VISHNU PICTURE GALLERY and 24 AVATAR of Vishnu - Page 5

Originally posted by: radhikarani

Balarama was born to Vasudeva and Devaki. Kamsa, the brother of Devaki and an evil king, was intent upon killing all the children of his sister because of a prediction that he would die at the hands of her eighth son. Ka?sa thus threw his sister Devaki and her husband Vasudeva into prison, and proceeded to kill each of their children as they were born. However, the seventh child was transferred miraculously from Devaki's womb to the womb of Rohini, who had desired a child of her own. Thus Balarama's other name is also Sa?kar?a?a which describes the transfer of the child from the womb. The child was formally named Rama, but because of his great strength he was called Balarama (Strong Rama), Baladeva or Balabhadra. Thus, Rohini actually gave birth to Balarama and raised him.

One day, Nanda Maharaja requested Gargamuni, the family priest to visit their home in order to give names to Krishna and Balarama. When Gargamuni arrived at his house Nanda Maharaja, received him very well and then requested him to perform the naming ceremony. Gargamuni then reminded Nanda Maharaja that Ka?sa was looking for the son of Devaki and said that if he performed the ceremony very opulently it would come to the notice of Kamsa, who would then suspect that Krishna was the son of Devaki. Nanda Maharaja therefore asked Gargamuni to perform the ceremony in secret, and Gargamuni did so giving the reasons for Balarama's names as follows:

"Because Balarama, the son of Rohini, increases the transcendental bliss of others, His name is Rama, and because of His extraordinary strength, He is called Baladeva. He attracts the Yadus to follow His instructions, and therefore His name is Sankarshana.

After Kamsa's death, he and Krishna went to the sage Sandipani's ashrama at Ujjayini for study.

Balarama slays Dhenukasura

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Dhenukasura was a powerful demon who had assumed the form of an ass. With his demon friends he was occupying Talavana, one of the twelve forests of Vrindavana. Out of fear of these demons no one could approach Talavana and enjoy the numerous flowers and fruits in the forest. Balarama, induced by His cowherd friends, entered the forest desiring to kill the demons. He began shaking the fruit trees, making a big noise. Dhenuka, furious at the intrusion, attacked Balarama with his rear legs, but Balarama easily picked him up by his legs and whirled him around until he died. As the other demon friends of Dhenuka rushed to attack, Krishna and Balarama picked them up and threw them on trees, killing them. Soon the forest was free of all demons, and it appeared that the bent trees were being directed by Balarama to pay obeisances to Krishna.

Balarama kills Pralambasura

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Once when Krishna and Balarama were playing with the cowherd boys, a demon named Pralamba entered their midst, disguised as a cowherd boy. Understanding the invincible potency of Krishna, he instead decided to abduct Balarama. At the end of the game, as the losing party he was supposed to carry Balarama on his shoulders. Carrying the Lord on his shoulders he ran swiftly, but Balarama realizing the true identity of demon began to make himself heavier and heavier. Unable to bear the weight, the demon assumed his original form which was like a huge dark effulgent cloud, decorated with golden ornaments. Balarama then bought His fist down the head of the demon splitting it into two and causing him to give up his life.

Balarama glorified by Krishna

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As the elder brother of Krishna, Balarama was the object of His love and respect. Once when walking in the forest of Vrindavana, Krishna observed the trees bending down as if paying obeisances. He glorified the lotus feet of Balarama as being the object of devotion even for the demigods. He said that the trees, which were impersonalists in previous life times, witnessing the personal form of Balarama were now praying for His devotion. At other times when Balarama would get tired by playing, He would lie down the lap of one of the cowherd boys and Krishna would personally massage His feet, fan Him and give Him service. Such was the sweet reciprocation of love between Krishna and Balarama.

Yamuna devi chastised

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Once Lord Balarama, Who was at the time living in Dwarka, came back to stay in Vrindavana for two months. At this time He enjoyed pastimes with His gopi friends (who were different from the gopis of Krishna). Enjoying such pastimes on the bank of Yamuna at Rama-ghata, the Lord summoned Yamuna so that He could sport in the waters. When Yamuna devi did not respond. Lord Balarama took up His favorite weapon, His plow, and began to drag Yamuna in a hundred streams. Understanding the position of Balarama, Yamuna devi personally appeared and offered her obeisances to the Lord with many prayers in His glorification. Thus appeased the Lord entered and bathed in the waters of the river.

Kauravas chastised

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Samba, the darling son of Jambavati and Krishna, kidnapped Laksmana the daughter of Duryodhana from the assembly were she was supposed to choose her husband. The furious Kauravas after a prolonged fight, finally arrested Samba by sending in six of their greatest warriors. When the Yadavas heard of this they prepared for battle but Lord Balarama pacified them, preferring to find a peaceful solution. However when He requested the Kauravas to return Samba and Laksmana, the Kauravas responded by insulting Him and the Yadava dynasty. Understanding them to be ignorant in their false prestige, Balarama took His plow and began to drag Hastinapura into the Ganges. The terrified Kauravas now surrendered to the lotus feet of Balarama, begging for His mercy. They immediately returned Samba and Laksmana and had them married ceremoniously with many opulent gifts.

Balarama marries Revati

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In Satya yuga there was a King named Raivata whose daughter Revati was excellent in all respects. Unable to find a match suitable for her, the king took her to the court of Brahma for his advise. After waiting for some time when the king met with Brahma, he was shocked to learn that in the short time he spent in the Brahmaloka, millions of years had already passed on Earth and at the time Dvapara yuga was concluding. However Lord Brahma informed King Raivata that present at this time was Lord Balarama Who was more than qualified to be the husband of Revati.

King Raivata returned and approached Balarama to accept Revati as His wife. However Revati belonged to an earlier yuga when people were much larger physically. So Lord Balarama placed His plow on her head until she shrunk to an appropriate size and accepted her as His wife.

Balarama and Mahabharata

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In general Balarama was equally affectionate to both the Pandavas and the Kauravas. He accepted both Duryodhana and Bhima as His disciples in the art of mace-war. As a teacher He appreciated the superior technique of Duryodhana as opposed to the raw strength of Bhima. At the time of Mahabharata, He refused to take sides and instead went on an extended pilgrimage to the holy places. In the battle between Bhima and Duryodhana, He became angry at Bhima for killing Duryodhana by trickery, but was appeased by Sri Krishna.

Killing of Romaharshana

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Towards the end of Dvapara yuga thousands of sages assembled on the banks of Naimyasharana to perform a thousand year yajna in an effort to reverse the onset of Kali yuga. They appointed as their leader Romaharshana, one of the main disciple of Vyasadeva, who was also present when Sukadeva Goswami narrated Srimad Bhagavatam to King Parikshit.

When Lord Balarama entered the assembly, understanding Him to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead, all present rose to offer Him respect. However Romaharshana, proud at occupying the position of the leader did not get up. Lord Balarama could understand that even though Romaharshana was a an expert Vedantist, he had not yet realized these teachings. Considering him unqualified to lead the ceremony, Balarama touched him with a blade of grass causing him to die. He then instituted Suta, the son of Romaharshana as the leader of the assembly and continued with His pilgrimage.

Mercy of Lord Balarama

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Lord Balarama exemplifies the service attitude to Krishna. His only mission is to please Krishna by rendering service to Him, whether it is in the creation of the material worlds, maintaining the spiritual world or as His personal paraphernalia.

Lord Balarama is the eternal companion of Sri Krishna. He came as Lakshmana with Rama and later as Nityananda Prabhu with Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He is the original spiritual master, and any one desiring to make spiritual progress must first get the mercy of Lord Balarama.

Balarama famously taught both Duryodhana of the Kauravas and Bhima of the Pandavas the art of fighting with a mace. When war broke between the Kauravas and the Pandavas, Balarama was equally affectionate to both parties and so decided to be neutral. Eventually when Bhima (of greater strength) defeated Duryodhana (of greater skill) by dealing a blow below the navel with his mace (a move against the rules of mace combat), Balarama threatened to kill Bhima. This was only prevented when Krishna reminded Balarama of Bhima's vow to kill Duryodhana by crushing the very thigh he exposed to his wife Draupadi.

Death

In the Bhagavata Purana it is described that after Balarama took part in the battle that caused the destruction of the rest of the Yadu dynasty, and after he witnessed the disappearance of Krishna, he then sat down in a meditative state and departed from this world.[3] In some accounts it is described that a great white snake left Balarama's mouth at this point in reference to his identity as Ananta-Sesha. And the place where he departed from this world is situated about 1 km far from Somnath Temple in Gujarat. There is one cave at that place and the white snake who came out of Balarama's mouth get into that cave and went back to Paatal Lok as the local people of Veraval says.

Posted by guru at 9:54 AM0 comments

VYAS AVATAR

Parasara was a great Jnani and one of the supreme authorities on astrology and his book Parasara Hora is still a textbook on astrology. He has also written a Smriti known as Parasara Smriti which is held in such high esteem that it is quoted by our present-day writers on sociology and ethics. Parasara came to know that a child, conceived at a particular Ghatika or moment of time, would be born as the greatest man of the age, nay, as an Amsa of Lord Vishnu Himself. On that day, Parasara was travelling in a boat and he spoke to the boatman about the nearing of that auspicious time. The boatman had a daughter who was of age and awaiting marriage. He was impressed with the sanctity and greatness of the Rishi and offered his daughter in marriage to Parasara. Our Vyasa was born of this union and his birth is said to be due to the blessing of Lord Siva Himself who blessed the union of a sage with a Jnani of the highest order, although of a low caste.

At a very tender age Vyasa gave out to his parents the secret of his life that he should go to the forest and do Akhanda Tapas. His mother at first did not agree, but later gave permission on one important condition that he should appear before her whenever she wished for his presence. This itself shows how far-sighted the parents and the son were. Puranas say that Vyasa took initiation at the hands of his twenty-first Guru, sage Vasudeva. He studied the Shastras under sages Sanaka and Sanandana and others. He arranged the Vedas for the good of mankind and wrote the Brahma Sutras for the quick and easy understanding of the Srutis; he also wrote the Mahabharata to enable women, Sudras and other people of lesser intellect to understand the highest knowledge in the easiest way. Vyasa wrote the eighteen Puranas and established the system of teaching them through Upakhyanas or discourses. In this way, he established the three paths, viz., Karma, Upasana and Jnana. To him is also attributed the fact that he continued the line of his mother and that Dhritarashtra, Pandu and Vidura were his progeny. Vyasa's last work was the Bhagavata which he undertook at the instigation of Devarshi Narada who once came to him and advised him to write it as, without it, his goal in life would not be reached.

Vyasa is considered by all Hindus as a Chiranjivi, one who is still living and roaming throughout the world for the well-being of his devotees. It is said that he appears to the true and the faithful and that Jagadguru Sankaracharya had his Darshan in the house of sage Mandana Misra and that he appeared to many others as well. Thus, in short, Vyasa lives for the welfare of the world. Let us pray for his blessings on us all and on the whole world.

Everybody knows that there are six important systems of thought developed by our ancients known as the Shad Darshanas or the six orthodox schools of philosophy, viz., Sankhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaiseshika, Purva Mimamsa and Uttara Mimamsa or Vedanta. Each system has a different shade of opinion. Later, these thoughts became unwieldy, and to regulate them, the Sutras came into existence. Treatises were written in short aphorisms, called "Sutras" in Sanskrit, meaning clues for memory or aids to long discussions on every topic. In the Padma Purana, the definition of a Sutra is given. It says that a Sutra should be concise and unambiguous; but the brevity was carried to such an extent that the Sutra has become unintelligible and particularly so in the Brahma Sutras. Today we find the same Sutra being interpreted in a dozen ways. The Brahma Sutras written by Vyasa or Badarayana'for that was the name which he possessed in addition'are also known as Vedanta Sutras as they deal with Vedanta only. They are divided into four chapters, each chapter being subdivided again into four sections. It is interesting to note that they begin and end with Sutras which read together mean "the inquiry into the real nature of Brahman has no return", meaning that "going by that way one reaches Immortality and no more returns to the world". About the authorship of these Sutras, tradition attributes it to Vyasa. Sankaracharya, in his Bhashya, refers to Vyasa as the author of the Gita and the Mahabharata, and to Badarayana as the author of the Brahma Sutras. His followers'Vachaspathi, Anandagiri and others'identify the two as one and the same person, while Ramanuja and others attribute the authorship of all three to Vyasa himself. The oldest commentary on the Brahma Sutras is by Sankaracharya; he was later followed by Ramanuja, Vallabha, Nimbarka, Madhva and others who established their own schools of thought.

All the five Acharyas mostly agree on two points, viz., (i) that Brahman is the cause of this world and (ii) that knowledge of Brahman leads to final emancipation. But they differ amongst themselves on the nature of this Brahman, the relation between the individual soul and the Supreme Soul, and the condition of the soul in the state of release. According to some, Bhakti and not Jnana, as interpreted by Sankara, is the chief means of attaining liberation.

Vyasa's life is a unique example of one born for the dissemination of spiritual knowledge. His writings inspire us and the whole world even to this day. May we all live in the spirit of his writings!

Posted by guru at 9:42 AM0 comments

MOHINI AVATAR

After the demi-gods and demons had churned the oceans to extract the nectar that would give them immortality, a fight over the possession of the urn containing the nectar ensued between them. Vishnu realised that if the squabble continued for long then the nectar would spill out and be lost forever. He also did not want the demons to drink any of the nectar, as that would firmly entrench the forces of evil in the world. Hence he appeared on the scene as Mohini, a woman of breath-taking beauty and allure. Both the demi-gods and the demons stopped fighting and began to ogle at her. Flaunting her charms, Mohini convinced both the demi-gods and the demons that she would distribute the nectar equitably.

She asked the demi-gods to form one line and asked the demons to stand in another. She first gave a drop of the nectar to the demi-god who was foremost in the queue. Then she turned around to serve the demon standing first in line. But as she turned around, she replaced the urn of nectar with a similar urn of water, and gave a drop of water to the demon. The demon was so excited by the oozing sultriness of Mohini, that he did not notice the switch. When Mohini turned to serve the second demi-god, she again divined the urn with the nectar. This way, she fooled the demons into believing that they were drinking the nectar.

However a demon named Rahu saw through the trick and he quietly went and stood in the queue of the demi-gods. Thus he was given a drop of the nectar. But the Sun and Moon Gods recognized him and warned Mohini. Mohini then assumed her true form, that of Vishnu, and before the drop of nectar could go down Rahu's throat, he set loose his Sudarshan chakra (a divine weapon in the form of a disc) and cut off Rahu's head. Hence Rahu's bodiless head was destined to roam around the heavens forever. Because the Sun and Moon Gods had ratted on him, he would from time to time bite of a part of the sun and the moon thus causing the solar and lunar eclipses.

When they saw Mohini turn into Vishnu, the demons realised that they had been conned. But by then the demi-gods had partaken of the nectar and had become immortal and were able to defeat the demons.

When Shiva heard this tale he expressed his desire to see Vishnu in the form of Mohini, but Vishnu put him off by saying that he would again incarnate himself as Mohini at an appropriate time. The time did come sooner than expected.

Shiva, who was easily pleased, granted a boon to the demon Bhasmasur, bestowing on him the power to reduce to ashes anyone whom he touched on the head. The evil demon decided to test the effect of the boon on Shiva himself. Shiva panicked and turned to Vishnu for help and protection. After chastising Shiva for being overly generous with his boons, he once again assumed the form of the beautiful and bewitching Mohini. The demon was totally captivated by Mohini's sexuality and forgot about Shiva. He desired nothing but taking Mohini to bed. Mohini agreed on condition that Bhasmasur replicate her dance steps. In the ensuing competition between the two, Mohini placed her hands on her head. The demon did likewise, thus reducing himself to ashes.

Posted by guru at 9:41 AM0 comments

DHANVANTARI

Salutations to him, Lord Dhanvantari, who is holding a conch shell, a disc of energy, a leech, and a pot of celestial ambrosia. In whose heart shines a subtle, clear, gentle,and pleasing blaze of light that also shines around his head and lotus eyes.

On the dark blue water his body is luminous, splendid, and shining. His waist and thighs are abounding in bright yellow clothes.

Who, by his mere play, destroys all disease like a mighty forest fire.

Om Dhanvantaraye Namah

Lord Dhanvantari is known as the father of Ayurveda, since he was the first divine incarnation to impart its wisdom amongst humans. He first appeared during the great churning of the cosmic ocean of milk (Samudra manthan) to deliver amrit (ambrosia, or Divine nectar) to the demigods.

Lord Dhanvantari is young and strongly built, his chest was very broad and his complexion bluish black.

He has strong arms, reddish eyes, and moved like a lion.

He is clad in bright yellow, his curly hair was anointed with oil and he wore shining earrings made of pearl.

As he emerged, he was holding a conch, leeches, healing herbs, a chakra (one of the divine weapons of Lord Vishnu's), and the long sought pot of ambrosia, for which he is also called Sudha Pani ("carrying nectar").

King Dirghatamas of Kashi (Benares) was performing severe austerities and offering them to Lord Dhanvantari in the hopes that he would be pleased with them and grant him a son. The Lord appeared and offered a boon to the king, so Dirghatamas asked Lord Dhanvantari to be born as his own son. The Lord replied that he would.

Soon after, Lord Dhanvantari was born in the royal household of Kashi and eventually became the king. Even as a young boy he had ascetic tendencies, was extremely disciplined and performed severe austerities. He taught Ayurveda orally to the sages and rishis (seers) who became his disciples. His teachings are recorded in the Agni Purana, as well as through the teachings of his disciples Susruta, Pauskalavata, Aurabha, Vaitarana, and others.

"One who remembers the name of Dhanvantari can be released from all disease."

Posted by guru at 9:31 AM0 comments

PRITHU AVATAR

King Vena, from the lineage of the pious Dhruva, was an evil king, who neglected Vedic rituals. Thus the rishis (sages) killed him, leaving the kingdom without an heir and in famine due to the anarchy of Vena. So, the sages churned Vena's body, out of which first appeared a dark dwarf hunter, a symbol of Vena's evil. Since the sins of Vena had gone away as the dwarf, the body was now pure. On further churning, Prithu emerged from right arm of the corpse. To end the famine by slaying the earth and getting her fruits, Prithu chased the earth (Prithvi) who fled as a cow. Finally, she cornered by Prithu, the earth states that killing her would mean the end of his subjects too. So Prithu lowered his weapons and reasoned with the earth and promised her to be her guardian. Finally, Prithu milked her using Manu as a calf, and received all vegetation and grain as her milk, in his hands for welfare of humanity. Before Prithu's reign, there was "no cultivation, no pasture, no agriculture, no highway for merchants", all civilization emerged in Prithu's rule. By granting life to the earth and being her protector, Prithu became the Earth's father and she accepted the patronymic name "Prithvi"

Vayu Purana records that when born, Prithu stood with a bow, arrows and an armour, ready to destroy the earth, which was devoid of Vedic rituals. Terrified, the earth fled in form of a cow and finally submitted to Prithu's demands, earning him the title chakravartin (sovereign). Prithu is the first king, recorded to earn the title.[3] The creator-god Brahma is described to have recognized Prithu as an avatar of Vishnu, as one of Prithu's birthmark was Vishnu's chakram (discus) on his hand and thus Prithu was "numbered amongst the human gods"

Atharvaveda credits him of the inventation of ploughing and thus, agriculture. He is also described as one who flattened the Earth's rocky surface, thus encouraging agriculture, cattle-breeding, commerence and development of new cities on earth

Prithu performed ninety-nine ashwamedha yagnas (horse-sacrifices), but Indra, kings of the demi-gods, disturbed Prithu's hundredth one. The yagya was abandoned, Vishnu gave Prithu his blessings and Prithu forgave Indra for the latter's theft of the ritual-horse. It also states that the Sanatkumaras, the four sage-incarnations of Vishnu, preached Prithu about devotion to Vishnu.

Prithu has a wife called Archi and five sons. Archi, emerged from Vena's body, along with Prithu and is considered as an avatar of goddess Lakshmi, the wife of Vishnu. Prithu's son Vijitswa, became the sovereign and controlled the middle of the kingdom. Prithu's other sons, Haryarksha, Dhumrakesha, Vrika and Dravina ruled the east, south, west and north of kingdom respectively

Prithu left with his wife Archi, to perform penance in the forest in his last days. He died in the forest, and Archi went Sati on his funeral pyre

Prithu is believed to have performed the Shraddha of his fathera at Prithudaka a town on banks of Sarasvati river. The town is referred as the boundary between Northern and central India and referred to by Patanjali as the modern Pihowa.

Lord Vishnu in his tenth incarnation as 'Prithu' came into existence after the body of King 'Vena'. Lord Vishnu took this incarnation as per the wishes of the sages. The earth had concealed all the vegetation's within her and as a result the whole land had become barren. To protect the humanity, Lord Vishnu took incarnation as Prithu by milking the cow (earth). This is considered that as a very supreme incarnation, because the earth has remained full of vegetation's after that.

Posted by guru at 9:30 AM0 comments

RISHABH AVATAR

Lord Vishnu in his ninth incarnation as Rishabh Dev was born to king Nabhi and Marudevi. His mother Marudevi was the daughter of Indra. He attained that state of Paramhansa (an ascetic of highest order who has controlled his anger) which is an uphill task. He was given the title of 'Jin' which means a ' a knower'. His followers are known as Jains.

'Jain Dharma' is an ancient dharmic religion from India that prescribes a path of non-violence for all forms of living beings in this world. Its philosophy and practice relies mainly on self effort in progressing the soul on the spiritual ladder to God consciousness. Any soul which has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state of supreme being is called jina

Rishabha was born to King Nabhi Raja and Queen Marudevi at Ayodhya in the Ikshvaku clan.

According to Jain beliefs, Rishabh existed before civilization developed.

He taught people agriculture, tending of animals, cooking, and more. He had one hundred and one sons.

His eldest son - Bharat - was a chakravarti king - the conqueror of the known world. In the later part of his life he retired to become a monk and attained moksha. Since he became a siddha, he is occasionally worshipped.

According to the Jain beliefs, India was named Bharata-varsha or Bharata after him.

His second son was Bahubali, whose statue stands at Shravanabelagola, Karnataka as well as at Karkala.

Marudevi mother of Adinath was the first person to achieve moksha - even before Rishabh himself.

Rishabh's grandson Marichi's soul later became Mahavira

He attained 'Kevalgnan' or infinite knowledge at Palitana and attained liberation (Moksha) at Ashtapad mountain in Himalayas.

Jaina tradition identifies Rishabha (also known as Adhinath) as the First Tirthankar of this declining (avasarpini) kalachakra (time cycle). The first Tirthankar, Rishabhdev/ Adhinath, appeared prior to the Indus Valley Civilization.

There are five basic ethical principles (vows) prescribed. The degree to which these principles must be practiced is different for renunciant and householder. Thus:

Non-violence (Ahimsa) - to cause no harm to living beings.

Truth (Satya) - to always speak the truth in a harmless manner.

Non-stealing (Asteya) - to not take anything that is not willingly given.

Celibacy (Brahmacarya) - to not indulge in sensual pleasures.

Non-possession (Aparigraha) - to detach from people, places, and material things.

Ahimsa, "Non-violence", is sometimes interpreted as not killing, but the concept goes far beyond that. It includes not harming or insulting other living beings either directly or indirectly through others. There can be even no room for thought to injure others, and no speech that influence others to inflict harm. It also includes respecting the view of others (non-absolutism and acceptance of multiple view points).

Satya, "truthfulness", is also to be practiced by all people. Given that non-violence has priority, all other principles yield to it, whenever there is a conflict. For example, if speaking truth will lead to violence, it is perfectly ethical to be silent. Thiruvalluvar in his Tamil classic devotes an entire chapter clarifying the definition of 'truthfulness'.

Asteya, "non-stealing", is the strict adherence to one's own possessions, without desire to take another's. One should remain satisfied by whatever is earned through honest labour. Any attempt to squeeze others and/or exploit the weak is considered theft. Some of the guidelines for this principle are:

Always give people fair value for labor or product.

Never take things which are not offered.

Never take things that are placed, dropped or forgotten by others

Never purchase cheaper things if the price is the result of improper method (e.g. pyramid scheme, illegal business, stolen goods, etc.)

Brahmacarya, "monastic celibacy", is the complete abstinence from sex, which is only incumbent upon monastics. Householders practice monogamy as a way to uphold brahmacarya in spirit.

Aparigraha, "non-possession", is the renunciation of property and wealth, before initiation into monkhood, without entertaining thoughts of the things renounced. This is done so one understands how to detach oneself from things and possessions, including home and family, so one may reach moksa.For householders, non-possession is owning without attachment, because the notion of possession is illusory. The reality of life is that change is constant; thus, objects owned by someone today will be property of someone else in future days. The householder is encouraged to discharge his or her duties to related people and objects as a trustee, without excessive attachment

Jains have an ancient tradition of scholarship and have the highest degree of literacy in India. Jain libraries are the oldest in the country

Jains have an ancient tradition of scholarship and have the highest degree of literacy in India. Jain libraries are the oldest in the country

Jainism regards every living soul as potentially divine. When the soul sheds its karmic bonds completely, it attains God-consciousness. It prescribes a path of non-violence to progress the soul to this ultimate goal.

Jinas are spiritually advanced human beings who rediscover the dharma, become fully liberated and teach the spiritual path to benefit all living beings. Practicing Jains follow the teachings of 24 special jinas who are known as Tirthankaras "

Jainism encourages spiritual development through reliance on and cultivation of one's own personal wisdom and self-control (????, vrata). The goal of Jainism is to realize the soul's true nature. "Samyak darshan gyan charitrani moksha margah", meaning "true/right perception, knowledge and conduct" ( known as the triple gems of Jainism) provides the path for attaining liberation (moksha) from samsara (the universal cycle of birth and death). Moksha is attained by liberation from all karma.

The main Jain prayer (Namokar Mantra) therefore salutes the five special categories of souls that have attained God-consciousness or are on their way to achieving it, to emulate and follow these paths to salvation.

Another major characteristic of Jain belief is the emphasis on the consequences of not only physical but also mental behaviours

Every living being has a soul.

Every soul is potentially divine, with innate qualities of infinite knowledge,

perception, power, and bliss (masked by its karmas).

Therefore, regard every living being as yourself, harming no one and be kind to all living beings.

Every soul is born as a celestial, human, sub-human or hellish being according to its own karmas.

Every soul is the architect of its own life, here or hereafter.

When a soul is freed from karmas, it becomes free and god-conscious, experiencing infinite knowledge, perception, power, and bliss.

Right View, Right Knowledge and Right Conduct (triple gems of Jainism) provide the way to this realization. There is no supreme divine creator, owner, preserver or destroyer. The universe is self-regulated and every soul has the potential to achieve the status of god-consciousness (siddha) through its own efforts.

Navakar Mantra is the fundamental prayer in Jainism and can be recited at any time of the day. Praying by reciting this mantra, the devotee bows with respect to liberated souls still in human form (Arihantas), fully liberated souls (Siddhas), spiritual leaders (Acharyas), teachers (Upadyayas) and all the monks. By saluting them, Jains receive inspiration from them for the right path of true bliss and total freedom from the karma of their soul. In this main prayer, Jains do not ask for any favors or material benefits. This mantra serves as a simple gesture of deep respect towards beings who are more spiritually advanced. The mantra also reminds followers of the ultimate goal, nirvana or moksha.

Non-violence (Ahimsa) is the foundation of right View, the condition of right Knowledge and the kernel of right Conduct. Non-violence is compassion and forgiveness in thoughts, words and actions toward all living beings. It includes respecting views of others (Non-absolutism).

Jainism stresses on the importance of controlling the senses, as they are the gateway for creating soul's attachments and aversions to non-living matter.

Limit possessions and lead a pure life that is useful to yourself and others. Owning an object by itself is not possessiveness; however attachment to an object is. Non-possessiveness is the balancing of needs and desires while staying detached from our possessions.

Enjoy the company of the holy and better qualified, be merciful to those afflicted and tolerate the perversely inclined.

Four things are difficult for a soul to attain: 1. human birth, 2. knowledge of the law, 3. faith in the law, and 4. practicing the right path.

It is important not to waste human life in evil ways. Rather, strive to rise on the ladder of spiritual evolution.

The goal of Jainism is liberation of the soul from the negative effects of unenlightened thoughts, speech and action. This goal is achieved through clearance of karmic obstructions by following the triple gems of Jainism.

Jains mainly worship idols of Jinas, Arihants and Tirthankars, who have conquered the inner passions and attained God-consciousness status. Jainism acknowledges the existence of powerful heavenly souls (Yaksha and Yakshini) that look after the well beings of Thirthankarars. Usually, they are found in pair around the idols of Jinas as male (yaksha) and female (yakshini) guardian deities. Even though they have supernatural powers, they are also wandering through the cycles of births and deaths just like most other souls. Over time, people started worshiping these deities as well.

Lord Rishabha / Adinath: 1st Tirthankar, first king of Ayodhya kingdom (earlier known as Vinita City), whose seals are being discovered from Indus civilisation remains. He founded Jainism in this cycle.

Ajitnath

Sambhavanath

Abhinandannath

Sumatinath

Padmaprabha

Suparshvanath

Chandraprabha

Pushpadanta

Sheetalnath

Shreyansanath

Vasupujya

Vimalnath

Anantnath

Dharmanath

Shantinath

Kunthunath

Aranath

Mallinath

Munisuvrata

Naminatha

Neminatha

Parshwanath 23rd Tirthankar

Mahavir 24th Tirthankar

Gautam Gandhar

Acharya Kundakunda

Acharya Amritchandra

Abbakka Rani - queen of Tulunadu (Karnataka) who fought the Portuguese in the latter half of the 16th century

Shantala Devi - Queen of Hoysala King Vishnuvardhana was a Jain and was well versed in dance and music and rendered public performances.

Muni Shri Padmaprabhmaldhari Dev

Bhadrabahu - Jain Acharya from Bengal and teacher of Emperor Chandragupta

Acharya Umaswami

Acharya Jayasen

Adikavi Pampa - One of the greatest Kannada poets of all and one of the "three gems of Kannada literature".

Ranna - One of the greatest Kannada poets of all and one of the "three gems of Kannada literature".

Sri Ponna - One of the greatest Kannada poets of all and one of the "three gems of Kannada literature".He was honoured by the title Kavichakravarthi for his prowess and domination of the Kannada literary circles at that time.

Bhaiya Bhagwatidasji

Pandit Daulatramji

Pandit Banaradasji

Pandit Pravar Acharyakalp (Acharya like) Todarmalji

King Shrenik Bimbisara Magadh Emperor, 1st Tirthankar of next future cycle

Shrimad Rajchandraji - 19th century philosopher/mystic

Kanjiswami - 20th century philosopher/mystic/Future Tirthankar

Champaben - 20th century philosopher/mystic/Future Gandhar (Prime Acharya)

Sthulibhadra - Jain Acharya

Chandragupta Maurya - Founder of the Mauryan empire

Acharya Suhasti - Jain saint and teacher of Emperor Samprati

Samprati - Mauryan Emperor

Kharavela - Kalinga Emperor (Kalinga is today known as Orissa)

Amoghvarsh - Rashtrakut Emperor

Chamundraya - General of Ganga King Marsinha who built the, Gomateshwara,a monolithic statue standing at 60 feet (18 m) above a hill in a place called Shravanabelagola in the Hassan district of Karnataka state, India.

Acharya Maghnandi - Jain Acharya and scholar

Gandraditya - Shilahar king

King Bhoj II - Shilahar king

Acharya Hemchandra - Jain Acharya and scholar (who again revived Jainism)

Kumarpal - Solanki king (who again revived Jainism)

Akash G - renowned heavy weight sumo wrestler of the 18th century

Bhamashah - Wealthiest business tycoon, was the childhood friend, colleague and adviser of Maharana Pratap, the legendary hero of Mewar (Rajasthan). Bhamashah's loyal support was pivotal to the career of the Maharana, right from the time of his coronation. Courageous and possessing exemplary military skills, Bhamashah played crucial roles in the numerous military exercises of Mewar against the mighty Mughal army, including the famous battle of Haldi Ghati. Modern historians describe him as the "Uplifter of Mewar".

Siddhasen Diwakar - Great Jain monk & ancient scholar

Tiruvalluvar - Jain monk, poet, philosopher, Father of South India.

Avaiyaar - Poet, philosopher, saint

Devchandra - Jain monk

Som Sundar - 14th century Jain monk

Muni Sundar - 14th century Jain monk

Acharya Vijayanandsuri Atmaram ji - Guru of Acharya Vallabsuriji

Acharya Vijay Vallabh suri - Great Jain Acharya of 20th century during Indo Pak partition, who motivated Jain Schools & colleges in many Jain segments.

Muni Vallabh Dutt - Jain monk famous as Phakkad Muni, disciple of Acharya Vallabhsuri

acharya jaymall ji maharaj rajsthan kesari

Acharya Rajendrasuri - Jain Acharya of the 20th century

Acharya Bhiksu - Jain Acharya of the 20th century

Acharya Shri Ramchandra surishwarji

Acharya Tulsi - Jain Acharya with revolutionary vision

Acharya Mahaprajna - Great Jain Acharya, scholar, thinker, writer of the 21st century

Haribhadrasuri - 12th century philosopher[3]

Virasena - 9th century mathematician

Panyas Purnanand Vijay - Famous Jain Panyas Muni 20th century

Mahendra Suri - Sanskrit astrologer

Acharya Shantisagar - Great Jain Acharya of 20th century

Acharya Vidyasagar - Present Great Digamber Jain Acharya

Acharya Subhodhsagarji - Great Jain monk

acharya samrat atma ram ji maharaj great acharya of jain history

acharya samrat anand rishi ji maharaj achaya samrat

acharya samrat devender muni mji maharaj

Acharya Shri Kirtiyash suri

Muni Roopmuni - existing great miraculous Jain monk

Acharya Vijay Nityanandsuri- Present Great Jain Acharya known as "SHANTI DOOT"

Acharya Dr Shiv Muni ji-present great acharya and yoga guru

Sadhvi Kanakprabha - Present Head of nuns & samanis in Shvetamber Terapanths sect

Muni Hitruchi Vijay

Posted by guru at 9:29 AM0 comments

Lord Vishnu in his eighth incarnation as Yagya was born to Prajapati and Akuti. He had rescued a 'Devagana' (celestial and supernatural being) named Yama and also the Manvantar named as 'Swayambhuva'. The main thrust of his teaching was based on the values of helpfulness and protecting each other during the time of crisis.

Posted by guru at 9:27 AM0 comments

DATTATRAYA AVATAR

Lord Vishnu's Seventh incarnation was as Dattatraya. He was born to Ansuya and his father was Sage Atri. He was the one who had given Spiritual Knowledge to King Alarka and Prahlada. He had twenty four teachers.

Once King Yadu saw Lord Dattatreya (Avadhoot) in a forest and addressed him "Sir, you are indeed quite capable, energetic and wise. Such as you are, why do you live in the forest, free from all desires? Even though you have neither kith and kin nor even a family, how could you be so blissful and self-contented?"

The Avadhoot replied, "My bliss and contentment are the fruits of self-realization. I have gained the necessary wisdom from the whole creation, through 24 Gurus. I shall elaborate the same for you".

Shri Dattatreya had twenty-four teachers from nature "many are my preceptors," he told king yadu, "selected by my keen sense, from whom acquiring wisdom freely, I wander in the world'. The earth, air/breeze, sky, fire, the sun, pigeon, python, sea, moth, elephant, ant, fish, Pingala the courtesan, arrow-maker, infant/playful boy, the moon, honeybee, deer, bird of prey, maiden, serpent, spider, caterpillar and water are my twenty four preceptors.

24 Preceptors of Shri Dattatreya

1. Earth: All creatures, in accordance with their pervious store of karma (action) assume different physical forms and live on earth. People plough, dig and tread the earth. They light fires on it. Still, the earth does not swerve from its course even by a hair's breadth. On the other hand, it feeds and houses all creatures. Seeing this, I learned that the wise one should never swerve from his vow of patience, love and righteousness under any circumstances and one should dedicate his life for the welfare of living beings. The earth along with its mountains and rivers is my first guru.

2. Air: I observed that air is pure and odorless in itself. And it blows on both sweet and foul-smelling things without any discrimination or preference. Though it momentarily seems to take on the smell of its surroundings, in a short while, it reveals its pristine quality. From this I learned that a spiritual aspirant should live in the world, unaffected by the dualities of life like joy and sorrow and by the objects of the senses. He should keep his heart's feeling and his speech unpolluted by vain objects. As I have learned all this by observing it, air is my second guru.

3. Sky: The soul is also like the sky, which is omnipresent. I have noticed that sometimes the sky (or space) gets thickly overcast, or filled with dust or smoke. At sunrise and during night, it apparently takes on different colors. But in fact, it ever retains its colorless self, and it is never touched or stained by any thing. From this I learned that a true sage should remain ever pure like the sky or space, untouched or unaffected by anything in the phenomenal universe in time, including his own physical processes. His inner being is totally free from emotional reaction to things and events even like the space. Thus I accepted the sky or space as my third guru.

4. Fire: My fourth teacher is element of fire. Sometimes, it manifests itself as blazing flames; sometimes as smoldering embers, covered by ash. But it is always present in all objects as latent heat. The god of fire accepts the offering of everyone, irrespective of his moral worth and burns down his sins; and it still remains the ever-pure divinity as the fire-god; he is untainted by the sins of such devotees. So too, a sage of perfect realization should accept food of everyone, burn down his sins and bless the giver. Though fire has no specific form of its own, when it is associated with fuel that burns, it assumes such apparent forms. So too, the true Self, though formless in itself, appears in the forms of deities, human beings, animals and trees when it is associated with the respective physical structures. The source of all forms in the universe, as also their end, remains ever mysterious. All the things are manifest only in between their origin and their end. Their source and end is the true Self, which is eternal, unchanging, unmanifest and omnipresent. The nature of the element of fire is such. The manifest fire transforms the various things it consumes into the same ash. So too, the wisdom of self-realization rejects the manifest forms and properties of things as illusion and realizes their one original essence as itself. Thus the element of fire is my fourth guru.

5. Sun: My fifth guru is sun. Though the sun we see in our daily life is one, it appears as many when reflected by water in different vessels. Similarly, the one real Self manifests itself as many selves of living creatures when reflected by their physical structures. As Sun illuminates the many forms in nature to our visions, the sage too illuminates the true nature of all things to his devotees.

6. Pigeon: I have gained wisdom from a pigeon too. Once a pair of pigeons lived together on a tree. They bred their young and were bringing them up with deep affection and love. One day, a hunter caught the young fledglings in a snare. The ladybird, which returned from the forest with food for its young ones, saw their plight and, unable to leave them, she leapt in the snare to share their fate. Shortly after, the male pigeon turned up and, unable to bear the separation from its sweetheart, it too jumped in the snare and met its end. Reflecting on this, I realized how, even after being born as an intelligent human being, man is caught in the coils of possessiveness and brings about his own spiritual destruction. The self, which is originally free, when associated with the body sense, gets identified with it, and thus gets caught in the endless cycle of birth, death and misery. Thus the pigeon was my sixth guru.

7. Python: The python is a sluggard, unwilling to move out briskly for its prey. It lies in its lurch and devours whatever creature it comes across, be it sufficient to appease its hunger. From this I learnt that the man in search of wisdom should refrain from running after pleasures, and accept whatever he gets spontaneously with contentment. Like the python, he should shake off sleep and wakefulness and abide in a state of incessant mediation on the Self. Thus the python was my seventh teacher of wisdom.

8. Sea: Contemplating the marvelous nature of the ocean, I have gained much wisdom. Any number of overflowing rivers may join it, yet the sea maintains its level. Nor does its level fall even by a hair's breadth in summer, when all the rivers dry up. So too, the joys of life do not elate the sage of wisdom, nor do its sorrows depress him. Just as the sea never crosses its threshold on the beach, the wise one never transgresses the highest standards of morality under the pull of passions. Like the sea, he is unconquerable and cannot be troubled by anything. Like the unfathomable ocean, his true nature and the depths of his wisdom cannot be easily comprehended by anyone. The ocean, which has taught me thus, is my eighth guru.

9. Moth: I often observed that the moth (or, more precisely, a grasshopper) is tempted by fire to jump in it and get burnt down. So too, the unthinking man is enticed by the illusory pleasures of the senses and thus gets caught in the ceaseless cycles of birth and death. On the other hand, the wise one, when he catches even a glimpse of the fire of wisdom, leaves everything aside, leaps in it and burns down the illusion of being a limited self. Thus the moth was my ninth guru.

10. Elephant: The elephant was my tenth guru. The human beings raise a stuffed cow-elephant in the forest. The wild tusker mistakes it for a mate, approaches it and then skillfully bound in fetters by the cunning human beings. So too, the unregenerate man is tempted by the opposite sex and gets bound by the fetters of infatuation. The seekers after liberation should learn to be free from lust. The elephant was thus one of my teachers.

11. Ant: The ant stores up lots of food materials which it neither eats nor gives away in charity to any other creature. In consequence, other more powerful creatures are tempted to plunder the ants. So too, the man who lays by treasures of merely material things becomes a victim of robbery and murder. But the ant has something positive to teach us, too. It is a tireless worker and is never discouraged by any number of obstacles and setbacks in its efforts to gather its treasure. So too, a seeker after wisdom should be tireless in his efforts for Self-Realization. This noble truth has the little ant taught me and became my eleventh guru.

12. Fish: The fish greedily swallows bait and is at once caught by the angle-hook. From this, I realized how man meets his destruction by his craving for delicious food. When the palate is conquered, all else is conquered. Besides, there is a positive feature in the fish. It never leaves its home, i.e. water. So too, man should never loose sight of his true self, but should ever have his being in it. Thus the fish became my twelfth guru.

13. Pingala: The thirteenth guru that has awakened my spirit is a prostitute named Pingala. One day, she eagerly awaited a particular client in the hope that he would pay her amply. She waited and waited till late in the night. When he did not turn up, she was at last disillusioned and reflected thus: "Alas! How stupid I am! Neglecting the divine spirit within, who is of the nature of bliss eternal, I foolishly awaited a debauchee (sensualist) who inspires my lust and greed. Henceforth, I shall expend myself on the Self, unite with Him and win eternal joy. Through such repentance, she attained blessedness. Besides, reflecting on its obvious purport, I also realized that a spiritual aspirant should likewise reject the lure of lesser spiritual powers, which are mere by-products of sadhana (spiritual practice). I learned that the temptation to secure things from other's hands are the seeds of misery; that renunciation of these is the sole means of realizing infinite joy.

14. Arrow-maker: Once I observed an arrow-maker who was totally absorbed in molding a sharp arrow. He grew so oblivious of all else that he did not even notice a royal pageant that passed by. This sight awakened me to the truth that such single-minded, all-absorbing contemplation of the Self spontaneously eliminates all temptation for the trivial interests of the world. It is the sole secret of success in spiritual discipline. Thus the arrow-maker is my fourteenth guru.

15. Playful Boy: Little boys and girls know neither honor nor dishonor. They do not nurse a grudge or a prejudice against anyone. They do not know what is their own, or what belongs to others. Their happiness springs from their own selves, their innate creativity and they do not need any external objects or conditions to be happy. I realized that the sage of perfect enlightenment is also such. A playful boy thus happened to be my fifteenth guru.

16. Moon: Of all things in nature, the moon is unique. It appears to wax and wane during the bright and dark fortnights. In fact, the lunar globe ever remains the same. In this, it is like the self of the man. While a man appears to pass through the stages of infancy, boyhood, youth, maturity and old age, his real self remains unchanged. All changes pertain only to body and not to the self. Again, the moon only reflects the light of the sun, but has no such of its own. So too, the soul or mind of man is only a reflection of the light of awareness of the real self. Having taught this truth, the moon became my sixteenth guru.

17. Honeybee: Honeybee wanders from flower to flower and, without hurting them in the least, draws honey. So too, a spiritual seeker should study all the Holy Scriptures but retain in his heart, only that is essential for his spiritual practice. Such is the teaching I imbibed from my seventeenth guru, the honeybee.

18. Deer: It is said that deers are very fond of music and that poachers employ it to lure them before hunting them. From this, I learned that passions and sensual desires will soon bog down a spiritual aspirant who has a weakness for merely secular music, till he ultimately loses whatever spiritual progress he has achieved earlier. The deer that taught me this truth is my eighteenth guru.

19. Bird of prey: A bird of prey is my nineteenth guru. One day, I saw one such carrying away a dead rat. Many other birds like crows and eagles attacked it, now kicking on its head and again pecking on its sides in their endeavor to knock off the prey. The poor bird was thus very much pestered. At last, it wisely let its prey fall and all the other birds rushed after it. Thus freeing itself from so much botheration, it sighed in relief. From this, I learned that a man who runs after worldly pleasures will soon come into clash with his fellow-beings who too run for the same, and has to face much strife and antagonism. If he learns to conquer his craving for worldly things, he can spare himself much unhappiness. I realized that this is the only way to the peace in the world.

20. Maiden: Once, I observed a family visit a maiden's house, seeking her hand in marriage for their son. At that time, her mother was away from home. So the maiden herself had to entertain the guests with refreshments. She at once started pounding food-grains with a pestle. The bangles on her hand started knocking against each other, pounding sound. She was afraid that the guests might hear the sound and be unhappy for having caused her so much of trouble. As a Hindu maiden, she is not expected to remove all the bangles on her hand at any time. So she kept two on each hand and removed all the rest. Even then, they were knocking against each other and were making noise. So she kept only one bangle on each hand this time and she could finish her task in quiet. Reflecting on this, I realized that when a number of spiritual seekers live together, a lot of unwanted gossip ensues and no spiritual practice can be pursued with a single-minded effort. Only in solitude, a spiritual aspirant can carry his task. Knowing this truth, I henceforth resorted to solitude. Thus, a maiden happened to be my twentieth guru.

21. Serpent: I observed that a serpent never builds a dwelling for itself. When white ants have raised an anthill for themselves, the serpent eventually come to inhabit it. Similarly, worldly people have to endure many hardships in raising houses for themselves, while a recluse monk does no such thing. Worldly men raise the monasteries and the monk lives in them; or, he leaves in old dilapidated temples, or underneath shady trees. The serpent moults, leaving off its old skin. So too at the end of his life Yogi leaves his body deliberately and in full awareness of his own true self and is not frightened by the phenomenon of death. On the other hand, he casts off his old body as happily as he does his worn out clothes and dons new ones. Thus has my twenty first guru taught me.

22. Spider: The spider is my twenty second guru. It weaves its web from the thread in the form of a fluid. After sometime, it gathers up the web into itself. The supreme projects the whole creation out of itself and after sometime, withdraws it into itself at the time of dissolution. The individual soul too, bears the senses and the mind within itself and, at its birth as a human being or any other living creature, it projects them out as the sense organs, organs of action and the whole body. In accordance with its latent tendencies, the creature thus born, gathers up all the means and objects needed for its living. At the end of its life's duration, the soul again withdraws the senses, mind and acquired tendencies at the hour of death. Thus have I learned from the spider.

23. Caterpillar: The caterpillar is also one of my teachers of wisdom. The wasp carries its caterpillar to a safe corner and closes it up in its nest and goes on buzzing about it. The young caterpillar is so frightened by the incessant buzzing, that it cannot think of anything else than the buzzing wasp. Through such unintermittent contemplation of its mother, the caterpillar too, soon grows up into a wasp! In a like fashion, a true disciple is so charmed and over-awed by the spiritual eminence of his own guru that he cannot think any one other than him. Through such contemplation, he soon blossoms into a great spiritual master himself. The caterpillar is thus my twenty third Guru.

24. Water: Water is my twenty fourth Guru. It quenches the thirst of every creature, sustains innumerable trees and all creatures. While it thus serves all living beings, it is never proud of itself. On the other hand, it humbly seeks the lowliest of places. The sage too should likewise bestow health, peace and joy to every creature that resorts to him. Yet he should ever live as the humblest of God's creation.

With such humility and devotion, I looked upon the whole of God's creation as my teacher, gathered up wisdom and, through patient effort I realized my goal of spiritual enlightenment.

He believed that in the world, a man can learn from each and every thing, so he accepted twenty-four objects like water, bird, air, an unmarried girl, and even a prostitute etc.

Posted by guru at 9:26 AM0 comments

KAPILA AVATAR(Incarnation as Sage Kapila)

Lord Vishnu's Sixth incarnation was as sage Kapila. The objective of this incarnation was to compile all the divine knowledge that had been destroyed. He was the profounder of Sankhya Shastra (rationalism) which helped the Brahmins, who had forgotten their duties to rectify their mistakes. He also gave discourse to his own mother.

Sankhya is an enumerationist philosophy that is strongly dualist.

According to the Sankhya school, all knowledge is possible through three pramanas (means of valid knowledge)

Pratyaksha or Drishtam - direct sense perception,

Anumana - logical inference and

Sabda or Aptavacana - verbal testimony.

Sankhya cites two kinds of perceptions: Indeterminate (nirvikalpa) perceptions and determinate (savikalpa) perceptions.

Indeterminate perceptions are merely impressions without understanding or knowledge. They reveal no knowledge of the form or the name of the object. There is only external awareness about an object. There is cognition of the object, but no discriminative recognition.

For example, a baby's initial experience is full of impression. There is a lot of data from sensory perception, but there is little or no understanding of the inputs. Hence they can be neither differentiated nor labeled. Most of them are indeterminate perceptions.

Determinate perceptions are the mature state of perceptions which have been processed and differentiated appropriately. Once the sensations have been processed, categorized, and interpreted properly, they become determinate perceptions. They can lead to identification and also generate knowledge.

The twenty-four principles

Sankhya theorizes that Prakriti is the source of the world of becoming. It is pure potentiality that evolves itself successively into twenty four tattvas or principles. The evolution itself is possible because Prakriti is always in a state of tension among its constituent strands -

Sattva - a template of balance or equilibrium;

Rajas - a template of expansion or activity;

Tamas - a template of inertia or resistance to action.

All macrocosmic and microcosmic creation uses these templates. The twenty four principles that evolve are -

Prakriti - The most subtle potentiality that is behind whatever is created in the physical universe, also called "primordial Matter". It is also a state of equilibrium amongst the Three Gunas.

Mahat - first product of evolution from Prakriti, pure potentiality. Mahat is also considered to be the principle responsible for the rise of buddhi or intelligence in living beings.

Ahamkara or ego-sense - second product of evolution. It is responsible for the self-sense in living beings. It is also one's identification with the outer world and its content.

"Panch Tanmatras" are a simultaneous product from Mahat Tattva, along with the Ahamkara. They are the subtle form of Panch Mahabhutas which result from grossification or Panchikaran of the Tanmatras. Each of these Tanmatras are made of all three Gunas.

Manas or "Antahkaran" evolves from the total sum of the sattva aspect of Panch Tanmatras or the "Ahamkara"

Panch jnana indriyas or five sense organs - also evolves from the sattva aspect of Ahamkara.

Pancha karma indriya or five organs of action - The organs of action are hands, legs, vocal apparatus, urino-genital organ and anus. They evolve from the rajas aspect of Ahamkara.

Pancha mahabhuta or five great substances - ether, air, fire, water and earth. They evolve from the "tamas" aspect of the "Ahamkara". This is the revealed aspect of the physical universe.

Sankhya philosophy regards the universe as consisting of two realities:

Purusha (consciousness) and Prakriti (phenomenal realm of matter).

They are the experiencer and the experienced

Prakriti further bifurcates into animate and inanimate realms.

Purusha separates out into countless Jivas or individual units of consciousness as souls which fuse into the mind and body of the animate branch of Prakriti.

Purusha is the Transcendental Self or Pure Consciousness. It is absolute, independent, free, imperceptible, unknowable, above any experience and beyond any words or explanation. It remains pure, "nonattributive consciousness ". Purusha is neither produced nor does it produce

Prakriti is the first cause of the universe--of everything except the Purusha, which is uncaused, and accounts for whatever is physical, both matter and force.

Since it is the first principle (tattva) of the universe, it is called the Pradhana, but, as it is the unconscious and unintelligent principle, it is also called the Jada.

It is composed of three essential characteristics (trigunas).

These are:

sattva - fineness, lightness, illumination, and joy;

rajas - activity, excitation, and pain;

tamas - coarseness, heavyness, obstruction, and sloth.

All physical events are considered to be manifestations of the evolution of Prakriti, or primal nature (from which all physical bodies are derived).

Each sentient being is a Purusha, and is limitless and unrestricted by its physical body.

Samsaara or bondage arises when the Purusha does not have the discriminate knowledge and so is misled as to its own identity, confusing itself with the physical body, which is actually an evolute of Prakriti.

The spirit is liberated when the discriminate knowledge of the difference between conscious Purusha and unconscious Prakriti is realized.

Sankhya regards ignorance as the root cause of bondage and suffering (Samsara).

According to Sankhya, the Purusha is eternal, pure consciousness.

Due to ignorance, it identifies itself with the physical body and its constituents - Manas, Ahamkara and Mahat, which are products of Prakriti.

Once it becomes free of this false identification and the material bonds, Moksha ensues.

Posted by guru at 9:06 AM0 comments

NARA-NARAYANA AVATAR (Incarnation as Nara-Narayana)

Lord Vishnu took his fifth incarnation as sage Nara-Narayan by taking a birth from the womb of a woman named 'Kala'. He performed a tremendous penance by going to Badri and Kedar. He showed the importance Penance (Labour), and also that nothing can be achieved in this world without it.

Nara and Narayana were sons of Dharma, the son of Brahma and his wife Murti (Daughter Of Daksha) or Ahimsa .

They live at Badrika performing severe austerities and meditation for the welfare of the world.

These two inseparable sages took avatars on earth for the welfare of mankind and to punish the wicked ones.

The sages defeated a demon called Sahasrakavacha ("one with a thousand armours")

Nara and Narayana performed great penances at the holy spot of Badrinath

Their penances and austerities alarmed the gods, so Indra, the King of Devas, sent Kamadeva, Vasanta (spring) and apsaras (nymphs) to inspire them with passion and disturb their devotions.

The sage Narayana took a flower and placed it on his thigh. Immediately there sprung from it a beautiful nymph whose charms far excelled those of the celestial nymphs, and made them return to heaven filled with shame and vexation.

Narayana sent this nymph to Indra with them, and from her having been produced from the thigh (uru in Sanskrit) of the sage, she was called Urvashi

In Swaminarayan Sampraday sect, Nara and Narayana, called as Nara-Narayana Deva

They are believed to reside at Badrikashram and to be the prime controllers of the destiny of all beings, depending on their karma.

Nara-Narayana Deva are believed to have manifested at Narayana Ghat on the banks of river Sabarmati at Ahmedabad.

Therefore their images were installed by Swaminarayan at the first Swaminarayan temple, Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Ahmedabad (India).

Followers of Swaminarayan believe that it was events that took place at Badarikashram, that led to the incarnation of Swaminarayan.

It is believed that Narayana took birth as Swaminarayan due to a curse of sage Durvasa which he accepted at his own will.

The curse led to Narayana taking the form of an avatar on Earth to destroy evil and establish ekantik-dharma, religion based on morality, knowledge, detachment and devotion

Swaminarayan followers specifically interpret the Visvaksena Samhita, 11th part of the Brahma Purana, as well as the Skanda Purana as giving a direct reference to Narayana taking birth in the form of Swaminarayan

Posted by guru at 9:05 AM0 comments

NARADA AVATAR (The incarnation as Sage Narada)

Lord Vishnu took his fourth incarnation as Narada. Narada by becoming a 'Devarishi' among all the sages, achieved liberation from all of his Karma's (action). Narada was the one who gave discourses to the Vaishnavas (followers of Lord Vishnu) on 'Pancharatra Tantra'.

Lord Vishnu in his incarnation as Narada, showed that, the devotion is the best mean of getting liberated from all the bondages of 'Karma's'. He also said that a devotee of Lord Vishnu is the supreme among the devotees in the same way as Devarishi Narada among the Sages.

Narada Muni is a divine sage from the Hindu tradition, who plays a prominent role in a number of the Puranic texts, especially in the Bhagavata Purana, and in the Ramayana.

Narada is portrayed as a travelling monk with the ability to visit distant worlds or planets, lokas in Sanskrit.

He carries a musical instrument known as a vina, which he uses to accompany his singing of hymns, prayers and mantras as an act of devotion to his lord, Vishnu or Krishna.

In the Vaishnava tradition he is held in special reverance for his chanting and singing of the names Hari and Narayana and his promoting of the process of devotional service, known as bhakti yoga as explained within the text accredited to Narada himself, known as the Narada Bhakti Sutra.

Narad is regarded as the Manasaputra referring to his birth 'from the mind of Brahma', the first living being as described in the Puranic universe.

He is regarded as the Triloka sanchaari, the ultimate nomad who roams the three lokas of Swargaloka (heaven), Mrityuloka (earth, literally: "place of death") and Patalloka (nether-world).

He does this to find out about the life and welfare of people.

He was the first to practise Natya Yoga.

The Bhagavata Purana describes the story of Narad's spiritual enlightenment:

In his previous birth Narad was a gandharva (angelic being) who had been cursed to be born on an earthly planet due to some offense.

He was born as the son of a maid-servant of some particularly saintly priests (brahmins).

The priests, being pleased with both his and his mother's service blessed him by allowing him to eat some of their food (prasad) previously offered to their lord, Vishnu.

Gradually Narad received further blessings from these sages and heard them talking about many spiritual topics.

When his mother died from a snake's bite, taking this as an act of God (Vishnu), he decided to roam the forest in search of enlightenment in understanding the 'Supreme Absolute Truth'.

Reaching a tranquil forest location, he, after quenching his thirst from a nearby stream, sat under a tree in meditation (yoga), concentrating on the paramatma form of Vishnu within his heart as he had been taught of by the priests he had served.

After some time Narad experienced a vision wherein Narayan (Vishnu) appeared before him, smiling, and spoke "that despite having the blessing of seeing him at that very moment, Narad would not be able to see his (Vishnu's) divine form again until he died".

Narayan further explained that the reason he had been given a chance to see his form was because his beauty and love would be a source of inspiration and would fuel his dormant desire to be with the lord again.

After instructing Narad in this manner, Vishnu then disappeared from his sight.

The boy awoke from his meditation both thrilled and disappointed.

For the rest of his life Narad focused on his devotion, meditation upon and worship to Vishnu.

After his death Vishnu then blessed him with the spiritual form of "Narad" as he eventually became known.

In many Hindu scriptures Narad is considered a saktyavesa-avatara or partial-manifestation (avatar) of God, empowered to perform miraculous tasks on Vishnu's behalf.

Posted by guru at 9:03 AM0 comments

THE ETERNAL YOUTHS

Spiritual sons of Brahma

Sanaka, Sanatana, and Sanandana . Sanatkumara

Sanatkumar was the 'Manasputra' (born by a wish) of Lord Brahma. Throughout his life, he maintained celibacy; and engaged himself in the performance of tremendous penance. He was the one from whom the Brahmins got the inspiration regarding the values and importance of penance and Celibacy.

Posted by guru at 9:01 AM0 comments

Lord Vishnu took his first incarnation as the pre-eminent man, with a desire to commence creation. This first incarnation of Lord Vishnu was full of all the sixteen Kalas (Supernatural powers).

Lord Brahma manifested from the navel of Lord Vishnu in his (Lord Vishnu) state of Yoganidra (deep meditation). The creation as well as the expansion of the creation commenced from the organs of Lord Brahma. The first incarnation of Lord Vishnu is all-powerful, which can be seen only by the yogins and sages who have attained divine knowledge. This incarnation is also the indestructible seed from which all the other incarnations manifest themselves. During the time of final annihilation of the world, every creation merges into him.

Posted by guru at 8:51 AM0 comments

Hayagriva

Once Lord Brahma becoming tired of his creative activities, wanted to rest. The night of the Brahma was approaching. Because of his tiredness Lord Brahma yawned. All the four Vedas came out from his opened mouth. A demon who used to live near him in disguise, abducted the Vedas.

The Lord appeared as the Hayagriva incarnation in a sacrifice performed by Brahma. He is the personified sacrifices, and the hue of His body is golden. He is the personified Vedas as well, and the Supersoul of all demigods. When He breathed, all the sweet sounds of the Vedic hymns came out of His nostrils.

At the end of each kalpa, when the demon Ajana steals the Vedic knowledge, Lord Hayagriva appears and preserves it. Then He delivers it to Lord Brahma

The Lord appeared as Hayagriva, with the head of a horse. He killed two demons known as Madhu and Kaitabha, who were full of the modes of passion and ignorance. For this reason, all the great saints accept his Forms as transcendental, untinged by material qualities.

Posted by guru at 12:31 AM0 comments

Kalki is believed as the next Avatar of Vishnu.

It is believed that He will appear, riding his white horse and drawing a flaming sword, at the end of the Kali Yuga, the dark age through which we are now passing. His task will be to exterminate the evil and restore the Dharma. Thus will begin a new cycle, starting with the new Satya Yuga.

In Kali-yuga (the yuga we have now been experiencing over the past 5,000 years) there is an abundance of strife, ignorance, irreligion and vice, true virtue being practically nonexistent, and this yuga lasts 432,000 years. In Kali-yuga vice increases to such a point that at the termination of the yuga the Supreme Lord Himself appears as the Kalki avatara, vanquishes the demons, saves His devotees, and commences another Satya-yuga. Then the process is set rolling again. These four yugas, rotating a thousand times, comprise one day of Brahm, and the same number comprise one night. Brahm lives one hundred of such "years" and then dies. These "hundred years" by earth calculations total to 311 trillion and 40 billion earth years.

Posted by guru at 12:23 AM0 comments

Buddha

With the departure of Lord Krishna (Krishna Avatar), the Kali yuga set in. In this age, the true devotion to Vedas was replaced by empty rituals. To enlighten the world, Lord Vishnu descended the earth as Buddha, the enlightened one.

He was born as the crown prince of the Kapilavastu to King Suddhodana and Maya. He was named Siddhartha, meaning "All thing fulfilled". But his mother died soon after his birth and was broughtup by Prajapati, the sister of Maya. Buddha was saddened by death of living creatures, and vices like poverty. He wasn't happy with any answers that were provided to him and he decided to find out the meaning and the absolute truth and he left his wife and child to a hermit's life in the forest and became the enlightened one.

His preachings spawned off the religion of Buddhism now popular across the whole world.Buddha advocated the Middle Path, in which he offered a balanced, harmonious way of life, steering between two extremes of self-indulgence and total abstinence. Buddhism rests upon four Noble Truths:

Suffering is universal,

It is caused by desire and yearning

Suffering can be prevented and overcome and

Eradication of desires can lead to removal of suffering.

To prevent suffering one has to conquer craving and desire and this conquest leads to the attainment of nirvana or complete enlightenment.

Posted by guru at 12:20 AM0 comments

In KRISHNA Avatar, Lord Vishnu incarnates himself as KRISHNA , the central character in the epic MAHABHARATA. In this biggest epic of Indian mythology a myriad of topics are covered, including war, love, brotherhood, politics etc. It is essentially the story of two warring groups of cousin brothers, the PANDAVAs and the KAURAVAs. As a part of the Mahabahrata, during the war KRISHNA, gives a long discourse to his disciple ARJUNA, collectively termed as Bhagvad-Gita. Krishna, during his child-hood was responsible for the killing of Kansa. Krishna is also considered to be an ultimate playboy who was resonsible for charming all gopikas (cowherdesses) around him. Unlike Ramayana, Mahabharata deals with more down to earth issues like politics, human nature, human weaknesses, and does not attempt to idealise the characters as in RAMAYANA. His death marks the beginning of Kali yuga.

Birth of Lord Krishna

Mother Earth, unable to bear the burden of sins committed by evil kings and rulers, appealed to Brahma, the Creator for help. Brahma prayed to the Supreme Lord Vishnu, who assured him that he would soon be born on earth to annihilate tyrannical forces.

One such evil force was Kamsa, the ruler of Mathura (in northern India) and his people were utterly terrified of him. On the day Kamsa's sister Devaki was married off to Vasudeva, an akashvani or voice from the sky was heard prophesying that Devaki's 8th son would be the destroyer of Kamsa. The frightened Kamsa immediately unsheathed his sword to kill his sister but Vasudeva intervened and implored Kamsa to spare his bride, and promised to hand over every new born child to him. Kamsa relented but imprisoned both Devaki and her husband Vasudeva.

When Devaki gave birth to her first child, Kamsa came to the prison cell and slaughtered the newborn. In this way, he killed the first six sons of Devaki. Even before her 8th child was born, Devaki and Vasudeva started lamenting its fate and theirs. Then suddenly Lord Vishnu appeared before them and said he himself was coming to rescue them and the people of Mathura. He asked Vasudeva to carry him to the house of his friend, the cowherd chief Nanda in Gokula right after his birth, where Nanda's wife Yashoda had given birth to a daughter.

He was to exchange his boy and bring Yashoda's baby daughter back to the prison. Vishnu assured them that "nothing shall bar your path".

At midnight on ashtami, the divine baby was born in Kamsa's prison. Remembering the divine instructions, Vasudeva clasped the child to his bosom and started for Gokula, but found that his legs were in chains. He jerked his legs and was unfettered! The massive iron-barred doors unlocked and opened up.While crossing river Yamuna, Vasudeva held his baby high over his head. The rain fell in torrents and the river was in spate. But the water made way for Vasudeva and miraculously a five-mouthed snake followed him from behind and provided shelter over the baby.

When Vasudeva reached Gokula, he found the door of Nanda's house open. He exchanged the babies and hurried back to the prison of Kamsa with the baby girl. Early in the morning, all the people at Gokula rejoiced the birth of Nanda's beautiful male child. Vasudeva came back to Mathura and as he entered, the doors of the prison closed themselves.

When Kamsa came to know about the birth, he rushed inside the prison and tried to kill the baby. But this time it skipped from his hand and reaching the sky. She was transformed into the goddess Yogamaya, who told Kamsa: "O foolish! What will you get by killing me? Your nemesis is already born somewhere else."

In his youth Krishna killed Kamsa along with all his cruel associates, liberated his parents from prison, and reinstated Ugrasen as the King of Mathura.

Baby Krishna: Killer of Evils

Stories about Krishna's exploits abound. Legends have it that on the very sixth day of his birth, Krishna killed lady demon Putna by sucking on her breasts. In his childhood, he also killed many other mighty demons, such as Trunavarta, Keshi, Aristhasur, Bakasur, Pralambasur et al. During the same period he also killed Kali Nag (cobra de capello) and made the holy water of river Yamuna poison free.

Krishna's Childhood Days

Krishna made cowherdesses happy by the bliss of his cosmic dances and the soulful music of his flute. He stayed in Gokul, the legendary 'cow-village' in Northern India for 3 years and 4 months. As a child he was reputed to be very mischievous, stealing curd and butter and playing pranks with his girl friends or gopis. Having completed his Lila or exploits at Gokul, he went to Vrindavan and stayed until he was 6 years and 8 months old.

According to a famous legend, Krishn drove away the monsterous serpent Kaliya from the river to the sea. Krishna, according to another popular myth, lifted the Govardhana hill up with his little finger and held it like an umbrella to protect the people of Vrindavana from the torrential rain caused by Lord Indra, who had been annoyed by Krishna. Then he lived in Nandagram till he was 10.

Krishna's Youth and Education

Krishna then returned to Mathura, his birthplace, and killed his wicked maternal uncle King Kamsa along with all his cruel associates and liberated his parents from jail. He also reinstated Ugrasen as the King of Mathura. He completed his education and mastered the 64 sciences and arts in 64 days at Avantipura under his preceptor Sandipani. As gurudaksina or tuition fees, he restored Sandipani's dead son to him. He stayed in Mathura till he was 28.

Krishna, the King of Dwarka

Krishna then came to the rescue of a clan of Yadava chiefs, who were ousted by the king Jarasandha of Magadha. He easily triumphed over the multi-million army of Jarasandha by building an impregnable capital Dwarka, "the many-gated" city in an island in the sea. The city located on the western point of Gujarat, is now submerged in the sea according to the epic Mahabharata. Krishna shifted, as the story goes, all his sleeping relatives and natives to Dwarka by the power of his yoga. In Dwarka, he married Rukmini, then Jambavati, and Satyabhama. He also saved his kingdom from Nakasura, the demon king of Pragjyotisapura, had abducted 16,000 princesses. Krishna freed them and married them since they had nowhere else to go.

Krishna, the Hero of the Mahabharata

For many years, Krishna lived with the Pandava and Kaurava kings who ruled over Hastinapur. When a war was about to break oput between the Pandavas and Kauravas, Krishna was sent to mediate, but failed. War became inevitable, and Krishna offered his forces to the Kauravs and himself agreed to join the Panadavas as the charioteer of the master warrior Arjuna. This epic battle of Kurukshetra described in the Mahabharata, was fought in about 3000 BC. In the middle of the war, Krishna delivered his famous advice, which forms the crux of the Bhagavad Gita, in which he put forward the theory of 'Nishkam Karma' or action without attachment.

Krishna's Final Days on Earth

After the great war, Krishna returned to Dwarka. In his final days on earth, he taught spiritual wisdom to Uddhava, his friend and disciple, and ascended to his abode after casting off his body, which was shot at by a hunter named Jara. He is believed to have lived for 125 years. Whether he was a human being or a God-incarnate, there is no gainsaying the fact that he has been ruling the hearts of millions for over three millennia. In the words of Swami Harshananda, "If a person can affect such a profound impact on the Hindu race affecting its psyche and ethos and all aspects of its life for centuries, he is no less than God."

The Radha-Krishna Romance

Krishna's youthful dalliances with the 'gopis' are interpreted as symbolic of the loving interplay between God and the human soul. Radha's utterly rapturous love for Krishna and their relationship is often interpreted as the quest for union with the divine. This kind of love is of the highest form of devotion in Vaishnavism, and is symbolically represented as the bond between the wife and husband or beloved and lover.

Radha, daughter of Vrishabhanu, was the mistress of Krishna during that period of his life when he lived among the cowherds of Vrindavan. Since childhood they were close to each other - they played, they danced, they fought, they grew up together and wanted to be together forever, but the world pulled them apart. He departed to safeguard the virtues of truth, and she waited for him. He vanquished his enemies, became the king, and came to be worshipped as a lord of the universe. She waited for him. He married Rukmini and Satyabhama, raised a family, fought the great war of Ayodhya, and she still waited. So great was Radha's love for Krishna that even today her name is uttered whenever Krishna is refered to, and Krishna worship is though to be incomplete without the deification of Radha.

One day the two most talked about lovers come together for a final single meeting. Suradasa in his Radha-Krishna lyrics relates the various amorous delights of the union of Radha and Krishna in this ceremonious 'Gandharva' form of their wedding in front of five hundred and sixty million people of Vraj and all the gods and goddesses of heaven. The sage Vyasa refers to this as the 'Rasa'. Age after age, this evergreen love theme has engrossed poets, painters, musicians and all Krishna devotees alike.

Lord Krishna the great teacher of harmony

"The glory of Sri Krishna is that He has been the best preacher of our eternal religion and the best commentator on the Vedanta that ever lived in India." As Krishna himself said: "In Me they are all strung like pearls upon a thread."

Posted by guru at 12:17 AM0 comments

Sri Rama

It is the most important Avatar of Vishnu. Rama represents the peak of the historic incarnations, and by him it is defined the ideal character of Indian people.He is Vishnu descended upon earth to conquer all the Indian peninsula, included Sri Lanka, under the Bharata rule. Lord Rama is one of the most adored gods in India. He is always holding a bow and arrow indicating his readiness to destroy evils.His story forms the epic Ramayana. He is perfect in every aspect; the perfect man, the perfect husband, the perfect brother, the perfect king, etc. and the obedient son. Commonly he is pictured in a family style, with his wife Sita, and brother Lakshman.

Posted by guru at 12:15 AM0 comments

Parasurama (Rama with the axe)

In PARASURAMA Avatar, Lord Vishnu incarnates himself as a brahman priest in this world. He was brought in this world to avenge all kshatriyas who had become arrogant and were suppressing the brahmans in the world. He was born with unusual physical power, and became better fighter than any Kshatriya.He was born to Jamadagni and Renuka, and belonged to the Brighu clan. Parashurama was always carrying an axe presented to him by Lord Shiva of whom he was an ardent devotee. Kartavirya a powerful king, once went to Jamadagni's home when he was out, and after a meal, stole the Kamadhenu cow, which was supposed to give endless quantity of milk. Jamadgni was enraged and he went and killed the king and brought Kamadhenu back. On hearing this the son of the king came back and killed Jamdagni. Parasurama was enraged at this and went and avenged the death of his father by killing all kshatriyas in 21 battles. His life is story of the supremacy of brahmans over the kshatriyas.

Posted by guru at 12:14 AM0 comments

Vamana the dwarf

BALI, the grandson of Prahlada was a very valorous and mighty asura. By his penance and might, he conquered the whole world. Indra and other gods fearing that he and the asuras would conquer all the three worlds, went to Lord Vishnu for help. Lord Vishnu was then born as a dwarf Vamana in the household of a brahman priest. He went to Bali on growing up and asked for alms. Bali was delighted to offer him anything he requested even though his royal guru warned him that it was Lord Vishnu. Vamana then requested for the amount of land that could come under his three feet. Bali gracefully agreed. Lord Vishnu then grew in size and covered the earth and heaven in two stride. And due to lack of space, he put his third leg on Bali himself and crushed Bali to the nether or the Patala loka (underground world), thus helping the Gods out.

Posted by guru at 12:12 AM0 comments

Narashima giant lion-man

In NARASIMHA Avatar, Lord Vishnu incarnates himself as a semi-man,semi-lion in this world. The king of demons(asuras), Hiranyakasyapu, wanted to become immortal and wanted to remain young forever. To this end, he meditated for Lord Brahma and because of his severe penance, the gods were frightened and asked Brahma to pacify the king. Brahma was impressed by his austerity and granted him a wish. Hiranyakasyapu wished that he be killed neither by a man or beast, nor in daylight or at night and neither inside or outside a building. Having obtained the wish he considered himself the supreme God and forbade all worship of gods by anyone. But his son Prahlada, was an ardent devotee of Vishnu. This enraged Hiranyakasyapu very much. He ordered numerous ways to kill Prahlada including asking his sister Holika to sit with Prahlada in the fire. But every time Prahlada escaped unhurt. Enraged, once he asked Prahlad to show him the Lord Vishnu. Prahlad said, "He is everywhere". Further enraged, Hiranyakasyapu knocked down a pillar, and asked if Lord was present there. Lord Vishnu then emerged as a half lion, half man from the pillar, and carried him under the arch of the doorway (neither indoors nor outdoors), and the time was evening (in the twilight), neither night nor day. He then killed Hiranyakasyapu with his claws by keeping him on his thighs (neither on earth nor in the sky) thus saving the life of his devotee Prahlada.

Posted by guru at 12:10 AM0 comments

Varaha the Boar

Sri Varaha Swami rescuing Earth from Patalaloka, and Garuda Fetching Kridadri ( Venkatadri ) to the Earth

During 2000 Catur-Yugas (8000 Yugas or aeons) making a day and night for Brahma, the Creator, the Sun vomited fire through his burning rays, and there was no rian for a long number of years, which constrained men and tapodhanas (sages who had attained self-realisation by their tapas or austerities) to forsake the earth and seek refuge in the Janaloka (one of the seven upper regions) at the approach of the night of Brahma; and forests and mountains were consumed by the stupendous fire and reduced to ashes. Thereupon Vayu (God of Wind) blew furiously for some long years and huge clouds formed and rained enormously in torrents without intermission, while thereby the Earth melted and sank down to the Patalaloka (nether world) and accordingly remained in that state for a thousand Yugas during a part of that night of Brahma, whereby the Pralayakalpa (the Great Deluge) occurred.

At the time, Visnu, the Creator, Protector and Destroyer of life and matter, was lying supine on a banyan leaf over the huge expanse of water as Vatapatra-sayi in the Maharloka and bethought Himself of re-creation by rescuing the Earth. So he went in search of it into the Patalaloka, assuming a terrible form as Sveta-Varaha, fought a voilent duel for long with the demon, Hiranyaksa, the lord of the infernal world, and the younger brother of Hiranyakasipu, and having become exasperated, slit his mountainous body in twain in with His powerful tusks, when the demon's blood, mixing with the water, caused it to turn red. Sveta-Varaha then slashed the massive water and brought up the Earth on His tusks; and placing one foot on Adisesa, stood up in the Janaloka like stupendous mountain. Presently Brahma, the Devaganas (celestial orders) and holy men extolled Him with the chanting of the Veda-Mantras (Vedic hymns) and prayed to Him to establish the Earth theretofore.

Varaha fixed the Earth and delimited the Sapta-Sagaras (Seven Oceans) and the Sapta-Lokas (Seven Worlds) as formerly. He next called Brahma and bade Him create the Jagat (world) as before. He longed to reside on Earth for a time in order to protect the people and hence commended Garuda (His white-necked kite-vehicle) to fetch Kridacala from Sri Vaikuntha together with the Parisat (celestial assembly) and Suras (Devine Beings) headed by Visvaksena (House Keeper and Commander). Garuda started for Vaikuntha. Varaha meantime selected a sacred spot which was sixty yojanas (600 miles) south of Gomati river and five yojanas (Fifty miles) west of Eastern Sea and adjoined the Ruma-nadi (Suvarnamukhari river) on its north bank, and which aslo formed the abode of Punya-Janas (Holy men).

Garuda brought the Kridacala, an extensive natural hill with lofty peaks embeded with gold and precious stones and appearing in the form of Pancopanisat (five philosophical treaties) inhabited by all its inmates, and known as the Narayangiri (hill of Narayana, Visnu). In extent, it was thirty yojanas (300 miles) long, and in shape it resembled Sesa (the primeval serpant). It is a fit place to receive the surrender of the humanity, having formed the couch of Hari (Visnu) and being the coveted place for all beings. Being excellent in form, it bestows great merit and affords moksa (liberation) even to the devoted occasional visitors.

Varaha asked Garuda to deposit it at the place selected by Him, and getting on it, stood within the clean devine Vimana (Temple) which shone with many gopuras (towers) set with different kinds of precious stones, adorned by the Maha-mani-mantapa (the big front portico) with gem-set pillars most gratifying the sight but indescribable, and adjoining on its east the Svami-Puskarini situated in the sacred forest, to the south of which Puskarini (pool), the lotus-eyed Visnu, the Supreme God, the holder of the Sankha, Cakra, and Gada (conch, discus and club), and the Abode of Sri Laksmi (on His right chest), chose to dwell under a Divya-Vimana (dome) later on.

Brahma, Devas, Munis, Saptarshis and others then prayed to Him, "O God, Your countenance is frightful with the tusks and the twisted eye-brows and the glittering weapons hanging from either side of Your body. For the satisfaction of the gods, be pleased to assume a composed look, and rest on this Hill itself to protect men. You have rescued the Earth for the sake of a habitation for men and gods; assume therefore, a tranquil face for the protection of men, and abide here alone, granting boons to all people who are unable to reach You through Dhyana-yoga (meditation) and Karma-yoga (deeds)".

Forthwith Varaha became complaisant and calm, and appeared with four arms and a white face, bedecked with jewels, and accompained by Sri-Devi (Lakshmi) and Bhu-Devi (Goddess of the Earth). He addressed the suppliant gods, "I like Ventadri more than Vaikuntha; here shall I rest with Sri and Bhumi, and be resolved to grant the prayers of men", and immediately vanished from their view after ordering them to return to their residence.

A demon Hiranyaksha, had prayed for Lord Brahma and got awarded a boon that no beast nor man nor god could kill him. But somehow from the list of beasts the name of boar was missing. This proved to be his lacunae. He then started a campaign of plunder across the worlds. He pushed the world to the Pataal loka, or the under of the sea. He stole the Vedas, the holy scriptures from the Lord Brahma, while he was asleep and performed huge atrocities.To retrieve the Vedas and to save the world the Lord Vishnu assumed the role of a boar and brought out the earth from the under of the ocean, using its two tusks. It then killed Hiranyaksha and retrieved the Vedas from the asura and brought it back to the safe custody of the Lord Brahma.

Posted by guru at 12:06 AM0 comments

Kurma the Tortoise

Further to Pralaya- deluge at the beginning of the present Kalpa the Gods (devas) lost their immortality due to a curse by the short-tempered sage Durvasa.The sage had once presented a garland of flowers to Indra,king of gods, who carelessly gave it away to his elephant which trampled it. The Devas approached Vishnu for help. Vishnu then asked them to churn the ocean of milk after adding medicines into the ocean. Mt Mandara could be used a the churning stick he said. He requested them to ask them help of Asuras in lifting the mountain in exchange for offer of the share of nectar of immortality that would ensue from the churning. Both the devas and the asuras churned the ocean using the serpent Vasuki as the rope. At the start, playing a Machiavellian trick, Indra, king of the gods asked the asuras for the head end of vasuki. But asuras suspecting foul play, took the head end, only to be deceived as the poison from Vasuki was slowly weakening them. But as churning was proceeding the mountain was sinking and then Lord Vishnu took the form of the tortoise KURMA and kept the mountain afloat. As soon as the bowl of amrita, the nectar of immortality was out, the asuras grabbed it. Then Lord Vishnu took the form of an apsara, a beautiful maiden, and seduced the asuras into letting her distribute the nectar and also to abide by her order of distribution. As soon as the devas were served the maiden disappeared thus totally deceiving the asuras and making them totally weak.

Posted by guru at 12:04 AM0 comments

weak.

Posted by guru at 12:04 AM0 comments

Matsya the fish

In the earliest yuga (era) of Sata-yuga, a king named Manu was performing severe penance for thousands of years. One day as he was performing ablutions with river water, a small fish came into his hands and just as he was about to throw the fish back into the river, the fish requested the king to save its life. Heeding its request, the king put the fish into a jar of water but the fish started growing and the jar was not big enough for it. Then the king threw it into the river, but it soon it outgrew the river and the king then threw it into Ganges and then into the ocean. The king realised that it was Lord Vishnu himself and then the lord made an appearance and made a special request to the king. It predicted that the world would come to an end by a huge flood in seven days and requested the king to build a huge boat and take the seven sages(hermits), seeds of all plants, one animal of each type and told him that he would appear as a fish to propel the boat to Mount Himavan for surviving the flood to the next yuga(eon). True to his word, after seven days the Lord appeared and the king tied the boat to the fish by using the royal serpent Vasuki and the fish took all of them to Mt Himavan and kept them there till the flood was over and in the new era, the king started procreation a for the new era.

Posted by guru at 12:02 AM0 comments

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Posted by guru at 12:04 AM0 comments

Matsya the fish

In the earliest yuga (era) of Sata-yuga, a king named Manu was performing severe penance for thousands of years. One day as he was performing ablutions with river water, a small fish came into his hands and just as he was about to throw the fish back into the river, the fish requested the king to save its life. Heeding its request, the king put the fish into a jar of water but the fish started growing and the jar was not big enough for it. Then the king threw it into the river, but it soon it outgrew the river and the king then threw it into Ganges and then into the ocean. The king realised that it was Lord Vishnu himself and then the lord made an appearance and made a special request to the king. It predicted that the world would come to an end by a huge flood in seven days and requested the king to build a huge boat and take the seven sages(hermits), seeds of all plants, one animal of each type and told him that he would appear as a fish to propel the boat to Mount Himavan for surviving the flood to the next yuga(eon). True to his word, after seven days the Lord appeared and the king tied the boat to the fish by using the royal serpent Vasuki and the fish took all of them to Mt Himavan and kept them there till the flood was over and in the new era, the king started procreation a for the new era.

Originally posted by: radhikarani

india is considered as mother of pithvi... so all avatar takes birth only at the holy land of bharat......

theres only one lord kalki temple in india located in rajasthan

Originally posted by: radhikarani

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BOZdcPFgVo[/YOUTUBE]