Wednesday, September 28, 2022
Saturday, September 3, 2022
Rama Agastya Hanuman Veda
An incident about the meeting of the four Kumaras with Vishnu's avatar Rama is narrated in the Uttarakanda of the Ramcharitmanas.
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The Kumaras once stayed in the hermitage of the sage Agastya, who told them about the glory of Rama.
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So to meet Rama, they went to a forest grove where Rama with his brothers and disciple Hanuman had come.
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Rama and his brothers were so pleased with meeting the four enlightened sages that they paid obeisance to them. The sages were wonderstruck looking at the divinity of Rama that they prostrated before him and out of great ecstasy started shedding tears of happiness. Rama looking at the sages was deeply impressed and asked them to be seated and praised them for their great achievements and their erudite knowledge of the Vedas and Puranas. The four Kumaras were also delighted to hear the words of praise showered on them by Rama. They in turn extolled his great virtues in a hymn.
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Four Kumaras preaching in the Mahabharata
The king and his guru worship the Kumaras and then Shukra asks them to describe the greatness of Vishnu. Sanat-kumara starts with describing Vishnu as the creator and destroyer of all beings. He equates Vishnu's body parts with parts of the universe and the elements, for example the earth is Vishnu's feet and water is his tongue. All gods are describes as being Vishnu.
Then Sanatkumara categories all beings into six colours depending upon the proportion of the three gunas:
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Then Sanatkumara categories all beings into six colours depending upon the proportion of the three gunas:
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From the lowest to the foremost beings, the colours are
- dark (Tamas is high, Rajas is mid, Sattva is low),
- tawny (Tamas is high, Sattva is mid, Rajas is low),
- blue (Rajas is high, Tamas is mid, Sattva is low),
- red (Rajas is high, Sattva is mid, Tamas is low),
- yellow (Sattva is high, Tamas is mid, Rajas is low) and
- white (Sattva is high, Rajas is mid, Tamas is low).
(The Vishnu Purana gives non-living things, lower animals and birds, humans, Prajapatis, gods and the Kumaras are respective examples of the above colours.) Sanat-kumara elaborates further how a Jiva (living entity) journeys from dark to white in his various births, ultimately gaining moksha if he does good deeds, devotion and yoga.
- ^ Mahabharata Published by Geeta Press in Gorakhpur. Written in Hindi.
- ^ The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Santi Parva translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli [published between 1883 and 1896]
Friday, August 5, 2022
Vamadeva
The Linga Purana describes that Shiva or his aspect Vamadeva will be born as a Kumara and then multiply into the four Kumaras in each kalpa (aeon) as sons of Brahma of that kalpa. In the 29th Kalpa, Swetha Lohita is the main Kumara; where they are named as Sananda, Nandana, Vishwananda and Upananadana of white colour; then in the 30th Kalpa, they are named as Virajas, Vivahu, Visoka and Vishwbhavana, all of red colour; and in the 31st Kalpa in yellow colour; and in the 32nd Kalpa, as of black colour.
This holy ash burns up one's sins. All can wear it in this manner (ie., irrespective of caste distinctions). Even if one does not know the relevant mantras and is an ignorant one, if he wears it with faith and reverence, it will be as efficacious. There is no other thing which will help one to attain liberation.
Sage Vaamadeva went on: 'My son, in ancient times, sage Sanathkumara went to the Supreme Lord and prayed to Him,
"Oh three-eyed and the five-headed one, thou shinest with the glory of the weapons in your ten hands, which ever chastise the wicked; thou the wearer of the serpent as your sacred thread, thou dressed in a tiger's skin! The crescent moon shines on thy brow. Thou with your head covered by matted locks which are sanctified by holy Ganga, thou the Supreme Lord, the One ever-united with the Mother of Creation, thou the in-dweller of your devotees' hearts, I prostrate to your feet again and again. Thou Ocean of Mercy, the Cause of the whole creation! The various kinds of yoga practices and religious sacrifices enumerated in the sastras of yore for the liberation of the souls bound in ignorance are very difficult to practise. So, Oh Lord, teach us an easier means of attaining that goal and crossing this ocean of misery of phenomenal existence".
Lord Shiva was well pleased with his adoration and said,
"my son Sanathkumaara, the easiest means of attaining liberation is the proper use of holy ash. All of one's sins are destroyed merely by the application of the ash to one's body in the prescribed manner which is as follows: The holy ashes of a religious fire-sacrifice or ashes made from cowdung-cakes should be fetched. It should be consecrated by chanting such mantras as the one commencing 'Bhasmaagnim'. Then it should be applied to the forehead and other parts of our body by holding it with the thumb and the index fingers, and chanting the mantra commencing Tryayusham'. Thus three beautiful lines (horizontal) will be drawn on the forehead. These are called the Bhasma Tripundras. They signify
- the three sounds (A,U,M),
- the 'Trinity of gods',
- the three gunas, the three souls (Jivaatma, Pratyagatma and Paramaatma),
- the three powers,
- the three chandases (metres),
- the three Vedas*++,
- the three realms or states (lokaas) of existence,
- the Trishavanas (ritual baths at dawn, noon and sunset).
- One who has reviled at cows or the ladies of another's family, or
- one who has betrayed them,
- one who spoils fullgrown crops,
- one who purposely hurts the minds of others,
- one who sets houses on fire,
- one who sells such holy things as betel leaves and the vedas,
- one who is given to uttering falsehood,
- one who accepts base things from persons of a base temperament,
- one who commits adultery with widows and Shudra women-all those who commit such other sins as these,
if they regularly apply holy ash with faith and reverence, shall be liberated. The darbha (or Kusa) grass which is capable of securing all the (four) objects of man's efforts, the holy ash and rudrakshas - by wearing these, one becomes worthy of honours even in the divine realms of existence (heaven). It needs no mention that the holy ash which can annihilate the sins of thousands of past lives can eradicate all diseases. By wearing the holy ash, one can secure all the higher states of existence (lokas) and gradually attain to Kailasa (the highest loka, the abode of Lord Shiva).
This is the easiest means which you have wished to know". Thus has the Supreme Lord expounded to sage Sanathkumaara.' So saying, sage Vaamadeva offered a little of the holy ash to the erstwhile
Brahmaraakshasa and told him to apply it to his body. The moment he did so, he left off his body of
a rakshasa and was liberated.
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