Folk lore folks just nicely imagined and written poem. by a famous writer.
Thursday, July 2, 2020
k N
King Nimi
According to the Hindu Puranas, it is believed that there are four great yugas - Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dwapara Yuga and the Kali Yuga. In the Satya Yuga, people generally lived very happily and in harmony with each other and with Nature and all the realms were open to all the people. As the other yugas came, people get more and more corrupt and the other realms other than the Earth was closed down to people, because people focused more and more only on materialistic pleasures. It is also believed that the present age is the Kali Yuga which is considered to be the Dark Age of sin.
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The new yuga was started by Manu who was the son of Lord Surya, the Sun God. Nimi was the grandson of Manu.
Once Nimi wanted to perform a particularly difficult fire sacrifice – a yagna which could go on for many years. The yagna if successful would benefit Nimi's people enormously.
However as Nimi continued with the preparations for the yagna, he realized that he had a serious problem. The yagna was not an ordinary fire sacrifice and he needed an exceptionally powerful sage as the presiding priest for it.
Nimi searched everywhere and finally settled on Sage Vasishta to be the presiding sage.
"Great Sage. I am performing a yagna for the benefit of my people. Kindly preside over it."
Vasishta frowned. "When are you going to start the yagna?"
"As soon as possible sir." Nimi said surprised.
Vasishta's face drooped. "I am afraid I cannot come now. You see, Indra, the king of the Devas is performing a yagna now. I have promised him that I would preside over his yagna. I cannot break my word to him."
Nimi was silent as he studied the sage.
The sage could complete Indra's yagna and then come to perform his Yagna.
But Indra's yagna could go on for a very long time.
Nimi’s yagna was meant for the welfare of his people.
Could he afford to wait for the sage?
Sage Vasishta was also thinking. The King has come to me first and he has come to me with all humility, love and respect. I cannot turn him back empty handed. I will go to his yagna immediately after I finish Indra's yagna.
Neither said anything and both walked their ways.
***********
Indra's yagna went on for a long time.
Finally, Sage Vasishta was happy because he had completed the laborious and tedious yagna of Lord Indra.
As soon as Indra's yagna was over, the first thought which occurred to Sage Vasishta was King Nimi's request.
Vasishta immediately set out to perform the yagna there.
On reaching Nimi's kingdom, however, Sage Vasishta was in for a shock. King Nimi had already started the yagna with Sage Gautham as the presiding priest.
Sage Vasishta was fuming when he saw this. He felt that the King had deliberately insulted him by starting the yagna without him. In anger the sage cursed King Nimi. "You do not even have the courtesy to wait for the sage whom you came to first. Such a man like you does not need a body. I curse you, King Nimi – you will be without a body."
King Nimi was sleeping when Sage Vasishta had come to the palace and he knew nothing of the angry sage and the curse. However that did not prevent the curse from coming true.
King Nimi's soul left the sleeping body.
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King Nimi woke up with a start when he realized that something was different.
He looked down and saw his own lifeless body and he saw that his loving subjects had surrounded the body and they were weeping.
Confused he closed his eyes and meditated.
The power of the king was considerable and he was able to divine what had gone wrong. He angrily realized that sage Vasishta had been unreasonable. Nimi was a king and was duty bound to do everything in his power for the benefit of his people. If he had waited for the sage, his people had to wait longer and as a king he could not allow that.
I had acted correctly and the sage had cursed me for it.
Unable to control himself, the angry Nimi cursed Sage Vasishta back. "You are unreasonable. I had to perform the yagna for the well being of my people. You were wrong in expecting me to wait for you. Sage Vasishta, I curse you that you would also be without a body."
The king had been a just and firm king and he had considerable spiritual prowess. His words also came true and Sage Vasishta's soul left the body.
Sage Vasishta was again reborn and regained use of his body, many years later.
Nimi roamed around in the form of a spirit and immersed himself in the Brahman (the Force which runs within us all) And now that he was not bound by his body or his responsibilities, he found the true joy of being one with the Brahman. The king became more and more strong spiritually, as he meditated continuously.
However King Nimi's people were very unhappy. They could not believe that the king who had looked after them like a father was no more. They preserved the body of the King with oils and scents and continued the yagna with more vigour.
Once the yagna was completed, the Devas came in for their offering. At that time the people presented their plea before the Devas.
"Our King was the greatest king in the world. He performed this yagna for our benefit. It was because of the yagna that his lifeless body lies there. Please help us."
"What do you want?" The Devas asked them.
"Let the King's spirit be reunited with the body. We want our king back."
Pleased with the love of the people, the Devas agreed to the request. Using their powers they summoned the King's soul and were about to put it back in the preserved body when the king yelled.
"PLEASE NO! YOU CANNOT DO THAT!"
The Devas were surprised when the king looked at them with a forlorn expression. "I am now free. I do not wish to have any more bondage. Please do not put me back in that body. I wish to continue to be free and become part of the Brahman."
"Your people wish that you have to be with them. That is the reason we are doing this."
Nimi looked at his people and memories of his subjects came to him as if from another life. But he realized that these people genuinely loved him.
He turned to the Devas and smiled at them.
"If these people want me to be with them, I will. But not in the way they wish."
The Devas were surprised.
"I have lived like a spirit for too long and I cannot be attached to a body. However, I wish to be a part of my people. I wish to be in a spirit form with them always."
The Devas granted this boon and even now Nimi is said to stay on the eyelids of people.
(It is said that people open and close their eyelids because Nimi stays there. In fact the time it takes to open and close the eyelids is called "Nimisha" in Sanskrit.)
Though Nimi's people realized that their beloved king would always be with them, they needed a real king. Without a king they could not fight the thieves and the bandits who repeatedly threatened to loot the kingdom. So they approached the sages for another remedy.
The sages looked at the King's body and decided that the body itself could be used for creating another king. Using the powers of the mind, they churned the body of the dead king and from it a glowing person emerged.
The glowing man was named Kushadhwaja and was crowned as the king of the kingdom.
Kushadhwaja was just and firm and he kept his people very happy and prosperous.
However Kushadhwaja was not known by this name.
Because he was born from a dead body, Kushadhwaja was known as Vaideha which in Sanskrit means son of the man without a body. And because Kushadhwaja was born without an actual father or mother he was called Janaka (The man without a progenitor). Kushadhwaja was also born from the churning of the mind and hence was called Miti.
It was in the line of Kushadhwaja that there was born another great king with complete spiritual awareness. Though his actual name was Siradhwaja, this king was better known by the name of his ancestor - Vaideha Janaka from Mithila – the father of Sita – the protagonist of the epic of Ramayana.
v in 4 y
- Satya Yuga (Krita Yuga, "the age of truth", or "hindu golden age") : the first and best yuga. It is the age of truth and perfection. This yuga has no crime, and all humans are kind and friendly. The Krita Yuga is so named because there is one religion, and all men are saintly : therefore they are not required to perform religious ceremonies. Humans are long living, powerfully built, honest, youthful, vigorous, erudite and virtuous. The Vedas are one. All mankind can attain to supreme blessedness. There is no agriculture or mining, as the earth yields those riches on its own. Weather is pleasant, and everyone is happy. There is no religious sect. There is no disease, decrepitude, or fear of anything. Virtue reigns supreme. Human stature is 21 cubits (33 ft, 6 inches). Average human lifespan is 100,000 years
- Treta Yuga : this is the second yuga in chronological order. However, "treta" means the "third". In this age, virtue diminishes slightly. At the beginning of the age, many emperors rise to dominance and conquer the world. Wars become frequent and weather begins to change to extremities. People become slightly diminished, compared to their predecessors. Agriculture, labour and mining become existent. There are 3 quarter virtues and 1 quarter sin. Normal human stature is 14 cubits (22 ft, 4 inches). Average human lifespan is 10,000 years.
- Dvapara Yuga : this is the third yuga in order. However, "dvapara" means "two"/"second". In this age, people become tainted with qualities, and aren't as strong as their ancestors. Diseases become rampant. Humans are discontent and fight each other. Vedas are divided into four parts. People still possess characteristics of youth in old age. Average lifespan of humans is around a few centuries. There are 1 half virtue and 1 half sin. Normal human stature is 7 cubits (11 ft, 2 inches). Average human lifespan is 1,000 years.
- Kali Yuga : the final age. It is the age of darkness and ignorance. People stop following dharma, and lack virtue. They become slaves to their passions and are barely as powerful as their earliest ancestors in the Satya Yuga. Society falls into disuse and people become liars and hypocrites. Knowledge is lost and scriptures are diminished. Humans eat forbidden and dirty food. The environment is polluted, water and food become scarce. Wealth is heavily diminished. Families become non-existent. There is 1 quarter virtue, and 3 quarter sins. Normal human stature is 3.5 cubits (5 ft, 3 inches). Average human lifespan is 100 years.
Vishnu in four yugas
Tuesday, June 30, 2020
P T L
Trees are sacred in India, and often associated with a god or a goddess. Some scholars believe that it is the tree that was worshipped first, maybe for its medicinal or symbolic purpose, and that the gods and goddesses came later. That may be the case but today trees are an integral part of a deity’s symbolism.
The Peepal tree is associated with Yama, the god of death and the tree is often planted outside the village near crematoriums.
The Peepal tree does not let a blade of grass grow under it. Thus Peepal tree does not allow for any rebirth and renewal. While Peepal offers shade from the sun, it offers no food. That is why it is not part of fertility ceremonies like marriage and childbirth where food-giving, rapidly renewing, plants with short lifespan such as Banana, Mango, Coconut, Betel, Rice and even grass, are included.
Thus, it emerges that in Indian thought, there are two types of sacredness – one that is associated with impermanent material reality and the other which is associated with permanent spiritual reality. The Banana and the Coconut fit into the previous category; the Peepal fits into the latter. Banana is the symbol of the flesh, constantly dying and renewing itself. Peepal is the soul – never dying, never renewing itself.
The 15th chapter of the Gita opens with a reference to samsara as a peepal tree. But this tree is different from other trees, for its roots are at the top! Because the peepal is a sacred tree,
Bhagavan chooses it as an example to explain samsara, And we must go through samsara in order to attain moksha. So, to that extent, samsara is essential. The peepal tree is called asvatta in Sanskrit. The word also means impermanent. So, it is an apt word to use for samsara.
But Bhagavan also uses the word avyayam, which means imperishable. How can samsara be both impermanent and imperishable? Samsara’s indestructibility is not like that of a jivatma. It is like a river. A river keeps flowing, but the water you see now is not the same that you see a few seconds from now, because of the flow. So, samsara continues, for we are reborn until we attain moksha. But samsara is destroyed through the axe of bhakti and prapatti.
The atma, however, is never destroyed. Why does the tree of samsara have its roots at the top? That is because creation begins in Brahma loka. The leaves of this tree are the Vedas. So now we are tempted to ask the question, what is the connection between the Vedas and samsara? The karmas that a person must perform are given in the Vedas. There are three types of karmas — kaamya karma, nitya karma and naimittika karma. Kaamya karma is that which is done with a view to obtaining some fruit. Nitya karmas are those that have to be done every day. One must do these karmas without questioning. Naimittika karmas are those that are done for special reasons. An example would be the observances on upakarma. The Vedas that tell us about the karmas, also tell us about the way to quit the samsaric cycle.
Monday, June 29, 2020
chatur
Caturvyūha or Chatur-vyūha ("Four emanations"), is an ancient Indian religious concept initially focusing on the four earthly emanations (Vyūhas) of the Supreme deity Nārāyaṇa, and later Vishnu. The first of these emanations is the hero-god Vāsudeva, with the other emanations being his kinsmen presented as extensions of Vāsudeva himself. From around the 1st century CE, this "Vyuha doctrine" (Vyūhavāda) developed out of the earlier Vīravāda cult of the Vrishni heroes, in which the five heroes Saṃkarṣaṇa, Vāsudeva, Pradyumna, Samba and Aniruddha had remained mostly human in character. Still later, around the 4th century CE, it evolved into the Avatāravāda system of incarnations of Vishnu, in which Vishnu was the primordial being and the Vrishni heroes had become his avatars
The four earthly emanations, or "Vyuhas", are identified as Samkarshana (Balarama-Samkarshana, son of Vasudeva by Rohini), Vāsudeva (son of Vasudeva by Devaki), Pradyumna (son of Vasudeva by Rukmini), and Aniruddha (son of Pradyumna). They are probably similar the legendary Vrishni heroes of the Mathura region, minus Samba (son of Vasudeva by Jambavati).
Originally, several of these earthly deities, particularly Vāsudeva, seem to have formed one of several major independent cults, together with the cults of Narayana, Shri and Lakshmi, before they later coalesced to form Vishnuism. The actual cult of Vishnu only developed after these initial cults were established.
The heroes would then have evolved into Vaishnavite deities through a step-by-step process: 1) deification of the Vrishni heroes 2) association with the God Narayana-Vishnu 3) incorporation into the Vyuha concept of successive emanations of the God. Epigraphically, the deified status of Vāsudeva in particular is confirmed by his appearance on the coinage of Agathocles of Bactria (190-180 BCE) and b
By the 2nd century CE, the "avatara concept was in its infancy", and the depiction of Vishnu with his four emanations (the Chatur-vyūha), consisting in the Vrishni heroes minus Samba, starts to become visible in art at the end of the Kushan period. Starting with the art of Mathura, Vāsudeva (avatar of Vishnu) fittingly appears in the center of the sculptural compositions, with his decorated heavy mace on the side and a conch shell in the hand, his elder brother Balarama to his right under a serpent hood and holding a drinking cup, his son Pradyumna to his left, and his grandson Aniruddha on top
An ancient statue from Bhita near Allahabad , with four figures facing in four directions, now in the Lucknow Museum, has been proposed to represent the Caturvyuha concept, although interpretations vary. It is dated to the 2nd century BCE on stylistic grounds, being quite similar in style to the monumental Yaksha statues.
The main figure is bigger than the others, wears a crown and earrings, as well as an ornate necklace and bracelets, and raises his hand in "abahaya mudra", a symbol of deification, and holds jar in the left hand. The figure would be Vāsudeva. To the proper right side of the crowned figure appears an unidentifiable face, and below it a seated lion. This part could identified with Samkarsana, combining anthropomorphic and theriomorphic characteristics, and later associated with Narasimha. On the proper left side of the crowned figure also appears an unidentifiable face, and below it a boar on a pedestal, standing on its hind legs, with the front legs joint in the namaskāra gesture of prayer and devotion. This could be Aniruddha, later identified with Varaha. The figure on the reverse is devoid of ornamentation, the hair is parted in the middle and falls loosely, but both arms are broken, making it impossible to identify thThis sculpture of the Caturvyuha shows the Vrishni heroes, but already associates them with their animal form. This seems to prefigure the Vishnu Chaturmurti, in which Vishnu, crowned with a halo, is also flanked by the images of Narasimha and Varaha, with Kāpila in back as seens in the examples from Kashmir.
The general style of the figures is quite similar to that of the early Yakshas, and it has been suggested that their role might have been understood as parallel: just as the Yakshas are considered as emanations of the Supreme deity Brahman, the four Vyuhas are similarly emanations of Narayana.
Sunday, June 28, 2020
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