Miscellaneous General Topics

Re: Questions About Mahabali The King

:clap :clap :clap :clap
b4 reading was small vamana after reading grown vamana


thanks for sharing
:wave

 

Tulasi The Holy Plant

Thulasi - The Holy Plant


Thulasi (ocimum sanctum) is possibly the holiest plant for the Hindus. There is a story in Devi Bhagavatam about her.

Long long ago Lord Vishnu had three wives viz., Lakshmi, Saraswathi and Ganga. (I have verified this in several sources.) One day Ganga looked at Lord Vishnu with lot of passion when the other two were present. A big quarrel erupted between them. When Saraswathi attacked Ganga, Lakshmi tried to separate them. Saraswathi got infuriated and cursed Lakshmi that she should be born as a plant in earth. Ganga cursed Saraswathi, that she should become a river and Saraswathi in turn cursed Ganga that she should become an ever flowing river. Lakshmi, who was loved a lot by Lord Vishnu, told her, “Please do not worry. You would be first born as a daughter of a very pious soul called Dharma Dwaja and later marry an Asura called Shanka Chooda, who would be one of my incarnations. Later you would come and join me in Vaikunta after becoming the holy plant Thulasi.”

There was a great king called Rudra Savarni, in his clan was born a great king called Vrusha Dwaja. Vrusha Dwaja was a very great devotee of Lord Shiva. Because of this he banned worship of all other Gods except Lord Shiva in his kingdom. Due to non worship of Goddess Lakshmi during the Kanya (October-November) month, there was a great famine in his country. Apart from that Lord Surya, who was also not worshipped, cursed the king that he would become a wretch. This infuriated Lord Shiva. He sent his Trident against Lord Surya. Lord Surya, afraid of Shiva’s trident ran to his father Kashyapa Prajapathi for help. Since he was not in a position to help, both of them approached Lord Brahma. He also expressed his helplessness to protect Lord Surya and all of them together went to meet Lord Vishnu. Lord Shiva also came there. Then Lord Vishnu pointed out that since the time of Deva’s was very much different, thousands of years have passed in the earth and Vrusha Dwaja was no more. He requested Lord Shiva to take back his trident. Then Lord Vishnu told them that in the clan of Vrusha Dwaja, two kings viz., Dharma Dwaja and, Kusa Dwaja were remaining and both of them were doing extreme penance to Goddess Lakshmi so that she would bless their kingdom. Goddess Lakshmi appeared before them and blessed them saying that she would be born as daughter to them and with this their country would become fertile and rich.

Kusa dwaja married a lady called Malawathi and a daughter Veda Vathi was born to them. When Veda Vathi was doing Thapas (penance), Ravana tried to rape her. She cursed Ravana that if he touches any lady without their consent his head will beak in to thousand pieces. She then jumped in to the sacrificial fire and died. Ravana took the ashes of the fire, put them in a box and threw it in the sea. This box was swept ashore in the kingdom of Mithila and was found by Janaka. Vedavathi was inside the box in the form of a girl child. She was called Sita, who later became the wife of Lord Rama.

Dharma dwaja married a lady called Madhawi and Goddess Lakshmi was born to them as a girl child. Since she was an incomparable beauty, they called her Thula Si (Incomparable one). Thulasi grew up in to lady as soon as she was born and left her kingdom and started doing Thapas in Bhadrinath with a wish to marry Lord Vishnu. She did Thapas in the middle of fire all round her in summer and under water in winter. She did Thapas for twenty four thousand years eating only fruits. Another thirty six thousand years eating only leaves, another forty four thousand years eating only air and the last ten thousand years without eating anything. Lord Brahma, appeared before her and asked her what she wanted. She told him that she wanted to become the wife of Lord Vishnu. Lord Brahma told her, “Hey Thulasi, Lord Sudhama who was a part of Lord Krishna is now born as an Asura called Shanka Chooda. He is a part incarnation of Lord Vishnu. You would first become his wife. Later you would become the wife of Lord Narayana. While going back, a part of you would remain in this world as a holy plant called Thulasi. Any worship which does not include worship with the leaves of Thulasi, would be incomplete and would not be accepted by Gods.”

Shanka Chooda at that time had pleased Lord Brahma by his Thapas and was given a Vishnu kavacha (armour) and a boon that unless the armour is removed from his body and till his wife looses her virtue (Pathivruthya), no body can kill him. Shanka Chooda requested Thulasi to marry him and both were married. They lead an extremely happy life. This time Shanka Chooda started giving trouble to the Devas. Devas accompanied by Lord Shiva approached Lord Vishnu for a solution. Lord Vishnu gave his spear to Lord Shiva so that he can break the Vishnu Kavacha, which Shanka Chooda was wearing, when Lord Shiva and Shanka Chooda were engaged in a fierce battle and Lord Vishnu assumed the form of Shanka Chooda and went to Shanka Chooda’s palace. When they entered the bed room Thulasi started suspecting Lord Vishnu. Then Lord Vishnu took his real form and told her, “Lakshmi, you have been doing great penance to marry me. By Now Shanka Chooda would have been killed by Lord Shiva and it is time for you to leave this body and come as Lakshmi to Vaikunta and be with me. Your body which you leave here will become a great river called Gandaki and your hair would transform itself in to a holy plant Thulasi. This plant would become the holiest among plants.”

Lord Vishnu and goddess Lakshmi returned to Vaikunta.

SOURCE FROM DEVI BHAGAVATAM...SUNKAN

 

Re: Tulasi The Holy Plant

Nice one, Sunkan.
Glad to know the meaning and why they use Tulasi leaves in Lord Vishnu temples.

sriniketan

 

Heaven and Hell

The Parable of the Spoons (A Beautiful Story):

A holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, "Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like "The Lord led the holy man to two doors. He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew which smelled delicious and made the holy man's mouth water.

The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful, but because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths. The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering. The Lord said, "You have seen Hell."

They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man's mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking. The holy man said, "I don't understand."

It is simple" said the Lord, "it requires but one skill. You see, they have learned to feed each other. While the greedy think only of themselves.

 

Re: Questions About Mahabali The King

Thanks Sunkan for this informative post.
this is news to me---the fact Indra was the brother of Vamana.
the fact that Vamana came to Mahabali to get the land for gurudakshina.

sriniketan

 

Re: Heaven and Hell

good nice story,keep posting

bye

 

Churning Out Lakshmi

For all those who missed this article in the Economic Times ... good one. a very novel and logical interpretation of our mythology!








Churning Out Lakshmi



Leaders often forget that success is drawn not to them but to their actions. The crown follows the position, not the person



Devdutt Pattanaik




THE ULTIMATE GOAL is profit. Call it anything you want: bottomline, topline, market share, capitalisation, equity, dividends, incentive, growth. It is what ultimately counts. It is why leaders are sought by organisations. Leaders are the ones who are able to mobilise the organisational resources to generate wealth. They are Vishnus engaged to churn out Lakshmi, the mythological embodiment of profit, from the ocean of milk.
Lakshmi, the bejewelled goddess of wealth and fortune who sits on a lotus, is the most popular goddess in India . Her image can be found gracing most households and business establishments. Everybody wants her. Her footprint is often painted on doorways pointing inwards because everyone wants her to walk towards them. Leaders exist to make this happen.
Unfortunately, Lakshmi is Chanchala, the fickle one. Few can predict where she plans to go. Sometimes her movements are predictable. Often it isn't, confounding the most astute of analysts. Exasperated by her whimsical ways, some have concluded that Lakshmi is cockeyed - she looks one way but often moves the other.
But there is one thing scriptures are sure: Lakshmi will always move towards Vishnu. She is drawn to him. Vishnu is Shrinivas - 'where Lakshmi resides'. He is Lakshmikanta - 'beloved of Lakshmi'. What is it that he does that makes him attractive to fortune? If leaders can discover this, they too can become Vishnu; they too can become magnets of Lakshmi.
In all of Vaishnava literature, Vishnu is never shown chasing Lakshmi. Two groups of minor deities chase Lakshmi. They are Devas and Asuras.
Asuras live under the earth and Lakshmi is addressed as Patala Nivasini, a resident of the subterranean reasons because the ancients realised long ago that wealth in its most primal form - minerals and plants - comes from under the ground. Asuras are deemed demons because they cling to Lakshmi and will not let her go. She is Pulomi, their daughter and their sister.
The Devas, who live above the ground, as fire and wind and sun and sky, have to fight to release Lakshmi. Observe how all primary wealth generating activities are violent - the tilling of soil, the harvesting of crop, the threshing of grain, the smelting of metal. This 'value generating violence' is described in mythology as the war of Asuras and Devas, the hoarders and distributors of wealth, the demons and the gods.
Devas transform Pulomi into Sachi, the consort of their king, Indra. But Indra, in his recklessness, knows to enjoy Sachi but not retain her - the fickle one moves away rapidly, leaving Indra's paradise shorn of all life and beauty. Indra begs his father, Brahma, to help, who in turn directs the gods to Vishnu, who advises them to take the help of the Asuras for only the Asuras possess the magical Sanjivani Vidya that can regenerate what has been lost.
Thus Devas can draw, distribute and spend wealth but they cannot create wealth. Who are the Devas of the corporate world? Could it be the flashy marketing and sales guys who go around getting the business, generating demand for products and services? In that case who are the Asuras? Are they the product makers and the service providers? Can production/service exist without marketing/sales? Can the sky-gods exist without earth-demons?
No, they cannot. Vishnu, the leader, knows this and therefore sides with no one in particular. He knows that the two make up the force and counterforce that will churn Lakshmi out from the ocean of milk. The trick is the ability to balance the two sides of the team. A tilt one way or the other will be disastrous. It will cause the churn to collapse.
Devas are guided by Brihaspati, god of the planet Jupiter, who in astrology is associated with logic, rationality and mathematics. The guru of the Asuras is Shukra, god of the planet Venus, who in astrology is associated with emotion, creativity and intuition. Brihaspati's logical approach makes him balanced; he is therefore visualised as having two eyes while Shukra, whose intuitive approach makes him imbalanced and unpredictable, is visualised as having one eye. Like the Devas and Asuras, even Brihaspati and Shukra are pitted against each other. It is the battle of logic and intuition.
The corporate world is full of Brihaspatis and Shukras, the logicians and the magicians. The former prefer excel sheets, the latter prefer power points. The former usually have a finance background, the latter are part of sales and marketing. People with a business school or science background are encouraged to become Brihaspatis but people with an arts background and in creative fields are encouraged to stay Shukras. Brihaspatis are often preferred in corporate organisation because their language can be understood, controlled and predicted. Not so with Shukras. They are shunned
until one realises that survival depends on that wild and crazy 'out of the box' idea.
One can understand why Devas led by Brihaspati are deemed 'gods': they live above the ground, are bathed in light, are clear, transparent, logical hence understandable. Asuras led by Shukra, by contrast, lived under the ground, are unseen; their intuition and creativity is unpredictable, unfathomable, uncontrolable, making them mysterious and magical. Asuras threaten us, make us insecure. Therefore they are demons. Please note that in Hindu mythology, unlike in Biblical mythology, demons are not evil creatures - Hindus have no Satan. They are children of Brahma just like Devas. The divide between them is not moral or ethical. They are complementary forces of nature.
A true leader is able to harness the various forces around him to create an effective and efficient wealth-generating churn. He makes them complementary, not antagonistic. He works with both Brihaspati and Shukra, logic and magic, objectivity and subjectivity, He is able to get the best out of Asuras and Devas, product creators and value-givers. He is sattva guna - the principle that balances the two other extreme principles: inertia/tamas of the Asuras and the agitation/rajas of the Devas. He is both rational on one hand and intuitive on the other. He respects flashy presentations but also knows the value of a robust excel sheet behind it.
While doing all this, Vishnu never bothers with Laskhmi. He is almost indifferent to her. And that is why, perhaps, she chases him. She becomes his crown, his throne, his parasol and footstool. She makes him the king by serving as his profitable kingdom.
One must be careful though. Lakshmi is not a faithful wife. Leaders often forget that success is drawn not to them but to their action. The crown follows the position not the person. To keep Lakshmi walking towards them all the time, it is important that a leader always stay a Vishnu- always balanced, always fo-cussed, always impartial, always detached.




____________ _________ _________ _________ ________

 

Re: Churning Out Lakshmi

Nice article, Sunkan.
More new information on Goddess Lakshmi.
Very good comparison to the present situation!

sriniketan

 

Re: Churning Out Lakshmi

Hi sunkan,

thanks for sharing....lakshmi is chanchala...but we still go behind her......

 

Importance Of Keeping One's Word..arjuna A Favourite

Importance of keeping one’s word


We all know that the pandavas left their kingdom for 13 long years for keeping up their word! Well, for Arjuna going away from the bhogas of a king, for the sake of truth, was not new. He did it once well before the aranyavaas. The story goes like this:
The kalyaanam of pandavas with Draupadi was an unusual one. However, it was perfectly according to dharma shastras. Infact Draupadi is one of the greatest pativratas and praised even by Lord Krishna for her Dharma vartana. A few reasons to justify the kalyaanam:

1. Kunti Devi, the mother of pandavas, who never knew what a lie was, gave her will.
2. Vyaasa Maharshi, one of the avataar of Lord Vishnu, ordered the kalyaanam to be done.
3. Lord Shiva, pleased with her tapas, gave a boon to Draupadi to marry the pandavas.
4. Pandavas, though were five physically, were all amshas of Indra, the King of the Gods. Hence, pandavas were actually one.

Naarada, again an avataar of Lord Vishnu, suggested some rules to be followed by pandavas and Draupadi for living together. This is because, though they were amshas of Gods and Godesses, since they had a human form some addition rules according to dharma shastras needed to be followed. One of the rules was that: Draupadi should spend one year with each of the pandavas and while she was with one of them, no other pandavas should visit the palace where they might be. In case of any breach of their rule, one-year pilgrimage was prescribed by way of penance leaving the kingdom.The pandavas and Draupadi were living happily until one day: a brahmana came running to Arjuna saying that the thieves had stolen his cows. Arjuna wanted to rush with him to catch the thieves but he realised that his bow and arrows were kept in Yudhisthira' s palace and he was there in the company of Draupadi. He hesitated for a while, then seeing brahmana's plight he rushed in to Yudhisthira 's palace took his bow and arrows and ran to catch the thieves.. After he caught the thieves and punished them, after restoring the cows of the brahmana, Arjuna came back to Yudhisthira and told him about his transgression of the rule.
Yudhisthira, knowing the reason of the breach of their rule, said their is no need for Arjuna to take the pilgrimage. Since it is a mistake committed towards him, and that too for a good reason, he will pardon arjuna . However, Arjuna would never break his word. He immediately set out for a one-year pilgrimage. May be this is why Arjuna is such a favourite sakha of Lord Krishna.
Morals in the Story:

1. The story shows how important it is to keep up ones word, whether it is of any consequence or not, how much ever difficult it is.
2. Arjuna, knowing that he will be punished for breaching the rule, did not stop doing his duty as a king to protect his people and punish the theif. Thus, one must always perform his duty without any laziness or any kind of fear.
3. Rewards for such people do show up as immediate difficulties, but in the end - it is truth is what always wins (Satyameva jayate). Arjuna's win was in the way of gaining eternal friendship with the Lord.

Message:

1. Imagine if everyone keeps his word and always speaks truth — will we have corruption? will we have poverty? Though its a very difficult to inculcate, unless we are truthful there will be no development.
2. Like Arjuna if everyone does they duty — will there be such slow development for such a large community of intelligent people?
3. Temporal gains got by saying lies never will be permanent. They will not only bring us down on a long run in life, leave aside winning the heart of the God.