Significance of Vaahana (Vehicles)

As per Hindu Mythology, the following are the vehicles of important gods.

1. Ganesha - Mushika (Mouse)
2. Saraswathi / Brahma - Hamsa (Swan)
3. Parvathi - Tiger / Lion 
4. Shiva - Nandi (Bull)
5. Vishnu - Garuda (Eagle)
6. Lakshmi Devi - Owl 

Overview:

                    A vehicle doesn't necessarily mean that it is used only for traveling purpose. It means that the vehicles (animals) are controlled by the gods. Here, each animal signifies a particular type of quality which a human being possesses.

Let us see, what they signify:

• Mouse:

                    A mouse is always nervous and is confused. It goes here and there and will always be in doubt whether to do something or not. So, by worshiping Ganesha, one will get a psychological feeling that one has a moral support and can come out of nervousness.

• Owl:

                    Owl wakes up at night and sleeps during morning. It has no friends. It doesn't like human beings. It is always alone. Also, owl is considered to be inauspicious. So, one must understand that, one who runs behind money should lead a life like an owl. He should be aware of the fact that he would not have friends, he would be doing certain things to multiply his money only in the dark (illegal activities).

• Bull:

                    Bull is always aggressive, doesn't think at all and if not controlled, attacks all those who come on its way. So, the meaning is that, one should be aware of this quality and control it. Whenever we think of Lord Shiva, we should keep this point in mind and try to control the aggressiveness, bullying nature in us.

• Garuda:

                    Garuda pakshi is the fastest bird. It is believed that, this bird travels faster than the sound (Supersonic). The bird, here represents 'thoughts'. So, one has to control his words and his thoughts. Garuda Pakshi is the vehicle of Lord Vishnu. So, Vishnu would control our thoughts.

• Hamsa:

                    Both Saraswathi Devi and Brahma are associated with this Vahana. 'Swan' is an imaginary bird which represents 'Beauty', 'Peace', 'Grace', 'Attitude' and 'Noble Living'. Also, it is believed that it has a capability to separate 'Milk' and 'Water'. 'Milk' means right deeds and 'water' means wrong deeds. So, it means that one has to lead a 'noble' life by thanking Brahma for creating a 'beautiful' world. By differentiating the right path and wrong path, one can get moksha.

• Adi Sesha:

                     Lord Vishnu sleeps on Adi Sesha. Adi Sesha (Serpent) is not a 'Vahana'. But, it is controlled by Lord Vishnu. Here, the comparison is that, the desire in us will be like a snake. It comes out suddenly and will not think what is wrong and what is right. So, whenever we think of Vishnu, it should come into our mind that, this quality is bad one and should always be controlled.

• Tiger / Himalayan Lion:

                     Similarly, Tiger is Cruel, Angry, Violent and has no respect for other animals. These qualities will be controlled by Goddess Kali / Parvathi.

In this way, we have to relate each vehicle to some quality and should control it.

Swachandha Maranam - Is it possible?

                    There were many instances where many 'Gurus' , 'Yogis' , 'Swamijis' and 'Sadhus' predicted their time of death.This process of deciding the time and date of death is known as 'Swachandha Maranam'.

Few Instances:

                    There are many examples in our Indian History where people have predicted their date and time of death. Here are a few known ones:

• Bhishma Pithamaha : The Great Grand father of Kouravas & Pandavas - He lived for more than 150-200 years.
• Various Heads of Mutts (Peeta adhipathi) till the 14th Century
• Babas (Like Sai Baba; Even Satya Sai Baba predicted his day of death but could not achieve it)
• Swamy Vivekananda - Died while meditating, by the rupture of blood vessels in brain. He always thought, he should not live beyond 40 years.

So, can we decide our life span?

Answer to this question is -'YES'. We can decide the date and time of death.
 If we have a strong will, we have chances to live for as many years as we decide.

Prerequisites:

One who has fulfilled the following can decide the time of death:

• Who has entirely left all desires, worldly pleasures
• Who has gone through the life contented with just the bare necessities of life
• Who followed a perfect diet throughout his life - by eating only 'sathwik' aahara
• Who has left all the relations in this world (Sanyasi)
• Who always lead a noble life by balancing Dharma, Artha and Kama

The process:

Once all the above stated conditions are satisfied, one can decide when to leave the body.

After the particular date is decided, the heads / yogis (Swamy) who have already decided to attain Ichcha Mruthyu do the following:

• Observe a 54 days fast (not necessarily a fast, it would be something like a notice period) , 54th day being the date of death.
• During the initial 2-3 weeks of the fast period, the swamy would leave certain things one by one. 
• He would leave the 'master - student relationship' which he has with his followers, he would choose his successor etc.
• Slowly, he would stop eating and would consume only liquid food as a part of systematically weakening process
• During the last 2 weeks, Swamy would stop consuming liquids and would stop drinking water. 
• He would spend his time only in meditation, preaching

The Last Breath:

Last two days are very crucial in this process.

• By this time, he would be just a 'body' which did not consume anything for the last 3-4 weeks and which is 'just' breathing. Here, 'Air' is the only thing which he is taking in and out.
• Once he reaches the last 'ghadiya' he would slowly stop breathing. 

                 At this point of time, arrangements would have already been done by his disciples. His followers would have got some instructions to construct a Samadhi around him. He would be chanting some manthras or doing meditation and when he stops chanting, his disciples would cover his samadhi.

                 Earlier, till 12th Century, Swamijis used to instruct their disciples to break a coconut on their skull (Just one coconut). This ensures kapala moksha. But later on, the Maharajs and Emperors (Mughal) have put ban on this process. So, the process of breaking a coconut on skull was stopped. These days, even the process of going into maha samadhi is forbidden.

What is Kapala Moksha?

                    'Kapala' means Head. 'Moksha' means liberation of soul. Kapala Moksha is believed to happen when the life energy leaves the body through the small crack in the 'Bramha Ranthra' in the crown of the skull.                  

                     Scientifically, the 'Prana' (Soul) of a common man, after the death, leaves through one of the nine holes (Nava Randhra / dwara). But, there is one more gate at the top of the head - the 'brahma randhra', also known as 'dasama dwara' or the tenth gate. Only those people who get kapala moksha escape through the 10th gate.

                      Every human being has this spot in the brain known as  'Brahma Ranthra'. This spot is soft when we are born (Touch the skull of small kids, we can feel it). Till the time we reach the age of 5, it will be very soft. Later, it becomes hard. In Yoga and Meditation, the Sahasrara chakra is the most important one which is located at this spot.

What happens on breaking a coconut on the skull?

                     After adhering to 54 days of systematic fast, with no thoughts, relations etc the swamy's skull would be equivalent to that of a 2 year old kid. It would be very soft. So, at this point of time, where the yogi has already separated himself from his body, when a disciple breaks a coconut on swamy's skull, the Brahma Ranthra bursts open and Prana comes out. This is known as Kapala Moksha.

                    People who have attained this type of Salvation are considered to enjoy Jeevan Mukthi and are equal to God as per shastras. It is the highest method of salvation by which the soul can leave the body.

Exceptions:

                    If a yogi who meets all the per-requisites decides his day of 'moksha', his planning would succeed cent percent until and unless

• There is any natural calamity in due course of his life and he dies due to that
• There is any murder / unnatural way of death
• Death by other animals (eg. Malaria- mosquito)  or any other ailments

                   Since he leads a noble and disciplined life, he is not supposed to face the last two exceptions. But, if it is a natural calamity, no one can stop it.

Aryanization by Lord Sri Rama

Important Note:
These views are not intended to hurt anyone. 
I have come across this somewhere and am just putting them here.

I would like to share one more interesting concept - on Aryans and Dravidians.

Who are Aryans?

                    /Arya:/ in Sanskrit means 'Noble'. It means that Aryans are those people (race) who are fair, tall and noble. Aryans have come all the way from Central Asia and have conquered Indian Sub-continent long ago. Aryans worshiped the five elements (Vayu, Agni, Bhoomi, Indra, Akash).

Who are Dravidians?

                    Dravidians are the original native Indians. They stay in a tropical climate and hence are generally dark-skinned. Dravidians are very intelligent and are well educated. They were worshipers of the genitals – Linga. Lingam represents the nature and to them, the greatest God was Siva, the first Man. The Dravidians were very strong in the southern parts of the peninsula.

 Let us now see few instances in Ramayana:

•  King Dasharatha of Ayodhya kingdom (North India) is said to have helped Suras during the fight with Asuras. During that time, he gave a boon to his 3rd wife, Kai Keyi. Later, Sri Rama was sent on Exile for 14 years.
• Rama was on exile for 14 years. During the 14th year, Rama invaded Lanka and killed Ravana (the king of asuras). All these 13 years, he was killing asuras on his way to Lanka.
• Till the time Sri Rama crossed Vindhya mountains and entered south in search of Sita, he never faced any demons / asuras. But, once he came to the South India (Dandakaranya onwards) he was obstructed by various asuras and Rama had to kill all of them and go ahead.

Now, instances of Mahabharatha:

• Mahabharatha's main theme was a fight between brothers (men) and not between suras and asuras as it was the case during Ramayana.
• It ofcourse, had few less prominient asuras. But, they were killed by suras (kings) whenever it was necessary. Like Jarasandha, Keechaka, Hidimbasura etc.
• Bhima (Sura) married Hidimbi (Asura), and many Suras and Asuras lived in the same kingdom.
• There was no special mention of South India in Mahabharatha

What does this mean?

                    It means that, Suras are Aryans and Asuras are Dravidians. The word asura means people who worship nature, Linga and do not worship the five elements. We always think that asuras are rakshasas and are really bad. But it was not like that. That's why there was always a war between suras and asuras.

                    Asuras insisted on Shiva worship, nature worship. Whereas, Suras insisted on five element worship.That is the reason why Hiranyakashyapa / Hiranyaksha during Narasimha avatar stressed on Lord Shiva worship. This was the same case with Ravana and other asuras. So, till Lord Vishnu's Krishna Avatar, it was a war between Sura & Asura. Later, after Ramayana, Shiva was given 'The Destroyer' status along with Brahma and Vishnu to please all the classes.

                    After Ramayana, the Asuras weakened and lost their kingdom. So, Mahabharatha was a war between suras & suras and not between Suras & Asuras. Everyone are now known as 'manava' and not Sura/ Asura.

To summarize:

• Dravidians never worshiped Vishnu and other five elements (Bhoomi, Indra, etc) till Ramayana
• Aryans conquered the South India
• We infer from the epics (written by Aryan sages) that Dravidians are Asura
• The 14 year exile of Lord Rama was to Aryanize South India.

 Ramayana - What it would actually have been:

                    Dravidian King was very powerful, well educated, intelligent but had only one weakness - Interest towards fair women. Prior to Rama, no king could penetrate to the South due to Ravana's power.  Aryan King was asked to go on exile to conquer South India, not by force, but by propagating the Aryan philosophy - which tells way to lead a noble life and practice the 5-element worship.

                    Dravidian king kidnapped Sita since she was fair and good looking. Then the Aryan King, in search of his wife, invaded the Dravidian kingdom, killed all those who came on his way. He took the help of tribals and locals (Sugreeva, Jambavath, and ofcourse, Hanuma) and finally killed the Dravidian King.
 
Current Dravidians:

In the modern world, the Dravidians are:

• All people in Tamil Nadu & Kerala (except Brahmins - That's why Dravidian parties of South are anti-brahmin and are anti-hindi)
• All people in AP, Karnataka (except Brahmin, Vysya (hence the name Arya Vysya) and Kshatriya)
• All the Giri Putras of central India
• Sri Lankans

Krishna Tathvam - Concept of Gopikas

This time, something related to a concept on the great 'Krishna Tathvam'.

Krishna Tathva:

" Thalli vi neeve ... Thandri vi neeve ... Sakhudou ... Gurudou ...

Daivamu nijamu ga neeve Krishna !!!"

                       It means - O Krishna! I see you in my mom, dad, friend and Guru. You are my true god. So, Krishna Tathva means seeing Lord Krishna in everyone and everything.

Many have this type of feeling right from their birth and spend their lives in tanmayathva. We all know that, Krishna had 8 wives, 16000 Gopikas and 1 lover (Radha Devi).

Let us now try to analyze the Gopikas...

Who are Gopikas?

                     As per puranas, 16,000 women were held captive by Narakasura. Sri Krishna killed Narakasura on Naraka chaturdhi day. The next day, Amavasya day was the day of liberation for those 16000 women - Gopikas.

                     Krishna freed all 16,000 women from the prison. All of them were asked to go back to their homes. Then all the Gopikas felt that it would not be possible for them to live with dignity in their old homes after having been prisoners of Narakasura. So, they have decided to end their lives at the holy feet of Sri Krishna. Then, Krishna assured them that he would protect them and become their Bhartha (Supporter - Not necessarily, Husband)


                    It being Amavasya, the Gopikas felt that, since their lives were now filled with light, it should be celebrated with lamps and fireworks to turn into a Full Moon Night. This day is celebrated as Deepavali.

How Gopikas are significant?

                    As per the promise he made, each Gopika had one Krishna with them. It can be treated as 'Vishnu Maya' or 'Krishna Leela'. All the Gopikas spoke to Krishna, spent their time with them and lead their lives happily in Krishna Tathvam.

                   Now, in addition to the 16k Gopikas, there is one more special character, known as Kumari Radha Devi. Before leaving for Mathura to kill Kamsa, Sri Krishna Promised that he would come back to meet her. But he never came back. So, Radha Devi had been waiting for Krishna on the banks of Yamuna River. Krishna never married Radha Devi, but she is always in Krishna's heart. Some say that, Radha ji is an imaginary character. It will be really painful to understand the plight of Radha Devi.

What is the significance of these characters?

                     These characters have a great influence on our Indian history, literature. There are many beliefs about these Radha and other Gopikas. Throughout the history, many people assumed that they themselves were Radha and they were still waiting for Sri Krishna. Some of them are:

• Meera Bai - 

                      Meera Bai of Chittorgarh wrote many songs on this concept.She danced in the streets of the city. She was objected by her brother-in-law, Vikramaditya as her dancing with commoners brought ill fame to Rajput families. So, he tried to poison her many times. But, as per Meera's own poems, it was turned into Amrit by Sri Krishna. She spent her life in bhajans.

• Deva Dasi's of olden days and current days :

                      Devadasi sthree are those people who have no proper life. These girls are married to god and dedicated to a deity. Very good example of Devadasi is Chandramukhi of Devdas novel / movie. These women have a psychological feeling that, they were once Gopikas. And now, they are in the prison of Narakasura (their own fate, in this world). So, they spend whole of their life in search of Lord Krishna.

                       We can see that, Chandramukhi had Krishna's murthi in her room and she sees the lord in Devdas. Even, the 'Karpuram' character of telugu movie 'Vedam' had a small golden murthi of krishna with her. Next example is 'Megha Sandesham' movie, where Jayaprada thinks she is Radhika and she sees Krishna in ANR. There are many such examples and references.

                      Of-course, all these characters are imaginary and not real. What we should understand is that, we have a great influence in everything we see even today.

   

• Raas Leela Art:

                     Raas Leela is a very famous dance form in our tradition.It is a popular theme in Bharatanatyam, Odissi, Manipuri and Kuchipudi and Kathak. It is very famous acts during Holi, Dasara, Krishna Ashtami and Diwali in North India and in Assam.

                    Upon hearing the sound of Krishna's flute, Gopikas come out from their homes into the forest to dance with Krishna. This is the central idea of these acts. Raas leela songs are used by various characters in our films.Like -Kahe Ched Ched Mohe : O Krishna why do you make fun of me (By Chandramukhi, Devdas Movie).

                    To say that a girl is waiting for true love, or to say that a woman is not leading her life happily and is waiting for best time, we use this concept.

• Some other instances:

                    If we can remember, in 2004, a senior IPS officer realized all at sudden at the age of 53 that, he was Radha. He made a public appearance in saree, danced like Radha ji. Similar is the case with those people who are associated with ISCKON Movement. They dance, do bhajans in trains, roads etc.

                    Let us not make fun of them. They are in search of their Krishna. Till the time there is no harm to mankind, it is acceptable.

"Forget everything  -  See god in everyone"

This is the essence of Krishna Tathvam.

Kauravas

                    It is known that in the great epic of Mahabharata, Pandavas were five and Kauravas were 100 sons and 1 girl. We all know the names of Pancha Pandavas.  Among Kauravas, we know just 2-3 names like Duryodhana, Dussasana and girl Dussala.

Courtesy: Krishna.com

Here is some information that I have found recently:

                    Gandhari, mother of kauravas wished she had hundred sons. Sage Vyasa granted her prayer through a boon. Gandhari became pregnant and did not deliver for two years. After the completion of two years, Gandhari gave birth to a lump of flesh. Vyasa had to cut this lump into hundred and one pieces, which eventually developed into hundred boys and one girl.

They have named them as:

 
Duryodhanana,  Dussaasanana,  Dussahana,  Dussalana,
Jalagandhana, Samana, Sahana, Vindhana, Anuvindhana,
Durdharshana, Subaahua, Dushpradharshana, Durmarshanana,
Durmukhana, Dushkarnana, Vikarnana, Saalana, Sathwana,
Sulochanana, Chithrana, Upachithrana, Chithraakshana,
Chaaruchithrana, Saraasanana, Durmadana, Durvigaahana,
Vivilsua, Vikatinandana, Oornanaabhana, Sunaabhana,
Nandana, Upanandana, Chithrabaanana, Chithravarmana,
Suvarmana, Durvimochana, Ayobaahu, Mahaabaahu, Chithraamgana,
Chithrakundalana, Bheemavegana, Bheemabalana, Vaalaky,
Belavardhanana, Ugraayudhana, Sushenana, Kundhaadharana,
Mahodarana, Chithraayudhana, Nishamgy, Paasy,Vrindaarakana,
Dridhavarmana, Dridhakshathrana, Somakeerthy, Anthudarana,
Dridhasandhana, Jaraasandhana, Sathyasandhana, Sadaasuvaaka,
Ugrasravasa, Ugrasenana.Senaany, Dushparaajana, Aparaajithana,
Kundhasaai, Visaalaakshana, Duraadharana, Dridhahasthana,
Suhasthana, Vaathavegana, Suvarchana, Aadithyakethu,
Bahwaasy, Naagadathana, Ugrasaai, Kavachy, Kradhanana,
Kundhy, Bheemavikrana, Dhanurdharana, Veerabaahu, Alolupana,
Abhayana, Dhridhakarmaavu, Dhridharathaasrayana, Anaadhrushyana,
Kundhabhedy, Viraavy, Chithrakundhalana, Pramadhana, Amapramaadhy,
Deerkharomana, Suveeryavaana, Dheerkhabaahu, Sujaathana,
Kaanchanadhwajana, Kundhaasy, Virajassa and Yuyutsu
 The 101th child is a girl and is named as Dussala

                   All the 100 Kauravas were killed in the battle of Kurukshetra. All Kauravas were married and they had sons. The sons of the Kauravas fought in the Kurukshetra war. Duryodhana had twenty-nine sons. Other kaurava's information was not recorded.

I always wonder, how they used to remember all these names.

The Significance of Dashavatar

                       As per the Vaishnava Philosophy, Lord Vishnu has a total of ten avatars, of which, one is yet to come. It is interesting to see that, the ten incarnations of Vishnu relates to the various stages of the human evolution.

                       Based on the observations of British biologist, J B S Haldane, it is found that the dasavataras are the sequential depiction of evolution.

Let us now see few interesting things...

Life Evolution:

• Life originated in water in unicellular form.
• It was followed by aquatic life forms.
• It was then followed by Amphibians.
• Then, the transformation of 'animal to Ape' took place
• Then, another transformation from 'Ape to Human' took place. This phase had Dwarf people.
• Then, proper human beings evolved - Initially Hunters, followed by farmers, Businessmen and Philosophers.

Now, let us see how the same thing can be correlated:

                      As per the vaishnava philosophy, Lord Vishnu took nine incarnations till now starting with a fish, then a amphibian, and then ape etc. Here is the list:

•    First -

            Matsya Avatar (The Fish) - It signifies that life started in the water.

•    Second - 

            Kurma Avatar (The Tortoise) - Amphibian - It means, life moved from water to the land.

•    Third - 

            Varaha Avatar (The Boar) - A Total animal - This phase refers to the stage where life got  adapted to live on land.

•    Fourth -

            Narasimha Avatar (Half ape) - This is the time where transformation from animal to ape took place.

•    Fifth - 

            Vamana avatar (Dwarf Human) - At this stage, the transformation from ape to human took place and man developed intelligence by asking for just three steps of land and killing the king, Bali.

•    Sixth -

            Parasurama avatar (Forest dweller) - Human started civilizing and developing stone tools.

•    Seventh - 

            Sree Rama avatar (The Hunter, King) - It is this stage of evolution, where human beings used superior weapons, bows and arrows, settled in villages, had a king to take care of the settlement etc.,

•    Eighth - 

            Sree Krishna avatar (Businessman) - This stage of evolution saw the domestication of animals and development of economy. Sri Krishna's brother, Balarama was a farmer and hence it can be assumed that humans started agriculture in this stage.

•    Ninth - 

            Buddha Avatar (Philosopher) - In this stage, people started thinking and evaluating things.Some guidelines were framed in the name of philosophy for the betterment of mankind.  

•    Tenth - 

           Kalki avatar - This is yet to arrive. It is believed that this avatar would be the end of the world. It could even be a virus.

                    One observation is, the average height of human beings when compared to that of their  grand fathers is increasing generation-by-generation. May be this is also a part of evolution. Let us see what happens in the next stage of evolution.

The Positive side of Ravana

                   We all know about Ravana as the  demon king of Lanka. We burn the effigy of Ravana on Vijayadashami and observe it as a triumph over evil by Lord Rama.

                   There are many great things about Ravana which we should take into our consideration. Ravana is known to have ten heads which symbolically mean that he is fully aware of the contents of the six Shastras and the four Vedas making a total of ten Holy Scriptures. In spite of being a person with ten heads, he lacked control over senses., which lead to his downfall. Ravana was a scholar, Ayurveda doctor, a great astrologer who authored Ravana Sanhitha, a book on Hindu Astrology and the ruler of Sri Lanka from 2554 BC to 2517 BC.

                   There are certain scets of people in Sri Lanka who worship Ravana and they have very interesting reasons  for the evil things done by him. Their theory states that Ravan's daughter is Sita. He had abandoned her because the astrologers predicted that she would be the cause of his death. She was later brought up by King Janaka.

                   One more theory for Ravana leaving his daughter in the forest states that he along with his queen went to forest and did intense meditation to please Lord Shiva for the sake of having a kid. He was given a mango to be eaten by his queen. Ravan, instead, ate the fruit himself and became pregnant. Thus, he gives birth to Sita through nasal sneeze. [I think, this could be the probable reason why my father always says 'Sita Ayush' whenever I sneeze, thus reminding us the way Sita is born through a sneeze..] And then, he abandons her in the forest.

                    When Ravana came to know about this exile, Ravan tried a lot to bring Sita back to his kingdom and free her from the forest. But Sita refused to come with him as it is against the culture. So, he had to become a villain just to take her to the Ashoka-Vanam which is the most beautiful place in Ravana's Land.

                   Whatever may be the theory, let us try to appreciate the positive points and respect him for the knowledge he possessed in various fields.