The Indian Dharma

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the extension of the discussion on Atma-development and how we should prioritize it in our daily lives as we move forward. We witnessed some present-day challenges that we keep facing, when it comes to the development of our Atman and in turn our spiritual progress. Of course, we’re into a lifestyle that compels us to be in a hurry for everything that we keep doing in life – The resultant of which we face all sorts of problems in life, both physically and mentally. Today we witness many people suffering from mental depression and some physical ailments too that are associated with it. The best antidote for this problem is to focus inward within ourselves and our Atman. The moment we realize the significance of our Atman and how the Atman is on a much higher plane as compared to our worldly and materialistic pursuits, all our tension and worries would start coming down and we would ultimately be able to find peace. Many people nowadays are in the pursuit of “searching for peace” and ultimately we again fall into the traps of materialistic pleasures and lose their way! However, we should realize that peace doesn’t lie anywhere in the external world. Real peace and happiness is within us and it is nothing else but the process of Atma-Development that can give us immense peace and divine bliss. We should realize this point most importantly as we move forward.

Moving on further thus, Sage Kapilaachaarya continues his explanation on why we should focus inwards on our Atman. He explains clearly that if we only keep looking at the exterior world, we would always be in some sort of a fear within us. Whereas, if we try and focus our mind inwards, all that fear would automatically vanish, and we would be able to make ourselves contented. Why is Sage Kapilaachaarya saying thus? Even in today’s world, every passing day we keep witnessing in the news channels or by reading in the newspapers that someone is being killed or murdered for some cause, some untoward accident has happened and so many people have died because of it. In addition, we occasionally also read about some terrorist attacks that take place at some corner of the world and as a result, hundreds of people have lost their lives! What would happen to us if we keep reading and hearing to such news items day in and day out? Won’t we slowly start developing an inert feeling of fear and insecurity within us? Nowadays we even keep talking casually within each other that wherever we go in this world, no place is safe for leading a peaceful and a secure life. We can see here that the world has gone to that extent!

However, the media is to be blamed here too – All the bad news comes on the first page of the newspaper and if there are some constructive things that happens somewhere, these kinds of things only go to the last page or somewhere in the middle with a small column article! It is sad and unfortunate that today’s media is only projecting negative news on top priority, which automatically instills fear amongst people for no reason. This, in my opinion, is totally unwanted and could be avoided by the media – both print and visual. Although this is on one side, by merely looking at happenings around us, we feel terrified many a times! All of this contributes to our negative feelings and fear that has been imbibed into us for so many years now. We’ve to remember here that spiritual progress would happen only if we’re able to come out of this inert fear that we have. How do we now come out of this fear factor? It is only by focusing our mind inwards and by looking at our Atman. How do we do that? It is only through constant chanting of the divine names of Bhagawan and by constantly performing “Mantra-Japa” (Repeated recital of one of Bhagawan’s divine names). The moment we start getting involved into these practices, we would slowly start coming out of the fear and automatically we would start experiencing peace and bliss.

So for today, let us realize this important message that is conveyed to us by Sage Kapilaachaarya and let us try to put the message into practice. We shall wait till the next episode to witness the next message of Sage Kapilaachaarya! Stay tuned! 😊

 

 

 

 

 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the extension of Sage Kapilaachaarya’s important message on his purpose of birth in this world. Of course, Sage Kapilaachaarya incarnated during the Krita Yuga, but whatever messages he has conveyed through his life, stands valid even in today’s Kali Yuga after so many thousands of years. While he describes his purpose of incarnation, Sage Kapilaachaarya’s important agenda is to create an awareness amongst mankind that the development of our Atman (Soul) is of paramount importance. We’ve also been witnessing this important point in different dimensions during our series of discussions in the past couple of episodes. Notably yesterday we had taken this point forward to witness why people in the present-day are getting dejected very soon and for very small things too in their lives!

Yesterday, one of our esteemed readers had added more value to this whole discussion and as we move on further, I would like to share his views with our audience and it is definitely worth taking these points forward. It was indeed a very interesting and this gave an entirely different dimension to ponder about – He opines that in the present day, even school and college going students go to the extreme extent of hanging themselves, just for the petty reason that he / she has failed in one examination. This almost never happened 20-30 years ago! The reader aptly points out that as years roll by, we’re drawn by innumerable materialistic attractions and passions and we’ve totally moved away from spirituality and gaining spiritual strength. Also of course, the present-day lifestyle is full of hurry and rush for everything and anything and this also takes a heavy toll on all of us.

Yes! This is where the problem exactly lies. Till yesterday we had witnessed that we’ve to give atleast equal importance to our materialistic (both professional and personal) advancement as well as our Atman’s development. But many of us might have a question within us that whether this is possible or not! This is a major cause of worry for many of us. In fact, to go one step back in this, it is not that we’re not aware of all these messages of Atma-development. We know many of these things right from childhood as we listen to our scriptural texts right from our early age. But the main problem is that, we’re unable to balance and allocate sufficient time for this. Of course, as our reader has aptly pointed out, our lifestyle today is one of the major factors that keep pegging us back everytime when we try to make spiritual progress. In today’s scenario, all of us are in some form of hurry for everything – This hurry can be from going to office or school on time in the morning, to the pressure at the workplace, heavy academic pressure (in case of students), etc. Ultimately if we witness today, at every walk of life, we seem to keep “running” all the time! However, if we’ve to sit back for few minutes and ponder over the reasons for which we’re running so fast, many a times we do not get an answer!

This can be a good self-assessment exercise for all of us here. Let us sit for 2-3 minutes silently and ask within ourselves the following questions – What is that we’re going to achieve by running all the time? Are we spending atleast a little time for thinking about Bhagawan? We might immediately tend to give a counter here – Why should we think of Bhagawan? What has He done for us? Isn’t it a fact that it is only with His divine grace that we are in a good job and are able to earn sufficient money to sustain our life? Of course, nowadays “unemployment” is a huge threat to many people across the world – At a time when thousands of people are struggling to get a good job, we’re having one and is able to make the most of it, isn’t it? But here is a counter question – How do you say that Bhagawan has got me this job? Isn’t it because I’ve educated myself to that level and isn’t it only because of my qualifications that I’m in this position? We should remember here that there are so many educated people like us out there, who are still looking out for jobs, and here we are, with a credible job and earning a decent sum of money! If we go on pondering like this, we’ll never get answers for many questions about ourselves! However, there is some person who is making all this happen! There is somebody who is blessing us with loads of grace, so that we’re better-off as compared to many other people in this world! So, isn’t it our duty to have the basic gratitude to thank that person for bestowing us with all what we’re having today in our lives? This is where, our Atman’s development comes into the picture!

Thus, whatever might be our priorities during the day, we should try and allocate some time to think about Bhagawan and our Atman. Although we might find it difficult to do it, we should give it a try, because this is our duty. The moment we start thinking of Bhagawan and our Atman’s development, we would automatically start gaining the inner strength, which is unfortunately missing amidst many people, especially in youngsters today. The moment we focus our mind on Bhagawan, we would slowly start realizing that it is Bhagawan who is driving all of our daily activities and everything in this world, be it good or bad happens for a purpose. We are just instruments in the divine hands of Bhagawan. As Shakespeare rightly points out too – “All the worlds’ a stage and all of us are actors and actresses!” This is exactly what Sage Kapilaachaarya explains too!

So the point here is, we should realize that it is Bhagawan who drives all of our actions, minute after minute. If we’re able to surrender at the lotus feet of Bhagawan, all our tension, nervousness, mental pressure, sadness, depression, etc. would slowly start coming down. If we start realizing that it is not me, but Bhagawan who is doing all what we do, we would slowly start gaining mental strength. Once our mind becomes stronger, we would slowly be able to endure any sort of difficult situations in life and we would never go to the extent of committing suicides. Moreover, as we move on with dedicated efforts, we would slowly start realizing that all our physical and mental illness coming down, as our mental strength increases!

So for today, let us ponder over these important points from Sage Kapilaachaarya’s messages and thanks to our esteemed reader that we were able to add an entirely new dimension today as part of this discussion on Atma-development and making spiritual progress. We shall wait till the next episode to witness Sage Kapilaachaarya’s further messages. Stay tuned! 😊

 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed an extended discussion on the significance of our Atman as demonstrated by Sage Kapilaachaarya as he explains his purpose of birth in this world. This is a very important point for all of us to ponder over even in today’s context, given our hectic personal and professional commitments. In the midst of all these, there would be both happy and sad moments in our life and it would always keep alternating. If we’ve to maintain our balance of mind at all times, we’ve to definitely try and give space for our Atman’s development as well, just as we focus heavily on our physical and professional development.

Extending yesterday’s discussion a bit further, in today’s world we see people getting sad very easily. People tend to lose their calmness quite frequently and also tend to break down very easily as well! Why does all this happen? We can witness in the present day’s context that many people are suffering from mental depression, mental pressures, early-ageing, frequent sickness, blood pressure-related issues, diabetes-related issues at early ages, etc. Every now and then we keep hearing that people are under constant medication for all of these issues too. Stunningly in fact, nowadays people are even talking about committing suicide for petty things in life and this is happening more frequently of late! Why is all this happening? What is the problem here? Are our present-day’s problems too big that they can never be solved in any way? Why is there a mental-block in whatever we do? Let us analyze these questions in today’s episode, based on what Sage Kapilaachaarya has said.

In fact, these are the important messages that we can absorb from this segment of the Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana. If we look deeply, all our modern-day problems have definitive solutions in our Sanaathana Dharma literature – both at a professional level and personal level as well! Most of the problems that we face today is because of our mind and its attitude towards the world. If we’re able to mend our mind according to the ways that our Sanaathana Dharma teaches us, we can definitely look forward to be better individuals and thus contribute to the development of the whole of mankind towards peace and harmony!

Now coming back to this context – Why are people taking extreme steps in life and why do people break down so easily? It is only because in today’s world, we are primarily focused on our worldly development (includes both family and professional development), and never have the agenda of our Atman’s development at all! This is where the imbalance sets in. If we direct our focus entirely on our worldly human life, if there is some downfall associated with it at some point in time, we’re not able to take it! Hence, we are feeling let down and have a feeling that our world is coming to an end! Whereas, if we can create that “balance” between our worldly development and the development of our “Atman”, any kind of downfall in our worldly pursuit would be cushioned by our Atman’s development agenda!

This is like investing our savings – If we invest all our money in just one bank or one fixed deposit or one mutual fund, or whatever, and if this bank runs into a problem or a closure, we would lose our entire sum of money isn’t it? Instead, if we can split our money into smaller portions and invest in multiple places, like 3-4 banks, mutual funds, company portfolios, etc. we reduce the “risk” factor of losing our money completely. That is, even if one bank or financial institution closes down, we would only be losing that small portion of money that we had invested in that bank and the rest is intact! Thus by doing so, we are reducing the “risk” factor and we create a big cushion for ourselves.

Similarly, if we can allocate some time for our worldly development and life, and similarly some time for our Atman’s development, by thinking about Bhagawan, meditating, singing His divine names, etc. we can reduce the “risk” of failure in our worldly development. It is to be remembered by our readers that there is a probability of failure only in our worldly pursuits. There is no concept of “failure” when it comes to our Atman’s development. Every small step that we take towards Bhagawan yields us extensive results and it would never go a waste at any point in time! Hence, if we are able to balance out between the two parameters, even if there are major setbacks or failures in our professional or personal life, we would not get dejected so quickly. We would be able to maintain our calmness and composure and would be able to accept whatever comes to us – Both success and failure!

This is exactly what Bhagawan Krishna tells in the Bhagawad Gita too – We should be able to see failure and success with equality and balance! That is, we shouldn’t jump up and down like a crazy ball during success, and at the same time, we shouldn’t get dejected and break down when we meet with failure! We should try and develop that balanced frame of mind in whatever we do. How do we develop such a balance? It is only by giving equal importance to our worldly pursuits as well as our Atman’s development. If we’re able to achieve this balance, our mind would never go into unwanted fights with people, extreme steps like divorces, suicides, mental depression, etc.

So for today, let us understand this point very clearly and let us take a conscious step forward in trying to develop this balance! We shall wait till the next episode to move forward with Sage Kapilaachaarya’s further points! Stay tuned! 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed an important discussion wherein Sage Kapilaachaarya discloses his main purposes of birth in this world. In due course, we’ve also witnessed that Sage Kapilaachaarya comes under the family lineage of Kartama-Prajaapathi and is also considered to be one of Bhagawan Vishnu’s incarnations. Yesterday, we had witnessed how Sage Kapilaachaarya is lamenting to his mother that in this world, there aren’t many people who are interested in attaining Moksha anymore! It is to be remembered that Sage Kapilaachaarya said this during the Krita Yuga! If such was the situation during the Krita Yuga itself, we don’t even need to talk about all this in the context of our present Kali Yuga! Who on earth is really interested and determined to attain Moksha and follow the path for it?

Saying thus, Sage Kapilaachaarya explains to his mother that the purpose of his birth in this world was to teach people that all these sufferings that we undergo today – Hunger, sleep, sadness, happiness, laugh, cry, tension, nervousness, etc. would never be the order of the day when we reach Moksha! It is only in this world that we are going through all of these things. This is one purpose. The next purpose as He explains – To make us realize that we have to focus our mind and actions “inwards” and not always “outwards”. This means that we should focus more on the development and upliftment of our Aatman (Soul), rather than the development and upliftment of our physical body and the surrounding environment.

In the meanwhile, I had requested all of us to start taking a statistics as to how much of time do we spend for “outward” activities and how much of time do we spend for “inward” activities (focused on our Atman) every day! I’m sure readers would have started doing it and of course, this is a long process that should continue every passing day! The moment we start taking such statistics for ourselves, we would be alarmed and shocked to see how much time are we wasting in doing unwanted activities everyday! This is the first step for improvement. We should realize that in our life time, as we progress with age and maturity, we should allocate more time for our Atman and lesser time for our other worldly activities! Of course, if I start talking about all this now, readers might never look into my blog again! 🙂 However, there should be a start somewhere isn’t it? We cannot just continue the way we are wasting our time every moment! To start with, we should atleast try to siphon equal amount of time for our worldly requirements and for our Aatman. Of course I’m not saying that worldly requirements should be shunned completely! We should of course have a family, have a professional life, earn money for our day-to-day survival, educate and update our skillsets every day, educate our children, spend quality time with our family and spouse, etc. All these are required and there is absolutely no doubt about it. But what I’m trying to convey here is a bit higher than all these. Let us try to answer this question within ourselves – In spite of all our personal and professional day-to-day commitments, are we spending atleast a little time to think of Bhagawan or our Aatman? Are we trying to take steps to up-lift our Aatman in some way? If our answer is “yes”, it infers that we’re on the right track as prescribed by Bhagawan. The problem comes when the answer is a “No”!

Sadly in many of our cases, the answer is the second one – A Big “No”! But why is this answer a “no”, many a times? The main reason is because, we never understand the significance of our Aatman! On the other hand, we get to know so many things with regard to our worldly life, be it professional or personal. We constantly keep hearing or reading something about various aspects of our physical health, personal well-being, professional competencies, etc. Say for instance, if we get a physical illness like Blood pressure, Diabetes or any illness of that sort! The moment we come to know that we have such an illness in our body, what do we do? We search for different sources to find out what is the cure for it – Whether to go for Allopathic medicines or to try out traditional medications like Ayurveda, Siddha, Unaani, etc. and ultimately make conscious efforts to get our physical illness cured, isn’t it?

Hence, what is happening here? This physical illness of ours, affects us in a big way and because of that, we try and create an awareness within ourselves as to how to come out of this illness and how to uplift our physical health! Moreover, in today’s world many of us are becoming “health conscious” and we hit the gym every day, go for exercises like swimming, jogging, walking, etc. to keep ourselves physically fit. In fact, to aid our exercising stint, there are dedicated technological “Apps” too, that add to the awareness factor on physical health! But consider this – Just like how we have so much of awareness about our physical health, body conditions, etc. do we have a similar awareness about our Aatman and its significance? The answer is an obvious “No”!  The reason behind this answer is that, just like how we’re taking conscious steps to create that awareness of our physical health, we aren’t taking this many conscious steps to understand about the Aatman. How do we understand about the Aatman? Just like how we read or hear about various aspects of our physical health, we should equally hear or read about the Aatman and it’s significance. The moment we start doing this and the moment we start gaining the awareness about our Aatman, we would automatically start focusing more on it and will take steps to try and improve on our spiritual progress. This is exactly what Sage Kapilaachaarya expects from us and this is the reason why he is lamenting that people aren’t taking progressive steps forward to attain Moksha.

Thus, the moment we start to understand the significance of our Aatman, this would pave the way to be the first step in walking the path of Moksha and this is exactly what Sage Kapilaachaarya’s wants us to do! So the message is loud and clear for all of us! From today, let us take a conscious step forward in this regard! We shall wait till the next episode to continue more on the discussion of Sage Kapilaachaarya’s purpose of birth! Stay tuned! 🙂

 

 

 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed two important points during the discussion on the significance of Sage Kapilaachaarya. We had seen that Sage Kapilaachaarya was the son of Karthama-Prajaapathi and he is considered to be one of Bhagawan Vishnu’s incarnations on this world. In this line, we had witnessed how Bhagawan is not restricted only to the ten incarnations that we speak about often. There are innumerable incarnations of Bhagawan on this world that are subtle in nature and are often not talked about much. However, each incarnation of Bhagawan on this world has its own significance and only if we understand things in depth, we would be able to appreciate it much better. Thus, Sage Kapilaachaarya was one of Bhagawan Vishnu’s incarnations and he has the unique significance of giving the spiritual enlightenment to his own mother! In due course, he explains his purpose of birth to his mother and makes his mother realize that he is not an ordinary human being. Eventually as his mother realizes her son’s profound divine significance, Sage Kapilaachaarya finally grants her the highest Moksha. Thus, this is one of the rarest incidents in the Sanaathana Dharma literature wherein a son is granting Moksha to his mother.

Now moving on with this point, Sage Kapilaachaarya explains the purpose of his birth. In today’s episode, we shall witness what exactly what is and how Sage Kapilachaarya explains it to his mother in detail.

“Ethan me janma lokesmin mumukshuunaam duraashayaath!!”

Here, Sage Kapilaachaarya as he explains his purpose of birth, says thus, “Oh mother! In today’s world, the number of people who really want to attain the highest Moksha in their lives is becoming lesser and lesser as days pass by!” It should be remembered by readers that Sage Kapilaachaarya lived in the “Kritha Yuga”. If Sage Kapilaachaarya has to tell thus during the Krita Yuga itself, we can imagine what would have been the condition during the subsequent Tretha Yuga and Dvaapara Yuga. Of course, needless to even mention, we ourselves know what the situation in our present Kali Yuga is! 🙂

Thus, with lot of pain in his heart, Sage Kapilaachaarya expresses his anguish that even during the Krita Yuga, not many people are interested in following the spiritual path so as to attain Moksha. Hence, Sage Kapilaachaarya saw this as a necessity that the world needs to be educated and enlightened about the significance of attaining Moksha. His main purpose of birth in this world was to teach people that all these sufferings that we undergo today – Hunger, sleep, sadness, happiness, laugh, cry, tension, nervousness, etc. would never be the order of the day when we reach Moksha! It is only in this world that we are going through all of these things. Thus, Sage Kapilaachaarya explains through his birth that when we attain Moksha, we are free from all of these emotions and sufferings and a beautiful life awaits us at Vaikunta, which is the abode of Bhagawan Vishnu. This is one point.

Sage Kapilaachaarya continues thus:

“Prasankyaanaaya tathvaanaam sammatahaaya aatma darshane!!”

Sage Kapilaachaarya now moves to the second purpose of his birth – To make us realize that we have to focus our mind and actions “inwards” and not always “outwards”. This means that we should focus more on the development and upliftment of our Aatman (Soul), rather than the development and upliftment of our physical body and the surrounding environment. This is one of the main aspects that our Sanaathana Dharma teaches us often. Even Bhagawan Krishna later in the Dvaapara Yuga explains the same thing in his Bhagawad Gita too – We should focus more on our Aatman and the ways in which our Aatman can merge with Bhagawan! This is the very purpose of our human birth!

Here we should do a small analysis within ourselves – How much of time in a day do we spend in activities that pertain to the “outside” of us, and how much time in a day do we spend in activities that pertain to the “inside” of us? We need to take a statistics here – Those activites that pertain to our “outside, as we all know, are nothing but our professional commitments, personal family commitments, gossiping, going around here and there, doing so many things with friends, family, etc. The list goes on and on! However, activities that pertain to our “inside” is how much of time do we spend for Bhagawan every day and how do we think about our Aatman and try to uplift it towards Bhagawan!

Each of us should try and do this as an exercise after reading today’s episode! If we take an honest statistics within ourselves, we would realize that out of 17 active hours in a day, (barring 7 hours for sleep), we would be focusing “outward” for a vast majority of our time and a vast minority of our time to focus on our Aatman! We should realize our folly gradually and thus, take steps to (atleast) balance the time out, if not more for inward focus in the beginning stage!

This is exactly what Sage Kapilaachaarya means here. When he laments that not many people are interested in attaining Moksha, he means to say that not many people have that inward focus within themselves to realize the significance of their Aatman. Hence, as a baby step for today, let us understand these two important points and let us do this exercise seriously and consciously within ourselves. Let us first understand the ways and means through which we are wasting our valuable time and energy by focusing on all external things that do not matter to us in any way! We shall wait till the next episode to continue this discussion forward! Stay tuned! 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the previous episode, we had commenced an important discussion on the huge family lineage of Svaayambhuya Manu. It is to be remembered by readers that it was this Svaayambhya Manu who was appointed and entrusted by Bhagawan Bramha for creating various living beings in this world. As Svaayambhuya Manu took over the job from Bramha, he had to encounter the wrath of the “Raakshasa” by name Hiranyaaksha and finally it was with the divine intervention of Bhagawan Vishnu in the incarnation of Bhagawan Varaaha to ultimately free the world from Hiranyaaksha.

As we moved on further, we had a sub-discussion on the parameter called “Time” and how this time is calculated as per our Sanaathana Dharma literature. This was an important discussion as Svaayambhuya Manu started creating more and more living beings on the world and this was the start point in “teaching” the living beings as to how to lead a life based on “Dharma” and how to utilize this lifetime on earth to attain Bhagawan Visnhu’s feet (Moksha) at the end of it.

Eventually, we witnessed in the last episode, the continuation of the discussion on the family lineage of Svaayambhya Manu. We’ve of course started this discussion much earlier, but now we shall continue it further. We’ve so far witnessed that he had two sons and three daughters. In the last episode we had witnessed the generations of his two sons, from which it continues till the birth of the famous Jada-Bharata, whose conversations we’re going to witness in the near future as we progress deeper into the Bhaagawatha Puraana text.

As we know that Svaayambhuya Manu had three daughters too – Devahooti, Aahooti and Prasooti. Devahooti gets married to Kardhama-Prajaapathi. For this couple, there are nine daughters who were born! These nine daughters were married to nine great sages. Thus, it is to be noted here that Svaayambhuya Manu had a phenomenal family background that consisted of great saints and great members in his lineage. However, Kardhama-Prajaapati was having a small wish. Although he had nine children, all of them were girls. However, he wanted to have a son. He prayed to Bhagawan Vishnu, and he was eventually blessed with a son, who was none other than Kapila. It is this person whom we often refer to as Kapilaachaarya. In fact, this Kapilaachaarya was another incarnation of Bhagawan Vishnu Himself!

Here we need to discuss one important point. Many of us might be of the opinion that Bhagawan Vishnu had taken 9 incarnations (Avatars) till now, and the last one – Bhagawan Kalki is yet to be born in this Kali Yuga. Of course, we’ve witnessed under a different context that Bhagawan Vishnu will be taking the incarnation of Kalki at the end of this Kali Yuga, thus making the number of Bhagawan’s incarnations in this world as 10. But the real question here is that, are Bhagawan’s incarnations in this world, only restricted to these ten? The answer is “NO”! Bhagawan’s incarnations in this world are actually infinite in number. He incarnates in this world as and when it is required through various forms of people (Mahatmas) who are born in this world. Every incarnation has a definitive purpose and a deeper message to convey to mankind. But we talk mainly of the ten significant incarnations because our Maharishis (Sages) have compiled a list of these ten main incarnations just for the purpose of simplicity of our understanding. Of course, it is impossible for us to study into each of the thousands of incarnations that Bhagawan has taken in this world. This is why, we take the “Top 10” of the incarnations and try to understand them better! 🙂

Having said thus, out of the thousands of incarnations that Bhagawan has taken, Kapilaachaarya is also one among them. This is one point, we should always remember as we move forward.

“Mareechaye kalaam paadaath anasuyaam athhaathraye!

Shraddhaam angirase ayachhath pulasthyaaya havir bhuvam!!

Pulahaaya gathim yukthaam krathave cha kriyaam sathim!

Kyaathim cha brihave ayachhath vashishtaayaah arundathim!!

Atharvane adaachaanthim yayaayagnyo vitanyate!!”

In these couple of slokas that we had witnessed above, we can see that all the nine marriages of Kartama-Prajaapathi’s daughters are integrated into them! These slokas are extremely significant as it talks about nine marriages – Of course, these nine marriages aren’t just a joke! They are high-profile marriages as they involve great saints who were strong pillars of developing our Sanaathana Dharma and guiding it forward! If we think of these nine marriages every passing day, we can be sure that even in our houses and families, such high-profile marriages can take place, which would lead us towards the steady path of attaining the highest Moksha!

Thus as Kapilaachaarya was born, as expected, he was such a wise person with the highest level of spiritual knowledge and enlightenment. In fact, Kapilaachaarya communicates to his own mother, the reason for which He was born on this world! Can we ever think of doing this today? 🙂 Or, do we even know the purpose for which we are born on this world? But Kapilaachaarya knows it, and this is where his significance lies! Kapilaachaarya is perhaps the only person in this world, who was able to enlighten his mother and drive her towards the path of Moksha!

Having said thus,  Kapilaachaarya now explains the very purpose of his birth. For this, let us wait till the next episode to witness! An extremely interesting accord awaits us tomorrow! Stay tuned! 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed how significant is the science of “Astrology” in today’s scenario. As we might know by now, astrology is also an important part of the Vedas, wherein the exact calculations of various planetary positions, movements, etc. are denoted and discussed in detail. Accurate details are given with respect to the movement of each planet from one “Raashi” to another and this prediction is made accurately for thousands and thousands of years to come in the future too! No present-day scientific text on this subject can even come closer to our Vedic Astrological predictions that we have as one of our greatest assets! I’m making such a sweeping statement because, in the previous episode we had witnessed as an example how the revolution time for Saturn is calculated and how exactly it coincides with the modern-day findings in Astronomy. In fact, I seriously doubt if the present-day astronomical science has the capability to predict planetary positions exactly for the upcoming thousands of years into the future! For instance, if we take a look at the “Panchaanga” text, it would be clearly indicated at what time, at what date and at which part of the earth will solar and lunar eclipses be visible. This detail is accurately predicted for thousands of years into the future! This kind of a minute detail – I don’t think is available in any modern-day sciences.

This is what makes our Sanaathana Dharma scripture, one of the most respected and revered texts ever in this world! It is not only astrology that we’re talking about here, but also for every field of study that we do today – Be it medical, engineering, various sciences like Physics, Chemistry, Botany, Zoology, Management, Leadership, Geology, Anthropology, etc. our Sanaathana Dharma stands out in giving excellent ideas and advice for all of this! For instance, if we consider the “Sundara Kaanda” in the Ramayana, it exclusively talks about “leadership” and “management” concepts that Hanuman has exemplarily displayed while he was on pursuit for Mother Sita. Moreover, the Ramayana text can be looked into from various angles – Sciences, Management, Medicine, etc. and it has messages for each and every field. Similarly the Bhagawad Gita – a well-renowned part of the Mahabharata text talks extensively and enormously on Management sciences and how important is decision-making for a good leader. The list goes on and on… But the point here is that, it is important for all of us to understand the fact that our Sanaathana Dharma is an unique integration of all possible domains of human life and gives us valuable inputs (even for today’s lifestyle) on how to lead a happy, contented, peaceful and a spiritually-oriented life, so as to finally attain Bhagawan’s feet.

Saying thus, we can justify the point that along with creating mankind and other living beings in this world, Bhagawan has also created the “Manual” called “Sanaathana Dharma” to serve as a “rule-book” to lead a life as per the “Dharma”.

Thus we’ve successfully witnessed the arithmetics and various calculations that are associated with “time” and we come to the end of this important discussion. Moving on from here, readers might remember that we’ve discussed about a person by name Svaayambhuya Manu, and we should continue the thread from here on. We’ve witnessed that Svaayambhuya Manu had two sons namely, Priyavratha and Utthaana-paada. Readers now should make it a habit from here on to take notes of various names and stories that we’re discussing every day. From now on, it is going to get a little complex and readers might forget the link between the characters and the stories. Hence, it is better to make a note of all of these important names and the stories that they are associated with. Only then we would be able to understand which story conveys what message for all of us for today’s world.

Thus, let us look at the family lineage of Svaayambhuya Manu. As mentioned before, he had two sons, out of which, the second son Utthaana-paada’s son was Dhruva. Dhruva’s son is Angan. Angan’s son is Venan. Venan’s son is Bruthu. Bruthu’s last generation’s son was Praacheena Varhis. Of course, I do understand that there are so many names back-to-back. We shall talk about each of these people in detail as the context comes. So readers needn’t get panicked or worried about it! Thus, all these people whom I had just mentioned, form one generation or lineage. Now we’ve to see the lineage of Svaayambhuya Manu’s other son, Priyavratha.

Of course, Priyavratha too gets married like his brother, and has children. It starts with Aagneedhra. After Aagneedhra comes Naabi. After Naabi comes Rishaba-Deva. After Rishaba-Deva comes Jada-Bharatha. Thus we have two generations that has originated from Svaayambhuya Manu. It is not to be forgotten that Svaayambhuya Manu had three daughters too – Devahooti, Aahooti and Prasooti. Devahooti gets married to Kardhama-Prajaapathi. For this couple, there are nine daughters who were born!

What happened next? For today, we shall try and understand this much first, and we shall move into the stories of the nine daughters in the next episode! Stay tuned! 🙂

 

 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed a very important discussion on the “Angas” or different parts that the Vedas comprise. We had witnessed six different “Angas” that constitute the Vedas, and in due course we’ve witnessed that Ayurveda, the world-renowned traditional medical science of India is also one of the very important “Upa-Angas” of the Vedas. Apart from this, we witnessed about “Dhanur-Vedam”, “Artha-Shaastra” and “Gaandharva Vedam”, which are also the other “Upa-Angas” of the Vedas. Apart from these segments, we also have “Nyaaya Shaastra”, “Mimaamsa Shaastra”, Ithihhaasas and Puraanas, which together comprise the Sanaathana Dharma literature. Now moving on from this further, the Vedas also has the science of “Astrology” that is embedded within it. Today we’re referring to the “Panchaanga” text for knowing the exact days when “Amaavaasya”,  “Pournami” fall, and also for other important events that keep happening throughout the year, like solar and lunar eclipse, important changes in various planetary positions, etc. All these aspects fall under the topic called “Astrology” or “Jyotisha Shaastra” that again is another sub-part of the Vedas. For instance, we talk about the rotation and revolution of various planets around the Sun – Each planet takes its own time to revolve around the sun and rotate within its own axis. Earth, for example, takes 365 days or one year to revolve around the sun. However, there are other planets that take more than one year to revolve around the sun. For instance, if we consider Saturn, it takes around 30 years to complete one revolution and is considered to be one of the slowest planets in terms of revolution.

As the modern-day astronomy talks about such things, we can witness the exact detail in our “Astrological science” or “Jyotisha Shaastra”. Here, Saturn is referred to as “Sani Bhagawan” and according to Astrology, many of us might know that this “Sani Bhagawan” is the slowest of all planets – It takes around 2.5 years to cross over from one “Raashi” to the other. This is why we have a common saying that, everyone goes through the “7.5-year-Sani-period”. Why do we say this? It is because, Sani Bhagawan takes the first 2.5 years to formally enter into our “Raashi”, 2.5 years for staying in our “Raashi” and the final 2.5 years to formally leave our “Raashi” to the next one. If we add up all of these, we would get 7.5 years. It is widely believed that these 7.5 years of one’s life will be the testing time for a human being, wherein a vast majority of suffering is undergone during this time period. No other planet as per the Jyotisha Shaastra is as slow in terms of movement from one Raashi to the other like Sani Bhagawan. The fastest being the moon, it takes 2.5 days to transit from one Raashi to the other. Sun takes one month to transit from one Raashi to the other. These two are the fastest ones, and Sani Bhagawan is the slowest one, taking 2.5 years to transit from one Raashi to the other.

Thus, if we calculate the total revolution period of Sani Bhagawan, we can easily say that it takes 12*2.5 = 30 years to complete one full revolution. It is to be remembered by readers that we have 12 Raashis (we’ve already discussed this before), and one revolution happens when a planet transits through all the 12 Raashis once. Thus if we calculate in this way, the time taken for one complete revolution of Sani Bhagawan as per our Astrology science is 30 years. This is exactly what modern-day Astronomy says too – The Saturn takes 30 years to complete one revolution! See how the two schools of sciences coincide in terms of the concept!

This is why we also say in regular life that there is nobody who has been continuously happy and without any problems for 30 years at a stretch, and there is nobody who has faced only problems continuously for 30 years! This is to make us realize that life has its own ups and downs frequently. We cannot be happy all the time, or we cannot be sad all the time! Happiness and sadness keep coming and going, just like clouds come and go occasionally, thereby giving us rain! It is hence, up to us to accept this important principle of life and should move on accordingly. Just because we’re feeling sad today, doesn’t mean that this is going to be the end of the world for us! We would always have an opportunity to recoup from our sorrow and move into the happy zone again in life. We’ve to always maintain that positive attitude in life as we move on.

In this present day, we witness many people talk of committing suicides. Why do people commit suicide? We’ve of course discussed this before, but given the contextual significance, it is good to revisit this topic once again. People decide to take this extreme step of committing suicide because they are totally immersed into the sadness and frustration that they’re undergoing in their life. This is where the problem comes – If we’re unable to differentiate between just that one problem that we face, from the other happy moments that we’ve faced or those that we’re going to experience in future, we would automatically motivate ourselves and move on with our lives. It should be remembered always that committing a suicide is the greatest sin that we would be doing for ourselves in this lifetime. Bhagawan has given this wonderful opportunity to take birth as a human being, and we do not have any right to destroy this human body that He has given us! We’ve to utilize this opportunity to get closer to Bhagawan and the Guru (Spiritual Master) and try to attain “Moksha”. Whatever hurdles and problems that we face in the middle should be taken in the sense that we are burning our “Praarabdha Karma” as we suffer. This is only going to liberate us much easier than we actually thought of!

So for today, let us realize these important points and let us continue this interesting and important discussion forward in the upcoming episode! Stay tuned! 🙂

 

 

 

 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed an important point of discussion, which is the “Gothra”. We saw how does this “Gothra” originate and how it propagates down to innumerable generations until our present day. For instance, if I should say that I belong to the “Bhaaradwaaja Gothra”, it means that I’m directly coming under the family hereditary generation of Sage Bharadwaaja. This means that the origin of this “Gothra” is Sage Bharadwaaja and from him onwards, this continues for thousands of generations, till us.

Similarly there are many such “Gothras” under the names of various other great sages, from where the lineage originates and transcends until this age! This is the significance of our human birth that we are having currently. If we’re saying that we’re from the lineage of such great Maharishis, isn’t it a huge name and honor for all of us? This is why, whenever we go to temples to perform special prayers like “Archana”, etc. we introduce ourselves with our “Gothra”. Even at home, when we do spiritual practices like our daily Sandhyavandanam, we mention the name of our Gothra as we prostrate in front of Bhagawan. Such is the significance of our “Gothra”.

Thus, if someone introduces himself or herself as a part of such a significant tradition, we feel proud about it! This also means that we should behave in such a way that we do not spoil the name of that great Maharishi, under who’s tradition we have come! The message here is that, by “proclaiming” that we are from a particular “Gothra”, we need to strictly adhere to certain rules and norms of leading a respectable lifestyle, just to safeguard the “brand name” of the great Sage, whose generation we belong to.

Moving on thus, Bhagawan creates the Vedas under four different categories, and He doesn’t stop with this! There are so many “Angas” (Parts) that Bhagawan jointly creates, along with the Vedas. Thus the Vedas, along with its various “Angas” make our Sanaathana Dharma complete with all its glory! What are those “Angas” that came along with the Vedas? Let us discuss in today’s episode. So what are those important “Angas” or “Parts” here? Sage Sukhaachaarya lists them out as follows – “Shiksha”, “Vyaakarnam”, “Chandaha”, “Niruptam”, “Jyotisham” and “Kalpam”. Thus, the enormously huge text called Vedas has these six “Angas”. Each of these “Angas” have “Upa-Angas” or “Sub-Parts” such as “Ayurveda”, “Dhanur-Vedam”, “Artha-Shaastra” and “Gaandharva Vedam”. Only if these four “Upa-Angas” of the Vedas co-exist, will our life in this earth run smoothly.

First of all, if our human body gets some illness or if we fall sick, there should be some solution to make us come out of the sickness, isn’t it? Here is where, the vast Vedic Medical Science called “Ayurveda” plays a very important role. In fact, it is very interesting to note that “Ayurveda” is a very important part of the Vedas text and it contains a huge accord on different diseases that a human being can get and the corresponding cure for each of the diseases. This is an extensive subject and this is why we have “Ayurveda” as a fully recognized medical degree in India, equal in importance of the present-day “MBBS” degree. Beyond this, there are full-fledged post-graduation courses and PhD (Doctoral) research-level courses in Ayurveda today and it is heartening to see that many people are now taking interest in exploring the science of Ayurveda. It might be known to many of our readers that the south-Indian state of Kerala is very famous for Ayurvedic treatments and is a very popular medical science.

Similarly, if we consider the “Gaandharva Veda”, it encompasses all art forms like dance, music, etc. which is required for mankind to enjoy and relinquish different “tastes” in life. When I say “taste” it is not only the food that we eat. There are nine different “Rasas”, which we’ve already discussed during our Ramayana project, and we’ve witnessed how Valmiki Maharishi has employed all the “Nava-Rasas” in his Ramayana text. So, this is about the “Gaandharva-Veda”.

When we look at “Dhanur-Veda”, it talks about various tactics of “Defense”, warfare, etc. In the Ramayana text again, we’ve witnessed how Bhagawan Rama was an expert in “Dhanur-Veda” and the “Raaja Dharma” – Thanks to Sage Vasishta and Sage Vishwaamithra’s extensive training. Similarly, during our next “Vidura Neeti” project we witnessed how Vidura explains the various aspects of “Raaja-Dharma” to King Dhirdiraashtra. All these come under the segment of Vedas called “Dhanur-Veda”. It is very interesting to note that most of the modern-day concepts of “Management” are derived from this “Dhanur-Veda”.

Next, if we’ve to survive in this world, we need to earn money. For obtaining money, we need to work in an organization or you’ve to do some sort of business. For this, the Vedas has a separate section called “Artha-Shaastra”. Here it is again interesting to see that many Management concepts that we read in the modern day are all imbibed from the Vedas, specially from “Artha-Shaastra”. Apart from these segments, we also have “Nyaaya Shaastra”, “Mimaamsa Shaastra”, Ithihhaasas and Puraanas, which together comprise the Sanaathana Dharma literature.

Hence for today, let us understand and appreciate the depth of information and knowledge that the Vedas provide and let us realize this significance. No other text in this whole world would be able to convey such vast amounts of information about almost everything in this world to such perfection! I can guarantee this statement! We shall wait till the next episode to take this discussion forward in-depth. Stay tuned! J

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the key reasons behind Bhagawan providing us with the Vedas, Upanishads, Puraanas, Ithihasas, etc. that form the major chunk of our Sanaathana Dharma literature. It is not enough if all human beings are created in the world. We should know how to lead a life that is peaceful, calm, spiritually oriented and divine. To “educate” us and to create the awareness on these main purposes of taking this human birth, Bhagawan came up with these texts that serve as “user manuals” for our life. Just like how we have “manuals” for operating machines and instruments that serve various purposes at home as well as in an industry setup, Bhagwan has given us “manuals” for life, in the form of Vedas and Upanishads. However, all of the principles and instructions cannot be grasped only from these manuals. There should be someone to show us a “live demonstration” of how machines and instruments work, isn’t it? Similarly, to show “live demos” of how to lead a life according to the principles of our Sanaathana Dharma, Bhagawan took it upon himself to incarnate in this world every now and then, at the end of every Yuga. All the events and happenings that took place during Bhagawan’s incarnations are carefully documented in the form of “Ithihaasas” and “Puraanas”. Of course, the text under discussion – Shrimad Bhaagwatha Puraana is also one among these documentations of Bhagawan’s “live demos” that he had shown us! 🙂 As we’ve mentioned before, the Maharishis like Sage Veda Vyaasa, Valmiki Maharishi, etc. took it upon themselves to document all the events that Bhagawan has demonstrated to us, so that these are still available for innumerable generations of people till today!

Thus, as Vedas, Upanishads, etc. were created, Bhagawan also sends some “special people” to the earth, in the form of these Maharishis, who had completely dedicated their entire lives for the documentation purpose! Apart from these people, there are other categories of “special people” whom Bhagawan carefully chooses and sends them occasionally every now and then to the earth. These special people are none other than the Alwars, Nayanmars, Aachaaryas, Gurus, various contemporary Mahatmas like Shirdi Sai Baba, Puttaparthi Sai Baba, Sadguru Shri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, etc. The main purpose of these Gurus and Mahatmas are nothing but to create the awareness amongst people like us on the various aspects of our Sanaathana Dharma and to guide us with all their love and affection, and make us reach Moksha at the end of this lifetime! Hence, it is upto us now, to make use of these golden opportunities that Bhagawan has bestowed us with, isn’t it?

With this message, let us move on further with what Sage Sukhaachaarya is going to tell now! Thus, Bhagawan creates the Vedas and classifies it into four forms or categories – Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Saama Veda and Atharvana Veda. In order to spread the Vedas to the world, Bhagawan creates Maharishis. Bhagawan starts by sending Maharishis one after the other, of course with the divine “Sankalpa” of Bhagawan Bramha. Sage Sukhaachaarya gives a list of these Maharishis who came to this world, in the following order thus – Sage Marichi, Sage Athri, Sage Angiras, Sage Pulastya, Sage Pula, Sage Krathu, Sage Bruhu, Sage Vasishta, Sage Daksha and finally the all-important Sage Naarada! Even if we chant the names of these great sages, we’re adding so much “Punya” (Good deeds) into our “life account”! All these great Maharishis were born from each and every part of Bhagawan Bramha’s body.

All of these people have their own “Gothras”. Even today we have the practice of identifying ourselves with a “Gothra”. Say for instance, if we say that we’re from “Bhaaradwaaja Gothra”, we should know that there was a great sage by the name Bharadwaaja and we are somewhere part of the innumerable generations that come one after the other (lineage) from this particular sage. Here, if we say that we’re part of the “Bhaaradwaaja Gothra”, it means that we are part of a huge lineage that originated from Sage Bharadwaaja. Similarly there are many such “Gothras” under the names of various other great sages, from where the lineage originates and transcends until this age! This is the significance of our human birth that we are having currently. If we’re saying that we’re from the lineage of such great Maharishis, isn’t it a huge name and fame for all of us? This is why, whenever we go to temples to perform special prayers like “Archana”, etc. we introduce ourselves with our “Gothra”. Even at home, when we do spiritual practices like our daily Sandhyavandanam, we mention the name of our Gothra as we prostrate in front of Bhagawan. Such is the significance of our “Gothra”. Thus, if someone introduces himself or herself as a part of such a significant tradition, we feel proud about it! This also means that we should behave in such a way that we do not spoil the name of that great Maharishi, under who’s tradition we have come! J This is an important message here – It is not enough if we proudly proclaim that we’re from this “Gothra”. We should also make sure that our behavior and the way we conduct ourselves in this world matches that high level of significance! This is more important than making “tall claims”. We should not thus limit ourselves in making “self-proclamations”, just like how few hopeless politicians keep doing every passing day! We should make sure that we live up to the reputation that is attached to our claim!

Thus, Bhagawan creates the Vedas under four different categories, and Bhagawan doesn’t stop with this! There are so many “Angas” (Parts) that Bhagawan jointly creates, along with the Vedas. Thus the Vedas, along with its various “Angas” make our Sanaathana Dharma complete with all its glory! What are those “Angas” that came along with the Vedas? Let’s wait till the next episode to witness an interesting accord on this! Stay tuned! 🙂