The most famous verse of Jayadeva Swami's Gita-Govindam

[Vaagmi]

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The people who "surrender" should read and understand (and this is very important!) the poem Abu Ben Adam by Leigh Hunt. There is every chance that the surrender-bhakti may go the way of 'vaNNAnukku vaNNAtti mEl...' kind and the surrenderee God may be liking only those who held on to Shunya, while alive, because they spoke the truth about God!

Where are the ear plugs. The decibels of mutual back-slapping is deafening. Ear plugs pleeeeeeeeease. LOL.

 

[renuka]

Ok ..so Valmiki Ramayan is clear about the fact that Ahalya knew it was Indra in disguise as Sage Gautama and consented to intercourse and after the act is over she tells Indra to go away quickly before Gautama comes back.

Wow! This is great..cos its gives Ramayan a twist..that is Ahalya was not totally afraid to express her sexuality..she felt no reason to be a pati vrata.

The strange part is Gautama was willing to take back a adulterous wife after she had been "purified" but Rama sent Seeta away even though Seeta was not adulterous.

Strange but true..its nice reading Valmiki Ramayan..at least it sounds truthful..unlike other Ramayans that try to cover up this Ahalya episode by saying that she did not know it was Indra disguising as her husband.

I guess other Ramayan writers could not handle the fact that a woman can be sexually liberated and tried to make it seem less scandalous.

 

[zebra16]

The second part.

This with reference to post #179. Let us take the second variety of TBs.

These are TBs who picked up few values whatsoever from their parents, elders and community. As children they were either neglected by parents or were simply spoilt children. They somehow get a job and after a lackadaisical career they too retire from their job. What happens after retirement is the focus here and so let us see that.

These people also have their future needs of financial nature taken care of by a pension and savings. Their children too would have settled down by now and these elders may be doing baby sitting for their sons and daughters. They have nothing to do in their home. In all probability they may have a host of diseases troubling them because of the undisciplined life they have led. Smoking, drinking, meat/egg eating and excess indulgence in each of the known vices. Most of the time they will be easy chair ridden watching TV. Because of their nature they will be always in conflict with others in the family. I have seen houses where such individuals watching one of the two TVs kept side by side--the other TV will be showing a programme liked by others in the family while our hero will be watching whatever he likes. Going to a temple is ruled out for them not only because of the poor health but also because of the mental aversion.
Among the several complaints they have, God had not been kind to them is one. So they will be agnostics or die hard atheists. They will make fun of every religious practice and will spend time questioning unendingly about every belief. They are perfect examples of cynics. While their counter part from the other kind will eventually die happily with the certainty in his mind that he will go to heaven these cynics will die a miserable death unsure of where they will go and worrying about it no end.
In all probability their children would also have been brought up in this atmosphere. They would believe in free love or live in relationships. In some rare cases if the spouse of such super humans had been more level headed the children may be saved. Spend just ten minutes with these people and they will change the mood to extreme pessimism. Next time you see this kind of a person you will hide from him or take a detour to avoid him.

If you have to converse with these people you will have to first determine the coordinates by mutual agreement within which the conversation can proceed. Otherwise they will drag you towards shunya very quickly.

Sri Vagmi,

I write this post not to contest what you have written, but feel impelled to narrate my own perception (iSe tvA, Urje tvA).

There is a third type of TB known as the "Rendun-kettAn" (not belonging to either category) and I have no qualms in admitting that I belong to that type. I have seen many belonging to my or the third category and know that I am not a loner group.

For the last 45 years (that is right after my upanayanam and my middle school science learning) I have been struggling and trying to reconcile and keep two knowledge bases (science and religion) separate which are mutually contradictory. At the school I learnt that the sun never really rises or sets, but then at sandhyAs give arghyam to sUrya Bhagwan to keep him away from the clutches of mandehA asurAs.

To please sUrya Bhagwan exactly, I have to give arghyam at or just before dawn by standing but bent at waist, in the forenoon standing right up like a "dhanDam" and in sitting posture at dusk. I am fortunate to have a cushy job with office starting at 11 am and ending at 6 pm and no overtime etc. as such I was able to attend to rituals on almost all days.

Inspite of zero photographic evidence after successful moon orbit in 1969 about existence of pitRs on moon I continue to give amAvAsya tharpaNm and varSa ShrArdham to my pitRs.

Of course I try to convince myself that my acts are symbolic and point to higher and as yet attained (at least by me) truths but to be frank I feel these convictions are hollow.

Even after 45 years of faithful and endless repetitions of the famed Gayatri japam, I am yet to see "tejas" or "brahma varchasam" or"kaLai" on my face.

The daily ritual also included nitya pUja which I started to do after about 5 years after pUNaL which includes use of vedic mantrAs like puruSa sUktam, Sree sUktam, viSNu sUktam, nArAyaNa sUktam, durgA sUktam, medhA sUktam, rudram, chamakam ityAdi, and also viSNu sahasranAmam in the evenings and Sri LalitA sahasranAmam in the mornings, but i could not discern any noticeable benefit.

No amount of recitation of hayagreeva stotram or medhA suktam enabled me to understand any subject at a glance or in just one reading.

At least ten years of my summer vacation were spent on reading and narrating Srimad BhAgwatam, viSNu purANam, Devi bhAgawatam, brahma purANam etc etc to my maternal grandfather (who had developed blurred vision, so could not read himself - looking back it was merely a cataract operation that was required - but he steadfastly refused any medicine but believed prOkshaNam, mArjanam etc. of aBhisheka theertham will restore his vision). But neither his vision improved, nor my marks dramatically improved in the subsequent academic years because of the side benefits of reading uttama and uttamOttma purANams.

Neither aBhishekam to Sivalingam nor viSesha alankAram to SAlagrAma SilA achieved anything spectacular in this life so far and more than half of my life is over by now. But I can say with confidence that bANa lingam and sAlagrAmam housed in my anjali-potti did not fight with each other and stayed in the same position till the pUjA the next day, quite contrary to the frequent SivA-viSnu bouts seen in this forum.

Now I also learn that all these hardships were quite unnecessary but Satsangham of Geeta Govindam and understanding the philosophy of the paramAtma in search of jeevAtmAs to give mOksham was more than enough.

I still continue to do the rituals, but frankly I have to admit that faith is waning.

 

[auh]

...I still continue to do the rituals, but frankly I have to admit that faith is waning.

I laughed at this witty and yet profound posting and the paradox that lies therein... well said.

The last sentence is what best describes many brahmins today... me included.

 

[renuka]

I still continue to do the rituals, but frankly I have to admit that faith is waning.

Why do any ritual if you feel "faith" is waning?

Isn't better to only do a ritual when one has faith in it?

Of what use is doing anything half heartedly? Won't that be mechanical?

 

[prasad1]

Why do any ritual if you feel "faith" is waning?

Isn't better to only do a ritual when one has faith in it?

Of what use is doing anything half heartedly? Won't that be mechanical?

I agree with your comment. But sometimes familiarity is comforting even if it is futile.

 

[prasad1]

Well written post#202 Zebraji.

 

[JR]

Sri Vagmi,

I write this post not to contest what you have written, but feel impelled to narrate my own perception (iSe tvA, Urje tvA).

There is a third type of TB known as the "Rendun-kettAn" (not belonging to either category) and I have no qualms in admitting that I belong to that type. I have seen many belonging to my or the third category and know that I am not a loner group.

For the last 45 years (that is right after my upanayanam and my middle school science learning) I have been struggling and trying to reconcile and keep two knowledge bases (science and religion) separate which are mutually contradictory. At the school I learnt that the sun never really rises or sets, but then at sandhyAs give arghyam to sUrya Bhagwan to keep him away from the clutches of mandehA asurAs.

To please sUrya Bhagwan exactly, I have to give arghyam at or just before dawn by standing but bent at waist, in the forenoon standing right up like a "dhanDam" and in sitting posture at dusk. I am fortunate to have a cushy job with office starting at 11 am and ending at 6 pm and no overtime etc. as such I was able to attend to rituals on almost all days.

Inspite of zero photographic evidence after successful moon orbit in 1969 about existence of pitRs on moon I continue to give amAvAsya tharpaNm and varSa ShrArdham to my pitRs.

Of course I try to convince myself that my acts are symbolic and point to higher and as yet attained (at least by me) truths but to be frank I feel these convictions are hollow.

Even after 45 years of faithful and endless repetitions of the famed Gayatri japam, I am yet to see "tejas" or "brahma varchasam" or"kaLai" on my face.

The daily ritual also included nitya pUja which I started to do after about 5 years after pUNaL which includes use of vedic mantrAs like puruSa sUktam, Sree sUktam, viSNu sUktam, nArAyaNa sUktam, durgA sUktam, medhA sUktam, rudram, chamakam ityAdi, and also viSNu sahasranAmam in the evenings and Sri LalitA sahasranAmam in the mornings, but i could not discern any noticeable benefit.

No amount of recitation of hayagreeva stotram or medhA suktam enabled me to understand any subject at a glance or in just one reading.

At least ten years of my summer vacation were spent on reading and narrating Srimad BhAgwatam, viSNu purANam, Devi bhAgawatam, brahma purANam etc etc to my maternal grandfather (who had developed blurred vision, so could not read himself - looking back it was merely a cataract operation that was required - but he steadfastly refused any medicine but believed prOkshaNam, mArjanam etc. of aBhisheka theertham will restore his vision). But neither his vision improved, nor my marks dramatically improved in the subsequent academic years because of the side benefits of reading uttama and uttamOttma purANams.

Neither aBhishekam to Sivalingam nor viSesha alankAram to SAlagrAma SilA achieved anything spectacular in this life so far and more than half of my life is over by now. But I can say with confidence that bANa lingam and sAlagrAmam housed in my anjali-potti did not fight with each other and stayed in the same position till the pUjA the next day, quite contrary to the frequent SivA-viSnu bouts seen in this forum.

Now I also learn that all these hardships were quite unnecessary but Satsangham of Geeta Govindam and understanding the philosophy of the paramAtma in search of jeevAtmAs to give mOksham was more than enough.

I still continue to do the rituals, but frankly I have to admit that faith is waning.

I don't think there is any reason to be skeptical about one's devotional practices not bearing fruit.

In Jyotish, they call it all related to one's poorva punyam. The poorva punya sthana or mantra bhava (5th house) has to be strong, as well as significatory planet Jupiter rendered with power, if one's continued devotional efforts have to bear fruit in the same lifetime.

And secondly, how do we exactly know something has not given result? Maybe it has... and it will. Afterall, the whole life runs on earth on the basis of one factor alone - faith.

 

[sangom]

Dear Shri zebra,


very truthful post! Imho, what you should do now is to understand the salient points of the three major philosophies, viz., Advaita, Visishtadvaita and Dwaita, and then contemplate which one is correct and appeals to your logical sense.

I did so and learned that there is no God other than the power which makes your perishable body into a living entity with mind, ego, intellect, etc.

 

[tks]

I still continue to do the rituals, but frankly I have to admit that faith is waning.

I laughed at this witty and yet profound posting and the paradox that lies therein... well said.

The last sentence is what best describes many brahmins today... me included.

Mid life crisis is very different for some people, I think They grow in wisdom actually from the experience!

Waning faith will be replaced by wisdom based Shraddha, understanding(knowledge) based Bhakthi of Isvara and Bhakthi based knowledge - but one must crave to know the one and only truth!

May we all succeed in this quest.

 

[zebra16]

Why do any ritual if you feel "faith" is waning?

Isn't better to only do a ritual when one has faith in it?

Of what use is doing anything half heartedly? Won't that be mechanical?

For starters, it takes some people a lot of time to realise the futility of the endeavour undertaken.

The second and more important reason is abrupt change/s disturb the eco-system prevailing in the house.

We may think it is OUR LIFE and we are free to live the way we want, but those near & dear ones who stay with us have a lien on our life and we partly live our life for them. Reflect back and think how much of each day you live for your loving son, your husband, your mother etc.

Even a small puppy if we have as a pet has a lien on some of our free time because we have to take it for walking

 

[auh]

Mid life crisis is very different for some people, I think They grow in wisdom actually from the experience!

We may think it is OUR LIFE and we are free to live the way we want, but those near & dear ones who stay with us have a lien on our life and we partly live our life for them.

Post # 210 - You said it !!!

I forgot the smiley

 

[CHANDRU1849]

Now I also learn that all these hardships were quite unnecessary but Satsangham of Geeta Govindam and understanding the philosophy of the paramAtma in search of jeevAtmAs to give mOksham was more than enough.

It seems you have not spared any God and at the same time critical of the results, despite chasing all Gods. Now, it looks you realize that restricting to Satsangham of Geeta Govindam is enough to attain Moksham. besides understanding the philosophy of paramatma and jeevatma.

Probably the monotony forces you to switch over from polygamy to single God.

All the best. But, there is a critical review of Geeta Govindam also in this forum, which, I am sure, you will have a look.

 

[Raji Ram]

I am sorry I am not going to post anything on this. I need a copy of Arcot Panchangam for 2015-16 ? I have tried Giri Trading shops in Mylapore and Tiruvanmiyur
but without success. Can any of our friends send me a pdf copy of this panchangam to me urgently as it is required for a friend. I am sure there is always someone
to help. Thanks and regards,

Most of the times, that 'someone' happens to be me!

Here is the link for Arcot Panchangam. I could not find any pdf copy.

Panchangam for Arcot, Tamil Nadu, India

You can also try this: Arcot Panchangam - Mobile App