaraj
Gayatri Mantra for all ages, nations and people
Om Bhūrbhuvah suvah
tat savitur varenyam
Bhargo devasya dhīmahi
Dhiyo yonah pracodayāt
Om, earth, atmosphere, and heaven
That Light adore
Splendor divine meditate
Intellect who our inspire
Om earth, atmosphere, and heaven
Adore that light
Meditate on the divine splendor
May he inspire our intellect
(who inspires our intellect).
Gayatri Mantra sung by Anuradha Paudwal
Here is the link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cg4o3PAYjX8
Bhagavan Krishna says in Bhagavd
Gita (10.35) Of the hymns in Sama
Veda (I am) Brhatsama; of meters, I am Gayatri;
of months (I am) Margasirasa (Dec-Jan); of all seasons, I am flower-bearer
(spring).
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Veeraswamy Krishnaraj
09/27/2009
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BGALLCOLOR.pdf 3181.08KB (3257428 bytes) The above file has all 18 chapters of the Bhagavadgita in Sanskrit, transliteration, colorized words for easy identification, word 4 word translation, superscription of words, rearrangement of words in a readable form in English. This is the best you can get on the internet in one file. This file will be uploaded and sent to you as an attachment to your email upon payment of fees. The above file (18 Chapters and 700 verses) costs USD 18.00 for email upload in PDF format and $22.00 for DVD within US and $25.00 for shipment outside US. Method of payment is through Paypal, the beneficiary being Veeraswamy Krishnaraj. There is a delay between payment and upload because of verification by paypal. You can see the sample below. Please don't forget to include your email address to which the file will be attached by me. |
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Current Events Special :
| Definition of Incarnation | Love in Tamil Country | Judaism and Hinduism | |
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Siva Pages
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ARDHANARISVARA Androgynous Siva |
| DAKSHINAMURTI Dakshinamurti, the south-facing Siva-Guru is God, Guru, Self, and teacher. |
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FIERY LINGAM Siva as fiery column |
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Hymns of Sankara Sankara, the protagonist of Monistic theory of Advaita. |
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KALABHAIRAVA Southern aspect of Siva |
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Kashmir Saivism Saivism in Kashmir |
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LORD OF DANCE Nataraja |
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OM NAMASIVAYA Siva Mantra |
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PATI Siva as Master |
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Primer in Saiva Siddhanta Philosophy at it its best |
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SADASIVA Siva the Grace Giver |
| Siva's eight forms |
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sivagnana siddhiar Philosophy of Saiva Siddhanta in verses and English translation with illustrations. சிவஞான சித்தியர் சுபக்கம். in Tamil and English. |
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Siva-one is many Siva's 8 forms |
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SivapprakAsam (சிவப்பிரகாசம் in Tamil and English- new as of November 28, 2008) |
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SIVA'S FURY - DAKSADaksa savors Siva's fury |
| The soul according to Saiva Siddhanta |
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Siva-Sutras Supreme Identity of individual soul with the Universal Soul. |
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Spandakarikas Divine Creative Pulsation. |
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UNMAI_VILAKKAM Elucidation or Explication of Truth. |
| Japan, Buddhism, Hinduism | Buddhism-Vivekananda | Buddhist India |
This month's highlighted articles below
Vishnu Pages
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vadakalai_tenkalai
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photos
| St.Patrick's Cathedral in New York | Washington_National_Cathedral_Photos | INDIA INDEPENDENCE DAY NEW YORK CITY 2009 | ||
| CHENNAI SCENES | artworks NYC | |||
Bhagavad-Gita:Chapters
| BG01 | BG02 | BG03 | BG04 | BG05 | BG06 | BG07 | BG08 | BG09 |
| BG10 | BG11 | BG12 | BG13 | BG14 | BG15 | BG16 | BG17 | BG18 |
Bhagavadgita Chapters 01-18 in Crisp SanskritLSU Laser Font, Transliteration, word superscription, and Word for Word Translation and rearrangement of superscript words for easy reading in English.. (Each word(s) is/are colored, numbered and rearranged for easy reading of Bhagavadgita in sentences.) The SanskritLSU is a Unicode Laser font. The price is $18.00 USD for 18 chapters and 700 verses. I will upload the PDF file to your Email address after payment is received. The disc can be had for $22.00 for shipment within USA and $25.00 for shipment outside USA.
Veeraswamy Krishnaraj. Contact: myumbra-bgusa@yahoo.com
The following file(s) (18 Chapters and 700 verses) costs USD 18.00 for email upload in PDF format and $22.00 for DVD within US and $25.00 for shipment outside US. Method of payment is through Paypal, the beneficiary being Veeraswamy Krishnaraj.
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BGALLCOLOR.pdf
3181.08KB (3257428 bytes) The above file has all 18 chapters of the Bhagavadgita in Sanskrit, transliteration, colorized words for easy identification, word 4 word translation, superscription of words, rearrangement of words in a readable form in English. This is the best you can get on the internet in one file. This file will be uploaded and sent to you as an attachment to your email upon payment of fees. The above file (18 Chapters and 700 verses) costs USD 18.00 for email upload in PDF format and $22.00 for DVD within US and $25.00 for shipment outside US. Method of payment is through Paypal, the beneficiary being Veeraswamy Krishnaraj. There is a delay between payment and upload because of verification and notification by paypal. You can see the sample below. Please don't forget to include your email address to which the file will be attached by me. Or you may pay as below. Go to Paypal.com and click on Business → Send Money → Send money on line (to my email address: myumbra-bgusa@yahoo.com) and follow instructions and enter appropriate amount in USD. When the transaction is complete, I will be notified and your file will be uploaded in your email. |
Sample below: Bhagavadgita Verse 18.66 (1 of 700 Verses)
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सर्वधर्मान्परित्यज्य मामेकं शरणं व्रज । अहं त्वां सर्वपापेभ्यो मोक्षयिष्यामि मा शुचः ॥१८- ६६॥
sarvadharmān parityajya mām
ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
sarva-dharmān1
parityajya2 mām3
ekam4 śaraṇam vraja5
parityajya2 = abandoning; sarva-dharmān1 = all duties; śaraṇam vraja5 = take refuge; mām3 = in Me; ekam4 = only. • aham6 = I; mokṣyayiṣyāmi9 = shall deliver; tvā7 = you; sarva-pāpebhyaḥ8 = from all sins. • ma10 = do not; śucaḥ11 = worry.18.66
18.66:
Abandoning all duties, surrender unto
Me only. I shall deliver you from all sins. Copyright © 2009 Veeraswamy Krishnaraj |
These 18 files in one PDF format file are available for upload into your email for a fee as mentioned above. The above verse is a sample.
| bg01-Sanskrit | bg02-Sanskrit | bg03-Sanskrit | bg04-Sanskrit | bg05-Sanskrit | bg06-Sanskrit |
| bg08-Sanskrit | |||||
| bg13-Sanskrit | bg14-Sanskrit | bg15-Sanskrit | bg16-Sanskrit | bg17-Sanskrit | bg18-Sanskrit |
Ramanuja's writings:
| gadayatryam | ||||||||
| Cosmology by Ramanuja | ||||||||
| Way_hita.htm | Nature of purusartha | |||||||
HOME PAGE Free pages
Bhagavadgita Pages, Chapters 01 to 18 with commentary
BG01 BG Chapter 01 Arjuna's Distress (Contains Sanskrit Verses)
BG02 BG Chapter 02 Samkhya Yoga- The Yoga of Knowledge.
BG03 BG Chapter 03 Karma Yoga.
BG04 BG Chapter 04 The Yoga of Knowledge
BG05 BG Chapter 05 Yoga of Renunciation of Action
BG06 BG Chapter 06 The Yoga of self-control
BG07 BG Chapter 07 Knowledge and Realization
BG08 BG Chapter 08 Brahman the Imperishable
BG09 BG Chapter 09 Yoga of Sovereign Knowledge and Sovereign Secret
BG10 BG Chapter 10 Manifestation
BG11 BG Chapter 11The Grand Vision
BG12 BG Chapter 12 Bhakti
BG13 BG Chapter 13The Knower, the Field, and the Nature
BG14 BG Chapter 14The Three-Guna Psychology
BG15 BG Chapter 15 The Supreme Person
BG16 BG Chapter 16 The Divine and the Demon
BG17 BG Chapter 17 Gunas and Faith
BG18 BG Chapter 18 Renunciation and Liberation
Teachings
| Jnana, Bhakti and Karma | Incarnation | Brahman | Divine Realization | |
| Kundalini Experience | ||||
Ramana Maha Rishi (Dec 30 1879 to April 14 1950)
| pranayama | ||||
Vishnu Pages
| ANDALS_TIRUPPAVAI | Conciliator | DHRUVA | Gitagovindam by Jayadeva | Govinda |
| Krishna pictures | NARAYANEEYAM | vadakalai_tenkalai | vaishnava mantras | Vishnu Weds Lakshmi |
| Visistadvaita by Desika-Satadusani | ||||
General Pages
| TILAKAM | Brahma Sutra Chapter 1 | Hymns of Sankara | Mother_Teresa | Hindu Cosmology |
POETRY
secular pages
Miscellaneous pages
| AUM-OM | Big Wheel of Brahman | CREATION AND DISSOLUTION | ETHER THE OPPRESSOR | Guru |
| PEARLS | ||||
SIVA-SAKTI and Mother Goddess
| DEVI MAHATMYAM | BHAIRAVI | |||
| Sakti Panegyric | Siva's energy | |||
| LALITA-MAHATMYA | GAYATRI | Primer in Saiva Siddhanta | Bhakti | Kamakshi |
| Sakti panegyric | Mantra | Saiva Sect | Devotion | Consort of Siva |
| TATTVAS-36 | MANTRA | BINDU | SIVA HEIRARCHY | LORD OF DANCE |
| building blocks of universe | origin of universe | Nataraja | ||
| Ganesa | DAKSHINAMURTI | TANTRA | Kundalini Power | OM NAMASIVAYA |
| Lord of beginnings | Siva | Siva mantra | ||
| MAHAVIDYAS | KALI | PATI | SIVAM | DURGA |
| 10 forms of Sakti | Siva | Sakti | ||
| FIERY LINGAM | SADASIVA | Siva-one is many | Sabda or Sound | Ardhanarisvara |
| Aniconic form of Siva | Siva- Grace giver | Androgynous Siva | ||
| Parvati | The Red Mountain | YOGI | Kularnava Tantra | PANCHADASI |
| Consort of Siva | Temple town-Siva | Brahman & Atman | ||
| CREATION CASCADE | The Saktas | SIVA'S FURY | Mahisasura | MULAR'S VIEW OF EVOLUTION |
| Sakti worshippers | Buffalo demon | |||
| Avadhuta | CREATION AND DISSOLUTION | |||
| one who divorced the world | ||||
TiruManTiraM TMTM: Saiva Siddhanta:
| TMTM Epilogue | TMTM01 | TMTM02 | TMTM03 | TMTM04 |
| verse 1031 TMTM |
Veeraswamy Krishnaraj
Copyright © 2004. All rights reserved.
Revised: 11/19/09.
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Here is a link for you to look up the meaning of Sanskrit words
http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/etgloss/sar-sec.htm
You see many stars in the night sky but not when the sun rises. Can you therefore say that there are no stars in the heavens during the day? O man, because you cannot find God in the days of ignorance, say not that there is no God.--Ramakrishna on God
BHAGAVAD-GITA
Welcome to my Web site!
BHAGAVAD-GITA
Friends:
I translated the verses in simple English and tried as much as possible
not to bring the reader to a standstill with a need to dive and delve in the
dictionary. I did all the needed diving and delving necessary to understand
the difficult words and phrases and present them to the reader in the clearest
and the most objective manner. Materials from reputable Sanskrit-English
Dictionaries and Hindu religious books helped me explain the Sanskrit words
and phrases and keep the flow supple, simple, and fluid. Here I am a student
as much as you are.
This is a labor of love. This book’s intent is not to advance a particular religious slant, for all religions have universal Truths, which I find in Bhagavad-Gita. You will find reference to all religions and their Truths in the commentary section.
Religion (re + ligare = back + tie, bind, fasten, bring) tells that religion ties the man back to his source or brings man back to his source. Ligare, ligate, ligature are cognate words. Hindu religion calls it Nvirrti (involution-- centripetal movement of the soul to the Great Soul). It tells that man is disconnected from his Source, the Being, Atman; religion reestablishes the connectedness between the individual soul and the Great Soul of the Universe. Thus all souls upon being tied back to its source become one with the source; that is absorption, liberation from the material world, Nirvana or Moksa.
To the Western, Indian Religion generally seems a "jungle" of contradictory beliefs amidst which he is lost. Only those who have understood its main principles can show them the path. Sir John Woodroffe.
Below, you will find explanations why Hindu gods have more body parts than usual. If you ask any mother with four youngsters, she will tell you that she wished she had four hands. Another facet that fascinates people in the west is that the Hindu gods are married and have children like the human counterparts. Let me assure you that they are not married. Their so-called consorts are their powers. If god happens to have four wives, that means he has four extraordinary powers (Sakti), portrayed as four wives. Devout Hindus believe that the Gods and Goddesses are married and have families. You heard the expression from an angry wife to her husband: "Are you married to me or to your job?" That job is compared to a spouse.
Bhagavad-Gita, as the saying goes, is the
Lord's song. It was a two-way communication between God and man, between
friends, and between relatives. It tells us, on the one hand that Arjuna
surrendered to Lord Krishna as His devotee and on the other hand, they were
friends and blood relatives. Put yourself in Arjuna's place: Arjuna like any
other rational human being had his doubts about the authenticity of Krishna
Himself and His advice.
Take a look at Chapter Four:
4:
Arjuna said: Your birth was later and Vivasvat's birth was earlier. Then how
am I to know or understand that you declared this to him (Vivasvat) in the
beginning?
5:
Sri Bhagavan said: Many of my lives have passed. You also had many births. O
Arjuna, I know them all but you do not, the chastiser of enemies.
6:
Though I am unborn, imperishable and the Lord of beings–Isvarah, and although
established in My own nature, I come into being by My own māyā power (Ātma-māyāyin).
It took Lord Krishna most of eighteen
chapters to tell Arjuna that He is the original source of the known and the
unknown. Krishna displayed His patience, kindness, compassion, composure (in
the face of doubt, dread, doom, and gloom), and love. He also showed the true
nature of a gentleman, a friend, a charioteer, a relative, a philosopher, a
guru, and a God in allaying the fears of a doubting Arjuna.
We are all devotees of Krishna or God who
extends his friendship to us, and our “self” is a chip off the Old Block, the
Greater Self or Lord Krishna or God. By extension, all humanity and all living
souls are chips off the Old Block. We are chips in a figurative and literal
sense. According to Nimbarka, each soul is individualistic and at the same
time organically dependent on Brahman. The Higher Self does not dwindle or
contract; It (the Self) is like a lit candle, which does not become less
bright when it gives light to other candles. However, the original light
source is like the sun and of great effulgence and we are like the little
candles. Ramanuja says that our individual souls are like sparks coming off
the fire. All living beings are reflections of the Higher Self as all
reflections in jars of water are reflections of the sun.
We are all related to one another and related
to God. Science offers proof that all living entities share some common genes
and qualities. Genetic studies prove this unity in existence. Bacterium and
man share some genes. This is called horizontal transfer from bacteria.
Scientists say that the bacterial genes came into the human cell and set up
housekeeping outside the nucleus of the cell. These bacterial genes came to be
known as Mitochondria. The human nucleus found some uses (symbiosis) for these
bacterial mitochondrial genes and incorporated some of them into human
chromosomes.
James Gorman in his NYTimes article puts it humorously the following tidbit.
I’m delighted to be related to flies, yeast, frogs, chimps and blue-green algae. I find the serenity of algae restful and the ambition of yeast admirable. Frogs are great jumpers. Chimps have hands at the end of their feet, sort of. And fruit flies, well, I never met a fruit fly that I was ashamed to share genes with, and I certainly can’t say that about human beings.
Human Insulin gene introduced in bacteria produces human insulin, that we use everyday. By extension, those bacteria have the potential to become a human being. According to Richard Dawkins in his book The Ancestor's Tale, page 13, our history is evolutionary and all living creatures are cousins. Humans and bacteria have DNA sequences which are so similar that whole paragraphs are word-for word identical (Page 24). (As we look at the Grand Tree of Life, we see Origin, Grand Confluence, Trunk, Primary branching points, secondary branches, rendezvous points at many branching Vs, terminal branches and the rest, we trace life back to a repository of DNA of all life, the Stem Substance, Avyaktam (the Unmanifest) and Aksaram (the Indestructible).
This is the message of Hinduism. If
bacteria have the potential to become a human being, the latter should have
the potential to become god. This means that a human being can become more
sattvic (virtue, goodness) than he is now. Man is an incarnate of God in a
limited and restricted sense. All beings from plants to bacteria to animals to
man have sentience, which the plants and the bacteria have in the least
amount, the animals have in a small amount and man has in the most amount.
That common sentience is the basis for nonviolence to any, or at the most as
slight (a violence) as possible.
What is the purpose of all these beings from
bacteria, through plants through animals to human beings? It is the evolution
of the soul and it has a cosmic compulsion in it: All souls have this
compulsion to excel. The mouse becomes man by moving up the soul's
evolutionary ladder; it is the soul's ascent and the body can range from that
of an ameba to man. The chimp in its cosmic compulsion to excel loses its
tail, walks on two feet, struts along, and becomes a champion of a human
being. On the same cosmic compulsive trait, man becomes god. Our lower traits
recede and the higher traits evolve or take hold. We left our tail, we left
our jungle habitats, we are now human beings, and we are on our way up the
ladder. In the pursuit of higher transcendental consciousness, the yogis, the
Rishis and the Munis are the trailblazers: Krishna, Buddha, and Jesus.
Let me explain the seeming incongruities
in the presentation as far as evolution of the soul and the body containing
the soul. The soul is important here; the body is secondary, and the latter is
only a vessel holding the individual soul. The individual soul can ascend or
descend up and down the ladder of flora and fauna, depending on its Prārabda
karma. When I say that we left our tail and that we are human beings now, it
means the individual soul cast off the body of the chimp or any of the members
of the kingdom of flora and fauna and now has taken residence in the human
body. It is the soul's journey through the plant, animal, and human bodies,
until it reaches the Greater Soul.
While a roundworm and a fruit fly have
19K and 13K genes respectively, a human being has only 30K active genes. Take
a flowering plant, Arabidopsis thaliana. The common name for this weed
belonging to the mustard family and containing 25k genes is mouse-ear cress.
How is it that a human being is so much more complicated, and yet has only
twice the number of genes as a roundworm or a fruit fly and that he is only 5K
genes above a flowering plant? So much for our pride and ego.
Man has all the genes
that a mouse has; we have only 300 genes that are special to human beings:
Genetically speaking we are mouse first and human later.
It appears that every step or rung of the
spiral DNA ladder that is new and advanced and that we climb, we become that
much more complicated. The coding regions, namely the exons, join (splice)
together in different sequences, or one or more exons dropped or new ones
added, to produce cascades resulting in new proteins. Man’s DNA structure and
proteins are the most complicated and highly evolved in the animal kingdom.
Man's genes undergo mutation twice as fast as the woman’s do. It can spearhead
an evolutionary process or produce maimed bodies or minds. This goes to back
the Christian view of Adam and Eve, and the Hindu view of Prajapati splitting
into two parts, resulting in two beings, a man and woman.
There is a commonality of DNA among all members
of the flora and fauna; that DNA is basis for the physical body. Those DNA
strands are interchangeable between animals and plants. There is a soul in all
sentient beings and insentient objects. This individual soul in every member
of these two kingdoms is the same, but its distance from and degree of
awareness of the Greater Soul makes the difference between the men and mice.
We share DNA and soul in varying degrees of sophistication from ameba to man;
the body and soul come from the Lord who pervades the whole universe. That is
why the Lord’s other name is “All Pervader,” Vishnu.
The gene machine that makes proteins in
our body is similar to the gene machine in animals. The insulin that we make
in our body is no different–with minor variations– from the insulin, which
pigs or other mammals make. You see the biological connection here.
The Lord appeared in this world in many
forms. The Avatars in chronological order were Varaha, Narasimha, Kurma,
Matsya, Vamana, Parasurama, Rama, Krishna, and Buddha.
Kalkin the future Avatar will come in the
form of a Brahmana or a warrior riding on a white horse. A reference to the ocean as the source
of life occurs in Text 12 of Brahmasamhita. The ocean sprang from Lord
Narāyana, who is the resting-place of the ocean. Nara: the waters of the
causal ocean. Ayana: the resting-place.
From left to right:
1. Matsya (Fish)
2. Vamana (Dwarf)
3. Narasimha (Man-Lion, Chimera)
4. Kalkin (Yet to incarnate)
Enlarge the pictures for greater details.
Kurma is tortoise; Matsya is fish; Varaha is boar; Narasimha is man-lion: the upper part is lion and the lower part is human. Narasimha, the man-lion, is a chimera (a composite) in a subtle and gross sense, a transitional being between animal and man with no dilution of the efficacy of the avatar. Narasimha Avatar indicates that Bhagavan exists in animals, human and insentient objects, the last because he emerged from a palace pillar to save His devotee, Prahalada from his own father's cruelty. Vamana is a human dwarf. Parasurama, Rama, and Krishna are the other human avatars (incarnations). It is my understanding that any sensed evolutionary model in these incarnations, in consideration of chronological aberration, does not hold water, though an existence of evolutionary concept in the incarnations can not be ruled out. Fish, Tortoise, Boar, Man-Lion, and Dwarf incarnations suggest an evolutionary thread in that fish with rudimentary limbs and a mobile neck from the sea came on land, morphed into a land animal, later to a chimera of animal and man through very many links, and still later a dwarf (the first men were dwarfs compared to us). The recent discovery of a fossil (Tiktaalik, 2004 Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada) of a four to nine feet long flat fish (that lived 375 million years ago) with a rudimentary neck and limblike fins that could propel it from out of water to land is widely acclaimed as the missing link of evolution coming out of the seas.
It is said by the devotees of Krishna that sterile writings of historians depict Krishna as a composite and a conflation of four personalities: Cowherd, Casanova, Machiavelli and Yogi of Yogis. To the devotees he is an Avatar and a conflation of Sat, Chit, and Ananda.
The Ten Avatars of Vishnu (Dasavatara): 1. Fish, 2. Tortoise, 3. Boar, 4. Narasimha, 5. Vamana, 6. Parasurama, 7. Ramachandra, 8. Krishna, 9. Buddha, 10. Kalki.
There is a battle raging between creationists and evolutionists. There is a new entrant in the fray. His advocacy of “Intelligent Designer Theory” rests on the belief that certain complexities in proteins cannot explain simple evolutionary theory. The Designer Theorists believe there is an Intelligent Being designing the complexities and putting them into biological processes. Some denounce "intelligent design as a religious belief masquerading as a secular idea."
We have not seen the end of this pursuit
yet. The Brahman is too complex for the human mind to grasp. However, every
step is in the right direction towards Truth, which reveals itself more with
each step. Upanishads still lead in revealing “Truth”. Could it be possible
that “Intelligent Designer” is another name for Brahman?
A common question faced by Hindus is why
Hindus worship so many gods and goddesses. I suppose they mean that one
generic god should be good enough. A reasonable question. Yes, Hindus do have
a generic God, namely Nirguna Brahman, a nameless, formless God or Entity
without attributes, which do not connote a moral dimension. It means the human
mind is so limited to fathom the depth, breadth, and form of a God that God is
without attributes.
All Hindu Gods are names and forms of this Nirguna Brahman. Generics are as good as patents. However, who is listening? A car with four wheels, a roof, an engine, and a steering wheel takes you where you want to go. Why do people go shopping and test-driving different makes and models of cars? You like one car and not the other. Hindus call this liking “Ishta.” Hindus go shopping for their Ishta-devata, meaning a god of their liking. When it comes to gods, we can make a choice: true democratic values. It is all about choices. Particular Ishta Devata fits well with the psychological makeup of the votary. Joseph Campbell observes, "The Indians speak of one's "chosen" deity; one's own peculiar psychology is what determines the image that will speak to one most eloquently and carry one onto the higher planes."
Hindus know that God takes a person from this
material world to a spiritual world or heaven, as a car takes a person from
one place to another place. Hindus would rather have a reliable, patented,
certified, documented, tested, and true God loaded with choices. The brand
name Gods come in different colors, shapes, power, options, and warranties.
Periodic maintenance includes festivals, fasts, yogas, prayers, and
pilgrimages. We believe in one God, but give Him many names, forms, and
attributes.
Nirguna Brahman manifests as Isvara and projects many aliases: that is his
Maya. People of different
religions are deluded (by his maya) into thinking that alias Krishna, Siva,
Allah or The Lord is different from that Universal God or Isvara, whom I call
the Polynomial God – a Sum of gods, each god has a variable raised to a power
and multiplied by a coefficient.
When was the last time you thought of your father or mother as a formless
abstract idea? A form and a name help connect a name to a form. It is
difficult to imagine God or Goddess as formless and nameless, though He or She
is such. The mental image of a form and a name helps the mind anchor and focus
on God. According to Sankara, who believes in a formless and nameless Brahman,
image worship, chanting of mantras, meditation, and contemplation on one's own
self are the many means towards realization; sequentially, the latter is
better than the former and the last is the best and the highest form of
worship. When realization sets in, the means mean nothing and fall by the
wayside.
Do you want to worship a God who sits in His impersonal glory in the heavenly palace up there in deep freeze, out of reach, looking down, dispensing justice, and not caring? I do not think so. You want somebody who is personable, friendly, close and understanding, but not awe-inspiring, forbidding, formidable, jealous, and punishing. He wants to be kind, loving, caring, and helpful. He invites attachment, love, friendship, Vatsalya (mother-child relationship), and devotion. He does not even mind hatred, fear and any of the other myriad feelings towards Him. He seems to say, "Love Me once, you are free (liberation/moksa); hate Me once, your are free; ignore Me once, you will fry in hell. The Gopis attained liberation (moksa) by love, Kamsa by fear, Sisupala by hatred, Pandavas by friendship, Yadhavas by attachment, Narada by devotion. The key is thinking and remembering the Lord in love, fear, hate, friendship, attachment, devotion or any one of myriad feelings. The Lord seems to say, "Ignore me at your own peril." That is why Hindus have given names, forms, and attributes to God for them to worship.
The resulting personal gods come from that one Nirguna Brahman, with special emphasis on their individual marks. Carbon is the common element among graphite, graphene, diamond, soot, charcoal, nanotubes, nanofoam, and buckyballs (Buckminster Fullerines). They are of the same basic element, but of different qualities and usefulness. Each entity differs in its configuration and arrangement of atoms. Same is true of gold. An aggregate of 20 gold atoms make a pyramid; 16 atoms make a cage. This is true of different gods and yet they are all derivatives of One Nirguna Brahman.
Hindus worship gods ranging from wind,
earth, fire, to Nirguna Brahman. Would you like to explain the intricacies of
Dvaita and Advaita philosophies to a snake worshipper? I do not think so.
However, such a supposition runs counter to the notion that we are all equal
in the eyes of God. God by His nature and qualities must be an egalitarian.
Ecclesiastic and scriptural elitism must rise above sophistry, and nourish the
devotees with sops worthy of easy digestion and understanding. Should the
scripturally naive worry about superimposition, sublation, time, space, and
causation? One sees the all-powerful God in the snake and the other sees God
in Nirguna Brahman. Their love for God is equal, and the Love that God has for
both is equal. It is the love and devotion that matter, not the “object” one
worships.
The Self is the same in the snake
worshipper and the yogi practicing Jnāna yoga. The Self at both ends of the
spectrum and in-between sees unequalness only in the excellence of the mind;
yet all have the potential for eventual moksa (liberation).
If one wants to worship an egg as God, one
should have that freedom and choice. Hinduism has a god for everyone ranging
from an atheist and animal worshipper to a monist. That an atheist denies the
existence of God is a declaration that he is God Himself. The great Vāc (Great
Saying) “Tat Tvam Asi,” “That Thou art” stands witness to his stance.
The Lord is Sarvatma (atma of all beings); therefore, He is Jivatma and Paramatma (the individual soul and Supreme Soul); there is no difference between Jivatma and Paramatma; Jivatma is another name for Paramatma from whom Jivatma came. This is what is meant by Tat tvam asi, --That thou art.
Hindus face this question every day:
Why do Hindu Gods have extra body parts?
Let me tell you right off that God did
not ask for any appendages or body parts. Man realized the limits of his own
body and body parts, and the omniscience, omnipotence and omnipresence of God.
How is man going to translate these awesome qualities of God in physical and
mental terms? Man knows well those body parts that he owns himself.
According to Sruti mantras, God does not have any of the anthropomorphic features or human body parts. He is Consciousness; He has no hands but accepts any devotional offerings; He has no feet, but can go anywhere; He has no physical eyes but can see anything. Brahma-samhita says that each of the special senses of God and other organs are omniscient, omnipotent and “omnifunctional,” meaning that His eye can see, hear, eat, taste and grasp. He fertilizes by His glance. There is a condition in human beings known as synesthesia, by which a synesthete (the person) tastes shapes, feels colors, sees sounds; and perceives sounds, letters, and numbers as colors. There must be something in the wiring of the brain which facilitates sound perceived as color. If man has this ability, it is not hard to imagine that God can do all functions with one or no organ.
He is the undeclared and the Real Father
of all living beings; we share His DNA base by base; He is the soul in each
one of us.
God's extra body parts are symbols of extraordinarily divine qualities. The
gods also hold their body parts in certain special ways to tell a meaning or
Truth and this is Mudra or symbol. Let me explain a common symbol or mudra
that we use every day. When you oppose the thumb with the forefinger at their
tips to form a circle with the other three fingers extended, we mean that
everything is perfect or the intended goal is in sight. This particular mudra,
called Bhadra Mudra, symbolizes silence. A Guru, seated in front of his
disciples, in Bhadra Mudra pose, is telling the pupils that reflection on a
Truth in silence is more revealing than much verbiage. It also means the union
of the individual soul with the Higher Soul, namely Paramatman.
Vishnu holds the discus, the lotus
flower, the conch, and the club by the right upper, the right lower, the left
upper, and the left lower hands respectively. The conch represents the origin
of primal sound OM, and the call Vishnu makes to draw the attention of man to
His Higher Self. The club represents His power to inflict punishment or
subdue; the discus represents the time (wheel of Time) that remains in Him and
it stands for mind, concentration, and control of body. The lotus flower is
the symbol of purity and peace. The fully bloomed lotus also represents
blossoming Vijnāna, intuitive divine wisdom in a man who turned a leaf and
became a yogi. This carrot-and-stick approach (the lotus flower and the club)
helps the soul go forward to its destination: moksa, without gathering any
karma on its long march.
Brahma, the God of creation, has four heads and
four hands, all for good reasons:
each head represents one Veda, book of revelation. Since he is the creator,
his hands symbolize the evolving constituents of prakriti namely the mind, the
intellect, the ego, and the consciousness. He sits on a lotus flower, which
represents unfolding of the universe and wisdom. Lord Vishnu created Brahma,
who by His portfolio had to be skillful, both in cerebral and physical ways.
Imagine that each head is an independent processor or thinking apparatus. All
four heads or processors put together have much brainpower: you may call it
one-god or one-person think tank. He creates and so needs that redundant
brainpower.
Siva has a vertical
third eye (with upper eyelashes to his right) in His forehead;
it has multifarious roles; it is the
high point of divine vision and wisdom, and when it opens, it is the
annihilator of the universe with dissolution of duality, forms, and names. The
third eye is also the destroyer of darkness (Tamas), and the epicenter of
wisdom (Jnāna), and that glabellar meditative locus is a plane in Kundalini
Yoga.
Ganesa, the elephant-faced God, can
create and remove obstacles for man and gods.
Lord Ganesa was all ears, when He learned Vedanta and that is why He
has large ears. He is a good listener; He has the memory of an elephant; once
He hears, He never forgets. That is why Sage Vyasa dictated Mahabharata to
Lord Ganesa. His Vāhana (vehicle of transport), the mouse, stands for the
desire that eats (expunges) all good merits and therefore man should control
the desire in him, and attain liberation.
His trunk is so versatile that it has the
delicacy and the sensitivity to pick up a blade of grass and the strength to
lift heavy objects; further, it symbolizes his highly evolved intellect,
discriminative wisdom, and unparalleled awareness of the inner workings of
gunas– Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas. His two tusks represent the dualities, such
as pleasure and pain, love and hate, good and evil, right and wrong; the trunk
between these two tusks symbolizes the discriminate choice he makes between
the two components of each duality; and the broken tusk symbolizes
transcendence of the dualities. His extraordinary and humongous appetite
symbolizes the zest for life under all conditions. His grace helps roast the
karmic seeds easing the passage of the soul into moksa.
There are goddesses in the Hindu
pantheon. Mahalakshmi, Sarasvati, and Durga are known and worshipped all over
India. There are many others, some of local fame.
Mahalakshmi, commonly known as Lakshmi, is the primary and first consort of Visnu. Her other names are Sri, Padma, Kamala, Cancala and Ashtalakshmis. She came out of the milk ocean with a lotus in her hand and was taken as a consort by Visnu according to her wish and by choice of the Lord himself. She is sakti of Visnu or Narayana. She is the primary goddess from whom all other goddesses emanated, and so, is the Mother goddess. When Lakshmi emerged from the milk ocean, she had four arms (like Vishnu) with conch, disc and lotus. She is amsa of Vishnu, having emerged from Vishnu in Srikalpa. Does it not remind you of Eve coming out of Adam? She is the resident agent for creation, sustenance and destruction of the universe. She is a form of Brahman.
She is endowed with Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas, manifesting each as the occasion and the role demand. Visnu Purana eulogizes her in the eighth chapter. She is eternal, imperishable, all-pervading, and omnipresent. She is the mediator between the devotees of Visnu and Visnu. Her role in relation to Visnu is complementary, though Visnu by himself needs no complement from any one. While Visnu is meaning, Sri is speech. When Visnu takes on the role of Siva, she becomes Gauri, the consort of Siva. Sri is the heavens and Visnu is the space. She is the light and he is the moon. Sometimes the role is reversed. Lakshmi is the light and Hari (Visnu) is the lamp. He is Yama and she is his spouse, Dhumorna. Visnu is the tree and Sri is the vine. He is all that is male and she is all that is female.
Whatever form Visnu takes in the universe, Sri
is always his consort. Their names change but they are always with each other
from beginningless time till eternity.
There are many associations of Lakshmi with many gods.
According to
BG10.41, whatever being has vitality, splendor, and power, know that to
be a manifestation of a fragment of my splendor. In whoever you find that
fragment of the Lord, one sees Lakshmi there too, because they are
inseparable.
At sublation, she plays the role of
Mahakali, also known as Durga, who has ten emanations of her own: Durga;
Simhavahini, the rider of the lion; Mahasuramardini, the killer of Mahisa;
Jagaddhatri, slayer of giants; Kali, the killer of giant Raktavija; Muktakesi,
the killer of more giants; Tara, the killer of Sumbha; Chinnamasta, slayer of
Nisumba; and Jagadgauri, the protector and deliverer of gods from demons.
As Parvati, she is the consort of Siva.
Mahalakshmi’s emanation, Mahasarasvati,
is the goddess of learning, arts and music. Sattva guna (virtue) is the
dominant mode in Sarasvati, whose powers are Sraddha, faith; Rddhi,
prosperity; Kala, arts; Medha, intelligence; Tushti, satisfaction; Pushti,
prosperity; Prabha, radiance; and Mati, judgment. A river was named after her,
which is only a dry riverbed now.
Because she is the goddess of learning, image of her carrying the Vedas and a
Vina, the stringed musical instrument, is hung in the libraries and worshipped
with flowers.
Some students of Hindu mythology believe
that Laksmi represented certain desirable qualities for king and those
qualities assumed an ontological form. The qualities are power, radiance,
fortune, beauty, spirituality, and auspiciousness. Her depiction with
elephants and lotus flower represents royalty, fertility, fortune and
spirituality.
Mahalakshmi is Yoganidra in Visnu.
(Yoganidra is personified as Mahalakshmi.) When the creative process is about
to happen, Yoganidra power in Vishnu jumps out of slumber in the form of
Mahalakshmi who fulfills the function of Brahma, Vishnu and Siva.
Lakshmi is worshipped and celebrated during Deepavali festival for prosperity in one’s chosen field. It is a festival of lights, which drives away Lakshmi’s sister Alakshmi who is an embodiment of poverty, hunger, and want.
Krishna Lila titillates the prurient fancy of many in the West, India, and the rest of the world. The scenario depicts eight Gopis in various poses and stages of undress in the lake and Krishna sitting on a tree by the lakeside with their clothes. This is the explanation. The eight gopis or milkmaids are personification of eight bonds; the stolen clothes represent the inauspicious qualities that mislead the Jiva (soul) into Samsara without any possibility of escape. When the qualities are removed and the jiva is separated from the bonds, Jiva attains liberation from Samsara (metempsychosis, birth and rebirth).
◄►To the Western, Indian Religion generally seems a "jungle" of contradictory beliefs amidst which he is lost. Only those who have understood its main principles can show them the path.
For the Hindu there is the Agama which contains forms of discipline which his race has evolved and are therefore prima facie suitable for him. This is not to say that these forms are unalterable or acceptable to all. Others will adopt other forms of Sadhana suitable to them. Thus, amongst Christians, the Catholic Church prescribes a full and powerful Sadhana in its Sacraments (Samskara) and Worship (Puja, Upasana), Meditation (Dhyana), Rosary (Japa) and the like. But any system to be fruitful must experiment to gain experience, The significance of the Tantra Shastra lies in this that it claims to afford a means available to all, of whatever caste and of either sex, whereby the truths taught may be practically realized.
◄► Sir John Woodroffe, 1918.
I am One and many are my forms.
Students who are familiar with various Hindu religious sects read self-description of major gods that he or she is the Primary God. Some of the following self-descriptive statements bear this out. I am Brahman; I am second to none; if you remember me at the time of death, you will attain liberation and be free of miseries of the world and samsara. If you worship other gods, you are really worshipping me alone, because I am the recipient of all sacrifices.
Mother Goddess (there are several--Devi, Mahalaksmi, Sarasvati, Mahakali and more), Siva and Vishnu (Krishna) make exactly the same statements. It goes to confirm that they are one and the same and their manifestations are many for the benefit of the devotees. The Mother Goddess claims that she gave birth to the three gods: Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesvara (Siva). Do not let that confuse you. Mother Goddess is Sakti; with Siva she is Siva-Sakti. How could she be a Mother while she is also a consort of Siva? This is where the concept of "One is many" comes in. The Cosmic show is one-person act; One player takes many rolls. He or She can take forms any way that will bring benefit to the devotee. Let me elaborate on the Mother aspect of manifest Brahman. This subject needs more attention and study. Mother goes on to claim status of the Primal One and the First Goddess to the exclusion of all genders (male and neuter). I am Brahman; I assume the role of female form. I give birth to the universe. I am Sakti; Purusa joins me and becomes Sakti-Siva, which every one should worship to attain enjoyment and liberation. I provide Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksa to all beings including Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesvara. I am Isvari. I am the source of Maya, which is the material cause of the universe and yet I am far away from it (meaning that she is transcendent and Pure Consciousness and she is immune to her own Exomaya, which afflicts Jiva.) In my unmanifest form of Brahman (Daksinakalika), I have no attributes; Maya-created Jiva cannot perceive me because I am so far away from and beyond the reach of Maya. My body is made of Mantras and Tantras and all Sastras proceed from me. I am Mahakaala (The Great Time); at the time of dissolution, I swallow and destroy the universe. Many times these self-descriptions come in the form of eulogy from Siva.
Thomas Carlyle says, "If a book come (sic) from the heart, it will contrive to reach other hearts; all craft and authorcraft are of small amount to that."
Sankaracharya says in Bajagovindam, "Adore Govinda (the Lord), O fool, rules of grammar will not save you, when you have a tryst with Time (Death). The purport is that Apara Vidya (arts and sciences), inferior knowledge, will not help you at the time of death; Para Vidya (knowledge of the Supreme) will take you home, when Time calls on you.
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Bhagavadgita Pages, Chapters 1 to 18
BG01 BG02 BG03 BG04 BG05 BG06 BG07 BG08 BG09 BG10 BG11 BG12 BG13 BG14 BG15 BG16 BG17 BG18
V.Krishnaraj
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